The treatment of the northern soldiers was almost luxurious compared to the rest of the army. Even a cadet like Noah had his own tent.
Though "tent" was too modest a word. His quarters were shaped like a small igloo of hardened ice, lined with runic heaters that kept the air warm enough to banish the eternal frost outside.
Inside, a narrow bed was pressed against the corner, and a small iron table with two mismatched chairs sat beside it. Functional and private.
That was more than most soldiers could dream of.
The heat wrapped around him the moment he stepped in, and Noah stripped off his frost-stiffened uniform, sighing with relief. His back was lined with strange scratch marks, which Noah preferred not to think about.
His shoulders throbbed from the endless hauling of corpses, but he paid the pain no mind. Not when something far more important shimmered before his eyes.
A glowing blue screen hovered in the air, bathing the igloo in a ghostly light.
[Unassigned Attributes: 100]
Noah's lips curved into a grin. Just looking at those words sent a thrill through him.
'Let's craft a skill.'
The knowledge of how to use his deck trait was instinctual, etched into his mind the moment it awakened. All he had to do was imagine the power he desired, shape it into words, and the deck would answer.
He closed his eyes.
'A hellfire that burns a hundred thousand demons to ash.'
[Definition rejected. The scale is too large for an F-rank skill card.]
"Tch." Noah clicked his tongue, smirking. "Worth a try."
Skill cards were ranked from F to A, F being the weakest, A the strongest.
Rumors whispered of rarities beyond that, but only the highest echelons of humanity's war council knew the truth.
Here in Fortress 49, the strongest man was General Ryan Bastion himself, whispered to be a Gold Decker, his deck anchored by a single B-rank attack card.
Even that was enough to make him a living legend.
For the rest of the army, there was only one safe way to obtain skill cards: military merit.
Every kill, every victory, every wound bled for the Bastion could be exchanged for merits which could be used to buy anything humanity could offer.
There was another way, of course. A faster way.
Dungeons.
The word alone could silence a room. Gateways to the realm of demons, crawling with horrors that made battlefield Grovelers look like vermin.
True treasures slumbered within—high-rank cards, artifacts, and cores. But they came with a price.
The mortality rate of a dungeon raid was over ninety percent.
Even the desperate rarely risked it. Because once you crossed into those depths, you were not fighting for humanity anymore.
You were fighting to keep your soul from being devoured.
Noah leaned back on his bed, the glow of his unassigned attributes flickering across his sharp eyes. One hundred points.
Enough for a single F-rank skill. Enough for a beginning.
'What do I need?' he asked himself, his gaze drifting towards the frost-laced seal of his igloo's entrance.
'Not a world-ending firestorm. Not yet.'
He didn't want anyone to know he had awakened. With his deck trait, he would enhance his strength enough for him to survive as a Warden. Until then he was going to hide his awakening.
Becoming a Warden was enticing, of course. But dying in the process wasn't.
'Ten UA can be converted into a single point in any of my attributes.'
Technically, it was better if he used these points to improve all of his attributes to fifty.
'But for that, I need 1050 UA. At my current speed, it will take me approximately eleven days.'
Also, the process was a bit crude. He had to always be wary of someone seeing him touching the corpses. That would raise questions.
Since the sergeant praised him a lot today, there would be more people watching him tomorrow.
'I need something to solve this problem, even if it's a temporary fix.'
An idea began to form. He closed his eyes again, his focus turning inward to the silent hum of his deck trait. This time, his definition was simple and humble.
'I want a skill to draw the demonic essence from a nearby corpse to myself without physical contact.'
[First definition accepted. Now define the range. Keep in mind the rank of the skill card you are able to craft.]
'Let's say… within five feet.'
[Defining parameters for F-Rank skill: Extraction. Range: 5 feet. Target: Inanimate demonic corpse. Effect: Siphon latent attributes. Definition accepted.]
A new prompt shimmered into existence.
[Craft Skill: [Essence Tether]? Cost: 100 Unassigned Attributes.]
Noah's breath caught in his throat.
'Confirm,' he almost shouted.
The number on his status screen, [100], flickered and instantly drained to [0]. It was immediately followed by a new sensation.
A warm light bloomed from his chest, flowing down his arm and pooling in his open palm. Motes of silvery-blue energy, like captured starlight, swirled in the air just above his skin.
They spun faster and faster, weaving together, solidifying. The light compressed, hardening with a faint, crystalline chime. When the glow faded, a physical object lay in his hand.
It was a card, cool to the touch and unnervingly smooth. It was the color of a midnight sky, with intricate, silver lines swirling across its surface like a constellation.
In the center, the name [Essence Tether] pulsed with a soft, internal light.
Name: Essence Tether
Type: Utility (Extraction)
Rank: F
Level: 1 (0/1000)
Activation cost: 10 MP
About:Generates a tether of pure energy that latches onto a demonic corpse within a 5-foot radius. Siphons the target's latent essence, converting it into Unassigned Attributes for the user.
Active time: 10 minutes
Price: None
He focused on the card, on the concept of making it part of him. As if responding to his will, the card dissolved into the same silver-blue light it was born from.
[Skill card [Essence Tether] has been added to your deck.]
[Deck Slots Used: 1/10]
An excited smile appeared on his face as he glanced inwards to his iron deck where a gleaming silver and midnight card now settled.
Suddenly, Noah hoped morning would come quickly so he could start working—in other words, farming attributes.