《Chimera Rising: Beast King Ascension [How a human-turned-lion went from Zero to Absolute Ruler]》 Chapter 1: Vaporised into Particles A lion was eating his guts. A lion was eating his guts. While he was still alive! Dominic¡¯s eyes fell on his phone. It had clearly been knocked out of his hand when the lion had jumped him from behind and knocked his head against a rock. The cracked, black screen was rather symbolic of his life right now: without hope. If he¡¯d thought it would help at all, he¡¯d grab the thing, but the battery had been completely dead even before all of this. That, plus breaking down in a remote part of the Kruger Game Reserve were the main reasons he was currently being eaten alive by a lion. Still half-dazed and more than half out of his mind in agony, Dominic was understandably struggling with the situation. Deliriously, he was distracted by the thought of what the headline would be when his half-eaten corpse was found: Trapped Tourist becomes Roadkill BBQ for Kruger denizens. Maybe he shouldn¡¯t have done exactly what everyone had told him not to do: leave his car in a game reserve full of wild animals. It seemed like a good idea at the time, though, he moaned to himself as excruciating pain ripped through him. Rubbish rental car broken down, no phone, no water, no food¡­ Following the only car he¡¯d seen in hours had seemed like the best decision he could make in a bad situation. Well. He¡¯d skimped on costs in not paying for a guided tour; shame it seemed like he¡¯d be paying more than an arm and leg in the final reckoning. Things seemed bleak, Dominic admitted, but he¡¯d never been a quitter and made a valiant effort to fight back, somehow summoning up the strength to half-pull, half-push himself upwards to a seated position and grab onto the lion¡¯s head. He attempted to wrestle it, to no avail. It might have been a young male, its mane looking like the beard that grows on teenage boys when they first start needing to shave, but it was a good two hundred pounds of solid muscle. He might as well have tried to wrestle with a bear. All his efforts got him was a sudden lunge from the lion towards his throat, the massive feline snarling in threat at its prey¡¯s misbehaviour. The lion¡¯s choking jaws gripped mercilessly around his neck, crushing his windpipe and cutting off his air. Dominic scrabbled at the lion¡¯s face, his fingers searching for anything he could use to avoid his seemingly inevitable death. To no avail ¨C he couldn¡¯t seem to find its eyes, and putting pressure on its jaw didn¡¯t appear to help. As his vision started fading from lack of air, he started hallucinating. The world became black all around, yet there were white words floating in front of him. Dominic looked around, but the words just followed him, remaining stubbornly in front of his vision regardless of what he did. Deciding to humour the hallucination, he read the text. Good thing this is a hallucination, Dominic thought. Otherwise we¡¯d all be screwed. Wait, Dominic said to himself as trepidation started clawing at his belly. Which, incidentally, appeared to be intact. Not that he cared too much about that in the face of this new information. Does that mean this isn¡¯t a hallucination? Or am I hallucinating something telling me it¡¯s not a hallucination? Does that happen? Unable to answer the question, he continued reading. Shortly after, Dominic realised that he could indeed hear music. As he focused, he became increasingly incredulous. ¡°Elevator music?¡± he demanded from no one in particular. ¡°How is that the best tune to play at a time like this?¡± No one responded. He¡¯d hardly expected them to, though it would have been nice. Now he¡¯d read the text, it didn¡¯t appear to be inclined to follow his gaze around the room, and Dominic was able to get a better view of where he was. Or rather, where he wasn¡¯t. And the answer to that was...anywhere. Pure darkness surrounded him. He¡¯d have felt a swoop in his stomach, much like standing on a glass floor several stories up, if he¡¯d been able to see anything beneath his feet. As it was, he appeared to be standing on nothing, with nothing below that, and nothing as far as he could see. It was disorientating to the extreme ¨C he didn¡¯t know how far anything was away from him. Sure, when he looked at himself he could see his whole body, intact and unstained by blood ¨C a tick in the ¡®hallucination¡¯ column for sure, that. When he looked anywhere else except at the words, he couldn¡¯t tell whether he could see a long way into the distance, or whether the darkness was a hair¡¯s breadth from his face. As for the words, they were legible but cast no light, appeared to be floating amid the blackness, and were either very small and right in front of his eyes or massive and far away from him. Or maybe somewhere in the middle. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Dominic warily tried waving his arms in the space in front of him, but he couldn¡¯t seem to touch the text no matter how hard he tried. He couldn¡¯t touch anything. Giving up on making sense of the space made him focus on the words and their implications if this wasn¡¯t a hallucination. But it has to be, right? He remembered the lion, the sensation of having his belly dug into. The agony of being eaten alive. He recalled fighting back and being choked out by the lion¡¯s powerful grip with its jaws. So, either this was a hallucination or there really was an afterlife. Heck, maybe I¡¯m going to be isekai¡¯d or something, Dominic thought with a little excitement, remembering some of his favourite storylines. Just as long as I¡¯m not reincarnated as a rock or a sword or something. That would suck. The time seemed to stretch like honey from a spoon and he found himself resorting to pacing back and forth, his mind going over and over what ifs and maybes. When the text once more affixed itself in his vision, he was relieved. Until he read it, that was. Dominic braced himself for something that didn¡¯t come. He opened his eyes, somehow having automatically closed them, to see that the previous message had been replaced. The new one was even more concerning than the previous. That doesn¡¯t sound good, he thought to himself warily even as the text was wiped away to once more be replaced. It almost felt like someone ¨C or some computer ¨C were having a debate or something similar with itself or someone else. Each line was wiped away only to be replaced by another. Because I died? Or something else? Dominic wondered. Or maybe he hadn¡¯t died. If this was the afterlife, that could be the problem. OK, not what I was guessing, he admitted to himself. What? What?! Dominic barely had enough time to process the words before the world erupted in light and sound. After the blackness of the void, even the faintest light seemed overwhelming. At least the elevator music had stopped, finally. Dominic was unable to process anything more before another stubborn block of text shoved itself in his face. With the last sentence read, the text faded away, leaving Dominic staring at the thin air in front of him in shock. So...it wasn¡¯t a hallucination. Or maybe it was and he was still suffering from it. But...if it wasn¡¯t a hallucination, treating it as if it was one could get him killed. Again. And if it was a hallucination, then treating it like it was real couldn¡¯t hurt. Could it? He shook his head in confusion, suddenly realising as he moved that his body didn¡¯t feel like his. What was that about reconstituting lifeforms? Looking down at his hands, he realised with shock that they weren¡¯t hands any more: they were paws. And as he twisted to look over his shoulder, he realised that the movement was far more fluid and sinuous than he¡¯d ever experienced before. The tawny body stretching behind him and the snake-like tail with a tuft of hair lying limply beyond it told a very particular story. ¡°Oh no,¡± he said, or tried to at least, his words coming out as a low growl instead. ¡°Oh no!¡± Thinking hard, he focused on ¡®status¡¯ until more text appeared in front of him. Under Dominic¡¯s disbelieving eyes, the text faded away to reveal his status. Well, he thought with slightly hysterical humour. At least I¡¯m not a rock. Or dead. Actually¡­inhabiting the body of one of nature¡¯s apex predators might not be the worst thing if this is anything like the apocalypse stories I read¡­ Then again, he wished he hadn¡¯t lost access to his human form to gain it. Or had he? The message had talked about a primary body, not the only one, hadn¡¯t it? And as a growl echoed in his mind, Dominic realised that the distinction might prove to be rather important in a somewhat immediate fashion. Chapter 2: Progress A sense of outrage, desperation, and pure fury hit Dominic. It was a wild beast¡¯s pure insanity at being caged, proof that the lion wasn¡¯t gone. The emotions were so powerful that Dominic feared being swept up in their undertow. Fortunately for him, that¡¯s not what happened. For all that the emotions appeared like a tsunami to Dominic¡¯s senses, when they actually hit him, they were more like a rather strong wave. Something was there which muted them, prevented them from washing his personality away. And in the wave¡¯s weaker ebb, confusion and fear revealed themselves. Clearly, whatever the System had done to identify the ¡®primary¡¯ body and mind was robust enough that even the lion¡¯s desperation wasn¡¯t enough to unseat the human mind from its control. Thankfully for Dominic. Perhaps he should have felt more sympathy for the trapped animal which had found its body usurped. It could have been him, after all, riding as a back-seat passenger to a dumb beast in its own body, or worse, his. But he didn¡¯t. Not much, anyway. The lion had been ripping into his guts not long before, after all. Without the System¡¯s intervention, Dominic would have been dead. Choked to death by the very jaws which he could now control. That it hadn¡¯t happened was pure luck ¨C his good luck; the lion¡¯s bad. Maybe all the bad luck he¡¯d had with waking up late, his car breaking down, and his phone running out of battery, had stored up some good luck to kick in at just the right moment? Whatever the reason, or maybe there was none, the fact was that he now appeared to be a lion, in a new world. A reconstituted world, anyway. One where he could apparently see his status with a single thought. Status of User2546312547895632 / User2546312547895633 Well that¡¯s the first thing that needs to change, Dominic thought, unsatisfied. No way he was putting up with that string of numbers every time he looked at his status page unless he absolutely had to. Change name, he thought at the prompt hanging in the air in front of him. Nothing happened. Change Username. Still nothing. Change user name? He tried leaving a little space between the words in his mind and, wonder of wonders, it worked this time. Aren¡¯t I glad I thought of it, then? Dominic said to himself, relieved. He wondered how many other people wouldn¡¯t think of it and be lumbered with an awkward ¡®name¡¯ like he had. A moment later, the message was wiped away and replaced by another. Dominic Martin Cole, he thought after a moment of weighing up whether or not to put his full name or if he wanted to change it to something edgy. Finally, he decided that he actually wanted to keep a bit of his past, considering he was currently in such an unfamiliar body. Besides, he was familiar with the fact that something ¡®edgy¡¯ and ¡®cool¡¯ in the moment generally ended up embarrassing later. Thinking back to some of his teenage gaming handles still made him colour a little. Well, it would have if this body could blush. XXXDARKNIGHTWOLFASSASSINXXX was probably the worst of them, though he had only been thirteen at the time. Confirm, he thought back at it. Next came another prompt which surprised him, though it probably shouldn¡¯t have. Well, I suppose it makes sense that I¡¯d be able to change both at once, he thought to himself. His first instinct was to just put ¡®lion¡¯, but he decided that he wasn¡¯t walking around with such a bland name on his status screen forever. Equally, he was tempted to put something cutsey like ¡®Mr Cuddles¡¯ or ¡®Hug Muffin¡¯ as a way of giving the finger to the creature which tried to kill him. He checked the impulse after a moment, though ¨C ultimately, the lion wouldn¡¯t get the insult, and Dominic would be the one having to live through seeing it every time he checked his status. In the end, he went for something utterly generic, but just very slightly less boring than ¡®lion¡¯. Only slightly, though. Confirm. On the upside, it matches my star-sign, Dominic thought with a little amusement. He hadn¡¯t realised that the zodiac was quite that literal, though. ¡®Your horoscope today: watch out for other leos, and prepare to get to know them in an amazingly intimate way.¡¯ That done, he actually proceeded to look at the details of his status. Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Progress to Evolution: 0/100 PP Hunger level: 7% Thirst level: 49% Defensive abilities: - Fur level 1 (1-2 slicing/piercing damage reduction, 2-3 crushing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 1 (5-10 slicing damage, 4-7 tearing damage, 1-2 piercing damage) This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. - Bite level 1 (32-50 crushing damage, 27-50 tearing damage, 25-35 piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 1 (max sprint speed 20mps; max sprint duration 10s) (45 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) It was a bit of a mixed bag, Dominic thought as he perused the screen. Clearly, his bite was the most powerful weapon in his toolkit, but that was kind of expected. How little endurance he had was not. Plus, when he did a few mental calculations with the top sprint speed, it wasn¡¯t particularly impressive: around 75kph or approximately 46mph. Well, not impressive relatively speaking: if compared to a human, not even Usain Bolt could achieve anything close to such a pace. But considering cheetahs could reach speeds well above 100kph, a mere 75kph was a poor comparison. Then again, from his little knowledge about lions, they tended to stalk their prey more than chase it down. At least his health points were a good bit better ¨C it would actually take five or more of his bites to kill himself. If damage worked like that, anyway. I wonder what impact those damage types have. If his sole defensive ability was any indication, it was that different damage types could have different effects. Well, I guess I¡¯ll find out sooner rather than later, he thought as he closed the status screen. Not only did he need to start making progress towards evolving, but he could see that he was pretty hungry. It wasn¡¯t really surprising that the lion had attacked him given how hungry it clearly was at the time. That didn¡¯t mean he was going to give it control of its body, though. If he even could. Right. Time to go get me a gazelle or something, Dominic said to himself with determination. He took a confident step forwards...and fell right on his face. Growling in disgust, he rubbed his face with one of his arms...forelegs. What just happened? Moving slowly, he tried to take another step. Immediately it became clear what the problem was. He¡¯d over-extended, putting too much weight forwards and over-balancing. Right. Moving only one foot at a time, he carefully started stepping forwards, monitoring the shifting of his weight and balance. This is so weird, he thought to himself. It was like he was walking on his toes and his fingers, though his fingers were significantly shorter. Then there was the tail. Wretched thing, he thought angrily at the snake-like appendage as it once more set him off balance. While he¡¯d been moving one foot at a time, it hadn¡¯t caused too many issues, but as soon as he¡¯d tried to speed up a little, the blasted limb started swinging of its own accord. How am I going to catch a gazelle ¨C or anything ¨C when I can¡¯t even run, he thought dolefully to himself. The sense of scorn in the back of his mind from the lion wasn¡¯t helping either. Can I even use my claws? Was the next thought. It wasn¡¯t like he was used to extending his fingernails after all. Pushing himself carefully back into a seated position, he lifted one paw into the air and tried to will his claws to unsheathe themselves. To no avail. Sighing, he placed his paw back down to the ground and painstakingly levered himself back into standing on all fours. This isn¡¯t anything like I imagined it to be when I used to play at being Simba, he thought grumpily to himself as he once more practised walking. Slowly. Ten year old him would probably have been ecstatic to find himself in a lion¡¯s body. Twenty-four year old him was simply glad to still be alive. Though that wasn¡¯t a state likely to continue if he didn¡¯t manage to get his body parts under control. Grrr. The sound came from nearby, making him freeze. He turned his head quickly, trying to hear where it came from, or, better yet, see what made it. Grrrr. This time, he managed to narrow it down to a bush. Dominic growled himself, the sound easy to make given the number of times he¡¯d produced it so far today. The growls from the bush picked up in volume and, to his dismay, quantity. When he realised that there were at least four opponents, he seriously thought about being the cowardly lion and running away. Then he considered how poorly that attempt would go based on his recent difficulties in moving, and he dismissed the idea. Maybe I can scare them away? It was probably the best option available to him at the time. He put some more effort into the growls, feeling his lips lift away from his teeth and his ears flatten automatically against his head. The growls from the creatures in the bush also ramped up. Apparently they weren¡¯t scared enough just yet. Deciding to go all in, Dominic took in a big breath and roared. The sound was everything he¡¯d wanted it to be, putting his ten year old self to shame ¨C the last time he¡¯d tried. It felt like his whole body went into producing the loud warning sound. Silence reigned for a moment after his utterance. For a few seconds Dominic hoped that it was sufficient, that the creatures would recognise the true king of the savannah by his roar. Then their growls erupted with renewed zeal and Dominic knew it was a failure. Worse, it seemed like the roar had been accepted as a challenge as the creatures actually went on the attack. Piling out of the bush, Dominic finally got to see what had been threatening him. They were relatively small, not much bigger than a small dog and not something he recognised. But it seemed that, just like small dogs, their size was inversely related to the amount of aggression they brought to bear. And with their sharp teeth obvious, along with the fact that there were already five circling him, it was clear that this wasn¡¯t going to be an easy ¨C or painless ¨C fight. Chapter 3: Prey Points One of the dog-things darted towards Dominic¡¯s front legs and he lifted a paw to swipe at it. Even if the blow had connected, he doubted it would have done much damage because his claws were still sheathed, but that was irrelevant since he missed by a mile. A sharp pain from one of his back legs revealed that the attack to his front had never been intended to connect anyway. The message flashed up briefly before his eyes, but strangely it didn¡¯t distract him. Much. The knowledge seemed to enter his brain even before he¡¯d read the message. There was no time to process it, though ¨C not with these ankle-biters ripping at him. Another dog-thing snapped at one of his forepaws; this time, he ignored it and turned awkwardly towards the one about to bite his back leg again. Snapping at the attacker, his teeth clicked together fruitlessly as he failed to corner the wily creature. In the meantime, the one he¡¯d ignored before when it feinted took advantage of his lack of attention and landed a nasty bite on his front leg. Growling in irritation ¨C literally ¨C he started trying to bite and swipe at the little buggers. They might be only a fraction of his size, but right now they were winning. At the same time, he had to be careful ¨C losing his balance and falling over would be a bad thing here. His tail hurt. A lucky bite to his front paw made blood start to trickle down. One of the dog-things actually jumped and managed to grip onto the loose skin at his throat. The damage wasn¡¯t actually any worse than the previous injuries ¨C less than one of the bites to his back legs, in fact. However, having something gripping onto his throat and not letting go was a panic point for both Dominic and the lion passenger in his mind. Dominic because of his recent experience of being choked out by the very jaws he now controlled; the lion because of a natural instinct which drove it to protect its throat. Panic wiped out thought from his human mind, the influence of both consciousnesses serving to amplify the fear. Dominic truly felt like a cornered animal, and that is when any creature is at its most dangerous. As he stopped thinking and started just reacting, the awkwardness and precariousness left his steps. In their wake, they left sinuous feline fluidity. The dog-things were quick and agile, but in the face of a more powerful creature with just as much speed and agility, they could only fail. Where before Dominic¡¯s teeth had been clicking shut on empty air, now they found hot flesh and blood. As a dog-thing darted forwards, it found his jaws snapping down on its back. Dominic¡¯s leonine canines pierced straight through its weak flesh and his bite pressure crushed its body. Hot blood filled Dominic¡¯s mouth. It should have made his stomach revolt, send nausea through his system; it didn¡¯t. Instead, it made him feel hungry. With renewed vigor, Dominic whirled on the other dog-things, his claws out and teeth bared. It didn¡¯t all go his way ¨C numbers were a power of their own. It turned out that there were in fact seven attackers in total, two more hopping out of the bush when he left that first one bleeding and broken on the ground. Still, the fact was that when they hit him, they left small wounds that trickled blood into his coat; when he got one of them, he either left them severely wounded or dead. By the time he¡¯d bitten three of them almost in half, and swiped another two severely enough with his claws that they were left limping and crying piteously, the two remaining seemed to have had enough. With a strange chirping sound, they turned tail and ran off. The two he¡¯d hit with his claws tried to follow, but they could only limp slowly after their companions. Strolling fluidly over, Dominic gave them the coup de grace in terms of a crushing bite to their necks. Still on high alert, he surveyed the dead or dying dog-things around him, and then looked around his environment, all senses working together to inform him of any further danger. It was when his lips lifted and nose scrunched as he breathed in through his mouth to get a better ¡®taste¡¯ of the air that he realised what he was doing. Coming back fully to ¡®himself¡¯ felt a bit like surfacing from a warm pool into cold air. What happened there? He asked himself with concern. I...merged with the lion somehow? Or maybe ¡®merge¡¯ was too strong a word to use. Perhaps it was more that he¡¯d leaned into the the leonine instincts buried within the mind cohabiting with his own and the body itself. Suddenly, he realised what the issue had been before when he¡¯d been moving: I was overthinking it. This body already knows how to move, how to fight. He¡¯d been unconsciously trying to apply human movements to a distinctly non-humanoid body. When he¡¯d stopped thinking, all that had fallen by the wayside and the leonine instincts had taken over. Looking around at the scene surrounding him now was a different experience from a moment ago. His human mind felt sick at the sight of blood, nauseous at the entrails gleaming wetly in the sun. The stink of blood and other, worse, bodily fluids was clogging his nostrils, his sense of smell significantly better now than it had before. Yet...Dominic found he didn¡¯t care as much as he thought he should. It¡¯s a different world, he justified to himself. I¡¯m different. He¡¯d already accepted the need to kill when he¡¯d planned to hunt down a gazelle. Almost dying once had been more than enough for him; he wasn¡¯t going to allow human morals to interfere with what needed to be done. I¡¯m a lion now, he concluded. Lions kill and eat things so that¡¯s what I need to do. Of course, it helped that these things had been the aggressors ¨C he felt no guilt over their deaths when he knew all too well that they would quite happily have taken him to pieces one small bite at a time. As for the smell of blood...he couldn¡¯t forget how good it had tasted. An inveterate carnivore¡¯s sense of taste was significantly different from an omnivore¡¯s, it appeared. I need to lean into the instincts of the lion, he concluded. But right now, he had other concerns. Status. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Progress to Evolution: 108/100PP Level up Hunger level: 5% Thirst level: 48% Defensive abilities: - Fur level 1 (1-2 slicing/piercing damage reduction, 2-3 crushing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 1 (5-10 slicing damage, 4-7 tearing damage, 1-2 piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 crushing damage, 27-50 tearing damage, 25-35 piercing damage) Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. General abilities: - Muscular Body level 1 (max sprint speed 20mps; max sprint duration 10s) (21/45 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (265/300 HP) A thrill of elation went through him. Apparently each of those things must have been worth between 21 and 22 PP each. Whatever PP are. As soon as he thought it, he realised that he ¡®knew¡¯ the answer: prey points. The name seemed pretty self-explanatory, just like SP (stamina points) and HP (health points). On that note, clearly he¡¯d used a fair bit of stamina in the fight. In fact, based on the fact that he¡¯d gone through more than half of his stamina and less than a sixth of his health, he¡¯d have been more likely to collapse from lack of stamina than die from his health points hitting zero. At least, that¡¯s what Dominic assumed happened with health points otherwise what was the point ¨C pun intended. Actually, was there a way of accessing the notifications that had flashed up during combat? Due to his state of mind, all he¡¯d noted was that he¡¯d caused damage and made kills. But it would be useful information to access the text later. As he thought about it, a series of lines flashed up into his vision with exactly the information he needed. OK, this interface is more intuitive than I¡¯m giving it credit for, he admitted. Although there were only six lines in front of him at any time, scrolling up or down to access the most recent or oldest messages was easy. He did notice, however, that it only seemed to be a damage log ¨C damage taken and damage given. The messages that had come up in the black in-between space weren¡¯t there, nor were any of the System ones since he¡¯d arrived. Still, the damage log was exactly what he needed. He skipped past the litany of damage taken, noting that they were all between 2 and 5, with 3 being the most common injury. Then came a more interesting set of three. Skipping quickly through the rest of the damage log, he saw that he¡¯d caused a varying amount of damage each time, but the total was never below 57 or above 65. The most interesting takeaway was that his damage types were additive. Dominic theorised that the damage potential of his bite was possibly as much as 135 if he maximised piercing, crushing, and tearing. And that was pretty awesome, though he wondered what impact the location of the bite made. If he bit the back leg of something, would he be able to apply as much damage as the maximum? Could biting the back leg kill the creature if it had fewer than 135HP? Or would he only achieve maximum damage if he bit it in a vulnerable spot such as tearing out its throat? All interesting questions to be answered later. However, the most exciting thing was that he could level up! It wasn¡¯t only in his status screen, but also in his notification log. Well, don¡¯t mind if I do, thought Dominic with some excitement. Chapter 4: Consume Before he tried to activate the levelling-up process, Dominic checked himself. The lion in the back of his mind felt wary. Given that he¡¯d just thought that maybe he should lean into the instincts of the lion a bit more, he tried to pay attention to what it was saying. Danger, it seemed to tell him. Competition, was the next feeling. Ah. That¡¯s right ¨C there are loads of scavengers in the savannah, Dominic remembered. Hyenas, wild dogs...just making the kill didn¡¯t guarantee he¡¯d keep it and as a solitary lion without a pride, he had no one to watch his back. I really want to level up, Dominic thought longingly, but I am hungry¡­ Well, he¡¯d be able to level up whenever, right? In no game he¡¯d played or SysApoc book he¡¯d read had the person lost the ability to level up once they¡¯d gained it¡­ OK, it might be an assumption ¨C and everyone knows what those mean ¨C to say that he was safe pushing the level-up to later, but he was willing to take the chance. As it was, the lion mind was fairly definite that he needed to eat quickly. No, not ¡®the lion¡¯ - Leo, he mused even as he moved towards the closest corpse. Trying not to think too much, he leant down and bit into the body. Once more blood filled his mouth, cooler now. The taste was excellent, not dissimilar from the juiciness of a good rare steak, though its actual flavour was quite different. Very toothsome, though, and Dominic found himself ripping at the meat hungrily. Instinct prompted him to place a paw on the body as he used his canines to dig into it and tear pieces off it. Chewing them with his back-teeth, he made quick work of the small corpse. Unlike his human taste-buds, his leonine ones loved the organs. He avoided the guts, not able to get past his human distaste at potentially eating faeces, but happily dug into the heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys. There were a couple of organs of which he had no idea of their function, and he tried not to speculate ¨C he didn¡¯t want to know if he was eating some creature¡¯s dick. Opening his jaws wide, he even managed to fit them around the trodil¡¯s skull, cracking it with his powerful bite. Brain revealed, he munched at it. It was a bit watery, but tasty enough. He was surprised when he bit down on something hard within it. Surprised enough that he swallowed without thinking about it. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Trodil Level 1 Ability: Quick Strike] Interesting¡­Dominic thought. Pulling up his status again, he noted the changes. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Progress to Evolution: 108/100 PP Level up Hunger level: 48% Thirst level: 55% Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike level 1 (5%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 1 (1-2 slicing/piercing damage reduction, 2-3 crushing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 1 (5-10 slicing damage, 4-7 tearing damage, 1-2 piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 crushing damage, 27-50 tearing damage, 25-35 piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 1 (max sprint speed 20mps; max sprint duration 10s) (27/45 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (265/300 HP) First he¡¯d improved his hunger and thirst levels. Hunger, he understood. Thirst was a bit less obvious, but he supposed that he¡¯d gained liquid through the blood and other fluids he¡¯d consumed. The most important factor was the addition of a new category: Acquired Abilities. As he focused his attention on Quick Strike, he realised that he couldn¡¯t get any more information about it because he hadn¡¯t ¡®acquired¡¯ the ability yet. His impression was that the 5% was an indication of how close he was to acquiring the ability; presumably when it hit 100%, he would get it. If he gained 5% per trodil, it might take a while to gain the ability, though. Another interesting thing to note was that, although his SP had increased a bit, his HP hadn¡¯t. Hopefully that would change soon since, although he¡¯d lost less than a sixth of his total, he was bound to be hurt again soon. If this was anything like the books he¡¯d read or games he¡¯d played, it was inevitable. I¡¯ll find out, I guess, he thought as he dismissed the screen. Continuing eating, he made his way through three of the five corpses ¨C swallowing the beast core in each of their brains. By the end of it, his stomach was feeling a bit full and he eyed the final two corpses with a bit of apprehension. On the one hand, he didn¡¯t want to eat so much he¡¯d go into a stupor; on the other, he wasn¡¯t keen on just leaving perfectly good resources sitting around. Plus, this was taking too long ¨C he wanted to level up already! There must be a better way, he said to himself. This time, when he touched the next corpse, something had changed. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. [Would you like to consume this body for resources?] Let¡¯s give it a try, shall we? Dominic decided. He was pretty full as it was , so if something weird happened, it was no biggie. Yes, he answered. The body in front of him blurred briefly, then turned into particles which flew at him. Dominic flinched back instinctively, but couldn¡¯t avoid the quick movement of the sparkling dust. It entered his mouth and he felt a brief spike in energy, like he¡¯d just drunk a Red Bull or something. Checking his status screen again, he saw a couple of differences. His progress in Quick Strike had increased a bit more ¨C after eating the beast cores of the three previous trodils, he¡¯d reached 15% in the Skill. Now, he was sitting at 17%. He noted that his hunger was at now at 100% with thirst only at 88%, but wasn¡¯t sure whether that was linked to the dust. However, more importantly he noticed that both his SP and HP had increased. General abilities: - Muscular Body level 1 (max sprint speed 20mps; max sprint duration 10s) (39/45 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (276/300 HP) Neither of them had reached the cap, but it was a relieving discovery to make. Of the corpse, there was nothing remaining. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right. Dominic caught the glimpse of something glinting in the sun. A small, faceted marble. I wonder, he thought as he nosed at it. As soon as he touched the item, a message appeared. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Trodil Level 1 Ability: Quick Strike] Ah, he said to himself, pleased. Licking it up with his long tongue, he gulped it down like the three previous, before checking his status screen. Sure enough, Quick Strike had increased to 22%. So eating the body replenishes my hunger and thirst meters, and consuming it as dust replenishes my SP and HP as well as offering me benefits to the perks¡­Good to know. Actually, there was nothing saying reducing the body to dust didn¡¯t affect his hunger and thirst as well ¨C he hadn¡¯t checked what it was before, after all. Dominic decided to do the same with the final corpse. Nudging it with his nose, he got the same message and immediately consented to it. Once more, the corpse disintegrated into dust and flew towards him. This time, he didn¡¯t flinch, instead welcoming the feeling. Checking his stamina and health, he was pleased to see that the former was back up to full, and the latter was well on its way to being so. Thirst had also been improved by 5% so it seemed likely that hunger would also be affected. Very good to know. Lunch ¨C or breakfast, or dinner or whatever ¨C done, a nudge from Leo sent Dominic travelling away from the still bloody ground. Although the bodies which had disintegrated left no trace, the same couldn¡¯t be said of the bodies he¡¯d torn apart. Knowing that plenty of animals could be drawn by blood, and not wanting to be interrupted while he levelled up, Dominic gave into the impulse. Walking away was good practice in moving in his new body, anyway. As he¡¯d predicted, the less he thought, the better he did. At least this time he didn¡¯t fall on his face again. Just almost. A few times. In fact, he was starting to do so well, he decided to try moving a bit faster. A mistake, as it turned out: he tripped over one of his own paws and went tumbling tail over head. Ow, Dominic thought grumpily. The message that flashed up just added insult to injury. [You have taken 2 damage (Falling)] Sighing, he pushed himself to his paws once again. He¡¯d have to master his paws at some point, otherwise how would he deal with a threat that he couldn¡¯t take head-on? But maybe this was a good place to stop: he¡¯d already travelled far enough away from the kill site. His fur itched, the remnants of blood and dust irritating him. Knowing that cats clean themselves with their tongues was a very different prospect from actually thinking about doing it himself. He found himself not quite able to overcome his human ick factor about licking himself, for all that Leo seemed to be scornful about his hesitation. I need to level up, anyway, Dominic justified. With any luck, levelling offered him the effects of a shower, anyway. Did it make logical sense to do so? No. Did any of this make logical sense? Again, no. So, why not? Level up, he thought. Fortunately, the System was intuitive enough to let it be so. A box appeared in his vision. [Congratulations Dominic Martin Cole / Leo, you have taken the first step towards greatness! May you grow to become King of all you survey.] [In achieving your first Evolution, you are offered a choice. Choose well, for this shall permanently determine your Path. Please note that this choice must be made before you can complete your level-up and cannot be undone. You will not be offered this choice again. Choose wisely. ] Well that¡¯s not ominous at all, Dominic commented to himself. Being told to take care over his choice twice seemed a fairly good indication that it was worthy of consideration. The message faded to be replaced by another. [Path of Evolution. Do you wish to Devolve, Transvolve, or Evolve?] Considering that this choice is supposed to set the tone for the rest of my ¡®path¡¯, a bit more information would be useful, he commented. Upon completing the thought, more information appeared. [Devolve: You look towards your ancestors and see that they were mighty Beasts indeed. They changed as the world became tamed, but perhaps their wildness is needed once more. Walking this path means choosing enhancements to yourself from your ancestors.] So, does that mean I could get sabre-like teeth? Dominic wondered. Or were sabre-tooths not part of a lion¡¯s ancestry? An interesting option. The message faded from view to be replaced by the next. [Transvolve: You see others of your Family and notice that each has particular aspects that make them powerful. Perhaps if you add them all together, you will become an apex predator and rule this new world. Walking this path means choosing enhancements to yourself from current members of your Family: Felidae] I think I understand, mused Dominic. For example, stripes of a tiger for camouflage, or the bite of a jaguar for strength. It was also interesting, but seemed a bit...limited. Out of the two so far, he¡¯d prefer the Path of Devolution. However, there was one more. [Evolve: You look at the past and it doesn¡¯t interest you: the past is gone. You look at the present and it interests you even less: why settle for current mediocrity? Instead, you have confidence in your own body as it is, and feel that the path to power lies in enhancing what you already have. Walking this path means choosing enhancements to yourself based solely on your current attributes.] Difficult choice, Dominic said to himself as he thoughtfully reviewed all three options. They all had their benefits and downsides, but which one should he choose? Chapter 5: You Have Chosen The Path Of... Out of the three, Evolution felt at first to be the weakest. Compared to gaining what made other members of the cat family great in the present or the past, basically sticking with his current body seemed to be like just settling. However¡­ Something in Dominic kept going back to the third option. A little bit of experimentation revealed that if he focused on the word of each choice, he could see the explanation again. Sabretooths were great, but there¡¯s a reason they died out, Dominic thought, tapping his lip in thought. At least, that was what he automatically tried to do, but a massive great paw rather than a single finger didn¡¯t have quite the same effect. Feeling a little embarrassed, he growled slightly and refocused on the screen in front of him. As for Transvolve¡­ a lion is already one of the apex members of the family. It was true that other members had different advantages, but since this was the only time he could make this choice, wouldn¡¯t it be limiting him in the future? There was another consideration: his acquired abilities. He¡¯d started towards earning ¡®Quick Strike¡¯ already. What if he killed a whole load of crocodiles: potentially he could earn a skill that offered him a powerful bite. Then where would the advantage of being able to have a jaguar¡¯s bite power be? However, Evolution¡­ It limited him to what he already had, but was that such a bad thing? He already had sharp teeth and claws. Many animals started with less. Heck, a human started with less. If he could enhance them, evolve them¡­? And, perhaps it was just a little risky, but what if he could later gain abilities from his prey which he could then also enhance? That would be awesome. Evolution, it is, he thought decisively. Yes. Onwards and upwards. There were many options, and Dominic wanted all of them. Well, I suppose I¡¯m not that interested in improving my mane, he mused. Though his passenger seemed to be. Leo perked up as soon as that particular message appeared, eagerness replacing the dissatisfaction which seemed to otherwise be the status quo. However, Dominic was the one in charge right now and, frankly, a mane didn¡¯t really seem beneficial in any way. So, no. Heart, for sure, he decided. He¡¯d gone through half his stamina in the battle with the Trodils, and they were probably pretty weak in comparison to many foes he¡¯d be facing. Plus, for hunting, it would be good to be able to run a bit longer. Should I improve muscles as well? It was a thought ¨C improve both speed and stamina and he should be well set for hunting. He looked through the list again; maybe there was a better option. Improve his sense of smell and be able to track more easily? Or his sight since, as far as Dominic knew, lions weren¡¯t known for their acute sense of smell. Or improve his digestive system, and give himself more health points? In the end, he made his choice. Yes. A wave of energy went through him, putting the previous Red Bull to shame. Actually, he felt like he was in one of their adverts ¨C lifting off the ground on feathery wings. The world seemed to disappear for a moment, and then his feet touched the ground again and his surroundings reappeared. Dominic pulled up his status screen to see the differences. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Basic Beast Level 1 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 8/105 PP Hunger level: 99% Thirst level: 87% Quests: New quests available Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike level 1 (29%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 2 (2-4 slicing damage reduction, 1-2 piercing damage reduction, 3-4 crushing damage reduction) This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Offensive abilities: - Claws level 1 (5-10 slicing damage, 4-7 tearing damage, 1-2 piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 crushing damage, 27-50 tearing damage, 25-35 piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 2 (max sprint speed 20mps; max sprint duration 12s) (60 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) The first thing he noted was that there were two new entries. One of them now showed his level. Apparently, he was now a ¡®Basic Beast¡¯. Enhancing his coat seemed to have improved both his slicing and crushing damage reductions. Not by much, but every little bit helps, I suppose, he told himself, a little disappointed. He¡¯d frankly hoped for more of an improvement when choosing defence over more speed. Choosing to improve his heart seemed more effective ¨C another fifteen points of stamina, and apparently he could maintain his top speed for another two seconds. Again, it might not seem much, but it could potentially make the difference between a kill and not. It¡¯s good to see that levelling up replenishes my health too, he noted. And my coat is clean again. Very interesting¡­ As for the other new entry, Dominic found excitement rising as he saw the word ¡®quest¡¯. It brought to mind epic searches for precious treasure or saving beautiful maidens. Sure, it might be a bit weird to do those sorts of things as a lion ¨C more likely to be the creature guarding such quest objects ¨C but he was excited all the same. When he focused on the new quests option, his status screen faded to be replaced with new text. A noble title? Like a lord or something? Dominic wondered. And Tier 3...he¡¯d only just made Tier 1, according to one of the messages. As for success conditions, they seemed pretty broad. Though, I suppose they do suggest ways of ¡®succeeding¡¯ in this new world, he concluded. In the end, he just shrugged and focused on returning back to his status screen. Ultimately, either he¡¯d end up fulfilling the quest or not. Gaining personal strength was something he¡¯d want to do anyway, just to survive. As for the others, well, time would tell. Without knowing what kind of benefits would come with the title, it was hard to decide whether or not to take risks in order to achieve it. I guess I¡¯ll probably end up fulfilling the other objectives anyway, he decided. Except maybe not the whole recruiting or subjugating thing. Though, as he thought that, he felt a bit of push-back from Leo. Curious, Dominic paused to see if the lion¡¯s consciousness said anything more. It went quiet, so Dominic just mentally shrugged and moved on to the next quest. Well that¡¯s as clear as mud, and ominous to boot, Dominic thought to himself. If he¡¯d understood it right, the objective of the quest was to find a way of balancing the mind of the lion and his own mind and thereby making something greater than either of them. But without having any sort of idea of the reward, did he even know if it was something he wanted to aim towards? But then, did he have a choice? Once more, it felt a little like it was something he¡¯d be doing anyway. While he was still angry at the lion for basically killing him, on the other hand he could understand it more now. It had been hungry; he¡¯d been prey. Just like those Trodils earlier. It hadn¡¯t been malicious, just a predator. And ultimately, it had most definitely come out the loser. Plus, his recent experiences had proven that he couldn¡¯t do this all himself; finding some way of working with Leo seemed inevitable. In the end, Dominic just mentally shrugged again and dismissed the quest. As he glanced at his status screen briefly before closing it too, he noticed that the two quests were now listed on it. Now what? Dominic wondered. He gazed around the area with new eyes. It was different than he remembered, though he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on why. Like walking into a familiar room where something has been changed, but not being able to identify it. Leo also seemed a bit discomforted, which was understandable since he was much more familiar with the savannah environment than Dominic. Perhaps it¡¯s the colour, subtly shifted, he thought. Certainly, there seemed to be more of a blue tinge to the previously tawny environment occasionally broken by green. Yawning, he pushed himself to his feet. Perhaps he should practice moving a bit more. ***** The Lion was aware. Somehow the rush of energy had pulled his thinning sense of self back together, anchoring it. The overall effect was a sharpening of his awareness and intelligence. He had become more cognisant of his state as a passenger riding in his own body. It was an impotency which he railed against as any wild animal would at the sensation of being trapped. Intolerable. Yet what was even more intolerable was that he could do nothing about it. There was nothing he could bite, nothing he could slash with his claws. He didn¡¯t even have claws or teeth. Pressing against the barrier he felt between his mind and that of the Interloper was an exercise in frustration. There was no give to it. Not yet. Instinctively, he knew it was because the intellect of the Interloper was far more powerful than his own. Yet had his own intellect not grown when the energy touched it? If it grew further, could it not grow to rival that of the creature which had replaced him? So released, he would be able to fight for supremacy, as any lion must when faced with a foe. With the sharpening of his intellect, came new emotions. Something he had never felt before, would not have known what it was except for the bleed-through from the Interloper. Embarrassment. The Interloper was fumbling like a little cub, paws gangly, tail flapping this way and that. For one such as the Lion who was an apex predator on the savannah to look so...ridiculous, that too was intolerable. Yet what could he do? He had no control, no power at all. All he could do was stew at his misfortune and fume at the creature now in control of his magnificent form. How could this hairless monkey not even be able to do the simplest of tasks? A cub barely a few days old could run and pounce. Then again, the Lion supposed that the Interloper hadn¡¯t seemed to have any sort of tail in its previous body. Deformed creature that it had been, walking on two feet even. Speaking of feet, the Embarrassment had once more tripped over and landed on his face again. The main reason: his tail which he had allowed to throw him off balance. In his frustration, the Lion shoved his own knowledge of how to move at the barrier between them. He refused to let his body be subjected to such abuse, even if he couldn¡¯t be in control of it. He¡¯d survived this long as a nomadic lion, chased out of his birth pride. Yet if he couldn¡¯t even walk, how would he attract females to hunt for him? Or even defend himself? The Interloper had been hard-pressed to kill those vermin earlier; there were far worse foes out there. If he had to help the Interloper to maintain his body¡¯s ¨C and his own ¨C survival, then he would. And, perhaps, if he helped his foe gain strength, then perhaps more of that energy would touch the Lion. Maybe one day that barrier between them would fall and they would discover who was the true king of the plains. At first, the Interloper pushed away his aid, perhaps thinking it to be some sort of attack. The Lion just tried again, pleased to have garnered any reaction after being far too helpless. On the third attempt, the Interloper finally listened. And wonder of wonders, he started putting it into practice. Manipulating his tail took the Interloper far too long, but finally he seemed to get it. The rest seemed to fall into place bit by bit as well, the Lion offering his own experience as guidance. When the Interloper finally managed to pounce on a rock with his claws bared, landing correctly and lightly, a completely unearned sense of elation ran through him. The Lion only sent across a scornful grumble: he hadn¡¯t done anything a week old cub couldn¡¯t have. Rising from the crouch, the Interloper seemed about to do it again, only to check himself. He¡¯d spotted something, movement. He stared at the flashes of movement and colour through the bush, seemingly confused. The Lion was not, and he shared his knowledge, the action almost automatic now. Prey. Chapter 6: In Africa Dominic jogged lightly across the surface of the savannah, marvelling at the difference from only a short time ago. His paws fell softly on the earth, only a faint swishing from the grass around causing any noise at all. Perhaps this is a reason to make paws softer, he wondered, thinking back to one of his enhancement options. It hadn¡¯t made much sense at the time to do that, but if it could improve stealth capacity, then fair enough. His claws were sheathed, but he¡¯d finally worked out how to use them, the knowledge clicking and becoming almost instinct now. It turned out that they were less like the fingernails he had been imagining, and more an extra joint to his fingers and toes which he had to flex to make them come out. It probably would have been harder to work out how to suddenly move an extra muscle that he¡¯d never used before, but Leo had been helping for some reason, shoving knowledge at him. He¡¯d been suspicious at first, but eventually accepted it. I¡¯m glad I did ¨C this would have taken a lot longer otherwise. Not only had Leo helped with his claws, but also with his tail ¨C a long stretch of muscle that was completely alien to Dominic, and annoyingly important. As soon as he started moving with any speed, wanted to turn abruptly, or jump, that tail became integral to his balance. Fortunately, once those two things got sorted out, the rest slid into place easily enough. He supposed that, even if he could suddenly take positions which would have been impossible in his human form, at least he was used to having four limbs and a head. The same could not be said about his claws and tail. As for what he was doing now? He¡¯d spotted something which Leo had identified: prey. Some sort of warthog, he guessed, based on the colour and gait. A couple of parents and a number of youngsters. A sense of anticipation came from Leo. I guess warthogs are good eating? Dominic wondered. Just as well ¨C all the practice he¡¯d been doing had caused his hunger and thirst levels to drop a bit again. I should probably be a bit more stealthy than just running straight up to them, Dominic decided. The impression he¡¯d got from Leo was that warthogs weren¡¯t as fast as he was, but they could run for a lot longer. They probably would run away too, preferring to avoid a clash with a lion, even a solitary one. Sinking close to the ground, Dominic willingly accepted the instincts Leo offered him in how to conduct a hunt. He didn¡¯t know why his leonine passenger was being quite so obliging, but he wasn¡¯t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hiding in the long grass, he stalked forwards one quiet foot at a time. The quiet grunts of the warthogs were clear to his ears, their smell filling his nose and his open mouth. His head lowered, he froze as one of the warthogs looked his way. They were wary. Unsurprising ¨C they were used to being prey, and a moment of inattention could mean losing their very lives. It was probably the tensest moment of Dominic¡¯s life. He didn¡¯t know whether the warthog had spotted him or not, hidden in the grass as he was. Yet it didn¡¯t look away. Finally, it dipped its head. Dominic let out a silent sigh and kept moving forwards. The moment repeated itself several times, the frequency increasing as he got closer. Perhaps it¡¯s time for a change, he thought as he lowered himself to his belly. He was only about twenty yards away from his prey. It was close, but not close enough. The closer he could get, the more likely his hunt would succeed ¨C his knowledge from Leo told him that. Dominic had got within fifteen yards when the wind switched direction briefly. His scent was carried to the alert warthogs and warned them prematurely. With an urgent squeal, the two parents took off, their children following them a fraction of a second later. Cursing to himself, Dominic pushed himself into a sprint immediately. He wasn¡¯t quite running flat out, but was close to it as he chased the biggest warthog. I¡¯m catching up! Excitement filled his thoughts. However, pride only came before a fall: he caught one of his paws in a hole he hadn¡¯t spotted and he stumbled. Although he managed not to fall, he immediately knew that his hunt had failed. It might have only been a momentary interruption, but it had allowed the warthogs to get too far ahead. Dominic could feel the fatigue in his limbs and knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to them before his stamina bottomed out. Growling in frustration, he slumped to the ground and panted a little, his mouth open. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Expecting scorn from Leo, he was surprised when the leonine consciousness gave off a sense of disappointed indifference. Then again, he¡¯d read somewhere that lion hunts were only successful a third of the time or something so perhaps it was expected. When his breath was coming easier, Dominic pushed himself to his feet. Well, no point in hanging around here. It¡¯s not like the prey was going to come to him. ***** Two more unsuccessful hunts later, Dominic was a hungry and grumpy lion. He¡¯d chased a hare, only to be so out-paced it wasn¡¯t funny. Then, he¡¯d found a herd of gazelle, but he¡¯d spooked them too soon. He hadn¡¯t even tried running after that lot, already knowing by the sheer head-start they had that it wasn¡¯t worth the effort: he¡¯d already noted that the more stamina he expended, the faster his hunger and thirst levels reduced. He¡¯d already known that, though ¨C it¡¯s not like the system changed anything, just gave them numbers. But with his hunger already under 50%, he needed to find something soon. Although finding a trail wasn¡¯t necessarily hard, finding something worth him hunting was. The next few imprints, he considered following, but then finally moved away from. The long talon marks were clear: ostriches. Not that he couldn¡¯t necessarily take one down, but they were dangerous prey with their powerful kicks. Plus, this wasn¡¯t one on its own, but a group which would defend each other. Without a pride of his own, Leo didn¡¯t feel confident in taking one on, which meant that Dominic didn¡¯t either. However, the next thing he saw made Dominic stare in confusion. Leo was baffled too, though that was more because he didn¡¯t recognise it. A kangaroo. In Africa. Actually...Am I in Africa anymore? Dominic wondered. A few things started clicking into place. The message in the void had mentioned having his particles disintegrated and reformed, or something of the sort. The fact that him being reconstituted had posed a problem because he was supposed to be reformed in the same space as Leo had put him off a bit but¡­ What if I¡¯m somewhere else completely? It made sense, kind of. The savannah looked different from what he remembered, though only a little ¨C most of the plants were what both he and Leo vaguely recognised. That would explain why I haven¡¯t seen any roads, cars, or people, he continued to himself. I was in the middle of the Kruger park. With how far I¡¯ve wandered so far, I should have at least encountered a road, if not a campsite. But I¡¯ve seen nothing to indicate humans at all. That there were humans should be the case ¨C logically, why would the System have attempted to reconstitute him in the same space as Leo if humans and animals were separated? Until now, though, he hadn¡¯t yet seen any signs of them. Seeing a kangaroo, however, might indicate one of two things: that animals in zoos had been released and started wandering around, and that there was a zoo close by to the Kruger park; or that animals from different parts of Earth had been put in the same place. As Dominic looked around the area and spotted something else, he realised there might be a third possibility. Is this new world a patchwork of the old one? He¡¯d seen a stand of eucalyptus trees, familiar because he¡¯d had one in the garden growing up. Perhaps I¡¯ll find more evidence later, he decided. For now, should he try hunting the kangaroo or not? Leo seemed uncertain, baffled by its completely unfamiliar shape, so Dominic had to rely on his own judgement. From what I know, kangaroos have powerful feet and they ¡®box¡¯ with each other. They also tend to run in groups. Looking around, Dominic noticed something he hadn¡¯t seen before: a few other kangaroos lying down in the shade or grazing on the grass near the feet of the trees. The one he was looking at seemed to be a distance away from the others, though; perhaps a sentry. It¡¯s taller than me, Dominic noted. Not by much, though, if I stood on my back legs, I don¡¯t think. He was pretty sure he¡¯d be heavier too. He didn¡¯t want to get hit by those feet or be the target of its boxing...but what if he could get a quick kill in? If it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll run away, Dominic decided. Or climb a tree ¨C kangaroos can¡¯t do that, he decided instead after a moment of thought, figuring that a kangaroo might have better stamina than him. Dropping back down into the now-familiar belly-crawl, he fixed his eyes on his prey and moved towards it, one quiet paw at a time. The kangaroo seemed to realise that something was a bit off, as it kept standing up to look around, but Dominic just froze at those moments, and the kangaroo didn¡¯t seem to spot him. Closer, closer, closer. The tricky wind switched direction for a moment and Dominic tensed as his scent was carried towards the kangaroo. If it started running, he¡¯d charge. However, all the kangaroo did was shift a little uncertainly and then hop a couple of steps closer to its troop. I guess, unlike a warthog, it doesn¡¯t know what a lion smells like ¨C or why it should be afraid, Dominic thought to himself with excitement. Ten yards. Seven. Three. He was amazed he¡¯d got this close. The long tail of the ¡®roo lifted and lowered almost in front of his nose as the kangaroo leant forwards to munch at the grass. A moment later, it stood upright once more, its head turning slightly to look around it. Hesitating for one more moment - once he struck, he was committed - he firmed up his decision. It was a dog eat dog world; this time, it would be a lion eat kangaroo. His tail now automatically moving correctly, Dominic fixed his eyes on his target, wiggled his hind-quarters, and then pounced. Chapter 7: Grinding Spot As Dominic leaped, the kangaroo leant forwards once more. About to fly over the ¡®roo¡¯s head rather than catching it in the neck, Dominic panicked and his paws reacted automatically. Clamping together, his claws caught the marsupial¡¯s skull. Bolting upright in panic, the kangaroo even half-turned to run, but it was too late. Dominic¡¯s weight dragged the kangaroo¡¯s head down and to the side. As he landed heavily, there was a snapping sound and the large marsupial went limp. For a moment, Dominic was confused, then looking at the results of his action, he realised what had happened. When it had moved, the kangaroo had spelled its own demise. Dominic might not have gained the 400 or more pounds in weight of an adult male lion yet, but his 200 or 300 pounds were still more than the kangaroo¡¯s neck could handle, especially wrenched sideways. If it hadn¡¯t reacted instinctively, it would still be alive since he¡¯d have simply tumbled heavily over its head. Still, a kill is a kill. The message flashing up in front of him just confirmed it. Dominic couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed at the low number of PP. Still, he supposed that quantity could stand in for quality. Gazing at the other kangaroos, he saw that they seemed disturbed, uncertain. Those which had been grazing were now banding together; those which had been lying down were standing up and doing the same. Their heads were in the air, most watching Dominic intently; the others watching the area in other directions. They seemed unsure as to how to respond. Dominic could only guess that it was because they¡¯d never encountered a lion before. Unfortunately, their actions meant that there were no more easy targets. I¡¯ll give them some time to relax and then come back, he concluded. Maybe I could use it as a grinding spot. In the meantime, no point in wasting a good kill. While keeping an eye on the milling kangaroos, he touched his nose to the corpse lying next to him. Yes. As before, the corpse disintegrated into dust and flew towards him. This time, he didn¡¯t flinch, knowing what was coming from previous experience. Licking up the Beast Core which was left behind, he quickly trotted away, making sure that the kangaroos could see him go. Once a short distance away, he blended in with the long grasses and ¡®disappeared¡¯ to their eyes. In reality, he lowered himself to his belly and crept around to the side, circling the kangaroos. Crawling closer, he paused where he could see the kangaroos clearly and then relaxed a little, his golden eyes fixed on the group of marsupials. He was downwind, so they shouldn¡¯t catch any of his scent. If they would even recognise it, that is. He¡¯d been downwind of the main group even though he¡¯d been detected by the lone kangaroo that he¡¯d killed so they couldn¡¯t have already learnt the odor of a lion. Like that, he waited patiently for the kangaroos to let down their guard again. Although he¡¯d never been particularly patient before, he wasn¡¯t particularly impatient either. Plus, Leo was clearly used to needing to wait for the right moment when on a hunt. Still, by the time the kangaroos had relaxed enough for him to make another attempt, he was definitely getting antsy. He still waited until the marsupials had spread out a bit again, some of them returning to lying down, most of them grazing. They¡¯d moved a bit, wandering away from the stand of eucalyptus trees. Naturally, Dominic had followed, putting his stalking to good use in order to move while undetected. However, not all of the kangaroos moved at the same pace, and he found himself rather close to what looked like a good target. It was a bit bigger than the one he had tackled earlier. Perhaps that meant it would be worth more PP? I might as well give it a go, he decided. Setting himself up, he managed to get almost as close to the ¡®roo, but not quite. Still obviously slightly on the alert, his target detected his presence sooner, showing signs of unease. Dominic realised that he wasn¡¯t likely to get any closer without spooking the ¡®roo, so decided to be the one to call the shots here. When the kangaroo turned slightly away from him to look back at the group, even taking a couple of lolloping leaps towards them, Dominic struck. Propelling himself from the grass concealing him, he charged towards the kangaroo. Hearing the sound of his approach, the kangaroo immediately started leaping towards its group with urgency. To no avail: Dominic had too much of a head-start on it. He crashed into the kangaroo, sending it tumbling forwards. Unlike the previous, this wasn¡¯t such an easy kill: in the ensuing scramble, the kangaroo got in a couple of good kicks. It still came out the loser, Dominic managing to get his jaws around its throat and bite down. Although unable to bite straight through as he had with the Trodil¡¯s spines, he didn¡¯t need to. Within a couple of minutes, the kangaroo had suffocated, its crushed throat hampering its ability to breathe. Unfortunately no more PP than the previous, he thought to himself grumpily. Still, he was more than a quarter of the way to the next level, so it was still progress. Absorbing the body and chewing the Beast Core, he repeated his previous actions, checking his status when he was once more concealed from the alert kangaroos. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Basic Beast Level 1 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 28/105PP This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Hunger level: 65% Thirst level: 79% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike level 1 (29%) Powerful Kick level 1 (6%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 2 (2-4 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 1 (5-10 slicing damage, 4-7 tearing damage, 1-2 piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 crushing damage, 27-50 tearing damage, 25-35 piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 2 (max sprint speed 20mps; max sprint duration 12s) (57/60 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (266/300 HP) Although the kangaroo had caused some damage, absorbing its body had replenished some of his HP, fortunately. It had also replenished some of his SP as well as reducing his hunger and thirst levels. Dominic didn¡¯t understand how absorbing some dust could make him less hungry or thirsty, but he wasn¡¯t going to complain. He¡¯d also started working towards a new skill ¨C Powerful Kick. Unfortunately, despite the Trodils¡¯ Cores earning him 5% each, and then another 1% or 2% from absorbing its body, these kangaroos only earned him 2% per Core and 1% per body, it seemed. Still, there were plenty of kangaroos. Another advantage facing him was the setting sun. While he¡¯d been hunting in the daytime so far, he knew that lions tended to be most active at night. The kangaroos had no idea what was coming. ***** Hunting in the dark was a bit different from hunting in the light, Dominic decided. Although his eyesight was good, even in low-light conditions, he found he was having to rely more on other senses like hearing and smell. Interestingly, the kangaroos were more active after night had fallen too, though this didn¡¯t save them. One by one, they were picked off, many without even getting a blow in. While kangaroos might be dangerous for a human, they didn¡¯t stand much chance against the King of the Jungle. Actually, why do we say that? Dominic wondered idly at one moment while waiting for the kangaroos to calm down after his previous kill. Lions don¡¯t live in jungles. In the end he just mentally shrugged and concentrated again on his hunt. The marsupials didn¡¯t know what to do about the threat facing them. They tried sticking more closely together, but Dominic just picked off the stragglers or waited patiently until one ventured just far enough away from the mob to strike. They tried moving away, but Dominic just followed them. He didn¡¯t bother attempting to keep up when they moved at full-speed; he just followed the traces of their presence at his own speed until they slowed down again. The biggest adults even tried to attack him, but he just circled and then struck at one of the smaller kangaroos, absorbed it, and then went to ground. The savannah around them changed bit by bit from open plains to rocky kopjes. Trees were sparser, bushes becoming more frequent. The kangaroos seemed even more nervous in this area: although the grass was shorter, there were too many rocks and shadowy dips in the ground which offered easy concealment for a lion. Never having encountered a lion before, the Australian residents soon discovered what it was to fear one. Dominic, on the other hand, was happy as Larry. His PP were mounting and he already had one level-up in the bag. He¡¯d spotted some gazelle around, travelling with a group of zebra, their white and black stripes easy to spot even in the moonlight. He¡¯d even seen some wildebeest along with a few shapes he couldn¡¯t identify. He¡¯d ignored them all. Sure, potentially the other creatures could offer him more PP, but they would probably offer more challenge. The animals originating from Africa already knew of lions and had strategies to deal with them, whether speed, sharp horns, or sharp feet. As for the shapes he couldn¡¯t identify, he wasn¡¯t going to risk them being something he couldn¡¯t deal with. No, I¡¯ve found a good grinding spot, so I¡¯ll work it for all it¡¯s worth, Dominic decided, following the kangaroos doggedly. Unfortunately, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t the only one to see the kangaroos as easy prey. As he was lining up for his fifteenth kill of the night, Dominic suddenly heard a sound that made him tense. A cacophony of whoops and growls suddenly broke out to the side of the kangaroos. The marsupials raised their heads from where they were grazing, but didn¡¯t seem too alarmed. Dominic knew that was only because they had no idea of what the sound meant. Hyenas. A group of them. It put Dominic in a bit of a quandary. Hyenas and lions did not get along. Even if he hadn¡¯t known that before, the disgust and dislike that emanated from his leonine passenger would have told him. Hyenas weren¡¯t as individually powerful as a lion, and a pride could easily see even a reasonably-sized group off. A collection of hyenas against a solitary lion, though? It was the Trodils again, but with the opponents being equipped with bone-crushing bites. This isn¡¯t something I can win, Dominic decided, disappointed. His health was already down to almost half, the odd kick his prey getting in slowly eating away at it. Yes, he replenished some health each time he absorbed a body, but not necessarily enough to counteract the damage he¡¯d been dealt. He could also replenish his health upon levelling up, but he didn¡¯t want to do that in the middle of combat. Deciding to sneak away and hope that there were some kangaroos around after the hyenas had had their fun, Dominic started shifting backwards. A moment later, he froze. Although most of the hyenas had already started to attack the hapless kangaroos, not all of them had. A group of four were staring at him, the moonlight gleaming off their eyes and sharp teeth. Oh hell! Chapter 8: Standoff The hyenas lunged; Dominic ran for his life. Perhaps it was a bit cowardly of him, but he was determined not to throw away this second chance the way he had his first. As his paws pounded the earth below them, he heard the whoops and growls of hyenas on the hunt. They were after him. His eyes scanned the dark landscape around him. The moonlight was more than enough for his night-vision to cope and he ran surely over the rocky terrain. There were only four of them. If he could find a location where their numbers would mean little¡­ As he glanced back, he realised to his dismay that four had multiplied into eight, the calls of the hyenas having summoned more of their brethren. Worse, they were gaining on him. Hell! Dominic spat again. Four was possibly manageable; eight was not. Not unless¡­ There. His vision zeroed into a deep darkness below an overhanging rock. It was about twice as high as he was tall, and about the same as his height in width. With its almost ¡®o¡¯ shape, it looked like an open mouth. His imagination ran wild, seeing it close after he entered, consuming him. Don¡¯t be stupid, Dominic told himself sternly. You¡¯ve enough to deal with without ridiculous fantasies distracting you. Not second-guessing himself, he ran towards the dark spot, sliding into it just as a hyena ripped at his tail. Immediately, Dominic knew that he was facing a different enemy from before, if only a glancing bite to his tail caused that much damage. Fear clawed at his belly: he wasn¡¯t even starting with full health points. The dark spot appeared to be more than just a cave: it was more like a tunnel. Dominic backed up enough into it to mean that even the smaller hyenas were forced to approach one at a time. Either this is going to save me or I¡¯ve made a big mistake, Dominic decided as he felt the limiting nature of the tunnel. A hyena approached him. It snapped at him. He avoided its bite and lunged forwards to pin it. Before he could bite, another lunged at his face. Retreating with a growl, Dominic raked his claws down the first hyena¡¯s face and over its eyes. The injured hyena whimpered, then yelped as the second hyena trod on it to lunge forwards. Dominic tried to dodge but was hampered by the close confines of the tunnel. He roared as the hyena¡¯s teeth sunk into his left foreleg. Rage giving him speed, he lunged forwards himself. Like him, the hyena was not quite fast enough to dodge, its attempt prevented instead by the hyena getting to its feet behind it. His teeth sunk into the back of its neck, his powerful bite crunching into the bone. He couldn¡¯t bite through the neck completely, but he shook his head until he heard a snap. The hyena went limp and he dropped it as two more hyenas lunged for him. This time, it seemed they didn¡¯t care about the close confines and he was hard-pressed to avoid two sets of snapping teeth. He growled and swiped with his outstretched claws. One hyena backed away; the other ducked to protect its eyes and then counter-attacked. Dominic roared again in pain as its jaws latched onto his previously intact foreleg and bit down. He tried to repeat the same attack as before, but this hyena was too wily. It ducked out the way, meaning his teeth merely scratched across its hard skull rather than biting into its vulnerable neck. Pain radiating from both forelegs, Dominic hesitated, unsure what to do. And then it got worse. Damn! The hyenas, sensing the weakening of their prey, started getting more excited. Another two forced their way into the entrance of the tunnel. Dominic instinctively backed up a couple of steps, the hyenas following. His mind raced. Suddenly trapping himself in this dark tunnel seemed the worst thing he could have done. Feeling desperate, he lunged for the hyenas, his sudden move taking them by surprise. Jaws clamping down, he got in a good bite on one hyena, not killing it but sending it backing up, whimpering. His move didn¡¯t leave him unscathed, though: the other hyena took advantage to bite at his neck. Only a last moment shift meant that instead of his throat, it got his shoulder. That turned out to be its last mistake, though. Dominic whirled on it as soon as the other hyena retreated and his larger size and weight quickly overwhelmed his opponent. Even as the already-injured hyena came back for another attack, Dominic just hunkered down and made sure of his kill, enduring the shallow slashes the hyena managed to deal to his skull. When the hyena below him went limp, he lunged at the one attacking his skull. It skittered back with a nervous giggle. He lunged again, making up the steps that he¡¯d taken back. Both the hyena he¡¯d injured and the remaining five of its friends flinched back, whoops and giggles ringing out. If I can¡¯t actually hope to kill all of them, Dominic thought to himself, I¡¯m damn well going to make them think that I can. It was a bluff, but what else could he do? He was already down to almost half-health and it was trickling away by the minute through his bleeding wounds. There was an uncertain standoff for a long few minutes. The hyenas made a few testing lunges at him, but he stood his ground and just struck at them when they got close. They retreated a little from the cave, perhaps trying to lure him out. He didn¡¯t fall for the ruse, staying in the tunnel where at least his sides were protected. He hadn¡¯t stood a chance against them in the open before; now injured, he was even more disadvantaged. The remaining hyenas didn¡¯t seem too keen to risk joining their friends on the floor below his feet, milling around just outside of his range. Then the situation suddenly changed. A pain shot through Dominic¡¯s back leg. He roared and turned ¨C apparently the hyena he¡¯d choked had just been unconscious rather than dead. It was groggy and an easy target ¨C a quick bite and snap made it a corpse for sure this time. However, turning his back had been the cue for the other hyenas to attack again. More attacks fell on his back legs, excruciating pain shooting through him. His health was falling fast. He twisted around, becoming a desperate whirlwind of teeth and claws striking out at his attackers. The hyenas backed off again, none of them unscathed, one fallen at his feet. Dominic was breathing heavily, sensing that his stamina was in as bad a state as his health. Using his rage, he snarled at the hyenas, knowing that the image he presented here was his only chance of surviving this. Dipping his head down, he grabbed the fallen and whimpering hyena, snapped his jaws around its throat and lifted it in the air, shaking it to and fro. A loud snap occurred and he let it fall, snarling once more at the five remaining. They giggled and milled about, uncertainty creeping in. Sensing their indecision, Dominic fake-lunged. They skittered back with more giggles. Dominic¡¯s health trickled away minute by minute, mimicking the blood trickling through his fur. As it hit 20 HP, he had an idea. Keeping his eyes on the hyenas, he leant down and touched his nose to the one at his feet. Yes. The hyenas whooped and giggled in confusion as their companion¡¯s body disintegrated into dust and flew towards the lion. Dominic felt like grinning as he sensed his health tick up a bit. The hyenas seemed to sense that something had happened too, as their uncertainty grew. Dominic risked lunging for real, biting at the side of the closest hyena before quickly retreating back to the cave. It was an attack which caused practically no damage, but as a scare tactic, it seemed to work. The hyenas backed off a bit and the standoff continued. Dominic stood firmly in the entrance to the tunnel, his ears pinned against his skull and his lips drawn back to reveal his teeth as he snarled menacingly. His health still ticked away, but Dominic was less worried ¨C there were still two bodies for him to absorb. Plus, he still had a level-up waiting for him. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. However, in this game, the first to move was the first to lose, so he stayed there, pretending all was fine. Finally, as his health dropped once more below 20 HP, the hyenas decided that there was easier prey to be found and went running off into the night. Dominic waited a few moments just to make sure they were gone, then quickly twisted around to access the other two corpses. Absorbing them brought his health back up to almost 100 HP and his wounds closed enough to stop bleeding. They still hurt. Lapping up the Beast Cores, he gained access to a predictable new skill. Not wanting to risk something else approaching him while he was still so vulnerable, he decided to quickly level up since that had completely healed him last time. Opening his status screen, he would have raised his eyebrows if he¡¯d still had them. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Basic Beast Level 1 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 286/105 PP level up Hunger level: 95% Thirst level: 95% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike level 1 (29%) Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 2 (2-4 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 1 (5-10 Slicing damage, 4-7 Tearing damage, 1-2 Piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 Crushing damage, 27-50 Tearing damage, 25-35 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 2 (max sprint speed 20mps; max sprint duration 12s) (9/60 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (98/300 HP) How did that happen? Dominic wondered as he saw the total of PP he¡¯d earned. Last he¡¯d seen, he was sitting at 178/105 after killing seventeen kangaroos. He¡¯d check his damage log after this; for now, he needed to deal with his lacking resource pools. Now, what to enhance this time¡­? Chapter 9: Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card Level up, Dominic thought and a System message appeared before his eyes. Only one? Dominic thought with dismay. Last time I chose two! Unfortunately, however reactive the System might be, his complaints weren¡¯t reacted to and the difference wasn¡¯t explained. At least I might be able to level up twice if the requirements for the next level haven¡¯t jumped too much, Dominic sighed to himself. As he accepted the prompt to see his options, the same list as before came up in front of him. Interestingly, Coat and Heart were still on the list, despite him having chosen them previously. Clearly, he didn¡¯t have to enhance his whole body equally. I suppose that makes sense, Dominic mused. If I wanted to become a defence specialist, I wouldn¡¯t necessarily want to enhance my speed. Or vice versa. Last time he had been happy with the amount of SP he had gained from enhancing his heart, but he had been a bit disappointed with the gains from enhancing his coat. His resistance to piercing damage had been left untouched, his resistance to crushing damage had doubled, and his resistance to slicing damage had been increased by a single point. If he¡¯d had two options to enhance here, he might have considered doubling up on his coat, just to see what sort of increase he¡¯d get a second time around, but as it was, he suspected there were better options. I think my stamina is OK for now, he mused. Although it had been getting rather low in the fight with the hyenas, that had been a long and drawn-out matter which hopefully he wouldn¡¯t encounter again in the short term. Once more he considered improving his constitution: his HP had been getting pretty low in that fight. Then again, perhaps it would be better to harden his skin, offer more defence in that way¡­. Except if he did that, it was clear that he¡¯d give up some flexibility which had also proven to be useful in the fight¡­. Maybe I should look at it a different way, he mused. Instead of improving my defence, maybe I should improve my natural weaponry in order to finish fights faster¡­. It was an option, for sure. Though, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure whether the power of his weapons had been the issue in the last fight. Sighing, Dominic decided to go by a process of elimination. The options related to his senses were out for now. He hadn¡¯t had any real difficulty when finding prey and he didn¡¯t feel that better senses would help him in a fight. Equally, improving his mane was out ¨C why would he want it to be thicker or darker? Pure vanity? OK, it could offer more defensive value for his throat, but then he might as well choose to enhance his coat for the same purpose since it would help his whole body. The same with vocal cords ¨C he couldn¡¯t really see any application of this. Not immediate, anyway. After a moment of hesitation, he also put Mouth entirely to the side. He¡¯d already decided that improving his sense of taste wasn¡¯t a useful choice; now he decided that improving his bite power wasn¡¯t a good option either. I mean, it is, he justified to himself, just not now. I don¡¯t get the impression that I¡¯m struggling to cause damage when I sink my teeth into something. Similarly, he also put Teeth aside. Maybe he would need to enhance his teeth at some point by strengthening, lengthening, or sharpening them, but for now it was all fine. What about Claws? He hesitated over this option for a few moments. As it was, his claws were definitely the weakest of his two natural weapons. But would choosing this lead to a meaningful increase? Dominic put that option to the side for later comparison. After a moment of thought, he eliminated both Feet and Bones as possibilities. Although there were creatures around who could damage his bones, like the hyenas, he wasn''t sure that a single enhancement would make much of a difference. Probably his best defence at this moment was to avoid them entirely, if possible. As for Feet, he guessed that hardening them might improve his ability to run in some way and softening them would probably improve his stealth abilities. Both useful, but not necessarily immediately so. Which narrowed things down to a much simpler choice. Double-down on Coat, and hope that the gains were better at level 3 than they were at level 2; improve his constitution instead to give himself more HP; enhance one aspect of his claws; or improve his speed. Finally, Dominic chose an option, refusing to second-guess himself too much. Energy once more rushed through him, the effect far more refreshing and relieving than before. As he opened his status screen again, he was relieved to see that both SP and HP had been refilled ¨C he¡¯d had a momentary niggle of doubt that it might have been a one-time only bonus like the ability to enhance two aspects of himself at once. His hunger and thirst levels hadn¡¯t been touched, though, making it clear that he needed to kill in order to survive. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Basic Beast Level 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 181/110PP level up Hunger level: 65% Thirst level: 79% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike level 1 (29%) Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 2 (2-4 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction) This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Offensive abilities: - Claws level 1 (5-10 Slicing damage, 4-7 Tearing damage, 1-2 Piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 Crushing damage, 27-50 Tearing damage, 25-35 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 3 (max sprint speed 25mps; max sprint duration 10s) (60 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) Ultimately, he¡¯d decided that the issue he¡¯d had with the fight was speed ¨C being able to land an attack on the hyena before it had a chance to react. And he had to say that he was happy with the amount it had improved by ¨C a 25% improvement wasn¡¯t bad at all. Though, he was a bit annoyed to see that his max sprint duration had dropped back to 10 seconds ¨C it used to be 12. Then again, I suppose it¡¯s understandable: running faster uses more stamina, so if I haven¡¯t upgraded my stamina alongside it, it¡¯s natural that my maximum run duration would reduce. He was also happy to see that he had a second level up waiting for him. Should I save it? He wondered for a moment. With how it replenished his HP and SP pools, it was a bit of a get-out-of-jail free card¡­ On the other hand, not levelling up reduces my combat capabilities so¡­ It was a hard choice, but in the end Dominic decided to go through with it. While thinking defensively might be useful, it was clear that being too conservative would hurt him in the long run. It hadn¡¯t escaped his notice that the trodils and hyenas had been identified as level 1, where the kangaroos hadn¡¯t. Although Dominic¡¯s existence as a two-souled human mind in a lion body was probably unusual, it was clear that his method of gaining strength was not. I need to keep growing otherwise other predators will surpass me and I¡¯ll be in more trouble. So thinking, he decided to double down and quickly activated his next level up. Choosing the aspect to enhance was a much quicker task this time as his shortlist hadn¡¯t changed. This time, he decided to improve his claws, choosing the lengthen option. Sure, sharper claws might be good, but based on what he saw on his status screen, his slicing and tearing damage was good. It was his piercing capacity which was the weakest ¨C because of their limited length, he had to guess. A wave of energy later and he flexed his paws to see the results. Sharp claws slid out of his fur, their length clearly increased from about 1? inches to almost 2 inches. Checking his status screen, he felt like the improvement was acceptable. - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) Piercing damage had gained the most, as expected, but the other damage types had improved too. It still wasn¡¯t anything like his bite but it was better than before. Plus, using his claws was often a safer option than his jaws ¨C the very action of biting automatically put several vulnerable spots closer to the enemy, after all. His claws could be used at a much safer distance. Taking a moment to check through his damage log now that he felt more prepared for a fight if one came, he realised just how he¡¯d had such a windfall of PP. Repeated three times, in addition to the PP he¡¯d earned from the kangaroos, accounted for being able to level up twice. He was even more than halfway towards level 4. It proved that hunting other hunters was definitely the most lucrative approach. The riskiest, too. Half-tempted to go out and find some more hyenas, Dominic reminded himself of the state that only a few had left him in. And that was where their numbers were prevented from being brought to bear thanks to the environmental advantage he¡¯d had. Though that¡¯s a point, he said to himself. Why work hard when I can work smart? If he could get the environment working for him, he could lead other predators into a trap¡­ Hmm. This tunnel could work out quite well for him, especially if it actually led somewhere. Deciding to investigate, Dominic carefully stepped through the tunnel. After the entrance, it opened up a bit. It was too dark even for his good night-vision to see anything, but his whiskers were remarkably sensitive, sending data back to him about the change in air movement which indicated a bigger space. Fortunately for Dominic, his interpretation was instinctive, feeling like his sense of touch, just a little different. Almost regretting not taking the option to lengthen his whiskers, Dominic¡¯s steps slowed to a crawl as he strained all his senses to ensure he wasn¡¯t about to fall into a hole, run headfirst into a wall, or be attacked by something. The dry, cold, dusty smell that met his nose indicated that it wasn¡¯t being used by anything as a den, but that was no guarantee there wasn¡¯t anything there. And then something happened. It felt like he ran headfirst into a waterfall, yet there was no sound of water, nor did he actually get wet. Alarmed, Dominic tried to pull his head backwards, but it was stuck! Even more alarmed, he had no time to do anything else before a new sensation occurred. His body...blurred. It was the only description he could think of as a shiver ran through him. And then he wasn¡¯t in the tunnel any more. What the hell? Dominic asked himself incredulously, looking at what lay before him. Chapter 10: The First Key The young lion stared around himself disbelievingly. Dominic had been walking through a pitch-black tunnel when suddenly...he wasn¡¯t. Instead of darkness, it was bright daylight ¨C impossible when he knew it was nighttime. Instead of tunnels, he was out in the open air. Or at least, he seemed to be ¨C closer inspection revealed him to be instead in a massive cavern which only appeared to be open sky. It was realistic to the extent of having something bright enough to seem like the midday sun shining down on him. The main difference was that it didn¡¯t seem to be searingly hot in the same way: the cavern was warm, but that was more of an ambient temperature rather than from the ¡®sun¡¯. In what appeared to be the middle of the cavern was a strange-looking building. It was sandy-coloured, blending in reasonably well with the environment. If not for its size, he might even have missed it. As it was, its three-storey height was obvious against the flat landscape. He had taken a single step forwards when a message popped up in front of him. A dungeon, eh? Dominic said to himself thoughtfully. He suspected that this was more a game dungeon rather than a medieval style one. At least, he hoped so. And why was it talking about XP? I don¡¯t earn XP¡­.do I? He supposed it was possible that XP was something that only appeared on the status sheet once you¡¯d started earning it. As for what ¡®limited¡¯ and ¡®open¡¯ meant, he didn¡¯t know. The objective was pretty clear, though whether it counted if he laid a paw instead of a ¡®hand¡¯ he also wasn¡¯t sure. It¡¯s worth a bit of exploration, he decided. At worst he¡¯d lose a bit of time; at best he might actually gain something. Turning around, he realised that there was an odd archway behind him. The outline was barely visible, looking more like condensed air that caused a slight distortion than anything else. The archway looked empty except for the faint ripple in the air within it. I guess that¡¯s my way out, Dominic concluded. Fixing the point in his memory, he realised that it was next to what appeared to be the only tree in the whole cavern. Easy. Heading towards the temple, the young lion kept a wary eye out around himself. Although he¡¯d never been in a dungeon himself ¨C of either kind ¨C he¡¯d read enough stories about them to know that he should keep his guard up. Fortunately for him, however, he managed to make his way to the temple without any issues. As he got closer, he realised that he was directly in front of what looked like the main doors. How convenient, he thought wryly to himself. Casting his eyes over the rest of the structure, he realised that he didn¡¯t recognise the structure at all. Not that that was surprising, exactly ¨C he hadn¡¯t studied archaeology in any sort of way. Still, the hexagonal influence that was clearly the predominating theme of the whole construction was not something he was familiar with. The doors were two halves of a regular hexagon. The blocks were regular hexagonal prisms too. Based only on what he¡¯d seen so far, the two towers either side of the door were hexagonal prisms on their ends. If he hadn¡¯t known better, he would have thought it had been built by a group of bees. As it was, Dominic immediately encountered his first problem: the doors were shut. This was immediately an issue: it turned out that a lion¡¯s paws were not the best when it came to dealing with handles. Fortunately for him, they were bar handles ¨C the bar a hexagonal shape, of course ¨C so eventually he was able to get the right technique to slip his paw between the metal and the door and pull. That¡¯s where the next problem appeared: the doors were also locked. At first, Dominic had thought he just wasn¡¯t able to apply enough pressure to the handle to actually open it, but repeated attempts and increasing frustration proved to him that, indeed, it was an issue with the doors themselves. Growling in annoyance, he stopped trying to yank the doors open and sat back on his haunches. It was then that another box popped up in his vision. You couldn¡¯t have told me that earlier, groused Dominic grumpily to himself. He also read the melodramatic flavour text with a judging eye. Original, not, he criticised. Ah well. Might as well get to it. Plus, the mention of trodils actually had him perking up a bit. He wouldn¡¯t deny the appeal of a rematch against the little annoyances now he¡¯d got full control over his body. Another plus: more opportunities to gain Quick Strike. ***** About half an hour later, Dominic felt like he¡¯d properly scouted the whole of the cavern and found the location of the five keys. Well, four out of five for sure, and he had a good clue where the fifth was. Trodils were everywhere; some static, some moving. Another person might call that a challenge; Dominic called it an opportunity. With that number of individuals, he should gain Quick Strike in no time! Not to mention PP for his next level-up, presuming that dungeon creatures gave PP. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. With that in mind, he headed straight for one of the paths worn into the savannah grasses. Finding one, he lay next to it and waited patiently. What his scouting had told him was that trodils trotted along these paths with regularity. Maybe that¡¯s why there were paths at all. Although it could just be the dungeon design, like that temple, he allowed. Through chance, he¡¯d found out that as long as he wasn¡¯t on the path itself, the passing trodil would completely ignore him. Taking full advantage of that, he set an ambush. The first trodil came into view a few minutes later, Dominic shifting into a position more ready to pounce. As it was about to draw abreast of him, he tensed his muscles further. A moment later and it was all over. For the trodil. Dominic was frankly over-leveled for the encounter. Even had he not taken an enhancement to his speed in a recent level-up, his weight, superior weaponry, and the element of surprise massively stacked the deck in his favour. Frankly, the only reason he¡¯d struggled at all in their last encounter had been because of their numbers and his own lack of familiarity with his body. Quickly absorbing the body, he checked his status screen. A moment later, he closed it, satisfied that killing this trodil in the dungeon was no different from killing it outside. 21 more PP in the bag, 7% closer to gaining a new ability, hunger and thirst partially quenched, and the single point of stamina he¡¯d used replenished, Dominic returned to his wait. I might as well see whether any other trodils pass by here before moving to another spot, he decided. He didn¡¯t know whether it was his own laziness making the decision or the innate laziness of a lion, but either way it seemed a sound strategy. Four more trodils later, Dominic was fairly sure that no more were coming along this particular pathway. He¡¯d been waiting for around ten minutes; the longest previous time was only about four or five. Pushing himself to his feet, he stretched, enjoying the feeling in his sinuous muscles. Man, even going to the gym every day wouldn¡¯t get me this stacked, he decided admiringly. Shaking the bare beginnings of what would one day be a lustrous mane, he trotted off to find another ambush site. Spotting a trodil jogging along another path, he ran lightly after it. Charging quickly as he got closer, he overran it in a matter of seconds and quickly overwhelmed it. He¡¯d only taken two injuries so far in this dungeon and he wasn¡¯t looking to add to them. Another quick absorption of its corpse, and he settled beside the track, sure that this one was still ¡®live¡¯. Sure enough, he didn¡¯t have to wait long until another trodil approached. As it got closer, he realised with a thrill of excitement that this one was different from the others. It was bigger, for one. For another, it had something golden-coloured in its mouth. The first key! Fixing his hunter¡¯s gaze on the other predator, he waited for his moment. Unlike the other trodils, this one seemed to detect his presence somehow. It slowed and stopped short of his ambush, casting around itself suspiciously. Dominic released the tension in his muscles by bounding forwards, pushing his new speed to its limits as he covered the ground with admirable speed. To his surprise, the trodil didn¡¯t run. Instead, as soon as he emerged from hiding, it spat out the golden key piece and stood its ground, baring its teeth. It even leapt out of the way of his initial pounce, slashing at his flanks and he overshot. Both of them missed: Dominic unable to course-correct fast enough; the trodil misjudging the distance, or perhaps the speed at which he was travelling. No matter. As soon as he got his feet under control, Dominic leapt back at the trodil. Prepared for it to side-step again, he swiped at it with his claws in passing. Yes, after experimentation, he had found a way to show the damage he dealt along with the damage he took. That was less welcome, though the pain from his flanks revealed that the trodil had also learned from its previous encounter. Lunge, swipe. Dodge. Damage. Pain. The battle fell into more of a rhythm. The trodil was irritating, dodging out of range as soon as it could, playing it safe. Dominic felt his frustration rise as it went on. His frustration made him reckless and he willingly offered the trodil an opening just to make one for himself. The trodil bit, both figuratively and literally. More than double the previous attacks, this one was clearly more serious since the trodil was able to sink its teeth into the skin of his neck. Dominic barely kept his panic at bay, but the opportunity offered was worth it. In return for the trodil¡¯s minor injury, Dominic ripped out its own throat. The messages came in thick and fast as the life left the trodil¡¯s eyes. After the issue with a thought-dead enemy actually just being unconscious, Dominic had asked the System to inform him when he¡¯d made a kill ¨C it had obliged. A level 3 Beast, apparently. Unsurprising considering its greater size and intelligence. Quickly absorbing the body, Dominic was pleased when it offered another 2% progress towards earning Quick Strike. Only 20% left until Quick Strike is at 100%. I wonder what will happen then¡­ Trotting over to the key piece, he wondered what to do with it. If he¡¯d had a pocket, he¡¯d have put it in there. As it was, his coat was rather lacking in pockets. A design-flaw right there, he thought humorously to himself. In the end, he just picked it up in his mouth and decided to spit it out like the trodil when he wanted to use his teeth. Time to earn me that Quick Strike, he thought to himself with excitement. Chapter 11: Apply Changes The three trodils required to bring Quick Strike up to 100% were gratifyingly easy to kill. Finding them was actually the most difficult part as it seemed like Dominic was close to clearing this area of the roving trodils ¨C had maybe achieved it already. The last one actually must have taken him more than an hour to find: he actually had to use some tracking skills Leo nudged towards him to find it. Dominic still didn¡¯t know why his leonine passenger was helping him, but he wasn¡¯t looking a gift-horse (gift-lion?) in the mouth. Maybe Leo had got as bored as he had in the search. When he no longer saw any evidence of fresh tracks or smelt any fresh scent, he decided that he¡¯d cleared the area sufficiently. Taking a break, he looked at his status screen with pleasure. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Basic Beast Level 3 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 287/116PP level up Hunger level: 85% Thirst level: 94% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike level 1 (100%) level up to acquire this ability Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 2 (2-4 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 Crushing damage, 27-50 Tearing damage, 25-35 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 3 (max sprint speed 25mps; max sprint duration 10s) (57 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) So I have to level up after the ability hits 100%, Dominic mused. Fortunately, that wasn¡¯t an issue: he had at least one level up waiting for him, maybe even two depending on the Prey Points required to get to level 5. Quickly activating the level up, Dominic spent a little time perusing the list of enhancement options once more. He still felt the same about purely aesthetic things, so mane was still out. He wavered a little over Touch ¨C his previous experience trying to travel through the dark tunnel coming back to nag at him. Then again, he managed to get through it OK, so he wasn¡¯t sure it would have helped much. Frankly, he hadn¡¯t really struggled against the trodils at all, so it was hard to know where he needed enhancement. Then again, I¡¯m not only enhancing myself for fighting trodils, he considered. It came back to the same question: enhance what is already good to make it better - i.e. offence - or enhance something that was weaker? Given that he probably had two level-ups to play with ¨C or would do in the near future ¨C Dominic decided to take a risk for the first one. [You have chosen to enhance your Skin (harder). Apply changes?] Yes. Expecting to feel the shiver of energy pass through him like normal, he was surprised when another message appeared instead. [You have 1 new ability available to be acquired. New ability: Quick Strike (T0). Would you like to acquire this ability?] Dominic already knew what his answer would be, but he was glad to see that it was a choice. Not that any of the abilities he was in the process of acquiring were rubbish, but he could imagine that he might be offered something truly trash. The abilities seemed to be linked to the animal¡¯s natural advantages: even before the System hyenas had one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom, so the fact that their ability was ¡®Crushing Bite¡¯ seemed natural. Equally, kangaroos had always had a powerful kick. Perhaps trodils had always had a quick attacking ability. If they¡¯d existed before the System came, anyway. So what if, say, he took down something like a llama and suddenly was offered the ability to spit? Yeah, no. Not interested. It was therefore good to know that he wouldn¡¯t be lumbered with a whole load of useless skills. This one, however, he was interested in. Although he already had a good idea of what Quick Strike did, from the name if nothing else, he was curious as to whether the System would offer him any more information about its details before he acquired it. Focusing on the name, he was pleased when a new message box popped up. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. [Quick Strike (T0): Consume stamina to offer a burst of speed when striking in a single direction. At level 1, consuming 3 SP will offer +20% speed. Consume 6 SP for +30% speed. These values may change as the skill level increases. Acquire ability?] Yes, Dominic assented and he felt the shiver of the almost electric feeling pass through him, making his fur stand on end. Ultimately he was pleased with the ability. It was pretty weak right now, but it also didn¡¯t cost much. A 20% increase in speed was much like he¡¯d had by enhancing his muscles in the previous level up, and he¡¯d already experienced the difference that made. And since it was a percentage increase, it would scale with his stats. As for his other gains from the level, he checked his status screen again. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Basic Beast Level 4 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 171/121 PP level up Hunger level: 85% Thirst level: 94% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 1 ¨C 3 SP for +20% speed; 6 SP for +30% speed Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 2 (2-4 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction) - Skin level 2 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility -3% Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 Crushing damage, 27-50 Tearing damage, 25-35 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 3 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 10s) (57 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) Some was as he¡¯d expected: he still had another level up waiting for him; his Quick Strike now gave more information. Skin had been added to his defensive section, offering reductions against Slicing and Piercing damage, both of which made sense. I assume the damage reduction is additive? Dominic mused to himself. Otherwise it wouldn¡¯t be much use. Not so expected was the fact that the details linked to his Muscular Body had changed: instead of talking about ¡®max sprint speed¡¯, it was now just ¡®max speed¡¯. Worse than that was the fact that the value represented had gone from 25 to 24 mps. I guess that is the result of hardening my skin, he thought, dismayed. There was also that damning -3% to his flexibility. Well, nothing I can do about it now, he concluded. Actually, what would happen if on the next level I chose Skin and flexibility? Would I lose the defence rating? He was tempted to try, but talked himself down for now. I need to try out my Quick Strike first, he decided. Testing it both in and out of combat would be necessary; fortunately he knew exactly where he could find a group of trodils. Moving towards them, he tested out his new ability. Quick Strike, he called mentally and found himself suddenly lunging forwards, his body almost moving without his consent. Whoa, that was disorientating! He mentally grinned. Let¡¯s try again. Trial and error proved to be a good strategy to get to grips with his new ability. He did find himself stumbling and almost falling on his nose several times as the sudden burst of speed was difficult for him to get used to. Although the description hadn¡¯t given him any sort of time limit, the ability only worked with a single movement. He found that he could use it combined with a pounce, a swipe, or a lunge. He could even use it sequentially, bounding forwards quickly by triggering it each time he pushed off. The last consumed a lot of his stamina, though ¨C the 3 SP cost was only apparently for the first strike and the cost mounted more and more each time. By the time his SP were down to 10, he decided he¡¯d got sufficiently to grips with it and lay down to rest. Overall, Dominic was fairly pleased with this new ability, feeling like it matched with his offensive capabilities. The proof would come in combat, when he live tested it. And he had a perfect test in mind, one that would kill two birds ¨C or three trodils ¨C with one stone: test his ability, gain more Prey Points, and acquire another of the five keys. For now, though, he needed to recover a bit. Lying down, he rested his heavy head on his front paws. Closing his eyes, he found himself drifting. He¡¯d thought it would be difficult to fall asleep, in such an alien body from what he was used to. It wasn¡¯t. His body was used to sleeping, and this position was very comfortable as well as quickly defensible. And his body and mind were tired. It had been a long day. Or had it even been 24 hours yet since everything happened? In this dungeon where the ¡®sun¡¯ remained stubbornly overhead, it was hard to tell how much time had passed. Either way, Dominic soon felt the blackness of sleep take over. For a moment he resisted ¨C he was in a dungeon, after all. Not the safest environment. Then his leonine instincts reminded him that a lion was never safe. And that now he was a cat, he could engage in the wonderful activity of sleeping with an eye half-open. Even if not literally, the feeling he got was that he would be immediately aware if anything approached. With that reassurance, he gave into the tempting embrace of a cat-nap. His dreams were restless. Flashes of being chased, or being the one chasing mixed with memories of his previous life as a human. There was a confusion over his body. In one moment he was trying to speak to his mother over the phone only to be unable to make any more sound than a growl or a grunt; in another, he was surrounded by other lions all bigger than him and he felt terrified that they were about to eat him. Dominic snapped into awareness. Something was moving nearby. Pretending to still sleep, he used his other senses to detect where and what it was. Based on the scent that drifted to his nose, it was a trodil. The slight shifting he heard of paws on hard earth put its position just behind him, to the left. The trodil stepped closer, seemingly wary of approaching too quickly. Perhaps it hoped to catch him unawares. Curious about how close it would attempt to come, Dominic waited, his muscles slowly tensing in preparation for his strike. Closer, closer, closer. The trodil reduced the distance between them an inch at a time. If he had still been wholly human, Dominic would have exploded into action already, the patience required to wait for his prey to approach beyond him. As it was, Leo was there in the back of his mind, urging him to wait, to let his prey put itself into a vulnerable position. And then, as the trodil reached striking range, Dominic finally erupted from his lying position like a spring. Chapter 12: Too Much to Handle It wasn¡¯t even a challenge. The trodil was taken completely unawares and a message was floating up in front of Dominic¡¯s eyes before it could even fight back. [You have dealt 112 damage (Piercing+Tearing+Crushing)] [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 27 PP] That was the more powerful one? Dominic thought to himself, surprised. Yes, actually the body lying on the ground did look bigger than most of its species he¡¯d seen so far. It was a testament, then, to how a surprise attack could be utterly overwhelming. Of course, a crushing bite to the neck would ruin anyone¡¯s day ¨C Dominic knew that intimately. The human-turned-lion was interested to see just how much damage that one attack had done by referencing his log, his theories about the damage qualities of his natural weaponry completely proven. As he looked at the level 3 trodil thoughtfully, he theorised something else: why the trodil had so carefully crept towards his head. Sure, it could have just been going for a killing bite to his neck just as Dominic had done to it. But if so, why not approach Dominic from behind? Why walk straight in front of him? What if it was trying to steal back the key? Dominic wondered. It was an interesting question, and if he was right, it meant that there was no way he should leave the key unguarded, useful to know since he had been considering leaving the key piece near the door it was supposed to open. Sighing, he instead resigned himself to carrying it around in his mouth like the trodils had been. He¡¯d have to put it down when in a fight though...he would have grimaced if his mouth could twist that way. Instead, he just felt his lips rise to bare his teeth. Hopefully this won¡¯t turn into one of those fights where if I take my eye off it for a moment, something will come and steal it. ***** Fifteen minutes later, Dominic realised that it had absolutely turned into one of those fights where he had to keep his eye on the key piece at all times. Well, perhaps that was a little bit of an exaggeration. It was more a case of needing to stay within a certain range of it, at least until all enemies were focused on him. At the beginning of the fight, he¡¯d spat the key piece out and gone for one of the trodils, only to realise that the other smaller one was taking advantage of his distraction to try and grab it. He¡¯d only noticed the snatch and grab when a glint of gold had caught his eye as it went running past. At least Quick Strike was showing its value: the ability allowing him to make lunges at a speed the trodils attacking him were not expecting. The body of the sneak-thief already lying on the floor offering proof to his combat power. A well-aimed Quick Strike had added speed to his leap, allowing him to break its back in a single strike. Another bite had ended the unfortunate dog-like creature. It had been then that he¡¯d realised that the two smaller trodils attacking him were in fact level 2s: in comparison to the third trodil, they¡¯d looked small enough to be level 1s. After that, Dominic was careful not to let the key piece out of sight, though he had a feeling that it was safer now than before. He was engaging the second moving trodils: the third was much more static. The larger trodil was in a similar position to Dominic: guarding a key piece. Like him, it had spat it out at the beginning of the fight, but, unlike him, it seemed unwilling to go more than a single body-length away from it. Absently Dominic wondered whether it was worried that one of its own kind would take the opportunity to steal the golden object from it in the same way they would steal it from the lion. The smaller trodil suddenly lunged at Dominic, using its own version of the ability he¡¯d gained from absorbing their kind¡¯s Beast Cores. He didn¡¯t flinch, instead just pushing backwards to shift his weight onto his back paws and then activating Quick Strike himself to take out the smaller trodil as gravity pulled his heavier front back down to earth. His weight was too much for the small trodil to handle, and it quickly collapsed below him, its failure to resist gravity spelling its end as his jaws bit its head half off. [You have dealt 105 damage (Piercing+Tearing+Crushing)] [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 2)] [You have earned 24 PP] I wonder if I¡¯ve earned another level up, yet? Dominic wondered in the moment between the end of that trodil and the attack of the last. With the end of the last of its two subordinates, the final trodil, bigger by half again than the other two, seemed to go into another ¡®phase¡¯. Under Dominic¡¯s curious gaze, it swelled, growing in size. It still wasn¡¯t quite Dominic¡¯s rival when it came to either height or length, but it was impressively close considering that the basic level one beast barely reached halfway up his legs. In addition to its suddenly bulging muscles, the trodil¡¯s gaze became maddened and it started attacking with no regard for either its personal safety or the key piece it had left abandoned on the floor. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Dominic quickly found himself avoiding its noticeably faster lunges with only a hair¡¯s breadth to spare where before it had been easy to dodge. He even started accumulating the first injuries of the fight as the trodil turned an apparently misjudged lunge into a slash at his side instead. Growling, Dominic started focusing more, sensing that he needed to give his full attention to the fight rather than the distracted focus he¡¯d been able to get away with before. The trodil lunged. Dominic shifted sideways to avoid it, the position putting him in a position to use Quick Strike to target the trodil¡¯s flank. [You have dealt 21 damage (Tearing)] The trodil spun around almost quicker than Dominic could register and a piercing pain in his back haunch revealed that it had sunk its teeth into his flesh. [You have taken 20 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] Dominic tore himself away from the trodil''s teeth, twisting back on himself to attack its own haunches. He felt the impact of his reduction to flexibility as his body didn¡¯t quite do what he was expecting it to do. The final movement was acceptable, however, and he quickly sank his claws into the flesh above the trodil¡¯s hips. [You have dealt 9 damage (Piercing+Tearing+Slicing)] The trodil squealed, its high-pitched sound more like a pig than the dog it appeared similar to. It tried to pull away, but Dominic was still the larger and stronger creature. With the additional length to his claws, it would take a lot more effort than that to detach him. Not to mention that the trodil would cause itself a huge amount of pain and damage in the process. From behind, with his claws essentially controlling the trodil¡¯s lateral movement, it was easy for Dominic to avoid his prey¡¯s snapping teeth. Treating the trodil like a zebra he had latched onto, Dominic started biting at its hindquarters, aiming to hit the spine. [You have dealt 37 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] [You have dealt 22 damage (Piercing)] [You have dealt 62 damage (Piercing+Crushing)] When its back legs went limp, he knew he¡¯d won. With its back half useless, the madness in the trodil¡¯s gaze cleared to reveal fear. Along with the fear came weakness as the trodil¡¯s body lost its increased size and strength. A bite to his enemy¡¯s neck and a couple of minutes later, Dominic saw another message appear in front of him. [You have dealt 52 damage (Piercing+Crushing)] [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 31 PP] Excellent. Releasing the body, Dominic quickly went to make sure his prizes were within easy reach, not wanting some other trodil to sneak by and steal them away while wasn¡¯t paying attention. Now with two key pieces, he could see how they would be fixed together. Both were basically pieces of golden-coloured metal in a vaguely triangular shape. Given the preponderance of hexagons to the whole temple design ¨C having by now seen all angles of the building, Dominic could say for sure that it was hexagonal ¨C he would have thought that the keys would make a hexagon together. The only issue with that was that there were only five keys to collect, not six. Anyway, the two pieces he had didn¡¯t actually fit together at all, though he could see how they probably would with other pieces. After quickly consuming the bodies, Dominic settled down to look at his status screen. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Basic Beast Level 4 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 277/121 PP level up Hunger level: 100% Thirst level: 100% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 1 (30% to level 2) ¨C 3 SP for +20% speed; 6 SP for +30% speed Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 2 (2-4 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction) - Skin level 2 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility -3% Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 Crushing damage, 27-50 Tearing damage, 25-35 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 3 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 10s) (45/60 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) Although he¡¯d absorbed three bodies, the amount of stamina he¡¯d consumed between normal fighting and using Quick Strike meant that he still hadn¡¯t returned to full on that. On the other hand, there were some other more interesting changes to his status sheet. First of all the fact that he probably had another two level ups essentially in the bag, and now he had more practice with using Quick Strike in battle, he had a better idea of what he needed to improve. Activating the level up, he was curious to see that there was a new entry to the list of physical elements he could improve. [Strike ¨C improve your speed and power when attacking] Almost curious enough just to choose that one for pure novelty value, Dominic forcibly controlled his urge. You know what to choose. Select that one later. Still, it was interesting that he¡¯d gained another enhancement option as well as the ability itself. [You have chosen to enhance your Skin (more flexible). Apply changes?] Quickly accepting the change, Dominic navigated to his status screen. The first change that attracted his attention was that he had got a few more Prey Points than needed to level up a second time. Excellent. Progress to Evolution: 156/140 PP level up The next change was the results of his test. - Skin level 3 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +1% Awesome, he commented to himself. Honestly, he couldn¡¯t have been more pleased with the outcome. Not only had he gained enough flexibility to turn his value positive from its previous negative, but he hadn¡¯t actually lost any damage reduction. I wonder if these are supposed to work together? It was an interesting thought. Go hard on one aspect of the body and get an awesome ability with some serious weaknesses. Or take a measured approach and shore up weaknesses while increasing strength. The consequence of the second, of course, was that none of the strengths would be particularly strong. It was with that in mind that he activated his next level up, seeing no point in saving it now he had more idea about where he wanted to take his development. Chapter 13: Half-Step Getting to level 6 was immediately different from the ones before. [Congratulations! You have reached your first half-step tier. As a reward for reaching this first milestone, you may choose an extra option to enhance. Reach further milestones to gain greater rewards. Which two aspects of yourself would you like to enhance?] Excellent, Dominic said to himself, delighted at this luck. Reach further milestones for greater gains, eh¡­? He looked forward to seeing them, though had no idea when the next would be. Since it said it was a ¡®half-step¡¯, did that mean the next one would be in another six levels? Perhaps. I¡¯ll find out, I guess, he decided. Mentally shrugging, he returned his thoughts to the present situation. He¡¯d already got one option chosen, so kept that in mind even as he perused the list. Having already done one test on the previous level and been pleased with the results, he decided to do another for his second choice. One for logic, one for fun, he justified to himself. And Leo. [You have chosen to enhance your Heart and your Coat (lengthen). Apply changes?] Yes, he thought, though second-guessed himself a moment later. This was his life not a game, after all. Maybe making a ¡®fun¡¯ choice wasn¡¯t the best¡­ Anyway, too late now. Let¡¯s see the results. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Half-step Evolved Beast Level 6 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 16/147 PP Hunger level: 0% Thirst level: 0% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 1 (30% to level 2) ¨C 3 SP for +20% speed; 6 SP for +30% speed Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction, 1-2 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 3 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +1% Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 1 (32-50 Crushing damage, 27-50 Tearing damage, 25-35 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 4 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 13s) (80/80 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) Well, that¡¯s good to see. His SP hadn¡¯t increased by 15 points this time ¨C it had increased by 20. His max speed duration had also increased to more than it had been before he lost the speed due to his hardened skin ¨C I wonder why I didn¡¯t get that back when I increased my skin¡¯s flexibility again? Those facts, along with the better increases in damage reduction in comparison to the last time he picked his coat all pointed to one thing: that focusing on a single area would have increasing returns. It was great to be able to choose two different areas again. If I¡¯m supposed to get ¡®greater rewards¡¯, maybe I¡¯ll even be able to choose three different options at Tier 2¡­. Six levels was as many more as he¡¯d earned so far, and they would potentially be harder to earn since they¡¯d cost more Prey Points. Still, Dominic was optimistic: he¡¯d already powered his way through six levels in in two days. Several of them in this dungeon, even. For the first time, Dominic was glad he¡¯d got chased by the hyenas: he¡¯d have never found it otherwise. Speaking of, it was time he got back to work. The keys, and Prey Points, weren¡¯t going to find themselves, after all. Getting up, he stretched luxuriously, his mouth opening in a silent yawn. I¡¯m never going to be able to get used to how far my spine bends, Dominic decided even as he shook his fur ¨C which had doubled in length. The wispy longer strands of fur which made up his poor-excuse for a mane now flapped around his ears and eyes, reminding him a little of when he¡¯d gone through an emo stage at school and had bangs. He thought back to that time with embarrassed fondness ¨C he¡¯d thought he was so cool. It was only with the benefit of hindsight that he realised all the adults around him had probably been laughing internally. Or sighing. His dad had done a lot of sighing through those years. Pulling his mind back onto the topic at hand, he became a bit more critical than reminiscent. Considering most of the fur on his body had only been a centimetre long or so, doubling its length didn¡¯t seem like it should mean much, but the effects were quite noticeable. His mane was, naturally, much more affected ¨C double the length meant he was actually starting to have a mane. It was still tawny instead of the usual colour of a lion¡¯s signature feature, but he couldn¡¯t help shaking his head a few times just to feel it shift again. Leo, who¡¯d been pretty quiet for quite a time, gave off a sudden sense of approval. Typical. I really don¡¯t get why he wants a mane so badly. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Padding away, Dominic headed directly towards where he knew the next key was. What he¡¯d discovered when he¡¯d gone out scouting before was that each of the four keys were positioned in cardinal directions around the temple, as far away from each other as they could get in the cavern. At least, without any other indication of North, that¡¯s what he decided to label them as. The keys were each held, like the one he¡¯d just collected, by a single trodil surrounded by a group. The reason he¡¯d chosen the one to the ¡®South¡¯ was simple: it was the easiest. Each camp of trodils was more difficult than the previous. The one he¡¯d just cleared had had a single trodil key-holder at level 4, and two guards at level 2. Although he had no way of being sure, his scouting had revealed that each of the camps held bigger and bigger trodils. If he had to guess, the next camp would hold guards of level 3 and a key-holder of level 5. That followed on from roaming guards of level 1 and a roaming key-holder of level 3. If his guess about the pattern was correct, that would mean that the last guards would end up being level 5, a level even greater than the key-holder he had just killed. The key-holder, on the other hand, would be level 7. That was a higher level than he was now. He wouldn¡¯t be nervous about that, though, if not for the other thing he¡¯d noticed. After all, even if the biggest trodil he¡¯d seen while scouting was a bit bigger than him, he had faith in his teeth, claws, and flexibility. No, the complication was also about the numbers. As the trodils got bigger, so did their entourage. If the level 4 had been accompanied by two lower-levelled trodils, the level 5 was accompanied by three. The next camp contained five trodils in total¡­and the last camp a full six. Assuming his guess about their levels was correct, he¡¯d be facing five level 5s, and a level 7 at the same time. And that was a prospect that didn¡¯t thrill him. Though that¡¯s why I started with the weakest, Dominic thought, trying to pep himself up. I¡¯ve already got to level 6 ¨C if I can get to level 7 or 8 over the next couple of camps, I¡¯ll have a much better chance. And if he decided that it was too much risk, he could always leave the dungeon: he¡¯d checked that the gateway was still present. By this point, he¡¯d reached the second camp of trodils. He was crouched in the grass that surrounded the bare earth of the camp itself, gazing at the trodils with intent eyes. The key-holder was at the back, almost against the cavern wall. The other three were arranged around it, two lying down; one on its feet. Deciding that there was no point in trying to sneak close ¨C the bare earth was too open for that ¨C Dominic instead stood up straight and snarled a challenge at the trodils. The trodils immediately went on the alert, all getting to their feet. Dominic noted that only the three guards came running at him, though, the key-holder once more keeping close to the key lying near its feet. Good. Three on one is much better odds than four on one. Snap. Dominic dodged the first strike with a hair¡¯s breadth to spare. My increased speed is already helping me, he noted absently. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t take advantage of the first trodil¡¯s momentary vulnerability as the other two were also lunging at him. Dancing out of the way, he wasn¡¯t quite quick enough to avoid all damage. [You have taken 17 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] Pain lanced through his shoulder as the message floated before his eyes briefly. Dominic quickly paid attention to the amount of damage and then dismissed it. These ones are definitely more powerful than the others I fought. The trodils weren¡¯t the only ones to become more powerful, though. Keeping his head, Dominic dodged the strikes until one was too brave and took a risk. Triggering Quick Strike, he lunged forward and snapped his jaws around the foolish trodil¡¯s neck. Lifting it with his strong neck muscles, he shook it like a dog would a rat. [You have dealt 106 damage to Trodil (Crushing+Piercing+Tearing)] [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 27 PP] A fatal mistake committed by the trodil ¨C over-extending in battle. [You have taken 19 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] [You have taken 16 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] The other two trodils had taken advantage of his momentary distraction and had struck. One hit his flank, one had circled around to his hindquarters. Dominic whirled around to strike at the trodil at his flank, his clawed paw delivering a blow the trodil wouldn¡¯t quickly forget. [You have dealt 18 damage to Trodil (Piercing+Tearing+Slicing)] Yelping, it retreated, blood filling its eyes. Dominic wouldn¡¯t let it do so. Another lunge boosted by Quick Strike later and he¡¯d bitten a massive hole in its side. A good result even if it managed to dodge quickly enough to avoid having its spine crushed. [You have dealt 75 damage to Trodil (Piercing+Tearing)] Its cries filling the air, Dominic whirled around to directly face the trodil attempting to harry him from behind. The sole uninjured guard was much warier than its teammates. They played a cat and mouse game for a few blows, each dodging the other¡¯s but being dodged in return. A message suddenly filled Leo¡¯s vision. [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 27 PP] The other trodil must have bled out, he surmised, instinctively glancing towards the still body lying to the side of the fight. The final guard took immediate advantage of his distraction, lunging with Quick Strike and latching onto his throat. [You have taken 20 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] The panic he¡¯d felt before welled up but his own death now feeling like almost a distant dream, Dominic wasn¡¯t overwhelmed by it again. Instead, he leant down to the ground and pinned the trodil to it, raking its body with his claws. [You have dealt 20 damage to Trodil (Piercing+Tearing+Slicing)] The trodil made a whining sound but held on, worrying at Dominic¡¯s throat with its teeth. Fortunately, it had grabbed little more than loose skin; it would take a while before serious damage was caused. Dominic, in return, kept raking at its vulnerable body with his claws. For all that the trodil tried to avoid him, with its own teeth buried in Dominic¡¯s throat, there was nowhere to run. [You have dealt 19 damage to Trodil (Piercing+Tearing+Slicing)] [You have dealt 22 damage to Trodil (Piercing+Tearing+Slicing)] [You have taken 17 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] [You have dealt 23 damage to Trodil (Piercing+Tearing+Slicing)] [You have dealt 25 damage to Trodil (Piercing+Tearing+Slicing)] [You have taken 19 damage (Piercing+Tearing)] [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 27 PP] As the trodil went limp, Dominic was able to get its teeth out of his flesh. He winced at the feeling, but couldn¡¯t help the satisfaction as he surveyed the three dead trodils. He might be bleeding, but he¡¯d succeeded. However, that wasn¡¯t the end of it. Like in the previous camp, the death of all its guards sent the key-keeper into a rage. Forgetting about the key, Dominic eyed it as it started swelling and expanding. Round 2. Ding. Chapter 14: Wait…. Now! The level 5 trodil lay dead at his feet, its blood seeping into the dry earth underneath its body. Dominic was panting and his health was down to under a hundred points, but it was OK. He was alive; he¡¯d survived. Not unscathed, though. Not uninjured. His front right leg was hurt enough that he wasn¡¯t putting any weight on it. Blood was trickling through his fur uncomfortably in multiple places. A nasty bite to his flank had ripped away the skin and part of the muscle. Now, even breathing just sent more pain shooting through from it. That rage attack is a killer, he mused grimly. Almost literally. The speed and power it had added to the trodil¡¯s attacks had made them impossible to dodge completely; the best he could do was merely shift one way or the other to minimise his injury. Maybe I should try a different technique next time, he continued by wondering even as he leaned down to touch his nose to the corpse before him. Both times the trodil only became enraged when I killed off all its ¡®guards¡¯. Perhaps it would be better to attack the key-holder first? It was risky. The key-holder had so far been the strongest of the lot each time, and Dominic had no reason to assume that would change. Even without the extra power of its rage, it would have been the most difficult to take down, and attacking the key-holder first would mean dealing with its entourage at the same time. Plus, if he was wrong about what triggered the rage, he could be in a very difficult position. Grumbling under his breath, the sound coming out as an irritated snarl, Dominic licked up the Beast Core of the mini-boss trodil. It was still small, but noticeably bigger than even its guards. Dominic had to wonder what would happen if he started finding human head-sized Cores. He wouldn¡¯t be able to swallow one of those¡­. Oh, hello, the human-turned-lion thought in pleasure as a new message flashed up. So it¡¯s actually an ability? But I swear it used Quick Strike too. It was an interesting question. The way the trodil had almost blurred a few times as it struck was surely an indication of a higher level Quick Strike from its brethren ¨C or a multiplicative effect of its boosting skill ¨C but clearly the actual boosting skill was itself an ability. However, Dominic had only received one of the abilities from the Core, not both. Does that mean that the previous mini-boss also had this ability, but I just got Quick Strike from it? Checking his status screen, Dominic saw that his progress towards the next level of Quick Strike hadn¡¯t changed since the end of the last fight, while his progress towards this new ability had advanced by the same 11% as he would have expected had it been applied to Quick Strike. So I guess that if a creature has multiple abilities, I only get one, Dominic thought, a little disappointed. Then again, if he was able to get all of a creature¡¯s abilities by killing it and eating its Core, that probably would be considered too much of a cheat. Not that Dominic would have cared ¨C all¡¯s fair in love and war, and all that. But perhaps whatever the System was wanted to keep a little more of a level playing field. I suppose that I only got this ability as a consolation prize for being merged with another being. If the System didn¡¯t want to be fair, it could have just left me without it, he told himself logically. In the end, Dominic just mentally shrugged and moved to consume the other bodies and corpses. Once he was done, his health and stamina resources were both well over half their maximums, but he didn¡¯t feel ready for the next fight yet. The one just passed had been tough, and the next would be even tougher. Approaching it without his maximum resources seemed idiotic. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have enough PP to level up. Progress to Evolution: 140/147 PP As he stared at the frustrating number, a mere 7 Prey Points away from level 7 ¨C ironic, perhaps ¨C he had a brainwave. Maybe that would work¡­. Lying down, he made sure that one of the key pieces was lying a foot away from his nose, then rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes. Let sleeping lions lie, he chuckled to himself. He was on high alert, regardless of what he looked like. And, even if nothing took the bait, hopefully he¡¯d regain resources over time anyway. While waiting for something to come and offer itself up as Prey Points on legs, Dominic found himself wondering what this whole place was for. Surely a dungeon like this isn¡¯t for beasts? Yes, Dominic accepted that he basically was a beast in body, but since his mind was still mostly human, he felt he was rather in a special category. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. But since he suspected his situation was rather rare, if not unique, who would be expected to come and tackle the dungeon? The thought that it wasn¡¯t meant to be entered did cross his mind, but he dismissed it a moment later. The whole ¡®quest¡¯ to find the bits of the key, the set-up of the trodils ranging from roaming weak individuals to strong groups, the message he¡¯d been greeted with at the beginning¡­ No. This was a place that was designed to be entered and challenged. But not by beasts, surely, who wouldn¡¯t necessarily have the strategic capabilities to both hunt the trodils, find the key pieces, and then assemble them to gain access to...whatever came next. So humans, then. But how would a human be expected to overcome this? Dominic wondered. OK, an experienced hunter with a gun and enough bullets would probably find this whole thing a cake-walk. But how many people carried guns around and knew how to use them properly? Yes, there were probably more in South Africa than in his homeland, but what if all they had was a knife or some makeshift weapon constructed after the apocalypse arrived? Dominic was already struggling a bit, and he¡¯d only cleared out the two weakest camps. And that was as an apex predator who only needed his natural weapons to easily kill a human one-on-one ¨C assuming no armour or advanced armaments on the human, anyway. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t meant to be done solo? A team would definitely make this experience easier. Heck, Dominic could easily imagine a four-man DnD team tackling this: the damage-dealer triggering the trodils to attack, the defender pulling their attention and keeping them off the others, the scout sneaking in behind to grab the key piece while no one was looking, and the medic helping everyone afterwards. Actually, would there be classes for humans? While it wasn¡¯t pleasant to consider the fact that he might no longer be considered as human, it wouldn¡¯t exactly be a surprise ¨C his own status screen even labelled him as a ¡®beast¡¯. In the initial message he¡¯d seen, crafting had been offered as a method to progress, and then crossed out, making it clear it wasn¡¯t something he could do. Logically that meant other people would be able to do that. And if they could do crafting to progress, couldn¡¯t that mean they¡¯d get a class for it? Sure, there were no guarantees that combat classes existed even if crafting ones did, but Dominic couldn¡¯t help but think it was a likely possibility. In the end, his thoughts were nothing but idle ruminations: the fact was that he didn¡¯t have any sort of team or backup. He didn¡¯t have a class or any way of improving himself other than fighting and killing. The thought of not improving himself was immediately dismissed. There was no way he wanted to become the prey instead, and letting everything but him get stronger at a faster rate than him seemed like a perfect way of ensuring he¡¯d be prey. Leo gave off a strong sense of agreement with his thoughts ¨C clearly the lion was very familiar with what weakness got a creature in the cut-throat environment of the Kruger Park. Besides, Dominic was curious about what was inside the temple, and to get there he had to gather all five keys. ***** Time slipped by, and several times Dominic wondered whether his plan would even work, though reminded himself each time that in a way it didn¡¯t matter if it did or didn¡¯t. Sure, it would be more beneficial if he got what he wanted, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. Then, when he was on the verge of giving up out of sheer impatience, he heard a quiet footfall. The silence that followed made him wonder whether it had just been wishful thinking, but he refused to let himself even twitch just in case it had been real. When another slight scraping sound happened a few moments later, he was glad he hadn¡¯t broken his pretense. The next few minutes were tortuous, his ears straining to hear every sound, no matter how slight, trying to get a good idea of where his opponent was. Wait. Wait¡­. Now! Snapping his eyes open, Dominic took a fraction of a second to confirm what his ears had been telling him and then propelled himself off the ground with powerful muscles enhanced by Quick Strike. All the practice he¡¯d had over the last few days was paying off now: his strike was perfectly calculated to land him in the ideal spot. His sharp claws pierced and ripped through the flesh of his opponent, forcing it to the ground. There, his teeth bit viciously into the neck of the startled trodil, a strangled yelp emerging from its jaws. Then its throat was ripped out and all it could make was a desperate wheeze. The light faded from its eyes not long after and the awaited notification flashed up in front of Dominic. Perfect. Dominic was also pleased with two more things. First, he¡¯d succeeded in turning off the damage notifications from the damage he inflicted. Second, he¡¯d taken his target down in less than ten seconds with no damage taken. Though, at least the fact that he could now see his health and stamina bars in the corner of his vision proved that he¡¯d succeeded with his other attempt. He¡¯d found the flashing messages about damage taken and received too distracting. Although it might be useful to see damage when trying to work out if his new and improved offensive or defensive capabilities were actually any better, he¡¯d far rather just not take the damage in the first place. Having a flashing message suddenly appear in his vision had startled him more than once in the middle of a fight. No, having bars was much better and he was glad that the System was flexible enough to adapt his HUD to his needs. Though, the fight had been over so quickly he hadn¡¯t seen whether the trodil had had a bar over its own head ¨C his other request. However, the fact that he had now earned enough Prey Points to level up was by far the most exciting bit. Not only did it mean he could enter the next battle with full resources ¨C although his stamina had already been basically filled ¨C but he could also go with one of his capabilities enhanced. Waiting for the trodil to come had offered him plenty of time to decide which would be the best avenue for him to take. So, only briefly taking a moment to consume the body and Core of the trodil, he activated the level up. Chapter 15: Leap Dominic stalked through the waist-high savannah grass. Well, it would have been waist-high on his old body; on his new one, it was almost to his shoulders if he stood properly. Actually¡­ am I bigger than I used to be? the human-turned-lion wondered. A moment later, he pushed the thought away ¨C this was no time to consider such things. As it was, he wasn¡¯t walking properly, rather slinking forward sinuously in the way lions do when they¡¯ve spotted prey and are trying to stay unnoticed. The tips of his shoulder-blades were the highest points on his body with his hips being the second highest. His head was lowered between his shoulders; his golden eyes fixed on his target. The trodil seemed unaware that it was the focal point of his attention. It looked relaxed, lying down on its side with its head on its front paws. The key glinted golden in its mouth. Unlike the previous two camps of trodils, this one was positioned on and around a rocky outcrop. The key-holder was on the highest rock, though that only meant it was six or seven feet above the rest of the savannah, since the rocky outcrop wasn¡¯t too high. Two of the other trodils were placed on lower parts of the rock formation; the other two were on the ground around it. They almost looked like an honour-guard: like one wishing to parlay with their lord would have to walk between them ¨C or fight them if they meant harm. Of course, if his guess was correct about Rage, killing off the guards would then trigger the mini-boss¡¯s boosted state, leading to the wrath of an angered monarch falling upon whoever was foolish enough to provoke it. Needless to say, that wasn¡¯t his plan. Fortunately for him, a six or seven foot height was well within a normal lion¡¯s ability to leap, let alone his enhanced body. Even if it wasn¡¯t explicitly stated, he suspected that at least one of his muscular enhancements would have to positively affect his jumping ability in some way. Padding silently around the camp, he rounded the back of the outcrop without gaining any of the trodils¡¯ attention. His eyes once more fixed on the trodil, now looking at its vulnerable back, he prepared to strike. A moment later, he leaped, his coiled muscles pushing powerfully against the hard ground. He¡¯d engaged Quick Strike so he ended up hitting the target almost before he had time to prepare. Almost. As it was, he¡¯d been ready for that, so hit the trodil claws first, his teeth following up. Crunch. His mouth filled with hot blood. Unfortunately, this trodil wasn¡¯t as much a pushover as the level 3 one had been a bare quarter of an hour ago. His first strike was enough to do damage, but not enough to kill it. To his delight, he saw a translucent red bar hover above the trodil¡¯s head, a good quarter of it already gone. So much easier than damage notifications, he thought to himself even as he dodged out of the way of the trodil¡¯s return attack. Funnily enough, although this trodil was probably a higher level than the level 5 one he killed not that long ago, it seemed slower and weaker. I guess that¡¯s the impact of Rage, Dominic concluded. The difference in this case, however, was that from the moment he¡¯d leaped, he¡¯d been on a timer. Already, the trodils from the lower level of the rock outcropping were snapping at him if he dared to venture too close. They¡¯d have probably leaped onto the higher level itself except that there was limited space as it was. It was a risk, ignoring the lower level trodils as he did: if his guess was correct, they were the same level as the first mini-boss he fought, all four of them. However, he was determined to down this mini-boss before tackling the minions. As it was, the terrain favoured him a little: the restricted space meant that he wasn¡¯t surrounded. Lunge and bite, teeth ripping through flesh. Another chunk of the key-holder¡¯s health gone, though less than half that of his first strike. Pain. He¡¯d gone too close to the snapping jaws of one of the minions. Pain. The distraction allowed the key-holder to set its teeth into Dominic¡¯s leg. The lion snarled as shards of hot glass were sent through his nerves: the trodil hadn¡¯t let go, but instead had shaken its head and worsened the wound. A chunk was taken out of Dominic¡¯s own health pool. Focus! The trodil¡¯s position didn¡¯t allow Dominic¡¯s own jaws to come into play, but he had other weapons. Throwing himself onto his back, he grasped the trodil with his available set of front claws and curved his back legs forward to kick at its belly. The trodil whimpered and scrabbled uselessly at him with its own blunt claws, chunks of health leaving its bar as Dominic¡¯s claws disemboweled it bit by bit. Letting go with its teeth, the trodil attempted to bite at Dominic¡¯s gripping front paw. Instead, it just sealed its demise. Twisting his body, the lion half-rolled on top of the trodil, pinning it. It was almost the same size as him, but Dominic¡¯s leonine body was strong, and managed with only a little struggle. Striking forwards with his jaws, he set his teeth into the trodil¡¯s throat and clamped down. He watched the health bar empty, already seriously reduced even before he¡¯d got the trodil by the throat. It flashed briefly, and then vanished. At the notification, the lion gladly released his hold and pushed himself to his feet. Dominic had been suffering attacks from the minions even as he crushed their leader¡¯s throat. His own health bar was quickly dropping, the attacks of the level 4s unfortunately noticeable. Now that the mini-boss was dead, though, he could go to town on the weaker trodils. But first¡­ Yes. In a few moments, his health increased again by a noticeable margin. Above half-health. Good. By this point, three of the smaller trodils had joined him on the top platform and it was feeling rather crowded. Let¡¯s change the stage, Dominic decided, hopping lightly down off the rock. There was a moment where the trodils appeared a bit dumb-founded at the sudden disappearance of their enemy, but their growls quickly rumbled through the air as they realised where he¡¯d gone. As he¡¯d hoped, the trodils weren¡¯t as comfortable with the drop as he was so they ran down the stepped rocks on the other side. The trodil which hadn¡¯t managed to join the gang on the top had less distance to go and was naturally the first to attack Dominic again. To its cost. A level 4 trodil attacking a level 7 lion, which now outmatched it in all ways, was no contest. Half its health bar disappeared in the first punishing bite to its flank. Before it could do more than snap fruitlessly at him, Dominic struck it with a clawed paw which sent it slamming against the rock, bleeding heavily from five deep new gouges. Although the two strikes had taken less than a couple of seconds, the other trodils were already snapping at him. Dominic was surrounded once more. Unconcerned, Dominic again had an answer for that. Coiling his muscles, he leapt a second time to the top of the rock pile. Looking down at the furious trodils, he would have grinned if his facial muscles had been capable of it. As it was, he rumbled in a strange sort of laughter as they once more turned tail to chase him up to the top platform. Leaping down, he used Quick Strike to enhance his attack. Landing on the back of the trailing member of the three trodils to be chasing him, he broke its spine in a single attack. A bare sliver of its health remaining, a crushing bite to the back of its neck ended it. Before the two trodils already clambering up the rock pile realised their target had moved again, Dominic leapt at the trodil he¡¯d batted into the rock pile. The bare quarter of its health that remained quickly vanished under his powerful bite, the trodil unable to put up a fight. With only two trodils left, and still a bit more than half his health bar remaining, Dominic felt pretty confident. Mustn¡¯t get over-confident, though, he admonished himself. Instead of taking on both at once, he kept the cat-and-mouse going, using the rock as his means of keeping the trodils off balance. They did get in a couple of lucky strikes, knocking his health down to just below half, but nothing too serious. A few minutes later, two more notifications had flashed up before his eyes and Dominic was left panting among still corpses. Having visible health bars is so much easier, he said to himself again, grateful that the System had somehow been able to accommodate his desires. Although knowing the actual damage he inflicted could be good in certain circumstances, knowing the percentage damage he was actually causing, as well as how much relative health the opponent had left was a lot more practical. After having chosen to sharpen his teeth on his previous level-up, Dominic actually might have appreciated seeing the exact damage of his attacks, as they should have been higher. However, he¡¯d certainly gone through each of those level 4s much faster than the first mini-boss he¡¯d fought. On the other hand, the mini-boss had been enhanced by Rage and Dominic had been a lower level so¡­ In the end, he just mentally shrugged. He knew some people liked calculating exact numbers and statistics; he¡¯d never been like that. If it worked, it worked. As for things that worked, it was good to have his theory confirmed: by killing the mini-boss first, he¡¯d avoided it Raging. Assuming it had the ability, that is, but he had to assume it did, based on the pattern. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. On the note of Rage though¡­ Dominic had absorbed the body of the mini-boss, but not the Beast Core. Feeling excited, he bounded once more up to the top platform and hunted for it. Although it was no bigger than a marble ¨C though one of the giant ones rather than the standard size ¨C it was easy enough to see. Fortunate none of our fighting knocked it away, Dominic noted with relief. Licking it up, he quickly navigated to his status menu. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Half-step Evolved Beast Level 7 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 177/154 PP level up Hunger level: 100% Thirst level: 100% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 1 (63% to level 2) ¨C 3 SP for +20% speed; 6 SP for +30% speed Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Rage level 1 (11%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction, 1-2 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 3 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 2 (32-50 Crushing damage, 35-63 Tearing damage, 28-40 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 4 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 13s) (80/80 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 1 (300 HP) Disappointment running through him, he saw that he¡¯d gained more progress towards Quick Strike rather than towards Rage. Then again, why am I disappointed? he questioned himself. Quick Strike is an ability I actually have; if I don¡¯t find enough other trodils with Rage, it doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m 11% or 91% towards acquiring it. He was also cheered when he realised that the single fight had given him enough PP to level up again. It seemed that fighting enemies close to his level and capable of offering him a decent challenge was definitely the way to level up quickly. And he was sure he knew what he wanted to enhance next. Though perhaps first he should absorb the other level 4 bodies and Cores. It seemed unlikely, but maybe he¡¯d find something interesting among their Cores? Chapter 16: Doing This Wrong Unfortunately, after consuming the other four Cores, nothing else interesting had turned up. Still, his Quick Strike had already got to 93% progress towards its next level. Dominic was curious as to how it would change the ability. More speed? Less stamina cost? I guess I¡¯ll find out. After levelling up, the only other important change to his status sheet related to his choice of enhancement. - Carnivore Constitution level 2 (350 HP) +20% regeneration It was his first time choosing to enhance his digestive system, but he was pleased with the results. An extra 50 HP was already more than he¡¯d expected given the original increase of 15 SP he¡¯d had when increasing that; the addition to his regeneration rate was a welcome extra. It also answered a question he¡¯d had: if he could only increase his HP on level up, he could see that getting difficult as time went on. It hadn¡¯t escaped his notice that the Prey Points requirements for each level were increasing. A percentage increase, he had to guess, since the original difference between level 1 and level 2 had been only 5 Prey Points, but the difference between level 7 and level 8 had been 8 Prey Points. Not a big difference, not yet. But if the distance kept widening, he could end up needing some crazy amounts of Prey Points to level up and if he needed to do that to heal, he could be in a sticky situation later. Then again, I suppose the Prey Points I earn have also been increasing too. Perhaps faster than the increases required for my levels. Though that had come hand-in-hand with risk. In his first fight with the trodils he, at level 0, had been under very little real threat against a pack of seven level 1s. It had felt like a major battle at the time, but that was mostly because he was newly in an unfamiliar body which he¡¯d struggled to control. Even just moving had been difficult, let alone attacking. But the trodils had barely come halfway up his legs, and they¡¯d struggled to reach any real vulnerable parts. Sure, they could have brought him down eventually by hobbling him until he was forced to the ground and then getting at his throat or spine from there. Or even just by making him bleed enough: a death by a thousand cuts. However, he¡¯d have had to almost let them do that. Now, though, the most recent mini-boss, at the level just below his own, had been pretty much the same size as the lion, fast and strong. Although Dominic was pretty sure he¡¯d got bigger, he hadn¡¯t grown at anywhere near the same rate as the trodil. Is that because I focused on other options for enhancement? Dominic wondered. Although he hadn¡¯t seen an enhancement option related to size, maybe it was the byproduct of one, just like slowing down was a byproduct of choosing to harden his skin? Or is it because something¡¯s different about dungeons? The human-turned-lion couldn¡¯t forget that he was actually in a dungeon; if the dungeon-core novels he¡¯d read before the apocalypse had told him anything, it was that those areas were often held to different rules than the normal world. In the end, he just shook his head, feeling his straggly mane-fur flop around his ears. Ultimately, the point was that when he¡¯d entered the dungeon at a level 2, fighting the trodils at a level 1 had been easy. Although they¡¯d also been solitary, he doubted he¡¯d have had a problem if they were in small groups. His last two fights, however, had proven that he needed to be more careful now, even if the level difference was the same. And I still have the most difficult group to come, he thought with a bit of trepidation. Suddenly, he felt a wave of scornful confidence get sent his way from his leonine passenger. The sensation surprised Dominic ¨C Leo had been rather quiet recently, only offering his opinion at odd moments. Not that he¡¯d ever wondered if the original occupant of this body had disappeared completely ¨C he¡¯d been able to feel that nothing had changed on that front. No, it had been more of a...watchful silence. Either way, this sudden vote of confidence was surprising. Dominic waited, but nothing followed it. Alright then, he told himself, a little baffled. With his health and stamina pools full, he saw no point in delaying. Grabbing the four keys he¡¯d collected so far proved to be a bit of a challenge. Not for the first time ¨C or the twentieth ¨C he wished that he had pockets. Grabbing four keys at once was really awkward. Yet he had no desire to have to go hunt them down again when they were assuredly stolen. Once the key pieces were settled in his mouth, Dominic started padding off, heading for where he knew the most difficult camp to be: on the side of the cavern directly opposite the entrance. He could only think that that was intentional, giving credence to the idea that this place wasn¡¯t designed just to automatically kill those who entered it. Unfortunately for Dominic, the final camp didn¡¯t have the same topographical features as the previous. For a normal human or group of humans that would probably have been a relief; for Dominic who had definitely appreciated the ability to divide and conquer his enemies, it was disappointing. The key-holder was still raised a little above its guards, but only on a small hill. The five guards were stationed at equal distances about halfway down the hill. Dominic sighed. This is going to suck isn¡¯t it? With no real way to control the battleground, he was going to have to attack head-on. Injuries were inevitable. Feeling unsure, he reminded himself that if his health started dropping too low, he could run away and lick his wounds. Either find enough low level trodils to level up again, or just wait: the new addition to his status screen at least promised him he would heal over time. How much time was another question, but he¡¯d cross that bridge when ¨C if ¨C he came to it. Preparing himself mentally, he drew on the calm patience of his leonine passenger as he had done a number of times already. It wasn¡¯t that Leo was offering him anything, it was just that Dominic figured that if Leo wasn¡¯t worried, why should he be? Leo knew his own body and its capabilities a lot more than Dominic, after all. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Exploding into a run, Dominic charged at full speed towards the biggest trodil at the top of the hill. The bare space around the small rise gave the trodils enough time to see him coming, but little of it to prepare. In fact, the key-holder trodil had only just got to its feet when Dominic leapt on it. They thumped heavily to the ground together, the trodil taking the brunt of Dominic¡¯s momentum. About a fifth vanished from the trodil¡¯s health bar and Dominic took full advantage of its semi-dazed state to savage its throat with his teeth. Pain shot through him in several places even as he saw another chunk disappear out of the mini-boss¡¯ red bar. The minions had quickly caught up with him. One snapped its teeth around his back leg; another lunged and tore a chunk from his side. A third snapped its jaws in his face, forcing him to rise to meet it jaws to jaws or risk it getting his eyes. That opened up his throat to the trodil he had pinned. It lunged as best it could with his forepaws holding it down, managing to rip away a chunk of skin at his throat. This isn¡¯t working! Dominic snarled in pain and released his prey, coiling his muscles to leap out of the throng and land a good body-length away from the nearest member. They¡¯re going to rip me to shreds, he thought to himself with a hint of panic. A quick glance at his health bar revealed that he was already a good chunk down. Not quite a quarter, but getting there. And although he¡¯d dealt a couple of good blows to the key-holder, the other trodils were unharmed and vicious. Dominic dodged backwards as the minion trodils tried to surround him again, lunges with Quick Strike only barely avoided through luck and his own increased speed. He was retreating towards the grass-line, perhaps unconsciously wanting a bit of time to regroup and work out a different strategy. The key-holder remained on its hill, standing over its key-piece, snarling and bleeding. And then it clicked. I¡¯m doing this wrong, Dominic thought with a sense of epiphany. I need to combine my strategies, not do one or the other. If he went for the mini-boss first, he¡¯d have to kill it while having chunks taken out of him by its minions. If he killed it last, he¡¯d have to deal with a much more powerful foe. Solution? Don¡¯t kill it last. Kill it second last. The five level 5 trodils surrounding him were a challenge, but if he didn¡¯t have the level 7 there too, it was already an improvement. Time to even the odds further, he decided. With his decision made, he smoothly changed strategy. Instead of going for the kill, he aimed blows to injure, at best cripple. Instead of trading his own injuries for a greater one on his opponent, he preferred failing a blow than getting injured. It was a bit of a frustrating game of cat-and-mouse. Where using the rocky outcrop had almost been amusing for him, though infuriating for the trodils, this was just irritating for everyone involved. Here, instead of jumping up and down on rocks, he backed away in a careful circle around the hill. He didn¡¯t want to get close enough to the hill to risk the key-holder making an opportunistic attack. Equally, not wanting to leave the combat zone and risk the encounter resetting, he didn¡¯t dare venture into the grass, though that would certainly offer a better environment for him. He was using his claws more than his teeth, not wanting to put his head into range of other trodils¡¯ jaws. The damage done was negligible each time, but it added up. Swipe, retreat. Dodge, quick opportunistic bite. Success or failure, retreat. Repeat. When a lucky blow to the hindquarters of a trodil set it limping and trailing behind the group, elation filled Dominic¡¯s heart. With renewed hope, he continued the process. ***** It seemed to take way too much time, and he was starting to run low on stamina, but he was finally making noticeable progress. His own health bar was still above half, and he¡¯d managed to completely cripple two of the trodils to the point that they were unable to keep following him. They still tried, fruitlessly pawing at the ground in hope of using the friction to push them forwards. As for the other three trodils, two were limping and slower than the third which was still relatively fresh. It hadn¡¯t been by design, but it had proven better at dodging his swipes than the other trodils. A nasty bite on its flank showed that it hadn¡¯t come away from their clashes completely unscathed, though. It¡¯s time. With a surge of aggression, Dominic engaged Quick Strike to lunge towards the least-injured trodil. It was taken by surprise, the sudden change from his previous defensive tactics taking it off guard. He slammed into the beast and pinned it as he had done with its leader earlier. Savaging its throat, he did his best to do as much damage as he could in the second he had before the other two mobile trodils caught up. By the time they lunged at the lion, Dominic was ready for them and leapt back from his prone target, their attacks missing. The previously most-healthy trodil was not looking so good any more, its throat and chest bloody and torn, its health bar dropping like a stone. Even as Dominic exchanged blows with the other two trodils, he saw a notification quickly flash before his eyes. [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 33 PP] Not allowing his satisfaction to distract him, Dominic struck and bit at the two trodils now attacking him. Hampered by their own injuries, it didn¡¯t take too long before he was standing victoriously over their corpses too. It wasn¡¯t without a price, though. A glance at his health bar proved that he¡¯d taken too many blows, the red bar down to about a third. Still he had an easy way to address that. Keeping a careful eye on the three trodils which still lived, Dominic consumed the three corpses he had just made. With his health and stamina both significantly better, the young lion decided that it was time to finish this. Locking eyes with the key-keeper still upon its hill, he snarled a challenge. Chapter 17: Resources The trodil growled back at Dominic, meeting his challenge with its own baring of teeth. He was glad to see, however, that it hadn¡¯t engaged Rage ¨C apparently the incapacitation of its minions was not the same thing as killing them. He was glad of that ¨C he¡¯d been worried that, despite his best efforts, he¡¯d gone too far with the two remaining guards. Padding over, Dominic decided not to charge this time: the trodil was aware and ready. An attack which missed would put him in more danger than just taking things steadily would. No, for all his impatience to get this fight over, he still needed to be careful. The trodil seemed to be of the same opinion and their first few blows were exchanged without either taking damage. Dominic swung a paw at the trodil¡¯s face. It dodged, then retaliated by striking at his shoulder; he reared back to get out of its range and then fell back, trying to strike at the trodil in return. It just dodged backwards. The two opponents eyed each other, both essentially back in the same places where they¡¯d started. Do I actually need to kill this trodil? Dominic wondered as the stand-off continued. I just need the key piece to get into the building, after all¡­. Dodging back to avoid a strike from the trodil, he attempted to bite at it with his own Quick Strike enhancing the attack. He managed to grab a bit of its flesh, ripping a gash in its shoulder. The trodil reacted quickly, though, and the crushing bite was instead turned into a glancing one. Barely a sliver was shaved off the trodil¡¯s bar. No, I want to kill it, he decided. Whether or not it was necessary for the dungeon was immaterial: Dominic himself wanted the Prey Points; he wanted the Beast Core and its chance of gaining more progress towards Rage. And more than that, there was a desire to prove himself the stronger. Whether that was the competitive spirit of Dominic or Leo, he didn¡¯t know; all he knew was that Leo was just as determined to defeat this opponent as Dominic was. However, the trodil didn¡¯t know that. Maybe I can use that. Taking a few careful steps backwards, Dominic kept an eye on what the trodil did. It followed him for the first couple of steps, but stopped once it got a certain distance away from the key piece. Excellent. Backing up a couple more steps, Dominic then stopped. His hindquarters wiggling automatically, he exploded into a charge. The trodil bared its teeth, clearly bracing itself for him to leap at it once more. He did leap...but not at the trodil itself. Instead, he bounded over it. His powerful hind-legs propelling him both vertically and horizontally, he easily cleared the trodil¡¯s jaws and landed lightly on the other side of it. More importantly, he landed just over the key piece. Both of them whirling around to face each other, the trodil was suddenly enraged to see that its opponent had successfully reached its most prized possession. Enraged wasn¡¯t just a description of its mood, Dominic realised as it started to swell and enlarge. I may have made a mistake¡­. Alarmed, Dominic rushed in to strike at it before the process completed, cursing himself all the while. If he¡¯d known that this would trigger Rage, he¡¯d have just worked on taking it down bit by bit. The trodil seemed to be unable to attack for the couple of seconds it took for the ability to fully activate. Dominic took full advantage of the time, slashing and biting at his opponent. Although not attacking, the trodil still seemed to be able to move and Dominic¡¯s attacks weren¡¯t quite as effective as he would have liked. By the time Rage had fully taken hold, he¡¯d knocked the trodil¡¯s health down to just under half, but no further. And then the trodil started counter-attacking. Now facing an opponent bigger, stronger, and faster than him, the lion found himself hard-pressed. Avoiding significant injury was hard enough; getting a blow in himself seemed impossible. Dominic gave ground bit by bit, blood dripping down his fur, the pain lancing through him increasing with every chunk of flesh that was ripped away from him. His health bar wasn¡¯t dropping ¨C he was managing to avoid the blows enough for them to only be worth a few HP each time ¨C but it certainly wasn¡¯t looking healthy. His stamina was no better, heading towards empty with every frantic dodge . What can I do? His mental voice was desperate, even to himself. His first hope ¨C that the trodil would stop when it drove him a certain distance from the key piece ¨C was dashed when it followed him further than it had at the start. Clearly an enraged key-keeper was less concerned about its charge than a non-enraged one. Casting glances around himself, Dominic had only one idea. Turning tail, he ran away from the trodil. It followed, but at an even pace, not running for some reason. Perhaps it thought he was fleeing. He wasn¡¯t. His target was instead the two minions which he¡¯d left crippled but alive. He quickly remedied that situation: if the boss was already enraged, there was no point in keeping them alive ¨C the boss couldn¡¯t activate its rage twice...could it? Well, if it could, Dominic would just have to genuinely flee and hope it wouldn¡¯t chase him into the grass. He barely managed to activate the consumption of the second body before the boss trodil was on him again. Fortunately, though, the two corpses had given him enough to refresh his resources a bit. Key to that was his stamina jumping back up to a bit over half because Dominic only had one idea left: waiting out the effects of Rage. He had no basis for his hope except that logically an empowering state like Rage couldn¡¯t last forever. He¡¯d killed the other two mini-boss trodils while Rage was still active so he didn¡¯t know how long it would last, but it surely couldn¡¯t be that long. Could it? And then, if I¡¯m lucky, there will be a period of weakness afterwards. I just need to last that long. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Lasting out was easier said than done. Not trying to actually land any blows made avoiding the trodil¡¯s easier, though Dominic didn¡¯t go far out of its reach. Not knowing how aggression worked in this new world, he didn¡¯t want to risk what often happened in games: losing the mob¡¯s aggression often led to it regaining its health quickly. He hadn¡¯t had any indication that that might happen here ¨C none of the trodils had shown any indication of quick healing regardless of whether they were active in the attack ¨C but he couldn¡¯t risk it. Besides, the trodil had to also be burning through its stamina. If Rage relied on how much stamina the beast had, it might wear off sooner if the trodil was forced to exert itself. Or the period of ensuing weakness might be worse. It was all conjecture, of course, and Dominic second-guessed himself many times, especially as his own stamina started flashing, indicating that it was getting far too low. If I leave it longer than this, I won¡¯t be able to flee, he realised grimly. About to cut his losses and just run, Dominic suddenly saw something. Is it real or just wishful thinking? he wondered. Then there was another shift of movement and he gained confidence in his observation. The trodil was shrinking, its movements reducing in speed. From being bigger than Dominic, his opponent quickly returned to its normal size ¨C the same as the lion himself. Elation filled Dominic as he realised that not only had the trodil¡¯s movements reduced in speed, but they¡¯d actually become sluggish. Not one to miss an opportunity, Dominic surged forwards to take the offense once more. The trodil wouldn¡¯t give up without a fight, but now Dominic had the upper hand. Without the intelligence to come up with the same idea as Dominic had of strategic endurance, the trodil soon sustained significant wounds, its health bar finally dropping down below a quarter. It rallied, offering a defence that Dominic might have found admirable if he hadn¡¯t been all-too-keen to see the end of this fight. When the end came, it was almost anti-climatic. There was no single deciding blow, no decisive throat-grab or disembowelment ¨C though Dominic was glad of the latter considering how much it smelled. Instead, the trodil¡¯s health bled away through its increasing number of wounds. It weakened bit by bit, falling first to a crouch, and then onto the ground. Dominic would have given it the final coup de grace at that point, but he was distracted by something else. Oh no, you don¡¯t! the lion growled mentally. Leaping away from the fallen boss, Dominic struck at the cheeky trodil which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and was trying to make off with one of his keys. He might have been close to the end of his endurance, but he was damned if he would let a bloody level 3 trodil steal one of his hard-won key pieces. Especially now he¡¯d actually got them all. Fortunately, the level 3 was unable to avoid his initial pounce and the battle was over almost before it could begin. It took the last of his stamina, though, and he felt the effects of bottoming out that resource for the first time. [You have killed Trodil (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 27 PP] Unable to do anything but pant, he lay his head down on his paws, fighting to keep his eyes open. If he couldn¡¯t see, he wouldn¡¯t be able to defend himself against the next attack, if there was one. Lethargy dragged at his limbs and time seemed to stretch strangely. He was distracted briefly by a notification flashing up. [You have killed Trodil (Half-step Evolved Beast level 7)] [You have earned 41 PP] Nice, he commented to himself tiredly, still putting all his effort into fighting to stay awake. It took a little bit of time, but as his stamina returned, he started feeling a bit better. By the time he¡¯d gained four points back, he felt able to push himself to his feet and start moving around slowly. Now he could focus on more than just how tired he felt, he realised that he could have just absorbed the body he was lying on ¨C it might only be a level 3, but that would still give him a few points back. Feeling a bit embarrassed about his oversight, he quickly rectified it. His stamina jumping noticeably, he felt pretty much back to normal. Moving around the space, he found the Beast Cores he¡¯d missed when quickly absorbing the bodies for their resources. He also absorbed the boss¡¯ body, seeing a much larger uptick in his resource pools than when he grabbed the level 3¡¯s body. Then, after gathering all five key pieces into the middle of the area where the key-holder used to be, he checked his status screen to see his gains. Chapter 18: Irritation Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Half-step Evolved Beast Level 8 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 256/162 PP level up Hunger level: 100% Thirst level: 100% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (57% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Rage level 1 (24%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction, 1-2 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 3 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 2 (32-50 Crushing damage, 35-63 Tearing damage, 28-40 Piercing damage) If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. General abilities: - Muscular Body level 4 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 13s) (32/77 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 2 (246/350 HP) +20% regeneration The first thing Dominic looked for was which ability the boss trodil had offered progress towards. His heart leapt as he saw that Rage had reached 24%. Though, am I going to get any more opportunities to earn it? Dominic wondered. Pushing the thought out of his mind ¨C he either would or wouldn¡¯t, no point worrying about it ¨C he noticed with pleasure that he had earned enough Prey Points to level up again. Is this too fast? he wondered. Then he shrugged mentally, letting out a huff of air. Maybe the early levels came quickly for everyone. And he needed to not forget that he¡¯d been fighting practically constantly for the last how many hours. In fact, I should probably take a nap before actually opening the temple door, he decided. It hadn¡¯t escaped his notice that his maximum stamina was down to 77 SP instead of 80 SP. I remember that being the case before, after I¡¯d hunted all the roaming trodils. His maximum had returned to normal after he¡¯d slept for a bit, so maybe that would work again here. Maybe stamina will only refill to a certain point by using bodies of ¡®slain foes¡¯ to recuperate my losses, he theorised. Maybe actual sleep could only be delayed by so much. Anyway, he had the five keys now, so there was no harm in taking it a little easy for a time. Though first, levelling up. Activating the process, he perused the list again. [Heart ¨C improve your stamina] [Muscles ¨C improve your speed] [Eyes ¨C improve your sight] [Touch ¨C lengthen your whiskers or improve your sensitivity to touch] [Sinuses ¨C improve your sense of smell] [Mouth ¨C improve your bite power or sense of taste] [Teeth ¨C sharpen, lengthen, or strengthen your teeth] [Digestive system ¨C widen your diet or improve your constitution] [Claws ¨C sharpen, lengthen, or strengthen your claws] [Coat ¨C thicken, lengthen, or harden your coat] [Mane ¨C thicken or darken your mane] [Vocal cords ¨C enhance your roar] [Feet ¨C harden or soften your pads] [Bones ¨C strengthen or grow your bones] [Skin ¨C render your skin harder or more flexible] [Strike ¨C improve your speed and power when attacking] What was I lacking in that last fight? Dominic asked himself. Then again, was it a good idea to always prepare for the last fight? Wouldn¡¯t it be a better idea to prepare for the next one? The problem there was that he didn¡¯t know what the next battle would entail. Would there be more trodils of even higher level behind those doors? Or a different animal? Or something else entirely? From what Dominic had read, being attacked by creatures was only one of the challenges a dungeon could throw at a person. Traps, puzzles, moral conundrums¡­there were a number of other potential things he could face through those doors. Better natural weaponry, defences, speed, or stamina could only help with some challenges, but not all. Actually, that¡¯s an interesting point, Dominic thought as he scanned through the list again. All the things he could enhance were to do with physical aspects. There was nothing about enhancing his intelligence. Heck, it doesn¡¯t even mention ¡®brain¡¯ even though it talks about a number of my other body parts. Dominic would have thought his brain would rank higher than things like his mane in terms of aspects to enhance. But would I choose it even if it were actually there? the human-turned-lion wondered. He sighed heavily. The issue was once more not knowing what he was going into. In this room, it had been simple enough. He¡¯d known what the next fight was, and since the next fight was just more and higher-level opponents compared to his previous, it had been easy to work out what he needed more of. Now though¡­ I need to open the doors and at least take a peek, he decided. Even if he needed to shut them in the face of some dangerous monster, seeing what was there would give him more idea of what to choose to enhance. Decision made, he picked up his key pieces. At least, he tried to. It turned out that adding a fifth piece to the already-awkward four was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. Only, in this case, it wasn¡¯t about breaking his back, but about testing his patience as he lost one key piece after another while reaching for the next. Like trying to put too many peas on a fork. Seriously System, give me some sort of storage. Please! An inventory. A backpack. Hell, I¡¯d take a fanny pack at this point. The image of a lion with a strap tied around his hindquarters, its little attached bag hanging between his legs and bashing his balls with every step made him grin mentally. If nothing else, it helped relieve some of the irritation he felt as he kept trying and failing to pick up the five key pieces. Finally, after more time than he wanted and no little frustration, the young lion succeeded in trapping all five pieces within the cage of his teeth. His tongue had to work quite hard to both stop them from falling out or disappearing down his gullet. I¡¯m going to be glad to get rid of these, he thought grumpily as he trotted through the savannah grass, heading for the temple in the centre of it. Once more approaching the oddly-shaped doors, he placed the key pieces down in front of it. Stilling, he used more senses than just sight. He wanted to work out if he could gain any sort of idea of what was behind the doors ¨C the sound of growling or snarling, shifting feet, the scent of something he recognised ¨C but he detected nothing. In fact, it was pretty eerie. Even when he¡¯d entered the dungeon, there had been noise. Although there had never been any significant air movement, the trodils moving through the grass had created a small amount of noise. The trodils which had been in the camps had been pretty quiet, but even so odd growls or yelps had broken out here or there. Now that he¡¯d killed all the trodils, everything was completely still. Silent. Unnaturally so. Dominic actually felt a bit uncomfortable, neither he nor Leo being accustomed to such utter stillness. Dominic was used to the stimulation overload of modern life where Leo was used to the natural sounds of the savannah. This...it unnerved them. While Dominic knew he should rest and recoup his stamina, he was too unsettled to do so. As a result, he started putting the key pieces together. At least, he attempted to. Just like with trying to fit them in his mouth, he found that this task was significantly more difficult without opposable thumbs. In the end, he decided not to bother with fitting the pieces together first: there was no way he was going to be able to manoeuvre them as a single piece. Instead, he started trying to fit them one by one into the slot. It was about head-height on him, bridging the gap between the two doors. As a lock, it was pretty obvious what he needed to do. Doing it was more difficult. Once more he cursed his lack of proper hands. The puzzle wasn¡¯t hard ¨C it was literally just about slotting vaguely triangular shapes with funny edges together: child¡¯s play. For his paws, however, it was almost impossible. In the end, he succeeded by moving the pieces one by one with a combination of his paws and mouth. It was awkward, difficult, and way too finicky, and when the final piece eventually clicked into place, all he could feel was relief that the ordeal was over with. Before his eyes, the key pieces shimmered and disappeared. For a moment Dominic panicked, wondering whether he¡¯d done something wrong. If he had to go and hunt down the key pieces again, he¡¯d probably leave the whole dungeon in pure disgust. Fortunately, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Although the lock didn¡¯t change visibly, he heard a loud clunk from the doors which he could only guess was the lock disengaging. Opening the doors was another challenge, but Dominic remembered how he¡¯d tried to open them before. Once more slotting his paws behind one of the handles, he pulled at it. Unlike before, the door pulled open immediately with practically no resistance. Walking backwards awkwardly on his back paws, Dominic released the handle as soon as he could, using the door as something of a shield as he peered into the dark space. Even for his excellent night-vision, changing suddenly from bright daylight to gloomy darkness wasn¡¯t an instantaneous process. While his eyes adapted, he strained his hearing to the max, desperately needing to know whether he ought to jump out of the way of something charging at him in attack. However, nothing but brooding silence met his ears. No hooves, no claws, not even the barely-there padding of a predator such as himself. That didn¡¯t mean it was safe, of course: something could be waiting patiently to ambush him. He¡¯d probably do the same himself. Or Leo would, anyway. For a moment Dominic wondered whether he should be concerned about how easily he was adapting to thinking and hunting like a lion, to the point where he was starting to be unsure which instincts and inclinations were his, and which were the lion¡¯s. Then he dismissed it. Did it matter? I¡¯m a lion now, he told himself. I may get my body back at some point, but until then I¡¯m going to have to be a lion. If his thoughts and instincts started aligning properly with his body, perhaps it was for the better. Because right now, that was all that kept him alive. His vision adapting itself to the dark conditions inside, Dominic was able to see that there were no obvious threats. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I¡¯ve come this far already. Taking a few small steps forward, Dominic advanced on the dusty space. Time to see what this temple has in store for me. Chapter 19: Caution The young lion was very cautious as he padded towards the gaping doorway. With its hexagonal shape, it looked like a half-open maw, waiting to bite down on him. Or maybe he was just projecting: his own mouth was his greatest weapon, after all. It always has been, he thought humorously to himself, though not a little ruefully too. His mouth had got him into trouble almost as often as it had got him out of it. Focus, he admonished himself as his nose crossed the threshold. Freezing at that point, Dominic strained his senses to detect any sort of movement, sound, or even sense of watchfulness which might indicate that he was about to get jumped. Not detecting anything, he eased forwards a little, automatically falling into a fluid stalking motion with his head lowered and his muscles tensed for a quick reaction if necessary. As he took one step and then another into the gloomy space, it seemed like his caution was over-paranoid. No attack came, no shift of movement indicated that there was anything else living in the room. The tip of Dominic¡¯s tufted tail cleared the threshold. The door slammed shut with a loud bang which made the human-turned-lion almost jump out of his skin. Moving without thought, the lion jumped a foot off the ground, whirling around mid-air to land turned towards the door. In one fluid motion, he turned his landing into the impetus for another jump, this time leaping at the door, his teeth and claws bared. Colliding uncomfortably with the door, banging his head in the process, Dominic¡¯s thoughts caught up with his too-quick actions. Damn it, he swore, growling unhappily as he rubbed at his sore head with one paw. What happened there? It was like...something had taken over. Not Leo ¨C that was the first thing Dominic checked, worried that his leonine passenger had found a way of taking control of their shared body. But no. It was more like...his reactions were quicker than his thought process, and his reaction to a threat was to attack. Not bad necessarily, but not good either ¨C what if he attacked something he shouldn¡¯t? Something that fought back, that is. Though I think I came off worst from this encounter, he grumbled, even his hard head still throbbing from the collision. The door, of course, was unharmed. Well, hopefully he¡¯d find a way of either gaining control over his reactions or improving the speed of his thought. At least that whole thing almost proves there isn¡¯t anything in here waiting to attack, Dominic concluded. If there had been, the moment when his back was turned and he¡¯d just been knocked silly by his own attack on an inanimate object would have been the perfect opportunity. The young lion still checked out the space cautiously ¨C one could never be too careful when one¡¯s life was on the line. The room wasn¡¯t that large, though it had a high ceiling. Higher than he might have thought, given its outside dimensions. It was ¨C surprise, surprise ¨C hexagonal in appearance with the door providing one of the faces and a mosaic design of some sort on the face opposite. The two faces on either side of the mosaic contained open doorways, their height and width impressive, but no bigger than the doors through which he¡¯d just entered. The other two faces were almost blank, only holding two braziers which had flared to life as soon as the door had slammed shut. Dominic hadn¡¯t noticed at the time, but it had become evident when he realised that he could still see despite his light source being cut off. The human-turned-lion¡¯s attention was drawn back to the gaping archways, the obvious next step given the lack of other decoration. I guess one of those go through to the altar, Dominic thought, a little disappointed. After realising he was in a dungeon, he¡¯d hoped for a little more than just the combat-focused room outside, but it looked like his hopes were in vain. Oh well. He might as well go and get his reward then, whatever those question marks in the original description indicated. Deciding to go right first, he padded forwards quietly and cautiously. Just because he couldn¡¯t see anything didn¡¯t mean there was no danger: Dominic had watched enough Indiana Jones to know that arrows could come flying out of walls or stone balls could threaten to crush an intruder at the most unexpected of times. Beyond the archway was a dimly-lit corridor; It was about fifteen feet long, but there was a bend to the left at the end which prevented him from seeing whether it led directly into a room, had more corridor beyond, or was a dead end. The light level was very low, only the brazier behind him and another opposite the doorway on the wall of the bend providing light. Fortunately, Dominic¡¯s night vision was easily able to deal with conditions which would have been very murky to his human eyes. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. What about the other archway? Did that lead somewhere more promising? Dominic padded past the mosaic and peered through the archway to the left. It was honestly identical; the only difference was that the bend at the end led to the right. Do they lead to the same room? he wondered. I guess I¡¯ll have to find out. Now, which way first? Since he was already in front of one archway, he decided that he might as well go through it. Slowly moving, all his senses on high alert, he took a step. His caution was immediately rewarded. A quiet snick met his ears a fraction of a second before he flinched backwards. Having only placed a single paw down, it was easy enough to withdraw his foot. Just in time. Sharp, narrow spikes shot up from barely-noticeable holes in the floor. They were only about three feet high, but that could have seriously messed up his day if he¡¯d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Would a level up even fix a gut wound, or would it just replenish my health and leave me with the injury to deal with? Dominic wondered, feeling a little shaken. Before his eyes, the spikes slowly retracted, vanishing once more into the floor. Now he knew what he was looking for, he could see the gaps from which the spikes had emerged. They were narrow, only about three times the size of a pin-hole. Taking a deep breath, Dominic gave himself a pep talk. You knew traps were possible. Now you know they¡¯re here for sure, you can keep an eye out for them. Although he¡¯d never explored a trapped corridor, he understood the basics. Suspect any anomalies in the decoration of the walls, floor, or ceiling which could hide spikes, projectiles, falling blades etc. Keep an eye out for rolling balls of stone coming to get him. Watch out for any bit of floor that looked like it might give way to drop him into a pit or slide. Avoid any sort of obvious trigger. And if he did accidentally step on something that moved, get the hell out of there. I can do this. Pausing for a moment, the human-turned-lion debated with himself whether he should level up. More speed would help, wouldn¡¯t it? he wondered. Well...maybe. Then again, maybe not. He didn¡¯t know enough about these traps yet to know. If he was likely to be injured, more health would probably be better. Actually, maybe it was better to leave the level up in reserve: since it replenished both his SP and HP, it could pull him back from the brink in an emergency. Decided, he turned his gaze back to the corridor ahead of him. His eyes focusing intently, Dominic decided that the first thing was to work out how the spike trap had been triggered. Is it from motion? He waved his paw above the holes, then waited, listening intently. Nothing happened. There was no clicking sound, no movement. Not motion, then. Next test. Is it touch sensitive? Without applying any pressure, Dominic touched the surface of the dotted grey stone. Once more quickly withdrawing his paw, he waited to see if there was any reaction. There wasn¡¯t. So, it¡¯s pressure-activated, he concluded, this time putting his weight on the paw briefly before withdrawing it. Expecting the spikes to suddenly jut out, he was surprised and frustrated when there was still no reaction. Has it been deactivated, or something? Dominic demanded mentally. Huffing in irritation, he dared to step forwards a little bit more. Ready to leap away at any moment, he put one paw and then the next on the area. No reaction. It must be a single use trap, he concluded. Then a nasty thought occurred. Or it¡¯s deactivated for a time, but will become active again later. Although he intended to push forwards now, it was worth keeping the possibility in the back of his mind that his route back might not be as safe as he thought. Looking ahead, he tried to spot any indications of other traps. His eyes picked out two more sets of dotted stone ¨C spikes for sure. Unless they were something else disguised as spikes. Either way, a trap. He noted a couple of marks on the corridor walls which could easily be something. Either that, or they were just cracks. Fortunately, the corridors were the same unembellished stone which seemed to make up everything else in this ¡®temple¡¯. Much easier to spot anomalies on plain stone than the carven edifices which could have been there. Dominic edged forwards, inch by inch. His padded and furry paws made very little sound, even in this enclosed, silent environment. On high alert, the human-turned-lion was able to avoid another spike trap, and noticed the trigger stone for something else ¨C it was very slightly raised above the level of the other stone tiles. He ducked under a set of suspicious marks in the wall, lowering himself onto his belly to crawl beneath them rather than risking being shot with something. After a time, though, and only halfway toward the bend, the tension started to get to him. The silence was unnerving, as were the relatively narrow confines. Leo really didn¡¯t like this space and his sense of being caged meshed uncomfortably with Dominic¡¯s wariness, each emotion heightening the other. He found himself speeding up little by little, wanting to get to the end of the corridor which was as frustratingly close as it was still so far away. It was inevitable. He was bound to make a mistake at some point: he was so far from being an expert at this kind of thing that it was amazing he¡¯d got through unscathed so far. When the moment came, however, he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. Or maybe that was just the consequence of the tiles below him falling away. Chapter 20: I Never Wanted to be Mufasa Dominic let out a short snarl of fright as a void suddenly opened up below him with an echoing grinding sound. Fortunately, he reacted faster than his brain could process, using the last bit of purchase below his back feet to give himself a little bit of impetus forwards. Falling stone makes for a poor launch pad, but it was enough to allow his fore-paws to slam into the solid edge of the surprise pit. His claws dug in frantically, searching for a crack, a divot, any sort of grip they could gain. His fall was slowed, but not stopped. It seemed hopeless, his weight tugging him backwards, down into the void below. His claws, excellent for climbing trees or catching prey, were not designed for scaling stone. And then his back feet slammed into the wall of the pit below. He scrabbled with them, those claws also fully out and searching for purchase. Bit by bit, he slid. The few inches he had gained with his final leap disappeared with every shift backwards. He was a fraction of an inch from losing any sort of grip at all and tumbling down into the unknown darkness below. Then, one of his forepaws caught. Two claws alone had found somewhere to grip. It arrested his backwards slide for a moment. Hope filled Dominic. His grip was more than tenuous, but he finally had a moment to breathe. His whole weight almost completely dangling from two claws was causing pain to those digits, but he had to ignore that. Moving very, very carefully, he shifted his other forepaw, attempting to find some sort of purchase with that one too. It took longer than he¡¯d have liked ¨C if he¡¯d still been human, Dominic would have bet that his forehead would have been sopping wet with fearful sweat ¨C but finally three of his claws caught on something. The frantic beat of his heart slowing a little, Dominic felt just a touch more secure. Next, moving his back feet equally carefully, he attempted to find some way of hooking them into the wall. Just as he found purchase for one of his back feet, the forepaw which had caught originally suddenly slipped. With a startled wheeze, Dominic pushed up with his single back foot and slammed the forepaw back down onto the stone. To his relief, it caught once more ¨C whether his claws were anchored in the same place or a different one, Dominic didn¡¯t know and, honestly, didn¡¯t care. All that he knew was that he was panting and his heart rate had leapt through the roof once more. Completely done with this encounter, he searched for a foothold for his final limb. Come on, he urged mentally, I never wanted to be Mufasa! Tension built in his belly as well as his muscles as the seconds ticked by without finding anything. His position was a strain, so many muscles tensed at once. It was having an impact on his stamina, the yellow bar ticking down bit by bit. What happened when he eventually ran out of SP? Dominic knew the answer: he would drop back into the pit and whatever awaited him there. A growl started in his chest, his frustration and fear turning into anger. I am not going to die in this dungeon, he swore, his movements becoming stronger and more reckless as time went by. I refuse! And then, as if by some miraculous luck, his flailing foot finally caught on something. Dominic could feel by the way it shifted that it wasn¡¯t going to last long as a foothold, but hopefully it would last long enough. His original idea of climbing foot by foot out of this trap wasn¡¯t going to work. He didn¡¯t have enough stamina, and the footholds had proved too difficult to find. The lion was going to have to take a chance and hope that his physical capabilities were up to the task. Releasing a little of the tension in his forelegs, he let his weight fall more on his back feet. It was a risk, especially with how dubious his second foothold was, but a risk he had to take. Tensing the muscles in his hindquarters, he leapt. Power flowed into his back-legs, propelling him upwards. Further power flowed into his forelegs, his claw-holds pulling him forwards. Using Quick Strike turned his motion into a blur, but also added more impetus to his forward motion. He cleared the pit with three feet to spare, landing heavily down on the stone floor, his back feet a bare foot away from the edge of the pit. Though not wanting to trigger another trap, Dominic was unable to do more than just collapse straight on the ground, sheer exhaustion pulling him down like a magnet. It was mostly physical tiredness, Dominic realised as he saw just how low his stamina bar had got ¨C activating the stronger version of Quick Strike as well as the exertion of the jump itself had drained it practically down to nothing. Of course, it wasn¡¯t only physical exhaustion; it was also mental. He¡¯d felt closer to death that time than any of the encounters since he¡¯d actually died. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. It was strange, especially since his health points were actually pretty high. Not full ¨C since he hadn¡¯t levelled up, they hadn¡¯t yet regenerated themselves from what they¡¯d been at the end of his final fight with the trodils ¨C but way over half. Yet he¡¯d been convinced that he was only inches away from death. It took a mental toll, whether or not it was accurate. Since nothing fell on his head, pierced his flesh, or dropped him into another pit, he had to guess that there was no trigger for a trap where he had leapt. Fortunately. Dominic therefore allowed himself to rest a little. Not sleep ¨C he was far too keyed up for that ¨C but just...rest and recuperate a little. When he was feeling slightly better, he opened his eyes, pushed himself to his feet, and carefully turned around, watching closely for more trap triggers. Time to see how close to death I actually got, he decided. If it turned out to be a bare ten foot deep pit that he could have easily leapt out of, he would be really annoyed with himself. Finally getting a proper view of what he had just survived, Dominic noticed that the stone had fallen away in a square pit about nine feet across in each direction. It stretched most of the way towards the walls of the corridor, leaving perhaps seven or eight inches of floor between the edge of the pit and the wall. Dominic wasn¡¯t sure where the trap trigger had been, but if it had been anywhere near the centre, he could see this being a major problem for any humanoid. It was only because he was a fair bit longer than the average human¡¯s height that he had been able to actually push forwards enough to set his fore-claws into the edge of the pit. Then again, he supposed that if someone was able to trigger the pit ahead of the crossing, they could probably edge around the pit via the thin walkways left either side. Or they could have avoided triggering the trap at all. That would probably be the better option for everyone involved. Peering over the edge of the pit, the young lion felt a shiver go all the way down his ¨C long ¨C spine. Perhaps my sense of impending death wasn¡¯t that inaccurate, he thought to himself. Was this dungeon designed by Vlad the Impaler or something? It was a good question. He¡¯d already avoided one spike trap; to see another one here smacked of the dungeon designer having a certain kink. If one could call sending sharp pointy objects into an explorer¡¯s body a ¡®kink¡¯. The bottom of the pit was bristling with gleaming spikes. They were different lengths, different widths; the one thing they all had in common was that they were obviously razor-sharp. Dominic winced as he imagined having lost his grip and gone falling backwards into that. Well, he mused a little hysterically, at least it¡¯s not a herd of wildebeest. He made a mental note never to bring his devious and envious younger brother with him to this dungeon. Not that he had a younger brother. Is that a point in my favour? Dismissing the thoughts, Dominic tried to focus more on the present than the past. He wasn¡¯t far from the bend now, the pit actually taking up a good third of the corridor¡¯s length. Still, that didn¡¯t mean there were no other traps waiting for him to blunder into them as he had just done. Maybe I should level up, he thought to himself. Although his stamina was slowly replenishing itself, it would take a good few hours for it to completely fill. And his health points had only moved by about two points since entering the temple. I don¡¯t want to risk being in a situation and dying because I don¡¯t have enough HP or SP, he decided. Quickly pulling up his status panel, he chose Heart, once more reasoning that more stamina was a safe bet. Although having claws that could carve into stone would have been useful in that last trap, he doubted that a single enhancement to his claws would gain that effect. Though is that something I could aim for? he wondered idly. He could imagine it ¨C claws that could carve through stone, teeth that could pierce metal, skin or fur which could resist both. He¡¯d be unbeatable¡­. The fantasy was nice, but he brought himself back down to earth shortly after. If he could advance that far, everyone else sure would too. What good were claws that could carve through stone if everyone else was ten times more impenetrable than it? Or skin that could resist metal if it was against enemies who could carve through metal with ease? But those were thoughts for another time. He¡¯d also considered putting another point into his constitution, but had decided against it in the end. Although more health was good, it wouldn¡¯t have helped him at all in that last trap, unless he¡¯d had enough health to be able to be impaled in multiple places without dying. And even then, it would have only staved off death until bloodloss caught up with him. Stamina gave him more time to actually deal with whatever the issue was, as well as giving him more of an option of running away since it also increased his maximum sprint time. - Muscular Body level 5 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 15s) (105 SP) Once more, the amount of stamina he¡¯d gained had increased ¨C 25 SP more this time. He¡¯d gained 3s more in terms of his maximum speed duration. With both resources now full again, and feeling a whole lot more refreshed, he felt a bit more confident about facing whatever this dungeon had next in store for him. Chapter 21: The Darkness Unleashes Pain and Strife The last ten feet of the corridor took about three times as much time to traverse as the first twenty-five feet had. Whenever Dominic found himself getting impatient, though, he reminded himself of just how close he had come to death because he had missed the trigger to that pit trap. The memory never failed to send a shiver from his nose tip to his tail tuft and quelled any sense of restlessness. He¡¯d stepped carefully over suspicious-looking floor tiles, making sure to place his back feet exactly where his front feet had been so that he¡¯d known it was a safe spot. He¡¯d warily tested every single crack, divot, or other blemish in the corridor walls by waving a paw past them, his body tense each time in preparation to flee if necessary. He¡¯d even managed to remember to watch the roof ¨C a precaution that paid off when he¡¯d missed the trigger for a stone blade that had fallen from the ceiling like an executioner¡¯s axe. Watching the sharp stone thump into and crack the stone of the corridor¡¯s floor had left the lion wide-eyed and with a thumping heart-rate that had threatened to deafen him. Dominic had found himself quickly revising the assumptions he¡¯d had outside about this place not being designed to instantly kill anyone who entered. He¡¯d started wondering whether the relative simplicity of the outside area was just to lead explorers into a sense of complacency. Still, he¡¯d managed to make it to the bend in one piece, despite the dungeon¡¯s best efforts. His first sight of the room around the corner made eagerness rise inside him. The room looked like a small sanctum of some sort. On the opposite side of the room from the open doors was a slab of stone balanced on two ¨C hexagonal ¨C pillars. The room itself was, predictably, six-sided, though for once it wasn¡¯t actually a regular hexagonal prism. The door was one face; the altar was on another. At least, Dominic thought it was the altar, but then what else could it be? The doorway was about six feet across; the wall behind the altar looked to be about nine feet wide. As for the other four faces, the two joining directly to the altar wall were about the same size as it; the two joining to the doorway were about three times that in width. It gave the room a rather strange feel to it, the space elongating oddly from where Dominic was standing to end abruptly on the other side. Wondering what it reminded him of, the human-turned-lion dared to venture a little further into the space. He kept a searching eye out for traps, but relaxed as time went on without any attack. Perhaps it¡¯s just the corridor which is trapped, he theorised. Now I¡¯ve almost made it to the altar, I¡¯ve proven my ability. Even to himself, his words felt unconvincing. Whoever heard of a dungeon without a boss monster? And he could barely count that final trodil as a boss. Sure, it was the most difficult, but not by that much. Besides, if the trodil was supposed to be the boss, there should have been some acknowledgment of that...shouldn¡¯t there? His unease rising as he slowly shuffled forwards, Dominic looked around the room, searching for what he was convinced he was missing. The room was fairly bare. There was no furniture, not even any pews such as he might expect to see in a church. The altar itself was a bare slab of rock, as were the pillars it was sitting on, the single decoration being a burning red-tinted candle in the centre. And that doesn¡¯t remind me of blood at all. There were torches dotted on each wall: one at the centre of each of the two longer walls; two on the wall behind the altar; one on each of the walls adjoining to the wall behind the altar. Six torches in total. They would have been at about shoulder-height on a human, but were way above Dominic¡¯s head when standing on four paws. Below each of the burning torches was a statue. Not quite life-size, they seemed to depict armoured beings. Without being able to see their faces or bodies in any way, it was hard to tell whether they were human or not, but they were armed. The two below the first two torches he passed were carrying a spear a little longer than they were tall. That is to say that it almost reached the height of the torch on the wall. The two below the second set of torches were carrying bows, carved to depict them in a ready position with an arrow to the string, but no tension in the bow itself. The final two, and the closest ones to the altar, were carrying strange curved swords. Dominic was reminded of something like a khopesh sword, an Egyptian blade with a double curve. Nasty. Reaching the altar without any issue, Dominic wondered why he still felt so wary, like the penny hadn¡¯t yet dropped. He was here, right? At the end of the dungeon. About to lay his hands ¨C well, paws ¨C on the altar as directed. Yet some instinct was telling him that something was wrong. Shifting a little uneasily, Dominic found himself wondering if there was any way of doing this without actually touching the altar. Then he told himself off soundly ¨C why would the objective of the dungeon be for him to touch the altar if he wasn¡¯t actually supposed to touch the altar? Refusing to second-guess himself further, he reared up and slammed his paws down on the surface of the stone slab. There was a beat of stillness and Dominic started to relax a little. I knew I¡¯d been overreacting. Then all the lights except for the single candle on the altar went out. Dominic jumped at the sudden darkening of practically the whole room, the only light in a small puddle around the candle. Even his excellent night vision would take a couple of seconds to kick in. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He almost leapt out of his skin again as the sound of stone grinding against itself briefly preceded a loud bang. Even without being able to see it, he just knew that the room had been sealed closed. Damn it! I knew deep down that something was wrong, Dominic castigated himself. But what else could he have done? He couldn¡¯t touch the altar without touching the altar. Movement caught his eye and he looked down to see words carving themselves into the stone of the altar itself. That¡¯s not ominous at all. A trap triggered, intruder beware. The altar false; the treasure not here. The darkness unleashes Pain and Strife. Illuminate the world or lose your life. What the hell is that supposed to mean? The lion asked himself in confusion. Then fear once more crept up his spine as he heard grinding of stone a lot closer than the door. Only his quick reflexes and good hearing allowed him to react in time to the arrow that shot at him. Flinching sideways, it buried itself in the stone slab instead of his vulnerable flesh, but its very appearance filled him with dread. I saw that arrow just a moment ago. The words drifted through his mind even as fear turned his bowels to water. He had seen that arrow ¨C in the armoured hands of a stone statue that he¡¯d passed only a few minutes before. Suddenly, he realised what the room had reminded him of earlier. He hadn¡¯t recognised it because he¡¯d been seeing it from the wrong angle, but if he¡¯d seen it from above, it would have been instantly identifiable: a coffin. And if he wasn¡¯t careful, it would be his tomb. Fwhit, thunk. Once more Dominic reacted, though this time he was a little delayed, his fear slowing his reaction speed. A hot, painful line drew itself across his shoulder as the arrow tore away some of his flesh. The wound was barely more than skin-deep, but it was enough to get his mind back into gear. No time for wool-gathering. I need to move. So saying, he leaped over the back of the altar, using it as a defence against the bowmen. Actually, he realised as two stone blades suddenly descended, maybe that wasn¡¯t such a good idea. Once more relying on his reflexes to help him duck out from under the blades, Dominic found himself running scared. Everywhere seemed to hold stone weapons. Running away from the stone khopeshes, he almost ran into a stone spear. Then, darting sideways to avoid the spear, he was almost pinned by another arrow. Jinking this way, zagging that way, ducking and leaping, he seemed to stay ahead of the stone statues by no more than a breath. Despite their slower relative speed in comparison to him, there were six of them and only one of him; they had reach and range on him, easily attacking him even when he wasn¡¯t anywhere near being able to attack them. Even worse, when he did manage to pounce at one of them with his claws and teeth bared, he was reminded of one very important factor: they were made of stone. He probably hurt himself more than them in that particular attack. This isn¡¯t right! Dominic howled within his mind, a plaintive yowling emerging from his jaws. This isn¡¯t just a trap ¨C it¡¯s a death trap. It seemed completely unfair ¨C to force him into a situation that he had no chance of winning. Stone against flesh and blood ¨C unless you had a hammer or explosives, who could be expected to escape this? Then it hit him like the very hammer he so wished he was able to wield. It was unfair. Terribly so. Not something that he would expect from a dungeon which had so far offered such balanced risk. Breaking away from the statues, he took the long way around so as to avoid a swordsman and a spearman, slinking under the thrusting spear of another, dodging two more arrows, and then leaping over the head of the final swordsman. Landing heavily on the altar, he looked at the words once more. ¡®A trap triggered, intruder beware.¡¯ Yeah. No kidding. ¡®The altar false; the treasure not here.¡¯ Dominic felt frustration rise inside him even as he had to jump to one side and then back again to avoid the two arrows shot at him once more. Great. So this wasn¡¯t even the real altar. He looked at the next two lines, and would have frowned if he could. ¡®The darkness unleashes Pain and Strife. Illuminate the world or lose your life.¡¯ Pain and Strife¡­. What¡¯s that meant to mean? An arrow came at him again; he avoided that one but winced as his avoidance caused him to almost step into the path of the next. Another gouge was ripped in the side of his neck, tearing some of his fur away with it. Ow! Then it felt like something else had struck him as he had his lightbulb moment. Pain and Strife...the statues! They were certainly a pain in his backside! The darkness unleashes...The statues started moving when the torches went out. They¡¯re related? It seemed likely. Absently, he jumped aside to avoid one arrow, then again to avoid the second. Briefly tearing himself away from the contemplation of the poem to wonder why he was only being attacked by arrows. Where are the spear and swordsmen? Looking into the darkness beyond the puddle of light, he realised that they were just waiting beyond it, staring at him. It was frankly unnerving as heck. Even the archers were waiting in the darkness proper, and when they raised their bows again to shoot arrows at him, they were careful not to let any part of their bodies or weapons enter it. Dominic looked at the moving statues, and then at the poem. Suddenly, it made sense. The problem was that, although he now had an idea of what the whole thing meant, he had no idea of how he could use that to save his own life. Chapter 22: Please Let It Be Detachable This would be a lot easier if I had hands rather than paws, Dominic grumbled to himself as he struggled to work out a way to lift the candle from its stone holder. If he had hands, the main challenge would be in merely avoiding the six stone statues while he ran around lighting each of the torches. As it was, he was failing at the first hurdle. An arrow came at him and he dodged it but this time wasn¡¯t fast enough to avoid the follow-up. It thunked right into his shoulder and he yowled in pain, even as a chunk was shaved off his health bar. Great, he said to himself, sarcasm being his best way of dealing with the pain. How am I supposed to do this with a dirty great arrow hanging out of me? Well, there wasn¡¯t anything he could do but push on. The candle was shorter than it had been to begin with: if the other challenges weren¡¯t enough, it was clear that this state of affairs had a timer on it. If Dominic was reading the rhyme correctly, if he didn¡¯t find a way of lighting the torches before the candle went out, he was fucked. Feeling a mounting sense of panic, he tried to grab the candle with his teeth, but he risked burning off his whiskers. He attempted to grab it with one paw, but his foot just didn¡¯t bend right and all he succeeded in doing was pushing it at an angle. He did manage to get a grip on it with two paws working simultaneously, pressing on either side of it. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t going to work: there was no way of him moving in that case ¨C his body just wasn¡¯t able to be bipedal in the way he was used to. Then he blinked as the stone arrow sticking out of him suddenly vanished. A moment after, he was forced to jump to the side and then again as two more stone arrows shot at him. They only have one arrow each? Made sense. He hadn¡¯t seen any hint of a quiver after all. That the arrow also had some recall feature made sense too ¨C he hadn¡¯t seen the two archers come and grab it. Come and grab it¡­ Inspiration hit. If I can¡¯t take the candle to the torches¡­maybe I can bring the torches to the candle! Without thinking further, he decided to try: standing on the top of the altar slab just made him target practice. Bunching up his muscles, he leapt over the top of the statues¡¯ heads and raised weapons. Since he¡¯d also used Quick Strike to increase his momentum, he made it almost halfway down the sanctum in that one leap. Hitting the ground running, he went directly to the torch on the wall to the right of the door. Please let it be detachable. Please let it be detachable, he prayed to whoever was listening. Rearing up, he placed his forepaws on either side of the torch and quickly leaned in to nudge at it with his nose. The first nudge made the torch shift and hope sparked in Dominic¡¯s heart. It wouldn¡¯t shift if it were completely fixed in place. Using one paw, he pushed at the shaft of the torch from below. Anticipation grew within him as he saw it shift upwards. It seemed to take a long time, but finally the torch was pushed far enough out of its holder to fall with a clatter onto the stone tiles below. Just in time ¨C Dominic felt pain shoot through him as he was stabbed by a spear. The statues had caught up with him. Dominic leaned down to snatch at the torch, easily managing to grip the long shaft in his mouth. Prize secured, he leapt out of the surrounding circle of statues. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t made it unscathed. As well as being stabbed by the spear, he also hadn¡¯t managed to avoid a slice from a sword and the two arrows. His return to the altar was thus significantly slower than retrieving the torch had been. When the two arrows disappeared from his flesh, it made movement easier, for all that the painful wounds didn¡¯t vanish with them. Reaching the relative safety of the puddle of light, Dominic leapt onto the altar, a grunt of pain leaving his mouth as the abrupt movement jolted already painful wounds. Waiting for the archers to shoot at him, he dodged the two projectiles and then set to lighting the torch. Fortunately, the torch was still warm from having been lit not that long ago, and it flared to life quickly. Excellent. Briefly waiting for the archers to once more shoot at him, he repeated his leap over the statues¡¯ heads. Returning the torch to its holder was a slightly trickier affair than pushing it out in the first place. To his advantage, though, was the fact that the statues would not enter the puddle of light cast by the torch. He still had to keep track of when the archers were likely to be shooting at him, but that was easier than avoiding that plus the spears and swords. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. It gave him the time he needed to work out the best way of gripping the torch with his teeth and angling his head to manage to get the tip of the torch back into the holder. Come on, he told it in frustration as he tried for the fifth time to slot the damn thing into place. Trying to do this without being able to actually see what he was doing was the main reason for his struggle. When the tip of the torch finally found its place in the iron rings of the holder, Dominic felt a sense of relief pour through him. He let go of the torch, wanting to let the burning light slide down by itself. His relief quickly turned to panic as the torch started falling instead of sliding into place ¨C clearly its centre of gravity was too high above where it needed to be. Rapidly reacting with a paw, he redirected its trajectory into the right place instead of clattering on the stone floor again. Breathing a sigh of relief as he eyed the now-replaced torch, he felt like groaning as he thought about the five more he needed to do. Dodging the arrows almost absent-mindedly, he set to his task. At least he¡¯d proved that his method was possible. Now he knew what to do, the next few torches were annoying, but not nearly as nerve-racking as the first. Each one that he managed to light meant reducing the space the statues could walk in a bit more, making his task easier. By the time he¡¯d got three torches lit ¨C the one to the right of the door, and the two on the walls either side of the altar wall, the statues were practically restricted to the space to the left of the door. Of course, that made getting the torch out of its holster from the wall to the left of the door a bit difficult. The fourth torch turned out to be the one where he attracted the most injuries. Due to not being able to lure the statues away from it, he just had to endure the strikes. He¡¯d developed a flick with his paw that was rather efficient at dislodging the torch from its holder, but even that wasn¡¯t enough to allow him to escape without injury. By the time he escaped back into the lit areas, his health was getting worryingly close to half. Still, after that, he was past the worst of it. Returning with the lit torch, he watched the statues back away from the approaching light until they hit the wall. With nowhere else to run, the light washed over them and they instantly froze. So that¡¯s why the arrows were OK shooting through the space but the spears and swords weren¡¯t ¨C once in motion, the arrows just continued their trajectory. The spears and swords wouldn¡¯t have. After that, the fifth and sixth torch were practically a cake-walk. The only pressure was the guttering candle which was close to burning away the last of its wax. Still, it wasn¡¯t a big deal ¨C if the candle went out, Dominic would just be able to use another of the torches to light the last two. It was only as he went to light the fifth torch that he realised he could have had a much easier job if he¡¯d gone about this in a different way. Since the statues avoided the light, he could have just carried around a torch the way he¡¯d wanted to carry the candle¡­. With the statues all frozen, he didn¡¯t even have to contend with arrows shooting at him every now and again, meaning he could practically relax. Which also meant he could spend some time cursing himself for getting tunnel vision at just the wrong moment. I need to work on that, he told himself grimly. Finally, he lit the last torch and got it set back in its holder. The moment he¡¯d done that, all of the torches suddenly flared brightly. If they go out again¡­ he thought threateningly, though knew it was empty ¨C who would he even hold to account? The statues crumbled away into dust which drifted over to six places below each of the torches. Backing away from the one he was standing below, Dominic managed to avoid finding out exactly what would happen if he happened to be sharing space with the dust cloud. A moment later, the dust reassembled itself into the statues, standing in the same positions they¡¯d held when he entered the room in the first place. Just as well I moved, Dominic said to himself. I¡¯ve already been on the wrong end of sharing a spawn spot. There was the sound of grinding stone from two opposite ends of the sanctum. First, the doorway. Dominic was relieved to see that it was open again, though he wasn¡¯t exactly looking forward to traversing that corridor again. So where did that other sound come from? Looking towards the altar, the difference was clear. The altar had itself moved, shifting sideways so that one pillar was left completely uncovered, the weight of the altar being fully supported by the second hexagonal prism. Curiosity running through him, Dominic approached the uncovered pillar. Curiosity killed the cat, he reminded himself. Though, wasn¡¯t there a second part to that saying? Something about satisfaction bringing it back? Either way, he was hopeful that he might have an idea of what might be awaiting him. Sure, he could just leave ¨C it was probably the safest option ¨C but if what he suspected was true, he¡¯d be making a big mistake by doing that. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t be cautious, though. Padding closer step by small step, he ventured a glance into the suddenly-revealed hole in the centre of the hexagonal pillar. His heart leapt as he saw a very familiar brown object. It was wooden, banded in bronze, with an iconic shape. Everyone loves big chests, he grinned to himself as excitement rose inside him. Let¡¯s see what epic loot I¡¯ve earned! Chapter 23: What is That? Of course, getting the chest open was once more made difficult with paws instead of hands. Still Dominic was determined; a mere lock would not stymie him for long. Eventually, he managed to delicately use a single claw to flip the latch and then the rest was just a matter of time. With anticipation, he pushed the lid open and stared at the bounty revealed within. Immediately, confusion took over the anticipation. What is that? Dominic hooked out the strangely-shaped piece of leather with one paw and laid it on the floor. Looking at it from all angles, he still found himself mystified. It was vaguely circular, that was for sure. Placed on the floor, he could see that there was a circular gap in the middle of the leather. It wasn¡¯t a bracelet, though ¨C it was much too big. And it would have been an oddly-shaped bracelet anyway. The actual thickness of the material was the same from the interior of the circle to the exterior all the way around ¨C about a centimetre thick. The other dimensions, however, were very different. The narrowest parts of the leather were to the sides, the band only a couple of inches wide. From those narrow bits, the leather quickly expanded in both directions. Prodding the device, Dominic pushed it so that the circle was closed and it was lying on one of the bigger pieces. From this angle, he could see more of the shape of the other pieces of the plain-looking dark-brown material. The biggest piece was an irregular pentagon. The leather extended downwards at right angles to the band at the top, then narrowed to a point. The other piece was a similar shape but about half the size. Dominic would have imagined the whole thing to be a band with two other pieces of leather sewn on, but closer inspection revealed no hint of stitching ¨C it looked as if the leather had just grown that way. Impossible, right? Mystified, Dominic wondered if there was some way of getting the System to tell him about the item. Surely there is ¨C what¡¯s the point of giving this to me as loot if I have no idea about what it can do? Or even what it¡¯s for. Prodding the item, he tried various different commands. Status. His own status was brought up instead; he dismissed it. Um, stats? Nope. Inspect? No good either. Uh...information? This time, his attempt was rewarded. [Leather gorget (non-standard, Beast, T1)] [This is a poorly-worked leather gorget which has traded off protection for the capacity to be worn by a Beast. The craftsman has also added an extra-dimensional pocket (non-stasis, 6m3) which renders the item unable to be enchanted. Offers +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck.] Dominic stared at the description, excitement rising. Was he reading that correctly? Was this thing a sort of bag of holding? Or maybe not a bag exactly¡­. A gorget...isn¡¯t that some sort of neck protection? Compared to what he would have been willing to take ¨C a ridiculous fanny pack ¨C in exchange for having some storage capacity, something that would also offer protection for his vulnerable throat was very welcome. Dominic didn¡¯t even care if it was apparently ¡®poor¡¯ quality ¨C it was perfect. Too perfect, perhaps. Has this dungeon been reading my mind in order to choose the best loot for me? His attention was caught by something else in the description, though. Are beasts not supposed to be able to wear equipment, then? Certainly the requirement for the craftsman to ¡®trade off¡¯ damage reduction for him to be able to wear it seemed a bit of a nerf. Or was that just because it was ¡®poorly-worked¡¯? And how am I supposed to get it on? It was a good question. There was no indication of a catch or fastening. Though maybe that¡¯s a good thing, Dominic told himself ¨C considering how complicated he had found it to unlatch the chest, trying to do up some sort of fastening on something around his neck would have probably been beyond his capabilities. That didn¡¯t solve his issue, though. Nosing at the band, Dominic tried to hook his claws onto it and drag it over his head. Although leather wasn¡¯t usually known for being particularly elastic, he was hoping that there would be a system assist somehow. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. His hopes seemed to be in vain, and he resorted to mentally swearing at the gorget. Bloody thing! Why isn¡¯t there some sort of ¡®equip¡¯ option? Suddenly the gorget vanished and Dominic felt a weight settle around his throat. Wait...was it really that simple? Unequip. The gorget vanished once more from his throat, appearing before his nose. Apparently it is. Equip, he mentally commanded again as he touched the gorget with his nose. He took a moment to feel what the new piece of equipment was like on his body. He¡¯d thought at first that having something around his neck would feel confining, but in fact it was very comfortable. The leather didn¡¯t bite or drag at his skin. Instead, it flexed with his movements no matter how much he turned and twisted. It was a little warm underneath the layer of leather, but not too bad. He¡¯d have to see what it was like in the sun, though. Now on him, he could feel where the different pieces sat. The largest piece was on the underside of his throat, the sides extending downwards. The tip of the pentagon was actually between his front two legs. The band of the gorget was wide enough to cover the majority of his vulnerable area at the base of his skull, and then the smaller piece covered the back of his neck with the point extending a little between his shoulder blades. Ultimately, it wasn¡¯t a suit of armour, but it did offer a bit more protection to the area he felt most protective about. Best of all, Dominic felt a bit more confident in using his most effective weapon with this on: his teeth. The problem with that before had always been that by biting at something, he put his own throat within reach. Now, with this bit of extra protection, he wasn¡¯t so worried. Wanting to test the limits of this command, he tried several different combinations ¨C touching the gorget at the moment of the mental command, not touching it, equipping it and then moving, unequipping while moving¡­. In the end, he discovered a number of things. First, he had to be touching the gorget to equip it. It didn¡¯t have to be with his nose; he could equip it when touching with his paw. Heck, he¡¯d even tried with his tail once ¨C it worked. However, some part of his body had to be in contact at the moment of the command. Second, when the gorget was unequipped, it would always appear wherever it had been at the moment of being equipped. So, when he had equipped it with his tail, it had reappeared at the tip of his tail. If the limb was in the air at the time, the gorget would fall on the floor. He could unequip when running, but the gorget was immediately left behind ¨C it appeared beside the paw which had previously equipped it, and then was left on the floor as his paw kept moving. Interesting¡­. Having exhausted the possibilities which came to mind when it came to equipping and unequipping, Dominic next turned his attention to working out how the extra-dimensional space functioned. Activating it was easy enough ¨C he merely had to think ¡®inventory¡¯ and he suddenly had a sense of what was inside the space. Which was to say nothing at that time. Wanting to test with something, Dominic looked around the room. His gaze settling on the altar, he was hit with a wave of inspiration. Padding over to the altar, he huffed out a breath towards the still-burning candle stub. He wasn¡¯t able to direct his breath in the same way he would have with a human mouth, but force offered an alternative to finesse. The candle-flame winked out and he immediately knocked it over so it fell out of its holder with a small clattering sound. Testing the inventory feature proved he had to be touching the item and needed to focus on it going into his inventory. He didn¡¯t need to lift it off the ground, but he assumed that an item too big for the space wouldn¡¯t be accepted. Once the candle was in the extra-dimensional space, Dominic found he had a ¡®sense¡¯ of it when accessing his inventory. It wasn¡¯t as simple as seeing the item in a grid, or even seeing the item in an area. Instead, it was like he just...knew it was there. He didn¡¯t know anything more about it ¨C not whether it was made of wax or tallow, not whether it was classed as a weapon or something else, not how long it could continue to burn for. He just knew that he had a candle in his inventory. Weird, he said to himself finally. I don¡¯t care, he decided in the end. I have a way of storing things, finally! Pulling the candle out of his inventory was just as easy; like the gorget, it appeared beside whatever had put it inside in the first place. Out of curiosity, he went and grabbed one of the torches, nudging it out of its holder and then putting it in his inventory. It was only after doing that that he suddenly wondered if it had been a good idea. What if the lack of light made the statue move? Fortunately, he¡¯d chosen one above a swordsman ¨C he didn¡¯t want to have to deal with the archers again. Watching the statue warily, he was relieved when it stayed still. Phew. Perhaps this trap doesn¡¯t reset? Pulling the torch back out, he noted that it had continued to burn. The description did say something about ¡®non-stasis¡¯¡­. Does that mean that if I left it burning It would burn away? And what happens if I put other flammable things in there? Would they catch light too? With the limited materials he had to hand, he couldn¡¯t answer his questions. In the end, he decided to leave, satisfied with his exploration. He decided not to take the torch, but he did take the candle. He also tried to take the chest, figuring that could be useful later, but he couldn¡¯t get the thing to enter his inventory. Maybe it was part of the dungeon in some way? One last glance around the room to verify that he hadn¡¯t missed anything ¨C including tapping his claws against all the blocks in reach in case there was a hidden door ¨C he headed back towards the passageway. If the altar wasn¡¯t along this corridor, it must be through the other door. Bad luck to have chosen the wrong room first, but he¡¯d got a nice piece of equipment out of it so it wasn¡¯t the end of the world either. Chapter 24: The Next Corridor Travelling back along the corridor was a painstaking affair. Dominic wasn¡¯t going to assume that the traps had been deactivated just because he¡¯d already been along there once. In fact, there was more evidence of them being reactivated than deactivated ¨C the pit was no longer in evidence. The young lion suspiciously eyed the innocent-looking area of stone tiles where so recently there had been a gaping hole with razor-sharp spikes at the bottom. He still couldn¡¯t spot whatever had triggered the pit. There was no trip wire, no tile which didn¡¯t look entirely flush with the rest of the floor. Instead, when he got to the area which had collapsed under him the last time, he decided to edge around it. Pressing himself to the wall, he knew that even if it did collapse, he¡¯d still have a foothold. This time, he managed to get past without triggering the trap. Whether that was because the trap was completely deactivated or he just managed to avoid the action which activated it, Dominic didn¡¯t know. Regardless, he breathed out a sigh of relief when he knew he was past its limits. Thanks to knowing approximately where traps had been the last time he traversed this corridor, Dominic succeeded in reaching the entrance chamber without fault. Well, almost without fault ¨C he did accidentally trigger a dart trap. The fact that he was able to do that meant that he was glad he¡¯d been so careful with the rest of the traps. Clearly they weren¡¯t all deactivated - that¡¯s even if any of them were at all. He¡¯d stepped over the fine trip-wire with his first paw, but misjudged either distance or his speed very slightly, snagging it very slightly with his second. The mistake triggered a number of darts to fly out from a set of vertically-placed holes in the wall. All but one dart missed completely, obviously aimed more at a bipedal figure than one like him. Fortunately, the gorget proved its use immediately: the one dart that was correctly placed to hit him happened to fly directly at the side of his neck, and was immediately stopped by the leather of the armour. It stuck in the fabric, so Dominic brushed it off, looking at it in curiosity. A long point with a faint hint of green down at its base, presumably making sure that it flew correctly, the dart was nothing special. Dominic tried getting some information from it, but his attempt failed. When he¡¯d mentally asked for more information about the candle, the torch, or one of the statues he hadn¡¯t got anything either. Maybe it¡¯s because these things belong to the dungeon while my new gorget has been given to me? Dominic wondered. Or maybe these items are considered too commonplace to be given a description? He¡¯d have to test other items. Actually¡­. A thought occurred and he turned back to the entrance to the corridor that he¡¯d just exited. Trying ¡®information¡¯ on the small area of stone where he knew there was a spike trap, he wasn¡¯t surprised ¨C though a little disappointed ¨C when nothing happened. After all, what kind of trap would it be if an explorer could just find out everything they needed to know by asking for ¡®information¡¯? He¡¯d dumped the dart in his inventory anyway ¨C if it started getting overfull, he could always get rid of it later. Though he was a little curious to see whether it would disappear of its own accord over time or when he left the dungeon. Sitting in the entrance chamber, Dominic took a moment to look at his status. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Half-step Evolved Beast Level 9 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 94/178 PP level up Hunger level: 73% Thirst level: 64% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (61% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Rage level 1 (24%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction, 1-2 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 3 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +1% Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 2 (32-50 Crushing damage, 35-63 Tearing damage, 28-40 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 5 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 15s) (83/105 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 2 (214/350 HP) +20% regeneration Equipment: - Leather Gorget (T1) - +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck. 6m3 storage space (non-stasis) If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Dominic noticed a number of interesting things. First of all, he had a new entry, that of equipment. Obviously, his gorget was the only thing there. Next, he could see that he was starting to get hungry, thirsty, and tired. If I go outside will I find some trodils to eat? And even if I do, will I be able to get back in without having to do that key quest again? Though would it be such a bad thing if he had to? It would use time, sure, but he¡¯d earn Prey Points for it¡­. Or he could just have a sleep here. Actually, that sounds pretty good. He didn¡¯t have a meter to measure his tiredness levels, but he certainly felt fatigue. It would give his stamina and health a bit of time to recover too. And there was no guarantee that he would even find any trodils outside ¨C he¡¯d cleared them out pretty thoroughly. This room seems safe enough, Dominic decided, gazing around at it critically. Although the ceiling was high, there were no obvious places where something could be hiding. The walls were pretty bare except for that mosaic and the two torches, so no obvious secret doors there either. The floor wasn¡¯t the most comfortable ¨C hard and cold ¨C but Dominic found that he could cope well enough in his new body. A cat is a master of being able to sleep in a variety of ridiculous places and a lion proved no less capable of this than a domestic tabby. Pillowing his head on his large paws, Dominic relaxed and drifted into a watchful sleep. ***** Time was hard to measure at the best of times ¨C inside a dark temple within a dungeon where the light source never varied, it was impossible. All Dominic knew was that he awoke feeling refreshed. His stamina bar was full, and his health bar had increased by a few points. Once more he wondered whether he ought to go out and search for some trodils to top himself off, but he was discouraged by a sudden thought. What if not only could he not enter the temple without the key pieces, but there were no trodils for him to fight either? The room he¡¯d just been in hadn¡¯t completely reset, after all. The candle hadn¡¯t replenished itself; the altar hadn¡¯t moved back to cover the two pillars. What if small things like the thieving trodil or the statues moving back into place were reset but major things like the mini-boss trodils or the altar were not? Maybe I should just explore the next corridor and finish with this dungeon, Dominic thought to himself. He was above half health anyway, so hopefully that would see him through. It was a risk, but so was everything, so after second-guessing himself a couple of times, the human-turned-lion moved to inspect the second corridor. It looked pretty identical to the first one he¡¯d gone down, though bent in the other direction at the end. Guessing that identical meant that it was also trapped, Dominic started his painstaking checks for any indication on floor, wall or ceiling of something about to shoot at him, stab at him, fall on him, or collapse beneath him. Has my patience improved? he wondered idly as he got about halfway. It was a good question: he¡¯d never been someone who¡¯d get so absorbed into puzzles that he lost all sense of time and his surroundings. Sure, he¡¯d get absorbed by stories in that way, hours disappearing in the pages of a good yarn, but not puzzles. And this was a puzzle, one that required him to be alert at every moment. Maybe it¡¯s Leo¡¯s influence. It kind of made sense ¨C a predator like a lion which relied on catching its prey unawares had to be able to keep a patient alertness for an elongated period of time. If it was true, however, it raised a disturbing question: if Leo was influencing his ability to be patient, what else was he influencing? And did Dominic want that influence or not? Those thoughts were too distracting. Dominic resolved to question them later when he wasn¡¯t picking his way between traps which could easily injure or even kill him if they caught him unawares. It felt like a long time before he managed to make it to the end of the corridor, and it probably was, but Dominic considered it time well-spent when he reached the bend without a single injury. Once more he hadn¡¯t quite made it through without fault, though. He¡¯d managed to trigger two blades of stone that came swinging through the corridor at mid-body height ¨C on a human. Fortunately for Dominic, that was a little above his head so he didn¡¯t even have to dodge them. There are advantages to being a different shape than the trap-maker expected, he mused. Though it had ended up being a disadvantage in the previous room when the dungeon creator obviously expected someone to be able to pick the candle up to carry it to the torches directly. Ah well, I found a way. Fortunately. Not yet setting foot in the room ahead of him, Dominic surveyed the space he¡¯d newly gained access to. It was alarmingly similar in shape to the previous ¨C now he¡¯d thought it, Dominic couldn¡¯t rid himself of the comparison to a coffin. There was also an almost identical altar on the opposite side of the irregular hexagon from the door. He did breathe a sigh of relief as he realised that, although the torches were in identical places, there were no stone statues. We won¡¯t be repeating the last room, then. There was also no candle on the surface of the altar, another indication that whatever would happen in this room wouldn¡¯t be a repeat of his previous experience. He did have a sinking feeling that this altar might not be the one he was searching for. Again. The room was completely bare, even more so than the previous one had been. The only thing that looked ever so slightly different from the previous was that there were six hexagonal floor tiles which were a different colour than the grey stone around. They were scattered around the room, the closest only a couple of tiles away from where Dominic was standing ¨C a red one ¨C and the furthest a yellow one which was right next to the altar. Otherwise there was a green, a blue, a purple, and an orange tile. Come on, this can¡¯t be another trap, can it? Dominic moaned to himself, the oddly-coloured tiles feeling like a red flag. There are only two rooms for heaven¡¯s sake! One of them had to be the end of the dungeon...surely? Feeling uneasy, but figuring that he didn¡¯t have much choice, Dominic stepped carefully towards the altar. He didn¡¯t dare touch any of the coloured tiles in case that would set off the trap. It was only when he was already halfway across the room that it occurred to him that this might be some weird game of ¡®the floor is lava¡¯. When that thought appeared, he shrugged it away ¨C if he¡¯d already made an error by not stepping on the coloured tiles, it wasn¡¯t likely to be improved by him suddenly switching to doing it now. Getting to the altar finally, he hesitated for a long moment. Then, deciding that he might as well get whatever it was over with, he reared up and thumped down on the altar, forepaws first. When the sound of the door slamming shut hit his ears and words started appearing before his eyes, he could only think one thing: Damn it! Another bloody trap! Chapter 25: Overgrown Burrowing Rats Snare sprung; prize not found. Danger awaits when you turn around. Cages empty; occupants left; Solve this puzzle or face your death. This dungeon needs to take poetry classes, Dominic grumbled mentally to himself as he read the words now engraven on the stone of the altar slab. Who rhymes ¡®left¡¯ with ¡®death¡¯ anyway? And does it need to be quite so ominous? He sighed as he managed to answer his own question ¨C of course it had to be ominous: this was a dungeon after all. And I guess that poetry 101 isn¡¯t a requirement of dungeoneering, he commented wryly to himself even as a scraping sound came from behind him. Pushing off the altar stone, he turned to face the room. The coloured tiles were the source of the scraping sound ¨C naturally. Instead of sinking into the floor, though, they had risen above it. Beneath the inch-thick stone tile itself was a...cage? Dominic padded towards the closest one to have a better look. It was weird to see a hexagonally shaped one, but that was the only thing that made sense. It was made out of metal wire, the spaces between each probably only enough to let his claws through. On one side there was an obvious entry point, the door slid upwards to leave a gaping hole. Dominic could see how he would only need to push down on the top of the door to close it. But what¡¯s supposed to be inside it? It would have made more sense, perhaps, if the cages had come up with their occupants still inside and then they had been unleashed upon him. Then again, that was part of the poem, right? ¡®Cages empty; occupants left¡¯¡­. The sound of grating stone met Dominic¡¯s ears once more and he saw two stone tiles in the wall closest to the door shift sideways. He narrowed his eyes as he saw dark forms come scampering out. Rats? No ¨C they didn¡¯t move quite right for that. What are those things called which live in forests? Wizzles? Weezles? Or maybe I¡¯m thinking of ferrets. But that didn¡¯t make much sense either ¨C he was in a savannah dungeon, not a forest one. The creatures were making a beeline for him so Dominic just waited patiently until one was illuminated sufficiently to see more obvious markings. When he got a closer look, he found an aggrieved sense of betrayal taking root in his heart. I know I said I wasn¡¯t Mufasa earlier, but I¡¯m not Simba either! he complained. This dungeon had probably better watch out for Disney¡¯s lawyers if it¡¯s going to be stealing their characters like this. As if the dungeon was trying to ruin one of his favourite animated movies as a child, the creatures scampering towards him were indeed meerkats. And it turned out they weren¡¯t nearly as cute and cuddly in person as they were in the film. Ow, Dominic complained as he was surrounded by sharp-toothed Timons. The damage hurt, but each bite had barely any effect on his health bar; his heart was hurt more at the knowledge that he was going to have to tear one of his favourite characters to bits. These are not really Timon or Timon¡¯s family, he told himself firmly as he started using Quick Strike to bite at his attackers. They were quick, but that was all they had going for them ¨C as soon as Dominic got a bite in, they were doomed. A single crushing snap of his teeth and another lifeless corpse fell from his jaws. In fact, a few minutes into the fight and Dominic found himself almost better off than when he¡¯d entered it. Although each small corpse didn¡¯t offer him much in terms of stamina or health, it offered him almost as much as he spent on killing them, so it was not much of a loss for the lion. And he could already feel that he was less hungry or thirsty. I guess my increased damage reduction due to enhancing my coat and skin are helping me here, he mused, the fight not actually taking that much of his attention. The sound of more stone moving off to one side drew his attention that way. Two more tiles had shifted again and a stream of meerkats was pouring out of it towards him. Dominic¡¯s eyes narrowed. Is the dungeon trying to overwhelm me with numbers or something? He supposed that if they were doing more damage then it would be a reasonable strategy; as it was, it would take a long time to wear him down, even though he wasn¡¯t approaching this with full health. Maybe they¡¯re going to send more powerful meerkats at me later, beast wave style? This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. But that didn¡¯t make any sense with the rhyme. It had talked about a puzzle, and the cages were definitely part of that. Then Dominic¡¯s sharp eyesight caught a glimpse of something and the pieces fell into place. One of the meerkats which had just entered was blue. Blue meerkat...blue cage. Occupants left...solve this puzzle...I have to return the occupants to the cages? It made sense. Seemed a little simplistic, but Occam¡¯s Razor and all that. Besides, the other traps he¡¯d encountered had been pretty straightforward too. The corridor hadn¡¯t been embellished, and there had been no traps that had tried to pretend to be anything else. The other room had given a rhyme that was a little difficult to work through without context, but simple enough with. Heck, both rhymes had even declared that the room was a trap, not trying to pretend that they were anything different. In the end Dominic shrugged. It¡¯s worth a go. Just one question ¨C do the meerkats have to be alive or dead? Alive would be more annoying, but there was no guarantee that he¡¯d solve the puzzle if he killed them. And it was a lot easier to make something dead that¡¯s alive than make something alive that¡¯s dead. Unless you¡¯re a necromancer, of course. Sighing, Dominic decided that assuming the meerkats needed to be alive was the best option here. Now, how to accomplish this task? ***** The Lion had been watching as the hairless monkey controlled his body to overcome the traps posed by the stone cave which they had entered. He had been reluctantly impressed with the way the Intruder had faced the challenges so far. While the Intruder¡¯s control over his body was still not quite as practised as the Lion¡¯s own, the Lion had to admit that it was getting better. No longer did the Intruder shame him by fumbling like a cub; the only errors were in not using his body to its full capabilities. Yet even with the accidental handicap, the hairless monkey succeeded in taking on threats that even the Lion would have been leery of. While the first two groups of trodils had been easily torn apart, the third group was one the Lion would have been reluctant to face alone. With a pride behind him it would have been a simple matter, but alone¡­. If he was honest with himself, the Lion would not have chosen to take on the third group of trodils, just as he would not choose to take on a group of hyenas. Perhaps if he had been desperate or cornered, but not for the reasons that the Intruder had. Better to live to fight another day than face a fight that could leave him injured and vulnerable. Being honest with himself¡­. It was an odd development that the Lion was struggling to adapt to. Before there had been no question of honesty or lack of it: he had been himself, and that had been all. Yet now, reduced to no more than a mind within his own body, in contact with a mind so alien from his own, and with those strange rushes of energy that flowed through him, it was different. Now he knew what it meant to be honest and dishonest. He had come to an understanding of strategy being more than creeping through the bush undetected and waiting for a moment his prey was looking away to strike. He had learned of traps, and of ways of escaping them. The Lion grudgingly admitted that he would not have made it very far into this stone cave without the Intruder. Actually, he would never have even entered it in the first place ¨C the whole situation of finding and carrying pieces of sun which were cold rather than hot had been a little beyond him, even after the energy had passed through and made his thinking clearer and more critical. He still was not entirely sure whether it was a good idea: so far, it seemed to have been a location of nothing more than threats to his health. There was no prey in here ¨C or at least, there hadn¡¯t been until now ¨C and the excitement the Intruder had felt over a dried out piece of hide which now sat around his neck seemed...inappropriate. No, between the pieces of stone which shot at him and disappeared beneath his feet, the Lion would have been long gone out of this Death Cave. And that¡¯s not even including the lumps of stone which actually attacked him. Though the Lion did have to admit that he had been as impressed as he had been baffled at the Intruder¡¯s way of dealing with them. Who knew that the hairless monkey would be able to control the Light-which-Bites and that this would have any effect on the unnatural stone? The excitement which followed continued to be inappropriate ¨C the Intruder hadn¡¯t felt that way over the hide which was still on the prey it had killed. And that hide was far better to eat. No, all in all, while the Lion was reluctantly impressed by the Intruder¡¯s ability to deal with situations that the Lion admitted he would have found impossible, he felt like the Intruder had its priorities wrong. Instead of exploring this dark cave and risking death, it should be exploring the grasslands and finding more tasty prey. Not to mention its poor choices of enhancement. Who cared if his coat was a bit longer? The Lion had to admit that it was rather baffled at the Intruder¡¯s most recent actions. He was forced to watch as the Intruder fumbled around a group of overgrown burrowing rats. Why it wasn¡¯t choosing to just swipe them all out of existence, the Lion didn¡¯t know. Perhaps I was too hasty in thinking that a hairless monkey would have stopped embarrassing me. Unfortunately, he still had no ability to control anything. Every time the energy rushed through him, he made a new attempt. And every time, his attempts failed. Yet every time he felt like he was getting closer to succeeding. My time will come, the Lion promised himself, even the ability to have an inner voice something new since the last rush of energy. My time will come and I will be able to focus on enhancing the only element that truly matters: growing out this poor excuse of a mane into something that will attract a pride of females. Chapter 26: Frustration If this isn¡¯t what the rhyme meant, I swear I¡¯m going to do my best to destroy this dungeon, Dominic thought to himself as he missed his target for the nth time. His frustration ticked up another notch. If he had to contain it much longer while still upping the heat, it would probably reach volcanic levels soon. This task was a nightmare. He was pretty sure that the idea of getting the coloured meerkats into the matching coloured cages was correct ¨C in the time since the blue meerkat had appeared, more stone wall tiles had shifted. Every two or three sets of tiles that moved, another coloured meerkat had joined the mass surrounding him. So far he¡¯d seen blue, orange, red, and green meerkats. At the same time, the number of normally-coloured meerkats seemed to have multiplied tenfold. It was impossible to count them as they moved far too quickly to be able to do that, but there must have been more than eighty of the things. The most annoying bit of the whole scenario was that the normally-coloured meerkats were rather terminally driven to attack him, piling on him with the same fanaticism as always, no matter how many he killed. I thought it was meant to be lemmings that were randomly suicidal? At the same time, the coloured meerkats ¨C his targets ¨C were the opposite: fleeing him whenever he approached them. Their favourite tactic seemed to be burying themselves within the mass of other meerkats, disappearing under furry bodies and then reemerging somewhere completely different. If they¡¯d actually properly tried to run away from him it would have been easier for him: a meerkat that was separated from the rest of the mob was an obvious target. I guess that¡¯s why they¡¯re not doing that, Dominic grumbled to himself. It was so much better when his opponent had no idea of strategy ¨C better for him, that was. Snap, blood filled his mouth and he consumed the body to bolster his resources as the notification of its death arrived. [You have killed Meerkat] Adding insult to injury was the fact that the meerkats barely offered any Prey Points. The vast majority of them weren¡¯t even level 1 and gave him zilch. Swipe, his paw batted at a group of three meerkats, encountering little resistance as his enhanced claws ripped through them. Two were fatally injured, the third dying outright as a lucky strike with one of his claws opened one of its major arteries. [You have killed Meerkat] A few moments later, two more notifications flashed up. [You have killed Meerkat] [You have killed Meerkat (Basic Beast level 1)] [You have earned 3 PP] Wow, three Prey Points. Big whoop, Dominic said to himself sarcastically. Even the level 1s weren¡¯t worth much. It was clear that their sole purpose was to basically swarm him and distract him from finding the coloured meerkats. Is this really all the trap has to offer? he wondered with no small amount of frustration. I thought it said this was meant to be dangerous? Honestly, it¡¯s more annoying than anything else. Then again, he supposed that every dungeon has to have that irritating room that everyone hates. This was definitely it for Dominic. Bring on statues trying to kill him again over this. You know what it feels like? Mosquitoes. Like I¡¯m surrounded by a swarm of mosquitoes. I know that I can easily squish any one of them to death if I catch it, and that they haven¡¯t got much chance of taking me down on any permanent basis, but god, they¡¯re annoying. There. The blue one. Dominic narrowed his eyes at it, then pounced, fixing his teeth carefully around the body he felt with his whiskers. Lifting his head, he growled as he saw a hint of blue fur wriggle into the mess of other meerkats. Damn! Crunching down with his jaws, he dismissed the notification as it flashed up in front of him. Maybe I should just kill all the normal meerkats ¨C then the coloured ones won¡¯t have any space to hide? It was a plan born of his pure vexation, but even on second thoughts it didn¡¯t seem like a terrible one. He¡¯d have to kill enough to keep ahead of the additions, but he¡¯d got a sense of how long it took for another two stone tiles to open. He¡¯d have to kill a lot, but frankly his rate of killing would be pretty good if he wasn¡¯t trying to concentrate on catching the coloured meerkats. Actually, with the number of little rat-like creatures swarming him, he¡¯d have to make more effort not to kill any than to kill them by the handful. Besides, I have plenty of frustration to work off. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. With that thought, he put to one side his plan of catching the coloured meerkats and just set to genocide. He¡¯d long got over any hesitation at killing Timon¡¯s lookalikes ¨C now he just wanted to massacre them all. With fire, if he could. Actually, could he¡­? Nah, probably better to just use his claws and teeth. The young lion had to be a little careful to make sure that he didn¡¯t accidentally catch any of his real targets in his attacks, but their efforts to stay as far away from him as possible, while not leaving the mob, worked out well for him. Snap. Swipe. Lunge. Rear up and come down on a particularly dense knot of meerkats like a meteor. Snap. Swipe. Snap. Lunge¡­. Blood, gore, and other bodily fluids coated the floor below him; he was grateful for the sure grip of his pads. If he¡¯d still had human feet, he¡¯d have probably been slipping around. His paws were coated up in the mess, blood staining several inches up each of his legs. Though not able to see his own face, he suspected that it would look like something out of a nightmare. Certainly he could feel the sticky substances pulling on his fur every time he opened his jaws. His tail tuft was heavier than usual, soaked with the red liquid. But his efforts were having an impact. The mob of meerkats was thinning, slowly. The coloured meerkats were finding that their hiding places weren¡¯t providing as much protection as they had been before. It¡¯s time. This time, instead of attacking a group of meerkats which was practically begging for him to swipe them off their mortal coil, Dominic lunged for a coloured meerkat. It was the green one, and it had ventured too far away from the others to easily hide itself. Using Quick Strike to add speed to his attack, Dominic snapped his jaws shut around the fleeing rodent. I don¡¯t care if meerkats aren¡¯t actually rodents: they certainly seem plenty rat-like. It tried to dodge his attack, but was unable to react in time. This time, instead of crushing the creature as he really, really wanted to, he carried it towards the green tile and the cage beneath it. The reaction of the other meerkats around him gave him a clue that he was on the right track: they went mental. If he¡¯d thought they were fanatically trying to attack him before, their reaction now proved him false. In comparison to what they started doing as soon as he captured the green meerkat, their previous behaviour had been positively shy. Now, they seemed to be trying to bog him down in place by sheer force of the number of bodies fixing their teeth in his flesh. Four meerkats clinging on each leg was one thing; twenty on each was something else. Growling in pain at their bites, Dominic refused to let his prize go as they clearly wanted. Reduced to shuffling instead of trotting, Dominic fixed his eyes on the cage door. His health bar had taken a noticeable dip by the time he got there ¨C the meerkats might not do much damage individually, but as a collective they could make an impact. Shoving the meerkat in through the open doorway, he then spat it out. It turned around as soon as it was free, trying to escape even now. Dominic had to fumble blindly for the door of the cage with one paw: he was afraid that if he withdrew his muzzle for even a moment, the meerkat would squeeze out. By the time he¡¯d managed to ease his muzzle out, dragging the door down to replace it until it clicked and became immovable, his lips and gums were bleeding from the meerkat¡¯s determined efforts. Still, triumph went through him at the sight of the little bastard trapped in the cage. Man, I hope that I¡¯m right! If I have to instead put the buggers in different coloured cages, I¡¯m going to...do something. Something bad. With one meerkat in place, and no indicator of whether it was the right or wrong choice, Dominic could only continue with his plan. He alternated killing normal meerkats with making attempts at capturing one of the coloured versions. Interestingly enough, as soon as the green meerkat was trapped in the cage, the other meerkats went back to their normal behaviour. Dominic was glad of it ¨C and so were his legs, though they still felt the painful aftereffects of so many bites. Not all his attempts at capturing went well. He fell painfully on his face more than once as the meerkat he was lunging at managed to pull a successful dodge a fraction of a second before his teeth would have made contact. The orange one seemed particularly good at avoiding him. Even when he did manage to capture one, it wasn¡¯t all plain sailing. Twice, a bloody ¨C literally ¨C meerkat succeeded in wiggling its way out of the cage while he was trying to close the door on it. Dominic only just managed not to kill it the next time he managed to grab that one ¨C the red, as it happened, though they were all getting a reddish tinge. The murderous urge just to bite down until his mouth was flooded with its blood was almost irresistible. Only the thought that he might have to do the room again if he did that was sufficient to curb his desire. Still, finally, he managed to get the last one into its cage. With the door clicking into place behind the purple meerkat, the remaining normally-coloured meerkats fled for the open stone wall tiles as if the devil were chasing them. Which, to their minds, had to be the case. The prey instinct of the lion urged Dominic to chase and kill; he made no effort to resist this time. Leaping after the fleeing mini carnivores, he made five more kills before the rest escaped beyond his reach. Lucky you, he thought at them darkly, a growl rumbling in his chest. Still frustrated, but now without any targets on which to vent his ire, Dominic was forced to try to calm down by himself. Eyeing the room warily, the human-turned-lion hoped that no new facets of the trap would suddenly reveal themselves. The grinding of stone once more met his ears and he watched as the cages containing the coloured meerkats descended once more into the floor. So far, so good. Next, the blood that was coating the floor like a macabre layer of sticky paint was somehow...absorbed. It shouldn¡¯t have been possible ¨C it wasn¡¯t like it was drawn to the cracks between the tiles, after all. No, it just became thinner all over until suddenly, the floor was clean and dry. Like nothing had ever happened. Dominic himself was still coated, though, and he grimaced at the thought, the stickiness starting to become unbearable. His attention was drawn away from his coat¡¯s sorry state and to both ends of the room. Once more, the door was sliding open at the same time as the altar was shifting to reveal the top of one pillar. Dominic licked his lips, not caring about the tang of blood that the action garnered. Last time he¡¯d earned his gorget; what would it be this time? Chapter 27: Freaking Out Padding towards the revealed pillar with eagerness running through him, it was only when he reached the altar itself that he realised he was leaving a bloody trail of footprints behind him. Suddenly his skin seemed to itch terribly, like there were ants running all over him. I¡¯ve got to clean myself up, he decided. Opening his status screen, he would have crossed his fingers if he¡¯d still had them. All in the hope that the meerkat massacre would have earned him the Prey Points to level up. A forlorn hope as it turned out. Progress to Evolution: 165/178 PP level up All those damn level 0 rats, Dominic thought grumpily as he dismissed his status screen. At least I¡¯m not hungry or thirsty after all that. Hunger level: 95% Thirst level: 99% He¡¯d also barely lost any stamina or health over the whole fight. Or rather, he¡¯d lost them, but consuming the bodies had replenished practically all of what he¡¯d lost. He was down to 210 HP and 74 SP, but his stamina at least would come back after some rest. As for his HP, he just needed to get another 13 Prey Points and he¡¯d be golden. Dominic didn¡¯t want to get bloody paw prints all over his loot though. With no chance of levelling up right away or shower available, he was going to have to clean up the old-fashioned way. Licking himself. Raising his paw to his mouth, Dominic tried not to think too hard about it. Just like licking my fingers after eating pizza or something. This was the first time he¡¯d ever have to give himself a tongue bath, but he¡¯d cleaned his hands with his tongue a number of times when there was no serviette available. His body knew what to do, though, moving on automatic as he let sense-memory take over. His tongue licked at his furry ¡®hand¡¯, extending further than he was used to and curling into the space between his toes. The bristles on his tongue combed through his fur, and the sensation was surprisingly...pleasant. Maybe it was because this body was familiar with cleaning itself after a good meal, or its mother cleaning it, but as he licked at his paws, he felt a warm sense of safety come over him. Almost like he was a child cuddling his favourite comforter. It was only his human mind which had any objections to basically licking the same paw he had been using to massacre both meerkats and trodils, as well as walking all over the floor of the temple and the earth outside. And he was suddenly coming to understand that his human mind had less of an impact than he¡¯d thought. Rote actions, muscle memory, those were things he was familiar with. He was unsurprised when, after the initial period of adjustment, he¡¯d been able to settle into the movements this body was used to with little difficulty. It shouldn¡¯t be a surprise that the neural development of the lion¡¯s brain, the physical expression of his thoughts, were having just as much impact. I¡¯ve barely thought of my dad, Dominic realised with a sudden pang of longing. His dad who had supported him after his mum had left, who had always been patient and loving. His dad who hadn¡¯t been satisfied with him being a mere caf¨¦ worker, but had accepted it if that was what he¡¯d wanted. His dad who had helped him pay for the flights for this trip because he¡¯d hoped that it would help Dominic to ¡®find himself¡¯. His dad who would be wondering what the hell had happened to him. How haven¡¯t I thought about him? But he thought he knew the answer. The lion wasn¡¯t used to thinking about parents. Wasn¡¯t used to missing them. And so without Dominic actively trying to think about his dad...he didn¡¯t. And what about this whole situation? Now he¡¯d started thinking about what he hadn¡¯t been thinking about, he realised that he was far more freaked out by the situation than he had thought. Or not thought, was more to the point. I¡¯m suddenly a lion. I¡¯m not...I¡¯m not human any more. It felt like Leo was once more tearing at his gut, the pain that flashed through him at the thought. The lion¡¯s brain was used to dealing purely with the present, so that was exactly what he¡¯d ended up doing. But that meant he hadn¡¯t dealt with...any of this. Dominic realised that he¡¯d frozen, his tongue halfway through licking his paw. He resumed the motion, needing the sense of comfort that came with it, regardless of the stimulus. The wave of safety that flowed over him like a warm blanket helped to curb the panic that threatened to drown him. The world I know has...gone, he forced himself to admit, screwing his eyes shut and letting the soothing movements of cleaning happen by muscle memory. There was some sort of apocalypse. I was forced into the body of a lion. Anger rose inside him as he forced himself to remember that moment. Anger at Leo for causing it to happen by attacking him in the first place. Then a thought occurred. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. And Leo was forced to become a passenger in his own body, Dominic finished, the anger vanishing to be replaced by a little sympathy and sorrow for the lion who had, in the end, only been acting as lions do. Though the fact that Leo had been eating him at the time of the arrival of the System was probably the reason for them being combined, the human in the equation was also at fault. After all, if Dominic had stayed in his broken-down car instead of going against all advice and getting out in a game reserve, he wouldn¡¯t have been attacked by Leo. And if the System hadn¡¯t arrived when it did, Dominic would have simply died. So it wasn¡¯t any more Leo¡¯s fault than it was Dominic¡¯s. What happened to the rest of the world? the human-trapped-inside-a-lion asked himself. I haven¡¯t seen any evidence of humans yet, but surely they were brought over just as I was? Because it truly was ¡®they¡¯ now. Not ¡®we¡¯. He wasn¡¯t human any more. But it wasn¡¯t until the System started trying to reconstitute me that it ran into the error, so that must mean that, if it had arrived a few minutes earlier, it would have, uh, reconstituted me next to the lion, instead of having to combine us. So presumably that meant humans were on the same planet. So my dad could still be alive. It was a nice thought, imagining that humanity hadn¡¯t been really affected by this change. Dominic allowed himself to indulge in that dream for a moment, imagining his father going to work as usual, driving into London on his two-hour commute, working in his office job as an investment fund manager, then returning home to his empty house, wondering where his only son was. It was a little painful to consider, but much less painful than thinking about the end-of-days scenario inspired by so many of the System Apocalypse stories he¡¯d read. Imagining alien monsters running down the streets or swooping in from the skies to pick off vulnerable humans. Or the criminal elements of society quickly rising to the top due to earning Prey Points or XP or whatever humans earn and creating gang-ruled cities. When Dominic¡¯s imagination started venturing into scenarios where his father¡¯s house was broken into by monsters ¨C human or otherwise ¨C and his dad was killed for the little benefit his body could bring, he forced himself to focus on the present. Maybe the lion brain had it right, he thought grimly. How is worrying about this helping me? It wasn¡¯t, was the answer. Realising that he¡¯d fully cleaned one of his forepaws while he¡¯d been lost in his head, he switched over to the other, falling back into his thoughts. He¡¯d been doing fine before he tried to think about the past or future. He¡¯d been coping with his new body, levelling up at what he thought had to be a decent speed, and sort of enjoying exploring the dungeon. At least, he¡¯d been enjoying earning loot. What was the benefit to thinking about his father who was probably at least twelve thousand kilometres away from him? If his father was fine, that was great. If he wasn¡¯t, what could Dominic do about it? Even if planes and cars still existed ¨C and there was no guarantee of that ¨C as a lion, he couldn¡¯t exactly rock up to the local airport and buy a ticket. Despite himself, a wave of amusement went through him as he imagined the reactions to a large predator casually walking in through the sliding doors of an airport, padding over to the ticket desk and attempting to communicate in growls with the attendant. Actually, security probably wouldn¡¯t let me get in that far, he mused. The image of a lion driving a rental was even more amusing. So no, any attempt to get back to his father would require him to travel by foot across the whole length of Africa, swim across the Mediterranean ¨C or take the long way around ¨C and then walk through two European countries before swimming across the Channel. And that was even assuming that the countries of the world still looked the way they had before the apocalypse, which Dominic doubted based on what that System message had said about combining three other worlds with Earth. In short, it was a long-shot. He might as well sprout wings and just fly there. Better for Dominic to find a way of regaining his human form so that he could take advantage of any transportation options humanity had available to them. Then he could find out what had happened to his father. Hopefully that would mean actually finding his father, but Dominic was aware of the possibility that he might not have quite such a happy ending to his search. It was strange to realise that he was infinitely more concerned about his dad than he was about the fact that he was now stuck in a significantly different body from his previous. But I suppose that¡¯s natural. While I miss elements of my human body, there¡¯s no denying the fact that this one is far superior to my human one. Physically anyway. And if he could succeed in getting a human or humanoid form, he would have all the benefits of both bodies. So perhaps it was natural not to be so upset about his involuntary body transference. Certainly, considering the alternative was for him to be dead, he was in favour of the option that left him alive. If he¡¯d been given the choice by the System between those two possibilities, he would have chosen exactly what had actually happened. And honestly, in some ways he¡¯d got a better deal than Leo ¨C he couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like to have someone else take control over his body and just have to be a helpless bystander. An unwelcome sense of sympathy ran through him for the leonine presence which remained at the edge of his mind. Pulling himself out of his thoughts this time was easier. He was feeling calmer, more at peace. It was probably a mixture of the pleasant sensations of the grooming, and actually working through emotions which he hadn¡¯t been considering but which had been there in the background. Either way, realising that he was missing and worrying about his dad, but that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to do anything anytime soon was cathartic. Turning his attention to his paws, he pushed the last human sense of ¡®ick¡¯ to the side, and focused on getting the second one as clean as possible. Once he was sure that he wasn¡¯t going to be getting bloody pawprints all over his loot, he reared up to lean on the edge of the pillar. As in the previous room, there was a small wooden chest inside. With the same motions that worked last time, Dominic opened up the box. Chapter 28: Planty At first glance, Dominic was disappointed. He¡¯d been half-hoping for some new piece of equipment, now that he knew how awesome it could be. It wasn¡¯t equipment. Then again, what could he have enhanced? His claws? His teeth? Ooh, I know ¨C something I could attach to my tail and make it into a morning-star. Actually, that sounds kind of cool¡­. Well, maybe next time. In this box were instead two items which were definitely not wearable. One was a glass vial containing a murky green liquid which Dominic eyed dubiously. Am I meant to drink that? It certainly didn¡¯t look appetising. The other prize in the box was more instantly recognisable ¨C it was a Beast Core. It wasn¡¯t the biggest he¡¯d seen, but wasn¡¯t the smallest either. He¡¯d say it was about the size of the level 4 or 5 trodils. Information, he requested, wondering whether it would work. Actually, why hadn¡¯t he tried it on any of the other Beast Cores that the meerkats had left? The little finger-nail sized Cores were still littered around the room, waiting for him to consume them. If they were worth consuming, that was. [Beast Core: Meerkat level 5 Ability: Group Attack] Group attack¡­.? Some sort of ability that gives bonuses to attacking in numbers? I can see why a meerkat Core would have that ability, but it¡¯s not much use for me. Not much use at all considering his solitary progression so far. On the other hand, he might not be alone forever, so perhaps it could come in handy later? Probably shouldn¡¯t be, considering the social nature of both humans and lions. That said, he doubted that he¡¯d get the ability directly from the single level 5 Core, so it might not be worth even absorbing it. I¡¯ve got a bag of holding now. Well, sort of bag, anyway. I¡¯ll save it for later ¨C even if I don¡¯t use it, perhaps someone else will find it later. After all, thinking about it, Dominic couldn¡¯t have been the only one the System had difficulty with. Maybe he could trade it at some point ¨C even without words, surely it would be possible to communicate with others? People who spoke different languages did it all the time. Slipping the Core into his gorget¡¯s inventory, he turned to the other item, the glass vial. Information. [Minor Health Potion (minor, T1)] [This minor health potion offers an immediate healing of up to 75 HP and its accompanying wounds (starting with most life-threatening). It also offers a small boost of +10% to healing over the next 15 minutes. Single use.] A sense of elation ran through Dominic as he read the description. That¡¯s exactly what I need! Or at least, he needed a regular supply of those. Unfortunately, he only had the one. Should I take it now? Or keep it until I really need it? It was a good question. 75 HP wouldn¡¯t even take his health back up to his maximum though the 10% health regeneration could help him get there. On the other hand, what if he used it now and then got really low another time? Then again, he mused, If I get really low even having had the health potion, I¡¯d probably have died without it. And what if I¡¯m being attacked and can¡¯t actually take it? Deciding to take the potion was one thing; actually drinking it was another. Given that the vial was made out of glass, Dominic didn¡¯t want to risk breaking it either through fumbling with his paws so that it fell on the hard stone floor, or by applying too much pressure at the wrong moment. Once more wishing that he had dexterous fingers rather than awkward paws, it took him more than a few moments to find a way of doing it. In the end, his tongue proved to be the best tool, wrapping itself practically the whole way around the vial¡¯s neck and drawing it into his mouth. Pulling out the cork was a whole other challenge, but eventually he found a way of trapping the vial against his teeth with his tongue, and then scratching at the cork until it was sufficiently damaged to allow the liquid within to leak out. It tasted like¡­.swamp water. Very...planty? Is that a technical description? Planty? Anyway, it was like loads of plants had been stewed together with a bit of earth. There was also a nauseating hint of mould, like the whole mixture had been allowed to go bad. Well they say that if medicine doesn¡¯t taste bad, it¡¯s not doing a good job, Dominic told himself, grimacing as the whole nasty mixture trickled down his throat. If that¡¯s true, this has got to be the greatest medicine ever invented. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As soon as he swallowed sufficient liquid, he saw the red bar in the corner of his vision starting to inch upwards. He kept the vial tilted downwards until the flow of liquid stopped, though, not wanting to miss out on any of the healing benefits, regardless of the murky taste that matched its colour. Once it had stopped, he spat the empty glass vial out onto the floor, making a face even as he tried to clean his tongue with his forearm. Actually, he was covered in blood still, wasn¡¯t he? That had tasted a lot better than the healing potion. So thinking, he let the lion¡¯s instincts take over and continued the process of giving himself a tongue-bath. Although he¡¯d just intended on clearing the taste of the nasty health potion from his tongue, replacing it with the much more appealing flavour of blood and bodily fluids, he ended up getting more into it than he¡¯d planned. It was just...soothing. The feel of his tongue bristles combing through his fur, the clearing of sticky blood that was matting it and tugging as he moved¡­. He found his human mind being pushed to the side once more as he first groomed his shoulders, then his sides. His spine twisted in ways that would have been impossible for him as a human as he licked at his own back and hindquarters. It was only when he found himself in a lamb-leg position and licking at his own genitals that his human mind came back into focus. He was simultaneously disgusted and intrigued. The sensation of grooming around that sensitive spot was undoubtedly pleasant, and he couldn¡¯t deny that there was a temptation to take it a bit further. Dominic, you¡¯re not the singer who supposedly took out his own rib so he could be more flexible, he told himself firmly, remembering a set of rumours which had circulated about a particular singer. Whether they were true or not, he had no idea, but either way, although he was now in the position to be able to do what the musician had been rumoured to do, he wasn¡¯t going to give into the temptation. At least, not in the middle of a dungeon which had tried to kill him multiple times. With the area between his hind-legs now clean and tidy, along with the rest of him, Dominic assessed his tongue bath as being complete. Standing up, he took a moment to luxuriate in feeling clean once more. Although his human mentality didn¡¯t want to admit it, grooming himself had actually felt better than the feeling of getting clean on level up¡­. Anyway, moving swiftly on, Dominic thought to himself, a bit embarrassed despite knowing that it was a completely normal action for a lion to take. Cores. They were scattered everywhere, some clumped together, others lying separate. Getting to the first, no bigger than a necklace bead, Dominic focused on it. Information. [Beast Core: Meerkat level 0 Ability: Group Attack] He went to the next and repeated his actions, the same message appearing. Moving around, he checked all the Cores within a few steps of his position. The only slight variation was that some of the Cores were slightly bigger and were level 1 instead of 0. That correlates with my experience, he mused. Given that the level 0 meerkats hadn¡¯t given him any Prey Points, did that mean that their Cores wouldn¡¯t actually count towards an ability for him? Or didn¡¯t it work that way? There were enough level 1 Cores that, in addition to the one he¡¯d received from the dungeon, he¡¯d probably still manage to get the Skill. But do I want it? It was a good question. On the one hand, any ability was good, right? On the other, if it added bonuses to attacking as a group, it was useless; if it forced him to have to fight in a group, that was worse than useless. Maybe I don¡¯t have to decide now. He had his inventory now, and plenty of space in it. Maybe he could wait to see what the future held. Just like with the prize from the dungeon, even if he didn¡¯t use the Cores himself, maybe he could trade them to someone who would. Decided, he moved around the area, adding the Cores, many at a time, to his gorget¡¯s extra-dimensional space with swipes of his paw. He also chucked the vial in there for good measure ¨C who knew if it would come in handy? Since it hadn¡¯t broken when he¡¯d spat it out, it was clearly more sturdy than it looked. The room clear of both threats and treasure, Dominic once more checked for any secret doors in the walls or floor. Frankly, this room had been a bit disappointing. Between the frustrating task of getting the meerkats back into their cages, the loot which hadn¡¯t been nearly as beneficial to him as the leather gorget, and the fact that he¡¯d explored both rooms to the dungeon and hadn¡¯t found its final altar, he was a bit annoyed. Yes, he was once more almost at full health and most wounds had been healed or turned to the merest of scrapes. Yes, he now had an awesome extra-dimensional space that he¡¯d be able to fill up with all the trash and treasure he found. But had he finished the dungeon? No. Had he levelled up again? Also no. Huffing in frustration, Dominic turned back to the corridor he¡¯d come through. He¡¯d found nothing in this room to indicate that it was anything but a dead end. He¡¯d jiggled the torches, pushed on every stone tile he could reach on the walls, inspected every single dent and scratch on the stone slab of the altar. Bar the exit being triggered by leaping on the coloured tiles in a particular pattern, he was out of ideas. And, frankly, if that was the solution, there should be some sort of indication to give him an idea of which pattern. So no, he didn¡¯t think that that was likely to be the solution. Could there be a doorway in the corridors themselves? It was possible, he supposed ¨C Dominic remembered playing a game where one of the hidden doorways had been in a trapped corridor rather than a room itself. But he didn¡¯t see how. Unless one of the triggers was to open a door rather than a trap? But how would he know which trigger was which? Maybe I missed something in the starting room? He wondered. I¡¯ll look for any signs of a hidden door in the corridor, but I¡¯ll check the first room before I start intentionally triggering traps. Chapter 29: Puzzle Dominic reached the main atrium without finding any indication of a secret door in the wall of the corridor. Of course, there could be some sort of magical illusion ¨C with dungeons, level ups, and extra-dimensional spaces, magic was bound to feature in some way. Dominic thought it unlikely, though. That would be unfair in a way that the dungeon had not proven to be ¨C yet. There¡¯s always the first time, though, he thought darkly to himself. It would be a good strategy, he had to admit ¨C lulling the explorers into a false sense of security with clues and vaguely obvious trap triggers, then hide the next steps of the dungeon with invisibility magic. Except why would the dungeon do that? Doesn¡¯t it want to be completed? Though it was possible that Dominic was assuming too much. After all, his only knowledge of this kind of dungeon came from fictional books and games. Who knew if any of them matched what he was dealing with here in the slightest. Maybe this kind of dungeon is just an abandoned temple left by some forgotten civilisation, its environs infested with trodils which had crept in from beyond. Maybe it isn¡¯t sapient in the way I¡¯m thinking. Although that was logical to an extent, Dominic somehow doubted it. The organisation of the trodils outside was too deliberate to just be chance. He doubted that they would naturally have arranged themselves into groups which so perfectly reflected the levels involved. And why would the trodils be so protective of the keys naturally? Not to mention the other questions about the lack of food and water sources if the trodils indeed were naturally occurring creatures like the ones he¡¯d met outside. They¡¯re aliens, but surely not so alien that they don¡¯t need to eat or drink? But although the traps in the rooms had been annoying, they¡¯d been far more in line with a challenging dungeon of his fictional variety than those left by a long-forgotten civilisation which wanted to keep intruders out of their sacred areas. It just made no sense, therefore, that there would be no path forwards. Why would the dungeon tell him to put his hands ¨C paws ¨C on the altar and then not provide him with the correct altar? There must be something I¡¯m missing. As he¡¯d decided as he left the other room, before going to inspect the other corridor for a secret door, Dominic checked out the atrium. It was as plain as he remembered it. No carvings on the walls. The walls were once more the dark grey hexagonal stone tiles which Dominic was getting rather tired of seeing. He reckoned that he would be dreaming in hexagons if he stayed in this temple much longer. Rearing up, Dominic prodded one of the torches with his nose. It didn¡¯t move at all, not even shifting as much as the ones in the room with the stone statues had. Perhaps that had been designed as one of the win conditions in that room, then. Just as well otherwise Dominic might have snuffed it along with the candle. So if it wasn¡¯t the torches or the walls, what was it? The only other thing in the room that was within reach was the mosaic. Out of sheer lack of any other ideas, Dominic padded closer to it, cocking his head as he inspected the design. Pretty weird image, he decided as his eyes took in the image, or lack of it. None of the lines match up from one tile to the next. The whole design was a set of ten by ten tiles, each with wandering lines that snaked this way or that, starting on one edge of the tile and finishing on the other. But as he¡¯d observed, not a single of the lines was continued onto the tile it was connected to. It¡¯s even damaged. That was a little odd ¨C everything else in the dungeon had been a little dusty but completely intact. There¡¯s a piece in the top corner which is miss...ing¡­. Oh. Oh. The human-turned-lion felt like facepalming, though didn¡¯t for fear of accidentally getting a facefull of claws instead. I¡¯m an idiot. The answer has been staring me in the damn face the whole time! It was another puzzle. Of course it was. No wonder the other two rooms had been trapped ¨C they had been the too obvious paths. And all just to disguise the fact that the way forward lay behind this bloody mosaic. If there hadn¡¯t been two gaping doorways to investigate, he¡¯d have realised that there was something strange about this mosaic ages ago. But like the stupid imbecile that he was, he¡¯d let himself fall for the oldest trick in the book: misdirection. Literally. I¡¯ve wasted so much time, he moaned to himself. It was OK when he was hunting trodils ¨C he¡¯d been levelling up quickly at the same time. But he hadn¡¯t even gained enough for a single level inside this temple. I did get a sweet gorget, though, he reminded himself. And a health potion. Though he couldn¡¯t really count that ¨C he wouldn¡¯t have needed it if not for the trap in the first room he¡¯d entered. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. After grumbling and growling for a bit, Dominic sighed and forced himself to stop sulking. This puzzle isn¡¯t going to solve itself. And I¡¯m not giving up now. He recognised the type of puzzle now he was actually paying proper attention to it. It was one of those ones where it was necessary to slide tiles to create some sort of design. Actually, despite not being very fast at them, he kind of enjoyed the challenge they offered. Sitting down in front of the large mosaic, he tried to work out which tiles linked to which, wanting to get a sense of the overall design before he got started. I wish I had a pen, he grumbled as he struggled to keep track of the tiles. Then a thought occurred. He had the candle, didn¡¯t he? Maybe that would help. As it turned out, it didn¡¯t help. Maybe it would have, but he just couldn¡¯t get a good enough grip on it to force it to write numbers. Huffing, he tucked it back into his inventory. The alternative that came to mind was a bit more painful, but Dominic bore with it. Slicing into his own flesh with one of his claws wasn¡¯t fun, and neither was attempting to paint numbers on the tiles with his own blood. Still, using his furry paw as a paintbrush, it proved to be a - barely - adequate writing tool. When he inevitably made a mistake, he eyed the offending mark before giving into necessity. Leaning in, he licked at the drying blood. Funnily enough, his blood didn¡¯t taste as good as the various other creatures he¡¯d eaten so far, but it sure tasted a lot better than it had when he¡¯d been human and licked at blood dripping from a wound. And that threatened to open another can of worms again, so he shied away from the thought of his life as a human. Eventually, he stepped back and looked at the design with a critical eye. Looks good, he decided, after tracing each of the lines and verifying that they linked with the ones of the tile he was planning on putting them next to. Now time to slide them into place. Rearing up, he balanced himself against the wall with one paw and used the other to push the tile below the gap into the space itself. If he¡¯d needed any more proof that this was the correct path, the ease with which the tile slid and clicked into place was it. Working methodically and patiently, he shifted the tiles around, using circle patterns to get the tiles into the right spot while causing as little disruption as possible to the ones which were vaguely correctly placed. It was calming, almost meditative. Perhaps that¡¯s the reason that he didn¡¯t see the attack until it was too late. Shifting a tile into the empty space revealed a small hole behind where the tile had been. Out of it shot a ball of fur and teeth which latched directly onto his nose and scrabbled at his face. Closing his eyes instinctively to protect them, Dominic used both paws to scrape at the annoying furry gnat. He knocked it off easily enough and opened his eyes only to see the stone wall a fraction of a second before he collided with it head first. His paws got into position just too late to actually save himself. Ow! Dominic mentally complained, more insulted and embarrassed than actually injured. His head was hard enough to make the collision painful but not really damaging. Do these walls have something against me? he asked himself, feeling aggrieved. It was the second time he¡¯d ended up coming off worse from an encounter with them. The gnat wasn¡¯t dead yet, as a small pain from one of his back feet told him. Looking down, he snarled at the small meerkat which was doing its best to gnaw through his fur. Letting himself fall to all four feet on the ground, it was only a few seconds later that the meerkat found itself being crushed in his jaws. Consuming the body added a welcome relief from a little of his hunger and thirst ¨C not that he was particularly in need ¨C but it was revealed to be one of those annoying level 0s; no good for his aim to level up again. In fact, the whole experience was far more annoying than dangerous, merely making him waste a bit of time. And suffer from an aching head. I¡¯ll keep my eyes out for any more of those traps, he decided, eyeing the puzzle suspiciously. It was a good thing he had resolved to do that because more traps were revealed as he made his way through the puzzle. Behind this one was a dart trap which he barely avoided ¨C though he did add the dart it shot to his inventory afterwards. Behind that one was another annoying level 0 meerkat. The most disruptive trap he¡¯d found so far had been a nozzle which had exuded some sort of gas. It had made his eyes burn when even a little got into them. That one had made him back away and rub at his eyes with his forelegs until they stopped burning and stinging. The gas had given the air a slight greenish tint, and Dominic waited until all the green had dissipated before venturing closer again. He¡¯d also been shot with water, or at least he thought it was water. He hadn¡¯t tried drinking it, but it had dripped like water, smelt like water, and didn¡¯t seem to have any poor effects on his skin. Maybe that one was a dud, or a prank. Do dungeons play pranks? Dominic didn¡¯t know; what he did know was that he was almost done with the puzzle. Thank. God. Not that it was particularly difficult, but he was so ready to be done with this dungeon. He was feeling antsy at being inside for so long, though he wasn¡¯t sure whether that was from him, from Leo, or somehow from the lion¡¯s body itself. The last few tiles were the most tricky, needing to get the sequence correct or he¡¯d end up with a single tile that was in absolutely the wrong place. When it finally clicked into place, Dominic found himself holding his breath. What if this is another trap. Another misdirection? For a moment, he let his eyes run over the design as he waited watchfully. It was a random wandering of differently coloured lines, but he had to admit that it was more appealing than the mess that had been there in the first place. It was also sinking. Dominic cocked his head as he realised that the whole design was vanishing into the floor, the stone moving remarkably quietly. A few moments later, all that could be seen was a staircase leading down into darkness. Chapter 30: A Chance Eyeing the dark hole before him suspiciously, Dominic instinctively sniffed at the air. Lifting his lips and wrinkling his nose, he drew air through his teeth and into his nasal cavity where it was evaluated by sensitive olfactory detectors. Musty, he thought to himself after a moment, and something else¡­. It was familiar, but he couldn¡¯t quite place the smell. It was pretty strong, though. Straining his ears, he couldn¡¯t hear anything move below. Not even the hint of water dripping. Nothing was audible which could indicate exactly what kind of space he was about to move into. Searching the walls on either side of the passageway, Dominic looked for any sort of illumination. Torches, lightbulbs, heck, even magical glow stones would work. But the walls were as blank as any of the others. Nothing for it, he sighed, huffing out a breath of air. Moving slowly and carefully, not sure that even this area was free of traps, he started moving down the stairs one foot at a time. The limit of the light from the atrium was quite abrupt, the delineation of moving from light to dark almost startling. Even Dominic¡¯s night vision couldn¡¯t see what was beyond the edge of the torch-light. More sensitive eyesight or not, pitch black was pitch black. Instead, he moved like he had in the cave before entering the dungeon in the first place. Switching to using his sense of smell, hearing, and touch instead of his sight, he continued moving cautiously. This would be the perfect moment for something to fall on him or shoot at him, but he hoped that by listening closely he¡¯d be able to detect the sound of any trap triggering. Either there were no traps in this area, or he was miraculously managing to avoid them despite not having his sense of sight. Despite his caution, so far, there had been no threat except that of missing a step and tumbling down the staircase. And even that wasn¡¯t much of a threat ¨C he was far better balanced with three paws stably placed at any one time than he ever had been when going up or down a staircase on two feet. The constant tension was wearing, but Dominic remembered what had happened the last time he¡¯d let his impatience get the better of him. He had no desire to fall and find that there were spikes at the bottom of this staircase too. The stairs were even and straight with no bends or twists either way. They seemed to go on forever, but he¡¯d probably only descended two or three flights in real terms; it just felt like longer because of the darkness and his slow pace. When he reached forwards with a paw only to realise that there was no step ahead, he was knocked out of the state of concentration he realised he¡¯d fallen into. Before he could fully internalise the fact that he¡¯d reached the bottom of the staircase, light flared blindingly. Snapping his eyes shut, Dominic struggled for a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness. Forcing his eyes open as soon as he could, he squinted ahead, his muscles tensed. If this was the precursor to an attack, he was ready to react. Fortunately for him, no attack seemed to be incoming. However, when his eyes did adjust and he saw what was ahead of him, he froze. The biggest warthog he¡¯d ever seen was at the end of a long hall. Out of the corner of his eyes, Dominic saw that the light which had practically blinded him was from torches that lined the hall. But that was all he noticed: his focus was on the clear threat in front of him. Seriously, what is it with this dungeon and trying to ruin one of my favourite childhood movies? But Pumba had never looked like this. The warthog was probably twice Dominic¡¯s size, and it had two wicked-looking tusks jutting out of its face, each at least ten inches long. Although a normal warthog¡¯s tusks curve backwards, this one¡¯s tusks pointed mostly outwards, looking a little more like a cow¡¯s horns than the sickle-moons they should have been. It was covered with leathery-looking skin and bristles. Its trotters also looked oddly sharp. It¡¯s clearly enhanced in multiple ways, Dominic realised. Oddly enough, though, it wasn¡¯t attacking. Dominic might have thought that it hadn¡¯t noticed him, but the way its piggy eyes were fixed directly on him revealed that that wasn¡¯t the reason. