~~~Lee~~~

Buff: [Improved Regeneration]

Lee bolted upright, and a woman jerked back from him, eyes wide.

She fired off a bunch of rapid Spanish that Lee completely failed to follow. A small child was in her arms, and another clutching her leg. Lee recognized her easily enough; it was his neighbor, and she'd done something to him.

He thought about the message he'd just received, and a new screen popped up.

[Improved Regeneration](59:51)

Effects:

Doubles Regeneration Rate.

Not a lot of information there... but he was feeling... well, not fine, but okay. Lee glanced at his arm before remembering that he didn't want to... but it looked great. Still full of pins and needles and covered with dried blood, but otherwise intact, with no sign of the cuts that were the source of all the blood. And best of all, not melted!

"Um, thanks." The woman was already moving away before he spoke, and Lee saw her going from person to person, touching each with a pulse of light from her hand. Apparently, she was a healer of sorts.

Lee had more messages than that one alone.

Skill Level Up: [Rune Scribe]

Skill Level Up: [Rune Scribe]

Class Level Up: [Runic]

Class Level Up: [Runic]

You have gained a Class Level. Review your Status to see the changes.

He looked away from his messages and saw the healer woman casting glances at the door every few seconds, and when he couldn't spot anyone inside with a glowing pot lid, Lee guessed her husband must still be outside fighting giant frogs... assuming that was her husband. Probably.

Whatever he was, the guy was an idiot. Though Lee had let him and a bunch of other idiots into his apartment... so he couldn't throw stones.

Instead, he tried something else. Status? A new window appeared.

Status

Name: Lee Cascade

Race: [Human](UnGraded)

Traits: [Adaptable] [Unknown Body Modification]

Class: Runic (Legendary) - Level 3 (Novice)

Class Skills: Rune Scribe (Uncommon) - Level 4 (Novice)

Attributes:

Strength: 5(0%)5

Vitality: 6(0%)6

Dexterity 5(0%)5

Wisdom 8(+19%)9

Intelligence 10+(+19%)11

Willpower 10+(+19%)11

Twin-Soul ???

Non-Class Skills(0/1):

Buffs: [Improved Regeneration]

Debuffs:

The floor vibrated under his butt, and Lee glanced at the door. He knew they should be safe here. His new knowledge was very clear on that. But he kept seeing a giant frog swallowing a man whole...

I need a weapon.

Of course, he'd had one and given it back to the idiot with a pot lid as a shield.

His apartment was a mess, and the crowd of people wasn't helping. Lee settled for grabbing one of the enchanted butter knives lying nearby, one where he'd gotten the enchantment right, and the blade was the sharp end. What he really wanted was a machete, like his neighbor... or, ideally, something even longer, but beggars and all that...

He also wanted to tell all the crying people to get the fuck out of his place already... but the wide-eyed little kid clinging to his neighbor's leg kept him from going that far. Instead, he got up and started going through his stuff, mostly just glancing it over and hoping his rune knowledge would give him a hint.

A look out from the porch revealed little in the dark, but a glance out the front window brought him up short. Something was glowing on the floor next to a giant unmoving frog, and it wasn't one of his enchanted utensils, either.

It looked like a small rock or a crystal, at least from what he could see through the dirty window, and Lee clutched his butter knife as he reached for the door. He didn't know what it was, but had a feeling it was important. The behemoths from earlier were also missing... How long had he napped?

A hand grabbed his arm as he touched the doorknob. "Don't go out there."

"I know what I'm doing," Lee said, turning the handle.

"I said don't!" the man growled and dragged Lee's hand away from the door.

"Let go of me!" Lee tried to yank his hand free, but the other man held on, his strength winning out. Lee already didn't like being touched by the stranger, let alone someone restraining him like this.

"I won't let you endanger everyone here," the man said, and Lee's free hand tightened on the knife while he resisted the urge to stab this fucker.

"You're in my apartment!" Lee growled, "So back off, or..."

"It doesn't matter. The people..."

"The fuck it doesn't!" Lee stabbed him.

"You shit!" That did it, and the man finally let go, clutching at his bleeding wrist. Lee wasn't trying to kill him, only trying to get free, and he backed up. Then the man lunged at him...

It was a terrible idea. He clearly hadn't realized how sharp Lee's butter knife was, and it would take only a touch to cut him apart. It had gone into his flesh without the slightest resistance… Hell, it would probably go through his bones just as easily.

But before Lee had to defend himself, someone appeared abruptly between them and kicked the man's leading foot out from under him.

He fell sprawling but scrambled to his feet almost immediately and then pulled up short at the small woman looming in front of him, a child in her arms.

"No fight," his neighbor said, with a heavy accent, while looking back and forth between Lee and the other man.

