For the next part of my plan, I concentrated on my casting of Stone Spike. Picking the spot perpendicular to the tall spikes, I began to create makeshift beams that ran the entire top length. With the broken top section, the pointed end was able to rest on the next cut off spikes, essentially forming columns. I repeated this for the entire wall then took a step back to marvel at what I'd managed. It wasn't anywhere close to smooth, but the gaps were now much more reduced and there were horizontal lengths of stone bracing the top of the wall as opposed to jagged tips.

"I hope Sam can coat this until we can find some clay..." I mumbled to myself as I paced out the space inside the half circle. While I was debating how close together to place the support columns, two gunshots pulled my attention. I checked in the direction of the Bunker entrance, but all I saw was Ben rushing out, gun in hand.

"What happened?" he asked, eyes scanning around.

"One of the others must have engaged a creature. Let's go!" I said, snatching the pickaxe as I went. With my increased Attributes, Ben struggled to keep up. Seeing himself lagging behind, the man urged me on so I put on the speed. Making full use of my new Mobility, I reached the treeline where a blaze was picking up. Danny!

A moment later I was at the edge of the flames. Sure enough, the flame mage was lobbing fist sized projectiles at some of the giant ants we'd encountered before. While they looked to knock back the three giant ants trying to surround my friend, they weren't doing a whole lot of damage. Not only that, from the coloration on Daniela's face, I knew her magic was extracting its toll on her body.

Bracing for the pain, I aimed a Stone Spike at each of the ants. When the three casts released, the gut wrench brought me down to a knee, but the spikes found their mark. One pierced one of the ants right at the thorax joint, cleaving it in half. The other two were impaled. My friend didn't miss the opportunity to let loose with another fireball that hammered one of the ants down into my spike hard enough to punch through the other side of the chitin.

A double tap of gunfire told me Ben had arrived, and the man quickly dispatched the last giant ant. The newbie’s itchy trigger finger finally getting some use. A sweating Danny rushed around the space where the fires were starting to crank out and held her hand out to the flames. They flared for a second before leaving a smoldering, blacked bark on the trees. The branches and grass along the ground burned up into ash.

The woman took a breath, walking over to Ben and me. A red blur practically screamed at my senses and I erected another Stone Spike next to my friend. Without waiting to see what had lunged at Daniela, I brought my pickaxe down in a vicious blow. The pointed end of the pick punched clear through the ant's head and its information appeared in my implant a second before it died.

The ant in question was about half the height of the giant ones, but much longer. The mandibles clacked one last time around my stone spike, showing their jagged chitin points, before the creature slumped. My pick came away with a wet squelch before the ant started to crystalize. Ben panted beside me, and Daniela gave me a grateful shoulder pat as she plopped to the ground.

"This can't be good," I said, shaking off the rush of absorbed Pith.

"No, I don't think so either. I'd eat my boot if the ants weren't scouting us out, maybe even weighing our strength." Daniela checked her pistol before holstering it. With the numbers advantage, Daniela had been forced on the defensive. The weakened effects of her flame attack against the fire ants was a concern. The smaller rat sized ones at Quotient 0 seemed to die from the concussive force, but the bigger ones were more able to shrug off the effects.

"You guys have a nest nearby?" Ben finally asked.

"That would be my guess. Or at the very least, one of their food lines runs close this way," Danny answered. "You two got any water?"

When the two of us shook our head, she wobbled to her feet. "I'm gonna go grab some before I get a heat stroke. Just in case Ben goes boneless on you Ron, try to brace him. He pegged that one real good and its gonna be a doozy for a Quotient 0 to absorb." The woman pointed over her shoulder as she stumbled back towards the Bunker camp.

"What does she mean 'boneless' and 'absorb'?" our teacher asked, his usual confident air wavering under the onslaught of new things.

"Just try to relax, Ben. Touch the last ant and you will gain its Pith. That would be essentially its power. That will Attune you to mana, which is what the Entity mentioned before. The process can be... a bit rough. It will pass and you will be stronger for it, don't worry."

"When people say not to worry about something, the only logical thing to do is to worry, Ronan," the man said flatly.

"Fair enough." I chuckled. "But you aren't getting away from it. As soon as I touch it, the Pith will leave it and split into all who had a hand in the creature's death. Proportionally, as far as I can tell."

"Ahh crap... What the hell!" Ben slapped the top of the giant ant who's brains he'd splattered. We watched as the creature turned to crystal then shattered into floating particles. The fragments split almost evenly in three, the one that pushed into Ben's chest a tad thicker. I remembered how my body had reacted, and held on to my old teacher as his body snapped straight, then went slack. Setting him down gently was a task even with my improved strength. Once I made sure the bulky man was still breathing, I looted the rest of the bodies.