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m still mostly on the staircase? he questioned. Or maybe I haven¡¯t got close enough. Feeling like he dared to take his eyes off the porcine tank ahead of him, Dominic let his eyes inspect the rest of the room. Behind the warthog was something that sent satisfaction through him. The altar. Finally. And surely this one wasn¡¯t a trap ¨C quite apart from already having been hidden behind a puzzle, the warthog couldn¡¯t be anything other than the boss monster. In fact, if it wasn¡¯t the boss monster, then Dominic might as well give up and leave now ¨C he was already doubting his ability to kill this one; anything more powerful would probably see him turn tail and run. Stolen novel; please report. It was just...he knew what kind of speed warthogs could put on; had personally experienced it. And that was running away from him. This whole area looked to be designed to give the advantage to the incumbent. It was about twelve feet wide and at least three times that long with a high ceiling. There were torches studded every five or so feet along the walls. No, not really torches. More like braziers, placed upon the tops of nine foot tall hexagonal pillars. The pillars weren¡¯t free-standing, though, instead attached to the walls on one of their faces. Behind the warthog was the altar. Although it was similar in construction to the other two he¡¯d already encountered, it was more ornate. In fact, there was a statue of some sort of elvish gremlin thing in the centre of it, a glowing blue ball about the size of a baseball held in its clawed paws. Is that the treasure? Perhaps. But even if it was, Dominic needed to get through big, tusky, and tanky over there first. Returning his attention to the hog which still hadn¡¯t moved an inch except to breathe, he tried to work out a way of overcoming this challenge. Right, it¡¯s probably going to be stronger than me. It¡¯s bigger, so it¡¯s got more weight to throw around. But I can do this ¨C lions take down elephants, don¡¯t they? Baby ones, at least. Based on the shape of the room and what he already knew about warthogs, it was bound to charge at him, and it might easily be faster than he was. Those tusks were also going to be a pain ¨C literally, if they caught him. Other than that¡­. I need to get onto its back, he decided. If I can bite at the back of its neck, it¡¯s not going to be able to do anything to stop me. Getting to that position was another problem, but Dominic decided it was time to stop stalling. There were no obvious advantages that he could give himself, and since the warthog clearly knew he was there, patience would serve him no purpose. Nerves making his belly feel like butterflies were having a party in there, Dominic stepped down from the stairs as confidently as he could. He found an inane thought passing through his mind. If this doesn¡¯t give me enough Prey Points to level up, I¡¯m going to eat my hat. Well. Tail tuft, perhaps. As soon as all four of his paws were on flat ground, it was like a starting gun had been fired. The warthog exploded from standing still to charging flat out, barrelling towards Dominic like a missile on four legs. Clenching his jaws to try to stop himself just turning tail and running, Dominic instead forced himself to charge towards the warthog. As they looked about to collide, an impact that would undoubtedly end up with the smaller lion being the loser, Dominic instead bunched up the muscles of his hindquarters and went soaring above the warthog¡¯s head. An instant later, he knew he¡¯d messed up. Not only was the warthog moving faster than anticipated, meaning that he missed his target, but there was another problem. A moment after landing, white-hot pain stabbed him in his left hindquarter and his health bar dropped noticeably. Staring over his shoulder, it took him a second to realise what had happened. He¡¯d expected the warthog to take a bit of time to slide to a stop, but instead it had seemed to kill its own momentum scarily fast. It had then whipped around with scary speed and gored him with its right tusk. Dominic whimpered in pain and wrenched himself sideways, off from the piercing tooth before his porcine assailant could do more damage with it. But then he was on the run, completely outclassed by his opponent. It was all he could do to dodge the tusks which came sweeping around to stab him once more, the idea of retaliation never far from his mind but proving impossible to achieve in reality. When the warthog changed tactics, Dominic was unprepared. After dodging a swipe from a tusk, the lion was blind-sided when the warthog suddenly charged at point-blank distance. He was forced under its body, its hooves scrabbling over him painfully. It was then that Dominic realised why its trotters had looked different ¨C they were sharp. However, painful and bleeding wounds aside, the warthog had actually given him an opportunity here. Dominic gathered himself and jumped at the warthog¡¯s backside, digging his claws in, satisfaction running through him as he saw his opponent¡¯s blood now. The warthog wasn¡¯t taking it lying down, though ¨C it squealed deafeningly and started doing a furious dance. Kicking and jumping as much as it was capable, it managed to shake the lion off. Dominic slid across the floor uncontrollably, finishing up against a wall with a painful thud. Apparently, his claw-hold hadn¡¯t been as good as it needed to be. From his position, the boss still leaping and shaking as if it hadn¡¯t realised he¡¯d let go, Dominic managed to catch a glimpse of the marks he¡¯d left on the warthog¡¯s rear and he understood. The warthog¡¯s skin didn¡¯t just look thick and tough, it was thick and tough. Despite his enhancement, his claws had barely sunk in. I bet it won¡¯t hold up so well against my teeth, though, he thought savagely. It was looking like his initial plan to get on the warthog¡¯s back and bite through its spine was going to be the only one. Unless it had a weaker spot on its belly, anyway. Well, perhaps I should try Plan B - if even that will work. Dominic leapt aside as the warthog charged at him once more. This time more aware of its surprising speed, he¡¯d leaped further to the side so that he wouldn¡¯t be caught. When he whirled around, though, he was savagely glad to see that the warthog had something else on his mind. Or rather, on its head. A bump, to be precise. From when it hadn¡¯t quite been fast enough to stop and had collided with the wall, all its momentum intact. If his mouth still twisted that way, Dominic would have found a grin stretching the corners of his lips. Maybe I have got a chance. Chapter 31: Cat and Mouse A twisted game of cat and mouse ensued wherein the cat was the mouse. In the few moments of thought he got, Dominic couldn¡¯t help a sense of amusement from going through him at how similar his strategy was to the one Jerry used to play on Tom. Fortunately for the lion, for all the enhancements the warthog had gained to its physical size and speed, its intelligence was, if anything, lower than a normal warthog. Like Tom, the warthog eagerly charged after him no matter how many times it ended up headbutting a wall. Perhaps that¡¯s the trade-off here ¨C higher physical stats, lower mental ones, Dominic mused as he leaped away from the warthog¡¯s charge once more, almost wincing at the loud noise of it colliding with the unforgiving stone. Of course, the fact that the warthog hadn¡¯t learned to not charge at Dominic when he was right against a wall didn¡¯t mean the lion had escaped without injury. In fact, his coat was torn in multiple places, blood staining his sides. He¡¯d got in a few blows of his own ¨C mostly scratches from his claws, but also some bites when the boss had been well placed for him to lunge without unnecessarily endangering himself. But those had been few. Ultimately, the boss was fast and strong, and, despite all Dominic¡¯s efforts, he was definitely coming off worse. In fact, in some ways it was a bit of a race ¨C would the warthog knock itself silly before Dominic stopped being able to dodge in time, or not? Stealing a glance down at the bars in the corner of his vision, Dominic mentally cursed. His health was below half, and his stamina was almost down to a quarter. He¡¯d bet that the warthog had significantly more stamina than him, at least. At any rate, the health bar above its head had shown some movement, but not nearly enough - it was still way above halfway depleted. The warthog was taking a bit longer to recover from this collision, Dominic realised. Maybe it was time to finish this. Forcing his tired and pained limbs to move, he circled the boss so he was facing its backside. Bunching his muscles, he leapt towards the large beast, aiming to land on its back. Was it luck? Or some previously-hidden sense of strategy? Dominic didn¡¯t know; what he did know was that he¡¯d clearly made an error in judgement. The warthog moved just before he landed; instead of hitting it perfectly placed to sink his teeth in its neck, he collided with its side. Instinctively, he sank his claws into its side. A mistake. The claw-holds stopped him from sliding further, but that just meant he was perfectly placed for a retaliating blow. A moan escaped his lips as he felt several inches of unyielding bone spike into his side. A good quarter of his health bar disappeared in an instant. The warthog withdrew its tusk, and Dominic hurried to put some distance between him and the deadly weapon before it came for him once more. But even without the bone spear impeding his movements, the legacy of pain and injury it had left behind left him limping. I can¡¯t run! he realised with a shiver of fear. The warthog seemed to sense that. It snorted, almost sounding contemptuous, or maybe Dominic was reading too much humanity into it. Its piggy eyes also seemed to gleam with malicious anticipation. He could practically read its thoughts: for once it was a warthog which had a lion at its mercy. It was that thought which had Dominic stopping the unconscious backwards shuffle towards the stairs which he¡¯d been doing. Leo¡¯s answering silent snarl of contempt also served to bolster his flagging determination. What kind of lion could he call himself if he ran away from a damn warthog? No matter the size of the thing, there was only one King in this room. Ignoring the pain, ignoring the slivers of his bar that dripped away like the blood trickling out of his wound, ignoring the fear that the warthog had hit something vital within him, Dominic forced himself to stand tall. Raising his head, he snarled a challenge at the over-sized pig. It would learn to fear him. The warthog snorted and scuffed a trotter on the ground before breaking into its charge once more. Dominic noted that it was a bit slower than before, though. At least he¡¯d been having some effect. Dominic stood his ground. He was too injured to repeat the cat and mouse strategy of before; he¡¯d need a new strategy. Though, this was going to hurt. Instead of dodging out of the way at the last moment, the lion dropped to the ground and twisted so he was facing upwards. It was a very human thing to do ¨C to choose the position which potentially made him vulnerable in exchange for the hope of gain. No true lion would reveal their belly to the sharp hooves of an enemy; Dominic did. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Why? Because like that, although he was technically more vulnerable, he also had more ability to deflect the incoming blows as well as strike himself. If the boss was determined to trample him, Dominic would show it why that was a bad idea. While he gained two more cuts from the warthog¡¯s trotters, Dominic managed to also land two nasty gashes with his claws. He¡¯d even succeeded in fastening his teeth around one of the warthog¡¯s back legs, and put his crushing power to good use. The warthog squealed loudly and tried to yank its leg from his grasp, but all it succeeded in doing was worsening the wound as Dominic¡¯s teeth ripped at the flesh and bone. With one foot trapped and the warthog panicking, it wasn¡¯t able to trample him with the other three feet. Dominic took full advantage of the lull, using all four paws to rip at the more vulnerable underside of the over-sized hog. Blood spattered down on him and he gloried in the feeling of success even as another part of him was irritated at his fur once more becoming matted and sticky with the fluid. Eventually, the warthog had had enough and just ran away from him. Without any ability to anchor himself, Dominic was pulled along for the ride for a few seconds. Then the warthog got the right angle to pull its leg from his jaws and they finally separated. Pushing himself to his feet was a difficult and painful affair, but the warthog didn¡¯t take advantage of his vulnerability. When he was finally on all four paws again, Dominic was able to see why. The red bar over the warthog¡¯s head which, so far in the match, had seen so little movement, was finally almost down to half. Dominic¡¯s own was worse off, not far off a quarter, but still. And even as he watched his opponent, he saw that the blood running down its legs was steadily leeching red from its health bar. It hit half. And then started flashing. Under Dominic¡¯s disbelieving eyes, the red stopped its downward trend. Actually, it reversed and started quickly increasing once more. Oh, fuck me, he swore not caring that his dad would have given him a disappointed look if he¡¯d said it verbally. Second phase of the boss fight. The warthog¡¯s health bar topped itself off within a couple of seconds, completely undoing any damage Dominic had done. Wait, no. Not completely undoing, he realised as he saw that the warthog still had blood dripping down its legs. He didn¡¯t know how it worked, but the warthog had gained more health points without actually healing at all. I guess I just need to do some more damage, Dominic decided. Make sure that even if it heals again, it¡¯ll bleed out soon after. To that end, he decided to repeat the same attack as before. While he¡¯d taken a couple of wounds, they¡¯d been minor; he¡¯d gained a lot more than he¡¯d lost. Standing firm in front of the warthog, he snarled at it again in challenge. This time, though, it didn¡¯t take the bait. Perhaps the viciousness of his previous attack had made it learn in a way that repeatedly running into walls hadn¡¯t. Or maybe it changed tactics in the second phase. He didn¡¯t know. Either way, it was clear that he was going to have to take the fight to the warthog. The thought filled Dominic with a mixture of dismay and tiredness. Although he still had a quarter of his health left, he didn¡¯t have time to play the long game ¨C the injury he¡¯d gained not long ago from that stab wound was still dripping with blood. He took a few steps towards the warthog, snarling angrily. The boss didn¡¯t cower, but it didn¡¯t charge either. Instead, it just stood its ground and snorted angrily. Shaking its head, it drew Dominic¡¯s attention to the blood-stained tusks jutting out of its mouth. Stained with Dominic¡¯s blood. I really don¡¯t want to face those again, he thought. Maybe¡­. It was worth a try, anyway. Playing up his injuries, he pretended to lose strength, looking more pitiful than he actually was. The warthog didn¡¯t move. Perhaps it needed more bait. Backing away towards the staircase, Dominic ¡®lost his nerve¡¯ and started limping ¡®as quickly as he could¡¯ to the staircase. When he heard the slow patter of trotters on stone behind him, he would have grinned if it were physically possible. Fake-faltering, he dropped to the ground as if he was truly on the edge of death. The warthog hesitated, but came closer. Closer, Dominic willed it, like he had willed the trodil so much - or little - time ago. Come closer. It did. Dominic waited until it nudged him once, gently, then another time, hard. A snort sounded close to him, and he didn¡¯t think he was imagining the sense of victory in it this time. The warthog was close enough he felt the warm breath ruffle through his fur. Well, the fur that wasn¡¯t so matted with blood it couldn¡¯t move, anyway. When the warthog seemed about to take a bite, Dominic acted. Rolling quickly, he extended his claws and dug them into the warthog¡¯s face, aiming for its eyes. Digging his teeth into its nose, he held on and dug at its throat with his back paws. The warthog squealed with panic and started shaking its head back and forth. Unlike its leg, though, with its head caught, it didn¡¯t have enough leverage to wrench itself free. It might have been almost twice the size of the lion, but Dominic was a heavy body of dense muscle. Even the most powerful neck muscles would have difficulty moving him. While blinding the warthog would give him an advantage, it was the throat which Dominic was really going for. So, when his paws started slipping, only a couple of claws on each paw having dug into the ocular cavities, he let them slide to catch on the tusks. What had once been his bane had suddenly become his advantage. Though he couldn¡¯t grip as well with lion¡¯s paws as he could with human hands, he managed to get enough purchase that he was holding the head still enough for his feet to do their job. The increasing panic of the warthog along with the squishy feeling under his feet showed just how much of an effect he was having in this position. And then suddenly, the situation changed. Like in many battles, it flipped in an instant. Chapter 32: Flying in All Directions Dominic didn¡¯t know what had just happened. One moment he had been holding onto the warthog¡¯s head with front paws and teeth, his back paws gouging out its throat. The next, he was flying through the air. Colliding painfully with the wall - again - he dropped a good couple of metres to the ground, landing badly. More than half of his remaining health was wiped out in an instant, leaving just a bare sliver remaining. He¡¯d have been alarmed if the sense hadn¡¯t just been completely knocked out of him too. Through bleary eyes, the lion looked towards the warthog. It was going crazy, jinking about with hooves, tusks, and tail flying in all directions. Perhaps it was the knock to his head speaking, but it seemed faster, stronger, even bigger. The impact of its trotters as it leaped in the air and landed heavily on the ground seemed to be felt even where Dominic lay. The pulsing bar above its head with a small fraction of health seemed like it should mean something to him, but his mind was too foggy with pain and recent injury to make sense of it. And then the situation went from bad to worse. The warthog suddenly caught sight of the downed lion. Its maddened piggy eyes fixed themselves on him and with a sense of dismay, Dominic realised that it was planning on charging. Forcing his addled mind to work, he desperately searched for a way out. Some way of avoiding its attack. The few health points that remained to him were not enough to withstand being trampled once again. But he couldn¡¯t move. Couldn¡¯t even roll over to deflect its feet. His progress to the next level hadn¡¯t changed; there was no last-minute save coming from there. He¡¯d already consumed his only health potion - he wouldn¡¯t have lasted this long without it. Out of ideas, Dominic could only stare at his death as it approached, regret and grief filling him. So much for travelling the length of Africa to find his dad. So much for regaining his human form. He would die here, an unmourned lion. Ah well, he said to himself as the warthog started to thunder towards him. I was living on borrowed time, anyway. Some said that one¡¯s life flashed before one¡¯s eyes in the last moments before death. That wasn¡¯t what Dominic was experiencing. Instead, it was the contents of his inventory. It felt like a one in a million chance, but wasn¡¯t this the time for that sort of thing. Focusing even through the pain wracking his body, he made his move. And then it was in the hands of the gods. Despite himself, he couldn¡¯t keep his eyes open and watch the wall of death come to sweep him away. In the blackness, he braced himself for pain and then¡­nothing. He felt an impact slide him backwards and squish him up against the wall. The position exacerbated his previous wounds, robbing him of what little breath he was able to force into his spasming lungs. And then¡­nothing. No, not nothing. Something flashed up in front of his still-closed eyes. [You have killed Warthog Guardian (Evolved Beast level 10)] [You have earned 65 PP] Shock robbed him once more of his ability to think, but his eyes flickered open without needing his command. Dark brown leathery skin a fraction of an inch in front of his eyes was what he saw. It was unmoving. Pull yourself together, he castigated himself, urgency breaking through the numbness of shock. You¡¯re not dead - keep it that way! Given that he was squished up against the wall by what he now realised was the warthog¡¯s bulk, he was in a perfect position to save himself. [Would you like to consume this body for resources?] Yes! he exclaimed frantically, not knowing exactly how many health points remained in his own bar, but being certain that it was far too few. It would just be Murphy¡¯s law for him to expire even as he absorbed the health he needed. Fortunately, Murphy must have been off duty because a few seconds later, Dominic was no longer trapped against the wall and was feeling significantly better. The single body of the warthog gave Dominic more than a third of his health bar back, and almost half of his stamina. His wounds weren¡¯t all healed, but they were significantly better, even the stab wound in his side feeling less deep. It still hurt, though. No worries, Dominic thought to himself, relief and a sense of victory combining to create an ebullient elation that rose inside him to make him feel almost giddy. I can level up now. Because when he¡¯d only needed thirteen Prey Points to level up, the sixty-five he¡¯d just earned was guaranteed to be sufficient. But first, he took a few moments to - literally - lick his wounds, using the soothing motion to calm the jittery nerves that were making him shake. Despite the flashes of pain that happened when his rough tongue caught on the edges of a cut, the sense of serenity that covered him like a warm blanket as his fur was cleaned and arranged back into place was enough to make up for it. While he cleaned himself, he thought. This time, he didn¡¯t let himself drop into morose grief; instead, he thought about the abrupt end of the battle. I almost died, he told himself. But I didn¡¯t. Why didn¡¯t I? It wasn¡¯t that he was complaining; it was just a bit of a surprise. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Moving up his leg from his foot to his shoulder, he thought back to the final couple of minutes. He¡¯d been winning¡­until he had suddenly been flying through the air. His eyes narrowing unconsciously, he started to put the pieces together. The warthog¡¯s bar was flashing and pretty low when I saw it. And it was like it had gone into some sort of boosted state. Rage, perhaps. What if it was another phase? It made logical sense, didn¡¯t it? The warthog had had a regeneration of health when it hit half health. What if when its health hit a quarter, or maybe even a tenth, it had triggered another phase? It would explain why suddenly the boss had gained the strength to lift him bodily from the ground with only its head. And with half of its neck muscles torn to ribbons - mustn¡¯t forget that. Fortunately for me, it didn¡¯t regenerate its health again, Dominic thought grimly. Its collision with the wall must have been enough to knock out whatever health it had remaining. Fortunately it hadn¡¯t slammed right into the lion or he wouldn¡¯t have been more than bloody paste. Suddenly Dominic felt like grinning. One in a million chance, or what? Pushing himself to his feet, he started collecting the wave of marble-like meerkat Cores which he¡¯d sent rolling towards the warthog at the last moment. Though he hadn¡¯t seen it happen, he could guess the course of events: the warthog had slid out of control on the little balls, and had - fortunately for Dominic - been oh so slightly pushed off course. Resulting in it meeting the wall head-first, and Dominic only being nudged by the rest of its body pile-driving into the same spot. It felt like it should have been more mentally challenging than Dominic thought it was - to know just how close he had got to death. But perhaps he was getting used to it. He¡¯d been near death several times in the last few days, after all. Or perhaps the lion brain was once more responsible for his somewhat blas¨¦ attitude: for an animal, death is just part of life. It¡¯s only humans who try to pretend it¡¯s not a 100% certainty. Better question, Dominic thought to himself, ignoring such existential questions as well as he possibly could, is what first: level up or loot? Because there had to be loot after a boss fight like that. He¡¯d collected all the mini-Cores which he¡¯d emptied from his inventory, or at least all which were easily detectable - he wasn¡¯t going to go searching for meerkat cores in all the corners of the room. For now, the area looked clear and that was enough for him. Actually, that was another question. Where¡¯s the warthog¡¯s Core? he wondered, looking around for it. He¡¯d definitely like whatever ability allowed the warthog to regenerate its health points upon hitting half health. Assuming that was an ability, anyway. Perhaps it was just something specific to dungeon bosses. Dominic¡¯s lips curled as he realised that the Core was nowhere to be found. That¡¯s not fair, he grumped. I fought hard for that! Sighing, he returned his attention to his question. It was a hard choice. Although the utility of the loot he¡¯d received so far was a bit mixed, he couldn''t deny that even the ¡®boring¡¯ health potion had been a literal life-saver. His gorget hadn¡¯t really saved his life, exactly, but it had helped deflect some of the warthog¡¯s strikes at his neck. Besides, the extra-dimensional space more than made up for any lack of true armour - if it had been a collar instead of a gorget, he¡¯d still have worn it for that alone. He also really wanted to level up, especially since something else hadn¡¯t escaped his notice: the message which had flashed up to notify him of the warthog¡¯s death. Unlike the strongest trodil mini-boss, which had been a level 7 ¡®Half-step Evolved Beast¡¯, the warthog had been a full-blown Evolved Beast at level 10. Which led Dominic to the following conclusions. Either dungeon beasts were different in some way from normal beasts, and gained their Evolved status sooner, or the System didn¡¯t fully understand the meaning of ¡®half¡¯. Trying to temper his excitement, Dominic looked at the situation logically. The level 5 trodil hadn¡¯t been a Half-step Evolved Beast; the level 6 had. That meshed with Dominic¡¯s own experience. As a result, he dared to eliminate option one from consideration. Which meant¡­I¡¯m going to hit the next tier on my upcoming level? The excitement he¡¯d tried to push away overwhelmed him. It was all he could do not to just go for the level up straight away. Maybe I should check my loot first, though? There might be something there which affects whatever choice or choices I¡¯m going to have to make? It was almost painful to admit, but Dominic reluctantly decided that that might be the best option. Besides, he¡¯d always been the kind of person who wanted to savour his pleasures, leaving the best for last. Loot first, it is. Heading towards the altar, Dominic took in the statue on top of it properly. The statue almost reminded him of Stitch from the old film Lilo and Stitch. Or like a strange amalgamation of a house elf and a gremlin. It had large, blank eyes, with no indication of any pupil or iris. Its ears were large and not dissimilar from sails sticking out of the side of its head. Its head was round and large, its nose long and pointy. It was baring its teeth at the onlooker, crouched protectively around a large and glowing orb. Its fingers were long and clawed, cupped around that same orb, as if it wished to stop anyone from taking it. Its body was pot-bellied, though little more could be glimpsed beyond that, its robe-like clothes pooling around its form. The feet poking out from under the hems of the robe were also clawed and furry, no shoes to be seen. Eyeing it, Dominic hoped that it wasn¡¯t going to suddenly come to life like those statues in the other room had. Walking around the altar, Dominic tried to spot a chest with his loot in it. He wasn¡¯t sure whether the fact that the altar hadn¡¯t moved like the ones in the trap rooms had was a good thing or bad. On the one hand, it might indicate that this altar was the real deal rather than a fake. On the other, it could mean that he hadn¡¯t yet actually defeated the dungeon¡­. After circling the altar twice, and taking a few minutes to inspect the rest of the room, Dominic sighed and returned to his original position in front of the statue. I guess I have no choice. Please don¡¯t spring to life and scratch my eyes out, he pleaded with the statue. Then, not allowing himself to hesitate any longer, he reared up and placed his front paws firmly on its surface. Chapter 33: Twice the Gamble There was no foreboding rumble, and the statue didn''t spring to life. Dominic decided to be grateful for small mercies. Though, nothing actually happened at all. Wondering whether it was a dud, or whether he¡¯d simply missed something, Dominic hesitated for a long moment, frozen in his position. When the message flashed up in front of his eyes, he felt his chest relax - he hadn¡¯t realised it had become so tight. [Congratulations! You have completed the G-Grade Savannah Plains Temple dungeon.] [You have earned 3000 XP] [Error] Oh no, not again, Dominic moaned to himself at the ominous message which had heralded the start of his current body issues last time. [XP capacity for User is latent due to form] [Solution: postpone XP reward to when form has XP capacity] The messages went silent. Dominic waited nervously for something to happen, but thirty seconds later decided that any consequences would have already shown themselves. His mind started working on the information revealed. So XP is for humans then? Or humanoids? And I¡¯m not that. He still remembered the first message he had seen when in his new body - how his options had been whittled down to one with crafting being crossed out; how ¡®humanoid¡¯ had been crossed out and left only ¡®beast¡¯. Or not at the moment, he mused, putting things together a little. It mentioned that the reward had been postponed. Does that mean that I have the potential to earn XP at a later stage? If I gain a human or ¡®humanoid¡¯ form, perhaps? It was an interesting thought, though not directly relevant at the moment. Another message flashed up in front of him, making him push his thoughts to one side. [In completing the dungeon, you are offered a choice: Destroy dungeon Access reward chest ] If he¡¯d had eyebrows, Dominic would have lowered them. Instead, he found his lips lifting a little off his teeth automatically. What kind of choice was that? If he was understanding it correctly, he could either receive a reward, or he could destroy the dungeon entirely. Why would I want to destroy the dungeon? Then again, he recalled some dungeon core novels he¡¯d read, and the way the checks and balances worked in those worlds. He didn¡¯t know if it was the case here, but maybe the option was a way of humanity - or humanoids, if there was a difference - keeping the dungeons from getting too powerful. With the option of a reward being in the balance, it¡¯s much less likely people would just choose to destroy a dungeon for fun, either, he mused. Then another thought occurred and his eyes lit up. With any luck the reward for finishing the dungeon will be a lot better than others - to motivate people to leave the dungeon intact¡­. There wasn¡¯t any contest for Dominic, for sure. Quickly choosing the reward option, he was gratified to see the statue shift in front of his eyes. With the sound of grating stone, it moved sideways to reveal a hole in the middle of the slab. Eyeing the hole, Dominic was pretty sure that there were some weird spacial magics going on - the hole looked deeper than the slab was thick. With the prospect of loot right in front of his nose, he didn¡¯t waste any more time thinking about those kinds of details. As soon as the hole was fully revealed, Dominic poked his head over the top. A pleased huff exited his mouth as he saw the chest there. It was bigger than the other two; more ornate as well. Figuring that heralded good things for the contents, Dominic quickly opened the lid. Inside, there were not two rewards like in the previous chest, nor three or four. In fact, there were five separate items, only one of which the human-turned-lion recognised on sight. A health potion, he thought with elation. With the prospect of his level-ups becoming more difficult to achieve, and his recent experience of being far too close to death for his liking, the potion was a welcome sight. Though the memory of its taste was less appealing. Information. [Health Potion (moderate, T1)] [This minor health potion offers an immediate healing of up to 150 HP and its accompanying wounds (starting with most life-threatening). It also offers a small boost of +15% to healing over the next 20 minutes. Single use.] Definitely worth the fight, Dominic thought, delighted as he saw that it wasn¡¯t only a health potion; it was a better health potion. Although still Tier 1, the change from minor to moderate had seen improvements in all three of its features: the immediate health points it offered had doubled; its boost to healing had increased by 5%; and he¡¯d gained an extra 5 minutes of healing. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He¡¯d have to use it judiciously - no point using it if he was above 200 HP, but if he¡¯d been able to escape from the warthog for long enough to use it, he wouldn¡¯t have almost died at the end there. Actually¡­. Wondering if it would work, Dominic did a little experiment. Putting the potion in his inventory, he removed it again, but this time focused on the vial appearing within his mouth. For a moment there was a bit of resistance, but then he was delighted to feel cold glass appear between his jaws. Returning the vial to his inventory, he bounced a little on the spot - being able to avoid all the awkward manoeuvring that had been his first health potion was awesome. He¡¯d got the idea from how he¡¯d been able to send the meerkat Cores rolling towards the warthog despite not being able to physically move at the time. The next item looked like a Beast Core, but it was bigger than any he¡¯d seen before and the colours swirling inside it were brighter and more present. It must have been about twice the diameter of a baseball, making its volume significantly more than one. Asking for information again, a new message flashed up. [Beast Core: Warthog Guardian level 10 Ability option 1: Second Wind (50% chance)) Ability option 2: Overdrive (70% chance) Ability option 3: Charge (100% chance)] Dominic narrowed his eyes at the message. While it was much as he¡¯d expected - the abilities offered notwithstanding - he wasn¡¯t entirely sure what it meant. Did it mean he would gain all three abilities straight off? Or that he had the potential to gain all three abilities? Surely not. Perhaps he had to choose one ability, losing the others. What if he just consumed the ball? Could he start to work towards all of the abilities? Would that even be a good strategy anyway? Information, he tried, happily surprised when it worked. [The Beast Core of a dungeon Guardian offers the possibility of a single ability. This ability can be directly absorbed and used by the holder, or can be used in crafting, offering a much better chance of an enchantment involving that ability succeeding. The chance of successfully gaining/crafting with the ability depends on the percentage chance of that ability within the Guardian¡¯s Core itself. ] OK, so, anyone can use this Core to potentially receive an ability which they can then use - like my Quick Strike. Or they can craft with it to, what? Give the ability to a piece of equipment? How would that even work with something like Charge? Dominic was assuming that ¡®charge¡¯ was more in reference to what the warthog had liked to do to him, rather than anything to do with electricity. He couldn¡¯t see how it would enhance a sword. Though I suppose that boots enhanced with it would be pretty cool - not that I can wear them. And would it be possible to gain the ability if he had a breastplate enchanted with Charge? Interesting thought, though not relevant at that moment since paws weren¡¯t exactly useful for any sort of crafting. Nor was a lion mouth much good for communicating with human ones. So, the percentages after each of the abilities is¡­the chance of success? That meant he¡¯d only have a one in two chance of gaining Second Wind, but he was guaranteed to be able to get Charge. Is that how it works? The messages stayed silent. Dominic didn¡¯t know whether to take that as a yes, no, or don¡¯t care. Focussing on each of the abilities, he tried to get some more information about them. [Second Wind (T1): When your HP and/or SP have reduced at least to 50% of their total, activate this ability to refill your health points and/or stamina points. Note, this ability can be activated below 50% health/stamina, but only 50% health and/or stamina will be restored. This may change as the ability increases in level. Warning, increased health points will not heal your wounds. Warning, upon activating this ability you will start a timer. At the end of this timer, all health and stamina points gained through Second Wind will be removed from you. If this means that your health drops below 0, you will die. At level 1 you have a timer of 5 minutes; this may change as the ability increases in level.] Well, Dominic said to himself after a moment of consideration. That¡¯s a bit of a double-edged sword. He guessed he knew what had happened to the warthog, then: he¡¯d run the timer and it had lost enough health points along with what it had lost from the injuries Dominic had inflicted that it was taken down to the point of activating its second phase. As a hail Mary, it¡¯s a pretty good one, Dominic mused. But probably only a weapon of last resort - if I couldn¡¯t get a health potion down me or level up in time, I¡¯d die along with whatever I was fighting. The fact that it was only a 50% chance of gaining that ability was another factor to take into consideration. Focussing on the next ability, he called up its information too. [Overdrive (T1): Upon activation, increase your speed and strength. Activating this ability starts a timer. When this timer runs out, you will experience a penalty to your speed and strength for a period of time. At level 1, you will increase your speed and strength by 50% for 1 minute with a penalty of 25% to these for 2 minutes. These may change as the level of the ability increases.] Sounds pretty similar to Rage, Dominic thought. Or at least ¡®Rage¡¯ as he¡¯d seen from the trodil mini-bosses. Though he supposed that possibly Rage had some sort of emotional component to it that Overdrive didn¡¯t, just from the name. While a boosting skill - or ¡®ability¡¯ - would certainly be pretty useful, two of them probably wouldn¡¯t be. Though, was there any guarantee that he¡¯d run across any more creatures with Rage? He was only 24% towards gaining it, after all. I think there¡¯s a good chance I¡¯ll run into more creatures with boosting abilities, Dominic decided, basing his theory on the fact that both the trodils and the warthog had had it. In fact, if he was lucky, the trodils would have respawned outside and he¡¯d have a chance to gain it before even leaving the dungeon. The fact that there was only a 70% chance to get it all was another strike against it. He might be willing to take a smaller chance for the probably more exotic ability of Second Wind, but not for the seemingly more common ability of Overdrive. Finally, he looked at the last ability that was being offered - the one that had a guaranteed acquisition rate. [Charge (T0): Add increased momentum and speed to your charge. This ability only works while running in a straight line, and consumes stamina at double the speed of your normal run. At level 1, you increase your speed and effective mass by 10% each. This may change with the level of the ability.] It was a simple ability, but it had a powerful effect. From his school-knowledge of physics, Dominic knew that increasing both his speed and effective mass by 10% would lead to a much greater increase than 10% to the effect of his charge. Additionally, even though the ability itself only talked about the percentage effect changing with the level of the ability, it was clear that it would also be affected by both changes to his stamina and to his speed. Dominic sighed. Second Wind or Charge? The Hail Mary ability which was twice the gamble, or the guaranteed Charge which could potentially become the same bread-and-butter attack as Quick Strike? It was a hard choice. Chapter 34: A Hard Choice to Make While continuing to consider the choice in the back of his mind, Dominic turned to the other three items in the box. One was a bag. Not an extra-dimensional one, unfortunately, as was obvious by the fact that it was showing the shape of the items stored inside. A bit of judicious prodding served to force the drawstring neck of the leather pouch open, revealing the contents. Gold, as it turned out. Gold coins. Dominic felt surprise run through him as he pawed through the round disks. They were larger than most coins pre-System arrival, perhaps a bit wider and thicker than a ¡ê2 or €2 coin. It was a little hard to guesstimate since he was in a different body from the one which was used to handling money, but he thought that was probably the case. As for weight, he was pretty sure that they were significantly heavier than the coins he was used to - probably an indication of them being pure gold. Or maybe they were made of some sort of new System metal ¨C who knew if the periodic table was still relevant with magic in the mix. There were five gold coins in the pouch, which led Dominic to believe that they were fairly valuable. Either that or it was a rubbish prize. He immediately tucked the coin pouch in his inventory ¨C while he had no immediate need for them, he suspected that he would in the future. Of the two remaining items, Dominic recognised the form of one, though didn¡¯t know if its contents would match his expectations; the other was a complete mystery to him. Hesitating between the first and the second, he decided to go for the one he sort of recognised ¨C his curiosity would eat him alive if he didn¡¯t. It was a rolled up scroll in some sort of thick paper. His pads weren¡¯t nearly as sensitive as his finger tips had been, so he just had to imagine what the paper felt like. From the less crisp sound of it as he unrolled it compared to what he was used to with printing-type paper, he would guess that its surface texture would be just as different. Thicker, for one. Perhaps less smooth, for another. The scroll was blank. Whatever Dominic had been expecting, that wasn¡¯t it. Is the paper special in some way, then? Some sort of crafting material? It would be pretty disappointing if that was the case. Information, Dominic requested. [Magic Scroll (T1, Common, Offensive)] [This scroll allows the user to learn a single spell. Spells require MP, but the user has not yet awakened his MP capacity. Using this scroll to learn its contained spell will forcibly awaken the latent MP capacity in the user. Warning, this process is not without pain, nor without risk. Consequences of the awakening process going wrong can range from excess pain, to pain when casting for varying amounts of time, to permanently destroying the user¡¯s capacity to use magic, or even death. Spell within: Lightning Discharge.] [Would you like to use this magic scroll? Warning: using this magic scroll will fully consume it.] Dominic chose ¡®no¡¯ for now, a mixture of emotions running riot inside him. When he heard the paper of the scroll crinkling a little, he realised that his paws were shaking. I didn¡¯t know lions did that too, was the inane thought he barely registered, his attention jumping between two extremes. I could learn magic, was one. I could die, trying to learn magic, was the other. Unlike in the Warthog Guardian¡¯s Core, there were no percentages to indicate which of the options seemed most likely. Though would it make a difference if there was? If there was only a 10% chance of death, would I take it? And if there was a 20% chance, would that mean I wouldn¡¯t? In some ways, even 1% chance was too much: what were the chances that he would have been being eaten by a lion at the very moment that the System had arrived, after all? Probability didn¡¯t mean much except in repeated situations. And even then, just because there was only a 1% chance that the police would be waiting in that particular spot to catch you speeding didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t do so three times in a row. Trying to earn their next year¡¯s budget, Dominic thought darkly, still sore over that. So in a way, the question was more about whether Dominic wanted to learn this spell so much that he would be willing to risk death or permanent inability to do magic at all. Or rather, perhaps I should be asking whether I¡¯d be willing to wait. After all, the mention of ¡®forcibly¡¯ when talking about awakening his magical capacity might indicate that there were other ways of awakening it, some perhaps a lot less risky. Once more, he had a hard choice to make. Save the scroll for later and risk not having it when he needed it, or use it now and take the risks. Perhaps knowing what the spell is would be a good start, he decided. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. [Lightning Discharge (T1, offensive, spell): Build up electrical charge on your weaponry, shocking your opponent when they come into contact with it. Charge can be built either through static electricity (building over the course of the fight) or the use of MP (for more immediate effects). At level 1, the charge is focussed purely on your weaponry and offers damage on a 1:1 basis with the amount of MP invested (or equivalent in static electricity). Damage calculations assume no lightning resistance present within the opponent. Both focus point and damage ratio may change with the level of the spell. Warning - lightning domain spells are classed as Willful and require a strong sense of control at higher levels.] Well, that doesn¡¯t help much, Dominic thought to himself wryly. Assuming that ¡®weaponry¡¯ includes my teeth and claws, it clearly enhances the damage I¡¯d do. But not knowing how much MP I¡¯d have to invest, or how long static electricity would take to build up, I don¡¯t know by how much. After all, if he only had 10 MP - Magical Points, presumably - after ¡®awakening¡¯ his capacity, then an extra 10 damage to his bite wouldn¡¯t do much. Though, he supposed that it would make a significant impact on the damage of his claws. If he could invest 50 MP, however, that was a very different story. Another question he had was about the length of time his weaponry would stay ¡®charged¡¯. The spell description didn¡¯t say anything about time, but he couldn¡¯t believe that he could charge his teeth or claws once and then they¡¯d be permanently enhanced. Or, in a way, he didn¡¯t want to believe that. Because if a T1 spell could offer that kind of OP damage, what would a T3 or T4 spell offer? He had no idea how many tiers there were. What if he started coming up against T10 spells? If a T1 was so powerful, he shuddered to think what a T10 could be. So no, there had to be some time limitation. Maybe his claws or teeth would only stay ¡®charged¡¯ for a short duration. Or maybe the charge dissipated as soon as he hit something and did damage. That made a lot more sense, actually, especially with how electricity usually acted. Though, the idea of having an ¡®aura¡¯ of some sort of lightning charge dancing around his claws and teeth seemed rather unlikely with what he¡¯d learned about electricity at school, so what did he know? In short, it was a spell that, besides being a magical spell, looked pretty awesome. Yet despite that, it wasn¡¯t a ¡®must have¡¯. If it had been a healing spell, he¡¯d have taken it without a second thought: having the ability to heal himself outside of potions and level ups would have been well-worth the risk of dying or injuring himself to gain it. A spell that offered him damage enhancement? Not so much. Sighing, Dominic turned to the last item in the box, hoping that it wouldn¡¯t also present him with a difficult choice. This was the one which he felt completely baffled about. It was in metal, with a mostly ball-shape. Well, kind of. Prodding it with his paw, he made it shift a little. It¡­it was like a base-ball with spikes and a tube coming out of one part of it. The tube wasn¡¯t solid - it was flexible, looking a little like a shower hose, though it got wider as it went. The tube was curled around the ball, so Dominic pulled the whole lot out to lay it on the floor. The tube was long, perhaps a little less than a metre. It shifted around easily and gave the tinny ring of metal as he nudged it across the stone. Feeling utterly confused, he decided that he wasn¡¯t going to get much more from just looking at it. Information. [Tail armour + Tail club (non-standard, Beast, T1)] [This is a Common-quality set of armour made for a Beast¡¯s tail. It has traded in some protective qualities for its ability to be worn by a Beast. The craftsman has added a morningstar-inspired tail club to offer the armour some offensive capacity. A Poor-quality growth enchantment allows the armour to expand a little to fit the wearer. Tail armour offers +20 to Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +12 to Crushing and Piercing damage reduction to attacks on areas covered. Tail club offers +10-24 Crushing damage and +5-12 Piercing damage.] That¡¯s¡­awesome! Dominic let out a pleased huff as he read the description. Not only armour, but also a weapon in and of itself. Just like he¡¯d - Wait. he suddenly felt rather suspicious. I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I? Just like I thought. Is this dungeon genuinely reading my mind? It was¡­concerning. Potentially. More in the sense of him not having felt anything reading his mind, thereby proving that he couldn¡¯t be sure an opponent wasn¡¯t doing the same, than worry about the dungeon itself. After all, if it had been reading his mind, it had used its discoveries to offer him two pieces of equipment which were perfect for his needs rather than giving him generic swords or helms, or whatever it would offer humans who came through here. Still, it was a bit worrying since he couldn¡¯t know that this peaceful state of things would continue now that he¡¯d completed the dungeon. What if the way it had been acting was purely because it wanted to stay on his good side while he still had to make the decision to destroy it or not? Still, clearly there was little he could do about it right now. Plus, he had a sweet piece of loot right in front of him to try out. And, much as he felt conflicted about the two other choices he had to make, he did have to make a decision. But first, his new piece of armour. Equip. Chapter 35: Gym of Life It¡¯ll take some time to get used to this, Dominic decided after some experimentation with his new piece of equipment. It was heavy on his tail, the strain of the unaccustomed weight quickly making itself known. Clearly, this wasn¡¯t actually something he was going to be able to use in battle until he¡¯d conditioned those muscles a little more. A shame that ¡®tail lifts¡¯ aren¡¯t part of your average gym¡¯s offering, he thought wryly. Maybe I should introduce them. Bet they¡¯d be a hit. Though, joking aside, if he wasn¡¯t the only one to have had this happen to him, there might actually be more interest in non-human exercise programs. Anyway, not something to think about now - he would have to train his tail in the gym of life. That meant basically wearing it as much as possible. He didn¡¯t want to risk actually pulling something in his tail, but only by pushing his muscles to aching on a regular basis would enable him to put this new weapon to good use. He could imagine it now - his opponent thinking that because it was facing his back, he was defenceless. But no, a moment later, wham! Clocked in the skull with a spiky ball of steel. Wait, is it steel? He twisted around to inspect the armour currently covering his tail all the way down from its junction with the rest of his body to the ball over his tuft. Not being a metallurgy expert, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could tell the difference between whatever this was and true steel. In the end, he shrugged. In a way it didn¡¯t matter - its stats were more important. Just wearing the armour and not letting his tail trail on the ground was enough of a challenge right now, but Dominic would definitely work towards being able to lift it as an imitation of a fifth limb. Still, even without his tail being strong enough to actually manipulate it yet, when he practised doing some sharp turns, he found that centrifugal force made it a weapon anyway, the weight on the end of the tuft pulling the rest of his tail straight out. On the other hand, essentially losing control of his tail once more sent him back to the fumbling, stumbling mess that he¡¯d been when he¡¯d first woken up in this body. Definitely need to work on that, he groaned as he rubbed his head with a foreleg. Faceplanting was no more fun on stone tiles than it was on hard-packed earth. In fact, he might venture to say that it was worse. Giving himself a little break, he decided to check his status, something he hadn¡¯t done in a while. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Half-step Evolved Beast Level 9 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 230/178 PP level up Hunger level: 99% Thirst level: 97% Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (71% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Rage level 1 (24%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction, 3-4 Crushing damage reduction, 1-2 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 3 (2-3 Slicing damage reduction, 1-2 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +1% Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (6-11 Slicing damage, 6-8 Tearing damage, 3-5 Piercing damage) - Bite level 2 (32-50 Crushing damage, 35-63 Tearing damage, 28-40 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 5 (max speed 24mps; max speed duration 15s) (75/105 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 2 (159/350 HP) +20% regeneration Equipment: - Leather Gorget (T1) - +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck. 6m3 storage space (non-stasis) - Tail Armour + Tail Morningstar (T1, Common) - Tail armour offers +20 to Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +12 to Crushing and Piercing damage reduction to attacks to areas covered. Tail club offers +10-24 Crushing damage and +5-12 Piercing damage. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Most of it was as he was expecting. Actually seeing the number of SP and HP that he had just gave him a little more information: he already knew he had just over a third of health, all thanks to absorbing the warthog. His stamina had improved significantly with the rest he¡¯d had since the battle, but it still had a way to go. Actually, is there any way of me adjusting my status to show the HP and SP more easily at the top? Dominic wondered thoughtfully. I was able to change my HUD so why not? Focussing on his desire, it was still a little surprising when he saw two new entries write themselves at the top of his status screen. Looking at the other entries, he wondered whether he could make a new change. Hunger and Thirst don¡¯t really make much sense when I get more hungry as the percentage depletes¡­. Focussing once more, satisfaction went through him as the display changed once more. Much better, he thought, looking at the new and improved status. Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Half-step Evolved Beast Level 9 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 230/178 PP level up Satiation level: 99% Hydration level: 97% Health Points: 159/350 Stamina Points: 75/105 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost This way I only need to call up the first part of my status unless I¡¯m deciding what to enhance, he thought happily. Much clearer than having to search through the rest of his status for his health and stamina points. Though, there was something interesting in his main status: the fact that he was sure that his progress towards the next level of Quick Strike had increased. Last time it was definitely in the sixties; now it was at 71%. Because I¡¯ve been using it? It certainly can¡¯t be because I¡¯ve absorbed more Cores with Quick Strike because I¡­haven¡¯t. If it could continue improving just with use, that was good to know. It made sense too: if most creatures couldn''t absorb abilities from Beast Cores - except, perhaps as dungeon loot - then how would they improve their abilities? Still, good to know. The strain from his tail was starting to get painful; he unequipped the item. Touching it and focussing, it wasn¡¯t long before it was safely stowed in his Inventory. He¡¯d pull it out again when his tail stopped aching. Settling down onto the stone ground, Dominic turned his thoughts to the other loot he¡¯d got which he still needed to make a choice over. Absorb the spell Lightning Discharge and its accompanying risks, or not? And which ability should he go for from the Warthog Guardian¡¯s Core? The basic Charge, or the more exotic - and also more risky - Second Wind? Plus, another question: should he level up first? Frankly, after having satisfied his curiosity about the loot, his desire to know what would happen on this level up was almost more than he could contain. Still, he was able to restrain his inclination to act on impulse and forced himself to consider the situation logically. Waiting to level up might actually be the better idea: if he did himself some damage in one of his choices, he¡¯d have a way of restoring himself to full health immediately available. He did take a few moments to consider what he would choose to enhance, assuming he had the option of one, two, or even three aspects. That way, if he had to level up in a hurry, he wouldn¡¯t risk making a bad choice just because he felt overly pressured. His decision made in terms of first choice, second choice, and third choice, he turned his mind back to his loot. He¡¯d also made a decision on these choices too. He was tempted to second-guess himself, but tried not to: there was no right answer, and these choices felt right to him. First of all, he¡¯d decided to attempt to absorb the Lightning Discharge spell. Why take the risk? Because he suspected that it would be his only chance to learn magic in the near future. He might be wrong ¨C there might be a city with a number of magic teachers just the other side of the hill the dungeon was found under. Though, even if that was, in his current leonine form, it wouldn¡¯t be much use to him. The potential benefits of magic were too numerous to pass up willy-nilly. Yes, there were risks attached, but there were risks to everything: his whole experience in this dungeon had been risk after risk, not all of them able to be calculated. And he had an idea of how to reduce the potential consequences. From the Beast Core, he¡¯d decided to take Second Wind. Charge looked like an awesome ability, and the fact that it was a guarantee was very appealing. However, Dominic had decided not to go for it for one reason: he suspected that it was very common. Not that he had anything against ¡®common¡¯ abilities per se - he suspected that Quick Strike would also be, in one form or another, a common ability. No, it was the fact that all he needed to do was find and kill enough other animals which had Charge ¨C or equivalent ¨C and absorb their Cores. Actually, although he had no real evidence for the thought, he suspected that, like the trodils had had Quick Strike even at their lowest level versions, and then Rage as a mini-boss, the same was true of warthogs and Charge. If he¡¯d been encountering families of warthogs instead of packs of trodils, Dominic suspected that the individual members would have had Charge; the mini-bosses Overdrive. Perhaps it was only becoming a proper boss which gave the Warthog Guardian Second Wind, or maybe it was upon reaching level 10. His only real indication of this was the fact that Charge was clearly the lowest tier ability, yet it was also the one with the highest percentage chance. Then, the fact that Overdrive looked so similar to Rage, and had the second highest percentage chance was another indication that he was right. Though, it did leave Dominic feeling a bit miffed: where was his ability? Surely I should have got at least one as a lion? Where¡¯s my Deafening Roar or Pounce? Maybe it was a way of the System equalising things slightly: if he¡¯d got his own abilities as well as being able to absorb those of others, he would have too much of an advantage. Still not fair, he grumbled to himself before sighing and turning to the Beast Core. He¡¯d roll the dice on Second Wind. Then, if he was lucky and got it, he¡¯d have a bit of insurance in case the attempt to gain Lightning Discharge went wrong. Here goes. Chapter 36: Wildfire Touching the Beast Core with one paw, Dominic mentally sent a request to absorb Second Wind. [You have selected ability: Second Wind. You have a 50% chance of absorbing this ability successfully. Would you like to continue or return to the list of possible abilities?] Dominic licked at his lips nervously, the rasp of his tongue unexpectedly reaching all the way to his nose. He didn¡¯t let the surprise sensation distract him, though. Continue, he thought at the System. The Beast Core broke apart into dust and flowed towards Dominic, surrounding him like a cloud. Watching his front paws to see what was happening, he saw the glittery dust hover above his fur. As if attracted by a magnet, it moved towards his limbs, coating his fur and then being absorbed through it. For a moment, nothing happened. Then pain shot through his limbs, making him growl uncomfortably. The pain intensified and Dominic started panting, his eyes falling half-closed as he did his best to work through it. And then as soon as it reached the point that he was worried he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear it any longer, it disappeared like it had never been there in the first place. Dominic waited anxiously for a moment, wondering if he should check his status or if he would be told the results of the attempt. Just as he was about to open his status page anyway, a message flashed up. [You have successfully absorbed Second Wind. Would you like to see the ability description?] Sure, Dominic agreed, almost sighing with relief at luck having fallen on the right side for him this time. He was curious to see if it had changed at all from what he¡¯d seen when he¡¯d got information about the ability while it was still in the Beast Core. [Second Wind (T1): When your HP and/or SP have reduced at least to 50% of their total, choose to activate this ability to refill your health points and/or stamina points. Note, this ability can be activated below 50% health/stamina, but only 50% health and/or stamina will be restored. This may change as the ability increases in level. This ability cannot be reactivated until both HP and SP have been restored to their maximums. Warning, increased health points will not heal your wounds. Warning, upon activating this ability you will start a timer. At the end of this timer, all health and stamina points gained through Second Wind will be removed from you. If this means that your health drops below 0, you will die. At level 1 you have a timer of 5 minutes; this may change as the ability increases in level.] Most of it was still the same, but there was one addition to the description which made Dominic feel a bit dismayed. There was an unexpected restriction on how often the ability could be used: after triggering it once, he had to fully heal and fully replenish his stamina before he¡¯d be able to use it again. I suppose I should have expected it, he mused dolefully. It¡¯s an ability of last resort, not one that I should be able to trigger several times in a fight. What it actually meant was that it was a once-per-level ability ¨C unless he found a good supply of healing materials, that is. Or somehow got a healer on his team. Though, honestly, that seemed rather unlikely as matters stood ¨C what kind of animal would end up developing powers which could heal others as well as itself? Still, he reminded himself, I might not have got any ability at all. Gotta look on the bright side. And, thinking about it, he did earn HP both from absorbing corpses and by healing by himself. If I focus on my health regen a bit, I might be able to use it more often, or without as much risk, he decided, starting to feel more cheerful again. With that one out the way, it was time for the one which made him feel a lot more nervous. Putting his paw on the scroll next, he focussed on his intention to absorb Lightning Discharge. [Do you wish to absorb Lightning Discharge?] Yes, he answered as firmly as he could, even as butterflies the size of cats seemed to battle it out in his stomach. Just like the Beast Core, the scroll crumbled into fine dust and flew towards him. Also like the dust before, it surrounded each of its limbs. However, unlike the dust of the Beast Core, it was not pulled in to coat his fur. Instead, it seemed to swirl around him, almost looking uncertain. If a cloud of dust could express such an emotion. Wondering whether something had gone wrong, Dominic shifted uneasily from paw to paw. Then, as if it had made a decision, the dust all collected into a single ball of condensed particles, and then flew at his face. It was too quick for the lion to do more than flinch back a little, but the ball didn¡¯t actually hit him. Instead, it turned into seven streams, each of them forcing itself into one of his facial orifices. One entered his mouth; two into his nostrils; two into his ears; and, most uncomfortably, two into his eyes. The entrance of the dust burned. His eyes were the worst, feeling like they¡¯d just had fine sand shoved into them; he had to resist the urge to rub at them with his paws. His ears were more ticklish than anything, but it got worse when he suddenly realised he couldn¡¯t hear anything. The temple sanctum was quiet now that the warthog was dead, but it was only when the sound of his own blood flow and breathing cut out that he realised just how much he could hear. Or at least, could hear before. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Just as he was starting to panic about his hearing, it got worse: his vision started fading out, blackness taking over as if someone had turned off all the lights. Blind and deaf, Dominic found himself clinging to the stone floor beneath his feet, actually extending his claws to rake them across the tiles. At least that proved that he was still alive, that he still existed. Blocked off from two of his senses ¨C no, three: he suddenly realised that he couldn¡¯t smell the torches any more, or the mustiness of the long-undisturbed room ¨C he found that Leo¡¯s presence seemed much closer. Or perhaps it was more that without the distraction of his senses, he was more able to recognise where Dominic ended and Leo began. Not that it helped ¨C Leo was just as worried as Dominic. More so, perhaps. Dominic got the intense sense of a pacing lion in a cage which was slowly getting smaller and smaller around him. It¡¯s OK, he found himself saying to his counterpart. It¡¯s going to get better. He didn¡¯t know who he was attempting to fool, though ¨C Leo, or himself. Because, frankly, it might not get any better ¨C the scroll had made it clear that serious consequences awaited those who had a bad reaction to the forcible awakening of their magic. Though it didn¡¯t seem that the process was done, so the situation might actually improve. Or it might get worse. Actually, if the pain was anything to go by, that was indeed the case. After his nose, eyes, and ears had been burnt, the pain moved upwards, attacking something that could only be his brain. The worst headache Dominic had ever felt started throbbing. It was beyond the migraines he¡¯d occasionally suffered from. Beyond even when he¡¯d fallen down a short flight of stairs and given himself a cracked skull. This felt like his brain was on fire. Without the pain he was suffering in his brain abating in the slightest, a tendril of fire ran down his spinal cord and into the rest of his body. Like it was a wildfire which had gone out of control, the burning spread all over, though burned particularly hotly in the centre of his chest, just a little behind his front legs. Gritting his teeth, Dominic tasted blood, proving that at least that sense hadn¡¯t been removed from him. His tongue felt numb in the wake of the fire, though ¨C he was probably biting it without realising. Second Wind! He triggered the ability without a second thought. He was already below 50% in health points so it should work. At worst, he would have triggered it without need and he¡¯d have to heal fully to be able to use it again ¨C not an issue with a level up waiting for him. At best, he¡¯d have given himself more of a chance to survive, if he was losing health points through this whole process. Losing his sight, and thereby an ability to see the exact state of his health was a complication he hadn¡¯t considered when making his plans. Must make sure to level up soon, though, he reminded himself grimly. He had no desire to accidentally die when the timer on this ability ran out. Both to make sure that didn¡¯t happen, and to try to preserve some of his sanity, he started counting in his mind. How long until the fire still consuming him finally burnt itself out, though? He¡¯d have feared that it was a permanent consequence, such as the scroll had warned about, except for the fact that it was already reducing in heat. Dominic was reminded of a cream he¡¯d used after pulling a muscle while playing football: Deep Heat. The cream had burned, the heat ramping up over several minutes. Once it had reached a peak, however, it had stayed there for a little time before starting to reduce slowly. That¡¯s what this was like. The fire had run through his whole body, burning intensely, the heat increasing until he would have been screaming if he¡¯d had his human voice box. As it was, he had no idea what sound he was making, barely able to feel his throat vibrating at all and with no ability to actually hear it. Fortunately, the heat was abating. Slowly. Three minutes gone already. It had turned into a matter of endurance, of trying to keep hold of his sanity, stuck in the dark and quiet with pain sparking along his nerves. And, to an extent, trying to help Leo hold onto his own sanity too - the lion¡¯s mind was taking this even worse than Dominic¡¯s. At least Dominic knew why it was happening and had hope that it would improve; the lion¡¯s mind just seemed to focus on the terror of the present. If they¡¯d been literally a human and a lion stuck in a cage, Dominic reckoned he would have been torn to shreds long ago; as it was, the barriers between their minds served them well. Still, Dominic couldn¡¯t just ignore his co-passenger, and did his best to send calm emotions and words towards the lion. If nothing else, it helped him to concentrate on something more than his own worries and sensations - or lack of them. It seemed to take forever, but in fact was only heading towards four minutes by his count. Bit by bit, the fire withdrew from his extremities first, retreating to his spine. The fire in his brain, surprisingly, also started retreating, disappearing down his neck. Moving up and down his spine, the heat balled together between his shoulder-blades and then shot downwards. Finishing within that area in his chest which had burned hottest, it died completely. He waited, but fear filled his chest as he realised that his senses weren¡¯t coming back along with the fire¡¯s absence. There was only one thing he could think of to do. Needed to do, in fact, as he hit four and a half minutes since triggering Second Wind. Level up, he thought. Although he couldn¡¯t see the message that came up, he got the sense that the System was asking him to confirm if he wished to level up. Quickly affirming his choice, Dominic expected another message to come up to ask him about what to enhance. Instead, he instead felt the rush of Energy that normally happened after choosing his enhancements. But that wasn¡¯t all he felt. With a mental crash, he felt the barriers between his own mind and that of Leo¡¯s collapse. The cage he¡¯d imagined earlier had disappeared, and the lion was coming for his blood. Chapter 37: The Nice Way In a blink, the dungeon around Dominic disappeared. Instead, he was in a blank white space which seemed to have no end. In front of him, a few paces away, crouched a lion. Leo, Dominic realised. And he didn¡¯t look friendly. Having inhabited a lion¡¯s body for a few days now, Dominic knew exactly what that position meant. Though, to be fair, he¡¯d probably have recognised it anyway. Lips pulled back over teeth. Ears back. Muscles coiled. Leo was ready to pounce and rip into him. ¡°Nice kitty,¡± Dominic said placatingly, lifting his hands before him to provide some sort of poor barrier. Wait, hands? The surprise was enough to push even the knowledge of an angry predator right in front of him out of his head. He couldn¡¯t resist turning his hands over to inspect them, ducking his head to look himself up and down. I forgot about that scar, he thought inanely. An angered snarl brought his attention snapping back to the now-furious lion in front of him. You take over my body, insult me, and then add even further insult by ignoring me! Dominic blinked. The lion¡¯s mouth hadn¡¯t moved, but who else could that voice have come from? ¡°Did you just¡­talk?¡± he dared to ask, half-disbelieving his own words. Of course I did! the lion ¨C because who else could it be ¨C snapped back even as the menacing sound of his snarls ramped up in both volume and intensity. And you are going to answer for your crimes against me! That¡­didn¡¯t sound good. Dominic didn¡¯t have the time to respond before the lion was leaping at him. Reacting automatically, Dominic jumped to the side. He was fast enough, but found himself surprisingly ungainly: he was suddenly unused to moving in a human form, despite having done it all his life apart from the past few days. He wasn¡¯t fast enough to avoid the follow up blow that Leo delivered to his thigh, all claws fully bared. The force of it sent him tumbling to the ground, his thigh burning with pain like it had been marked with a five-clawed brand despite no wound actually appearing. Howling in pain while rolling to the side, Dominic avoided Leo¡¯s follow-up, very much feeling the scared mouse in front of a giant cat. I can¡¯t do this! Dominic thought, even his mental voice panicked. He was staying ahead of Leo¡¯s movements by a fraction of an inch each time, his speed just barely a match for the lion¡¯s. In fact, he would venture to say that the lion was playing with him a little, fully aware now of what a lion was capable of when it was making an effort. There¡¯s got to be some way of stopping this. Apart from dying, that is. Fortunately, the number of life-death situations had slightly inured him to the panic that came with knowing his life was on a knife¡¯s ¨C or claw¡¯s ¨C edge. Just enough to think. This can¡¯t be real, he thought, as he turned a roll into a way up to his feet, only to be caught off-guard by Leo¡¯s lunge. He heard the lion¡¯s jaws click together a hair¡¯s breadth from his thigh, the lion¡¯s momentum carrying him forwards and taking Dominic to the floor again. We were in the dungeon, and now we¡¯re not, he thought frantically as he gripped Leo¡¯s jaws to keep his head at a distance from Dominic¡¯s vulnerable flesh. Maybe there¡¯s a way out of this space? A way to shove Leo¡¯s mind back in that box? Daring to close his eyes in concentration, Dominic hoped that he hadn¡¯t just made a mistake that would see his throat ripped out. Concentrating on the feel of his body in the real world, he tried to make his way back into it, finding a path out of this blank space. He focussed on paws instead of hands, jaws filled with sharp teeth instead of blunt. He thought about a tail, and sensitive eyes, a nose which picked up so much more of the world around him, and ears which twitched and moved of their own accord. And then, suddenly, he felt his body¡­blur. For a moment it seemed to be stuck in some inbetween phase, not sure whether to take human or lion form, so Dominic concentrated more fiercely on the feel of his lion body. He didn¡¯t need to open his eyes to realise it had worked - he could feel it. However, when he realised that his paws were still braced against something, he forced his eyelids open. Disappointment immediately hit him hard. He was still in the white space; worse, he could still see Leo in front of him. In fact, his paws were still braced against the other lion¡¯s jaws, though now against them rather than holding them. The other lion looked¡­confused. What is this? The sound of Leo¡¯s voice reflected the same bemusement which had been in his expression. What have you done? Given myself a chance, Dominic replied. Even if he now couldn¡¯t speak, he found that communicating his thoughts was just as easy as speaking with his mouth had been. Very well. We shall decide who leads our pride now then. Interesting, Dominic had a moment to think as Leo backed off to let the former-human climb to his feet. As a human, Leo wanted to get revenge on me; as a lion, he wants to prove his superiority instead. Perhaps this didn¡¯t necessarily have to end in elimination of one mind or the other. The two lions looked at each other for a moment and then Leo charged towards Dominic. The human-turned-lion dodged the first attack, whirling and biting at Leo¡¯s shoulder. The lion roared, the sound more aggrieved than pained. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. As fast as Dominic had whirled, so did Leo, a side-swipe hitting Dominic full-force, its claws raking across the side of his face. Only a quick turn of his head saved his eye from being torn into ¨C whether injuries taken here were replicated in the real world, he didn¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t want to find out, either. Back to facing each other, Dominic lunged towards Leo, the other lion snarling and opening his jaws wide to meet Dominic¡¯s. It was a feint, though, and instead he ducked his head at the last moment to go under Leo¡¯s jaws in an attempt at the lion¡¯s throat. The other lion was too quick for that, stepping back so Dominic¡¯s teeth clicked together just a fraction of an inch away from his skin. They paused for a moment, both eyeing each other warily. ¡°Woah, I was not expecting that. Talk about split-personalities!¡± The sudden introduction of a new voice was enough to pull both Leo and Dominic¡¯s attention to the side. A few paces away, a strange figure stood, its expression - as far as Dominic could read it - was rapt. If it had had a box of popcorn in its hands, he wouldn¡¯t have been at all surprised: it looked just like it was watching a surprisingly entertaining movie. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t stop on my account,¡± the figure said airly. ¡°It was just getting good. Pity I can¡¯t place any bets with anyone on the outcome,¡± it finished in a voice quiet enough that Dominic suspected they weren¡¯t supposed to hear it. Who¡­what are you? Dominic asked, hoping that it would hear his mental voice as well as he could hear its words. The figure was familiar¡­. Dominic racked his brains to try to work out where he¡¯d seen it before. Its fingers and toes were clawed, its height diminutive. Its nose was long and hooked, its teeth sharp. As for its ears, they were kind of like sails sticking out of the side of its head. Its head was itself proportionately much larger for its body than any human¡¯s would be. And then it hit him like a lightning bolt ¨C the statue on the altar had looked exactly like this. That one was in grey stone while this figure was in shades of green, but the shape was identical. Are you the¡­dungeon? He felt a bit stupid asking the question: the figure patently wasn¡¯t a stone temple. However, the feeling that there had been some sort of consciousness behind the dungeon¡¯s design was coming back to him right now. The figure froze, then its head turned slowly to fix him with an unnerving stare ¨C like in the statue, its eyes were blank pools of dark green, no evidence of either pupil or iris to be seen. ¡°How did you know that?¡± Uh, a guess? Dominic replied uncertainly. Still, that proved his guess, right? This creature was somehow strongly connected to the dungeon. ¡°Well.¡± The expression of the creature gave nothing away. Then suddenly it cracked, its mouth opening wide in a smile which would have put a Cheshire cat to shame. ¡°Congratulations! You¡¯re the first to correctly identify me as the dungeon master. Well, you¡¯re the first to do the dungeon at all, so there wasn¡¯t exactly any competition, but still. You win a surprise prize.¡± What prize? Dominic asked warily, finding the too-cheerful disposition just as unnerving as the previous blank expression. ¡°The surprise is that there is no prize! Isn¡¯t that a good reward!¡± The creature was practically bouncing on the spot, its grin cutting its face in half between its two over-sized ears. ¡°Now, joking aside, I actually have an important matter to discuss with you.¡± Once more, all traces of mirth had been wiped away from the dungeon master¡¯s face and it was as still as the statue Dominic had seen earlier. Dominic was starting to get a headache from its rapid shifts of mood. He chanced a look at Leo, and saw that the lion looked both as confused and wary as he felt. What do you wish to discuss? For once, it wasn¡¯t Dominic who had spoken; it was Leo. Still, he¡¯d asked the question Dominic was about to, so the human-turned-lion kept quiet. ¡°I was going to present an offer to you, but it turns out that the situation is a little more complicated than I thought. Two minds in the same body are a pain.¡± The dungeon master blew out his cheeks briefly, then continued speaking. ¡°You took my Warthog Guardian down pretty handily back there. I¡¯d like to offer you the chance to replace it. Now, don¡¯t answer too quickly,¡± it continued, one clawed finger rising to stop them from speaking ¨C neither of them were about to. ¡°There are lots of advantages to being a dungeon creature, as the trodils, meerkats, and warthog you¡¯ve met could tell you. No need to kill to advance ¨C you advance with the dungeon. Unlimited lives ¨C if you¡¯re killed, you will rise again the next time a party of explorers enters. I, as the dungeon master, have the ability to imbue part of the dungeon¡¯s energy into boosting my spaw-uh, creatures. As dungeon Guardian, you would be the last line of defence and therefore the priority for new boosts. That means enhancements, abilities, new attacks, you name it. Not what you¡¯ll experience in the outside world where gaining a new ability is as much a matter of luck as anything you actually do. So, what do you say?¡± Dominic and Leo exchanged a long look. Even without speaking their thoughts out loud, Dominic realised that he had spent long enough as a lion ¨C or perhaps long enough with Leo¡¯s presence in the back of his head ¨C that he could guess at least some of his thoughts. The lion was wary, and unwilling to be caged. All the benefits meant nothing if it required being stuck in a stone cave for the rest of his life. Dominic agreed. The only thing that could possibly make this offer worth it was if, after serving a certain term, they could leave with all benefits intact. If we agreed to this, what would happen to the warthog which currently fills the position? ¡°Oh you don¡¯t need to worry about him,¡± the dungeon master said with a nonchalant wave of delicate clawed fingers. Oh, but I think I do, replied Dominic a growl starting to rumble in his chest. He¡¯ll die, right? ¡°Well,¡± the creature replied hesitantly. ¡°Not exactly,¡± it equivocated. How exactly is ¡®not exactly¡¯? Dominic pressed, the growl coming from Leo next to him proving that they were of the same mind on this particular subject. ¡°The warthog would lose his spawn point, that¡¯s all.¡± Dominic understood. He understood entirely. Whether losing a spawn point was itself fatal was, in a way, irrelevant. With the warthog being ¡®dead¡¯ at the moment, it would mean he couldn¡¯t respawn, condemning him to whatever waiting place he stayed in until he respawned. Even if it wasn¡¯t true death, it was as good as. Dominic felt like he didn¡¯t need to ask any further questions. The dungeon master had proven how little it actually cared for its ¡®guardians¡¯ in how quickly it had been willing to throw away the previous incumbent. Although Dominic didn¡¯t know how watertight whatever agreement it was looking for was, he didn¡¯t feel inclined to put himself under this creature¡¯s power in any way. A quick look at Leo proved that the lion was not feeling at all friendly towards the dungeon master either. No, thanks. We don¡¯t want to accept your offer, Dominic said firmly. The creature regarded him for a moment, then its gaze switched to Leo. ¡°Do you feel the same?¡± I do, Leo growled. ¡°Pity,¡± said the dungeon master after a long moment. ¡°I was hoping we could do this the nice way.¡± Chapter 38: The Way Forward Dominic didn¡¯t have enough time to feel more than a sense of foreboding before pain was suddenly ripping through him. It felt like fingers were digging into his chest, clawed fingers. The pain was excruciating, almost as bad as using the magic scroll had been. ¡°Just agree to be my guardian, and all this pain will be but a memory,¡± came the voice of the dungeon master, an uncomfortable amount of pleasure in its tone. Forcing himself to move, even though that felt like the last thing he wanted to do, Dominic levered his head upwards from where it had automatically curled towards his chest until he could see the dungeon master. The green figure was grinning again, malice easy to read even on the foreign features. Its clawed hands were reaching out to both Dominic and Leo, twisting golden smoke seeming to surround them, flowing part of the way towards the two lions. In it, Dominic saw a possible route to salvation. We need to¡­attack, he ground out, struggling to keep his thoughts together as it felt like the dungeon master was trying to drag his heart out through his chest, without removing anything that was in its way. I¡­can¡¯t, Leo replied with a thin growl, like even that was too much. But Dominic couldn¡¯t see any other way out of this situation. The dungeon master was the source of the magic which was causing the pain. Taking him out had to be a way of stopping it. Letting the magic run its course wasn¡¯t an option either ¨C if Dominic was interpreting its words correctly, it was intended for the purpose of forcing them to consent to being guardians since it hadn¡¯t succeeded in getting their consent willingly. Despite the pain he was currently suffering through, Dominic was more and more certain that rejecting the offer had been the right choice ¨C this creature was not one he wanted to have anything more to do with. But first, they needed to get out of this bind. Forcing himself to move, Dominic took first one step and then the next. Each covered only a few inches, but even that was a victory. The pain in his chest seemed to constrict around his heart, forcing a moan of agony out of his mouth and a shiver down his whole body. It felt like he couldn¡¯t breathe, like his whole body was being starved of something vital. But he would not give up. I will not give up, he told himself with every step. I survived my own death. I¡¯ve survived everything else so far too. What¡¯s a little pain to that? His eyes were fixed on the dungeon master who watched him approach first with amusement, then with surprise, and then with a growing sense of concern as the inches between them disappeared one by one. Dominic didn¡¯t know whether the creature couldn¡¯t move, or was just choosing not to, but either way, it took not a single step backwards. And then suddenly, as he got about four feet away from the dungeon master ¨C a laughably easy distance to pounce were he able to do such a thing right now ¨C it seemed like the creature had had enough. The pain in Dominic¡¯s chest increased dramatically as the creature suddenly switched to directing both hands at him alone. The increased level stopped Dominic dead in his tracks, all four legs failing to hold up his own weight under the new assault. He felt like he was drowning under the attack, like he¡¯d been floating a couple of metres below the surface of the water before, but now he¡¯d been shoved a kilometre down. Pressure crushed his body. Pain was the only thing he could think about ¨C it was his world. And then, suddenly, there was a reprieve. The pain vanished for a moment. Panting, Dominic forced his eyes open: even if the pain wasn¡¯t there, the aftershocks of it flashed through him. The reason for the unexpected break was suddenly made clear: both of the dungeon master¡¯s hands were now directed at Leo, who was suddenly collapsed on the floor a little ahead of Dominic. Hope rose in Dominic¡¯s breast: if he and Leo could work together¡­. Forcing himself to his feet, Dominic refused to allow the much-weaker aftershocks of the agony to stop him where the agony itself hadn¡¯t. Taking advantage of his break, he stepped forwards as quickly as he could, a leap to cover the remaining distance still beyond his capabilities. The dungeon master realised what he was doing and quickly switched to pointing one hand at Dominic again. In comparison to the intense agony that had sent him tumbling weak-limbed to the floor, this was bearable. Once more, Dominic fought through it, a sense of impending victory helping to bolster his spirits. Leo, even under a single hand¡¯s power, was still struggling to move at all, but that was OK. The dungeon master was looking more and more panicked as Dominic closed the distance on them. He still didn¡¯t know why it hadn¡¯t taken a few steps back, but perhaps that was a limitation on this kind of magic. As matters stood, either Dominic would close the distance himself, or his threat would cause the dungeon master to focus both hands on the closest lion, giving Leo an opening. But that wasn¡¯t what happened. Instead, the creature seemed to concentrate, the brightness of the golden smoke surrounding them intensifying until it glittered almost too much for him to look at it. The pain inside Dominic ¨C and Leo, if his grunt was anything to go by ¨C intensified with it. Once more, Dominic was rooted in place, unable to force his body to take even a single step. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Suddenly, Dominic wished he¡¯d taken Overdrive instead of Second Wind. Though he didn¡¯t know if he could use abilities in this space, the boost would have been very helpful. Though if this boosting ability the creature¡¯s using has the same limitations of Overdrive or Rage, I just have to outlast it and then there will be an opportunity, Dominic thought, gritting his teeth so hard that he tasted blood. Whether he could outlast it, though, was another question. The Rage of a trodil mini-boss, or the Overdrive of a warthog Guardian were probably very different things from the resources a dungeon master could bring to bear to force Dominic¡¯s compliance. Dominic¡¯s mind raced, just as he tried to force his foot forwards with the same willpower he¡¯d needed to get up at the first alarm for his morning shift at the caf¨¦ ¨C 4am had always been the worst start to the day. Or perhaps it was more the will he¡¯d summoned to attack the lion which was already chewing and swallowing parts of his guts. To no avail. He hit a stone wall, unable to do anything but just lie there and endure it. It was then that he heard something faint. Take it. Barely able to identify Leo as the reason for the quiet whisper, Dominic certainly didn¡¯t know what he was talking about. And then he did. A faint sense of strength trickled into him, just enough for him to be able to push that stone wall forwards by a fraction of an inch. His front right paw shuffled forwards, not even making it a full paw¡¯s length. But progress was progress. Front left paw. Back right paw. Back left paw. Front right paw again. Front left paw. Back right paw. Back left paw. Each shuffle was an achievement, the faint touch of strength giving just enough to move in fractions of steps. His whole focus dedicated to this slow progress forwards, Dominic couldn¡¯t spare the attention to find out how Leo was holding up. All he could tell was that the other lion was unmoving, crumpled on the floor once more. The dungeon master watched his approach with a mix of frustration and fear. It clearly tried to concentrate, perhaps trying to ramp up the intensity again. But this time it came up short, the light around its claws flaring for a moment and then subsiding back to its previous level. And then Dominic was there. Pressing so closely that he could feel its overheated skin against him, the strange prickly fur spiking him with his movements. There was no quick attack, no lunge. Instead, he was more a study of inevitability, his jaws descending in slow-motion towards the creature¡¯s body. It tried to twist out of the way, but its feet seemed rooted in place. For all its attempts to writhe and squirm, there were parts of its body it simply couldn¡¯t shift to avoid his bite. Apparently it couldn¡¯t move its feet, for whatever reason. Dominic¡¯s teeth pierced flesh. There wasn¡¯t any blood. Nor was there a rush of some other vital liquid that this alien might have in place of blood. Instead, it was more a rush of knowledge. Too quick for him to identify at the time, Dominic felt like his head was suddenly filling with new facts, new memories, an excruciating pain accompanying them. He hoped that at least some of them would stick: this wasn¡¯t the time to explore them, much as he mourned that. This seemed to be the final straw. The dungeon master made an unholy shriek and then vanished, the pain vanishing with it too. In the same moment, Dominic had the unshakable sensation that he¡¯d forgotten something important. Still, there were other things for him to focus on right now. As before, there were aftershocks which made Dominic¡¯s limbs feel shaky and weak, but the all-encompassing agony which had been restricting his chest and both crushing and pulling his heart was gone. They were intact. Just. Wobbling over to the other lion, Dominic found himself collapsing beside Leo. Leo, are you OK? he asked tiredly. When he got no reply, he lifted a paw with immense effort and prodded at the other lion. His attempt did have a result: Leo growled weakly, as if in complaint. Why¡¯s Leo so much worse off than I am? Dominic wondered. The other lion had clearly struggled more than Dominic had in general, though why that was, the human-turned-lion wasn¡¯t sure. But he¡¯d fought back even while the pain was going on. So why would he be so badly off now it was gone? Then Dominic thought about how he¡¯d heard Leo say ¡®take it¡¯, before he¡¯d gained enough extra strength to push through the intensified pain himself. Could that have been from Leo? Hey, Leo, did you give me some of your strength or something? Dominic asked, directing his thoughts at the lion beside him. For a while there was no answer. Then, the other feline managed to summon up the strength to answer him, albeit weakly. You¡­needed it more¡­than I did. I couldn¡¯t¡­move. You¡­could. You had to¡­be the one¡­to stop it. Well. That was more strategic thought than Dominic had thought the lion was capable of. Then again, before entering this space, he hadn¡¯t considered that Leo could be capable of thought more complex than survival-driven instincts. Either way, he was as impressed at the lion¡¯s ability to draw a conclusion as he was at the lion acting on that conclusion in a way that disadvantaged himself. It seemed rather counter-survival to put oneself at a disadvantage and trust in others to do the job instead. Perhaps we don¡¯t have to fight, Dominic mused. After all, lions had coalitions, right? Two or more males agreeing to rule a pride together? Perhaps Leo would be open to something like that? Though it would be more than a ¡®coalition¡¯ since they were sharing the same body. For now, though, Dominic just kept Leo company as they both recovered from the ordeal they had suffered through. They could talk about the way forward later. Chapter 39: I Want to Survive So, that happened, Dominic started inanely. Leo had finally pushed himself upright only a few minutes ago and was currently grooming himself. Dominic felt both tempted to join him ¨C because heaven knew he needed a bit of comfort after what had just happened ¨C and awkward about doing so in front of an audience. Even if the audience was the reason for him doing it in the first place. Are we going to continue, you know, fighting? Perhaps it was a provocative question to ask, but he¡¯d rather get it out there clearly than continue sitting in an agony of uncertainty. Leo paused his grooming, the paw which had been brushing his face hovering momentarily in front of him as his yellow eyes fixed themselves on Dominic. He was all unnerving predator in that moment, and Dominic found himself tensing, preparing for hostilities to resume, despite his hopes. Then Leo started grooming himself again and the moment was broken. No, I see no need. Oh? Dominic prompted after a moment, wanting a bit more than that. Leo didn¡¯t respond. Why not? the human-turned-lion asked when the silence started dragging on. The lion took his sweet time in answering, finishing grooming his face before he once more regarded Dominic speculatively. By this point, the human-turned-lion was practically vibrating in aggravation. I have seen enough. This time, thank goodness, the lion continued without Dominic needing to prod him ¨C verbally or otherwise. I concede that, at this time, you are the better protector. That¡¯s all? Dominic clarified uncertainly when the lion didn¡¯t speak any more. You seemed a lot more angry than just wanting to find out who is the better, uh, ¡®protector¡¯. Leo huffed and licked a couple of times at his shoulder in a nonchalant gesture. I was angry at first. Would you not be? My position in my body usurped by some hairless monkey? But as time wore on, and I became more able to think about things, I became aware that perhaps having you around¡­was not without benefits. And now I am certain of it. Okay, Dominic said slowly, but, playing devil¡¯s advocate here, don¡¯t you want to be in control of your body again? Because if the lion said ¡®no¡¯, Dominic would know he was playing some sort of game - who would voluntarily choose to be a passenger in his own body? I want to survive, Leo said frankly, once more fixing Dominic with a predator¡¯s regard. I want to conquer a pride and have both a wide hunting range and females to mate with. I want to have many cubs who grow to adulthood. I have been watching you and it occurs to me that your tricksy approach may offer a better chance of achieving my desires than my own. So you¡¯re willing to be a passenger and let me control everything? Dominic asked dubiously. He heard what Leo was saying, sure, but that couldn¡¯t be all¡­could it? I would probably have been torn to shreds by those hyenas, Leo admitted without shame. I would not have thought of using the tunnel as a means to reduce the number of attackers. I would not have attacked the last two groups of trodils, deeming them too much of a threat. I would not have entered the¡­temple at all, and if I had, I would not have made it through to the chamber beneath. You succeeded in all of those, and we have grown in strength and power as a result. Even in this last time, I could not move under the pain the green creature inflicted; you could and, thanks to that, we are not now trapped in a stone cave forever. However, if I am to willingly cede primary control of our body to you, I have some conditions. Leo gave off an air of complete conviction, his eyes making it clear that this was non-negotiable. Here we go, thought Dominic, bracing himself for some ridiculous demands. The first, however, was not what he¡¯d expected. We must grow a magnificent mane as soon as possible. Wait, what? Dominic exclaimed in surprise. How is that supposed to help us survive? Females like males with large, dark manes, Leo explained, like it should be obvious. It is not enough just to chase off the resident male; we must also be appealing enough for the females to want to mate with us and have our cubs. Dominic couldn¡¯t help but laugh. And when he started, he couldn¡¯t stop, the odd grunting that came out of his mouth in place of true laughter startling him for a moment, but not enough to make him stop. When he finally got his amusement under control, he found Leo looking at him, his expression torn between startled, disgruntled, and a little fearful, like he didn¡¯t know whether the ¡®hairless monkey¡¯ had finally cracked. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I don¡¯t see what is so amusing, the lion told him grumpily, seeming to lean more towards the disgruntlement now that the human had stopped having a fit. Females are important- No, it¡¯s not that, Dominic interrupted him. It¡¯s just¡­ he grunt-chuckled a couple more times. I never thought I¡¯d be getting dating tips from a lion. I mean, where were you three years ago when I was at university? He snorted and dissolved back into lion chuckles at the image of Leo being his wingman in the university bars and nightclubs. The lion in question just watched with growing irritation until Dominic finally got a hold of himself. Alright, so you want a magnificent mane. Is that it? Dominic asked, eventually sobering up. Not entirely, Leo replied, eyeing him cautiously as if concerned that he might return back to laughing at any moment. Which, incidentally, Dominic didn¡¯t think he was going to do now. But he honestly felt so much better for it ¨C his sudden bout of laughter had helped him feel like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. Better to laugh than cry, for sure. Then what else do you want? What I have already said: a pride of strong and fertile females to mate with, and lots of cubs. This¡­could actually be a good idea. The hyenas, trodils, heck, even the meerkats had made it clear that there was strength in numbers. And lions were naturally social creatures, as were humans. Maybe searching out a pride and taking it over was the best choice for him, strategically-speaking. Alright, Dominic said, his mind suddenly miles away. Instead of inside the temple, it was far away over the savannah, imagining a group of lions working together to take down powerful creatures, the Prey Points rolling in. They could establish territory, defend it against all comers¡­ Yes. Not a bad goal now that he¡¯d finished the dungeon. And if I make sure you ¨C we ¨C have that, you will be content just being in the background? For now, yes. Dominic felt a little growl in his chest. ¡®For now¡¯ sounded ominous. Why just ¡®for now?¡¯ he demanded, wanting to clear the air properly. If I ever doubt that you are the better protector, I will challenge you for control, Leo replied promptly, as if it were obvious. And perhaps for a lion it was. But you¡¯ll let me know when you¡¯re going to challenge me, right? he checked. You won¡¯t just suddenly start a challenge in the middle of a difficult fight? Leo looked insulted. Of course not. How would that help us survive? And Dominic guessed he had to be satisfied with that. Still, he felt like the conversation had gone significantly better than it might have. Leo wasn¡¯t trying to chew his face off anymore, so that was a significant plus, actually. He¡¯d also got the lion¡¯s tentative approval of him as the primary controller of his ¨C well, their ¨C body, as long as he fulfilled certain requirements in the near future. Now just to work out a way of returning to the physical world¡­. After trying a few focussing exercises, Dominic found that it was actually easier than he¡¯d thought. It was a bit like lucid dreaming, and then choosing to wake up. Not like a nightmare where it felt impossible to escape even if you realised you were dreaming, but a more normal, enjoyable dream. Opening his eyes, Dominic was relieved to realise that he¡¯d got his sight back. Inhaling and twitching his ears, he verified that those two senses were in place. Actually, he felt rather different¡­ Good, but different. Bang! A stone thumping to the ground a few inches in front of his head made him almost leap out of his skin. His hair standing on end, he felt like he was being stared at from all directions by unfriendly eyes. I did just reject the dungeon master¡¯s offer and then bite a chunk of its side, he considered. Maybe discretion would be the better part of valour in this situation¡­. I agree, rumbled a voice in his mind, making him almost jump out of his skin again. While he knew a moment after who had spoken, he felt he was still justified since this was the first time Leo had spoken. Apart from in that other place, anyway. And a mental space really didn¡¯t count. An ominous rumble of stone nearby had Dominic turning tail and dashing for the staircase. He¡¯d already stored the three prizes he hadn¡¯t yet used, and the scroll and Beast Core had been shattered into dust and absorbed, so they didn¡¯t need to be taken either. Half-expecting the ceiling to fall onto his head, Dominic was relieved when he emerged back into the atrium, hale and hearty. The staircase had seemed smaller than before, and shorter. Or maybe it was just his fear lending speed to his paws. When he pushed at the entrance doors, they opened easily, swinging open to reveal the light of the cavern outside. Compared to the dim light of the interior, it was almost blinding and Dominic dared to take a few moments to blink and let his eyes adjust. Stepping out cautiously ¨C in case the dungeon master had decided to spawn something nasty in his path, he emerged from the temple in which he had spent so much time. The pause had allowed him to question something else ¨C had he got bigger? Certainly, the doors themselves seemed smaller to him than they had been. Outside, he reared up to lean on the wall, curiosity overriding even his desire to get out from the conniving dungeon master¡¯s demesne. I have! Dominic thought with delight. Before, the keyhole had come up to about his shoulders when he reared up to full height. Now, it only came up about halfway along his length. And when he stood on all four paws beneath it, he found that it was actually almost at head height for him. Then a rumble from the stone beneath his paws reminded where he was and he quickly turned away. He might have dared the dungeon master¡¯s wrath to hunt down the minibosses in hope of earning progress towards Rage, but the still and silent savannah around him indicated that the trodils hadn¡¯t respawned in his absence. Pity, he thought as he trotted towards the archway which was the entrance and exit to the dungeon. Still, I¡¯m bound to run into them in the outside world, right? On that thought, he once more headed through the strange not-wet waterfall of water which marked the dungeon entrance ¨C and exit. Chapter 40: Become Stronger As he passed through the tunnel in which he¡¯d once fought a pack of hyenas, Dominic became utterly convinced that he¡¯d grown ¨C and not only a little, either. His head was much closer to the ceiling of the tunnel than it had been, and his body was nearer the walls of it too. Excellent, Leo purred as Dominic made the observation. We will easily overcome the protector of a pride like this. Unless they¡¯ve also grown, Dominic pointed out. The trodils grew a lot faster than we did as they increased in level. That gave Leo pause for thought. Then we shall have to become stronger than they are in other ways, he said finally, as if that was the only acceptable answer. Which, Dominic supposed, in the law of the jungle, it was. Well, let¡¯s just see what¡¯s happened here first, shall we? he asked, though more rhetorically than as a real question. He hadn¡¯t wanted to pause for too long in the dungeon ¨C not without trodils to hunt, anyway ¨C so hadn¡¯t yet gone through his log of notifications to see just what had happened to him down in that final dungeon room. Stopping just inside the entrance, Dominic sat down. It was day outside, sometime in the morning, he guessed and Leo concurred. How many days have gone past since the System arrived? he wondered. Two? Three? More? Without any way of telling the time in the dungeon, he¡¯d found the hours blurring together more than a little. But that wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d come here to do. He¡¯d chosen to stay in this spot for multiple reasons. It was hidden, so he might avoid most attacks without even trying. If something did decide to attack, either he could use the tunnel defensively, as he had with the hyenas, or he was close enough to the entrance that they wouldn¡¯t be able to immediately box him in, if he decided that the threat was worth retreating before. He could even retreat to the dungeon, if he wanted ¨C he¡¯d tested whether he could re-enter before leaving through the tunnel. The answer was that he could go in the dungeon, but it wasn¡¯t clear whether he could redo it ¨C the trodils hadn¡¯t suddenly respawned in the seconds between him exiting and re-entering. Perhaps I should try again later ¨C the outer area was a good place to grind, even if I don¡¯t go inside the temple, Dominic mused. Something to consider later if he didn¡¯t find better hunting spots. Starting to catch up on everything that had happened by opening his status screen, Dominic stared at it. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 10 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 52/196 PP Satiation level: 97% Hydration level: 95% Health Points: 500/500 Stamina Points: 170/170 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (71% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed Second Wind (T1) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Powerful Kick level 1 (44%) Crushing Bite level 1 (30%) Rage level 1 (24%) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (12-16 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction, 6-8 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 3 (4-6 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +2% Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (12-22 Slicing damage, 12-16 Tearing damage, 6-10 Piercing damage) - Bite level 2 (55-87 Crushing damage, 62-102 Tearing damage, 48-70 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 5 (max speed 28mps; max speed duration 18s) (170 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 2 (500 HP) +40% health regeneration - Brain level 1 (Cognition speed standard measurement 5) - Mana heart level 1 (15 MP) - 75% penalty - Soul level 1 (Resilience to mental attacks standard measurement 7) +2% mana regeneration (-80% reduction to mana regeneration) - Bones level 1 (growth + 10%) - Flesh level 1 (growth +10%) +5% resistance to basic magical attacks. - Nervous System level 1 (reaction speed +10%) Spells: Lightning Discharge level 1 - 1:1 mana / unit of static electricity to damage ratio. Coat your weapons with electricity and discharge it into your opponent on contact. Electrical resistance is effective against this attack. Magical resistance is partially effective against this attack. Equipment: - Leather Gorget (T1) - +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck. 6m2 storage space (non-stasis) - Tail Armour + Tail Morningstar (T1, Common) - Tail armour offers +20 to Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +12 to Crushing and Piercing damage reduction to attacks to areas covered. Tail club offers +10-24 Crushing damage and +5-12 Piercing damage. (Unequipped) You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. That¡¯s¡­a lot of change. He didn¡¯t really know where to start. With his massively increased, well, everything, or his greatly expanded list of abilities. Or with the two massive penalties he seemed to have accrued somehow. Maybe I ought to check my log, Dominic wondered to himself, the wave of agreement he felt from Leo startling him a little - he still wasn¡¯t used to the lion being so active a participant in his head. Going into the log, he scrolled down until he found the last notification he remembered seeing ¨C the one about absorbing his new spell. [Initiating spell absorption. Parameter testing¡­..testing¡­.testing¡­.] [Results of test] [Base Intelligence: barely adequate] [Nervous System: barely adequate] [Flesh: inadequate] [Mana Heart: absent] [Initiating Mana Heart installation. Probability of flawless installation: 34.46%. Probability of minor consequences following installation: 58.23%. Probability of serious consequences following installation: 7.31% ] [Do you wish to finish spell absorption? Warning, cancelling spell absorption at this point will lead to the loss of the spell scroll.] [Respond within 10s or automatic action will be taken: continuation of spell absorption process.] [Spell absorption continued.] Dominic wasn¡¯t sure whether he was happy or disturbed that the automatic action seemed to be continuing the spell absorption process. On the one hand, at least he hadn¡¯t lost the spell accidentally because he hadn¡¯t been able to see the messages. On the other, a 7% chance of ¡®serious consequences¡¯ might have given him enough hesitation to choose not to continue. Not to mention the much higher chance of having at least some issues afterwards than a ¡®flawless¡¯ installation. Well, I guess I wasn¡¯t too unlucky, he thought to himself. I do have those reductions on my status screen, which I hope will be explained soon, but they don¡¯t seem too serious. And I am alive, at least. Continuing scrolling up through the notifications, Dominic looked at the next one. [Second Wind Triggered. HP and SP boosted. Timer: 04:59:59] That was the only message about Second Wind, though Dominic hoped that it had come with some sort of HUD clock at the time. Otherwise how was he supposed to keep track of it during a fight? Maybe he¡¯d test that just before his next level up. [Mana Heart installation successful! Congratulations, you now have access to mana!] [Warning, some complications suffered during the process: Incompatibility with host flesh has resulted in damage to 3 senses (healable) Barely adequate affinity of all other facets has resulted in a penalty to your Mana Heart¡¯s capacity (non-permanent)] Well, Dominic thought to himself, that explains a lot. The penalty to his mana capacity, the damage to his senses¡­even the fact that Brain, Nervous System, and Flesh were now appearing on his status sheet ¨C he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that was linked to this whole process, even if it hadn¡¯t said so explicitly. Though it didn¡¯t explain all the other weirdness there. I guess the fact that the damage to my sight and so on was ¡®healable¡¯ was the reason I got them back with my level up, he mused. That was rather fortunate ¨C living blind, deaf, and without a sense of smell was a good way to end up dead before he even got truly started. That the penalty to his Mana Heart¡¯s capacity was not permanent was something that gave him hope: perhaps he¡¯d find a way to get rid of it later. He didn¡¯t really have any ideas as matters stood but since he¡¯d only encountered his first spell today, that wasn¡¯t really surprising. Getting answers to why his stats had taken such a leap was more important than theorising without any information. [Congratulations! You have reached Tier 2. In the process of becoming an Evolved Beast, you have improved in many ways. All previously enhanced parts of yourself have become more powerful and future enhancements to them will be more impactful. A single other enhancement will be chosen according to your fighting style.] [The enhancement chosen: Bones, lengthen.] So that was where all the extra stats on his page came from ¨C tiering up from 1 to 2. No wonder the warthog had such a large health pool. It made sense: since the warthog had probably enhanced mostly physical stats, it had clearly gained a lot more to them at the point of levelling up to level 10. And since he¡¯d done a lot of physical fighting and throwing his weight around, he supposed it made sense that the System had chosen to award him increased mass to do it more effectively. And it makes sense why I didn¡¯t feel the option to choose something else to enhance: the System chose for me. [Warning: at level 10 User ¡®Leo¡¯ has gained sufficient consciousness to challenge user ¡®Dominic Martin Cole¡¯ for control of the shared body] Yes, tell me something I didn¡¯t know, Dominic thought to himself sarcastically. Still, he supposed it was good to know that it was as a result of tiering up, not because he¡¯d absorbed the magical spell or something. I guess that¡¯s why Leo seemed smarter ¨C he is. Am I supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult? Leo¡¯s voice inquired, making Dominic jump again. I¡¯m going to have to get used to that, he reminded himself quietly before projecting so Leo could hear him. Take it as you like. Leo waited for a moment, perhaps to see if he was planning to continue. When he stayed silent, the lion mind settled back with a quiet grumbling grunt. There were only a few notifications left to go. [Soul Battle commenced. Reward: control of the shared body] [Warning: intruder into Soulspace: Dungeon Master] [Dungeon Master has made an offer: become his primary Guardian. Would you like to accept?] [Soul Battle has completed Winner: Dominic Martin Cole] [Results of Soul Battle: Damage sustained to soul from intruder¡¯s attack Consequence: -80% penalty to mana regeneration rate.] After reading a single other notification about having entered the dungeon, which had to have been when he re-entered, Dominic was up to date. Though the fact that he received that notification at all indicated he might be able to do the dungeon again, if he chose to. Dominic was a little surprised that there was so little about the attack he and Leo had suffered, and nothing about what Leo had done to offer him strength in the middle of it all. Why? He didn¡¯t know. It didn¡¯t seem like much good to be warned about an intruder but not actually see the message until the ¡®soul battle¡¯ was done. Ah well, he thought. I know it¡¯s possible now; I¡¯ll be more wary next time. We will be, growled Leo in his mind, this time not startling Dominic. The former-human couldn¡¯t help but feel warmth go through him at that. It was nice to think that, despite being in a foreign body, in a foreign environment, he wasn¡¯t doing it alone. We will, he agreed. Alright, let¡¯s go and get some more Prey Points for our next level up! And find some females? Leo replied hopefully. And find some females, Dominic agreed with amusement. Chapter 41: Lightning Discharge Of course, before he set off, there was just one more thing he wanted to do. He couldn¡¯t test Second Wind properly yet: not only did he not want to use his hail mary for no reason, but he actually couldn¡¯t activate it until his HP or SP were below 50%. However, that wasn¡¯t the only new ability he now had which needed testing. While he was reluctant to use mana when he had no idea how long it would take for him to regenerate it ¨C if the -80% penalty was any judge, too long ¨C he didn¡¯t think that trying out a magic spell in the middle of battle for the first time was a good idea. So he bit the bullet and resigned himself to wasting his first cast. Now, how do I activate this? he wondered, feeling Leo¡¯s attention sharpen. I hope this ¡®spell¡¯ is worth the risk and pain it took to absorb it, the lion groused at him. I don¡¯t appreciate the danger you unilaterally risked with our body. Dominic suddenly felt a bit bad, though wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d have done any differently even if he¡¯d thought about it. After all, magic! But he understood Leo being a bit disgruntled. If I¡¯m considering making a change which could kill us, I¡¯ll get your thoughts on it first, alright? Dominic replied soothingly. Assuming I have the time to ask you, that is, he added. After all, he would probably be risking his ¨C their ¨C lives regularly when getting into fights, but he wouldn¡¯t have time to check whether Leo was OK with whatever risky strategy he¡¯d just thought of. Though, he supposed he could ask the lion about his thoughts before getting into the fight. It¡¯s a start, Leo replied, still a bit grumpy. Now get on with it ¨C let¡¯s see what all the fuss is about. Are you in some sort of rush? asked Dominic with a little amusement. The lion sent him a growl of impatience. You know what I want. Quickly do this and then let¡¯s go hunting so we can grow a magnificent mane. Alright, alright, Dominic replied, more than a little amused now. Still, that matched with his own desires, so he wasn¡¯t going to argue. Turning back to the task, Dominic wondered how to initiate the spell. Since there hadn¡¯t been any instructions about it, he guessed that it would have to be fairly simple. Lightning Discharge? he tried, his mental voice sounding more uncertain than he¡¯d wanted it to be. Fortunately, it appeared to be that easy, as something immediately happened. Not what he¡¯d expected, though. He hadn¡¯t been sure what he had been expecting, actually, though he had hoped that he wouldn¡¯t have some sort of distracting messages flashing up before him. This¡­wasn¡¯t that. Instead, it seemed like time had stopped for a moment. The breeze which had been making his fur shift a little was gone, the sounds of birds and air movement in the savannah now silent. Even his heartbeat, so familiar to him that he ignored it most of the time, was paused. No, not completely paused. Slowed. There were sounds, he realised, but they were much lower and longer, like the sound waves had been stretched out. And he was still breathing, but very, very slowly. And then the moment ended. Time resumed as normal, the sounds meeting his ears so much louder than they had seemed before, his heartbeat seeming to pound heavily in his ears. He was suddenly more aware of the breeze ruffling his fur slightly, and the scents which met his nose. His sight, however, was a little busy. In front of him, semi-transparent, hung a slowly turning 3D line diagram of a lion. My body, I guess, he theorised, realising that he could make it turn faster or slower by focussing on it. The whole body was dark except for a white glow around the ends of his paws and in his mouth. My weapons? When he concentrated on his claws, he got the sense of being able to direct some mana to them, presumably to create the lightning effect. For the sake of testing, he tried concentrating on his teeth. He felt the same sense of being able to send mana their way as he¡¯d felt with his claws. Doing my teeth wouldn¡¯t be much good, though, he decided. I can¡¯t see them. Returning his focus to his claws, he tried directing a single unit of mana to coat his right forepaw. It felt¡­clingy. Like a single unit didn¡¯t want to move on its own, but instead wanted to come with all of its friends. Didn¡¯t realise magic would be like a load of teenage school girls, he remarked wryly to himself. If it ends up being as giggly as them, I¡¯m going to give spells a hard pass. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Looking at the wire diagram, the claws on his right forepaw were glowing a little brighter than the ones on his other paws so he thought he¡¯d succeeded, though might have ended up directing a few more than two mana points to the cause. Now, how do I withdraw from this? he wondered. There was no x in the corner to press, and his attempt to say ¡®exit¡¯ didn¡¯t work. Since I had to focus on my claws to put the mana into them, maybe I need to focus on something else to get out of this space? He tried focussing on the image being minimised; that didn¡¯t work. He tried focussing on seeing his claws in reality, but that just made his attention just narrow back down to looking at his claws and getting the option to add more mana. In the end, he hit upon the solution by accident ¨C simply willing the display to disappear. He would have thought that focussing on it being minimised would be sufficiently similar to wanting it to disappear, but apparently not¡­. Without the wire image cluttering up his vision now, he looked at his claws. There was little difference between his left and right forepaws, though his right set of claws looked a little brighter when he extended them. Leaning down towards them, he sniffed. There was the faintest hint of a smell Dominic recognised as ozone, but it was truly faint. This attack wouldn¡¯t be strong for sure, but that was what he¡¯d intended. Dominic tried to use the discharge on the rocks around him, but apparently they didn¡¯t count as an opponent. Wondering whether he¡¯d just be walking around with an electrical charge on his claws for a while, he was disappointed when his claws went back to normal only a short time afterwards. Clearly, this wasn¡¯t something he could prepare long in advance. A check of his status panel revealed that he¡¯d accidentally used three mana points instead of the one he¡¯d wanted. It also revealed that the mana points hadn¡¯t been returned to his pool, proving the ability to be a ¡®use it or lose it¡¯ type. Out of interest, Dominic decided to try to repeat the process, but be as quick as possible: he wasn¡¯t going to be able to take as much time in the middle of a fight as he just had. And if he couldn¡¯t prepare the spell ahead of time, he¡¯d have to do it in the middle of the fight. Lightning Discharge, he said again mentally. This time, instead of marvelling at time almost seeming to stop, he quickly focussed on his claw, attempting to put a single mana point into it. This time, he was more prepared for the clinginess of the mana, and thought he¡¯d managed to reduce the number of extra points which had come along for the ride. In the end, he¡¯d been quick enough that time had only just resumed its normal speed when he dismissed the image from his sight. Interesting, he mused. So there¡¯s some sort of slowing mechanism to help me quickly set up my spell. As long as I don¡¯t take too long over it, I shouldn¡¯t end up with any interruption to my fight. Though was it actually a ¡®slowing¡¯ mechanism? It would seem too overpowered if his ability could somehow slow time for everything around him. No, it seems more likely that it instead speeds up my perceptions or processing or something. That would make more sense, anyway. Especially since both Brain and Nervous System had been factors in the spell absorption. He was pleased to note when he consulted his status screen that he had only used two mana points that time. It still left him down a third in two miniscule attacks which wouldn¡¯t have caused much damage even if they¡¯d made contact with an opponent. Overall, it was pretty underwhelming. But Dominic wouldn¡¯t let himself be discouraged: once the mana to damage ratio improved, his impact would literally multiply. Plus, since the penalty to his mana heart was ¡®non-permanent¡¯, once he managed to remove that, he¡¯d have a lot more mana to play with. His co-passenger was a bit of a dampener, though. That¡¯s it? That¡¯s what we almost died for? Leo didn¡¯t sound at all impressed. We didn¡¯t ¡®almost die¡¯ for it, Dominic argued. It was only a 7% chance of that. Your little squiggles are meaningless; it felt like we had a whole lot of light-which-bites inside us. You mean ¡®fire¡¯? Dominic asked, bemused. Yes, it felt like we had ¡®fire¡¯ inside us and trying to kill us, Leo agreed. Well, I can¡¯t really argue with that, the former-human replied after a moment, lifting one paw to scratch at his head, only to realise when it got there that a lion¡¯s paw isn¡¯t really suited to that gesture. Anyway, this is just the beginning, I promise. But, nevermind that, he continued hastily before the back-seat driver could complain any more. How about we go hunting? The wave of agreement from Leo¡¯s side of things made the lion¡¯s opinion very clear. Emerging from the tunnel was a cautious affair. Leo didn¡¯t know whether anything had spotted his position and then decided to ambush the ambusher, hiding somewhere above the entrance. A bit like when he¡¯d learned to walk in this body, Leo offered him a number of memories and instincts. Following them, Dominic first breathed deeply through his mouth, the smells passing over a special area which offered him much more information about their sources than he¡¯d have thought himself capable of detecting. With Leo¡¯s help, he was actually able to decipher a fair number. There was the faint hint of hyena, but nothing fresh. It was perhaps the same pack which had attacked him, maybe coming back later to see if he was still there. When they hadn¡¯t found him, they must have given up without entering the tunnel since there was no trace of them in the tunnel itself. The wind was dry and hot, and carried with it all sorts of smells of vegetation and animals, some familiar, and some not. Wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, wild dogs, even the carrion smell of vultures. Kangaroos ¨C he knew what they smelled like now. There were also a fair number of things he didn¡¯t recognise, and he couldn¡¯t tell from here whether they were dangerous or not. He guessed he¡¯d have to find that out from experience ¨C hopefully not a fatal one. Then the wind shifted slightly and he detected something that sent a frisson of anticipation through him. If he¡¯d been capable of grinning, he would have. Perfect, he growled. Chapter 42: Laser-focus Following the trail wasn¡¯t as easy as Dominic had hoped ¨C he wasn¡¯t a blood-hound after all. Still, despite a few missteps, he found his prey. The little family were rooting around in the ground, making grunting noises every so often. Two parents with their little brood of five youngsters. Slightly bigger than the ones he had encountered before entering the dungeon, these warthogs weren¡¯t anywhere near the size of the guardian. Let¡¯s hope that this will be more of a success than either of those times, Dominic said to himself, doing the mental equivalent of crossing his fingers. No, he hadn¡¯t actually died to the warthog Guardian, but he¡¯d come damn close to it. As for his previous encounter with a warthog family, he¡¯d rather forget that. He¡¯d grown a lot since then, in all senses of the word. On the one hand, he wasn¡¯t going to be able to hide as well ¨C his new height made it more difficult to do so in all but the longest savannah grass. On the other, he was a lot faster and could keep going for longer. I can take over, if you¡¯re worried you¡¯ll miss again, suggested Leo, sounding rather eager. Dominic was about to refuse as an automatic reaction, but then hesitated. Why shouldn¡¯t Leo get to have a bit of fun? Assuming it was possible for him to pass over the reins. Or whatever you call it when you¡¯re controlling a lion body, not a horse. Doing his best to keep his mental argument from being ¡®heard¡¯ by his co-passenger, he debated the issue. I¡¯ve had all the ¡®fun¡¯ ¨C Leo¡¯s been trapped as an onlooker, was an argument for. What if I can¡¯t take back control afterwards? was an argument against. But why would Leo try to keep control ¨C he¡¯s already accepted me as the ¡®better protector¡¯. That was a good point. What if he felt like he was the better protector because I had conceded the hunt to him? That was also a good point¡­. If I gave control over to you ¨C not saying I will, or if it¡¯s even possible ¨C then would you keep it? This question was directed straight at Leo. Perhaps it was a little blunt to ask him outright, but Dominic felt like it might be a good strategy: Leo had been blunt enough with him in his own way. No, the lion responded. I have accepted you as the dominant party in our coalition. If I wish to challenge you on that, I will do so formally. I shall not try to sneak it away from you like a scavenger would steal my prey. Alright then, Dominic decided, making up his mind. Perhaps he¡¯d agreed a bit easily, but honestly he was interested to see a lion hunt from the front seat ¨C a proper one. Not his own human-turned-lion hunts. And he was a bit curious to see how Leo handled his new and improved body ¨C would he struggle the way Dominic had? Plus, while he definitely wanted to try out Lightning Discharge, he doubted he¡¯d get a moment in this fight: he reckoned that the longest bit would be the chase. Especially with his new damage rating for natural weaponry, now he got his claws or teeth into one of these wild pigs, he figured that it would be all over for them. Figuring out how to actually pass over control was another question. Not really understanding how his mind was different from his body in the first place made it a difficult conundrum. He¡¯d gained a sense of the limits of his mind from the addition of Leo, but how he could¡­switch places? That was less clear. It took a little bit of mental pushing and shoving, neither of them really knowing what they were doing. Then, like they were two bubbles or balloons which suddenly squeezed past each other, Dominic found himself in a very different position. He could still see out of his eyes, hear with his ears, heck, all of his senses were still connected. But suddenly¡­he couldn¡¯t do anything. His head turned; he hadn¡¯t turned it. His ears flicked around to catch a sound, but he wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d flicked them. His body crouched, yet he hadn¡¯t sent the command. Obviously, he knew what was happening ¨C somehow they had succeeded in their attempt and now it was Dominic who was the passenger in the body that Leo was driving. It was still very weird, though. As his head turned without his direction and his body went into motion, he felt like he should be motion sick. He wasn¡¯t ¨C being motion sick was a physical reaction, not a mental one ¨C but he still felt like this whole situation should provoke it. A sudden sense of sympathy rose in him at the thought that Leo had had to deal with this for the past however many days ¨C and the body in question had been his to start with! At the same time, he found he was able to read Leo¡¯s mind a lot more easily. Like all his bodily sensations were first being passed through Leo before coming to Dominic. I guess this is why Leo seems to know what I¡¯m thinking a lot more than I know what is in his mind. It was certainly interesting to see more of the lion¡¯s mind. Leo was hyper-focused, his eyes intent on the family ahead of him, but his senses also primed to detect any attack that might hit him from the back or sides. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The lion wasn¡¯t considering anything more than the hunt ahead of him. He wasn¡¯t considering failure, or even success. He wasn¡¯t comparing this hunt to others with warthogs or anything else. He wasn¡¯t imagining what the warthog¡¯s flesh would taste like. Instead, every iota of his focus was on the two adult warthogs, watching their reactions. It was on stealth, keeping quiet as he padded through the grass one silent step at a time. His body was hunched low, his head dipped. The moment one of the warthogs was alerted, Dominic knew that Leo would leap into a run, but for now, he stalked closer, and closer, narrowing the gap. It was a very different experience than Dominic had had. His own attempts to focus were put to shame, frankly. Even in the middle of a fight for his life, he¡¯d notice random things, or inane thoughts would come to his mind. This laser-like focus was something he hadn¡¯t even achieved in the corridors with traps where every foot-step could have led to his downfall. Literally. After a time, Dominic realised that his fascination with Leo¡¯s hunting prowess had knocked any fears or worries out of his mind. The difference between a creature who¡¯s been hunting since he could keep up with the pride and me, an accidental interloper in his body¡­. Settling back, as if making himself comfortable in a nice armchair, Dominic wished he had some popcorn to crunch as he watched the action unfold. ***** Leo was aware of the butterfly-like attention of the Intruder, but did not let it distract him. The warthogs were unaware of the presence of the predator only a few body-lengths away. Not close enough. Closer. Step, step, step, freeze. The female had raised her head. Head lowered. The male relaxed. The young relaxed. Step, step, step. Leo crept closer and closer, at some points only moving a few paces, at others covering a body length in a few seconds. Close enough. Shifting into a pounce, Leo was startled when he sailed over the warthog¡¯s head, his carefully calculated leap suddenly far too powerful. No matter. Whirling, he charged from a standstill, catching the other adult unaware: the fraction of time it had taken him to react was not enough for her to start to run. His teeth clamped down on her body and hot, delicious blood burst into his mouth. Ah, it¡¯s been too long! The thought was distracting. Too distracting. As was the mess of squiggles which appeared in front of his vision. The moments it took Leo to wonder why the squiggles were suddenly lacking all meaning, and to banish them from his vision meant it was too late to continue the chase. Leo had instinctively slowed down, and now the male warthog had taken off with its tail in the air. Its young had also scattered, but Leo would not attempt to hunt them down unless he were very hungry anyway: they were too much trouble for the couple of mouthfuls of meat on them. A single warthog was good enough for now. Slumping to the grass, he started happily chewing meat off the carcass. Uh, you know you can just Consume its body, right? It deals with hunger and thirst just as well as eating the body does. The annoying voice of the Intruder came in. Not Intruder any more, I suppose, Leo mused. We are part of the same coalition so¡­brother? Yes, brother. Decided, he returned to digging his teeth into the flesh of the pig and tearing it away in chunks. Good to hear it, his brother sounded¡­amused. That was what he called it. But don¡¯t you want to move on quickly? It¡¯s quicker to absorb the corpse and continue, than eat it straight. It was true, Leo realised. At the same time, he also realised that he didn¡¯t want to do that at all. The knowledge that he was making a choice, a conscious choice, was a little startling. So was the next thought that came to mind. I¡¯ve missed this, he realised with surprise ¨C longing was not something he¡¯d ever felt before. He¡¯d felt bereft when he had been turned out of his birth pride as a young male. When his sire had turned from a sometimes grumpy but always protective influence to a mass of threatening teeth and claws. When his mother and his aunts who had been the source of food, first milk and then meat, and comfort, a lick when he was hurt, suddenly started snarling and growling at him. Had even threatened to attack him when he tried to eat from the communal carcass. And then when his sire had been driven out and replaced by a coalition of males who drove Leo out for good. Yet he hadn¡¯t longed for them. Something inside him knew it had been time to leave. Time to find his own pride, one where he could sire many of his own cubs. One which he would only have to leave if another, stronger, male came along. But now, thanks to his contact with the hairless monkey, who had somehow become his brother, he realised that he could feel all sorts of different things. Amusement. Disgruntlement. Eagerness. Anticipation. Longing. Probably more besides. It was too much, Leo decided. That was another feeling from the hairless monkey: overwhelmed. The lion abruptly felt himself longing for a simpler time, but even that longing proved that it wasn¡¯t a simpler time. Instead, he focussed on the carcass in front of him. It would not take long to consume the female warthog, nor to lick himself clean. Longer than what his brother was suggesting, yes, yet he found himself not activating the more efficient method. Somehow he felt like he needed to tear the meat off the warthog carcass, then clean his fur with his tongue as he always had to help soothe his suddenly tumultuous world. Chapter 43: Pink Elephants Dominic waited impatiently for Leo to finish his meal. It was an unspoken agreement that they would swap over once he was done and Dominic wanted to find out what the warthog¡¯s core contained in terms of ability. He was eager to discover if his theory about Charge was correct. Since the warthog had only been level 2, worth a measly eleven Prey Points, he highly doubted that Overdrive was in the offing, even if his theory was proven to be true. It was interesting to realise that Leo couldn¡¯t read the messages when he was in control, though Dominic remained capable of it, even though he was in the ¡®back-seat¡¯ so to speak. It raised questions which pre-System scientists would probably have been interested in exploring. Post-System, however, he suspected that the answer was most likely ¡®magic¡¯ in some way. When Leo had finally consumed the last of the warthog¡¯s flesh, all that remained in front of him was a pile of gnawed bones. Licking himself clean, he finally agreed to swap back with Dominic. The swap was a little easier this time, both parties having a little more awareness of what to do in order to make it a success. Maybe we should practise this a little more, Dominic suggested thoughtfully when he¡¯d settled back into the lion¡¯s body. It might be useful to have the option of swapping minds at a given moment, but if it takes us this long each time, we¡¯ll lose any advantage we might have gained. I agree, Leo replied immediately. Dominic wasn¡¯t surprised ¨C if this experience had taught him nothing else, it was that Leo missed many of the visceral aspects of life as a lion. And Dominic could understand: although it had been interesting to watch Leo hunt, if he knew that he was destined to spend the rest of his life only as a vicarious observer, he¡¯d probably go mad. Certainly he was glad to be able to control the body once more. Taking a moment to stretch, he dug his claws into the earth even as he arched his back first upward and then downward. It felt good. The gorget still sat very nicely on his fur, though it was definitely a bit hot in the sun. As it was, the size meant that it didn¡¯t have too much impact on his body as a whole, but it still made him sweat a little underneath the larger pieces of leather. Thinking about his equipment reminded him of something else. Concentrating, a moment later his tail armour was in place and weighing down his hindquarters. He¡¯d have to tuck it away quickly if any threat approached as he still wasn¡¯t confident enough in its use to have it be anything but a disadvantage. Still, he might as well start conditioning his muscles a little more. Finally, he licked up the small marble which remained among the bones: the warthog¡¯s Beast Core. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Warthog Level 2 Ability: Charge] I was right! Dominic rejoiced. I can get that ability naturally. Well, sort of naturally, he added as a second-thought. Quickly checking his status screen poured a bit of cold water on his enjoyment: although gaining Charge was definitely a possibility, it was going to take a fair bit of time. Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (71% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed Powerful Kick (44% to level 1) Crushing Bite (30% to level 1) Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (3% to level 1) That¡¯s why it¡¯s a good idea to Consume the body, he pointed out to Leo with a bit of frustration. Then we earn more points towards abilities. Leo replied with a wordless sense of equal frustration to Dominic¡¯s, though seemed unable ¨C or unwilling ¨C to express why. Sighing, Dominic moved off. Oh well, he thought to himself. It¡¯s not the end of the world. And if I don¡¯t find enough warthogs to get Charge now, I might get it later when they¡¯ve had time to increase in level. He sniffed the air, but there were no particularly interesting scents on the wind. Dominic hesitated for a moment, unsure which way to go. Why not take a nap? Leo suggested. Our belly has meat in it; it¡¯s hot. There is little prey at this point in the day at the best of times. Since the sun was almost at its zenith and the heat was becoming overwhelming even for Dominic¡¯s body, despite its perfect adaptation to this environment, the human-turned-lion was easily convinced. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Finding some shade underneath an unfamiliar-looking tree, he slumped to the ground and decided to follow Leo¡¯s suggestion to have a siesta. Not that he was feeling particularly tired ¨C though he could sleep if he wanted ¨C but more because he reckoned that Leo was right in saying that there wouldn¡¯t be many other animals moving around in the coming hours. Certainly, that had been true of the African savannah; whether it had been true of the environments the kangaroos and trodils came from, Dominic didn¡¯t know. Whether pre-System rules would hold any sway in a post-System world, was, of course, another consideration entirely. Closing his eyes, Dominic prepared to take a cat nap, confident in his ability to wake up and react to danger if necessary. The buzz of insects filled the air, the heat rising still more as the sun finally reached the height of its arc. Dominic drifted in and out of sleep, varying between waking dreams and true dreams. Finally, he woke more properly as the temperature finally started to dip a little, the sun already a good way towards the horizon. Despite not having fully slept, Dominic felt refreshed and alert. Still, he regretted the loss of time. That¡¯s one good thing that can be said about the dungeon, he mused thoughtfully. Thanks to the constant ¡®sun¡¯ and temperature, there was nothing to make the animals inside want to sleep. He knew that Leo wanted to find a pride to conquer, but he also wanted to grow a mane first. That dungeon was really good for my levelling progress; I wonder if there are any more places- The thought cut itself off as a sharp pain went through his head, whiting out his vision while it held him in sway. When he came back to full awareness, he couldn¡¯t have said how much time had gone past. Not too long, judging by the sun, but probably at least a few minutes. Fortunately, despite how vulnerable he had been in that time, nothing had taken advantage of him. What was that? complained Leo grumpily even as Dominic asked himself the same question. I don¡¯t know. I was just thinking about dungeons and wondering if there were any more¡­out¡­there. Dominic trailed off as he suddenly realised he knew the answer. Wait, how do I know the answer about many different Places- -of Power were to be found near dungeons. There were hundreds of dungeons in different places which had been planted around the new world, each given a different amount of starting resources and set at least a certain distance away from any other. The dungeon masters were the consciousness in control of the dungeon, and were spirits which had come from a number of different sources, recently deceased inhabitants of the amalgamated worlds being one of them. All dungeons started at an H-rating and needed to grow in power to increase that. A higher rating would mean more options of dangers they could offer explorers, more power they could offer their contracted Beasts, and a greater size. Dungeons gained power from sapients entering and completing the task the dungeon had set, as well as from if the sapient fell within the dungeon. The more challenging the task, the more the dungeon gained from the sapient¡¯s success. Dungeons were located near Places of Power, and one of these would offer a dungeon a massive leap in power if it managed to gain sole control over its local Place. However, it was no surety that a dungeon would manage to achieve this: Places of Power weren¡¯t only beneficial to dungeons. If a Humanoid or Beast gained control over the Place, they would also gain a power boost and only one claim could be made on a Place of Power at any time. How do I know all of this? Dominic asked, finally managing to interrupt the almost continuous stream of information which was passing through his mind. Leo was silent, seeming just as baffled as Dominic was. Wary of accidentally setting off the information overload again, Dominic prodded mentally at the topic, wondering what would set it off again. He thought about dungeons, about dungeon masters, about places of- -Power had no real standardised appearance. Some were above the ground; some were below. Some looked like a natural formation; some looked more like the abandoned remains of an ancient civilisation. However, all of them had an unmistakable aura which identified them as somewhere unusual. Dominic pulled himself free once more, a bit freaked out now. Is this happening to you too? he asked Leo, feeling more than a little shaky at how easily the information stream had taken over his thoughts a second time. Yes, it is, Leo replied, feeling just as discomforted by the experience as Dominic was. I cannot seem to stop it ¨C the information simply pours into my mind. It seems to be triggered by¡­pink elephants! Pink elephants? Leo sounded completely confused now. Dominic didn¡¯t blame him. Not actually, pink elephants. It¡¯s just¡­if you say don¡¯t think of pink elephants, then you will definitely think of pink elephants, right? Why would elephants be pink? From my experience, they are grey. Or brown, if they have recently covered themselves in mud. Dominic rubbed at his forehead, that gesture at least still carrying over to his leonine form. Just¡­go with it, alright? So, instead of saying don¡¯t think of pink elephants, instead say to think of grey elephants. Then you won¡¯t think of pink ones. ¡­why should we not think of pink ones? In fact, why do we wish to think of elephants at all? Though we have grown stronger than before our joining, we are not yet strong enough to take on an elephant alone. That¡¯s not what I¡­I wasn¡¯t suggesting¡­. Dominic was temporarily speechless. OK, forget about the elephants. Just, there is a certain word that seems to trigger the information download, so we must make sure to avoid it. Which word is that? Places. Wait, no, I didn¡¯t want- Gaining control over one of these Places required either sole dominion over the territory on which it was placed, or undisputed leadership over the dominant species which controlled said territory. If the territory is ever lost, control over the Place would be lost with it. Claiming a Place offers both the claimant and its followers (if any) a number of bonuses, relating to both the claimant¡¯s path and its intentions. Gah! Dominic exclaimed wordlessly, wrenching his mind away once more. I think I understand your ¡®pink elephants¡¯, Leo said thoughtfully a moment later. Good, Dominic replied a little grumpily. So let us not think of - I mean, let¡¯s try not to think about pink elephants, OK? Very well, Leo agreed, thankfully. Dominic tentatively touched the information that he had gained from the sudden download. Fortunately, it seemed like recalling previously learnt information wasn¡¯t enough to trigger the forced stream of consciousness again. It did, however, raise another ¨C important ¨C question. The origin of this knowledge. Chapter 44: In Agreement Where did all this information come from, anyway? Dominic wondered, unintentionally projecting it to Leo. I¡­. Leo hesitated. There was that moment with the creature of the stone cave. The¡­dungeon, I believe you call it. Something happened then. Perhaps this is linked. Dominic would have frowned were his face capable of such a movement. What are you referring to? he asked, confused. When you bit the creature, something entered us. Do you not recall? No¡­ Dominic said, trailing off as his mind went back to that time. His confusion deepened as he realised that that moment was a blur to his memories. What happened? he asked himself. I was fighting against the pain to get closer to the creature¡­and then the creature was gone. It was alarming, actually. So I bit the dungeon master? he asked Leo. Yes. With the strength I offered you, I was unable to move, but you were. You closed in on it and then leaned down and bit it. I did not see exactly what happened, but I felt the rush of¡­something. A moment later, the creature vanished and we were released from the pain which afflicted us. Now Leo had said it, Dominic was starting to remember. The memories were vague at first, but became clearer with each of the lion¡¯s words. He was right ¨C Dominic remembered feeling like he was moving in slow motion as he leaned down to bite at the dungeon master. He recalled feeling surprised that the creature didn¡¯t do any more than try to lean out of his way. And then there was the bite and the rush of¡­the rush of knowledge which had entered him. Dominic felt the headache which had started to fade come back full-force as he remembered that. Knowledge about dungeons; about¡­pink elephants. With that knowledge came excitement. He was pretty sure that the dungeon he had just left hadn¡¯t expanded enough to gain its own ¡®pink elephant¡¯ under its control; that meant it was available for the taking! We need to find it, he told Leo eagerly. While this new knowledge doesn¡¯t tell me exactly what a ¡®pink elephant¡¯ is, or what benefits it offers exactly, I know enough to know that we need to make it ours as soon as possible. I agree, Leo told him, though without the same urgency in his mental voice. But gaining control over it is one thing; keeping control is another. True, Dominic replied, his fervour fading a little. But you know what would make such a task a lot easier? Leo asked leadingly. Dominic¡¯s focus sharpened and he answered at the same time as Leo responded to his own question. A pride, they both chorused, Leo¡¯s tone pointed, Dominic almost sighing it. But why don¡¯t we at least try to find it, Dominic suggested. Then we know where to bring this pride, once we¡¯ve found one. Heck, we might even run across some lionesses in the search for the ¡®pink elephant¡¯. Leo seemed to consider his words for a bit. You make an unusually reasonable point here, he allowed. Don¡¯t be so enthusiastic, Dominic replied sarcastically, more than a little stung at the implication that he didn¡¯t always have a point. Leo¡¯s focus turned more pointed again, like he would be raising an eyebrow in askance at the former-human. Which of us, exactly, thought that triggering an almost certain trap in the second room of the stone¡­dungeon was a good idea? Hey, Dominic objected. I didn¡¯t know it was a trap! he pointed out, then realised that that didn¡¯t help him sound any smarter. Besides, I needed to see what would happen. And it turned out fine in the end, didn¡¯t it, he told the lion defensively. Leo¡¯s own sense of disapproval hadn¡¯t budged at all during his explanation. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. However, as I said, Leo continued after a long moment, in this situation, I find myself in agreement with your idea. Now, do you have any idea of where to find the location of this ¡®pink elephant¡¯? Dominic hesitated for a long moment, trying to tentatively search for the information without triggering the uncontrollable information download. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t completely successful. The presence of a Place of Power is characterised by unusual abundance and greater vibrancy of the otherwise common natural features of the area. For example, a Place of Power in a forest may be surrounded by unusually large trees and thick undergrowth, creatures which have made this place their home being larger and stronger variants than their levels would otherwise indicate. An underground Place of Power, however, might be indicated by the presence of thick veins of powerful metals or magically potent crystalline formations. Aaand we¡¯re out, Dominic told Leo with relief as he managed to wrench his mind once more out of the stream of knowledge. Even though it had now happened multiple times, it was still discombobulating to feel one¡¯s mind being dragged along like a piece of driftwood along a river. He¡¯d been tempted to let the information just run its course, but feared what might happen to his mind if he stopped fighting the flow. Or his body while he was trapped unmoving within it. No, bite-sized chunks seemed to be a safer way of doing things. So, if we just search around for an area with particularly large or vibrant creatures, or unusual numbers of them, we¡¯ll have probably found the¡­pink elephant. What if it is underground? Leo questioned. Dominic hesitated. Then we may have lost some time in the search. But if we run across the markings of a pride or manage to kill enough creatures to level up in the course of searching, then we¡¯ve gained, right? I suppose, Leo replied, though he didn¡¯t sound necessarily enthused. Unless you¡¯ve got a better idea. Now it was Dominic¡¯s turn to sound pointed. We can follow your suggestion for now, Leo answered graciously. Glad that¡¯s settled, then, the former-human said, doing his best to remember that they needed to get along with each other if they wanted to survive this. Pushing himself once more to his feet, Dominic padded back towards the dungeon he¡¯d come from earlier that day; not knowing how far away the¡­pink elephant would be from the dungeon itself, he figured he might as well go in circles around it until he found one of the things he was looking for. ***** What is that?! Dominic asked himself as he crouched in a protective bush, hoping that the behemoth ahead of him wouldn¡¯t spot his hiding place. And a moment after thinking that, he froze, hoping that his mental mention of ¡®place¡¯ wouldn¡¯t prompt another information download at the worst possible time. Fortunately for him, it seemed like the trigger only worked if he was also thinking about dungeons at the same time. Sudden unexpected moment of concern over, he returned his attention to the creature ahead. It¡¯s not an elephant, I¡¯m pretty sure, he thought. No, it¡¯s not an elephant, that¡¯s for certain, Leo agreed, his sudden intrusion after hours of silence making Dominic jump but not as much as before ¨C he was starting to get used to the idea that he wasn¡¯t alone in his head anymore. Me, myself, and I have had an addition, he thought absently before focussing on what Leo actually said. Do you know what it is? Dominic asked Leo hopefully ¨C he wasn¡¯t, after all, an expert on the African savannah. Just because he hadn¡¯t heard of the creature didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t from Earth. Heck, maybe it was just a creature which hadn¡¯t made it onto the list of the Big Five and thereby world-wide fame. Then again, he considered, I would have thought that a creature the size of an elephant ¨C or larger, even ¨C would be famous on its own merits¡­. No, it is unfamiliar to me, Leo replied, confirming Dominic¡¯s fear. He was pretty sure that an African elephant was considered the current largest land mammal too, so that ruled out this creature being from some other continent. I guess we¡¯ve met another of the new creatures. Dominic wished that he had the ability to see the species of a creature upon first looking at it, but unfortunately even though he¡¯d tried ¡®information¡¯ on it, nothing had come up. Perhaps there was another System command, specific to fauna, but he didn¡¯t know it. More likely it was a special ability which some animals or humans would have access to. He also couldn¡¯t see the health bar of the creature until he attacked it, but he wasn¡¯t going to be stupid and imagine that despite its clear armour and bulk, it had a small health pool. No, if anything was a moving tank, this thing was. With skin that looked like it had to be several inches thick, a height of at least three of Dominic¡¯s body lengths, a length of almost as much, and a width that put elephants to shame, solid was an understatement. It had four thick and stumpy legs; clearly it was no speedster, but Dominic was still impressed that they could bear its weight. As it turned a bit, he got a better view of its face. More like a rhino than an elephant, but with a long neck that was almost like a giraffe though much thicker, the creature was an obvious herbivore. Not that that was in any way reassuring ¨C at least three of the animals on Southern Africa¡¯s list of the most deadly were herbivores, arguably four. And the number one spot belonged to the hippo. With the sharp sweeping horns at the top of the creature¡¯s head, it was clear this one had some offensive options on top of its clear defensive advantages. Dominic briefly entertained the idea of attacking this creature ¨C surely the Prey Points and ability offered would be pretty awesome. Before Leo could tell him it was stupid, though, he dismissed the thought. Perhaps once he had numbers on his side it might be a possibility. For now, it would be suicide. Exercising the better part of valour once more, Dominic crept back through the bush and then used it as cover until he could hide behind a rock ridge. Once confident the creature wouldn¡¯t spot him, even if it lifted its head fully, he stood more upright again. It was getting late ¨C the sun almost completely below the horizon ¨C and so far the journey had been pretty fruitless. He hadn¡¯t found any traces of other lions, he hadn¡¯t seen anything that would indicate a¡­pink elephant, and he hadn¡¯t managed to catch anything to eat. Although he¡¯d run across a few gazelle and another family of warthogs, he had been unsuccessful in all his hunts. The gazelle were too wary and too fast, even with his own speed upgrades. It was a shame ¨C he was pretty sure that they would offer some sort of boosting ability for speed. As for the family of warthogs, while he¡¯d tried to copy Leo¡¯s strategy, he found that he was far clumsier in its execution than the lion and the warthogs had taken flight when they¡¯d spotted him too soon. When, a few minutes later, he spotted a potential target, he immediately dropped to the ground, not wanting to spook his prey. While tempted to let Leo take over again, he decided that he needed the hunting practice himself. Let¡¯s see how this goes, he told himself, nerves making him feel a little jittery. Chapter 45: Ambush Ahead of Dominic were a small herd of bad-tempered, striped horses: the instantly recognisable African residents known as zebras. While he didn¡¯t know exactly what level this group of herbivores were now, he wouldn¡¯t take them lightly even if they¡¯d only gained a couple of levels: pre-System, a zebra could seriously injure a lion. He suspected that the System would have only made them more dangerous. The lead male may defend his herd, Leo warned Dominic. The former-human sent a quick thanks to his passenger and then focused on what he could see. The ten or so zebras hadn¡¯t yet noticed his presence, he was pretty sure. Although they were alert, they didn¡¯t seem to be watching his area in particular. Plus, more than half of the herd¡¯s heads were down and eating the grass at any point in time; if he¡¯d been spotted, he suspected that all of them would have been watching for him to move. Dominic was thankful for his ally: the darkness. Zebras no doubt had good night vision, but he doubted that it was as good as in the day. Plus, his luck was in because he was downwind of the striped horses ¨C if he hadn¡¯t been, they would have probably moved off before he even found them. Zebras sure knew the smell of lions. Now, how to choose his victim? Lions usually picked off the sick, old, very young, or otherwise weak members of the herd. It was logical: they wouldn¡¯t move as fast as healthy animals, so the hunting lion had a better chance of making a successful kill. Dominic, however, was trying to earn Prey Points for levelling up purposes. He suspected that the easier the kill, the fewer points he¡¯d earn. Certainly when he accidentally killed a joey while hunting kangaroos, he hadn¡¯t earned any points for it. The biggest zebra was likely to be the highest level, and thereby worth the greatest number of points. It would also be the most challenging to hunt and he risked wasting his time on another unsuccessful chase. Huffing out a sigh, Dominic decided to be greedy. Yes, he might risk losing the target completely, but he¡¯d rather set his sights too high than too low. There was no guarantee that he¡¯d succeed with the weakest member of the herd either. Any hunt had its chances improved by starting closer, though, so Dominic started creeping towards his target. Trying to take inspiration from Leo¡¯s sheer focus, Dominic tried to keep his mind on the task, not allowing it to divert onto the myriad other tangents that were presented. Like wondering what abilities a zebra might have. Or how a post-System zebra might differ from a pre-System one. Or how many Prey Points it might be worth. Those were questions which were unhelpful to ask: if he was successful in his hunt, he¡¯d have an answer. Yet allowing his focus to be distracted by the questions might mean that he failed and so then the question was worthless. Creeping forward, one careful step at a time, Dominic closed the gap between himself and the biggest zebra he could identify. As he got closer, the zebras seemed to realise that something was wrong. They shuffled a bit, their heads lifting more often to stare around themselves suspiciously. Dominic¡¯s progress slowed to half-speed. His muscles were tensed, ready to charge the moment the zebras got spooked. Closer. Closer. Closer. Freeze. The biggest zebra was staring right at him. Its nostrils widened as it tested the scents on the wind. Dominic knew the moment when it detected something, its head shooting up and eyes going wide in alarm. Not wasting a moment, he broke straight into a full out run, closing the distance between him and the zebra within a second. He pounced, aiming for the zebra¡¯s throat. Unfortunately for him, the zebra was almost as quick on the uptake as Dominic had been, and it dodged to one side, also exploding into a frantic gallop. Dominic landed and used the momentum to push off to the side so he was following the zebra, practically on its heels ¨C a dangerous place to be. The zebra jinked this way and that, desperately trying to throw the lion off its trail. Dominic felt a wave of excitement hit him as he realised that with his new speed increases, he was way faster than the zebra. Only the fact that the zebra was executing sharp turns on a regular basis meant that it hadn¡¯t yet been caught. Of course, it may easily have more stamina than he did, even with his improvements to that stat, so he needed to end this quickly. It had been a bare few seconds since the chase started but his stamina bar was already dropping fast. His eyes narrowing, he focused on predicting when the zebra was next going to turn and in which direction. Noticing the bunching of certain muscles, he felt pretty sure it was about to turn to the left. Taking a chance, he turned himself a little to the left first. Leaping forwards, he activated Quick Strike. Fortunately, his gamble paid off: as the zebra twisted to the left, it was blind-sided by a leonine blur. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Hitting it straight in its neck, Dominic quickly dug his claws into the flesh, embracing it in a mocking semblance of a tender embrace. Digging his teeth into the throat, he bit down hard, holding on doggedly. His back feet dangling, he struggled to bring them up and out of the way of the zebra¡¯s hooves. He didn¡¯t entirely succeed, but in the attempt, he raked his claws over the zebra¡¯s forequarters, no doubt impeding its ability to move. His stamina was getting low: this position was extremely tiring, especially following the full-speed charge of before. However, the zebra was tiring quicker. Already it was stumbling, its restricted airways not allowing it the oxygen it needed to keep moving. By the time it fell to the ground, Dominic was on the verge of needing to let go himself. On the ground, though, he was able to use his body weight to keep the zebra¡¯s head down, freeing most of his muscles from the task. Releasing his teeth for a moment, he bit deeper into the zebra¡¯s neck before it could start to recover. Its airway now completely blocked, it wasn¡¯t long before a message flashed up in front of Dominic. [You have killed Plains Zebra (Basic Beast level 2)] [You have earned 15 PP] Dominic let the zebra¡¯s throat go, a bit of disappointment running through him. 15 Prey Points was better than the warthog for sure, but it wasn¡¯t as much as he¡¯d hoped considering how much more dangerous a zebra could be than a warthog. Is it because of my level? he wondered. When he¡¯d only been level 1, the level 0 kangaroos had given him 10 Prey Points each, and they had been easy kills. Now, even a level 2 zebra was only giving him a pitiful 15 Prey Points, far less than even the level 1 trodils had offered. Was it because herbivores didn¡¯t offer as many points as carnivores in general, or because, now being Tier 2, he was suffering some sort of penalty to points offered? There was also another problem to his strategy, Dominic decided, looking around the now-empty area. Prey animals are too nervous. It had been the same with the warthogs and gazelle. Success or failure, he didn¡¯t have a second chance since as soon as he¡¯d attacked, all the group members had scattered. It was no good for grinding ¨C he spent far more time looking for the animals than it was worth. Especially not for a measly eleven or fifteen Prey Points. He¡¯d still need to hunt warthogs, though ¨C he wanted Charge. Or maybe I can find something else which has that ability, something which offers more Prey Points or is easier to catch than a warthog. Almost sighing, Dominic missed the dungeon and its easily aggro¡¯d mobs. He hadn¡¯t had to go chasing things down there. Looking at the zebra he¡¯d caught, Dominic was about to Consume the body when a thought occurred. I need to gain Prey Points, right? But my issue is that anything I attack just runs away. And that herbivores at least don¡¯t seem to be worth many Prey Points. What if I could change that? After all, what normally happened in the savannah? Why were cheetahs for one at a disadvantage despite their higher success rate on hunts when compared to lions? Because there were always scavengers around, ready and willing to snatch another animal¡¯s prey. True, Leo offered, sending over a few memories of himself as a nomadic lion, making a kill only for a group of hyenas or, once, wild dogs to swoop in and drive him off it. Outnumbered and unwilling to court death over a kill, Leo had had to slink away, hungry. But I do not understand how this is stopping you from eating: if anything, it should be making you start tearing at the flesh immediately. Because I¡¯m thinking that this could be an opportunity rather than a threat, Dominic responded to his leonine passenger. An opportunity? Leo seemed confused. Yes. Look, we need more kills to earn Prey Points, yes? And predators seem to offer more Prey Points than herbivores, yes? Yes, Leo responded a little cautiously, still not following his logic. What if we could lure a group of hyenas or wild dogs with this zebra carcass, then kill them when they get here? Dominic felt the sense of realisation creep over the lion¡¯s mind. An ambush, he replied thoughtfully. Risky, he continued after a moment. There is a reason why I always ended up yielding my kill to the group. I know, Dominic agreed, but the potential benefits are worth it, I think. Perhaps, Leo responded a little dubiously. Dominic suspected that it wasn¡¯t something the lion would have thought of doing himself, but that he¡¯d seen enough of Dominic¡¯s apparently hare-brained schemes to give him the benefit of the doubt. Needless to say, Dominic was planning on setting things up so that this scheme had the best possible chance of succeeding given his current situation. That started with choosing his battleground. Looking around the area, Dominic decided on the ¡®stage¡¯ for his ¡®performance¡¯. Remembering how effective the pile of rocks had been in his penultimate fight with the trodils, he did his best to recreate the area. Dragging the zebra carcass over to an outcropping on the side of the slope was a bit of a difficult task ¨C he didn¡¯t know how much the zebra weighed, but it was a lot. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to finish this carcass by himself if he¡¯d eaten it normally anyway. That said, he did take a bit of time to consume some of the zebra meat, digging into its belly. Partly it was because he figured he might as well completely assuage his hunger and thirst while he could. The other part was that the more open wounds on the zebra, the more effective it would be as a trap. With the scene set, Dominic hid in a nearby thorn bush and cleaned the blood from his claws and around his muzzle. And now we wait, he told his ever-present companion. Chapter 46: Resorel Just before Dominic had slipped into hiding in the thorn bush, he¡¯d taken a few moments to hook the Beast Core out of the zebra¡¯s brain with a claw. Fortunately it was near the spinal cord, so he hadn¡¯t had to go digging too far in the striped equine¡¯s skull. Now he crunched it down and looked at the message that flashed up. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Plains Zebra Level 2 Ability: Powerful Kick] ''Powerful Kick, Dominic mused. Isn¡¯t that the same ability I got from the kangaroos? Quickly checking his status, he felt like smiling. Powerful Kick had previously got up to 44% progress towards level 1, and was now sitting at 49%. Good. Looks like I don¡¯t have to hunt down more ¡®roos to complete that ability: enough zebras will do the job for me. Actually thinking about it, arguably he might find a better animal to hunt than warthogs. ¡®What animals do you think might have Charge as an ability?¡¯ he asked his mental co-resident. The lion mind clearly considered the issue for a few moments. ¡®I believe that what you call elephants ¨C the grey ones, mind ¨C are candidates for such an ability. Equally, the large creatures with sharp horns emerging from their heads might have it. Rhinos, is that right?¡¯ ¡®Sounds right, by your description,¡¯ Dominic commented. ¡®Rhinos, then. Beyond that, there are large creatures who spend much time in the rivers.¡¯ He sent an image Dominic¡¯s way. ¡®Oh, hippos,¡¯ Dominic realised. ¡®But aren¡¯t they quite dangerous?¡¯ ¡®Very,¡¯ Leo emphasised. ¡®I do not suggest that we attempt to take any of these beasts alone: not even our recent enhancements would allow us to do that without significant risk. Far more than the ability is worth.¡¯ ¡®I take your point,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®Another reason to have a pride then, right?¡¯ He felt whole-hearted agreement from Leo¡¯s side of things. A noise broke through their musings: the scavengers of the savannah hadn¡¯t taken very long to notice the smell of a recent kill. A chirping came through the grass. Shoulder high on Dominic, it served to disguise the creatures until they came close enough for it not to provide cover anymore. When they did emerge, he found himself tensing. These weren¡¯t what he¡¯d expected. They weren¡¯t hyenas or wild dogs. They weren¡¯t even trodils, which actually would have been quite a welcome sight, all things considered. While not having a whole pack of hyenas descend was a good thing, the fact that he didn¡¯t recognise the creatures was fraught with risks. They must have been from another of the planets which had been combined with Earth; maybe even the same planet as the trodils. Not knowing how dangerous they were, Dominic resolved to watch for a bit before risking his position being discovered. He wasn¡¯t bloody, and these creatures shouldn¡¯t yet know the smell of lion, so as long as he stayed quiet and still, they shouldn¡¯t detect him before he was ready to move. Shouldn¡¯t: there was no way of accounting for bad luck, of course. The creatures were about the size of a pomeranian, though not half as fluffy. Their heads were odd, more avian than he¡¯d have expected: the mouth was a toothed beak; the eyes were beady. However, they didn¡¯t appear to have feathers, their skin leathery-looking and sparsely covered by hair. Nor did they appear to have wings. In the dark Dominic was only able to see black and white so he wasn¡¯t capable of noticing any colours. From the differing shades of grey, however, he suspected that there were some. Their bodies were lithe, not particularly heavy, and their tails were surprisingly long. For control of their direction when moving fast? Dominic wondered, remembering the function of his own appendage. More joined with every few seconds that passed until there was a group which had to number more than twenty individuals. Perhaps even thirty. The creatures were hesitant at first, milling around a good few feet from the carcass, clearly wondering whether it was safe to approach. They made an odd chirping sound, interspersed with a harsher caw when one fended off another which was getting too close. The boldest took a run at the corpse, its tail being shown to good use as it jackknifed backwards before actually touching the carcass. Emboldened by its successful approach, others ventured closer. Bit by bit, they made strafing runs closer and closer until finally the boldest were ripping chunks of flesh away before they darted backwards. And then they weren¡¯t darting backwards at all. Clearly, the creatures had decided that whatever had made the carcass was long-gone and it was safe enough to feed. Dominic decided to wait for now. The group was still on alert, though they were starting to relax into squabbling amongst themselves for the best morsels. The more relaxed they were, the better for his purposes. Plus, if he waited until their bellies were heavy with meat, they might be less reactive and slower. Since these creatures clearly relied on speed, that would only give advantage to the lion. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡®What do you think, Leo?¡¯ he asked, wondering if the more-experienced hunter had any insights to share. ¡®They don¡¯t look all that dangerous, right?¡¯ ¡®Be wary of the power of numbers,¡¯ the lion warned, but then agreed. ¡®That said, I do not think that these creatures pose too much threat to us. However, that may not be as much of an advantage as we might wish, if your theory of lower threat meaning lower Prey Points is correct.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic admitted. ¡®Though if I can kill a group of them, it will be better than the almost fruitless hunts we¡¯ve had so far today even so.¡¯ The lion wordlessly agreed and they settled into watching. Taking advantage of their position as observer, Dominic tried to make a note of what kind of fighters these new creatures were. They snapped at each other, their slightly over-long necks allowing them to come at odd angles to Dominic¡¯s eyes. Where they bit, they ripped flesh, though their skin seemed to be quite tough from how small the resulting wounds were. So, sharp teeth, reasonable defences in terms of their skin, fast movements, and the ability to attack at unusual angles. Got it. Seeing that the furor seemed to have died down a bit around the corpse, Dominic guessed that the creatures were starting to become satiated. It¡¯s time, he said to himself, though Leo sent a sense of agreement in response. Moving slowly, making sure not to make a single rustle or crack as he slipped closer to the edge of the thorn bush, Dominic prepared himself. Then in a single leap, he jumped into the middle of the writhing mass of bodies. Not wasting a single moment of his opponents¡¯ confusion, he started swiping and biting around him, using Quick Strike like it was going out of fashion. Within a few moments, the first death notice flashed up. [You have killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 17 PP] Dominic only glanced at it briefly to note the creature¡¯s name, level, and the number of Prey Points he was getting from it, then mentally swiped it away and continued his attack. That was the last of his freebies, though. Suddenly he was taking damage, pain shooting through him as the resorels got in their own attacks. The damage wasn¡¯t terrible ¨C he could see that each one was only taking a sliver from his health bar at a time ¨C but even slivers mounted up. And it looked like these creatures were experts at overwhelming their opponents. Still, that worked out pretty well for Dominic. It meant that they didn¡¯t turn tail and run, which was exactly what he wanted. When he¡¯d lost a noticeable bit of health, he even started consuming the bodies around him. Funnily enough, he accidentally triggered Consume on the zebra carcass itself, the fall jolting the number of resorels still balanced on top of it. Dominic was a little surprised it had worked; apparently despite being more than half-eaten and having lain around for a good half an hour or so, it still counts as ¡®my¡¯ kill. Or maybe Consume worked on any carcass he came across; he hadn¡¯t checked it yet. Bringing his mind back to the situation at hand from the tangent it had wandered to, he continued killing and absorbing corpses, keeping his health and stamina at a very healthy level, despite the attacks. Then, suddenly there was a roar from the darkness around. Dominic tensed, feeling instinctive fear going through him. Everyone froze for a moment. ¡®Is that-¡¯ he started when Leo cut him off. ¡®It¡¯s not another of our kind, no,¡¯ he replied, his mental voice tight and wary. The resorels abruptly scattered. ¡®I¡¯d suggest we-¡¯ Leo started even as Dominic turned to run, his mind in complete agreement with his passenger. Unfortunately, they were both cut off. A creature approached too quickly for Dominic to do more than turn. When he saw it, he froze in place again, though this time from surprise. It was big. About twice as tall as Dominic was ¨C and that was according to his current height. The creature would probably have been head and shoulders above even his human form. And head and shoulders indeed ¨C the creature reminded him of a big, aggressive gorilla. If a gorilla had a hyena-style muzzle and vicious beady eyes, that is. When it moved, it used its oversized front arms to swing forward, like a gorilla indeed. Its forepaws weren¡¯t as hand-like as a gorilla¡¯s, though they still curled up when planted on the ground, and were tipped with nasty-looking claws. The creature¡¯s whole body was covered with a thin layer of spotted fur, and its teeth gleamed white in the moonlight. Then the moment where the two predators stared at each other was over. The hyena-gorilla roared once again, the sound just as bone-chilling up close as it had been from a distance. This time, though, Dominic didn¡¯t freeze. While perhaps the most sensible option would have been to run away, Dominic found that it was a bare after-thought. Instead, a sense of¡­pride rose. He was the King here, not this strange hybrid animal. He¡¯d gone through too many fights and scary situations to be frightened off by a mean-looking opponent. Instead of running, a snarl rumbled in his chest and he bared his own fangs at the creature, a roar ripping forth to challenge the other beast¡¯s own. He started circling the hyena-gorilla, yellow eyes skipping over the other creature¡¯s form, looking for weaknesses. The hyena-gorilla lunged at Dominic but he easily skipped out the way, returning with a testing swipe to the creature¡¯s skin. The hyrilla¡¯s health bar barely budged ¨C unsurprising. Clearly this creature had a good health pool. ¡®Maybe we should run,¡¯ Leo suggested, a little worriedly. ¡®We do not wish to be badly injured or even killed by this creature. Surely we are faster than it?¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s just try,¡¯ Dominic says with determination, his eyes fixed on the monstrous creature. ¡®The warthog guardian was bigger than this.¡¯ Dodging its next swipe, he leapt beyond it, whirling around to slash at its backside with his teeth. Not daring to open himself up to a counter-attack by fixing his teeth into its flesh properly, he instead leapt back again. The hyrilla¡¯s counter-swing missed him by an inch. ¡®We needed a challenge; this is a challenge. If the worst happens, we have the health potion.¡¯ He felt reluctant agreement from the lion, though an admonishment to be careful came along with it. With Leo¡¯s agreement, even if not blessing, Dominic faced the hyrilla and roared at it once more in challenge. ¡®Come on! Let¡¯s see who¡¯s the real king here!¡¯ Chapter 47: Malicious Glint The hyrilla clearly understood the challenge in his vocalisation and planted its curled paws on the ground, roaring back at him. Once more, Dominic felt a bone-chilling sense of fear go through him. At this close distance it even served to make him freeze for a fraction of a second too long. Powerful, clenched fists rose in the air and then slammed back to pound the ground. The force of the blow sent an unexpected shockwave towards Dominic. He found himself knocked back and off-balance, incapable of dodging the next strike. The hyrilla¡¯s clenched fist swung at him and Dominic¡¯s disoriented mind was just slightly too slow to react. The blow landed with the force of a bulldozer. In just that moment, a noticeable chunk of his health bar was wiped away. It¡¯s got one hell of a right-hook - just that must have taken at least 50 HP, Dominic found himself thinking as he leapt out of range. The hint of panic coloured his thoughts and he gave serious thought to running away. Yes, he had the health potion, but that was for emergencies. Suddenly, his confidence in taking this creature on seemed misplaced, as he continued dodging the hyrilla¡¯s swings, his ribs hurting from the one hit it had landed. I should have run away when Leo suggested it, he found himself thinking as he backed up bit by bit. Then his back foot hit something and he realised he¡¯d been cornered against the very outcropping of rocks he¡¯d planned to use against whatever scavengers appeared. For a moment, panic was all that he could consider: he was trapped! The hyrilla seemed to realise the same thing, its lips curling back over its teeth. Was Dominic imagining the malicious glint which seemed to have taken up residence in those black eyes? Or the sudden slow movements as the creature seemed to relish him being trapped? It was that which brought Dominic back to himself. I survived the trodil mini-bosses; I survived the warthog guardian. This nasty combination of creatures isn¡¯t going to take me down. Replacing panic with anger didn¡¯t do a huge amount to clear his head, but it did give him a new sense of determination. Rocks at his back? An opportunity, not a trap. Turning and then crouching, Dominic jumped in a fluid motion, easily clearing the ten feet or so to get to the top of the pile. Then, before the hyrilla realised what had happened, Dominic launched himself at the creature¡¯s head. Grabbing at the head with his front paws, he allowed the momentum of his swing to take his back feet around and behind the muscular mountain. Digging his claws deep into the creature¡¯s neck and raking at its back with his back feet, he bared his own teeth and lunged. Aiming for the spine, he gnawed and chewed at the hardened flesh before him. The blood that spilled into his mouth was delicious, but the skin was much tougher than he¡¯d been expecting and he wasn¡¯t making the inroads he wanted. He was still having some impact, though. The hyrilla bellowed its rage and pain, scrabbling at him with its own clawed limbs, though it clearly wasn¡¯t completely bipedal as it couldn¡¯t fully balance on its back legs without the support of at least one front paw on the ground. Dominic mostly ignored the scrabbling of the clawed paw at him: his own skin was tougher than it used to be and his health pool was larger; the injuries were relatively negligible. What he couldn¡¯t ignore, however, was the massive creature toppling backwards, obviously intending on crushing him. Pushing off his claw-hold, he managed to get clear of the falling mountain of flesh and muscle, but landed badly. In the moment it took him to regain his feet, another blow had slammed into his hindquarters, knocking him sprawling. Getting up as quickly as he could, Dominic was horrified to realise that he was unable to put his full weight on his left hind-paw. Pain spiked through from the muscle which had taken the full force of the blow; panic spiked through him at the thought that he might have a broken leg or dislocated hip. ¡®No running away now,¡¯ he told Leo grimly. ¡®Not unless I take that health potion.¡¯ ¡®Maybe we should,¡¯ Leo replied, a hint of fear in his voice. Dominic hesitated, then looked at the hyrilla. It was awkwardly trying to turn over, its broad shoulders rendering that a difficult task. It would be a good moment to take the potion; he had probably a few seconds before the creature managed to lever itself upwards. It would also be a good moment to attack. A quick check of his status screen, barely more than a glance, revealed several important factors. That was fortunate: both key to the strategy which was vaguely piecing itself together in his mind. Regretting for a moment that he didn¡¯t have Overdrive or Rage yet, he nevertheless activated one of the abilities he¡¯d gained from the dungeon. First, he invoked Lightning Discharge, pouring his mana into his teeth. Then, leaping forwards, he bit straight at the hyrilla¡¯s throat. It tried to fend him off with its own jaws, but he feinted to the right and then swooped to the left to snatch at its unprotected neck. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. His teeth dug straight in and he was gratified to see a large chunk drop from the hyrilla¡¯s health bar. It wasn¡¯t down to half yet, and he already was, but that was OK. He still had time. Trying to make the wound as messy and damaging as he could, Dominic yanked at the bite, chewing and tearing. Of course, the hyrilla wasn¡¯t going to take such an attack without complaint. His arms, so long, were apparently not particularly flexible, and the gorilla-hyena hybrid actually struggled to reach Dominic with the claws. That didn¡¯t stop it giving the lion a mockery of a hug, using its prodigious strength to crush the smaller form to its chest. Health dropped from Dominic¡¯s bar as he felt his ribs grate together, his bones and joints cracking as they were put under strain. Apparently even the level 10 upgrade to everything he¡¯d already enhanced was not enough to cope with this abuse. However, health was also dropping from the hyrilla¡¯s bar. They were in a death match, struggling to see which one of them would be alive when the other finally expired. And Dominic had a trump card which he hadn¡¯t yet used; from his opponent¡¯s level, he doubted the same was true. As his own HP reached a quarter and continued dropping, as his breathing became difficult and his ribs felt like fire every time he expanded them to fill his lungs, he still kept tearing at the hyrilla¡¯s throat. He¡¯d even started ripping at the side of its muzzle with his claws, relying on the hyrilla¡¯s own grip to keep him in place. The bigger creature¡¯s health dropped to a quarter just as Dominic¡¯s own became the barest sliver. Second Wind, Dominic invoked and his health and stamina bars both quickly increased. The pain was no less, the injuries still very much present. But that meant nothing to the sense of victory that grew in his heart as he finally surpassed the hyrilla in remaining health. In a last-ditch effort when its health reached the last ten percent, the large predator started trying to push Dominic away instead of continuing its attempts to crush his attacker. Dominic let it. Sort of. He gripped a mass of flesh in his mouth and allowed the hyrilla to get the purchase it needed to push him off ¨C flesh still in his mouth. The worsened wound ¨C by its own efforts, no less ¨C was enough to sound the death-knell for this particular Beast. Dominic was unable to push himself to his feet, his ribs feeling like they had been pounded by a hammer. Still, he watched avidly through the agony as the last bit of red slowly trickled out of the weakly-moving hyrilla¡¯s health bar. When the message flashed up in front of him, he would have grinned if he could. [You have killed Scrin (Half-step Evolved Beast level 7)] [You have earned 73 PP] His health a chunk down below half, Dominic felt the pressure of the consequences of using Second Wind, the timer of which was in the corner of his vision. When he focused on it, it remained in place obligingly so he could see it. 1:39 The short time that remained before it sucked out his remaining health and stamina should have dismayed him, but it didn¡¯t, and not just because he knew he had a health potion in his inventory. No, there was another reason. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 10 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 361/196 PP level up Satiation level: 100% Hydration level: 100% Health Points: 231/500 Stamina Points: 68/170 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost He was able to level up again. And this time, there was no question about which element he needed to enhance, despite all the options which tempted him. Though he did have to admit being tempted to choose something as well as the mane when he realised that he had two enhancements options available. ¡®So, thicken or darken,¡¯ Dominic asked Leo figuring that since he was the one who wanted a mane so much, he ought to be the one to make decisions about it. ¡®And two of the same or one of each?¡¯ ¡®Thicken and darken,¡¯ Leo said immediately, before just as quickly correcting himself. ¡®No, darken for both?¡¯ Dominic raised a mental eyebrow at his backseat driver. ¡®You¡¯re sure? Darken for both?¡¯ he checked, a bit of exasperation in his mental voice, the clock ticking down towards a minute putting him under a little bit of pressure. He didn¡¯t realise the lion was going to dither about the decision. ¡®Darken for both,¡¯ Leo said finally, this time sounding more certain about it. ¡®Our fur is already a bit longer with the other enhancements. Darkening the mane will make it more attractive immediately. I think.¡¯ ¡®Reassuring,¡¯ Dominic replied, slightly sarcastically. ¡®Alright, no take-backsies now.¡¯ Choosing the mane as the option to enhance, he then chose Darken as the specific aspect of it to improve twice. Energy rushed through him and he felt it tingling particularly in his mane. Leo groaned softly in pleasure in his mind ¨C how a mental presence could groan, he didn¡¯t know. Then again, he¡¯d successfully raised an eyebrow at the lion without even having eyebrows anymore, so maybe it shouldn¡¯t be surprising. Either way, his companion seemed to be enjoying the rush as much as he was. He returned to reality just as the timer for Second Wind hit 0. Hoping that levelling up would have reset the timer completely, Dominic was disappointed when it suddenly took half his health away. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t return his wounds or the agony; it just took away a massive chunk of HP and SP, leaving him feeling momentarily weak. I suppose it¡¯s better to find that out now rather than when it really matters, he thought unhappily. Still, at least he had a solution to ameliorate the situation. Pushing himself to his feet, he relished his ease of movement and lack of pain, vowing to himself that he wouldn¡¯t be so reckless again ¨C he was fortunate he¡¯d had a level up in his back pocket or he would have been forced to use his only health potion. And even that might not have healed him fully. Limping around with a dislocated hip or broken ribs would have put him at a significant disadvantage. Not having moved beyond where the hyrilla¡¯s ¨C scrin¡¯s ¨C arms had pushed him, Dominic only needed to take a couple of steps before he could reach out with one paw and touch the foot of the dead Beast. Consume, he told the System. The rush of health and stamina into him was very welcome, alleviating the sudden sense of weakness which had come with losing so much of each of them. Chapter 48: Probability Health situation visibly improved, Dominic decided to find the various Beast Cores scattered around the place before checking out his status screen. Wandering around, he hunted down the multi-coloured balls of almost-crystal. The scrin¡¯s was the first one he went for, obvious in the area of flattened grasses by its larger size. Information, he asked the System. [Beast Core: Scrin level 7 Ability option 1: Ground Pound (80% chance)) Ability option 2: Stunning Roar (20% chance)] Well now, that¡¯s interesting, Dominic thought as he looked at the information which had come up. He¡¯d thought that the choice of abilities had been something specific to the warthog¡¯s Core because it was a dungeon boss. But maybe it was because it had held multiple abilities. If I¡¯d tried this on the trodil mini-boss Cores, would I have had the same choice? he wondered. Not that it was possible to check now, but maybe if he ever went back into the dungeon and found that it had repopulated the area¡­. One of the scavenger¡¯s Cores was also nearby. Dominic asked the System for information about that one next, curious as to what it would say. [Beast Core: Resorel level 3 Ability: Sharp Nip] Focussing on the ability, Dominic attempted to call up its details, pleasantly surprised when it worked: he hadn¡¯t been able to access the information about Quick Strike until he¡¯d actually got it to level 1. Nor could he get any of the details about the other abilities he was working towards. Then again, that was in his status screen; maybe he could have asked for information from the System of the Cores. Oh well, I didn¡¯t know at the time, he reminded himself. [Sharp Nip (T0): When lunging to bite at something, consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 1, consuming 1 SP will offer +10% speed. Consume 3 SP for +20% speed. If the bite is to a flesh and blood creature, a Bleeding effect may be applied.] That sounds rather familiar, the former-human thought as he read the text. ¡®Is it not very similar to the ability you earned from the dungeon beasts?¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Quick Strike¡­. Yes, you have a point,¡¯ Dominic realised. The two abilities did seem very similar, though Sharp Nip seemed a lot more limited ¨C it only enhanced an attempt to bite, not a quick movement in any direction. Though, the potential of leaving a Bleeding effect was interesting. Dominic couldn¡¯t know what that meant for sure, but it had to be to do with increasing the chances of a wound bleeding copiously. From his experience with both warthog and scrin, making his opponent bleed out could be very powerful. Given how similar the two abilities were, Dominic was tempted to just put the Cores in his inventory; save them for either selling or giving them to someone who would find them more useful. However, a question was niggling at his thoughts. What if I could combine the abilities? Maintaining the practical effects of Quick Strike while adding in the potential for a Bleeding effect from Sharp Nip could enhance something which had already become an indispensable part of his arsenal. He¡¯d even found himself using it unconsciously in his fight with the resorels and scrin, not even needing to invoke the name anymore. In fact, it was that which made him wonder if other ways of manipulating the ability were possible: if it was just as easy to activate the ability simply by wanting to strike more quickly, then what else could he ¡®intend¡¯? He decided that it was worth a go. The worst that could happen otherwise would be that he¡¯d have to ditch the ability when he got it to level 1 ¨C if it threatened to replace Quick Strike, he¡¯d prefer to keep his more familiar ability. Of course, even if he couldn¡¯t actually combine them, he should hopefully be able to have both; then he could choose to use Sharp Nip when he wanted to potentially apply the bleeding effect with his teeth. That decided, he quickly went to hunt down the rest of the Cores, bringing them one by one to make a little pile. In total, he found twelve Cores. Maybe he¡¯d missed one or two, but he doubted he¡¯d missed many; if he¡¯d killed many more resorels, he should have had more Prey Points than he actually did. Of course, he could just go back and check his logs, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered. Dominic checked through the Cores and saw that almost all of them were level 3; only two were level 4. That probably meant he wouldn¡¯t be getting the ability this time, but perhaps he would come across more of their ilk another day. About to start licking up the Cores, Dominic hesitated. Perhaps I should see if I can absorb them like I did the Beast Core in the dungeon. After all, he didn¡¯t really feel like trying to swallow a head-sized Core when he eventually came across one. Actually, how does that even work? The Core should be squishing the brains of all these creatures. Heck, since I¡¯ve probably got one of these, it should be squashing my brain too, but I haven¡¯t had so much as a headache. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Not having any answers, Dominic put it down to magic or the System, instead focussing on his new experiment. Touching his nose to the ball, Dominic focussed on consuming it. Although there was no system message, a moment later the crystal turned into bright dust and flowed towards him. The process was practically identical to what had happened with the warthog¡¯s Beast Core in the dungeon: the dust coated his fur and then seemed to sink into it, the glimmering vanishing after a moment. Checking his status screen, Dominic was pleased to see that he had the new skill listed. Though, he did curse a little at the thought that he¡¯d lost the percentages that the bodies of the resorels would have offered since he¡¯d consumed them before he¡¯d absorbed the base Skill. Good to know, I suppose, he told himself dourly, trying not to sulk at the missed opportunity. Pleased anyway at the fact that his experiment had worked, Dominic next wondered if he¡¯d be able to absorb multiple at once. Glad that he¡¯d already brought the Cores into a pile, he placed his paw on several and focussed on consuming them, curious as well to see if his paw would work as a trigger. It seemed a day for experiments to work ¨C all the Cores he was touching disintegrated and flew towards him. Murphy must have gone on a coffee break. The cloud was much bigger and seemed almost brighter thanks to the sheer density of glittering dust, but it was absorbed just as quickly as the others had been. Itching to check his status, Dominic nonetheless felt like he needed to make his decisions about the scrin¡¯s Core first. Although, do I actually need to make a decision? I didn¡¯t get a choice with the trodils¡¯ Cores, he thought. Or is that only because I hadn¡¯t checked the information first and didn¡¯t know what I could choose? Aware that he might be wasting his time, Dominic quickly accessed the information about the scrin¡¯s Core once more and briefly reviewed the two ability descriptions. [Ground Pound (T0): Rear up and bring your front paws downwards in order to deliver a heavy blow to either the ground or your opponent. If your front paws hit the ground, there is a high chance of creating a wave of force which may stun, unbalance, or even kill your opponent. The force of the blow and possible subsequent wave is equal to your speed +20% * your whole body mass. Consumes stamina.] So I could put the mass of my whole body into a strike with only my front paws, Dominic interpreted, intrigued despite himself. And the faster I am, the more force will be applied. The wave of force which had almost knocked him off his feet was explained too, though it seemed like it wasn¡¯t a guaranteed effect. Pretty powerful, though I wonder if it comes with any downsides, Dominic wondered. Although it mentioned that it consumed stamina, it didn¡¯t say how much. Though for an ability like that, and the fact that the scrin hadn¡¯t used it very often in the battle indicated that it was probably a large chunk. Still, it could be good to add to his arsenal: he had Quick Strike for frequent, small injuries. Maybe Ground Pound could be good as a finisher or to give himself an advantage. [Stunning Roar (T0): Let all around hear and fear your bloodlust. While roaring, use mana to have a range of effects on those who hear you. Opponents may freeze, flee, or attack blindly. Effects are stronger on lower level Beasts or Humanoids or those without an adequate mental resistance. ] That could also be pretty useful, Dominic thought. The one issue he saw there was that it seemed to be based on mana, a resource he currently had very little of. Actually, he hadn¡¯t added mana to his HUD yet, had he? Concentrating, he fixed that oversight, concentrating on adding another line to his status screen while he was at it. When the bar appeared in his vision, however, it was completely empty. Apparently the time since the battle hadn¡¯t yet been enough to gain even a single point. So perhaps I should choose Ground Pound, if I get the option, Dominic concluded. At least it would be something he could use immediately, if necessary. Though how come that scrin was able to use mana? Surely it didn¡¯t use the same method I did? ¡®Perhaps it was already able to use mana before the world changed,¡¯ Leo suggested, his sudden interjection a little startling after he¡¯d been rather quiet during Dominic¡¯s thought process. ¡®I think that Stunning Roar sounds like a rather useful Ability if we can get it,¡¯ he continued rather eagerly, expressing his clear preference. ¡®I agree,¡¯ Dominic replied slowly, ¡®Though we don¡¯t exactly have much mana. As for the scrin being able to use magic before the System came¡­perhaps,¡¯ he mused, wondering if that was possible. Well, if there were other creatures out there already able to use mana, he¡¯d have to be a bit more careful. ¡®That sucks: I was hoping I¡¯d got some sort of advantage there,¡¯ he groused. ¡®Being able to absorb the abilities of other creatures isn¡¯t an advantage?¡¯ Leo remarked pointedly. ¡®OK, fine,¡¯ Dominic half-snapped back before controlling himself. It wasn¡¯t Leo¡¯s fault that Dominic was suddenly grumpy at the realisation that he wasn¡¯t as special a snowflake as he¡¯d thought himself. ¡®So if you had the choice, what would you take? Stunning Roar?¡¯ he asked as a way to offer an olive branch. ¡®Ideally,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®A good roar is essential for a lion to mark his territory; one that stuns the listeners would be even better. However, I recognise what you say about our limited mana at this time. ¡®Ground Pound¡¯ could also be useful. I will say that we are not in the habit of rearing up in the middle of the fight, but I suppose it doesn¡¯t mean we couldn¡¯t use it anyway.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic replied thoughtfully. Oh well, this would be irrelevant if he didn¡¯t actually get the choice after all. Touching the scrin¡¯s Core, he focussed on absorbing it. No message flashed up to let him choose which one he wanted, but he got the sense that, by applying determination, he might be able to push a little towards one more than the other. Not enough to get something which only had a 10% chance every time, but perhaps enough to be able to improve the chance of getting it to 20% or even 30%. As it was, though, he was willing to let probability decide for him in this particular case. All the dust absorbed into his body, Dominic pulled up his status screen to check out the changes. ¡®Not bad,¡¯ he thought, pleasantly surprised. Chapter 49: Draw Them to Me This whole thing is getting pretty weighty, Dominic thought to himself as he skimmed his status sheet, actually having to mentally scroll down to get to the bottom of it. He still remembered when it was only a few small sections, and fitted within the limits of his view. Perhaps I can adjust it in some way just to show the most recent changes? he wondered. Or at least minimise all the details. Maybe for next time. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 11 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 165/215 PP Satiation level: 100% Hydration level: 100% Health Points: 423/500 Stamina Points: 151/170 Mana Points: 15/15 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (82% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Powerful Kick (44% to level 1) Crushing Bite (30% to level 1) Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (3% to level 1) Sharp Nip (50% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (12-16 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction, 6-8 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 3 (4-6 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +2% - Mane level 2 (4-6 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction (attacks to the relevant area)) +20% charisma (for members of the same species) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (12-22 Slicing damage, 12-16 Tearing damage, 6-10 Piercing damage) - Bite level 2 (46-75 Crushing damage, 58-86 Tearing damage, 48-70 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 5 (max speed 28mps; max speed duration 18s) (170 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 2 (500 HP) +40% health regeneration - Brain level 1 (Cognition speed standard measurement 5) - Mana heart level 1 (15 MP) - 75% penalty - Soul level 1 (Resilience to mental attacks standard measurement 7) +2% mana regeneration (-80% reduction to mana regeneration) - Bones level 1 (growth + 10%) - Flesh level 1 (growth +10%) +5% resistance to basic magical attacks. - Nervous System level 1 (reaction speed +10%) Spells: Lightning Discharge level 1 - 1:1 mana / unit of static electricity to damage ratio. Coat your weapons with electricity and discharge it into your opponent on contact. Electrical resistance is effective against this attack. Magical resistance is partially effective against this attack. Equipment: - Leather Gorget (T1) - +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck. 6m3 storage space (non-stasis) - Tail Armour + Tail Morningstar (T1, Common) - Tail armour offers +20 to Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +12 to Crushing and Piercing damage reduction to attacks to areas covered. Tail club offers +10-24 Crushing damage and +5-12 Piercing damage. (not equipped) Overall, although he¡¯d ended up getting the ability which required mana to use, he wasn¡¯t upset about it ¨C if he could deal with his mana issues it could work quite well for him. Assuming he met enough other beasts with Stunning Roar to actually earn it properly, of course. Perhaps I should dedicate my next enhancement to my Mana Heart; get a bit more mana to play with. He considered the question for a moment. Or my Soul and improve my mana regeneration. If it turned out that being able to choose two enhancements wasn¡¯t just a reward for reaching Tier 2, he might even consider doing both. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. For now, though, he was pleased with the progress he¡¯d made towards both the new abilities. 19% was a big chunk for just one creature, and 50% was an excellent start to Sharp Nip¡¯s progress. I just need to find more of those resorel things. Or draw them to me. Not to mention, of course, the fact that both his current abilities had made progress towards the next level, simply through using them. As for his mane, it was interesting to see that it gave both defensive properties and also a percentage increase to his ¡®charisma¡¯. Does that mean attractiveness, or something? he wondered. Then he got a little worried; it said ¡®for members of the same species¡¯, not ¡®for female members¡¯. I don¡¯t want to be attracting males! he found himself thinking. I doubt that¡¯s what it means, Leo rumbled in response. Allied males might help each other out if no females are receptive, but it¡¯s not the ideal. Wait, what? Dominic demanded, horror going through him at the thought. Leo ignored him, though, continuing to theorise. I suspect that it might make alliances easier to form, or reduce challenges from other males: the darker our mane, the more powerful we appear. Deciding to push his concern out of his mind completely, to be dealt with never, Dominic forced himself to focus on what Leo had just said. Do we want to form any alliances, though? Isn¡¯t it better if we¡¯re the only male in the pride? He had the sense of a shrug from Leo. More males mean more territory that can be held. More territory potentially means more females. As long as the males recognise our authority over them, I see no issue with making an alliance. Alright, I see your point, Dominic replied slowly. Then his thoughts were cut by a spine-chilling sound. A too-familiar rising whoop. Quickly dismissing his status screen, he felt like cursing. Leo didn¡¯t hold back, a wordless snarl ripping through Dominic¡¯s mind. We shouldn¡¯t have stayed here so long, he said next. No kidding, Dominic replied sarcastically, though he was kicking himself. He knew better than this! The fact that he¡¯d been able to relax in the dungeon after finishing a fight was no excuse. Blood and gore attracted scavengers; that was the whole strategy behind leaving the zebra carcass intact. Well, he might have cleared up all the bodies, but the blood and bodily fluids which had been spilled hadn¡¯t so quickly disappeared. Unbothered by the smell as he was, Dominic should still have realised that it was like he¡¯d continued sounding the dinner gong. He was going to pay for that now; more scavengers had been attracted, and these weren¡¯t going to be as easy as the resorels to combat. Hyenas. Looking around, Dominic realised that he was surrounded. There weren¡¯t nearly as many hyenas as there had been resorels, but on the other hand, hyenas were significantly more of a threat than the small aliens had been. Doing a quick headcount, he estimated that there were about ten hyenas he could see, and perhaps a few more hidden from view. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he also realised that at least a few of these guys were a higher level than the ones he¡¯d fought before going into the dungeon. Though, there was one thing that made Dominic feel slightly better: maybe a few of the hyenas had increased in level, but so had he. And he had significantly more health and stamina compared to then. Not to mention that his own attack power and defences had increased. Was that enough to combat at least ten hyenas, probably more like thirteen or fourteen? What do you think, Leo, he asked uneasily, ceaselessly turning to make sure no hyenas were creeping up behind him to attack his back. Should we take the risk, or run now? The lion seemed to feel as indecisive about it as he was. I know not, he said finally. If this had been Before, I would have run. Defending a kill would not be worth the risk of being heavily injured, probably killed. Especially not against this many of them. Now¡­we do have the health potion if necessary. We need to decide quickly or the hyenas will decide for us, Dominic warned him, seeing the scavengers creep closer. None had yet dared to lunge at him, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t be long: he could hear the sounds of the hyenas egging each other on, grunts and giggles coming from all around him. I think we should at least give it a go. As well as the health potion, we¡¯re not far from the next level; two or three hyenas should be enough Prey Points. If we can kill even that small number, we¡¯ll be better off than if we run straight away. Very well, Leo agreed a little reluctantly, just in time as the first hyena gained enough confidence to lunge at Dominic. It was a feint, but Dominic knew that the real attempts would follow. Still, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t show the hyenas why he wasn¡¯t to be messed with. When the next hyena feinted at him, Dominic lunged himself, activating Quick Strike to add extra speed to his strike. The hyena wasn¡¯t fast enough to avoid his strike and he landed a nasty bite to its flank. Dominic was rather heartened to see almost two-thirds of its health bar disappear in that single instant. It wasn¡¯t one of the largest hyenas, but still, it gave him a little more hope that he might be able to come out of this without turning tail and running. The injured hyena let out a pained yelp and a nervous giggle, beating its way back to the safety of numbers as quickly as its injured body could take it. Dominic let it run, even though he could probably have lunged again and killed it ¨C he didn¡¯t want to risk exposing himself to an attack from its clanmates. If he had any hope of overcoming this many of the powerful African hunters, he was going to have to play it carefully. His counter-attack seemed to have spooked the hyenas; the little feints they¡¯d been making stopped and the group of hyenas as a whole backed off a couple of steps. It wouldn¡¯t last, he knew: already the hyenas were whooping to encourage each other. However, like with the trodils, it was a numbers game, and the more he could take down or incapacitate, the better. He also couldn¡¯t allow himself to get bogged down. Twenty meerkats setting their teeth in his flesh and clinging on hadn¡¯t been enough to stop him moving, though they had slowed him down; a handful of hyenas would be a different story. Good thing I¡¯ve invested in my speed and stamina, he thought wryly. Even better that tiering up had enhanced both of those more. Staying here in the middle of the circle was not a good idea. The hyenas were used to that tactic, and there were only so many angles he could defend against. They were being tentative for now, but they¡¯d soon be lunging three, four at a time. If his back was attacked at the same time as his front, he¡¯d be at a disadvantage. Time to change the game, he decided grimly. Chapter 50: Closing In Crouching, he leapt into the air, landing behind the line of hyenas which surrounded him. The hyenas were taken by surprise when an oversized lion flew over their heads, but they quickly skedaddled away once he¡¯d landed. Still, Dominic was able to use their initial surprise to his advantage. Bite. A hyena cried out loudly as his teeth crushed its back leg as it turned to flee. Swipe. Another hyena yelped as it caught five claws to the face as it turned to defend its clanmate. Whoops and giggles sounded as the rest of the hyenas scrambled to surround him again. In the chaos, Dominic charged at one of the large ones. It stood its ground, baring its teeth at him, the group around it presenting their own jaws. Instead, he once more leaped over their heads and buried his teeth in the throat of one of the smaller ones hiding behind. His target¡¯s health bar depleted quickly, though Dominic didn¡¯t hang around to make sure of the kill: he had a posse on his heels which wouldn¡¯t hesitate to take advantage of his vulnerable back. Leaping away again, he quickly established some space between him and the group around the big hyena. [You have killed Hyena (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 48 PP] Despite himself, his eyes widened as the message flashed up confirming his kill. I forgot how profitable these guys were back when I was level 1, he thought to Leo. Now he was only two points away from being able to level up again. Concentrate! the lion snapped at him in return. Dominic had to admit that he had a point. This was not the time to start wool-gathering. He¡¯d absorb the hyena¡¯s body, but he was currently several feet away from it. No matter: if he littered the field with bodies he¡¯d be able to absorb one whenever he had need. The hyenas were closing in again, more confident now, or perhaps more maddened by having already lost one of their own. Either way, they were definitely more aggressive and Dominic took his first injuries of the confrontation. Pain sliced through him as he was caught by a hyena¡¯s attack to his rear just as he dodged another attacking his front. Realising that he was once more in the middle of the mob, Dominic quickly jumped out of it again. Unfortunately, it seemed like the hyenas were becoming wise to his tactics: the hyenas closest to his landing spot quickly dodged out of his way and then snapped at him. I¡¯m going to have to mix my strategies up a bit, Dominic realised. A moment later, he had an idea. They shouldn¡¯t expect this. Using Quick Strike, he lunged forwards into the middle of a bunch of hyenas, grabbing at the throat of one and shaking his head to rip its artery open. A moment later, he leapt out of it again, bleeding from several wounds, but another kill notice flashing up for his troubles. [You have killed Hyena (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 48 PP] Darting a quick look around the battlefield, he saw the hyenas closing in again. Rushing for the line with the fewest hyenas, he used the bare seconds it took the rest of them to catch up to inflict as many injuries as he could. Bite. Swipe. Swipe. Bite. Pain flashed through him and made him growl even with a chunk of flesh in his mouth. No kills this time, unfortunately, but one swipe slashed through the eye of one of his opponents, and another was sent limping with a mangled leg. Dominic hadn¡¯t escaped unscathed, though: blood was dripping from a bite to his shoulder and another slash had opened up just below his eye. He¡¯d come off better from that one that he might have: it had been aimed at his neck. He might have his gorget, but that didn¡¯t mean his throat was invulnerable. His hindquarters were burning too, several bites having found purchase there while his teeth and claws were busy. If only I could use my tail armour! Dominic mourned. It would be perfect for this situation. The only issue was that his tail was still struggling to bear its weight ¨C it would be more hindrance than help right now. Fortunately, he¡¯d managed to place himself in the position he was aiming for: backed up against the rock pile he¡¯d used to such a good effect with the scrin. The hyenas seemed more excited than they¡¯d been before: they probably felt, like the scrin had, that their prey was now backed into a corner. I¡¯m not prey; I¡¯m a damn predator, Dominic spat back at them mentally. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Without needing to focus so much in keeping his back clear, he was more able to face the flashing jaws and snapping teeth with his own weaponry. The uneven nature of the rock pile meant that the hyenas weren¡¯t able to approach Dominic in full strength either ¨C the human-turned-lion was using the same strategy which had kept him alive the last time he had encountered these particular creatures. It seemed to work just as well here, though he was much harder pressed than he had been then. Fortunately, his own capabilities had advanced in leaps and bounds. Teeth snapped at Dominic; he snapped back at them, pretending to aim for one¡¯s throat only to lunge at another. Mauling that one with both teeth and claws, he earned another kill even as teeth ripped his shoulders. [You have killed Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 52 PP] He fell forwards as the hyena he¡¯d been mauling dropped to the ground. Landing on his feet, Dominic yowled in pain as a set of teeth clamped around his right foreleg. It has Crushing Bite, he recalled as even his strengthened bones started groaning. Consumed by the need to end the attack before his bone fractured, he lunged for the hyena, jaws open. It let go of him when it realised it was being targeted but his enhanced speed, increased even more with Quick Strike, was too much for it to react in time. His jaws settled over its neck, only a bit higher than he¡¯d been aiming for. Though he didn¡¯t have Crushing Bite ¨C yet ¨C he did have significant crushing power in his jaws naturally. Enhanced by pain, it didn¡¯t take long before he felt the crunch of bone being pierced. The hyena¡¯s skull was damaged, its spine severed. [You have killed Hyena (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 48 PP] Then, realising that he was getting swarmed ¨C exactly what he had been trying to avoid ¨C he leapt straight up, reaching the top of the rock pile. With a moment of breathing space while the hyenas scrambled to catch up with him, he checked his health bar. It was down a good third from where it had been, meaning that it was rapidly approaching halfway. Still, he¡¯d taken down four hyenas so far. Three of the smallest, one of the medium-sized ones. Assessing the numbers he could see, he estimated another eight or nine to go, which tallied with his original estimation of twelve or thirteen hyenas in total. That meant he¡¯d already cut through a third of their numbers. I doubt they¡¯ll fight to the last man. Hyena. Whatever, he mused to Leo even as the hyenas which had swarmed up the rock pile or gone around it to the higher ground came at him. They¡¯d have already fled were this the old world, Leo responded with a growl. We cannot know how they¡¯ll react now. True, Dominic acknowledged even as he leapt down to land on a hyena which was behind the rest of the pack. It was one of the ones he¡¯d hit earlier: it was behind the rest of them because of its mangled leg. With its health bar already significantly depleted, it only took a moment before it was lying limp on the ground. Dominic next leapt at a hyena which was coming running towards him, its jaws stained with blood. This was one of the larger ones, and was so far uninjured. He¡¯d have to be more careful here. Feinting to the left, he tried to sneak a bite in at the hyena¡¯s throat, but unfortunately it was too canny to fall for that. Instead, he met the jaws of the other predator, their teeth clashing uncomfortably. Blood filled Dominic¡¯s mouth as his gums were cut. Withdrawing quickly, Dominic tried to swipe at the hyena, but it ducked under his blow, using the motion to propel itself into a lunge at his shoulder. Its teeth sank into his shoulder-blade and he yowled with pain as they scraped across and even started to crush the bone. It whooped, the sound muffled against his flesh, and Dominic roared with pain as teeth were suddenly attacking him from all angles, setting into his other forepaw, one of his back paws, and the other hip. They started tugging at the same time as crushing, as if they were trying to draw and quarter him. What I would give for Overdrive right now! Dominic cried to himself as he struggled against the teeth that were holding him in place to be ripped apart. His mind worked frantically to try to find a way out of this. Quick Strike was no good when he couldn¡¯t move; Second Wind would give him more health points, but wouldn¡¯t deal with either the injuries or give him more power. Plus, it would then put him on a timer. Lightning Discharge¡­. Maybe that was it. Lightning Discharge, he invoked, quickly piling all fifteen mana points into his teeth. It was fortunate that his level up had refreshed them. He didn¡¯t hesitate in emptying his pool: it was all or nothing at this point. Then, as the moment of increased processing came to an end, he lunged sideways, forcing himself to ignore the pain the sudden movement caused his trapped forepaw. His teeth sank slightly into the hindquarters of the big hyena and electricity rippled through it. The damage was probably pitiful ¨C a 1:1 ratio meant that it was only 15 points of damage for his 15 MP. That wasn¡¯t what he was aiming for, though. The hyena had probably never felt electricity before and the surprise was enough to make it release his shoulder, just as the lion had hoped. Now only pinned in three places, Dominic quickly made sure that was reduced to only two with a snap at the hyena crushing his forepaw. It dropped the limb and backed off before he could crunch its spine, but he still got in a nasty injury to its face, blinding it. Whirling on the hyena holding his hindleg, he roared in pain as the motion forced the other hyena from its own hold ¨C a chunk of Dominic¡¯s flesh going with it. This one wasn¡¯t fast enough to release him and he ripped its throat out with a quick slash of his teeth. [You have killed Hyena (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 48 PP] The moment the death message flashed up, Dominic consumed the body for resources, a sense of relief going through him as his worst injuries were partially healed. Ignoring the other hyenas for a moment, he ran unsteadily towards another body lying abandoned on the ground, the movement jarring the nasty bite wounds in his flesh. The other hyenas were hot on his heels, but triggering the consumption of a body was a matter of less than a second, and then he was onto the next, the disintegrated remains following along behind him until it was absorbed. By the time he¡¯d consumed four of the five corpses, he was feeling significantly better and his health bar was once more a fair bit above half. It was in a better state of both mind and body that he turned back to the big hyena and its surrounding group. Chapter 51: On a Knife’s Edge There was a moment of stillness as the two sides sized each other up. Their battle so far had landed mostly on Dominic¡¯s side, with five hyenas dead and eight left, but they only needed to kill one of him to win a decisive victory. And if they managed to pin him like they had earlier, it might easily be game-over for him. The five beasts he¡¯d killed had been mostly the smaller and weaker ones ¨C those which didn¡¯t have the health pools to cope with him ripping out their throats or opening a major artery. The ones facing him now might be a different story. Of the eight hyenas now eyeing him ¨C like they too were making the same sort of calculations as he was ¨C there were three different sizes. Only about two of the smaller hyenas were left, five of them being the same size as the one he¡¯d killed, which had turned out to be level 5. The big hyena which had pinned him for the others to attack was probably level 6 or even level 7. Being half-step evolved would account for the greater intelligence it had exhibited for sure. Hyenas are supposed to be pretty intelligent anyway, Dominic considered, earning a contemptuous scoff from Leo. ¡®Kill-stealing scavengers,¡¯ he insisted. ¡®Though cunning ones,¡¯ he admitted a moment later. ¡®What do you think we should do?¡¯ Dominic asked, the stalemate still continuing. He¡¯d got another level-up in the bag; he might even have accrued enough progress towards Crushing Bite to earn it on that next level up. Were the Prey Points offered by the band of hyenas before him worth risking his life again? He didn¡¯t have any more mana points left so there would be no last-minute save from that. Besides, there was no guarantee that the same trick would work twice. ¡®Watch the hyenas for now,¡¯ Leo advised. ¡®If we back away now, they will attack. If we stand firm, they may choose to flee.¡¯ The situation teetered on a knife¡¯s edge. Almost all the hyenas shifted back and forth, pacing to one side and then the other, their eyes always flicking between the lion and their surroundings. The only hyena to stay steady was the biggest, its black gaze fixed on Dominic¡¯s. Even while its packmates whooped and giggled, it stayed silent. It felt like they were in some battle of wills, seeing who would blink first. Dominic allowed his lips to lift off his teeth, a snarl rumbling in his chest. Like the last time he had had a standoff with a group of hyenas, he had to seem completely confident in his ability to win, even if he wasn¡¯t. In the end, it was the hyena who turned away first. It grunted and growled at its packmates and then backed up slowly, its eyes watching Dominic warily. He was just as attentive to the movements of all eight hyenas, watching them until they turned and started running away hastily. It was only when they were but dots in the distance against the pale savannah grass that he relaxed. Quickly searching around, he found the five Cores which had dropped from the corpses he¡¯d consumed. Since none of them were above level 5, he doubted they¡¯d have any choice in abilities, but he checked anyway. After all, he¡¯d already made one major error that night; no need to compound it by assuming something without proof. In this case, it turned out that his assumption was correct ¨C all five Cores had contained the same ability: Crushing Bite. Curious as to whether there was any benefit to absorbing the Cores rather than just licking them up, he tested both on two of the smaller Cores. A quick glance at his status screen revealed that the percentage progress towards Crushing Bite had increased by the same amount each time. Why that was the case when it was more efficient to absorb a body than eat it normally, he wasn¡¯t sure. Maybe it¡¯s because if I eat a body I leave things like bones, whereas everything gets disintegrated when I Consume it. Though actually could he still gain maximum efficiency if he ate the meat and then Consumed the rest? He¡¯d kind of been assuming that the two choices were either one or the other, but the fact that he was able to absorb the zebra¡¯s half-eaten carcass indicated that that wasn¡¯t the case. Pushing the thought away, he found excitement lighting in his chest as he saw just how close to gaining Crushing Bite he was. Dismissing his status screen, he quickly licked the other Cores up. ¡®Right, let¡¯s get out of here,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo: he wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake of hanging around a gore-soaked area. Not unless he was setting a trap for them, of course. Which wasn¡¯t the worst idea, but he might as well do it from protection in that case. Withdrawing a bit, Dominic hid away in a bush. Pulling up both the top of his status screen and his ability list, he checked out his gains from the battle. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 11 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 409/215 PP level up Satiation level: 100% Hydration level: 100% Health Points: 401/500 Stamina Points: 129/170 Mana Points: 0/15 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (82% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Powerful Kick (44% to level 1) Crushing Bite (100% to level 1) level up to acquire this ability Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (3% to level 1) Sharp Nip (50% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Excellent, Dominic thought to himself. And Leo, he supposed now. Perhaps that whole situation was a blessing in disguise. After all, he¡¯d both got a level not even an hour after he¡¯d acquired the last one, and he¡¯d gained enough progress to acquire another ability! ¡®Our mane still needs work,¡¯ Leo told him. ¡®Are you going to enhance it a little more?¡¯ ¡®I was thinking that we could do with more mana points, either from having a bigger mana pool - Mana Heart - or a better mana regeneration - Soul.¡¯ ¡®But how will that help us conquer a pride of females?¡¯ Leo questioned heatedly. ¡®It will hopefully help us to live long enough to actually find them,¡¯ Dominic argued back. ¡®We seem to be doing well enough with that without mana,¡¯ was the lion¡¯s response. ¡®If we hadn¡¯t so recently regained our mana by levelling up, we¡¯d have been torn apart by the hyenas just now,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®And it¡¯s only surprise that made the one biting our shoulder let go, anyway. It¡¯s not like fifteen points of damage did much to its health pool. We need more mana for more damage.¡¯ ¡®Or we can increase the level of the spell-¡¯ ¡®Which we can only do by using it, and if we don¡¯t have the mana, we can¡¯t use it,¡¯ Dominic interrupted. Leo continued as if he hadn¡¯t said anything. ¡®Or we need to find a way to get rid of the penalties to our soul and mana heart.¡¯ ¡®Got any ideas for that?¡¯ Dominic asked somewhat sarcastically, pretty sure he didn¡¯t. ¡®Not yet,¡¯ Leo responded calmly. ¡®But though prey does not always come to the waterhole when one wishes it to, it will come eventually.¡¯ Dominic was silent for a moment. ¡®Is that a lion¡¯s way of telling me to be patient?¡¯ he asked finally. ¡®In essence, yes. Brother, I truly do not think that focusing on our Soul or Mana Heart is a good idea right now. What if it only gives you a couple of Mana Points in addition to what we already have? Or increases our rate of regeneration from 2% to 3%? There are several options available which are more likely to have a greater impact on our ability to overcome our foes.¡¯ ¡®Well, what would you suggest?¡¯ asked Dominic a little grumpily: he had to admit that Leo had a point. Was there a lot of difference between fifteen and twenty points of mana, for example? Yes, in a sense ¨C it was a 33% increase, after all. What were twenty points of damage, though? His claws alone tended to do about that, and his teeth did a lot more. If each mana point was worth more in damage, then it would be a different story, but that would require him levelling up the spell ¨C a future concern, not a present one. ¡®If you are counter enhancing our mane again on this round ¨C which I still feel is the best idea since it will improve our chances of gaining a pride to offer us support ¨C and wish instead to improve our combat capabilities, I see several options.¡¯ ¡®Do tell,¡¯ Dominic invited, interested despite himself: this was the first time he¡¯d encountered Leo talking about strategy beyond just his mane. ¡®Following our fight with the kill-stealers, we now have a new ability, one that enhances the crushing power of our jaws. Perhaps we could enhance this even further with choosing to improve an aspect of our teeth, or even our bite power through Mouth. ¡®Alternatively, we could choose to improve the power of our Strike: if we had had sufficient power, we would have been able to pull away from the teeth of our assailants; there would have been no necessity to use the spell to surprise the lead hyena. ¡®Finally, we could choose instead to improve our defensive capabilities; cause our skin or fur to deflect their teeth instead of worrying about what to do once they have become embedded.¡¯ Dominic had been growing more and more impressed with what he was hearing. Leo¡¯s reasoning was well-thought out, particularly so for a creature which hadn¡¯t even been capable of considering more than its next meal only a few days ago. ¡®Have you been studying or something?¡¯ Dominic half-joked. He felt the hint of a shrug from his co-passenger. ¡®When I am unable to control my body, there is little for me to do but think and touch your memories. I have learned much.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯ve been¡­looking through my memories?¡¯ the former-human asked, not sure exactly how he felt about that. Like his privacy had been invaded for sure ¨C much like when a flatmate he¡¯d shared a house with had gone in his room while he¡¯d been away to borrow a charging cable. It wasn¡¯t like the guy had caused a mess or done any damage or anything, but knowing someone had been in his room without his permission had made him feel very uncomfortable. ¡®Of course,¡¯ Leo answered, like there was nothing wrong with it. And maybe he was right ¨C they were stuck together like this. Maybe Dominic should do the same ¨C explore Leo¡¯s memories so he was better able to face the challenges of the savannah. He still felt a bit weird about the idea. There were more important things to consider, though. Leo had a point. Several points, actually. Any of the suggestions he¡¯d made would be helpful, though Dominic had a concern. ¡®If we enhance the defensive nature of our skin again, we¡¯ll have to also increase its flexibility: you remember what it did to us last time, right?¡¯ ¡®Then don¡¯t enhance the skin. Or do both.¡¯ Dominic had the distinct impression of another shrug. Apparently Leo had said his piece. ¡®Alright then,¡¯ Dominic replied, considering the options again. ¡®And you feel that improving our mane is top of the list of priorities still? Despite the improvements we¡¯ve made so far?¡¯ ¡®We haven¡¯t yet actually seen the improvements, Leo pointed out. But based on the fact that it¡¯s increased our attractiveness in our status screen to members of our species, I would say yes.¡¯ ¡®How about this, then,¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®One more enhancement to our mane, and then try out enhancing the power of our Strike. If we get to choose two enhancements, that is. If not, perhaps just Strike. I see your point about improving our negotiating power with other lions, but not at the expense of our combat abilities.¡¯ ¡®You do not wish to enhance our bite power?¡¯ Leo questioned. ¡®No, let¡¯s see what Crushing Bite gives us first. Don¡¯t want to get too OP, after all,¡¯ Dominic finished with a sense of amusement. ¡®OP?¡¯ ¡®Never mind,¡¯ Dominic sighed. ¡®Or find it in my memories, or whatever,¡¯ he added, trying to make himself comfortable with the idea through exposure. ¡®Do you agree with my suggestion?¡¯ ¡®Yes. Darken the mane again?¡¯ ¡®Sure.¡¯ Unanimous assent attained, Dominic quickly activated the level up. Chapter 52: The Mess We Have Now [Congratulations! You have earned enough PP to level up. You can choose 2 aspects of yourself to enhance via Evolution. See options?] To his delight, it appeared that being able to choose two options last time hadn¡¯t just been a fluke or reward specific to level 11 after all. Not needing to see the full list, he quickly thought about the two aspects he wanted to enhance. Mane: darken. Strike, power. When the message came up to question if he was sure, he confirmed his choice. [You have 1 new ability available to be acquired. New ability: Crushing Bite (T0). Would you like to acquire this ability?] He wasn¡¯t surprised that it was a T0 ability ¨C all the hyenas had had it, after all. Still, from his experience so far, that didn¡¯t mean it was useless; quite the reverse potentially. Curious, he focussed on the name, wanting to see the description. [Crushing Bite (T0): Enhance the crushing power of your jaws. Consume stamina to increase the power you apply to a bite. Power increase can range from +5% to +50% at level 1, consuming an appropriate amount of stamina per second, relative to the increase in power chosen. Both power increase and amount of stamina consumed may change as the skill level increases. Acquire ability?] ¡®Sounds interesting.¡¯ For once, it wasn¡¯t Dominic who had the first reaction, but Leo. ¡®It might require a bit of a different strategy than our recently used one of quick in, quick out,¡¯ Dominic mused. ¡®There¡¯s no time indicated here,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Enhance our bite as you close your jaws, rip and crush their flesh and bones, and then leap away. In fact, it seems more like the longer we use the ability, the more stamina it consumes. I don¡¯t see why it couldn¡¯t just be part of our normal strategy.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic admitted. Agreeing to the acquisition of the ability, he finalised the level up. The familiar energy poured through him, making him feel like he¡¯d had the combination of a refreshing nap, a jolt of caffeine, and a cool breeze that wiped away an ache he hadn¡¯t even realised was there. The lingering pains that remained from the fight he¡¯d just been in were healed and his fur cleaned. ¡®I love levelling up,¡¯ he sighed to Leo. The lion mind seemed to agree just as fervently, apparently having enjoyed his own type of boost. Opening his status sheet, Dominic focussed on seeing the changes. The first bit came up as normal, but he was relieved to see that the rest of it was significantly truncated. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 12 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 194/237 PP Satiation level: 100% Hydration level: 100% Health Points: 500/500 Stamina Points: 170/170 Mana Points: 15/15 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (82% ¨C> 85% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed. Crushing Bite (0% to level 1) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +5% - 50% Crushing damage for 3-60 stamina per second. Defensive abilities: - Mane level 2 (4-6 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction (attacks to the relevant area)) +20% ¨C> +30% charisma (for members of the same species) Offensive abilities: - Strike level 1 (+10 to Crushing or Blunt damage, +5 to all other physical damage types) ¡®Huh, those worked out pretty well, then,¡¯ Dominic thought at Leo. ¡®Arguably I could cause some serious crushing damage.¡¯ He worked it out. If he maxed out his new ability and dropped 60 stamina into a single attack, that would add 50% Crushing damage. For a full bite, his Crushing damage ranged between 46 and 75 points. From his experience, that seemed to be based on where he bit: if he got a proper bite into the creature but it wasn¡¯t in a vulnerable place, perhaps the meat of the creature¡¯s leg or a bony area, he¡¯d only cause up to 50 points of damage. If, however, he got the throat or hit an artery, he could easily cause upwards of 70 points of damage. So, worst case scenario, if he hit a less vulnerable spot and got only 50 points of damage, Crushing Bite could add another 25 points of damage, bringing even an attack on a less-vulnerable spot into the range of a more vulnerable area. If he hit a vulnerable area, he could easily cause upwards of 100 points of damage, and that was just from Crushing; he also had his Tearing and Piercing damage types. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Arguably, if he timed it right and targeted the right spot, he could essentially one-shot a creature with his original health pool, causing enough damage that the creature would bleed out. I wonder whether Strike is automatic or if I have to intentionally use it, Dominic wondered. It didn¡¯t say; he¡¯d have to test it out. Automatically would be great; an extra 10 points of damage to his Bite or Claws would be very welcome. Although would it work on my claws? They don¡¯t normally cause Crushing damage, so perhaps it wouldn¡¯t work. Or perhaps it would ¨C it¡¯s an addition, not a multiplication, after all. He was going to have to test a bit. Perhaps I should reactivate the notifications which detail the damage I¡¯m causing. They¡¯d been too annoying to have up most of the time ¨C being able to see the health bar of the creature was much more convenient in the middle of a battle ¨C but for the sake of knowing exactly what kind of damage was being caused, it might be a good idea. ¡®Perhaps only do it in a fight which you are confident about winning,¡¯ Leo suggested, sensibly. ¡®Good idea,¡¯ Dominic admitted. He didn¡¯t want to be distracted by working out damage when he was in a fight for his life again. He didn¡¯t always choose the fights he got into ¨C the last two being a case in point ¨C but it did happen. The other changes were much as he¡¯d expected ¨C an improvement to his charisma to other lions and a little bit of improvement in Quick Strike. He was a bit surprised that he hadn¡¯t got any further defensive benefits from his mane when he¡¯d had them before. I¡¯m never going to understand this, he moaned mentally. Unfortunately, there was no sympathy from Leo. ¡®Try going from a simple life as an apex predator in the savannah to the mess we have now and see how you like it,¡¯ the lion groused. Put that way¡­. ¡®Shall we stay here or keep moving?¡¯ he asked, wanting to change the subject. ¡®I don¡¯t want a dungeon to claim the¡­pink elephant before we get there, but if we stay here a bit longer, we could gain some more Prey Points, maybe even another level up. We¡¯re not far from the next.¡¯ ¡®I would recommend moving,¡¯ Leo replied. ¡®We will probably gain enough kills to increase our level as we come across other Beasts.¡¯ Since Dominic agreed with him, they didn¡¯t spend any more time debating the subject. Taking a moment to get his bearings, Dominic headed off in the direction he¡¯d been heading before he was distracted by the zebra herd earlier that night. It seemed odd to think that it was probably only just in the small hours of the morning, assuming time hadn¡¯t changed with the System¡¯s arrival. The hours had been rather packed. Still, the position of the¡­wait. How many moons? Dominic paused and twisted his head this way and that, just confirming what he could see. The moon which looked identical to the one which had always orbited Earth had been accompanying him the whole night and was hanging above Dominic¡¯s head, its light illuminating the night. On the horizon, however, were another two moons, barely a paw¡¯s width of space between them. By his standards, anyway ¨C in fact it was probably miles that separated the two celestial bodies. How didn¡¯t I notice that before? Neither of them was quite as bright as Earth¡¯s moon, one with a reddish tinge; the other with a greenish one. Could the first be Mars, suddenly brought closer? Dominic wondered. The second, however, was clearly not one of the planets in the same solar system as Earth; he didn¡¯t remember any of them having that particular greenish tinge. Could there be vegetation on that planet? Or is it a mineral in the soil, like the iron on Mars? It was unlikely he was going to get an answer to that any time soon, if at all. More possible to determine was the next question that came to his mind: had Earth somehow¡­moved? Outside of its usual orbit, anyway. Dominic wasn¡¯t any sort of astronomer but he gazed up at the star-filled sky above looking for any of the constellations he was familiar with. However, as much as he searched the sky, it all looked completely unfamiliar. I know that I¡¯m in the Southern hemisphere and they can see different stars from the Southern hemisphere, but surely there should be some recognisable constellations? But there weren¡¯t. The sky was beautiful, the lack of cloud cover or light pollution revealing the glittering garment of night which enveloped the world. But among all the points of light, there was not one constellation which Dominic could identify. Suddenly he felt very alone and lonely in the middle of the savannah where even the sky was foreign. A shiver went down his spine from his neck to his tail tuft. He quickly redirected his gaze, the sight of the sky suddenly too overwhelming. Let¡¯s keep going, he said needlessly to Leo, just to avoid the silence even in his own mind. Pushing himself to all four paws again, he continued walking, his gaze studiously focussed on the terrain around him, not venturing above the sky-line. ***** ¡®What do you think?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo as he surveyed the area in front of him. He had just climbed carefully through the rocks on the side of a kopje, mounting to the top. Although it wasn¡¯t the highest hill in the area, it did offer a decent view of the valley and kopje beyond. ¡®Do you think it¡¯s what we¡¯re looking for?¡¯ The question was about the trees and vegetation facing them. None of it was something Dominic recognised. The vegetation was some sort of broad-leafed variety that didn¡¯t look as if it had any place in an area that was as hot and dry as the savannah. The trees, however, were more similar to the pine trees which might be found in one of Earth¡¯s snowy biomes. Alien growth for sure. That wasn¡¯t what had piqued Dominic¡¯s interest; it was the sheer size of them that made him wonder. Being probably-alien flora, it wasn¡¯t like he could really compare these items to those he¡¯d previously seen. He could, however, compare the two sides of the small valley between the rock ridges. The ones on Dominic¡¯s side were small, the vegetation not even reaching his shoulders. The ¡®trees¡¯ were about twice his height when on his rear paws, but no higher. The trees and vegetation on the other side of the valley were at least three times that. ¡®Do you think we¡¯ve found a Place of Power?¡¯ asked Dominic eagerly. Chapter 53: Brooding Watchfulness Dominic braced himself, expecting for that download of information to hijack his mind again now that he¡¯d thought the trigger word. A few moments later, he risked opening his eyes again from where he¡¯d unintentionally closed them as he prepared himself. ¡®It¡¯s¡­not starting? Place of Power?¡¯ he tested, wanting to make sure. ¡®Dungeons? Dungeon controlling a Place of Power?¡¯ Nothing. ¡®Perhaps only a small amount of information was given to us,¡¯ Leo suggested finally. ¡®Maybe,¡¯ Dominic agreed tentatively. ¡®The dungeon master did disappear pretty quickly when I bit it.¡¯ He considered the thought for a moment and then mentally shrugged. ¡®At least we don¡¯t have to keep talking about ¡®pink elephants¡¯ any more.¡¯ ¡®I still don¡¯t understand why they have to be ¡®pink¡¯,¡¯ grumbled Leo. Dominic decided to studiously ignore the comment. ¡®So, back to my question ¨C you think that the clearly unusual growth over there might indicate a Place of Power?¡¯ ¡®How am I supposed to know?¡¯ asked Leo grumpily. Dominic didn¡¯t know what had got the lion in a snit, but his co-passenger had become quieter and quieter as the hours of walking had gone on. By this point, it was already approaching midday and Dominic had been seriously considering lying down for a nap in the afternoon again when he¡¯d happened upon this place. ¡®Perhaps it¡¯s our lack of luck so far in encountering the traces of any lionesses,¡¯ Dominic considered privately. ¡®No one likes blue balls.¡¯ The three unsuccessful hunts he¡¯d had hadn¡¯t helped, either. Clearly gazelle were not going to be a possibility until either he was faster or had a group to help ambush them. However, regardless of his companion¡¯s clear dissatisfaction, the fact remained that they had potentially found one of the places they were looking for. While Dominic was feeling a bit fatigued over his sleepless night and the countless miles covered by his steady pace, he was too excited over the prospect of finding a Place of Power to rest right now. I¡¯m not that tired; I can keep going for a few hours, yet. Fight, even. When there was no complaint or objection from the peanut gallery, Dominic decided that it was as good as an agreement from his currently-dour companion. Heading down the slope of the rocky hill, he started passing through the alien flora, the smaller sized ones to start with. It turned out that the broad-leafed shrubs weren¡¯t exactly what he¡¯d expected. Suddenly, he realised he could understand why they might survive in a harsh environment such as the savannah. Their leaves weren¡¯t soft or silky like the ones he was used to in Europe, but tough and waxy. A bit like holly leaves, an evergreen tree which was capable of withstanding snow without an issue. Like a holly, these leaves were also spiked, though not at the edges. Instead, there was a line of spines down the middle of them and Dominic winced at the thought of being the herbivore which tried to chew on them. On the other hand, he knew giraffes and elephants were both known for snacking on thorn acacias so the piddly spikes on these leaves probably wouldn¡¯t even register. The trees, on the other hand, were not dissimilar from what he was expecting ¨C thin and long leaves sticking out from branches which themselves stuck out from other branches. They also didn¡¯t look particularly appetising, but perhaps Dominic was biased. After all, he¡¯d never seriously considered becoming a vegetarian due to his love of all things beef and dislike of most green things. Perhaps that was a good thing: he couldn¡¯t imagine how much harder he¡¯d have found all this if he¡¯d been an inveterate vegan beforehand. By the time he¡¯d finished his ruminations, he was out of the smaller bushes and starting to climb the slope again through the flora which was constantly increasing in size. Soon the bushes, which had been easy to see over, had become obstacles to his vision. Dominic slowed down, focussing more on using his ears and sense of smell than his eyes. Sound moved strangely in the area, the leaves all around him dampening and muting the normal noises of the savannah. It actually felt like the times Dominic had gone swimming and got water stuck in his ears; everything was muffled. The same was true of his olfactory senses. His nose was overwhelmed by the oddly spicy scent of the bushes and the fresher smell of the trees. Beneath those were other scents, perhaps creatures which had passed through at one time or another. There was a brooding watchfulness, like something was aware of his presence. Not like what he¡¯d felt in the dungeon temple, especially towards the end. This was less of a directed presence, more of an all-encompassing and neutral observation. Dominic didn¡¯t feel threatened, just¡­watched. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. He was so engrossed in trying to work out the direction the brooding observation came from that he didn¡¯t hear the approach until too late. ¡®Watch out!¡¯ Leo cried sharply in his mind, snapping Dominic¡¯s attention back to reality. He turned a little towards the noise, only succeeding in presenting his flank to the creature instead of his tail. Pain shot through him as something exploded out of the bushes and drove the wind from his lungs. Dominic was actually taken off his feet by the force of the blow and fell heavily to the ground, a small chunk of his health bar missing. Only just managing to keep his feet underneath himself, he still succeeded in catching a glimpse of his assailant. When he did, a gleeful feeling went through him. Excellent. Though it might be odd to be happy at being attacked, when being attacked by one of the creatures on his ¡®to kill¡¯ list, a little happiness had to be expected. And from the attack which had just happened, Dominic was certain that this warthog had Charge. It was also significantly bigger than the others he¡¯d encountered ¨C except for the Guardian ¨C which made Dominic even happier: it was just another indication that he might have found the nearest Place of Power. Plus, it probably also meant more Prey Points which was always good. Well, almost always good, anyway: Prey Points did seem to indicate threat level, after all. When the warthog charged again, Dominic was ready, leaping out the way. He played it safe for a short time. He wanted to work out two things: if there was a rhythm to the warthog¡¯s attacks; and if there were any other individuals coming to join the party. I hope there are, he couldn¡¯t help but think with the mental equivalent of rubbing his hands. Aggressive warthogs? Had his birthday come early? But first he had to kill this one. He wasn¡¯t too worried about that, though. In fact, perhaps this was an opportunity to put into practice something they¡¯d been thinking about. The moment of focus it took was enough to put him off his rhythm, and he had to scramble a bit to avoid getting hit by the charge. Still, since it always seemed to be in straight lines, as long as he could react in time it wasn¡¯t too difficult to avoid the rush. This warthog was very clearly less powerful than the one he¡¯d fought in the dungeon, but it was also just as clearly on its way to achieving a similar strength. Deciding to go on the offensive this time, instead of fully avoiding the charging warthog, Dominic simply moved enough to avoid being hit, but remained within range of being able to strike. Swiping with his claws, he opened up several gashes along the warthog¡¯s side. [You have dealt 37 damage (Tearing+Slicing+Piercing+Strike)] Not bad, Dominic noted, though it would have been nice to have the individual damage types noted. For the moment, though, he was too busy with the fight to focus on trying to get the System to do what he wanted. The warthog, of course, wasn¡¯t taking his strike lying down. With the same bad temper that the warthog in the dungeon had shown, this one did its best to gore Dominic as it whirled around to face him. Unsuccessful with that, it tried next to Charge at a point-blank range. Unable to dodge, Dominic took the warthog¡¯s hard head directly to his chest. Oof, Dominic complained as the air was driven out of him once more. On the one hand it was nice not to be getting torn apart as normally happened in fights; on the other, getting beaten with a blunt object wasn¡¯t so fun either. If his fur¡¯s Crushing damage resistance wasn¡¯t actually the highest of its resistances, he¡¯d probably be in even more pain. As it was, though, Dominic still didn¡¯t feel much at threat from this warthog. Deciding to test another of his new additions, Dominic used a swipe to separate them, pushing himself around so that he could access another part of the warthog. Using Quick Strike, he lunged forwards towards its now-bared neck, biting down on the thick skin. For a moment there was some resistance: this warthog clearly had been going the route of its predecessor with its toughened skin. However, evidently it wasn¡¯t anything that would offer more than a brief resistance to Dominic¡¯s sharp teeth. Especially not ones enhanced with Crushing Bite. [You have dealt 71+14+10 Crushing damage + 78+5 Piercing damage] It was a testament to the warthog¡¯s health pool that the two attacks Dominic had landed hadn¡¯t killed it outright. Based on the points damage and what he could see of the Beast¡¯s red bar, he estimated that it had a health pool of approximately 300 - 350 health points. Certainly there was still about a little more than a third of its bar left despite around 200 points of damage. Unfortunately, the remaining points weren¡¯t going to save this warthog, not even if it had Second Wind. Dominic was still bigger and stronger than the creature, and he used that to his advantage. Shaking his head, he tore the flesh around the gaping wounds his teeth had made. [You have dealt 45 Tearing damage] [You have dealt 51 Tearing damage] [You have killed Warthog (Half-Step Evolved Beast level 6)] [You have earned 22 PP] The shaking, along with its own desperate attempts to get free, had been too much for the warthog, game as it had been. The bloodloss which came from having a major artery damaged probably didn¡¯t help. It showed how used to the whole situation Dominic had become. He didn¡¯t pay much mind to the warthog¡¯s death except for the excitement he felt over the fact that the warthog was actually Half-Step Evolved. Maybe that¡¯s why it attacked me? All the others ran away as warthogs would have before the System came in. That wasn¡¯t why he was excited, though. I wonder whether the second ability this warthog has is Overdrive? But if it is, why wouldn¡¯t it have used it? Or maybe it did but it still wasn¡¯t strong enough to resist me? Mentally turning his damage notifications back off ¨C he didn¡¯t know if the next fight was going to be one during which he could risk being distracted ¨C Dominic stared at the Core left behind. Information. Chapter 54: Boundless Fertility [Beast Core: Warthog level 6 Ability option 1: Charge (80% chance)) Ability option 2: Boundless Fertility (20% chance)] Those percentages add up to 100, Dominic noted immediately. That¡¯s different from how the Guardian Core in the dungeon worked. But the scrin¡¯s Core was the same¡­ I didn¡¯t get a choice with the scrin¡¯s Core, though I did with the Guardian¡¯s. Is that because the dungeon one was a reward that anyone could get, whereas I only get these ability options because I can absorb abilities? Then again, there had been that bit in the dungeon information which talked about enhancing the chance of getting one of the abilities. Maybe other people, or crafters, perhaps, were able to access the abilities stored within all the Beast Cores, not just the dungeon ones. That would make them more valuable, potentially ¨C if he ever came across someone to trade with, of course. In the end he shrugged ¨C it was an interesting question, but until he had more information to work with, he wasn¡¯t going to come to any conclusions. The point here was that he suspected that there was no chance of getting both abilities. Nor did he seem likely to get neither, which was reassuring. Another difference between the Cores given as dungeon rewards and these ones. Boundless Fertility, I wonder what that is. [Boundless Fertility (T0): Multiplies the chance that a mating session will successfully conceive offspring. Ability starts with a +10% multiple and may continue to increase with the ability level] We want that one, Leo interjected immediately. Wait, no we don¡¯t, Dominic objected just as quickly. How will a fertility multiplier help us survive? Not us, but our legacy. The more cubs, the better. Yeah, but to even have cubs, we have to survive, huffed Dominic. Here was a gap between the way they saw the world. To Leo, his survival was only to spread his genes and ensure the survival of his progeny. Dominic would rather just survive for himself. Plus, we won¡¯t have a choice in this one anyway, he pointed out instead of arguing: he had a feeling that neither of them was likely to convince the other any time soon. Leo grumbled wordlessly but subsided without further comment. Dominic absorbed the Core, silently hoping that he¡¯d get Charge, no matter what Leo might want. Then a thought suddenly struck him: if he could concentrate on one option and slightly increase his probability of getting it, could Leo do the same? Not wanting to risk accidentally getting Boundless Fertility because of the lion desiring it more than he focussed on Charge, Dominic concentrated his efforts again. When the golden dust faded, he quickly called up his list of abilities to check. Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (85% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 1 (0% ¨C> 3% to level 2) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +5% - 50% Crushing damage for 3 - 60 stamina per second. Powerful Kick (52% to level 1) Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (3% ¨C> 10% to level 1) Sharp Nip (50% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Phew, it gave me more progress towards Charge, Dominic said to himself, relieved. Still, he tried to keep it a bit quiet so his companion hopefully wouldn¡¯t hear. No doubt he was annoyed at not getting the ability he wanted. Good to see my use of Crushing Bite in that fight started progressing it to the next level, he noted too. Dismissing his abilities, he briefly called up his level progress. Progress to Evolution: 216/237 PP Shame, he said briefly, mentally flicking the information away again. No level up this time. He would just have to hope that the warthog had a few family members in this area and go hunt them down. Or let them attack him, as this one had. Before moving on, Dominic quickly absorbed the corpse of the warthog, noting the 2% extra it gave to Charge after he did. Leo protested, and Dominic made a mental note to let him have a turn in the driver¡¯s seat when he could manually eat a carcass if he really wanted to. Apparently he really liked eating warthogs. Then, his senses all on the alert again, he continued moving carefully through the alien vegetation. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. It was a little unnerving: Dominic could hear lots of different creatures, but none seemed to approach. Dominic didn''t know whether it was because, bar the warthog, none of the other creatures dared to take on a level 12 lion, or some other reason. He hoped it wasn¡¯t because they were about to set an ambush, but had a feeling that his luck wasn¡¯t that good. It seemed like his pessimism was justified: after a while of practically walking on eggshells, expecting an attack to come at any time, it happened. From a direction he was not anticipating. Ow, Dominic thought as something thunked down on his head painfully. The attack was followed by an increase in the whoops which had been growing in both volume and numbers of creatures making them. Not hyenas, he didn¡¯t think ¨C the sound was different, as were the tactics. They were just as foreboding, though, especially now the sources of the sound had revealed themselves able to attack from above. With nuts, Dominic realised as he saw the source of his pain: some sort of coconut-style fruit. Almost as hard as a rock, the impact had been painful. And there was no guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t actually use rocks: there were plenty lying around on the forest floor. Looking up, Dominic searched the trees for his assailant, or one of the assailant¡¯s buddies since the former-human was almost certain that it wasn¡¯t a single attacker. Hearing the crashing of branches, Dominic whipped his head towards the flicker of movement as a creature swung through the treetops. The first thought, as it released another hard object from its paw, throwing it at Dominic, was automatic: monkey. Even as Dominic dodged the projectile, his mind was already dismissing the thought. Not a monkey, but not dissimilar. He then had to dodge a second projectile which shot at him a moment later. Having been unsuccessful in its attack, the creature screeched angrily at him and then swung away again. Dominic watched it go, his thoughts whirling. Clearly not from Earth, this creature had six limbs rather than the four of non-insectile land animals. Dominic hadn¡¯t had the chance to see too much, but he¡¯d got the overall picture. The not-monkey used four of its limbs to swing easily through the trees as a monkey might, leaving the other two to hold whatever it wished ¨C in this case projectiles to throw at him. Oddly enough, it had no tail. Perhaps six limbs were enough to be getting on with. More than that, Dominic hadn¡¯t been able to tell with the quick glimpse he¡¯d had of the creature in between attacks. Unfortunately, it looked like he was going to pay for standing still when three more of the not-monkeys emerged from the area around him, perhaps having been attracted by the first¡¯s screeches. Dodging the projectiles wasn¡¯t so easy with three at a time flying at him. He got hit in the shoulder and on the crown of his head, making his headache, which had already been throbbing, strongly increase in intensity. Dominic growled in irritation, glaring up at the not-monkeys which were again screeching, this time sounding mocking more than irritated themselves. See how you like this, then, he said to himself, crouching and wiggling his tail behind him. With a jump enhanced by Quick Strike, he rose swiftly into the air. With the enhancements to his body, the already-impressive jump abilities of a lion were improved further for Dominic. The not-monkey didn¡¯t know what had hit it before it was already dead, his jaws clamping around its midsection, practically biting it in half. Its health bar was drained before they even landed back on the ground. [You have killed Kesh (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 19 PP] Dominic didn¡¯t waste any time in Consuming its body, nor in leaping again to snatch another kesh out of the trees. The creatures seemed shocked at the fact that they weren¡¯t as invulnerable up above as they had thought themselves, and he managed to grab another of the three before it could react. This one put up a bit more of a fight, screeching and scratching at his face. Dominic was forced to close his eyes to protect them from the kesh¡¯s claws, meaning that he misjudged the landing a little. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t lose his grip on the not-monkey even as the wind was half-knocked out of him. Shaking his head back and forth, it wasn¡¯t long before the kesh was limp in his jaws and another kill notification was flashing up in front of him. [You have killed Kesh (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 19 PP] Opening his eyes now the danger to them had passed, Dominic looked upwards again. Oh, shit, he swore. Clearly the screeching of the kesh he¡¯d killed hadn¡¯t just been in protest or pain; it had been calling for back-up. Twisting his head frantically to one side and then the other, he saw at least twenty kesh lining the branches around, each with stones or nuts in their two free paws. I can¡¯t survive this, he thought, making his decision in a split second. Wishing he had Charge, he poured six stamina points into Quick Strike, forcing himself to leap to the side from practically a standing position. Stones and nuts rained down on the spot he had just been a fraction of a second before, enough probably to have battered him to a moaning, pain-filled lump of himself. Though he¡¯d avoided the initial onslaught, there was no time to dally: each of the kesh had at least one more projectile; those which hadn¡¯t attacked in the first wave still had two. Once more triggering the fastest version of Quick Strike, Dominic twisted and leapt back the way he¡¯d come, the part of his mind which was still working despite the situation figuring that they wouldn¡¯t predict him to backtrack. It seemed to work; he only got hit by two rocks which, considering the deluge flying at him, was pretty amazing. Since he¡¯d landed back next to the corpse of the second kesh, he quickly triggered Consume to top up both his health and stamina. Spotting the glint of two Beast Cores, he dared to take a moment to lick them up, dismissing the notification before it even formed: he couldn¡¯t be distracted. Knowing an attack would be coming, he leapt away a moment later. Not quite fast enough ¨C pain ran through him as a rock landed square on his tail-bone. A new fear ran through Dominic¡¯s mind: what if a rock landed badly? What if he became paralysed? Could his health potion even deal with that sort of thing? I need to gain enough Prey Points to level up, he decided, then took a moment to calculate how many he needed.. He¡¯d been 21 PP away the last time he¡¯d looked and each of the kesh he¡¯d killed had been 19 PP each. A sense of relief flashed through him as he realised that he¡¯d already achieved his aim. Worse came to worst, he could level up and wipe his injuries away. Alright then, he thought glaring at the kesh in the treetops above. Time for some payback. Chapter 55: Cats Land on their Feet A quick glance around showed that most of the kesh had already thrown their projectiles at Dominic, though there were a few which still had one or two. Those, Dominic avoided but kept an eye on, preparing to dodge. The ones which had already launched the rocks and nuts were turning away, clearly preparing to go and get more. Dominic could see their strategy: pin him down with a few rocks here and there, then drown him in them again when the majority returned with their ammo replenished. Unfortunately for them, Dominic didn¡¯t feel like cooperating. Fixing his leonine eyes on one of the kesh which appeared to be descending to the forest floor to grab one of the rocks there, Dominic shifted behind a tree trunk. Using it as temporary cover from the still-armed kesh, and the few rocks which had been directed his way, he prepared to leap at the right moment. As the kesh, apparently unaware of his regard, dropped to a branch just above the floor, Dominic poured power into his muscles, using the higher level of Quick Strike to add just that bit more impetus. The lion flew across the space between, slamming right into the kesh. His aim was true; his teeth buried themselves in the kesh¡¯s throat and bit down. Crushing Bite was overkill, perhaps, but Dominic would rather be sure. [You have killed Kesh (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 19 PP] Perfect, Dominic grinned mentally, quickly Consuming the body and licking up the Core. He still didn¡¯t know what ability these creatures were giving him ¨C hopefully not something useless like ¡®Third Pair of Limbs Optimisation¡¯. Nonetheless, he didn¡¯t want to accidentally lose the small marbles among the rocky floor of the forest so he took them where he could. A rock landed near his head and he quickly jumped sideways, his rapid response allowing him to avoid the follow-up blow which would have landed on his head. Darting a look upwards revealed that the kesh had surrounded him. It was just the small group which had remained behind the larger one, but they looked angry, baring their teeth at him and screeching. Dominic just bared his own ¨C larger ¨C teeth at them and snarled fearsomely in return. Crouching, he launched himself up into the trees. They had tried to move out of his reach, but clearly they had underestimated just how high he could jump now as they were still well-within jumping distance. This time, though, they seemed more prepared for the tactic and his target, despite having been turned away at the time, was alerted by the noises of its companions. It jumped away hurriedly meaning that Dominic failed to catch it directly. An idea struck Dominic as he reached the arc of his jump and realised that he was going to return to the ground empty-handed. Instead of letting that happen, he reached out with his paws and grabbed at the branch. Claws fully extended, they bit into the wood of the branch, slowing and then halting his downward movement. ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ Leo asked, sounding alarmed. He didn¡¯t normally interrupt Dominic in the middle of a conflict, but clearly this was more than he could stand by and watch. Or sit by. Or whatever. ¡®Didn¡¯t you ever climb a tree?¡¯ Dominic asked a little facetiously, even as he tried to hoist himself up onto the branch. It took some effort and lots of wiggling, but eventually he managed to do it. He probably looked rather ungainly doing it, but at least his jerky movements allowed him to avoid three of the five missiles which were directed at him from the kesh around. The two that hit were ones aimed at areas which stayed relatively still: his head and his shoulder. Out of those, the one at his head was the most painful, and even half-stunned he still managed to keep pulling himself up. ¡®Only as a cub,¡¯ Leo admitted. ¡®Well when our enemies are in the trees, we might as well join them,¡¯ Dominic told him more cheerfully than he felt. Joining the kesh on their battleground might turn out to be a good idea, or it might be a terrible one. He hadn¡¯t practised manoeuvring in the trees; if it turned out that he couldn''t use any of his normal attacks, he could be even more of a sitting-duck than he was on the ground. Then again, if that turns out to be true, I¡¯ll just drop back to the ground. Nothing lost except time, he added quietly to himself. ¡®Even leopards don¡¯t face a troop of baboons in the trees,¡¯ Leo complained. ¡®We¡¯re not a leopard. And these are more dangerous than baboons.¡® ¡®Let¡¯s just give it a go,¡¯ Dominic told him with a bit of exasperation. ¡®Nothing lost in trying.¡¯ ¡®Not unless we get surrounded by these things and torn apart while we can¡¯t defend ourselves,¡¯ Leo rebutted darkly. ¡®I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so focussed on combating these pests face-on. We should just make our way through the forest until they give up.¡¯ For a moment Dominic didn¡¯t reply, too focussed on keeping his balance on the branch. Fortunately, by this point using his tail had become instinct and it whirled around in circles, acting as a gyroscope to counter-balance his weight. Also fortunate was the fact that he¡¯d had sufficient time since reaching level 10 to get to grips with his greater size and weight. A rock flying towards him was partially avoided by swinging his head to one side, but that just meant it slammed into his neck instead. His gorget meant that he didn¡¯t take any damage, but he still felt the impact. Claws grabbing at the branch below his feet with a hint of desperation were the only reason he didn¡¯t lose his balance then and there. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Damn monkeys, Dominic grumbled as he finally felt like he¡¯d got his feet under him. Looking around, he saw kesh staring at him warily. They appeared to be a bit non-plussed with the situation, perhaps not used to their targets suddenly taking to the trees. Dominic decided to show them why they shouldn¡¯t have attacked this lion. Gathering his feet under him, he leapt for the closest kesh. It¡­didn¡¯t quite go as expected. It wasn¡¯t the graceful movement he¡¯d visualised: his leap knocking the kesh off its position by gripping it by the throat, and then landing on the vacated branch. Instead, he got two out of four right. He did leap, and he did knock the kesh off the branch. However, he missed grabbing its throat, instead seeing it go tumbling to the forest floor. He also fluffed the landing, almost completely over-balancing and going head-first himself to ground-level. Please don¡¯t throw a stone at my ass; please don¡¯t throw a stone at my ass, he chanted as a repeated refrain. He could just imagine it: a kesh with a malicious glint in its eyes as it lined up a shot, then threw, the stone offering the impetus to send him straight to the ground. The moment hung in the balance, his eyes fixed on the kesh he¡¯d sent flying. It had taken damage from the landing but was still at more than half-health. Damn. Then the moment passed as the wild gyrations of his tail started making an impact. He pulled back from the edge, able to gain his feet once more. Relief suffused him as he turned to face the other kesh, only to get a faceful of stones. Dominic growled as the stones hit him dead-on, unable to avoid them with his precarious position. Worse, the impact was enough to destroy the delicate balance he¡¯d managed to create and he found himself about to fall again. Damn it, he sighed to himself, but didn¡¯t fight it this time. Clearly he needed to do more practice fighting in the trees before he could even hope to take on these kesh in their natural environment. Knocked off the branch, he let his bodily instincts do the hard work for him in preparing for the landing. Bringing his front legs around to point at the ground, his back legs were then pulled around to do the same. A second later, he landed, his legs bending as they took his weight, perfectly cushioning his impact against the ground. He was completely unharmed; better, he was actually in a perfect position to then spring at the still-downed kesh, ripping the rest of its health bar from it. [You have killed Kesh (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 19 PP] ¡®I guess the saying is true: cats always do land on their feet,¡¯ Dominic remarked to all and sundry even as he Consumed the corpse of the kesh and licked up its Core. ¡®Most of the time we don¡¯t do stupid things like chase baboons in the treetops,¡¯ Leo countered, sounding just a bit aggrieved. ¡®Now you¡¯ve made a fool of us, perhaps you¡¯d care to answer my previous question.¡¯ ¡®What was that again?¡¯ Dominic asked. Honestly, it had completely gone out of his mind. Leo huffed angrily. ¡®Why are you insisting on facing these creatures? We do not need to kill them, and we appear to be at a significant disadvantage in trying.¡¯ Dominic idly dodged a few missiles that flew at him as he paid attention to Leo¡¯s question. ¡®I¡­we need Prey Points,¡¯ he responded after a moment. ¡®We have enough for another level. Chasing more for no other reason is likely to lead us into more danger than necessary.¡¯ Dominic had to admit that he had a point. ¡®Any other reason?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s¡­I don¡¯t want to be¡­¡¯ Dominic huffed as he tried to put his other fear into words for Leo, then gave up and shoved the whole feeling at Leo. Let him sort it out. ¡®Oh, I think I understand,¡¯ Leo replied thoughtfully after a moment. ¡®You suspect that there may be something guarding the Place of Power, and do not wish to have enemies at your back when you face it.¡¯ ¡®Yes, that¡¯s it,¡¯ Dominic replied, relieved that his companion had been able to turn his morass of feelings into words, even if part of him felt like, as the resident human ¨C kind of ¨C it should have been his job to do that. He leaped to the side as a hail of missiles came at him again. He had to make another hurried jump as a second wave started. Looking up, he noted that a number of the kesh which had previously exhausted their stocks were back. There are just so many of them, he moaned to himself. Apparently not quietly enough as Leo responded to his thoughts. ¡®There are, but I still don¡¯t think that trying to wipe them out is feasible, or even advisable. We are probably in their territory; they are defending it. If we travel far enough out of their area, I doubt they will follow us.¡¯ ¡®So you think we should just¡­leave them?¡¯ Dominic found the idea difficult to agree with. The kesh were walking bundles of Prey Points, and a danger besides. What if he was in a fight further into the forest and had to run back this way while being injured? What if he survived whatever was potentially guarding the Place of Power only to be killed by a well-aimed rock? ¡®We cannot wipe out all the threats in the world,¡¯ Leo pointed out all-too calmly. ¡®And if we were at the point where a single rock could kill us, then we would be at risk of anything. Including falling face-first onto the floor, or running into a tree,¡¯ he continued pointedly. Dominic growled a little at the reminder, jogging in an ¡®s¡¯ shape to avoid the rocks which came for him again. ¡®Alright, I take your point,¡¯ Dominic groused. ¡®I¡¯ll try to be more careful.¡¯ ¡®If a kesh comes too close, by all means strike at it. Remind them that we are not prey to be toyed with, but a predator they simply wish to chase off. But do not waste our time and health on chasing creatures which do not pose much threat to us.¡¯ Dominic sighed, but had to admit that Leo had a point. He wanted to find a Place of Power, and a pride of female lions. Exterminating a load of not-monkeys wasn¡¯t on his list of to-do tasks, especially not considering how annoying it was to hunt them. ¡®Fine. You win,¡¯ he gave in. Chapter 56: Shaggy the Lion Decision made, Dominic jogged away from the bunch of kesh. He had some strange sense of the direction in which he ought to go. At first he¡¯d just thought that it was because he was heading uphill, but as time had gone on, he¡¯d realised that it wasn¡¯t just that. There was a¡­pull. An attraction. He still paid attention to the kesh, of course. He didn¡¯t want a rock on his head, even if it would only remove a few health points thanks to his improved defences of fur, skin, and hardened bones. Dodging to one side or the other seemed to be pretty effective: able to throw rocks, the kesh might be; being able to predict exactly where he was going to be when he varied speed and direction was another matter. He did still take a couple of injuries here or there, but since they were usually glancing blows, they didn¡¯t cause much damage. And the occasional kesh he managed to nab more than made up for the damage caused by the odd blow. By the time the troop of kesh stopped following him, he¡¯d taken five more of them down. After a time of him not attacking, only dodging the attacks, the kesh had become a bit overconfident and dropped closer towards him, perhaps thinking that it would be easier to aim if they were closer. Which was true, but Dominic had been unable to resist reaching for the low-hanging fruit. Each time it happened, the rest of the kesh quickly ascended higher and pelted him with a load of projectiles all at once, only to then grow over-confident again and repeat the cycle. It was when he got his fifth catch that the kesh just disappeared and no more stones came flying at him. Consuming the body and licking up the Beast Core was almost reflex by this point. Now that he didn¡¯t seem to be surrounded by enemies, Dominic wondered if he could dare check out his new gains. His progress to the next level was pretty satisfying. Progress to Evolution: 406/237 PP level up Of course, he could immediately see that he wouldn¡¯t be able to make two levels, and he almost started playing with the idea of going back and aggravating the kesh a bit more. Even though the Prey Points required for Evolution were increasing every level, surely he wouldn¡¯t need more than two or three even after he¡¯d levelled up? Then he reminded himself of what Leo had said ¨C he had other objectives right now. Ah well, I know where they live, he told himself, unable to avoid trying to give a creepy laugh. When he heard the strangled grunt that actually came out of his mouth, he immediately resolved never to do that again. Or not unless he managed to get his human body back, anyway. Besides, he told himself consolingly. Unless something else comes and rips through here, they¡¯re only going to increase in level; they¡¯ll be better to hunt later. They might even have two abilities to choose from once they started hitting the half-step evolution level. On that note, Dominic checked for the new ability in his list. Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (87¨C> 92% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 1 (3% ¨C> 8% to level 2) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +5% - 50% Crushing damage for 3-60 stamina per second. Powerful Kick (52% to level 1) Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (12% to level 1) Sharp Nip (50% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Easy Landing (48% to level 1) Hmm, interesting, he thought as he looked through the list. Both Quick Strike and Crushing Bite had gained something in that battle; Quick Strike was getting pretty close to level 3. As for the new ability Easy Landing, Dominic had to make some guesses about what that meant since he hadn¡¯t had a chance to request information about one of the Cores due to being pelted with rocks whenever he stood still long enough. I suppose I could have put the Cores in my Inventory for later consumption, Dominic thought to himself. Actually, maybe I should do that in the future. Then if I don¡¯t think the ability will be something I ever want, I can keep the Core for giving or selling to someone else. Too late for these Cores, of course, but no doubt this kind of situation would come up again in the future. Heck, it had sort of come up with the hyenas, though he¡¯d wanted enough Cores to gain Crushing Bite then, so eating them made sense. So, Easy Landing¡­given that it¡¯s a creature which belongs in the trees, perhaps it¡¯s a way of reducing the damage they take if they fall out of the tree? Certainly that would explain the way the kesh which had fallen at least twenty-five feet hadn¡¯t lost more than a third of its health bar. Perhaps it also improves their ability to jump in the trees: that would have been a very useful ability for me to have just now, he mused. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. In the end, he just closed his screen and pushed himself to his feet again. At least the short break had allowed his stamina to refresh itself a bit. Though, he did notice that his maximum was reduced again. Stamina Points: 102/167 ¡®We need to sleep soon,¡¯ he remarked to Leo. At least, that had solved the issue the last time his maximum had been reduced by a few points. ¡®I guess that stamina regeneration has its limits.¡¯ ¡®In this forest, I wouldn¡¯t recommend it,¡¯ the lion snorted. Dominic huffed in amusement and started moving forwards again. ¡®No. I wasn¡¯t really considering that. Actually, while we¡¯re considering things, any requests for our next enhancements? Not the mane.¡¯ ¡®Not even lengthening it this time?¡¯ asked Leo hopefully. ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure that offers defensive benefits too.¡¯ It was Dominic¡¯s turn to snort. ¡®Nice try, but enhancing Fur or Skin would have the same or better benefits.¡¯ ¡®Then maybe we should lengthen our fur instead.¡¯ ¡®Wouldn¡¯t that do the opposite of what you¡¯re trying to do?¡¯ asked Dominic dubiously. ¡®I mean, a mane is only obvious when it sticks out because of its length or colour. If all of our fur is long, then how does the mane stick out? We¡¯d just look like¡­Shaggy the Lion or something.¡¯ The lion was silent for a few moments. ¡®I sense that that would be a bad thing,¡¯ Leo said finally. Dominic passed over the mental sense of a shrug. ¡®I mean, if you¡¯re trying to project the image of a magnificent lion¡­perhaps? I¡¯ve never heard that shaggy is a good look on a lion, and I think I¡¯d struggle to use a shaver in this form.¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help the surge of amusement from going through him as he imagined trying to grip a shaver in his paws and then using it to trim all his body fur, leaving just the mane like a human man would leave a neatly-trimmed beard. ¡®Then perhaps we should not do that. I will think on it,¡¯ Leo said finally, then subsided into thoughtful silence. Dominic himself wasn¡¯t sure exactly what he should enhance. He¡¯d wanted to improve his mana capabilities, but Leo had been right earlier when he pointed out that at this moment, any changes he made to the parts of his body which affected mana would be better used somewhere else. The thing is that he always needed more combat power, and more defensive capabilities, but should he enhance those again? Or should he shore up a weakness somewhere? Or was there something he could enhance which would indirectly help him in many areas? He paused for a moment just to pull up the list of possible enhancements again. It had been a while since he looked at them in detail and it had expanded greatly since his tier up. [Heart ¨C improve your stamina] [Muscles ¨C improve your speed] [Eyes ¨C improve your sight] [Touch ¨C lengthen your whiskers or improve your sensitivity to touch] [Sinuses ¨C improve your sense of smell] [Mouth ¨C improve your bite power or sense of taste] [Teeth ¨C sharpen, lengthen, or strengthen your teeth] [Digestive system ¨C widen your diet or improve your constitution] [Claws ¨C sharpen, lengthen, or strengthen your claws] [Coat ¨C thicken, lengthen, or harden your coat] [Mane ¨C thicken or darken your mane] [Vocal cords ¨C enhance your roar] [Feet ¨C harden or soften your pads] [Bones ¨C strengthen or grow your bones] [Skin ¨C render your skin harder or more flexible] [Strike ¨C improve your speed or power when attacking] [Brain ¨C improve your processing speed or your mana capacity] [Soul ¨C improve your resilience to mental attacks, your resistance to magical attacks, or your mana regeneration] [Mana Heart ¨C increase your pool of mana or increase the quality of your mana] [Flesh ¨C improve your resistance to physical damage or magical damage] [Nervous System ¨C improve your reaction speed or change your reaction to stimuli] Maybe I should improve one of my senses? It was a thought. Lions were sight hunters so being able to see his prey better could help him in multiple ways: spotting weaknesses, seeing camouflaged prey, seeing creatures from further away. Or, alternatively, he could improve one of his weaker senses. Given that he was trying to find a pride of females, being able to scent them from a greater distance could be useful. Heck, even once he¡¯d found the pride, he was probably going to need to hunt down certain animals in order to gain the abilities he wanted; a better sense of smell could help him with that. He was fairly satisfied with his sense of hearing, but being able to hear better might easily improve his ability to know when an enemy approached ¨C while he was distracted with looking at his stats, for example. Or what about improving my Brain? Although he hadn¡¯t had a repeat of the moment, he still remembered hitting his head against a stone wall because his reactions had moved faster than his thoughts in the temple. Actually¡­. Why is improving my mana capacity a possibility when enhancing my Brain, yet my Mana Heart also offers increasing my pool of mana? Aren¡¯t those two things the same? Checking his status, he looked at the two relevant entries. - Brain level 1 (Cognition speed standard measurement 5) - Mana heart level 1 (15 MP) - 75% penalty Nothing about mana linked to my brain; maybe that¡¯s because only the speed of my cognition was affected? What does ¡®standard measurement 5¡¯ mean, anyway? Leo stayed silent, not that Dominic was expecting his input here. While there were arguably other options to choose, Dominic was feeling more and more curious about what enhancing his Brain ¨C with either or both options ¨C would be like. ¡®Leo, had any thoughts yet?¡¯ Dominic asked his companion. Chapter 57: Biting a Vibrator ¡®I agree with your thoughts about improving our sense of smell, Leo replied after a moment. It could certainly help us to find some females, he added. Perhaps we should consider enhancing our vocal cords. A more fearsome roar could help us as it highlights our power. Other males might run away instead of facing us if our roar is strong enough.¡¯ Sure, Dominic equivocated, wondering how he could argue against this choice. Then he thought about something: the scrin had had Stunning Roar, an ability which used a bit of mana to turn a loud sound into a stunning attack. What if Dominic could develop other abilities by enhancing his vocal cords? Motivating Roar, or Fearsome Snarl, or Healing Croon, or something like that. If he¡¯d learned nothing else in his time since the System arrived, it was that everything was possible, somehow. Still, if he enhanced his sense of smell this round, he wanted to spend the other on something that might directly help him with combat. ¡®OK, we¡¯ll try the vocal cords next time, he agreed. But this time, sense of smell and processing speed, yes?¡¯ ¡®Very well,¡¯ Leo agreed, a little grumpily. Dominic understood: he hadn¡¯t got either of his first choices, but was glad that the lion wasn¡¯t going to fight him on it. About to trigger the level up, Dominic paused. ¡®Do you think it might be better to wait until we find the Place of Power to level up?¡¯ ¡®Why?¡¯ Leo asked, seeming a bit surprised at the suggestion. ¡®If this is anything like the games I played and the books I read, the Place of Power is not going to be unguarded.¡¯ ¡®You wish to keep this level up as an emergency heal in the event that the guardian of the Place of Power is too strong for us.¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic replied. ¡®I agree,¡¯ Leo told him after a moment. ¡®Improving our sense of smell is more for finding females, which we will concentrate on after we have explored this forest. There is no harm in waiting a little to do that. Better to have an emergency source of healing for the battles ahead.¡¯ With that agreed, Dominic dismissed his status screen and started padding forwards. He made a mental note of what they¡¯d decided, though, not wanting to forget. It wasn¡¯t long before the trees started thinning and he approached a large clearing. At the centre of the clearing was a single tree. Dominic knew immediately that this was the Place of Power. ¡®We¡¯ve found it,¡¯ he said to Leo, exulting in the discovery. The tree was similar to the ones around him, but ever-so-slightly off. Instead of the pine needles which all the trees around had, this one had the broad leaves of the bushes. It was also very wide, about three times the width of even the widest tree Dominic had seen. Despite that, it wasn¡¯t much taller. It commanded the clearing with an air of power and dominance, nothing daring to grow beneath its canopy. The power coming off it was almost electric, yet for some reason Dominic didn¡¯t feel any more powerful than usual. It was like there was static electricity in the air around him, but not actually touching him. And there was a guardian, because of course there was. The guardian was, unfortunately, fully aware of Dominic¡¯s presence, standing on four paws and staring at him. However, as of yet, it wasn¡¯t attacking so Dominic stopped and took the opportunity to study it. ¡®It looks like a wolf,¡¯ Dominic said. Not an Earth wolf; this one was clearly some alien beast, but it seemed to bear similarities to the wolves that used to roam the forests and plains on Earth. It had four paws, a tail that was more whip-like than plumed, a long tooth-filled muzzle, and four eyes ¨C two in front and two to the side. It wasn¡¯t that big, perhaps a little smaller than Dominic himself. Strangest of all were the two antennae sticking out of its head and twitching. What is this, some lupine-insectile hybrid? It was hard to know exactly what the likely weaknesses and strengths of this creature were. Wolves tended to come in packs, but this one was solitary. They also tended to be pursuit hunters with high stamina, but whether that was true of this one, he didn¡¯t know. Eyeing the creature¡¯s claws Dominic couldn¡¯t see from his position whether they were retracted or permanently out: that was often a good indication of what kind of hunting the creature engaged in. Dominic flexed his own claws absently. What else do I know about wolves? Not a huge amount. He knew more historical information about them than their hunting styles. And even though this creature kind of looked like one, that didn¡¯t mean it would be identical to the Earth wolves anyway. Antennae. Maybe that gave the wolf access to different information than accessible by its nose, ears, and eyes? If Dominic remembered correctly, insects used antennae to detect a range of things: sound, touch, smell, even hot and cold. Could this wolf¡¯s antennae give it thermal imaging or something? Was that how it had so easily detected his approach? The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. But none of that really helped Dominic strategise except to encourage him to swipe at them if he could, and he would probably have done that anyway. I¡¯m just going to go for it, he decided. If it turns out it has some sort of attack which is too much for me, I¡¯ll run away and come back later with a pride of females. Heck, that might even be the best strategy: he knew where the Place of Power was now; he could come back later. Dominic wasn¡¯t inclined to do that, however. Not with a challenge ahead of him which didn¡¯t look insurmountable for him on his own. No, he¡¯d rather at least give it a go, find out more about this creature and its way of attacking, and then run if necessary. Since the creature was already fully aware of his presence, Dominic didn¡¯t try to hide himself as he padded forwards and into the clearing. The creature only reacted by baring its teeth, a gesture Dominic was happy to reflect back to it. He also snarled a bit, the rumble vibrating his chest and emerging from his mouth as a fearsome sound. Interestingly, the wolf didn¡¯t actually make a sound in response. Nor did it move as Dominic continued approaching it. Dominic did notice its muscles tensing and it crouched as if getting ready to spring. It was only when Dominic started circling around it, however, that it properly reacted. It¡¯s probably my proximity to the Place of Power, Dominic realised in the second before the creature attacked. The wolf¡¯s spring was easily avoidable. It wasn¡¯t that fast; Dominic¡¯s ability to dodge was far better, even without using any abilities. Clearly speed was not one of this creature¡¯s strengths. As it ran and snapped at him, Dominic avoided the initial strike and then twisted back to strike at the wolf itself. The creature turned out to be better at dodging than it had been at striking, and Dominic only managed to graze the creature¡¯s skin with his teeth. Given how little red dropped from the wolf¡¯s bar at that strike, despite it being more of a graze than anything else, Dominic had to assume that its skin or fur was armoured. Maybe both. Perhaps that was why it wasn¡¯t as fast: it had enhanced its skin to the point that its movement was being impeded slightly. They broke apart, both eyeing each other again. The little clash had taught them both something about the other. There was a stalemate for a moment, and then Dominic rushed the wolf. Running towards the creature head on, Dominic waited for the wolf to commit to a forwards strike before using his momentum to push himself sideways and then slammed into the side of the wolf. The creature grunted, the first noise it had made so far, but stood its ground despite a good four or five hundred pounds of mass slamming into it. Strengthened bones? Dominic wondered even as he took full advantage of his position to dig both claws and teeth into the body. Activating Crushing Bite, he was satisfied by a good chunk of red being stripped from the wolf¡¯s health bar. Of course, the wolf wasn¡¯t going to take this lying down. Expecting it to try to pull away ¨C counting on it, even, since that would worsen the wound and the damage thereof ¨C Dominic was surprised when it instead started¡­humming. Confused, but not above taking advantage of the moment, Dominic clenched his teeth tighter, his stamina bar slowly dropping as he kept Crushing Bite going, wrenching his head this way and that. The humming started to vibrate the body below him, but he ignored it. Then the humming stepped up in intensity, and Dominic started feeling that he¡¯d bitten into a vibrator. It didn¡¯t stop there. He stopped feeding stamina into Crushing Bite when he realised that, despite himself, he was no longer able to control how strongly he was biting: the vibrating had numbed his teeth and loosened his muscles. The humming increased even more. Now it hurt, like he was trying to bite a pile-driver or something. With more force than it should have taken, Dominic wrenched his teeth free of the creature. As he withdrew his head, he spotted something yellow-white left in the wound. It was only when he felt around his mouth with his tongue and felt the bloody hole where one of his upper canines had been that he realised what had happened. I lost a tooth! he exclaimed in horror. What kind of ability was that? A dentist¡¯s wet-dream, probably, and everyone else¡¯s nightmare. Please let a level up bring that back! A pain to his flank brought him back to the moment, reminding him that it was never a good idea to space out in the middle of a fight. The wolf had taken advantage of his inattention and had sunk its own teeth into the vulnerable flesh just behind his front leg. When the humming started again, Dominic was torn between horror and a sense of discovery: he was pretty sure he¡¯d spotted the source of the vibrations. The antennae. Dominic pulled away from the teeth, a big chunk of his own health bar being lost in the process, not to mention the agony that willingly tearing his own flesh caused. It was worth it, though, as he was quickly able to get in a position to close his teeth around one antenna and rip. The wolf moaned, the sound agonised. Dominic almost felt sorry for it. Almost. But that didn¡¯t stop him from lunging for the second antenna too. Unfortunately, the wolf wasn¡¯t as distracted as he might have hoped, and it met his lunge with its own teeth. After a short jaw-to-jaw clash where more blood joined what had already been in his mouth, they both withdrew. The wolf was the next to make a move, opening its jaws and lifting its head to make a loud moaning noise. It was an eerie, other-worldly sound which set Dominic¡¯s teeth on edge. That wasn¡¯t only because of the weirdness to it, but also because it carried a hint of the vibration which had already taken one of Dominic¡¯s canines. Worst of all, he found himself completely unable to take advantage of the perfect opportunity in front of him to rip out the wolf¡¯s throat. Something about the sound fixed his muscles in place far more thoroughly than even the dungeon master¡¯s pain. It was like there was an electric current running through his body, disrupting the signals which his brain tried to send. Fortunately it didn¡¯t seem to be damaging in any way, and the wolf wasn¡¯t taking advantage of his inability to move to actually attack him. In fact, other than a delaying tactic, he didn¡¯t see much use in it. After what felt like far longer than a single breath could manage, the wolf went quiet and it looked expectant as it lowered its head. Dominic hesitated, not liking the confidence he sensed emanating from the creature. Then he heard a sound behind him. Backing away a little, Dominic twisted so he wasn¡¯t exactly presenting his back to the creature he¡¯d been attacking, but also so that he could see what was going on behind him. Dismay curdled inside him as he realised that the sound hadn¡¯t been an attack; it had been a summons. Chapter 58: Where’s Arnie When You Need Him Hell! Dominic spat mentally as he counted nine more wolves surrounding him. Worse, they were actually bigger than the one he had been facing. Perhaps a level or two above the one he¡¯d been fighting. If any of them had broken through into Tier 2, Dominic was in trouble. Heck, he was in trouble even if they hadn¡¯t ¨C he¡¯d been having difficulty with one; how was he supposed to win against ten. ¡®We should run,¡¯ Leo told him firmly. Dominic¡¯s eyes flickered to the health bar above his previous opponent¡¯s head. It was down lower than half, but only just. If he¡¯d thought that he¡¯d be able to open a wound in it which would drain that bar to nothing in moments, then he would have taken it. Unfortunately, it was waiting, its jaws slightly open. ¡®Damn,¡¯ Dominic cursed again. Leo was right. If he¡¯d had a decent area of effect attack or could control the numbers in any way it would be different, but as matters stood? He was in the worst position possible considering their relative strengths and weaknesses. This wasn¡¯t a fight he could win, and he would be stupid to attempt it. Now, how to get out of this? Breaking away suddenly, Dominic ran directly towards one of the wolves surrounding him. As it bared its teeth and braced for impact, the other wolves nearby also tensing in preparation, Dominic jumped over its head. He would never get tired of the surprise he saw when he pulled this move. Perhaps it was just too human for any of these creatures to consider it: attackers charged; escapees ran away. Still, he didn¡¯t allow himself to gloat ¨C the wolves were on his heels as he ran. Not entirely sure what direction he was running in, all Dominic knew was that he was running away from the creatures chasing him. Time wore on. The lion was faster than the wolves even when he didn¡¯t run at full speed, but it ate steadily at his stamina bar. As the yellow bar started entering the last ten percent, Dominic felt worry chew at his stomach. He chanced a look behind him: the wolves were still on his tail, looking unbothered. They didn¡¯t look tired; they weren¡¯t starting to fall behind. What if they¡¯re pursuit hunters like Earth wolves are? Dominic wondered with concern. Their stamina may easily be better than mine. All indications so far indicated that that was probably true. And if it was, what could Dominic do? He had no desire to run himself into the ground and then be torn apart by the pack. ¡®You could use Second Wind,¡¯ Leo suggested, sounding just as worried. ¡®I don¡¯t want to lose half my health points when the timer runs out,¡¯ Dominic argued back. ¡®Besides, my health is above half; I can¡¯t trigger it.¡¯ ¡®The description spoke about health or stamina being below 50% and being able to refill health or stamina points. Not necessarily both.¡¯ It was a thought. But was it a good one? Even if Leo was right and he could fill only his stamina points, it could put him in more danger after the timer was expended. As matters stood, unless he lost this pack in the next five minutes, he wouldn¡¯t have a chance to level up and replenish his resources completely. If that didn¡¯t happen, then he would be going into negative points with his stamina when the timer expired. While he suspected that that wouldn¡¯t necessarily kill him the way that going below 0 in health points would, he expected that he would become unable to move until his stamina recovered itself at least to above zero. If he hadn¡¯t lost the pack by that point, then it would be as much a death sentence as running himself dry now. No, there had to be a different way. Dominic looked around frantically. If only there was some sort of cave or tunnel: he¡¯d be able to hold them off like he had the hyenas soon after the System arrival. But the forest wasn¡¯t that obliging. Trees and bushes covered any spot which might have slipped to reveal an underground opening. The trees themselves were no good: using their trunks to hide behind might have worked if he were facing the warthog Guardian again, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Not to mention that there were more dangers in the forest than just these wolves. All I need is those kesh to appear again and start pelting me from above, Dominic thought as he eyed the branches above. Wait¡­what if I¡­? It was a thought. And one with better potential consequences to it than running out the timer on Second Wind before he managed to escape the wolves. Before he could second-guess himself, Dominic slowed to a stop, bunched his muscles and leaped into the air. The wolves caught up just as he leaped, but all they could do was snap at the tuft of his tail as he flew into the air. Reaching out with his claws, Dominic grabbed onto the branch he was aiming for. Struggling to get onto it, he hoped desperately that his stamina wouldn¡¯t give up before he succeeded. If it looked like he might, he would trigger Second Wind. He wasn¡¯t keen on that idea, though, fearing that the exhaustion once it lapsed might prevent him from staying in the tree and send him plummeting to the ground. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Fortunately, he still had a sliver of stamina left even once he¡¯d managed to pull himself to stand on the broad bough. Looking down at the wolves milling below his feet, he stayed tense as he waited for them to make the next move. His reason for making this decision was that he suspected that he could jump higher than these creatures could. Certainly a lion was capable of a greater jump distance than a wolf even in Earth¡¯s pre-System terms, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean squat when talking about both non-Earth creatures and post-System enhancements. Still, it didn¡¯t look like the wolves were particularly comfortable in the trees given the fact that they were still milling around below him rather than scaling the trees to take the battle to the canopy. One tried to jump after the lion, but didn¡¯t make it even halfway to his branch before it fell back to earth. None of the others made the attempt. Next, Dominic saw their antennae starting to vibrate, a hum beginning in the air. As if their ridiculous attack needed to be any more capable, it seemed like they were able to enhance each other, making the pack¡¯s attack far more powerful together than they would be individually. Even more than twenty feet in the air, the vibrations were rattling his teeth. Digging his claws into the branch below, Dominic relaxed his jaw muscles in hope that he wouldn¡¯t lose any more of his teeth. Or be knocked out of the tree. The humming increased in intensity and once more started hurting him. The tree itself was vibrating, and Dominic hoped that that didn¡¯t mean it was about to fall. He thought through what he¡¯d do in that case: probably jump to the next tree along. And then the next until he lost the wolves. Fortunately, it seemed like the distance between the wolves and him was a significant factor in his ability to withstand the attack with minimal damage. Even when the vibration stopped increasing, it was still only sending shivers of pain through him, health points dropping from his bar one at a time and not too quickly. He didn¡¯t want to think about what it would have been like if he¡¯d been on ground level with them, though. It was a good decision to run, he concluded. After a time, the wolves trailed off, the hum reducing in volume and intensity until it was gone. The next thing the pack tried was that eerie moaning noise which the first wolf had used to summon the rest of the pack. Once more, Dominic felt like he was frozen in place, unable to move. Worse, this time he was actually taking damage. Like the humming, it seemed like this pack of wolf-like creatures were able to harmonise their moans to amplify the effect. Consequently, Dominic found himself unable to even take a breath, and he was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating. Panic consumed his mind as his health points started dropping faster and faster. If his heart had been working, it would have been beating furiously, but as it was, he could only mentally panic as he suffocated. His vision started fading, black encroaching on the forest around him. And then he was gasping, his heart beating fit to burst. It took him a moment to process what had happened. The silence from the wolves below was his first clue: maybe they could only keep that particular attack going for a certain amount of time. When Dominic looked at his health bar, the bottom dropped out of his stomach. He¡¯d lost over two hundred health in that single attack. Had it gone on a few seconds longer, the blackness would have been permanent. I need to get out of here before they¡¯re able to do that again, he thought to himself, fear focussing his mind. To be able to do that, he needed stamina. To get stamina, he needed to level up. Without thinking any more, he acted, choosing the two enhancements he and Leo had discussed. The warm blast of energy that washed through him was as pleasurable as always, but it wasn¡¯t warm enough or strong enough to wash away the cold kernel of fear within him. He¡¯d been closer to death, but never having done so little damage in return. He didn¡¯t even know these creatures¡¯ species since he hadn¡¯t even got close to killing one. Without even checking out his new upgrades, Dominic took advantage of his renewed resources to get moving. Not daring to drop down to ground-level and risk being trapped by one of those attacks again, he leapt carefully from the branch he was on to one not far away. He was much more attentive to his movements than he¡¯d been when he last tried this with the kesh: first of all he didn¡¯t have not-monkeys trying to hit him with rocks and nuts; second of all, he had a pack of slathering wolves ready to tear him to shreds if he made a single wrong move. Well, not slathering, but certainly waiting. With Leo¡¯s help, he actually managed to judge the distance pretty well, only slightly over-shooting it. Gyrating his tail, he regained his balance and looked for his next destination. Leap by leap, branch by branch, he made his way through the forest. Each time he jumped, he got a little better at it, a little less likely to misjudge the distance one way or another. He had to pause twice when the wolves following him activated their vibration attack, but fortunately they didn¡¯t use the moaning howl again. Finally, they seemed to give up. First one left, then another, and then the next time he looked down, there were no wolves around the tree in which he was sitting. Mistrusting their absence for some time, Dominic continued leaping in the trees until he was certain that they weren¡¯t still following him. By this time, the trees were shorter and the branches were becoming thinner, so he dropped to the ground gladly. It was only a few minutes later when he exited the patch of forest surrounding the Place of Power. I¡¯ll be back, he mentally told the wolves darkly. Given what he¡¯d learned about Places of Power, he certainly wasn¡¯t giving up on it. But he needed to bring more firepower. Where¡¯s Arnie when you need him? he mourned. The sun was rising again, the whole night having been passed in the forest. Dominic needed to rest; he felt his desire to sleep dragging at him. But that required finding a reasonably safe or at least defensible spot. Lifting his head, he scented the wind, marvelling at just how much more he could smell since his level up. Then he caught the hint of something familiar. ¡®Water,¡¯ Leo told him just as he arrived at that conclusion himself. The lion sounded just as excited as Dominic felt. That chase had made him thirsty. Besides, there were other advantages. ¡®Where there¡¯s water, there¡¯s prey.