Harvey’s entire being screamed as countless threads invaded his body, piercing through his fingertips, his forehead, and his chest before worming their way through every inch of his weave. Gaining the Weave screen early let him see just how extensive the network went beneath the skin. It was like his body had been thrown into the forge, his heart stopping over and over again, only to be restarted when a jolt of essence brought him back from the edge. It was pain and power all at once. Breaking his body down and rebuilding it better than before.

  He could feel the channels of his weave expanding. The conduits being reinforced by the power of his path. As the threads reached his brain, he could see snippets of the memories he’d fed the Loom spliced together in a discordant song. He knew the process would only take minutes after watching Julian and Hannah endure, but it felt like an eternity.

  The unfathomable consciousness resting behind the Loom was indifferent to his plight. He felt it clearer than ever, but it was like he was being blinded by the bright lights of an operating table, unable to see the surgeon methodically dissecting every inch of his body.

  The old Harvey had no chance of surviving something like this. For a moment, he wondered if there were times even powerful ascendants like himself didn’t survive being imprinted with the burden of their lofty ambitions. He’d clearly aimed for the strongest evolution possible, and wondered if established factions under the System avoided doing the same due to the possibility of not surviving the process.

  His mind tried to sever the nerves shooting pain into his brain. Anything to make the pain stop, but they were only replaced with new threads that made the connection even stronger. He felt his body so intimately, in a way he never had before. Sensing every cell. Hearing their cries for the pain to end. Begging cries turned to voracious hunger as the final threads melted into his weave, his failing body surging to devour the hurricane of essence released by the Loom.

  Reforging his body took everything he had. He was as devoid of essence as the day he was born a human back on Earth, but the Loom returned everything he had lost and more, filling his body with F Grade power. It wasn’t the power of a level up, but the rejuvenation of an elixir his mind couldn’t comprehend. It was like drinking every type of potion at once... his body returned to pristine condition. For a serene moment, he was made whole.

  Then, he collapsed.

  It was over. He made it. An F Grade being.

  Healing his body had done nothing to prevent the soul-deep exhaustion he felt. He understood why Julian and Hannah were left barely standing after finishing their evolutions. Already, he felt the memory of the pain slipping away, leaving him like a pregnant woman forgetting the trauma of childbirth so she would be willing to suffer it again.

  Weird

  His evolution was complete, but the Loom wasn’t done with him just yet.

  Congratulations. You have successfully evolved to the F Grade, creating a Rare Class and Epic Profession. The rarity of each has granted ascension tokens that may be spent improving your G Grade skills. For your Rare Class, you may choose 2 to ascend with you. For your Epic Profession, you may choose 3.

  Select a sigil to begin.

  After the upgrades, all but two of his Class and one of his Profession skills would be F Grade. He wondered if he’d ever get to upgrade the G Grades in the future, or if they would just become ancient relics of his path.

  Scanning his body, he noted that he looked a little healthier than before. Empowering his strength had definitely helped bulk him out, but it didn’t get rid of the flab around the edges. Did he look better? He felt better!

  It wasn’t a super noticeable change, and Julian and Hannah were already in peak physical condition as a burly firefighter and college cheerleader. In any case, he didn’t care much for how he looked, but it was nice to feel more at home in his own skin.

  He’d already known about the skill upgrades, so he got to work on the plan he’d made before. Fangbreaker, the very first skill he’d ever created, floated off his forearm and into the space between. More than any other skill, it had kept him alive. He would’ve died countless times without it. Hell, he’d have had his skull caved in by the very first elemental he fought.

  It was such a simple concept, a thin barrier of essence that knocked away whatever broke it. He’d spent so much of his effort on innovation, but wouldn’t ignore that it’s always nice to have a failsafe when things don’t go to plan.

  The only problem was how delicate it was. He could rely on his armor to deal with most minor attacks, but wanted the option to use Fangbreaker to suppress smaller foes while still subduing the larger ones. Like a steel shield, it would protect whatever part of his body he needed it to, before blasting forge fire at anything strong enough to crack it.