Further influxes of Pith made their way into me and towards the camp where I assumed Danny was hanging out. In place of the large ant corpses were more chitinous plates and blobs of smoldering coals. The Lance Ant, however, had dropped both of its mandibles. Without anywhere to really put the carapace, I dropped it next to Ben and kept watch. While the man did whatever happened while your body became attuned, I practiced swinging my pickaxe smoothly.

It was an unwieldy weapon, but I knew that if push came to shove it could work as a club. It was basically just a club with one pointy and one flatter end. On my third successful strike against a tree, I noticed how my increased Perception was helping me keep the tool directed at my target. I wouldn't call it precognition, but my eyes were just able to track where the pick head would hit if I concentrated hard enough. Such insight allowed me to twist my grip and get the head to hit exactly where I wanted it to strike.

At some point during my impromptu training, Ben started to stir. I wiped the sweat off my head and leaned against a nearby tree. Since I was taking a break, I made sure to take in the sights and smells of the forest around me. As dangerous as the surface was proving, it was worthwhile to be grateful for the opportunity to even be here.

Sure enough, a few minutes later the older man woke up screaming bloody murder. When he realized it was just me and him, plus he wasn't actually feeling like a sack of abused potato chips anymore, he calmed. "That's not something I ever want to repeat. Please tell me that isn't common, Ronan."

"Not as far as I know. It's only ever happened to us while we attuned, every other time we absorb Pith its painless. How's the old body?"

"I feel... great. Even better than when the Crystal took that stuff out of me."

"Check over your Status, is there anything different?" I asked, gesturing to the loot and starting to make our way back to the camp.

Ben was quiet while he mechanically hoisted some of the chitin plates and I grabbed the rest with the mandibles. I let the man take his time with coming to terms with his new body. He finally snapped out of it when I went to check on Danny and he saw what she was up to.

The brunette was inside the Bunker's lobby arranging some of the goods she'd brought up with her. Something of what she was doing positively appalled the man in charge of the Bunker's storage, because he immediately started correcting her. Something about ease of access and proper categorization in anticipation, he said.

"Before you get too caught up, I think we should purge the Dreg we all got. Maybe I can have a little chat with the Entity."

"Sounds good. Apparently Sam had to get rid of another of those air squirrels that was attacking his crops. Him and I already got rid of ours so hopefully you two can pitch that sparkly rock to answer more questions," Danny said, setting down what she was arranging so as to not agitate our old teacher more.

Ben and I walked to the crystal's immediate vicinity and the static in the air returned. A moment later, the light within the crystal flared and stabilized. "Dreg? And no one is dying? I am shocked, Ronan. It also appears you got dear Benjamin here his Attunement. Congratulations on your new allegiance to the Dreg Warriors Mr. Burks."

"He's really talkative for someone that doesn't talk much," Ben said while crossing his arms.

"As I've explained to Ronan, it takes energy to speak with you all. Energy I do not always have the capacity to spend. However, thanks to this latest influx my lattice mass is sufficient that we can hold this conversation. I will keep it brief, since I am sure you will want to unlock new Skills before I have to return to being dormant."

At the mention of new Skills, my mind sputtered. More magic? I obviously knew that all of us had Skills available to unlock, however I hadn’t pieced together that it was the Entity who was granting them. Was it finally time? Before I had the chance to ask that, Ben brought up his own question.

"Why don't I have these 'Skills' and 'Mana' that you gave to the kids?"

"That is simple enough to answer. You were born before mana permeated every inch of this planet. As a result, you do not have your own internal mana to draw from and replenish. This is what allows me to impart the spell chains onto Ronan, Daniela and Samuel, the 'Skills' you are referring to."

"So what, I'm going to be a regular human here while they go off blasting magic left and right?" Ben asked, and I could see the furrows on his bald head. I could understand that frustration. While I hadn't had access to magic for long, if it was taken away and I saw someone utilizing it I would feel inferior to them. Even if I knew Ben would be imperative to returning to the surface, magic or not, the man didn't seem to see it that way. "I didn't come to the surface to be relegated to some safe corner somewhere."

"While you will not be 'blasting magic'," I could practically hear the air quotes in the Entity's tone. "Your rise in Quotient will also net you a longer life and better physical abilities. Not only that, but your Refinement and Containment Attributes don't deal with your mana pool, but instead with empowering your body and whatever Traits you form. Spell chains are only one way in which mana takes form, Benjamin."

