B3 - Chapter 8: Wave Survival
A crude bone bridge stretched into the fog, fading into pale emptiness. The mist still clung thick to the air, but Enya had managed to guide the construct all the way across. At roughly twenty-eight meters out, two massive bone spears jutted from the far end, driving themselves deep into the ground. Anchor points.
She braced her hands on her knees, chest rising and falling. Summon Skeleton was simple enough in theory—any bone used as a catalyst carried an imprint, a memory of its full shape. That was why, even without the knowledge of the demon rat's anatomy, she'd been able to summon one; the catalyst she'd used before had stored its structure. Anatomical knowledge from Sable's books only helped when there was no catalyst at all.
The bridge itself was far from elegant. Half a meter wide, paved from a clutter of massive bones—femurs, tibias, fibulas, humeri—jammed together like mismatched sidewalk stones. Functional, but certainly not pretty.
A sharp ping rang in her mind. A translucent window flickered into view.
Spell: Summon Construct [A] has been obtained.
Description: Form any structure or creation from your mind using a source of bones. The strength and durability of the construct are determined by the caster's stats and skill proficiency. More complex creations require higher mana. Constructs may also be created without a catalyst by paying additional mana.
[Mana cost: Variable]
Her first custom spell. Her first signature spell. And at a rank higher than anything she'd earned before. Another ping followed, a small notation explaining why her soul-energy felt so hollow.
She glanced down.
Soul-Energy: 42/400
"…Oh."
She'd started the day flush with energy, riding high after clearing out slimes in the hunting dungeon back in Talo. Pell had even picked up the insanely cool title of Slime Slayer. Now, she had barely enough to cast a couple of bone spears, or one or two skeletons at most, before running out completely.
It felt bittersweet.
An additional ping rang in her mind. The screen changed.
Quest Complete: Construct your own summon spell circuit.
The following skills have been selected to be offered. Please choose one from the three below:
Passive: Re-Role [B]
Assign a tactical role to a summon—Striker, Guardian, Assassin, Strategist. Each role alters the summon's form, granting structural changes and unique passive effects. Multiple roles can be stored in a construct, allowing for mid-combat swapping by expending additional mana.
[Mana Cost: 50]
Skill: From Death's Core [Passive][C+]
Summons may be imbued with a latent enchantment upon creation. These can trigger on command or automatically upon destruction. Choose between Explosive Core, Wailing Core, or Rebirth Core.
[Mana Cost: 30]
Skill: Spell Stitching [C-]
Forcibly link two compatible spell circuits into a single cast, creating an unstable, altered effect. Requires at least one identical pattern between the two spells. Modifications scale with the number of shared patterns. Spells are not learned, and are only a one-time use.
[Cooldown: 1 hour]
[Mana Cost: Variable]
Enya read through the list, lips curling into a faint, tired smile. Higher tier than last time. And all of these seemed useful.
Pell and Elria drifted closer.
"Hey," Pell said, looking her over. "You alive?"
Enya raised a single trembling thumb. "N–no. Very… very tired." Her free hand dismissed the system window. The choice could wait.
Elria floated into her field of vision, smirking. "So this is what they mean by girls giving mixed signals."
Pell ignored her and stepped in, steadying Enya by the arm. "Since when could you make a bridge out of bone?"
She straightened—or tried to. Her weight leaned heavily into him. Even her bones felt heavy, her mind sluggish. Overuse of soul-energy and her mind, she realized; the same drained, aching fatigue she'd felt after filling the sanctum, only much worse. Perhaps she had overused absolute focus this time a bit too much.
"J–just now," she murmured. "Grimmy helped me make a new spell."
Pell stared. Sweat traced down her temples; her breathing was rough. Her legs trembled with every shift of weight. "Alright," he said, "get on my back. You're two seconds from dropping."
"R–really?" she asked faintly.
His soul flames rolled. "I'm not saying it twice. Do it, or don't."
She managed a thin smile and nodded. Pell crouched, and she eased herself onto him, arms draping over his chest while his skeletal hands hooked under her legs.
"Awwwh~ Look at that," Elria sang. "You're like a bone daddy."
Pell's gaze snapped to her, cold enough to wither crops. "Don't call me that."
Her grin stretched impossibly wide. "Too late. It's in the air now."
Then, with a little spin, she drifted toward the bridge. "Well, I'll see you on the other side! If it collapses, this might be the last time I see you two!" She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "What a shame." And with that, she darted off, vanishing into the fog.
Pell shifted Enya's weight and stepped to the bridge's edge. "You sure this thing's safe? If it breaks, we're done."
"As stable as you or Ted.E. I used Sable's patterns—the strongest bones I could make too," she murmured against his shoulder.
He tested the start with his foot. Solid. No shudder, no give—just a jumble of interlocked bones, with only narrow gaps between. The real problem was the lack of railings; one wrong step and it was straight into the mist.
"Well…" He set his jaw. "Whatever. Let's go."
Pell stepped onto the bridge. The bones gave a faint, brittle groan beneath his shared weight with Enya latched onto him. The sound carried far into the fog. His first few steps were cautious; just a test of the bridge's integrity.
