Zuss stood straight, awkwardly waiting while Skiz walked around her in the dark. Like her, he had improved his dark vision.

"You have long arms." He noted.

"All the easier to slap you with," Zuss growled. He ignored her.

"Alright. So, you have advanced control over your body, automatic reflexes, low strength compared to dexterity, and long arms. These qualities are perfect for a weapon that is rarely used. In this part of the world, at least."

Zuss sighed. She agreed to let the gremlin train her so she could pick up any tips or tricks. She wanted to work on her throwing ability this week, and spar with Anath.

"I already have a nice dagger."

"You have a fucked up dagger." He retorted. "Which is good. Great for psychological warfare. But, what happens after the first kill when there are multiple enemies? You must flee or fight. And daggers are not ideal for a straight fight."

"So, what did you have in mind?" Zuss asked.

He threw something at her. A rope? At one end was a wooden ball tied to one end. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's a rope dart. Or meteor hammer, technically. Well, that one is a wooden training ball. I won't be able to get you a proper version before I leave, that will be up to you. But, I think this weapon suits you best."

"Why?"

"The rope dart requires complex movement, balance, and positioning paired with fast reflexes. It uses your body to add leverage to the swinging weapon, negating your strength weakness. Plus, your arms will provide significantly more leverage on certain strikes."

"Show me." She said. Skiz scratched the side of his eye patch.

"Ah, well, I can try. Like I said, it's rare. I am not as experienced with it."

Skiz took the rope dart and gave it an experimental swing. Then he started twirling it faster and faster. He stuck out an elbow, allowing the rope to wrap around it. With a flick of his arm, the wooden ball flew forward, snapping to a stop when he pulled the rope back.

The room was pitch black, and Zuss couldn't see well even with her dark vision. So she couldn't see it properly. But, she still grinned under her scarf.

That looked fun.

Over the next several days, Zuss took a beating. Every time she missed a catch or turned her body slightly incorrectly, the wooden ball would strike her head, groin, or slap against her chest. Her improved reflexes helped her avoid most of her fumbling, but in the pitch black, it was difficult to even see the ball. In the light, she would do better, she knew it.

Anath visited Zuss. Not only because the girl believed they were friends, but because she and Elyndris were the only ones who could get to the room she was in. Zuss didn't mind the company. They would chat, mostly about the goblin camp. Anath didn't have many experiences to talk about. Aside from that, they trained.

It was an interesting experience fighting Anath in the dark. Zuss could see, somewhat, and Anath couldn't. So, it would have been easy to kick her ass every time. However, Anath had an interesting quirk to her vision. It was dark, but movement caught her attention nonetheless. Her spider eyes, no doubt. Zuss never brought up what she was doing, but she decided to help Anath develop that skill.

She would throw the ball at Anath at various angles, both working on her accuracy and Anath's senses. Skiz watched over the training for a day or two, giving his advice or adjusting their techniques. He insisted they did not use the status voids properties to train, but they did use it when chatting.

Before he left, he gave both of them a routine to follow, to hone their skills. For Anath, it was to focus on precision and technique. Zuss, it was adaptability and skill.

After seven long days in the dark, confined to one room, it had finally happened.

[Feat achieved: Shadow Born. Cause: Stay in the dark for an entire week. Reward: Biotrait, Shadow Core.]

Delighted that her temporary exile was over, she did a small flip. After a moment, she realized there was a faint change in the air. It felt thick and secretive. Dark and heavy, but not restricting.

It wasn't the air, she was feeling the shadow. The dark. It was as if it had substance. She couldn't manipulate it, but she could feel it. Zuss imagined this is how a bird felt about wind or a fish with water.

She sat down and entered her status void. There was a biotrait to be spent. It took some time to scroll through the options. She needed a better way to sort them. There were too many and they seemed to be arbitrarily sorted. She was sure there was a logic to it, but couldn't be bothered to figure it out. That was more Daggat's thing.

A few biotraits stood out to her as clearly tied to the shadow core. Shadow Smith, Shadow Sense, Shadow Sculpt, and Shadow Step. It was the names that gave them away. She could also mutate the core, increase its capacity, the rate it draws mana, or an option to convert food into mana directly. Those could all be useful, but she wanted something more practical.

Shadow Smith gave her the ability to make her shadow into physical objects. How that worked exactly, she wasn't sure. Similarly, Shadow Sculpt allowed her to change the shape of her shadow. Grow or shrink it. Zuss assumed the two could work together fairly well.

Shadow Sense gave her a tactile feeling with her shadow, another trait that could combo well with Shadow Sculpt. Finally, Shadow Step. While touching a shadow, she moved more quickly. Useful, but nothing to be excited over.

Zuss decided on Shadow Smith. She could create knives whenever she needed, as long as her shadow was available.

After selecting the biotrait, she climbed out of the room she had spent the last week in.

