Astrid shifted her thoughts to a more pressing matter. The upper arm should be a lot easier to form as it’s just one bone.

  Soon, her arm bones were made entirely of Voidbent metal. It wouldn’t be long until her whole skeleton was Voidbent. Hopefully, the sheer hardness of it would mean that her bones could not be broken.

  However, the fact that Voidbent was Epic rarity and not Legendary meant that the unbreakable metal had to have a weakness somewhere. At first, Astrid thought its flaw was its heaviness. It would be impractical for dexterity users without strength to heft a weapon of meaningful size. Still, that shouldn’t make the difference in categories.

  It had to be something more. Something as positive as “unbreakable” had to have an equally negative quality to balance it. Such was life.

  She just had to find out what it was. Considering that Leena had a better connection with it, maybe she knew.

  Astrid awoke from her thoughts.

  “Leena, how much do you understand about Voidbent metal?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you have created a connection with the metal, so I was hoping you understood the weakness of it as well.”

  “Oh,” Leena nodded. “I’m not sure exactly. It’s not as if the metal talks to me. I just control it.”

  “Right.” Astrid nodded. I’m the only one that talks to things in my mind, got it.

  “Well, that just means we need to experiment with it and find the weakness before someone else does. It must be common knowledge by now that we intend to make weapons and armour from the ore.”

  Leena nodded.

  With that in mind, Astrid took a break from creating her Voidbent skeleton and attempted to figure out the weakness with Leena. It was better to discover it now rather than in a dangerous situation.

  Astrid attacked Leena with skills using water, earth and wind, among other magical effects. But none of those worked, leaving only basic element: fire.

  Astrid formed a ball of fire in her hands and, with her imagination, increased the power of the spell to her Level.

  “Incoming!” Astrid shouted and pitched the ball toward Leena. It tore through the air like a blazing bolt.

  Leena’s usual expression of confidence turned into one of sheer Spartan grit. She intended to block the bolt with her body, but her Voidbent armour suddenly transformed to the previous, lower-quality metal. The ball of fire struck her body and she crashed into the floor.

  Astrid rushed to her battle-maid. She brushed away the dust and watched as Leena took a relieved breath.

  “What happened?” Astrid asked in worry.

  “If—” Leena stuttered. “If I had taken that attack, I had the sensation that I would receive serious damage.”

  “So, fire is the weakness of Voidbent?” Astrid pondered. “I wonder if the entire void element is susceptible to fire, then?”

  “It would be good to err on the side of caution.” Leena dusted herself off and stood up.

  Astrid agreed. “It would be best not to depend on it against a fire user. For now, I’ll make use of Identify to make sure enemies don’t have fire mages.”

  “What if they have a blocking stone?”

  “Which is more than likely,” Astrid said. “It just means that if they are any kind of mage, don’t use Voidbent armour.”

  “Okay,” Leena said.

  “Anyway, how is your progress?”

  “Good. No, it’s great.” Leena tightened her hands. “This whole place feels exactly like the real thing. I thought that gaining a connection with the metal would be different than it is in the real world, but every detail of the ore is exactly as it is back in Ruitera.”

  “I made sure of it,” Astrid said with a chuckle. “We'll be leaving my domain soon. I just have to finish a few things.”

  “I’d better get some more practice in then.” Leena flashed a grin and continued to work with her newly gained metal.

  Astrid let herself fall back and caught herself with Psychokinesis. It was as if she were sitting in a reclining chair as she used some of her mental ability to relax her body. Next up, she had to integrate Voidbent metal with her entire skeleton.

  It took her about three hours to finish both arms, shoulders, and hands. She wanted to continue, but a throbbing pain in her mind, and the rapidly shrinking number of mana potions in her Void Storage made her stop. The mana potions she had on her body had to last for the duration of the mission.

  I’ve made good progress. Doing all of this without the guidance and instinct of a skill user is a total pain in the ass. Astrid massaged her temples and then, with a thought, cancelled her Mind Domain.

