~~~Lee~~~

"...wanna come?" Alejandro asked.

Lee sat still, staring at the cores in his lap and the notification in his brain that said the world was now E-grade. "No." He shook his head and started absorbing. "No, I'm not going. I've been an idiot for too long..."

"So, what's the plan now? Whatever you need..."

"I need to improve my runes. All this time I've been neglecting my greatest power because I was too desperate for cores. No more."

"I like it! What will you make this time?" Alejandro beamed while eyeing the hovering plate. "Are we going to start flying?"

Lee thought about it. "Not quite... but I have some ideas..." Last core absorbed, he stood. "Don't go to that lair yet. Let me make sure you can't lose. Like I should have been doing all this time..."

He'd wasted so much time hunting, always trying to be the vanguard of the group. It wasn't bad logic. He could take the hits and keep it going. He was the most capable of surviving anything.

But it was stupid.

Instead of standing at the forefront and taking the hits only he could take, he should have been improving his runes and using them to make a hundred more people able to do the same. That would have been the smart play, but his stupid paranoia hadn't let him see it.

Now it was time to fix his mistakes.

It also might have been smart to claim his own area in the garage before this... because there wasn't much space left. He zeroed in on the standalone elevator room. It was tiny, perfect, and also the only completely enclosed space in the garage, with its own door.

There was a woman currently trying to drag a large rack through the doorway that was far too small to allow it. Her class had something to do with leather, given the pelt stretched out on the frame... Lee looked forward to seeing what she created, but he still took her spot.

"No! This is mine! I can make it... fit..." She was trembling and on the verge of tears as she fought with the narrow gap.

"You're just as safe out here," Lee said, only partly guessing at her reasoning.

"I..." Her eyes were wide as they roved around the garage.

It wasn't nearly as open as it used to be. Bradley had put up a lot of walls, but there were still plenty of gaps where one could see outside through the bars encircling the outer edge. Especially in May's area. She'd wanted the fresh air.

"Were you in here for the flies?" Lee asked.

She shook her head in a jerky motion.

That might explain it. Lee hadn't even thought about the rest of the fort yesterday when he'd been afraid for Three, and the other buildings hadn't fared nearly so well, as he'd found out later. It had been a frantic nightmare of leaking roofs and pooling acid... not to mention the fly swarm that followed.

The entire fort may well have fallen if the flies hadn't swarmed Three en masse. "This building will protect you. You're safe. Bradley can even put up some walls if you'd prefer, and I can enchant them."

"I can make it fit..."

"I'm going to be making stuff that has a decent chance of exploding," Lee said. "I need a place where it won't hurt anyone else."

She protested further, but obviously knew it was futile. Lee helped her drag the drying rack to a new location and then went toward May.

Saira's garden was back in full bloom around the building, courtesy of a thousand dead flies fertilizing the soil and her own magic to fuel the process. Lee could see the anubi outside, amidst the growth, all of them gathered around the matriarch's body. Except for Trak, who was still following him... "Trak, you don't need to follow me around if you need to be at the... funeral?"

Trak wouldn't look at him, and he said nothing.

"What are you refusing to say now?"

"My..." It looked like he choked slightly while trying to decide what to call him while his eyes darted around the surrounding people within earshot. "Lord. I... was on my way to request your presence... forgive me."

"I don't know what your customs and rituals are, Trak. So you'll need to tell me."

"As her liege... I had... hoped you would see her off. But it is not required, my lord!"

Lee wanted to protest, but he really didn't know what the proper thing to do was... and they'd sworn to serve him... It was the least he could do. "I will be right out. Let me deal with one thing first."

May was in a pleasant mood, probably related to the much smaller stack of elf armor and the neat stack of metal ingots beside the smelter. She didn't even protest when he told her what he wanted.

The anubi hadn't moved when he joined them, but he finally noticed Bradley and Saira watching from across the street. Or what used to be a street. It was all part of Saira's garden now. Mar was there, too, lurking near her mother.

Lee stood awkwardly, towering over the kneeling creatures, until they shifted to open a gap. Trak gestured, and Lee knelt down beside him in the circle.

Their matriarch... Lee didn't even know her name. He didn't know any of them aside from Trak... She lay on her side, curled up, almost like a sleeping dog...

He could imagine Caffeine curled up there instead, and the mere idea brought tears to his eyes. It also lit a fire inside him. That will never happen. No matter what! No one else needs to die...