Nothing shifted. Nothing gave.
Inch by inch, he moved further in. Below, the drop was an endless smear of white and gray fog. No ground, no bottom visible. A swirl of endless mystery—but Pell was sure that if they fell, there was definitely something down there to break their fall—to break them.
"Hurry up! Or are you two already dead?" a voice echoed from in front. Elria, the annoying banshee.
They reached halfway without a problem, then eventually, saw the other side.
Two massive bone spears extended from the bridge, wedged straight into the ground. Off to the side, was the lazily, floating ghost with her arms folded.
"Took you long enough," she said. "Was about to start planning your memorial."
"Too bad you'd be the only guest," Pell muttered, stepping off the bridge.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"I'd still give a speech," she replied. "Might even fake a tear."
They moved forward together, the bridge vanishing behind them as the fog swallowed it whole. The ground here felt firmer, but no less strange. The air carried no scent, no hint of life.
Enya let Pell carry her in silence for a while, her mind flicking back to the glowing panel still waiting in her vision. Three choices. Re-Role. From Death's Core. Spell Stitching. All good in their own way, but one stood out.
Spell stitching was basically what she had just done with her spells. Combining them to create a unique, new spell. If she did it once, she could probably do it again. The reward might make it easier, but it was something she was now half-confident in being able to perform now. Especially with Grimmy's help.
From Death's Core was a contender. It allowed her an enchant; the first one she'd been offered from her class at all. Until now, she could engrave the create light circuit, and use soul-energy to reinforce her summon's bones. Soul-forged bones were just bones filled with soul-energy. These weren't really what she imagined by enchantments.
However, she already knew what her choice was going to be. It was the highest ranked spell, and with her extra skill points, she could bring it up to A-rank. Likewise, it seemed pretty similar to From Death's Core, so it didn't feel like a loss, either.
Spell: Re-Role [B] has been obtained.
She didn't have enough mana or soul-energy to test it now, which was unfortunate. The best thing now was to focus on getting the cauldron for Felicity and leave.
"So what exactly are you to her?" Elria asked. "Slave? Dad? Butler? Bone nanny?"
Pell grunted. "You talk too much."
"A father, then."
"I'm not—"
"Chaperone? Bodyguard? Ooh—indentured servant! She looks like a noble, so you must be one, or something similar!"
Pell's voice dropped an octave. "Keep going, and I'll find a way to make you regret being incorporeal."
Enya let the back-and-forth wash over her, a faint smile twitching at her lips despite the heaviness in her limbs.
They walked for what felt like fifteen minutes. The mist pressed closer with every step until even Elria's silhouette blurred just a few meters out. Then the air shifted. It stilled, becoming colder, heavier—the kind of stillness that made the hair on her arms rise.
Their footsteps were muffled now, swallowed by the fog. Elria drifted ahead, humming something tuneless, her voice bouncing oddly in the still air.
"So—do you still have male urges as a skeleton?" she called over her shoulder. "I know I'm the most beautiful woman you've probably ever seen, but that attitude of yours toward me is quite uncouth."
Pell grunted. "Still talking, huh? Whoever etched your grave probably killed themselves shortly after, cursed by whatever disease you have."
"Sheesh. And they called me the debby downer of the witch-world. You're more rude than Sol." She glided further forward, her shape blurring until it melted into the white.
Witch-world? So Elria was actually a witch? Pell pocketed that thought away.
The banter soon faded, replaced by the sound of his bones and Enya's breathing. That was when something caught their attention.
A hollow sound. An echo—long, thin, and stretching. It kept growing in pitch.
Enya's brow furrowed. She pulled herself upright on Pell's back, eyes narrowing. "Wait."
She dropped from his shoulders, her body now rested and able to stand. Her mana stirred, and the world narrowed around her as she triggered Absolute Focus. The edges of reality sharpened, but the mist was thicker here, clinging to every shape like glue.
For a moment, she saw nothing. Then, with a bit more concentration, she saw movement. A shadow in the white, sliding forward fast. Its form was wrong; it shifted with each flicker of vision, almost familiar in its formlessness.
She focused harder. The shape resolved partially. A transparent silhouette, like Elria, but stretched, warped, undefined. Its head lolled unnaturally; the faint trace of a jaw moved, but she couldn't see a mouth, not clearly.
The sound came once more; it was an ethereal, echoing screech that was part wail, part groan, and somehow… felt like it was focused toward them directly.
Pell glanced over his shoulder at her. "It's that stupid Elria. She's just trying to mess with us again."
Enya's gaze stayed fixed ahead. "That's not—"
The thing burst from the fog.
Pell barely got his arm up before it hit. Fingers like smoke but with the weight of iron clamped around his forearm, driving him back a half-step. The cold sank through the bone itself, sharp and biting.
"Not Elria!" he barked, bracing his stance.
The warped spirit pushed harder, its faceless head tilting close, the chill in its grip deepening until Pell's soul-flames sputtered in his sockets. Pain—real, biting pain—spread along his arm, not from pressure but from something gnawing deeper inside.