  He added his memory of blocking the barrage of stones cast by the lesser elementals with his shield, along with the vision where he was forced to block each with Fangbreaker before he forged his armor. Both memories were useful since they showed the skill fulfilling its purpose, but he hoped the dichotomy of effectiveness would move it towards a sturdier barrier. Next, he added the gouts of flame from Flamestrike devouring the essence of another elemental. Having a blast of pure essence knock away his foes was great, but it would be better if it came with some punishment.

  He tested a few more ingredients, but found that they all diluted his burgeoning evolution. Satisfied he had the best combo, he upgraded the skill.

  The array of blue lines covering the arm turned lava red, the skin underneath turning to stone. The hot knife of progress returned as the sigil branded itself back into his weave, but it was nothing after the evolution.

  Next, he plucked the sigil for Booster from his body. It was a relatively simple skill, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t effective. Being able to instantly redirect his body with pure essence made up for his lacking dexterity, allowing him to dodge attacks with quick thinking instead of quick reflexes. It had saved him on more than one occasion, and now he hoped it would turn into something truly magical.

  Flight.

  He plucked the vision where he leapt over the sea of Kalthera, carpet bombing the wasteland below with massive fireballs. The feeling of soaring through the air into the fray was indescribable, and his skin itched to feel that weightlessness again. He mixed that memory with a few others where the skill had saved him from taking a lethal hit, and ended with another dose of flame from the forge. Booster was already modeled after a rocket... why not add the flames?

  Adding retaliatory fire to both of his skills would punish anyone who got close, letting him defend himself, reposition, and use his other skills to maintain control of the flow of battle.

  Satisfied, the sigil evolved and returned to its home.

  Done with his class, he turned to his profession. With three evolutions, it was less about choosing what to evolve and more about what to leave behind. Modular Array and Innovator’s Arsenal had already risen with him thanks to their status as a Capstone, so in the end, he’d only have one G Grade Profession skill left.

  Inventor’s Insight was mandatory. It was his best tool for understanding the materials he was working with, and now he needed it to provide information about inscriptions as well as blacksmithing. He couldn’t afford to use a second skill slot to create an identification skill like Elena’s, so he’d need to bake that in with his existing skill.

  Next, he moved to upgrade Inventor’s Toolbox. At the end of the day, being able to mold essence into any shape you wanted was just too useful. It also seemed like a good candidate for the skill allowing him to use an inkwell, so he included the blueprint provided by John’s inscription guide. Hopefully, the upgrade would improve his molds while giving him access to the missing piece of the inscription process.

  With those two settled, he was left with two options. Soul Forge or Perfect Finish.

  No question, Soul Forge.

  It was his signature skill. Even more than Modular Array. It represented his fusion of the path of the blacksmith and the inscriber, and gave him something he hadn’t heard anyone else in Veils End mention.

  Bonus Stats.

  Sure, connecting his weave to his equipment had some risks. The aftermath of the F Grade Elemental pummeling his breastplate was proof it was dangerous, but it also gave an undeniable benefit. A few extra points at G Grade wasn’t too special, but how powerful would this skill become when he was D Grade? Hundreds of stat points? Thousands? He was happy to leave behind his tempering skill for that.

  He added his memories of inscribing armor and the painstaking process of crafting his first set of platemail. The Loom was happy with his plan, but he stopped himself just before allowing it to remold his skill.

  What if I add the armor getting destroyed?

  Finding the memory, he winced as he watched himself be beaten to the brink of death by the enraged metal man. Phantom pain radiated through his body as he watched the armor he’d so painstakingly created be turned into a dusty, dented cage for his dying body.

  It felt like the Loom hesitated, unsure of what to do with the memory for a moment before the glow grew brighter.

  Good thing I waited.

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  With a mental assent, the sigil took in the new memories, the spectral armor looking more corporeal as the runes began to glow brighter. He laughed through the pain as it reconnected to his weave and stumbled as the rainbow haze finally retreated into the orb.

  “You did it!” Julian clapped, helping Harvey to a seat.

  “I did.” Harvey smiled, opening his Status screen for all to see.