They spoke with soft noises, barks, howls, and chuffing sounds. Trak translated for the others, but Lee barely listened. He tried to pay attention… tried to respect the moment, but his mind was on fire with ugly thoughts.

Regrets over the past. Mistakes he'd made then and now. Choices yet to be made which might save or damn everyone he loved.

Then Trak picked up the core and held it out to Lee. No...

"As her liege, it is yours to do with as you see fit."

Skill Shard[F-grade]

Know Herbs (Epic)

Even the humblest sprout may hold untold power.

User will sense all flora within range.

User gains a deep insight into the potential properties of all flora within range. This insight will increase drastically upon physical contact.

Skill Level Effects (Novice)

+1% Wisdom

(Hidden)

Requirements:

Mana Core/Channels [Requirement Not Met][N/A][Adaptable]

That was... strange. He'd never heard of a skill with a hidden effect. It also didn't matter. "One of you can use it. Whoever it will help the most."

Lee was curious to see how it might adapt to liquid mana, but not enough to potentially waste what looked like a great skill anyone else could use to a much greater effect. Potentially.

Trak shook his head. "Those of us who would benefit have already learned the skill from the matriarch herself."

"I... wait, you can teach skills? No, nevermind that right now. What about your... kids?" He wasn't sure what the right term was for this race... or did the translation magic handle it for him?

"We will teach them when it is time, my lord."

One of the other anubi growled, and Trak snarled back at them, his necklace only translating his words. "Bite your tongue, Drax! Our g... lord spurns nothing!"

He looked at Lee before ducking his head. "Forgiveness, lord! I have not told them the truth of your majesty yet!"

"Do you have to tell them?" Lee wasn't sure if he wanted more fanaticism. What if more of them tried to swear even crazier oaths?

"I... if you order it, then I obey."

"Then don't."

Trak wilted but nodded. "Yes, my lord. As for the core... I would recommend you give it to your druidess." He looked over at Saira.

"Druidess..." Lee found the woman in question watching him when he looked her way.

"Yes, my lord. She is mighty, and we will begin production far sooner than I had hoped, thanks to her power. With a skill like this one, she will become even mightier. But of course, it is your decision, my lord!"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Lee didn't mind helping Saira... and maybe they knew something he didn't about her class type? He'd never asked her what her actual class was called—was it a druid class? "I will do what you suggest, and... I'm sorry for interrupting the service."

"It is finished, my lord. While we would normally give her to the flames, especially if the undead are near, your druidess has agreed to allow a burial in her grove... if you do not disagree, my lord. I think the matriarch would approve of nourishing our garden with her flesh."

"I have no problem with that, but..." Lee hesitated but couldn't see any reason not to tell them, even as visions of monstrous creatures rose in his memory. "The undead are on this world. Not near... but they are here." You can kill them all, Stanley. I believe in you! Kill them and come… home.

Trak stilled, eyes locked on Lee's face. "My lord... forgive me, but I know something ails you. How may I help?"

Lee looked at him, his attention pulled from memories of Stanley by another thought. The anubi were dogs... or at least they sure looked like dogs. Did that mean they could smell his emotions? Dogs were supposed to be able to do that, right?

He didn't mind telling Trak about Stanley... but not out here. Not while they were grieving the loss of their own family member. Not that Stanley was lost... he would survive! He would win! No matter what!

"I'll tell you later."

Saira came over with Bradley, and together they lowered the matriarch into the ground. On Trak's advice, Lee gave Saira the new skill while two of the anubi planted seeds above the grave.

Then she used her magic to grow the seeds into seedlings.

It was surprisingly little growth compared to what Lee had seen of her magic before... but she knew better than him. Maybe it was something to do with growing potion ingredients? The new plants were more mana-dense than the food crops...

Lee escaped as soon as he could and fled to his new workroom, only stopping long enough to pick up some new armor pieces from May. She'd forged them from the resource lair metal, and Lee could feel the difference immediately. It was perfect for his plan.

A plan he worked on until Alejandro came knocking sometime later.

The elevator room door opened as easily as his apartment and with only a thought. "Alejandro, I think..."

"You know how hard it was to find you?" Alejandro interrupted. He looked and sounded upset... "You even ditched the guys I told to watch over you!"

Lee frowned, but at the bag of cores in the other man's hand. "I thought you were going to wait..."