¡¯ ¡®And where there¡¯s prey, continued Dominic, there are predators.¡¯ Chapter 59: I Can’t Let Up Or This Will Be Me Next Since the sun was already halfway into the sky, Dominic decided to take a nap as soon as possible. He didn¡¯t feel comfortable doing it too close to the forest given the inhabitants he¡¯d already encountered, but he found a nice stand of shady trees. Not a species either he or Leo recognised, but given how many different places seemed to have been smashed together, that didn¡¯t seem like too much of a surprise. Resting underneath it, he catnapped the heat of the day away, coming back to full awareness when the sun was already halfway on its downward trend. It was amazing how much less sleep he needed since the System had come in ¨C as a human or as a lion. Dominic the human had needed at least eight hours per night, where Leo the lion had usually slept most of the day away and then gone hunting during the night. These days, he was lucky to get four or five hours in a twenty-four hour period. Usually less. It must be a function of the System. Perhaps stamina replenishes more easily now? he wondered as he stretched and yawned widely. Shaking out his fur, he quickly checked his status, in particular his stamina. Stamina Points: 170/170 Good, he thought. My maximum is back up to 170 SP. Proof, if he needed it, that sleep was still necessary. He scented the wind, wanting to verify which direction he needed to move in. Catching the hint of water, he set off, padding quietly through the shoulder-high grass. The grass was different too, though it was similar in both colour and the way it moved in the wind. Dominic couldn¡¯t really put his finger on how he knew it was different, but guessed it was something about the shape which was subtly wrong from what Leo was familiar with. He was getting used to those kinds of oddities, though. Compared to the forest he¡¯d been walking through recently, these differences were almost unnoticeable. Speaking of the forest, Dominic was surprisingly glad to be out of it: although it had been cooler under the trees, the lack of sightlines and the enclosed feeling of the spaces had made him more nervous than he had thought. It was only now that he was back on the savannah that he realised how tense he had been, now he could relax a bit. For a while, he saw very little. The animals which he did see ¨C some unfamiliar type of deer which looked more like they should be at home in a European forest than an African savannah ¨C darted away quickly. He didn¡¯t bother chasing them: he had better prey in mind. At some point as he headed into the wind, towards the tempting smell of water, Dominic suddenly felt his hackles rise. He slowed, tensing as he tried to work out what had tripped his ¨C or rather, Leo¡¯s ¨C instincts. A careful gaze around revealed nothing, but he had spent too long as the hunter to trust his eyes completely. He sniffed the wind again, but there were too many unfamiliar scents in it for him to identify if any were a threat. Next, he checked in with his ears, turning them this way and that, but nothing met them except the normal sounds of the breeze rustling the grass. ¡®Perhaps I¡¯m imagining it?¡¯ Dominic said to Leo, though honestly, he didn¡¯t believe the words themselves. ¡®Something is watching us,¡¯ Leo responded firmly. ¡®Though whether that means we are being hunted or measured as to whether we are a threat, I cannot tell.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic replied. Good to have Leo¡¯s confirmation that Dominic wasn¡¯t going mad, the recent enhancement to his brain having side-effects of paranoia or something. Or maybe it was, and it was affecting both of them. That seemed less likely than them being under threat, though. Without having any idea about where the threat might be, or what it might do, or even if there was a threat, Dominic could only see continuing forwards as an option. Though, just in case he was having his first encounter with humans, he did choose to divert around the area just ahead. While he couldn¡¯t see any hint of a trap, he¡¯d rather be safe than sorry. As he headed warily through the grass, he heard a sudden rustle behind him. Tense muscles suddenly exploding with power, he leapt sideways almost without thinking. His reaction was as quick as it had been in the dungeon when the temple door swung shut, but this time his brain was also working a little faster and could mostly keep up. By the time he had regained his feet and twisted around to see what he had narrowly avoided, his mind was completely caught up with recent events. When he saw what had attacked him, however, he almost had a double-take. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. A tiger? That was all he had time to think before the creature was leaping at him, claws and teeth bared. Though Leo¡¯s instincts were urging him to meet the big feline with his own claws and teeth, Dominic had a different strategy in mind. Activating Quick Strike, he once more leapt to the side, covering more ground than the tiger would have expected. Using his momentum, he twisted and leaped back, his teeth and claws striking the tiger just ahead of its hip joint, digging into the hindquarters of the tiger. Blood filled his mouth and Crushing Bite enhanced his attack, his teeth digging deeply into the tiger¡¯s flesh. Clearly, its enhancements had been to its size and speed as there didn¡¯t seem to be much resistance to his attack. The tiger roared in pain and tried to strike at Dominic in return. The lion just kept shifting his hindquarters out of the tiger¡¯s reach and clung on. Pre-System, a lone lion against a tiger would have had to have some good luck to win the battle as a tiger was both bigger and heavier than a lion. Plus, as a solitary hunter, it was more used to such battles. A pride of lions, of course, would be a different story. Post-System, though, it appeared to be mostly based on levels. Dominic had outlevelled every creature he¡¯d come across so far, and he suspected that it remained the case with this tiger. As a result, the tables were turned with the lion being the bigger and heavier in the battle. If the tiger had succeeded in its ambush and had dealt a fearsome bite to Dominic¡¯s back, the battle could have ended then and there. As it was, having failed to catch Dominic unawares, it ended up being the losing party. The clash ended with less of a bang, more of a whimper, as Dominic clung on and let bloodloss do the work for him. At first the tiger tried frantically to attack him, then it tried just as desperately to pull itself away, and then when that failed, attempted once more to attack him, its efforts no more successful than the first time it had tried. By that point, its stamina must have been pretty low as it hadn¡¯t been long after that it had collapsed to the ground. Only then did Dominic release his grip, though only to shift forwards and bite at the back of its head. Crushing Bite at +40% was enough to snap right through the tiger¡¯s spinal cord and the notification soon after announced his hunter¡¯s death. [You have killed Bengal Tiger (Half-step Evolved Beast level 7)] [You have earned 69 PP] Almost as much as the scrin, Dominic thought with a little surprise, remembering the battle with the hyena-gorilla hybrid. When he compared the difficulty of the battles, though, there was no contest. Although he had had the health potion in his inventory, without it or a level up, he might easily have died during the fight with the scrin. Here, one attack and the tiger had been pretty much done. ¡®That may say less about our opponents than it does about us and our fighting style,¡¯ Leo remarked. ¡®But I¡¯ve barely enhanced anything about my combat potential in the level-ups since,¡¯ Dominic objected. ¡®You chose to enhance both Strike and Brain. The enhancement to our processing speed may have given us the edge in this fight, allowing you to strike at the enemy before it could react, and the enhancement to Strike added to the damage our bite caused. Not to mention the additional damage of Crushing Bite which we didn¡¯t have against the scrin,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®And I suppose that it was a different kind of opponent,¡¯ Dominic added onto Leo¡¯s thoughts. ¡®The scrin had a massive health pool and strong defence. This tiger was more like our own style: fast and powerful but with less defence.¡¯ He considered it for a moment. ¡®It would probably have been quite a different story if we¡¯d met it the way you wanted to ¨C tooth to tooth and claw to claw. I bet it has abilities which enhance its attacks the way I do.¡¯ ¡®Yes, well,¡¯ Leo growled, sounding a little embarrassed. ¡®It was a large feline. How else should I meet it?¡¯ Dominic didn¡¯t dignify that with an answer: his point had been rather well proven by how relatively easy the battle had been. Still, he decided not to josh his companion too much: Leo had far more dirt on him than he had on Leo. ¡®It¡¯s a good demonstration of the weaknesses of our style here. Perhaps we should consider investing more in defence when we level up next.¡¯ ¡®A mane is an excellent defence for our neck and chest area,¡¯ Leo pointed out hopefully. Dominic huffed in amusement. ¡®How did I know you were going to say that?¡¯ Turning his attention back to the tiger, he considered the sorry carcass of the magnificent creature. What is a tiger doing here anyway? Aren¡¯t they supposed to be in India? Then again, kangaroos were supposed to be in Australia, and resorels, scrins, and kesh were supposed to be wherever they originated from too. Clearly this was a result of the combination of the different planets. Maybe he¡¯d wandered into a section of savannah which had originally been part of India. Dominic hoped not: if he had, he was less likely to find what he hoped to near the water. He¡¯d still investigate. Touching the sorry-looking corpse at his feet, he hesitated. Take away the stripes and add in a mane and it could easily have been a lion. Had he been just a little slower, it could have been him lying limp on the savannah earth. He¡¯d been far more at risk with the wolf-things in the forest, but this brought the potential of his death home to him in a way that they hadn¡¯t. I need to keep getting stronger, he told himself, unable to prevent feeling a little tired at the thought. I can¡¯t let up or this will be me next. Consume, he instructed and the body dissolved into golden dust. Chapter 60: Put Your Back Into It Even after the body had disappeared, the slightly maudlin mood didn¡¯t leave Dominic. Seeing the glimmering of the Beast Core left behind, he padded over to it, hoping that it might hold some ability which would help lift the funk he was in. [Beast Core: Bengal Tiger level 7 Ability option 1: Rending Bite (75% chance)) Ability option 2: Camouflage (25% chance)] Despite the solemn mood the corpse of the tiger had put him in, Dominic couldn¡¯t help but be interested in the abilities the Core held. Rending Bite¡­that sounds a bit like Crushing Bite except perhaps it offers Tearing or Piercing damage instead of Crushing. That would be a pretty good addition to my repertoire, he thought. As for Camouflage, I guess that might be why I couldn¡¯t find the tiger before it leapt at me. Again, that would be a very good addition. Dominic decided to check both of them out: although he didn¡¯t have a choice here, it would be good to know what each entailed, especially since he wouldn¡¯t have another chance before actually fully earning the ability. [Rending Bite (T0): Enhance the tearing power of your jaws. Consume stamina to temporarily increase the sharpness of your teeth. Sharpness increase can range from +5% to +50% at level 1, consuming an appropriate amount of stamina per second, relative to the increase in sharpness chosen. Both sharpness increase and amount of stamina consumed may change as the skill level increases.] ¡®That sounds pretty identical to Crushing Bite except for the type of damage and what it does to our bite,¡¯ Leo remarked. ¡®Exactly,¡¯ Dominic agreed, excitement filling him. ¡®Imagine if I¡¯m able to use both of them at the same time! Quick Strike to get in there quickly, Rending Bite to dig down deeply and cause a lot of bleeding, then Crushing Bite to dig into their bones.¡¯ Then he thought for a moment. ¡®Or the other way around if I¡¯m dealing with something with lots of defence: Crushing Bite to get through the armour, then Rending Bite to destroy the flesh beneath.¡¯ ¡®We have to get it first from the Core,¡¯ Leo pointed out. He was right and Dominic tried to check his excitement. It was more likely that he would get Rending Bite, but as his experience with the scrin had shown, more likely definitely didn¡¯t mean certain. ¡®Let¡¯s have a look at the other ability, then.¡¯ [Camouflage (T0): Blend with your surroundings to reduce the chance of being spotted by an observer. Blending is more effective in areas which match your exterior in colour and pattern. At level 1, +10% to previous effectiveness of blending in all environments. Blending effectiveness may change as the skill level increases and other types of camouflage may become available.] ¡®Forget what I said about Rending Bite,¡¯ Dominic told Leo, ¡®I¡¯ve changed my mind. This is the ability I want. Think about how much more successful hunting could be, especially once it goes up a few levels!¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®The reference to other types of camouflage might be interesting too,¡¯ he added. ¡®However, ultimately, we don¡¯t get a choice,¡¯ he reminded Dominic. The human-turned-lion couldn¡¯t help but feel that Leo was taking a bit more pleasure in the reminder than was due. Perhaps he was getting his own back for Dominic doing the same thing when they¡¯d absorbed the warthog¡¯s core and he hadn¡¯t got his choice of Boundless Fertility. Still, he was right, and sitting there staring at the Core wasn¡¯t going to help in any way, not now they knew exactly what the abilities entailed. A moment after the golden dust of the Core had been absorbed into Dominic¡¯s leg, he pulled up his abilities list. Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (96% to level 3) ¨C 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (10% to level 1) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +5% - 50% Crushing damage for 3-60 stamina per second. Powerful Kick (52% to level 1) Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (12% to level 1) Sharp Nip (50% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Easy Landing (48% to level 1) Rending Bite (17% to level 1) Ultimately, he wasn¡¯t sure if he was pleased or disappointed that probability had won out this time. Rending Bite would be a good addition to his skill-set once he¡¯d absorbed enough Cores to get it, but Camouflage would have been awesome too. Oh well, he tried to console himself, perhaps I¡¯ll get another chance later. A tiger can¡¯t be the only creature with Camouflage. He was also pleased to see that Quick Strike was within spitting distance of levelling up. Another fight should see that hitting 100%. It will be interesting to see whether the changes will be the same as when it ranked up from level 1 to 2. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Closing the screen, he took a moment just to check that there was nothing else about to attack, then padded off again. The crawling sensation which had made his hackles rise before was gone; clearly the tiger had been the only reason for it. The smell of water was getting stronger, the wind whipping it towards him more often. Then, as his gaze drifted across a tree, Leo suddenly exploded into excitement. ¡®There! Look!¡¯ ¡®At what? Where?¡¯ Dominic¡¯s head turned back and forth quickly, trying to spot what had got him so agitated. He wasn¡¯t giving off any sense of fear or anger, so it couldn¡¯t be an enemy, but clearly it was something important. ¡®There, on the tree trunk.¡¯ There was only one tree nearby, so Dominic trotted towards it. He inspected the tree, but couldn¡¯t see much. Its trunk was a bit damaged, but the tree didn¡¯t seem worse for it. Its canopy was full and the few birds which had been perched on its branches took flight as he approached. ¡®What are you looking at?¡¯ he asked, confused. ¡®The claw marks. And can¡¯t you smell that?¡¯ Dominic sniffed. It was true that there was quite a strong musky scent. Now he was paying attention, the memories ¨C Leo¡¯s memories ¨C suddenly hit him. Blinking, he thought he understood the lion¡¯s excitement. Inspecting the damage to the tree trunk, he realised that they weren¡¯t incidental damage at all; they were all too intentional. ¡®They¡¯re markings¡­.¡¯ ¡®Yes. There¡¯s a pride not far away,¡¯ Leo concluded with elation. ¡®The male lion is young, but we are more powerful, I am sure.¡¯ ¡®What makes you think that?¡¯ ¡®Although you haven¡¯t done a good job of sharpening our claws regularly,¡¯ the lion scolded Dominic, ¡®I would estimate that we could slice much deeper into the tree trunk than this lion has done. In fact, you should do that now. And spray our scent to cover this male¡¯s.¡¯ ¡®But won¡¯t that mean the other male lion will know we¡¯re here?¡¯ Dominic checked, a little alarmed at the thought. ¡®Of course. That¡¯s the point,¡¯ Leo told him, his growl sounding a little exasperated. ¡®We announce our presence to challenge the resident male or males. We invite a confrontation. If he or they do not feel able to accept our challenge, he or they will depart and leave the pride open to our conquest. If he or they wish to engage in battle, we will clash and the victor will be decided. This is not a battle to be won by tricks but by might.¡¯ Dominic considered it. It sounded a bit stupid in a way, but then again, lots of humans liked to engage in dick-measuring contests of one sort or another ¨C who had the flashiest car, who had the biggest house, who had the highest salary ¨C and considered those to be worth social points. Was that any less stupid? And clearly this had worked for lions through their evolution so who was he to judge? Lions had been around since long before human civilisations even started, and they were still around even after the apocalypse had come which Dominic wasn¡¯t at all certain would be the case with the civilisations he¡¯d known. ¡®Alright, fine. So what do I do ¨C this?¡¯ he asked as he swiped at the tree. ¡®Not like that, haven¡¯t you ever marked a tree before?¡¯ the co-resident of his head snapped at him. ¡®Um, no,¡¯ Dominic replied. ¡®Humans are not in the habit of marking trees with our fingernails to show our territory.¡¯ ¡®That explains a lot, retorted Leo caustically. You have to put your back into it, slice deeply and at the right angle to both rub your scent in and sharpen your claws.¡¯ ¡®And what is the¡­you know what, why don¡¯t you do it?¡¯ Dominic offered, giving up. This was a lion thing; it ought to be done by a lion. And yes, technically Dominic was a lion now, but he didn¡¯t think in a leonine way much of the time. If this meant so much to Leo, let him do it. Dominic would pay attention so that he could repeat it a later time but he didn¡¯t feel like having Leo claw mentally at him when he did it wrong. Besides, Leo was due a bit of time in the driving seat. ¡®Very well,¡¯ Leo replied, not even hiding his excitement at the thought. The transition was faster this time than the previous, both of them knowing better what to do. Soon, Dominic found himself relegated to merely observing events, rather than being able to control them. He watched with interest as Leo reared up and dug his claws into the tree trunk as high up as he could get them. Then Leo dragging them downwards, Dominic made a note of the angle and depth of the slicing motion for later reference. The claws dug deeply enough that the bark of the tree rubbed at the flesh in between them, but not so deeply that the flesh was damaged. When Leo inspected his claws afterwards, Dominic could see the difference. They were visibly cleaner and possibly ever-so-slightly sharper. Curious, he wondered if he could call up his status screen while he wasn¡¯t the driver. When it turned out he could, he scrolled down to the section about his claws. - Claws level 2 (12-24 Slicing damage, 12-18 Tearing damage, 6-12 Piercing damage) Well, that¡¯s interesting, he thought. The maximum damage of each damage type had increased by two units. So regularly sharpening his claws was definitely something he ought to make time for. Leo sniffed at the tree trunk and Dominic could smell a hint of difference there too. Overlying the musk of the other male was now the hint of Dominic. Well, Leo, more to the point. That was the point that the lion turned, lifted his tail and sprayed. ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ Dominic exclaimed. ¡®Scent-marking, of course,¡¯ Leo told him matter-of-factly. ¡®What did you think I was doing?¡¯ Dominic decided not to answer, not having an answer. He wasn¡¯t quite sure why he was surprised: dogs did it all the time. Maybe he hadn¡¯t associated the canine behaviour with felines, though he guessed cats had to mark territories too. He supposed that he ought to be grateful that the introduction of the System had clearly changed the way bowel movements worked: this was the first time he¡¯d done either action, and he hadn¡¯t felt any need to void himself. Though clearly he was still capable of it, otherwise Leo wouldn¡¯t have been able to¡­do what he was doing. Deciding not to question the System too much, especially when it meant he didn¡¯t have to consider how to urinate or defecate as a lion, he focussed his attention on comparing the slices Leo had made to the ones the other lion had scratched into the tree. Sure enough, Leo¡¯s marks were both deeper and longer than the other lion¡¯s indicating an advantage both in size and in strength. Perhaps the other lion would just run away before he even appeared. Though that does kind of put the ¡®cowardly¡¯ in ¡®cowardly lion¡¯, Dominic mused to himself. I thought lions were supposed to be brave? Chapter 61: Until He’d Gained Enough Sapience Leo padded through the savannah, regularly breathing through his mouth to search for both the scents of water and other lions in the air. Although he was not detecting any hint of lion yet, it was only a matter of time. The marking on the tree was only a few days old, meaning that it had happened after the world had changed. Besides, the tree which was marked was one of the new variants. It was reassuring to know that there was a pride alive and well not far away, because why else would another male mark his territory? And if there was a pride around, they would inevitably come to a waterhole either to drink or for the prey which themselves came to imbibe the water. Every so often Leo would come across the traces of another animal, but his single-minded focus on finding the pride meant that he wasn¡¯t diverted into a hunt. If he came across the tracks and scent of a warthog, he might be willing to follow it: his brother seemed to put some strange importance to gaining their ability. Why the former-monkey wanted to gain the ability of a prey creature like that, Leo wasn¡¯t sure, but he accepted that his brother did many things he didn¡¯t quite understand. Like try to take on a group of almost-baboons in the trees. Leo shook his mane in irritation at the thought of that particular humiliation. Perhaps the former-monkey hadn¡¯t quite left his origins behind and wished to be back in the treetops. Still, Leo had to admit that the practice they¡¯d had had allowed them to escape those strange wild dogs. Worse than hyenas, those things were. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to facing them again, but had a feeling that his brother would insist. For some reason, his brother was fixated on this Place of Power, so he doubted that he would be willing to just stay with the pride, mate, feed, and raise cubs the way Leo would be. From what Leo had seen of his memories, that was how humans were: always seeking to make things bigger, better, more. They sought something, and then when they got it, it wasn¡¯t enough and they needed something else to satisfy them. Yet they were never satisfied. Now Leo understood something which he¡¯d never really thought about until he¡¯d gained enough sapience to question it: the human encroachment on the wild savannah. With Dominic¡¯s memories of learning about swathes of wild areas being destroyed for humans to be able to have more things to fill their dens with, Leo had learned two new emotions: gratitude...and rage. Gratitude that he had grown up in an area which was intentionally left for wildlife to flourish. Rage that it was not something he could take for granted. Humanity had spread far beyond where they should have, and used their advantage of supernatural weaponry to take a place in the natural hierarchy far above where they should be. Baboons were not something to take lightly, but they did not seek to dominate the savannah and transform it to their selfish benefit. They had natural predators and fell prey to all sorts of misfortune. Humanity, as a whole, didn¡¯t seem to do that. Could lions do the same thing? Leo found himself wondering. I¡¯ve changed a lot since the world changed and I started gaining both strength and sapience. Is it unrealistic to think that with our natural advantages, lions might not gain true domination over the area now we have access to magic and healing and greater capacity to think and reflect? And if we gain that, what might we do to the environment around us? Though he did have a big question mark over the possibilities. After all, how much of his own growth was to do with the fact that he shared a body with a human? Or at least, a mind which had once been in a human body? With copious amounts of time to think and reflect, now that he had the capacity to do so, Leo was all-too aware about how his own thinking had been influenced by the developed capacity for thought that was Dominic¡¯s mind. His brother¡¯s mind had been influenced by Leo¡¯s own body and physical brain structure; Leo, as an unanchored mind, had grown and blossomed thanks to Dominic¡¯s. When Leo had first become slightly aware, probably back at level 3 or so, he¡¯d been a bundle of emotions and reactions, little else. Slowly, he had gained more understanding of his own emotions, and from there been able to work out the ¡®why¡¯ of them. While at first he had been discomforted by their intensity, now he found himself more able to manage them, especially when he started being able to think in words. What other lion would have that same benefit? To be able to experience thought as a human, while still staying unashamedly lion? And what did that mean for their future progress along with others of their kind? Humans are still going to have an advantage though, aren¡¯t they? grumbled Leo to himself. Not quietly enough, it seemed as his brother perked up at his thought. ¡®Why do you say that?¡¯ Leo was going to have to work on making his thoughts quieter when he was in control of the body: he didn¡¯t have to pay the same attention when he was riding as the co-passenger. Perhaps that was the reason why he had changed more than his brother: he was inundated by the former-human¡¯s thoughts whether he wanted them or not. ¡®Leo?¡¯ ¡®Didn¡¯t you interpret the same thing from the dungeon as I did? Because we¡¯re a Beast, not a human or, perhaps, Humanoid, we can¡¯t gain the full benefit out of our equipment: it has had to be modified to allow us to wear it. If that wasn¡¯t enough, we also clearly do not progress in the same way: Prey Points rather than XP. We have to risk our life to hunt down other Beasts of increasingly greater threat in order to continue advancing, where the humans would have gained a big dollop of XP just for touching the altar at the end of the dungeon. How is that fair? Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡®Well, humans would have had to risk their lives in the dungeon to get to the altar at the end,¡¯ his brother pointed out. ¡®And that we can use any equipment at all is good ¨C a lion trying to use an AK-47 would be a bit of a disaster, judging from my attempts to pick up a damn candle. Besides, just because humans earn XP doesn¡¯t mean that their way of progressing is any easier; just different.¡¯ The human had a point, but Leo just knew that the humans had been advantaged in some way. ¡®Well, we need it,¡¯ Leo¡¯s brother responded to his unspoken thought. ¡®I mean, humans need it. We¡­they are soft, weak, vulnerable. No claws, or teeth, or fur to protect them. They need to make claws and teeth and armour to survive. Heck, without clothes, we¡¯d¡­they¡¯d die of exposure in a short space of time in a number of climates.¡¯ ¡®My claws and teeth do not shoot painful bullets,¡¯ Leo told him sulkily. ¡®Neither did humans for the vast majority of our history. That¡¯s only a technological development in the last three hundred years or so.¡¯ ¡®Which humans will no doubt take into this new world, and once more spread like a disease across the planet¡¯s surface, taking more of its resources than they should ever have been able to claim, and making decisions to doom the rest of us in the meantime,¡¯ Leo told his brother angrily, the feeling of rage flaring once more inside him. ¡®Don¡¯t think that I haven¡¯t seen your memories of all that.¡¯ Dominic was silent for a long moment, the sense of guilt drifting across from his corner of Leo¡¯s mind. ¡®Look, you¡¯ve got a right to be angry,¡¯ he said finally, almost too quietly for Leo to hear. ¡®We weren¡¯t very good caretakers of the world. Some people tried to make up for what we were doing, but as a whole we were taking actions which were too little, too late. Perhaps this whole System is a good thing ¨C if nothing else, it¡¯s given us more time.¡¯ He was silent for a little longer before speaking. ¡®And perhaps humans won¡¯t be so clearly the dominant species on this new world.¡¯ ¡®If the new System doesn¡¯t cheat as badly as the old one, perhaps,¡¯ Leo groused, though his rage had been doused by his brother¡¯s clear guilt over it all. There was no point in them fighting over such a thing; it was just proof of how far Leo himself had moved from his baseline leonine state that he cared at all. But it wouldn¡¯t help their survival to muse over could-have-beens; he didn¡¯t want to absorb so much of Dominic¡¯s personality that he ended up unable to keep focussed on what was truly important. On that note, Leo realised that his musings had brought him close to his target: ahead of him, he could see the glint of water between trees. The area around the waterhole was likely to be dangerous: predators and prey would throng here alike. Still, it wasn¡¯t yet dusk so most creatures would probably still be hiding away from the sun rather than on the prowl. Though that was the way things used to be Before; who knew if they were different now? Even Leo was starting to get a bit overheated after walking in the afternoon sun for a while. He¡¯d noticed that he¡¯d been feeling hotter more easily ¨C the longer fur was probably to be blamed for that. Still, it had given him a mane some time before he might otherwise have expected to start properly growing it, so it wasn¡¯t all bad. On that note, Leo decided to seek shade ¨C once he¡¯d seen his reflection in the water. After all, if the enhancements he¡¯d encouraged his brother to take hadn¡¯t given him enough of a mane to be willing to show himself to the females, he¡¯d have to make sure that mane enhancements were the only choices considered in the next level up. Although he took the last stretch of land towards the water carefully and slowly, he didn¡¯t actually see anything move. Clearly it was as he had thought: the sun had chased everything under cover. Standing by the side of the waterhole, he looked eagerly at his reflection. What met his gaze was not what he remembered seeing the last time he had visited a waterhole, a day before the world changed. The lion in the reflection was bigger, for one. Broader too. His eyes were sharper and more aware. His face was pretty much the same, though when he opened his jaws, he saw his teeth were longer and sharper. Fortunately, his level-up had replaced the tooth he¡¯d lost to the dog-things: he¡¯d hate to present himself to the females like that. He was also a bit shaggier, his fur about double the length it had been. No wonder that he was overheating. He was abruptly glad that his brother had talked him out of growing it further. As for his mane, although it wasn¡¯t all that he had hoped, it was a good sight better than it had been. He actually had a mane, which was more than had been the case before. The darkening and lengthening of the fur which had been there meant he had a nice ruff around his head and going down his throat a bit, the colour darker than the rest of his sandy-coloured coat. Though, he was rather displeased by the interruption of the leather collar around his neck ¨C while he knew it was called a ¡®gorget¡¯, it looked a lot more like a collar. But at least it was protective rather than restrictive or he would put up more of a fuss: he wasn¡¯t a pet cat! That was the only reason he¡¯d put up with it marring the line of his mane too. So overall, he was quite pleased with the development of his most important, and attractive feature. It wasn¡¯t anything like his sire¡¯s mane had been, but one day maybe he¡¯d get there. I wonder what happened to him when the world changed¡­ he found himself wondering. Then he shoved that thought away from him: there was only so human he was willing to let himself get. Chapter 62: Wait, what? Content Warning: discussion of lion infanticide After admiring the beginnings of his mane, Leo moved to find a shady spot not too far from the water. Closing his eyes, he slept in the sun, knowing that his keen senses would detect anything coming too close. He slept for a little while, feeling the heat of the day reduce little by little, the sun creeping ever closer to the horizon. He didn¡¯t bother to rouse himself even when it had dropped to comfortable levels: animals would be coming by around sundown, so he might as well enjoy the time relaxing now. When the first animals started appearing, Leo just stayed quietly hidden in the thorn thicket, even when his brother started encouraging him to hunt them. ¡®Come on,¡¯ Dominic whined like a cub which hadn¡¯t been allowed to chew at the communal carcass while his father ate. ¡®We¡¯re only twenty-three Prey Points away from another level. Kill a couple of these small creatures and we¡¯ll probably earn enough to get it.¡¯ ¡®Yet in the process, we¡¯ll scare off the rest of the prey and potentially the predators with them,¡¯ Leo explained, growling a little at his brother¡¯s impatience. In gaining a little, they risked losing a lot. ¡®We will earn enough Prey Points for our level up soon.¡¯ Numbers were something else Leo had had no idea about before he¡¯d merged with the human. He¡¯d had enough sense of it to know whether enough of his pride members were surrounding prey to make it worth chasing. And he¡¯d known that a larger number of creatures meant a better chance to make a kill. But as for counting? No. Now, he understood it only through his contact with his brother¡¯s mind; he still didn¡¯t get it sometimes. However, what he did know, had known since long before the world changed, was that some things were more important than others. He¡¯d known that when he was a cub and his sire had growled in a particular way, it was more important to stop than to continue playing with his sire¡¯s tail. He¡¯d known that when hunger was gnawing at his stomach, it was more important to focus on getting a kill than whining about it to his mother and aunts. Yet, he¡¯d also known that avoiding getting injured was more important than filling his belly when hyenas came to chase him off his solitary kill. Now, he was driven by more than just pure survival, yet the base understanding remained: long-term survival was more important than temporary gain. By the time the sun was touching the horizon, his patience was rewarded. ¡®They¡¯re beautiful,¡¯ he thought to himself, admiring the sleek lines of his new pride. ¡®Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ his brother grunted in amusement from his corner. ¡®We haven¡¯t defeated the resident lion, have we?¡¯ Leo growled softly in annoyance at his brother actually having a point this time. Still, that didn¡¯t stop him watching the pride come to drink with both assessing and hungry eyes. Each of the adults and almost-adults stopped to scent-mark a tree near the waterhole, not that far from where Leo was hidden. Fortunately, being downwind meant that he was able to smell them, though they couldn¡¯t detect him. Having made their mark, they went to drink. Now with the understanding of numbers absorbed from Dominic, he was able to count them. One, two, three, four¡­.six adult females, with three almost-grown females, and two almost-grown males. Then among the ones that didn¡¯t mark the tree were eleven cubs of varying ages, most likely a mix of males and females. Leo opened his mouth and inhaled the air. The young females are not long before their first heat, he decided when he registered their scent. As for the other adult females, two were likely to come into heat soon, perhaps had even begun to feel it, while the other four were not. One was pregnant, though she was barely showing. She would depart the pride soon to have her cubs separately. The other three must be the mothers of the younger cubs. They would come into heat soon after he killed his rival¡¯s offspring. ¡®Wait what?¡¯ his brother¡¯s voice intruded, breaking his concentration. He growled and shook his mane a little, as if the human¡¯s voice was a buzzing fly around his ears. It was a good-sized pride, nine females in total if all three of the young females stayed. There was no reason why they should not, but it wasn¡¯t unheard of that- ¡®Why were you thinking about killing cubs?¡¯ Evidently, Dominic was not going to give up on this topic, and Leo clearly needed to explain it to him for him to give the lion any chance to plan. ¡®When we take over a pride, we will chase out the three sub-adult males, and kill the rest of the cubs,¡¯ he explained as patiently as he could. Humans had such strange practices with offspring. Not only did they continue supporting offspring long after they could support themselves, but they even voluntarily took on responsibility for offspring which were not their own. Look at Dominic¡¯s father: despite having no blood relation to his brother, not being his sire, he¡¯d still put years of his own time and effort into raising the boy his mate had dumped on him before becoming a nomad. But humans would do as they would do. The lion way was much more sensible: kill the non-productive or potentially-competitive members of the previous lion¡¯s pride, and then seed his own offspring in the newly-fertile females. That way, he was sure that none of his own efforts would be wasted on helping the other lion¡¯s offspring mature rather than his own. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡®That¡¯s not¡­that¡¯s not how it works,¡¯ the human told him in tones that Leo was only able to identify as horrified because he dipped into Dominic¡¯s own understanding. ¡®You can¡¯t just kill kids!¡¯ ¡®They¡¯re not kids,¡¯ Leo huffed at him, exasperated ¨C something else he¡¯d learned from the human. ¡®They¡¯re cubs. And this isn¡¯t human society; this is the savannah. I don¡¯t tell you how to human. Don¡¯t tell me how to lion.¡¯ There was silence, though Leo knew better than to think that the human had suddenly seen the sense of his argument. ¡®I can¡¯t be party to killing kids, not even if they¡¯re cubs,¡¯ his brother said finally. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t.¡¯ Leo found himself tensing. ¡®And what do you mean by that?¡¯ he growled, his lips rising to bare his teeth. ¡®If you want to kill those cubs,¡¯ his brother said, terribly, awfully seriously, ¡®then you need to challenge me and win. Because until then, you agreed that I would lead our little duet here. And I say that I¡¯m not prepared to kill cubs, just because we¡¯re taking over their pride.¡¯ Leo thought about the ultimatum carefully. Should he challenge the human for full control over the body? Perhaps. The human had made some odd choices lately. But on the other hand, they had both survived and grown stronger despite, or perhaps because of those choices. ¡®What would you suggest instead of killing them, then?¡¯ he asked, more than half-curious to see if the human actually had a decent idea, or was just letting emotions lead his decisions. Again. Dominic took a while to answer, long enough that Leo was starting to wonder if he would answer at all. In the meantime, Leo was wondering whether to display himself to the females: the male didn¡¯t seem to have arrived yet. ¡®What if we raised them instead? No, hear me out,¡¯ the human interrupted Leo as he tried to say that he¡¯d already explained why that wasn¡¯t an option. ¡®Look at my dad. My step-dad, technically, as you pointed out earlier. I don¡¯t care that we¡¯re not blood-related: he took care of me from the moment he and my mum got together, and that didn¡¯t stop when my mum left. I would pick him every time over the sperm-donor who was my biological father. My sire, as you would say. If we raise these cubs, won¡¯t they be loyal too?¡¯ ¡®Lions are not loyal,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Females are loyal to each other and will protect each other and each other¡¯s cubs. Males come and go, few staying for more than a few dry seasons. Years. Male cubs raised to adulthood won¡¯t be loyal; they will be competitive. We might be raising the rivals which attempt to chase us out of the pride as we get weaker in age and they get stronger. Conquering a pride is about creating as much of a legacy as we can. When at least two of these females aren¡¯t going to be fertile for more than a year because they are already caring for cubs, that reduces our chances of having offspring who survive to adulthood by a third.¡¯ ¡®Though if you¡¯re right and at least half of those eleven cubs are female, that would mean five or six new females to mate with in the year, rather than just those two females who would come into heat,¡¯ his brother pointed out slyly. Leo paused before responding. He hadn¡¯t thought about it like that. ¡®After all, we can¡¯t mate with females which are related to us, so any cubs we have are out of bounds on the mating front. But the cubs which are already there aren¡¯t related to us.¡¯ ¡®You make an interesting point,¡¯ Leo allowed after a few moments¡¯ thought. Although his leonine instincts didn¡¯t have any problems with mating with his daughters, what he¡¯d learned from Dominic¡¯s memories indicated that it really wasn¡¯t a good idea. ¡®Though that doesn¡¯t change the fact that perhaps half of the cubs are male too. There is no benefit to protecting them until they reach adulthood. The opposite, in fact.¡¯ ¡®That was the way in the old world, right? Pre-System? But we¡¯ve seen how animals have changed. You¡¯ve seen how you¡¯ve changed. Maybe by the time the cubs reach adulthood in this new world, they won¡¯t act the way lions have always acted. Isn¡¯t it worth trying it?¡¯ The words were so close to what Leo had himself been considering earlier that he was sure Dominic had been paying close attention. Yet, despite knowing that¡­the human was right. The world was changing, and Leo was no different. Could he have become what he was now, Before? No, probably not. So could he say with certainty that the cubs he now regarded couldn¡¯t change just as much? No. There was one thing he could say, though. ¡®We¡¯re chasing out those two juvenile males, though,¡¯ he growled to the human. ¡®Why can¡¯t-¡¯ ¡®Because they are already almost adults,¡¯ Leo interrupted his brother¡¯s objection. ¡®I¡¯m not suggesting we kill them unless they attempt to fight me, but they will attempt to challenge us if we leave them. Their own sire would be chasing them off soon anyway.¡¯ ¡®It seems so barbaric,¡¯ the human sighed, but Leo sensed that he had given in. ¡®Fine.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s the way it has always been,¡¯ Leo reminded him. ¡®It¡¯s what happened to me: my sire fled from a trio of males who came to take over our pride, and the new males spent little time in ensuring that all rivals were long-gone. It is the way of things.¡¯ ¡®It was the way of things in the past,¡¯ Dominic reminded him pointedly. ¡®However, this is a whole new world.¡¯ Leo decided that he¡¯d been discussing things long enough; if he waited much longer, the females would disappear and he wanted to see their reactions to him ahead of challenging their male. With another glance up the slope from whence the lionesses came, Leo couldn¡¯t see any hint of a male lion approaching. He must be patrolling somewhere, the lion decided. Oh well, all the better for me. Standing up, Leo stretched and then emerged from the bushes. Chapter 63: The Lion Approaches Dominic watched from the backseat as Leo stepped delicately out from the bush where they¡¯d been hiding. The female lions who were congregating around the waterhole immediately looked up. Their reactions, however, were rather different. Three growled at him, baring their teeth and stepping forward to crouch threateningly in front of the younger members of the pride. These must be the mothers which Leo had identified. The pregnant female hung back, not snarling at them but also not showing anything more than wariness. From Leo¡¯s memories, some of which seemed to be more instincts than true memories, Dominic could tell that if they took over the pride, she might choose to leave it for the sake of her cubs. Since it was clear that her cubs were of the previous male¡¯s mating, a normal lion male would probably choose to kill them. Dominic was even more determined to ensure that Leo didn¡¯t do that. As for the two other females who were already on the cusp of a heat, they showed a much more positive reaction. Once more using Leo¡¯s instincts to interpret their body language, Dominic could see that they were¡­intrigued. Interested. Wary, too ¨C he was, after all, an unknown male. However, without cubs of their own to protect, they were more curious about this newcomer than defensive. Apparently satisfied with the reaction of the lionesses, Leo wandered over to the tree where the pride members had marked their territory and sprayed over the top of the other scents. Then, feeling pleased with himself, he trotted off into the bush. Not too far; just a little bit up the route the lionesses and cubs had come from. ¡®Why are we going this way?¡¯ Dominic asked, a little confused. ¡®The male is likely to come from this direction,¡¯ the lion responded shortly. ¡®But why not stay with the lionesses? Get them used to our presence?¡¯ ¡®Time for that after we¡¯ve chased off the male. If we initiate a fight in the middle of the pride, the females may take part. That risks us either failing the challenge or hurting the females pointlessly. Or ourselves becoming hurt. Better to face the male when he is separated from the pride.¡¯ Dominic had never heard of lionesses joining a fight between male lions, but he couldn¡¯t say he had been an expert in lions before this. Still wasn¡¯t, as it happened, but he had the ultimate cheat-sheet in Leo. They had been lying there for long enough that dark was swiftly approaching when a lion came near. It wasn¡¯t, however, the male they were waiting for. Instead, one of the lionesses was coming up from their rear. It was one of the two who had seemed particularly interested in him; one of those almost in heat. Leo stood warily, but didn¡¯t otherwise react as the lioness approached. Even Dominic could tell that she wasn¡¯t putting off any aggressive vibes. She, too, was a bit wary, but there was something else about her body language which Dominic could only describe as¡­flirtatious. Perhaps she was actually already in heat, then, rather than just on the cusp of it. The lioness didn¡¯t come too close, but flicked her tail around, passing in front of Leo¡¯s nose, a wave of musk following her movement. She moved a little further away and then flopped onto her side, rolling over to scratch her back, and then flopping onto her other side. A moment later, she pushed herself to her feet again and moved a few paces back down the route where she paused, her tail slightly curled upwards. Leo took a couple of steps forwards, narrowing in on a small patch of darker ground to lick and sniff at it. When Dominic realised what he was investigating, he recoiled mentally. ¡®Ew, man, lion, whatever. That¡¯s urine!¡¯ The lion ignored him for a moment, inhaling the scent through his mouth. Dominic couldn¡¯t really explain what it smelt like. There was something which told him that this was definitely, definitely, lion piss. There was also something else there which was tantalising, enticing, and arousing. ¡®She¡¯s letting me know she¡¯s in heat,¡¯ Leo told him, a hint of excitement in his mental voice. ¡®Didn¡¯t you already have an idea of that?¡¯ Dominic asked, still disgusted at his actions. ¡®Not so definitively. Not just in heat, either, but interested in mating.¡¯ ¡®She¡¯s that confident we will win the challenge?¡¯ Dominic felt like that was a pretty good sign for their success. Leo might be confident thanks to the different claw sizes, but it was good to have the vote of confidence from a lioness from the pride in question. Leo¡¯s response, however, deflated his balloon. ¡®No. She is just interested in mating,¡¯ the lion answered absently, his attention on the lioness who was once more weaving back and forth in front of Leo¡¯s nose. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡®I thought lionesses only mated with the leading male or males of a pride?¡¯ Dominic asked a little accusingly. After all, why else would Leo have been so keen on taking over a pride? And growing a mane to entice the females, of course. ¡®Females will mate with any powerful male around. Why do you think it¡¯s so necessary for male lions to patrol the pride¡¯s territory? We have to keep our females from breeding with any other lion.¡¯ ¡®Huh. This experience is changing the way I thought about lions,¡¯ Dominic muttered to himself, mentally shaking his head. To be fair, at least half his knowledge had been based on a certain iconic cartoon movie which was in no way a true documentary. So, lions liked to kill the children of other lions and lionesses were quite happy to flirt and mate with any random lion who wandered into their territory. Good to know. On that note, the lioness who had been flirting with him suddenly stopped moving, her ears pricked. Then, moving a lot faster than her previous enticing gait, she disappeared back towards the waterhole. ¡®Wait, I thought you said she was interested in mating?¡¯ Dominic asked, really confused now. ¡®Does she want us to follow?¡¯ ¡®The lion approaches,¡¯ Leo replied tersely, his own focus on some quiet noises coming from the bush a few paces ahead of them. Dominic took the hint and quietened down, focussing just as intently. Only, instead of focussing on the spot Leo was, he focussed on everything around it. After all, he knew how easy it was to get tunnel-vision and didn¡¯t want them to miss a threat approaching from a different direction. Then the lion stepped out of the bushes and all other thoughts fled his mind. This specimen of their shared kind was magnificent. Dominic could kind of get Leo¡¯s point about the mane, given how lush the one on the lion ahead was. It wasn¡¯t particularly dark, but it was definitely plush. ¡®Good armour,¡¯ he noted absently, considering how his own mane offered him a little bit of armour to his neck and chest. This one would surely offer both more armour and over a larger area: the fur covered the lion from behind his ears all the way down to his shoulders, across his chest area and even a little down his front legs. Getting a throat-grip on this lion was going to be difficult. That wasn¡¯t, however, what Leo was going to do. The two lions stood staring at each other for a long moment. Dominic wished he could see the level of creatures as well as their health bar. As it was, he suspected that this one was already Half-step Evolved, judging by its sheer size. Though it was smaller than Dominic, well, Leo, it wasn¡¯t by much. However, he doubted that it had quite reached Evolved status given that it was smaller than Leo-Dominic despite not focussing on size in their recent level ups. Then the moment was over and the two lions charged at each other. Snarling ferociously, they reared up into a position which might have been mistaken for a cuddle if it had been any less violent. Jaws locking with jaws, the two lions battled to overwhelm each other. Dominic could read Leo¡¯s intentions as easily as he might read a book: he was trying to pull the other male off balance, force him to the ground. There, he would be more able to access the vulnerable parts of the other lion¡¯s body. However, it didn¡¯t seem to be as easy to accomplish as they would have liked. The two lions wrestled, each trying to gain the advantage over the other. In the meantime, they bit at each other¡¯s mouths, tried to strike at each other¡¯s eyes, and clawed at each other¡¯s skin. Here Leo actually came off worse: although they had enhanced their skin twice and their fur a couple of times, they didn¡¯t actually have a mane protecting their shoulders; the other lion did. Leo did have his gorget, though, and so several attempted strikes at his neck failed. The other lion was also heavier than Leo, even if he was a bit smaller: clearly he had been full-grown before the System came in, where Leo still wasn¡¯t. It meant that, despite Leo being a higher level, he didn¡¯t necessarily have the advantage over the other lion. It made the situation almost a dead-lock. They continued wrestling, the action intense. Their stamina ticked away steadily, already showing the impact of the difficult activity. If nothing changed, it would come down to a question of which lion had more stamina than the other. Dominic¡¯s mind raced, hoping to find some way of breaking the stale-mate in Leo¡¯s favour. Then he hit on something which might just work. Instead of trying to put it in words, he shoved the idea into Leo¡¯s mind. While at first the lion was annoyed at being disturbed in the middle of a fight, he quickly changed his tune to tentative hope when the idea registered. A moment later, he tried to put it into practice. Lessening his resistance slightly on one side, he waited for the other lion to register the ¡®weak spot¡¯ and put his own force behind a push towards that side. Once the other lion had committed, Leo disengaged slightly, only to re-engage ferociously. Using the other lion¡¯s momentum, he pushed his opponent to the ground. The other lion was taken aback, falling onto his side before he was able to react. There he tried to defend against Leo¡¯s open jaws, but he struggled. That didn¡¯t mean he was down-and-out, though: his paws struck at the air, vicious claws bared. Leo had to be careful to stay out of range, instead using his angle to inflict a nasty claw-strike on the other lion¡¯s face. It raked across the lion¡¯s eye, blinding it with blood; possibly even damaging the eyeball. The enemy lion wriggled and managed to get enough distance to struggle to his feet. He backed up, bleeding from several wounds, but still mostly whole. For a moment, he seemed on the point of recommencing the attack, but then he continued backing up, turning around and running away when he was a few paces away. Leo stretched out his head and started roaring. Every time his lungs emptied in one roar, he would fill them again and roar once more. The sound was victorious, and Dominic felt the knot of nerves in his belly loosen at it. ¡®It¡¯s done? The challenge is won?¡¯ Dominic checked with his companion. ¡®The challenge is won,¡¯ Leo responded with tired satisfaction. ¡®The pride is ours.¡¯ Chapter 64: One Male is as Good as Another Leo was satisfied. No, scratch that. Leo was very satisfied. He had won the challenge, sending the older lion running. Had this happened Before, it would have been very different. As a not-quite-full-grown lion, Leo had been vulnerable to reigning males finding him in their territory. He¡¯d once been cornered by a coalition of two males, managing to escape with only a few bleeding gashes. He¡¯d been lucky they had neither become infected nor had impeded his ability to hunt. But now this is my territory, he thought to himself, letting out another roar of triumph. Still, he needed to be accepted by the pride to make his claim official. Not that it was really in question: females were used to males coming and going. In fact, they should already know about his victory: they would recognise that the lion roaring in victory and territorial claim was not the one they had known. They would be expecting him to come. The females with cubs might even be considering ways of hiding them from him. He started padding down the path towards where the pride had been last. Time to stake his claim. ¡®But you¡¯re not going to kill the cubs, are you?¡¯ his brother asked anxiously. ¡®We agreed that I wouldn¡¯t, so I won¡¯t,¡¯ Leo responded a little grumpily: he wasn¡¯t in the habit of going back on his word. At least, he didn¡¯t want to become so: it wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d given his word before. ¡®And I didn¡¯t realise that the lionesses could reject you ¨C I thought that the victory over the other lion would be the end of it.¡¯ The human sounded anxious for another reason now. Leo huffed. ¡®It is not usually too much in question: one male is as good as another as long as he is healthy and strong enough to see off the previous. The females are permanent; the males are transitory. The females have their territory and keep to it; the male only has a territory while he is the protector of a pride. When a new male comes in, the main contention is over cubs as females do not easily allow their cubs to be killed. Females may choose to leave the pride to be with the cubs.¡¯ Leo thought for a moment. ¡®I believe that it is also possible for females to drive off a male if they find him unsatisfactory.¡¯ ¡®Is that likely to happen here?¡¯ the human worried. Leo huffed again. ¡®No. I am¡­we are larger and stronger than the previous male; we defeated him in a fair battle. There is no reason for them to find us unsatisfactory.¡¯ Then he hesitated before grudgingly admitting something which had been previously unsaid. ¡®Perhaps not killing the current set of cubs will ease the transition a little too as, ultimately, there will be little change.¡¯ He ignored the sense of triumph emanating from his brother. ¡®Then again, it could make me appear weak, and make them desire to oust me ¨C us.¡¯ Leo snapped back at the human, not wanting his gloating to become too irritating. Sometimes his brother was as bad as a tsetse fly buzzing around his ears and stinging him. ¡®I guess we¡¯ll see,¡¯ the human responded, though he sounded a lot more cheerful now than he had earlier so Leo supposed his words had at least reassured his brother. In mental silence, Leo approached the waterhole. There were a few animals around the water which either watched him warily or fled into the bush at his approach. He ignored them despite his brother urging him to go for some more Prey Points: he wanted to set his claim on the females. ¡®Though wouldn¡¯t they like it if you came with a kill? Ladies are supposed to like gifts,¡¯ the human suggested. ¡®These are lion females, not human females,¡¯ Leo emphasised. ¡®They¡¯re the ones who make the kill.¡¯ ¡®But that¡¯s the whole point from what I know ¨C ladies can buy their own gifts, but it means more when a man is thoughtful and gets it for them.¡¯ ¡®And if we ever pursue a pride of human females, I¡¯ll listen to your suggestion,¡¯ Leo finally snapped at him. ¡®But since this is a pride of lions, I¡¯ll do it my way, thank you very much. Besides, it¡¯s not like you were exactly successful with the ¡®ladies¡¯, from your memories.¡¯ The human was silent for a good moment and Leo thought that he might have finally got the annoying tsetse to stop buzzing. ¡®No need to be hurtful,¡¯ the human replied sulkily after a moment. Apparently Leo had been too hopeful. ¡®I¡¯m just trying to help.¡¯ Leo didn¡¯t dignify that with a response, and apparently ignoring the pesky human was the best tactic to take here. After stopping to take a drink from the stream waterhole ¨C accompanied by waves of disgust from the corner of his mind holding his brother ¨C Leo was off, following the marks of the pride. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Every so often he stopped to make his own marks, wanting to ensure that any other lion who wandered into this area was clear that it was guarded. He even paused to sharpen his claws on one of the trees: it felt good and highlighted his presence. He suspected that the changing of the world would mean even more males sniffing around; better to make his power and domination over the area absolutely plain. The pride hadn¡¯t got very far along the route into the bush; his fight with the previous incumbent and subsequent victory roars hadn¡¯t taken that long. They were watching out for him, clear by how they had been travelling as a bunched up group and how quickly they responded to his presence. The adults looked warily at him, clearly unsure how to react. The cubs took their cue from their mothers. The older ones watched him warily, standing close to their pride-mates. The younger ones hid beneath their mother¡¯s belly, only their faces visible where they watched him too. He strolled closer, resisting the urge that made him want to run straight in and mate with the female in heat. He also resisted the desire to kill the small cubs under their mothers¡¯ bellies: while his instincts told him that they were a threat, a drain on resources which were stretched thin already, he was capable now of more forward planning than day-to-day survival. Thanks to the human currently quietly watching. Suddenly he felt bad for snapping at his brother earlier: the human had been annoying, but he had been trying to help in his own way. And once more you¡¯re becoming far too human, allowing yourself to become distracted like this, he scolded himself, refocussing. As he got closer he noticed all the lions tensing. The mothers of the cubs were the tensest, their lips rising to bare their teeth, their ears back against their necks. As he got closer still, a snarl rose in their chests, ripping clear of their mouths in a fearsome sound. Fearsome if he didn¡¯t produce one just as threatening when he wished. The pregnant female was hanging back, not offering her teeth, nor invitation. Instead, she seemed more to be trying to become invisible, crouching to press her belly to the dirt behind the bulk of the pride. The two females who were in heat, one of whom had come to flirt with him earlier, were more inviting. They were still tense, but they didn¡¯t offer him their teeth. As he¡¯d thought, one male was as good as another to them and since he¡¯d seen off their previous protector, Leo was clearly good enough to mate with and have his cubs. They probably would lead him a little bit of a dance before they allowed him to mate with them ¨C he¡¯d seen it happen enough times in his birth pride ¨C but they would accept him relatively quickly. But first, there was an important matter to take care of. Building up his speed into a charge, Leo ran straight at the two male sub-adults. He might be willing to raise the other lion¡¯s smaller cubs ¨C new world, new rules ¨C but he was not willing to offer succour to lions who would challenge him within a few weeks. They would leave, or he would kill them. Although his brother seemed discomforted by the notion, he merely shifted uneasily in Leo¡¯s mind, not arguing. Good. The lions scattered before him, only the two mothers of the younger cubs standing their ground since they had their own litters crouched under their bellies. The mother of the two sub-adult males jumped back just as the two juveniles did. She snarled at Leo, and leapt to place herself between the cubs and him. He snarled back and barged straight into her. His greater weight and strength sent her half-falling to the side. Continuing, Leo struck at one of the males, his claws ripping a wound across the juvenile¡¯s shoulder. The lion let out a wounded cry, immediately backing up, his head down and snarling piteously. His brother seemed to be questioning whether or not to chance it. When his mother leapt at Leo from the side, he took the opportunity and leapt at Leo too. Fortunately, Leo hadn¡¯t been taken completely blind-sided. ¡®To your flank!¡¯ Dominic shouted in his mind. Leo turned in time to catch the female¡¯s bite with his own jaws. In the meantime, the uninjured younger male leapt at his flank, his teeth sinking in deeply. Leo¡¯s own health bar dropped noticeably and the sight enraged him. Using his much greater strength, he drove the female to the ground and wrenched his teeth free of hers. A moment later, he darted in with his enhanced strength and set his teeth around her neck. She stilled in fear, and Leo fought back the instincts that drove him to bite and choke her to death. I want females in my pride, he reminded himself. After growling for a moment with his teeth around her neck but not properly biting, he dared to hope that she might have got the message. Releasing his bite slowly, he noticed that she did not move, looking up at him with a hint of confusion in her eyes. ¡®I wonder if these females have crossed the Half-step Evolution threshold,¡¯ Leo heard wondered by his brother in his mind. He paid it little attention, though: the two lions currently tearing at him were of more import. Fortunately, none of the other females had joined in. The other two mothers were still focussed on protecting their own offspring, and the remaining three pride members were clearly less than interested in getting in a fight. With confidence that he wasn¡¯t about to be blind-sided once more, Leo focussed his attention on the two young upstarts. Not trying to pull his blows any more now that they had decided to challenge him, he whirled around on the one with blood around his mouth. That particular juvenile was the one who had bitten him, but unlike a hyena had quickly leapt back afterwards. A mistake on his part. Enhanced by Quick Strike, Leo was faster than the young lion. Enhanced by Crushing Bite, his own teeth were far, far more damaging. A single bite to the young lion¡¯s shoulder crushed the joint and left the juvenile crippled. He moaned piteously, but Leo didn¡¯t have any pity for him. The older lion had given them the chance to run, and they had chosen to attack instead. Once more he lunged forwards and this time got the juvenile around his throat. The young lion went limp, perhaps hoping for mercy. But Leo had none. A quick wrench of his neck snapped the younger lion¡¯s spine with a resounding crack. Squiggles appeared in Leo¡¯s vision but he dismissed them with a thought. Dropping the body, he crouched over it, glaring at the other young male and snarled viciously. The young juvenile lost his nerve and turned to run across the savannah. Leo chased him for a few paces, using Quick Strike to swipe at his back paws: a warning to match the one on his shoulder. Slowing to a stop, Leo stood to watch the young lion disappear into the bush, letting out a victorious roar. If the young lion came back, he knew that death would be all that awaited him. Chapter 65: Familiar Unfamiliarity Dominic had been surprised about how much the demise of the young lion had affected him. More, in fact, than it had affected the lion who was both the cause of the death and also had always been the same species as it. Perhaps it was because he had started recognising himself as a lion, but he still kept the human distaste for killing others of the same species. He wondered how he would react if he had to kill a human one day. Would he be as affected as killing the young lion? Or more? Or less? Maybe it will never come up, he hoped, knowing even as he did so he was in denial. Even if he never accidentally ran across humans, he wanted to try to find out what had happened to his father one day. That alone guaranteed that he would have to make contact with them, regardless of his preferences. But that was a question for later down the line. For now, Dominic was just glad that he¡¯d managed to convince Leo not to kill the cubs. At least, he thought he had. His hopes seemed to be borne out as Leo ignored the two mothers still snarling at him from their protective positions. The one Leo had threatened to strangle was less vociferous than the other two, but she was standing in front of the three sub-adult females with her teeth bared. First he headed back to the corpse of the dead juvenile. To Dominic¡¯s surprise, he didn¡¯t start eating the body, but instead triggered Consume while touching it. The lionesses around them startled backwards as the body dissolved into golden smoke, even the two protective mothers taking a step back. One of the cubs yowled painfully as it was trodden on by its own mother, her surprise making her clumsy. Leo leaned down to lick up the Core before Dominic could object. ¡®Wait- Oh, you¡¯ve done it already,¡¯ Dominic grumbled. Bang went that opportunity to see the details of what the Core offered. Oh well; at least the 50 Prey Points the level 3 juvenile lion had offered were enough for him to level up. Later, Dominic concluded as he noted Leo¡¯s single-minded intentions right now. With anticipation, Leo headed towards the lioness who had been flirting with them earlier, nosing at her. She backed away as he came close, but when he stopped, she advanced instead, once more flicking her tail around, the motion sending wafts of the same musky, arousing scent which they¡¯d tasted in her urine. The back-and-forth took a bit of time, and Dominic was slightly surprised that Leo didn¡¯t just pin the lioness down or something: he¡¯d been led to believe that lion takeovers were rather violent. And it had been, considering the fights they¡¯d been in, but apparently not now with the mating. Eventually the lioness lay down and allowed Leo to mount her. When he realised what was about to happen Dominic also realised that he in no way wanted to see, feel, or otherwise be part of it. I may be a lion now, but this just feels way too much like bestiality! Trying to escape what was about to happen, Dominic pulled back from his connection with the body he was in and its senses. The sensations seemed to waver, like the signal on old TVs used to, sending a brief moment of snow across the screen. Heartened, Dominic redoubled his efforts and felt more than heard a ¡®pop¡¯. Suddenly, he was back in a very familiar space. Well, he thought it was, but since featureless white was featureless white, it was impossible to say for sure. Either way, it appeared very similar to where his and Leo¡¯s post-evolution challenge had taken place ¨C and the fight against the dungeon master. Wherever he was, he seemed to be completely cut off from the sensations of his body, so objective achieved. This time, he realised he¡¯d appeared as a lion ¨C perhaps Leo was affecting him more than he¡¯d thought. I wonder, he muttered to himself, focussing on hands, feet, bipedal movement, a lack of a tail¡­ There was a blurring sensation and Dominic suddenly felt like he was standing taller off the ground. Looking down, he saw hands resting at his sides and lifted them, inspecting them once more. They felt¡­foreign. Alien. Yet also familiar at the same time. There was the scar from when he¡¯d fallen off his bicycle; there were the calluses caused by writing his end of school exams, still there but fading in the years of little writing since. The same familiar unfamiliarity was true of his feet. If he took a step without thinking about it, he was fine; as soon as he started thinking, he lost his balance and stumbled. After one such stumble sent him to his knees, he decided to explore something else. Sure, he could return to his lion body ¨C he sensed that doing so wouldn¡¯t take any more time than the reverse transformation had ¨C but he didn¡¯t want to. He¡¯d been immersing himself in being a lion; he felt like he needed a bit of time to be human again. If I can change my own body, can I do something with this space? he questioned thoughtfully. The two didn¡¯t necessarily correlate: he might only be able to change his body because it was his own insight which determined its shape; the shape of the space might rely on both him and Leo, or on neither, being a product of the System itself. But that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t try. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. If his sense of Leo¡¯s intentions was correct, the lion wasn¡¯t going to only mate once. That meant Dominic didn¡¯t dare return back to their body for a while: he wanted to let Leo have enough time to get it all out of his system before risking reconnecting with his senses. He only hoped that Leo would wait for him to return to trigger the level up. Otherwise he¡¯d probably just try to enhance his mane again. Or maybe his, ah, mating prowess. Actually, which of the enhancements would help with that? he wondered. Stamina, probably ¨C for obvious reasons. Would Bones? I mean, it¡¯s called a ¡®boner¡¯, but there aren¡¯t actually any bones in it¡­. On the other hand, lengthening my bones has meant increased mass overall so¡­maybe? And there¡¯s got to be some way of improving my sperm count or fertility ¨C the warthog even had an ability for that. And why exactly am I thinking about all this? Dominic questioned himself upon realising that he was doing the System equivalent of searching for sellers of viagra or other more questionable procedures. Better to be considering how to make his stay in this space more comfortable considering that it seemed likely he¡¯d have to flee here at regular intervals when one of the lionesses was in heat. At least three of them aren¡¯t likely to do so any time soon since one is pregnant and the other two have cubs. So, what should he try to do? For some reason, the image which kept coming to mind was a cosy little study with bookcases lining the walls, a couple of incredibly comfortable armchairs, another extremely comfortable sofa, a coffee table with a steaming cup of coffee and a biscuit, and a fire crackling in the hearth. Deciding that that was as good a place to start as any, Dominic focussed on his image. Remembering he¡¯d actually had to feel himself into his lion body during the challenge and his human body when he arrived a short time ago, he tried to feel his way into the study. Closing his eyes, he focussed on the sensations of the study. How he could close eyes when he was only a mental presence, he didn¡¯t know; apparently he could ¨C that would have to be good enough for him. He imagined the lovely musty smell of books and paper and furniture polish, a combination he remembered well from his father¡¯s office back home. That one had been small and cluttered, though, and he wanted more space for this one. He imagined the crackling of the fire in the hearth, the warmth it would send spreading throughout the room. He imagined being able to sit on a soft carpet before the fire, the warmth licking luxuriously at his skin. Then he imagined standing and moving over to the armchair, sinking into it with a groan of comfort, the piece of furniture embracing and supporting him, but not eating him like his student sofa used to try to do. He leant forwards and picked up the cup of coffee, feeling its warmth sink into his fingers, its rich scent wafting past his nose. And then he opened his eyes and realised that he wasn¡¯t imagining any more. Although the colours of the space weren¡¯t identical to what he had been visualising, the bare bones of the space was exactly what he¡¯d been wanting. The differences were mostly in the decor. Instead of being the dark, close space of a European study, the whole room was done in beige, white, and warm neutral tones. The furniture was in the sandy pale colours of pine rather than the dark of a hardwood. The carpet was the skin of a zebra, and the room was warmer than he¡¯d originally intended, the fire not being particularly necessary. There were still the bookshelves lining the walls, but there were abstract paintings in between them which spoke to Dominic of the battles he¡¯d won with the Trodil mini-bosses, the warthog Guardian, and the most recent fight with the previous pride leader. There were also abstract statues made of twisted branches and grasses, the shapes of which seemed to call to something inside Domnic, but he didn¡¯t know what. However, there was still coffee on the coffee table and books on the book shelves. Dominic headed over to inspect one of the tomes. Closer inspection proved each one to have identical bindings and nothing written on the spines. Pulling one out, Dominic was disappointed when he saw that it was bare, its pages creamy-white and blemished by neither time nor print. The one next to it was the same, as was the one from a different bookcase that he checked. I suppose expecting books to fill themselves in an imaginary space is a bit too much to ask, Dominic tried to console himself. If I had to feel myself into this space, I¡¯d also have to feel myself into the books. The thought inspiring an idea, he tried to think about one of his favourite novels, one he¡¯d read many times before. Trying to remember the events as they were told in the book, Dominic tried to feel his way into the story once more. Hope springing anew, he opened the book to see whether he¡¯d succeeded. The answer turned out to be partial success, which ultimately meant a total failure. There was print newly marking the previously unblemished pages, but only the scenes which he¡¯d been able to visualise in great detail had actually made their way into legible words. The rest was either a blurry mass of ink barely recognisable as words or a mixture of words which made no sense together. ¡°Shame,¡± Dominic said out loud, his own voice startling to his ears ¨C he¡¯d got out of the habit of hearing voices it seems. And that sounds like I should be considering checking myself into a psychiatric hospital, he thought to himself wryly. It seemed like his memory hadn¡¯t suddenly got worlds better just because he¡¯d found a way to transform this¡­soulspace? Was that what the description had called it? Though, memories¡­that was a thought. Closing the book once more, he also closed his eyes as he focussed on a memory in the past. Trying to once more relive the moment, he opened his eyes and then the book. Smiling as he saw the result, Dominic moved over to the very comfortable armchair and picked up his book. He supposed there were worse things to spend his time on than revisiting happier times. Settling into watching the memory of his father taking him out to a restaurant to celebrate his university acceptance, Dominic sipped at his latte and relaxed into his armchair. Chapter 66: They’re lions. You’re a lion. I’m…not By the time Dominic decided that it was probably safe to investigate what his co-passenger was up to, he was feeling a mix of relaxed and mournful. Running through the reel of his favourite moments in the past had been enjoyable, but also reminded him of how much he had lost. Even if he managed to regain his human body, which seemed possible, he¡¯d have to travel across half the world to return to where he¡¯d called home. If he managed to do that ¨C a big ¡®if¡¯ ¨C there was no guarantee that any of the people featuring in his memories still lived, or would still be alive by the time he managed to reach them. Apart from his father, there were the group of friends he¡¯d gone to school with, including his best friend of almost twenty years.They¡¯d all grown a bit apart after going to different universities, but they still met up for drinks whenever two or more of them were in town at the same time. There was his aunt, his father¡¯s sister and her husband who lived in Cambridge, his uncle a professor at the university, his aunt a teacher at a local secondary school. After his mother had left and barely bothered to stay in contact, she¡¯d taken over some of the motherly role in his life. He¡¯d resented her a bit for that at the time, but missed it now. And then there were her daughters, his two cousins, both a bit older than him. Being both female, he¡¯d never really developed a relationship with either of them ¨C even at family gatherings, they¡¯d had a habit of huddling together in a corner and giggling far too much. And although he didn¡¯t have much contact with his mum¡¯s side of the family ¨C and none with his sperm donor¡¯s family, not that he even knew who they were ¨C he did have an uncle who had a habit of swooping into the picture, showering him with gifts and cool experiences, and then disappearing just as thoroughly. Perhaps being flighty runs in the family, Dominic thought wryly, not for the first time. As for grandparents, at least he didn¡¯t have any who needed to adapt to such a different world. His mother¡¯s parents had been dead before she met his father, and his dad¡¯s parents had passed away three and four years previously: his grandpa had been unable to get used to a world without his grandma in it, and had followed her less than a year after her death. The doctors said he¡¯d had a heart attack, but Dominic reckoned that he¡¯d just lost the will to keep it beating: his gran and grandpa had had the kind of relationship he¡¯d always wanted to. Guess that¡¯s out, he thought rather glumly. Even if Leo was able to have a fulfilling love life with a load of lionesses, Dominic couldn¡¯t. But the likelihood of him being able to find the love of his life like his grandpa had seemed pretty slim, even if he did manage to get a human body back. It was with such doleful thoughts that he returned to his body, the transition from being completely disconnected to reconnecting his senses both a bit disorientating and surprisingly easy. He was lying beneath a tree. Two moons were overhead, lighting up the savannah almost as much as the sun would have. A good few hours must have passed. Although night was generally the best time to hunt, the pride didn¡¯t look interested in moving on right now. There were two lionesses near Leo, with the rest of the pride lying together a good way off. Not out of sight, but under a different tree. Leo wasn¡¯t in the middle of¡­mating, fortunately. Instead, he was lying down, his head on his paws, resting. Not sleeping, he noticed Dominic¡¯s presence immediately. ¡®You¡¯re back. Not interested in seeing my mating prowess?¡¯ he asked, a little smugly. If the level of satiation Dominic could feel permeating their body was anything to go by, he¡¯d had more than just one round. Several more. ¡®Not really,¡¯ Dominic said shortly. ¡®Concerned that if you were in control you wouldn¡¯t do as well?¡¯ Leo prodded at him teasingly. In that moment, he felt very much like the little brother Dominic had never had. However, with him still feeling raw about losing everyone he¡¯d ever cared for and the future he¡¯d always dreamed of having, the teasing felt far too sharp. Piqued, Dominic snapped back. ¡®Since I never wanted to fuck an animal, I don¡¯t really care.¡¯ There was silence for a long moment. His own irritation subsiding, Dominic worried that he¡¯d hurt Leo. Look, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean- ¡®What¡¯s wrong with my pride?¡¯ Leo demanded huffily. ¡®Nothing, as far as lionesses go,¡¯ Dominic sighed. ¡®But that¡¯s the issue. They¡¯re lions. You¡¯re a lion. I¡¯m¡­not.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re in my body. Who else are you going to mate with?¡¯ ¡®Not with lionesses,¡¯ Dominic said firmly. ¡®Why not?¡¯ Leo demanded with a hint of a whine to his voice. He clearly didn¡¯t understand at all. Dominic sighed as he tried to think of a way to explain it. ¡®Why not? Would you want to mate with a human woman?¡¯ There was the sense of immediate rejection from Leo. ¡®Then why are you questioning why I wouldn¡¯t want to mate with a lioness?¡¯ Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡®Because human females are weak and vulnerable. How can they protect cubs if they can¡¯t even protect themselves? Your memories are rife with rules and laws needed to protect human females, implying that they can¡¯t do it for themselves. When compared to the expert hunters and protective mothers that female lions are, human females come up very short. How can the weak softness of a human female be in any way comparable to the muscled steel of one of my females? And as for the strange ideas human females have about choosing not to have cubs or getting rid of cubs or abandoning cubs¡­.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, but lionesses can¡¯t-¡¯ Dominic cut himself off. This discussion was pointless: beauty was in the eye of the beholder. ¡®We¡¯ll have to agree to disagree. While I¡¯ll admit that a lioness is magnificent to look at, that doesn¡¯t make me want to¡­to mate with her. And you don¡¯t have to want to mate with a human woman to accept that I do.¡¯ ¡®But why?¡¯ Leo pressed, still not understanding. ¡®Maybe you were human before, but you are a lion now. How can you not be attracted to female lions? Does not your instinct cry out to mate with them, to have cubs with them?¡¯ Dominic felt faintly ill at the thought, despite not being in control of his stomach at that moment. ¡®No,¡¯ he said finally. ¡®No, my instinct does not ¡®cry out¡¯. And even if it did¡­humans have grown past having sex just for the sake of instinct.¡¯ Then he thought of the number of people who thought that a woman dressed in provocative clothes had no right to object to a man wanting to have sex with her and he changed his answer. ¡®Well, most of the time, anyway. These days, humans usually have sex because it¡¯s pleasurable, or because we want to have children. And the majority of men want to know that their partners want it and are having fun too. That¡¯s the problem here.¡¯ ¡®That the females are not having fun? She was the one asking for it. Multiple times, I might add,¡¯ Leo responded, a hint of the earlier smugness breaking through again. ¡®No, more about my partner wanting it. With me.¡¯ Confusion filled Leo¡¯s mind. ¡®Again, I¡¯ll point out that the two females were in heat. They very clearly wanted to mate, practically didn¡¯t take no for an answer. If they are not in heat, they do not ask for mating, nor is there any point to it: they will not conceive cubs.¡¯ Clearly, to Leo, this was all that was important. And Dominic understood it, kind of. But it wasn¡¯t good enough for him. ¡®Humans are different,¡¯ he said with a sigh. ¡®You¡¯ve said it before: one male lion is as good as another to the lionesses of the pride: as long as he¡¯s clearly healthy and strong, he might as well be the sperm donor for their cubs. But that¡¯s not the way humans work.¡¯ ¡®We have sex for fun, not just to have children,¡¯ Dominic continued. ¡®In fact, we probably have sex a lot more for fun than for children, and that¡¯s why we have a number of means to prevent conception: children are a big commitment and not everyone wants that.¡¯ His own mother included, it would seem. ¡®At the same time, most of us don¡¯t want to have a series of interchangeable partners, instead looking for someone we will spend a long time with. Sometimes a lifetime. So it¡¯s important to us that the other person wants us specifically, not just any man.¡¯ ¡®The problem that I have with mating with a lioness is less the physical aspect, though I¡¯ll admit that that squicks me out a bit.¡¯ Although he hadn¡¯t seen the change in the area between his back legs, he suspected that there must be a significant one, based on what he¡¯d heard about feline genitals. ¡®It¡¯s more about their inability to give consent. To my standards,¡¯ he added as Leo seemed about to interject. ¡®It¡¯s bad enough that you, as a sapient creature who can choose to go against your instincts, are with a partner who is a slave to them. But at least you have always been a lion, and your objectives for the mating are no different from theirs. But me? I would want something very different from them, and have never really been a lion like them. It just¡­it feels wrong to me on so many levels.¡¯ Leo had been listening to him in silence for a while. When he responded, he did so thoughtfully, as if taking care over his words. ¡®I think what you said before of ¡®agree to disagree¡¯? Yes. That seems best. I do not understand your perspective. I think you humans have got yourself tied up in knots about something which is very simple. But as I did not want you to tell me how to approach other lions, I will not try to tell you how to approach other humans. Am I to take it that you wish me to take over mating duties with the females?¡¯ His tone was a mixture of amused and eager. ¡®Sure,¡¯ Dominic replied, feeling a bit relieved. It certainly seemed the best compromise to him. While there were still some vague moral issues involving the sapient Leo and the non-sapient lionesses of their pride, it was a lot less of a thorny situation than Dominic himself in the same position. ¡®Then if you do not want to be present when we mate, I suggest you pull back again now,¡¯ Leo told him, eyeing one of the lionesses who had climbed to her feet and was approaching him, her tail curled into the air. ¡®What, again?¡¯ exclaimed Dominic. ¡®Didn¡¯t you just finish?¡¯ ¡®Why do you think I wanted that ability ¡®Boundless Fertility¡¯?¡¯ Leo asked him with amusement. ¡®If we want to have a chance of conceiving cubs, we have to mate many, many times while the female is in heat. It will be done in a few days,¡¯ he finished. ¡®A few days?¡¯ Dominic groaned. ¡®OK, fine,¡¯ he grumbled. ¡®Tell me when you¡¯re done, alright? And don¡¯t level up without me!¡¯ With Leo¡¯s agreement, and the lion already moving over to the female who was lying down in front of him, Dominic quickly pulled back into his soulspace. Chapter 67: Merely Phantasmal Dominic was in the middle of reviewing a memory of his eighteenth birthday when he had the sense that someone was calling him. The sensation was a bit like being in a dream and hearing someone¡¯s voice. At first, it feels like the voice is part of the dream, but then, as one rises towards consciousness, it becomes clear that the voice is real and the dream world merely phantasmal. That¡¯s what this felt like. He¡¯d spent some time wondering which of his friends the strangely familiar growling voice was coming from, and why it was telling Dominic to ¡®come on out of your hiding place¡¯, before he thought to pull himself out of the memory. Apparently viewing it in the book also involved re-experiencing it, but it was easy enough to exit ¨C as easy as closing the book, in fact. When it became evident that, in fact, it was Leo telling him that he¡¯d finished his recent bout of mating, Dominic quickly exited the soulspace altogether. ¡®I¡¯m not going to ask,¡¯ Dominic said flatly to Leo, whose mind was emanating smug satisfaction. ¡®I can tell you without you asking,¡¯ Leo teased Dominic. In a better state of mind than previously, the former-human reacted more calmly. ¡®Do that and I¡¯ll shove memories of me having sex with a woman at you,¡¯ he threatened. ¡®You mean that one time of it?¡¯ Leo continued to prod at him. ¡®Shove off,¡¯ Dominic replied with a bit of heat. ¡®I might not have had lion stamina and be able to go multiple times in an hour, but at least my partners are open to having sex all year round.¡¯ ¡®Shows how long it takes humans to get their females pregnant,¡¯ Leo returned, undaunted. Dominic gave up. He¡¯d never felt the lion in such a good mood before ¨C clearly taking over a pride and mating multiple times with the females in it had a remarkable effect on him. Then again, Dominic supposed that a similar experience with a hot woman would have a similar effect on him too. ¡®So, are we going to level up now, then?¡¯ he asked, wanting to move on from exchanging barbs. ¡®Yes, and then we will hunt. The females are starting to move, so we need to be quick on choosing our enhancements.¡¯ ¡®OK,¡¯ Dominic replied, though rolled his eyes a bit. How come it was the females who decided when to get going, not the lion who was supposedly the ¡®king¡¯? Then again, he realised he actually knew better than that now that he could dip into Leo¡¯s memories. It seemed like lions had been portrayed as a lot more patriarchal than they really were: while the male lion did tend to take first dibs on any kills, it was very much the females who decided where the pride went and what they hunted. The male was actually more of a glorified security-guard than the munificent king portrayed by the iconic childhood film. But none of that was relevant to his enhancements. Or rather, he¡¯d be able to do a better job as a security guard if he became stronger, and that was also a good survival strategy, so at least those two goals coincided. ¡®So, we said that we¡¯d enhance our vocal cords this time. Do you still want to do that?¡¯ Dominic checked with his passenger. ¡®Yes, definitely,¡¯ Leo responded with certainty. ¡®We need to let other males know not to enter our territory now, and having a more powerful roar will warn them of our strength.¡¯ OK, not Dominic¡¯s reasoning for picking that as an enhancement, but since they were in agreement on the enhancement itself, no need to quibble over why to choose it. ¡®Alright, so that¡¯s one of them. What for the other? More speed? More stamina? More defence? Or maybe choose something we haven¡¯t chosen before?¡¯ The problem that faced them was choice paralysis. There were just so many good options¡­and no perfect ones. ¡®Maybe we should lengthen our bones,¡¯ Leo suggested. ¡®Why do you say that?¡¯ asked Dominic, intrigued. ¡®When we gained the enhancement upon levelling up, we grew in both size and strength. Although I do not think that overdoing it is a good thing, I cannot help but think that it will serve us well in our new situation.¡¯ ¡®Why is that? Dominc inquired further. We¡¯ve been focussing on a speed build up until now; wouldn¡¯t increasing our size again risk slowing us down? For all we know, we might have gained more speed or more stamina on Evolution if we hadn¡¯t grown in size ¨C since all the changes happened together it¡¯s hard to know what might have been different.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯re in a different situation now, though,¡¯ Leo objected. ¡®On our own it was one thing, but now we¡¯re part of a pride¡­. Females are masters of speed and agility; males offer power and weight. Right now, although we may be faster than the females, I suspect that is only because we are a higher level than them. Equally, we beat the other lion out in weight and power, but I would be surprised if he was much more than level 6 and we¡¯re level 13.¡¯ ¡®I take your point,¡¯ Dominic sighed. It was the age-old question of specialisation again. His body-type suited power; his fighting style was more aimed at speed. So, which did he change ¨C his body to suit his fighting style or his style to suit his body? Or did he try to do both at the same time, leading to a jack of all trades situation? If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡®I accept your point about fitting in with the pride, but I disagree about fitting ourselves around them,¡¯ Dominic said finally after giving the matter some thought. ¡®We have to do what¡¯s right for us since we never know what might happen in the future.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re not thinking about leaving the pride, are you?¡¯ Leo growled at Dominic,the tone carrying with it both rejection and a touch of fear. ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic replied immediately. ¡®But we never know what might happen. Putting all our eggs in one basket is an invitation to having them crushed.¡¯ ¡®Lions don¡¯t lay eggs,¡¯ Leo grumbled, but he appeared mollified. ¡®Look,¡¯ Dominic continued patiently. ¡®How about this. We choose bones and roar this level, and then choose speed and stamina next. That way we can undo any damage the increased size does to us. We see how things go with the pride and then consider our future growth. Sound good?¡¯ It should do, since both enhancements were what Leo had expressed an interest in. The lion agreed, though with an unexpected sense of hesitation. Was he seeing the value in Dominic¡¯s words, or was he wondering when the other shoe would drop? Not that lions wear shoes, Dominic chuckled to himself, predicting what Leo would have said upon hearing that expression. And to be fair, if that was the reason for his hesitation, he¡¯d be right: Dominic fully intended to leverage his capitulation now to his advantage in the future. While power and strength did often go together, there was no reason why power and speed couldn''t instead. Trying to prompt the level up, Dominic was surprised when it didn''t work. He made another attempt, wondering why suddenly the familiar process wasn''t working. ¡®Are you able to activate the level up?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo, wondering if that was the solution he was missing. Leo had to take some time to work out how to do it, having only witnessed as Dominic triggered it each time. Still, it didn¡¯t take too long before once more the rush of warmth was going through them. The couple of lionesses who hadn¡¯t yet moved out of sight turned, looking startled. One even returned to circle Leo, clearly wondering if something had changed about him. Leo just shook out his mane and jogged behind where the other lionesses had gone. Stuck in his head, Dominic was left with a bit of a pit of fear in where his stomach would have been if he¡¯d had one in this state. Was this what he had to look forward to if Leo ever succeeded in winning a challenge? Was this what Leo felt? Useless. He shouldn¡¯t feel that way, he knew logically. They¡¯d come to the decision together ¨C Leo hadn¡¯t just made it unilaterally. And it wasn¡¯t like even here in his head Dominic wasn¡¯t offering any benefit ¨C he¡¯d helped Leo win that fight with the lion, after all. And warned him about the lioness. But they felt like such small actions. Suddenly, he felt an itching to be back in the driver¡¯s seat, the long hours without control abruptly wearing on him. Leo slowed unexpectedly. ¡®Do you wish to take back control?¡¯ he asked uncertainly. And Dominic felt better immediately. Just having the choice was enough to soothe the ache. ¡®No, it¡¯s fine,¡¯ he decided almost magnanimously. ¡®I¡¯d like to see a proper lion pride hunt, and wouldn¡¯t know how to go about being part of one if I take back control now. But I would like to switch over soon.¡¯ ¡®Are you going to mate with the females if you take back control?¡¯ Leo asked bluntly, even as he picked up the pace again. ¡®No!¡¯ Dominic replied, not even wanting to think of it. ¡®Then are you willing to wait until the two females are out of heat? Otherwise we will miss our opportunity to have cubs with them until they come back into heat.¡¯ Dominic mentally sighed. ¡®Give me back control a bit later and then I¡¯ll give it back to you until the lionesses have finished their heats, OK?¡¯ Leo didn¡¯t reply verbally, but there was a sense of satisfaction that emanated from him. Settling back into his corner of their shared mental space, Dominic pulled up their status screen, focussing on wanting to see what changes had been made. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Level: Evolved Beast Level 14 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 27/287 PP Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (12-22 Slicing damage, 12-16 ¨C> 13-17 Tearing damage, 6-10 Piercing damage) - Bite level 2 (46-75 ¨C> 51-80 Crushing damage, 58-86 ¨C> 60-89 Tearing damage, 48-70 Piercing damage) - Roar level 1 +10% chance of intimidating the listener. +20% - +50% if listener is already intimidated by you. General abilities: - Muscular Body level 5 (max speed 28mps; max speed duration 18s ¨C> 16s) (170 SP) - Bones level 2 (growth + 10% ¨C> +20%) Paying attention to the sensations coming through his connection to Leo¡¯s body, Dominic tried to feel if there were any differences he could detect. Maybe I feel a bit taller? he wondered, though it was hard to be sure. Probably it would be clearest when he stood next to one of the lionesses again. It was the other change that was the most interesting to him. Apparently his roar now offered a good to better chance of intimidating anyone who heard him. I suppose that¡¯s expected, he decided ¨C from what he¡¯d picked up from Leo, that was basically the reason lions roared. It was a way of identifying their territory and establishing their dominance within it. And then there were all the changes to other parts of his body which must have been as a result of his enhancement to either Bones or Roar. His money ¨C if he had any ¨C would be on the former, though. The question is more about whether my bite and claws were enhanced slightly because they¡¯re considered ¡®bones¡¯ or whether it¡¯s due to my increased weight having more power and momentum to put behind my strikes. Since it was Crushing damage which had gained the most and Tearing damage the next best beneficiary, Dominic was fairly sure that the answer was that he had more power due to his increased weight. The only negative ¨C his reduced maximum speed duration ¨C was no doubt due to the same reason. Still, overall Dominic was pretty pleased with the results. Although he wasn¡¯t going to be tempted into continually increasing his size just for all its incidental benefits, he might be able to be convinced to do it another time or two, at an appropriate time in the future. Suddenly, he realised that his body had come to a stop. Focussing on what his eyes were telling him rather than on the status screen, he felt his mouth go dry. Or he would have, had he had control over his mouth at the time. ¡®Ah, Leo? Aren¡¯t those, you know, dangerous? Even for lions?¡¯ Chapter 68: Dicey Prospect Dominic was looking at the powerfully muscled bodies, the broad shoulders, and the side-sweeping horns that met in the middle to make a helmet of bone over the herbivore¡¯s skull. Plant-eater this creature might be, but hunting it was a dicey prospect, even for lions. Add in the sheer numbers of them and the fact that, unlike most prey beasts, they would willingly group together to fend off lions, buffalo were not the ideal animal for the pride to hunt. However, on the other hand ¨C or paw ¨C buffalo were also loaded in terms of meat. A single beast taken down would feed the pride to bursting point. Even if all the adults in the pride ate their fill, there would still be meat left over for the cubs. That¡¯s if they chose a normal sized individual. If they chose one which was half-starved from age or illness, as would normally be the target, it would be less of a bounty. On the other, other hand, as Dominic eyed the beasts in front of him, he had to determine that these buffalo had gained at least two or three levels since the System started. How, he didn¡¯t know, since he had to gain Prey Points by killing other beasts and, while capable of that, he didn¡¯t see the buffalo going out and actively attacking creatures to gain them. Maybe there¡¯s a different system for herbivores? he wondered before dismissing the idea from his mind. Dangerous or not, it seemed like this was the prey the lionesses had in mind to chase today. The pride was lying on a ridge together, eyes focussed and ears alert. Clearly they were sizing the herd up and deciding on which member of it to attempt to hunt. The buffalo were themselves fully aware of the lions¡¯ presence, and shifting uneasily, several members of the herd having their horns turned towards the lions at all times. Dominic found it hard to read the details of the subtle cues in the body-language of the lionesses around, but Leo had no such issue. Fortunately, with them in the positions they were ¨C Leo in the driving seat and Dominic as the observer ¨C that meant that the translation came through to Dominic. Just as when they had a notification appear, it was Dominic¡¯s understanding which filtered through to Leo ¨C or didn¡¯t if he wasn¡¯t in the driving seat. One of the lionesses pointed out a buffalo which had got a bit separated from the herd. Immediately Dominic saw what had interested her: it was limping. Hopefully that won¡¯t reduce the number of Prey Points it offers, Dominic thought. Not that a herbivore was likely to be worth a lot, but hopefully the danger rating of this animal would bump it up a bit. With interest, he watched the six adult lionesses start moving. They went down behind the ridge and then crept around it to keep themselves camouflaged. By the time they were in the grass and moving towards the buffalo, they had lowered themselves practically to the ground. Dominic couldn¡¯t help admiring their sinuous movements. The grass wasn¡¯t that long here: about belly-high on Dominic, and there were only a few bushes and trees dotted around. As a result, the lionesses were practically crawling on their bellies, their flexible bodies allowing them to move even in that crouched position. Every so often, they¡¯d crane their necks upwards to allow themselves to glimpse the position of their prey. From their vantage point above, Dominic and the other lionesses could see them travel closer to the buffalo, but the herbivores themselves probably couldn¡¯t. The twitching of their ears and tails sent messages to the lions still on the ridge, telling them to wait. They did so, prepared nonetheless to move at a moment¡¯s notice. Interestingly enough, Dominic saw the two groups of lionesses actually go in two different directions. One group went towards the limping buffalo they had spotted earlier; the other towards another buffalo which was a little away from the rest of the herd. The reason for why this happened to be the case wasn¡¯t as clear as with the first. It wasn¡¯t injured to Dominic¡¯s eye, nor did it look to be half-dead. In fact, it was a little bigger than the other buffalo around; maybe it was a higher level and more confident? Oddly enough, Leo seemed a bit surprised at the move too. ¡®Is this not a normal tactic?¡¯ Dominic asked him. ¡®Not with buffalo,¡¯ Leo responded. ¡®They are too dangerous to approach with less than the full pride ¨C not when the pride only has nine members who hunt properly.¡¯ That was a good point. The six adult females were the ones who had split up, two going towards the healthy buffalo, four towards the limping one. The lions left with Leo were the three juvenile females who were nonetheless almost full-grown. Briefly he wondered where the other cubs had gone ¨C the ones the two mothers had been protecting from him. Perhaps they¡¯d been hidden somewhere away from both the male lion and the buffalo. Considering what normally would have happened to them when a new male took over the pride, Dominic didn¡¯t blame the mothers for doing what they could to protect their cubs. Then the lionesses reached the buffalo and went still in the grass. Thanks to their stillness and the perfect match of their coats to the grass around, even Dominic who knew where they were could barely spot them. Their ears and tails flicked. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The lions on the ridge started moving, their reaction seamless. Two of the young lionesses split to join the four on the limping buffalo, the other joined Leo who immediately headed for the healthy one. ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ Dominic asked urgently because even the understanding that filtered through from Leo didn¡¯t make it clear why they were doing this. ¡®I¡¯m not entirely sure,¡¯ Leo admitted. ¡®Either one of the buffalos is a decoy and the pride will pile on the one which flags first, or the females think that we can take down two buffalo at once.¡¯ ¡®Do you think we can?¡¯ checked Dominic. ¡®Perhaps. That is most likely why we have been split like this: more females on the weaker one; us on the stronger one. I suspect that the lionesses will distract the buffalo for us to use our greater strength and weight to take it down.¡¯ WIth that, they went silent, focussing on the hunt ahead. The buffalo they were heading towards turned to face Leo, its head lowered and horns ready to gore him. Leo paused a good few paces away, the lioness following him going to ground and starting to creep around the buffalo. The herbivore tossed its head and pawed at the ground, dust rising beneath its hoof and blowing in the breeze. Leo tensed, ready to leap aside if it decided to charge. On that note, I wonder if buffalo also have Cores with Charge in, Dominic thought quietly to himself, not wanting to distract Leo at this critical juncture. Just as the buffalo seemed about to make a run at Leo, the three lionesses who had surrounded it, leapt for it. One aimed at its back leg, one aimed at its back, and the third bit at its hindquarters. All were careful to stay clear of the horns which immediately swept at them, jumping away from the buffalo as it twisted around to attempt to gore them. In the process it turned on the spot, inadvertently presenting its back to the male lion. This was Leo¡¯s cue, and he broke into an all-out run, activating Quick Strike as he leapt forwards onto the buffalo¡¯s back. His claws pierced the buffalo¡¯s hide, offering a good hold for him to then bite at the animal¡¯s spine. His teeth sank into the herbivore¡¯s body, Crushing Bite activated to increase the damage. Since he¡¯d succeeded in pulling up his status screen earlier, Dominic wondered if he¡¯d be able to pull up the log ¨C and if his log would contain information about damage when he hadn¡¯t actively asked the System to display it. He hoped that it wouldn¡¯t suddenly pull the screen up in front of Leo too, but the lion hadn¡¯t shown any indication of seeing the status screen earlier¡­. Worth a try ¨C right now he was in a relatively safe position: the buffalo¡¯s horns couldn¡¯t reach him here. [You have dealt 12+1 Slicing damage + 13+1 Tearing damage + 6 Piercing damage] [You have dealt 75+15+10 Crushing damage + 65+3 Piercing damage] Excellent, Dominic thought. Proof of concept given. And from the lack of complaint from Leo, it seemed like the screen hadn¡¯t been pulled up for them both. Interesting¡­. And in terms of damage, it was a pretty awesome attack. For the cost of 27 Stamina Points, he¡¯d dealt around 200 points in damage. It was over half the buffalo¡¯s health bar. Though, he did find it interesting to note that no mention was made of the defence which the buffalo had, and he was sure that it would have some. Its hide was tough enough to resist both his claws and teeth very slightly despite everything they¡¯d been enhanced by. So, when it talks about damage ¡®dealt¡¯, is that before or after the defences of the opponent? It was an interesting question which might have an impact at a later date ¨C if he knew how much damage he needed to inflict to one-shot a creature, for example. However, at the moment, it was more useful to know how much damage he¡¯d inflicted in relation to the health bar of his opponent. And right at this moment, it told him that he had inflicted a good blow, but that the buffalo wasn¡¯t dead yet. It was fortunate that Dominic hadn¡¯t had to control the body ¨C during his ruminations the buffalo had started bucking, and Leo had to dig his claws in even deeper to stop himself from being thrown off. This was where greater weight wasn¡¯t necessarily an advantage: while his ability to pin an opponent was increased, if the opponent had the strength necessary to resist his weight ¨C which seemed to be the case ¨C his weight could then be used against him. When the buffalo executed a particularly agile sideways buck, Leo and Dominic found themselves sliding off the buffalo¡¯s side. Leo kept his teeth and claws fixed, however, and the result of them tearing free under his weight left a significant wound in the buffalo¡¯s side. Another chunk of their prey¡¯s health bar disappeared. Leo had to jump out of the way as the buffalo twisted its head to gore him in return for his attack. He wasn¡¯t quite fast enough, the awkward landing meaning his jump wasn¡¯t perfectly timed, but he escaped with only a small flesh-wound. On the run from the abruptly charging buffalo, Leo was relieved when the lionesses with him distracted it by once more attacking its back quarters. This time, one got her jaws around the buffalo¡¯s right hind-leg, getting dragged along by it for a short time. Her uncomfortable journey was ended when her pride-mate grabbed the other hind-leg, bringing the buffalo to a halt. The young lioness snatched at the buffalo¡¯s side, dancing away from the hooves. Leo ran around the buffalo and then charged at it himself, timing his leap when the buffalo was striking at the young lioness on the other side. He slammed into the buffalo¡¯s shoulder, his weight sending it crashing to the ground. Its nose slammed against the ground as its horn was caught underneath it. Before it could recover, Leo took advantage of the opportunity and closed his jaws around its throat. Chapter 69: Greatest Threat Although this was his first time as the lead male in a buffalo hunt, Leo suspected that the time it took him to suffocate the buffalo was longer than it would have been Before. He¡¯d hunted buffalo with his birth pride, rarely, though his sire had been the one to leap on its back and bring it down with his weight. Leo himself had been with the lionesses, providing the distraction to allow his father the necessary opening. Still, perhaps it was unsurprising that even if he¡¯d grown in strength and power, the buffalo had too. That it had probably grown more defensively than it had offensively was almost to be expected from this dangerous prey. ¡®I wonder whether it might have gained an ability for its horns,¡¯ mused Leo¡¯s brother. Leo had been aware of Dominic¡¯s distraction during the fight, but fortunately it hadn¡¯t meant that Leo had been distracted too. The former-human still had a lot to learn about concentrating in the moment. Just as much as Leo perhaps had to learn about lateral thinking. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ was all Leo would say to that, as the notification flashed up in front of him, its nonsensical squiggles irritating. ¡®Hmm, these herbivores really aren¡¯t given enough credit,¡¯ his brother complained. ¡®Why do you say that?¡¯ ¡®We only earned a measly five Prey Points from that.¡¯ ¡®Only five?¡¯ Leo was startled. Though he wasn¡¯t as fixated on constantly gaining more Prey Points as his companion seemed to be, he did recognise their use ¨C and their implication. ¡®That¡¯s less than even the boxing animals offered on the first day.¡¯ ¡®The kangaroos, yes. I mean, the buffalo actually was worth nineteen points, but we only got five of them. I guess we split the rest of the points with the three lionesses who were part of the fight.¡¯ Leo looked around at the three who were already tearing into the carcass hungrily. His instinct was to chase them off and take his rightful due, but his brother¡¯s influence made him hesitate. Perhaps he didn¡¯t actually have to chase them away. He wasn¡¯t that hungry, and would easily be able to take what he needed from the carcass, even shared with three females. Actually, what had happened with the other hunt? He twisted around to see, able to watch the final moments of the other fight. The six females had taken down the buffalo they¡¯d attacked, even without his help. It was not too surprising: four adults and two sub-adults on a single beast was almost overkill for anything except an elephant or rhino, and those they¡¯d only hunt when prey was scarce due to the danger. Or if they encountered one which was injured and vulnerable, of course. Satisfied that they were not suddenly going to become inundated with other lions wanting to grab their own share, Leo turned his attention back to the carcass. No real need to chase the females off, then, but what if not doing it this time meant they then refused to cede him the space at another time when he was more in need? This was his first time taking over a pride, and he hadn¡¯t seen either his sire doing it or the new males who had overtaken his birth pride. He didn¡¯t know what was normal, just what his instincts told him. ¡®Just chase them off at that point, then,¡¯ his brother chimed in. ¡®They did the work, and they seem hungrier than we are. Just eat with them for now. And then swap with me ¨C I¡¯m getting antsy here.¡¯ Leo supposed he ought to be grateful that his brother was willing to wait for Leo to enjoy eating the fruit of his hunt. Then again, he supposed it could be to do with how distasteful the former-human seemed to consider tearing at raw meat. Leo really didn¡¯t understand that bit, but he wouldn¡¯t question it when it worked to his advantage. Moving closer to the carcass, he started to eat. The bloody taste of the meat filled his mouth, his sharp teeth and strong neck muscles easily able to tear off strips. Chewing them a bit on his back teeth, he then gulped them down, enjoying the weight of meat in his belly. One of the lionesses growled at him as he reached for a choice organ. Leo snarled back at her, his fur bristling. He might be willing to share the carcass with her, but if she started trying to deny him access to the best bits, he had no compunctions about driving her off ¨C and her sisters with her. Perhaps his body-language sufficiently communicated his intentions as she backed off a moment later, shifting to another part of the carcass. As Leo ate, he found himself musing over what had just happened. He¡¯d never experienced a disconnect between his thoughts and his ability to communicate them. In fact, Before, he hadn¡¯t really had thoughts. He¡¯d had reactions. Danger ¨C run away or face it with his teeth. Aggression from one of the females in his pride or his sire ¨C submission, or return aggression once he got big enough. Hunger ¨C hunt and then eat after he¡¯d got too old to seek out his mother¡¯s belly for milk. His body language hadn¡¯t really been under his conscious control. He¡¯d felt something, wanted something, and his body had reacted. Around the lions and other animals he had been raised with, that hadn¡¯t been a problem. He¡¯d understood the body language of others in the pride perfectly, and them him. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. As for other predators and prey, little understanding was really involved. He¡¯d learned what it looked like when he was about to be attacked or when his prey was about to take off. Beyond that, knowing exactly what they were communicating was unnecessary. Now, though, he had words. And an understanding of concepts which were impossible to communicate with the body language he¡¯d known. He wanted to be able to tell the two mothers that he wasn¡¯t going to kill their cubs, so they¡¯d stop being so defensive with him, but he couldn¡¯t. He wanted to tell them about the System, about the dungeon he¡¯d visited. About Dominic and everything he¡¯d learned from the former-human. But he couldn¡¯t. Body language just wasn¡¯t that complex. ¡®Maybe they¡¯ll gain sapience as their level increases,¡¯ his brother suggested tentatively, seemingly having tuned into his increasingly morose mood. ¡®Perhaps. But then will that not just leave them trapped in their own heads, as we are trapped in mine?¡¯ Leo considered the carcass in front of him and his sudden lack of hunger. ¡®We can switch back now,¡¯ he said abruptly, focussing on switching places with his brother. ***** ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic said, a little taken aback. Leo had been enjoying the meal so much, he wasn¡¯t expecting to be able to take back control until the lion had eaten his fill. But suddenly the thoughts about the lionesses¡¯ lack of sapience, or ability to communicate with them, had changed Leo¡¯s entire mood. A balloon-sliding sensation later and they had switched places, the transition even faster this time than before. I don¡¯t think it will be that long before we¡¯ll be able to do that in battle, Dominic thought to himself. Though they¡¯d probably have to practise it a bit before then: though the transition was faster, there was still an element of disorientation each time. Dominic didn¡¯t really feel like tearing at the carcass in front of him, and Leo had succeeded in refilling his hunger meter before he asked to switch back. He therefore started licking at his paws and using them to clean his muzzle. Carefully not thinking too much about what he was doing, he just enjoyed the feeling of safety it gave him. When he noticed one of the lionesses doing the same next to him, he wasn¡¯t sure if that made him feel better or worse about grooming himself. By this point, the other lionesses were tucking in hungrily into their carcass too. They must have had enough time to go back and get the cubs as there were small forms darting in and grabbing mouthfuls as well. Every so often, they had to avoid an irritated snarl or stray blow that came from the lioness whose space they¡¯d just invaded. When he shifted away from the carcass, one of the other females ¨C the pregnant one ¨C came over warily to chew some bits off the body which was less in demand. Dominic was feeling antsy. The herd of buffalo, in contrast to the other prey animals he¡¯d hunted, hadn¡¯t gone anywhere. They were still milling around, eating the grass. The closest members to the lions were wary, and kept a sharp eye on the pride, but evidently they¡¯d understood that once a pride had made a kill, they weren¡¯t nearly as dangerous. At least, that used to be the case. Because now, Dominic was eyeing them less for their meat and more for their Prey Points. Hunting as a group definitely improved the chances of making the kill and surviving to tell the tale, but it also had a deleterious effect on how many Prey Points he earned. He¡¯d already had to share the meagre nineteen Prey Points with three lionesses; what would happen if they¡¯d attacked as a full pride? Even the scrin would have only offered around eight points to each of them. Dominic knew that Leo wanted to pursue normal lion objectives ¨C eat, sleep, mate, repeat ¨C but that would mean his progress slowed to a crawl. And Dominic wasn¡¯t keen for that to happen. He¡¯d gained an advantage from going into the dungeon ¨C the fact that he hadn¡¯t yet come across any other creature which was Evolved apart from in the dungeon itself was evidence of that. But how long would that continue? If group animals only earned a paltry few Prey Points per kill because they shared it with the rest of those they¡¯d hunted it with, then solitary hunters would soon outstrip them in levels. Which would then mean that group animals would soon be restricted to only hunting in groups. Great for the solitary hunter who came across a lonesome pack-member; not so great for the pack-member. Dominic wasn¡¯t willing to let that unfortunate pack-member be him. Especially since his greatest threat, even if he purely considered living as a lion, were rival males coming in to take over the pride. Rival males who, incidentally, had been hunting solo or in a small group of other males. Who, therefore, would likely be stronger than the male who¡¯d been living a cushy life in the pride. ¡®You have a point. I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡¯ Leo¡¯s voice broke into Dominic¡¯s thoughts. It was just typical that he only paid attention when his position in the pride was threatened. ¡®So you agree that we need to actively chase levels so as to continue growing and improving?¡¯ Dominic asked him warily. So far, Leo had very much been against hunting purely for the Prey Points. There had always had to be another objective. ¡®I¡­admit that you¡¯re probably right regarding other males slowly becoming more powerful over time. The life of a nomad is not easy, and this new world is likely to make it even harder, but the few who survive will be far more powerful than could ever have been dreamed of Before. If we are not ready for that, we will soon be driven out of this pride ¨C or killed.¡¯ ¡®So¡­?¡¯ asked Dominic leadingly as the lion hadn¡¯t yet answered his question. ¡®So, I think that, though we should not actively put ourself in undue danger merely for Prey Points¡­maybe we should be a little more proactive than I was intending. And I think that we might have an opportunity here.¡¯ Dominic frowned mentally. ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ He could swear the lion was grinning at him. ¡®Look around.¡¯ Dominic did so, and something which had been in the corner of his eye suddenly came fully into focus. He too felt the urge to grin savagely, his lips drawing back from his teeth. Hello, my old friends. Chapter 70: Battle-lines What met his eyes was something that might have been an unwelcome sight ¨C at another time. Fresh off his conversation with Leo and with the potential backup of the lionesses, the large group of hyenas looked more like walking bags of Prey Points than a threat. There were about sixteen hyenas, maybe as many as twenty ¨C they were milling around and sloping in and out of the bushes nearby making an accurate count difficult. The lionesses were already starting to snarl at the interlopers, even as they continued to tear at the carcasses, the mothers being particularly agitated. Not that Dominic could blame them: even pre-System hyenas were dangerous to cubs, let alone these juiced-up ones. ¡®Never fear, Dominic is here,¡¯ the former-human joked mentally. ¡®Try not to make a fool of us this time,¡¯ Leo responded sardonically. ¡®The females will be watching.¡¯ Dominic sent his co-passenger an eye-roll. ¡®Oh ye of little faith.¡¯ ¡®But much experience,¡¯ retorted the lion. ¡®Ouch! You know how to wound a guy,¡¯ complained Dominic light-heartedly. Then he focussed on the task ahead and if his back-seat driver said anything more, he missed it. There were three hyenas who Dominic reckoned must have been at least half-step evolved ¨C they were definitely big enough for it. Unless they had put all their enhancements into growth and none towards intelligence, that was. Dominic suspected that wasn''t the case though ¨C their eyes gleamed with too much cunning for that. In fact, Dominic watched almost admiringly as the three leaders appeared to direct the other hyenas. No, one leader, two sub-commanders, Dominic realised as he watched the interactions. One of them, the biggest, clearly gave instructions to the other two who then each split to take charge of a group of hyenas. Half of the hyenas headed for each carcass, the leader hanging back to watch from a distance. Dominic prepared for the hyenas coming to their kill. Two of the other lionesses joined him, their snarls echoing the deeper rumble that came from his own throat. The sub-commander in charge of this group directed its subordinates forward with a whoop and grunt. The battle-lines were drawn, the group of hyenas rushing towards them, teeth bared. Dominic wasn''t willing to let them take the initiative and leapt at the closest. Using Quick Strike, he covered the distance more quickly than the hyena was expecting, bulling straight into it. Since its head was lowered, he wasn''t able to rip its throat out in the first move. His greater size and weight did the job, though, knocking the hyena over and offering Dominic an opportunity to bite at its spine. Which, of course, he did, adding in the damage of Crushing Bite just to be sure of his kill. [You have killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 52 PP] If the rank and file are level 5, the leaders are definitely half-step evolved, Dominic decided. More thought than that was impossible, though, as the hyenas around Dominic were already reacting to his attack. Three piled in on him, one going for his neck, the others for his flanks. The one attacking his neck had a surprise in the form of his gorget, the Piercing nature of its attack blunted. The majority of it was Crushing damage, though, and Dominic didn''t need to have a damage notification flash up to tell him that most of that had got through: he could feel it and see it in his health bar. He reared up, pushing strongly with his front legs to gain enough momentum to lift the muscular killing machine off the ground. Even then, he only just succeeded. Fortunately, ¡®just¡¯ was sufficient. The hyena, pulled off its feet, was helpless to control the way it dangled. It let go immediately only for about 450 pounds of lion to hit it from above. Strong as it might be, the other animal''s legs were unable to take the strain and buckled. Leaning down, Dominic once more delivered a crushing bite to its spine. Pain was lancing through him from the attacks of the two to his flanks, their teeth ripping at his flesh. He wasted no time in getting out of the situation, leaping forwards several paces and then whirling around to face his attackers, teeth bared. [You have killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 52 PP] The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Clearly the one he''d just bitten had succumbed to its grievous wound. In the fraction of time before the two hyenas rushed him, Dominic glanced around. Both lionesses were under attack, two hyenas on one; three on the other. ¡®None are on the carcass,¡¯ Leo said, his tone concerned. ¡®Why is that an issue?¡¯ Dominic asked with only part of his attention. The rest was spent in defending himself from the snapping jaws of the two hyenas. ¡®It''s unexpected,¡¯ Leo replied. ¡®Normally scavengers will snatch bits while they can: even if they are driven off in the end they will still have benefitted a bit. Their methods have changed and I fear what that means.¡¯ Dominic snarled and swiped at the hyena to the left, his claws narrowly missing its eye. The hyena to the right took advantage of his ¡®distraction¡¯ and lunged forwards. To its misfortune, that was exactly what Dominic wanted and he snaked his head around to snatch at its throat. The hyena reacted quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid him grabbing a mouthful of flesh. It was mostly skin, but when the hyena automatically pulled away, it tore a larger chunk free. Not forgetting about the hyena on his left, Dominic mentally grumbled about the missed opportunity but kept his momentum going. Shoulder-checking the hyena to his left, he knocked it off-balance. He wasn''t at the right angle to get at its throat so he bit at its hip instead: laming it would be almost as good. Not out for the count, the other hyena attacked his own hindquarters, its teeth digging in deeply, making him grumble in pain. Once more leaping to get out of the mess, Dominic decided to change it up a bit ¨C he wasn¡¯t fighting alone this time, why act like he was? Running towards the closest lioness, he barged straight into one of her two attackers. Not expecting it at all, the hyena was bowled over and quickly dispatched, blood jetting out of its slit throat. [You have killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 52 PP] The other hyena whirled around to face Dominic, but in the process turned its back on an infuriated lioness. It was the last mistake it would make: the lioness leapt on its back and delivered a spine-crushing bite to the base of its skull. [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 12 PP] Interesting, thought Dominic, but resolved to think about it later, when he wasn¡¯t about to be attacked by the two hyenas which had followed him into this fight. Turning on the hyena with a bleeding face, Dominic was aware of the lioness leaping beside him, attacking the second hyena. One on one, neither of the hyenas had much hope. Although the lioness and the hyena were probably the same level, the lioness perhaps a little lower, she¡¯d been holding her own against two of them; against one it was no contest. [You have killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 46 PP] [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 8 PP] That was also interesting, but Dominic was too busy running towards the other lioness to consider it. She was holding them off, but was struggling a bit, her coat matted with blood, and limping with one paw. With backup from her pride-sister, not to mention Leo, they made quick work of the three hyenas which had been tearing at the lioness. In a few seconds, two lay dead on the floor and one was running away, giggling and bleeding. It met up with the sub-commander which in turn retreated to the side of the leader. There, the two unsuccessful attackers paused, turning to defend against an attack which wasn¡¯t coming. Seeing as their remaining attackers seemed to have retreated, Dominic and the two lionesses turned their attention elsewhere. Looking towards the other carcass, the three lions saw something which enraged them. One of the lionesses was down ¨C one of the mothers. Her half-grown cubs lay savaged behind her, piles of bloody fur. There were two hyenas lying around her, dead or close enough: she hadn¡¯t gone down without a fight. The five hyenas remaining were attacking the other mother, snapping at the cubs huddling beneath her while she snapped and snarled at them. Her pride-sisters, including the younger lioness which had hunted the buffalo with Leo, were all trying to defend her, but the hyenas all just did their best to avoid the other lionesses¡¯s attacks while focussing on the vulnerable cubs and their increasingly-desperate mother. Roaring loudly, Dominic came running to the rescue, activating Quick Strike to make sure that his target couldn¡¯t escape his attack, and then Crushing Bite to guarantee that it would be felt. The hyena whined breathlessly Dominic landed on it, crushing the air of its last breath out of its lungs with his weight. [You have killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 40 PP] The mother lion snarled at him tiredly, perhaps thinking that he was planning on taking advantage of the situation to kill off her cubs. Instead, he turned so his back was to her, facing her attackers with bared teeth. A whooping sound came from the leading hyena and the ones around them broke off the attack, retreating towards it and then streaming beyond. Dominic locked eyes with the biggest hyena for a moment, both their teeth bared at each other. He had the sense that it was promising a rematch even as it turned and slunk after its clan. Dominic kept watching until it was out of sight, disappearing into a bush. Then he turned to look at the mess which the encounter had made of his pride. In addition to the mother who had been killed protecting her cubs, one of the young lionesses was also lying dead, her throat crushed. From the nine members who had killed the two buffalo earlier, only seven had survived, and the number of cubs had been cut down from eleven to six. ¡®My pride,¡¯ Leo mourned quietly in Dominic¡¯s mind. The former-human was feeling very mixed emotions about the sudden change of events. He¡¯d got more Prey Points, maybe even enough to get to the next level. But in the process¡­for the first time, more damage had been done than could be fixed with a level up. Chapter 71: This Dangerous World The lionesses gathered around the bodies of the two dead pride members, making low groans and whuffing sounds. They nudged at the bodies, and those of the cubs too, licking them and seeming to try to encourage them to stand up, to show any signs of life. But they didn¡¯t. Dominic walked over to the two bodies. He was torn between the human urge to show respect for the dead and a new leonine instinct to follow the pride¡¯s behaviour. In the end, he tried not to think too much about it, licking briefly at the lioness¡¯s face. Then, using a delicately-wielded claw, he pulled her eyelid down to close her remaining eye: the other had been destroyed by the hyenas. Avoiding the cubs, unable to deal with the thought of children having died in that way, he did the same for the other lioness. Then, following the unconscious urging of Leo¡¯s instincts, he rubbed his head against the closest lioness¡¯. She rubbed back, the motion stronger than he¡¯d been expecting. His move seemed to set off a chain reaction: the other lions started rubbing against each other, and Dominic too. For the first time, he felt like he¡¯d actually become part of the pride, rather than just being on its periphery. Even the remaining cubs got in on the action, reaching up as high as they could and rubbing themselves against the other lions¡¯ legs, the older lions leaning down to nuzzle at them. When the first cub approached Dominic, the lion was aware of its mother tensing, her lips starting to lift from her teeth in warning. When all he did was nuzzle at it the way all the other lions had, the mother looked confused, but a little reassured. Perhaps she was finally understanding that Dominic wasn¡¯t a threat to her babies. Finally, when every pride member had rubbed their scent all over the others, Dominic suddenly realising how much it changed his own scent, the lionesses returned to mourning. Though this time the tone was different. They seemed to have reminded each other that members of the pride had died, but not all was lost. Or maybe that was Dominic being too human about it. Either way, he could sense that Leo, despite being silent in his mind, was feeling a lot better after having been included with the rest of the pride in the bonding activity. ¡®I miss it,¡¯ he admitted as he heard the thoughts going through Dominic¡¯s mind. ¡®So¡­thank you. I understand that humans don¡¯t¡­do the same sort of thing.¡¯ ¡®Not nuzzling heads, no,¡¯ Dominic agreed quietly as they watched the lionesses¡¯ grief. ¡®But a hug or a pat on the shoulder when someone is feeling bad is pretty normal. This wasn¡¯t much different from that.¡¯ Once more standing a little separate from the pride, though this time from choice rather than exclusion, Dominic noticed that one of the lionesses was limping heavily. He recognised her as the one who had been facing three hyenas by herself while he and the other lioness had been battling their own. That¡¯s no good, he frowned to himself. ¡®No, it¡¯s not,¡¯ Leo agreed grimly with his thoughts. ¡®She will be vulnerable for too long in this dangerous world, even though as part of a pride, it isn¡¯t automatically the death sentence it would have been for me as a nomad.¡¯ An idea sparked in Dominic. ¡®This dangerous world¡­¡¯ Leo¡¯s attention sharpened on the former-human. ¡®What are you thinking?¡¯ he demanded. ¡®Well, healing doesn¡¯t necessarily have to take months now, does it?¡¯ Dominic felt Leo¡¯s sudden comprehension. ¡®But how are you going to get her to do it?¡± the lion asked. Dominic shrugged. ¡®I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯m going to try.¡¯ It was definitely going to be hard to do without words, but he could only hope that the lionesses had gained the increased intelligence that the hyenas clearly had. After all, the hyenas had evidently realised that the way to increase in strength in this new world was to kill, and to kill other predators. There was no other explanation for why they had focussed entirely on killing the lions, and the most vulnerable ones at that. Though he did wonder at the leader¡¯s strategy. Why did the three ¡®commanders¡¯ stay back from the fighting? And why did they throw the lives of several hyenas away? Dominic and the two lionesses had killed all but one of the lower-levelled hyenas attacking them, and the other group had lost two of their members while fighting the dead mother. Isn¡¯t that a waste? Dominic wondered. Or do they have some sort of ¡®the strongest survive¡¯ mentality? Without being able to ask them, he was going to have to keep wondering instead of getting any answers. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Going over to the injured lioness, he nudged her with his nose. He wasn¡¯t gentle about it either, and she rocked a little from his movement. She snarled at him a little half-heartedly, Dominic able to interpret her message as ¡®go away,¡¯ but not yet threatening violence if he didn¡¯t. She¡¯d probably get there since Dominic nudged her again, this time pushing her a little with his shoulder. Her snarl was now a bit more threatening: she obviously didn¡¯t understand why he was trying to separate her from the rest of her pride and didn¡¯t appreciate it. Dominic snarled back at her, trying to communicate that he didn¡¯t want to fight, but that he wasn¡¯t willing to back down. Moving towards her, she backed up. Step by step, he managed to manoeuvre her in the direction he wanted her to go. When they managed to make it to the site with dead hyenas strewn all over the place, Dominic stared at the lioness, willing her to look. Then leaning down, he touched his nose to the hyena corpse, and triggered Consume. The lioness flinched as the body disintegrated into golden dust and swirled around Dominic, being absorbed into his skin. The lion felt his health bar jump a little and several injuries close. Turning, he showed off the newly-healed flesh to the lioness. By this point, he was sure that the lions were gaining in intelligence just like the hyenas as the lioness was watching intently, now more curious than annoyed. Dominic had hopes that she might be able to do this despite not having the ability to communicate through words. He nudged another corpse over to her. He¡¯d intentionally moved over to the area where she¡¯d been fighting: that way, the corpses should be ones she¡¯d helped kill. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was possible just to absorb random corpses or if they had to have been killed by the absorber or someone in the absorber¡¯s party. Maybe he should try¡­. It would be useful to know for the future. So far, it hadn¡¯t come up, of course, since any corpses around him were ones he¡¯d made. The lioness stooped down to touch her nose to the hyena¡¯s body, just like Dominic had, her golden eyes fixed on him at all times. Dominic tried to make an encouraging noise, a soft moan coming out in place of what he would have expected to emerge from his human mouth. The seconds ticked by with nothing happening. Dominic started fearing that the fact that the lioness obviously wasn¡¯t able to think ¡®Consume¡¯ might be the sticking point here. However, at the point when he was starting to fidget and wonder whether there was another way of Consuming the body, something changed. The body disintegrated and swirled around the lioness. She flinched as she saw the golden dust surrounding her, but as her eyes met Dominic¡¯s, he was surprised at the amount of trust in them. It humbled him a little to realise that she was trusting that the process wouldn¡¯t hurt her because he¡¯d done the same thing and come out better for it. Dominic himself was curiously watching the injuries to her body healing at a visible rate as the hyena¡¯s body offered the lioness a significant boost. Clearly her own health pool was much smaller than Dominic¡¯s as he hadn¡¯t gained nearly as much, relatively speaking, from the corpse he¡¯d absorbed. When all the golden dust was gone, she inspected her paws, then checked over her shoulder as if she was expecting something to have changed after absorbing the dust. Licking at a wound which had half healed on her paw, Dominic could practically see the gears turning in her mind. It was no surprise at all to him when she turned to the next hyena corpse beside her, put her nose down and absorbed it. What was a surprise was when another lioness approached them and watched curiously as the body disintegrated. A moment later, she too had touched a corpse with her nose and done whatever the other lioness had done to start Consuming the body. As he studied her, he saw an almost heart-shaped spot on the fur near her arm-pit ¨C perhaps a holdover from her cubhood. He recognised her by her scent as being the other lioness who had been with him when killing the buffalo. Recognising similar-looking beings by their scents was not something he was used to doing as a human, but his significantly improved olfactory senses as a lion were nothing to sniff at ¨C pun intended. Even with everyone¡¯s natural scents covered with a layer of ¡®pride¡¯ scents, Dominic could still tell who was who in the zoo. However, still being a good bit human, he found himself uncomfortable ¨C and without the vocabulary ¨C to identify other beings by scent alone. So he decided to think of some names. While tempted to just call the one with a heart-shaped spot ¡®Heart¡¯, he decided that that would be too lazy. Sekhmet, he decided for the one who had fought off three hyenas by herself. And Hathor for the one who has a heart-shaped spot ¨C she was the Egyptian goddess of love, after all. As for the others, he decided he¡¯d wait to see their personalities before he decided on names. I¡¯ll probably follow the theme of goddesses, though, he decided. And Egyptian ones work pretty well considering they¡¯re at least from the same continent! Though not any more, I suppose¡­. Curious about whether he could absorb carcasses of creatures he hadn¡¯t killed, he activated Consume on a hyena lying dead near the deceased mother. To his pleasure, it worked. So no limits on which corpses we can Consume. I guess that kind of makes sense: pre-System anyone could eat any carcass which they found. ¡®We should Consume the bodies of the females.¡¯ Leo said suddenly. Dominic frowned at him. ¡®What? Wouldn¡¯t that be¡­disrespectful?¡¯ ¡®Less disrespectful than leaving her body to be Consumed by others.¡¯ Dominic still hesitated. ¡®But maybe her sisters should do it instead.¡¯ ¡®Do you see any of them doing so?¡¯ Leo pointed out. Dominic looked around. The other lionesses had all moved away from the site of the massacre. Some of them had returned to eating from the buffalo carcass, but a few were investigating what their pride-sisters were doing, and Dominic saw more and more clouds of golden smoke rise into the air. None of them seemed too interested in coming over and Consuming their sister or any of the other leonine bodies. ¡®I¡¯ll give it a few minutes. Let all of those who have been Consuming the corpses of the hyenas finish clearing up, and then decide whether or not they wish to do the same to these two lionesses. Agreed?¡¯ ¡®Very well,¡¯ Leo agreed, the sense of him stretching and then settling down to wait patiently coming over the link. Chapter 72: Can You Imagine Me Wearing It While he waited to see if any of the lionesses would claim their sisters¡¯ bodies ¨C and those of her cubs ¨C Dominic decided to collect the Cores hanging around the place. Finding them wasn¡¯t too hard: he just had to go to the spots where a lot of blood had soaked the earth and search around for a glinting gem-like marble. Since the hyenas had all been level 5, the Cores all contained Crushing Bite and only that. ¡®Do you think we should absorb them and upgrade Crushing Bite or save them for selling later?¡¯ ¡®Absorb them now,¡¯ came Leo¡¯s immediate and definite answer. ¡®You don¡¯t even know whether these will be valuable to anyone, nor if we will encounter and be able to communicate with anyone who wants them. We have not found any other use for them.¡¯ Dominic admitted that he had a point. And actually, that reminded him of something. Absorbing the Cores quickly, he then pulled out one which had been sitting in his Inventory for a while. [Beast Core: Meerkat level 5 Ability: Group Attack] Now that he realised he could actually get information about an ability by focussing on it, he tried doing that with this Core. Whether he was just better at directing the System or Information was something which actually increased in level like anything else, though without showing any evidence in his status sheet, this time he was able to see more than just the name of Group Attack. [Group Attack (T0): Increases your offensive prowess when attacking in a group. +1% to offensive damage dealt per other being you attack with who is considered to be in the same group. Percentage may increase or other bonuses may be added as Ability increases in level.] ¡®I have just one thing to say here,¡¯ Dominic told Leo as he read through the description. ¡®If all those Meerkats had this ability and were still barely able to damage me, then their starting stats must have been terminally weak.¡¯ Dominic felt the sense of shrug from his companion. ¡®Meerkats at the best of times cannot face a lion. And consider how they were levels 0 and 1 at a time when we were level 9. That they were able to damage us at all is probably an achievement.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic admitted. Still, now that he was in a pride, this Ability would be a lot more useful than it would have been before. He was glad to see that there didn¡¯t seem to be any negative modifier to not fighting in a pride. That had been something he¡¯d been wary about. Although he didn¡¯t intend at this point to go solo again, there was no guaranteeing what would or wouldn¡¯t happen in the future. Quickly absorbing the Core, he was a little grumpy to see that he hadn¡¯t gained the Ability all in one go. I did with the Warthog Guardian¡¯s Core, he grumbled to himself. Even though he¡¯d gambled a little on that one, if he¡¯d played it safe and gone from Charge, he would have been guaranteed to gain it immediately. What is the use of this for anyone else if it doesn¡¯t actually give an Ability straight out? ¡®Probably as much use as any other Core,¡¯ Leo remarked. ¡®Meaning that either it can be used elsewhere or the dungeon chose this reward specifically for us, like it did the gorget and tail armour. Which you haven¡¯t worn recently.¡¯ ¡®I haven¡¯t, have I?¡± Dominic thought guiltily. How was he going to use the thing in battle if he never trained his tail to cope with it? ¡®Wait,¡¯ he said, realising something. ¡®How come it¡¯s ¡®you¡¯ haven¡¯t used it? You could have worn it too!¡¯ ¡®And look ridiculous while mating with females?¡¯ Leo huffed in amusement. ¡®Hardly. You can do it when they¡¯re worn out and uninterested in more fun.¡¯ Dominic scoffed wordlessly at his companion¡¯s double-standards. ¡®You realise that it¡¯s the same body, right?¡¯ ¡®Yes, but can you imagine me wearing it while mating?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t want to,¡¯ Dominic told him pointedly. ¡®That¡¯s precisely what I¡¯m trying to avoid!¡¯ ¡®Prude,¡¯ the lion sniffed. ¡®Just wait until I¡¯ve got my human body back and have seduced a woman,¡¯ Dominic warned him. ¡®Then we¡¯ll see who¡¯s the prude.¡¯ Leo gave him the distinct impression of flopping on his side and closing his eyes. Clearly being back with other lions was increasing his non-verbal communication, even mentally. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Turning his attention back to his task, Dominic pulled Cores out of his Inventory and kept absorbing them a few at a time, keeping an eye on his Acquired Abilities list so that he would know when he reached 100%. As it turned out, it was a good thing that he had so many of the Cores: the level 0 ones only offered him about 1% every two or three Cores he absorbed, and the level 1s only offered him a single percent each. Still, at least that told him that even when his status screen didn¡¯t actually show any change, it could still happen: when he consumed the level 0 Cores, there was no indication of a fraction of a percentage being added, but if it actually hadn¡¯t been, then he¡¯d never make any progress. Unless some level 0 Cores were worth a lot more than others, of course, but to consistently lay his hands on the higher value ones every two or three lower value ones was unlikely at best. He was actually down to the last twenty Cores before he hit 100%. He decided to munch them afterwards: although they wouldn¡¯t make much difference, they might give him a few percent towards the next level in that Ability. Besides, there was no point hanging onto them. Leo was right about the Cores from the hyenas doing more good in getting him to the next level in Crushing Bite than just cluttering up his storage space. Not that he had much to fill the space with, but who was going to be interested in level 0 Cores from creatures which were basically the equivalent of rats? Even assuming that level 0 or level 1 Cores were useful to artisans, they¡¯d be able to give any old adventurer a fetch quest to clear the sewers of rats and they¡¯d be up to their necks in the things. Assuming that humans had been given some sort of place in the new System, which surely they had. So Dominic almost cleared out his inventory of meerkat Cores, and gave the area a second go-over to make sure that he hadn¡¯t missed any hyena ones. Then, seeing that half the pride had already started moving off towards a spot to sleep, Dominic decided that he might as well absorb the corpses of the pride members. He still felt a little uneasy about the prospect. Even if Leo was right and leaving them to be Consumed by others, maybe even by the hyenas who killed them, was probably a worse one, they were still¡­people. I hadn¡¯t realised I¡¯d made that jump, Dominic thought to himself, almost dismayed. Didn¡¯t that just show how much he¡¯d changed? That he was thinking of lions as ¡®people¡¯? And people don¡¯t eat people, he concluded, finally putting his finger on what was bothering him. ¡®You¡¯re not eating them. And even if you were, I don¡¯t see the problem ¨C a mother will sometimes eat her cubs if they are killed. It¡¯s practical, for one thing.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ Dominic didn¡¯t know how to finish his sentence. He wanted to say ¡®sick¡¯, but knew that it would be hypocritical to do so: humans had had rather odd customs over the years, and cannibalism wasn¡¯t completely unheard of, especially when it was the only practical way to survive. But this wasn¡¯t such a desperate situation. ¡®Look, if you can¡¯t do it, let¡¯s switch places,¡¯ Leo told Dominic, his voice impatient. ¡®Leaving them gives strength to our enemies; Consuming them gives strength to us. Strength which we can use to protect the rest of the pride.¡¯ ¡®No, I¡¯ll do it,¡¯ Dominic told him. I need to get over it, he thought more privately to himself. If I can eat raw meat straight, I can absorb a corpse. Still, as he approached the body of the mother, he couldn¡¯t help but lean down to touch his nose to hers. I¡¯m sorry, he said to her quietly in his mind. I should have protected you. I should have driven off those hyenas rather than seeing them as a way to gain Prey Points. I should have realised that you guys were in difficulty over here rather than being too involved in my own fight. He sighed, the air rushing out of his mouth and ruffling her fur. I¡¯ll get better, Dominic promised. Then, triggering Consume, the lioness¡¯ body disintegrated into golden smoke and was absorbed into him. He could barely even look at the cubs¡¯ bodies, the half-grown lions with their gangly legs and too-big paws. Now, they were small piles on the savannah earth, their fur blood-stained, flies already feeding and laying eggs in the bloody cuts. When he Consumed them, he was savagely glad to see the fly eggs drop to the earth below. Good, he thought with his teeth bared. Parasites! After that, he did the same to the sub-adult lioness who had also died. Like her pride-sister ¨C probably aunt or something ¨C Dominic apologised to her before actually triggering Consume. In a short time, all that was left of the grisly scene was blood-soaked earth, gleaming Cores, and a cloud of confused flies. Do flies level under this System too? Dominic wondered, both disgusted and intrigued at the thought. He¡¯d hate to come across a level 20 fly. Or what about a level 50 mosquito? He shuddered. Information, he directed at the Cores. [Beast Core: African Lion level 4 Ability: Pounce] [Beast Core: African Lion level 3 Ability: Pounce] [Beast Core: African Lion (cub) level 0 Ability: Pounce] He only investigated one of each type, figuring that the six cubs would most likely be the same level. As expected, none of them had yet gained anything from this new world. Not surprising since they probably hadn¡¯t been involved in any hunts, but useful to know that just eating corpses didn¡¯t give Prey Points, even to cubs. That the adult female was only a single level above the sub-adult was a little surprising, but as Dominic thought about it, he had to admit that it made sense. The System hadn¡¯t arrived that long ago, so the sub-adult was probably already hunting with the pride when it came. The difference in level was probably to do with the fact that the apportioning of Prey Points seemed to be based at least partially on contribution. Being a younger and lighter lioness, the juvenile probably hadn¡¯t contributed as much as the other. This time being able to check out the ability he¡¯d already started to earn, Dominic focussed on ¡®Pounce¡¯. [Pounce (T0): Increases your offensive prowess when ambushing your prey. +50% damage to a hit which is delivered without the target being aware of you until the attack is too close to avoid. +25% damage to an attack which is made directly to a vulnerable area. Percentage may increase as Ability increases in level.] Pretty useful, Dominic thought to himself. Right, let¡¯s see if we have enough Cores to get it in this round. Chapter 73: Improving Absorbing the six small Cores from the cubs ¨C still bigger than the other level 0 Cores he¡¯d absorbed ¨C and the two Cores from the adult and sub-adult lionesses, Dominic checked the Abilities currently on the road to being acquired in his status panel. Acquired Abilities: Powerful Kick (52% to level 1) Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (12% to level 1) Sharp Nip (50% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Easy Landing (48% to level 1) Rending Bite (17% to level 1) Pounce (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire this ability Group Attack (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire this ability If he could, he¡¯d be rubbing his hands together. Two abilities had reached 100% and he had enough points to level up. Just. Progress to Evolution: 294/287 PP level up Without any reason to delay it and every reason to do it immediately, Dominic promptly selected the level up. ¡®What are we improving this time?¡¯ Leo asked. ¡®We need to be able to finish fights quicker,¡¯ Dominic told him. While he¡¯d wanted to put some points into his mana this time, he was finding it hard to justify the investment to himself, let alone Leo. With his magical stats so significantly reduced thanks to the method he¡¯d chosen to access mana, it meant he¡¯d have to put in a lot to get relatively poor results. He didn¡¯t exactly regret choosing to open the scroll when he did, but he couldn¡¯t help wondering if there might have been a better time. Or a better way. Hopefully he¡¯d find a way to get rid of the penalties because then his magic would definitely be worth exploring more. For now, though, especially fresh off a fight where he lost two out of the nine lionesses of the pride, not to mention the handful of cubs who hadn¡¯t even had a chance of life, he was determined to do something which would actually help him be the protector he was meant to be. ¡®I think we should enhance either our Claws or Bite for the first choice, and either Strike or Muscular Body (speed) for our second. What do you think?¡¯ The lion considered the question carefully. ¡®I find I must agree with you,¡¯ the lion admitted, almost as if the prospect was painful. ¡®Though would you not consider improving our Roar: if we can drive the enemies off before they even attack, would that not be better?¡¯ Dominic mentally shook his head. ¡®And what if they¡¯re not driven off? Then what? I feel like it¡¯s too much of a gamble. Besides, if we drive enemies off, we don¡¯t get the Prey Points.¡¯ ¡®Isn¡¯t the constant search for Prey Points not what caused the death of the females?¡¯ Leo asked, almost accusingly. Dominic felt a hint of guilt before he once more shook his head, this time actually physically, his mane ruffling around his ears. ¡®I didn¡¯t take this attack seriously enough, I admit it,¡¯ he said to his companion. ¡®However, avoiding fights isn¡¯t going to help us; it¡¯s only going to let our enemies get ahead of us and weaken our ability to fight in the long run.¡¯ He understood where Leo was coming from, though. With his connection to the lion he was able to get a better understanding of what life had been like before the System arrived. ¡®This isn¡¯t the old world where fights meant courting either death or disabling injury. Now a level-up seems able to fix most damage, and winning fights by killing our opponent is the only way to increase in strength. You agreed with me before; what¡¯s changed?¡¯ He heard a mental sigh from the lion, but Leo didn¡¯t verbally respond for a few long moments. ¡®Very well,¡¯ he accepted finally. ¡®I recognise the truth in your words.¡¯ The closest to saying ¡®you¡¯re right¡¯ that the lion seemed to be able to bring himself to express. ¡®I just don¡¯t want us to lose more, simply in the pursuit of Prey Points. Perhaps enhancing our Bite and speed would be the best options, then,¡¯ he said, clearly wanting to move on from the subject. ¡®Why do you say that?¡¯ asked Dominic, curious. ¡®Our Claws, while good, are by no means our primary weapon. I do not see that enhancing them a single time is likely to result in being able to more quickly finish fights. Our Bite, however, is already strong; enhancing it another time will make it stronger. As for the other enhancement, to finish fights quicker, we need to be able to move with more speed. Our use of Quick Strike will only multiply that.¡¯ ¡®Good points,¡¯ Dominic said. ¡®So the question is whether we should choose Mouth and increase our bite power, or Teeth and lengthen or sharpen our teeth.¡¯ ¡®Tearing damage is already our highest in teeth, but we have Crushing Bite to help enhance our Crushing damage. The question is whether we wish to gamble on a waterhole or spread our chance out more evenly.¡¯ If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡®You could just say ¡®put all our eggs in one basket¡¯, you know,¡¯ Dominic told his companion with a trace of amusement. ¡®And why would I wish to be human about it, pray?¡¯ Dominic felt that he should probably be offended by that, but shrugged it off. He didn¡¯t bother discussing it any more with Leo ¨C the lion didn¡¯t seem concerned about which option he most preferred, so he felt that gave him licence to choose. After a moment of thought, he decided; not wasting any more time, he immediately levelled up. Pulling up the changes to his status screen, he was pleased to see the results. It definitely seemed that concentrating on a single enhancement offered greater and greater results. On the other hand, levels were requiring more and more Prey Points per time, the difference between the required points for level 15 and level 16 now being 28 PP. He wondered what the difference would be like at level 30 if it was like this at level 15. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 15 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 7/315 PP Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 3 (5% to level 4) ¨C 3 SP for+25% ¨C> +35% speed; 6 ¨C> 8 SP for +45 ¨C> +70% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 1 (27% to level 2) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +6% - 60% Crushing damage for 2-57 stamina per second. Group Attack (T0) level 1 (0% to level 2) +1% to offensive damage dealt per other being who is considered to be in the same group during an attack or defence. Pounce (T0) level 1 (0% to level 2) +50% damage to a hit which is delivered without the target being aware of you until the attack is too close to avoid. +25% damage to an attack which is made directly to a vulnerable area. Offensive abilities: - Bite level 3 (51-80 ¨C> 54-82 Crushing damage, 60-89 ¨C>72-100 Tearing damage, 48-70 ¨C> 55-76 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 6 (max speed 28 ¨C> 35 mps; max speed duration 16 ¨C> 14s) (170 SP) Lots of changes. The first thing he realised was that Quick Strike had levelled up without him realising, and the increase was pretty awesome. Although the cost in stamina of the bigger increase in speed had gone up, it was worth it for +70% speed. With his new max speed of 35 metres per second, the equivalent of 126 kph or 78 mph, he was almost reaching the maximum speed allowed on motorways by cars. Only for 14 seconds, of course, but still! And that was before Quick Strike was applied. A 70% increase would mean a speed of 214 kph or a massive 132 mph when he was attacking. The combination of his stats was starting to add up in a serious way. That¡¯s not to mention the next additions. With his newly-sharpened teeth, his Tearing damage had increased significantly, able to hit 100 points at its maximum. And that was only his Tearing damage. Surprisingly, both of the others had increased a little too. He¡¯d been expecting Piercing to increase a bit, which it had, but even Crushing had gone up a couple of points. Perhaps that was due to his Bite being one of those enhanced during his tiering up? So, if he got the absolute maximum damage he could with his bite, he could potentially hit for 258 damage points in total. Then, he could apply Crushing Bite which, at its maximum, could enhance the Crushing damage of his bite by 60%. That was another 49 points, taking the maximum up to 307 points of damage. Add in the +10, +5, and +5 of Strike to Crushing and other damage types and he was looking at 327 points of damage. And then, of course, there was his new Ability: Pounce. He wasn¡¯t sure if the percentage increase was applied to base damage or if it would be applied to damage after other abilities. Assuming it was base damage seemed safer: until he learned better, underestimation was probably better than overestimation. So, take the 258 points of base damage. If he ambushed his prey, he¡¯d get a +50% damage increase: 387 points. If he didn¡¯t ambush his prey but got it in a vulnerable spot when pouncing, he¡¯d increase it by +25%: 322 damage points. If he managed to do both, he could do a whopping 451 points of damage. Then add the 49 points of Crushing Bite and the passive points of Strike and he was looking at a potential 520 points of damage in a single strike. That was massive. Dominic was left momentarily speechless after he¡¯d worked it out, and Leo seemed rather taken aback too. That was his whole health pool as a Tier 2, level 15 lion. No, he hadn¡¯t enhanced his constitution much, but he had done some. Of course, that was an attack at absolute maximum, and assuming that his target had no armour. In reality, he was more likely to do between 300 and 400 points of damage, maybe upwards of 400 on an easy target. Still, it was looking pretty good, if Dominic could say so. And then, of course, there was the bonus offered by Group Attack. Though, again, he didn¡¯t know whether it would apply to his attack pre or post other bonuses, and at this point would only offer him 7% at the absolute max with his current pride, it was a good addition. Actually, I wonder if any of these bonuses would apply to my tail morningstar, he wondered, remembering about the thing that he¡¯d practically forgotten about in the past few days. With a thought, he rematerialised the armour directly onto his tail. It was heavy, pulling down at his spine, but he reckoned that it didn¡¯t feel quite as heavy as it had before he¡¯d increased his mass. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem to be pinching either, so perhaps it had the capacity to grow with him a bit. Level up done, Cores absorbed, and results analysed, there was no reason for Dominic to stick around here for any longer. Well, that¡¯s what he thought until he saw the two abandoned corpses of the buffalo. He didn¡¯t reckon that they¡¯d be abandoned for much longer, but he did want to find out if they offered Charge. He thought it was a strong possibility, at least. Going over to the buffalo he¡¯d killed, he absorbed its body, then checked his abilities list. Sure enough, Charge had increased by 2%! Excellent! Not even needing to check the Core ¨C he knew the buffalo was below level 6 so therefore didn¡¯t have a second ability, and he¡¯d already seen that the first ability was Charge ¨C he licked it up and then trotted to the second corpse. Another Consume and Core later, he checked his progress with Charge. Charge (30% to level 1) Not there yet, but getting there, he thought to himself with a mental smile. Plus, he¡¯d found another creature which offered the coveted ability: buffalo. He eyed the other members of the herd ¨C they¡¯d moved a bit further away, but not much. No, he told himself. He wasn¡¯t confident in being able to take one down by himself, and the lionesses were clearly not up for another hunt. Heading towards the other lionesses, he soon was able to join them underneath the tree. The sun hadn¡¯t yet risen, but the other lions were clearly ready to have a sleep. Well, not all of them. The female in heat approached Dominic and started doing her now-familiar routine of tail flicks and sinuous pacing. ¡®Leo, your turn,¡¯ Dominic said hastily, pushing at the ¡®bubble¡¯ of his partner¡¯s mental state. Leo didn¡¯t object, happily retaking the driver¡¯s seat. Chapter 74: Caught In The Crossfire By the time Leo let Dominic know that he¡¯d finished for now, the sun was rising over the horizon. One of the moons was still high in the sky, the others almost out of view. Clearly they had different orbit speeds. The lionesses were lying around Dominic, cat-napping. Dominic had no doubt that they¡¯d be wide awake and ready to face any threat if one came calling, but for now they were the dictionary definition of relaxed. Several were snuggled up together, the cubs in particular making a bit of a pile. Two of the cubs were feeding from their mother ¨C the littlest were the ones who had survived the hyenas. Perhaps they had been able to hide better under their mother. As for the lioness closest to Dominic, she looked rather satisfied, matching the terrible smugness which emanated from Leo. ¡®I don¡¯t want to hear about it,¡¯ Dominic warned him, preempting the comment he could sense was coming. With a hint of a grumble, the lion subsided. While this whole scene was practically domestic, Dominic felt restless. He hadn¡¯t come anywhere close to death in the last battle, but he¡¯d lost far too many of those under his protection. He¡¯d levelled up, yes, but the enhancements he could choose always seemed like a drop in the bucket of the power he needed. ¡®I¡¯m going out,¡¯ he announced to his companion, pushing himself to his feet and stretching. He could do with a bit of water, actually, even if his satiation level was still very good. ¡®Where? Why?¡¯ Leo asked, seeming a little confused. ¡®Relax with the pride ¨C we¡¯re accepted by the females now; we might as well gain the benefits of it.¡¯ ¡®We need to get stronger,¡¯ Dominic told him stubbornly. ¡®I know. And I agree. But now we have a pride, should we not face enemies together with it? What if enemies face the pride while we¡¯re gone?¡¯ Leo asked him pointedly. Dominic bared his teeth both mentally and physically, even as he started padding away from the group. ¡®That¡¯s why I need more power: to help protect them. And no, I¡¯m going out alone ¨C fewer targets; less chance of others being caught in the crossfire.¡¯ ¡®And if we die because we¡¯re alone with no backup from our pride?¡¯ Leo spat. Dominic stood stock still and growled, the sound rumbling in his chest. ¡®What do you want to do, then? Stay lazing around with the pride, hunt a meal every few days, mate with the females?¡¯ ¡®Yes!¡¯ exclaimed Leo. ¡®Exactly that. We¡¯re strong; we can protect the pride as long as we consider that to be our most important duty. We will need to patrol anyway ¨C we can face other lions and kill them then.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s not enough!¡¯ Dominic sighed explosively. ¡®Look, I get it that you want to be a lion and do lion things. Becoming the male or one of the males leading a pride is, like, the best thing that a lion can do. I understand. But you need to understand that the world isn¡¯t like that anymore. It¡¯s what I said before: to continue being more powerful than our foes, heck, to even keep up with them, we need to keep levelling. Think about how many corpses we¡¯ve Consumed to get this far; with the way the levels keep increasing in point requirement, we¡¯re going to need more and more. If we just relax and chill, we¡¯re going to fall behind.¡¯ The lion was silent but Dominic sensed he was listening. He¡¯d thought they¡¯d overcome this while standing over the corpses of the lions which had died because he wasn¡¯t strong enough to protect them. But maybe the long period of mating and basically being the lion in a pride was enough to make Leo backtrack, return to his origins and his original desires. ¡®Look,¡¯ he said more quietly. ¡®Think about those hyenas. They weren¡¯t hunting for food; they were hunting for kills. Whether or not they understand about Prey Points yet, they certainly understood that killing made them stronger. And they weren¡¯t targeting the buffalo: they were targeting us. And they didn¡¯t care how many hyenas died as long as they killed some of us.¡¯ Actually, that was something Dominic was a bit curious about. Sending allies into the meat-grinder to kill a few baby lions didn¡¯t really seem worth it, but maybe the hyenas were taking a ¡®trial by fire¡¯ mentality? Or maybe they had some sort of Prey Point sharing scheme which meant that the leaders were able to gain points from what their underlings had killed, even if they weren¡¯t actually part of the fight themselves. ¡®Heck, it¡¯s not really enough for me to gain points alone: the lionesses need to level up too,¡¯ he mused to the silent lion. ¡®If they only hunt buffalo, they¡¯re not going to increase much faster than the herbivores will. Heck, since herbivores surely can¡¯t be levelling up by killing other creatures, yet they clearly do level, they must have some other system which affects them. If that¡¯s the case then unless the lionesses take levelling seriously, they might even fall behind their prey.¡¯ Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡®Which is why we have to protect them,¡¯ Leo followed with a sense of proving his point. Then he sighed. ¡®However, I think it will be difficult to convince the females to do more hunting than necessary. Not until they are able to recognise the need.¡¯ He grunted in frustration. ¡®Just¡­try not to kill us, yes? And maybe patrol for interloping males while you¡¯re at it. Then once we¡¯re back with the pride, we can stay with it to help protect them.¡¯ With that, he settled down in Dominic¡¯s mind, giving off the distinct impression that he wouldn¡¯t be taking any more part in the conversation. Oh well, Dominic said quietly to himself. As long as he thinks about it, it¡¯s fine. And he hasn¡¯t rejected my thoughts directly, which probably means he at least sees where I¡¯m coming from. Though, thinking about it, Leo did have a point about convincing the lionesses. It might not even be possible to do so until they were at least past the half-step evolution point. And, Dominic realised with dismay, how am I going to get them to join me to take over the Place of Power? Because it seemed unlikely that Dominic himself would be able to grow strong enough quickly enough to take on all those sonic-wolves alone. That was a question for another time, though. For now, he shook his mane and padded onwards, looking for some traces of prey. It didn¡¯t take too long before he was picking up the marks of something on the ground. The odd hoof-print here where the ground was softer; a few bits of hair caught over there in a thorny bush. Following the tracks, it wasn¡¯t too long before Dominic chanced upon what looked like a group of deer. Although they didn¡¯t look exactly like the ones Dominic had seen in European forests, they definitely had a good set of antlers. Some of them, anyway. Dominic felt that it was safe to say that the ones with the antlers were the males ¨C unless this was actually a non-Terran creature and their physiologies were reversed for some reason. It was always possible¡­. Still, this looked like a perfect target for what Dominic had in mind. Though he did intend on doing some patrolling to appease his companion, he wanted to earn some Prey Points first. Plus, they didn¡¯t look like too-difficult targets: even the biggest was slightly smaller at the shoulder than Dominic himself. While the antlers might be able to do some damage, he wasn¡¯t intending on getting caught by them. The deer had found a small waterhole, not the one where Dominic had encountered the pride for the first time, but still a small area of water. They were drinking in shifts, the rest milling around nearby eating and watching for threats. Dominic quickly went to ground in the long savannah grass. While it wasn¡¯t that thick, it was up to his belly in height; when he crouched down low, he was hidden. It was a different kind of grass from that which Leo was used to, but it did the job well enough. Creeping forwards, Dominic spotted one which had got a little separated from the rest of the herd, nibbling its way around one of the bushes and out of sight. Perfect. Step by step, the lion covered the ground between his starting point and the deer. His belly rubbed at the ground, his pads flexed and shifted silently. He¡¯d learned much from watching Leo and the other lionesses hunt. Closer, closer, he crept towards the unfortunate ungulate. When he was within a few body-lengths'' distance, his target actually turned and started chewing at the bush itself, unwittingly presenting its back to the waiting lion. Dominic couldn¡¯t believe his luck. Gathering his muscles, he jumped, his powerful hindquarters and Quick Strike propelling him forwards at a blinding speed. The deer saw him at the last possible moment; it was far too late to move. He hit it full-speed, his claws and teeth digging into its spine with Crushing Bite engaged. Without making a single sound, the deer thumped to the ground, Dominic¡¯s own landing cushioned by the ungulate¡¯s body. [You have killed Barasingha (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 14 PP] Nice, he said to himself. The attack had been so quick that after a moment of alarm at the thumping sound, the rest of the barasinghas had actually gone back to eating and drinking. Clearly they weren¡¯t the smartest of prey. Fortunately. While a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush, Dominic was inclined to push this as far as he could. Still keeping low, he looked around to see if there were any other easy targets. Although there weren¡¯t, he did see that there were quite a few grouped together near one of the bushes. I wonder, he said to himself. Belly pressing down to the earth again, he started creeping towards the group. If all went well, he¡¯d be able to get at least one more, maybe even more. Once more putting his learning to good use, Dominic was able to get surprisingly close to the group of barasinghas. Clearly wherever they were from, they weren¡¯t used to lions. Again taking his time to prepare his ambush, it wasn¡¯t long before he went flying into the group of deer. He¡¯d aimed at one of the middle animals, his successful ambush taking it down as quickly as he had the other. [You have killed Barasingha (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 14 PP] Not stopping there, though, he rebounded off the corpse of the dead male and immediately used Quick Strike to pounce on a female which was a bit slow to react to his attack. Although he obviously didn¡¯t get the full bonus of an undetected ambush, he did manage to leap onto her back, his bite probably gaining the +25% of the bite to a vulnerable area. He¡¯d check his log in a moment. With Crushing Bite also adding power to his jaws, she crumpled beneath him. [You have killed Barasingha (Basic Beast level 2)] [You have earned 11 PP] Of course, by that point, the rest of the deer were in the wind, taking off as fast as their hooves could carry them. Not that Dominic minded too much: he¡¯d got what he wanted. Bait. Chapter 75: What The Hell? It had worked before when he tried this technique; almost too well. This time, he¡¯d make sure not to stick around in the bloody area for too long. Though, if another scrin appeared, he might be tempted to stay for the rematch: the abilities the first scrin¡¯s Core had offered were too good to pass up unless it was actually Evolved. Once again, he controlled his battle area a little. Although he didn¡¯t have any handy piles of stone nearby this time, there were trees. While there would probably be plenty of attackers who could follow him up into the branches above, Dominic was sure that there were fewer than could pursue him on land. Either way, it offered another potential escape route in addition to the normal option to run for his life. He wasn¡¯t sure if the lionesses would help or curse him if he brought a threat back to them, but facing a too-strong opponent with the might of the pride could be a good strategy. Actually, maybe that could be a way of getting the lionesses past level 6 ¨C kite a number of reasonably-levelled enemies in their direction and get them to gain Prey Points in defending themselves and the cubs. It would be a bit of a risky strategy, but if he couldn¡¯t convince the lionesses to do it in any other way¡­he would keep it as a backup plan. Hopefully once they were past the half-step threshold, they would recognise the point of killing even without the drive of hunger. Dominic wondered, as he had done a number of times before, exactly how the System proposed to deal with the gratuitous killing which, if it hadn¡¯t already ensued, would start soon enough. After all, even assuming that humans couldn¡¯t make progress from killing, something Dominic thought was unlikely, there would be many predators who gained enough intelligence to realise how to make themselves stronger: the hyenas clearly already had. If there was no mechanism in place to prevent this or protect the herbivore populations, the world¡¯s ecology would soon be taking a greater hit than it had with the introductions and displacement of so many species. Maybe it¡¯s going to spawn flagging populations like a real game, Dominic considered. Or maybe that¡¯s the point of predators offering more Prey Points: it becomes much more beneficial to hunt the hunters rather than pure prey. That was, after all, exactly what he was doing here by killing a few barasinghas and then letting the scent of their blood draw in his true prey. While he¡¯d been musing, he¡¯d been dragging the barasinghas together into a pile near some bushes and not far away from a tall, reasonably sturdy tree. It wasn¡¯t of a species either he or Leo recognised, but it looked like it should be able to bear his weight. If he didn¡¯t go too high up, that was. Gazing at his handiwork with his head tilted, he decided that three carcasses was probably not necessary. One should be enough. Less suspicious too, if the creatures were starting to get smart enough to start suspecting too-good situations. Not sure what the Ability would be, but fairly confident that it would be different from the other ones he¡¯d had, he decided to crack open the skull and get to the Core before he Consumed the body. Though it probably would only be one or two percent that he lost by Consuming the body first, every little counted! With the crushing power of his jaws, particularly enhanced with Crushing Bite, it wasn¡¯t hard to crunch through the bone of the skull. Using his claws, he fished out the hard marble of the Core and quickly checked out the Ability. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Barasingha Level 3 Ability: Fleet Foot] Not terribly surprising, Dominic thought to himself. The barasingha were deer-like creatures which had few defensive capabilities; their best defence was probably running away. Getting an Ability which was most likely a movement-enhancer was a bit of an obvious choice for them. Still, he checked out the Ability¡¯s description ¨C he might as well. [Fleet Foot (T0): Increases your out-of-combat speed. +10% to maximum speed; +10% to maximum speed duration. Percentages may increase as Ability increases in level.] It wasn¡¯t a particularly good ability, but it could still be useful. The biggest kicker was the ¡®out-of-combat¡¯ tag. Though Dominic didn¡¯t intend on running away from many fight, when he would inevitably need to, the faster he could go, the better. After all, he¡¯d barely made it out of the fight with the sonic-wolves: if he¡¯d been able to go faster or for longer, then he might have escaped them without retreating to the trees. Though, it was a question about what ¡®out-of-combat¡¯ meant. He had to guess it was applicable as long as the barasingha hadn¡¯t landed a blow ¨C or perhaps tried to do so ¨C since he didn¡¯t see much use for the ability otherwise. To have a travel-enhancer which failed when the creature was being pursued by a predator seemed rather detrimental. In the end he shrugged and gulped it down: an Ability was an Ability, and right now he had no other uses for the Cores. He wouldn¡¯t make an effort to gain enough Cores to earn this Ability, but if he happened to do so, then he¡¯d see what it was like. If it turned out to be useless, he simply wouldn¡¯t use it. There didn¡¯t seem to be any downsides to doing things that way. Not so far, anyway ¨C hopefully there wouldn¡¯t be any limit on the number of Abilities he could learn that came up at just the wrong time. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Consuming that body and the other level 3 one, and absorbing the Cores of all three barasinghas didn¡¯t get him a long way towards gaining the new ability, but it made a start. Fleet Foot (15% to level 1) Tearing at the body of the single remaining barasingha corpse, he exposed its organs to the open air. Steeling himself to take a few good chomps, Dominic both loved and hated the delicious taste that rolled over his tongue. Raw meat fresh off a living creature he¡¯d just killed just shouldn¡¯t taste this good. Then again, people do like steak tartare. Or very rare steaks. And carpaccio, Dominic told himself. Not to mention other raw things like oysters and sushi, he continued distastefully. Though that brought to mind other stories like people eating raw octopus and dying when the suckers choked them. He shivered and redirected his thoughts. Right, so if I hide in the bush over there, I should be able to choose if I attack or not, like last time. Following his own thoughts, he made himself comfortable under the cover. He¡¯d purposefully chosen the one which wasn¡¯t a thornbush to set himself up near, so he didn¡¯t have any sharp bits of plant jabbing at him. While he waited, he pulled up his log, curious about exactly how many points of damage he¡¯d inflicted in the three attacks. Scrolling down the log, past the notifications of kills, he found the attack on the first barasingha. [You have dealt 466 damage to Barasingha ((75+18+10 Crushing damage, 91+5 Tearing damage, 67+5 Piercing damage)*1.75)] [You have dealt 94 damage to Barasingha ((17+5 Slicing damage, 15+5 Tearing damage, 7+5 Piercing damage)*1.75)] Dominic stared at the log. No wonder the barasingha had gone down without a sound. He had done 560 points of damage in a single attack. And that hadn¡¯t been with Crushing Bite maximised: he¡¯d gone for a 40% increase instead of the maximum of 60%. That single attack would have killed him too if he¡¯d been on the receiving end. Suddenly Dominic felt very vulnerable. Maybe I should get myself some more health points. Or armour. Or both, he thought uneasily to himself. Pounce was a very impressive Ability. That alone had accounted for three sevenths of the damage he¡¯d inflicted. He hadn¡¯t even imagined that the bonus from Pounce would apply to all the bonuses as well as base damage. Very impressive¡­and very scary. After all, it was only considered to be a Tier 0 ability ¨C what would Tier 2 and upwards look like? Though, there did seem to be a vast difference between even the same Abilities in a Tier: look at Pounce versus Fleet Foot, for example. And, he reminded himself, not everyone is going to have all the extra benefits I have. After all, he¡¯d got thirty-five points of base damage from Strike, which with Pounce translated to seventy points. He only got Strike because he¡¯d gained Quick Strike by absorbing Cores. Unless there was another two-souled around, the chances of another beast having both Pounce and Strike were not high. Add to that the chances of also having Crushing Bite, and it was getting improbably low. Plus, he¡¯d put several enhancements into his Bite and Claws, which meant that even the base damage which two of his Abilities were scaling off was quite high, and it accounted for the crazy damage which he did in a single strike. Though, he was determined to consider his own defences in the next upgrade: the chances of another lion having Pounce were pretty much certain. Assuming they put their own enhancements into their teeth or claws, they could still do a huge amount of damage if they caught Dominic unawares, even without the extra Abilities. If he looked at his own base damage with the enhancement of Pounce alone, he could personally do around 450 points of damage in a single attack. Even assuming that his own defences activated fully, that still meant he¡¯d only be left with just over 100 HP, or almost 200 HP if the attack was to his neck, and he¡¯d no doubt be heavily injured. Losing three or four fifths of his health pool in the opening attack would be a huge disadvantage. Going to the next barasingha¡¯s damage, he saw much the same results: 554 points of damage instead of 560 ¨C clearly he¡¯d been a few millimetres off the vulnerable spot he¡¯d got in his first kill. Still, it was just as obviously enough to take the deer-like creature down without any issues. His third barasingha kill had been almost as fast as his previous two, but his damage log was significantly less impressive. [You have dealt 267 damage to Barasingha (71+28+10 Crushing damage, 87+5 Tearing damage, 61+5 Piercing damage)] [You have dealt 51 damage to Barasingha (16+5 Slicing damage, 14+5 Tearing damage, 6+5 Piercing damage)] He hadn¡¯t been expecting to get the 50% increase of a successful ambush, but clearly he hadn¡¯t hit a vulnerable enough spot to even get the 25% increase from Pounce. Maybe because although he¡¯d got her spine, he hadn¡¯t got it in a vulnerable enough place? Or maybe because she was alert she¡¯d had more defences up? Evidently she¡¯d had a health pool of less than 318 Health Points, though, as she¡¯d died quickly after the attack. 560 damage was probably way overkill on the others. Still, while it did make Dominic feel a bit vulnerable about his own back, it also excited him a bit. Just another reason to increase his speed and power: if he could ambush a creature and then turn around and ambush its friend without the friend noticing the first one¡¯s death, it was double the Prey Points for him. Who knew I¡¯d kinda be going down the Rogue route, he thought to himself in amusement. Dismissing the screen, he settled down to wait. It wasn¡¯t long before his bait started drawing in some scavengers. Not hyenas this time. Wait, what the hell? Rabbits?! Chapter 76: The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog Dominic stared, a bit open-mouthed at the sight of a bunch of cute little bunnies hopping towards a bloody corpse. OK, they weren¡¯t exactly the Flopsey and Mopsey of Beatrix Potter, but they had long ears, snub noses, long hind-legs, and even a little tuft of a tail like the rabbits he¡¯d known. They were rather large ¨C perhaps the size of a giant rabbit rather than a common European rabbit. The difference between those bunnies and these creatures became quickly apparent, though. The rabbits were a bit wary of approaching the corpse directly, much as the resorels had been. However, they milled closer and closer until they were able to start eating from the carcass, their progress actually faster than the resorels¡¯ had been. Yes: eating. Clearly, these rabbits were not the herbivorous type. In fact, when Dominic caught sight of the bloody fur around their mouths as they lifted their heads intermittently to keep watch on their surroundings, he shuddered. Although the rabbits were more of a sandy colour than white, he couldn¡¯t help having flashbacks to Monty Python. That particular scene had actually given him nightmares for a while when he watched it at the tender age of thirteen. He¡¯d had a rabbit for a pet at the time and had more than half-seriously wondered if it was actually an evil murderer in disguise. Please tell me this System hasn¡¯t taken inspiration from Monty Python, he said to himself, only mostly joking. While it made for good TV, he didn¡¯t really feel like acting out the role of the knights in the search for the Holy Grail. Especially not the knights who got their throats torn out by the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Once more, he spent some time evaluating the blood-thirsty bunnies before making a move. They actually seemed pretty harmonious: unlike the resorels, they didn¡¯t squabble together about the food they were eating. Or, to put it bluntly, the pieces of dead meat they were ripping off the corpse in front of them. Dominic shuddered again. Give me mini dogs or killer birds anytime. Cute creatures being so¡­gruesome are just too much. Either there was some sort of non-verbal communication going on which Dominic couldn¡¯t spot, or they were fairly peaceful creatures. Though he doubted the latter: not with those teeth. With a thought, a weight materialised on Dominic¡¯s tail. If it becomes a problem, I¡¯ll put it in my inventory again, he decided. The reason he¡¯d decided to put it on at all was because this kind of battle was exactly what his tail mace was made for. Whether he could actually use it or not was a different question, but he¡¯d never know if he never tried. Pushing himself slowly and quietly to his feet, he had to concentrate on not letting the mace-head scrape across the ground. Following the enhancement of his bones, he found that he was actually able to lift the metal head on the tuft of his tail ¨C an improvement, at least. Preparing himself, he planned his next moves. He wanted to get the absolute maximum out of his currently hidden position, but these rabbits were unlikely to have much of a health pool. The 50% increase from ambush would therefore go a bit to waste if it was used on a single member of the species. The question, then, was what would happen if he hit multiple members at the same time¡­? Gathering power in his muscles, Dominic exploded into movement, activating Quick Strike as he did so. Before the unsuspecting rabbits could react, he had landed on a small group of them. [You have killed Veten (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 23 PP] [You have killed Veten (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 23 PP] [You have killed Veten (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 26 PP] [You have killed Veten (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 23 PP] [You have killed Veten (Basic Beast level 3)] [You have earned 20 PP] Nice, Dominic thought to himself, delighted. Five kills in one strike. He¡¯d check the log later but either these rabbits ¨C vetens, actually, it helped to think that they weren¡¯t really killer rabbits ¨C had really small health pools or Pounce had helped him out again. Then a blow to the side of his head sent him staggering, quickly followed by another blow to his shoulder and a third to his hip. What happened? he asked groggily, the hit having rattled his brain. Baring his teeth instinctively, he searched around him for the attacks. Another two blows came to his side, the hits painful and taking a small chunk of his health pool with them. With the combination of blows, he was already down a sixth of his total health. What¡¯s causing this? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Confused, Dominic leapt out of the mess of vetens, wanting to get a little bit of distance to hopefully work out what was going on. The vetens, acting like the swarm predators they clearly were, quickly hopped towards him, their cuteness definitely hindered by the blood smeared on their fur, particularly around their mouths. As they got closer, the source of the blows which had impacted Dominic became apparent. Three not-rabbits came charging at him. Stopping abruptly when they were within a foot of him, they used the momentum to twist and drive their back feet into his body. At least, the first one did, Dominic wanting to see exactly what was happening and letting it hit his shoulder unblocked. The other two were slightly more delayed, giving Dominic enough time to twist aside. One veten missed entirely; the other glanced off his other shoulder. Landing back on the ground agilely, it was Dominic¡¯s turn next. The lion bit at the veten, but the small creature was able to dodge his blow with annoying ease. Dominic felt pain in his hindquarters: another of the vetens had clearly launched a blow there. After that, the blows came thick and fast. Each was of a different intensity, and overall the blows didn¡¯t individually take much out of him, but when he was experiencing a hit every couple of seconds, it was having an impact. Even more frustrating was his inability to land a blow. The creatures were just too quick. I guess this is how they take down prey, Dominic snarled to himself. Attrition. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he might end up beaten to death by a load of bunnies. How humiliating: I might as well apply to be one of the knights after all! I need to change this battle somehow. He could jump up into the tree, of course, but that would be an escape route more than anything else. Yes, he could attack from above like he had with the trodils in the dungeon, but he doubted he¡¯d actually catch any of these vetens: they were just too agile. If only they¡¯d just stay still for a moment! he moaned. Then a thought occurred. What if¡­. It wasn¡¯t guaranteed to work, but maybe¡­. Stopping stock still, Dominic tanked the hits which came at him, breathing in deeply. Then, unconsciously puffing himself up to seem bigger and more intimidating, he roared at the group of long-eared vetens in front of him. For a moment the battle paused. The scavengers right in front of him cowered down with their ears pressed against their bodies, the loud sound clearly painful for them. From the lack of other hits to his flanks or hindquarters, Dominic had to assume that the other vetens were also shocked by the roar. He wasn¡¯t going to waste time looking, though. Instead, he leapt forwards using Quick Strike to enhance his speed. Biting and tearing at the vetens in front of him, kill notifications flashed before his eyes, practically blinding him. Not that it mattered too much: he wasn¡¯t exactly trying to aim precisely at a target. He was more indiscriminately attacking anything within reach. Of course, there¡¯s no such thing as a free lunch, and when the shock wore off, the other vetens attacked with more fervour than before. Prior to his attack, he¡¯d suffered three or four attacks every couple of seconds; now he was experiencing them every single second. Deciding to try a new technique, Dominic started twisting himself in a tight circle, practically dancing on the spot. He turned as fast as he could, allowing the centrifugal force to pull his tail out sideways. Lightning Discharge, he thought, hoping that his tail would show up in the diagram of his body. To his delight, it did and he spent the rest of that strange time-slowed moment in shoving his whole 15 points of mana into his tail. Let¡¯s see how these vicious rabbits like a hint of electricity. The move probably wouldn¡¯t work on anything that could hold him in place, but these vetens weren¡¯t latching onto him in any sort of way: their attack was designed to land and then have them bounce off to prepare another attack. That worked in Dominic¡¯s favour at this moment. At first, Dominic felt his tail armour collide with body after body, but it didn¡¯t seem to have any impact on the number of return strikes which he took. By this point, his health was actually down to half. Not that he was too worried about that: there were plenty of corpses lying on the earth below for him to Consume and replenish his reserves. Then, as he was starting to get terribly dizzy, the strikes started tapering off. When only two strikes fell within five seconds, he slowed his circle dance to a stop. That was easier said than done: the dizziness made his body want to continue turning, making him stumble as if he was drunk. Quickly twisting the other way for a few turns, he counteracted some of the dizziness. Around him were a number of injured vetens. They weren¡¯t dead, but they¡¯d clearly caught the malady of a spiked ball of metal travelling at speed. He quickly remedied the ¡®not dead¡¯ situation, notifications piling in. He ignored them for the most part, just dismissing the words as soon as they appeared in his vision. The evidence of the shifting bodies going still was sufficient for him. He didn¡¯t get all of the remaining vetens, though. About a quarter of the original load of creatures weren¡¯t too injured and managed to hop away quickly as a group. Several of them were bigger than any of the others he¡¯d killed; probably the highest levels in the bunch, and perhaps the most intelligent. Either way, clearly, they realised that retreat was the best way to survive to fight another day. Dominic chased after them for a bit, using Quick Strike to speed him up enough to stand a chance of catching them. They were still agile even in retreat, though, and he missed far more than he succeeded in landing a hit. He tried roaring, but although it made two of them freeze up, opening them to a fatal bite or disabling strike, the rest just hopped away faster. ¡®Don¡¯t go too far or other scavengers will eat our kills,¡¯ Leo warned him. Dominic halted quickly at that point, fear going through him. Only stopping briefly to pop the corpses of the retreating veten he¡¯d killed into his storage space, Dominic hot-footed it back to the battleground. His heart was in his mouth as visions of coming back to find an area licked clean of corpses and Cores alike ran through his mind. He wouldn¡¯t put it past the hyenas to do such a thing for sure! Chapter 77: Powerful Kick Rushing back to the scene of the battle between him and the vetens, Dominic¡¯s eyes darted around to check for scavengers. For now, it was clear and he heaved a sigh of relief. He didn¡¯t want to make the same mistake as before when he¡¯d hung around a bloody area for too long, but at the same time he also didn¡¯t want to risk missing out on one of the creature¡¯s corpses or Cores. Since he¡¯d already started packing his storage space with the bodies, he decided he might as well continue and then pull them out somewhere else. What if putting them in my storage space degrades them in some way? he questioned himself, even as he started moving towards the closest bodies. After a moment of thought, he ended up shrugging and continuing to add the bodies into his gorget¡¯s spatial storage. If they degraded then he¡¯d know not to do this again. Still, the Cores from the meerkats didn¡¯t seem to have been harmed by the experience of being in his storage space. At least, he¡¯d still been able to absorb enough of them to gain Group Attack. Though, he thought to himself, the fact that the torch continued burning in my spatial storage does indicate that time isn¡¯t halted while it¡¯s there. Which probably meant that he couldn¡¯t hope to keep carcasses in there indefinitely. Not that he intended on doing so in the first place, though it would be nice to have had a backup in case he had to venture into an area with little prey on offer. Since that wasn¡¯t an issue at present, though, he wasn¡¯t going to cry over the lack. It would be nice to be able to carry around corpses ¨C kind of like little backup health potions. Maybe it would be worth testing with one body¡­. Though did he want to risk Consuming a half-rotten carcass? Well, that was something to decide later when he actually had one decomposing in his gorget. He¡¯d need to have the bodies in the storage first, though. To that end, Dominic quickly moved around, the bodies of the veten disappearing wherever he went. He counted as he went, by the end rather impressed with just how many of the smaller creatures he¡¯d managed to kill. Not including the ones he¡¯d killed in their retreat, he¡¯d taken down twenty-nine veten. There had been the five he¡¯d taken out in the first blow, then another twenty-four later. Most of those showed the marks of his tail mace, proving that it had been a good idea to have pulled that out before the battle. One even carried a few burn marks on it, the signs of his magical spell having done at least some damage. Dominic did take a moment to put his tail armour back into his spatial storage, though ¨C it was starting to drag rather heavily on his lower spine. Still, it was a step forward from before. He¡¯d not only been able to move with relative ease despite it offering an unaccustomed weight to his hindquarters, but also to use it to overcome a large number of enemies. And, considering their relative sizes, it had been a closer battle than he¡¯d have liked. Dominic¡¯s health hadn¡¯t dipped much below half, but his stamina had got pretty low. His mana was, of course, empty. It was a bit of a risk since he never knew if a situation would come up that would require his trump card. On the other hand, the spell wouldn¡¯t level up if he never used it, so he might as well use it as often as he could. Plus, if his estimations of how many Prey Points he¡¯d gained from the battle were right, he might have already earned another level. That would be nice. For now, though, he quickly absorbed the half-eaten corpse of the barasingha, then trotted away from the blood-soaked ground. The deer-creature¡¯s carcass didn¡¯t give him much of his health or stamina back; he¡¯d need to absorb the corpses of the vetens to do that. When he was far enough away, he stopped to clean his paws and face. Unlike most battles, the damage the vetens had done was Crushing. They¡¯d only actually broken his skin in a few places, though he could definitely feel some deep bruising. In fact, he might even have a few fractures in the bones they¡¯d hit most often, his hip and shoulder bones in particular. Fortunately, he had a remedy for that, one which he¡¯d pull out as soon as he was clean. The fact that the vetens had done Crushing damage did mean that he¡¯d spilled little of his own blood so he only really needed to clean his claws and teeth. And a few splatters from where his tail-mace had sent bloody bits flying. At least centrifugal force meant that most of those had gone in the other direction. A few minutes later, he pulled the first corpse out of his storage. Wondering what the rabbit-like creatures would have as their Ability, he set his teeth around the head of the carcass and simply bit down. With the crushing power of his jaws and the relatively thin bone of the veten¡¯s skull, it wasn¡¯t hard to chew the whole thing until he was able to fish out the Core from within. Fortunately, the Core itself hadn¡¯t been crushed in the process. He spat out the small marble, then used Information on it. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Veten Level 4 Ability: Powerful Kick] Powerful Kick¡­isn¡¯t that what the kangaroos and zebras had? Dominic asked himself. Quickly looking at his list of Acquired Abilities, he saw Powerful Kick was already in the list, at 52% towards level 1, actually. With rising excitement, he estimated that with as many bodies and Cores as were in his spatial storage, he was almost certain to get the ability on this go-around. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Without any further ado, he started dumping the bodies out of his storage a few at a time, Consuming the corpses and then absorbing the Cores they left behind. He did keep an eye on his Abilities list, though: previous experience had shown that the progress meter would stop at 100% until he¡¯d levelled up and actually ¡®acquired¡¯ the Ability. Since he would only then be able to continue gaining progress to level 2, he didn¡¯t see any point in just gobbling all the bodies and Cores now, and potentially losing that progress. Sure enough, he got to 100% after absorbing eight bodies and seven Cores. By that point, he¡¯d managed to get his health back up to two-thirds full and his stamina was almost full. Even more exciting was what he saw when he looked at his status. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 15 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) level up Progress to Evolution: 707/315 PP Satiation level: 100% Hydration level: 96% Health Points: 315/500 Stamina Points: 158/170 Mana Points: 0/15 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost ¡®Over seven hundred Prey Points!¡¯ Dominic exclaimed. ¡®Do you see that Leo? Do you think we might actually be able to level up twice?¡¯ ¡®Quite possibly,¡¯ the lion replied, before moving onto practicality. ¡®What are we upgrading this time?¡¯ Dominic had actually been thinking about that. ¡®I think we should upgrade Skin twice: harder and more flexible. And then if we¡¯ve got a second level up waiting for us, maybe thicken our fur too?¡¯ ¡®Why thicken? Why not lengthen or harden?¡¯ the lion asked, not saying he disagreed necessarily, but sounding more like he wanted to hear Dominic¡¯s reasoning. ¡®Because upgrading our Skin should reduce Tearing and Piercing damage, but thickening our fur should improve our damage reduction for Crushing and, if I remember correctly, a bit of Slicing damage. So if we choose all those options, we¡¯ll have better defence overall.¡¯ ¡®What about enhancing our mane?¡¯ Leo suggested in a way Dominic was pretty sure he thought was casual. He rolled his eyes at the lion. ¡®Yes, it would also offer defence, but only to that area.¡¯ ¡®Which is our most vulnerable area, you have to admit,¡¯ Leo countered swiftly. ¡®And which already has protection in the form of the gorget,¡¯ Dominic rebutted just as quickly. ¡®Look, why don¡¯t we even see if we have two level-ups available first? And if we do, then see if there are any more enhancements added to the list. After all, we haven¡¯t looked at the list properly for a while and we got Strike as a possible enhancement after gaining Quick Strike as an ability¡­.¡¯ Leo considered his words for a moment before agreeing. ¡®Very well. But I wish to enhance our mane again soon,¡¯ he warned. Dominic sent him a sense of grudging agreement. With his blessing, Dominic activated the level up, choosing to acquire Powerful Kick when it came up as an option. However, unlike previous times, another message followed the one offering the Ability. [Warning: Powerful Kick requires significant change to the User¡¯s physiology. Option 1: Continue with Powerful Kick (significant physiological changes) Option 2: Transform Powerful Kick into a similar Ability which is more suited to the User¡¯s current form (none to minor physiological changes) Option 3: Reject Powerful Kick] ¡®Option 2, don¡¯t you think, Leo?¡¯ Dominic asked his companion for courtesy¡¯s sake, but he couldn¡¯t see why Leo would argue with him. After all, clearly choosing an Ability which was ¡®wrong¡¯ for his body couldn¡¯t mean anything good. And rejecting the Ability entirely seemed just a waste. He supposed it made sense that Powerful Kick would require significant physiological changes: zebras, kangaroos, and the rabbit-like veten all had powerful hind-legs. Although a lion¡¯s body also had powerful hind-quarters, the power was all there for leaping, whether in an ambush or to cross an obstacle. Leaning forward onto his front legs and kicking backwards the way a zebra or veten would or, he thought with amusement, leaning back onto his tail and kicking out like a kangaroo, was not likely to work well. Pity it doesn¡¯t say what the transformed Ability would be, he mused to himself while waiting for his companion to reply. It would certainly make the choice easier, even if to him it was pretty clear as it was: choose an Ability which was more suited for his body rather than one which wasn¡¯t? Yes please. ¡®I agree,¡¯ Leo replied soon after. ¡®The second option seems the most beneficial.¡¯ Maybe following along with Dominic¡¯s thoughts had made the decision for him. Dominic was finding the lack of privacy even in his own head easier to deal with these days. Perhaps it was partly to do with how Leo got the same lack of privacy when he was in the driving seat. Or perhaps he was simply getting used to it. Either way, it looked like the decision was made. With anticipation, he chose door number two. The refreshing energy of the level up rushed through him, though this time it didn¡¯t quickly dissipate. Instead, he started to feel pain gathering in his shoulders. ¡®Oh no,¡¯ he thought to Leo with dread. ¡®What¡¯s gone wrong this time?¡¯ Chapter 78: An Educated Lion The pain built, growing until Dominic was clenching his teeth hard enough to crack them. Hopefully the level up would fix that before it finished. It felt like the worst growing pains he¡¯d ever felt as a teenager times ten. He remembered one period where he¡¯d been growing an inch every couple of weeks ¨C he¡¯d woken up each morning feeling like he¡¯d been beaten in his sleep. This was like that but the pains over the whole period were concentrated into just a few minutes. His shoulders and forelegs swelled before his eyes, the muscles growing and tightening, his shoulders bulking up. It was oddly uncomfortable to watch, his body changing before his eyes. He¡¯d only really started thinking of a lion¡¯s body as ¡®his¡¯ not that long ago, and suddenly it was changing. Dominic was abruptly glad that he hadn¡¯t chosen to take the original ability: if these were ¡®minor¡¯ changes, he¡¯d hate to know what constituted ¡®major¡¯. Though, he thought to himself, some changes would potentially be worth it. Once the changes from the addition of the new Ability were over, the energy rush of levelling up swept through him and Leo. The pain of a moment earlier was wiped away with the pleasure of levelling up. He felt his skin tighten and then abruptly release ¨C the consequence of both thickening it and making it more flexible, he guessed. Curious about the new Ability, Dominic dived into that section as soon as he could, looking at the new description which had appeared in the list under Acquired Abilities. Powerful Swipe level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +5% - +50% damage increase for 5-75 stamina per second. ¡®Pretty identical to Crushing Bite,¡¯ Dominic remarked to Leo. ¡®Higher stamina requirements for less gain, though,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic admitted. At level 1 Crushing Bite had offered a similar increase to damage, but the maximum stamina commitment had been 60 SP per second rather than 75 SP. ¡®On the other hand, if I¡¯m reading this right, the increase will be to all damage types rather than just Crushing damage, which makes it a potentially much more powerful enhancement,¡¯ Leo sent across a sense of agreement. Curious to see if anything else had changed about his body from the increase in muscle mass to his shoulders and forelegs, Dominic pulled up his other stats. Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (12-16 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction, 6-8 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 5 (4-6 ¨C> 6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 ¨C> 4-8 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +2% ¨C> +5% - Mane level 2 (4-6 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction (attacks to the relevant area)) +30% charisma (for members of the same species) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (12-22 Slicing damage, 13-17 ¨C> 15-25 Tearing damage, 6-10 Piercing damage) - Bite level 3 (54-82 Crushing damage, 72-100 Tearing damage, 55-76 Piercing damage) - Strike level 1 (+10 to Crushing or Blunt damage, +5 to all other physical damage types) - Roar level 1 (+10% chance of intimidating the listener. +20% - +50% if listener is already intimidated by you.) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 6 (max speed 35 ¨C> 34 mps; max speed duration 14s ¨C> 13s) (170 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 2 (500 HP) +40% health regeneration - Brain level 2 (Cognition speed standard measurement 5.5) - Mana heart level 1 (15 MP) - 75% penalty - Soul level 1 (Resilience to mental attacks standard measurement 7) +2% mana regeneration (-80% reduction to mana regeneration) - Bones level 2 (growth +20%) - Flesh level 1 (growth +10%) +5% resistance to basic magical attacks. - Nervous System level 1 (reaction speed +10%) - Sinuses level 2 +10% range; +5% intensity It was interesting to see that bulking up his shoulders and forelegs had had two main consequences ¨C the Tearing damage potential of his claws had increased a few points, and he¡¯d lost both stamina and speed. Why did I lose speed? Dominic wondered to himself. ¡®We are less streamlined now,¡¯ Leo answered him. ¡®The muscles we had before the Ability were all perfectly formed for maximum speed at minimum weight. Now, we have more bulky muscle in our front two legs which is designed to make our claw strike more powerful, but which is not optimised for our body.¡¯ Dominic raised an impressed mental eyebrow at his companion. ¡®I can tell you¡¯ve been studying my memories. Been looking at my school days, have you?¡¯ Leo made a disgusted grunt. ¡®Mostly a waste of my time,¡¯ he complained. ¡®And yours, from the looks of it.¡¯ Dominic had to admit that he had a point. He¡¯d neither been the best of students, nor had the most interesting education. Since leaving school, he probably hadn¡¯t even used half of what he¡¯d reluctantly memorised for exams. And now that the apocalypse had come and he was suddenly a lion, he¡¯d probably use even less. Still, if it helped Leo become an ¡®educated¡¯ lion, then at least it was having some use. Anyway, Leo¡¯s reasoning made sense, and was probably the reason for the reduction in speed. Similar reasoning was probably why his endurance had dropped too, the duration at which he could maintain his top speed falling by a second. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. As for the changes to his skin, those were basically as expected. An increase which was small for now, but which would hopefully become greater as time went on. Curious about what his greater flexibility would mean in practical terms, Dominic started twisting around. Starting with the various positions for cleaning himself, he found that they were easier than ever to adopt. Next, he pushed himself back to his feet and twisted so that his nose touched his tail tip. Working his way upwards, he found that he was able to actually get halfway up his back before he started feeling tension. If this was what it was like when he¡¯d only increased his flexibility by 5%, what would it mean if he got to 50%? He¡¯d be able to twist himself into knots? Or become like Mr Fantastic with extendable limbs? Then again, it was probably an increase to his base flexibility, something which, as a feline, was already pretty good. My skin shouldn¡¯t be the only thing determining flexibility, though, he thought to himself. After all, a snake was only as flexible as it was because of its skeletal structure, not just because of its skin. Checking his status screen had told him something else important. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled Level: Evolved Beast Level 16 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 392/347 PP level up He could level up again! Attracting large numbers of weaker enemies is definitely the most productive in the sense of Prey Points, Dominic remarked to himself. And for getting Abilities too, he added thoughtfully. ¡®I know we were talking about enhancing our fur, but maybe we need to increase our stamina this time,¡¯ he said to Leo. ¡®Can¡¯t we do both?¡¯ Leo questioned him. ¡®Well, yes, arguably, but I was thinking that the other enhancement this time should be to our health pool. After all, it¡¯s likely that our enemies are going to have more and more powerful attacks as we go on. Enhancing our defensive abilities is important, but so is having a health pool to be able to weather them. And if we can increase our health regeneration enough, we¡¯ll swiftly be able to repair whatever damage is caused.¡¯ ¡®You make good points,¡¯ Leo accepted after a moment of thought. ¡®Very well. I agree. Stamina and health this time.¡¯ With his partner¡¯s agreement, Dominic quickly activated the next level up. Without any new Abilities to incorporate, the process was quick and easy. Checking his new stats, Dominic was satisfied. - Muscular Body level 7 (max speed 34 mps; max speed duration 13s ¨C> 15s) (170 ¨C> 210 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 3 (500 ¨C> 600 HP) +40% ¨C> +60% health regeneration While his max speed hadn¡¯t returned to what it was before his previous level-up, his maximum speed duration had increased more than it had been, and his stamina points had increased nicely. As for his health, another hundred health points and 20% more health regeneration had to improve his survivability. Not that he knew what the base rate of regeneration that was being acted on was, unfortunately. He tried to get his status screen to show him, but to no avail. With his level-ups done, Dominic proceeded to Consume the rest of the veten bodies and their Cores. Well, almost all of the bodies. Following his mental questioning earlier, he popped a couple of the veten bodies into his storage space, wondering what would happen to them over time. By the end, his new ability was actually more than halfway towards level 3, having levelled up once already. The level up had offered more damage but hadn¡¯t actually reduced its stamina cost. Still, Dominic was looking forward to trying it out. ¡®Are we going to patrol now?¡¯ Leo asked impatiently. ¡®Worried some other lion is going to sneak in and mate with your females while you¡¯re not watching?¡¯ Dominic teased the lion. ¡®Yes, precisely,¡¯ Leo told him completely seriously. ¡®Two of our females are in heat and we¡¯ve worked too hard for this to not have the next lot of cubs be of our blood.¡¯ While Dominic didn¡¯t really want to think too hard on the mating and having children thing, he got what Leo was saying, and could feel just how important it was for the lion. And from what Leo had said before, he couldn¡¯t trust the lionesses themselves to show any sort of loyalty. ¡®Alright, I¡¯m going,¡¯ he said, matching action to words. Yawning, he stretched luxuriously, his new flexibility meaning that his back was even more of an arch than was possible before. ¡®You know what to look for more than I do, so you¡¯d better let me know if you see anything you¡¯d like to investigate,¡¯ Dominic thought to his companion. Maybe they¡¯d be better served by Leo taking over control of their shared body, but Dominic reasoned that he needed to learn these kinds of things anyway. Besides, he simply didn¡¯t want to, and felt Leo had had plenty of time in control recently with the whole mating thing. Setting off, he moved at an easy trot which served to cover ground quicker than a walk but without using much more stamina than walking would. He kept his head turning from side to side, both watching himself and letting his passenger watch through his eyes, potentially picking up things which he hadn¡¯t spotted. Every so often, he paused to breathe through his mouth, scenting the air. Leo helped him identify some of the odours he didn¡¯t recognise, offering memories of encountering the origins of the scents. However, there were still a large number which even Leo didn¡¯t recognise ¨C either creatures from elsewhere on Earth or creatures which weren¡¯t from Earth at all. He didn¡¯t meet much opposition. A lion padding boldly through the grass made most prey animals retreat as quickly as they could. Even if they weren¡¯t used to lions in general, perhaps they recognised his threat level. Among other predators, Dominic didn¡¯t encounter any keen on taking him on either, though he did see a couple bare their teeth at him as they slunk away. In fact, it was boring enough that he was almost itching for a fight. Without much weaker lionesses to take care of and with a number of new enhancements that he wanted to try out, he was keen to meet a challenge to test them out. ¡®What¡¯s that?¡¯ asked Leo urgently, shoving an image at Dominic. It took him a couple of moments to work out what the lion was trying to point out, but Dominic succeeded in identifying where the image was from. Trotting over to the tree on which there were some gashes, Dominic was now able to identify them as claw marks. Fresh claw marks. ¡®Another lion?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo eagerly. ¡®Maybe,¡¯ Leo replied uncertainly. ¡®It does not smell like a lion, but the claw marks are very similar.¡¯ Dominic sniffed at the tree, realising that Leo was correct. Though each lion had its own scent, they all had something that made them lions. This didn¡¯t have that. Nor did it smell like the tiger they had killed. This was something else. ¡®Should we follow it, do you think?¡¯ Dominic asked. He knew what he wanted to do, but was aware that sometimes he put them into unnecessary danger. ¡®It could be a threat to the pride,¡¯ Leo said decisively. ¡®We must investigate.¡¯ Well, if Leo agreed, then it sounded like the hunt was on! Chapter 79: Chimera Dominic followed the traces of the intruder¡¯s journey through the bush. It wasn¡¯t hard to track him since he¡¯d been clearly marking territory with claw marks, urine, and scat in certain places. The lion knew that the creature was male from its scent ¨C there was a musk to it which Leo had immediately identified. Although it didn¡¯t appear to be leonine, there was no debating the fact that it was a potential threat to the pride. Lions had claimed dominance over the African savannah because of two factors: size and numbers. Individually, full-grown lions tended to outsize any opposing predator, particularly full-grown males. When those full-grown lions were also part of a group of other full-grown lions, there were few predators who would dare challenge them. Even hyenas had to have a significant advantage in numbers to even think to attack them ¨C consider how many hyenas had been lost compared to lions in the most recent battle. And that was with the hyenas at a slightly higher level than the lions in question. From the sheer size of whatever Dominic was following, he suspected that the same would not hold true for this creature. Its claw marks were significantly above even the highest Dominic could reach, and he wasn¡¯t a small lion. He had to guess that the creature was perhaps as much as half again his height in the shoulder. It was quadrupedal from what Dominic could see of its footprints in the dust, and had pads not dissimilar from his own. There were the mark of claws, though, indicating that it wasn¡¯t able to retract them. Not an ambush predator, perhaps, he mused. Why would it then try to keep its claws sharp? He looked around the prints in a spot where there were several. Some showed the mark of claws, four of them. Others showed only the pads. So it can retract its claws on its forepaws, but not the ones on its backpaws, perhaps? That¡¯s what the evidence seemed to indicate. There were no tufts of hair that Dominic could see caught on branches, though the creature had forced its way through a few bushes rather than going around them. That, at least, gave Dominic an idea of its size and bulk. From what he could see, his estimates about it being about half again his height were accurate. It was also broader than him, and, from the looks of the branches it had snapped, significantly stronger than him. ¡®What do you think?¡¯ asked Dominic with some trepidation, adding together the evidence that he¡¯d been collecting into something that he wasn¡¯t at all sure he wanted to face. Killer bunnies were bad enough, but this looked like more trouble than it was worth, especially since he¡¯d only get a few Prey Points out of it. ¡®I think we should at least get a look at what we have been tracking,¡¯ Leo told him decisively. ¡®I¡¯m glad to see you showing more caution, but this looks more and more like it could be a threat to our pride.¡¯ ¡®Or maybe it¡¯s just a herbivore with good defences,¡¯ Dominic returned hopefully. ¡®Maybe if we leave it in peace, we¡¯ll be left in peace too.¡¯ The derisive scoff that came in response made him sigh. ¡®Yeah, I didn¡¯t really think so either.¡¯ He continued moving forwards, slowing his pace as he heard the sounds of ripping and slurping coming from ahead. Stalking through the long grass, he approached, unheard and unseen. At least, that was what he thought. He paused as he got his first view of the creature. It was an odd amalgamation of creatures ¨C definitely not an earth native. Its back legs appeared to be similar to a bear¡¯s, its front legs more like a feline¡¯s. It was scaled, but spotty scales segued into stripy patterns at about midpoint on it. It had what looked like bat wings, but they were small and stunted, surely not offering any real flight. As for its head, it looked more like an odd dragonish creature ¨C a long neck and narrow reptilian muzzle. All in all, it looked very strange, and not particularly natural. It looked more like what a child might have created if they had been offered a number of different body parts and had only the slightest idea of what constituted a real animal. Still, if the corpse it was feeding from was any indication, it was still able to hunt perfectly well. ¡®I sense you there, chimera.¡¯ The sing-song voice which entered Dominic¡¯s head was not Leo¡¯s. ¡®Did you hear-¡¯ ¡®What was that?¡¯ The two said at the same time, and then stopped as they realised the other had the same question. Dominic looked around wildly, wondering if he¡¯d actually heard the voice with his ears rather than his mind. ¡®Here, little chimera,¡¯ the voice said again, its tone a strange mixture between lazy and excited. This time Dominic could tell for sure that it was in his mind. And when he looked around again, he saw that the creature he¡¯d been following was now looking directly at him, its jaws dripping with blood. ¡®You¡¯re¡­him?¡¯ Dominic asked ineloquently. He got the sense that the other was amused as the creature replied. ¡®Yes. I am¡­him.¡¯ Dominic blinked, then shook his head, his mane brushing his ears. ¡®I¡­you¡­how?¡¯ He was too speechless to form a better question. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡®Much the same as you, I imagine,¡¯ the creature told him, his tone almost sounding like a yawn. In the meantime, he tipped his head up to swallow the chunk of meat in his mouth. ¡®I was feeding on my recently-vanquished prey when the world collapsed. Suddenly, I was forced to battle for superiority with the undeparted spirit of my prey. When the match came to an end, I was the victor and was able to choose the amalgamation of the body I wished to inhabit.¡¯ ¡®You chose such a weird combination of parts?¡¯ Dominic asked dubiously, his mind working busily over the fact that, though it did sound like what had happened with him and Leo, there had been no battle for superiority. ¡®There was, but it came later,¡¯ Leo told him quietly. ¡®I did,¡¯ the creature continued proudly, apparently either not having heard Leo or having chosen to ignore him. ¡®Claws to run and claws to attack. A body which was heavier than my previous, but still agile. Of course, I kept my mouth and flexible neck.¡¯ The creature twisted its head this way and that, showing off just how flexible its neck really was. It looked over its shoulder and flicked its wings. ¡®These I picked up later. I¡¯ve always wanted to fly, but they don¡¯t seem to be much use as they are right now,¡¯ he continued with a sense of disappointment in his ¡®voice¡¯. ¡®Huh, interesting,¡¯ Dominic said to the creature non-committedly before focussing on speaking with Leo. ¡®Yeah, but I couldn¡¯t choose the body parts after I won it.¡¯ ¡®Except you didn¡¯t exactly win it,¡¯ Leo pointed out in the quiet tone again. ¡®I chose to accept your superiority for as long as I felt you were moving in the right direction better than I could.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic admitted. Perhaps they would have had a ¡®winner¡¯ and ¡®loser¡¯ but they¡¯d been interrupted by the dungeon master. Though why had it only happened when he¡¯d reached level 10? Unless it was to do with their relative capacities ¨C perhaps their intelligence levels had been so different that the System hadn¡¯t felt it worth the fight? Or not until they were more equal, anyway. Heck, maybe it was also because their respective bodies were so incomparable when it came to combat ability. After all, Dominic had been able to take the body of a lion during their combat, but only because he¡¯d been living as a lion for the days preceding the battle. Still musing over what could have been the cause of the differences, he asked a burning question of the creature who didn¡¯t seem to have picked up that he and Leo were having a private conversation and was instead yammering away. ¡®...and they are able to see the world from so high up, and I think that would be pretty cool. Don¡¯t you think?¡¯ ¡®Sure,¡¯ Dominic agreed. He was getting the impression that though the creature was fairly intimidating, it wasn¡¯t actually that bright. Or maybe ¡®childlike¡¯ could be a better comparison. ¡®Like you being able to speak into my mind. How does that work, anyway?¡¯ He kind of felt like he was tricking a child into giving up his sweets. Should I feel bad about that? He wondered. Nah, he decided a moment later. ¡®Oh, that¡¯s easy. I just speak. But you¡¯re the first one to speak back. I thought that you might, though, since I sense that we¡¯re the same kind of creature.¡¯ ¡®Huh,¡¯ Dominic replied thoughtfully. Was it that simple? Or was it that the other creature was naturally telepathic or something but had never known it. Well, good to know that it was possible. ¡®So, since you can speak, did you realise you¡¯re in my territory?¡¯ Dominic asked at Leo¡¯s prompting. ¡®Oh, that. Yes, I saw your signs, but didn¡¯t realise you were a chimera too.¡¯ ¡®So¡­does that mean you¡¯ll leave now?¡¯ Dominic asked, wondering if it could be that easy. ¡®No, that means we have to fight.¡¯ The lion felt like face-palming. Of course he¡¯d been overly-optimistic. Well, if he felt bad about feeling like he was tricking the creature out of information, he¡¯d feel even worse about killing him. If I can, he thought trepidatiously, looking at the bulk of the creature in front of him. ¡®Do we really have to fight?¡¯ asked Dominic. ¡®Can¡¯t we just come to some¡­friendly arrangement?¡¯ ¡®Nope,¡¯ the other creature replied cheerfully. Inappropriately so, Dominic thought with a grumble. ¡®We need to know who¡¯s the most powerful. If you win, you get to decide if you kill me or not. If you kill me, you can absorb your favourite bits of my bodies, and if you don¡¯t, you can ask me to do whatever you want. If I win, then I get to do the same to you.¡¯ ¡®Sounds great,¡¯ Dominic replied sarcastically, more concerned about what would happen if he lost than if he won ¨C although he was confident in his own abilities, this creature countered several of his advantages; it would be seen whether he countered the others. ¡®Isn¡¯t it?¡¯ the creature chirped, seeming to miss the sarcastic tone completely. ¡®That¡¯s how I got my wings ¨C although it wasn¡¯t another chimera, I challenged it to a fight and took its wings from it when it lost.¡¯ Once more he looked at them with an expression Dominic could only identify as discontented. ¡®Maybe that¡¯s why they don¡¯t work with my body: it wasn¡¯t another chimera.¡¯ Then he looked at Dominic with a disturbingly intent expression. ¡®It¡¯s a pity you don¡¯t have wings.¡¯ ¡®Hey, I haven¡¯t agreed to fight yet,¡¯ Dominic told him hurriedly. The creature looked at him with surprise both in his face and mental voice. ¡®Haven¡¯t you felt it? We don¡¯t have a choice.¡¯ As if the System had been waiting for just that moment, a notification flashed up in front of Dominic¡¯s face. [You have been challenged by another chimera for territory and dominance. Winner takes all. Kill or force your opponent to submit to your power to win. Failure to fight is considered an automatic forfeit.] ¡®Oh, hell!¡¯ Dominic spat. Chapter 80: Stolen Body Parts Dominic briefly entertained the thought of running away, but if ever he could, that time had passed. He had no desire to find out exactly how the System might impose the conditions of losing on him even if he could escape the other chimera. With retreat not a possibility, he looked warily at the creature itself, his eyes once more assessing, but this time looking for weak spots and vulnerabilities. What he found was worrying: there weren¡¯t many. The other chimera had sharp claws both fore and aft, and Dominic suspected that its lithe neck would be annoyingly agile and with a much greater range of movement than his own. ¡®It may come down to who can inflict the most damage per second,¡¯ Dominic murmured grimly to Leo even as he started circling around the chimera. The other creature seemed content to watch him circle, its long neck allowing it to easily see behind itself. ¡®Try to disable it. Go for the vulnerable joints.¡¯ Leo suggested. Dominic sent back a feeling of exasperation: as if he hadn¡¯t already been considering that. He circled a couple of more times, his eyes flicking predatorily over the chimera¡¯s form. Perhaps his best advantage would come from using the chimera¡¯s stolen body parts against it. It was not a natural creature whose body had formed from evolution to become ideally suited to its environment. Instead, it was composed of different parts of creatures, and was unlikely to move as seamlessly as the original. Then again, there was a reason that this chimera had survived thus far, so he would do well not to underestimate it. Dominic¡¯s mind worked busily over his strategy. He was going to need to use as many abilities as he could to win this, give himself whatever advantages he had available. I wish I could use Pounce, he thought to himself. Then an idea occurred. Turning tail, he ran away from the beast. He felt the surprise from Leo, and suspected that the chimera would feel the same. ¡®What are you doing?!¡¯ the lion cried in his mind. ¡®If you run, we forfeit!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not running,¡¯ Dominic told him shortly, his eyes flicking around to find the right spot. There. ¡®What do you mean, you¡¯re not running?! That¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re doing,¡¯ Leo demanded, perhaps too panicked to read the thoughts running through his mind and realise what he was actually doing. ¡®Just let me concentrate!¡¯ Dominic snapped back at him, shoving the idea of his plan at his back-seat driver to shut him up. The lion went silent for a few moments, giving Dominic some welcome peace while he set the first parts of his plan into action. He was taller than he used to be, but the bush he¡¯d chosen to hide behind was enough to allow him to go to ground unseen, and the grass itself was just about long enough to be able to hide him. Crouching as low as he could while still being able to move fluidly, he once more circled the chimera, moving closer at the same time. The creature seemed to have lost sight of him for now ¨C its head was turning this way and that, its wings flapping restlessly every so often. Every now and again, it would actually turn completely on the spot, seeming fearful that he might be about to leap on its back. Which was indeed his plan. Either that or somewhere else vulnerable. But he¡¯d have to time it right. Plus, of course, that neck meant that the creature¡¯s head could lift significantly further above the ground than most herbivores¡¯, so it would have a better chance of spotting him. ¡®The chimera also seemed to realise we were close by before,¡¯ Leo pointed out, significantly calmer now he realised that Dominic actually had a plan. ¡®Maybe it has some other senses we¡¯re not aware of.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ Dominic admitted. It was a concern. As was the memory that the creature had managed to not show any indication of having noticed him until he¡¯d spoken in Dominic¡¯s mind. Which meant it had an ability to dissemble which might render his attempts at an ambush more dangerous for the lion than his opponent. For a moment, Dominic really wished for the feature that appeared in some games which involved stealth ¨C an eye either opened or closed, indicating whether the character had been noticed. That would be so useful at the moment. Without it, though, he was going to have to decide whether the chance was worth it. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. There was a bush not far from the chimera, and Dominic decided to use that as his coverage. Creeping towards it, he kept his belly so close to the ground that his fur was brushing against it with every step. By the time he gained the cover, his muscles were aching a little from holding the position for an unusual length of time and his nerves were shot. He dared to look between the leaves to try to see whether the patchwork beast was showing any signs of having noticed him. It didn¡¯t seem to have: its head was still flicking around, its wings and tail moving restlessly and without any real objective. Dominic, for once, was entirely focussed on the hunt; fortunately, Leo was too. Their shared mind was therefore quiet and calm, their body tense and ready to move. Then a moment came where the chimera was actually focussed away from them, its attention on the area in front of it, its back to the bush. Dominic saw his chance. Breaking into a practically soundless run, he dashed over the short distance between him and the creature, then leapt, claws and teeth bared. Quicker than he had anticipated, the other chimera reacted. Instead of heading for its vulnerable neck, Dominic found the mouth full of teeth approaching him with frightening speed. They collided in mid-air, the force of Dominic¡¯s momentum driving the chimera¡¯s head backwards even as its teeth ripped at him. The chimera was pulled slightly off balance as they met the earth with a thud and a rising dust cloud. Dominic had managed to keep his enemy¡¯s head below him, so he landed on it. Unfortunately, that meant that those sharp teeth dug deeper into his chest. Fortunately, his gorget was shielding his neck a bit, but he still saw an uncomfortably large chunk of health be lost as the teeth shredded his flesh. Leaping off the chimera¡¯s head itself, Dominic quickly reversed direction and struck at its neck again, this time his own teeth meeting its flesh not far below the head. Hopefully like that, it wouldn¡¯t be able to bite at him. He poured stamina into his bite to enhance his damage. At the same time, while he was using one front paw to cling on, he used Powerful Swipe on the other, ripping and tearing at the creature¡¯s neck. The larger beast clearly had no desire to put up with such treatment for long. Instead of ripping its neck free, it showed an uncomfortably human intelligence overriding the instinct that had to be screaming at it. Instead, it used its own front legs, batting at Dominic with claws probably twice or three times the length of his own. For a few attacks, Dominic held on, figuring that he was doing more damage than the creature was doing to him. Then it shifted and the balance changed. The chimera shifted so its weight was on its back legs, freeing up both its front legs to swipe at him properly. Dominic moaned softly in pain as the claws raked over him again and again and again. He doubted that any of his sandy fur would be showing through the blood before the fight was done. More importantly, each swipe took off a small chunk of Dominic¡¯s health and he was rapidly approaching half-empty. Should I let go and take another run at it? he wondered, feeling a little bit desperate. With his teeth buried in the creature¡¯s flesh, he couldn¡¯t see its health bar. He had no idea if it had lost more or less health than him. But if I let go, then am I likely to get a better grip? He already had the neck beneath his teeth; what was better than that? I can¡¯t just keep pouring my resources into this: my stamina is already starting to run low. It was the last fact which decided him. If he let his stamina be completely used here and he didn¡¯t kill the creature, then he would be a complete sitting duck. Such an all or nothing strategy wasn¡¯t worth the risk. He let go and immediately leapt back, then leapt back again when the creature¡¯s head snapped at him. There was a momentary pause in the battle as the two regarded each other with increased respect. Dominic took a look at the creature¡¯s health pool: it was down past half, but still a good third remained. Perhaps it was just as well he¡¯d made the decision he had. Certainly, he¡¯d have run out of stamina before he¡¯d have eaten through the health points the chimera had remaining. ¡®Your teeth and claws are strong. I shall enjoy taking those for my own when I win,¡¯ the other creature said. Dominic bristled at the words and the arrogance implicit within them, but he didn¡¯t feel like it was intentional taunting ¨C he felt like the creature was just so clearly confident about its chances of winning. Has it used any sort of abilities yet? Dominic wondered suddenly. Does it have any? Surely it did, though there was no guarantee: if his own apparent inability to gain Abilities ¡®naturally¡¯ was the same for any chimera, then perhaps it just hadn¡¯t hunted enough of a single species to gain their Abilities. Then he saw something that made him set his teeth and growl. The chimera¡¯s health bar was ticking up. It wasn¡¯t like in the dungeon with the warthog guardian where the health bar refilled itself with alacrity; this was more that it was ticking up a couple of health points every second or something, only noticeable when looked at for a few moments at a time. But it was the last thing Dominic wanted to see. Still, the chimera wasn¡¯t exactly unscathed. For every couple of health points it gained, it lost one to the heavy bleeding still coming from its neck wound. That, at least, didn¡¯t show any signs of closing soon. The creature wasn¡¯t attacking, though, and Dominic understood why. His own health wasn¡¯t worsening very fast, fortunately, since most of the wounds inflicted on him were relatively minor and were already clotting. Some of the initial wounds on his chest were deeper and were still bleeding sluggishly, but they would take a while to kill him. However, time was still on the side of the other chimera since it was actually gaining overall health points. Dominic would have to be the aggressor here. But to be fair, his offence was far better than his defence anyway. Alright. Warm-up¡¯s done, he said to himself, in his mind¡¯s eye stretching and cracking his neck. Time for the real fight. Chapter 81: Close Before actually jumping back in, Dominic decided that he could do with a pick-me-up ¨C one that offered a bit of extra stamina. The veten bodies he¡¯d dumped in his storage not long before would do just fine. He¡¯d wanted to keep them for experimentation, but survival trumped that. Pulling them both out quickly, he Consumed them a moment later. He¡¯d already absorbed the Cores, so there was no need to take his eyes off the other chimera for even a single moment. In the corner of his vision, both his health and stamina increased by a decent chunk. It wasn¡¯t a lot, but it was better than nothing. And he still had his joker up his sleeve, but he¡¯d rather not use that unless he absolutely needed to. The attempt to Pounce hadn¡¯t worked, though he¡¯d ended up getting a decent grip last time. But where should he strike? How could he get to a vulnerable spot with the least amount of risk to himself? His eyes flickered across the chimera¡¯s form. Then the chimera moved its head abruptly and they met eyes. Dominic tried to break the eye contact, look elsewhere, but failed. Then he tried to shift sideways, but it was like his body was frozen as thoroughly as it had been with the sonic wolves. With dawning fear, he realised that his eyes were snared by the orange and yellow orbs of the chimera, orbs which were fluctuating in the most distracting way. Then the chimera blinked and the spell was broken. Dominic quickly looked away, realising with a frisson of horror how close the other creature was all of a sudden. In the short space of time he had been enthralled, the chimera had significantly narrowed the distance between them. Leaping away, Dominic felt his heart beating frantically as images cascaded through his mind of him being stuck in place while his body was torn apart by sharp claws. He¡¯d have to make sure not to meet the other chimera¡¯s eyes. Though, that did make trying to find a good spot to attack a bit difficult. Maybe I need to take another approach, he thought to himself. Much like with the warthog Guardian in the dungeon, it seemed like getting in a killing strike in a single attempt was unlikely to actually happen. So maybe he¡¯d have to bleed the other chimera. From what he¡¯d seen, the creature was fast, but probably not as fast as the lion. Not to mention it was much bigger, so there was more bulk to move: the reason he¡¯d offered to Leo for not increasing his own bulk too much was to not impact his agility. Hopefully this fight would prove that he was right. If not¡­well, Leo wouldn¡¯t be able to say ¡®I told you so¡¯ if they were both dead. But he would have to be a little careful: although the two veten corpses had replenished a little of his stamina, he was still below half. Testing the other chimera¡¯s reflexes, he made a feinting run towards the creature¡¯s front-quarters, then dodged sideways as it came to bite at him. He then darted in to swipe at the back of its right front leg, drawing blood but not leaving a particularly large injury. When the creature tried to bite him, snaking its head around, Dominic darted under its belly. It required crouching a little, but he was quite able to move quickly even when not fully upright. The chimera actually followed him with its sinuous neck, so he took advantage to leap onto its back, using its stunted wings to give himself a good foothold. This time, he dug his claws in straight away, then bit hard at the creature¡¯s back. The scales over its spine turned out to be much thicker than the ones elsewhere on its back, so Dominic instead concentrated on just causing as much harm as he could. Temporarily pushing both Crushing Bite and Powerful Swipe to +20% damage, he chewed through a good 40 SP in a second. Then, releasing both Abilities, he quickly pushed himself off the creature¡¯s back, avoiding the bite coming his way from the neck which had untangled itself. His claws and teeth wet with the creature¡¯s blood, Dominic licked his lips and eyed the creature¡¯s health bar. That attack had taken about half his remaining stamina, if the initial movements were added to the cost of the actual attack, but it had been worth it. Though the injuries weren¡¯t to a hugely vulnerable part of the chimera, they were bleeding heavily. Plus, they were on a part of the creature¡¯s back that it couldn¡¯t help but use, stopping them from clotting easily and impeding its movement. Looking at its health bar, the almost-half had been cut down by a large chunk. Another attack or two like that could see it run out of health points, even if he didn¡¯t hit anywhere particularly important. But it seemed like the creature was now going to actually take this seriously. With a speed that belied its bulky body, it charged towards Dominic. Perhaps it was using some Ability or other because it covered the ground surprisingly fast. The lion was barely able to react before the creature was on him, pinning him with its front paws and biting at him with its mouth. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Dominic had been wondering how the other chimera had been winning its battles if it only just stood there and bit out every now and again. Now he realised that it had just been playing with him, or trying to work out his attack style. It had been tanking his attacks, trusting in its own health regeneration to see it through. Perhaps rightfully so. Dominic¡¯s health dropped like a stone, the rapid bites causing blood to flow heavily from multiple points under his fur. If he hadn¡¯t already been covered in blood, he would certainly be so now. He tried to mount a defence, biting at the chimera¡¯s jaws, but as soon as he accidentally made eye contact, he was frozen once more. No! he shouted in his own mind, Leo¡¯s helplessly enraged roar sounding mentally at the same time. I refuse! He felt his brother¡¯s similar refusal to be overcome combined with his own. Just like with the dungeon master, they had a single enemy which they both wished with all their strength to defeat. With sheer force of will, he wrenched his gaze away from the other chimera¡¯s. The creature was taken by surprise and it stilled for a single, vital moment. The lion lunged forwards to bite at the creature¡¯s throat, pouring stamina into his Crushing Bite. Waking up from its surprise ¨C or backlash of its Ability, perhaps ¨C the other chimera started moving, struggling. It tried to wrench away from his grip, but he just bit harder, bringing his paws around to grip at its neck in the mockery of an embrace. His back legs were still pinned by the other chimera¡¯s own limbs, and his health was pouring out of his health bar ¨C almost as fast as his stamina was emptying. Weakness crept over him as his stamina emptied to the merest sliver. No! he shouted again mentally. I will not lose now! Activating Second Wind, he saw his health and stamina shoot up, though he knew it was only temporary. Now on a timer, he pushed Crushing Bite to the max and just bit down harder. He used the leverage of his paws around its neck to wrench his head from side to side, worsening the wound. From his position he couldn¡¯t see what the chimera¡¯s health bar was doing, but he was himself pinned so there was no chance of leaping away and reattempting a different attack. All he could do was cause as much damage to the flesh he was gnawing at as possible. Of course, the chimera wasn¡¯t taking the attack passively. Striking viciously at him with its front paws, it raked massive wounds in his body. With his front paws wrapped around the creature¡¯s neck, Dominic was stretched out, his belly vulnerable. Groaning, he felt a pain which he¡¯d hoped never to feel again: the sensation of being disemboweled. Will my health potion deal with this much damage? he asked despairingly of himself. With having levelled up so recently, he doubted that even this chimera would be enough to level up again. So his only hope of survival now was the health potion. The chimera became more and more frantic. Its previously disciplined attacks with its feet turned into desperate wrenching away from Dominic¡¯s bite. It had done well to avoid doing that until this point: the wounds under Dominic¡¯s teeth ripped open, pouring more blood over Dominic himself. As if he needed more of a blood-bath. Dominic himself grunted in pain as the stretch tore more of his own flesh, the slices the chimera¡¯s paws had opened in his softer belly ripping under the strain. Am I about to be torn in half? he wondered morbidly. Just as he became sure that that horrible possibility was about to become reality, the chimera suddenly collapsed. The head fell on him painfully, his legs still pinned even as the body became deadweight rather than a living weapon. A message flashed up before Dominic¡¯s eyes, but he ignored it in favour of immediately Consuming the other chimera¡¯s body. The weight pinning him down swiftly dissolved into golden smoke and was absorbed into his body. Dominic was relieved to see his health and stamina jump up, most of his worst wounds healing, if only by a thin layer. But for such a large creature, it was by surprisingly little ¨C a little over 200 HP. Worse, he continued to lose health points to a persistent bleed ¨C the chimera¡¯s claws had been vicious. He was only up by a third and Second Wind would be taking 300HP from him when its timer ran out. A message strobed before his eyes but he continued ignoring it for now: he could wait on the death notification until his own life was more assured. Still unable to move much, and not wanting to break open more wounds by doing so, Dominic decided it was last resort time and summoned his health potion from his storage space. As he¡¯d intended, it appeared directly in his mouth. Though it still had the cork still in, he¡¯d already done this once before and was soon able to wriggle the cork out enough with a combination of teeth and tongue that the swampy flavour of the healing potion appeared within his mouth. His health bar quickly increased, some more of the pain in his belly reduced. When the health potion was all gone, though, there were still significant injuries on him, and his health had only been restored by 150 HP. His health now sitting just under 340HP, he had enough to get through the Second Wind timer running out ¨C if only barely. But then what do I do? Dominic asked himself with dismay. He¡¯d forgotten that the health potion had a fixed number of health points that it restored where Second Wind was based on a percentage of his health. When he¡¯d first got the health potion, his maximum health had been half of what it was now, so the potion alone would have restored what he needed for Second Wind. Now, though, it was rather lacking. Once Second Wind took its due, he would have under 40 HP to his name ¨C and he was still bleeding, though only very slowly now. Still, he would survive for now. The strobing becoming increasingly annoying, Dominic finally actually looked at the message before his eyes. [You have killed [Chimera]. Access enhancements?] Chapter 82: Enhancement Points No Prey Points? Dominic wondered. Still, it lit a sudden fire of excitement within him. He quickly assented to the question. It had been an odd situation all round, but perhaps coming so close to death would attract some awesome rewards. His thoughts were interrupted as he saw a new message appear before his eyes. [Benefits calculating¡­.] [Chimera: Evolved, level 12, 24 EP] [Enhancements available: Long neck (3 EP) Reptilian head (5 EP) Feline paws (0 EP) Extra-long claws (3 EP) Ursine paws (5 EP) Bat wings (7 EP) Telepathy (8 EP) Telepathic Paralysis (10 EP) Enhanced Regeneration (8 EP) Rending Bite (5 EP) Rapid Attack (5 EP)] Interesting¡­. Was this what the chimera had seen every time it engaged in battle? But no, surely not. The chimera had indicated that this was the first time it had seen another of its kind, so how would it have seen this screen? Dominic certainly hadn¡¯t. Then again, how had it got its bat wings in the first place: they clearly weren¡¯t part of either of the animals the creature had started as. Was Dominic missing something here? Well, time to think about that later. For now, he had a choice to make. So, apparently he¡¯d gained EP ¨C Enhancement Points? ¨C and had a list of enhancements to choose between. From the looks of it, the enhancements were things the chimera itself had gained, either from other creatures or during its original amalgamation with the other creature it had fused with. It also seemed like a couple of the choices might have come from enhancements the chimera had applied on level ups ¨C its extra-long claws and enhanced regeneration might easily have come from choosing those on level up. But then did it only choose those two options on every level-up or was there another reason only those two were showing? The way ¡®Rending Bite¡¯ and ¡®Rapid Attack¡¯ were written suggested that they were Abilities, not enhancements. Actually, Dominic thought with interest, telepathic paralysis isn¡¯t written like that. Does that mean it¡¯s not an Ability but perhaps is another enhancement the chimera did to itself? It was a good question. He was more than half tempted by the idea of being able to trap other creatures like he himself had been trapped. It would work particularly well if he had other team members taking advantage of his target¡¯s paralysis. The main drawback to that one, though, was its price. At 10 EP, it was the most expensive item on the list. However, if the chimera had got it by enhancing its eyes or its telepathy rather than as an ability, that suggested routes Dominic himself could take, even if he didn¡¯t ¡®buy¡¯ it now. He had had Stunning Roar on his Abilities list since the scrin but so far hadn¡¯t found another creature with a Core that contained it. Its progress towards level 1 was therefore going nowhere. But, if he could enhance his roar enough to essentially do the same thing¡­. For now, though, he needed to choose his enhancements. Annoyingly, the physical enhancements which he wasn¡¯t particularly interested in were the cheapest: he could ¡®buy¡¯ all of them if he wanted to. Not that he did: although he was interested in the possibility of flight, the poor showing the chimera had offered with his stunted pair of wings made him question whether he wanted to risk it. Besides, they were pretty expensive ¨C if he chose them and they were useless, he would have passed up something much more immediately useful. No, unfortunately wings needed to be on the back-burner for now. There was one very obvious choice on the list; Dominic didn¡¯t even hesitate before picking it. He didn¡¯t need to check with Leo either ¨C he knew the lion would agree with him. Selecting Enhanced Regeneration with the intention of spending EP on it, it disappeared from the list along with eight of his EP. To his delight, he saw it immediately start working on his health. No level up required? he wondered to himself. I¡¯m not going to complain, though. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s considered differently when it is a prize from a dominance battle with another chimera,¡¯ Leo suggested. Dominic mentally shrugged at him ¨C he could be right, or there could be another explanation. It¡¯s not like either of them actually knew. ¡®What would you like to pick?¡¯ Dominic asked his companion. He had a few ideas himself, but recent events had just reinforced the idea that he and Leo as a team worked well together. Leo had fought in the battle too and deserved a say in the rewards. Not to mention it was just as much his body as Dominics; more even. ¡®We need to pick Telepathy,¡¯ Leo said firmly. ¡®OK,¡¯ Dominic replied, a little surprised. ¡®I mean, I wanted to get that one, but why do you?¡¯ Dominic wanted it because it seemed likely to be the only way he could communicate with other humans ¨C unless he got his human body back, of course. ¡®I want to be able to communicate with my pride,¡¯ Leo replied. Dominic was once more a little surprised. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡®You think that would work? The chimera did say that we were the only creature it had managed to communicate with up until now.¡¯ ¡®Up until now, agreed. Yet what about in the coming weeks? What about when other denizens of the savannah start Evolving? What if that¡¯s the point when our females start being able to communicate with us?¡¯ Dominic hadn¡¯t thought about that. ¡®Alright, so we both agree on Telepathy being a must-have.¡¯ That would take his remaining sixteen points down to eight. Which meant that Telepathic paralysis was definitely off the possibility list. It also meant that he could only choose one of Rapid Attack and Rending Bite; not both. That was annoying. ¡®Which do you think would be better?¡¯ he asked his companion. Leo was silent for a few, thoughtful moments. ¡®Can you access any information about Rapid Attack?¡¯ he asked finally. Good thought. Dominic concentrated on the entry for Rapid Attack with ¡®information¡¯ in his mind. [Rapid Attack (T0): Spend either stamina or mana to deal a number of attacks in a short amount of time. The number of attacks which may be dealt increases with your level in this Ability.] ¡®Pretty vague,¡¯ Dominic remarked to Leo. ¡®That might be to our advantage,¡¯ replied the lion. ¡®Attacks could mean bite, or claw, or perhaps any other attacks we develop later. Being able to deal several strikes in a short amount of time could improve our damage capabilities.¡¯ ¡®It could,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®But is it more likely to be useful to us than Rending Bite? We worked out before that Rending Bite will stack well with our Crushing Bite.¡¯ ¡®On the other hand, that¡¯s another stamina-heavy Ability. We were struggling with stamina in that last fight already,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®True, but Rapid Attack uses stamina too. Yes, OK, it can also use mana, but you know the state of our mana pool at the moment: you were the one who argued against increasing the amount of mana we have available to us,¡¯ Dominic said with some exasperation. ¡®That was before we had any useful Abilities which used it.¡¯ ¡®We have Lightning Discharge!¡¯ Dominic argued hotly. Leo just sent him a feeling of scepticism. ¡®I know it¡¯s weak, but that¡¯s because, one, it¡¯s low level and, two, we don¡¯t have enough mana for it.¡¯ They fell silent, both feeling that the conversation had got a bit too heated. WIth mutual unspoken agreement, they each took the time to breathe ¨C or whatever Leo did while he wasn¡¯t in the driving seat. Then they returned to the discussion. ¡®I agree that Rapid Attack could be useful,¡¯ Dominic said, his tone much quieter. ¡®I¡¯m just not sure if its use outweighs the guaranteed use of Rending Bite.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ve already started earning Rending Bite, yet we haven¡¯t encountered any creature with Rapid Attack,¡¯ Leo argued. ¡®In the dungeon you chose to forgo Charge in favour of Second Wind for just that reason.¡¯ ¡®And look how well it¡¯s worked out for us: we still haven¡¯t earned Charge,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. Then he sighed both mentally and physically. ¡®Look, why do you want Rapid Attack so badly?¡¯ There was a long moment of silence. ¡®I¡­don¡¯t, Leo replied, sounding ever-so-slightly embarrassed. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re arguing for the sake of arguing?¡¯ Dominic exclaimed, exasperated. ¡®No,¡¯ Leo replied defensively. ¡®I just want us to make the right decision, after having considered all sides of the issue.¡¯ Dominic got it. Leo had started off playing devil¡¯s advocate and along the way had lost himself in the desire to win the discussion. Or something like that. So, as he¡¯d said, arguing for the sake of arguing. ¡®Right, so, to summarise, Rapid Attack could be useful in the situation where we need to inflict many wounds in a small amount of time. Given the speed the wounds would be applied, I don¡¯t know if any of the other bonuses would stack with it. If the bonus from Strike, Crushing Bite or Powerful Swipe, Group Attack, and Pounce could apply to each attack, that would be pretty powerful. If they don¡¯t, it would be rather weak. ¡®On the other hand, we know what would happen with Rending Bite. By using a large amount of stamina, we could apply both Crushing Bite and Rending Bite at the same time, adding a significant increase to the damage of our bite. Strike would add its bonus, as would Group Attack and Pounce in the right contexts.¡¯ This was where having a coin to toss might actually be useful ¨C Dominic honestly couldn¡¯t choose logically between the two abilities. ¡®Thinking about it like that, do you have any preference?¡¯ he asked Leo. ¡®I think we should get Rapid Attack,¡¯ Leo said finally. ¡®And then hunt down more of those striped felines and get Rending Bite too.¡¯ Dominic¡¯s eyebrows would have shot up if he had any. ¡®You¡¯re advocating going hunting for Abilities now?¡¯ The lion gave off another sense of embarrassment. ¡®...Perhaps.¡¯ Dominic sent him a wave of amusement. ¡®Alright, we¡¯ll fit that in around hunting buffalo, warthog, and whatever else for Charge. Rapid Attack it is.¡¯ With that, he picked both Telepathy and Rapid Attack. His points dwindled down to three remaining. This time, there was no obvious change, but he did feel that there was something different. Like when he¡¯d first become a lion and suddenly had a tail to control in addition to four limbs. Except that this wasn¡¯t a limb, but more a mental¡­openness? There was no point in leaving three points, Dominic decided. He didn¡¯t know if the points would be saved for the next time he was in this sort of situation ¨C he suspected that he might be again, considering how soon after the System¡¯s arrival this one had been. It was fortunate that there was one physical enhancement he¡¯d be happy to gain and ¨C wonder of wonders ¨C it cost exactly three points. He did check quickly with Leo in case the lion had any better ideas, or some strange desire for a long neck or something. Fortunately, the lion was in full agreement with Dominic and his remaining EP dwindled to nothing as he selected his final enhancement. The screen disappeared from in front of his eyes and Dominic flexed his claws to see the difference. Scythe-like blades slid out of his paws, at least three times the length they had been before. These are really going to come in handy, he said to himself happily. Time to test out his new gains. Chapter 83: Wrestling Of course, that was easier said than done. First of all, he was still not up to full health, and when the timer from Second Wind ran out, it felt like he¡¯d been punched in the gut. His wounds didn¡¯t worsen, thankfully, but losing that much health all at once hurt. It actually felt worse than he remembered ¨C was that because he was actually losing more health in one go, even though the fraction remained the same? If so, what would it be like if he added more health to his pool? Spotting the carcass of the creature the chimera had been eating, Dominic was happy to see that it was a half-eaten buffalo. More for the Charge pool, he said to himself gleefully. Quickly absorbing it, he licked up the Core too. Only a level 5, that didn¡¯t mean much to his progress, but every little helps! Aware that he was next to a large pool of blood ¨C was covered in it too ¨C Dominic withdrew a bit into a bush nearby. He didn¡¯t mind if he drew something to where he was: if nothing else, it could offer him a good target to test his new enhancements. Still, he¡¯d rather not be surprised by whatever it was, like he had been a couple of times. Intentionally not thinking too much about it, Dominic gave himself a tongue bath. Sure, he could pass on this job to Leo ¨C the lion would be perfectly happy to do it ¨C but he didn¡¯t mind doing it as long as he didn¡¯t overthink the actual mechanics too much. The sense of comfort and safety was always nice after a battle to the death. Funny how he¡¯d now done so many that he could think that. Once he¡¯d finally licked the last square inch of fur clean and could stretch without feeling drying blood pull at his hair, he decided to check out the new changes on his status screen. Opening it, he focussed on just seeing the changes and additions. Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Progress to Evolution: 152/382 PP Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 3 (7% ¨C> 10% to level 4) ¨C 3 SP for +35% speed; 8 SP for +70% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% ¨C> 16% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 1 (30% ¨C> 36% to level 2) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +6% - 60% Crushing damage for 2-57 stamina per second. Powerful Swipe (T0) level 2 (52% ¨C> 57% to level 3) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +6% - +60% damage increase for 5-75 stamina per second. Rapid Attack (T0) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Spend 3 SP or MP to attack for a second time within 1 second. SP or MP costs double per additional attack within half a second of the previous. Maximum number of chained attacks at level 1: 5. Charge (41% to level 1) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (12-22 ¨C> 48-53 Slicing damage, 15-25 ¨C> 32-41 Tearing damage, 6-10 ¨C> 24-35 Piercing damage) General abilities: - Brain level 3 (Cognition speed standard measurement 5.5 ¨C> 6) - Enhanced Regeneration level 1 (1 HP / second) - Telepathy level 1 (range: 5 lengths; strength: 1) There were quite a few changes. One thing that made his non-existent eyebrows rise was the sheer number of Prey Points he¡¯d gained from his kill. There hadn¡¯t been any notification about them, so he¡¯d kind of assumed that he hadn¡¯t earned any. That appeared to be incorrect as in fact he seemed to have gained over a hundred points ¨C he¡¯d started the battle with 45 Prey Points. And how come he¡¯d gained another level in Brain? He hadn¡¯t even chosen something relating to it. Although¡­telepathy was so different from anything his brain had ever had to deal with before ¨C could that be the reason? He was also not quite sure what to feel about having gained ¡®Chimera¡¯ along with ¡®Two-souled¡¯. What had prompted that? The other creature had identified him as like it, a chimera ¨C was that why it was suddenly appearing on his status screen? Or was it because he¡¯d defeated and absorbed a chimera? And what did it mean ¨C did it have any consequences, or was it just a description like he suspected ¡®two-souled¡¯ was? Shaking his head at the unanswerable questions, Dominic moved on. Almost all his Abilities were coming on well. Pounce and Group Attack obviously hadn¡¯t changed since he hadn¡¯t used either of them in this battle. Not for lack of effort, but he hadn¡¯t managed to activate either bonus from Pounce. An additional 8% for the single use of Second Wind was good, though it seemed like reaching level 2 wouldn¡¯t be happening any time soon. Then again, with his enhanced regeneration, perhaps he might feel more willing to use it. That, of course, was another addition to his status screen. With a sudden thought, he pulled up another entry which hadn¡¯t changed, but was apparently still there ¨C he¡¯d been wondering if it had disappeared. - Carnivore Constitution level 3 (600 HP) +60% health regeneration So I¡¯m still gaining more health regen from Constitution. How are they interacting? His health pool was one thing; the fact that he also gained +60% to his health regeneration from Carnivore Constitution was another thing. Was the 1 HP/s with the +60% already taken into account? Or would he actually be gaining 1.6 HP/s? Or were they two separate regeneration rates, acting independently? Either way, one health point per second meant that he¡¯d be able to regain his health pool in ten minutes with Regeneration¡¯s effects alone. So, that meant Regeneration would regain him the 50% health in the five minutes he needed to sacrifice to Second Wind, giving him a fair bit to play with. But if he was in a difficult battle and lost what he¡¯d gained from Second Wind and some of his regenerated health, he¡¯d be in trouble. However, Enhanced Regeneration was clearly something he could enhance on level up; what if the next level offered him two health points per second? And what if level 3 offered three points per second? Or more? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡®I think I know what we¡¯re enhancing when we next level up,¡¯ Dominic told his companion excitedly. ¡®I agree,¡¯ Leo replied with a calm eagerness. As for the enhancement of his longer claws, that was much as expected ¨C better damage in all areas. Good, but not as exciting as his new health regeneration. Being able to fully heal in ten minutes was amazing. He¡¯d never have to worry about being badly injured after a fight and not having a level-up in the wings waiting. He just needed to get through the fight and then rest for ten minutes and he¡¯d be good to go. In fact, as Dominic stood, he realised that his health regeneration had already healed most of his wounds. His health pool wasn¡¯t yet filled, but it was more than three-quarters full, the remaining wounds more annoying than truly painful. Nothing had followed the scent of blood, so Dominic decided he might as well continue his patrol. Maybe he¡¯d find something he¡¯d be able to use his new Ability on. As he padded through the grass, his eyes scanning and other senses sharp, he thought about Rapid Attack. The information he¡¯d initially seen hadn¡¯t been particularly detailed; now he had gained it, he was able to see exactly what it could do and how much it cost. From what he could read, it seemed a bit like a flurry of attacks. Apparently each had double the stamina or mana cost of the previous so he could imagine that getting pretty expensive after a while. At level 1, the number of attacks seemed limited to 5 anyway. Working it out, 3 SP for the second attack, 6 for the third, 12 for the fourth, and 24 for the fifth¡­. That would add up to 45 SP ¨C or MP ¨C in total. In addition to the stamina costs of the initial attack, of course. Actually, what if he used Quick Strike and then Powerful Swipe along with Rapid Attack? Would the effects be replicated in all the subsequent strikes? If so, would that only cost the SP required for Rapid Attack, or was that in addition to the cost of the strikes themselves? It had to be ¨C 3 SP for an attack enhanced by Powerful Swipe would be very cheap. Unrealistically so. Could Dominic choose to make each attack different from the previous, or did they all have to be identical? Because if he couldn¡¯t adapt the attacks to the reaction of his target, then that could actually be quite dangerous. He might find himself forced to attack an area which the creature had already vacated, opening himself up for their counter-attack. Well, hopefully he¡¯d find a target soon to test this on. Unfortunately, as the hours wore on, no target presented itself. ¡®Is this what lions do all day?¡¯ he complained to his companion. ¡®Just wander through the grass, everything else running away?¡¯ Leo sent him a sense of amusement. ¡®We almost died a short time ago and you¡¯re already restless?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic told him firmly, ¡®because we didn¡¯t die, and we got a few nice enhancements I want to test out.¡¯ ¡®Enhanced regeneration is a bit of a safety net,¡¯ Leo admitted. ¡®Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t do too much harm to risk enraging a more perilous foe,¡¯ he continued. Dominic perked up. ¡®You¡¯ve seen something, haven¡¯t you?¡¯ The lion huffed smugly. ¡®Perhaps I have.¡¯ Dominic started growling audibly. ¡®Come on, give.¡¯ ¡®What if I don¡¯t?¡¯ Leo taunted Dominic. Clearly the lion was suddenly in a very playful mood ¨C perhaps the recent near-death experience was the root cause. If it had been one of his mates, he¡¯d have wrestled with them, play-fighting until one of them cried uncle. Not possible to do when only one of them had a body. Or is it? Dominic suddenly wondered. Taking a quick glance around, Dominic couldn¡¯t sense the presence of anything nearby. ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ Leo asked in surprise as he tucked himself into a nearby bush. Dominic ignored him, crouching down and closing his eyes. Focussing, he tried to access his ¡®sanctuary¡¯ ¨C the space where he ran, uh retreated to when Leo was having fun times with his lionesses. He was pretty sure that it was the same place that they¡¯d been thrust into when he¡¯d got to level 10, so it should be possible to access even when he was the driver. It took some concentration, not helped by Leo¡¯s repeated questions about what he was trying to do. Finally, though, it felt like a wall had suddenly collapsed under pressure, turning out to be plaster rather than cement. Dominic ¡®fell¡¯ through the hole and into the study he¡¯d envisaged the first time Leo had done his mating duties. This time, Leo was there too, looking around himself with confusion. ¡®What is this place?¡¯ Leo asked. Dominic didn¡¯t answer, just jumping on him. He was in his lion body, he realised a moment later. Probably because he had just been in the real leonine body ¨C his mind hadn¡¯t caught up with the fact that he didn¡¯t have to be in it any more. Still, it would probably work better for this task than his human one: wrestling Leo until he gave in and told Dominic what he¡¯d seen. The lion responded to his ¡®attack¡¯ with claws and teeth bared at first, but when he realised that Dominic wasn¡¯t using his own claws, and his teeth were nipping rather than biting, his demeanour of fright quickly transformed into one of play. In fact, he became downright eager, his emotions joyful as he bounced around like a cub, Dominic responding equally childishly. The physical play brought back memories of wrestling with his dad and his friends, as well as sense-memories from Leo of doing this with his brothers and sisters ¨C siblings which Dominic himself had never had. By the time they finished, they were both tired, even though this was only a mental projection. Perhaps it was that they knew they should be tired physically and their minds imposed that tiredness on them. Either way, Leo flopped against Dominic, raising his front paws in the air and batting lazily at the ceiling. There hadn¡¯t been any real ¡®winner¡¯ of their wrestling match, but Dominic hoped that Leo had had enough fun that he¡¯d be more willing to answer the question. ¡®So, what did you see?¡¯ Chapter 84: What is this place? ¡®What is this place?¡¯ Leo asked, as if he hadn¡¯t heard Dominic¡¯s question. He was staring above and around him at the bookcases, the decorations, the fireplace with its crackling flames. ¡®I asked first,¡¯ Dominic pointed out, nudging Leo with his nose. Then, feeling like the gesture didn¡¯t fully illustrate his feelings, he concentrated on going into a human form and poked the lion with a finger. ¡®Ow,¡¯ Leo complained petulantly. Then, looking over at Dominic, sighed. ¡®I¡¯d almost forgotten you were a human.¡¯ Dominic huffed in self-effacing humour, the sound leonine despite his human form. ¡®Frankly, I feel that I¡¯m starting to forget too. So, anyway ¨C you tell me what you saw, and I¡¯ll tell you what this place is. Actually, maybe one of us had better take over our physical form before something comes along and tries to kill us. Again.¡¯ ¡®You have no connection to our senses either?¡¯ Leo asked, surprised. ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic responded seriously. ¡®This is where I come when you¡¯re having fun with the lionesses.¡¯ The lion huffed in amusement. ¡®So, who is taking over now? Me or you?¡¯ ¡®You can continue,¡¯ Leo said magnanimously. ¡®I¡¯m sure that the females will be keen to make up for lost time when we get back.¡¯ Dominic felt Leo¡¯s amusement at his automatic discomfort at the idea. Sticking his tongue out at the lion, Dominic slid back into their physical form. Fortunately, it appeared that nothing had found him in the time since he¡¯d retreated into his mental space. Or if they had, they¡¯d decided to let sleeping lions lie. ¡®So, how about you tell me what I want to know, then?¡¯ Dominic quickly moved on before the lion could continue talking about mating. Interestingly enough, if he concentrated on Leo¡¯s presence in his mind, he could actually see him. A bit like how he¡¯d see a vivid memory ¨C what his eyes truly saw still took precedence, but he had the sense of seeing something else too. The lion yawned, revealing his long, sharp teeth. Longer and sharper than Dominic remembered them being the last time they were in this space together. Clearly the other lion was taking on board the enhancements applied to their body. Dominic wondered if the same was true of his own mental leonine body. Without a mirror, it would be hard to get an answer to that, though. ¡®I suspect there¡¯s a rhino nearby,¡¯ the lion said off-handedly. ¡®A rhino?¡¯ Dominic exclaimed. ¡®And you think we should go for it? Are we talking about the same thing here ¨C big, built like a tank, sharp horn on its nose? And that¡¯s before the System; who knows what it¡¯s like now?¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s it.¡¯ Dominic stared at the lion. ¡®Have you gone mad?¡¯ was all Dominic could say in response to the ludicrous suggestion from the previously sane lion. Wasn¡¯t Leo supposed to be his Jiminy Cricket? The voice of reason to curb his most dangerous impulses. This¡­didn¡¯t sound like Leo. Had he perhaps spent too long at the back of Dominic¡¯s head? It couldn¡¯t be healthy being relegated to an onlooker in his original body. ¡®I do not believe so,¡¯ Leo responded thoughtfully. ¡®I believe that a rhino, though dangerous prey indeed, is not beyond our capabilities at this time. They tend to be solitary, or in small family groups, so we are unlikely to have to contend with many of them at a time. Individually, their main strengths are the momentum they can build in a charge, and their sharp horns. Our usual strategy neatly side-steps those issues.¡¯ Now he was thinking about it, Dominic was starting to be a little less against the idea. But only a little ¨C he still was not at all sure this was something he should attempt. ¡®Would we be able to do enough damage to it, though?¡¯ he pointed out. ¡®As far as I know, a rhino¡¯s skin is pretty tough. Post-system, it¡¯s probably even tougher.¡¯ ¡®Which is why I think it¡¯s a good target for testing our new Abilities. We need to see how our damage enhancers like Crushing Bite and Powerful Swipe interact with Rapid Attack. Not to mention to see how well our claws work now they¡¯re so much longer and sharper. Other prey just die too quickly or are too dangerous for us to even consider attempting. I recognise that we may still have an issue, but we can always run away if necessary. Rhinos are surprisingly fast for their size, but I¡¯m sure that we¡¯re faster.¡¯ ¡®Or could potentially climb out of its reach,¡¯ Dominic mused, starting to get where Leo was coming from. He was still surprised that the more cautious lion was the one to suggest this ¨C it seemed more up his street than his companion¡¯s. But perhaps he was being emboldened by the knowledge that no matter how much damage he had done to him, as long as he could survive the battle and didn¡¯t have any status effects reducing his regeneration, he¡¯d be able to recover within a few minutes. Damn, Dominic thought quietly to himself, I hope I¡¯m not going to have to be the voice of reason here on out, or we¡¯re in trouble. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic agreed ¡®audibly¡¯. ¡®We¡¯ll give it a go.¡¯ As they headed along the trail that Leo pointed out, Dominic explained what he knew about the room he¡¯d pulled Leo into. He talked about his theory of it being the space which they¡¯d been in for the post-level-10 dominance battle, but also about his ability to change it. He felt Leo¡¯s interest turn into thoughtfulness, and then a weird sensation. He couldn¡¯t quite describe it. If he had to, it would be similar to when one of his friends licked his finger then stuck it in Dominic¡¯s ear. Except instead of being in his ear, it was in his head. It was a vaguely slippery, rather gross feeling and he had to shake his head to get rid of the after-effects. ¡®What did you just do?¡¯ he asked Leo, a little aggrieved. You¡¯d better not have just marked ¡®your territory¡¯ or something like that! The lion, however, refused to tell. ¡®I want to know if it will still be here when you retreat to this space while I¡¯m with the lionesses. If you know about it, you may unintentionally force it to be present when it otherwise wouldn¡¯t.¡¯ That was an interesting point, Dominic decided, and didn¡¯t push his companion any further, hoping that that was an indication it wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d feared. Anyway, honestly, he¡¯d also like to know the answer to that question. He wondered if Leo had felt the same sensation when he¡¯d done all the previous construction of the space, or if he¡¯d only felt the sensation because Leo was obviously affecting something that Dominic had already changed. Well, he could always test that later. For now, he had a battle ahead of him. As he came up to his prey, he took a little care to be less conspicuous, ducking below the level of the grass. There were two of them, one slightly larger than the other. Taking a moment to scent the air, Dominic drew on Leo¡¯s instincts to identify them as a male and female. Strangely enough, the male was the smaller one ¨C it was probably an almost full-grown calf. Certainly, they both had sharp horns on them. ¡®Should we really be attacking these?¡¯ he asked Leo, having second-thoughts. ¡®I think rhinos are endangered.¡¯ The lion¡¯s disbelieving huff told him immediately about his companion¡¯s point of view ¨C one he should have expected. ¡®If we don¡¯t hunt and kill, we¡¯ll become endangered,¡¯ the lion told him. ¡®I truly don¡¯t understand this human preoccupation with numbers. If a species is incapable of surviving without intervention on its behalf, it ought to die out and be replaced.¡¯ Dominic sighed. It was a lion versus human thing again. Humans were the only ones on Earth who exterminated or destroyed the habitat of so many species that preservation to protect the ecology of a planet was even necessary. Without that concern, it did truly come down only to predator and prey. Oh well, Dominic said to himself, I suppose that the question is now more about whether the species on Earth can survive and adapt to the onslaught of the System than about whether they can cope with humans. Humans themselves are potentially at risk of becoming an endangered species unless they adapt. He re-focussed on the two rhinos ahead of him. The world had changed too much for him to be concerned with conservation issues. He just hoped once more that there was some sort of protection built into the System for herbivores. From what he knew ¨C both from his own memories and from Leo¡¯s ¨C rhinos had poor eyesight. As long as he didn¡¯t move too quickly when they were looking in his direction, he should go unnoticed. He was already downwind ¨C that decision had been made almost automatically. So, logically the rhinos shouldn¡¯t have been able to smell him. If he was lucky, he might even manage to get in an attack with Pounce. I wonder if I could combine that with Rapid Attack? Although he generally didn¡¯t like to have damage notifications flare up since they were too distracting, this time he thought that he should reactivate them. That way he¡¯d be able to quickly see what kind of effect his Abilities were having. Once he¡¯d done that, the next task was to get himself set up for his first moves. If I can attack unnoticed, I¡¯ll get a +50% bonus to my damage. If I can get a vulnerable point, I can get an additional +25% bonus. But where¡¯s vulnerable on a rhino? It was a good question. The herbivores looked even bigger and more thickly-armoured than he remembered them being from Leo¡¯s memories. Their eyes were small and would be hard to target. Their spines were still potential weak points but were probably covered by thick skin-armour. As for their bellies, though they might be less-armoured than the rest of the animal, they would also be much more difficult to target. ¡®Maybe I¡¯ll have to be satisfied with a +50% bonus,¡¯ Dominic remarked to Leo. ¡®Yes,¡¯ the lion agreed. ¡®And I¡¯d suggest focussing on disabling them first. Once they¡¯re on the ground, they should be more vulnerable.¡¯ Dominic accepted the suggestion, finding it a good one. ¡®If I¡¯m lucky, I¡¯ll hit an artery and get them to bleed out,¡¯ he commented to his companion. After having had the luxury of actually being able to plan his fight against the behemoths, Dominic had better be able to take them down. With his heart beating hard in his chest, he prepared to spring. ¡®Here we go,¡¯ he told Leo, a mixture of excited and nervous. Refusing to let himself procrastinate any further, he pushed off the ground with all the force he could muster. Quick Strike at its fastest added further speed, sending him sailing into the air. He landed exactly in the spot he¡¯d envisaged, right on the biggest rhino¡¯s back, between its two pairs of legs. A fraction of a second before he¡¯d landed, he¡¯d mentally activated Crushing Bite, and Powerful Swipe to 10% increase. Time to see what kind of damage he could do to even this walking tank. Chapter 85: Impaled His claws buried themselves in unyielding flesh a split second before his teeth dug into the rhino¡¯s thick skin. A trickle of blood entered his mouth, nowhere near the gush that he was expecting. Two notifications flashed up and he took a moment to glance at them. [You have dealt 90 damage to Black African Rhino ((21+2+5 Slicing damage, 13+1+5 Tearing damage, 8+0+5 Piercing damage))*1.5] [You have dealt 145 damage to Black African Rhino ((25+2+10 Crushing damage, 31+5 Tearing damage, 19+5 Piercing damage)*1.5)] Only 235 damage in total? That¡¯s it? Before too much time could pass, Dominic activated Rapid Attack. He felt a small wave of energy go through his limbs, refreshing them and speeding them up. Although he sensed that he could actually choose to attack in any way he chose, he decided to dig in here. Dialling Crushing Bite and Powerful Swipe both up to 20%, he bit harder with his teeth. He yanked at where his claws were buried, trying to open the wounds even more. [You have dealt 70 damage to Black African Rhino (23+4+5 Slicing damage, 14+2+5 Tearing damage, 10+2+5 Piercing damage)] [You have dealt 106 damage to Black African Rhino (31+6+10 Crushing damage, 28+5 Tearing damage, 21+5 Piercing damage)] No bonus from Pounce? Damn. That was a shame ¨C he¡¯d hoped quickly attacking with Rapid Attack would enable him to continue the bonus. Apparently not. With another twelve points of stamina, he activated Rapid Attack again. Once more, the wave of energy refreshed him and enabled him to once more put his all into the attack. He left both Crushing Bite and Powerful strike at 20%. It was draining his stamina quickly, but not nearly as badly as if he dialled it up higher than that. Again, he kept his teeth buried in the rhino¡¯s back, but this time he released his claws to rip and tear at the rhino¡¯s skin. [You have dealt 60 damage to Black African Rhino (19+3+5 Slicing damage, 12+2+5 Tearing damage, 8+1+5 Piercing damage)] [You have dealt 113 damage to Black African Rhino (35+7+10 Crushing damage, 28+5 Tearing damage, 23+5 Piercing damage)] Hmm, a bit better damage from my teeth, but less from my claws¡­ Deciding not to activate Rapid Attack again ¨C the doubling costs made it prohibitive when he was also using stamina for his other enhancement Abilities ¨C he pulled his head away and took stock of the situation. Thanks to his use of Rapid Attack, the whole fight so far had taken less than three seconds. The rhinos had barely had time to react. The one he was perched upon was bellowing in rage and pain. The other had wheeled around, trying to find the source of the threat; apparently it hadn¡¯t quite worked out that Dominic was on top of its companion. Wondering how much damage his attacks had done, the lion looked at the health bar currently floating above the rhino¡¯s head. What kind of health pool do these things have? he asked himself in dismay as he saw the damage he¡¯d done. Or rather, the lack of it. There were two factors impacting this, from what Dominic could see. First of all, the rhino¡¯s skin was already proving its worth ¨C the same kind of blow which had dealt almost 500 points of damage to the barasinghas had only dealt 145 points to this rhino. Secondly, the creature¡¯s health pool had to be massive. Not surprising, he supposed ¨C the creature itself was big and the same size wound which would cripple him wouldn¡¯t be much more than a paper-cut for a rhino. It was still a bit demotivating to see that three attacks totalling almost 600 points in damage ¨C even after encountering the rhino¡¯s armoured skin ¨C still made up only a third or so of the rhino¡¯s health pool. Dominic looked down at the injuries he¡¯d made. His bite mark was quite deep now, the wound weeping blood heavily. Compared to the size of the rhino itself, though, it looked tiny. As for his claw marks, he could see some gashes which had dug in quite deeply, but they weren¡¯t even bleeding much. The other gashes which he¡¯d tried to rip with his last attack had barely even pierced the skin and weren¡¯t bleeding at all. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Actually, maybe he should be glad he¡¯d done that much damage ¨C the actual impact he¡¯d had on the rhino¡¯s body was relatively small. By this point, the rhinos seemed to have worked out where he was. Well, the other rhino had ¨C he was pretty sure the rhino he was attacking had known where he was from the start. Fortunately for him, there was no way either of them could get to him up here. Not that they didn¡¯t try. Dominic watched rather gleefully as the second rhino did some of his job for him ¨C in its attempts to gore him with its sharp horn, it actually did some damage to the rhino he was perched on, knocking the rhino¡¯s health bar down by a chunk. Also a point in Dominic¡¯s favour, this herbivore didn¡¯t seem to have the same regeneration ability which the lion had taken from the chimera ¨C once it had lost the health, it stayed gone. The rhino which Dominic was riding on didn¡¯t much like its companion''s attempts to help and it turned to jab at the second rhino with its own horn. Neither of these seem to have put much into intelligence, Dominic thought brightly as the two rhinos actually faced-off for a few moments. The second rhino skittered back after a couple of small clashes, little damage having been done, to Dominic¡¯s disappointment. The bigger rhino snorted and shook its head, then seemed to realise that it still had a lion on its back. It started trying to do a bit of a buckeroo, probably hoping the lion would lose its balance. Unfortunately for it, Dominic didn¡¯t intend to do that. Instead, he had an idea of how to use the rhino¡¯s movements against it. Diving back down towards the wound he¡¯d created earlier, he bit down again, hoping that the momentum would enable him to dig even deeper than before. To help him, he reactivated Crushing Bite, committing 35 stamina points for a second to bring its level up to 30%. Once he was buried in the rhino¡¯s flesh, its blood finally filling his mouth properly, he heard the rhino bellow again, its movements increasing in speed and force. You do that, Dominic thought at it in satisfaction, even as another notification flashed up in front of him. [You have dealt 113 damage to Black African Rhino (42+12+10 Crushing damage, 37+5 Tearing damage, 23+5 Piercing damage)] To his delight, it seemed like the rhino¡¯s movements were doing exactly what he wanted them to do ¨C increasing his tearing damage as the momentum pulled his body away from the herbivore¡¯s body. In fact, even without renewing his bite or using Crushing Bite itself, notifications kept flashing up in front of his eyes, one for every second. All he had to do was keep his jaws closed tightly and keep his own body from being flung around too much like a ragdoll by burying his claws in its flesh. [You have dealt 121 damage to Black African Rhino (40+10 Crushing damage, 41+5 Tearing damage, 20+5 Piercing damage)] [You have dealt 123 damage to Black African Rhino (37+10 Crushing damage, 46+5 Tearing damage, 20+5 Piercing damage)] [You have dealt 118 damage to Black African Rhino (35+10 Crushing damage, 45+5 Tearing damage, 18+5 Piercing damage)] Of course, it was impossible to keep that going for too long. The longer Dominic held on, even without using any enhancement, the more stamina he used. When the rhino came to a stop, its sides heaving with exertion, Dominic released his bite with relief. His jaw was tired, his body feeling battered from when he¡¯d failed to control his own movement enough and bashed into the side of the rhino. Incidentally, he¡¯d learned which one would come off worse in a conkers contest ¨C the lion would most certainly crack before the rhino. He¡¯d knocked the herbivore down to almost a third of its remaining health, but he still didn¡¯t feel like he¡¯d done that much damage to it. Worse, it was changing tactics. Obviously realising that its attempt to mimic a bucking bull was having no effect, the rhino was now lowering itself to its knees. ¡®Move!¡¯ Leo¡¯s voice suddenly shouted at him. ¡®Move where?¡¯ Dominic asked him. ¡®Anywhere! Just not on the rhino ¨C it¡¯s going to roll.¡¯ Dominic didn¡¯t ask any more questions ¨C he leaped off the back of the rhino to land on the grass to one side. Just in time ¨C the rhino lay on its side, doing its best to rock onto its back. Of course, with the high ridge of its spine rising along its back, there was no chance of it actually making it over, but it made a good attempt. Seeing a potential opportunity, Dominic engaged Quick Strike and leapt for its throat. Not normally an easy target due to the proximity of its horn and hooves, not to mention how low it usually was to the ground, Dominic couldn¡¯t resist going for it now it was bared so vulnerably to him. Dropping a chunk of stamina points into Crushing Bite, he did his best to get through the thick skin which protected it even here. [You have dealt 127 damage to Black African Rhino (32+15+10 Crushing damage, 36+5 Tearing damage, 24+5 Piercing damage)] Blood trickled into his mouth, heartening him as much as the message had. Rearing back, he growled as he ripped at the flesh in his mouth, doing his best to tear it away. The rhino he was attacking squealed and started rolling back, but it was awkward and ungainly, its bulk working against it. Dominic kept holding on. [You have dealt 118 damage to Black African Rhino (22+11+10 Crushing damage, 47+5 Tearing damage, 18+5 Piercing damage)] Crushing Bite was rapidly consuming his stamina, dialled up to 50% as it was, so he deactivated it. He was running rather low on that resource ¨C a pity that Regeneration didn¡¯t seem to work on stamina as well as health. The rhino had almost regained its feet, but it was still so slow about it that Dominic reckoned he should be able to get in a bit more damage. Already the blood was starting to pump more strongly into his mouth. Then he realised that he¡¯d made a miscalculation: there wasn¡¯t only one rhino ¨C there were two. He was abruptly reminded of that fact when a horn flashed through the air to impale him. Chapter 86: Green Droplet An excruciating pain went through his guts and a large chunk of his health bar vanished in an instant. The rhino withdrew its horn, the rough glide of it out of his flesh creating a sucking noise that was as sickening as the sensation itself. His mind consumed by the need to get away, Dominic limped as quickly as he could to put some distance between him and the murderous rhinos. Each step burned like fire, the rhino¡¯s horn having pierced some of his core muscles as well as spearing through his insides. Fortunately, his heart and lungs had escaped the blow, but he didn¡¯t want to think of what hadn¡¯t. The rhino didn¡¯t seem too keen to let him go that easily, though. Its horn stained red with his blood, it pawed at the ground and fixed its small, piggy eyes on him. To make matters worse, the one he¡¯d been attacking was in the process of pushing itself to its feet. Its throat was bleeding heavily, but that only seemed to have a moderate effect on its health bar. It still had a chunk remaining, and with how things appeared now, he wasn¡¯t going to be able to do much to whittle it down further. He would be too concerned with his own survival. ¡®Any suggestions?¡¯ he asked Leo tersely, his head swinging around, looking for an option open to him. ¡®Watch out!¡¯ Leo responded urgently as the rhino came charging at them. Dominic had seen it this time, though. Seeing it wasn¡¯t the same thing as being able to avoid it, but Dominic knew that being hit another time would knock him down below half health, and probably spell his end ¨C even Regeneration wouldn¡¯t be able to save his behind if that happened.. Choosing the least bad option out of the two, he leapt away from the charging rhino, clearing out of its way a fraction of a second before it would have impacted him. His gut wound burned like fire as his movement exacerbated it, another sliver of health leaving his bar. His health was yo-yoing, blood-loss dropping it down a point and then Regeneration bringing it back up. With only a little attention to spare to watching it, he was unable to see which was winning out. Hopefully Regeneration. But what to do? There were a few trees around, but none that were big and strong enough for him to consider a decent escape route from the armoured tanks he¡¯d irritated. ¡®We need to take at least one of the rhinos down,¡¯ Leo told Dominic grimly. ¡®But we¡¯re having so little impact, and we¡¯re getting low on stamina,¡¯ objected Dominic. ¡®I know,¡¯ Leo agreed, ¡®but what other choice do we have? We can¡¯t run ¨C not with this wound. We need to heal it; the only way to do that is to Consume a carcass. We don¡¯t have our health potion anymore.¡¯ ¡®I know¡­.¡¯ Dominic eyed the two rhinos. The one which had charged him was slowing itself; it wouldn¡¯t be long before it turned to try to gore him again. The other was now on its feet. It was moving towards him, slower than its companion, but probably twice as angry considering its injuries. He wouldn¡¯t survive long with two rhinos attacking him, not without the ability to leap out of their way. Leo¡¯s suggestion was the only possible option. And there was only one way of carrying it out. ¡®I won¡¯t be able to use any Abilities,¡¯ he told his companion. ¡®If I do, I won¡¯t have enough stamina to hold on.¡¯ ¡®Our bite is powerful enough. If we can just outlast the rhino¡­.¡¯ ¡®If,¡¯ Dominic agreed grimly. But he had to. Or else. Gathering himself, he ran towards the injured rhino. He tried his best to ignore the agony in his midsection, and the way each step removed a little of his health bar. The rhino saw his approach and lowered its head, preparing to face him with its most powerful weapon. As if Dominic was likely to run himself straight onto it. Instead, he dodged to the side just as he got within a couple of body-lengths of the rhino. Then, gritting his teeth, he used his powerful muscles to propel him once more to the top of the armoured herbivore. It hurt even worse than he was expecting, a significant chunk of his healthpool being torn away from him due to the physical stress of the movement. But he succeeded in getting to the top of the rhino¡¯s back. There, he scrambled over to the wound he¡¯d made before. Setting his teeth back into it, he started chewing and tearing once more, this time with a frantic edge. While he did set his claws into the scrapes he¡¯d made before, he didn¡¯t try to tear at the flesh ¨C that had proven itself not worth the effort. Nor would his injury permit it. Instead, he concentrated all his strength on trying to reach the rhino¡¯s spine while not putting more strain on the damage the rhino had done than absolutely necessary. [You have dealt 100 damage to Black African Rhino (34+10 Crushing damage, 27+5 Tearing damage, 19+5 Piercing damage)] His shoulders taking most of the strain of keeping him on the rhino¡¯s back, his hindquarters still needed to get involved when the rhino started once more bucking and twisting. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. A second passed. Dominic just bit harder and deeper. [You have dealt 90 damage to Black African Rhino (31+10 Crushing damage, 24+5 Tearing damage, 15+5 Piercing damage)] Then another. [You have dealt 82 damage to Black African Rhino (24+10 Crushing damage, 21+5 Tearing damage, 17+5 Piercing damage)] ¡®Why is the damage dropping each time?¡¯ Dominic demanded in frustration. ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ Leo replied tensely. [You have dealt 74 damage to Black African Rhino (20+10 Crushing damage, 22+5 Tearing damage, 12+5 Piercing damage)] This is ridiculous! What¡¯s going on? Dominic dared to release his bite and look at the rhino¡¯s health bar. It was low, down to perhaps the last sixth, maybe less. But it wasn¡¯t low enough. Die, already! he mentally yelled at it. Redoubling his efforts, he dived back into the bloody wound, biting as hard as he could, then using his shoulders to offer leverage as he tried to almost tear his way through the rhino¡¯s body. His teeth hit bone¡­and there they stopped. [You have dealt 75 damage to Black African Rhino (22+10 Crushing damage, 19+5 Tearing damage, 14+5 Piercing damage)] Dominic growled as he felt the rhino lower itself once more. It was going to repeat the rolling technique! While that would be good if he¡¯d been able to take advantage of its vulnerable throat, it was much less helpful to him now he would be vulnerable himself to the second rhino. He bit at the spine beneath his teeth, but it was strong bone and didn¡¯t yield to his teeth. The lack of effect of his attack was reflected in the damage notification that flashed up. [You have dealt 23 damage to Black African Rhino (6+10 Crushing damage, 2+5 Piercing damage)] Throwing caution to the wind, Dominic dumped in half his remaining stamina points to dial Crushing Bite up to 40% and then bit hard. Under his jaws, the bone held¡­and then cracked. The rhino let out an oddly high-pitched bellow of pain, and then its back half stopped moving. [You have dealt 94 damage to Black African Rhino (42+16+10 Crushing damage, 21+5 Piercing damage)] Dominic would have grinned mentally if he¡¯d been any less in pain, and if this had been the blow that finished the herbivore off. But it wasn¡¯t. The rhino was now scrabbling at the ground with its front legs, bellowing and moaning in a way that almost made Dominic feel guilty ¨C he was the one who had attacked these creatures, after all. But there was no room for guilt, not if he wanted to live, anyway. The rhino was half paralysed, but it was still alive ¨C that meant Dominic couldn¡¯t absorb its body yet. Worse, he was now closer to the ground ¨C and would have to get closer yet. That in turn opened him up for attacks from the second rhino. It had been unable to reach him, up on the injured tank¡¯s back as he had been. Now though¡­he could see in its piggy eyes the animal understanding that if he wanted to do anything, he¡¯d have to come within its range. It was just waiting for him to do so. How to do this? Dominic wondered to himself. Could he just keep digging into the top of the rhino here, whittle down its health pool like that? But then, he¡¯d been having diminishing returns on his attacks before he broke through the rhino¡¯s spine ¨C was that because, while his injuries were hurting it, they weren¡¯t actually doing a huge amount of damage to the rhino as a whole? But the only vulnerable spot available to him was¡­the rhino¡¯s throat. ¡®I¡¯m going to have to go down there, aren¡¯t I?¡¯ he moaned to Leo. ¡®Stop whining,¡¯ his companion growled at him. ¡®We need to think of a way to do that without incurring more injuries.¡¯ He was right. Dominic shook himself gently, trying not to lose even more health. What do I have available to me? His health was below half, his stamina was into its final sixth. He could activate Second Wind, but that always had drawbacks and he was far enough away from his next level up that he doubted he¡¯d be able to use that to heal up in time. Not when he knew he had another rhino to kill or escape from even if he killed the first within the next few minutes. Too risky, he decided. So what else? He considered his storage space. Gold coins wouldn¡¯t be much use unless he could use them as a distraction or to choke his opponents. His tail armour could offer more damage, but he doubted that it would have much impact on the armoured skin of these tough herbivores. Then he spotted something else which gave him an idea. Praying to anyone who might listen that his supposition was true, he summoned something he¡¯d had in there ever since the dungeon: one of the darts which had flown at him from the traps. He¡¯d been concerned that they were poisoned before; now he hoped he¡¯d been right as he focussed on letting the dart fall to pierce the damaged flesh before him. For a long, anxious moment, nothing happened. The dart was buried in the rhino¡¯s bloody wound, almost completely covered by the blood bubbling out of it. Dominic kept watching the rhino¡¯s health bar. Come on, come on, come on, he urged it. Then, at first such a small movement that he thought he¡¯d imagined it, he saw a little bit of red fall from his target¡¯s health bar. As if that first point was a drop through a hole in a dam, more followed, then more, the red in the bar falling away before Dominic¡¯s eager eyes even as a green droplet faded into view above the bar. Reducing down to the barest sliver, Dominic was fearful that the poison in the dart would fail before the end. But it turned out Lady Luck was on his side that day ¨C the last point in the health bar took the longest to be consumed, but finally, it vanished. I¡¯m sure glad I didn¡¯t get hit by any of those, he thought fervently to himself ¨C if it had had this effect on a rhino with its defensive bonuses and health pool, what would it have done to him? The rhino let out a soft sound and then went still. The other one was louder, letting out a bellow which was full of loss. Dominic once more felt a pit of guilt open in his stomach, but again pushed it away ¨C not the time to consider it. [You have killed African Black Rhino (Half-Step Evolved level 6)] [You have earned 32 PP] Really not worth it, Dominic thought in disgust at the pitiful amount of Prey Points. 