Billy climbed out of bed filled with manic energy. He had a restless night, plagued by the decisions he needed to make today. He summoned his respawn screen to review his Akashic Library once more.

  He hadn't had the chance to study it closely, as the last few days had been hectic. To his surprise, he discovered that he had developed a River Dragon form. Interestingly, this form was measured in Beli Arcana instead of Avatar ranks. It cost 49 Arcana.

  He strongly suspected that all his forms would be based on the system active in the world where he acquired them.

  At the moment, he had a total of 11,630 AP, after having foolishly spent 275 yesterday to become a Machetist for two hours. When creating a new tag, spending at least 10,000 points was the absolute minimum needed to get something that even vaguely resembled what he wanted. He wanted to avoid repeating the Brotonville Station fiasco, even though it had ended well.

  Bob needed a source of magical ingredients for his alchemy, and the good people at Madison had a seventh-rank dungeon they wanted to get rid of.

  His plan was simple: assume a powerful shape, clear the dungeon, and use its essence to create a new one with the Symbiotic and Alchemical tags.

  He hoped Beli would benefit from it as well, since it was tied to a technique rather than a specific form of systemic power.

  He should also include the Reproductive tag to ensure everyone benefits from Alchemical Dungeons.

  If he wanted this to work, he had to use a powerful form. They were expensive, but with Bob’s medicine pill and his own Essence Digestion power, he would pay it off four times faster than usual. Then he would have enough points to safely reconstruct the dungeon.

  He considered which form to take; there were only two viable alternatives: the mystic storyteller and the elven war hero.

  The first one was much more powerful, but Billy remembered Pam’s story. Alphas were especially susceptible to the Coven's manipulation. He could be exiled for disobeying an order from Necessity. It felt more like a trap than a real option.

  War Hero it was, then. The Akashic shape was based on Belegrin, the war hero slain by the Smiler during the final battle for Babylon.

  She was only technically a Boss, but her level was unusually high because of one of Elariana’s powers, which passively increased by a full rank the levels of all Elves named in the Chant.

  That was why Alarel had the power of a Boss, and Belegrin wielded, during her brief existence, the might of a Core.

  He disappeared in a flash of blue light. He woke up an hour later, feeling incredibly more powerful. The rush coming from a massive influx of stats was difficult to describe. His senses were sharper, and his thoughts became so precise that he felt he could slice ideas in two simply by thinking them.

  His body felt like an extension of his mind. If he could think of a movement, he could do it.

  He rose from the bed and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was much taller, almost two meters. His face had acquired the typical elven features he wore as a Gardener, except for his eyes, which had turned a piercing gray color.

  He was dressed in golden armor, the leaf pattern already familiar. His head was covered by an exquisite helmet shaped like a wolf's head. The spear of Belegrin was again in his hands. He was also insultingly handsome. A pity Elves did not have facial hair; the only thing lacking was the moustache.

  He summoned his fake character screen:

  Level 70

  Class: Elven War Hero

  +1 Bonus to all stats while in the forest

  Class Perk: Come back to me. You can summon the Spear of Belegrin back to your hand just by wishing it—7-second cooldown.

  Competencies and Choices: Elven Legacy (14), Spear Mastery (13), Harmony (11), Honor (10)

  Elven Legacy (14): You are a member of a non-human race known as Elves. Elves get an extra +1 to the Appearance sub-stat every five levels and get a 10% bonus to all stats and a 10% reduction to all cooldowns while in the outdoors.

  -Hero of the Chant x4: All elves within one mile receive a 30 % bonus to all their stats, as long as they do not surpass your own stats. Does not stack with other bonuses.

  -Veil of Leaves x3: Double your Spirit only for purposes of remaining undetected when moving through the wilderness. Your Spirit triples if you remain immobile while hiding.

  -Inspire x2: Once per minute, inspire an ally within sight so that he performs his following action using your stats rather than his.

