Chapter 38: Chicken scratches
Heavy, Irwin thought as he rolled on his shoulder, trying to find a better position. Something seemed to be weighing him down. A heavy blanket? His hand shivered, and he held it against his chest.
A shiver ran through him as he remembered the pain. He'd blacked out… so did that mean that the reforging had failed?
Rolling on his back, he felt his jacket and pants move oddly below him. There was a crunching sound that reminded him of caked hardened mud. He debated investigating it for a moment, then focused on something more important: his card.
Can I even feel if it worked?
He looked up at the ceiling while probing for the skill to see if it had changed. It took him surprisingly little effort to connect with the card. Solid, stable, and secure, the sensation no longer just covered his hands but hung like a heavy curtain over his entire being.
It worked, he thought as he released the skill. A body-improvement skill, the thing he'd dreamed about for so long. He was surprised at how calm he felt. He now had three cards. Shouldn't he be out of his mind with joy?
He moved his hand before his face, staring at the three thin tattoos. They only lacked the lines connecting to show he had combined them. Still, like when he got his first card, his first one should already be influencing the third one. He wondered what effect it would be. Would the Coperion Skin be stronger? Or hot?
The skin of his hand was stunningly darker than before. Tanned, as if he'd worked in the sun for weeks. There was also something else different. A dull gleam as if it was slightly wet?
Wait, why is the sleeve of my jacket black and burned? he looked down to find that the rest of his leather jacket was hard, dried, and blackened. The edges were curled up and cracked.
"So? Ready to head out? You slept enough now, right?"
Irwin jolted as Ambraz flew into his field of vision. Seeing the small fluttering Anvil made him shudder, and he wondered if he could ever look at one the same.
Wait, didn't he tell me that if I wanted to reforge the card higher than uncommon, I had to do something? Does that mean I need to strike my own hand?