“So what do you guys think?” I asked after sharing everything I had learned and the options available to me.

  “I think I’d like to find a Wyrm shard and integrate with it myself if it gets me that interface,” Milo whined.

  “It does seem like quite the powerful tool, Bryn,” Malorn said.

  “There is much more to those devices than I previously assumed,” Sirius remarked. “I wonder if those in the world they came from had a way to control the growth of their monsters and beasts. It would make far more sense, given how this functions.”

  “Yeah, I agree. It isn’t anything like what I would have expected based on all our other known methods for analysis and growth charting,” I said.

  “There are a lot of powerful and useful traits there,” Malorn continued. “It also seems that if you bonded with more shards or items, additional options would become available. Not to mention more options in general as you level. Whatever that means.” He paused for a moment. “I also wonder if there would be a way to extend this interface to others, the same way it works with Dusk. That could grant a party an insane amount of power.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” I replied. “It does seem like something that could be unlocked later, based on what I’m seeing.”

  “Well, I don’t think it’s our place to tell you what to choose,” Sirius said, “but some of those options do seem like they might be more valuable in the present.”

  Pipe smoke curled past Milo’s fingers as he added, “there are definitely paths that fit your fighting style and skill set better than others. Some seem better suited for a solo combatant, while others would shine more in a group.” He puffed his pipe again. “What you plan on doing most will probably decide which one makes the most sense.”

  I nodded along as I listened to their words.

  We talked back and forth for a while before finally landing on three options, knowing I could only choose two for now.

  They were Gravity, Raptor Leap, and Detailed Map.

  As a frontline fighter, Gravity and Raptor Leap offered clear advantages, whether I was fighting alone or alongside a team. One would allow me to wear down my opponents with no additional effort, working in tandem with the training I already had. The other would grant me greater mobility in a variety of situations.

  Detailed Map made the list for several critical reasons. The greatest threat in the world right now was Dungeon Breaks and Rift Tears, but they were also the most valuable resources. Dungeons could not be mapped in advance because they generated differently each time, but this ability would allow me to create maps in real time, something that could prove invaluable. Unexplored rifts could be quickly charted, allowing vital information to be passed on to the guilds and the Empire for either containment or occupation.

  It would also be a powerful tool on missions in unexplored territory, helping me understand my surroundings more clearly. Combined with my tremor sense, the mapping ability felt like an incredible force multiplier.

  In the end, I chose Gravity and Detailed Map. They were not flashy, but I believed they would be irreplaceable in the long run.

  I was only level three, and I knew I would be able to pick more traits in the future. I finally had a path forward and clear growth options in the future.

  When I returned to my room that night, I made my selection.

  Path Chosen: Child of the Deep

  Path Level: 3

  Current Traits 6 of 6 at current path level:

  Tremor Sense

  Regeneration

  Lithocurrent

  Gravity

  Detailed Map

  Bond Interface

  …

  …

  …

  Pain rushed through my body. It felt as though I was being torn apart, and then it was gone within seconds.

  Immediately, I understood how to activate or deactivate my new gravity passive at will, and how to exclude specific targets from its effects. The knowledge was simply there.

  I also knew that I could share the detailed map from my interface with others if I chose, which made the trait far more useful than I had initially expected.

  Lastly, I felt a direct link to Dusk. Not just awareness, but understanding. I could sense the options and potential paths available to her for future growth, even though they remained locked for now.

  No more traits available.

  Increase path level for more options…

  I waited, expecting something else to happen, but nothing came.

  “Any information on increasing my path level?” I asked the empty room. I did not expect a response.

  That was why it startled me when the interface replied.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Conquer difficult foes.

  Consume shards.

  Defeat dungeon chambers

  …

  more information available at higher path levels.

  It seemed that continuing to fight monsters was a good place to start. I had not encountered any shards since gaining the interface, and I was not sure what “consume” meant, as it sounded very different from integration.

  The mention of dungeon chambers brought a smile to my face as my desire for adventure stirred.

  “This is going to be fun.”

  —

  Dusk seemed set on her choices for growth and I encouraged her to go with whatever she wanted. I shared with her my own traits so she could consider options that would pair well with me.

  I didn’t have the ability to see a list of options for her the way I did for mine, but Dusk gave me images of what different traits would allow her to do.

  After she made her choices

  Her trait list looked something like this:

  Tremor Sense

  Regeneration

  Lithocurrent

  Molten Blood

  Anti-Aetheric Breathe

  Rend

  She loved the idea that enemies would take damage simply by attacking her, burned by her molten blood.

  The breath attack allowed her to disrupt aether in the area she exhaled into. It spread outward like a dragon’s fire, but instead of flame it formed as a hazy mist that interfered with spells, wards, and other aetheric things. I was particularly interested in how it worked against wards.

  It would need to be used primarily when we were alone because it would affect allies too. It was the perfect anti-mage ability to have at our disposal though.