Lee, for his part, took another step back. She'd used magic to get between them, he was sure of it, and that made him more wary. Given what he could do, there was no telling what anyone else was capable of...

Suddenly, the crowd in his apartment felt a lot more threatening.

"Don't fucking touch me," Lee warned, his gaze shifting between the two while gripping his knife tightly. He made a conscious effort not to direct the blade towards the woman, particularly the child nestled in her arms, recognizing her apprehension as she positioned her own body as a shield against his weapon. He also saw in her eyes that doing anything more threatening would earn him a beat down as well...

"I let you all in here," Lee said, "and I'll kick you out if I have to." Assuming he could actually enforce that.

He wasn't sure how much the woman understood, given that he'd only heard her say two words in English so far, but hoped she wouldn't force the issue. He really didn't want to fight her, partly because of the kids, but also because she was probably a healer and had already helped him once. It had nothing to do with the fact that she might kick his ass.

Whether he'd actually needed her healing was another issue.

The man, still clutching his bleeding arm, opened his mouth. The woman interrupted him when she grabbed his arm with her free hand. A flash of light pulsed from her and through him, then she yanked the limb out in front of him and released it. "Stay."

He tried to pull back, but she repeated the action until he held his arm out. She ran a glowing fingertip along the bloody gash, and it closed up behind her touch. Then she twisted his arm over and repeated it on the other side.

Lee hadn't stabbed the man very hard, but it had gone clean through his forearm. Yet, the man still wanted to fight… Idiot. Though it seemed her healing had taken some of the fight out of him. Maybe he hadn’t actually noticed how bad it was before?

"Move," Lee said to both of them, tilting his head to the side. "I'm going out there." He didn't quite brandish his knife, but held it ready, just in case.

They moved, mostly because the woman dragged the man away by her grip on his arm while he glared at Lee.

Lee stopped with his hand on the door, leaning over to peek out the window before turning to the pair. "If you try to lock me out there, I'll take all the magic down." He thought about telling them that if he died, it would all fail too, but he really didn't want to give anyone ideas.

The man opened his mouth, but the woman beat him to it. "Sí," she said, meeting his eyes with an intensity that Lee found unnerving. "María," she added, and Lee guessed that was her name.

"Lee."

She nodded and glanced at the door before looking down at her children. "Be fast. Tell Alejandro ven aquí."

Alejandro must be her husband's name... "I'm not going that far," Lee said, shaking his head. She was crazy if she thought he was going to fight man-eating frogs with a damn butter knife, no matter how sharp it was.

Then he cracked open the door.

Lee stuck his head out, looking in every direction. Nothing moved, but sounds from further away told him that the fight wasn't over yet, though it sounded quiet inside this building.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Light still shone up from out of sight in the courtyard below, and Lee realized he could feel the rune he'd left on the fork. Could feel all of them, in fact. He even felt the machete he'd enchanted for Alejandro. It was down… near the ground... and definitely not inside the building anymore. As he stood there, it moved noticeably in his senses. Guess he's still alive... or something swallowed him.

Lee shut the door, still inside and heart pounding, then glanced back at the people watching him... which turned out to be everyone in the apartment. That many eyes on him wasn't at all pleasant.

He tightened his grip on the knife and opened the door again, stepping through this time. The glowing rock next to the unmoving frog beckoned him. Lee dashed to grab it... and slipped on the slimy cement.

He landed hard on his back and heard the spring-hinged door click shut behind him as the impact blasted the air from his lungs. Fuck... me...

They better not try anything! Lee wasn't kidding about taking the Runes away. It would be easy, and he could just claim another apartment. Though, from all the sounds of breaking glass earlier, he might not find one with intact windows... Putting that thought away, Lee rolled over and scrambled through the mess until his fingers closed around the glowing rock, and then his eyes went wide.

He was right. It was important.

He crawled back to his door quickly, not even trying to walk, and it opened at his approach; Maria in the doorway, holding it wide until he was inside, and closing it behind him. Good. She could be trusted. At least for now.

Then Lee was staring at the thumbnail-sized crystal in his hand as he sat on the floor, back against the wall. Everything else faded from his attention, including the gore liberally covering him, as he stared at something that would change the world.

Core Chip[F-Grade]

+1 Strength

Absorb? Y/N

"What is..." the idiot said.

Lee chose yes, and felt the energy flow into him as the rock seemingly dissolved into his skin, and it felt good...

+0.1 Strength(-.9 from Unknown Body Modification)

Trait Updated: [Unknown Body Modification] updated to [Energetic Resilience]

That didn't seem right. A querying thought brought up the trait.

[Energetic Resilience]

Your body and mind have been subjected to extreme amounts of energy and have adapted to survive.

This Adaptation has made your body highly efficient at drawing in and retaining all energy, whether internal or external.

