“Go ahead and place your book on top of the pedestal,” came the voice of middle-aged man, wearing Talo’s signature color of pure white. He was lanky and wore spectacles, his hair fully gray already.

  Enya did as instructed and walked up to the pedestal. She reached up and placed The Grim Pullet atop the stone flat top. Instead of lying flat, it levitated by some mysterious force. “Is this actually safe, Mr. Gofer?”

  The man coughed. “It’s Godner, but yes.”

  Enya glanced back at Pell, who stood near the doorway, his bony arms crossed as his flaming eye sockets watched intently. He gave her a faint nod.

  “Alright,” Godner said, adjusting his spectacles and gesturing to a series of glowing runes etched into the stone base of the pedestal. “This device will gradually channel mana into the book until it reaches its capacity. The moment we detect any signs of overload, the process will stop automatically. Simple, controlled, and entirely safe.”

  “What happens if it goes too far? Does it being a soul-bound item matter?” Enya asked, her voice calm but edged with curiosity.

  Godner didn’t look particularly concerned. “The nature of a soul-bound item doesn’t affect the book's ability to hold mana, at least not in terms of this test. It might amplify its durability or efficiency, but that’s irrelevant to the process. Soul-binding merely connects the item to you—it doesn’t change the fundamental mechanics of its mana absorption.”

  Godner cleared his throat. “Very well. Let us begin.”

  He placed his hand on a glowing rune at the pedestal's base. The runes flared brighter as an invisible current of mana flowed from the pedestal into The Grim Pullet. The book’s pages fluttered slightly as if caught in a breeze, and the faint hum grew louder, echoing in Enya’s mind like a distant pulse.

  At first, nothing seemed unusual. The book absorbed the mana steadily, its surface faintly glowing with an eerie, bluish light.

  “See? Nothing to worry about,” Godner said, his tone almost dismissive as he studied the runes for any anomalies.

  Enya relaxed slightly, though she still kept her focus on the book. She could feel the flow of mana, like a tether stretching between her soul and the Grim Pullet. It wasn’t painful, but it was... noticeable, like a small tug at the back of her mind.

  The runes on the pedestal shifted in color, glowing from pale blue to green. Godner spoke up, his voice clinical. “We’ve passed the 100-mana mark. That’s the equivalent of a couple high D-rank spells or one low C-rank spell. Quite good so far.”

  Pell leaned closer, his sockets narrowing at the book. “Not bad, not bad. If that were a regular book, it’d sell for about 15 gold.”

  Enya frowned but said nothing. She could feel the Grim Pullet's capacity being stretched, but it still held firm. It could hold more.

  “200 mana,” Godner announced, his tone sharpening slightly. “This is an excellent point to stop if you want to ensure long-term stability.”

  At 250 mana, a faint crackling sound emerged, like the distant snapping of ice. Godner frowned. "Seems like it is nearing its limit."

  "It’s fine," Enya said quickly, though the pull on her soul had grown stronger. She clenched her fists at her sides, determined to see this through.

  "300 mana," Godner reported, his voice tightening. "Still stable, but I’m detecting minor fluctuations. I advise we stop here."

  Enya hesitated, glancing at Pell, who was glaring at her.

  "Don’t even think about pushing it, kid," he growled. "I told you already—if that thing blows, it’s taking you with it."

  With a reluctant sigh, Enya nodded. "Fine. Stop it at 300."

  Godner pressed his palm to the rune again, and the glowing mana lines on the book began to fade. The hum of the pedestal quieted, and the mana covering the Grim Pullet ceased, vanishing back into the pedestal.

  “Well,” Godner said, stepping back and clasping his hands behind his back, “your book has an estimated capacity of roughly 300 mana in total, though I would recommend not exceeding 200 or 250 for practical use. That’s above average for most tested silver-tier spellbooks—nothing extraordinary, but a fine capacity for consistent use.”

  Enya picked up The Grim Pullet, holding it close as she let the information sink in. Above average. Not extraordinary. She wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that.

  “It didn’t blow up. Guess we can add ‘not exploding’ to the list of things this fancy book can do.” Pell said, breaking the silence.

  She ignored him, opening the book and inspecting the faint glow that was rapidly disappearing. "So I could write in spells worth 200 mana without any trouble?"

  Godner nodded. “Precisely. Any spell etched into the book and filled with up to 200 total mana will be fine for consistent use. Just be mindful not to overload it, or you risk damaging both the book and yourself.”

  “Got it,” she said.

  Pell clapped his bony hands together. “Alright, kid, you’ve got your fancy numbers. Let’s get out of here before someone starts charging us for breathing their air.” Pell was still reluctant on paying for the service fee to test Enya’s book, but he owed her. He owed her several times over.

  Enya smirked, snapping her fingers and making the Grim Pullet vanish. No sound actually came from her fingers, as she didn’t know how to snap, so instead, she made a clicking noise with her tongue at the same time to imitate it.