32 for a fight like that? He¡¯d rather take on the vetens again. Triggering Consume, he dropped down heavily to the ground as the body he was standing on disappeared into golden dust. Hoping that the swirling of it was enough to prevent the other rhino from seeing him, he made his way through the cloud to where the Core was likely to drop. Chapter 87: Nary A Sound Unlike every other use of Consume where the dust had been quickly absorbed in one go, this one took longer ¨C there was just so much of it. His health and stamina ticked up quickly over time, the most of each that he¡¯d ever taken from a single creature. And that was despite the fact that it wasn¡¯t nearly the highest level animal he¡¯d killed and absorbed to date. It was definitely the biggest, though. By the time the dust cleared, Dominic was startled to see that he was practically eye to horn with the second rhino. Oddly enough, he was pretty sure that he saw some of the cloud drift over to the great beast ¨C was it stealing his kill dust? Jumping to one side, he avoided its attempted strike, mentally grinning at the lack of pain. He wasn¡¯t fully healed, but he wasn¡¯t far off either. Certainly, the massive wound which the horn had caused was now just a shallow hole in two places. Whether his gut was still perforated, he didn¡¯t know, but he knew it didn¡¯t hurt. ¡®I hope whatever healing this has done also includes clearing up anything that escaped from my gut while it was damaged ¨C I don¡¯t want any of that floating around my system.¡¯ ¡®Worry about that later,¡¯ Leo snapped at him. ¡®Right now, deal with the rhino that¡¯s trying to stab us again!¡¯ Good point. Dominic jumped again to the side as the rhino attempted to charge at him. Without an injury impeding his movement, he was easily able to get out of the way. He did have to jump again when the rhino stopped its charge unexpectedly quickly and came close to stabbing him. ¡®Are we attempting to take this one down?¡¯ Leo asked Dominic. The human-turned-lion considered the question, watching the rhino carefully, dodging its attempts to strike him. It was a good question. He wasn¡¯t exactly gaining much from the Prey Points, not with only thirty-two of them on the line. However, that hadn¡¯t been his principal reason for starting the fight ¨C gaining more progress towards Charge and testing his new Abilities were the real objectives. He felt more confident with his new Abilities, like he had more of an understanding of them now. He didn¡¯t feel like another fight with a rhino was likely to improve much there. As for making progress towards Charge, he wouldn¡¯t know how beneficial this had been until he checked his status sheet, and he wasn¡¯t willing to do that while in the middle of a fight. Besides, he had the Core from the rhino tucked in his storage space; again, he wasn¡¯t going to try using that until he was out of the fight. But was it a bad idea to continue the fight? His main injury in the previous fight had come from this very rhino when he¡¯d been distracted, not the one he¡¯d been attacking. He¡¯d practically healed from that, and now that the majority of the damage had been erased, Regeneration was quickly ticking his health back up to full. Stamina had also been almost refilled, his pool up to just under two hundred points. If the rhino had stolen some of his golden dust ¨C if such a thing was possible ¨C then its own health and stamina was likely to have been refreshed. Essentially, it was a bit like they were starting the fight again. Though there were a few differences. The rhino knew he was there for one ¨C no chance of using the bonus of Pounce to enhance his first blow. Secondly, Dominic didn¡¯t have quite as much stamina as he¡¯d had when starting the first fight. Then again, he also knew a strategy which worked, something he hadn¡¯t when he¡¯d first attacked. ¡®I think we should give it a go,¡¯ Dominic decided, leaping to one side and slashing at the rhino¡¯s eye with one paw. It responded by trying to hit him with the side of its head. He just shifted out of the way. ¡®Do you disagree?¡¯ The lion was silent for a moment. ¡®Not as long as you focus better,¡¯ he said finally. ¡®We shouldn¡¯t have lost track of the second rhino. If we hadn¡¯t, we wouldn¡¯t have been injured that badly.¡¯ ¡®Alright, deal,¡¯ Dominic agreed. Surprising the rhino, he used Quick Strike to actually move away from his opponent. Of course, a moment later, he whipped around and gathered his feet under him to pounce. Unfortunately not benefiting from the bonus of Pounce, the leap still took him up into the air. The rhino tried to turn the tables on him by backing up. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. For a moment, Dominic feared that he might land on the rhino¡¯s horn, impaling himself, but fortunately a mid-air gyration with his tail twisted him so that he actually landed on the rhino¡¯s head, his belly a few inches away from the higher ¨C and, happily for Dominic, shorter ¨C of the rhino¡¯s horns. The herbivore¡¯s first reaction was, of course, to shake his head. His claws slipping on the tough skin, Dominic struggled to keep his balance. Seeing the rhino¡¯s ears, he instinctively grabbed for them. Being thinner skin, the rhino¡¯s ears yielded more easily to his claws and he regained some stability. In revenge, he dug his back claws into the rhino¡¯s face, shifting his weight from one side to the other. The rhino bellowed in pain and tossed its head frantically. This time, Dominic didn¡¯t manage to keep his position, the ears under his forepaws ripping and tearing under his weight. He fell to the side, doing his best to turn a fall into a more controlled leap by pushing off with his back feet. Landing to one side, Dominic quickly leaped back in case he was about to be gored with a horn. The rhino was temporarily rather too occupied to do that, though. One of Dominic¡¯s back feet seemed to have struck lucky ¨C for him, that was. The eye to the right of the rhino¡¯s head was bleeding heavily. The lion didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d damaged its eye or just the skin around it. Either way, it meant he was now facing a half-blinded foe. Taking full advantage of the moment, Dominic kept in the enraged herbivore¡¯s blind spot even as it twisted and turned, trying to spot him again. Its nostrils flared, perhaps trying to sniff him out; whether it would be able to do that considering how much their combined scents were infusing the air, he didn¡¯t know. It was irrelevant ¨C it would soon know where he was, not that it would be able to do much about it. Once more leaping, he landed successfully on his opponent¡¯s back. Since the last time had worked, albeit slowly, he bit into the same spot. Knowing now that this would be a battle of attrition rather than one of quickly overwhelming his opponent, Dominic sought to conserve resources. He did rip at the rhino¡¯s skin with all four claws, but that was more to create a good foothold for himself in the inevitable attempts to buck him off than to cause damage. His main focus was, once more, his teeth. Biting straight down, he dialled up Crushing Bite to 30%, finding that to be a good balance between damage and stamina cost. Clenching his teeth, he pulled at the flesh with all the strength his shoulders could muster. Then releasing his bite, he quickly bit again, once more yanking at the flesh in his mouth. [You have dealt 58 damage to Black African Rhino (23+5 Slicing damage, 9+5 Tearing damage, 11+5 Piercing damage)] [You have dealt 121 damage to Black African Rhino (35+11+10 Crushing damage, 31+5 Tearing damage, 24+5 Piercing damage)] It was a pitiful amount of damage, really, especially now that he knew that the health pool of these creatures had to be well over 1000 HP, maybe even 2000 HP. But this was far more sustainable than what he¡¯d been doing before. He had decided not to activate Rapid Attack ¨C he didn¡¯t feel that this was a battle which necessitated sacrificing stamina for time. In fact, it was the reverse ¨C with the rhino unable to get at him, but a hard nut to crack, he had far more use for the stamina. If Rapid Attack had replicated the same attack with no other output of stamina than the cost of the Ability itself, he might have considered it. As it was, though, it seemed like too much of a waste. Similarly, he hadn¡¯t chosen to increase the damage his claws offered with Powerful Swipe: although any damage was good, his aim was to get through to the rhino¡¯s spine and sever it as quickly as possible. That was work for his teeth, not his claws. Although¡­ he thought as inspiration came to him. It was true that he¡¯d need to use his teeth to crush the spine bones themselves, but what about all the muscle he had to work his way through to get there? First he¡¯d need to make an open wound, though. Finding the notifications more irritating and distracting than informative ¨C he knew he wouldn¡¯t be causing much damage, but he had to do it anyway ¨C he mentally focussed on turning them off again. Diving in, he tore and chewed at the tough skin between his teeth until a chunk came free in his mouth. In the meantime, the rhino had not been standing passively. It had been trying to buck him off, charging in one direction and then halting suddenly, even trying to rub against a couple of trees. Those were also casualties of the fight ¨C the force of the rhino had pushed them over at odd angles. None of its actions had succeeded; Dominic knew what would be its next recourse. Sure enough, a moment later, it started lowering itself awkwardly to its belly, and then started tipping to the side. Dominic leapt off the rhino¡¯s back as it began rolling, aiming himself towards its front legs. Diving into the gap the herbivore''s actions had created, he sank his teeth into the flaps of skin covering the rhino¡¯s throat. The beast bellowed angrily, rolling back towards him and attempting to gore him with its horn again. Dominic backed off, leaping back onto the rhino¡¯s back as soon as it started standing up again. Returning to the small hole he had made in the armoured skin of the dangerous herbivore, he used his claws, enhanced with Powerful Swipe, to cut further. Not caring so much about numerical damage, he looked more at how well each attack was getting through the flesh. Noticing that his claws actually seemed to be doing a better job at ripping and tearing, he continued using them to dig down into the rhino¡¯s body. He alternated like that ¨C aiming for the spine of the rhino until it started trying to roll, then attacking its throat. Without needing to avoid the horn of a companion, the situation became less of a fight and more of a slaughter. Without intervention, the rhino stood no chance against a lion who was both able to get through its tough armour and avoid its attempts to gore him. By the time Dominic managed to paralyse the rhino, it was already on its last legs. Literally, afterwards. Feeling a bit sorry for the magnificent former-African denizen, he tried to hasten its death by ripping out its throat. The last bit of red trickled away from its bar, and it died with nary a sound. Chapter 88: Paws Crossed [You have killed African Black Rhino (Half-Step Evolved level 6)] [You have earned 32 PP] Once more faced with a behemoth, Dominic wondered what to do with it. Somehow, absorbing it seemed to be a bit of a waste. After all, the last time he¡¯d gained most of his health bar and stamina pool back. With only a little of his health missing, and being quickly replaced with Regeneration, there wasn¡¯t much benefit for him ¨C most of the golden dust would be lost. What if I can fit it in my storage space? he wondered. Is it big enough? He quickly called up the description of the gorget again, and looked at its size. 6m3, apparently. It didn¡¯t sound big enough, but he remembered enough about volume to recognise that a cubic metre was actually a lot bigger than he thought it was. Isn¡¯t it equivalent to, like a hundred litres? Or was it a thousand? After a moment of thought, he shrugged to himself. Either it would work or it wouldn¡¯t. A moment later, he was mentally grinning in delight ¨C the rhinoceros had successfully disappeared into the magical spatial dimension of his gorget. Best of all, it only took up about half the space meaning that he could still put other things in there. Thank you dungeon, he said to himself fervently. Out of all the loot, he still reckoned that the gorget was the best, even if it was, in fact, from the first loot chest. Although he still wasn¡¯t sure if the meat would spoil, being kept in his storage space, he suspected that it would at least last longer than sitting out in the hot African sun ¨C well, hot sun, anyway ¨C and away from the flies that would buzz to lay their eggs in its wounds. As long as he pulled it out soon enough, it should still be OK. I don¡¯t want to benefit my enemies, though, he thought, remembering how the rhino had seemed to absorb some of the golden dust. He could just imagine dissolving this new body into a cloud and then healing his attackers at the same time. Then again¡­. He could think of another use of a cloud which didn¡¯t distinguish between the being which had triggered it and others around. And that fit in nicely with his plans for his pride. Dominic would have to see whether it would work in practicality, though. Ah well, if nothing else, it¡¯ll be a nice lot of meat to feed everyone. The lion pulled the rhino out again now he had checked that it worked: he might want to tuck the carcass away for later, but he wanted the Core now. If he hadn¡¯t been able to put the body in his storage space, he¡¯d have freed the Core by dissolving the body anyway. As it was, he ended up with the longer job of needing to chew his way into the rhino¡¯s skull from the back of its neck. This turned out to be rather more labour-intensive than he¡¯d have liked ¨C his teeth weren¡¯t really made for chewing, and the tough rhino-hide only gave way to reveal almost as tough muscles below. Eventually, though, and with judicious applications of his various enhancing Abilities, he managed to get through. When his teeth clinked against the crystalline shape of the Core, a wave of relief went through the lion. Finally! he exclaimed mentally, his jaws aching and protesting. Digging the Core out with his claws, it finally came free with a liquidy schloup sound. He quickly put both the Core and rhino itself into his storage space, dropping lightly to the ground when the body disappeared beneath his feet. Then, taking off, he travelled for a few minutes in a direction vaguely towards the rest of the pride ¨C he¡¯d spent too long in this one place. Even without any bodies present, the scent of blood and death still hung in the air. He¡¯d had enough experience with unwittingly attracting the wrong kind of predators to his own kill to not want to do it again. When he figured he was far enough away, and after having checked that the new area he was in appeared to be clear of threat, he stopped. Sitting down, he pulled out the two Cores. ¡®Fingers crossed for Charge, eh?¡¯ he muttered to Leo. ¡®We don¡¯t have fingers,¡± the lion reminded him with the sensation of nudging him playfully with his nose. ¡®Paws crossed, then,¡¯ Dominic chuckled in response, flipping one paw so it lay over the other. ¡®Just get on with it,¡¯ Leo grumped at him, mock-embarrassed at his antics. Since he was also keen to know what he¡¯d managed to get from the dangerous fight ¨C not Prey Points, anyway ¨C Dominic willingly turned his attention back onto the Cores. Information. [Beast Core: Black African Rhino level 6 Ability option 1: Charge (80% chance)) Ability option 2: Gore (20% chance)] That was the first. Dominic next turned to the second. [Beast Core: Black African Rhino level 6 If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Ability option 1: Charge (80% chance)) Ability option 2: Enhanced Absorption (20% chance)] There were several things Dominic found interesting. The first, that the two rhinos were the same level. He hadn¡¯t registered it when their kill notifications came up, but he did now. That they were the same level when the lions had all been different was interesting to note. I guess that indicates that my assumptions herbivores had a way of making progress just by surviving must be true: why would two rhinos have advanced at exactly the same speed otherwise? A second interesting note, now he had two practically identical Cores to compare, was that while the first Ability was the same, the second was different. What is ¡®Enhanced Absorption¡¯ anyway? [Enhanced Absorption (T1): Increases your ability to voluntarily absorb the various energies of the world. +10% general energy absorption at level 1. Percentage increases as Ability increases in level.] A Tier 1 ability at level 6? Dominic still didn¡¯t find himself much enlightened, nor did he know whether this ability could be useful for him or not. After all, maybe this was just something that applied to herbivores. On the other hand, what if it affected mana regeneration? Or, even more out there, stamina or health regeneration. Was it possible? ¡®You¡¯d have to get it first,¡¯ Leo reminded him. That was a point. And since this was the first time he¡¯d seen it, there were no guarantees that he¡¯d see it again any time soon. No, on second thoughts, it would be better to get Charge ¨C at least that had clear benefits and he was already working his way towards it. Gore was probably pretty self-explanatory ¨C and probably pretty useless for Dominic. He checked it out anyway, just in case. [Gore (T0): Adds damage to a stabbing attack. This is a +25% enhancement to the base damage of the equipment used to stab for a flat cost of 10 stamina. Percentage may increase as Ability increases in level.] OK, a little less useless than I thought ¨C potentially. It all depended on if his claws or teeth could be considered as a stabbing attack. Anyway, like with the other Ability, it was rather immaterial: he wasn¡¯t going to earn either of them from a single Core, so they¡¯d potentially just end up being a wasted Ability. Dominic did note the fact that it seemed the new Ability offered at Half-Step Evolved could either be T1 or T0 ¨C he¡¯d sort of noticed that before, but hadn¡¯t known whether it was based on the species. With this relatively fair test, he could now see that it was either a matter of luck or randomness which decided the Ability and its level. Or actions of the rhino, though what one could have done to gain ¡®Enhanced Absorption¡¯, Dominic didn¡¯t know. Either way, he quickly absorbed one then the other, both him and Leo pushing to increase the chances that they would gain Charge. Coming out the other side, Dominic quickly checked his list of Abilities in the course of being acquired. Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (67% to level 1) Sharp Nip (50% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Easy Landing (48% to level 1) Rending Bite (17% to level 1) Fleet Foot (15% to level 1) ¡®No new Abilities here,¡¯ he remarked to Leo. ¡®We haven¡¯t got Charge yet, either,¡¯ the lion responded pessimistically. ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic agreed, ¡®But we¡¯ve almost doubled our progress to level 1 in it. Just need to find a few more warthogs or something.¡¯ Certainly, the rhinos had proven not to be particularly good prey for Core farming. The lion grunted in acknowledgement. ¡®What are you going to do now?¡¯ he asked Dominic idly. The former-human mentally shrugged. ¡®I was figuring to continue patrolling, but I¡¯d like to keep an eye out for some more swarm predators.¡¯ ¡®Keen to level up again, are you?¡¯ Leo said with the hint of a yawn. ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic answered quickly and then paused. ¡®I mean, yes, of course I want to level up again. Since something special happened at level 10, I¡¯m hoping that something else will happen at level 20 ¨C maybe the next half-step? That would be cool. But that¡¯s not my reasoning here.¡¯ Dominic got the sense of the lion opening his eyes properly and paying full attention. ¡®Then what are your intentions?¡¯ ¡®The lionesses need to level up, right?¡¯ ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡®And hunting a couple of herbivores every day or few days isn¡¯t going to do much for levelling up, right?¡¯ ¡®Agreed.¡¯ Then the lion seemed to realise where he was going with this. ¡®If you endanger the cubs, the lionesses will be furious with you.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a risk,¡¯ Dominic accepted grimly. ¡®And believe me, I have no desire to see more cubs killed. But do you think the lionesses are likely to hunt more than necessary at this point?¡¯ Leo considered the matter for a long moment. ¡®No,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®But we now have telepathy. Perhaps we can communicate with them and encourage them to do this voluntarily.¡¯ Dominic did the mental equivalent of giving Leo a side-eye. ¡®You just don¡¯t want them so upset that they reject your¡­attempts to mate,¡¯ he accused. ¡®Precisely,¡¯ Leo agreed, his fur unruffled. ¡®And I want females to mate with as well ¨C the last time we were attacked by swarm predators, we lost two of them.¡¯ ¡®Which is exactly my point here. If the lionesses are a higher level, they should be more powerful, more intelligent, able to protect themselves better. They need to level. Just like we do.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not disagreeing with you,¡¯ Leo told him, patient in response to Dominic''s vehemence. ¡®I just suggest that we discover if we can convince them to join us on a hunt first.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic accepted. Leo¡¯s reasoning was sound. ¡®But if we can¡¯t convince them, then back to Plan A?¡¯ ¡®Agreed.¡¯ Satisfied, Dominic started moving back to where the pride had been last time he¡¯d seen them. Time to convince some lionesses to come on a hunt. Hopefully. Chapter 89: Hard Sell It was fortunate that Leo had much better directional sense than Dominic himself, the former-human reflected as he padded through the savannah. He¡¯d travelled far enough away from the pride that he would have been hopelessly lost or reduced to following the few traces of his own passage to find his way back to them. With Leo¡¯s help, though, he was able to use landmarks in the landscape as well as important scents on the wind to orientate himself. On the way, he saw a bit more of his ¡®territory¡¯. While still feeling a bit uncertain about this whole ¡®marking¡¯ business, he did sharpen his claws on a few trees as he went through the area. Despite Leo¡¯s exhortations, though, he was unable to bring himself to spraying. ¡®Come on, just a little spray,¡¯ his leonine companion tried to wheedle. When that didn¡¯t work, he turned to threats. ¡®Other males won¡¯t know just how strong we are; they won¡¯t be sufficiently deterred by simple markings of claws. They will come to test us, try to take the pride from us.¡¯ ¡®Then we fight them off,¡¯ was Dominic¡¯s unmoved response. ¡®More Prey Points for us if we kill them.¡¯ Finally, Leo seemed to accept that Dominic wasn¡¯t going to budge. ¡®Let me take over for a little, then. We can switch back when we get back to the pride.¡¯ Since that seemed to be a more reasonable suggestion, Dominic only hesitated for a moment before acceding. They quickly swapped over control and Leo happily lifted his tail and sprayed the tree before continuing on. Dominic wasn¡¯t quite sure why he was so against it, honestly. It¡¯s not like he¡¯d never urinated outside before. On long car journeys, hikes in the woods, at festivals when the porta-potties were too busy or too disgusting¡­. The urge to piss could come at any time, and it wasn¡¯t always when he was anywhere near a toilet. He¡¯d decorated a few trees in his time, not to mention a couple of fences, the side of a building a few times and, on one notable occasion, some snow. But this felt different. Then, it was because his bladder hurt and he had no other way of relieving himself. It hadn¡¯t been to mark territory like a dog or something. Actually, that was probably it. Spraying made Dominic feel like one of those dogs which widdle on every post, fire hydrant, and bollard just to make it clear that this was his walking route. He¡¯d accepted that he was a lion, and that meant he was even more of an animal than he¡¯d been as a human, but he clearly hadn¡¯t completely come to terms with everything that that meant. With the frequent stops to mark his territory, it took them a while to get back to where they¡¯d left the pride. As it turned out, the females were still there ¨C sleeping off the big meal of the buffalo meat. As Leo approached, the heads of the napping lionesses lifted, two with interest, the rest with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. The two mothers were still not completely certain about having him around their cubs, but his actions so far seemed to have mollified them enough for them not to meet him immediately with aggression. ¡®So are we going to swap back and try to convince them to come with us hunting?¡¯ Dominic asked impatiently. ¡®Not yet,¡¯ Leo replied with a slight air of distraction, moving over to butt heads with the closest lioness. ¡®Not yet? Why not?¡¯ Dominic demanded in frustration even as Leo went from lioness to lioness, including the mothers. He then hesitated a moment, clearly unsure about whether to approach the cubs. His instincts appeared to urge him to greet all members of the pride ¨C which included the cubs now he¡¯d managed to convince himself that they were indeed part of the pride. However, his new, more reasoned thoughts recognised that the mothers might not want him getting closer. The dilemma was solved when one small and bold cub stumbled over its own feet as it approached him, rubbing its head as high up his leg as it could reach. Even Dominic couldn¡¯t help but be charmed, distracted from his desire to take control again by the cuteness of the little lion cub. Leo reached down to rub his head very gently against the cub, his scent being rubbed onto its fur. Its mother had been tense from the moment the cub had approached him, but now she relaxed a little. After greeting the first little one, Leo moved over to greet its siblings and then, after only a short pause, its half-siblings, more than twice the size of the smallest litter. ¡®Alright, greetings done,¡¯ Dominic said after all the head rubbing had happened. ¡®Swap over now?¡¯ ¡®Do you wish to do some mating?¡¯ Leo asked pointedly. Dominic recoiled. ¡®You know I don¡¯t!¡¯ he responded strongly. The lion just turned his head and looked at the two females in heat. Dominic took a moment to interpret their postures and the way their tails curled before groaning. ¡®Not again!¡¯ Then he sighed. ¡®Just¡­tell me when you¡¯re done for now, OK?¡¯ ¡®Of course,¡¯ Leo agreed cheerfully. Then Dominic pulled back into his sanctuary before he had to see ¨C and experience ¨C anything he couldn¡¯t unsee. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ***** A while later, Leo ¡®poked¡¯ Dominic. ¡®We¡¯re done,¡¯ he reported, sounding far too happy and satiated for Dominic¡¯s sense of comfort. He didn¡¯t wait any longer before passing the reins back to Dominic, the former-human being pushed back into control almost without needing to agree. He settled in the back of Dominic¡¯s mind, his whole being radiating satisfaction with his lot in life. Oh well, Dominic said quietly to himself, at least he¡¯s happy. It would certainly be more difficult if he had a presence in the back of his mind which was always snapping and snarling. So, time to try speaking to the other lions through telepathy. The other chimera hadn¡¯t been particularly informative ¨C apparently it had just ¡®done it¡¯ to speak to other animals with its telepathy. So, Dominic decided to relax and, hopefully, ¡®just do it¡¯. He was lying down, one of the lionesses next to him, almost touching, one of the cubs playing with the flicking tip of his tail. It was a bit distracting, but he did his best to ignore it. Closing his eyes, he tried to just¡­speak. ¡®Testing, testing, one, two, three. Can anyone hear me?¡¯ Nothing. Not surprising. Maybe he had to focus on someone? When the chimera had talked to him, it had been staring straight at him. Opening his eyes, Dominic looked at the lioness directly in front of him. Sekhmet, as it turned out. She was relaxed, her eyes closed, but maybe that didn¡¯t matter. Dominic hadn¡¯t met eyes with the other chimera until it had already spoken to him, after all. He focussed on wanting to talk to her, on making some sort of telepathic connection. ¡®Can you hear me?¡¯ he asked tentatively. She twitched, raising a paw and batting it at the air in front of her face, as if a fly had landed on her nose. Maybe it had and it was just coincidence that it was at the same time as his attempts to speak telepathically. ¡®Sekhmet, can you hear me?¡¯ he asked with a bit more confidence, looking at her intensely. This time, she twitched again, opening her golden eyes and meeting his gaze. A strange kind of¡­itch fluttered at the edge of Dominic¡¯s mind. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to identify the sensation except that he¡¯d already had experience with Leo. Though the male lion was a presence which was more properly ¡®seated¡¯ in his mind, the ability to compare meant that he was able to identify this as more to the periphery of his mind. ¡®Can you hear me?¡¯ he asked again, excitement rising at the apparent success. Well, the beginnings of success, anyway. There was no verbal response, but he got a sense of¡­confusion. Wariness. Understandable. ¡®Sekhmet, it¡¯s me¡­the lion.¡¯ The confusion and wariness were not eased, if anything they were increased. Dominic saw her lips starting to lift from her teeth and knew that he was in danger of losing her. I need another approach, he told himself. ¡®You¡¯re being too human about this,¡¯ Leo chimed in with his opinion. ¡®She won¡¯t understand words, just like I didn¡¯t until soon before level 10.¡¯ ¡®Then what do you suggest?¡¯ Dominic asked, a little exasperated, a little hopeful that he might have a good idea, being a lion himself. ¡®How do we identify each other?¡¯ Leo asked patiently. Dominic took a moment to think about it. ¡®Scents, appearance,¡¯ he realised. Not names, especially not names which Dominic had himself come up with without the lioness¡¯ own input. ¡®Thanks.¡¯ This time, instead of trying to send words, he tried to think about his own appearance, his own scent. It was hard to ¡®send¡¯ that to the lioness. He was used to speaking aloud, and now, thanks to his time with Leo, he¡¯d become used to speaking mentally. But sending over nonverbal concepts? That was harder. In fact, he thought it was only possible to do it because he¡¯d actually had a bit of practice with sending images and thoughts to Leo. He hadn¡¯t really sent scents, but it had come up once or twice in the reverse direction. This time, he watched carefully as the lioness¡¯s reaction was a bit different. There was still caution, but more interest. Her ears twitched, as did her tail, her head tilting to one side and then the other, inspecting him. ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo, ¡®let¡¯s try the next step.¡¯ Standing up, he pushed an image at the lioness of himself, and then the veten he had attacked. He then sent an image of the lioness and tried to attach a questioning feel to it. The lioness felt confused, but seemed to have understood something of what he¡¯d tried to communicate, sending a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. If she had understood Dominic¡¯s invitation, she was rejecting it. Dominic tried again. He sent the same first image of himself, but then showed several vetens, all dead. Then he had to use his imagination a bit as he tried to show himself gaining in power. After a moment of thought, he sent the idea of him growing physically, his teeth growing longer, his claws sharper, his whole body bigger and more powerful. He followed it up with an image of the lioness also growing and a questioning feel connected to it. This time, the lioness showed more interest. There was no immediate refusal, but she wasn¡¯t wholeheartedly saying ¡®yes¡¯ either. Trying to turn that ¡®maybe¡¯ into a ¡®yes¡¯, Dominic showed an image of more hyenas surrounding the pride, attaching a feeling of fear and desperation to the image. Then, a golden lion started tearing through the hyenas. As it stopped, with them all dead at her feet, it was clear that this was a bigger, more powerful Sekhmet. The lioness was more interested, but still questioning whether it was necessary to leave her comfortable position here in the shade, her belly full of meat. So Dominic pushed himself to his feet, stretching and yawning widely. As he did that, he sent her a casual thought that he was going now, and might not invite her next time. Apparently even lions could be affected by a hard sell with time pressure. Sekhmet climbed to her feet and started padding next to him as he moved away from the rest of the pride. He¡¯d wanted to convince more of them, but given how hard it had been to convince this one, he decided to just go out with her. Hopefully she would be able to help him convince the others by gaining a couple of levels or something while they were out. Besides, it probably wasn¡¯t a bad idea to get used to not fighting alone with a single other pride member ¨C fewer things to keep track of. The other females seemed confused about why one of them was leaving the group ¨C and not the lead female who would usually indicate that the pride was changing positions. But for now, none of them chose to follow. Dominic had to admit that he was a bit excited about this. Not to mention a little nervous ¨C he had no desire to return to the pride sans one of the females, but of all of them, Sekhmet was probably the best choice. She¡¯d held off three hyenas by herself and had shown intelligence in learning how to Consume from example. We should be fine, he said to himself, mentally crossing his fingers ¨C and then his paws, just to spite Leo. Chapter 90: The Other Side of the Ribbing They set off into the savannah, Dominic leading, Sekhmet following. Dominic had decided to show the lioness how he normally attracted prey, and so was searching for a decent-sized herbivore. It took a while to find some tracks, but that was OK. They were past the heat of the day and the closer to dusk they got, the more likely their prey would be active ¨C both the bait and what he hoped to attract. In the end, they actually found a lonesome wildebeest. It was clearly old and half-starved, its ribs protruding and its head hanging low. Getting old in the wild isn¡¯t a particularly fun prospect, Dominic thought to himself with a hint of trepidation. No comfortable retirement homes; no enjoying the fruits of a life of labour by being able to relax in one¡¯s sunset years. No, for wild animals, it was a process of decline, and eventually death by starvation as the creature became unable to eat. Unless they got killed by a predator before that, of course. Maybe it¡¯s a mercy to target this one, the former-human considered, then found himself shocked at his own musings. It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d have thought before this whole mess; clearly all the time he¡¯d spent living wild with a lion in his head had changed him. ¡®It is a mercy,¡¯ Leo chimed in, his own mental voice contemplative. ¡®Though I wouldn¡¯t have chosen to target it for that before either. I would have targeted it because it is easy prey.¡¯ Dominic reflected that just as much as he himself had changed as a result of their forcible combination, so had Leo. Though, ultimately, the result was the same. Mercy kill or kill because it was easy, this wildebeest would die. Not as conversant in the lion body signals as Leo, Dominic instead sent an image through his telepathy to the lioness padding beside him. He showed her a picture of them attacking the wildebeest together. She replied with an indifferent acceptance. Clearly, she wasn¡¯t being driven by hunger, but she wasn¡¯t against hunting either. The wildebeest was aware of them. Regardless of whether its senses had already been impacted by age or not, they hadn¡¯t been particularly stealthy when approaching. It wasn¡¯t trying to run, perhaps it knew that it couldn¡¯t. Instead, it was facing them, its horns lowered and ready to sell its life dearly. Not that that would make much difference in the end. The lioness sent a message to Dominic with a twitch of her black-barred ears and tail tuft. Unfortunately, without Leo to translate, Dominic didn¡¯t understand what she meant. ¡®She is going to attack from the side,¡¯ Leo offered without the former-human needing to ask. ¡®Thanks,¡¯ Dominic replied gratefully. Clearly this was going to be like against the buffalo ¨C he would be the distraction until the lioness attracted its attention by attacking it. Then, when the wildebeest¡¯s focus shifted to the lioness, Dominic would come in for the kill. To that end, he snarled at the wildebeest, moving closer and pacing a little, just out of the reach of those horns. His actions gained exactly the result he wanted: the wildebeest kept its eyes and attention on the very obvious threat. However, it did seem aware that there was another unseen threat lurking ¨C it shifted nervously, its head twisting a little back and forth. Dominic just snarled again at it. He didn¡¯t roar because he was concerned that he might accidentally spook it into running. He didn¡¯t feel like engaging in a chase when it had been so obligingly still up to this point. There was a blur of gold as Sekhmet finally made her move. Leaping out of the grass, she went straight for its throat, not messing around. The wary wildebeest flinched just enough that her attack missed, and she fell to the ground. It turned, perhaps intending on goring her with its horns. A mistake. For the herbivore. Dominic took advantage of its distraction and its new position side-on to him to also leap for the throat. Before jumping, he activated Quick Strike to give him that extra impetus. For the first time, he would be gaining benefits from the passive buff of Group Attack. The 1% bonus might not make much difference, but every little helped. His attack was more successful than Sekhmet¡¯s, the wildebeest less aware of its surroundings with its focus on the lioness before it. The beast bellowed briefly as Dominic¡¯s teeth sank in deeply, then its cry was cut off with its air as he activated Crushing Bite. [You have killed Blue Wildebeest (Basic Beast level 4)] [You have earned 14 PP] Barely worth the effort, Dominic muttered to himself in disgust. Though, ultimately, the wildebeest wasn¡¯t his target, just the means to an end. Besides, it was an old beast and barely a challenge to kill. It was unsurprising that the number of Prey Points would be low. While the lioness tucked into the belly of the wildebeest, feasting on the tasty organs, Dominic went to its head. Digging in with his teeth and claws, he managed to open a path into its brain ¨C and Core. ¡®That was a lot easier than with the rhino,¡¯ Dominic commented to his co-pilot. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡®It¡¯s a lot smaller and less protected,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Of course it¡¯s going to be easier.¡¯ ¡®I know that,¡¯ Dominic responded with a little irritation. ¡®I was just saying¡­never mind.¡¯ He decided it wasn¡¯t worth the effort of explaining. Instead, he just pulled the Core out and asked for information about it. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Blue Wildebeest Level 4 Ability: Enduring Stamina] ¡®Well that sounds interesting, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ allowed the lion. [Enduring Stamina (T0): Reduces the rate at which your stamina decreases with activity and reduces the stamina required for certain actions. This Ability can be active for a short time, after which stamina will decrease faster for an equivalent time in a recuperation period. These times may be affected as Ability increases in level. The length of time Ability is active may be increased and the length of time of the recuperation period afterwards may be decreased by using Health Points.] Dominic wanted it. He wanted it badly. Although there were no specifics, as there often weren¡¯t before he¡¯d earned the Ability, this could solve or at least help his stamina situation. He didn¡¯t know how it would apply to his enhancements like Crushing Bite, but if it could reduce those costs, his attacking capacity would multiply. But the real beauty that he saw in this Ability was how it clearly was able to trade health for reduced stamina costs. While that might not be a good idea for most creatures, Dominic now had a little advantage: Regeneration. He¡¯d probably have to enhance it a bit, but if he could be regenerating just as much health as Enduring Stamina used? He could have it going throughout the fight, and not have to suffer much of the recuperation period afterwards, either. Of course, without knowing specifics of how much health would have to be sacrificed, he couldn¡¯t know whether his idea was truly feasible. Even if he wasn¡¯t able to get the benefits of it for practically no cost, the base Ability could be useful. Certainly, his endurance seemed to be a problem in most fights these days ¨C he just had too many stamina-hungry Abilities. Licking up the Core, Dominic turned to Sekhmet and sent her an image of them hiding in the bush nearby. The lioness sent confusion in response. Dominic understood ¨C Sekhmet probably thought that, since they¡¯d already made a good kill, they didn¡¯t need to hunt any longer. But she had not yet been introduced to the idea of power-levelling. He sent the image of them hiding in the bush again, adding a hint of urgency to it. The lioness looked between him and the kill, then returned to eating. Ignoring him. A feeling of indignation shot through Dominic, and he reacted before he realised that the source was actually from his co-pilot. Dominic snarled at her, showing his teeth, stalking towards the lioness. She scrambled to her feet, then snarled back at him angrily. The lion kept moving forwards, radiating menace. The lioness backed up step by step until Dominic was standing between her and the disembowelled carcass. Then, he sent her an image of hiding in the bushes and waiting for more enemies to come. That was followed up by an image of Sekhmet killing lots of enemies and growing bigger. The lioness¡¯s lips slowly lowered, her snarl losing its angry edge. She stayed eyeing him for a moment, then turned and padded into the bush. Once she went still, Dominic was only able to spot her because he knew where to look. After quickly giving his claws and muzzle a wash, Dominic moved to join her. She was rigid and her tail was flicking ¨C even the former-human could identify that that meant she was rather irritated with him. Hopefully she¡¯d change her tune when she killed enough creatures to level up again. They waited. Flies gathered on the body, the scent of blood filling the air. Dominic doubted that it would be too long before something came to investigate. It turned out that he was right. A chirping sound only a couple of body lengths away from the waiting lions made Dominic tense in anticipation. Not long after, a couple of creatures came into view. The lion found his heart beating a little faster when they emerged sufficiently from the grass that he was able to identify them: resorels. It had been a while since he¡¯d seen the odd almost-avian creatures. The last time had just been before his encounter with the scrin ¨C the gorilla-hyena hybrid. I wouldn¡¯t mind a rematch with that one either, he thought for a moment, then eyed his companion. Actually, maybe better not. The resorels here were bigger than he remembered, probably a higher level. Good ¨C that meant they should be worth more Prey Points. They didn¡¯t seem to use any different tactics from the last time, still carefully approaching the wildebeest carcass and using their tails to jack-knife away at the last moment. They also seemed to still be rather bad-tempered, attacking each other whenever two resorels attempted to share the same space at the same time. Dominic sent Sekhmet a sense of ¡®wait¡¯. She responded with exasperation. The closest equivalent Dominic could think of was ¡®I do know how to hunt¡¯. He couldn¡¯t help a sense of amusement rising inside himself. Funnily enough, he found himself looking forward to the lionesses gaining more sapience. It would be nice to be able to have a conversation with someone other than Leo. ¡®What, am I not good enough?¡¯ Leo asked huffily in mock-outrage. ¡®I thought you humans considered me to be the King of the Jungle.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯d suggest sticking to the lionesses ¨C I¡¯m not interested and trying to mate with your own reflection probably won¡¯t work well either,¡¯ Dominic shot back at him. Leo responded with a confused feeling so Dominic sent him the memory of reading about the myth of Narcissus. He who loved himself so much that he wasted away in front of his own reflection and became a flower. ¡®Humans think of the strangest things,¡¯ Leo said, clearly baffled. Dominic considered objecting but then mentally shrugged. It was true. ¡®Don¡¯t you have a hunt to get to, anyway?¡¯ the lion pointed out. ¡®You just don¡¯t want to admit that you got burnt there,¡¯ teased Dominic, enjoying being on the other side of the ribbing for once. The lion just responded with the mental equivalent of a hard paw poke, wordlessly telling him again to focus. Looking back at the wildebeest carcass, Dominic saw that, indeed, it was time. Chapter 91: Flow of the Fight The resorels were clustered around the body, giving him flashbacks to the last time he¡¯d been in this situation. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t end with him almost dying. Again. Sending a telepathic signal of ¡®ready?¡¯ to Sekhmet, Dominic tensed his muscles. It was very tempting just to leap into the fray and become a whirlwind of death, but he couldn¡¯t forget that the main purpose of this expedition was to help the lioness increase in level. Which meant that, though he¡¯d mourn the lack of Prey Points, his role was relegated to one of secondary importance. Essentially, he would need to do his best to keep the resorels attacking the lioness while keeping an eye on her in case she started getting overwhelmed. He did his best to communicate this to her, but had a feeling from her sense of confusion that she didn¡¯t understand. ¡®Just, kill as many as you can,¡¯ he ended up saying, accompanying his slightly frustrated words with an image of her surrounded by dead and dying resorels. She sent a wary sense of acknowledgement, clearly feeling a bit unsettled by the unusual approach to a hunt. Dominic hoped that after she¡¯d experienced the benefits of doing things this way, it would be easier to convince her in the future. On his signal, Sekhmet leaped out of the bushes and targeted the closest resorel. It wasn¡¯t the approach Dominic would have chosen, but that was OK ¨C he wasn¡¯t expecting her to do things just like him. She shouldn¡¯t, anyway ¨C her body and capabilities were different from his. She did, however, have Pounce, and clearly that along with whatever damage her claws and teeth could do, was sufficient to earn her the first kill of the fight. [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 5 PP] Ah well, better than nothing, I suppose, Dominic sighed to himself. It was interesting to note that the System considered him to be part of the party and awarded him points despite him not having actually done anything so far in this fight. Was it because of the previous fight with the wildebeest? Or because they were recognised as being part of the same pride? There was nothing in his status screen about that, but perhaps it wasn¡¯t recorded by the System? A resorel nipped at Dominic¡¯s fur and the sharp pain brought his head back to where it should be: squarely in the fight at hand. Just because they were only level 5s didn¡¯t mean he could start daydreaming. The hyenas had only been level 5 too, and look at the damage they¡¯d caused. The lion batted at the resorel, the force of his strike taking more than half of its health, despite him not having enhanced it in any way. As for the resorel¡¯s bite, it had only taken about two of his health points ¨C the creatures would have to work a lot harder than that to take him down. Grabbing the heavily-injured resorel in his mouth, he padded over to Sekhmet and dropped it by her feet. She spared him a glance and a confused feeling but bit at it and shook her head violently. [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 16 PP] Huh. So the System recognised that he¡¯d done most of the job and awarded him accordingly, despite him not actually being the one to kill it. Good to know. Kill-stealing shouldn¡¯t be a thing, then. On the other paw, it meant he couldn¡¯t half-kill all of these resorels for the lioness to scoop up all of the points. Shaking his mane, Dominic realised that his role would have to be purely managing the flow of the fight. And that was going to be necessary ¨C looking at the lioness, he could see blood already streaming down from where the resorels had bitten at her. She was smaller than him so where they could only reach Dominic¡¯s upper legs at the most, they were able to target her belly and sides. I wonder if I could see her health bar. She¡¯s not an enemy but I don¡¯t see why not, Dominic thought, ignoring the irritating nips grabbing at his fur. With each attack only taking a couple of health points from him and him regaining a health point per second, his healing was almost keeping pace with the little the creatures managed to pull from him. Concentrating instead on the lioness, he focussed on being able to see her health bar. The System resisted a little, but then, with almost an audible pop, the red bar appeared. To Dominic¡¯s dismay, it was already down by a good chunk, almost by a third. How is it so low already? he wondered. ¡®Don¡¯t forget that we were already Evolved when we encountered these creatures,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®There was a significant level difference between us ¨C in our favour. This is a different story. If this female is the same level as her sister was, she¡¯s actually a level below these beasts.¡¯ Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. That was¡­a very good point. Dominic hadn¡¯t thought about that. Right. Time for him to help her out. The first order of business was to make sure that she wasn¡¯t surrounded. He¡¯d try to avoid causing as much damage as possible so as not to steal the Prey Points, but he could take their bites easily; she couldn¡¯t. With a thought, he summoned his tail armour ¨C it might help. Pushing through the mass of resorels surrounding them, Dominic sent an urgent thought to the lioness, an image of her touching her paw to one of the corpses and it dissolving into golden smoke. Fortunately, the lioness clearly remembered exactly what had happened with the hyenas as she didn¡¯t waste any more time in following his directions. She touched a nose to it instead of a paw, which did mean she put her head down into harm¡¯s way ¨C the reason he¡¯d suggested a paw in the first place. But evidently she was going more off memory than his image. The body disintegrated as expected, the golden smoke rushing towards Sekhmet. Dominic saw her health bar jump up, and she didn¡¯t waste time in doing the same to the second resorel. With her health in a better state and most of her wounds more than half-healed, Dominic felt confident in leaving her to it. He struck lightly at a number of the oddly formed predators, leaving small wounds on them which were enough to gain their attention. Repeating that with most of the resorels around him, he found that he had a flock of the things jostling for his attention. With around fifteen avian-lizards all doing their best to take a piece out of him, Sekhmet was left with only six. Dominic kept an eye on her, but she seemed to be doing fine, especially once she started thinning the numbers out. [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 5 PP] [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 5 PP] [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 5 PP] The kill notifications from her side started rolling in. Resorels which were unable to get at Dominic started losing interest in him and moving to focus on Sekhmet. Not wanting that to happen, he quickly attacked them again with shallow scratches, having to work harder to not damage them than it would take to kill them. The newly-injured resorels were gripped by blind anger again, and attacked Dominic once more. [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 5 PP] [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 5 PP] Her opponents reduced to one, Sekhmet started attacking resorels at the periphery of Dominic¡¯s cluster. He was glad of it: although each of the resorels¡¯ strikes were only doing a couple of points of damage each, being hit by fifteen or so of them every couple of seconds was actually making quite an impact on his health. [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 8 PP] When his health finally dropped down below half, he struck out at one of the closest resorels. This time, he didn¡¯t hold back. He didn¡¯t enhance his strike either, deciding to save his stamina. As a result, it took a swipe and a bite for the beast to die. [You have killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 18 PP] At least Sekhmet would still earn points from that kill, just as he¡¯d been earning them from her kills. Consuming the body, he saw his health jump up a little, though the increase was not nearly as dramatic as Sekhmet¡¯s had been. Expected, really. The same reasons for why the attacks had less effect on him also meant that Consuming the bodies wasn¡¯t as useful. Seeing as he was still near half, he killed and Consumed two more resorels to give himself a little boost. The two lions worked surprisingly well together. Sekhmet had somehow grasped the strategy without Dominic needing to tell her outright. She pulled off a couple of resorels every time she was down to one or none, and Dominic killed a couple here or there to keep his health around half. By the time the smaller predators realised that they weren¡¯t going to be killing either of the lions and decided to run for it, their numbers had been severely whittled down. Only five resorels made a break for it, running away with surprising speed. Dominic managed to take one down with a well-timed leap. [You have killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 18 PP] To his surprise, another notification flashed up a moment later. [A member of your party has killed Resorel (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 8 PP] Looking over, he saw Sekhmet gazing smugly at him, her jaws set in another resorel¡¯s carcass. Her fur was painted in red, she was panting, and her health bar was down pretty low. Even with all that, she was clearly satisfied. Dominic wasn¡¯t in a much better state. His health was higher, but he had blood all over his legs and muzzle. Still, that seemed pretty successful, he decided. She should have earned enough Prey Points to level up. As if waiting for him to think about it, Sekhmet seemed to¡­shimmer. It was like the air around her blurred for a moment. It cleared but he didn¡¯t have time to see any details before she was obscured again. Two level ups? Dominic questioned eagerly. When it cleared for a second time, Sekhmet was visibly bigger. She took a moment to inspect herself, twisting one of her paws and extending her claws for a moment. They gleamed and Dominic wondered if they were sharper than before. Then she looked up and her eyes met his with a piercing quality which had been missing before. If she was level 4 before¡­that would mean she¡¯s now Half-Step Evolved, Dominic realised. I wonder what the differences will be. Chapter 92: Little Shiny Balls For sure, the lioness was fully healed and cleaned, her coat unmarred by the injuries which had previously been decorating it. Other changes would have to reveal themselves in time. Dominic padded around the area, collecting the Cores from the resorels which had already been Consumed. In total, there were ten just lying there, glinting in the sun which he quickly licked up. The rest of them would have to be absorbed after he¡¯d Consumed the bodies. Though should he? After all, his health regeneration would bring him back up to full in a few minutes. Maybe he should store them for later use. He¡¯d need to get the Cores out first, though. But perhaps he should check just how many Cores he¡¯d need to gain their Ability ¨C from what he remembered, he had already made progress on Sharp Nip. Opening his status screen, he was met with a welcome surprise. Progress to Evolution: 406/382 PP level up ¡®We¡¯ve got enough Prey Points to level up!¡¯ he exclaimed to Leo happily. ¡®Indeed. Do you have an idea of what we should improve this time?¡¯ the lion asked. ¡®Stamina, and Regeneration,¡¯ Dominic responded immediately. ¡®We¡¯ve already established that we keep running out of stamina points and regeneration will offer us more buffer with our health.¡¯ ¡®Very well, I agree,¡¯ replied the lion. ¡®Though perhaps we should consider improving our telepathy at some point.¡¯ Dominic sent him a mental shrug. ¡®We seem to be communicating with Sekhmet well enough. But yes, perhaps in the future when we don¡¯t have more pressing concerns.¡¯ With that so easily decided, Dominic was about to trigger the level up, when he suddenly paused. Hadn¡¯t he gone onto his status screen to check something else? His progress towards gaining Sharp Nip! Of course! Dominic felt relief go through him that he hadn¡¯t actually levelled up ¨C he was sure he had enough Cores to gain the ability. He would have been kicking himself for the rest of the day if he¡¯d got it to 100% but then not actually be able to acquire it because it required a level up to be fully incorporated with him. Looking down the page, he instead looked for Sharp Nip. Sharp Nip (50% ¨C> 99% to level 1) Only a single percent away! Dominic thought to himself with exasperation. He¡¯d have really been angry with himself if he hadn¡¯t gained it on this level up. You can take the phone away from the human, but you can¡¯t take away the habit of being easily distracted, he thought to himself. The number of times he¡¯d gone on his phone for one task, only to see notifications and get distracted, forgetting what he¡¯d wanted to do in the first place¡­. Only needing one more percent was annoying, but Dominic had an idea of how to get it. Consuming a single resorel¡¯s body turned out to tip the balance and he once more went to level up, choosing Heart and Enhanced Regeneration. That done, he looked at the changes to his status screen. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 18 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 24/420 PP level up Satiation level: 100% Hydration level: 100% Health Points: 600/600 Stamina Points: 260/260 Mana Points: 15/15 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Sharp Nip (T0) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C When lunging to bite at something, consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 1, consuming 1 SP will offer +10% speed. Consume 3 SP for +20% speed. If the bite is to a flesh and blood creature, a Bleeding effect may be applied. General abilities: - Muscular Body level 8 (max speed 34 mps; max speed duration 15s) (210 ¨C> 260 SP) - Enhanced Regeneration level 2 (1 ¨C> 1.75 HP / second) He hadn¡¯t really used any of his Abilities in that fight, so it was unsurprising that none of them had progressed at all. Sharp Nip was kind of like the watered-down version of Quick Strike ¨C more costly and with less benefit. Though, that said, Quick Strike was at level 3 already. Sharp Nip would probably increase its benefits as it rose in level. But honestly, the main strength of Sharp Nip, and the unique benefit it offered, was that it had the potential to apply a bleeding effect. Dominic didn¡¯t know exactly what that meant, but he could guess ¨C a damage over time effect which should work well with his bite attack. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Pity it doesn¡¯t seem to work with claws, he thought to himself with a sigh. It would be interesting to see whether he could use it together with Quick Strike. Or even better, if he could work out a way of combining the Abilities¡­. But that was for later, not when he was currently surrounded by blood. At least he¡¯d gained a nice chunk of stamina ¨C fifty more points was more than his original pool had been in total! The benefits definitely got larger as he spent more enhancements in a certain area. Perhaps that¡¯s how the rhinos had had such high health even at a relatively low level: if they¡¯d started with a good health pool, then dedicated almost every upgrade to increasing it, having almost two thousand health points wasn¡¯t so surprising. Speaking of his own health, he was a little disappointed that his regeneration rate hadn¡¯t increased by two, but he supposed that a seventy-five percent increase wasn¡¯t bad at all. That meant that in four seconds, instead of gaining four health points, he¡¯d gain seven. ¡®I still think we should put a couple more enhancements into Regeneration,¡¯ he commented to his co-pilot. ¡®Agreed, but we cannot forget everything else in favour of our health regeneration,¡¯ the lion reminded him. ¡®That¡¯s why I think we should dedicate one of each of the next two levels¡¯ enhancements to increasing Regeneration, and then spend the other one somewhere else,¡¯ Dominic replied firmly. While arguably he could become a troll of the new world ¨C with a scary regeneration rate that would heal from most injuries in seconds ¨C if he fell behind in terms of the damage he could deal out, he would stop being able to advance. And that could ultimately be fatal: even if he could recover from a wound in seconds, that wouldn¡¯t help if the attack was instantly fatal. Or if he suffered from a poison which outstripped his health regeneration rate. After all, he knew that Africa had some very scary snakes, as did Australia. And who even knew what the other planets had brought in terms of venomous blighters? Perhaps he should hold himself lucky that he hadn¡¯t been faced with a venomous enemy yet. However, one thing regeneration did offer: the possibility of leaning more into his speed build rather than needing to focus on defence. After all, even if the attack took a good portion of his health pool, it didn¡¯t matter if he could regenerate that within the space of the fight. He¡¯d still add an enhancement here or there into his skin or fur, but mostly he would aim to enhance his speed, power, and regeneration. ¡®Don¡¯t forget the mane,¡¯ Leo reminded him, clearly following along with his thought process. ¡®Not only do the females appreciate it, but it offers good protection to one of our most vulnerable areas.¡¯ Dominic sent him an eye roll. ¡®No, I won¡¯t forget about the mane. But don¡¯t you want to see what it will become like naturally before enhancing too much? What if we keep lengthening it and then it ends up going all the way to our paws?¡¯ Leo sent across the feeling of a shrug. ¡®Darkening the mane won¡¯t cause that issue.¡¯ ¡®Darkening it won¡¯t improve its defence rating, either,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®But it does improve our charisma,¡¯ Leo returned. ¡®If we wish to convince the females to come with us to take the Place of Power, a bit more charisma is surely only going to help.¡¯ To that, Dominic had no rejoinder. ¡®Alright, fine,¡¯ he said after a moment. ¡®We¡¯ll darken our mane on one of our next level ups. Happy?¡¯ Leo didn¡¯t respond, but he did send the pleasurable feeling of a luxurious stretch. Dominic took that to mean that he was. With his level ups done, Dominic started padding around the area, stopping at each resorel to crack its skull into pieces and get at the Cores within. Once he¡¯d removed the Core, he tucked the rest of the body into his storage space. Sekhmet, who had been watching him in interest after spending some time grooming herself, apparently decided to follow his example. She moved forwards and went for one of the resorel¡¯s bodies. Dominic, not wanting to lose the Core to someone who would be unable to use it, stepped into her path and blocked her route to the body. The lioness growled a little at him, trying to push her way past. The lion just stood his ground, letting out a snarl and revealing his teeth. ¡®Mine!¡¯ he tried to project through telepathy, letting possessiveness colour the word. The lioness hesitated and backed away a couple of steps, then took a step towards another of the bodies. Dominic once more went to block her path, growling again. ¡®Mine,¡¯ he projected a second time. Sekhmet stopped, and this time returned his communication with some frustration. Then she sent him an image of her own. This one showed Dominic eating little shiny balls and then shimmering and getting bigger. Then she followed it up with another: herself eating the same shiny balls and equally shimmering and getting bigger. She attached the feeling of a question to it. This was the first time that the lioness had sent Dominic an image, rather than the other way around. The lion had to put it down to her recent level ups ¨C maybe even because she¡¯d reached Half-Step Evolved. The message the lioness was trying to communicate was clear. Sekhmet was pointing out that either she had seen Dominic get stronger after eating the Cores, or she was theorising that he would, and then questioning whether she could do the same. Or was questioning why she wasn¡¯t being allowed to do the same. It was actually impressively complex; better reasoning than many young human children would be capable of. Letting out a huff of air, Dominic responded. He sent the same image back of himself getting stronger after eating the Cores, but changed the one of Sekhmet. Still showing her eating the Cores, he removed her shimmering and getting bigger. He hoped that it would communicate well enough that they wouldn¡¯t help her. At least, he was pretty sure that that was the case. The knowledge of him being able to gain ¡®perks¡¯ from the creatures he killed had been written in the original System message which informed him about the ¡®special circumstances¡¯, at least. Which implied, to him, that it wasn¡¯t something every creature could do. Sekhmet took a moment to respond, and then sent another set of images back. The first showed three of Dominic all eating Cores and getting stronger, and was followed by the females from the pride all eating Cores and nothing happening. Dominic took a moment to puzzle out the meaning. ¡®She¡¯s asking whether it¡¯s a difference between males and females,¡¯ Leo translated for him. ¡®Oh. Thanks,¡¯ Dominic told his companion. So, in response, he sent the same image he¡¯d sent previously, and then followed it with other images populated by male lions, female lions, and even a zebra and rhino. All of them were eating Cores, but none of them were getting stronger. It was hard to focus on so many at the same time, so he had to resort to only showing a few at once. Sekhmet took a moment to think about it, but then sent across a feeling of acceptance. Obviously not hungry, she lost interest and went to lay down under a tree while Dominic cleared up the rest of the resorel carcasses. Chapter 93: Me Next, Me Next! Heading back to the pride, Dominic noticed that Sekhmet had a bit of a spring in her step. Sending her a sideways glance, he tried to ask her why she was so excited. She didn¡¯t understand his initial question, so he sent her two moving images ¨C one with her normal measured and efficient pacing; the other with her current bouncy gait. He attached a feeling of confusion and curiosity to the pictures. This time, she seemed to have understood. She replied with a sense of anticipation and the image of the other lionesses looking at her. In the image, she was noticeably bigger than the other female lions. Ah, she¡¯s excited about how her sisters are going to react, Dominic said to himself in understanding. ¡®Of course. She has made some excellent progress,¡¯ Leo replied to his thought with a note of satisfaction. ¡®Will there be problems with the hierarchy?¡¯ Dominic asked him, the question suddenly occurring. From his understanding, if the young male lions had had such a boost in strength, they¡¯d probably have challenged him straight up. Leo hesitated for a moment. ¡®I don¡¯t think so,¡¯ he said thoughtfully after a moment. ¡®While the hierarchy among males is determined by strength, it is not so among the females.¡¯ ¡®Oh?¡¯ Dominic inquired, interested. ¡®They¡¯re more cooperative, are they?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ Leo replied. ¡®And generally the hierarchy is determined by age and experience. The older females, even when they are nearing the end of their lifespan, still make many decisions about hunts. This female may gain something from the fact that she has experienced something new, but it is unlikely to change much of the intra-pride dynamics.¡¯ ¡®Huh,¡¯ was Dominic¡¯s intelligent response to that. Apparently he still had lots to learn about prides. Still, he had to admit that he was interested to see what the other lionesses¡¯ reactions would be to her evident changes. As they approached the pride who were still lying where they had been earlier, Dominic saw heads starting to lift and then the lionesses actually stood up and came closer. All seven of the adult lionesses ¨C including the two almost-adult females ¨C came to investigate. They rubbed against both Dominic and Sekhmet curiously, but Sekhmet in particular. They seemed fascinated by how much she had changed in size. Dominic, they clearly realised had changed a little too, but since he hadn¡¯t increased his size, they were much less interested in him. Sekhmet seemed to be basking in the attention, rubbing back happily against all of her sisters ¨C or mother, or aunts, or grandmother, or cousins, or nieces. However, after a few minutes, she projected a sense of frustration to Dominic. At first wondering why she was feeling that, he got his answer a moment later with the images she sent him. She showed each member of the pride with a sense of frustration, then a picture of Dominic with a feeling of success. ¡®She¡¯s trying to communicate with them and not succeeding, isn¡¯t she?¡¯ Dominic checked with Leo. ¡®That¡¯s my interpretation too,¡¯ the lion confirmed. The problem was, of course, that Sekhmet didn¡¯t have Telepathy; that was Dominic¡¯s Ability. And even with Telepathy, she wouldn¡¯t find it easy to communicate with the others, just as he had struggled to communicate with her. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t much he could do about it except offer to work as a go-between. Sending a feeling of calm back to her, he followed it up with an image. This one was of Sekhmet on one side of him, sending an image to him, then him sending it to the other lionesses who were all standing on the other side of him. The lioness hesitated for a moment, then sent a series of images to him with a feeling of expectation. Fulfilling his promise, Dominic connected to the other lionesses and passed on the message. Although he tried to connect to them all at once, he found that he was unable to do it. He guessed that he was limited to one at a time, either because of the level of the Ability, because of his intelligence level, or some other factor. The lionesses took his contact with a varying degree of suspicion. Some, like the two young females, didn¡¯t really seem to question it. The older females were definitely more suspicious, and it took him sending them a few images of himself to ¡®prove¡¯ who was suddenly sending things into their heads. But within about fifteen minutes, he¡¯d managed to get Sekhmet¡¯s message across. The message in question was actually more of a story¨Ctelling than anything else. It was a series of images starting with her leaving the pride with him, finding the wildebeest, killing it, and then fighting the resorels. The final image was of her suddenly growing and feeling more powerful. Each time Dominic managed to pass the message on, the lioness he was ¡®speaking to¡¯ would go over to Sekhmet and rub against her again. Perhaps it was to check out if she was truly bigger ¨C she was ¨C and if anything had really changed ¨C it had. Once he¡¯d got through the whole pride, he found that he had a group of females standing around him. When he connected to their minds, he found that they were projecting eagerness and anticipation. It was like he was surrounded by a group of kids saying ¡®me next, me next!¡¯ Stolen story; please report. A bit bemused, not to mention amused, by the situation, Dominic poked at his co-pilot. ¡®What do you think we should do ¨C take them out as a group? Or individually? A group would be safer ¨C we wouldn¡¯t have to protect them as much. Individuals would make more progress, though.¡¯ He said to Leo thoughtfully. The lion considered the issue for a moment. ¡®The lionesses are used to going out as a group. However, going out with just the three of us did work fairly well with this female. The main problem here, though, was that we ¡®stole¡¯ quite a few Prey Points from her. Not that this is a bad thing, exactly, but not our aim, perhaps.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ Dominic admitted pensively. ¡®It¡¯s probably better to take them out as a group,¡¯ he agreed. ¡®It will be more to manage, but if we pick our prey wisely, I should be able to stay out of it for the most part and only step in if necessary. But there¡¯s still a risk ¨C if some of the lionesses have more impact on the deaths than others, they¡¯ll earn more Prey Points. The ones who earn less will therefore start being left behind and might even start struggling with more difficult prey as the others increase in level. That would only compound the problem.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Leo acknowledged. ¡®Then how about a compromise. Take a small group of three or four at a time. That way they should have the benefits of not needing to split the Prey Points too many times, which will help them progress faster, but also have some protection of going out as a group.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s a good idea,¡¯ Dominic conceded. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s do it that way.¡¯ Looking over the lionesses assessingly, he tried to work out which ones to take with him next. ¡®I¡¯d suggest that you let the lionesses decide,¡¯ Leo interjected. ¡®Will they understand what to do?¡¯ Dominic asked his partner with a mental eyebrow raised. He received a huff back in response. ¡®It is not unheard of for a pride to split in times of resource scarcity. And as we saw in the last hunt, this pride has obviously understood the idea of splitting strength. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll have a problem with the idea.¡¯ ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic allowed. Of course, working out how to communicate this to the lionesses was another question. Based on Leo¡¯s previous words about how the hierarchy of lionesses worked, he decided to try to communicate with who he thought was the oldest of the current pride. She had been the mother of the older cubs, the two males who had challenged him and the two ¨C formerly three ¨C young females who were now part of the pride properly. From Leo¡¯s memories, she also seemed to bear the most signs of age. Her head was the broadest of them all, her nose was the darkest, and she had been the one to direct the buffalo hunt. Mentally naming her ¡®Isis¡¯ after the mother of Horus and wife of Osiris, king of the dead, Dominic tried to communicate with her. Sending her images of him going away with three lionesses, he attached a feeling of question, then changed which lionesses joined him. It took a couple of attempts to get the message across, but finally she seemed to have got it. Unexpectedly, she didn¡¯t choose herself. Instead, she chose one of the youngest lionesses, the other mother, and the lioness with a heart-shaped spot who Dominic had already named Hathor. She seemed perfectly able to communicate with the other three, and within a short space of time, the pride had split. Hathor and the other two lionesses ¨C who he would have to think of names for ¨C started walking away with Dominic. The rest of the pride also started walking in a different direction, perhaps to find water. By this point, the sun was rapidly descending towards the horizon, so they might even be aiming to hunt down some prey by the waterhole. ¡®You¡¯ll help me find them again, won¡¯t you?¡¯ Dominic checked with his co-pilot anxiously. The lion sent him a feeling of amusement. ¡®Of course. I want to mate with them, after all. I will have to make up for you being directionally-challenged!¡¯ Dominic sent him the mental equivalent of sticking his tongue out but didn¡¯t argue. It was unfortunately true, especially in this completely unfamiliar environment. Though he¡¯d like to see Leo navigate a capital city like London! An amusing image came into his mind of him padding down the streets as a lion, people running away from this predator walking casually down Oxford Street. Or no, a lion-man. A humanoid lion walking on two legs, dressed in a snazzy business-suit, walking past Westminster. He huffed audibly in amusement. The chances of that happening were fairly slim, especially with how the world had changed. But he did think that a humanoid lion form would be pretty cool. Maybe not particularly practical, unless he could somehow speak through it despite having a lion head. He was jarred from his thoughts by the sound of a conflict ahead. There were snarls and grunts interspersed with giggles. Every so often, he heard an odd roaring sound that he couldn¡¯t quite place. Curiosity taking over, he couldn¡¯t help but creep closer, wanting to find out exactly what was going on. Not intending on announcing their presence, he made sure that they were approaching from downwind. The lionesses followed him, the youngest practically vibrating in excitement. As the smallest and lowest-level of all of them, he wasn¡¯t surprised that she was eager to earn some levels. It wouldn¡¯t do for her excitement to give them away, though, so he gave her a low warning growl before they got too close. Creeping through the grass, they passed a bush and the scene came into view. It was, as he¡¯d expected, a group of hyenas. There weren¡¯t many, perhaps only five in total. They were big, though, at least Half-Step evolved. Maybe even level 7 or level 8. And that wasn¡¯t the only reason Dominic was giving a hard ¡®nope¡¯ to this fight. Their opponent, of all creatures, was a hippo. What a single hippo was doing this far away from water, he didn¡¯t know. It wasn¡¯t looking in particularly good condition ¨C its skin was dry and cracked, its eyes dull. But that didn¡¯t in the least mean that it was defenceless and the hyenas were already sporting multiple wounds of their own as a proof of its continued might. But, given how unlikely it was that either would be even a temporary ally to the lions, he had no desire to get involved. Unfortunately, it appeared that not everyone in the party was in agreement. In a blur of sandy-coloured fur, the young lioness leapt into the fray with a roar. ¡®Bloody hell!¡¯ Dominic cursed soundly. Chapter 94: Flesh Equivalent of a Bulldozer ¡®I know exactly what we should call her,¡¯ he grumbled to Leo as he quickly took a glance at the new situation. ¡®Leroy. I don¡¯t care that it¡¯s not a goddess name or even a female one ¨C she deserves it for this stunt!¡¯ The hyenas were already turning to gang up on Leroy, two of them distracting the hippo while the other three turned to attack the lioness. Sekmet might have coped with holding off three hyenas before, but this was a different situation. Not only was Leroy a level lower than Sekhmet had been and smaller, but the hyenas were at least two levels higher than they¡¯d been then. She wouldn¡¯t last long unless he intervened. Picking his target well, Dominic leapt forwards, flying through the air to strike a hyena right in the neck with Sharp Nip and Crushing Bite activated. Though the predators must have guessed that Leroy wasn¡¯t on her own, the attack took Dominic¡¯s target unawares. Probably thanks mainly to the bonuses of Pounce when attacking undetected and when hitting a vulnerable spot, the hyena¡¯s health bar drained down to a sliver. A small symbol appeared above it, something looking like a drop. Since it was in red, it looked like a drop of blood. The bleeding effect, I guess. Turning, Dominic struck at another hyena with Powerful Swipe increasing his already-enhanced claws. Deep gouges were opened in the side of the hyena he¡¯d targeted and blood started pouring out of the wounds. [You have killed Spotted Hyena (Half-Step Evolved level 7)] [You have earned 57 PP] The hyena with the bleeding effect had succumbed to its wounds. While Dominic was happy with gaining some points, that wasn¡¯t exactly the aim of this whole exercise. He hadn¡¯t wanted to enter this situation, but maybe they could still accomplish their goals. They would just have to be very careful. Growling at Leroy ¨C maybe it was a bit harsh to give her that name ¨C they backed up quickly to join the other two lionesses. I¡¯ll call her Jenkins, instead, Dominic decided as the action had a momentary lull as the creatures eyed each other uneasily. If she proves to have better sense than she¡¯s just demonstrated, then I¡¯ll change it in the future. No, he wasn¡¯t sore at all about being forced into a fight like this. The two remaining hyenas, one already significantly injured, were clearly wondering whether attacking the group of four lions was worth it. At the same time, they were obviously uneasy about exposing their backs and joining the other two of their group on the hippo. Though the other two were attacking the hippo, they weren¡¯t making much headway in terms of its health bar ¨C it had lost perhaps a quarter at most, and the majority of that was from before the lions had appeared on the scene. Not that Dominic could fault them for that ¨C the aquatic herbivore was an imposing sight. As thickly muscled as the rhino, it didn¡¯t have the rhino¡¯s horn. Instead, it had massive teeth and its bite pressure was only beaten by a few crocodilians. And, if the rhino, wildebeest, and buffalo had been willing to put up a fight, this hippo had them all beat. Small eyes flashed dangerously and roars continually rumbled through the air as it made its defiance known. The standoff continued. Dominic wondered whether the hyenas would even try to attack them if they ran away. He considered it even odds ¨C they might take the opportunity to go and help the others attack the hippo, or they might see it as a sign of weakness and attack the lions anyway. Not that Dominic was all that inclined to run away, not now that they¡¯d already reduced the number of hyenas by one. He connected with each of the lions in turn, starting with Jenkins, a growl emphasising how much he wanted her to stick to the plan. As for the plan itself, he sent an image of the lionesses leaping together onto the injured hyena, with Dominic keeping the uninjured one away. Then, he sent another picture ¨C the injured hyena lying dead on the ground and the lionesses leaping on the second. The lionesses seemed to take his direction well enough, though perhaps with a little confusion that he would be giving it in the first place ¨C hopefully they would follow it. Coordinated by their body language, the lionesses dashed forwards first. To Dominic¡¯s relief, they indeed all aimed for the injured hyena. The other hyena, naturally, turned to attack the closest lioness. Dominic ran forwards and bulled straight into it. He was trying to cause as little damage as possible, but knocking the wind out of the predator shouldn¡¯t syphon too many of the prey points to him, he hoped. While knocked to the ground, the hyena didn¡¯t take too long to regain its feet. Certainly not long enough for the lionesses with their lower attack capabilities to whittle down the other hyena¡¯s health bar. Keeping an eye on the side battle between the two hyenas and the hippo, Dominic started playing with his target. As long as the carnivore¡¯s attention was on him, it wasn¡¯t on the lionesses. So, instead of counterattacking, he just danced out of the way of the hyena¡¯s increasingly frustrated strikes. After fruitlessly trying to attack him, the scavenger seemed to give up in disgust, turning back to the battle with the lionesses. Dominic couldn¡¯t have that ¨C he leapt at the hyena again, keeping his claws and teeth away but knocking it over for a second time. The hyena growled menacingly as it regained its feet, standing its ground and snarling at him. The lion snarled back, showing his own ¨C larger ¨C teeth. Their face-off was broken a moment later when Dominic was briefly distracted by a message flashing up. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Half-Step Evolved level 7)] [You have earned 11 PP] Pain flashed through Dominic: the hyena had taken advantage of his wavering attention to leap forwards and bite at his shoulder. The hyena¡¯s teeth sank in deeply, its own crushing bite coming into play. Fortunately, the smaller predator soon had other things to worry about. Dominic didn¡¯t actually do anything to remove the hyena¡¯s teeth from his flesh ¨C the beast did that itself when it suddenly found itself beset from all angles by the three fierce lionesses. Dominic jumped out of the fray, his leg painful but serviceable, letting the lionesses get on with it. He kept one eye on the lionesses themselves, and the other on the continuing fight with the hippo. The lionesses were doing well, but they were already bearing marks of their fight. Hathor had blood streaming down from a wound on her flank; Jenkins was limping from a nasty wound to her front left leg. The unnamed mother was in the best condition, but she looked tired already ¨C perhaps she¡¯d avoided injury with stamina-consuming dodges. They were whittling down the hyena¡¯s health bar when the situation suddenly changed. The two hyenas distracting the hippo decided abruptly to give up on that task, instead coming to help their doomed comrade. Worse, the hippo itself was clearly not willing to just let them run away; it followed after them, bellowing. If it only sought revenge on the hyenas, that would be helpful, but the lion suspected that it wouldn¡¯t make any difference between one type of predator and another. Dominic quickly sent a mental warning to the three lionesses about the incoming threats. He had just enough time to focus on a series of images encouraging the lionesses to work together to take down each hyena first. Then, he was up. The hyenas ran past, wary eyes on the lion, but when he didn¡¯t move to attack them, they headed straight for the fray with the lionesses. The hippo was a different story. Its mad eyes focussed on him and it bellowed a challenge. [A challenge has been issued: Duel to the Death. Note, no outside intervention is permitted during the challenge. Note also that for reasons of fairness, both participants will be returned to full health at the start of the challenge. Accept or Decline?] Time seemed to slow for a moment, or perhaps his perception of it sped up like it did when he was using his magic. This is new, Dominic thought to himself. Is this what happened to the other chimera? How it got its bat wings? But then why is it only happening now? Surely the battle with the other lion should have counted as a challenge? Or is it only because I¡¯ve now got the ¡®chimera¡¯ label? ¡®Less thinking of the whys and wherefores, and more thinking about whether we¡¯re going to accept it or not!¡¯ Leo snapped at him. ¡®It would be very dangerous,¡¯ Dominic replied, a little abashed. ¡®I¡¯m not sure the possible benefits are worth it.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m glad you¡¯re showing some sense,¡¯ the lion rejoindered, a little waspishly. ¡®Not only is it risky, but it would leave the females unprotected. And that, ultimately, is our aim right now. Since we can choose to accept or decline this time, I strongly suggest that we do.¡¯ Leo was right. They were out on this trip to gain Prey Points for the lionesses. This already was a situation that they¡¯d almost been forced into; no need to make it more dangerous. With a little twinge of regret ¨C part of him was curious to see whether the rewards might have been better than expected, much as the chimera¡¯s had been ¨C he chose to decline the challenge. The hippo seemed further enraged, if that was even possible. Dominic dodged its incoming blow, then leapt again as it turned with unexpected swiftness to bite at him with its open jaws. He took a moment to glance over at the lionesses. They were struggling a bit, even numbers not actually even when against higher-level hyenas, especially ones who were a half-tier higher than them. In fact¡­. His eyes widened and he almost failed to dodge the next attempt of the hippo to bulldoze into him as he was distracted by what he saw. Getting his head into the game, he used Quick Strike to leap away from the enraged water-horse, its teeth grazing his tail and jaws almost snapping shut on the tuft at the end. ¡®Did you see what I saw?¡¯ he demanded of his co-pilot. ¡®That two of the hyenas were even bigger than they should have been?¡¯ Leo asked grimly. ¡®Yes. It must be an ability.¡¯ ¡®Something like rage,¡¯ Dominic agreed darkly. That was not good for the lionesses ¨C he knew how difficult those kinds of abilities could be to deal with from past experience, particularly when low level. ¡®We need to help them.¡¯ ¡®Aren¡¯t you forgetting the enraged herbivore we have almost literally on our tail?¡¯ Leo demanded, his mental presence one of a caged lion, frustration and fear bubbling together and spilling over to Dominic. ¡®On our tail¡­¡¯ Dominic repeated thoughtfully, even as he once more evaded serious injury by a hair¡¯s breadth. ¡®Maybe I have a use for the flesh equivalent of a bulldozer,¡¯ he told his companion, then refused to expand any further: his mental capacities were needed for more important things . Connecting to the lionesses, he blared out a strong sense of warning and ¡®get out the way¡¯. Somehow, he managed to hit all of them at once ¨C perhaps because he was projecting his emotions rather than sending images. He didn¡¯t care. All that mattered was that the lionesses suddenly leapt away from the hyenas and ran for their lives, only stopping to see what was going on a good few body-lengths away. The hyenas they¡¯d been fighting were taken aback for a moment, the absence of their opponents making them pause for one vital second. Before that moment was over, Dominic had leapt over their heads. They prepared to give chase, but before they could, they were hit by the natural equivalent of a SUV. Interestingly, the hippo was so fixated on Dominic ¨C perhaps because he¡¯d denied the challenge ¨C that it didn¡¯t even stop to finish off the trampled hyenas. But that worked out: the lionesses quickly realised that the advantage had swung to them and leapt back in to finish off the wounded predators. [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Half-Step Evolved level 7)] [You have earned 5 PP] [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Half-Step Evolved level 7)] [You have earned 5 PP] [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Half-Step Evolved level 7)] [You have earned 5 PP] The notifications flashed up before his eyes, relieving him. Now to decide what to do with this particularly determined foe. Chapter 95: Create Pride Without taking his eyes off the enraged hippo, Dominic sent an image to each of the lionesses, of them touching the bodies and them turning into golden smoke which then healed the wounds on the lionesses¡¯ bodies. The hippo was still ignoring them in favour of attacking Dominic and the ladies were too injured not to take advantage of that. He started with Hathor ¨C since she¡¯d already done it once before, she would be more likely to understand what he wanted them to do. After that, he sent the message to Jenkins, then the other lioness ¨C still, as yet, unnamed. Although he¡¯d managed to somehow communicate with all of them at the same time before, he didn¡¯t seem able to do it when he wasn''t desperate. Jumping to the side abruptly, he avoided the open-mouthed charge of the hippo. It was fortunate that he was significantly quicker than the semi-aquatic herbivore ¨C on land ¨C but his stamina was already down a chunk, and only reducing further with each evasive manoeuvre. This wasn¡¯t sustainable. Dominic¡¯s mind raced as he tried to figure out the next steps. The lionesses were fine ¨C the hyenas were dead and if the flashes of golden smoke he caught out of the corner of his eyes were anything to judge by, healing already. Did that change the situation with the hippo? Perhaps they could face it as a pride: with four lions doing damage, they should have a much better chance at getting through that thick skin than with just him. That said, the lionesses were still very low level ¨C a single wrong move could see them killed. A hippo wasn¡¯t something to take lightly even before the System; it certainly wouldn¡¯t be any easier to deal with afterwards unless there was a significant level disparity. Perhaps they should just run. They would be able to outpace the hippo easily enough; surely it would give up the chase? After all, the aim of this excursion was to get the lionesses enough Prey Points to level up at least once. Based on what he¡¯d seen of herbivores so far, the risk they posed was often much higher than the benefits they offered. ¡®I agree,¡¯ Leo responded to his thoughts. ¡®This wasn¡¯t a good fight to enter in the first place; we have a chance to leave it, so we should.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic accepted. So that was one and a half votes to leave, half a vote to stay. It was clear what the most popular outcome was. Making a couple of large leaps with Quick Strike, Dominic gained himself a bit of breathing room so he could communicate the idea to the lionesses. They didn¡¯t seem to be against turning tail and running, so that was a relief. However, there was one thing he wanted before he left. Once the lionesses had cleared the area, Dominic darted back to where the hyenas had died, brushing against each of the Cores and popping them into his spatial storage. Which, incidentally, was getting pretty full by this point. The hippo¡¯s jaws almost caught his tail again, but Leo growled a warning just in time and he leapt forwards to avoid the steel-trap of its mouth. With all the Cores gathered, it was time to hoof it. Or would that be ¡®paw¡¯ it? Dominic put on some speed, running at his maximum until he caught up with lionesses. He slowed down then, their top speed not nearly as high as his. A quick glance behind proved that it was still significantly faster than the hippo¡¯s, though. Although none of them were endurance runners, their stamina managed to hold out until they managed to get out of eyesight of the hippo. Hopefully that would be enough to deter it from chasing them further. Anyway, they needed to stop ¨C they were all rather spent. Dominic might have enhanced his stamina multiple times, but avoiding the hippo¡¯s attacks had consumed his reserves quite quickly and he¡¯d already been down by almost two thirds when he started the run. As for the lionesses, they probably hadn¡¯t increased that aspect of themselves much, if at all. On the subject of enhancement, Dominic was surprised when, once they¡¯d caught their breaths a bit, Jenkins, the youngest lioness, stood up and shimmered. When the shimmer cleared, she was a little bigger. She levelled? ¡®She was a lower level to begin with,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic admitted. ¡®She wouldn¡¯t have needed as many points to advance, and she might have been closer to levelling than the others anyway.¡¯ Actually, on that note, it would be very useful if he could see more information about the lionesses. Like their levels, their Abilities, their health, and so on. After all, they were part of a pride, right? Surely that would be like a ¡®party¡¯ in many games? Come on, System, he thought at it. Isn¡¯t there some way of officially connecting us together? Create party? Join party? Create Pride? [We have detected that you have created a party-] [Error: requester isn¡¯t an acknowledged sapient race.] [Request deni-] [Error: requester meets the requirements to be recognised as sapient.] [Solution: permit request for party Pride creation] Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. [Congratulations! You have formed your first party Pride. You are the designated leader of the party Pride and currently hold the sole control over adding or kicking members. This control can be given to another, however, in the case of conflict, your decision will take precedence. See party Pride status?] ¡®Why do we keep running into these errors?¡¯ Dominic complained to Leo. ¡®We can¡¯t be that unique: surely the System has encountered this kind of thing before?¡¯ The lion just sent across his equivalent of a shrug, illustrating that he was as uncertain as Dominic. Oh well, at least it¡¯s worked. Kind of. Mentally choosing to see the ¡®Pride status¡¯, Dominic examined it with interest. Pride status Level 1 Pride Current information shared: None Current members: Dominic/Leo (T2, L18) ¨C leader. Pride enhancements: None ¡®So I need to add the different lionesses,¡¯ Dominic guessed. ¡®A bit annoying, but I suppose possibly necessary ¨C I wouldn¡¯t have ¡®control¡¯ if members were just automatically added.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯ll add all the females, though, right?¡¯ Leo checked. ¡®Of course,¡¯ Dominic replied ¨C what did Leo think he wanted to do? Have a pride of one? Though he wanted to test that, he did something else first: mentally selected ¡®Pride enhancements¡¯. [Pride enhancements (Points available: 3) Share Prey Points ¨C all points will be equally shared regardless of who caused the most damage. (4) Lion¡¯s Share ¨C the leader will take 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members. (4) Increase the number of Prey Points gained by 1% (repeatable) (1) Increase the damage done by the members of the Pride when working together ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% (repeatable) (2) Increase the chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (4) Increase the chance of being able to determine the type of Ability a Pride member will gain on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (5) Note: more options may be added later depending on your actions with the Pride.] It was all very interesting and Dominic wanted all of the enhancements. Well, he was a little more uncertain about the first one ¨C was it a good idea to have all the Prey points equally shared? He¡¯d have to think about that. He was slightly tempted by the option to direct almost all of the points to him, but dismissed the idea within a beat ¨C while he would benefit a lot from that, his goal right now was to bring the lionesses up to a better level. Anyway, he didn¡¯t have the points for either of those options. As it was, he could take two enhancements: increasing the damage done by the members of the Pride and increasing the number of Prey Points gained by 1%. Frankly, he thought that both of them would be very useful. More Prey Points? Yes please ¨C though 1% might not be that much, it would add up. He didn¡¯t miss the fact that it said ¡®repeatable¡¯, so presumably that meant he could choose it again when he had more points. Equally, increasing the amount of damage done would be very useful. If he understood the calculation there, it would work best when his Pride members were outnumbered: if they were facing 2:1 odds, they would gain a 2% increase to their damage. If, however, they outnumbered their opponents twice over, they would only gain 0.5% increase to their damage. A mechanism to encourage groups to clash? Or the reverse? An encouragement to do exactly what Dominic and the lionesses were doing at that very moment ¨C splitting into smaller groups to maximise gains. Deciding to take both enhancements, he tried to ask for more information about ¡®Points available¡¯. [Pride Points: These are determined by the level of your Pride and by the level of your Pride members. You gain one point for each level to level 5, then two points for each level up to level 10. Levels 10 to 20 offer three points per level and then levels 20 to 100 offer four points per level. You also gain one point per Tier or half-Tier increase.] OK, useful to know. So, his Pride was at level 1, which meant that he got one point to spend. At the same time, he personally had passed both the Half-Step Evolved and Evolved thresholds, netting him two more points to spend. He next tried to ask for more information about ¡®level¡¯. [Pride level: this is determined by the number of members in your pride and the level of your members. A single Tier 2 member will count as two Tier 1 members, where a Tier 3 member will count as two Tier 2 members. To gain level 1, you must have at least three Tier 1 members. At times, certain actions may also need to be completed to allow a Pride to advance a level. In this case, no new members will be able to be added until the Pride level has increased. Indicate progress toward the next level on Pride status screen?] Yes, Dominic thought at it. Pride status Level 1 Pride (progress to next level 2/5) Current information shared: None Current members: Dominic/Leo (T2, L18) ¨C leader. Pride enhancements: 1% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 1 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 1 Pleased with the changes, Dominic finally tried to do what he had wanted the party for in the first place ¨C sharing health and abilities. It took a bit of concentration, but finally he managed to get it to come up. Current information shared: Health, Abilities Current members: Dominic/Leo (T2, L18) ¨C leader. (Health: 524/600, Abilities: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack) ¡®Looking good, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ he asked Leo happily. ¡®It would look better if some of my females were on there,¡¯ the lion grumped at him. Dominic sent him the mental equivalent of a raspberry. ¡®Alright, alright, I¡¯m doing it,¡¯ he grumbled good-naturedly, closing the screen. Now, how to invite a lioness to join a Pride? Chapter 96: Lion Logic As it turned out, adding other members was pretty simple. It seemed to require Dominic to initiate the invite and the lioness to accept it, but that was all. Since they were still recuperating from the previous fight, he decided to check out the changes. Pride status Level 2 Pride (progress to next level 5/10) Current information shared: Health, Abilities Current members: Dominic/Leo (T2, L18) ¨C leader. (Health: 558/600, Abilities: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack) Hathor (T1, L4) (Health: 256/300, Abilities: Pounce) Neith (T1, L4) (Health: 221/300, Abilities: Pounce) Jenkins (T1, L4) (Health: 330/330, Abilities: Pounce) Pride enhancements: 1% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 1 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 1 Dominic had settled on Neith as a name for the mother lioness. He¡¯d loved Egyptian mythology as a pre-teen, and had actually done a huge project ¨C voluntarily ¨C about all the Egyptian deities. There were a lot of them and he didn¡¯t remember them all. However he remembered that Neith had been linked to hunting, so figured that it was a good fit for a lioness. He did find it interesting how Jenkins¡¯ health pool was actually a little bigger than the other two lionesses. Clearly she¡¯d chosen to enhance it at some point when the others hadn¡¯t. That they all had Pounce as their Ability wasn¡¯t particularly surprising and just confirmed to him that it was likely all members of the same species had the same starting Ability. It also highlighted how different he was that he hadn¡¯t received it automatically. Clearly he hadn¡¯t been considered a full ¡®lion¡¯ even before he¡¯d gained the Chimera tag. We¡¯ve already increased Pride level? he also noted with a little surprise. Perhaps it was expected since he was counted as two Tier 1 members and there were three other lionesses with him. He wondered what level they¡¯d manage to get to once they got back to the rest of the pride. It probably depends on how the cubs are counted, he thought after a moment. Deciding to once more use the tried and tested technique of bait, Dominic stepped out from the bush where they were resting and pulled a number of resorel carcasses out of his storage space. Chewing at them a bit more, he made sure that their blood was scenting the air. Interestingly, although they were showing some evidence of time having passed, there wasn¡¯t as much as Dominic might have expected. It had been a number of hours since he and Sekhmet had killed them, after all, but these looked more like only half an hour had passed or less. Whether it was that the storage space actually had some element of time slowing, or just that, removed from the sun and flies, the deterioration of the meat was slower, he didn¡¯t know. Either way, it worked out for him. He actually pulled the rhino body out of his storage space just to check on it. Fortunately, just like with the resorel carcasses, the deterioration seemed to be much slower in his storage than it would have been if he''d left the body lying around. However, it was deteriorating, so he''d have to Consume it within the next few days or risk not being able to gain benefit from it. ¡®I wonder if I¡¯d get food poisoning if I absorbed a gone-off carcass,¡¯ Dominic wondered even as he popped it back into his storage device. ¡®I once ate a carcass which must have been around for at least five days,¡¯ Leo admitted. ¡®It tasted horrible and I didn¡¯t feel very well afterwards.¡¯ ¡®Why did you eat it? Were you that hungry?¡¯ Dominic asked, not sure if he was more intrigued or revolted. ¡®I hadn¡¯t eaten a proper meal since being pushed out of my birth pride. I was starving. Even a rotting carcass looked better than nothing,¡¯ Leo explained. ¡®OK, I understand that,¡¯ the former-human replied, though with more sympathy than empathy: being driven by hunger to the point of being willing to eat anything was fortunately not something he¡¯d had personal experience with. And if he was lucky, despite now being a lion, he never would. ¡®So, in summary, the rhino meat should be good for a couple more days?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯d say so. Perhaps even three to four days since the deterioration of it seems slow.¡¯ Dominic sent him an acknowledgement and then turned back to his task. After he had set up his little ¡®scene¡¯, he eyed the lionesses. Absorbing the hyenas had significantly helped them, but they still weren¡¯t at full health. Moving over, he pulled a few more resorel carcasses out, dropping them in front of each lioness. It left him with only three left in his storage space for emergencies, but that was OK. The lionesses looked at him with a bit of confusion, though Jenkins was already starting to tuck into the ones before her. ¡®They¡¯re not used to the male being the one to bring them food,¡¯ Leo remarked. ¡®Usually they would have to hide their food from the males so that they actually get a chance to eat it.¡¯ Dominic mentally shrugged at him. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡®Well, things change. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m hungry at all.¡¯ He sent the lionesses the image of them Consuming the carcasses, just as he had earlier with the hyenas. Hathor and Neith immediately followed his instruction; Jenkins just continued chewing on the meat. Moving over to her, he growled, once more sending her the image of Consuming the carcass while adding a sense of urgency to the message. She eyed him, but continued eating, her muscles tensing a little. Moving quicker than she could react, Dominic darted forwards and grabbed the resorel bodies, pulling them backwards and then standing over them, his teeth bared menacingly. Jenkins snarled back at him, her ears back and her tail lashing. Dominic didn¡¯t back down, instead staring down at her from his greater height, a low growl rumbling in his chest. He once more sent her the image of her Consuming the bodies, making it as clear as he could that she wouldn¡¯t get them otherwise. The standoff continued for a few moments, the other two lionesses watching but not interfering. Dominic found it interesting that they didn¡¯t. Was it because they didn¡¯t consider Jenkins a cub anymore? Or that they didn¡¯t fear for her because of the way he¡¯d behaved so far? Or that they felt that this was something Jenkins had brought on herself? Finally, Jenkins backed down, her lips lowering to cover her teeth, the snarl dying down in volume. She looked away from him, breaking their staring contest. In recognition of her actions, Dominic nudged one of the carcasses towards her. She bent down, placed her nose against it, and it dissolved into golden smoke. Sending her the feeling of approval, Dominic stepped away from the other two carcasses, letting her get at them. ¡®She probably didn¡¯t see the point of Consuming the carcass,¡¯ Leo said after a moment. ¡®Do you think she forgot that they¡¯re good for healing?¡¯ asked Dominic. Leo sent him a feeling of negation. ¡®She didn¡¯t need healing. She levelled up.¡¯ ¡®Oh.¡¯ It turns out that Dominic had forgotten instead. Oh well, he supposed it was probably better to get that kind of confrontation out of the way anyway. Lying down again to watch the trap, he was surprised to feel a weight flop against his back soon after. Looking over, he saw that Jenkins had decided that he was the best leaning post she could find, her back leaning against his. Mentally, he shook his head. ¡®I¡¯ll never get lion logic!¡¯ he complained to his companion. ¡®Well, I¡¯ll never understand humans, so we¡¯re matched,¡¯ Leo retorted. ***** It was getting dark when some potential prey appeared. The lions had been lying there patiently for a while. Hathor had taken advantage of the pause to come and visit the male lion for some ¡®fun¡¯, prompting Dominic into beating a hasty retreat into the study. Once more, he admired what Leo had done ¨C the change had indeed remained even when Leo wasn¡¯t present. The lion had obviously felt confined within the walls of the study and had transformed one of the walls into a massive door. Outside the door was the savannah. Not the kind of savannah that they walked through now, full of unfamiliar plants, but the savannah Dominic had himself walked through ¨C shortly before being attacked by Leo. He¡¯d wandered out into the space, wondering how far it actually extended. It looked like it went far into the distance, but surely that wasn¡¯t possible? Just how big was this space? And, most importantly, had Leo decided to mark his territory like he wanted to mark it in the exterior world. Then again, did he actually want to know the answer to that? In the end, Dominic hadn¡¯t had much time to explore. He¡¯d only managed to wander around the closest parts, marvelling at how detailed each of the plants was, when Leo called for him to return. ¡®Do you wish to take over again?¡¯ Leo asked as he reconnected with his senses. ¡®No, it¡¯s OK,¡¯ Dominic said after a moment of thought. ¡®You can do this one.¡¯ ¡®Very well,¡¯ Leo responded, a hint of eagerness indicating his true feelings on the matter. The creatures which had come to investigate the prey were new to both of them ¨C clearly one of the recent additions. Dominic supposed that it wasn¡¯t too surprising ¨C most of the creatures he¡¯d seen recently were former denizens of the African savannah; they were due to come across something that wasn¡¯t. As for the new creatures, they were actually quite big in comparison to most of the group-scavengers he¡¯d seen so far. They had to be half the size of the lions at least, possibly even more. They also looked pretty mean, bad enough that Dominic suddenly wondered whether diving into the fray with the three more-vulnerable lionesses was a good idea or not. Bearing some resemblance to the warthog which had almost killed him once, the new creatures had tusks, piggy-looking faces, and sharp teeth. Their feet were pads rather than trotters, and their backs were hairy, a mohawk of fur sticking up in a ridge along their spines. Their tails were equally porcine, a little corkscrew curl rather than the tufted tail which a warthog would have. They grunted and snorted at each other, seemingly bad-tempered even with their own kind. There were lots of scars and open wounds among the troop which seemed to have been caused by in-fighting more than anything else. The creatures didn¡¯t waste much time in running to the carcasses, sharp teeth and strong jaws immediately evident by the sounds of bones cracking and crunching. Even as they ate, the forerunners had to defend their places against the others pushing forwards. The smallest members were stuck at the sidelines, unable to even glimpse what the stronger ones were partaking of. ¡®Uh, Leo, are we sure we want to do this?¡¯ Dominic asked, unsure. ¡®I think it¡¯s worth the attempt,¡¯ Leo responded, though with a hint of his own uncertainty. ¡®If they seem too much to manage, then we will turn tail and run.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic accepted. After all, this was Leo¡¯s pride more than Dominic¡¯s ¨C if the lion wanted to take the risk, that was his choice. Dominic was fairly confident that he would personally come out alive ¨C unless Leo started taking stupid risks to keep his pride safe, of course. ¡®I think you¡¯ll have to play a more active role in this fight than I did in the fight with the resorels and Sekhmet.¡¯ ¡®I agree,¡¯ Leo replied grimly. ¡®Do you have any suggestions for a battle plan?¡¯ the lion asked, slightly reluctantly. Probably because he didn¡¯t want to admit that he needed help. Dominic considered the situation. ¡®I¡¯d suggest essentially what you were already considering. Attack the smaller ones on the outside first. These creatures are obviously good at close-contact fights, but they probably don¡¯t have our ability to move with speed. The lionesses are very agile too, probably more so than these creatures. So, guerilla attacks are probably the best option ¨C quick in and out. Don¡¯t let yourself get surrounded ¨C the tusks might easily lame us or cause significant injury if that happens.¡¯ The lion sent him a sense of appreciation. ¡®Understood.¡¯ Dominic felt him send messages to the lionesses, his own ability to send feelings much less clumsy than Dominic¡¯s own, but his ability to visualise was a bit more awkward. Finally, they were ready. Time to make these Pounces count. Chapter 97: Guerilla Tactics In almost unison, the four lions leapt, each for different targets. Leo¡¯s target went down in one blow, the 75% bonus from Pounce adding a not inconsiderable amount to his already high damage capacity. ¡®Nice,¡¯ Leo heard his brother say, even as Leo himself was unable to read the squiggles that appeared before his eyes. Fortunately the former-human was willing to translate. Or was that unfortunately? Leo would frankly rather keep his mind on the fight than count how many Prey Points they¡¯d earned. ¡®Apparently it¡¯s called a Northern Aille Queerb and we got a full twenty-five points from it. That must mean they¡¯re worth more than that, though, since we¡¯re sharing with the lionesses.¡¯ Then his mental voice turned serious. ¡®Be careful, they¡¯re already Half-Step Evolved and level seven ¨C if the lionesses get hit by those tusks, they¡¯re probably going to be in a bad way.¡¯ Leo appreciated the warning ¨C though he already knew that they shouldn¡¯t be hit by the tusks, it looked like he would have to play more of an intervening role in this than he had hoped. With that in mind, he quickly leapt away from where he¡¯d killed the creature, others of its kind already starting to encircle him. He cast a quick glance around the fight. The mother female and the fertile female were following his direction and had done something similar to him. They were now at the edge of the action, clearly picking a target. The youngest female, however, was not. Leo couldn¡¯t help sighing a little, an action he abruptly realised that he¡¯d picked up from his brother. Still, it suited the situation. The youngest female was showing her inexperience: she hadn¡¯t taken her prey down, but unlike the other females, who also hadn¡¯t taken their prey down in a single hit like him, she didn¡¯t have the presence of mind to disengage. Despite him sending across the sensation of treating these creatures like a buffalo or elephant ¨C attacking and backing away, attacking and backing away until they fell ¨C she seemed to have defaulted back to thinking they were like warthogs. ¡®My name for her is apt, right?¡¯ Dominic¡¯s voice came through his mind. Leo hated to admit it, but from what he had seen in his brother¡¯s memory, the youngest female¡¯s ability to follow a hunting strategy was indeed reminiscent of the human she was now named after. Focussing on her, Leo sent a pointed message to her, the picture of her being surrounded by enemies hopefully enough to give her pause. Fortunately, it was enough to break her own focus on her target. Seeing that she was indeed surrounded by a number of creatures ready to stab at her, she leapt out of the mess. Of course, as Leo should have expected, she leapt the other side of the mass from where Leo and the two adult females were. Never mind ¨C she was out of immediate danger; that was the most important thing. Leo turned back to the rest of the fight, swiping at a creature which was trying to gore him with its tusks, and then side-stepping another which charged at him. Fortunately, the other lionesses hadn¡¯t been idle while he was trying to sort out the youngest. Showing the kind of teamwork he was hoping to see, they had attacked the same target, one distracting while the other went for the throat. While they weren¡¯t able to completely empty the health pool of a level 7 creature with a single attack, the beast was bleeding copiously. Despite that, it kept doggedly trying to move, though without much success. Leo doubted it would last long. The females appeared to agree as they were already turning their attention to another target. Leo himself stayed at the very edge of the fight, ignoring any beasts which didn¡¯t attempt to attack him, and either avoiding or deflecting those which did. He had about three which were persistently following him around, but the other four which had been trying to get him had lost interest when they were unable to land a blow. Those four had split in half, two going to menace the older females who were already making inroads on the troop members they were facing, the other two going to attack the younger female. The latter was not doing as well as her older pride-mates, struggling to have any meaningful impact on the beasts around her. The problem was that she was trying to land blows, but was having trouble not letting herself be gored in return. To make matters worse, it seemed like the beasts were becoming wise to the lions¡¯ strategy, choosing to bunch up in small groups, tusks facing outwards. Leo decided to intervene. Leaping from where he stood, he came down on the creatures like a bolt from heaven. While he had his claws out for better purchase on landing, he didn¡¯t actually aim to do much damage, and didn¡¯t either enhance his natural weaponry or use his teeth. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. What he did succeed in doing was completely scattering the group of beasts that he landed on. His weight was enough to do considerable damage to three of the six which had formed the little knot, and one could barely move. The young female took immediate advantage of the opening, proving that she could work as a team when she wanted to. Ripping out the creature¡¯s throat, she then turned to one of the other limping beasts and brought it down with a single pounce. Biting at its neck, she stilled, probably intending on choking it out. That was a good strategy Before, but not such a good one now. While Before the rest of her prey would probably have scattered, not wanting to be next on the menu for a hungry lion, now creatures were far more likely to seek their attacker¡¯s death, even if that meant putting themselves at risk. Sure enough, the rest of the beasts, while scattered, were already turning to surround her. Leo grunted urgently, willing her to look up and see the danger. At the same time, he took advantage of the brief pause to glance over at the other females. They were starting to struggle for the same reason as the youngest female had been ¨C their guerilla tactics and team-work weren¡¯t so good against the knot of tusked beasts which had formed before them. Still, the three carcasses littering the savannah floor near them proved their success. Leo wanted to go and help them, aiming to scatter them as he had done here with the youngest female, but first he needed to help break the encirclement. Already, the ones on the youngest female¡¯s side were starting to take runs at her and she was forced to let go of the throat she was holding to avoid them. Equally, the beasts closest to Leo ¨C including the three which had followed him over when he leapt ¨C were getting brave enough to strike at him. ¡®Maybe clear a few out? There are too many here for Jenkins to take care of by herself. Heck, maybe if we help her deal with these, it will then be three or four on the group of other queerbs. They appear to be acting defensively ¨C frustrating for the lionesses, but hopefully not as dangerous as this lot are.¡¯ It was good advice, Leo decided. To that end, he swiftly whirled on the beasts closest to them. To their surprise, he didn¡¯t attack their fronts. Instead, he took a leaf out of his brother¡¯s book and leapt behind them to attack their backs. No point in facing those tusks when not necessary. Now he was actually being serious about it, the beasts fell beneath his teeth and claws like savannah grass before a rhino¡¯s charge. Even without the bonus of Pounce, the influence of Crushing Bite, Sharp Nip, Powerful Strike, and Group Attack was rather noticeable. He killed two of the beasts closest to him, then ran with lightning speed around the perimeter of the ring now only encircling the youngest female. His next attacks were to the two beasts closest to the female and aimed to disable rather than kill. The young female was bleeding from several wounds, the short space of time he¡¯d spent in killing the two on his side enough to give the beasts the opening to gore the young lion. However, with two dead, two disabled enough to barely be able to move, one bleeding out from a neck wound, and only two beasts now in full health, Leo felt she had a much better chance of surviving. Looking over at his two other pride-mates, Leo felt his heart start beating faster. In the short time he¡¯d been distracted by helping the youngest female, the situation had changed for the two other females. One of the beasts had got in a lucky strike and one of the females ¨C the fertile one ¨C was down on the ground, bleeding heavily. The other was trying to defend her but, now scenting victory, the creatures were no longer in their defensive huddle. Instead, they were surrounding the two females and harrying the mother from all sides. Dashing over as fast as he could, Leo killed two of the beasts without them even realising what had happened. Grabbing one of the carcasses, he used his powerful neck muscles to carry it over to the downed female. Sending her a sense of urgency, he instructed her to Consume it. It took a moment for his telepathic message to register, but when the carcass dissolved into golden dust, he knew she¡¯d understood. Happy to see the deep wounds starting to mend, Leo quickly reassessed the situation. The youngest lioness hadn¡¯t yet managed to take down another creature, but she seemed to be doing well enough. She¡¯d finally got the idea of guerilla attacks, and the two previously unharmed prey beasts were now limping and bleeding. She was leading them on a merry dance with her speed and agility ¨C she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it up long, but if she could keep it up long enough for Leo to return, that would be sufficient. As for the beasts surrounding Leo, they were starting to shift back to their defensive huddle, clearly recognising the threat that he posed. The lion wasn¡¯t going to let them. Striking at the nearest beast, he sought to disable it, as he had the ones the youngest female was leading a dance. The females weren¡¯t slow on the uptake, and followed him to finish off the now-limping creatures. They worked as a team, their tactics brutally effective. Within a few minutes, the last of the creatures were attempting to turn and run, the ones following the youngest female seeing the massacre which had happened and seeking to avoid being killed themselves. Their attempts at escape were fruitless: the lions pursued the now-small troop and killed them down to the last one. Finally, silence fell on the savannah. Not even the birds sang, unwilling to reveal their presence to the predators down below. Leo looked around at his blood-stained pride. None of them had gone unscathed; even Leo himself had taken a few hits from their tusks and teeth, his stamina starting to run low towards the end. However, they were all alive; that was what was important. ¡®The question is, has it been worth the effort?¡¯ came Dominic¡¯s voice in his brain. He couldn¡¯t help but ask the same thing. Chapter 98: In Numbers Watching the fight from the backseat had been as interesting as always. Dominic had seen each death, and had kept vague track of the numbers involved. It was therefore not a big surprise when all three of the lionesses shimmered as they levelled up. What was a slight surprise was that they didn¡¯t change in the same way. Jenkins got bigger again, having obviously chosen that as her enhancement. Hathor¡¯s teeth grew longer. As for Neith, there were no obvious physical changes. Perhaps it would be something he¡¯d be able to see in the party ¨C pride ¨C status screen. Unfortunately, Dominic himself hadn¡¯t yet earned enough points to level up. Progress to Evolution: 326/420 PP Still a way to go, he sighed to himself. And that was even though he¡¯d gained the lion¡¯s share of the points ¨C despite not picking that enhancement in the pride status screen, that¡¯s just how the fight had ended up. ¡®I think we should pick the enhancement to share points,¡¯ he said to his leonine partner. ¡®When we have enough Pride Points to do it, anyway.¡¯ ¡®Why do you say that?¡¯ Leo asked, not sounding like he disagreed, just that he was curious about Dominic¡¯s reasoning. ¡®Think about that fight. It was so easy for us to kill the queerb. The fight could have been over in a fraction of the time if we¡¯d been able to let loose. But we couldn¡¯t, because then we¡¯d have got almost all the Prey Points and the lionesses wouldn¡¯t have been able to level up.¡¯ ¡®We can¡¯t do everything for them, though,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®The youngest female is foolish because she is inexperienced. The older females are wise because of their experience. If we take away the experience, they will not be able to fight as well.¡¯ That was a remarkably good point. Dominic went silent briefly as he thought it over. Then he returned to the lion who had started chewing at the closest queerb. Dominic got the sense it was more out of curiosity about what this new beast would taste like rather than actual need. ¡®I take your point about experience. But the lionesses need levels, and at the moment, these kinds of scavengers which are so good for Prey Point gain, are also a bit too much for them to handle. If we can power-level them until they¡¯re all at least Half-Step Evolved, they¡¯ll be more able to take care of themselves in the fight.¡¯ He silently thought about something. ¡®It would be good if the shared experience was something we could turn off and on again at will; I don¡¯t know if it is.¡¯ ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ Leo allowed. ¡®Right now it¡¯s irrelevant: I don¡¯t think we have enough points for it. We can discuss it more when it actually becomes a choice.¡¯ ¡®Fair point,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®For now then, though, what about those Cores?¡¯ While the two of them had been talking, the lionesses had started nosing at the carcasses, chewing at the flesh themselves. Having just levelled up, they were all fully healed and clean. They also didn¡¯t seem particularly hungry, so Dominic urged Leo to go and collect the carcasses. There, they ran into a problem: they couldn¡¯t fit all of these carcasses into his storage space with the rhino still in there along with the Cores from the hyenas and a few resorel carcasses. ¡®We¡¯ll have to dump a few of the carcasses,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo, dismayed. ¡®Agreed. Which ones shall we be rid of?¡¯ The former-human thought about it. ¡®Actually, can we swap? I think it¡¯ll be easier if I do it rather than tell you what to do.¡¯ ¡®Very well,¡¯ Leo agreed. Within a few moments, they had switched positions once more. Now back in the driver¡¯s seat, Dominic focussed on the contents of his gorget. Obviously, the rhino was the biggest single item there, but he wasn¡¯t keen on getting rid of that: it just offered so much health and stamina regeneration in one shot that he wanted to keep it around for now. He did pull out the rest of the resorels ¨C they were older than these newest queerbs, so would go off sooner. If he had to choose, he¡¯d rather keep the newer stuff. However, he did want to have their Cores first, so started digging out the Cores and laying them on the ground next to him, putting the Core-less carcasses into his storage. He also pulled out the hyenas¡¯ Cores that he¡¯d stuck in there for good measure: that would free up a little space. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Continuing to do that until he couldn¡¯t get any more into his storage space, he found that there were only five carcasses left. Pulling the Cores out of them, he checked out each of them one by one. As expected, three of the hyena Cores contained Rage in addition to Crushing Bite. The other two were slightly more interesting. [Beast Core: Spotted Hyena level 7 Ability option 1: Crushing Bite (70% chance)) Ability option 2: Clan Bonds (30% chance)] [Clan Bonds (T1): Improves teamwork between the one with the Ability and any in their party. Team members will unconsciously work in cohesion with the intentions of the one with the Ability, assuming that their objectives are the same or the team members are willing to work towards the Ability-holder¡¯s objectives. More facets may be revealed later.] ¡®That¡¯s pretty vague,¡¯ Dominic commented to Leo. ¡®¡¯Improves teamwork¡¯ and ¡®more facets may be revealed later¡¯. Where are all the percentages?¡¯ The lion gave a sense of a shrug, clearly not bothered by it. ¡®Why is it necessary to quantify everything in numbers all the time? This would be a good Ability to have.¡¯ ¡®Sure, I agree with you. It might help Jenkins actually follow a battle plan for once. But it would be nice to actually see how much this is supposed to help.¡¯ ¡®Maybe there are too many other factors. Maybe it relies on existing teamwork and will work better for those who already have a good hunt strategy in place.¡¯ ¡®If that¡¯s the case,¡¯ Dominic replied glumly, ¡®it¡¯s not going to work very well on Jenkins.¡¯ The lion actually laughed at him. ¡®She¡¯s young. She¡¯ll learn,¡¯ was all he said, amusement tingeing his mental voice. Dominic definitely got the image of a young lion with paws too big for it, stumbling around and getting in everyone¡¯s way. Apparently that was how he still saw the youngest lioness. Perhaps if Dominic thought about it that way, he¡¯d be less grumpy about it. Then again, she¡¯d almost got them all killed so maybe not. ¡®Let¡¯s try to aim for that Ability, then.¡¯ The other Core had it too so there was a reasonable chance that he might get it on at least one of them. Of course, then he needed to find other Cores with the same ability, but given how often they seemed to run into hyenas, maybe it wouldn¡¯t take so long. Though he had been a bit taken aback by how the hyenas had gone to their deaths rather than try to run. I wonder if the hyenas have access to a party system, said Dominic to himself thoughtfully. Now he knew it existed, what if he wasn¡¯t the only one who had been able to co-opt it? Though, there was the evident requirement of ¡®sapience¡¯. Then again, who was he to say that a hyena couldn¡¯t have reached sapience? They¡¯d certainly shown evidence of adapting to the changing reality. What if a hyena had been given some sort of opportunity to level quickly, just as he had with the dungeon? What if it had levelled sufficiently to gain sapience? Now he knew about the options available to him as a pride leader, it made a little more logical sense that a leader might send their group to their deaths: if they got 90% of the Prey Points from whatever the group member killed, then maybe the individual group member¡¯s survival wasn¡¯t as important as whether it took others down with it¡­. That was a rather worrying thought. The hyenas had already proven to be foes to the lions; to have them be gaining in strength as they had been was rather worrying. After all, there had been five level 7s in that fight. The hippo had been both helpful and a hindrance, offering both distraction for two of the hyenas at the same time as being another threat to keep an eye on, particularly when it set its sights on Dominic himself. Ultimately, though, there wasn¡¯t much Dominic could do about it that he wasn¡¯t already doing. If the hyenas were gaining strength quickly, his pride would have to get stronger even more quickly; choosing the option to share Prey Points when he could and then him tearing through lower leveled foes seemed the best option for that. For now, all he could do was look at the options the other Cores offered him, then absorb the Cores themselves and hope that he got the good options. Looking at the queerbs'' Cores, he found that the initial Ability they all gained was probably not his cup of tea. [Bloodied Stalwart (T0): Ignore pain and injury to continue supporting and protecting others of your group. Intelligence is consumed according to the level of injury sustained as your focus narrows due to the effort needed to continue moving.] It was the Ability with the most drawbacks Dominic had seen so far ¨C and that was including Second Wind¡¯s side-effects of potentially killing its user if the timer ran out. Being able to continue protecting others of his pride even after sustaining injury would be great ¨C if it didn¡¯t come with the side effect of making him lose his ability to reason. At least, that¡¯s what he interpreted by ¡®Intelligence is consumed¡¯. Sure, if he only used it for minor wounds, it might not have too much impact, but then he could already do that. Imagine being in a fight like where he¡¯d been impaled by the rhino¡¯s horn, and then suddenly be unable to think properly because of this Ability. Not what he wanted. It was therefore pretty annoying that it was the main Ability for these creatures. There were some Cores Dominic didn¡¯t even want to absorb at all: the other Ability offered something sounding too similar to Gore to be at all something he wanted. It was called ¡®Rend¡¯, but seemed very much in the same vein. Not something he likely had the equipment for ¨C he had no desire to grow tusks accidentally if the Ability was incompatible with his body. There were a few more interesting ones, though. Bleed seemed to be able to be applied with any weapons, applying a bleeding effect on successful strikes ¨C a good addition to his damage enhancements. Four of the Cores had that. They also had Enhanced Fertility, which made Leo perk up ¨C six of the Cores contained that. With the lack of a better option, Dominic was more willing to attempt to get that one this time. They only had 20% chance of gaining those Abilities compared to Bloodied Stalwart, though. Ah well, I don¡¯t have to accept the ability upon level up, even if I do get it to a hundred percent, Dominic told himself a bit reluctantly. Time to roll the dice. Chapter 99: Increased in Cost By the time the last of the moons was heading towards the horizon, all the members of their little party were tired and ready to join the rest of the pride. They¡¯d just met another group of foes, and the females had earned enough points to level again. Even Dominic and Leo had managed to get over the threshold of his next level. Now at level 19, it had been a bit of a debate between the two of them as to what to upgrade. Finally, compromising with something neither of them had really wanted, they¡¯d gone for levelling both Regeneration and Brain. - Enhanced Regeneration level 3 (1.75 ¨C> 2.25 HP / second) - Brain level 4 (Cognition speed standard measurement 6 ¨C> 7) Leo had, of course, wanted to increase his mane, and Dominic had at first wanted to increase his offence one way or another. Leo had argued that given that at the moment they were essentially taking points away from the lionesses, adding more damage ability wasn¡¯t likely to be useful. Dominic had argued in turn that the benefits Mane offered just weren¡¯t that useful right now. In the end, Dominic had suggested Brain ¨C hopefully that way he¡¯d be able to think of better strategies to use in battle ¨C and Leo had suggested Regeneration. They¡¯d managed to agree on that, so had levelled up. Unfortunately, none of their Abilities had been at 100% so there were no other benefits gained. The enemies they¡¯d fought that night hadn¡¯t been particularly difficult, which was both good and bad. Good in that he hadn¡¯t had to get too involved in the fights; bad in that they didn¡¯t have very good Cores. On the other hand, at least their numbers had made up for it, giving all of them the opportunity to increase in power. He¡¯d managed to level up after the second group they¡¯d come across. The final group had given them all a good few points too, despite their originally unpromising appearances. They had been creatures that looked rather like prairie dogs ¨C acted like them too. Jenkins had happily leapt on the small group of five creatures ¨C asleets, apparently. Clearly, she still had some cub impulses to attack everything that moved. Dominic hadn¡¯t been upset with her choice that time. At least, he hadn¡¯t until the five asleets had turned into twenty-five. Evidently they were quite protective of their own and upon the attack from the young lioness, the rest of the family had poured out of holes in the ground to counter-attack. The other two lionesses had decided to go help their pride-sister. Between the three lionesses and the boiling mass of prairie dog type creatures, it was soon hard to tell where the asleets stopped and the lionesses started. As it turned out, the asleets were almost the upgraded version of meerkats. They had a similar dart in, bite, dart out approach. The difference was that the meerkats had been levels 0 and 1 when Dominic had been level 9. These were levels 4, 5, and even some Half-Step Evolved at level 6 against lionesses who were level 5. Although size was still an important factor and non-venomous creatures about the size of one of Dominic¡¯s paws were unlikely to easily take down a creature the size of a lion, it turned out that the System did have its own ways of equalising things. Just as Dominic had brought down the rhinos which had been multiple times his size by piling on the damage, so did the asleets. Attacking in numbers, they overran the lionesses, scrambling up onto their backs when possible, and biting painfully even when they couldn¡¯t. As it turned out, several of them had Bleed too, the second time that night he¡¯d seen that Ability, so several of the wounds ended up being more serious than they really ought to be. A mixture of amused and frustrated that he needed to get involved, Dominic had actually made a roar his opening move. And, as it turned out, the ending move too. With the enhancement he¡¯d given it, he¡¯d been able to send a wave of fear rippling through their opponents. The asleets had turned towards him as one, then, in just as much unison, had fled for their tunnels. Perhaps they¡¯d been able to sense that he was a much higher level than them and had been scared by that. Or perhaps his size had been the deterrent. Either way, they¡¯d soon be left on a field littered by carcasses and bleeding lionesses. With a mental nudge, the lionesses had started absorbing the carcasses, ignoring the Cores, knowing full-well that they wouldn¡¯t do anything. As it turned out, his thought that it was something specific to either him, or chimeras in general, seemed to be accurate. He knew that because, prior to moving on from the queerbs¡¯ battlefield, he¡¯d tested it. Out of interest, and because Jenkins had been bugging him about it, Hathor and Neith showing signs of curiosity too, Dominic had nudged the Cores of the queerbs that he hadn¡¯t wanted to absorb towards the lionesses. He¡¯d sent them the image of trying to absorb the Cores like they did the bodies, but a warning that he wasn¡¯t sure if it would work. All three tried anyway. The lionesses had kept nudging at the Cores for a while, but had lost interest when nothing happened throughout that time. It meant that Dominic hadn¡¯t felt any guilt when he followed the lionesses and took the Cores they left behind from the newest enemies. Bleed had turned out to be a common secondary Ability, almost all of the Half-Step Evolved asleets having it. The exception was one which had contained something called ¡®Dominant Chirp¡¯ instead. The description had been unclear as to whether he would actually have to ¡®chirp¡¯ to use it, or whether it could apply to any type of vocalisation. In the end, Dominic had shrugged and had absorbed the Core. As it turned out, he beat the odds and got that one, but he had no intentions of going running around and looking for other creatures with the same Ability, not at all sure it would be any use to him even if he got it. If he found them accidentally, great. If not, oh well. The basic Ability all of the Cores had held had actually been Pack Attack, and seemed like basically another version of Group Attack. That one, he was interested in gaining, hoping that it would stack with Group Attack. All told, they had gained a fair number of points from the creatures, each one offering between four and thirteen Prey Points depending on how much involvement was put into killing them. Post Half-Step Evolution, all the lionesses proved to be easier to communicate with, just as with Sekhmet. They weren¡¯t using words yet, of course, but their mental communications became more pointed and they actually initiated contact. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Actually, it was interesting to be able to compare the three of them. Jenkins felt¡­young. Perhaps that shouldn¡¯t be surprising, but it was ¨C her physical appearance was almost identical to that of the adult females, just a little smaller. But her mental state was much more curious, interested in everything around. Dominic could now understand why she had been the one to jump in each time: she had wanted to find out what would happen, how her prey would react. Not to mention that she appeared to be quite easily distracted, movement grabbing her attention and immediately engaging her predatory instincts. Hathor and Neith were both a lot more cautious. They were predatory too, and the interest in movement was clearly something that never truly left, but where Jenkins would quickly go to investigate what had caught her interest, Hathor and Neith would observe a bit first and try to work out if it was dangerous or not. Perhaps it was as a result of having been mothers? Dominic knew that people tended to change when they became parents ¨C he¡¯d seen it in a couple of friends who had had children. Suddenly, they were pointing out all sorts of dangers which Dominic would never have thought about. However, even between Hathor and Neith there were differences, and neither of their thoughts felt like Sekmet¡¯s had. Neith was very alert, tuning into every sound and sight, sending Dominic messages on a regular basis of things she¡¯d noticed - danger, potential prey, the smell of water. Hathor was more patient. She too was alert, but she didn¡¯t send ¡®updates¡¯ all the time. Instead, she calmly asked Dominic what was next, the question coming through in a mixture of emotions and images. Then when Dominic told her he wanted to finish absorbing the Cores before they moved on, she accepted the news with equanimity, starting to groom herself. Dominic wasn¡¯t sure why ¨C she was clean from levelling up. Maybe it was for the sense of comfort? Well, not like he could throw any stones in that glasshouse ¨C he knew exactly how nice it felt to groom himself. Even his more human instincts had got over that and had just given into the sense of enjoyment. Once he¡¯d absorbed all the Cores, he had a quick look at how his progress towards new Abilities was coming on. Rage (24% to level 1) Charge (67% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Easy Landing (48% to level 1) Rending Bite (17% to level 1) Fleet Foot (15% to level 1) Enduring Stamina (5% to level 1) Bloodied Stalwart (40% to level 1) Enhanced Fertility (16% to level 1) Bleed (48% to level 1) Dominant Chirp (6% to level 1) Pack Attack (52% to level 1) He¡¯d unfortunately been unable to avoid making some progress towards Bloodied Stalwart ¨C a percentage chance of 80% wasn¡¯t easy to shift, even with both him and Leo working on it. He was still pleased with the new additions, though. There was something else that had changed too and Dominic was glad to see it. Pride status Level 2 Pride (progress to next level 5/10) Current information shared: Health, Abilities Current members: Dominic/Leo (T2, L18) ¨C leader. (Health: 558/600, Abilities: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack) Hathor (T1, L6) (Health: 380/380, Abilities: Pounce, Rending Bite) Neith (T1, L6) (Health: 380/380, Abilities: Pounce, Keen Senses) Jenkins (T1, L6) (Health: 450/450, Abilities: Pounce, Quick Strike) Pride enhancements: 1% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 1 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 1 Each of the lionesses had gained a new Ability, and none of them were the same. It was interesting, though, that two of them were ones he¡¯d already come across, and he could guess what Neith¡¯s Ability did. No wonder she¡¯d been sending him messages about things she¡¯d detected: if she was using her new Ability, she had to have access to all sorts of information she hadn¡¯t known before. That Jenkins had gained Quick Strike was more than a little ironic. What a good idea ¨C give the already impulsive lioness a way to improve her impulsivity. With Pounce and Quick Strike, she¡¯d be able to land a pretty good first blow. Hathor getting Rending Bite was a nice addition too, from what Dominic remembered of that particular Ability. I wonder what Sekhmet got¡­? He¡¯d have to find out when he added her to the pride party. Each of the lionesses has increased in level ¨C and made it to Half-Step Evolved, even. I wonder if I¡¯ve ¨C we¡¯ve ¨C gained any more Pride Points. Opening that screen easily enough, Dominic was delighted to see that they had. [Pride enhancements (Points available: 7) Share Prey Points ¨C all points will be equally shared regardless of who caused the most damage. (4) Lion¡¯s Share ¨C the leader will take 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members. (4) Increase the number of Prey Points gained by 1% (repeatable) (2) Increase the damage done by the members of the Pride when working together ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% (repeatable) (4) Increase the chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (4) Increase the chance of being able to determine the type of Ability a Pride member will gain on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (5) Note: more options may be added later depending on your actions with the Pride.] Seven points? Dominic wondered in surprise. He thought back to what had happened, trying to work out why they had so many points available. The Pride did increase in level, he thought to himself. That must have been the source of one point. And then the other six? Was it per level the lionesses had gained? No, it couldn¡¯t be ¨C that would be far too generous. Then he remembered how he¡¯d started with three points ¨C two for him being Tier 2, he guessed, and one for becoming a level 1 Pride. Or three for each of his half-steps. The lionesses had been level 4 when they¡¯d joined, so one point for each of them joining and then another point when they¡¯d reached half-step? It made sense. ¡®The options you took last time have increased in cost,¡¯ Leo pointed out. Dominic startled a little. ¡®You¡¯ve been quiet for a while,¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but say. ¡®I was having a nap in our mental space,¡¯ Leo told Dominic with a yawn. ¡®The savannah area I created is very pleasant.¡¯ ¡®I know,¡¯ Dominic agreed, having spent some time just sunbathing there while Leo was last ¡®spreading his seed¡¯ with his lionesses. Then turning his mind back to the task at hand, he looked and saw that Leo was right. ¡®Guess we won¡¯t be able to invest much in those for now, then.¡¯ At least he had enough points for the obvious choice: sharing Prey Points among members of the Pride. Plus, he even had enough points to ¡®buy¡¯ a second tier to the number of Prey Points earned which should help them level up quicker. Selecting the two options without double-guessing himself, he closed the screen and then stood up. Time to join the rest of the pride. Chapter 100: Make his Mark Although Dominic didn¡¯t have much of an idea of where to go to find the other pride members, fortunately Neith and Hathor did. Perhaps they were used to separating and then coming back together. Either way, after communicating what he wanted to do, the two lionesses sent him a sense of ¡®follow¡¯, then moved off in a particular direction at a fast pace. Dominic found himself exchanging a look with Jenkins. Then realising that he¡¯d suddenly found common ground between himself and the troublesome juvenile, he hastily pushed himself to his feet and padded after the two lionesses. A while later, the bush was starting to impinge on their journey. From the fairly open savannah grass where they had been, only a few bushes here and there offering cover for either them or their prey, they were soon starting to enter an area far more densely populated with foliage. And unfamiliar foliage at that. Their view on the route ahead became limited and the lionesses slowed down, their ears on swivels, taking in all the sounds around. Dominic did the same, listening for any indication that there might be something in the bushes ahead which they might not like to disturb. From time to time, the lionesses stopped to scent the air, even marking a few trees with their own scents. At one point, Neith stopped to defecate, and Dominic couldn¡¯t help turning away in embarrassment. He knew it was a stupid response. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d been embarrassed to see a dog do it when going for a walk in the park, after all. Why should this be any different? But it is, a little voice ¨C not Leo¡¯s ¨C said inside him. He would have been embarrassed to see another human squat down in front of him and start to off-load: he simply wasn¡¯t used to communal toilet breaks. And now, although the lions weren¡¯t human ¨C and he knew they weren¡¯t human ¨C he reckoned that by recognising them as people, he was unconsciously trying to ascribe the same social behaviour to them that he would expect of other humans. ¡®That¡¯s stupid,¡¯ Leo told him matter-of-factly. ¡®I know,¡¯ Dominic replied, more than a little grumpy about Leo having noticed his issue. He was hoping that the lion wasn¡¯t paying attention, not in the mood to have his illogical emotional responses torn apart. ¡®It¡¯s perfectly natural.¡¯ ¡®I know.¡¯ ¡®We should do the same.¡¯ ¡®I kno- wait, what?¡¯ ¡®It helps indicate our presence,¡¯ Leo said ¡®helpfully¡¯. ¡®Our faeces indicates our health and strength ¨C it will help warn away other males who might think that they stand a chance.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not going to¡­defecate on a tree!¡¯ Dominic rejected the idea immediately, feeling rather icky at the thought. ¡®I don¡¯t even need to go.¡¯ Leo sends him the sense of a shrug. ¡®I¡¯ve never needed to ¡®go¡¯ when spraying either. Why would marking our presence with faeces be any different.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not¡­I don¡¯t¡­I¡¯m not having this conversation with you!¡¯ exclaimed Dominic finally, pushing at Leo¡¯s mental presence and trying to shut it out. If he could blush, he bet his face would be bright red. Small mercies that lions didn¡¯t show such obvious outward signs of embarrassment, then. Though his tail was curling a bit. This was bringing back memories of being teased at school by the other boys for being too prudish. It was just¡­his dad had never been comfortable talking about these sorts of things, so he¡¯d picked up the discomfort. Heck, his home bathroom had even had a sound system where he could put on the sound of rain when he needed to take a piss, or louder music if he had to release his bowels. His father had used both religiously, and had cleaned the toilet and sprayed the air afterwards so there was no real evidence of what had just taken place. Spraying was bad enough, though Dominic had been broken of the embarrassment of pissing in public by pure necessity: when a guy had to go, he had to go, and often toilets were not easily available. But defecating? That was a completely different matter. ¡®If you want to¡­to defecate on the ground, then we¡¯re going to have to swap places,¡¯ Dominic said firmly. The lion sent him a sense of disinterest. ¡®I don¡¯t care that much. Just put some claw marks on a tree, maybe spray a bit, and it¡¯ll be enough,¡¯ the lion told him lazily. Dominic got the sense that the lion was perfectly happy with just relaxing in the back of his mind, particularly now that he could actually relax in the semblance of a savannah area rather than just being disembodied. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Interestingly, he did seem more able to to monitor what Dominic was doing where Dominic generally found himself cut off from Leo¡¯s senses when it was the other way around. Fortunately, since that was exactly what Dominic aimed for. Maybe that was the difference. The former-human went over to a tree, standing up on his back feet and sharpening his claws on the tree. This time, he didn¡¯t get any criticism from the peanut gallery, so he must have been doing a decent job. He¡¯d had a good number of examples since whenever Leo was in charge, he took the opportunity at least once to make his mark. Turning around, Dominic lifted his tail and closed his eyes. Don¡¯t think too much, he told himself. Just do it. I¡¯m at a festival, the johns have a queue half a mile long and are probably disgusting besides. No one can see me, and if they could it¡¯s probably because they¡¯re doing the same thing. Dad¡¯s not here to be disgusted. It¡¯s fine. It took longer than it probably should, but finally a small spray of urine shot out from behind him ¨C and completely missed the tree. Dominic didn¡¯t care ¨C he just hurried away after the unconcerned lionesses with a mixture of elation and shame running through him. He felt victorious at managing to achieve something he¡¯d found hard, but shameful that he¡¯d behaved like an animal. But I am an animal now, he told himself, trying to push away the image of his disapproving dad. It was easier than it might have been ¨C the reminder of festivals had definitely helped. And the lack of actual toilets. Still, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be bringing himself to defecate any time soon. Though that all raised an interesting question: why didn¡¯t he need to defecate, when the lionesses did? Or were they choosing to do so just like he¡¯d just chosen to spray without actually having any pressure in his bladder? And where was the waste from his food going? After all, although he generally Consumed his prey, he had eaten it sometimes. Then he thought of how dung, particularly from herbivores, was an important fertiliser for the soil, and food for a number of insects and other invertebrates. What would happen to them in this new world if defecating was no longer an obligation? He didn¡¯t know the answers, but wondering about the questions at least got his mind away from the actual action. However, it turned out that his mind was too far from the actual action as, without realising it, he¡¯d got ahead of the lionesses who had stopped. When he realised that, he paused, turning back to look at Hathor and Neith. Jenkins had stopped near them, also obviously wondering what the issue was. The two lionesses were looking uncertain, and they sent a sense of ¡®danger¡¯ when Dominic asked them why they¡¯d stopped. After a few moments, the lionesses started moving towards Dominic again, though slowly and warily. They were walking through a thicket of trees. These were not ones Leo recognised, so Dominic had to guess that they were newcomers from one of the other worlds. The trees were almost like umbrella thorn acacias, except that they were much shorter ¨C Dominic could reach their canopy by standing on both legs and swiping upwards with a paw. Thankfully, they also didn¡¯t have any thorns, meaning that the mini-pride had decided to walk below. That turned out to be a mistake. The first indication of something being wrong was when Hathor grunted in pain and warning. Already alerted, Dominic himself felt the impact of something on his hindquarters, just above his hip-bones. Confusion turned into pain and fear as he felt the little patch starting to burn. He heard the sounds of more grunts from his pride-members and sent an urgent message to all of them to back away and out of the thicket. The lionesses didn¡¯t listen at first, too consumed with their own pain and fear to listen to his mental message. The patches that burned continued burning for far too long, the substance eating away at fur and flesh alike. Falling with increasing speed, Dominic felt several globs more hit him and chanced a glance upwards to find out what exactly was the reason for the attack. He¡¯d wondered whether it was the trees themselves, but it turned out to be a load of spitting lizards laying camouflaged on the tree branches. Each lion by this point was jumping about in increasing panic, only Dominic having kept his mind since he had a good idea of what was happening. Seeing as mental messages were having no effect, he was going to have to physically move them. Running at Neith, he bulled straight into her, weathering her snaps and angered growling as he forced her away from the spitting lizards. Dashing back into the fray, he next ran at Hathor. Her bites were more impactful, her new Skill taking chunks out of his health pool. But he ignored that for now: he needed to get her out of there. Once she was clear of the trees, he went in for Jenkins. Fortunately, this time she had actually noticed what the rest of the pride was doing and decided to follow suit ¨C she almost ran him over as she stampeded out, her eyes wide. The three lionesses were not in a good state. Their fur was patchy and bloody, the biological weapon having already eaten through their skin in multiple places. Heck, Dominic was the same: he had at least twelve areas which were paining him, and he wondered when the substance would stop. He guessed it was some type of strong acid or strong alkali, neither of which he could do much about. At least none of them had been hit in the eye or mouth. The best he could do was pull queerb carcasses out of his storage space and encourage the lionesses to Consume them. Although his rate of losing health wasn¡¯t quite as fast as his regeneration rate ¨C the spots of acid really were quite small ¨C it was simply too painful just to tough it out and his resolve to do so crumbled quickly. Consuming a queerb carcass of his own, he watched one of the patches. The damage the corrosive substance had done was quickly healed; the substance itself, however, was still there. Within a short time, blood was once again beading on his fur as the acid ate through the outer layers of his skin. Without anything to neutralise it, the acid would just keep eating until it neutralised itself. It seemed like time and keeping the healing going was the only answer. Unless¡­ thought Dominic to himself, eyeing the thicket grimly once more. Surely the lizards are not vulnerable to their own corrosion. Chapter 101: The Stoner As it turned out, the lizards weren¡¯t affected by their own weapon. Though that wasn¡¯t all good news for the lions. Dominic had theorised that the lizards would have to have some sort of neutralising agent in their mouths at least, just in case they got splash-back from whatever orifice the corrosive spit was emerging from. They probably did, but Dominic didn¡¯t need to check for one simple reason: they also had it on their skins. But sometimes the cure was as bad as the disease. The lion had found that out the hard way. He¡¯d leapt into the trees, grabbing the closest lizard from above. Going top down seemed to have worked in that he didn¡¯t get attacked by new balls of spit. However, the burning that soon started in his mouth revealed that the lizards were not foes to be taken lightly. Having an idea, Dominic had jumped back onto the ground and then hurriedly rubbed the lizard on one of the patches near the base of his tail. The patch soon stopped burning and he repeated the motion on the other patches he could reach, then moved to help the lionesses. His previously burnt areas were now feeling better, but his mouth was really starting to hurt ¨C clearly the liquid secreted by the lizard¡¯s skin and the one it spat were of opposing pHs and were both as bad as each other in different ways. Trying to think outside the box, he actually dropped the lizard and went to lick at the corrosive spots on Hathor. She seemed a bit confused, but didn¡¯t step away from him. After he¡¯d licked the first spot and had stopped it burning, she seemed to get the idea. That turned out to be his saving grace, even if it did end up leaving smears of his own blood over all three lionesses. By licking at the corrosive patches, he neutralised that substance with what was smeared around his mouth from biting the lizard, and at the same time stopped the burning of what he¡¯d got all over his teeth and gums. I definitely need to level up, though, Dominic thought grimly even once all the burning had subsided. Running his tender tongue over his teeth, he felt that they had been eaten into ¨C it was like he¡¯d got a whole load of cavities all of a sudden. He wasn¡¯t sure whether his ongoing Regeneration would help with that, but was pretty sure a level up would. Either way, his most powerful weapon was significantly damaged right now, and he hated to know what that might result in if he met the wrong opponent. The problem with that was, of course, the fact that he was less than a quarter towards his next level and he needed his teeth to kill the creatures to get there. Then again, since he was now sharing Prey Points equally with all the members of his pride, perhaps he didn¡¯t have to do quite as much effort. Though that wasn¡¯t exactly what he¡¯d intended when he¡¯d chosen that option¡­. ¡®This is where having hands is really useful,¡¯ Dominic thought at Leo, aggrieved. ¡®I wouldn¡¯t have had to touch the damn lizard with my bare skin: I could have covered my hands with some protective cloth, or even thrown something at them from a distance.¡¯ As it was, he wasn¡¯t keen on going and biting anything else. The lion stayed silent ¨C probably wisely since Dominic wasn¡¯t actually looking for a debate. The lizard he¡¯d previously grabbed was actually still alive: Dominic wasn¡¯t keen on finding out whether its blood was poisonous. It also turned out to be very slow. Sloth-like, really. Despite him having dropped it a good few minutes ago, it had only made a few metres of progress back towards the thicket it had come from. And of course, Jenkins looked on the verge of prodding it, Hathor and Neith being wiser and staying at more of a distance. To nip that in the bud, Dominic sent the youngest lioness a sense memory of biting into the lizard and his whole mouth burning as a result. She recoiled from the creature like it had bitten her, scrambling backwards to leave a much more wary distance between them. Good. The lion wasn¡¯t all that keen on leaving the creature alive, though ¨C with as much pain as it and its friends had caused, he wanted to at least gain something out of it. But he wasn¡¯t willing to touch it again. Eyeing it thoughtfully, he wondered if there was a way of killing it nonetheless. He wasn¡¯t sure how his tail weapon would react to the corrosive liquid on the skin of the lizards otherwise he might try using that. However, his previous thoughts about the benefits hands could offer him were giving him an idea. Sure, he couldn¡¯t have mouth protectors, nor could he throw spears or rocks, but there was still something he could do. Going over to a rock about the size of his paw, he stretched his mouth wide and grasped it with his teeth. Internally wincing as he felt it grate against his canines a little, he slowly and gently lifted it from the ground. If he felt or heard anything that might indicate his teeth were too weakened to deal with this, he would let go immediately. As it was, it appeared that his corroded enamel was coping with the strain. For now, at least. Moving over to the crawling lizard, Dominic opened his mouth again and let it fall ¨C right on the lizard¡¯s head. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! [You have killed Skeet (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 7 PP] At first disappointed by the pittance in Prey Points that he¡¯d earned, Dominic reminded himself that that had to be the total split four ways meaning that the creature was actually worth 28 points. Not bad, though still not worth the damage, he decided. Then again¡­ He cast a considering eye up at the branches of the thicket. Apparently they only attacked when creatures were actually directly below them, so several metres away from the trees, the lions were safe enough. Hathor sent Dominic an image of lions meeting, a sense of impatience attached. Clearly, the lionesses were keen to go find the rest of the pride. But Dominic was wondering if there might be a better way of approaching this, one which would net them a whole lot more Prey Points. ¡®What are you thinking?¡¯ Leo asked curiously. ¡®Your thoughts are racing too fast for me to be able to fully grasp them.¡¯ ¡®What I¡¯m thinking is that although I don¡¯t have hands, that doesn¡¯t mean tools are completely out of the question. And I¡¯m thinking that I want some revenge,¡¯ Dominic told his partner, shoving an image of his idea at Leo. The lion made a curious grunting noise. ¡®That could work,¡¯ he granted. ¡®But it could also go badly wrong if they start attacking in a group.¡¯ Dominic accepted that point. ¡®If so, we¡¯ll run away. No harm, no foul. They¡¯re clearly slow creatures, so we¡¯d easily get away.¡¯ ¡®Then let¡¯s try,¡¯ Leo told him with a hint of anticipation. ¡®I would be ashamed to show these teeth off to my females ¨C let¡¯s get the points we need to level up and repair them.¡¯ Dominic shook his head, his mane flapping around his ears. ¡®Always with the females,¡¯ he sighed, a little exasperated. ¡®Of course,¡¯ Leo told him, completely unrepentant. ¡®Though I¡¯d imagine we¡¯d rather not reencounter these creatures again at a higher level, if we can avoid it.¡¯ Dominic shuddered at the thought. ¡®Definitely not!¡¯ And actually, thinking about it, while the adult lions were OK against the lizards, the cubs probably wouldn¡¯t be. Level 0 with probably very little defence, and much smaller bodies¡­they¡¯d succumb to the acid quickly. Dominic felt a wave of agreement from Leo, and an increased desire to commit genocide on these wretched acid-spitting lizards. In response to Hathor and Neith who were both starting to look very impatient, their tails flicking and their movements becoming sharper, Dominic sent his intention to kill the lizards. Figuring that they might be more motivated by protecting the cubs than gaining more power for themselves, he sent an imagined image of a cub walking into the thicket and being attacked and killed. The furious response from the lionesses was exactly what he wanted, their lips curling up to bare their teeth, even as they looked ready to pounce at the lizards in the trees. But that wasn¡¯t what Dominic wanted them to do. Instead, he sent a sense of ¡®wait¡¯, then looked around the area for what he needed. They settled, impatiently, but they did it. Apparently past experience of his seemingly crazy plans which eventually turned out beneficial was enough to make them trust him in this. Finding a long stick, Dominic grabbed one end of it in his jaws. It took a bit of experimentation, working out the best way to hold and move it. Certainly, it was a lot harder than picking up a stick with his hands, but alas, that particular limb was currently absent. Finally, he worked out a way of holding the stick almost sideways, the end of it trapped between his back teeth on both sides, though slightly angled forwards. It was awkward, and he could already feel the effort his neck muscles had to make to control the length of the branch. Nonetheless, he had succeeded in the first step. The next step was more dangerous: although the branch was quite long, he would still have to enter the spitting lizard¡¯s range. At least he knew how to neutralise their attack now, though. Stepping forwards, he used the stick to knock the lizards off their branches without needing to touch them. The four closest to him fell from the canopy like overripe apples. Uninjured in the actual fall, that state wouldn¡¯t last long. Sending an image of himself picking up a rock in his teeth and then dropping it, he encouraged the lionesses to do the same, coming forward to kill the lizards. They were confused at first. Dominic had to drop the stick for a moment and demonstrate for them with a stone, another lizard-splatter soon created. Fortunately, after that, Neith, her head cocked to one side, came forward, grabbing at the stone delicately with her jaws. That one actually turned out to be too big for her: Dominic¡¯s mouth was a bit bigger than hers. So, looking around, Dominic found another stone which looked to be a bit smaller. That time, Neith succeeded in picking up the stone and then dropping it¡­but not quite in the right place. Dominic sent her another image of dropping it on the lizard¡¯s head, rather than next to it, then moved off to continue poking lizards down from the canopy, accompanied by a beat of dull thuds as Neith kept dropping the stone onto the ground. . A message that flashed up soon after revealed that Neith had succeeded in correctly targeting the lizard¡¯s head. Or had damaged it sufficiently that the same result happened. [A member of your party has killed Skeet (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 7 PP] ¡®Should I call myself The Harvester from now on?¡¯ he wondered, in a much better mood now he was succeeding in getting some payback on the nasty lizards. ¡®Actually, I know - the Stoner since I¡¯ve taught lions to use stones.¡¯ ¡®Please don¡¯t!¡¯ Leo rejected swiftly. ¡®Spoilsport.¡¯ Dominic was silent for a moment. Then, cocking his head to one side, he sent a cheeky mental grin at his companion. ¡®How about talking about how stoned those lizards are then?¡¯ A disgruntled growl was his only response. Chapter 102: A Bird In The Hand ¡®So, lions are using tools now,¡¯ Dominic told his companion in a bit of amusement. ¡®What next?¡¯ It was rather interesting to see how the lionesses had taken to killing their opponents with a means other than claws and teeth. Dominic had finished poking the lizards down from the canopy with his stick. He¡¯d even jumped onto the branches themselves, patrolling the tree top just to make sure he hadn¡¯t missed any. Although he¡¯d found a couple he¡¯d had to nudge with a smaller stick ¨C since there was no way he was taking that long thing into the branches with him ¨C most had been successfully dislodged. Of course, successfully dislodged didn¡¯t mean dead, but the lionesses were swiftly doing their best to remedy that situation. Dominic dropped lightly to the ground, intentionally avoiding the lizards there. He hadn¡¯t completely avoided injury while ¡®harvesting¡¯ his prey ¨C walking on the ground meant that he¡¯d been a target for their corrosive spit. However, the stick had meant that he was out of most of their ranges, and he¡¯d managed to dodge a good few goblets anyway. Ultimately, he¡¯d only had a few spots he¡¯d needed to lick with a tongue coated once more in the secretions from a lizard¡¯s skin. Incidentally, both liquids tasted absolutely horrible. Though he¡¯d been a bit occupied earlier with the pain of the burning substances, this time, he was able to actually taste them. He¡¯d rather he couldn¡¯t, though, given how disgusting they were. After Neith had successfully killed the first lizard, Dominic had seen how the other lionesses had become more interested. Jenkins, actually, was the next to pick up the trick, and she rather gleefully had fun picking up rocks and dropping them on the lizards¡¯ heads. Hathor took longer, but even she had managed before Dominic had finished prodding the lizards off their branches. Since there were still a few lizards to kill, particularly on Dominic¡¯s side of things, he got to work. About to pick up a rock from the ground with his teeth, the lion paused. What if¡­.? Touching a good-sized rock with his paw, he put it into his storage space. Thankfully, he had a bit more room in there due to Consuming a few of the queerb carcasses. Then, lifting his paw above a lizard¡¯s head, he took the rock out of the storage space again. As hoped, the rock appeared exactly where it had been when it had been put in the storage space: at the end of his paw. At that point, gravity took over, and Dominic saw the satisfying notification of the lizard¡¯s death flash up before him. He grinned mentally in pleasure ¨C no need to risk breaking his teeth by picking up rocks! After that, the clean-up was quick. Within a few minutes, the four lions were surrounded by splattered lizards, blood- and acid-coated rocks lying all around. Dominic sent a sense of pleasure to the other lions, trying to do his best to congratulate them on a good job, but not sure how to communicate that. From the returning sense of pleasure that he got from each of them, he had to guess that it was good enough. Each of them blurred a moment later, indicating that all the lionesses had managed to level up. Dominic watched in interest, seeing some small changes. Hathor was the most obvious, her teeth having extended longer. Actually, it wasn¡¯t all her teeth ¨C just her canines. That made Dominic think back to the choice of Path he had to make all the way in the beginning. Had Hathor been given the same choice and chose to Devolve? Could she be drawing on the sabre-tooths in her lineage? Neith and Jenkins weren¡¯t immediately obvious, but from how Jenkins started leaping around, her movement noticeably a little faster than before, she had chosen to increase her speed. Dominic couldn¡¯t tell what Neith had chosen, but if the other two lionesses had leant into their strengths ¨C Hathor with Rending Bite had improved her teeth; Jenkins with Quick Strike had improved her speed ¨C he guessed that she might have improved one of her senses. Though maybe she improved something else which would become clearer later. Checking his own progress hopefully, he wasn¡¯t surprised when he saw it. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised ¨C each level just cost so many Prey Points these days. Progress to Evolution: 245/462 PP ¡®Looks like we¡¯re going to have to wait a bit longer to fix our teeth,¡¯ Dominic told Leo with a mental sigh. The lion made an indecipherable grumbling sound, clearly not happy. Well, he¡¯d have to live with it: Dominic was more concerned about their teeth not being up to whatever threat they¡¯d have to face next: they¡¯d rather got off lightly by being able to kill the lizards with rocks. He didn¡¯t want to know what could have happened if he¡¯d tried to bite them all! Though speaking of the lizards, Dominic wondered what their Cores might hold. Curious, he touched the closest lizard with just the tip of one claw, triggering Consume. Though the lizard¡¯s small size and low level meant that his health was barely increased, he didn¡¯t care too much ¨C he hadn¡¯t used much stamina at all, and his health would recover within a few minutes anyway. No, he was more interested in the Core. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Skeet Level 5 Ability: Acid Spit] Not unexpected, sighed Dominic to himself, but annoying nonetheless. He wondered if it was even worth looking at the Ability description, but decided that he might as well. Who knows, maybe he would come across these creatures again in the future ¨C forewarned is forearmed. [Acid Spit (T0): The venom production for your naturally venomous bite has been increased and enhanced, allowing you to use your attack at range. The acidic concentration of your venom may increase as Ability increases in level, as may your range and quantity of spit.] Yep, not something I particularly want, Dominic concluded. Acid spitting wasn¡¯t really on the list of Abilities he wanted to gain. And that was assuming that the Ability would even confer it on him: the information text only talked about ¡®enhancing¡¯ after all. Though, he did find it interesting to see the implications of what might have happened when the System came in. Clearly the lizards had already been venomous even before the system, and that their venom was probably acid-based seemed likely considering it talked about increasing the ¡®acidic concentration¡¯ of the venom, not changing it completely. Dominic did have to wonder how they used to hunt given how slow they were. Did they used to drop out of the trees onto whatever came below, digging in their teeth and injecting the venom? Perhaps. The lion was sure of one thing, though: he¡¯d be paying more attention to what might be lurking in the canopy above! Baboons and monkeys were one thing; corrosive lizards were a completely different story. Not too interested in gathering a load of acid Cores which might not even work, Dominic didn¡¯t bother trying to dig them out of the lizards¡¯ heads. He was interested in keeping the lizard carcasses, though. Not as portable health potions this time, but as weapons. After all, if they¡¯d struggled with the corrosive properties of the lizards¡¯ secretions, surely anything else would too. By the time he¡¯d stuffed the twenty-odd bodies of the skeets into his storage space, filling up the area recently vacated by the queerb carcasses, the area was a lot clearer, though still blood-spattered. The odd Core glinted in the fingers of light let in by the small leaves of the tree canopy above, and Dominic hesitated. While he didn¡¯t want the ability to spit acid, his inner hoarder didn¡¯t like leaving them lying around either. What if another chimera came around and took them? He didn¡¯t want to hand a weapon to a potential rival. ¡®Just absorb them,¡¯ Leo told him, as impatient as the lionesses were by this point. ¡®We don¡¯t have to accept the Ability on level up, even if we somehow succeed in getting it to a hundred percent progress.¡¯ Dominic hesitated a moment longer, but then accepted his companion¡¯s reasoning. ¡®And maybe if I can get more control over what I gain in the future, it might actually be useful,¡¯ he told Leo thoughtfully. After all, although he didn¡¯t want to spit acid, having a venomous bite might not actually be such a bad thing, as long as his teeth didn¡¯t weaken or something as a result. Though, thinking about it, he¡¯d be more likely to gain an Ability for that from a snake. After quickly absorbing the few small marbles which lay on the ground below the trees, Dominic joined the lionesses. Tired of waiting for him, they¡¯d already started moving, so he had to jog for a bit to catch up. ***** By the time they found the rest of the pride, the night was pretty much over. The four other lionesses along with the single set of surviving cubs had obviously been busy. ¡®Is this Sekhmet¡¯s influence, do you think?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo as he surveyed the battleground. ¡®It must be,¡¯ the lion replied, sounding rather baffled. The former-human didn¡¯t blame him: what he saw before him was not what he would have expected from a pride of lions. Neith, Hathor, and Jenkins had already gone forwards to rub heads with the rest of the pride, so Dominic quickly padded over to do the same. After greetings were over, the lionesses joined their sisters in munching at the carcasses, clearly unable to pass up food, despite having eaten not so long ago. The carcasses in question were, in fact, a whole load of familiar creatures, though not ones that Dominic had so far encountered. Not since merging with Leo, anyway. However, he¡¯d seen quite a few of them as a human in South Africa. Baboons. A whole troop of them. As far as Dominic knew, lions didn¡¯t really hunt baboons, and baboons didn¡¯t generally tangle with a pride of lions. ¡®We hunt them if there¡¯s nothing better to eat,¡¯ Leo corrected him. ¡®But to see this number¡­it¡¯s unusual. Surprising.¡¯ Dominic understood what he meant, especially when the lion shoved a few memories at him. In the natural way of things, if the lions had decided to attack the baboons, they would have taken a few before the rest of the troop became too wary and then run off. There certainly wouldn¡¯t have been this kind of massacre. Because what Dominic and Leo could see could only be called that. Each of the lionesses must have gone on a killing spree as the bodies were everywhere. Dominic tried counting them, but gave up after he¡¯d gone past twenty-five. Considering there had only been four lionesses there, it was an impressive kill record. That wasn¡¯t normal. ¡®A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush¡¯ was definitely a maxim a lion could live by: they would secure the prey they had instead of going for more. They weren¡¯t like foxes who would kill a whole hen-coop just because they could. But that was what they¡¯d done here. There was only one lioness Dominic could ask to find out what had happened. Padding over to her, he sent Sekhmet a sense of his curiosity. Chapter 103: Ruin the Party In response to Dominic¡¯s mental contact with her, Sekhmet sent a number of images to him, detailing exactly what had happened. As it turned out, three of the cubs had gone a bit too far from the rest of the pride and had been espied by a troop of baboons. The cubs had put up enough of a defence against the opportunistic primates that they had drawn the attention of the closest lioness. Sekhmet hadn¡¯t been first on the scene ¨C that had been Isis, the oldest lioness and the apparent matriarch of the pride. Her roaring defence had, inevitably, drawn the attention of the rest of the lionesses. They¡¯d gone charging into the mess, swiftly killing the closest baboons to the beleaguered cubs and single lioness. The surviving baboons, now seeing that their opportunity for easy prey had disappeared, had tried to run. That¡¯s where Sekhmet had come in. Exhorting her pride-sisters with her body language and snarls, then demonstrating by action what to do, she had led the charge. Dominic approved ¨C the baboons had tried to seize an opportunity in the lion cubs, but had failed. In return, they would themselves become a way for the lions to grow. The baboons had run at first, but when it became clear that the lionesses were intent on doing more than just chasing them away, a number had stayed as a sort of rear-guard. Not a single one of the defending baboons had survived, though they¡¯d managed to protect the rest of the troop for long enough that a good number had regained the safety of the tree tops. One of the as-yet unnamed lionesses ¨C the other one just coming out of her heat ¨C had decided to leap into the trees after them and had even managed to catch a couple, letting them drop to the ground, half-dead, for her sisters to finish off. After that, though, the rest of the baboons had retreated high enough that she was too heavy to pursue them. Soon after that, they managed to evacuate through the treetops, avoiding ever touching the ground so the lionesses had to be satisfied with what they¡¯d gained. Still, from the almost thirty-five baboons they¡¯d actually managed to slay, they¡¯d all gained at least one level, with the youngest lioness and the other unnamed lioness gaining two each. I need to name them ¨C I can¡¯t keep going around calling them ¡®unnamed lioness one¡¯ and ¡®unnamed lioness two¡¯, Dominic thought to himself with exasperation. A moment of thought gave him two names he hoped he¡¯d be able to live with. If they ever got to the point where names became important and they wanted to change them, obviously he¡¯d accept that. As it was, Leo didn¡¯t seem too bothered about his name. ¡®No,¡¯ the lion commented. ¡®Names are a human thing. Lions don¡¯t need anything so ridiculous. Imagine ¨C you creatures become confused if two of you are named the same thing! Doesn¡¯t that just demonstrate by itself how the leonine way of identifying through scent and sight is far superior to any name?¡¯ ¡®And how are you supposed to smell someone through a piece of paper or a computer screen,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. The lion grunted at him. ¡®Lions don¡¯t need to. That¡¯s the point.¡¯ Dominic gave up. Leo was right, and no amount of explaining that the two situations were therefore incomparable would work. Menhit should be a good name, he said to himself, eyeing the lioness with whom Leo had¡­become very familiar. It¡¯s fortunate that the Ancient Egyptians had more than one lion goddess. Not too surprising considering that there had probably been plenty of the felines around in the environment. As for the other young lioness¡­. Based on her performance with the baboons, the way she had eagerly torn into the creatures menacing the cubs, Dominic decided to name her Anuke. A war goddess ¨C minor, but it was a nice name, he felt. Naming done, Dominic started sending out the invitations, feeling the acceptance from the lionesses come rolling in. He even tried to invite the cubs, but got an error message. [Error: System cannot send invitation as target is below level 1] Pity, Dominic commented to himself, having vaguely hoped to have been able to power-level the cubs to improve their defence rating. So there was a minimum level to new pride members. Was that just because no level 0s could join any sort of party, or was it something specific to prides? Or perhaps because of the levels of those already in the party? Either way, he¡¯d have to wait until they gained at least one level. The question now was when that would happen: when they gained enough Prey Points, or when they reached a certain age. The only reason he wondered whether it might be the latter was because he couldn¡¯t see how making some of the changes he was offered on level-up might be possible for a small cub. Even Dominic himself wasn¡¯t actually fully grown, which did make him wonder whether some of his changes would have issues when he reached his full size. And more importantly to Leo, his mane reached its full length. He dismissed the idea from his mind ¨C they¡¯d find out. He did make a mental note to see if he could bring half-dead prey for the cubs to kill. If it only took them reaching 100 Prey Points to level up, it would be better if they could do it sooner rather than later. Despite the potential issues levelling up a lot as a cub could cause, it did also significantly increase survivability. Pulling up his pride¡¯s status screen, Dominic eyed it happily. Pride status Level 2 Pride (progress to next level 9/10) Current information shared: Health, Abilities Current members: Dominic/Leo (T2, L19) ¨C leader. (Health: 600/600, Abilities: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack) Stolen novel; please report. Hathor (T1, L6) (Health: 380/380, Abilities: Pounce, Rending Bite) Neith (T1, L6) (Health: 380/380, Abilities: Pounce, Keen Senses) Jenkins (T1, L6) (Health: 450/450, Abilities: Pounce, Quick Strike) Menhit (T1, L6) (Health: 342/380, Abilities: Pounce, Sure Feet) Isis (T1, L5) : (Health: 271/300, Abilities: Pounce) Sekhmet (T1, L7) : (Health: 357/380, Abilities: Pounce, Sharp Mind) Anuke (T1, L5) : (Health: 254/300, Abilities: Pounce) Pride enhancements: 3% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 2 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 1 Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) ¨C on It was good to see everyone¡¯s level, health pool and Abilities. Quite a diverse range of the latter, actually. None of the five who now had an Ability had actually repeated. I wonder what Sure Feet and Sharp Mind are, though. Some sort of passives to increase dexterity and intelligence or something? Perhaps he¡¯d come across a creature and be able to find out from its Core: he certainly wouldn¡¯t be trying to get at Menhit or Sekhment¡¯s Core to satisfy his curiosity! He was happy to see that the pride had advanced a level, though not so happy to see that he hadn¡¯t actually earned any Enhancement Points from Menhit or Sekhmet. Apparently them crossing the half-Tier mark hadn¡¯t counted ¨C because they weren¡¯t part of the pride at the time, he guessed. He also noticed something he hadn¡¯t seen before: the ¡®on¡¯ next to his most recent enhancement choice. Does that mean I can toggle it on and off? Dominic wondered. That would actually be pretty cool ¨C being able to turn it on when it best suited him to be helping the lionesses to level, and then turning it off when it would be better for individuals to be advancing. Actually, that option to direct the ¡®lion¡¯s share¡¯ of the Prey Points to the leader is still in the list. I wonder if I could switch between them at need. That could actually be pretty powerful¡­. ¡®Agreed,¡¯ Leo responded to his thoughts. ¡®It would definitely help us to gain an even more magnificent mane and become the most powerful male in this area. The females would choose to join us in droves.¡¯ Directing an eye roll at his companion, Dominic couldn¡¯t help asking a follow-up question. ¡®Does it even work like that? Lionesses choosing to leave their prides to join the strongest male?¡¯ Leo sent him a feeling of a nonchalant shrug. ¡®If I prove myself to be so much stronger than their males, then I don¡¯t see why not. The females of our current pride might take a bit of convincing, but now we¡¯re able to communicate more complex concepts with them, I would imagine they¡¯d recognise the power of numbers.¡¯ ¡®Interesting point,¡¯ Dominic commented. They¡¯d already seen how the System¡¯s influence had changed multiple creatures¡¯ previous behaviour. Why not change the lions into coming together in some mega-pride? Leo seemed to have gone into some sort of dreamland, probably one populated with many, many lionesses and cubs. Deciding not to bother him at that moment, Dominic instead went to investigate what kind of Cores the baboons might have had. Digging into the closest carcass, the lion hesitated as he closed his jaws around the primate¡¯s skull. Did he want to risk the bone breaking his currently-weak teeth? Not really. Especially when he didn¡¯t even know whether it was an Ability he¡¯d want. Instead, he was about to pick up a stone and do the same thing here as he had with the lizards, when another thought suddenly occurred. I have a tail mace and there¡¯s no acid involved here ¨C can¡¯t I try using that? Materialising his tail armour, he turned and tried to lift the mace above the baboon¡¯s head and drop it. After several fruitless attempts, he had to give up. Plan A, he sighed to himself. The problem was simply that he didn¡¯t have enough fine motor control over his tail, especially when trying to hit something that he couldn¡¯t even see. Letting rocks fall worked, though it took several impacts for the skull to finally crack enough for him to get his claws in and pull it apart. Pulling out the Core, he identified the Ability held within. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Chacma Baboon Level 5 Ability: Sure Feet] I thought they were just ¡®baboons¡¯, was Dominic¡¯s first thought. What are the chances? was his second as he actually registered the Ability there. I guess I don¡¯t need to crack open Menhit¡¯s head to find out about this Ability, then, he commented jokingly. [Sure Feet (T0): A passive improvement to your ability to find a secure foothold, this Ability functions best when moving slowly, but still adds a small bonus to your balance and traction when moving at speed. The bonus this Ability offers may increase as Ability increases in level and other effects may be discovered.] Not bad, Dominic thought, pleased despite himself. It wasn¡¯t a direct improvement to his combat power, but it would definitely have come in handy when he was fighting the kesh or those sonic wolves and was obliged to take to the treetops. ¡®More than that,¡¯ Leo¡¯s voice came. ¡®Back are you?¡¯ Dominic asked in amusement. The lion ignored his comment. ¡®This could directly improve our speed when hunting, increase our ability to change direction, and give us a better base from which to weather attacks. We need this Ability.¡¯ He was completely serious, unusual for him. ¡®I hadn¡¯t thought of all of that,¡¯ Dominic replied, slightly surprised. ¡®I know. Which is why I had to think of it,¡¯ the lion replied smugly. ¡®Now get to work!¡¯ His seriousness had clearly not lasted long. Dominic mentally stuck his tongue out at the back-seat driver. ¡®Fine, dad.¡¯ ¡®If I was your father, you¡¯d have died long before reaching maturity,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic said, his joke falling flat as it merely reminded him of what he¡¯d lost. Feeling subdued, he started collecting the Cores. He¡¯d just about collected enough to gain the Ability on his next level up when Hathor grunted a warning. Looking up, he saw exactly what had alerted her and his hackles went up. ¡®Why do the hyenas always have to come and ruin the party?¡¯ he complained to Leo, a growl rising in his throat. Chapter 104: Snapping Jaws This time, the powerful scavengers had come in force. The lionesses swiftly grouped together, Dominic quickly joining them at their head. The cubs were behind the adults who were standing in a vaguely curved line, cowed into silent obedience by the wariness of their elders. The hyenas were arranged in a roughly triangular fashion, led by one hyena with two flanking it. Interestingly, the one at the front was clearly the leader; just as evidently, it wasn¡¯t the biggest. That title belonged to the two flanking it like bodyguards. Maybe not just like bodyguards ¨C maybe that¡¯s exactly what they were. Dominic narrowed his eyes as he stared at the lead hyena. I think I recognise that one. The wind shifted, blowing the scents of the hyenas to the lions ¨C too late to warn them. ¡®We do recognise her,¡¯ Leo confirmed quietly. ¡®She¡¯s the same scavenger who led the group which killed two of our females.¡¯ Dominic remembered that moment very well. He also rememberd locking eyes with the leader at the end, the hyena seeming to promise a rematch. It appeared that this was the moment ¨C and she¡¯d brought plenty of back-up this time. There had to be at least thirty of the hyenas, and from their size, a good third were beyond half-step Evolved. Maybe even more since it had been his experience with the lionesses that they didn¡¯t always pick size as the element to enhance. Though if they¡¯d enhanced their bite or intelligence, that wouldn¡¯t be any better for the lions ¨C Dominic was very aware that an intelligent enemy who knew where and when to strike was worse than a powerful enemy whose strikes might be misjudged. Perhaps the hyena now leading the group was an example of one who had enhanced something other than size. Maybe, like Sekhmet, she even had an Ability which was linked to Intelligence somehow. But in a way that was immaterial. With so many hyenas, and powerful ones too, the odds weren¡¯t looking good for them. The only thing that consoled Dominic was that the lionesses had been able to handle almost the same amount of numbers before when they¡¯d been lower levels than their opponents. And then they had been completely surprised and separated. This time, they¡¯d realised the presence of the threat before the hyenas had attacked ¨C they¡¯d been able to take defensive action and protect the most vulnerable members. As another bonus, everyone¡¯s health bars were full. But that was the end of the good news. Honestly, Dominic wasn¡¯t at all sure how this clash would go, but he didn¡¯t see much option but to defend. They could run, but the hyenas would chase ¨C the cubs would be lost, and probably some of the lionesses too. No, we have to fight, Dominic decided. ¡®We have to defend our territory against these filthy scavengers,¡¯ Leo snarled in his mind, clearly feeling a lot stronger about the idea than Dominic himself. Dominic eyed the arrangements, then sent out a few images to the lionesses behind him. He did his best to caution the lionesses to stick together, not to take risks. The enemy had numbers against them; they couldn¡¯t afford to lose even one fighter. He also informed them of the strategy he intended on using personally ¨C leaping in and out of the fight and expressing a need for them to keep a space clear within their circle when they retreated to that shape. He was sure they were going to have to ¨C there were too many hyenas for anything else, and the lionesses on the ends of the current lines would be the most vulnerable. Not to mention that they needed to protect their backs too. Finally, he struggled to suggest that they don¡¯t absorb any bodies until they really needed to. Why? Because the hyenas had already shown themselves to be intelligent and adaptable. Dominic was worried that if they showed how dissolving carcasses into golden dust and then absorbing it improved health, the hyenas would find a way to copy it. Given how many baboon carcasses still littered the area, that was the last thing they needed happening in this fight. No, better to keep that under wraps as long as possible; hopefully the lionesses had understood and would comply. For a moment, the two sides looked at each other, then, with a whoop from the leader, the hyenas charged. Dominic met their charge with a roar of his own. Timing it carefully, he hit them just as the first line was about to hit. Prepared for it to fail completely, he was pleasantly surprised. The front line of hyenas hesitated ever so slightly. Though not much and not for long, it was enough for the second line to go ploughing straight into them. The hyenas which had hesitated were jogged out of their momentary fear, but were extra irritated because of it. They snapped back at the hyenas which had run into them, the front line almost turning into an outright brawl. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Anuke, Jenkins, Sekhmet, Menhit, Hathor, and Dominic himself took full advantage of that. With Isis and Neith staying behind to guard the cubs, the main part of the pride surged forwards to rip at the hyenas¡¯ throats. For a moment, everything Dominic could see boiled with either sandy or spotted fur. Pained yelps and angry growls filled the air. The scent of blood met his nose ¨C but perhaps that was just from his own attacks. Powered by Crushing Bite, Powerful Strike, and Sharp Nip, the male lion¡¯s attacks made a strong impact on his enemies. In a crush like this, he couldn¡¯t get stuck in to ensure that his targets died; all he could do was bite, swipe, and move on to the next pair of snapping jaws. [You have killed Hyena (Half-step Evolved level 6)] [You have earned 8 PP] Nonetheless, he was having an effect. Especially with the Bleed effect that Sharp Nip often left on his targets. The first notification was quickly waved away, Dominic barely even taking enough time to note the amount of Prey Points he was gaining. It was soon followed by another. [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 7 PP] And another [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Basic Beast level 6)] [You have earned 8 PP] But that was the end of the ¡®freebies¡¯. Through the din of snapping and snarling, Dominic heard the whoop of the lead hyena. So did all of those around him. They pulled back for a moment, a lull in the battle ensuing as the two sides looked at each other again. There was new respect in the eyes of the lead hyena facing them, but Dominic suspected that wouldn¡¯t mean she¡¯d leave them be. If anything, she was likely to take them more seriously now. The pride members hadn¡¯t come off unscathed, either. There was blood soaking all of their sandy coats, and their health bars all showed the impact of the clash. But none of them had died, and they¡¯d taken down three of the opposing side. If that could continue, they might just win this. But as he looked at the hyena leader, he suspected that that wasn¡¯t going to happen. Sending a message to the rest of the lions to fall back to their previous defensive position, Dominic braced for the next impact. It came almost before the lions had rearranged themselves. Dominic tried to roar again but, as he¡¯d rather expected, the hyenas weren¡¯t at all phased this time. Well, most of them weren¡¯t ¨C the smallest still hesitated a little, but they were to the back and it didn¡¯t help. With an assessing eye, Dominic realised that the female hyena had sent in her heavy-hitters: every single hyena charging at their front lines had to be at least level 6, if not higher. Worse, the hyenas behind the front line split and swept around the group of lions to trap them in a pincer movement. ¡®Has this hyena read Sun Tzu or something?¡¯ Dominic cried out mentally in frustration. ¡®She¡¯s clearly just an experienced huntress,¡¯ Leo snapped back at him. ¡®Now do something!¡¯ Dominic did. With only a few moments of thought remaining to him, he tried something risky. ¡®Warn them!¡¯ he snapped at the lion, shoving his plan bodily at his companion. Honestly, if the lion could communicate mentally with the lionesses while he was occupied with the physical manoeuvring, that would really help. He didn¡¯t have time to check that Leo had succeeded, though, instead having to focus on what he was about to do: jump. Using a tactic which had bewildered enemies in the past, he leapt over the heads of the hyenas, enhancing his movement with a small application of Quick Strike. Then, hoping that at least one of the bonuses of Pounce would come into play, he leapt at the spine of one of the hyenas. It shifted at the last moment so he didn¡¯t hit perfectly, but he still scored a nasty gash along its flank. Shoving it to the side, his greater weight was able to bodily push it over ¨C and interfere with the next one along. Unable to secure the kill, the other hyenas rounding on him to crush him with their jaws, he retreated, leaping once more. Landing behind another hyena, one which hadn¡¯t been close enough to see what was happening, he ripped at its back legs, completely tearing the tendons in its hips. Its hindquarters fell to the ground and he was leaping at another hyena before they even touched the ground, inflicting another grievous wound. The hyenas were unable to keep up with his lightning-fast speed, the previously organised front line now a shambles. That, of course, made them easy pickings for the lionesses. Well, sort of easy pickings: they were still at least half-step Evolved, and with health pools that matched. Plus, the lionesses were surrounded, attacked from all sides, so they were a little limited in how far they could move. But there was hope, especially when the two hyenas Dominic had most impacted were killed. [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Half-step Evolved level 6)] [You have earned 8 PP] [A member of your party has killed Spotted Hyena (Half-step Evolved level 7)] [You have earned 8 PP] There were even more notifications coming through from the other lines: the lionesses weren¡¯t messing around and the hyenas which hadn¡¯t yet reached half-step Evolved were suffering under their teeth and claws. One, two, three notifications came through, all level 5s. But the lionesses were struggling too ¨C and so was Dominic, honestly. His fighting style was undeniably effective, but it was also an absolute stamina hog. Only eight hyenas out of at least thirty were dead, and he was already half down. We can do this, he told himself, willing the lionesses to hear too. Come on, stand strong ¨C we can do this! Chapter 105: Out of the Bag After his attacks on the higher-level hyenas, the seven which remained turned on Dominic, seeing him as the greater threat. Which he was, but the lionesses weren¡¯t to be discounted either. While not moving too far from the little knot of lions, Dominic saw Sekhmet and Anuke leaping at the turned backs of the hyenas closest to them. From how their attacks made the attackers¡¯ health bars drop significantly, he guessed that Pounce must have been adding a bonus due to attacking unexpectedly. After that one attack, they leapt back into position: leaving it for any longer could have opened up the cubs and the backs of their sisters to the eager hyenas. Just in time: they regained their places just as a couple of level 5 hyenas came sniffing around, spotting the weakness. Dominic himself was in a difficult position: he might be a good number of levels above his opponents, not to mention Tier 2 against Tier 1 enemies, but he was still surrounded by seven pairs of snapping teeth. And without the bonus of Pounce, he wasn¡¯t managing to drop them in a single attack. The teamwork of the hyenas then meant that he wasn¡¯t able to finish the job before another hyena interceded. It was frankly frustrating. Dialling up his speed, both natural and enhanced by Quick Strike, he was able to inflict far worse wounds on his attackers than they managed to land on him, but he was still taking damage. Worse, his stamina was dropping fast. I need a breather, he decided. With a final two strikes at hyenas which had already been hurt ¨C securing one kill and one almost-kill which would probably happen when it bled out a few seconds later ¨C Dominic leapt over the heads of the hyenas once more. This time, it turned out that they had learned from his strategy. The hyena he jumped over jumped in its turn and Dominic grunted loudly in pain as its teeth scraped at his vulnerable belly. Fortunately, it had misjudged its height, so just a chunk of flesh was torn away, mostly skin. But, landing safely in the circle of the lionesses, the experience left him shaken ¨C a few more inches higher and it would have sunk its teeth into his guts, a grievous wound even for him. Fortunately having managed not to land on any of the cubs huddled together in the centre of the defending lionesses, Dominic took a moment to recover and take stock of the situation. It wasn¡¯t looking good. The lionesses were holding up against the seemingly-endless tide of snapping jaws, but their health bars were dropping even as he watched. He didn¡¯t doubt that their stamina was doing the same. Worse, Dominic noticed something else: were there more hyenas than he¡¯d originally thought? Despite having killed twelve of the vicious things ¨C including a couple that the lionesses had killed since he¡¯d been in the circle ¨C the mass seemed undented. And then he saw why. The leader was standing off to the side and watching, whooping and grunting like her life depended on it. In response to the call, hyenas were streaming out of the bushes around, joining the group already attacking the lionesses. Does she have some sort of spawn point there? Dominic cried in frustration. Taking a quick headcount, there were now more hyenas than there had been in the first attack. How many of the bloody scavengers are there? ¡®We can¡¯t win this,¡¯ Leo said in resignation. ¡®There are too many of them, and too few of us.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s all because of that leader,¡¯ Dominic spat. Then he had an idea. ¡®The head of the snake¡­.¡¯ Leo immediately understood what he meant. ¡®Do it.¡¯ ¡®I will try,¡¯ Dominic replied grimly. ¡®But I need to replenish my stamina.¡¯ ¡®But won¡¯t that-¡¯ ¡®Probably.¡¯ ¡®Then-¡¯ ¡®What choice do we have?¡¯ Dominic demanded, recognising Leo¡¯s objections, but not seeing any other options. If they continued as they were, then they would start losing lionesses. And once one was lost, the rest would start dropping like flies due to the increased burden and the reduced protection. ¡®You¡¯re right,¡¯ the lion sounded uncharacteristically defeated. ¡®I just hate potentially giving up such an important secret to enemies,¡¯ he continued. ¡®I know. Me too. But needs must. Can you tell the lionesses to go ahead with absorbing carcasses? But try to be discrete about it ¨C maybe get them to do it with their back paws rather than their noses. That way, the hyenas won¡¯t see what¡¯s happening so clearly.¡¯ ¡®I will try,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®But we don¡¯t have many carcasses inside the circle.¡¯ If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®Yes we do,¡¯ Dominic responded with a momentary flash of humour. His companion¡¯s confusion cleared up as queerb carcasses started appearing at the tip of Dominic¡¯s front paw. It was almost like he was 3D stamping reality: a carcass would appear, he¡¯d move his paw; another carcass would appear, he¡¯d move his paw. The cubs huddled within the circle quickly learned to avoid the area under his paw. Leo must have been more successful in communicating that a nose wasn¡¯t necessary to Consume a body, as the lionesses started stretching a paw backwards, or, in the case of Sekhmet, a tail. ¡®That¡¯s a good idea,¡¯ Dominic murmured to Leo, doing the same himself. Even better, hyenas didn¡¯t have much of a tail so if they were misled to believe that it was an intrinsic part of the process, all the better. Leo seemed to agree and obviously communicated with the lionesses as more started to follow suit. The other benefit was that a tail was less important in this kind of fight than a paw, so the lionesses were able to continue fighting even as golden dust rose to seal their wounds and lift their stamina. ¡®Maybe we could win this battle of attrition,¡¯ Dominic wondered. ¡®If we can keep our health up while whittling down that of the enemy, it doesn¡¯t matter how many bodies they throw at us.¡¯ Cutting the head off the snake might still be the best way out of it, though. Dominic made sure that the lionesses had a good supply of carcasses in the centre ¨C the rest of the queerb corpses from his gorget. Then, he leapt out of the circle and back into the mess. Beelining for the leader, he still took opportunities to inflict damage and quick kills where he could. When he got out of the mass of hyenas at the point where the leader had been standing, he was abruptly confused, looking every which way. Where¡¯s she gone? The hyena seemed to have vanished. Then he spotted her ¨C she¡¯d shifted around the edge of the hyenas to a different spot, still whooping and grunting her clarion call. Leaning into his enhanced speed, Dominic rushed around the circle towards her, but she darted into the group of hyenas. Her two ¡®bodyguards¡¯ were left behind, facing Dominic with menacingly bared teeth. Normally, he¡¯d have eagerly taken up the challenge, but this time, he was more frustrated than anything else. Darting away from the two hulking hyenas, he searched the morass with both his and Leo¡¯s full attention. ¡®There,¡¯ Leo called, pulling Dominic¡¯s attention to a figure on almost the opposite side of the battleground. Again, she¡¯d gone as far from him as she could. Once more running around the edge of the hyenas, he was unsurprised when she again vanished into the boiling mass of spotted fur. ¡®Fight me!¡¯ he shouted mentally at the hyena in frustration. Suddenly a notification popped up in front of him. Since it wasn¡¯t the usual notifications about hyena kills ¨C of which there had been a few even since leaving the circle ¨C he took a moment to look at it. [You have issued a challenge: Duel to the Death. Note, no outside intervention is permitted during the challenge. Note also that for reasons of fairness, both participants will be returned to full health at the start of the challenge. Waiting for opponent to accept or decline.] Surprised but happily so, Dominic waited eagerly to see what the hyena decided. Maybe I didn¡¯t need to replenish my health and stamina, then. A moment later, a new message flashed up. [Challenge has been declined.] Dominic swore. Damn coward! He conveniently forgot that he had declined the hippo¡¯s challenge for probably much the same reasons as the hyena was declining his. ¡®Fight me!¡¯ he cried out again mentally. [System cannot issue another challenge: Duel to the Death. Reason: challenged has recently declined this challenge.] There was a lot to unpack there, but Dominic didn¡¯t have the time now. He made a mental note to check the message out in the logs later. If there was a later. That was looking increasingly uncertain, especially since he¡¯d just noticed a load of golden dust abruptly surround a hyena. Grimly hoping that the enemies didn¡¯t have some sort of telepathy Skill like him, Dominic leapt straight for that one. Though it had just absorbed a carcass, its health was still below half, so it didn¡¯t take too much effort to rip out its throat. [You have killed Hyena (Half-step Evolved level 8)] [You have earned 8 PP] Level 8¡­. He¡¯d thought it was level 5 from its size ¨C perhaps the reason why it had figured out how to Consume a carcass was because it had enhanced its intelligence? Or maybe it had got an Ability like Keen Mind. Hoping that killing the hyena would have nipped that problem in the bud, Dominic was dismayed when he saw golden dust surround another hyena. Killing that one took longer, but he did it, another notification flashing before him. Level 7. Unfortunately, he saw another cloud of gold, and then another. The cat was clearly out of the bag on that one. The future of the pride looking increasingly precarious, Dominic tried to help out by dashing through the battleground, feeling worrisomely like a panic-stricken chicken. While he did deal wounds here and kills there, his main focus was in clearing it of the baboon and hyena carcasses. Now that his enemies had discovered what they meant, they were less of a distraction and more health potions lying around for the hyenas to benefit from. Even as he ran, his mind raced. Even if he managed to collect all the carcasses currently littering the area ¨C which wouldn¡¯t be possible: his storage space wasn¡¯t big enough ¨C every time they killed a hyena, they¡¯d have to either absorb it immediately or see it being used to bolster its erstwhile allies. Their great advantage of being able to increase their health mid-fight would be turned against them. But whether they could win this battle of attrition was definitely uncertain; winning it without casualties seemed impossible. What else could they do, though? The leader was difficult to catch, and spending time chasing her around was time he could be using to greater effect elsewhere: he was the most powerful of the pride, but his recent actions had been of limited effect. And it seemed like he¡¯d run out of stamina before the hyenas ran out of fighters. Spotting the hyena leader, a new idea struck him. This time, he didn¡¯t try to run towards her. Instead, he focussed as hard as he could, while still fending off the attacks aimed towards him. He was trying to connect with her through telepathy. Maybe they could come to some agreement? Chapter 106: Break It To Them Fumbling with his relatively new Ability, Dominic felt an oddly resounding click when he met eyes with the female hyena. Sensing that the connection was established, he poured his thoughts down the link. ¡®Why are you doing this?¡¯ he cried, not even thinking to communicate with images rather than words. ¡®Why did you attack us?¡¯ Realising his error, he started trying to figure out what sort of images might possibly communicate his meaning. About to call on Leo for help, he was shocked when the hyena responded. ¡®Territory. Ours.¡¯ In words no less. Was this hyena higher level than he thought? Into Tier 2? That didn¡¯t change what he wanted to say, though. ¡®Then duel me. Winner takes all.¡¯ He was 90% sure that he would win such a duel: even if they happened to somehow be the same level, Dominic was sure that his natural advantages of having started off as a lion would help him win. ¡®No. Unbalanced.¡¯ Apparently the hyena thought the same, unfortunately. Dominic grit his teeth. ¡®Then bring your bodyguards. Three on one is more balanced, right?¡¯ He was a lot less sure about winning that fight, but still confident enough to offer it. He¡¯d faced worse odds than that before, and that had been before he¡¯d had Regeneration. ¡®No. Pointless.¡¯ Unfortunately, the hyena wasn¡¯t biting that either, though it took Dominic a bit of effort to puzzle through her second word. ¡®Why¡¯s it pointless?¡¯ he asked to clarify. ¡®Win anyway.¡¯ Dominic felt a rumble in his chest as anger flashed through him. So the hyena wasn¡¯t willing to put her life on the line when she figured that the end was a foregone conclusion? She wasn¡¯t exactly wrong but it rubbed him the wrong way that she would just sit back and wait for her underlings to wear the lions down with a war of attrition. If it had been Dominic on the other side of this, he¡¯d have been doing exactly what he was doing now: fighting on the front lines to minimise losses as much as possible. As it is, he was more and more convinced that she must have some sort of ability to siphon off Prey Points from her minions, whether it was an ability through something similar to the Pride enhancement Lion¡¯s Share or an Ability. How else would she be so high level when she didn¡¯t seem to do any fighting? But that was only relevant in the fact that it told him she was perfectly happy to throw troops into the meat grinder. However, her reinforcements couldn¡¯t be unlimited. Already, the stream of hyenas adding to the battle had stopped. The area boiled with spotted fur and snapping teeth, and Dominic was finding it harder to avoid serious injury. Even worse, as he bit at a hyena that was trying to attack his flank, he felt an ominous crack and a sharp pain in his mouth. A moment later, the hyena he was biting twisted free and snapped at him again. Feeling with his tongue, Dominic realised with horror that two of his weakened canines had actually given way. One ¨C on the top left ¨C had just lost its tip, but the second ¨C on his bottom right ¨C had actually cracked halfway down its length, the tip now jagged but nowhere near as effective as his proper canine. My teeth! he mentally moaned, the incident reminiscent of several childhood nightmares. ¡®Focus!¡¯ snapped Leo at him, though Dominic felt the same horror emanating from him too. More, perhaps. Seeing no other option and determined even more to make the diplomatic option work, Dominic bounded through the mass of predators, focussing on keeping the link between him and the female leader intact. His bigger size managing to make a path, he jumped into the circle of females. They were run ragged ¨C even though their health and stamina levels were holding up fine, the regular absorption of bodies seeing to that, the mental strain of constant fighting was getting to them. Dominic was filled with renewed determination to get them out of this, especially since his own fighting prowess had probably dropped with the cracking of his teeth. With focus, he sent another message to the hyena leader. ¡®You might win eventually, but we will not go down without taking a lot of your hyenas with us.¡¯ ¡®Strong survive,¡¯ was her uncaring rejoinder. Dominic thought quickly to try to work out a way to get through to her. Leo was silent, a sense of incomprehension all that came from him. ¡®Perhaps, but are there not better challenges to face? Ones which will make them stronger without killing as many?¡¯ The hyena didn¡¯t respond verbally to that, but her unimpressed presence in the telepathic link appeared to not think much of his argument. He decided to change tack. ¡®If you lose too many, you will have fewer to help you increase in level,¡¯ he tried next, taking a chance that his conclusions about how she increased in level were correct. This time, there was a sense of consideration, and not just automatic rejection. Proof that he was right? Dominic decided to double-down. ¡®You want the territory. We¡¯ll give it to you-¡¯ ¡®What?¡¯ Leo cried in outrage. ¡®Give it to these filthy scavengers? Be driven out of our territory? No!¡¯ ¡®Which do you want?¡¯ Dominic asked him quickly and angrily. ¡®Your territory, or your females? Because clearly you¡¯re not going to keep both.¡¯ At that, Leo was silent. Confident that he knew what Leo would choose, he kept speaking to the hyena, the pause in the conversation only actually taking a moment, their internal communications not being sent to the hyena. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡®-We¡¯ll give the territory to you and you let us go with no further attacks.¡¯ He felt the hyena was about to reject the suggestion, probably for the same reasons as she¡¯d rejected his attempts to force a duel. ¡®That way, you don¡¯t lose so many minions, uh, sources of points to get stronger.¡¯ He spoke fast but tried to sound confident. The hyena paused, not immediately rejecting the suggestion. Dominic wanted to speak, but held himself back ¨C he¡¯d heard that after presenting an offer, the first to speak would be in a weaker negotiating position. He didn¡¯t know if it was true or not, but couldn¡¯t think of anything else that he could say anyway that might improve the situation. ¡®Leave female,¡¯ the hyena responded finally. ¡®I¡¯m not leaving the females!¡¯ Dominic responded hotly. ¡®One. Sacrifice.¡¯ The whole of Dominic¡¯s being revolted at the idea. Even if he was willing to sacrifice one for the majority, how would he even choose which one to leave? But he wasn¡¯t, so it was immaterial. Instead, he turned from defensive to offensive in a blink, using Powerful Swipe dialled up to maximum strength and Rapid Attack to rip out the throats of the three level 5 hyenas closest to him within a second and a half, immediately absorbing their carcasses and tucking their Cores into his storage space. ¡®No sacrifice. You might be most likely to win in the end through sheer numbers, but you haven¡¯t yet seen just how much damage I can do to your little band of scavengers,¡¯ he threatened. ¡®Let us go peacefully, all of us, or see just how many hyenas we can take down before we fall.¡¯ There was a long pause. To show that he meant business, Dominic bounded forwards and used Rapid Attack to make three more devastating attacks. Though he didn¡¯t get a kill on each strike, he did get a kill on the first one. The second two strikes were to a level 7 hyena and each left a bleeding effect on the creature, the effects stacking. Even as he turned to a third hyena ¨C a level 6 based on its size ¨C the level 7 succumbed to the gaping wound in its gut. ¡®Retreat agreed,¡¯ the hyena spoke into Dominic¡¯s mind hurriedly. Out loud, there was a series of whoops and grunts. The hyenas were slow to respond, but they did ¨C pulling back from the little knot of lions and leaving a relatively open path out the opposite direction from the hyena leader. ¡®Territory ours.¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help filling in the unspoken words of ¡®never come back, or we¡¯ll kill you,¡¯ that apparently the hyena couldn¡¯t ¨C or wouldn¡¯t ¨C say. Returning to the females, grabbing as many carcasses as he could en route, Dominic sensed their confusion and wariness. ¡®Leo, help me out here.¡¯ The lion growled grumpily. ¡®You negotiated us out of our own territory and want me to break it to them?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic snapped back. ¡®I negotiated us getting out of this with our lives intact and would very much appreciate you telling the lionesses that and getting us out of here before the hyenas change their minds!¡¯ A hint of abashment coming from his mental companion, Dominic sensed the lion communicating with the lionesses. From their growls and grumbles, they were just as unhappy as he was at losing their land. Perhaps more ¨C Leo had only been able to consider it ¡®his¡¯ territory for a few days where they had called it home all their lives. But unlike Leo, they didn¡¯t seem to need as much cajoling to realise that it was better to lose their land than their future. They turned towards the opening in the encirclement of hyenas and started walking warily out. Dominic stood behind them, facing the bulk of the hyena forces ¨C by this point probably over forty of them ¨C and daring any to attack the backs of the lionesses. They backed up slowly, and a glance around made the lion realise why: they were travelling at the speed of the cubs, one of whom had obviously been hurt in the fight. ¡®We need to pick up the pace,¡¯ Dominic commented fretfully to Leo. ¡®Can you get them to carry the cubs?¡¯ The lion sent across a feeling of acknowledgement and apparently got to work as their pace increased rapidly. That improved the situation, and they quickly moved past the last stragglers. Dominic met eyes a final time with the female hyena, clear even from this distance from its proud position, and the way the other hyenas clustered around her. ¡®Peace over,¡¯ she warned. Since the hyenas didn¡¯t suddenly rush them, the former-human had to guess that it wasn¡¯t a warning about betrayal, but more about the consequences of if they came back and tried to take the territory again. ¡®We¡¯re going to, though, aren¡¯t we?¡¯ Leo asked, suddenly sounding younger than he ever had. Dominic abruptly felt the fact that he was still just a juvenile lion, probably only around two years old. The former-human sighed, the breath huffing out of his chest even as he paused and watched the hyenas starting to melt back into the bush. ¡®I¡¯m not going to promise that for sure,¡¯ he said. ¡®But yes, we¡¯ll certainly try. We¡¯ll need to be a lot stronger than that, though. Enough that they can¡¯t overwhelm us with numbers again. And you can bet that they¡¯re going to be aggressively pursuing the same goal.¡¯ ¡®So¡­it¡¯s hopeless?¡¯ the lion asked, sounding defeated already. Dominic shook his head, his mane ruffling around his ears. ¡®No, it¡¯s not,¡¯ he said with certainty in his voice. ¡®If there¡¯s anything humans know, it¡¯s that giving up removes any possibility of success. No, we will be back. We will meet that hyena again. And next time, we¡¯ll be prepared.¡¯ ¡®You have a plan?¡¯ the lion asked, more hope in his voice. Dominic even got a mental image of what he might look like in that moment: his ears perked up, his head tilted on one side, eyes with a spark back in them. ¡®Half of one,¡¯ Dominic admitted. ¡®I think it¡¯s time we go revisit some old friends.¡¯ ¡®You mean¡­¡¯ ¡®Yes. It¡¯s time to make a play for the Place of Power.¡¯ Interlude Book 1 The hyena matriarch watched as the lions retreated, that male watchful with his teeth bared until they were far enough away that they would get sufficient warning of any attack. He was the only reason she¡¯d called off the attack. Broken his fangs might be, but his claws were still all too sharp. Grunting at her daughters, they took up the call, whooping and grunting to order the clan to move out. The weakest hyenas, the immigrant males, were the first to move, turning tail. The males of the clan were second. The lower ranking females were next, though went with reluctance at times. Finally, with a final look at the pride of tawny-coloured lions making their way up the hill, each of the females¡¯ mouths filled with a cub, the hyena matriarch turned and made her way into the bush too. It was time to find easier prey. The male had been right: this attack had offered too much risk for the potential gain. The male would have offered significant advancement potential for her and those she wished to grant it to. But killing him would have taken far too many bodies. Especially with the new possibility he¡¯d opened to them all: the ability to gain even more strength from their enemies and their dead. While that new ability was very interesting, it didn¡¯t help if he was able to kill her clan members before they could absorb a kill and heal their wounds. They had to gain more strength to match him, overwhelm him with numbers, if not power. Force him to take wound after wound until he succumbed, all without losing any of their own. He had been more powerful than she had anticipated. They had already killed more than one of his kind without anything like this difficulty. She had expected it to be more difficult because of the females defending cubs, and so had made sure to bring as many reinforcements as possible, but her calculations had fallen short. At least it wasn¡¯t too much loss ¨C the majority of the dead were immigrant males, ones which had either been sniffing for scraps on the periphery of their clan before the world changed, or ones which came sniffing around later after. Only one female had died, but the matriarch wasn¡¯t upset ¨C she had been a rival who had been gathering support. Perhaps if she¡¯d been allowed to live, she¡¯d have staged a takeover at some point. Not that the matriarch would have allowed that to happen. None of the matriarch''s own sons or daughters had died, which was the most important thing. Most were not present here anyway; they didn¡¯t need to be to benefit from the fight, thanks to the matriarch¡¯s personal Ability. They would have another rematch, the matriarch didn¡¯t doubt it. Lions were as attached to their territory as hyenas were. Only now the world had changed, hyenas were no longer forced to scatter at the approach of a scavenging lion pride. One day it would be hyenas which ruled the land. This territory was a good starting point. ***** Leo growled sulkily. He had withdrawn into that odd mental space his brother had created and that he had added to. Choosing to lie under the shade of a tree in the savannah extension outside the inside cave, the lion was grumbling to himself about the loss of their territory. I¡¯ve only had it for a few days, he moaned to himself. What are the females going to think of me? A male lion chased off his territory by scavengers of all things. A male was supposed to be the defender of his territory; what did that say about Leo that he couldn¡¯t even do that? Who was going to want to mate with him now? He¡¯d be lucky if the females didn¡¯t just chase him away and be done with it. This is all my brother¡¯s fault. If I¡¯d been in control, I¡¯d have¡­I¡¯d have¡­. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He¡¯d have what? Continued attacking? Sure. Probably died? Also likely. Dominic was right ¨C that they¡¯d got away with their lives, all of their lives, was something of a miracle. They¡¯d lost a lot more the first time they¡¯d encountered this group of hyenas, and there had been much fewer of them at the time. That didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t rankle, though. Especially since they might have killed a good number of the filthy vermin, but they hadn¡¯t made much of a dent into the mass all the same. And what of the former-human¡¯s latest hare-brained plan? Attacking the nasty creatures which had made them flee before? Was it not better to go and take over another pride¡¯s territory? Perhaps even absorb some more lionesses into the pride? That was a good idea, Leo decided. I¡¯ll suggest it to my brother. Then he thought for a moment. Later. He didn¡¯t really feel like talking to Dominic right at that moment. ***** Almost halfway across the world, a woman shivered. Leaning forwards, she threw another bit of wood on the fire. ¡°We¡¯re going to need more firewood, Reggie,¡± she said, her voice hoarse. The bruises ringing her neck that were revealed as she moved gave evidence to the reason for her difficulty speaking. ¡°We¡¯re running out of furniture to destroy,¡± the man also sitting in the firelight told her tiredly. ¡°Then we need to go scavenging for more,¡± she said firmly. The silence that followed indicated his lack of agreement. ¡°Reggie¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, Lindie.¡± The woman, Lindie, made a sharp gesture towards her neck. ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not only humans to watch out for now,¡± Reggie warned her. He shivered for a moment. ¡°Have you seen the size of the rats out there?¡± ¡°Stuff out of nightmares,¡± Lindie agreed with a similar tremble that had nothing to do with the cold. ¡°But we can¡¯t just hide here forever,¡± she pointed out doggedly. ¡°Why not?¡± Reggie demanded. ¡°I don¡¯t mean forever, I just mean until things get better.¡± ¡°And when¡¯s that going to happen, Reggie?¡± Lindie snapped back at him, her eyes flashing. The man grumbled in his chest, but looked away, unable to meet her gaze. ¡°Electricity went off more than two weeks ago, cars and guns with it. Phones, computers, all of it ¨C dead! And with it, civilisation. I know you think the army¡¯s going to swoop in and make it all better, but all I see is things getting worse!¡± Reggie refused to meet the woman¡¯s gaze, staring instead into the fire, a muscle ticking in his jaw. With an explosive sigh, the woman went back to poking at the fire, her stomach rumbling as their ¡®dinner¡¯ cooked over it. At least they¡¯d opened the can this time: living through one can exploding had been more than enough of a lesson. Then a humourless chuckle broke the silence. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± grumbled Lindie, half-heartedly glaring at the man. ¡°I was just thinking of the rats, and then thought that at least we didn¡¯t have lions around. And then I thought of ¨C¡± ¡°Dominic,¡± Lindie sighed in unison with the man. ¡°Do you think he could have¡­?¡± The man shook his head. ¡°Poor bastard,¡± he sighed instead, thinking of his nephew. ¡°Bet he didn¡¯t stand a chance.¡± A pall fell over the two of them, and this time neither of them broke it. ***** In a galaxy far, far away, a being stirred. She had been sleeping for an age, digesting her most recent meal, a godling who had challenged her¡­at some point. But now, the lethargy of a good meal having left her limbs, she stretched. The impact of her enormous limbs shifting sent earthquakes rippling through the surface of the great planet on which she lay. The cities around the edges of bodies of water found themselves abruptly facing tsunamis. Fortunately, built to be resistant to all sorts of damage, they made it through the permutations unharmed. Not that she cared: if they were too weak, they deserved to die. Around her she felt a stirring, members of her pride vanishing, perhaps to signal the others that she had finally risen. ¡°Lady, what disturbs you?¡± the pride member closest to her asked, staying a respectful distance away from her and keeping his beak lowered. She yawned, razor-sharp teeth like sky-scrapers set in her cavernous jaw. ¡°I feel a shift. A change. Tell me, what has been happening while I¡¯ve been resting?¡± Book 2: Chimera Rising: Place of Power - Chapter 1: Rest Padding through the savannah in the light of the rising sun, each step taking them further away from their territory, the mood among the pride of eight adult lions was low. Tails drooping, bodies slumped, ears flicking between back and down, they were the very picture of disappointment. ¡®That¡¯s the downside of increasing intelligence¡¯, Leo mused in Dominic¡¯s mind. ¡®Hopes can be raised too much; disappointment is all the more bitter.¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help but agree ¨C although he hadn¡¯t suddenly become sapient in the way that Leo had and that the lionesses were becoming, he certainly knew the bitter taste of disappointment in that moment. They¡¯d been making progress. The lionesses had all gained at least one level since he¡¯d chased out the old male ¨C all of those who had survived the other hyena attack, anyway ¨C and the future had started to look brighter. And suddenly, bam. Chased out of their territory by sheer numbers. At least we still have our lives, Dominic consoled himself. It worked, somewhat. Every single lion had come out of that mess, even all the cubs, though one was injured. They¡¯d made a good account for themselves too ¨C Dominic was sure that the lionesses had earned enough Prey Points to level up. If he was lucky, so had he. But that would have to wait until they stopped to rest. For now they all wanted to put some good distance between them and those hyenas. But perhaps they could ensure that they were heading in the right direction. ¡®Leo, do you remember which way the Place of Power was?¡¯ Dominic asked, knowing that trusting himself to lead would probably mean they never found it. ¡®Yes.¡¯ The lion sounded certain enough. ¡®Do you want to take control, then? Lead us in the right direction?¡¯ Dominic wasn¡¯t sure whether he was offering because of the lion¡¯s better directionality, or because he wanted, needed a mental break. Both were true, he decided after a moment of thought. It had been one fight after another ¨C the hyenas and the hippo, the queerbs, the acid-spitting asleets, then the hyenas en masse. Frankly, even if his body was coping fine, with the new way of regaining stamina allowing him to keep going much longer than previously, Dominic was mentally exhausted. Perhaps Leo picked up on that as he thought about it as Dominic felt an inclination to decline turn into an assent. Feeling like balloons squeezing past each other once more, the two mental presences changed places. Dominic wondered whether he should stay connected to his senses or not. Honestly, he just wanted to go chill in their mental space, but Leo had supported him so much in the battle that he felt like he should offer the same. Apparently Leo felt differently. ¡®Aren¡¯t you going to rest?¡¯ the lion asked pointedly after Dominic lingered in his aware state for a few minutes. ¡®Do you not want me to help keep an eye out?¡¯ Dominic asked. The lion snorted. ¡®We have enough eyes keeping watch,¡¯ he pointed out, deliberately turning his head to show all the lionesses ranging around them, the cubs ¨C no longer held within the lionesses¡¯ mouths ¨C now running and tumbling around too. They, at least, were undaunted by what had just happened. ¡®Go rest. You need to come up with some other mad plan to win us the Place of Power. You can¡¯t do that when you¡¯re tired.¡¯ True enough, Dominic thought, feeling touched. The lion might sound grumpy and insulting, but Dominic could feel the concern beneath it all. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said out loud to his co-pilot. ¡®Poke me if you need me.¡¯ ¡®I will,¡¯ the lion promised. With that, the former-human gratefully slid into their mental space. Opening his ¡®eyes¡¯ he saw the pale-coloured study, saw the crackling fire, and heard the sound of birdsong coming from the savannah outside. When did we get birds here? he wondered. Must have been Leo. The next thing he knew, there would be hippos and rhinos wandering the savannah area. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Actually, that was an interesting thought. Could he revisit fights? Pull creatures in that he¡¯d already fought and try to find a better way of beating them? Could he practise fighting with Leo if they both ¡®slept¡¯ at the same time? The latter, at least, should be possible ¨C they¡¯d already play-wrestled before. But not at that moment. Exhaustion was hitting Dominic hard now that he wasn¡¯t forced to be on edge every second, keeping an eye out for seven lionesses and seven cubs. As well as himself. He slumped on the comfortable sofa and just closed his eyes. He wasn¡¯t sure if sleeping was possible here, but he was sure going to try. ***** Leo was happy enough to take control of his body. He¡¯d also have been happy to rest under a nice tree in their mental space, though perhaps he would be able to do that in reality: they needed to stop. The lionesses were all lower level than Leo himself, and they probably didn¡¯t have as much stamina as he did. Besides, he remembered what had happened a few times when he hadn¡¯t rested in too long ¨C his maximum stamina had actually decreased. That didn¡¯t seem to have happened yet to him, but perhaps it would affect the lionesses. Still, his brother had wanted him to direct the pride towards the Place of Power, so he would. He still thought it was a bit of a hare-brained idea, but perhaps he could convince the former-human to instead look for another territory to take over. Or perhaps his brother would come up with some decent plan to accomplish the goal without too much risk. Moving to the head of the pride, he walked alongside the female his brother had named Isis. She was indeed the pride matriarch, setting the direction. While they were vaguely heading towards the Place of Power, they would miss it if they continued on the exact route they were taking. He needed to correct their heading. Using his body to do so, Leo stood in Isis¡¯ way until she was forced to go in the way he wanted just to get around him. She tolerated it the first couple of times without too much grumbling, but the fourth time got a snarl from her. The fifth had her baring her teeth. He bared his right back at her and they locked eyes. She wasn¡¯t happy with him trying to decide their route. That wasn¡¯t how it worked. At least, that wasn¡¯t how it had worked up until then. The males defended and benefited from the pride; they didn¡¯t direct it particularly. But that was Before. Now was different in so many ways; why not this one too? Though he could probably use physical dominance to force Isis to submit, Leo didn¡¯t push further with that. Perhaps his brother was infecting him with ideas of ¡®equality¡¯ and ¡®fairness¡¯, but was it such a bad idea to try another way? If it didn¡¯t work, he could always go back to pushing his size and weight around to get his way. So, despite feeling a little uncertain about it, he tried first to convince. Connecting with Isis mentally, Leo sent images of prey beasts and increased strength. At the same time, he sent across feelings of safety and familiarity, though different from before. After a while, Isis let her lips fall back over her teeth, the snarl dying down in her throat. She stood more upright, her ears relaxing a bit. With a sense of grudging acceptance, she waited for Leo to move first, then followed him, standing at his shoulder, though with a body-length between them. Apparently she was willing to give his promises the chance to prove or disprove themselves. Hopefully the Place of Power would live up to both of their hopes. They kept going until the sun was starting to get a bit hot. Once they were all panting hard, though, they found a nice shady area under a few trees and lay down for a rest. The cubs, completely exhausted, flopped on the ground and went to sleep almost immediately. The lionesses looked almost as tired. Since they hadn¡¯t come across any water and they had chosen speed over hunting when they¡¯d encountered decent prey, Leo pulled out some carcasses from his storage space. He knew Dominic had vague plans for the rhino carcass, so chose to leave that in, even if it was taking up way too much space for what it was. He also didn¡¯t think that pulling out the carcasses of the acidic lizards was a good idea. Instead, he emptied all the other carcasses which were in there. The females eagerly ate them, and Leo couldn¡¯t resist taking a few bites himself. Even though they had been absorbing carcasses during the fight, he was pretty sure the females would agree with him that there was nothing like just eating the meat, feeling the juices burst over the tongue and the weight of it slide down the throat. They even attacked the hyena carcasses, even if normally they wouldn¡¯t eat hyenas unless they were starving. From how the females did more worrying at the bodies than actually eating, Leo had to wonder if it was more prompted by a sense of frustration and victory for escaping the jaws of death than actual hunger. Once they all seemed done, he quickly packed the carcasses away. His brother would have to decide what they actually did with the remnants, but Leo wasn¡¯t keen on disturbing him at that moment. From the feel of his distant mind, he was sleeping deeply. Leo was glad ¨C the former-human had clearly needed a rest. So did Leo, actually, he decided as he lay down among the females. This is the life, he said to himself as he flopped onto his back. Meat in my belly, females around me. Even the cubs aren¡¯t annoying me by tugging on my tail. Though he¡¯d better not think that one too loud: no doubt when the cubs woke up, they¡¯d become pests, as always. Time passed, syrupy in its passage. At once feeling like forever and only a single moment in time, the movement of the sun overhead was barely noticed by the lions resting under a tree. It was only marked by the occasional movement of a lion who found him or herself suddenly being baked by its strength, the shade having moved too much to the side. By mid-afternoon, though, movement among the lions had started to increase. It began with the cubs who, predictably after having slept through the dinner of their elders, were hungry and insistent on having something to eat. Leo producing one of the half-eaten carcasses again was enough to earn the adults a little more time to sleep, but soon enough the cubs moved on from eating to playing. And what better toys than the elder¡¯s tails and ears and ¨C in Leo¡¯s case ¨C his mane? Growling and moving the body part didn¡¯t deter the little blighters, and soon the lions were roused to full wakefulness. While they could probably go back to sleep once the cubs moved onto playing with something else, they might as well do something useful in the meantime. And the blurring that suddenly took the females one after another proved exactly what they found most useful to do. Chapter 2: Firepower ¡®Oh, they¡¯re levelling up, are they?¡¯ commented Dominic. He¡¯d risen to full consciousness only a short time before, probably when Leo did too. Apparently it was possible to sleep in his mental space ¨C and he felt a whole lot better for doing it. He¡¯d slid back into the ¡®active¡¯ space just in time to catch the lionesses blurring. Curious, he pulled up the Pride status sheet. Pride status Level 2 Pride (progress to next level 9/10) Current information shared: Health, Abilities Current members: Dominic/Leo (T2, L19) ¨C leader. (Health: 521/600, Abilities: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack) Hathor (T1, L7) (Health: 420/420, Abilities: Pounce, Rending Bite) Neith (T1, L7) (Health: 380/380, Abilities: Pounce, Keen Senses) Jenkins (T1, L7) (Health: 450/450, Abilities: Pounce, Quick Strike) Menhit (T1, L7) (Health: 380/380, Abilities: Pounce, Sure Feet) Isis (T1, L6) : (Health: 340/340, Abilities: Pounce, Protective Mother) Sekhmet (T1, L8) : (Health: 380/380, Abilities: Pounce, Sharp Mind) Anuke (T1, L7) : (Health: 300/300, Abilities: Pounce, Rapid Attack) Pride enhancements: 3% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 2 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 1 Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) ¨C on All the lionesses had gained a level except for Anuke who seemed to have gained two, shooting from level 5 to level 7 all in one go. Isis had also started at level 5 but must have been further away than Anuke from it as she was still a level 6. Sekhmet remained the leader of the pride other than Dominic/Leo at level 8. We need to get more of the pride over the Evolved threshold, though, Dominic said to himself. He was aware of the danger the sonic wolves offered, though hoped that by bringing his own pack along, they¡¯d be able to interrupt the creatures¡¯ most dangerous moves. However, it would definitely help if the lionesses were at least Tier 2. They¡¯d probably get a new Ability at level 10, if the three the warthog guardian had was anything to go by. Speaking of Abilities, what are these new ones,? Dominic wondered. Both Isis and Anuke had crossed the Half-step threshold in that fight and had earned their second, more personalised Ability. Well, Anuke¡¯s didn¡¯t seem too personalised since it was one Dominic already had. Isis¡¯ however¡­. Protective Mother, eh? Does it only apply to actual cubs, or can it apply to any creature she designates as protected under her maternal influence? Honestly, it wasn¡¯t too surprising to see that she¡¯d earned something like that: the reason she was trailing the others in terms of levels was because at each fight before he¡¯d chosen to equalise the Prey Point gain, she¡¯d consistently chosen to protect the weakest members of the pride. But it would definitely be better if whatever benefits she could get from the Ability were transferable to members other than just the cubs. I guess we¡¯ll have to see. Speaking of, have we earned enough Prey Points to level up ourselves? he wondered, calling up that information. To his disappointment, they¡¯d just missed earning enough points for their own progression. Progress to Evolution: 434/462 PP level up Less than thirty points away, mourned Dominic. Not that he thought they should go back to try to hunt down a few hyenas just so he could level up ¨C even he wasn¡¯t that point-hungry. ¡®You¡¯re awake are you?¡¯ Leo finally answered him. It had been so long that Dominic had forgotten what he¡¯d actually said to the lion. ¡®No, I¡¯m sleep-talking,¡¯ Dominic said, playfully sarcastic. The lion growled both mentally and physically, but Dominic could tell it wasn¡¯t a really irritated noise. ¡®So, what¡¯s the plan?¡¯ Leo asked expectantly. Dominic didn¡¯t pretend to misunderstand. ¡®The same as usual: we need to grow in strength. We¡¯re not ready to face the guardians of the Place of Power yet. Hunting down kesh in the forest might help us get there, though.¡¯ Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡®I had a thought on that matter too,¡¯ Leo offered. ¡®Oh?¡¯ ¡®What if we find the territory of another male, drive him off, and add his females to ours.¡¯ ¡®Is that something lions tend to do?¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help but ask curiously. For once, though, Leo was uncertain about a question relating to lions. ¡®It didn¡¯t happen to my birth pride,¡¯ he equivocated, ¡®but I don¡¯t see why we shouldn¡¯t do it.¡¯ ¡®Would the lionesses be willing to combine with other lionesses, though? I thought that all of these lionesses were basically related. Would they be OK with a group of complete strangers being integrated into the pride?¡¯ Dominic pointed out. Leo sent a grunt which was his version of a shrug. ¡®Before, probably not. They¡¯d have been too territorial. But now? We have no territory because we¡¯ve been pushed off it by hyenas. That¡¯s not something which probably ever happened before. They have also become more able to reason and change normal behaviour.¡¯ Leo shoved a memory at Dominic. Watching it, he saw the confrontation with Isis while he was sleeping. ¡®I think that as long as they are able to establish a hierarchy, it should be possible.¡¯ ¡®Should,¡¯ Dominic repeated doubtfully. ¡®Yes. Anyway even if the females cannot work together, we may still get a territory out of it. Then we have no need to challenge the wolves at this point.¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help but feel an undercurrent of fear about the wolves drift over from Leo. He wasn¡¯t surprised: honestly, Dominic himself was nervous about facing them again. But he really did feel like it was something they should do. However, did Leo have a point here? Certainly having more lionesses to fight would be a good thing. They might have won the battle with the hyenas if they had had more claws and teeth at their disposal. Dominic wasn¡¯t too surprised that Leo was suggesting this either: more lionesses meant more potential mating partners. He hadn¡¯t given that as one of his reasons, but Dominic didn¡¯t doubt that it was a factor for him. ¡®I still think it¡¯s important for us to capture the Place of Power sooner rather than later,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo seriously. ¡®I don¡¯t know exactly why, but something is telling me that it¡¯s important. But at the same time¡­I agree that as we are right now, we would struggle to succeed against them. We¡¯d most likely even lose members too.¡¯ ¡®So we¡¯ll go searching for other females?¡¯ Leo asked hopefully. ¡®That or prey which brings the lionesses to a high enough level to stand a good chance against the sonic wolves,¡¯ Dominic agreed, though added his own caveat. He could tell that the lion wasn¡¯t completely satisfied ¨C Dominic hadn¡¯t fully committed to finding more females, after all. But it was a compromise they were both fine with. Though speaking of firepower, Dominic grimaced mentally as he realised that he should probably do something he¡¯d originally thought was a bad idea: absorb the bodies and Cores of the skeets. Acid Spit wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d been too interested in, but the battle he¡¯d just had with the hyenas had proven that sometimes having something extra could be the difference between winning and retreating with his tail between his legs. That¡¯s not to say that he was sure they would have won if he¡¯d been able to spit acid, but it would certainly have given them an edge. He might even have been able to corner the female hyena if he¡¯d had some sort of ranged attack. Though most of his opponents were also stuck to melee, that didn¡¯t mean that all of them were. And that wasn¡¯t even taking into account when they eventually made contact with humans. So yes, having some sort of ranged attack would be useful. And honestly, so far all of the Abilities he¡¯d earned had fitted fine with his body. Even Powerful Kick had transformed into Powerful Swipe just for him because it didn¡¯t suit his body. He¡¯d just have to again choose the option which changed his body the least. He sent his thoughts over to Leo who immediately offered to swap over bodies. Evidently, he wasn¡¯t keen on getting his claws dirty with the skeets. Not that Dominic blamed him, though he did find it a little illogical when they were sharing the same body. Pulling the skeet carcasses out of his storage space, he rapidly Consumed them, then absorbed their Cores too. At intervals, he stopped to check his status screen, not wanting to go over 100% accidentally: he already had Sure Feet sitting there waiting for a level up. As it was, he only just had enough skeet carcasses and Cores to get to 100% on Acid Spit. Now he just needed to get enough Prey Points to actually acquire both new Abilities. Hopefully Acid Spit would prove to be the ranged option he was looking for. Standing, Dominic was momentarily at a loss for how to get the lionesses moving. Fortunately, he had Leo there to advise him. ¡®They will follow Isis. You just need to convince her to move.¡± ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic replied, taking a couple of steps towards the lioness. Then he faltered again. ¡®Wait, where are we going, anyway? You know where the Place of Power is, so could help me direct them to get there, but neither of us know where there are other lions. Unless you¡¯ve discovered something you haven¡¯t told me yet?¡¯ Leo gave him a sense of a nonchalant shrug. ¡®Perhaps Isis will know. She¡¯s lived in this area a lot longer than we have.¡¯ ¡®Except this area isn¡¯t the same as it was a few weeks ago,¡¯ pointed out Dominic a little sceptically. Then he shrugged mentally. Ah well, it was worth a try. Communicating what he was looking for with Isis took a little bit more effort as she kept being confused with the lionesses of their pride. Eventually, though, by populating a thought with all the lionesses of their pride and then showing a number of other lionesses, he managed to get his intentions across. Even better, it seemed like she actually had an idea of where to go. Honestly, he didn¡¯t think it would have worked except for the fact that she¡¯d crossed the threshold between level 5 and level 6. Dominic was definitely convinced that each half-step and full-step marked some significant improvement in the creature¡¯s intelligence. Maybe all creatures. Though that was a little concerning as a thought, considering some of the animals which roamed ¨C or flew around ¨C the area. Fortunately, Isis seemed to interpret his suggestion as one where they intended to drive the other pride off their territory and take it for their own pride, meaning that Dominic didn¡¯t have to try to explain cooperation. He¡¯d cross that bridge when they came to it. Sure enough, once Isis was on-board and moving away, the rest of the pride started to shift too. One by one, the lionesses pushed themselves to their feet again and, more or less happily, trotted along behind the lead lioness. Time to go find themselves (another) pride. Chapter 3: I’m Not Fighting Fair When It’s Three On One The first indication that they¡¯d entered another pride¡¯s territory was when Dominic saw the deep indentations of claw marks and scented the territorial marking that the pride had left on a stand of trees. The sun was poised just above the horizon already, their sleep through the heat of the day and then the walk to this new area having taken almost the whole day. His lionesses were tense, aware that they were unwelcome in their current environs. They hesitated for a moment, then moved over to the spot marked with the other pride¡¯s claws and scent, covering it with their own. Dominic didn¡¯t stop them, but he didn¡¯t join them either: he wasn¡¯t sure whether doing it would enrage the other females. Dominic was also unsure whether this was a good time to approach the new pride or not: they would be more active now, which might mean they would be more willing to fight. On the other hand, perhaps they wouldn¡¯t be grouchy about being woken up prematurely and more amenable to negotiation. Though that did require the lionesses to be intelligent enough to be able to negotiate. Or would a show of force work best? Of course, that assumed they found the pride in the next few hours. While they walked, Dominic mused over different approaches, Leo chiming in every so often to contribute his thoughts. ¡®Do you want to lead this one?¡¯ Dominic offered at one point. After all, Leo had wanted to switch places while they absorbed the skeet carcasses, but perhaps he¡¯d like to battle the male again. ¡®No,¡¯ the lion replied after a moment. ¡®I fought the last male. You can do this one.¡¯ So that was decided. Dominic continued musing through different scenarios, trying to prepare himself for the battle. He doubted that the other male would be a higher level than him, but as their previous dominance battle, that didn¡¯t mean he would necessarily win: the other male might be bigger than he was. ¡®Not male, males,¡¯ suddenly interjected Leo. ¡®What?¡¯ Dominic asked warily. ¡®How do you know?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ve just smelt the scents of three different males,¡¯ Leo explained. Dominic frowned mentally. How had Leo done that without Dominic noticing? ¡®Because I¡¯m paying attention,¡¯ the lion told him pointedly. Wondering if that was true, Dominic inhaled sharply, scrunching up his face. As he sorted through the scents, he was embarrassed to realise that Leo was right ¨C he¡¯d been so deep in his debate of what to do when he came across the male that he didn¡¯t register that there were three. ¡®Can we do this?¡¯ Dominic suddenly questioned. Sure, he¡¯d taken on multiple enemies at the same time, on multiple occasions. He¡¯d faced three lions at the same time too. But it didn¡¯t feel the same when he was facing multiple adult male lions. Not to mention that they had intact teeth and he didn¡¯t. Dominic ran his tongue once more over his broken canines, mourning the fact that apparently even bringing his health up to full hadn¡¯t fixed them. Though, I think they¡¯re better than they were? he questioned himself ¨C the canine which had lost its tip seemed a bit pointier than it had been before, and the one which had broken halfway didn¡¯t seem quite as jagged as before. It wasn¡¯t painful anymore either. ¡®Yes we can,¡¯ Leo told him confidently, answering his previous question. ¡®However, if it appears that the pride is too much to take on, we will return to your original plan and head directly for the Place of Power. Hunting kesh would be annoying, but better than losing all our females to another male.¡¯ He had a good point, Dominic decided, feeling more mentally prepared for the battle. It was fortunate that he did because only a few minutes later, they rounded a set of bushes to find the pride crouched just in front of them, eyeing a herd of zebras. It was hard to say who was the most surprised: them, or the other pride. Probably them, Dominic murmured to himself. After all, Dominic¡¯s pride at least knew that they were looking for the lions; the other pride had no idea. Dominic took advantage of the moment of stillness to evaluate the other leonine group. There were significantly more lionesses in this one than in his. He counted at least fifteen heads now turned towards him rather than watching the zebras. From the rippling movement in the grass, he suspected there were also cubs of varying ages. ¡®Who you¡¯re going to want to adopt, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ grumbled Leo in the back of his mind. Dominic ignored him at that time, though absently agreed that there would be no intentional cub-killing on his watch. Fortunately, it seemed like Leo was merely complaining about it, not trying to argue. The good things he saw were that, although more numerous, he was pretty sure that the lionesses were lower levels. Although he knew from experience that they didn¡¯t necessarily choose to get bigger at every level, none of the lionesses were much bigger than Jenkins. That was important to note as she was the smallest of their group being both a sub-adult and having focussed on other enhancements on level-up. Combined with the fact that he didn¡¯t see any strong sense of intelligence in the eyes he met, nor did he see any particularly long teeth being bared at them, he suspected that they were below even the half-step threshold. Which, honestly, wouldn¡¯t be that surprising: the only reason his lionesses were all above it was because they¡¯d made a concentrated effort to massacre whole groups of creatures. Lionesses hunting only herbivores for food would be unlikely to have accrued enough Prey Points yet to get to level 6. Even more heartening was his quick assessment of the three males. They were lying off to the side of their pride, though they¡¯d quickly got to their feet as Dominic and his lions came into view. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. They were big, sure, but not excessively so. He was pretty sure that only one was even possibly level 6 ¨C it seemed like these lions had had a pretty easy time of the System so far. If they¡¯d fought more nomad lions or other threats to their pride, they would have reached higher levels. But that was good for Dominic and Leo. Suddenly feeling more confident, Dominic stepped forwards further even as the new lions got to their feet and started snarling at his pride, baring their teeth and pinning their ears back angrily. Behind him, he heard his own lionesses shifting position, snarls and angry growls rumbling out from their own chests. Deciding to try something, Dominic breathed in deeply, then roared. At the same time, he tried to send out the mental idea of ¡®submit and you shall not be harmed¡¯. The loud sound rippled through the air, and he actually saw a couple of the smaller lionesses flinch. Youngsters, perhaps? The others didn¡¯t flinch, but their snarls and growls did die down for a moment. As for the three males, they seemed more enraged than anything else. Instead of backing away, they actually started running towards Dominic. In the moments before they arrived, Dominic had two things to do. Delegating one to Leo, he took care of the other himself. While Leo quickly sent messages to their lionesses to do their best to keep the other lionesses at bay, but avoid as much injury to either themselves or to the other lions as possible, Dominic sent out his own kind of communication. [You have issued a challenge: Winner Takes All - 3:1 battle. Note, no outside intervention is permitted during the challenge. Note also that for reasons of fairness, all participants will be returned to full health at the start of the challenge. Waiting for opponents to accept or decline.] Unlike the female hyena, these three lions didn¡¯t take more than a fraction of a second to accept. Since he doubted they could read, he had to guess that it was a question of instinct. And then the three of them were on Dominic. At least, they intended to be. ¡®That¡¯s not how you¡¯re supposed to fight a dominance battle!¡¯ protested Leo as Dominic soared over the heads of the three lions which had tried to pounce on him all at once. ¡®I¡¯m not fighting ¡®fair¡¯ when it¡¯s three on one,¡¯ Dominic snapped back. ¡®Be grateful I¡¯m not using my tail mace to clobber them in the faces.¡¯ As it was, the first injuries had already been experienced: the lions had clearly been using Pounce as one male¡¯s face had been cut up quite badly from an attack meant for Dominic. Landing, Dominic turned and immediately lunged for the closest lion. Using Rapid Attack combined with Sharp Nip, he bloodied the lion¡¯s hindquarters before it had a chance to turn. Though his teeth weren¡¯t at their best, he still caused a fair bit of damage. Then Dominic had to dodge again as a lunging bite came for his flank, the other two lions already reacting to the change in the battle. Using Quick Strike to dart out of reach to one side, Dominic leapt over them quickly again, this time landing directly on the lion on the opposite side of the fight. His scythe-like claws cut deeply into his opponent¡¯s flank, blood pouring out of the wounds. Definitely not more than level 5, Dominic decided ¨C they seemed to have pretty much no defensive armour to speak of. That one attack had ripped away half the lion¡¯s health bar. Of course, there were still two other lions to be concerned about. Dominic soon took his first wound of the fight as the so far uninjured lion reacted quicker than he¡¯d expected, digging its teeth into his back leg and tearing. The difference between them was stark, though. This was probably the lion¡¯s most powerful attack ¨C without the benefit of Pounce ¨C yet Dominic¡¯s health bar only dropped by a small chunk. Using his supernatural flexibility to his advantage, Dominic twisted around and sank his own teeth into the lion¡¯s mane-covered throat. Digging in deeply, he activated both Crushing Bite and Sharp Nip for a brief second. Then, with his strength, he tugged forcefully at the wound. It took more effort than usual, and he was worried that his surviving canines would crack too, but the lion¡¯s flesh tore under his onslaught. A wave of blood poured out of the gaping injury and coated Dominic¡¯s muzzle and front legs. The teeth buried in his own hindquarters released their hold, the lion unable to maintain the grip. At the same time, though, Dominic grunted in pain as claws and teeth raked at his belly from the lion below him, and another set of teeth ripped at the soft area between his hindlegs and his ribcage. I need to keep moving, he reminded himself. That was where his main advantages lay. Briefly shaking his head to worsen the wound, he released the lion¡¯s throat, then whirled around to Swipe at the other lion¡¯s own flank. When it released him to jump away, he shifted so he was away from the claws and teeth of the lion beneath him. Once more using Powerful Swipe combined with Rapid attack, his scything blows paid back the same damage the lion had been trying to do to him, only multiple times stronger. [You have killed African Lion (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 10 PP] [1/3 challengers of Winner Takes All defeated. Kill or force a retreat from the others to win the challenge.] Dominic only paid the most cursory attention to the message which flashed up, but was absently pleased that he¡¯d earned as much as ten Prey Points considering it was being shared among eight lions. If I can kill all of these lions, I might even be able to level up, he found himself thinking. He paid for his lack of attention a moment later as the two remaining lions succeeded in a pincer movement, one attacking his shoulder from one side, the other attacking his flank again. They must have both used Pounce as two large chunks of health disappeared from his bar. Noting that his health and stamina were both below half, Dominic decided to gamble. It wasn¡¯t by any means a desperate situation, but he needed to level the Ability a bit anyway. Invoking Second Wind, he saw both bars fill to almost full. Revitalised, literally, Dominic shook himself so that the lions¡¯ teeth were dislodged from his flesh. That took a bit more health from him, but it was worth it. Dashing forwards, he turned on a dime and then leapt back at the lion which was still pouring blood from its throat. Bowling it over with his superior size and weight, he once more invoked Crushing Bite and Sharp Nip, going straight for the same place he had hit before. This time, though, he didn¡¯t linger. Instead, it was a quick in and rip out, blood spurting out from the artery he¡¯d severed. He winced as he felt more than heard another crack and as he pulled away, he saw a bit of white left in the wound. Fairly confident that that lion was out of the fight, Dominic leapt away before the third could attack, feeling his teeth with his tongue ¨C he¡¯d lost part of the jagged canine, unfortunately. No attack came. Instead, he turned to see the final lion running as fast as his paws could carry him. Unfortunately for the lion, Dominic was a lot faster than him. And by running away, he¡¯d opened himself up to a Pounce-enhanced strike to the back of his neck. Even with his canines in the state they were, he could still cause more than enough damage to an already-injured opponent. [You have killed African Lion (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 10 PP] [2/3 challengers of Winner Takes All defeated. Kill or force a retreat from the others to win the challenge.] [You have killed African Lion (Basic Beast level 6)] [You have earned 10 PP] [3/3 challengers of Winner Takes All defeated.] [Congratulations! You have won the challenge: Winner Takes All. Would you like to see your rewards?] Dominic would definitely like to see his rewards, but he reluctantly told it ¡®later¡¯. He was very aware that the fight wasn¡¯t actually fully over yet. Chapter 4: The Invitation Turning to see what the lionesses had been getting up to while they fought, he saw two battle lines clearly drawn in an increasingly tense situation. All the lionesses were facing each other, ears pinned back, lips drawn away from teeth. Rumbling snarls and growls filled the air, the sound of unhappy lions. However, it hadn¡¯t broken out into outright violence ¨C yet. Dominic sensed that the situation was on the knife¡¯s edge; it would only take one overeager youngster ¨C probably Jenkins, knowing her ¨C to set light to the keg of gunpowder before him. If that happened, he suspected that it would be difficult to separate them before deaths happened. So, without waiting a second longer, Dominic plunged into the fray. Running forward, he leapt over his own lionesses and landed right in the middle. Standing tall, he roared in victory and warning at the lions ahead of him. While he was aware that his own teeth were less than impressive right now, he hoped that the sound of his roar and his size would be sufficient to cow the other lionesses. Not to mention the three corpses of their previous protectors. Behind him, he sensed his own pride shifting from their crouched positions and standing taller, joining him in roars of victory. The sound of their cries created a cacophony which almost made the air shudder. An idea occurring to Dominic, he carefully put it to one side for later consideration: now was not the time. The lions ahead of them flinched and crouched lower at the sound which struck them like a blow. Dominic saw a number of them glance to the side to see the carcasses of the three males lying on the red earth, staining it even more with their blood. Abruptly, Dominic saw the grass start moving, rippling away from the action. Then the back row of lionesses started creeping away, at first slowly, then faster. The front lionesses stayed in place, their teeth still bared and snarls still rumbling in their throat, but less of an active threat and more defensively ¨C Dominic had learned enough about lions to read that. Then, with another flick of the front lioness¡¯ tail, the front lions started backing away too. Dominic frowned mentally, going quiet. He didn¡¯t want to actually scare the other pride off: numbers were good, and Leo in particular would be annoyed if he lost the opportunity to mate with more females. Racking his brains, he tried to think of something he could do. ¡®Any ideas?¡¯ he asked his co-pilot. All he got back was a sense of uncertainty. ¡®I knew how to take over a pride, but how to integrate two prides in one? I have no idea,¡¯ the lion admitted shamelessly. Dominic huffed in annoyance. So much for Leo being helpful with leonine politics. The other lionesses were still roaring, so Dominic suggested mentally that they stop ¨C he suspected that it wouldn¡¯t help matters. One by one, the lionesses ceased their call, then looked expectantly at Dominic. Eyeing the still-retreating lionesses, visible only now by the ripple of grass, Dominic had an idea. What did all lions want? Food! And what did he have in his storage space? A massive rhino carcass. Yes, he¡¯d intended on using it as a mass health potion, but as it had turned out, he hadn¡¯t yet found an opportunity where he could benefit his pride more than his enemies, and he wasn¡¯t keen on letting the rhino just rot in his storage until it was beyond anyone¡¯s desire to consume. While his own pride had eaten not that long ago, given that the other pride had been squaring up for a hunt, he suspected that they would be hungry. With the zebras having long disappeared, they would have to search for more prey. Sharing a meal had long been considered a way of building bonds in human society; why couldn¡¯t it be the same in leonine? ¡®Interesting idea,¡¯ Leo commented. ¡®It might even work.¡¯ ¡®Thanks for the vote of success,¡¯ replied Dominic, a little sarcastically. Well, there was no harm in trying it, right? Trotting over to a clear space, he pulled the rhino carcass out of his storage space. It landed on the earth with an audible thump. Dominic eyed it ¨C his memories didn¡¯t do the thing justice: it was massive. Plenty of meat here for several prides of lions, let alone just two. If they could get through the skin, of course. Doubt suddenly overcoming Dominic, he pushed it away with a shake of his mane. If they couldn¡¯t get through the skin, he¡¯d have to help them: a few enhanced powerful swipes should be enough to allow them access to the meat beneath. His own lionesses should have less trouble, especially those who had enhanced their teeth or claws. It was the lower-levelled lionesses who were more likely to be in difficulty. But first, he needed to go and invite the other pride. And quickly, since they were probably moving away as quickly as they could right at that moment. As his own lionesses started happily attacking the carcass, even if he suspected they weren¡¯t that hungry, Dominic trotted after the other lions. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Following their trail was easy enough, and it wasn¡¯t long before he caught sight of the trailing members ¨C two mothers with small cubs along with a limping lioness. Ahead of them were other members of the pride, starting to become more and more strung out because of different movement speeds. It took a few moments before the rearguard realised that he was there. When they did, they immediately drew their lips back from their teeth and started snarling at him. The mothers in particular took very aggressive postures, their cubs clustering around them with wide eyes. Dominic ignored them. From what he¡¯d learned from Leo and from his own pride, there should be one female who was the ¡®leader¡¯. And that one would probably be at the front. Trotting forwards, he didn¡¯t get too close to the lionesses: he didn¡¯t want to provoke one to attack out of fear of his own aggression. By this point, the whole pride had stopped and was bunching up again together, recognising instinctively that facing a threat with numbers was far better than facing it alone. Hopefully he¡¯d be able to convince them that he wasn¡¯t a threat soon, though. Eyes flicking over the group of lions, Dominic searched for the lead lioness. ¡®That one,¡¯ Leo said abruptly, nudging Dominic¡¯s attention to focus on a single lioness. Dominic was uncertain but thought that that was the same one who had been at the front of the confrontation, and who had signalled the retreat. Unfortunately, one lioness still looked very like another to his eyes. Fortunately, he had Leo to whom the differences were far starker. ¡®You¡¯re sure?¡¯ Dominic still checked. ¡®I¡¯m sure,¡¯ Leo confirmed with no doubt in his mental voice. ¡®Alright then,¡¯ Dominic agreed, eyeing the lioness. Lying down, he tried to make himself less of a threat. At this distance, he should still be able to react in time if they decided to attack him, but he didn¡¯t want them so on their guard that they wouldn¡¯t listen to a word he said. Well, what he communicated, anyway. Going off instinct a little ¨C he wasn¡¯t sure if it was his own or Leo¡¯s ¨C Dominic waited patiently for a little time. He suspected that the lionesses needed to relax a little around him before the lead matriarch would even be willing to pay attention to anything he sent her. As the minutes went by, Dominic started to see signs of the lionesses dropping some of their guard. Ears relaxed a little, snarls decreasing in volume, lips lowering bit by bit. The former human found it easier to be patient than he thought it might be: he must have been drawing on reserves of patience that Leo had or something. Waiting this long for anything had used to make him fidgety and irritable. But now? He found it almost calming. A nice little break in his new life which seemed filled with plans and fights and uncertainty. Eventually, though he didn¡¯t know how much time had actually passed, the lionesses were looking warily at him, but not actually presenting any signs of aggression. Except the mothers ¨C it was expected for them to be far more wary in the presence of a strange male lion than the other females. Seeing indications that the lionesses might start walking on again, Dominic decided that this would be a good moment to send a mental message to the lead lioness. ¡®Help me out here with phrasing this, would you?¡¯ he asked Leo. The lion in his head yawned and gave an irritated impression of having been pulled out of a nice nap. Which, honestly, he¡¯d probably been doing in their mental space. ¡®Do you want more lionesses in the pride or not?¡¯ Dominic asked pointedly. ¡®Fine,¡¯ the lion grumped, but Dominic could tell it was a pretense ¨C he sensed the excitement in his companion at the thought of having more mating partners. Together, they formed a scent, sound, sight impression of himself and sent it to the lioness they reckoned was the matriarch of the pride. Once more, Dominic felt the itch of a connection forming between the two of them, and he saw the lioness startle as he delivered the ¡®package¡¯. Unlike how Sekhmet had reacted the first time he¡¯d communicated with her, the lead lioness here pinned her ears back and bared her teeth again. The other lionesses around her reacted to the increase in hostilities by doing the same, though they seemed a little confused as to why he¡¯d suddenly become a threat once more. Over the connection, Dominic tried to send an impression of peace, of not wanting to harm others in the pride, of wanting to offer his protection. He was trying to draw from what he¡¯d learned from Leo and the pride about what a male protector of a pride normally offered. ¡®You should add in the impression of strong and healthy cubs too,¡¯ Leo chimed in helpfully. About to reject the suggestion out of hand, Dominic stopped himself. While he suspected that the lion had made the suggestion at least in part to tease him, it was probably at least half in seriousness too. Though the former-human might not like it, the fact was that both lion and lioness approached mating with the same idea of having the strongest and healthiest cubs possible. Well, the females did ¨C Leo seemed more concerned about spreading his genes as widely as possible. Health and strength came secondary to quantity. ¡®You send that message, then,¡¯ Dominic sighed. A sense of surprise came from Leo, as if he hadn¡¯t been expecting Dominic to agree. He didn¡¯t say anything, though, just sending off a new ¡®package¡¯ of communication to the lead female which Dominic tried to not pay too much attention to. He didn¡¯t want to know if Leo had slipped something else in there to do with the actual mating process. The lioness didn¡¯t seem convinced, but she had at least stopped growling at them. In the end, Dominic sent her a picture of the rhino attached to a feeling of invitation. Then he stood up, ignoring how all the lionesses stiffened again. Shaking out his mane, he turned and trotted back to the rhino carcass and his pride. He did keep his ears turned so that he could hear if any lion decided to take advantage of his turned back to attack, but otherwise focussed his attention forwards. He¡¯d sent the invitation ¨C time to see if they would take him up on it. Chapter 5: No More Cracking Teeth Getting back to the carcass, Dominic was less interested in eating than he was in checking whether he could finally level up ¨C and then finding out what rewards he¡¯d gained from the Challenge. Progress to Evolution: 464/462 PP level up ¡®Yes!¡¯ he cried to his companion as he saw it. It was close ¨C he was only two Prey Points over the threshold, but that didn¡¯t matter: he¡¯d finally got enough! ¡®No more cracking teeth!¡¯ ¡®That will be a relief,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®I¡¯ve felt embarrassed every time we¡¯ve shown our teeth to the females. Thanks for that, by the way,¡¯ he says with a heavy dose of sarcasm. ¡®For what? I didn¡¯t realise that the acid was going to eat at our teeth!¡¯ objected Dominic. ¡®No, for teaching me how to feel embarrassed.¡¯ ¡®Ah,¡¯ Dominic realised. ¡®It¡¯s a human emotion.¡¯ He grinned mentally. ¡®Welcome to humanity. We have cookies.¡¯ At the thought he couldn¡¯t help moaning softly. He missed cookies. ¡®That or having a primate run around in your body and make a disgrace of itself is enough to teach anyone embarrassment,¡¯ Leo retorted, bringing Dominic away from a daydream of cookies, and brownies, and cakes, and bread, and sandwiches, and pasta, and anything that wasn¡¯t raw meat, however nice said raw meat actually tasted to him now. He mentally poked his tongue out at the pain-in-his-brain. ¡®Anyway, to get back on topic, I¡¯ve been thinking.¡¯ ¡®Is the sky falling?¡¯ Leo commented irreverently. Dominic sent him an impression of an eyeroll, but refused to be diverted. ¡®Hopefully, this is the next half-step which might mean that we have more options to choose from. Last time we had an extra option; if this is the second half-step, then we might even have two extra enhancement possibilities.¡¯ Anticipation ran through him as he considered that. ¡®And if it isn¡¯t the half-step milestone?¡¯ asked Leo, probably playing devil¡¯s advocate again. ¡®Then I still have two options to choose from,¡¯ Dominic shrugged. ¡®I think we need to make a plan for enhancements, anyway.¡¯ ¡®I agree. What do you have in mind?¡¯ ¡®Stamina is our biggest need,¡¯ Dominic stated bluntly. ¡®We run out far too fast, and now that we have Regeneration, our health replenishment speed actually far out-paces our stamina replenishment. Enduring Stamina would help, but we need to hunt wildebeests for that first ¨C we need stamina now.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll agree that it¡¯s a rather urgent need ¨C we have too many Abilities which use it. Second Wind does come in useful, though.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s true, but Second Wind is more of a stop-gap solution, not a proper one. Still, I¡¯ve been considering that one too. It¡¯s not an enhancement, but surely there¡¯s a better way of increasing Second Wind than just waiting for a good moment in a battle?¡¯ ¡®Like what?¡¯ Leo asked, sounding a little confused. ¡®Well¡­¡¯ Dominic trailed off, bringing up the description of Second Wind from his status screen. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (24% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. ¡®It says that it¡¯s activatable when under 50% health or stamina. What happens if I¡¯m not under 50% health but I am under 50% stamina? Or the reverse? Do I lose both health and stamina when the timer runs out? My health regeneration is more than enough now to replenish my pool in the time allotted. If I can bring myself down to under half health, trigger the Ability, then wait out the timer, then wait for my health to replenish completely before starting again, I reckon that that would be a good way of grinding the Ability. As long as it doesn¡¯t take both health and stamina, that is. But again, that¡¯s what the testing would be about.¡¯ ¡®And how do you suggest getting to under half health in a controlled environment?¡¯ Leo asked dubiously. ¡®We¡¯re surrounded by other predators, Leo,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®You mean to ask the lionesses to ¨C¡¯ ¡®Yes. Or perhaps it would work with stamina instead of health. If it did, that would be easier to do, thinking about it,¡¯ he said thoughtfully, more to himself than Leo. ¡®That way I wouldn¡¯t even need to get the lionesses involved ¨C I¡¯d just have to run around a bit. Hmm.¡¯ Leo huffed in consideration when Dominic stopped talking, his thoughts disintegrating more into wordless musings. ¡®It might work. But if it doesn¡¯t? Or Second Wind needs to be used in a proper combat environment to increase?¡¯ Dominic shrugged, his focus sharpening again on the conversation. ¡®We¡¯ll cross that bridge if we come to it. Anyway, we¡¯ve gone on a bit of a tangent. Coming back to the point, we agree that stamina is a priority. I want to put Roar as a second priority.¡¯ ¡®Why Roar?¡¯ Leo asked curiously. ¡®I know why I would choose it ¨C to be able to signal to males far and wide that this is my territory, but I suspect that that is not your reasoning.¡¯ ¡®And you¡¯d be right,¡¯ Dominic responded with a mental grin. ¡®No, I was thinking about the Place of Power. You know the current protectors?¡¯ ¡®No, I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡¯ Leo replied sarcastically. ¡®It¡¯s not like they haven¡¯t featured in a few of my dreams.¡¯ ¡®Really?¡¯ asked Dominic, momentarily diverted. ¡®Really,¡¯ confirmed Leo grimly. ¡®What, you think that lions can¡¯t have nightmares too?¡¯ ¡®I mean, no, I just¡­hadn¡¯t really thought about it,¡¯ admitted Dominic after scrambling for a good response. ¡®Well, we do,¡¯ huffed Leo. ¡®And those creatures definitely have featured. Along with my teeth dropping out.¡¯ Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡®They say that dreaming about teeth falling out indicates lack of confidence or loss of something important,¡¯ mused Dominic. Flashing a mental grin at his companion, he continued. ¡®Could you be worried about, uh, performance issues?¡¯ ¡®I could tell you in great detail why I¡¯m not at all worried about performance issues,¡¯ the lion threatened. ¡®With illustrations.¡¯ ¡®Anyway, back to the topic,¡¯ Dominic moved on hurriedly before Leo could carry out his threat. ¡®I was thinking about their main weapon: sonic vibrations. They¡¯re probably caused by soundwaves, right?¡¯ ¡®I have no idea,¡¯ commented Leo dryly, but Dominic wasn¡¯t actually listening. ¡®So what if we could disrupt those? Or wield our own sonic weapon?¡¯ ¡®And you think that enhancing our roar would do that?¡¯ asked Leo, finally taking some interest. ¡®I think it¡¯s a good possibility,¡¯ Dominic nodded. ¡®It would be better if some of the lionesses also somehow enhanced their roars too, but I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be able to do that.¡¯ ¡®I could try communicating that with them,¡¯ mused Leo. ¡®That would be great,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®So you agree about putting Roar up the priority list?¡¯ ¡®Yes, but I think there¡¯s something else we need to consider too,¡¯ interjected Leo. ¡®What¡¯s that?¡¯ ¡®Our mane.¡¯ ¡®Again Leo ¨C¡¯ Dominic groaned, before the lion cut him off. ¡®Hear me out,¡¯ Leo told the former-human seriously. Sensing that his companion wasn¡¯t trying to be facetious this time, Dominic sent a sense of listening. ¡®If we darken our mane, we gain more charisma towards others of our species, right?¡¯ ¡®Right.¡¯ ¡®And what exactly are we trying to do at the moment?¡¯ Realisation dawned for Dominic. ¡®You think it would help integrate the other lionesses into the pride?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m sure it would.¡¯ Dominic considered that for a moment. ¡®But this is a temporary state. And hopefully they¡¯ll integrate anyway,¡¯ he pointed out. ¡®Do we want to use one of our enhancements to gain something a little faster that we¡¯ll probably gain anyway?¡¯ ¡®What if this situation repeats itself?¡¯ Leo asked. Dominic was stopped in his tracks for a moment. ¡®You think it will?¡¯ ¡®I think it¡¯s likely. As we expand our territory, we are likely to encounter other lions. Besides, even if this particular situation doesn¡¯t repeat itself exactly, having better charisma is likely to make our life in the pride easier and improve our ability to convince the lionesses to do what we want.¡¯ Dominic considered it. Leo made some good points, though he was a little dubious about whether increased charisma had anything to do with being more convincing. Then again, he thought to himself, who would I prefer to do things for? A beautiful woman with great tits and a gleaming smile or an ugly old bag who¡¯s always frowning? ¡®Alright, I take your point,¡¯ Dominic accepted. ¡®So we¡¯ll do stamina and darkening our mane for the first two enhancements, then do stamina and roar for the next enhancements. That¡¯ll either be here if we¡¯re offered extra enhancement possibilities, or next time we level up. Agreed?¡¯ ¡®Agreed.¡¯ Looking down his status screen, Dominic realised that there was another question to discuss. ¡®So, we have two Abilities to take. Sure Feet is a definite one, right?¡¯ ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡®But do we definitely want Acid Spit? What if it destroys our teeth or something?¡¯ Having experienced what life was like with broken canines, Dominic had no desire to make that a permanent state of affairs. ¡®It¡¯s a risk,¡¯ Leo said slowly. ¡®But consider what happened with Powerful Kick ¨C it became Powerful Swipe which worked much better with our body.¡¯ ¡®Though that¡¯s another consideration,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®I suspect that we¡¯ll have to choose between the amount of modifications made to our body; what if we choose limited modifications and it nerfs the Ability completely?¡¯ ¡®Meaning¡­?¡¯ ¡®Well, what if instead of Acid Spit it becomes¡­Acid Dribble, or something,¡¯ Dominic suggested, his imagination failing him. Though he couldn¡¯t help but grimace at the mental image that created: a lion looking a bit like a drooling mastiff with green liquid trickling out of the corners of his mouth and falling to sizzle on the ground. ¡®Or what if it meant that we might hurt the lionesses when we mated with them because our skin became alkali in response,¡¯ he added. Leo recoiled at the possibility. ¡®Do you really think that¡¯s likely?¡¯ he asked, more than a little anxiously. ¡®I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s the issue,¡¯ Dominic replied in frustration. They were silent for a few long moments . ¡®I think that it should be fine,¡¯ Leo said finally. ¡®And why do you say that?¡¯ Dominic demanded. ¡®Because so far, even though we¡¯ve accrued Abilities from a wide range of creatures, none of them have been actively counter our nature.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ve never taken an Ability from a lizard before,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®Look,¡¯ Leo said, losing his patience. ¡®I think that the potential risk is worth the reward. That¡¯s what you thought when you contemplated using a magic scroll which, might I add, caused damage to our body which we still haven¡¯t managed to overcome ¨C and might never. I doubt that acquiring Acid Spit is likely to cause anywhere near the amount of damage that Lightning Discharge did ¨C or offer the same risk to our life.¡¯ ¡®...You have a point,¡¯ admitted Dominic, though he wasn¡¯t sure that it was a completely valid argument ¨C two wrongs don¡¯t make a right and all that. ¡®You want to acquire Acid Spit? To take the risk of it doing something irreversible to our body?¡¯ ¡®I think that potentially having a ranged weapon and the ability to leave acid eating away at the bodies of our enemies is worth the risk, yes.¡¯ ¡®OK then,¡¯ Dominic replied, because honestly, even though he wasn¡¯t entirely personally convinced that Acid Spit was worth it, it was true that he had unilaterally put them both at risk when he decided to open the Lightning Discharge scroll back in the dungeon. Leo deserved the opportunity to make the same sort of decision. ¡®Though after this, no more complaining about me taking Lightning Discharge, OK?¡¯ he asked Leo pointedly. The lion grumbled for a moment but then agreed. Activating the level up, Dominic was disappointed not to see any sort of message about having reached the next half-step threshold. He¡¯d really thought that if level 10 was the threshold for the first tier, level 20 would be the threshold for the second half-step. Then again, the first half-step was level 6, not level 5¡­ Maybe the half-step was level 21 instead? He¡¯d have to find out later. For now, he chose Heart and Mane (darken) as they¡¯d agreed, then accepted Sure Feet and Acid Spit as Abilities. Sure Feet went through with no problem, but as expected, accepting Acid Spit brought another message flashing up in front of him. [Warning: Acid Spit requires significant change to the User¡¯s physiology. Option 1: Continue with Acid Spit (significant physiological changes) Option 2: Transform Acid Spit into a similar Ability which is more suited to the User¡¯s current form (minor physiological changes) Option 3: Reject Acid Spit] Hesitating for a moment, Dominic wavered between the first two options. Option 1 ran the risk of changing his body in a way that would then cause him issues. Option 2 on the other hand risked him getting a dud that would be useless. Hoping that he wasn¡¯t making the wrong choice, he selected an option and then accepted the level up. Chapter 6: We Are All Lions He¡¯d been expecting it, but the pain to his teeth still took him a bit off-guard. ¡®This is like the worst visit to a dentist ever,¡¯ Dominic groaned to Leo, squeezing his eyes shut as the agony built. It was like he was getting a deep hole filled ¨C without anaesthetic. No, a root canal with over-the-counter paracetamol, he decided with a mental moan. Then the pain shifted. It eased in his teeth, but started increasing underneath his tongue. The muscle there started to burn and ache. It felt like something was growing. All Dominic could do was wait until the torment was over. When the pain finally started easing, he gave a sigh of relief. Feeling tentatively with his tongue, he felt his teeth; they were all there, intact and sharp. Actually, are they sharper than before? The top ones anyway, he wondered. ¡®It feels like they are,¡¯ agreed Leo, sounding intrigued. ¡®I wonder why the Ability had that effect.¡¯ Dominic sent him a shrug in response. At the same time, he could tell that there was something different about his tongue, but couldn¡¯t feel the details. There was something¡­bulbous underneath it. It didn¡¯t feel wrong, not now, but it did feel a bit weird. Like something had always been there but he¡¯d just never noticed it before. If this was the effect of choosing Option 2, he really didn¡¯t want to know what Option 1 would have done to him. Opening his mouth, he tried to curl his tongue under so that it could feel the bulbous growth, but he was apparently destined not to succeed as no angle he tried worked. However, something else happened. With one particular movement, a wad of green liquid shot out of his mouth and hit the earth. Dominic stared at the little puddle, not much more than a spit wad, that sizzled against the earth. It didn¡¯t actually seem to be eating away at the dirt, but he supposed that wasn¡¯t surprising: an acid that could eat away at flesh couldn¡¯t necessarily dissolve the minerals that soil was composed of. ¡®So¡­Acid Spit definitely works,¡¯ he commented to Leo. ¡®No kidding,¡¯ Leo responded a little sarcastically, though with a hint of pleasure. ¡®Imagine hitting those wretched vermin in the face with this,¡¯ he continued gleefully. Dominic couldn¡¯t help wincing at the thought ¨C he knew how painful the feel of the acid eating through him was, but at the same time, he¡¯d taken the Ability. If he didn¡¯t use it, it would be a waste. Besides, if the pain could offer sufficient distraction, he could then end the creature¡¯s life far more quickly. Killing the rhinos would have been much faster with this, he mused to himself, imagining standing on top of the rhino and melting his way through to its spinal cord. Though that would be rather tortuous too¡­but any more than me chewing my way through? It wasn¡¯t something that had given him pause before: in battle he used the weapons available to him. Where a quick kill was possible, he did it ¨C more because it meant the least amount of effort or output from him, but it had the side benefit of reducing his target¡¯s suffering. The rhinos hadn¡¯t offered him the opportunity of a quick kill. In the end, he shrugged away his moral qualms ¨C they didn¡¯t have a place in his new reality. It was kill or be killed, grow in levels or be destroyed when others surpassed him. And now they were basically in a beast version of an arms race with the hyena matriarch, each seeking to increase the quantity and quality of their army. To do that, he would have to use all the tools at his disposal. Painful acid or not. About to pull up his status screen, he paused as he noticed movement in the grass. Tensing in case he¡¯d accidentally jinxed them by thinking of the hyena matriarch, he relaxed as the cause of the movement came into view. ¡®Looks like you might get your females after all, Leo,¡¯ Dominic said with a little warm humour in his mental voice. Anticipation came back at him from his companion. ¡®Perhaps your ability to convince females is better than I thought,¡¯ he gave as a bit of a back-handed compliment. They didn¡¯t move, not wanting to spook the hesitant-looking lions. The lead female paused, eyeing the large male lion, the carcass, and the lions already feeding from it. A low growl started coming from Isis as Dominic¡¯s pride noticed that the other lions had returned, but it soon stopped when Dominic sent her a quick mental message. In it, he sent a picture of their small group standing against the army of hyenas, dwarfed and outnumbered. Then, he sent another picture: their group with this other group added. Suddenly, it was the hyenas who were disadvantaged: even though they were still outnumbered, it was clear that the larger and more powerful lions had the edge in that conflict. With Isis providing the lead for the rest of the pride, the other lionesses of Dominic¡¯s original group didn¡¯t object as the newcomers started to approach the carcass. Neither did they back away. Was that a good thing? ¡®It¡¯s better that they don¡¯t,¡¯ Leo interjected pensively. ¡®Backing away would be ceding control. Our females are stronger and more intelligent than the new ones; a hierarchy needs to be established, and that starts now.¡¯ Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡®I thought you guys didn¡¯t need to establish hierarchy?¡¯ Dominic said with a little confusion. Leo scoffed. ¡®What gave you that idea? We have a hierarchy in the pride, so of course we have to establish it!¡¯ ¡®Well¡­when Sekhmet got stronger, you said that it probably wouldn¡¯t change anything about the hierarchy of the pride. And it hasn¡¯t ¨C Isis is the lowest-level of everyone except for the cubs, but she¡¯s still clearly the leader.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s different,¡¯ Leo responded firmly. ¡®She¡¯s the mother and probably grandmother or great-aunt of the whole pride. She¡¯s proven her ability to lead and protect. But when the cubs come of age and are able to start taking a role in the hunting, they will jostle and work out who is where in the feasting order. These females are new; none of them know each other. If the two prides are to integrate, they¡¯re going to have to figure out who is where.¡¯ ¡®And that¡¯s likely to be a more complicated prospect,¡¯ Dominic realised. ¡®Because it¡¯s not just cubs who are growing up and are probably all at the bottom of the pecking order anyway, just needing to squabble between themselves as to who is right at the bottom and who is a couple of steps up. In this case, it¡¯s matriarch facing matriarch, hunters facing hunters, strange cubs facing each other.¡¯ ¡®Precisely,¡¯ Leo sighed. ¡®If I am completely honest, I don¡¯t know how it will work out.¡¯ Dominic thought about that, but ultimately shrugged. ¡®I figure that we just encourage the two groups to spend time together, then. Keep feeding the other group, try to help them get stronger just as we¡¯re doing with our pride. Hopefully as their intelligence level rises, they will find it easier to realise that strength is in numbers, and that, ultimately, they are all lions.¡¯ ¡®We are all lions, you mean,¡¯ Leo corrected, though with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic quickly agreed. ¡®We are all lions.¡¯ There was silence between them for a moment and they watched the slow migration of the new pride to the rhino carcass. Interestingly, the matriarch wasn¡¯t the first; it was the lionesses without cubs who made the first moves. The matriarch just watched, keeping a wary eye on both Dominic and the other pride. The unattached lions had their attention focussed purely on the carcass and attacked it with sharp teeth and claws. As expected, the rhino¡¯s hide was difficult to get through, especially for these low level lions, but their hunger was a good motivator. With persistence, the skin was pierced and the lions were able to start tugging at bloody flesh. The mothers followed, their body language much warier than the previous members of their pride. Their cubs kept close to them, alerted by the aggression exhibited by their mothers. Dominic hoped that none of the cubs would venture near members of his pride: he sensed that at the moment, it was still a powder keg which could blow at any moment. Perhaps once they had some meat in their bellies they would relax. For now, he just kept his distance, watching the situation as much as the matriarch was. Finally, when the last of the lions seemed to have approached the carcass and were feeding like starving wolves, the matriarch left her observation post. She remained wary, not attacking the carcass with the same single-minded focus that most of the other lions were, but sending glances to Dominic and the other lionesses. She¡¯d deliberately placed herself so she was between the two groups. A smart lioness, that one, especially since he was sure that she was still under level 6. Casting a glance over the group of frantically feeding lions, Dominic was finally able to get a proper headcount. There were more lions than he¡¯d thought ¨C nineteen adults or almost so, and a load of cubs which he couldn¡¯t get a proper headcount on considering how he still found it difficult to identify one cub from another, and they kept running in and out of the long grass. There were at least ten because he saw that many all in the open together, but were probably more. Five of the lionesses were mothers of the cubs, which seemed to fall into two groups: small ones who must have only recently rejoined the pride; and medium-sized ones about the same sort of age as the older cubs in Dominic¡¯s own pride. Nine of the larger lions were smaller than the others ¨C sub-adults from two different litters, he would guess. Maybe three even. Since they weren¡¯t sticking close to any particular adult lioness, it was hard to tell. Though, they were not all lionesses ¨C Dominic¡¯s eyes narrowed as he noticed the beginnings of a mane on three of them. They were sub-adults, like Jenkins and Anuke, but clearly male ones. There were five other sub-adults, female ones. ¡®You will drive those out immediately, I hope,¡¯ Leo growled at Dominic. ¡®We do not want rivals challenging us.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t want to spook the lionesses, though,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®Attacking them right now would surely do that.¡¯ Leo made an unhappy noise. ¡®Then do it when they are a little more relaxed. But I do not want to be feeding and protecting lions who will turn around and attack me at the first chance they get! Especially since they are not even of my bloodline.¡¯ Dominic growled quietly under his breath, his mind racing. He understood where Leo was coming from, he did. But at the same time¡­he couldn¡¯t help but think that having other male lions around might not be such a bad idea. ¡®You can¡¯t be thinking about letting them stay?!¡¯ Leo exclaimed. ¡®What if they mate with our females?!¡¯ That¡­actually was a good point. Not because he was as protective of his right to mate as Leo was ¨C would rather not think about it, actually ¨C but because that would lead to inbreeding, which the normal way of doing things actively avoided. ¡®Look, let¡¯s compromise,¡¯ he suggested. ¡®If they attack us, or one of our pride, or try to mate with one of the lionesses, then we¡¯ll drive them out. Until then, though, they can stay.¡¯ ¡®They are a danger to our cubs!¡¯ Leo warned. ¡®While they¡¯re around, they cannot be left alone with our females or our cubs. And that will prevent us from doing what you want to do with helping the females to become stronger.¡¯ That was another good point. Dominic hadn¡¯t thought about it but¡­it was true that male lions were notorious for doing their best to kill other males¡¯ cubs. Though, quietly, Dominic found it a bit amusing that Leo had apparently unconsciously adopted the cubs in their original pride as his own, despite wanting to kill them to begin with. What if the same could happen with the new males? What if they could be brought to be protective of all the lions, all the cubs? ¡®Right now, they¡¯re eating. Let¡¯s see how the prides interact once they¡¯re full, and then go from there. In the meantime, shall we see what rewards we¡¯ve gained from the Challenge?¡¯ he suggested. Chapter 7: Rewards Heading over to the carcasses of the lions, already starting to buzz with flies, Dominic Consumed them. Interestingly, nothing happened until he had Consumed the third carcass. At that point, the same message he¡¯d seen before flashed up. [Congratulations! You have won the challenge: Winner Takes All. Would you like to see your rewards?] This time, he eagerly agreed to them. [Benefits calculating¡­.] [Lion: Unevolved, level 5, 5 EP x3 (total: 15EP)] [Enhancements available: Sharp teeth (0 EP) Long teeth (1EP) Developed mane (5 EP) Feline claws (0 EP) Large body (0 EP) Sharp eyesight (1 EP) Quick reflexes (1 EP) Pounce (2 EP)] The benefits offered were, honestly, rather disappointing. Dominic found himself growling in annoyance as he looked at the pitiful list. Compared to the chimera he¡¯d fought, there was little there that he wanted. But then, was that really so surprising? Dominic himself had started off as a baseline lion, just like these guys. Only, he¡¯d increased significantly more levels, and gained lots more enhancements than they had. The battle had only been made difficult by numbers, and even then it wasn¡¯t that hard. At no point had he been in real danger. Sure, if he¡¯d made a mistake, one of the lions could have got in a lucky strike, but that was the case in any battle. That didn¡¯t make his opponents any stronger. So, add together the facts that his targets had had few bodily differences to him, and not much opportunity to improve down any particular route, and the poor list before him was explained. It does encourage me to go for more powerful opponents, I suppose, Dominic thought to himself. More Enhancement Points to spend, and better things to choose between. Why are there so many ¡®free¡¯ enhancements, though? Is it that I can¡¯t choose them, or because I already have them? ¡®I suspect that they are ¡®enhancements¡¯ which won¡¯t actually ¡®enhance¡¯ anything since we have them already,¡¯ responded Leo to his thought, his tone pensive, though Dominic was sure he could detect disappointment from his companion too. ¡®Probably,¡¯ Dominic agreed. That would make sense. After all, in the previous challenge, he had been offered ¡®feline paws¡¯ for 0EP. ¡®Do you think we should take them anyway?¡¯ Then a thought occurred. ¡®Actually, what if their ¡®large body¡¯ is actually smaller than mine and affects mine in a negative way?¡¯ A sense of uncertainty came from the lion. ¡®I don¡¯t think that would happen,¡¯ he said slowly. ¡®Look at how taking Acid Spit turned into Acidic Bite for us, and didn¡¯t hurt us at all. It doesn¡¯t seem like the world works that way now.¡± ¡®Nothing we¡¯ve seen so far works that way,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®But that doesn¡¯t mean something we haven¡¯t yet encountered might work like that. Like this.¡¯ ¡®I think it¡¯s worth the risk,¡¯ Leo said finally, sounding more confident. ¡®I think that at worst, it simply won¡¯t do anything. At best, it might actually improve something.¡¯ Dominic thought about his words for a moment, then mentally shrugged. He had no evidence to disprove Leo¡¯s assertion, and agreed with his companion that so far nothing had actually taken away what he¡¯d already earned. He did bear in mind the possibility for it later, though. In the meantime, he simply took everything on the list. There was no point not to. Having teeth that were too long wasn¡¯t a good idea, but none of the lions had had that so choosing ¡®Long teeth¡¯ for 1 Enhancement Point shouldn¡¯t cause any issues like that. Though he did wonder whether that lion had been trying to head down the sabre-tooth devolutionary path. He felt Leo¡¯s approval and anticipation as he selected ¡®Developed mane¡¯ so at least someone was happy. Once the list was empty, he still had 5 Enhancement Points left. Oh well, he decided. I guess I¡¯ll find out next time whether EP are carried forwards or not. Hopefully the next challenge will be one with better options to choose between. Closing the menu, he took a moment to inspect the changes. His mane was the most obvious one. It felt heavy and warm on his neck and framing his face. It was under the collar, and he even felt it warming his chest and shoulders. He shook it and felt Leo shiver in delight at the weight of it shifting back and forth. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®We must look at ourselves in some water,¡¯ Leo grunted at him with elated satisfaction. ¡®All the females are going to love it.¡¯ Dominic shook his head, both mentally and physically. The ruffling of his mane caused by the action made Leo shiver in delight again. Checking out the other Enhancements he had chosen, the former-human was able to confirm that Leo¡¯s guess had been correct: he hadn¡¯t lost anything by choosing the free options. He was pretty sure he hadn¡¯t gained anything, either. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d grown in size; nor had his claws got noticeably any sharper. His teeth had grown a little longer, but that was barely evident and certainly wouldn¡¯t cause any issues. It might have increased his piercing power by a point, but he¡¯d have to check that out in his status in a moment. As for his eyesight, he thought that things were perhaps a little sharper as he looked both into the distance and at the dirt before his eyes, but again, there weren¡¯t really any noticeable differences. His reflexes might have been similarly affected, but he¡¯d only know that when he had cause to use them. While Dominic didn¡¯t know the exact formula which went into calculating how much each enhancement cost, this was clear evidence that how much it affected his body was a part of the consideration. Pulling up his status screen, Dominic decided to look at the whole thing for once instead of just the most recent changes. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 20 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 82/508 PP Satiation level: 100% Hydration level: 100% Health Points: 600/600 Stamina Points: 320/320 Mana Points: 15/15 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 3 (15% ¨C> 21% to level 4) ¨C 3 SP for +35% speed; 8 SP for +70% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (24% ¨C> 32% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 1 (57% ¨C> 89% to level 2) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +6% - 60% Crushing damage for 2-57 stamina per second. Group Attack (T0) level 1 (8% ¨C> 22% to level 2) ¨C +1% to offensive damage dealt per other being who is considered to be in the same group during an attack or defence. Pounce (T0) level 1 ¨C> 2 (79% to level 3) ¨C +75% damage to a hit which is delivered without the target being aware of you until the attack is too close to avoid. +45% damage to an attack which is made directly to a vulnerable area. Powerful Swipe (T0) level 2 (63% ¨C> 75% to level 3) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +6% - +60% damage increase for 5-75 stamina per second. Rapid Attack (T0) level 1 (22% ¨C> 27% to level 2) ¨C Spend 3 SP or MP to attack for a second time within 1 second. SP or MP costs double per additional attack within half a second of the previous. Maximum number of chained attacks at level 1: 5. Sharp Nip (T0) level 1 (11% ¨C> 25% to level 2) ¨C When lunging to bite at something, consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 1, consuming 1 SP will offer +10% speed. Consume 3 SP for +20% speed. If the bite is to a flesh and blood creature, a Bleeding effect may be applied. Sure Feet (T0) level 1 (0% ¨C> 1% to level 2) ¨C A passive improvement to your ability to your balance and traction. At level 1, this ability offers +10 to your steadiness when moving slowly and +5% to your steadiness when moving at speed (more than 25% of your maximum speed). The bonus this Ability offers may increase as Ability increases in level and other effects may be discovered.). Acidic Bite (enhanced) (T2) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Use an acid gland below your tongue to shoot balls of acid. At level 1, the maximum range is 1 length, and the maximum diametre is 3 cm. Enhancement: your teeth have become resistant to acid damage and your top canines have become capable of absorbing the acid and transferring it in your bite. Rage (30% to level 1) Charge (67% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Easy Landing (48% to level 1) Rending Bite (17% to level 1) Fleet Foot (15% to level 1) Enduring Stamina (5% to level 1) Bloodied Stalwart (40% to level 1) Enhanced Fertility (16% to level 1) Bleed (48% to level 1) Dominant Chirp (6% to level 1) Pack Attack (52% to level 1) Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (12-16 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction, 6-8 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 5 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 4-8 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +5% - Mane level 3 (4-6 ¨C> 15-19 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 ¨C> 12-19 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 ¨C> 11-16 Piercing damage reduction (attacks to the relevant area)) +40% ¨C> +100% charisma (for members of the same species) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (53-65 Slicing damage, 32-41 Tearing damage, 24-35 Piercing damage) - Bite level 3 (54-82 Crushing damage, 72-100 Tearing damage, 55-76 ¨C> 59-80 Piercing damage) - Strike level 1 (+10 to Crushing or Blunt damage, +5 to all other physical damage types) - Roar level 1 (+10% chance of intimidating the listener. +20% - +50% if listener is already intimidated by you.) General abilities: - Muscular Body level 8 (max speed 34 mps; max speed duration 15s) (260 ¨C> 320 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 3 (600 HP) +60% health regeneration - Enhanced Regeneration level 3 (2.25 HP / second) - Brain level 4 (Cognition speed standard measurement 7) - Mana heart level 1 (15 MP) - 75% penalty - Soul level 1 (Resilience to mental attacks standard measurement 7) +2% mana regeneration (-80% reduction to mana regeneration) - Bones level 2 (growth +20%) - Flesh level 1 (growth +10%) +5% resistance to basic magical attacks. - Nervous System level 1 (reaction speed +10% ¨C> +20%) - Sinuses level 2 +10% range; +5% intensity - Telepathy level 2 +10% force. - Sharp Eyesight level 1 +5% acuity of vision Spells: Lightning Discharge level 1 (20% progress to level 2) - 1:1 mana / unit of static electricity to damage ratio. Coat your weapons with electricity and discharge it into your opponent on contact. Electrical resistance is effective against this attack. Magical resistance is partially effective against this attack. Equipment: - Leather Gorget (T1) - +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck. 6m3 storage space (non-stasis) - Tail Armour + Tail Morningstar (T1, Common) - Tail armour offers +20 to Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +12 to Crushing and Piercing damage reduction to attacks to areas covered. Tail club offers +10-24 Crushing damage and +5-12 Piercing damage. (currently unequipped) Chapter 8: Touch-starved The first thing that Dominic noticed was the number of Prey Points to his name. Since he¡¯d been 28 points away from levelling up before killing the lions, and he¡¯d earned 30, he was expecting to only have 2 Prey Points now. But instead, he had 82. Not that he was complaining, but why? ¡®Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡¯ scoffed Leo. ¡®It¡¯s because of the challenge.¡¯ ¡®Sure, I realise that,¡¯ Dominic told Leo with a mental eyeroll. ¡®But is it just because of the challenge itself, or have my Enhancement Points been somehow translated into Prey Points?¡¯ That made the lion pause. ¡®I think it must be from the challenge,¡¯ he said after a moment of thought. ¡®We gained extra Prey Points after the chimera too, and we didn¡¯t have any Enhancement Points remaining.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ admitted Dominic. That was a good point. Oh well ¨C more Prey Points was always a good thing. He continued looking down the list, feeling a sense of pride as he looked at his progress. Considering how he had started out without an Ability to his name, he now had ten of them with another five near or over 50% of the way towards being acquired. Not that he wanted to acquire all of those on his list, but still. Most of his already-acquired Abilities had improved as a result of the recent battle, though he grimaced as he looked at the little progress Lightning Discharge had made to the next level. Seeing only a little more progress made to get Second Wind to the second level just reinforced what he¡¯d been saying to Leo about needing to do more work with that one. Pounce was a nice surprise, though ¨C it had leaped to level 2 and gained some more damage capacity. He was a little limited by the fact that its best damage came from an ambush, and that generally only worked well once per battle. Though if I could gain some sort of stealth or invisibility or something, I might be able to use it multiple times, he considered thoughtfully. Of course, that would require him killing enough of that kind of creature to gain it. He remembered the Cores still lying on the ground nearby and quickly went over to absorb them. As expected, they were all Pounce but that was OK ¨C more progress there was definitely a good thing. His actual stats were looking pretty good though, even if he said so himself. It would be interesting to see if there was any noticeable difference to his interactions with the lionesses because of his increased charisma. For a moment, he castigated himself for levelling up before checking out his rewards: if he¡¯d known he was going to get a boost to his mane, he would have chosen Roar on level up. Hindsight is always 20/20, he thought to himself ruefully. Then, trying to keep his mental voice ¡®quiet¡¯ enough that his companion wouldn¡¯t hear him, he thought that perhaps Leo would stop bugging him about his mane now. At least it also gives much better defensive bonuses now, he mused. Each aspect the mane protected against had more than doubled; in some places even tripled. Interestingly enough, it hadn¡¯t been increased in level. Well, it had increased from level 2 to level 3, but that had to be from him levelling up and choosing it as one of his enhancements. But it hadn¡¯t increased any more as a result of him taking the mane as a challenge reward. Nor, actually, had his teeth or reactions, though they had been affected a little. Eyesight had also now been added to his list of enhanced ¨C and enhanceable ¨C areas. He would have to think about the implications of that. As well as the changes from the challenge rewards, he also had the changes from actually levelling up. ¡®Hopefully we won¡¯t run out of stamina so quickly now,¡¯ he commented to Leo. ¡®Though if we can bring stamina up to the level of our health, that would make it even better.¡¯ ¡®If the amount by which stamina increases with a dedicated enhancement to it continues, that should happen sooner rather than later,¡¯ commented Leo in tacit agreement. ¡®Have you looked at the new Abilities yet?¡¯ Frowning a little in confusion at the eagerness in Leo¡¯s mental voice, Dominic did so. Then he sucked in a breath. ¡®Leo, is it just me, or does that Ability seem to have two aspects to it?¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s what I see,¡¯ the lion agreed gleefully. ¡®Being able to spit acid and coat our teeth in it. Those scavengers aren¡¯t going to know what hit them.¡¯ Dominic¡¯s mind raced. Though it didn¡¯t give him exact damage, he already knew how much the acid had hurt. If he could get it into the bloodstream of a creature, have it pump the acid straight to its heart¡­. While he probably could have had a similar effect just with the acidic spit, spitting into a wound which he already had his teeth buried within would have been good; injecting acid directly in via his teeth was even better. Curious about the ¡®enhanced¡¯ Dominic tried to get more information about it. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. [Enhanced: This Ability has been modified due to being acquired by a species without the necessary physical structures usually required. As the species is more than a full Tier above Ability level, Ability has been enhanced.] Interesting. It seemed that he changed the Ability as much as the Ability changed him. At any rate, it had started off as a T0 Ability and was now a T2 one. Maybe that was also part of the reason for why there were two effects ¨C higher level Abilities were more complex? ¡®Why didn¡¯t Sure Feet get changed then?¡¯ he wondered at Leo. ¡®That¡¯s saying the same thing as the description did before.¡¯ Though it was good to have numbers defining the amount of improvement he saw, as well as indicating exactly what ¡®moving at speed¡¯ meant. ¡®And what about all the other Abilities we¡¯ve acquired? They didn¡¯t change either.¡¯ ¡®Maybe because we didn¡¯t have to change our body to gain it?¡¯ suggested the lion. ¡®But then what about Powerful Kick? That¡¯s a T0 Ability.¡¯ ¡®Perhaps it was because fewer changes were required to our body? Then, our muscles grew and our shoulders became more powerful. Here, we¡¯ve gained a new gland under our tongue and our teeth have been changed significantly. Perhaps there wasn¡¯t the opportunity for the Ability to be enhanced in the same way.¡¯ ¡®Maybe,¡¯ Dominic replied slowly. ¡®Or maybe it¡¯s something of a lottery? Perhaps, just like how we¡¯ve come across creatures in Tier 1 with T0 and T1 Abilities, we have a chance of getting T1 or T2 Abilities. Except that we don¡¯t gain Abilities like the other lions, and so it only affects us when we have to make physical changes to our body?¡¯ It seemed a bit of a tenuous argument, but then so much of the System seemed to defy logic that he might as well accept it until he had more evidence. Though it did have some implications: if he gained the greatest possible benefits from absorbing Abilities which didn¡¯t work with his body as is, that might affect the Cores that he chased after. I still want Enhanced Stamina, Bleed, Charge, Rending Bite and Stunning Roar at a minimum, though, he thought to himself. ¡®Don¡¯t forget Enhanced Fertility,¡¯ chimed in Leo, clearly paying attention even to his ¡®private¡¯ thoughts. Dominic sent him a mental eyeroll. ¡®Alright. And Enhanced Fertility, if we can find enough creatures with it, that is.¡¯ ¡®Maybe those ¡®rabbits¡¯ of your memories would have it,¡¯ Leo thought hopefully. ¡®Probably,¡¯ Dominic admitted. ¡®Though there aren¡¯t many rabbits around here. Maybe rats instead.¡¯ Then he realised something. ¡®You¡¯re going to make me go on a fetch quest to kill rats, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ he moaned with humour. ¡®Don¡¯t forget I¡¯ll be along for the ride too,¡¯ Leo growled playfully. ¡®That¡¯s a good point ¨C you can hunt the rats then, and I¡¯ll relax in the study,¡¯ laughed Dominic. Leo sent him a picture of a lion about to pounce, and Dominic took it in the spirit that it was meant ¨C that if they¡¯d been together in the mental space, he¡¯d have just been leapt on. ¡®We should retreat into the study for a bit together,¡¯ he said, a little wistfully. ¡®It was nice to actually be physically in contact.¡¯ ¡®Later,¡¯ Leo promised him. ¡®When the situation with the females is less tense.¡¯ ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic agreed. Turning his attention back to his status screen, he eyed the description of his new Ability. ¡®I wonder how to coat my teeth, though,¡¯ he mused. ¡®It says that my teeth have become resistant to acid, but what about the rest of my mouth?¡¯ ¡®Why don¡¯t you try it out a little,¡¯ suggested Leo. ¡®We know that our Regeneration will fix any soft tissue damage. With our teeth now being acid resistant, we should be fine whatever happens.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not keen on having holes eaten in my lips,¡¯ Dominic groused. ¡®Stop whining. I feel it too, you know,¡¯ Leo told him pointedly. ¡®Just get on with it.¡¯ ¡®Alright, alright,¡¯ Dominic agreed. Time to experiment a bit. He pushed himself to his feet and wandered a little, looking for somewhere to try out his new Ability. To his surprise, the lions lifted their heads as he walked past, and the seven of his original pride actually got up and approached him. He paused, eyeing them as they approached. There was no aggression in their body language so he wasn¡¯t worried, just wondering why they were suddenly so interested. They approached him one by one, rubbing their cheeks against his ¨C he had to lean down a bit so they could, but did so on prompting from Leo. Then, after rubbing his cheek, they rubbed their way along the whole of his body. Once all of them had done it, they did it again. It wasn¡¯t long before he had several lionesses rubbing against his head at one time. No, not my head, he realised. My mane. ¡®Took you long enough,¡¯ Leo jibed, though it was without malice; Dominic could sense how much he was enjoying the attention. ¡®I told you that upgrading our mane would be a good idea.¡¯ ¡®What, because it¡¯s made me catnip for lionesses?¡¯ Dominic shot back at him, then gave up the conversation. Honestly, it did feel nice. The bodily contact with others of his pride made him satisfied on some visceral level. Perhaps he was getting a bit touch-starved or something ¨C or his body was. Lions, after all, were a lot more tactile than most humans. After what seemed like a long time the lionesses lost interest and went back to what they were doing before ¨C eating, sleeping, playing with cubs. The lions from the other pride hadn¡¯t dared come over, but Dominic had noticed their interest ¨C it seemed like +100% charisma was nothing to sniff at. Once all the lionesses had finally left Dominic, Sekhmet and Anuke the last to go, interestingly, he shook himself. His fur ruffled back into place, the scents of his pride filling his nostrils. Feeling somehow more settled than he had in a while, Dominic padded off to test Acidic Bite somewhere he was unlikely to accidentally cause collateral damage. Chapter 9: Training By the time Dominic was satisfied that he should be able to get some use out of his newest Ability, the sun was balancing just above the horizon. Still, he felt it was time well spent since he¡¯d been able to answer a few of his questions. First of all, and the most important in his mind, was that his flesh was unaffected by the acid, unless he held it in his mouth for more than thirty seconds or so. Even then, it only began to burn slightly for a few seconds before even that faded. Evidently, acid resistance had been conferred not only to the enamel of his teeth, but also to the soft tissue of his mouth. Actually, to his soft tissue in general. When he dropped a little on his paw, he¡¯d discovered that it took some time for it to eat into his skin as well. Even when it did, it only made a small divot before it lost potency. He¡¯d feared that the reason for this might be because the acid he was using was far less potent than that of the skeets he¡¯d got the Ability from. That fear proved to be groundless: when he tested a similar drop on the rhino¡¯s skin, Dominic saw the acid eating just as quickly though the rhino¡¯s thick hide as it had through Dominic¡¯s body before. So clearly acid resistance, or lack of it, was a thing. A second important point he spent some time over was exactly how to use it. After the sensations he¡¯d experienced during levelling up, the fact that the acid emerged from a new gland beneath his tongue was fairly obvious. To ¡®fire¡¯ the acid, he had to curl up his tongue. The faster he moved his tongue, the more force was applied to the wad of acid, sending it to a maximum current range of three metres. For a ranged attack, that wasn¡¯t far at all. Dominic suspected that that was a good part of the reason for the skeets hanging out in the canopy above their potential prey¡¯s heads: gravity helped do half their job for them. Though their slow speed when knocked off was probably also a motivation. He had hopes that the range would increase as the level of the Ability did too, or that practice might strengthen whatever muscles were causing the propulsion in the first place. Direction was determined by the angle of his head, meaning that he would have to get much better at deciding exactly how to hold his jaws so that the acid went where he wanted it to go ¨C not half a metre to the right of his target. Again, practice should make perfect in that particular activity. Figuring out how to imbue his teeth with the acid was another question, and one that took a little bit of trial and error. In the end, he found that the best strategy was to lift his tongue three times in quick succession with his mouth closed. Then, using his tongue to guide the acid, he coated his two top canines. They seemed to absorb a fair amount of the liquid the first time he did it and he¡¯d had to repeat the process three more times before they stopped; subsequent times only the first coating was absorbed or none at all. Dominic had to guess that his teeth acted as some sort of reservoir for the acid and the more he used them, the more acid he¡¯d need to replenish. He¡¯d have to confirm that with use, though. Fortunately for him, the acid wasn¡¯t nearly as nasty tasting as the skeets¡¯ acid had been. He wouldn¡¯t say it was exactly nice ¨C rather like sour sweets without the sweet bit ¨C but he didn¡¯t feel like he needed to rinse his mouth out every time he¡¯d coated his teeth, at least. ¡®We¡¯ll have to be careful not to bite any females or cubs,¡¯ Leo commented. He¡¯d been fairly quiet for most of the experimentation time, but had piped up now and then with a suggestion for something to try. ¡®I don¡¯t tend to bite either,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®That¡¯s probably more your area with ¡®mating bites¡¯ and all that¡¯. ¡®True,¡¯ agreed Leo dolefully. ¡®What am I going to do now if the female tries to bite me while we mate? Or tries to pull away before I¡¯m done?¡¯ ¡®Too much information!¡¯ Dominic shouted at him, wishing he could put hands over his mental ears. If a human had asked him the same questions, he would have given the guy a wide berth, probably warning his female friends away. Being a lion, however, meant that he didn¡¯t feel nearly capable of chipping in on the situation. But skewed though Leo¡¯s priorities might be in human terms, he had a point ¨C with his teeth like this and remnants of acid no doubt coating his mouth, Dominic would have to be careful with any friendlies. ¡®Wait, that means that I won¡¯t be able to groom anyone else,¡¯ he realised, not sure how he felt about that. While licking another lion seemed rather disgusting to his human brain, his experience so far had been that grooming felt lovely and Leo¡¯s memories showed him that mutual grooming was an important activity for reaffirming social bonds. The lionesses hadn¡¯t started doing it with him yet, but that was probably because he was still the ¡®newcomer¡¯. But if he couldn¡¯t take part in that social activity when he was more fully accepted¡­? Well, he¡¯d have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Maybe he¡¯d just have to be very careful about how he angled his tongue and made sure his mouth was clear of acid before starting. For now, he was more confident in his new Ability to bring pain to his targets, something that would surely come in useful. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He hadn¡¯t needed to compete with any lions to do his tests: all the lions were sleeping on the ground, having eaten enough to curve their bellies like little hills. Dominic had eyed them with a bit of exasperation ¨C even his own pride who had eaten not that long ago had decided in the end to gorge themselves and were still laid out just as much as the new pride were. ¡®Let¡¯s just hope that nothing attacks while they¡¯re all so sleepy,¡¯ Dominic commented to Leo. It might have been a common activity for the lions to do in the old world, but in that one lions weren¡¯t prey. At least, not healthy lions sleeping together in a pride. These days, lions could be hunted just like anything else, whether by creatures from Earth or ones from the other planets. ¡®Then I suppose you¡¯re not willing to go and join them?¡¯ Leo asked with only the faintest amount of hope in his voice, like he wished that Dominic would but doubted that he¡¯d agree. At least he¡¯d learned that much. ¡®No, we rested this afternoon. Now we¡¯ve got more important things to do.¡¯ ¡®What could be more important than eating, then sleeping, and maybe a little bit of mating?¡¯ Leo asked, but Dominic could sense that it was rhetorical: the lion knew as well as he did that there were far more important things to do now, especially if they were to get strong enough to take the Place of Power and outstrip the hyenas. No, he had something else to test: whether he could raise Second Wind even when he wasn¡¯t in a desperate situation. Since the lionesses were all rather sleepy, he doubted he¡¯d be able to convince one of them to attack him until his health was below half ¨C maybe he would be able to get Anuke or Sekhmet to do it later ¨C but he could still test with stamina. And though he could just run around in circles for a while at top speed, he had an idea of a better way to run his stamina down. Heading back to the rhino carcass, he approached an area which hadn¡¯t been too massacred. Since the hide of the rhino was so thick, the lions had tended to chew a way through in one spot, then had eaten the meat through that hole. It left parts of the rhino¡¯s body looking rather odd: the hide was intact, but the flesh was missing beneath. Still, despite the best efforts of twenty-six adult lions and uncountable numbers of cubs, the rhino was probably only about half eaten at most, and some bits were barely touched. That made an excellent target for his Powerful Strike, Quick Strike, Rapid Attack, Crushing Bite, and Sharp Nip. It didn¡¯t take many uses of each of those before his stamina dropped to half his pool, despite his full reserves now being 320 SP. As soon as it dropped below half, he tried to trigger Second Wind. To his delight, he saw his reserves quickly replenish. He continued running through his Abilities, though slower this time. He aimed only to use 10 - 20% of his stamina pool at any one time, knowing that Second Wind would be taking half of it away once it reached the end of its timer. When his stamina started to dip by a little more than 20%, he stopped and lay down, resting his head on his paws so as to let it regenerate. Once it was up to 100%, he stood again and restarted. The timer ticked down second by second, and then suddenly he grunted as he felt sudden exhaustion drag at his limbs ¨C from around 75%, he¡¯d dropped all the way to 25%. Losing 160 SP all at once felt pretty horrible, just like losing half his health all in one go had too. Maybe I was supposed to raise the level of Second Wind before I started really investing in health or stamina? wondered Dominic idly. Not that that made a huge difference: he needed to invest in both of those, regardless of his level in Second Wind. Though hopefully if he could level it up a couple of times it would take less from him. Even better to note, though, was the fact that his health hadn¡¯t been touched. Apparently only the resource which had been replenished would be affected at the end of the timer. Letting his stamina regenerate a bit, he checked on his Ability, hoping to see a change. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (32% ¨C> 34% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Score! he celebrated. Although it had only gone up 2% instead of the 8% it had done every time he had used it in battle, the fact that it had gone up at all was proof that this strategy would work, given time. Getting to work once more, he took his stamina down below 50% again, and activated Second Wind. At least he tried to. Why isn¡¯t this working? Dominic wondered as nothing happened. ¡®You didn¡¯t let our stamina fully replenish,¡¯ Leo answered with a lazy sort of yawn. ¡®Sorry I¡¯m boring you,¡¯ teased Dominic. ¡®And what do you mean?¡¯ ¡®We have to let our stamina and health go back to full before we can use it again. Don¡¯t you remember what it said in the original description?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s not in the description I¡¯ve just read,¡¯ he argued weakly, despite actually vaguely having a memory of what Leo was talking about now. Or was he just creating a memory because Leo had said that¡¯s what had happened? Oh well ¨C it wouldn¡¯t take too long for him to find out. Resting to let his stamina refill itself, he spent time just idly thinking through some potential plans. Once it had hit full again, he once more used his Abilities to quickly get below 50%. This time when he used Second Wind, it worked. ¡®Just as well I always managed to fully replenish my health and stamina in between using it,¡¯ he thought with his stomach twisting at the image of what might have happened if he had unknowingly gone into the battle with the chimera or the scrin or the hyenas without it¡­. Still, now he knew what he needed to do, all that was required was to actually do it. Soon, he fell into a bit of a rhythm, determined to get Second Wind, and hopefully his other Abilities too, as high as he could before the lionesses decided that they would be willing to go on a hunt. Cue training montage, Dominic joked to himself. Chapter 10: Lit a Fire Leo eyed his females, casting occasional covetous looks over at the newer females who were slowly coming around to his presence. Unfortunately, mating was off the cards now: none of the females were in heat. With any luck, the two he¡¯d been mating with would be pregnant with cubs, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to tell for a little while yet. When their scents started to change, he would know. His brother had been very busy over the last three days since they had been chased off their territory with their tails between their legs; the memory still rankled. It should be the lions claiming new land, and seeing off those mangy scavengers, not the reverse. Still, he had to admit that it had lit a fire in Dominic ¨C and in the females from what he could tell. But it was Dominic who had really been working hard. They¡¯d been doing very little sleeping ¨C in comparison to normal, that was. If they hadn¡¯t been hunting, his brother had been working on his Abilities. And then as soon as the females indicated that they were willing to hunt, he¡¯d been taking them out in groups of four. Leo knew that his brother had been a bit concerned about leaving the two prides together for the first time, and Leo had had to admit the same worry, though not for the same reason. Dominic had been worried that the two prides might start a fight while he was gone; Leo had been uneasy leaving those juvenile males with his females. They might not have shown any tendency towards violence or challenge as of yet, but what if his presence was the only thing holding them back? What if they killed the cubs? Fortunately, nothing had happened ¨C so far. The lead female, the one his brother called ¡®Isis¡¯, had only come out with them once since they had both agreed that leaving her protective and dominant presence with the females should help calm any hostilities, if they occurred. The one Dominic called Sekhmet, however, had accompanied them every time. Leo suspected that his brother was keen to get her over the next threshold as soon as possible. He thought that Dominic was hoping that her intelligence would take another qualitative leap at that point; Leo felt the same way. It would be nice to be able to converse more with another lion. His brother had become far more important than Leo would have ever thought a hairless monkey could be, but he was still not a lion. He didn¡¯t think in the same way and it left Leo feeling surprisingly lonely at times. He shook his mane. I can lick my claws when I¡¯m not in control of our body, he said to himself decisively. It seemed like his brother had been teaching him bad habits. Or perhaps it was the relaxation of not being in control, however frustrating that could be sometimes. Now, which females to take this time? All of them had increased by a level, none by two, so it made it a little difficult to choose. ¡®Definitely take Sekhmet ¨C if our hunting tonight is good, it should guarantee that she will tip into Tier 2.¡¯ The suggestion came unbidden, but Leo accepted it anyway ¨C it made sense. ¡®And what about Isis? She¡¯s still the lowest of the group and we¡¯ve only taken her out once in the last few days.¡¯ ¡®She is a good influence on the two prides, though,¡¯ pointed out Leo, a little unsure about that suggestion, so counter to his earlier thoughts. ¡®She needs to be at a good level to maintain that influence, though, doesn¡¯t she?¡¯ Dominic questioned, though it didn¡¯t sound like he was really asking. ¡®That is true,¡¯ mused Leo. ¡®The prides have been good together so far. And they didn¡¯t cause problems when we took her out yesterday. I think it should be fine.¡¯ His brother certainly seemed confident. In the end, Leo decided to go with him. ¡®Then that¡¯s two. Perhaps we should also take the more sensible young female ¨C she is already level 8 and therefore not too far from Tier 2 as well.¡¯ He felt a sense of agreement come from Dominic. ¡®Yes, I agree about Anuke. Maybe Neith too, then?¡¯ ¡®She has cubs. I doubt she will want to leave them without the matriarch present to help protect them,¡¯ Leo disagreed. ¡®Fair point¡­Menhit, then? She doesn¡¯t have cubs.¡¯ Leo considered the suggestion. ¡®Yes, I will take her,¡¯ he agreed after a moment of thought. Heading in, he greeted the pride with head-rubs, even the cubs, and then invited the four females he¡¯d decided to take out with him. They followed him eagerly, by this point fully aware of what it meant to be chosen. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The others seemed a bit disappointed, but didn¡¯t complain. They would probably do some hunting themselves, anyway, but they didn¡¯t seem to target the kind of creatures which would give them many Prey Points, instead still going for the herbivores which they would have hunted before the System arrived. Neither Leo nor Dominic had managed to communicate to them the need to hunt carnivores ¨C probably partly because carnivores didn¡¯t taste nearly as nice as grass-eaters and the females were still feeding from their kills the way they had always done. Leo did sample meat sometimes, since it was still a pleasure to do that, but his brother had been a bad influence on him. Now he just had a few titbits to taste, and then waited until the rest of the pride was finished to Consume what was left of the carcass. It rankled a bit, since his instincts told him that he was conceding to the females and cubs, but he recognised that without heavy meat in his belly, he was able to be more active and energetic. Plus, there were advantages to Consuming the carcasses such as percentage progress towards various Abilities. There was still a part of himself which demanded he take control of the carcass, gorging until he was full and showing exactly who the dominant male of the pride was. He did his best to satisfy it by eating the tastiest parts before he let the females come near. It worked ¨C most of the time, anyway. Heading away from the pride, the four females following him, he stopped as two other females came near. Immediately he was on guard ¨C these were females from the other pride. Soft growls came from the females behind him, but the two approaching them didn¡¯t show signs of aggression. Instead, they looked¡­like they wanted something. Reaching out Leo connected his mind with the closest lioness, sending her a sense of a question. She responded with an image, that of lions going away, then coming back bigger and faster with sharper teeth. Then another impression of scent and appearance: the female herself going away then coming back, bigger, faster, and with sharper teeth. ¡®Is she asking to join us?¡¯ Leo¡¯s brother questioned curiously. ¡®It appears so,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®What do you think ¨C should we let her?¡¯ There was a moment of silence while Dominic thought. ¡®I don¡¯t see why not,¡¯ he said in the end. ¡®This is a step towards integration, I think. Maybe add them to the Pride so they get the benefit of the shared Prey Points, otherwise they¡¯re unlikely to get much benefit, given that they¡¯re probably below level 5.¡¯ ¡®Very well,¡¯ Leo agreed, then focussed on sending out invitations to the Pride, as he had observed his brother doing multiple times now. There was a moment of pause before the invitations were accepted, perhaps because the females weren¡¯t too sure about what they were or what to do about them. However, they were accepted in the end. Leo connected one by one with both females, sending a sense of welcome to their hunt, but also a warning to follow instructions: these females still seemed quite young, and he had no desire to have another pride member like the one his brother called ¡®Jenkins¡¯. That settled, they headed out, all the lions focussing on their surroundings, looking for either prey or threat. Leo knew it would be some time before they came across something suitable, and he might have to employ his brother¡¯s method to attract prey in the end. For now, he just enjoyed the feeling of the night breeze through his fur and basked in the knowledge that there were six lovely females following him through the savannah. ***** Dominic relaxed in the study. He¡¯d managed to make a useful change to it ¨C adding a TV. Not for movies or TV series, though he¡¯d love that too, but to show the view of his physical body, at the moment controlled by Leo. It had taken a bit of mental adjustment to not feel sick when he looked at the moving image, but somehow it had helped to remind himself that, though he felt like he was in a physical body, he really wasn¡¯t. Like with a normal TV, he could also increase or decrease the volume, thereby being able to tune in more or less depending on his desire at the time, or what he could see happening with his body. It wasn¡¯t a connection to Leo¡¯s thoughts ¨C he had to concentrate on hearing those ¨C it was just a connection to his physical body¡¯s sight and hearing. Useful for when he wanted to just know what was going on but also relax a bit. I deserve to relax tonight, he decided. He¡¯d been going full-pelt for the last three days, only sleeping when his body stopped regenerating stamina so efficiently and his mind started feeling muddled. When Leo had asked if he could take over for a bit, Dominic had hesitated, but then decided that giving the hunt over to the lion might actually be a good idea. It would be hitting two birds with one stone: give the lion a chance to stretch his physical legs, and give Dominic a bit of time off. Maybe I should pass hunts over to Leo more often, he mused. He didn¡¯t think that passing training over was a good idea ¨C it was probably a toss up between whether the lion would keep working or whether he would just lie down for a nap. But hunts were a different question. Lying back on the sofa, he mused over the successes of the last few days. Frankly, he regretted not training sooner. While he hadn¡¯t wanted to use Second Wind until he had a sure-fire way of rebuilding his health afterwards, he could easily have worked on his other Abilities. And even with Second Wind, his new discovery about being able to activate it only for stamina meant that his fears about accidentally killing himself while training were groundless. It was true that training against first the rhino carcass and then trees ¨C and other bodies since ¨C was not as effective as using the Abilities in battle. On the other hand, he could far more easily concentrate on the Ability itself; as well as making progress towards the next level with all of them, he felt like he understood them all better. Pulling up his screen, he concentrated on it showing the changes since he started training. Eyeing it, he hummed with pleasure. Chapter 11: Did I Jinx It? Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 20 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 360/508 PP Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 3 (21% ¨C> 95% to level 4) ¨C 3 SP for +35% speed; 8 SP for +70% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 (34% ¨C> 94% to level 2) ¨C activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 1 ¨C> 2 (45% to level 3) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +8% - 80% Crushing damage for 1-52 stamina per second. Group Attack (T0) level 1 (22% ¨C> 37% to level 2) ¨C +1% to offensive damage dealt per other being who is considered to be in the same group during an attack or defence. Pounce (T0) level 2 ¨C> 3 (18% to level 4) ¨C +100% damage to a hit which is delivered without the target being aware of you until the attack is too close to avoid. +65% damage to an attack which is made directly to a vulnerable area. Powerful Swipe (T0) level 2 ¨C> 3 (17% to level 4) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +8% - +80% damage increase for 4-70 stamina per second. Rapid Attack (T0) level 1 (27% ¨C> 89% to level 2) ¨C Spend 3 SP or MP to attack for a second time within 1 second. SP or MP costs double per additional attack within half a second of the previous. Maximum number of chained attacks at level 1: 5. Sharp Nip (T0) level 1 (25% ¨C> 78% to level 2) ¨C When lunging to bite at something, consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 1, consuming 1 SP will offer +10% speed. Consume 3 SP for +20% speed. If the bite is to a flesh and blood creature, a Bleeding effect may be applied. Sure Feet (T0) level 1 (0% ¨C> 56% to level 2) ¨C A passive improvement to your ability to your balance and traction. At level 1, this ability offers +10 to your steadiness when moving slowly and +5% to your steadiness when moving at speed (more than 25% of your maximum speed). The bonus this Ability offers may increase as Ability increases in level and other effects may be discovered.). Acidic Bite (enhanced) (T2) level 1 (0% ¨C> 62% to level 2) ¨C Use an acid gland below your tongue to shoot balls of acid. At level 1, the maximum range is 1 length, and the maximum diametre is 3 cm. Enhancement: your teeth have become resistant to acid damage and your top canines have become capable of absorbing the acid and transferring it in your bite. Rage (30% ¨C> 56% to level 1) Charge (67% ¨C> 91% to level 1) Stunning Roar (19% to level 1) Easy Landing (48% to level 1) Rending Bite (17% ¨C> 29% to level 1) Fleet Foot (15% ¨C> 32% to level 1) Enduring Stamina (5% ¨C> 42% to level 1) Bloodied Stalwart (40% to level 1) Enhanced Fertility (16% ¨C> 22% to level 1) Bleed (48% ¨C> 86% to level 1) Dominant Chirp (6% to level 1) Pack Attack (52% ¨C> 68% to level 1) Rock Skin (10% to level 1) Spike Attack (24% to level 1) Keen Senses (35% to level 1) Spells: Lightning Discharge level 1 (20% ¨C> 35% progress to level 2) - 1:1 mana / unit of static electricity to damage ratio. Coat your weapons with electricity and discharge it into your opponent on contact. Electrical resistance is effective against this attack. Magical resistance is partially effective against this attack. ¡°It¡¯s a shame I haven¡¯t earned enough points to level up again,¡± Dominic murmured to himself, relishing being able to speak once more as he lounged in his human form in their mental space. ¡°But my Abilities are definitely coming on well.¡± Still, even if he wasn¡¯t able to level up yet, he was more than halfway through to doing so; hopefully by the time the lionesses of his original pride had got to Tier 2, he would have earned enough to get at least a couple of levels himself. ¡°And if I haven¡¯t, getting seven lionesses to Tier 2 should give us a good number of Pride Enhancement Points, so then I could potentially get that Lion¡¯s Share enhancement,¡± he mused. While it might not be something he used the majority of the time, the fact that the share Prey Points enhancement could be toggled on or off gave him hope that its contrasting enhancement would be the same. That way, he might be able to quickly enhance his Roar a few times, hopefully gaining a quality to it which would counter at least some of the sonic wolves¡¯ abilities. As well as making progress on his acquired Abilities, he¡¯d benefited from the Cores they had found. Two of the battles had turned out to be with his favourite targets: trodils. Though the lionesses would have struggled a bit with them on their own: the majority of the beasts they had encountered had been at least level 6; Dominic himself hadn¡¯t had much difficulty. As a result, Rage had got closer to completion. His progress towards Charge had come from a group of unfamiliar creatures, ones which seemed almost like moving tanks. Fast moving tanks. At least, fast in a straight line ¨C their difficulty in turning once having committed to a direction was their undoing. That had also been where Dominic had picked up a new Ability: Rock Skin. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would actually take it: from its description and the way the creatures ¨C aarva ¨C had appeared, it didn¡¯t seem like something which would particularly benefit his fighting style. If it had been something he could turn off and on at will, it might have been different, but the Ability was simply enhanced passive defence at the cost of flexibility. Spike Attack was another new Ability, coming from a group of creatures that looked like a cross between a porcupine and a hedgehog. They had also had Pack Attack, the ones who were above level 6, anyway. Once more, probably not something which particularly interested Dominic: he didn¡¯t have spikes which could explode from his body in an area of effect attack. Then again, he hadn¡¯t had acid glands either before he absorbed Acid Attack, and having an AOE attack might be pretty useful¡­. The third new Ability was one he had seen before in his Pride list, under Neith¡¯s name. Now he knew what it did for sure, though it was much as he¡¯d expected: offering a bonus to the acuity of his senses. What was a little surprising was that the bonus was both passive and active, and both range and acuity could be improved with increasing its level. That one was definitely added to his ¡®must have¡¯ list. Bleed and Rending Bite were two other Abilities which were rapidly approaching the point of him being able to acquire them ¨C several of his opponents had had them, leading to one of his excursions being almost a disaster. As it turned out, Rending Bite was pretty powerful when used against a creature of a similar level. Dominic had almost lost three lionesses to the group of vicious predators which had had those Cores. Pounce had levelled up again ¨C between his use during his practice and the three lions he¡¯d killed in a Challenge, that ability had more than doubled its overall potential bonus. From 50% to 100% if the target was unaware, and from 25% to 65% even if the target was aware but he hit a vulnerable spot. Considering those two percentages could stack ¨C and multiplied his other attacks ¨C it was turning out to be a very powerful Ability indeed. He¡¯d certainly have to watch out for enemies with it too. Finally, both Crushing Bite and Powerful Swipe had levelled up, increasing their damage while reducing the stamina cost for both of them, all of which was good news. He¡¯d also discovered that he earned 1 MP per two days since he¡¯d decided to work on levelling up Lightning Discharge: although it could be a good ace in the hole, it really needed to be a much higher level with as little MP as he had available even when full. 15 points of damage really didn¡¯t do anything to his enemies now. It would probably not even be enough of a shock to make them let go as he¡¯d got the hyenas to do once. ¡°Not bad for three days¡¯ worth of effort,¡± Dominic said to himself, pleased. Then he considered how much further ahead he could have been if he¡¯d thought of this earlier and wilted a little. ¡°It¡¯s a pity the lionesses can¡¯t gain anything from the Cores too,¡± he mused. Several of his Abilities had been increased by absorbing Cores for Abilities he already had. Though it did help them get closer to the next level, it would be more useful if he could get another lion with the same ability to absorb Cores as him. But if wishes were horses, even beggars would ride, as his father used to say. To which Dominic had always replied smartly that they were well past the era of relying on horses to ride and questioning whether his father missed riding a horse to work every day. His father had always jokingly threatened him about calling him ¡®old¡¯. A pang of homesickness went through Dominic and he abruptly pulled his mind away from the topic ¨C there was nothing he could do about his dad. Not for now, anyway. Closing his status screen, he paid attention to the TV, watching Leo pad carefully through the savannah. It seemed like his companion hadn¡¯t yet found anything to hunt. Sometimes it was like that, though ¨C nothing for hours and then suddenly everything all at once. The predators which had given him more progress towards Rending Bite had happened upon them while they were hunting something else, after all. Two sets of predators hunting the same prey turned out to be far bloodier post-System than it probably would have been before the world changed. For a while Dominic just chilled on the sofa, watching the TV idly and wondering if he should have a nap. Then Leo spotted something. Prey. Though not something lions would normally hunt, the figures which appeared in the ¡®picture¡¯ made Dominic sit up in interest. Wild dogs. Instantly recognisable from the documentaries he¡¯d seen before coming to Africa. He slipped out of the mental space with a mental twist and back into taking the backseat role in their shared body. Immediately, his connection to the sounds and smells around him reinstated itself; more importantly, so did his connection to Leo. ¡®Are you going to go for them?¡¯ Dominic asked in interest. Leo sent him a sense of tentative agreement. ¡®Would you disagree?¡¯ Leo asked him warily, clearly ready to back away if Dominic indicated anything which might make it a poor idea. ¡®No. I think they should offer some good Prey Points. But be particularly aware about the two new lionesses. We don¡¯t know what level the wild dogs are, but they will probably be able to identify the weakest members of our group.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Leo agreed, sounding more sure about the attack now. Focussing, Dominic sensed Leo communicating with the lionesses. They all lowered themselves to the ground, hiding in the grass. The wild dogs didn¡¯t seem aware that there were lions nearby, but the big felines slowly shifted so they were downwind of the group of canines. By this point, Isis, Sekhmet, Anuke, and Menhit knew the drill ¨C they waited for Leo to give the signal of what to do next. The other two lionesses, as yet unnamed, followed the cues of the older females. Leo eyed the opponents carefully. There were ten as far as he could see, milling around a small area. They didn¡¯t appear to have a carcass nearby, so both Leo and Dominic were a little perplexed as to why they were just hanging out there. It was the middle of the night; normally this time they should be resting or hunting. These didn¡¯t appear to be doing much of either, and they didn¡¯t have fresh meat nearby to explain why they were there. Still, considering there were only ten wild dogs, the seven lions in their group should be more than sufficient to take most down, if not all of them. Communicating with the lionesses as much with body language as telepathy, Leo sent them spreading out to encircle the wild dog group. Dominic read his intentions to stand up and roar to spring the trap, then charge in to make as many kills as possible while they were panicking. Once the lionesses were in position ¨C Isis and Sekhmet on the other side as two of the most experienced huntresses ¨C that¡¯s exactly what Leo did. Standing tall, he roared loudly. The wild dogs flinched, some actually starting to run in fright. These were very quickly taken down by the two lionesses on the other side. Three notifications flashed up in front of Leo. [A member of your party has killed African Wild Dog (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 4 PP] [A member of your party has killed African Wild Dog (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 4 PP] [A member of your party has killed African Wild Dog (Basic Beast level 5)] [You have earned 4 PP] So considering it¡¯s being split seven ways, that means each is worth between 28 and 35 Prey Points since the System doesn¡¯t seem to like showing decimals but still takes them into account. Not bad, Dominic thought to himself. Pity there weren¡¯t more: he¡¯d only get 49 Prey Points at most from this little group. Apart from the three who had run, the rest of the wild dogs stood firm, flinching but not running. Wondering why they still looked confident when faced with a bunch of lions, Dominic got his answer a moment later. I thought wild dog packs tended to be relatively small! he wondered as wild dogs came to their feet from what seemed like every tussock and hillock in the whole area. Ten of the creatures multiplied, now at least forty in number. Damn, did I jinx it? Chapter 12: Versatile Leo snarled as they were surrounded by the smaller predators. Irritation rose inside him: did these canines really think that they could beat the larger lions? ¡®Don¡¯t get too cocky,¡¯ his brother¡¯s voice counselled him. ¡®They¡¯re smaller, but we know that smaller doesn¡¯t necessarily mean easier to deal with. Are there normally this many of them?¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Leo growled back at him. ¡®I¡¯ve never seen this many, and they¡¯ve never been this bold.¡¯ ¡®Then the System must be affecting them. Be careful, Leo ¨C we don¡¯t know what they¡¯re capable of.¡¯ Leo sent his brother a huff. It wasn¡¯t him who usually jumped into a situation paws first, with no idea what might come of it. Briefly glancing around the current mess, Leo decided that the first issue was that they were surrounded. It was almost a repeat of the situation with the hyenas ¨C a small group of lions surrounded by a much larger group of smaller threats. But this time he was determined that it wouldn¡¯t end with the lions running away with their tails between their legs! Sending a telepathic message to the females, Leo had them start pulling together. Unfortunately, the dogs seemed uninclined to allow that to happen, shifting to menace the closest female, growling. The females snarled in return. Fine: if the dogs weren¡¯t willing to let them regroup in the uneasy calm before the storm which was happening at that moment, Leo would start the storm itself. Warning his pride to be ready, he stood again and roared. This time, none of the wild dogs moved, but it did draw all the attention to him ¨C and off the females. Charging, he struck at the canines in front of him, showing that he was a threat to be taken seriously. Though Pounce wouldn¡¯t give him the unexpected bonus with all eyes on him, he still used it for the extra bonus which came from hitting a critical spot. Tearing out one dog¡¯s throat, a second later he struck with his scythe-like claws and ripped a grievous wound in a second¡¯s belly. The dog whimpered and stumbled away, half of its guts hanging out and dragging behind it. An unreadable notification flashed up in front of Leo, but he had a feeling he knew what it meant. ¡®Dog dead - level 6.¡¯ His brother''s words confirmed his guess: the first dog had bled out. His attacks had been so quick that the dogs around hadn¡¯t even fully reacted yet; he took advantage of the surprise to turn and pounce again, bowling over two dogs and taking turns to rip and tear at each of them. Meanwhile, there was another notification. ¡®Level 5 dead,¡¯ Dominic told him quickly: the dog he had gutted had expired. The two he was attacking were next. ¡®Two dead, levels 5 and 6. Nice!¡¯ After that, though, the canines started reacting. Menacing growls rose from the surrounding dogs and they all piled in to attack the threat: Leo. Faced with over thirty canines, even he was unlikely to make it out fully intact. Indeed, he took three nasty wounds in the first second, the dogs grabbing at his flesh and wrenching it away with short jerks of their heads. Fortunately, he was neither fixed in place, nor alone. Gathering his feet under him, he leapt skywards, taking a leaf out of his brother¡¯s book: when the enemies were all concentrating on attacking one place, don¡¯t be there. While in the air, he took a moment to shoot a couple of globs of acid at their upturned muzzles. Though he wasn¡¯t able to aim very well, soaring through the air as he was, he still hit one dog in the eye with one of the globs, the second falling into the open mouth of a carnivore beneath. Then he was past the dogs, coming in for a neat landing. Absorbing the impact of his weight hitting the ground, he used his momentum to spring forwards once again, the two dogs who had accurately predicted where he would land snapping their jaws shut on empty air. Using his tongue to direct some acid to his teeth, Leo sprang back at them, ripping at their eyes, their jaws, their necks. Anything that presented itself to him got bitten, and his bite left traces of acidic green behind. Soon, the dogs were howling in pain as the acid ate away at delicate tissues. It wouldn¡¯t last long, but the moment of distraction was all the lion needed. Using Rapid Attack, he struck once, twice, then three times. ¡®Aaand they¡¯re down. Level 7, even.¡¯ Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The females hadn¡¯t been idle while he was attacking, as Leo saw when he looked up from the two carcasses which fell before him. They had bunched up together, probably either in the chaos when he had rushed the central knot of dogs, or the rest had all dog-piled him. Moving as a unit, the females were systematically tearing at the boiling pack of dogs who were still trying to deal with the fact that their target had escaped right out of the centre of their pile. Led by Sekhmet and Isis, the females had arranged themselves in something of an arrow shape, and were driving straight into the pile. It wasn¡¯t long before the notifications started piling in. One, two, three¡­six dogs fell within the few seconds Leo stood there admiring his females. ¡®They¡¯re forces of nature, I get it. Four level 5s, two level 6s down. Now go and grab those stragglers ¨C the dogs are giving ground, but the lionesses will be surrounded if they¡¯re not careful.¡¯ Leo sent a mental sense of gratitude ¨C he saw what his brother meant now it had been pointed out to him. The females had driven into the knot with such force that the stragglers to the side had been driven backwards ¨C in a prime position to attack the females from behind. Indeed, Leo could already see some of the dogs eyeing the lions to do just that. Unfortunately ¨C for them ¨C that was where Leo came in. Running lightly across the ground, he leapt the last distance, landing right on one of the unsuspecting dogs. A notification came up immediately: he suspected an instant kill thanks to the bonuses of Pounce coming into play. Using the dog as a launch pad, he leapt to the next. This one was more aware of his presence, so didn¡¯t succumb immediately, but its smaller size and weaker attack was no match for his acid-laced Crushing Bite. Nor was the next any better when facing his Powerful Swipe and Sharp Nip, again acid-laced. Noting that the green was starting to become less prevalent in his bites, Leo took a moment to recharge his teeth. The pain of the acid was a good distraction even if at this point it seemed unlikely to kill any creatures by itself. Still, when the lionesses succeeded in killing three more dogs, their impact on the pack was evident: more than half the dogs had been killed in just a few minutes. Showing more self-preservation than most of the predatory creatures Leo had encountered since the establishment of the System, the dogs seemed to realise that there was no way of them winning this: they had lost more than half their number while only managing to inflict a few wounds on the lions. Looking at the health bars above the females¡¯ heads, Leo could see that none of them were any lower than half health. With some barks and growls, the dogs evidently decided to withdraw. Not that they would be allowed to do that unmolested: with their prey now in full retreat, the females broke formation, each chasing a dog. Before the dogs got away fully, they lost five more of their members, only one of the new females missing her attack. Coming back to lick their wounds, the females of Leo¡¯s pride quickly demonstrated to their new sisters exactly how they kept their skin intact. One by one, they shimmered in a level up. Unsurprisingly, the two new females did the same a moment later. Leo reckoned that he wouldn¡¯t be ready to level up himself, something unfortunately confirmed by his brother a moment later. ¡®A hundred and nineteen Prey Points gained there ¨C almost our best hunting trip in this area to date! But we¡¯re still not quite to our next level. Let¡¯s go and find another wild dog pack,¡¯ he suggested, though Leo could tell it was less than serious. ¡®No really, good job there. Good use of Abilities. The lionesses did pretty well too, didn¡¯t they?¡¯ ¡®They did,¡¯ Leo agreed thoughtfully. ¡®Perhaps your suggestion about going for the Place of Power isn¡¯t so ridiculous if this is the kind of teamwork they can achieve.¡¯ ¡®And with Sekhmet now probably Tier 2, it should only get better,¡¯ the human agreed. ¡®But we still need to do a bit more training first, I¡¯d say. If we can get at least two thirds of our original pride to Tier 2, it should give us a much better chance of succeeding. Besides, all my practice on Abilities paid off, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ It was true that his Sure Feet enhancement was probably part of the improvement of his ability to be in the right place at the right time, and his ability to seamlessly switch from one Ability to another had definitely increased. Leo grumbled but admitted to himself that maybe Dominic had been right to take the time to strike at trees and grass and dead carcasses. He didn¡¯t have to tell his brother that, though. ¡®Too late,¡¯ sing-songed the irritant. ¡®Did you forget that I can read your thoughts like this?¡¯ Leo had, but giving the human an inch would make him take a mile, so Leo did the mature thing: he ignored his annoying companion. Eyeing the females he waited until the blurring had finished. He was waiting for one of the females in particular: soon, he should be joined in Tier 2 and he was excited to see what the differences in a ¡®normal¡¯ lion might be. After all, his own experience had been rather affected by connecting with the mind of his brother: he¡¯d been thinking in proper thoughts long before he¡¯d reached level 10. He wasn¡¯t sure if the female in question was the same. She had got better at communicating after she¡¯d reached level 6, for sure, and she¡¯d also clearly grasped the idea of hunting for power. But would he be able to communicate properly with her now? And how strange it was to think that ¡®proper communication¡¯ now counted as words for him. Clearly he¡¯d been around a human for too long. But they were just so versatile. Body language and sounds of different pitch and intensity could only really deal with the now. The emotions of the present, the danger and objectives of the situation they were currently in. Words, however, could form dreams and aspirations, hopes and regrets, philosophy and curiosity. Frippery, pointless things for the most part, but they did have some purpose. After all, it would definitely help them if they could send a Tier 2 with a group of females so that they could run two hunts simultaneously, especially if they managed to combine the prides. But he would have to wait and see. She should be done within the next few seconds. Chapter 13: Greet Other One Sekhmet¡¯s blurring was the longest yet ¨C all the others were done before her, even those who had started later. Though the lionesses which had finished inspected their own changes first ¨C mostly either size, or claws, or teeth from what Dominic could see as Leo looked around ¨C they all ended up staring at the still-blurred lioness after all the wild dog carcasses were cleared up. Finally, it finished. The ¡®picture¡¯ sharpened and all the details became evident. ¡®She¡¯s beautiful,¡¯ breathed Leo admiringly, sounding like it had slipped out unintentionally. Dominic couldn¡¯t disagree. For a moment, they all just stared at her. Dominic remembered what had happened to him when he tiered up ¨C everything he had enhanced up to that point had been enhanced even more. Certainly, that seemed to be the case here. Sekhmet was bigger. Not by a huge amount, but it was noticeable. Her teeth and claws were both sharper and longer. As she twisted to inspect herself, she looked even more flexible than before, though her coat didn¡¯t look any thicker ¨C maybe she hadn¡¯t put anything into defence? Turning back to face them, Dominic noted something else, something he¡¯d been hoping for ¨C the clarity and focus in her gaze had increased even more. She seemed to be evaluating everything she looked at with new eyes, curious and interested. Her movements broke the spell they were all under and the lionesses surged forwards to rub against her. Even they seemed to have picked up that something important had happened. Sekhmet rubbed back against them eagerly ¨C however much her intelligence had increased, it was clear that she was still affectionate towards her pride-sisters. The two lionesses from the other pride were hesitant, obviously unsure as to whether they should come close. Sekhmet solved the issue: after considering them for a moment, she padded forwards lightly to greet them too. She wasn¡¯t as enthusiastic in her greeting as she was with her pride-sisters, but Dominic had to feel that it was a deliberate inclusion of the new lionesses into the group. Why, though? Was it just because they had hunted with her, so she was accepting them? Or did her new intelligence mean that she recognised the benefits of cooperation? Finally, she approached Leo. Rubbing happily against him, she paused and looked at him with her head tilted slightly. ¡®Greet other one.¡¯ The words came into Leo and Dominic¡¯s shared mind-space unbidden, and shock rocked through them. They hadn¡¯t connected to her mind first ¨C did this mean¡­? Dominic quickly pulled up the information about his Pride and immediately looked at Sekhmet¡¯s entry. Sekhmet (T2, L10) : (Health: 450/450, Abilities: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Telepathy) ¡®How is that fair?¡¯ Dominic complained to Leo. ¡®I had to almost die to get Telepathy. Sekhmet only needs to tier up.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t think we should be complaining about fairness,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®How many Abilities do we have, exactly?¡¯ Dominic refused to admit to him that it was a good point. ¡®She has Telepathy, then?¡¯ Leo asked for confirmation. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic verified. ¡®And more health than before ¨C three quarters of ours, even.¡¯ ¡®Not bad,¡¯ Leo replied to him, sounding impressed. ¡®It will help keep her alive.¡¯ Dominic was about to agree, but the lighter voice of the lioness suddenly broke into his thoughts again. ¡®Greet other one!¡¯ she demanded, this time sounding a bit irritated. Probably because we accidentally ignored her, Dominic thought guiltily. Then he actually paid attention to what she¡¯d said. ¡®Hang on, is she¡­?¡¯ he asked his companion in disbelief. ¡®It seems like it,¡¯ replied Leo, sounding just baffled. ¡®Well, shall we¡­?¡¯ Dominic assented and they changed places, their minds rubbing past each other¡¯s as usual, though the exchange was getting quicker and easier every time they did it. Opening his eyes from where he¡¯d inadvertently closed them, Dominic gazed at Sekhmet. For a moment, they just met each other¡¯s gaze, and then pleasure flashed up in the lioness¡¯s expression. She came forwards once more to greet Dominic too, a pleased rumble in her chest. Actually, if Dominic had to compare ¨C which he did ¨C he rather thought that she was greeting him with more enthusiasm than she¡¯d greeted Leo. ¡®She likes me better,¡¯ he commented gleefully to his companion. ¡®No she doesn¡¯t,¡¯ grumbled Leo. ¡®Yes, she does ¨C she even asked for me!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s only because you weren¡¯t in control at the time!¡¯ objected the lion. Dominic considered teasing him further, but Sekhmet was pulling away from the greeting, and he was far more interested in discovering exactly where her new intelligence put her. ¡®So, you can talk?¡¯ he started, projecting the words at her. It wasn¡¯t the best beginning, but he had to start somewhere. ¡®Yes,¡¯ she responded, her voice unmistakable. It was lighter and¡­brighter than Leo¡¯s. There was also¡­something about it. A scent? A feeling? A combination of the two? It was something which just simply said ¡®Sekhmet¡¯ to him. But not the name ¨C the personality; the being behind the name. ¡®How?¡¯ he asked, even while knowing it was probably a stupid question. How was she going to be able to suddenly explain talking? Sure enough, a sense of uncertainty came from the lioness before him, visible in her body language as much as in her mental connection. ¡®I don¡¯t know. I felt change. I thought change communication. Speak to everyone.¡¯ Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Her use of words wasn¡¯t perfect, and clearly communicating more abstract concepts was going to take some practice, but considering what she was a few weeks ago, heck, even a few minutes ago, the change was remarkable. ¡®You wanted to be able to communicate with everyone, and you felt¡­like there was a change?¡¯ Dominic repeated slowly, trying to clarify with her. ¡®Yes, change. Change body. Change mind. Change communication. Difficult, but possible.¡¯ ¡®Huh,¡¯ Dominic replied in absent acknowledgement. If he was understanding this correctly, Sekhmet had been able to actually change the Ability she got on tier up by thinking really hard about it. Or something like that. And as a result, she ended up with the Telepathy Ability. But that didn¡¯t explain why she was able to use words all of a sudden. ¡®Why not, though,¡¯ Leo piped up abruptly. ¡®The hyena matriarch was able to use words too. Our females have been exposed more to words than she probably was, thanks to your messages to them.¡¯ It was true that Dominic often struggled with forming messages purely out of images and scents and feelings, frequently retreating to words and hoping they would understand. Leo was better at it, for obvious reasons. ¡®Perhaps they are like me ¨C the exposure to words has allowed them to start using them, but as they are not in constant communication with you, they can only start using them at level ten.¡¯ ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®To be fair, you only started properly speaking at level ten too.¡¯ Then he turned back to Sekhmet with his next burning question. ¡®So, why did you ask to greet the ¡®other one¡¯?¡¯ he asked. She tilted her head, looking at him in curiosity, as if unsure why he was asking the question. ¡®Because you are two.¡¯ ¡®Obviously¡¯, seemed to be her feeling about that. ¡®How do you know?¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help asking. This time, she didn¡¯t reply in words but in a series of video-like memories. Looking at them, he realised that, although it was the same lion ¨C him ¨C the body language was actually quite different. He hadn¡¯t realised how much Leo kept an eye on his surroundings where Dominic himself only did it from time to time. Leo was much more predatory and threatening in his body language, too, while Dominic was more relaxed and curious. Even their feet didn¡¯t fall in the same way ¨C Leo walked more carefully and quietly even when he wasn¡¯t actually trying to be quiet where Dominic just¡­walked. Shown the differences like this, Dominic had to admit that they were rather stark. ¡®No wonder she was able to identify that there were two of us!¡¯ he commented to Leo. ¡®The embarrassment!¡¯ moaned Leo, a little melodramatically. ¡®The shame! One of my females has identified that there¡¯s a clod-hopping monkey going around in my body! None of them will want to mate with me once they reach level ten!¡¯ ¡®Oh stop whining,¡¯ chided Dominic with a bit of exasperation. ¡®It¡¯s not as bad as all that. Sekhmet hasn¡¯t exactly shown any signs of rejecting either of us, has she? And, as I pointed out earlier, she asked for me.¡¯ Then he grinned mentally at the lion. ¡®Maybe instead you should be worried that they¡¯ll be seeking me out for mating, instead of you.¡¯ ¡®Which would mean you¡¯d actually have to be in control during that time,¡¯ Leo pointed out with a bit of schadenfreude. Dominic paused, then shuddered. ¡®True. Let¡¯s both hope that that isn¡¯t true, then.¡¯ An irritated growl coming from the lioness still stood in front of them made him realise that they¡¯d got distracted again. We¡¯re going to have to be careful about when we have our inner conversations now, Dominic realised. It hadn¡¯t been such an issue in the past, but now with the new developments, it could be. ¡®What do now?¡¯ Sekhmet asked, impatiently. It was a good question. The night was still relatively young, but they¡¯d already gained almost as many Prey Points in one fight as they had in even the most profitable night recently. ¡®Do you want to hunt some more?¡¯ he ended up asking her, then connected with the other lionesses to ask the same thing, though in images rather than words. The two unnamed lionesses seemed keen on more ¨C they¡¯d enjoyed the sense of getting stronger, and wanted to develop further. Isis was unsure ¨C she was uneasy about leaving the rest of the pride for too long. Menhit appeared fine with whichever decision was taken, as did Hathor. Jenkins, like the other two young lionesses, was keen for more hunting. As for Sekhmet¡­ ¡®Others less powerful. We, more powerful. Bring prey to pride? All benefit?¡¯ Oddly enough, her suggestion was the same as Dominic had already considered ¨C way back when he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to convince the lionesses to join him in hunting to get stronger. He hadn¡¯t thought about it since then, but would it perhaps be a good one now? ¡®What if the cubs are hurt, though?¡¯ he questioned the lioness. ¡®Leader protect,¡¯ Sekhmet answered, as if it was obvious, a picture of Isis flashing up with her words. ¡®The cubs from our pride, sure, but what about from their pride?¡¯ Dominic asked, indicating the two new lionesses. ¡®Would Isis protect them too?¡¯ Sekhmet seemed surprised. ¡®Why care? Not pride cubs.¡¯ Hmm, did that answer the question from earlier about whether she was understanding the benefits of cooperation, or not? ¡®Not yet, but in the future, they will be pride cubs when the two prides become one,¡¯ Dominic answered, trying to send her a picture to illustrate his words. In the end, he sent a picture of the two prides lying separately, then another of them lying together, looking like one big pride. His communication garnered a feeling of surprise and uncertainty, then thoughtfulness. ¡®One pride?¡¯ Sekhmet asked in clarification. ¡®One pride,¡¯ Dominic confirmed. ¡®So would Isis protect all the cubs? Could she?¡¯ Once more, Sekhmet gave off a feeling of uncertainty, then walked abruptly away from Dominic to crouch down next to Isis. A moment later, she came back to him. ¡®Cubs from both prides protected, yes. Mothers protect cubs too. Follow leader.¡¯ I take a moment to parse through her words, but think I¡¯ve understood. Isis will help protect all the cubs with her Ability, but the mothers of the cubs will also have to help protect them, and they all need to follow Isis¡¯ leadership. This might take a bit of organisation, but I¡¯m suddenly keen to try. If we find the right beasts, of course. ¡®Alright, well let¡¯s see if we can find some good targets, and then we¡¯ll work out what kind of organisation would be best then,¡¯ Dominic decided. Sekhmet sent over a feeling of excited acknowledgement and went to tell Isis the decision ¨C or at least Dominic assumed that was what she was doing when she once more crouched by the matriarch of the group. Time to hunt. But this time, not just for his small group. Chapter 14: Teach Grandma How To Suck Eggs It took them a while, but when they found their prey, Dominic knew that this was what he wanted to target. It was a little bit selfish, he¡¯d admit, since they probably wouldn¡¯t be the best for gaining Points, but at least it had the benefit of being familiar prey for the lower-level lionesses to hunt. They had come across the tracks of the small herd of wildebeest not that long after making the decision, and Dominic had immediately decided to follow them. The lionesses seemed pretty willing to follow his lead ¨C not only had most of them got used to following him into fights, but these were familiar targets for hungry lions. Even if they weren¡¯t all that hungry right at that moment, they were willing to hunt. Once they had found the group, they spent a little time scouting it out. Dominic attempted to get a decent headcount ¨C hard when the animals moved almost constantly, even if it was slowly, but he estimated there to be somewhere between thirty to fifty of the grass-eaters. Considering that he knew their herds could number into the hundreds of thousands, even millions at certain times of the year, he wondered whether the relatively small size was simply because of the season, or linked to the System¡¯s arrival. Or both, perhaps ¨C so much had changed that it would almost be strange for migratory patterns to remain the same. ¡®There¡¯s plenty of grass,¡¯ remarked Leo. ¡®They probably have no need to migrate for now. That¡¯s a pity in the sense that large herds mean lots of prey.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, but then what happens when all the animals move out of your hunting area?¡¯ Dominic pointed out, his ability to connect to Leo¡¯s memories informing him of just how dry and desolate the area got until the next rains came. ¡®True,¡¯ admitted Leo, then fell silent. They watched the herd for a little, noting its general direction, the general health of its members ¨C surprisingly few sick or injured ones, the direction of the wind, and other things like that. Then again, I suppose the way the System works means that either they¡¯re healed when they level up, or they die, mused Dominic. Though that did raise questions about whether there were injuries the System couldn¡¯t heal, even with a level up. Or diseases. Considering it for a moment, Dominic had to guess that the answer was ¡®yes¡¯ ¨C for diseases, at least. They had an annoyingly good way of evolving according to their target¡¯s immune system. Actually, what if diseases were affected by the System too? After all, bacteria and viruses were alive, weren¡¯t they? By certain definitions, anyway. Dominic thought for a moment more about that possibility, then shuddered with a mixture of revulsion and fear, and decided to put it out of his mind ¨C permanently, hopefully. Once they had found out enough information about the wildebeest herd, it was time to plan the next moves. Although they¡¯d previously planned to bring the animals to the pride, in this case, causing a herd of stampeding wildebeest to charge towards a group of unsuspecting lions seemed like a bad idea. Dominic had no desire to make his life any more like The Lion King than it already was. Approaching Hathor and Neith slowly and carefully ¨C not wanting to accidentally spook the herbivores ¨C Dominic focussed on sending them a message of what he wanted them to do. He¡¯d carefully crafted it with Leo¡¯s help, so hopefully it would be clear for them. In short, he wanted them to tail the herd of wildebeest from a distance, not letting them know that there were lions around. When he called, they were to respond, but only then. If other predators attacked, they were to continue watching and see what happened if it seemed safe enough to do so. If not, they were to search out the rest of the pride, calling as much as they needed to find the pride¡¯s position. Satisfied that they understood their role, the rest of them slunk away, heading back to the rest of the lions. Once they were far enough away from the wildebeest herd that they shouldn¡¯t cause any disturbance to the group of herbivores, even if they were spotted, they increased the pace. Dominic was hoping that the rest of the pride wouldn¡¯t already be hunting at the time they arrived, or worse, eating ¨C as he¡¯d experienced, it was hard work convincing a lion who had already eaten to do more hunting. If they were eating at the time, it would no doubt be even worse. It took them a while to find the tracks of the two prides, but with the number of lions in question, and knowing where they had started from, they succeeded. As it turned out, they had done some hunting, but had only found a small group of warthogs. With only five individuals lying dead on the ground, there wasn¡¯t going to be enough food to satisfy the twenty-one adults in the group, let alone all the cubs as well. In fact, it was just as well that their little group arrived when it did: the scarcity of the meat was provoking hostilities between the two prides. Though no violence had yet erupted between any of the lions, the situation appeared like a powder-keg, ready to blow. It would only take one of the lions taking a swipe at another and then the whole area would boil with fighting felines. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. While that would probably mean lots of good Prey Points floating around, it wasn¡¯t in the slightest what Dominic wanted to happen. Leaping into the fray, Dominic landed right on top of the two carcasses most in contention. Roaring loudly, he then snarled and essentially chased all the lionesses away from the kills. Deciding to take advantage of the situation, he only felt a little bad in Consuming the two bodies. The lions around him snarled and growled. He didn¡¯t care ¨C he just chased them off the next carcass, then the next. The last was currently being claimed by the three sub-adult males. These resisted a little longer, but Dominic just snarled even more menacingly and crouched down, ready to pounce. In his vocalisation, he tried to put the message: ¡®you try it, and I¡¯ll kill you.¡¯ Apparently, they got it, whether from his snarl or the glint of violence in his eyes. They hurriedly backed off, and he absorbed the last carcass, slipping its Core into his Inventory to join the others he¡¯d put in there. ¡®There, that might give me enough progress to finally acquire Charge,¡¯ he said to Leo with a hint of satisfaction. If the bodies hadn¡¯t been enough, the Cores would be. ¡®Perhaps focus more on our hungry and angry pride,¡¯ suggested the lion, a little sardonically. It was good advice ¨C Leo the voice of reason keeping him on track. The lions around him were definitely hungry and angry, their snarls now directed at Dominic himself. Fortunately, all of them were used to male lions coming in and grabbing the food without doing the work, so they didn¡¯t appear to be ready to outright attack him ¨C yet, anyway. ¡®Sekhmet, help me out here in explaining things, would you?¡¯ he directed to the other Tier 2 lion, then started communicating with the matriarch of the other pride. Since this wasn¡¯t by any means the first time he¡¯d communicated mentally with her, she took the connection without an issue. When he showed her the herd of wildebeest, she even stopped growling. He sent her a few images to illustrate how he expected the fight to go, only to receive a response that he could only interpret as her saying ¡®obviously!¡¯ Apparently, he was trying to teach grandma how to suck eggs. With her on board, as well as Isis, it wasn¡¯t hard to get the two prides moving. The other pride did take a moment to greet and examine the two females who had come with him ¨C one had obviously chosen size on both her level-ups and was now almost the biggest in the pride, despite not being fully-grown. The other¡¯s size hadn¡¯t changed so much, but her teeth had become longer and sharper; obvious when she had her mouth open. The evidence of how they had visibly improved between going away and coming back appeared to be enough to eliminate the rest of the bad-will Dominic had gained from coming in and stealing all the meat from their kills. Seeing as they were now going to be hunting together, Dominic thought it was high time they did something else together too. ¡®Leo, help me out here ¨C there are too many lions for me to do it all myself.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re not going to invite the young males, are you?¡¯ moaned Leo, though he started sending out invitations to the new females. Dominic paused for a moment in thought. ¡®I don¡¯t see why not. Until they force me to kick them out, they¡¯re part of the pride.¡¯ ¡®But then they¡¯ll be taking valuable Prey Points!¡¯ ¡®Only when they¡¯re part of the hunt,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. It had been fairly obvious to see that the Prey Points were only shared with those who had come with him on his hunting trips: the other members of the Pride didn¡¯t get anything at those times. Whether it was because of distance or activity, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure. He suspected the latter, but it could be interesting to test if a member of the Pride who wasn¡¯t actually active in the hunt, but was close by at the time of the kill might still earn Points. But that was for another time. ¡®Still, we will be strengthening our enemies!¡¯ Leo objected. ¡®No more than we strengthen ourself. Do you think three half-grown lions are going to pose a threat to us, at our level?¡¯ ¡®And what if they attack when we¡¯re injured and vulnerable?¡¯ asked Leo darkly. ¡®Then sucks to be them, because we¡¯ve got Second Wind and super-charged Regeneration. And that even assumes I can¡¯t activate that challenge thing again which would bring me to full health,¡¯ Dominic responded with a little exasperation. ¡®Look, I get it, and yes, if they challenge me, I¡¯ll kick them out ¨C physically and from the Pride. But until then¡­all they¡¯ve done ¡®wrong¡¯ is exist. Let¡¯s just give them a chance, OK?¡¯ The lion huffed and grumped, but didn¡¯t actually object, which Dominic took as agreement. The three male sub-adults were therefore added to the pride list. Actually, there was a benefit to adding them which Dominic hadn¡¯t thought about before ¨C he gained a point for every tier or half-tier the members who joined gained as well as a point for joining, so even the young male lions should be giving them at least one point each. And they were also adding to the level of the Pride, which should mean that he¡¯d got at least into the next level. ¡®Leo, can you take over for a bit? I want to check out our Pride status, but don¡¯t want to risk walking into a tree or something.¡¯ ¡®Of course ¨C by no means do I want you to embarrass us that badly!¡¯ the lion responded hurriedly, his mental presence already pushing against Dominic¡¯s. The transition went quickly, and Dominic was soon free to focus on the Pride screen. They were travelling slower this way anyway, since the cubs were on their heels. He¡¯d have time, and perhaps there would be something in the list of enhancements which might both be affordable and useful in the next hunt. Chapter 15: Lion’s Generosity Pride status Level 4 Pride (progress to next level 29/35) Current information shared: Health, Abilities Dominic was pleased to see that the Pride level had increased twice ¨C honestly, if it hadn¡¯t, he would have been very surprised. They¡¯d been sitting at 9/10 towards level 3 before Sekhmet had tiered up. Since a Tier 2 member counted for two Tier 1 members, that alone would have pushed them to a level 3 Pride. With the nineteen new members, they had now crossed into level 4 and were well on their way towards level 5. What a long list of members¡­. Dominic marvelled to himself. Quite different from what it had been when the pride started, and it would only get longer. He decided that there needed to be a better way of organising the list otherwise the useful information would be lost. I don¡¯t think I really need to know their health all the time, he thought. In battle, I can see their health bars, and don¡¯t have time to check this screen anyway. If I want to see their maximum health to decide whether to take them on a particular hunt, I can probably check that at another time ¨C the system seems quite responsive to requests of showing information in a different way. Next, he decided to group the members in terms of level ¨C that made it quite easy to see who was in need of more training, and who was soon going to be hitting Tier 2. He kept the Abilities present, but tried to group the information as much as possible. Afterwards, he sat back and looked at the list of current members in satisfaction. Current members: Tier 2, Level 20 x1 (Leader ¨C Dominic: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack, Acidic Bite, Sure Feet) Tier 2, Level 10 x1 (Sekhmet: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Telepathy) Tier 1, Level 9 x2 (Menhit: Pounce, Sure Feet) (Anuke: Pounce, Rapid Attack) Tier 1, Level 8 x4 (Hathor: Pounce, Rending Bite) (Neith: Pounce, Keen Senses) (Jenkins: Pounce, Quick Strike) (Isis: Pounce, Protective Mother) Tier 1, Level 5 x6 (Lion: Pounce) Tier 1, Level 4 x9 (Lion: Pounce) Tier 1, Level 3 x4 (Lion: Pounce) Pride Enhancements: 3% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 2 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 1 Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) ¨C on Less information, but significantly clearer to read, Dominic decided. No doubt the other lions would be separated the way his original pride was when he managed to name them all, but for now, it would do. Now to have a look at the Pride Enhancements ¨C we must have had a windfall of points from all those lions joining at once. [Pride enhancements (Points available: 22) Lion¡¯s Share ¨C the leader will take 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members. (4) Increase the number of Prey Points gained by 3% (repeatable) (3) Increase the damage done by the members of the Pride when working together ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% (repeatable) (3) Increase the chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (4) Increase the chance of being able to determine the type of Ability a Pride member will gain on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (5) Intra-group communication system (repeatable to extend range) (3) Lion¡¯s Generosity ¨C give one of your Pride one of your Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of your original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 you have raised the Ability, you have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (repeatable) (4) Note: more options may be added later depending on your actions with the Pride.] How interesting! Dominic thought to himself as he looked through the new Enhancements available. Intra-group communication system¡­is that like a group chat or something? If it required typing words, he was SOL since there was no way the lions were going to be able to do that, even if they did seem to be able to talk past a certain level. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. If, however, it was more of a telepathic communication that all of the Pride could use¡­.that was something they were going to need more and more. Sekhmet had already experienced the frustration of not being able to communicate with her pride-sisters when she wanted to tell the story of how they had gone and got more powerful by hunting. As the messages they wanted to communicate to each other became more and more complex, some other form of communication would be needed. Dominic and Leo couldn¡¯t be the go-between all the time. Perhaps this would be the solution. And the last one! Lion¡¯s Generosity, eh? Why do the ones with ¡®lion¡¯ in the title seem somewhat customised to our situation? he wondered. Perhaps the System was working in the background, interpreting his desires into possible enhancements he could ¡®buy¡¯. That would be¡­pretty cool, actually. As for the Ability itself, Dominic was in two minds over it. While part of him was leaping with glee at the thought of loading his pride up with awesome Abilities, the chance of losing one of his own wasn¡¯t all that enticing. Then again, if I have twenty percent more chance of keeping the Ability per level above zero, then I only need to get them to level five before it¡¯s guaranteed that I¡¯ll keep it. Though, it did seem like there was a chance of losing some levels with it even beyond that point, which would be annoying. Imagine if all the Pride members had Group Attack, for example. That could get pretty powerful. Powerful Swipe, Crushing Bite, and Rapid Attack were all good contenders for being offered to his Pride members. While Second Wind could also be a good one to share, its drawbacks if the user didn¡¯t have super-powered regeneration made it a bit of a two-edged sword. Plus, another advantage, he realised after thinking about it, was potentially offloading Abilities which didn¡¯t suit his build, but could suit another creature. Like Rock Skin, for example. He had no desire to slow himself down with a heavy defensive Ability, but perhaps it would suit one of the other Pride members. The only downside of the Enhancement, as far as Dominic could see, was that it was quite costly and only appeared to work one time for one Pride member. Even if it was repeatable, what if it went up in cost? That could start getting very expensive, very quickly. It was definitely something Dominic wanted, but he might wait until he had an Ability over level 5 or one which he didn¡¯t mind losing but which could be of major benefit to the other Pride member. For now, he¡¯d definitely had a windfall of points; after a moment of thought, he managed to work it out. Nineteen new Pride members at Tier 1, pre-Half-Step Evolved meant nineteen points there. Then, Sekhmet had tiered up, meaning that the Pride earned another point. Finally, they¡¯d earned two points for the Pride level rising. They¡¯d probably get another large dollop of points when they got all the new Pride members into level 6 ¨C though that would take longer than getting his original pride members there, it shouldn¡¯t take that much longer ¨C the number of Prey Points was far lower per level, at least. After all the lions were in Tier 2, though, the Enhancement Points would probably slow to a trickle ¨C unless they expanded the Pride, of course. But he couldn¡¯t bank on that. So, they were looking at about forty points usable within the relatively near future. Dominic decided to drop back into their shared mental space and see what Leo thought about it all. ¡®How¡¯s it going?¡¯ Dominic asked as soon as he¡¯d properly reconnected with their physical senses. ¡®We¡¯re almost at the prey,¡¯ Leo replied with a hint of anticipation. ¡®You have good timing.¡¯ ¡®Huh, well, this is what I¡¯ve learned,¡¯ Dominic started, then explained what he¡¯d seen, done, and thought. ¡®So, I was thinking that the group communication Enhancement is definitely something we need, but that we should probably hold off on Lion¡¯s Generosity for now.¡¯ ¡®I take it back,¡¯ Leo said after a moment. Dominic was a bit confused at the aggrieved sound in his voice. ¡®Take what back?¡¯ ¡®You don¡¯t have good timing. You have the worst timing.¡¯ ¡®What?¡¯ Dominic asked, now completely bemused. ¡®We¡¯re about to start a hunt, you grass-eating idiot. Why did you come and distract me with all this?!¡¯ ¡®Well, I was thinking that one or more of the options might be useful for the fight,¡¯ Dominic explained, feeling a bit on the back-foot. ¡®Like the communication Enhancement ¨C how much better would our hunts be if we can communicate properly among members while actually in the middle of the action?¡¯ ¡®And you think that all the members of the pride will just start being able to use it like that? You don¡¯t even know what the communication system is ¨C maybe it will put our thoughts into words in each other¡¯s heads! Just a little distracting, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ Leo asked scathingly. Dominic was silent for a moment. ¡®So you think we should look at these options after the hunt?¡¯ he asked finally. ¡®Yes!¡¯ Leo growled back at him firmly. ¡®Alright, alright, don¡¯t bite my head off,¡¯ Dominic replied, irritation now creeping in. ¡®I just thought it might help, that¡¯s all.¡¯ Leo apparently didn¡¯t feel like dignifying that with an answer, if his annoyed huff was anything to go by. ¡®So, which part of the fight are we going to join?¡¯ Dominic asked, trying to move onto another subject. Fortunately, Leo appeared perfectly willing to oblige him. ¡®The ambush part,¡¯ he answered. ¡®We¡¯ll be in the centre of things, offering an obstacle to the prey.¡¯ Dominic considered that. ¡®Might it not be best for us to be on the side-lines? From what I understand, the prey is easier to catch in the centre. If we¡¯re on the sidelines, perhaps we¡¯ll be able to use our speed to catch the outliers.¡¯ Leo was silent for a few moments. ¡®That is¡­not a bad idea,¡¯ he admitted grudgingly. ¡®Very well: we shall be on the sidelines. I¡¯ll communicate that to the females.¡¯ So saying, he did exactly that, sending messages to both Isis and the other matriarch, the ones who were apparently directing the hunt. As they got closer to the wildebeests, Dominic started to smell the scent of the herbivores drifting on the wind: they were obviously approaching from down-wind. The lions settled in the grass, then went still. The cubs were off to one side, well out of the way with several lionesses protecting them. The protectors appeared to be a few of the mothers, Isis apparently deciding that her presence wasn¡¯t necessary. Dominic figured she should know. Still, the majority of the hunters were part of the group now laying a trap. The tension was high, the ambush almost ready. Chapter 16: A Nice Set of Horns A female slunk through the undergrowth ¨C the pregnant one Leo¡¯s brother called Menhit. She ¡®reported¡¯ to the matriarch of their pride, Isis, then came over to Leo and sent what they had to guess was the same message. According to her, the wildebeests were aware that there were lions around, but didn¡¯t seem too alarmed. Perhaps they¡¯d only seen the lions when they were far enough away and therefore didn¡¯t think that they were in danger. The other female they¡¯d left behind was in position, and they just needed to know which direction to send the wildebeests. Leo accepted the information and the female slunk off again, moving carefully and using cover to make sure that the prey didn¡¯t spot her. Spooking them at this point would be the last thing they wanted. It was several long, tense moments before the signal came, but none of the lions moved more than to just shift position a little. Leo had chosen to settle off to the side, using a small bush to hide his bulk ¨C he was significantly bigger than any of the lions and, unfortunately, these days even the long savannah grass couldn¡¯t fully hide him. Not in the open plain areas, anyway. Then it came: the roars and snarls of threatening lions. ¡®Menhit and Hathor have revealed themselves?¡¯ his brother asked, Dominic¡¯s voice almost startling Leo. He twitched an ear slightly in irritation. ¡®Yes. Now be quiet ¨C I need to concentrate.¡¯ More amused than abashed, the former-human thankfully went quiet. There were more roars, more snarls, and then the sound of beating hooves coming towards them. Finally. Wait for it. Wait. Wait. They needed to time this to the perfect moment. Strike too soon and the wildebeests would be alerted and would avoid them. Strike too late and few lions would get a kill. Wait¡­.. Now. With the sounds of snarls, lions leapt from the grass, aiming straight for the throats of the wildebeests only a fraction of a second away from trampling them. Leo only spared the barest amount of attention for them, though ¨C they would get their kill or they wouldn¡¯t. His concern needed to be his own kill. Or kills, if he could. A buck bolted towards him, apparently not aware that there were any lions this far away from the boiling mess of hooves, paws, tails, claws, and dust that the centre of the action had become. Staying crouched behind his bush, Leo timed his move perfectly, launching himself out with the force of Quick Strike to bite at his prey¡¯s throat. With the bonus of Pounce aiding Crushing Bite, the buck went down without a sound, dead before he hit the ground and slid with his momentum. A notification flashed up; Leo dismissed it. Before the world changed, that would have been it ¨C Leo would have started tearing into its belly, but this was now, and instead he looked around for his next target. Another wildebeest had been galloping towards him, but upon seeing the large lion, was trying to take evasive action. Unfortunately for it, Leo was quicker. Pouring stamina into both Quick Strike and Rapid Attack, Leo went from a dead-stop to moving at full speed within a fraction of a second. Aiming for where the wildebeest was about to be rather than where it was, he collided with the beast. It wasn¡¯t as clean a kill as the first attack ¨C Pounce could only help him so much when his opponent knew he was attacking ¨C but with Crushing Bite and Sharp Nip both engaged, it wasn¡¯t long before another notification flashed up. As if that was the cue, the notifications started flashing up, the next falling immediately on the heels of the previous. Irritated, Leo wished that the annoying words that he couldn¡¯t read would go. And then¡­they did. Pleased, Leo looked around to see if there were any more beasts around. A good number of the wildebeest were past, but there was still a large group all bunched up behind a particularly large bull. Seeing other lions already racing for the majority of the last wildebeest, Leo decided to aid one of the new females who was chasing one of the stragglers of the previous wave towards him. Standing, he roared at the prey animal, attempting to focus his whole sound on the escaping beast rather than on the lion chasing it. The wildebeest paused for a moment ¨C a fatal one as it turned out. The female who had been hot on its heels leapt for its throat the moment it slowed, wrapping her paws around its neck. Satisfied that she had a good chance of making a kill there, Leo looked around for any more. Spotting another wildebeest bolting from a pair of lions, Leo had to guess that it had broken free of their ambush. Fortunately, he was close enough to intervene. Putting on a turn of speed, he dashed towards the beast. It saw him coming and jinked to try to avoid him, but he was faster than it, even when it was running at full speed. Leaping, his weight brought it right down to the ground. It struggled and fought, but couldn¡¯t shift the heavy lion off, and his teeth soon crunched through the bones of its neck. There was the sound of a bellow, one that was compelling in some way. Every single lion lifted its head to look at the originator of the sound ¨C the bull standing before the remaining members of his herd. Even Leo felt an urge which was difficult to resist, though he sensed he could have. Another notification flashed up in front of him. He was about to bat it away irritably when his brother¡¯s voice stopped him. ¡®Wait, let me read it.¡¯ Leo waited impatiently for the second before Dominic started speaking. ¡®It¡¯s a challenge. The ¡®champion of the herd¡¯ against the ¡®champion of the pride¡¯. Winner takes all.¡¯ This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡®Like the challenge which you overcame when we encountered the other three males?¡¯ Leo asked, a little uncertainly. ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ admitted his brother. ¡®It looks like it, but we can¡¯t bring a whole load of wildebeests into the Pride¡­can we?¡¯ ¡®Not unless we want them eaten before the day is out,¡¯ Leo commented sardonically. ¡®Well, I might as well accept it,¡¯ he said, offering his brother a moment to object. When the former-human didn¡¯t, he focussed on accepting the challenge. The moment it was accepted, the wildebeest put his head down and charged straight at Leo. As each foot fell on the ground, he appeared to grow. ¡®Look at that! The System sure means business when it restricts a challenge to only two participants,¡¯ Dominic commented in surprise. Leo saw what he meant: while other lions were attempting to attack the wildebeest en route, they hit some sort of barrier and fell back, uninjured, but unable to get closer. ¡®Perhaps it¡¯s an Ability of the creature,¡¯ suggested Leo even as he mentally considered how to deal with this battle. ¡®Unlikely,¡¯ Dominic concluded. ¡®I¡¯d be surprised if it¡¯s Tier 2, and it¡¯s already shown two Abilities with the bellow and this¡­whatever it is that¡¯s making it bigger as it runs.¡¯ ¡®Any suggestions?¡¯ Leo asked, preparing to dart out of the way of the charging beast which by this point looked half the size of an elephant. A small one. ¡®Dodge?¡¯ As if he hadn¡¯t been intending on dodging even without the advice! Still, Leo did just that, triggering Quick Strike to get out of the way of the behemoth. Fortunately, starting the challenge had meant that his stamina had been replenished, so he had plenty to work with. Spinning on a dime, Leo leapt back at the wildebeest, only to backpedal when horns swept right into the space he¡¯d been occupying only a fraction of a second earlier. To avoid them, Leo employed a tactic favoured by his brother: leaping. Propelling himself with his powerful muscles, he jumped straight up, confusing the wildebeest. To its eyes, he had probably just suddenly disappeared. Then, before it could look up, Leo once more activated Quick Strike, speeding his downward fall ¨C right onto the wildebeest¡¯s back. It was no longer massive, but was still a good size for a bull. Still, Leo was more than a good size for a lion, so while his weight falling on its spine didn¡¯t immediately drive it to the ground, it did significantly impede the wildebeest¡¯s movements. Leo set his claws into the flanks of the challenger, and bit at its spine. This one was bigger than the one he¡¯d taken down before, and its hide was tougher. Even once he got through the hide, he found that the muscle was dense and resistant even to his sharp teeth. Clearly, the prey beast had put most of its enhancements into its defence. But he wasn¡¯t deterred ¨C even if the wildebeest was more than it might have been before the world changed, so was he. Flicking his tongue, he spat acid into the wound, then just clung on as the wildebeest tried to buck him off. It was bellowing in pain and fury, exhausting itself as it tried to shake the lion off its back. It even tried to roll, but Leo just held on ¨C though it was heavy, he had faith that his enhanced bones and body would be able to take it. It wasn¡¯t a rhino, after all. When the flesh started softening beneath his teeth, he poured stamina into Crushing Bite, finally starting to make some proper progress. The fight drew out for three seconds, four seconds¡­then Leo¡¯s teeth slid together with a wet sort of crunching sound. The wildebeest immediately collapsed to the ground as its legs gave out on it. Its breathing laboured, Leo finished it off by setting his teeth into its throat and strangling the last of the air out of it. While choking the wildebeest, Leo was able to see that several of his pride were watching in interest, perhaps curious as to why he had been able to attack it while the others hadn¡¯t. The wildebeest were surprisingly unmoving too. With his victory, though, the battle recommenced, the lions leaping on the wildebeest; the herbivores running frantically from the predators. Not all the wildebeest were killed, though, many escaping to disappear into the dust cloud created by the rest of the herd. The lions gave up any sort of chase within a few seconds, going to start eating one of the many carcasses littering the savannah earth. ¡®It¡¯s dead, you know¡¯ Dominic reminded him a minute or so later. ¡®Absorb it, would you ¨C I want to see our rewards!¡¯ Leo did so. ¡®Alright, that screen¡¯s come up again. Want to swap so you can see it too?¡¯ Leo considered it for a moment, but then agreed without argument ¨C he¡¯d had good fun in the fight and wasn¡¯t averse to taking a break now. From the back seat, he now looked at the screen that they had seen twice before: once with the other chimera, the other time in the more recent fight with the three male lions. [You have killed [Blue Wildebeest Champion]. Access enhancements?] [Benefits calculating¡­.] [Blue Wildebeest: Evolved, level 10, 25 EP] [Enhancements available: Sharp horns (3 EP) Even-toed hooves (5 EP) Blunt teeth (3 EP) Striped flanks (3 EP) Muscular shoulders (5 EP) Robust muzzle (3 EP) Enhanced Stamina (6 EP) Momentous Charge (10 EP) Challenging Bellow (8 EP)] ¡®Huh, so it was Tier two, if only barely. Anyway, some decent enhancements there,¡¯ commented Dominic, ¡®Surprisingly better than the ones offered by the lions. But I¡¯m not sure any of the physical ones are worth it, do you?¡¯ Leo considered it carefully. ¡®Do you think the females would dislike it if I had horns?¡¯ Surprise came across the link from his brother. ¡®You¡¯re considering horns? Why?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s extra protection for my head,¡¯ Leo responded promptly, ¡®and another weapon that could be used if our teeth and claws are already otherwise occupied.¡¯ ¡®I see your point,¡¯ Dominic mused, ¡®but I was hoping to get all the Abilities there. If we get the horns, we¡¯ll only be able to get two of them.¡¯ ¡®Why do you want to get Enhanced Stamina? With as many Cores as are lying around in the bodies of the prey our pride has killed, I¡¯m sure that we¡¯ll get it now. We¡¯re already almost halfway towards acquiring it, anyway.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ his brother agreed, ¡®But then the Cores could go towards making progress to the next level and whatever benefits are offered there.¡¯ It was a good point, but for some reason, the idea of having a small pair of horns sticking out of his mane had captured Leo¡¯s imagination. Maybe he¡¯d been infected by his brother¡¯s humanness ¨C they always seemed to want horns and wings and goat feet for some reason. At least, there was always one dressed like that at ¡®Halloween¡¯ from what he could tell. And while Leo looked with contempt upon prey beasts, surely a lion of all creatures could give a nice set of horns a touch of majesty¡­. Chapter 17: New Ability Dominic sighed. ¡®I¡¯m not convinced about the horns,¡¯ he replied doubtfully. ¡®If they¡¯re relatively small and don¡¯t stick out much then¡­maybe. But have you seen the massive things these wildebeest have? I don¡¯t want a rack sticking out the sides of my head like that. Have you considered how it might impact our stealth? What if they catch on things when we¡¯re travelling through the undergrowth? Or someone grabs it and controls our head.¡¯ He felt a reluctant sense of understanding coming from his companion. Dominic wasn¡¯t quite sure why Leo was so set on having horns, but apparently he was. ¡®Look, if we find an animal that has the kind of small, relatively discreet horns which you¡¯re imagining here, then I¡¯ll agree to it, as long as there isn¡¯t anything better on which to spend our EP. But I really think that we¡¯re more likely to end up with things that are at best little use, at worst, actively detrimental to us.¡¯ ¡®They might change to suit our requirements,¡¯ Leo suggested, though Dominic could tell his heart wasn¡¯t in it. ¡®Remember the chimera¡¯s bat wings. Those weren¡¯t much use, were they?¡¯ the former-human asked pointedly. Leo subsided with a grumble. ¡®We¡¯re getting the three Abilities then,¡¯ he asked after a moment. Dominic took it for the admission of defeat that it was. ¡®Unless you have another idea,¡¯ Dominic asked, then added hastily, ¡®that isn¡¯t horns.¡¯ Leo was silent for a few more moments, but then huffed a long breath. ¡®No. I¡¯m not keen on potentially making myself look like a tiger with those stripes,¡¯ he sighed. ¡®Alright then,¡¯ Dominic murmured, selecting the three Abilities. Twenty-four Enhancement Points were consumed, leaving only one. Dominic felt less irritated at the idea of leaving one behind this time, though ¨C he was pretty sure that five of the points he¡¯d had available to work with were the remnants of his post-challenge selection from the lions. It just made sense ¨C the chimera had been level 12, Tier 2 and he¡¯d had 24 points to work with. The three lions had each been level 5, Tier 1 and he¡¯d had 15 points to work with. Here, he had a level 10, Tier 2 wildebeest which must have been 20 points by itself. That he¡¯d had 25 points implied that any points he didn¡¯t use in previous selections could carry over. That¡¯s a bit of a cheat, isn¡¯t it? Dominic wondered idly to himself. If I win three Challenges against lower level creatures, and then save their points for using after a Challenge of a more powerful foe, then I could end up getting some great Abilities and enhancements. But then, maybe that was built into the system ¨C to do that, he¡¯d have to pass over other, potentially more powerful, Abilities and Enhancements. Plus, acquired Abilities did seem to start at level 1 so it wasn¡¯t like he could gain all the power of the defeated foe all at once. Unless he had the Ability already, as he¡¯d had with Pounce after the previous Challenge. Closing the menu, he went to check out the new Abilities. Enhanced Stamina (T0) level 1 (42% to level 2) ¨C Maximum Ability use period at level 1: 5 minutes: -5% reduction to rate of passive stamina decrease; -7% reduction to rate of active stamina decrease. Recuperation period: 10 minutes: +3% to rate of passive stamina decrease; +5% to rate of active stamina decrease. Current exchange of HP for extension of use period or reduction of recuperation time: 1HP/s Not as good as I¡¯d hoped, but then it is only T0. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be using it a lot so hopefully the percentages will improve with higher levels in it, Dominic thought to himself. It was very interesting that he was already a good portion towards the next level ¨C the same percentage that he had been towards acquiring the Ability in the first place, actually. That was nice ¨C he hadn¡¯t lost all his hard work in the end. Still, even if the percentages weren¡¯t all that high for now, any reduction helped, and the cool-off period didn¡¯t seem too bad either. Nothing like Second Wind, anyway. And I can use HP to help with that too. If he was understanding it correctly, to reduce the cool off period by one second, or to increase the reduction period by one second, he would have to dedicate 1 HP. With his current maximum of 600 HP, that meant he had at most ten minutes of extension, or he could nullify the entire cool off period. Though, actually, maybe a better way of considering it was in comparison to his Regeneration rate. Checking that out, he started feeling a bit excited. - Enhanced Regeneration level 3 (2.25 HP / second) I could actually keep Enhanced Stamina going permanently, and never actually go through the recuperation period, he realised. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it in the middle of a battle with a difficult opponent where he really needed his health pool, but in between those moments? And how quickly would it gain progress if he kept it going permanently? This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. With that thought, he activated it immediately. Not that he was using stamina right now, lying down as he was, but why not when it essentially cost him nothing? He focussed on the Ability¡¯s active period continuing by using his Health Points as soon as the 5 minutes were up. The timer which had appeared in the corner of his vision blurred, then changed to 15:00. It started counting down; Dominic resolved to keep an eye on it to see what happened when it reached 0. He looked at the next new Ability. Momentous Charge (T2) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C When running in a straight line at full speed towards an opponent, appear to gain additional size and weight and its commensurate momentum. Note: this Ability is classed as [Illusion]. Those who can see through the illusion will not be affected by additional momentum. At level 1, gain 1% of size (stacked) with each footfall. Illusion, eh? Dominic mused. If he was understanding it correctly, it seemed like the power of the Ability was actually based on the enemy. If the enemy could see through the ¡®illusion¡¯ of size and weight, then his momentum would be no different from normal. If the enemy couldn¡¯t see through the ¡®illusion¡¯, then all that size and weight would come to bear. Is that what makes it Tier 2? Because it¡¯s more tricksy than a normal, basic Ability? Though if that was the case, Dominic wasn¡¯t sure whether he liked it or not. Yes, having the momentum without, he guessed, needing to lose any speed or manoeuvrability was good, but what if his opponent saw through it and was braced for the collision? Then it could be Dominic who came off worse, expecting a result which didn¡¯t happen. He¡¯d have to practise with it, but also be prepared for it to fail against any given opponent. Finally, he looked at the third new Ability. Challenging Roar (T1) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C As the lord of all you survey, challenge your rivals with an ear-splitting roar. Those who feel inferior to you will flee; those who feel they are your equal will attack. Those who feel they are your superior will be enraged by your Challenge and will attack blindly. Determination of inferior, equal, and superior is your level with a level range according to this Ability¡¯s level. It was interesting that instead of ¡®bellow¡¯, it was now ¡®roar¡¯. More apt, Dominic thought, and felt Leo agree. The lion seemed to be quietly following along with his thoughts and exploration, but hadn¡¯t actually said anything. ¡®A two-edged sword,¡¯ Dominic commented to his companion. ¡®Indeed,¡¯ the lion agreed, a little grimly, though with a hint of excitement too. Something about this seemed to appeal to him. Dominic himself was more neutral about it: the crowd control it offered could be very useful, especially now combined with how his pride members were sharing Prey Points. However, the ¡®control¡¯ bit appeared to be lacking. After all, most of his opponents were those who would be classed as his ¡®inferiors¡¯. He didn¡¯t generally want to scare off his targets ¨C he wouldn¡¯t get any Prey Points that way. ¡®It does mention a level range,¡¯ pointed out Leo. ¡®Perhaps that¡¯s what would allow more control here,¡¯ he suggested. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ Dominic agreed slowly. ¡®If by ¡®level range¡¯ it means that I could essentially make my own level appear as higher or lower than it actually is, that could be quite useful. But not right now, since I can only shift it by a single level.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ll have to practise with it,¡¯ Leo concluded with the hint of a sigh. Dominic sent him a sense of agreement, then opened up the rest of his status sheet, scanning for anything significant which had changed. Most of his other Abilities had gone up by a couple of percent, according to how much he¡¯d used them in the recent hunt. Nothing major, though three of them were in the home stretch towards levelling up: Quick Strike, Second Wind, and Rapid Attack. Very little of that was from this battle, though ¨C for Second Wind, none of it. However, there was one thing which caught Dominic¡¯s eye and made his being light up in excitement. Progress to Evolution: 513/508 PP level up ¡®We¡¯ve got enough Prey Points to level up again!¡¯ he almost shouted at Leo in anticipation. ¡®I¡¯m not deaf; you don¡¯t need to shout,¡¯ grumbled the lion, but Dominic could tell it was just a front: the lion was almost as excited as he was. ¡®So you¡¯re going to increase Stamina and Roar?¡¯ he asked. Dominic hesitated for a moment. He¡¯d now got Enhanced Stamina, so did he need to actually enhance his stamina again? And he¡¯d now got an Ability related to his roar; should he still go down the path of trying to get some sort of soundwave-disrupting effect with his roar? Might it not already do the job? After all, if the sonic wolves were lower level than Dominic himself, he might be able to chase them off with just a roar. Then again, could he bank on that? Perhaps the sonic wolves would be protected against sound-based weapons because of their natural weapons or perhaps some of them would be a higher level than him ¨C it was surely possible: the hyenas had taught him that more intelligent animals might start rivalling him in the all-too-short future. ¡®Yes,¡¯ he decided after a moment. ¡®I think those would still be the best ideas.¡¯ There were certainly other options which might work well, but gaining more stamina could only be a good thing, considering how many Abilities he had which used it. And he still wanted to see what would happen if he got Roar high enough. Triggering his level up, Dominic chose the two options he¡¯d chosen. To his disappointment, there was no indication that level 21 was the next half-step either. Were there no half-steps after reaching Tier 2? Or was it a higher level? Instead, a different box came up; one he most certainly wasn¡¯t expecting. [You have chosen to enhance your Roar. You have an Ability and an Ability in the course of being acquired which have adequate synergy with Roar: Challenging Roar; Stunning Roar. Would you like to combine these Abilities with your Aspect? Note: features of these Abilities may be changed or maintained. Note: the final product may be better, worse, or equivalent to the Abilities and Aspect singularly. Note: combining Abilities with an Aspect inextricably connects them. ] What? Chapter 18: Inspired ¡®Leo, can you see this?¡¯ Dominic asked, his tone mystified. ¡®I¡¯m looking at it now. Are you going to take it?¡¯ Leo asked, sounding as baffled as Dominic felt. ¡®Now that¡¯s the question, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Dominic murmured. One part of him wanted to leap at it: combining Abilities had to be a good thing, right? And he hadn¡¯t found any other creature with Stunning Roar since the scrin; this way he¡¯d actually get some use out of it. However, another part of him was inclined to stay far away. There were far too many warnings there for his peace of mind, and not nearly enough guarantees. If he was reading the text correctly, it looked like he could completely nerf all of the Abilities ¨C and Aspect ¨C if things went wrong. And what was that with the final warning? Did that mean that if he lost the Ability for some reason, or something went wrong in the combination, he¡¯d also lose his Roar? Would he just become incapable of roaring at all, or would it merely be that it would lose its more magical elements? The problem, as always, was that it didn¡¯t give any indication of the risks of all this happening. He always seemed to be making decisions with no real understanding of what was most likely to happen. At the same time¡­he was sorely tempted by the potential power. Combining the Abilities¡­surely that would make them better than individually? ¡®I want to do it,¡¯ he decided, speaking to Leo. ¡®But I won¡¯t if you don¡¯t agree.¡¯ The lion was quiet for a long moment. ¡®My instincts say nothing,¡¯ he rumbled. ¡®I do not know which way to turn. If you wish to do it, I shall not stand in your way.¡¯ ¡®Alright then,¡¯ Dominic replied, his stomach boiling with nerves. He¡¯d learned a lot more about the System and what could go wrong since he stood in that dungeon room, the decision of whether to take a magic spell for the first time before him. Yet, like then, he reached for power, for potential. Hopefully it would end up better than the last time. ¡®Accept,¡¯ he thought at the box before his eyes and it vanished. The feeling of his level up went through him, but this time he felt something change in his voice-box. It wasn¡¯t painful, nor was it pleasurable. Instead it was just¡­odd. And a bit uncomfortable. Like there were snakes writhing in his throat. The feeling went on longer than his normal level ups did, but not so much so that he started becoming fearful. As the shimmering around him died down, he felt the snakes stop moving, his throat returning to feeling normal, or rather, a new normal. Wanting to know exactly what had happened, he pulled up the changes in his status screen. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 21 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 5/559 PP Health Points: 600/600 Stamina Points: 320 ¨C> 400/400 Mana Points: 15/15 Acquired Abilities Majestic Roar (T1) level 3 (0% to level 4) ¨C As the lord of all you survey, challenge your rivals with an ear-splitting roar. Those who feel inferior to you may flee; those who feel they are your equal may attack. Those who feel they are your superior will be enraged by your Challenge and may attack blindly. (50% + level difference%) chance that your opponent will be stunned for a varying amount of time. Determination of inferior, equal, and superior is according to your level with a level range according to this Ability¡¯s level (3). All non-ally listeners have a 40% - 80% chance of feeling intimidated by you and losing some or all motivation to fight or desire to follow orders. All ally listeners have a 40% - 80% chance of feeling inspired by you. A further 5% chance of gaining a 5 minute buff: *inspired*. General abilities: - Muscular Body level 9 (max speed 34 mps; max speed duration 16s ¨C> 17s) (320 ¨C> 400 SP) Dominic inspected the changes, then mentally frowned. There was one that he didn¡¯t see. Opening his full status sheet, he scanned it, his disturbance coming out as a rumbling growl. ¡®Where¡¯s Roar?¡¯ ¡®Maybe that¡¯s what the warning was speaking about,¡¯ suggested Leo. ¡®It must be,¡¯ Dominic sighed, giving up. Since it had disappeared from his status screen completely, he had to guess that he wouldn¡¯t be able to choose Roar on level up any more which rather put paid to his notion of hopefully gaining an effect of his roar to combat the sonic attack of the wolves. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t come to regret that¡­. ¡®Well, let¡¯s look at what we have now.¡¯ The bare bones of the Ability were the same; the changes seemed to have gone down the route of adding features rather than taking them away. As he read it once, then a second time, Dominic found his disquiet about losing Roar falling away. This¡­the Ability definitely seemed better than the sum of its parts. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡®We still have the enraging and intimidating aspects, but now we seem to have a more positive side to it too,¡¯ he mused at Leo. ¡®Allies¡¯ hadn¡¯t been mentioned before, though he had noticed that his allies hadn¡¯t tended to be intimidated unless he was directing the roar at them. Now though¡­. ¡®What¡¯s *inspired*?¡¯ he wondered. Focussing on the word, he asked for more information. It seemed like the System was feeling obliging because another box appeared in front of his vision a moment later. [Inspired (buff): Targets of this buff will receive +10% to health regeneration, +15% to mana regeneration and +20% to stamina regeneration for each instance of the buff (stackable).] Nice, murmured Dominic appreciatively. It might only be 5 minutes, and a 5% chance of applying it at all, but perhaps if he increased the level of the Ability, those numbers would increase. Plus, if it was 5% for all his allies, then that argued that every time he roared, at least one out of twenty should receive the buff. If it worked that way. Knowing that it was stackable too was useful to know. ¡®It¡¯s a good name,¡¯ Leo said abruptly. ¡®What, inspired?¡¯ ¡®No, Majestic Roar. Like the king that we are, putting fear into our enemies and heart into our allies. It suits us,¡¯ he explained with more than a touch of arrogance. Dominic scoffed at him, but secretly was glad to hear the return of it. Leo had been a bit subdued ever since the hyenas had driven them off their territory; it was good to have him going back to ¡®normal¡¯. ¡®It seems like a pretty good Ability,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®We¡¯ll have to practise with it; see what it¡¯s like in action.¡¯ ¡®Shall we go and find some vermin to test it on, then?¡¯ Leo asked with more than a bit of anticipation. ¡®Well, I don¡¯t know if we should go searching for hyenas, but we can certainly go hunting. I¡¯m just going to grab the Cores from these wildebeest ¨C waste not, want not ¨C and see if anyone wants to go with us.¡¯ To himself, Dominic thought that it might be fun to go hunting with Sekhmet. It probably wasn¡¯t the most efficient way of doing things, but he kind of wanted to take her out on her own, just like the first time. Playing with the idea, he finally decided against it with a sigh. They still had the time pressure of taking over the Place of Power before the sonic wolves got too strong, or something else came to take over. Actually, that made him think about something¡­.. ¡®Leo, how far are we from the Place of Power at the moment?¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®Sniff at the air a bit,¡¯ the lion instructed. Dominic did so, standing tall and scrunching his nose up as he scented the air. ¡®Not that far,¡¯ he said finally. ¡®Perhaps half a day¡¯s travel away if we push it.¡¯ ¡®Thanks,¡¯ Dominic replied, moving to the closest carcass. The lioness currently eating it scooted out of his way as he came closer. He crunched the skull, using judiciously applied Crushing Bite, then absorbing the Core when it was in his mouth, spitting out the rest of the skull. Actually, maybe Acidic Bite would work better, he mused as he moved off. The lioness who had been chased off returned to the carcass after sending him a wary and confused glance. Dominic headed for the next carcass. This time, it was an older lioness who tried to snarl at him. He just snarled back, showing his much bigger teeth and looming above her to show his much bigger body. She didn¡¯t argue any further, scarpering off. Acidic Bite worked better, Dominic decided, the strong acid melting away the flesh and then making the bone so fragile that he barely needed to bite to get through it. It didn¡¯t do anything to the Core though, fortunately ¨C he had thought only after covering it with acid that that might not be a good idea. ¡®What are you thinking?¡¯ Leo asked as Dominic moved onto the third carcass, his patience clearly exhausted from waiting for Dominic to explain why he¡¯d wanted Leo to identify how far away the Place of Power was. ¡®That more time has gone past than I was intending to leave before returning to the PoP.¡¯ ¡®And? We¡¯ve been busy,¡¯ replied Leo, a little defensively. ¡®I know, and that¡¯s not the issue,¡¯ said Dominic matter-of-factly. ¡®It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know what the situation is. I¡¯m making plans based on facing the sonic wolves, but what if, I don¡¯t know, a load of scrin managed to defeat them and so any plans I¡¯m making are pointless? Or what if it is still sonic wolves that we¡¯ll have to defeat, but that I¡¯m overestimating how tough they are? Or underestimating.¡¯ ¡®You want to go there,¡¯ Leo concluded. ¡®Yes. I think we need more information.¡¯ ¡®And what about our pride? And the new pride members? We can¡¯t leave them for too long ¨C you recall what would have happened if we hadn¡¯t appeared at the right moment earlier?¡¯ Dominic paused for a moment, then continued onto the next carcass, the temporarily displaced lion returning to his meal. He recognised the next lioness as being one of those to have approached his group earlier to go hunting with them. I think I¡¯ll call her ¡®Mara¡¯, he decided. It was moving away from his theme of Egyptian goddess names, but he was rather running out of good ones. Anyway, Mara was a good name for a bold lioness. Instead of objecting or running away, Mara just watched him with curious eyes, then took a few steps away and lay down. It wasn¡¯t a challenging posture, or a submissive one; it was just a patient one. Has she realised that I¡¯m not chasing her off the kill? Dominic wondered curiously. He extracted the Core, then stepped away, watching how Mara returned to the carcass as soon as he was a couple of paces away, her demeanour completely chilled. Quite different from how the other lions had been. ¡®I take your point, Leo,¡¯ he said finally. ¡®I think we need to go hunting with all of the new pride members; make sure they¡¯re mixed groups. Then, when all the other lions are level 6 or higher, I think it will be OK.¡¯ He turned his head to gaze at Mara again. ¡®Maybe it would be OK as long as all of them are level 5 or higher,¡¯ he corrected himself. ¡®That seems more reasonable,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®Though how are you going to convince lions who have just hunted to go hunting again?¡¯ was his next question. And to that, Dominic could only give a sigh of frustration. ¡®I¡¯ll do some practice while I wait for them to digest their meal a bit,¡¯ he concluded with a little annoyance. Chapter 19: Progress The sun was rising on another day. Dominic had long lost count of how many it had been since the System had arrived. Something in his brain seemed to resist keeping track easily and he didn¡¯t care enough to pursue it too much. Leo didn¡¯t care either ¨C one day was much like another to him. He was tired: they were returning from another hunt. That was something else he¡¯d lost track of. The only way he had a sense of time was both the lionesses¡¯ increasing levels and the way one deputy had turned into two, then three. The intra-pride communication system that he¡¯d chosen from the Pride Enhancement options was definitely coming in useful as neither Anuke nor Menhit had developed Telepathy when they reached level 10. Nor had Neith, following close on their heels. Perhaps they hadn¡¯t because he¡¯d already chosen the communication option, thereby eliminating the need. If so, good, since what they had gained was much more useful than having three more telepathic lions. The communication system was something between telepathy and a party chat. Leo was correct in saying that it would take them some time to get used to it: they essentially had to just send their thoughts¡­outwards. Then anyone within a certain radius would ¡®hear¡¯ the thoughts as if they¡¯d been spoken. Of course, it was more complicated when considering the non-verbal lions, which the majority were. Then it basically acted like a projection of the lion¡¯s body language, scent, and vocalisations. Menhit, Neith and Anuke had started developing verbal thoughts once they hit level 10, as Sekhmet had. By this point, the last was much more comfortable with them ¨C her vocabulary had developed in leaps and bounds since her level up. Probably the two more level ups she¡¯d had had helped ¨C Dominic had a feeling that she might have dedicated at least one improvement to her brain. At this rate, she¡¯ll surpass me in Intelligence, he commented wryly to himself. It wasn¡¯t inconceivable at the rate she¡¯d been improving, but it was a little discomforting as a thought nonetheless. Still, it meant that he¡¯d been able to send Sekhmet with a group of her own out to hunt from directly after the wildebeest hunt. She¡¯d taken to it easily enough, clearly comfortable with the idea of leading. Convincing the other lions had been a bit more of a challenge: Dominic had been keen on mixing the prides and the other pride still looked at the fact that she was quite young over her level. They¡¯d got around that by starting small ¨C only sending a couple of younger lionesses from the other pride with a couple of older ones from their original pride. Once the other pride started seeing just how much their pride-mates were improving, they became more interested. By the time Menhit and Anuke, and then Neith, reached level 10 and were able to start taking out parties of their own, both prides were becoming a lot more mixed and everyone was on board with this strange new way of getting stronger. Well, almost everyone. Two of the male juveniles were lazy sods who regularly declined to join a hunt except when they were hungry. Honestly, Dominic was starting to lose patience with them. They weren¡¯t exactly draining resources from the pride as they were only allowed to eat when they hunted and they wouldn¡¯t get Prey Points except for then either. It wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t tried ¨C when a lioness had a carcass nearby, the young males had tried to steal it from her on multiple occasions. Dominic admitted to feeling a bit of glee when, after the lionesses started getting a couple of levels, they refused to give ground and the lions started going away hungry. One of the male lions had changed his tune after that, showing more interest in the hunts. The last one, however¡­. Dominic had actually decided to call him ¡®prince¡¯ because that was just what he acted like ¨C expecting to have everything done for him. Overall, though, Dominic was pleased with the progress of the Pride. He pulled up the Pride screen just to admire it again. Pride status Level 4 Pride (progress to next level 31/35) Current information shared: Health, Abilities Current members: Tier 2, Level 21 ¨C> 22 x1 (Leader ¨C Dominic: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack, Acidic Bite, Sure Feet, Enhanced Stamina, Momentous Charge, Majestic Roar) Tier 2, Level 10 ¨C> 12 x1 (Sekhmet: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Telepathy) Tier 1, Level 9 ¨C> Tier 2, 11 x 1 (Anuke: Pounce, Rapid Attack, Quick Strike) Tier 1, Level 9 ¨C> Tier 2, 10 x2 (Menhit: Pounce, Sure Feet, Wind Breath) (Neith: Pounce, Keen Senses, Quick Strike) Tier 1 Level 8 ¨C> 9 x3 (Hathor: Pounce, Rending Bite), (Jenkins: Pounce, Quick Strike) (Isis: Pounce, Protective Mother) Tier 1 Level 5 ¨C> 7 x9 (Mara: Pounce, Sure Feet) (Cleo: Pounce, Keen Senses), (Leona: Pounce, Stunning Roar), (Simbi: Pounce, Quick Strike), (Lyla: Pounce, Rending Bite), (Zarini: Pounce, Ambush), (Kalista: Pounce, Rapid Attack), (Saffron: Pounce, Sharp Mind), (Luna: Pounce, Keen Senses) Tier 1 Level 4 ¨C> 6 x7 (Serena: Pounce, Quick Strike), (Nova: Pounce, Pride Attack), (Fang: Pounce, Sharp Mind), (Kiera: Pounce, Rapid Attack), (Amber: Pounce, Ambush) (Aurora: Pounce, Rending Bite), (Leah: Pounce, Piercing Bite) Tier 1 Level 3 ¨C> 5 x1 Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.(Lionel: Pounce) Tier 1 Level 3 ¨C> 4 x1 (Prince: Pounce) Pride enhancements: 10% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 4 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 4 Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) ¨C on 10% increased chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier ¨C level 2 Intra-group communication system ¨C on Lion¡¯s Share ¨C 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members to the leader ¨C off He¡¯d been struggling to come up with names so had basically completely abandoned the whole goddess theme, naming the new lionesses either after something that they reminded him of, or just a name that he thought sounded nice. Serena got her name because she was always calm; Luna earned hers because her coat was unusually pale, and Amber because her eyes reminded him of light-yellow amber. Saffron was also named after the colour of her coat, though it wasn¡¯t really as orange as true saffron was ¨C he didn¡¯t think anyone would be criticising him for using the incorrect colour name any time soon. There were a couple of interesting Abilities which some of the lionesses had gained on level up. Along with the repeated ones, Nova had picked up one called ¡®Pride Attack¡¯, which he had to guess was some sort of enhancement to her when fighting as a pride. What exactly it enhanced, he couldn¡¯t yet tell. Leah had picked up one called Piercing Bite ¨C since she appeared to be going down the sabertooth route, that was probably a good one for her. Still, they¡¯d all made good progress. Even the layabout Prince had managed to increase by a level; everyone else had either gone up by two or three. Apart from Dominic¡¯s original pride, but that wasn¡¯t because of laziness ¨C it was because of the difference in Prey Points required for each level. The now 10% increase in Prey Points probably helped with levelling, as did the increase in damage for Pride members fighting together ¨C a fight which was over more quickly meant that they could go and find more prey soon enough. Though that was actually becoming a problem: they had cleared a good portion of the area around them and finding prey was becoming harder, even other predators. With the points he¡¯d gained from the lions increasing their levels past the thresholds, he would be able to choose some more enhancements, but that was only useful if there was prey to use it on. Definitely time to consider moving to pastures new, Dominic thought decisively. Indeed, now that almost all the pride was level 6 or above ¨C with their second Abilities too ¨C he felt that it was well past time to go and investigate the Place of Power. They¡¯d only lost one lioness, something which saddened both Leo and Dominic when it had happened ¨C it had been when Anuke took out a party for the first time. What Dominic guessed had happened from what Anuke had told and shown him afterwards was that she was too inexperienced as a leader to notice when one of the lionesses was struggling. As a result, the lioness had sadly bled out before her sisters could come to help. After that, Dominic had made sure that Anuke only went out with the higher level lionesses for a while until she¡¯d got some more experience in leading. They hadn¡¯t had another death, fortunately, which, when considering just how many fights they¡¯d been in, was actually something of a miracle. Part of it was probably that the majority of pre-system adult deaths had not been instantaneous but had been caused by a lingering injury causing the lion to slowly starve to death. As for Dominic himself, he¡¯d also made excellent progress. He¡¯d even managed to level up! He was now a level 22 lion. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 22 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 3/615 PP Unfortunately, it looked like level 22 wasn¡¯t the next half-step either. By this point, he figured it was likely to come at level 30 or 31 ¨C or perhaps not until level 50. On level up, he and Leo had agreed on enhancing his speed and his reactions. The former because he¡¯d noticed that the others were also getting faster and he wasn¡¯t quite keeping his edge; the second because he suspected that if he enhanced his speed, his reactions would fall behind it. He was glad he¡¯d chosen both of those because of what happened next. Enhancing his speed had brought his Muscular Body up to level 10. Apparently level 10 was as important for parts of his body as it was for his whole body: Muscular Body had transformed into something different ¨C Enhanced Muscular Body. - Muscular Body level 9 (max speed 34 m/s; max speed duration 17s) (400 SP) ¨C> Enhanced Muscular Body level 1 (max speed 40 m/s; max speed duration 34s) (600 SP) Although not all of his stats had doubled, an increase of 6m/s was nothing to sniff at ¨C it was the difference between being able to run at around 120km/h and 140km/h. Now, he could break the speed-limit on a French motorway! And a UK one too, but he¡¯d been close to that with his previous speed anyway. His maximum speed duration had doubled and his stamina had increased by half again which meant that the effect of his speed was significantly greater. How it worked that he could run for twice as long, but only had half again the stamina, he didn¡¯t know. Maybe he used stamina more efficiently when running now? Either way, it was a good improvement. As for his nerves, they hadn¡¯t been nearly as dramatically improved. - Nervous System level 1 ¨C> 2 (reaction speed +20% ¨C> 30%) Unfortunately, what that meant was that Dominic was having to be a little careful with his new speed: his reactions definitely weren¡¯t keeping up with it now. He had a feeling that he might even need to dedicate his next level up to reactions alone just to not risk stumbling over his paws at the wrong moment. As for his other Abilities, not only had he been using them plenty in battle, but he¡¯d also been practising with them in between hunts. Once more, he had been pushing himself, only sleeping the minimum his body required to function. All that meant lots of improvement. Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 3 ¨C> 5 (15% to level 6) ¨C 3 SP for +35% speed; 8 SP for +70% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 1 ¨C> 3 (29% to level 4) ¨C activatable when under 35% health or stamina. Gain 65% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 40% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 2 ¨C> 3 (79% to level 4) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +10% - 100% Crushing damage for 1-45 stamina per second. Group Attack (T0) level 1 ¨C> 3 (3% to level 4) ¨C +5% to offensive damage dealt per other being who is considered to be in the same group during an attack or defence. Pounce (T0) level 2 ¨C> 3 (56% to level 4) ¨C +100% damage to a hit which is delivered without the target being aware of you until the attack is too close to avoid. +55% damage to an attack which is made directly to a vulnerable area. Powerful Swipe (T0) level 3 ¨C> 4 (98% to level 5) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +10% - +100% damage increase for 2-63 stamina per second. Rapid Attack (T0) level 1 ¨C> 2 (15% to level 3) ¨C Spend 2 SP or MP to attack for a second time within half a second. SP or MP costs double per additional attack within a quarter of a second of the previous. Maximum number of chained attacks at level 2: 7. Sharp Nip (T0) level 1 ¨C> 2 (89% to level 3) ¨C When lunging to bite at something, consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 2, consuming 1 SP will offer +20% speed. Consume 3 SP for +30% speed. If the bite is to a flesh and blood creature, a Bleeding effect may be applied. Sure Feet (T0) level 1 ¨C> 2 (43% to level 3) ¨C A passive improvement to your ability to your balance and traction. At level 2, this ability offers +20% to your steadiness when moving slowly and +10% to your steadiness when moving at speed (more than 25% of your maximum speed). The bonus this Ability offers may increase as Ability increases in level and other effects may be discovered.). Acidic Bite (enhanced) (T2) level 1 ¨C> 2 (52% to level 3) ¨C Use an acid gland below your tongue to shoot balls of acid. At level 2, the maximum range is 2 lengths, and the maximum diameter is 3.5 cm. Enhancement: your teeth have become resistant to acid damage and your top canines have become capable of absorbing the acid and transferring it in your bite. Enhanced Stamina (T0) level 1 ¨C> 3 (79% to level 4) ¨C Maximum Ability use period at level 3: 15 minutes: -7% reduction to rate of passive stamina decrease; -9% reduction to rate of active stamina decrease. Recuperation period: 5 minutes: +3% to rate of passive stamina decrease; +5% to rate of active stamina decrease. Current exchange of HP for extension of use period or reduction of recuperation time: 1HP/s Momentous Charge (T2) level 1 (0% ¨C> 23% to level 2) Majestic Roar (T2) level 3 (0% ¨C> 56% to level 4) With all the improvements, Dominic had to admit to feeling a lot more confident. He was stronger, his Abilities were stronger and cost less, and he now had a large pride. Surely he could take control of the Place of Power now? Chapter 20: You Be Careful ¡®You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t want to lead?¡¯ Dominic checked with Leo. ¡®After what you¡¯ve put us through over the last few days?¡¯ The lion scoffed. ¡®I want to sleep.¡¯ ¡®Well, since you¡¯ll be providing directions, I don¡¯t think you can do that anyway,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. The lion huffed at him. ¡®At least I can relax in our mind space in between giving you your heading, though.¡¯ That was a good point, Dominic had to admit. There was a difference between popping in and out to check that he was still heading in the right direction and actually moving. They might have cleared out most of the predators and prey in the territory, but that didn¡¯t mean there were no threats to keep an eye out for. ¡®Alright, Mr Lazy,¡¯ Dominic said finally, a hint of fondness in his voice. ¡®As long as you keep us on track, you can relax as much as you like.¡¯ It worked out well enough ¨C while Dominic did like to relax in their mindspace from time to time, he would probably go mad if he was in there as much as Leo was. So if Leo didn¡¯t mind, all the better. The former-human looked around at the lions surrounding him. ¡®You¡¯ll be careful as you follow us?¡¯ he checked with Sekhmet. She gave him a look. ¡®I¡¯m just making sure,¡¯ Dominic said defensively. She huffed then came over to rub against him. ¡®I will be careful. You be careful,¡¯ she instructed him firmly, her eyes gleaming with intelligence. ¡®I¡¯ll try,¡¯ he replied with a hint of a wry tone in his mental voice ¨C he usually tried to be careful, but it rarely worked out that way. She huffed again as if she¡¯d heard his more private thoughts and agreed with them. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said, looking around at the lionesses who would be going with him as the vanguard. ¡®Ready?¡¯ Anuke, Hathor, and Jenkins all sent him a message of agreement, even if only Anuke¡¯s was verbal. Turning to face the rest of the pride, Dominic stood up tall. Taking in a deep breath, he Roared, focussing on inspiring the pride and filling them with courage. He saw several of them perk up, even more looking more eager to get moving. Over the intra-pride communication, he sent a feeling of pride in their progress, and determination to overcome their foes. How well the message was taken probably depended on the level of the lions; certainly Prince, the lowest of the group, didn¡¯t seem particularly enthused. But most of the others did so Dominic counted it as a net win. Turning, he trotted off with his three accompanying lionesses. Sekhmet, Menhit, and Neith would be staying with the rest of the pride, supporting Isis. The three Tier 2 lionesses had the authority to direct the pride through their strength, intelligence, and proven leadership in hunts. Isis wasn¡¯t as high a level as they were, and still wasn¡¯t quite into the Evolved category, but she had the gravitas of being the oldest lioness there. Kalista, the other matriarch, had settled into her role as Isis¡¯ second in command without too much argument, which had definitely simplified the merging of the two prides. By this point, Dominic felt like the prides were almost there in terms of merging ¨C they just needed a bit more time and a few more fights to have them consider each other full pride members. He¡¯d taken the risk of bringing Anuke with him, one of the other recognised leaders, but he thought it would turn out alright. He needed at least one other Tier 2 with him ¨C he¡¯d have preferred to have had all four, but judged that that would have put the pride at too much risk. After all, if something happened, they would need intelligent leaders to give them direction. So ultimately, he¡¯d settled for only taking Anuke and having two of the level 9 lionesses with him instead. If he was lucky, he might even be able to get them Evolved before they actually hit the trees around the Place of Power, more likely with a small group as the Prey Points weren¡¯t split so much. If not, killing a few of the monkey-like kesh might get them there. He¡¯d rather have brought an older lioness than Jenkins with him, but Neith had her cubs to look after and wasn¡¯t keen on being away from them for too long and he was wary about bringing Menhit into an unknown situation like this because of her pregnancy. Anyway, at least Jenkins had seemed to have calmed down a bit since the tumultuous beginning ¨C all the hunting they¡¯d been doing seemed to have instilled some instincts in her. She still wasn¡¯t as reliable as her sister, Anuke, but he felt fairly sure that she wouldn¡¯t just jump into a fight as she had at the beginning. Their mission was to scout the way to the Place of Power and to clear out any threats. If they hit a threat they couldn¡¯t clear out, they¡¯d need to follow their own tracks back to the pride to warn them. As for why he was taking the whole pride with him? It was the same reason as he wasn¡¯t expecting any trouble for at least the first couple of hours of loping: they had hunted the area around them almost bare. It¡¯s actually pretty disturbing, Dominic thought as they trotted through the grasslands hearing nothing but the wind and the chirping of a few birds or the rustle of some small creature. Even when he could see for miles across the savannah grass, there was nothing to see except for the landscape. Nothing was moving. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Should we tone down the hunting? he wondered a little uncertainly. Then a moment later, he dismissed the thought. They had to grow stronger. If they didn¡¯t take down the animals around, something else would. Maybe even the hyenas that had driven them out of their original territory. How is the System going to deal with this? It had to have some sort of way, surely? After all, it had upset the delicate balance of predator/prey by bringing in Prey Points. Even if it de-incentivised going after herbivores, points were points and if there were no carnivores around, they¡¯d hunt the herbivores instead. Dominic had to shake his head, his long mane ruffling around his ears. He had no answers. All he knew was that this new world was even more cutthroat than the last one which had been bad enough. He had to put himself and his allies first. Hopefully that wouldn¡¯t lead to an ecological disaster. Starving to death because he¡¯d hunted all the prey in the area he could reach before his satiation level reached 0 would not be a good way to go. What it meant for them in the short term was that the pride was following them for now. He needed to find out the situation with the Place of the Power to decide just how far they would follow him. He had three plans to cover the various contingencies. Plan 1: to move steadily through the forest, picking off kesh, and then go for the Place of Power straight away. This plan would only be if Dominic judged the majority of the pride of a level able to do that without casualties. Plan 2: to pause at the edge of the forest, take hunting trips into the forest to pick off the kesh and wait until more lions were Tier 2 before going for the Place of Power itself. That was if he judged the lions to need to gain strength, but figured that they would be able to encroach on the territory of whatever held the Place of Power without any reprisal that they couldn¡¯t meet. Plan 3: to pull back from the edge of the forest completely and hunt around it instead, gathering strength until able to follow the first plan. He supposed that there was another option too, if the guardians of the Place of Power proved to be both too numerous and powerful: searching for more lions to join the pride. But he hoped that that wouldn¡¯t be the case since that plan seemed like it would waste a lot of time. For now, though, he kept trotting onwards with the three lionesses. They would have to see what happened. ***** They had set out as the heat of the day started to fade, and the sun had set before they started seeing signs of other creatures. More curiously, they had also started to see the trees of the Place of Power. ¡®Are we closer than you thought?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo, surprised. ¡®I thought you said we were more than half a day¡¯s travel away? We weren¡¯t expecting to get here until later, were we?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ admitted Leo. ¡®I didn¡¯t think so, but scents on the wind can be deceptive.¡¯ They travelled closer to the dark area ahead of them, the trees preventing the moonlight from reaching the ground. When the lions saw herbivores, they ignored the creatures. Typically, the animals were perfectly happy with that reaction, hastily withdrawing into cover or going still, hoping they hadn¡¯t been noticed. The savannah started changing around them as they got closer to the Place of Power. The same mini versions of the trees and bushes that Dominic recognised from the forest itself started sprouting through the grass, and then becoming the dominant flora. There was a whisper of sound and Dominic felt his hackles rise. At the same time, Jenkins sent a sense of warning into the pride chat. Dominic focussed on his senses but couldn¡¯t tell much. ¡®What do you sense?¡¯ he asked the lionesses urgently. There was a pause and then both Jenkins and Anuke sent a sense of beasts hiding in the bushes around them. They looked like they were just hiding away like the dozens of other prey animals that they¡¯d come across, but instinct was telling him that it was something different. It was a sense of concern which proved itself to be right a moment later. The seven beasts, perhaps realising that their ambush wasn¡¯t going to plan, suddenly jumped out of their cover at the lions. Funnily enough, they looked almost like smaller versions of the lions themselves, about the size of a cheetah but with dark brown mottled coats. A little taken aback by their appearance, Dominic snarled at them, baring his teeth and knocking one of them out of the air with a quick swipe of his paw. It twisted surprisingly agilely, landing on its feet and throwing itself back into the action, despite its evident pain ¨C Dominic¡¯s blow had probably broken a few ribs even if it hadn¡¯t killed the creature. The lionesses snarled too, facing off with their own opponents. They were slightly outnumbered, but that didn¡¯t mean much: they were powerful enough that opponents like this should be easy even if they were outnumbered two to one. Should have ¨C that¡¯s not what seemed to be happening. The other felines were agile, dodging most of their blows and responding with attacks of their own. Dominic¡¯s lionesses were starting to be painted in red even if each attack wasn¡¯t actually taking all that much from their health bars. Dominic himself found it difficult to land a blow: they were just so fast. The thing was that Dominic himself could match them, even surpass them when it came to base speed. What he was lacking, though, was the reaction time. The other cats could change the direction of their attack, or twist in midair to avoid him just as quickly as they could dart forwards to snap at his fur. In frustration, Dominic Roared. He didn¡¯t necessarily want to scare them away; he just wanted them to stop moving. He¡¯d been experimenting a bit with Majestic Roar and had found out that it was surprisingly adaptable to his desires. While he couldn¡¯t quite only use one aspect of it, he could certainly focus on that aspect, reducing the effect of the others. As a result when he Roared, though these cheetah-like beasts were no-doubt lower level than him, he didn¡¯t immediately scare them away. He did seem to put the fear of god in them, though, and they cowered away from him, pressing their bellies against the ground. The lionesses took full advantage of the lull and leapt forwards to snap at the closest beasts to them. Dominic was about to do the same when suddenly he heard something. ¡®No! Please!¡¯ Chapter 21: Stupid Primates ¡®Wait!¡¯ snapped Dominic urgently in the pride chat. The lionesses froze, two with their jaws around a beast¡¯s neck, milliseconds away from biting down and crushing them. ¡®Did you speak?¡¯ he asked next, concentrating on sending a message to the beast in front of him. He¡¯d quickly glanced around and seen nothing else nearby so who else could it be? It certainly wasn¡¯t one of his lionesses. ¡®I did¡­you heard?¡¯ the creature responded, sounding surprised, though with a hint of hope. ¡®I did. Don¡¯t move,¡¯ Dominic instructed with a snarl as the feline started shifting. At his words, it immediately froze, as did the creatures around it a fraction of a second later. The two with their necks still held within the jaws of Hathor and Anuke hadn¡¯t even tried to shift. ¡®Will you¡­let us go? Now we have spoken?¡¯ the creature asked hopefully. ¡®We didn¡¯t realise you were this intelligent when we attacked,¡¯ it said bluntly, probably meaning that if it had realised its group would be out-classed, it would have taken the better decision of trying to hide from them. Dominic hesitated for a moment. It was true that he didn¡¯t feel too good about the idea of killing something else that talked ¨C but he¡¯d killed the chimera regardless, and if he had a chance to kill the hyena, he¡¯d take it, so why should this creature talking make any difference. ¡®Don¡¯t forget that they attacked us,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Though we¡¯d have probably attacked them anyway, for Prey Points if nothing else,¡¯ Dominic returned. ¡®Then kill them,¡¯ yawned the lion. ¡®What difference is it? Die because they attacked us, or die because they are probably worth some good Prey Points? Either way, you should kill them.¡¯ It was true, and a good summary of their general approach to things. Dominic had a different idea, however. Turning his attention back to the creatures, he spoke once more. ¡®I want information about this area. Give me enough, and I will let you go.¡¯ The creature looked up at him with a hint of confusion. ¡®Information?¡¯ ¡®About the creatures in the area, the risks, the dangers, that sort of thing. Do we have a deal? Or do we just kill most of your group now?¡¯ he asked threateningly, showing his teeth. ¡®Agreed! Agreed!¡¯ the creature squeaked, shivering even as it pressed itself closer to the ground. ¡®Then you may stand up. But if you try to run, my lionesses will crunch the necks of your pack-mates in an instant,¡¯ he told it, sending a message in the Pride chat to notify the lionesses of what was happening. Dominic saw how the beast shot a quick glance at where Anuke and Hathor were patiently waiting, their jaws held just wide enough to avoid piercing their prey¡¯s necks ¨C unless the creatures tried to move, of course. Jenkins¡¯ tail was twitching in impatience, but she just kept her own prey pinned rather than pushing further. ¡®We will not run,¡¯ the creature promised, though Dominic didn¡¯t need Leo¡¯s grumbling in the back of his mind to know not to trust that: when it came down to survival, every animal¡¯s instinct was to put themselves first. ¡®You¡¯d better not,¡¯ he warned. ¡®Because as this battle showed, I¡¯m faster than you are.¡¯ He left out the bit about his reactions being slower ¨C in a straight charge, he would definitely win anyway. ¡®Now, tell me about the creatures which live in that forest.¡¯ ***** Dominic padded through the forest cautiously. The trees had grown tall around them and he was expecting to encounter the kesh at any moment. He was definitely keeping a wary eye up at the canopy above. The darkly coloured cheetah-like beasts had certainly spilled plenty of information in an attempt to keep their hides intact. Dominic had been as good as his word: once he was confident he¡¯d got as much out of them as he could, he¡¯d told Anuke and Hathor to let their prey go. The lionesses hadn¡¯t been happy about it, but had obeyed him: he¡¯d proven himself enough since taking over the pride that they trusted he had a good reason for it. Dominic meanwhile was hoping that it wouldn¡¯t come back to bite him. Probably literally. Still, a deal was a deal, and the cheetah-like creatures had scrambled away quickly enough: they¡¯d clearly understood that it was an opportunity they wouldn¡¯t be given twice. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. From the sounds of it, not a huge amount had changed. More creatures had moved into the outskirts of the forest: from what the creature had said, Dominic inferred that the herbivores found some sort of benefit from the environment, then the predators had followed the herbivores. Then the bigger predators followed the smaller ones: apparently his prediction that more creatures would come to realise the benefits of hunting other carnivores was coming true. The kesh appeared to still be there as the beast had talked about creatures that mostly stuck to the canopy and threw things: as a result, they¡¯d managed to keep out most of the threats. Not all of them, though ¨C anything that didn¡¯t eat the same food as the kesh and didn¡¯t pose any threat to them was allowed through, showing a level of intelligence which Dominic was sure they hadn¡¯t had before. They¡¯d clearly levelled up a bit, or their leaders had at least. As for the place of power itself, the cheetah-like creature had no real idea. Dominic suspected that the sonic wolves were still in place, both because surely an upheaval like what would be required to overtake the Place of Power would be noticeable and because the beast had seen something from afar which sounded vaguely like a sonic wolf. If they were still in power despite everything, it would be both reassuring and worrying. Reassuring because, well, better the devil you know. Worrying because, clearly, if the devil was strong enough to withstand all the creatures which had visited so far, it was a big deal. Perhaps the kesh had kept everything at bay and the sonic wolves had barely had to deal with anything? I doubt it, Dominic thought to himself. From what the feline had indicated, it sounded like elephants or some other massive herbivores had moved in. The kesh hadn¡¯t tried to chase them out ¨C either because they couldn¡¯t or because the newcomers didn¡¯t eat their food ¨C which meant that they could have attempted to take the Place of Power. Unless it was only carnivores who could do that, but Dominic didn¡¯t see why that would be the case. Either way, he needed to find out more. That was why the four of them were even now stalking carefully through the trees. Sekhmet knew to stop the pride on the outskirts of the forest, unless one of them came to tell her differently, so he wasn¡¯t worried about them kicking the hornet¡¯s nest. Unless one of the youngsters decided to go and investigate for themselves. If they do, I¡¯ll kill them myself if whatever they irritate doesn¡¯t, he promised darkly. The forest was much the same as he remembered from last time, the trees even taller than before. It was more alive too ¨C last time it had been surprisingly bare of wildlife except for the kesh and wolves. Now, although the area directly around them was quiet, he could hear all sorts of rustling and calls coming from further away. It was far more alive than the barren savannah from which they had recently come. Then came the sound Dominic knew was going to happen: a low hoot that emerged from far above him. Looking up, he spotted a kesh sitting on the branch above, two of its arms and its legs holding onto where it was perched. It eyed them curiously, its gaze glinting with intelligence. Well, might as well try it, Dominic decided. ¡®Can you hear me?¡¯ he sent to the creature. ¡®Why are you bothering? Stupid primates,¡¯ Leo said arrogantly. Dominic sent him the mental equivalent of a long look. ¡®Oh. Right,¡¯ the lion realised a moment of awkward silence later. ¡®That¡¯s why,¡¯ Dominic told him pointedly. ¡®If they¡¯re intelligent enough to choose who to let in, they¡¯re possibly intelligent enough to talk.¡¯ He looked back up at the kesh above who now looked surprised. A moment later, it made an odd barking sound, then swung off. ¡®I told you they were stupid,¡¯ Leo needled him. Dominic sighed. Apparently Leo was right, as little as the former-primate wanted to admit it. Instead, he sent a warning in the pride chat ¨C that kesh was probably off to get more of his kind. ¡®At least they¡¯ll be a good levelling opportunity ¨C and learning experience ¨C for the lionesses,¡¯ he sent to Leo as an olive branch. ¡®Are you sure we should not wait to get all the females from our group into Tier 2 first?¡¯ Leo asked a little anxiously, apparently willing to go along with the subject change. ¡®Before we try to hit the sonic wolves, probably yes,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®I think we¡¯re most likely going to go with plan two and get the lionesses some levels before hitting the wolves, if my conclusions from what that beast told us are accurate. But for now it should be fine ¨C I dealt OK with them when I wasn¡¯t much above level ten myself, and I was alone. Together, we¡¯ll have a better chance even if Jenkins and Hathor aren¡¯t level ten yet.¡¯ ¡®I hope you¡¯re right,¡¯ huffed Leo a little uneasily. They continued padding through the forest, their senses on high alert. It wasn¡¯t long after when Hathor nudged Dominic, an urgent message to look up coming through the pride chat. They all froze and did exactly that. With only a whisper of movement, a number of kesh swung into the canopy above them. They were too high for a casual leap to reach them; if he used Quick Strike, Dominic might be able to close the distance. Or if he did a double leap by landing on a lower branch and leaping off it to get to the higher canopy. For now, none of them appeared to have stones in their second pair of hands, but Dominic knew how quickly they could go and grab them so he didn¡¯t count that as much of a win. One thing he did notice was that seven of the kesh looked like they were particularly high level. It would definitely be helpful if he could see their levels floating above their health bars like in a game, but so far he still hadn¡¯t found a way to make that happen. However, by this point, he¡¯d started to get an idea of what signs to look for. Size was one of the obvious, but also muscle density, and how focussed and aware their eyes were. Sekhmet, for example, hadn¡¯t grown much on Evolution, but her eyes had an unmistakable piercing quality. Anuke also hadn¡¯t grown a huge amount, though more than Sekhmet, but her muscles were even more defined at first and her speed of movement and reaction was another clear sign. These kesh showed several of those signs, though most of them had clearly picked size over the other options. One, though, was relatively small, but had eyes like Sekhmet. This one let out an almost yodelling cry, and somehow, Dominic understood it. Chapter 22: Snake-oil Salesman ¡®Trespassers!¡¯ the creature called. ¡®Turn back or be attacked.¡¯ Eyeing the speaker, Dominic thought fast about the approach he wanted to take here, then connected to the mind of the kesh to send his message. ¡®We wish to investigate this forest,¡¯ he said, deciding to take a relatively soft beginning. There would be time to show his teeth later if necessary. The kesh stared at him, a surprisingly shrewd look in its eyes. ¡®You wish to challenge the centre guardians for control?¡¯ His mental speech was also surprisingly clear ¨C it was better even than Sekhmet¡¯s. Did that mean this creature was a higher level than she was, or that these creatures were more predisposed to speech? Mental or otherwise. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ Dominic answered guardedly after a moment of weighing up whether to admit it. ¡®However, I wish to see how powerful they are first. And to decide whether it is worth my time.¡¯ They didn¡¯t need to know that he indeed had full intentions of challenging the sonic wolves. The kesh eyed him in silence for a few moments. The other kesh around it stared down at the group almost unblinkingly, the continual regard irritating the lionesses. They started growling and Dominic had to send a calming thought to them. ¡®Offer tribute and I will let you through,¡¯ the kesh said finally. ¡®Tribute?¡¯ Dominic asked, a bit incredulously. ¡®A hundred Prey Points per head allowed through,¡¯ the kesh announced gleefully. ¡®A hundred?!¡¯ spluttered Dominic incredulously. ¡®That¡¯s daylight robbery!¡¯ Not to mention that he actually didn¡¯t have the points as it was, having so recently levelled up. ¡®Offer it or not; your choice,¡¯ the kesh told him with a sense of a shrug. ¡®And what¡¯s stopping us from just walking in?¡¯ challenged Dominic, incensed by the monkey-like creature¡¯s greed. The kesh barked, its voice deep and carrying. Within a few moments there was a rustle in the leaves above and the number of kesh more than doubled. The new ones were all carrying stones, and these appeared to have actually been worked a bit to make them sharper and more damaging. ¡®You will not make it far,¡¯ replied the lead kesh simply, its eyes gleaming with malice. ¡®So, will you take the offer? Or will you retreat?¡¯ ¡®A hundred is unreasonable!¡¯ protested Dominic. ¡®I¡¯ll give you one Prey Point, and under protest at that,¡¯ ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ asked Leo, horrified. Since he didn¡¯t try to use their telepathy, the kesh shouldn¡¯t have heard it. ¡®Why are you giving into its demands?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not,¡¯ replied Dominic, equally directing it solely to Leo. ¡®I¡¯m trying to get its measure.¡¯ ¡®One Prey Point?¡¯ scoffed the kesh, hopefully unaware of their internal conversation. ¡®You insult us. We are the guardians of this forest, keeping the foot of the Great Tree free from trespassers. Only those who pay us tribute and will not threaten our food are allowed within.¡¯ ¡®So you allowed the, uh, ¡®centre guardians¡¯ through?¡¯ Dominic asked, deceptively idly. The kesh paused for a moment. ¡®The centre guardians are an exception,¡¯ it replied slowly. ¡®We have a mutual non-interference agreement. They do not hunt us; we do not drive them out and graciously accept control over the forest alone.¡¯ Meaning, Dominic interpreted, that the kesh were unable to drive the sonic wolves out and take control over the whole forest. Why the wolves weren¡¯t doing the same to the kesh, he didn¡¯t know. ¡®In fact,¡¯ continued the kesh, ¡®If we could agree on a similar pact and set it in stone now, then we could offer you entry at a much lower price: perhaps only sixty Prey Points per head,¡¯ it said, sounding as if the thought was only just now occurring to it. However, from the way it watched him avidly, Dominic somehow doubted it. Frankly, the former-human was rather disturbed by how much these arboreal aliens reminded him of snake-oil salesmen. He felt vaguely dirty from just coming into contact with them. ¡®We could even offer to act as guards for you, keeping out undesirables ¨C for a price,¡¯ the kesh added. Clearly it hadn¡¯t heard the advice about making an offer and then shutting up. ¡®How can we even ¡®pay¡¯ you tribute?¡¯ Dominic asked, giving himself time to think. ¡®Or pay you for services. I can¡¯t take out my Prey Points to give them to you.¡¯ At least he didn¡¯t think he could. He hadn¡¯t tried, though. If he could¡­that had other implications. ¡®An Ability,¡¯ the kesh answered, almost off-handedly. ¡®It will not be a problem. Now, will we make an agreement?¡¯ Dominic¡¯s attention had sharpened when he¡¯d mentioned it being an Ability. That was good to know. But he was curious to see just how much the kesh wanted this ¡®agreement¡¯. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡®If I agree to an agreement, I won¡¯t go above five Prey Points per pers- per head to go through: we need our points to level up so we can beat the sonic wolves,¡¯ he argued. The kesh eyed him for another long moment. ¡®If we can come to an agreement for a regular tribute to be paid to our clan in case of victory, then I could drop it to ten points per head. No lower, my clan also need to increase in strength to keep ourselves safe.¡¯ He didn¡¯t say ¡®to feed my family¡¯, at least, Dominic decided with a hint of humour. Far, far too like some shady merchant. ¡®Ten Prey Points are certainly more acceptable than a hundred,¡¯ Dominic agreed, noting the anticipatory glint in the kesh¡¯s eyes. ¡®However, I must confer with my pride,¡¯ he finished, watching with a hint of glee at how the anticipation was replaced by disappointment. ¡®Very well,¡¯ the kesh agreed with a hint of annoyance. ¡®However, do not take long or the favourable price will increase. And the centre guardians grow stronger by the day ¨C wait too long and risk failure.¡¯ ¡®I hear you,¡¯ Dominic answered neutrally, then turned to leave the forest, indicating the lionesses should follow him. They did, though with more than a bit of confusion. ¡®What happened?¡¯ asked Anuke through the pride chat, the other two lionesses chiming in with feelings of agreement. ¡®We are not attacking? We are retreating?¡¯ ¡®We¡¯re regrouping,¡¯ Dominic corrected. ¡®More specifically, we¡¯re going to let the rest of the pride catch up with us. While we wait, we¡¯ll do some hunting to collect some Prey Points.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re not considering the monkey¡¯s bargain, are you?¡¯ asked Leo to Dominic alone, horrified. ¡®I¡¯m considering it,¡¯ Dominic replied carefully, ¡®But I don''t think we should take it. Not in the long term, anyway.¡¯ ¡®I should think not!¡¯ the lion said firmly. ¡®Bowing to the demands of a load of primates? Even if they¡¯re alien ones, I wouldn¡¯t be able to show my face to the females. But then why appear to do so?¡¯ he asked with more curiosity. ¡®Because there¡¯s nothing more difficult to defeat than a smart enemy,¡¯ Dominic answered as they padded between the trees. He added his thoughts to the pride chat: he didn¡¯t expect the lionesses to understand, but thought that they deserved a bit of explanation. ¡®A smart enemy who knows that we¡¯re the enemy will make preparations against us. A smart enemy who doesn¡¯t know we¡¯re the enemy will probably still make some preparations, but they will have more vulnerabilities than one who is completely defensive. ¡®Right now, that kesh is waiting to hear what we decide. It¡¯s hoping to gain from us, either in the short term with Prey Points, or the long term with this ¡®agreement¡¯. That means that it won¡¯t send offensive attacks, or attack us as soon as we walk near one of the trees under its control. Which means that we may have an opportunity in the future.¡¯ ¡®But you don¡¯t think that the long-term agreement is a good idea, right?¡¯ the lion checked with Dominic. ¡®Because the day that we need a bunch of monkeys to protect our territory is the day we should be chased out of the pride.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t think we should go that far,¡¯ advised Dominic. ¡®Things are different now than they used to be and if our territory gets too big, we may not be able to protect it all personally. However, in this case, I agree with you.¡¯ ¡®Though I think you should always agree with me,¡¯ commented the lion a little arrogantly before continuing and sounding confused instead, ¡®in this case¡­why are you?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t trust them¡¯ Dominic replied, ignoring the rest of Leo¡¯s comment. ¡®I agree with you on that,¡¯ the lion commented. ¡®But why don¡¯t you trust them? They¡¯re close enough to monkeys that they could probably be your relatives. I know you don¡¯t always see yourself as a lion,¡¯ he commented shrewdly, then ruined it with his next words, ¡®though why you wouldn¡¯t pounce upon the opportunity to change to become the superior species, I don¡¯t know. Anyway, wouldn¡¯t you trust your relatives?¡¯ ¡®It depends on the relative,¡¯ replied Dominic dryly. ¡®And that¡¯s my point ¨C as you well know, Mr chase-away-any-other-male-lions-because-they-might-steal-my-females. There are a whole lot of humans who I wouldn¡¯t trust as far as I could throw them ¨C pre-System. And these guys reminded me far too much of those.¡¯ ¡®Oh?¡¯ the lion asked, intrigued despite himself and pointedly ignoring Dominic¡¯s aspersion. ¡®Go on.¡¯ ¡®They were too eager for one thing. The kesh was willing to drop from a hundred Prey Points to ten as long as its demands were met. Whatever ¡®agreement¡¯ they currently have with the sonic wolves, I doubt it¡¯s as they depicted. Which means they were attempting to trick us into some bargain which would probably be weighted against us. Not to mention its attempt to pressure me into making a quick decision at the end. How it picked up the techniques of a sleezy salesman, I don¡¯t know. Though,¡¯ he continued thoughtfully, ¡®maybe that last bit was honest¡­. ¡®Anyway, I wouldn¡¯t even want the bargain: why would I want creatures on my doorstep which control my perimeter and will clearly make me pay through the nose for any service I want from them? Not to mention being clearly willing to conspire with my enemies for the right price. No, those are allies I really don¡¯t want.¡¯ ¡®Then we will attack them? Drive them out of our territory?¡¯ the lion asked, a sense of disquiet having come from his direction at the thought of the kesh controlling the perimeter and letting in enemies unannounced. ¡®The complication is that they¡¯re smart, and that their domain is high up in the tree-tops,¡¯ Dominic sighed. ¡®It will be hard to root them out completely when they can just hide higher than even our most agile lions can reach. Not to mention that they¡¯re clearly starting to develop the creation of tools. That actually is something we could do with ¨C but on our terms; not theirs.¡¯ ¡®So what are you thinking?¡¯ Leo asked, sounding a little frustrated. The former-human sympathised ¨C he knew that the lion would much rather have an enemy in front of him to kill than needing to think about the kind of twisty situations that always seemed to happen when full sapience came into the picture. ¡®I¡¯m thinking that we need to speak to Sekhmet and make a plan,¡¯ Dominic replied grimly. Chapter 23: Parasites The lions didn¡¯t waste their time while waiting for the rest of the pride to arrive. They marked an area with their scent, causing the former-human to quickly disappear into their mindspace when Leo had squatted down. By leaving traces of their presence all around a particular area, it should be clear enough to the rest of the pride that this was their territory for the time being. Leo expected the lead females to recognise that and stop the pride in or near the area. In the meantime, they went hunting. It felt good to take out some of the frustration Leo had felt on the local wildlife. Give me something I can sink my claws into over useless words anyday, he said to himself as he choked a creature to death. It was some sort of large bird, a scavenger which had been tearing bits off an old carcass in a small flock of six. The females had caught their own versions and were already chewing at the bodies, spitting out the feathers and ripping at the flesh. The birds had, of course, tried to escape, attempting to flutter up into the air, but the felines were too fast, their pounces accurate and successful. Dead, though, the birds looked less appetising and Leo decided not to eat it the traditional way. Instead, he nudged it with a paw and triggered Consume. To his surprise, several¡­things fell to the ground and started wriggling. ¡®Oh, ew, parasites!¡¯ the voice of his brother came into his mind, the human having apparently returned from the mindspace. ¡®I¡¯d tell the others not to eat the birds either,¡¯ he advised, sounding both disgusted and interested at the same time. He did make a good point, though, so Leo growled and chased the females off their kills. They moved without too much argument, though a fair bit of confusion. He understood: it was far less normal for Leo to chase the females off than a pre-System lion would. ¡®Why?¡¯ asked Anuke in the pride chat. In response, Leo stood next to the still-wriggling pile of wormy things. ¡®Because of this,¡¯ he told them. They came and investigated, Jenkins actually nudging the things with a claw. The parasites reacted by all trying to wriggle towards her, so she quickly backed away. ¡®Have they been affected by the System too, or would they have acted like this before?¡¯ Dominic wondered. Leo didn¡¯t know and he didn¡¯t really care. Just as long as none of them got inside his females. Spitting some acid at the still visible parasites, he watched in satisfaction as they melted away. Having seen the nasty creatures within these birds, the females decided that they didn¡¯t want anything to do with the carcasses. Even when he demonstrated that Consuming the bodies didn¡¯t mean becoming infected, they refused to come near. In the end, Leo decided that it wasn¡¯t worth wasting the carcasses, though he wouldn¡¯t be storing them. If their Cores held a decent Ability, he¡¯d at least get some benefit from the birds. More than the Prey Points they¡¯d offered anyway. ¡®Not that those were anything to talk about,¡¯ scoffed the former-primate. ¡®Level 5 turkey vultures only gave us about four points each. We¡¯re now sitting at¡­wait for it¡­a whopping twenty-seven points.¡¯ The sarcasm was thick enough that it would need a claw to cut it. And yes, Leo understood sarcasm now, even if it seemed like a pretty stupid thing ¨C to say one thing but to expect others to hear the opposite. Worthy of a primate species, really. He eyed the Core that his bird had dropped, focussing on seeing the Ability it held within. The description flashed up on screen, but as usual when he was in control, the text was utterly indecipherable. Though¡­. Leo squinted a little at the box in front of his eyes. Were parts of it starting to become clearer? He could have sworn that certain bits of it were actually resolving into something that might make sense. Not enough that he could read it, but would he be able to do so in the future? When had that change happened? Recently? He couldn¡¯t remember ¨C it¡¯s not like he spent nearly as much time looking at his notifications or status screen when he was in control as Dominic did. That is to say, he spent practically none. ¡®Yeah, let¡¯s not take that one,¡¯ the former-human said in all seriousness, breaking into Leo¡¯s thoughts. ¡®Why not?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s called Projectile Vomit. I really don¡¯t want to be doing that,¡¯ he replied fervently, then continued reading a little. ¡®Increases acid production when in combat, allows the user to send the contents of their stomach up to ten feet at level one. Yeah, no.¡¯ Leo was tempted to agree with him, but then an idea occurred and instead he focussed on absorbing the Core. ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ demanded Dominic. ¡®We are not adding projectile vomit into our combat repertoire!¡¯ Ignoring him for a moment, Leo moved around, absorbing the bodies and then the Cores that they dropped. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡®How many percent are we towards getting that Ability?¡¯ he asked his brother. ¡®Didn¡¯t you hear me? I said we are not getting it!¡¯ Dominic shouted at him, the voice loud even in his mind. Leo sighed. Apparently he¡¯d need to explain since Dominic wasn¡¯t paying enough attention to his thoughts. ¡®I agree that we shouldn¡¯t get the Ability as is, but do you remember what happened with Stunning Roar?¡¯ ¡®It combined with two other Abilities to make Majestic Roar,¡¯ Dominic answered easily, then paused. ¡®Wait, are you thinking¡­?¡¯ ¡®That perhaps something which increases acid production and can project it ten feet away might be quite useful? Yes, I am.¡¯ The former human was silent for a moment. ¡®I still refuse to puke as a combat technique,¡¯ he answered finally. ¡®If we end up with an Ability which does that, I refuse to use it.¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ answered Leo. In the back of his mind, though, he considered that if they were in desperate straits, he was sure that his brother would use whatever advantage he could to get out of them ¨C even using projectile vomit if need be. Besides, he didn¡¯t get what the human¡¯s issue was: lions vomited hairballs all the time. Actually, if he could project acidic hairballs, they¡¯d probably never need to worry about those hyenas ever again. ***** The little pride of four lions kept returning to the spot they had marked in between hunts, and finally their patience was rewarded: the rest of the pride had arrived. After greeting the rest of the pride, Dominic and Leo switched places again, Leo feeling calmer than he had before. It definitely seemed that taking frustrations out on his prey was a good way of managing the stress of needing to engage in more human-like behaviour. Their hunting had had some other good effects too: Hathor had levelled up, as had Jenkins. That brought their whole hunting group to Tier 2, and all the lionesses from the original pride up there except for Isis. Both lionesses had grown, and become more muscular. The pride members, particularly the one from Dominic¡¯s and Leo¡¯s first pride took some time to rub themselves along the new Tier 2 lionesses. They had also earned their third Abilities. Jenkins¡¯ one fed into her speed: Enhanced Speed. Not able to see the Ability description but having seen a bit of her experimentation, Dominic had to guess that it might be like the one he had gained from the Wildebeests ¨C Enhanced Stamina. That one gave him a period of reduced stamina consumption and increased regeneration which could be extended with health points in return for a period of weakness. Perhaps it would be the same with Enhanced Speed? If so, it certainly seemed to suit the still-impetuous lioness, though Dominic was pleased that she hadn¡¯t jumped the gun with the kesh. That could have been rather disastrous. Perhaps he should change her name to reflect her change in attitude? Nah, he decided after a moment. Give her some more time to prove that it¡¯s a permanent change first. Hathor had gained another new one: Stealth. She¡¯d also experimented a little with the new Ability and Dominic had found it rather disconcerting to basically lose track of her. It wasn¡¯t that she went invisible, it was just that she became¡­less noticeable. She had less effect on her surroundings whether through sound, smell, or physical presence. It was weird. It was nice to have two more lionesses who could talk, though, even if the two new level 10s only did so very brokenly ¨C not even as good as Sekhmet was when she started. And Jenkins actually refused to shut up now that she could talk. Perhaps he should rather say that it would be nice to have lionesses who could talk once they¡¯d improved and the novelty had worn off. He was glad to see the pride members again, and rubbed rather enthusiastically against Sekhmet, enjoying the presence of her mind. While not exactly calming, she gave off a very practical aura and Dominic felt more confident just having her around. After checking that their journey had been fine ¨C it had ¨C they got straight down to business. ¡®The scouting was successful?¡¯ she asked. ¡®You have a plan?¡¯ ¡®Kind of,¡¯ he replied, then explained exactly what had happened. ¡®I see. You wish to attack them? To ambush them?¡¯ Sekhmet suggested once he¡¯d finished. ¡®Well, ideally yes, but I don¡¯t really know how to do it. And I don¡¯t know whether we should target the kesh first or the Place of Power. On the one hand, if we don¡¯t take out the kesh, then we¡¯ve got enemies surrounding us as we take on the sonic wolves. On the other, if we attack the kesh before dealing with the sonic wolves, we have the risk that we get hit by enemies on both sides anyway.¡¯ These were the thoughts which had been running through his mind ever since the end of the meeting with the monkey-like creatures. It was well and good to not put the cart before the horse, but which was which in this case? ¡®And the problem is that if we do attack them, we will have to catch as many in the first attack as we can,¡¯ Dominic continued, ¡®because afterwards they¡¯ll disappear into the treetops and it will be almost impossible to get them out. And having an enemy on our doorstep is just as bad as, or perhaps worse than, having a poor ally.¡¯ ¡®Like baboons,¡¯ Sekhmet observed, then her eyes went distant. Dominic waited patiently for her to think. ¡®Problem with baboons is that they can reach all areas of a lion, but a lion cannot reach all areas of a baboon. Treat like baboons? Eat if come to ground, ignore if not?¡¯ Dominic huffed a sigh. ¡®I¡¯ve considered it but then we¡¯ll have to worry about them attacking anyone who comes and goes: if they hit a cub with one of those rocks, or attack someone who¡¯s already low on health, that wouldn¡¯t be good. I don¡¯t think baboons tend to attack those around with rocks!¡¯ ¡®You¡¯d be surprised,¡¯ murmured Leo in the background, proving that he was still paying some attention. ¡®Need to take away advantages: drive them to the ground. Eat them there, no problem,¡¯ suggested Sekhmet practically. ¡®Yes, but how?¡¯ Dominic almost moaned mentally. If he had still been human, he probably would have considered setting light to the forest to drive them out. Or cutting down the trees. Though that probably would have some rather unfortunate consequences on the local fauna and flora. But as a lion, he was unable to wield an axe or create a spark: his paws just wouldn¡¯t work that way even if he had the materials. He huffed again. Clearly this was going to be a long night. Chapter 24: Death by Storage Space The main thing that Dominic had to take into account was the fact that he didn¡¯t want to be fighting on two fronts. As he¡¯d already considered, if he took the war to the kesh first, there was no guarantee that the sonic wolves wouldn¡¯t get involved. Not that he thought that they would ¡®protect¡¯ the kesh, but if the fight took them onto the sonic wolves¡¯ territory, Dominic suspected they would attack. Thought through logically, that made the series of events obvious: the kesh could be kept docile with the hope of making a ¡®deal¡¯; the wolves could not. In addition, if the kesh were to be believed, the wolves were getting stronger all the time. Therefore, they had to deal with the wolves first, and then the kesh after. However, he was not keen on giving them loads of Prey Points ¨C the pride needed those. On the upside, if they were successful with the sonic wolves, they should have more power and Abilities to deal with the kesh. Along with whatever the Place of Power might offer them. He still wasn¡¯t sure how they could pull it off, but perhaps something would happen which would make their task easier. Either way, they shouldn¡¯t be in a worse position unless they lost the fight and the kesh attacked them on the way out. Regarding a way of reducing the ¡®tribute¡¯ they¡¯d have to pay to get through to the wolves in the first place, he had an idea, but needed to test it a bit. ¡®I¡¯ll be back in a bit,¡¯ Dominic told Sekhmet, pushing himself to his feet. She stood up too. ¡®I come with you,¡¯ she returned firmly, clearly not willing to take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer. The former-human eyed her, then mentally shrugged. If she wished to come with them, that was fine. ¡®What are you planning?¡¯ asked Leo in a rumble as they padded out of the area where the lions had settled. ¡®I haven¡¯t tested my storage space nearly enough,¡¯ Dominic told him. ¡®I know that things appear touching the same place as they were when they entered it, and if I¡¯m moving, they stay still, but what about the reverse? What if they were moving when I touched them? And I know I can put dead bodies in there, but can I put live ones? And if I can, is there a time limit?¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re not thinking about trying it out on the female, are you?¡¯ Leo asked, alarmed. ¡®No, of course not,¡¯ Dominic immediately refuted. Anything could go wrong. For all he knew, if he tried to put a living creature inside, they¡¯d immediately explode or something. ¡®I want to go and find something else we can use to test. That¡¯s why we needed to move away from the other lions.¡¯ So saying, he stopped and pressed himself to the ground, listening. Sekhmet followed his lead, a question emanating from her. There. Dominic leaped lightly. He didn¡¯t even need to engage any of his bonuses ¨C his natural speed and power by this point was easily enough to take the small creature unawares. It seemed to be some sort of mousey thing, though with significantly larger back legs than any mouse Dominic had heard of. In fact, it kind of looked like what he¡¯d imagine a mouse kangaroo would. It had tried to hop out of his grasp, but he was too quick for it, stopping its escape in its tracks. He was almost regretful about using this creature as his test subject ¨C it was so cute. But he needed to do the test and this was the creature which had fallen into his paws. First test ¨C would the storage space allow him to put a live creature in at all? Focussing on just that, Dominic was pleased when the small creature disappeared from his grasp. The answer was apparently ¡®yes¡¯. Second test ¨C would a creature which had been put in his storage space alive come out unharmed? Not moving his paws, he withdrew the kangaroo mouse from whatever extra-dimensional space was contained within his gorget. A moment later, he felt shifting beneath his paws. Apparently the answer to the second test was at least that the creature stayed alive. Opening his paws just a little so that the head of the mouse-thing was able to poke through slightly, he saw that it was clearly terrified, but apparently unharmed. As far as he could see, anyway ¨C if he opened his paws to look at its whole body, it would escape quicker than he could blink. Third test ¨C could a creature stay in his storage space for an extended period of time without harm? Once more putting the mouse kangaroo in his storage space, he started counting. Once he got to ten, he pulled it out again. It seemed fine. Back in the storage space it went. Twenty seconds this time. Each time increasing the period by ten seconds, he found that the mouse was fine in there for at least a minute. Once he found that out, he returned it to the space and decided to test other things as well. Namely, could he put things in and take things out of his space while a living creature was in there without harming it? First he tested by pulling a carcass out then checked on the mouse ¨C it was fine. He returned the mouse and the carcass back to the storage space, then added a couple of stones lying by his feet to the storage space, then pulled the mouse out again. It was fine. Well, for a given definition of fine ¨C it seemed to be becoming a bit traumatised. Each time he took it out, it took just a little longer to start moving again afterwards. This time he actually lifted his paw so he could check whether it was still breathing, it had been still for so long. It was, so he covered it up again until it started moving, then put it back in his storage space. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡®Could this be considered torture of a sentient being?¡¯ he wondered to Leo. ¡®I mean, it¡¯s not sapient, I don¡¯t think, but it still has feelings.¡¯ ¡®Why should we care?¡¯ was Leo¡¯s unsurprisingly callous response. ¡®It¡¯s not one of our pride, and a prey beast besides.¡¯ ¡®Why you do this?¡¯ The question made him jump a little ¨C Sekhmet had been watching quietly for so long that he¡¯d almost forgotten she¡¯d accompanied them. ¡®Because I want to know whether it would be safe for members of our pride to go in my storage space in times of need,¡¯ Dominic answered honestly. ¡®I test?¡¯ ¡®No!¡¯ Both Leo and Dominic answered forcefully at the same time. ¡®Not yet,¡¯ Dominic added instantly, even as Leo sent some accusing feelings towards him. ¡®Come on,¡¯ the former-human said to the lion directly. ¡®You know that we¡¯ll have to test with pride members eventually.¡¯ ¡®Only when we¡¯re sure they won¡¯t die,¡¯ grumbled Leo a little threateningly. Dominic sent him a sense of exasperation. ¡®You think I want that any more than you do? Of course we¡¯re only going to test on lions when we¡¯re confident that it¡¯s safe enough. Though,¡¯ he added thoughtfully, ¡®I do have one test subject in mind.¡¯ Reading his thoughts, Leo sent a sense of gleeful agreement. ¡®I will not argue about that.¡¯ ¡®I didn¡¯t think you would,¡¯ Dominic told him with amusement. ¡®Can I help?¡¯ asked Sekhmet, breaking through their internal conversation. ¡®Actually, yes,¡¯ Dominic said, an idea occurring. He¡¯d wanted to test whether momentum would be conserved, after all. ¡®Can you grab one of these rocks and then climb to the top of that tree, please?¡¯ Without a word of argument, the lioness did exactly that. The tree in question was one of the same that the kesh lived in, but much shorter. OK, this bit¡¯s going to be tricky, Dominic said to himself, trying to position himself under the lioness¡¯ mouth. ¡®OK, drop the stone, please,¡¯ he instructed the lioness. She opened her mouth and did so. It fell like, well, a stone. Dominic held out his paw, pads upwards, and¡­missed. ¡®Damn it! Sorry, Sekhmet¡­can we do that again, please?¡¯ The lioness sent him a sense of fond exasperation, but half-leapt, half-climbed down the tree, grabbed another stone, then leapt back up. They actually had to repeat the actions three times before Dominic managed to gauge the angle of fall accurately enough to touch the edge of the stone as it was falling. Then they had to do it again for him to trigger the storage space in time. Having finally succeeded, Sekhmet joined Dominic back down on the ground to see what the result of the tests was. Pointing his pad towards relatively clear space between the trees, Dominic pulled the stone out of his storage space. To his disappointment, it didn¡¯t soar forwards with the momentum of its fall; instead it just thumped on the ground by his feet. ¡®Looks like momentum isn¡¯t conserved, then,¡¯ he commented to both the lions with him. Next, he pulled out the mouse again. This time it wasn¡¯t breathing. ¡®And the mouse is dead.¡¯ Dominic frowned mentally. He hadn¡¯t had any notification of its death and a quick check with Leo proved that he hadn¡¯t seen one either. Looking next at his Prey Points counter showed that he hadn¡¯t gained any more Prey Points since his previous hunt either, so it seemed like the kill hadn¡¯t been credited to him. Either that or the mouse was such a low level that it wasn¡¯t even worth any Prey Points. But given that even the meerkats had flashed up a notification even when they had only given him fractional Prey Points indicated to him that that wasn¡¯t the case. A pity, he mused. Otherwise ¡®death by storage space¡¯ could have been quite a good tactic against stronger foes. Though, even if he didn¡¯t gain Prey Points from the kill, he could still see its application in a number of situations. As long as there weren¡¯t any limits against its use, which there probably would be. Otherwise half the murders in the System multiverse are probably caused by storage spaces. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s head back,¡¯ he said to Sekhmet. He did take a moment to Consume the small body of the mouse anyway, just to get at its pinhead-sized Core. It wasn¡¯t like the body would offer much benefit to him in any other way. The Core itself turned out to be potentially interesting ¨C if he could get enough of them, of course. [Hop (T0): Add extra distance to a leap with both back feet. Distance increases depending on level. Higher levels may offer extra benefits such as a double jump.] The annoying thing was that he could definitely use this Ability against the arboreal kesh ¨C especially the double jump which was highlighted as being one of the potential longer-term benefits. Oh well, he sighed to himself as they padded back to the pride. At least it was a better Ability than some of the ones he¡¯d picked up recently. He now had two Abilities in the course of being acquired which were to do with spikes ¨C Spike Attack and Poisonous Spikes. He didn¡¯t even have any spikes! As for Enhanced Scales and Loose Skin, two of the other Abilities he¡¯d added recently, they were equally as useless, gained incidentally more than intentionally ¨C Leo seemed to have an obsession with absorbing Cores, even when they were obviously not particularly useful. Speaking of not useful, Dominic¡¯s eyes gleamed as he set his gaze on a member of the pride who was about to become useful. Willingly or not. Chapter 25: In Sight Dominic jogged through the trees once more, this time alone. If he could sweat, his fur would look like he¡¯d just been swimming. As it was, his nervousness was less obvious, but still very much present. Almost religiously, he checked his storage space every few moments, making sure nothing had changed. Each time, it was fine, but then he¡¯d check it again a few seconds later. Far too much hung on a success with this initial gambit. He felt eyes on him, saw some movement through the treetops though no kesh came to speak to him directly. He¡¯d already covered that earlier: he¡¯d ¡®paid¡¯ sixty Prey Points for his passage and a promise to discuss a pact with the kesh on condition of victory. The leader had wanted more details, more solidity on the pact itself but Dominic had refused. He hadn¡¯t wanted to pay a hundred Prey Points, but he was more willing to do that than to concede terms at that moment to the greedy monkey-like creature. The leader had clearly recognised that and had given in with bad grace. It wasn¡¯t that Dominic was planning on having a long-term relationship with the kesh ¨C certainly not the one the leader presented ¨C but he didn¡¯t want to promise something he had no intention of delivering. Not only was betrayal a slippery slope ¨C after all, if he didn¡¯t keep his word to the kesh, perhaps some of his pride might start wondering if he would keep his word to them ¨C but he didn¡¯t know whether in this new world words might have more power than in his old. Actual, enforceable power. Better safe than sorry ¨C he didn¡¯t want to find out too late that breaking his word wasn¡¯t possible, or would curse him or something. So that led to him minimising the cost by coming through alone. Or at least, that¡¯s what the kesh saw. Dominic checked his storage space again. Everything was fine. Good. Time passed and the number of movements around Dominic reduced to nothing. The closer he got to the sonic wolves¡¯ territory, the fewer other creatures there seemed to be. He kept checking his storage space. Each time it was fine, until it wasn¡¯t. A stab of fear went through him as he saw that some were starting to lose health points. He needed to hurry this up. Once the clearing was in sight, Dominic slowed down and pressed himself to the ground. It was time. He was banking on the kesh not wanting to come too close to the clearing ¨C with their vibration attack, the sonic wolves would surely be a threat even if they couldn¡¯t reach the monkey-like creatures. Certainly, he hadn¡¯t seen any signs of kesh following him for a while. One by one, he pulled the lionesses out of his storage space, letting each move away from his paw before he pulled the next. They each took their cues from him, lying down in the undergrowth. ¡®That was unpleasant,¡¯ Sekhmet told him, grooming her paws and face as if to wash off the feel of the storage space. ¡®I agree,¡¯ said Menhit, shaking her fur vigorously before she lay down. ¡®I quite liked it,¡¯ offered Jenkins, as ever the voice of dissent. ¡®It felt safe.¡¯ Neither Anuke nor Hathor offered an opinion, not seeming to care either way. The other lionesses chimed in with feelings across the pride chat, a mix between thorough dislike from Isis and tentative enjoyment from Zarini. Dominic was just happy they were all fine. None had lost more than a handful of health points which, considering the amount of time they were in there, was as much as he could ask for. Of course, he had tested extensively with Prince before the sun set since, all things considered, he was the most expendable of the Pride. He wasn¡¯t happy to do it, but Dominic had made it clear that he either cooperated or was kicked out then and there ¨C Leo in full support. Apparently that was enough to make him willing. Begrudgingly. Not that it would have mattered if he hadn¡¯t agreed ¨C the mouse had proved that he didn''t need agreement to put creatures into his storage space. But the feelings and thoughts that Prince was able to report back to the lions, limited as they were, helped Dominic understand exactly what he would be putting his lionesses through ¨C and the lionesses knew precisely what they were agreeing to. After finding out exactly how long a lion could stay in his storage space before their health points started declining ¨C and learning that he could get a sense of their health bar when they were in his space to begin with ¨C Dominic went to speak to the kesh. The intelligent monkey-like creature had been confused about why the lion was paying then but not actually going through, but Dominic had¡­extrapolated the truth. He¡¯d said that since he was planning to head through at night, he didn¡¯t want to bother the kesh at his actual time of departure since they seemed to be more active in the daytime. At that point he let slip a bit of information which Dominic made careful note of ¨C it could be useful later. ¡®We¡¯re here?¡¯ Anuke asked, bringing everyone¡¯s attention back to the task at hand. ¡®Almost,¡¯ Dominic said through the Pride chat. ¡®The clearing is ahead of us, but I don¡¯t know whether all the wolves are there, and I¡¯m hesitant to move forwards myself.¡¯ The downside to Dominic¡¯s growth which even Leo had to admit was that he was starting to get a bit too big for traditional stealth. If he could gain a magical Ability which would help him hide, that would be ideal, but it wouldn¡¯t be soon enough for this fight. It was thus fortunate that there were lionesses in his Pride who were both stealthy and Stealthy. ¡®Hathor, Mara, Menhit, would you take a look, please?¡¯ The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The three lionesses sent assent and then sneaked away. Hathor was the only one with an actual Stealth Ability, but Mara and Menhit had Sure Feet which they had discovered helped them move more quietly. At least, their feet seemed to have an enhanced ability to avoid noisy areas. In addition to a lioness¡¯s natural abilities to stalk their prey, he was confident in all three of them. Dominic had been a bit hesitant to bring Tier 1 lionesses into this fight and Leo even more so ¨C the idea of bringing the potential mothers of his cubs go into danger was enough to make him almost veto the whole endeavour. Not to mention a pregnant lioness. Probably it was only the fact that, while Menhit was starting to show her pregnancy, they weren¡¯t his cubs that made him agree to having her join the group. The problem was that there were only six Tier 2 pride members. One of them needed to stay with the cubs and the rest of the Pride since neither of them completely trusted the other adults to look after cubs of lionesses who were not blood related to them. Nor would they trust the three males around their original pride¡¯s cubs. So that meant Neith, as the one who actually had cubs to look after, had to stay with the pride as their temporary leader, and the number of available Tier 2 lionesses was reduced to five. Bringing Isis was a bit of a risk as she was still level 9, but Dominic was hoping that her Protective Mother Ability might be useful in the fight. In the end, the former-human had handpicked the Tier 1 lionesses, choosing the ones which had the most useful Abilities. Taking advantage of one of them, Dominic focussed on sending a message to Cleo. ¡®Do you sense anything?¡¯ She took a moment to think about it, then sent a response, making it available on the chat for everyone to access. She¡¯d heard movement from the clearing up ahead, and smelt something which no one but Leo recognised. ¡®The wolves,¡¯ he said grimly, putting his thought in the chat so the lionesses could all know the scent of their enemy. After a few more moments, Cleo sent them all another sense message ¨C this one of the scents which filled the air around them. Unsurprisingly, they were clearly deep within wolf territory. If the scent of their marking that even Dominic¡¯s nose picked up didn¡¯t tell him that, Cleo¡¯s message which identified just how much they passed through the area would. Still, it didn¡¯t appear that they were about to attack, so the lions waited for the three scouts to come back. Dominic kept watchful attention on the pride chat in case one of them sent a message about being in trouble. When Hathor came back, she did it so surreptitiously that Dominic almost attacked her when she appeared. ¡®What? She just came out of nowhere, suddenly under my nose!¡¯ Dominic told Leo defensively in response to his wordless reprimand. Then huffing quietly, he focussed back on the lioness. ¡®What did you see?¡¯ Instead of giving him an explanation, she put an image in the group chat. It showed the wolves gathered in the centre at the foot of the massive tree. One of the moons was up, shedding plenty of light for Hathor¡¯s excellent night vision to see exactly what was happening. The wolves appeared to be sleeping, curled up together. It was hard for Dominic to count just how many there were with the way their body parts were interwoven, but he caught glimpses of at least seven wolves sleeping together. He would guess that there were probably ten or so there, and then there were three others who were on guard. For a moment Dominic feared that they might have spotted one of the lionesses with their odd antennae, but the lack of stirring indicated that even if they had, no one had raised the alarm. The former human started plotting. The first attack had to count ¨C they were already outnumbered and the level 7 lionesses would definitely be far outmatched one on one. The bonuses offered by Pounce ¨C and Zarini¡¯s Ambush ¨C would have to tilt the odds in their favour. Not long after, Menhit returned, the moonlight glinting off the beginnings of curves in her belly. Dominic had another moment of doubt ¨C should he stop her joining the attack? If she was slowed because of the cubs she was carrying she could be in real danger. But she had been so insistent on coming when she¡¯d heard what he was planning¡­. ¡®No prey around the clearing. No signs of any patrols,¡¯ she told them all. ¡®Good time to attack.¡¯ ¡®About that¡­¡¯ he said to her. ¡®Look, I know you want to attack with us, but¡­maybe it would be better if you stay here ¨C provide backup.¡¯ She looked at him with her yellow predator¡¯s eyes, sharp and piercing. ¡®Fight with my sisters,¡¯ she said firmly, her tone not leaving any room for doubt. Dominic eyed her for a long moment. ¡®What do you think?¡¯ he asked Leo, feeling a little helpless. The lion sent him a sense of a shrug. ¡®Female lions are fierce and protective. I wouldn¡¯t argue with her. If she is willing to take her unborn cubs into battle, it is because she is confident she will survive it. And without her, we are all less likely to make it through.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic accepted with a sense of a sigh, looking away from Menhit. The lioness made a low moaning sound of approval, clearly reading his agreement from his body language. ¡®Here¡¯s what we need to do.¡¯ Chapter 26: The Players In Place The stage was set, the players in place. Nerves had been making Dominic¡¯s stomach feel filled with butterflies up until now, but now that they¡¯d actually settled into position, his nerves had vanished. All that mattered was the hunt and keeping his lionesses safe. And winning. That was important too. ¡®Now,¡¯ he breathed silently, sending the message through the pride chat. As if one body, the whole pride of lions leapt, their passage through the air almost silent. Almost. One of the sentries spotted them, but not in enough time to warn its group. The lions landed, claws and teeth ripping into the sleeping and vulnerable wolves. Dominic had both Powerful Swipe and Crushing Bite dialled up to the max for this first strike ¨C go big or go home. And it had results. [You have killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 17)] [You have earned 15 PP] [A member of your party has killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 17)] [You have earned 16 PP] [A member of your party has killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 17)] [You have earned 16 PP] Finally, he had a name for the things. Not wasting any time, he grabbed at the ameshek which was half lying on the one he had just killed. It had just awoken, and confusion filled its eyes as it tried to catch up with what had just happened. Not giving it any time to regroup, Dominic struck at its head biting off its antennae. It moaned, the sound making his ears and joints ache. It started trying to shift but Dominic pushed through the pain and sank his teeth in its throat. Its moan stopped with a gargle and he bit down harder. [A member of your party has killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 17)] [You have earned 16 PP] Go girls! Dominic thought even as he bit through the ameshek¡¯s throat and spine with a sharp snap and wet squelch that made him shudder a little inside. [You have killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 18)] [You have earned 16 PP] Then their freebies were done. Dominic felt like he was hit by a truck as he was knocked sideways off the dead ameshek bodies. He slid across the ground, barely staying on his feet. Leaping sideways instinctively, he avoided the strike which was aimed for his hindquarters, then bared his teeth at the ameshek. The wolven creature bared its own teeth at him, its antennae waving furiously. One of the guarding wolves had got involved. From further away, Dominic had a better view on the battle, and a battle it was indeed. The previously quiet clearing now boiled with activity. It was easy enough to tell lions from wolves ¨C their different coloured fur was clear even in the moonlight. It was just as clear that even if they had had the luck of killing three amesheks with the first blow and then two more quickly after, that wasn¡¯t going to win them the battle. Not even ten seconds into the fight and already he could see that the lower level lionesses in particular were heavily disadvantaged. Worry filled him as he saw that Mara already had less than half-health ¨C blood covered her flank and she was limping. Two other lionesses had also taken heavy strikes, though he couldn¡¯t tell who they were in the mere glance that he could spare the fight. Dominic dodged a strike from the ameshek in front of him ¨C he needed to deal with this creature before he could return to the battle and help the beleaguered lionesses. But first, something to help all of them. Standing firm, Dominic filled his lungs with air, and then roared. For the long moment of his majestic cry, everyone stood still. Then, as it trailed off, bedlam broke loose. The ameshek in front of him leapt for him with a snarl of its own, an ominous vibration already building. Unable to spare any attention for the lionesses, Dominic used Quick Strike to leap at the creature, targeting its antennae. It was quick and avoided his lunge, but he used Rapid Attack to quickly twist himself and launch another attack. This time, he was successful. Dominic growled as his paws came into contact with the painfully vibrating antenna, but he struck it with force, ripping it right off the ameshek¡¯s head. The wolven creature moaned and once more the sound ripped right through Dominic. However, just as before, he pushed through the pain and struck at the other antenna. With only one of the creatures, it wasn¡¯t powerful enough to paralyse him. The ameshek tried to escape his strike but, perhaps impaired by the loss of the first, didn¡¯t move quite fast enough. The second antenna fell to the ground. Exhilaration filling him, Dominic leapt once more towards the wolf, using his bulk to drive it to the ground and ripping out its throat. [You have killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 17)] If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. [You have earned 15 PP] He turned to the battle, exhilaration transforming into horror as he saw the mess it had become. Three of the lionesses were lying limply on the ground, their bodies messes of blood and flesh. Dominic roared again, running faster than he ever had before to get to them. Less than a second later, he slammed into an ameshek which was about to sink its teeth into the belly of one downed lioness. His mind working on overdrive, he dumped a load of the carcasses he still had in his storage space on top of the lionesses in between biting and swiping at the ameshek in front of him and the second one which had turned to snarl at him. ¡®Consume the bodies!¡¯ he yelled into the chat, biting off one of the ameshek¡¯s antennae. They started moaning softly, the sound biting at his joints, his ears, his gums. More of the creatures took up the call and with horror Dominic realised that his health bar was dropping. Not a lot, and not fast, but he had Regeneration ¨C the lionesses didn¡¯t. Worse, it felt like the howls were even stronger now than they had been before. He needed to do something! Filling his lungs, he roared, the sound melding with and then drowning out the sound of the combined ameshek¡¯s howl. His health stopped dropping and the pain stopped too. But he only had so much breath. ¡®Leona, Stunning Roar now!¡¯ he ordered urgently, hoping beyond hope that she wasn¡¯t one of the ones behind him who might very well be already dead. Another roar came to join his just as he had to stop to take in air. Leona¡¯s roar was a fraction the strength of his, but it was enough to stave off the worst of the Ability. Even better, it gave Dominic the time to make a move. The ameshek in front of him stopped howling as soon as he sank his teeth in the bared throat, but started vibrating instead; this was one with both antennae intact. Remembering what had happened the first time, Dominic dialled Crushing Bite up to max for a couple of seconds, then yanked with all his strength. The ameshek¡¯s throat tore apart like it was made of paper, blood pouring out to spill upon the ground. [You have killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 18)] [You have earned 17 PP] The howl faded away, the ameshek obviously running out of breath just as much as Dominic had. Lunging for the injured creature, it managed to avoid his attack ¨C just. Another notification flashed up. [A member of your party has killed Ameshek (Tier 2 Beast level 17)] [You have earned 16 PP] The lionesses were doing well ¨C Dominic hadn¡¯t kept a perfect count, but they must have been most of the way there by now, right? ¡®Not quite,¡¯ Leo told him grimly even as he managed to land a blow on the ameshek¡¯s flank, its blood spilling out of the glancing slash. ¡®Eight down, at least five to go. And from what I¡¯ve seen there are more in the pile than we thought.¡¯ ¡®Hell,¡¯ Dominic cursed, his frustration mounting as the ameshek managed to avoid another attack. He suspected that their howl attack had some sort of cooldown, so it made sense for them to stall. But time was not the lions¡¯ friend. ¡®Have we lost anyone?¡¯ he asked, not wanting to know, but needing to. ¡®Yes.¡¯ The knowledge hit him like a cannonball to the gut. ¡®Who?¡¯ ¡®Mara,¡¯ Leo told him darkly. ¡®And Menhit, Cleo, Leona, and Jenkins are very low on health.¡¯ Dominic bit back another curse. I need to get them out of here! he said to himself frantically. They need space to heal! As if hearing his words, the ameshek pulled back for a moment. Dominic didn¡¯t take a moment to wonder why, he sent quick orders for the lionesses to regroup and for Isis to protect them, moving himself to check on the three lionesses who had fallen before he got there. Two were now moving weakly and he quickly dragged a couple of carcasses closer for them to absorb. The third ¨C Mara ¨C just lay there limply, past all help. Guilt and regret ignited the anger in his heart and he clenched his teeth together as he turned to see the rest of the lionesses limping towards them. The ameshek were being surprisingly non-hostile, pulling back to gather at the foot of the massive tree at the centre of the clearing. It allowed even those who were down to the last ten percent of their health ¨C or lower ¨C the space to get to their circle. They were all looking very much worse for wear, and dived upon the pile of bodies Dominic had dumped out of his storage space. He was glad that he had packed as many in with the lionesses as he could, even if he¡¯d had to leave some behind with the rest of the pride. He didn¡¯t care if the wolven creatures learned to Consume from watching them ¨C the health of his lionesses came first. He kept darting glances around, but nothing tried to attack them, none of the amesheks tried to take advantage of their inattention. The lionesses¡¯ health improved with every carcass they absorbed, Dominic¡¯s heart rate slowing down a little. Then, wondering what the amesheks were up to, he looked back at them and realised that in fact the situation had just got worse: a new player had arrived on the scene. The newcomer was another ameshek, but as comparable to the ones around it as a shark was to tuna. It was bigger for one, much bigger. Sleeker too, like its whole body had some sort of layer of armour on top of it instead of fur. Its antennae were shorter, but seemed sturdier; its teeth gleaming and sharp. For the first time in a long while, Dominic wondered whether the new opponent on the scene might actually be a higher level than him. The wolven creature bared its teeth at him and Dominic unconsciously connected to its mind. Why, he didn¡¯t know. ¡®So, you have come to take my domain from me, have you?¡¯ Dominic was caught off guard at just how smooth the lead ameshek¡¯s voice was ¨C since what else could it be but the leader? ¡®Very well. Let us fight.¡¯ [A challenge has been issued: Duel for the Place of Power. This challenge is to death or submission. Submission will give the victor the power to decide the loser¡¯s fate. Note, no outside intervention is permitted during the challenge. Note also that for reasons of fairness, both participants will be returned to full health at the start of the challenge. Accept or Decline?] Chapter 27: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down Dominic stared at the ameshek. It looked¡­tough. He¡¯d been pleasantly surprised with how easy the other ameshek had been to kill ¨C for him. After all, his original encounter had seen him coming off worse from a fight with their smallest, maybe weakest member. But this one looked like trouble. What choice did he have, though? He darted a look around the area. The other ameshek had formed up at their leader¡¯s side and were looking at the lions with angry gazes. There were seven of the smaller ones, two more than they had estimated. Their wounds were healing before Dominic¡¯s eyes, even though they weren¡¯t absorbing any carcasses. Within far too short a time, they would be at full health again. At the same time, Dominic¡¯s lionesses were also healing by absorbing the carcasses, and the blurring he caught out of the corner of his eye indicated that some were taking advantage of the pause to level up. However, the fight had proved that their much lower levels were a big problem if the bonuses of Pounce were taken off the table. Not to mention that their health pools were probably much smaller than the wolves ¨C the remaining Tier 1s anyway. And with seven wolves and seven lionesses, they wouldn¡¯t be able to leverage numbers either. For a moment, Dominic just cursed at the situation. At the wolves for somehow still beating the lionesses in levels despite all the hunting they¡¯d been doing. At the leader for being there. At himself for pulling them into the fight at all. I should have spent more time levelling them up, he moaned to himself, though knew that, at the time, maintaining the element of surprise had been the reason he hadn¡¯t. With the kesh as mercenary as they were, he¡¯d feared that they might choose to warn the wolves. ¡®Pull yourself together,¡¯ Leo snapped at him, as ever his anchor to reality. ¡®Are we accepting it or are we going to run for it? If the lionesses jump into our storage space we can probably outstrip the ameshek.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not so sure about that,¡¯ Dominic refuted. ¡®We tried that before and barely got out with our lives and that was when the wolves were a lot lower level. And even if we could get away, then what? Just run away with our tails between our legs? If they choose to attack the rest of the pride, we¡¯ll be practically offering them Prey Points on four legs. And I¡¯m not sure that the storage space idea would work anyway, not with Big Boy over there. It takes time to get them all in one by one and he¡¯ll be on us in seconds.¡¯ ¡®So you¡¯re going to be suicidal?¡¯ Leo growled angrily. ¡®Throw all of our lives away in one fell swoop? If we die, what do you think will happen to the females?¡¯ That was a good point. Dominic looked up at the large ameshek. ¡®If I agree to your challenge, it¡¯ll only be between you and me, OK? If I lose, you let my lionesses go.¡¯ He tried to sound firm and confident, but feared that his nerves came through nonetheless. The ameshek took a moment to consider his demand . ¡®If you agree to the same about my pack too, then very well. Win or lose, the conditions affect only us two.¡¯ ¡®Agreed,¡¯ Dominic said, his throat feeling tight. He was glad that he didn¡¯t need to use it to speak. He felt the choice of accepting the challenge become more urgent ¨C clearly he couldn¡¯t leave it dangling much longer. But first, his lionesses. ¡®If I die, you all go back to the pride. Take them away from here. Go conquer new territory. Get stronger and stay together.¡¯ He swallowed; if he could cry he bet his eyes would be misty at that moment. Just as well he couldn¡¯t ¨C tears wouldn¡¯t help him in the slightest. ¡®I¡¯ve been so proud to get to know all of you.¡¯ Their responses ranged from grim acceptance, to angry denial. But it warmed him that all of them expressed pride and gratitude for his presence. Not one admonished him for bringing them into this situation in the first place, though he felt like they really should. Turning to the large ameshek, he accepted the challenge, seeing his stamina bar refill and his health bar top itself off. Immediately after that, he activated Momentous Charge. The ground between him and the leader was eaten up in a matter of moments. The ameshek almost seemed to be moving in slow motion as Dominic¡¯s processing kicked up a notch thanks to his adrenaline. He saw it starting to move, preparing to dodge. That wouldn¡¯t do. While he couldn¡¯t change the angle of his charge, he could increase its speed. Triggering Quick Strike with its higher speed, Dominic shot forwards like he¡¯d been fired from a gun. The ameshek had no way to avoid the charge in time. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Apparently it couldn¡¯t see through the illusion either: Dominic slammed into the wolven creature with such force that its sleek outer layer cracked and it was sent stumbling back several steps. Dominic himself wasn¡¯t completely unharmed either, though ¨C he hadn¡¯t realised that his momentum could work both ways and his health bar had taken a hit. He stepped back, feeling slightly dazed, shaking his head to try to clear it. Movement in front of him made him instinctively dodge sideways and the attack bit deeply into his shoulder instead of his face or throat. He growled angrily, and then in pain as the ameshek started vibrating and tugging at it as if to treat him like a dog¡¯s chew toy. He was too big for the beast to actually lift him, but it was painful and damaging nonetheless. He couldn¡¯t try to pull away: that would worsen his wound even further. Twitching his tongue several times, he filled his mouth with acid. Then, once he had a big wad of it, he opened his mouth and did his best to spit and dribble it over the ameshek¡¯s head. The wolven beast howled as its protective outer layer started to steam and hiss, curling up to reveal that it was made out of individual strands. Some weird change to its fur, Dominic had to guess. Its howl was terribly painful for Dominic to hear, but it let go of his shoulder in an attempt to scratch the acid off. Somehow, unlike its brethren, it was able to move while howling ¨C they had seemed stuck in place. It must have been because of the higher level of the Ability: Dominic could barely move for the pain that was running through his body, locking up his joints, and threatening to deafen him. In defence, he roared loudly. Even his strongest roar seemed unable to completely overcome the ever pervasive howl, but it eliminated most of the pain preventing him from attacking. Striking with his paws, using Rapid Attack to refresh his actions and Powerful Swipe to add more damage, he continued roaring while giving the old one-two. He battered the ameshek, striking at its face, at its shoulders, at its antennae, only pausing to let his Rapid Attack refresh when its stamina cost got too high. He got acid on his paws, but the pain wasn¡¯t anything like that of the howl. The ameshek gave as good as it got. Deciding that he was more of a threat than the acid still coating it, it continued howling, striking at him with its own acid-coated front paws. Then, as if both of them had decided that keeping the auditory warfare going was pointless, the roar and howl stopped almost simultaneously. They looked at each other for a moment, then snarled and lunged for each other. Jaws met and locked ¨C Dominic took savage glee in sending spitballs of acid straight into the ameshek¡¯s mouth. It yelped and disengaged, looking both surprised and panicked. Dominic pressed the attack, lunging for its throat. It dodged back, so he kept going. The wolven creature might be half again his size, but that just meant he had a better angle to get at its windpipe. Their fight deteriorated into an ugly brawl of snapping teeth and swiping claws. Dominic¡¯s claws were definitely better at dealing damage, but his smaller size meant that he had more difficulty getting close enough to the important areas with them, without exposing himself too much. That didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t having an effect, though ¨C the ameshek¡¯s protective outer layer was cracked and rent in multiple places, unable to stand up against the power of Dominic¡¯s teeth and claws. Dominic himself dodged as many of the attacks as he could, but he was still covered in blood from those which had got through. Their health bars were both getting low, and Dominic¡¯s stamina was almost bottoming out, despite the effects of Enhanced Stamina. But the lion had an answer to that. Triggering Second Wind, he saw both soar higher. The ameshek paused for a moment in surprise ¨C could it see Dominic¡¯s bars like Dominic could? Either way, the lion took full advantage of the momentary pause. Triggering Quick Strike again, he shot for the opening, grabbing the ameshek around its neck and biting at its throat. The outer layer was thicker here than in other places and resisted his teeth, but by dialling Crushing Bite up to its max for a brief second, Dominic found himself crunching through. More blood came to join what was already in his mouth and he pumped as much acid into the wound as he could. The ameshek went mad, trying to throw him off, shake him free. It set its claws into his belly and tried to pry him loose. Like what had happened with the chimera, Dominic saw his own health drop as the claws slashed up his belly, pain almost the only thing he could feel. But he held on tightly. There was one difference between this and the chimera ¨C this time it was Dominic with Regeneration. Plus, he¡¯d started with more health thanks to Second Wind. The ameshek slowed, its movements becoming sluggish as its health bar approached empty. It slumped down on the ground, making a half-hearted final attempt to squash Dominic into letting go. He didn¡¯t, even if the weight of the ameshek was significant. ¡®I submit,¡¯ the weak voice drifted into his mind, its owner almost spent. A notification flashed up in front of Dominic¡¯s eyes. [Congratulations! You have forced your opponent to submit. You have won the challenge: Duel for the Place of Power. You can now decide your opponent¡¯s fate. Choose death and access her bodily enhancements. Choose life and your opponent will be partially healed, owing her life to you, giving you a choice of how tightly to hold it. Make your decision: thumbs up or thumbs down? Time to choose: 10 seconds.] Thoughts ran through Dominic¡¯s tired mind like ants in an anthill. If he chose life, it sounded like he¡¯d lose access to the normal enhancement screen. Yet, equally, if he chose life it sounded like he would still have power over the ameshek ¨C they could be good allies to have. But what if they didn¡¯t want to be? He might gamble on it and then lose everything. At least if he chose death, he knew exactly what would happen. With time running out, he made his choice. Chapter 28: Doesn’t Come Back To Bite Us ¡®Thumbs up,¡¯ he thought at the message, watching the words dissolve before his eyes. ¡®What did you do that for?¡¯ demanded Leo a moment later. ¡®I thought you wanted the Place of Power? And surely that big dog would have been worth plenty of Prey Points!¡¯ The health bar of the large wolf-like ameshek filled a little, the worst of its ¨C her ¨C wounds healing. She still had a long way to go before she would be fully healed, but a few carcases would solve that easily enough. About to reply to Leo, though with what, Dominic wasn¡¯t sure, he was interrupted by a new message appearing before their eyes. [You have chosen to spare a defeated opponent. User7T54L231264M39S633 now owes you a life debt. This life debt can be redeemed in a number of ways: - Service (duration of the period depends on the type of service) - Vassalship (possible as both Users are leaders of groups). - Protection (if User7T54L231264M39S633 saves the life of Dominic Martin Cole/Leo, the life debt will be declared null and void). Until the life debt is redeemed, User7T54L231264M39S633 may not act in any way which brings harm to Dominic Martin Cole/Leo or those under his protection. ] Dominic had a feeling that he would need to choose one of the options, but he didn¡¯t want to before speaking to the wolf. Ameshek. He¡¯d made the decision under the pressure of time and still wasn¡¯t sure if it had been the right one. At least it looked like, whatever else was going to happen, the big leader was unable to harm any of the lions. Her pack was probably another question, but hopefully she would be able to keep control of them. And hopefully she¡¯d be inclined to keep control of them. Dominic mentally sighed ¨C he definitely needed to get more information about the options: this was all new ground. But for now, being distracted by notifications could spell disaster. Dismissing the message, he looked around at the scene. Everyone was frozen. Not in the sense of some sort of magic or ice effect or something, but more that no one dared to make the first move. Dominic sighed again ¨C he guessed that it was up to him to break the standoff. ¡®Are you going to explain why you decided to save that canine¡¯s life?¡¯ Leo asked a little waspishly. ¡®When we could have benefitted much more from its death?¡¯ ¡®Not now, Leo,¡¯ Dominic thought back at him. ¡®Let¡¯s just defuse the situation, then I¡¯ll explain as much as you want. Or you can try to go back through my thoughts and work it out for yourself.¡¯ The lion huffed derisively. ¡®As if that mess of guts makes any sense in a normal situation.¡¯ He huffed again. ¡®I¡¯ll wait. For now. But what are you going to do?¡¯ It was a good question; Dominic didn¡¯t know. The ameshek leader was still lying motionless on the ground. She was alive, but seemed to be unconscious. Dominic hoped that that wasn¡¯t because he hadn¡¯t yet chosen which life debt option he wanted to take ¨C he would really prefer to speak to the creature first. Taking a step forward, he was met by growls from the other ameshek. Three of them even stepped forwards, lowering their heads menacingly, a hint of vibration to their vocalisations. Dominic growled back at them, showing his teeth. At the same time, he tried to make telepathic contact with them. ¡®I¡¯m just checking on your leader. If I wanted to kill her, I would have just done so. Back off!¡¯ To his surprise, their growls cut out, their heads lifting and antennae twitching as if in confusion. Two of the ameshek stepped back; the third stayed in place. ¡®I stay with you. You hurt her, I attack,¡¯ a voice said to Dominic. A little surprised, the lion realised that it came from the ameshek who had remained in place. Interesting, it seems like all Tier 2 beasts become able to talk, he couldn¡¯t help but think. Maybe his own effect on Sekhmet and the others hadn¡¯t been as big as he¡¯d thought it was. But this was not the time to consider such things. ¡®Fine,¡¯ he said after a moment. It was unlikely that the ameshek would get in a killing blow straight off so, even if it attacked, Dominic would be able to quickly teach it the error of its ways. He hoped that it wouldn¡¯t, though ¨C he¡¯d promised the ameshek leader that the loser¡¯s pack would be given free passage out of the winner¡¯s domain. Starting a battle over her unconscious body probably wasn¡¯t what she¡¯d intended. Moving forwards carefully in case this was a feint and the ameshek leader was actually going to try something ¨C despite the notification saying that she shouldn¡¯t be able to ¨C Dominic was joined by the lower level ameshek. ¡®Keep an eye on it, would you?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo, knowing the lion would be able to keep better track of his peripheral vision than Dominic would himself, distracted by the leader. ¡®Already doing it,¡¯ Leo grunted, sounding slightly offended, probably at the suggestion that he wouldn¡¯t have already thought of it. Dominic stopped when he was near the ameshek¡¯s body. It was definitely large, but collapsed on the ground like this, its size wasn¡¯t so obvious. Nor was the reason for its continued unconsciousness. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Its health was stable at around 25%, not rising very fast, but not dropping either. Clearly, its regeneration wasn¡¯t particularly enhanced, certainly nothing like his which had already got his health to near full in the time since the end of the fight. Still, the fact that it wasn¡¯t dropping was a good sign and an indication that that wasn¡¯t the issue with her ongoing unconsciousness. Prowling around her, accompanied by the threatening shadow of the ameshek, Dominic looked for any indication of a wound or something which might have knocked her unconscious. Returning to her head, he watched the slow twitches of the stubby antennae, the steady inhale and exhale. Leaning forwards, he nudged her shoulder with his nose, but still nothing. Letting out a great gust of air in a sigh, he had to guess that the issue was indeed what he¡¯d hoped it wasn¡¯t. Sitting back, he looked at the ameshek which had accompanied him, reaching out to touch its mind again. ¡®What wrong with leader?¡¯ the ameshek demanded, its lips lifting off its teeth again. ¡®What you done?¡¯ Dominic ignored its questions. ¡®I¡¯m going to do something which I hope will wake your leader up. Don¡¯t interrupt me. If you attack me, I will kill you,¡¯ he warned. ¡®Hurt leader, I kill you,¡¯ the ameshek warned in return, but it sat too, looking very much like a dog who had been told to sit while having a cat in front of it that it would dearly like to attack. Only, unlike the typical dog and cat, Dominic was bigger than the ameshek and certainly packed a much worse bite and more damaging claws. If it came down to it, they both knew who would win. ¡®What is happening?¡¯ asked Sekhmet in the pride chat, the other lionesses sending wordless messages of confusion, impatience, and concern. ¡®Do we attack?¡¯ ¡®Not now,¡¯ Dominic sent back to them, feeling a sudden flash of shame about practically ignoring them. He really should have updated them long before now, but he¡¯d been too distracted with the leader¡¯s condition. ¡®I defeated the leader, and I have to make a choice about what to do with her. I think that¡¯s the only way she will wake up. These other guys are antsy because she¡¯s still unconscious and they¡¯re worried that I¡¯m going to do something to her.¡¯ ¡®We come, defend you?¡¯ asked Anuke, practical as always. ¡®No, I¡¯m fine. But thanks,¡¯ Dominic said quickly. ¡®I doubt they¡¯ll take me down in one hit ¨C you can come and protect me then. But until that point, I think it¡¯s more likely to provoke a fight than stop one.¡¯ The lionesses returned to their quiet vigil without too much of a fight ¨C by this point they had come to trust him enough to let this play out. Feeling more reassured that battle wasn¡¯t a whisker away from breaking out again. Dominic recalled the notification that had come up before. Hoping that he would get more information, he focussed on ¡®service¡¯ and ¡®vassalship¡¯ in turn. [Service ¨C a state which can be entered into in a variety of ways, consensual and non-consensual. Limits of the service may be bound by contracts, verbal, magical, and written. Non-consensual, non-contractual service may be achieved by defeating an opponent and compelling their service. In the case of a life debt, the terms of service are decided by the debtee and the period of service by the System. The more counter to the debtor¡¯s wishes and inclinations the service is, the shorter the period of the life debt.] Dominic read the description a few times, with each read-through finding himself more and more disturbed by its implications. He shivered at the thought of just what a debtee could demand from the debtor. Right then and there, he decided that if he was in this situation again, and on the losing side, that he would do his best to just die. Because from the sound of it, he could be compelled to do anything with just the consequence of a shorter term of service. But it wouldn¡¯t help him much if he was ordered to kill all his lionesses and the period of service was long enough to allow it. Obviously, he wouldn¡¯t be demanding that the ameshek did that. However, part of the problem was that without the ameshek able to give input, he wasn¡¯t able to know what her ¡®wishes and inclinations¡¯ were, so he had no idea if whatever ¡®service¡¯ he asked for was counter to them. Which was problematic on two counts ¨C one, that he did not want to compel unwilling service, two that if he accidentally asked for something which was too counter to the ameshek¡¯s desires, he would end up with a short period of service. [Vassalship ¨C a state in which a leader is subordinate to another leader. This can be as a result of a mutually beneficial agreement, or as a result of conquest. In the latter case, the vassal may be obliged to offer a service to the leader with little service provided in return. If the vassal has fulfilled all obligations, the leader is in turn obliged to protect their vassals if requested. Vassalship can be ended by either party. By the leader at any moment; by the vassal if the leader has failed to fulfil their obligations. Note that even in cases of conquest, by establishing a vassalship, the leader is required to acknowledge and protect their vassal¡¯s place as the leader of their subordinate group, and may not ask for services which put the vassal or their group at unreasonable risk of harm without full knowledge and consent. Breaching either of these conditions is ground for the ending of the vassalship if the vassal so wishes.] This one didn¡¯t mention anything about life-debts, but by reading between the lines Dominic had to conclude that it would be considered to be as a result of conquest ¨C there had been no chance for him and the ameshek to discuss what the mutual obligations would be, so he guessed that they would just be the automatic ones. There was no mention of duration on this one, though there did seem to be limits on the power of the¡­overlord? What would be the term to describe the lord of the vassal? Anyway, there seemed to be more limits on his power, namely that he couldn¡¯t replace the ameshek as the leader of the pack, and he couldn¡¯t use them as suicide troops without their agreement. But that was fine. While he was still thinking about it, Second Wind¡¯s timer abruptly ran out, taking a chunk of his stamina and health. Dominic grunted a little in pain, but otherwise did his best not to let on what had just happened. Honestly, the choice seemed obvious for him. Perhaps if he wanted to use someone for a short term mission which required him to send them into danger against their wishes, then service would work better, but for now, he reckoned that vassalship would offer him much more benefit. ¡®Do you agree, Leo?¡¯ he asked, wanting to check with the lion who shared head-room with him. ¡®I don¡¯t even know why you want to keep these vibrating wolves around in the first place,¡¯ Leo grumbled. ¡®Why would I care exactly how you intend to do so?¡¯ Dominic sent him a mental shrug. ¡®Alright then, if you don¡¯t care, I¡¯ll go with vassalship.¡¯ ¡®Whatever,¡¯ the lion dismissed. ¡®As long as it doesn¡¯t come back to bite us.¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t make any promises, but he hoped the same thing. ¡®Vassalship¡¯ he picked decisively, then waited with bated breath to see what happened next. Chapter 29: Strengthening In the end, he was a little disappointed at the lack of fanfare ¨C nothing seemed to happen in acknowledgement of his choice. Not until he noticed that the ameshek¡¯s eyes were open and gazing at him. Evidently his theory about the creature being kept in an unconscious state until he¡¯d made a choice was right. ¡®Are you OK?¡¯ he sent to the creature, feeling more than a little awkward. How was he supposed to start a conversation with a creature he¡¯d just almost killed, and then turned into a vassal with no by-your-leave? ¡®I ache,¡¯ the ameshek replied, its ¨C her ¨C tone sounding pained. Dominic hesitated for a moment. If this had been one of his lionesses, he¡¯d have immediately pulled a carcass over for her to absorb. But this wasn¡¯t ¨C this was a creature he¡¯d so recently been fighting with. Then again, she didn¡¯t seem to be making any moves to attack, so perhaps this vassal thing had something to it which would protect him. In the end, Dominic decided that extending a hand ¨C or paw ¨C would probably be the best thing here. Treating the creature with automatic suspicion might have consequences later which would be better avoided ¨C as long as his trust didn¡¯t mean that he got his throat ripped out, of course. Seeing as most of the carcasses lying around were those of the fallen ameshek, Dominic instead pulled the last ones out of his storage space. After having to empty half of it for the lionesses to fit in, and giving them some to heal themselves, he really needed to restock his portable health potions. ¡®Here,¡¯ he said, nudging them towards the ameshek. The large wolven creature hesitated, then stretched out her head to start biting into one of them. ¡®Not like that,¡¯ Dominic interrupted. ¡®Just touch the carcass and think ¡®consume¡¯. It will disintegrate into a cloud of golden dust which you will absorb ¨C it will heal you more quickly than just eating it.¡¯ The ameshek looked at him, then hesitantly touched the carcass with her nose. A moment later, it indeed dissolved into golden smoke. The wolven creature reared back, perhaps in sudden fear or surprise, but the golden smoke followed her. As it was absorbed, Dominic saw her health increase noticeably, though perhaps only by about five percent. That wasn¡¯t too much of a shock ¨C Dominic¡¯s new vassal evidently had a bigger health pool than him, and the carcasses were some creatures he¡¯d hunted in the area outside the forest, but nothing particularly big or powerful. Wordlessly, he offered the ameshek another carcass. By the time Dominic was out of carcasses to nudge over, the ameshek had a little below half health. Still, she looked like she was feeling better. ¡®So,¡¯ Dominic said, at a loss of what else to say. ¡®What now?¡¯ ¡®I do not feel inclined to fight, if that is what you fear,¡¯ the ameshek replied to him with a hint of amusement. She pushed herself to her feet, some pain still evident in her movements, but obviously a lot better off than she had been. She eyed the lionesses behind Dominic. ¡®You can tell that to your pack.¡¯ Dominic cast a glance behind himself. Sure enough, his lionesses were watching the action with the air of being ready to pounce at a moment¡¯s notice. They were all healed, Dominic was glad to see. The loss of Mara still hurt ¨C he could see her body lying protected within the circle of lionesses, like they didn¡¯t want her being desecrated by the ameshek. But he was glad that everyone else had survived. A couple had even changed a bit physically from going up a level or two. ¡®They are wary, understandably so,¡¯ he said to the ameshek leader, looking back at her. ¡®This is new ground for all of us.¡¯ Perhaps admitting his ignorance wasn¡¯t the best strategy, but pretending to know more than he did was bound to come back to bite him later. ¡®You need not be concerned. I sense the bindings on my actions. I cannot attack you if you have not attacked me first, nor can I order any of my pack to do the same.¡¯ ¡®That doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t attack my pride, though,¡¯ Dominic pointed out even while making a mental note of what she had said. ¡®No, but I also sense that I am obliged to follow your orders ¨C as long as they do not pass certain limits. Angering you by attacking your pack does not seem to be a very good idea.¡¯ ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be, no,¡¯ Dominic agreed, ¡®as then I would make sure that all of yours were wiped out in retaliation.¡¯ He eyed the ameshek, seeing by the way her lips lifted a little off her teeth that his threat had landed. ¡®But I don¡¯t want to do that,¡¯ he continued in a more conciliatory way. ¡®I wouldn¡¯t have chosen to let you live if I¡¯d wanted to kill all of you. In fact, I hope that we can become allies in truth as well as just according to the System.¡¯ The ameshek eyed him for a long moment, then straightened from the crouch she had shifted into, letting her lips cover her teeth once again. ¡®Then what do you wish to do now?¡¯ Dominic thought about it carefully, eyeing the massive tree which stood guard over the whole area. ¡®The tree, the Place of Power. Tell me about it.¡¯ ¡®It is better shown than explained,¡¯ the ameshek responded. ¡®You are the victor in our battle; you will have gained control over the source of power. Come and I will show you.¡¯ Dominic hesitated for a moment, but then decided to take the risk. Yes, he would be going deeper into the wolves¡¯ territory, but he had several tricks up his nonexistent sleeve that should at least ensure he got out alive, even if they decided to turn on him. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡®They shouldn¡¯t be able to though, should they?¡¯ asked Leo from the back of his mind. ¡®The wolf said it herself that she couldn¡¯t attack or order her pride to attack if we don¡¯t do so first.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ Dominic agreed, ¡®but she¡¯s not necessarily an unbiased source. What if she¡¯s saying that she can¡¯t attack only to be lying to lull us into a false sense of security? And even if she¡¯s telling the truth, even if she can¡¯t attack us directly or order her pack to do so, what if one of the pack takes it upon itself to attack anyway?¡¯ ¡®So you¡¯re not going to go with her?¡¯ Leo asked, sounding confused. ¡®No, I am.¡¯ Then, feeling the complete bafflement emanating from his companion, Dominic continued. ¡®I¡¯m just considering all possible eventualities and making sure that I have a way out of the situation if it goes downhill for whatever reason.¡¯ Leo was silent for a long moment. ¡®I¡¯ll never understand the twisty thoughts of humans.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s OK,¡¯ Dominic reassures him. ¡®I don¡¯t understand humans half the time either.¡¯ To his lionesses in the Pride chat, he sent a message about what was about to happen and asking them to relax a little. ¡®We are allies for now,¡¯ he explained. ¡®How long that will last, I don¡¯t know, but as long as none of us move to break the truce, it should be fine.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t like this,¡¯ came from Sekhmet, her mental thought wary. ¡®Enemies one moment, allies the next. Not trustworthy.¡¯ ¡®Agree,¡¯ chimed in Anuke, the others all sending in messages of agreement either with words or without. ¡®Not pride. Not trustworthy. Lion not safe.¡¯ ¡®I know,¡¯ Dominic agreed, trying to placate them a little. ¡®But for now it¡¯s better than fighting. We¡¯ll see where it goes. Just relax a bit, OK? Not completely ¨C be prepared for if the amesheks decide to turn on us, but don¡¯t be so tense that you accidentally restart the hostilities.¡¯ After receiving acknowledgement, either willing or grudging, from the lionesses, Dominic turned his attention back to the ameshek leader. Perhaps she¡¯d also been holding some sort of inaudible conversation with her pack as they seemed to have relaxed a bit, though relaxed in the same way as Dominic had been encouraging the lionesses to do. They looked like they¡¯d been pulled back from the edge of being a second away from trying to rip the lions¡¯ throats out again, but hadn¡¯t relaxed to the point of lying down or becoming vulnerable. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said to her. ¡®Show me this Place of Power, then.¡¯ ¡®Come this way,¡¯ she told him, turning around and walking back to where she had been at the start of the fight. Dominic, after having spent so long in the body and life of a lion, appreciated the show of trust that it took to present him with her vulnerable spine. He took it as a good sign ¨C he had offered her a sign of trust when he had given her the means to heal, even revealing the secret of how to Consume a creature and receive its benefits far faster than by eating it the traditional way. Now, she offered him a sign of trust in return. Following cautiously in her footsteps, Dominic was wary of the other ameshek. While he didn¡¯t think it likely that the leader would attack him, not with everything she¡¯d said and done since waking up, that didn¡¯t mean he was safe. Just like he¡¯d said to Leo, it only took one spark to set off the gunpowder. For all he knew, there was a ¡®Jenkins¡¯ among the amesheks who would go against their leader¡¯s instructions in order to ¡®take revenge¡¯ or ¡®defend the pack¡¯s honour¡¯ or simply saw him as a target. Still, for all his wariness, nothing happened. They rounded a couple of prominent tree roots and then reached the base of the massive tree without incident. There, the ameshek leader paused. ¡®When we first arrived in this forest, there was a creature here,¡¯ she recalled sounding rather matter-of-fact. ¡®It was big and strong, but we wore it down, ripping away bits of it until it succumbed to its wounds. As the leader, I ripped out its throat, applying the killing blow. Afterwards, I touched this rock at the base of the tree ¨C I think it was by accident, but I cannot remember now. Memories of before I Evolved are blurry and at times hard to recall. My thoughts since then have improved, and should improve further with my recent strengthening.¡¯ Dominic nodded slowly, thinking about his Tier 2 lionesses. Would they be the same? Then something she¡¯d said caught his attention. ¡®Your recent ¡®strengthening¡¯? Do you mean ¡®level up¡¯? Is that what you were doing earlier?¡¯ he asked her curiously, turning his head from where he¡¯d been inspecting the tree ¨C and the massive obsidian-like boulder which was half-hidden between its roots. ¡®Yes,¡¯ the ameshek agreed. ¡®I was in the process of choosing my threshold options when you arrived.¡¯ Well, that explained why the ameshek hadn¡¯t been part of the fight to begin with. Though it was a bit of poor luck ¨C if they¡¯d attacked ten minutes earlier, it probably would have been an easier fight. ¡®What level are you at now?¡¯ Dominic asked eagerly. The ameshek tilted her head to one side, her antennae waving slowly. ¡®Level?¡¯ she asked, sounding a bit confused. Did she not know of levels? Dominic supposed that she hadn¡¯t used that vocabulary, instead calling it ¡®strengthening¡¯. Was she not able to access her status sheet? Did Dominic and Leo only have a status sheet at all because Dominic was classed as a human mind? He knew that the Pride members had levels because they were on his Pride status sheet, but did the lions themselves know what level they were? Dominic suddenly realised that it was an oversight to have never asked about it. For now, though, he had something more important to do. ¡®Never mind. So, you just touched this stone?¡¯ ¡®I did.¡¯ ¡®And what happened next?¡¯ ¡®As I said before, it is better experienced than explained,¡¯ the ameshek replied a little mysteriously. Dominic hesitated, eyeing the ameshek and then the stone. On the one hand, this could be a trap, the ameshek getting him to do something which would instantly kill him. On the other hand, touching the stone is probably exactly what Dominic would have done if he¡¯d gone through with killing the leader and chasing out its pack. ¡®What do you think, Leo?¡¯ ¡®Oh just go for it,¡¯ the lion told him grumpily. ¡®Your paranoia is giving me a headache. We¡¯re dealing with a canine here, not a human.¡¯ He had a point there. Hoping that he wasn¡¯t about to be flash-frozen or set on fire or something, Dominic reached out with one paw to touch the rock. Chapter 30: A Drop of Blood to the Goddess The rock didn¡¯t feel like it should. That was his first realisation. Instead of being a hard glassy substance, it instead felt like¡­jelly. But Dominic didn¡¯t have very long to contemplate the oddly yielding nature of the rock as he realised something else far more alarming. He found that he could still move the rest of his body, but his paw itself was absolutely stuck. He couldn¡¯t pull it out, couldn¡¯t even flex it or extend his claws. He could push it in more, but that didn¡¯t help. Panic rising in him, worse was yet to come. An inexorable force started pulling him in. Like he was a fish caught on a line, he was dragged into the jelly-like rock. He tried to push against the rock with his other paw, but it just sank in too, doubling the pull. ¡®I told you it had to be experienced rather than explained,¡¯ the ameshek said calmly, interrupting his thoughts. ¡®I¡¯ll kill you for this!¡¯ Dominic yelled back at her, reminded of her existence. ¡®I told you I¡¯d kill you and your followers if you betrayed me!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s because she¡¯s a canine,¡¯ seethed Leo, sounding just as panicked as Dominic was. ¡®I told you we should have killed her!¡¯ ¡®Relax,¡¯ she said, not seeming to be too phased by the threat and still apparently unable to hear Leo. ¡®I have not betrayed you. This is harmless. It did the same to me when I first touched it.¡¯ Dominic tried to breathe more steadily, knowing that it wouldn¡¯t serve anyone if he was too fear-stricken to even think. ¡®You were pulled into the rock too?¡¯ he asked after a moment of calming himself down. ¡®I was. Pulled in and fully immersed. I don¡¯t know why, but it seems like it¡¯s a necessary part of the process of taking control. Afterwards, I was pushed out again, stronger than before. I suggest you just go with it ¨C you will be well.¡¯ Dominic breathed forcibly evenly, both front paws now in the rock halfway up his forelegs. It was true that his paws didn¡¯t feel at all hurt ¨C if anything, the slight pain he felt was more from him trying to resist its undefeatable pull. His mind flicked busily through his options. There were few. He tried using some acid, but it didn¡¯t even sizzle on the surface of the thing. Actually, it ended up getting absorbed without leaving a trace of its existence. All his other Abilities required either mobility, his claws, or his teeth, none of which were available for use at the moment. At least, he didn¡¯t think that getting his muzzle stuck in the rock would improve the situation at all. His tail mace briefly occurred to him as he thought about whether he might have something in his storage space which might be useful, but he somehow doubted that it would be any different. Plus, he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d be able to actually get at the rock with his tail, considering his position. ¡®I think we should just get it over with,¡¯ he said to Leo after several long moments of thought in which all that happened was that he lost ever more ground to the pull of the rock-that-wasn¡¯t. ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ asked Leo. ¡®I mean that we¡¯re not succeeding in pulling free, and I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to. I think we should do the opposite instead.¡¯ ¡®Are you mad?¡¯ Leo demanded, alarmed. ¡®We¡¯ll die!¡¯ ¡®Maybe we will; maybe we won¡¯t, but at the moment all we¡¯re doing is postponing the inevitable,¡¯ Dominic said grimly. Then he accessed the Pride chat. ¡®We are in a bit of a difficult situation. Hopefully we will come out of here in a bit of time. If we don¡¯t emerge by dawn, get out of the forest, rejoin the others. Get stronger. Then, if you get the chance, avenge us.¡¯ With a cacophony of questions and alarmed demands from his Pride mates along with Leo¡¯s rejecting screams ringing in his ears, Dominic summoned his courage, then dived into the rock. It felt very strange. Everything was muted around him, and it felt like he was floating in something more buoyant than water. He wasn¡¯t having any problems breathing, that was the first thing he realised with relief. The second was that, whether his eyes were open or closed, all he could see was blackness. Abruptly, the buoyancy which had been cradling him started to press in on him more. The substance pressed worst against his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, actually starting to push inside. It didn¡¯t hurt, exactly, but it was uncomfortable for sure. Dominic did his best to keep his mouth closed, but the substance treated his attempts with the same disregard as when he was trying to pull free of it in the first place. The substance didn¡¯t taste of anything; it just had a presence in his mouth, in his ears, in his nose, in his eyes. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A question seemed to appear in his mind. It was at that moment that he realised he couldn¡¯t feel Leo¡¯s presence and this lack made alarm bells ring. Will you give a drop of blood to the goddess? Give a drop of blood¡­? What? Dominic demanded mentally. Where¡¯s Leo? Will you give a drop of blood to the goddess? The message vanished only to appear again. What goddess? Dominic asked in exasperation. He wanted to know where his companion was, damn it! Will you give a drop of blood to the goddess Selessa? As if that was any better! Damn it, yes, whatever, he answered, figuring that, like with the choice about vassalship, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get any more answers until he¡¯d given into the question. And what did a drop of blood mean? There was a sudden stinging on his right forepaw but it dimmed quickly. A literal drop of blood, it seemed. Suddenly the darkness exploded into colour, the nothingness around him expanding and becoming a jungle, though one with trees he had never seen before. It wasn¡¯t even green, but different shades of red. In front of him was a partially overgrown pile of rocks, the top of it bathed in the reddish sunlight which otherwise filtered through the leaves. There was the sound of unfamiliar birds and insects in the air, and the humid breeze that drifted around him was fragrant with the scents of flowers, animals, rotting detritus, and damp. Looking up, he couldn¡¯t see anything but the leaves of the trees around him and the sky up above ¨C at least, he thought it was the sky. It was a greener blue than he¡¯d ever seen on Earth before. ¡°Where am I?¡± he wondered, then suddenly realised that he was speaking aloud. Looking at himself, his eyebrows shot up as he saw his human form again, dressed in his favourite Nirvana t-shirt and soft blue jeans, the outfit that he¡¯d been wearing when he¡¯d¡­died. This was the first time he¡¯d been in human form outside his mental space since this whole thing had happened. Or perhaps this was his mental space? Was the fact that he was in his body a key indicator that that was the case? After all, he had seen it as a blank space, then turned it into a study, and then Leo had transformed the area around the study into a savannah area ¨C why couldn¡¯t it become a red-coloured jungle? Out of curiosity, he tried to change into his leonine form. It worked. Was that another indicator that he was in his mental space? But then where was Leo? Dominic looked around himself, then changed back into his human form so he could get more height. No sign of the other lion, neither mentally, nor physically. ¡°You are in the space of dreams,¡± a voice came from ahead of him, making him jump. He looked over, but couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± he asked warily, his eyes searching for the speaker. ¡°I preferred your other body,¡± the voice sighed, once more seeming to come from no apparent source ahead of him. Then, the one who had spoken moved and Dominic abruptly saw them. The creature was exceedingly well camouflaged against the rock. It was bathing in the sun, but before it had moved, it had just looked like another part of the formation. Now, moving, Dominic could see that it was a feline-ish creature. Almost leonine except not, in rather discomforting ways. As it stepped towards him, he saw that it had two sets of eyes. One set was a darker shade of red than its fur, a pupil in the centre of each, much like his. The others were set above them and were bigger, but were an unnerving white with no pupil. It had a mouth full of sharp fangs which more than rivalled his own, obvious when it yawned and stretched. It had four paws, all of which clearly hid scythe-like claws. As for its tail, it had three, each more like a leopard¡¯s than his own thin and tasselled tail. Its body was heavily muscled, like a tiger''s. As it bounded to the ground far more lightly than something as hefty as it should be able to be, Dominic realised that the rock must be bigger than he thought ¨C the creature was at least twice his height as a human. And as it approached, Dominic felt like he was a cub cowering before his father again, or a child being approached by an angry-looking headmaster. The aura, or whatever it was, preceded the creature, making it seem even bigger than it was. ¡°Who are you?¡± he couldn¡¯t help the question slipping out of his mouth. ¡°I am the goddess Selessa,¡± she answered imperiously, stopping a few paces away from him and sitting. It was an odd illusion: while her physical body ¨C or whatever it was in this ¡®dream¡¯ world ¨C was the only thing visible, Dominic felt like he was standing at the foot of a massive feline, one taller than the trees themselves. ¡°Hi, I guess,¡± he said warily, not sure how one was supposed to act with a ¡®goddess¡¯. ¡°What do you mean by the ¡®space of dreams¡¯? And where is my companion?¡± ¡°Is that how you address a goddess?¡± she asked, with the hint of amusement. ¡°Uh, your goddess¡­ness?¡± he offered uncertainly. This time, the hint of amusement was far more pronounced. ¡°You are fortunate that I am not a stickler for the formalities. The correct address would be ¡®your divinity¡¯.¡± ¡°Right¡­.¡± Dominic replied. ¡°So, uh, your divinity, care to answer my questions?¡± The goddess sighed. ¡°Definitely fortunate I¡¯m not one for the formalities,¡± she muttered as if to herself. ¡°You, a petitioner, a possible convert, summoned the sponsoring deity here by offering me a drop of your blood. Since I¡¯m the one who sponsored this Place of Power, and am in the market for new followers, I decided to appear. This is a space which is neither your world nor mine, neither your territory, nor mine. It is a neutral space, though I, as the far more powerful goddess that I am, obviously have far more influence over it than you.¡± Dominic didn¡¯t like the sound of that. How was it a neutral space if she could influence it? ¡°Fear not, I cannot harm you here,¡± she answered him knowingly. ¡°No, I can¡¯t read your mind,¡± she continued, seeming to prove the lie in her own words as she did so. ¡°Your expressions are just very easy to read.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Dominic answered, doing his best to school his expression into blankness. Not something he was used to doing, he wasn¡¯t sure how well he was succeeding with it. ¡°And my companion? Where is he?¡± ¡°Dormant, I imagine. He does not fit the requirements to appear in this space.¡± ¡°Which are?¡± ¡°To be either classed as a sapient race under the System, or to have reached Tier three nobility.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Dominic said again. He didn¡¯t, not entirely, and he wasn¡¯t sure that this ¡®goddess¡¯ wasn¡¯t just lying straight to his face. But, much like with the ameshek after he¡¯d touched the ¡®rock¡¯, he didn¡¯t have a huge amount of choice. ¡°Now, let us get down to business,¡± the goddess said briskly. ¡°We have little time: the drop of blood only gives you a short audience as it is. What say you to becoming my follower?¡± Chapter 31: A Small Cub in a Very, Very Big Universe ¡°Uh¡­¡± Dominic felt rather blind-sided. While he and his father had nominally been Christian, it¡¯s not really something he¡¯d paid a huge amount of attention to. His father had gone to church at least once a month and when he was younger he¡¯d been obliged to go along. Sunday school had been fun when he was six, and he¡¯d really enjoyed all the stories about guys getting eaten by whales, men making the walls of cities collapse by blowing horns, and small guys taking on giants with only a sling. By the time he was twelve, however, it had kind of lost its cool factor and he¡¯d started objecting to losing his Sunday morning lie-in to church. His father hadn¡¯t pushed and so that was the end of it all. As for whether he believed that God existed? Well, he¡¯d just kind of accepted that yes He did, but hadn¡¯t given any real thought to what that might mean in the last ten years. Frankly, Dominic had just been living his life, unbothered by any theological concerns. But now he was face to face with a self-proclaimed ¡®goddess¡¯ who was asking him to follow her. ¡°What does that even mean?¡± he asked, both stalling for time and genuinely curious. His first instinct was to automatically refuse ¨C he was pretty sure that it would be rather heretical if the Christian God, actually did exist. And besides, what good did religion ever do on Earth? Look at the crusades. Selessa pushed herself to her feet and then her form blurred, like she was levelling up. This time, that wasn¡¯t the reason, though. When the blurring finished, she straightened and Dominic saw that she¡¯d taken a humanoid form that was just a little taller than him. Her muzzle, four eyes, and round leonine ears still remained, but her front paws had become hands, and her torso had shortened, her legs lengthening instead. Flickering movement from behind her proved that her tails were still there though. She was technically naked, but just as furry as before, so nothing was actually revealed. She took a few steps forwards, her gait as liquid as it had been in her four-pawed form. ¡°I never understand why you bi-pedals like walking on two paws,¡± she murmured as she approached him. Dominic had to fight not to take a step back ¨C her form might have changed, but the sense of an immense feline form towering over him hadn¡¯t disappeared. ¡°It¡¯s just so unsteady.¡± ¡°Then why take it?¡± Dominic couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°You could have stayed in the other shape. I wouldn¡¯t have minded.¡± Perhaps once it would have made him underestimate her, but after his experience as a lion, and with the hyena matriarch, Sekhmet and the other lionesses, he wouldn¡¯t be underestimating what a creature who was obviously far higher-level than him could do ¨C ¡®goddess¡¯ or not. Especially when she was big enough to step on him. She just gave him an enigmatic smile. ¡°Now, you asked what it means to be my follower,¡± she says, briskly returning to the subject at hand. ¡°Since you¡¯re on a newly-integrated world, I have to assume that you know nothing of deities.¡± She paused for a moment, as if to let him interject. He didn¡¯t, so she just continued. ¡°I will not bore you with all the details that are not relevant to you at your low tier, but once someone succeeds in passing the tier six bottleneck and becomes a deity, Prey Points and the like are no longer relevant. Instead, we make progress from the number, quality, and devotion of our followers. ¡°I won¡¯t hide the fact that I¡¯m a fairly new goddess ¨C I only ascended a couple hundred of your years ago. As a result, I have not fully established my following, which is why I have appeared to you now instead of sending a messenger. Why am I telling you all this? Because it means that though I am interested in having you join my following, I am quite limited in the boons I could offer you to do so. However, if you agree to join me, I will do what I can to help you ¨C that¡¯s the benefit of being part of a small cult: more personal interest from the goddess.¡± Dominic hesitated, something about her words making him uneasy. He wasn¡¯t quite sure why: she wasn¡¯t anything like that snake-oil salesman of a kesh. If anything, she seemed pretty straight-talking, which Dominic appreciated. There was no mystical BS, no talking about rewards received after death or whatever. Instead, he had to guess that these ¡®boons¡¯ might be interesting. ¡°What kind of boons are we talking about here?¡± he asked, his eyes narrowed, pushing his qualms to the side for a moment. Selessa shrugged, the movement fluid. ¡°I can offer a number of things. From personal boons such as increasing a certain aspect of yourself, or giving you a new Ability ¨C within reason ¨C to blessing your pride or your settlement.¡± ¡°My settlement?¡± Dominic jumped on that word. ¡°You have just taken a Place of Power. Normally the next step for a sapient race is to build a settlement around it,¡± the goddess answered nonchalantly. ¡°It¡¯s not obligatory, of course, but it would give you a definite head start on breaking through to Tier three. And then there¡¯s the fact that the Place of Power has features which only apply when it¡¯s the centre of a settlement ¨C regardless of what form that takes.¡± Dominic shook his head, not so much in negation as in the feeling of being overwhelmed. There were so many questions he had, just from what she¡¯d said so far. ¡°I¡¯m missing so much knowledge,¡± he muttered to himself, barely realising he was speaking out loud. ¡°I could help with that too,¡± Selessa said, moving just a little closer to him. He looked up to see her standing a bare few inches away from his nose. Dominic took a step back, not comfortable with her that close. ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked once he¡¯d made a bit of space between them. ¡°An alternative boon is that of knowledge. I could offer you the answer to a small number of questions in return for you becoming a follower.¡± That would be extremely helpful, Dominic thought to himself, then felt suspicion creep up on him. Too helpful, perhaps. He still hadn¡¯t managed to work out what was making him feel uneasy before. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°You¡¯ve said what I get out of it, but you haven¡¯t given much information on why you want me, apart from something vague about needing followers to progress as a goddess,¡± he stated with his brow slightly furrowed. The goddess shrugged again. ¡°Do I need more reason? You are a sapient creature who has so recently come into control of a Place of Power. I have a particular interest in leaders.¡± Dominic thought that over carefully, still feeling like he was missing something. So the goddess needed more followers, and she was inviting him to join, yet that didn¡¯t seem like the whole of it. Then a thought struck him. ¡°Wait, if I become your follower, what would that mean for my pride? Or my ¡®settlement¡¯?¡± he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. A rumble came from the goddess in front of him. He thought for a moment that she was growling, but instead he realised that she was purring. Or maybe laughing. ¡°Clever,¡± she praised. ¡°You are right ¨C I am particularly interested in you because of your position as leader. A settlement can be dedicated to a particular deity as much as an individual can be, benefitting both.¡± That made more sense now ¨C the goddess was trying to get a two-for-one deal here. She wanted to both convert Dominic himself, and get his ¡®settlement¡¯ thrown in. Some of his discomfort vanished with the realisation, but not all of it. ¡°Time is almost up,¡± warned Selessa. ¡°What is your answer?¡± ¡°If I decided to follow you, what would be my obligations afterwards?¡± Dominic asked bluntly. It might have been years since he¡¯d gone to church, but he still remembered the collection plate that was passed around, and the rota for decorating the church and bringing the coffee and cake for after the service. Not particularly onerous duties, perhaps, but they had existed. ¡°Few. A quest here, a conversion there, the general mission of expanding my cult and honouring me, etcetera. I don¡¯t require any sacrifices, though as a hunter goddess, dedicating kills to me might earn my favour, depending on the kill. Most of these are optional, though by doing them you could earn yourself more boons.¡± ¡°And if I decide to stop following you?¡± the human asked next, suspecting that it wouldn¡¯t be as simple as just leaving the church. ¡°Then you¡¯d earn my displeasure, and lose whatever enduring boons you have earned from me. If you are particularly rude or traitorous about it, I might declare Holy Wrath against you, meaning that any of my existing followers would try to kill you on sight.¡± Lovely, thought Dominic with distaste. Hadn¡¯t he just been thinking that religions were no good for the Earth? ¡°Yeah, OK, no thanks then,¡± he answered the goddess, crossing his arms tighter across his chest and glaring at her. ¡°Now let me out of here.¡± Selessa¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Not so fast. Are you sure that you wish to pass up the benefits of being my follower so easily?¡± ¡°So easily?¡± Dominic asked incredulously. ¡°You¡¯ve just said that if I choose to leave your ¡®cult¡¯, you¡¯ll get your existing followers to kill me! Why would I want to join you after hearing that?¡± Not to mention that ¡®cult¡¯ had so many lovely connotations. ¡°That would only be if when you left, you joined an enemy and gave them secrets about my following, or if you left in a way that severely hurt my other devotees,¡± Selessa explained. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be if you just chose one day to leave my service, no hard feelings.¡± Dominic refused to bend. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea that it¡¯s even an option.¡± ¡°Not even for knowledge about how to combine Abilities?¡± she asked tantalisingly. ¡°Or about how to use your new Place of Power effectively? Besides, this Place of Power is sponsored by a deity, by me. That means you will only get a fraction of its use if you are not sworn to me.¡± Dominic¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You never said anything about that earlier.¡± Selessa shrugged. ¡°I did not think that that would be the aspect which either convinced or didn¡¯t convince you. Look, let us be straight here. There are thousands, even millions of gods. Despite how difficult it is to reach the peak, the universe is vast enough that a handful reach it every decade or so. And once we¡¯ve reached divinity, we¡¯re rather hard to kill. What I¡¯m saying is that you¡¯re going to come into contact with other gods. And then you¡¯re going to see that I¡¯m on the lax side when it comes to being a deity. ¡°Threatening you with my Wrath if you go and sell my secrets to an enemy? That¡¯s nothing. I know several deities who would Smite their followers just for using their name in vain, or for not bowing low enough at their altars.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really not convincing me on the following a god front,¡± Dominic remarked, pushing the thought to one side about whether the Christian God actually existed and was one of these guys or whether He was a different kettle of fish completely. Or maybe never existed at all except in the imaginations of humanity. Selessa sighed. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that if you¡¯re going to follow a deity, I really am your best bet. And the vast majority of beings in the multiverse who can follow a deity, do so because of the benefits it offers.¡± ¡°Saying you¡¯re the best in what¡¯s increasingly sounding like a bad lot really isn¡¯t very convincing,¡± Dominic returned. It was odd, but he no longer felt like he was at the foot of a massive feline, about to be stepped on. The aura was still there, but it was far less overwhelming. Was it because he¡¯d got used to it or because he was no longer impressed with the originator of it? The humanoid feline groaned and rubbed at her forehead with one hand. ¡°Of all the sapients I had to get, it would be a human.¡± Dominic eyed her, abruptly amused. She just sounded so long-suffering ¨C a bit like his aunt after he¡¯d come into the house from the garden absolutely covered in mud. ¡°Look,¡± she said to him next, piercing him with her red eyes. ¡°I need you, I won¡¯t hide it. You and your settlement could significantly help me. But you need me too. You need the knowledge I can offer you, the boons I could give you. You¡¯re a small cub in a very, very big universe. You don¡¯t even know the barest fraction of the threats which await you, both on your planet and beyond. I can help you with that.¡± Dominic studied her. She looked completely honest about it, and even his persistent unease disappeared briefly. Besides, it was true ¨C he knew nothing about this new world. He was continually being surprised by new aspects of it, and having to make decisions with nothing but theories directing them. But was it worth entangling himself with a ¡®cult¡¯? It even sounded like a bad idea from that word alone. Chapter 32: A Threat Dominic sighed and then released his elbows, allowing his arms to return to his sides. ¡°You say you need me as much as I need you? Then promise that you won¡¯t declare a Holy Crusade if I, or any of those I might convert to follow you too, choose to leave. Promise that now and I¡¯ll agree to follow you.¡± The goddess tapped her furry thigh with one hand. ¡°As long as you promise in return that neither you nor any of those you might convert to following me will betray me to an enemy, then I agree.¡± Dominic considered that carefully. ¡°What does ¡®betray to an enemy¡¯ mean? What if I then decide to follow an enemy of yours after leaving your service?¡± Dominic asked, his memory returning of the trouble his uncle had had after leaving one company to join another company, only to be sued by his original company over a non-competition clause in his original contract. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t willingly reveal secrets about myself or my organisation to that enemy, I suppose you could join my enemy without it counting as betrayal.¡± Dominic considered it for a long moment. ¡°As long as you indicate clearly what is considered a ¡®secret¡¯. I don¡¯t want to accidentally say the wrong thing because I didn¡¯t know it was meant to be confidential.¡± Selessa shrugged. ¡°I am not trying to trick you. Nothing so far discussed is a secret. It is no hardship to inform you when you have been made privy to one.¡± Dominic nodded slowly. ¡°Alright, then I guess we have a deal.¡± ¡°Finally,¡± Selessa answered with a hint of impatience. ¡°But the discussion has taken so long that I am too drained now to actually do the conversion. Return when the sun is setting tomorrow and we will finalise it all. You will need to touch the Place of Power again to return to this space.¡± ¡°OK, fine,¡± Dominic agreed. ¡°Just make sure not to let anyone else touch the Place of Power,¡± Selessa warned. ¡°Why not?¡± Dominic asked, wondering if it would disrupt the conversion in some way ¡°Well, you can if you wish, but don¡¯t let anyone you actually care about do it ¨C if any but the controller of the Place of Power touches it they will be sucked inside. Actually, maybe do it if you want to kill a few of your enemies ¨C I benefit from the sacrifice, as does the Place of Power itself which means that you indirectly benefit from it too. Though be warned that if they¡¯re a higher level than you, they can fight you for control. The bigger the difference between your levels, the higher their chance of success. Now, sundown tomorrow ¨C don¡¯t forget.¡± With that, the world abruptly fractured around Dominic and, still reeling from the last minute information, the human was ejected from the conversation. And not just the conversation, he realised, but the Place of Power itself entirely. He had only just recognised that he was once more standing on four paws below the moon in the forest of the ameshek and kesh when he spotted the leader standing before him. Anger abruptly surging, he found himself leaping at the wolven creature, snarling loudly. She was taken unaware by the sudden attack, and he managed to bowl her over onto her side with a single pounce. ¡®You tried to kill me!¡¯ he mentally yelled at her. ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ asked two voices, one, he was glad to hear was Leo¡¯s, though only at the periphery of his mind, and the other was the ameshek¡¯s surprised one. There were a number of other surprised growls both leonine and alien in origin. The sound of paws on the ground hurrying towards their location indicated that their respective groups were rapidly approaching. Dominic ignored them. ¡®Did you know that the Place of Power would kill me if I wasn¡¯t the controller of it when I touched it?¡± Dominic demanded from the ameshek. She wasn''t trying to move away from him, not struggling at all. At the same time, Dominic hadn¡¯t actually landed with his claws bared, so his hit hadn¡¯t actually done any damage ¨C he still had enough wits about him to know that starting the fight unnecessarily wasn¡¯t a good idea. But he did want an answer. ¡®I didn¡¯t know,¡¯ the ameshek answered remarkably calmly for having a snarling lion near her neck. Dominic waited ¨C she hadn¡¯t sounded like she was finished. ¡®Though, I did suspect that something bad would happen if any other than the territorial pack leader touched it,¡¯ she admitted a moment later. Dominic¡¯s snarls increased in volume. ¡®And you were telling me it was safe!¡¯ ¡®I sensed that it was ¨C if you had indeed gained control over the Place of Power in our battle.¡¯ Dominic¡¯s snarls reduced in volume, his lips dropping slightly. ¡®It was a test,¡¯ he realised. ¡®A test to see if our battle meant as much as we thought it did.¡¯ ¡®A not-entirely intended one, yes,¡¯ the ameshek agreed, a little reluctantly. Dominic just stared down at her for a long moment. Part of him was urging him to rip her throat out then and there. She had broken their deal, in intention, if not in actual deed. At the same time, the reasons for keeping her alive still stood, not to mention that this was not a good place to do this, not when he abruptly realised that he was surrounded by her pack, his lionesses bristling for a fight too. Dominic understood why she had sort of tried to kill him, even if Leo didn¡¯t seem to, still snarling in the back of his mind and telling Dominic how he should have killed the canine-ish creature at the start. It was a good way of seeing just where their limits lay. And perhaps, also, in seeing how Dominic responded to this. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. How should he respond? ¡®Kill her! She¡¯s a threat!¡¯ yelled Leo, apparently incensed that Dominic wasn¡¯t responding to him. ¡®It¡¯s not that simple,¡¯ Dominic snapped back at him, the lion giving him a headache. ¡®The moment we attack for real, the other ameshek will be on us.¡¯ ¡®The females will support us ¨C we will attack as a pride.¡¯ ¡®And be right back where we started? No.¡¯ ¡®I told you we should have chosen to kill the other leader,¡¯ Leo said for the nth time. ¡®I heard you the first time!¡¯ Dominic ground out before forcibly pushing Leo away. It wouldn¡¯t last very long ¨C neither of them had enough power over their shared mental space to clear it of the other more than temporarily. But at least he had a moment to think without the lion yammering away at him. Even aside from the issues surrounding actually genuinely attacking the ameshek right now, there was another problem. Namely, that he still had a use for the sonic canines ¨C indeed, he wasn¡¯t sure how he was going to deal with the kesh without them. He had a couple of ideas, but they were very much half-baked and not at all guaranteed to work. So he didn¡¯t want to break the vassalship just yet. But at the same time, did that mean he had to just let the ameshek leader get away with almost killing him? Though, how could he punish the creature for it? He was momentarily tempted to order her to choose one ameshek within her pack to touch the rock, to inflict on one of her pack the same fate as she had risked him having. After that one moment, though, he dismissed it. Not only was it probably more vicious than he probably should allow himself to be ¨C even within the body of an apex predator and member of a species known to play with their food ¨C but it would probably have consequences which he wouldn¡¯t like. Certainly, if someone threatened one of his lionesses, he would do his best to destroy them ¨C just as he intended to do to the hyena matriarch one day. The ameshek leader had seemed very protective of her pack, just like him, so threatening one of its members would probably just drive her to find other loopholes. After all, this was probably a loophole right here ¨C if he had genuinely won the battle and therefore the Place of Power, then he shouldn¡¯t have been at risk from being absorbed. And besides, he didn¡¯t even know whether she would comply. Sighing mentally, Dominic realised that there was nothing he could do to his ¡®vassal¡¯, not without punishing himself at the same time. He stepped backwards off the ameshek, letting her rise, but promising himself that he would remember this. ¡®The next time you pull something like that, I will kill you,¡¯ he warned the ameshek seriously. ¡®I¡¯m only willing to overlook it this time because no one was hurt. And I understand the need to test boundaries. But I¡¯m telling you now that this here is the limit. Work with me and we can grow together. Work against me, even by exploiting loopholes, and we are going to have issues. Clear?¡¯ ¡®I understand,¡¯ said the ameshek, though Dominic didn¡¯t know whether that meant that she would listen. ¡®It¡¯s OK,¡¯ he sent in the Pride chat to try to calm down his lionesses who looked to be one wrong move away from restarting the brawl. ¡®We had a disagreement but we¡¯ve sorted it out.¡¯ ¡®What happened?¡¯ demanded Sekhmet, the others chiming in with the same question or the support of Sekhmet¡¯s. ¡®I¡¯ll tell you later,¡¯ Dominic replied, putting them off temporarily, then linked again to the ameshek leader¡¯s mind. ¡®I will need to come back here later, but for now, let us return to where we were before,¡¯ he suggested to her. Even before she replied with agreement, Dominic started leading the way back to the area near the battlefield where they had been resting. He pretended that he couldn¡¯t see the hostility among the ameshek followers, and that his back didn¡¯t prickle with having the leader behind him. They needed to believe he was confidently in control, and so that¡¯s what he pretended he was. ¡®Is that why you kept the leader alive? To deal with the kesh?¡¯ asked Leo quietly in his mind. Evidently, he¡¯d been able to pull his way back into their conscious space. ¡®As an immediate benefit, yes. You remember how their attack pinned us in place before ¨C imagine that used against the kesh.¡¯ ¡®Though we wouldn¡¯t be able to be anywhere near the area,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Nor would the females. Otherwise we¡¯d be attacked as much as the kesh.¡¯ ¡®I know. I was hoping we could send the ameshek out to attack the kesh but this stunt of the leader makes me wonder if we can trust them to do even that much.¡¯ ¡®Maybe we should just kill them and take their Ability to do it ourselves.¡¯ ¡®Except that one, we don¡¯t know whether we¡¯d amass enough Cores to earn the Ability at all. Two, what if the Ability is incompatible with our body? Three, what if it only has its strength because of the number of ameshek with the same Ability? On our own, we probably wouldn¡¯t have enough power to deal with the kesh. Then we¡¯d be almost back to square one on that as well.¡¯ The lion was silent. ¡®Anyway, what happened to you when we were pulled into that odd substance?¡¯ Dominic asked curiously. ¡®Nothing?¡¯ Leo answered with a little confusion. ¡®One moment we were being pulled in; the next, we were being expelled outwards.¡¯ ¡®So you didn¡¯t see any blackness, or red jungle, or weird goddess?¡¯ ¡®...No?¡¯ ¡®Interesting.¡¯ ¡®You mean that you did see some sort of ¡®red jungle¡¯ and ¡®weird goddess¡¯?¡¯ Leo asked with interest. ¡®Yeah, it was a whole thing. That¡¯s how I know what the ameshek leader was trying to pull ¨C the goddess told me.¡¯ ¡®I was wondering how you had any idea about that ¨C I certainly didn¡¯t. But then humans do some very strange things; I imagined that being pulled into and pushed out of strange substances is practically a rite of passage for you odd monkeys.¡¯ ¡®I hate to say it, but you might have a point,¡¯ Dominic admitted with a bit of amusement, thinking about the water, mud, sand, dirt, and even a pile of manure that he¡¯d been pushed into on various occasions. All but the last had been in ¨C mostly ¨C good fun. ¡®Though at least we don¡¯t clean our butts with our tongue afterwards,¡¯ he pointed out. ¡®Don¡¯t judge ¨C you¡¯ve done it yourself and enjoyed it,¡¯ Leo shot back at him. They were approaching the lionesses, so Dominic decided to stop the conversation there. ¡®Anyway, take a look at this and see what you think,¡¯ he told the lion, shoving the memory of his conversation with Selessa at his companion. Then, focussing on the lionesses, he decided how to explain things to them. Chapter 33: Breaking Bread In the end, Dominic had chosen not to say anything about the goddess to the lionesses. Nor did he mention the verging-on-betrayal of the ameshek leader beyond what he¡¯d already said. They did rather bombard him with questions about why he¡¯d sounded so panicked earlier, but Dominic explained it as a misunderstanding. He didn¡¯t want to risk one of the more hot-headed ones getting a scrap over something that had already been dealt with. In fact, all he ended up telling them was that he had started the process of securing the Place of Power, and that he had to come back when the sun set on the next day. Even then, he was pretty sure that the ¡®Place of Power¡¯ went over their heads. But that was fine ¨C they didn¡¯t need to understand. For now, they were willing to just relax and chill for a bit, though Dominic was aware of how they were very much sleeping with one eye open. For all the appearance of complete relaxation, he was sure that they would be able to react at a moment¡¯s notice. The other lions of the pride were another question, but Dominic was still in two minds about whether to bring them to the centre or not. After all, the lionesses he had brought with him had struggled enough against the wolves; if they decided to break the tentative alliance between their groups, the rest of the lions would stand little chance. They were just way too outlevelled. Which actually was a question Dominic had: all the wolves he had killed had been around the same level, and that a higher one than any of his pride except for himself. And the leader herself had apparently reached the next half-step threshold, something even Dominic hadn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t think it was possible for a normal animal to have outstripped him so easily, not without some extra help, anyway. Opening his status screen, he accessed the new tab which he had recently spotted next to his own status and his pride¡¯s status. Place of Power status However, when he mentally selected the tab in question, he found an annoying message presented. Status is currently unavailable: connection with Goddess Selessa of the Hunt, member of the Great Pride incomplete. Sighing, he closed the screen. It looked like he wouldn¡¯t be able to make any progress there until the next evening. What should I do? He wondered to himself. The battle for the Place of Power was over, the ameshek¡¯s alliance in place but not completely secure. The next threat was the confrontation with the kesh, but that would probably have to wait until daylight ¨C from what he had seen, they weren¡¯t particularly active in the dark. While that might be useful if he was planning on launching a night attack, the problem was that he didn¡¯t know where they slept. Plus, he was a little uneasy about just attacking them outright, for all that he knew they were going to be problems. ¡®Striking them while they are unaware is the best option,¡¯ Leo told him. ¡®Why are you reluctant to do so?¡¯ he asked curiously. Dominic took a few moments to think about it. ¡®I just feel like it would be unfair to attack with no warning,¡¯ he said finally. ¡®I know, I know,¡¯ he attempted to pre-empt his companion, already feeling the lion¡¯s contempt. ¡®It¡¯s the best thing to do to ensure survival for our pride. The fewer injuries or deaths we sustain, the better off we will be. And as soon as the kesh realise that we have no intentions of dealing with them the way they¡¯re hoping, they¡¯ll be prepared for our attack.¡¯ ¡®Which puts those we are protecting at risk,¡¯ Leo added, his tone intent. Dominic suspected that if they were in the mental space together, the lion would be looking at him with predatory eyes, his posture crouched and his tail lashing. The former-human was tempted to drop into the study, but in the end he decided not to: the alliance with the ameshek was still new enough for him not to want to risk being completely unaware for any length of time. ¡®Yeah,¡¯ he ended up simply sighing. Feeling abruptly antsy, he pushed himself to his paws and started wandering almost aimlessly. The lionesses lifted their heads as he came near, but dropped them again once they realised he didn¡¯t want anything in particular. The amesheks also watched him warily ¨C none had left the area since the lions had appeared. They hadn¡¯t returned to their sleeping pile either. The wolven creatures were just as wary of the lions as the lions were of them. Not that Dominic really blamed them. The bodies of the ones who had been killed and not yet absorbed still lay nearby, as did the Core of the one who had been absorbed by lionesses ¨C neither side had touched them. Thanks to it being night time and therefore colder and with fewer insects around to start clustering around them, they hadn¡¯t yet started to putrefy. However, their condition could only worsen. Dominic was tempted just to absorb them, but was aware that such an act might not be appreciated by his new ¡®vassal¡¯. So, instead, he turned and made a detour towards the small hill of flesh that constituted the ameshek leader. After having had some time to cool off, he¡¯d been able to think through the situation more clearly. And with the time to reflect, he¡¯d been able to admit that he¡­probably hadn¡¯t dealt with the whole thing as well as he could have. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. He was still annoyed at the leader for not having warned him ¨C he would have probably touched the thing anyway because otherwise the battle would have been rendered pointless, but at least he would have been able to make a contingency plan. However, he kind of understood why she hadn¡¯t. She¡¯d been checking the validity of his claim, at the same time as finding a way to quickly and easily dispose of her enemy without any risk to herself and her pack if it turned out his claim was false. As an added ¡®benefit¡¯, it highlighted just how little he could rely on the System¡¯s ¡®vassalship¡¯ ¨C was it just because the System knew he wasn¡¯t actually at risk that it didn¡¯t force the leader to warn him? Or because she didn¡¯t know whether it was a threat or not? Though was the vassalship even still in place? Dominic had reacted badly when he¡¯d emerged from the place of power and had leapt at the ameshek ¨C did that count as an attack? Or not, because he hadn¡¯t caused any damage? With these questions in mind, he settled down in front of the leader. She was awake, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight, her antennae twitching restlessly back and forth. Dominic wondered whether it was a sign that she too was experiencing internal emotional turmoil. ¡®You wish to speak with me?¡¯ she asked, her voice sonorous in his mind. ¡®I do,¡¯ he answered, then paused for a moment, wondering where to start. ¡®Do you have any¡­preferences of what we do with the bodies of your kin?¡¯ The ameshek gazed at him for a long moment. ¡®I am surprised that you have not chosen to eat them, to show your victory over us,¡¯ she rumbled, her tone unreadable. ¡®I wouldn¡¯t eat them,¡¯ Dominic responded, even as Leo sent a sense of being intrigued at the thought. ¡®I might Consume them, though. But would you prefer to do that, or have one of your group do it?¡¯ he asked. ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ Leo asked him privately. ¡®She¡¯s expecting us to eat them. Why don¡¯t we just go and do that.¡¯ Dominic ignored him ¨C he couldn¡¯t explain why exactly he was asking the question, only that it seemed important to do so. Maybe he was being too human about this. The ameshek was quiet for a long moment. ¡®It is an interesting question that you raise,¡¯ she said eventually. ¡®To the hunter, the kill? Or to the hunter¡¯s pack?¡¯ She paused for a little longer. ¡®You have one of your pack there too, I see. What do you intend on doing with its remains?¡¯ ¡®I was going to offer one of her sisters the chance to Consume her body,¡¯ Dominic admitted. He had been the one to Consume the other lion who had fallen in the first hyena attack. He didn¡¯t know what had happened to the one who had died during the first hunt Anuke led, but now he could explain the idea to the Tier 2 lionesses, he thought they might be interested in Consuming their sister. It just made sense to him ¨C without the possibility of burial or cremation, Consuming the bodies meant that in some way, they remained part of the pride. Cannibalism wasn¡¯t something he wanted to engage in, but he was pretty sure that Consuming the body through the system wouldn¡¯t count the same way as eating the body would¡­. ¡®I see,¡¯ the ameshek answered thoughtfully. ¡®Perhaps I have a suggestion. In your choice to leave me my life, you sought to make an ally, to bring two very different packs into cooperation with each other. Is that right?¡¯ ¡®It is,¡¯ Dominic agreed a little warily. ¡®Then should we not cement that with a sharing of flesh? We consume the body of your kin; you and yours consume the body of ours.¡¯ Dominic didn¡¯t know how to respond. This certainly hadn¡¯t been what he¡¯d been expecting when he¡¯d approached the ameshek leader in the first place. Cementing an alliance through eating bodies. His imagination couldn¡¯t help drawing parallels with stories he¡¯d read about cannibals and their ¡®long pig¡¯, even as his logical brain told him that it wasn¡¯t any different from ¡®breaking bread¡¯ together, a practice which had long been a way of starting attempts for reconciliation or amity. Hell, it had worked with the second pride of lions. ¡®That¡¯s an interesting suggestion,¡¯ he answered non-committedly. ¡®I have a question, though. Are you genuinely interested in an alliance between us?¡¯ ¡®I am your vassal, according to the System,¡¯ the ameshek answered swiftly. ¡®Are you, though?¡¯ Dominic asked, his eyes narrowing a little, his tail tip flicking without his direction. The ameshek silently gazed at him. ¡®I am,¡¯ she said eventually. ¡®But I understand your concern. When you attacked me earlier, the System considered it as an unprovoked strike and offered me the opportunity to sever our alliance.¡¯ Dominic felt tension creep into his muscles. His mind started running through potential actions for if she struck at him. In the back of his mind, he could sense Leo waiting, poised to send warning to the lionesses currently relaxing. However, the ameshek didn¡¯t make any sort of move to do so. ¡®So what do you intend to do?¡¯ Dominic asked, while wondering why he hadn¡¯t received any notification about the vassalship being severed. ¡®I didn¡¯t sever the alliance, if that is what you are wondering,¡¯ the ameshek told him, a hint of amusement in her voice. It took a few moments for her words to sink in, and when they did, Dominic felt surprise rush through him. ¡®You didn''t?¡¯ ¡®No.¡¯ Dominic waited for a few beats, hoping she would expand on her short response. She didn¡¯t, so he found himself forced to ask another question. ¡®Why not? You¡¯d have been free if you had.¡¯ Chapter 34: Being Honest The ameshek was silent for a long moment. ¡®You spared my life,¡¯ she said eventually. ¡®I recognise that and am not ungrateful for it. Even if you attacked me first, that is the nature of the world we live in. I know that you would have gained much if you had killed me. Yet you chose not to. Why not?¡¯ Dominic eyed her, wondering what he should say to the question thrown back at him as if a tennis ball returned over the net. The full truth, or part of the truth, or none of the truth? Leo was surprisingly quiet in the back of his mind, watchful and observant, as if he were hunting. ¡®I could have gained many benefits from letting you die, that¡¯s true,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®More than you know, I suspect. I let you live because I hoped that we¡¯d be able to do more together than apart.¡¯ ¡®That is my other reason for not choosing to sever the alliance between us,¡¯ agreed the wolven creature. ¡®My pack is isolated, we have not heard any others of our kind within our range. That means there are none within several days¡¯ run. Even the plants outside this area are foreign to us, and the prey even more so. An alliance is something that could benefit us ¨C were it to be with the right beings.¡¯ ¡®You think we might be the right beings?¡¯ Dominic asked, hopefully. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ replied the ameshek a little noncommittally. ¡®More so than the others we have encountered. Your courage in facing me in a duel was the first indication. Your protectiveness of your pack was another. Letting me live and offering an alliance yourself was a third. We shall see in time whether the indications result in anything significant, however.¡¯ ¡®And you don¡¯t mind that I attacked you in anger?¡¯ he asked a little warily. While part of him was telling him not to look a gift-horse ¨C or gift-wolf ¨C in the mouth, another part was reminding him that not looking in the mouth of a gift-horse had ended up being the downfall of the Trojans. The ameshek sent a wordless thought which seemed to hold an expression of a shrug. ¡®I would have probably done worse in your place,¡¯ she replied. Her mental tone didn¡¯t indicate whether she felt that Dominic had reacted correctly in that situation, or whether he had failed that little test of hers, as it seems it was indeed a test. Well, if her words were to be believed and she was indeed still a vassal of his, that was. Actually, he wondered whether there would be anything about that on his status screen ¨C surely it would show something? Since she didn¡¯t seem to be champing at the bit to continue the conversation, he quickly pulled up the screen. ¡®There,¡¯ Leo told him, a moment before Dominic spotted it for himself: a new entry right at the bottom of his status sheet. Vassals: - Ameshek pack leader (level 30) Well, it was good to have confirmation that thirty was indeed the next half-step, and that the ameshek had been honest about remaining his vassal. Closing his status screen, Dominic gazed at the creature thoughtfully. ¡®Do you think she¡¯s being honest?¡¯ he asked his companion quietly. ¡®You can see she has been,¡¯ Leo responded, a little impatiently. ¡®I don¡¯t mean about the vassalship, I know that. But about her motivations, her reason for maintaining the alliance.¡¯ Leo was silent for a few heartbeats. ¡®Does it matter?¡¯ he asked in the end. ¡®She didn¡¯t take the chance to strike when she could have. I¡¯m still not sure that this pride will be particularly useful to us, but I¡¯ll grant you the fact that she could have attacked, or encouraged her pride members to attack, and didn¡¯t. That alone should be worth more than any number of words.¡¯ Leo did have a point, Dominic had to admit. And humans did say that actions spoke louder than words¡­. ¡®Alright, so to go back to what we were discussing earlier, you¡¯d like to seal the alliance by¡­eating each other¡¯s fallen group members?¡¯ Dominic asked, still a little unsure about it. ¡®Yes,¡¯ the ameshek replied succinctly. ¡®Alright. Well, I want to check with my lionesses that they would be fine with that idea, but in principle, I agree.¡¯ ¡®Very well. I shall come with you to ask them.¡¯ Not completely convinced that that was a good idea, but not sure how he could say no without risking offending the large creature, he ended up saying nothing but led her to the group of lionesses. The females lifted their heads as they came closer, then got to their feet once they saw who was accompanying him. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡®Threat?¡¯ asked Sekhmet in the chat. ¡®Not as far as I know,¡¯ he answered, not completely ruling out the possibility. ¡®To deal with the dead on both sides and to cement the alliance of our groups, she is suggesting that we eat the carcasses of those who we killed¡­and that they in turn eat the body of Mara.¡¯ The dead lioness¡¯ body had been carefully pulled to one side and was being guarded by Zarini and Cleo, two of the lionesses who had seemed closest to her. They might even be her blood sisters. ¡®But if you are not happy with that, then I will suggest something else.¡¯ The lionesses took a few moments to reply, conferring amongst themselves a little. Dominic suspected that Sekhmet might even be using her own Telepathy Ability to a speak privately with the rest of the pride. Finally, they came back to him, Sekhmet once more taking the lead. ¡®We agree but want everyone to share everything.¡¯ Dominic frowned mentally. ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ ¡®New creatures part of pride?¡¯ she asked. ¡®I mean¡­yes, I guess,¡¯ he said a little uncertainly. He hadn¡¯t thought of it exactly like that, but perhaps he should add the amesheks to the Pride itself. Or at least present the option to the leader. It would offer the amesheks the advantage of the shared Prey Points, and would split them even further, but at the same time would mean that he gained more Pride points to spend¡­. Something to consider later. For now, identifying the wolven creatures as part of the pride would help the lionesses accept them. ¡®Then all share all kills,¡¯ Sekhmet suggested. This time, Dominic thought he understood. ¡®You¡¯re saying that you wish to eat Mara as well as the ameshek bodies, and that they should eat their own as well?¡¯ checked Dominic, not sure how he felt about that. At the lioness¡¯ confirmation, he turned to the ameshek leader and explained what Sekhmet had suggested. ¡®It is a good idea,¡¯ the leader agreed. ¡®It will help the groups to feel more connected together.¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ Dominic agreed, his stomach roiling at the thought of consuming ¨C physically ¨C flesh from a lioness he had fought alongside. The ameshek leader called the rest of her group over ¨C small now, at only seven other members. They gathered around the different bodies, showing no signs of the same issues he had with cannibalism. The lionesses joined them too, first sticking close together, then splitting apart a little as they sought to feed from all the different bodies. It was quite a different experience from the aftermath of a normal hunt. Then, there was always an element of competition, though that seemed to have reduced among the Tier 2 lionesses. Here, there was no competition, only a sense of solemnity, like everyone knew the reason for the feast. And perhaps they did. With the exception of Zarini, Cleo, Leona, and Isis, everyone else around was Tier 2. The amesheks were all higher level even than Sekhmet so their capacity to understand what had happened must be even greater than hers. It made him wonder just how the ameshek leader could so coolly stand there and say that she wanted an alliance with them: if someone had killed eight of his pride, he would certainly not be willing to do the same. He found himself voicing the thought to her without even really intending on it, his telepathy reaching out almost without his permission. ¡®What good does it do us to dwell on the past?¡¯ she answered with a hint of sadness in her voice. ¡®I grieve those who have fallen. Yet if I wish the others to survive, then I must make decisions for their benefit. Even if the decisions to benefit the living conflict with those to benefit the dead, my course remains clear.¡¯ ¡®But are you not angry?¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but ask. The look that she sent him, one that made her eyes almost glow, was enough of an answer to shut him up. Yes, she clearly was angry. But he realised that she was a better leader than him: she wasn¡¯t letting her emotions control her the way he¡¯d sometimes let his control him. ¡®I¡¯m sorry,¡¯ he said, almost reflexively. He didn¡¯t exactly regret attacking them, but if he¡¯d known how intelligent they were, he might have considered talking to them first, seeing if they could come to a bloodless arrangement. Maybe Mara would still be alive if he had. I need to remember that the higher level the creature, the more intelligent they apparently are, so I¡¯m going to come across more and more of them as time goes on. That was both a good thing ¨C he could communicate better with them ¨C and a bad thing since it meant that his advantage in out-thinking them would disappear. He decided not to push his luck with the ameshek leader, not while they were trying to use this moment as one of reconciliation. Instead, he moved over to collect the Cores from the ameshek which had already been Consumed. He¡¯d be collecting more Cores from the other bodies soon enough, but he was curious about what Abilities they contained. ¡®Are you OK with this whole thing?