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With much of the day still before him, Myles did what he did worst outside of cooking for his friends and family.

He began multitasking.

Over the span of twenty minutes, Myles paced and began listing off things, double-checking them with Ashra, and re-listing other ideas until he had a function list of things he had to take care of, so he didn’t forget anything too important.

“Ashra,” he began, continuing to pace around the room. He’d expected his legs to work again once he could walk in the astral, but that didn’t seem to be the case. His legs were still unresponsive without his Squishy’s help. Strangely, he could feel them getting tense and stiff, so he figured that moving with the help of Squishy couldn’t hurt things. “Can you read things back to me?”

Ashra nodded, looking at the scratches on the paper she’d created. “Feed the new slime once it is born.”

Myles sighed. With only three cores left, he had to be careful not to lose this one. “Right.”

She nodded. “Feed it a blend of healing and mana potions.”

“Right.”

“Test the Ring of the Legion Commander to have the others come to your home.”

Myles grinned, fingering the polished black ring on his finger he’d gained the other day in the raid against Shardking.

Ring of the Legion Commander

Value: Unknown

Accessory - Ring (Rare)

Description: A ring carved from a resonating black crystal.

Detail: The Ring of the Legion Commander was a commissioned item by the Adventurer’s Guild of Kess for field commanders during a time of war. This enchanted item allows messages to be sent across long distances to anyone designated within a registered list of recipients at the cost of one SE per message sent.

Primary Effect: Send messages by focusing Soul Energy into the ring followed by a short recording after the chime.

Secondary Effect: Shake hands with an individual and speak their name to register them as a recipient for messages.

He wasn’t going to forget about his magic items again. Work smarter, not harder had to become his new motto.

“Already done,” he said simply. “If they got it, they should be here within the hour.”

Ashra nodded again. “Begin courting Kendra properly with a proper duel followed by offering her a large dinner.”

Myles nearly tripped, only being stopped as Squishy extended tendrils of steel to hold him upright. “What?”

“You began courting her days ago,” Ashra began simply. “You should have at least fought one another by now to establish roles.”

Myles sighed. “That isn’t how humans court, Ashra.”

“Relationships are a battlefield, Myles. A mistake ends with pain if it is not established on the proper grounds. Why beat around the bush when you can put your life in their hands?”

“We will go for drinks and dinner,” Myles explained.

“You can after.”

Myles’s hand found its way to his forehead and wiped down as he thought of the best way to explain things. “No fighting.”

“Sparring then.”

“No sparring.”

“It would be…”

“No sparring,” Myles pushed. “What else did we have?”

Ashra didn’t push the issue and continued reading. “Use your remaining Skill stones, and have your group do the same.”

Myles nodded, considering his plans. “And test their magic items.” The Monsterkin nodded. “Wasn’t there something else?”

Ashra hesitated. A surprised look from Myles explained why quickly enough. “Begin testing the golem core received from the Broken King.”

Myles opened his inventory, examining the most precious item he felt he was ever going to get.

Core of the Broken King

Legendary Golem Core

Value: Priceless

Elemental Alignment- Stone/Energy/Manufacture

Description: The unique core of the floor guardian, The Broken King

Detail: A square crystal with intricate runes carved in a near-endless string to contain the magical density of untold destruction.

When properly slotted into a golem as its core, the golem is imbued with the power of the Broken King. Abilities will vary based on the golem type.

The power of Shardking at his beck and call…

The thought was tempting, but that kind of power was something kingdoms fought over. Something he wanted nothing to do with when he left the Run. He considered gifting it to Silpha, but good sense stopped him. He needed every advantage he could get to survive, and if he could figure out how to make dough golems. Well, that advantage would write itself.

The idea was tucked away as Myles took out the two epic grade Skill stones. They weren’t his first, and wouldn’t be his last, but they were powerful. He could feel it without the weight they put on his soul. They seemed to draw in the light and amplify it, making the home brighter as their glimmering silver cuts accentuated their near-perfect circles. More pearls with facets than gemstones, the epic grade Skill stones didn’t hesitate to show Myles all of his fun new options.

Compatible Skills and Traits for Advancement:

Keen Eye

Item Lore

Resourceful

Stasis Gem Creation (Locked until a Path is chosen - Path of Fusion)

Information has been minimized until a selection has been made due to the mental processing load.

Keen Eye => Sight Beyond Sight

Requirement 1: Identify over fifty targets from a sizable distance.

Requirement 2: Mana Channels

Requirement 3: At least twenty in the Body and Dexterity Attribute

Requirement 4: At least three Lore Skills with two being specialized identifications

Requirement 5: Epic or Above Skill Stone

Evolution Cost: Loss of sight for 12 hours.

Item Lore => Item Encyclopedia

Requirement 1: Identify over twenty unique items with at least one item from each lifestyle.

