Chapter 2.02

[Defensive Construction V]
—[Builder’s Brawn V]
—[Shape+ III] > [Shape+ IV]-up
—[Reinforce IV]
—[Architecture III]
—[Bind III]
—[Totem of Nurture I] > [Totem of Nurture II]
—[Totem of Healing II] > [Totem of Healing III]

Over the past couple of months, [Shape] had become Flint’s most used ability. It gaining a rank came as no surprise. However, he couldn’t help but feel taken aback by how quickly the totems were gaining levels. They were experiencing regular use as he placed multiple totems around the slope and regularly refreshed them. Then it occurred to him: not only did he not get to use his active abilities often, but the Iron Army limited how they utilised them too.

Did the army purposely keep us weak and limited?

[Marksmanship IV]
—[Steady Hand IV]
—[Keen Eye II] > [Keen Eye III]
—[Focused Shot II]
—[Trigger Finger I] > [Trigger Finger II]
—[Marking Shot I] > [Marking Shot II]

[Keen Eye]’s growth didn’t surprise him. It was a passive ability, after all, and constantly in effect. It hadn’t gained a rank in over a year, and it was due for an upgrade. On the other hand, the stone’s newer abilities’ rank-ups had come much sooner than expected.

After the last battle, Flint worried his current abilities weren’t good enough. He was an above-average marksman, but he had barely inflicted any damage to the armoured inquisitors or the giants. Flint was starting to wonder whether he’d be better off shedding the skill stone for something more powerful or unrelated to combat.

[Alteration I] > [Alteration II]
—[Change Density I] > [Change Density II]
—New Ability available
—New Ability Available

A shiver ran down Flint’s spine. After using the ability non-stop for the past two weeks, he expected to gain one rank, not two. He doubted it was just his increased pool of energy—or essence. Either his status as a classer had something to do with it, or the Iron Army had indeed impeded the builders’ growth. Perhaps the [Totem of Nurture] had something to do with unprecedented growth too.

[Stoneflesh]
Blades struggle to pierce stone. Only the mightiest may crush it. Burn essence to turn your skin into stone. Sacrifice more to transform your flesh too. Beware. Stones are neither mobile nor flexible. The tougher you get, the slower you’ll be.

[Transmute]
Alteration’s core involves reassembling the world’s building blocks into something it’s not. Imbue a substance with essence to temporarily transmute it into known metals. Essence requirements change depending on the metal.

The decision wasn’t a hard one for the first open slot. He liked moving around and staying away from the front lines. If [Stoneflesh] let him empower the dogs, he’d have happily picked it. [Transmute] felt like a more helpful pick. He wasn’t sure of the best use for it. However, the description intrigued him. The prospect of turning shaped stone into projectiles especially excited him. If he and Ed ever found themselves on the battlefield together, he also foresaw himself transmuting shaped spikes into metal. Combined with the [Throwing] skill stone in Ed’s [Power Node], he believed they could turn into a terrifying duo.

[Animate Totem]
Imbue a sculpted totem with essence to temporarily animate it. The totem’s actions will depend on its nature, and they’ll follow your instructions to a limited extent.

[Cu Sith]
Temporarily transform a member of your pack into the moor hounds from fae legends for one night, increasing their power two-fold. The dog’s base physiology and essence-abilities will determine the Cu Sith’s abilities. However, they’ll lose themselves to the transformation, growing wild and violent, and only obedient to your commands.

The second option disgusted Flint. It reminded him of Lea’s sword. Despite the power on offer, the ability left him feeling sick. It would turn one of his pack into something they were not. Flint worried how such transformations would affect them in the long term. All of his dogs were kind, friendly, and loveable. He didn’t want to see them mad and frothing at the mouth.

On the other hand, he loved the concept of mobile totems. The last fight had proven that they only benefitted individuals he considered his allies. Sending a [Totem of Healing] would’ve kept everyone revitalised and strong throughout the battle.  He locked in his decision and finally moved on to the final node.

