《Vice and Violence》


 Chapter 1 - To ignite the fire

    The central gestating capsule was working at its maximum efficiency capacity, sucking dry our energy reserves. Yet this is anything but a normal spaceship, a Grand Ark, as they called it, designed and engineered by the Ancients themselves.


    It has been a long and excruciating journey for a lowly man such as myself, but I must admit, my hard work has come to bear its fruits. As time passed by, and our meeting became ever closer, couldn''t but keep admiring this marvelous central operating room.


    From the control console, a three-dimensional plastic interface, capable of adapting to the user''s morphology, directly interacting with its nervous system to receive and deliver information almost instantaneously.


    Completely black in color, I could see the nanites, alas nano autonomous machines, coordinate and move to connect themselves with Ugo. The slarg slave I stole from one of my enemies, and rightfully put to work on the ship.


    What else was a slave for, after all. The myelinic strata covering my neurons do, in truth, not cover them from the influence of the energy stream. The energy stream is the source of power utilized by every highly advanced enough race in this universe.


    This incredible primordial source is directly connected to the primary energy core of this ship, and from there, obviously, connects to every operating module on board, console included.


    In short, I would like my brain to remain intact, without it being deep-fried to a darker shade of orange. Ugo can certainly tank the danger for me, he''s a slarg after all. A three-meter-tall gelatinous alien with only a pair of pink protruding limbs ending with pair of crab-shaped pincers. They are famous for their loyalty, as slaves of course, and dull brains.


    Ugo''s psychic insensitivity is serving me well here. Of course, he''s not able to execute any of the more complex tasks, but for simple space travel, he''s more than enough.


    The pristine, white, marble-like walls of the ship gave a strong contrast to the black matter of nanites that was the console. They said that the entirety of the ship was a huge living organism, capable of feeding off radiation and the energy stream everpresent around it. This white mass of living metal I''ve lived on the last couple hundred years never ceased to amaze me.


    The ancients were surely a great lot. Their dead hives are such treasure troves to scavenge, inimaginable treasures are scattered inside these ancient tombs.


    I found this Ark confined in one such place, the poor boy was quite damaged, surviving only thanks to a fickle torrent of energy stream that the ancient structure permitted to.


    Thankfully the Observer''s system is a more modern invention, and their civilization did not take into consideration such a thing.


    Thinking so, Mark, the mage, the wandering sage, the celestial thief, and walking disaster, stared deeply into the gestation capsule mentioned.


    The creature it intended to birth was surely terrifying and life-like enough, unmistakably, the birth cocoon of an ancient was residing inside, pulsating with vigorous life. The primordial terror that ruled this universe ages ago was about to be given life once again.


    They will come, he was sure about it, to stop its unholy birth. For once it was borne, it would be too late, as the observer would protect a ''new'' species coming to creation.


    ''That''s right, they had completely disappeared from the universe in such a way that not even a single living member of their species remained.


    The System was yet to be created, and as their return was never to be expected, as deemed impossible after the war of creation, a safe procedure was never put in place.


    The arrogance of the Forgers boundless as it ever was. Marie, darling, do not worry, we''ll be getting our revenge, one way or another.


    Your absence hurts me deeply, it burns, my hatred. I will dance on their dead bodies, with or without this universe intact.''


    Mark, the mad explorer coughed heavily, as he touched the integrity of his life support system. An incredibly lightweight backpack-shaped piece of old machinery, various glass tubes protruding from it connected to his very flesh, furnishing and enhancing his metabolism with a greenish, strange organic substance. Energized nutrients the system offered him to challenge his quest for revenge, to challenge the creators themselves.


    Mark swiftly adjusted his nanites googles, these big, round, scarlet lenses permitted him to perceive energy fluctuations coming from the energy stream, sometimes even anticipating for him dangers that might befall on his bizarre adventures.


    His goggles slightly twitched, indicating a disruption in the flow of the energy stream either close to him or caused by something or someone involved with him.


    '' As arrogant as they might be, they already caught me, I must go. it''s finally ended, this game of hide and seek between us. I can finally give them our last gift, Marie.''


    "Ugo, hurry up and wake up Mitch from his sleeping casket, the job I paid him for, it''s time for him to fulfill it. Now prepare for a jump, we are going back to Ur- Akhar, they won''t be able to follow us in there."


    Upon hearing the cursed name of the ancient Tomb, Ugo started violently trembling, his gelatinous body seemingly having a seizure. Yet the slarg heard his master''s will and was about to obey, as his predecessor and his forbearers did in the past.


    A small humanoid creature, about one meter in height, prostrated itself upon seeing Mark. It had long folded, pointed ears, big round black eyes, yet think green hide covered its body. On his head stood a brown leather hat, together with a yellowish suit made of the same animal material, the old elk, a greenskin subspecies, made clear contrast with the superadvanced spaceship he was boarding.


    Mark taped the ground two times consecutively with his metal cane, death''s claw. Better described as a scepter, on its pommel were set three long claws, said to be derived from the corpse of an ancient in the flesh. An unimaginable peace of history that made his psychic capabilities skyrocket.


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    " Little Mitch, please, uphold your end of our bargain. Your family is safe, my crew, back on Terron made sure of it. I have prepared the ship''s module 346 for you to embark, everything''s ready."


    A weird smile appeared on the captain''s lips, a truly rare occasion. Since Lady Marie''s departure, his madness kept ever increasing. Now, mixed emotions appeared on his hardened features, as a dozen bionic enhancers plastered his skulls, various tubes, and advanced electronic devices brought the explorer''s mental faculties to a realm very far from that of mortal men.


    Old Mitch wasn''t as little anymore, his family living on a distant planet, where his people were surviving each day only thanks to mercenaries such as him that were committed even to the most repugnant and dangerous jobs, that other more ''noble'' races were too dignified to accept.


    To accept expeditions in the unknown issued by mad scavengers and thirsty explorers was normally considered madness, even for the most hardened warriors. Down there, death was usually one of the best outcomes, in case things were to go sour.


    His long, at least compared to elk''s standards, white beard testified Mitch''s forty years long under the mad explorer-s crew. The old greenskin embarked at the age of fifty, while he spent at least a couple hundred years asleep in one of the ship''s casket modules.


    He had become his family guardian, his only name bringing them protection against Terron''s harsh environment.


    " Your will is my command, Captain. I will counsel and help little Makhar until he''ll be able to hold on his own as promised. Then I''ll be waiting for your return. But, before I depart, may I ask if Olga is expected to come as well ?"


    An apprehensive smile now lingered on Mark''s, dark red lips, as he knew the little elk was unsure about both his physical and mental safety. To be the guide of an Ancient would be an extremely dangerous experience.


    The little greenskin was starting to doubt their bargain was fair in the first place. However, it is to say, that the human had indeed cast a veil of protection around his household for centuries at this point. All little Mitch had to do was to accompany him in his travels, while he would get paid for it, and finally accept a special, two-year-long, mission. It was still better than serving as cannon fodder in the armies of Terron or living off as either a mercenary or a pirate.


    Elks were not borne for combat by nature. They were the more calm and intelligent counterparts of goblins, which were considered nothing more than barbaric, aggressive little pests.


    Elks were excellent slave materials, as they had a good aptitude for learning they found their place in the administrative chain of many planets, or even, in the most primitive worlds, found their place as mechanics or engineers.


    " Sadly no, Olga said she preferred to wait, till the little lord finds his place on Planet 9870, or Gaia as the System decided to call it. But don''t worry, the egg is supposed to hatch in the first couple of our after the landing. He will make good company, I hope."


    At this point, Mark was receiving strong signals of distress, it was time to go, embark on the capsule, ready for launch. The automated drones of the ship would have already loaded all the necessities.


    As the explorer waived for him to hurry, with hastened little steps, old Mitch left the main controls hall of the ship.


    ''Marie, I won''t see you anytime soon, there is much vengeance I have yet to exact in our name.''


    Under the pristine red lenses of his goggles, Mark''s turbid blue eyes lingered on the dark sideral void outside the ship. The space outside suddenly twisted, and an enormous warship suddenly appeared. It was the size of half a habitable planet such as Gaia, roughly six thousand kilometers to be more precise.


    It was crystal blue in color, with various shades of red and orange around it. it presented an elongated form, with various protrusions such as spires and chapels. Giving the feeling of an ancient moving city of unbelievable proportions.


    This model was called the ''Preceptor'', and was the more common, medium-sized, vessel utilized by the forgers.


    "Ugo, initiate the procedure for space travel, we are turning back to Ur-Akhar, NOW! "


    His master always liked to be a little dramatic, it added that spice to their cold, lowly lives he said. Deep down, Ugo never doubted his master and knew they would eventually come out on top, no matter what.


    Of course, doubting his master would have triggered a control mechanism that would have slowly realigned the slave''s thoughts to concur with those of his slave. Yet the dumb, dull Ugo didn''t care, perhaps he didn''t even remember, centuries already passed since he felt the effects of the slave collar.


    Or, well, would he even remember if such a device manipulated his psyche? Probably not.


    The Ark then resplended with brilliance, as with blinding light, a strong pulse of energy reverberated through the ship, directly connecting it to the energy stream.


    Then nothing, barely an instant had passed since the camouflage mechanism of the Ark was released, and the ship was already gone.


    On the forgers'' side, the passengers were in turmoil, as the idea of the ancients, their most terrible enemy to date, could have just been given life once again.


    " Kassie, you worry too much, Morne damned his people to an eternity of suffering with his own hands. The ancients are no more since eons, millions of years have already passed, for us their tombs are nothing more than old treasure troves to feast on!  "


    The young forger was, of course, not around when the Ancients reigned over the universe, undisputed among all the other life forms, threatening to overcome even those that live, and yet shouldn''t.


    Their thirst for conquest was so large, that they were about to invade other universes through the energy stream.


    Yet we fought, tooth and nail against this fearsome foe, until '' that '' happened, and Morne sealed himself and his people inside their mausoleums.


    We could have never thought that one of their offspring did not become a sacrifice, and instead was preserved to this date. The egg must have been of royal lineage, otherwise, it would not have survived for so long, even through their most advanced devices, to keep it in stasis for hundreds of millions of years seems almost impossible.


    " Maloria, you are too young to understand the gravity of the situation, that madman made it big this time. Sadly he''s right, the observer won''t take our side on this, as it''ll see the Ancients as a strong species to increase the universe''s strength."


    " B-But maybe we could..."


    " No, we won''t, not this time again. We won''t force the observer into doing our bidding, we acted as you proposed back then, and it backfired. You killed this human''s mate and now this crazy human is doing the impossible to be a thorn on our side, and he''s doing a fairly good job, I''d say.


    Not only did we lose about a hundred worlds and research facilities through the IHU, as he keeps waking up tombs, but he''s also been able to nest inside Ur-Akhar! "


    Kassie, a proud member of the celestial council was now seething with rage. It was indeed a rare occasion to see her this mad, no it was rare to even witness one of her seniors getting angry at all. At this point, the energy fluctuations our her became so strong that Maloria couldn''t but kneel and tremble in fear.


    " Your Highness, we have intercepted a foreign object moving at high speed and have determined its trajectory to be directed towards Planetary system Bi0234, which should be in line with the mad explorer''s best interests. As it is about to start its ''formation'' in about two years, its last preparation round should be starting in a couple of days at best.


    We have secured the presence of an Ancient''s bio signature, I have already ordered the preparations for a degrading high-energy cannon. We can shoot on command, the target won''t be able to escape our firing range."


    However, the high sovereign was not to be pleased by the messenger''s revelation, on the contrary, a mix of contempt and disgust crept around her expression.


    " Shoot it down. Even if it is probably just a decoy, for a fact we know that the man owns functional ancient''s technology, and as they were masters of stealth it is very strange for the shuttle containing a crucial part of his plan to be left for us to discover.


    And you, Maloria, take your court with you and wait for me in the northern hangar. I''ll put you in charge of system Bi0234. You started this mess, and hopefully, you''ll be able to put an end to it.


    Worse comes to worst, we''ll show the ancients that we did not idle all these years."

 Chapter 2 - The hatch

    The stars, the sideral void all around him, and below the capsule, a whole new world. Truly a breathtaking sight that was, of course not that it was Mitch''s first time seeing it. The stars, planets, warships, pirates, and worse.


    He had been one of the later members to join Mark''s crew, and as he had to stay closed inside a healing casket for many, many years, Mitch was one of the less experienced members the explorer had under his command.


    However, his was no ordinary team, not even one of their members could be considered a weak individual.


    Mitch, was quite fond of the Ancient''s technology design, it was much more simple and more direct to utilize than all others. While, on the other hand, was impossible to replicate.


    Their most advanced devices had a minor inconvenience. It had a small chance to damage your neural system if your psychic sensitivity was too low compared to the complexity demanded by the machine. Of course, with extreme cases like the slarg Ugo, it wouldn''t work, to begin with.


    As a matter of fact, inside the Ark, most of the ship''s modules were being operated by Olga and not Ugo.


    Mitch dipped his hands through the console, as black nanites moved like a coordinated wave of black geometrical figures, coiling around his small green arms. What a marvel of technology that was, it perfectly adapted to his body size.


    He then quickly adjusted their course, as the small vessel they had embarked on was about to drop them in the middle of a large body of water. Probably one of Gaia''s Oceans.


    The little elk instead decided to pick on the second smallest continent of the Planet Etesh. The little elk counted about six distinct continents on the planet, of course, the bigger it was, the more resources it had available.


    However, Captain informed him they were the last contenders to arrive on Gaia. It meant that the first enemy faction to arrive had about nineteen years on them definitely enough to establish a medium-sized city, and the second generation of humans to become part of their fighting force.


    Luckily, the strongest factions were the last to come, and whatever thing come out of this egg couldn''t be weak. At least, little Mitch hoped so. In case of failure, he feared that madman vendetta.


    Mark surely was a man of virtue no more, that tragic incident had changed him. In truth, most of the time, he still was a man of reason, even a positive presence aboard the ship. Yet once he snapped, he did not listen to anybody, he entered a strange trans that gripped him tight, till he painted everything red, with blood and fire.


    Yet all these negative thoughts would not lead him anywhere, for anything he had to trust his own experience. They were scary beings, and for once he was on their side. Far too many times little Mitch, venturing deep down in the Ancient''s mausoleums almost lost his life to one of their terrifying animated constructs, energized titans of various forms, directly connected to the energy stream and thus able to great psychic feats. War machines with the only desire for annihilation of whatever intruders dared to set foot in their masters'' tombs.


    Even if such horrors were true of the Ancients, this one will be nothing more than a newborn, naked in this foreign world. Even more, would it accept Captain''s will? How could the man be so sure that this creature would behave exactly as he planned it to? It wasn''t like they stipulated such a pact, right?


    Mitch needed to stop this, all these questions he had to keep for himself, delegating them to the farthest corner of his elk brain. He was its guide, and guide it he would. Nothing more, nothing less. Then he would be free, to pick up his family and move to a resort-Planet and enjoy all the riches he amassed over the years.


    It was marble white, much like the living metal composing their Ark, with various golden inscriptions plastered over its surface, wrapping all around the egg.


    A few cracks began already to appear around the eggshell, as a shady figure was moving inside it with inexplicable vigor.


    Yet the capsule was only about a few kilometers off the forest below, as Mitch collected the storage disks, their destination was imminent.


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    " Some fresh hair does indeed feel good, with this big boy here I felt quite stuffed. From what I noticed the nearest settlements are quite far, we dropped right in the middle of this temperate forest.


    Temperature varies from 293 to 210 Kelvin, quite ideal, 25 hours long rotation cycle and 370 days long revolution around this System''s sun. The ratio between landmass and water bodies is forty to sixty respectively. There is also the presence of one moon, inhospitable for lass adaptable species like humans.


    Very well, I''ll set up camp and wait for it to hatch. Then I''ll sit and enjoy these two years of vacation. I saw some truly beautiful places as well through the oracle. Such a marvelous item, now that I remember, I have to finish watching the last space opera made by the IHU, these crafty humans, they d have some taste. Gotta give ''em that."


    Upon the green soft grass, and a few fallen leaves from the surrounding trees, Mich unloaded three heavy metallic disks from the module. Charred black in color, they had few light blue stripes of material more similar to glass than metal or stone. Their inside was said to bend space itself, making them capable of storing, apparently out of nowhere large quantities of inanimate objects. Putting in there anything alive was not a good idea, as they directly sap power from the energy stream, overcharging themselves to such a point that all that energy enlarged their mass to absurd degrees, thus bending space, in a weird way.


    Fortunately enough, the devices were furbished with Ancient''s technology, continuously phasing them in and out of the energy stream itself. Else, they''d cause considerable damage to their surroundings.


    Surprisingly enough, the egg itself was not as heavy as he thought it would be. Still heavy, but not unbearably so for a genetically enriched body such as his. At this point, old, little Mich was to be considered one of the strongest among his race.


    " On second thought, it was indeed a good decision to not sell the remnants of the cocoon we found down in the ruins. Perfectly conserved through the frigid temperature of Ur-Akhar, it would have fetched a very good bounty through the black market.


    Yet, there was a dangerous pack of hounds hot on our tails. A good decoy, utilized at the right moment. Captain knows his stuff."


