Another day dawns. I wake up eager to get going. Well, actually, I’ve already started. By this point, I’ve more than caught up on my sleep, so when I woke before the sun rose, I felt too restless to drop off again. Instead, I did the task which is both the most important one facing me, and something I could do in the dark: fixing my Core.

I’m proud to say that I’m within a single percent of mending it completely. It looks so much better when I enter my Core space, only a few hairline cracks now visible. It’s taken another Energy-Heart to get there, but I feel like the finish-line is right in front of me. It’s fortunate because even with my reduced Energy wastage courtesy of my newly upgraded Energy Manipulation, I’ve absorbed enough Energy to level up once more, as crazy as that seems to me.

I still want to fully fix my Core before actually triggering the level-up, though: something tells me that even the hairline fractures could cause an issue if not. I’d hate for all my hard work to go to waste; not to mention delay my other projects. For now, I’ll direct the excess Energy into my debt. In fact, I might even wait a bit longer than just fixing my Core – it just feels like a waste to direct level up points into my physical stats while they’re still under twenty, but equally I’m a bit worried about the gap between them and my other stats growing too big. Oh well – since I still have the debt to pay, the Energy isn’t actually being wasted, even if I have to wait a few days.

Taking a moment to rest and eat, I idly think through the tasks ahead of me. In the end, I didn’t speak to River – he’d seemed so focused on the Energy-Heart at the time. Ultimately, I’ll just keep an eye on it. Maybe he’s just being polite, anyway. He called those Path-walkers ‘honoured’, after all. And given that Kalanthia’s still probably not all that happy with him being around, him being extra polite to her and her cub is likely to do more good than harm. I shelve the matter as something to keep an eye on but only intervene if it looks like there’s an issue.

My other tasks are another question. There’s that quest from the System which has a countdown of fifty-three days – fifty-two now. What does that countdown mean, anyway? That I need to complete it before the time is up, or that I can only complete it on that day? Not being certain, I’ll plan for the former – that way I can wait until the countdown is completed if I’m wrong.

Besides the quest itself, I’m more and more convinced that I need to somehow gain control over that whole underground area. I was sure it was going to take ages for me to level up again, when I realised just how much Energy each percent needed. Yet, here I am, a bare few days later, ready to level up once more – almost entirely due to the Energy-Hearts. The fact that Kalanthia talked about beasts fighting over the water from the lake which holds only highly diluted Pure Energy is just another reason.

How, is another question. If beasts fight over diluted Pure Energy, what would they do for the undiluted stuff? I would still be very hard-pressed to fight Kalanthia and would probably lose nine times out of ten; how could I defend the area against creatures which even she doesn’t dare live near?

At the moment, I theorise that the vine-stranglers are hiding its presence by absorbing the excess Energy, but that is making their growth explode which, in turn, is threatening the lizard-folk. And that’s another objective: I can’t forget that River has fulfilled his side of the bargain; I need to do the same.

I have a burgeoning idea of how to solve both objectives in one go, but that requires other steps to be put in place. Learning how to manipulate the earth from Kalanthia is a key factor. And that requires me to at least fix my Core and start being able to use magic again without hurting myself. It may even require me to fix the other problems the Pure Energy caused, but Kalanthia’s words yesterday give me hope that I’ll at least be able to start learning.

And perhaps, even if I don’t manage to reach a level of competence sufficient for my needs, Kalanthia might be open to helping me out – for a price.

A side issue is that about hunting. I offered to take Lathani hunting with me, argued for it, in fact, but given my recent discoveries, I’m not sure how much of it I’ll be doing. Not personally, anyway. The Energy-Hearts have offered an avenue of growth which is so much faster and safer than hunting down various creatures. That said, I can’t forget Kalanthia’s reluctance to give Lathani too many Energy-Hearts. Or the damage I did to myself by absorbing the Pure Energy directly.

Things that seem too good to be true usually aren’t, and I don’t want to pin my hopes on something which might be harmful to me in the long run. That’s not to say I’m not going to use Energy-Hearts where I can, but I’m going to monitor my condition for hints of damage.

Still, even if I didn’t use Energy-Hearts, the realisation that kills by my Bound generate Energy for me, whether or not I am present, is a game-changer. I’m the only one who can craft out of our little band; potentially, I could stay back at the cave and craft weapons and armour for us, and then just keep growing from the Energy I gain from the Bonds.

However, that idea also leaves me a little uneasy. While I do gain Energy from the Bonds, I suspect it’s only a fraction of the Energy absorbed if I was part of the kill. If I just stayed back at the den and did crafting, I have a strong suspicion that my companions would rocket in strength, while I would plod along.

And then what would happen? Everything I’ve learned so far points to the law of the jungle being absolute: the strong dominate and rule, the weak submit and die. I’m pretty sure that Fenrir would be an issue if he suddenly started being able to overpower me in every way. Bastet might be less of a problem: I get the impression that a raptorcat pack is a lot more cooperative than a lizog one. As for River, he might still be OK, even if he could overpower my Bond with his Willpower...but I wouldn’t count on it.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

In short, while I am determined that increasing the power of my companions is necessary, I’ve convinced myself that keeping my own personal power growing is essential. So until I have a better option for growth than killing things, hunting it is.

