***

While Ace ate his fill, Ford examined the monster cores. They were black with stripes of brown swirling within. Ford shoveled the thirty cores into her void with the rest of her cores. Ace finished eating quickly, and they all returned to the wagon, arriving within twenty minutes.

“We’re back at the wagon,” Ford said over comms, “head back when you’re ready.”

“Heard. We’ll be back after we finish our monster,” Farah answered.

“Same here,” Benet said a moment after.

Ford nodded and opened up her core inventory. She saw Max’s Torus core, which she got from the first dungeon, and killing the boss. “Hey, Max. Are you going to use the Torus core from the first dungeon?” Ford asked.

Max thought momentarily, “No, I need something with more ground aspects.”

“Mind if I use it?” Ford asked.

“No. Go ahead.”

Ford smiled and pulled out the massive core. Summoning her grimoire, which now looked different, she’ll examine it later. She placed the core on her grimoire, and it began to melt into it, filling the area with a horrible stench that smelled of pneumonia. After a minute, the core finished melting, and a notification appeared.

Grimoire Level Progression 100/100.

Progression from Antarctictite to Phosphophyllite complete.

Grimoire Level Progression at 0/100.

Skills have been upgraded.

Skill: Regeneration. Regenerate HP, bones, and limbs. Will not regenerate head. 12 HP/sec. Cost: 10 HP/limb. Time: instant. Level: 5/5.

Has changed to –

Skill: Regeneration. Regenerate HP, bones, and limbs. Will not regenerate head. 20 HP/sec. Cost: 5 HP/limb. Time: instant. Level: 5/5.

Skill: Embracing Pain. While injured strength is multiplied by five. Requirements: END: 50. Duration: 10 seconds. Level: 5/5.

Has changed to –

Skill: Embracing Pain. While injured, receive a x8 increase in Strength and a x2 increase in Endurance. Requirements: END: 50. Duration: 10 seconds. Level: 5/5.

Skill: Essence Enforcement. Send essence through your body to create a protective shield and increase Strength by times three. Requirements: INT: 25, END: 30, STR: 30, Skill: Essence Manipulation. Cost: 100 MN/essence, 50 MN/sec, 1 STM/1 KG of defense. 100 STM and 100 MN to recharge. Level: 5/5.

Has changed to –

Skill: Essence Enforcement. Send essence through your body to create a protective shield and increase Strength by x5, Endurance by x2. Requirements: INT: 25, END: 30, STR: 30, Skill: Essence Manipulation. Cost: 100 MN/essence, 50 MN/sec, 1 STM/1 KG of defense. 100 STM and 100 MN to recharge. Level: 5/5.

Skill: Berserkers Rage. Increase strength by x10. Increase Endurance by +100. Increase speed by x5. 200 HP/sec regeneration. Spells cost nothing while Berserkers Rage is in effect. Duration: 60 seconds. Requirements: END: 60, STR: 50, AGI: 40. Cost: 99% HP, 99% MN, 99% STM. Level: 1/1. Warning: HP, MN, and STM will not regenerate for ten minutes after activation.

Has changed to –

Skill: Berserkers Rage. Increase strength by x15. Increase Endurance by +150. Increase Agility by x10. 250 HP/sec regeneration. Spells cost nothing while Berserkers Rage is in effect. Duration: 60 seconds. Requirements: END: 60, STR: 50, AGI: 40. Cost: 99% HP, 99% MN, 99% STM. Level: 1/1. Warning: HP, MN, and STM will not regenerate for ten minutes after activation.

Skill: Hard-Shell. Harden your skin till it’s stronger than tungsten steel. Duration: lasts until the user dispels the skill. Requirements: STR: 50, END: 50, Blood essence. Cost: 200 STM/sec. Level: 5/5.

Has changed to –

Skill: Hard-Shell. Harden your skin till it’s stronger than tungsten steel. Duration: lasts until the user dispels the skill. Requirements: STR: 50, END: 50, Blood essence. Cost: 100 STM/sec. Level: 5/5.

Ford smiled at the changes to the skills, noticing all the little changes that benefited her. She then examined her grimoire. It now had a Fox with wings curled up in a ball with a pair of crossed battle axes behind it, and it shone with a light blue glow. Ford ran her hands over her grimoire, and Ee sauntered over to examine the grimoire as well.

She abruptly pulled it from Ford’s hands and examined it, ignoring Ford’s look of bewilderment and annoyance. Ee then tossed it back to her, “You’re going to want to get even more specific with the cores you want in your grimoire. The further you progress, the more changes there will be to your skills and abilities.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Ford grumbled. She then settled in the back of the wagon, crossing her arms. She relaxed her body, and exhaustion overwhelmed her as she fell asleep.

***

“Oooh, new upgrades to her skills!” Tanashi exclaimed excitedly. “This will make things so much more exciting!”

Samael sipped a glass of the experimental drink Zee made. “This is some good alcohol. What did you call it again?” Samael asked, ignoring Tanashi.

“It’s called mead,” Zee answered.

Shurma chugged at a tankard of mead. Once she stopped for a breath, she raised it in Zee’s direction, “It’s good, but I don’t think I can get drunk off it.”

Zee shrugged, “Still in the prototype phase. So it’s to be expected. I’ll have to make some adjustments soon.”

“Agreed,” Samael said, raising her glass and drinking it.

Tanashi’s eye twitched, annoyed at the conversation that didn’t have anything to do with him or the game, and he shifted through his cards to see what he had. Then he smiled at one of his newer cards. “Oh, this is going to be fun,” he mumbled as he lovingly pet the card in his hand and turned his attention back to the screen in front of him.

***