The light of the main manor strained her eyes for a few minutes. First thing, she wanted a hot meal.

"Zuss!" Anath cried. Zuss braced herself and Anath grabbed her into a hug. She dropped her when Zuss started growling like a cat. "You're out! Did it work?"

"Oh yeah, it worked." She said. Then, she tried out Shadow Smith. Like most biotraits, the way to use it came naturally to her. Her faint shadow from a distant window slithered up her legs until it settled into her hand. It took the shape of a dagger. The blade was gray, smoky, and transparent.

"Ooh, you can make knives now?" Anath asked.

"I can turn my shadow into objects… but…" Zuss hissed. The dagger was soft. Like cotton in the shape of a dagger. She could even bend the blade with her fingers. "It was a mistake. It's too weak." Anath frowned.

"You'll figure it out. I'm sure you can make it work." Anath suddenly smiled. "Hunter is making pork steaks! To celebrate."

Zuss's stomach growled. She nodded and the two girls ran to the kitchen.

Hunter gave her a big, friendly smile when they entered. The smile was ruined by a small pork steak that hung from his mouth like a tongue. He slurped it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

"Welcome back, Zuss. How did it go?" He said. He was poking a big cut of meat on a skillet. Zuss could see specks of herbs and onion on it. Her mouth watered.

"Good." She said. "Give me the meat, I am starving. All I've eaten is cold bits that Anath brought me."

"It will be done in just a moment." He looked at her, then blinked. "Somethings different about you… I can't see your face."

"She's wearing a mask, silly," Anath said, giggling.

"No, I mean, normally, you can see the skin and around the eyes. It's like… the shadows are bigger. I can only see your eyes. Kind of cool." Hunter said.

"Wow, he's right!" Anath said as she leaned in to look at her face. Zuss pushed her face away and Anath pouted.

"Food." Zuss snapped.

"Go wait in the grand hall. Anath, could you tell Daggat she's out? And that dinner is almost ready. He can call the others."

"Okaaaay." She sing-songed as she walked away.

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Zuss grumbled all the way to the great hall. As soon as she sat down, Birdy flew into her lap. The cat purred happily. Zuss stroked her. The vibrations soothed her, despite how large the cat was in comparison to her size.

Once again, she summoned a dagger from her shadow. This time it was different. It was darker, more full. The knife had the feeling of wood or maybe stone. Why?

She let her shadow go back to where it was, then looked at it. It was a large, dark shadow cast by the hearth. Not a pitiful faded shadow that she was working with earlier. Did the depth of the shadow affect the quality of the object?

A shadow knife appeared in her hand again. Then, she used deepen shadows. The dagger suddenly deepened to a dark black. It felt hard and sharp. Like a proper knife. Zuss squealed in delight. It WAS useful.

As an experiment, she threw it. The knife soared through the air, then dug into the far wall. The wall was covered in little nicks and cuts from past knife tosses. After a brief moment, it seemed to melt. Her shadow slithered back towards her.

Next, she envisioned a rope dart. The shadow took its form, but it was stiff. The rope wouldn't bend. But, after a few minutes of experimentation, she forged it out of chain, not rope. That worked.

"MEETING IN THE GREAT HALL!" Boomed Daggat as he entered. Zuss winced from the volume. Birdy lept off of her in panic. Zuss glared at him. "Oh, hey, that's cool. Where did you get it?" He was pointed at her rope dart.

"You could have done that elsewhere." She growled while stroking an ear. She gave him a summary of her new ability.

A few minutes later, Zuss was tearing into a large, juicy pork steak. Everyone else was happily eating, except for Hunter. He ate, but he didn't seem happy about it. Each bite seemed to be painful for him.

"How's the feasting going, Hunter?" Daggat asked.

"It's hard. So… full. Hurts."

"Well, keep eating, bud," Daggat said.

"You've got this," Klaw added.

"What feast?" Zuss finally asked.

"Hunter spent the last few days cutting this big monster pig Daggat killed-" Anath began.

"It was I who slayed the beast!" Interrupted Elyndris.

"Right, well, he's been eating steaks, bacon, and pork all day. He's got like, almost a THOUSAND pounds of meat." Anath continued.

"Keep it up. Now, everyone, since the sages are gone, we need to leave soon as well. Alfred will watch the place for us." Daggat began. "Let's go over our efforts. What have we accomplished these last few months? What strengths have we gained? What goals do we have?"

"We know what's going on, Dag. We aren't stupid." Klaw said. He kicked his feet on the table.

"Well…" Zuss said in a questioning tone. Klaw threw a piece of gristle at her. She caught it with her shadow fork and deftly tossed it to Birdy. The cat snatched it out of the air.