    Soon after, Little Mitch threw a couple of small cubic devices, pre-mate tents of fine quality were soon to appear. The PT-1 was quite popular throughout the galaxy, as it was easy to use and was not as expensive. Yes, the tend was quite comfortable, and came with a built-in small table and stool, a small self-powered lamp, and a suspended hammock.


    It also comes with a nice ambiance control feature, as now Mitch set it up to ''Chill spring breeze'', as he felt like coupled with the rhythmic swinging of the hammock truly relaxed his spirits.


    The little elk then took out from the disks a rectangular holographic screen, intent to resume the space opera from when he left it, a couple of days ago.


    " I like it, how you breeeath. A small spongy apparatus, not capable of contraction on its own, auctioned thanks to the rhythmic complexity of muscle activity and relaxation.


    Clever design, I''d say. A pleasure, Makhar."


    A rough, metallic voice interrupted the small elk''s entertainment, as without him noticing, the egg hatched, and a strange creature crawled out of it.


    ''Much smaller than I thought it would be, and very much weaker as well. But I guess to less experienced individuals in space exploration, it looks terrifying enough, a proper monster once could easily find in one of the system''s dungeons. Still, not as scary as what the system cannot prepare you for, the ''real'' dungeons.


    On another thought though, its mental faculties seem promising, even considering it matured inside the egg. Incredible that it learned the universal language by hearing is talking from the incubator.''


    " I appreciate the compliment, I guess, Makhar, Sir. This is Mitch, former member of the Nova exploration squad, our Captain, Dominus Mark has already predisposed some rudimentary information inside this holographic chip.


    First and foremost, the tends and equipment here belongs to me and the team, the food and kitchen are ours as well. I will be resting inside here till you need counseling from me for anything the chip won''t cover, as this is what I promised him.


    Now, chop chop, that hologram won''t transfer its information directly to your brain, this model is way too cheap for that."


    It was a quadrupedal type of bizarre insect. Long for about 40 centimeters, it presented two pairs of hairless insectoid legs, a dark chitinous ebony shell with white lines of untold inscriptions, that formed perfect squares all around its surface. On the center of its carapace, stood the relief of a human-like face now motionless.


    On its front was a pair of black mantis claws and, before its mouth, were a couple of strong mandibles. On top of its insect head, it also had a pair of thin, long antennas.


    Still, the small Ancient, for some reason, made the little elk a little uncomfortable. He truly wished for this encounter to be as short as possible, so that he could be back to his more entertaining opera.


    He did feel a deep sense of respect toward Mark, who had saved his life more than a couple of times, but still, this little ''adventure'' was not his life-long mission. He joined the crew only for the money, no greenskin to ever exist was interested in ancient history, long-forgotten races, and their relics.


    He won''t babysit the youngling, Makhar would have to do most by himself.


    '' Just a bug meaner than all the others.''


    At this point, not paying him much attention, Mitch got back on his sweet hammock. Triggering the soundproof option for its holo-tablet, to resume watching the opera.


    Makhar had already climbed over the table inside, quickly snatching the holographic chip. Not concerned about the elk''s inhospitality.

 Chapter 3 - A broken man

    [Oh my, little, old Mitch. Is that the reenaction of kha-Jizar''s siege, then what, is there a ploy for the rebellion as well?


    Take this job seriously little elk, or else I''d be sure it won''t be your last. I know you don''t care, and this is exactly why I choose you for this job.


    Drop this farce, you are anything but the cute, obedient type. None of your kin is, the spawn of Terron is bred for war after all.]


    Old Mitch, kept tapping with his bony, greenish fingers, and their long ungroomed nails on the wooden supports of his hammock. He finally stopped and paused the show he had been watching since their arrival on Gaia.


    He then took a quick peek at the strange being hatched from the egg. The creature was probably still learning about his body movements, even if it had time to wriggle and be consciously active inside the egg, it couldn''t provide it any real experience to his neuro-muscular system.


    Only now, did old Mitch notice how the creature seemed to not possess eyesight? Or did it, the humanoid face sculpted on his shell, indeed, possessed a pair. Small, pitch-black dull eyes, one could they had seen much, as if they could narrate a story on their own, without the need for words.


    They were his eyes, or at least their perfect imitation. It made his skin crawl, well, all kinds of shapeshifters did. The slimy bastards made a living by stealing the identities of others, those that did not find them repulsive were very few.


    He then saw the young Makhar rotate them, to observe his surroundings, the vegetation, the trees, the chirp of birds and the sound of insects, the rustle of trees, and the windy, spring breeze.


    It stood up, weighing its body on its four posterior legs, its two antennas on the front wriggling around. Then slimy saliva coated his razor-sharp claws, probably it had, at least, some kind of paralyzing factor.


    '' How did it come to this, chained by my very feelings, which should have remained down there, inside Terron''s pits. ''


    It had been their most valuable possession, that made their team stand upon the others across multiple galaxies. They had ventured deep, much more than any others, inside Ur-Akhar, the progenitor''s tomb and probably the most dangerous place throughout this universe.


    To obtain this living trophy Mark lost both his family and later on his very sanity. Mitch knew he had to tread carefully about this whole story, that this man had truly gone mad. Yet greenskin he was, it did not matter that the elk''s intelligence peaked among the rest of the bunch.


    He could wait no more, old Mitch had to heed his friend''s call. He was about to respond in kind.


    [Hey there, Captain, quite the hot pot you''ve thrown at me. To babysit one of those things in your stead. You relegated me down there for two years, for what?


    Is it my fault that you have become such a degenerate, of course not. The moment we understood what it was, we decided to abide by the explorer''s code, to not let it hatch.


    You want me to speak out my real thoughts hey? I think you are a despicable, rotten fool. This thing won''t make your dreams come true, it won''t bring your dead wife back to life, and neither will it save your daughter.


    It will only further fuel your sickness, and my nightmares. The only reason I have yet to kill it is that I have more love for my family than I do for myself.


    Mitch out.]


    Through the intergalactic communication device, sponsored to their team by the observer itself, Mark could feel the distress and rage inebriating the little elk''s tone. Little Mitch was really mad, he did not like the situation that had been forced upon him.


    Their accord, of protection for the elk''s family, in exchange for his service was, in truth, very old. A few centuries past, young Mitch was indebted for life to this bizarre, eccentric human. But no, he had both the strength and knowledge to live by himself and take care of many others.


    Down in the ruins, he repaid the man much more than what services he had to offer. His wits and supernatural perception saved their skin many times over.


    Yet he couldn''t refuse the man when he asked one last favor, and with reluctance he accepted. Not even the first day had passed and he was already regretting his decision.


    He quickly set his System''s utility interface to unconditioned entertainment. He needed a couple of days for himself, sometimes alone for his mind to rest. Only on extremely rare occasions ever did he unbottle his feelings, and open up to someone. Even if his tone had been harsh, it meant that he cared for the man, otherwise, he would have either ignored him or told another of his lies.


    Inside the Mark''s Ark, the man was writing through some papers, on a light brown birch desk, piles of papers and many old volumes piled over and over. The last memento of his home world, archaic remains that no one cared about anymore, untold stories of negligible relevance in the face of others. Yet, to him, were one of his most valuable possessions.


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    In his free time, it relaxed him greatly to copy the ancient volumes to new, fresh paper, till said paper didn''t become too old, and needed to be written once more. A perpetual cycle, that even if sickening to others, brought him relief, somehow.


    " The brightest star of the galaxy, what is it that causes you trouble this time? "


    A sweet, melodious voice interrupted Mark''s diligent work. With a quick turn, he met Olga''s bright red eyes.


    Two pairs of black, curled horns adorned her oval-shaped head, seemingly forming a crown. The demoness was wearing a light, white tunic that highlighted her curves at the right spots. Behind her back rested a pair of folded, dark, flesh wings.


    Mark was not in the best of moods, he turned around, back to his work. In a couple of hours he had to enter the machine once more, to begin a bio-rejuvenating cycle to delay the inevitable end of his body of flesh he so much despised. Although, said cycles had become less lengthy, as at this point he was more engine than man in flesh and bones.


    Still, he couldn''t procrastinate further, knowing he would be out for at least a couple of weeks, his mood plummed even further.


    A pair of cold, gentle hands rested on his back, slowly massaging the rigid man. Olga certainly knew where flesh had remained and where steel took its place.


    " I knew it would happen, it was inevitable for the fruition of my plans. The fewer allies he has, the better. I''m putting the young Makhar in a difficult position, to revoke this choice from the observer itself.


    Mitch was my best shot, even if it meant damaging our relationship, hopefully, he''ll come to hate him and his species, as many did in the past, and will in the future."


    She could feel his burden, its weight crushing him since the day he fabricated such an absurd plan. She asked him multiple times to move on, escape from the past and embrace the future.


    Yet Mark was an explorer, historian, and avid scholar. He raveled in the past, his mind often lingering on stories he heard and collected around the galaxy.


    " If that is your choice, then at least see it till the end, where it brings you, without remorse. Else the past won''t a strong anchor for your beliefs, but much rather a broken sail, guiding you to dangerous water."


    A soft smile brightened her lips, as she slowly embraced his back.


    "Is this anecdote from Salacar? I reckon you have some impressive water bodies there, you should bring me for a tour once I come out of the pod."


    "Maybe, if you''d agree to that thing I told you I wanted to try, once you wake I''ll take you there."


    The stoic expression on his visage already responded negatively to the demoness.


    Demons were generally like this, very open about their feelings, without care for their demeanor. To hide and repress their will was considered an act of the weak. To them, staying true to their spirit was of utmost importance.


    For example, if a demon had the fame of being sly and wicked, it was simply because that was his nature, therefore they acted sly and wicked on every occasion, every word a lie, every action to spread evil.


    "I''ll wait then, I''ve got time. I''m going now, I leave the control of the Ark in your hands for a while."


    Yet he had to admit it, even a small conversation such as this was much needed.


    He then got up from his chair, feeling the smooth surface of the lion heads carved to its armrests, contrasting with the rough black leather of its cushion.


    He smiled, showing the dark metallic hue of his teeth.


    Since ''then'', it never happened. He showed Olga his gratitude, to alleviate his loneliness he was grateful. the cadence, of his smile, however, was still tainted by pain and regret, a grimace that couldn''t be quenched by time and good company. That much she knew.


    A continuous change and repetition of images, induce a mixture between stream energy and natural photons, to display a curious game of light. It is called HSE, holographic stream encoder, a small chip the size of a nut, capable of recording holographic messages.


    An overside hood, long mantle cascaded behind his back, and a big, round pair of goggles covered half his face. The light blue figure presented itself as Mark, a human.


    He introduce the young Makhar to the situation he was currently in. The last of his kind, he had been given the chance to birth his race anew. Here, he could not lie, his interest had been piqued, how glorious of a thing, to become his race''s new foundation and bring it back to its former glory and even further.


    Well, even if its past had been glorious, to young Makhar didn''t matter, the thirst for power and glory had been engraved in his bones since birth. These feelings, to him, felt very natural, his mental clarity consisted of growth and conquest, to expand and ingest.


    Conscious of the young Ancient''s desires, hologram Mark kept going with his explanation.


    "The planet I have brought you to is formally called 9870 ''Gaia'', a newborn planet where a much peculiar event is being held. The game of conquest, also called the planet reconstruction. Here twenty different factions will compete against each other through war and wits for supremacy over this planet.


    The arbiter of this game is none other than the great observer, usually referred to as the ''System''. A superadvanced, bio-artificial intelligence, which I''d define a not-so-impartial administrator of this universe, with the only goal being the greater good. If it thinks that such a thing will come out beneficial for the universe, then it will seethings till the end.


    To predict the observer''s behavior is not an easy feat, yet rather a fool''s errand. Keep it in mind.


    This holographic massage won''t have much else to tell you, since the System will explain its workings to you in a much more detailed and comprehensible way. Just be sure to explore well the extent of its functionalities, as they will become your most valuable helper.


    The little elk inside the tent has also been placed here, unwillingly, by me as a guide for you. I''ll be honest here, I hope you two won''t get along with each other, best case, you become enemies. Why? You''ll eventually understand.


    Before resuming your indifference towards the lowly elk, you''ll have to ask him for an essential piece of equipment, a precious gift of mine for you. Demand him for Laura''s latest device, a peculiar antenna capable of interfering with the System''s game of conquest. Adding part of my research to the game''s catalogs, don''t worry though it won''t get mad at you for it. If you''ve survived long enough to hear this information, it means the Observer is not against your permanence on Gaia.


    In the middle of the antenna''s main body, you''ll find a little socket, it''ll be the perfect fit for the chip you''re using right now. Insert it, and you''re all set.


    To gain access to the system''s interface just think about it with deep focus, later on, it''ll come more naturally.


    Good luck, young Makhar.


    Mark, out."

 Chapter 4 - The hunt begins

    " The antenna, ol'' Mitch, would you mind passing it to me?"


    " Yes, of course, just a sec... Like hell I will! Dmaned creature, you dare to use his voice!"


    " We both know it though, give in, cede him the item, and he''ll leave you alone for a good while. We''ll relax and enjoy our time here.


    We could also get an oath or a contract, so that the little pest won''t give us any more trouble, yes? "


    This time though, the voice he heard was his own, such exquisite innate control this alien had over his mimicking abilities was truly astonishing. From what he knew, even if gifted, shapeshifters needed at least years of experience to attain such masteries over their abilities.


    This ''Ancient'' truly defied common sense on this, as he hatched no more than a few hours prior.


    "No, and drop this farse, and I don''t think like that. I''m much harsher with myself young... whatever you are. Makhar, yes Makhar was your name. Damn, my old age.


    I''m just a silly, old elk. Shush! Now go on with your troubles and let this old soul rest."


    "C''mon good ol'' Mitch, there should be no bad blood between lifetime companions like us. Give him the antenna, it doesn''t cost you anything, this last favor of mine, please put this effort for me."


    Then Mark''s voice changed, seemingly mocking the greenskin.


    "Also, young Makhar knows that you''re not tired at all. He can also feel your weapon charging up."


    "Alright, alright. God, you''re so detestable..."


    Then was the plain, rough metallic voice he heard the first time it spoke. Half curious, half unconvinced about his sincerity.


    "Giving in? You old fool, finally recognized my superiority?"


    How could such a monotonous robotic voice infuriate him so much, old Mitch could not tell.


    ''What are you even so cocky about. What if you have a couple abilities, I loaded my gun so that you could take on the message and scram!


    A bug shorter than the average goblin, where do you even get the confidence?


    You wanna dance? Let''s dance then.''


    "Right little bug, you got me. Stop looking at me like that, let''s say I''m not particularly fond of you. But as you''ve said, this scrap of metal sleeping inside ol'' Mitch''s storage should have been yours."


    The little green man stroked his white beard a couple of times, as if in thought. Then he jumped down the hammock, now looking directly at young Makhar.


    "You claim strength, then prove. A cheeky phrase you''d say, as if I care. I''ll give you about a week, by then I wanna see your core up to tier 1, the energy or reactor type, whatever you have inside... there yes, shell, carapace exoskeleton whatever, you''ve got it. Now scram."


    Seeing the little bastard didn''t please him one bit. However, being able to talk freely to someone every once in a while felt quite refreshing. Much better than putting a facade for the more literate fools.


    "A challenge, very well, accepted. But old fool, has your brain started to rot already, or has dementia started to pick you up?


    You''ve spoken of a core, presumably residing inside my body, but I do not possess yet the capability to study the innards of my body without damaging it to the point of no return."


    "Search it up little bug, it''s a system thing. Mark should have already briefed you about it. Mitch out."


    Old Mitch then rushed for the intruder to exit his tent, as he left, the       PT=1''s strange cloth closed the entrance on its own. Now leaving the young Ancient all alone.


    ''Relevant observation, finding the tonality and choice of words with most affinity to the specific interlocutor, will most likely draw a much better information yield than a plain, formal way of speech.''


    Young Makhar then quickly tried to summon said system, intensively thinking about their presence.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    [Connecting user ??? Makhar ??? to the Observer system...]


    [Display set to: Identification Data]


    [Birth name: ??? Makhar ??? first of his name.]


    [Biological age: 3 hours, 40 minutes, 3 seconds.]


    [Chronological age: Estimated to be about 643 million years.]


    [??? ???  ??? Energy core: tier 0, not yet named ]


    [??? ???  ??? Reactor core: tier 0, not yet named ]


    [???  ??? Energy source: Uknown to host.]


    [??? ???  ??? Transformer: Unknown to host.]


    [??? ???  ??? Bio-Encoder: Ancient''s primordial stomach, tier 0.


    Status: primitive, not yet enhanced, grafted, or stimulated.]


    [Registered party: None. ]


    [Reign: None.]


    [??? name: None.  ]


    [Title of Renown: None.]


    [Dynasty: Decayed, must be re-enacted. ]


    [Cursed being: ??? has cursed your species to emanate an aura of repulsion and disgust to all other sentient beings.


    " You, that did not know how vast the universe was, now feel our wrath and cower before our power.


    ???  "        ]


    ''Intriguing, truly a magnificent tool that is. I would describe it as a       real-time monitor for your rise to power. I see yet many unknowns yet, only time will tell about them.


    Also, pathetic, such a curse is a wasted effort. Hopefully, my ancestors thought the same, so what if our race is despised, when they-ll e under my dominion I''d dare them to try me.''


    The young Makhar then focused further on three major points in the IDD that he felt were most relevant to complete ol'' Mitch''s quest to power.