  -Hero of Legend x3: When you are present, all elves under your command double their Spirit when resisting coercion, intimidation, or mind magic.

  -Forest Home x2: While in the forest, the hero is immune to hunger, fatigue, and environmental effects, and he never gets lost.

  Spear Mastery (13): Gain intuitive knowledge of all spear fighting and throwing techniques.

  -Five Steps Ahead x2: You learn your enemy’s method by observing them while they fight you. Enemies fighting you hand-to-hand get a cumulative 1% penalty each second to their Body stat, which only applies to their attacks when directed at you or your attacks targeting them. The penalty is lost if they manage to hit you or stop one of your blows, but it starts building again. The penalty is capped at 50%.

  -The Dance of Battle x3: You skilfully dodge all attacks. Double your body and derived stats only for purposes of defending while moving without attacking. If you move and attack, the bonus is halved.

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

  -Lethal Repertoire x2: Once per minute, remember a lethal spear fighting technique that adds 50% to Body and derived stats for your next attack or defense. If the situation is desperate, you create a new technique that will be added to your repertoire, and the cooldown is only 10 seconds.

  -Incredible Throw x3: You can throw your spear at any target you can see as if it were no farther than 30 feet.

  -Army of One x3: Create a mental composite image of all the enemies you are fighting at the same time. This image will showcase the group's highest stats in each category, along with all its different powers. You will enter a sleepwalking trance in which you will fight this composite creature. Your body will fight the real enemies. The results of both fights will be very similar.

  Song (12): Gain instinctive knowledge of all musical instruments and techniques. Sing at a professional level.

  -Sing the Chant x6: By chanting a Coda, invoke a magical construct based on the Chant, with half your stats. It will remain for as long as you keep singing and ten seconds after that. If destroyed, the Chant becomes inaccessible for six hours. You can have only one construct at a time.

  The construct will have five Competency ranks if you can only sing while it is summoned.

  If you can also move or perform minor physical or mental chores, it will have only four ranks.

  If you can perform any action, including fighting, it will have three ranks.

  Performing a forbidden action counts as stopping the song.

  -Haunting Music x2: Your song can control the minds, perceptions, and emotions of anyone who listens to it for at least one minute. If he listens willingly, only ten seconds are needed.

  -The Song of Belegrin x4: Any ally hearing you sing the song of Belegrin and under the effect of mind or fear magic will have its duration reduced by one minute for each full five seconds he hears it.

  All mind effects with a set duration will be dispelled when the song has been heard for one minute.

  Permanent effects, like madness or feeble-mindedness, will be healed after one full hour of listening to it.

  Honor (11): You will automatically know how honourable the person speaking to you is.

  -Bound by Oath x4: You can magically sanctify oaths sworn in your presence. They must be freely accepted, with no coercion. You can design a competency, based on up to four ranks, to punish those who break it. There is no defense against this curse.

  The curse must be part of the oath.

  -Bound by Honor x3: Gain 20% to all stats when acting to defend an honourable cause. If done at high cost, gain 30%.

  -Call of Honor: Know where to go to defend an honorable cause, right a wrong, or punish someone who deserves it. You will only know your destination, not the nature of your task.

  -Honor is its own reward x 3: Acquire perfect physical health and reset all other cooldowns. This ability can be activated only after an act of honor. The cooldown depends on how demanding the task was, ranging from one hour to one day.

  Excluding Aunt Ethel’s, this was by far the most potent form he had ever adopted.

  He swiped the screen to see its Pantean build. He found a new Pantean Skill called Harmony under the guise of the Song Competence. Bob would be interested in it. The rest were variations on already known skills.

  He was rather proud of this shape—time to practice it a bit.

  He knew he couldn’t walk out through the front door. The Elven War Hero drew too much attention. If he encountered any Amazons, they might either worship him or hit him over the head, then kidnap him for their own personal use, depending on their mood.

  He neared the window on the upper floor and began to sing the Chant, the Coda of Vana the Skymaiden, who had opened the heavens for the elves.

