Jonathan placed his hand on the ground, and started to cut a small segment of skin away. A flap of flesh came off, letting him see his bones. Before the skin could heal over, he sawed at the bone with the Void blade, and cut out a small rectangle. It hurt, quite a lot, but he’d felt far worse. Most of the pain came from the fact that he was doing it to himself.
He gingerly extracted the fragment of bone, and placed it on the weapon. The scythe glowed, and absorbed the final reagent. A flash of shadow engulfed Kharon, and then faded. The weapon looked no different than before, but it certainly felt so to Jonathan.
He picked it up, and a gloating laugh pealed through his mind. “This feels good,” Kharon said. “Is this what progression feels like to one of your kind?”
“How much control do you have over your… body?” Jonathan asked. “Whatever it is that you think of yourself as. I’ve never heard of a sapient weapon before.”
“It depends on my Tier. By Tier 20, I’ll have full control over myself. Or at least, I will through you.”
Jonathan nodded. “Right, because you gain control over another five percent of your body per Tier.”
“Care to loop me in?” Eliza asked.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot you can’t hear Kharon.”
Jonathan was about to explain, but the scythe beat him to it. A small mouth opened along the length of the weapon’s blade. “I can speak like this.”
“Great,” Eliza replied. “It’s still so strange to talk to you.”
“I assume it would be,” Kharon replied. “It’s strange for me too. I didn’t even exist a year ago. I just popped into existence one day.”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“How did that work?” Jonathan asked. “I know the Great Farmer transmuted his pitchfork to create you, but what exactly was the process? Did he just imbue you with a lot of energy?”
Jonathan felt a strange sensation from his weapon, almost like it was trying to shrug.
“I’m not sure. My birth was heralded by a flash of light. That was all I really knew. Green light, and existence. Then the face of the Great Farmer leaning over me.”
Eliza smirked. “Must not have been fun to wake up like that. That thing was a monster, and looked like it as well.”
Kharon laughed, a metallic, ringing noise. “I agree.”
“Where did your personality come from?” Jonathan asked. “You seem to be pretty complete in that regard. Did you not need time to grow, or develop?”
“Not really. It was more of a spontaneous thing.”
“Huh,” was all Jonathan really could say.
The weapon fell silent, pausing for a moment. “I can feel a deep slumber coming on. I need to rest to process the power I just gained. Perhaps a week?”
Jonathan and Eliza shared a glance. “Works for us,” Jonathan replied.
***
“I can’t believe I haven’t tried to eat anything since reaching Tier 2,” Jonathan exclaimed. “Why didn’t I realize that enhanced senses would make it taste so much better?”
The two sat at a table in one of the fine dining restaurants of the Oozing Bastion. Apparently, although everyone above Tier 2 had no need to eat or drink, many still chose to. Most of those sitting around them were above Tier 3, guard officers on their days off, some merchants, and the like. The restaurant itself was modeled after a tavern, but was far too clean to actually be mistaken for one.
The plate in front of Jonathan was practically licked clean. A succulent cut of the Hells’ analogue of steak had vanished in the blink of an eye, quickly followed by the rest of the meal. Some mashed potatoes, and a small pool of rich gravy within them. Although the food was gone, the memory remained.
“Yeah,” Eliza replied. “Some people have chef classes, generally subclasses of hunter-gatherer classes. Many cultivate blends of skills that allow them to find valuable resources. That applies to food as well.”
Jonathan nodded. “I could practically feel the Life elemental energy suffusing the meat. It was easily a dozen times better than anything I’ve ever had before, even taking my upgraded senses into account.”
Eliza laughed. “Here we are, talking about food. We were supposed to be talking about us.”
