Karl stared at the small platform and tried to determine what might be just the right thing to combine to make a new skill.
His first thought was [Skill Master] [Evolution] and [Skill Merger]. Those three together had to create some sort of fun effect for new people.
[You know, trying to combine Bone Crusher and Disintegration to make the perfect slap skill is still an option.] Cara reminded him.
[No, SPICY TORNADO!] Hawk insisted.
Rae sounded like she had put more thought into her answer. [If you combine your new Iron Within skill with Limited Invulnerability and Ghostfire Body you could make something awesome.] She suggested.
Karl focused on the three skills using Skill Merger to see if he could get an idea of what might happen.
[Lord of Destruction] Totem Rank Transformation Skill. Ignores most damage types, incorporeal, Deals fire damage to both physical and metaphysical targets. {Currently Unavailable}
Cara was practically drooling in her space.
[I want it. I can be a Totem, I’m certain of it.]
[Perhaps we should go with something more realistic? A skill that we might be able to actually combine is what we need here.]
Next, Karl moved on to his first idea. Skill Master, Evolution and Skill Merger. When combined, the three made a skill called [Randomize].
[Randomize] May the odds be occasionally in your favour. Creation of this skill book requires ground pulp of ten different Commander Rank or higher plants and ten different elemental stones, set in the blood of the writer.
That was not a description at all. But at least he knew how to make it.
[Oh, this is the right skill. I need some of your blood anyhow. How fast did you regenerate?] Rae asked.
[Fast enough. Have you picked the other blood types that you wanted for your bath?] Karl asked.
[We’re a bit limited. I have a lot of Monarch Rank Cyclops, I’ll get a bunch of yours to go with that for the Earthy side. Then I’ve got some Royal Rank Drake, and five drops of Totem Rank Troll blood from that little fuss with Leafa. But I also got a bunch from Monarch Rank whack a mole lady.
It doesn’t smell great, but I think if I add some other stuff it should be alright.]
She sounded dubious about that. Everyone knew Rae wouldn’t take the bath if it was going to make her smell bad, no matter how many cool skills the zombie summoner had.
[Well, you can work on that tonight after the trial. First, we need a core for the temple.]
[I will get the plants.] Thor insisted.
[I have lots of stones from the trial, I will pick ten that we have a lot of.] Remi added.
[Let me stab you.] Rae insisted.
[You can’t leave the space in the trial. I will give you the blood.]
Karl deactivated [Void Body] and [Limited Invulnerability] so that he would actually bleed, but left [Trollish Regeneration] active so that he could continually funnel blood to Rae.
With the Haint Claw on his left hand, and a bowl set under his right hand, Karl was ready to start.
With the claw, he punctured the large vein in his wrist and let it bleed down the claw into the bowl, where Rae claimed it for the pool in her space.
The Haint Claw seemed happy with the arrangement, as did Rae, who had already portioned some off for Remi to make the ink mixture for the skill book.
The problem was that Karl didn’t bleed quickly, even with a major artery punctured, and the blood was thick and metallic. [Don’t worry, I don’t need too much. It would make me smell like Void Badger. I have a plan for this time. It’s all about the compound blend. Once I get the scent right, I’ll know it.
You see, Karl smells like Cara and Metal. Cyclops blood smells like fire and Earth. Then I have this nice splash of Troll to put in with a strong plant and healing energy refreshing scent.
Trust the process.]
Karl let the process go on for another five minutes while Remi finished the ink for the book, and then Rae finally decided she had enough blood.
[Alright, that should do. I will work on it after we finish here, so it doesn’t get stale before my bath.]
Karl took out a clipboard and set it on a nearby stone, then settled in for a long writing session.
The [Randomize] skill book was incredibly long, and utter gibberish, unlike most of the books, where Karl had actually understood what he was doing as he wrote it.
The hours seemed to flow from one into another, but the sun never moved from its spot high in the sky, no matter how long Karl wrote for.
Finally, the book was finished. It bound itself into a golden tome covered in dragon scales, with a spine that looked like the clay tile roof of the oldest buildings. Currently, flat slate tiles were in fashion, and the clay tiles were rarely used.
[Book of Randomize] Cannot be learned.
[Use Now?] Y/N
“No. You are going in the obelisk.” Karl informed the system, just to be one hundred percent clear, that he didn’t want to randomize himself.
With that sorted, he placed the book in the hollow, and stepped back as a powerful barrier formed over the stone.
[Monarch Rank, Epic Grade Core Detected] The system informed him.
The stones of the temple began to move, and Karl jumped down to a spot on the Temple that was already completed. The top of the building was rearranging itself, creating a completed temple. The closer to complete that it became, the more powerful the magic surrounding it grew. Then it faded to a steady thrum, and between one breath and another, Karl found himself back outside, holding a small golden loop in the shape of a dragon.
[It’s a crown! You got your own crown, that is awesome.] Remi cheered.
The Archbishop stared at the loop in Karl’s hands, then at the trial building, which was giving off an incredibly powerful aura.
“Welcome back. I can see that you succeeded, though I do wonder what sort of trial did it give you?” The aging Cleric asked.
“It wanted me to make a core item for a new Temple under construction. I take it that the time flow isn’t the same on the outside? Because I was there for at least a half a day, and you’re still standing here.” Karl replied.
“Yes. You have been gone about five seconds, and you are the first one back.” The Archbishop replied vaguely, more concerned with the trial building.
Then something seemed to sink into his mind. “Did you say that it asked you to make a new core item for a Temple? What did you make it?”
Karl shrugged. “A skill book called Randomize. It’s a combination of my skill learning abilities and Evolution. It can’t be learned, only used. But the trial accepted it as the core of the Temple, so it must have passed the power verification.”
The elderly representative from the Green Dragon smiled as he took a few steps, Karl’s way, using a walking stick to remain upright.
“I doubt it was about power. The trial knew what your Rank was as soon as you entered. I believe that you passed the vibe check.” The Red Dragon High Priest chuckled as his counterpart continued to the trial ground, while the Archbishop shook his head in dismay.
“You’re not going to try that skill, are you?” The Archbishop asked the Green Dragon Cleric.
“Of course I am. If I don’t then the first one to find out if the new Monarch made a core for the Trial will be a Blue Dragon, and they always get to do the fun stuff.” The old man grumbled.
They really didn’t ever change, Karl decided.