  Leena took a moment to look around and collect herself after the sudden change. Leena looked around in wonder, then walked over and poked Bellona’s cheek without hesitation.

  “Astrid, it’s just like real life!” Leena exclaimed. “It’s truly amazing what you are capable of within the domain!”

  Leena’s poke turned into a pinch as she stretched the fleshy cheek of the stunned Bellona.

  Astrid let out a sudden puff of air, but couldn’t hold back her laughter at seeing Bellona’s incredulous face. It was as if she couldn’t comprehend the situation.

  Leena looked at Astrid, before her eyes shone with a realisation. She slowly turned back to Bellona’s.

  Leena awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of her head. “I thought⁠—”

  “Don’t think,” Bellona stood up. “Just run.”

  “Fight, fight, fight.” Astrid chanted. She pumped her fists up and down in anticipation.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Leena stood beside of Astrid with a black eye. She had quickly regained her professional demeanour.

  Astrid recalled the fight with awe.

  Bellona had fought with nothing but her fists. Leena held the reach advantage with her metal lance that could change and grow, but that didn’t matter.

  With her unusual boxing style, Bellona was like a high-powered magnet that stuck to Leena’s armour, no matter how Leena tried to shake her off. It didn’t seem to be a movement Skill, but rather a footwork Skill.

  Though they sounded similar, they were totally different. Movement Skills could close distance or increase speed—even allow teleportation. However, footwork Skills focused on physical movement in a melee with less supernatural effect. Moves such as feints and sticking to enemies might be considered basic, but like skills, when they were mastered, they could result in amazing feats.

  Bellona stuck to Leena’s body and battered the battle-maid with her fists. Each attack seemed to cause Leena pain, even through her armour.

  Astrid thought that it might be some type of passive Skill capable of bypassing armour at a reduced strength. It looked as though Bellona’s class was good against melee users, but if she relied on footwork only, she would have trouble against mage classes.

  But if she had managed to survive until now—and with Freya raising her—she obviously had some tricks up her sleeves.

  The rest of the journey was uneventful. Lisa had brought some board games on the ship. Presumably. she was aware of Brett’s need to have something to relieve his boredom. Astrid did, too.

  After all, she could only train for so long. The monotony of changing her bone structure within Mind Domain was grating on her. It wasn’t like high intensity sparring or fighting with her life on the line. She had spent hours upon hours reclining in midair, injecting her bone marrow with Voidbent metal—then using it to recreate her bones.

  It took longer to complete than she had expected. That was mainly because she didn’t want to use up her mana potions. Instead, she would work until her mana container was halved and then wait for it to refill before going on.

  She never let the mana in her container fall below the halfway point for fear of a sudden attack. She had to be ready for any situation, especially out on the open ocean.

  There was still the threat of the Leviathan. She had never forgotten it, nor could she. It was humanity's greatest enemy for a reason.

  Astrid shook the thought from her head and activated Void Storage, pulling out most of the Voidbent metal. She was confident that she could now complete her bone structure recreation in real life.

  She had gone over it repeatedly in her Mind Domain. After fully forming her skeleton once, she had started from the beginning and done it all again. By now, sinking her mind into the metal with Psych Domain was second nature.

  Taking a breath, she placed her hand on the cold, hard metal and began the process. She had done it hundreds of times. This time was no different, except for one thing. The pain.

  It was bone-gnawing. She gritted her teeth and dulled her mind’s pain sensors, making sure not to turn them off completely so that she would know when to take a break. After all, she might not feel pain, but that didn’t mean that her body wasn’t under extreme duress.

  It was going to be a long—and agonising—time.

  Rachelle watched as Astrid closed her eyes. She could feel the intense concentration that practically radiated from her pores.

  She rested her elbows on her knees, cupped her chin in her hands and watched. It wasn’t as though there was much else to do on the ship. She could stomach only so many board games with Brett.

