The treasury still glowed with its eerie blue light, the aether cores stacked like forbidden jewels. Loid sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, hands trembling as he picked up another glowing sphere.
One after another, he pressed them to his chest, watching them dissolve into him with a sensation like ice water and fire all at once. His UI flickered each time, the numbers leaping upward until they dwarfed anything he'd seen before.
When the last of the pile was gone, he set aside five cores, tucking them into a small pouch. "Emergency stash," he muttered, tying the strap.
Then he exhaled, pulled up his UI, and read it aloud like scripture:
[ Reputation Coins: 3280.40 ]
[ Reputation Points: 7,989 ]
[ Units Owned: 3 ]
[ System Level: 3 ]
Loid let out a sharp, almost disbelieving laugh. "This is… the richest I've ever been in my life." He tilted his head back against the wall, staring at the broken ceiling where the stars peeked in. "Figures it's in some godforsaken necromancer tower, with death stink in my nose."
Angela leaned on her greatsword like a pillar, her armor still dripping with ichor. "Rich or not, spend it wisely. Wealth means nothing if you hoard it and die."
Loid rubbed his temple. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I'll have to spend it all immediately. That's how these systems work, right? Progression, efficiency, min-maxing, fuck me, I sound like a spreadsheet nerd."
Isolde smirked, golden eyes gleaming. "I could handle the arithmetic for you, if numbers frighten you so badly."
"Numbers don't frighten me." Loid groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "I just hate math. Always have. Somehow nothing change that."
Selvara tilted her head, silent, but her silver eyes betrayed faint amusement.
Loid pulled the UI closer, muttering. "Alright. Let's get this over with. Time to distribute points."
---
He started with Isolde. "Okay, you've been pulling your weight. I'll bump you to level five." He tapped the interface, reputation points draining away. Isolde straightened, brushing her golden hair back proudly as her aura shimmered faintly.
[ Isolde – Level 5 ]
[ Cost to Level 6: 1600 Reputation Points ]
Loid frowned at the stats. "Strength one, endurance one… still fragile. Spirit six, agility four…" He paused, then nudged two points into agility. "That should help you dodge instead of face-tanking."
The UI shifted:
[ Strength: 1 | Endurance: 1 | Agility: 5 | Spirit: 6 ]
Isolde smirked. "Hmph. As expected. At least you know where to invest in true talent."
Angela scoffed. "She's still a glass doll. A stiff breeze would snap her spine."
Isolde flushed. "I'll electrocute you where you stand, giantess!"
Loid cut in, sighing. "Next. Angela, Selvara, you're both level six now." He flicked through the interface, the points draining like sand through a glass. Both women glowed faintly as the upgrade took hold.
[ Angela – Level 6 ]
[ Selvara – Level 6 ]
Loid stared at the dwindling reputation total. "Still have about thirty-five hundred points left…" He chewed his lip. "That's enough to push one of you to seven. Costs thirty-two hundred. That's… a big leap."
Angela folded her arms. "Obviously me. I'm the wall, the blade, the hammer. If I grow, we all survive longer."
Selvara said nothing. She simply tilted her head, waiting.
Isolde smirked, needling. "Or perhaps our little shadow deserves it. Scouts decide whether we even reach a battlefield alive."
Loid groaned, rubbing his temples again. "God, I hate this. You're all like... like different weapons in my hand. Which one do I sharpen? Which one do I let dull? It's…" He trailed off, staring at Selvara.
Her silver eyes held his calmly.
"Yeah," Loid muttered. "You. Level seven. I want to see if the system really has a hard cap, or if we can push past it."
He tapped the interface. The glow enveloped Selvara, her veins lighting with electric blue cracks as her aura sharpened like a blade drawn from the sheath.
The UI shifted again:
[ Selvara – Level 7 ]
[ Strength: 1 | Endurance: 4 | Agility: 7 | Spirit: 3 ]
Loid grinned faintly. "Knew it... Well, you're faster now... like stupidly faster."
Angela let out a low whistle. "Hnh. She'll be a phantom on the field."
Isolde sniffed. "Or a pest no one can catch."
Loid collapsed back against the wall, staring at the glowing numbers.
[ Reputation Coins: 3280.40 ]
[ Reputation Points: 389 ]
[ Units Owned: 3 ]
[ System Level: 3 ]
"Well," he muttered. "That's that. Points gone. Time to spend coins next. Shopping spree."
---
He stood, brushing dust from his knees. "So here's the question: do I buy one giant monster for all of us to ride, or smaller mounts for each of you?"
All three looked at him. None spoke.
"Don't all volunteer your opinions at once," Loid muttered.
Angela finally shrugged. "You command. We follow."
Isolde lifted her chin. "As if I would waste breath on such a trivial matter. Choose, and we'll see if you regret it."
Selvara remained silent, expression unreadable.
Loid sighed. "Of course. All of you throw it back on me. Fine. One giant beast then. Easier to manage, easier to protect, and… honestly? I'm kind of excited to see what's in the catalog."