This has the added effect of absorbing a portion of all energy directed at you, increasing your regeneration while making you highly resistant to all but the most direct foreign energy.

Effects:

All energy resistance greatly improved.

All regeneration greatly improved.

Increased core absorption requirements.

Additional side effects are possible. Continuing Analysis...

Side effects, my ass! Lee thought, though suspected he knew where the Trait had come from, and it wasn't from him enchanting most of a building. It was that day in the mountains...

Lee couldn't remember any specifics, but one thing he knew was there had been power. Lots of power.

Turned out there was a price for their survival after all... A glance back to his status also showed no change from the core. So it didn't show decimals? Hopefully it still counted...

"What was that!?" The annoying man started shouting after Lee kept ignoring him. Now he was glaring, fists clenched like he wanted to punch him. He didn't approach, though, shooting glances at Maria as if hoping she would agree with him.

Lee still ignored him. He always hated people like that. Probably. Bet he's a jock that peaked in high school.

Instead of wasting time worrying about that, Lee got busy worrying about killing frogs. The butter knife felt far too small in his hand, and he stared at the handle in thought. He'd made the handle sharp on his first attempt, even though it was anything but. Did that mean he could make anything sharp? Like, say... he thought about what might be usable in his apartment... maybe a shower curtain rod?

He climbed to his feet with renewed vigor and headed to the bathroom, snatching up his glowing fork on the way and maneuvering around the people in the living room warily. Once inside, he shut the door and then went to enchant it for good measure.

It didn't work... because the door was already enchanted. It made no sense. He'd put the rune on the building, not the doors. At least, not this one…

Lee shook his head and focused on what he needed right now. His building suddenly being stronger than it should be, was not a real problem.

The shower rod was nice and long, made of metal but flimsy. It was also two pieces, one inside the other. Perfect!

He cut some notches in the middle, using the ridiculously sharp butter knife to cut it up enough that he could fold some of the metal together around each piece. It wouldn't be ideal if his blade could fly off at the first swing.

Then all he had to do was enchant a single Rune on each half. One to make it strong and the other to make it sharp. The sharpness wouldn't take on the round object, and he had to stomp on it a few times to flatten it out. That worked, and Lee tested it by hitting the wall, and his super sharp, very long curtain rod bent against the impenetrable wall...

He pulled the sharpness off, bent it more or less back into shape, and applied two runes to the weaponized half; strength and sharpness.

+1 Intelligence (Attribute has reached the F-grade Threshold. Cannot improve further until Evolution to F-grade.)

+1 Intelligence Fortification

Haha... Was it insulting him for the mistake? Although, it was more interesting for another reason. Lee paused his work as he pulled up his status again and checked. His intelligence was at ten... which must be the threshold? It also had that little plus next to it... was that the fortification? Trying to pull up more information on what that meant yielded nothing.

Though, the best part of the message was that he could raise his attributes by doing stuff, and it didn't seem to be penalized the way the core chip had been.

He still had to go out, though, and Lee swung his weapon against the wall in another test. The resulting sparking clang on the wall was satisfying, and his rod remained unbent. At least, no more bent than it already was.

Lee opened his bathroom door to find everyone staring at him again. Not at all creepy or intimidating... but then, he had taken the only light with him. Oops.

Maria especially was eyeing his new, slightly unwieldy weapon as Lee headed for the front door. Along the way, he spotted another fork that he'd missed in the rush before. It was a few seconds' work to create another light, which he handed to Maria, then hesitated.

He thought about it for a few moments before offering her his butter knife. Safe end first.

She'd been on his side against the other man, mostly. Between her own magic powers and whatever other powers someone in here might be hiding, especially the asshole, it didn't hurt for her to have some protection. It also helped that she had opened the door for him... after that show of trust, Lee could reciprocate and get her more on his side. That assumed that she didn't take his threat seriously about the protection runes.

"Gracias." Maria took the blade with a nod, but more satisfying was the sour look on the jock's face as he watched the exchange. Now she could be the one to stab him if he got too grabby again.

Of course, he was also leaving everyone right next to his Liquid Mana Well... no one had said anything yet about his enchanting the roof fiasco, but they might just be waiting for their chance. That no one mentioned the small point of light that Lee could clearly see... well, it might mean they didn't see it. Maybe because he'd claimed it?

Lee hadn't forgotten all the classes he'd looked at mentioning non-liquid mana, and he hoped it was rare. Maybe something they couldn't even notice without the right class.

As for giving up one of his only two weapons, Lee could simply grab the knife from the courtyard on his way out. His own fork light went behind his belt, the light still enough to navigate by while keeping his hands on the curtain rod.

Lee made it all the way to the stairwell, opened the door to a massive frog in his face, and slammed it shut again. He had to stop and catch his breath while his heart pounded nearly out of his chest. What am I doing? This is insane! It was also dark as shit in the stairwell...

