“Too late? What do you mean too late?”

  “Well, take flesh wounds for example. If they are not treated early enough, things go wrong. If they are not disinfected they may become septic. If they are too deep they scar, although only if you have very low vitality. Like you did when your head was sheared in half. Well, let's just say your soul injury scarred, leaving a permanent mutation on your soul.”

  “And this is bad?”

  Liam shrugged. “It is neither good nor bad. It does make your skills leveling easier, but there are a million ways to make skill leveling easier especially at the higher tiers of power. Of course, your case is extreme, as all your experience is divided exactly into two. That means your skill leveling will be proportional to your class leveling, which is a bit extreme and also means your class leveling is a bit handicapped. That means it will be slower than average. I also have no idea how you'll evolve your skills without some kind of external energy, but oh well. What happened next is what you'll be interested in?”

  “What happened next?” Rafe asked, wondering what could be more pertinent than slow overall leveling.

  “Well, you cracked 'em all, you crazy bastard. You cracked all your skill structures. Every single one. Even a smithing skill.”

  Liam shook his head, studying Rafe like he was a black-spotted white laboratory mouse.

  “Ahhh…cracked?”

  He had no idea what that meant.

  “You know about upgradeable skills and recognized evolution paths and all that, right?”

  “Right?”

  “Well, there are other ways to make skills stronger. Cracking one among them. It's kind of like a cheat. Only the big factions learn this kind of thing. And it's dangerous. It's also a bit hit-and-miss. I mean you basically break the skill's structure in your soul. In most cases, you'd have to forego using said skill for a time, but once your soul healed, well.”

  “It is always a toss-up, but something about the skill's functionality always changes. Could be good, could be bad. The first skill you cracked was your Indomitable mind skill, and it went straight back to work and also evolved immediately.”

  “Yeah? When was that?”

  “The whole goblin bit.”

  “Oh…when the world…?”

  “Yes… when you looked into the void.”

  “...”

  Liam shrugged. “Too bad we weren't suspicious of anything at the time. We hadn't been watching quite as closely. It didn't help that the skill description barely changed, let alone its name. Only the rarity tag did. Of course, I had noticed that your skill structures were getting inflated like balloons. Your skill levels had even started trickling past twenty a little, mostly in that mental skill. It evolved but cracked too. We don't know what effects it has. Anyhow, with the precedent set, the rest of your skills cracked too. They cracked but did not evolve. I suppose one effect of all your cracks is that you can level beyond the common level cap.”

  “What do you mean with the precedent set?”

  “I told you, the essence remembers. Remember boy, essence is everything. Your body, your soul, these universes, the skill structures. All made of essence, in one way or another.”

  Liam waited for him to internalise that. Rafe swallowed, leaked his lips.

  “Is this going to become a common occurrence in the multiverse?”

  “Not in the way you think. I mean, my precedent was having seven functional souls yet what did the essence do, increase the number of slots in people's soul cores? I reckon the system will start to hand out pre-cracked skills. The only way to get those before was by having someone who'd cracked their skill transcribe it into a skill scroll or something. Now the system has access to cracks. Not that it will give out your unique crack. That would be just cheating.”

  “So that is the only effect of my cracks?”

  “I'm sure it is not.”

  Rafe blinked. “Then what…”

  “I cannot be sure, as your skill descriptions are supposed to be personalised, in a way. Still, some of your skills… Did you look at your Puppeteer's Rubber Body? I mean, storing a charge of stamina that will power the skill indefinitely until you stop moving for a few seconds. Don't look too astonished, I studied the effects of the skill. It might not be a new skill, but the crack certainly is. The system is going to be all over you. Prodding and testing, having all the damn fun!”

  “Okay…” Was it just him, or did the god sound envious of the system?

  Though, how could he not be? The system controlled the whole multiverse.

  “I mean, your cracks are so interesting. Have you seen your version of Parry? A 90% chance at defense. That's unprecedented, especially given your fighting style is not defensive. Your Heavy blow is also a bit unfair, but again, your Puppeteer's Rubber Body. What a skill! I've never heard of a charged skill before. Precharging a skill with mana or stamina and letting it rip even though the rest of your pool is emptied. That's a cheat if I ever saw one.”

  Rafe frowned. “Aren't trap spells basically like that?”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Good point.”

  “Sooo…the system? What is it? The way you all talk about it, it's as if the enchantress…?”

  “No, do not ask,” Liam said, looking around warily. “There is a rule here. We cannot give you more than you have earned. Noid gave you very precious things because he was your master. He could have told you everything, but he gave too much of himself. He needs the rest. I gave you all the information on skills you needed because you gave me a new phenomenon. Information on the system is a boon I cannot grant you.

  “For even attempting the legacy trial of Skyholm, you were given the librarian, my personal lost weapon. The one you saw bond to a dead fragment of my soul.”

  The declaration was dramatic enough, but Rafe couldn't say he felt any different in the moment. Then he felt it. Like sweat pouring out of his pores, only much faster, and a little metallic, like mercury?

  It came out through his forearms. It just looked like a dark-silver liquid. It did not fall off, however. All the drops congregated and formed shapes like snakes. Two snakes, each on one of his arms. They shifted their free ends around like true heads of snakes, testing the air, turning every which way.

  The strands tested his skin, bobbing up and down, sometimes shining with a moving light of some kind. Then one of them froze as its head made contact with his line of sight. It seemed to look into his eyes. The other also froze. Rafe was transfixed. He could feel something. He could feel his very soul shift slightly. Then Liam turned off the lights for some reason.