Requirement 2: Mana Channels

Requirement 3: Rare or Above Skill Stone

Evolution Cost: Loss of ability and access to prior knowledge for 12 hours.

Resourceful => Sagacious

Requirement 1: Use your resourceful Trait to substitute for missing reagents successfully at least fifty times.

Requirement 2: Mana Channels

Requirement 3: A variety of the Deft Hands Skill Line

Requirement 4: Uncommon or Above Skill Stone

Evolution Cost: Loss of ability for 12 hours. Loss of the Deft Hands-related Skills for 12 hours.

Stasis Gem Creation => Stasis Fusion Crystal Creation (Locked until Path of Fusion is selected)

Requirement 1: Have at least four, fusion-compatible monsters

Requirement 2: Perform at least one, level two symbiosis and create a new monster as a result.

Requirement 3: Epic or Above Skill Stone

Evolution Cost 1: All lower-grade Stasis Gems will be shattered unless mana is expended to evolve them.

Evolution Cost 2: You cannot create Stasis Fusion Crystals for 12 hours.

Myles studied the options and reviewed them one by one. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that three of his most used Skills were ready for an early evolution. The more you used a skill, the more experience your soul grew to that particular use, and the stronger it could grow. Regular Skill theory aside, all of them would be a hefty price to pay. To get better sight, he’d lose it. To get more knowledge, he’d have to give it up. To become more resourceful, he’d lose not only the Skill but also Deft Hands. It wasn’t like twelve hours was forever, but it was important to not do something he’d regret.

Then, there was the [Path of Fusion] again. He’d seen the Path twice now, but there still wasn’t any new information about it in his interface. Maybe he’d have to ask Sindra about it later since she had access to all the past Run’s records.

Myles wanted to use all the stones to evolve his Skills right there and then, but with only one requiring the epic level stones he had, it felt a waste to go through the other Skills so soon. Sure, they’d be useful, but what else would come along that he’d be able to use them on? In time, they even had a strong possibility of evolving themselves. Besides, he already wasn’t going to be going on the hunt today or tomorrow, so what was the harm in losing his sight for a few hours?

Still, he didn’t want to decide without consulting someone that knew better. With a thought, Myles sent the list to Silpha as a gesture of trust and asked for her advice.

Silpha, any suggestions on Skill evolution?

Normally, Silpha ignored him, preferring to communicate through Ashra lately, and today was no exception. The Monsterkin gave him a look, her eyes narrowing at some unseen entity before speaking.

“Silpha suggests raising your Keen Eyes trait and asks that you not bother her right now.”

Of course, she did, Myles thought to himself.

“Silpha says that yes, she did, and she could do with less sass.”

He really needed to learn to better control his connection with the dungeon core. Since Of One Mind seemed to be one way at the moment, he didn’t like the thought she had that sort of access to his thoughts even when he kept them to himself. Reviewing the information again, Myles sighed. First thing was first, after all.

"Ashra,” Myles began. “Will you be my eyes for the rest of the day?”

Ashra did as she always did. “I will be your hands, eyes, and legs if you ask, but I do not think I could carry more weight than that.”

He smiled. “Now that you mention it, I may need hands too.”

“Then it is good that I have two, but I have a condition.”

“Oh?”

Ashra nodded. “Begin your proper courting once this is done.”

“Ashra…”

Ashra stopped him, holding up one of her hands to interrupt his train of thought.

“I do not want to see you miss out on life, Myles,” Ashra began sternly. “You wanted this, yes?” Myles nodded as Ashra’s hand continue to hand in the air between them. “It has been two days. Any longer would be seen as a slight among my people.”

As Ashra finished, her hand went down, and Myles took that as she was ready to listen.

“Your people determine everything through fighting.”

“Except fighting,” Ashra corrected. Myles could feel his brow raise as she continued. “Fights are determined by guessing numbers.”

He groaned. Either Squishy or his connection to her was having a negative effect on her humor. At least that wasn’t going to be hard. He already had a plan in mind for tomorrow. “Who is on duty tonight?”

“I believe it is the [Paladin] again.”

“Make sure she knows I can’t see her, and if she does something stupid, report her to Sindra for me.”

Ashra smirked. “I will try not to bait her.”

~I will!~

The sudden words from Silpha surprised him, but the connection was closed before it mattered. It gave him hope things would be back to normal soon, so smile on his face, Myles felt as though things weren’t going to get any better than that before selecting the evolution for his Keen Eyes Skill. The other Skills would come when he had weaker stones to use. Sindra did owe him one.

Once he made his selection, Myles felt the stone in his hand dissolve and watched as the magical smoke flowed towards his face. At first, his vision faded like he was walking into a thick fog, but slowly, his vision began to darken until the world was gone.