    [Reactor core: Special organ particular to every sentient being, only discovered in most advanced species, has now been normalized through the Great Observer.


    It is located in a distant, yet close, parallel dimension referred to as the energy stream, since its boundless ever changing energy. The organ is the means for its host to harness great power from the boundless everstream, capable of incurring great development to the host''s body and ???.


    This type of organ is much more common in beast-like beings rather than those of humanoid form, as to properly function the presence of a        bio-encoder together with the appropriate type of ??? are essential.


    The role of a bio-encoder is to assimilate and recombine genes and biological material obtained through external means and feed them to the reactor code. Each tier upgrade over the reaction core will entail considerable changes over the host.


    Current encoder''s statistics:


    Extraction affinity ratio: 0%


    Extraction quality ratio: 0 %


    Extraction bio-mass quantity : 0 %


    To initiate the next upgrade procedure of the host''s reactor core, each ratio must reach 100%. Due to the host''s bio-encoder''s primitive nature, the System suggests natural bio/matter consumption and digestion.]


    ''Very interesting, it seems like the only way to go is push forward, to find prey and see how to bio-encoder, a fancy name for my stomach, actually works.


    I wanted to hear something about the energy core as well though...''


    [Enegy core: Very similar in concept to the reactor core, yet due host''s limited knowledge and life experience is currently underdeveloped.


    Cannot be used.]


    ''Depressing, I''d say.''


    The small ancient scurried away from their landing spot, stalking through the vegetation in search of prey. Young Makhar analyzed his situation, many kinds of beings could inhabit this forest, other than the small critters and insects he found along the way, it could be either a wild animal or a sentient being part of a concurring faction in this game of conquest the human Mark told him about.


    For now, he had to adjust his targets to less dangerous beings, those further down the food chain, yet not so weak as they would not provide him a good extraction score.


    For a moment he glossed over the possibility of aiming for the cubs of the sentient species that nested in the proximity of the forest, he could do it, thanks to his mimicking capabilities. However that would have issued some kind of mass retaliation from the other party, and if not, at least a couple of research teams would have been issued.


    To expertly cover his tracks he was not sure, young Makhar decided he needed some more hunting experience before attempting dangerous feats.


    Unfortunately, his black chitinous color was not the best of helpers. His first victim was about to be a young fawn that wandered too far from its mother, picking on some blue, spheric berries through the lower bushes of a tree.


    Young Makhar had been waiting above the bushes, on a taller tree branch. Perhaps he waited too long, to let the young deer savor their berries, too immersed to pay attention to their surroundings, however, its adult mother, together with a couple of other cubs, had come back for this lost fawn, and was quick to notice the stalking hunter above.


    Needless to say, it immediately caused a scene, alarming the unsuspecting fawn which immediately escaped Makhar''s grasp.


    ''My body is indeed agile in its way, these legs did have a good grip over the tree bark, as I did not have any problem getting up here. Yet it cannot run fast at all, once the prey manages to spot me I won''t be able to chase after it.


    I also ran some tests about the resistance of my chitinous exoskeleton, I must say that it is quite tough and durable. I''ve seen the adult male version as what the system refers to as a ''deer'', and only taking the full charge of their horns would cause me any problems.''


    Due to the nature of his poor mimetism, young Makhar decided to wait for the night to come, his advantage as a hunter was that to be able to choose a prey he was sure to take down without receiving any major injuries.


    Wandering aimlessly in a place he was not familiar with, was only going to spell trouble for him. Hiding high up through tree branches, Makhar decided it to be a good spot to reside till dusk. Not only from here, he was confident to escape any larger predator, but he could also study the fauna passing below and even attempt a strike on smaller flying creatures.


    He could wait, his body was not particularly hungry, and he did not care much about ol'' Mitch''s quest. As if he put his life at risk for the elk''s tomfoolery, once his core will tier up he''ll go and ask for the antenna, and in one way or another, he''ll definitely get it.

 Chapter 5 - Wilderness

    The taste of blood, the sensation of raw viscera being ground over, and over again by the incessant cyclic motion of young Makhar''s, black chitinous mandibles, it all felt very natural and elating, satisfying even.


    To hunt prey through your very efforts, with determination and patience of a naturally borne hunter till the moment finally came. Victory followed and he was now effectively tasting the result of his efforts.


    A few minutes after the small group of deers had been scared by his presence, young Makhar had decided to wait and strike only if certain about his chance of success. Nonetheless, standing still, motionless on the same spot, waiting for prey did not convince him much. Instead, he hurried over, following behind the deers'' traces, perhaps they would lead him to more game, in one way or another.


    Wriggling up and down, his pair of insectoid antennae were Makhar''s principal means of perceiving the world, which he found far more useful than the pair of eyes residing on his shell.


    The antennae were capable of following bio-chemical traces released by other living beings, while at the same time possessing thermo sensitivity. As such, Makhar had memorized both the thermal and chemical print of the small fawn and had been stalking the group for hours now. Of course, he had been very conscious of danger that might befall him, he was certainly not the apex predator of the forest, and always tried to avoid and different signature than that of the deers, even if it meant risking losing his target.


    Orange streaks of light weakly basked the surrounding leaves hiding Makhar from the animals grazing below, as he suddenly felt subtle vibrations coming from the tree. The ground was shaking, even if ever so slightly, if one was not being attentive, they would probably have ignored the phenomenon. But young Makhar was still extremely weary of this foreign environment, as he climbed up the tree as far as he could, ever watching the situation below with ol'' Mitch''s eyes.


    Suddenly the ground ruptured, just below one of the fawns of the group, which now counted five adult deers and a dozen small fawns. A strange quadrupedal creature came out of the earth, with its two rocky front limbs it grabbed the defenseless prey, gripping its neck with its strong mandibles till it quickly snapped. With tantamount terrifying speed, the beast disappeared underground, living a small earth-like conic formation in the process.


    [Trick worm: Description disabled, host''s analysis and comprehension of the target is too low.]


    ''Peculiar, how so, with the ''deers'' the observer did provide me a description, and I just saw a common member of their species, I did in truth observe it for a longer time but it shouldn''t make such a difference.


    Could this particular exemplar be an exception among its kind? It''s called a trick worm, I know the concept of trick and deceit,  but I don''t know anything about what a ''worm'' is supposed to be. In the egg''s knowledge database, there wasn''t anything mentioning it.


    If so their relevance could not be high, I should ignore this happening and proceed to stalk the other deers, they are starting to get quite far already.''


    However, before Makhar was about to climb on a nearby tree branch, the ground shook one more, and the eight eyes of the rocky monster come out of the ground, as he opened his mandibles and let out a deafening screech, Makhar knew that he had to climb even higher up the tree, before starting to flee branch to branch.


    He was not yet ready to confront another predator in the wild, their experience and ferocity would spell doom over him.


    However, something unexpected happened once again.


    ''A tail? Did it have a tail? During his earlier assault, I didn''t see it because it remained underground. Is it enough for the system to deny me its description?


    Not that I don''t recognize how much it helps, but rather...''


    Young Makhar''s Intuition appeared to be true, as the creature''s tail just didn''t seem to end, no, it even expanded in diameter revealing a monstrous cylindrical body hiding below the surface.


    Coiling around the tree, the trick work began to quickly climb up, intent to take Makhar as a tasty snack.


    It was definitely faster than the newborn alien. At this point, a physical confrontation was anything but inevitable.


    The quadrupedal, brown, monster-like head of the worm was the first to detach from the tree, lunging forward in an attempt to assault young Makhar. Soon after, the imposing mass of the slimy, silver tube-like worm followed, grating against the treebark, and leaving a slimy trail in its wake.


    Makhar braced himself, flattening his body against the tree trunk, to have an appropriate angle to strike against the creature, that perhaps was a little too confident and reckless. In the wild, you could never know what dangers awaited, even from the smaller creatures, especially with their appearance being as bizarre''s as young Makhar''s.


    The creature arrived just in front of Makhar, with frightening speed, it revealed a set of sharp metallic claws adorning its front limbs, ready to tear its prey apart.


    ''It did not use them when taking out the fawn earlier, does it recognize me as a bigger threat?''


    Thanks to his strong grip, Makhar jerked off the tree with equally strong speed, preparing its retractable scythe-like, black claws to strike in one lethal, definitive attack. He intended to injure the beast so much it would retreat, he knew that due to the difference in mass, this wasn''t the kind of opponent he could take on.


    A pained screech reverberated through the forest, as birds flew off the trees as silence took over. Makhar managed to greatly damage the monster''s head, one of his scythes lacerated three of its eyes, while the other blocked off one of the monster''s drill-like arms. While the other sliced and injured two of Makhar''s insectoid legs, rendering them useless.


    Unexpectedly, two other strikes followed, heavily denting Makhar''s exoskeleton, the monster''s hindlegs could be very much used as a weapon even in this situation, as its main worm-like body was firmly coiled around the tree, and its "head" was actually free to move.


    Pain inundated Makhar''s senses, as even more blows started to accumulate, causing internal damage to the insectoid alien. Blinded by pain, Makhar made one last savage attempt, squeezing as hard as he could his right claw, then hearing bones creaking, and the rocky armor of the worm''s head break, a good chunk of flesh was amputated from the trick worm''s head. Red, hot blood, and yellow, pus-like fluids gorged out of the open wound, making the worm finally retreat, leaving Makhar a few seconds of rest.


    ''It''s not looking good, I''m down two legs and I''m bleeding internally, if I have to die this way, I''ll at least make it pay a hefty price.''


    Determined to fight till death, as at this point running away would e a meaningless attempt, Makhar flattened his body once again against the tree, gripping as hard as a could, ready to strike back once again, one last time.


    Seeing its prey unnerving, ready to fight once more, the worm started to question whether this hunt was beneficial to it at all. What seemed to be easy prey, due to the difference in their size, turned out to be a much more dangerous opponent. Especially because Makhar''s exoskeleton was much harder than it looked, especially the sharp little teeth that adorned his scythe claws, the sliced and ripped through its rocky armor with too much ease.


    It should have been better off chasing other herbivores like the fawn he just ate, they were easier prey that wouldn''t compromise his body as much, if not at all.


    But the blinding pain, and the partial cerebral damage the worm just took made it mad, seething with fury and even if it was a counterproductive hunt, it wanted revenge.


    The worm trashed its head, in an attempt to keep increasing Makhar''s internal wounds, if not even ripping through his exoskeleton. Makhar tried to resist as much as he could, cutting and intercepting whenever he could. One of his antennae was soon to be cut, black blood oozed out of the wound, he broke through the pain, soon enough to notice another vicious attack of the worm. It had utilized the real tail of its body to lash at Makhar while he was busy dealing with the head.


    Yet young Makhar noticed it, as he endured a few hits to strike back the moment the squishy tail was about to hit him. Surely there was much mass and momentum after the tail, yet analyzing the biology of the worm, one was quick to notice that it was an ambush predator and was not made to fight in the open like this. It had come out of the ground only because it greatly underestimated Makhar''s fighting prowess, and now it was about to dearly pay the consequences.


    With extraordinary striking speed, Makhar''s claws opened and snapped down with fury on the worm''s tail, ripping it almost all off. Screeching in pain the worm fell down the tree, it had finally decided to retreat, this battle was definitely not worth continuing, or else it would be too injured for the next hunt, or it could even receive permanent injuries.


    Yet, once again, it underestimated greatly Makhar''s character. After all, he had done nothing to the worm, he made his best to hide himself and flee his hunting grounds, even if it was a mindless beast that only saw him as its next meal, it had to pay.


    The moment young Makhar saw the worm hastily jerking itself off the tree, he jumped, holding to its body, and the moment they hit the ground he started slicing and ripping the worm''s body. A disaster of flesh and bodily fluids gushed out from the part that was being attacked by Makhar, so much was his thirst.


    Considering the worm''s mass, Makhar, in the end, couldn''t but watch him escape, digging underground to get away from the fight.


    ''If it decided to continue, the situation might have been deadly for me, I must become more careful, the trick worm must have had sensory glands like mine to perceive its victim from below the surface.


    It must have been able to sense even my most subtle movements, or else there was no way for it to be able to find me.


    I am now greatly injured and need to rest, yet before that I have earned myself some food to taste.''


    Thus Makhar started to collect the various pieces of flesh he managed to rob the worm off, hiding inside a tree hole to get his first taste of victory.


    [System notice: remarkable feat has been accomplished by the host!]


    [Host has been rewarded with one system point!]


    [Host has been given access to public media tier: Primitive]


    A small stream of data invaded Makhar''s consciousness, informing him of such gifts. Even if he did not know what either f them were.


    [System points: Virtual currency of the Observer system, much less valuable than observer coins, can be exchanged with common knowledge throughout this galaxy.]


    [Every being contracted by the observer system will gain access to the most basic tier of social media communication upon receiving their first system point. It is classified as a rapid and easy means to exchange information and socialize between sentient beings.


    With each tier upgrade the range of its action will increase, together with their functions.


    Primitive tier: It is limited to the Etesh continent, and enables host the usage of the written communication chat. Host cannot read messages of others of a higher tier if they do not wish it, even if they write in a chat host is a member of.


    Private messaging is disabled, vocal messaging is disabled, and holographic communication is disabled.


    Host has been given right to participate in three different social aggregations.


    Host has been invited to the " Fight for Etesh unification " social group, accept?]


    With all this information at hand, Makhar decided to postpone his answer for the time being, as first, he preferred to fill his belly.


    The worm''s flesh did not taste good at all, and with him being foreign to the concept of cooking, Makhar wolfed down everything, as a small tear fell down the grimaced face resting on his exoskeleton.


    Having eaten his fill, Mahar rested on the hardwood, inside a tree hole, cramped, and tainted with the stench of flesh and dried blood, maybe it was best to change his hiding spot before going into torpor. Yet Makhar felt way too tired to think about anything else, hopefully when he''ll woke up, his body will have healed up a little bit.


    [Bio-encoder recombination progress:


    Extraction affinity ratio: 2%


    Extraction quality ratio:  15%


    Extraction bio-mass quantity: 35% ]


    Upon waking up, Makhar was happy to witness his progress, apparently eating prey was his current mean to progress and increase his power.


    ''Although the affinity rate was lacking, I guess my species does not have much in common with worms, yet the mass has definitely gotten up. Could it be because I''ve also eaten part of the trick worm''s head, which should be its most dense and fundamental body part?


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Further episodes are needed to ascertain the ratio distribution.''


    Soon after, followed Makhar''s first real catch, the very fawn he stalked the day before. He had managed to get back on their tracks, although with much difficulty, since his missing antenna did not grow back, thus his senses had dulled, with only one antenna their radius was halved making it harder to stalk and spot prey.


    Luckily his damaged legs had healed, as well as a good portion of his internal injuries, only bringing him relative pain while jumping from one tree branch to the other.


    This time, Makhar tried another one of his abilities to catch the fawn, he waited till it strayed slightly from the group, and used his peculiar mimicking ability to recreate their mother''s call. He managed to deceive the young fawn since he had memorized the differences between its mother''s various calls.


    As soon as it came into striking range, Makhar''s claws snapped quickly, cutting and lacerating the young fawn''s neck. The little teeth of his scyther claws were directed backward, not leaving the fawn any chance to escape. At this point, not that it had any in the first place.


    Carrying its first catch, young Makhar speeded away from the hunting zone, fearing that any other predator would be attracted by the smell of blood. He had already experienced what could be hiding in these woods, and would not be surprised if anything worse could even appear.


    He found the meat of the fawn to be much more edible than that of the trick worm, flavor-wise they were two worlds apart.


    After much consideration, he chose to decline the invitation to Etesh social group. He was not yet ready to start contending with the other nineteen civilizations for reign over Gaia, because that was ultimately the objective of social groups. At least, he thought so.


    To negotiate alliances, and enmities between the contending factions, and to exchange, sell and acquire common goods, weapons as well as information.


    Makhar possessed none, nor was he pressed to, first he had to increase his personal power. Even as inexperienced as he was, he knew that without power he wouldn''t go far. Perhaps, in a way, ol Mitch was trying to teach him a valuable lesson.


    Unknown to the young Ancient, on the site where he fought against the trick worm.


    "A fight has occurred here. One was a young exemplar of trick worm, this yellow putrid substance fills the innards of their tubelike body section. Its lack of experience led him to attack a thorny prey.


    The collision ensued, till it fled here, on this borrow, injured. It should manage to survive. While this antennae here should belong to its alleged prey, insectoid type, this black dried blood is very unusual, if it even is blood in the first place.


    It could be a new species spawned by the system or even a biological threat issued by the other continents. Between Umios and Usif I''d bet on the latter. Being the second biggest continent, I would imagine more powerful civilizations here.


    I would still not exclude it from being the work of some weird sub-factions of our continent. Etesh might not be as big, but it still is a vast continent.


    Rangers, keep patrolling this area, I''ll immediately report to the chief. Do not engage in fights, for now, the threat is still unidentified."


    From the five hooded figures, one darted away, galloping through the tree with inhuman speed and agility.


    The four remaining started patrolling the area, carefully walking through the lush forest masked by the sounds of nature, their steps as quiet as possible.


    From under their hoods, one could not discern facial features, yet they presented long blond hair and pointy ears, their skin pearly white. They dressed in long green capes that barely missed ground, brown leather boots, and an overall tall stature if confronted with the standard height of common bipedal humanoids.


