Whilst he waited for the bear to reach and pass his hiding place, Liam inspected his gains. First was the blinking notifications that he was getting more and more used to ignoring during the heat of combat.

[Level Up!

You have reached Level 9.

You have 5 Free Attributes to assign.]

With that Level Up, he once again had enough Lifeforce to use his [Spirit of Death] Power. He would have to save this one for when he really needed it as Levels were getting harder to come by. Deciding to assign his points later, he moved onto the second notification.

[Hafted II had improved to Hafted III

You may now use the Tier III effects of One Handed Hafted Weapons and gain muscle memory and learning with Hafted Weapons faster than before]

It seemed welding his axe against more powerful foes had paid off. He suspected that his Skill Tier was going up quite quickly compared to how it was supposed to but he wouldn't complain since it helped him out. He had already been feeling the effects of the Skill ever since he got it. He had never even picked up an axe before all of this but now he was using it well, or at least he thought so.

Next, he moved on to inspecting the staff he'd acquired.

[Staff of Elemental Channeling

Tier II Elemental Focus

A staff created by the Lich Ander Phyris to channel Necromantic and Elemental energies. The bone has been magically altered to better conduct these energies and to focus them in a way that can be directed.

Damage: +6-8 bludgeoning

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Additional Properties: + 11-12 fire damage

Tier I: Requires [Elemental Lore I] to see.

Tier II: Requires [Elemental Lore II] to see.]

He almost let out a whistle when he saw it, but stopped himself for fear of being heard by the undead bear that had just turned down this section of the passageway. To distract himself from it, he turned his thoughts back to the staff.

He was so impressed by it since it was made by Ander Phyris itself. It was probably something made on a whim, or something that the Lich used itself but abandoned when it outgrew it, but it seemed like a tangible victory over the Necromancer to take an item it had deliberately crafted. And now he was going to destroy it.

He touched his axe against the staff and watched as it shrunk and was absorbed into his weapon. His silent companion accepted the meal before settling back into its slumber. He smiled down at it and [Analyzed] it to see what new things it had gained.

[Skeletal Armament - Axe of Bone and Flames

Tier II Hafted Weapon

A Bone Axe made from the [Lesser Skeletal Armament] Trait and upgraded through absorbing the bones of its fallen foes. It was won in battle and has served it's owner faithfully since, an instrument of fire and death that reaps the lives of its wielder's enemies.

Damage: +13-16 -> +17-22 slashing

Additional Properties:

- +10-11 -> +13-16 fire damage

- Passive: The Armament passively draws in energy to boost itself, the higher the ambient energies the more powerful the axe becomes. NEW - The axe stores the energies absorbed, up to a limit, and uses them to enhance itself when needed

- NEW - Passive: The Armament generates a small amount of Fire Mana that is absorbed by its other passive

Progress towards being Named: 2/3

Tier I: Can repair and upgrade itself through absorbing inanimate bone it is in contact with

Tier II: Improve the effect of any Spirits used on this weapon by 1 Level]

The damage it dealt had increased yet again, which was always useful, and somehow it had gained another point towards being Named. He had no idea what might've triggered this step, unlike the first one which he was certain had been gained through it's evolution to Tier II.

Besides the raw stats, it had gained a new Passive ability, and had its first one altered. The new one was frankly amazing, being a flat power boost for the axe since the Fire Mana it made was directly absorbed by its first passive. It effectively increased the 'ambient energies' that it drew in by making some of them itself and he couldn't wait to fight some more of the [Skeletal Mages] to try and increase how much his axe created by absorbing their remains.

The benefits of the changes to its existing Passive were less apparent, but he managed to figure out what the description meant with a bit of thought. His axe only needed enhancement when it stuck something or it blocked something, so waiting until those moments to consume the stored energy would give him multiple seconds of absorption across a single moment. This meant that the longer he took between blows, the stronger each attack would be as more energy would be built up to use. It also meant that he would be going into each battle with the first contact between his axe and anything being at maximum power. Already he could feel the thrumming energy within it as it built up towards its limit, ready to be unleashed when he needed it.

He gently pressed it against the wLl of his hiding spot. He felt the energy stored within it dip slightly and it melted through the stone like butter, the flames blazing hotter and the edge becoming supernaturally sharp. He felt no resistance as it made a puddle of molten minerals on the floor that he had to shuffle away from to avoid. He grinned at how easy it was.

The bear had long since moved passed. He would wait for it to return again and then he would try out his improved weapon in combat. He couldn't wait.