A new level was supposed to be a relief, especially since he felt that he wasn't particularly close to going from 17 to 18. However, the surge of Karmic Energy from killing Brillhit was unusually high, and was added by an even more intense burst after he used fire on his remains. Axl was uneasy about what this meant, suspicious that fire would help so much in levelling—there had to be a catch.

  He turned to Tem. "I got an oddly high amount of Karmic Energy from killing the elf compared to the creatures I killed before. Why?"

  Tem bowed slightly. "Indeed, my lord, the terms of this sanctuary include a toll on Karmic Energy extracted from beasts, both beasts preying on each other and sentient kin upon them. This is to help support the costs of maintaining such a domain. Yet the heavens do not allow a removal of such gains from sentient kin preying on each other, for reasons that are unfortunately beyond this lowly emissary."

  Axl grunted, not really surprised. If the deep system seemed to want anything, it was bloodshed, and this would certainly do it. This little finding made him realize the only way for him to break into the F-Grade would be to kill even more people. Was this how Brillhit got started in killing his own party members? If only there were some damn Vikam elves nearby.

  A problem for later, at least. Needing to wait for Moxlin to finish her refinement and for the acorns to fully kick in, Axl sat and focused on healing, in a few hours making good progress with his chest wound. He also had an idea, testing the dimensional ring that he just received. It held a larger space inside than the dead orc's, but it also felt better in many other ways, time clearly passed more slowly inside the ring than out, and taking things in and out was much easier. Not only that, but it could also store other dimensional objects, if in a “sealed” form, where its contents could only be accessed when taken out.

  But much better than that, with his pouch he had to put his entire hand inside and pull things out. With Brillhit’s ring, however, he just had to think about the item and barely brush his hand against it, and it would pop out in his hand, holding it naturally. No matter if it was a sword, dagger, chunk of metal, it would be in his palm as he wanted it.

  This felt very similar to what the trial's kobold did, able to switch weapons instantly, as if they materialized from nowhere at all, an incredibly useful capability in battle. Wearing the ring on his finger, he'd be able to very nicely access his weapons or any item, but he worried about the ring being an obvious target to an enemy that could just aim to sever that finger.

  Instead, Axl turned from Tem and Moxlin, not wanting to alarm them, and dug into the wound on his chest, pulling aside a middle rib in the front of his body that was in the process of healing, and slotting the ring in. The ring gently expanded to accommodate the new "finger" that was the third rib from the bottom, and soon was nestled in the middle of his ribs, on the left side of his sternum.

  Axl then placed back a flap of skin over the recently reopened wound and hovered his right hand above it. As he hoped, he could still extract and place objects within the ring. This wasn't as convenient as having it on his finger, but it was likely much harder for an enemy to dislodge or otherwise disrupt, and he only needed to bring his hand over his chest to access it, which was equivalent to using a bandolier for his daggers anyhow.

  He spent the next few minutes moving all his stuff from the dimensional pouch still attached to his belt to his new ring, but kept the pouch in place, if only as a decoy. For sure, it would be worthwhile for potential enemies to think he only had that and Nalpol's decidedly more mundane ring, which he slid on his left ring finger.

  Break over, Axl turned back to working on Alifren, the denseroot Mana now concentrated quite nicely over the area. In her body, the more specific Mana was absorbed into her flesh far better than before, and was filling the space that could turn into a Core.

  Eager to help with the process, Axl used [Mana Shroud] to concentrate the Mana inside her even further, removing Mana of unrelated attunements and packing in the denseroot Mana more and more. He even occasionally took breaks to condense it in his own body, then move it to Alifren's, since that would speed up the process, and soon it was so packed it felt like a dense, fist-sized boulder that couldn't take any more in.

  Soon after it reached this state, the density started to turn, each rotation dragging in more and more of the denseroot Mana on its own, and it slowly started to get smaller. Axl realized trying to help this process anymore seemed to get in the way, so he simply used [Mana Shroud] to deliver as much high-purity denseroot Mana as he could, letting the now marble-sized core gobble it all up.

  After a few hours of this, it stabilized, its rotation and absorption suddenly stopping. Then, as if a creature slowly waking up, it started to emit some denseroot Mana on its own, and not a small amount either. It produced the equivalent of one of the acorn natural treasures Moxlin used to fuel the concentration array, a quite shocking passive Mana output.

  Taking one final scan of Alifren's body, Axl realized there was nothing else he could do, and simply withdrew his hands from her. He looked away from her, fidgety and tense. He wanted to move her body away from her party, or even arrange her in a more dignified pose, but Tem was very clear that even Axl gingerly coming close was a disruption, and the smallest change could destabilize the process. So instead of being able to do anything useful, Axl thought back on Brillhit burning, his frustration tempered by dwelling on how that slitting bastard was reduced to a scattered pile of ash.