    Finally, they possessed longbows more than half their size, resting on their backs, together with a quiver full of arrows.


    "The shadow warrior is being too cautious, this is our forest, our heaven. We must protect its integrity whatever the cost. One of the queen''s young has been injured, if we do not act fast and find a culprit she will wreak havoc till the perpetrator is found.


    We will draw their blood before the shadow comes back, what do you think."


    A more feminine voice was soon to respond, masked by the sounds of the forest, reprimanding their colleague''s choice.


    "Gorwin, don''t get over yourself, this decision is not yours to take. The shadow has given us an order, and we shall respect it. You were still a scout barely a week ago, now that you have been integrated among the Rangers corps, your duty comes first.


    Move on, and keep patrolling."


    Syvis, this wench, always bossing around, crushing Gorwin''s pride. Every suggestion, and decision he proposed to the team was denied. As a prideful forest elf, he felt it hard to keep tolerating her.


    To take care of their forest, to ward against evil forces they had to act, to show their might. Even as a mere sub-faction, even if they lost their right to compete for domination over Gaia, their chances were not completely gone. Gorwin would not let their name be sullied in such a way.


    At a certain point, a while after they resumed their silent march, Gorwin dashed away, hiding among the tall trees. If his comrades were too scared to act, he had to take matters into his own hands.


    "Gorwin, you moron, what''s the point of having a blade if it does not strike when intended to?"


    After finishing the young fawn, Makhar was relieved to receive a new stream of data from the system.


    [Bio-encoder recombination progress:


    Extraction affinity ratio: 2.5%


    Extraction quality ratio:  17%


    Extraction bio-mass quantity: 40% ]


    [System warning, feeding the bio-encoder with the same ingredient will progressively diminish its extraction progress the host would normally receive.]


    The fawn tasted definitely better, yet compared to the worm did not make Makhar''s progress much better.


    ''It seems hunting weaker and easier targets won''t make me progress much, I hoped that would have not been the case, but the system''s hints are quite clear. I''ll need to hunt bigger game.''


    Till now Makhar tried to avoid any strong chemical signature, and anything that had a presence bigger than his, following the deers around, and occasionally observing other herbivores, marking them as prey.


    He had to change his plans, although not so drastically, his collision with the trick worm was still fresh in his mind, as well as having one less antennae, he wanted to be cautious.


    He decided to keep looking for smaller prey during the day, while during the night he would go out to find tougher creatures and plan to hunt one once he''d have analyzed it enough to access the system''s description.


    For the first two days, Makhar had yet to make a move on anything bigger than himself, having caught a rabbit and another fawn he did not make much progress.


    [Bio-encoder recombination progress:


    Extraction affinity ratio: 4%


    Extraction quality ratio:  20%


    Extraction bio-mass quantity: 45% ]


    [Mirror snake: Description disabled, host''s analysis and comprehension of the target is too low.]


    ''Again, what am I missing now... At least I''m sure of it not being such an easy target...''


    Makhar had set his target to be a strange snake he encountered, it positioned itself as a bridge between two tree branches. Probably an ambush predator he thought, lying there motionless, it camouflaged itself perfectly within the foliage of the trees. If not for his peculiar senses, that went beyond simple sight, it would have been very hard for him to sight the creature. Maybe he would have become its next meal, as Makhar seldom touches the ground and is most of the time up on the trees.


    Even so, he had difficulty hunting birds, as they would either sense the vibrations of him moving up the branches or directly see him during the day. He also tried to feed off smaller lifeforms like insects, but the amount of extraction progress they gave was negligible.


    At this point, he decided to stay nearby and wait, to see the snake in action, if patient enough he would be able to witness it revealing its cards. Then he could make a plan to hunt it down.


    Another day passed by, Makhar stayed still, unmove on a higher tree branch, observing the brown, intricated pattern of the snake''s scales. The temptation to jump and ambush was starting to form in his mind, if the snake had yet to notice him till now, how could it expect a quick assault on his part?


    Yet he know he could not be impulsive, his belly did not call for hunger, and there was not any need for him to risk it. Like so, another day passed, and finally, Makhar''s patience seemed to bear its fruit.


    "Uncle Ken, how much until we arrive at camp?"


    "Rebecca, quite, and again, I don''t know. We just need to keep traveling north. When we get to Tranard please behave, the men of Cherl¨¬ are a proud bunch, if they chose one of the weakest continents is because they are short-handed for this conquest.


    They must have sent more people to another planet, Gaia is not the sole habitable planet of System-Bi0234."


    "Yes, yes. Of course uncle Ken, I will behave don''t worry. I will behave like  a role model, so much even father would be proud of me!"


    Mentioning her father, the little girl''s eyes shined with newfound joy, which as of late tended to be scarce on the girl''s face. Traveling brown bear forest had been harder than it initially appeared to be. After all, this one forest occupied about one-fourth of Etesh.


    Rebecca was a small girl, about eight years old, she had long, black hair, and deep black eyes and gave innocent, playful vibes at first glance. She was wearing a long elegant, white tunic, unusually clean for someone traversing the forest.


    The man she referred to as uncle Ken was tall, about 1.9 meters in height, his physique was muscular, and well trained while he sported military attire, with the classic black, brown, and green pattern.


    On his left hand, he was holding a big machete, dented and dulled by the long journey, while on his right hand, he was holding a gun, a jet black pistol ready to fire when needed.


    A backpack two-thirds his height rested on his shoulders, containing all types of necessities for the travel.


    "Uncle, Rebecca is hungry! Please, would you give her some food?"


    "We just ate two hours ago, and we must be careful with our rations on this side of the forest, I told you that. I cannot hunt on elven territory they would not permit that, soldier up little girl, you are not yet skin and ones."


    "Uncle Ken please, don''t you hear? My tummies'' rumbling, I''m hungry!"


    Not sure about her throwing a tantrum, or legitimately being hungry, Ken decided to give in and feed the little monster. As a proud marine of the IHU, he could endure hunger much better than a child, still, he couldn''t debilitate himself too much, else he would spell doom for the little girl as well.


    The duo started getting up a tree, taking up a spot on the thickest tree branch. Then,  Ken took out a black metallic wok from his backpack, as well as a few ingredients, rice, various spices, and the tail of what had to be a reptile, either a kind of snake or lizard, Young Makhar couldn''t tell.


    The man then started chopping up the meat, before throwing everything onto the pan. Not a particularly thought dish, but it had to do, it would be tasty enough.


    The wok must have had something strange to it, as it heated up without a fire, as the food contained started to vigorously sizzle, Makhar started to doubt his own culinary habits,


    ''I''m clearly doing it all wrong.''


    "Yummy! Thank you, uncle Ken, but you could have taken some for yourself!"


    "Little devil eat now, we don''t have much time left till the first event begins, we can''t be late or we won''t hear the end once we meet with the men of Cherl¨¬."


    "But uncle why must we even go there if you hate them so much, can''t we directly join the ''New Arrivals''? "


    "It''s not that I hate them, I just dislike them. They have very weird, backward customs. We aborted chivalry a long time ago, to survive, while they made it their strong anchor, especially on the field we often disagree. But that''s not something a little kid should worry about."


    He then got up, ruffled little Rebecca''s hair, and took a peak below, alert for any danger.


    "But uncle, why did we get up here to eat?"


    "This area is not safe for those that walk on the ground, ready yourself, we''ll do a good amount of climbing for a while."


    How tiresome, to proceed from tree to tree like this felt like an unnecessary bother for Rebecca, but if uncle Ken said so there had to be a reason. Luckily her dress had self-cleaning properties, a gift from her dad she wished to wear forever, yet she was bound to grow taller, out of this tunic. It made her sad, hopefully, he will gift her a new one when they''ll see each other again.


    "Wow! Uncle Ken did you see how pretty this branch is? What beautiful colors it has!"


    Yet she soon regretted saying these words, as uncle Ken''s expression froze, terrified, he lost his composure for a second.


    ''Crazy! This thing''s mimetism is absurd, how can its scales mimic the tree bark to this level!''


    What impressed the man even more, however, was the snake''s level of patience and calculative behavior. It had been laying motionless till now, waiting for him to either drop his guard or start passing onto the next tree. Its strength was also incredible, as it supported his weight without moving an inch.


    "Rebecca, keep eating, slowly start moving toward the tree trunk, once you get there, climb on the other side of the tree and hide on a tree branch."


    "But uncle, what about you? What will you do?"


    "Uncle has some work to do remember? It''s not the first time this happened, trust uncle, uncle is a professional he knows what to do."


    If there was something she earned during this trip was that her uncle was a dependable person in this kind of situation, her father assigned him as her escort for this very reason.


    Rebecca slowly took backward steps, while wolfing down what still remained on her wooden bowl.


    Once gotten to safety she had on a nearby branch, hoping uncle Ken would end up on top of this as he always did.


    Two loud bangs echoed throughout the forest, as Ken filled up with lead the head of the mirror snake. Hissing with rage, the injured head was still going, trying to retaliate against the marine, yet the man was ready, before shooting he had readied himself, the instant he pulled the trigger, he had already performed an inhuman jump, tightly holding onto the tree trunk.


    The huge snake retaliated going for a bite at Ken''s torso, leaving behind a trail of blood, Ken was flabbergasted at the snake''s vitality, how could it still be alive?


    Once again, with reflexes and strength that went beyond what was humanly possible, Ken tightly grabbed the snake, putting it on a strong hold at the base of its neck. Then, with his machete he tightly squeezed the blade inside their neck, one could notice the blade getting red hot, as Ken suddenly twisted it, detaching the snake''s head completely.


    Yet, as he breathed a sigh of relief, pain assaulted his right leg, looking down, he noticed the head of the snake, biting him. At the same time, a girly squeak of pure terror echoed from the other side of the large tree trunk. It was Rebecca.


    Confused, Ken looked down, to confirm his suspicions.


    ''I knew it, what a bizarre creature. It was such a bad idea to come here in the first place. However, on such a remote planet, so young they barely stated its conquest, she''d be much safer than inside the IHU. For how much I respect the coalition, I admit the fight for the highest ranks is truly fearsome.


    It would have been hell for the little lady. Perhaps it is better to die free than live in fear.


    Cough! Cough!


    What am I thinking, the men of Cherl¨¬ usually say such things. It is but a pity for her to die so young, such a bright little girl.''


    As his body started numbing, Ken felt the snake''s venom penetrating his muscles and internal tissues, eventually, they would reach his organs paralyzing him for good.


    It probably would not manage to kill him, as his energy core was of the first tier, and would slowly neutralize the poison. Maybe given a few hours he would manage to move at least a couple of limbs. Yet by that time, he would already be inside the belly of the snake.


    "Hey, there big guy mind not giving up on us yet?"


    Dominus Mark''s mocking tone surprised the resigned marine. As a weird jet-black insect appeared just above him. Its hideous front scythe claws were drenched in blood, hot red liquid dripping from them trickled on his forehead.


    Much to the strange repulsion he innately carried over the bug, Ken felt soon overjoyed.


    "Hold on right uncle Ken! Little bug is here to help us!"


    Makhar did not like this loud little pest, not even a couple of minutes had passed since they met and he already regretted saving her. In a sense, he felt kind of obliged to the duo, since they posed as bait for him to discover the snake''s hidden cards. Yet he felt also compelled to eat both of them after killing the snake.


    He saw the strange properties the human Ken demonstrated, eating him would make his progress to the next level skyrocket.


    However, the snake was not yet dead and he was unsure to come on top of this fight on his own. He preferred not to risk it. Even if the marine was downed, he saw that dangerous weapon of his in action, perhaps the youngling would be able to use it in its stead.


    Unluckily, due to his biology, Makhar would not be able to even hold the gun, much less properly aim at a moving target.


    From high above the scene, Makhar discovered how insidious this snake was. In truth, it had four heads, and its body was X shaped, while only one head was camouflaging as a tree branch, the other tree where hidden even better, flattened under other branches.


    After Ken attacked, one of the other heads went straight for the girl, yet unaware of Makhar''s presence it became an easy target. With striking precision, Makhar''s claws cut deep into the snake''s neck, twisting and lashing, Makhar lacerated into a pulp this snake''s head. Yet he was quick to retreat, taking the girl away and putting her to safety.


    "Would you mind giving me a hand? This thing is anything but dead, that weapon of yours, lend it to the girl, I would not mind a hand, take a look o your left."


    Seeing another pair of heads approaching them, Ken decided the disgusting bug up there had a reason to speak after all.

 Chapter 6 - Wilderness - part 2

    Holding a gun had never felt stranger to Rebecca than it did in such a perilous situation. The friendly, talking bug that rescued her suggested they as a duo to kill the wicked serpent that wounded uncle Ken.


    She had never seen him in such bad condition, the man''s leg had turned to a lesser shade of purple, inflated and swollen by his body''s defense mechanism. Yet the venom seemed to truly be something out of this world, as the valiant marine had been rendered completely paralyzed. Barely a minute had passed and he could barely talk.


    A couple more loud bangs echoed through the forest, as Rebecca missed one shot and barely grazed one of the snake''s heads with the other. She currently wasn''t being of much help, even if she did take shooting lessons thanks to her father''s status in the IHU, to believe the little girl an optimal shooter would be plain stupidity.


    ''What could I even hope for a human cub like her to be of help in this ordeal. Hell, being a youngling myself I expected more of her, and I was wrong, very much so.''


    Young Makhar in the middle of the mirror snake''s terrifying assault kept thinking about his past actions. He should have left the girl alone, she would have definitely died, but with the soldier, their chance of success would have been a lot higher.


    Fortunately enough, Makhar seemed to be partially immune to the serpent''s most dreaded weapon, its venom. Else, by now he would already have entered its digestive system.


    The snake''s teeth were extremely sharp as well as though as steel, as they punctured Makhar''s shell multiple times, dark blood oozed out of his wounds as well as small cracks started to appear due to the violent''s snake hits.


    Still holding on, hoping for the snake to leave an opening for him to take advantage of and strike back, Makhar stared at little Rebecca in disbelief. Even with his eyes, being on the top of his shell, she would not have noticed.


    It has been a while since she stopped shooting, yet Makhar had not noticed till now, as his mind was elsewhere for obvious reasons. The little girl had sneaked down from the higher tree branch she had been dropped, to one much closer to the fight. Then she had located the point at where the various snake heads come together, which was probably if not as vital, very sensitive for the snake. Being also a much bigger target than the heads, it permitted the small girl to unload the pistol''s mag without worry.


    Hissing through fury and pain the snake''s head writhed back in agony, and as he was waiting for the right opportunity to strike, young Makhar lunged forward with renowned vigor. The feeling of his sharp claws brutally penetrating the snake''s flesh greatly elated him, yet, even so, its scales appeared to be remarkably tough even for a direct hit such as this.


    Thankfully, the snake was still partially numbed by pain, and Makhar''s relentless trashing damaged the head in question enough for it to stop moving.


    Yet such a wild creature was most dangerous when cornered, and Makhar was about to learn this lesson the hard way. In a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, or at least make Makhar pay for his intrusion, the last snake''s head lunged forward with striking rapidity coiling around Makhar.


    Surprised by the serpent''s tenacity, Makhar had time only to absorb back the humanoid face inside his shell before finding himself strangled by the sake''s deadly coil.


    With much savagery, the snake then bit onto Makhar''s left claw, before tearing it off completely. The creature just demonstrated an incomprehensible burst of strength, greatly surprising Makhar who just went close to blacking out due to pain. Black, viscous blood gouged out of the amputated limb, making Makhar realize how weak, and frail his body condition was.


    ''H-How weak am I, how could I dream of putting the entire galaxy on their knees, to rebirth my kin from their ashes while I can''t even subjugate a lowly lizard... No, I cannot give up, the burden resting on my shoulder is not so light for me to forfeit my life like this.''


    Trying to shrug off this feeling of helplessness, Makhar tried to think hard of a possible solution, yet he was completely immobilized, not only by the snake''s hold but also because of all the poison it had managed to inject into his bloodstream. Even given his natural resistance, due to the high dosage, it now influenced Makhar''s body to a greater degree.


    "Hold on little bug! We are here to help!"


    Rebecca''s muffled scream entered Makhar''s reception. The little girl had given his best to help uncle Ken''s crawling toward the snake which was, at this point, too worried about digesting Makhar''s body that was now about halfway through its maw.


    Ken''s big arms quickly intercepted the snake''s attempt to eat their savior alive, getting it in a firm chokehold.


    "I''ve got him tight! Don''t worry about my stamina and take your time, try to get out of it somehow. We are out of bullets and I can''t execute any complex movement, sadly my legs stopped responding a while ago."


    Little by little, Makhar returned to his senses, incessant, continuous munching and tearing of flesh could be heard, as fueled by wicked rage Makhar beat the avid snake at its own game, he was eating it alive.


    Thankfully the strong marine was not lying, even with the snake''s desperate wriggling he did not let go of the damned creature. Such perseverance was truly commendable, of course, Makhar''s own perseverance was short of absurd, yet he was doing it to save his skin, while the marine simply wanted to repay him the favor.


    Ken could simply let the snake go, so what if it devoured Makhar, o the verge of dying, it would definitely not seek to continue a desperate with Ken and Rebecca.


    Soon after Makhar got out of the snake''s body, all bloodied and battered, the trio decided to delay any further conversation till they recovered some of their strength.


    ...