It was obvious Ben had something more to ask, but he didn't say anything else. Taking that opening, I prepared to ask two of my most pertinent questions. "Why do some of the things we fight disintegrate but trees and the like don't? Also, what are these things?" I asked, holding up one of the smoldering blobs we'd acquired from the ant attack.

"That one is a tad more... complicated. I will answer the second and hopefully the first as a result." I saw the light in the Crystal dim slightly. "Look at it again. A shortcoming in my system programming I will admit."

When I focused on the blob in my hand, information flitted in my vision from the implant.

"Okay, so these things are Infusions?" I asked. Ben had moved around to look at the smoldering blob in my hand.

"That is what it would translate to, roughly. This is because you are able to infuse the Pith remaining into objects." The Entity paused for a moment as if deliberating on what to say. The flickering brightness of the light inside a clear indicator of when it was thinking. As much as artificial intelligences think anyway... "Enough of them should also allow you to fuse objects together, so long as you have the mana to manipulate the process."

"Before I bisect that bit of news, I thought that what we didn't absorb from the creatures got turned to Dreg within us," I asked, recalling our previous discussions. I did my best to keep my frustration out of my voice. The sporadic access to the Entity was aggravating at best and dangerous at the worst. We could only hope his field would keep us protected from the stronger creatures, so I couldn't get too angry at it.

"This is true. However, there is Pith within the creature's body. The energy and essence of the creature is also stored in its matter. When it dissociates, you receive it in four parts. An item, your Pith and Dreg, and finally the Infusion. The stronger the creature, the more of each you will receive as the energy is more densely stored."

"Okay, not many details there but I can live with that. What about the dissociation?"

"You will need to shield your mana when interacting with the creature in question. And," The Entity raised its voice as it anticipated my question. "I will provide you a memory package for that. It will also include how to use Infusions, at least in the simplest of ways. There are many ways that not even I am aware of, not to mention the combinations of Infusions beyond that.

"As for the dissociation. When you interact with Pith, it seeks to be drawn. Just like your concept of energy, it isn't created or destroyed, but merely transformed. By shielding it before it can dissociate, you essentially lock the Pith in place. This will make it so that you do not receive any of the four manifestations, lest you consume its matter."

"While I don't have any context, I think I get it," Ben interjected. "We either get the concentrated drops and energy, or the whole body. Right?"

"You are correct, Benjamin. The term 'concentrated drops' is also a good way of describing the item and Infusion. The entire composition of the creature is condensed into those two, which makes the item much stronger than if it was simply harvested from the body. Not to mention there is no other way for you to acquire Infusions."

"Good to know those Fire Ant chitin bits will have a use. However, why don't we absorb some things? We don't know how to shield things yet," I said, bringing it back to my original question.

"This is where it gets complicated. Things live their lives saturated by mana. This you know and have experienced personally when you drew from the atmospheric mana actively." I winced at the memory. "Organisms may or may not Attune. This can be as a result of a list of factors as long as the catalysts for complex life in the universe. One line of reasoning is that the more complex and ancient an organism is, the more likely it will Attune to a type of mana. This is further complicated because organisms that are both complex and ancient, such as trees, do not directly contribute to the death of creatures. Which is a catalyst for Attunement, as Benjamin can attest."

As clear as the Entity had made the explanation, it had too many open ends. The main thing I could pull from the whole thing was that bigger things are more likely to Attune. This would in turn make them creatures of mana and then leave them to have their Pith absorbed upon death. About as imperfect as all the other information we've been operating with here on the surface. With that thought, I decided to contact Sam and Danny.

I opened the connection between us using the implant. A beep of whitenoise rung in my ears for a moment before I heard Danny's voice.

"What do you want, Ronan? I am trying to hydrate and deal with twenty thousand tiny pieces of ant shells, while you and Ben stand around talking to rocks."

"Those would be carapaces, Danny. Ant's don't have shells," Sam interrupted.

"Don't get smart with me, Samuel, I know where you live."

"We live in the same place, Danny."

"Why I'll--"

"Hey, guys. Just... come to the Crystal. It said we might be able to get another Skill," I said, cutting off the tirade that I knew would be coming from Daniela. When she wasn't being extremely cooperative, she was usually busting everyone's chops for no real reason. I don't think I was done with my message when Daniela burst out of the lobby.

"Shiny dude, you owe me two Skills," she said, pointing accusingly at the Entity.

"I'll be right up, Ron. Keep her from burning down the camp, yes?"

While I had been listening to Sam, my other friend had proceeded to talk up a storm. Ben had even taken a few steps back just to whisper in my ear. "Has she always been this... jumpy?"