  Enya sat at the small desk inside of their room inside of the inn. The Grim Pullet was sprawled open in front of her, while a piece of parchment, one with a spell circuit was beside her. She had her bonecarver’s quill out in her hand, intricately copying over the circuit straight into the book. This was going to be her secret weapon during the tournament. If she couldn’t win with her newly enhanced minions, then this spell she obtained from the magic association would be her trump card.

  Pell was gone, off to the information guild, something about ‘checking up on the status of his request.’ So right now, it was only Enya and her minions inside of the room.

  She put down the quill and rolled her chair back. Time for a small break, she thought. She turned and looked at her minions who were inside of the room. For the tournament, her current roster was herself, Muffins, Fred, Uglyface, and Pell.

  She reached down into her pocket and pulled out the Gravecaller’s Band. She placed it onto her fingers, over the gloves she wore.

  The Gravecaller’s Band felt cool against her glove, its surface smooth and unnaturally chilly. As soon as it settled on her finger, a faint mist began to rise from the ring, curling lazily around her hand before dissipating into the air.

  Enya stood and stretched, the chair creaking faintly behind her. She surveyed her minions, her gaze landing on Muffins, her tried-and-true mana-summoned skeleton. It stood obediently in the corner of the room, its bony frame as unimpressive as ever.

  “Alright, Muffins,” she said, holding her hand out toward the skeleton. “Let’s see what this thing can do.”

  Focusing her soul-energy, she directed a small surge into the Gravecaller’s Band. The ring pulsed faintly in response, a visible shiver running through Muffins as the icy aura began to emanate from its form.

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  The change was immediate. Frost crept along Muffins’s bones, thin sheets of ice spreading over its ribcage, arms, and skull. The air around it grew colder, a faint chill mist pooling at its feet and slowly spreading outward across the floor. Within moments, a thin layer of frost began to form on the walls and floorboards, glinting faintly in the dim light of the room.

  Enya stepped closer, her eyes narrowing as she activated Absolute Focus. Her eyes glowed a soft yellow as the details sharpened in her vision. The frost wasn’t just sitting on Muffins’s bones—it seemed to integrate with them, reinforcing the skeleton’s structure while adding a subtle, almost ethereal gleam to its frame.

  “Interesting,” she murmured, reaching out to tap a finger against the icy coating on Muffins’s rib. The surface was cold and hard, almost like tempered glass.

  But the changes didn’t stop there. She could feel something deeper stirring within the skeleton. The soul-energy she had channeled into the ring wasn’t just enhancing Muffins—it was altering it, infusing it with an anomalous power.

  The aura around Muffins wasn’t just cold—it was slowing everything within its range. The frost creeping along the floor and walls wasn’t random, either. It was an extension of Muffins’s presence, a manifestation of the ice-aspected attribute granted by the ring. It wanted to expand—it wanted to grow.

  Skill: Insight has been activated.

  Target: Muffins

  Revealed Information: This skeleton has been augmented by a mysterious soul-chilling aura that constantly grows and expands ice.

  As she focused, she felt the soul-energy pulsing within the skeleton, almost as if it were trying to expand. A thought struck her, and she turned to Fred, her soul-forged minion, who stood silently nearby.

  “Fred,” she commanded, “break one of Muffins’s ribs.”

  Fred moved on command, its fingers reaching out and snapping one of Muffins’s ribs in half. The bone cracked loudly, and for a moment, Enya worried she might have overdone it. That was until the frost around Muffins’ bones pulsed, and the broken rib began to regrow.

  Ice formed first, shaping itself into the rough outline of a bone before solidifying into a mixture of ice and bone marrow. The new rib was slightly translucent, its icy sheen catching the light as it settled into place.

  Enya’s lips curled into a grin. “So that’s what it means by ‘ice-aspected attributes’. It barely uses a small amount of Soul-Energy to make an ice bone.”

  She stepped back, various thoughts swirling in her mind. If Muffins could regrow its bones as a mix of ice and bone, could it also create other appendages? She shifted her thoughts, focusing on Muffins’s arm this time. She commanded Muffins to see if they could manipulate the ice forming around them. Responding to her will, the frost thickened, creeping down Muffins’ forearm and pooling at the fingertips.

  The ice coated all five fingers, forming a makeshift clawed weapon. The closest she could describe it, was the claws of a cat or wolf, but much longer. Each claw extended Muffins’ finger by double its normal length, and each claw seemed sharp enough to tear flesh.

  A chime rang out in her mind.

  System Notification: 48 of 48 EXP has been allocated to Visionary.

  Your level has increased from level 4 to level 5.

  You have gained 1 skill point.

  Experience Remaining Until Next Level: 29/73

  New Class Quests are now available.

  The notification was a welcome surprise. She had finally reached the threshold of Level 5 for her innate class. Just like with her main class, she had earned a skill point and unlocked access to new class quests.

  Excited, Enya immediately pulled up her status screen, her eyes scanning the newly available options.

  New Class Quests are now available. Please choose one from the following list.

  1. Skill Insight fails on a target.

  2. Use insight on 100 unique targets.

  3. Skill Visions Past activates while in Absolute Focus.

  Three new quests were now available to her, all pertaining to her Visionary class. Unlike the quests she received previously, the three new ones specifically dealt with her innate class’ skills. Was this normal for innate quests? Or perhaps it was a coincidence her quests all lined up to be skill-specific.