¡¯ he asked Leo as he moved. ¡®The alliance with the canines?¡¯ ¡®No, the¡­cannibalism thing.¡¯ The lion was silent for a few moments. ¡®While it¡¯s not something that we commonly do, it¡¯s not unheard of for a mother to eat her dead cubs. I saw that happen when one of the younger cubs in my pride was trampled by a zebra. Its mother tried to wake it up, licked it, nudged it¡­and then eventually ate it. This, while it is not the same, is not so different that I have the unease with it that you seem to have.¡¯ Apparently it was a cultural thing. Well, perhaps he could switch places with the lion then so he could get out of what made his stomach roll. For now, he had a quick look at the first Core. [Beast Core: Ameshek level 17 Ability option 1: Sonic Attack (100% chance)) Ability option 2: Vibrating Body (90% chance) Ability option 3: Group Enhancement (10% chance)] ¡®Now that¡¯s interesting,¡¯ Dominic commented to Leo. ¡®Does that look like a guaranteed chance of getting the first Ability to you? I don¡¯t remember that happening before?¡¯ ¡®We haven¡¯t killed many Tier two beasts. Maybe that¡¯s why,¡¯ suggested Leo. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ agreed Dominic tentatively, though he wasn¡¯t sure if that was indeed the case. After all they had killed a number of Tier 2 beasts¡­. Well, perhaps he¡¯d eventually find out the reason why. Maybe Selessa would know. For now, he turned his attention to what the Abilities were. Chapter 35: Numbers Are Strength Curious about the attack the amesheks had used on them several times, Dominic looked at the first. [Sonic Attack (T1): Use soundwaves to disrupt some of the internal systems of the target. The higher the level of the Ability, the more damage can be done. This is a Sound-classed Ability: compatible other sound attacks can enhance the effect of this; incompatible sound attacks can impact or even neutralise this attack. Warning: at lower levels, the user of this Ability cannot move or risk a backlash.] ¡®That sounds pretty expected,¡¯ Dominic commented to Leo. He felt the lion¡¯s agreement. ¡®Though the point about it being compatible with other sound attacks explains why they were able to have so much effect when all used it together.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®I wonder if there are any other ¡®classes¡¯ of Abilities which have an inherent additional or multiplicative effect when used by multiple creatures.¡¯ ¡®Perhaps. Also, the last line explains why the creatures seemed stuck in position,¡¯ Leo remarked. He had a point there ¨C it was good for Dominic to have the answer to a question which had bugged him for a while. ¡®It doesn¡¯t actually mention anything about needing specific body parts for the Ability,¡¯ he mentioned thoughtfully. ¡®And we¡¯ve seen Abilities combine before¡­. I wonder if I could combine it with our Roar?¡¯ ¡®Possibly, but we don¡¯t want to risk our Roar becoming actively damaging to our females,¡¯ cautioned Leo. ¡®Good point.¡¯ After all, at the moment, his Roar had the possibility of offering a buff: if adding a sonic attack element to it meant that he would be unable to use it in a battle with his lionesses, he¡¯d be nerfing something that currently worked. And even if the description did indicate that he might be able to choose who was affected by the Ability, that was no guarantee that whatever Ability he¡¯d end up would have the same. ¡®Something to consider later.¡¯ Moving to the next, he asked for information about it. [Vibrating Body (T1): Causes the user¡¯s body to vibrate at a higher or lower frequency than normal. This Ability may have effects on foreign objects within the user¡¯s body, or on its surroundings. Warning: while the vibration will not affect the user negatively, the effects of the vibration may.] The description seemed rather unhelpful to Dominic, but after having thought a little about it, he supposed it made sense. When he had sunk his teeth into the wolf the first time they had encountered each other, the vibration the ameshek created meant that his teeth got stuck in the wound, and one even vibrated out of his gum. However, potentially, that vibration would have caused his teeth to damage the wolven creature more than his bite would normally have. He was intrigued by the fact that it was possible to vibrate at a higher or a lower frequency. Did that mean that if he was caught in another creature¡¯s vibration, that he could control it? Or perhaps that he could get free of something if he was caught? Trying to hold something which was vibrating certainly could be difficult, and even painful. Maybe he could even clean himself ¨C he¡¯d heard of cleaners which used vibration to work. But what would happen if he vibrated slower? Leo seemed just as baffled as Dominic himself, and less interested, especially when it appeared that the defensive potential might be less than he thought. Then again, with his regeneration, perhaps it would be worth letting a creature bite him to rid it of its best weapon, just as he had lost a tooth to the ameshek once. The third Ability was, as expected, the most interesting of the lot. [Group Enhancement (T2): Numbers are strength. This Ability can either increase the effectiveness of a single Ability shared by all members of the group, or share a single Ability with a single other member. The duration of either effect depends on the difference between the user¡¯s Ability level of the target Ability, and the Ability level of Group Enhancement. If the creature the Ability is shared with increases the level of the Ability while the effect is active, there is a chance that they may keep the Ability permanently.] It was clear why this Ability was Tier 2. Its first effect was good, offering an enhancement to something that the group shared such as Pounce could definitely be useful, depending on how much it was increased by. The second effect was better: if he could share, say, Majestic Roar with one of the lionesses, they could double the chance of getting the Inspired buff, which in turn would increase their power as a group. Not only that, but if he was reading it right, they might even be able to keep the Ability after, if they managed to use it enough to level it in whatever space of time they were given. He had the option of giving another member of the Pride one of his Abilities, but he had to spend 5 Pride points to do it, and the Ability had to be at level 5 to guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t lose it himself. This seemed to be a ¡®free¡¯ way to do that. Though, of course, he had to get the Ability first. And considering that it was the third option on the list, and only a 10% chance of getting it besides, there was no guarantee that he would succeed in actually acquiring the Ability. ¡®Are you OK with me absorbing it?¡¯ Dominic checked with Leo. ¡®Of course,¡¯ the lion said immediately. ¡®I think we should be cautious about accepting it fully, but there is no harm in getting the Abilities to the point where we can choose to accept them or not.¡¯ ¡®Alright, here goes,¡¯ the former human said, absorbing the Core. Then, curious to see what had changed, he flicked open his status screen. Acquired Abilities: Rage (67% to level 1) Easy Landing (45% to level 1) Rending Bite (34% to level 1) Fleet Foot (32% to level 1) Bloodied Stalwart (40% to level 1) Enhanced Fertility (30% to level 1) Bleed (96% to level 1) Dominant Chirp (6% to level 1) Pack Attack (72% to level 1) Rock Skin (10% to level 1) Spike Attack (24% to level 1) Keen Senses (35% to level 1) Enhanced Scales (20% to level 1) Loose Skin (5% to level) Poisonous Spikes (13% to level 1) Hop (1% to level 1) Sonic Attack (35% to level 1) The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Vibrating Body (35% to level 1) Wow, thirty-five percent all at once? Dominic marvelled. It was unsurprising that he¡¯d got Vibrating Body instead of Group Enhancement, even if he¡¯d mentally been pushing for it. But 35% towards the next level in one Core was pretty amazing. Even more so considering that he¡¯d got it in two Abilities. Why the ameshek were different from the other Tier 2s he had killed, he didn¡¯t know. Either way, it was good for him. He still wasn¡¯t sure whether he¡¯d accept either of the Abilities offered, even assuming he got enough from the Cores to acquire them, but he had to wait until they¡¯d dealt with all the bodies before he¡¯d be able to find that out. Besides, he had some time until he could level up to think about it, anyway. Progress to Evolution: 232/615 PP While he was waiting for everyone else to take a bite from each of the bodies, he checked his Pride screen, curious about how the lionesses had changed. Pride status Level 4 Pride (progress to next level 33/35) Current information shared: Health, Abilities Current members: Tier 2, Level 22 x1 (Leader ¨C Dominic: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Group Attack, Crushing Bite, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Nip, Rapid Attack, Acidic Bite, Sure Feet, Enhanced Stamina, Momentous Charge, Majestic Roar) Tier 2, Level 12 x2 (Sekhmet: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Telepathy) (Anuke: Pouce, Rapid Attack, Quick Strike) Tier 2, Level 11 x4 (Menhit: Pounce, Sure Feet, Wind Breath) (Hathor: Pounce, Rending Bite, Stealth) (Jenkins: Pounce, Quick Strike, Enhanced Speed), (Neith: Pounce, Keen Senses, Quick Strike) Tier 2, Level 10 x1 (Isis: Pounce, Protective Mother, Rending Bite) Tier 1 Level 8 x6 (Leona: Pounce, Stunning Roar), (Zarini: Pounce, Ambush), (Cleo: Pounce, Keen Senses), (Simbi: Pounce, Quick Strike), (Lyla: Pounce, Rending Bite), (Kalista: Pounce, Rapid Attack) Tier 1 Level 7 x4 (Saffron: Pounce, Sharp Mind), (Luna: Pounce, Keen Senses), (Fang: Pounce, Sharp Mind), (Kiera: Pounce, Rapid Attack) Tier 1 Level 6 x6 (Serena: Pounce, Quick Strike), (Nova: Pounce, Pride Attack), (Amber: Pounce, Ambush), (Aurora: Pounce, Rending Bite), (Leah: Pounce, Piercing Bite), (Lionel: Pounce, Healing Cloud) Tier 1 Level 4 x1 (Prince: Pounce) Pride enhancements: 21% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 6 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 4 Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) ¨C on 15% increased chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier ¨C level 3 Intra-group communication system ¨C on Lion¡¯s Share ¨C 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members to the leader ¨C off The first thing he noticed was that the Pride progress counter was sitting at 33. Since that was the same number it had been sitting at before Mara¡¯s death, he was a little confused to begin with. He found himself also wondering what would have happened if they¡¯d increased to the next level before she died. Would they have kept the points and then not gained any more the next time a Pride member increased Tier? Or would he have lost the enhancement he¡¯d bought with the points? He guessed it must be at least one of those situations ¨C it would be far too easily exploited if he could earn points by kicking a lioness out of the pride and then inviting her back in again and again. Curiosity filling him, he turned to look at the rest of the changes. Not surprisingly, almost all the lionesses who had come with him had increased a level, the only exception being Sekhmet. She was no longer the highest levelled lioness: now Anuke had caught up with her in actual levels. Dominic suspected that it wouldn¡¯t last long, though. Unless Anuke went hunting and Sekhmet didn¡¯t, that was. ¡®They¡¯re not the only ones to have gone up, though,¡¯ Leo remarked, clearly looking with as much interest as him. ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ Dominic realised. ¡®I wonder what¡¯s happened back with the group.¡¯ Looking through the names, he saw that two of the juvenile males ¨C Fang and Lionel ¨C had gone up a level, as had Kiera, Lyla, Kalista, Simbi, and Neith. Realising that Neith had gone up gave Dominic a clue as to what had happened ¨C she must have taken a group out hunting. Dominic approved greatly. Something else in the status screen explained why Mara¡¯s death hadn¡¯t affected the Pride progress to the next level ¨C Isis had also gone up, due to the fight with the ameshek. Now she was a Tier 2, she was worth two Tier 1 members according to the Pride progress counter. ¡®Healing Cloud, that¡¯s an interesting one, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ commented Dominic as he examined the newest Abilities appearing on the sheet. ¡®It must be the increased chance of gaining a higher tier Ability working there.¡¯ With the previous load of points, he¡¯d chosen to increase their Prey Points earning by two levels and the chances of getting a higher tier by one level. He¡¯d considered picking the option to have more chance of being able to choose the Ability, but had decided against it in the end ¨C it wasn¡¯t much good being able to choose if the choices were all rubbish. That was something for later. ¡®I would like to see it in action,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®What caused him to gain something like that, though?¡¯ ¡®Good question. You realise that if he¡¯s turned into a healer, we definitely won¡¯t want to kick him out when he¡¯s turned into an adult,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. Leo was silent for a moment before letting out a frustrated grumble-groan. He didn¡¯t respond in words, but Dominic knew that that was only because he didn¡¯t want to agree in words. With the new increases in level, Dominic decided to check out his Pride points, and the options he had available. Last time, there had been one point left over after his selections; hopefully now he would have enough to get some good choices. [Pride enhancements (Points available: 6) Increase the number of Prey Points gained by 7% (repeatable) (7) Increase the damage done by the members of the Pride when working together ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% (repeatable) (5) Increase the chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (4) Increase the chance of being able to determine the type of Ability a Pride member will gain on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (5) Intra-group communication system (repeatable to extend range) (3) Lion¡¯s Generosity ¨C give one of your Pride one of your Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of your original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 you have raised the Ability, you have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (5) Pride defence ¨C create a shield over the Pride which is strengthened by the combined defences of all Pride members within a certain radius. If the shield is forcibly broken, defences will take some time to return (depending on Enhancement level); if the shield is voluntarily released, defences will return immediately. Cooldown: 5 mins (repeatable to increase range, defences, and reduce defence return time or cooldown) (10) Immunity ¨C no direct negative effects will be sustained from Abilities used by a member of the Pride. (20) Note: more options may be added later depending on your actions with the Pride.] ¡®Pride defence and Immunity¡­those are new ones,¡¯ Dominic mused to Leo. ¡®And the second sounds just about exactly what we need, even if it¡¯s rather expensive¡¯ he added, eyeing the new option with interest. Chapter 36: Grief Leo approached the bodies of the fallen, the last to do so. They had swapped over because the former-human had some odd hesitations over consuming the flesh of one he had hunted with. Leo would say that it was a human-only issue, but he¡¯d noticed that there was a sombre air which hung over the group. With so much flesh laid out in front of them, Leo would have expected the feeling to be more that of a feast than what it actually was. Instead, almost everyone had had their bite, but a fair amount of the bodies still remained. He understood the hesitation about consuming much of their own kind: lions didn¡¯t tend to eat lions. However, the lions were being just as reticent about eating the ameshek bodies, and the amesheks were the same with the female lion who had fallen too. As he approached and stood over the first body, one of an ameshek, he stooped down to take a bite. The flesh was tasty, though a bit tough. He had to tug fairly hard to break it free from the rest of the body, and it felt larger than normal going down his throat. Having taken a bite from that body, he moved on to the next. As he shifted from one body to the next, the bites of meat that he¡¯d taken seemed to sit more and more heavily in his stomach. Abruptly, he realised what he was feeling: discomfort, regret. And he hadn¡¯t even made it to the only one he was actually expecting to grieve. Why? he wondered as he took a bite from the eighth ameshek body. Is it some sort of magic affecting me? He darted a suspicious look at the large ameshek leader. Does she have some sort of Ability to affect my emotions? ¡®I doubt it,¡¯ his brother answered his thought. ¡®If she did, she¡¯d have used it earlier.¡¯ He was silent for a few moments. ¡®Perhaps we¡¯re feeling it more because something inside us is recognising them as part of the group. That was the whole point of doing this, after all,¡¯ he pointed out. ¡®Or perhaps it¡¯s an effect from the Place of Power? We still know very little about it.¡¯ Leo thought about it. His brother had a point ¨C maybe. Certainly, the ¡®movies¡¯ which his brother recalled fondly from time to time had far stranger events happen. Though, what the implications of that might be, he didn¡¯t know. Not sure whether to accept the emotions or reject them, he moved onto the female lion. This one was far simpler: he could grieve her death without wondering whether his grief was real or forced upon him. This wasn¡¯t his first time losing a member of his pride, but it was odd to feel the emotions so strongly. He had felt loss when he had been chased out of his birth pride, and had seen mothers who lost their cubs grieve for them. He¡¯d felt even stronger emotions when they had lost the two females from their newly acquired pride. Yet this was deeper even than that. Instinctively, he nudged at the body of the female, licked her face, even though he knew that she was long gone. That there was no chance of her moving and pushing herself to her feet. Then, finally, he moved over to her shoulder where others had already taken a bite and sank his teeth into her. There, he hesitated. He¡¯d been a little contemptuous at his brother¡¯s reaction to eating the flesh of another lion, but now he realised to his embarrassment that he was struggling too. It felt like it would be the final acceptance that the female he had known was gone. Never to be mated. Never to have cubs. Never to hunt with him again. And then Leo forced his teeth to bite down, forced his neck muscles to pull back to free the chunk of muscle. The female¡­Mara¡­was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could be angry at his brother for bringing them in when they were too low level, but that would be unfair. He had agreed with Dominic¡¯s reasoning about not giving the canines more time to gain strength, about needing the numbers of females to help him. So instead, he just let the chunk of meat slip down his throat, to sit heavily in his belly with the rest of the recently-eaten lumps. ¡®We should Consume the rest of the bodies,¡¯ his brother said quietly, his tone subdued. Leo was honestly surprised that he had stuck around ¨C he had expected the former-primate to beat a hasty retreat, just as he did whenever the lions started mating. ¡®I felt it was only right to say goodbye,¡¯ Dominic answered his unspoken thoughts. ¡®I just¡­couldn¡¯t have done¡­what you just did. So, Consume them?¡¯ ¡®If everyone else is done,¡¯ answered Leo. ¡®I think they are,¡¯ his brother pointed out. Leo looked around. Lost in his own thoughts as he had been, he realised that the lions and ameshek had all gathered around him in a circle, each group distinct and separate. A frisson of fear went all the way from his head down to the tip of his tail at the thought of how they could have so easily attacked him without him being aware until it was too late. A human mind was a bad influence on him. ¡®We should invite them to share the golden clouds,¡¯ said the human mind in question impulsively. ¡®It would be something else to make us feel like allies rather than enemies. And we would all feel a bit better, I think.¡¯ Leo considered the question, but saw no problems with it. A part of him complained about beings outside his pride benefiting, but another part reminded him that Dominic seemed determined to bring them into the pride ¨C especially after seeing the new enhancement which was available to them ¨C Immunity. And Leo, dubious as he was about the ameshek in general, admitted that that was a way of getting maximum benefit out of them. And if they were going to invite them into the Pride, they might as well invite them into this activity too. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he agreed after a moment. First sending a message in the Pride chat to his females to be ready to absorb the golden dust, he turned to the ameshek leader. ¡®Prepare your pride. They must come close to absorb the golden dust,¡¯ he sent to her. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The ameshek leader tilted her head to one side. ¡®You are different from before.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ll explain later,¡¯ Dominic cut in, projecting his mental voice to the ameshek leader. Leo knew from past experience that it was harder to do when not in full control of the body, but possible, where any physical actions were not. The large ameshek female just tilted her head to the other side, eyeing them thoughtfully for a moment. ¡®Very well,¡¯ she said finally. ¡®I will hold you to that. Now, you say we must come close?¡¯ ¡®When the golden dust flies, yes,¡¯ the lion answered shortly, then moved into the centre. Setting himself a little off balance, he stretched out paws, tail, and nose to touch all carcasses at the same time. ¡®Consume,¡¯ he commanded and the bodies dissolved into a mass of golden dust. For a moment, he could see nothing. The substance rushed into his body, and he felt a slight wave of satiation, even if his stamina and health bars were already full. Then he felt something brush past him on one side ¨C turning his head, he saw it was one of his females. Then something brushed past him on the other: one of the ameshek. The touches increased in frequency, until he could barely tell who was doing it. Apart from when the ameshek leader did the same ¨C she was big enough to be unmistakable. Slowly the cloud cleared, until the last of the golden dust was gone. Leo eyed the ameshek and lions. Something had changed. Instead of the distinct groups they had been in before the golden dust flew, now they were all mixed up together. As he watched, he saw them drift back into their separate groups, but they didn¡¯t seem so distinct any more. One lion was actually closer to the amesheks than to her own kind, and an ameshek was similar. ¡®It seems that was more of a bonding exercise than I thought it might be,¡¯ mused Dominic, his voice drifting into Leo¡¯s mind. ¡®Maybe this would be a good time to approach Nyx about the Pride. After absorbing the Cores, of course.¡¯ ¡®Nyx?¡¯ Leo asked, confused. ¡®Oh,¡¯ Dominic sounded a little embarrassed. ¡®I just felt uncomfortable calling her ¡®the ameshek leader¡¯ all the time. I thought that Nyx would work well ¨C she¡¯s black as night, after all.¡¯ ¡®You and your incessant desire to name others,¡¯ lamented Leo. ¡®Why can¡¯t you just identify them through smell and appearance like any normal lion does?!¡¯ Dominic didn¡¯t answer, except to send him a wave of playful irritation which was all Leo had really expected anyway. The lion walked through the space which had been filled with golden dust until very recently. In its place lay several gleaming orbs ¨C the amesheks¡¯ ¨C and Mara¡¯s ¨C Cores. Already knowing what his brother wanted him to do, Leo nudged the first one, asking it for information. As expected, he wasn¡¯t able to make much sense out of the message which flashed up ¨C that he could make any sense at all was more of a surprise, honestly. ¡®That¡¯s odd,¡¯ Dominic mused from the back of his mind. ¡®What?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll tell you in a moment. Just go and get information from the next Core too.¡¯ Puzzled, the lion did so, and then the next, and then the one after that. By the time he did it to the seventh glimmering orb, he was getting more irritated than mystified. ¡®Are you going to tell me what¡¯s strange now?¡¯ he growled at his frustrating brother. ¡®They¡¯re all identical,¡¯ Dominic replied, sounding confused. ¡®What?¡¯ ¡®All the options in the Cores are identical. I know we¡¯re used to all members of the same species sharing the same first Ability, but there¡¯s usually more variation with the second and third. But not here.¡¯ ¡®Maybe it¡¯s specific to this creature?¡¯ suggested Leo. ¡®Or it¡¯s an effect of this place,¡¯ countered Dominic. ¡®Do you think it could be a problem?¡¯ Leo asked next, slight alarm going through him. Although he didn¡¯t obsess over Abilities like his primate-descended brother did, he did recognise the benefit of different pride members having different strengths. ¡®We¡¯ll have to keep an eye open,¡¯ Dominic said in the end, communicating across an uncomfortable feeling of helplessness. Unfortunately, Leo couldn¡¯t think of any better ideas either. ¡®Ah well, at least it means we¡¯re more likely to get the Abilities we want right now. Absorb the Cores, would you?¡¯ Seeing no reason to object, Leo did just that, remembering to focus on the Abilities they wanted. He felt his brother focus too, and hoped that they were attempting to absorb the same Ability. It probably wouldn¡¯t work as well if not. ¡®Nice,¡¯ his brother reported after he¡¯d finished. ¡®We¡¯ve reached a hundred percent towards Sonic Attack and Vibrating Body, and we¡¯re even seventy percent towards Group Enhancement. It looks like focussing on Group Enhancement has improved our odds of getting it, though unfortunately, just not quite enough. If we¡¯d got it in our last Core, that would have been great, but we got Vibrating Body which was already at a hundred percent, so that was wasted.¡¯ he sighed. ¡®Perhaps we¡¯ll get another chance later. Privately, Leo wondered whether they¡¯d get the chance sooner rather than later if the discussion his brother wanted to have didn¡¯t go well. ¡®Since we¡¯ve finished all that, do you want to switch over for that conversation now?¡¯ the lion asked, preparing to do just that. ¡®Nah, I¡¯m enjoying relaxing for a bit,¡¯ Dominic answered easily, the feeling of a languorous stretch deliberately shared across their shared consciousness. That, Leo wasn¡¯t expecting. ¡®I thought you were going to talk to the ameshek leader about the Pride?¡¯ asked Leo, confused. ¡®I was,¡¯ admitted his brother, ¡®but then I thought that it might be better if you do it.¡¯ Leo was even more confused. ¡®Why? You¡¯re the one who wants them there. I¡¯m still not convinced that it¡¯s a good idea to keep them around.¡¯ ¡®I know that you¡¯re worried they could hurt the lionesses accidentally. But if we take Immunity and they¡¯re part of the Pride, then that won¡¯t be an issue. But I don¡¯t want this to be just me insisting. If you really think they shouldn¡¯t be part of the Pride¡­I¡¯ll go along with you.¡¯ Leo grumbled to himself. He had, but that was before it was going to be down to him to convince another creature when he himself was not completely convinced. Though, he had to admit that his feelings of antagonism towards the canines had reduced with the recent events. And having the decision passed over to him to make soothed something inside him that he hadn¡¯t realised was irritated. Eyeing the ameshek leader, he huffed in resignation. ¡®Fine,¡¯ he agreed grumpily, moving towards the large ameshek and then lying down in front of her ¨C given that they were supposed to be convincing her to join the pride, staying standing probably would give her the wrong message. ¡®Do you want to join my Pride?¡¯ he asked bluntly. Chapter 37: Succinct, Yet Informative ¡®You can¡¯t ask it like that!¡¯ yelped Dominic at Leo, even while the ameshek once more simply tilted her head to one side, her antennae waving back and forth slightly faster than normal. The former-human was abruptly regretting encouraging Leo to take point on this. He¡¯d thought that it might be a good opportunity to get Leo on board with accepting the amesheks ¨C if he was the one to convince her to join, then he¡¯d automatically feel better about the idea. Well, that and Dominic did feel a bit guilty for making most of the big decisions lately. But he feared that it might be backfiring a bit. On the other hand, maybe a bit of bluntness might be a good idea? Perhaps Leo, a lion at heart as well as in body, might have more in common with another predator. Especially one who had only recently reached a state of awareness. Maybe he¡¯d have a better sense of how to approach the situation than someone who still thought mostly like a human. He decided to wait and see for a bit. ¡®First explain what you promised earlier,¡¯ the wolven creature replied neutrally a few moments later. ¡®Before I can even consider joining you in any deeper way than I currently am, I need to know more about you. Especially when you have changed to such a degree in such a short space of time.¡¯ From what Dominic could tell, Leo found the question completely reasonable, and so decided to give just as reasonable a response. ¡®We were once two, but are now one.¡¯ Or not. Dominic felt like face-palming, but since he wasn¡¯t currently in the mental space, he was unable to actually do it. ¡®Congratulations,¡¯ he said to Leo sarcastically. ¡®I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll know exactly what you meant there.¡¯ ¡®I know, it was succinct, yet informative, wasn¡¯t it?¡¯ For some strange reason, Leo appeared to be being absolutely sincere. Either that or he had developed the ability to mentally bullshit without Dominic being aware. The former-human wouldn¡¯t put it past him. The ameshek gazed at them with her red eyes. ¡®I do not understand,¡¯ she said slowly. Big surprise. Dominic shook his head mentally as Leo huffed a little in frustration ¨C apparently he had been expecting the leader to understand exactly what he¡¯d meant. ¡®Before, we were two. Now, we are one.¡¯ ¡®Man, you¡¯re bad at this,¡¯ grumbled Dominic to Leo. ¡®Then you should have taken on this task,¡¯ shot Leo back at him. Dominic found himself momentarily speechless ¨C much as he hated to admit it, the lion had a point. He was definitely starting to regret giving the task to Leo, though. ¡®You¡­are two beings in one? Two of your kind?¡¯ the ameshek asked, not being privy to their internal conversation. ¡®No,¡¯ Leo answered her. ¡®My brother was a human, a species of two-legged primates that was a plague upon the world Before. I have always been a lion. I hunted him just before the world changed and was feasting on him when, abruptly, everything went black. I found myself still in my body but unable to control its movements. It took me a while to understand what had happened ¨C and even longer to regain any control.¡¯ Dominic found himself listening with interest. He¡¯d never actually asked Leo what the beginnings of things had been like for him. They¡¯d mostly talked about the world before the System arrived for both of them or what to do in the future. The period of time between the merge of their consciousnesses and the soul battle in the dungeon wasn¡¯t really something that had come up. If this situation elicited sympathy from the ameshek leader, it could be a good approach, for sure. The pendulum of ¡®leave this up to Leo or step in¡¯ swung more towards the ¡®leave this up to Leo¡¯ side. ¡®But you were not in control earlier?¡¯ the ameshek asked. Dominic sensed a hint of reluctant appreciation from Leo¡¯s side of things ¨C it appeared that he too was recognising the intelligence of this creature. ¡®No,¡¯ the lion answered. ¡®I appreciate the ability to relax and let him do most of the hard work. I like to show him how a real lion hunts sometimes, and he recognises my clear superiority when it comes to mating ¨C¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s a lie!¡¯ spluttered Dominic at the lion. ¡®I just don¡¯t like weird lion sex!¡¯ Annoyingly, Leo just ignored him and continued like he hadn¡¯t said anything. ¡®¨C but most of the time I let him be in control.¡¯ ¡®I see,¡¯ the ameshek responded thoughtfully. ¡®You spoke of a Pride,¡¯ she asked, abruptly changing the subject. Apparently, Leo was willing to go along with it, and, though still feeling a bit indignant at the blatant lies of his companion, Dominic was glad to see that he seemed to be warming up to the wolven creature little by little as they continued speaking. ¡®I did.¡¯ ¡®Why do you wish me to join? And why should I?¡¯ ¡®Not just you,¡¯ the lion pointed out. Dominic was glad he decided to clarify that. ¡®You and your pride. As for why, can¡¯t you see how clearly beneficial it is considering the recent battle?¡¯ he asked as if it should be obvious. ¡®We, with fewer numbers and lower levels, still beat you.¡¯ ¡®You can¡¯t put it like that?¡¯ groaned Dominic, the pendulum once more swinging back the other way and making him itch to take control again. ¡®You sound so arrogant. And reminding her of her recent losses¡­not a good idea.¡¯ He¡¯d already made that mistake when he¡¯d pushed too far earlier. And he didn¡¯t blame her ¨C he¡¯d had some time to review that conversation and realised that he wouldn¡¯t have reacted well to someone asking him those questions and practically throwing Mara¡¯s death in his face. And he¡¯d only lost one lioness. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. It seemed that Leo didn¡¯t agree with his assessment, though. ¡®Either take over, or shut up,¡¯ he snapped in return. From what Dominic could interpret of his thoughts, he felt that he was saying no more than the truth; that it was necessary to remind her of the reality of the situation. And, Dominic supposed, if it helped her feel that her followers would be safer with their Pride than not, maybe it could work. He¡¯d just have to hope that the ameshek leader continued to show more reasonability than he honestly thought he¡¯d be capable of in the same situation. The ameshek took her time to respond. ¡®You fought well, but had I not offered our duel I suspect that we would have been victorious in the end,¡¯ she said slowly and very deliberately. Clearly, she wasn¡¯t looking for a debate. Dominic wouldn¡¯t be inclined to start one with her. After all, he rather agreed. The thing was that the lionesses had definitely been disadvantaged against the ameshek. Lower levelled and without the powerful group Abilities of the wolven creatures, they would have succumbed quickly if not for Dominic¡¯s intervention. If he had then been tied up in fighting the leader, it would have left the lionesses vulnerable. Not to mention made his own battle harder if some of the amesheks had ganged up alongside their leader. The ameshek had continued speaking while he was wrapped in his own thoughts. ¡®¨Cat a cost I was not willing to pay: even more of the lives of my pack.¡¯ Once more, Dominic felt kinship with the large creature. As, for a moment, did Leo. The lion moved quickly on. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ he allowed, ¡®but that is not what happened. The fact is that you surrendered to us, even though we had all the apparent disadvantages. You should join us.¡¯ ¡®Which is why I ask, how would we be advantaged if we join you?¡¯ the ameshek repeated with more patience than Dominic would have expected of her. ¡®Well, you¡¯d be part of my Pride,¡¯ replied Leo with a hint of confusion, like he didn¡¯t quite understand why the ameshek was struggling with grasping this fact. Dominic sighed. Leo had come a long way, but ultimately, he was a lion. As far as he had gathered, they didn¡¯t do negotiations. ¡®I¡¯m going to have to get involved, aren¡¯t I?¡¯ he murmured quietly, not sure whether Leo would even hear him ¨C and not really caring either. Continuing, he spoke louder, intentionally projecting it both to his companion and the ameshek. It took more mental focus, and he sensed that he¡¯d tire more easily than when he used Telepathy while in control of his body. At least it was possible. ¡®There are several advantages to being part of our Pride. More Prey points, enhancements to our attacks, the ability to talk easily to each other mentally which helps coordinate attacks, and sharing of Prey Points among those who are part of the fight. We also have better chances of getting a good Ability every half-step and full tier.¡¯ ¡®I thought I was supposed to be leading this?¡¯ asked Leo privately, his tone accusing. ¡®I decided to step in when you seemed to be so convinced that joining our Pride should be the hope of all predators around that you weren¡¯t going to actually describe the real advantages of it,¡¯ Dominic sniped back at him. ¡®Well, it should be,¡¯ grumbled Leo. ¡®This is why I think we need to put even more enhancements into our mane ¨C that will show all these creatures that we are both powerful and desirable.¡¯ ¡®That only works on other lions!¡¯ exclaimed Dominic. ¡®Well maybe if we put more in then it will work on more than just other lions ¨C since you seem determined to interact with non-lions in more contexts than just hunting them,¡¯ Leo shot back at him. About to reply, Dominic hesitated. Actually, Leo might have a point, if what had happened when he hit level 10 in Muscular Constitution had been anything to go by¡­. His thoughts were disrupted when the wolven leader finally responded. ¡®I see,¡¯ the ameshek answered slowly. ¡®How do you benefit, then? Since it seems that we would benefit greatly.¡¯ ¡®We get Pride points when new members join or current members increase by a half or full tier,¡¯ explained Dominic readily. ¡®These points allow us to purchase more enhancements. So it¡¯s a virtuous circle, you see.¡¯ ¡®Not entirely,¡¯ the ameshek admitted, ¡®but I think I understand you well enough.¡¯ ¡®Then you¡¯ll join us?¡¯ Dominic asked hopefully. The leader eyed them and then looked beyond them to where the lionesses slumbered. ¡®Your pack will accept us?¡¯ she asked. Both Dominic and Leo hesitated for a long moment, a flurry of internal communication ensuing. ¡®Will the lionesses cause a problem? What do you think?¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®I¡­don¡¯t think so?¡¯ replied Leo, though sounded uncertain. ¡®This is not a situation I have ever encountered before.¡¯ ¡®I guess it depends on whether they hold a grudge for the death of Mara, or not,¡¯ mused Dominic. ¡®I don¡¯t think they will,¡¯ says the lion, this time a bit more confidently. ¡®Survival of those still alive is far more important than satisfying those already dead. If this is the best option for the pride then they will accept it, I think.¡¯ ¡®And do you think that this is the best option for the pride now?¡¯ asked Dominic, his turn to be uncertain. Leo took a moment to answer, long in their mental communication which typically took a lot less time than even the telepathic communication with external beings. ¡®I think it is,¡¯ Leo replied finally. ¡®If we can guarantee that the rest of our pride is immune to the effects of the canines¡¯ attacks, and we can be more sure about the loyalty of the creatures, then they could be powerful allies.¡¯ Typically for him, he didn¡¯t seem inclined to admit that Dominic had been right ¨C even when he was agreeing with something he¡¯d been rather against earlier. ¡®And if they¡¯re part of the Pride, and benefiting from that, they have more reason to want the Pride to succeed,¡¯ added Dominic, feeling better about the whole thing now that he and Leo were back on the same page. ¡®Yes, the rest of the pride will accept it,¡¯ Leo said to the ameshek, finally answering her question. The wolven creature gazed at them for a moment longer before giving her answer. Chapter 38: The Peanut Gallery The sun was rising. One of the moons was still in the sky, only half its face visible, but its light was put to shame by the ball of fire that now sent rays across the heavens. Down in the clearing, they were still in shadow and would continue to be so for a while, but that didn''t mean they couldn''t see the effects of the sunrise. Dominic yawned widely as he woke himself up fully. He had had a good sleep during the dark hours, but now that the dawn was here, it was the signal that his next task was due to take place. The kesh needed to be dealt with and, with the sun rising, should now be stirring. Certainly, the kesh leader had indicated that they couldn¡¯t see very well in the dark and would therefore be rather inactive during those hours. To be honest, Dominic suspected that they would already know the outcome of the battle. It made sense that they would have sent a couple of quiet scouts to keep an eye on the situation; even if a kesh¡¯s night vision was poor, it wasn¡¯t like they¡¯d been quiet about it. It¡¯s what Dominic would have done, and the kesh leader had seemed too canny to not have thought of it. After all, the changeover of leader was as much a potential threat as it was an opportunity. Surely the Tier 2 Dominic had spoken to knew that? As a result, Dominic was not too surprised when, a few moments after he entered the treeline, three kesh swung into view. ¡®Tell your leader that, as the victor in our fight with the centre guardians, I invite him to come for a renegotiation of the current arrangement,¡¯ Dominic told the kesh levelly. ¡®He, and whosoever he feels should be present for the renegotiation, are welcome to come. I expect him at the foot of the big tree in the centre of the clearing before the sun reaches its peak. If he does not come by that time, I will assume that he is uninterested in any sort of negotiation and will consider even the current arrangements void. That would result in serious consequences.¡¯ Dominic didn¡¯t specify exactly what so that, in the event that the kesh suddenly decided to play hookey, they wouldn¡¯t know exactly what Dominic would do and take preventative measures. ¡®Can you convey the whole of that message?¡¯ he checked, abruptly realising that it had turned into something rather more complicated than he had initially intended. ¡®Yes,¡¯ he heard, surprising him a little. Its shortness was expected, but that it was actually a thought condensed into a word was more curious by what it implied than its actual content. There¡¯s a surprising number of Tier twos around these parts¡­. ¡®Good,¡¯ replied Dominic shortly, then turned to go. He didn''t think that the kesh were likely to attack him, but he kept his ears pricked just in case. While that had always been figurative when he¡¯d been human, as a lion it took on a whole new meaning. He found it a little odd how he didn¡¯t find it strange anymore to feel his ears swivelling backwards and the sounds from behind being amplified. ¡®I still think we should just attack them,¡¯ Leo grumbled in the back of his mind. ¡®We¡¯re giving up all the advantages of an ambush here.¡¯ Dominic left the treeline and headed towards the massive tree at the centre of the clearing and the group of amesheks and lionesses lying beneath it. The two groups were still distinct, but they weren¡¯t completely separate. Apparently, consuming each other¡¯s dead and then having the ameshek officially join the Pride meant that the two groups were starting to tentatively let down their guards, just a little. ¡®No we¡¯re not,¡¯ Dominic sighed. Leo knew the plan ¨C he just disagreed with it and kept grumbling and annoying the former-human. ¡®Besides, you think we should attack and kill anyone who¡¯s not a female lion, so your opinion doesn¡¯t count,¡¯ Dominic rebutted. ¡®For good reason,¡¯ Leo continued loftily, completely ignoring Dominic¡¯s final words. ¡®Killing all rivals, lion or not, means less competition for females, less competition for resources. And now we even grow stronger for every creature we kill. Why should we not declare ourselves king and demonstrate it by wiping out all of the lesser species?¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s a bit hypocritical considering how you¡¯ve complained about humans doing the same thing,¡¯ Dominic accused him pointedly. ¡®That¡¯s different,¡¯ Leo argued. ¡®Uh, how? Humans destroyed the habitats of millions of creatures because they were in the way, or contained resources the humans wanted. How can you say that us wiping out all the biodiversity in the local area is any different?¡¯ ¡®Because they were humans, and we¡¯re a lion,¡¯ Leo answered, as if that explained everything. Dominic took a moment just to breathe, pushing away his automatic responses since they¡¯d just create even more of an argument. On the one hand, he understood Leo¡¯s point of view ¨C how could he not when he¡¯d grown up with the idea that humans were simply superior to all others and had the right to decide the fate of every other species on earth because of it? However, now as one of those ¡®other species¡¯, he found that the concept wasn¡¯t so obvious as it had once been. What used to be unthinkable ¨C or rather simply not thought about ¨C was now a burning question in the back of his mind. After all, he fully intended on searching out other humans as soon as he could ¨C he¡¯d have to deal with all that then. If he managed to get close enough without being shot at, of course. ¡®Well,¡¯ he said carefully, ¡®your glaringly obvious species-centric hypocrisy aside, the point is that it won¡¯t work. Not in the long term. Remember what happened after we took over the second pride¡¯s territory? We stripped it bare. Humans were doing the same on a wider scale when the System arrived. Just like then, this method isn¡¯t sustainable.¡¯ ¡®It was your method,¡¯ Leo told him snippily. ¡®I¡¯m not the one who encouraged the females to go hunting at every chance they got. You may recall that I wanted to just sleep and mate after a hunt.¡¯ Dominic breathed slowly in and out again, wondering whether Leo was being intentionally more irritating than normal, or whether it was just him. Perhaps he was upset about not having had as much input on recent decisions as he was used to. Or perhaps he was just getting blue balls. Dominic didn¡¯t know. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Either way, he¡¯d really prefer if the lion would just stop it. ¡®It was a method driven by the need to compete with other predators in a System which threatens to become more and more unbalanced,¡¯ Dominic replied with forced patience. ¡®Which was my point at the start of this discussion,¡¯ Leo pointed out. Dominic cast his eyes up to the heavens and pleaded with them for strength. By this point, he didn¡¯t care too much if his current pain-in-the-butt heard him or not. ¡®It was,¡¯ he conceded after counting to ten. ¡®And my point is that we need to change the method.¡¯ ¡®Change it how?¡¯ demanded Leo. ¡®Oh, so even though you don¡¯t feel my method worked in the past, you still want me to come up with another one, do you?¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help needling his companion, though regretted it a moment later. Leo growled at him, this time genuine annoyance in his voice. ¡®Well you are the lead male at the moment, are you not?¡¯ he asked. Dominic briefly wondered whether that was meant as a threat, but the lion quickly moved on before he managed to decide either way. ¡®So stop being a porcupine. If you¡¯ve got an idea, then spit it out,¡¯ he rumbled. ¡®I don¡¯t have an idea as such,¡¯ Dominic said, as calmly as he could. Sensing Leo about to speak, probably to say something else infuriating, Dominic reacted instinctively. He mentally snarled at the lion as if they were standing face to face. His automatic reaction surprised them both enough that they were silent for a heartbeat, long enough for Dominic to realise that he¡¯d had enough ¨C and that he probably shouldn¡¯t let it continue any further. Dominic knew it was risky, but he had had more than his fill of Leo¡¯s¡­Leoness. He knew only one way of dealing with it, and it wasn¡¯t through words. ¡®Sekhmet,¡¯ he warned, ¡®I¡¯m going to be temporarily uncontactable. I¡¯ll be back in a moment, but please watch out for me in the meantime. I¡¯ll pretend to sleep for anyone else.¡¯ ¡®What are you going to do?¡¯ Leo asked warily. Dominic ignored him, putting his head on his paws and closing his eyes. Entering his mental space was easy enough to do and he quickly assumed his lion form before padding out of the room and into the surrounding savannah. There he saw Leo sunning himself on a large rock ¨C that was new. The other lion barely managed to make it to his feet before Dominic was on him with a snarl. Dominic got in one bite before Leo could respond. They fought, using both claws and teeth, their blows barely pulled ¨C just enough that they weren¡¯t drawing blood but they would leave bruises. Assuming it was possible to leave bruises in this space at all. Both lions gave as good as they got, taking out their frustration at each other in physical violence. It was fortunately brief ¨C Leo was as aware as Dominic about their limited time before the kesh were likely to appear. But by the end, they both backed off in a mutual wordless decision that they had fought enough. They stood staring at each other for a long moment, then Leo walked towards Dominic. The former-human tensed in preparation for a continuation of the fight, but Leo didn¡¯t leap at him. Instead, he came to rub his head and body against Dominic¡¯s, sighing loudly. Dominic abruptly wished that they could lay against each other as they had when they had last wrestled, but time was pressing. Shifting from their mental room to conscious control, Dominic opened his eyes and quickly paid attention to his senses to work out what was going on around. Fortunately, everything seemed quiet. He guessed that the kesh hadn¡¯t arrived yet. A quick, private check-in with Sekhmet confirmed his guess. Trying to appear very natural, Dominic yawned, stretched, and then pushed himself to a sitting position. ¡®It¡¯s just that there are a lot of tier twos here.¡¯ Dominic picked up the thread of their previous discussion. ¡®Consider it: we¡¯ve been working practically flat-out and so have the lionesses. They¡¯ve been going out in groups, hunting when they would normally have been resting to help them level up. Yet still, look at the results in comparison to the amesheks. We are a lower level than Nyx, and the lionesses of our original pride, though they¡¯re all tier two now, are still lower than the seventeen or eighteen that the rest of the amesheks are at. How does that make sense?¡¯ Dominic didn¡¯t allow Leo the chance to speak before he continued. ¡®And then there¡¯s the kesh. They don¡¯t seem like the kind of creatures who would be ahead of the curve, but yet there are already at least two confirmed tier twos among the ones we¡¯ve interacted with and probably at least a couple more. Think about where the hyenas were not that long ago ¨C the kesh¡¯s relatively high levels seem improbable.¡¯ ¡®You think the Place of Power might have something to do with it?¡¯ Leo asked, finally back on the same wavelength. ¡®That¡¯s what I¡¯m wondering,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®It would make sense for the System to have some alternative way of progressing rather than just wiping out all the local wildlife ¨Cunless the objective of the System is to produce only a few powerful creatures and a barren planet, of course,¡¯ he mused. ¡®Well, why don¡¯t you ask your new vassal?¡¯ suggested Leo. Hearing the faint traces of irritation in the last word despite the lion¡¯s new relaxation made Dominic wonder whether he¡¯d accidentally stumbled upon the very reason for Leo¡¯s previous extra-irritating behaviour. Though why the lion still had a bee in his bonnet over the amesheks when he¡¯d been part of encouraging them to join the pride, Dominic didn¡¯t know. He promptly decided to ignore it. ¡®Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do,¡¯ agreed Dominic brightly, heading over in the mountainous ameshek¡¯s direction. Before he could get to her, though, movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned quickly to see kesh after kesh dropping out of the trees to the ground. At first, they lingered near the trees themselves. Dominic could understand it ¨C the trees were their home, their refuge, their battleground. On the ground, they were as vulnerable as Dominic had been when he¡¯d leapt into the treetops to fight. But that was exactly how Dominic wanted them. He¡¯d learned his lesson when the hyenas had ambushed them ¨C it was his turn to set up the ambush. If the kesh proved as intransigent as he suspected they would be, that was. The thing was that this wasn¡¯t exactly a covert ambush. The kesh knew the power of the ameshek, presumably, and would know that the lions were powerful too if they had won against the reigning champions. The question was whether they wanted a deal enough to bring themselves into such a vulnerable situation. Dominic moved towards the kesh, and lay down a few body lengths closer to the kesh than the closest of the lionesses or amesheks. It was an olive branch ¨C a message of ¡®I just want to talk¡¯. He waited to see if they would take it. A nervous tension filled the air and made his mane itch a little. Still, Dominic had learned patience from Leo and he didn¡¯t move a hair. The situation teetered on a knife¡¯s edge. Will they, will they not? And then, with an odd kind of hesitant lollop that involved all of their limbs, they started approaching the large group of predators. ¡®Looks like negotiations are on,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo with a mixture of nerves and anticipation. Chapter 39: You Have Two Options The group of kesh slowly approached, Dominic waiting for them. He kept the amesheks and lions back with a message in the Pride chat, but they were ready to move if the negotiations deteriorated. As they got closer, he got a better idea of who had come to the negotiations. There were over thirty of the creatures, and Dominic suspected that a good number were Tier 2s even if not all of them were. When they stopped, he noticed that they arranged themselves in a way that looked deliberate. There was a group of about ten kesh who were clustered close to the lead kesh, the one who had demanded and then taken the tribute from Dominic at the start of all of this. The rest of them were in their own groups, the largest other group being six, the smallest being two. The lion¡¯s gaze passed over all of them, making some cringe a little, others bare their teeth slightly, and the rest crouch or shift uneasily. He wondered what the reasons for the varied reactions might be. The lead kesh stepped a little forwards from his group, though not so much that the rest of his party couldn¡¯t quickly surge forwards to surround him if needed. They stared at each other for a long moment. Their body language was practically opposite: the kesh was defensive; Dominic was relaxed. However, both seemed to be waiting for the other to speak first. ¡®You won the challenge, then,¡¯ the kesh started, baring his teeth slightly more than he perhaps intended. Like the mouths of many primates, his canines were noticeably longer than his other teeth. Not as long as Dominic¡¯s, of course. Threat or discomfort, that was the question, though. ¡®I did,¡¯ answered Dominic, yawning. The gesture had the benefit of expressing both his relaxation and letting the blue monkey-like creature see exactly how much better his own teeth were ¨C just to compare. He was projecting the words to everyone in the group since the way they had arranged themselves seemed to indicate that perhaps the leadership wasn¡¯t quite as simple as it appeared at first. It did put him under a fair amount of mental strain, but he judged it worth the effort ¨C who knew what the kesh leader had been saying about their interactions thus far? ¡®You expressed interest in renegotiating your arrangement. Perhaps making it official, even.¡¯ It was a little test. The kesh could communicate well, but could he pick up the subtleties in speech well enough to realise that Dominic had clearly been speaking with the amesheks? As he¡¯d suspected, the ¡®arrangement¡¯ was nothing of the sort ¨C it was more of the amesheks just choosing to ignore the kesh when they went hunting because they were more trouble than they were worth to attack. ¡®Yes, I did. I¡¯m sure that we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement,¡¯ the kesh answered happily. Hmm, test inconclusive, Dominic thought. No obvious reaction from the leader. ¡®Well, an arrangement at least,¡¯ Dominic replied non-committedly. ¡®Let us establish the situation here. You have no doubt noticed the continued presence of the previous ¡®centre guardians¡¯. ¡®I have,¡¯ agreed the kesh hesitantly. Dominic saw his eyes drift over the amesheks nearby ¨C and the multiple lionesses he could see. The former-human wondered for a moment if he would challenge Dominic on how so many of his pride had made it through the forest when he¡¯d only paid for himself. After a moment of waiting, it seemed like the kesh didn¡¯t have the guts to ask. Dominic continued the conversation. ¡®Perhaps you are wondering why they are still here if I won the challenge.¡¯ ¡®I admit to being so,¡¯ agreed the kesh again, this time more confidently. ¡®Perhaps you are even wondering whether I did indeed win the challenge.¡¯ This time it seemed like the kesh feared a sort of trap and he was silent for a few moments. ¡®It had occurred to me¡­¡¯ the kesh said finally, very cautiously. His eyes flicked between watching Dominic and watching Nyx ¨C always obvious among the others due to her sheer size. ¡®Well, I won the challenge, but instead of killing or driving out those I had been fighting with, I instead added them to my pride.¡¯ He took a moment to let that sink in. That not only had his own group been strong enough to overcome the amesheks, but that they were now even stronger. This shouldn¡¯t really be any news to the kesh since the fact that the lions and wolven creatures were lying peacefully side by side should in itself indicate that they had come to some sort of accord. However, making it clear that they had been added to Dominic¡¯s pride made it evident where the power lay ¨C and that the two parties would fight side by side. ¡®I see,¡¯ replied the kesh, now more guarded himself. ¡®So shall we agree on how much tribute you wish to pay us to guard the forest around your clearing for you?¡¯ He seemed keen to get to the whole point of the meeting. ¡®Let me ask you something. How much tribute did the previous centre guardians pay you?¡¯ Dominic asked, almost conversationally. ¡®And I warn you not to lie to me,¡¯ he added when he saw the kesh¡¯s eyes gleam a little. His warning did cause that greedy glint to falter a little bit. ¡®They¡­paid tribute in the form of giving us beasts to kill and consume,¡¯ the kesh replied carefully. ¡®Be honest ¨C they gave you no tribute at all,¡¯ Dominic said while baring his teeth a little, this time in clear threat. ¡®Unless you count leaving you alive and free to roam the treetops as your tribute.¡¯ The kesh stayed silent, eyeing him with his lips pulled back a little too. It seemed like he was fighting the urge to bare his own teeth in response to Dominic¡¯s threat. ¡®I am inclined to go a step further,¡¯ Dominic replied. His tone could almost be considered conversational ¨C if a low growl hadn¡¯t started rumbling in his chest, anyway. ¡®I do not want to have a group of creatures I do not trust ¡®guarding¡¯ my borders, overseeing everything. I therefore present you with two options. First, all of you stay restricted to a small area of the forest ¨C which I will determine ¨C and follow my rules. Second, you will leave this forest completely and go to find a new home.¡¯ If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡®You wish to kick us out of our home?!¡¯ exclaimed the kesh, hooting angrily and shifting forward to slam two of his four hands against the ground. Behind the lead kesh, his group took up a threatening hooting and followed the leader¡¯s example in pounding their hands against the ground. One of the other groups did the same, though not quite as forcefully as the group behind the lead kesh. The other groups didn¡¯t; they instead shifted uneasily. ¡®Only if you cannot agree to respecting the fact that if you live in my forest, you live under my sufferance, and that you are obliged to do as I say.¡¯ ¡®This is an outrage!¡¯ exclaimed the kesh leader, starting to hop slightly in place, like he was only a breath away from leaping at Dominic. Frankly, the lion would be happy for that to happen ¨C he was definitely interested in the Abilities he would find in the kesh¡¯s Core. Behind him, his group started doing the same making it clear that if the leader leapt, so would they. The other groups seemed more hesitant to follow the increasingly hostile behaviour. While Dominic remained relaxed on the outside, he prepared himself to react at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡®We came here to negotiate a new agreement, only to be presented with unreasonable demands! And that after you already cheated us out of Prey Points!¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic denied firmly, sending a prearranged signal to the lionesses in the chat. ¡®They are not unreasonable. You tried to coerce an agreement out of me when I was in the weaker position. I am doing just the same thing now the tables have turned and it¡¯s you in the weaker position. As for cheating, I found a way around your demands ¨C that is no cheat. You have two options; which will you choose?¡¯ ¡®And if I choose neither?¡¯ asked the kesh daringly, his teeth fully bared, his four hands clenched. ¡®Then it is war between us,¡¯ Dominic told him levelly, ¡®and between any who follow you. We will hunt your kind down and kill them for Prey Points. And we¡¯ll start with you.¡¯ With another message in the Pride chat, seven heads now popped up all too close to the creatures, the lionesses attached pushing themselves to their feet. The kesh screeched and flinched, even those who had been hooting and working themselves into a rage before. Dominic had asked the lionesses to surround the group of monkey-like creatures and, with all the attention on the large male lion, the smaller females had gone unnoticed as they slunk through the grass of the clearing. Even if the grass wasn¡¯t what they were used to, but was instead a bluish colour, they had still managed to stay hidden. They were just that good at sneaking. ¡®A trap!¡¯ exclaimed the lead kesh. ¡®We came here to negotiate in good faith and you have set a trap!¡¯ ¡®You did not come to negotiate in ¡®good faith¡¯,¡¯ Dominic told him scornfully. ¡®You just hoped I¡¯d be dumb enough to not realise what I would be giving up in an agreement to you. Now the shoe¡¯s on the other foot and you¡¯re getting all angry about it. Make your choice. You can talk to your friends about it, but don¡¯t take too long.¡¯ The lead kesh screeched angrily at him and then jumped backwards to join with the group of ten other kesh who had been following his lead throughout the whole of the discussion. The rest of the kesh converged, though still remained in distinct groups. The three largest kesh stood almost like sentries, watching the predators with cautious eyes. Dominic pushed himself to his feet and stood waiting. The lionesses, too, stood like statues around the group. Behind him, the amesheks ¨C except for Nyx ¨C and the two other lionesses who had stayed there for the appearance of things casually pushed themselves to their feet. If it came to a fight, which Dominic was now almost certain it would, they would be prepared. He watched the kesh carefully. It definitely looked like there was some dissent. The lead kesh and his group were facing off with the second largest group of six. They were hooting and screaming at each other. The other groups seemed to follow the side of one or the other. Dominic thought idly that it looked rather like some debates in the Houses of Parliament that he¡¯d seen on the telly. While watching, he was surprised to feel a connection being made with his mind. ¡®Excuse me,¡¯ he heard from an unfamiliar source. Looking around, he saw one of the kesh looking at him. Apparently he or she also had Telepathy, or something like it. ¡®Yes?¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®Must the decision be for all of our kind, or can we be treated separately? We are not all the same clan, you see.¡¯ That made sense. They certainly weren¡¯t behaving as if they were all the same group and having different clans involved explained both the number of kesh who had come and their internal division. He thought about the question for a moment. He didn¡¯t bother asking Leo his opinion since he was pretty sure he knew what it would be: kill them all. ¡®Exactly, so do it already!¡¯ Leo growled at the back of his mind. ¡®They need to make the first move,¡¯ Dominic answered him, then responded to the kesh who had contacted him. ¡®It doesn¡¯t need to be all of your kind. Any who agree to abide by the terms of the first option ¨C namely, that you will stick to a predetermined area of the forest and not try to interfere with me and my Pride in any way ¨C are welcome to remain. Presumably, you are here as representatives for your clan, therefore your actions will be taken as your clan¡¯s decision. Those who resist or cause problems will be treated as enemies, but I don¡¯t see why all of you should be treated the same way.¡¯ There was a long silence during which Dominic noticed a fair amount of body language communication going on between the kesh he¡¯d been speaking with and the others around him or her. It was a collection of a few of the smaller groups, but ones that seemed to be on the opposite side of things from the lead kesh¡¯s party. The hooting and screeching was still going on between the group of eleven and the group of six ¨C they looked to be about to come to blows. Dominic wondered with a hint of amusement if they would do his job for him. ¡®We have decided,¡¯ the kesh with a mind Ability said, contacting him again. ¡®We will agree to your terms in return for protection for our families.¡¯ ¡®If you want active protection, then you¡¯ll have to do more than just not interfere with my group and stay in your section of the forest,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®Either we have a non-interference agreement, or we have an active alliance.¡¯ There was another period of communication, though shorter this time before the kesh contacted him again. ¡®We agree to a non-interference agreement for now, with the potential to expand into an alliance when the situation with the rest of our kind is settled.¡¯ Read: when Dominic had managed to kill or drive out all of those who refused to abide by his terms. ¡®Fine,¡¯ he agreed, just in time for the lead kesh to turn to him with the ten of his own group and seven of two other groups behind him. Chapter 40: Arrogant Idiots ¡®Have you made a decision?¡¯ asked Dominic, trying not to let his own tension show. ¡®We are the guardians of the forest,¡¯ the kesh told him, hooting menacingly. ¡®You are the guardian of the centre only. We refuse to accept your attempt to dictate to us. Fear the trees!¡¯ With that prideful declaration, the kesh turned as if to leave. Bad mistake, to show his back to a lion he had just refused. ¡®Kill them,¡¯ snarled Leo in his head. Dominic didn¡¯t argue with him or waste time. Now a declared enemy, he had no compunctions in attacking. Pouncing on the leader¡¯s back, he sank his teeth deep into the monkey-like creature¡¯s neck, even as his significantly greater weight bore the beast to the floor. [You have killed Kesh (Evolved Beast level 16)] [You have earned 4 PP] The group of kesh who had turned around with the leader now turned back, hooting and screeching angrily. They leapt at Dominic, several picking up stones from the ground as primitive weapons. With roars of anger, Dominic heard his lionesses join the fight even as he bit and clawed at the closest kesh. [You have killed Kesh (Evolved Beast level 12)] [You have earned 3 PP] [A member of your party has killed Kesh (Half-Step Evolved Beast level 9)] [You have earned 2 PP] [A member of your party has killed Kesh (Half-Step Evolved Beast level 9)] [You have earned 2 PP] [A member of your party has killed Kesh (Evolved Beast level 10)] [You have earned 2 PP] [A member of your party has killed Kesh (Half-Step Evolved Beast level 8)] [You have earned 2 PP] [You have killed Kesh (Evolved Beast level 12)] [You have earned 3 PP] A flurry of kills flashed up in the first second of the fight, his own attacks with claw, tooth, and acid claiming two kesh even as the lionesses took down four more. But the kesh didn¡¯t even hesitate, their eyes becoming red and bloodshot as they whipped themselves into a frenzy. Several got noticeably bigger, others started striking faster. Dominic took several painful blows, two from fists, two from rocks that were thrown at him. They didn¡¯t do a huge amount of damage to his health bar, but they did more than he¡¯d prefer, and left the areas in question aching. There were simply so many of them, all crowding around the one who had killed their leader. Attacks were bound to connect; he just didn¡¯t have enough space to avoid all of the strikes. Of course, that did mean they struggled to avoid his strikes too, but they seemed possessed of some zealotry or battle-madness and didn¡¯t appear to care. Dominic decided to employ one of his favourite tactics when surrounded and leapt straight upwards. The problem this time was that ¨C predictably, if he¡¯d thought about it ¨C the kesh were rather familiar with large leaps themselves. Even as he jumped into the air, the monkey-like creatures followed him, grabbing at his body and pummeling him even in the air. Dominic twisted to bite at them, spitting acid to try to make them let go, but he couldn¡¯t fight them all off in time. He landed badly ¨C perhaps crash-landed would be a better description. Instead of landing lightly on his feet, he slammed into the ground on his side, bashing his head against the earth. [You have killed Kesh (Half-Step Evolved Beast level 9)] [You have earned 2 PP] [You have killed Kesh (Evolved Beast level 11)] [You have earned 3 PP] Pain stabbed through him as his impact with the ground did more damage than all of the kesh¡¯s attacks had so far. He was pretty sure he¡¯d felt the snap of ribs and his breathing abruptly became more difficult. His health bar dropped by about a quarter in that single injury. Stunned for a moment by the head injury, he felt confused, unsure of just what was happening. ¡®...et up. Get up, damn you!¡¯ The words filtered into his mind, taking time to make sense. ¡®Leo?¡¯ he asked a little weakly. ¡®Yes, you great lummox! Get up or let me take over!¡¯ his companion shouted at him. Dominic took a moment more to parse that, but his head was starting to clear up a bit. Slowly, he became more aware of what was going on. He was covered with biting, tearing, hitting beasts. Individually, they didn¡¯t make much difference, but together they were having a disturbingly large impact. Notifications flashed up in front of his eyes, making his headache even worse. Clearly the lionesses were still going strong. Suddenly, there was a familiar weird moaning noise that throbbed through the air. Dominic himself was unaffected, but the kesh were a different story. They paused mid-bite, mid-strike and froze. Looking into the eyes of the closest one to him, he saw that they were still aware of what was happening, but as unable to move as Dominic had been when this had happened to him. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. This was his chance to get out of this mess ¨C he knew the amesheks wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the attack going forever. Still, their effect was clear, both in the stillness of his enemies and the health already starting to drain from their bars. Triggering Second Wind, he saw his health bar shoot up to almost full. The Ability didn¡¯t take away his injuries so he had to fight through the pain, but with his health and stamina full or close to it, he wasn¡¯t worried about dying anymore. Not straight away, anyway. With the weight of the bodies lying on him, he couldn¡¯t push himself to his feet. Not yet. Instead, he lashed out from where he was, clawing open throats, dragging kesh closer so he could use his teeth, ripping through stomachs and spilling out their intestines. The strikes weren¡¯t clean, they weren¡¯t fair, but Dominic didn¡¯t care. Notification after notification continued flashing up in front of him, both his own kills and the lionesses¡¯. By the time the amesheks¡¯ freezing moan died, the group of them working together had managed to clear the battle-ground enough that the lion could push himself to his feet and rejoin the females. Together, they wiped out the last five of the creatures and the clearing went silent. Well, almost the last five. Turning away from the massacre, Dominic saw a small group of seven kesh, cowering under the watchful eye of Isis. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ he asked her, feeling grumpy and irritable because of the stabbing pains still going through him. ¡®Sister said to guard,¡¯ Isis replied, sending him a scent image that he immediately recognised as Sekhmet. Dominic turned to the lioness in question and asked her the same thing. ¡®They said they had a deal,¡¯ she answered. ¡®You were busy.¡¯ Oh, that made sense. Dominic thought ruefully that he¡¯d have felt like a right idiot if the kesh who had seen sense had ended up killed in the crossfire. Not to mention that it would have caused problems with the rest of the clans in the trees. I should probably have thought of that, he sighed to himself, though recognised that he¡¯d been rather distracted at the time. ¡®Thanks,¡¯ he said instead to Sekhmet and Isis, then limped over to the group of living monkey-like creatures. Had he injured his pelvis? It certainly felt at least bruised, though probably wasn¡¯t broken otherwise he¡¯d be having more difficulty walking than he actually was. While he limped slowly, he catalogued his various aches and pains. His head was aching fit to burst, his mane probably having cushioned it, but not enough. His ribs were killing him with every breath in and out ¨C he was trying to take shallow breaths to minimise the agony. He was bruised all down his side, and his hips hurt with every step. It was annoying not to have a level-up waiting for him ¨C he wished he could have just cleared away the injuries as several of the lionesses had, Sekhmet one of them. His tail alone was free of pain, though at least his teeth hadn¡¯t been broken again. Note to self, he said wryly. Don¡¯t leap when there¡¯s a chance I will be made unable to land properly ¨C it isn¡¯t fun. Thinking about his tail, he realised that he hadn¡¯t used his tail armour in ages. It just doesn¡¯t suit my fighting style any longer, he thought to himself. Not that it had ever suited him particularly well, but these days his attacks were all concentrated in the front. Well, if I¡¯m not going to use it, I might as well pass it on to someone else, he decided. Perhaps one of the other lions would find it more useful than him. Certainly, having it sit and rust in his storage space wouldn¡¯t do any of them any good. The distraction got him through the space between him and the living kesh. Just as he got to them, he realised that he could have healed himself by absorbing bodies rather than going through the rigamarole of limping around with injuries. That head injury must still be affecting him more than he thought. Well, he was in front of them now ¨C somehow he felt that turning around and limping back to the bodies would make him lose face. Besides, if the kesh didn¡¯t already know about the strategy, he¡¯d rather not share it with them. On that note, he put a quick message in the Pride chat to hold off on absorbing bodies. From what he could tell, his own injuries were the most serious anyway. Though tempted to lie down and rest, Dominic stayed standing ¨C he didn¡¯t want to look as vulnerable as he actually was and tempt an attack. His Regeneration was working nicely on his injuries and health bar, though ¨C he was already past the point that he¡¯d be at risk from Second Wind taking its due. ¡®Congratulations,¡¯ he said a little grimly to the kesh with whom he¡¯d been speaking before. ¡®You get to live. As long as you don¡¯t make any stupid moves in the near future,¡¯ he continued. ¡®Like attack me or any of my Pride. Or, frankly, do anything other than exactly what I tell you to. Is that understood?¡¯ ¡®We understand,¡¯ replied the spokes-kesh levelly, though Dominic could see its fear in its wide eyes and the way it pressed itself closer to its group and the ground. ¡®Good. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand that I have no patience for any more arrogant idiots who decide to pick a fight with me,¡¯ Dominic said darkly. Even if he had been one of those idiots himself ¨C he¡¯d definitely fought that battle badly. Second Wind chose that moment to run out and it took everything he had not to let on to the kesh that the pain he was in felt like it had just doubled. Hopefully none of them could see health bars like Nyx could. He still hadn¡¯t spoken to her about that. ¡®We recognise the power of your clan,¡¯ the kesh told him carefully, sounding like there was more unspoken meaning in their communication than spoken. Dominic would have to read between the lines later: this was not a good time. ¡®Then go back to your clans, and give them my ultimatum. Any who wish to leave may do so, but any who stay agree to abide by my rules and in an area of the forest of my choosing.¡¯ ¡®We will tell them,¡¯ promised the kesh. ¡®Where should we say are the boundaries of our area?¡¯ it asked. It was a completely reasonable question, though one that Dominic couldn¡¯t answer right at that moment. ¡®I will come to you either later today or tomorrow to give you my decision,¡¯ the lion said shortly. The kesh chattered its teeth softly. ¡®Ask any of my kind for the leader and either I, or whoever becomes the leader, will attend to you.¡¯ Dominic stepped away and sent a message to Isis to let them go. One by one his lionesses came to stand at his shoulder. The amesheks stayed where they were, looming threateningly just by staring straight at the monkey-like kesh. Sending several wary glances behind them, the seven remaining kesh made their way back to the forest. ¡®We let them go. We hunt later?¡¯ Anuke asked in the Pride chat. From the interest the rest of the lionesses showed, they had the same question. ¡®We¡¯ll see,¡¯ said Dominic finally. Chapter 41: On The Other Side It was sundown. The sunset painted fingers of colour across the sky, the effects on the clouds above visible even if the sun had disappeared out of sight beyond the trees a while ago. That was fortunate: Dominic mused that he might get claustrophobic if he couldn¡¯t see the sky because the canopy blocked it out all the time. He definitely seemed to be more affected than he thought he would be by being in a lion¡¯s body ¨C the thought of not being able to see the sky had never been an issue for him before. ¡®Well, that¡¯s only fair considering how much you¡¯ve infected me with your humanness,¡¯ Leo accused him, a little unjustifiably, Dominic thought. ¡®You¡¯ve woken up, have you?¡¯ Leo had been napping after doing the hard work of fetching the rest of the Pride from the forest fringes. Dominic had felt that that was fair enough for Leo to do considering the former-human had been basically doing the rest of the work. ¡®Of course,¡¯ the lion answered him a little more seriously than Dominic would have preferred. ¡®It¡¯s not every day that I get to meet a goddess.¡¯ The former-human licked his lips in an unconscious nervous gesture which was a holdover from his previous body, though with a much longer tongue than he¡¯d ever used as a human. He¡¯d been trying to tease Leo a little to get his mind off the meeting that was soon to take place, not to bring it right around to that very subject. It was typical of Leo ¨C distracted him when he needed to concentrate; made him concentrate when he wanted to be distracted. ¡®Well, if it¡¯s anything like last time, you won¡¯t actually be able to meet her,¡¯ Dominic reminded him. ¡®Yes,¡¯ agreed Leo with distaste. ¡®I rather resent that I¡¯m not considered a ¡®sapient¡¯ being when you are.¡¯ ¡®Hey, what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡¯ Dominic demanded, happily grabbing onto the random topic. ¡®That between the two of us, I think we both know who is the brains of the relationship,¡¯ Leo huffed disdainfully. ¡®Yeah, not you,¡¯ Dominic retorted. ¡®Who worked out the best patch of forest for the kesh to live in?¡¯ asked Leo pointedly. ¡®And who forgot that you could heal yourself by Consuming the bodies of the kesh who had died in the fight?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s not like I needed it ¨C not with Second Wind and Regeneration helping. Anyway, I didn¡¯t want to show the kesh how to absorb carcasses.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t pretend that you were being all logical about it. Admit it ¨C you forgot,¡¯ pushed Leo gleefully. ¡®I had a head injury, alright?¡¯ retorted Dominic defensively. ¡®Anyway, you could have reminded me ¨C you weren¡¯t affected by the physical injury.¡¯ ¡®Who says I wasn¡¯t?¡¯ demanded Leo. ¡®Well, you were the one yelling at me to get moving when I was still dazed. Anyway, I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re getting at me all of a sudden: it¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t done stupid things too.¡¯ ¡®Name one,¡¯ Leo demanded. ¡®Well, how about when you accidentally tumbled into a thornbush because you missed your step?¡¯ ¡®You were distracting me at the time. That was your fault. And how many more times have you embarrassed me by acting like a cub still learning how to walk?¡¯ ¡®Oh no it wasn¡¯t. And I¡¯d like to see how you¡¯d do learning how to be bipedal all of a sudden. Anyway, how about when you tried to pounce on that porcupine-like creature and almost got a faceful of quills?¡¯ ¡®LIke you would have done any better,¡¯ scoffed Leo. ¡®And I killed it in the end.¡¯ ¡®Or when you tried to use acid spit on a bird that was flying over our head and almost got acid in our eyes.¡¯ ¡®Alright, alright. You¡¯ve made your point,¡¯ growled the lion hurriedly. Dominic subsided, satisfaction curling through him at having won that particular debate. As he continued watching the colours change in the sky, the satisfaction died away to be replaced with nerves again. ¡®Do you think I should try touching the stone another time?¡¯ he asked his companion, a little fretfully. ¡®Might as well,¡¯ the lion agreed. ¡®Who knows when ¡®sundown¡¯ actually is. It¡¯s not like we can see the sun from here.¡¯ Dominic lifted a paw to touch the large black stone. This time he was here on his own, the rest of the Pride all out in the clearing. As with the last five times he¡¯d touched it, all he got was a single message that flashed up before his eyes. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. [Place of Power ownership: Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Status: Temporarily frozen ¨C conversion in progress] He wondered what would have appeared if he had chosen to reject the offer of ¡®conversion¡¯ ¨C would it have been ¡®permanently frozen¡¯ instead of only temporarily? Or would he have had access to some aspects of it but not others? He suspected that might be more likely to be the case ¨C Selessa had indicated that the conversion would fully unlock the place of Power rather than unlocking it full stop. Nyx hadn¡¯t given him much to go on when he¡¯d asked earlier ¨C apparently she¡¯d gone into the blank space and then came out soon after. Thereafter, she¡¯d found that she¡¯d been able to influence her pack to have the same Abilities as her on level up and that she¡¯d started accumulating Prey Points faster, even when she didn¡¯t do any active hunting. But she¡¯d never seen anything when she touched the black stone, nor had she gone back into it on subsequent attempts. Nerves once more making his stomach feel as if butterflies were dancing around within it, he tried to redirect his mind. Instead, he reviewed the questions he intended on asking the goddess as her promised ¡®boon¡¯ of knowledge. When he¡¯d finished doing that, he ran through the rest of what he¡¯d done with his day after dealing with the kesh. He¡¯d absorbed their Cores, bringing Easy Landing to 100% and three new Abilities, Extended Jump, Enhanced Accuracy, and Intimidating Hoot to 56%, 24%, and 36% respectively. The most interesting Ability had been that of the kesh leader ¨C Tribute. It was now at 11% and he¡¯d even had a 30% chance of getting it, which was rather surprising. The previous pattern with Core probabilities had been that newly Evolved beasts dropped Cores which gave the absorber a very low chance of receiving their third Ability. Yet the kesh leader¡¯s Core had offered him a 50% chance of gaining the first Ability, Easy Landing, and only 20% chance of gaining his second Ability. So the Tier of the Ability and the level of the creature couldn¡¯t be all there was to it. Maybe it was based on use? Certainly, Dominic wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the kesh had used Tribute more than Extended Leap, which had been his half-step Ability. Maybe that¡¯s why it had such a high chance of being absorbed. Which was rather intriguing. Dominic touched the stone once more, by this point expecting to get the same message flashing up again. This time, though, he was surprised by a different reaction: his paw sank into the stone as it had once before. Familiarity didn¡¯t remove all sense of fear, though. He let the stone suck him in with nerves still battling it out in his stomach. ¡®Alright then,¡¯ he said to Leo with false bravado that he was sure the lion would see through easily enough. ¡®See you on the other side.¡¯ With that, he surged forwards and entered the stone once more. Blackness surrounded him again, and the same message about requiring a drop of blood for the goddess reappeared. This time, he didn¡¯t equivocate over it, agreeing immediately, eager to get this over with. Once again, he emerged into a forest in his human body ¨C the setting looked almost identical to the one before, down to the rock on which the goddess sat perched, her form silhouetted against the sky, at least twice his size. Dominic couldn¡¯t help but think that it was all a bit dramatic. ¡°Welcome petitioner. It is time. Do you still wish to swear yourself to me?¡± Selessa asked, ¡°I suppose,¡± murmured Dominic, eyeing her. The large feline huffed. ¡°Come now, a little more enthusiasm, perhaps? It¡¯s not every day that you swear yourself to a goddess like myself,¡± she said with pride. ¡°No,¡± he agreed, ¡°but I¡¯m still not sure whether it¡¯s a good thing to do or not,¡± he admitted. Though absent up until then, abruptly the sense of a large predator staring at him and wondering whether he would make a good meal descended upon him again. He crossed his arms and glared up at the goddess. ¡°And you doing that kind of thing just puts my back up,¡± he growled, almost sounding like he was in his leonine form. Are the benefits really worth all of this malarkey? The sensation disappeared and Selessa shifted, moving to climb down the rock. Twice his height despite being in her four-pawed form, Dominic continued glaring at her until she reduced in size a bit. She didn¡¯t shift into her bipedal form, though. With her current size, her eyes were on the same level as his, even when she was standing on the ground floor. It was just as disconcerting to see the two sets of eyes, one blood-red, one featureless white, as it was last time. ¡°I don¡¯t understand you,¡± she admitted, sounding frustrated. ¡°I¡¯m offering you something that many others want, at cost to myself, incidentally, and yet it feels like I¡¯m trying to bribe you into taking it.¡± ¡°Well, if many others want it, why don¡¯t you go and offer it to them, then?¡± Dominic asked, not intending on being rude, though realising once it came out that it probably could be taken that way. Selessa eyed him for a long moment. Then she sighed, the sound a mixture of irritation and resignation. ¡°I do not wish to give details right now, but the truth is that I can¡¯t. Which is why I¡¯m willing to¡­bribe you to become my follower. I need you, I won¡¯t deny that, and you need me too. Which is why I¡¯m confused about why you don¡¯t seem to see that. ¡± Dominic gazed at her, his eyes narrowed. She appeared to be being straight with him, but his instincts were jangling. He¡¯d never had a particularly good sense of whether a person was lying or not, unless he knew them very well, but he¡¯d come to trust his leonine instincts. Whether these were instincts inherited from Leo or not, he didn¡¯t know, but he wasn¡¯t willing to ignore them. ¡°There¡¯s something you¡¯re not telling me. Something important. You say you need me? Tell me the truth. And no bullshit or I¡¯m going to walk out of here without swearing to you.¡± ¡°And miss out on everything I can offer?¡± Selessa demanded to know angrily, though with an undercurrent of what Dominic suspected was desperation. ¡°And miss out on whatever trouble I sense brewing behind the scenes,¡± he returned firmly. Selessa glared at him angrily, an expression which was particularly powerful with her extra set of eyes. The sense of a predator pressed against Dominic once again, but he just crossed his arms and glared back at her. Maybe this was stupid. He was testing a goddess here ¨C or at least a self-proclaimed one, anyway. Though she had said that she couldn¡¯t harm him in this space. But did he trust that? Did he trust her? Actually, who said she was actually a goddess? Maybe she was a demon. Out to steal his soul and pretending to be a deity in the first place. He had no guarantee that anything she said was true. ¡°How do I even know you¡¯re a goddess?¡± he accused, wanting to know how she would react. ¡°What if you¡¯re a demon?¡± Selessa snarled at him and pressed down with her aura. ¡°Can you not feel it?¡± ¡°All I feel is that you¡¯re powerful,¡± Dominic answered, struggling to keep his voice level. ¡°Nothing else.¡± ¡°I told you before: that¡¯s all there is to being a deity, human! Power! Those who have it, and those who don¡¯t. And I¨C¡± She cut herself off abruptly, but Dominic had heard it. ¡°And you¡­?¡± he asked leadingly. A moment later, he narrowed his eyes shrewdly as a realisation dawned. ¡°Let me guess, you don¡¯t. Which is why you need me.¡± ¡°Yes, damn you!¡± Selessa growled at him and turned around, presenting Dominic with her back. He might feel tempted to attack her if she wasn¡¯t still putting off very threatening vibes. His human brain overriding his leonine instincts, Dominic thought through what she¡¯d said this time and last. Something really wasn¡¯t adding up. ¡°Why are you so desperate to get me? Even if you don¡¯t have many followers, surely they can¡­proselytise, or whatever the word is. Spread information about you. Get others who would be more eager to take what you¡¯re offering than someone like me. Unless there¡¯s something else you¡¯re not telling me¡­?¡± Selessa turned her head to face him even while her body was still angled away. There was indecision on her face, and even a hint of vulnerability. She opened her mouth but hesitated. Dominic silently willed her to speak. Despite himself, he wanted to hear her explanation. Chapter 42: Secrets ¡°If I tell you, will you promise to help me?¡± Selessa asked slowly, turning back to face him full. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯m going to walk out of here, consequences be-damned,¡± Dominic countered, his eyes narrowing. ¡°I told you ¨C I don¡¯t like secrets which could come and bite me later.¡± The goddess growled softly. ¡°Then you must at least swear secrecy if you decide not to help me after this,¡± she bargained. Dominic considered it, then nodded slowly. ¡°As long as keeping the secret will not threaten my life or livelihood nor those of my Pride,¡± he added. Selessa looked unhappy, but eventually sighed, her whiskers twitching. ¡°Very well. Do you swear to keep what I am about to tell secret from all, unless the keeping of it threatens your life or the lives of those in your care?¡± she asked with an air of heavy authority. Dominic was about to swear when a thought suddenly occurred to him. ¡°I share a mind with another being. I won¡¯t be able to keep it secret from him,¡± he warned. Nor would he want to ¨C he¡¯d never liked it when people kept secrets from him, or didn¡¯t tell him information that could badly affect him and he wouldn¡¯t want to inflict that on Leo. He¡¯d had a few blow-ups with his friends over the issue; had even lost one over a secret kept. His dad thought it was because of what his mother had done, but Dominic thought it was just natural not to like other people keeping secrets ¨C important ones, anyway. Selessa looked abruptly startled, the air of authority vanishing temporarily. ¡°I¡­had forgotten that you mentioned your companion last time,¡± she mused. Her eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m sure it would be an interesting story to find out how that came about, but we have no time for it. Are you able to guarantee his silence?¡± Dominic hesitated again. ¡°I can encourage him to stay silent,¡± he replied slowly, ¡°but I cannot guarantee it.¡± Selessa growled, the sound more irritable than frustrated. ¡°I must tell you for you to agree to swear yourself to me, yet if you let this secret lose, I will lose everything.¡± ¡°What if I swear to keep it secret from anyone who I feel does not need to know?¡± suggested Dominic. Selessa eyed him with an exasperated look to her red gaze. ¡°That is no better than simply asking you to keep it secret ¨C and trusting you to do so.¡± ¡°Then why not do that?¡± challenged Dominic. ¡°If you can convince me that the secret is worth keeping, then I will ¨C apart from with Leo.¡± Selessa seemed to consider it, but then let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°Fine. It seems I must trust you to have any possible future at all. Do you swear to keep what I am about to tell secret from all, unless the keeping of it threatens your life or the lives of those in your care ¨C or you feel that it is necessary to reveal it?¡± ¡°I do,¡± the human agreed. Abruptly, it felt like there was a band wrapped around his chest. He gasped as it grew tighter and tighter, feeling like it would crush his ribs any moment. And then the pressure disappeared as if it had never been there. ¡°What was that?¡± he demanded. ¡°You have made an oath to me, human. If you risk breaking it, you will be warned. If you continue pushing, it will limit how many Prey Points you can earn from kills for as much and as long as the System considers necessary according to how badly it was broken.¡± ¡°You could have warned me that would happen!¡± Dominic exclaimed angrily. The goddess seemed unbothered by his anger. ¡°Were you intending on breaking your word?¡± she asked with insouciance. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Then it matters not. Do not try to forswear yourself and nothing will happen. Besides, it is already an oath which is so loose in its terms that it was almost not worth swearing at all,¡± she reminded him. Dominic still couldn¡¯t help fuming a bit at the lack of warning. Still, there was nothing he could do for now except to be more careful of the fine-print when making agreements with deities. ¡°Are you going to tell me whatever it is now, then?¡± he asked, more rudely than Selessa liked if the narrowing of her own eyes and the lifting of her lips were anything to go by. A moment of tension filled the air and Dominic almost regretted how he¡¯d phrased that ¨C whatever else she might be, it was true that Selessa was far more powerful than he was. Even if she couldn¡¯t hurt him in this space, there was no guarantee that she couldn¡¯t hurt him full stop. But perhaps her obvious desperation for him would make her overlook his tone anyway. As it turned out, that seemed to be the case as the feline goddess just took a deep breath before speaking again. ¡°I was once far more powerful than I am now. Goddess of the Hunt on many planets, part of a Pride full of deities as powerful as I was, all enlightened beasts originally. Our leader was beyond all of us, one of the strongest deities in the multiverse. We competed with the greatest groups of enlightened beasts, and the religious organisations of the sapient races. ¡°Then¡­everything fell apart. There was not only one cause, though the disappearance of our leader didn¡¯t help. Infighting, betrayal, laziness¡­. Our enemies didn¡¯t hesitate to take advantage of our weakness. We were picked off one by one. Those of us who stayed loyal, that is: some of those betrayals came at the claws of those who saw the winds changing and sought favour with the strongest groups of our enemies. My sister¡­.¡± She cut herself off as if feeling she¡¯d said too much. When she resumed speaking, it was as if she¡¯d said nothing. ¡°I was not aware of everything that had happened when they came for me ¨C I preferred my wilderness and my wild places over the politicking of the Pride. Yet that did not save me. I was hunted. I, and my followers with me. ¡°Whittled down to a bare clawful of my most loyal, my most powerful, I was trapped in the circle of my enemies. There, my most powerful magic-user conceived of a plan. A deity cannot be killed while any of her followers still lives. And so he cast an enchantment, a master-piece. It rendered all those followers around him immortal, unbreakable, unkillable.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. She paused, her words trailing off. Dominic couldn¡¯t help wanting to know more, his interest thoroughly captured. The image she painted of a goddess and her few remaining followers desperate to do anything to survive¡­it made him feel sympathy for her despite himself. ¡°However, such magic has a price. He knew of one part of the price and all of them were willing to pay it ¨C even fiercely proud. To be so invulnerable to both time and others meant that they had to be equally impotent. They were cast into an enchanted sleep, unable to note the passing of time, or intervene in any events. ¡°The other price¡­none of us realised what it was. We thought that his magic would only impact those it was cast upon; what we did not realise was that because my existence was so wound up in theirs, it would demand a price from me too. The whole purpose of casting the spell was to render me unkillable ¨C it should not have been a surprise that this would come at a cost to me, but it was. ¡°In seconds, the vast majority of my power was ripped from me and woven into the spell. From a powerful goddess of a powerful Pride, I became one of the weakest, weaker even than a newly birthed deity. ¡°Worse, the sudden influx of a huge amount of divine power twisted the enchantment my warlock cast. Instead of him being able to release the enchantment at a signal from me, or have it wear off over time, it has become self-sustaining and outside of his control. Even slumbering, he should have had the ability to release it in his lucid dreams, but he does not. Or so I can only assume considering the eons which have passed since. ¡°I was taken by my enemies. They couldn¡¯t kill my followers, and unable to do that they couldn¡¯t kill me. But they could lock us away, prevent me from ever being able to find a way to reverse the enchantment on my remaining loyalists. And so I have been mouldering away for eons.¡± The goddess had been gazing steadily at Dominic for the whole of her story, but now she turned and gazed up at the sky. The human¡¯s eyes flicked over her. It seemed an incredible story, and he had no way of knowing whether she was telling the truth or not. But just then, as she gazed up at the heavens, he felt that she looked as old as she had indicated she really was. Not because of grey fur or lost teeth ¨C who knew how her alien species even reacted to old age? It was in her eyes, in their haunted, tired gaze. He wondered abruptly whether she regretted the fact that she wasn¡¯t able to die ¨C if what she¡¯d said was true, it sounded like she didn¡¯t find much joy in living. ¡°So you¡¯re not two hundred years old as you indicated when we last met?¡± he asked a little wryly. Those tired eyes came to rest on the human and he almost buckled under the weight he saw in them, in the fatigued power which bore down on his shoulders. ¡°No,¡± she answered dryly. ¡°Or a new deity?¡± ¡°No, though I¡¯d be better off if I were.¡± Dominic nodded absently. Something was bothering him. ¡°If you¡¯re trapped so inescapably that you haven¡¯t been able to get out in ¡®eons¡¯, how come you¡¯re here? Or are you able to casually drop into various Places of Power despite your imprisonment?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± she said immediately, then sighed, eyeing him. She hesitated, perhaps wondering whether to tell him something. Dominic decided to stay quiet for the time being and was rewarded when she continued speaking. ¡°That¡¯s why this is such a secret ¨C and why I would really like you to follow me. No. Why I really need you to follow me.¡± Dominic waited in anticipation. Everything was telling him that she was being completely honest at this point. He was sure that an ancient goddess would be able to pull a fast one on him if she really tried, but all he could do was rely on what his instincts were saying until they were proven to be wrong. And the fact that so far his instincts had been excellent in spotting when things didn¡¯t add up. ¡°It goes back to how Places of Power work. When the System engulfs another planet, or planets like in your case, it creates a number of Places of Power. These are ¡®artificial¡¯ areas of power ¨C other ¡®natural¡¯ ones develop later, but are usually significantly less powerful and are irrelevant to our discussion right now. The ¡®artificial¡¯ Places are all sponsored by a deity. We dedicate a little of our power to it, and in return, we gain certain benefits, such as being able to contact the being who has control of it,¡± here she looked meaningfully at Dominic, ¡°and power feedback as the Place of Power is developed and improved. ¡°Half the ¡®artificial¡¯ Places of Power are¡­sold, I suppose you could say. It¡¯s a little more complicated than that, but interested parties can claim multiple Places of Power. There is a balance ¨C one party cannot claim more than a certain percentage of Places ¨C but in reality, it often ends up rather unbalanced. The other half are a sort of¡­lottery. ¡°As deities, we have a different relationship with the System than mortals. Part of it is that we often dedicate portions of our power to the System itself. As a sort of reward, the System makes sure that all deities have a chance of being given a single Place of Power on a newly-integrated world. It just so happens that this is the first integration I have been awarded one of these lottery places since my imprisonment.¡± Selessa got a fierce look on her feline face which almost made Dominic take a step back: his own lionesses¡¯ protective faces looked like a kitten¡¯s attempt to be fierce in comparison. ¡°Unfortunately for my captors, as stringent as their security measures are, they cannot defend against the very System which gave them their power. For the first time in far too long, I have escaped their prison, if only into this dream world.¡± There was a savage delight in her voice which sounded all too real. It was the eagle¡¯s scream as it saw the sky after being caged; the wolf¡¯s howl as it smelt the forest for the first time since it was a pup. Dominic was almost certain she wasn¡¯t lying. What he didn¡¯t know, though, was why she needed him. He voiced just that. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not hoping that I¡¯m able to take on whatever powerful deities have you captive,¡± he added to his question doubtfully. ¡°We¡¯re getting more powerful, sure, but I¡¯m certain that they¡¯d be able to destroy us with a flick of their fingers or claws or whatever.¡± ¡°With less than that,¡± Selessa agreed bluntly. ¡°No, the point is that, as I¡¯ve said before, followers give me power. This is the first opportunity I¡¯ve had since I was captured to gain more followers, and start to replace some of the power I lost all that time ago. With enough power, I can get myself out ¨C and then take my revenge on those who have held me so long.¡± Dominic shuddered at the sheer bloodthirsty promise in her voice. He didn¡¯t blame her ¨C not if she was being honest about what had happened. Though that was a thought ¨C he was willing to help someone who had been unjustly imprisoned, but what if she was lying about why she¡¯d been captured in the first place? She made it sound like she was innocent in all of it, but what if she¡¯d been¡­a mass-murderer or something? ¡°You have doubts?¡± Selessa asked. The human hesitated, but then decided it was better to be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb and went ahead. ¡°Why did they attack you? How do I know you weren¡¯t a¡­mass-murderer or something?¡± he asked bluntly. The feline goddess responded with a sharp, snarling laugh. ¡°All deities are mass-murderers,¡± she said directly. ¡°To reach Tier six is to swim in an ocean of blood. For enlightened beasts, at least,¡± she said in addition. ¡°There is the odd sapient race deity who walks the path of crafting and manages to keep their hands mostly clean. But even among the crafters competition is fierce and often deadly, especially at higher levels. Competition among the gods is no less. Why did they want to attack me? Because they wanted what I had. And they didn¡¯t want me to have it. ¡°You asked me what use I had for you,¡± she continued. ¡°It is twofold. First, to grow your Pride and encourage them to dedicate themselves to me too. Second, to increase the level of this Place of Power and the territory that it draws from. In return, I will give you the boons that I am capable of now, and my favour when I escape my prison. So, what say you? Will you now swear yourself to me?¡± Chapter 43: Hit By A Two-By-Four Dominic exited the space and almost stumbled as his paws met the ground once more. His head was spinning with all the information he¡¯d received and the choice he¡¯d made. Ultimately, he¡¯d decided to agree to Selessa¡¯s request, though not without making sure of a few things ¨C and squeezing some concessions out of her. The most important thing that he¡¯d wanted to know before even being willing to consider the idea, given everything she¡¯d shared, was how much it would affect him even without doing any more than becoming her follower. After all, from the sounds of it, she was held captive by a particularly powerful set of deities who would all have a strong interest in keeping her that way. She¡¯d told him that while those within the priesthood of deities often gained the power to see the identities of the deities other priests worshipped, it was much less common for them to see the affiliations of simple followers. And even if he ran into someone who could see that affiliation, she indicated that the pride which had her captive were uninterested in newly-integrated planets. According to her, it would have to be an uncommon series of events which brought to light the fact that she was able to and actively trying to amass new power when they were certain that their prison was unbreakable. He¡¯d had no real way of knowing whether she was being honest other than his own instincts, but those had stayed quiet ever since she¡¯d started telling her story. Her demeanour, too, had seemed far more honest than it had the first time they had met. Of course, she could just be a better liar than he was at sniffing out deception and had used a better level of deceit than she had at first, but he was still inclined to believe her. Ultimately, whether or not she was lying about the details of what had happened to her, or the enemies she had, her need for him seemed to be genuine. She was too desperate for it to be anything else. And too protective of her past and her secrets. Not least of the protections, Dominic found out after agreeing to swear himself to her service, was that ¡®Selessa¡¯ wasn¡¯t actually her true name at all. Apparently it was unusual for a deity to be able to operate under a different name than their true one, but it had something to do with the domains which she ruled or something of the sort which allowed her to. Indeed, the protections were so strong that Dominic himself couldn''t remember the name she had whispered in his ear, the name he had used in his oath of service. While it was called an ¡®oath of service¡¯, he hadn¡¯t actually sworn to ¡®serve¡¯ her at all. That had been one of the concessions he had insisted that she give in exchange for any help. In fact, he¡¯d simply agreed to keep her secrets in general and work to their mutual benefit. The only aspect of ¡®service¡¯ that he¡¯d kept from the original oath was that he would offer a tithe from the Place of Power and that he wouldn¡¯t speak badly of her to his own followers. Apparently those were the essential aspects which would allow him to be considered a ¡®follower¡¯, though not a particularly devout one. Of course, he could choose not to speak of her at all, which as an unknown goddess, would essentially mean the same thing. And he hadn¡¯t agreed to tithe any particular amount, but Selessa had made it clear that greater tithes meant better potential boons that she could offer him, so there was reason to consider upping his tithe from the bare minimum in the future. Such a boon was the reason for why his head was currently practically spinning ¨C and why the sudden reawakening of Leo within his mind felt like being bludgeoned with a heavy truncheon when he was already reeling. ¡®Ow,¡¯ Leo complained. ¡®What have you been doing?¡¯ ¡®Swearing myself to a goddess and being hit by a two-by-four of information,¡¯ Dominic grunted in response. In return for becoming a follower ¨C if Selessa was to be believed, her only mobile one ¨C she had granted him the answers to three questions. And she hadn¡¯t just told him the answers, either. Instead, she¡¯d shoved the information into his head. That was why he was reeling so much ¨C his brain was still trying to make sense of it. He could almost feel the neurons in his brain being created to store everything he¡¯d just learned. It was efficient, the former-human admitted, but painful. A bit like the sensations he¡¯d experienced when he¡¯d first absorbed Lightning Discharge, though not as wide-spread or as strong. Lying down and putting his head on his paws, Dominic closed his eyes and just tried to endure the influx of painful information. Leo, thankfully, stayed silent, though Dominic suspected it was less out of consideration for Dominic¡¯s pain, and more because of his own. At one point Dominic heard a whisper of movement near him and looked up with alarm. Fortunately, it was just Sekhmet. She looked at him in concern, but when he just sighed and closed his eyes again, she seemed to take the message that he wasn¡¯t keen on communicating at that point. Bless her, she just lay down next to him and kept watch for him. After a moment, Dominic leaned into her slightly and she shifted to press back against him. When the influx of new information finally abated and the pain in his head eased, Dominic still remained lying down. There was a lot of new stuff to sort through ¨C it reminded him of his uni days. It was a bit like when he¡¯d had a really interesting, really detailed lecture during which he¡¯d taken as many notes as he could, never mind the cramps that pained his hand. And then afterwards, he¡¯d had to reread the notes, sometimes multiple times to remember more than just the broad brushstrokes of the lesson. Here, it wasn¡¯t his memory that was the problem but his familiarity with what was now imprinted in his head. But ultimately it amounted to the same thing. Still, there was something he was eager to investigate. Multiple things, actually, but one thing which was right in front of him. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Standing, he paused for a moment to rub his head against Sekhmet¡¯s in wordless leonine thanks. ¡®Feeling better?¡¯ Sekhmet asked solicitously. ¡®Yes, thanks,¡¯ he replied gratefully. ¡®Where you went?¡¯ It was a fair question ¨C he hadn¡¯t been sure whether his absence would have been noted or not. Apparently it had. ¡®I can¡¯t tell you,¡¯ he replied ruefully. ¡®I don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡¯ And wasn¡¯t that the truth? How could he explain any of this to his Pride, even if he wanted to? After a moment of thought, he considered an analogy which might work a little. ¡®Do you remember when I touched you and you went into a different space? It¡¯s kind of like that ¨C I touched the black stone over there and went somewhere else. But make sure that you never touch it, or any of those we want to keep alive, OK?¡¯ He¡¯d already warned the lionesses about it, but better safe than sorry. ¡®Understood. Dangerous?¡¯ she asked warily. ¡®Not to me, since the fight, but to everyone else, yes.¡¯ That was over-simplifying it a bit, as he now knew, but trying to explain the more complex explanation wouldn¡¯t help at that moment. Sekhmet still watched curiously as Dominic moved forwards and touched the Place of Power, focussing on seeing its details. Unlike the previous times, it neither sucked him in nor showed him a notification that its status was currently frozen. Leo made an interested noise as the status screen unfolded before them. [Place of Power ownership: Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Status: Active ¨C Unlocked Level 1 Benefits: None currently available Area: 42.3 km2 (0.1 km2/day, 5%) Owner: (5%) Recognised (affiliated) denizens: 33 (30%) Recognised (unaffiliated) denizens: 153 (10%) Unrecognised denizens: 1827 (45%) Deity ¡®Selessa¡¯: (5%) 121 PP/hour ] ¡®So this explains exactly why the canines were so far ahead of us despite our active attempts to hunt and increase in power,¡¯ Leo commented. ¡®Exactly,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®Without even trying, they must have been gaining Prey Points every day, even when sleeping.¡¯ ¡®And now we are the ones gaining the points,¡¯ Leo noted with a hint of greed. ¡®That¡¯s the idea,¡¯ Dominic responded with just as much anticipation. ¡®Though don¡¯t you think we should change the percentages a bit?¡¯ ¡®Only having thirty-five percent going to us and our direct allies does seem a bit low,¡¯ Leo acknowledged. ¡®But wasn¡¯t there some sort of warning about being too greedy?¡¯ Dominic considered that, taking a moment to touch the information which had so recently embedded itself in his brain. He quickly realised what Leo was talking about. A Place of Power was a bit like a¡­fertile land, planted with wheat. It could grow a bumper crop, and feed the farmer well. However, if the farmer ate all the wheat grains, he would have nothing to replant the land with afterwards. Equally, if he just grew crops and didn¡¯t fertilise them, then the land would yield a smaller harvest every year until the land was depleted of all its nutrients. It wasn¡¯t a perfect analogy, but the Place of Power grew in power based on the land it covered, the number of denizens, and the quality of those denizens ¨C meaning level and tier. Dominic could dedicate 98% of the Place of Power to himself and his Pride, leaving only 1% to Selessa ¨C the minimum tithe ¨C and 1% to the Place of Power itself. If he kept 50% of that power to himself, he¡¯d be earning 60 PP per hour allowing him to nap while increasing in level very quickly. However, it would have the consequence of slowing the land increase to a crawl and leave nothing over for all the other denizens who were not part of his Pride. The amount of Prey Points that they¡¯d earn wouldn¡¯t increase much; they could even end up decreasing if large groups of unrecognised denizens left ¨C they were here because they sensed it was a good place to be due to the extra-large trees, foliage, and the slow accumulation of Prey Points they earned just being present. If all that changed, and there were no other benefits to being close, they¡¯d leave ¨C and the power generated by the Place of Power would reduce with their numbers. How it worked, that the Place of Power could generate Prey Points from the presence of different beasts without taxing them or something, Dominic didn¡¯t know. That it did work was the most important point. ¡®How about increasing our portion to 10%, the Pride¡¯s portion to 40%, and compensate by reducing the kesh¡¯s portion to 5% and the unrecognised denizens to 35%?¡¯ suggested Dominic. That would still give them almost half a level every day. Leo considered it. ¡®I don¡¯t know if it would work¡­but perhaps we should try. Will the kesh not be angry?¡¯ ¡®Perhaps, if they even notice,¡¯ shrugged Dominic. ¡®With as many as there probably are, I doubt they feel much difference as it is. But if they do then we can use it as something to negotiate with later.¡¯ ¡®If you wish to negotiate with monkey-like creatures at all,¡¯ Leo huffed. ¡®Otherwise it seems like a good apportioning of the available Prey Points,¡¯ he agreed. After mentally changing the percentages, Dominic closed the status screen. He knew that it would change later as the Place increased in level, and even knew a few ways to hurry that process along, none of which he could actually put into practice right away. ¡®Right, we¡¯re going to have to discuss our next steps and how we¡¯re going to work them.¡¯ ¡®You mean¡­?¡¯ ¡®Yes. We need to go back to the dungeon.¡¯ Chapter 44: Is The Way Of course, it wasn¡¯t as easy as that. There were several things Dominic needed to settle before they could go running off to the dungeon, no matter how much he¡¯d like to just up and leave. Checking over the rest of the Pride and making sure that they were prepared for him to take a leave of absence was one thing. Walking among the group of lions, resting after hunting, he once more catalogued the new signs of increased level that a few of them now sported. Fang was well named as he was now sporting teeth that looked rather more reminiscent of a sabretooth tiger than a lion. Even when his mouth was closed, the tips of his upper canines still poked out past his lips. Luna was also starting to resemble a tiger a little, though not an ancient one. Instead, Dominic could see the black marks of stripes on her fur. He had to guess that she¡¯d been given the same option he had at the start of all this and had chosen to take features of other felines currently in existence rather than enhancing those she presently had. ¡®Not a bad idea,¡¯ Leo mused in the back of his mind. ¡®To have chosen to take features from other felines?¡¯ ¡®To have stripes,¡¯ corrected the lion. ¡®Her fur is too pale to be well-camouflaged. Stripes will help her blend better. We don¡¯t need them.¡¯ ¡®Well, they might help a bit,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®We¡¯re getting too big to be all that well-camouflaged ourselves.¡¯ ¡®And risk the females not wanting to mate with me?¡¯ Leo sounded aghast at the thought. ¡®What, you think they¡¯ll be turned off by a few stripes? Weren¡¯t you just saying that it was a good idea that Luna is getting them?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s completely different when it¡¯s on the male,¡¯ insisted the lion. ¡®The females don¡¯t have to look pretty for us ¨C they just have to be in heat. Which, speaking of, I smell that a couple of our new females are soon to be. Perhaps we should put off our trip a little?¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ replied Dominic determinedly. ¡®You know that this trip will help us in two ways ¨C both of which we need. And the longer we leave it, the more chance there is that someone will get there first and then where will we be?¡¯ What he thought quietly was that if they stayed for this heat, the chances were that another lioness would enter heat soon after, encouraging Leo to stay for even longer. In the end, they¡¯d never get going, and if the knowledge gained from Selessa was to be trusted ¨C which Dominic had every reason to believe it was ¨C they really needed what they¡¯d find in the dungeon. ¡®You know, we wouldn¡¯t have had this problem if you¡¯d just held onto that Lightning Discharge scroll instead of using it immediately,¡¯ Leo grumbled. ¡®We¡¯d still have to go to a dungeon, even if not that specific one,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®And since that¡¯s the only dungeon we¡¯ve come across, the result wouldn¡¯t have been much different even if I¡¯d kept the scroll for later use. Besides, it¡¯s saved our tail a few times. Anyway, you promised you¡¯d stop complaining about that when I went along with you on the Acid Spit thing, remember?¡¯ The lion grumbled again, though this time rather incoherently, and then subsided. As they continued through the Pride, checking on the individual members, Dominic recalled what had happened when they had returned from collecting the pride from the fringes on the previous day. With Neith and the second pride¡¯s matriarch, Simbi, helping to gather and keep everyone together, they had made their way through the forest without any issue. Leo was leading but Dominic had kept a close eye on the branches overhead with the lion¡¯s peripheral vision. Fortunately, there hadn''t been even a hint of a kesh up there. Good ¨C they weren¡¯t meant to be in that section of the forest so not seeing any of them indicated that they were following Dominic¡¯s orders. Getting back to the clearing had involved a round of greetings between the different parts of his Pride. Dominic had been glad to see that all the lions greeted each other with almost equal happiness ¨C the fusion of the two prides had gone better than he¡¯d hoped. He¡¯d felt some disgruntlement coming from Leo¡¯s direction, though, when he¡¯d noticed that the lionesses from his original pride were greeting the three young males with almost as much enthusiasm as the other lionesses. Dominic didn¡¯t agree, especially when he observed that Prince was given the briefest greetings with Lionel and Fang being far more welcomed. It seemed like a new hierarchy based on contribution to the pride was developing, which he was happy to see. The amesheks had been another question, of course. The lions hadn¡¯t seemed to know what to do with the odd-looking wolves, and the amesheks had seemed a mixture between stand-offish and uncertain. Eventually, Simbi, being the leader she was, had stepped forwards and sniffed at the closest ameshek. Dominic had tensed in his mental space and had felt Leo do the same with their physical body. They had watched avidly, ready to intervene if necessary. Even if the leader of the Pride had no direct control over either member, they were big enough and close enough to be able to get between them if necessary. It had been a relief to realise that none of their Abilities would work on the other since selecting that Pride ability ¨C Immunity. Actually, Dominic considered in hindsight, perhaps that wasn¡¯t entirely true. Certainly Immunity stopped the negative effects of an Ability from working on a Pride member, but it didn¡¯t stop all Abilities from working. Potentially something like Pounce could still work on enhancing their claw or fang attacks. For a moment they had just stood there, sniffing at each other. Or, in the ameshek¡¯s case, waving its antennae around a bit. Then, after briefly touching noses, they had turned away almost simultaneously. Alright then, Dominic had said to himself, a little surprised at the interaction, though glad that it hadn¡¯t devolved. One by one, all the newly arrived lions and amesheks had ¡®met¡¯ each other, though there had been none of the expressions of pleasure with which the lionesses had greeted each other. Movement caught Dominic¡¯s eye and brought him out of his reminisces. He turned his head to see a golden shape padding towards the forest. Alone. He thought he¡¯d been clear that none of the lions were to go out into the trees on their own. Not until they knew that it was safer, anyway. He turned and started trotting towards where she was, only to be abruptly cut off by Isis and Sekhmet, of all lions. Though he was more than twice their size, the difference greater between him and Isis than between him and Sekhmet, he didn¡¯t want to trample on them so pulled up quickly. ¡®Who is going into the forest?¡¯ he asked them. ¡®It¡¯s not necessarily safe yet. We don¡¯t know if the kesh are the only potential threat. I thought I¡¯d been clear about that.¡¯ This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡®You were clear,¡¯ Sekhmet responded calmly, confusing him with her calm yet intent demeanour. Her eyes were fixed on him almost warily. ¡®Then why is she going?¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®And why are you stopping me from pursuing?¡¯ Just to test it, he stepped to the side; Isis and Sekhmet both moved with him. By that time, the lioness had disappeared into the forest and was barely visible as a spot of sandy movement among the undergrowth. ¡®Let me through,¡¯ he growled, displaying his teeth and looming over the two lionesses threateningly. Leo seemed to be in full agreement with him, growling in the back of his mind. ¡®No,¡¯ he heard Isis say calmly. The straight refusal surprised him and made him pause for a moment, his growl dying away. Sekhmet explained the matriarch¡¯s refusal. ¡®Cubs are arriving.¡¯ Cubs¡­Oh. Oh. Abruptly, Dominic knew what was going on. He had enough connection to Leo¡¯s knowledge to understand what this was about. The growls from the lion in the back of his mind died away as his companion made the same connection faster than he did. The lioness must be Menhit and she was sneaking away to give birth to her cubs, the realisation answering both his questions of why and who. Which¡­that was the way it had always happened, but things were changing. ¡®We need to change her mind,¡¯ Dominic told the lionesses earnestly. ¡®It¡¯s not safe for a lioness to be on her own with a bunch of cubs to protect.¡¯ Barely being able to hunt because of the need to be near the cubs as much as possible, therefore gaining few levels¡­.she¡¯d be easy prey. And that was even assuming she lived long enough to actually give birth to them. ¡®Why can¡¯t she give birth here where the pride can protect her and the cubs?¡¯ The two lionesses seem to hesitate for a long moment. ¡®Not safe,¡¯ Isis replied, sounding regretful. ¡®What? In the pride?¡¯ Dominic asked incredulously. ¡®How is it less safe than going off on her own?¡¯ ¡®Too much competition,¡¯ Sekhmet answered him, just as sad at the thought as Isis. ¡®Other cubs drink milk ¨C newborns starve. Other males kill cubs. Other cubs too rough. Safer later.¡¯ ¡®See,¡¯ Leo said privately to Dominic, ¡®This is why I don¡¯t want those almost-adult males around.¡¯ ¡®We can stop all of that,¡¯ Dominic said to both his companion and the two lioness. ¡®The pride members are far more intelligent, far more reasonable than before. Surely we can get the other females to keep their own cubs away from Menhit? And don¡¯t tell me that anyone would just let the other males go and kill the cubs? Most of the lionesses are stronger than them now ¨C some significantly stronger. And I¡¯m not going to let it happen either,¡¯ he told them firmly. ¡®Come on, so many things are changing; why can¡¯t this too?¡¯ Sekhmet and Isis were both significant influences in the Pride ¨C getting them on-side was important. ¡®So much changed, this stays the same,¡¯ Sekhmet answered finally, her tone firm. Isis looked just as immovable. Dominic cast a final glance at the area of forest where Menhit had disappeared and then growled. ¡®No, I¡¯m not accepting this,¡¯ he told the two lionesses. Before they could react, he leapt in the air and used Quick Strike to launch himself forwards. Hitting the ground running, he used his enhanced speed to outpace them rapidly. The two lionesses pursued for a little, but then obviously gave up. He searched the area he¡¯d seen Menhit disappear, but struggled to find her traces. She had Sure Feet which also had the unintended effect of reducing the user¡¯s effect on the area around them. Dominic was able to pursue her for a little while, catching hints of her scent on the breeze and the odd broken bit of foliage from where she¡¯d passed too close to a bush. He was not a tracker, though, and before he¡¯d found her, the traces of her presence had disappeared. Finding himself with no next clue to follow, Dominic growled and roared his frustration, half-hoping that Menhit might come back. Then remembering the Pride chat, he felt like an absolute idiot. ¡®Come back to us,¡¯ he sent to her, but she didn¡¯t respond. ¡®We¡¯ll make sure you and your cubs are safe, I promise. Safer than you will be alone,¡¯ he continued. There was still no response. ¡®Please come back to us!¡¯ he sent finally. Then with no other options than to find out in time whether she would return or not, he sighed and sharpened his claws aggressively against the nearest tree. ¡®You¡¯ve been quiet,¡¯ he accused Leo angrily as he started heading back to the clearing. ¡®It¡¯s what pregnant females always do,¡¯ Leo answered with what felt on the surface to be uncaring, but was underscored by the same helplessness Dominic felt. ¡®Anyway, they¡¯re not my cubs,¡¯ grunted Leo, with the air of one searching for an excuse. ¡®But she is your ¡®female¡¯,¡¯ Dominic shot back at him, hot fury stabbing through him. ¡®What if she dies?¡¯ he demanded. ¡®It¡¯s an even more dangerous world now than it was before the System.¡¯ His leonine companion was silent. Returning to the clearing, Dominic found Sekhmet and Isis waiting for him. The two lionesses fell in alongside him, walking at his shoulders. ¡®Is the way,¡¯ Isis assured him with the air that this should be reassuring. It wasn¡¯t. Perhaps he was being too human about this. All three lions seemed to be in agreement over Menhit leaving greater safety for the uncertain wilderness. With no other options unless Menhit herself decided to return, Dominic turned his mind to other matters. He was uneasy leaving the area after having so recently gained control over the Place of Power. As had been seen earlier, the amesheks and lions were only very tentatively considering each other as allies. Then there was the matter of the kesh. Even if he hadn¡¯t seen any hint of the monkey-like creatures since their confrontation in the clearing, he still didn¡¯t know whether they were only playing along for now because they didn¡¯t want to fight him, or if they genuinely would hold to the agreement. For all he knew, his leaving would invite the full force of the kesh to descend upon the Place of Power and attack everyone within the clearing. Besides those two main issues, there was also the fact that he¡¯d just taken over new territory that he knew very little about with unknown enemies, unknown resources. Basically, everything was unknown. However, he also knew that he needed to get something from the dungeon, and if someone got there ahead of him, he might lose his chance. The alternatives which were clear in the knowledge Selessa had given him were all a lot harder and more time-consuming. Not to mention that he¡¯d be able to kill two birds with one stone by doing it this way. No, he needed to leave, but that didn¡¯t mean the rest of it fell by the wayside. After all, he wasn¡¯t alone anymore. He wasn¡¯t even alone in intelligence which was so superior to the rest of his pride that he might as well have been alone. No, he needed to delegate a bit. Turning the possibilities over in his mind, Dominic approached his Pride. They were sitting in distinct groups, but to a beast they all raised their heads and looked at him when he approached. ¡®Leo, help me out with getting the right kind of non-verbal impressions, please,¡¯ he requested. A sense of agreement and support nudged at him as the lion prepared to do just that. ¡®Right everyone, I¡¯m going to be leaving for a bit of time. To deal with the various challenges facing us, this is what we need to do¡­.¡¯ Chapter 45: Onwards ¡®Where we go?¡¯ Sekhmet asked expectantly in the Pride chat as they cleared the last of the trees. ¡®A dungeon,¡¯ Dominic answered absently, looking out for any signs of danger. By the time everything had been settled, with as many contingency plans considered and outlined as possible, the sun was already heading for the horizon. That wasn¡¯t a bad thing: the night still belonged to predators, and the lions, while not the apex predators they used to be, were still high up there. ¡®What?¡¯ the lioness asked, exuding confusion. Not that that was surprising ¨C any sense of the word ¡®dungeon¡¯ was completely alien to a savannah-dweller. In response, he shoved a sense of a confined space where there was both risk and reward into the chat. Sekhmet seemed more thoughtful than anything else and just a touch excited. The other lioness of the group seemed cheerfully excited, while the rest of their reduced pride just seemed confused or uncaring. It was a small group ¨C anything more would be overkill and also pull too much defence from his still-vulnerable new territory. Dominic feared that he might have made a mistake by bringing Sekhmet with him ¨C she would have done very well with coordinating the Pride. In the end, though, he decided to bring her along. His reasoning had been that, although Sekhmet was the highest level of his lionesses, and the smartest of them, there were others who were not all that far behind her ¨C she was therefore not essential for the defence. At the same time, Dominic was hoping that the dungeon might be helpful for helping her increase in level more quickly, as it had been for him. Anuke was only a level behind Sekhmet and had stayed behind to help coordinate hunting parties along with the other Tier 2 lionesses. Isis and Simbi would be essential to keep the Pride members working well together. They had also been advised to keep an eye on the amesheks, the level 30 Nyx in particular. If the amesheks seemed as though they were considering turning on the lions, Simbi, Anuke, and Isis knew that they needed to retreat with as many of the lions as possible ¨C even if they had the advantage of numbers. Just Nyx alone would be able to kill far too many of them to justify trying to stand their ground, even if the negative aspects of her Abilities were no use against other Pride members. Sure, Dominic definitely wanted to keep the Place of Power for what it offered him and his Pride, but he¡¯d rather not lose any of his lionesses. If necessary, they could retake it on his return. With the fact that only an enlightened beast of Tier 3 or above could make contact with the sponsoring deity, Dominic was fairly confident that his agreement with Selessa would hold true even if he temporarily lost physical control. Plus, she wanted it more than he did anyway. Of course, that was only in the worst case scenario where Nyx decided to turn on the rest of the Pride. Dominic, obviously, hoped that that wouldn¡¯t happen but as someone had once said: ¡®hope for the best; plan for the worst.¡¯ Two other members of the party were part of his insurance policy: he¡¯d brought two of the amesheks with him. Nyx had displayed protectiveness over her pack from the beginning. Although it hadn¡¯t been explicitly said, Dominic suspected she was intelligent enough to understand that if she did anything to harm his lionesses while he was away, her own pack members would feel the consequences first. To round out the group were four more lions. Three of them were the sub-adult males they¡¯d inherited with the second pride. That was due to Leo. He¡¯d refused point blank to allow the three males to stay without his supervision, not with two females on the point of going into heat. So it was either stay until the females were out of heat, chase the potential competition out and risk them returning once he¡¯d left, or take the three males with them. In the end Dominic decided to see it as a positive: this little trip should prove whether the three males were able to work with him without competitiveness, and were willing to pull their weight, or if they were too affected by the way things used to be to change. And perhaps he¡¯d be able to prove to Leo that other male lions weren¡¯t necessarily enemies. He could hope. Realising that he was getting a bit outnumbered by uncertain allies, Dominic had decided to bring another of the original lionesses along, someone he knew would be on his side. Not wanting to weaken those staying behind any more than already was the case, he¡¯d decided to take Jenkins. Though she¡¯d once been more of a liability than he was comfortable with, the time between their first hunt together and now had seen her mature significantly. While she was still a bit more impetuous than he would prefer, he was more confident at having her at his back in a fight. Plus, she was neither old enough nor high-level enough to be a significant part of the Pride leadership, and therefore her absence wouldn¡¯t have too much of an impact. Hopefully. They were currently padding through the savannah at a ground-eating lope. Lions didn¡¯t have the best stamina in the animal kingdom ¨C their forte was in quick ambushes and short pursuits. As a result, they¡¯d probably have to stop every so often to allow the felines of the group to regain their breaths. The three males, Fang, Lionel, and Prince were the worst off in that regard due to their significantly lower levels. Fang was the highest at level 7 ¨C he¡¯d clearly been putting some effort into going out hunting. Perhaps that was part of gaining Sharp Mind, like Sekhmet, at his half-step Evolution. Lionel wasn¡¯t far behind him at level 6, and Dominic was rather excited about his half-tier ability: Healing Cloud. He suspected that this was one of the Abilities which had been affected by his Pride enhancement to the chances of getting a rarer Ability. Dominic was cautiously hopeful about being able to work with both of them. Prince was another story. Still lagging behind at level 4, he¡¯d obviously only put the bare minimum of effort into going on obligatory hunts, benefiting from being part of them without necessarily doing a lot of work. If he didn¡¯t show a significant change of attitude in the next few days, Dominic had no compunctions about chasing him off and letting him make his own way. He¡¯d probably wait until after he reached level 6, in any case ¨C it would give him a better chance of surviving alone on the savannah as a last chance and would garner them a Pride point. ¡®I don¡¯t know why you don¡¯t kick him out already,¡¯ Leo grumbled in Dominic¡¯s ears as they were forced to stop again for the lowest-level lion to regenerate his stamina. Dominic¡¯s own bar was only depleted by a small fraction, and the rest of the group looked fairly fresh too. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡®It is tempting,¡¯ sighed Dominic. ¡®But I feel like I should give him a proper chance. This isn¡¯t a big group, so he¡¯ll be forced to actually get off his backside. Or he won¡¯t and then we¡¯ll know that we don¡¯t want him around.¡¯ ¡®I already know,¡¯ growled Leo. ¡®Why we go?¡¯ asked Sekhmet, taking advantage of their relaxation and inadvertently interrupting Leo and Dominic¡¯s mental conversation. ¡®We need to get something to help establish our new territory,¡¯ Dominic explained, remaining fairly vague. Sekhmet accepted that without further question. Leo, however, wasn¡¯t satisfied. ¡®Come to think of it, you haven¡¯t actually told me exactly why we need to go to the dungeon ¨C and to this specific one in particular.¡¯ ¡®You know why as well as I do,¡¯ Dominic told him, confused. ¡®We discussed this after the knowledge came through from Selessa.¡¯ ¡®The knowledge from Selessa¡­.¡¯ The lion sounded as though he was trying to remember what Dominic was talking about. The former-human frowned mentally, concern creeping through him. ¡®You know, the boon from Selessa? The infodump that made both our brains practically explode?¡¯ ¡®Of course I remember that,¡¯ Leo replied snappily. ¡®It was rather uncomfortable.¡¯ ¡®Then why don¡¯t you know what I¡¯m talking about?¡¯ Dominic asked, baffled. There was a long pause. ¡®It made a lot more sense to me soon after it happened,¡¯ Leo admitted after the moment of silence. ¡®The knowledge seems to have¡­largely escaped me like prey fleeing my claws. I can sort of access it through your memories but¡­it doesn¡¯t stick.¡¯ ¡®Odd,¡¯ commented Dominic thoughtfully. Was this because it was from an agreement between him and Selessa, not Leo? Or some other reason? ¡®Anyway, you remember that she offered me the answer to three questions, and gave me a massive boon of knowledge that included both the answers and information around the whys and hows of it all?¡¯ ¡®Vaguely,¡¯ agreed Leo. ¡®These were the questions we discussed before, correct?¡¯ ¡®Yes. I wanted to know if there was a way to increase my mana capacity and regeneration rate, how to get the most out of the Place of Power, and-¡¯ ¡®Whether we could gain Abilities in different ways other than absorbing sufficient numbers of Cores,¡¯ Leo interrupted. Trust him to remember that one ¨C the lion really wanted to have Enhanced Fertility and so far not many of the creatures they¡¯d hunted had had it. They hadn¡¯t found any rabbits or rats, though, who were almost guaranteed to possess that Ability. ¡®Yes, though I didn¡¯t phrase it like that. Also, I think I have an idea of how we can give Abilities to the lionesses without using Pride Points, though it¡¯s not something we can do right now.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s useful,¡¯ Leo noted with interest. ¡®Is that why we are going to the dungeon?¡¯ ¡®Partially,¡¯ Dominic answered. ¡®We¡¯re going to a dungeon because there¡¯s something there which will really help the growth of our Place of Power. We¡¯re going to this dungeon because we know where it is and by completing the dungeon, we should find something which helps us with our mana situation.¡¯ ¡®Oh?¡¯ the lion questioned curiously. ¡®Is this dungeon special in some way? It didn¡¯t look particularly impressive.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s more because that¡¯s where the damage happened in the first place.¡¯ Dominic hesitated. ¡®It¡¯s something about ¡®echos¡¯ or ¡®vibrations¡¯. I can¡¯t say that I fully understand it, but the knowledge from Selessa tells me exactly what to look for and what to do if I find it. There¡¯s no guarantee that it will be there, but it¡¯s certainly the easiest way to deal with at least some of the damage to our mana heart.¡¯ ¡®Interesting,¡¯ Leo answered. ¡®I wonder whether the dungeon will have changed.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, I¡¯m curious about that, too. I kind of hope that it¡¯s got stronger, since otherwise it¡¯ll be a bit disappointing, I think. I reckon we could wipe out all of the challenges without even using any of our Abilities if everything is the same way it was. Though that meerkat one would still be a pain.¡¯ ¡®Not if we took an ameshek with us,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Their vibrating Ability would force those wretched rats to freeze, making the puzzle relatively easy to complete.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic acknowledged. ¡®It will be interesting to return to the place where I first gained awareness,¡¯ Leo mused, seemingly almost to himself. Dominic had to agree. That dungeon had presented such a challenge to him at the start of all this, and had given him a step up with levels and equipment that had kept him alive once he¡¯d left it. It would definitely be a walk down memory lane if it had remained the same layout and challenge. At the same time, he rather hoped that it might present a new challenge. When Selessa had made the suggestion, he¡¯d been rather wary of walking back into the place where he had been attacked and almost entrapped by the dungeon master. Fortunately, Selessa had reassured him on that matter. Apparently the dungeon master had taken advantage of a bit of a loophole in the laws that restricted it due to a number of factors including the recentness of the System intervention, the level of Dominic himself, and the fact that he had had a bit of a questionable status under the system seeing as he was in a soul-battle with a beast who was in the middle of levelling up to 10 at the time. With none of those now a factor, he should have nothing to worry about; neither should any of his companions. They might be offered the same deal ¨C to become one of the dungeon¡¯s creatures, but they couldn¡¯t be forced into it in the way the dungeon master had tried with Dominic. He¡¯d already cautioned his group that it might happen, though wasn¡¯t sure how much the three sub-level 10 lions had taken the warning. Reassured, he had become more willing to go after the two things she¡¯d said he needed. Prince had stopped panting so frantically and now looked like he was questioning whether he could sleep. Dominic decided that that was a good opportunity to keep going. ¡®Alright everyone, onwards!¡¯ Chapter 46: Winged Coyotes Leo snarled at the group of predators before them. The pride had unintentionally interrupted a hunt of what looked like a group of coyotes. At least, if his brother¡¯s memories were anything to go by. Though, he didn¡¯t think the creatures Dominic had seen on a ¡®documentary¡¯ had had the wings that these beasts did. The pride members were hungry and tired. They had been running through the night and most of the day, only stopping to sleep during the hottest time of the day. They¡¯d refreshed themselves at a waterhole they¡¯d scented, but his brother had neglected to replenish their storage space with carcasses. Instead, he¡¯d become frustrated with that useless weak male and started giving him rides to allow him to regain his stamina without slowing them all down. After a bit of experimentation, though, they had proved that the slowed time in the storage space affected regeneration of stamina too, so Dominic had decided to give up on that idea and just move at the pace of the young male. Leo still didn¡¯t understand why his brother didn¡¯t just move at a faster pace ¨C if the male fell behind, good riddance. But Dominic refused to hear Leo¡¯s perfectly logical argument, and continued making allowances for the male. Since they were no longer using some of the storage space for the useless male, and they needed to give him some time to regain some stamina, when they¡¯d seen a flock of apparently flightless birds, it had seemed like a good opportunity to replenish their larder. Unfortunately, these other predators had apparently seen the opportunity, too. That had led them to the current confrontation. The winged coyotes outnumbered Leo¡¯s pride by three to one, and they were about the same size as Prince ¨C a level 4 lion. The leader was even bigger, more the size of one of the amesheks, and so was his wingspan ¨C obvious by his threatening position. The leader was very obviously male: as the snarls and threat of violence ticked up a notch, he started buffeting the pride with air from his wings, the force making him rear up. Leo found himself even more irritated ¨C how dare this canine be more clearly male than Leo himself? ¡®We need to Challenge him,¡¯ his brother¡¯s voice interjected urgently. ¡®Why?¡¯ asked Leo defensively. ¡®Our balls are plenty big enough for our needs ¨C this male is just showing off!¡¯ ¡®What?¡¯ the former-human sounded completely baffled. ¡®No, his wings. I want them.¡¯ That¡­did appeal, Leo had to admit. But¡­. ¡®Will we even be able to use them?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know. But they look more promising than the ones we found on the chimera,¡¯ Dominic argued. ¡®If we focus on the leader, we leave the rest of our Pride vulnerable. You know that no interference is allowed during a Challenge,¡¯ Leo reminded his brother. ¡®Then we¡¯d better make quick work of this coyote-thing,¡¯ insisted Dominic. Leo had to wonder why a monkey relative was so fixated on the idea of flight. Surely he wasn¡¯t worried about falling out of trees, not in Leo¡¯s body now? But he decided that the risk of giving into his brother¡¯s desires shouldn¡¯t be too much. They had some powerful fighters in the pride ¨C as long as they didn¡¯t take too long for the Challenge, it should be fine. ¡®As you wish,¡¯ he agreed, sending out the Challenge to the opposing leader. A moment later, he had a response, though it wasn¡¯t exactly as he¡¯d expected. Though he was starting to be able to understand some of what was in the notification in front of his eyes, Dominic still quickly read it to him to ensure he understood it all. And gave his own comments at the same time. ¡®Challenge has been rejected ¨C annoying. New Challenge has been issued in return: Three on One ¨C that could be interesting. Note: due to the increased difficulty, the rewards of this Challenge will be commensurately increased for the disadvantaged party in the event of success ¨C vaguely worrying, but promising too. Note, too, that no outside intervention is permitted during the Challenge. For reasons of fairness, all participants will be returned to full health and stamina at the start of the Challenge ¨C that¡¯s standard. And then the usual question about whether to accept or decline.¡¯ ¡®Should we accept?¡¯ Leo checked with his brother. ¡®I think we should be able to take on a few canines, don¡¯t you?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t get cocky,¡¯ Dominic warned. ¡®But yes, I agree. It will ease a little of the pressure on the rest of the pride too.¡¯ That was true. Without saying anything more, Leo accepted the Challenge, not wanting to waste any more time. After all, they still had some more ground to cover to get to the dungeon, and he was eager to get back to the rest of his pride as quickly as he could. The creatures immediately reacted by raising their heads and howling. The mournful sound didn¡¯t have any of the vibrating qualities that the amesheks¡¯ vocalisation had, but Leo found himself frozen despite that. Doubts ran through his mind: questions about whether he could win this; whether he¡¯d just damned himself, and with him, his pride. The creatures abruptly appeared stronger than they had before, their teeth sharper, their bodies more muscular. The leader seemed suddenly more powerful, more threatening. Leo¡¯s thoughts scattered, he couldn¡¯t think what to do. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡®Roar, Leo,¡¯ urged Dominic. ¡®Roar now!¡¯ Leo wondered for a moment whether it was even worth trying: his roar wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near strong enough to cut through the howl echoing uncomfortably in his ears. Then, abruptly, like a wave of warmth going through his icy form, he felt a rush of courage, of determination, of confidence. It came from his brother, he realised a moment later. The rush temporarily pushed away the cobwebs snagging his thoughts and showed them for what they were: deceit. With rage at being entrapped without even realising it, with his embarrassment of it having to be Dominic who snapped him out of it feeding his fury, Leo Roared. Immediately, the howl cut out. He saw the enemies in front of him falter, several taking a step back, though the leader wasn¡¯t one of those. Interestingly, his roar didn¡¯t only affect those who were part of the Challenge. At the same time, Leo noticed the members of his own Pride take heart and return to his side from where they had begun retreating. The three youngest males had the furthest to move ¨C they¡¯d almost started running away completely. Actually, the weakest looked like he was still considering running away. Leo sent an angrily growled message in the chat and the young male changed direction. As his Roar trailed off from lack of breath, the amesheks took up the moaning sound. Perhaps their pride had been piqued, because they certainly seemed to be putting a lot of effort into their eerie calls. The attack was far weaker with only two of them joining together, but they probably out-levelled the majority of the winged-coyotes by a significant margin. As a result, as the attack hit all the creatures around them, a small group became fixed in place. The lions wasted no time in seizing the advantage, leaping forward to attack the frozen targets. Two notifications flashed up. Leo could tell at a glance that they were death notifications, but nothing more. ¡®Eastern albuhas apparently. Level 9s,¡¯ Dominic told him hurriedly, but was unable to say any more as all hell broke loose. The albuhas which were part of the Challenge were unaffected by the ameshek, and apparently infuriated by the lions¡¯ attack: the two smaller ones leapt for Leo¡¯s throat. Leo jumped to the side, but a wingbeat from one of them adjusted its angle unexpectedly and its teeth bit into Leo''s shoulder, ripping a painful wound into it. Leo roared again, though this time it was more in pain than anger. The strike took a chunk of health from his bar even as the second albuha leapt quickly at him again. Using Powerful Swipe, he met its attack with his own, slamming his large-dinner plate-sized paw into the side of the oncoming albuha¡¯s head. The force sent the canine stumbling to the side, momentarily dazed. Using Quick Strike, Leo tried to take advantage of the stunned creature, but the first albuha snapped at the side of his throat and Leo had to dodge its teeth at the last second. Once more using Quick Strike, Leo leapt past the first albuha, then, with Rapid Attack allowing him to strike again quickly, he whirled around and leapt for its spine. Unfortunately, it dodged at the last moment and Leo missed. He managed to land on its wing and trap it for a moment, though. Setting his teeth into its shoulder, he pumped in acid with his tongue and dialled up Crushing Bite for a second. Then he let go and jumped back. Just in time: the second albuha had got over its daze and had lunged for his flank, moving faster than he¡¯d expected. Once more, their wings presented an advantage: it had used them to propel itself forward. However, Leo was fast himself, and the canine¡¯s teeth clicked together just in front of his nose. Abruptly, Leo felt something land heavily on his back, just as pain shot through his flanks and he felt constriction around his throat as his gorget drew tight. It took his mind a moment to catch up with what had happened. ¡®He came from the sky,¡¯ Dominic told him frantically. ¡®We¡¯ve got to get him off before he can get at our spine!¡¯ Stupidly, Leo had lost sight of the albuha leader and was paying for it now: the large creature was currently on his back, his claws digging into Leo¡¯s flanks, his teeth set in the back of his neck. The only reason the fight wasn¡¯t over then and there was the gorget. Instead of biting at his spine, the canine¡¯s fangs were digging into the hardened leather of his neck armour. Leo had never been more grateful that his brother had insisted that they wear the thing, even if it did look like a collar. However, even if the sharp teeth weren¡¯t actually piercing his skin at that very moment, they were digging into the back of his neck with uncomfortable bruising force and tightening the gorget until it threatened to choke him. Besides, the albuha could decide to change strategies at any time. And that was discounting the sharp claws raking at his flanks and the two subordinates harrying him too with sharp bites at his flanks and legs from one and a thin howl from the other that pierced his ears and sent even more shivers down his endangered spine. But Leo didn¡¯t know what to do: he¡¯d never been so vulnerable before, never had another¡¯s teeth so close to his spine. ¡®Snap out of it, Leo,¡¯ Dominic yelled in his mind, ¡®or we¡¯re going to die. And Roar again damn you!¡¯ The admonishment from his brother was enough to jerk him out of the moment of primal panic. He Roared to ward off the two encroaching albuhas for a moment. The sound cut through the howl which, thin and weak as it was, still had managed to send dread twining through his thoughts. When the subordinate albuhas backed off, he twisted to snap at the leader perched on his back. Unlike the herbivores he¡¯d attacked in the same way as the albuha was attempting to do to him, his flexibility was enough to allow him to snatch at the back leg of the creature on his back. It tried to pull away, but Leo was too fast to evade. Sinking his teeth into the leg, he bit firmly, then shook both his head and himself. The albuha leader flapped his wings to try to stay stable, and his other paws grabbed at Leo¡¯s back frantically. It wasn¡¯t enough. The canine lost his grip and slipped. Leo took immediate advantage, rolling himself into something like a somersault and landing heavily on his back ¨C right on top of the canine. Twisting to get himself off the creature, he turned to attack his foe again. The albuha wasn¡¯t looking so healthy now: although his health bar was still pretty full, one of his hind legs was rather mangled and his wings were clearly ruffled, perhaps even slightly damaged from the impact. Unfortunately, the subordinate albuhas were rather frantic to stop Leo from pressing his advantage. They interspersed themselves between him and the briefly downed leader. They didn¡¯t even try to attack him; just stopped him from getting through and danced away from any attacks on them. Leo snarled in frustration. Then he had an idea. Chapter 47: Down and Out for the Count Dominic watched through Leo¡¯s eyes with tension filling his mental presence. Leo leaped, taking a leaf out of Dominic¡¯s own playbook. However, not in the direction that anyone might have been expecting. Instead of leaping towards the two subordinate albuhas and the downed leader beyond, he leaped away. As he whirled around, Dominic saw that the two coyote-like creatures had taken a few steps towards them, probably instinctively attracted to a ¡®fleeing¡¯ enemy. However, Leo¡¯s plan very quickly took shape even as several more notifications of downed enemies flashed across Dominic¡¯s vision ¨C even if Leo didn¡¯t want to see them, it was useful for someone to keep track. Besides, it confirmed that so far none of the smaller coyotes had been any higher than level 9 which was good to know. It did mean that his bigger opponents were probably Tier 2, but were unlikely to be far into it. Invoking Momentous Charge, Leo started running back towards the small group, Roaring as he did so. Dominic felt his companion concentrate on emitting an aura of fear through the sound of his voice. Actually, it wasn¡¯t a bad idea, he decided. There was the chance that the coyotes would be able to see through the illusion but at their lower levels that seemed unlikely. Adding in the Roar was a good idea ¨C even if they did have the possibility of seeing through the illusion, the chances of successfully doing so were reduced if they were half-terrified already. The effects of Leo¡¯s Roar were immediately obvious. All three albuhas recoiled, and the two subordinate ones actually took several steps backwards. They unintentionally helped their pride mates too ¨C several of the lower level albuhas actually turned to flee and offering easy targets to the lions and amesheks. A moment later, Leo¡¯s targets were hit by however many pounds of charging lion they perceived. Completely unbraced for the attack, the two smaller albuhas went flying ¨C and not with their wings. They weren¡¯t down and out for the count ¨C not yet ¨C but they had certainly been knocked almost entirely out of the ring. The impact had left the lead albuha open to attack. Even better, Leo¡¯s built-up momentum was sufficient to keep him moving forwards, though more slowly, despite running bodily into the two other albuhas. Of course, Leo¡¯s ¡®more slowly¡¯ was still damn fast, considering how much they had invested into their speed and the addition of Momentous Charge. He was on the albuha leader before the coyote-like creature could react. Dominic felt the pleasure emanating from his companion at the delicious knowledge that this time it was his enemy under his claws and teeth ¨C he had definitely not reacted well to being the ¡®prey¡¯ in their previous clash. Now, grounded temporarily and without his supporting packmates, the leader was vulnerable. Leo took eager advantage of that and struck at him again. The coyote-like creature tried to fight back, but against the bigger, stronger, and higher-level lion, the battle was almost a foregone conclusion. The albuha tried to use his howl once more, but with Leo¡¯s new confidence, it rolled across him like water off a duck¡¯s back. When he did manage to get his teeth into Leo, it took a chunk out of the lion¡¯s health bar, obviously using some Ability, but Leo was too fast to be caught often. And a lot more was taken out of the albuha¡¯s health bar than it managed to drag from Leo¡¯s. The attempts to attack him made by the subordinates weren¡¯t enough to drive him away or stop him attacking either. By the time the albuha was down to ten percent, it turned and tried to wing away, to escape. Leo wasn¡¯t having any of that. He prepared to pounce. [You have caused one of your opponents to abandon the Challenge. 1/3 challengers of Three On One defeated. Kill or force a retreat from the others to win the challenge.] ¡®Wait!¡¯ yelled Dominic mentally at Leo just as he leapt. The lion didn¡¯t wait: he landed on the coyote-like creature¡¯s back just as the leader pushed off from the ground. The lion bit down, and his teeth weren¡¯t stopped by a gorget. It was a bit of an ungainly crash landing, but Leo managed to spring free from the falling, paralysed carcass. [You have killed Eastern Albuha (Evolved Beast level 13)] [You have earned 15 PP] ¡®Wait for what?¡¯ Leo asked, satisfaction running through him. ¡®Well it¡¯s too late now,¡¯ Dominic snapped at him. ¡®You¡¯ve gone and killed it even when it had already surrendered.¡¯ ¡®I thought you wanted his wings!¡¯ the lion argued, but was distracted as another winged coyote leapt at him. Of the two subordinates, one seemed to have gone mad; the other seemed to be frozen, staring at its downed leader. The furious coyote suddenly swelled to a larger size. Its strikes became faster and more powerful, its actions without any sort of hesitation or fear. At first Dominic would have said that it was Rage like the trodils had had, but there was no anger in the creature and though its strikes were unhesitating, they weren¡¯t reckless in the same way. So not Rage, but probably something not all that dissimilar. It would have been more difficult except for the fact that Leo was a very large lion by this point, and even the coyote¡¯s extra size didn¡¯t quite bring it to Leo¡¯s level. Plus, though the creature was faster when striking, its speed when dodging had reduced a little, meaning that it took injuries more easily. To swing the balance even more definitely towards Leo, the third member of the Challenge still seemed to be frozen. Or perhaps it was indecisive. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. In a one on one fight with a weaker opponent, it wasn¡¯t surprising when Leo managed to use a clever feint to knock the false coyote over onto its side, its wing squashed underneath it and then ripped out its throat. [You have killed Eastern Albuha (Evolved Beast level 11)] [You have earned 14 PP] [2/3 challengers of Three On One defeated. Kill or force a retreat from the last challenger to win the challenge.] Leo next rounded on the final of the three albuhas, only to find it pressed to the ground, whimpering. Its wings were stretched open and vulnerable, its head on the ground, its eyes looking up at Leo pleadingly. Dominic felt the lion hesitate. ¡®Are you going to let it live?¡¯ he asked as the moment drew out. ¡®I should kill it, wretched canine,¡¯ Leo grumbled. ¡®But¡­?¡¯ ¡®But you won¡¯t want me to, will you?¡¯ he asked, sounding rather long-suffering. ¡®I think we should see where this will take us, yes,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®As long as it surrenders, we should win the Challenge.¡¯ ¡®Then you sort it out. I¡¯m going to rest a bit.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic replied, sighing a little, though mostly for the appearance of it. He didn¡¯t complain as they quickly swapped places, settling back into the physicality of their body. Reaching out with a telepathic connection, he found himself able to hear what was going on through the remaining albuha¡¯s mind ¨C a repeating litany of the equivalent of ¡®don¡¯t kill me¡¯ and ¡®please¡¯. The creature was so desperate to have its intentions understood that it was practically projecting the thoughts out of its own mind even without telepathy helping it. ¡®Surrender and maybe I won¡¯t kill you,¡¯ Dominic told it bluntly. He felt a moment of shock pass over the temporary connection from the coyote-like creature. Then a notification flashed up in front of him. [3/3 challengers of Three On One defeated.] [Congratulations! You have won the challenge: Three On One. Would you like to see your rewards?] Although he was dying to say ¡®yes¡¯, he instead told it ¡®later¡¯ ¨C they were still in the middle of a fight here. Though he did wonder absently why he didn¡¯t get a message about choosing the albuha¡¯s fate in the same way as he¡¯d been asked about Nyx¡¯s after their battle. Was it a different kind of Challenge? This was the only other time an enemy had surrendered in a Challenge, so it was difficult to know what was normal. Chancing a glance around, Dominic saw that his pride and the albuhas were still fighting hard. It was difficult to tell how many of each there were, though the two amesheks were distinctive which filled him with relief. He didn¡¯t want to have to go and tell Nyx that one or even both of her pack had been killed before they even reached the dungeon. Filling his lungs with air, he Roared, concentrating on the desire for everyone to just stop. And they did. The higher levelled amesheks and even Sekhmet looked like it was more a choice than an obligation, but the rest looked as if his Roar had been a physical shockwave that hit them and demanded their attention. Though that did strike Dominic as a little odd ¨C he thought his Abilities weren¡¯t supposed to affect his own pride members and it usually caused lower-levelled creatures to flee. Then again, maybe it was less the Ability and more the roar itself, or perhaps the intention he¡¯d put behind it. The remaining albuhas turned to see him standing victorious, two of their number dead near him, the third pressing itself to the floor as if it wanted to be one with it. Several turned to run, but didn¡¯t make it more than a couple of steps before the members of Dominic¡¯s pride who were quicker off the mark attacked them and brought them to the ground. The rest, some eight or nine of them, pressed themselves to the earth just as the one near Dominic was doing. ¡®Don¡¯t attack!¡¯ Dominic told his pride sharply when it looked as though Jenkins and Fang were both about to take advantage. They checked themselves, pulling back with obedience, if not happiness. Actually¡­ Where¡¯s Prince? Dominic wondered, then dismissed the thought. If he¡¯d died, neither he nor his companion would mourn the irritating juvenile much. ¡®Are you all OK?¡¯ he checked with his pride, keeping a sharp eye on the beasts pressed to the ground. ¡®We are well enough,¡¯ Sekhmet answered. ¡®The young male has been keeping us in decent condition.¡¯ The young male? Dominic could only guess she was talking about Lionel with Healing Cloud, since that was the only thing that would make sense. Sure enough, though most of his pride didn¡¯t relax and kept their eyes on the beings who until a moment ago had been going for their throats, Lionel was wandering around. Dominic found himself momentarily distracted by the other male¡¯s actions. He was rubbing himself against each of the pride members, as if he was greeting them and sharing scents. It made Leo bristle a little bit, and the lion might have said something if he couldn¡¯t see the same thing that Dominic could: as Lionel rubbed himself along the other pride members¡¯ bodies, their health bars started increasing. Healing through hugs? Dominic asked himself incredulously. That seemed like something more out of the realm of the Care Bears or something, not the ruthless System which seemed determined to push them to fight each other to the death. They¡¯d have to explore that more later. For now, he was just glad to see that all of his pride were still alive. Or, at least, all but Prince ¨C he¡¯d have to check his status screen to figure out what had happened with that pride-member. However, he had another dilemma to face now. Namely deciding what to do with the creatures who, to all intents and purposes, seemed to have surrendered. ¡®So,¡¯ he said to the albuha from the Challenge, who still hadn¡¯t moved an inch. ¡®In the absence of your leader, are you the one I should negotiate with?¡¯ It seemed like a reasonable supposition: the leader was level 13; the other subordinate albuha had been level 11. Surely this one wasn¡¯t all that dissimilar and so, surely, was one of the lieutenants or deputies of the leader. ¡®I¡­Maybe?¡¯ the albuha answered uncertainly. He, since his voice was definitely male, despite the fear in it, was quite well-spoken, especially for his level, presuming he was level 11 like the other subordinate. ¡®Then tell me: why should my Pride and I let you live?¡¯ Chapter 48: Wings The coyote-like albuha seemed surprised for a moment. Maybe because Dominic was even asking the question instead of making demands or just killing him outright. ¡®I¡­we serve you? You new alpha? You stronger than last alpha. You defeat alpha. We serve you well. Don¡¯t kill?¡¯ Well, that was intelligent. Dominic wanted to sit back on his haunches, but thought that that probably wasn¡¯t the best idea considering that the enemy could be lying. He didn¡¯t think the albuha was, but everything was possible. ¡®I¡¯m inclined to let them join us,¡¯ he said to Leo thoughtfully. ¡®What, in the Pride properly, or just let them tag along until we know whether they can be trusted?¡¯ questioned the lion. ¡®Yes, in the Pride. From what we¡¯ve seen, we don¡¯t lose Pride Points if members are killed. I don¡¯t know if the story is any different if we kick them out, but I suspect that if we use the points in an enhancement, we won¡¯t lose the enhancement. We can always test with an upgrade rather than a new enhancement just to be sure. Look at how many of them there are ¨C that¡¯s a good few Pride Points if they all join. And what do we lose?¡¯ The lion thought about it for a long moment. ¡®Aren¡¯t the Prey Points gained from the Place of Power split more ways if the Pride grows larger?¡¯ ¡®They are,¡¯ Dominic confirmed, ¡®but I noticed that we haven¡¯t had any Prey Points since leaving the forest. Except for in this fight. So it seems like the effect only applies when we¡¯re in the Place of Power¡¯s territory. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s ¡®saving¡¯ points for when we get back, or only giving those actually present in the territory the points ¨C probably the latter, thinking about it. Either way, I suspect that adding the albuhas won¡¯t make a huge amount of difference until we get back. And by the time we do that, we should know whether we¡¯re keeping them or not.¡¯ ¡®You make good points,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®Though I wonder what happens to those points if we don¡¯t get them later.¡¯ Dominic shrugged mentally. ¡®We¡¯ll have to find out later, I guess.¡± About to move forward with the albuhas, Dominic was distracted by Sekhmet coming and rubbing herself sinuously along his length. Apparently she was rather unconcerned by the still-cowering coyote-like creatures. ¡®We killing them or not?¡± she asked through the Pride chat, slightly impatiently. ¡®Not,¡¯ Dominic answered. ¡®We¡¯re thinking about adding them to the Pride. Unless you have a good reason why not?¡¯ The lioness seemed to think about it carefully for a few moments. ¡®Hunts split more ways,¡¯ she pointed out. ¡®But more mouths to take down prey.¡¯ She sent across a feeling of ambivalence, but acceptance of whatever they chose to go with. ¡®As long as they do not threaten our cubs,¡¯ she added. ¡®Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t,¡¯ Dominic assured her. Turning back towards the albuhas, he sent out a connection that touched all of them. It was difficult to hold so many different connections, but he was a lot more capable with Telepathy then he used to be ¨C he wouldn¡¯t have been able to communicate with all the kesh if he hadn¡¯t improved. He suspected that having the Pride chat actually helped unconsciously, even if it wasn¡¯t precisely meant to ¨C it was a different kind of connection between many minds. ¡®Join our Pride and live; don¡¯t join and try to escape my hunters.¡¯ Short and succinct; the ball was in their court now. He waited for a moment in case any of them showed a preference for trying to run. None of them even moved a muscle. Sending out invitations one at a time, the albuha in front of him first, Dominic soon had the first acceptances come rolling in. It wasn¡¯t long before he was the proud leader of eleven albuhas. The one still at Dominic¡¯s feet slowly started shifting, carefully pushing himself to his feet, probably ready to drop down to the ground if the lion looked like he had any murderous intent. When he just stayed still, the other albuhas followed the first one¡¯s lead. When they were all standing and warily looking around at the pride still surrounding them, Dominic spoke. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said to them firmly in the Pride chat. ¡®Welcome to the Pride. Don¡¯t hurt any of the other Pride members, pull your weight in hunts, follow my instructions, and we¡¯ll get along fine. For now, Lionel, are you able to help heal their injuries?¡¯ Dominic received a message of agreement from the young lion, although it included a certain amount of wary reluctance. The older lion reassured him that if the albuha tried anything, they¡¯d deal with it quickly. Dominic did take a moment to watch the healer start his work. Just as with the lions and amesheks, Lionel rubbed himself against the albuhas. It was done far more perfunctorily than when he¡¯d done it against the other lions. He was visibly even less comfortable than when he was rubbing against the amesheks, but that wasn¡¯t too surprising: Lionel had never fought the amesheks; the albuhas had all-too-recently been trying to tear his throat out. Dominic was interested to see that ¡®Healing Cloud¡¯ wasn¡¯t a complete misnomer: although Lionel apparently needed to be in close contact, there was a sort of golden cloud around him. In fact, it looked pretty similar to what happened when a carcass was Consumed. His suspicion gained more evidence when Lionel paused between two albuhas and Consumed a carcass despite his health bar being full. He then returned to healing the other coyote-lookalikes, the faint golden cloud around him slightly more visible. Interesting. I wonder if the Ability is some sort of storage for the golden dust? If so, how much can Lionel hold at a time? And is the cloud going to get bigger around him as he levels up the Ability? Surely it must! Dominic made a mental note to get Lionel to test it out ¨C knowing his healer¡¯s limits would be a good idea. In the meantime, the rest of the lions and amesheks used Consume to heal themselves up ¨C when they didn¡¯t first blur in level up. Jenkins was a bit torn on one flank ¨C an albuha had obviously got its teeth in her. Sekhmet was barely bloodied. One of the amesheks¡¯ slightly armoured body seemed to have generally fended off the attackers while the other still had a few small wounds. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Fang was the worst off: he¡¯d obviously been in the thick of it and at level 7, he was lower level than most of the attackers. Well, he had been level 7 ¨C from the blurring that overtook him, Dominic could only guess that he was now level 8. Pulling up his status screen, he saw that, sure enough, there had been several changes among the Pride members who had fought on his side. Almost all of them had increased a level: Sekhmet had managed to reach level 14, and the lower level amesheks had both reached level 18. Jenkins, Fang, and Lionel had also each gone up a level. However, rather obvious once he looked for it, was the absence of Prince on the status screen. It confirmed Dominic¡¯s thoughts: the laziest lion among them had fallen victim to one of the albuhas. Briefly closing his screen and looking around, he spotted part of the golden body half-hidden behind a bush. Fang, who had finished his levelling up, had moved over to the lion and was licking at him. Walking over, Dominic hesitated for a moment before rubbing against Fang, sending feelings of commiseration with the young lion. The former-human had to admit that he wouldn¡¯t miss the young juvenile ¨C he¡¯d been annoying more than anything else. Still, he felt a little sad that Prince would never have the chance to mature past his lazy lion propensities. And it was clear that some would miss the young male. Though, the chances were that he¡¯d have died even without the System¡¯s intervention ¨C the savannah had never been kind to young male lions. Nonetheless, he nudged and licked at the body, following his instincts. Jenkins, Sekhmet, and finally Lionel, when he finished healing the albuhas, all did the same. Once the members of the pride who had known him had verified that their pridemate was dead, Dominic nudged Lionel and Fang to Consume the young lion¡¯s body. He figured it made sense for Prince¡¯s two brothers to do it. Once the golden cloud was gone, he licked up the Core ¨C even though it only contained Pounce, it was still progress to the next level in that. While he was at it, he collected the Cores of the albuhas, earning 70% towards Fearful Howl, 50% towards Tearing Bite, 34% towards Soaring Glide, 20% towards Sharp Tooth, and 18% towards Champion. Of all of those, Soaring Glide was the one he wanted most, but considering only two Cores had held that, he considered himself lucky to have got as far towards it as he had. Champion was what the weaker albuha Leo had killed in the Challenge had had. It seemed to be similar to Rage except without the berserking elements. Instead, it seemed like it had to be used in the defence of something or someone else. He supposed it could come in useful if he could use defence of his Pride members as the motivation for the Ability. Though there were probably drawbacks which weren¡¯t clear in the description. Checking over his Pride''s status screen once more he noticed that there were a couple of other changes among the lionesses he¡¯d left behind, though none among the amesheks. I need to find names for them, Dominic reminded himself. Maybe they have preferences? He put the thought to one side as he checked the other changes to his status screen from the addition of the newcomers. Dominic noted that the highest levelled one, probably the one who had first surrendered to him, was level 12, which surprised him a little: he was smaller than the level 11 that Dominic had killed second. Then he saw that the albuha¡¯s third Ability was Sharp Mind, and it made sense. Fearful Howl was the initial Ability of all the albuhas, with Tearing Bite a common second Ability: four of the albuhas had that. That reflected what he¡¯d seen in the Cores too. Three of them had Quick Snap, which Dominic had to guess was pretty similar to Quick Strike, though perhaps only limited to biting. Only one had Soaring Glide, which reflected its rarity despite the wings that they all had. Then there were three who had one of Sharp Tooth, Enhanced Endurance, and Keen Senses. In total, of the surviving albuhas, there was one at level 12, two at level 9, the majority at level 8, and one each at level 7 and level 6. Overall, not all that surprising as a distribution, assuming that the leader and two seconds in command had usually made the biggest impact in hunts. Not to mention the fact that the rest of Dominic¡¯s pride had killed more level 7s than anything else. In fact, it was more surprising that the level 6 had survived than anything else. Maybe it was a bit of a coward or something and had managed to hide for most of the battle. Then again, its second Ability was Quick Snap implying that it did fight. Well, he¡¯d find that out in time. For now he had rewards to explore from the Challenge and then they needed to get moving again. Opening the rewards panel, he already knew that he was going to choose one of the entries if it was there. ¡®Yes!¡¯ he cried at his companion. [Eastern Albuha: Evolved, level 13, 27 EP] [Enhancements available: Keen Nose (2 EP) Keen Hearing (2 EP) Wide Diet (5 EP) Hardened Pads (3 EP) Feathered Wings (10 EP) Sharp Teeth (2 EP) Airborne (10 EP) Fearful Howl (10 EP) Tearing Bite (8 EP)] ¡®Right, we are definitely getting those wings,¡¯ Dominic said firmly. ¡®I¡¯m just surprised that there¡¯s no Enhanced Fertility or something,¡¯ Leo grumbled. ¡®Why would you think there would be?¡¯ asked the former-human, mystified. ¡®I mean, any more likely than anything else we kill, that is.¡¯ ¡®Because its balls were massive,¡¯ Leo snapped. ¡®Wretched canine ¨C advertising prowess that it doesn¡¯t actually have.¡¯ Dominic shook his head mentally, more than a little exasperated. ¡®Anyway, back to the topic. Wings. What else?¡¯ ¡®If you¡¯re set on having wings, then we ought to choose something that seems likely to help us use them.¡¯ ¡®Airborne?¡¯ checked Dominic. ¡®What else?¡¯ the lion questioned sardonically. ¡®Probably a good idea,¡¯ agreed the former-human, pointedly ignoring his companion¡¯s tone. ¡®So those two together will cost twenty points, leaving us with seven. That doesn¡¯t leave us with enough to get another Ability, but we probably don¡¯t really want either of those, so just as well. That means we could get three of the remaining options, unless we pick Wide Diet.¡¯ ¡®We don¡¯t need hardened pads ¨C it¡¯s hard enough to keep quiet with our size without having those.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re the one who wanted to grow so much,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®But it¡¯s a fair point. Plus, even if they do give extra endurance, which I suspect, we¡¯re probably going to be travelling with those with less endurance anyway, which means it would be a bit wasteful. Honestly, I¡¯m rather intrigued by Wide Diet,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®Why?¡¯ questioned Leo, though it sounded more genuine than dismissive. ¡®We can Consume carcasses ¨C what if we could do something with plants? Plus, if we weren¡¯t an obligate carnivore, we might survive even if we accidentally hunt all the creatures in our local area.¡¯ The thought of the barren area through which they had travelled to get to the Place of Power still made Dominic feel uneasy. The lion was quiet for a few moments. ¡®You have a point,¡¯ he admitted finally, sounding a little uneasy himself. ¡®Let¡¯s take it. Then perhaps we should also take Keen Nose,¡¯ he suggested. ¡®To find prey more easily?¡¯ guessed Dominic. ¡®Precisely.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic agreed. He wasn¡¯t desperate to get enhanced hearing or even sharper teeth, even if the latter would definitely improve his combat power. All points assigned, he made his selection. Chapter 49: How Am I Actually Going to Fly? Expecting to immediately have the effects of the Enhancements applied, Dominic was surprised when another System message came up instead. [Due to the difficulty of the Three on One Challenge, rewards are increased. You have a choice: Double the PP reward for succeeding in the Challenge Increase the starting level of your new Enhancements. Note: choice must be made before Enhancements can be applied.] Dominic felt excitement go through him: he¡¯d half forgotten about that promise from the System in the busyness of the last quarter of an hour. Quickly thinking through the options, he came to a conclusion. ¡®I think we should go for the second option,¡¯ he says decisively. ¡®Even if it only increases the level of all the Enhancements by one, that¡¯s the equivalent of one and a half level ups, and I doubt that the first option will give that many Prey Points.¡¯ ¡®Why is it only doubling the reward for a Challenge which was three on one?¡¯ groused Leo. Dominic sent him a mental shrug. ¡®Because we only killed two of them? Or because it only considered the threat level to be double that of just the alpha on his own? I don¡¯t know. So, do you agree with me or not?¡¯ The lion was silent for a short moment while he thought it over too. ¡®I think we should go for the second option too,¡¯ he agreed. ¡®The only downside is that it will enhance things which we might not have chosen to.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, but it can only improve things for us. And we might find those Enhancements more useful than we thought.¡¯ Waiting for a moment, Dominic made his choice when Leo didn¡¯t say anything more. Immediately, the screen disappeared and he started feeling a tingling sensation in the area just above his shoulder blades. The tingling quickly became itching, which even more quickly turned into pain. His nose started tingling too, and he felt something going on in his guts as well, but those sensations were quickly drowned out by the worsening agony in his shoulders. He squeezed his eyes shut, all his focus going on just breathing through the sensations wracking him. Nausea building, he became slowly more and more afraid that he was about to empty his stomach on the ground ¨C not that there was much in it other than blood. At the same time, he felt like clawing his nose off, the itching becoming unbearable there. His body reshaped itself with the System¡¯s assistance, and all Dominic could do was hold onto his sanity and do his best not to roar with pain or vomit. He couldn¡¯t help the whimpers that escaped his muzzle, though. Slowly, far too slowly, the agony, nausea, and itching abated. Within a few minutes, they had vanished, like they had never been there. Of all the new things the System did, that was the one that Dominic was most grateful for, yet also the most discomforted by. His body just wasn¡¯t used to being in absolute agony one moment, and then absolutely fine the next. But at the same time, he was also very appreciative that injuries didn¡¯t take the time to heal that they used to. Opening his eyes from where they had been screwed shut, Dominic could immediately identify one of the differences. Large wing joints came forward halfway along his neck, visible out of the corner of his eyes. He turned his head to look at them, curiosity mixed with excitement going through him. Barely even thinking about it, he extended his right wing out, seeing the large sandy-coloured feathered limb unfold smoothly. Clearly, the enhancement had come with the muscles and neural pathways needed to use them, which was rather fortunate. With a slight swoop in his stomach, Dominic briefly considered how much of a waste it would have been of an Enhancement if they¡¯d ended up being uncontrollable until he¡¯d learned to use them. He¡¯d had enough flailing around like a cub when he¡¯d first learned to walk in this body to last him a lifetime. He tested its range of movement, first that wing, then the other, then both together. He could rotate the wings so the tips of his pinions could sweep forward, the rest of his wing creating something of a parachute shape ¨C a way of slowing down his speed. Equally, he could swing the wing so that the front joint ¨C the wrist equivalent, if he remembered correctly ¨C cut through the air with force. Perhaps that could be a useful weapon against an opponent. By flexing his elbow and wrist joints in different ways, he could make his wing more or less folded. He played with the different shapes he could make, marvelling at how he could almost control the individual feathers. Well, the pinions, anyway ¨C not the secondaries, or whatever the feathers were that covered the majority of his upper wings. He could also raise them both above his body to an almost vertical position and then lower them so they touched the ground. That, no doubt, was how he would be able to fly. However, there was one thing that bothered him. ¡®How am I actually going to fly?¡¯ ¡®Uh, with our wings?¡¯ suggested Leo as if questioning his intelligence. ¡®Wasn¡¯t that the whole point of getting them?¡¯ ¡®Sure, but¡­they¡¯re not big enough.¡¯ ¡®They look big enough,¡¯ objected the lion. And he was right, in a way ¨C the wings were probably twice the length of their body when fully extended. Fully folded, the front wrist joint was just behind the line of his jaw and the tips of the pinions extended a bit behind his hindquarters. But from something he¡¯d seen, humans would have to have wings about seven metres in span to lift them, and he was definitely heavier than a human. At best, his wingspan was six metres long. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Flexing the wings, he tested them, beating downwards. The others watching him curiously quickly backed off as a thick dust cloud started forming thanks to the air movement. Dominic did feel a force push him a little upwards and when he leapt up he found that he went higher than he might have expected before. But he came back down pretty quickly too, despite trying to beat his wings while in the air. After a bit of experimentation, he found that the best result was where he leapt into the air, accompanying his movement with a beat of his wings, then held them out steadily to allow him to either slow his descent or to glide forwards quickly. His wings did look awesome, their colour mostly the sandy shade of his body, though with slightly lighter pinions and darker feathers along the ¡®arm¡¯ bones. Still, they weren¡¯t quite as useful as he had been hoping. That was to say that it seemed he wouldn¡¯t be competing with any birds any time soon. ¡®What are you complaining about?¡¯ Leo asked with a heavy dose of exasperation. ¡®You wanted wings; we¡¯ve got wings. And I for one hope that the females are going to be happy with them.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, but I wanted to fly,¡¯ muttered Dominic sulkily. ¡®As for the lionesses, let¡¯s see.¡¯ He trotted over to Sekhmet who had been watching him with interest for a while, even as several others had taken the opportunity to nap for a bit. ¡®What do you think of my new wings?¡¯ he asked her with Telepathy. She eyed him thoughtfully, then came closer, inspecting them with eyes and nose, then batting at them lightly with a paw. Thankfully, she kept her claws sheathed. Finally, she rubbed her chin on them and then rubbed her whole body against Dominic, flicking him with her tail teasingly. ¡®Interesting,¡¯ she judged. ¡®Soft. Prey now?¡¯ she asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Dominic bared his teeth and snarled softly at her, though sent her a feeling of amusement over their connection to reassure her that he was responding to her teasing in kind. ¡®Try it, and see how it works out for you,¡¯ he challenged. To his surprise, she actually took the challenge more seriously than he was expecting. Enough to actually leap at him, though her sheathed claws and the gentle bite she got in due to his surprise told him that she was just playing. Dominic reacted willingly, giving back as good as he got, and they ¡®fought¡¯, exchanging blows and bites, tumbling and rolling across the dusty savannah ground. After a few moments, Jenkins joined in, though Fang and Lionel both decided to stay aloof, as did the amesheks. The albuhas looked too nervous to join in either. When they stopped, a signal in Sekhmet¡¯s body language indicating that she¡¯d had enough, Dominic found that he was feeling a lot more comfortable with his new appendages. The play fighting had helped him actually get a feel as to how they worked with his movements. They did restrict him slightly: he wasn¡¯t as flexible with the wings pressed to him. And even if he did apparently have the muscular and neural connections necessary to use the wings, using them adeptly at the same time as moving the rest of his body would take work. However, he was pleased to note that he could still roll, could still twist, could still pounce without them getting in the way. They also offered another part of him which could be attacked, and a lucky bite from Sekhmet had brought him up short and interrupted his movements: the equivalent of having his arm held behind his back hadn¡¯t been pleasant. Still, with practice, he could definitely see them becoming more of an advantage than a liability. However, there were more changes following that fight with the albuhas than his wings alone, though they were definitely the biggest. Dominic decided that it was worth taking a little bit more time to check out the developments: he didn¡¯t know when the next fight would be. ¡®Alright everyone,¡¯ Dominic said through the Pride chat. ¡®Let¡¯s just move a little away from the blood, then we¡¯ll rest for a bit longer before continuing to our destination.¡¯ So saying, he collected a few bodies which hadn¡¯t yet been Consumed, then led them over the next hill where he stopped. Rubbing affectionately against Sekhmet, he lay down, then shifted to reposition his wing so he wasn¡¯t lying on it. She flopped next to him, her head on his flank on top of his wing. A moment later, Jenkins came to join them, lying down behind Dominic and pressing against his back and half-lying on his wing. Interestingly, Lionel and Fang both came closer, though they didn¡¯t dare actually touch him, instead lying a wary body¡¯s length away. The two amesheks lay down together, as did the albuhas. In a short space of time, they were all relaxing. Comfortable with his Pride, Dominic pulled up the changes to his status screen. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 22 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 606/615 PP The first thing he noticed was that he¡¯d got a chunk of Prey Points from somewhere since they¡¯d finished the fight with the albuhas ¨C 50, to be exact. From the Challenge? he wondered to himself. But I chose to double my Enhancements, not my Prey Points¡­unless I would have got a hundred instead if I¡¯d chosen that option? There were a number of other small changes ¨C various of his current Abilities gaining a few percentage points here or there from use. The only really interesting one was Powerful Swipe which had levelled up. Powerful Swipe (T0) level 4 ¨C> 5 (6% to level 6) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +15% - +110% damage increase for 2-63 stamina per second. Apart from that, Dominic concentrated on the four main changes. The first was his new Ability. Airborne (T2) level 2 (0% to level 3) ¨C Carried by the air and wind currents, you are at one with the wind. At least, perhaps one day. Control your weight to decide the influence gravity has on you. +- 0 - 5% weight. ¡®Huh, that could be rather useful,¡¯ Dominic commented to Leo. Reducing his weight, that is, the effect that gravity had on him¡­. Hmm, that had potential. As for the other changes, interestingly, Feathered Wings was classified under Offensive Abilities. Reading how its main System effect was to increase the damage of attacks from the air, that made sense. - Feathered Wings level 2 (+10% to strikes from the air) Keen Nose had apparently been combined with his existing Sinuses, improving them significantly. - Sinuses level 2 ¨C> 4 +10% ¨C> 30% range; +5% ¨C> 20% intensity The last one was also under General Abilities, the newest on his list. - Wide Diet level 2 (current diet: 80 - 100% non-poisonous, non-rotten meat; 0 - 20% non-poisonous, non-rotting plant matter generally edible by other mammals) It was interesting that it hadn¡¯t been combined with Carnivore Constitution, but since it seemed to be mostly focussing on what he could eat rather than contributing to his health directly, that made sense. On the other hand, Dominic did remember how he had been offered the opportunity to take an enhancement on level up to widen the diet of which he was capable of eating, which surely would have fallen under Carnivore Constitution¡­. Not having the answers, Dominic had to just shrug and move on. And move on was exactly what they needed to do now. They had a dungeon to find and beat. Again. Chapter 50: Error The rest of the journey went as smoothly as could be expected from a ragtag group like what Dominic¡¯s was shaping up to be. The albuhas were wary of the more cohesive lions and amesheks ¨C having newcomers in the group seemed to have brought together the two species who had been in the Pride for longer. Dominic took advantage of the journey to test his new wings and get used to moving them at the same time as the rest of his limbs. With his significantly greater senses, smell included ¨C the change obvious enough that even the former-human with less focus on things like odours noticed it ¨C finding his route back was even easier. As a result, using his greater speed to his advantage, he tended to run a bit ahead of the pride, practised a bit until the rest caught up, then ran ahead again. He and Leo swapped over when the lion decided that he wanted to experiment a bit too. Figuring that it was a sound idea for them both to have a good grasp of how to use his new appendages, Dominic agreed to Leo¡¯s demand to take control easily enough. Once Leo had had enough, he swapped back, saying that he wanted to ¡®rest¡¯ after the ¡®tiring fight¡¯. After the first time he ran ahead of the group, Sekhmet started doing the same. Since the two amesheks were both higher level than her, he figured that there was no harm in it and so didn¡¯t tell her not to follow him. She couldn¡¯t keep up with his speed, but she arrived earlier than the rest of the pride and spent the time watching him curiously. After three times, he started slowing down and letting her almost keep up with him. It was¡­oddly companionable, even if they didn¡¯t actually speak about it in any way. Dominic was curious about what Sekhmet was thinking ¨C whether she was interested in him having wings, or if she wanted wings like him. But he feared that if she said the latter, she¡¯d expect him to help her do it and he had absolutely no idea of where to start with that. There was no guarantee that she¡¯d be able to Challenge a creature for its wings like he had. Before he could summon up the courage to ask her, he noticed that he recognised some landmarks in the area. Instead of running ahead the next time the pride caught up with him, Dominic, back in control of their body, decided that he¡¯d better travel with the pride. Finally, they entered that dip between kopjes where he remembered running away from the hyenas when he¡¯d been nothing but a lowly level 3. Or was I even lower? I don¡¯t remember¡­. There were some immediate differences, the most obvious of which was that the tunnel which he¡¯d used to protect his flanks and back against the more numerous hyenas was gone. In its place was a large metal door. It was a pale gold colour, gleaming dully in the sun, though not mistakable for gold at all. Seeing it, Dominic paused, and his pride with him. ¡®Well, that¡¯s new,¡¯ commented Leo in the back of his mind. ¡®Yeah. Seems like the dungeon has changed.¡¯ ¡®We were expecting it to,¡¯ the lion reminded him. ¡®I know,¡¯ Dominic replied, unease still going through him. It was true ¨C they weren¡¯t expecting the dungeon to somehow be the one thing that had stayed the same when everything else changed. But seeing that the very entrance had changed this drastically just brought that home to him once more. ¡®Problem?¡¯ asked Sekhmet, her eyes and ears alert as she stepped closer to Dominic. ¡®Not exactly,¡¯ he replied, then shook himself. ¡®It¡¯s different from the way it was before. There¡¯s no problem; we¡¯ll just have to be alert to everything that¡¯s changed.¡¯ Walking forwards cautiously, he moved towards the dungeon entrance, his pride following him. As they got closer, he started to see marks on the surface of the metallic door. By the time they were only a few paces away from it, the marks were clear enough that they could make out pictures which almost made sense. A hyena merged into a warthog which then turned into a tree. Behind the tree hid creatures which looked rather like meerkats, though they were large in comparison to the hyenas. The design repeated itself, the animals sometimes interchanging with each other or even with other creatures entirely ¨C Dominic was pretty sure he saw a trodil somewhere and a lizard of some sort. ¡®Do you think it¡¯s giving a warning as to the dangers we will encounter?¡¯ Leo suggested tentatively. Dominic considered it. ¡®Possibly? But it could also be to mislead anyone who comes across it. I don¡¯t think we can trust this in any way.¡¯ The lion agreed wordlessly with Dominic as they closed the gap. There, they hesitated again. Occupied by the ornate decorations on the door itself, they had failed to notice one very important point: there was no way of opening the door. No handle, no button, not even the space for any sort of key. If Dominic hadn¡¯t known that there was a dungeon in this area, he might have just thought it was a large sheet of metal which had been decorated and then left in this place for no real reason. ¡®You know,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo with humour in his voice, ¡®when I thought about the challenges potentially waiting for us here, simply getting in wasn¡¯t one I anticipated.¡¯ The lion growled back at him, obviously irritated. ¡®Problem?¡¯ Sekhmet asked again, though this time also sounded a little bit irritated. The rest of the pride were getting a little bit fidgety too. Well, not the two amesheks who seemed happy to wait patiently for something to happen. ¡®We don¡¯t know how to get in,¡¯ admitted Dominic, a little shame-faced. The lioness cocked her head at him, then stepped forwards to be almost nose to nose with the door. Before Dominic could say anything, she lifted a paw and poked at the door. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. To Dominic¡¯s surprise, the surface rippled. ¡®Huh,¡¯ he commented while Leo emanated interest at the sight. ¡®Wait!¡¯ he told Sekhmet when it looked like she was about to do it again. ¡®Let me try.¡¯ With a sense of smugness, the lioness backed off a little. Dominic decided to give her that one ¨C he should probably have thought about touching the damn thing too. Especially when it could have turned out to be a giant cat-flap. Lifting a paw, he poked it himself ¨C Sekhmet had managed to do it with no obvious ill effects, so surely it wouldn¡¯t be any different for him. A tingling went through his paw at the same time as a series of messages flashed up in front of his eyes. [Welcome to the F-Grade Savannah Plains Abandoned Temple dungeon.] [Objective: Find the reason for why the temple has been abandoned. Bonus objective: Rid the temple of its infestation/s.] [Rewards: XP, ?, ?, ?] [Type: Unlimited, Instanced] [Only six party members may enter at a time.] ¡®Is it just me, or does that seem like a completely different dungeon?¡¯ asked Dominic. ¡®I don¡¯t remember this bit,¡¯ Leo admitted. ¡®What did it say before?¡¯ ¡®Well, I remember that the objective before was something about putting my hands on the altar ¨C I accidentally triggered a trap because of that. And I¡¯m pretty sure it didn¡¯t talk about a ¡®forgotten¡¯ temple, though I might be mistaken on that one. Plus, I think it was G-Grade before? I remember that because it looked like a stutter. And I don¡¯t remember it saying ¡®instanced¡¯ before, though I can¡¯t remember if it was limited or unlimited ¨C not that I know even now what that means. It certainly didn¡¯t limit my ¡®party¡¯ numbers.¡¯ ¡®Could that be because we weren¡¯t in a party before?¡¯ suggested Leo. Dominic thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. ¡®I suppose. Anyway, it¡¯s different.¡¯ ¡®Which we already knew.¡¯ ¡®True.¡¯ Dominic supposed that it might be a good thing it was so obviously different from before: if it had only been slightly changed, perhaps he would have become overconfident, or assumed he knew the right paths to take. If the dungeon master had changed things so that what wasn¡¯t a trap before suddenly was now, or vice versa, that could have proved deadly very rapidly. Though, to be fair, Dominic had been planning on investigating everywhere either he or his pride members would put a paw anyway since the dungeon had proven itself keen on putting traps in place. More of an issue was the fact that he wouldn¡¯t be able to take everyone with him. Even his original pride was six-strong, not including him, and he now had eleven more albuhas to add to the mix. Although¡­what if he could? He¡¯d got past the kesh by abusing the storage ability of his gorget. He decided to do a quick test. ¡®Sekhmet, I need to put you in my storage space, OK?¡¯ The lioness sent him a sense of confusion, but didn¡¯t object. Instead, she approached him and let him absorb her. ¡®Alright, if I don¡¯t come out within a few seconds of going in, then follow me in one at a time. If you can¡¯t come in, go hunting and then return here at every dawn and stay here for a while.¡¯ ¡®At sunrise try again enter?¡¯ Jenkins asked inquisitively. It was a good question. ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic answered after a moment of thought. The description of the dungeon had included ¡®instanced¡¯. Though he wasn¡¯t sure what that would mean exactly in this situation, he was familiar with it meaning that multiple games could be going on in the same place, but in different ¡®instances¡¯. If that was the same here, they could end up all doing the dungeon but not together. ¡®Just keep coming back until we come out.¡¯ Once he¡¯d had acknowledgement from all the Tier 2s, Dominic headed towards the dungeon door and prodded it with a paw. He immediately realised that his plan wasn¡¯t going to work: the door remained hard metal instead of the rippling substance it had been before. And a notification flashed up in front of his eyes. [Error: only one user may enter at a time.] Well, that was disappointing, though Dominic supposed he¡¯d better be grateful that he and Leo apparently didn¡¯t count as two users otherwise he would have found himself barred from the dungeon entirely. He quickly let Sekhmet out, who immediately started licking herself ¨C she wasn¡¯t keen on his storage compartment. ¡®What you tested worked?¡¯ she asked him. ¡®No, it didn¡¯t,¡¯ he sighed, then got down to thinking: if he could only take in five others, he was going to have to leave a large number of his current group outside. He quickly decided not to bring the albuhas with him ¨C this recently after the battle, Dominic wasn¡¯t sure whether he¡¯d be able to trust the winged coyotes to have his back¡­or to sink their teeth into it. And frankly, if they died or decided not to stay as part of his pride, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, as long as Dominic was right and the enhancements they¡¯d ¡®bought¡¯ with the Pride Points earned didn¡¯t disappear. All evidence so far seemed to indicate that benefits earned wouldn¡¯t be taken away, so Dominic had made hay while the sun shone and was currently sitting at 0 Pride Points. Ten of the points had gone into buying the shield ability. It was a hefty investment, but with their ability to absorb carcasses to heal themselves and Lionel¡¯s healing abilities, it might give them the breathing space in a difficult battle to turn things around. It did use the pride members¡¯ defences to determine how strong the shield was, which with lions who didn¡¯t specialise in defence, probably meant it wouldn¡¯t be all that strong. On the other hand, at least that meant that if it broke and they lost their defences for five minutes, they hopefully wouldn¡¯t be as affected as someone like a rhino whose survivability counted on hefty defences. Maybe we should recruit a rhino, thought Dominic briefly, but then pushed the thought away. Both he and Leo had agreed on that investment, as well as the next: spending five points to give Powerful Swipe to Sekhmet. Their reasoning had been that her only combat Ability was the automatic one all lions seemed to get: Pounce. Her half-step Ability had been Sharp Mind, and her Tier 2 Ability had been Telepathy. Since Dominic¡¯s Powerful Swipe was already at level 5, and therefore not at risk of him losing it as he gave it to his Pride member, it made sense to offer Sekhmet more offensive power. She hadn¡¯t had the chance to test it in a live battle, of course, but the indications he¡¯d seen so far were that it had taken hold. Finally, with the last three points remaining from previous Pride Points and the level up from 5 to 6 of the Pride as a whole, he¡¯d decided to purchase the upgrade to range for the Pride chat. Though so far it hadn¡¯t proven to be too short range, he¡¯d thought that with the Pride being more likely to be spread out over the forest around the Place of Power, it could be useful to have a bit more range. Given that they were now going to have to split apart from one of those they¡¯d travelled with from the Place of Power as well as the whole group of albuhas, Dominic was doubly glad he¡¯d managed to convince Leo of that one. Which brought him neatly back to the dilemma: who to take with him, and who to leave behind? Chapter 51: I Stay? ¡®I think we should leave one of the canines behind. Canines and canines should get on well enough,¡¯ opinioned Leo. ¡®Except that if something comes up while we¡¯re in the dungeon, and the ameshek dies, Nyx will be heavily displeased.¡¯ ¡®She¡¯s the vassal ¨C she¡¯ll have to put up with it,¡¯ argued Leo. ¡®I thought the whole point of the vassal thing was that she serves us, not the other way around.¡¯ ¡®In theory, yes,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®But in practice, it¡¯ll be much better if she wants to help us because she sees benefits in doing so, rather than just because she¡¯s forced to by the System. She only has seven of her pack left ¨C if we come back without one of the two we¡¯ve brought with us, we¡¯d better have a damn good explanation. And sending an ameshek off with a group of new Pride members while the rest of us went into the dungeon isn¡¯t an explanation that would satisfy me if I were in her place.¡¯ The lion grumbled inaudibly. ¡®But the point is that she lost. I don¡¯t see why we need to make allowances for what she thinks all the time.¡¯ Dominic sighed, then decided to take another approach. The former-human himself wasn¡¯t exactly experienced with politics, but he¡¯d seen enough at the caf¨¦ he¡¯d worked at for a while to know that not listening to the ¡®underlings¡¯ was a good way to get a manager hated and make the organisation go downhill. But Leo was clearly struggling to understand that since lions didn¡¯t work like that. ¡®Even if we don¡¯t consider Nyx¡¯s feelings, there¡¯s also combat potential to think about. Due to their Group Enhancement Ability, the sum is greater than the parts. Separating the two amesheks just doesn¡¯t make logical sense. And since they¡¯re both level eighteen now, if we decide to instead leave them both with the albuhas, we¡¯d be significantly reducing the combat potential of our group. Which I¡¯d rather not do, going into unknown danger as we are. Do you?¡¯ There was a brief silence as the lion digested all of that. ¡®So you want to send one of our lions away?¡¯ asked Leo with disgruntlement, answering Dominic¡¯s question by not answering it. ¡®I think we have to,¡¯ Dominic answered. ¡®It will be one of the males, I presume,¡¯ Leo said pointedly. Dominic hesitated. On the one hand it was the easy way out ¨C he got to keep both the higher level lionesses in the group with him. On the other¡­it was basically a death sentence for the lion he chose, and he wasn¡¯t keen on doing that either. Leo seemed to be listening in closely enough to sense the direction of his thoughts. ¡®Oh come on,¡¯ exclaimed Leo. ¡®You can¡¯t propose to leave one of the females in such a precarious situation!¡¯ ¡®At levels twelve and fourteen, they¡¯d have a better chance of dealing with or escaping an attack by the albuhas if they decide to leave the pride than the level seven and eight males,¡¯ argued Dominic. ¡®Besides, we definitely don¡¯t want to lose Lionel¡¯s Healing Cloud.¡¯ ¡®Then leave the other one! Who cares if he is killed off?¡¯ demanded Leo, his tone a fearsome growl. ¡®I do!¡¯ snarled Dominic back at him just as fervently. Realising that his heightened emotions were actually making him growl audibly, and that his obvious irritation was alarming the rest of the pride, he did his best to calm down. ¡®I refuse to just throw someone away because they¡¯re ¡®disposable¡¯. Neither Fang nor Lionel have done anything to justify being kicked out of the pride, not in my book. They¡¯ve done the reverse, as far as I¡¯m concerned ¨C after they got with the program and started actually working towards the benefit of the Pride. If they weren¡¯t male, this wouldn¡¯t even be a discussion.¡¯ ¡®But they are male!¡¯ exclaimed Leo, not backing down. ¡®They¡¯re potential rivals, potential competitors. And all we¡¯re doing is helping them grow stronger and more capable of taking us down!¡¯ Dominic felt abruptly weary. Would Leo¡¯s feelings towards the two lions ever improve from reluctant tolerance? ¡®The world has changed, Leo,¡¯ Dominic said, that weariness in his voice. ¡®What used to be the way of things before is no longer the way of things now. If we keep acting like it is, we will be ensuring our own defeat in the future. The two males have done nothing to merit your suspicion, except exist. Give them a chance to prove you wrong. And if they prove you right, I¡¯ll be fully behind you kicking them out or even killing them if needed.¡¯ ¡®And if they have become too powerful to do that easily?¡¯ asked Leo, finally starting to calm down a little. ¡®Considering everything, the chances of that happening are slim,¡¯ Dominic told him frankly. ¡®And if they do, they probably deserve to win because it will mean that we won¡¯t have been doing enough to grow ourselves.¡¯ The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. After a moment of silence, Dominic felt the wall of aggression which Leo had built up between them fade away. ¡®Then who are we going to leave behind?¡¯ asked Leo, sounding wary. ¡®Let¡¯s put it to them and see what they think,¡¯ decided Dominic, remembering an old story about a knight of Arthur¡¯s court and a bride who had required him to answer whether he preferred her to be fair by day and foul by night, or vice versa. His answer had been the wise one: that it was her choice. Dominic didn¡¯t know whether sapient female lions were as difficult to understand as women, but he¡¯d rather not gain their annoyance nonetheless. Directing his attention to Sekhmet and Jenkins, he explained the situation and put the question to them. The two lionesses each took a moment to think about it. ¡®I prefer to go with you,¡¯ replied Sekhmet finally, at the same time as Jenkins answered. ¡®I stay?¡¯ ¡®Well, that works out,¡¯ replied Dominic, amused. At least the two of them were able to swiftly agree, rather than the elongated argument he and Leo had had. ¡®Are you sure you¡¯re OK with staying?¡¯ he checked with Jenkins. She sent a sense of slightly excited, slightly nervous nonchalance. ¡®Maybe fun,¡¯ she answered. ¡®Want to hunt. Maybe fun to hunt with new pride.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ agreed Dominic, then turned to the de facto sub-leader of the albuhas, the one who had first surrendered to him. He explained the situation to the canine and the fact that, even if they were technically the same level, he considered Jenkins to be the leader in his absence. There might also have been a couple of threats that if he came back to find her dead and any of the albuhas alive, they wouldn¡¯t remain so for long. Jenkins was sometimes an irritant, but she was Dominic¡¯s irritant. It was a lot of responsibility for the young lioness, but she¡¯d shown significantly more maturity than she¡¯d started with, and she¡¯d done well enough with the couple of hunts she¡¯d led with Pride members recently. He had hopes that she would do just as well here. The albuha seemed a little uneasy, though. ¡®Not sure who the stronger,¡¯ he tentatively pointed out when Dominic asked what was wrong. That was¡­a good point, Dominic decided after thinking about it. The albuhas had surrendered to Dominic once he had proven himself stronger than their previous leaders, slaying two out of three of them. Jenkins hadn¡¯t done that and if he wasn¡¯t present to back up her commands he suspected that the coyote-like creatures wouldn¡¯t obey. Fortunately, Jenkins was perfectly happy to have a bout with the lead albuha. Actually, she seemed more than a little eager to find out who was stronger, one on one. Backing away from the door a little, the two then squared up head to head. The albuha tried to use its fearful howl, but with Immunity in place, it had no effect. Jenkins did take a step back in reflex before she realised that the sound wasn¡¯t actually having any effect. After that first step back, though, the advantage switched to the lioness. Using her Quick Strike and Enhanced Speed, she practically blurred forwards, striking at the albuha before he realised she was moving. A chunk was taken out of the albuha¡¯s health bar and he tried to snap back at her as soon as he got over his surprise. Unfortunately for him, Jenkins was as quick to retreat as she had been to strike, and his teeth snapped shut on empty air. Snapping backwards with his wings, the albuha propelled himself forwards ¨C even if he clearly couldn¡¯t fly, the action did give him significantly more speed. Jenkins was able to dart out of his way, though, and then turned on a dime to bite at his hindquarters and the backs of his wings. It wasn¡¯t a fight-ending blow, though ¨C her mouthful seemed to be feathers rather than flesh, but she still made another small dent in his health bar. The competition continued like that ¨C the albuha attacking, Jenkins darting out of the way only to launch an attack of her own. It didn¡¯t go all the lioness¡¯ way ¨C she got hit by a couple of surprise buffets from the wings themselves which each took a chunk out of her health bar. The albuha¡¯s ability to make odd turns due to using his wings to help redirect his momentum also caught her out a bit. She¡¯d earned a few bloody wounds within a few minutes of the fight beginning. The coyote-like creature¡¯s Tearing Bite made the actual wounds worse when he managed to get his teeth into her. Still, the ultimate victor of the fight was getting more and more obvious. Jenkins¡¯ Quick Strike, Enhanced Speed, and larger size and mass meant that she was inflicting at least twice the damage per minute that the albuha was succeeding in inflicting. She must have committed a few level ups into stamina too, since she was only just starting to visibly flag, five minutes or so into the fight. After the albuha¡¯s health dropped down below half, he evidently decided to call an end to the bout. Instead of launching another attack, he crouched down on the ground, lowering his head almost to the ground and looking up at the lioness, making a couple of quiet whimpers. It was similar to what he¡¯d done when Dominic had killed his leader and the other sub-leader, only not as fervent. He didn¡¯t have his head pressed to the earth, nor did he press his wings flat, only extending them a little. His whimpers also seemed more¡­polite, than begging. But Dominic supposed that that made sense: this was just a practice bout which shouldn¡¯t end in casualties, not a Challenge which almost guaranteed them. Jenkins evidently understood what he was trying to communicate as well as Dominic did ¨C she stopped her next attack and instead sat on the ground, licking at a paw. When the albuha slowly rose to his feet again, she stood up too and walked over. The albuha looked rather wary, but she didn¡¯t attack him, or even bite him or anything similar to show dominance. Instead, she went to rub her head against his and then her body along his length. The coyote-like creature looked completely baffled by her actions. ¡®Good fight,¡¯ she chirped in the Pride chat. ¡®Again later?¡¯ ¡®...Sure,¡¯ the albuha answered uncertainly. Dominic couldn¡¯t help his amusement, for once grateful for his lion conformation which meant his mouth wouldn¡¯t betray him by twisting into a smile. ¡®I think they¡¯ll be fine,¡¯ he commented to Leo. The lion sent him a confusing mixture of agreement along with irritation and threat. Something like a combination of ¡®I agree¡¯ and ¡®they¡¯d better¡¯. After Lionel quickly healed the two Pride members up to full, Dominic checked that there weren¡¯t any more issues regarding lines of authority ¨C there weren¡¯t ¨C and he made arrangements with Jenkins for finding her again. He wanted to make sure that they returned to this area by dawn every day ¨C since he didn¡¯t know how long this would take and didn¡¯t want to be chasing after them all over the savannah. Dominic and his small group approached the metallic door once more. Hesitating in front of it, Dominic took a deep breath before walking straight into the goldish coloured metal. Or rather, walking through it as, instead of colliding with a solid surface, he just felt a tingle. Actually, rather like the ¡®waterfall¡¯ feeling he¡¯d had last time. Time to see what else had changed. Chapter 52: Rather Devilish The differences were immediately obvious. Where before it had been a savannah which had encircled a sandy coloured hexagonal building, now it looked a lot wilder. ¡®I think I understand the reason for the ¡®abandoned¡¯ bit of the new name,¡¯ Dominic remarked dryly to Leo. ¡®Indeed,¡¯ agreed the lion with a sense of curiosity mixed with slight trepidation. The former-human didn¡¯t blame him: what met their eyes was far more foreboding than before. Forest had overtaken the savannah area, or, rather, jungle. They were standing on something that looked like it had been a path ¨C once. Now it was barely a track which was mostly overtaken by the flora around. At the far end of the track, Dominic could faintly see a sandy colour which might be the temple he¡¯d visited last time, lit by the full moons which hung in the sky instead of the sun back then. Actually, all evidence so far indicated that this dungeon was going to be completely different from how it was on their last visit, so he¡¯d better get out of the habit of comparing it. The sound of soft feet on the ground reminded him that he¡¯d better move forwards: others were coming through. Glancing around, he saw Sekhmet had been the first to follow ¨C unsurprisingly. After her came the two juvenile male lions, and then the two amesheks brought up the rear. I need to give them names, decided Dominic. If I¡¯m going to be fighting and exploring with them, they need names. But maybe at a moment when he didn¡¯t fear they might be attacked at any moment, or needed a break anyway. Behind them was a free-standing circular door frame made out of the same pale gold coloured metal which had formed the door on the outside. There was no metal filling it, though; instead, it looked more like the shimmering waterfall Dominic remembered. They were in a small clearing surrounded by trees. The scents of a rich forest surrounded him, though they were rather¡­stale. Or perhaps two-dimensional was the right word. The savannah had had a richer scent than this place, and this was surely filled with moist loam or whatever the word was. All he knew was that walking in a forest back home as a human had smelled more complex than walking here as a lion. It seemed peaceful for now. Dominic didn¡¯t know whether it was meant to lull them into a false sense of security, or whether they genuinely wouldn¡¯t be attacked until they stepped foot outside the ¡®safe area¡¯. Of course, they might not be attacked at all: last time it had been Dominic who had instigated all of the previous battles. If he hadn¡¯t entered ¡®aggro¡¯ range of the trodils, they hadn¡¯t tried to attack him. But he¡¯d already decided that planning a strategy based on last time was a bad idea. He suspected there were enemies waiting for him, and not just because logic told him that there must be. He couldn¡¯t smell anything that Leo was able to specifically identify; just the hint of something which made Leo uneasy, but that was enough to get his hackles to rise slightly. ¡®We probably need to get to the building which I guess is at the end of this path,¡¯ he said in the Pride chat. ¡®I don¡¯t know what you all think about us taking the obvious route, though. It seems likely there would be traps of some sort, or creatures waiting to attack us. Or both. Probably both.¡¯ Fang and Lionel both sent bafflement as a reply, and preferences for not dying. Dominic didn¡¯t blame them. They were still very much Tier 1, so expecting them to be able to really conceive of a ¡®dungeon¡¯ with an expected path and potential dangers because of that was probably a bit too hopeful. The amesheks and Sekhmet were a different question. Cocking her head to one side, the lioness sent a follow-up query in the chat. ¡®Why should we go to end of track?¡¯ It was a fair question. ¡®Because, ultimately, we need to get to the end of this dungeon. It¡¯s likely that the majority of the dungeon is in the building at the end of the track.¡¯ ¡® ¡®Perhaps we should test the track first. If we encounter opposition, we could then take a different route,¡¯ suggested the ameshek who had started the expedition at level 18 ¨C he was the one with the slightly more armoured body, the one where the fur seemed to be starting to merge together into small plates. The other, who was now also at level 18 but had been level 17 at the beginning, agreed. It was a good idea, except that none of them were particularly built for scouting. ¡®Alright, I¡¯ll go,¡¯ decided Dominic. Although he didn¡¯t actually have the largest health pool in the group, he was probably the best placed to survive past the first attack. The one with the biggest health pool was the first ameshek with a health pool of just over 700 HP ¨C Dominic had taken the time to dig deeply into his Pride status screen information just to make sure he was fully informed before making the decision. Dominic¡¯s pool was the second largest in their group, though. Another factor was that he had more of an idea of what to look for ¨C the others would most likely be looking for traces of other animals; Dominic knew that traps could be made of more than just that. Stepping forwards, he moved carefully, even when he was still in the clearing. If the ¡®safety¡¯ of the area was just an illusion, he didn¡¯t want to be caught napping. He managed to make it to the edge of the jungle without any complications, despite his tension. The jungle wasn¡¯t terribly thick, but it was thicker than their forest, with trees perhaps a few feet apart and undergrowth that reached up to Dominic¡¯s head height at times. Neither he nor Leo recognised the trees or undergrowth, though by itself that didn¡¯t indicate that it was necessarily ¡®alien¡¯ ¨C there were plenty of plants from Earth that neither of them had any idea about. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The jungle was actually quite colourful. Although its base colour was made of different shades of green and brown, there were plenty of multi-coloured flowers. Taking in a deep breath, Dominic again used his recently improved sense of smell to try to gain clues about this new environment. Once more, he smelt dirt, plants, and a sort of dry musk of some type of animal. Closer to the source of the smell, his companion was able to give him more information about it and why it made him feel uneasy. ¡®Not mammals,¡¯ Leo told him grimly. ¡®What then?¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®Snakes. Reptiles.¡¯ Now that the lion had said it, Dominic realised that he was able to draw a connection between what he was smelling and the snakes and lizards Leo had come across before the System arrived. The smell was stronger than he remembered it being and a little different but it definitely seemed to indicate that there were reptiles in the jungle. The absence of any other sort of animal scent was a little startling, though Dominic supposed that it would be expected in a dungeon. After all, even if the dungeon master had done his best to make the environment fit whatever storyline he was trying to paint, the fact was that a dungeon wasn¡¯t a natural area and in the past there were also only trodils. Another aspect of this which was more disorientating, though, was the silence. There were no bird calls. No wind rushing through the trees in gusts. No small creatures rustling through the undergrowth or leaping through the canopy. Now he¡¯d put his finger on it, Dominic realised that the absence of any other sound had been putting him on edge from the moment they walked in. Though, on the upside, it should mean that any attack should be announced way ahead of time just from the sound of something moving. Having not been able to detect any immediate threat with his various senses, Dominic returned his attention to the path. The dungeon had previously shown its tendency to use pressure traps and trip wires. While this wasn¡¯t yet actually in the temple itself, they were in the dungeon, so it seemed likely that something could be waiting to be triggered. Nevertheless, no matter how much Dominic scanned the area in front of him, he saw no indication of a trap or the trigger of one. Risking it, he placed a paw lightly on the remains of the path in front of him. Nothing happened so he dared to put more weight on it. Still nothing. Gaining more confidence, Dominic started stepping forwards, carefully testing with a paw even after inspecting the area closely. By the time he was close to the first tree that had planted itself in the middle of his path, he was starting to wonder whether the dungeon was giving a free pass to explorers aiming directly for the temple. A hiss was his first indication of danger and Dominic instinctively leapt back. Where he had been a moment before was now a coiled green snake. His reactions acted faster than his thoughts; his brain only caught up a moment later. The snake had lunged for him again, and his body had immediately dodged sideways to avoid it. Seeing the opportunity, Dominic didn¡¯t dare waste a single moment. He struck at the back of the snake, biting straight through its spine. [You have killed Boomslang (Basic Beast level 8)] [You have earned 9 PP] The whole thing had taken perhaps two seconds from the moment he¡¯d reacted to the death of the snake. But those two seconds left adrenaline pouring through Dominic¡¯s body. He panted roughly for a moment as his brain properly caught up with exactly what had happened. ¡®Snakes. Lovely,¡¯ Dominic commented to Leo sarcastically, even while quickly sending a message to the rest of the pride. He told them what had happened and offered reassurance that he was fine. ¡®Well, we did smell reptiles,¡¯ replied the lion with a sense of nonchalance. As well he might have ¨C he was used to having lots of venomous snakes everywhere he stepped. Coming from England, where there was only one wild venomous snake species and there was more chance he¡¯d be bitten by a snake in the zoo than find an adder in his city back garden, Dominic was a lot less sanguine about it. A boomslang? he said to himself. He didn¡¯t know anything about that species. He supposed that it was good that it hadn¡¯t been a black mamba ¨C he knew that that was one of the most deadly snakes in the world and lived in South Africa where he¡¯d been when the System arrived. Though it could be an alien snake species, he supposed, and therefore more dangerous than he was expecting. Still, it was just his luck that the country in which he had been at the moment of the System¡¯s arrival contained multiple species of venomous and highly deadly snakes, insects, as well as other aggressive fauna, some of which he¡¯d already encountered and almost died from. Maybe it¡¯s been pure luck that I haven¡¯t encountered these kinds of creatures sooner, he remarked. ¡®Most reptiles don¡¯t try to take on lions,¡¯ answered Leo, reading his thoughts. ¡®They¡¯ve probably been actively staying out of our way. Though,¡¯ he continued thoughtfully, ¡®there is a certain type of snake which doesn¡¯t like to move out of anyone¡¯s way, and can kill with a bite if stepped on.¡¯ He sent a picture of a young lion being bitten by a thick brown and yellow patterned snake. It had a broad arrow-like head ¨C that was supposed to be a sign of a type of adder, right? Leo then sent another picture of the lion, now dead, and the snake starting to eat it. Dominic pushed it away, now feeling even more nervous than before. He resolved to pay even more attention to where he stepped. Tucking the snake¡¯s body away into his Inventory, he decided to find its Core later. They might need the body as a portable health potion at some point. Tentatively, he approached the tree again, ready to leap away at the first hint of a hiss. Fortunately, it seemed like there was only one snake in that tree, as nothing else fell down at him. Just past the tree, he found something else: a pit trap, concealed by leaves which had fallen from the trees and obscured the path. It was rather devilish, Dominic had to admit. The expected reaction of someone having a snake fall on them was to either run forwards or run back. And despite having dealt with the snake, even Dominic had felt extremely tempted to hurry past the tree just in case another one was waiting. Doing that would have meant he¡¯d have walked straight into the trap waiting for him. He triggered it with a paw, causing the thin layer of leaves and branches covering the path to fall and reveal the spike-filled pit below. It wasn¡¯t that big ¨C perhaps half Dominic¡¯s length in diameter. But that wouldn¡¯t have helped much if he¡¯d gone in head first. Though, actually, with his new appendages, he might have been able to catch himself before tumbling in. Though whether he¡¯d have been able to get himself out of the mess was another question. Moving carefully around the pit trap in case of another trap waiting for him ¨C animal or environmental, Dominic continued scouting the path for his party. Chapter 53: How Can I Not Agree? Dominic was standing in another clearing. This one was much bigger than the previous, though it was a different shape entirely. Behind him, the rest of the pride were carefully making their way along the path he¡¯d just cleared. After the first snake and pit trap, there had been two more snakes, and two more environmental traps, though the dungeon hadn¡¯t repeated the same combination again. The next one had had a tripwire just before the next tree that was planted in the middle of the path. Triggering that had led to a standard log swinging across the path. Once it had come to a stop, Dominic had been able to go under it, though he¡¯d had to crouch and make sure his wings were pinned to his back. He¡¯d have gone over it if not for the ropes that he worried would get in his way. He¡¯d definitely got bigger: that log was designed to hit the average human about mid-chest, probably breaking either an arm or ribs in doing so. To add insult to possible injury, the tree hadn¡¯t even had a snake in it. Dominic had to admit that he rather admired the dungeon master¡¯s ability to predict what explorers were likely to do and expect. The previous version of the dungeon had shown similar inclinations, but what he had seen so far was more developed. The next snake hadn¡¯t actually come from a tree at all. Instead, it had shot out from behind an innocent-looking branch lying beside the path. Although it had also been identified as a ¡®boomslang¡¯, it was brown, which is why Dominic hadn¡¯t spotted it lying there. He didn¡¯t know if that was just a dungeon thing, or if the snake actually did come in two colours naturally. After that, there had been another snake which dropped from a branch overhead and then another pit trap almost at the end of the path ¨C no doubt there to catch explorers eager to get out of the jungle. Dominic had dealt with both snakes easily enough: being on his guard, he¡¯d been able to avoid their strikes. He was quick enough himself to finish them as soon as they¡¯d struck and made themselves temporarily vulnerable. He¡¯d kept an ongoing commentary in the Pride chat, letting the rest of his group know what to avoid, just in case the traps reset once he¡¯d passed or other snakes decided to attack. He was hoping not: the snakes were probably venomous and he didn¡¯t know whether the rest of his pride was quick enough to deal with them the way he had. Then again, the amesheks would probably be able to freeze them with their vibration attack which would leave them easy prey for the lions to attack. While he waited for the other five to join him, Dominic pulled out the snakes¡¯ carcasses and found their Cores. Getting information about each of them ¨C all level 8s ¨C revealed that, predictably, their basic Ability was called Venomous Bite. Since this was actually something Dominic was interested in adding to his repertoire ¨C as long as it didn¡¯t accidentally combine with the acid in his teeth to cause problems for him ¨C he was quite happy. Of the half-step Abilities, two of the Cores held Quick Strike ¨C another reasonably predictable Ability for a snake. The third held something more interesting: Hypnotise. [Hypnotise (T1): By making and holding eye contact with your opponent, use small movements to control their focus. The longer you control their focus, the harder it is for them to look away or to move themselves. Injury or significant sensation can shock them out of their controlled state.] He made a mental note to not look the snakes in their eyes if he could avoid it: he didn¡¯t want to risk getting caught by that Ability. Given what he¡¯d learned from Selessa about what he soon should be able to do with the help of their Place of Power ¨C if this dungeon run was successful ¨C Dominic did his best to nudge that Core towards Hypnotise and the other two towards Venomous Bite. Checking his status screen after absorbing all three Cores, he was pleased to discover that he¡¯d got exactly what he wanted: 28% towards Venomous Bite, and 14% towards Hypnotise. He also noticed something else exciting. Progress to Evolution: 635/615 PP level up ¡®Yes! Level up is waiting!¡¯ he exulted. ¡®What shall we upgrade this time; so many options!¡¯ ¡®We also need to decide whether to accept Sonic Attack and Vibrating Body,¡¯ pointed out Leo. ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ admitted Dominic. He wanted the benefits of both Abilities, but wasn¡¯t sure about whether he¡¯d have to grow antennae to gain them. And if so, whether he wanted things sticking out of the top of his head, other than their ears and mane. Then again, the alternative was turning the Abilities down which seemed like a rather bad idea since neither of them seemed to have obvious drawbacks. At least, not from what he remembered of the descriptions. Not like Bloodied Stalwart which he remembered being a berserker Ability which put allies at risk as much as the enemy as part of the Ability itself. ¡®We can accept the Abilities but just choose the option with the least physical changes,¡¯ Leo reminded him. That was a good point. It might mean that they wouldn¡¯t end up as powerful as the amesheks¡¯ Sonic Attack, but since it was an accumulative effect, that shouldn¡¯t matter too much. Actually, that was a good thought ¨C three of them with Sonic Attack should mean that the attack was more powerful than with just the two amesheks. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s do that,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®Now, what about our two enhancement options? I¡¯d really like to enhance our wings so we can fly as soon as possible. But I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s the best choice at the moment.¡¯ ¡®I still don¡¯t fully understand your desire to enter the realm of the birds, but I¡¯ve accepted your arguments about the benefits of being able to attack from the air. However, I don¡¯t think that now is the time.¡¯ ¡®But-¡¯ ¡®Think about it,¡¯ Leo continued, relentlessly bulldozering through Dominic¡¯s attempt to interject. ¡®We¡¯re going into a dungeon which mostly takes place inside a temple. While the dungeon master has no doubt changed things around significantly, I doubt he¡¯s created rooms with enough space to make being airborne a good prospect.¡¯ Dominic stopped trying to talk. He had to admit that Leo had a good point there, one he hadn¡¯t considered. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡®If the area around the temple had been like before, an open grassland area, it might have made more sense. Being able to fly would have given us advantages against any ground-bound opponents. With our battleground most likely to be in the jungle, however, trying to fly just doesn¡¯t seem tactically viable.¡¯ ¡®Huh, ¡®tactically viable¡¯? You¡¯ve been studying, Leo. I¡¯m impressed.¡¯ Dominic said with mock surprise to cover his genuine surprise ¨C and that he really did find it impressive. ¡®Alright then, what do you think we should take?¡¯ ¡®Darken our mane twice over,¡¯ Leo replied immediately. Dominic almost exploded at him for such a vain suggestion. ¡®Why on Earth would you think¡­.¡¯ then he felt the mischievous humour drifting from his companion. ¡®Oh ha ha. Very funny. Come on, be serious ¨C what would you really suggest?¡¯ ¡®Brain,¡¯ Leo answered more seriously, though still smugly amused at catching Dominic out. ¡®Maybe for both slots. Or maybe Brain and Nervous System with a focus on reaction speed.¡¯ ¡®Interesting,¡¯ commented Dominic. ¡®Why those?¡¯ he had a feeling he knew where Leo was going with this, but wanted to make sure. ¡®We have speed that we can¡¯t fully use for fear of not being able to react in time to things in our path. Part of this is because of reaction speed ¨C we simply can¡¯t turn fast enough to avoid an obstacle ¨C but part of it is because our brain is not reacting fast enough either. Consider the most recent fights. Most of the time we were reacting on instinct more than carefully thought-through actions.¡¯ ¡®It worked for us, though,¡¯ commented Dominic to play devil¡¯s advocate. ¡®So far. But that¡¯s only because we were slightly quicker to react than the snakes, and the snakes themselves were not thinking through their actions. I don¡¯t think that this is something we can assume will be the case in the future. Consider the fact that last time the lowest beasts were the level three roaming trodils. This time, the first beasts we¡¯ve come into contact with ¨C by design of the path ¨C were level eight. If it had been a level ten or even fifteen snake, I¡¯m not sure we would have done so well. And at level twenty-two, soon to be twenty-three, we really should be able to take on a level fifteen snake without needing luck!¡¯ Dominic listened with a good deal of interest. Compared to the lion who had first awakened in the previous version of this very dungeon, Leo had changed considerably. He was sounding more and more like Dominic himself ¨C which in some ways was slightly worrying since Dominic had noticed that he was reacting more and more like Leo on various occasions. ¡®I agree,¡¯ he said quickly. ¡®So you see, we should¡­wait. You do?¡¯ Leo sounded completely blind-sided. Dominic didn¡¯t know why. It wasn¡¯t like they argued every time this subject came up. Just most of the time. And when they did disagree, it usually took longer to resolve. OK, he could understand Leo¡¯s surprise. ¡®Yeah. You make a good argument there ¨C very logical. Well thought-out. How can I not agree?¡¯ Especially when his first ¨C joking ¨C suggestion had been to darken his mane. Bafflement wafted across from Leo¡¯s side of things. ¡®Well¡­good.¡¯ ¡®The next question is whether to do it as soon as the pride arrives, or save the level up for when we actually need it. I¡¯m very tempted to do it now, but also recognise that it could be a life-saver.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ agreed Leo, sounding like he was managing to get his thoughts back in order. ¡®But I think we should do it now. Hopefully the new Abilities and the enhancements I¡¯ve suggested will help us to not get into the problematic situation in the first place. And if we do, we have our Regeneration, Second Wind, Consume, and the healing of the young male to help us.¡¯ ¡®Yes, exactly,¡¯ agreed Dominic affably. ¡®Plus, if we do have physical changes from Sonic Attack and Vibrating Body, we don¡¯t want that to happen in the middle of a fight.¡¯ Since they had managed to come to a consensus, Dominic waited impatiently for the rest of the pride to join him. The traps hadn¡¯t reset, so while they took their time joining him, they weren¡¯t in any actual danger. Once they had done so he triggered the level up. Picking his two enhancements ¨C Brain and Nervous System ¨C he quickly moved onto the next part of the process. Dominic was a little surprised at the first Ability that came up to be accepted or rejected. [You have 3 new Abilities available to be acquired. First new Ability: Easy Landing (T0). Would you like to acquire this Ability?] ¡®Where was that one from?¡¯ Dominic asked before answering his own question a moment later. ¡®Oh yes, the kesh. Shall we take it? It might help us if we fall, or later on, when we¡¯re flying if something goes wrong.¡¯ ¡®No reason not to,¡¯ agreed Leo. Dominic agreed to accept the Ability, only for the next Ability to come up. [Second new Ability: Vibrating Body (T1). Would you like to acquire this Ability?] ¡®Yes.¡¯ [Warning: Vibrating Body (T1) requires minor change to the User¡¯s physiology. Option 1: Continue with Vibrating Body (minor physiological changes) Option 2: Transform Vibrating Body into a different Ability which is more suited to the User¡¯s current form (minor physiological changes) Option 3: Reject Vibrating Body] Dominic hesitated for a moment. Both of them said ¡®minor physiological changes¡¯. The question, really, was whether to carry on with the Ability that he knew or risk something unknown which could be better¡­or much worse. ¡®Option one?¡¯ he checked with Leo. ¡®Option one,¡¯ the lion agreed, both of them in agreement that it was better the devil one knows. [Third new Ability: Sonic Attack (T1). Would you like to acquire this Ability?] ¡®Yes.¡¯ [You have chosen to acquire Sonic Attack. You have an Ability and an Ability in the course of being acquired which have adequate synergy with Sonic Attack: Majestic Roar; Vibrating Body. Would you like to combine these Abilities? Note: features of these Abilities may be changed or maintained. Note: the final product may be better, worse, or equivalent to the Abilities singularly.] ¡®Well, it worked out last time¡­?¡¯ Dominic hesitantly suggested to his companion. Leo took a moment to think it through, but then agreed with equal hesitancy. ¡®I don¡¯t like the idea of pinning all our hopes on a single cub here, but last time we combined Abilities, our Roar came out significantly more powerful than it was before.¡¯ ¡®Alright, here goes, then,¡¯ Dominic agreed, feeling more than a little nervous. Chapter 54: Majestic Sonic Roar Although he¡¯d braced himself for pain, this time there were only minimal twinges. Predictably, the majority were in his voice box, but a few frissons radiated throughout his body making him feel a little bit like ants were crawling under his skin. He briefly checked on the rest of the pride to make sure nothing was about to attack them. Then, focussing on himself again, he looked at what had changed in his status screen. - Brain level 4 ¨C> 5 (Cognition speed standard measurement 7 ¨C> 7.5) - Nervous System level 2 ¨C> 3 (reaction speed +30% ¨C> 40%) Majestic Sonic Roar (T3) level 3 (75% to level 4) ¨C As the lord of all you survey, challenge and damage your rivals with an ear-splitting roar, and support your allies. According to your will, decide to what degree the effects of your roar will have precedence. Those who feel inferior to you may flee; those who feel they are your equal may attack. Those who feel they are your superior will be enraged by your Challenge and may attack blindly. (50% ¨C> 70% + Evolution level difference%) chance that your opponent will be stunned for a varying amount of time. Determination of inferior, equal, and superior is according to your Evolution level with a level range according to this Ability¡¯s level (3). All non-ally listeners have a 40% - 80% ¨C> 50% - 85% chance of feeling intimidated by you and losing some or all motivation to fight or desire to follow orders. All ally listeners have a 40% - 80% ¨C> 50% - 90% chance of feeling inspired by you. A further 5% ¨C> 10% chance of gaining a 5 ¨C> 10 minute buff: *inspired*. Enemies will be impacted by a sonic-damage attack after the first (6 - Ability level) seconds. This attack will deal (Ability level * Evolution level) damage per second as its base. When fighting an enemy below your Evolution level, damage is (base damage + Evolution level difference). Using a sonic attack consumes stamina at an increasing rate the longer it is held. At level 3 you will be unable to move while this attack is active. You are now also capable of roaring in a way which produces little sound, but causes your body to vibrate. Although your body is capable of withstanding this vibration for a period of time, extended use may have consequences on your internal systems. The differences to his Brain and Nervous System were as expected. Though he¡¯d have to test them to find out what they¡¯d be like in practice. The changes to Majestic Roar, or rather, Majestic Sonic Roar, however¡­. ¡®It¡¯s a bit of a block of text now, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Dominic remarked to his leonine companion. ¡®No kidding,¡¯ the lion replied sarcastically. ¡®My roar is so much more complicated now!¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t complain,¡¯ Dominic shot back at him. ¡®Don¡¯t try to pretend that you¡¯re not secretly glad that your roar is becoming more and more badass.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯d be happier if my mane was getting more and more ¡®badass¡¯ instead of my roar,¡¯ the lion grumped. ¡®Roars don¡¯t get females.¡¯ ¡®They do if they chase away your rivals before you even come on the scene,¡¯ pointed out Dominic. ¡®Which with what I¡¯m seeing here, is even more likely than before.¡¯ Actually, the biggest surprise that Dominic had when he looked at the Ability was that it had become a Tier 3 Ability. That seemed to bear out his previous observation that the more complex an Ability was, the higher tier it was. Quick Strike, for example, was very simple: it made a single strike faster. So was Crushing Bite: it dialled up the pressure power of his jaws. Pounce was a simple damage enhancer. The only complexity to it was the awareness of the target for the first ambushing strike and whether it was close enough to a vulnerable area to activate for that and subsequent strikes. They were all Tier 0, as were most of his Abilities ¨C the basic ones he¡¯d earned from Cores. Second Wind was the only Tier 1 Ability he possessed and had the two effects on both stamina and health: quickly giving him more, and then taking it away afterwards. Tier 2 Abilities were like Acid Bite which gave him a ranged ability as well as a close range one and enhanced his teeth against acid damage too. Momentous Charge was also in this category and had the complexity of actually being an illusion which only did damage as long as the target was convinced that it should. Now, apparently, he had his first Tier 3 Ability, which was¡­well, kind of a mess. Either it would end up being very useful, or the opposite if the effects didn¡¯t synergise well in practicality. It just had so many different features. First, there was the challenging aspect, which prompted the enemy listeners to fight or flee, though Dominic knew from experience that he could kind of control how intimidated the opponents felt. At least, he could control how much he wanted his opponents to feel intimidated. It wasn¡¯t a sure thing, in that if the opponent was lower level or likely to run away from a large lion, the roar would just enhance their natural inclinations. Equally, if the opponent was unimpressed by the lion and not feeling disposed to attack, he wasn¡¯t always guaranteed to make it do so. The new addition of ¡®according to your will¡¯ seemed to indicate that that hadn¡¯t changed; indeed, it had probably been enhanced if anything. The other previous effects seemed mostly unchanged in wording as far as he could tell, though the actual percentages of everything had increased slightly, as had the length of Inspired. Then there were the two new effects: the sonic damage, and the influence of Vibrating Body. What was clear was that the damage potential would increase as his level increased and as the Ability level increased. Which meant that it would get ever more powerful. At present, with an Ability level of 3 and at an Evolution level of 23, it would deal 3 times 23 units of damage per second, which was a not-inconsiderable 69 units of damage. If he could hold that for thirteen seconds, accounting for the time for it to activate, it would do a total of 690 units of damage ¨C more than his own health pool. If he could increase the Ability level to 5 by the time he reached level 30, that would be 150 units of damage per second, for a whopping total of 1500 units of damage in an eleven second roar. It seemed beyond impressive. Though, he did rather vividly remember the eerie sound of the amesheks¡¯ howl which almost wiped out his own health while he was clinging to a tree, so maybe considering it was a Tier 3 Ability, it wasn¡¯t so overpowered. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Again, although it didn¡¯t outright state that it was possible, he suspected that the damage his roar did might be enhanced by combining it with the other amesheks¡¯. After all, the original Sonic Attack description had talked about it being the ¡®nature¡¯ of sonic attacks which enabled the enhancement. That, presumably, hadn¡¯t changed in the merged Ability. Of course, there was likely to be a catch. As was common with these Abilities, it required stamina, but it didn¡¯t say how much of it. Indeed, it just said that he¡¯d use stamina faster the longer he held it. Another downside was, like with the amesheks, the fact that he had to stay still while using it. That was to be expected, though so Dominic wasn¡¯t disappointed. His opponents would probably have defences too that would reduce the actual damage done. Plus, it didn¡¯t say what happened if he was facing multiple opponents: if he was facing three opponents and succeeded in doing 690 units of damage over thirteen seconds, would that be to a single opponent? Or would it be divided equally between them? Or could he choose? The last would definitely be the best option for him and given the nature of sound it was definitely possible. Perhaps damage would reduce after a distance? It didn¡¯t say anything like that in the description, though. Again, something to test. Finally, there was the influence of Vibrating Body. Dominic did feel a little wary about this one considering its slightly ominous warning about possible effects on his own body if he kept it going too long. Unlike the other effects, this one seemed rather separate too ¨C it didn¡¯t appear that it would be combined with the challenging, inspiring, or damaging parts of the roar, but would instead be a different sort of roar. Curious, Dominic dismissed the screen and attempted to roar quietly. ¡®You¡¯re doing it wrong,¡¯ Leo told him after a few moments of nothing happening. ¡®I know that,¡¯ snapped Dominic at him. ¡®Have you got any better ideas?¡¯ The lion went quiet, so the former-human tried again. ¡®What doing?¡¯ asked Sekhmet curiously. She wasn¡¯t the only one: Lionel and Fang were looking on in interest too. The amesheks didn¡¯t appear so curious ¨C they were mostly looking around warily ¨C but Dominic felt that they were still paying some attention. ¡®I got a new Ability,¡¯ Dominic answered in the Pride chat since they all appeared interested. ¡®I¡¯m supposed to be able to vibrate my body instead of actually making a proper roaring sound.¡¯ At this, the amesheks moved in closer, their curiosity abruptly piqued. They sniffed at him, their antennae moving in odd patterns. ¡®Make another attempt,¡¯ instructed one of the amesheks. Dominic obliged, wondering if they¡¯d have any advice to give. ¡®Too tense,¡¯ announced the second ameshek. ¡®You must allow the vibrations to travel through you without obstruction.¡¯ Interesting. The former-human tried to take his advice, relaxing his muscles before trying to roar again. It took a few more attempts, and a couple more pieces of advice, but eventually he worked out that, instead of roaring, he should more think of it as humming. Once he¡¯d realised that and managed to relax sufficiently, he found an odd vibration going through him. It didn¡¯t hurt in any sort of way, and he could intensify it or reduce its intensity by putting more or less force into his hum, but it was a little uncomfortable. Still, he was rather pleased with his success and thanked the two amesheks for their useful advice. Of course, the challenge was going to be relaxing enough to use it in a combat situation. If the amesheks had to do it that way ¨C which surely they did since they knew enough to advise him on it ¨C then he didn¡¯t know how the first sonic wolf he¡¯d encountered had stayed relaxed enough to vibrate when he¡¯d been biting into it. Since Dominic didn¡¯t want to test the other new aspects of his roar when he had no idea of what enemies he might draw in accidentally, they set off across the clearing towards the temple. While they did keep walking carefully, it appeared that this clearing was as much of a safe zone ¨C or ¡®safe¡¯ zone ¨C as the entrance was. Even while watching out for a potential trap to catch the unwary, Dominic decided to sort out something that had been bothering him: names for the two amesheks. ¡®So, do you two already have names?¡¯ he asked in the Pride chat, though adding a ¡®direction¡¯ to it which made it clear who it was designed for. The mental equivalent of turning to someone and making eye contact. There was a short pause. ¡®Names¡­like what you use to distinguish between others of your kind?¡¯ the first ameshek clarified ¨C the one who had started out at a higher level even if the second had caught up. ¡®Yeah. Well, kind of. Your leader told you what¡¯s going on with me having, well, two souls in the same body?¡¯ Dominic checked, pausing until the two amesheks answered with agreeing sounds before he continued. As he did that, he realised that, though Sekhmet had correctly identified that there were two personalities in his body, she hadn¡¯t actually been given the whole explanation. Lionel and Fang were completely in the dark, though he wasn¡¯t sure how much they would understand. Since Sekhmet was clearly listening closely and curiously, he gave her a quick rundown of what had happened. ¡®So that¡¯s why I like to use names: I¡¯m not used to identifying others by¡­what they smell like and so on.¡¯ ¡®That explains much,¡¯ Sekhmet announced. ¡®This is why you call me ¡®Sek met¡¯? Does it mean anything?¡¯ she asked with interest. ¡®Yes, it¡¯s the name of a powerful lion goddess in an ancient society of humans. They also lived in Africa, though far away from here,¡¯ he told her, before abruptly realising that there was probably too much unknown context there for her to get to grips with it. She didn¡¯t seem bothered by it. ¡®My name is powerful, like me,¡¯ she replied in satisfaction instead. About to agree, Dominic was interrupted by one of the amesheks. ¡®So what names would you give us?¡¯ he asked curiously. Having already given some thought to it Dominic was able to answer immediately. ¡®Procyon,¡¯ he said to the first ameshek, ¡®and Sirius,¡¯ he said to the second. ¡®They¡¯re two stars which are part of the dog constellations and, well, you kind of look like canines to me.¡¯ The two amesheks seemed to mull over the potential names, perhaps even communicating in some way limited only to them. ¡®I like it,¡¯ agreed the new-named Procyon, with Sirius sending strong agreement across the Pride chat. Dominic smiled internally, even if his mouth was incapable of forming it externally, sending pleasure back over the Pride chat to the amesheks. Naming always made him feel more connected with the new members of the Pride, so he was glad the amesheks were happy with the names he¡¯d suggested. In the time they¡¯d spent discussing names and the concept of naming, they¡¯d finished crossing the clearing to reach the temple and stopped in front of the doors. Dominic eyed it: there were some obvious changes here too. Chapter 55: A Seriously Well-Defended Red Herring First of all, there wasn¡¯t just one door with a keyhole bridging the two pieces. Instead, there were two large doors, with an intricate relief carved across and around both of them. The relief seemed to show some sort of banquet going on, the drawing of the pictures seemingly influenced by an Egyptian style. Not Egyptian in terms of what was shown, though ¨C Dominic easily recognised the creatures depicted as being the same species as the dungeon master. After the events last time, he wasn¡¯t likely to forget that creature. Clawed feet were presented in profile, as were the heads with toothy mouths and sail-like ears; round bellies and narrow shoulders were presented straight on. Different figures appeared to be doing different things. Some were carrying items, some were doing what looked like juggling, others were being served or entertained. Around the edge of the relief was a frame formed out of something that looked like words, though not in any sort of alphabet Dominic could read. It was too angular, but not like Norse runes either. Hopefully it was just decorative. What clearly wasn¡¯t decorative was that there were several round holes in the picture. They were all part of something figures were carrying, sitting on a plate, embedded in a sceptre, being thrown up in the air. The sceptre was being held by what looked like the most important character ¨C sitting on a throne and bigger than the rest. There were six holes in total. Even before he touched the door, Dominic had a feeling he knew what the task would be. [Not wanting their sacred temple to be desecrated, the final disciples of the Plains Temple removed the key discs when they left for the last time. They have hidden the discs in the area around, waiting for the right person to return and reassemble them. Objective: Find the key discs and correctly insert them into the doors (0/6 found)] [Reward: Entrance to the temple] ¡®The dungeon master couldn¡¯t have changed this task up a bit when it changed the rest?¡¯ Dominic complained to Leo. ¡®Somehow, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be facing trodils this time so technically it did change the task,¡¯ the lion pointed out. ¡®Not enough,¡¯ Dominic grumped, then sighed mentally. ¡®Then again, we do have a party this time. Perhaps we can split up and get it over with faster.¡¯ ¡®Maybe we¡¯d better find the first key together,¡¯ cautioned Leo. ¡®We don¡¯t know what sort of defences they have. If the path to get here is any indication, we could lose our party members quickly if they are unwary or the enemies are too strong.¡¯ ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic granted. ¡®Alright everyone, this is the situation.¡¯ Quickly, he explained what he¡¯d learned from the temple. As expected, the rest of the pride didn¡¯t quite get the idea of a ¡®key¡¯ ¨C barely even having an understanding of a ¡®door¡¯. However, they did understand the idea of finding something, which was most likely to be guarded, and they¡¯d seen the traps Dominic had triggered on the path. They would be wary. It seemed like an easy assumption that the discs would be found in the jungle around, but Dominic decided that it would be best to search the clearing first: he¡¯d want to murder someone ¨C probably himself ¨C if they spent a long time searching the jungle and then found that some of the keys were hidden right next to the temple. By directing different pride members to search various areas of the clearing, they covered the ground quickly. Dominic had told them all to send him an image if they saw anything either round or metallic, or both. He got a few pictures from various members of round stones, which he quickly discounted. In the end their search seemed to be fairly fruitless. Heading towards the back of the temple, Dominic was curious to see that the forest was definitely encroaching on it. He¡¯d thought so when they¡¯d approached ¨C the clearing had looked like it should have been perfectly circular, but was instead an odd kind of horseshoe shape ¨C and here he had definite proof. In fact, more than just encroaching, the jungle was actually taking over the temple, trees starting to sprout out of the stonework. ¡®I wonder¡­¡¯ Dominic said absently. ¡®Wonder what?¡¯ Leo asked impatiently after he didn¡¯t continue for a while. ¡®Oh,¡¯ replied Dominic, realising he¡¯d accidentally directed his thoughts to his companion. ¡®Whether there¡¯s another way in. It would be good if we could avoid needing to track down six discs, after all.¡¯ ¡®You think there might be?¡¯ Leo responded tentatively. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s just overgrown.¡¯ Dominic sent him a sense of a shrug. ¡®Perhaps, perhaps not. This is a dungeon, not a natural place. Anything that¡¯s here is here by design. There has to be a reason for why there are trees growing out of the ¡®temple¡¯. Maybe it¡¯s only aesthetic; maybe not.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re going to investigate it?¡¯ Leo asked, though his tone didn¡¯t indicate that he felt much doubt about it. ¡®I might as well.¡¯ So saying, Dominic padded closer towards the forest edge. As he reached it he became more and more convinced that his instinct was right. There was a fallen tree just inside the tree line which was rather suspiciously leaning against the temple wall. Actually, through the temple wall, stones having been ¡®knocked away¡¯ when it ¡®fell¡¯. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. As he got closer, Dominic became increasingly careful. If he was right and this was an intended second entrance to the rest of the dungeon or at least part of it, then it seemed likely it would be trapped in some way. His caution paid off: on his second step onto the darker loam of the forest, he felt the ground giving way beneath him. Having only placed a single paw down and not even having much of his weight on it stopped him from tumbling into a bigger pit trap than he¡¯d yet seen. After that, Dominic was even warier, though feeling slightly validated that his suspicions seemed to be proving themselves true ¨C why defend something useless? Unless it was another example of the dungeon¡¯s psychological tactics, of course. Two snakes leaping out at him and another pit trap combined with a rather fiendish log swing later, he managed to step onto the leaning trunk. If it wasn¡¯t a different way into the temple, then it was a seriously well-defended red herring. Interestingly, the number of points from the snakes had been the same as the ones earlier, indicating that they were divided among the rest of the pride. Dominic guessed that it meant that they were considered a party while they were in the dungeon, involved in the immediate fight or not. With the way the two pit traps had been placed, only a narrow spit of land left between them, it had been impossible to dodge the log swing that had a practically-invisible trigger. Fortunately, by flattening himself and his wings to the ground, the large lion had managed to scrape by with only a scrape on his back, and not be propelled into the spike pit to the side. He hadn¡¯t wanted to leap forward in case there was another trap waiting for him. There wasn¡¯t, as it turned out, but he was still glad he¡¯d wriggled forwards on his belly ¨C better safe than sorry, for sure! ¡®Do you think the dungeon has had enough of trying to kill us?¡¯ asked Leo with an exasperated growl. ¡®Almost certainly not,¡¯ Dominic wryly replied. ¡®But with any luck, it¡¯s already used all its traps.¡¯ Still, he carefully inched his way up the trunk, digging his claws in and keeping his centre of gravity low. Climbing this was far easier as a lion than it would have been as a human. He suspected he¡¯d have needed ropes: even if the trunk was leaning, the angle was still very steep. ¡®What you doing?¡¯ Sekhmet¡¯s voice asked, startling him a little. Fortunately, not enough to send him tumbling down. He dared to look to the side and saw her standing there, the rest of the pride arrayed around her. Procyon and Sirius were both lying down, though Dominic knew that they could quickly climb to their feet if needed. Fang was nosing around in the clearing; Lionel was¡­marking his territory. Dominic couldn¡¯t help but find that rather amusing and wondered what the dungeon master thought. ¡®No luck in finding anything?¡¯ he asked the group. The three verbal members all answered simultaneously in the negative. Lionel sent a hint of confused negation while Fang sent a feeling of more precise negation. ¡®I guess they¡¯re all in the jungle area, then. I¡¯m just checking this out: it might be another way in.¡¯ ¡®Shall we come?¡¯ rumbled Procyon. ¡®Not yet,¡¯ Dominic rejected. ¡®For all I know, it might just be a trap, or nothing at all. Just stay there for now.¡¯ Since he¡¯d kept inching his way forwards throughout the conversation, he was now getting close to being able to see over the top of the stone wall. Within a few moments, he reached it. Peering forward, Dominic couldn¡¯t see much more than stones and the tree trunk, so he inched forwards a little more. He was almost expecting there to be an invisible wall blocking him from continuing along the trunk: if it was just for aesthetics, he expected it to be like the edge of a game map. But no wall prevented him from continuing further and he was soon head and shoulders through the hole. ¡®What do you think?¡¯ he asked Leo, feeling more than a little uneasy. ¡®I don¡¯t like it,¡¯ the lion responded immediately. ¡®I have a bad feeling about this.¡¯ Dominic knew exactly what he meant. Below him was a massive hole. He couldn¡¯t even see its depths. That wasn¡¯t just because it was deep, though he guessed it was. It was also because the pit itself was obscured. First, by the canopy of the tree on whose trunk he was standing ¨C the trunk was broken just a bit further up from where he was and had fallen into the hole and was blocking part of it. It was stopped from falling any further by some other growth that looked suspiciously¡­wet. There was also a stomach-turning smell that came from below, an unholy combination of rotten vegetation and rotting meat. The canopy from the tree looked like it was already rotting, its remaining leaves brown and its branches glistening even in the low light level. Worse, to get down to the broken canopy, he¡¯d have to fall the equivalent of two or three storeys. Depending on what the surfaces were like down there ¨C and if he just fell straight through the canopy ¨C he might not be able to get back if it turned out to be another trap. ¡®And you were telling me wings wouldn¡¯t come in useful in this dungeon,¡¯ Dominic accused Leo. ¡®You agreed with me!¡¯ the lion defended himself. ¡®You¡¯re not considering going down there, are you?¡¯ he asked, sounding more than a little trepidatious. ¡®Not without a rope or being able to actually fly, not just glide,¡¯ Dominic agreed. There were probably other ways of making the exploration a bit safer, but considering that they didn¡¯t even know if this was an alternative way in, it was probably better to just hunt for the key discs anyway. The whole point of finding another path was to reduce the time it took, but if the alternative path was just as risky as the normal one, they might as well take the normal route. Getting down was another question, of course. Dominic soon found out why cats were notorious for getting stuck in trees ¨C it was far easier climbing up than it was climbing down. In the end, he backed up carefully until he was past the stone wall, then turned and dared to make a flying leap towards the clearing. With the amount of force he could apply to make himself soar through the air, plus his wings and Airborne which added extra glide time, he found himself going a lot further than he¡¯d expected. In fact, he almost overshot where the rest of the pride had moved to and actually had to cut his glide a bit short. Fortunately, Sure Feet meant that he didn¡¯t fall flat on his face and Easy Landing reduced even the small amount of fall damage he suffered from falling from about ten feet up in the air. He definitely hadn¡¯t lost as much height as he thought he would. ¡®We not taking that route?¡¯ Sekhmet checked with him. ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic replied to the group, not explaining any further. ¡®Come on, let¡¯s explore the jungle. Everyone be careful, OK?¡¯ Chapter 56: New Ability Dominic dodged out of the way of the whip-like tail which struck at him, cursing as he was struck by a stone from above. A moment later, he had to leap again, a snake burying its fangs into the ground where he had been just a moment before. He got his own back on the snake in the next instant, crunching through its neck and spine without much issue. The snake went limp and a notification flashed up which Dominic quickly dismissed. Another notification flashed up a moment later and the body of the alien tree-crawler thumped down next to him ¨C a slon, apparently. He¡¯d have called it a ¡®sloth¡¯ except that it was much faster and had a weasel-like head. ¡®Thanks,¡¯ he sent to Sekhmet. She replied back with wordless satisfaction. She and Fang were both up in the canopy above, looking for the arboreal threats while the rest of them dealt with the ground-bound ones. Which were plentiful. Although there didn¡¯t seem to be any traps in the area, there were a number of vicious monitor lizards and fast, venomous snakes. Worse, the lizards were venomous too, and had a nasty tail slash which was strong enough to cut through skin and flesh. They were also about the size of a medium dog and seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed based on their attitude. Notifications flashed up again and again as the rest of Dominic¡¯s pride got to the business of destroying the enemy with prejudice. There were enough kills being made that he had focussed on any notifications being temporarily muted. ¡®I¡¯ve been bitten!¡¯ The message was accompanied with pain and fear. ¡®It¡¯s powerful venom.¡¯ ¡®Get to Sirius, Lionel!¡¯ Dominic almost shouted into the Pride chat. The ameshek was on the other side of the clearing from the healing lion so Dominic did his best to clear the path for his pride member. Worry ran through him at how quickly the green-tinged health bar was emptying. Lionel leaped past him and ran towards the injured ameshek, but the last thing they needed was their healer getting poisoned too. Opening his mouth, Dominic focussed on doing as much damage as possible to the creatures in between him and the injured ameshek. An oddly reverberant sound came out of his mouth, throbbing almost uncomfortably even in his own ears as he activated the new feature of Majestic Sonic Roar for the first time. It had a much worse effect on the reptiles. They didn¡¯t run ¨C he had intentionally suppressed that aspect of his roar as much as he could ¨C but instead froze in place. Their health bars started decreasing rapidly after the first three seconds, though it definitely wasn¡¯t 69 points of damage per creature, per second. Not unless these creatures had a whole lot more health points than his experiences so far had indicated. No, it was probably that the damage was shared out among all targets. Then Procyon raised his own muzzle and added his howl to Dominic¡¯s roar. The red health bars started decreasing even more quickly as the Abilities added and combined. Lionel wasted no time in taking advantage of the frozen state of the reptiles to pump out healing dust for Sirius. Sirius¡¯s bar rose and fell, rose and fell. Dominic was forced to end his roar when he ran out of breath, feeling completely exhausted and barely able to stay on his paws. Sirius¡¯s bar dropped below half, Lionel¡¯s efforts having less effect. In the Pride chat, Dominic felt the young male lion¡¯s panic and fear as he frantically tried to push out more healing. He even started using his own health to keep the golden cloud going. Procyon doggedly kept going, needing to keep the reptiles pinned down. Fortunately, Sekhmet¡¯s timely arrival saw the half-dead, still-frozen reptiles cleared out quickly. Lionel immediately absorbed several of the bodies to continue his healing. Sirius¡¯ bar leaped as the cloud of golden dust around him was replenished. Sekhmet stayed to defend their backs from the creatures which hadn¡¯t been hit by the sonic attack until Lionel got Sirius stable, then leaped back into the trees. ¡®Thank you!¡¯ Dominic told her gratefully, still panting and moving slowly, suffering the aftereffects of using his Roar. Checking his stamina, he noticed that it was practically empty. Lionel was drooping in relief ¨C that had been a lot of healing in a short space of time, even with the absorption of carcasses midway. Sirius wasn¡¯t at full health yet, but his bar was no longer tinged in green. They were back in the game. Just in time ¨C with his stamina so low, Dominic was annoyingly vulnerable prey for the reptiles who started moving as Procyon¡¯s howl finally trailed off. Unable to move as fast as usual, Dominic saw the snake strike coming, but couldn¡¯t leap out of the way to avoid it. The snake¡¯s fangs bit deeply into his shoulder and he growled in pain. Even as he bit at the creature and crushed its body, its teeth made a sawing motion, injecting venom into his system. Pulling the head out of his shoulder was enough to stop the flow of venom, but it didn¡¯t rid him of what was already in there. His health started rapidly decreasing, his health bar gaining a green tinge to it. Fearing that he too was going to need significant healing, Dominic was relieved when he saw that his natural regeneration was having an effect on the rate the poison reduced his health. By absorbing a few of the carcasses lying around, he was able to avoid needing Lionel¡¯s help. The time it took to wear off wasn¡¯t pleasant, though. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t alone in his injured and tired state, and most of his other opponents were dispatched by his various pride members. The few that made it through his party were rapidly killed with a snap of his acid-laced teeth. He considered using Second Wind but decided against it: they were almost done here, and he didn¡¯t know what the situation would be like when its timer ran out. It wasn¡¯t long after that that the immediate jungle area went quiet, their opponents now defeated. Absorbing two of the closest carcasses, Dominic regained enough stamina to get up and start moving around, and enough health to top him off ¨C in the end, the snake bite was the most serious of the injuries he had taken and even that had only wrenched away a bit over a hundred health points. The new aspect of Majestic Roar is definitely a stamina hog, he decided. He thought he¡¯d probably only used it for nine or ten seconds in total, and, although he hadn¡¯t been full on stamina when he started, he reckoned it had used at least two thirds of his total. Losing that much stamina in such a short time was also worryingly debilitating. He¡¯d have to be careful with the Ability. Flicking through the bodies and searching the forest floor, he looked for something that could be the key disc. Surely, considering how many opponents they¡¯d had, there would be something here? ¡®Look for anything round that might fit into those holes in the temple wall. It might even be in the trees,¡¯ he encouraged his pride. As they looked he asked Procyon and Sirius about their own Ability. ¡®It used to leave me feeling rather tired,¡¯ replied Procyon thoughtfully. ¡®Me too, especially when we combined howls together,¡¯ agreed Sirius. ¡®But it got better with practice.¡¯ ¡®Yes, that was my experience too,¡¯ seconded Procyon. ¡®Thanks,¡¯ Dominic told them. ¡®How are you feeling, Sirius?¡¯ ¡®Better than before,¡¯ the ameshek responded with wry humour. ¡®But I think I¡¯ll try to avoid those things in the future. That was unpleasant.¡¯ Dominic grimaced mentally. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡®I agree,¡¯ he said. ¡®If any of the rest of you are injured or low on stamina, absorb some bodies while we look,¡¯ he told them while doing the same for himself. Although his health wasn¡¯t too low and his natural regeneration would have him at full in little time anyway, he definitely needed the stamina. It might seem like a waste absorbing the bodies when he had full health, but walking around with significantly less than half his stamina seemed a bad idea. Once everyone was done and Lionel had replenished his stores and the health he¡¯d used to heal Sirius in the fight, he packed the rest of the bodies away into his storage space for later, pulling their Cores out first. While the others continued searching for the key, he absorbed the Cores one by one, keeping an eye on his acquired Ability screen. Lionel leapt up to join Fang and Sekhmet in the trees while Procyon and Sirius stayed on ground level ¨C their paws were not nearly as good as the lions¡¯ for climbing. It seemed like the snakes and monitor lizards had much the same as each other in terms of Abilities, though the monitors had Tail Strike as a primary Ability instead of the boomslangs¡¯ Venomous Bite. They both had Venomous Bite, though, the monitors frequently having it as a second or third Ability along with Quick Strike or Enhanced Scales. The Cores had a fairly limited range of Abilities, odd considering the number of creatures involved. Dominic had to wonder whether the dungeon master was able to control even that or whether the Cores were limited in some way because they were dungeon creatures. He tucked the rest of the Cores away after he¡¯d got both Venomous Bite and Tail Strike up to 100% and Enhanced Scales up to 75% ¨C despite being very uncertain whether or not he¡¯d take that one even if he could ¨C and added a good chunk of percentage progress to Quick Strike. If things worked out the way he was hoping, he¡¯d have a better use for those Cores soon. Equally, he put the six slon Cores away ¨C they didn¡¯t hold any Ability he was interested in, but they might be able to be useful later. A sense of triumph came from Fang at the same time as Sekhmet announced that he¡¯d ¡®found it¡¯. The three lions carefully dropped and slid down the trees until they were on the ground. Fang came forwards, a golden metallic disc held between his teeth. He dropped it in front of Dominic. The larger lion nudged it with a paw, tilting his head to one side to consider it from a different angle. It certainly looked like it might fit one of the holes in the relief. ¡®Well done, Fang,¡¯ he praised the young male as he put the disc into his storage space. ¡®Hopefully the others will all look the same. Let¡¯s go and find the others, now we have more idea of what to look for.¡¯ He hesitated for a moment. ¡®I think we should stay together ¨C there are too many enemies to risk moving alone or in smaller groups.¡¯ ¡®Agreed,¡¯ Sekhmet said firmly in response. ¡®I agree too,¡¯ chimed in Sirius who probably would have died if he¡¯d been alone. None of the others disagreed either. With that decided, the pride, their health and stamina restored, started moving through the almost silent jungle again. It had been by chance that they¡¯d spotted this last lot. There had been a group of monitor lizards huddled together with more creatures hiding in the treetops which Leo had spotted. Dominic had guessed, correctly as it turned out, that they were guarding something. Now they just needed to find another group of ¡®guardians¡¯. Unlike Dominic¡¯s and Leo¡¯s experience of the previous version of the dungeon, it wasn¡¯t possible to see how many opponents there were before getting into the fight ¨C the trees and nature of the defenders meant that all they could assume was that there were more than met the eye. Nor did it seem possible to take the disc without triggering the defenders ¨C that¡¯s what they tried in the next battle. Unfortunately, it just triggered the defenders to all converge on the pride member grabbing the disc. Five monitors rapidly turned into fifteen, with about ten snakes adding into the mix as they boiled out of the undergrowth around. Fortunately, there didn¡¯t appear to be any slons in this one and the fight was quickly won. At least the fights were proving to be very good for Prey Points. After the second fight Dominic checked his status, and saw that he was already only 115 Points away from levelling up again ¨C and that at level 23. Sekhmet had already levelled up to 15 at a good moment during the battle, as had Procyon. After the fight, Sirius blurred and joined him at level 19. Fang and Lionel had already both levelled up after the previous fight with Lionel doing it twice ¨C once during the battle itself ¨C putting both of them at level 9. After it, they blurred again, taking longer than the previous time. Not surprisingly, since they were both entering Tier 2. The pride waited patiently. If nothing else, the dungeon had been excellent for the progression of the weaker members of the group. Not really surprising considering that the enemies they¡¯d been fighting had been at or above their level ¨C the boomslangs had been level 8, the monitor lizards level 9, and the slons at level 10. Of course, that also meant that the risk level was higher. Dominic wasn¡¯t at all sad that they were quickly making themselves harder to kill. Not when they would probably need all members of the party to get through the dungeon if this starting room was any judge. Fang and Lionel therefore getting a bit of power-levelling thanks to the rest of the party was a good thing. Certainly, he¡¯d be glad to have the two young lions at Tier 2 for several reasons, one of which the fact that, they should be more capable of communication too, especially Fang with Sharp Mind like Sekhmet. ¡®Ugh,¡¯ complained Leo in his mind. ¡®Sharing our Prey Points with potential rivals still makes me itchy.¡¯ Dominic ignored him. He just wanted to complain ¨C they¡¯d already discussed the matter on several occasions. Leo wasn¡¯t even trying to say that they shouldn¡¯t do it anymore, he was just moaning about it. He was coming around, Dominic decided. Being the only one not to have levelled up at all made Dominic feel a bit left out, even if it wasn¡¯t really surprising. Anyway, he was close enough to the next level that he should get it either in the next fight or the one after, if the trend continued. By the time the two younger male lions came out of their Tier ups, Dominic was getting a bit antsy. And then, as soon as he came out of the level up, Fang went into another one. Although it was annoying, it also wasn¡¯t too unexpected ¨C he was the first one to adapt to the new world out of his three brothers, so had got a headstart on them. Well, a headstart on Lionel, anyway. Prince, after all, was no longer around to compete with. Fang must have been close to a level up before this fight; the Prey Points from the recent confrontation must have been enough to just about push him up two levels at ones to level 11. While he waited, he checked out the two new Abilities of the males. Fang had gained Sure Feet in addition to his basic Pounce and half-step Sharp Mind. Not too surprising, Dominic supposed ¨C he¡¯d been doing a lot of arboreal work. Although it wasn¡¯t exactly a combat Ability, the former-human had certainly found that it gave him more traction and more control over where his feet went. An underestimated advantage. Plus, because they were always using their feet, it went up quite quickly: Dominic¡¯s was already at level 3 ¨C and more than half the way to level 4. It gave him a 40% increase in steadiness when moving slowly, and a 20% increase when moving fast. Even better, levelling up that Ability had increased the threshold of what was considered ¡®fast¡¯ from 25% of maximum speed to 35%. Out of the Abilities he¡¯d been using, only Enduring Stamina had increased quicker than Sure Feet. That was, of course, thanks to his permanent use exploit where he could keep the active period going pretty much indefinitely by using health which his Regeneration replaced. It had already reached level 5. The period of active use had increased dramatically since level 1, and the penalty to his passive stamina gain during the cooldown period had vanished completely. Not that either of those made much difference to him since almost none of the fights he¡¯d had had required him to drop it so as to preserve health. Still, it was nice to think that in a few more levels, there might not be any penalties to the cooldown period at all except for not being able to use the enhancement. Plus, the benefits of the Ability itself had improved: now he lost stamina at an even slower rate than before when Enhanced Stamina was active ¨C he could feel the difference. Which, considering his new Roar Ability appeared to be a bit of a stamina-hog was just as well. Lionel had got a more interesting Ability ¨C one Dominic hadn¡¯t seen yet, though one that made sense considering their current context: Poison Cure. He guessed that it was the Pride Enhancement to the chances of getting a rarer Ability helping out here, combined with the sheer amount of snake bites the lion had helped heal. If this new Ability did what it sounded like, his healing in the future should be even more effective. Finally, Fang came out of his second level up, and they were ready to go. ¡®Hi,¡¯ piped a voice in the Pride chat cheerfully. Dominic identified it as coming from Fang based on the rest of the impression that came over at the same time of appearance and scent. ¡®I¡¯ve been wanting to do that for ages.¡¯ Dominic almost stumbled over his own paws. Chapter 57: I Can’t Wait To Get Out After Dominic got over his shock at Fang¡¯s verbosity, they got back to trying to find the keys. Dominic still wasn¡¯t sure why the young lion was so fluent upon just now reaching Tier 2 when Sekhmet had been talking for a lot longer, but still wasn¡¯t using fluent sentences. Unless it was that Sekhmet could but just didn¡¯t choose to. She certainly had a high enough level. It would make sense. Fang was a lot more ebullient as a personality than the eminently practical Sekhmet or his much quieter brother. Lionel on the other hand had barely said a word. Not, Dominic thought, because he couldn¡¯t, but because he didn¡¯t want to. Finding a likely spot, they didn¡¯t even bother trying to avoid the fight: as soon as they saw the monitors and snakes grouped together, they attacked. They¡¯d managed to avoid anyone getting bitten when grabbing the third disc, but the massively disproportionate number of snakes in the fourth fight more than made up for that ¨C Procyon, Sekhmet, and Fang were all bitten, and Dominic was bitten twice. Lionel was overworked and Fang almost died, but Dominic was most frantic when Sekhmet was the one bitten. He, single-pawed, accounted for at least half of the deaths in that fight in his fury and pain. Fortunately, they got through it. It just showed how much the dungeon had increased in difficulty: the entry-level fights were involving creatures at the same level that the final boss had been last time. Not that these were anything near as difficult to fight ¨C Dominic suspected that there had been a bit of dungeon-trickery affecting the warthog. Trickery definitely seemed to be the dungeon¡¯s go-to method. Their last fight had been completely pointless except for the gain in Prey Points. Apparently not all groups protected a key disc ¨C they had attacked a clump of ten monitors and seven snakes and then spent ages combing through the area looking for the golden disc which had been nowhere to be found. Fortunately, they¡¯d got the fifth disc not too long after that and the fight wasn¡¯t even too hard ¨C barely more monitors and snakes than the decoy group and a couple of slons. Perhaps the relative ease of the last two fights had caused Fang to lower his guard as he called into question their previous decision. ¡®Let¡¯s separate ¨C we¡¯ll cover more ground that way,¡¯ he suggested. ¡®This is going to take ages if we move as a group.¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic said immediately. ¡®Maybe the last two fights weren¡¯t too hard, but don¡¯t you remember the other fights where we almost lost someone? Or even more than one member of the pride? It might take longer, but I¡¯d rather our haste doesn¡¯t cost us any members of the party.¡¯ The young lion looked like he might be feeling a little rebellious so Dominic fixed him with a look, trying to ignore Leo urging him in the background to teach the little upstart his place. ¡®Unless you¡¯re volunteering to go ahead and scout?¡¯ he asked mildly. The young lion hesitated, then his eyes flicked over the rest of the group, pausing on Sekhmet for just a touch longer than the rest of them ¨C something that Leo both noticed and growled at almost inaudibly. ¡®Fine, I will,¡¯ Fang replied with what seemed very much like false bravado. He hesitated, then determinedly moved off, stepping carefully and looking in all directions. ¡®You not let him get in trouble, yes?¡¯ Sekhmet asked Dominic, the message having the feel of a private one through her telepathic Ability rather than through the Pride chat. ¡®Not any trouble he can¡¯t get out of, no,¡¯ Dominic answered her in a similar manner, his eyes focussing on the young lion. He had a feeling that Fang was likely to miss something important in his focus on looking for a key ¨C he was barely looking at the ground at all, his footfalls carefully placed more to avoid causing noise than anything else. A mistake, Dominic suspected: the dungeon had been kind enough not to combine the traps and fights when battling for the golden discs, but that didn¡¯t mean it had neglected to use them in other areas. Perhaps Fang had forgotten the injury Sirius had sustained between their fourth and fifth fight. The ameshek had accidentally tripped a log-swing without them realising until too late. The log had crushed him against a tree, breaking several of his ribs and making him cough up blood. His health had dropped worrisomely fast, but fortunately a combination of Lionel and Consuming carcasses healed him before it could become serious. All seemed to go well for a short while, the pride following the young male as he advanced through the jungle. Then the lion jumped into a tree. Apparently disappointed, he leapt back down¡­and the ground disappeared beneath his feet. An agonised screech filled the air, a sound that Dominic had never heard and never really wanted to hear again. Hurrying forwards while still keeping an eye in case there was nothing else that would hit him, he approached the pit as fast as he dared. Apparently it wasn¡¯t fast enough as a sandy-coloured blur leapt past him. Lionel ran for his brother, wordless fear and panic projected into the Pride chat. ¡®Careful!¡¯ Dominic yelled at him. ¡®Or you¡¯ll be next!¡¯ Fortunately, they both made it to the edge of the pit without incident. Lionel dropped carefully into the pit and was already filling the base of it with golden dust by the time Dominic reached the lip, the others not far behind. Their healer had obviously chosen his landing well as he was uninjured. The same couldn¡¯t be said of his brother. Fang was¡­in a bad condition. His health bar was almost empty and Lionel was failing to keep up with the ongoing damage. Fang was just too injured. The bottom of the pit had different length spikes pointing up from it and they had pierced him badly in many places. Bloody spear points emerged from his flank, his neck, and one leg. Those weren¡¯t the only ones, but they were the ones which had managed to find a route through. The only good things Dominic could see was that most of the spears which had found their way through Fang¡¯s body were flesh wounds ¨C the one protruding through his flank was the worst. The other good thing was that clearly neither his heart nor his brain had been hit. With the new healing of the System, the young lion still had a chance. And he supposed that it was good the young lion had obviously invested a bit into his health in recent level ups as otherwise he¡¯d already be dead. ¡®Keep the healing going, Lionel,¡¯ Dominic instructed the healer, his mind going into overdrive as he considered and discarded ideas. The first thing was to overcome the ongoing rate of damage. Lionel wasn¡¯t able to heal fast enough; he needed help. Hopefully Fang was aware enough, though Dominic didn¡¯t envy him the pain he must be in. ¡®Fang, Consume these.¡¯ He dropped in some carcasses, carefully to make sure they fell where Fang could touch them without moving, but trying to avoid actually dropping them on the impaled lion. Fortunately, Fang did seem to be at least cognisant enough to do that as the carcasses started dissolving into golden dust. With that boost, Fang¡¯s health started picking up a little, but if he stayed impaled, he¡¯d be done for nonetheless. ¡®Procyon, Sirius, Sekhmet, bite my wings on either side. Try to avoid causing too much damage, but keep me from falling,¡¯ he ordered, flaring both wings outwards. The other three didn¡¯t question him and immediately obeyed. Dominic headed straight towards the pit. ¡®You¡¯re not doing what it looks like you¡¯re doing, are you?¡¯ demanded Leo, clearly alarmed. ¡®Leo, not the time,¡¯ Dominic ground back at him, the pain from his wings increasing significantly as he stepped carefully over the edge of the pit and the bones held between his pride members¡¯ jaws started taking his full weight. ¡®Leave the wretched male! He¡¯s clearly too stupid to breed! It is nature¡¯s way.¡¯ ¡®Maybe before, but not now,¡¯ Dominic told Leo, waving his tail to indicate to his pride members to lower him a little more. ¡®Now, if you¡¯re not going to help, shut up.¡¯ Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The lion growled loudly, but withdrew with the distinct feeling of being in a huff. Dominic literally shoved him to the back of his mind. Setting his teething into the scruff at Fang¡¯s neck, he waved his tail in the opposite direction to indicate that he wanted to be lifted. Slowly, bit by bit, they moved. Fang¡¯s health mimicked a yo-yo, dropping from the damage caused by moving up the spears and the increased bleeding, then rising again with Lionel and the carcasses¡¯ healing. When they finally got Fang out, Lionel leapt out without a problem, going straight back to healing. It took a while, but getting Fang out of the pit had been the turning point and he slowly moved back to full health. When he was well enough to speak, he had the grace to admit his foolishness in going off on his own. ¡®We work better all together,¡¯ he confessed. ¡®I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ ¡®Just let it be a lesson,¡¯ Dominic told him tiredly. His own injuries were long-healed by his Regeneration, but it certainly hadn¡¯t been a fun experience. ¡®Let¡¯s learn from this ¨C someone on the ground needs to always test the area below before anyone jumps out of a tree OK?¡¯ After that nasty episode, they all took extra care when moving around in the jungle. It was a good lesson to learn too ¨C Sekhmet missed being crushed by a falling log by a whisker when she noticed that she¡¯d accidentally triggered something, and Dominic only just avoided falling into another pit that he accidentally triggered with one of his back paws by digging in his claws and using his wings to stop himself from sliding backwards. Dominic didn¡¯t think that he was alone in being eager to get out of this death-trap of a forest. When he¡¯d suggested that Leo might want to take over for a bit, the vehement response from the lion had been enough to not bother asking him again. Apparently Leo was willing to yell at him for not realising that there was a pit behind him, but not willing to risk that he might cause them to fall into one. ¡®I can¡¯t wait to get out of this jungle,¡¯ Fang moaned in the Pride chat as they found what they hoped was the final fight in this area. ¡®Get last disc, then we can,¡¯ snapped Sekhmet at the young male, a little testy. She¡¯d been in a bad mood ever since she¡¯d almost been crushed ¨C Dominic didn¡¯t blame her. ¡®I fear that we will not be of much use in this one,¡¯ noted Procyon hesitantly. ¡®It¡¯s OK,¡¯ Dominic reassured him. ¡®I know your paws aren¡¯t very good for climbing. Just keep an eye on what¡¯s going on down here. If we can shove any of the slons out of the trees, kill them as quickly as you can.¡¯ Not having any monitors on the ground, it had taken them a while to identify this as a possible location of the final disc. In the end, it was only Sirius¡¯ antennae sensing an unusual number of vibrations above their heads that gave them a clue. They¡¯d looked up, only to find a whole colony of slons peering down at them with beady weasel-like eyes. They hadn¡¯t started attacking ¨C yet. But that was likely to change. ¡®Alright, everyone knows what to do?¡¯ Dominic checked briskly. His pride got back to him with various affirmations. ¡®Let¡¯s go, then.¡¯ With that, the four lions leapt into the canopy. Sure Feet definitely made a difference here. Lionel was the least steady of the four felines, though Sekhmet wasn¡¯t completely comfortable either. Although those two had both leapt to clear branches, Dominic and Fang had taken more full-frontal approaches, leaping straight at the biggest clumps of slons. The sloth-like creatures scattered, but not quickly enough. Three fell to the ground, just to be pounced on by the amesheks. Two more were killed instantly by Dominic ¨C even if he didn¡¯t get the full bonus of Pounce since his attack was very much anticipated, he did get the 55% by aiming for their throats and bellies. Multiplying the damage he caused with Powerful Swipe and Crushing Bite meant that he very quickly drained the health bars of the two slons he first targeted. The others around the two male lions struck at them a moment later, their long claws enhanced by an Ability that managed to make large gouges in Dominic¡¯s flesh. Being in the middle of the canopy meant that the attacks could come from all directions ¨C claws struck at him from above and below just as much as they did from the branch on either side of them. ¡®We¡¯re going to need to enhance our defence somehow next level up,¡¯ Dominic complained to Leo and a particularly sharp claw raked across his shoulder and glanced over his gorget. ¡®Because: ow!¡¯ ¡®Fight now, talk later,¡¯ Leo snapped back at him. ¡®Watch your back.¡¯ Dominic whirled around, barely keeping his footing, a slon going sailing through the space where his backside had been a moment before. It made a mournful whine as it fell to the ground ¨C a sound that was quickly cut off as Sirius ripped its throat out. Snarling, Dominic struck out at the slons in front of him, doing his best to bat them off the branch they were all standing on. That was easier said than done ¨C their long claws weren¡¯t only good for getting through his meagre defences, but kept them hanging onto the branches ¨C usually upside down ¨C long after he¡¯d whacked them off. ¡®How are you doing?¡¯ he sent to Sekhmet and Lionel urgently. ¡®Busy,¡¯ grunted the lioness; the lion simply sent grim agreement. An image of a branch covered with boomslangs was the next in the chat. A quick glance their way before refocussing on the slons around him showed that Lionel¡¯s new Poison Cure Ability was coming in useful: one moment Sekhmet would be poisoned by a bite from the venomous boomslangs; the next, Lionel would glow gold and the damage-over-time effect of the poison would be removed. He didn¡¯t actually heal her; apparently he wanted to conserve his power. Dominic had been interested to find out that, while his first Ability was powered with the health from carcasses he¡¯d Consumed first, his own health second and had only recently allowed him to heal himself as well as others, this new Ability was purely mana-powered. It was a little embarrassing that Lionel¡¯s mana pool even when he¡¯d been a level 10 had been more than four times Dominic¡¯s. Now, at level 15, with several level-ups evidently dedicated to it, his pool was obviously significantly bigger. Either way, he didn¡¯t seem to be struggling. Not yet, anyway, and Dominic had a good idea of how to improve the situation for everyone. Leaping in the opposite direction from the other three lions, Dominic extended his wings as far as he could in the space he had and glided over the tops of the slons¡¯ heads, barely managing not to get his newest limbs snarled in the vines hanging from the branches above. He dared to make the move only since he knew these creatures couldn¡¯t jump. That didn¡¯t stop them from attempting to rip out his intestines by raising their claws as high as they would go. Fortunately, Dominic was higher. Turning, he faced the oncoming scurrying slons ¨C both above and below the branch on which he stood. Opening his jaws, he Roared at them, focussing on the sonic attack. The slons and snakes didn¡¯t freeze in place ¨C there were too many of them for his Roar to have much impact individually. However, they did slow down, which was Dominic¡¯s main objective. He kept an eye on his stamina ¨C falling fast ¨C as his allies quickly moved to attack the slowed enemies. They often weren¡¯t able to kill with a single hit ¨C the slons tended to be a bit too tough for that, though crushing a snake¡¯s head tended to see it die immediately. They could, however, knock the creatures to the ground below for the amesheks to finish off. By the time Dominic was down to a quarter of his stamina, a good two thirds of the enemies were dealt with one way or another. Dropping his Roar, Dominic leapt forwards at the creatures just in front of him, teeth bared. Within another minute, the battle was over. They were all bleeding, but, as they Consumed the caracasses ¨C and Procyon, Fang, and Lionel all levelled up again ¨C their health bars quickly replenished. Dominic gathered the Cores and then stuck the rest of the bodies into his storage space once everyone was back to full health. He absorbed a couple of carcasses himself, just to top off his health and increase his stamina: in the middle of a dungeon was no time to be stingy. ¡®Lionel, would you like to do the honours this time?¡¯ Dominic asked, sending the younger lion a picture of the golden disc he¡¯d half-glimpsed while in the branches above. The male seemed to consider it a moment, then sent him a sense of nonchalant agreement. If he had chosen to speak, Dominic imagined he probably would have said something like, ¡®fine, I might as well.¡¯ The healer lion leapt gracefully back into the trees. Regaining the branches on which they¡¯d been fighting, he leapt further up still, heading for the glinting prize hanging high above. Fortunately, it seemed like all the defenders had descended to the fight since nothing attacked Lionel. A moment later, Dominic knew he¡¯d tempted fate ¨C he saw Lionel jerk and grunt in pain, then snap at the air, shaking his head in a surprisingly canine manner before letting go. A body fell to the ground, bloodied and mangled. It was a monitor lizard ¨C a rather large one too. Even with the attack and drop, it was still alive. Before Dominic could kill it, Fang leapt forwards and tore into it, perhaps taking offence at it attacking his brother. A glow of gold above was evidence of Lionel healing himself, and then shortly after he returned to the ground, the final golden disc held firmly between his teeth. Spitting it out, he nudged it towards the largest male. Dominic quickly slipped it into his storage space with a friendly head rub that made Leo grumble quietly in the back of his mind. He once more considered how glad he was that he had a better means of carrying the keys this time. A storage space was so much easier than his mouth. ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic said. ¡®Let¡¯s get out of this jungle and go back to the temple.¡¯ Not a single pride member protested. Chapter 58: Anticipation Back in front of the doors, the pride took a bit of time to relax. They didn¡¯t need to eat, their hunger and thirst already satisfied by the carcasses of the creatures they had been killing. Still, they could do with a rest ¨C it had been one fight after another for who knows how long. That was one thing that remained the same from his previous experience with this dungeon: it might be twilight instead of midday, but without the movement of celestial bodies indicating passage of time, it was very hard to keep track. The jungle might not have been a lot of fun, but it had been very beneficial in terms of levels. Even the amesheks had gone up at least two levels ¨C Procyon three, following the most recent battle. While Sirius hadn¡¯t changed much physically, Procyon seemed to have concentrated a little on his own defences, his fur slowly matting together more than it already was to show the beginnings of the sleek defensive armour that Nyx had. Dominic wasn¡¯t sure if that was an Evolution, something created by concentrating on fur, a Transevolution, drawing on another creature from the ameshek¡¯s world, or a Devolution, returning his fur to what it used to be. It seemed to have made a difference in the recent fights, though ¨C deflecting some of the attempted bites and gouges rather than letting them through. Sekhmet had gone up five levels, and was now a level 19 lion. She had grown a little bit more and her teeth were slightly sharper, but otherwise there wasn¡¯t much obviously different about her. Perhaps she was a little quicker in responses and thought processes, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. Dominic had asked her what she was enhancing, but she¡¯d refused to tell him. The former-human wasn¡¯t sure whether that was because she wanted to surprise him or because she didn¡¯t know whether what she was trying would work. Fang had obviously put several level-ups into his fangs, and they now obviously stuck out when he closed his mouth. Dominic suspected he¡¯d also been following Leo¡¯s example and had been working on his mane: the previously tufty fluff around his head was starting to darken, thicken, and lengthen. The thought of having another properly maned lion around made Leo very grumpy. Dominic foresaw problems there, but it wasn¡¯t his place to tell Fang he couldn¡¯t invest in his mane. Though, he might have to have a word with the younger lion about the future. But that was for later. They didn¡¯t even know whether everyone would survive the dungeon at this point. Lionel hadn¡¯t changed much physically apart from getting slightly faster, and maybe increasing his stamina a bit. Dominic had to guess from evidence that he¡¯d put at least half his enhancements into his magical skills. Probably to increase his mana pool, but possibly also enhancing other aspects ¨C Soul was a strong contender, as was Brain. As for Dominic, he pulled up his progress with anticipation. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 23 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 2068/676 PP level up Each of the snakes, monitors, and slon hadn¡¯t been worth a huge amount ¨C though at levels 8, 9, 10, and 11 for the most recent ones, they would have been decent even in smaller numbers ¨C but the sheer volume had sent his Prey Points skyrocketing up. He¡¯d chosen not to level up in the jungle out of fear of being vulnerable at the wrong moment. After all, he had several Abilities waiting to be acquired and he wasn¡¯t sure what they would do to him. Venomous Bite (100% to level 1) level up to acquire Ability Tail Strike (100% to level 1) level up to acquire Ability Spatial Awareness (100% to level 1) level up to acquire Ability Gouge (100% to level 1) level up to acquire Ability It was unfortunate that there hadn¡¯t been many snakes with the Hypnotise Ability ¨C he¡¯d increased his progress there to 68%, but not to 100%. At least he¡¯d managed to get something good out of the slons ¨C there had been enough of them with Gouge as a secondary Ability for him to succeed in getting that to 100%. Of course, it meant that he¡¯d also managed to get their basic Ability to 100% too: Spatial Awareness. He wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d get much use out of that one, but decided to take it anyway since it wasn¡¯t actively harmful. Apparently it allowed the slons to always know which way was up and which was down. Useful, except for the fact that Dominic was pretty sure he already had something like that. Even recently when he¡¯d accidentally fallen off a branch in the middle of a battle, his body had known exactly what to do to twist in mid air to land on his feet. And cats in general were known for that. Tail Strike might mean that he actually got some proper use out of his tail armour after all, now that he was going to have an Ability dedicated to attacking with it. The metal construction had been rather languishing in his storage space due to it just not being anywhere near as good as his other attack options. He¡¯d even meant to leave it behind at the Place of Power for someone else to use, but then had forgotten. Fortunately so, given the Ability he¡¯d found here. That, of course, had been from the monitor lizards who had been rather good at using their tails like painful whips. Finally, there was Venomous Bite, an Ability he was quite excited about, as long as it didn¡¯t combine badly with his Acidic Bite. Then again, perhaps the two would combine like all his roar-related Abilities had. That would be great. More importantly, though, was the question of which aspects of himself to enhance. ¡®It looks like we¡¯re going to have at least two level ups there, maybe three,¡¯ he commented to Leo. ¡®You promised that we could dedicate some to our Wings in the near future.¡¯ He felt the lion hesitating. ¡®And if we can fly properly, maybe we can check out that other entrance.¡¯ Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡®Is there any point now that we¡¯ve got all the keys for this one?¡¯ asked Leo pointedly. Dominic sent him the sense of a mental shrug. ¡®Maybe. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s behind these doors, after all,¡¯ Dominic reminded him. ¡®True, and I suppose we also don¡¯t know what is in that hole,¡¯ admitted Leo. ¡®Though, you did say you wanted to improve our defences a bit, and I think that we should enhance our Brain and Nervous System again ¨C we¡¯re still not fully using our speed as much as we could, though Sure Feet does help a bit with that.¡± Dominic hesitated. Leo made a good point there. ¡®Maybe we don¡¯t need to worry about our defences,¡¯ he decided thoughtfully. ¡®I mean, it¡¯s definitely not pleasant to be bitten and cut and all that, but it¡¯s not like we were in much danger there. The gouges were uncomfortable, but it would have taken a lot more than that to eat through our health pool with Enhanced Regeneration bolstering it.¡¯ ¡®Then perhaps we should put another enhancement each into Regeneration and Carnivore Constitution,¡¯ Leo countered. ¡®I agree that would have better all-round effects than putting an enhancement into our fur, since I can¡¯t imagine you were considering Skin.¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®We don¡¯t want to risk stiffening up and losing our reactivity. But I¡¯m surprised you don¡¯t want to put something into Fur. Weren¡¯t you arguing for that a while ago?¡¯ There was a slightly embarrassed silence. ¡®Leo?