"I am so lucky that Tiberius added the formation for a basic weapon enchantment."

  Skipping through a bunch of pages, I found the section on enchantments and found the perfect one. It will need some experimentation, but I think I can empower it with a direct XP to mana conversion. Apply it to the broken weapon and then integrate the weapon into our system before the formation can link it to Grimgard.

  "Alright, let's do this shit." I declared, and so it shall be.

  Fortunately, this place had all the supplies, including magic ink, as stated on the bottle. Thankfully written in common Grimgardian and not elder, no idea how to speak or read elder. And given this place is giving vampire vibes, there should be some elders around slinging that ancient language.

  Paintbrush in hand, magic ink to the side. Book to the side for me to copy the formation shamelessly. I went about copying symbol by symbol. Then I learned I sucked at painting. Whoever owns this place will come back to a lot of crappy magical symbols on the ground. One crappier than the other.

  "Well, im definitely not going into the painting profession soon." I chuckled, since getting professions was pointless.

  After the fifth formation, I think I got it. Comparing it to the page, it was as close as I could get it. If it weren't, I would have to rage quit. Placing the broken sword in the centre, naturally nothing happened. This was the moment an aspiring wizard calls upon an arcanum, infuses that concept into their mana and injects it into the formation.

  Then the almighty system would deem their attempt kosher and award them with a class or skill. I am just going to bypass that crap completely and drop a bunch of force mana into this circle until it works. Pretty sure wizard standards would consider me a barbarian. Copying magic formations I have no knowledge or attunement with and plugging in a bunch of discount mana.

  Dropping a decent chunk of system points, which were basically stored up XP from prior harvests. Jenny converted the lot into mana, and well, just dropped it on the circle. Injecting might have been the technical term, but let's be honest, we just dropped it.

  The formation glowed brightly, and I waited for Jenny's confirmation. It only took a few minutes before she gave the go-ahead and, with a single keystroke, initiated the program. This was a basic integration, nothing as complex as the stuff Jenny could do, just a basic program to block Grimgard and tether my own.

  [Name: Aetherblade]

  [Level 1]

  [Mana: 110/110]

  [Attributes]

  [Force: 10]

  [Aether: 9]

  [Skills]

  [Force Blade. Produce a blade of pure kinetic energy, honed to a razor's edge. Kinetic energy is determined by the force attribute.]

  [Passive Skills]

  [Mana Absorption. Passively absorb ambient mana energy to replenish the blades' mana reserves.]

  Based on the inspection, the weapon reads like a living, integrated being. Well, we integrated the weapon with a system initially designed for sapient lifeforms. Curious, I picked up the weapon. The handle was warm to the touch; the embedded gem was shining with an iridescent glow. Filled with power and I knew it was my power.

  In truth, I cannot use magic. I'm truly not lying. You can check my nonexistent mana circuits and verify the lack of a mana bar on my character sheet.

  But that didn't mean I couldn't produce mana that was attuned to me. Sure, it was very foolish and downright exorbitant to convert pure experience points into a lesser energy form. But it's not like I was getting magic anytime soon.

  Relying on this weapon for magic would be my only option for now. Unless I can somehow surgically implant mana circuits into my body. Otherwise, I had to convert pure system energy into mana I could not consciously use.

  Now back to the weapon, I felt an instant connection the moment I held it. As if it were a part of me. And an extension of my system, which made sense as the aura surrounding it was exactly like my own.

  I knew that I alone could activate this weapon and use its skills. So, waiting no longer, I triggered the force blade without a second thought. The blade hummed to life, pulsing and shimmering into a familiar-looking edged form. Distorted like a heat haze or bent light. Barely visible to the naked eye, but undoubtedly present.

  Giving it a few test swings, the air itself quivered in fear with every stroke of the blade. Not entirely certain how this blade affects the world around it. But I could hazard a guess.

  "High speed kinetic force projection, right?" I suggested.

  It made sense. How else can a blade made up of pure kinetic energy act like a blade? Well, it's fueled by mana, so that's better than most of my system-empowered skills.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Inspecting the mana usage, I saw it was a meagre number of points every time I produced the blade. Leaving the weapon on standby, I could already see the mana slowly tick back up to full.

