“Pulling a realm apart stretches the essence of the realm, like clay. It only stretches so far, and once it rips, those tears stay in place and will eventually harden, scabbing over. Forcing the realm back together not only takes a massive amount of mana but also skill. Even so, it won't be perfect. There will be tears and places where it doesn't align right. Old and new places will be unearthed, treasures and horrors. I can only imagine what will become of the realm I once called home.” - Unknown.

Aster

A lot of effort was needed to make armor, a lot more than I thought, both effort and material-wise. Just like with the tanning rack, I was sketching down my idea of what I wanted and being way too over-detailed with it. On a good note, my blueprinting skill had gained two levels with the work. Even so, I felt like the armor was still off and missing quite a bit, but the base was there.

The whole reason I'd started to work on the design Was to clear my head before evolving my archery skill. That had been days ago, and I'd since gotten carried away in the act of trying things to see if my ideas were even possible.

Flipping to the first page, I decided to go over it once more. The blueprint, or more aptly, sketch, was five pages long. The first was the undersuit. The flight suit I was currently wearing had given me the idea for the base, but it was made to help with the air and cold at high altitudes. I didn't need to worry about the cold, and I was optimistic about a rune to recycle air existing. I wanted something that would offer more protection but still was flexible. I didn't have a material idea in mind, yet I'd find something. The following page was armor that went over the suit. The chest piece would be made up mostly of Umbra's scales, something she entirely agreed with. The shape would be form-fitting, starting at the neck and reaching down to right below the ribs, protecting most of the vital areas while giving me the flexibility I need to move the way I currently do. The next page held the other pieces of the armor, including leg and arm guards stretching from the thigh and shoulder all the way down to the ankle and wrist. Scales would layer over each other at the elbows and knees with more scale placed where they wouldn't impede movement. The fourth page was add-ons such as the new quiver, belt it would clip to, gloves and boots, a small pack, and straps to connect to Umbra. It was the last page I was excited about, but it also would be the hardest runes. My current knowledge of runes was basic and simple and wouldn't be anywhere near what I wanted for my armor, but still, some ideas were listed out, and places I could put gems to store mana in the armor were listed as well. Closing the journal and storing it, I sighed.

I'd probably create another twenty ideas before even trying to start. Finding the materials I'd want would also be one of the biggest hassles. Dragon scale couldn't support runes, so if any broke, they would have to be replaced instead of relying on a repair rune. The undersuit would have to hold quite a bit of rune as well for what was envisioned.

Shaking my head, I yawned and cleared the thought. While it was fun to wonder about armor, I currently had a skill evolution waiting for me, a very important one. Pulling it up, I reread the notification I'd gotten and the one after that I hadn't paid much attention to.

[Archery has reached level 10 and is eligible for an evolution. Notice experience can not be gained in the skill until it has evolved]

[Evolve Archery? Y/N. Two paths are currently available.]

It was different from my last skill advancement, not just the purple screen but also the wording. Currently available. Those words implied that I could keep working on the skill and gain more choices, but I wasn't going to do that. Selecting yes, I read the next notification.

[Skill Evolution, Archery. 2 paths of advancement available. Please select one of the following.]

[Option 1: Agile Archery, provides a focus on moving while aiming, increasing footing, and drawing to fire speed with each rank.]

[Option 2: Big Game Archery, makes spotting weak points on creatures that are larger easier and gives an instinct on what is best suited to take the creature down; it does not work on monsters. The effect increases with each rank.]

I scowled and sighed angrily at the fact I had to make a choice. I was drawn to both. Not only did I see my style of archery as one Focused on moving, but recently, I'd had trouble fighting creatures that were large and tended to eat arrows. Reading over them again, I hummed, tapping my knee, then shrugged. The deciding factor in all of this was simple: I was in a dungeon full of monsters, not creatures. Big Game Archery would be great, except for the fact its perks only applied to creatures and not monsters. Agile Archery would apply across the board and, hopefully, after another evolution, maybe incorporate hunting bigger monsters and creatures in some way.