He pulled the UI back open. His mouth watered at the list. "Dreadfang Dire Wolf Alpha… Shellback Colossus Turtle… Stonehide Basilisk…" His jaw slackened as he scrolled, drool practically forming. "These aren't mounts. These are nightmares."
Angela leaned over his shoulder, grinning wide. "Choose the wolf. Imagine the carnage."
Isolde rolled her eyes. "Barbaric. At least pick something with grace."
Loid kept scrolling until his eyes locked on the flying mounts. "Ah. There it is. What we actually need."
He muttered, half to himself. "Cloudpiercer Wyvern… speed, agility, great scout, travel faster than caravans. Then there's the Ashwing Dracolisk, combat monster, volcanic power, can actually fight armies from the air."
He chewed his lip, indecisive, scrolling back and forth between the two. His companions grew restless.
"Loid," Angela rumbled. "Decide."
"I know, I know..." He rubbed his face again, groaning. "Travel convenience versus war machine. Scout versus bruiser. Ugh." He lingered a moment longer, then exhaled. "Fuck it. Ashwing Dracolisk. Better to have firepower than speed. If we need scouting, Selvara's already basically teleporting across the ground anyway."
The confirmation cost slammed into his UI:
[ -2600 Reputation Coins ]
[ Ashwing Dracolisk Acquired ]
Remaining:
[ Reputation Coins: 680.40 ]
Loid's jaw went slack as the description unfolded.
---
Ashwing Dracolisk
Size: Wingspan 75 ft (23 m), body length 33 ft (10 m).
Appearance: A dragon-lizard hybrid with blackened stone scales, bright molten cracks glowing beneath, and blazing orange eyes. Wings are jagged and smoke-trailing.
Capacity: Stable flight, can carry 4 riders.
Role: Fire-spitting aerial bruiser, doubles as a mobile strike platform.
---
Unique Spells
Rank D – Magma Spit: Vomits molten rock that splashes on impact, melting armor and creating patches of burning ground.
Rank C – Volcanic Roar: A fiery bellow unleashes a cone of heat and shockwave, knocking enemies back while igniting everything ahead.
Rank B – Pyroclasm Wings: With a mighty flap, its wings release an infernal storm of cinders and flame, scorching entire formations below.
---
Stats
Strength: 11 (Colossus I)
Agility: 8 (Superhuman II)
Endurance: 11 (Colossus I)
Spirit: 9 (Titanic I)
---
Loid whistled low. "This thing's… more powerful than any of you. Combined."
Angela raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Finally, something worth calling a war beast."
Isolde frowned, tilting her head. "It lacks elegance. Brutish. Savage. But… I cannot deny its strength."
Selvara's silver eyes lingered on the description longer than the others, but she said nothing.
Loid finally looked up. "Isolde, you get to summon it. For now. I can always reassign later, but it feels… fitting. You're the only one who'd stay calm enough to control a monster like this without crashing it into the ground."
Isolde flushed faintly but tried to hide it, tossing her hair. "Hmph. Of course. Only someone of my poise could handle such a beast."
Loid finally tore his gaze from the UI and pushed himself upright.
"Alright, let's summon it but not here," he said, glancing around the broken treasury. "This chamber won't survive its wingspan. We take it outside."
Isolde flicked her hair, clearly pleased to be chosen, and followed without protest. Selvara moved in silence, her steps as soft as falling ash.
They climbed back through the ruined stairwell and out into the night. The necromancer's tower loomed behind them, its broken spire silhouetted against a star-choked sky. The air was cool and damp, until the summoning began.
Isolde lifted her hand. A circle of molten glyphs burned into the ground, spilling cracks of fire that hissed against the cobblestones. The earth shook, and from the blaze rose the Ashwing Dracolisk.
Its scales were black stone split by rivers of molten light. Its wings unfolded like volcanic cliffs tearing apart, smoke and cinders trailing into the night sky. The heat slammed into them in a wave so fierce that Loid staggered back, choking on the searing air. Angela braced against it, teeth gritted, while Selvara shielded her eyes.
Then something strange.
The beast lowered its jagged head, molten eyes narrowing as it regarded them. The air shimmered… and the heat lessened. The oppressive furnace faded until it was no stronger than a summer's warmth, the volcanic aura folding inward as though the monster had willed it so.
Loid blinked, chest heaving. "It… adjusted. For us."
Angela let out a bark of laughter. "A considerate inferno. I didn't think I'd see the day."
Isolde smirked, but there was reverence in her voice. "Of course it did. Such a creature would know who its chosen riders are."
Selvara's gaze lingered on the beast, silver eyes reflecting its molten glow. "It listens."
"Alright," he said at last, voice steady. "The tower's done. We sweep the town one last time before we leave. No loose ends, no missed spoils. Then…" He glanced up at the dracolisk, its wings flexing against the night sky like living mountains. "Then we ride."