PenguinKills
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Chapter 294 - Boned
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 21:10:55 +0000 UTCChris
It took me a second to rein in my outburst and get my aura under control. I hadn't known that was in me, and it came out at a time I hadn't expected. This was also the first time I had so obviously seen the effects I had on people.
Grace and Sophia weren't just shaking because my aura made them cold, but because they were scared. There were also people outside the tent that were affected, as the tent didn't have any impact on how my aura spread.
Clamping down on my frustrations, and taking a calming breath, the work continued. Abigail and Jonathan jumped right back in but the two Assistants had to work themselves back up.
I let them get back to it and instead took some time to rest. There were still many hours left on the timer and I didn't have to be in the room for every second.
Instead, I finally got to see Ashley so she could patch me up. It probably didn't help my mood that I was still riddled with cuts and Blight. The pain was minimal compared to what I'd felt before, but it was still pain.
The muscle ache from delayed onset soreness was an additional aggravation. It felt like my body had been put through a meat grinder.
While Ashley and a few other Healers were patching me up, I took a dip into the Reward Space every once in a while to check things out. There hadn't been a rush the last time, but there was the worry about returning later than the others that had caused me to rush a bit.
Now, I had over 12 hours to explore the catalog to my heart's desire.
While the Faction Points were to be spent on things Abigail and her team came up with, my Personal Points were mine and mine alone. I'd use some of them on what Abigail told me to but the lion's share was to be used at my fancy.
And I was fancying a lot of things.
Knowing I'd have to buy my parts through the Reward Store was annoying, but not the end of the world. It took out a large chunk of my Personal Points right away, but I still had enough to feel rich.
For the time being.
There were a lot of expensive and shiny options that caught the eye. Options that would drain my wallet faster than flies on shit.
I may have looked at ways to upgrade my Spirit Fire more intently than I should. Vincent would no doubt want to do the same but he hadn't been here. Maybe we should shell in some Faction Points for him? He is our best Smith?
Ah, Abigail's probably already thought of that.
Upgrading my Spirit Fire admittedly wasn't the best use of my points, but that didn't mean I didn't want to. Crafting had taken a back seat to Fighting for as long as the System had inducted us, and while I doubted that would ever change, that didn't mean I regretted not spending more time on it.
It wasn't just because of the stat points either.
More time spent Crafting would upgrade my skills more, increasing my accomplishments, and ending in a rarer Profession that would reward more stat points.
The line between a Rare Profession and an Epic Profession was 48 stat points and 56 stat points. 8 per level didn't sound like much until it was totaled over the 50 levels of E-rank. One rarity higher resulted in 400 more stat points.
That gap would only get wider as one advanced.
400 raw stat points in one attribute would be a massive difference in a fight, but spread out over all 9 wasn't that large of a difference when someone already had over 1000 in one stat. Skills, Laws, Body Level, and Anchor were more than enough to make up that difference.
BUT, if that continued, and one person always had a Profession one rarity higher, that gap would become insurmountable eventually if all else stayed the same.
Maybe some weapon blueprints or armor blueprints then?
Making a sword was easy enough if all you wanted to do was get the shape right. Long and thin with sharp edges and voila, a sword. There was also a feel to it that one accumulated that made shaping easier.
Drawing out the metal just right, flattening it, making sure the balance was right. That all came from effort, feel, and experience.
Anyone could imagine what the end product was supposed to be and do their best to create it from that, but blueprints made things easier. It detailed exactly how much metal to be used. The exact dimensions it was supposed to be.
The step-by-step process of how to make the item you wished. While not strictly necessary, it made things simpler and easier.
Definitely some Runes. Expanding my library is a must.
I could Buy Runes from the Merchants, but some were rarer than others and the cost reflected that. Basic ones like Durability and Piercing were common on weapons which made buying them cheaper.
The more esoteric or rare the Rune, the more it would cost. After a certain point, it was better to buy them from the Reward Store.
The Healers took a long time to patch me up but they did a fine job. It wasn't perfect, and I still had some of the Blight in me, but it was much better than before. It would take a few more sessions to complete, but I already felt a lot better.
Now all that was left to do was decide.
The options were killing me.
---
"Alright, are we ready?" Abigail couldn't help but ask.
01:47:22
I glanced at the timer to see how much longer we had and chuckled. Abigail had taken up to the last second to finalize everything and had even gone over her self-imposed limit.
She hadn't slept and worked through the night to get everything in order. I had rested and hopped into [Cold Meditation] for a few hours but I was still in need of a good shuteye.
The two-hour mark was when we were supposed to be ready. It left more than enough time to find and purchase everything while also allowing for some leeway in case anything went wrong.
We didn't know if something could go wrong, but Abigail was nothing if not a planner.
"I've been ready," Austin commented dryly.
The whole family was gathered in our Main tent so that whatever we purchased came out together. It would be easier to defend if those with the most points were all in one spot.
We also had Elliot and the Orders guarding it just in case.
"Everyone knows what they need to do." Abigail said to herself more than anyone else, "Let's do it!"
She was the first to go. I had learned from watching other people why it didn't feel like I was being teleported.
It was because we weren't.
Our physical bodies stayed put and our... mind went somewhere else. Our our spirit? It was still confusing, but our bodies didn't leave, they just took on a distant look and turned deathly still.
It was what allowed the Healers to work while I explored the Store.
The others left one by one and I gave Austin a wink before going off myself. He'd been upset to learn how many more points I had than him. Unlike Jonathan, he wanted to know the specifics.