"Just… humor me. I want to be double-sure we are all on the same page. And I want to make sure my notes are up to date." Daggat said. "I'll start. I've gained the apprentice speargobship and acrobatics natural skills. A couple of others too. A flame core, I am psionic now with a beguiling aura, and my immediate goals are to secure the mortal soul and figure out the requirements for my preferred class."

"Spear…gob-ship?" Anath asked.

"Ain't just men that can poke things with a stick," Daggat said. "You talked first. You're up."

"Um, well, I have the swordsmanship and dual-wielding apprentice natural skill now. Oh, and I can go berserk easier. I need to figure out how to get a rhythm core, right?" Daggat nodded. "And I want to get some new clothes. The spider legs make it awkward to fit into shirts."

"I will go next!" Elyndris said. "I have mastered magic! I have several magical tools to experiment with. Other than that, I seek another level. Soon, I should have a powerful biotrait, but I don't know what it is. I need an altar to the monster angel and I am looking for a storm. There is information I must gather, but that is my goal, you don't need to concern yourselves with it. Klaw, your turn."

Klaw almost choked on the piece of meat. "Sword… gobship and savagery are my fighting skills. Both apprentice. I'm a paladin now. I guess I need to find an altar to Mihr so I can get rid of this fucking oath. You know, I was going to slice that orc's throat from behind? Couldn't. Had to fight it fair and square. So fucking annoying. Oh, and I have to eat a bunch of-"

Suddenly, Hunter groaned in relief and sagged to the table. He pushed away his plate that was piled with meat.

"Are you okay, Hunter?" Asked Anath.

He looked up at her with a smile, tears of relief in his eyes. "I did it. Got the core."

"Hell yeah!" Klaw said.

"Good job. Worth it?" Daggat asked. Hunter held up a finger. After a moment, he belched loudly. Then he nodded.

"So, I guess I will go next, then," Hunter said. "I got… that core. Apprentice cooking, cleaning, and a few other chore things. Apprentice club. Also just got apprentice eating, didn't expect that. Umm… I want to do some shopping too, I guess. Oh! And see if there are any ogres in town."

"Do you have any experience in civilization?" Daggat asked.

"A bit. I visited a few ogres here and there. But I was a kid."

"Better than the rest of us. You take point. Show us how it all… works." Daggat said.

Everyone looked at Zuss in anticipation. She sighed, then showed everyone her new shadow abilities.

"I am training on a weapon called the rope dart. Daggers is apprentice-level, and so is throwing knives. I want the mortal soul, so I'll be doing the heist. If I can, track down someone who can give me a few class options." She said. "Got a few skills I want to learn in town too, for the heist." She added.

"Great. So, now we know what we need to do in town. Hunt for information, rob an old man, get some shopping done, and deal with whatever orc shit shows its head when we get there. We also have a few quests to do. Stop some conflict and solve a murder." Daggat suddenly pointed at Hunter. "Hunter! You aren't doing anything important in town. You and Klaw deal with the murder, if you can. Zuss, you and I will work on the heist. Elyndris, and Anath, you two are on information-gathering duty. Try to figure out what's going on in the world, local politics, that sort of thing."

Zuss tuned Daggat out as he talked. With her new abilities, the heist was going to be easy. But first, they needed to get there. It was a several-week journey from here, give or take. Anything could happen on the way there.

Zuss

True Name: Zuss Soul: Monster Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size] Genbloom: hobgoblin [ +1 Str, +3 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Nimble Fingers; Small Size]

Monster Level: 9

Attributes (0/6): Strength: 10 Dexterity: 16 Constitution: 8 Intelligence: 8 Will: 10 Charm: 9

Feats: Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Devotion [Layered feats] Ability: Mighty Alacrity Act: Shadow Born

Skills(0/2): System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] Deep Shadows: 1 Path Finding [Type: Climbing]

Notable Natural Skills: Stealth: Apprentice Climb: Apprentice

Biotraits (0/9): Base size: Small [Source: Hobgoblin] Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin] Enhanced Night Vision [Mutations: Dark Vision; Source: Gremlin] Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin] Improved Body Control [Synergy: Improved Balance + Improved Nerve Conduction + Improved flexibility; Mutations: Autonomous Reflex] Nimble Hands and Feet [Synergy: Nimble hands + Prehensile Feet; Mutations: Mighty Grip] Cold Resistant Skin Enhanced Visual Acuity Shadow Core [Source: Shadow Born] Shadow Smith

Transformations: Drakeheart Form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Smoke Aura Lesser Wings

Night Stalker form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Enhanced Scent Deepen Shadow+, Widen Shadows

Notable Gear: Blade of a Thousand Screams Knife of the Traveler Mana Crystal Set Tiara

Pet: Name: Birdy Genseed: Cat

Attributes: Strength: 2 Dexterity: 4 Constitution: 2 Intelligence: 2 Will: 2 Charm: 3

Biotraits: Lesser Wings

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