"Damn thing's hitting my soul—" He twisted sharply, ripping his arm free just enough to throw his other hand wide.
With a snap of will, the Harvester Scythe formed in his grasp. His grip tightened.
The spirit lunged again, and Pell shoved forward, knocking it off balance. He swung hard. The scythe's blade cut cleanly through, and the ghost split in two with a keening, otherworldly wail. Both halves unraveled into mist, the sound lingering far longer than the body.
The last shred of the spirit's wail faded, but the mist didn't go quiet.
It swelled with sound. Low, overlapping groans. Faint hisses that prickled the air. And underneath it all: a rising chorus of wails that grew sharper by the second.
Enya's fingers tightened into fists. "Pell—" she swallowed, eyes darting through the fog—"a lot of them are coming."
Pell's soul-flames narrowed, clenching his fists. "Great." The wailing grew louder, circling. He spat a curse. "I really despise fighting, you know that? There's a reason I never took that damn rogue offer when I was younger. Fighting gets you killed—and I'm already dead!"
"I can't feel or spot Elria anywhere." Enya said, voice low and urgent.
Pell clicked his jaw. "Whiny asshole. She probably left us here to die. Probably watching us suffer—"
Something lunged from the mist. It was headed toward Enya.
Pell moved instantly, stepping forward to block. The scythe's edge cleaved through another warped ghost, its body shearing apart in a silver blur. "We need to run. Now. Summon the teddy bear—or whatever that stupid bear thing is—and the big one."
"His name is Ted.E!" Enya snapped, already forming the summon circuit. The skeletal boarbear erupted into existence beside her. She swung onto its back in one smooth motion, like she was riding a bicorn.
"Numbskull's dead," she added quickly, "he went down when we were escaping the guards."
Another ghostly monster tore from the mist, striking Pell from the side. He hit the ground hard, rolled a few feet, and his scythe clattered out of reach.
"Damn it—" He scrambled up, sprinted for the weapon, and caught it just as another spirit surged toward him. The blade came up in time, slicing through it in a spray of shrieking mist.
"Then summon something. Anything you've got!"
Enya's brow furrowed. Her soul-energy reserves were low—dangerously so. Even with the Hordespawn Charm's discount, Summon Skeleton cost around 15 mana with a catalyst, 27 without. Her mana pool had only recovered a trickle; the rest would have to come from soul-energy.
At a 1:2 ratio, that meant 30 soul-energy… or 54 without a catalyst. Neither option was viable. She didn't have a spare bone, and her soul-energy was only 42—too low to summon one from scratch. The bone bridge had consumed nearly 400 points of Soul-Energy, or nearly 800 points of equivalent mana.
Her focus wavered briefly, until she saw them.
Two faint pings in her mind. There were notifications waiting for her.
You have harvested Soul-Energy.
Soul-Energy Harvested: 53
Soul-Energy Harvested: 64
Her eyes widened. The ghosts Pell was reaping with that harvester scythe—each one was a goldmine. Over a hundred points from just two kills. That was more than she'd ever gotten from anything.
"Jackpot!" Enya shouted. This was a word that Pell said from time to time.
"Less shouting! More Summoning!" Pell yelled back.
They surged forward—Pell on one flank, Ted.E in the center. Pell's scythe swept in vicious arcs, cutting through anything that drifted close. The boarbear slammed into whatever came from the front, swiping wide with claws that could rattle bone. Riding Ted.E was hardly comfortable; every time he reared back for a strike, Enya had to cling to him for dear life.
More kills came, and with them, more energy—enough to summon with and then some. She flung her mana to both fingertips, summoning two more constructs. One was a humanoid skeleton, the other a large rat; both emerged gleaming with the deep, polished sheen of soul-forged bone.
Soul-Energy: 13/400
System Notification: Name 'Carl' has been registered to Level 15 Skeleton
System Notification: Name 'Digsby' has been registered to Level 15 Skeleton
Name: Carl
Level: 15
Type: Soul-Forged Humanoid Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 942
Name: Digsby
Level: 15
Type: Disgusting Soul-Forged Quadruped Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 870
"Wha—?" she commented.
The last rat she'd made—Uglyface—had been labeled Repulsive. This one? Disgusting. Was that… better?
Whatever.
The power ratings were what mattered, and they were far higher than before. The humanoid skeleton was probably boosted because she understood human anatomy better than a rat's.
"Alright, you two! Help Pell out! Oh—! But don't steal his kills! Kill stealing is bad! Let him get the last hit so I can get some Soul-Energy!"
Both nodded and fell into step, circling her. With Ted.E charging ahead and the other two flanking, Enya found herself moving in the middle of a living—well, unliving—formation.
Curious, Enya peeked over to the side and read Pell's stats. Since he was her summon, he must have gotten stronger too. The last time she checked, his power rating had been around 350 when they fought the crystal spiderlings, and that was with the newly added Soul-Forged power.
Name: Pell Meltere
Level: 15
Type: Soul-Forged Humanoid Harvester Skeleton
Class: Merchant
Power Rating: 1432
Her jaw dropped.