¡¯ Dominic asked, amusement filling him. ¡®Are you embarrassed?¡¯ ¡®Fine, you were right about your warnings. I don¡¯t want to be Shaggy the lion,¡¯ Leo replied quickly as if to get past it as soon as possible. ¡®So,¡¯ he said before Dominic could start laughing at him. ¡®We are going to put one each into Regeneration, Carnivore Constitution, Nervous System, and Brain?¡¯ ¡®I didn¡¯t agree to the last two,¡¯ Dominic interjected, his attention diverted by the lion sneakily trying to slip his suggestions through. ¡®What about Wings?¡¯ ¡®Well, which do you think is more urgent?¡¯ Leo demanded, his embarrassment gone. If Dominic could see him, he bet the lion would be lying back down, his hackles lowering to his back again. Dominic struggled with himself. He really wanted to fly properly ¨C the taste of it he¡¯d got so far was far too tempting. But Leo had a point ¨C annoyingly ¨C perhaps the wings were to Dominic what the mane was to Leo. ¡®Alright, fine. But if we get three level ups, the third will be dedicated to Wings, OK?¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ the lion agreed. The matter settled, Dominic got on with the level up. For the first level up, he chose to increase his Brain and Nervous System, deciding to leave the other two to his second level up. Spatial Awareness was accepted with no more boxes flashing up. Tail Strike required some minor physical changes, but Dominic was rather expecting that: from his experience wielding the tail mace, he knew that the muscles he had in his tail weren¡¯t suitable for the attack the lizards had demonstrated. The other two were a different question. [You have chosen to acquire Venomous Bite. You have an Ability which has adequate synergy with Venomous Bite: Acidic Bite. Would you like to combine these Abilities? Note: features of these Abilities may be changed or maintained. Note: the final product may be better, worse, or equivalent to the Abilities singularly.] It didn¡¯t take much time for them to decide to go for it. When they¡¯d combined Sonic Howl and Vibrating Body with their Roar, the Ability which came out at the end was more flexible and suited them better. Dominic definitely suspected that the System was designed to make earned Abilities more suitable for the body, regardless of what the description warned. Anyway, he¡¯d been hoping that the System might offer to combine them: that seemed like the best way to be sure that they would work well together. [You have chosen to acquire Gouge. You have an Ability which has adequate synergy with Gouge: Powerful Swipe. Would you like to combine these Abilities? Note: features of these Abilities may be changed or maintained. Note: the final product may be better, worse, or equivalent to the Abilities singularly.] This one was a little trickier to consider. ¡®Powerful Swipe is already a pretty good Ability,¡¯ mused Dominic. ¡®Maybe adding Gouge to it would just add more damage?¡¯ ¡®Possibly,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®Though a swipe and a gouge aren¡¯t exactly the same thing. If it means we lose functionality on one or the other, it would be better to have separate Abilities to use in the appropriate situation.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, but remember what it said in the description we saw earlier? It adds extra slicing damage and possibly adding a bleeding effect. A bit like Sharp Nip. Powerful Swipe is just about using stamina to increase the force of my attack. They don¡¯t clash in any way, so I suspect they¡¯ll play well enough together.¡¯ The lion hesitated. ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®And it did work out fine with the combination of Abilities which made up Majestic Sonic Roar, even though one of those Abilities was called ¡®Vibrating Body¡¯. ¡®So you think we should combine them?¡¯ The lion hesitated again. ¡®I think it may be worth it,¡¯ he replied carefully. ¡®I agree,¡¯ said Dominic in reply, accepting the System¡¯s offer without allowing any more time to second-guess himself. Interestingly, neither of the new combined Abilities required him to choose whether to accept physical changes or not. Expected pain shot through his tail, his front paws, and his teeth. The pain in his ears wasn¡¯t quite so anticipated, and he growled a little under his breath as it felt like ice-picks were stabbed through his inner ears. It shifted to his eyes and from there into his brain. With nothing else he could do, Dominic just waited for the uncomfortable process to finish. Oh for the times when levelling up actually felt good. Chapter 59: The Devil Was In The Details When the pain and discomfort finally vanished, Dominic checked his progress again. Level: Evolved Beast Level 24 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 1392/744 PP level up ¡®Right, so Regeneration and Constitution this time?¡¯ he checked with Leo. ¡®Perhaps we should see what effects the new Abilities have had: there might be better options,¡¯ pointed out the lion. ¡®True,¡¯ agreed Dominic, though he figured that more health and health regeneration would probably be good options regardless of what he¡¯d actually received. Still, he was curious so it wasn¡¯t like it was a hardship. It looked like he wouldn¡¯t be getting two more levels right now, unfortunately: double 744 was well over 1400, after all. Still, he should be close to level 26 within the next fight, probably. Unless there were better choices at that time, he¡¯d get the enhancements to his wings then. As for his new Abilities, both Tail Strike and Spatial Awareness were much as he¡¯d expected though he was still pleasantly surprised by each of their more specific details. Tail Strike (T1) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Use your tail to strike an opponent causing blunt damage which is increased according to the momentum and the durability of your tail. Base damage at level 1 is 10HP. The speed at which you are capable of striking is: your maximum speed x (your level of Enhanced Muscular Body x level of Tail Strike)/2. This Ability may be enhanced both by equipment and by other complementary Abilities. The description of Tail Strike that he¡¯d seen when he¡¯d first checked out the Core hadn¡¯t been obvious about the specific calculation, nor by how much damage it did. While 10 units of damage weren¡¯t exactly impressive, the devil was in the details. That, after all, was base damage. The durability of his tail was a big factor, and Dominic immediately equipped his tail armour. The weight settled heavily on his spine, yet he found that it was a lot less uncomfortable than before: the changes Tail Strike had caused apparently made the weight more bearable. Having metal encasing his tail would significantly increase the damage, he was sure. And then there was also the damage offered by the tail morningstar which added even more. Then there was the fact that the damage was increased by momentum. If he remembered his physics lessons correctly, momentum was mass multiplied by velocity. Equipping the tail armour helped out again here: while its weight might reduce the speed at which he could move, it increased the mass of his tail by a large amount. The icing on the cake was the fact that improving Muscular Body ¨C now Enhanced Muscular Body ¨C so much during level ups was now paying dividends since it affected two of the factors in this Ability. First in calculating his maximum speed, second as a bonus to that maximum speed. The calculation didn¡¯t exactly say how much momentum would impact the base damage, but he could work out the speed at which his tail would move. With a base maximum speed of 40 m/s, and a level in Enhanced Muscular Body of 1, that meant his current tail speed would be 20 m/s. At the moment, that wasn¡¯t very impressive, but he could double that just by increasing either Enhanced Muscular Body or the Ability itself by one level. If he increased them both by one level, he¡¯d be getting 80 m/s instead of 20 m/s. Of course, it was likely that his tail armour would slow things down a bit, but he was fairly sure that the mass it offered would make up for that. Dominic was excited to try it out on an enemy. Especially since it explicitly said that it could be enhanced further by complementary Abilities. He was eager to see if Quick Strike could improve his speed ¨C and therefore damage ¨C even more. The next one was less immediately exciting, but it had some intriguing implications for the future. Spatial Awareness (T0 level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Be aware of what is around you. At level 1, your awareness range is 1 length, and your precision is 1. Always know which way is up. The description which he¡¯d read before had indicated that it was a way of knowing which way was up and which was down, but not that it offered an all-round view or that it contained both range and precision elements. Dominic suddenly realised that he knew where his pride members were and what they were doing, even without being able to see all of them with his eyes. He knew what was beneath his belly, the small divots in the ground; the plants growing almost tall enough to brush his fur. It wasn¡¯t like he could see the things; he just knew where they were and their approximate shape and size. Beyond about one of his body lengths, the perception faded away, only his eyes being capable of seeing them. But the implications were quite interesting. What if this new Ability was capable of working in pitch blackness where he couldn¡¯t see at all or even past obstacles and walls? Or able to extend significantly further outwards? He¡¯d never be surprised by something landing on his back again, unless he was too distracted to notice it. Even in the dungeon, he had a better chance of spotting traps with this new sense. So yes, Dominic was rather pleased with his two new Abilities. From the feelings drifting across from Leo, it seemed like the lion was satisfied too, though impatiently curious to see what had changed about the Abilities he¡¯d already had. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Pulling up those, the two of them inspected the new descriptions. Venomous Acidic Bite (enhanced) (T2) level 2 ¨C> 3 (34% to level 4) ¨C Use an acid gland below your tongue to shoot balls of acid. At level 3, the maximum range is 3 lengths, and the maximum diameter is 4 cm. Enhancement: your teeth have become resistant to acid damage and your top canines have become capable of absorbing the acid and transferring it in your bite. Haemotoxic venom is now stored in venom glands above your top canines and can also be injected into your opponent with a bite. ¡®Nice,¡¯ commented Dominic. The Ability had changed pretty much as he¡¯d hoped: he could now have a venomous bite if he chose to. Even better, he¡¯d gone up a level in the Ability, meaning that the acidic aspects had been improved as well. ¡®Haemotoxic venom, eh?¡¯ he mused to himself. Something to do with the blood. Making his opponent bleed more? That would make sense in terms of what he¡¯d seen from the snake bites they¡¯d suffered. ¡®I wonder what would happen if we absorbed enough Cores from other venomous foes,¡¯ wondered Leo. ¡®Would we start collecting different venoms? Or would we develop some super venom?¡¯ ¡®It would be pretty cool if we add other venoms and then could choose the venom to use,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®I don¡¯t think combining loads of venoms together to make a ¡®super¡¯ venom would work though: a venom for clotting and a venom for increasing bloodloss probably wouldn¡¯t work very well together.¡¯ ¡®Others would complement each other better, though: a venom for clotting along with one which eats away at and destroys the cells, for example,¡¯ Leo points out. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ replies Dominic non-committedly. ¡®Either way, I agree that we should collect Cores from other venomous creatures to try it out.¡¯ Glancing over the increases in level among a few of his existing Abilities, he pulled up the last changed Ability and looked at it. Powerful Swipe (T0 ¨C> T1) level 5 ¨C> 6 (3% to level 7) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +20% - +120% damage increase for 2-62 stamina per second. Add a 20% chance to gouge your opponent and create an ongoing bleeding effect that is harder to heal than a normal wound for 5 extra stamina units. Bleed effect lasts for level/2 seconds and causes initial damage*level of Powerful Swipe/10 per second. This time, the Ability tier had actually gone up ¨C Dominic guessed because it was adding more complexity to something that had originally been very simple. Upon reading the description, Dominic wasn¡¯t sure exactly how to feel about it. The bleeding effect that it talked about sounded pretty good, but there was only a one in five chance of it being triggered and he had to commit extra stamina to even get the chance of triggering it. He suspected that he wouldn¡¯t be ¡®refunded¡¯ the stamina if it didn¡¯t trigger, which meant that basically it cost the stamina of five attacks in addition to the 25 for the Bleed attempts. Then there was the fact that the bleed effect depended on the initial damage to take into account. It would be unfortunate if the bleed effect triggered on a Swipe which he¡¯d made with only a 20% damage increase. It would be helpful if the chance of the bleed was triggered on the fifth Swipe as he¡¯d then be able to plan for that, but he¡¯d have to test it out to see. He also questioned whether ¡®initial damage¡¯ was considered to be the damage he should have caused, or the damage he actually had caused ¨C given the defences of his opponent, the two were often different. Still, if he saw it as his Swipes just costing an extra 5 stamina and having a possible bonus of a damage over time effect left behind, he felt better about essentially being forced to gamble. The idea that the wound might be harder to heal was interesting too ¨C that could be useful if he came across another beast with his levels of regeneration. It was also something to be aware of that his opponents might have too. Having checked out his new and improved Abilities, it was time to level up again. ¡®Maybe we should enhance our Muscular Body again instead of Carnivore Constitution,¡¯ suggested Dominic after seeing the updated upgrade list. ¡®It would help twice over with Tail Swipe.¡¯ Lengthening or strengthening his tail were also new options which hadn¡¯t been on the list of possible enhancements before, but Dominic felt that those were too limiting. Maybe something to consider later. ¡®Perhaps, but that¡¯s only one Ability,¡¯ replied Leo. ¡®Having more health points will give us better chances of surviving attacks. If our tail is damaged or unable to act for whatever reason, our enhancement will be wasted. Besides, it¡¯s already pretty strong: we will do better by using the Ability and increasing its level.¡¯ ¡®Fair point,¡¯ Dominic agreed with a mental shrug. It had just been an idea which occurred to him. Quickly levelling up he committed his two points to Carnivore Constitution and Enhanced Regeneration. This time it was much more pleasant and Dominic allowed himself to bask a bit in the enjoyable sensations running through him. When they died away, he was almost disappointed. Checking his progress to the next level, he saw that sure enough, he wasn¡¯t quite at the point to be able to level up again. Level: Evolved Beast Level 25 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 648/819 PP His stats were looking a little better, though, with the four enhancements he¡¯d so recently committed to them. - Brain level 5 ¨C> 6 (Cognition speed standard measurement 7.5 ¨C> 8) - Nervous System level 3 ¨C> 4 (reaction speed +40% ¨C> 55%) - Carnivore Constitution level 3 ¨C> 4 (600 ¨C> 800 HP) +60% ¨C> +80% health regeneration - Enhanced Regeneration level 3 ¨C> 4 (2.25 ¨C> 2.75 HP / second) Taking a few minutes just to try things out in the seemingly safe clearing ¨C doing his best to ignore the looks he got from his other pride members ¨C Dominic was able to get a slight sense for what had changed about his body. Once he felt more confident, he moved back over to the rest of his pride. ¡®OK, is everyone ready?¡¯ Chapter 60: Half-Destroyed It¡¯s not my fault we have to make more decisions over Abilities than they do, Dominic thought defensively, as the rest of his pride made it clear that they had been impatiently waiting while the lion made a meal over levelling. ¡®Stop grumbling,¡¯ Leo grumbled at him. ¡®It¡¯s annoying.¡¯ ¡®Look who¡¯s talking,¡¯ Dominic shot back at him. ¡®Anyway, do you want to take control for a bit?¡¯ Leo hesitated for a moment. ¡®No,¡¯ he decided after some thought. ¡®If there¡¯s a good fight to be had, then maybe. But we need to get these doors open first.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®Just let me know when you want to switch over.¡¯ ¡®I will do.¡¯ With that decided, Dominic joined the rest of the pride at the doors. Sekhmet had apparently got the rest of the pride to check it over for obvious traps while he was levelling up ¨C Dominic appreciated her proactivity. Out of curiosity as to whether his new Spatial Awareness would work through obstacles, he stepped right up to the doors. A moment later, he stepped away, disappointed. Apparently not. He¡¯d have to test other places, though, just in case this was special because it was a dungeon. He had six round golden discs which he was pretty sure matched the six round holes in the pictures carved across the doors. As he¡¯d noted before, the scene looked like a banquet or a celebration of some sort. Far on the right hand side was what appeared to be a ruler, if the ¡®throne¡¯ it was sitting on was any indication. It was definitely the largest creature depicted and was holding what looked like a sceptre. The end of the sceptre was on the door to the right and held one of the indents for a round disc shape. The five other indents were spaced out among five other figures. Two appeared to be entertainers, juggling with items. One was juggling with balls; the other with torches. One throwing object of each of them held another round space. The last three appeared to be servers. One was carrying a plate piled high with fruit; one of the fruit had a gaping hole in the middle of it. The second was carrying two plates, one with a single object on it, the other with two; one of the items on the plate with two offerings was obscured by the hole in the centre. That one was the closest to the ¡®throne¡¯ and was the only other figure on the right hand door. The final figure was also a server, carrying something in each hand, one bearing the hole for the disc. Deciding to start from the left, Dominic pulled out all of the discs and dropped them on the ground. This is where one of those kesh would come in handy, he said to himself with a sigh. His paws were still no better than before at holding things. Unfortunately, looking around, he didn¡¯t think that anyone else would be any better at it ¨C none of them had opposable thumbs and the canine-like paws of the amesheks looked even less flexible than his. Resigning himself to some frustration, he grabbed the first disc gently between two teeth and moved towards the hole on the furthest left. ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ asked Fang curiously. ¡®We need to get these discs into these holes,¡¯ Dominic explained. ¡®But it¡¯s not easy,¡¯ he added as he dropped the golden metal object for the second time. ¡®I see that,¡¯ agreed Fang, but that didn¡¯t stop him from picking one up and moving to Dominic¡¯s right to give it a go. His face pressed up against the wall, Dominic noticed his movement more through his newest Ability than with his eyes. ¡®Thanks,¡¯ he said gratefully. He should probably have thought of it ¨C even if the other lions¡¯ paws were no better than his own for this task, they were also no worse. When he pulled away to pick up the disc for a third time, he saw that Sekhmet had also joined. By the time he actually managed to get the disc slotted in, the whole pride was trying. As Dominic predicted, Procyon¡¯s and Sirius¡¯ paws were even more ill-suited to the task than Dominic¡¯s and they weren¡¯t managing with their jaws either: at least Dominic had managed to get the key disc mostly into position and then slipped his paw between his jaws and the wall to nudge it into the hole itself; the amesheks weren¡¯t even managing to get it near the holes. Sirius gave up in frustration so Dominic wordlessly went over to do that one. It wasn¡¯t just the difficulty of the task itself causing issues in this one: the sceptre hole was the highest hole to reach, and Sirius was a bit short. Dominic was the largest of the group so it was easier for him. Not to say that it was easy but he managed to get it in just as Sekhmet and Fang both succeeded. Procyon and Lionel continued persevering with their discs. Lionel achieved success, the door on the left abruptly creaking open by a couple of inches. The one on the right remained firmly fixed in place, clearly unaffected by the discs they had so far inserted. They all clustered around the left-hand door, waiting for an attack which didn¡¯t come. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. After a few tense moments, Dominic dared to nudge the door further open. It swung easily on its hinges, moving more fluidly than he¡¯d expect of a door in an ¡®abandoned¡¯ temple. It did make a loud creaking noise ¨C which made Dominic wince ¨C but nothing appeared to be triggered by the racket. Perhaps that was only because there wasn¡¯t anything to be alarmed by, he concluded once the door was fully open: the room was empty. Empty of living creatures, anyway, though Dominic didn¡¯t take that to mean that it was safe. He¡¯d learnt that lesson a long time ago. Fortunately there were no statues which at least meant that it wasn¡¯t a repeat of that trap. But that it was a trap seemed to be obvious ¨C it looked too innocuous to be anything else. At the centre of the room was a small fire pit with what looked like writing near it. Actually, there appeared to be writing of some sort all around the room, not that it was in any alphabet Dominic could identify. In recesses around the room were small braziers, currently unlit. He suspected that lighting them would be at least part of the task. More, he¡¯d have to see when they got in the room, but he didn¡¯t want to do that until they knew what was in the other room. After all, the purpose of this expedition required him to face and defeat the final guardian; that was it. If the rest of the pride could earn a few more levels, that would be a bonus. Dealing with traps like he¡¯d experienced with the statues and the meerkats wasn¡¯t at all necessary ¨C unless the dungeon made it such, of course. And frankly, if they could avoid the trap rooms, he¡¯d rather do so, even if that meant losing out on a bit of loot. There was just too much risk of them not being able to figure out the riddle. Procyon succeeded a few minutes later at putting the final disc in place. By that point, Dominic was considering almost forcing the ameshek to let someone else take over. He was glad he hadn¡¯t pushed the matter when the ameshek succeeded ¨C Procyon proved himself quite persistent. With the second disc on the right-hand door falling into place, that one also opened slightly with a clunk. Tension filled the air as they waited to find out if this one was going to release a flood of enemies. After a few moments, it became clear that, similar to the left-hand door, nothing was about to ambush them. At least, not straight away. ¡®Let¡¯s see what¡¯s inside this one, then,¡¯ Dominic decided, moving towards it. Once more nudging it carefully, this time all of them tensed further when they saw the contents. This room looked half destroyed, the night sky obvious through the massive hole in the roof of the temple. A tree was even growing in the middle of it, its branches reaching towards the sky. Dominic was briefly confused: he hadn¡¯t seen this hole with the tree growing out of it from the outside and they had been all the way around the temple. Then he put it down to it being a dungeon ¨C did it really have to follow all the rules of the outside world? It wasn¡¯t the half-destroyed nature of the room which made them all so wary, though ¨C it was the creatures who were in there. A massive monitor lizard was curled up at the base of the tree. This one had to be at least the size of a lion, though not quite a lion of Dominic¡¯s size. ¡®Look into tree,¡¯ Sekhmet murmured tensely in the Pride chat. Dominic flicked his eyes up and saw what she was getting at. There were several of the slons they¡¯d encountered outside, though visually bigger and stronger. ¡®I sense enemies on the ground too,¡¯ Procyon rumbled in the chat. Dominic looked in that direction, but couldn¡¯t see anything. Probably snakes, then ¨C there were enough fallen branches and rocks to camouflage the ambush predators. ¡®A bit of a party,¡¯ Dominic concluded grimly. ¡®Leo, do you want to take point on this one?¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ agreed the lion after a moment of thought. ¡®It looks like a good fight.¡¯ ¡®Yes. Though at least they¡¯re all enemies we¡¯ve faced before, even if they¡¯re tougher. I wonder if that''s the intention.¡¯ ¡®Probably,¡¯ agreed Leo, then his consciousness pressed against Dominic¡¯s and they switched places. Stretching, Leo settled into his body once more, enjoying the feel of being physically present. He took a moment as well to feel the slight differences since he¡¯d last been in control. He noticed the female looking at him with her head cocked to one side, even as she also kept a wary eye on the beasts inside the room. ¡®Other one in control now?¡¯ she asked in the chat. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Leo replied shortly. ¡®Hm,¡¯ she grunted. ¡®I think she¡¯s disappointed,¡¯ teased Leo¡¯s brother. ¡®She¡¯s not,¡¯ Leo told him. ¡®Now, if you don¡¯t have anything useful to add to the situation, be quiet and let me concentrate.¡¯ ¡®I do, actually,¡¯ Dominic answered seriously, then started speaking in the Pride chat. ¡®I think we should start with a Majestic Roar ¨C try to scare everything out of hiding. At the moment, we don¡¯t know where all the enemies are. That¡¯s a problem. Oh, and give everyone a buff while we¡¯re at it.¡¯ ¡®Is a good idea,¡¯ agreed Sekhmet. ¡®I also think that Lionel should stay back as much as possible,¡¯ continued Dominic. ¡®He¡¯s our healer, and needs to be able to jump in where he can. That means he can¡¯t be fighting as much as everyone else. But that might also make him a target for attacks ¨C the rule of fighting is often to take out the healer first.¡¯ ¡®I will help keep my brother safe,¡¯ promised Fang. ¡®Good idea,¡¯ Leo¡¯s brother praised. ¡®Which leaves the rest of us to deal with the others. I suggest that Leo and I deal with the slons in the trees above first ¨C with Fang focussing on protecting Lionel, Leo and I are probably the best option for combat above the ground. That leaves the massive lizard and probable snakes to Sekhmet, Procyon and Sirius. Sound good?¡¯ A chorus of agreement echoes through the Pride chat. ¡®Then let¡¯s go,¡¯ says Dominic with determination. ¡®Take it away, Leo.¡¯ Chapter 61: Overkill At first, the battle went as well as they were hoping. The creatures abruptly paid attention to the group as they stepped cautiously through the door. The monitor lizard shifted to face them, the slons all opened their eyes from where they¡¯d appeared to be sleeping, and a hiss here or there proved their supposition that there were snakes hiding out in the area around the tree. Leading the pride, Leo opened his jaws and let out an ear-shatteringly loud Roar. Since it was directed at the enemies ahead of them, his own pride wasn¡¯t badly affected. If anything, the reverse since hopefully most of them would have gained the Inspired buff. It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t choose who would get it. He would have definitely put as many on the female as he could if it were possible. The reactions of the creatures inside were gratifying. There was an immediate exodus of skittering and slithering creatures from the area directly in front of him, proving that it wasn¡¯t just snakes hidden around the area, but some of the smaller lizards too. The large monitor lizard that was not Leo¡¯s target in the upcoming fight took several steps back, its body language changing to fearful, though the lion doubted that that made it any less dangerous: a cornered lizard was an aggressive one. As for Leo¡¯s actual targets, the slon disappeared up into the tree which, while a predictable response, meant that he didn¡¯t know exactly where they were. That was a little annoying. Giving a twitch of his tail ¨C clad in irritating metal ¨C Leo signalled the pride to leap forwards. Leo bounded forwards too, covering ground quickly even without using any of his Abilities. A hiss rose from ahead of him and his next move was a seamless Pounce. Landing directly on top of the snake, his weight immediately crushed the creature, a death notification rising in front of his eyes. Irritated with the interruption that was still only half-legible to his eyes, he focussed for just a moment on blocking any others from coming up even as he continued moving forwards. A small lizard was the next prey to fall, followed by two more snakes. One managed to bite him as he fell upon it, the wound barely noticeable except for the quick loss of health points over the next few seconds. He ignored the reduction: it wasn¡¯t worth returning to the back to receive a cure from the other male. It would be gone within a few seconds. ¡®Interesting,¡¯ Leo heard his brother muse. ¡®I can choose to see the notifications even when you¡¯ve actively turned them off.¡¯ He ignored the comment ¨C he needed to focus on the battle even if Dominic didn¡¯t. A moment later, he was at the base of the tree. The large lizard there prepared to strike, but it wasn¡¯t the lion¡¯s target. Leaping to the side, Leo avoided both the lizard¡¯s first lunge and its follow-up tail strike. He was tempted to take advantage of the monitor¡¯s relative vulnerability and strike at it now, but was reminded of his true targets by a blow from above. The impact took out a chunk of his health ¨C and due to the venom still running through him, it wasn¡¯t immediately replaced. ¡®Good strategy ¨C have ranged defenders harry those attacking the boss. See, this is why we need more ranged creatures,'' Dominic commented in the background. Gathering power in his hindquarters, Leo sprung into the tree. It was tall and he wasn¡¯t quite able to make the lowest branch. Striking out, he dug his claws into the trunk and pulled up even as he beat downwards with his wings. The combination was enough to propel him the rest of the distance. He hated to admit it when his brother was right, but in this case, he¡¯d made a good decision to get the wings. Landing on the lowest branch, he was immediately aware of an attacker striking at his hindquarters. Leaping forwards instinctively, he felt only a faint sting as the slon¡¯s Gouge-powered strike cut a thin line in his coat. One leap turned into a second as he felt something come for him from above. The impact was less damaging this time, and hit him on his hip instead of his head. Spotting that the slon which had attacked his hindquarters before was approaching again, Leo whirled around. After all his brother¡¯s practice fighting in the trees ¨C no doubt influenced by his primate origins ¨C Leo found that his body was moving more fluidly. Adding in the knowledge from his new Ability of exactly where the branch was under his paws just aided in that further. Snapping at the slon, he caught its shoulder and dug his canines into it. The sloth-like creature made an oddly quiet noise of pain but couldn¡¯t free itself from his teeth, only worsening the wound as it tried. ¡®Use Venomous Bite!¡¯ urged Dominic. This time, it was actually both relevant and a good suggestion, so Leo paid attention to it. Pumping their newly gained venom into the creature took only a thought, and he saw its health bar start draining away. Adding a bit of stamina to Crushing Bite only made it empty faster. But not fast enough. Standing still, Leo was a target of the other three slons. One crept up behind him as he felt two approach him from above. About to whirl around and attack the creature behind, an idea struck him. It was more of his brother¡¯s style, but Leo decided to do it anyway. Leaping up, the lion reached the branch a body-length above his head, on which the two slons sat. They both held objects within one of their paws, obviously intending to drop them on him again. With a still-alive slon held between his jaws as the last of its life ran out with its blood, his main weapon, his bite, was occupied. However, Dominic¡¯s suggestion to try out one new Ability had given him an idea. Activating Tail Strike made his body start moving in a very unfamiliar way. He felt his tail curve in the opposite direction he was intending on moving in, his nose automatically turning towards the tip of the metal covering his tail. And then, in a split-second, his body uncurled with explosive power. The momentum was enough to completely obliterate the slon¡­and send Leo falling from the branch. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He grabbed onto the branch below, coming nose to nose with the slon he¡¯d left there while he attacked above. Note to self, he grumbled mentally. Don¡¯t do that in a tree. ¡®Did you see what it did to that slon though?¡¯ his brother asked, sounding impressed. Leo ignored him. The slon in front of him swiped at his nose ¨C its strike landing since he had no room to dodge. The slon in his mouth had died so Leo just absorbed its body, lunging through the golden cloud to sink its teeth into the slon before him. The creature tried to avoid his attack, but it was just too close to him. His teeth sank deeply into its soft body and he immediately started pumping in venom and covering it with acid from under his tongue. ¡®Good to know we can use those simultaneously,¡¯ commented Leo¡¯s most annoying brother. Pulling himself back up onto the branch above, the lion suffered through another hard impact on his head from the single remaining slon. Growling angrily, he leapt up at the sloth-like creature. Frustratingly, as he reached the branch it was sitting on, it slid underneath the branch, avoiding his first attack. Unfortunately for it, it hadn¡¯t taken into account that what goes up must come down. On his way back past, he reached out with both paws and dug his claws in. It was neither enhanced by an Ability nor a particularly good strike, but his weight was enough to drag it away from its paw-hold. They fell. Leo released his prey to land back on the branch below, Sure Feet and Spatial Awareness making it so that he only slipped a little as he landed with all four feet back on the tree limb. The slon wasn¡¯t so lucky. With a quiet wail, it plummeted through thin air to the ground. Which, Leo abruptly realised, was covered with a thick green fog. ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ he demanded in the Pride chat. ¡®Are you done? We need help,¡¯ answered Fang just as Sekhmet also answered with a grim feeling of being pressed. ¡®I¡¯m done. What¡¯s the problem?¡¯ Leo demanded again, now impatient. ¡®Big lizard breathes out poison,¡¯ explained Sekhmet. ¡®We can¡¯t get close ¨C health drops too fast.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s not good,¡¯ commented Dominic with concern. ¡®Can¡¯t Lionel help?¡¯ ¡®Too much,¡¯ was Lionel¡¯s succinct response, the lion never one for more words than necessary. ¡®It¡¯s thickest near the big enemy,¡¯ added Procyon. ¡®It¡¯s not too bad on the outskirts, but the cloud obscures our view of the smaller creatures too. They don¡¯t appear to be affected by the poison.¡¯ ¡®Not surprising,¡¯ sighed Dominic. Then, continuing privately to Leo, ¡®We¡¯ve got the advantage of range here. Obviously the poison cloud is heavier than air as we¡¯re not getting any of it up here.¡¯ ¡®Acid Bite, then?¡¯ Leo checked. ¡®Acid Bite,¡¯ Dominic confirmed. ¡®All of you stay to the sides. Kill as many of the small lizards and snakes as possible. Male who heals, you keep healing my pride,¡¯ Leo ordered curtly. A faint hint of a snarl came across from Fang, but no one argued. Positioning himself over the big lizard was a matter of jumping between branches, occasionally aided a little by his wings when there was enough space to deploy them. Despite being surrounded by the thick green cloud, the big lizard was still obvious in his position. Above it, Leo crouched, working his tongue to produce as big a ball of acid as he could. Letting it drop on the lizard¡¯s long neck, he immediately started gathering another ball. The lizard didn¡¯t seem to notice the first ball. By the time the second arrived, though, it was getting uncomfortable as the acid burned the top layers of its scales away. The second just hastened the dissolution as fresh acid replaced that which had already been used. By the time the third ball was dropping, the area covered by the acid was starting to look red and bloody as the corrosive liquid had eaten a hole in the lizard¡¯s defences. By this point the lizard was aware that something was wrong, but it didn¡¯t seem to realise that the threat was coming from above. ¡®No one ever looks up,¡¯ commented Dominic with a hint of glee in his voice. ¡®Maybe Pounce would work if it doesn¡¯t realise where we are.¡¯ ¡®Go down there?¡¯ Leo asked with a mixture of scorn and uncertainty as he prepared and spat his fourth acid ball, gravity increasing his range nicely. ¡®We don¡¯t want to die either.¡¯ ¡®With our health and regeneration? It¡¯s unlikely,¡¯ Dominic dismissed. ¡®Besides I¡¯m not suggesting we stay down there. Jump, lay on the damage, then leap back up here. If it¡¯s not dead, we can repeat.¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ Leo agreed reluctantly. He definitely didn¡¯t want to jump into that sea of poison below, but it was true that he was probably the only one who could deal with the lizard now. ¡®Remember to use Airborne ¨C it will make our impact harder. And hold your breath!¡¯ Leo¡¯s brother added as he prepared to leap. They were good points; though Leo didn¡¯t respond, he did arrange his wings to take part in the action, while taking several deep breaths in preparation. A moment later, he launched himself from the branch. Leaping off the branch straight down, he curved his wings so that they were helping guide his flight directly towards the big lizard. Mentally activating Airborne to its current maximum of +5% to his weight, he added stamina to Quick Strike, speeding him up almost too much: he only just managed to get his claws in position before he struck the lizard. Leo had decided to go all in on this strike, hoping that Pounce would work, even if it wasn¡¯t a traditional ¡®pounce¡¯. Dialling up Powerful Swipe to its maximum, he also added the extra stamina for a chance at Gouge. Due to him using his wings as part of the strike, his bonus from Feathered Wings should also be added to it. It all went very fast. In the first split-second, he dragged his claws down as soon as he impacted the lizard. The next impact was with his teeth, and he immediately bit down hard, throwing stamina into Crushing Bite and injecting venom. Just to top it off, he had filled his mouth with acid, bearing through the pain of it eating away at his mouth tissues again and again so that the lizard would have it all at once. Frankly, it was overkill. The lizard¡¯s body caved in at his first impact, his claws sinking deeply into its flesh, tearing massive gouges. His bite sank right through to the lizard¡¯s spine and bit through it with barely as much effort as it took to bite through the slon¡¯s belly. His momentum sent them rolling across the ground; by the time they stopped, the lizard was dead. Chapter 62: Rather Broken [You have killed Nile Monitor Lizard Minor Guardian (Evolved Beast level 20)] [You have earned 22 PP] As always, while the actual number of earned Prey Points looked very low, the reality of it was that this was only a sixth, meaning that the monitor boss had been very lucrative indeed. They¡¯d already earned enough Prey Points from the other minions which had been killed for the next level, but Dominic was never going to say no to more Prey Points. In the backseat, but not in the mental space, Dominic watched as Leo leapt back up to the tree top above, using the same method as last time to reach the lowest branch. There they sat for a little bit to recuperate ¨C they¡¯d used a lot of stamina in that one attack, and they hadn¡¯t been full to begin with. While biting down, they had also ingested some poison, which was not pleasant. The reason for jumping back to the tree top was obvious: though the poison cloud was slowly dispersing now that the monitor lizard wasn¡¯t pumping it out every second, it was still very thick around the body of the boss. The rest of the pride were busy taking out the rest of the minions, able to start advancing forwards again as the poison cloud dispersed at its edges first. What kind of poison it was, Dominic didn¡¯t know ¨C it had irritated their eyes and respiratory system, but it had had more direct effect on their health rather than obvious physical effects. It would be pretty awesome if he could get that Ability, especially since the Pride enhancement he¡¯d already purchased should mean that it would only negatively affect his enemies. The notifications kept flashing up as the snakes and smaller monitors were hunted down one by one. ¡®So, we¡¯ve got enough Prey Points to level up again. Wings this time, then?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo hopefully. ¡®You¡¯ve realised how useful the wings are, I know that. Expanding their functionality can only help,¡¯ he pointed out. The lion was silent for a moment before letting out a grumbling sigh. ¡®Yes, fine. I agree to enhancing wings in this level up.¡¯ ¡®Twice?¡¯ asked Dominic, pushing his luck. ¡®Our reaction speed still needs work,¡¯ Leo argued. ¡®We still can¡¯t react quite as fast as we are capable of moving.¡¯ ¡®Then let¡¯s do that next time,¡¯ suggested Dominic. ¡®Face it: these two rooms can¡¯t be all there is to the dungeon. Even if this beast had a pretty cool Ability, it wasn¡¯t tough enough to be the final dungeon guardian. Which means the chances of us being able to level up at least once more in the near future are high. We¡¯ll increase Brain and Nervous System then.¡¯ Leo hesitated for a moment. ¡®We could do that with Wings,¡¯ he pointed out. ¡®You agreed that we could enhance our Wings on this upgrade,¡¯ Dominic accused. ¡®And I¡¯m not saying we can¡¯t,¡¯ Leo denied. ¡®I¡¯m just saying that one upgrade is probably enough to see whether dedicating more is necessary.¡¯ ¡®Yes, but two will show that even better,¡¯ Dominic argued. ¡®Besides, you¡¯ve already seen how we can use Wings to get above the enemy, drop on them from above, and kill a level twenty in one strike. We haven¡¯t even tried using our Wings as a weapon themselves, but we can. I really think that we should give them both enhancements now, and then enhance the other things on the next level.¡¯ Leo considered Dominic¡¯s words for a few seconds and then acquiesced. Since he was the one in control of their body, he was the one who had to trigger the level up. He did so, Dominic feeling him think about how he wanted to enhance their wings. ¡®OK, we need to choose what kinds of enhancements now,¡¯ Dominic told him as the message flashed up in front of their eyes. ¡®We can enhance size, strength, or change the shape of our wings, right?¡¯ the lion asked. ¡®Yes, exactly,¡¯ Dominic responded, a little surprised he¡¯d remembered. ¡®I¡¯d say we should choose strength,¡¯ he mused. ¡®I don¡¯t think our wings are too small ¨C if anything, they¡¯re a bit too big to use in confined conditions. And I don¡¯t know enough about the advantages of different shapes to suggest that we change it right now. What we need is to be able to fly, and not just glide, and I would guess that strength is the way to go for that.¡¯ ¡®Since I know even less about feathery prey than you, I will have to go with your suggestion,¡¯ agreed Leo, his mock-grumpiness a cover for his interest. Sometimes Dominic wondered why he was so reluctant to show his interest or how happy certain things made him. Except for mating, of course. ¡®Good,¡¯ Dominic told him, then quickly added, ¡®wait.¡¯ ¡®For what?¡¯ demanded Leo. ¡®Maybe we should check out the Cores first. And clear away the rest of the minions. If enough of the snakes have the Hypnotise Ability, we might be able to earn that one. And for all we know, there might be something else we can earn. If we level up first, we may end up kicking ourselves.¡¯ ¡®You¡­have a point,¡¯ Leo admitted reluctantly. ¡®Now, how do I get rid of these things in front of my eyes?¡¯ ¡®Actually, maybe we should-¡¯ Dominic cut himself off a moment later as Leo managed to dismiss the level up prompts from their vision. ¡®Oh. You¡¯ve done it.¡¯ ¡®You didn¡¯t want me to?¡¯ ¡®I was just worried it might stop us levelling up at all or something.¡¯ The lion paused for a moment as he considered that. ¡®Well, it¡¯s done now.¡¯ Dominic felt like rolling his eyes. ¡®Yes, Leo. Thanks for pointing out the obvious,¡¯ he told his companion sarcastically. Seeing as they were going to level up soon, Leo evidently decided that Second Wind was worth triggering. Refilling his stamina and topping up his health he glided over to the opposite side of the room from his pride, attacking the snakes and lizards he could find there. While Leo did that, Dominic mused a bit over the single attack which had taken out the level 20 lizard. It had most definitely been overkill ¨C so many of their Abilities worked together to enhance each other. Looking at the damage notification, he had to guess that while Group Attack and Pounce weren¡¯t multiplicative bonuses, they were at least additive ¨C the bonus he¡¯d got wouldn¡¯t make sense otherwise. Factoring in the additive bonus of +10% they got from Feathered Wings brought his mental calculations up to the multiplier of +142% that he saw in their initial attack. Even better, the System had considered both claw and tooth attacks to be the ¡®initial¡¯ attack. It didn¡¯t take the venom or acid into account, but both Powerful Swipe and Crushing Bite were clearly enhanced by the bonuses. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Then there was the damage that he guessed was done simply by their impact. Apparently, even if none of their actual attacks were enhanced by momentum like their Tail Strike was, physics still applied and they got some additional crushing damage in. Of course, the lion had also taken damage from slamming into the lizard at high speeds, but being the bigger and heavier creature, he¡¯d taken less damage than his opponent. Not to mention that his own fall was cushioned by the lizard¡¯s soft body, where the monitor had been trapped between the proverbial rock and hard place. Even better, that impact damage also counted as part of their initial attack, which meant that it was enhanced by their bonuses. It was rather broken, giving them well over 2000 points of damage in that one attack. Let alone what followed with the injection of their venom and the further acid attack. Of course, Dominic was sure that the lizard had had defences. The fact that it had taken four large balls of their acid on the back of its neck and still only lost the first few layers of scaly skin was proof of that. Still, it was just proof of how truly crazy their Abilities were becoming when they were added together. Maybe I need to focus on gaining enhancing Abilities rather than lots of new attacks, Dominic mused. Right now he had several attacks which made his teeth more effective, a couple which affected his claws, and one which affected his tail. I don¡¯t have anything that¡¯s particularly good for groups or for enemies who attack at range, though, he mused. Almost all of my Abilities rely on being close to my opponent ¨C if I encounter an enemy significantly faster than myself I might have an issue. Acid Bite is a good start, but that poison cloud AOE the lizard boss had would definitely be helpful. Maybe Lightning Discharge will be able to have a ranged option later ¨C hopefully this trip will enable me to make it functional without committing crazy numbers of enhancements to my Soul or Mana Heart. It wasn¡¯t long before the room was clear of poison mist and enemies. Leo ceded control back to Dominic once the last snake was dead: he had no interest in combing through the carcasses and Cores to work out the best ones to absorb. The rest of his pride were in bad shape by the end of it, but not fatally so. Lionel had done a superb job in keeping them all alive, rotating Poison Cures to clear away the effects of both the bites and the mist from the snakes and venomous lizards. At the same time, he¡¯d kept a constant healing cloud going, allowing those who were getting low on health to dart back for a bit to benefit from it. There were a number of Cores sparkling on the ground, the bodies which had held them already Consumed. Despite that, Lionel was looking practically skeletal. Dominic had to guess that if he ran out of stored carcass golden dust, he sacrificed his own health along with his mana to create the healing cloud. ¡®How are you feeling, Lionel?¡¯ Dominic asked the young male with concern, carrying several carcasses over to him in his mouth. ¡®Fine,¡¯ the young healer answered. ¡®Tired,¡¯ he admitted a moment later at Dominic¡¯s stare. A longer moment went by before he said anything else, during which he absorbed several carcasses at once. ¡®Hurts,¡¯ he confided quietly, as if concerned that Dominic would shout at him or something. ¡®Because you used too much Healing Cloud in the battle?¡¯ Dominic asked neutrally. Lionel absorbed three more carcasses before sending a brief sense of agreement in the Pride chat. Already, he was starting to look better, his flesh filling out beneath his skin. His health bar was also replenishing, though slowly, as if the first few points were reluctant to appear while he was still looking half-starved. ¡®You need to be careful,¡¯ Dominic told him firmly. ¡®Absorb carcasses as you need and back away from the battle when you¡¯re using too much. Heck, even call one or more of us to come and help if necessary. We can bring you carcasses if you need them.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not looking after another male!¡¯ Leo rejected indignantly, fortunately speaking privately to Dominic. ¡®Then you¡¯d be stupid,¡¯ Dominic responded in kind. ¡®Not only is Lionel part of our Pride, but he¡¯s also our only healer. Losing him would put the rest of the pride at risk ¨C including Sekhmet, the only one here you seem to care about besides us.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t pretend that you don¡¯t care about her,¡¯ Leo responded sulkily. ¡®I¡¯m not,¡¯ Dominic refuted. ¡®I just care about all of them.¡¯ Though, admittedly, that didn¡¯t mean he cared about them equally. Still, the healer was high on his list, and not only for that. Lionel seemed receptive to his advice so Dominic just brought him carcasses until his health was full. The benefit of that, of course, was that a large number of Cores collected near the healer. Looking through them and others he found was a mixture between gratifying and disappointing. There didn¡¯t seem to be any snakes with Hypnotise as their half-tier Ability and apart from managing to increase his Tail Strike to the next level, he didn¡¯t get much towards his current Abilities. Some more percent for Venomous Bite, but that one seemed to increase pretty slowly from absorbing Cores ¨C maybe because it had merged with another Ability? It seemed to increase on its own from his use normally enough, though. He also got a few percent towards Spatial Awareness from three of the slons¡¯ Cores. The Core from the big monitor lizard was pretty awesome, though. [Beast Core: Nile Monitor Lizard Minor Guardian level 20 Ability option 1: Tail Strike (50%)) Ability option 2: Venomous Bite (50%) Ability option 3: Poison Cloud (50%)] Those percentages definitely didn¡¯t add up to a hundred percent, but maybe that was just dungeon rules ¨C Dominic remembered there being something odd about the Core from the final guardian last time too. Though there was also the oddity with the amesheks¡¯ Cores. Related or not? he wondered. What it meant to him now, though, was that he had an equal chance for all of them. It would be really cool to get the third option, though he was kind of curious about what would happen if he got a second Venomous Bite: would it just add more to Venomous Acid Bite, or would he potentially earn another kind of venom? The Cores from the snakes and monitors earlier which had held Venomous Bite hadn¡¯t formed a new Ability, so probably more likely the former option. In the end, though, he decided that the option of Poison Cloud was better than his curiosity. Of course, this was assuming that this Core followed the same rules as the previous Guardian¡¯s had, in that he would be able to gain an Ability directly from the Core rather than having to collect enough of them to earn the Ability. ¡®Agreed?¡¯ he asked his companion. The lion just sent him a sulky feeling of ¡®do what you want¡¯, clearly still seething over their argument earlier. Dominic rolled his eyes mentally. Well, if Leo didn¡¯t have an opinion, he¡¯d just go for it. Absorbing it, he focussed on wanting Ability option number three. A moment later, he opened his status screen eagerly. Poison Cloud (50% to level 1) Only to be disappointed. Is it because it came from a ¡®minor¡¯ guardian? Dominic wondered. It was much more than any Core before had given him towards an Ability, but it was definitely disappointing that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to cheese the rest of the dungeon with an awesome new AOE attack. Then again, he already had a good number of advantages on his side, so perhaps he shouldn¡¯t complain too much. Though, it did raise another question for him ¨C was the 50% which had followed each Ability in the description about the chance of getting it, or the percentage he earned when he chose the Ability? As he absorbed the carcass, his disgruntlement eased slightly when he found out that it gave him another 30% towards the Ability. His disappointment vanished completely as he saw that something was materialising in the space where the carcass had been before. ¡®Hey everyone, come over!¡¯ he said in the Pride chat with obvious excitement. He was aware of the pride members quickly coming over and gathering around him. His eyes, however, stayed focussed on something else. I¡¯m glad this reward after a fight hasn¡¯t changed about the dungeon! he thought happily to himself. With the monitor lizard¡¯s large body having dissolved away, it had left space for something to appear: something the shape of a large chest. ¡®Oh man, do you remember these things, Leo?¡¯ he asked his companion in his anticipation. ¡®We got the gorget from one of these.¡¯ ¡®I remember vaguely,¡¯ Leo responded with apparent disinterest; Dominic could tell that there was genuine excitement below it, though. The biggest indicator, though, was that the lion had shaken off his grumpiness. ¡®Alright, everyone, brace yourselves,¡¯ Dominic said in the Pride chat with anticipation. ¡®On three. One, two, three!¡¯ Chapter 63: Innocent-Looking Box The rest of the pride were party-poopers, letting Dominic approach the chest all by his lonesome. ¡®Come on guys,¡¯ he complained. ¡®Have some anticipation here!¡¯ ¡®Why?¡¯ asked Procyon with genuine confusion. ¡®It is a large stone.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s not a stone, it¡¯s a box. And in particular, it¡¯s a box with things in it,¡¯ Dominic corrected, ¡®and that makes a lot of difference. I got my storage item from one of them.¡¯ ¡®Really?¡¯ asked Sekhmet, sounding dubious. ¡®Unpleasant space came from here?¡¯ Dominic abruptly recalled that she hadn¡¯t liked going in the storage space ¨C it was Jenkins who had liked it. ¡®Not just storage items are here,¡¯ Dominic started trying to explain, then paused. Why was he wasting time on trying to convince them? He might as well just show them. Besides, he was eager himself to find out t what was inside, he eyed the chest carefully. It should contain their rewards, but this dungeon had proved itself very tricky in the past ¨C would it consider loot chests as off-limits for traps, or was nothing sacred here? There were no traps that he could see, though. No cleverly-camouflaged snakes or lizards or anything else ready to leap out at him. His Spatial Awareness helped him determine that as much as his ears and eyes did. Whether there were any traps inside the lock, or inside the chest itself, he couldn¡¯t tell. Or perhaps the chest itself was the trap. It was possible, though it would be disappointing if so. Carefully prodding at the chest, he prepared to leap away at the slightest sign of danger. When nothing happened, he prodded at it again, and then harder. Feeling slightly more reassured that nothing seemed to be about to attack, he started trying to actually open the chest. He remained cautious, though ¨C for all he knew, something was waiting to jump out at him as soon as he let his guard down. Or the chest would prove to be one of those mimic creatures he¡¯d heard about. Last time, the chests had been part of the scenery ¨C stored within the stone altars of the rooms and opening with them. This time, the chest looked more like a traditional wooden box with a lock and was closed. This was bad news for Dominic since he definitely didn¡¯t have the finger dexterity to be able to open a lock. Fortunately, it appeared he didn¡¯t need to ¨C the chest was unlocked. With the help of his claws, he was able to drag it open sufficiently for the lid to fall to the floor with a bang that made Dominic leap backwards, his fur standing on end. ¡®Nervous?¡¯ Leo chuckled in his mind as Fang and Sekhmet sent amusement in the chat. Apparently the little embarrassing moment was enough to rekindle the lion¡¯s good humour. Typical that it would come at Dominic¡¯s expense. ¡®Maybe you haven¡¯t explored my memories of movies and books enough,¡¯ Dominic snapped back a little testily. ¡®If you had, you¡¯d know that an apparently innocent-looking box is often nothing of the sort!¡¯ ¡®Temper, temper,¡¯ the lion teased him. Dominic ignored him with a force of will ¨C nothing had jumped out of the box. The box hadn¡¯t turned into anything either; that meant there was loot. And he wasn¡¯t going to let his pain-in-the-neck companion ruin the anticipation for him. Stepping forward carefully, Dominic peered into the box. ¡®Awesome!¡¯ he exclaimed. There were multiple items in there and he pulled them out one by one, offering a running commentary to his party members. First of all were three health potions which he recognised from his last time in this dungeon. Those would be useful for sure. He quickly checked what strength they were by asking for information on them. [Health Potion (moderate, T1)] [This health potion offers an immediate healing of up to 150 HP and its accompanying wounds (starting with most life-threatening). It also offers a small boost of +15% to healing over the next 20 minutes. Single use.] Dominic couldn¡¯t remember the exact details of the potions he¡¯d gained last time, but he was pretty sure this one was similar, or identical, to the one he¡¯d gained at the end of the dungeon. It seemed like the dungeon was stepping up the rewards a bit which, considering how much harder the enemies had become, seemed fair. The health potion probably wouldn¡¯t be hugely useful for Dominic himself, but for the weaker members, it could be a literal lifesaver. Confirming that the other two health potions were identical, he pulled the next object out. It was a bracelet. Information, he thought at it. [Leather slot-storage bracelet (non-standard, Beast, T1)] [This is a Common leather bracelet which has been worked to give it the capacity to be worn by a Beast. In exchange for this, the bracelet only has 6 storage spaces instead of nine. Each storage space can hold a single item type. Identical item types can be stacked up to 10. Bracelet allows for quick consumption of potions.] ¡®Now that will be useful for one of our pride,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo. ¡®It¡¯s not as good as our storage space,¡¯ remarked the lion. ¡®It¡¯s different,¡¯ Dominic disagreed. ¡®There are no defences on it, no, but its ability to stack items could end up being better than our own storage space if the items are big. And that last comment of ¡®quick consumption of potions¡¯ could be pretty useful if it means the wearer doesn¡¯t have to actually lift the potion to their mouth ¨C not to mention uncorking it.¡¯ If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The lion just hummed in response, indicating to Dominic that he agreed, but didn¡¯t want to say that he did. ¡®Who should we give this to, then?¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®Perhaps the female,¡¯ suggested Leo. ¡®She is sensible.¡¯ ¡®You just don¡¯t want to give it to one of the males,¡¯ Dominic commented wryly. The lion was silent. ¡®We will be sharing loot with them,¡¯ he warned his companion. ¡®They¡¯re as at risk as anyone else, they¡¯re contributing as much as anyone else. They deserve loot if there are items here they can use.¡¯ The lion was grumpy again, the feeling drifting over from his part of their shared mind. But this was a point Dominic refused to move on ¨C the lion would have to challenge him and win to change that. ¡®As it happens, though,¡¯ Dominic continued, ¡®I think that giving it to Sekhmet is actually a good idea. She¡¯s been a leader in the pride since she reached Tier two ¨C if she can carry some potions or whatever, it¡¯s a good idea.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s good that you agree,¡¯ replied Leo a little stiffly. Dominic mentally rolled his eyes at his companion¡¯s occasional recalcitrance. Or maybe less than ¡®occasional¡¯. ¡®Here, you have this,¡¯ Dominic told Sekhmet, nudging the bracelet towards her. ¡®What is it?¡¯ she asked curiously, sniffing at the item, then prodding it with a paw as if it was about to bite her. Dominic gave a quick explanation of what his request for information had told him and left her to experiment a bit with how it worked. He stayed watching just to make sure that Sekhmet could indeed put something in and take it out again before he went back to the loot. Looking back in the box, he found two orbs of smokey glass. Asking for information again, he found out that they each held an Ability. [Ability orb: Spatial Awareness (T1)] [Ability orb: Hypnotise (T1)] ¡®Score!¡¯ Dominic exulted. Although he wasn¡¯t interested in the first of the orbs since he already had that Ability, he was definitely interested in the second. ¡®What is an Ability orb?¡¯ he wondered. ¡®Ask for information about it,¡¯ Leo told him impatiently. ¡®I was about to do that,¡¯ Dominic shot back, getting irritated with his companion¡¯s current attitude. What¡¯s crawled up Leo¡¯s arse and died all of a sudden? [An Ability orb offers a single, predetermined ability. This ability can be directly absorbed and used by the holder*, or can be used in crafting to add an Ability to a piece of equipment. The chances of the craftsman successfully imbuing the equipment with the Ability is guaranteed as long as the craft is successful and the craftsman is at least the same Tier as the Ability.] [*The holder is only able to absorb the Ability from an Ability orb because he is a chimera with this perk.] Very interesting. Unlike the last time they¡¯d been in the dungeon, it looked like he would be guaranteed to get the Ability in the orbs ¨C and apparently his ability to directly absorb Abilities from Cores was even more cheat-like than he¡¯d thought it was. The first orb wasn¡¯t particularly exciting ¨C he already had that Ability. The second, however, was a lot more interesting. Dominic immediately absorbed that one, very glad that they¡¯d put off the level up as Hypnotise reached 100%. The other orb went straight into his Inventory ¨C no one here apart from him could benefit from it, but it might come in useful later. There were three more items in the box. In terms of sheer numbers, this was already double the number of rewards that he¡¯d received in the first two rooms in the previous dungeon. Dominic guessed that it was either because of the higher level of the dungeon or, more likely, the fact that this time he was here with a party. The last three items were a bit of a disappointment, though. At least, for their party. The first was a sword which made the fantasy-nerd within Dominic drool a bit. Unfortunately, without hands, there was no way any of them could wield it except possibly awkwardly in their mouths. The sword wasn¡¯t anything particularly special ¨C no ornate gems set into its handle or intricate engravings on its blade, no fancy guard. It wasn¡¯t damascus steel with its beautiful metallic patterns ¨C probably just basic steel. What it was, however, was a tool designed to kill things. Its two-edged blade was sharp and shiny, its hilt was made of bound leather, and its pommel was a simple steel ball. The second item was a scabbard and belt that went with the sword. On its own, the belt might be at least a little useful for someone, but since it was a standard item, Dominic wasn¡¯t sure if any of them would be able to use it. [Leather and steel scabbard and belt (Common, T1)] [This is a Common belt and scabbard set which has been created multiple times by the same craftsman. The belt offers +10% to movement speed; +15% when paired with the scabbard it was made for. The scabbard offers -10% to draw time; -15% when paired with the belt made for it.] Curious, Dominic tested it, focussing on equipping the item. To his disappointment, but not particular surprise, it didn¡¯t work. The belt and scabbard attached to it just sat on the ground in a pile. Dominic tucked the sword and scabbard away into his storage space along with the last item ¨C a chunk of some sort of silvery metal apparently called ¡®dragoncite¡¯. His request for information didn¡¯t give him any more than that ¨C he guessed that it was again some sort of crafting material. Sekhmet had managed to get the bracelet on and had worked out how to put items in and take them out. Dominic passed two of the health potions over to her. ¡®Keep these and either use them if you need to, or give them to someone who needs them,¡¯ he instructed her. ¡®But make sure to only use them if it¡¯s really needed ¨C only if someone is dying and Lionel isn¡¯t able to help them, OK?¡¯ ¡®OK,¡¯ Sekhmet answered easily. ¡®What about the rest of us?¡¯ Fang asked, his mental voice a mixture of nervous and defiant. ¡®When we get something you can use and which will benefit you, you¡¯ll get it,¡¯ Dominic assured him, looking over at Lionel, Sirius, and Procyon as well. Since he hadn¡¯t found any doors or obvious exits anywhere in the room while killing the minions, nor had anything shifted after everything was dead, there was only one option he could see to do now. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s just check that there¡¯s nothing else in this room of interest. After that, much as I hate to suggest it, I think we need to check out the other room.¡¯ He grimaced internally: walking into a trap ¨C lovely. While the others got on with that, Dominic decided to do something else urgent: finish the levelling up he¡¯d never completed. As long as exiting the process early hadn¡¯t caused some major error, that was. Proof is in the pudding, he said to himself. Here goes. Chapter 64: Don’t Push The Buttons Fortunately, it seemed that stopping the levelling up process midway hadn¡¯t caused any issues as he just picked it up from where they¡¯d left off. Since he and Leo had already decided what they were choosing, it was a quick process to finish. Level: Evolved Beast Level 26 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 56/901 PP Now at level 26, he was only four levels off the next half-step. He was excited to get there and find out what the bonuses would be. Adding two strength enhancements to his Wings had increased their capacity as weapons and also gained another effect. - Feathered Wings level 4 (+10% ¨C> +20% to strikes from the air) (25-50 Blunt damage) His wings now actually had a damage rating of their own. It applied to blows made with the wings, Dominic had to assume, not just any attacks. His increased strength also meant more bonuses to his attacks from the air too, which had already proven to be a major factor in how much damage he could do from an air-strike. As for his newest Ability, he was keen to try it out, though he¡¯d have to choose his moment wisely. Hypnotise (T1) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C make small movements to catch the attention of a single opponent. The longer your opponent is caught in the effect of this Ability, the harder it is for them to break out of it. Injury or significant sensation can shock them out of their controlled state. While your opponent is caught, they will remain unmoving and unresponsive. Beings of greater intelligence, perception, and with higher mental resistance have a higher chance of being able to notice and break out of the effect. This chance is greater or smaller depending on how much higher their intelligence, perception, and mental resistance is in comparison to your own. In a way, Dominic felt that it should probably be called ¡®mesmerise¡¯ more than ¡®hypnotise¡¯, but perhaps it would develop more in the direction of traditional hypnosis at higher levels or tiers. Anyway, it could work well to stop an enemy from acting. Dominic wondered whether it might have even stopped the monitor from pumping out its poisonous fumes. Probably if Poison Cloud is an active Ability, he decided, though not necessarily if it¡¯s passive or something triggered once which continues for a set period of time. It was also interesting that the Ability description mentioned ¡®intelligence¡¯, ¡®perception¡¯, and ¡®mental resistance¡¯, all things which were not in his status screen. Was it because they weren¡¯t stats so to speak? Or were they just stats Dominic didn¡¯t have? Or had but were written in a different way? Or might they even be hidden, to be discovered later? Show Intelligence? he tried, but nothing appeared. He tested with both ¡®perception¡¯ and ¡®mental resistance¡¯ but nothing happened. Maybe there are Abilities which will unlock them? he wondered, then dismissed the matter for later. Level up done, Dominic joined the others in looking for an exit in this room. Once they had all verified that there wasn¡¯t any other way out of the room that they could see, the pride headed out of the chamber and approached the next-door room. Reluctantly so, on Dominic¡¯s part. This one appeared to be empty, though Dominic didn¡¯t necessarily trust that. It hadn¡¯t changed since they had last looked in through the doorway: the room was still very bare with nothing to hide behind. The fire was still burning in a small pit in the centre of the room; the braziers tucked into recesses around the wall were still unlit. Dominic leaned forwards, hoping to be able to read the writing near the central fire, but he couldn¡¯t see it clearly enough at this angle to decipher it. The inscriptions written all around the walls were not in a form that he was capable of reading either. ¡®Do you see or smell anything?¡¯ he asked the group grimly. ¡®It smells empty,¡¯ Sekhmet answered after a moment, Lionel and Fang chiming in with their agreement. Procyon and Sirius both waved their antennae, testing the room with whatever extra senses they had. ¡®It¡¯s empty of beings,¡¯ Sirius confirmed after a few seconds. ¡®Yes,¡¯ agreed Procyon. ¡®There is something odd about the roof, though.¡¯ ¡®Odd in what way?¡¯ asked Dominic cautiously. ¡®It appears to be in two parts set above each other with a small gap between the pieces.¡¯ ¡®Huh,¡¯ commented Dominic, his mind working busily. ¡®And there¡¯s nothing in between the pieces? Nothing living?¡¯ ¡®No.¡¯ The information didn¡¯t reassure Dominic ¨C not being able to determine the nature of the trap didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t a trap, but merely one that they didn¡¯t know how to counter. ¡®Well, I guess we just go in,¡¯ he said in the Pride chat, more than a little nervous at stepping into an obvious trap ¨C it had worked out the last time he¡¯d gone through this dungeon, but only just. Unfortunately, with no second exit in the other room, he didn¡¯t know how to advance further in the dungeon without completing the challenge in this room too. Just before leading the way in, Dominic Roared a challenge to the room. If there were any beasts camouflaged from their senses, he was hoping that they would emerge from hiding, either to flee or to attack him. Nothing moved, so Dominic took a cautious step inside. When nothing happened, he brought another paw inside, and then his back paws. Fully inside, he moved slowly and carefully forwards, his pride slowly filing in behind him. The moment the last of them, Procyon, stepped inside, there was an almighty bang as the door slammed shut. They all jumped about three feet in the air, the lions landing with snarls rising from their throats and the amesheks starting to vibrate threateningly. I should have expected that, Dominic told himself angrily. They¡¯d been trapped in the rooms on their last visit; why would it be different this go-around? Then again, they hadn¡¯t been trapped in the room with the monitor lizard¡­. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. There was another difference, one which made a sinking feeling go through the former-human¡¯s stomach. Ironically so, given the cause. Grinding and rattling coming from above drew their eyes to the ceiling. The ceiling that had started to lower. It was going slowly ¨C at that time, at least ¨C but the inscriptions on the walls made it easy to see that it was descending nonetheless. The empty, hexagonal room with its hexagonal ceiling left nowhere to hide if the ceiling decided to descend right to the floor ¨C and why wouldn¡¯t it? The braziers tucked into their recesses basically guaranteed it. It was a trap, after all. But, if his previous experience was any indication, there should be a way of getting out of it ¨C either by opening an exit, or stopping the ceiling from lowering. ¡®Spread out,¡¯ he ordered in the Pride chat. ¡®See if you can find any clues as to what we have to do here. But be careful! There may be more traps to trigger.¡¯ ¡®What kind of clues?¡¯ asked Fang cautiously, his body language agitated. ¡®Anything that looks different, any marks, or pictures carved into the stone, or buttons, or lines¡­basically, anything that¡¯s not blank stone. But don¡¯t touch anything, just in case.¡¯ Dominic stepped quickly towards the central area as he was speaking. Out of the six of them, he was the one with the best chance of being able to read whatever was written there. The fire burned merrily in its recessed pit with a single stick leaning diagonally against the pit walls, casting a flickering light over Dominic¡¯s paws as he stepped in front of the engraved writing. It¡¯s one of those damn poems, he realised with dismay as he scanned the text. He almost wished that it was written in an unknown alphabet now. Don¡¯t lose your heads; the ceiling descends To help it rise, six eyes. Yet five must be fed, they close when it ends; Team has no I; unite or die. ¡®The dungeon¡¯s poetry hasn¡¯t improved since last time,¡¯ he couldn¡¯t resist commenting to Leo. ¡®It does seem to like warning about impending doom or death, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯ agreed the lion, seemingly out of whatever snit he was in earlier ¨C perhaps it was their impending death which had focussed his attention on the present. ¡®I can¡¯t make heads nor tails of this,¡¯ Dominic admitted, ¡®apart from the ¡®ceiling descends¡¯ bit ¨C that would have been obvious even if the ceiling hadn¡¯t triggered when the door had slammed shut.¡¯ ¡®It does sound like we¡¯re not looking for an exit, but that we need to stop the ceiling¡¯s descent, though,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®That¡¯s a good point,¡¯ Dominic recognised. ¡®But what are these ¡®eyes¡¯ we need to keep open?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ admitted Leo. ¡®It indicates that the solution will require the group working together,¡¯ mused Dominic, eyeing the last line. ¡®No I in ¡®team¡¯, unite or die¡­. I¡¯ll share the clue with everyone ¨C maybe they¡¯ll have better ideas than us.¡¯ ¡®The only other things in this room are these objects in recesses in the walls,¡¯ pointed out Fang upon hearing the poem. ¡®Are five of them,¡¯ added Sekhmet. ¡®Maybe ¡®five must be fed.¡¯ ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic acknowledged thoughtfully. ¡®There is a round shape in the stone,¡¯ Procyon said a moment later. ¡®And here,¡¯ added Sirius. ¡®And here,¡¯ echoed Lionel. Dominic quickly hurried over to where the three were standing, spotting the round objects they were talking about. ¡®They look like buttons,¡¯ he said thoughtfully. Looking around, he saw that there were five buttons spread around the room. None of them were within a body¡¯s length of another and they were scattered all over. One was almost next to the central fire; another was right at the edge of the room. The fifth had taken him a few moments to spot ¨C it was actually in the wall near the door. ¡®What happens if we press it?¡¯ he asked. ¡®I haven¡¯t tried,¡¯ Procyon rumbled, Lionel and Sirius saying the same a moment later. Dominic hesitated, then put his paw on the closest. When nothing happened, he put a little pressure on it. The rattles and grinding noises from above increased slightly, and he looked up to see that the ceiling was descending a little faster. ¡®Don¡¯t push the buttons, everyone,¡¯ Dominic said hurriedly, yanking his paw away. Fortunately, the ceiling slowed down again. ¡®This is like last time,¡¯ Leo said abruptly. ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ asked Dominic. ¡®¡¯To help it rise, six eyes / Yet five must be fed¡¯ I don¡¯t know what the ¡®fed¡¯ is about, but think about it ¨C there are five braziers and a central fire.¡¯ ¡®Like Fang and Sekhmet mentioned,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®But that¡¯s an interesting point. You think we need to light all the braziers to make six fires in total ¨C six eyes? Smart thinking!¡¯ The lion preened at the back of Dominic¡¯s mind. ¡®There is a stick next to the fire in the central pit which I think is for the purpose,¡¯ he added. ¡®We still have a candle and torch in our storage space too,¡¯ Dominic added, hurrying back to the pit. ¡®OK everyone, Leo and I think we need to light all the braziers to make the ceiling go back up. Sekhmet, Procyon, come help me, please.¡¯ Pulling the torch and half-melted candle out of his storage space, he quickly showed Sekhmet and Procyon how to light them. They needed a bit of reassurance that the fire wasn¡¯t going to hurt them ¨C neither were used to fire in the way Dominic was ¨C but the urgency of the situation drove them to accept it more easily than they might have otherwise. Fishing out the stick from beside the fire ¨C not easy ¨C he lit that next and hurried over to one of the braziers, glad that it seemed like they¡¯d figured out the riddle. It turned out that he¡¯d thought that too soon. ¡®It not working,¡¯ Sekhmet said even as he reached his own brazier. ¡®It lights, but a moment later, it goes out again,¡¯ seconded Procyon, his mental tone worried. Dominic tried it for himself. Sure enough, he was able to get the cloth-like material in the brazier to light, but a moment later, the flames burnt down and vanished. He tried again, but the stick in his mouth had gone out. Rushing back to the central fire, he lit it again, and then returned to the brazier, trying again. Once again, the brazier lit for a moment; the stick in his mouth went out. That sinking feeling was back in his stomach. Maybe if they had had five pieces of wood, they¡¯d be able to light all the braziers at the same time, for an instant having all six fires alight. Perhaps that would be enough. But they didn¡¯t have five pieces of wood, and if they broke the ones they currently had, they¡¯d risk burning off their whiskers carrying the fire from the central pit to the recessed braziers. Besides, that couldn¡¯t be the answer. The dungeon couldn¡¯t assume that people carried around items that could be burnt, meaning that the single piece of wood it offered as a taper was supposed to be sufficient to overcome the challenge. So how was it supposed to work? The rumble and rattle of the ceiling above was an ever-present reminder that they needed to figure this out ¨C and fast. Chapter 65: Just In Case Dominic¡¯s mind raced. What was he missing? ¡°Why round objects?¡± Sekhmet suddenly interjected. ¡°They make the ceiling come down faster,¡± replied Sirius, sounding confused about her asking the question. ¡°No, she has a point,¡± Dominic said, realisation dawning. ¡°Why would there be buttons which only make the ceiling come down faster? Obvious buttons at that. No one would ever push them ¨C they¡¯d be useless. They must be part of this puzzle.¡± Was this linking to the line they hadn¡¯t been able to decipher? ¡®Yet five must be fed; they close when it ends¡¯? Would pushing the buttons somehow keep the fires burning? But then which button was with which fire? They were spread all over the room! And did they just need to press the button once, or keep it pressed? ¡®Right, everyone, pick a button and stand next to it. Press it when I tell you.¡¯ ¡®But the ceiling will come down faster,¡± protested Fang nervously. ¡®I know,¡¯ Dominic sighed, ¡®but if what I suspect is right, then we won¡¯t be able to light the fires without pressing them. We¡¯ll just have to be really quick.¡¯ And perhaps not actually have the fires burning until the last moment if it wasn¡¯t as simple as pushing the buttons when trying to light the fires and then letting go¡­. The five members of Dominic¡¯s pride followed his instructions quickly, each intelligent enough to be fully aware of the death which awaited them if the ceiling finished its journey to the floor. ¡®OK,¡¯ Dominic continued, grabbing the torch that Procyon had dropped in exchange for the stick he was holding. The difference was that the wooden stick the dungeon had supplied actually went out as soon as he¡¯d lit his brazier; the torch from Dominic¡¯s storage space that Procyon had been holding hadn¡¯t. Clearly, that was another part of the intended puzzle, but not one that Dominic felt inclined to suffer through. ¡®I¡¯m going to try to light a brazier. Each of you press your button for a count of three and then let go.¡¯ ¡®A count of three?¡¯ Fang asked uncertainly. Dominic realised that he might not be capable of counting. Actually, maybe none of them were ¨C Dominic wasn¡¯t sure if any of them had shown evidence that they had any knowledge of number. ¡®Press the button and hold it. Take a long, slow breath in. Release the button. Clear?¡¯ ¡®Clear,¡¯ they all echoed in the Pride chat, even Lionel. Dominic touched the torch to the brazier, calling out the names of his party one by one. Each time the fire went out, he repeated the action with someone else, keeping track of who had had a turn and who hadn¡¯t. ¡®Procyon, keep holding the button,¡¯ Dominic instructed, his eyes on the flame which hadn¡¯t gone out this time. The ameshek obliged. The flame stayed burning. ¡®Alright, let it go.¡¯ The flame went out. ¡®Well that¡¯s clear,¡¯ he sighed to everyone. ¡®The button must be continually pressed to keep the flame burning.¡¯ He eyed the ceiling worriedly ¨C even that test had had a visible impact on the passage of the ceiling. It was going to be tight. But at least they had figured out the trick. Dominic was abruptly glad that he¡¯d entered the dungeon with a full party of six: there were five buttons and he¡¯d have to run around to light each of the braziers. He didn¡¯t know how they¡¯d have managed it with a smaller party. ¡®Procyon, your button relates to this brazier. Don¡¯t forget!¡¯ he ordered, his tone firm. While he was tempted to light the fires one by one, each button pressed increased the speed of the ceiling¡¯s descent; he suspected that multiple buttons would have either additive or multiplicative effects on the speed too. They¡¯d run out of time if he tried to use the obvious method. ¡®I will remember, pack leader,¡¯ Procyon promised, his mental voice tight. Dominic wasn¡¯t the only one who had noticed the progress of the ceiling. Moving as fast as he could, and chafing at the time it took them to determine which of the buttons related to which brazier, they proceeded logically. Each round went faster ¨C eliminating one button and brazier pair from the equation helped speed up each subsequent test, though they did get lucky a couple of times and found the right button before needing to test more than one or two. By the end, when it was down to just two braziers, they didn¡¯t even need to test the last one after they¡¯d eliminated the penultimate. It was just as well ¨C the ceiling was at less than half the height it had been at the start. If the buttons had an additive, or worse, multiplicative effect on the speed of the ceiling, it might get too close for comfort. ¡®OK everyone, we¡¯re doing well,¡¯ Dominic said, trying to boost their spirits even as nerves turned his own belly into a writhing mass. ¡®Last step now.¡¯ ¡®Lighting all the fires?¡¯ checked Fang. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic confirmed. ¡®Do each of you remember exactly which brazier is attached to your button?¡¯ Time might be pressing, but he¡¯d rather know of a problem now than in the middle of the attempt. Fortunately, a chorus of assent filled the Pride chat. ¡®OK, good. I¡¯m going to run around the room, lighting each of the fires in order. As soon as I stop next to the brazier your button is attached to, press and hold your button. We need to get all six fires burning.¡¯ And then they¡¯d see whether their guess that ¡®six eyes¡¯ indeed meant ¡®six fires¡¯ was true or not. Dominic was met by grim determination both in the Pride chat and in the body language of his pride members ¨C they all knew that this was it. They probably wouldn¡¯t get another chance. With the rattle and rumble of the ceiling as his accompanying drumbeat, Dominic lit the first fire. His torch had burned down to the point that it was actually singeing his whiskers and he felt its heat burn the side of his jaw. The scent of burnt fur filled his nostrils and made him wrinkle his nose unhappily. Using the dungeon-provided stick wasn¡¯t an option here, though, so he just did his best to ignore the pain, smell, and loss of sensation. Spatial Awareness fortunately made up for the loss of his whiskers. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Dashing around the room as fast as he could, he lit the fires one by one. His pride members acted perfectly ¨C pressing the button just before he touched the burning brand to the brazier and keeping it pressed while he continued. The combination of multiple buttons being pressed indeed had an effect on the ceiling¡¯s speed, but fortunately it appeared to be additive, rather than multiplicative. They probably wouldn¡¯t have had enough time in the latter case. By the time Dominic lit the final fire, the ceiling was stopping him from moving fast, pressing down on his head and forcing him to crawl as if stalking prey. It was hard to light the fire too ¨C half the recess was cut off by the ceiling so he had to angle the torch awkwardly. Once more he wished he still had hands! He also wondered whether having one of the smaller lions actually light the braziers would have been a better idea, though perhaps they wouldn¡¯t have succeeded with actually lighting it. Finally, though, he did it: the final fire was lit. The ceiling paused, its descent to the point that Dominic was almost forced against the ground and it had made the amesheks crouch too. Then, at first slowly, but gaining in speed, it reversed its direction and rose again. Keeping their paws on the buttons, the pride members watched in relief as the ceiling rose back to its original height. With a loud clunk, the ceiling stopped moving. ¡®Can we let go?¡± Sirius asked uncertainly after a few more moments. ¡®Probably,¡¯ Dominic replied, ¡®but stay near your buttons just in case it starts moving again.¡¯ Cautiously, the five members of his pride released their holds, each looking anxiously up at the ceiling as they did it. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief as the ceiling stayed in its place, only to jump a moment later when there was another loud rumble. ¡®Not again!¡¯ Dominic groaned internally. When the ceiling didn¡¯t move, they all looked around frantically to find what had caused the noise. Given the bareness of the room, the culprit was easy to spot. ¡®Well, at least we can get out of this room now,¡¯ remarked Sekhmet with relief as they saw the open door. That wasn¡¯t the only thing they saw. ¡®It¡¯s another of those ¡®chests¡¯,¡¯ remarked Procyon curiously. Everyone immediately converged on it since there was nothing else to attract their interest. ¡®Maybe there will be something for the males of the group here,¡¯ Fang said airily. ¡®The cheek!¡¯ spluttered Leo, piping up for the first time in a while. He¡¯d been quiet during most of the puzzle which Dominic had appreciated ¨C distraction hadn¡¯t been desired. His reaction to Fang was predictable, but also actually something Dominic agreed with to an extent. Passive-aggression wasn¡¯t something he wanted to encourage. Apparently loot brought out the worst in lions just as much as it did people, or at least in this one. Moving over to the younger lion, he nudged Fang hard. The younger male stumbled away, barely keeping his footing. Whirling around once he¡¯d regained his balance, he snarled at Dominic. Dominic, in return, snarled back at him, the sound far eclipsing that of the smaller and weaker pride member. They kept it going for a little longer, and Dominic wondered whether it was going to turn into a fight. It certainly seemed like Fang was considering it. ¡®If you attack me,¡¯ Dominic said directly to the younger lion, ¡®I will kill you. I am bigger, stronger, and more experienced than you. Don¡¯t be a fool and bite off more than you can chew.¡¯ The younger lion¡¯s snarl faltered and then trailed off. The lion himself then looked away and started grooming himself as if he hadn¡¯t been a whisker away from attacking Dominic. The larger lion wasn¡¯t willing to leave it at that, though. Stepping forwards, he prodded at Fang with a paw. It was a rather human gesture, but Dominic didn¡¯t care. ¡®Why did you consider a fight?¡¯ he asked, the question a genuine one. ¡®Especially over something we don¡¯t even know is useful to you. You had to know you couldn¡¯t win.¡¯ ¡®This is what I was warning about,¡¯ snarled Leo in the back of his mind. ¡®Young males always challenge their elders when they are old enough unless they are driven out first.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, but it¡¯s a stupid time to do it,¡¯ argued Dominic privately with his companion. ¡®He¡¯d be better off choosing a moment after a fight when I¡¯m already injured.¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s a young male. They don¡¯t always think before they act,¡¯ Leo dismissed. Which, if that was right, would definitely explain the low survival rate of young male lions in the savannah prior to the System. ¡®You gave the female something last time, and took several things for yourself,¡¯ Fang responded sulkily to his question after a moment of hesitation, whether because he didn¡¯t want to answer the question or wasn¡¯t sure how to, Dominic didn¡¯t know. He was obviously unaware of the conversation Dominic had been having with Leo in the meantime. ¡®I wanted something for myself.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ve already told you ¨C if something comes up which is best suited to you, you¡¯ll get it,¡¯ Dominic told him in exasperation. ¡®Hasn¡¯t this last puzzle proven that working together is necessary? I gave the bracelet and potions to Sekhmet because I think she¡¯s the one who will best use them, I used the orb because I was the only one who could use it, and the rest have been put away for later because they¡¯re not useful now for any of us. Where in that do you feel like you¡¯ve been disadvantaged?¡¯ Fang resumed licking his shoulder with particular focus, as if it was the most important thing for him to do. Dominic suspected that he was feeling embarrassed. He still wanted an answer, though, so he gave the younger lion another good poke with his paw. ¡®I¡­I thought that you gave the object to the female because she is female. It¡¯s no secret that you favour them.¡¯ Which¡­well. He wasn¡¯t wrong, was he? Dominic decided to be straight with Fang, and even included Lionel in the conversation, just in case he had similar doubts. ¡®I¡­favour the lionesses because chances are they¡¯re going to stay with the Pride and work with me to achieve what we need to achieve. I won¡¯t lie: Leo wants to mate with them and, of course, has wanted me to kill or drive you out when we took over your pride,¡¯ he admitted. The slight shifting of the two younger males indicated their sudden onset of nerves. ¡®And he¡¯s been urging me to do that ever since.¡¯ ¡®Whose side are you on?¡¯ demanded Leo in the background. ¡®Well, keeping all this from them doesn''t seem to have worked,¡¯ responded Dominic privately to him. ¡®I want to try honesty now.¡¯ Then, returning back to the other two males, ¡®But I¡¯ve convinced him that giving you a chance is the right thing to do.¡¯ ¡®A chance,¡¯ repeated Lionel flatly. ¡®A chance to do what?¡¯ ¡®A chance to prove that you¡¯ll be just as good as any of the females in working towards the Pride¡¯s benefit. If you want to stay in the Pride, that is.¡¯ ¡®And if we don¡¯t prove it?¡¯ Fang asked cautiously. ¡®Attack or try to attack me and I¡¯ll kill you,¡¯ Dominic replied simply. ¡®I can¡¯t afford to let enemies threaten me or my Pride. Choose to leave, and you can do so with no hard feelings. Be a burden on the Pride and I will chase you out. And passive-aggression or general bad attitude counts as being a burden, incidentally. But be part of the Pride, work towards its advantage, and benefit from everything just as much as any other Pride member will.¡¯ With that, he waited a few seconds in case they had some questions, and then, when they were silent, closed the conversation by standing up. They needed to think it over and make their own decisions. Chapter 66: Just Like The Dungeon Walking away from the two young males and towards the chest, Dominic noticed Sekhmet giving him a narrow-eyed look. ¡®What?¡¯ he asked her. She didn¡¯t respond verbally, instead huffing softly and coming over to butt her head against his with an unusual amount of violence. Dominic got the message. She didn¡¯t like that she hadn¡¯t been part of the conversation going on before her eyes, but wasn¡¯t going to ask. The amesheks didn¡¯t appear to care so Dominic continued over to the chest after the violent head-rub. Once more going through the process of checking whether the loot box was trapped, Dominic was soon reasonably sure that it was safe. Or at least, that he was unable to detect any traps, which wasn¡¯t necessarily the same thing. Opening its lid, Dominic once more jumped back just in case there was something waiting inside to attack him. Cautiously approaching it again, he saw six objects in this chest too: three vials, one round piece of golden metal, much like the ones they¡¯d inserted into the relief to gain access to this room in the first place, and two other items. But why would it be awarding me a gold piece now? We¡¯ve completed the puzzle, Dominic wondered, confused. Pulling it out and requesting more information didn¡¯t enlighten him much. [Dungeon object. Function ?] Very helpful, he groused to himself. ¡®Perhaps it¡¯s needed to proceed further in the dungeon?¡¯ suggested Leo, his presence still feeling a little aggrieved from the earlier clash with the young lions, but calmer than before. ¡®Good point,¡¯ admitted Dominic. Certainly, there was no evidence of another exit from this room, leaving him rather lost as to where they were supposed to go next. It would make sense that the dungeon would require explorers to overcome this puzzle if they wished to continue further. Pointedly not looking at or directing his message to Fang particularly, Dominic gave the party a quick explanation of the object and their theory. ¡®Does anyone have any issue with me keeping this for now in my storage space until we find a use for it?¡¯ he asked. A moment later, he felt a little ashamed ¨C he¡¯d told Fang off for his passive-aggressiveness, and here he was doing the same thing. Then again, maybe it would be a good idea to announce what each of the bits of loot was: that way, if someone did have a suggestion or request, they¡¯d be able to make it. When no one objected, Dominic tucked the golden disc away and then pulled out one of the vials. All three looked identical in colour and size, so while he would check them, just in case, he suspected strongly that they would all be the same. [Minor Water-breathing Potion (minor, T1)] [This potion allows an air-dependent being to extract oxygen from water for up to 5 minutes. Note: the being can exit water and breathe normally, however this will not lengthen the effect of the potion. Warning: the effectiveness of this potion depends on the quantity of oxygen present in the water in which the user is submerged. This potion does not leave any toxicity in the user¡¯s body. Single use.] Checking the others, Dominic verified that, indeed, they were identical. He passed the information on to the others in the party and then contemplated the potions thoughtfully. ¡®Is it just me or do these seem to be a rather odd reward for a dungeon set in the savannah, surrounded by jungle?¡¯ he asked Leo. ¡®Who knows what drives the mind of the dungeon master?¡¯ the lion dismissed scathingly. ¡®The other two objects don¡¯t look exactly useful for us, either.¡¯ Sure enough, when Dominic pulled them out and checked them, he found that one was a lump of the same metal ¨C dragoncite ¨C which had been awarded in the previous chest too, and the other was a roll of fabric, probably also useful for craftsmen. It was a hide of a creature Dominic didn¡¯t recognise the name of ¨C the information offered by the System didn¡¯t tell him any more than that. He did make a point of explaining them in the chat, just so no one would feel like he was keeping useful objects to himself when he tucked them away in his storage space ¨C waste not, want not. They might come in useful later for all he knew. In the end, he took two of the water-breathing vials for his storage space, and gave the other one to Sekhmet, just in case. The fact that they were such an odd choice for reward definitely made him suspicious. Couldn¡¯t the dungeon have just given them more health potions if it wanted to give potions as a reward? Unless it wanted to give something which looked good, but was functionally useless, like giving a party of beasts a belt and scabbard which they couldn¡¯t wear. Actually, maybe I¡¯m just being paranoid, decided Dominic. Maybe it was just like the dungeon to do that. The chest empty, they spent a little time looking around the room for another exit, testing the stones and tapping the buttons just in case they had missed something. ¡®There¡¯s nothing here,¡¯ Dominic concluded finally, speaking in the Pride chat. ¡®Let¡¯s go outside ¨C maybe we missed something there.¡¯ Hope, as they started the search, quickly turned into disappointment as they found no sign of anything having changed outside either. Dominic had even led half the group back into the first room they¡¯d visited, while the other half of the group explored the jungle around the building, looking for any sort of exit. Dispirited, they ended up slumping outside the temple, lying on the ground under the moon. ¡®What now?¡¯ asked Sekhmet, putting voice to the thought that they probably all had. ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ admitted Dominic. ¡®Does anyone have any ideas?¡¯ No one answered. Dominic wasn¡¯t really expecting them to ¨C they¡¯d already exhausted every suggestion that the Pride members made. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. There was still the potential route that Dominic had found by crawling up the tree, but that couldn¡¯t be it ¨C for anyone who couldn¡¯t fly, entering that way looked like it would require a rope, and there hadn¡¯t been any sort of rope in any of the loot. Offering an impossible route wasn¡¯t what dungeons did. He was pretty sure he could thank the download of information about dungeons that he¡¯d gained the last time he was here for that certainty. So there had to be a different way through ¨C they just hadn¡¯t worked it out yet. The most frustrating thing was that he still hadn¡¯t found a place in which to insert the golden disc they¡¯d just earned. The relief which covered the two doors was complete with no holes remaining and there were no other holes anywhere else in the temple walls. Dominic decided to sit and stare at the relief again ¨C maybe he¡¯d manage to spot a hole for the golden disc if he looked again, though since this had to be the tenth time, he wasn¡¯t holding out much hope. ¡®Why don¡¯t we just go down that other entrance,¡¯ suggested Leo as Dominic sat down in front of the engraving. ¡®We¡¯ve gone over that,¡¯ Dominic told him wearily. ¡®Even if we alone manage to get through, it¡¯s better than just sitting out here, stuck.¡¯ ¡®And what if whatever awaits us is something that only a party could solve? We¡¯d have died in that puzzle room if we¡¯d been alone, or do you think we could have managed to light all the fires in time?¡¯ Arguably, he could have used objects from his storage space to depress the buttons in order to keep the fires burning, but the time wasted and the necessity to have all the buttons pushed as he hurried to light the braziers would probably have meant he would have been crushed despite his speed. Leo subsided again. Dominic continued searching the relief for a hole that he¡¯d somehow missed the previous times he¡¯d done this. ¡®Listen,¡¯ Leo started, sounding almost reluctant to speak. ¡®You did¡­well there.¡¯ ¡®What?¡¯ asked Dominic, startled. ¡®With the puzzle. I¡¯m not repeating myself.¡¯ If Dominic had been in human form, a smile would have crept across his face. Warmth still filled him even though his leonine visage couldn¡¯t express it visibly. ¡®Why, Leo, are you complimenting me?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t sound so insufferable about it,¡¯ Leo grumbled, doing the mental equivalent of showing his teeth and claws in threat. Dominic decided to leave it. This was perhaps the first time Leo had actually outright complimented him without a hint of insult ¨C he wanted to bask in it a bit. His eyes continued skipping over the decorative engravings as he let the warmth fill him. Not that he needed Leo¡¯s approval, exactly, but considering how closely they were linked, it was far better if they had a mutually respectful and amicable relationship. A compliment was a good sign of Leo¡¯s increasing respect for him. Though Dominic hadn¡¯t thought it would come over a puzzle of all things. Puzzle. The last time Dominic had done this dungeon, he had explored two rooms that he had thought would be the way through to the rest of the dungeon, but instead had turned out to be traps and dead ends. The proper way through had turned out to be the moza?c which had been right in front of his nose the moment he had walked in the door. What if this was something similar? What if the golden disc was actually a red herring, and that the way through was something right in front of their noses? The relief wasn¡¯t the same as the mosa?c, that was for sure. There was nothing to shift, no indication that things were supposed to move. But maybe it was just a different kind of puzzle. Maybe opening the doors was only the first part of it, and there was a second part. Of course, he could be barking up entirely the wrong tree here, but it was worth exploring ¨C they didn¡¯t have any other ideas anyway. So, what was on the relief? The biggest figure was the ruler on his throne, holding a sceptre, the head of which held one of the golden discs. Right in front of him was a servant with two plates, one with two objects, the other plate with two objects. One of the objects on the first plate had been replaced by a golden disc. Next to that one appeared to be a juggler throwing what looked like four torches, one of which was replaced by a disc. To his left was another juggler, only this one appeared to be throwing five different balls, one of which was, again, replaced by a disc. Of the two figures that remained, one was holding an object in each clawed hand, one of them being a disc. The last was carrying a single large plate piled high with round fruit-like objects, including a disc, of course. Dominic¡¯s eyes narrowed. There was something there, he was sure of it. ¡®The numbers,¡¯ commented Leo with interest. ¡®What?¡¯ ¡®They¡¯re all different numbers,¡¯ explained Leo. Suddenly, Dominic knew what he meant. One sceptre. Three objects on plates. Four torches. Five balls. Two objects in clawed paws. And when he counted the fruit on the final platter, there were six. ¡®It¡¯s the order,¡¯ Dominic realised, the idea coming to him like a lightning bolt. ¡®What?¡¯ It was Leo¡¯s turn to be confused. ¡®When we put the discs in, we just did it in any old order. But what if you actually have to insert them in a certain order to open up the next door?¡¯ asked Dominic, following that up with a quick explanation of what he¡¯d noticed. ¡®That¡¯s fiendish,¡¯ exclaimed Leo, though he sounded slightly impressed too. Dominic had to admit that he was as well ¨C if his theory was correct, of course. But he was almost convinced that it was: this was exactly the same MO that the dungeon master had shown last time, only with a different puzzle. Going up to the relief, he started trying to claw out the closest golden disc. ¡®What doing?¡¯ asked Sekhmet curiously, coming up to him and rubbing against his shoulder. Dominic quickly explained to her his theory, and then belatedly decided that he¡¯d better do so in the Pride chat. After all, it would make things faster if they all did it. Renewed interest revitalised the flagging spirits of the pride members and they all started trying to pull the discs out. ¡®Don¡¯t take them out completely,¡¯ warned Dominic. ¡®Remember how hard it was to put them in last time. Just shift them to the side a little bit so that they¡¯re no longer in the holes, but are ready to slip back in.¡¯ Once they had all managed to claw the discs out of the holes ¨C aided by the fact that there was a little helpful indentation around the edge of each hole ¨C he mentally reordered the discs. Not sure whether it was supposed to go from six to one, or one to six, Dominic decided to try the latter first. It was more logical. If the worst came to the worst, they could pull the discs out again and try once more later. He did check his own disc to make sure that there were no hidden messages on the disc itself that indicated it should go in a specific hole ¨C that was another potential way of solving the puzzle, of course. But no, there were no numbers, or marks, or indentations, or anything that differentiated one disc from another. He¡¯d taken the sceptre, being the largest of the currently present Pride members, so he slipped that one in first. Stepping back, he looked at who was in which place. ¡®Fang, you next,¡¯ he instructed, waiting for the young lion to slip his disc into the ¡®2¡¯ slot before instructing the next of his pride. ¡®Sekhmet, now you¡­. OK, Lionel, go ahead¡­.Right, your turn Sirius. And now you Procyon.¡¯ As the final disc clicked into place, there was a rumble beneath their feet. Fang, Sekhmet, Dominic, and Lionel were quick enough to jump back. Sirius and Procyon weren¡¯t. They fell into the hole which had just appeared. Chapter 67: Smaller Parties ¡®Sirius, Procyon, are you OK?¡¯ Dominic asked anxiously in the Pride chat, dashing forwards to the edge of the pit. ¡®We¡¯re fine,¡¯ Procyon answered for them both just as Dominic spotted them. Fortunately, they hadn¡¯t fallen far. In fact, the former-human realised that the hole wasn¡¯t a pit at all: it was a set of stairs leading underground. That could still have been nasty if the two amesheks hadn¡¯t landed on their feet and got their balance ¨C rolling down a flight of stairs which disappeared into the darkness could have caused significant injuries, especially for larger creatures like them. As it was, though, Dominic¡¯s pride members had reacted quickly enough to land safely, even if they hadn¡¯t been able to leap clear of the opening. ¡®Good,¡¯ he told them, relieved. ¡®Without moving, can you see any signs of a trap?¡¯ The two wolven creatures looked carefully around, both up and down the stairs. Dominic saw their antennae twitching too as they felt for information with those too. ¡®No odd markings on any surface that I can see or sense,¡¯ rumbled Procyon. ¡®Nor me,¡¯ confirmed Sirius. ¡®Alright, we¡¯ll come down then, but be careful ¨C we don¡¯t know what could be waiting for us. I¡¯ll go first; Sekhmet, please follow us at the back. Watch for anything that comes at us from behind.¡¯ His pride members assented with a mixture of body language and messages in the Pride chat, so Dominic headed carefully down the stairs. Reaching the amesheks, he paused to let his eyes adjust a little bit, then continued walking down into the darkness. Though he did miss his hands sometimes, he had to admit that there were many leonine aspects that made up for them. His eyesight, for example: it would have taken him far longer to adjust to the darkness of the tunnel as a human, and even once he had adjusted, he suspected that the tunnel would have been full of flickering shadows, the dim torches barely illuminating the steps enough to move. As it was, he could see as well in the tunnel as he¡¯d been able to see with the moonlight outside. He attempted to take one of the torches off the walls, wanting to replace the one he¡¯d used in the puzzle room upstairs. Unfortunately, though, it was immovable. Disappointed he returned his attention where it should have been all along: the route in front of him. Dominic moved carefully, watching every step for a sign of a trap, but saw nothing. He didn¡¯t sense anything with Spacial Awareness either, though the Ability was still new enough for him to not be sure whether he should if there was a trap. Rounding a corner, the full length of the stairway came into view, the distance about three more times what they had already covered. By the time they got halfway down the stairs, he was starting to believe that the stairway was just that ¨C a way of travelling between two parts of the dungeon. He wondered if they¡¯d be facing the warthog guardian again, though surely at a much higher level. Maybe even into the next half-step? They reached the end of the stairs, only to find that it was a landing rather than an end. The stairs continued forwards, but there seemed to be another option too: a door on the left of the square landing area. Approaching it warily, Dominic first examined it with his senses, then tapped on it, and then finally tried pushing at it when there was no reaction. It seemed to be locked tight. There were no marks on the door or the area around it which might give a clue as to how to open it. By this point, their way was lit only by the flickering torches set into the wall. Dominic wondered whether opening the door would require the clich¨¦ manipulation of a sconce, but his attempts to shift the torches around the landing area proved to be as futile as his previous attempts to take some for himself. ¡®Any ideas?¡¯ he asked his pride in frustration. ¡®Maybe we aren¡¯t supposed to go through it,¡¯ suggested Sirius. ¡®It¡¯s odd for a dungeon to have a door that isn¡¯t a door,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®Perhaps its diversion. To make us chase our tails like cubs,¡¯ offered Sekhmet. ¡®That¡­is a good point,¡¯ Dominic admitted. It seemed like something the dungeon would do ¨C get them to waste time trying to open a door. At least, if by wasting time, they risked their lives in some way. While that definitely wasn¡¯t impossible, there was no indication that some sort of timer had started. Or, at least, Dominic hadn¡¯t noticed any indication of it. Which¡­didn¡¯t necessarily mean that there wasn¡¯t a timer. ¡®Perhaps there¡¯s a round circle somewhere else to open it, like in the last room?¡¯ suggested Fang thoughtfully. ¡®Maybe,¡¯ agreed Dominic slowly. ¡®It¡¯s possible that we have to complete a task down below and then it will open.¡¯ He¡¯d played a few of those puzzle games where sometimes he¡¯d had to leave an objective for later after he¡¯d achieved a few others first. That would be more complex than the dungeon had previously shown, but it had gone up a rank. Before going with that idea, though, Dominic encouraged everyone to help look for any sort of clues. He even went back up the stairs in case there was something waiting by the entrance which they¡¯d missed. Finally returning to the group, Dominic gave up. ¡®OK everyone, let¡¯s keep going and then come back to this door later,¡¯ he said, trying to sound cheerful instead of defeated. No one objected, so they continued stepping carefully down the stairs. A rumble above was their only warning that something had gone wrong. Faster than they could react, a slab of stone slammed down from the ceiling above, completely blocking off their return route. Fear making his eyes go wide, Dominic looked around to find only the two amesheks with him. Where were Sekhmet, Fang, and Lionel? Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Sekhmet? Lionel? Fang?¡¯ he cried in the Pride chat. He felt Leo doing the same, though his message was predictably a wordless expression of concern for Sekhmet alone ¨C his female. ¡®We¡¯re here,¡¯ Sekhmet¡¯s voice came in the chat, oddly muffled. A massive wave of relief coursed through Dominic. ¡®All three of you are there? Are you OK?¡¯ he asked with concern. ¡®We¡¯re fine,¡¯ answered Lionel briefly. ¡®The stone dropped in front of my paws, but I jumped back in time,¡¯ Fang explained in more detail. ¡®Into me,¡¯ complained Lionel grumpily, the young male speaking more in the last few minutes than he¡¯d done in the hour before. ¡®Would you rather I¡¯d been squashed?¡¯ snapped Fang in response. ¡®Enough!¡¯ Dominic snapped. The two young males immediately went silent. Dominic felt a hint of guilt ¨C maybe he had been a bit sharp there. But this was no time for an argument. ¡®Can you see any way of opening the stone slab from your side?¡¯ he asked, starting to look for the same on his side of things. Sirius and Procyon also stepped forwards, their antennae waving and a low hum emerging from their bodies. After searching for several minutes with all senses and finding no sign of any sort of a lever, button, or any other means of opening the massive slab, Dominic had to give up on that idea. ¡®It looks like we¡¯re separated for now,¡¯ he said with resignation in the Pride chat. ¡®Wait there. We¡¯ll investigate what¡¯s down the stairs ¨C maybe there¡¯s a trigger or something down there.¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ Sekhmet answered, though she didn¡¯t sound all that happy about it, her emotions still obvious despite the muffled nature of her communication. ¡®The door is open,¡¯ Dominic heard Fang say, though his voice was barely decipherable, despite it being through the Pride chat. ¡®What?¡¯ Dominic asked, confused. The slab in front of them didn¡¯t seem like it had moved at all. ¡®The door. What we were trying to open earlier. It¡¯s open now ¨C I just managed to nudge it open with my nose,¡¯ the young male explained, his voice growing clearer and clearer like he was walking towards Dominic. ¡®Here, let me show you,¡¯ he said to Sekhmet. Even if he didn¡¯t use her name, he very clearly directed his message to her. Listening anxiously, Dominic heard their voices get more and more muffled, until it was barely possible to hear what they were saying at all. They seemed to be discussing the room on the other side of the door. It sounded like a bit of a mess from what Dominic could tell. ¡®Can you hear me now?¡¯ Sekhmet¡¯s voice was directed straight at Dominic and had a sound to it that indicated that she might have said the same thing multiple times. ¡®Yes, I can,¡¯ he answered ¨C it was much clearer this time. ¡®Seems like can¡¯t go far from each other,¡¯ Sekhmet told him with an undercurrent of irritation. ¡®Or you can¡¯t hear me.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s weird,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®We haven¡¯t had that problem before.¡¯ ¡®Haven¡¯t had thick stone between us either,¡¯ the lioness pointed out. Dominic didn¡¯t think that that should make a difference, but she was right that they hadn¡¯t tried it. It could be some sort of feature of the dungeon too. In fact, given that the door from the landing was apparently working, Dominic would suspect that to be the case. Since it hadn¡¯t fallen on them, it appeared to instead be trying to separate them; if the dungeon separated them physically, it was logical that it would try to do so with any other form of communication too. Though it did seem a little odd that it could affect something like Pride chat. ¡®So you can open the door which was previously closed tightly?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ Sekhmet answered, matter-of-factly. ¡®Are things in the room. Predators, and lots of obstacles.¡¯ Right. Which probably meant that there was something hidden in the room which would reopen the stone slab, or Dominic and the two amesheks would have to find something in whatever was waiting for them to do the same. Or, he supposed, there could be a meeting point later on where the two paths of the dungeon converged again. Well, there was nothing to do but play along with what the dungeon seemed to want them to do ¨C move forward as two smaller parties. At least Sekhmet had the healing lion with her party. Dominic would have to be even more careful with the amesheks¡¯ lives than usual. ¡®OK, you go and explore the other room that¡¯s been newly opened,¡¯ Dominic told his lioness lieutenant. ¡®Be careful; look out for each other. There might be something to find in the room which will help you get back to me so make sure you investigate everything. Or there might be an exit to somewhere else where we can meet up. I suspect that our Pride chat is going to be very limited going forwards, so I suggest that each party goes as far as it can and then returns here where we know we can talk to each other. Clear?¡¯ ¡®Clear,¡¯ chorused the three other lions. Belatedly realising that he hadn¡¯t really included Sirius and Procyon in the conversation after they¡¯d verified that they couldn¡¯t find any way through the stone, Dominic turned to them. ¡®Are you both fine with continuing?¡¯ Dominic asked. ¡®Do we have a choice?¡¯ Procyon asked wryly. ¡®Probably not,¡¯ Dominic sighed. In a way, their group was worse off ¨C Sekhmet¡¯s could escape the dungeon completely if they wanted to; Dominic¡¯s little party couldn¡¯t. ¡®Then let us continue,¡¯ the ameshek replied, answering his original question. Dominic turned and led the way down the stairs. The Pride chat with Sekhmet, Fang, and Lionel had cut out completely by the time they were halfway down the remaining stairs: he couldn¡¯t even get a sense of their emotions ¨C or if they were still alive. Only quickly checking his Pride status screen stopped him worrying about that ¨C they wouldn¡¯t show up on it if they had been killed the moment they walked through that other door. Dominic focussed again on wanting to have a notification if any Pride member died. He didn¡¯t know if it had worked; he might find out later, though he hoped not. Heading down the stairs even more carefully than before, they soon found the space opening up below them. A mirror-like surface stretched out in all directions: the room was vast. More of a cavern, really, though the obvious working on the walls around showed that it wasn¡¯t a natural space. Well, it was a dungeon space, natural-looking or not. But this looked like people had chipped away at it with pickaxes. Large people ¨C the highest marks of picks were about double Dominic¡¯s human height. As he got to the lowest step, Dominic realised something else: the surface wasn¡¯t solid. It wasn¡¯t a mirror, or glass that formed the floor. It was water. Chapter 68: Let Loose ¡®Ugh,¡¯ Leo complained in Dominic¡¯s mind as his paw sank straight through the almost-clear surface he had been expecting to be solid. The former-human didn¡¯t blame him. He¡¯d loved swimming as a human, but it was a very different feeling to slip a human foot into water than to dip a lion¡¯s paw in. And anyway, this water was colder than he¡¯d like even as a human. The water soaked uncomfortably through his fur and immediately started cooling the skin below. Pulling his paw straight out and placing it back on the step felt kind of like he was wearing clammy clothes which stuck and rubbed uncomfortably on his body. ¡®Great,¡¯ Dominic agreed sarcastically with Leo. ¡®The water level.¡¯ Now he was able to see the room a bit more clearly, he had more of an idea of what sort of challenge waited for them. The water was no doubt part of it, but the first steps didn¡¯t require them to swim. Instead, there was a sort of underwater bridge which seemed to stretch directly between the stairs and the door opposite them. There were only three stairs between Dominic¡¯s front feet, standing on the last step above the water, and the point where the stairs met the underwater bridge. That at least meant that the water wasn¡¯t all that deep. Not on the walkway, anyway. It was hard to see what lay ahead of him ¨C though the ripples from his movement were spreading out and disturbing the surface, the water further away in the chamber was too reflective to observe anything. Close to him, however, he was able to see more of what lay below the surface. Either side of the bridge that barely matched the width of the stairs, the stonework dropped away into the depths. In some places, Dominic could see the pale-yellow stone floor; in others, there was only darkness. He had a strong feeling, though, that they weren¡¯t alone here. He couldn¡¯t see any evidence of the movement of other creatures, and the previous mirror-like surface supported the lack of underwater currents. Still, he was almost sure that they were there. Waiting. ¡®Do you see anything? Sense anything?¡¯ Dominic asked the amesheks, sharing his own observations with them through the Pride chat. At least that hadn¡¯t been affected by whatever had impacted their communications with the others. ¡®The water makes it difficult for us to sense what is within it,¡¯ Sirius explained. ¡®But there is something on the other side of the cavern.¡¯ ¡®Something living?¡¯ ¡®They are moving slightly, so I think so,¡¯ Sirius answered. ¡®They are hidden among the rocks on that side,¡¯ added Procyon. ¡®It is hard to tell exactly what they are.¡¯ ¡®Do you know what they could be? How many there are? If they are in groups or alone?¡¯ The two amesheks hesitated, staring at the other side and humming softly. ¡®They are not big,¡¯ Sirius told him cautiously, ¡®but there are many of them. Far more of them than of us.¡¯ ¡®They are evenly dispersed,¡¯ Procyon added. ¡®They hide together in groups, but there is no part of the area which has none of them. I cannot recognise them from here.¡¯ Sirius agreed wordlessly. ¡®Alright, thanks for the information,¡¯ Dominic sighed. He eyed the water. They were going to have to go through it, weren¡¯t they? ¡®You have wings, idiot,¡¯ Leo snapped at him. ¡®Use them.¡¯ Dominic felt immediately foolish. His companion was right, damn him. ¡®Aren¡¯t you glad I was able to convince you that we should increase their strength?¡¯ he teased Leo weakly to cover up his embarrassment. ¡®Perhaps I would be if my foolish brother would actually remember that he has them,¡¯ grumbled the lion. Feeling a bit more happy about not having to immediately get himself all wet ¨C having one paw still soaked was uncomfortable enough ¨C Dominic hopped up a few of the stairs. ¡®I¡¯m going to fly to the other side and check things out. Stay here for now.¡¯ ¡®There may be too many potential enemies for you alone,¡¯ warned Procyon. ¡®If it¡¯s too much, I¡¯ll either call you or come back,¡¯ promised Dominic. ¡®But I¡¯ve been itching to let loose a bit. We should share the points anyway so you shouldn¡¯t be badly affected by me taking over the fight.¡¯ It would be good to be able to let off a bit of steam ¨C distract himself from worrying about the other three. Leo hadn¡¯t said anything, but Dominic could tell that he was concerned too. ¡®Of course I am!¡¯ Leo snapped. ¡®Our female is alone with two males and I¡¯m not there to make sure they don¡¯t do anything with her.¡¯ Dominic mentally glared at the lion. ¡®So you¡¯re not worried about them dying.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m worried about the female dying. As are you. So can we get moving?¡¯ Though itching even more now to argue with Leo, the lion had an annoyingly good point. Since neither of the amesheks objected any further, Dominic shifted his wings into position and then leaped off the stairs, using Airborne to reduce his weight as much as he could once his momentum had him moving forwards. His wings felt stronger than they ever had, supporting his slightly reduced weight with far more ease than last time. Dominic glided forwards smoothly, losing height inch by inch but not too fast. Eyeing the distance, he thought that he might just about make it without getting drenched. He was too curious to take the easy route, though. Moving his wings slightly, he beat down just a bit. He bobbed in the air, losing more height than he gained. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. That didn¡¯t work, he mused wryly to himself. Maybe I haven¡¯t quite got the right angle here. ¡®If you dump us in the water, I will never forgive you,¡¯ warned Leo with a snarl. ¡®I¡¯ll try not to,¡¯ replied Dominic brightly, more than a little tempted to do exactly that just to annoy his companion. But he refrained ¨C the middle of a dungeon was no place to do stupid jokes like that. Besides, if he got attacked by something because he¡¯d splashed down in the middle of the bridge and got soaked, Dominic would never forgive himself either. Instead, he just focussed on what little he knew about birds and the faint instincts which seemed to have come along with the wings. Curving his wings forward slightly, he decided that his tentative approach was probably part of the issue last time and decided to put a bit more force behind it this time. Pumping his wings downwards took a lot of strength, but it was doable. This time, he surged a little higher into the air, enough to almost regain what he¡¯d lost since trying to beat his wings the last time. Stretching out his wings back into their gliding position, Dominic decided to stop experimenting and instead get ready for the landing. He was pleased with his discoveries so far. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be flying properly without a few more upgrades to his wings, but being able to gain a bit of height when already in the air was a good start. The cavern was long, but he was getting close to its end. His eyes flicking over the area, he took in the details he previously hadn¡¯t been able to see. Frankly, he was rather impressed that the amesheks had been able to get any information at all from such a distance. Maybe the emptiness of the space over the water helped. The door was larger than he¡¯d thought, the distance making it look smaller than it actually was. The land sloped gradually up towards it from the water¡¯s edge. Littering that slope were a number of chunks of rock, appearing to have fallen from the ceiling at some point. Dominic highly doubted that the ceiling really was unstable ¨C this was a dungeon, after all. However, he did consider that falling rocks could be one of the environmental weapons the dungeon would use against them. And he already knew that the fallen rocks hid enemies. Coming in to land, his tail skimmed the top of the water before he lifted it up, then his back paws struck the ground first. He hadn¡¯t quite missed the edge of the water, but his back paws only got a little splashed and his front paws landed on dry ground. Immediately equipping his tail armour, Dominic let out a tremendous Roar. His enemies knew where he was; he¡¯d like to know the same. Focussing on making his enemies blindingly angry, he was surprised at just what came boiling out of the rocky area. ¡®Does this mean that we won¡¯t be facing Pumba again in the final fight?¡¯ he wondered at Leo with a hint of bemusement. ¡®If any of them have Enhanced Fertility, we need that Core,¡¯ the lion responded eagerly, not paying any attention to Dominic¡¯s question. ¡®Well, let¡¯s find out if dungeon warthogs have the same Abilities as the ones outside, shall we?¡¯ The rocky area, previously unmoving, now practically seethed with enemies, some charging toward Dominic, others trying to run away from him. It created more than a few bottlenecks which Dominic certainly wasn¡¯t above taking advantage of. Using his own version of Charge, he ran towards the largest and closest knot of struggling porcine creatures. Just to increase his momentum a bit more, he activated Airborne and increased his weight to its maximum. The warthogs were certainly bigger than the ones he¡¯d killed in the outside world, but nowhere near as big as the warthog guardian he¡¯d killed in the dungeon. He hit the knot like a bowling ball hitting pins, sending several flying over the dungeon floor, then he immediately twisted into a Tail Strike, using his momentum for extra damage. The strike was beyond his expectations. The two first warthogs were practically pulverised, blood and bits of bone flying through the air as his spiked metallic mace went straight through them. After that, the strike slowed down, catching three more with a nasty blow, but not killing any further. Notifications flashed up, but he dismissed them ¨C Leo had a point about how distracting they were. Dominic didn¡¯t hesitate to capitalise on the warthogs¡¯ continued confusion and disarray, ripping out the throat of the closest, then leaping away to crunch through the spine of another. He dealt out a Swipe here, a Bite there, a Strike every so often; one notification was followed quickly by another. After the brief period of disarray caused by his Roar wore off, he did start accruing some injuries himself. Although he tried to keep out of the way of the warthogs¡¯ Charge Abilities, there were too many of them to keep track of them all ¨C he was rather occupied with the warthogs close by, several with some sort of tusk enhancement by the feel of their attacks. Spatial Awareness warned him about a Charging warthog but he couldn¡¯t dodge in time. It slammed into his flank, sending a burst of pain through Dominic, though, it wasn¡¯t as bad as he had expected it to be ¨C he didn¡¯t even feel like anything had been broken. His regeneration quickly started working on the injury too. Leaping up onto a large rock nearby, he leaped again high into the air. At the apex of his flight, Dominic caught the air with his wings and slowed his descent significantly. Flicking his tongue quickly, he gathered acid in his mouth. ¡®Are you leaving any for us?¡¯ asked Procyon, a hint of amusement in his voice. ¡®Not if I can help it,¡¯ replied Dominic cheerfully as he started dropping the acid over the warthogs, angling himself to glide over the densest group of them. He was rather enjoying being able to let loose on the warthogs without needing to worry about the state of his allies. Quickly looking around to see how he was doing, he tried to take a headcount of who was left. Enjoyment or not, if there were loads more warthogs, he¡¯d have to call the amesheks over. What he saw was a scene of carnage. He must have killed at least ten already, and there were another seven left, all injured. Increasing his weight with Airborne, Dominic angled his wings to drop down at a slight angle, crashing into a group of four warthogs who had got trapped between two large rocks, neither apparently willing to let the other go past. More notifications popped up in front of his eyes, then quickly vanished at his dismissal. Whirling around he struck with his tail at the healthier warthog and killed it in one blow, then bit at the last of the group still living. His Spatial Awareness warning him of movement rushing towards him, Dominic leapt straight up. The two warthogs charging him slammed head first into the rocks. Surprisingly, they both walked away from it, though not without looking a little unsteady. The lion dropped right on top of the staggering wild pigs, biting through the spine of one, and then bowling the other over and ripping out its throat. Looking around for his last opponent, Dominic was unable to see anything moving. After a moment, he spotted the missing pig. It was lying on the ground looking very sick. Just as he started walking towards it, the porcine creature went still and a new notification flashed in front of his eyes. Huh, must have died from my venom or something, he thought to himself. ¡®You¡¯d better check there isn¡¯t anything else hiding or preparing to attack,¡¯ reminded Leo. ¡®I was about to,¡¯ sighed Dominic. Deciding it wasn¡¯t worth an argument, and feeling more relaxed after venting his frustrations, he just went ahead and started checking the rest of the rocky area. ¡®I¡¯m glad that no rocks ended up falling on our heads,¡¯ he said brightly to his companion. ¡®Don¡¯t say that,¡¯ warned Leo. ¡®Worried about Murphy?¡¯ Dominic scoffed a little. ¡®No, the dungeon master. It almost dropped a rock on our heads before, if you remember. And proved capable of at least some mind-reading,¡¯ the lion said seriously. ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic replied, sobering. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like his unwise chancing of fate had been held against him as no rocks descended on top of his cranium. Nor did there seem to be any more warthogs ¨C all of them had been drawn out of hiding by his Roar. Though, he did find something else interesting. Or perhaps frustrating would be another word. ¡®I suppose another of these wretched poems is only to be expected,¡¯ he groaned as he saw the writing on the floor right in front of the exit. Chapter 69: New Dangers Rise Triggers to open, into the depths you go; But down there lurks a dangerous foe. Beware of the choices: new dangers rise; Take heed of the evidence of your eyes. ¡®Well, at least it looks more straight-forward than the last one,¡¯ Dominic sighed. ¡®More buttons?¡¯ asked Leo, sounding irritated. ¡®Possibly, but possibly something else. ¡®Triggers¡¯ of some sort, anyway. And have you realised where we¡¯re going to have to find them?¡¯ ¡®Not¡­¡¯ ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡®No!¡¯ groaned Leo. ¡®Yes,¡¯ sighed Dominic again. He didn¡¯t like it any more than the lion did. ¡®Brother, we are not going into the water! It¡¯s wet!¡¯ ¡®Yes, water tends to be wet,¡¯ agreed Dominic with a hint of amusement at his companion¡¯s complaints. ¡®Send the canines! They like water! I¡¯ve seen that in your memories.¡¯ ¡®Some dogs like water, but the amesheks aren¡¯t dogs,¡¯ pointed out Dominic. ¡®Plus, didn¡¯t you read the instructions? We have to beware of creatures in the area, and there are some sorts of choices to make too. Plus other dangers. Chances are, we¡¯re going to have to be involved, even if we stay out of it at first. Besides, I don¡¯t like asking them to do something just because I don¡¯t want to do it,¡¯ he finished. ¡®We already dealt with all these warthogs,¡¯ objected Leo. ¡®The least the canines can do is to deal with the other enemies.¡¯ ¡®I chose to deal with them because I wanted to let loose a bit with our new Abilities,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®And thinking about it, I hope I was right in my assumptions and they haven¡¯t suffered a lack of Prey Points from not being part of the action.¡¯ ¡®But-¡¯ ¡®No, Leo,¡¯ Dominic interrupted him. ¡®If we have to go into the water, we have to go into the water. We¡¯ll clean ourselves after. Why are you complaining so much? You don¡¯t moan this much when we get covered in blood.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s different,¡¯ Leo snarled. ¡®Blood isn¡¯t cold, and it doesn¡¯t sink through to our skin in the same way. And it¡¯s tastier.¡¯ ¡®Well, you¡¯ll just have to deal with it,¡¯ Dominic told him unsympathetically. ¡®I don¡¯t like it either, but this is the water level. Remember ¨C the sooner we get this done, the sooner we¡¯re likely to see the others.¡¯ The lion snarled wordlessly at him and then withdrew from their shared consciousness. Dominic suspected that he had gone to sulk in the savannah space. He¡¯d cool down a bit and be back, Dominic knew. The former-human did understand his companion¡¯s stance against diving into the water ¨C it didn¡¯t exactly fill him with excitement to think about sinking into the liquid which had already proved itself uncomfortably cold and was no doubt filled with enemies. But he stood by what he had said. ¡®You guys can come over now,¡¯ Dominic put in the Pride chat. ¡®But be careful ¨C I¡¯ve pretty much got confirmation that there are enemies in the water.¡¯ The two amesheks started moving carefully across the bridge. Since they were smaller than Dominic, the water reached a good two-thirds up their legs and brushed against their bellies. While waiting for them to arrive, Dominic decided to investigate the Cores of the warthogs. Just over half of them were level 14; the others were level 15. Higher level than most of the creatures they¡¯d seen so far, but not by much. It made sense when Dominic considered how easily he¡¯d ripped through them. To get the Cores out, Dominic did his best to extract them with his teeth, crunching through their skulls to get at the crystalline orbs. Given the warning about danger in the water, they might need to keep the bodies around as health potions ¨C particularly since Lionel wasn¡¯t around and they only had one actual health potion with them. Given that they apparently were dealing with a water challenge, Dominic was rather glad that he had the lion¡¯s share of the water breathing potions. Though what if Sekhmet and the others have to pass through something similar? he wondered, the thought discomforting him. Surely the dungeon wouldn¡¯t split them only to put them through the same trials, right? They hadn¡¯t indicated seeing any water in their room, at least ¨C only enemies. Checking each of the Cores, he found that, as expected, they all contained Charge as their basic Ability. Gore was a common one too, something Dominic had suspected from some of the injuries they¡¯d caused him. Leo would be glad to learn that five of the Cores held Enhanced Fertility ¨C depending on how many percent progress each Core offered him, they might even get Leo¡¯s coveted Ability in the near future. As for the other Abilities, there were a couple of more interesting ones. Flash Step, for example, which was an Ability to cover ground very quickly ¨C a bit like Quick Strike except not limited to combat. Though it also didn¡¯t appear to have combat bonuses either. One of the Cores contained Poisoned Tusk, which Dominic didn¡¯t remember being hit by. Maybe the warthog in question hadn¡¯t got close enough. Finally, three other Cores contained Champion, the same Ability he¡¯d started collecting from the upstairs enemies. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Seeing as Leo still hadn¡¯t emerged from his snit, Dominic started absorbing the Cores, checking the changes once he¡¯d absorbed all seventeen. Enhanced Fertility (78% to level 1) Champion (30% to level 1) Gore (48% to level 1) Flash Step (72% to level 1) Charge (36% to level 1) Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t gained enough progress to earn any of them, but he¡¯d made some good progress with both Enhanced Fertility and Flash Step, the two he was most interested in. Well, he was interested in Flash Step, but he knew Leo would kill him if he didn¡¯t take the opportunity to grab Enhanced Fertility if he could. He hadn¡¯t got Poisoned Tusk, but wasn¡¯t too bothered by that. It was only one Core which had had it and he already had Venomous Bite. Actually, why is it called ¡®Poisoned Tusk¡¯ instead of ¡®Venomous Tusk¡¯? he wondered to himself, then shrugged mentally. Sirius and Procyon were still making their way across the bridge. They seemed to be trying to take it slowly and create as few ripples in the water as possible. Dominic didn¡¯t blame them ¨C any beasts in the water would no doubt be quicker and more agile in their own environment than the land-bound creatures, at least all he could think of. Just something else that Dominic was feeling concerned about. Remembering his concern about perhaps having taken away Prey Points from the amesheks by taking on the warthogs alone, Dominic quickly looked at the notifications he¡¯d received. Nine or ten points each time, he noted with relief. Since it was so low, that meant he¡¯d had to have split it. In fact, thinking about it, the points must have been split even with Sekhmet¡¯s group ¨C if not, each of these level 14 or 15 beasts would be worth fewer points than even the low level trodils had been last time. Which wouldn¡¯t make sense. Curious as to why their points were still being split across the whole party when they couldn¡¯t speak with the Pride chat and didn¡¯t appear to be sharing notifications, Dominic had to soon admit defeat when it came to figuring out the dungeon. Returning to the door, he tried to spot anything which could be useful. Conscious about the time it had taken them to work out how to even access the underground area because he hadn¡¯t properly understood the message communicated in the relief on the doors upstairs, he paid extra attention to the carvings on this door. The exit was made out of a pale sort of stone which matched the slope leading up to it. Like on the doors above, there were more of the creatures which resembled the dungeon master¡¯s form in various poses. This time, too, one figure stood out. Like the ruler in the first relief, this one was much bigger than all the others around and stood right in the centre of the golden slab of the door. It had its arms raised to the sky and above it were three symbols. One looked like a flame; the other like a drop of water, and the third like a wave. Each had a crystalline orb embedded in its design. A clue? Dominic wondered to himself. He spent the rest of the time waiting for Sirius and Procyon to arrive looking for any more indications of either clues or traps in the area immediately around the door, but found nothing. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said to the amesheks as soon as they came ashore. ¡®I hate to say this, but¡­can you swim?¡¯ ¡®Swim? In the water?¡¯ clarified Sirius, sounding reluctant. ¡®Yeah.¡¯ ¡®If we must,¡¯ answered Procyon, sounding just as enthused by the idea as either Sirius or Dominic himself. ¡®Because I think that to get out of here, we have to find several triggers of some sort in the water. And fight whatever beasts there are to get to them.¡¯ Their response was wordless, but it spoke loudly nonetheless. They didn¡¯t want to go diving into there just as much as Dominic didn¡¯t. But he was pretty sure that they were going to have to. ¡®I fear that our attacks will be very poor in the water,¡¯ Procyon ventured. Dominic paused ¨C he hadn¡¯t considered that. His reluctance to go into the water had been largely because of not wanting to get wet and because it wasn¡¯t what his body had been designed for, but he hadn¡¯t actually thought about how his Abilities might be nerfed. Crushing Bite and Acidic Venomous Bite wouldn¡¯t be significantly affected ¨C assuming he could get his teeth into the creature. But what about Quick Strike? Powerful Swipe? Rapid Attack? Roar? All the Abilities he¡¯d got used to using. Momentous Charge wasn¡¯t going to be much good if he couldn¡¯t move ¨C and that was assuming he didn¡¯t need to run to make it work, which he did. The amesheks weren¡¯t the only ones who should be worried about their attacks not working, that was for sure. ¡®Vibrating Body should work well enough,¡¯ he responded after a moment. ¡®I don¡¯t know about Sonic Attack, though¡­. We have to try,¡¯ he said in a burst. ¡®The doors are locked fast,¡¯ he had actually tried nudging them just in case that was the trick, ¡®and our way out is blocked by a stone slab. If you have any other ideas, please let me hear them, but I don¡¯t see any other options.¡¯ There was silence for a few long moments. The amesheks waved their antennae more frantically, and Procyon went to look at the door as Sirius moved to crouch by the water. Dominic followed the lower-level ameshek and started staring into the water below. Incongruously, there were lights under the water, some sort of substance which burned even when wet. Or maybe it was just dungeon weirdness. Either way, Dominic was grateful for the light, even if it made the shadows flicker and hide the movement of whatever was waiting for them. Fortunately, the ripples of the amesheks¡¯ passage had mostly smoothed out and the surface was almost like glass again. ¡®I see something,¡¯ Sirius rumbled, his antennae pausing for a moment. ¡®The water blocks my other senses, but I see a shape not too far from the light.¡¯ Dominic squinted in the area Sirius indicated. It took him a few moments before the shape resolved into something more familiar. ¡®A lever,¡¯ he said thoughtfully. ¡®And there¡¯s something on the wall above it. Can you see what it is?¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Sirius responded immediately. Dominic sighed in disappointment, then moved to look at the other side of the bridge, the ameshek following his example. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he saw another lever, again with some marks just above it. From what he remembered of soaring above the water, he¡¯d seen that the areas on either side of the bridge had been broken into sections by walls that rose almost as high as the bridge itself. He thought there had been about eight sections in total. Maybe that was the choice: deciding which sections to go into to find the levers. Though, if both sections closest to the door had a lever in, that would only leave one, right? There were three pictures, so three levers made sense. On the other hand, maybe there was a lever in each section, but they had to choose the right levers. Procyon came to join them a few minutes later, looking disgruntled. ¡®You can¡¯t find anything else?¡¯ Dominic half-asked, half-stated. ¡®No.¡¯ ¡®Right,¡¯ Dominic sighed again. He couldn¡¯t deny that he had been half-hoping that Procyon would be able to find something he¡¯d missed. Anything to avoid diving into water with unknown threats. ¡®We can do this.¡¯ he said, trying to encourage the amesheks ¨C and himself. Chapter 70: Are You Afraid ¡®I think one of us should stay on the surface to keep watch,¡¯ Dominic decided. He was heavily tempted to assign himself that role, but felt that it would be a bit selfish of him. ¡®Which of you would like to stay here?¡¯ he forced himself to ask. The two amesheks exchanged glances. ¡®I will go in,¡¯ answered Sirius after a moment. ¡®The water is not too bad now I am more used to it.¡¯ ¡®OK. Thanks, Sirius. You go over there,¡¯ Dominic said, pointing to the underwater area to the left, ¡®and I¡¯ll go here,¡¯ he continued, pointing to the right. ¡®Don¡¯t touch anything; just tell me what you can see. And watch out for enemies. You too, Procyon.¡¯ ¡®I will,¡¯ promised Procyon, Sirius sending a wordless acknowledgement. Then they both padded off to their respective areas. Dominic hesitated for a long moment as he tried to summon the courage to actually go into the cold water. ¡®I can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t make the two canines go into the water instead of us,¡¯ Leo grumbled in his mind. ¡®This is going to be terrible.¡¯ ¡®Welcome back.¡¯ greeted Dominic with fake cheerfulness, which brought him another grumble as answer. Dominic then dropped the act. ¡®I know it¡¯s going to suck,¡¯ he sighed. ¡®But it¡¯s better that we see things first hand instead of just getting it as a description from the amesheks.¡¯ Leo clearly didn¡¯t agree, if his continued grumbling was anything to go by. Dominic tuned him out ¨C it wasn¡¯t helping his resolve to go in the water. His first step was almost enough to make him back out of the whole thing ¨C it was only knowing how smug Leo would be at him coming around to the lion¡¯s point of view which kept him going. That one step led to two, and then to three, and finally four. Shivering already as he strode further into the water, Dominic could only be vaguely grateful for the slope that led down into the first set of ¡®compartments¡¯. He guessed that the dungeon might have realised that not all explorers would be able to pull themselves out of the water on their exit. As a human, Dominic had enjoyed swimming to a certain extent, but it hadn¡¯t been something he¡¯d chosen to do if he had other options. He hadn¡¯t ever been part of a swimming team and none of his friends had been rich enough to have a pool. Once he¡¯d learned the mechanics of it well enough, swimming had therefore been something he¡¯d only done on holiday at the beach or the occasional water theme park. Of course, even if he¡¯d been an expert swimmer who¡¯d been training for the Olympics before the System arrived, he¡¯d still have an issue trying to swim with a leonine body¡­and wings. Eventually managing to get himself fully enveloped by water, Dominic felt an increasing sense of weightlessness as the buoyancy of the water supported his body a bit. Struck by an idea, he activated Airborne, curious as to whether it would work in water. First increasing his weight by 5% and then reducing it by 5%, Dominic felt himself being pulled downwards and then bobbing back upwards. Apparently it worked. Good to know. Paddling forwards, Dominic tried to work out how to swim in his leonine body. Leo continued grumbling in the back of his mind until Dominic had had enough and told him to shut up unless he could come up with something useful to say. ¡®Which isn¡¯t that the amesheks should do it,¡¯ he warned, preempting exactly what Leo was about to respond with, if the way the lion shut up afterwards was any indication. It turned out that a sort of doggy paddle was the best way of moving as a lion ¨C not unexpected considering that his morphology didn¡¯t really make front crawl viable. Gaining more confidence, Dominic tried holding his breath and dipping under water completely. ¡®No, don¡¯t do that!¡¯ Leo exclaimed from the back of his mind, a note of panic in his voice. ¡®Leo, are you afraid we¡¯re going to drown?¡¯ Dominic asked with exasperation but also a touch of sympathy. ¡®No!¡¯ Leo denied, but the feelings drifting from his side of their mind indicated that that was indeed what he was worried about. ¡®Listen,¡¯ Dominic said with a sigh. ¡®I don¡¯t want to drown as much as you don¡¯t, but we need to find a way to open that door or we¡¯re in a different sort of trouble. We¡¯ll be fine,¡¯ he promised, though was aware that he had no way of guaranteeing it. Nevertheless, he felt his leonine companion leap on the reassurance like a cub cuddling up to his mother. Maybe he¡¯d been a bit tough on Leo ¨C Dominic, at least, had spent some fun time in the water. Leo, as far as Dominic knew, had never done more than splash around in the shallows. And considering the sorts of creatures which lurked in the average savannah waterhole, even that had been risky. Even as he thought that, a brief memory passed from Leo to Dominic. It wasn¡¯t detailed, but he had the impression of water everywhere ¨C in his ears, in his eyes, in his nose, in his mouth, panic taking over until he was lifted from the water by a massive mouth descending on him. The memory vanished at that moment, like it was a holiday picture which had been yanked away. ¡®Leo¡­was that you?¡¯ Dominic asked tentatively. ¡®No!¡¯ the lion responded quickly and fiercely enough to know both that he had just told a bald-faced lie, and that he had no desire to discuss this any further. Feeling more sympathy for the reticence of his companion, Dominic continued practising ¨C the sooner he got the job done, the sooner they could get out. Increasing and decreasing his weight helped him control where he was in the water, and his wings turned out to actually be slightly more useful than they were awkward ¨C by flapping them in a certain way, he actually pushed himself forwards faster than he would otherwise have achieved. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡®I have reached the object sticking out of the wall,¡¯ Sirius¡¯ voice abruptly told him. ¡®The lever?¡¯ asked Dominic quickly. ¡®Can you see whatever is engraved above it?¡¯ As he asked, he looked down into the depths of his own area. His vision slightly blurred by the water, Dominic was still able to see the metallic object sticking out of the wall. ¡®It is a set of lines carved into the wall. It doesn¡¯t appear to be a button.¡¯ ¡®OK. Don¡¯t touch it for now,¡¯ Dominic instructed. ¡®I¡¯m going down to look at my own.¡¯ Reducing his weight, Dominic bobbed to the top of the water, took a deep breath, and then increased his weight to its maximum. He started slowly sinking, but with a little flick of his wings and an awkward paddling with his paws, he managed to increase the speed of his movement. Bit by bit, he became more confident in his underwater movements. Holding his breath was fine for the time being ¨C perhaps his body was used to taking in large lungfuls of air when he Roared. His ears became uncomfortable as the pressure started impacting them more the deeper he went. Chewing gum would come in really handy right now, he thought to himself. He also felt cut off in a way he wasn¡¯t expecting as two of his senses became useless, and a third was made blurry. With his continued fear that something was about to leap out at him, he found the lack of senses to be particularly perturbing. But despite his paranoia, nothing disturbed him as he made his way down to the lever. Above it, he saw a drawing which looked identical to the first symbol he had seen on the door ¨C the flame. His lungs starting to demand oxygen, though not urgently yet, Dominic pushed himself to the surface, aided by the reduced weight through Airborne. Taking in a deep breath, he swam-paddled-flew over to the ford-like bridge which separated his section from the one Sirius had been exploring. The ameshek in question was standing on the slope that led back to the door, but, seeing Dominic, he moved over to reflect the lion¡¯s position on the other side of the bridge. ¡®Does the engraving above your lever look anything like the engravings on the door?¡¯ Dominic asked urgently. The ameshek looked puzzled for a moment, and then realisation dawned and he turned to look at the door. From their angle, they could just about see the engravings. His expression then turned to thoughtful before he sent negation into the Pride chat. ¡®No. It is quite different.¡¯ ¡®I see,¡¯ murmured Dominic in response. So that now raised the question: should Dominic pull the lever because it was one of those engraved on the door? Or should he not for the same reason? He decided he needed a look both at Sirius¡¯ lever, and at the door again. Moving over to Sirius¡¯ side required him to almost completely leave the water to cross the bridge ¨C something that was easier than it sounded. Water-logged, it felt like he weighed twice what he did normally ¨C or even more. He stayed as low in the water as he could to use its buoyancy, particularly for his wings which he intentionally let sag. While he could just about lift them even when they were so saturated, it made his muscles strain so he decided not to bother. The soggy shagginess of his mane was the heaviest part of him otherwise. At least Airborne helped a bit too, as did shaking his head violently to flick off some of the water ¨C now he understood perfectly why dogs and cats insisted on doing that the moment they came out of water. This is annoying, Dominic admitted quietly to himself. Not quietly enough, apparently. ¡®I hate to say that I told you so¡­but I told you so,¡¯ Leo¡¯s voice interjected irritatingly. Dominic gritted his teeth and ignored his companion. It was a relief when he got into deeper water again and could feel the weight being taken off his shoulders. Quickly swimming down to the lever in the same way that he had earlier, he examined the engraving. Sure enough, it didn¡¯t look like the flame, drop of water, or wave that he¡¯d seen on the door. Instead, it looked like¡­he didn¡¯t know. Stones? Those stones that I thought might drop on my head earlier¡­could this trigger them? he wondered. It seemed more than possible ¨C likely, even. Dominic pushed himself back to the surface as his lungs started complaining again. He quickly explained the situation to the amesheks. ¡®So,¡¯ he finished, ¡®the question is which lever to pull. Or even whether to pull one at all. And if pulling a lever, whether it should be one of these. Or both. Or more. And if it¡¯s multiple, then what order. Actually, that¡¯s several questions,¡¯ he finished wryly. ¡®Personally, I think that either the dungeon is being relatively straightforward, and we need to pull the levers which have the same symbols as the door, probably in that order, or the levers are completely misleading and there¡¯s another solution.¡¯ ¡®I have examined the door and the area around it,¡¯ rumbled Procyon, ¡®and I cannot sense any other way of opening it.¡¯ ¡®Neither could I,¡¯ Dominic admitted. ¡®But this dungeon has proven to be tricky in the past ¨C it¡¯s not impossible that there¡¯s something we¡¯re missing.¡¯ ¡®Perhaps it would be a good idea to try the lever which has the corresponding engraving to the door,¡¯ suggested Sirius. ¡®See if there is any indication that it is the correct choice.¡¯ Dominic hesitated for a moment. Logic warred with caution: Occam¡¯s razor suggested that the simplest explanation of the two was most likely to be the case; caution warned that the dungeon hadn¡¯t always chosen the simplest option. ¡®But haven¡¯t the dungeon solutions always been simple?¡¯ questioned Leo pointedly. ¡®They haven¡¯t been obvious, but once we knew the trick, they were simple.¡¯ Dominic hated to admit it, but he was right when the former-human thought about it. ¡®Doing nothing is worse than trying something,¡¯ the lion continued. ¡®We need to get through the door and find our female again before anything happens ¨C I don¡¯t trust the males. Doing nothing won¡¯t get us that. And we¡¯re already wet so what does it matter now?¡¯ ¡®As long as it doesn¡¯t bring the ceiling crashing down on our heads,¡¯ sighed Dominic, ignoring the lion¡¯s last comment. Still, he agreed with Leo. Again. Was that a record? ¡®Alright, for lack of any better ideas, I suppose we¡¯d better try it,¡¯ he said in the Pride chat. Surely the dungeon wouldn¡¯t just kill them for choosing one bad option; even if this wasn¡¯t the correct solution, they should have the time to find a better one. A laborious return to his own section later, Dominic dived down and paused in front of the lever. After a brief moment of hesitation, he triggered it and then rose to the surface to see what had changed ¨C if anything. Chapter 71: Armoured Predator As Dominic breached the surface, the sound of grinding and crashing which he¡¯d started hearing in the last few seconds got louder. Blinking furiously to get rid of the water clogging his eyes, he shook his head to dry his mane slightly and clear the wet hairs from his face. He was eventually able to see what was going on, although too late to do anything about it. Bits of the ceiling had broken free to fall to the ground below ¨C the impacts were what he had heard even through the water in his ears. Fortunately, Procyon was fine. He¡¯d intelligently realised what was going on and leapt into the water next to Sirius ¨C out of the danger zone. The impacts continued for a little longer and then stopped. The three waited in silence, looking for any indication that something else was about to happen. It seemed, however, that the dungeon was done with its current trap. Using Airborne to help him, Dominic pulled himself out being submerged in the water and onto the ford. There, he shook himself as much as he could. When he¡¯d shaken as much of the water out of his fur as possible, he decided to try something that he¡¯d been wondering about. Using the aspect of Vibrating Body which he had kept when his Abilities had been combined, Dominic hummed deeply in his chest. He felt the vibrations start there and then spread out through his body. From the depths of his chest, they extended all the way to the tips of his fur and feathers, flicking off the water far more effectively than he¡¯d managed by just shaking himself. By the time he ran out of breath, he wasn¡¯t exactly dry, but he felt a lot lighter than he had when he¡¯d got out of the water. ¡®That is a good idea,¡¯ Procyon commented thoughtfully in their Pride chat while getting out and copying Dominic. ¡®I had not thought of using my vibrations for drying myself off.¡¯ Sirius didn¡¯t say anything but as he got out he did exactly the same. All relatively dry, they went to investigate the area near the gate in case the impacts from the rocks had revealed anything new ¨C enemy or clue. As it turned out, their search was fruitless. The rocks were just rocks as far as they could tell. The only difference, apart from the new chunks of rubble littering the floor, was to the door itself. The crystal orb embedded within the symbol of a flame had lit up with a bright red glow. The other two ¨C the drop of water and the wave ¨C were still dull. ¡®Well, it looks like matching the symbols is the way to go, then,¡¯ Dominic concluded. ¡®As long as the dungeon has not left further traps,¡¯ added Leo grimly. ¡®Do you think that this rock fall was caused by the trigger? And that it will happen every time we pull a trigger?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s possible,¡¯ agreed Dominic slowly. ¡®I hadn¡¯t thought of that. If any of us stay on land, we¡¯ll need to be careful and watch out for it.¡¯ He continued speaking to Leo but also sent his messages in the Pride chat so that the amesheks could hear him as well. ¡®We need to look for the next symbol ¨C the drop of water. I don¡¯t know if the order matters, so for the sake of not having to repeat this whole thing, let¡¯s just assume that it does. It seems possible, likely even, that the next lever will also cause a rockfall, so watch out for that. Perhaps, Procyon, you should stand on the ford rather than the dry land.¡¯ ¡®That seems sensible,¡¯ Procyon agrees, ¡®Though, perhaps we should take it in turns to dive. That will allow each of us to recoup our stamina and breath.¡¯ ¡®Good idea,¡¯ Dominic agreed ¨C though the water wasn¡¯t actually as bad as he¡¯d thought it was at first, he¡¯d still rather minimise his time in it. ¡®Sirius, do you want to have a break?¡¯ Even though he could feel Leo¡¯s disagreement with him offering the break to the other ameshek, Dominic felt that it was his job as a leader to do so. ¡®It is not bad,¡¯ Sirius replied. ¡®I will take the next break.¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ Dominic agreed, not passing up the opportunity of staying mostly dry for a bit longer since Sirius was offering it. Maybe it was just as well for him to stay up above this time: there had been a warning about a dangerous foe in the waters which they hadn¡¯t encountered yet. He had a feeling that that luck wouldn¡¯t last for too long, not when the poem had specifically warned about it. They headed back to the water, walking along the ford to the second set of underwater chambers. From what Dominic remembered seeing when he had glided overhead, there were eight chambers in total, four on either side of the submerged ford. With what seemed like two more levers to find, it meant that there was no guarantee whether the next pair of chambers would indeed contain what they sought. ¡®Just quickly go and check the symbols and then come back,¡¯ Dominic instructed. The two amesheks acknowledged his instruction and then dove down into the water. The lion was left up on the surface, doing his best to watch each of his pride members like a hawk. His attention was rewarded when he saw a dark shape darting towards Sirius. ¡®Sirius! Watch out!¡¯ he warned urgently. The ameshek did his best to shift out of the way, but his movements were ungainly and awkward compared to the shape darting towards him. Dominic saw the ameshek jerk in the water as the creature hit him. A moment later, a dark cloud billowed into the water around Sirius. ¡®Looks like the canine isn¡¯t good at fighting in water,¡¯ Leo remarked with idle curiosity. Dominic growled at him mentally. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Procyon, Sirius has been attacked, I need to help him. Be careful,¡¯ Dominic warned urgently before he dived straight into the water. Taking a deep breath just before he went in, he activated Airborne, maximising his weight. He tried activating Momentous Charge, but felt that it failed the moment his feet were off the ground for too long. It made sense, but was still annoying. Swimming as quickly as he could towards the action, it felt like he was struggling through jelly. Flicking his wings, he managed to propel himself forwards, but it felt far too slow. The creature had grabbed Sirius and was turning over and over with him in its jaws. Now close enough to identify the creature properly, Dominic felt his stomach sink. It was a crocodile or alligator. Given that most of the creatures in this dungeon had been either African or completely extra-terrestrial, Dominic was going to go with a crocodile. But correct species identification paled in importance compared to the fact that it was an armoured predator which even lions wouldn¡¯t mess with unless it was already more than half-dead and out of the water Here, in its element and clearly strengthened by the dungeon, a crocodile was the last thing Dominic wanted to tangle with. A dangerous foe indeed. Dominic flicked his wings as hard as he could and activated Quick Strike, adding more speed to his attack. Reaching the twisting and turning body of the crocodile, Dominic reached out with his claws and teeth to grab onto it. Surprising him a little, his teeth sank straight into the crocodile. He was expecting its armoured skin to hold up better than it actually did. Then again, from what he could see of the red bar, his attack didn¡¯t do much damage in and of itself. The crocodile did more of that to itself when it continued twisting, taking no notice of the lion¡¯s attack. Between the force required to move Dominic¡¯s bulky body with its momentum and its own flesh, its flesh gave way first. Dominic was left floating next to the crocodile, pushed away from the two by the currents the crocodile was generating, with a mouthful of flesh which he quickly Consumed. Attacking again, he bit hard with his teeth as well as his claws. This time, he managed to get more of a grip. Immediately, he started pumping in venom and acid. He could feel vibration in his teeth ¨C Sirius¡¯ attempt at an attack. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t the same as the first time he¡¯d bitten into an ameshek. There wasn¡¯t the same¡­intentional edge. It was still a bit uncomfortable, but he wasn¡¯t worried that his teeth were going to rattle out of his skull again or his claws break away from his paws. He didn¡¯t know how Immunity managed to differentiate that kind of thing, but apparently it did. His lungs started burning: he was pouring stamina into Crushing Bite and into just staying attached. Hearteningly, this time he was having an effect. The crocodile, now forced to whip the lion¡¯s bulky body as well as its own, was losing momentum. Its health bar was decreasing slowly, but faster all the time as Dominic¡¯s venom started suffusing it and the green droplet appeared. But would Dominic¡¯s lungs hold out? From the increasing pain, he feared they wouldn¡¯t. But he feared even more for what would happen if he left Sirius in the crocodile¡¯s jaws for the time it would take to go up and get a breath. He resolved to do what he could to help for now, but to kick off if he noticed any symptoms of asphyxiation beyond just his lungs screaming at him. There was no point in them both dying. The crocodile¡¯s health bar was draining faster and faster. The second quarter took half the time to empty that the first quarter had and the third quarter took even less time than that. But Sirius¡¯ health wasn¡¯t much better. The crocodile had grabbed him by his back right hindquarter and he was showing signs of increasing damage in that region. With the death roll of the crocodile, he hadn¡¯t been able to do anything more to defend himself than activate his Vibrating Body. But none of those explained how quickly his health bar was beginning to empty. The crocodile couldn¡¯t be venomous, could it? They weren¡¯t normally, nor were alligators, but then lions weren¡¯t normally either. This was the System; who knew what could happen? There was a small symbol above his floating health bar, but Dominic couldn¡¯t make sense of it. It kind of looked like a sideways mushroom with curvy horizontal lines ending in a sort of puffy cloud. ¡®Our health is decreasing as well,¡¯ warned Leo. Dominic abruptly paid attention to the bar in the corner of his vision. Sure enough, it was starting to decrease with increasing speed ¨C and had the same symbol above it that Sirius¡¯ did. Abruptly, he realised that his lungs, while screaming at him, hadn¡¯t got any worse. Nor was he starting to get the narrow vision of oxygen-deprivation. Was that the meaning of the sign? Lack of breath? Could it be that under the System, drowning only worked when the being¡¯s health points bottomed out? If so, Dominic had an idea. The crocodile had almost stopped: its exhaustion and increasingly poor health left it without the strength to move both its prey and attacker at the same time. Taking advantage of them not being flung around in circles, Dominic risked taking one paw away from the crocodile to materialise one of the carcasses he¡¯d stored in his storage space and send it at Sirius. ¡®Consume the carcass,¡¯ Dominic urged him. The ameshek was more groggy than Dominic liked to see ¨C apparently being the focus of the death roll wasn¡¯t as fun as being the hanger-on ¨C but he managed to touch a paw to the warthog carcass as it drifted by. The ameshek¡¯s health bar got a sudden boost which Dominic was glad to see, annoyingly the crocodile also got a bit of health back from the small amount of golden dust that it was able to absorb. Oddly enough, the dust acted in exactly the same way as in the air outside, as if the water didn¡¯t exist at all for it. Seeing the success of his idea, Dominic quickly did the same for himself: his Regeneration wasn¡¯t keeping pace with his current expenditure, which showed just how much health he was losing. The health boost from the carcass was very much needed. He materialised another one and sent it to Sirius, then grabbed another for himself. The boosts from the carcasses gave them just enough time to outlast the crocodile. When it got down to 10%, it let go of Sirius ¨C leaving several gleaming teeth in the ameshek¡¯s hindquarter ¨C and tried to escape. With Dominic still latched onto its body, his teeth no longer powered by Crushing Bite but still full of venom, it failed to get far. Its strength was spent, and when Sirius managed to ponderously turn around and set his own teeth into its pale throat, its health bar dropped even more quickly. [You have killed Nile Crocodile (Evolved Beast level 11)] [You have earned 16 PP] ¡®Come on ¨C let¡¯s get to the surface before our own health bars empty,¡¯ Dominic said to his pride-mate, looking forward to finally taking a proper breath. ¡®Please,¡¯ Sirius agreed fervently. Rearranging his grip on the carcass so that he could pull it up with him, Dominic reversed his Airborne effect and flapped his wings while paddling with his feet. The surface felt impossibly far away above his head, his lungs renewing their protests at the prospect of being able to take a breath soon. But determination saw him achieve what had felt impossible and his head broke free of the water¡¯s surface. The first few breaths through his nostrils smelt as sweet as honey, his aching lungs finally ceasing their protest. A few moments later he heard Sirius breaking the surface behind him and sucking in his own desperate breaths. The sign faded from both of their health bars, indicating that Dominic¡¯s conclusions had been correct. On the surface, Dominic was reminded that the world was not only limited to Sirius, the crocodile, and himself. His eyes flew to the opposite chamber, seeing only ripples from their own movements on the surface. Chapter 72: Otherwise Occupied ¡®Procyon?¡¯ he asked urgently, using his wings to make him surge forwards to the ford. He dropped the crocodile carcass without a thought in his fear that something might have happened to the other ameshek while he was involved in saving Sirius. Pushing himself mostly out of the water, he gained enough of a view on the situation to see what was going on. And as soon as he saw it, he again surged forwards, using Quick Strike to hasten his movement. Back in the water on the other side of the ford, he took a hurried yet deep breath and then dived down, repeating what he¡¯d found worked best to propel him through the liquid surrounding him. As soon as he drew abreast of the entangled pair, he materialised another warthog carcass, sending it towards Procyon. ¡®Absorb the carcass!¡¯ he urged the ameshek. That was easier said than done: the assailant was another crocodile and had instigated the same death roll that the previous one they¡¯d fought had. Procyon had obviously been more aware than Sirius, though ¨C perhaps Dominic¡¯s warning had alerted him. Instead of having been grabbed by his hindquarter, the crocodile had got him by his right foreleg ¨C which had enabled the ameshek to bite back. It was a battle between who could wreak the most damage in the shortest space of time ¨C the crocodile with its crushing bite pressure and the torque of its roll, or the vibrating ameshek with his teeth almost penetrating the crocodile¡¯s skull. The problem was that, like with Sirius, Procyon had obviously run out of breath. The asphyxiation sign was clear above his health bar which was rapidly emptying. Getting him to absorb some carcasses was absolutely essential. Fortunately, even if his teeth and foreleg were otherwise occupied, Procyon¡¯s other limbs were available, and his hind paws were able to knock into the floating carcass. It disappeared quickly into golden dust, so Dominic sent out two more, ready for the ameshek to absorb them too. One of them missed and drifted past him to the bottom, but the other was quickly absorbed. Satisfied that Procyon wasn¡¯t about to die within the next few seconds, Dominic darted forwards with another use of Quick Strike, and set his teeth and claws into the crocodile¡¯s flesh. This time, he¡¯d been able to angle himself better and he managed to go straight for the massive reptile¡¯s underside, digging into its less-armoured belly. The currents of the water had made him drift a little so he was facing the crocodile¡¯s tail rather than its head. Pouring in venom and acid as quickly as he could, he also worked with his hind claws to cause as much damage as possible to the crocodile¡¯s softer areas. His hind legs weren¡¯t powered as much by Powerful Strike as his front legs, but they still seemed to gain some benefit from the Ability. Even better, he was able to gamble for the chance of gaining the bleed effect ¨C and on his fourth gamble, he saw it take effect. A red droplet faded into view next to the green droplet which had appeared when he had started pumping in his venom. Emboldened, he kept going, committing as much stamina as he dared to his hind legs. In between flurries of attacks, he released carcasses into the water, Consuming a few himself, but sending most to Procyon. It felt like it took a long time, but it was probably quicker than with Sirius. Nevertheless, when the notification flashed up in front of his eyes, Dominic was thoroughly relieved and spent. [You have killed Nile Crocodile (Evolved Beast level 11)] [You have earned 16 PP] Using his wings to propel himself and the carcass to breach the surface, Dominic was concerned when Procyon just lay limply in the crocodile¡¯s jaws, the ameshek¡¯s head finally above water. ¡®Procyon?¡¯ he asked in the Pride chat, fearing the worst. ¡®I am tired,¡¯ the ameshek replied sounding weak, but alive. Dominic felt his heart return to its proper place. He really didn¡¯t want to return to Nyx without one of her pack. With that thought he immediately looked for Sirius, who pounced on his friend, dragging him out of the water and onto the ford. The rough treatment made some of Procyon¡¯s wounds worse as his foreleg was forcibly dragged out of the crocodile¡¯s mouth and the wounds renewed their bleeding. Procyon coughed, some water emerging from his mouth. The lion looked him over with increasing alarm at his condition, especially the increased bleeding. ¡®Do you need a healing potion?¡¯ Dominic asked him in concern. ¡®Why do you want to give him a healing potion?¡¯ Leo demanded privately. ¡®We only have one! See ¨C he looks fine.¡¯ ¡®He doesn¡¯t!¡¯ Dominic argued back. ¡®Look at his health bar ¨C it¡¯s practically down to the barest sliver.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s no lower than ten percent,¡¯ scoffed Leo. ¡®We¡¯ve been lower than that many times.¡¯ ¡®We have Second Wind! And Enhanced Regeneration!¡¯ Dominic sent back hotly. ¡®Procyon has none of those.¡¯ Leo¡¯s reply was lost as Procyon responded ¨C probably for the best. ¡®I shall be fine if I can Consume a bit more golden dust,¡¯ he said in the Pride chat, still obviously weak. ¡®I am not heavily injured, just almost out of both health and stamina.¡¯ ¡®Alright, good,¡¯ Dominic replied, somewhat relieved that the ameshek hadn¡¯t accepted the offer. Leo was right ¨C they did only have one healing potion, so they should really try to keep it for a particularly bad situation. Dominic had probably had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction because of just how bad Procyon looked ¨C half-drowned, blood soaking his fur, his foreleg more than a little mangled¡­. Pulling out some more carcasses, Dominic laid them where the amesheks could access them and then retreated a little to pull the carcass of the second crocodile fully onto the raised ford. The body of the first crocodile also being on the ford was a bit of a surprise. He distinctly remembered dropping it. He went to ask Sirius whether he¡¯d been the one to pull it up, but stopped himself when he saw the telltale blurring around the canine¡¯s figure. Sirius had been able to level up? Good. Curious, Dominic went to check his own progress. Progress to Evolution: 460/901 PP If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. As expected, he hadn¡¯t earned enough to level up, but he was more than halfway there. It was more than he¡¯d anticipated ¨C the two crocodiles had given him 16 Prey Points each, but he¡¯d earned more than 32 Prey Points since he¡¯d last checked his progress after the warthogs. Even as he looked at it, he saw the Points tick up to 467 Prey Points. ¡®It seems like Sekhmet and the others are doing their own killing,¡¯ he remarked to Leo. ¡®Are you sure they¡¯re still alive?¡¯ Leo asked, sounding like he was trying not to appear worried, but not succeeding at it. Dominic pulled up the Pride status ¨C it was probably a good idea to wait for Procyon to be in better health before they did any more exploration anyway. They had time to spend checking on the others. ¡®Yes, they¡¯re fine,¡¯ he reassured the lion, spotting Sekhmet¡¯s, Fang¡¯s, and Lionel¡¯s names in the list. ¡®In fact, as you can see, they¡¯re doing pretty well.¡¯ ¡®They even seem to have each earned another level,¡¯ commented Leo, relief clear in his voice. If Dominic was honest, he was also relieved to have the clear evidence that the rest of his current pride group was doing fine, especially as they were separated in a dangerous dungeon. ¡®Yes,¡¯ he answered Leo, looking at the numbers more clearly. ¡®If I remember correctly what they were when we got separated, anyway. Sekhmet has gone up to level twenty, Fang is now level eighteen, and Lionel is close behind him at level seventeen. Sirius and Procyon are now neck and neck at level twenty-two.¡¯ Which, thinking about it, was the same level Dominic and Leo had been when they entered the dungeon. It just proved the efficacy of dungeon grinding. Looking briefly through the rest of the Pride information, he didn¡¯t notice a huge amount of difference. All of the leonine Pride members who had stayed behind in the Place of Power had gone up at least one level; some had gone up by more. The influence of the Place of Power Prey Points? Or had they been hunting? Probably both. Jenkins and the albuhas had gained a level or two each too. Dominic closed the screen and looked at Procyon. The ameshek appeared a lot better ¨C his health bar was up to three quarters, and he had pushed himself to his feet. Dominic pulled out a few more carcasses for him ¨C he was almost out. When he went down to check out the levers, he should try to find the ones that missed Procyon in the fight and sank to the bottom of the chamber. Walking over to the crocodile carcass, Dominic Consumed it. His own health was almost full, but his stamina was still pretty low. Jumping from one difficult fight to the next had seen it almost bottom out and, though Enhanced Stamina was good, it wasn¡¯t as good as Enhanced Regeneration. The crocodile fully replenished his health and gave him more than half his stamina back. It also left a glinting Core. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Nile Crocodile level 11 Ability option 1: Crushing Bite (50% chance)) Ability option 2: Quick Snap (30% chance) Ability option 3: Extended Breath (20% chance)] ¡®That¡¯s much as I would have guessed from a crocodile,¡¯ Dominic remarked to his leonine companion. ¡®Though I¡¯m a little surprised there¡¯s nothing linked to that death roll move they both used.¡¯ ¡®Maybe it wasn¡¯t an Ability,¡¯ suggested Leo. ¡®It¡¯s not like we needed Powerful Swipe before we could attack with our front paws.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ Dominic agreed. Abilities could give access to new actions ¨C their acid and venom examples of that, as was Lionel¡¯s Healing Cloud ¨C but most of the time it seemed to be more enhancements of existing ones. Perhaps Death Roll was something given to crocodiles later, or perhaps only some crocodiles had it. Certainly having Crushing Bite being their primary Ability made sense too. Out of the three of them, they would all be good but none of them jumped out at him as a must-have. Crushing Bite would give him more progress towards his own existing Ability, which was useful. Quick Snap he guessed would have some synergy with Quick Strike, perhaps enhancing that once he gained enough progress to acquire it. Extended Breath was probably the most immediately useful, but with a level 11 crocodile, he¡¯d probably need several Cores to get it, by which point they might already be done with this room. How many underwater rooms was he likely to come across anyway? ¡®I¡¯d get Crushing Bite ¨C it¡¯s the most immediately useful,¡¯ Leo opined. ¡®The better our bite can get, the quicker we can kill our enemies and the less likely we or our allies are to die.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a good point,¡¯ Dominic allowed. ¡®But we can progress in that one just by using it. I¡¯m reluctant to throw away the chance to get a new Ability here. Let¡¯s look at the second Core before we decide, shall we?¡¯ Moving before Leo could argue ¨C not that he appeared likely to do so ¨C Dominic Consumed the other crocodile, topping up his stamina. He then checked the Abilities in the other crocodile¡¯s Core. [You have obtained a Beast Core: Nile Crocodile level 11 Ability option 1: Crushing Bite (50% chance)) Ability option 2: Extended Breath (30% chance) Ability option 3: Death Roll (20% chance)] ¡®So here we have Extended Breath again, though with a higher chance, and the expected Ability for the Death Roll. I¡¯d say that we don¡¯t want the latter ¨C I don¡¯t see it being of much use in our normal fights,¡¯ suggested Dominic. ¡®I agree. But I still think that Crushing Bite is the best option. If you wish to gain another Ability, Quick Snap is probably a good one to aim for ¨C the bleed enhancement we gained to Powerful Swipe by acquiring a complementary Ability certainly helped us in that last fight,¡¯ pointed out Leo. ¡®That¡¯s true, but I¡¯ve been thinking about Extended Breath. Even if we don¡¯t gain it soon enough for it to make a difference here, what¡¯s the chances that we¡¯ll come across a different situation where breath control is important?¡¯ ¡®I hope you¡¯re not planning on taking up swimming,¡¯ warned Leo. ¡®I still don¡¯t like the sensation in my fur.¡¯ ¡®Not swimming, but what about that poison cloud around the monitor lizard upstairs? What about if we face enemies who can make the air around us dangerous? Being able to hold our breath for an extended amount of time ¨C as this Ability seems to be about ¨C would be useful.¡¯ The lion was silent for a moment ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ was all he would say afterwards. Dominic interrupted the ensuing silence. ¡®Anyway, we don¡¯t have enough Cores to get either of the Abilities, so why don¡¯t we wait until we have more? It seems likely that we won¡¯t gain either Ability soon enough to make a difference, so making the decision later isn¡¯t a big deal. And it looks like both Procyon and Sirius are ready to continue.¡¯ ¡®Yes. Let us finish this wretched dungeon room and get properly dry and warm again,¡¯ Leo agreed, this time with all his heart. ¡®Nasty, cold, wet stuff.¡¯ Dominic checked that the two amesheks were ready, then collected the Cores and the unConsumed carcasses. ¡®Alright, this time I¡¯ll go in by myself,¡¯ he said to them. ¡®Both of you keep watch, and if you see anything, warn me and come in to help.¡¯ He figured it was better for him to go in ¨C he had Enhanced Regeneration and would be able to last longer when attacked than either of them. Plus, he had Spatial Awareness which helped him know what was going on all around him, even if only things that happened extremely close by. ¡®I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re complaining about, Leo,¡¯ he said to his companion when he jumped back into the water. ¡®It feels warmer to me now than the first time ¨C I think it just takes a bit of getting used to.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t want to get used to it ¨C I just want to get out of here!¡¯ replied the lion grumpily. ¡®Well, let¡¯s find out if this lever is one of the ones to help us with that,¡¯ replied Dominic, already starting to swim down to investigate it. ¡®Keep an eye out for more crocodiles, would you?¡¯ Chapter 73: Sekhmet Sekhmet let out a growl as she dodged the annoying canine¡¯s attack. Fang went for its back legs, biting one and almost shaking it off its feet. While he did that, Lionel attacked its flank. When the enemy twisted around to bite at Fang, Sekhmet took the opportunity to strike. Snatching at its throat, she was satisfied when her teeth sank in deeply and she tasted its hot blood. Snarling under her breath, she shook the canine. It was more than half her size, but she was stronger now than she used to be, which enabled her to lift it off the ground despite its size. The nipping at her back legs reminded her that the canines weren''t the only threats in this place ¨C just the biggest ones. ¡®Get the vermin,¡¯ she instructed the two males. They obeyed without question: they¡¯d learned better in previous fights. Her time as a huntress allowed her to lead these fights with far more skill than their inexperienced efforts. Sekhmet held onto the canine long after it had stopped moving. That was something they had learned the hard way when several of their enemies had got back up to attack them when they had thought them dead. Just to make sure, Sekhmet tore the canine¡¯s throat out, almost separating its head from its body, just as they¡¯d done with the previous canines they¡¯d killed in this fight. By that point, the young males had dealt with the irritating vermin which had been harassing them almost constantly. They were recognisable to the lions, but none of them were used to being attacked by these things. Normally, they would scurry for their burrows at the first sign of a lion coming close ¨C and at least one of the group was always watching. But in this place, all the rules seemed to be discarded like a cub would do with a bone it was tired of. In this place, the vermin were several times their normal size and their teeth were surprisingly sharp. They were all bleeding from wounds the vermin had inflicted on them, and from the odd bite the canines had got in. The beginning of the fight had been particularly tricky with all three lions being hard-pressed by the sheer number of their enemies. But they got through it with teamwork. All prey in the surrounding area apparently now dead, they had a brief moment to heal and recuperate a bit. Lionel Consumed the carcasses lying around them and then moved in between Sekhmet and Fang. When he released golden dust in a cloud around him, Sekhmet sighed in contentment. After sweeping up the shiny orbs which Dominic called ¡®cores¡¯ into her new piece of equipment, she slumped to the ground and laid her head on her paws. As soon as they were all healed, Fang did the same, and then Lionel too. They rested for a while. It had been a lot of fighting and killing recently. Sekhmet didn¡¯t have any problems with that, but she was still feeling a bit tired. They had slept from time to time, cat naps more than anything else, and she certainly was feeling the need for a proper sleep. But this wasn¡¯t the area for that ¨C even if so far the prey hadn¡¯t actually come looking for them, there was no guarantee another predator wouldn¡¯t come along. Still, a rest would do them all good. It had been a shock to be separated from the rest of their pride, and from Dominic in particular. He was the one who had brought them into this place and who seemed to always know how to get to the next part of it, or at least where to start looking. But they had been separated by a thick wall of rock and there was no other way they could go but forward if they wanted to try to meet up with the rest of the pride again. The door had led into a room full of obstacles and enemies, the same two creatures which they had just fought. The obstacles had created an odd sort of winding path which was full of blind spots and smaller spaces which the enemies had used to their advantage. The lions had learned to walk cautiously and to send Fang ahead ¨C with his quiet feet which were able to find places to walk where he wouldn¡¯t create too much noise, they were sometimes able to get an idea of what enemies awaited them before they were attacked. Sometimes. Fortunately, the groups were rarely numerous enough to offer much of a threat to the lions, but that didn¡¯t mean they wouldn¡¯t be injured. Each injury meant time was required to heal afterwards ¨C they had learned that Lionel¡¯s golden clouds healed the enemy as easily as they healed the lions. They therefore didn¡¯t use his healing during fights any more unless there was enough space between the lions and the enemies to avoid benefiting their opponents. Sekhmet admitted to being slightly worried, though. When they had first started this room, they had been attacked by one enemy at a time; sometimes two. In this fight, there had been three of the canines and five of the vermin and they were not yet at the end of this twisty path. The air didn¡¯t move much in this confined space, but what movement there was brought scents to her nose which became stronger the further they advanced. Given the strength of the scent, she suspected that they were not far from their destination. Not that that meant a lot when it came to this odd route: sometimes they had had to double back on themselves because they had found that there was no way forward from where they had reached. At other times, they were able to get much closer to the smell before being redirected backwards for a bit. It was very disorientating. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. They rested, falling into a half-doze that would allow them to rapidly react to a threat if one approached. It didn¡¯t. Sekhmet was roused out of her doze as she sensed one of the males push himself to his feet. Fang. He approached her almost tentatively, his head descending to sniff at her searching. She growled a warning at him, the deep rumble almost inaudible. He hesitated for a moment, then continued, sniffing at her body. Sekhmet tensed as he moved towards her tail, her growl increasing in volume and becoming a snarl. She knew what had got his attention. Knew why he had been throwing her glances and coming close to rub against her whenever he dared. She could feel the prickly heat beginning, the urge to mate, to lie beneath a male and let him enter her. Memories of the last time this had happened were blurry, but she remembered need and pain and an itch which only a male could scratch, and that only temporarily. The urge to find a strong and virile male was beginning, and she knew that within a short amount of time, it would become overwhelming. But she didn¡¯t want these males. Not as long as she was able to choose. There was a strong, powerful, virile male nearby, she just needed to get to him. He would satisfy her, she was sure. These young males with wispy manes and smaller frames were undesirable in comparison. When Fang started shifting as if he was about to mount her, Sekhmet leapt to her feet. Before he could react, she whirled around and swiped at him, her heavy paw hitting him right in the muzzle. She had kept her claws sheathed and hadn¡¯t activated the extra power that she now had in her front legs ¨C another gift from her male ¨C but her sharp snarl left no illusions that she was being serious. Face to face, Sekhmet could only feel contempt at the thought of this lesser male mounting her. He was smaller than her, and weaker. He had practically no mane, and had not proven himself in any way except as a decent fighter. He wasn¡¯t even a good hunter. His juvenile frame would struggle just as much as hers to bring down large prey. Maybe even more so. Not like Dominic. Dominic, who had taught her how to hunt for more than just food. Dominic, who had made her stronger. Dominic, who had led their pride across the land in search of ways to make them more powerful. Dominic, who had protected them. Dominic, who was so much larger and stronger than any of the other lions. Dominic, with his attractive, long, dark mane. Sekhmet half-crouched into a position which would make it easy to attack and glared at Fang, her eye contact warning him not to try again. He probably would ¨C it was the nature of males to push ¨C but she would teach him that he would face her claws and teeth if he tried. Lionel padded closer. Sekhmet didn¡¯t spare him a glance, her eyes still locked with Fang¡¯s in a contest of who would look away first. ¡®We¡¯re wasting time,¡¯ the other male said, with a hint of annoyance in his mental voice. ¡®Brother, she is not ready for you. Let¡¯s go.¡¯ Fang continued staring at Sekhmet for a moment longer, and then broke their eye contact. ¡®I will go scout,¡¯ he announced in the Pride chat, his ears swivelling back towards Sekhmet, seeking her agreement as if nothing had happened. Which, as Sekhmet straightened from her half-crouched position, was true. Nothing had happened. And nothing would as long as Sekhmet was able to say anything about it. The problem was that, as she remembered back to her last mating period, she wasn¡¯t sure for how long she would be able to say anything about it. But maybe it would be different this time. Everything else had been different; why not this as well? ¡®Yes, go scout,¡¯ she agreed, focussing on the present. Permission given, she watched as the male padded silently toward the next corner. Hesitating there, he pressed himself to the ground and slowly slunk around the obstacle. Inch by inch, as if he were hunting timid and watchful prey, he crept out of sight, the black tip of his tail the last to disappear. Sekhmet eyed Lionel, wondering whether the other male would be the next to try to mount her. He seemed to be studiously ignoring her, but she could tell from the way his ear on the side of his head closest to her kept swivelling in her direction that he was paying far more attention to her than he wanted to make obvious. She huffed out an irritated breath. The prickly heat was annoying. The males were annoying. This place was annoying. She just wanted to be out of it and find Dominic again. Hopefully Fang would be able to tell them on his return that the exit to this wretched path was in the next area. It seemed to take ages before Fang returned and when he did his eyes were wide. He seemed to have lost his interest in mating entirely. ¡®What did you see?¡¯ Sekhmet asked briskly. In answer, he pushed an impression into the Pride chat, like he used to before he was capable of speaking the way Dominic did. The impression was of a canine like the ones they had been fighting, but much bigger. This one was even larger than Fang, perhaps Sekhmet¡¯s size. Not only that, but it was surrounded by several large vermin, these ones also bigger than the ones they¡¯d been killing so far. And beyond it, one of those rectangular shapes which Sekhmet had learned indicated an area that was able to open and reveal space behind it. A door. The exit to the path. Chapter 74: Bait The water was getting warmer; that was certain by now. Already like warm bathwater, Dominic was starting to wonder if he¡¯d find out first-hand what it felt like to be the frog who didn¡¯t hop out of his pot fast enough. Despite the two crocodiles almost killing his amesheks, neither of the levers appeared to be the ones they needed ¨C the images above them didn¡¯t even look similar. Irritating, but inevitable given eight chambers and three levers to find. ¡®Right everyone,¡¯ he said in the Pride chat. ¡®Let¡¯s move on quickly. We¡¯ve identified the dangerous enemy that the poem was warning about, but it¡¯s possible that there are other dangers below the water too. Splitting up is clearly a bad idea so we¡¯ll only do one chamber at a time. But we can¡¯t take too long either.¡¯ Dominic hesitated before continuing. ¡®I¡¯d like you both to go in first, as I¡¯m more able to quickly descend to help than either of you. But it¡¯s probably going to be dangerous. Maybe even more dangerous than before if there are more or different enemies to face.¡¯ ¡®I am willing,¡¯ answered Procyon seriously. ¡®As am I,¡¯ added Sirius in the same vein. They were both clearly ready to put their lives on the line for him and jump into what they were almost certain would be crocodile-infested waters with only a lion as backup. ¡®Take these,¡¯ Dominic said next, pulling out the two two water-breathing potions. It almost hurt to give them up ¨C a part of him screamed that they might need them later. But the fact was that the faster they could deal with this room, the better, and the water-breathing potions would help keep two of his fighters alive. And no, that part wasn¡¯t Leo, though his growl of discontent certainly expressed how he felt. ¡®Why are you giving the potions to them, brother?¡¯ Leo demanded. ¡®We should take them instead!¡¯ Dominic growled back at him mentally. ¡®They¡¯re taking the initial risks; they need the potions.¡¯ ¡®But-¡¯ ¡®No. We¡¯ve got the best regenerative capacity of the party. We¡¯ll be fine. They might not be. Now, the longer we argue about this, the more time we¡¯re wasting; the more likely we are to become boiled lion and ameshek stew. Let¡¯s discuss it later unless you have a really good reason for why they shouldn¡¯t get the potions?¡¯ The lion growled angrily in the back of Dominic¡¯s mind, but he didn¡¯t reply immediately. Dominic took it as a begrudging agreement and waded through the water to give the amesheks their potions. As he was passing the first bottle to Procyon, Leo piped up. Fortunately for the mental health of both of them, it was a suggestion rather than a criticism. ¡®Wait. Don¡¯t give them the potions yet. We should bait them.¡¯ ¡®Bait them? The amesheks?¡¯ Dominic repeated, confused. ¡®No, the crocodiles. Drop something in to encourage them to show themselves. Then we will have a better idea of how many there are in each chamber.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s¡­actually a pretty good idea,¡¯ Dominic answered slowly. ¡®But with what?¡¯ Leo sent across annoyance at what he saw as Dominic¡¯s slowness. ¡®We have a number of carcasses still in our storage space. Use a few of those.¡¯ Dominic considered the idea, then decided that he liked it. While they didn¡¯t have a lot of time, this could end up saving them some since they''d know how many enemies they had to deal with before plunging in. They¡¯d probably have to use either the warthog or sloan carcasses since the bodies would need to be large enough to attract the crocodile¡¯s attention. But that was fine ¨C there had been enough enemies so far that even after healing their wounds, he still had plenty left over in his storage space. ¡®It¡¯s a good idea. Maybe I could make it better,¡¯ he thought to his companion. ¡®I don¡¯t know whether my venom would have the same effects if it¡¯s ingested rather than injected, but I bet my acid would give the crocodile that eats it a nasty stomach ache.¡¯ ¡®Do it,¡¯ ordered Leo gleefully. If Dominic could see him now, he would probably be looking like a lion playing with a helpless mouse for fun. He quickly told the amesheks what they were doing. Sirius just seemed relieved that he wasn¡¯t the bait anymore. To speed things up, Dominic decided to test all of the chambers at once. Pulling a carcass out of his storage space, Dominic sank his teeth into its belly again and again. Each time he pumped in either venom or acid, making a stomach-aching ¡®treat¡¯ for the crocodiles to enjoy. When the first bait was ready, he deputised Sirius to toss it into the first chamber and keep a sharp eye out for crocodiles which might come to snap at it. He repeated the process with three more carcasses, at the end feeling rather wrung out. He wondered whether snakes milked of their venom felt the same way. Tossing the last one into the back right water chamber himself, he watched as four crocodiles arrowed towards it to fight over the choice flesh which had just dropped in. He was grimly satisfied, and Leo even gleeful, when he saw the fastest gulp the carcass straight down. With any luck, that would help with taking down one of them. Four crocodiles, Dominic moaned unhappily to himself. They needed to even the odds a little. Four killing machines in their natural habitat when there were only three of them to fight. The other chamber closest to the staircase was the same with four crocodiles as well; the two areas between those chambers and the ones they¡¯d already explored only held two crocodiles each. Though ¡®only¡¯ didn¡¯t seem the right description when talking about creatures which had barely changed since the dinosaur era simply because they were so well-adapted. This was when he wished Lightning Discharge wasn¡¯t so nerfed ¨C if he could just electrify the whole area, that would be the job well done. Still, there were other options too. ¡®Alright everyone, here¡¯s the plan,¡¯ Dominic said to the two amesheks after he¡¯d had a moment to think about it. He explained what he thought would be the best approach to the two-crocodile chambers, Leo listening in and commenting when he felt it appropriate. Once they were all clear on the plan. Dominic took the potions out again and helped the two amesheks to take them. He¡¯d decided to use a riff on what they¡¯d already tried to get a count of how many enemies were in each chamber. Pulling out a warthog¡¯s body, Dominic did his best to fill it with acid. He kept his venom for later ¨C it had started replenishing itself but, like his acid stocks, was still pretty low. Dropping it in the water, he watched as two long, dark shapes arrowed towards it. The crocodiles had probably learned from last time: that movement meant tasty prey dropping towards them. However, Dominic was pleased to see that one of the crocodiles was a little slower and was missing a chunk of its health bar. His attempt to boobytrap the carcasses seemed to have been a success. ¡®Now!¡¯ he cried, taking a deep breath and diving into the water. He used both Airborne and his wings to travel through the water as fast as he could. Unfortunately, while he might have got faster with the practice he¡¯d had, he was still no match for a master of the water like a crocodile. The crocodile he was heading towards easily saw him coming and immediately twisted around to face him. With its jaws gaping, it arrowed his way, closing the gap far quicker than the lion could even hope to achieve. With the element of surprise decidedly lost, Dominic immediately decided to use a promising new Ability: Hypnotise. Mentally activating it, he realised he knew what to do even though he¡¯d never used it before. Slowing himself by extending his wings, he met the crocodile¡¯s cold predatory eyes and started making small movements one way then the other. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It actually built faster than he thought it would. Perhaps the reptilian brain of the crocodile left it particularly susceptible or the small movements caused by the water were helping him to enrapture it. Regardless of the reason, the result was that the crocodile had stopped its forward motion only a short distance away from Dominic. Its mouth was gaping open, but the muscles seemed slack and its eyes were glazed. The lights were on but nobody was home. Perfect. Gently pushing himself forward with his wings, Dominic used his paws to keep up the hypnotising movements as he approached the crocodile. Then, only a very short distance away from it, he abruptly clapped his wings together behind his back, shooting himself forwards. Digging his teeth and front claws into the crocodile¡¯s belly, he started pedalling with his back feet, doing his best to disembowel the creature. The crocodile took a moment to react, perhaps suffering from disorientation from the hypnosis suddenly breaking, but then it jerked and started writhing in the water. It couldn¡¯t reach him with its jaws so it tried to whip its body around fast enough to throw him off instead. Dominic just held on doggedly, eventually shifting to clinging on with both back and front paws, his wings tucked in as close to his body as possible. His teeth continued pumping as much venom and acid into the crocodile as he could. ¡®I think it is this lever,¡¯ Procyon told them, his mental voice tense. ¡®It looks like the second shape on the exit.¡¯ ¡®Excellent,¡¯ Dominic mentally grinned. ¡®Pull it and then get to the surface.¡¯ The ameshek acknowledged his instruction. Dominic vaguely registered a muffled rumbling sound ¨C the rocks falling again, he guessed. ¡®Health is getting low,¡¯ Sirius got out shortly after, his communication pained. ¡®Get out of there too,¡¯ Dominic ordered him. ¡®We can more easily attack it from the surface.¡¯ [You have killed Nile Crocodile (Evolved Beast level 11)] [You have earned 16 PP] Dominic registered the notification with relief ¨C he was feeling a little sick by this point and his head was spinning. Dominic pulled the crocodile carcass into his storage space, clearing the area near himself. Paws freed, he flicked his wings to propel himself clumsily through the water, doing his best to swim in a straight line despite his dizziness. He chased the other crocodile who was in turn chasing Sirius to the surface. As soon as the ameshek managed to climb onto the ford to improve his manoeuvrability, he turned around and stuck his head back in the water, letting out a Sonic Attack. Dominic immediately saw the impact on the crocodile¡¯s health bar, already almost empty from the laced bait and Sirius¡¯ own attacks. Near the surface himself, Dominic opened his mouth to join in the attack. Water rushed in and bubbles soon trickled out as he began roaring. The red trickled even more quickly out of the crocodile¡¯s bar and Sirius had to dodge as it snapped at him. When Procyon also joined in the attack, however, the crocodile was done for. [A member of your Pride has killed Nile Crocodile (Evolved Beast level 11)] [You have earned 16 PP] Dominic cared little, though, only in that it allowed him to push towards the surface. Breaking the barrier, he sucked in a desperate gasp of his own. His health had taken an impact from the oxygen deprivation ¨C the crocodiles, however, hadn¡¯t managed to leave even a scratch on him. Quickly pulling out carcasses for Sirius to heal up, the sound of pouring water made him realise that there was a new feature in the room ¨C one that made his stomach sink. ¡®Damn it. As if the slowly increasing temperature wasn¡¯t enough of a time pressure.¡¯ Not only had there been another rockfall near the door, but two waterfalls had opened up on either side of the staircase coming down. While in some way they were pleasant water features, Dominic highly doubted that that was what they were there for. Just like the increasing water temperature was probably not there to make them feel more comfortable. Dominic sighed. Well, in the end, it meant little difference ¨C they needed to get out of here as soon as possible. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t cause more difficulties in their fights, though. Perhaps they should have waited until they¡¯d identified all three levers first. ¡®To be fair,¡¯ Leo said off-handedly, ¡®We didn¡¯t know what effects the levers would cause.¡¯ ¡®No, though the chances of them causing some problems was pretty likely,¡¯ Dominic argued. ¡®And it wouldn¡¯t have harmed us at all to wait until we¡¯d checked all eight underwater chambers.¡¯ ¡®Unless there are traps we avoided because we did trigger the effects,¡¯ Leo argued. Dominic sent a surprised feeling towards him. ¡®Leo, are you¡­trying to make me feel better?¡¯ ¡®No!¡¯ the lion answered immediately, his tone defensive. ¡®I would just rather you don¡¯t waste time on marinating yourself in self-pity and guilt. Get going!¡¯ ¡®Marinating, huh,¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t resist teasing him. ¡®Been paying attention to my memories of BBQs, have you?¡¯ his leonine companion didn¡¯t respond, but just sent a feeling of impatience at Dominic. Still, he had a point. Focussing on the next chamber, they did much the same strategy as before, first dropping in a prepared bit of bait. This time, though, when the crocodiles shot for it, they didn¡¯t jump straight in, sacrificing an attempt at surprise for actual effectiveness. Instead, all three of them took deep breaths. Sticking their heads into the water, the two amesheks gave as much to Sonic Attack as they could, and Dominic joined them with his version of the same Ability, part of Majestic Sonic Roar. Immediately, he saw the crocodiles¡¯ health bars starting to trickle down. They both already had a small chunk taken out from each of his boobytraps ¨C again, it was the healthy crocodile which had grabbed the bait the second time ¨C and the Sonic Attacks were reducing the crocodiles¡¯ health further. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill them, of course, but that was only the start. When Dominic felt fatigue starting to creep up on him, he released the roar and pulled his head out of the water ¨C he didn¡¯t want to be as exhausted as he was the first time he properly used Sonic Attack. Still under the influence of the potion, the amesheks could breathe even with their heads under water, but they alternated filling their lungs again to make sure at least one of them was keeping the attack going at all times. Though slowed, the crocodiles were annoyingly able to resist the bulk of the paralysing effect of the amesheks¡¯ attack. Fortunately, the health impact seemed to be the same. Dominic prepared to attack but was momentarily distracted as a message appeared in front of his eyes. [A member of your Pride has died] Sekhmet! Dominic¡¯s thoughts immediately flew to the Pride member he was most concerned about as ice flashed through him. But this was no time to be distracted ¨C the crocodiles were upon them and he had to dodge a strike from one of them; the other was heading towards Procyon. With fiery anger burning away the iciness of fear, Dominic propelled himself towards the crocodile which was re-orientating itself for a second snap at him. As soon as its head broke through the surface of the water, its jaws wide, Dominic struck. The Tail Strike practically exploded the crocodile¡¯s head into a mess of blood and bone chips, the metal ball on the end of Dominic¡¯s tail armour ploughing right through a good portion of it. The crocodile¡¯s health dropped significantly but, to Dominic¡¯s disbelief and horror, it wasn¡¯t quite dead. One eye obliterated and half of the top of its skull gone, its brain showing through the mutilated gore of its skull and skin, it proved its tenacity as one of nature¡¯s tanks because it just kept going. The mace had even been deflected upwards. Procyon, Sirius, swap! Dominic ordered the amesheks, deciding to leave the final blow to them. Instead, he ran towards the one they were fighting. Dominic¡¯s paws were slowed by the water on the ford, but he was actually able to charge so he wasn¡¯t going to complain. Much. In the couple of seconds before he hit, Dominic activated Momentous Charge. It wouldn¡¯t be as impactful as usual ¨C he was down to a quarter speed with the water brushing his belly and still clogging his fur and wings ¨C but every little helped. Bulling straight into the crocodile, he managed to hit it on its shoulder, avoiding its open jaws. The crocodile unknowingly helped him: while he was charging, the crocodile prepared to lunge. Its own muscular momentum increased the impact of the collision. Dominic wasn¡¯t sure who was more stunned ¨C the crocodile or himself. The crocodile seemed to recover more quickly, but it had landed with half of its large body on the ford and was struggling to pull its weight backwards. Dominic took full advantage of its vulnerable sides and put his teeth and claws to work. With all four paws on land, Powerful Strike actually managed to live up to its name. One of the strikes even laid on the bleeding effect, the damage over time making the crocodile¡¯s health drop even faster. Not fast enough. Dominic roared in pain as teeth ripped through his side, the crocodile¡¯s twisting movement fast enough that even he had been unable to dodge. He ripped himself free from its jaws, then snarled at it and lunged forwards to bite at the wounds he¡¯d been making with his claws. He also pumped in as much venom and acid as he could. Just die already! Dominic growled mentally at the creature ¨C he needed to check his Pride status. Even as he thought that, another message flashed before his eyes. [A member of your Pride has died] Worry added even more strength to his jaws and the crocodile was unable to get in another hit before it expired. Dominic quickly glanced over at the amesheks, relieved to see their own opponent going limp. Though pain was still zinging through his nerves, Dominic didn¡¯t even pause to absorb a carcass, instead immediately pulling up his Pride status to check on Sekhmet and her party. Please don¡¯t be dead! Chapter 75: The Wave Icon Dominic skimmed through his Pride status. When his eyes alighted upon the entry of ¡®Sekhmet¡¯, his heart finally slowed from its frantic pace. She¡¯s alive, he said to himself in huge relief. ¡®Then who has died?¡¯ Leo asked anxiously. ¡®She is not our only female.¡¯ That was a good point. Dominic searched through the list in a rather haphazard way, focussed on who he knew was in danger. Fang and Lionel were both there, and it just showed how relieved Leo was that Sekhmet was alive that he didn¡¯t even comment on that. Jenkins was the next he checked ¨C there was always the risk that the albuhas would turn on her. She was also fine. After that, he looked through the lionesses he¡¯d left back in the forest and Menhit being away having her cubs. They appeared to all be there. So were Nyx and the amesheks, obviously including Sirius and Procyon. Then, before his very eyes, an entry vanished even as another notification about a Pride death flashed up. ¡®It¡¯s the albuhas,¡¯ Dominic realised. He counted the number of unnamed albuhas present. ¡®There were eleven of them when we brought them into the Pride, and now there are only eight.¡¯ Despite himself, he felt slightly relieved at the realisation ¨C none of those he¡¯d got to know and like had died. Then another thought came that brought a chill back to his heart ¨C if the albuhas were dying, that meant Jenkins was in danger! ¡®Or the canines have turned on her,¡¯ Leo suggested grimly. Dominic didn¡¯t like to admit that he might be right, but it was true that it was a possibility. And he hated the fact that Jenkins might be fighting for her life while he was stuck in here. Gritting his teeth, he closed the screen. ¡®Then we need to get out of here as quickly as possible so we can find out exactly what¡¯s gone on,¡¯ Dominic replied to his companion. Then, as quietly as he could in his own mind, shielding his thoughts even from Leo, he reached out to the only one who might possibly be able to help. Selessa, he started. If you are able to help Jenkins survive whatever trouble she¡¯s got herself into, I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll dedicate some kills to you or increase the tithe of the Place of Power or something else to make it up to you. Then, taking a deep breath, Dominic turned to the task at hand. They still had a lot to do and even more reason to get it done quickly. ***** The next underwater chamber went surprisingly smoothly. They repeated the same general tactic of the last one with them luring out the crocodiles and then hitting the reptiles with Sonic Attack. With four of the large creatures it was a bit chancy at times, but they used the ford to dance back and forth, reducing the advantage that the crocodiles had in open water. As it turned out, the crocodiles stayed in the underwater chambers unless they were chasing prey, meaning that even though the water level was steadily rising up towards Dominic¡¯s shoulders, the crocodiles from the last chamber hadn¡¯t emerged. Though he wasn¡¯t sure how long that would last ¨C the heat was coming from below and the crocodiles seemed just as uncomfortable with it as the pride members were. In the second from last room they had already been out of their side alcoves by the time Dominic dropped the bait, and now they were almost reaching the top of the chamber¡¯s walls. Fortunately, Dominic was at the bottom of the second-from-last chamber, staring at the last symbol they needed to find. He quickly triggered it then gratefully pushed himself upwards ¨C down here, the heat was like a hot bath that would have turned his skin lobster-red as a human. As a lion, it was even more unbearable. ¡®Finally,¡¯ he exulted to his companion as he swam. Breaking the surface was a little more difficult than it should have been ¨C one paw broke through and then abruptly was submerged again. When he managed to get his head above water, greedily taking in a breath, he got an answer for why swimming had felt stranger this time and for why the surface had looked different as he swam towards it. ¡®I suppose it¡¯s logical,¡¯ he said to Leo in dismay as he pulled himself onto the ford. ¡®The fire symbol made it get warmer, the drop icon added water, and the wave icon has created, well, waves.¡¯ ¡®Flea-bitten dungeon,¡¯ agreed Leo. ¡®Just as well we didn¡¯t activate any other levers. That one with the lightning bolt would have probably been a bad idea.¡¯ ¡®Agreed,¡¯ seconded Dominic fervently, doing his best to keep his head above water. Were the waves getting stronger? The sound of grinding stone caught his attention and he looked over to see that, with all three symbols now lit up, the door was starting to open slowly. Instead of opening inwards or outwards, it was lowering into the floor. The increased water level had covered most of the land which used to be dry, and was almost at the foot of the door itself. ¡®Come on everyone,¡¯ Dominic said in the Pride chat as he pulled himself back onto the underwater ford. ¡®Let¡¯s get out of here.¡¯ The amesheks didn¡¯t need telling twice. They started wading as quickly as they could along the length of the ford. By this point, the amesheks had been struggling to keep their heads above water without swimming even before the waves ¨C now they had to swim all the time. Unfortunately, their potions had worn off so they couldn¡¯t breathe water any more. Dominic was better off ¨C the water had been at his shoulder before, but he was big enough that by lifting his head high into the air, he could keep it above water even with the waves. It was slow-going but having some ground under their feet still made it faster than swimming. They let the waves carry them forwards a little bit and then did their best to brace against the stone beneath their paws when the water dipped again. The heat at the surface quickly reached the same temperatures as those deep below. Dominic was starting to feel a bit like a boiled lobster by this point ¨C he¡¯d even earned a new symbol on his health bar ¨C a stereotypical red thermometer. The impact on his health wasn¡¯t enough to overcome his Enhanced Regeneration rate by itself, but he did have to choose between keeping his health full or keeping Enhanced Stamina in its permanently active state. Considering how much effort he had to put into moving through the water, he chose the latter. The amesheks were even worse off than he was, but apart from sending them a couple of carcasses every so often, there wasn¡¯t much he could do to help. Then it got worse. The first Dominic knew of it was when one of the amesheks let out a painful howl that echoed oddly in Dominic¡¯s ears. Whipping around ¨C at a fraction of his normal speed given all the water in the way and the wave which washed into him ¨C Dominic saw the flash of a crocodile¡¯s mouth where Sirius had been a moment ago. His heart rising into his mouth, he took a deep breath and ducked his head under the water. Sirius had indeed been grabbed by a crocodile and was a moment away from being pulled off the platform and into deep water. ¡®Grab Sirius!¡¯ Dominic yelled at Procyon. Without waiting for the ameshek to act, Dominic immediately Roared under the water, focussing on attracting the attention of the crocodiles around and stunning the one holding Sirius. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. All the crocodiles paused for a moment, and then they started powering towards Dominic. All of them, including the one which had been holding onto Sirius. Seeing the crocodile spitting out the ameshek like he tasted bad was the only good thing about the situation as Dominic now realised he had four killing machines gunning for his flesh in an environment which significantly favoured them. ¡®And now, genius?¡¯ growled Leo frantically. ¡®What¡¯s your plan?¡¯ There was only one answer when he was so heavily hampered by the water. ¡®Run!¡¯ Dominic shouted in the Pride chat. He surged forwards towards the door using a stamina-hungry combination of Abilities to increase his speed as much as possible. As his wings pushed the water backwards, he used Quick Strike and Sharp Nip to add a percentage increase to his raw speed ¨C additive, unfortunately. Normally Sharp Nip should only work when he was actually trying to bite an opponent, but it turned out that trying to bite the door worked well enough to allow the Ability to activate even if the door wasn¡¯t anywhere near within range to succeed. Rapid Attack refreshed his movement speed and allowed him to make two movements in quick succession ¨C he didn¡¯t push it any further than that because he needed the stamina for the other Abilities. Rapidly flicking Airborne between a weight reduction and a weight increase helped a little too: he reduced his weight and thereby the amount of force required to get him moving, and then he increased it to give him the momentum to keep going longer. It was too much for him to handle with needing to control the other Abilities as well ¨C he handed that over to Leo. The lion did so without a single complaint, aware that their life was on the line here ¨C the crocodiles might be less than half his level, but he was in their territory. With the help of all these Abilities, he was moving faster through the water than he¡¯d ever achieved before. It wasn¡¯t enough. He was halfway through the room when he felt prickles of pain as feathers were torn out of his wing. He was only a little further when he felt teeth bite at his heels as he leaped forwards in the water. Stopping abruptly, Dominic used Tail Strike to quickly twist himself around then sucked in a deep breath and put his head into the uncomfortably hot water. Letting all the air out in a single Roar, he focussed this time on creating fear. As much fear as he could. The crocodiles responded exactly as he was hoping, scattering to the four winds. Even one which had been about to snap froze mid-attack and then twisted to swim away. As he pulled his head out of the water, he saw Sirius and Procyon, doggedly following him. They hadn¡¯t made nearly as much progress and both of their health bars showed evidence of attack, Sirius¡¯ more than Procyon¡¯s. ¡®If you see crocodiles trying to attack you,¡¯ Dominic said in the Pride chat while resuming his frantic pace forwards, ¡®tell me immediately.¡¯ The amesheks didn¡¯t respond verbally, a sense of tiredness coming from them. Dominic understood it: he was tired too. Each time he pushed himself through the water, it was just slightly slower. His stamina bar was one thing, but it didn¡¯t reflect the bone-deep exhaustion that happened after battling for his life in fight after fight. But if they gave up now, it would all go to waste so he sent them a wordless sense of encouragement, making his own way forwards. ¡®They¡¯re coming! Two of them,¡¯ Procyon told Dominic grimly as he had made it almost three quarters of the way through the room. ¡®How are you going to help us ¨C you¡¯re too far ahead!¡¯ The waves which had been flowing against them had suddenly changed direction, now moving in the direction they wanted to go in. It was fortunately more helpful than unhelpful and Dominic was almost onto the area which used to be dry. The door was halfway open and he could already taste safety. But of course the crocodiles needed to interfere. ¡®It¡¯s OK,¡¯ he quickly reassured Procyon. ¡®I have a plan.¡¯ Once again, Dominic twisted around and Roared underwater, focussing on attracting the crocodiles¡¯ attention to him. Once they got too close for comfort, he again had to Roar to chase them off. Perhaps whatever made crocodiles more susceptible to Hypnosis also made them more easily influenced by his Roar. He had to use the strategy another time and then Dominic managed to reach the slightly higher ground and each step became easier, even when the wave direction once more reversed. Procyon and Sirius were not so lucky, though ¨C their smaller size and lack of Abilities to enhance their speed had them trailing far behind the lion and when the waves changed direction, they were pushed back more than a bit. In fact, they were lucky to stay on the ford at all given that they could now only touch it when the water was at its lowest point of the wave sequence. It was only the fear that a crocodile could come from below and grab them that made them continue to try to stay on the ford. ¡®Leave them!¡¯ Leo growled at Dominic. ¡®They are too weak. They¡¯ll be our deaths if we wait for them. Look ¨C the door is almost open enough for us to get over it. By the time we¡¯re there, we¡¯ll be able to leap through.¡¯ ¡®No!¡¯ Dominic snarled back at him. ¡®They¡¯ve put their lives on the line for our party. I¡¯m not leaving them! And you should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting it!¡¯ Instead, he once more put his head under the water and focussed on summoning the crocodiles to him. That they did and with a vengeance ¨C Dominic wondered whether they were capable of feeling annoyance for being treated like yoyos as he frantically pushed himself to gain as much ground on them as possible, shaking the water off his fur and feathers as he slowly emerged from it. He almost made it to the small patch of dry land which lay at the base of the door before the first crocodile arrived. ¡®Watch out!¡¯ Leo exclaimed, though the warning was unnecessary ¨C Dominic had already detected the crocodile¡¯s arrival through Spatial Awareness and leaped straight up to avoid its snap. Landing on its back, he bit down hard, his Crushing Bite allowing him to get through its skin and deeply into its flesh. Pumping in venom and acid, his forepaws ripped and tore at the crocodile¡¯s sides, moving fast enough to blur. The crocodile¡¯s health bar plummeted, as did Dominic¡¯s already-depleted stamina bar. The next crocodile arrived and lunged at him, its jaws gaping open. Dominic twisted out of the way and then turned the tables on the reptile, slamming into it with Quick Strike before it had fully landed and flipping it over. Ripping at its belly with claws and venom-laced teeth, he savaged it. Its health bar told the story of his strikes. The third and fourth crocodiles arrived together, one managing to get its jaws around one of his wings as he avoided the lunge of the other. Turning, he spat acid at the eyes of the crocodile biting his wing and sending pain splintering into him. The reptile closed its eyes and held on with an even stronger bite from the pain, starting to twist. Dominic roared in pain as the tip of his wing was torn off, the crocodile falling into the deeper water with a mouthful of bloody feathers. Fury making his vision go red, Dominic Charged at the other crocodile, slamming into it with all the force he could, then whipping around and digging deeply into its side with his metallic mace. His stamina was almost out. The Pride leader didn¡¯t hesitate and activated Second Wind. His stamina refilled immediately, his health untouched. Sucking in a deep breath, Dominic used the Sonic part of Majestic Sonic Roar. Around him, the three crocodiles whose health bars were below half already found their health reducing further after the first three seconds. The crocodile which had bitten off the tip of his wing was only just crawling back towards him but didn¡¯t escape unscathed either. By the time Dominic ended the Sonic Attack, three of the crocodiles were down to a quarter of their health, one was down by a quarter, and he was more than half-dry. The last was, funnily enough, the most welcome development. ¡®Great! That means I can do this!¡¯ Jumping up into the air, Dominic used his still-injured wings to boost him up just a little further, taking the pain as a natural consequence. Then, using Airborne to increase his weight, he dropped like a stone towards the closest crocodile. Landing on its back with all claws bared, he heard a quiet pop and felt the surface on which he stood give just a little more. A few more quick attacks later and a welcome notification flashed up in front of his face. [You have killed Nile Crocodile (Evolved Beast level 12)] [You have earned 17 PP] It didn¡¯t take too long for that message to appear two more times. Almost dry, Dominic felt like he could almost float away, he was so light, despite the way the increasing humidity the room was determined to get him wet again. He struck the remaining reptiles with enthusiasm, glad that they were now on his turf. The arrival of the two water-logged amesheks just hastened the demise of the final crocodile as they added their sonic attacks to his physical ones. Dominic was alarmed to see just how low they both were on health, Sirius worse than Procyon for obvious reasons. He dropped a couple of carcasses next to them before belatedly realising that they could have just absorbed the crocodiles. The sound of grinding stone stopped: the door was fully open. Chapter 76: Antivenom They stood staring at the bodies of the crocodiles being pushed towards them ¨C the waves were once more moving towards the door. Numb shock that they¡¯d actually survived all that along with the draining of adrenaline from their system sent their minds almost into a waking dream. The last couple of hours had just been one thing after another and they all needed a proper rest. But, as the sound of grinding rumbled out anew reminded them, this was no place to sleep. Dominic felt a shiver of alarm go through him as he realised that the door was no longer opening. Instead, having fully opened, it was beginning to close once more. ¡®Come on, quickly ¨C grab a body and pull it through,¡¯ he instructed the amesheks tiredly. Dominic himself grabbed the tails of two crocodiles and pulled at them while walking backwards. The massive reptiles were hard to pull through the water, harder to pull on the land, and bloody hard to pull over the edge of the now rising door. But with dogged determination, they all succeeded in returning to the next room before the door got too high to manage. His burdens falling to the floor with a messy and heavy-sounding splat, Dominic suddenly realised that he could have put at least one of the bodies in his storage space, maybe even two. He blamed his tiredness for not thinking of it earlier and quickly looked around the room they were now in, not wanting to accidentally miss something else important. ¡®Leo, help me,¡¯ he demanded of his companion. ¡®If this isn¡¯t the right route, we need to know before the door closes too far to get out again.¡¯ At least the other room had had access to the staircase, even if at the moment the route through to Sekhmet and the others was still blocked. Or was it? Perhaps something they¡¯d done had opened it and this was just another red herring? The dungeon had proven to be unpleasantly prone to using those, both during their last visit and this time. Just because this was the door at the end of the room didn¡¯t automatically mean it was the right door. ¡®No, this is the right way,¡¯ Leo answered sounding surprisingly calm. ¡®How do you know that?¡¯ demanded Dominic with growing doubt about his choice tearing away at his insides as he looked around the room frantically, seeing nothing but an empty room. Had he doomed them by automatically going for the obvious choice? ¡®Dominic, turn around,¡¯ Leo told him, again uncharacteristically patient. Growling both mentally and aloud, Dominic twisted around. ¡®Oh. I should have noticed that.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯d say that¡¯s a pretty good indication we were meant to come here,¡¯ Leo told him with a hint of humour. Dominic chuckled mentally, though rather weakly. The relief from his building panic made him suddenly feel his exhaustion even more. ¡®Yeah, probably,¡¯ he agreed. It wasn¡¯t as blatant as a ¡®This way¡¯ sign or something like that, but a chest was slowly rising into the room, the grinding of the stone slab it was sitting on masked by the grinding of the stone door. Once the stone slab reached the level of the others around, there was a loud click and it stopped moving. Its presence was probably a safe clue that they were supposed to come in here. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said in the Pride chat, glad that he hadn¡¯t accidentally alarmed the amesheks with his undignified moment of panic. ¡®Let¡¯s make sure we¡¯re safe here first. The chest should be an indication of that, but let¡¯s not make any assumptions here which might come to bite us in the arses. Probably literally.¡¯ The ameshesk agreed, but first evidently decided to get themselves a bit dry first as they both started to hum. It was a good idea; Dominic joined in by Roaring quietly to himself even as he shook his fur and wings firmly. When the humming stopped, Dominic looked at his pride members and would have broken out laughing if his body was capable of it. Instead, he let out a series of short huffs. Now not looking like drowned rats, the amesheks looked more like they¡¯d stuck their paws into an electric circuit: all their fur was standing on end. Sirius was worse off than Procyon ¨C apparently whatever melding of the individual strands of fur had affected him meant it didn¡¯t move as easily as the other¡¯s fur. Then, with a sudden bout of fear, he felt his own mane. ¡®Damn!¡¯ he cursed. ¡®I must look like a pom-pom!¡¯ His own mane was indeed standing on end just like the amesheks¡¯. Shaking his head didn¡¯t appear to do much so Dominic decided to ignore it ¨C there were more important concerns than what his hair looked like. Not that Leo agreed. ¡®Wash our mane with a paw ¨C that should make it lie down flat.¡¯ ¡®A little busy here, Leo,¡¯ Dominic sighed as he walked around the room looking for traps or places creatures might hide or enter and an exit for the three of them. ¡®Not too busy to fix our mane! At least none of the females are here ¨C I¡¯d die in shame,¡¯ the lion moaned, rather melodramatically in Dominic¡¯s opinion. ¡®Well, if something catches us with our guards down, we might really die,¡¯ Dominic answered sardonically. After a fairly detailed inspection, they concluded that the room didn¡¯t seem to have any obvious traps and his mane had started to lose a little of its static. Instead, with the door to the water room now closed, it was quite a small and plain box of a space. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The width of the door from the space with the crocodiles was most of the width of the whole room and it was about twice as long as that which made it a bit over twice Dominic¡¯s full length. The ceiling was quite high, though, which meant it felt less confined than it might have. With two amesheks, an extra-large lion, four large crocodile carcasses, and a chest, however, it did feel a bit close. The walls were almost entirely bare. Only two of the walls showed any adornment at all, and it wasn¡¯t really pretty. The wall at right angles to the way they had got in and to the left had a round indentation, reminiscent of the holes they had needed to fill with golden discs on the surface level in order to gain access to the underground. The wall opposite their entrance had a large arch carved into it. A door? Dominic wondered. It looked like it might be a door, except for the fact that the carving was very clearly only shallow. Otherwise, there were no indications of how they might get out of this space. No buttons, no levers, no riddles. Maybe the chest will hold something useful, Dominic told himself firmly, trying to quell the rekindled panic in his chest. While he wasn¡¯t claustrophobic so to speak, he definitely didn¡¯t like the idea of being trapped in this small room for any length of time. Ignoring the crocodile carcasses for the moment, he moved over to the chest. Forcing himself to take the same cautious approach as with the previous chests made him feel that it took an eternity before he had the thing open. But he was finally able to see what was inside. At first glance, it was disappointing, at least in terms of something which might be immediately useful. As with the other chests, there were six items in total. Dominic pulled the items out one by one, hoping that first appearances were deceptive. Again the first three were all potions, and identical to each other. [General Antivenom Draught (Moderate, T2)] [This draught clears the drinker¡¯s body of any single venom type up to T2 strength (in the case of multiple venoms present in the drinkers body, the draught will clear the most debilitating). As a moderate quality antivenom draught, there is also a 10% chance that the drinker will be rendered immune to that particular venom for a period of time (duration depends on multiple factors). Single use.] Dominic looked at the oddly glowing and almost neon yellow potions, or ¡®draughts¡¯, a pit of trepidation forming in his stomach. ¡®Last time we received rather specific potions in the form of water-breathing potions, we ended up having a water challenge. Do you think that this is a clue about what we¡¯re going to face next?¡¯ Dominic wondered at Leo. ¡®Probably,¡¯ answered the lion, not sounding too concerned, ¡®But not necessarily too specific. We encountered plenty of snakes before, didn¡¯t we? Perhaps that¡¯s what the reward is for.¡¯ ¡®Except that this is for any ¡®single venom type up to T2 strength¡¯. It seems like a bit of a waste to use it on a bite from one of those little snakes ¨C after all, if we hadn¡¯t had some way of surviving them, we¡¯d have never made it through the jungle.¡¯ Leo sent a feeling of nonchalance. ¡®Then perhaps we will encounter a very big, very high level snake as the dungeon guardian. Or perhaps they are just in case like the health potions we received.¡¯ ¡®Perhaps¡­¡¯ Dominic agreed thoughtfully. He suspected that it would be more likely the former than the latter. The next item he pulled out was familiar ¨C almost the twin of Sekhmet¡¯s bracelet. There was only a small change in the description. [Leather slot-storage bracelet (non-standard, Beast, T1)] [This is a Common leather bracelet which has been worked to give it the capacity to be worn by a Beast. In exchange for this, the bracelet only has 9 storage spaces instead of 12. Each storage space can hold a single item type. Identical item types can be stacked up to 10. Bracelet allows for quick consumption of potions.] Instead of holding six slots, this one held nine which made it better than Sekhmet¡¯s. Dominic was very tempted to hold onto it for her, but then decided that it would be unfair. The two amesheks had fought as hard as he did to get to this point; they deserved to be rewarded. ¡®We decide the rewards,¡¯ Leo scoffed. ¡®Give the female the better bracelet if you prefer and toss the scraps to the canines.¡¯ Dominic growled at his companion. ¡®You¡¯re just saying that to wind me up,¡¯ he accused. ¡®I¡¯m not!¡¯ Leo argued, but the way he subsided shortly after made Dominic think that he¡¯d indeed hit the nail on the head. Still, he held onto the bracelet until he¡¯d checked the final items in the box. The last two were a chunk of metal and an orb. [Ability orb: Temperature Tolerance (T2)] Intrigued, Dominic looked at the description. [Temperature Tolerance (T2): Increase your ability to tolerate different temperatures and resist negative temperature related effects.] As descriptions went, it was pretty short, but since most of the information was actually in the title, Dominic supposed that it was understandable. He wasn¡¯t sure why it was classed as Tier 2 but maybe it was because it didn¡¯t just affect temperatures but also ¡®temperature related effects¡¯, whatever those were. They rather sounded like one and the same to him. Oh well, it sounds pretty good, regardless. Without any further ado, he absorbed the orb and tucked the metal ¨C dragocite again ¨C and one of the potions into his storage space. ¡®OK, it looks like there¡¯s a choice to be made here. There¡¯s one bracelet which will let you store stuff like Sekhmet, but only one of you can have it. And there are enough potions for one each. So, who¡¯s going to take the bracelet?¡¯ The two amesheks exchanged glances. ¡®I want it,¡¯ Sirius said. ¡®So do I,¡¯ Procyon rumbled. Dominic sighed. Of course. He waited for a moment but, although the two amesheks exchanged glances, neither was apparently willing to yield to the other. It seemed like that was up to Dominic. Rock, paper, scissors was out. So was hiding something behind his back. ¡®I¡¯m thinking of a number between one and ten. Each of you say a number and the closest wins the bracelet.¡¯ ¡®What are numbers?¡¯ asked Procyon sounding confused. Dominic sighed again. ¡®Alright, fine. Close your eyes. I¡¯m going to put the bracelet somewhere in the room. The first to find it, wins.¡¯ After checking that the amesheks had done just that, Dominic did a circuit around the room, dropping the bracelet en route. Returning to the centre, he told the amesheks to open their eyes. They went hunting for it immediately. Procyon quickly arrowed in on the bracelet¡¯s hiding place, tucked behind a crocodile body. ¡®Congratulations, Procyon. Now, you guys rest while I get the Cores out of the crocodiles. You can even put a couple of the carcasses in your bracelet for later. After that, we¡¯ll try to figure a way out of here.¡¯ Unfortunately, it seemed like the chest didn¡¯t hold any useful clues to whatever puzzle it was. Pushing himself to his feet, Dominic¡¯s gaze was caught by colours suddenly flashing on the wall below the round indentation. Chapter 77: The Winning Strategy Cores forgotten for the moment, Dominic padded quickly to the wall, eyeing the colours that flickered up on it intermittently. At first he speculated they were being projected onto the wall but closer inspection proved that not to be the case. It was more like the colours were emerging from inside the wall and then sinking back within it, faster or slower depending on the instance. There didn¡¯t seem to be any sort of pattern to the colours, not as far as he could tell after a short while of staring at them. One colour would flash up and then stay illuminated for a little, before it would fade while another colour would flash up and then be gone. It wasn¡¯t always the same colour, and the different colours didn¡¯t seem to go in any particular order. ¡®Do you see anything useful, Leo?¡¯ he asked, puzzled. ¡®That indentation,¡¯ Leo started slowly, consideringly. ¡®We received a golden disc in the chest upstairs which we haven¡¯t yet been able to find a place for. Could this be it?¡¯ It was a good idea, Dominic realised as he compared the size of the indentation to the disc they had received. ¡®Maybe. Let¡¯s try it,¡¯ he replied, pulling the item out. The amesheks watched curiously as he carefully manoeuvred the disc so that it slipped into the indentation. As Leo had suggested it might be, it was a perfect fit. For a split second, Dominic feared that it might actually be a trap. He flinched as voices came into his mind. ¡®It¡¯s not doing anything.¡¯ ¡®Maybe you haven¡¯t pressed it correctly.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re saying you could do any better?¡¯ ¡®Maybe. Move over and let me try.¡¯ ¡®Stop arguing. Maybe these lines mean something.¡¯ Dominic grinned mentally in excitement and relief, wishing for once that his mouth was able to show his expression. ¡®Sekhmet. Fang. Lionel. You¡¯re here!¡¯ The voices fell silent for a long moment. ¡®Dominic!¡¯ Sekhmet exclaimed with equal joy. Lionel and Fang didn¡¯t use his name, but instead sent a scent memory of him into the Pride chat with an emotion attached. Lionel¡¯s was a polite greeting with a hint of relief; Fang¡¯s was almost the same, but Dominic sensed a touch of dismay to it instead of relief. Apparently not everyone was as happy to see him as Sekhmet was. ¡®The males better not have made a move on the female!¡¯ Leo grumbled in the back of Dominic¡¯s mind. ¡®We can deal with that when we¡¯re actually in the same room,¡¯ Dominic told him. Surely that would happen in the next room ¨C they just needed to get through to it. While he was talking with Leo privately, the amesheks also greeted the other members of their little pride and received back similarly polite if not effusive greetings. To Dominic¡¯s surprise, the warmest exchange was between Lionel and Procyon. He hadn¡¯t realised that they¡¯d developed a sort of friendship but the tone of their greetings couldn¡¯t be anything else. ¡®Alright everyone,¡¯ Dominic called them back to order. ¡®Sekhmet, please tell me quickly what happened to your group after we were separated.¡¯ ¡®We stepped through the door which opened after the piece of stone fell and separated us,¡¯ Sekhmet started, her mental tone brisk and her sentences surprisingly grammatical. Dominic had suspected for a while that she was capable of full sentences, but just didn¡¯t bother most of the time. Maybe she¡¯d decided to bother now for some reason. ¡®We had to make our way through a series of paths, some of which ended without warning. While we were doing this, we were attacked frequently by canines and vermin.¡¯ She sent images to illustrate her words and Dominic saw dusty-coloured corridors hiding dusty-coloured trodils and meerkats in side alcoves. As she¡¯d said, there were also dead ends and paths that doubled back on themselves unexpectedly. His guess was that it was a maze. ¡®When we reached the end of the paths, we had to fight a large canine surrounded by several large vermin. The fight was difficult, but thanks to Lionel¡¯s healing, we were all able to survive it.¡¯ She didn¡¯t say it, but something in her tone told Dominic that it might have been closer than they would have liked. Considering Dominic¡¯s own experience with trodils in the previous version of the dungeon, if this had been another miniboss, designed to be even more difficult than the monitor miniboss they¡¯d faced upstairs, he could understand. It had probably had Rage, and maybe some other annoying Abilities too. Dominic wondered briefly why they hadn¡¯t had to face a miniboss, but perhaps the dungeon had decided that the environmental challenges of their room were sufficiently difficult. Or perhaps the dungeon couldn¡¯t have more than two minibosses at F-level ¨C it had only had the single trodil mini-boss last time. Still, Dominic wasn¡¯t sure he preferred what he and the amesheks had had to get through. Sure, a miniboss crocodile in the water environment would have been an absolute nightmare, but if it had been a warthog miniboss, he¡¯d have been happy with that. On the other hand, if their positions had been switched and Sekhmet had ended up facing the crocodiles, he doubted they¡¯d have got through the room intact even without a miniboss. It could even have been a whole party wipe ¨C having Sonic Attack had really been important for the winning strategy. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡®Once we killed the large canine, the next entrance opened. We found a set of stairs like we were walking down when we were separated. This led us down to this room.¡¯ ¡®But are you all fine?¡¯ Dominic checked anxiously. ¡®We are,¡¯ Sekhmet confirmed. ¡®We have had time to heal and we have increased in power.¡¯ Looking at the Pride status, Dominic was able to see that was certainly true. When they had separated, Sekhmet had been at level 19, Fang at level 16, with Lionel at level 15. Of his own mini-group, Procyon and Sirius had been at level 21. Each of them had managed to advance, Procyon and Sirius still tying at level 23, Sekhmet at level 21, Fang at level 19 and Lionel at 18. While two levels wasn¡¯t a huge step, the fact that they were all rapidly approaching the twenties ¨C or were already there ¨C and had gained two levels in a matter of hours was still impressive. At least, it was by non-dungeon standards from Dominic¡¯s experience. Procyon and Sirius must have levelled when he wasn¡¯t watching since he only remembered seeing Procyon blur once. While he was looking at the Pride status information, he checked on Jenkins. She was still listed which was a relief, though the absence of more death notifications had been a relieving indication. Realising he hadn¡¯t checked his own progress for a while, he quickly did so. Level: Evolved Beast Level 26 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 939/901 PP level up ¡®Excellent!¡¯ he hissed to Leo, pleasure in his voice. ¡®What shall we enhance this time?¡¯ Then he checked himself. ¡®Wait, let¡¯s figure out what we¡¯re dealing with first. Then think about what to level up.¡¯ It definitely showed how much the Prey Point requirements for each level started to increase in the mid-twenties ¨C the amesheks had quickly caught up on him because where they managed to go up two levels, he was only able to go up one. At least he was rapidly closing in on Nyx¡¯s level ¨C she was still at level 30. ¡®What can you see on your side of things?¡¯ he asked Sekhmet. ¡®You talked about lines of some sort. We don¡¯t have anything like that.¡¯ ¡®Yes. We have lines that form different shapes. We are able to press the different shapes, but nothing seems to happen. There are five buttons which are different colours. Again, nothing seems to happen when we press them. Other than that, there is a round hole in the wall above the lines, a little smaller than my paw.¡¯ ¡®The hole is probably for the disc which is allowing us to talk ¨C I doubt it¡¯s part of the puzzle. On our side we have colours that flash up in unpredictable patterns,¡¯ Dominic told her, ¡®though they haven¡¯t been while we¡¯ve been talking.¡¯ Then something occurred to him. ¡®Wait, have you been pressing any of the buttons while we¡¯ve been talking?¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ ¡®Then press a button, please.¡¯ Nothing happened for a long moment. ¡®Did you press it?¡¯ ¡®Yes.¡¯ Well that didn¡¯t work, then. Dominic considered it. Colours had been flashing up and his gut told him that it was because of what those on the other side had been doing. But what? ¡®Just¡­do what you were doing before, but stop as soon as I tell you to. Try to remember your actions so we can repeat them.¡¯ Sekhmet agreed and the lions on the other side of the wall started pressing buttons. As soon as he saw a colour appear, he exclaimed in the Pride chat. It took a few tries to find out what was happening, but they managed to conclude that the coloured buttons and the non-coloured ones worked together. Sekhmet sent Dominic an image in the Pride chat of what they could see. There weren¡¯t any creatures in the picture, not like on the first relief they had encountered. This picture was instead made up of lots of different shapes ¨C geometric shapes like squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, and parallelograms. This was one set of buttons. The other set were the ones with colours on. To have a colour flash up for Dominic¡¯s side, one button from each set had to be pressed. ¡®Alright, this time, keep pressing the same button from the picture, but try the buttons from the set outside the picture one at a time. Don¡¯t press the next button until I say,¡¯ Dominic instructed. The lions on the other side obliged. A square lit up in a light green. It stayed there for a few seconds, then faded away. ¡®Next colour, please.¡¯ The square lit up again, this time a light blue. Again, it remained coloured for a few seconds, then faded away too. They repeated it with each of the buttons and Dominic made an interesting discovery. There was one colour which didn¡¯t fade away at all. In this case it was a shade of dark blue. If the light green button was pressed, for example, the light green would replace the dark blue and then would fade as before. But if the dark blue was pressed then it would stay in place seemingly indefinitely. On Sekhmet¡¯s side, apparently that button remained slightly indented too, like it was half-depressed. ¡®I think we have a clue,¡¯ Dominic told the rest of the Pride. ¡®This should be easy enough.¡¯ ***** By the time they succeeded in solving the puzzle, Dominic was ready to tear his mane out. He thoroughly regretted ever thinking it would be easy. While it wasn¡¯t actually that difficult when they got the idea, it was so time-consuming. It was just as well that the other lions were separated from him by a wall because he¡¯d have been tempted to attack them a few times ¨C particularly Fang when he accidentally pressed the wrong buttons at the wrong time and delayed them even longer. Then again, maybe a rough play-fight would have actually helped reduce the level of frustration. Whatever awaited them in the next room, he seriously hoped it would be a fight ¨C he had a lot of irritation to work out. At least the amesheks had realised that they would only get in the way and had backed off. They¡¯d made themselves useful by digging out the Cores from all the crocodile carcasses and then decided to take a nap after Procyon tucked a couple into his bracelet. After his mess-up, it seemed like Fang had done the same on the other side. Lionel was actually surprisingly helpful ¨C he was quiet but he followed directions nicely and seemed to work well enough with Sekhmet. A design had started showing itself in the set of geometric shapes. It looked something like a key, if a key looked more like a mace than the traditional toothed shape. The whole picture was in shades of blue and green, the key depicted in light green, its surroundings in darker green and blue, and the border in light blue. When they got the final piece in place, the whole thing suddenly glowed. The sound of grinding stone woke the amesheks and they moved to join Dominic in looking at the archway turning into a proper door. Like the entrance to the room, the door slid down into the floor. Unlike the entrance, though, it was quicker and once it was fully buried, it stopped moving and stayed down. Fortunately, it seemed like they wouldn¡¯t risk being trapped in the room. The next room was shadowy and took Dominic¡¯s eyes a couple of moments to adjust, especially after staring at the glowing design. As soon as he was able to make out what was waiting for him, his stomach dropped to his feet. ¡®I know I wanted a fight, but not this!¡¯ Chapter 78: What’s Got Into You? Dominic wasn¡¯t an arachnophobe, but he had a healthy wariness of venomous spiders, especially when they were the height of a husky. They were in front of the boss ¨C that he was sure about. Worse, he had a sinking suspicion that he knew what kind of spider it was. When he had decided to take this trip to South Africa, a couple of his friends had warned him not to go. One quoted the high rates of crime; another the dangerous animals ¨C since he¡¯d have died from a lion eating him, he¡¯d have to admit that Toby had had a point. Toby had even taken the time to shove a picture of a black widow spider in his face. The spindly legs, small head and bulbous black abdomen had stuck in his memory enough to recognise it in this creature. He knew that the black widow had a telltale red hourglass on the underside of its abdomen but this spider was crouched in a position which made it impossible to check ¨C if he¡¯d even wanted to try. The only good thing was that it hadn¡¯t charged them, yet. Dominic remembered how it took stepping into the room to make the warthog from the first dungeon attack him. Actually, there was another good thing. One of the little bits of dungeon knowledge which he¡¯d torn from the dungeon master last time was that a dungeon, while given more flexibility when empowering a boss compared to a normal dungeon creature, was still limited. The spider¡¯s size had been increased hugely compared to the average member of its species, so that meant that the dungeon shouldn¡¯t have been able to enhance other aspects of its body too much ¨C like its venom. But considering how dangerous black widows were even in their small size, that wasn¡¯t too reassuring. Even if its venom hadn¡¯t been enhanced, with it being so big, the amount of venom it would be able to pump in with just one bite would be overwhelming. ¡®We need to keep those antivenom draughts handy,¡¯ Dominic murmured to Leo, fear making butterflies flutter in his stomach. They had faced lots of creatures, but nothing that gained such a visceral reaction from Dominic. Leo was better off, but not by much. He too had a natural wariness of this threatening-looking creature. Dominic¡¯s thoughts were interrupted when there was the sound of movement from the entrance. He tensed, his eyes flying to the still-motionless spider. A moment later revealed the source of the noise to be Sekhmet slipping into the room they were in. Dominic stayed tense for a long moment, fearing that Sekhmet¡¯s appearance would herald the beginning of the attack from the boss. Fortunately, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Closer inspection revealed that there was actually a small antechamber separating them from the spider¡¯s room. It couldn¡¯t really be described as a chamber as the other side was almost fully open. The only indication that it was a separate space was the small step down into the spider¡¯s chamber. Sekhmet¡¯s annoyed growl brought his attention back to her. She didn¡¯t look too pleased about him ignoring her. ¡®Sorry,¡¯ he quickly apologised, rubbing against her in greeting, then explained what he¡¯d been concerned about. ¡®I feared it would attack you.¡¯ ¡®Everything is fine,¡¯ she said, though giving off a small sense of abashment which told him she hadn¡¯t thought about it. ¡®Lionel, Fang, come.¡¯ Leo had perked up in Dominic¡¯s mind as soon as Sekhmet had walked in, his eagerness flooding Dominic¡¯s side of their shared mind. As soon as the two male lions padded in, that eagerness turned to aggression. If he¡¯d been in control of their body, his teeth would have been bared, his body ready to pounce. As it was, Dominic found his body tensing before he reined it under control. Leo¡¯s growl rumbled in his head. ¡®What¡¯s got into you?¡¯ Dominic asked even as he moved forwards to greet the two males. Lionel returned it with his usual standoffishness, though Dominic liked to think that it held a little relief too. Fang, though, was far more cautious than usual, actually stepping back a little as Dominic moved towards him. When the larger lion just stopped and huffed in confusion, the smaller male padded hesitantly forwards and rubbed briefly against him before getting out of easy striking range. Dominic was very confused, but that cleared up a moment later at Leo¡¯s words. ¡®Can¡¯t you smell it? Our female is almost in heat.¡¯ Dominic sniffed the air. Oh. He hadn¡¯t been paying attention to it but the musky scent which now filled the room was familiar to him from when Leo had gone on a mating spree. ¡®So you¡¯re being aggressive because you don¡¯t want Fang or Lionel near her?¡¯ he concluded with a sigh. ¡®Precisely.¡¯ ¡®And Fang is nervous because he thinks I¡¯m about to attack him?¡¯ ¡®Yes. We should chase them both off before they can get her on her own.¡¯ ¡®Leo, we¡¯re in a dungeon,¡¯ Dominic sighed again. ¡®There isn¡¯t any chasing off, and we need everyone to fight this boss, especially if we don¡¯t want casualties.¡¯ ¡®Maybe we should use the young males as bait for the spider and then attack it while it¡¯s occupied eating them,¡¯ Leo said thoughtfully. ¡®That would solve both issues nicely.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯re not using any of our Pride members as bait,¡¯ Dominic told him firmly. ¡®And definitely not just because you¡¯re being territorial.¡¯ ¡®But-¡¯ ¡®No. We will figure out what to do with them once and for all when we¡¯ve finished this dungeon, but not before. Or do you want to endanger us all?¡± Feeling Leo¡¯s hesitate, Dominic added in the only thing that might make Leo listen properly. ¡®Sekhmet included.¡¯ Leo growled angrily, but then turned to sulk in the back of their mind. Dominic shook his head, his mane ruffling around his ears. ¡®Right,¡¯ he said, pinning Fang and then Lionel with a look. ¡®We need each other to get out of this dungeon ¨C everything else can be figured out afterwards. Clear?¡¯ Fang looked away. Lionel huffed which strangely sounded like a verbal shrug. ¡®I am not interested in the female anyway.¡¯ His huff was echoed by a scornful one from the female lion in question. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡®I don¡¯t want either of the weaker males. I only want the best,¡¯ she said, giving Dominic a challenging look before walking closer to rub herself against him. She finished the movement by practically shoving her butt in his face and brushing past his muzzle with the base of her tail. Even Dominic could tell that that movement was flirtatious. ¡®Alright then, good to know,¡¯ he answered, a little off-balance both by her actions¡­and the stirring of his body in reaction to them. The clear preference for him over the other male lions was enough to pull Leo out of his sulk. The lion urged Dominic to stake his claim and mount the female right then and there, even if she was not quite in heat. ¡®No!¡¯ Dominic angrily refused him, pushing away a small part of himself that urged him to do just that. ¡®Have you forgotten where we are for heaven¡¯s sake?!¡¯ Deciding to move past the whole thing, Dominic spoke again in the Pride chat. ¡®Alright, this is most likely the boss meaning that it¡¯s probably the last room in the dungeon. However, it also means that it¡¯s the most dangerous single creature we¡¯ve yet faced.¡¯ He eyed the spider again. It still hadn¡¯t moved an inch. Good ¨C it should mean they¡¯d have time to prepare then. First question: ¡®Did you get a chest in your room too?¡¯ he asked Sekhmet. ¡®Yes,¡¯ she yawned, settling down onto the floor and doing the feline equivalent of pouting. ¡®What was in it?¡¯ ¡®Several things. The only thing we took out was a bracelet that looked like mine. Fang wanted it but I decided Lionel needed it most.¡¯ She looked rather smug. ¡®He didn¡¯t argue when I pinned him.¡¯ Fang growled but it sounded more like a whiny complaint than anything else. Dominic looked over at Lionel and the bracelet around his foreleg. ¡®May I look at it?¡¯ he asked. The healer just held his paw up in answer. Dominic tried to get more information from it, but failed ¨C that was good to know for his own equipment. After all, others could surely use the same System-information that he could. ¡®Can you take it off?¡¯ he asked after a few moments of thought. Lionel huffed a little in annoyance, but obliged. Now off the lion, Dominic was able to see its details. Sure enough, it was a copy of the one Procyon was now wearing. Dominic pushed the bracelet back to Lionel. ¡®Keep it. Make sure that you store as many health related items in there.¡¯ ¡®Yes, that is what we decided. I returned to collect some carcasses we were forced to leave behind before we started trying to find a way out of the neighbouring room,¡¯ he answered. ¡®Good thinking,¡¯ Dominic praised. Lionel was definitely someone he wanted to keep around if he could. Not only was he a healer but he had his head screwed on right. ¡®Take the other two crocodile carcasses from here ¨C you¡¯re going to need to do lots of healing in the next fight, I think, and that Cure Poison Ability of yours is going to be essential. Here are the healing potions we received before, also for use when necessary.¡¯ The generous supply of storage bracelets by the dungeon this time around meant that between the six of them, four now had a storage system, and three of those were able to drink potions stored within them quickly. Hoping that there would be more antivenom draughts in the other room¡¯s chest, Dominic headed towards the exit. Each step closer to the spider made the pit of fear in his stomach grow, but it didn¡¯t even twitch. His first step out of the room was accompanied by a certainty that this would trigger the boss fight ahead of time. But it didn¡¯t. Nor did his second step. As soon as he got into the other room, he whirled around just to make sure that the spider hadn¡¯t moved. It hadn¡¯t. Breathing out in relief, he was pleased to see that the chest was still there. He¡¯d also worried that the dungeon would have got rid of it once all three lions had moved over to Dominic¡¯s side. Inside the chest was much as he¡¯d expected. Fabric like they¡¯d previously received, an Ability orb, and ¨C most useful for them at this moment ¨C three more antivenoms. Tucking it all into his storage, Dominic quickly returned to the group. There was a lot more space in the room now that Lionel and Procyon had stored the crocodile carcasses and everyone was lying down. ¡®Right everyone,¡¯ Dominic started deciding to make sure everyone was on the same page. ¡®We¡¯re going to take advantage of the break right now to rest and make sure we¡¯re all in the best condition we can be, because this is going to be a difficult fight. For those who don¡¯t know, this is a spider. A really, really, massive, spider. It¡¯s usually pretty fast for its size, and its eight legs mean that it can turn quickly and keep going even when some have been damaged. Normally, it only has one main weapon, but it¡¯s a big one ¨C its fangs are likely to be highly venomous. If you do get bitten, you need to quickly retreat to Lionel. ¡®Lionel, I want you to stay out of the fight, it doesn¡¯t help anyone if they need help and you are occupied by fighting. Heal anyone who comes into range. We also have these antivenoms which should be able to deal with the venom immediately.¡¯ Dominic pulled the four antivenoms he had out of his storage space then prompted Procyon to produce the two he¡¯d handed over. Keeping one for himself, he returned one to Procyon, gave a third to Sekhmet, and then pushed the other three to Lionel. ¡®What about me?¡¯ Fang asked indignantly. Dominic gave him a level look. ¡®Where exactly are you going to store it?¡¯ Fang lowered his head but apparently couldn¡¯t stop himself from grumbling a bit. ¡®If the female hadn¡¯t stopped me from getting a bracelet like the rest of you¡­.¡¯ Dominic growled threateningly making the young lion look up in alarm. ¡®We¡¯ve already discussed this!¡¯ he snarled this time using the Pride chat for all to hear. ¡®There was one bracelet in each chest down here. Lionel received the one from your chest ¨C as he should have. He needs it most. Procyon received the bracelet from our chest ¨C Sirius didn¡¯t get one either. You are not the only fighter in this pride ¨C if anything, you¡¯re one of the weakest. Learn your place or leave the Pride.¡¯ He didn¡¯t think he needed to say that if the lion chose to leave the Pride in that moment then he would become an enemy who needed to be dealt with before they fought the spider, as much as Dominic wanted to keep him, at least for that fight.. They held eye contact for a moment longer then the younger lion lowered his eyes again. Dominic huffed in annoyance, then returned to explaining the plan. ¡®Even those who have an antivenom now, please use them as a last resort since they¡¯re one-time uses only. Lionel can keep healing and curing poisoning as long as he has mana and carcasses to absorb. Same with the healing potions. Obviously, if you¡¯ve been bitten and you can¡¯t get over to him, then use the antivenom. ¡®Fang, we¡¯ll need you in the fight, but I want your first responsibility to be helping your brother. Guard him and make sure he¡¯s not attacked while he¡¯s healing. Keep an eye on the others and if you see that someone has been bitten and can¡¯t get over to him, go and help out. Clear?¡¯ ¡®Clear,¡¯ muttered Fang. He was still grumpy but he¡¯d proven to be reliable enough that Dominic wasn¡¯t worried he¡¯d let spite stop him from helping, especially given that he¡¯d decided to stay as part of the Pride ¨C for now, at least. He might not help pull Dominic himself out of danger, but since Dominic was rather larger and heavier than him, he probably wouldn¡¯t succeed anyway. ¡®Dominic, I collected these for you,¡¯ Sekhmet told him. ¡®I know that you find them useful.¡¯ So saying, she raised her paw and a veritable flood of Cores dropped out of her bracelet, scattering all over the floor in a wave of large marbles. When she¡¯d finished dropping all the Cores, she hesitated and then a potion fell out with a loud clunk¨C the water-breathing one he¡¯d given to her. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t break. ¡®Thank you,¡¯ he answered, surprised. Touching a few of them, he found that they were a mixture of level 14 trodils and level 12 meerkats. The exceptions were a level 20 trodil and five level 17 meerkats which caused a short flicker of worry, soothed only because they were here, they had survived. ¡®Right everyone, take a few minutes to rest and prepare mentally for the fight. I need to absorb these Cores and level up and then we can get going.¡¯ Chapter 79: Level Up After going through the Cores and absorbing them, Dominic was pretty pleased with their haul. He hadn¡¯t thought that Sekhmet would go as far as to collect the Cores for him, but he was very grateful she had. Encountering some of the creatures who had given him his first Abilities had been quite profitable in more ways than one. There had been a fair bit of crossover between the secondary and tertiary Abilities of the trodils and meerkats, particularly for Abilities already on his list but not yet fully acquired. It was a good thing they had a level up ready and waiting for them. Frankly, he was very glad that he¡¯d be able to reduce one of his lists ¨C at the expense of extending the other. Then again, when that meant he had more Abilities to choose between, was it a bad thing? Temperature Tolerance (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Rage (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Bleed (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Enhanced Fertility (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Fleet Foot (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Flash Step (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Pack Attack (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Tearing Bite (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Sharp Tooth (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Camouflage (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability ¡®I¡¯m going to get them mixed up,¡¯ Leo rumbled as he looked at the list of Abilities they would be able to acquire. Well, that could be a downside of having too many Abilities, Dominic supposed. Though if Selessa¡¯s words were right, the Place of Power might be useful with that too. ¡®We don¡¯t have to use them all together, and certainly not all the time,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®But if the time comes up when, say, having an extra boost of speed and strength for a short time would be useful, it would be good to have Rage.¡¯ ¡®As long as we don¡¯t mind becoming literally enraged,¡¯ Leo pointed out. Dominic sent him a feeling of ambivalence. ¡®If we need it, we need it. We¡¯ll face the consequences after. At least it¡¯s not as risky as Bloodied Stalwart. And I¡¯m rather excited about Camouflage.¡¯ ¡®Good for hunting alone, less good for hunting together,¡¯ Leo, aka Party-Pooper said. ¡®Unless everyone else has it or something like it too,¡¯ argued Dominic. ¡®Several of our Pride already have Stealth. We¡¯ve also got the possibility of sharing Abilities through the Pride Enhancement system, and if we can get Group Enhancement somehow, we¡¯ll be able to do it through that too. Or potentially even through the Place of Power later on.¡¯ ¡®I suppose,¡¯ Leo agreed begrudgingly. ¡®And look! You¡¯ve finally got Enhanced Fertility.¡¯ Dominic hadn¡¯t managed to get any full Abilities from the crocodiles ¨C there were too many different Abilities and not enough Cores which gave the same ones. Still, he¡¯d managed to make a good inroads on Extended Breath. Keen Senses (98% to level 1) Dominant Chirp (69% to level 1) Burrow (42% to level 1) Ambush (21% to level 1) Death Roll (44% to level 1) Extended Breath (66% to level 1) Quick Snap (22% to level 1) Famine (22% to level 1) He was rather intrigued by Famine ¨C it allowed a creature to slow down their metabolism to endure long periods of time without food or water. They wouldn¡¯t be able to react quickly to an attack and it would take time to get into and out of that state, but it could be an interesting response if there actually was a famine or risk of overhunting. Unlike Wide Diet, he might be able to share it with others in the Pride if he managed to get it. Unfortunately, there hadn¡¯t been many Cores with it and only one of those had given percent towards it. As well as the new Abilities and working towards gaining previously encountered Abilities, Quick Strike, Crushing Bite, and Enhanced Stamina had all received a boost beyond what they¡¯d earned from use alone. The higher level Abilities required more Cores to make a difference to the percentages, but every little helped. None had increased by as much as a level, though. Deciding to get all the Ability-related business out of the way, Dominic inspected the Ability orb from the other room. [Ability orb: Mapping (T2)] ¡®Well, that¡¯s intriguing,¡¯ Dominic commented. ¡®And very different from anything else we¡¯ve seen so far.¡¯ [Mapping (T2): Become able to recollect places visited more easily and to build a personal mental map of them in relation to other places. ¡®Hah,¡¯ huffed Leo in amusement. ¡®Even the dungeon knows you¡¯re bad with directions!¡¯ ¡®Shut up,¡¯ Dominic told him defensively, already absorbing the orb. Teasing from Leo aside, it definitely sounded like something handy to have. ¡®I bet it offers this to everyone coming through.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t you remember the gorget? And how the bracelets have been made for beasts specifically? We concluded ages ago that the dungeon does adapt some of its rewards to us. Face it, brother, you need a map to get anywhere and the dungeon knows it.¡¯ ¡®Anyway,¡¯ said Dominic, trying to change the subject. ¡®We haven¡¯t got time to waste. How about two enhancements to Enhanced Regeneration? I have to admit that I¡¯m very nervous about the venom of this boss,¡¯ suggested Dominic. ¡®I¡¯d agree to one enhancement to Enhanced Regeneration, yes,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®But I think we still need to dedicate another enhancement to Nervous System or Brain, especially with all these new Abilities to consider.¡¯ ¡®Or,¡¯ said Dominic thoughtfully, ¡®perhaps to Wings. Being able to drop down on this spider from above might come in useful.¡¯ ¡®Are you listening to me?¡¯ demanded Leo. ¡®We need to have the ability to actually use these Abilities we¡¯re going to have. And have you forgotten about space issues? How do you suggest using our massive wings in that small room? We¡¯d be better just jumping on top of it, if you insist on attacking from above.¡¯ ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic agreed, feeling a little embarrassed about having forgotten to take that into account. ¡®Alright, so Regeneration and Brain?¡¯ ¡®Do you think that Brain will be a better choice than Nervous System?¡¯ checked Leo. ¡®For the reasons you¡¯re talking about? Yes. It will allow us to think faster in the middle of the action, which would help with the coordination of Abilities ¨C something we¡¯ve already struggled with a bit. Nervous System would only improve our reaction speed itself. We¡¯ll have to test out the Abilities themselves to see whether we need physically faster reactions too in future level-ups.¡¯ ¡®Then we are agreed,¡¯ responded Leo with an air of satisfaction. ¡®Alright, here goes,¡¯ Dominic answered, activating the level up. He quickly selected Enhanced Regeneration and Brain, then quickly moved onto the Abilities. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. [You have 9 new Abilities available to be acquired. First new Ability: Rage (T0). Would you like to acquire this Ability?] ¡®Yes.¡¯ [Second new Ability: Bleed (T1). Would you like to acquire this Ability?] ¡®Yes.¡¯ [Third new Ability: Enhanced Fertility (T0). Would you like to acquire this Ability?] ¡®Yes!¡¯ answered Leo with excitement. But since Dominic was still in control, it didn¡¯t do anything. Sending the leonine presence the mental equivalent of a glare, Dominic echoed his companion. ¡®Yes.¡¯ The next two Abilities ¨C Fleet Foot and Flash Step ¨C followed the same process. The only difference was that Flash Step required some minor physiological changes which Dominic agreed to, deciding to keep the actual Ability the same. The next Ability, Pack Attack, was slightly different. Honestly Dominic had expected it. [You have chosen to acquire Pack Attack. You have an Ability which has adequate synergy with Pack Attack: Group Attack. Would you like to combine these Abilities? Note: features of these Abilities may be changed or maintained. Note: the final product may be better, worse, or equivalent to the Abilities singularly.] Dominic hesitated for a moment in case Leo had something to say. However, all was quiet in the peanut gallery, so he quickly went ahead. So far the System had always improved the Ability when they were combined; why not now too? The next Ability had the same notification appear when he agreed to go forward with it. [You have chosen to acquire Tearing Bite. You have an Ability and an Ability in the course of being acquired which have adequate synergy with Tearing Bite: Sharp Nip; Sharp Tooth. Would you like to combine these Abilities? Note: features of these Abilities may be changed or maintained. Note: the final product may be better, worse, or equivalent to the Abilities singularly.] Once more Dominic paused for a couple of seconds, then went ahead. Interestingly, neither of those Abilities required any physiological changes. Accepting Camouflage was the last of the new Abilities, and his level up quickly took over. The pain was minor and drowned out by the pleasure of the level up itself. When the blurring around him resolved itself, he stretched luxuriously and then decided to check out his new Abilities. There were always a few changes compared to the System descriptions when they were only Cores. Starting with the first combined Ability, he saw that ¡®Group¡¯ and ¡®Pack¡¯ Attack had now become ¡®Pride¡¯ attack, fittingly. And it turned out that the addition had changed it in several ways, the least being increasing it by a level. Pride Attack (T0 ¨C> T1) level 4 ¨C> 5 (7% ¨C> 44% to level 5) ¨C 12% ¨C> +30% to offensive damage dealt when you fight with other members of your Pride during an attack or defence. +5% to all beings in the same attack or defence who are registered as being in the same Pride as you. ¡®Am I reading that right, Leo? Does everyone in the attack get an increase in offensive damage, as long as they¡¯re part of my Pride?¡¯ ¡®When they¡¯re in the same attack or defence, I would say so,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®And look at how much the offensive damage has increased.¡¯ Dominic looked at it, first impressions seeming great. Then he thought back to what it used to be. ¡®Wait, actually, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s as good.¡¯ ¡®But it¡¯s thirty percent instead of twelve percent.¡¯ Leo sounded confused. ¡®That¡¯s better, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ ¡®On the face of it, yes. But didn¡¯t the old description say that it was ¡®per other being¡¯? This is just a flat rate as long as I¡¯m fighting as a group. That¡¯s worse.¡¯ ¡®Well, it does warn that combining Abilities can lead to them getting worse,¡¯ Leo reminded him, though Dominic could tell he was a bit grumpy about it too. Hopefully. being able to buff his Pride members would at least partly make up for that, though. ¡®What about the other combined Ability?¡¯ the lion asked curiously. Sharp Bite Attack (T0 ¨C> T1) level 3 ¨C> 4 (0% ¨C> 50% to level 5) ¨C Active effect: When using your teeth to attack an opponent you may consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 4, consuming 1 SP will offer +40% speed. Consume 3 SP for +65% speed. Passive effect: The sharpness of your teeth are enhanced during an attack: +30% to sharpness. Passive effect: Wounds made with your teeth will be 10% more damaging and harder to heal. ¡®That looks pretty good,¡¯ decided Dominic. ¡®Not only can we lunge forwards, combining this Ability with Quick Strike to boost our speed even more, but whenever we use our teeth we¡¯ll do more damage. This probably makes up for the way Group Attack has been downgraded.¡¯ Leo grunted in agreement and they moved on. Rage (T1) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Double your base speed and strength for (Ability level + 1) minutes. After the enhancement time elapses, you will undergo a period of recuperation which lasts (? Ability level +1) minutes. During this period you will only be able to use half your base speed and strength. Rage was much as expected. The fact that the time increased based on his Ability level was good but that the recuperation time increased too was a little annoying. That the increase was calculated according to his ¡®base speed¡¯ wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d seen before, but he supposed it made sense. By this point, he had several movement enhancers for different situations, so it would be hard for an Ability like Rage to take that into account. On the upside, that meant that the recuperation time wouldn¡¯t be quite as impactful. Bleed (T1) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Use 2 SP per attack to apply a bleed effect to any strike which draws blood from the opponent. A bleed effect will increase the rate at which blood flows. At level 1, this increase is +10%. The bleed effect will last (Ability level) seconds. Bleed effects can be stacked. Bleed was much as expected, though it was good to have actual numbers to look at. Having it written in the description that the effects could be stacked was also great. At the moment, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to stack too many of them since they would only last a second, but if he could get it to level 10? Then he could definitely get quite a few piled on top of each other. Enhanced Fertility (T0) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Multiplies the chance that a mating session will successfully conceive offspring. At level 1 this offers +10% chance that a mating session will be successful in comparison to the unaltered chances. ¡®Excellent, and just in time,¡¯ was what Leo said as they looked at Enhanced Fertility. Dominic really didn¡¯t feel very strongly about the whole mating thing ¨C unless ¡®uncomfortable¡¯ counted, but he was glad Leo was happy. Fleet Foot (T0) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Use 3 SP per second to increase your speed by 50% in both combat and non-combat situations. The two new movement Abilities were both interesting. Fleet Foot was the least interesting ¨C a flat 50% increase for a stamina cost per second. Still, he could see where it would be useful, and it was his first movement Ability which didn¡¯t require him to be in combat or trying to attack something. It would have definitely come in useful when trying to escape the crocodiles at the end of the water challenge! Flash Step (T2) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Use 15 MP to flash forwards by a desired distance (within limits of the Ability level), ignoring all physical matter in the way. At level 1, the limit of the distance is your body length. Warning: if you rematerialise within an object or another being, you may do and/or suffer damage of varying levels from minor to lethal. Flash Step, however, was far more intriguing. The only problem was that it used mana points rather than stamina and Dominic didn¡¯t have many of those, nor could he easily regain what he did have. A single Flash Step would completely clear him out. That said, a single Flash step was clearly a rather powerful tool. If he was interpreting the description correctly, it was basically a magical step forwards which could go through solid walls. The only problem was that if he misjudged the distance and was in a solid wall at the end of the step, he might be cut in half. He also wondered whether ¡®body length¡¯ included his tail or not ¨C that was at least another metre to his length. It was curious that the description also talked about ¡®beings¡¯. What if he ended a step with his paw through, say, a spider¡¯s head? Would the spider¡¯s head explode? Would his paw explode? Would they both explode? Because he was willing to temporarily sacrifice something to kill a creepy dog-sized spider. And did Flash Step take anything he was carrying with him? Could he end up with the ball of his mace inside said spider¡¯s head? Or could he grab something heavy, flash forward up into the air and then drop it? There were lots of things he wanted to experiment with using this new Ability, but first he¡¯d have to fix his Mana Heart and Soul. Camouflage (T1) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Blend with your surroundings to reduce the chance of being spotted by an observer. Blending is more effective in areas which match your exterior in colour and pattern. At level 1, +10% to previous effectiveness of blending in all environments. Use 10 MP to reduce the chances of your opponent from spotting you by 50%. Warning, certain Abilities and Skills may not be affected by this Ability. Finally, there was Camouflage. This one seemed to be the upgraded version of the one he¡¯d seen all that time ago in a tiger¡¯s Core. Once more, it required mana, though it seemed like it had a passive component that did not require anything. He also had the two Ability orbs he¡¯d absorbed: Temperature Tolerance and Mapping. Temperature Tolerance (T2) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Increase your ability to tolerate different temperatures and resist temperature related effects. At level 1, you are able to tolerate +10% temperature extremes and you have a 10% resistance to temperature related effects. Mapping (T2) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C You are able to recollect places visited more easily and to build a personal mental map of them in relation to other places. At higher levels, you may be able to share your map with others. At level 1 the area mapped extends ten body lengths around you in all directions. Warning: this map is not active and therefore changes to the area after your visit will not be reflected in it. This Ability does not work in dungeons or other folded spaces. The map would only get updated as he moved around and a quick check revealed that it would only start from now, not showing any of the places he¡¯d been before. While not surprising, it was still a little disappointing. At least Temperature Tolerance was much as he¡¯d expected ¨C he guessed he would suffer a bit less under the strong midday sun, though heat-stroke might still be a concern. Pulling up the aspects of himself that he enhanced, Dominic had a quick look there too. - Enhanced Regeneration level 4 ¨C> 5 (2.75 ¨C> 3.25 HP / second) - Brain level 6 ¨C> 7 (Cognition speed standard measurement 8 ¨C> 8.5) ¡®Looks all present and correct,¡¯ he commented to Leo. The lion grunted. He seemed eager to get on with it, perhaps because Dominic had outright rejected trying out Enhanced Fertility until they got out of the dungeon. With his new Abilities, a few possible strategies had come to mind. He quickly went through them with his Pride mates. Then, all the Cores absorbed, level up completed, Abilities examined, aspects enhanced, and plans made it was time to take on a spider. ¡®Please, let none of us die¡­¡¯ Dominic prayed to whoever might be listening. Chapter 80: Boss Like any spider¡¯s lair stereotype, the room itself was dark and, probably sticky spider webs hid in the corners and in odd places on the rocky, uneven floor. As he¡¯d expected, the spider didn¡¯t attack them until they crossed the invisible line that separated the foyer from the room itself. Curiously, the two doors to the rest of the dungeon remained open even once they¡¯d properly entered the boss room ¨C the dungeon was being kind to them in offering an escape route. As soon as the spider began to move, its speed was already evident in how quickly it crossed the ground between them; the amesheks immediately hit it with their howl. Though they were probably significantly below its level and the attack showed no evident effect on its red health bar, the impact was still enough to make it slow a little. But it wasn¡¯t enough ¨C the spider was still moving too fast towards them. Dominic didn¡¯t hesitate. Jumping in front of it, he started making small movements with his wings and tail, shifting slightly from side to side. He kept his own gaze fixed on one of the spider¡¯s eight eyes, focussing strongly on enthralling the spider if only for a moment. He¡¯d have used his Roar but it used far too much stamina for the beginning of a boss fight. Still, for a few seconds, the combination seemed to be working. But then Dominic saw its mandibles twitch. And then two of its legs. It was breaking through! He redoubled his focus, but knew that it was a losing battle. Fortunately, breaking the forward charge and momentum of the boss was only the starting move. ¡®Now!¡¯ he exclaimed in the Pride chat. Sekhmet, Lionel, and Fang all leapt at the spider. With the attention of the boss on Dominic alone, the three lions had managed to slink around the back of the Great Dane sized arachnid. Since their attack was a surprise, they got the full bonus of Pounce. Even with all that, their teeth struggled to get through the spider¡¯s carapace, and their claws just scraped against it. Sekhmet, who had listened to what Dominic had suggested, had the most effect ¨C she went for one of the spider¡¯s many legs and managed to actually cause a dent in it. Her own health bar took more of a dent, though, as the fine hairs on the spider¡¯s leg were spikier than they looked and caused bleeding wounds in her mouth and on her paws. And all that barely made the spider¡¯s bar shift at all. Not good. Worse, the attack broke through the hypnosis Dominic was holding on the spider and it quickly whirled to strike at the three lions with its fangs. Dominic wasn¡¯t going to bet on whether the boss was venomous or not ¨C he was confident he knew the answer already. ¡®Lionel, back up,¡¯ Dominic ordered. ¡®Healing duties¡¯. The young lion grimly assented, not wasting any time in running back to the foyer area. They doubted that it would still be a ¡®safe area¡¯, but at least he was near the exit route via Sekhmet¡¯s party¡¯s maze in case they needed to escape. Procyon and Sirius joined the fight, trying to distract the spider from Fang and Sekhmet. The two lions were rapidly being backed into a corner. As expected, the spider seemed to primarily use strikes with its front two legs, either individually or simultaneously, and attacks with its fangs. Neither had been bitten yet, but both were injured by the hard blows from the legs, their flesh torn by the bristles growing from the spider¡¯s chitin. The amesheks each sank their teeth into one of the spider¡¯s legs near its head and pulled, physically trying to give their pride-mates some space to escape. At the same time, Dominic used his Tail Strike to hit the spider¡¯s back legs. For the first time, his metal-coated tail was unable to immediately pulverise something it struck. The chitin on the legs was damaged, but the legs remained mostly intact and useable. ¡®This¡­could be a problem,¡¯ Dominic muttered to Leo. ¡®Then take another approach. The female is out of the way ¨C perhaps try to crush it against the wall?¡¯ Looking at the fight, Dominic saw that Leo was right: Sekhmet had leaped out of the corner, going over the top of the spider. Fortunately, Fang was just about managing to do the same thing. The spider was trying to turn, but the amesheks¡¯ grips on two of its legs were hampering it, as were the vibrations they were generating. Though it seemed to be a bit of a two-edged sword as the spiky bristles also hurt the amesheks. Sekhmet and Fang rapidly followed suit, grabbing two more legs, their health bars going down as well. Decision made, Dominic turned and ran towards the other side of the room. While he did that, Lionel leaped forwards and rubbed himself against the other two lions, starting with Fang. When Dominic reached the foyer ¨C not going into one of the other rooms just in case that counted as forfeiting the fight, he saw that the lions¡¯ bars were starting to increase little by little again. Meanwhile, the spider¡¯s bar still barely showed any movement, but at least it was moving. Putting his head down, Dominic ran towards the spider, invoking Momentous Charge. At the last moment, all four of his pride-mates let go of the spider¡¯s legs and leaped backwards, Lionel moving with them. Instead of slamming straight into the spider, Dominic threw his whole momentum, both real and illusionary, into swinging around into another Tail Strike. This time, it had a lot more impact. With additional help from Quick Strike and Fleet foot adding even more momentum, the metallic ball crushed two of its legs against its body, crippling them. The legs leaked bluish ichor, as did a crack in its carapace. The crack was just to the right side of a vivid red stripe which went almost halfway up its abdomen. Unfortunately, the carapace seemed to be a single piece, not two as the stripe might indicate. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Even with the damage he managed to do, its health was only knocked down by about ten percent. A mighty blow, but it was still not enough. The force of the blow had knocked the spider into the wall, trapping its fangs temporarily. Dominic and Sekhmet were the first to react: Dominic leaped forwards to try to press his advantage in the cracked area; Sekhmet grimly grabbed one of the injured legs and started chewing and swiping at it, trying to ensure that it was out of action even as her mouth bled again from its spikes. The other three fighters didn¡¯t take much longer to react, but the spider was still quicker than them. Using two of its legs, it pushed itself away from the wall, its strength forcing even Dominic to take a step back. Fang had gone straight for the join between its two body parts and abruptly found himself facing the spider¡¯s massive fangs. He cried in pain as he was unable to dodge and the fangs ripped into his shoulder. Dominic winced from where he was braced against the back of the boss, trying to inject his own venom and acid into the crack in the spider¡¯s carapace. He saw how Fang¡¯s health bar turned a lurid green, a brighter colour than he¡¯d ever seen it turn before. The green drop symbol that appeared above it wasn¡¯t just one drop, either, but three. His health plunged, losing ten percent every second. Fortunately, Fang wasn¡¯t fighting alone. Procyon stepped in to deflect the spider¡¯s next blow, careful not to be hit by those same fangs. Sirius wrenched at Fang¡¯s back leg, pulling him out of the immediate battle zone. While he did that, Lionel started his healing cloud going, and concentrated on the downed lion. ¡®My Cure Poison isn¡¯t working!¡¯ he called out using the Pride chat a moment later, sounding panicked. ¡®The venom is too strong!¡¯ ¡®Use an antivenom!¡¯ urged Dominic, already moving to intercept the spider from its next focus: Procyon and Sirius. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lionel pull out a potion. Something about the bracelet meant that it appeared in his own mouth, its cork already out, fortunately. Almost looking like he was going in for a kiss, Lionel lunged forwards, tipping the potion into Fang¡¯s mouth. His health bar stopped dropping and returned to its normal red, the three green droplets fading. Just in time ¨C two more seconds and he would have been dead. Relieved, Dominic turned his attention fully on his own fight. The speed of the spider¡¯s attacks was such that the amesheks could only dodge ¨C they had no opportunity for their own attacks. But perhaps that wasn¡¯t a bad thing. ¡®Keep its attention, but don¡¯t get bitten!¡¯ Dominic told them, then released his own bite and backed up. Sekhmet glanced at him, then moved to where he had been a moment before. Using Powerful Swipe, she attacked the area he had been biting and melting with his acid. Her claws found some purchase in the weakened crack and so she kept striking doggedly. Once more running in, Dominic repeated his previous attack, this time swinging around to strike at the spider¡¯s other side, as many of his speed-enhancing Abilities and damage dealing Abilities engaged as possible to enhance his Tail Strike. The attack hit with the same strength as the first. The crack splintered through the spider¡¯s chitin, heading towards the previous damage. Dominic saw its progress with a leap of hope. If the two cracks met, perhaps they could break off the whole section, its two legs included. ¡®Keep going, Sekhmet,¡¯ Dominic urged her even as he swiped at the one in front of him. The spider¡¯s health dropped to around three-quarters. It suddenly froze in place and its health bar started flashing. Dominic¡¯s eyes went wide. He knew what this was ¨C the boss had hit a new phase. It was probably going to use some special Ability. Hopefully not a regenerative one like the warthog had shown ¨C that would suck. ¡®Phase shift!¡¯ Dominic yelled at his pride. It was something they¡¯d considered before even starting the fight. In response, the lions and amesheks all clustered around Dominic. They didn¡¯t know what the Ability would be, but they had a better chance of weathering it together than apart. Three seconds after the spider froze and its health bar started flashing, it moved again. This time, at three times the speed it had had before. Dominic barely saw it come at them. His action in response was almost instinctive and probably saved all of their lives: he activated the Pride defensive shield. Before he could activate the shield, the first three of the spider¡¯s blows landed, each knocking between 50 and 100 health points off the victims it hit. Fortunately, only one attack used its fangs, poisoning Fang for a second time, which caused the younger lion to briefly panic. Dominic might wonder if the spider hated Fang for some reason, but this time it actually worked out in their favour so he wasn¡¯t complaining: the immunity effect of the antivenom had apparently kicked in as the young lion wasn¡¯t actually poisoned even if his health took a hit. The rest of the attacks were deflected off the shield. Lionel immediately got his healing going, the golden dust restoring the health of everyone ¨C they had all been injured at some point so far in this fight. Interestingly, the shield stopped the golden dust from going through to heal the spider too, which was a relief. But it wasn¡¯t a long-term solution: already Dominic could see cracks in the shield appear. If the spider broke through, all of them would be without defences for a long time. If he dropped it before it broke, they would get their defences back immediately though still wouldn¡¯t have access to the shield again for a while. It wasn¡¯t a real choice. ¡®Everyone, when I drop the shield, scatter! Try to keep out of its way. Don¡¯t try to attack. We have to outlast it. Ready¡­now!¡¯ With his last word, he dropped the shield, probably only a couple of blows away from it shattering completely anyway. His pride members took his words to heart and ran to all different corners of the room, doing their best to avoid the webbing ¨C getting stuck now would be disastrous. The spider followed Dominic at first, but he managed to keep ahead of it by using his own speed to its fullest extent, Fleet Foot proving itself invaluable. Spatial Awareness told him that the spider was right on his heels and warned him when it was about to leap or strike. Using Quick Strike and a flap of his wings gave him just enough distance to avoid being clipped by its venomous fangs himself. After that, though, the spider seemed to give up on him, turning its attention to another of his pride. The closest pride member happened to be Procyon, who just wasn¡¯t quick enough to react. The ameshek¡¯s bar was stained the same vivid green that Fang¡¯s had been before and the same three droplets appeared above it. Even as his bar started dropping at almost the same alarming rate Fang¡¯s had, the spider whirled around and practically blurred as it scuttled towards the next in line ¨C Sirius. The ameshek tried to dodge its strike but he was just not quite fast enough. Within a too-short time, he had joined Procyon in being poisoned. ¡®Procyon, use your antivenom!¡¯ Dominic shouted at the larger ameshek. Fang and Lionel both scattered, expecting that one of them would be the next targets. ¡®Lionel, get to Sirius!¡¯ It didn¡¯t aim towards them, however. Instead, it shot towards Sekhmet, who, Dominic realised with horror, was stuck in a section of web. Evidently she had been paying more attention to getting away than to where she placed her feet. Chapter 81: Special Ability Fear and fury giving wings to his feet, Dominic was still not fast enough to reach the spider before it got to Sekhmet. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t the only one who had noticed her vulnerability. A sandy-coloured blur shot towards its side, slamming straight into the spider¡¯s bulbous abdomen. It was enough to deflect the spider slightly sideways; enough for its fangs to miss hitting Sekhmet by a hair. As they slowed down, Dominic was able to see that it was Fang who had come to the rescue. Now under the spider¡¯s belly and out of range of its most dangerous attack, the lioness took advantage to swipe at its weaker areas with her claws. Dominic arrived a fraction of a second later, turning his frantic run into an aerial strike. Leaping into the air, he activated Airborne to its maximum weight and then used his wings to force himself downwards faster. Landing with his front paws, he used the momentum of his back paws landing to swing the spiky metal ball of his tail right into the head of the spider. It screeched, the sound piercing in a way that almost made Dominic feel nauseous. But he¡¯d had the effect he wanted ¨C one of the spider¡¯s fangs had been destroyed, and the other was damaged. Four of its eyes were gone too, its head half caved in on that side. Its health bar dropped by around fifteen percent from that blow alone ¨C the most effective attack so far, no doubt boosted by Pounce. The spider reeled slightly from the blow, one of its legs accidentally stepping on the lioness trapped in the web. Sekhmet let out a quiet yowl of pain as the sharp leg scraped a large furrow into her own leg. She looked half-crushed too and Dominic realised that the spider must have buckled under his weight, landing partly on her. ¡®Sorry!¡¯ he apologised to the lioness as he moved to help her. Lionel, practically obscured by a cloud of golden dust, had obviously done a good job on the two amesheks. Though their health bars were not yet completely full, they joined Fang in distracting the spider who, thankfully, had become far more sluggish. Evidently the boosting effect had worn off and, like with Rage, was followed with a period of recuperation. Dominic started spitting acid around Sekhmet¡¯s trapped back paw, trusting in Immunity to protect her from his acid, but not enough to spit it on her paw directly. If the spider activated a special Ability at twenty-five percent down, does that mean it¡¯s going to activate another one at fifty? And then a third at seventy-five percent down? If so, the spider was rapidly approaching the next reveal. Dominic¡¯s blows had opened up the opportunity for the others to actually have some effect on the spider. Though none of them dared to attack its head injury, not with the other fang still posing a danger, they did take advantage of its blindness on that side, the injured back legs and the two cracks he¡¯d opened up on its backside. Its sluggish movements following its enhanced speed gave them even more opportunities to bite, claw, and vibrate the spider¡¯s injuries. Unfortunately, the spider wasn¡¯t completely defenceless. Not only did they need to be careful of the spider¡¯s remaining fang, but it probably had other Abilities it hadn¡¯t yet shown. As Dominic rejoined the fight, Sekhmet seeking treatment from Lionel before returning, he noticed something. A green gas was getting thicker around the spider, appearing to come from somewhere below it. A familiar green gas. ¡®Poison cloud incoming!¡¯ he told his pride members grimly. ¡®Don¡¯t breathe it in.¡¯ Fang and the two amesheks backed off as the cloud got thick enough to make it hard to see exactly where the spider was, the gas already burning their eyes and noses. It seemed oddly fixed in place for a gas, some of it escaping into the area around, but most of it staying close to the spider itself. The spider didn¡¯t seem interested in moving either ¨C like the monitor lizard before. If Dominic had to guess, he would say it was trying to use the poison cloud to defend itself during a recovery period. He wasn¡¯t willing to give it that chance: this was the best opportunity to cause some major damage. And if he could trigger the next phase while it was still suffering the aftereffects of the previous one, they might have a better chance of surviving this fight. ¡®Hold your breaths, but keep attacking,¡¯ he ordered the pride, leading by example. ¡®If your health goes below half, get to Lionel.¡¯ Not wanting to risk running into its fang by accident, Dominic didn¡¯t do any fancy attacks. Instead, he carefully felt his way to the spider¡¯s abdomen using Spatial Awareness, then sank his teeth back into the crack he¡¯d created with his second Tail Strike. While pumping in venom and using his tongue to cover the chitin in acid, he used his forepaws to scratch and scrape at any part of the spider he could reach. He cursed the fact that he hadn¡¯t managed to get Extended Breath from the crocodiles: this was exactly the situation where it would be useful. Instead, he just had to hold his breath until it hurt and started actually impacting his health. He was vaguely aware of the spider trying to pull away from him and moving in response to other flickering movements in his peripheral vision and the orb of awareness around his body. The poison cloud surrounding him significantly impeded his vision, giving the fight an odd unreal quality. The green smoke made his eyes water and his mouth itch. It had an effect on his health too, though only a minor one. Venom pumped in, acid was layered onto the chitin; his teeth sank in just a bit deeper. Claws scratched, claws scraped; claws caught and tore. More venom pumped in, more acid was layered onto the roughening chitin, his teeth sank in just a bit deeper. His claws scratched and scraped at the injured areas, tearing and digging into the spider¡¯s flesh. And repeat. And then he had to let go ¨C his health was starting to drop too fast. Quickly backing up, Dominic took a gasping breath as soon as he cleared the edge of the cloud. His lungs exclaimed their relief and his eyes slowly stopped streaming. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Watching the fight, he saw that the cloud was starting to fade away and the spider had returned to its previous speed. It looked like he wasn¡¯t going to get his wish ¨C that the spider would enter the next phase still suffering the effects from the first. The two amesheks and two lions were still attacking the spider, though their own movements were starting to show signs of sluggishness. Looking at his own stamina, Dominic noticed that it was getting low too. Pulling out a number of carcasses, he absorbed a few and then left the rest in the foyer area next to the watchful Lionel. ¡®Everyone who needs more stamina, come back and absorb some carcasses. Just don¡¯t do it all at one time,¡¯ Dominic notified everyone in the Pride chat, cursing himself for not thinking of it sooner. ¡®Wait!¡¯ he said a moment later. ¡®It¡¯s hitting another phase.¡¯ The spider had got down to 50% health and that indeed appeared to be the trigger for the next stage. Once more it was frozen, and its health bar was flashing. ¡®Everyone, attack it with your strongest attacks, then back off back to the foyer!¡¯ Dominic yelled, then ran in to do just that. He had a target in mind. With the spider frozen, its head area was suddenly far safer to attack than at practically any other time of the fight. Once more using Momentous Charge, the large lion ran straight towards its insectile face. Repeating the same last-minute twist he had done twice before, this time Dominic aimed the spiky metal ball of his tail mace at the spider¡¯s remaining fang. The blow hit true, practically tearing off the spider¡¯s remaining fang and denting its face just a bit more. Even better, he knocked out two more of the spider¡¯s eyes, and left it with only two that were working. ¡®Yes!¡¯ Dominic exclaimed at no one in particular even as he ran to join the rest of the pride who had followed his instructions to get in one more attack and then retreat. Hopefully the spider wouldn¡¯t repeat the same Ability as last time ¨C his Pride defence shield was still on cooldown and couldn¡¯t be used. But the warthog hadn¡¯t had the same phases each time so Dominic had hope that this would be different too. His prayers appeared to be answered. The spider didn¡¯t explode towards them with impossible speed. But Dominic wasn¡¯t sure if the alternative was much better. At the tips of each of its legs, another spider appeared. The healthier the leg, the bigger the spider, ranging from a large tarantula size for the injured legs to a house cat size for the healthy legs. They all looked identical to the original spider, the black chitin with a red stripe on their backs included. They were probably venomous too. ¡®Damn,¡¯ Dominic cursed, his mind racing. As if one black widow wasn¡¯t enough, now they had nine of them. The only good thing was that, though the smaller spiders were quick and dangerous, the boss itself had slowed down significantly again, as if creating the minions had drained it in some way. ¡®What we do?¡¯ asked Sekhmet, sounding tired and afraid. Dominic didn¡¯t blame her ¨C the wave of spiders running towards them was¡­unpleasant. ¡®I¡¯ll distract the boss. Procyon, Sirius, freeze them in place. Fang, Lionel, Sekhmet, crushing duty.¡¯ Hearing the amesheks already begin their eerie howl, Dominic opened his own mouth and Roared too, adding his voice. He focussed the sound on the big boss, hoping that its fatigue would make it more susceptible. They needed to buy time for the other lions to kill all the minions. Then they could get to the boss again. It seemed to work ¨C the spider boss wasn¡¯t stopped, but it was slowed, as if it were fighting its way through treacle and, this time around, its health took a bit of impact. When Dominic¡¯s stamina bar started emptying too much, he cut the Roar and instead started Hypnosis again. His Roar was preferable because it did damage as well as affected the creature¡¯s movement, but for the purpose of delaying, Hypnosis would work well enough. Unfortunately, even that wasn¡¯t enough. The spider minions were apparently tougher than they looked ¨C the large ones were practically like cockroaches. The boss was already starting to fight its way out of his Hypnosis and the lions weren¡¯t even half done. They needed more crushing power, especially since they needed to be careful of the spiders¡¯ venomous fangs. ¡®Procyon, Sirius, take a breath and swap targets. Hold the boss back. I¡¯m going for the minions.¡¯ The amesheks obeyed without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Their howls were higher level than Dominic¡¯s Roar and apparently that made a difference as the spider boss was slowed in its tracks, almost to the point of being stopped. Dominic leaped into the fray, using Tail Strike to smash the spider minions. The lucky ones among them were only half-crushed; the unlucky ones were pulverised on the first blow. The other lions quickly leaped upon any half-crushed spider, finishing the job. Within half a minute, the minions were all gone. Just in time: the two amesheks were completely exhausted. They let their increasingly thin howl drop in relief when they saw that the lions were done. ¡®We have no more stamina,¡¯ Procyon rumbled tiredly in the Pride chat. ¡®Then rest,¡¯ Dominic told them even as he rallied and started attacking the spider again. ¡®Consume a few carcasses. You¡¯ve done a good job. We¡¯ve got the boss below half. We¡¯ll probably need you when its health drops to a quarter.