That’s not to say that I’m going to do no crafting. I still want to make a proper bed – I’m tired of sleeping on clothes on the floor. I need better armour – that crocodile skin is still sitting in my Inventory. Not to mention the new salamander skin that might be even better. I also want to give my tools and weapons an upgrade, if I can. I haven’t forgotten about the metallic glint I saw in what used to be the raptorcats’ cave. If it is metal, that would be awesome.

While my bow is still serviceable, since I put all my points into my mental and soul stats and not physical ones, my arrows are still only flint. I remember how little damage they did to the salamander’s skin; what’s the betting that we’re likely to encounter more animals like that, if we head down towards the valley? Plus, metal weapons are just plain better than flint-tipped ones: there’s a reason humanity progressed past the Stone Age, after all.

Still, getting the metal out of the cave is not going to be easy. I’m torn between waiting until Kalanthia has – hopefully – taught me enough about shaping the earth to be able to just access the metal via that method, and going now. Why go now? Because of what I see when I look at my status sheet.

In contrast to what it looked like at the beginning of my time here, my points are now heavily invested into my mental and soul stats. That’s great, except for the fact that even my lowest mental stat is more than double two of my physical stats. Everything I learned about from the System stone points to that being a bad idea. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I’m not getting the most out of my Intelligence or Wisdom in terms of clarity of thought or mental dexterity due to my body being lacking. And there’s a vague indication in the knowledge from the stone that other side-effects can be felt sometimes. Just another indication that maybe my stats aren’t as cut and dried as they appeared to be at first.

If I don’t want to have to dedicate any of my impending level-up’s points to my physical stats, I’m going to have to work to increase them naturally a bit first. So, perhaps a little trip to try to harvest some metal is in order? Even if my hopes prove to be fruitless and the glint was nothing but my imagination, tanning that crocodile hide is going to take both strength and dexterity, so I should gain a couple of points there anyway.

And of course, more important than perhaps anything, is dealing with the damage I’ve suffered to my internal matrix. This, however, doesn’t need to be done during daylight hours, so I decide to spend time during the morning and evening fixing that. Though, that said, there’s no way I’m going to delay fixing my Core, not with only a single percent of damage left.

Satisfied I have the barebones of a plan for the next few weeks, I sit back with an Energy-Heart in hand. Time to fix my Core completely, and then go on a little trip into the forest.

*****

The sun is only just peeking over the trees by the time I’m finished. I pull up my status screen and gaze at it with a sense of achievement. It tells me only what I already know.

Name: Markus Wolfe

Race: Human

Class: Tamer

Level: 12

Energy to next level: 100%

Energy absorption rate: 26u/hr

Energy towards debt: 77%

Intelligence

36

Mana: 360/360

Wisdom

34

Mana regeneration rate: 680u/hr (-20%)

Willpower

42+8 (+20%)

Health regeneration rate: 40u/hr (-20%)

Constitution

19

Health: 190/190

Strength

15

Stamina: 90/90

Dexterity

15

Stamina regeneration rate: 150u/hr

Class skills

Dominate – Novice 3

Tame – Beginner 6

Fade – Initiate 1

Non-Class skills

Lay-on-hands – Journeyman 2

Stealth – Novice 1

Animal Empathy – Novice 6

Meditation – Novice 9

Energy Manipulation – Novice 3

Sensation Management – Beginner 5

It is immensely gratifying to see that the reduction has been removed entirely from my mana pool. Now just to get rid of those affecting my mana and health regeneration rates, and I’ll be golden. Looking at Lay-on-hands reminds me about the choice I still have to make there. But first, something else to test.

I close the screen and pull out my knife. Holding it over my arm, I hesitate. Moment of truth. Not thinking too much about it, I slice the knife into my own flesh. There’s less pain than I thought there would be: perhaps my other newest Skill has kicked in to manage the sensation. That, or my threshold for pain has been increased to a crazy height. In fact, my hesitation was far less about the potential pain, and more about what comes after.

Focusing on the wound, I activate my healing Skill. Bracing for the pain of my Core cracking again, I’m relieved when all I feel is the warmth in my arm as my healing magic goes to work. In moments, all that remains is a little blood to show that anything happened. Just to check, I pull up my status screen. No new reduction! Wanting to be absolutely sure, I even settle back into Meditation, slipping back into my Core space.

Inspecting my Core meticulously, I don’t see a single crack or fracture. The outside of it is as solid and seemingly perfect as any Energy-Heart, for all that my Core glows like the sun where they only sparkle a little. Success is a giddy feeling, and I emerge from my meditation grinning like a loon.

“River, Fenrir, Bastet,” I call. “I’m back in business!”