Alejandro stood for a moment before closing his mouth and coming the rest of the way inside. "This wasn't the E-grades, and I'm sorry for shouting. It's just... ever since Trak told us about the whole..." He shut the door and whispered, "The legendary thing... I can feel it when I look at you. I mean, I always felt it, but now that I know what the feeling means!"

"I'm inside Three. I couldn't be safer."

"I couldn't find you and thought you'd left..." His eyes were roving over the mess of metal plates and armor pieces as he spoke.

Lee jumped into the lull. "I've got something for you! Check this out." He pulled out a plate of metal from the pile and held it between his hands. "Here, hit it!"

Alejandro gave it a light tap.

"No, hit it as hard as you can!"

Alejandro shrugged and punched it.

The plate didn't budge, and Lee grinned. "No more getting smacked down the tunnel by those earth golems! Speaking of which... May needs all the metal we can get from that place so she can make the armor."

"I've got teams clearing it every eight hours, and they are going to love..."

"No," Lee interrupted. "The first set is for you! You can decide who gets it after you, but you have to take the first one. I'll tell Maria if you don't..."

Alejandro smiled. "Thank's, Lee. I love it. So... how'd you make it do that?"

It was Lee's turn to smile. "This part of the symbol here? Well, it absorbs kinetic energy and converts it to mana, which helps recharge the whole rune. It's not enough to keep it going forever, but it will make the rune last longer than it would otherwise! I wanted to make something to help with the impacts, but even this metal can only hold so much. So I figured out how to convert the energy to make it last longer!"

Alejandro was still smiling when Lee realized he was rambling gibberish the other man wouldn’t understand, and he trailed off. "Um, let's go see if May finished with the rest. I might have promised her one of the E-grade cores..."

"It's all good, Lee. I was going to give most of them to you any..."

"You shouldn't," Lee cut him off. "Use them for our fighters! Whoever you think deserves it most. It won't make much difference to what I'm doing here if I get to E-grade. Better to make us all stronger instead."

"Isn't that what you're doing with the runes?"

"That's the plan, but the materials I have to work with matter more right now. Plus, whatever new runes I can come up with..."

May was finished with a bunch of armor made using the new metal, and Lee took it to the leather worker himself to get everything ready. The woman he'd kicked out of his spot. Valerie.

Lee realized Bradley must have been through the garage while he was working because she had a nice enclosed area with barely any light. He fixed that with a light rune. Along with more runes to enchant the walls. Alejandro even helped after the fact by hitting them with his sword to show her their toughness.

"Thanks," Valerie said, while looking intently at the leather in her hands. "Sorry about earlier... I shouldn't have been freaking out like that..."

"Don't worry about it," Lee said quickly, with thoughts of his own recent freakout still fresh in his mind. "You're safe in here, and... well, I'm going to enchant the rest of the buildings in the fort."

It was something he should have done sooner. Ideally, before the flies. But he just didn't have the mana pool for it without the Well. Thank's to May's new metal, he could now make enough mana batteries to get the job done. Though he'd need Bradley to fix the holes first.

He'd do that later. Now it was time to make Alejandro into a juggernaut.

Together, they all worked to enclose the man in his new armor. Valerie added the leather that would hold everything together. Alejandro moved in and out of different positions. Meanwhile, Lee watched.

Watched with his eyes and Mana Mind. He occasionally placed or withdrew runes as the armor came together. Watching intently the whole time.

Lee removed all the runes when they finished, then closed his eyes and placed both hands on the man. One on his helmet and the other on his breastplate. He pulled on the mana from Three, and let it fill him. Let it fill his mind to overflowing. Then he fed it into his Mana Mind and pushed Alejandro's aura inward.

It was something he should have figured out sooner. His mind consumed mana, and it could consume a lot more if he let it.

The process was slow, not that it necessarily had to be, but Lee felt it warranted some caution when doing something involving his brain.

Mana Mind saw the armor. Saw beneath it to the man's clothing. His skin. Then under the skin. Down into the flows of mana that permeated his body. Lee pushed harder, mana roaring through his mind as he finally saw Alejandro's core nestled just below his heart.

Lee took it all in. The way Alejandro's mana moved. The colors and aspects. How it all worked together.

Then he started drawing the rune. Slowly. His mind focused to a razor's edge as he envisioned what he wanted from the rune.

He watched the fluctuations from both the metal and Alejandro's own mana responding to the rune. He made minute corrections throughout the process. Adjusting either the lines or his own intention on the fly.

