Reid cracked his neck, and pulled Mole King steaks out of his ring. He still had a few of the lesser ones, but G-grade beast meat didn't quite fill him up the way it used to. F grade meat made recovery go quicker - which he'd confirmed after eating the turtle.

It had only been five days since he made his ring and his knife, but multiple lessons and targeted growth had left Reid hungry - hungry enough thar he had started to dream about how wonderful Guinea Pig meat would taste.

Roasted Guinea Pig would be a great reward for his progress. Both what he'd accomplished in his stats, and how absurdly fast he'd been able to do it.

Nyx - of course - had him start with Intelligence. The library section of that metaspace was quite a bit more full, now. There were more items within the game room portion of the space that had new titles or names. Reid had been so spent at the end of the intelligence session, he didn't even have enough energy to open one of Sara's messages. That turned out to be a theme of the stat focused time.

Next came physical dexterity - which he was still sore from. But he had a new set of tricks in better understanding how to swing and reposition his backup weapon. Metaphysical dexterity followed that, which was definitely necessary but even more draining.

He capped Dex day with metaphysical Constitution, then spent the last 'set' of improvements on metaphysical power. According to Nyx, it was going to be 'essential' to what came next. The only odd part about the training was that she hadn't properly 'appeared' with him inside of his metaspaces while he worked.

Reid stretched - something he was gaining a new appreciation for now that he didn't have a healer around - and sat down with an eager excitement.

Today was the day. The reward for the progress he'd made in the last few spent affixing. The lesson he'd been waiting for.

"Okay, Reid. Make a bone ball."

He frowned. "Nyx, are you doing alright? You had me make one of those before we did the last crafting session."

Nyx said nothing, and he could feel her impatience. He relented, and formed a sphere of bone in his palm. Working energy outside of himself was starting to feel a bit more natural. Growing bone out of himself was still an option - and he did think it made things take slightly less energy, but that gap was closing the more Reid worked with his smithing.

"Now, take out a black rock in your other hand, and squeeze both."

Reid had already pegged where she was going but did it anyway. The black rock flaked, cracked, and split under the force of his massively improved physical strength. The bone sphere made ominous straining noises, but stayed intact.

"Right - bone is now stronger than the black rocks. I get that, but isn't it just easier to find harder rocks?" When Nyx didn't answer him, Reid thought through his own question.

"I guess it might be tough to gather them, or find them. Especially if I'm in a different area, like a desert or something. Or space. It's not like there's going to be stuff I can pick off the ground if I'm in a spaceship again... Oh, or in a building, I guess. A city would be tough, then. Both bone and rocks are going to become obsolete, and both are limited resources - so they both have the drawback of needing to prepare beforehand anyway. The biggest issues in the rocks are that they've become kind of obsolete. I need something tougher - something that's going to be as tough as I am. So... I need to... craft a rock?"

Nyx's voice was warm. "I've been leading you around by the nose these past few days, so it's good to see you find your own way, just a little. I mean, it doesn't have to be a rock. What I have in mind will function more like a cannonball, but good instinct."

Reid rolled the ball around in his hand, then let it fall to the ground.

He closed his eyes, and let himself imagine the best kind of shapes for thrown objects. Bone creations appeared in his hand and then fell to the ground. A lawn dart. A really good skipping stone - made of bone. Small, marble like things that he could throw like shotgun pellets. A baseball. A brick. A football. A grenade-shaped projectile. Reid had been at it for a little while, so he stopped to stare at the creations he'd taken himself through.

Something like a dart would be interesting, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to throw it as well. A brick was a wonderful short-range projectile. His eyes kept moving back towards the baseball. It was the thing he knew best, really. But that didn't mean it was the best. Not in every situation.

Reid wrinkled his nose. He wasn't keen on the idea of trying to predict every future fight he could get into, then crafting all the potentially-helpful things to get through it. Heck, even if he was able to do that, he'd end up with a ton of spares chewing up space in his ring, and they'd become useless whenever the challenges around him grew enough. Unless...

He closed his eyes again, and put both hands out.

As his energy started to pool on the fixed point, he could feel the possibility. The nascent creation waiting to take on his intent.

His heart pounded.