  The cheating bastard.

  Her vexation disappeared as Astrid furrowed her brows in pain, her arm twitching and trembling, as if something were drilling into her bones.

  Rachelle sat up straight. Just what is she doing now? Does it have something to do with that domain skill of hers?

  Astrid and Leena had spent most of the trip within Astrid’s Mind Domain. But this time Leena was standing next to Astrid with her eyes open. Rachelle could see the worry in Leena’s eyes and it made her worry, as well.

  Just what is the little witch doing now?

  Every time Astrid’s brows knit in pain or her arm twitched, Rachelle felt a tightening in her throat. It only became pronounced when blood started seeping from Astrid’s eyes and ears.

  Rachelle stood up in a panic. “What is happening?”

  At her words, the others rushed over.

  “My lady is undergoing training,” Leena said. “Please don’t disturb her.”

  Despite her words, Leena bit her own lips.

  “What kind of training results in that?” Rachelle exclaimed.

  Astrid’s arm bone was visibly moving under her skin and her face was contorted with agony as the bone popped, crackled, and snapped.

  “I can’t watch this,” Rachelle said. Yet she couldn’t look away.

  In her mind’s eye, she saw only images of a smiling girl with golden hair having the time of her life as she exploded monsters with her psychic power. Seeing this side of her… It reminded Rachelle of the time in the dungeon, when she had risked breaking down her own body to protect her friends.

  Rachelle had been used to never-ending betrayal, whether from Wayfarers, Seafarers, Humanity Corps soldiers or Adventurers. From a girl who hadn’t been with them for long—the daughter of the most powerful man on Rebirth—Rachelle had not expected such a willing sacrifice.

  It was then that she truly accepted Astrid as one of their own—a part of the family. And now she was in pain…

  It went on for hours. Now and then, Leena would dab the blood away with a towel.

  Rachelle stood up once more as Astrid’s weary eyes opened.

  Exhaustion had taken hold of Astrid’s her entire body, which throbbed with intense pain. Despite that, she was elated. Not only because she had finished restructuring her skeleton—a feat that not many in the world could imagine, much less achieve—but also because of the System message that followed her accomplishment.

  You have gained an Epic Psychokinetic Skill - Matter Absorption: Through great trial and error, you have learnt how to alter your very being with the materials of the world and beyond. You can now absorb any material depending on its Level and Rarity.

  This Skill is added to Psychokinesis.

  Astrid tilted her head at the added information and the System made it clear.

  Psychokinesis.

  | Omni-Kinesis.

  | Matter Absorption.

  So, they are like pathways! Astrid nodded. She had heard about the uniqueness of legendary skills, and this was one of them. Usually, a new Skill couldn’t be added to an older Skill, as Matter Absorption had been.

  Epic Skills and below needed their own slot within the class. This was another huge boon to the noble classes or, in this case, the black blob.

  I should really name it something proper. But I’m so bad at naming things. Astrid lamented the thought. She was still struggling with her adventure name. Something to inspire fear and awe… or maybe just fear?

  Astrid pinched her chin, only to realise that she was drenched in her own blood.

  The others were looking at her as if she were insane, but she just grinned. Her teeth were stained red and blood covered her lower face. No doubt she looked like a blood-crazed demon.

  “Judging by that smile, you’ve done something worthy of celebration?” Daniel puffed on yet another cigarette.

  “What kind of celebration?” Astrid squinted suspiciously.

  “Ah, I have just the thing,” Daniel said. “Wait just here.”

  “It’s not like she can go anywhere.” Bellona added the aside with a deadpan expression.

  “Hey, you don’t know Astrid as well as we do,” Brett said. “One moment she could be right next to you, the next she’s up and flying, getting herself swooped into a solo dungeon.”

  Astrid waved her arms in the air, feeling their extra weight. Then, she jumped up and down several times. The extra weight caused her to thump onto the decking as if she weighed forty extra kilograms.