The rune blossomed into an increasingly complex shape over the breastplate. Then that one stopped growing, and a new one appeared under his hand on the helmet. Lee let that piece grow before he moved his hands, bright lines of mana arcing from fingertip to metal as he touched each piece in turn, adding to the pattern with each step.

It ended without any visible fanfare. The glow subsiding from his hands and the armor as one.

But Lee smiled.

+1 Intelligence

Skill Level Up: Mana Mind

You have created a Soul-Bound Rune: Alejandro's Bulwark

Skill Level Up: Artistic Rune Shaping

Class Level Up: Runic

Class: Runic has reached the Threshold of Level 25

No Class Evolutions Available. Ranking Runic up to Level 25 (Intermediate)

For reaching (Intermediate) rank in your class, you may choose a new Class Skill.

Alejandro and Valerie were both staring with wide eyes when he recovered. Or at least Valerie was. He couldn't see Alejandro's eyes through the vision slit in the helmet. Lee thought he understood what had happened, but he asked just in case. "Did you get a notification about a soul bound rune?"

"I did," Alejandro said after opening the helmet's visor. "It says the armor won't work as well for anyone else."

Lee beamed. "It worked! Just don't let the runes drain too much and you will be untouchable. You could tank that... explosion..." He shivered, but forced himself to smile. "I can do the same for everyone... I just need to... well, get to know them a little?"

He was only trying to make the whole thing link up and work together. Similarly to what he'd done on his skeleton... He'd succeeded, and with better results than expected. Which he suspected was from his familiarity with Alejandro. He knew so much about the man. Knew what drove him. Or thought he did. Regardless, he liked the new effect. "I don't think anyone else can remove your armor... at least not without your permission... I think."

When dealing with runes and the soul intent in them, it wasn't always clear cut exactly what they would do. On that note... "I think I can enchant people's bones now... if they want it. But I still don't know if there might be side effects... and you shouldn't need it with this armor..."

"Thank you." Alejandro mercifully didn't try to hug him in the full armor, only rested a hand on his shoulder. "This is fantastic, and you should make yourself one next."

"I don't need it," Lee said. "Plus, I probably won't go outside much..."

"Then I suggest you start with getting to know your bodyguards. Noel and Amy. Also, try not to ditch them. Especially if you go outside."

Lee nodded reluctantly, the two presences plainly visible in his Mana Mind outside the room. He didn't think there was a point in bodyguards, not inside Three. But if he went outside, having some guards wasn't unreasonable. "Sure."

"I want a set of armor," Valerie said quietly, her eyes on Alejandro.

"I can make that happen," Lee said. "But you would need to fight the monsters. Is that something you want to do?"

She wilted and shook her head. "I... I can't."

"Combat isn't for everyone," Alejandro said. "But you play an equally vital role in our defense. Your work helps make all of us safer, just like Lee. Be proud of that!"

"Thanks," Valerie said, looking down with a small smile. "I appreciate you saying that."

"You are safe in here," Alejandro said to her. "If you'd like, I can set up guard escorts for any time you need to go outside?"

Valerie nodded quickly. "I... would like that... thanks."

Alejandro's smile looked as earnest as ever, despite his armored appearance. "I'll set it up. Now, any other surprises, Lee? Or can I go hunt some E-grades?"

"That's it for now," Lee said. "I have a lot of ideas, but some kinks to work out before I can make any of them viable. Figured the swords are good enough for now, and defense was more important... Oh, and May should be done with your new shield by now, but that will be easy to enchant."

It was ready, and it was easy to stick the same rune onto the sheet of metal. The armor was only difficult because he needed the rune to spread to every piece without requiring dozens of separate runes that the smaller pieces couldn't handle.

Then Alejandro left, and Lee went back to his workshop. It was time to get back to work while someone else went to fight E-grades without him. He'll be fine, Lee told himself. He can't lose with that armor...

Lee didn't like it. He didn't like the feeling that he was hiding while someone else faced danger in his place. But he also felt that this was where he belonged. Going out there to fight could make a significant difference, especially for E-grades, which had to be a serious threat. But he needed to think bigger. If he could make dozens or hundreds of people as capable as himself...

He could do it. He knew it was possible. It would just take time. In the meantime, he had something to take his mind off Alejandro's dangerous hunt.

It was time to pick a new class skill.