Ephemeral Ossuary

The next day, at 3:38 a.m.

Donovan had woken up early because of a nightmare where he was being buried by an avalanche of snow, and be couldn't go back to sleep.

He was currently seated on a chair at the table, sipping on a hot cup of coffee. Alfred was still asleep.

Right, the mission reward... I'll go get it later.

He stared at nothing for a while as he drank his cup of coffee. Then, with nothing to do, he reached for his phone and started scrolling, watching funny videos.

Donovan did this for an entire hour. Only after putting down his phone that he regretted wasting an entire hour scrolling on his phone.

At 5:10 a.m., he got the Chef robot to start making breakfast.

While the Chef robot was making breakfast, Donovan went to the bathroom to retrieve his clothes. After pressing the Repair button, he found that it was completely fixed.

At 5:30, Alfred finally woke up. Donovan and Alfred ate their breakfast together. Donovan's breakfast was a simple one—eggs and bacon. As for Alfred, it was Vorlan food.

At 5:59, Donovan yawned as he put on something heavy to protect himself from the cold. A tan trench coat, turtleneck sweater, a scarf, a pair of gloves, a beanie, and insulated sweatpants.

He was going to the Portal Chamber to get his mission reward from Tiero. Right now, he was very thankful that the original owner of this body had bought so many stylish clothes. In his previous life, he barely bought any clothes because he didn't have that much money. But the original Donovan had almost everything: trench coats, overcoats, etc.

Donovan was glad that he gets to wear these kinds of outfits. He went to the front door, looked back, and saw that Alfred was already seated on the sofa, about to turn on the TV. Then, Alfred suddenly said, "Something happened outside. Take a look for yourself."

Donovan raised his right eyebrow, curious. But he decided to trust Alfred.

With a sigh, he opened the door and left, bringing his umbrella with him just in case something were to happen. He walked in the hallway, sometimes seeing other Visitors leaving their apartment to go to work. Heading down the stairs, and leaving his apartment building, he saw many Visitors gathered around.

There were also authorities wielding medium-sized advanced guns and weapons. They were the equivalent of cops from Donovan's previous life back on Earth. Some were entirely machine, while some were humans.

Curious, Donovan approached, trying to take a look at what the commotion was all about. But since there were so many and thus he couldn't get a good look, he sighed as he activated his Float ability.

There were also other Visitors who were floating to get a good look of the situation. When he was high enough, Donovan's eyes widened.

He saw a Visitor lying on the ground, his eye sockets empty, and his mouth wide open. His skin was charred black as if he was just pulled up from a volcano, and all ten fingers from both of his hands were wriggling around! The man was obviously dead, but his fingers were wriggling slowly like a bunch of worms! And worse, the corpse was missing his lower half!

Next to the deceased Visitor were a pile of bones lying on the ground that was still dressed in a black suit. A fiery green burned in the eye sockets of the skull.

This filled Donovan with dread, but from the previous Donovan's memories, he had seen worse than this. Calming down, he floated down and asked a Visitor beside him, "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know. Could be a murder, or a fight to the death. But since there are basically cameras everywhere, we'll find out the truth soon." The Visitor beside Donovan answered.

Shaking his head, he continued walking. After reaching the Portal Chamber, he approached Tiero.

Upon seeing Donovan, Tiero took out a small coin-sized object. He tossed it at Donovan.

Donovan caught it, his eyes slightly widening. It was made of gold, its surface smooth to the touch. On it were the words: Ephemeral Ossuary.

It was a brand new spell! From the original Donovan's memories, the last time he got a new spell was four months ago!

Getting a spell was rare and randomized. The longer someone has been a Visitor, the more likely they are to get spells. For every class-types, they all use spells. Even Fighters, Tankers, and Assassins use spells. Such examples are: Titan's Grip, Night's Embrace, Adamant Flesh, etc...

Donovan raised his head, looking at Tiero. He asked, "What does it do?"

"Summons a skeleton, but only lasting for a few minutes. But the stronger you get and the more you advance, the more you can summon," answered Tiero.

Visitors advance through five ranks, symbolizing their mastery over magic, tech, and combat:

The first—Drizzle Rank. These are new recruits.

The second is Shower Rank. These Visitors have enhanced and stronger spells.

The third one is Storm Rank. More advanced spellcasting, and personal tech modifications.

The fourth—Typhoon Rank. Masters of combat and magic, capable of devastating attacks. This is the ideal goal for Visitors, as the next and final rank is almost impossible to achieve.

The Hurricane Rank. Only eight individuals have reached this level, wielding near-godlike power. And they are none other than the eight that Zeronil gave portions of "His" power to.

But these eight people... or gods, have already left Umbrellas, treading on a new path. They are already beyond the Hurricane Rank.

Visitors harness an energy source called the Canopy Field, a mysterious force that surrounds Umbrellas and enhances their abilities, which is the protective barrier, or dome that surrounds Umbrellas. As they grow stronger, they gain deeper access to the Canopy Field, unlocking new powers, better equipment, and stronger magic.

Visitors rank up, or level up by completing missions, or syncing deeper with the Canopy Field. Syncing deeper with the Canopy Field can be done by frequently training one's own body, their spells, and defeating more Annihiliths.

Each rank grants Visitors a certain "upgrade" to their abilities to better match with their rank. For example: A Visitor who couldn't destroy a brick wall with a simple Flame Ball at the Drizzle Rank can now destroy it with ease right after advancing to the Shower Rank.

Right now, Donovan was at the Shower Rank.

With a nod, Donovan held the coin-like object and inserted it into his umbrella's shaft. Then, he suddenly felt a brief surge of power flowing in his veins.

The information about his new spell came flowing into his brain.

Sigh, it's rather weak. I can only summon one skeleton, and they only last for five minutes... If only I had gotten this spell at Drizzle Rank, then it would've been boosted when I ranked up to Shower... Heh, what's with these rank names? Sounds ridiculous...

Oh well. It'll just get stronger the more I rank up. I wonder how much I can summon at Hurricane Rank... Heh, just the thought of it is getting me excited...

Donovan's mission reward was only a new spell. He then looked at Tiero. He wanted to make small talk by talking about the horrifying scene that happened in front of his apartment building, but he was acting out his reserved and mysterious persona, so he refrained from doing so.

After that, Donovan walked away.

Hm... Tiero gave me the day off for today, so what shall I do now? I don't want to just laze around all day at home... The library or the Training Grounds... I'm not in the mood to read right now. And since I want to get stronger... The Training Grounds it is, then.

Donovan changed directions, his new destination being the Training Grounds. He didn't think much of the terrifying scene that occured earlier in front of his apartment building. This was because the technology was so advanced in Umbrellas that it won't take long for the authorities to figure out what happened.

I am a bit curious, though... That man's charred skin... Was it a result of a spell?