  Then a hand was on his cheek, and Axl looked down in shock at Alifren looking back up at him, a tired, confused look on her face. "This feels stranger than I’d have expected."

  She then turned her body in a convulsive fit, tumbling past the bodies of Nalpol and Gumul. Axl fumbled forward, his arms missing her entirely. Tem was there, quickly, a large white sheet falling from his beak to fall gently on her shoulders.

  "Be calm, my lady," Tem's voice was steady. "You have been reborn as an Undead, lord Roken having worked hard to ensure your revival. You find yourself among the bodies of your comrades due to a necessity of ensuring the process was successful."

  Alifren drew the sheet tight around her, slowly rising with shaking legs. "I remember. It… It was Brillhit. He did all this. I saw them all die before he came for me. He left me for last, because… Because I was the weakest."

  "I…" Axl felt the words stuck in the pit of his gut, his body frozen. "I'm sorry. I failed to protect you, to protect all of you."

  Alifren looked at him, gaze even and unreadable. "I felt your Mana helping me, somehow, even as I was being changed. Is that why you did it? Guilt?"

  "No," he said with certainty. "I need to do right for my people. How I feel is irrelevant, I'd have done the same if it were Nalpol reviving, or any of the others."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "That's a little heartbreaking to hear," she said with a halfhearted smirk. "But I've been expecting that from you, anyhow." Her look became serious, with an intense gaze that bore into Axl's soul. "In a way that's even more impressive, that you'd do all this for me even without wanting me as a kit. Nobody has ever done anything close to this for me before. I've not even heard this kind of thing done for anybody else, even within a clan, for that matter."

  Axl looked away, not sure how to respond.

  "Yeah," Moxlin said, crawling up to his shoulder. "He tends to do that kind of thing, you know. When he's not trying hard to get himself killed."

  Alifren scoffed. "Now that is an understatement. Trying for the fifth round of the trial wasn’t enough? You had to go for the highest difficulty modifier on that, too?"

  "Well, I didn't exactly expect it to be that," Axl mumbled, realizing the excuse felt weak.

  Taking a long breath, Alifren looked around at her dead party, her easy flirtation slowly melting into sorrow. "I take it you can't turn any of them as well?"

  "Unfortunately not, my lady," Tem said. "They have not been touched by Undeath, and purposefully triggering a rising is well beyond our abilities, I fear."

  Axl held out Brillhit's ring to her. "Here, it has all their gear, and that slitting elf's. You should have it."

  She took it, eyes wide. "You do know what this is right? It’s a rift reward ring, and some of the stuff in here…"

  "He knows," Moxlin rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't believe the lengths I have to go through to keep him from throwing away all the disgusting wealth that keeps falling on his head."

  Alifren looked to Axl's finger, to Nalpol's dimensional ring. "I want that one instead. Our party leader's ring should be enough to hold all this stuff. And their bodies."

  Axl nodded, understanding, and handed over the empty ring he quickly unbound. Alifren held the two rings together, apparently transferring all the contents from one to the other—good to know that was an option—and then she handed Axl back Brillhit's ring.

  Axl, Moxlin and Tem then stepped aside as Alifren took each of her fallen party members into her ring, taking a moment with each one. She then stood on the empty, blood-stained clearing, staring out into the distance.

  "I'm going back to the longhouse," she said, as if to nobody at all. "And when I bury my dead and pay my people back for my cowardice, I'll be Lifren."

  She turned to Axl, eyes even. "When Lifren's slate is clean on that front, I'll get stronger and find a way to repay my debt to you, Roken. Maybe even join your party again, if you would have me. Not as a favor given out in pity, like before, but in recognition of the power I will hold."

  Axl looked away, unsure how to respond. "Aren't the undead forbidden at the longhouse? Gildear told me they were killed on sight."

  Alifren scoffed. "As if we'd turn our back on our own to sate the paranoia of a single shut-in artisan. We simply keep them away from the smith. His Charisma is so low that all the undead in the longhouse can easily sense his presence with far greater range than he, and thus remain undetected. You simply didn't meet any of them since they were out on longer quests while you were there. It's only a few, anyhow."

  Axl chuckled. "Rather unfortunate for the skeleton, to so underestimate the need to invest in Charisma. It's as if he wants to be swindled."

  Alifren laughed aloud, her entire body shaking. The reaction surprised Axl, this being the first time he had seen her so… Unrestrained.

  "I can see why, now that I'm also undead." Alifren looked out at her outstretched hands. "I feel invincible in a way, all the niggling doubts and fears that have held me back have fallen away. But this means I need to be careful not to get careless or overconfident. That's only made worse by what you managed to give me, a Rare skill and upgraded Lineage? Not to mention the attuned Core."

