There was a possibility that by using the Growth mana orb, I could unlock another power that might be able to help Ash and Floof. It wasn’t something I had ever been any good at, but given that necessity was the mother of invention, what choice did I have but to try?

  “Dammit, Alecks, this was always your specialty,” I whispered to myself, letting some of the growing tension out with my words. It had been a long time, since thoughts of my brother had been so front and center in my mind. But whatever had happened to him wasn’t something I could let myself dwell on, not yet.

  It would be some time still before I was anywhere near strong enough to spare the effort for that. My first priority was those connections I had made here, the additions to my family. After that, though, I would find out what had happened to my brother.

  Running my hand over the Growth orb, I knew what I needed to do. Every tier of a mana orb had within it a secondary ability that could be unlocked. Most people let that happen naturally over time. That was the easy choice, but it wasn’t the only one.

  With the right guided reflection, it was possible to sculpt a mana orb, within the limits of its type. There was no way to make a Fire orb suddenly start casting water magic. But doing something like pushing the Growth orb to develop another persistent ability that boosted my allies, that seemed doable.

  I had never successfully done it myself, but I had seen Alecks do it enough to know it wasn’t just a myth. I knew the theory behind it, and I suspected the Growth orb could be pushed in the direction I needed. I just needed to calm my mind and focus.

  Something that was much easier said than done, given everything at the moment.

  I took a slow, deep breath, pulling the air in through my nose, holding it briefly, then releasing it through my mouth. I repeated that several times, each time gradually slowing my breathing further, while keeping my hand on the Growth orb. My mind was kept cemented on the meaning behind the name.

  Memories of Ash’s big childhood moments played in my head. The time she had tried to climb the giant tree in the backyard, and the hospital visit afterward, came into clear focus. It had taken her two months for her ankle to heal, but as soon as it had, she was back in that damn tree again. I hadn’t been happy about it at the time, even if she had managed to climb to the top of its crown without hurting herself again.

  She had grown, coming back stronger, more aware of what she had done wrong the first time.

  That was it. The real idea behind the advancement of any kind. Learning, trying, failing, and trying again, stronger than before. It was how every being grew. It was the entire basis for evolution, and likely, if the scholars were correct, why this damnable System existed at all.

  Everything was pushed forward, pushed to fight each other, pushed to fight reality itself. As much as I had wanted to know why, I had never been strong enough to push for that answer. It was something I would change this time around. Those answers affected my children, and so I would rip them free.

  A bright, flashing light crossed the edge of my mind, searing its way through my thoughts. It was like being stabbed by a burning needle, one somehow hitting every nerve in my body at once. I gritted my teeth, holding the pain in.

  It was exactly what I had been looking for.

  Grabbing that pain with my mind sent a new searing stab through me. I ignored it. Instead, I forced the line of energy from my body, through the soul link to the runic blade, and directly into the Growth mana orb.

  “Give me what I need, dammit!” Some of my suppressed anger slipped out as I fought to maintain control against the complete agony I was in. How the hell did anyone actually do this?

  More flashes of memories hit me. Memories of the first time Ash had learned to walk, run, and swim. Heather and I had been there for it all, guiding her, helping her, ready to pick her back up anytime she needed it.

  I felt myself scream as a deeper torment of pain flooded my body, alongside a vision of Ash coming to me for help with her math homework. We had spent the night figuring it out together for her test the next day. She had been so afraid to show me her C, worried about disappointing me after all our hard work. All I cared about was that she’d tried her best.

  __________

  Mana Orb

  Growth (1)

  First Tier Ability Unlocked

  Gift of Growth {Persistent, Targeted}

  By reducing your own attributes up to an amount equal to your current level multiplied by the level of the Growth orb plus one, you may gift those attributes to another target by an equal amount for as long as they are under the effect of Gift of Growth.

  __________

  The smile that crossed my face would have confused anyone, that was, if they were able to sense the intensity of the pain still rampaging through my body. I collapsed backward, my legs shaking violently, out of my control. The pain would fade soon. I knew that rationally, and that was enough to distract me as the mana poured back out of my body.

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

  Hopefully, I wouldn’t be forced to do anything quite like this again, not until my body was ready for it. I still needed to apply my own levels, but I wouldn’t be able to do that until at least some of my body was listening to my brain again. It was a price worth paying.

  As some of the pain vanished, and I felt a bit more in control, I pulled up my own System notifications. I may not have been able to sit back up yet, but I could at least take care of this part.

  __________

  Enemy Defeated

  Funnel Brood Soldier [20 Experience]

  As the lowest-level soldiers of the brood, they are sent out to capture food and gather supplies while the Web Weavers build the defenses. Their venom, while potent, is short-lasting and used to paralyze more than kill. Their leaders prefer their food alive.

  Further Information Locked.