Nodding to myself, I did one last scan of the screen, making sure I didn't miss anything, then picked the first option. The confirmation screen appeared, and I agreed.

A moment later, the itching and burning I'd come to associate with a new skill or an evolution started to fill my chest. It wasn't nearly as bad as gaining a new skill, but it still left me breathless and unable to focus for a long moment. Once I could focus, I looked at the new screen in front of me.

[Congratulations, the skill Archery - 10 has evolved to Agile Archey - 1.]

I smiled, pumping my fist Into the air, then laid back on the grass. Another thing to the list of skills to try, but that was a list I was about to mark some off of today.

With just over two weeks spent inside the dungeon, I now felt as comfortable As I thought I could. No attack had happened since The swarm of birds, and there was a routine That Umbra and I had established.

The morning would start when one of us woke up, which tended to wake the other up. After something to eat, we would do a flight around the valley for some practice, with me practicing archery On dragon back Using thrown targets. My favorite part of the day was after that practice when we hunted. The monster tended to be a low grade one, nothing above grade two. If the monster was edible, then it would serve as dinner and breakfast for the next day. The hunt would be followed by a quick scrub down and a cleaning of any of Umbra's scales that needed it, which were very few with her bracelet.

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Then, the final part of the day would be where we were now, practicing and ranking up our own skills. Today would be a bit different for me. I would be trying some of the new skills I'd yet to attempt using any of the skills, partly because of a focus on other skills and the dungeon but also the warning of soul damage. It was something I didn't want to even mess with without being sure, although my temptation had finally reached the spilling point.

Opening my status sheet, I picked the skills I wanted to try today. Lesser Bond Transfer, Lesser Draconic Instinct, Pack Formation, and lastly, Primal Shift. A few of them I'd used a few times but wanted to take a deeper look at. Primal Shift was the one I was mostly nervous about, not only because of the soul damage but because of what I thought the skill might do.

Snorting, I rubbed my face, clearing the idea away, and mentally nudged Umbra. She'd been curious about the skills as much as me, and I would need her to try a few.

“Are you ready?” I asked her through the bond.

There wasn't a verbal response, but I washed as she stood up from the icy patch where she had been practicing her meditation and Walked my way. Only once she'd settled down next to me and blown a long stream of Frost in my face did she speak. “I have been thinking of the skills you wanted to try, and after some thought time to decide, Lesser Bond Transfer, if it works the way I believe, I wish to pick it up as well.”

Tilting my head back and forth, I frowned, then slowly nodded as I understood what she meant and spoke my thoughts aloud. “I suppose it's a good idea. I'd only think of it as a way to share mana and stamina on a long fight, but maybe in combat or when using runes, sharing mana with me, if it works that way.” As I spoke, I pulled up the skills description.

[Lesser Bond Transfer - As a bond grows, so does the connection and the reliability. This skill allows for the transfer of Mana and Stamina to your bond at a significant cost.] [Notice: Constant use of this skill without rest can strain the bond and cause soul damage to the user.]

Umbra blinked, her Tail twitching, the sign of mild Interest, Anxiety, or excitement depending on the motion I'd come to learn. “Let's see what it does then,” Umbra said.

My first attempt at using the skill was to just focus on using it, but that only gave me a vague, disconnected feeling like I was missing a piece. That piece was physical touch, which, for some reason, worked through clothes but not with any type of item like a stick. The skill did work like we thought: a slow transfer of mana and stamina at a rate of ten points per second at a cost of five times the amount. With the skill being called Lesser Bond Transfer, there was the idea of a normal or strong version that probably would speed up the process or make it more efficient. The skill was easy to get a full grasp on, with only one surprise when Umbra picked up and used the skill. Besides the ability to transfer mana and stamina, she discovered her ratio was only three to one, making it cheaper for her to use. Neither of us could figure out why that was, but the only real explanation was that she was a dragon or a creature. “Being a dragon is something special. It only makes sense.”