[Pack Leader I] > [Pack Leader II}
—[Aura of Entangling Fur I] > [Aura of Entangling Fur II]
—New Ability available
—[Soul Link II]
—[Guide Growth]
—New Ability available

[Pack’s Essence]
Essence doesn’t belong to an individual but to the entire pack. Members of the pack who do not use or need their essence daily may share it with those who do. Transfer also speeds up the recipient’s recovery from essence-using abilities. The transfer’s efficiency varies with range and rank.

[Moon’s Aura]
The pack thrives best under the moon’s light. All members gain increased strength, speed, essence control and regeneration depending while the moon is in the sky. The aura’s effectiveness changes based on the moon’s phase. It’s strongest when full and weakest during the new moon.

The decision was a lot harder than Flint expected. He would’ve picked [Moon’s Aura] in a heartbeat if not for its two variable factors: time of day and phase of the moon. The former bothered him more than the latter. Their two hardest confrontations so far had both come during the daytime. Unlike the Wyld’s forces, the Iron Army never attacked after dark. After all, not all of them had night vision. Most beasts would attack at night, but the rest didn’t have a preferred time of day.

Meanwhile, [Pack’s Essence] filled him with ideas. Maya’s attacks were devastating during combat. He didn’t know Maya’s limit yet, but there was a clear delay between uses. If he or a pack member could get close enough to transfer essence into her, it would make survival a breeze. He didn’t have to think about it for long. [Pack’s Essence] wasn’t situational and could be used whenever necessary.

Finally, Flint turned his attention to the final new ability. The relevant glowing circle sat next to the class node.

[Hunter’s Aura]
The best hunters are pack hunters. A pack member’s speed, agility, and empathic communication sharply increase when they and their friends focus on a singular target. The aura’s effectiveness increases with each pack member involved.

[Shared Aura]
What good is a powerful aura if it can’t be shared? When a pack member gains a unique aura, it may share it with the rest of the pack. The shared aura gets more powerful the closer a pack member is to the source.

Flint wanted both abilities. Maya had shown him the memories of her and Bjorn fighting the antlered giant. Both of them dreaded hearing Bjorn’s yelp. An aura that increased the pack’s abilities when they fought as a group was perfect. At the same time, everyone would benefit from sharing Bjorn’s chilling aura. Chilling enemies over a larger area wouldn’t just help the dogs but everyone else involved.

Stones often gave people the opportunity to pick an ability again at a later level. Perhaps Bjorn’s aura would get more powerful at a later stage of existence. If that happened, then he’d keep his eyes open for [Shared Aura]

In the short term, [Hunter’s Aura] felt like a more potent candidate and could potentially improve their chances when facing bigger game. Flint locked in his decision and finally cut his connection with the Heartstone.

Dusk has come and passed. The consistency of time’s passage appeared to change every time he communed with the Heartstone. His stomach was rumbling, too, so he trudged up the hill to the camp. By the time Flint reached the pool, his pelvis was throbbing. He didn’t have any energy left in him to move, let alone eat.

Fortunately, the newer builders had already started dinner and were celebrating the wall’s completion with a drink. When they invited Flint to join them, he jumped at the opportunity. The smell of venison stew and freshly baked bread from the kitchens made his stomach rumble. However, he rejected the alcohol. It interfered with his empathic sense and pushed unwanted emotions on the dogs.

They asked Flint about his time in the army, and he told them. The more time Flint spent around the Woodson fort’s new residents, the clearer everything became. Propaganda and limited information had skewed his vision of the world. As long as the Iron Council controlled the narrative, they could comfortably command the population.

Meanwhile, the Wyld sounded like a tyrannical bunch. They were more open about their motives, and certain members of the high fae wanted to rule the disk. They were willing to wipe out entire communities—like the Order of Sun and Moon—to get their way. He previously believed they only attacked military settlements. Now that Flint lived with fae that had once served in the Wyld army, he knew the commanding forces didn’t differentiate between soldier and civilian. They spared children, but everyone else was fair game.