    "So, you are conceding me three out of four of the snake''s heads? Seems very generous of you. What''s the catch?"


    "Makhar right? I see you are very straightforward, yes I''d like something out of you in exchange for conceding you a bigger bounty. Even if I hoped for it to come out of you much more spontaneously, I have no problem skipping a few steps.


    I am a member of the IHU Spacer military division, Marine Ken Rugs, and I was tasked to escort Rebecca to our embassy situated in Cherl¨¬''s war camp due to political reasons.


    Bus as you can see I am quite incapacitated and will have a much harder time keeping on with my mission. Now that I''ve rested and recuperated to a certain degree, I can feel it, or rather I can''t. The leg that has been bitten, I''m not feeling its knee or anything further down.


    Stay with us, till we get to the forest border, we would probably still have about two weeks'' worth of quick march. Think about it, it would be quite beneficial to you as well, even if impaired I can still hold my own in a fight, especially if I am not the one ambushed but the assailant."


    "Your leg. And I keep the gun."


    Makhar''s concise and firm sentence made Ken slightly flinch, making him ignore its now robotic, extraterrestrial tone.


    "S-Sorry? You want my leg?"


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Yes, your leg, you''re gonna chop it off and feed it to me. During our travels, I will keep the gun wrapped around my shell as well as provide for your nutrition."


    "..."


    At a loss for words, Ken did not know how to respond to the insect''s demands, in the heat of battle he didn''t notice Makhar''s eloquence and did not realize how sentient the creature really was.


    ''Change of plans, the bug is both smart and greedy...''


    "Your leg, uncle Ken, if you need any help just ask. Also if you need a painkiller or any of the meds Father got for me feel free to take them."


    "Thank you, little princess, but don''t worry I won''t feel much pain. I am afraid this leg is already gone for good."


    ''Fortunately, I wasn''t dub enough to wait for your permission to take those meds. Why do you think the poison stopped spreading and I''m not yet become a vegetable?''


    The process did not take much longer, as Ken executed the procedure without batting an eye, heating his machete with psychic powers he sliced where his purple, black flesh started mixing with some shades of pink.


    Huffing and puffing, with ragged breath he threw the amputated leg toward Makhar''s scythe claw, which caught it with a rapid snap.


    "Take it. I hope you''ll respect our promise. But even so, hope is not enough to keep on living in this world, I want you to make a contract with me through the system, then I will pass the gun on to you."


    "Fine with me."


    ...


    [Bio-encoder recombination progress:


    Extraction affinity ratio: 25%


    Extraction quality ratio: 40%


    Extraction bio-mass quantity: 75% ]


    ''Substantial progress has been made, between the mirror snake and the man''s leg, I''ve gotten quite the bounty. Especially his leg increased the affinity ratio much more than the snake''s meat, there was also a special kind of flavor on it that I did not find in any of my other prays.


    I''m guessing it could have something to do with his strange powers that seem to go beyond the simple laws of nature. Yet my knowledge is very limited, as I''m relying on my brief life experience and the data I absorbed from the eggshell before hatching.


    For once, even that database was too small, and even so I don''t know how much of that information is either true or vastly outdated, since, apparently, a lot of time passed since my egg was laid.''


    [System notification, an award has been granted to host.


    First ''enemy'' class combatant defeated.


    Open system gift?]


    ''I accept, open it.''


    [Relic ''Broken doll'' has been awarded to host.


    Description: A headless, small marble figure of the long-forgotten lady of fate. Wrapped in a long tunic, one hand''s holding a sword, while the other''s a heart.


    Once corrupted by the dark taint of the abyss, it has now been cleansed by the relentless passage of time, its energy signature almost lost, so long since its last owner was separated from it. Teodoro, son of Soma wanted to forget, and so he left it alone, as he did not need his memories to cloud his mind anymore.


    ''I killed them all, I ended their lives, and now only silence reigns over Terron, not a single soul is left. Only dread and pain are left, as I sit on the flesh and blood of my kin.


    My valor, you served well, but I do not need you anymore, as only madness is left in me by now. As only madness will let me prevail, to slay the one I dread most, once and for all.''


    This statuette is now almost powerless, utterly broken, it has now become a completely new artifact, of much lower strength and power.


    Usage description: Bonding the relic to host''s ??? will allow for host to sap into its powers.


    Active skill ''Sound disturbance'': A psychic interference will attack the designated target''s mind, creating a disturbing echoing sound through their mind.


    Passive skill ''Formless shield'': While held by the host, it will generate a very weak shield protecting the user from malevolent psychic attacks targeting the mind.


    Gifted to Makhar, the last of his kind, for his first hunt, by the observer system. This is a ''Relic'' class artifact, as such is capable of upgrading itself along with its user. How and when it''ll happen, depends on the user''s personal experience and ??? strength.]


    ''Interesting, a gift worthy of my important self, so far I like this ''observer'' a lot. Keep gifting me such presents and we will get along well!''


    This new, unexpected bounty brought joy to Makhar, as he realized that fighting with the snake had been a very dangerous gamble and had almost lost his life. Since their departure from the site of battle about a day ago, Makhar kept thinking, weighing the pros and cons of his actions.


    Not even a week had passed and his body was already missing one antenna and a claw. Till now, he did not suffer any devious injury to his vital organs thanks to his sturdy shell, but if he kept it up it''d be just a matter of time. He needed to learn to evaluate better the strength of his enemies. Yet, it was not going to be an easy thing, after all, he lacked the very root of the problem, experience. At least, he now got some thanks to his last few deadly battles.


    He knew he would have to take such risks if he wanted to fulfill his ambition in any way. Power was not something he would get through a passive approach, at least not the kind of power he needed.


    Proof of it has been his ordeal, his efforts had not been for naught. He had made quick progress on his reactor encoding as well as gained his first artifact. Sure it didn''t look like much, but the system said he bestowed it for his first hunt, would it do the same for the second, the third, and so on?


    Also, he found it strange that the system called it his first hunt. The trick worm didn''t count, as he did not manage to kill it, but then he had killed a few more rabbits, deer, and small animals before and now after killing the snake, but the system did not give him anything.


    Were all these prey not worthy of such achievement? They sure were beneath him, and now that he studied their general behavior he could hunt them much more efficiently. Sadly, the amount of progress they gave him was basically none existent.


    Further speculation on this was required, as this ''system'' appeared to be much more crucial to Makhar''s progress than he initially thought.


    ...


    A few more days passed, and Makhar started to get a hold of his two new companions of sorts. He did not talk much with the duo, yet he was all ears for their conversations.


    The blonde, tall marine, did not like him since the time Makhar saved his skin. He would have rather liked the man''s body to have entered his digestive system, yet it has been a good decision to keep him alive, as in the end he would have perished if not for his help. The man also needed Makhar''s help in completing his mission, as he was now injured.


    The man could still keep up with them even without one of his legs, as his vigor could not be underestimated. Makhar estimated that with a surprise attack, he could tip the scales of a fight between the two of them on his side, yet due to him losing a claw, in a fair fight he would probably lose. Still, Makhar has been on alert since their departure and would definitely be able to escape a fight with the man, crawling up on the tress would make it hard for the limp to follow.


    Also, their system contract stated they could not hurt each other till the men of Cherl¨¬ were to be sighted. Makhar did not know if the man could go around with words and dirty the contract, or what kind of punishment the system would bestow upon transgressors.


    For all he knew, he did not trust both the soldier and the system enough to keep his guard down.


    Alas, their animosity was reciprocal. Even without such blatant signals, he would not have trusted the man. Makhar did not forget about the ''cursed'' attribute his kin had been afflicted with since ancient times.


    The little girl, on the other hand, had much more to her than he initially thought. She often looked at him with her big, deep black eyes filled with curiosity, Rebecca had never met such a talkative big bug before, Makhar was so unique that she couldn''t avoid stealing some glances here and there.


    But Makhar saw much more than, bare, innocent curiosity. The girl emanated malice and wit he did not expect and yet liked, very much so. To whom was it directed? To him of course, and yet not only him.


    ...


    Time passed by, roughly another three to four days, as they ventured deeper inside the forest. During this time, Makhar learned something of extreme value and importance, cooking. Sadly, due to his anatomic limitation, the culinary arts were off the charts for him, yet. He could not give up such a prospect and only hope that his future metamorphosis will gift him the much-required limbs.


    Still, he often observed the marine crudely cooking the game he hunted through his wok, using some wild ingredients he found along the way as side dishes to accompany the meat, not much concerned about the flavor combinations at all.


    The man was not a chef, yet the food he cooked could not taste as basic as eating everything raw. Also, the man warned him about the possible attack of ''parasites'', would he still insist on eating everything as he found it. For, once, he decided to trust the man, as cooking his food had no downsides to it.


    Makhar had also tried to explore the system a little bit more, needless to say, but he initially did not make much progress. Only the day before, as he was starting to get impatient, he managed to pull two more holographic panels out of it.


    [Panel of conquest: Statistics regarding host''s current achievements towards his conquest of planet ''Gaia''. Certain goals will manage host rewards based on their difficulty to achieve.]


    [Conquest ranking: 20th place ]


    [Conquest fame: 0 points]


    [Conquest honor: 225 points]


    [Truces in place: None]


    [War prisoners: None]


    [Regions held: None]


    [Portal fragments possessed: None]


    [Ship fragments obtained: None]


    [More conquest objectives are currently sealed, Host''s ladder ranking is too low.]


    Quite the grim reality that was, he was weak. Yet he already knew that he was sure of it without the need of the system to remind him so, seeing this panel did not make Makhar sad or worried one bit, instead, it posed the exact opposite effect.


    ''Watch me from up there, you darn bastard, because one day I will climb that ladder and come take you too.''

 Chapter 7 - The dark maw - Part 1

    It was about a week in, as the trio was forced for the second time into their journey to fight together. Given Makhar''s senses and instincts, they avoided the majority of dangerous encounters throughout the forest but once, when a dark bird suddenly assaulted Ken, it was a black bird of huge proportions, heightening almost two meters. Yet incredibly slender and agile, the death machine heavily injured the man, almost tearing off his left arm.


    Still, bordering on superhuman, Ken''s body did not give in to pain and managed to take hold of the bird with his still functional arm. With quick and precise movements, Makhar''s claws closed into the bird''s neck, tightly gripping with their reversed teeth. Yet the giant bird''s vitality was truly impressive, as it kept thrashing around, even puncturing Makhar''s exoskeleton with his sharp beak.


    Even leaving Makhar perplexed about the abnormal flexibility of this vicious raptor. Even so, with his beak locked by Makhar''s deadly claw, it took only about a minute for it to exhale its last breath. It bled out, losing its strength, only leaving for Makhar''s imagination what their flesh would taste like. Of course after a good session of cooking.


    ''Of course, only the more barbaric and primitive species would not be yet aware of ''cooking'', not that I would ever do such a thing as eating raw food.''


    As young Makhar was about to separate their spoils in half, alas the bird''s body, a sudden shift in the air alarmed his senses, as an arrow suddenly struck his side. He had not perceived the threat till the last second, as he tried to pivot his shell to the side, in a desperate attempt to make the impact less deadly.


    Thanks to his keen senses, he managed to lessen the object''s kinetic energy, even if not by much.


    ''It hurts, it hurts, who dares!?''


    Makhar quickly rotated his head left and right with disdain, as he had just become the target of a hunter at least as capable of himself, if even more. Being on the receiving end of an ambush was always a hunter''s worse nightmare, as the direction of the hunt would be, of course, decided by the hunter.


    Black blood trickled down his carapace, as the thick, grey, metallic arrowhead was halfway in his exoskeleton. Whoever that hunter was, his stealth was up a notch compared to Makhar''s, as he could tell the enemy was moving, circling them somehow, yet he could not properly identify him and track him down.


    Through a deadly whisper, a couple of other arrows rained down on Makhar''s shell, this time though they did not manage to dig deep enough in his hard chitinous shell to draw blood. The small, insectoid alien truly possessed inhuman reflexes, especially after witnessing the same kind of strike twice or more. His muscular memory was indeed that good, and he managed to adjust his carapace to the right angle, lessening the arrows'' impact to a greater degree each time.


    However, the enemy was no fool, and definitely way more sentient than all he had faced till now. With swift steps, it approached Makhar''s direction, and before he could even react a deadly blade pierced his mouth. The pain was numbing, making him almost faint, yet Makhar held on, thinking about the abundant rewards he would get by defeating and consuming this new incredible foe. The enemy was clearly unsure about his vitals, mistaking his mandibles as a sign for some sort of head. It was true that many nerves were located in that area, yet Makhar''s brain was located much deeper inside his body, protected by his shell.


    The vicious attack was painful and had made him lethargic quick enough to suggest the use of poison, one particularly strong at that. But Makhar had demonstrated good resistance to all kinds of toxins his enemies had tried to kill him with, and this one was no exception.


    With striking speed, almost a blur, Makhar''s claw implanted itself onto the enemy''s right shoulder lacerating their flesh, as warm blood painted red Makhar''s dark claw.


    ''I wanted his neck, however, this humanoid''s reflexes are quite adept to combat, he''s taller than Ken, yet not as resilient, his flesh is weak and his bones are brittle.''


    Having tasted a good piece of the marine, Makhar could testify to the limb''s toughness, especially his bones which were at least two times as hard as that of the mirror snake.


    The humanoid assailant screamed in pain, his momentum broken by the unexpected retaliation of the small insect.


    ''How? Why are you not dead?! This is not what he promised me, his information was incorrect!


    Damn it! I should have aborted the mission as soon as I saw my arrows were not as effective against the creature. This bow is even an artifact the shadow gifted me for my promotion, its penetrating power should not be underestimated! Then how?''


    The humanoid kept thrashing and hammering with his curved silver sword at makhar''s claw, the was now clenching hard at his right shoulder, even threatening to completely sever his harm. The blade blade was exceptionally sharp, and even considering the increased hardness of his claw, compared to the rest of his exoskeleton, it was too much.


    Without further hesitation, Makhar simply lets go of his prey. The unexpected turn of events left the humanoid with a vague sense of incredulity, which did not last long as he immediately darted away from the site of combat, or at least he tried.


    Makhar''s role, as they agreed so, was that of keeping whoever was called to assist ''him'' at bay, leaving his companion time to finish whatever she had to do, in all honesty, it wasn''t his concern.


    The deal was good, he got to fight a strong enemy, probably humanoid and highly intelligent, which would boost his progress quite a lot, and potentially give him a good reward through the system. Of course, it had its risk, and it certainly wasn''t negligible, at this point, being in close quarters with the enemy, he chose to let go, he was already losing much blood, he was missing one of his mandibles and his claw was heavily dented. He could not afford to lose this one as well.


    At least, this was Makhar''s train of thought till this point, when a system notification suddenly popped up, the second he let the elf run away.


    [An hidden quest has been issued: ''Kill the rogue elf''


    Gorwin, an arrogant, pretentious elf disobeyed his shadow''s orders and went out of his way to exterminate an unknown threat on his own. The shadow wishes him dead to make an example out of him so that other elves will avoid such stupid mistakes.


    His team also resents him for disappearing without notice, Syvis, the squad leader, will purposely avoid your location for a while, only coming after the fight has quieted down to retrieve the corpse. As she would not dare to defy the shadow''s will.


    Lastly, Makhar, a spiteful, vindictive alien of unknown origin would not forget any debt paid in blood and would be happy to risk his skin to both fulfill his desire for carnage and obtain a bounty for the elf''s head.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Issued reward: granted access to ''Special tier 3 dungeon'' as host''s first mandatory dungeon.]


    At first glance, it didn''t seem much, yet Makhar knew otherwise, as holographic Mark had briefed him on the subject a week past.


    The first event of the game of conquest issued by the system was, in fact, the ''dungeon outbreak''. The first part of it consisted of every sentient being, considered worthy enough being forcibly transported in such dungeons. This peculiar place would act as a kind of training facility for the individual, at least to Makhar''s understanding, as they would battle and improve their combat ability while also earning bountiful rewards.


    This event would also continue till the end of the game of conquest, where a leader would have been chosen to reign over Gaia.


    ''This is great! I shall make it mine! As well as your tender flesh, I can''t wait to see it sizzling on our wok!''


    "Gorwin, wait please!"


    A feminine voice suddenly called him, only seconds since his escape, this had to be a trap, however, who could have even called him, that ugly bug? Unlikely, yet this deep in the forest didn''t leave many other options. The feminine, pitched voice reminded him of his little sister if only by a little, Gorwin had to make sure.


    The little girl was lost in the forest many years ago, and the elf''s life became darker each day, as he pledged to make their race prevail no matter what.


    Yet his rise to power proved to be much harder than expected. Frustrated, he had slowly become more arrogant and reckless, till it got to the point he would disobey the shadow without much thought.


    He then turned around, only to see nothing, just the plain, blood-stained grass of the forest. Then a little girl came forward, she had blonde hair cascading on her shoulders, cute soft pointed ears, bright green eyes and was wearing a long white tunic that came down to her ankles.


    "E-Eliyen is that you? How beautiful my little sister is, come, hug your brother, I''ve missed you."


    Dumbstruck, unable to think about anything else, Gorwin shed a tear and waited for the little girl to come to his arms. Yet none of that happened, as the small elf walked away without second thoughts.


    No! How could it be? Eliyen and he loved each other greatly, he could not let her go, not again!


