Bev finished the temporary inscription tool. And fortunately she didn’t have to inscribe the entire runic formation on just one tooth. Unfortunately she still needed it to be extremely small. Pen sized. A quick addition of steel to the tooth made it a good deal larger. And easier to hold. The tooth being the cutting tip and steel the handle.

  But she did still need to carve thin lines into both steel and T2 bone. Too much pressure and she would carve too deep. Too little and it did nothing. With Kennon holding the pen with his telekinesis like a vice she had easy, stable access. But it was hard. As she took a moment to ready the next line Tutor spoke up.

  Remember, this is an advanced enchantment. Not typically the work of a novice. And not without the proper tools. Perfection may be beyond you. But you don’t need perfection. Frankly if it burns out in a few days it will still be long enough for you to use the new tool to make a backup. And the tiger didn’t exactly have a lack of teeth to use.

  Comforting words. But that wasn’t going to stop her from attempting perfection. The bond with Kennon was having an unexpected effect. He could feel the pen with his telekinesis. And she had an impression of his senses. That meant she could feel the pen much better than if it was in a vice.

  And with access to all sides, she felt perfection was an option.

  She could feel the intensity of his grip. His focus helped focus her.

  In theory the inscription was a simple one. Sharpness, with a condition. Cut, but only so deep.

  Sharpness was easy. Possibly the easiest enchant in existence. But she had to focus it entirely on a literal pen head. Her temporary tool had a needle thin point. And so would the new one. But she had to carve into the needle on the new one.

  She took another break. She was mostly done. Just a few more minutes and the hard part would be over. She still would have more work to do. But the delicate work would be over. She grabbed her tool, went to the new pen. Touched it.

  Her heart stopped as she felt it shatter.

  A second failure.

  She would take a break. Then go back to it. Third times the charm?

  Bev spent the rest of the day working on that tiny pen. Kennon was at her side the entire time.

  He had discovered two things. Holding it with his power. First, his recent levels made gathering mana while casting almost easy. It still took work. But he wasn’t at risk of dropping the spell.

  Second, their bond let them share skills.

  The second one was a subtle thing. He wouldn’t have noticed if he had been doing literally anything else. But her soul powers were bleeding over to him. And his to her.

  It was so small he thought he was imagining it at first. But his body felt just a bit too steady standing for hours. Not what he would have expected with his physical empowerment. And Bev’s focus was a little too good. Her vision a little too sharp.

  That alone would not have convinced him. The fact that the texture of his palm was ever so slightly more scaly sealed the deal. He doubted it was even a single soul points worth of difference. But it made him wonder. What if their bond were stronger?

  Tutor was no help. It didn’t even say it couldn’t tell them. It simply said it had no idea. They really were charting unknown territory.

  By the end of the day her pen was done. A true masterpiece.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Inscription pen(high grade) - enchanting tool - T2

  When it was done a flood of tension fell off of their shoulders. They had no idea how people did this on a regular basis.

  Bev took a ten minute break. And five minutes later handed Kennon a knife with a sharpness two enchantment. It wasn’t a new knife. She just enchanted his old one. But with the proper tool it took her almost no time at all.

  “So, what next?” Kennon said telepathically.

  “First, I need a new helmet. And you need a shield. After that, honestly a proper place to sleep would be amazing.”

  Kennon chuckled at that.

  “Yea, cheap sleeping bags in a tent on hard ground aren't the best sleeping conditions.”

  “I can get the helmet and shield done in a day. You wanted to start magic lessons right?”

  “Yea”

  “I saw your control. I bet telekinesis would be amazing for milling. I can design a saw to be used that way. It should speed things up”

  “True, how long?”

  “Depends how sharp you want it.”

  Kennon laughed. It wouldn’t be long. They were about to stop surviving. And start living.

  A home.

  What did home even mean anymore?

  It used to mean the safe cabin with Margie. But that was gone. And this place, it wasn’t going to be permanent. Just enough to be safe and comfortable till they turned fifteen. After that, what came next?

  They would no doubt acquire enough wealth in this portal to at least rent a place inside city walls. If they did really well they could get a decent place to set up a shop. There was no need for an apprenticeship with Tutor around.

  They could make a home. Live normal peaceful lives. They would never have to fight for their lives again.

  Was it bad that he thought that sounded boring? He felt he would be happier here alone than sitting doing alchemy every day.

  That fight. It lit a fire in him. The adventures guild was always on the table as a career path. Every child wanted to slay a dragon when they grew up. But most grew out of it. Kennon felt like he was growing into it.

  With the growth system he would not get stuck at level 32. He could feel it in his bones. It was getting harder to level. Where a T1 tiger gave them almost two whole levels, a T2 and two T1s now gave just over one level.

  But he had heard of it taking people years to reach level ten. He felt that he could have it in a week if they rushed. Faster didn’t seem to be the appropriate word. They would be absolutely racing past the others.

  They would need that if they were attacked.

  For now though, they needed to focus on their skills. Not their levels. Some time doing plain old wood work would be good for them. Practice their magic. Get their proficiencies up. They managed to get Bev’s mental enhancement skill to the proper size. If they got all of them like that it would be better than a level.

  Kennon drifted off to the sound of birds singing

  Kennon rose to a piercing shriek. It was their alarm. Something was attacking! In a moment he was outside, armed, and armored. His tiger hide cape wrapped around his shoulders, dagger in hand. It was already charged with a wind blade.

  But what he saw was not a tiger, or a monster. It was a human.

  No, it was a monster.

  He was covered in blood. And holding Margie’s robes.

  He fired an identify.

  H}nn!6 - %7a(z - l3vl 3@@

  What? What was happening? Could he block identify?

  The man charged, and her halberd hook caught him by the neck. In an instant he was leaning over him with his dagger pointed at his face.

  “Who are you! Why did you do this?”

  He sneered, and said, “Or what? You’ll stab me?”

  Time seemed to split. He saw two futures. One with his dagger buried in the murderer's eye. Another with the man walking away, still covered in blood.

  Neither future was pleasant.

  Was there no option other than killing, or forgetting?

  Kennon woke with a fright.

  It was a dream.

  Just a dream.

  Thank you for sharing my journey. To help me walk it I have a set up. It is 20 chapters ahead and releases at the same time as the Royal Road chapters.

  Remember reviews and ratings help.