  Tem visibly gasped. "My lady! Such gains are not so readily revealed! The impropriety!"

  Axl returned her laughter with his own. "Well, no wonder I gained a proficiency step in my Glyphic Alchemy, from fourth to fifth. And an achievement for helping you."

  Technical Arts: Glyphistry: Glyphic Alchemy (G.5), Glyphic Spellcasting

  

  >>Achievement Obtained:

  >>Patron of Undeath (Stable):

  >>Empower an undeath awakening of the dead into an F-Grade Lineage while still in the G-Grade. Reward enhanced by simultaneously providing a Rare skill and Attuned Cultivator's Core to the awakened.

  >>Reward: +20 to Intelligence, +20 to Wisdom. Call of Undeath

  >>Oocile rebalancing activated.

  >>Reward: +5 to all Attributes, Call of Undeath

  "I got new spinnerets for improved webbing!" Moxlin yelled, not wanting to be left out of the bragging. "A second bodyplan improvement in under a month! I'm almost at the peak of my Lineage now!"

  Tem had turned around, both wings covering his ears in embarrassment.

  The playful tone was welcome, and they all knew not to reveal too much—Alifren basically telling what Axl was almost sure to have noticed anyhow, except for the Rare skill, and Axl not revealing anything close to his true sources of power. Perhaps Moxlin was a bit overly enthusiastic, but it didn’t seem like her build had anything particularly worth hiding—yet. Axl was hoping to help her change that soon.

  "You know you can come with us now," Axl said. "I'm on a timed quest of my own, so I can't spend much time at the longhouse, but we'd be happy to have you."

  Moxlin nodded emphatically, eyes wide with glee.

  Alifren looked uncertain for a moment, a gentle flush rising into her neck. "That… Is very good to hear, to be honest. But I need to go back. Not just to take care of my dead, but there are weaknesses in my build that I need to address, especially now with all these changes."

  "Of course, I understand," Axl replied, disappointed. He then turned to Tem. "We have a few more days here, right?"

  "Five days and nine hours." Tem bowed. "Such information can be visible in your title."

  Axl turned back to Alifren. "You should cultivate here for a bit before leaving, since the Mana is reasonably attuned to the one in your Core, so it's good practice. I also need to get some upgrades done before heading out."

  Despite all that had happened, Axl was still very eager to update his cultivation manual, not to mention his Lineage. After that, he still had time to get back to the longhouse as well, but with his new hint from Aria and his access to the transit rift network, he was rather itching to get going on finding the void-attuned treasure. He took a big risk by not accepting the Deep System's offer for the crappier version, so he felt he needed to make progress on that front before getting sidetracked anymore.

  Alifren hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed, the opportunity presented by the cultivation grounds being foolish to pass up. Moxlin's unceasing barrage of chatter in trying to convince her also surprisingly helped. Seems like being a fearless undead did not make you immune to being bullied by a hyperactive fuzzball.

  Alifren retired to the treeline behind the arena building, where the foliage was densest, and Axl went inside the building, preferring the enclosed space. Moxlin turned to the concentration array, the acorns now fully consumed, their remains merged into the talismans. She said the array could become a lesser version of the fully treasure-empowered array, able to produce deeproot Mana if she stabilized the constructs and made some modifications. It was a quest from the Deep System as well, in fact, and she was excited about the challenge.

  Before Axl turned to improving his cultivation manual, he asked Tem if the Vale administrator had any advice on that front, but unfortunately, the bird said such advice was rejected by the Deep System, beyond getting the manual upgrade itself. Axl shrugged, unsurprised, and activated his personalized reward.

  

  >>Personalized reward from Shrouded Crescent Valley guidance:

  >>Upgrade of [Oocile Cultivation Manual] (G-Grade) into [Elided Tome of Equanimity] (F-Grade)

  >>Accept? Yes/No

  Axl braced himself for a rift opening up or other disruption, but the elaborately decorated scroll inside his soulspace was replaced with a small book without fanfare. It had a simple brown leather cover, worn down to the point it looked almost ragged, and was quite unimpressive next to the relatively bulky and beautiful [Selsin Clan Glyphic Compendium] right next to it.

  However, the moment Axl opened the book, he realized its true value, shocked as he realized this was not just a far more detailed and deep discussion of how to form a Cultivator's Core, among many other topics, it was annotated by Oocile himself. The very founder of the Balanced Path he followed—or sort of followed? Stole? Regardless, the value of that book jumped well beyond its seemingly humble appearance, and Axl wasn't sure anymore that this was any less of a gift than [Filial Deathshroud].

  Begrudgingly, he put aside the book, since studying it would have to wait. It was time to upgrade his Lineage.