  __________

  I had five of these notifications. It seemed in my rush from the house, I had managed to kill a few after all. I had only been sure of that for the one who had lost its head. It was also possible Floof had gotten one of his own.

  While it would have been nice to get the extra information, I had known something would be locked away. None of my current abilities let me scan the things we were fighting. And nothing in the sword would let me do that either. It was something I’d have to develop myself, once I unlocked a class.

  __________

  Enemy Defeated

  Funnel Broodfather [200 Experience]

  The Broodfather oversees the expedition of the Web Weavers and Soldiers as they capture territory and expand their webs. Much like their size, their venom is much greater and more deadly than that of the weaker Brood Soldiers.

  Further Information Locked.

  __________

  A broodfather wasn’t at all what I had been expecting. At least that meant it wasn’t the Attercop Empire. Unless something had drastically changed there, they were a matriarchal royal family. So this was something new.

  That was a double-edged sword. It meant they were much less likely to have any chance of recognizing me, not that I had considered that much of a possibility. But there were enough people who knew what the sword looked like to keep that as a worry in the back of my mind.

  On the other hand, it meant I didn’t know what to expect. They were a total unknown, as to their capabilities and what kind of financial backing they had. And they were just one of many of the forces invading the planet.

  That was a problem for future me. Ash was the problem for current me.

  I had gained enough experience for three levels, which came along with five attribute points each.

  __________

  Adam Miller

  Human

  Attributes

  Constitution (0)

  Perception (0)

  Spirit (0)

  Strength (0)

  __________

  As expected, everything had started at zero, and as useful as all four would be, right now only constitution mattered. I needed to get Ash’s body as strong as I could, as quickly as I could. So all fifteen points went there immediately.

  Even if I wouldn’t be able to transfer the entire gain to Ash yet, the possibility that I could soon was enough to make that the easy choice. This would do nothing toward actually curing her cancer, but it was all about buying time until we gained the healing magic for it.

  Alongside the increase, I felt my body shift slightly. The first levels always did that. A normal mortal body had to be altered to handle the changes that came with the System. I could already feel some of my earlier pain slipping away as my constitution rose.

  Several deep breaths later, I forced myself to test my legs. They were working, even if each step still hurt. I placed my hand on Ash’s head again, unlike before, checking her temperature wasn’t my only reason.

  I triggered Gift of Growth, feeling a tug as my mana channels worked to process a mana orb for the first time in decades. Down through my hand the energies passed, my body feeling slightly weaker without the gains I had made minutes ago.

  Ash finally stopped shivering.

  And then she gasped.

  “Alecks, do you think there’s any chance Mom and Dad are still alive? What if we get some of the blacksmith’s apprentices to go check on them? They could fight off the monsters,” Adam asked, holding his tears in as they prepared to enter the city. He hadn’t noticed how unusually silent it was yet.

  “Shh,” his brother shushed him, before whispering, “Something’s wrong.”

  Adam finally noticed what Alecks had as soon as they arrived. He hadn’t been here often, but every time before, there had been people everywhere. More than he had ever seen anywhere else, moving about the city with their tasks. And now there was no one. Had the monsters been here, too?

  The more he looked, the worse the scene became. Several of the buildings had walls that were caved in. And while he didn’t see any bodies, he was still scared that the villagers had met the same fate as his family. Had that voice attacked the whole world?

  “Follow me, but stay very quiet,” Alecks said, taking a first, cautious step past the broken village gate.

  The only living things Adam spotted as he walked were a strange number of frogs, scattered all over the city. They had weird blue lines running down their backs. He hadn’t ever seen any like that before. But he was well past the days of taking a pet frog home. He didn’t even have a home to bring them anymore.

  “Close the door,” Alecks said, as they pushed through a half-opened, heavy door into one of the buildings that was still entirely intact. “Good, it looks like there are some weapons here. Find something you think you can use. We are probably going to need it.”

  His brother had brought them to the blacksmith’s shop. And despite Adam’s hopes, it was just as empty of people as the rest of the village had been. That again threatened to bring back his earlier tears.

  He had liked Ulrun. He was the biggest man Adam had ever seen, but despite that strength, he had always been nice to him. During the last harvest festival, he had made sure Adam got as much of his wife’s pie as he wanted.

  “I don’t know what to pick. I don’t know anything about fighting!” Adam said, louder than he should have, but he was having trouble controlling his voice. None of this should be happening.

  “Here, take this, it’s small, but I don’t think either of us can use a full-sized sword yet anyway,” his brother replied, pushing a short sword into his hands.

  “What are we going to do with these anyway?” Adam replied, his voice almost a whine. He thought he knew the answer, but he wanted his brother to say it anyway.

  “Try and kill anything that tries to kill us.”

  —Memories of Adam Miller before he found Earth