    "Eliyen wait! Don''t leave me!"


    As Gorwin darted to catch up to the little girl, he suddenly stopped, as immense pain shattered his delusion, there was, of course, no Eliyen, but only an ugly bug sticking its deadly claw inside his guts.


    "You! You tricked me! How dare this lower life form do this to me!"


    Blinded by rage, Gorwin started madly trashing Makhar''s shell, uncaring for his dying body. Even if much less robust than the marine, his strength was not something to be scoffed at, as he managed to dent even more Makar''s exoskeleton.


    "I have him! do it now!"


    Again, the feminine voice he heard earlier echoed in his ears, and looking closely he noticed the face-like protrusion present on the insect''s sell, it had both mouth and eyes! How weird!


    ''So it was him! This damned bug!''


    With newfound lucidity, Gorwin unsheathed his sword and firmly planted it on Makhar''s face. To his displeasure though, the face had already been retracted inside his shell, only leaving black blood flowing around the sword stuck in his innards.


    Finally, as Makhar''s vision started getting blurry from pan and exhaustion, a loud bang echoed through the forest, as brain matter scattered all over his shell.


    "Don''t worry Makhar, I am a lady of honor, and would not go back on my words."


    ''It was not a surprise that she had waited for the fight to unfold, only coming to my aid when sure of a clean shot. Not that would have done otherwise.''


    Seeing the smart bug freeing his claw from the ef''s guts, Rebecca tossed one heavy object to his side.


    "With this, we are even, you helped me and got your good rewards. I will be traveling off to a trustworthy companion Father said he managed to sneak in.


    I think the faction''s name is ''New Arrivals'' or something, they are a sub-faction of the IHU branch that was sent to acquire dominion over this planet. In case you''d ever consider contacting me again, the humans of the IHU won''t have problems meddling with strange aliens like you, we''ve always done so, even if I find you to be one of the most repelling I''ve seen so far. No offense.


    Till next time Makhar, I hope you''ll become stronger because I will. "


    Saying so, the little girl trodded off, now hidden among the green foliage of the forest, leaving the all-battered Makhar to lick his wounds. But it wasn''t all bad, since his bounty this time was truly priceless. On one side was the corpse of the elf Gorwin, while on the other lay that of Ken, his torso was littered with holes, while his face was wide open in disbelief, giving away the method the little girl used to kill him.


    She sure had earned Makhar''s respect now, as the young blood of their species, she managed to up the threat scale he had for humans till now. Seeing as Ken was their adult form, he wasn''t expecting much from a toddler such as Rebecca. Yet what she was lacking in strength made up with wits and deviousness.


    She had been conscious of the facade the marine had put on during their travels, waiting for orders from above. He surely was not a close aide of her father, but a warden to keep a close eye on her, so that they could use her as leverage against her father.


    She had become conscious of that after the first week of their travels deep inside the forest, and yet couldn''t do anything about it, not until an unforeseen variable appeared on the field to even their grounds. Makhar was indeed the best candidate to get herself out of the waters.


    However, the bizarre alien was not easy to fool and required compensation for his work. The idea of feeding him a fellow human surely did not please her in the least, no matter how much she hated the marine.


    Nonetheless, once she discovered he planned her execution together with an unknown accomplice, she knew she had to act. Fortunately, Makhar had not been greedy enough to devour the remains of the mirror snake whole, but he preserved some of its venom for his next hunt. With it, the little girl poisoned the marine, before feeding him a good amount of lead.


    With a broad smile, she then helped Makhar finish off the arrogant elf. The alien in the end demonstrated to be much more valuable than she initially thought, as he was tying it against an elven scout which could even best a ''veteran'' like Ken.


    Who, of course, was not a real marine of the IHU, but a Veteran of the IHU Terra division. Marines where specialized in space combat and were much stronger than the man was revealed to be, especially regarding their psychic capabilities, they were two worlds apart.


    She now planned to climb the ranks of the IHU Terra division herself, to earn the respect of their people through hard work, and then to aid her father in becoming the Conqueror of Valor, humanity''s fifth missing pillar that had been destroyed centuries ago. Now that such a position was vacant, the political warfare on this front was something truly absurd, every politician dreamed of gaining rein of Silea, the twin sister, a mega-flagship the size of multiple continents that earning the title of ''Conqueror'' would award you the control of.


    Even if the ship was still half destroyed after that particular ''incident'' happened, it had been under repairs for a long time at this point and was already capable of intergalactic flight. Yet, the very ship was the obstacle that prevented any rogue politician to obtain its control through illegitimate ways. Its technology was ancient and inspired by the works of a now-extinct civilization, which was said to have almost dominated the universe at one point in time. Thus to obtain its control one had to be acknowledged first by the other Conquerors, that knew of the secrets of the mega-ship.


    Which meant climbing up the political ranks of the IHU in the region under the supervision of Silea, the twin sister.


    ...


    [System prompt: host has been summoned to his first, mandatory dungeon.


    Dungeons available for host to choose from are:


    Tier one dungeons:


    -The green expanse of Asle.


    Tags: Solitary dungeon, unappealing rewards, threat scale: negligible.


    -Derelict ship Erea.


    Tags: Cooperative dungeon, story-driven dungeon, threat scale: easy.


    -Abandoned mining site.


    Tags: Solitary dungeon, story-driven dungeon, useful materials, threat scale: easy.


    -Ancient bio-lab.


    Tags: Cooperative dungeon, wandering monstrosities, useful artifacts, threat scale: Normal.


    Tier two dungeons:


    -The dead desert of Aar:


    Tags: Ancient battlefield, useful artifacts, useful weapons, hidden reward, threat scale: hard.


    -??? Locked ???


    -??? Locked ???


    Tier three dungeons:


    -The dark maw:


    Tags: Ancient''s Tomb, Hidden rewards, Special rewards, Strong artifacts, Strong weapons, Godly materials, Abyssal corruption, Threat scale: Death]


    ''They must have taken me for a fool, of course, I''d chosen the dark maw, I earned it after all! Would you not eat the same bread you''ve gotten through hard work?!


    Screw the difficulty I''ve almost died multiple times and I''m not even two weeks old!''


    "I choose to challenge the dark maw!"

 Chapter 8 - The dark maw - Part 2

    "System will I be able to take my bounties lying here with me?"


    Makhar was of course referring to Ken and Gorwin''s dead bodies which he planned to eat as soon as possible, as they would probably allow his reactor core to fully saturate. His body though, wasn''t in its best condition, as he had three arrows stuck to his shell, one penetrating his innards, as well as a sword doing the same, also one of his mandibles had been chopped off and was still slightly bleeding.


    The insectoid alien wasn''t looking good. Yet, Gorwin''s party would probably come his way at any moment, as well as any hungry predator of the forest that smelled the scent of blood drawn from their battle.


    [Only host''s true body expenses will be covered by the system for their travel, any added inanimate object would need to be covered by the host.


    Cost may vary depending on the size and mass of said object. Analyzing the two objects mentioned by host ... -]


    ''Please spare me the outcome, I''m darn poor. Great, at least my legs are still alive and kicking, if only I didn''t have such weights to carry around with me.''


    "System are there any... Spacial artifacts I may acquire through... My system point! Yes, I remember you giving me one?"


    [There is no spatial artifact of such value available to Host, as Host''s system title is too low. Does Host wish to check on their System''s data panel? ]


    "Yes, of course, I''ve got so much time to waste after all."


    Slightly pressed by his predicament, Makhar gave in to his curiosity, or maybe just hoped to find anything that might be of help through the System. Which, as of lately demonstrated to be pretty reliable.


    The broken doll was a prime example of that, he used it against Gorwin earlier, and the fool suddenly got on his knees rumbling as soon as he activated it. Makhar has spoken to him imitating Rebecca''s voice, only altering it slightly, hoping to distract the elf for a moment to have the doll influence his mind.


    From its description he expected the mind attack to bring his enemy strong pain, yet now he believed it to place its target under some sort of illusion. Which was not bad at all anyway, as thanks to the artifact he managed a clean strike on the elf. He had been a bit hasty though, as he couldn''t be sure for how much the effect would last, and attacked Gorwin in his guts, instead of a more crucial spot like his neck, due to Makhar''s small stature compared to the tall elf.


    [Opening Host System''s data panel:


    System points: 1


    System coins stored: 0


    System privilege score: 0


    Privilege title: ''Unaffiliated''.


    Private graphic communication tier:  ''Primitive''.


    Private vocal communication tier:  Not yet granted.


    Private holographic communication tier:  Not yet granted.


    Public media access tier: Primitive. (Game of Conquest participant detected, restrictions are held in place for this service)


    Public entertainment services available: Dizzies intergalactic dramas, The History of the Universe narrated by Julius, Blood and gore live battling...


    (Game of Conquest participant detected, restrictions are held in place for this service)


    Public data banks available: None due to user low title.]


    ''Means of communication you say, if remember correctly, the System did ask me if I wanted to be part of some group, fighting for Etesh or something?''


    [Does Host wish to join the ''Fight for Etesh unification'' social group? ]


    ''It can read my mind now huh? It is not pleasant news, but I guess whatever being this ''system'' is, it''s much stronger than I am and I can''t do much about it.''


    [Does Host wish to disable system''s assistant mode?


    Warning: The system won''t be able to send any ''useful'' prompts without host''s consent.]


    ''Disable it! I want you out of my head, peace for your cute little prompts I guess.''


    As the proud, last ember of his species, Makhar felt proud to have kicked the system out of his mind. He would have hated to have his decision influenced by the strings of others, but even so, if it meant survival he was ready to throw his pride in the gutter.


    He knew of his burden and lifelong mission since a small consciousness formed inside his egg, to give his species life anew, and he would not stop in front of everything to achieve such a thing.


    ''System, I''d like to join this group you''ve told me about, but be quick, time  is tight.''


    [Initiating Host connection to chat group. Showing available chat services:


    --> Emergency chat for lost elves <--


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    --> Cherl¨¬''s Administration Center <--


    --> New Arrivals refugees admittance chat <--


    --> Kingdom of Arsille <--


    --> Etesh''s customer services <-- ]


    ''Access to Etesh''s customer services chat, I don''t have needs for any of the above. Even if the first one seems a little interesting, even if I bet they''d have measures put in place to ward against any evildoers. Maybe another time. ''


    [Showing list of available private customer services:


    -Wacksoo delivery agency


    -Germano''s rotted delicious


    -Wendy''s devious styling tastes


    -Cindy''s otherwordly spice collection


    -Ermano and Mario''s pizza delivery


    -... Searching for more available services...


    Refresh the list''s page?]


    ''Interesting, but they seem to be all some kind of deliveries, and I need transport-related services. Refresh.]


    A few intense minutes passed by, as the tired and wounded Makhar repeatedly refreshed the customer''s page without much success.


    [


    -...-


    -Ricky''s clean and efficient transportation]


    ''Yes! Finally something useful, quick let me use the chat.''


    [Welcome dear customer! This is Ricky''s travel agency, would you like to issue a giant cricket for transportation?]


    "Yes! That would be a good request of mine."


    [Alright! There are indeed some giant crickets ready for some action. Dear customer, which method of payment would you rather use?


    Quick notice, but we value coins more than points. It''s not that we''d undermine our customer''s profound knowledge of the world, but you never know, this is a very young planet and there may be some naive rookies...]


    "I will pay you with points, I cannot waste coins for such petty reasons. Show me the cheapest crickets available, I don''t care about their traveling speed. On second thoughts, the slowest the better."


    Faking deep thoughts, Makhar tried to appear as mysterious as possible.


    [We understand esteemed customer, I will list to you the available transports and their prices:


    -Orun: Old age, his legs and wings are not as strong anymore, possesses a frail body and won''t be able to withstand any kind of fight, knows the way of the forest and the dangers to avoid during travel as well as the quickest routes. Costs 3 system points.


    -Olivia: lab rat, She was used as breeding material for a scientific lab on a distant planet, emotionally unstable, might deviate from the original destination, and might not obey instructions, but she still possesses a strong and relatively healthy body. Costs 2 system points.


    -Durrin: Extremely old and frail, he is missing one leg, and his left wing is still injured, Durrin is also blind and does not hear very well. Although he is a retired war cricket and has experience under his belt, his almost desiccated body does not follow his orders very well. Durrin is currently in need of money as he''s taking care of his grandchildren on his own, he will try to satisfy their employer to the best of his capabilities. Costs 1 system point.


    ''Wow, they''re basically giving his ride for free, still, I''m not too sure about the worth of these points, but if even I got one they can''t be as priceless. While these ''coins'' seems to be much more valuable, I''ll keep an eye out for them.


    Anyway, I''ve got to say that this communication system seems to be more useful than I thought. I will experiment with it later on.


    "You see, I was tasked to help out one of my kin to get back to our camp, but do not like the guy as he contending with me an important role high up in our species'' hierarchy.


    Hopefully, Durrin is as bad as you''ve described him as I''d like for the passenger to come late for our meeting."


    [... Very well, respected customer, if those are your needs we will prepare Dorrin for his departure. Please share your target location with us and pay upfront the required amount.]


    "Of course, if all goes well I might employ your boys again for transports, and I promise, I won''t be short-handed on coins next time. There you go, one point for Dorrin."


    [Dear customer, Durrin is on his way, together with a small token of appreciation, in favor of future exchanges.]


    ...


    Needless to say, Durrin took his sweet time to arrive, thus forcing Makhar to somehow hide himself and the bodies away up on a tree. Injured as he was it had been quite tiring and painful, and this time he had strained his claw too much. Damaging its nerves, now he had a hard time even trying to clasp it down.


    Yet hopefully, it was worth it, his giant lie had cashed him some kind of item from this traveling agency. Maybe, someday he would really keep his word and take on some of their best crickets for transportation, though that day was not as close as they hoped for it to be.


    Finally, a strong buzzing sound came from above, as a giant insect the shape of a cricket landed near the tree he was hiding on. It was seven to eight meters in length and sported two huge antennae on its head, as well as a pair of powerful spiked legs.


    Then, an aged, slow voice came in buzzin'' Makhar''s ears.


    "Dear customer! I, Durrin have arrived to take you to your destination, you may pack your things on my broken wing, as it is broken in half it cannot help flight as much, but it will suffice to carry your belongings.


    Also, whatever request you might have, speak it LOUDLY as I might not hear it."


    "Alright, thank Durrin, these the bodies here, I would like you to help me load them on yourself, as I''m quite burned out at the moment."


    "What? Speak LOUDER!"


    "This is going to be a long ride..."


    "LOUDER!"


    ...


    After two whole weeks, Makhar was finally back, standing in front of Ol'' Mitch''s camp once again. He wasn''t really fond of the old elk, even better one could say they disliked one another, but in the end, the little creature had something that was meant to be in Makhar''s hands, and he was not about to leave for his first dungeon before getting it back.


    His reactor core was about to be finally saturated, big changes awaited him, and his gut instincts told him the special antenna would play its role in them.


    At the same time, he thought about it as a safe place, he doubted the old elk would let him die under their nose as Mark the human would hate his guts for that.


    Still in thought, he gave a quick glance at the small memento given to him by the travel agency. It was a mall panacea, a one-time-use artifact that would not let him feel any pain for a small amount of time.


    "Thank you for the ride Durrin, thanks to you we didn''t incur any disturbances. I''ll be sure to call on you next time."


    With a proud smile, the giant cricket prepared to depart once again, having just finished his delivery.


    "Of course, trust in old Durrin, I know this forest like the spikes on my legs. Also, you should be wary of the one that issued this ride, he doesn''t seem to have good intentions for your safety.


    Even if this time he underestimated the great Durrin, there might be a next where things won''t go as peacefully.


    Please don''t tell anyone of this, or I might get fired. Have a good day, young one."


    As the giant insect departed with a powerful jump, Makhar was left quite pleased, as for once he encountered a pure, kind-hearted soul. It didn''t feel bad to get treated nicely for once.


    This was a first, counting that the human Mark had helped him only because it fit his personal agenda.


    Then without saying a word, Mahar took both corpses under the shade of a tree, just behind one of ol'' Mitch''s advanced tents. Ready for his meal, although, to his displeasure, had to be eaten raw.


    ''I promise, for the first coins I get, I''ll buy myself a whole set of kitchen tools.''


    ...


    [Bio-encoder recombination progress:


    Extraction affinity ratio: 100%


    Extraction quality ratio: 100%


    Extraction bio-mass quantity: 100% ]


    ...

 Chapter 9 - The dark maw - Part 3

    [System warning: Host''s reactor core has been fully saturated.


    Host''s body''s ready for a qualitative change, further analysis is being stopped by host''s privacy policy.


    System prying is being forcefully suppressed...]


    ''I feel full, as if I''ve eaten too much and my body can''t handle the surplus. It''s getting stronger, this repulsive feeling of rejection, I hate it.''


    Feeling his body''s bizarre behavior, Makhar couldn''t wait for the soon-to-come ''qualitative changes''. At least though, the majority of his wounds had healed up, as this was a recurring occurrence after he had eaten a hearty meal, only the elf''s silver sword had remained encased inside his shell, making the area around it all itchy.


    Pressed by his weird suffering, Makhar chose to let the system get a hold of his situation. Hoping he would tell him a bit more.


    Truth be told to a certain degree he knew what was happening to his body, and approximately how to proceed thanks to his egg data bank, which had briefed him of the matters of this reality before his official birth.