He could do it. And what he'd been working on for the past week was going to ensure that it would function the way he wanted.

He started with the internals. A latticelike structure that was incredibly durable, surrounded by a wonderfully thick shell.

Then, purposefully positioned weaker supports and fan-like protrusions on the inside. A single small vortex connected to a maze of pathways.

Reid stilled himself before moving forward.

He had specific needs, here. Four traits that absolutely needed to be present to make everything work the way he needed it to.

Energy flowed through him, around him, and then into his waiting palms. As it ebbed and swirled inside of his creation, Reid could tell something was different. Changed from what he'd been capable of before the start of this week.

Possibility and promise.

Reid grit his teeth as he made a second vortex opposite his first. He would need to recreate every bit of his work's internals to accommodate his idea. He wasn't even sure if he could make it work properly with what he had in mind... but - Reid shoved his worry aside and pushed towards the outcome he wanted.

I can do this. I can do this.

#

Half a day later, another yellow flash lit up Reid's section of the ledge overlooking Snug Valley.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

A fully-formed creation fell down into his waiting hands. Reid admired it under the moonlight and breathed heavy through his nose. Making this had taken a significant chunk of energy out of him - even with his advances.

When he finally turned his attention to the waiting notifications, Reid smiled at the confirmation of his success.

Congratulations! Unique Weapon, [Marrowbomb] Created! Congratulations! Experience awarded for producing a unique weapon.

NOTICE: This weapon possesses multiple traits. NOTICE: [Marrowbomb] has successfully bonded to [Reid Calderwall]!

Marrowbomb [Legendary] Rank: F Traits: Shrapnel, Slug, Growth, Smith's Recall, Bonded

-

Shrapnel When the first vortex is imbued with energy, the internal structure of the weapon is weakened. Upon impact, Shrapnel will cause the projectile to more violently shatter and release a number of sharded bones with force similar to that of the impact.

Slug When the second vortex is imbued with energy, the internal structure of the weapon rapidly grows, forming a nearly-solid mass that is far more durable than the original projectile.

Smith's Recall As the bonded creator of this weapon, the osteal smith is forever connected to their creation. Whether the original is damaged, destroyed, or lost - the smith may completely recreate Marrowbomb through the use of mana alone. Whenever Marrowbomb is recreated using this method, any existing versions of the weapon are immediately destroyed - even if the recreation fails. Requires sufficient energy.

Growth This weapon is capable of growth. Growth may only occur in conjunction with the growth of the bonded individual. Growth may be fueled by latent energy stored in the weapon, or through external injections of energy.

Bonded This weapon is bonded to its owner through the use of simple energy matching. Anyone that attempts to wield this weapon without a matching energy signature will fail. Attempts to identify this weapon will only show the bare minimum level of information, depending on the level of the identifying user.

Reid lifted his head and let out a cheer towards the night sky.

A few local birds took flight from a nearby tree, and there were curious and alert grunts from the valley below. Reid barely noticed them.

In G grade, when he was crafting weapons and armor for Win and Lycra, four traits had felt like a hard limit.

But his instinct had been right.

His latest gains in F grade, with everything else they were giving Reid, had allowed him to break through that wall and imbue his latest creation five traits.

Reid smiled as he pictured what Win's face would look like when he told her what he'd done.

Or even better - he could reforge her equipment, and wait to see her reaction when she realized he'd added a 5th trait to them.

"Reid - do me a favor and finish reading through your notifications."

Nyx sounded quite proud of herself.

Congratulations! Osteal Smithing Journeyman has upgraded to Osteal Smithing Master.

New Achievements Earned!

Osteal Smithing Master (Earned for crafting ten unique masterworks).

Traitsmith (Earned for crating a piece of equipment with 5 or more traits).

Young Master (Earned for reaching Master level in any skill or enhancement prior to D Grade).

-

Osteal Smithing Master Lessens the energy requirements for Osteal Smithing. Enables the crafter to more easily allow other Osteal Smiths to contribute energy and effort to the Master Smith's creation process.

Traitsmith Slightly improves the efficacy of traits in crafted items. Improves the efficiency of crafting traits into items.

Young Master Skills and enhancements naturally improve with use at an increased rate.