  ****

  “Ahhh, you are stirring? That took a tad longer than expected,” Liam said, his voice sounding slow, low, and distant.

  “Waaa…? Huh? What's going on?” Rafe tried to say, but his voice came out slurred.

  “I was just studying your arms. Don't mind me. You can keep sleeping if you like,” Liam said seriously as he went back to prodding Rafe's arms.

  “Hey, that tickles," Rafe started, going for some levity. "Also, aren't you way too close?”

  “Hmm? No, I don't think I'm all that close.”

  He was literally sitting right next to Rafe's head. He wondered what he was studying. He thought about asking but then remembered Liam's last words. The librarian was the last gift he was getting from the man.

  Liam gasped, his grip on Rafe's arm strengthening a little.

  “What? What is it?” Rafe couldn't help but ask after the man had been frozen for a time.

  “It moves.”

  “What does?” Rafe said, coming forward to see. “Oh? Oh wow. My parents will not be happy about that.”

  The black-silver snake-like strands were no more. Instead, Rafe had tattoos. Tattoos of weird scripts he could not understand. They changed colours like they had that day he'd seen them in his first vision as they tried to bind to an injured Liam. When he focused, the colour settled. He watched a tattoo fly up his forearm, to his bicep then to his shoulder and neck and further still to his half-exposed chest. Rafe frowned. He had forgotten his clothes had been destroyed in the unstable portal when he had entered a dungeon by accident. He was wearing strips of cloth wrapped half-hazard all over his body.

  “What are those scripts?” he asked Liam.

  “Hmmm? They are nothing important. Perhaps some of the spells used in the formation of the weapon. More importantly, I find its manifestation curious. Very curious indeed. Your soul injury almost removing the difference between core skills and supporting skills might have affected it more than I assumed. It seems more alive than before, yet it hasn't awakened. Curious.”

  Rafe frowned. “How did it manifest for you?”

  Liam waved a hand and an image of him in torn and bloody battlewear appeared. It wasn't what was interesting though. It was the silver bracers covering his forearms, shining with a familiar script.

  “A pair of vambraces, that's what. Anyway, it appears my presents to you were inadequate. You have more to offer in trade for my knowledge.”

  Liam lifted his hand to forestall Rafe's barrage before it began.

  “No. I'll give you two options. A: I tell you everything about the system, even though Enith knows more and will surely tell you more. Or B: I tell you very little about the system, but what I tell you is very pertinent mind you, and train you up a bit. Not like you're taking my trial as well, but maybe a few years?”

  He looked up hopefully. The void roiled in discontent.

  “Twelve months,” he tried again.

  Rumble.

  “Eleven…Ten…Nine. You drive a hard bargain. Fine, eight. Huh? Then it's back to nine. Alright seven but that's the lowest I'll go. I don't care for a little sleep. It is worth it, I assure you. Alright fine, six months it is.”

  The void quieted. Rafe frowned. What had the god been speaking to just then?

  Liam rolled his eyes at the blackness surrounding them.

  “The nerve of some people, right?”

  “Ah, yeah, sure.” Rafe was starting to see that becoming a god, especially in Skyholm meant eccentricities. “Listen why do you need to train me so badly?”

  “Hmm? Oh, you were knocked out, again. You didn't get to see the notification.”

  “Notification?”

  The familiar screen flared to life in front of him, this time releasing a pulsing light with an accompanying ding! in his head, like a phone notification.

  There was an envelope on the screen, bouncing the way it would for an email notification.

  “What…What is that?”

  “Ohhhh? The system is already starting to customise itself to the expectations of the people on your planet. The system manifests differently for most individuals. It customises its appearance slowly over time though and mostly starts with planet-wide customisation. Outstanding individuals will influence it, influence the extra services it will provide.”

  “Extra services?”

  “Hey, I promised I'd only give you relevant information, and that is not that information. Open the notification.”

  He tapped it like a phone screen. His hand passed right through it. He could feel Liam's eye roll as the man told him.

  “It is not physical. Will never be physical. You have to will it open.”

  He did, and he understood. Or at least partially.

  Warning! F-rank Racial ability prematurely awakened. This could be dangerous unless sufficient energy…

  Warning! E-rank Racial ability prematurely awakened. This could be dangerous unless sufficient energy is provided. The process might consume life force and as the life force of an F-rank cannot support an E-rank ability…

  The rest of its diatribe was cut off again.

  ‘Ding’Your F-rank racial ability ‘Humanity’s adaptability’ is reacting to external influences. Please provide sufficient energy or your life force…

  Sufficient energy provided.

  Your racial ability ‘Humanity's adaptability' has mutated to ‘Eye of the Void sage.’

  ‘Ding’Your E-rank racial ability ‘Humanity's creativity’ is reacting to external influences. Please provide…

  Sufficient energy provided.

  Your racial ability ‘Humanity's creativity’ is…processing…

  You have created a pseudo-class skill.

  Your racial ability ‘Humanity's creativity' is…processing…

  Your pseudo class-skill: mimic will remain inactive until you get a main class.

  “Hmmm?” Liam commented, frowning at Rafe. “I can't be sure, as I can't see everything on your status screen but… Do you not have any achievements? Titles? You did defeat the avatar of a god.”

  “Not…that I can see.”

  “Hmm? What are you planning?” Liam said, but he wasn't looking at Rafe.