    Yet, on such an important topic, he could not be entirely reliant on some vague memories.


    As many had experienced before him, this feeling of fullness indicated that his body was getting ready to experience a metamorphosis. From what he knew, he now needed to consume and store inside his body a great quantity of metallic material, be them either ores, pure refined metals, or more complex alloys. The more he endured the feeling of fullness while absorbing materials, the stronger he would become once finished his transformation.


    "I consent to the system''s prying."


    The heavy, metallic voice of the system, strangely, changed its intonation, seeming happy, less robotic, and more clear but for a split second, before coming back to normal.


    [Permission has been granted. Initiating a profound analysis of Host''s material body.]


    ...


    "Stop! Stop it you little mongrel! I dare you to continue, stop it NOW!"


    An angry little elk came out of his hiding, looking with a profound grimace at the remains of one of his tents. What a disaster! Ol'' Mitch would not let the wretched creature continue on his rampage, he had to survive on this planet for another 2 years after all!


    Looking at young Makhar, he had t admit that he had indeed proved his worth during the past two weeks, just by looking at his battle-scarred appearance he knew the alien had killed more than one worthy foe. Especially the blade stuck on his shell, it was of elven craftsmanship, even if not of elven nobility because of its unsophisticated patterns and lack of inscriptions, beating even a scout was no small feat for a youngling like him.


    Either way, the old greenie knew why the pest was annoying him like so. It had come to reclaim the antenna, but this was not their accord, Makhr was overdue by a whole week, and his core was simply saturated, it had not yet transitioned to the first tier. How to accomplish the transition changed for each individual, and he couldn''t certainly know how an ''Ancient'' would do so. These freaks of nature, he wanted them as far as possible from him.


    ''Damn Mark, making me do this kind of work. He did because he knew I wouldn''t let him down, but still, it''s so unfair. I could already be relaxing with my family on Terron, yet here I am, waiting for this monster to either blow up this planet or die trying.''


    "Ol'' Mitch, stop being so grumpy, your tents'' metallic supports are of fine quality, I can vouch for them, that''s good stuff."


    The soft, high pitced voice that Makhar just impersonated dangerously appeared as a red flag at the eyes of ol'' MItch. He might as well have been a rough mercenar, but even he, had his limits, a fundamental code he did not dare to cross.


    "Shut up! You''re creeping me out, you''ve taken a little girl now? Nah! I don''t bargain with monsters, I kill them."


    Saying so, ol''Mitch''s expression suddenly darkened, as a pair of twin, jet-black, axes appeared on his hands vibrating with dangerous energy. As well as a pristine silver armor, sporting a crimson plume on top of his helmet. A manacing oppressive aura encompassed the old elk, making him appear much more dangerous than what Makhar initially thought.


    The little elk was definitely no joke, yet again it wasn''t much of a surprise, as the small greenskin was an official member of Dominus Mark''s crew, as one of the most dangerous criminals known throughout the universe, he was none other than the perpetrator of ''that'' particular incident, every human dreaded to talk about.


    The mad explorer, humanity''s worse calamity, a murderous rage that everyone tried to avoid to the best of their capabilities, that man, he was utterly mad.


    "Enough with this, Mitch, my friend. You have guided him well for now, but it is time for you to let go of the bone and give Makhar the antenna I made for him."


    Suddenly a crack in space appeared in front of the small greenskin. A direct rupture through space wasn''t something one would normally witness, a rare phenomenon of almost impossible reproducibility.


    Through the dark passage, a medium-sized man came out of the portal,


    grasping a dark, claw-shaped scepter with his right hand, while a closed golden book on the other. A big pair of crimson goggles rested on his nose, while a plethora of grey metallic cables come out of his back, some attached to his strange backpack, while others came out of his deep hood, hanging down his face like dreadlocks.


    As he hopped down the rift and his boots touched ground, loud tremors shook the earth, and deep prints of the man''s passage were left as marks of his terrible power.


    "Now give it to me Mitch, then you can go back to your little antics and funny dramas."


    Indicating for the elk to pass him the artifact with his hand, the mad explorer did not have to wait much to receive what he wanted. Although, seeing his friend''s floppy ears all down, all mortified didn''t sit well with his old aching heart.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "I know my friend, you greenskins follow your instincts more than anything else, and it is fine. After I''m done with Makhar I will let you back on Terron for a month-long vacation, the little one will be busy elsewhere for a while anyway."


    Seeing a smile creeping back on the elk''s face, Mark felt more at peace.


    "I didn''t kill her though, you got all fired up for nothing. Dementia is taking the best of you Ol'' MItch."


    Speaking with Ken''s voice, Makhar managed to pique Mark''s curiosity.


    "Then what happened to her in the end, seeing no little girl around you, I imagine you went your separate ways. But this forest is not the safest place for children to wander around."


    "We became allies! We... killed her uncle together! He was one of the best meals I''ve gotten so far, even uncooked!"


    "You Bastard! Devious devil, of course, she''s not with you! Else she would have become your next meal! I''m going to find the girl."


    Without second thoughts, Mitch darted away, as every second counted to find the girl still breathing and not dismembered inside the belly of a beast.


    Yet he was flapping his legs for naught, as suspended mid-air, he was slowly drifting inside Mark''s wormhole.


    "I told you, his dementia must have gotten worse, I would run a check on him if I was you. The little girl is strong and will manage on her own, you have my word."


    "If you say so, I believe you. Anyway, don''t worry about Mitch, I''ll talk to him, or either way I''ll make Olga come in his stead.


    I see you''ve done good progress on your core, but it won''t be enough. I''ve managed to examine a few intact bodies from your species and to complete even your first metamorphosis, it won''t be easy. I mean, you could try it even now but with poor results, definitely not worthy of your royal lineage.


    Biologically speaking, your simple existence is a miracle, and not only because your egg managed to remain well preserved all these years, but even now, you shouldn''t be capable of complex thoughts. Maybe you know what you''re missing the most right now but I''m not sure about the amount of information your egg''s data bank provided you."


    "I''m fairly surprised about how much you know about us, but maybe, at this point, I shouldn''t be. Yes, I know about the thing my body needs the most right now, I''m missing my heart, which is not to be confused with my normal heart, which is nothing more than a pump for my blood to flow properly.


    What I need is a ''Black heart'', an improved version of my normal heart. Sadly in the data bank, there was not any information regarding the method to acquire such a thing."


    "Your ancestor certainly wished for you to struggle, but is not like can''t understand them, as considering your kin''s history, it might have been best dying through more natural means in case you would have not been up or the task.


    But still, they could not have foreseen neither my help nor the existence of the Sys-"


    "Do not belittle my conviction human, this is my lifelong mission a burden I embrace with pride, and won''t cower from."


    "Young Arch''Sazar, sadly I know the macabre heritage your people left for you, to a deeper level than yours. I have spent hundreds of years, searching and unraveling your kin''s secrets, and even I have to admit my knowledge is still quite limited.


    Son of Morne, trust me that I am not considering you weak by any means."


    Hearing his father''s name, Makhar couldn''t but tear up, as a small solidified cristal popped out of the face encased in his shell, stopping by the sword before falling on the ground with a thud.


    How could it be that a stranger knew more about his kin than himself, how pitiful.


    "Mark the human, I know you mean me no harm, on the contrary, you''ve been of great help till this point, but I know you have a hidden agenda, and I''m simply one of the gears you need to be put in motion. How can I trust you, how can I be sure that by following your advice I won''t end up as one of your puppets?"


    "I indeed have plans for you. No, it''s more accurate to say I have one, big yet simple plan regarding you and the rise of your people. However is definitely not for what you are thinking, you don''t know me yet well enough.


    Even so, you should know I have no interest in keeping a group of dumb pawns under my reins, you saw Ol'' Mitch, he might be a little foolish, but by no means has he lost his spirit. He''s still a kind-hearted, jolly free spirit, as he was many years ago.


    Sadly, he does not agree with my vision for the future, well who would?"


    As the madman kept going with his monologue the sky suddenly darkened, as the explorer''s aura grew thicker.


    "Makhar, I want to see this universe burn, I wish to see ''them'' eternally suffer, blinded by pure agony. My only purpose and reason to live is to witness ''their'' death and rebirth so that I can kill them again, again, and forever.


    But I alone am not enough and need you, and your boundless potential to break the ice for me. For a fact I know you will seek revenge as I do, now go.


    The observer system brought me enough time already, here is the antenna, take it to the dark maw. The dungeon is tailor-made for you, still very dangerous though, it might cost you your life if you''re not careful.


    But seeing you up close like this, I''m sure it hasn''t been a walk so far either. Fare well, young Makhar, the last Arch''Sazar."


    [Host is being forced inside a spacial rift. Host is entering the dark maw.]


    ...


    Outer space, the sideral void above planet Gaia. Mark stood motionless in a sitting position, his body stood still, static, absent of any kind of movement or kinetic energy of sorts.


    Suddenly a huge battleship, the size of a continent materialized in front of him. It had probably just performed an intergalactic jump. It had to be them, they had followed his trail till here, but it was fine, he knew they were coming and was prepared for it.


    It was not the first time, for Mark, to witness a forger in the flesh. Not many humans could boast such an achievement, and yet seeing their magnificent figure, all he could feel was disgust.


    The alien stood firm, three meters in height, with its bare, pale blue skin exposed to the darkness of space, which seemed to not irritate the strange being the least as if it was its natural habitat.


    A pair of blue pointed tails wriggled out of their body, wildly dancing in the void, as well as a pair of transparent, long horns spiked out of their shoulders. Otherwise, their general shape was that of a human female.


    "I am here to greet you human, show some courtesy at the very least."


    "You... You are the being I hate the most throughout this whole universe, the last thing I would like to do is have this very conversation. But very well, I might as well let you flap your mouth for a little bit, since you can do it even in space I might as well pry your secrets open."


    "What an insolent specimen you are. But since the higher-ups want me to at least try, I will do what is necessary, or what they want me to.


    Mark the human, stop both your little experiment and your senseless revenge, and both we, the Star Forgers, and the IHU will stop our attempts to take the lives of both you and your crew. Eventually, if you''ll keep good conduct for the next few years, we''ll even release your daughter. What do you say?"


    "I say, you must be even more mad than I am! This is ridiculous as if that ''thing'' you''d give me back would even be my daughter anymore. To hell with you and IHU, you do not regret the least what you''ve done to me, all you care about is to save your assets from my wrath!"


    "Very well human, you''ve chosen violence in the end, as if we didn''t have enough problems already. You ungrateful lots, if not for our legions the Abyss would have swallowed this universe whole already!


    For what, because I killed your little mate you are putting at risk countless lives!"


    "Malori, you wouldn''t understand what it feels like to lose your other half and remain the only one to keep their memory alive in this wretched world. You forgers, you don''t keep your mates for life, the bonds you have are not as strong, you cannot experience true love!


    But even if you could not understand you shouldn''t have taken her away from me!"


    His rage exploding in a wave of raw psychic power, obliged the tall alien to a hasty retreat, even if she could escape unscathed from his power, the precious ship the IHU lent them would certainly not.


    ''And damn this accursed System, how could it take their side? Does it consider ours to be weaker?! Shouldn''t it be the most advanced life form in this entire universe?''


    "Wait, human... Not good!"


    ...

 Chapter 10 - The dark maw - Outskirts

    The dark sidereal void, a distant planet below and broken peaches of what had been one of humanity proud vessels now laid bare on the frigid darkness of space.


    Manfrid had never been one for words, and now more than ever he would be silenced forever on.


    Staring through the dead man''s rigid pupils, a slight sigh escaped Mark''s dry lips.


    "I find no pleasure in doing this, you know, then why you may be asking right?"


    A pained expression on his face, he held what seemed like an antique of an era bygone, a picture locket. Two blurry figures the men held dear till the end, his wife and daughter, those very people he lost and would never get back.


    But then a cruel smile curled up, smirking through pure malincholy.


    "The pain, tearing you apart more each day you pass alone without them, it grows, and it peaks till a certain point, when your whole world shatters, crumbling into dust.


    But after that, as long as you don''t give up, it slowly molds your despiration into madness.


    And I do, I revel in my madness, this depravity, it keeps my gears spinning.


    So please, do not pity me, but stop looking for guilt from my poor soul either, because I feel none."


    His smile broadened, as he closed up the man''s pendant, through psichich powers a dark aura enveloped his being, as the mad explorer flew up to a particular section of the wrecked ship.


    "Wretched human! You dare to walk the path of darkness!


    They will come for you, and your death will never come, only agony an- "


    A blue skinned humanoid stood motionless under a metallic flight of stairs, damaged by some kind of impact.


    Interrupting the forger'' squeaks of anger, his right hand convulsed, as power surged from his very being it coiled around his skin, a dark red hue stretched around his fingers as Mark''s terrifying grip closed on the forgers mouth.


    "You thought I was weak, and helpless didn''t you? That cornered to this extent I wouldn''t be able to bite back, right?


    Well, you guessed wrong, your loss!"


    The rad taint of madness radiating from his hand intensified as his victim writhed in pain, trying to free themselves from the madman deadly grasp, but all was in vain.


    "Shh! Quiet little one, stop your struggle and I''ll snuff out your suffering way quicker."


    The celestial through his pristine blue eyes couldn''t but admit defeat, an arrogant lot they were, but still valued their honor and dignity to the bone.


    ''Than so be it, I won''t beg for the mercy that won''t come, nor make a fool out of myself.''


    The quick change of demeanour didn''t go unnoticed, as Mark clicked his tongue in annoyance. Not that it could actually be heard for that matter.


    More power surged through his pitch black veins, as the grip of madness now engulfed the pale blue alien in soft yellow flames.


    Yet this time screams of agony reverberated through the void, as if perpetrated by space itself, they lasted till the defiled corpse of the forger became nothing but charred ash floating through space.


    Seeing Olga''s worried expression, Mark''s eerie smile widened up a notch.


    "You knew this would happen, didn''t I warn you about me? I''m completely crazy, a deranged man clinging to centuries of deep resentment.


    Get away from me, leave the crew and save at least yourself from this chaos."


    His inhuman laughter then kept on growing, only to be Interrupted by Olga''s slender arms, embracing the lunatic in a heart-felt hug.


    "You''re not crazy, you''re a broken man that needs to be pieced back together."


    "You think so?"


    "Mark, I think I''ve known you long enough, and I am certain you never hurt those you truly care about.


    On the other hand, you''ve always made sure to put our safety even before your own. Look, even know your fighting by yourself, not putting the crew in danger. That''s the Captain I know and trust, that much yes, I am sure."


    Olga''s soothing speech had its impact, noticeably calming Mark''s rage down.


    Yet dark thoughts never left the man free.


    '' You know she''s wrong, stop deluding yourself, you''ll never be free. This Is our burden, not theirs, and thus we must do things our way!


    Their help would only slow us down, right?''


    ...


    Then, back on the dark, metallic corridors of the ark, Mark kept on pacing toward his room, the captain''s room. There he clenched Manfrid''s keepsake, while glancing at a pile of such things, the only scapegote to his agony, redemption.


    Yet still, even that couldn''t cull the taint of madness. Smiling, and laughing, suffering and crying on the desolate cabin, of the star cruiser, Dominus Mark knew it better than anybody else.


    "You''re wrong Olga, not even a fragment of that man you once knew still remains. I am crazy, I am a madman, but there is one thing I will obtain at any cost, no matter what. Revenge. "


    About the same time, on the stone cold, white marble floor of a splendid Palace, blood dyed it dark red as an alien figure appeared in the middle of this splendid Hall.


    Exquisite golden motives, elaborate paintings and even large colored windows deeply contrasted with Maloria''s pitiful state.


    Sticking out like a sore thumb, she began lashing out at the small crowd of forgers that now circled around her inquiring the sorry state she was in.


    "Get me a them medic you retards! Damned fools, can''t you see I''m still bleeding?


    I won''t give you anything to gossip about anyway, you either help me or get on with your business! That''s an order not a suggestion!"


    "Another defeat I heard sister, not looking good either, are you?"


    Gritting her teeth, Maloria refrained from the urge to get up and kick her stupid brother''s ass, causing a scene here and now would only spell trouble for her, and that would mean dancing on the palm of this moron.


    "Dane, my brother, shouldn''t you be most worried about my health rather than mocking my battered appearance?


    Am I not a valiant warrior of our people, wounded by the wickedness of our enemies? "


    Yet instead, disgust and ridicule were the emotions visible on the young Aalari, even incredulity.


    "Even thinking of you as a sibling disgusts me at this point. You lost... to a human?


    Pathetic, I bet even I would beat you in a duel at this point. Ridiculous, I guess you do take after our eldest brother, a disgrace..."


    "You have gone too far this time, you dare to speak to speak ill of Raykielt, but be warned I have my limits!"


    The sky quaked, the ground trembled, as Maloria got up from her crouched position unleashing the fury of her powers to the onlookers.


    She was about to show her younger brother why their race had such a fearsome reputation throughout the universe.


    All of a sudden, the space around Dane changed, his vision blurred as he was now standing inside a seemingly infinite hall, even more so than the main hall of the royal Palace of River¨¨, back in his home world Th¨¨mare.


    His body was hurting all over, the atmosphere was absolutely bone chilling, which was an entirely new experience for the young aalari. Their species was quite gifted in body thermoregulation, many never felt this much cold their entire life.