"Damn. Have I really made ten masterworks?"

"Reid, everything you've made... each piece could be the defining point of a person's combat strategy. That knife could be perfect for someone that fights from the shadows or needs to get away from combat quickly using a high-mana skill. The ring would make a mage salivate. Marrow makes you very hard to kill. Requiem was an absurdly strong mace - and will be again once it grows to your new level of power. That ball in your hands is an absolutely glorious bit of ingenuity. Masterwork is an earned term."

He took another look at the text.

The bit inside of the Master trait hinted at the fact that Reid should've already been capable of letting other Osteal Smiths contribute their mana to fuel his work. That honestly sounded really damn useful. Apprentice was the wrong word, but if Reid had someone he could use for their energy, his crafting process could go much more quickly - and take less out of him.

Then, the traitsmith achievement was like a lure dangling in front of him - just begging him to push himself harder next time and aim for six. Reid knew he couldn't do that. Or, rather, he knew that he couldn't do that at his current level of ability. So the achievement's text was a promise that, with continued growth, he would be able to go farther.

"So, how does it feel to graduate beyond throwing rocks?"

Reid bit the inside of his lip and frowned. He had a fantastic new weapon, but stones and rocks were part of his base.

He was... a bit proud of the fact that he'd taken things from the land, early on, and used them to fight and grow. Maybe he didn't need to lose that after all...

You have renamed [Marrowbomb] to [Brock].

Reid smiled. It was dumb, absolutely, but he enjoyed it. Something to tie his brand new capability to his roots. A bone-rock.

Nyx sighed. "That is... an interesting name choice, Reid."

His smile widened. "Well, wait until I tell you what it means -"

Nyx cut him off, a bit of laughter spoiling her attempt to sound unamused. "Is it 'Bone Rock'?"

"That it is... Hey, Nyx?"

"Yes, Reid?"

He popped open his status and took in the progress he'd made so far.

"Thank you."

STATUS

Name: Lord Ser Reid Oliver Calderwall [Serroc] Affiliation: "The Osteal Empire" [Hidden] Race: Human [Vuxarinan] Grade: F Level: 40 -> 41 [Hidden] Health: 3090 / 3100 Experience: 1,240,001 / 1,638,400 -> 1,640,001 / 3,276,800

STATS: Constitution: 274 -> 310 Dexterity: 130 -> 260 Intelligence: 130 -> 187 Perception: 137 -> 202 Power: 276 -> 315 Control: 450 -> 470 Stat Upgrade Points: ERROR

SKILLS: Strengthening [Basic] Identify [Basic] Hardening [Common] Darkvision [Common] Calcification [Uncommon] Accelerated Growth [Undefined] (.19 -> .23) Skill Upgrade Points: ERROR

ENHANCEMENTS: Osteal Smithing Journeyman (Calcification)

RESISTANCES: Substances - Sedatives Active Skill Effects - (Negative) Identify - (Partial + Falsification)

ACCOLADES:

Titles: [Lord, Honorary Knight] Achievements: [Pesticide, Regicide, Mercy Kill, Challenger, Lone Agent, Magnanimous Leader, Grade Jumper, Early Founder, Venator III, Invulnerable, True Balance, True Arcana, True Prowess, Perfect Evolution, Swamp Fiend, Equipment Specialist, Osteal Smithing Master, Traitsmith, Young Master]

RESTRICTED:

???: UNAVAILABLE

#

As light rose over Snug Valley, Reid made his way towards the edge of the Guinea Pigs. Just close enough for him to get in a good throw. On Nyx's request, he'd done so without Recalling Requiem. This wasn't meant to be a fight, but a test.

He turned Brock in his hand, and let his fingers rub against the two vortices. This weapon was great in concept - now he just needed to better understand how it behaved in reality. How potent would the shrapnel be? How solid the slug? And, most importantly - how much effort and energy was it going to take to recall the thing?

He crouched in a bush, and pushed energy into the first vortex to trigger the shrapnel trait. Power ran through his arm as Reid tilted his body, and hurled his creation skyward.

Its smooth ivory surface glinted in the rising sun as it crested the apex of its flight.

Then it plummeted towards the still-sleeping troop.

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