  Rend granted her the ability to cause severe hemorrhaging whenever she struck with her claws or teeth. The bleeding would not stop without healing potions or magical intervention. Given enough time and repeated strikes, she could kill almost anything that bled.

  Together, we were going to be our enemies’ worst nightmare, and this was only the beginning.

  —

  Over the next few days, I spent time getting used to my new traits and the other aspects of the interface. It quickly became clear that it linked directly to all of my existing knowledge, even information I could not consciously recall. That proved especially useful with the map trait.

  The map provided specific names for creatures, flora, and objects as long as I had learned about them at some point. I assumed that, because the interface was linked to my brain, it was able to access stored information I no longer actively remembered.

  I also discovered that I could permanently or temporarily mark targets as friend, foe, or neutral. They appeared on the map as green, red, or yellow respectively. Beyond a certain distance, the map was obscured by a fog. I had a range of roughly two hundred feet where the map showed generally accurate information, and perfect accuracy within one hundred feet.

  This meant I could mark a dangerous creature as a foe and the map would automatically highlight it in red the moment it entered my mapping radius. Targets were also assigned threat levels based on what I already knew about them. The interface could display information such as known strengths, weaknesses, and even valuable materials that could be harvested.

  Threat levels were calculated based solely on Dusk and me, due to our shared link in the interface. It did not account for additional allies, so the ratings were often inaccurate during group fights. Even so, it would be indispensable during solo missions.

  The map trait was far more powerful than I had expected.

  My gravity trait worked exactly as described, and I loved it. It fit my fighting style perfectly as a frontline dodge-tank, wearing opponents down over time and slowing their movements.

  With practice, I learned that instead of maintaining a general gravitational field roughly fifteen feet around me, I could deliberately target specific creatures or areas. Doing so increased the effect at the cost of losing the wider gravity field.

  That versatility made the trait even more valuable. I discovered I could even increase the weight of an opponent’s weapon, directly affecting their ability to fight.

  Dusk was a true terror on the battlefield now.

  Her molten blood caused serious injury to anything that attacked her without resistance to fire. With our shared regeneration, the magma at her wounds cooled and hardened rapidly, especially as she dove in and out of the ground. Any excess molten blood solidified quickly making it safe for group combat still.

  Her breath attack was even more terrifying.

  It disrupted all aetheric and magical use within the space it covered. Thankfully, I discovered that it did not affect me. I assumed this was due to our bond, granting me immunity as well. My gravity continued to function inside the mist, and I could still access my storage space. Even the propulsion systems in my bracers worked without issue. I did not have many other magical abilities, but it was reassuring to know the ones I relied on remained functional.

  Everyone else was left completely unable to manipulate aether within the affected area. Even something as simple as a fireball cast toward the hazy mist would dissipate within moments of entering it, unraveling before it could reach its target.

  There was a limitation in that she could not use it frequently.

  After each use, the ability required time to recover, which made sense given its power.

  Rend worked exactly as expected and was the perfect complement to her fighting style. Quick strikes followed by disengagement left enemies bleeding heavily, forced to either retreat or die.

  Our team spent the next week preparing for our first mission as an official party.

  A small village two days north sent word that they believed a dungeon had formed nearby. They needed help locating it and determining whether it was something they could manage themselves or if it would need to be delegated to the guilds or the crown.

  Dungeons were often boons for small villages. They drew adventurers, which fueled the local economy in several ways. One was through lodging, supplies, and services used by dungeon divers. Another was taxation. Villages that oversaw a dungeon were allowed to tax a portion of the gains, provided they maintained it properly.

  That meant building fortifications around the dungeon, keeping it guarded, and ensuring its power level did not rise to the point of a dungeon break. If adventurers had not visited in some time, the settlement was responsible for sending people in to clear chambers and prevent monster overflow.

  Rifts functioned in a similar way.

  When a new dungeon or rift was discovered, word was sent to adventuring guilds and the crown. A group would be dispatched to assess its strength and determine whether the nearby settlement could reasonably manage it or if it needed to be passed on to stronger forces. Even if a village could not claim the dungeon, they would still benefit from the presence of adventurers staying nearby, though they would lose the additional tax rights.

  Sirius had been given the task of leading this mission.

  We were closer than any guild team or military unit that could respond quickly. With dungeon breaks and rift tears still happening across the continent, there were fewer available teams. There were forces stationed at the Bastion, but King Strider wanted Sirius to begin taking regular missions. It was time for him to grow stronger, both personally and as a leader, outside of supervision.

  Up until this point, nearly everything Sirius had done was overseen by someone training him in some capacity. This would be our first mission as truly free agents with no additional oversight, grading, tests, trials, or otherwise.

  Assignments like this would give him and us firsthand experience with how the Empire functioned at its edges, preparing him for the responsibilities he may one day carry.