"I think not having her mom here to keep her in line has let her blow up more often. Plus, she has the space to be loud out here. You scream in the Bunker and half of it knows about it."

"I can hear you two perfectly fine. What, just because I am demanding what I was told was mine I am causing a scene?" The woman crossed her arms and huffed in indignation. I could have sworn I saw a puff of flame extinguish itself under her armpits.

"There are only three of us here, Danny. You don't need to get so up in arms about it," I said. Ben made the smart decision of staying silent through the engagement. As much as he was our elder and we respected his opinion, Danny barely cared about that outside of with her parents.

"I would like to pose that I, too, be counted as present." We all turned to the forgotten Entity. "Thanks to you all, emotions are a thing I am having to contend with. If I were to warrant a guess, I am feeling somewhat offended by this whole exchange."

"Maybe you should join the conversations more often, buddy," Daniela shot back.

"As I have already explained to Ronan and you, if you wish for your Skills and Status to function properly, I need to conserve energy." There was a hint of anger in the Entity's tone. That bit is definitely from Danny. Oh boy... "Would you like me to drop the protective field keeping the creatures of the forest away? Or maybe take your away?"

Thankfully, before Daniela could escalate the situation further, Sam arrived. "What did I miss?"

"Let's not talk about that now. The Entity said it should have sufficient energy to allow us to pick another Skill. That won't put you in a precarious position, right?" I said, quickly changing the topic.

"That is correct. For your understanding, and so that we are crystal clear on what I am doing here, purging Dreg allows me to build mass. The more mass, the larger my mana pool and regeneration. Once I reach the next Categorical size my ability to process information and tasks will increase exponentially. Due to the way our minds are structured, I don't even know what I will be capable of doing until I reach that point."

"Do you have any recommendations for us?" Sam asked.

"Well, based on the information I have about combat engagements in your 'video games', I would say that you three are filling very specific roles," the Entity answered. "Your attunements are also linked to why you play those roles so well, but the science behind Attunements is complicated. Ronan and Benjamin can tell you two more about that."

"Wait, you three have been basing all of this Implant stuff and your abilities on video games?" our old teacher said, flabbergasted.

"Has been working pretty well so far. Plus, how else would you explain all of this madness but with magic?" I said, meeting the man's eyes.

"That...damn. That's a good point. Carry on, I'll just stay an old man in the back." His frown and the actual step back he took elicited a chuckle from all of us. The lingering tension lifted instantly. I noticed a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth, but he kept a frown on his face. Crafty Teach, you did that on purpose.

"Right, so, roles. I can take a guess. I'm some kind of support, while Danny and Ronan are damage dealers," Sam said.

"Close. As damaging as Ronan's Skill is, I believe he is acting as the group's tank. From what I have observed, he has used his Direct Offensive Skill for defensive and utilitarian purposes more than to actually deal damage."

"Hmm, I guess you are right," I said, suddenly looking back on our fights in a new light. "What are you suggesting?"

"I believe that Samuel would benefit from a Direct Defensive Skill, Ronan would benefit from a Materialize Defensive Skill and Daniela would benefit from a Materialize Offensive Skill."

"Don't you pick what Skill we get under the different categories?" Daniela asked.

"Not exactly. While I have the knowledge of the links in your spell chains, the magic manifests differently for each of you. Your body picks which of the ones I give you knowledge of fits you best, so to speak."

"Well, might as well get it over with. We gonna be out the whole night again? If that's the case, I'd like to grab some dinner before going through this whole song and dance."

"The process should only last a few minutes. That last time I was configuring the reprogrammed interface for your Implants and compiling information to transfer to your brains. I think the time investment was warranted." Danny lifted her arms up in a sign of surrender.

"Wait. Could you expand your field of influence?" I asked. Considering the main threat we'd encountered were the Fire Ants, I wondered if it was possible to keep them from even running into the camp at all with the help of the Entity.

"That will require more mana regeneration than I have at my disposal. Most of it is currently spread out around your camp already," the light within the crystal bobbed in response. I wanted to ask more questions, but I knew unlocking Skills would be more valuable than spending time speculating about the Entity's behavior and limits. We'd gotten so far on trust, there was no sense doubting its capabilities.

"You guys go ahead, I'll give Ben a more detailed run down of the Status and our Skills." I put my arms on my friend's shoulders and nudged them forward gently.

"I'd like to know why you look paler than when you lived in the Bunker. There shouldn't be any lack of sun in Florida. At least that hasn't been changed by the apocalypse," Ben said, pointing to the most obvious feature of my Limestone Skin.

"That's a bit of a long story." I pulled Ben a little ways from the Crystal. "You see, Anthony wasn't really being cooperative..."