    Dane new what the cause of it all was, his soul was being affected directly, rather than his physical body.


    Sitting aloof, on a white crystal, frozen trone was Maloria, exuding almost tangible unbrled fury.


    She knew that this wasn''t much like her, her little brother could still be seen as an infant for aalari''s standards, he couldn''t possibly understand. He could have gone insulting her all day, she didn''t care, but not Raykielt.


    Dane couldn''t speak, nor move at all for that matter, the cold penetrated deep into his flesh, not letting him chances.


    He tried with all his might, he wanted to prove hiw weak Maloria was, that aunt Kassie let her into the higher circle only because of pity, to show mercy towards the old royalty.


    Finally he moved, one leg after the other, slowly stepping over to the frozen throne. Yet the cold had not subsided at all, even intensifying.


    "I thought you had at least something to back up your girth, how deluding, at your age I would have already defeated my first two trials. Yet I see you have yet to start walking the path."


    The icy gaze of Maloria''s blue eyes, sent a chill down his spine, as he started running towards her, his legs spinning but without any input by hist part.


    "Blue conduit..."


    It was an advanced form of stream manipulation that enabled an individual control over their victims. A dreadful ability only the most capable individuals of their species possessed.


    It was so feared because said control was absolute. One could even manipulate the mind of their victim to make them forget about their puppet state each time they discovered of it.


    Yet the most able masters would not even make you doubt of the wickedness in the first place. It was silent, and rarely missed the mark.


    Coming just under the throne, Dane started slamming his head on the ice pavement of the frozen palace, hot blood trickling down his forehead.


    As he kept excusing himself each time his head hit the ground, screaming in pain.


    "I am sorry! I beg for forgiveness!"


    The torture kept going, even as he blacked out, the torturer could just bring him back, a puttet was a puppet for a reason.


    ''An intruder... Have I gone too far?''


    "Maloria that''s enough, he''s young, discipline must be brought in the right doses, too much and it''ll transform into resentment."


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    As the the slender figure of her superior entered the room, the mirage of the frozen hall slowly dissipated, bringing them back to River¨¨. The crowd of onlookers gone, only the three of them remained in the silent, beautiful hall.


    "You two go get yourself treated, then come back for a detailed report, I''ll wait for you on our favourite saloon in the right wing."


    As quickly as she came, she was about to depart, inflexible and emotionless as ever.


    "Yes councilor! It will be done."


    Mamoria had never like the high council, their members lacked the more vivid personality of the younger generation.


    Most of them usually appeared very aphatic, still trapped in their past, clinging to an era long gone.


    Annoyed, she quickly grabbed Dane''s motionless body and headed toward the Palace infirmary.


    ...


    Sitting on the soft, red cushion of a wooden chair, Maloria crossed her slender legs, waiting for Councelor Kassie to come back from the dining section of the saloon.


    Wide windows gave out a great view of River¨¨, an Important capitol of the aalari in one of their founding worlds Th¨¨mare. White pristine buildings surrounded the Palace, which was probably built up a hill in the centering the city.


    Birds sang, as a chilly breeze slid through the open French doors which gave way to a wide balcony.


    Her twin tails swirled, as she observed the intricate paintings of the rooms, ritmically tapping her sharp nails on to the dark mogany table.


    "Made me wait long enough."


    "A privilege of the strong dear."


    "Fair enough, take your time enjoy your meal then. I''ll be out for a stroll."


    "Hush child, go on tell me. How did you lose to a human, no even more you lost the entirety of the IHU research vessel and the other two aalari I sent down there with you.


    You better explain yourself young one, or it won''t end with a simple reprimand, I''ll make sure you''ll keep good company to the miners in Ganov-74. They''ll be more then happy to have one more good pair of arms."


    A deeply troubled expression betrayed Kassie that something must have really happened down there. Maloria was exuding some sense of discomfort, even fear in ricollecting her most recent fight with the human.


    "It was... very much unexpected, what happened there was something beyond my capabilities could handle, I doubt even you could have done anything there. Probably not even my teacher could..."


    It was hard to believe a danger of such scale could have been cause by Mark the human. As a danger as he might have been, Maloria herself was a powerhouse, walking the eighth tier of the path as an astral sorcerer.


    If confronted with humanity most fearsome warriors, she had to be on par with the five conquerors, humanity''s peaks. Coupled with another two aalari, even if weaker, and the IVS-42, a research cruiser of the IHU.


    A well armed vessel ready to defend against the many unknowns of space while the crew researched, and studied whatever did catch their eyes.


    It had to be something else, Lassie refused to believe a human alone could be so fearsome, not that she was underestimating her enemies, but it was simply not possible.


    The human soul had its limitations, and could support human walkers only till a certain point. Usually a human walking the seventh was quite rare, one reaching the eighth was a miracle. Such miracles were called conquerors, the absolute dominators of the human species.


    Well, truth be told, there were a few exceptions other than them, but calling them still ''humans'' would be a stretch.


    Thus even if Mark turned out to be such an exception, he would at best be on par with Maloria. That, of course, in paper. Combat was chaotic and unpredictable, one path level higher than your enemy wouldn''t always spell victory for you.


    Still it couldn''t explain such a crushing defeat.


    "He... H-He brought one of ''them'' with him. At first I was worried, because of the human''s strong psichich fluctuations I worried he intended to ruin the ship before escaping the scene.


    So I called over the other two envoys to keep him busy while I set up a better barrier for the humans.


    Yet all the accumulated power was needed to create a portal deep into space."


    The proud aalari felt ashamed, sullen, she exhaled a tired sigh.


    "I should have charged straight at the enemy, as I usually do, I could have easily overpowered him with the other two. But, I think I thought he could have had some of his weird artifacts and thus played it a bit more safer...


    I don''t really know why councilor, this is not like me.


    Then I saw him. One of the first walkers simply stepped out of the portal. A being that defies reality itself, I couldn''t do anything but eacape, escape and save myself from a horrible faith. I-I had no other choice..."


    Incredule of such peace of information, Kassie gasped in horror. Such beings never involved themselves in the matters of mere mortals, gods walking the material plain was something unheard of. Yet it happened, this elevated the importance of this matter, much, much higher than the council had initially thought.


    Soon enough, the old councilor resumed her stoic expression, pressing young Maloria to finish her report.


    "So, who was it?"


    "I''m sure was Lyeiran the walker of space, visage of exploration and mask of knowledge.


    Ina split second before activating my emergency protocols to escape, I saw the purple star of Xereu, his signature move.


    A dense, death star of stream energy that engulfed everything around it, bending space to unimaginable degrees.


    I-I-m sorry but I don''t have any more information. If you''d excuse me, I would like to have a meet with my mentor."


    A true aalari indeed, she had kept an impassable vail all along since her return, while being quite shaked inside. Slowly coming to terms with reality, while calmly assessing the situation. They trained her well, not many youngsters would have been as capable these days.


    "I see... It seems like your instincts kept you alive this time around, Princess. Have you been as close to the ancient one as the other two, you wouldn''t be here talking to me right now. I guess you won''t be seeing the mines any time soon.


    Still, be ready, we will be assigning you a new mission in a couple of days. Take care."


    "Understood councilor, I''ll be taking my leave if you will."


    "Wait!"


    "What now?"


    "I have just received a hold message, it''s about your younger brother, he has started his first trial..."


    "But, he wasn''t ready yet...This dungeon is too dangerous for someone that has yet to walk his path."


    It was in fact, tradition for the parents of young alaari to chose for their children their first trial, a dungeon offered by the system which would later chose the children''s role in society later in life.


    Of course usually, the harder the dungeon, the higher their prestige and future position. Yet more challenging dungeons meant a higher risk of failure and even death.


    Those that missed their marks, because to scared to fulfill their destiny, or came back as failures would not seen fit to take part in society and rejected, enslaved to waste the rest of their lives into hard manual labor.


    This barbaric, ancient organisation was often looked down about by the other sentient species. Yet guided by extremely old, ancient individuals, the aalari had still kept some of their traditions spanning back eons passed.


    ...


    "Can you stop it? Stop it I said damn you! Stop or I''m gonna beat you up real good all right? Can''t say I didn''t warn you later!"


    "..."


    "Ouch! Dang you''re tough!"


    "Crunch-Crunch-Crunch-Crunch"


    "Stop eating our damn cell you stupid, mundless beast!"


    "Shut it will you? It does not care about you, me or whatever they''ll have a headache replacing all the metal it has eaten from the cell.


    It''s shell is also extremely hard, many times over your scrawny human hands, little girl."


    "I am not a little girl all right, as a matter of fact, I''m almost eighteen. An adult, a big one, got it? Blue man?"


    "My name is Dane, and I''m not a blue man, but a proud aalari. Also, to me you are pretty much an infant, as I am a couple centuries old already. Have some respect respect for your elders."


    "A weird alien, I get it. You can call me Brit, the scrawny little monkey is Trevor, my travelling companion. The serious dude sitting on the corner has yet to talk, with the weird bug eating the room we are down one more member for the party.


    A saw them forming teams of six, taking them out to work in the ''fields'', whatever that means."


    Long, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, a couple of round sunglasses, brown shorts and a white t-shirt. Brit was sporting a big smile and an easygoing attitude, while still massaging her right hook now enveloped in redness.


    Near her was sitting a small chimp holding some kind of energy gun on his right hand, he was curiously looking around the underground cell complex they were being held captive.


    "This bars had quite the flavour I must admit, not bad indeed. But barely quenched my appetite... ''


    "Hey there little Trevor, would you mind passing your beautiful gun to the big bug over there?


    He told me he''s pretty passionate about fancy guns like yours! Would you mind?"


    "Hey! I didn''t say that!"


    "Thank you little Trevor! Once we get back I''ll reward you with some sweets!"


    "Give it back!"


    Brit frantically run towards Makhar and her friend chimpanzee, only to find the laser gun being digested by Makhar and his Insatiable hunger.

 Chapter 11 - The dark Maw - Outskirts Pt. 2

    "Hey! That wasn''t very nice at all you know? Also, you''re quite the creep."


    "Am I? Even so, does it matter? "


    A little stunned by Makhar''s perfect imitation of her voice, Brit couldn''t do anything but grunt in disapproval.


    "Fine! Keep chewing on anything you want, but give Trevor his gun back, he''s very attached to it."


    Yet, no response came back, as Makhar kept on chewing the metallic walls of the cell.


    His desire and hunger ever growing.


    His ravenous hunger wasn''t all for naught, as he did grow quite noticeably, reaching about a meter and a half in height, which, in comparison to a normal human wasn''t small at all, given that Makhar standing parallel to the ground was more long than tall.


    His exoskeleton, also, got much harder and started taking some shade of gray. The sword embedded on his back was also being slowly integrated into his body, as now only the hilt remained visible from the outside.


    Seeing no chance of his favorite toy coming back, Trevor walked to a corner of the cell, disheartened as Brit followed him, promising a new one as soon as she could.


    Dane kept observing Malhar with a watchful eye, not trusting such a weird alien in the slightest.


    While a little conscious over one more taciturn guest that had yet to present itself. Dark red skin, no hair, and a pair of pointy ears, hayati, a rare elven variant.


    Looking at him the elf''s pitch-black eyes locket his back, a deadly stare that would have intimidated most. Yet he knew the strong point of their species was their cunnings, they were more brain than brawn, preferring traps and tricks rather than direct confrontations.


    Unknown to all but Makhar, another individual was hiding in the cell, camouflaged, sticking to the dark metallic surface of the cell''s roof.


    "I know you can see me or rather perceive my presence."


    "And? If you wanted yourself to be seen you could have just dropped your camouflage.


    I don''t care, I''ve got my meal to think about."


    Makhar''s indifferent cold voice responded to the inquisitive alien.


    His build was quite different than most beings Makhar had seen till now. Even if humanoid in general shape, his head was particularly elongated and flaccid, like that of an octopus, as even various barbs and tentacles come down from when his mouth should have been.


    His skin tone was porcelain white, while fluorescent blue veins streaked from below, weirdly pulsating with rhythm.


    He had a pair of bright red eyes, while his general corporature assumed to be quite muscular, as the alien stood about two meters tall.


    He dressed a long black coat which started with a crown of spikes that surrounded his neck. His forehead was also adorned with a silver tiara containing a deep red gem in the middle.


    On his hip was also hanging a long sword made out of a transparent material similar to glass, yet hopefully, surely much more resistant.


    What made it even more bizarre was his posture, the alien sat on the roof with his legs crossed, just as if he were in a chair.


    "Always cold and indifferent, only about your business. We haven''t seen one of your kind in a very long time, Arch''Sazar."


    Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the prison cell started shifting, as Makhar started emanating an aura of danger all around, readying himself for combat.


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    Without much consideration he suddenly left forward, too fast something carrying such mass, charging the invisible foe with his remaining claw.


    A sudden ring of metal colliding echoed through the dark cell. The stranger had responded in a timely fashion with a quick draw of his sword.


    Makhar wasn''t about for any compromise, while holding down the sword with his scythe claw, directly battered the foe with fury, not caring about injuries.


    Shielding himself with his sturdy arms, the alien prepared himself for the impact. Hitting the wall at such speed would have been a problem for many, yet his peculiar body had no such problem tanking the hit.


    The squid-man''s flesh could, in fact, change their density, becoming softer in the area around the impact, while harder on the opposite side.


    As such, the alien had hardened his arms and legs facing Makhar''s fury, while softening his back which he knew would have it the wall.


    Of course, everything happened with incredible speed, highlighting the Alien''s prompt reaction.


    Yet as soon as that, Makhar''s metallic gray claw came down clenching on the Alien''s torso, as he barely managed to change its course.


    Dark blue blood dropped on the floor, as a few of the alien''s barbs were receded by the deadly scythe claw, now squirming on the ground like worms before the hook.


    Angry for his recent loss, the stranger''s psychic fluctuations suddenly peaked, as a dark wave of power heavily pressed against Makhar''s exoskeleton in all directions, threatening to squeeze him like a can of soda.


    Seeing cracks forming all over his shell, bleeding all over, and groaning in pain, the alien already anticipated the sweet taste of victory.


    "Your fame does not give you justice at all, you''re much weaker than I thought. Now if you will, die."


    However, his sense of superiority would soon fade, as a weird feeling of foreboding warned him of danger. Without thinking twice, the alien sprinted out of the way with all his mind, only to find himself slammed down against Makhar''s immovable shell.


    Only now came the realization of the vicious attack he had just been subjected to.


    Broken doll''s mind attack managed to confuse his mind, as he saw Makhar utterly defeated under his psychic compression. Yet it had only managed to stun him for a split second before he could adjust to the sudden increase in pressure.


    At this point, Makhar''s shell had integrated a good percentage of metals and couldn''t be underestimated. Also, the strange scriptures chiseled onto his shell conferred him high resistance to energy attacks.


    As he was about to deliver a fatal attack to his new victim, the alien''s body suddenly turned to fine grains of dust.


    Coming from behind, a quick, heavy trust of the alien glass sword unexpectedly pierced Makhar''s shell.


    A trickle of blood came down his new wound. The sword did not manage to reach much deeper, as Makhar was already on the enemy''s tail.


    "Enough! You two stop it right now, it''s an order!"


    A long, blue crystalline spear suddenly materialized on Dane''s right hand, declaring his intent to stop the duo''s crude fight.


    Yet none of the two seemed to care in the slightest, as they kept ramming into each other without care.


    Only a few seconds later heavy steps echoed through the corridor, even silencing all the other cells.


    The duo finally stopped, looking at each other with animosity. Makhar first broke their rigid stance.


    "We''ll keep it going later squid face. You can call me Makhar."


    "Sure, this is Damon. Not much a pleasure to meet you, you deranged animal, we could have talked it out."


    "Empty threats are not good conversation starters."


    "Shush it, the head goblin is coming our way, you two keep it quiet."


    As if confronted with a lower life form, the duo ignored Dane''s pleas for the second time. Damon straight up vanished from sight, while Makhar resumed his much more important meal.


    A small laugh escaped Brit''s lips as she tried to restrain herself from bursting into laugh. The young aalari was in fact, fuming with anger, not used to negative answers with the exception being his sister.


    Yet, even if Aalari matured much more slowly than humans, and so Dane was definitely not the epitome of wisdom, he was still centuries old and could avoid such free trouble.


    A crooked, old goblin, sporting a small pair of round glasses and a wooden cane to help him carry his weight around just stopped in front of their cell, scrutinizing the insides with deep curiosity, his old, long curved nose almost peeking through the bars.


    "Barely a day has passed since your group was assigned to this cell, unbelievable..."


    "It''s the big, bad bug''s fault for being such a mischief. Give it some deserved punishment!"


    "Try me."


    Still bickering, the dynamic duo made themselves known, as Damon suddenly appeared a few inches from the goblin, denouncing Makhar''s previous actions.


    Speaking of which, he didn''t hesitate to resume his gluttonous endeavor.


    "Crazy"


    Still mocking his newfound rival, Damon took his face down to the goblin''s level, observing him with caution and interest before disappearing from view.


    "Right... We get a couple of teams of ''special'' individuals like yourselves.


    Weird abilities, stronger than average, a little off with their sanity, you must have chosen the dark maw as either your first or second trial.


    Well then, I welcome you among Grom-Uruk''s tenth military regiment.


    We''re always in need of fresh blood!"