  "Finally got a decent weapon, nice." I said proudly, which I was.

  I mean, how many people who have no talent for magic and not even the capability to manipulate such forces? Can create a magic sword using basic formations and dumping a crapton of converted mana into the circle?

  Wait, how did that thing not explode? The book said nothing about how much mana was required; it depended on object enchanting. Did I just luck out?

  Soft guitars and smooth harmonies told me I was lucky I was in love with a friend. Confused about why she would convey this. I realised I didn't have many songs with the word lucky in them.

  "Not exactly the appropriate song, Jen, but I appreciate the sentiment." I grinned; the song wasn't half bad.

  Tapping my foot to a song literally about love and partnership, it was a strange contrast to the evil blood temple I was in. It was a welcome change of pace. Thanks, Jason and Colbie.

  Song fading into the background, I opened my keyboard and created a little note section tab called my to-do list. Quickly, I added all the stuff I had already done.

  [To Do List]

  [Build a crowd control skill to debuff enemies. Reward: Able to screw with enemies. Completed: 1/1]

  [Build a crafting skill so you can make stuff. Reward: Able to make stuff. Completed: 1/1]

  [Create a magically enchanted weapon so you can stand a chance in a fight. Reward: Able to stand a chance in a fight. Completed: 1/1]

  [Build a short-range attack skill so you can actually cause damage when you drop your sword. Reward: having options in a fight. Completed: 1/1]

  [Build a long-range combat skill so you can kite enemies from afar. Reward: Able to shoot people from afar. Completed: 0/1]

  [Build a defensive skill so you don't get one-shot like a little bitch. Reward: Not dying from a single blow. Completed: 0/1]

  [Build an evasion skill so you get the hell out of the way. Reward: Dodging is the way. Completed: 0/1]

  [Build a parkour skill so you can traverse the environment. Reward: being cool. Completed: 0/1]

  [Build a utility skill because you never know when you will need it. Reward: utility, duh. Completed: 0/1]

  "I know, guys, hijacking the quest log to turn it into my personal to-do list is not cool." I admitted. "But in my defence, the quest log was pretty much useless without connecting to the Grimgard system, and that is a no-go." I defended my actions.

  Jeremy didn't care, and Jen remained silent. I took that as either a win or the indifference of my companions. As a result, I repurposed the quest log, and I had a lot to do. The reward section was a mandatory field, and well, I had put something there. Naturally, I got a little testy with the system after the first few.

  Alas, the to-do list is pretty awesome and will help me keep track of all the crap I should be doing. That being said, what should my next task be?

  "What do you think, guys, long range or defensive skill?" I asked my companions.

  Jeremy meowed his response, and unless I could figure out any animal speech skill, his words would forever be unknowable. Jenny chimed in with an electro-pop anthem about her being titanium.

  "So defensive skill it is." I agreed and let her switch the background song to David.

  Thinking about the issue, I sat in the lotus position, grooving to the song. Feeling the music fill me with its important message.

  "I am titanium." I hummed like a Buddhist monk.

  Sadly, no inspiration struck me; enlightenment was beyond the reach of my technical mind. But I got an idea for a shield skill using my kinetic field. Having a force field to block incoming attacks was totally something I should do.

  I could see it now, standing aloft the corpses of my enemies, the remaining foes foolishly loosing arrow after arrow. Their weapons failed to pierce my ultimate defences. Invincible, immortal and unstoppable! Well, that's the basic idea.

  Bearing the idea in mind, I went to work. This skill was far simpler than the previous, since I already had a kinetic barrier around my body. It didn't take long to modulate the field and set up some controller a skill.

  The notification flashed before my eyes as Jenny registered my efforts and created an appropriate ability for the occasion. Not exactly the best naming convention, but it was accurate. I would give her that.

  [Reactive Kinetic Shield (Basic). A kinetic detection field envelops your body. Upon sensing any high-velocity impact, it deploys a counterforce to absorb or redirect the energy. Cooldown: 1.5s per activation.]

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