  Quest: Skill Insight fails on a target.

  Insight grants you the ability to search for hidden information from your target. While there are no restrictions to this skill, it is not infallible and can fail under certain conditions. Locate a target and have this skill fail to extract information.

  Quest: Use insight on 100 unique targets.

  Knowledge, truth, and understanding are the essence of a Visionary. To acclimate to your role, use Insight on 100 different (unique) targets.

  Quest: Skill Visions Past activates while in Absolute Focus.

  Visions Past is a powerful skill, allowing you to see randomly into the future, where the events will come to pass. However, perhaps the skill can be focused, providing more detail and accuracy. What happens if you use both of your class skills at the same time? Have Visions Past activate while Absolute Focus is also active.

  The three quests seemed far more straightforward compared to her Necrosmith quests. Each one was something she could actively work toward—except, perhaps, the last one, depending on its stipulations.

  The second and third quests were self-explanatory. The second just required consistency, while the third relied on pure luck—unless she could react fast enough to trigger Absolute Focus right before a vision occurred.

  The first quest, however, was intriguing. How could the skill fail? Maybe if she tried using it on something that didn’t classify as a valid target? Or perhaps if she used Insight on the sky, the range would be too far?

  Testing the theory, she walked over to the window and stared up at the drifting clouds before activating her skill.

  She waited. And waited.

  Nothing happened.

  Enya exhaled through her nose, walking back to her chair and sinking into it, her lips twisting to the side in thought. The skill hadn’t failed—it simply hadn’t activated at all. That was different. Maybe she needed to use it on something vastly more powerful than herself? That seemed logical. It would be ridiculous to think her Insight could just reveal the weaknesses of an Obsidian-Tier War Paragon by simply looking at them.

  There were still several hours until bedtime—Pell had been pestering her nonstop about how children needed proper sleep.

  Dummy, she thought.

  Even though she wanted to stay up, it was probably a good idea to rest before the tournament tomorrow. Most of her minions were already summoned and prepared, which meant the biggest mana costs were out of the way. All that remained was deciding whether to Soul-Forge Muffins or unsummon it in exchange for a different skeletal construct. She also needed to finish imbuing her new spell into The Grim Pullet.

  Pulling up her system, she skimmed through the notifications and checked her condensed status list.

  System Notification: You have landed a killing blow on the following creatures:

  19 x Luminite Crystal Fighter Spiderling (Level: Various)

  Luminite Crystal Guard Spiderling (Level: 10)

  Luminite Crystal Guard Spiderling (Level: 11)

  You have received 1843 EXP.

  Your level has increased from level 10 to level 12.

  System Notification: You have successfully crafted Gravecaller’s Band:

  You have received 563 EXP.

  Your level has increased from level 12 to level 13

  Experience Remaining Until Next Level: 156/1851

  Name: Enya Empyria

  Health: 100/100

  Mana: 30/30

  Soul-Energy: 398/400

  Level: 13/5

  Enya’s stats had greatly increased after her battle in the hunting grounds. She had risen two levels, though the experience needed for each subsequent level kept climbing higher. Her Soul-Energy was nearly capped—fifty points of overcapped Soul-Energy had already been allocated to her skill Transfiguration of Soul and to finishing the Gravecaller’s Band. Even her earlier experiments—forming the replacement rib and frost claws—had only consumed a point or two of Soul-Energy.

  Unfortunately, most of her remaining Soul-Energy was about to be drained as she prepared and empowered the spell in The Grim Pullet for use in the tournament. She just hoped she’d have enough left to fight if needed.

  Pell was still gone. He hadn’t returned yet, and Enya could only assume he was off arguing with someone—typical of him. The sun hadn’t set, so she hopped out of her chair, deciding to make use of the remaining daylight.

  There was plenty to do to get ready for the tournament, but one specific thing had been nagging at her—a spell that would greatly improve her quality of life as a necromancer. It was a utility spell commonly used by summoners, beast tamers, and necromancers. She had seen it in Sable’s book, but back then, she never had a reason to learn it. Now she regretted that choice since those books had been destroyed.

  “Alright, you all stay here. I’ll be back,” Enya said, glancing at her minions.

  She turned and left the room, skipping down the stairs and waving at Sheryl, who was manning the counter.

  Outside, the streets were busy but not overly crowded. Enya made her way toward the Magic Association, her mind set on acquiring the spell. Pell had given her two gold pieces “just in case,” and she figured that should be more than enough to buy what she needed.

  Walking around with a horde of skeletons—especially any larger constructs—was going to be a hassle. If she could learn a spell to summon and de-summon her minions at will, it would make things so much easier. Not to mention, it would double as a defensive skill, giving her a team of ready defenders on command.

  As she skipped along the sidewalks, humming to herself, prying eyes tracked her movements.

  But these weren’t the eyes of Lord Clament’s watchers. No, these eyes observed her from much farther away. Their presence lingered only briefly before disappearing altogether, retreating deep into the forests surrounding Talo.