The frog was dead when he mustered the courage to open the door again, courtesy of Alejandro, going by the deep wounds nearly bisecting it. Still terrifying, though, especially in the jumping shadows of his light, and Lee wondered how that damn thing had even gotten through the doors downstairs...

Then he did something he should have done on the first corpse. He swung his new weapon, and it cut through the frog with only the barest resistance.

So it works. That was a really critical bit of knowledge it would have been smarter to have before leaving his safe apartment... not that he had anything to test it on, except maybe that one idiot?

Lee shook his head and looked around for a core... there wasn't one. Maybe Alejandro took it? That sucked, and Lee looked away from the disgusting pile of bloody frog as he squeezed past it to the stairs.

There he found the ravaged corpse of a woman... or what was left of her. The glassy eyes staring at him proved too much, and his stomach heaved before Lee turned and vomited bile over the railing. The faint splattering two flights down sounded very far away in the darkness.

He wasn't cut out for this type of thing. Hell, he was just an engineer before this! At least, he had been before he forgot everything... Still, making stuff, that was what he did. Even now his newest thing was literally making magical weapons... which was admittedly pretty cool. But then going out to fight giant monsters with those same weapons? He was going to end up like this woman... Lee looked at her again.

That was a mistake.

He gagged, heaved, and then kept going down the stairs. It was a long nerve-wracking trip down, but better than staying near the dead woman.

Lee paused with his hand on the exit door. Then he turned and went through the other door to the courtyard. He wanted a knife as backup, if nothing else...

That desire for an extra weapon waned when he fished a knife from the pool of blood and guts covering the floor and realized he had no way to carry it. The blade was too sharp to be tucked into a pocket or waistband, and who even made sheaths for butter knives...

Lee wiped it on the cleanest part of his shirt, which wasn't very, and stuck the handle between his teeth. He really didn't want to find himself completely defenseless if he accidentally dropped his curtain rod... though, if he dropped the knife from his teeth, it might do as much damage to himself as to any enemy...

He bit down harder on the handle. His regeneration was good. More than good. Maria's skill only said times two, which meant that his own skill had done most of the heavy lifting on his sliced-up fingers... It would be fine.

+0.1 Dexterity

Lee took that frog's core before heading toward the outside. He saw no sign of the other two giants. Did they crawl back out? Or were they waiting nearby... Every deep shadow seemed to squirm with the promise of a striking tongue after that thought, and Lee nearly sprinted back into the relative cover of the stairwell.

Outside, the stars were bright, brighter than Lee ever remembered seeing before, but he didn't give them more than a cursory glance. Instead, he hugged the side of the building, spear-like curtain rod pointing outward as he scanned the dark for giant frogs.

The glowing fork in his belt gave nowhere near enough light out here and only felt like it was turning him into a beacon. So he shoved it into a pocket. It still glowed through the denim, but at a much lower intensity.

What the hell am I doing? Lee thought yet again as darkness descended on him more fully. This was insane. Not only was he alone out here, but why did he even come out in the first place?

Except... he knew why.

Ever since he'd touched that first core, Lee was feeling the need for more... This whole night had been a rollercoaster of wild events, from finding the Mana Well to watching people die and then taking the cores from the monsters eating them... But he didn't have a choice. Lee knew this. Deep down, he knew the world had just changed forever. It didn't take magical messages floating in his face, new powers, or giant frogs, he knew.

One thing made abundantly clear was that he needed to get stronger. He could only curse his luck at gaining such shit rewards from the cores. But worse, he still hadn't forgotten the feeling of someone physically restraining him only a short time ago. What would that guy turn into if he had ten times the strength of everyone else? What would happen to Lee if he was the odd man out? The weakest.

He knew what would happen. They would imprison him inside his own damn fortress and force him to make their weapons... and that was probably the best-case scenario. More likely, he would just die.

Lee had to get stronger, and he had to do it fast. I should have picked the lightning class... Except, a frog might have eaten him if not for his enchanted windows... or maybe he could have fried it to a crisp. There was no way to know and, he suspected, no way to go back. This was his life now, and he needed to survive or, better yet, thrive.

He could still feel Stanley in the far distance, and Lee believed he would come back... but he had a bad feeling about how long it might take. He couldn't even remember how far Stanley had been going when he left... but he felt very far away now. He'll come back. I know he will!

Lee considered the idea of trying to meet Stanley halfway, but even if that might be an option, it wouldn't be one until he got stronger. Much stronger. Lee had damned himself with his class choice, and the best he could do now was try to build a home for when Stanley returned.

He tightened his grip on the curtain rod. It didn't matter how long Stanley took. Lee just had to survive long enough for that to happen, and he would, no matter what.