  Wait, that means… Astrid furrowed her brows as she used Levitation. The extra weight was immediately apparent as she tried to keep up with the boat. It cost her almost double the amount of mana, but the durability of her new skeleton could save her a limb in the long run.

  By the time she landed, Daniel had returned with a brown bottle in hand.

  “How about some Pirate Sunset Express?” Daniel said with a wide smile.

  Why does it look like he just wanted an excuse to open it? Ah, well, what’s the difference?

  If it was alcohol, she wanted a sip.

  TWENTY-SIX

  The trip took only a few days more. Astrid had spent the extra time testing her new bones for weakness. Namely, against heat.

  She had Rachelle throw a few fireballs in her direction, but with her Mind Barrier, the fire didn’t affect her much. It caused a spike in her body heat, which just made her sweat more.

  Astrid made it a point to focus on fire. It had a unique characteristic within her psychic vision. The individual specks of matter had a hazy aspect to them. Upon close inspection, she could see when a fire Skill was being activated, which would allow her to detect an attack as it was being formed.

  Her other discovery during the trip’s last few days was the Pirate Sunset Express. It had a hint of fruit extract that tickled the taste buds. It was already her favourite alcoholic beverage. Charlotte’s high-quality booze was good, great even, but the fruity, sweet taste of the pirate alcohol suited her better.

  “We’re approaching the anchor point!” Daniel shouted from the upper cabin window.

  Astrid’s heart raced like a high-powered engine as her matter-strengthened body sprinted toward the bow of the ship. It became immediately apparent that they weren’t the only ones to undertake this mission.

  Nearby was a ship even larger than her own. It wasn’t the vessel’s size that surprised her, but rather, the flag that billowed from its mast: an anchor with wings. It was the Seafarers flag.

  A plop next to her made her jump and immediately erect her Mind Barrier. A white splat marked the deck. She glared at the birds that spiralled above. Her psychic mana flared, but she was held back by a bandaged hand.

  Bellona shook her head. “Do you have to kill innocent creatures?”

  “Innocent?” Astrid asked. “It almost shit on me!”

  “Yes, and if it had hit you, that would be considered good luck.”

  “Good luck, my ass,” Astrid said. “If it’s such good luck then why don’t you⁠—”

  Astrid was interrupted by a much larger blob of white that landed on Bellona’s shoulder, splattering her face and Astrid’s barrier.

  Astrid watched with delight as Bellona’s face spasmed.

  “It’s considered good luck.” Astrid belted out a laugh.

  “Hey, look, Bellona got shit on!” Brett held his stomach and roared with laughter.

  “Oh, my goddess!” Rachelle slapped her thighs. “It’s such a big one too!”

  Bellona’s brows twitched furiously.

  Lisa put her hand over her face and shook her head. She took out a handkerchief and walked over to Bellona.

  While Bellona wiped at her face, Astrid eyed the other ship. It obviously wasn’t a huge team of Seafarers, as they hadn’t posted a watch on the boat. It meant that they were banking on the good intentions of anyone who encountered their ship and hoping that it wouldn’t be plundered.

  To be fair, that didn’t happen often. The ocean was simply too vast and, from all accounts, it was rare to run across another group, especially fourteen days out from Rebirth. But what are Seafarers doing so far out? No way they received a mission from the Seafaring headquarters.

  Astrid glanced at Daniel as he was approaching with his backpack full of supplies.

  “Seafarers so far out?” Astrid asked. “Are they on the same mission as we are?”

  “Not unless they have the same information source we have.” Daniel tightened the strap to his leather shoulder pad. “Which I highly doubt, so that leaves it to pure chance.”

  “They’re most likely out in search of a payday.” Losef held his spear in one hand, his shield in the other.

  Astrid scratched her head. “Wouldn’t that get them in trouble with the Seafarer division?”

 

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