Verso sat hunched over his desk, the scratch of his pen against paper the only sound in the room.
He was surrounded by discarded notes and scribbled calculations, his mind racing through the events of the previous night.
In the background, Lil' Bone was busy with a mission of its own.
The three foot tall skeleton was currently engaged in a desperate struggle against the edge of Verso's bed.
It reached up with its tiny grey fingers, clutching at the bedsheet trying to find enough leverage to get itself onto the mattress.
It slipped once but it didn't give up on his mission. After another minute of frantic scrambling and bedsheet pulling the little guy finally managed to flop onto the bed.
It stood up excitedly, its hollow sockets fixed on Verso's back as it began to waddle toward the edge of the bed waving its arms frantically in an attempt to grab its master's attention.
"I FINALLY GOT IT!"
Verso's shout erupted like a cannon blast in the quiet room. He shoved his chair back with a violent screech of wood against floor, slamming his hands onto the desk as he stood up.
The sudden outburst gave Lil' Bone an unexpected jumpscare. Startled by the shout, the skeleton lost its footing at the very edge of the bed as it tumbled backward and flailed its arm wildly before hitting the floor.
CLACK
Verso blinked, his adrenaline fueled grin fading as he looked down at the pile of bones on his floor.
He looked down just in time to see Lil' Bone's skull roll across the floor, stopping right against his toes.
He picked it up, coming face to face with the empty sockets.
He saw Lil' Bone narrow its eyes which was a something that should not be physically possible for a skeleton. Somehow his summon managed to look incredibly offended.
"Don't blame me for this," Verso said, his eye twitching as he kneeled down to start the familiar process of reconstructing the skeleton.
"You fell completely on your own."
Lil' Bone clicked its teeth together in what sounded like a huff.
Verso began snapping the arm bones back into the shoulder sockets, his mind drifting back to the data he had just verified.
The night in the simulation had been a massacre. After spending the entire day sleeping and hunting with efficiency, Verso had managed to slay roughly one hundred Minor Stone Golems.
In any other hunter's career, a hundred kills was a solid week's work, but for Verso who did not feel exhaustion in the simulation it was all the result of a single night's grind.
However, the kill count wasn't what had made him scream but rather it was the loot.
Out of those hundred kills, he had walked away with a total of seven new Beast Souls.
'These drop rates are insane!'
Verso thought back to the math he had done as he finished reattaching Lil' Bone's left leg.
In the real world, the probability of a Beast Soul dropping was estimated at one in a thousand and yet Verso had pulled seven in a single night.
This was the final proof he needed to confirm that the System wasn't just a guide. It also served as a massive multiplier to his growth.
He stood up, looking down at the now repaired skeleton.
Lil' Bone immediately began jumping around on the floor, waving its arms in a victory dance happy about its contribution in the hundred golem slaughter.
Watching it, a small genuine smile touched Verso's lips.
The Nameless Skeleton had been a loyal companion and a lethal weapon when transformed into a cleaver, but unfortunately as it was, his summon was too weak to survive the deeper parts of the crater.
"Hey, lil' guy," Verso said, his voice softening.
"Are you ready to finally get your upgrade?"
Not understanding what Verso meant the skeleton paused for a second looked at his face and then ignoring him continued dancing.
Looking at this, Verso's eyebrow twitched as he decided to just ignore this as he walked over to the edge of his bed and sat down.
This was the moment he had been waiting for since he first read the description of the new function.
'Synthesis.' He thought.
A vibrant green window shimmered into existence in front of his eyes.
---
[✦Synthesis Window✦]
Available Summons:
1.[Nameless Skeleton]
2.[Minor Stone Golem]
3.[Minor Stone Golem]
...
---
Verso looking through the window reached out mentally, selecting the [Nameless Skeleton] as his base. Immediately, the window shifted, highlighting the remaining seven Golem souls.
He hesitated for a second. He didn't want to overdo it on the first try but he wanted a significant change so he just selected two of the Stone Golem souls.
[Please Confirm Synthesis.]
"Confirm." Verso whispered.
The reaction was instantaneous.
Beside him, Lil' Bone erupted into a blinding, pure white light which flooded the entire dorm room. Looking at the bright light Verso winced before shielding his eyes with his forearm.
[Synthesis Complete.]
After a few seconds the mechanical voice echoed in his head as he lowered his arms to look at the little skeleton. Shocked by what he saw, Verso realized that the child size skeleton was no more.
Standing in its place was a figure that looked completely different.
Lil' Bone had gone through a complete metamorphosis. It was now five feet tall and its frame had became significantly broader and more imposing.
The bones were no longer the dull grey as now they possessed a polished metallic sheen. Which made it look like the its body had been carved out from a block of dark marble.
Verso stood up from the bed, his mouth slightly opened as he got close and started walking circles around the skeleton.
The skull was no longer wide and chubby in appearance as its face now looked sleek with sharp ridges along the brow and a jawline that looked like it could bite through steel.
The skeleton stood perfectly still, looking down at its own hands, opening and closing it trying to take in the new dark look and feeling the new power in its body.
"Uhm, Uhm..."
Verso rubbed the back of his neck as he cleared his throat to get the Skeleton's attention.
Lil' Bone looked up, its dark sockets locking onto Verso's eyes with a new sharper intelligence.
"Should we change your name to Not So Lil' Bone now?"
The pun hung in the air for a painful three seconds as the skeleton didn't move.
Then, it slowly tilted its head as it physically cringed. The expression on the marble skull unmistakable.
It raised its heavy, stone like hand and slammed it against its own forehead doing a slow dramatic facepalm.
Seeing this, Verso chuckled, the tension in the room breaking instantly.
"Alright, alright. I'll work on a better joke."