  A ghostly construct in the form of Ironbeak, the first gryphon to serve an elf, flew down from the sky, hovering near the window.

  Billy leaped onto Ironbeak from a distance of six meters, as effortlessly as a driver slips into a car. Together, they soared over the walls and into the depths of the forest.

  Flying, using his enhanced Elven vision to observe the forest below, a vibrant river of life, shadow, and mystery, while riding on this supernatural beast conjured by his magic from a song, was a breathtaking experience.

  No phrase with that start could end otherwise.

  He saw every tiny blade of grass, watched the unending cycle of predator and prey, and heard the forest taking slow, ponderous breaths that lasted for years as it stretched its roots into the ground, raising its limbs to drink the sunlight.

  Finally, he reached a deserted clearing with the correct dimensions for what he had to do. He dismounted from Ironbeak and let it dissolve back into the Chant. And then he did what heroes do.

  He began to kill.

  As evening approached, the mutated fox was nearing its final reincarnation; Billy had decided he would only corpse-camp each beast 25 times, finally transforming them into the equivalent of a rank-50 monster.

  Not all beasts mutated in the same way. The first one he faced, just after dawn, was a young black bear that had eventually transformed into a monstrous creature the size of a truck, its skin covered in slobbering mouths.

  Belegrin's fighting style was particularly effective against the corpse-camped monsters. The longer the battle continued, the more lethal he became. He could anticipate unstoppable blows five seconds before the beast initiated them, allowing him to prepare devastating counters to attacks that his opponents hadn’t even had time to plan. He was like a master chess player, thinking five moves ahead.

  He spent half the morning killing that bear again and again, until the lethal showdown turned into a predictable routine. He still had the bitter taste of Bob's medicinal pill lingering in his mouth. The pill had proven effective, and with his Essence Digestion passive, he quadrupled his achievement point gains. That first kill had earned him over 2,400 AP.

  The second beast had been a snake that seemed to sprout a new head at every third level. He maneuvered it so expertly that on its last resurrection, he managed to tie all its heads in a knot, and then set fire to it by singing to it the Coda of the Unyielding Sun.

  For his third trophy of the day, he chose a bird. At the end, it transformed into a rabid crow-like monstrosity that shot its feathers as if they were switchblades at him.

  Billy dodged among the trees, unerringly throwing his magical spear at the bird and effortlessly summoning his weapon back to him.

  He ended its last life by jumping on its back, blinding it, and making it crash into a hill. He jumped before the hit, with such grace and economy of movement that he made the almost impossible look ordinary.

  When it died, he had enough AP to finish paying for his new form. His bonus dropped to only twice the usual number of points.

  The fox was his last adversary. This one did not gain size and power each time it died, but speed. It became a blur of color and rage, armed with razor-sharp teeth, almost impossible to see. But Billy did not need to see. Billy knew. And each time his spear darted out, it infallibly moved into the path of the beast, carving a bit of flesh out of it.

  He stopped to rest and drink some water when the sun was finally setting. The corpses of his four adversaries lay in different stages of dismemberment around him. The bitter taste of Bob’s pill finally disappeared from his mouth, taking its bonus with it.

  He bowed to them in respect. He had ended the day with 13000 achievement points and a powerful shape, well-suited for war.

  He rested for a night in the arms of the welcoming forest, surrounded by the corpses of his enemies and planning for the next battle.

  As the sun rose, he began his trip towards Madison. Ironbeak descended again from the skies to take him to his destination.

  Jenna would not like him tackling a seventh-rank dungeon alone, but she was wrong.

  He would kill as many bosses as he could, and if the Core proved too strong, he would fill himself with explosive charges and tear the whole thing down.

  When the day was over, Bob would have his alchemical dungeon, and the Beli people would have the means to fight back.

  He came as a hero, but he was not one. He was the Everlasting. Nothing could kill him. There was nothing he could not kill.

  What could go wrong?