Her words, while I could tell, were honest, and something she fully believed and meant did come off as self-centered. Not that she was wrong in any way. Dragons were the greatest creatures, and hundreds, if not thousands, of stories existed about their Power. Not that I was biased or anything.

Moving my attention to the next skill, I spoke as I pulled up the description. “You said you knew of a way I could understand how the skill works better? It's not a ranked skill, so it can't increase in effect.”

[Lesser Draconic Instinct - As beings of great power, dragons are born with instincts enhanced by mana, allowing them to rely on it often more than their eyes. This skill passively grants a sense of danger in a small area around the user and can be increased at the cost of continuous mana. This skill effect is increased when in the air.]

“While the skill can't improve, that doesn't mean you can't. Do you have that cloth?”

I nodded, pulling out the strip I had ripped off an older shirt that hadn't been worth wearing anymore. I offered it up to her, a bit confused about why she wanted it.

Umbra rumbled with laughter and pulled her head back. “It is not for me. It is for you to cover your eyes with.”

“Cover my eyes?” I echoed.

“Draconic Instinct isn't a skill. It's something

we are born with.” Umbra explained, “Something I believe the system can't exactly recreate. I am not sure of the lesser version, but my instinct alerts me to threats, how dangerous they are, and is quite helpful when something attacks from above.”

I thought back to a time in the dungeon when I had felt that vague sense of danger and direction. It didn't sound as specific as Umbra was describing, but I could see the similarities. “So you want me to cover my eyes, and then what?” I asked, feeling my ears twitch in curiosity as I lifted up the cloth before glancing again at Umbra.

If a dragon could grin, Umbra would have had a predator's smile at that moment. You get to doge.”

Umbra's idea of practicing the skill turned out to be using her claws, wings, and tail to bat me around like a cat would its next meal while I tried to avoid her while blind. While Lesser Draconic Instinct was in the bond skill portion of my class sheet, it was a weird mix of active and passive. While the skill was always there, always working, I found I had to be actively keeping my attention on spotting something wrong or off for it to work. That was discovered after Umbra had sent me tumbling with a swipe from her tail. It was the fourth strike from the training, and even if she did hold back her strength, it still hurt. I could have used the bond to see through Umbra's eyes, but not only would she know, but this wasn't training for that.

The next strike was from her claws on the opposite side from where her tail had hit me. It was only the skill that saved me from taking the full blow. The twinge of danger in front of me let me sidestep the claw, but I still took a glancing hit, which sent me to the ground again. Getting up, I got ready to move again but was surprised to feel the sense of danger coming from above me and didn't move quickly enough. Umbra's tail whacked my head like a falling stick, and I tumbled to the ground again.

This time, I let myself rest in the grass for a moment, maybe a little longer. The cold of Umbra's breath as she leaned down to inspect me felt great, and I sighed, speaking what I was thinking aloud. “I think I'm going to need a lot more practice with the skill to justify it being anything more than an early warning system. With Stalker’s Movement, I can get out of the way in time, but if I want it to be anything more than that, a lot of work will need to go into it. It's definitely not as clear as your instinct is more of a vague general direction, and I get almost no feeling for how dangerous the attack is.” Reaching up, I slipped the cloth off, storing it.

Umbra, who had sat down curling her tail around me, hissed in an agreeing way, “The benefit of even that is good, but if the skill has more to offer, then it is worth the effort. Knowing danger is coming before it strikes, even if it is vague, is useful.”

I groaned as I sat up, rubbing my side before nodding. “That leaves two skills left: Pack Formation and Primal Shift. First, I want to see what happens if you join a party while being a bond. No one really mentioned what it offers since we split the experience and can tell What the other is doing already, but before that, I think mediating would be nice. I know you've been practicing on your own, but I'm curious if mediating tighter will offer any advancement paths for the skill related to both of us.

Umbra let out a rumble and was extremely excited at the idea. She'd yet to get her meditation skill to level ten and advanced but was only two levels off, so she'd be the first to see if it had any effect. As we settled down, me resting against her side in the growing frost patch, I smiled, happy but also planning a way to get back At her.