"Congratulations, human! You have passed the E-rank Planetary Protections Assessment and have fought for your Planet. For accomplishing that feat, rewards will be given based upon your performance. As the Leader of a Faction who also participated, separate Rewards have also been earned."
"You may see how many E-rank Assessment Reward Points you have by opening the shop menu. If you have any questions or need help to aid your search, you may query me by voicing your concern."
The guide said the same thing every time I entered the Reward Store space and it was getting a touch old by now. If it had been a human, I'd have felt bad for making it repeat itself so many times.
Alright, let's begin the shopping spree.
First on the list, evolution parts. Stingy System and stupid tests and...
Deep breath. Don't go down that rabbit hole again.
"Show me body parts of beings from the Frost Giant Bloodline."
The catalog shuffled around and came up with what I had asked for. There was a lot available still. Hearts, Livers, Kidneys, Brains, Blood, Bones, Muscles, Tendons, the whole kit and caboodle.
It wasn't only for one race either. I had asked for all those in the Frost Giant Bloodline and that was what it gave me. Even if it was entirely out of my price range and cost more points than I had in total, it still showed parts from a True Frost Giant.
There were various options for where I could go with my evolution.
For my First, I'd chosen the Heart of a Lesser Frost Giant. A young one at that. The Lineage of my Bloodline went Frost-Touched, Frostborn, Jotun, Lesser Frost Giant, then Frost Giant.
Taking in the Heart of a Lesser Frost Giant was two Tiers above my own at the time and was mildly risky. I'd trusted in my stats and Body Refining to deal with it but there was also the fact it was only a Heart.
It was small. Well, comparatively small. The amount of material to incorporate, while potent and dense, was restricted to the size of the organ.
If I chose to use the Nervous System or the Skeletal System, that was a lot more material than only a heart and that large of a difference in Tier mattered a lot more.
If I decided on something smaller, like the Lungs or another singular organ, I could push things a bit more.
Every Evolution, I could push a bit further. A bit more could change. This Evolution would be able to do more than the previous. It would also reinforce what was already changed.
Every change was built upon what was already there to begin with.
Of all the options, there was only one that made sense to me. I could go with muscles, and become much stronger, and I already had the Heart to feed them, but that was putting the cart before the horse.
It was the bones that were more important. Strength meant nothing if my body couldn't handle it. Using the Bones would fortify and strengthen my body so that when my next evolution came, the muscles wouldn't tear off or cause problems for myself.
That being the case, needing an entire skeletal structure, I couldn't use too powerful of materials.
Anything above Lesser Frost Giant was right out and even using Lesser Frost Giant was pushing it. Jotun Bones was already a step up.
Do I or don't I?
"Eliminate everything under Jotun Tier and Above Lesser Frost Giant Tier. Restrict it to full skeletons as well."
As the list shortened, the two results I expected to see weren't the only ones that appeared. There were a lot more left to choose from than I expected.
"Why are there more than two?" I asked.
The guide answered in its unnatural voice, "Within your parameters, there are still many options. Age, Level, amount of Essence dedicated to Fortitude, and Body Level all play a role in the strength of the Bones."
Oh shit. I hadn't even thought of that.
Is it better to go for a powerful Jotun with a Body of Stone or higher, or a weak Lesser Frost Giant?
Even thinking about using a Lesser Frost Giant was risky. Using one that was more powerful than Base was out of the question. I wasn't about to explode myself by reaching too far.
Taking a deeper look at the options and digging into the descriptions more, it revealed a Jotun Skeleton had a Body of Stone that focused on durability. It had reinforced the bones with Glacial Mana to make them stronger and more durable.
It sounded like a specific Body Refining Technique that then left the Bones with specific qualities. Just as there were numerous Techniques, there were plenty of different options of bones to choose from.
One Bone Structure focused on circulating mana. One was used to regulate temperature. One for flexibility.
Thank God we allocated a couple of hours for this. I assumed there would only be a few options.
~~AN~~
Ah, the dreaded Friday Cliffhanger! Don't worry, I'm not so cruel to leave it that when Rewards are right around the corner. An extra chapter will be out sometime later with the juicy bits.
Also, when it says 'amount of essence dedicated to Fortitude', I'm referring to the Fortitude stat. It's been a while since the last time stats were described in detail and thought I should mention that.
'Levels' come from the accumulation of Essence, usually taken from the creatures one kills, and when a certain amount is reached, the System then takes that Essence, along with its tax, to implement the changes your Class or Profession dictate.
If someone loses that aid, and goes at it manually, it's similar to Cultivation in a way that you manually take the Essence you gather and use it for what you will.
The 'strength' of the Bones is directly tied to the amount of Essence that gets allocated to the 'Fortitude' stat by either the system or the being manually.
Please comment if any of that was unclear as if there is mass confusion, I'll need to edit it before it hits RR!
Comments
Ledski
TFTC. Thereβs a small mistake in this chapter. Chris says he used a lesser frost giant for his first evolution, but he actually used a frostborn heart.
Christian Roberts
Is it later yet?
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice chapter π I had a disturbing thought while reading about the body parts. What happens if someone captures a monster ans uses magic and technology to keep it alive while harvesting it's organs? I mean you can have their blood getting pumped through their system with technology while cutting out the heart and using healing magic to regrow it... It's a cruel thing but I bet in this multiverse it already happened
MavTech
Thanks for the author note! Cliffhangers are tough and you are too kind. We all have been eager to see the rewards.