Skills Lost:

Keen Eyes (Basic)

New Skill Learned:

Sight Beyond Sight (Advanced}

Evolved Skill:

Sight Beyond Sight

Skill Type: Active/Passive - General

Passive Cost: None

Active Cost: Variable Mana

Distance: Clear Sight

Success Determination: Will and Clarity

Passive Effect 1: Your eyes have sharpened. See details normal men and women miss while avoiding the ocular overload that comes with high visual acuity.

Active Effect 1: See what cannot be seen for a variable mana cost. Active magical effects, spirits, and other incorporeal entities are revealed to you.

Mana cost is expended based on the number of active entities in an area.

Mana cost can be reduced by selecting your visual targets once identified.

Active Effect 2: focus on and enhance anything in your visual spectrum for a variable mana cost.

Mana cost is expended based on the distance and clarity of the target.

Active Effect 3: See in the dark for a variable mana cost.

Mana cost is expended based on desired clarity.

***

When his team began to arrive and were greeted by Ashra, the original Ashra, rather than him, a few happy but concerned emotions brushed against his mind, but they were quelled as they came in. As they got comfortable, Myles explained everything about the last few hours.

“So, I get that you got injured in the astral, and I can believe that the second floor is a place that only exists in our dreams,” Kendra began as she ticked down the information. “That all makes sense. What didn’t make sense is that you didn’t think being unable to walk was good enough?” She prodded, poking at his chest with a hand that lacked metal gauntlets. “You had to blind yourself too?

“Temporarily,” Myles said, rubbing at the spot. “I used one of my Skill gems to advance Keen Eyes.”

“You said that,” she replied as Will grunted, sitting down in one of the chairs that creaked softly. “But that doesn’t make it better.”

“It’s only twelve hours. I’ll be fine by morning.”

“You better be.”

“He will,” Will said, breaking into the conversation finally now that he had settled. “Those Skill stones don’t lie.”

“And he has plans for tomorrow,” Ashra added coyly.

Myles blinked, feeling her smug intentions only as the door opened and closed again. A new set of footsteps interrupted as Kendra beat him to the punch. “What plans this time?”

“Courting, Myles,” Ashra nudged him mentally as she spoke. “Now is your chance to strike.”

Myles blinked at the darkness as he turned to where he felt Ashra was standing to address her more directly. You don’t think there are more pressing matters.

“If you do not now, there may be no more chances. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. We must take what we want when we can.”

He hated arguing with Ashra sometimes.

To the Mists with you, Ashra.

Only smugness answered as he was put into the corner. At least he did have a plan.

“Dinner and drinks, at the tavern.”

It wasn’t that she felt surprised at the words, more like she was relieved. “The one run by the Kinkeepers, The Drunk Pathfinder?” He nodded. “Sounds good, Bright Eyes.”

“Can I come?” Lyna piped in.

“No,” Ashra sternly answered for him, to his great surprise.

The entire group’s surprise hit him at once, but Ashra was once again simply radiating a smugness Myles hadn’t felt from her in some time. He was starting to dislike this side of her. Nevertheless, he did have another plan to explain when the rest of them arrived.

***

Tail and Mitchel arrived soon after Lyna tried to convince Myles that Kendra and she were having a topless pillow fight. Something Myles greatly doubted since all Will did was snicker in the darkness of his sight, but the few feathers that hit his face made him worry more for his furniture than anything Will was experiencing. Though, that did spark an intrusive thought.

The sponsors would have loved that.

Nevertheless, Myles explained everything to the group without much interruption. When he finished and showed off the black gem containing the astral creature Nod, the questions began.

“So, when we sleep with that pillow, we go to the second floor?” Will summarized.

Myles nodded. “The item’s name is the Pillow of Lucid Dreaming. So, it could be the pillow, or it could just be when we have intense dreams. Have you used it yet?”

Myles waited for an answer.

“They are shaking their heads no.”

Myles sighed. “I’m blind.”

“Oh right,” came Will’s voice. “We haven’t.”

“I haven’t,” Mitchel confirmed.

“I brought it out,” Lyna said, “but I knocked it off the bed. Long story.”

One Myles wasn’t interested in hearing. “Tail?”

“I considered it, but some magic items don’t work around me due to one of my Traits. I wanted to wait and get it appraised once the excitement died down.”

Which one, Myles could only wonder. His group hadn’t disclosed everything about one another’s abilities yet. He knew most of the common ones for [Berserker] and [Distortion Mage] thanks to his time with Kendra and Will, but the rest were still an unraveling mystery.

“We really need to sit down and talk about our Skills and Traits,” Myles sighed. “We probably should have done this a long time ago.”

“Agreed,” Kendra said. “We have time now, don’t we?”

“That we do,” Myles agreed.