¡¯ The amesheks acknowledged his words, slumping off, nearly falling asleep, to join Lionel in the foyer. Meanwhile, the three lions did their best to whittle the spider¡¯s health down. They were increasingly tired, but so was the spider. Although it had sped up again after the minions had been killed, it hadn¡¯t returned to the speed it had shown right at the beginning of the fight, let alone the enhanced speed. Fang was now distracting it by striking at its remaining uninjured eyes and trying to avoid its return leg attacks while Sekhmet and Dominic continued working on disabling it by removing its other legs. They tried a number of different techniques, but found that the most effective was for each of them to take an opposing leg in their jaws and tug against each other with all their might. The spider was trapped as the rope in the middle of their tug of war, too few of its legs healthy enough to brace itself against them. The leg in Dominic¡¯s mouth broke free, the hole spurting out blue ichor. He dropped the leg with disgust ¨C it honestly tasted horrible ¨C then pounced on another relatively undamaged one. By the time they got the spider¡¯s health down to a quarter, the two amesheks had rejoined them in the fight and were also tugging. The boss was a lot less dangerous now: it couldn¡¯t bite them, it was slower, and even when it released its poison cloud again, they just kept attacking. When its bar started flashing once more, all five of them piled on attacks and then backed off back to Lionel, Consuming carcasses to replenish their stamina and then welcoming the lion¡¯s healing to top off their health. They watched as the spider unveiled its final Ability. Chapter 82: Congratulations! The two main parts of the spider separated. If this had been the result of one of their strikes, they would have rejoiced. But as it was, Dominic couldn¡¯t feel anything but apprehension. It quickly turned out that his trepidation was justified. The injured legs molted off the head end and new ones rapidly started growing, as did another abdomen. The bulbous abdomen from the original spider started growing a new head section with its own set of legs. With horror, Dominic realised that shortly they would have two large spiders to deal with. And he doubted that the injuries they had caused to the original spider would be replicated on the clone. ¡®Attack them before they fully form!¡¯ he ordered the pride with a hint of panic. The lions and amesheks leapt forwards before he¡¯d even finished speaking. ¡®Go for the legs of both of them and the head that¡¯s emerging.Try to stop them from fully growing.¡¯ He didn¡¯t need to tell them twice. Without need for discussion, he and Sekhmet gravitated towards the one which was growing a new head and the other three fighters attacked the one with the hopefully still-broken fangs. Lionel hovered in the background attentively, using the time to Consume more of the carcasses around him to refill his Healing Cloud. Sekhmet continued striking and biting at the broken bits of the spider¡¯s abdomen while Dominic ripped and bit at where the new head was forming in an attempt to destroy it prematurely. He injected venom, spat acid, and dedicated stamina to Bleed to pile on the debuffing effects which showed as a red droplet above the spider¡¯s health bar. A small number below it indicated how many he had stacked. At present, he was only managing to get two or three stacked if he was lucky, but he could see that it was having an effect nonetheless. What Dominic soon realised was that the defence values were lower ¨C that was the only explanation for the comparative ease with which his blows were getting through. And it wasn¡¯t just him. Sekhmet¡¯s Powerful Swipe attacks were carving through the abdomen¡¯s chitin with every blow. When he chanced a look over at the other group¡¯s efforts, he saw that they had managed to detach three of its eight new legs already. But their grace period was rapidly running out ¨C every blow seemed to do less and less damage even as their own stamina started flagging. ¡®It¡¯s getting stronger!¡¯ Dominic exclaimed. ¡®Go all out then retreat to Lionel if you need more stamina.¡¯ He personally leapt away for a moment just so that he could repeat the strike which had done so much damage to the spider even when at full strength, aiming for its body. His tail-mace slammed down on the spider¡¯s abdomen, cracking the chitin even more. But, as he realised with dismay, not with as much impact as it had done before. Could the spider slowly be gaining even more defences as time went on? Pouring stamina into Powerful Swipe, Quick Strike, and Rapid Attack, he struck again and again at the new crack in the abdomen. In between times, he used a Tail Strike, slamming his mace into the spider¡¯s chitin. By this point, Sekhmet¡¯s own attacks were as useful as striking the spider with a feather, but she doggedly kept attacking, drawing the spider¡¯s attention to allow Dominic to do his work and accumulating more and more bloody wounds on her body as a consequence. Fortunately, their determined assault proved successful. ¡®We¡¯re almost done,¡¯ Dominic said to Leo with relief as the spider¡¯s health bar got down to about five percent. He¡¯d finally got fully through the chitin and into the pungent and ichorous flesh of the spider itself. ¡®It seems like it,¡¯ answered Leo, though he seemed uneasy about something. ¡®What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ asked Dominic, panting as he ripped his way into the soft meat of the spider¡¯s insides. ¡®Can¡¯t you feel it?¡¯ ¡®What?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯ Dominic was about to scoff at the lion, but he realised that he did feel something. An unease which got stronger with every second that went by. Alerted, he quickly noticed when the flesh before him suddenly stopped moving even though there was still a sliver of health in its bar. ¡®Sekhmet, get back!¡¯ Dominic shouted, his wings automatically moving to shield himself even as he jumped backwards. The lioness didn¡¯t argue; she leapt away almost as quickly as Dominic did. It was just in time. The spider abruptly exploded into a wave of green smoke. Dominic realised that it wasn¡¯t just smoke as pain peppered his wings ¨C it included sharp fragments of chitin. The shrapnel tore away several feathers and sliced into the thin skin to which they were attached. A green tinge coloured his bar and a single green droplet formed above it. Whatever that was, it had poisoned him too. Fortunately, the poison didn¡¯t seem particularly strong ¨C it only ate away at a couple of Health Points per second, easily manageable when he wasn¡¯t fighting. But he wasn¡¯t the only one injured. ¡®Lionel!¡¯ Dominic called out seeing that Sekhmet¡¯s health was down to the merest sliver ¨C and ticking downwards. Hurrying towards her, Dominic dropped a carcass on her paw and urged her to Consume it. She did that just as Lionel drew abreast of the lioness and started healing her with his Cloud. Relieved to see that her health was picking up, Dominic looked over at the other group¡¯s progress. They were almost to the same point that Dominic and Sekhmet had reached before the spider exploded, so he warned them to hurry towards him as soon as the creature went still, urging Fang to move now since he was on the far side of the spider. The Pride defence shield had come off its cooldown so he put it up over all six of them ¨C just in time for it to deflect both the billowing wave of smoke and sharp fragments of chitin. In the silence which followed the explosion, a notification appeared in front of Dominic¡¯s eyes. This one, he didn¡¯t automatically dismiss. [You have killed Redback Spider Guardian (Half-step Noble Beast level 40)] [You have earned 245 PP] Dominic breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. He waited for the smoke to clear before letting the Pride defence shield drop. ¡®Not a black widow spider, then,¡¯ he commented to Leo. ¡®A redback. Isn¡¯t that an Australian spider?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t ask me,¡¯ grunted Leo. ¡®As far as that goes, I only know what you know.¡¯ Without the poisonous cloud in the way, he saw that both bits of spider had collapsed into what they had originally been ¨C its head and its abdomen. The legs were scattered around the room and the head and abdomen were both ruptured ¨C the source of the explosions. Level 40¡­ Ten levels higher than even Nyx. And a dungeon boss at that. No wonder it had been such a hard nut to crack; he was only glad that they¡¯d managed to defeat it without losing anyone. Actually, when he compared it to the last time he had visited this dungeon, none of them had come quite as close to dying as he had then. The benefits of progress and teamwork, he guessed. It was a pity that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get the beast¡¯s Core ¨C either that duplication Ability or the one to summon minions could have been really useful. ¡®Oh well, at least I¡¯ve got a chance of gaining another Ability I want,¡¯ he said to Leo, trying to cheer himself up. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡®As long as it gives it to you when you Consume its body parts. And, if you want to do that, I¡¯d let the rest of the pride know,¡¯ Leo responded sardonically. At his warning, Dominic¡¯s gaze flew back to the carcasses¡­which Lionel looked about to Consume. A short conversation later and Lionel backed off. He needed more carcasses to fully replenish his healing Ability, but they should be able to find more soon enough outside the dungeon. None of those carcasses, however, were likely to have Poison Cloud which is what Dominic hoped to get. Besides, it wasn¡¯t as if Lionel would benefit more from one carcass over another since he wasn¡¯t a chimera. Apparently all parts of the spider were still connected to each other in some metaphysical way as, when he triggered Consume on one part of it, the other parts all dissolved into golden dust as well. The rest of his pride waited patiently as Dominic absorbed as much of it as he could. Procyon and Lionel both took advantage of the pause to level up, the ameshek once more a level above Sirius at level 24 and Lionel joining Fang at level 19. Checking the list of Abilities waiting to be acquired once he¡¯d finished absorbing the dust, Dominic nodded happily. Poison Cloud (100% to level 1) Level up to acquire Ability Of course, even with the large number of Prey Points he¡¯d just gained from the boss, he was still a long way off his next level. Level: Evolved Beast Level 27 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 283/991 PP level up Still, it was good to know that he had a good AOE attack lined up. And, sure enough, as he¡¯d expected from last time, the Core didn¡¯t appear even once he¡¯d Consumed its body. That would no doubt be included in the loot for finishing the dungeon. A shame that he wouldn¡¯t get it. Now, time to complete the objective he¡¯d come to the dungeon to accomplish. Dominic found himself reluctant, despite himself. ¡®Don¡¯t dawdle,¡¯ Leo scolded him. ¡®The other female was in trouble not that long ago, remember.¡¯ ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic had to admit, reminded of how several albuhas had so recently died. For all he knew, Jenkins and her little pride¡¯s lives depended on them going to help sooner rather than later. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said in the Pride chat. ¡®See if you can spot any sort of stone figure or large and glowing orb.¡¯ So saying, Dominic started searching ¨C and not only for the dungeon Core. His heart sank more and more as he didn¡¯t find either object that he was looking for. ¡®Is this it?¡¯ Fang asked, pawing at a sticky spider¡¯s web that covered a large shape near the back of the room. He growled. ¡®I¡¯m stuck.¡¯ Huffing in amusement, Dominic went over and used acid to help him get free, as he had Sekhmet earlier. Looking critically through the thick, untidy web, he thought he saw the glint of something that might be the dungeon Core. ¡®Maybe,¡¯ he answered Fang¡¯s earlier question, spitting acid onto the web to melt it away. Once enough of the web was cleared, he saw that Fang was indeed correct. The statue holding the orb was about three times as big as last time, partly because the orb itself was clearly bigger, though not three times. Touching it, Dominic saw several new notifications appear before his eyes. [Congratulations! Your party has completed the F-Grade Savannah Plains Abandoned Temple dungeon.] [You have each earned 30,000 XP] [Congratulations! Your party has completed the Bonus Objective: rid the temple of its infestation/s ] [You have each earned 20,000 XP] [XP reward has been postponed to when form has XP capacity] ¡®Huh, no error message this time? Has the System finally got our existence sorted?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo sardonically. The lion declined to comment. [In completing the dungeon, you are offered a choice: Destroy dungeon Access reward chest ] Dominic gritted his teeth, so very tempted to choose the second option. But the fact was that he hadn¡¯t seen what Selessa had told him to look for to help him with his magic ¨C the dungeon had just changed too much for him to find an echo of his power near its orb. Selessa had been clear that it would be very obvious if he got anywhere near it ¨C the echo of his magic would call out to him unmistakably. Unfortunately, it looked like taking the dungeon¡¯s Core back to the Place of Power was his only option for helping his Mana Heart or Soul. And even that was a bit of a gamble. Sighing he made his decision. At least he¡¯d get some satisfaction out of it. His lips drawn back over his teeth, Dominic did his best to project his thoughts to the dungeon master. ¡®Remember me? Remember what you tried to do to me? Enjoy whatever comes next, arsehole. Destroy dungeon.¡¯ There was the sound of a brief and cut-off shriek as the dungeon shook just a little. The statue holding the orb shook even more than the dungeon had, its movements becoming quicker with every second that passed. Dominic quickly used his wings to again shield his head. Just in time: the statue exploded and peppered his feathers with shards of stone. Fortunately, this wasn¡¯t actually an attack, so the shards did little damage. Nevertheless, once again blood marked the sandy-coloured feathers when Dominic lowered his wings. The dungeon orb lay on top of the altar-like surface, glowing and glinting with some inner light. Dominic touched it and whisked it into his storage space. As soon as the orb disappeared, the surroundings shook again, dust showering on top of Dominic¡¯s head. His eyes widened as he remembered a bit of the information he¡¯d sucked from the dungeon master the first time he had run this dungeon. A dungeon only existed as long as its orb was present. There was a reason why the second option was ¡®destroy dungeon¡¯, not just ¡®take core¡¯. ¡®We need to get out of here!¡¯ Dominic told the rest of his pride urgently. ¡®If it collapses while we¡¯re still here, we¡¯ll probably be destroyed with it!¡¯ Not needing any convincing, the rest of the pride joined him in running madly across the room. Instinctively going back towards the door they¡¯d used to get into this room, Dominic swerved at the last moment into the way Sekhmet had used. There was no guarantee that the stone slab which had blocked him and the amesheks downstairs had been shifted even if they wanted to potentially swim through boiling water. In fact, it was more likely that the slab was still in place. The door that Sekhmet and the other lions had used, however¡­. Dashing into the room, Dominic saw the other side of the puzzle they¡¯d worked on through his peripheral vision. He didn¡¯t stop to look at it, though, instead running up the flight of steps on the other side of the room with dust raining down onto them all at frequent intervals. Upstairs, he crossed through a large area, entering the narrow corridor on the other side, the ceiling groaning worryingly above them. It didn¡¯t take too long to realise that it was a maze ¨C hitting two dead ends in quick succession was enough to determine that. ¡®Sekhmet, Lionel, Fang, which way did you come?¡¯ Dominic demanded as his head turned frantically from side to side, trying to work out the best way to go. He was feeling more and more pressured ¨C dust had turned into pebbles and even small rocks. The three sniffed around for a bit. ¡®This way!¡¯ Fang exclaimed, leading the pride. He did a decent job of it, though Dominic didn¡¯t feel so while it was happening ¨C he only led them into two more dead ends before they were through. Behind them, the crash of rocks crushing the maze and the rumble of the ceiling over their heads warned them that they were almost out of time. The door, thankfully, was open, and the six of them practically flew through it and up the stairs. Outside in the clearing, it was no more reassuring. Instead of the rocks of the dungeon construction falling down onto their heads, they saw that the trees were toppling towards the dungeon as the false sky descended towards them. ¡®Quick ¨C there!¡¯ Dominic led them towards where he saw the glint of gold through the waving and falling jungle giants. ¡®Careful in case there are still some traps active,¡¯ he warned them. Trying to give them the right example and to not create a gap between them, he slowed down a little, even if doing so was painful. Someone falling into a pit would be the last thing they needed ¨C and possibly the last thing they ever did. They dodged falling trees, and leaped over the ones which were already down. It was a helter skelter of increasing danger but Dominic was determined to get them all out. ¡®Go, go, go!¡¯ Dominic shouted, skidding to a halt just next to the golden archway. Sekhmet was the first through, Dominic was relieved to realise. Fang and Lionel followed almost on her tail. Then Sirius. And then Procyon brought up the rear. Dominic took a final look at the chaotic destruction of the dungeon. The false ceiling of the dungeon appeared like a curtain which had been torn down, revealing a blackness beyond which was beyond comprehension. It felt like the blackness wasn¡¯t just an absence of colour, but an absence of everything. And at the same time, the presence of everything. And then that utter, incomprehensible void turned and looked back at Dominic. Feeling like a cartoon lion whose colour had just drained out of his feet, Dominic instinctively turned and leapt into the portal, utterly convinced that death was snapping at his heels. Shaken, it took him longer than it should have to realise the situation. His pride had leaped out of one dangerous situation and into another. In front of them were five new threats. Yet these ones weren¡¯t beasts. In fact, as Dominic looked at their humanoid features and pointed ears, he could only come to one conclusion. ¡®Elves?!¡¯ Interlude 2 ¡°Chief Elder? The other Elders are all gathered,¡± the youngster informed the Chief Elder. She was standing at a window, staring out over their town, a desolate look on her face. At the sound of the young one¡¯s voice, she shook herself, clearing her expression of anything but serenity so fast that the messenger wondered whether he¡¯d even seen what he thought he had. ¡°Thank you, Nivalir, I believe?¡± ¡°Yes, Chief Elder. I am the son of Lyrial and Isoldur.¡± ¡°Lyrial¡­ah, yes.¡± She paused for a moment and studied his form. ¡°You cannot have been born before the time of the phoenix. You are involved in this conflict?¡± she asks, her tone saddened. ¡°I was born in the time of the dragon, Elder. And I know that I am too young to be allowed to fight, but I am trying to serve our people in the role of messenger. Hunter Melyan has taken me as an apprentice.¡± Nivalir sounded proud of the achievement. As well he should be ¨C Melyan was known to be picky about who he chose to guide. Like the Chief Elder, he had seen far too many young ones cut down before him because of overconfidence. And this one was far, far too young, barely even half a century old. ¡°Well done for earning Melyan¡¯s regard,¡± the Elder warmly congratulated him, forcing herself past her own feelings of despair that they had come to this: children not even at their maturity required to surrender their childhoods simply because they didn¡¯t have enough adults to do everything. ¡°Thank you for your message Nivalir. You may go now, but be careful if you must go close to the battle.¡± ¡°I will,¡± he promised before turning and scampering off. The Chief Elder looked outside once more, then sighed and glided towards the door. Her pale green robes fell to her ankles, revealing her bare feet beneath them, her long, faintly pink hair long around her ears. With each step, her magic communed with the spirit of the tree that made up the main building. It was here that all important matters took place. The council meetings, joinings of couples, registration and celebration of new children, trade ¨C not that there had been much of that since the arrival of the System ¨C and, more recently, war meetings. It was to the latter that she now went. ¡°Chief Elder,¡± she was greeted as she walked through the archway. As she passed the threshold, a shimmering wall appeared in the space of the archway behind her, filling it with light. Their discussion was now secure: none would be able to enter nor would any sound be able to leave. Within the room were four other elves, the Elders of their community. Though appearing much as they had for the last few centuries, their age was apparent when one met their eyes. The young Nivalir the Chief Elder had met earlier had a gaze as innocent as it was eager and inquisitive. These other four had gazes which were far more serene¡­and tired. The Elders had seen centuries pass by and had come to learn that all things had an end, and all ends had a new beginning, and that both would come in their own time with little help from mortals. Yet they feared that this particular end and new beginning threatened to see the end of everything they held dear. ¡°Apologies for my tardiness,¡± the Chief Elder said, taking her place. ¡°It is but a moment, Alwen. It matters little,¡± answered one of the others, she with the starlight hair. ¡°I fear that time is more of the essence than ever before, Lystar,¡± the Chief Elder, Alwen, responded tiredly. ¡°From what I saw as I gazed out of the window, we are losing ground to the beasts.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunately accurate,¡± a third elf answered. He had pale white skin and hair the deep indigo of a flower which frequently covered the walls of their earthen huts if allowed to take root. ¡°The reports I have had from the hunters are not good. Chief Hunter Yelian has confirmed that they cannot hold the front, not with the area they need to cover. We just simply don¡¯t have the numbers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not surprising,¡± a fourth elf said, entering the conversation. His hair was a pale blue that almost perfectly matched his skin. ¡°We are not warriors. We are craftspeople first, farmers second, hunters third, and warriors not at all. I¡¯m sure, Ilastir, that the Hunters are doing everything they can, but their strategies for hunting beasts in the forest or on the plains are simply not enough to manage what we are facing here. The beasts are too strong and too numerous. Worse, their numbers seem to be increasing as time wears on, rather than the reverse. It doesn¡¯t help that our settlement has been plucked from where it used to be and surrounded by completely unfamiliar terrain. Our Hunters can¡¯t even use their knowledge of and relationship with the land to help: they don¡¯t have it here.¡± ¡°Have the farmers been able to achieve anything, Melia?¡± asked Alwen. ¡°At our last meeting, I believe they were going to see if their magic could be repurposed for making defences to lessen the burden on the Hunters.¡± ¡°They have tried,¡± answered Melia tiredly. She had dark green hair and faintly green skin, looking like she would be able to easily blend into a forest. ¡°Though they did meet with success, like the hunters, the transplanting of our civilisation to a new land has severely limited what they are able to do. They simply haven¡¯t had the decades to build a relationship with the land. Had we been here for half a century before the beasts decided to attack, our farmers could have swallowed them up in the earth before they even got close to our homes. As it is, the best they¡¯ve been able to do is to create walls of plants which can help funnel the ground-bound beasts into tight spots where the hunters can hold against them more easily. It helps, but it does nothing to stop the flying beasts.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°And what of the crafters, Sylmar?¡± Alwen next asked the elf with the blue hair and skin. ¡°Have they been able to develop anything which might turn the tide in our favour?¡± The elf grimaced before he spoke, telling the rest that he didn¡¯t have good news even before he opened his mouth. ¡°They have been trying, and the herbalists have been producing potions for the healers faster than ever. But our resources are limited. We have only lost seven of the hunters, but we¡¯re already having to ask the healers to do as much with their direct magic as possible; only keeping the potions for the worst cases.¡± ¡°How many have we lost?¡± asked Ilastir, he with the indigo hair, his expression grim. ¡°Eleven in total,¡± Sylmar answered, his voice just as grim. ¡°Seven hunters and four non-combatants caught in the wrong place at the wrong moment.¡± Around him, the other Elders suddenly looked even more drawn and tired, Ilastir even cursing loudly. For a race who reproduced slowly and with difficulty, even eleven members killed was a loss that would take their community decades to recover from, even if the concern was purely for numbers and nothing else. Sylmar continued his report. ¡°The tailors have been working as hard as they can to make armour ¨C the fabric brought from the dungeon has been invaluable for that as it is naturally strong and hard to penetrate. Equally, the smiths have been trying to develop both armour and weapons, but they have been affected badly from being cut off from their usual supplies of ore. The dungeon is their only source of new metal currently, though it is apparently a very good one for weapons even if it is a bit hard to work.¡± He now turned to the elf with starlight hair. ¡°How are your mages coming along, Lystar?¡± Like Sylmar before her, Lystar grimaced at the question. ¡°As well as can be expected given that none of them specialise in offensive magic. It is hard to turn their magic to destructive and even murderous purposes when their core inclinations are to build and heal. Mentally, we understand why we must kill, but it is our hearts which truly determine which magic we are capable of. We were never meant to be warriors, none of us were. Changing the habits and thought patterns of centuries is not easy.¡± ¡°Then there is no help coming to my hunters from the mages?¡± asked Ilastir with a hint of aggravation underscored by despair in his voice. ¡°I did not say that,¡± Lystar denies. ¡°Perhaps, even if we cannot bring ourselves to use directly harmful magic, we can take actions similar to the farmers ¨C find ways of channelling the beasts only down certain corridors. From what I understand, it is their numbers which are the biggest problem.¡± ¡°Their growing numbers and the fact that they seem to get stronger all the time while we have barely changed since the System appeared. My Hunters, that is,¡± answered Ilastir tiredly. ¡°We were never meant to have to defend this settlement,¡± he mourned. ¡°Never for long, anyway.¡± ¡°Until and unless the King succeeds in reactivating the teleportation network, we will see no aid coming from the true warriors of our land,¡± Alwen answered. ¡°Mourning that fact helps us not at all. We are the elders of our community,¡± she said with that note of firmness and assuredness back in her voice. ¡°Our people put their trust in us to lead them through good times and bad. What kind of Elders are we if we give up when life is suddenly difficult?¡± ¡°Alwen, this isn¡¯t like what we¡¯ve faced before,¡± Ilastir argued. ¡°A plague Sylmar¡¯s healers can deal with. A famine or drought, Melia¡¯s farmers can manage. But here we¡¯ve been ripped out of our land, our very bodies torn to fragments and rebuilt¡­differently. We have to operate under a new System with new rules, and we now have waves of beasts attacking us, not just because they are hungry, but because of a System challenge! This is nothing like what we have faced before.¡± ¡°So what do you want to do, Ilastir?¡± Alwen demanded. ¡°Give up? Sit upon the ground and commune with Mother Earth in hopes that the beasts will not rip us to shreds as they rampage through our homes?¡± ¡°Well, that might be an option,¡± murmured Melia quietly. The two arguing took no notice of her. ¡°Of course not!¡± Ilastir answered angrily. ¡°I just¡­.¡± He sighed and all the anger left his body leaving only the tiredness and despair behind. ¡°It has been a very long time since I had no idea what to do,¡± he confessed quietly. ¡°All I can hope at this point is that the team of our strongest hunters that I sent to the dungeon will return and bring an answer with them. Resources, new magics, a weapon, anything.¡± There was silence for a long moment, none seeming to know how to break the heaviness in the air. Finally, Alwen sighed. ¡°Lystar, keep working with your mages. See if any of them feel capable of using directly harmful magic in defence of themselves and their community. In the meantime, get them working with the farmers to create better defences around us ¨C we are still too open and every time a beast attack rips through our streets, it drains resources from us. Melia, work with Lystar on the same thing, please, as well as trying to find a way to prevent famine from being our next challenge. Sylmar, keep doing what you¡¯re doing. Ilastir¡­I hope too that the dungeon team will come back with some answers. Yet even if they do not, I believe that your hunters, with support from the rest of the population, can do this. Remember, every beast that they kill means that they get stronger too.¡± She looked around at each of the elders, doing her best to instil them with a confidence she herself didn¡¯t feel. ¡°I know you have doubts. But make sure that when you step out of this room, none of the people we serve know that. We are their Elders, their leaders, their inspiration. If they see us falter, they will lose hope, and then we are all lost.¡± With one more fierce look around the table, Alwen pushed herself to her feet and stepped gracefully out of the room. As she stepped through the enchantments securing the room, they broke with a delicate sound like bells. Walking quickly through the corridors, yet not so quickly she might alarm others, she found an empty room. Checking carefully to make sure that it was truly empty, she closed the door and put up the strongest spells she could to ensure her privacy. Then, with the secrecy of her actions assured, she leant against the wall, sliding down it gracelessly to sit on the floor with her knees against her chest. Burying her head between her knees and clutching at them desperately with her arms, she gave into the sobbing and gasping fear which gripped her heart. She did not care about death, not for herself. She had lived long enough that she recognised death was inevitable ¨C and a welcome friend at times. But young ones like Nivalir¡­they had only just begun to live. To see their lives snuffed out like candles in the wind¡­. It was unbearable even to consider it. ¡°Great Ancestors, revered spirits of the earth and sky. Isn¡¯t there someone, anyone who can help us?¡± Bonus Chapter The one Pride Leader called Jenkins looked at the golden disc that lay before her forlornly. Her Pride Leader had just disappeared through it, followed by her pride sister, two pride brothers, and two of the odd new creatures who had come to join them. The golden surface had consumed them as if it had been a waterhole with toothy beasts lying below the surface. Only, waterholes did not tend to be upright. It somehow seemed against natural laws that something upright should be able to absorb a creature so easily. Jenkins only wished that her Pride Leader had taken her with him. But she had volunteered to remain out here. Jenkins looked around her at the expectant creatures surrounding her. They did not look like lions ¨C their bodies were too slim; their muzzles too long. And they had wings. Though Pride Leader also had wings now, she mused to herself. Then she looked over her shoulder at her own back thoughtfully. Maybe I can get wings? ¡®What we do?¡¯ a light growl appeared in her head in the odd way that others¡¯ voices did now. She vaguely remembered that this had not been the case a while ago, but paid it no heed ¨C she didn¡¯t tend to ask why things were the way they were. The question made her remember that she was now the Pride Matriarch ¨C for this group, at least. She¡¯d won it in a fun fight, and that meant she could now choose what they did. It was odd, though pleasant, for her to have won authority in such a way ¨C she didn¡¯t think it would work if she challenged her old and grizzled Pride Matriarch back in the forest for her position, though. Everyone listened to her because of her age and experience ¨C Jenkins didn¡¯t have that. And she wouldn¡¯t dare challenge her elder pride sister, the one who accompanied Pride Leader through the golden disc. Though they were not dissimilar in age ¨C Jenkins remembered her as an older cub when Jenkins had joined the pride with her mother and siblings for the first time ¨C the distance between them only seemed to have widened since Pride Leader arrived and showed them a new way of living. But then Jenkins looked around at her little pride. The pride which she was leading. Perhaps this was a way of narrowing the gap. ¡®We go hunt, of course!¡¯ she chirped happily. The not-lions around her shifted in a way that seemed approving of her choice. ¡®Hungry,¡¯ indicated another of the not-lions with her body. Others showed agreement in the movement of their heads. Their wings twitched too; Jenkins watched them in envy. How to get wings? Pride Leader got them after a fight with the leader of the not-lions, but she¡¯d fought with the not-lions too and hadn¡¯t got any¡­. ¡®Let¡¯s go,¡¯ she chirped, jumping to her feet and bouncing slightly in place. She had lots of energy running through her ¨C it would be good to use it. She hoped she wouldn¡¯t have to wait for her prey. She hated it when she had to stay still for too long. The rest of the not-lions all stood up too and looked at her, some expectant, some uncertain. For a moment, Jenkins wasn¡¯t exactly sure what to do. She¡¯d only led one hunt before and then there had been an established hunting routine to try to find prey. That was it! Find prey. That¡¯s what they should do first. ¡®Let¡¯s find some prey,¡¯ she chirped. Then hesitated again. ¡®Know where prey is here?¡¯ This wasn¡¯t her area, after all. The not-lions shifted slightly. Some lifted their noses and sniffed at the air. Others cocked their heads. Three of them made low, hollow-sounding noises. In response, others started raising their noses into the air, turning their heads in the same direction as those three. They too started making the same noises. Jenkins curiously copied them, wrinkling her nose and lifting her lips away from her teeth to draw the air through her mouth. There was¡­something there, she¡¯d admit it. Though what, she didn¡¯t know. ¡®Prey?¡¯ she asked. ¡®Prey,¡¯ one of the not-lions confirmed. ¡®Come on, then!¡¯ she exclaimed, running in the direction the not-lions were looking. The not-lions let out a number of sharp, excited noises, and then followed her. While some started on foot, others spread their wings and soared into the air immediately. It wasn¡¯t long before the ones who were running beside Jenkins did the same, leaving her the only one stuck on the ground. Worse, they were faster in the air than she was on the ground unless she used the special thing inside her to go faster. But that was only temporary, and made her feel very tired far too quickly. She couldn¡¯t stop to have a nap while they were on the hunt, so she just tried to force herself to go faster. She still wasn¡¯t fast enough. She fell further and further behind the group. ¡®Wait for me!¡¯ she told them, growling with annoyance. Up ahead, the group paused, starting to circle in the air. A moment later, she heard a sharp sound emerging from one of them and they started flying towards her. ¡®What problem?¡¯ asked the speaking one of the not-lions when he arrived. ¡®I slower than you,¡¯ she growled at him. ¡®I¡¯m on ground, not in air.¡¯ ¡®Then come in air,¡¯ he told her, like it was obvious. ¡®Slow on ground.¡¯ ¡®I no have wings!¡¯ she exclaimed. The not-lions circled her, their posture thoughtful. ¡®True,¡¯ admitted the not-lion she was speaking with. It was the same one she had fought for authority over this pride. He closed his wings, swooping down to land lightly on the ground next to her. The rest of them followed his lead, soon surrounding Jenkins. ¡®We run on ground?¡¯ he offered. She hesitated, the thought in her mind that if she could fly, she¡¯d never want to touch the ground unless she had to. ¡®Get tired quickly in air, anyway,¡¯ he added. Well now, that was a different question then. ¡®Run on ground,¡¯ she agreed. ¡®When close to prey, you fly, I attack from ground. Good ambush,¡¯ she said feeling satisfied. It was a strategy she¡¯d used many times with her pride sisters, though without the wings, of course. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The question about where and how to get her own wings continued going around in her mind even as they ran towards where the not-lions had detected the prey. It was a good strategy to attack from two places, she knew that, but she wished that it wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t have wings that they had to do it that way. The question stayed unanswered even once they had found their prey ¨C some sort of odd six-legged beast ¨C though she forced it out of her mind during the actual attack. Their hunt went well ¨C Jenkins caught one of the strange beasts while it was watching the not-lions circling overhead. In the panic her attack provoked, the not-lions were able to take down three more of the strange beasts, so they were able to have a good meal. The question returned once her belly was full and she had shown them how to eat the golden dust. They groomed each other and then lay together as a pride, heads on wings, wings on bodies, bodies on legs, legs on heads. Any discomfort between her and the not-lions was gone. They were now simply pride-mates. Yet Jenkins couldn¡¯t forget that she was stuck on the earth while her pride-mates had the freedom of the skies. And even beyond wanting to be like her pride-mates¡­.she wanted to fly. Closing her eyes, she realised that she had the same feeling inside her of an overflowing waterhole, a dry river which yearned to be filled with the flood of the rains. It was time to increase in strength again. The feeling prompted her to choose something to strengthen. She considered her teeth ¨C sharper teeth were always good. Or perhaps her claws. Or maybe she should give herself some stripes like one of her pride-mates in the forest had done ¨C the stripes did look striking and helped her pride-mate hide. But then, she didn¡¯t really like hiding. What she really wanted was wings. And that made her think. Could this strengthening¡­.give her wings? The sense inside was of kinship. Kinship with the spotted not-lions who pulled their kills into trees. Kinship with striped not-lions who stalked their prey in the jungle. Kinship with the other spotted not-lions who lived in forests and had jaws that could crush anyone¡¯s skull. But that kinship extended further. Maybe one of those kin could give her wings? Gripped by hope, Jenkins dug further into this thought of kinship. She felt a connection to the small not-lions who hunted small prey, the bottoms of their paws black. But they did not have wings either. She found a connection to the bigger not-lions who ran very fast. But they also did not have wings. She pushed it further even as the bright sun moved further in the sky and her pride-mates woke. Each time she felt the kinship, she discarded it as soon as she realised that it did not have wings. Kin that had a single hard toe on each foot but could run very fast. Kin that had multiple stomachs. Kin that ate plants instead of meat. Kin that had teeth which continued to grow throughout their lives. Kin whose young lived in a pouch on their parent¡¯s body. The sun continued on its journey and around her, Jenkins¡¯ pride-mates stretched and became restless. But she was busy searching. Kin who had scales instead of fur. Kin who lived in the water some of the time. Kin who had feathers instead of scales or fur. Aha! She had found them. Kin who had wings! Exhilarated by her discovery, she chose that kin and the wings from it to pull on for her strengthening. The strengthening was reluctant, something she¡¯d never felt from it before. Every previous time that she could remember, it had filled her body with pleasant feelings and applied the strengthening she wanted it to with no problems. But here, it felt like she was trying to pull prey out of mud. She growled. No prey was going to escape her. Setting her teeth into the concept of wings, she tugged it mercilessly into her body, despite it kicking and screaming in distress to the skies. If the strengthening was reluctant to give this to her, she would force it to do so. Like prey stuck in mud, the resistance was great at first, but as soon as she got any traction, it began moving with greater and greater speed. The usual pleasant feelings went through her body, but this time they were accompanied by an awful pain that seared her back. Nonetheless, she felt triumph ¨C surely, it had worked? As soon as the strengthening finished, she pushed herself to her feet and eagerly looked at her back. Immediately, disappointment replaced the triumph. There were no wings on her back. She was sure that it had worked. Why hadn¡¯t it? Disconsolately, she started grooming the spot where she should have had wings. Her tongue ran over her fur and felt something. She paused. Then she licked the same spot. She felt it again. Hope started kindling inside her again. Twisting so she could reach the opposite side, she groomed another spot. She felt it again! A hard bump, barely visible but detectable ¨C in the place where she should have wings; where she would have wings! Jumping to her feet, she started to bounce. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t get wings straight away, but she was sure that it had started to work. She¡¯d just have to keep doing the same thing every time the strengthening pressed on her. And thanks to Pride Leader, she knew just what to do to make the strengthening come quicker. ¡®Want to hunt?¡¯ she asked her pride-mates with excitement. ***** Lionel watched as his brother irritated the female. She was a moment away from giving him a clawful to the face¡­.and there it was. He huffed in annoyance, pushing himself to his feet and stepping forwards to intervene. In the normal run of things, he wouldn¡¯t stop his brother getting on a female¡¯s bad side if that was what he was determined to do. Here, however, they were constantly at risk of being attacked by creatures around; it was hardly the time to alienate their pride sister. The female didn¡¯t seem interested in pressing her attack; when Lionel stepped between the two of them, she just huffed and turned away, starting to groom herself. His brother was another question. Lionel growled as his brother attempted to circumvent him and stepped to once more be in the way. His brother snarled at him, but he snarled back, showing his teeth. The other lion eyed him, then decided that he was being serious. Huffing in annoyance, his brother turned to start grooming himself. To show his approval for his brother¡¯s choice, Lionel stepped forward and started to wash his brother¡¯s face, licking at the small scratches where the female had swiped him. The female had pulled her attack ¨C the cuts were barely bleeding. Lionel decided to heal them nonetheless. Concentrating on that feeling of warmth inside him, he focussed his desire to see his brother¡¯s wounds closed. The golden dust which always appeared in these moments caressed his brother¡¯s face like his tongue had, but where these motes passed, the wounds vanished. Looking over his brother, Lionel grunted in approval. They were all healed after the most recent fight, but there would be more to come, that he was sure about. Starting to groom himself, Lionel appreciated the moment of calm. Their lives had been far busier since the other pride had appeared, but he couldn¡¯t say he regretted it. They were much stronger too. And Lionel was glad that he now had a way to keep his brother alive ¨C between the four cubs in his litter, this one of his siblings had always been the most adventurous. Lionel was not keen on seeing him die as he had seen their sister and brother do. He just wished he¡¯d been close enough to help his brother who had died, but by the time Lionel realised he was in trouble, his brother was already dead. Perhaps he should blame the large male for the death, but what was the point in that?. Lionel gazed thoughtfully at his only surviving brother for a moment before continuing to groom himself. Hopefully his brother would realise the folly of taking on the large male at their current level of strength. Lionel didn¡¯t understand his brother¡¯s attraction to the female. Her scent was interesting, yes, but not enough for Lionel. Any stirring was easily ignored considering the consequences of mating with her and the large male finding out. Perhaps his brother would give up his pursuit if the female continued to reject him. Lionel twisted to lick at an itchy spot between his hind legs. He couldn¡¯t really blame the female for wanting to mate with the stronger male ¨C the large lion was definitely impressive. And, frankly, much more interesting to Lionel¡¯s mind than any of the females as well as not off-limits. Yet his brother seemed determined to go for what would cost him his life to take. There was no accounting for taste. Book 3: The Elven Connection - Chapter 1: Sue For Peace It was hard to know who was more surprised at the sudden encounter: the Pride or the elves. Just a moment after Dominic reappeared from the dungeon portal, the elves shouted wordlessly and lifted their weapons ¨C two spears, two swords which looked rather like the one they¡¯d got from the dungeon, and a bow. In immediate reaction, Fang, Sekhmet, and Lionel growled and crouched slightly, prepared to pounce, with their teeth bared. Procyon and Sirius reacted in a similar way, their chests already starting to thrum with barely audible vibrations, ready to howl. Dominic knew he had seconds to stop this ¨C he wasn¡¯t keen on getting into a fight with the first humanoid creatures he¡¯d met since the System had appeared. ¡®Wait!¡¯ he mentally shouted, doing his best to project it loudly to everyone present while pushing his way through his pride to stand before them. The strain made his head throb slightly, but he shook it away. The shout seemed to have a decent effect. His own pride members immediately paused ¨C the dungeon had done an excellent job of binding them together as a party and they trusted his judgement implicitly. In combat at least. The elves on the other hand seemed to be sufficiently taken aback at the communication to pause for a moment too. Their eyes widened; their grips slackened slightly on their weapons. Evidently they didn¡¯t come across a beast that wanted to communicate every day. ¡®Leo, repeat what I¡¯m saying to the pride, please,¡¯ Dominic requested quickly ¨C if he didn¡¯t need to expand his telepathy to the members of his pride too, it would be much easier. The lion¡¯s quick agreement was gratifying ¨C even Leo realised that this wasn¡¯t a time to argue or complain. ¡®We don¡¯t have to fight. If we fight, there will be deaths. Let us pass and we will not have to attack.¡¯ The elves¡¯ eyes widened a little, perhaps at his fluency or possibly at the content of his words. Certainly most beasts he¡¯d come across since the System had begun had fallen into two categories ¨C too weak and so running away without engaging, or believing themselves strong enough and attacking immediately. How many would sue for peace? Of course, that was all assuming that the elves understood what he was saying at all. Luckily, his assumption that they did was proven to be correct just a moment later. ¡®Honoured Brother beast, how can you speak to us? Are you one of the Ancestral Spirits of the land?¡¯ the elf in the front asked. He had copper-coloured skin, green eyes, and dark green hair, reminiscent of the deep forest. He also probably didn¡¯t have telepathy ¨C he spoke his words aloud and somehow Dominic received them as mental words he could understand. Dominic hesitated for a moment. Would it be better to pretend he was one of these creatures or not? ¡®I am not,¡¯ he answered after he¡¯d decided. Pretending to be an ¡®ancestral spirit of the land¡¯ might gain him something in this particular negotiation, but what if this wasn¡¯t the only interaction with the elves and was called into question later? ¡®I can speak to you with an Ability,¡¯ he answered, almost completely honestly. That his Telepathy didn¡¯t strictly count as an Ability for him wasn¡¯t something they needed to know. It did for Sekhmet; that was enough. ¡®Then we are honoured you have chosen to speak with us,¡¯ the elf answered, releasing one hand from his spear to press against his breastbone, bowing slightly over it. ¡®I will admit that we do not want to lose any more of our group. This expedition has already claimed one of us and her loss will be sorely felt.¡¯ His face twisted up as he was speaking, grief clear upon it. His other party members seemed equally miserable at the reminder, the other one holding a spear even more obviously upset than the one who had been speaking. They were interrupted by intense growling suddenly erupting from¡­above them? The elves¡¯ reactions were immediate: they moved into a defensive position with their weapons pointing upwards, expressions twisted with fear and anger. Dominic immediately looked up and if his face were capable of it, a grin would have broken out. He recognised those wings. The pack of albuhas dived towards them ¨C at the elves, Dominic realised with alarm. His happiness at seeing the group ¨C hopefully with Jenkins somewhere around ¨C was shattered as he realised that their appearance was about to destroy the tentative truce that he¡¯d established with the elves. ¡®Stop! Don¡¯t attack them!¡¯ he shouted in the Pride chat. To his annoyance, they continued to dive until a roar cut through the air. Dominic couldn¡¯t see Jenkins, but that roar couldn¡¯t have come from anyone else. The albuhas changed course at the last moment, angling to land in the space next to Dominic¡¯s dungeon pride. However, just because he¡¯d stopped the albuhas from attacking didn¡¯t mean that the situation was resolved. The archer shouted in anger as she released an arrow, the strike causing an albuha to whimper in pain and fall out of the air. Lionel leapt towards the downed pride member even as the archer nocked another arrow. ¡®I said stop!¡¯ Dominic shouted again, this time directing it at the elves, twisting his head quickly to look at them and baring his teeth. He accompanied it with a Roar designed to stun them. It was a bit of a chance, but seemed like the least damaging way of doing things. He still didn¡¯t want to actively get into a fight with them, though if it came down to his Pride members or them, there was no question about it. At least his Roar had had the effect he wanted as the whole group froze for a few seconds. It was enough time for most of the albuhas to land, and for Lionel to get to the injured one and blanket her with his healing cloud. ¡®Take the arrow out first!¡¯ Dominic told him sharply ¨C even though he had little medical knowledge, he knew enough to be sure about that. The lion sent him a wordless acknowledgement and then tugged the arrow out of the albuha¡¯s chest with a twist of his teeth and a paw against the albuha to keep her down.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Dominic fixed his gaze on the elves again, padding forwards quickly so he was between them and his pride members. When the stun wore off, he growled loudly and threateningly, his lips drawn back from his teeth. ¡®They are mine,¡¯ he told the elves firmly. ¡®Attack them again and I shall answer in kind.¡¯ ¡®They killed my sister!¡¯ the other elf with the spear shouted, his face a mask of rage. ¡®If you stand in my way, I¡¯ll kill you too!¡¯ The archer seemed fully in agreement, drawing her bow quickly, her arrow pointed at Dominic¡¯s face. Dominic growled, with Leo doing the same in his mind. Behind him, he heard the same readiness to fight among his pride members. Sekhmet padded up to stand by his right shoulder, Jenkins appearing from somewhere to stand by his left. He didn¡¯t move his gaze from the elves for even a single moment, but he saw the rest of his dungeon pride come and join them too, in his peripheral gaze ¨C they had fought too much in the dungeon to be afraid of taking on another unknown foe now. ¡®Wait! Honoured Brother, Please! Pelir, Ruthror, stop!¡¯ The spear-wielding leader ran into the space between them, bodily putting himself between his group and Dominic¡¯s Pride with his hands out to halt each party. Dominic admired his courage, at least. Dropping his spear to the ground, the elf turned to face Dominic¡¯s group. Fisting his hands and crossing them at the wrists, he held them to his forehead, clearly making himself vulnerable. ¡®Peace, I beg you all, peace.¡¯ ¡®Get out of my way Berion,¡¯ growled the spear-wielder, shifting so he had a clear view of the Pride. Dominic bristled and his growl intensified as he saw that the spear was aiming at Fang. ¡®Don¡¯t be a fool, Ruthror,¡¯ Berion answered him furiously. ¡®Do you want to kill us all? We had enough trouble with them before, and now we face even more! Put down your blighted spear! And you, Pelir. Put down your arrow too before you accidentally let it go and spark this fire.¡¯ ¡®But-¡¯ ¡®Now!¡¯ The archer let out a wordless growl of her own before lowering her bow so it was pointing at the ground before loosening her grip slowly. But the spear-wielder¡¯s grip just tightened. Dominic growled even louder at the sight and his Pride with him. The sound rolled across the flat ground between them and made one of the sword-wielders whiten even more than his naturally pale skin already appeared. Berion paled too, sending an anxious look at the Pride. Then, showing immense courage, he stepped directly in front of the spear wielder, his back to the Pride. He grabbed the tip of the spear and yanked it so it touched his own chest. ¡®You want to kill us all in revenge for your sister? Then start with me.¡¯ Impressive, Dominic found himself thinking, as he relaxed a little, his growl reducing in volume. The others around him took his cue to release some of the tension in their own postures. ¡®Not really. Clearly he doesn¡¯t control his pride the way he should,¡¯ Leo scoffed. ¡®Uh huh,¡¯ Dominic replied sceptically. ¡®And you think every member of our Pride would obey us instantly? I don¡¯t think so. I like this guy.¡¯ Ruthror kept his weapon pointed at Berion for a long moment, his face twisted in a grimace of hate. Then he yanked it away and turned, storming off to the back of the group, facing the savannah beyond. The archer, Pelir, still looked mutinous, but she hadn¡¯t stormed away nor had she raised her bow again. She still remained watchful, though, and Dominic suspected she would be able to get another arrow off quickly if she needed to. Berion turned towards the beasts, his wrists once more crossed and pressed to his forehead. Dominic had to wonder if it was the equivalent of putting his hands up for humans. ¡®My deepest apologies, honoured Brothers and Sisters,¡¯ he said, bowing slightly. ¡®I thank you for your immense patience. I can only try to excuse Pelir¡¯s actions by saying that she was not aware the albuha was part of your group. We have already had a violent run-in with this particular pack and we feared that they would kill another member of our party.¡¯ Pieces fell into place. The three albuhas who had died; this elf who had apparently died too. ¡®Jenkins,¡¯ Dominic asked urgently in the Pride chat while shifting his gaze towards her, ¡®did you fight with this group before?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ she answered quickly, her mental tone filled with anger directed at the elves. She alone of the group near him had not relaxed at all, her teeth still bared; her posture still crouched and ready to pounce. ¡®We came here to check you had exited or not. They came running towards us, claws bared. We attacked. They killed three of us. We killed one of them. They escaped ¨C ran through big golden thing. Same you went through.¡¯ Dominic mentally sighed, wishing he was able to rub his temples. He didn¡¯t get headaches in the same way as he used to, but this situation was worthy of one. ¡®My lioness tells me that your party ran towards her and her pride with your weapons bared. They attacked in response to your threat. They killed one of yours and you killed three of ours. Is this correct?¡¯ ¡®It is,¡¯ answered Berion nervously, obviously concerned that the news would restart hostilities. Clearly, he didn¡¯t want that, seeing the Pride members together as being more powerful than their group. Which, honestly, was probably true. ¡®We did not aim to fight, but they forced our hand. We withdrew as soon as we could reach the dungeon door. We hoped that they would be gone when we emerged. And then we were forced to leave the dungeon far sooner than we wished. Upon seeing the pack of albuhas again, we feared that they would try to kill more of us.¡¯ ¡®It was a reasonable assumption,¡¯ Dominic agreed, especially since if he hadn¡¯t told them to stop, they would have attacked. ¡®You mean if the female hadn¡¯t told them to stop,¡¯ Leo reminded him. ¡®We need to discover what¡¯s going on with that.¡¯ Dominic agreed with him, but this wasn¡¯t the time to question that. As long as Jenkins obeyed Dominic, there wasn¡¯t an issue. They¡¯d figure out everything else later. ¡®It seems we are at an impasse,¡¯ Dominic continued to say to Berion. ¡®You have killed some of ours; we have killed one of yours.¡¯ Berion opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the archer. ¡®Berion, look! The dungeon!¡¯ Chapter 2: Our Lifeline Everyone turned at once to see what had prompted the exclamation. Dominic saw it immediately: the portal to the dungeon was rapidly vanishing before their eyes, waves rippling through it like multiple pebbles striking a liquid surface. With each ripple that passed, the door became less and less real; nothing could have persuaded him to touch it in that moment in case it took him with it. Before more than a few more seconds had passed, nothing but the solid, bare rock of the kopje remained, the whole metallic disc gone like it had never existed. Even the tunnel that he remembered being there the first time he had visited wasn¡¯t in evidence. ¡®If the dungeon is gone, what are we going to do?¡¯ asked one of the swordsmen. His intense violet eyes looked almost bruised, set against creamy skin and with slightly darker purple hair. ¡®How are we going to get what we need if we can¡¯t get into the dungeon?¡¯ asked the other swordsman. His colouration was quite striking ¨C dark skin like ebony and blond hair that was almost white. His silver eyes practically gleamed in the light, adding an otherworldliness to his appearance. Berion looked over the members of the Pride with a measuring look, his gaze then coming to rest on Dominic. ¡®Honoured Brothers and Sisters, might I ask how far in the dungeon you had reached?¡¯ Dominic hesitated for a long moment. The answer would be telling in more ways than one. ¡®We had just defeated the final boss when the dungeon started collapsing upon us. We had to run for our lives to reach the portal before we were killed,¡¯ Dominic finally answered half-truthfully. There were many reasons for asking the question, yet he had to wonder if the elf suspected that they were the ones who destroyed the dungeon. If so, it would imply that they had seen the final message after defeating the boss. Or had some other source of knowledge about dungeons, that was possible too. If they had defeated the spider boss, that would definitely indicate they could fight toe-to-toe with Dominic and his dungeon pride. If so, he¡¯d better be careful with them. His words evoked a number of wordless exclamations with more than one of the elves seeming surprised. ¡®Your group succeeded against the final guardian?¡¯ the elf with the violet eyes asked, his gaze fixed on the large lion. There was no hint of a smile on his face, only intense focus, strong enough to almost make Dominic take a step back. ¡®We did,¡¯ he answered, his fur bristling slightly in reaction at their disbelief despite himself. His lips lifted slightly off his teeth, even though he did his best to lower them again. ¡®Have you not?¡¯ he asked in return ¨C if they were strong enough to do so, Dominic would like to know it. The elf gave an incredulous snort. ¡®That creature? The only party ever to take it on ran away when their first member was killed before they had even been able to land a blow. Only fools take on the final guardian.¡¯ Interesting. And slightly relieving. Though it still begged the question about how they knew about destroying dungeons. When did they discover this dungeon? Before or after it ranked up? Though the warthog had been a challenge, with a larger party and spears, it would definitely have been an easier task to kill than the redback had been. ¡®Talathon,¡¯ Berion chided the swordsman quietly. ¡®Apologies again, honoured Brother. He can sometimes be¡­intense. No offence is meant.¡¯ ¡®Then none taken,¡¯ Dominic answered carefully, doing his best to make his hackles go down. It wasn¡¯t so much that there had been a threat, but more a feeling that the elf had been sizing him up, wondering if he could win in a fight. It made the leonine parts of him growl at the implicit challenge. ¡®However, forgive me for asking, but¡­when you defeated the final guardian, were you presented with a choice?¡¯ So he did suspect Dominic¡¯s party of destroying the dungeon. Now, how to respond. He could always pretend that it had been an accident, or that it had just happened automatically ¨C the elves surely didn¡¯t know what happened if a beast defeated a dungeon, even if they knew what happened when an elf did. Then again, that could cause issues for him later ¨C he fully intended on having dungeons on his land, and if they succeeded in having a more enduring relationship with the elves, it was bound to come out that beasts could defeat a dungeon without automatically destroying it. ¡®Just tell them the truth,¡¯ suggested Leo impatiently. ¡®We know that they do not want to fight us. We have nothing to lose.¡¯ ¡®Except a potential relationship with the elves in the future,¡¯ pointed out Dominic. ¡®And if you lie now and they find out later, what do you think that will do?¡¯ Leo demanded impatiently. ¡®Isn¡¯t your human media full of tales about lies being found out and that causing chaos?¡¯ ¡®Good point,¡¯ Dominic admitted. How come the lion was telling him how to human? Then again, he supposed that using the easy lie in the present and storing up problems for the future was being human. Looking straight at Berion, he pulled himself to his full height. ¡®Yes, I chose to destroy the dungeon, if that is what your question is about,¡¯ he answered defiantly.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The elves immediately reacted. Berion appeared both grimly satisfied with having his conclusions confirmed and devastated at the same time. The sword-user with the violet eyes cursed while the other seemed to sag where he stood. Pelir¡¯s face twisted in anger again and she started to raise her bow. Fortunately, Berion¡¯s hand shot out to stop it lifting enough to point at anything but the ground. The spear-wielding Ruthror turned and stormed back towards the front of the group. ¡®I told you we should kill them all! Now this is why!¡¯ ¡®Ruthror, peace,¡¯ Berian told him tiredly, his voice without the force it had had earlier. Strangely enough, though, it was enough to stop Ruthror continuing. One look at his face had the other spear-wielder quieten, the rage and pain that filled his face dissolving into sorrow. The leader closed his eyes, seeming to try to get ahold of his emotions. Curiously, it felt like they were all captivated by the elf. Even Dominic¡¯s Pride members had stopped growling and had straightened up. It was like the situation was on a knife¡¯s edge with the deciding factor how this one leader would react. ¡®Honoured Brother,¡¯ Berian started as he once more opened his eyes, his voice almost too low for Dominic to be able to hear it. Fortunately, however his telepathy worked, even the quiet voice was still clear to the lion. ¡®You have done us more wrong than you know. We may have killed three of your pride, but you have killed our hopes. And not only our hopes, but those of our entire community. I humbly ask you to help us as repayment.¡¯ ¡®Repayment?!¡¯ Leo scoffed at Dominic. ¡®Why should we make repayment for merely taking what is our due? We defeated the dungeon; we were given the choice. We chose to destroy it. If these weak elves wished to keep their dungeon, they should have guarded it better. A lion who does not guard his pride cannot complain if another lion comes and takes it from him.¡¯ It was odd. Before the lion had started speaking, Dominic had felt guilty, as though he¡¯d done something shameful and owed the elf for it. But now that Leo pointed it out¡­yes. If the dungeon had been so important for the elves, they should have made sure it was guarded from others entering and potentially taking it from them. Heck, there hadn¡¯t even been any indications that they claimed it as their property! It was like the elf had cast a spell with his words which the straight-forward thinking of the lion had been able to overcome. Or perhaps it was really magic ¨C in this new world, who knew? If he could Hypnotise beings with movements or flash forwards through objects, who was he to say the elf couldn¡¯t be capable of casting a literal spell with his words. ¡®Thanks Leo,¡¯ he said gratefully. ¡®Always happy to bring you back to earth,¡¯ the lion replied tartly. ¡®Now, how are you going to deal with this since apparently you still want to have a relationship with them for some reason?¡¯ It appeared that the doubts weren¡¯t only on Dominic¡¯s side either. Behind Berion, Dominic saw that the rest of the elven party had fallen into talking amongst themselves. Interestingly, Dominic found that he could still pick up snatches of what they were saying, though not huge amounts. It was a bit like he was listening to a murmured conversation, only the most emphasised words differentiating themselves enough for him to understand them. Their speech was very melodic, almost sounding like they were singing while merely speaking. It rather reminded him of some of the languages he¡¯d heard since landing in the main Johannesburg airport. There were even some punctuating clicking sounds. ¡®...help against¡­beasts¡­.¡¯ ¡®...be mad.¡¯ ¡®... Why would he help¡­¡¯ ¡®...dungeon gone, our crafters won¡¯t¡­no weapons, no armour¡­die.¡¯ ¡®...murdered Ialeth!¡¯ ¡®...be stupid¡­kill everyone else?¡¯ ¡®Honoured Brother, do you have an answer for me?¡¯ asked Berian, interrupting Dominic¡¯s focus with a patient reminder of the question he had asked. ¡®If you want our help, first, tell me what your problem is,¡¯ Dominic suggested. ¡®Why is destroying this dungeon such a big thing?¡¯ Berion obliged, perhaps seeing his question as a good sign. ¡®We come from a community who are under siege by beasts such as yourself and your¡­group. We are not fighters and though our crafters are excellent, since the arrival of the System and our displacement, they no longer have access to key resources which they need. The dungeon offered resources and even some fully-formed weapons which have been essential to allowing us to continue even this long. Now that you have destroyed it, our lifeline is gone ¨C and with it, all our hopes.¡¯ ¡®And what would you want me to do?¡¯ Dominic asked neutrally. ¡®You are clearly strong. If you would come and help defend us, we might have the time to develop new strategies and magics which could win against our foes.¡¯ Dominic hesitated ¨C the dungeon Core was once more burning a proverbial hole in his storage space. What he¡¯d learned about them was that he only had a limited window of time to get it back to his Place of Power before it would dissolve. It was a matter of days, not hours, but still, it was limited. Dissolution wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing: the dissolution of a Core guaranteed at least one dungeon appearing within a few square kilometres of the original. And, in a way, perhaps that was an answer to the elves¡¯ problem. The dungeon might take a while to reestablish itself, but they would be able to start running it soon enough. The problem was that that wouldn¡¯t work for Dominic. He was hoping that, since he¡¯d damaged his Mana Heart and Soul within the dungeon, right in front of its Core, part of that would have been absorbed by the Core. Selessa thought that there was a very high possibility of that having happened, especially since it was a G-rated dungeon and therefore far more open and susceptible to external influences than higher ranked dungeons. Adding the Core to his Place of Power would be both beneficial for the Place of Power and also might offer him something that could help him repair some of the damage he had sustained. The alternatives were a lot more difficult to achieve, so he was definitely crossing his claws that Selessa¡¯s assumptions were right, especially since he now had another Ability which used mana. Those were all the reasons for which he¡¯d destroyed the dungeon in the first place, and he was still determined to see his objectives accomplished. But¡­not at the cost of damning a whole community of elves. And at the same time, the idea of going and fighting against a whole load of other beasts¡­. ¡®Are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?¡¯ he asked Leo. ¡®That there might be enemies to kill to help us get stronger, and females to convince to join our pride?¡¯ Leo asked. ¡®No. I mean, yes. I mean, yes to the first one, no to the second. Or at least, I hadn¡¯t considered the second. So, want to go for it?¡¯ ¡®It seems like a good opportunity,¡¯ agreed Leo, his disinterested tone not fooling Dominic. ¡®Alright, then. Let¡¯s work out some logistics.¡¯ Chapter 3: With Hand Stretched Out ¡®I wish to discuss the issue you raise with my pride,¡¯ Dominic announced to Berion. The elf bowed his head slightly, his dark green hair flopping forwards. ¡®We shall be patient,¡¯ he answered. Dominic wondered whether he might actually appreciate the time to talk to his own group himself as he immediately turned and started hissing at them in low whispers with even the clicks subdued. Turning himself so that he could still see the elves out of his peripheral vision, but could also see most of his Pride members who had gathered closer to him when he¡¯d stepped forwards, Dominic outlined the situation. Giving them a moment to think and discuss amongst themselves, he stepped closer to Jenkins and rubbed his head over her back. ¡®Jenkins, I¡¯m glad to see you well and with most of your pride intact,¡¯ he said warmly to the young lioness. ¡®Good to see you too,¡¯ she rumbled happily, returning his greeting by rubbing her own head against his shoulder and under his chin. Their size difference had never been more obvious. Interestingly, though, he saw two small additions to her back. Eyeing them closely, he tried to work out what they reminded him of. They were long, pink finger-like things, lying parallel to her spine. ¡®What are these?¡¯ he asked, overcome with curiosity. Jenkins rumbled a bit in contentment. ¡®I want wings. Like you. Like my pride.¡¯ With her words, she moved them, lifting the eight-inch long fingers so they pointed straight up. Dominic¡¯s mouth sagged slightly in surprise. Now unfolded, he could see indeed that they were the beginnings of wings ¨C bat wings. Though small, he could already see the elbow and wrist joints through the thin skin. There was no way she could fly with them yet, but that they were there at all was nothing short of miraculous. ¡®But how did you get them?¡¯ Dominic asked, flabbergasted. He¡¯d only got his because of his chimeric nature allowing him to absorb them as part of a Challenge. As far as he knew, Jenkins didn¡¯t have that option. Or was it not his chimeric nature which gave him the option to absorb body parts when winning a Challenge? ¡®Difficult,¡¯ she admitted. ¡®Went hunting for creatures to collect power. Dedicated power to getting stronger. Took effort to find wings from strengthening. But wanted it. Wanted it so much I got it.¡¯ She cast a glance at her back. ¡®Started getting it,¡¯ she corrected herself with slight hesitation. ¡®Need to kill more creatures.¡¯ She shot Dominic a mischievous look. ¡®Happy to go help them ¨C get me more power. Or happy to kill more of them for power.¡¯ Accompanying a sense of nonchalance, she sent a sense memory of biting into an elf. ¡®Mm, tasty,¡¯ remarked Leo. ¡®Ew, man, they¡¯re practically human,¡¯ Dominic objected, though he found it difficult to argue. The elf had been tasty. ¡®Humans are tasty too,¡¯ Leo pointed out, not abashed in the slightest. Dominic shuddered at that and then thought over what Jenkins had revealed. If he understood her correctly, she had chosen either Transevolution or Devolution originally and had managed to find wings somewhere amongst her options for growth. But given how little had grown on her back, Dominic wondered whether the more divergent the choice was from the beast¡¯s current form, the more level ups would be required to be dedicated to getting it. He guessed he¡¯d find out as she levelled up in the future. Now, though, he turned to the rest of his pride, wondering what their responses would be ¨C Jenkins¡¯ choice was clear. They had evidently finished their discussion a while ago, waiting for him to pay attention to them again. He was glad that his lion body was unable to blush. ¡®Alright, so what are your thoughts?¡¯ Sekhmet was the first to speak, as usual forthright in her opinion. ¡®Tired. I want to rest for a bit. The dungeon was difficult.¡¯ Procyon seemed to be of a similar opinion. ¡®I would appreciate not being in combat for a bit. We have advanced quickly, and I feel the need to consolidate the power I have gained.¡¯ Sirius didn¡¯t agree. ¡®We¡¯ve gained lots of power. I¡¯d like more,¡¯ was his opinion. Fang agreed with Sekhmet and Procyon. ¡®We¡¯ve worked hard. Time to rest a bit and mate,¡¯ he yawned and eyed Sekhmet who, by this point, was clearly only hours away from her heat. Next to him, Lionel growled slightly, nudging his brother firmly enough with his nose that Fang sent him a startled look. Leo growled in the back of Dominic¡¯s mind. ¡®Mate?¡¯ Leo repeated furiously. ¡®Not in my Pride!¡¯ Dominic had a sinking feeling that the situation with Fang might be coming to a head sooner rather than later. He should really take care of it as soon as they were somewhere safe ¨C in the middle of a first contact with another race wasn¡¯t the time or place. Lionel, having finished chiding his brother, expressed an indifference between either option. ¡®I will go where I am needed,¡¯ he continued calmly. Finally, the albuhas looked at each other and then the one who had surrendered in the Challenge with Dominic, and who was still the highest levelled of them, stepped forwards. ¡®Go with pack leader,¡¯ he answered, looking at Jenkins. She lifted her head imperiously, as if that answer was only her due. Dominic once more felt slight apprehension, though this time it was tempered by amusement. ¡®Alright, thanks everyone,¡¯ Dominic answered. No one had argued against getting involved at all; for them it had just been a question whether they personally wanted to be involved or not ¨C or just needed a nice rest first. Turning around, he stepped forwards and sat down halfway between his group and the elves, waiting calmly. Well, as calmly as he could with Leo still muttering furiously in the back of his mind about killing Fang if the young male attempted to mate with one of the females. Which, Dominic realised, might actually be a very immediate question as his nose told him that Sekhmet wasn¡¯t the only one coming into heat. That realisation agitated Leo so much that Dominic actually looked back to make sure Fang was not attempting something right at that moment, if only to calm Leo down so they could deal with the current situation.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! His thoughts were interrupted as Berion quickly approached him, clearly realising he was waiting. ¡®You have an answer for me?¡¯ he asked, clearly trying to appear calm, but just as clearly anxious beneath it. ¡®I do. We will aid you,¡¯ Dominic answered. The elf almost sagged in relief. Behind him, the lion saw different reactions among the rest of the elves. Relief from Talathon and the other sword-user; displeasure from Pelir and Ruthror. ¡®Then come with-¡¯ ¡®We cannot come immediately, however,¡¯ Dominic interrupted. Berion looked slightly taken aback. ¡®I have matters to attend to in my own domain.¡¯ Perhaps that was a bit too fancy a way of saying it, but the formality of the elves seemed to be bringing out the same from him. ¡®I will come and join you here in¡­¡¯ he considered it. ¡®Six days¡¯ time.¡¯ That should be enough for him to return to the forest, deal with whatever needed dealing with there, and then come back. ¡®Six days! Our people need help now!¡¯ Dominic could feel a pull on his conscience but he had made up his mind. ¡®You say that you were expected to bring items back from the dungeon?¡¯ Dominic asked pointedly. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Berion responded slowly. ¡®Then surely your people would have expected you to take a few days to complete the dungeon. Six days is not much more than I expect you would have taken anyway.¡¯ ¡®Still-¡¯ ¡®And I am not asking,¡¯ Dominic told him, fixing him with a fierce stare. ¡®This is not repayment of a debt, because I do not recognise any debt between us. If anything, you owe us as you killed three of us while we only killed one of you.¡¯ Yes, he knew that the elves would probably count one of their own as worth Dominic¡¯s whole Pride but he didn¡¯t and they needed to learn that. ¡®You destroyed-¡¯ ¡®We destroyed the dungeon,¡¯ Dominic interrupted again. It was rude, but he was wary about the elf potentially being able to cast magic with his words, whether literal magic or just from his oratory skill. ¡®But if you wanted to stop anyone from doing that, you should have guarded it better. When we entered, there was no indication that any other beings had claimed it as their own. You cannot call it a debt when we did not even know you existed. Just as you used the dungeon as a resource, so have we.¡¯ He paused to let that sink in. ¡®However,¡¯ he continued. ¡®We are willing to come and help you and your people. In six days. Not before.¡¯ The elf didn¡¯t try to speak after that but just looked at him with eyes that seemed far older than the face in which they were set. They almost rivalled Talathon¡¯s violet ones for their intensity but they didn¡¯t have the same implicit threat that his gaze had. Finally, he touched the tips of his fingers together and bowed his head slightly over them. ¡®Then we shall be grateful for your aid, honoured Brother. Perhaps we can come with you ¨C it may be quicker to take a different route back to our home than to return here.¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic answered immediately, not even needing Leo¡¯s rejection of the idea to make his own decision. Though Dominic was interested in making a connection with the elves in the hopes of building a future relationship with them. But it was far too uncertain for him to be comfortable bringing them back to the forest where the cubs and the Place of Power were, especially with some of them hating him and his pride and probably still wanting vengeance. And who knows what the elves might choose to do if they knew that such a place was there? ¡®We shall return here in six days. Do not follow us!¡¯ he warned, fixing the elves with a hard glare at his last words. Ruthror and Pelir glared back at him, but the others seemed to take his words to heart. Berion sighed. ¡®One with his hand held out cannot dictate when something is put in it, nor what it is, I suppose,¡¯ he answered philosophically. ¡®We will meet you here again in six days and hope that we can return in time to help our people.¡¯ With the decisions made, Dominic didn¡¯t want to waste any more time in getting out of there. He dipped his head very slightly to Berion, and then kept a careful eye on the elves as they moved away, not wanting to risk any of them getting an arrow in their backsides. The elves, however, just watched them go, and then disappeared from view when they rounded a hill. After they got beyond the next little rise in the land, he ordered an albuha to fly up and check whether the elves were following them or not. When the albuha looked to Jenkins before obeying, Dominic huffed in annoyance ¨C he really needed to do something about that soon. The albuha scout confirmed that the elves had remained near the dungeon, so Dominic ordered the albuha to slowly fly in a slightly different direction, just in case the elves were watching ¨C that way they¡¯d start with the wrong heading. Then, after a while, he told the albuha to descend and rejoin them on the ground. Finally, tracks reasonably well-covered, Dominic turned to Jenkins herself, curiosity practically overcoming him. ¡®So what happened while we were away, Jenkins?¡¯ Dominic asked the lioness in the Pride chat. She launched into a story of the various creatures they had hunted and killed. Apparently Dominic and his party had been in the dungeon for four days which seemed a little too much to him. Yes, they had completely lost track of time in the dungeon, but it hadn¡¯t felt like four days. Also, although they hadn¡¯t slept properly, his maximum stamina hadn¡¯t started to reduce yet. Though he could definitely do with a good sleep. A pity he didn¡¯t feel like doing it so close to the elves still. But he trusted Jenkins¡¯ retelling ¨C she didn¡¯t explicitly say how many days it had been, but she told him when they¡¯d hunted which creature and whether it was before or after dawn. When she seemed to forget something, the highest-level albuha chimed in to add to her story. Dominic would definitely need to give that one a name. Or find out if he already had one. The growing wings on her back weren¡¯t the only change for Jenkins. She had matured even in those last few days. She moved with a confidence and a self-assuredness which hadn¡¯t been present before. Dominic remembered her being a young lioness with more eagerness than sense. Although she¡¯d calmed the impetuousness, she¡¯d still had an alarming tendency to jump into things without fully considering the consequences. Her stories, though, showed that, in the short time they had been apart, she had learned to look before she leaped a lot more. The encounter with the elves seemed to have been key in that change: losing three of her pride members had been a real blow, and had taught her that not all consequences could be healed away with a level up. Just as it had been the same lesson for Dominic all that time ago when he had first found and won his pride. ¡®Odd, though,¡¯ she commented soberly as she told the story of how the three albuhas had fought and died. ¡®Was in fight with the one with purple eyes. Was difficult, thought I might die. Was too quick, cut me up everywhere. Then was like he slowed down. Or, not him. I sped up. I cut him up, and then we killed the one with the long claw. Then they ran away.¡¯ ¡®And you didn¡¯t use your speed enhancement?¡¯ Dominic asked, knowing that she had both that and Quick Strike. ¡®No. Already overused,¡¯ Jenkins denied. ¡®Was why I was too slow. Had to release it because used too much.¡¯ Curious. Dominic¡¯s mind went back to that moment in the dungeon where he had been so desperate that Jenkins would survive whatever was facing her that he had prayed to Selessa ¨C bargained even. Was that what had happened? Divine intervention? He decided he should try to ask her once they were back in the forest. Deciding that they were far enough away from the elves to stop and everyone needing a good rest, they found a good tree to shelter underneath ¨C it wasn¡¯t yet that hot but it would only get warmer as the sun rose higher. Of course, having told her tale, the young lioness wanted to know what had happened in the dungeon, especially since she could tell that even the males who had been weaker than her going in were now stronger. Dominic let the others give their own accounts of the dungeon. He had something else he wanted to do and since they were resting by now they shouldn¡¯t get into too much trouble. At least, none that Leo couldn¡¯t take care of by himself. ¡®Alright Leo, you take over for a bit. You can do your favourite thing ¨C sleep,¡¯ Dominic suggested with a hint of teasing. ¡®I want to catch up on everything we¡¯ve missed in our statuses.¡¯ Chapter 4: All The Changes It only took a second for them to exchange places, the lion seeming happy enough with the idea. The fact that there were two females which were about to come into heat was probably helping ¨C though Dominic hoped that they¡¯d actually get some sleep, he wasn¡¯t stupid. Leo would mate with them as soon as they were willing to let him. Actually, maybe Dominic should have taken that into his considerations ¨C he remembered how frequently Leo had wanted to mate the last time he got his chance. Oh well. He¡¯d just have to convince anyone still in heat to come along with them to the elves, even if they didn¡¯t want to be involved in the fighting. Pushing into their mental space, Dominic paused for a moment, wondering whether it would be nicer to curl up on the soft sofa or settle in the shade of one of the trees outside. Padding over to the archway, he looked out. Leo¡¯s been busy, he noted to himself. Apparently the lion hadn¡¯t always been idle when he¡¯d been in the back of Dominic¡¯s mind ¨C he¡¯d been pushing the savannah outwards. Now Dominic could barely even see where it ended ¨C and that was with the enhancement to his senses helping him. In fact¡­. Are those animals? Sure enough ¨C there were gazelles, warthogs, zebras, and giraffes roaming around. Considering the cover offered by the various bushes and trees, he suspected that there were still some more hiding. Curious, Dominic started running, using his wings to help him take gliding leaps which covered the ground even faster than he¡¯d be capable of normally. The air felt lovely as it streamed through his mane and he roared at the sky in pure joy at almost being able to fly. The creatures around him looked up at the sound, but unlike their real counterparts, they didn¡¯t take flight and just went back to munching. Getting close to one of the giraffes, Dominic realised that, from this close, it was clear the creature wasn¡¯t real. It wasn¡¯t even really eating. If anything it looked more like an illusion. When Dominic prodded it with a paw, his paw felt a moment of resistance before going through. Sitting back on his haunches, he looked around at all the creatures thoughtfully. I wonder¡­. Could this be linked to Momentous Charge? It was based on illusions, and so were these creatures, clearly. Were their Abilities reflected in his inner space or was it just coincidence? Maybe they just didn¡¯t have whatever was necessary to create ¡®real¡¯ creatures. After exploring the new area a little more, seeing all sorts of typical pre-System savannah animals ¨C nostalgic, much, Leo? ¨C he returned to the study. Interestingly, he hadn¡¯t seen any lions among the new denizens of his mental space. Was that because Leo didn¡¯t want the competition or because he knew they weren¡¯t ¡®real¡¯. Probably the former for not having other males and the latter for not having any lionesses ¨C Dominic suspected that it would be a bit tortuous for Leo to see lots of lionesses but not be able to rub against them or mate with them. He had to admit that he was tempted to try to recreate some of his own friends and family, but dismissed the thought a moment later. After all, how painful would it be to be able to see his father or his best friend, yet know that they were nothing but intangible illusions? Putting it out of his mind, he headed back into the study, not wanting to look at the outdoors any more. Deciding to relax on the couch, he jumped up onto it, enjoying the soft cushions. It was only then that he realised something. I¡¯m¡­still a lion. A moment of focus later and he was lying on the sofa in his human form, feeling a little discomforted. It wasn¡¯t the first time he had appeared in his mental space as a lion ¨C he¡¯d even done it intentionally a few times ¨C but it was the first time he¡¯d gone for this long without realising it. His lion form just felt so¡­natural by now. If anything, it was his human form that felt unnatural, though he found that he settled into it after a few minutes. To distract himself, he pulled up his Pride status screen, requesting it to show all the changes since they entered the dungeon. Pride status Level 6 Pride (progress to next level 69/80) Current information shared: Level, Abilities, Changes in last 4 System days Current members: Tier 2, Level 30 x1 (Nyx: Sonic Attack, Group Homogeneity, Group Enhancement, Vibrating Body, Pack Defence) level 30 -> 30 Tier 2, Level 27 x1 (Leader ¨C Dominic: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Crushing Bite, Pride Attack, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Rapid Attack, Sharp Bite Attack, Sure Feet, Venomous Acid Bite, Enhanced Stamina, Momentous Charge, Majestic Sonic Roar, Airborne, Easy Landing, Tail Strike, Spatial Awareness, Hypnotise, Temperature Tolerance, Mapping, Rage, Bleed, Enhanced Fertility, Fleet Foot, Flash Step, Camouflage) level 22 -> 27 Tier 2, Level 24 x1 (Procyon: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 24 Tier 2, Level 23 x1 (Sirius: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 17 -> 23 Tier 2, Level 21 x1 (Sekhmet: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Telepathy, Powerful Swipe) level 13 -> 21 Tier 2, Level 20 x1 (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 20 Tier 2, Level 19 x4 (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 19 (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 19 (Fang: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Sure Feet) level 8 -> 19 (Lionel: Pounce, Healing Cloud, Poison Cure) level 7 -> 19 Tier 2, Level 18 x2 (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 17 -> 18 (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 17 -> 18 Tier 2, Level 15 x2 (albuha: Fearful Howl, Tearing Bite, Sharp Mind) level 12 -> 15 (Jenkins: Pounce, Quick Strike, Enhanced Speed) level 12 -> 15 Tier 1 Level 13 x3 (albuha: Fearful Howl, Sharp Tooth, Bleed) level 9 -> 13 (albuha: Fearful Howl, Tearing Bite, Bleed) level 8 -> 13 (Anuke: Pouce, Rapid Attack, Quick Strike) level 12 -> 13 Tier 2, Level 12 x 4 (Hathor: Pounce, Rending Bite, Stealth) level 11 -> 12 (albuha: Fearful Howl, Quick Snap, Rapid Attack) level 8 ->12 (albuha: Fearful Howl, Tearing Bite, Soaring Glide) level 8 -> 12 (albuha: Fearful Howl, Quick Snap, Soaring Glide) level 7 -> 12 Tier 2, Level 11 x4 (Menhit: Pounce, Sure Feet, Wind Breath) level 11 -> 11 (Isis: Pounce, Protective Mother, Rending Bite) level 10 -> 11 (Neith: Pounce, Keen Senses, Quick Strike) level 10 -> 11 (albuha: Fearful Howl, Quick Snap, Rending Bite) 6 -> 11 Tier 2, Level 10 x4 (Leona: Pounce, Stunning Roar, Quick Strike) level 8 -> 10 (Cleo: Pounce, Keen Senses, Rending Bite) level 8 -> 10 (Simbi: Pounce, Quick Strike, Rapid Attack) level 8 -> 10 (Lyla: Pounce, Rending Bite, Powerful Strike) level 8 -> 10 Tier 1 Level 9 x5 (Zarini: Pounce, Ambush) level 8 -> 9 (Kalista: Pounce, Rapid Attack) level 8 -> 9 (Saffron: Pounce, Sharp Mind) level 7 -> 9 (Luna: Pounce, Keen Senses) level 7 -> 9 (Aurora: Pounce, Rending Bite) level 6 -> 9 Tier 1 Level 8 x4 (Kiera: Pounce, Rapid Attack) level 7 ->8 (Leah: Pounce, Piercing Bite) level 6 -> 8 (Serena: Pounce, Quick Strike) level 6 -> 8 (Nova: Pounce, Pride Attack) level 6 -> 8 Tier 1 Level 7 x1 (Amber: Pounce, Ambush) level 6 -> 7 There were rather a lot of changes to see. First it was good to see that they hadn¡¯t lost any more Pride members than he¡¯d known about. He¡¯d expected to see a notification if that changed and it seemed that the lack of one hadn¡¯t misled him. Almost every member of his Pride had gone up by at least one level. The exceptions were Nyx, and Menhit. They were both completely understandable. Menhit was probably not doing much hunting as she was no doubt caring for her newborn cubs. As for Nyx, she was high enough level that she probably hadn¡¯t accrued enough Prey Points to level up yet. From what Dominic could see, the Pride member who had clearly been doing the minimum was Amber who had only gone from level 6 to level 7. Kiera seemed to be falling behind a bit too. All the other level 6s who had stayed behind in the forest had increased by two or more levels; Aurora had gone to level 9. That implied to Dominic that Amber had probably only been absorbing the Prey Points from the Place of Power and little else. Maybe she¡¯d been caring for some of the cubs or just being lazy. He didn¡¯t know. The point was that, as he had experienced, the number of points necessary to get from level 6 to level 7 was practically nothing for a beast at level 18, let alone at level 30. At his current level of 27, Dominic needed almost a thousand points to level up. For Nyx, it must be even worse. He didn¡¯t remember exactly how many points he¡¯d needed for level 7, but he did remember that he hadn¡¯t started needing more than two hundred Prey Points until after he¡¯d got to Tier 2. The biggest movers, of course, were Fang and Lionel who had increased by eleven and twelve levels, respectively. Though Sekhmet wasn¡¯t far behind that, having increased by eight levels. Procyon and Sirius had both far outstripped their brethren who had stayed behind with their increase of six levels each. And Dominic himself hadn¡¯t done too badly either ¨C even though he¡¯d started at level 22, he¡¯d managed to level up five times to reach 27. Though look at that list of Abilities¡­he told himself, shaking his head. I think I¡¯ve doubled my available Abilities in the last four days. And of course, several Abilities had changed like Sharp Nip becoming Sharp Bite Attack. With all the increases in level and the number of his Pride members who had tiered up, Dominic expected to have received some Pride Points to use on enhancements. Opening up the menu, he reminded himself of what he already had. Pride enhancements: 21% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 6 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of pride members in the fight/Pride level)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 4 Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) ¨C on 20% increased chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier ¨C level 4 Intra-group communication system ¨C on, range level 2 Lion¡¯s Share ¨C 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members to the leader ¨C off Immunity ¨C no direct negative effects will be sustained from Abilities used by a member of the Pride ¨C on Pride Defence level 1 ¨C create a shield over the Pride which is strengthened by the combined defences of all Pride members within a certain radius. If the shield is forcibly broken, defences will take X time to return: X = 10-n (where n is Defence level - current level 1). If the shield is voluntarily released, defences will return immediately. Cooldown: 5 mins Lion¡¯s Generosity ¨C (Powerful Swipe ¨C> Sekhmet) Looking at the list, he found that he had a question. The increase in Prey Points for all Pride members¡­does that only apply to beasts we kill, or to the Prey Points we receive from the Place of Power too? Because if it also applied to the latter, that would make an already great Enhancement pretty overpowered.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. He pulled up the list of available enhancements to see both how many points they¡¯d earned as well as any changes to what was on offer. [Pride enhancements (Points available: 12) Increase the number of Prey Points gained by 7% (repeatable) (7) Increase the damage done by the members of the Pride when working together ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% (repeatable) (5) Increase the chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (4) Increase the chance of being able to determine the type of Ability a Pride member will gain on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (5) Intra-group communication system (repeatable to extend range) (4) Lion¡¯s Generosity ¨C give one of your Pride one of your Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of your original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 you have raised the Ability, you have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (5) Pride¡¯s Tribute ¨C one of your Pride can give you one of their Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of their original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 they have raised the Ability, they have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (5) Pride Defence II ¨C improve your Pride Defence shield ¨C double the defences of your Pride in exchange for doubling the cooldown and the time required for the defences of individual Pride members to return if the shield is forcibly broken. If the shield is voluntarily released, defences will still return immediately. (20) Pride Defence (enhancement): increase the range and reduce defence return time after a forcible fracturing of the shield, or reduce the cooldown) (10) Anti-immunity ¨C Enable some negative and neutral affect Abilities to affect Pride members at will either individually or as a group. (15) Note: more options may be added later depending on your actions with the Pride.] Though Dominic was very much attracted by increasing the Prey Points they earned, his attention was immediately caught by the new changes. Going from the least exciting to the most, the first were the new options to affect both Immunity and Pride Defence. While at first it seemed like an odd idea to enable negative effects of Abilities, especially when he¡¯d taken Immunity in the first place in order to get rid of those very aspects, a little more thought made Domnic realise that in certain situations it could be a good thing. Especially when wielded selectively as the Enhancement seemed to imply was possible. In the case of betrayal, for example. If the albuhas had decided to turn around and attack them as they came out of the dungeon, Dominic would have wanted to be able to use his full range of Abilities, not just his unenhanced teeth and claws. And what if later someone got an Ability which required doing some damage to help. Like surgeries ¨C a surgeon had needed to cut into a person¡¯s body in order to take out or reconstruct whatever was causing problems. Lionel¡¯s healing Abilities so far hadn¡¯t needed to cause damage in order to heal, but what if a future one he got did? Immunity as it currently was might not let his Ability work because it had some negative effects too. Though it would be good to know who could choose whether an Ability worked or not ¨C the being using the Ability, or Dominic as the leader of the Pride? But interesting as that Ability might be, it definitely wasn¡¯t at the top of his priority list. The options to improve the Pride Defence shield were more attractive since the shield had proven itself against the boss. If they were going to fight more creatures, and possibly more powerful ones too, they might find the shield coming in useful more often. But even those options weren¡¯t as interesting as the other new enhancement: Pride¡¯s Tribute. Appearing as a companion to Lion¡¯s Generosity, this particular Enhancement excited Dominic for one reason in particular: Group Enhancement. He still hadn¡¯t forgotten the third Ability of most of the amesheks which he hadn¡¯t yet been able to earn. It was a Tier 2 Ability which offered two main functions: the enhancement of an Ability which multiple beings shared; and the ability to share a single Ability with a single Pride member. The beauty of it, though, was that the member who the Ability was shared with had a chance to keep the shared Ability if they managed to raise it in level. It was a less guaranteed method than Lion¡¯s Generosity, but it was a whole lot cheaper too. And if the shared Ability didn¡¯t stick, they could try again. The combination of Lion¡¯s Generosity and Pride¡¯s Tribute also had other potential benefits. For example, Lionel was currently the only healer in the group. But if he could give his Healing Cloud or Poison Cure to Dominic, Dominic would then be able to share it with others, either through Lion¡¯s Generosity or Group Enhancement. That would potentially make things much safer for them all. Fortunately, with twelve points available ¨C eleven from Pride members reaching Tier 2 and one remaining from previous expenditure ¨C Dominic would be able to get both Group Enhancement with Pride¡¯s Tribute and the next Pride Enhancement to their Prey Points. Pride¡¯s Tribute was a definite yes and he was tempted to try to get Group Enhancement right away from either Procyon or Sirius. The chance of them losing the Ability if it was less than level 5, though, made him hesitate. In the end, he decided to wait until he could ask Nyx instead ¨C since she was their leader and had possibly been the one to give the other amesheks her own Abilities, her own Group Enhancement was probably the highest out of the group. He decided to wait until they were back to buy the other one as well ¨C he wanted to see whether the number of Prey Points he received in an hour changed when he bought it. He probably should talk to Leo about it too ¨C he didn¡¯t think that the lion would argue, but he might get huffy if not asked. Curious about what his own stats were looking like, he next opened his main status. Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera Level: Evolved Beast Level 27 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution) Progress to Evolution: 283/991 PP Satiation level: 96% Hydration level: 92% Health Points: 800/800 Stamina Points: 600/600 Mana Points: 15/15 Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost Acquired Abilities: Quick Strike (T0) level 5 ¨C> 5 (6% ¨C> 85% to level 6) ¨C 3 SP for +35% speed; 8 SP for +70% speed. Second Wind (T1) level 3 ¨C> 3 (39% ¨C> 55% to level 4) ¨C activatable when under 35% health or stamina. Gain 65% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 40% of your max health and stamina. Crushing Bite (T0) level 3 ¨C> 4 (36% ¨C> 69% to level 5) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +10% - 100% Crushing damage for 1-45 stamina per second. Pride Attack (T0 ¨C> T1) level 4 ¨C> 5 (7% ¨C> 52% to level 5) ¨C 12% ¨C> +30% to offensive damage dealt when you fight with other members of your Pride during an attack or defence. +5% to all beings in the same attack or defence who are registered to be in the same Pride as you. Pounce (T0) level 3 ¨C> 4 (18% ¨C> 25% to level 5) ¨C +120% damage to a hit which is delivered without the target being aware of you until the attack is too close to avoid. +65% damage to an attack which is made directly to a vulnerable area. Powerful Swipe (T0 ¨C> T1) level 5 ¨C> 6 (3% ¨C> 34% to level 7) ¨C Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +20% - +120% damage increase for 2-62 stamina per second. Add a 20% chance to gouge your opponent and create an ongoing bleeding effect that is harder to heal than a normal wound for 5 extra stamina units. Bleed effect lasts for level/2 seconds and causes initial damage*level of Powerful Swipe/10 per second. Rapid Attack (T0) level 2 ¨C> 3 (0% ¨C> 5% to level 4) ¨C Spend 2 SP or MP to attack for a second time within 0.4 seconds. SP or MP costs double per additional attack within a quarter of a second of the previous. Maximum number of chained attacks at level 3: 8. Sharp Bite Attack (T0 ¨C> T1) level 3 ¨C> 4 (0% ¨C> 61% to level 5) ¨C Active effect: When using your teeth to attack an opponent you may consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 4, consuming 1 SP will offer +40% speed. Consume 3 SP for +65% speed. Passive effect: The sharpness of your teeth are enhanced during an attack +30% to sharpness. Passive effect: Wounds made with your teeth will be 10% more damaging and harder to heal. Sure Feet (T0) level 3 ¨C> 5 (57% ¨C> 83% to level 6) ¨C A passive improvement to your ability to your balance and traction. At level 5, this ability offers +60% to your steadiness when moving slowly and +30% to your steadiness when moving at speed (more than 40% of your maximum speed). The bonus this Ability offers may increase as Ability increases in level and other effects may be discovered.). Venomous Acidic Bite (enhanced) (T2) level 2 ¨C> 3 (56% ¨C> 81% to level 4) ¨C Use an acid gland below your tongue to shoot balls of acid. At level 3, the maximum range is 3 lengths, and the maximum diameter is 4 cm. Enhancement: your teeth have become resistant to acid damage and your top canines have become capable of absorbing the acid and transferring it in your bite. Haemotoxic venom is now stored in venom glands above your top canines and can also be injected into your opponent with a bite. Enhanced Stamina (T0) level 5 ¨C> 6 (0% ¨C> 15% to level 7) ¨C Maximum Ability use period at level 6: 30 minutes: -15% reduction to rate of passive stamina decrease; -18% reduction to rate of active stamina decrease. Recuperation period: 5 minutes: +4% to rate of active stamina decrease. Current exchange of HP for extension of use period or reduction of recuperation time: 1HP/s Momentous Charge (T2) level 1 (35% ¨C> 81% to level 2) ¨C When running in a straight line at full speed towards an opponent, appear to gain additional size and weight and its commensurate momentum. Note: this Ability is classed as [Illusion]. Those who can see through the illusion will not be affected by additional momentum. At level 1, gain 1% of size (stacked) with each footfall. Majestic Sonic Roar (T3) level 3 (75% ¨C> 96% to level 4) ¨C As the lord of all you survey, challenge and damage your rivals with an ear-splitting roar, and support your allies. According to your will, decide to what degree the effects of your roar will have precedence. Those who feel inferior to you may flee; those who feel they are your equal may attack. Those who feel they are your superior will be enraged by your Challenge and may attack blindly. (50% ¨C> 70% + Evolution level difference%) chance that your opponent will be stunned for a varying amount of time. Determination of inferior, equal, and superior is according to your Evolution level with a level range according to this Ability¡¯s level (3). All non-ally listeners have a 40% - 80% ¨C> 50% - 85% chance of feeling intimidated by you and losing some or all motivation to fight or desire to follow orders. All ally listeners have a 40% - 80% ¨C> 50% - 90% chance of feeling inspired by you. A further 5% ¨C> 10% chance of gaining a 5 ¨C> 10 minute buff: *inspired*. Enemies will be impacted by a sonic-damage attack after the first (6 - Ability level) seconds. This attack will deal (Ability level * Evolution level) per second as its base. When fighting an enemy below your Evolution level, damage is (base damage + Evolution level difference). Using a sonic attack consumes stamina at an increasing rate the longer it is held. At level 3 you will be unable to move while this attack is active. You are now also capable of roaring in a way which produces little sound, but causes your body to vibrate. Although your body is capable of withstanding this vibration for a period of time, extended use may have consequences on your internal systems. Airborne (T2) level 2 (0% ¨C> 67% to level 3) ¨C Carried by the air and wind currents, you are at one with the wind. At least, perhaps one day. Control your weight to decide the influence gravity has on you. ¡À 0 -5% weight. Easy Landing (T0) level 1 (1% ¨C> 18% to level 2) ¨C Reduce your impact with the ground at will. Up to -30% fall damage. Tail Strike (T1) level 2 (2% ¨C> 59% to level 3) ¨C Use your tail to strike an opponent causing blunt damage which is increased according to the momentum and the durability of your tail. Base damage at level 1 is 10 units. The speed at which you are capable of striking is: your maximum speed x (your level of Enhanced Muscular Body x level of Tail Strike)/2. This Ability may be enhanced both by equipment and by other complementary Abilities. Spatial Awareness (T0) level 1 ¨C> 2 (0% ¨C> 49% to level 3) ¨C Be aware of what is around you. At level 2, your awareness range is 3 lengths, and your precision is 2.0. Always know which way is up. Hypnotise (T1) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 67% to level 2) ¨C make small movements to catch the attention of a single opponent. The longer your opponent is caught in the effect of this Ability, the harder it is for them to break out of it. Injury or significant sensation can shock them out of their controlled state. While your opponent is caught, they will remain unmoving and unresponsive. Beings of greater intelligence, perception, and with higher mental resistance have a higher chance of being able to notice and break out of the effect. This chance is greater or smaller depending on how much higher their intelligence, perception, and mental resistance is in comparison to your own. Temperature Tolerance (T2) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 24% to level 2) ¨C Increase your ability to tolerate different temperatures and resist temperature related effects. At level 1, you are able to tolerate +10% temperature extremes and you have a 10% resistance to temperature related effects. Mapping (T2) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 15% to level 2) ¨C You are able to recollect places visited more easily and to build a personal mental map of them in relation to other places. At higher levels, you may be able to share your map with others. At level 1 the area mapped extends ten body lengths around you in all directions. Warning: this map is not active and therefore changes to the area after your visit will not be reflected in it. This Ability does not work in dungeons or other folded spaces. Rage (T1) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Double your base speed and strength for (1 + Ability level) minutes. After the enhancement time elapses, you will undergo a period of recuperation which lasts (? Ability level +1) minutes. During this period you will only be able to use half your base speed and strength. Bleed (T1) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 21% to level 2) ¨C Use 2 SP per attack to apply a bleed effect to any strike which draws blood from the opponent. A bleed effect will increase the rate at which blood flows. At level 1, this increase is +10%. The bleed effect will last (Ability level) seconds. Bleed effects can be stacked. Enhanced Fertility (T0) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Multiplies the chance that a mating session will successfully conceive offspring. At level 1 this offers +10% chance that a mating session will be successful in comparison to the unaltered chances. Fleet Foot (T0) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Use 3 SP per second to increase your speed by 50% in both combat and non-combat situations. Flash Step (T2) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Use 15 SP to flash forwards by a desired distance (within limits of the Ability level), ignoring all physical matter in the way. At level 1, the limit of the distance is your body length. Camouflage (T1) level 1 ¨C> 1 (0% ¨C> 0% to level 2) ¨C Blend with your surroundings to reduce the chance of being spotted by an observer. Blending is more effective in areas which match your exterior in colour and pattern. At level 1, +10% to previous effectiveness of blending in all environments. Use 10 MP to reduce the chances of your opponent from spotting you by 50%. Warning, certain Abilities and Skills may not be affected by this Ability. Defensive abilities: - Fur level 3 (12-16 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction, 6-8 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Tearing damage reduction) - Skin level 5 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 4-8 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +5% - Mane level 3 (15-19 Slicing damage reduction, 12-19 Crushing damage reduction, 11-16 Piercing damage reduction (attacks to the relevant area)) +100% charisma (for members of the same species) Offensive abilities: - Claws level 2 (53-65 Slicing damage, 32-41 Tearing damage, 24-35 Piercing damage) - Bite level 3 (54-82 Crushing damage, 72-100 Tearing damage, 55-76 ¨C> 59-80 Piercing damage) - Strike level 1 (+10 to Crushing or Blunt damage, +5 to all other physical damage types) - Feathered Wings level 4 (+20% to strikes from the air) (25-50 Blunt damage) General abilities: - Enhanced Muscular Body level 1 (max speed 40 mps; max speed duration 34s) (600 SP) - Carnivore Constitution level 4 (600 ¨C> 800 HP) +60% ¨C> +80% health regeneration - Enhanced Regeneration level 5 (2.75 ¨C> 3.25 HP / second) - Brain level 7 (Cognition speed standard measurement 8 ¨C> 8.5) - Mana heart level 1 (15 MP) - 75% penalty - Soul level 1 (Resilience to mental attacks standard measurement 7) +2% mana regeneration (-80% reduction to mana regeneration) - Bones level 2 (growth +20%) - Flesh level 1 (growth +10%) +5% resistance to basic magical attacks. - Nervous System level 3 ¨C> 4 (reaction speed +40% ¨C> 55%) - Sinuses level 4 +10% ¨C> 30% range; +5% ¨C> 20% intensity - Telepathy level 2 +10% force. - Sharp Eyesight level 1 +5% acuity of vision - Wide Diet level 2 (current diet: 80 - 100% non-poisonous, non-rotten meat; 0 - 20% non-poisonous, non-rotten plant matter) Spells: Lightning Discharge level 1 (35% progress to level 2) - 1:1 mana / unit of static electricity to damage ratio. Coat your weapons with electricity and discharge it into your opponent on contact. Electrical resistance is effective against this attack. Magical resistance is partially effective against this attack. Equipment: - Leather Gorget (T1) - +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck. 6m3 storage space (non-stasis) - Tail Armour + Tail Morningstar (T1, Common) - Tail armour offers +20 to Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +12 to Crushing and Piercing damage reduction to attacks to areas covered. Tail club offers +10-24 Crushing damage and +5-12 Piercing damage. (currently unequipped) Vassals: - Ameshek female (level 30) He had changed significantly over the time in the dungeon, both with his level ups and just by using his Abilities. Several had increased in level themselves: Rapid Attack, Sure Feet, Venomous Acid Bite, Enhanced Stamina, and Spatial Awareness. The latter two didn¡¯t surprise him at all: he had them active basically all of the time so that their quick improvement was to be expected. That the most recent Abilities he¡¯d received hadn¡¯t increased much, if at all, was also not a surprise. He was excited to see what the Mapping Ability did now that he was out of the dungeon. In fact, he was excited to try out several of them. Fleet Foot, for example. Wondering if they¡¯d rested enough, Dominic dipped back into their shared mind to find out how everyone was feeling. What his senses met as he readjusted to being in the backseat of their body had him asking one question: What the hell?!¡¯ Chapter 5: Put His Foot Down ¡®Stop, Leo!¡¯ Dominic yelled, but his words were barely registered. Leo was in control of their body and was snarling angrily at Fang, crouched to spring. Red-hot rage was all Leo could feel and Dominic sensed that his companion hadn¡¯t even heard his exclamation, so blind to anything else was he. Even as Dominic shouted a second time, Leo sprang forwards aiming straight for Fang¡¯s throat. The younger lion managed to dodge out of the way ¨C just. But Leo was far faster and Dominic knew that the young male would be dead in a very short time if he didn¡¯t intervene. Seeing as Leo was beyond listening, Dominic tried to forcibly switch places with the lion. For a moment which seemed to stretch out practically into eternity, and yet was a fraction of a second at the same time, Dominic pressed against Leo. The lion resisted him, snarling mentally at the distraction which caused him to miss Fang a second time. The young male practically stumbled over his own paws, Leo¡¯s sharp fangs clicking together a hair¡¯s breadth away from his throat. Dominic redoubled his efforts. The original notification said that I¡¯m in control, and that hasn¡¯t changed, he said to himself with grim determination. Their balloons held¡­and then with a jerk unlike any Dominic had previously experienced, they switched places. He had to blink a couple of times as his senses swam. Then the taste of hot metallic blood in his mouth reminded him of the situation they were in. Leo had managed to press his attack and bite into Fang¡¯s throat; if Dominic hadn¡¯t succeeded in switching in the nick of time, Fang would now be choking and wheezing on his own life-fluid. Quickly opening his jaws, he released the young lion, leaping hurriedly back as Fang snapped at him. Around him, a chorus of growls faded into his awareness. Taking a quick look around, he noticed that the other Pride members had surrounded the two of them. Almost all of them appeared uncomfortable, but unsure of what to do. Lionel was crouched with his teeth bared and seemed to be a moment away from jumping at Dominic ¨C perhaps he would have if he hadn¡¯t released Fang. As the young lion in question pushed himself to his feet, his gaze anxious and angry in equal proportion, his lips and hackles raised, Dominic saw Lionel move to his side. Golden dust sparkled into the air and settled on the injuries Leo had caused. Clearly Dominic hadn¡¯t come at the complete beginning of the fight as Fang had several deep gouges clearly made by claws and was obviously limping. Dominic himself felt the sting of a few scratches, but they were rapidly healing with his health regeneration. The only other Pride member who wasn¡¯t standing in the circle around them was Sekhmet. She was growling furiously, crouched low to the ground, her teeth bared threateningly. Her eyes were fixed balefully on Fang. The moment hung in the air, a stillness which seemed to only need a small spark to explode in violence once more. In an effort to prevent that, Dominic forcibly relaxed a little, broadcasting his lack of intention to attack. ¡®Right,¡¯ he started in the Pride chat, making his voice as calm and firm as possible. He didn¡¯t doubt that despite his efforts, everyone around would be able to feel his anger and disappointment that he couldn¡¯t go away for even an hour without hell breaking loose. ¡®What the hell happened here?¡¯ At his voice, Sekhmet immediately calmed, pushing herself up to pad over to Dominic and to rub herself against him, confusing him as she acted as if nothing had happened. At the same time, both Leo and Fang started speaking. ¡®That male tried to mate with the female!¡¯ ¡®You just attacked me for no reason!¡¯ Clearly both situations weren¡¯t possible simultaneously. Well, only from an objective perspective, anyway. ¡®Sekhmet?¡¯ Dominic asked, not looking away from the still highly defensive Fang. ¡®Fang smelled that I am in heat,¡¯ Sekhmet answered, clearly making more of an effort than usual to be clear with her speech. ¡®He thought I would be receptive. I was not. Leo did not like Fang attempting to mate with me and attacked.¡¯ Wonderful. Dominic abruptly regretted all his life¡¯s choices. This was exactly the situation he had been desperately hoping could be avoided. Perhaps he had been overly optimistic to think that he could postpone it forever. ¡®Right,¡¯ he said again, at a loss. But he couldn¡¯t be at a loss: he needed to deal with this right here and now. They were all paying the price both for Leo¡¯s refusal to see the males as anything but rivals ¨C and a young lion¡¯s stupidity in doing the exact thing he knew he wasn¡¯t allowed to do. If he let things play out as they were currently positioned, either Fang would attack him or Leo would attack Fang the next time he was in control ¨C Dominic didn¡¯t need to ask the lion to know that that was true. He could feel how much Leo was seething in the background, both at the ¡®temerity¡¯ of Fang to attempt to mate with Sekhmet and at Dominic for stopping what he felt was his rightful defence of someone he saw as his. Dominic had even felt Leo trying to press forward a few times to take over as Dominic had done. Fortunately, it hadn¡¯t yet worked. ¡®There are several issues here,¡¯ Dominic announced, unconsciously starting to pace. Everyone watched him in silence. ¡®You¡¯ve been warned, Fang. Several times. While you¡¯re in this Pride, the females are off limits! You can¡¯t say that this attack was unprovoked when you knowingly did exactly what you know you shouldn¡¯t have. And worse, you tried to force the mating on a lioness who wasn¡¯t even receptive to you!¡¯ Though Leo had been in full agreement with the first part of his words, the last part was met with dumbfounded surprise from both Fang and Leo. Dominic felt a quiet pride that he was able to shock them both out of their respective furies. It hadn¡¯t been his intention, but it was probably a good thing nevertheless. ¡®How is that a problem?¡¯ Fang asked in confusion as soon as he was able to verbalise his thoughts. ¡®I hate to agree with the male but¡­he has a point. Females are not necessarily receptive, but if they are in heat, they owe us mating,¡¯ Leo answered begrudgingly, not making an effort to send it in the Pride chat. Dominic shook his head violently, his mane ruffling around his ear. ¡®No,¡¯ he said to Leo privately, and then again in the Pride chat. ¡®No. There is an end to the attitude that mating is owed to anyone,¡¯ he told them all firmly, poking Leo mentally so the lion knew that his words were also for him. ¡®Upon reaching Tier two, you have all shown the mental capacity to be able to verbalise your thoughts. That means you are also capable of doing more than just what your instincts say. Maybe prior to the System arriving life was about nothing more than finding food, sleeping, and then mating with any lioness you could find who was in heat. And maybe,¡¯ he said more to Sekhmet and Jenkins, ¡®your heat meant that you would automatically accept any male lion who came along. But that doesn¡¯t have to be the case anymore.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯re not humans!¡¯ Leo snarled at Dominic, this time intentionally projecting his words in the Pride chat so that they could all hear it. ¡®No, you¡¯re not,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to allow a culture of rape to fester within my Pride.¡¯This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. There was silence, but it felt more confused than anything else. ¡®What is ¡®rape¡¯?¡¯ Lionel asked carefully. Dominic paused for a moment. Of course they wouldn¡¯t understand. Well, Leo did to an extent, though from the disapproval coming from his direction, he didn¡¯t agree. ¡®Rape is when one, two, or more parties come together to¡­mate, when one or more of the participants doesn¡¯t agree with it. So in this case, Sekhmet said she didn¡¯t want Fang to mate with her. Since you are both capable of making choices not entirely based on instinct, this means that it could be considered an attempt at rape even beyond any other considerations.¡¯ The following silence again felt more confused than anything else, though Sekhmet seemed rather satisfied, coming to rub once more against Dominic. ¡®Females can¡­say no?¡¯ Fang asked tentatively, as if this was a completely new concept to him. Which it probably was. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic answered. ¡®Then¡­how am I to mate?¡¯ Leo scoffed. ¡®You¡¯re not,¡¯ he answered in the Pride chat before Dominic could stop him. ¡®You are a weak male in my Pride who is only here because I cannot convince my brother to get rid of you. A shame that he realised what was happening before I could kill you,¡¯ he answered mercilessly. Fang reacted by crouching once more and snarling at the larger male. Lionel, too, clearly took offence at Leo¡¯s words. ¡®Shut up, Leo,¡¯ Dominic snapped at his leonine companion, choosing to say it in the Pride chat too ¨C Leo had decided to stir the pot there, so he deserved to get slapped down in public too. ¡®And that¡¯s another issue. You have consistently failed to see the ways that these two have helped the Pride and been derisive about all other males in general. I¡¯m putting my foot down. All members of the Pride are to treat each other as their behaviour deserves, not according to their species, or their sex. If a member of the Pride contributes equally to the Pride, they are to be considered as equals. I¡¯m not putting up with your snide comments anymore, Leo. And unprovoked attacks are also out of the question. Unless it¡¯s in defence of a Pride member who clearly needs it. Understand?¡¯ ¡®Or what?¡¯ the lion snarled back at him even as the others chimed in their understanding. Since this time he had chosen to ask it privately, Dominic responded in kind. ¡®Or I will work out a way to pull our mane out and make ourselves completely repulsive for any of the females.¡¯ ¡®You wouldn¡¯t!¡¯ Leo exclaimed. ¡®You¡¯re the one who likes mating,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®Sure I would. Especially if it makes us stronger or better in some way. What about growing spikes all over ourselves so that we can¡¯t mate with a female, but would be protected from attacks from underneath? Or finding a way to get acid all over our fur as another defensive move? Or¨C ¡®Stop!¡¯ Leo exclaimed. ¡®Fine, you win,¡¯ he grumbled. ¡®I¡¯ll be less¡­accurate about the other males.¡¯ ¡®You mean more accurate,¡¯ Dominic warned. ¡®Passive aggressiveness counts too.¡¯ ¡®As long as there¡¯s no mating from any other male in my Pride!¡¯ Leo warned. ¡®If I have to recognise that the males have some value, you have to recognise that they are also a threat.¡¯ ¡®I know that that¡¯s important to you,¡¯ Dominic accepted, taking a more conciliatory tone now that Leo had unbent a little. ¡®And I know that it¡¯s something we need to deal with sooner rather than later.¡¯ Still emanating discontent, Leo withdrew a little, perhaps settling more into their mental space. Relieved of his constant pressure, Dominic returned his attention to the general conversation. His Pride members seemed to have realised that he was having an internal discussion as they were all waiting for him to finish ¨C mostly patiently. Lionel and Fang looked a little happier at his defence of them, thankfully. Dominic just regretted not doing it sooner. ¡®Right. Leo has promised to be more tolerant in the absence of clear provocation. In answer to ¡®how you mate¡¯, in theory, you find a way to become attractive to the lionesses. Sekhmet, can you give him some help here?¡¯ Dominic answered. On the one hand, he wanted to settle the situation a little after Leo¡¯s attempt to upset the applecart. On the other, he didn¡¯t feel in any way equipped to offer a lion dating advice. ¡®Be strong, good at fighting and hunting, have a dark mane, be bigger and more powerful than the other males around, and protect your pride,¡¯ Sekhmet answered with a rumble that was almost a purr. As if demonstrating, she rubbed herself all over Dominic¡¯s body, pressing her head against his shoulder, against his mane, pressing under his chin and almost forcing Dominic to rub all the way along her spine. As the root of her tail pressed against his jaw, Dominic got a noseful of the musky scent which he now knew meant she had gone fully into heat. It did funny things to him. His physical body reacted, shifting slightly as his lips drew back, instinctively breathing in the oddly tantalising scent. At the same time, he felt a tension grow between his back legs. It was similar, yet not the same as when he¡¯d watched a shapely woman in a short skirt and heels bend over when he¡¯d been human. It made him suddenly wonder whether his words to Leo about not being interested in mating had actually been truthful. However, mentally, as soon as he recognised what he was feeling, he backpedalled, his conscious mind shying away from the idea of ¡®lion sex¡¯. But at the same time¡­this was Sekhmet. And it¡­kind of¡­ felt different from the last time lionesses had gone into heat around him. He pushed those thoughts to the side. Something to consider later. ¡®There you go,¡¯ Dominic told Fang, trying to sound more calm and collected than he actually felt. ¡®That¡¯s how to make a lioness want to mate with you.¡¯ The young lion eyed him in dismay and more than a little annoyance. ¡®But how can I be more powerful than the other males around? I have grown significantly in power, but the female did not want me because you are here.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s a good point,¡¯ Dominic admitted, ¡®and brings us onto the second issue. You shouldn¡¯t be surprised when I say that Leo has never wanted to have you around.¡¯ ¡®He has made that abundantly clear,¡¯ Fang agreed grimly. ¡®You think differently, it seems,¡¯ Lionel pointed out as if asking Dominic to confirm or deny the statement. ¡®I do,¡¯ Dominic admitted. ¡®Both of you have consistently demonstrated your value to the Pride, besides the time you started quibbling over loot,¡¯ he said pointedly at Fang who looked away. ¡®Lionel¡¯s special Abilities have been particularly important in recent fights and I¡¯ve valued having you there,¡¯ he said directly to the young lion in question. ¡®You might have been able to tell Leo and I don¡¯t agree on that topic,¡¯ he remarked wryly. ¡®It did surprise us to hear how opposed you are,¡¯ Procyon commented tentatively. ¡®I, for one, had always thought that you agreed on everything.¡¯ Dominic huffed in amusement. ¡®Hardly. We constantly argue with each other. Which isn¡¯t always a bad thing, to be fair. But, frankly, the topic of other males is one we¡¯ve revisited again and again. Leo has some lines that he refuses to cross, and I¡¯m not going to jeopardise the future for two members of the Pride, no matter how useful they are. So Fang, you have a decision to make. Lionel, you too.¡¯ Dominic breathed in deeply. ¡®If you want to stay in this Pride, I would welcome you both, but you will need to agree never to try to mate with any of the lionesses currently present in it. If you agree to that, I will be able to convince Leo that you are not threats to him or his interests.¡¯ The young male looked mutinous. Dominic didn¡¯t really blame him, but he also realised that there was only so far he could push his leonine companion, especially if he wanted to maintain their working relationship. ¡®And if we do not agree?¡¯ Lionel asked briskly. ¡®Then you leave and find your own pride,¡¯ Dominic answered with a tone of finality. Chapter 6: Mate With Me? The two young males looked at each other and hesitated. ¡®Can we come back?¡¯ Lionel asked. ¡®What?¡¯ Dominic asked, taken aback. ¡®Can we come back if we leave?¡¯ Lionel asked again. ¡®Why would we want to do that?¡¯ asked Fang, seemingly as mystified as Dominic was. ¡®Because the Pride is safer than being on our own and there are more opportunities to grow stronger here,¡¯ Lionel answered practically. ¡®Consider how much we have grown recently.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a good point,¡¯ Fang answered slowly, ¡®but I do want to mate and if I can¡¯t do it here without risking my life¡­¡¯ ¡®Which is why I ask if we can return. If you find your own females, perhaps Leo would not have a problem with us mating with them,¡¯ Lionel explained logically. It was¡­an interesting point. And one that Dominic felt was a very good compromise. However, it did raise questions which only Leo could answer. ¡®Let me ask Leo,¡¯ Dominic said to the two young males, prodding his companion mentally. The lion projected slight annoyance at being disturbed, but returned to full awareness of the discussion taking place. ¡®If Fang brings back a pride of lionesses, are you willing to leave them to him?¡¯ Dominic asked his companion pointedly. ¡®No stealing lionesses, or getting territorial over them.¡¯ The lion grumbled. ¡®If they prefer me-¡¯ ¡®Then if you want to mate with them, you¡¯ll have to agree to Fang, Lionel, or any other young male being able to mate with lionesses who prefer them over us,¡¯ Dominic interrupted. ¡®Fair¡¯s fair.¡¯ ¡®Why would they choose another over me?¡¯ Leo asked scornfully. ¡®Look, I don¡¯t know what goes on in human girls¡¯ brains ¨C you¡¯re asking me to understand how lion females work?¡¯ Dominic demanded with exasperation. ¡®But seriously, either the females that Fang or any other male who joins the Pride brings with him are off limits entirely, or you agree to let the females choose ¨C and only the females.¡¯ The lion was silent for a long time. Finally, he answered. ¡®Fine. If they bring back their own females, I will tolerate them mating with those females as long as they don¡¯t try to mate with mine.¡¯ ¡®And if your females want to mate with them?¡¯ Dominic pressed. ¡®Or any other males who come along?¡¯ Leo growled. ¡®This is why I don¡¯t want any other males around!¡¯ he exclaimed. ¡®An approach which is unfeasible, especially the larger our Pride gets,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®And chasing out all the male cubs might end up causing us problems either from the lionesses who don¡¯t want to lose their children, or the males who get stronger and then come back with numbers to try to take over completely.¡¯ ¡®Then what do you say, since you¡¯re so smart?!¡¯ demanded Leo in frustration. ¡®Let the male lions stay as long as they¡¯re contributing to the Pride and cooperating, for one thing. For the other, I would suggest letting the lionesses choose,¡¯ Dominic explained patiently. ¡®You¡¯re always up for mating, so it¡¯s not like it will ever be non-consensual from your side of things. And you heard Sekhmet ¨C lionesses like powerful males, so as long as we keep growing, it¡¯s unlikely to be an issue. But if a lioness does choose to go with another male in the Pride¡­I think that we need to honour that choice.¡¯ Leo grumbled wordlessly, but Dominic sensed that he was at least thinking about it. ¡®As long as it¡¯s only males who have brought in other females who are allowed to mate, I will¡­accept it,¡¯ he announced finally. ¡®If they have brought in more mates then they have proven themselves strong enough to be subordinate males under my leadership. Then the females can choose which males they want to have for their heats.¡¯ Dominic thought it over, but found that he didn¡¯t have any argument against that. After all, he didn¡¯t want to completely destroy the way evolution had been working for thousands of years ¨C only the strongest males and those best at survival had been able to mate, reducing the chances that weak genetics would be passed on. Plus, it reduced the chances of inbreeding if the males had to go and get their own prides first before being allowed to mate. He knew that Leo was hoping all the lionesses would choose Leo over any other male, but if so then that was up to the lionesses. Dominic doubted it would work that way, but if it allowed for peace between Leo and the other males? Great. ¡®Alright, that sounds fair enough,¡¯ Dominic agreed, then outlined the discussion he¡¯d just had to Fang and Lionel. ¡®So,¡¯ he concluded, ¡®you¡¯re allowed to return to the Pride with or without lionesses, but you can only mate with those lionesses who choose you if you return with your own little pride.¡¯ The two young male lions exchanged looks, then turned to face Dominic. ¡®We¡¯ll go,¡¯ Fang answered. ¡®Both of you?¡¯ Dominic asked, though probably didn¡¯t need to: there had been enough indications to show that Lionel intended on going wherever Fang did. Which caused its own problems. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Lionel replied. ¡®I¡¯m going with my brother to protect him.¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic answered with a sigh. ¡®Then I would like to ask both of you to accompany us back to the forest ¨C I don¡¯t want them thinking that I killed you and your growth might inspire the others.¡¯ And, he continued privately to himself, perhaps that will give me the opportunity to copy Lionel¡¯s healing Abilities before he goes. The two lions exchanged another look. ¡®Fine,¡¯ Fang agreed. ¡®As long as Leo doesn¡¯t try to kill me again.¡¯ ¡®As long as you stick to the rules we¡¯ve just established, he won¡¯t,¡¯ Dominic assured him, prodding Leo mentally until the lion snarled in put-upon agreement. With that, the discussion was done. Slowly, everyone relaxed, turning to go. Dominic, however, stayed still at Leo¡¯s urging. Sekhmet also stayed next to him, fidgeting like she had ants crawling on her paws. Procyon sent Dominic an inquiring look, accompanied by a pointed feeling in the Pride chat. ¡®Go on ahead,¡¯ Dominic told him. ¡®We¡¯ll catch up.¡¯ ¡®Very well. Do not take too long,¡¯ the ameshek warned knowingly. ¡®This might not be the dungeon, but there are still threats around.¡¯ With that, he turned and followed at the back of the pride. They were moving slowly by Dominic¡¯s standards ¨C they¡¯d be able to catch up quickly. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡®Alright Leo,¡¯ Dominic said, pressing backwards. ¡®Enjoy.¡¯ Leo¡¯s presence came forward with eagerness, anticipation running through him. The lion really enjoyed mating. Dominic hurried to make it back to their mental space before anything could happen ¨C this might feel different than it did before, but it was still lion sex and he didn¡¯t want to be a voyeur. He¡¯d only just settled on the couch in his human form, having once more needed to switch from his lion form when he entered the mental space, when Leo contacted him. ¡®Dominic,¡¯ the lion snarled at him, sounding most put-out. ¡®Done already?¡¯ Dominic asked, surprised. ¡®That was quick, even for you.¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Leo grumbled. ¡®I¡¯m not done.¡¯ ¡®Then¡­why are you contacting me?¡¯ Dominic asked, confused. ¡®You know I don¡¯t like to be present when you¡¯re mating. And don¡¯t tease me on that either,¡¯ he warned. ¡®I¡¯m not in the mood.¡¯ ¡®Well, tough,¡¯ Leo snarled. ¡®Because the flea-bitten female is asking for you!¡¯ Dominic froze from where he was starting to get off the couch. What? A moment later, he returned to full awareness, not even bothering to stand up in their mental space. He was once more met with the sound of snarling. Sekhmet was crouched, facing Leo with her teeth bared. ¡®Alright, what¡¯s the problem now?¡¯ Dominic asked her, choosing to use Telepathy rather than broadcast the whole situation in the Pride chat which the others would still be able to hear. Immediately, she stopped snarling and relaxed, her body language once more taking on a more flirtatious, rather than threatening, air. ¡®Dominic!¡¯ she responded, her mental tone happy. ¡®You¡¯re back. Good. We mate now,¡¯ she chirped, her speech back to being broken again. Evidently she didn¡¯t feel this situation warranted her using full sentences, which was slightly worrying. And Dominic was procrastinating. ¡®Sekhmet¡­¡¯ Dominic answered, not sure what to say. ¡®Leo wants to mate. What¡¯s the problem?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t want to mate with Leo. Want to mate with you.¡¯ Leo¡¯s anger which had been growing ever since Sekhmet obviously rejected him was abruptly replaced with gleeful amusement. ¡®Hah!¡¯ he huffed. ¡®Not able to run away now. The female has made her choice. She wants you.¡¯ ¡®But I don¡¯t want her,¡¯ Dominic responded privately to Leo, mixed feelings running riot within him. ¡®I don¡¯t get why she doesn¡¯t want you!¡¯ That was the easy route ¨C the way to avoid having to think about these feelings Sekhmet had been invoking in him for a while now, particularly since leaving the dungeon, clearly in heat. Sekhmet, obviously getting impatient, once more stood up and started rubbing herself all over Dominic, spreading her heat-heavy scent all over the larger male. ¡®Females are females,¡¯ Leo dismissed. ¡®Seems like female humans are no more easily comprehended by male humans than female lions are comprehended by male lions. But this one wants you.¡¯ ¡®And you¡¯re OK with that?¡¯ Dominic asked disbelievingly. ¡®You¡¯re the one who almost killed a lion a few minutes ago because he tried to mate with her.¡¯ Leo sends across the feeling of a shrug, pressing back against Dominic¡¯s presence as if to encourage him to take full control again. ¡®If all females decide they would prefer you, yes, I will be very annoyed ¨C I enjoy mating, and being active within it. I doubt I would enjoy being relegated once more to be merely a presence in your mind at all times. But if only this one or even a couple more want you alone¡­.what¡¯s the harm? The cubs will still be mine, regardless. I will not have to spend effort on another male¡¯s cubs.¡¯ It sounded all so logical ¨C except for the fact that this required him to be fully in control of the¡­mating. He didn¡¯t even want to be present when Leo did it. Still feeling numb from shock, it took Dominic a few moments to realise that Leo had managed to manoeuvre their mental presences so that Dominic was now back in control of their body. ¡®But I don¡¯t want to have lion sex!¡¯ Dominic almost wailed at Leo. The feeling he got back from his companion was not reassuring ¨C sadistic glee mixed with anticipation ¨C like Leo had gone and got popcorn and was now watching fail videos online. Clearly, he didn¡¯t have high expectations. If the lion wasn¡¯t usually so straight-forward, Dominic might have wondered whether this was a plan to make Sekhmet prefer Leo again ¨C by making Dominic look so incompetent in comparison. But that would be a level of manipulation Leo hadn¡¯t shown yet. Swallowing, since his fangs had started to leak venom in response to his stress, Dominic eyed Sekhmet as if she was a dangerous creature. Which she was, though usually not towards him. ¡®So¡­¡¯ he started, not sure how to continue. ¡®So...¡¯ Sekhmet paused and then came to sit in front of him, her head tilted to one side. ¡®Dominic not happy? Dominic not want to mate?¡¯ Dominic swallowed again. ¡®It¡¯s just¡­. You know I¡¯m not originally a lion. Doesn¡¯t that change anything for you?¡¯ Sekhmet tilted her head to one side in confusion. ¡®You¡¯re a lion now,¡¯ she said, her sentence once more improving as her tone sobered a little. Perhaps her speech deteriorated the more¡­horny she got. Dominic gulped at that thought, part of him purring in delight while another part screamed in panic about it. ¡®Does it matter to you?¡¯ the lioness asked. Dominic hesitated. ¡®I¡­yes. Yes, it does change things. Not my feelings towards you,¡¯ he rushed to reassure her, but from her unhappy body language, he failed at that. ¡®I really¡­like you. I appreciate what you do for our Pride and the way you help me.¡¯ It didn¡¯t appear to be helping. Dominic desperately searched for some other way of reassuring her. Women liked to be told they were pretty, right? Would lionesses like that too? ¡®You¡¯re really¡­strong. And powerful. And your body is¡­lithe and muscular,¡¯ he told her. He relaxed a little in relief as Sekhmet¡¯s body language softened a little bit. ¡®You¡¯re beautiful when you fight,¡¯ he continued, heartened, ¡®Sometimes I¡¯m almost distracted when I see you make a particularly great pounce or kill. And I like it when you press up against me or cuddle with me,¡¯ he admitted, the words practically pouring out from him now. ¡®You were the first to risk coming out hunting with me, the first I was able to convince. And from that we¡¯ve built what we have now ¨C a Pride who managed to defeat and absorb several other groups. Defeat a difficult dungeon. I¡­.¡¯ He abruptly cut off his mental communication as something far stronger than just ¡®like¡¯ threatened to emerge. I can¡¯t love her, he told himself. She¡¯s a lion! Sekhmet, her body language now more confused than disappointed, asked the question he knew was inevitable. ¡®Then if you like all these things about me, why don¡¯t you wish to mate?¡¯ Dominic hesitated again. In the face of all that, his denial did seem rather stupid. Maybe he was overthinking it? After all, he was a lion now, at least in body. ¡®This is¡­difficult for me,¡¯ he equivocated. Sekhmet gave him a disappointed look. ¡®You like me, but you don¡¯t want to mate,¡¯ she concluded, her tone sounding disappointed and just a bit hurt. ¡®No, it¡¯s not that,¡¯ Dominic hurried to disagree, his heart clenching at the thought that he had hurt her. The lioness just turned her head to him and lifted her lips slightly to bare her teeth a little. ¡®If you don¡¯t want to mate, I will accept the other male to scratch this awful itch,¡¯ she told him. Oddly enough, being offered the option he had been hoping for didn¡¯t make things any better. Dominic had been longing for that just a moment ago, but now it became possible, he found he¡­didn¡¯t want it. Why not? Eyeing Sekhmet, he did his best to be honest with himself. If he pushed aside the part of him that was screaming about bestiality, the part that still saw itself as human¡­. He had already admitted that he found this lioness attractive, both in physical form and as an individual being. She had been there for him since almost the beginning of all this and had supported him in everything since then. And now she was asking him to be there for her in her heat. How selfish would it be for him to refuse? Especially when his body was more than ready, and his mind was at least halfway there. Padding forwards, Dominic hesitated for one more moment, but then committed to his actions. Refusing to think too hard on it, Dominic leaned down to brush his head against Sekhmet¡¯s. The lioness looked up at him, her gaze hopeful. ¡®Dominic mate with me?¡¯ she asked. ¡®Yes,¡¯ he answered tensely, both nerves and a feeling of rightness going through him. ¡®I will mate with you,¡¯ he continued, more sure of himself. Chapter 7: When In Rome Once he¡¯d got over his objections to mating with Sekhmet, Dominic found himself mourning the fact that he hadn¡¯t got over it sooner ¨C then again, he wasn¡¯t sure whether he¡¯d have ever got over it for a lioness he was less attached to than Sekhmet. He begrudgingly admitted that maybe Leo had a reason for his obsession with mating. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d been a virgin before all of this ¨C though admittedly he hadn¡¯t exactly been experienced either ¨C but now everything felt more¡­urgent. It was all over quicker than he remembered, but lions seemed to more than make up for that with frequency. Perhaps he could work on that? Push for bouts with longer duration and enjoy more frequency? Then again, he¡¯d spend his life mating that way ¨C which might suit Leo perfectly well, but risked him losing his momentum in terms of getting stronger. Their return to join the others took about four times the amount of time it should have because they kept stopping to have ¡®just one more¡¯ round ¨C which was never just one more. Fortunately, the journey had been without incident ¨C they hadn¡¯t seen huge numbers of creatures anyway, and those they¡¯d seen had run away instead of trying to attack them. ¡®See, I told you it¡¯s the best thing ever,¡¯ Leo proclaimed, the dictionary definition of smug. ¡®What do you want me to say? You were right? Well fine, you were,¡¯ Dominic answered with an attempt at snapping, but he was honestly feeling too content as he affectionately rubbed against Sekhmet. The lioness always snapped at him after the act was done and continued to be prickly with him for a few minutes before returning to her affectionate self ¨C not that Dominic blamed her considering a lion¡¯s phallus shape. The first time it had happened, he¡¯d worried that he¡¯d hurt her, but her reassurances after she had stopped being prickly had soothed his fears. When she¡¯d started flirting with him again and asking him to mate with her a second time, those worries had been definitively put to bed. ¡®As long as you acknowledge it,¡¯ Leo replied ¨C it barely seemed possible, but he was even more smug now. ¡®Are you still sure you¡¯d make us unattractive as you threatened?¡¯ ¡®Play well with any males in our group and we won¡¯t have to find out,¡¯ Dominic shot back. Having said lion as a voyeuristic presence in the back of his mind had also taken some getting used to. Leo had thankfully been silent in the first couple of rounds, presumably letting Dominic get used to the whole thing ¨C or just letting Dominic make a fool out of himself while silently sniggering to himself. Who knew that targeting without hands would be so difficult? He was still grateful for the consideration since the helpful ¡®advice¡¯ or ¡®performance review¡¯ the lion gave him afterwards would probably have put him off completely in the middle of the act. And maybe Leo had realised that. Fortunately, Dominic had already had plenty of practice at tuning him out. ¡®Want more?¡¯ Sekhmet asked hopefully, once more rubbing herself under Dominic¡¯s chin and lifting her tail flirtatiously. Dominic eyed her, highly tempted. But he saw that the others were up ahead and, beyond them, the forest which held their Place of Power was already in view. They¡¯d made much better time on the way back: the way there had taken much longer, primarily because of Prince. Lionel and Fang had also been pretty low level and had had relatively little stamina too. Now, though, the lowest level were the albuhas who were naturally fast if they used their wings to fly and had good endurance if they ran on the ground. Dominic suspected that it had taken half the time to return as it had to go. But still, he was aware that they only had five more days before they needed to be back at the dungeon site again. ¡®Not right now,¡¯ he answered regretfully. Sekhmet made a quiet yowl of protest. ¡®We¡¯ve almost caught up with the group,¡¯ he justified. ¡®Why matter? Everyone understands.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯d rather not have an audience,¡¯ Dominic answered. ¡®Leo is already more than enough,¡¯ he added. Sekhmet made another quiet sound, but this one sounded more like amusement than protest. ¡®And besides, we¡¯re not far from home by now and, with that, the rest of the Pride.¡¯ ¡®It will be nice to see everyone again,¡¯ Sekhmet answered, her longer sentences indicating that she¡¯d moved out of her ¡®mate now¡¯ mindset. She took a step away from Dominic and stretched. That her stretch caused her butt to rise high in the air as she leaned down on her front paws was surely just a coincidence. ¡®Tell you what, let¡¯s meet up with the others, check how things are going with them and then we can go on ahead. As long as we travel fast enough, we should have time for a few rounds while the others catch up.¡¯ After all, Dominic was definitely faster than any of the others, and Sekhmet was pretty quick too, even if not quite able to keep up with him. It didn¡¯t take them long to catch up with the group ahead. The other two males greeted him with wariness from Fang and curiosity from Lionel who came over to sniff at them both. Dominic twisted away with a growl as the young male started sniffing a little close to a certain area. They stared at each other eye to eye for a moment before Lionel looked away and lazily lay down as if that was what he was intending to do all along. Dominic eyed him a little longer. Weird, he thought before dismissing it. Jenkins, after licking at the face of an apparently long-suffering winged-coyote was the next to greet him, bounding right over and rubbing herself against him. But not before sniffing him curiously. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t feel weird like when Lionel did it. In fact¡­. Dominic instinctively sniffed at her in response, his nose telling him that she was just about to go into heat too. By this point she would no doubt be starting to experience the prickly heat which Sekhmet had told him about during one of the breaks between their rounds. Sekhmet moved forwards and stood between Dominic and Jenkins, not appearing angry, just¡­insistent. The two lionesses seemed to communicate silently ¨C perhaps they were. Sekhmet did have Telepathy all on her own, after all. Dominic moved over to greet Procyon and Sirius who looked at him with an air of comradery. ¡®It is hard to satisfy the females, is it not?¡¯ Procyon asked him quietly. ¡®Yeah, why do you think there are so many of us males for our female? When it is her season, she is insatiable.¡¯ Sirius made a low humming moan. ¡®With so many of us lost, we are going to be completely exhausted when mating season comes around again.¡¯ ¡®Wait,¡¯ Dominic stopped him. ¡®You¡¯re all male except for Nyx?¡¯ Sirius and Procyon both looked at him a little oddly. ¡®You did not know?¡¯ Procyon asked slowly. Dominic was once again glad that lions couldn¡¯t blush. ¡®I¡¯m not familiar enough with your species to tell,¡¯ he justified defensively. ¡®Well, we are,¡¯ Procyon clarified after a pause. ¡®We seem to operate a bit differently from your species,¡¯ Sirius added helpfully. ¡®I don¡¯t know how you manage to keep all your females satisfied, but we build a brotherhood of multiple males to satisfy our one female and then to defend the clutch after the eggs are laid.¡¯ Dominic noticed the words ¡®clutch¡¯ and ¡®eggs¡¯. It seemed like he was learning a lot of new things about the amesheks today. Apparently they weren¡¯t even mammals. Though he supposed that them being from another world entirely meant that the rules from Earth didn¡¯t apply. Though, he supposed that the Earth had had one egg-laying mammal ¨C the platypus. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t outside the realms of possibility that another world would have more platypus-style mammals¡­. Though he wondered whether they gave their offspring milk like the platypus too. ¡®Well, whatever works for you, I guess,¡¯ he answered, trying to stop thinking about it. He turned to greet the lead albuha ¨C he really needed to come up with names for the winged-coyotes. Well, no time like the present ¨C Sekhmet was still communicating with Jenkins, so there was clearly no rush on that side of things. ¡®Do you have a name?¡¯ Dominic asked the albuha as they trotted along together.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡®A name¡­. Like our leader? ¨C ¡®Jenkins¡¯?¡¯ the albuha asked thoughtfully. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic answered easily. ¡®Not have names, exactly. Designations ¨C based on ranking in hierarchy.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s not quite the same thing, though,¡¯ Dominic disagreed. ¡®If you changed position in the hierarchy, you would change designation, right?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ the albuha agreed. ¡®Well, a name is something you keep for your whole life and don¡¯t change.¡¯ Although that wasn¡¯t quite correct, Dominic realised. While he as a man would have kept his name permanently, if he¡¯d married a woman, she would have changed her last name to match him. Or at least, that was the tradition. Either way, she would have kept her first name, at least, so he felt his point still stood. ¡®Do you have something you would like to be called? Or shall I pick something?¡¯ The albuha was silent for a long moment. ¡®I think about it,¡¯ he said finally. ¡®You don¡¯t mind?¡¯ Dominic shook his head in a very human gesture of negation. ¡®No, take your time. Heck, talk with the others about it if you like. And then come to me when you¡¯ve decided.¡¯ Upon leaving the leader, Dominic took a few moments to pad between the other albuhas, greeting all of them individually, even if briefly. Once he¡¯d done that, he noticed that Sekhmet appeared to be ready, trotting at the front of the group and frequently sending him impatient glances. He leaped to join her, and they took off ¨C not literally ¨C into the savannah ahead. ¡®What was that about with Jenkins?¡¯ Dominic asked curiously. ¡®Were you warning her off or something?¡¯ He hadn¡¯t thought about what impact more intelligence might have on the lionesses in that aspect ¨C it might be that they developed a dislike for sharing their male. If so, he wasn¡¯t sure what Leo would have to say about it. Correction: he knew what Leo would say about it; what he didn¡¯t know was how Leo would be able to deal with it. ¡®Warning her off?¡¯ Sekhmet repeated, sounding startled. Apparently it wasn¡¯t that then. ¡®No. I was finding out if she wanted you or Leo. And was telling her how good mating with you is.¡¯ ¡®What?¡¯ Dominic asked, startled and more than a little pleased at the compliment. Sekhmet made an impatient huff. ¡®I was finding out which of you she would prefer for her heat,¡¯ the lioness repeated, this time clearly making an effort to make it crystal-clear. ¡®I want Dominic, not Leo. I was finding out if she wanted the same, or would prefer Leo and not Dominic, or would be happy with both.¡¯ That was¡­also something Dominic hadn¡¯t even considered. ¡®And?¡¯ he asked slightly nervously, feeling like he was waiting for some test results or something. ¡®She wants to try you both,¡¯ Sekhmet answered. ¡®Will decide then.¡¯ Her tone was so matter-of-fact, as if talking about one of the lionesses being keen on experimenting with him and his body-sharing leonine counterpart to decide whose style of mating she preferred was an everyday thing. ¡®Don¡¯t I get a say in this?¡¯ Dominic asked almost desperately. Sekhmet looked at him in surprise. ¡®You want a say? I thought you would say ¡®yes¡¯.¡¯ ¡®You don¡¯t know that!¡¯ Dominic argued, his mind going into panic mode. ¡®Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡¯ Leo scolded him. ¡®Of course we would say ¡®yes¡¯.¡¯ ¡®You would,¡¯ Dominic told him pointedly. ¡®You want to mate with every female around. But that¡¯s not me!¡¯ he finished, projecting his ¡®voice¡¯ to Sekhmet too. She stopped moving and looked at him, tilting her head to one side. He stopped too, turning so they were facing each other. ¡®You liked mating me,¡¯ Sekhmet replied, her tone certain. Justifiably so. ¡®I did,¡¯ Dominic replied, calming down slightly. ¡®Why did you like mating me?¡¯ If he could still blush, he bet his ears would be red. ¡®Because¡­.because I like you. Like like you.¡± Sekhmet tilted her head to one side. ¡®You don¡¯t like Jenkins?¡¯ ¡®What? No! I like her¨C¡¯ ¡®Then why not mate with Jenkins.¡¯ ¡®Because¡­¡¯ Dominic trailed off as he tried to figure out how to put his feelings into words. ¡®Because she¡¯s not you. We¡¯ve fought together, got more powerful together, helped each other. We have a connection which isn¡¯t just¡­mating. Leo is happy to mate with any lioness he can. But¡­in my culture it¡¯s normal to only¡­mate with one woman ¨C female ¨C at a time.¡¯ Though, that wasn¡¯t entirely true, Dominic had to admit to himself as he thought about it more. In the culture he¡¯d grown up in, that was the only socially acceptable relationship. One man, one woman ¨C or at least restricted to two people. And if they were dating for a while, they were probably going to get married or people like Dominic¡¯s paternal grandmother would tut-tut at them, especially if they had already moved in together. But in reality, there were always those men everyone knew had an additional girlfriend even when he already had a wife. Or the women who looked for a little something on the side ¨C the ones who often rocked up to the cafe he¡¯d worked in an hour or two before closing time, dressed to the nines and with a guy at least twenty years their junior ¨C and every night a different man. And although Dominic had never been a history buff, even he knew about harems ¨C which he apparently now had, he realised, even if he hadn¡¯t been the one mating with them most of the time. Realising he¡¯d been standing still a bit too long, Dominic started moving again. Sekhmet joined him, eyeing him as if he was the weird one. ¡®An odd point of view,¡¯ she said finally. ¡®Only one male and only one female. Very odd.¡¯ She was silent for a few long moments, but it was clearly a thoughtful silence so Dominic didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡®It wouldn¡¯t work with lions. Only one male and only one female? What would happen to the rest of the females? Would they just have heats without relief? Or would they separate? If so, what would happen to the sisterhood of hunting? Cubs wouldn¡¯t be protected, hunting would be harder and more dangerous.¡¯ She made a low yowl of protest, eyeing him sideways. ¡®I don¡¯t like this possibility.¡¯ Dominic shook his head in confusion. ¡®You mean you want me to be with other lionesses?¡¯ ¡®Or Leo ¨C one male body, two minds,¡¯ she said practically. ¡®It¡¯s not so different from what we had, only with two minds instead.¡¯ She sighed and then obviously started making an effort to explain properly. ¡®A pride is a group of females. Males come, males go. But the pride stays together. Hunts together. Raises cubs together. The current male helps protect cubs from other males because they are his cubs. Other males who will come in will attack and kill the cubs already there. Normally. So if each female is with a male, the cubs are not safe. We cannot protect them as a pride and so we cannot hunt as a pride. You and Leo are our males, and we know you will protect us and protect our cubs. But having one male for each female? No. It won¡¯t work.¡¯ ¡®Is¡­is that the only reason you wanted to mate with me?¡¯ Dominic asked, a little crestfallen. ¡®Because you knew I would protect the cubs?¡¯ ¡®Of course it is part of the reason,¡¯ Sekhmet told him practically. ¡®A strong male means a strong protector for my cubs. But mostly I wanted to mate because I am in heat. It feels good to scratch that itch inside.¡¯ That didn¡¯t help at all from Dominic¡¯s point of view. ¡®Nice to know I¡¯m just an itch-scratcher,¡¯ he told her, intending it to come out sarcastic, but it ended up sounding more disappointed. ¡®You forget so quickly,¡¯ Sekhmet scolded him. ¡®I wanted to mate with you, not Leo, because I like you. Leo is¡­OK. But I don¡¯t like him so much.¡¯ That¡­oddly enough did make things a bit better. Sekhmet might not be approaching this the same way Dominic was, but it seemed like she at least liked him more than Leo, which was good enough. Or at least would have to be good enough. ¡®Jenkins likes you too,¡¯ Sekhmet added. ¡®More than Leo. You more understanding and tolerant. Leo more grumpy. But she wants to try both.¡¯ And that went right back to being weird. ¡®Sekhmet¡­¡¯ he started, not sure how to finish. ¡®You give her a chance, yes?¡¯ the lioness asked him, her eyes as intent as they were when she was hunting. Dominic hesitated, but then huffed a sigh in surrender. Perhaps the old saying was appropriate here? Though it wasn¡¯t what he had grown up with, he was no longer human. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When a lion¡­. ¡®Alright. I¡¯ll think about it.¡¯ ¡®Good,¡¯ the lioness rumbled with satisfaction. ¡®We mate now?¡¯ Chapter 8: Welcome Back They made it back to their forest without incident. As they entered the smaller trees, Dominic shivered as he felt something pass through him. It was like a wave which was at once warm and cold. Very odd. Suspecting he might know what it was, he called up his progress to the next level. Progress to Evolution: 291/991 PP Sure enough, his Prey Points had increased slightly. He couldn¡¯t remember what they had been exactly, but they had definitely been in the eighties, not nineties. He didn¡¯t think that it had accumulated all the Points which he¡¯d missed ¨C his total would be a lot higher than that if so ¨C but it was clearly something. ¡®I guess we¡¯re in the Place of Power¡¯s zone of influence now,¡¯ he remarked to Leo. ¡®Free Prey Points, I¡¯m not complaining,¡¯ the lion yawned. ¡®And since we are planning on waiting for the others here, why not do a bit of mating to occupy ourselves?¡¯ It was a good suggestion, honestly. Dominic was itching to get to the centre of the forest to finish their task: he really wanted to see if adding the dungeon Core to the Place of Power would have the effects Selessa had indicated that it should. But at the same time, given that the albuhas were completely foreign to everyone inside the forest, he didn¡¯t want to risk them getting attacked. So waiting it was. Mating seemed like a good way of taking his mind off it all, if Sekhmet was up for it. A look at and quick question to her revealed that, yes, of course she was up for another round. Or two. ***** The rest of the group appeared as Dominic was disengaging from round three ¨C he had estimated that they had just enough time for it. As it turned out, they did just about, though he was a little embarrassed at not completely being done by the time the others were all on scene. They all got to see how Sekhmet snarled and then leapt around to bat at Dominic with her claws out. It seemed to be an instinctive reaction since she did it every time, but never pressed further. Fortunately by now, Dominic was well-aware of it and had leapt out of range as soon as he disengaged. Sekhmet rolled onto her back, seeming to enjoy scratching herself against the ground cover beneath herself for a few seconds before rolling back over and standing up. Normally at this point they would both lick themselves clean and then, once Sekhmet allowed him close, lie down for a short time together. But not this time. Sekhmet was shameless enough to lick at herself, even in front of the audience, but Dominic felt too self-conscious about it. Jenkins bounded forwards to sniff at both of them, ignoring Sekhmet¡¯s low snarl and the way Dominic uncomfortably shifted away from her. He didn¡¯t want a repeat of Lionel¡¯s inspection, not even from Jenkins. ¡®My turn?¡¯ she asked him brightly just a moment later. She moved to rub herself against him as Sekhmet had, but was way too bouncy to be as sinuous as the older lioness had been. ¡®Maybe later,¡¯ Dominic replied nervously, eyeing the crowd around them with everyone watching with interest. Something inside him shrivelled up at the thought of trying to do it with such an audience. He could tell from the way Leo was sending him scornful feelings that the lion didn¡¯t agree, but tough: they had a job to do. ¡®Alright everyone, we¡¯re home. Let¡¯s get to the centre as quickly as we can.¡¯ Heading through the forest at a fast trot, Dominic noticed that the albuhas didn¡¯t seem comfortable. ¡®Are you OK?¡¯ he asked the highest level among them. ¡®We not like close confines of forest,¡¯ the albuha answered uneasily. ¡®No easy flying here.¡¯ Dominic hadn¡¯t thought about that. Though there was an easy solution to it. ¡®Let¡¯s get to the centre. There¡¯s a clearing from which you should be able to fly. If you guys aren¡¯t comfortable in the forest itself, you can always patrol the perimeter. To be fair, we do need some look-outs there. And then when you need to rest, you can fly over the forest and back to the central clearing. Sound good?¡¯ The albuha thought about it for a moment. ¡®Sound good, but we make sure that leader agree first.¡¯ ¡®Your leader?¡¯ Dominic asked in slight confusion. ¡®Jenkins?¡¯ ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡®But since I¡¯m your leader¡¯s leader, shouldn¡¯t my instructions supersede hers?¡¯ Dominic asked in confusion. That was how hierarchies worked, right? Apparently not, as the albuha seemed reluctant to trust his word. ¡®Must check with leader,¡¯ he insisted. While Dominic didn¡¯t have any issue with that per se, since he was pretty sure Jenkins wouldn¡¯t argue with him, it did create a potentially problematic situation for the future. What if he needed to give them instructions in an emergency and Jenkins wasn¡¯t there? Or what if Jenkins died? Dominic steered his thoughts away from that possibility, not wanting to tempt fate. She¡¯d already come too close once. ¡®And how would I convince you that I should be obeyed even if Jenkins doesn¡¯t agree?¡¯ Dominic asked slowly. The albuha looked at him as if he was surprised at him asking such an obvious question ¨C he probably was.. ¡®Defeat our leader, of course,¡¯ he answered. ¡®Of course,¡¯ Dominic echoed with a hint of exasperation. ¡®I thought I already did that.¡¯ ¡®That was last leader,¡¯ the albuha answered. ¡®We not sure you stronger than current leader ¨C we all grown in strength since last battle.¡¯ Dominic could have pointed out that he had increased in more levels than Jenkins had and he had already been a higher level before. He could have also pointed out that he was at least three times Jenkins¡¯ height and significantly heavier than she was. He could have said that he had many more Abilities than she did and had fought against creatures far more dangerous than she was and came out as the victor. But he didn¡¯t, because he knew that the only way of convincing them would be defeating her in front of them. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he sighed. ¡®Before I head out again, I¡¯ll fight her. OK?¡¯ The albuha didn¡¯t answer but that was fine ¨C it was a rhetorical question anyway. Dominic was about to move away from the winged-coyote when the creature said one more thing. ¡®Howler.¡¯ ¡®Sorry, what?¡¯ Dominic asked in confusion. ¡®Howler. My name. Howler.¡¯ Dominic eyed him, then smiled mentally. ¡®Alright. Nice to meet you, Howler. I¡¯m Dominic, though sometimes Leo takes over for a bit.¡¯ ¡®I know. Very confusing,¡¯ the albuha answered sagely. ¡®Had pack member like that once.¡¯ Then his body language slumped. ¡®Ended up scratching his own eyes out ¨C convinced the other was waiting to pounce. Died soon after.¡¯ The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡®Good to know,¡¯ Dominic answered, not knowing what to say. Did the albuha, Howler, think he was crazy? Or were true multiple personalities actually a thing from wherever they came from? He probably shouldn¡¯t tell Howler that he and Leo fought from time to time. Fortunately, he was distracted soon after when he saw a kesh sitting in the branches above him ¨C in an area where they were not supposed to be. Baring his teeth in anger, he leapt up onto the branch, using his wings both to get him level with the monkey-like kesh and then to help him keep his balance once he landed. That they made him look even bigger and more intimidating was just a convenient coincidence. ¡®What are you doing here?¡¯ he demanded with Telepathy. The kesh cowered back from him, its four arms spread wide, presumably to show that it was empty-handed. It clearly hadn¡¯t reached Tier 2 yet, so what he received back through his Telepathy was a feeling of fear and an attempt to placate. Dominic tried to send it the same question wordlessly but the kesh didn¡¯t seem to understand, instead it just backed away and cowered even lower to the branch. The sound of crashing came from the side and Dominic looked up just in time to see another kesh coming in. He snarled and prepared to attack, but this new kesh just swung to stand between him and the one from before, its own hands opened and spread wide. ¡®Not kill! Not kill!¡¯ Dominic heard as soon as he made telepathic contact with the new kesh. It was bigger, and obviously had made it into Tier 2. ¡®Why not?¡¯ he demanded. ¡®You are not allowed to be in this part of the forest!¡¯ ¡®Apologies, apologies, but Big one say come, guard.¡¯ ¡®Big one?¡¯ Dominic asked suspiciously. ¡®Yes, yes. Big one. Like them, but big. Big!¡¯ the kesh repeated with obvious panic in its voice, pointing with two of its hands at the party below. No, at Procyon and Sirius, Dominic realised. Nyx? ¡®This is big one?¡¯ he asked, sending the kesh a picture of Nyx. ¡®Yes, yes. Big one.¡¯ ¡®And ¡®big one¡¯ said you could come here?¡¯ Dominic asked, still suspicious. He remembered the claims the Kehs had made in the past all too well. ¡®Yes, yes. Big one say come. Guard. Watch. Kill intruder. Many intruder.¡¯ It was a good story, though it seemed rather similar to what they¡¯d claimed before. And if it was true, it would mean that the Pride would have lost Prey Points to the kesh which wasn¡¯t great. Dominic suddenly wondered whether the Pride chat range was wide enough to reach Nyx wherever she was at that moment. ¡®Nyx?¡¯ he tried. ¡®Can you hear me?¡¯ There was silence. He tried again, this time focussing on sending his voice directly to the ameshek leader. But still nothing. Apparently she wasn¡¯t yet within range. ¡®Alright. You both come with us,¡¯ he answered. ¡®I¡¯m going to check with ¡®big one¡¯. If you¡¯re telling the truth, I will let you go. If you¡¯re not, I will kill you. If you try to run, I will consider that as evidence of you lying to me and kill you. Understand?¡¯ ¡®Yes, yes, Great one, understand. Not lie. Not run. Come with to Big one.¡¯ Dropping down to the ground, Dominic watched as the two kesh seemed to communicate with each other. He remained tense, ready to leap up again and attack them. But they both just scampered down the trunk of the tree, dropping from about halfway down to land lightly among the party. ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ Sekhmet asked warily with Procyon and Sirius echoing her. Dominic quickly explained the situation and then they continued through the forest, needing to slow down a bit for the lower-level kesh. By the time they got to the clearing, the sun was already below the horizon, though they could all still see well enough. The kesh were probably the least capable in the dark, but even for them the last light of the day was still enough to scamper easily through the forest. Pausing at the edge of the clearing, Dominic took a moment to absorb the sight before him. The rest of his Pride lay in piles all around the clearing, apparently unaware of Dominic¡¯s group¡¯s intrusion. He frowned mentally ¨C they needed to work on their guarding skills. There was still an obvious difference between lions and amesheks, but the two species weren¡¯t lying far from each other anymore ¨C there had been noticeable inroads on integration there. Beyond them all was Nyx, lying almost at the base of the tree in the clearing¡¯s centre, the massive mound of ameshek unmistakable. As if they had finally sensed him there, heads started lifting to look at him and his pride. And then they were all scrambling to their feet and rushing towards Dominic and his group. ¡®Keep your group back for a moment and keep an eye on these two,¡¯ he told Howler, indicating the kesh. ¡®I¡¯ll introduce you once we¡¯ve all greeted each other.¡¯ Howler waited for Jenkins to back up the order before he acknowledged it. With that, the two of them followed the other lions and the two amesheks in running towards their Pride. The following few minutes passed in a storm of heads, tails, and body rubs almost strong enough to knock him over. He greeted everyone who approached him with equal enthusiasm. His wings seemed to get particular attention, enough of it to knock out a few feathers. When the sandy fur was replaced by black and coarse fur, he didn¡¯t hesitate but greeted the amesheks with the same amount of enthusiasm that he¡¯d greeted the lions. Finally, Nyx approached him with the others pulling aside to give her space. They stood there looking at each other for a moment. ¡®Welcome back,¡¯ Nyx told him with a dignified air. Yet something told Dominic that she was uncertain. He took the initiative, stepping forward and rubbing his head against hers. He had grown in size at least a little, he realised, even though he hadn¡¯t chosen that as an enhancement. Although still smaller than the lead ameshek, he could now comfortably rub the top of his head against her chin without her having to stoop. ¡®It¡¯s good to be back,¡¯ he answered. A moment later, Nyx responded to the greeting, humming deeply in her chest in the same way Procyon and Sirius did when they were happy. ¡®I am glad that you have brought my pack back to me,¡¯ she said after they had finished greeting and had stepped back. ¡®How they have grown!¡¯ she answered with a feeling of surprise. And was that a little lust Dominic detected? Could Nyx be coming into season too, or were the two amesheks just that attractive to her now? ¡®You all have,¡¯ she remarked, looking at the others. Then she looked up at the clearing¡¯s edge. ¡®And brought new companions. Are they pack?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic answered, then pulled back a little so he could see all the lions and amesheks at once before addressing them. ¡®Everyone, these are our new Pride members. They will probably be guarding our outer perimeter but will be welcome to join us here in the centre whenever they want.¡¯ ¡®Good! Need more eyes to watch.¡¯ Disengaging from where she had been greeting Sekhmet, Isis seemed very positive about that. Kalista, the leader of the other pride, though apparently still not Tier 2 sent across a similarly definite feeling of approval. ¡®Alright, Jenkins, want to bring your group over to greet everyone?¡¯ Dominic asked the young lioness with a hint of humour. She bounced happily at the invitation and pushed her way through the mass of lions and amesheks, running across the clearing back to the albuhas. Once she got there, she turned around and led them back, her head raised proudly into the air, her tail lifted and twitched behind her like a proud little cub¡¯s. Following her with more caution, the winged-coyotes sniffed around, eyeing the rest of the Pride as they drew nearer. Carefully, the two groups started greeting each other politely, by smelling each other¡¯s tails and licking each other¡¯s faces. Seeing the two kesh still standing patiently where he¡¯d left them, Dominic was reminded of what he wanted to ask Nyx. Though, if he was honest with himself, the fact that they hadn¡¯t slipped away while he was distracted was as much evidence that they were telling the truth as them running away would have been evidence of them lying. Still, if they had been telling the truth, that indicated that there was a problem, so it was worth raising it with Nyx anyway. ¡®Nyx, did you instruct the kesh to move out of the part of the forest I restricted them to?¡¯ he asked neutrally. ¡®I did,¡¯ she answered calmly. ¡®Alright, I¡¯ll be back in one second,¡¯ he said to her, then jumped into the air and glided back to the kesh. He could hear some surprised reactions behind him. ¡®You¡¯re free to go,¡¯ he told the Tier 2 telepathically. ¡®¡®Big one¡¯ has confirmed your words.¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Great one,¡¯ the kesh answered gratefully, and then the two of them rapidly disappeared into the forest. Leaping into the air again and spreading his wings, Dominic glided back to Nyx¡¯s side. ¡®Those are new,¡¯ Nyx remarked, pointing with her canine-like muzzle towards his beige-coloured wings. Dominic spread them widely so she could see, then tucked them back in on his back again. ¡®So,¡¯ he started neutrally, not wanting her to feel like she was being accused of something, ¡®why did you instruct the kesh to leave the areas I restricted them to?¡¯ Chapter 9: Early Warning System ¡®Soon after you left,¡¯ Nyx started carefully, clearly keeping an eye on Dominic¡¯s reactions, ¡®we were invaded.¡¯ Dominic¡¯s wings ruffled automatically as his hackles rose and his whole body stiffened. It might be her tone or maybe an impression she sent along with her words, but he had a feeling that she wasn¡¯t just talking about one creature here. ¡®Invaded by what?¡¯ he demanded. Nyx shook her head, her antennae shifting against the movement. ¡®I did not recognise the creatures. They were smaller than us, with long ears and sandy-coloured fur, when it was not striped with blood. They had sharp teeth and ravenous appetites. We first discovered their presence by the trail of blood they left behind.¡¯ ¡®Wait¡­¡¯ said Leo slowly. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me they were those rabbit things?¡¯ Dominic had to admit that the descriptions did seem to match. ¡®Was this them?¡¯ he asked, sending a picture of the meat-eating rabbits he¡¯d once faced. He couldn¡¯t remember what they were called but he certainly remembered their appearance well enough. ¡®Yes, that¡¯s them,¡¯ Nyx answered, sounding surprised. ¡®Did you encounter more on your journey back to us?¡¯ ¡®No, this was from another time,¡¯ he dismissed, his thoughts racing. ¡®You say there were many of them?¡¯ ¡®Enough to cover the forest floor. They moved across the forest like a swarm of insects, killing and eating all they could.¡¯ ¡®And then what happened?¡¯ Dominic asked impatiently as it seemed that the large ameshek was done speaking. She sent across the feeling of a shrug. ¡®And then they left. Vanished as quickly as they had appeared. Only a few of us actually saw them ¨C the rest simply saw the destruction they had left behind. But in case they come back, I thought it wise to allow the kesh to remain as scouts in the trees. An early warning system.¡¯ That was concerning. Both that the killer-rabbits had come and gone so quickly and that the kesh had so rapidly regained the position they¡¯d had before, this time even with true authorisation ¨C even if it appeared they¡¯d slightly misinterpreted it. Dominic had wanted to find out whether he could trust them to abide by their word before giving them more free-rein. But at the same time, he couldn¡¯t fault Nyx for choosing to set out a warning network when she¡¯d seen what these killer-rabbits were capable of. ¡®So none of the Pride came into conflict with the rabbits?¡¯ he checked. Nyx quickly replied with a feeling of negation. ¡®No. Those few who saw the swarm decided to retreat back to the Pride. We prepared to defend the centre if necessary, but in the end it wasn¡¯t needed.¡¯ Definitely concerning. Why did the killer-rabbits leave without even trying to attack? He wasn¡¯t complaining, but still. Dominic would have understood if they had retreated after trying to take the Place of Power and failing, but his previous experience with them was that they didn¡¯t retreat until almost all their number were dead. Unless levelling up had given them more caution, it just didn¡¯t make sense. ¡®Do you have any idea why they might have left?¡¯ he asked Nyx, hoping she might have a clue. ¡®No,¡¯ the ameshek answered disappointingly. And then she hesitated. ¡®What?¡¯ ¡®It did coincide with several other creatures leaving,¡¯ Nyx answered. ¡®Including a good portion of the kesh.¡¯ ¡®What?¡¯ Dominic asked again, this time more incredulously. ¡®The kesh left?¡¯ ¡®Not all of them,¡¯ Nyx corrected him. ¡®Just a large group.¡¯ ¡®And you don¡¯t know why the kesh left?¡¯ Dominic checked, still finding it difficult to believe his ears. Nyx twitched her antennae nonchalantly. ¡®The kesh I spoke to about guarding the forest did not wish to explain. She said merely that they had made their choice and would no longer be considered as part of the colony. I thought that it was as a result of the ultimatum you gave them before you left. It is only now that I consider how those two departures occurred at approximately the same time that I wonder whether they were linked.¡¯ ¡®I guess I need to talk to the kesh, then,¡¯ Dominic sighed. He supposed it made sense that they might have left as a result of his ultimatum, though it had taken them a while to make up their minds if so. ¡®You were going to have to do that anyway,¡¯ Leo pointed out, ¡®unless you want them thinking that they can control our boundaries the way they did before.¡¯ ¡®Point,¡¯ Dominic conceded. ¡®Alright, Nyx, although I¡¯m not exactly happy about the kesh regaining so much freedom in such a short time, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d have done any differently. Not considering their advantage in the trees. Apart from the invasion, how have things been back here? Have the kesh warned you about any other invaders?¡¯ There ensued a bit more discussion during which Dominic was able to find out that the Pride hadn¡¯t just collapsed without him and instead had continued with their usual hunting forays. No lions had died, though Dominic made a mental note to check whether any of the cubs had got old enough to be brought into the Pride properly ¨C he wasn¡¯t sure what age was the threshold and since he was likely to be away for some time again in the near future, it was worth giving it a go now. And apparently the kesh had come in handy a couple of times, warning about potential predators approaching. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡®I approve of how strong my pack mates have got,¡¯ Nyx said as the conversation turned towards Dominic¡¯s own activities. ¡®I would like to do the same as them,¡¯ she announced. ¡®That¡¯s the idea,¡¯ Dominic admitted, ¡®but not for a bit of time. I needed to destroy that dungeon to get its Core. Once I use the Core on the Place of Power, at least one dungeon should be created in our territory. It might take a few days for the dungeon to open up and be ready to access, but after that I would like all of you to be running it as frequently as possible ¨C as long as you do it safely. I¡¯m hoping that Sirius and Procyon might be willing to lead dungeon groups ¨C they should have gained enough experience from our go-around to know what to look for in terms of traps and so on.¡¯ ¡®Traps?¡¯ Nyx asked, sounding baffled. ¡®What are ¡®traps¡¯?¡¯ ¡®Exactly,¡¯ Dominic answered, his point proven. ¡®Which is why either Sirius or Procyon need to be the leaders. You¡¯ll learn fast, though, if this new dungeon ¨C or dungeons ¨C is anything like the one we just ran.¡¯ ¡®I see. Are you planning on naming all of my pack-mates?¡¯ Nyx asked archly. Dominic huffed at her in amusement. ¡®Names are important to me. Sue me. But more seriously, if they¡¯d rather choose their own names, then they should go ahead. I don¡¯t want them to have names they don¡¯t like. But if they don¡¯t choose their names, then yes, I¡¯ll probably give one to each of them at some point.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll let them know,¡¯ Nyx said with amusement while Dominic pushed himself to his feet. ¡®Well, thanks for the catch up, but now I need to go and put this Core into the Place of Power before it expires.¡¯ He had been able to get a sense of how long it should last while it was in his storage space, so he wasn¡¯t in a panic over it. But the sooner he did the job, the better. Especially since losing this particular Core would be a serious blow to his hopes of quickly sorting out the situation with his broken mana heart and damaged soul. After exchanging a couple more words, Dominic padded towards the large black stone which was at the centre of the Place of Power. Touching it, he pulled up its status. [Place of Power ownership: Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Status: Active ¨C Unlocked Level 1 (progress 3%) Benefits: None currently available Area: 42.8 km2 (0.1 km2/day, 5%) Owner: (10%) Recognised (affiliated) denizens: 37 (40%) Recognised (unaffiliated) denizens: 119 (5%) Unrecognised denizens: 1622 (35%) Deity ¡®Selessa¡¯: (5%) 129 PP/hour ] The first thing he noticed was that it had a new indication of progress. Progress to the next level, he had to assume. That was interesting in that it showed just how quickly the Place of Power would grow by itself ¨C three percent in the amount of time he¡¯d led it. The second interesting thing about it was that it hadn¡¯t been there before, indicating that perhaps any progress made by one owner was lost if the Place of Power changed hands since he couldn¡¯t believe that the length of time the amesheks had held the Place of Power meant nothing. Or maybe it could only start gaining progress once it had been ¡®unlocked¡¯. Otherwise, the rest of the changes were as expected ¨C its territory had expanded a little, and so had the number of Prey Points it generated per hour. The number of unrecognised denizens had dropped a bit ¨C perhaps the result of the killer rabbits coming through. Or possibly it was to do with their own hunting ¨C he¡¯d have to check with the two matriarchs to find out where they were sending the hunting parties. Hopefully the lower numbers weren¡¯t because he reduced the percentage for the unrecognized denizens, but that hadn¡¯t been much to begin with anyway. The number of recognised denizens had also gone down a bit ¨C the kesh leaving was Dominic¡¯s guess. As for the recognised denizens, that had gone up a bit as expected ¨C Dominic had brought back the albuhas with him who hadn¡¯t been part of the Pride before. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he said to Leo. ¡®Let¡¯s see what happens with this dungeon Core.¡¯ He had to admit, if only to himself, that there were butterflies in his stomach. A lot hinged on this working. ¡®What are you going to do? I don¡¯t see any options to absorb the Core,¡¯ Leo asked curiously. Dominic shook his mane slightly. ¡®Watch.¡¯ Pulling the Core out, he nudged it with his paw so that it rolled over the ground towards the large obsidian monolith. The round, slightly faceted shape of the Core rolled easily enough until it made contact with the monolith. There was a quiet ¡®chink¡¯. Nothing happened for a moment. ¡®Great idea,¡¯ Leo said sarcastically. Dominic was about to respond when a message popped up in front of him. [Your linked Place of Power has made contact with an unlocked dungeon Core which it is able to absorb. Warning: though absorbing dungeon Cores usually have beneficial effects on a Place of Power, some incompatible power sources can have poor reactions when combined. Do you desire the Place of Power to absorb this Core?] Dominic only hesitated for a moment before he agreed to the prompt. Doing so when it might have a bad effect against not doing anything and definitely not getting what he wanted ¨C the decision was clear. The dungeon Core flashed with multicoloured light and then seemed to melt, sagging against the obsidian monolith as it slowly lost its circular shape. Dominic watched in fascination as the colours within the glass-like Core were sucked into the blackness of the Place of Power. For a moment the colours took over the midnight shade of the obsidian monolith, and then they the majority were consumed in turn as they spread out and were diluted. At the same time, the Core itself deformed and shrank, like it was a juice-box being sucked dry. Finally, the shell of the Core itself was absorbed and the surface of the Place of Power smoothed out. Even once the Core had been fully absorbed, hints of the colours still remained, dancing and playing in the midnight darkness of the Place of Power itself. It looked almost like water or smoke, swirls of colour twisting and turning under the surface of the obsidian block. And then the colours faded. Yet when Dominic looked closely, he could see that the once pure-black stone had been transformed slightly. Now, instead of being matte black, there were hints of a deep purple or dark blue when Dominic shifted his head from side to side. Opening the status again, Dominic saw the same information as before, but now there were two extra messages. [Place of Power has absorbed an F-grade dungeon Core. Time to fully consolidate new power: 03:58:07 Any benefits gained from this Core will be assessed during this time.] Dominic sighed. Almost four hours. Well, at least the following message indicated something he could do with at least some of that time. [For your actions, Patron deity Selessa of the Hunt offers you a visit to her local realm. Do you accept it?] Chapter 10: Hello, Beautiful ¡®I suppose I might as well,¡¯ Dominic sighed. It was possible that the goddess would have something useful to tell him. He wondered from the ¡®her local realm¡¯ bit if it was going to be a different space from where they had met before. Accepting the offer, Dominic soon found himself back in the reddish jungle. Apparently even if it was a different space, she¡¯d made it look the same. Or had she changed the other one to look like this? As he turned his head to look around more, he jumped to the side in shock, his wings flaring out. At his side stood another lion, identical to him, wings, long dark mane, and sharp teeth all included. A very recognisable lion. ¡®Leo?!¡¯ he exclaimed. ¡®What are you doing here?¡¯ The other lion had briefly bared his teeth at Dominic in surprise, but quickly relaxed as recognition hit him too. Leo stepped forwards to rub his head against Dominic¡¯s, his mane tickly on the nose. Dominic quickly reciprocated the greeting. ¡®Wow, I look good,¡¯ the lion said happily, taking a couple of steps back to survey Dominic¡¯s body. ¡®Why haven¡¯t we recently spent time together in our mental space? I¡¯ve been missing out on seeing how muscular and strong I look. And what a nice mane we have. Though it could always be darker,¡¯ he finished critically. ¡®Leo¡­¡¯ Dominic growled. ¡®What. Are. You. Doing. Here?¡¯ he ground out again. The lion ruffled his mane and then stretched his front paws straight out in front of himself, yawning widely. ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ he answered in his own time, when Dominic was only a few moments away from pouncing on him. ¡®You don¡¯t know,¡¯ repeated Dominic flatly, his claws unsheathing to dig into the ground. ¡®No. I just appeared here. But I recognise the place from your descriptions. This is where you meet the goddess, right?¡¯ ¡®Right,¡¯ Dominic confirmed and then had a disturbing thought. Leo was here which meant that he was soon going to meet- ¡®Hello Dominic, good to see you again. And this must be Leo,¡¯ a rich voice rumbled through the jungle around. Both lions turned to see the source of the voice step out from the trees. Selessa was in her four-pawed form with her three tails gently swaying behind her. She had clearly chosen to bring her size more to their level, her two sets of eyes a little higher than his head at about the height Dominic¡¯s would be in his human body. Wondering whether he should change, Dominic¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by Leo. ¡®Why hello beautiful,¡¯ he immediately rumble-purred. Dominic whipped his head around to stare incredulously at his leonine companion. The lion was stalking towards the larger goddess, his head held high, his movements showing off the sinuousness of his body. ¡®My brother¡¯s words really didn¡¯t do you justice.¡¯ ¡®Leo, what are you doing?¡¯ Dominic demanded again, horror rooting him to the spot. But the other lion ignored him. ¡®You look like you haven¡¯t been mated in far too long. Why don¡¯t you join my Pride?¡¯ Dominic immediately facepalmed. He didn¡¯t care that he was in his lion form and thus just got a faceful of paw pads and the prick of hidden claws. The movement was just automatic. He went there, he said to himself, not sure whether to feel impressed, despairing, horrified, or a mixture of all three. He really went there. A moment later, he leapt over to put himself between Leo and the goddess, ignoring the lion¡¯s annoyed growl. ¡®My apologies for that, Selessa. Leo is¡­well, he doesn¡¯t understand what deities are.¡¯ Not that Dominic could say that he understood them much more either, but he was at least confident that propositioning one on their first meeting was probably not the best of ideas. ¡®You withdraw his offer on his behalf then?¡¯ Selessa answered, almost sounding disappointed. Dominic just froze, staring at her. ¡®You¡­you mean you were considering it?¡¯ He croaked out, shocked. The goddess just looked at him for a long moment while both lions hung on her next words. Then she made an odd chirping sound. ¡®Perhaps if you were three tiers higher,¡¯ she responded finally and from her tone Dominic realised that the strange sound before must have been laughter. ¡®Right now you are a little¡­weak for me. I would probably break you in half before we got to the good bit.¡¯ Both lions deflated. Dominic in relief, Leo in disappointment. ¡®Well, I had to try,¡¯ Leo said to Dominic prosaically. ¡®How many males can boast that they have a goddess in their pride? And one so beautiful as this?¡¯ ¡®You realise Selessa can probably hear you,¡¯ Dominic muttered to him, sending a glance at the still amused deity. ¡®Oh, I can,¡¯ she confirmed, making that chirping sound again. ¡®But I take it as a compliment.¡¯ At which point Dominic mentally threw his hands up in the air and gave up on the whole lot. Clearly felines would be felines, whether they were a male lion or a female goddess or weren¡¯t even from Earth. ¡®Alright. Why did you want me ¨C us ¨C to come here, Selessa? And how come Leo is here too this time?¡¯ he asked, trying to get the meeting back on track. The goddess sobered, lying down on the ground as if in preparation for a long discussion. Leo quickly followed her example, happily slumping onto the ground, though not going to full relaxation mode. Dominic slowly lay down too with his head near Leo¡¯s back legs, taking the third side of a rough triangle shape. The most human of the three pointedly didn¡¯t notice the way his leonine companion had laid so his head was close to the goddess¡¯ rear, nor how he kept hopefully looking and sniffing at it. ¡®Leo is here this time because you accepted me as your patron on behalf of both of you. So now you both have access to this space upon my invitation. As for why I have invited you, I thought that this would be a good moment to clarify a few more short-term goals. Accomplishing the goal of bringing back a dungeon Core to strengthen our linked Place of Power offered me the opportunity to invite you without spending too much of my own power to do so.¡¯ ¡®Wait, let me get this straight ¨C you¡¯re saying you can invite us at any time, but that certain times let you save power?¡¯ ¡®Exactly. Fulfilling a task that I have set you is one of those ways. May I continue?¡¯ she asks with a wry tone. ¡®Sure,¡¯ Dominic answered blithely. Leo slapped his head with his tail. ¡®Be polite,¡¯ the lion reprimanded Dominic. ¡®Thank you,¡¯ Selessa answered even as Dominic stared incredulously at Leo. ¡®Now that you have added your first dungeon Core to it, it would be well for you to learn some more details about the best way to manage it.¡¯ ¡®In what way? And why are you volunteering this information?¡¯ Dominic asked slightly suspiciously. ¡®I thought I had to earn boons for you to tell me things.¡¯ ¡®You do. Or I can choose to tell you information ¨C and pay the price myself.¡¯ ¡®You seem to be incurring a lot of debt on my behalf,¡¯ Dominic replied slowly, his eyes fixed on Selessa¡¯s. He growled at Leo as the lion once more slapped him with his tail. If he did it again, Dominic would bite it. ¡®More than you realise,¡¯ the goddess answered, completely seriously. Dominic¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®What do you mean?¡¯This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡®That lioness of yours. You don¡¯t think she somehow summoned extra speed from somewhere within her, do you? That was me. Responding to your prayer. You¡¯re welcome.¡¯ ¡®You mean¡­with Jenkins?¡¯ Dominic remembered what Jenkins told him of the fight and his suspicion. ¡®Yes. You prayed for her to survive the attack, and I made sure that she did,¡¯ Selessa answered, sounding completely honest. Leo was staring at Dominic. ¡®You prayed to keep the female safe?¡¯ he asked in surprise. ¡®Of course I did,¡¯ Dominic answered defensively. The lion was silent for a long moment which Selessa chose to not interrupt. Dominic practically thrummed with tension, waiting for his companion to criticise him for relying on a goddess to keep his Pride safe. ¡®Thank you,¡¯ Leo said finally. ¡®Wait, what?¡¯ Dominic asked, wondering if he¡¯d misheard. ¡®Thank you. To both of you. Dominic for asking for help; Selessa for giving it.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re welcome,¡¯ Selessa repeated again, this time that same pleased rumble-purr she had used in the beginning. The contrast demonstrated just how much tenser she had been when speaking to Dominic. ¡®Yes, thank you,¡¯ he repeated Leo¡¯s words, though unable to prevent caution from creeping in. ¡®But¡­why?¡¯ Selessa sighed again, that tension creeping back into her body language. ¡®I do not understand why you continue to be so suspicious of me,¡¯ she said to him frankly. ¡®I have told you of my situation. I have laid myself bare before you, revealing that this is the only chance I¡¯ve had in a very, very long time to perhaps escape my imprisonment and take my long-held revenge. Your strength is my strength. The stronger the Place of Power gets, the more power I receive, even if you never increase my tithe. And the strength of your Pride affects the Place of Power too. Which is, in fact, the reason I invited you here: to learn all of that. I have no reason to see you weak and every reason to see you strengthen. And if I can earn your gratitude by helping you in what small ways I can manage despite my weakness, then you might be willing to help me in other ways. Like dedicating a few of your kills to me. Or doing a task here or there for me.¡¯ Oddly enough, it made Dominic feel better to have Selessa¡¯s motivations so clearly laid out. To know that she wasn¡¯t just helping out of the ¡®goodness of her heart¡¯ but that she was acting with her own benefit in mind. It gave him more faith that she was telling the truth, that this wasn¡¯t some kind of scam again. ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic said finally. ¡®I¡¯ll dedicate the next few kills to you in thanks for helping Jenkins. Sound good?¡¯ He hesitated for a moment. ¡®Actually, how do I do that? Is it just¡­saying that it¡¯s dedicated to you?¡¯ ¡®You can either have it in your mind when you go into battle. In that case, you will not receive Prey Points as they will be dedicated to me. Alternatively, you can trigger consumption of the prey after it is dead with me in mind. You will receive no benefit from the consumption in that case either. You could even do both, if you wish to truly show your gratitude. ¡¯ ¡®Right,¡¯ Dominic sighed, thinking wryly that expecting to be able to dedicate something to a goddess without actually sacrificing anything had been a bit of a fool¡¯s hope. ¡®At least it¡¯s simple enough.¡¯ ¡®That it is,¡¯ Selessa agreed. ¡®I hope that at some point we¡¯ll be able to move past a tit for tat relationship, but for now it is serviceable. Now, regarding the Place of Power, as you already know, as it expands its territory, it increases the amount of power it can send to all parties. Other ways to increase its power include gaining more denizens, feeding dungeon Cores and other objects of Power to the central node, bringing other Places of Power under the influence of your primary node, or simply giving it time to grow by itself. Even if it¡¯s not actively expanding, it will slowly increase in level as time goes on.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s possible to do that?¡¯ Dominic asked, his eyes wide and his tail flicking in surprise as his attention was caught by one particular detail. ¡®Bring other Places of Power under the influence of one¡­node?¡¯ ¡®Oh, it¡¯s certainly possible, and in some areas, it¡¯s inevitable. The more densely populated an area, the more Places of Power are seeded but there is a good number even in very lightly populated areas. The bigger your Place of Power grows, the more chance there is that you will touch the influence of another one. As for the terminology, a Place of Power is a single node or a network of connected nodes. A node can be a Place of Power if it is singular.¡¯ ¡®And what happens if one Place of Power touches another?¡¯ Dominic asked curiously. ¡®Nothing automatically. Both Places of Power are unable to expand any more in that direction. However, if the controller of one can conquer the other and combine it with their primary node, it will add both Places of Power to each other. This automatically causes the primary node to increase in level at least once. It is also possible for the primary node to absorb some or all of the secondary node¡¯s levels and benefits. Also, be aware that though levels are maintained, any progress towards the next level is lost when it is conquered by another. The progress is maintained if it is ceded willingly, however.¡¯ Dominic got the idea. It wasn¡¯t all that dissimilar to some games he¡¯d played as a young teen where the objective of the game was to either control a certain number of points on a map or to take something that the other player or players had. Heck, it wasn¡¯t all that dissimilar from the concept of Monopoly, though it was more about fighting than paying for things. Then again¡­. ¡®Cede willingly¡­so someone could buy the Place of Power from the person ¨C or being ¨C who originally owned it?¡¯ he checked with the goddess. ¡®That¡¯s one way,¡¯ she agreed. Dominic huffed with ironic amusement. It looked like even in this new world wealth was still king ¨C as ever it had been. Though he did have another question. ¡®What happens to the god, the deity¡­sponsoring the Place of Power which is absorbed?¡¯ ¡®They are given the choice to become subservient in that area of power to the deity sponsoring the new primary node. Or they may choose to cede the node entirely.¡¯ Selessa didn¡¯t need to say any more ¨C Dominic knew enough about her circumstances to realise that neither would be good for her. Seeing her increased tension, he decided not to press, instead asking another question that was bugging him. ¡®Is it possible to gain control over another Place of Power which isn¡¯t touching the area of influence of your primary ¡®node¡¯?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ Selessa answered immediately, ¡®but until their areas of influence touch, they cannot be added together, meaning that they will all remain at the same level as they were when you captured them and the benefits of combining Places of Power will not be felt. Each will need to be levelled independently. On the other hand, it is possible to hold multiple primary nodes as long as their areas of influence do not touch.¡¯ So very much like Monopoly, then ¨C it was fine having a single property in the blues and oranges or reds and yellows, but until the player had all the blues or all the oranges, their options would be limited. On the other hand, having all the blues, pinks, and oranges gave the player a significant advantage even if they couldn¡¯t be combined directly ¨C and someone having all the reds, greens and purples was a death knell for everyone else. Which did make Dominic worry about what might happen if someone was able to get control of several ¡®monopolies¡¯. Though he was sure it would be different with this in comparison to a board game, he doubted that one person controlling too many Places of Power would be a good thing for their enemies. ¡®What about the other ways you mentioned of increasing the level of the Place of Power? And why do we need to increase the level, anyway?¡¯ Obviously it was better to be a higher level ¨C that always seemed to be the idea of this world: more, bigger, better. But was there a specific reason, he wondered. ¡®You have already fed a dungeon Core to your Place of Power and so will be able to see the benefits of that once it has fully processed the Core.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, what¡¯s up with that taking four hours?!¡¯ Dominic interrupted. Selessa flicked her tails in slight irritation. ¡®The time varies based on the level of the Place of Power absorbing the Core and the rank of the Core being absorbed. Now, to go back to your previous question,¡¯ she continued pointedly; Dominic looked away in a little embarrassment, ¡®The most stable way of slowly but surely increasing your Place of Power¡¯s influence is to combine increasing territory with increasing numbers of denizens. The two do naturally go together ¨C the more land your Place of Power covers, the more denizens there can be; the more denizens there are, the higher your Prey Points. However, this is not the fastest way of progressing the Place of Power¡¯s level. Since the Place of Power is all about influence, progress will be made fastest by increasing the numbers and levels of affiliated denizens. Next most beneficial for progress is increasing the numbers and levels of recognised denizens.¡¯ ¡®But increasing those numbers means that there are fewer Prey Points to share around,¡¯ protested Dominic. 40% shared among nearly 40 pride members meant just over 1% of the Prey Points went to each member every hour. If he doubled the number, that would mean halving the amount of Prey Points per member. ¡®That is the cost,¡¯ Selessa agreed. ¡®There is a cost to everything in this multiverse. But the benefits of a higher level Place of Power will be evident to you when your dungeon Core is completely processed. Temporary sacrifices often pay off far more later than was invested ¨C as long as you are still alive to claim the rewards.¡¯ ¡®Alright, I think I get it,¡¯ Dominic said thoughtfully. ¡®One, check out the benefits from this particular dungeon Core. Two, increase the level and the number of affiliated denizens in order to help the Place of Power reach the next level faster. Three, capture any other Places of Power or dungeons I encounter, ideally adding them all together. Stop anyone else trying to do that to mine. And while doing all of that, dedicate a few kills and carcasses to you. Sound about right?¡¯ ¡®That it does, though I suspect you will not find it as easy to put into action as it is to put into words,¡¯ she observed wryly. Dominic and Leo simultaneously huffed in agreement. ¡®Now, we are running out of time again. I just wanted to reiterate again that your power is my power, and while that remains the case, my power is also your power. I will work as I can on your behalf, as long as you do the same for me. Great opportunities lie ahead of you; I urge you to take full advantage of them.¡¯ ¡®That seems unnecessarily cryptic,¡¯ Dominic complained. Selessa made the chirping sound again at that. ¡®I am forbidden from revealing too much. All will become clear in time. But I would suggest that you pay better attention to the quest you have recently completed.¡¯ And with that, the realm around them disintegrated and Dominic found himself back in his physical body again. Chapter 11: Quest ¡®Well, that was interesting.¡¯ Leo said with a yawn as they settled back into their physical form. ¡®You should be less suspicious of that female. She¡¯s clearly an excellent potential Pride-mate.¡¯ ¡®Did you have to hit on her?¡¯ Dominic demanded, disregarding Leo¡¯s suggestion. ¡®You realise that she¡¯s a goddess, right?¡¯ ¡®Like you¡¯re one to talk,¡¯ Leo scoffed. ¡®Now that I¡¯ve actually met her, suddenly the memories of your previous visits are clear for me. I at least made her amused. You just annoyed her.¡¯ Dominic spluttered for a moment. ¡®At least I didn¡¯t insult her by inviting her to join my pride and telling her that she needed¡­that she looked like she needed mating.¡¯ ¡®Insult her?¡¯ Leo asked incredulously. ¡®Did she look insulted to you? No, she actually considered it. Face it brother, you just don¡¯t have a¡­knack with females.¡¯ ¡®Then what do you call Sekhmet preferring me?¡¯ Dominic demanded, his lips drawing back from his teeth in unconscious agitation. ¡®Odd taste on the female¡¯s part,¡¯ snorted Leo. ¡®Don¡¯t say that about Sekhmet!¡¯ Dominic snarled, feeling abruptly protective of his lioness. ¡®Well, it is ¨C you can¡¯t deny that.¡¯ ¡®Why shouldn¡¯t she like me? At least she knows that with me she won¡¯t be just another female to mate with,¡¯ Dominic growled at his companion. ¡®Which is exactly what I¡¯m talking about. Didn¡¯t you hear her explanation? One male, multiple females ¨C that¡¯s just what happens with lions. Wanting anything else is an odd taste. You¡¯re just confirming what I said.¡¯ ¡®Except that apparently Jenkins wants me too,¡¯ Dominic reminded the lion. Leo snorted again. ¡®Jenkins wants to try us both out ¨C find who is better. Guess who she¡¯ll probably choose in the end,¡¯ he said arrogantly. ¡®Yeah, not you,¡¯ Dominic retorted. ¡®Not with that attitude, anyway.¡¯ ¡®Not with yours either,¡¯ Leo returned. ¡®Females like a confident male, not a mess. Why do you think Selessa had such a better reaction to me?¡¯ he challenged. ¡®Let¡¯s face it, Brother. You¡¯ve got a problem with females. With women. You¡¯ve actually had better luck as a lion than you ever did as a human. What do you think it is? Leftover issues from your dam leaving you with someone who wasn¡¯t even your sire? Or were you simply a failure as a human male?¡¯ Though the lion sounded more curious than mocking, the words felt like they stabbed straight through Dominic. He felt tongue-tied, unable to respond, his own feelings a complete muddle. He felt that they¡¯d wandered far off the topic, but wasn¡¯t sure how to get back. Instead, he felt antsy and irritable. Hurt. Angry at Leo. And he knew one tried and tested way of solving that. Since the Place of Power still had more than three hours before the dungeon Core would be fully absorbed, he had enough time to rest for a bit ¨C and perhaps to get rid of these confusing emotions filling him. Lying down next to the Place of Power, he closed his eyes and dived into his mental space. It was only a moment after that that Leo materialised in the study. Dominic silently led the way into the savannah area. As soon as they were both clear of the study which, despite his current maelstrom of emotions, he still didn¡¯t want to damage, Dominic leapt onto his companion. His claws were mostly sheathed, his teeth biting but not hard enough to break through skin ¨C despite his irritation, he was pretty sure he didn¡¯t actually want to try to kill the companion who had been with him since the beginning of this whole thing. Leo eagerly responded, returning his attacks blow for blow, bite for bite. They snapped and snarled at each other, the irritation and resentment which had built between them since the last time they¡¯d wrestled now vented into a physical battle. When they both ran out of steam ¨C the process taking longer than previous times ¨C they collapsed into a heap together, not even needing to speak to confirm that they both wished to stop. Dominic shifted his wings so they wouldn¡¯t be crushed under him and then flopped onto his back against Leo¡¯s side. He looked up at the sky, at that perfect, cloudless blue which seemed as unreal as he knew the space really was. The quietness of the area around them, empty of insect sounds, was only another sign of the artificial nature of it all. Raising his paw in front of his face, Dominic flexed his claws so they slid out of their sheaths. The movement felt so natural, just like opening and closing his hand used to be. Concentrating, Dominic tried to shift into human form. It took a few moments, long enough that he feared he might not manage to do it anymore. In the end, he succeeded when he thought about what he liked as a human. About how hands made many things in life so much easier; how he missed being able to express himself with tones of voice and facial expressions. His body shimmered and then reformed. His back was still against Leo¡¯s side, his shoulders now only just about reaching the base of Leo¡¯s wings, his head resting against the feathery appendages. His hand was still raised in front of his face and Dominic again flexed it slightly, feeling the differences. And the similarities. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The lion shifted slightly, then grunted in surprise. ¡®I¡¯d thought you were bigger than that,¡¯ the lion remarked. ¡°I was,¡± Dominic responded. It was odd. His voice wasn¡¯t croaky or disused ¨C he guessed that being in a mental space made up for that. But it did feel odd to use his mouth to pronounce words rather than his mind to transmit them. ¡°Relatively speaking, anyway,¡± he continued, the strange feeling reducing as he spoke. ¡°We¡¯ve grown as a lion, but apparently it hasn¡¯t translated to my human form.¡± ¡®Huh,¡¯ The lion remarked curiously. ¡®Stand up.¡¯ ¡°Why?¡± complained Dominic, not moving. ¡°I¡¯m comfortable here.¡± ¡®And sometimes you manage to be a true lion,¡¯ Leo replied with playful humour, his mockery without the edge it had had before they¡¯d fought out their aggression. ¡®I want to see how big I¡¯ve got.¡¯ ¡°We¡¯ve got, you mean,¡± Dominic grumbled. ¡°I remember distinctly the fact that I was the one doing most of the work to get us to this point.¡± ¡®Yes, yes, whatever,¡¯ Leo responded impatiently. ¡®Now get up, would you?¡¯ So saying, he shifted from under Dominic, the human¡¯s slight weight nothing to the powerful lion. Dominic realised that though he hadn¡¯t stood much of a chance against the lion when he¡¯d been attacked that day in the safari park, right now, he would have no chance at all. Fortunately, Leo wasn¡¯t attacking him this time. Dominic wondered whether to give into the lion¡¯s demands and move, or to just stay there. With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. It wasn¡¯t as comfortable now that his backrest had moved anyway. ¡°Alright, what now?¡± Dominic asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. In reply, Leo just stepped forwards and stood in front of him, face to face. And it was face to face. Still standing on all four paws, Leo¡¯s nose wasn¡¯t quite level with Dominic¡¯s, but it was level with his chin which meant that the top of the lion¡¯s head was above his. Considering that the lion¡¯s nose had only been a bit higher than Dominic¡¯s waist when they¡¯d had their battle at level 10, that was a significant change. If the lion stood as high as he could on his back paws, he¡¯d probably be twice Dominic¡¯s height. Did that make Leo the equivalent of a polar bear now? Dominic suddenly felt uncomfortably vulnerable and had to stop himself from fidgeting, knowing that the predator would easily pick up on his nerves. ¡°Satisfied?¡± he almost snapped at Leo. ¡®Very,¡¯ the lion answered with pleasure, circling around Dominic. He surprised the human by nudging him in the back with his nose, hard enough to send the biped stumbling forwards. Dominic automatically reacted by whirling around, baring his teeth and growling, his paw coming forward to swipe at the lion¡¯s nose. No, not my paw, Dominic realised as his hand made contact with Leo¡¯s face, the blow doing nothing more than ruffling the lion¡¯s whiskers. Leo just rumbled happily, coming forward to rub his head against Dominic. The unintentional force behind the movement threatened to send the human stumbling again; he had to brace himself with all his strength to prevent himself from falling over. A moment later, the lion lay down again, flopping over onto his side. Dominic hesitated for a moment, but then decided that the comfort offered was worth the small risk of being attacked, lying down against the soft fur of Leo¡¯s belly. He considered switching bodies, but something inside said that he should spend at least a little time in his human form ¨C he didn¡¯t want to forget it completely. Lying back, looking at the sky, Dominic considered what Selessa had said. Her advice about the Place of Power, the different ways to increase its level, and finally, her words about the quest. ¡°Hey, Leo,¡± Dominic started. The lion rumbled quietly, announcing that he was paying attention. ¡°Selessa indicated that we completed a quest. Do you know anything about that?¡± ¡®No,¡¯ the lion answered unhelpfully. ¡®Wait. Yes. It came up in a notification during your first mating with the female.¡¯ ¡°It did?¡± Dominic asked, frowning. ¡°I don¡¯t remember that.¡± ¡®You got rid of the notification quickly. You were rather occupied at the time,¡¯ the lion said with smugness. Dominic twisted so he could glare at the lion, appreciating being able to physically do it. ¡°And you didn¡¯t think of telling me about it afterwards?¡± ¡®I forgot,¡¯ the lion said simply. ¡®Besides, I didn¡¯t see much of it before you dismissed it. Though now the female goddess has talked about it, I¡¯m pretty sure it said something about a ¡®quest¡¯.¡¯ Leo¡¯s voice got notably hungry at the mention of said goddess. ¡°Well, good to know now, I suppose,¡± Dominic sighed, ignoring his companion¡¯s unrealistic romantic inclinations. Leaning back again, he focussed on summoning up his most recent notifications. Scrolling down them mentally, he managed to find the one that he¡¯d missed. [You have made progress in the quest: Regain what is Lost] [Once two separate beings, now one. Find a way to reach equilibrium and make the sum greater than its parts -> You have fully engaged with one of your parts and have regained access to your other half. Fully engage with your other form and find an equilibrium to make your whole greater than its parts.] [Reward: Regain access to a new form upon your next Tier or Half-step Tier.] ¡°Does¡­does that mean that I¡¯ll be able to transform back into a human at level thirty?¡± Dominic asked almost in a whisper, barely able to believe his eyes. Those two quests had sat around on his status screen ever since level 1 without changing. It seemed crazy that it took mating with a lioness to make a difference. He quickly took a moment to check on the other quest. [Quest: A Noble Endeavour] [Gain personal strength. Conquer territory and control areas of power (Place of Power x1, Dungeon destroyed and captured x1). Fight off all who would take what is yours. Recruit or subjugate other beings to become your subjects (optional) (38 party Pride members, vassal x1, group surrender x1)] [Reward: A noble title of varying level with commensurate benefits upon reaching Tier 3.] While it was good to know that some of their efforts counted towards whatever rewards would be gained upon reaching Tier 3, nothing major seemed to have changed about the quest itself. Not like ¡°Regain what is Lost¡± had. And he still wondered why it was mating with Sekhmet which had made all the difference there. Unless it wasn¡¯t just the mating. Maybe it was a change in mindset which went deeper than just being willing to mate with a lioness. Perhaps the mating was just a symptom of far deeper changes. The truth was that Dominic had been appearing in his mental space in his lion body more and more frequently recently, sometimes not even noticing that he¡¯d done it until several minutes had gone by. He¡¯d appeared before Selessa as a lion rather than a human too, and hadn¡¯t even bothered to make the effort to change when he realised it. And then when Leo had nudged him with his nose, Dominic¡¯s automatic reaction had been to snarl back at him and clout him with his hand, not even realising that he didn¡¯t have either sharp teeth or a heavy paw to threaten him with. Maybe it was just all the little things added together to show how comfortable Dominic had become with his lion body. Because he was pretty sure that that was what ¡®fully engaged¡¯ meant ¨C Leo certainly hadn¡¯t grown any sort of appreciation for being human, after all. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ Leo answered his question after a long pause, his mental voice troubled. Chapter 12: Healing Cloud Since they still had a fair bit of time before the Place of Power would be ready, Dominic decided to do something that he really should have done earlier, and would have done if he hadn¡¯t kept getting distracted by Sekhmet: get Healing Cloud from Lionel. He¡¯d originally intended on getting the enhancement to the Pride¡¯s Prey Points first, but with only twelve points available, he needed to make a choice. And, unfortunately, considering that both Lionel and Fang would be leaving soon, the choice was clear. Heading over to where the two young males were lying, he saw them shift into a more wary position as he got closer. Then, abruptly, they visibly relaxed. Perhaps they saw Dominic¡¯s confusion in his body language as Fang explained. ¡®We thought it might be the other one.¡¯ ¡®Would you prefer him?¡¯ Dominic asked, more than half-jokingly. The immediate negative response made him grin mentally and poke at Leo. The lion grumbled grumpily, but declined to react further. Dominic supposed he could understand the young lions¡¯ reactions. Though he wasn¡¯t sure how he should feel about the evident fact that Leo¡¯s movements were so different from his own that his Pride members could tell them apart just by how they walked. Perhaps he should be pleased ¨C he and Leo were very different people and it was a relief that the closest to him of those around him recognised that. ¡®Yes, it¡¯s me,¡¯ Dominic confirmed. ¡®I¡¯m here to borrow Healing Cloud from Lionel.¡¯ The lion in question fixed him with a yellow gaze. ¡®Not take it,¡¯ Lionel said in a firm tone, though Dominic could hear the uncertainty behind it. ¡®No, not take it,¡¯ Dominic assured him, then hesitated. ¡®At least, not if it¡¯s already reached level five. Though I don¡¯t know how you¡¯d check that,¡¯ The lion just looked at him silently with uncomprehending eyes. Dominic shook his head. ¡®Nevermind. No, you shouldn¡¯t lose it, but even if you do, I will make sure you get it back as soon as possible.¡¯ After all, his next stop would be with Nyx to get Group Enhancement. Once he had that, even if by chance Lionel both didn¡¯t have Healing Cloud at level 5 and was also unlucky enough to lose it, Dominic could share his newly gained Healing Cloud with the young male until he got it back. Actually¡­. Accessing their Pride status, Dominic intentionally sought more information on Lionel than normal, looking to see the level of the Abilities he had. (Lionel: Pounce level 4, Healing Cloud level 7, Poison Cure level 3) ¡®You¡¯ll definitely keep the Ability,¡¯ Dominic told the young lion reassuringly, rather impressed that he¡¯d managed to get it to level 7 already. He¡¯d used it a lot, but it was still a significant achievement. It was sad that the young lion had chosen to go with his brother in the end ¨C Dominic gaining a level 1 Healing Cloud definitely wouldn¡¯t make up for Lionel¡¯s level 7 Ability. Not to mention his Poison Cure. ¡®OK,¡¯ Lionel said finally. ¡®What do?¡¯ ¡®Are you sure about this?¡¯ Fang asked anxiously, perhaps forgetting or not caring that Dominic could hear him. ¡®What if he takes it and doesn¡¯t give it back?¡¯ Lionel looked steadily at his brother. ¡®Not Leo. Dominic not do.¡¯ Then he looked back up at Dominic. ¡®What do?¡¯ he asked again calmly. A flood of mixed emotions went through Dominic at the young lion¡¯s faith in him ¨C belief that he was as good as his word. He wasn¡¯t sure if anyone had ever trusted him that much. Yes, most of his Pride had trusted him to a large extent to take them hunting, to bring them to this Place of Power, to take them into a dungeon. But this was a male lion who Leo had constantly been urging Dominic to kill or kick out of the Pride. One whose brother Leo had actually attempted to kill, and who had been all but exiled from the Pride unless he brought back his own group of lionesses or agreed not to mate with Leo¡¯s females. Lionel¡¯s trust was both heartening and humbling. ¡®Thank you for your trust,¡¯ Dominic said to Lionel earnestly, even as Leo scoffed in the back of his mind. ¡®Don¡¯t,¡¯ he warned Leo privately, the steel in his mental voice actually shutting the lion up for a moment. ¡®Don¡¯t insult this lion who, for all he knows, might lose his main Ability if I¡¯m lying to him. He¡¯s risking more for our benefit than you ever did.¡¯ ¡®I gave up control over our body to you!¡¯ the lion protested. ¡®Only because you saw that as the best option for us both,¡¯ Dominic reminded him. ¡®And you even said at the time that you will challenge me if you ever think that that has changed.¡¯ ¡®Because that¡¯s how things work!¡¯ exclaimed Leo. ¡®When the leader of the pride is no longer fit to do so, his rivals will come in to take over.¡¯ Dominic shook his head mentally. ¡®We are rivals, are we, brother?¡¯ Dominic demanded. The lion went silent in his mind, his presence feeling conflicted. ¡®Whatever. I don¡¯t have the time to have this discussion with you right now. Lionel is waiting to know what to do to move forwards. But right now, consider how he is not going to gain anything out of what he¡¯s offering. His Ability will empower me, technically his rival if he wants to go down that route. Heck, it¡¯s empowering you who he¡¯d almost definitely identify as a rival. But he¡¯s doing it because it will help his pride, his family. Chew on that for a bit.¡¯ Pulling himself out of the conversation, Dominic slammed up a mental wall between himself and the other being in his mind. The wall wouldn¡¯t last for long, but it was as clear a sign of ¡®I don¡¯t want to talk to you right now¡¯ as he could manage. Focussing in on the young lion that stood before him, he continued speaking in the Pride chat.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡®Sorry about that. Leo had¡­some words.¡¯ ¡®Unsurprised,¡¯ Lionel replied neutrally even as Fang huffed. ¡®As for what to do next, I¡¯m not entirely sure. When I gave an Ability to Sekhmet, I had to think of the Ability and imagine what it feels like to use it. Then I triggered the¡­the thing that enables me to share it. So perhaps this time you focus on Healing Cloud ¨C how it feels to use it, what you have to do to use it ¨C and then I will trigger the thing when you¡¯re ready.¡¯ The lion sent across a wordless sense of agreement and then visibly focussed. His eyes became more glazed and a faint golden sheen played across his sandy fur. He sent a sense of being ready through the Pride chat. Dominic pulled up the menu of Pride Enhancements and then selected Pride¡¯s Tribute, focussing on pulling Healing Cloud from Lionel. Five of his available Pride Points disappeared. A moment later, a shiver of warmth went through him at the same time as Lionel shuddered too. If it was like what Dominic had felt when he¡¯d given Sekhmet Powerful Swipe, he wasn¡¯t surprised ¨C he¡¯d felt as though a bucket of icy-cold water had washed through him. He¡¯d been fearful at the time that the cold was an indication that he¡¯d lost the Ability ¨C even though it should have been impossible since Powerful Swipe was already at level 5 ¨C but it wasn¡¯t. Now, seeing Lionel shudder too, Dominic wondered whether it was just an effect of the Enhancement. ¡®Can you still use Healing Cloud?¡¯ he checked with the younger male anxiously. With it being level 7, there shouldn¡¯t have been any risk, but this was the first time he¡¯d used Pride¡¯s Tribute¡­. The young lion looked thoughtful and then focussed. Golden dust quickly danced around his body. Lionel, in his usual fashion, chose not to say anything more than necessary and therefore let the appearance of the dust serve as his answer. ¡®Good,¡¯ Dominic said, letting out a breath of relief. ¡®So, how do you use this thing?¡¯ he wondered. Pulling up the description, he saw the details of the Ability for the first time. Healing Cloud (T2) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Generate a cloud of healing particles around your body. Higher levels of the Ability will extend the range of your healing. At level 1, your cloud can extend just beyond the tips of your fur. This cloud can only heal others it touches; it will not heal you. The cloud can be generated by your health or by your mana. At level 1, 1 MP will heal 10 HP for those within range of your Cloud. 1 HP of yours will heal 1 HP of those within range of your Cloud. Warning: you will die if you reach zero health. This Ability also offers an extension of your health pool which will be used before your personal health. This extension is based on the level of the Ability; at level 1 the extension is 50% of your health pool. Warning: this extension cannot be used to heal yourself and if you reach zero personal health, you will still die even if this extension is full. Having seen what happened to Lionel when using the Ability, Dominic was able to interpret the text better than he would have if he¡¯d gained it from a Core. The range was something he¡¯d already been expecting. He¡¯d seen how quickly that had changed from when Lionel had had to basically rub up against the ones he was trying to heal, to in the fight with the dungeon boss where he¡¯d been able to expand the cloud to cover the whole party even if they weren¡¯t directly touching him. They did have to be bunched up together, but it was a significant change nonetheless. The second bit about the extension also made sense. They¡¯d experienced just that in the fight with the final dungeon boss ¨C Lionel converting carcasses into golden dust which healed his Pride mates even better than the carcasses would have done on their own. But when he pushed it too far or didn¡¯t have enough caracasses available, he¡¯d looked like a lion on the point of starvation. That was potentially less of an issue for Dominic ¨C he had both Enhanced Regeneration and a storage space which Lionel hadn¡¯t for most of the time he¡¯d been their healer. ¡®And don¡¯t even think about asking me to take the storage bracelet back from Lionel,¡¯ Dominic thought firmly at Leo. ¡®He earned it fair and square.¡¯ ¡®I wasn¡¯t going to!¡¯ Leo protested. ¡®I know you wouldn¡¯t agree to it,¡¯ he grumbled quietly enough that Dominic wasn¡¯t sure whether he was supposed to hear it at all. It was interesting that it wasn¡¯t necessary to use mana, though it certainly seemed like a better ratio if he did ¨C his 15 MP would translate as 150 HP, which was almost half the size of the extension to his health pool given by the Ability. Still, the fact that he didn¡¯t have to use mana was good for Dominic since he currently didn¡¯t have much of it, but it was also good for others since it meant that there were no limits on who he could share the Ability with. Which was good, because Dominic wasn¡¯t really cut out to be the healer of the party ¨C there was no way that he was going to stay at the back as healers generally should. Any healing he¡¯d do would come after the fight. Though, Dominic did wonder whether Lionel had developed his mana pool first, and so that was why he¡¯d gained Healing Cloud, or whether Healing Cloud had opened up his mana pool. If it was the latter, it would be a priority to give as many of his followers the Ability as he could ¨C Dominic suddenly had visions of a Pride of magic-using lions, amesheks, and albuhas. They¡¯d take the savannah by storm¡­. But that was for the future. For now, he needed to make sure he was able to use the Ability at all. Focussing on activating Healing Cloud, Dominic suddenly felt an ache and saw his health bar start to decrease slowly as a golden cloud sparkled around him, its passage faintly stirring the hairs on his skin. Focussing on ending the Ability, he watched with interest as the golden cloud was absorbed back into his skin. He saw his health bar increase slightly, though not by as much as it had dipped. Still, his natural regeneration was enough to make up for that, fortunately. Pulling out a carcass from his storage space, Dominic absorbed it and watched with interest as a new section of his health bar appeared. It was golden in colour and, as the description had indicated, quickly grew to the size of approximately half again his full health bar. Creating another Healing Cloud, he watched as the golden bar started decreasing first. There was none of the ache he¡¯d felt before either. He ended the Ability, reabsorbing the golden dust. Interestingly, his own health bar did fill up a little, though the extra golden section didn¡¯t. Is that a way around the no self-healing limitation to this, I wonder? How long the golden section would remain was something else he¡¯d have to discover the answer to. Would it slowly be lost over time or now he had the extra juice in the tank, so to speak, was it there until he used it? ¡®Thank you for your help, Lionel,¡¯ Dominic said to the young lion, padding over to give him an affectionate head rub. ¡®This will definitely help our Pride members stay alive.¡¯ Lionel just sent a sense of intent and satisfaction through the Pride chat, as if that was exactly what he wanted to happen. ¡®We go now,¡¯ he said next. ¡®Not right this moment,¡¯ Fang interjected hurriedly. ¡®We want to say goodbye to our pride members. But then¡­¡¯ he hesitated and then huffed out another breath. ¡®Yes, we will go. We want to find our own females since we can¡¯t have any of these,¡¯ he said with a hint of defiance in his gaze as he looked at Dominic. The older lion didn¡¯t rise to the bait. ¡®Then I wish you luck and thank you for your contribution to the Pride so far.¡¯ Dominic hesitated too. ¡®I can¡¯t speak for Leo but¡­I hope to see you again. I won¡¯t kick you out of the Pride so you should still be able to use the Pride chat to communicate with each other. And us, perhaps, though you¡¯ll probably be out of range quickly enough. Not to mention continuing to benefit from increased Prey Points ¨C the way we get stronger. And remember, you can always come back, according to the rules we¡¯ve already discussed.¡¯ Stepping forwards, he butted heads with them, greeting and saying goodbye all in that moment. And then turning away, he headed towards Nyx, sad at the loss of two young lions who had already proved their worth to the Pride, hoping they might one day meet again as friends. Chapter 13: Nyx ¡®Nyx?¡¯ Dominic said, approaching the massive ameshek female. Though, Dominic was interested to note, she seemed just slightly smaller to their eyes than she used to be. Even though he hadn¡¯t chosen to increase his size recently, perhaps he¡¯d still grown a little. She was lying under the tree in the centre of the clearing, her chitin gleaming in the light of the sunlight dappling through the canopy above. Sirius and Procyon were lying near her head; they twisted around to look at Dominic¡¯s approach. Nyx, however, just twitched her stubby antennae towards him, showing that she was aware of his presence. ¡®Dominic,¡¯ Procyon greeted even as he and Sirius stood up and came to rub heads with the larger lion. After everything they had gone through together, the two amesheks had adopted some of the lions¡¯ mannerisms. Dominic noted with amusement that it wasn¡¯t that different from how he had picked up some leonine behaviour despite being human in origin. ¡®How are you both doing?¡¯ Dominic asked them warmly. ¡®Telling Nyx about our adventures?¡¯ ¡®Yep,¡¯ Sirius chirped happily. ¡®Though she doubts us that we faced water-beasts at least three times as long as we are. Tell her that we¡¯re being honest, would you please?¡¯ As if trying to keep his next words quiet, Sirius leant towards Dominic and huffed as close to his ear as he could. ¡®I¡¯m hoping that impressing her now might mean she gives me the best mating times during her next heat.¡¯ ¡®I can hear you,¡¯ Nyx rumbles with amusement, making Sirius jump a little. It was a testament to just how much Dominic had got used to ameshek body-language because he could tell by the quiver in his antennae that the other male was suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Nyx apparently decided not to dwell on it. ¡®Our illustrious leader evidently needs to speak to me. Go and rest both of you; eat. You can continue telling me of your adventures later.¡¯ Her slightly harsh words were belied by the tender way in which she nosed at both of them, brushing her antennae gently against their own in a caress which Dominic interpreted like one of his lionesses licking at his face. The two male amesheks returned the gesture and then brushed against Dominic in a wordless goodbye as they departed. Dominic found himself looking at Procyon as he left ¨C had his fur become even more like chitinous plates than it had been before? Then he shook his head, his mane ruffling around his ears, and lay down in front of Nyx. ¡®They weren¡¯t exaggerating ¨C there really were massive crocodiles infesting an underground lake,¡¯ he confided through Telepathy to ensure privacy. Nyx let out a huff which seemed to be a sound of amusement if the emotions she projected over the link were anything to go by. ¡®I believe you ¨C and them.¡¯ ¡®Then why did Sirius seem to think that I needed to back him up?¡¯ Dominic asked with a bit of confusion. ¡®I would not want him to become too convinced of his right to the prime times of my heat,¡¯ Nyx admitted with that same amusement. Dominic found that more than a little unfair, considering everything. And abruptly, he wondered whether it was just Nyx who held that opinion, or perhaps some of the lionesses as well. Then he remembered that Sekhmet had never turned him down for a round, and he immediately felt better. ¡®But I doubt that you came to speak to me about that. Tell me, what do you wish to discuss?¡¯ ¡®Group Enhancement,¡¯ Dominic declared, deciding that it was better to be straight with his vassal and increasingly friendly ally. ¡®I¡¯m interested in getting that from you. I notice that all of your amesheks have it ¨C is there a way for you to share it with me too?¡¯ He had the Pride Points for if he needed to use Pride Tribute a second time but if he could save those points, it would be all the better. And he had been curious for a while now about why all the amesheks had the same Abilities except for Nyx herself. Nyx was silent for a moment, but Dominic sensed that it was a considering silence rather than an immediately rejecting one. ¡®I do not think it would work,¡¯ Nyx said finally. ¡®Early on, I received a gift from the rock which sits at the centre of the territory. We were far less aware of ourselves at that time, but even then we knew that this was a place to protect; the rock a special object that only I should touch. The gift was an Ability which recognised that the strength of our pack is in our cooperation. The only use of that Ability was to ensure that all those within my pack could use the same attacks. It has had the cost that none of my pack has gained any Ability other than those I have already gained, but the sacrifice seemed worth the power it has offered my pack when we work together. It is for that reason that they all gained the Ability to enhance each other¡¯s attacks, increasing immensely the impact of our powerful cries for every additional pack member who joins in. ¡®I have never attempted to share it with one not of my kind. No longer the guardian of the rock, I do not know whether I can,¡¯ she finished thoughtfully. ¡®Would you be willing to try?¡¯ Dominic asked hopefully. It was rather interesting that the Ability Group Homogeneity seemed to come from the Place of Power. He wondered why that had been her reward when he¡¯d had such a different experience. Then again, maybe that was the difference between making a deal with the deity, and not. Or even the difference between being recognised or not by the System as a sapient being. Nyx didn¡¯t respond verbally, but he felt her concentrating. Dominic waited expectantly, but nothing seemed to be happening. After a little longer, Nyx relaxed again and her side of the link felt a little apologetic.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡®I am unable to sense you as a valid recipient of my Ability. It will not even let me give it to you as a potential for the next time you are due to receive an Ability.¡¯ He was a little disappointed, but maybe the failure was because he was the leader of the Pride ¨C maybe it could only be given to followers. Or perhaps because he was a chimera ¨C he had never received any Abilities automatically given by the System. Though what if it could be given to others of the Pride....? ¡®What about one of the lionesses? Like Sekhmet, for example. Are you able to give it to her? Or at least the potential for her to gain it later?¡¯ Once more Nyx concentrated hard before once more sending a sense of apology across the link between them. ¡®It appears that I can only share with others of my kind,¡¯ she explains. ¡®I know how it feels to share my Ability even with those who are not yet able to gain it ¨C I have already shared my newest defensive Ability with all my pack members, though they will not receive it until the next time they are due to receive one.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s fine,¡¯ Dominic dismissed, though he couldn¡¯t deny that he was disappointed. Then again, if the sacrifice was that they would only be able to have the same Abilities as Nyx, maybe it wasn¡¯t as good a solution as it seemed. Certainly, the ability of the lions to advance independently and to develop a range of Abilities had stood them in good stead, as his most recent acquisition of Healing Cloud had shown. Mentally sighing, he checked whether her level was high enough for him to be able to copy it with Pride¡¯s Tribute without endangering her grasp of it. (Nyx: Sonic Attack level 9, Group Homogeneity level 3, Group Enhancement level 5, Vibrating Body level 7, Pack Defence level 1) Fortunately, it was, though Dominic was a little surprised that she too had Skills at significantly higher levels than his own. Though perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be ¨C he had so many Abilities that he didn¡¯t necessarily use all of them all the time. It made sense that those with fewer Abilities would take them further than he could in the same amount of time. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s do this the way I was originally intending on doing it, then.¡¯ ***** Dominic checked the timer on the Place of Power again. Five minutes left. He huffed a little, glaring at the large chunk of obsidian. Five minutes wasn¡¯t enough time to do anything but wait, though his impatience wanted to say otherwise. After leaving Nyx, Dominic had given the lion control of their body for a bit. Leo had wandered around the Pride, mated with at least three lionesses who had just come into heat ¨C not Sekhmet who had threatened to attack him and asked for Dominic every time he approached ¨C and generally caught up with the others in a leonine way. When their following check in with the Place of Power had revealed two more hours left even after all of that, Leo had chosen to go for a quick patrol in the forest, clearly wanting to know whether any strange males had been lurking around. He¡¯d wanted to go further but Dominic had convinced him to return after some time. Leo had decided to give control back over to Dominic when they¡¯d seen that there were only ten minutes left. With his excitement over soon learning what would happen once the Place of Power had fully processed the dungeon Core, Dominic found that the minutes were crawling by like hours. Only two minutes had elapsed since the last time he¡¯d checked, but he¡¯d been sure that he¡¯d been waiting for at least fifteen! He felt reminded of every time he installed something on a computer and time seemed to warp. Ten minutes left¡­five minutes left¡­three minutes left¡­two hours left¡­. With nothing else to do, Dominic found his thoughts wandering to what Leo had said about him being extra antagonistic towards Selessa. That wasn¡¯t right, was it? The goddess was a far more powerful being than him; she¡¯d said that herself. Wasn¡¯t it only natural to be wary of her? To question her ¡®gifts¡¯? She had tried to trick him before, so why trust her now? If he hadn¡¯t been suspicious at the start, he¡¯d have had no idea that she wasn¡¯t who she said she was. Then again, she¡¯d also made it clear that she needed him and the Place of Power, and that her deception had been for good reason. The first aspect, Dominic had little reason to doubt ¨C if she didn¡¯t need him, he doubted she¡¯d waste her time on a being as weak as he was. So was he being over-suspicious? He didn¡¯t want to consider whether Leo had had a point with suggesting that he might have ¡®mummy issues¡¯ but¡­well. Dominic couldn¡¯t deny that there was still a well of hurt within him over what she had done. His dad had done a really awesome job ¨C especially considering that he wasn¡¯t even Dominic¡¯s biological father. The fact that he¡¯d been abandoned by his sperm-donor had been largely assuaged by the very obvious evidence that his dad had not only loved him, but had chosen to do so. But his mother¡­no one had ever filled that hole. His aunt had tried, but she¡¯d lived too far away and hadn¡¯t really been maternal enough. Worse, though, was how his mother had got his hopes up time and time again, only to repeatedly prove herself selfish and narcissistic in the end. Every time, he¡¯d regretted giving her the opportunity to hurt him again, yet¡­he hadn¡¯t been able to stop himself from hoping that maybe this time¡­. Dominic pushed the memories away, Leo thankfully staying silent if he was paying any attention at all. Maybe he really was being more mistrustful of Selessa than he should be. She wasn¡¯t his mother. She might be a powerful being who he¡¯d allowed to have some measure of authority over him, but she needed him at least as much as he needed her, regardless of how their relationship had started. Maybe it would be better to consider her like¡­one of the lionesses. Not that she was part of his Pride ¨C and Dominic was pretty sure Leo wasn¡¯t listening because otherwise he¡¯d have had something to say about that ¨C but his Pride depended on him leading them to help them to become strong. Apparently, so did Selessa. Perhaps he should give her the benefit of the doubt ¨C if she lied to him again and he found out about it then he could justify mistrusting her again. But if she was honest with him going forward¡­.. Everyone deserved to have a second chance. Feeling slightly lighter for having made a decision, Dominic pushed himself to his feet again and checked the Place of Power. This time, the notification that appeared was different. Excitement rising within him, Dominic checked it. [A Place of Power under your control has finished processing: F-Grade Savannah Plains Abandoned Temple dungeon Core. The following gains have been processed: Level 1 -> Level 2 (progress 83%) 2 x dungeon seed Cores spawned in the area of influence of the Place of Power 1 x Special benefit (all beings within the area of Influence of the Place of Power) 1 x Special benefit (all recognised affiliated denizens and owner only) 1 x Special benefit (owner only) 1 x Special benefit of choice Choose your special benefit?] Chapter 14: Special Benefit Dominic read through the list, his heart beating fast. Having two dungeons spawn in the local area was very good. Considering how useful that one dungeon had been both to him when it was still G-Grade and to his party at F-Grade, he was looking forward to being able to send groups of his Pride into the two newly created ones. ¡®Actually, would it be possible to take their Cores and add them to the Place of Power, levelling it up and spawning new ones?¡¯ he wondered. ¡®What if it just absorbs the Core and doesn¡¯t give any benefits?¡¯ Leo questioned. ¡®Oh, welcome back,¡¯ Dominic told him a little sarcastically ¨C the lion had apparently skipped all of the boring waiting and had only tuned back in for the fun part. ¡®And that is a concern,¡¯ he admitted, redirecting his thoughts. ¡®Perhaps we can ask Selessa,¡¯ Leo suggested with badly-hidden eagerness. ¡®You just want to have another opportunity to flirt with her, don¡¯t you?¡¯ accused Dominic. Leo apparently decided not to dignify that with an answer as he stayed silent. Dominic sighed as he considered how it actually might be a pretty good idea. If the strategy he¡¯d just considered was a good one, it would benefit them both so Selessa should have no compunctions in telling him whether it should work or not. Resolving to do that the next time he got a chance, Dominic looked at the rest of the notification. It was annoying that it didn¡¯t tell him what the special benefits were, but having four of them had to be great, right? Avoiding mentally consenting to the question at the end, Dominic focussed on the first special benefit ¨C the one which affected all residents of the area. Asking for more information, he was pleased when a more detailed explanation replaced that line of text. [1 x Special benefit (all beings within the area of Influence of the Place of Power: Due to the nature of the dungeon Core, +10% to hydration and satiation from relevant sources while within the influence of the Place of Power.] ¡®Interesting,¡¯ Dominic commented. ¡®Though not particularly useful,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Not considering we still have to kill creatures to gain Prey Points. We haven¡¯t suffered from a lack of food since the beginning of the System.¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic acknowledged. ¡®But it reduces the need, at least. Prey Points are arguably optional ¨C eating and drinking aren¡¯t.¡¯ ¡®Except that if we don¡¯t keep up with the creatures around us in level and ability we¡¯ll end up losing everything,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯ve been telling me all along?¡¯ ¡®Yes, and I¡¯m not denying it,¡¯ Dominic refuted. ¡®All I¡¯m saying is that in the worst-case scenario, we¡¯d be able to survive longer than those around us, maybe long enough to come up with a solution to whatever is causing the famine or drought.¡¯ Leo huffed. ¡®Let us hope it doesn¡¯t come to that,¡¯ he said grimly, memories teasing at Dominic¡¯s mind of stomach-eating hunger, and throat-drying thirst. ¡®Agreed,¡¯ was all Dominic said. It was odd to think that they¡¯d been given a benefit which he had to hope they¡¯d never need. Hoping the next benefit would be more immediately useful, he checked for more information about it. [1 x Special benefit (all recognised affiliated denizens and owner only): Due to the nature of the dungeon Core, all recognised affiliated denizens and the owner will receive a +10% to attack and defence when fighting in a savannah, a jungle, a dungeon, or a temple. When fighting inside a dungeon, these bonuses can stack. This benefit will apply permanently while within the influence of the Place of Power or for up to 40 hours after departure from the area of influence.] ¡®Well, I got my wish, I suppose,¡¯ Dominic commented. ¡®Ten percent extra attack and defence could make a big difference, especially since it applies to the whole Pride. It even extends beyond the Place of Power, though the duration is limited. Understandable, I suppose.¡¯ ¡®It only applies when fighting on certain types of terrain,¡¯ Leo reminded him. Dominic sent him the feeling of a shrug. ¡®Well, everything around us is either jungle or savannah, so I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s a problem.¡¯ ¡®Isn¡¯t it? Are we in a forest or a jungle?¡¯ Leo asked pointedly. ¡®From your memories there appears to be a difference between the two.¡¯ Dominic hesitated for a moment. ¡®True,¡¯ he admitted hesitantly. ¡®I guess we¡¯ll just have to test it ¨C attack something and see what the damage dealt really is. But we¡¯re surrounded by savannah, you can¡¯t argue that.¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Leo agreed. ¡®Though there aren¡¯t many temples around here. Not unless we make one to Selessa. Actually,¡¯ he continued thoughtfully, ¡®she might like that. Do you think that might be enough to get her to join our Pride?¡¯ Dominic sent the lion a mental eyeroll. ¡®I doubt it.¡¯ Though he had to admit that the goddess might indeed like it, he was a little uneasy with the idea. ¡®Moving on, at least there are going to be two dungeons around here.¡¯ ¡®If we can find them, and you don¡¯t feed their Cores to the Place of Power,¡¯ Leo argued, seemingly determined to have the last word. Dominic decided to let him ¨C he was much more interested in finding out about the next special benefit; the one only for them. [1 x Special benefit (owner only): Due to the particular residue left in the dungeon Core processed, each level-up performed in the area of influence of the Place of Power will have a healing and strengthening effect on the owner¡¯s Mana Heart and Soul. A greater effect will be accomplished if the owner decides to enhance his Mana Heart or Soul during this level up.] ¡®Yes!¡¯ Dominic practically shouted, a pleased rumble sounding in his chest and making him vibrate. ¡®Finally! Lightning Discharge and Flash Step, here I come!¡¯ It had felt like he¡¯d had magic dangled in front of his nose only to have most of its capabilities snatched away before he could take advantage of them. And yes, he¡¯d considered putting enhancements into his Mana Heart and Soul to build them up enough that they would be functional despite the damage, but it just hadn¡¯t seemed worth it. Why pour level after level¡¯s worth of enhancements into the two just to bring them up to baseline. Not when he could enhance something which was already strong like his speed, his natural weaponry, or his wonderful regeneration. Or, more recently, his beautiful wings. Things that would have an immediate benefit on his ability to fight and survive. Now, though¡­. With the hope that the two aspects would be healed, he was more willing to entertain the idea of dedicating some enhancements to them. Especially since it seemed to indicate that he would get them back to baseline faster if he actually chose to enhance them on level-up. ¡®It only applies to level-ups in the area of influence of the Place of Power,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®How likely is it that we¡¯re going to be here for that?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t be such a pessimist, Leo,¡¯ Dominic scolded him, too elated to want to hear any negativity. ¡®Anyway, we can choose when we level up. So we can always delay it until we come back here.¡¯You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡®Unless we¡¯re almost out of health,¡¯ Leo argued. This time Dominic actually growled at him. ¡®Well obviously. But come on Leo ¨C this is a hope we didn¡¯t have before. Don¡¯t be such a grump for at least a short time. Please!¡¯ The lion grumbled wordlessly, but subsided. Dominic shook his head, his mane tickling his ears. He didn¡¯t know why his companion was suddenly being so negative about it. Actually, he¡¯d been negative about magic before too. Did he have something against it? Dominic waited to see if Leo would respond to that thought but when he replied with stony silence, Dominic decided to move on. They still had the benefit to pick and now that he knew what they¡¯d already been given, he felt he was in a much better position to do so. ¡®Show special benefit choice,¡¯ Dominic told the notification in front of him. The words disappeared and then reformed. [Special benefit choice: - Spell Forge - Ability Forge - Aspect Forge] ¡®Well, that¡¯s informative,¡¯ Dominic complained sarcastically. Fortunately, he was able to get more information on each of them. [Spell Forge: Add spells to the Forge and combine them to create different spells. More advanced versions of the Spell Forge offer features such as: testing combinations before committing to them; suggesting the likelihood of certain spells being compatible; choosing the aspects of each component desired in the final product; allowing other affiliated beings to add spells; allowing other affiliated beings to learn spells; and more. Warning: entering a spell into the Spell Forge removes it from your spellbook. Committing to a combination of spells may result in all components being damaged or lost.] [Ability Forge: Add Abilities to the Forge and combine them to create different Abilities. More advanced versions of the Ability Forge offer features such as: testing combinations before committing to them; suggesting the likelihood of certain Abilities being compatible; choosing the aspects of each component desired in the final product; allowing other affiliated beings to add Abilities; allowing other affiliated beings to imprint Abilities; and more. Warning: entering an Ability into the Spell Forge removes it from your Ability list. Committing to a combination of Abilities may result in all components being damaged or lost.] [Aspect Forge: Add Aspects to the Forge and combine them to create different Aspects. More advanced versions of the Aspect Forge offer features such as: testing combinations before committing to them; suggesting the likelihood of certain Aspects being compatible; choosing the aspects of each component desired in the final product; allowing other affiliated beings to add Aspects; allowing other affiliated beings to absorb Aspects; and more. Warning: entering an Aspect into the Aspect Forge removes it from your physical body which can have serious consequences. Committing to a combination of Aspects may result in all components being damaged or lost.] It was a lot of information, though much of it seemed to be the same within each ¡®Forge¡¯. It made sense considering they all seemed to be different variations of the same benefit. Overall, Dominic was cautiously excited. He¡¯d already experienced the effect of combined Abilities ¨C Majestic, Sonic Roar, Venomous Acidic Bite and Sharp Bite Attack were all combinations of several Abilities. Those had been offered to him on level-ups because of the compatibility of the Abilities in question. All but Pride Attack had obviously been improved by the combination. Pride Attack had been changed in a way which was more beneficial for those around him at the cost of making it less beneficial for him personally, but that could be argued as bringing the Ability more in line with its name. Ability Forge appeared to essentially do the same thing, but manually and with more risk. It didn¡¯t escape his notice that the warning indicated that the attempt at combination could be a net loss and that the Abilities themselves were at risk. On the other hand, it also implied some more customisation of Abilities when the Forge got upgraded and he could always go hunting to get lost Abilities back ¨C the more common ones, anyway. Spell Forge was interesting in the sense that combining spells could be a powerful thing. It¡¯s main issue was that he simply didn¡¯t have the spells to combine, and seemed unlikely to do so anytime soon. Besides, even if he did get more, there was no guarantee that they would combine nicely. As for Aspect Forge, Dominic struggled to see how that might work. So, what, if he put his Teeth and Claws into the Forge, could he end up with teeth and claws that both did as much damage as the sum of the two? Or would he lose his claws to only have his teeth which did the damage of both? What about if he combined his tail and teeth? He might end up with a tail that offered a bite attack¡­or a mouth full of fur. He made a face at the idea. And some things would be plain deadly. Putting his Brain, bones or muscles in there would probably kill him instantly. Frankly, Ability Forge looked made for him. Even without the possible later features that were mentioned it could be very useful ¨C he¡¯d collected so many Abilities that combining them would be great. And now that he had Group Enhancement, he could offer the different members of the Pride the opportunity to learn his Abilities. Of course, some of those later features looked good, especially the ones that offered a prediction of whether a combination would be successful or not or allowed him to test combinations. Wondering whether he could get any more information about the features, Dominic concentrated on them and then asked for information. [Your Forge can be expanded and developed as your Place of Power increases in level.] Not hugely informative, but at least it gave Dominic the knowledge that the Forge¡¯s progress was linked to the Place of Power and wasn¡¯t something he had to work on independently. He hoped that the features would be a choice on level-ups rather than chosen for him, but he guessed he¡¯d just have to wait and find out. ¡®So, do you agree that Ability Forge is our best choice?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo who had been quiet during the whole process. ¡®I haven¡¯t said anything against it, have I?¡¯ the lion replied, still sounding a little testy. ¡®Well, I didn¡¯t know if you were listening in. What¡¯s your deal, anyway?¡¯ Dominic demanded. ¡®Have you got something against magic?¡¯ The lion was silent for long enough that Dominic was giving up on him answering. ¡®It¡¯s just¡­you seem to have some sort of desire for it that supersedes any other desires,¡¯ Leo said finally. ¡®I don¡¯t understand the appeal and I fear that you will do something stupid again with it.¡¯ ¡®That was one time, Leo,¡¯ Dominic said, exasperated. ¡®Yes, I was impatient, I get it. But I didn¡¯t understand the risks then. Now I know better. I¡¯m not going to put us in danger again. Besides, I thought we agreed to stop talking about that incident!¡¯ ¡®But what if your desire to store up level-ups so that we can use them here impacts our survival?¡¯ the lion fretted. ¡®Or the survival of our females.¡¯ Ah. Dominic thought that they might have got to the root of the issue. ¡®I have no intention of endangering the Pride,¡¯ he reassured the lion. ¡®If we need to use the level-up to get stronger to face whatever opponent we have, then we will do so. And I¡¯m not going to let our Pride get hurt because of it. But consider how the lionesses might react if we become a magic lion?¡¯ ¡®You think they might like that?¡¯ Leo asked, perking up a little. ¡®Well, if we become able to call down lightning from the skies to smite our foes from a distance, why wouldn¡¯t they?¡¯ Dominic asked, going off what he¡¯d learned about the lionesses apparently being turned on by strength. ¡®That¡¯s a surprisingly good point,¡¯ Leo admitted thoughtfully. Dominic tried not to feel offended at his surprise. He failed. ¡®Very well, as long as you do not endanger our females in your desire to gain magic, I will support you in this,¡¯ he decided. Dominic was just glad that he sounded a lot less grumpy than he did earlier. ¡®Good. And so, Ability Forge?¡¯ ¡®Yes, I agree that it¡¯s the only option for us now,¡¯ Leo answered. ¡®Now let¡¯s get on with it so we can start earning more Prey Points for our next level up.¡¯ Dominic considered with amusement how Leo had done a complete 180 in the last couple of minutes, just because he was now convinced that doing magic would make him more attractive. Then again, that had always been where his priorities lay. He decided not to remind the lion that they technically were earning Prey Points from the Place of Power every hour that went past. Though it was unfortunate that it appeared they only earned the Points when within the area of influence ¨C there hadn¡¯t been any retroactive Points awarded when they entered the forest area. Choosing the Ability Forge, Dominic watched as the writing in front of his face cleared and then reformed into the status screen of the Place of Power. Of course, it was greatly changed. [Place of Power ownership: Dominic Martin Cole / Leo Status: Active ¨C Unlocked Level 2 (progress 83%) Benefits: All denizens: +10% to hydration and satiation from relevant sources while within the influence of the Place of Power. Affiliated denizens: +10% to attack and defence when fighting in a savannah, a jungle, a dungeon, or a temple. Owner: +10% to attack and defence when fighting in a savannah, a jungle, a dungeon, or a temple; healing and strengthening effect to Mana Heart and Soul upon level-up within the area of influence of the Place of Power. Area: 42.8 km2 (0.2 km2/day, 5%) Owner: (10%) Recognised (affiliated) denizens: 39 (40%) Recognised (unaffiliated) denizens: 120 (5%) Unrecognised denizens: 1629 (35%) Deity ¡®Selessa¡¯: (5%) 272 PP/hour Specialities: Ability Forge (level 1)] Not only had the benefits been added, but it was clear that the level up had made a noticeable difference to both the speed that the Place of Power could expand its influence, and the number of Prey Points it offered the denizens every day. The speed had doubled and the number of Prey Points had almost done the same. Working it out, Dominic figured that he¡¯d accrue over six hundred points in a day. He quickly summoned up his progress to the next level. Progress to Evolution: 362/991 PP Even though he¡¯d only been in the forest for a few hours, he¡¯d already earned over fifty Prey Points. Excitement went through him again at the thought that before he had to leave to meet the elves back at the original dungeon site, he should have been able to level up again ¨C and would be able to see the impact of the new benefit the Place of Power offered. But first, he was far too curious about what the Ability Forge offered. Focussing on that entry in the Place of Power information, the screen in front of his eyes shifted and changed. Chapter 15: Ability Forge [Ability Forge (level 1) Components entered: None Combinations discovered: None Combine components: Please choose components. See list of components available to be entered?] It was pretty bare-bones. But that was to be expected considering it was both new and only level 1. Since the first step was obviously to add components, Dominic agreed to see the list of available ones. [Quick Strike (T0) Second Wind (T1) Crushing Bite (T0) Pride Attack (T1) Pounce (T0) Powerful Swipe (T1) Rapid Attack (T0) Sharp Bite Attack (T1) Sure Feet (T0) Venomous Acidic Bite (enhanced) (T2) Enhanced Stamina (T0) Momentous Charge (T2) Majestic Sonic Roar (T3) Airborne (T2) Easy Landing (T0) Tail Strike (T1) Spatial Awareness (T0) Hypnotise (T1) Temperature Tolerance (T2) Mapping (T2) Rage (T1) Bleed (T1) Enhanced Fertility (T0) Fleet Foot (T0) Flash Step (T2) Camouflage (T1) Healing Cloud (T2) Group Enhancement (T2) Rending Bite 34%* Bloodied Stalwart 40%* Rock Skin 10%* Spike Attack 24%* Enhanced Scales 75%* Loose Skin 5%* Poisonous Spikes 13%* Projectile Vomit 48%* Hop 1%* Extended Jump 56%* Enhanced Accuracy 24%* Intimidating Hoot 36%* Tribute 11%* Fearful Howl 70%* Soaring Glide 34%* Champion 30%* Poison Cloud 100% Gore 48%* Charge 36%* Burrow 42%* Ambush 21%* Death Roll 44%* Extended Breath 66%* Quick Snap 22%* Famine 22%* Add Abilities] ¡®You know, I hadn¡¯t realised just how many Abilities we have until I saw them like this,¡¯ ruminated Dominic. ¡®We don¡¯t have all those Abilities,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®At least half of them are in the course of being acquired.¡¯ ¡®I realised that,¡¯ Dominic told him with a bit of exasperation. ¡®What, you think I¡¯m likely to forget exactly which Abilities we can call upon and which we can¡¯t? But even so, we have¡­twenty-eight Abilities already? Maybe being able to combine a few of them is a good idea ¨C to shorten the list a little and allow for more flexible Abilities.¡¯ ¡®As long as the combinations are better than what we currently have,¡¯ Leo warned him. ¡®Better to have some Abilities we barely use than risk damaging the Abilities we rely upon.¡¯ ¡®I wasn¡¯t planning on being reckless,¡¯ Dominic responded, a little defensively. ¡®I¡¯d only combine Abilities which look like they¡¯d be good fits. Like maybe Rapid Attack and Quick Strike. If we could combine the ability to attack fast with the ability to attack more frequently, that could be pretty powerful.¡¯ ¡®True, I suppose,¡¯ Leo granted begrudgingly. ¡®But better to experiment with something less important; we don¡¯t know how this Forge works. Have you noticed that it¡¯s showing Abilities we haven¡¯t earned yet?¡¯ ¡®Yes ¨C with a percentage and a star next to each of them.¡¯ Focussing on the star, Dominic asked the system for more information about it. [Partially earned Abilities can be stored, collected and used in the Ability Forge, however, a sufficient combined percentage must be reached in order to transform them into a full Ability. Warning: because they are partial Abilities, the fragments may not contain the whole of the Ability.] ¡®A sufficient percentage must be reached¡­I assume it means a hundred percent. Why couldn¡¯t it have just said that?¡¯ Dominic asked, exasperated. ¡®Unless it doesn¡¯t mean that. We were able to combine fragments with an Ability before to transform it, after all. And what¡¯s up with that warning?¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t comment on the ¡®sufficient percentage¡¯, but that the fragments would not carry the whole Ability would make sense to me if it is not complete,¡¯ Leo told him. ¡®Sure, but what does that mean in practical terms?¡¯ Dominic asked him. ¡®Like, say we were talking about Quick Strike and only had twenty percent towards it. What would that twenty percent look like? I don¡¯t remember exactly what it was at level one, but say it offered thirty percent speed for three Stamina Points, would twenty percent of it only offer six percent increased speed for three Stamina Points, or six percent speed for less than one Stamina Point?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ Leo replied after a long moment. ¡®Perhaps we should experiment to find out?¡¯ he suggested. ¡®And only with Abilities we don¡¯t actually want, mind,¡¯ he added quickly. Dominic sent a mental eye roll at him. He knew he didn¡¯t always make the best decisions, but he wasn¡¯t generally that reckless. That was more Leo¡¯s side of things. ¡®No it¡¯s not!¡¯ the lion protested. ¡®Fang,¡¯ Dominic told him pointedly. ¡®That wasn¡¯t reckless,¡¯ Leo argued. ¡®That was dealing with a threat to our Pride.¡¯The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡®In the worst possible manner,¡¯ Dominic told him. ¡®Anyway, no point in getting into that.¡¯ A thought suddenly occurred to him about ways of hedging his bets in the future. Wanting to check if it would work, Dominic focussed on Group Enhancement in the list, hoping that it would come up with the details of the Ability. His wish was granted as the list expanded to allow for the text of Group Enhancement to appear, like it did in his status. Group Enhancement (T2) level 1 (0% to level 2) ¨C Numbers are strength. Increase the effectiveness of a single Ability shared by multiple members of your group, or share a single one of your Abilities with a single other member of your group. The cost using Group Enhancement is double the normal cost of the chosen Ability. The duration of either effect is decreased by the difference between your selected Ability¡¯s level and the level of your target/s¡¯s Ability, and increased by the Ability level of Group Enhancement. If the creature the Ability is shared with increases the level of the Ability while the effect is active, they will keep the Ability permanently. ¡®What are you thinking?¡¯ Leo asked curiously, clearly sensing that he had something in mind, but not exactly what. ¡®I¡¯m thinking that we might be able to create something like a ¡®save point¡¯.¡¯ ¡®A save point?¡¯ Leo asked, mystified, then apparently he accessed Dominic¡¯s memories as sudden understanding crashed over from his side of their shared mind. ¡®Oh! You mean share our Abilities first?¡¯ ¡®Exactly,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®Say we want to experiment with¡­Quick Strike. If we make sure that at least one of the Pride members has it ¨C which, in fact, multiple of them do ¨C then we don¡¯t have to worry about the Ability Forge chewing it up. We can just get it back from our Pride member if necessary.¡¯ ¡®For the cost of Pride Points,¡¯ Leo noted. ¡®Yes, which isn¡¯t ideal, but it¡¯s a good backup. And if we can pass on Group Enhancement so that they could share the Ability with us later if necessary¡­.¡¯ ¡®Then we don¡¯t even need to spend the Pride Points,¡¯ Leo finished with a hint of approval. ¡®It¡¯s not a bad idea, though one which will take time to come to fruition and would also require work to level the Ability up again. And we will have to be careful with our Abilities even so. We don¡¯t want to give an Ability to someone who might be a threat.¡¯ Dominic just knew he wouldn¡¯t agree to sharing the Abilities with any male lions, and he suspected that Leo might consider some of the non-lions to be ¡®threats¡¯ too. Dominic¡¯s own concern was with something else. ¡®We might have to be careful with some Abilities which really used our Chimera aspect too. I don¡¯t know what would happen if we tried to share something like Venomous Acidic Bite, for example. Perhaps those without both acid and venom wouldn¡¯t be able to even use it at all, but, more importantly, we wouldn¡¯t want it poisoning or eating away at our Pride members because they don¡¯t have any resistance to the Ability they¡¯re trying to use.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s a disturbing idea,¡¯ Leo commented seriously. ¡®I don¡¯t think we should risk it.¡¯ ¡®Honestly, I agree. So perhaps we can¡¯t use this save point strategy with all Abilities. Anyway, it will take time to put into practice, time we don¡¯t have right now. Especially not since we still need to visit the kesh. Which, if all goes well, will give us more Pride Points to play with too.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re not thinking about adding those primates to our Pride, are you?¡¯ Leo asked, dismayed. ¡®I¡¯m considering it,¡¯ Dominic replied. ¡®Arguably, with enough Points, we could use Lion¡¯s Generosity to give the Ability, and then Pride¡¯s Tribute to get it back if necessary, forgoing the need to use Group Enhancement at all. But that¡¯s probably a bit wasteful with our Pride Points,¡¯ he noted reflectively. ¡®No. No, we¡¯re not doing it,¡¯ Leo replied adamantly. ¡®Let¡¯s talk about it later,¡¯ Dominic suggested placatingly. ¡®Those are future concerns. For now, let¡¯s see how this whole thing works before we try to plan how to use it most effectively and efficiently.¡¯ He looked down the list and tried to identify what might have a good compatibility and also wouldn¡¯t matter too much if he messed them up. ¡®How about Intimidating Hoot and Fearful Howl?¡¯ ¡®Why those?¡¯ Leo asked curiously, apparently willing to let the previous discussion go ¨C for now. ¡®Well, they¡¯re both vocalisations, they both seem to be linked to fear, and if we lose them, it¡¯s not the end of the world. We already have an Ability which does much of the same and if we mess up, we might be able to get Fearful Howl from the albuhas through other means. And if we integrate the kesh into the Pride,¡¯ Dominic slipped in slyly, ¡®Then we could also get Intimidating Hoot again. Which means that this is practically risk-free! Plus, adding them together makes over a hundred percent so that should be ¡®sufficient¡¯ percentage.¡¯ ¡®And if it works? What¡¯s the point of having an Ability we¡¯re not going to use?¡¯ Dominic shrugged at him mentally. ¡®This is a test. Worst case scenario, we see how this whole thing works to better use it next time with something that¡¯s actually useful. Best case, we have an Ability which is different enough from Majestic Sonic Roar to be useful. And it¡¯s possible that it might combine with Majestic Sonic Roar on our next level up, enhancing that one further. Besides, even if we don¡¯t find the resulting Ability useful, others might. Honestly, I don¡¯t see that we have anything to lose for just trying this. Do you?¡¯ There was silence for a long moment before Leo admitted that he couldn¡¯t find any good reason not to try it. Since they were both in agreement, Dominic mentally selected Intimidating Hoot and Fearful Howl. They were each highlighted in a faint blue colour which Dominic guessed was meant to indicate that they had been chosen. Mentally selecting the ¡®Add Abilities¡¯ option at the end, the list disappeared from before his eyes. A new notification flashed up in its place. [You have chosen to add (fragment) Abilities to your Ability Forge: Intimidating Hoot; Fearful Howl. Do you wish to continue? Warning: Abilities added to the Ability Forge are removed from your capabilities while they are in the Ability Forge. Uncombined Abilities can be returned to your capabilities later.] ¡®Yes, continue,¡¯ he told the notification. The message dissolved, to be replaced by the original Ability Forge status even as a cold shiver went through him. He scanned the text, noting the differences. [Ability Forge (level 1) Components entered: Intimidating Hoot 36%*; Fearful Howl 70%* Combinations discovered: None Combine components: Please choose components. See list of components available to be added?] Closing the Ability Forge temporarily, Dominic called up his own status, mentally scrolling down until he could see his list of Abilities waiting to be acquired fully. Sure enough, Fearful Howl and Intimidating Hoot were now both absent from his list. It was what he¡¯d been expecting, but he¡¯d wanted to know for sure. Returning to the Ability Forge, he found it unchanged. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s find out how to combine components,¡¯ he said to Leo absently. Fortunately, the process was as intuitive as the rest of the System manipulations ¨C he just had to focus on adding each of the two Abilities to the ¡®Combine components¡¯ section. ¡®Combine components?¡¯ he said to the Ability Forge hesitantly. [You have chosen to combine (fragment) Abilities: Intimidating Hoot; Fearful Howl. The percentage of each fragment is sufficient for combination. Do you wish to continue? Warning: The combination of Abilities is irreversible. Abilities may be improved or damaged as a result of combination. Combination results may not be as expected.] The warning wasn¡¯t anything more than he¡¯d expected ¨C it was much the same as when he was offered the option to combine Abilities on level-up. ¡®Yes, continue.¡¯ [Abilities in the course of being combined. Estimated processing time: 02:00] The timer started counting down. Though it was only two minutes, they felt like almost the longest two minutes of Dominic¡¯s life. Almost, because the minutes where Leo had been eating his guts when they first met had felt far longer. Though, this time he didn¡¯t even start a conversation with Leo ¨C he didn¡¯t want them to be distracted. So they just waited in silence watching the seconds tick away. Finally, the timer hit zero. [The selected Abilities have been combined. Result: Fearful Voice (T1)] Dominic was curious and asked for more information. [Fearful Voice (T1): Use a vocalisation to spread fear among those who hear it. Those who are susceptible to the effect will see the user as stronger and more powerful than they actually are and may hesitate in an attack or choose to flee.] ¡®Well, that looks pretty good, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ he asked Leo, feeling pleased. ¡®Majestic Roar already does all of that and more,¡¯ the lion pointed out. ¡®It doesn¡¯t even offer a stun effect or anything like that.¡¯ ¡®Well, I don¡¯t think either of the original Abilities offered that,¡¯ Dominic said. ¡®At least, we didn¡¯t experience that either in the fight with the albuhas or the kesh. But the effect of our opponent seeing us as stronger than we are is something Majestic Sonic Roar doesn¡¯t offer ¨C we saw how useful that was in the fight with the albuhas,¡¯ he said pointedly, remembering how even Leo had hesitated at the albuha leader using his Ability. ¡®And the point is that we can share this with others, not just use it ourselves.¡¯ ¡®I suppose,¡¯ Leo agreed in his usual disgruntled manner. ¡®Are you going to absorb the Ability now, then?¡¯ ¡®In a moment,¡¯ Dominic agreed. First, though, he wanted to just explore what the Ability Forge would show them. Going back to the main status, he saw some more differences. [Ability Forge (level 1) Components entered: None Combinations discovered: Fearful Voice (T1) (1 x Ability available) Combine components: Please choose components. See list of components available to be added?] The components had indeed been used up and there only appeared to be one Ability waiting to be absorbed. That told Dominic that even Cores of previously gained Abilities would still be useful. Actually, I wonder if we can add the Cores to the Ability Forge directly? That would be pretty useful. Dominic decided to try it. Pulling out one of the warthog Cores from his storage space that he hadn¡¯t wanted to absorb when they were in the dungeon because it had nothing he¡¯d wanted, Dominic hesitated before touching it to the obsidian rock of the Place of Power. That was where the Ability Forge was, right? To his pleasure, the Core was immediately absorbed and the screen changed in front of his eyes. Components entered: Gore 17%* So it¡¯s pretty much like when I absorb a Core, he thought to himself. Even the Ability Forge only gets one of the Abilities. But at least that means the Pride might manage to accumulate Abilities even when I¡¯m away. Then he thought about it. On the other hand, perhaps they shouldn¡¯t risk touching the stone. After all, Selessa had warned him that others touching it could have serious consequences for them. Well, they could still accumulate the Cores and then he¡¯d add them when he got back. The last thing he did was work out how to absorb the Ability. That turned out to be quite easy ¨C he just had to touch the stone and think about taking the combined Ability. To his interest and pleasure, it immediately appeared in his list of acquired Abilities ¨C he didn¡¯t even have to level up! This has a lot of promise, Dominic thought to himself. Especially once others can use it. Just another reason to level up the Place of Power, he guessed. Which was another good reason to go and speak to the kesh ¨C after all, Selessa had indicated that the affiliated and recognised denizens ¨C his Pride ¨C played a big role in increasing the speed at which the Pace of Power made progress. Chapter 16: Impressive – And Worrying Both of them feeling the need to sleep for a bit, they decided to take a nap. They hadn¡¯t had nearly enough time to feel fully rested when they were woken up by several of the lionesses who came over to talk to them ¨C Isis and Simbi in particular wanted to give and receive more detail about what had happened while they were away. They had also heard that at least Dominic would be leaving again soon and wanted to know more about that too. Then there were the lionesses who were in heat who wanted another round ¨C and Leo was determined to fulfil their need. Dominic took a bit of a back seat for those ones, taking advantage of the time to nap in their shared space. When he surfaced after his nap, Leo was still occupied, switching between three lionesses: Amber, Kiera, and Nova. Although he wasn¡¯t attracted to them as he was with Sekhmet, he no longer felt uncomfortable when he accidentally reconnected with his body while Leo was busy. Frankly, he was more embarrassed by Leo¡¯s attempts to show off and demonstrate how a ¡®real¡¯ male did things. According to him, anyway, which didn¡¯t say much either. Then Jenkins, who in her opinion had already waited way too long, wanted to have her round with Dominic, which was interesting for them both. For Dominic it had been a different experience with Jenkins than with Sekhmet. It was hard to say why, but¡­they had a different relationship. With Jenkins it had felt more awkward where with Sekhmet it had felt like just taking the next step in an inevitable process. But it had been pleasant nonetheless. Just¡­less pleasant than with Sekhmet. For Jenkins, it had also been different to be with Dominic than with Leo. ¡®You different than other,¡¯ she commented thoughtfully afterwards once she¡¯d had enough time to calm down again after her rush of aggression. ¡®You less¡­rushed.¡¯ Which, honestly, was unexpected. Dominic had been far more rushed than any human woman would be happy with. On the other hand, he¡¯d observed that Leo didn¡¯t spend any time on foreplay so perhaps that¡¯s why. Still, he enjoyed it and his partner seemed to enjoy it too, so why not do it? ¡®Because we can get far more rounds in if we don¡¯t spend too much time on each one,¡¯ Leo told him as if it should be obvious. ¡®Yeah, but we have Enhanced Fertility now ¨C that increases the chance that our partner will become pregnant so we don¡¯t need to do it as often anyway,¡¯ Dominic pointed out, though still not entirely sure how he felt about the idea of any of the lionesses getting pregnant with his¡­cubs ¨C even if there wasn¡¯t anything he could do anything to stop it. Because even if it had been Leo who did the deed, they would still be Dominic¡¯s offspring. Which also was the main reason why Leo didn¡¯t mind sharing the ¡®females¡¯ with Dominic. ¡®But it¡¯s fun,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Well, I find it more fun to take my time,¡¯ Dominic argued back. Then, unable to stop himself, he asked Jenkins the taboo question. ¡®So, which of us do you prefer?¡¯ It felt like both he and Leo were on tenterhooks. Jenkins didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ she replied, clearly still deep in thoughts about it. ¡®Both good at different times. Today, happy to take it slow. Yesterday, happy to take it fast. Both good.¡¯ She bounded over to him and nuzzled his head. ¡®Was good. Will come back for more when ready. Ask for male when in right mood.¡¯ Then she bounced off before he could say anything. Not that he knew what to say. ¡®Did she just say that she¡¯d ask for whichever of us she was in the mood for?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo. ¡®Seems like it,¡¯ the lion replied, sounding just as off-balance as Dominic felt. ¡®Well,¡¯ Dominic said after a few more moments to gather his thoughts. ¡®I suppose that it¡¯s fair enough for them to be able to choose between us, considering that we choose between them.¡¯ Though he wasn¡¯t sure how he really felt about it ¨C his experience so far had told him that he personally wasn¡¯t necessarily down for having a massive orgy with just any lioness in heat. Then again, he said to himself, being able to say ¡®no¡¯ goes both ways, right? If I don¡¯t want to mate, I don¡¯t have to. ¡®Why wouldn¡¯t you want to mate?¡¯ Leo asked, sounding even more baffled than he did earlier. ¡®Now that you have got past your primate prudishness.¡¯ ¡®Hey,¡¯ Dominic objected mildly. ¡®From what I learned about primates, they¡¯re actually pretty sexed-up most of the time.¡¯ ¡®Then maybe it¡¯s just you who¡¯s so prudish,¡¯ Leo responded impatiently, ¡®Anyway, my point still stands,¡¯ Dominic was quickly distracted from his conversation with Leo when Sekhmet was the next to come over, rubbing herself all over him and displaying the fact that she was very much still in heat. And unlike the other lionesses, there was no way he was going to say ¡®no¡¯ to her. ***** By the time they left the clearing, it wasn¡¯t all that long before sun got high enough for the first of its rays to reach the ground of the clearing. They¡¯d definitely not got enough rest so Dominic, for one, was eager to get things done so he¡¯d be able to get a bit more sleep in. He couldn¡¯t remember the last time he¡¯d been properly rested ¨C they¡¯d slept in the dungeon when they could, but it wasn¡¯t exactly a safe place where he could fully let down his guard. Back home with his Pride all around him, he should be able to do so ¨C as long as the lionesses let him. But first he needed to speak to the Kesh. ¡®You¡¯re still determined to bring some of the kesh into the Pride?¡¯ Leo asked with disapproving resignation. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®I am,¡¯ Dominic told him firmly. ¡®For multiple reasons. First, there¡¯s the immediate need for Pride Points to get the Prey Points Enhancement-¡¯ ¡®Which isn¡¯t a good reason to permanently offer a group of primates the benefits of our Pride,¡¯ Leo said, interrupting Dominic. ¡®Not by itself, but it¡¯s a benefit which would help us,¡¯ Dominic told him. ¡®If you¡¯d let me finish, I¡¯d have told you the more important reasons.¡¯ ¡®Fine, get on with it,¡¯ Leo told him as if Dominic was the one dragging his feet. Dominic sent his companion a mental glare and the lion subsided a little bit. ¡®Please,¡¯ he added begrudgingly. ¡®You remember what Selessa said?¡¯ Dominic continued, deciding to take the olive branch Leo had offered. ¡®Affiliated denizens have the biggest impact on the Place of Power¡¯s progress of all the denizens. And we want the Place of Power to progress for obvious reasons.¡¯ ¡®But to bring the kesh in? They have proven to be untrustworthy in the past ¨C why do you wish to trust them now?¡¯ Dominic huffed out a slow breath in something like a sigh. ¡®Just because their former leader was untrustworthy and arrogant, trying to bite off more than he could chew doesn¡¯t mean that all of them are. You heard what Nyx said ¨C how, as far as she can tell, they¡¯ve stuck to the agreement we forced on them and stayed in their designated area. At least until she asked them to help defend the place, that is. And since then, they haven¡¯t attacked any of the Pride even if they did interpret ¡®keep watch¡¯ as ¡®guard¡¯. Maybe¡­maybe they just had a bad leader, and now they have a better one. And if that¡¯s the case, then we want to be on better relations with the creatures on our doorstep who are three times our number.¡¯ ¡®And you think inviting them to join the Pride will do that?¡¯ asked Leo dubiously. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic said firmly. ¡®Because if they¡¯re part of the Pride, benefiting from it and becoming stronger, then they will work to increase its strength too. A win-win scenario.¡¯ He noticed Leo¡¯s continued hesitation. ¡®And it might encourage those who join the Pride to keep an eye on their own kind and warn us if popular sentiment is turning towards an attack on us ¨C they would have as much to lose in that case as we would.¡¯ ¡®Very well,¡¯ Leo gave in with bad grace after a period of thoughtful silence. ¡®But be careful,¡¯ he warned. ¡®There have been many new additions to the Pride ¨C none of them lions.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ve seen the benefits of having more than just lions in the Pride,¡¯ Dominic remarked. ¡®When they listen to us,¡¯ Leo replied pointedly. ¡®We still need to deal with the issue of the winged canines not listening to anyone but the young female.¡¯ ¡®I know,¡¯ Dominic sighed. ¡®Though it¡¯s good that they at least listen to someone, and Jenkins listens to us. I suppose it¡¯s the consequence of assigning her temporary command. At least we won¡¯t have that issue with the kesh.¡¯ They¡¯d been a bit too distracted with Jenkins earlier to remember then and it hadn¡¯t been such an issue since returning to the forest anyway. But when they headed out again, Dominic needed to know that everyone present would follow his commands. In agreement, they padded through the forest towards where the kesh had their main nests. Hooting met Dominic¡¯s ears as he crossed the area he¡¯d marked as being the kesh¡¯s dedicated zone. He kept trotting forwards, though ¨C this was his forest even if he¡¯d let the kesh stay in it. That didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t keep an eye on the branches above just in case a kesh decided to object to his presence ¨C getting a rock to the cranium was never what he¡¯d consider to be a good time. His wariness proved to be a little unnecessary as they made it into the heart of the kesh¡¯s territory without incident. Above his head he saw the relatively crude shelters built into the branches. If he¡¯d been in his human form, he would have raised his eyebrows ¨C though they were very primitive, they were definitely more advanced than when he¡¯d been here before. Previously, they¡¯d been more like cartoon birds¡¯ nests ¨C a platform on which the kesh slept with what looked like their immediate family. Now, though, Dominic could see that they had put effort into making roofs for their platforms. The roofs weren¡¯t exactly a miracle of engineering themselves ¨C they looked like they would fall apart under the first heavy rainfall, but the fact that they were there at all showed how much the kesh had advanced in such a short time. And that was both impressive ¨C and worrying. ¡®We need to get these creatures on our side,¡¯ Dominic told Leo firmly. ¡®Either that or wipe them out. Otherwise they¡¯ll be developing better weapons next and then it will be like facing primitive humans.¡¯ ¡®We could still take them out,¡¯ Leo replied confidently. ¡®Maybe, but remember who ended up as the apex creature on Earth before, despite not having sharp claws and teeth and being weaker and less muscled than most of the big predators?¡¯ Dominic pointed out. Leo didn¡¯t answer which, for him, was answer enough. A kesh dropped warily down to the lowest branch above them and eyed Dominic. It was hard to tell the creatures apart, but he was pretty sure he recognised this one ¨C his improved sense of smell certainly indicated familiarity beyond just the scent of kesh in general. If he was right, this one was the new main leader who had emerged from the group after he¡¯d killed most of the ones who had come to talk with him following his success over the amesheks. ¡®You have returned,¡¯ the kesh said to Dominic. At this angle, he was able to spot that the kesh was male. Though he didn¡¯t look much bigger than the last time they had talked, Dominic was pretty sure the glint of intelligence in his eyes had become stronger. His mental presence also felt more¡­solid as Dominic reached out to him with his own Telepathy. He also felt very, very uneasy. And as Dominic spared a properly searching look upwards, he saw that his kesh interlocutor wasn¡¯t the only one. ¡®I have,¡¯ Dominic agreed, carefully neutral. Healthy caution among this group was a good thing as it reduced the chances that they¡¯d attack him, but he didn¡¯t want it to tip into actual fear. ¡®I hear that you lost a large contingent of your number. Why?¡¯ The kesh flinched a little and Dominic almost felt bad at asking. Almost. ¡®We did,¡¯ the kesh agreed slowly, reluctantly. ¡®Some did not agree to your requirement. Others¡­ they¡­felt a call. A summoning. And they decided that they did not have enough here to keep them. So they left.¡¯ ¡®But you didn¡¯t?¡¯ Dominic asked, again taking care to not reveal any sort of emotion. ¡®No.¡¯ The kesh hesitated, glancing up at the others of his kind above him. ¡®I¡­we¡­the forest is now our home. Good food, some progress for our weakest even if we do not fight intruders. Material for shelter. We do not want to leave. Not even for the power promised by the call.¡¯ ¡®I see.¡¯ Dominic eyed the kesh thoughtfully. ¡®Come down here. I promise I will not attack you as long as you and your people offer the same guarantee.¡¯ Chapter 17: Exclusive The kesh hesitated, then let out a series of fluting hoots with answers from the tree tops around joining the chorus. Then he hopped lightly down to the forest floor and stood in front of Dominic. Even standing upright on his back legs, he wasn¡¯t as tall as the lion, so Dominic lay down, bringing his head more into line with the monkey-like kesh. Instead of flopping onto his side in relaxation, though, he moved into a sphinx-like position from which he would quickly be able to rise if necessary. ¡®We will not attack,¡¯ the kesh promised, though eyeing him as if he didn¡¯t quite trust the lion¡¯s guarantee. Perhaps he was recalling the last time they had met under the banner of peace. Dominic didn¡¯t exactly regret attacking the leader who promised to be a pain in his butt, but it probably wasn¡¯t the best impression to leave on the more peaceful kesh. ¡®Why did you want me here?¡¯ the monkey-like creature asked warily. ¡®It¡¯s more comfortable for my neck,¡¯ Dominic answered with a yawn. This one wasn¡¯t actually meant as an intimidation tactic ¨C he was just too tired to keep it in. The kesh tensed, though, so it probably ended up being one accidentally. ¡®Tell me a little about how your group is organised. How did you become the leader? Are you the only leader or are there others?¡¯ Slowly, and needing several follow-up questions to get a full picture, Dominic was able to determine that the kesh had, as he¡¯d suspected, a sort of clan-like structure. The group that had left had been two whole clans as well as some discontented individuals from the other clans. Five more clans remained, though one was very small as it had been the clan of the deceased leader and many of its members had needed to be killed or they would have intentionally jeopardised the deal with Dominic. Each of the clans was formed of a number of different families. The families each had a leader, usually a male, but one was a female. Among those leaders, the one who was the strongest became the clan leader. And then among the clan leaders, one would emerge as the overall leader. And, interestingly, strongest wasn¡¯t necessarily tied to the individual¡¯s ability to defeat opponents in battle. It definitely helped, but being good at politics was also another way of becoming the leader. At least, politics was what Dominic identified it as since it was about convincing others to follow along with ideas. Apparently that structure had been in place since before the System even came in and helped them do it better, which was also interesting. ¡®And so that is how I became leader,¡¯ Three-Spots ¨C since the kesh did apparently have names based on identifying marks ¨C concluded. ¡®I was credited by the majority as being the reason for why your group did not come and slaughter us all.¡¯ As it turned out, Three-Spots was the one who had spoken up and asked to take advantage of the deal when almost all the other kesh had decided to attack, lifting him in Dominic¡¯s estimation. ¡®Interesting, thank you for explaining that,¡¯ Dominic said and then fell silent ¨C as far as the kesh could tell, anyway. ¡®So, what do you think Leo, shall we invite Three-Spots into the Pride?¡¯ The lion was quiet for a long moment, then he huffed. ¡®Fine. I accept that your earlier points might have some basis in reality.¡¯ A miracle! ¡®But if it goes badly, I reserve the right to say ¡®I told you so¡¯,¡¯ he added. Dominic sent him a mental eye-roll. That was more like Leo. He turned his attention back to the kesh. ¡®How would you like to become a closer part of the Pride?¡¯ ¡®What is the Pride?¡¯ the kesh asked. Dominic quickly explained the basics of the Pride and its benefits and watched as that wariness turned into thoughtfulness and then even a hit of eagerness. ¡®So you are saying that if we become part of this ¡®Pride¡¯, we will not only be part of your protected group, but also gain extra benefits to help us progress faster while we are in the forest? And that fighting will help us get stronger faster as part of the Pride than not?¡¯ he checked, zeroing in on the aspects best for him. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic responded, ¡®though you will be required to act in a manner that benefits the Pride too. Most of my Pride members hunt and contribute to the Pride that way, but as long as you find a way to help us, you do not necessarily need to be hunters,¡¯ he told the kesh. ¡®In fact, given the physical abilities that you have and that we don¡¯t, you might be better suited to a different role. And with the benefits that being part of the Pride in this forest offers, hunting might not even be necessary.¡¯ ¡®What role is this?¡¯ Three-Spots asked more curious than wary now. ¡®I¡¯ll tell you more if you choose to join me in the Pride,¡¯ Dominic told him. If the creature didn¡¯t want to join them, he didn¡¯t want to risk giving them hints which they would then be able to use against him. The kesh was clearly strongly considering the offer. ¡®Is¡­is this offer for all of us, or only for me?¡¯ he asked after a moment of thought. ¡®For now it is for you and a small group of others,¡¯ Dominic answered. ¡®We will see how the integration goes and whether your people truly have something to offer to me and the Pride, and then rediscuss the issue later.¡¯ The kesh eyed him carefully. ¡®I will need to discuss with the other clans.¡¯ Dominic pushed himself to his feet, his movement making the kesh flinch back. But all the lion did was stretch, feeling pleasure as the stiffness from lack of movement left his muscles. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®Fine. Once you have decided, bring any who wish to join the Pride to the clearing at the centre of the forest. But remember, not too many. I don¡¯t want to see your whole group there. Ten at the maximum, I¡¯d say.¡¯ Then Dominic hesitated, remembering how Procyon and Sirius had revealed in the dungeon that they had no idea about counting. ¡®Wait, can you count to ten?¡¯ The kesh spread the digits on his front paws out. He curiously had six finger-like digits on each hand-like paw. ¡®One, two, three, four, five, six,¡¯ he answered, closing one finger to his palm at a time. ¡®Seven, eight, nine, ten,¡¯ he continued, closing four more digits on his other paw. Well, that was a clear answer, and also very, very interesting. Dominic wondered whether it was partly because of the political nature of the clans that the kesh had a better sense of number than either the amesheks or lions ¨C when deciding whether one party was stronger or weaker than the other, it was necessary to be able to identify the number and strength of the party¡¯s supporters. But the ability to continue counting past one paw¡¯s worth of digits was particularly impressive. Dominic wondered if they were already capable of basic arithmetic. If they weren¡¯t right now, then they probably would be probably soon in the future. Either way, it just re-emphasised that it was better to get the primates on his side if he could. ¡®Good. Make sure to come by the time the sun has reached its zenith today or the offer is withdrawn,¡¯ he warned. In reality, it was more because he was planning on leaving by nightfall, but he didn¡¯t want to tell the kesh that. With a few more short telepathic communications, the conversation was done and Dominic turned to leave. As he headed back towards the clearing, Leo started speaking. ¡®I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t invite all these filthy primates to join us,¡¯ he said with a contemptuous tone that attempted to hide his curiosity. ¡®I was tempted,¡¯ Dominic admitted, ¡®though less for the kesh themselves and more for the mountain of Pride Points it would offer us. There are so many things we could use those on!¡¯ ¡®So why did you not?¡¯ ¡®Two main reasons. One, the fact that adding more beings to the Pride means that the Place of Power¡¯s Prey Points are distributed among more creatures. I know that it¡¯s recently doubled, but there are more than three times the number of kesh as there are of the rest of us added together. That would mean that everyone would be getting significantly fewer points now than they did before the Place of Power levelled up.¡¯ ¡®I thought that Selessa indicated that the more affiliated members we had, the faster the Place of Power would progress and therefore the more Points we would gain,¡¯ Leo questioned, apparently playing devil¡¯s advocate again. ¡®Perhaps the loss in Prey Points would only be temporary.¡¯ ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ Dominic admitted, ¡®but I¡¯d like to see what changes there with just adding in a small group before adding in a larger one. Besides, I can¡¯t say that I wouldn¡¯t like our current members to grow a bit stronger before we add a whole chunk of outsiders. I would have thought you¡¯d agree with that,¡¯ he said pointedly. Leo huffed. ¡®If it were only the females gaining power, then I would agree, but you¡¯re sharing the power with all the males too, including protecting all of those juveniles, meaning that we¡¯re also helping our rivals to grow too.¡¯ Dominic sighed. He was tired of that same old argument. Maybe it would help to not respond to it any more? Perhaps in this case actions would speak louder than words ¨C if Leo could see that the males weren¡¯t the same rivals they used to be, he might come around. Hopefully the compromise they¡¯d come up with for Fang and Lionel would set a new standard going forward. ¡®Anyway, my second reason is that I thought it would be better not to¡­dilute our core group too much and keep the lions the largest group,¡¯ Dominic told him with a mental sigh. ¡®Having the kesh as equals in the Pride rather than tolerated outsiders could¡­change things. Socially, I mean. I want to test the waters a little ¨C see whether they will actually be as useful as I¡¯m hoping they might be and that they won¡¯t cause problems. Plus, it would work better as an incentive if it¡¯s more exclusive, encouraging the kesh to work harder in order to be able to later join us too.¡¯ ¡®Useful,¡¯ Leo scoffed. ¡®Though their little rocks can be dangerous, they are no hunters.¡¯ ¡®Precisely,¡¯ Dominic answered. Then, feeling his companion¡¯s confusion, he expanded. ¡®We already have quite a few hunters who are good in melee range. Both lions and amesheks are good at that. What we don¡¯t have are crafters, or ranged defenders. Now, I don¡¯t know if the kesh will be able to be crafters ¨C they have more dexterous fingers than we do, but not all humans were capable of creating things either, and those that were had to practise to get better. But even if they¡¯re only ranged defenders, that fills a niche which we were missing. With the albuhas as air-support, the kesh as ranged, and the lions and amesheks as ground troops, we have a pretty good start to an army.¡¯ He stopped moving as a thought occurred to him. ¡®Wait, what if the kesh were able to ride the albuhas and strike from the air¡­.¡¯ He went into a daydream of attacking an enemy from both ground and air and completely routing them as a consequence. ¡®Why do we need to be able to fight an army?¡¯ asked Leo. ¡®You¡¯re not planning on trying to conquer other Places of Power, are you?¡¯ ¡®Not at this moment, no,¡¯ Dominic answered thoughtfully as he started padding forwards once more. ¡®But we may have to defend ourselves from someone else¡¯s army. Actually,¡¯ he said, a sudden realisation hitting him and again stopping his paws from moving further, ¡®we¡¯re going to have to do just that. Remember what the elves were talking about ¨C they¡¯re threatened by beasts. Unless there are very few elves, that probably means plenty of enemies ¨C maybe enough to make up an army. And if we¡¯re going to help them, we need to take an army with us.¡¯ He turned around towards the kesh¡¯s area. ¡®Maybe we should invite more of them. I should have thought of this earlier.¡¯ ¡®Wait,¡¯ Leo told him as he started trotting back to where he¡¯d talked to Three-Spots. ¡®If you go back there, doesn¡¯t that potentially weaken what you were saying earlier that you wanted? The idea of incentive.¡¯ Dominic slowed as he thought about it. ¡®Perhaps,¡¯ he admitted, turning back towards the centre of the forest. ¡®Alright, fine. We¡¯ll go forward with what I was originally planning.¡¯ Then he gave a leonine grin. ¡®At least we¡¯ll find out sooner rather than later if the kesh are any good as part of our combat strategy.¡¯ Chapter 18: Dedicate This Kill ¡®Watch out!¡¯ Leo¡¯s warning cut through Dominic¡¯s thoughts ¨C he¡¯d been paying more attention to his plans for the Pride than the forest through which he was walking. Even if it was his territory, that didn¡¯t make it safe. Spatial Awareness indicated that he was about to step on a rather large snake. Instead of putting his foot down, he used the other three paws which were still on the ground to propel himself up into the air, his wings beating down to keep him up there a little longer than would otherwise. The snake bit at empty space as it struck at where his body had been just a moment ago. Quick Strike ended its life as Dominic bit straight through its vulnerable spine and the light faded from its eyes. [You have killed: Puff Adder (Evolved Beast level 11)] [You have earned 78 PP] ¡®Are we going to dedicate this kill to Selessa?¡¯ Leo asked him curiously. Dominic hesitated and then sighed with slight disappointment. ¡®I suppose we¡¯d better. I did promise, after all.¡¯ Touching the carcass with his nose, he focussed on his desire to dedicate the kill to his patron goddess. [You have indicated that you wish to dedicate this kill to your patron deity: Selessa of the Hunt. Please confirm.] ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic sighed. [As your patron deity is connected to the Hunt and the kill is fresh, you may also choose to sacrifice the Prey Points you gained from it for further favour from your deity. Do you wish to sacrifice the carcass, the Prey Points, or both to your patron deity?] ¡®Selessa didn¡¯t mention this,¡¯ Dominic commented thoughtfully. ¡®I understood that to dedicate the Prey Points, I had to have the intention in mind before we got into the fight.¡¯ ¡®The System seems to have explained it well enough,¡¯ Leo told him impatiently. ¡®I don¡¯t see what your problem with it is. Just do both of them ¨C it says that it will gain increased favour with our deity. Maybe enough kills and she¡¯ll agree to join our Pride!¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re obsessed with that, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ Dominic complained, but he chose the option nonetheless. After all, even if he wasn¡¯t sure about Leo¡¯s plan to convert Selessa to a Pride-mate, there wasn¡¯t any point in holding back right now. He said he¡¯d dedicate a few kills to the goddess, so he might as well go the whole hog. He felt a slight stinging sensation deep inside him at the same time as the carcass disintegrated into golden dust. Unlike what normally happened, though, the golden dust just sank into the earth below the carcass. ¡®Interesting,¡¯ Dominic murmured. Since he¡¯d promised more than just one kill, he decided to do a little bit of additional hunting. He¡¯d kill two birds with one stone ¨C rid the forest of dangers like that snake which could easily have killed one of his Pride and fulfil his promise to the goddess at the same time. Eventually getting back to the clearing, Dominic greeted the Pride members currently resting there. He then let Leo take over for a bit since a couple of the lionesses in heat were present and immediately came over to rub themselves against him. Deciding that, although the sensations were undoubtedly pleasant, he didn¡¯t feel like playing voyeur right at that moment, Dominic retreated back into their mental space. Appearing in his lion body, he quickly decided to transform into his human one instead. Recent events had highlighted just how comfortable he had become with his leonine form, but also gave the possibility that he might regain proper access to a human form sometime soon. Wanting to figure out something once and for all, he lay down on the couch and checked his progress towards his next level on the ¡®TV¡¯ screen. Progress to Evolution: 674/991 PP ¡°Nice,¡± he said to himself, relishing the opportunity to speak aloud. ¡°I swear the last time I checked that it was three hundred and sixty something.¡± Which meant that he¡¯d earned over three hundred points in the last twelve hours or so. But he wanted more exact figures than that. ¡°Now, how do I put a timer on?¡± he muttered quietly, then smiled when he saw a timer flashing at the corner of the screen, just where he wanted it. Setting it to an hour, he lay back on the sofa and relaxed a bit with one of the books of his memories. An hour passed pleasantly for Dominic, and for Leo too, he suspected. At least, when he briefly tuned the TV in to see through Leo¡¯s eyes, the lion was in the middle of mating with a female. When the timer ticked away to zero, Dominic again pulled up his progress, putting the new one below the old one. Progress to Evolution: 701/991 PP ¡°Twenty-seven points,¡± he murmured to himself. ¡°Not bad for doing nothing. But is that affected by Pride Enhancement?¡± He cocked his head to one side in an unconsciously leonine gesture as he tried to figure out the maths. It wasn¡¯t hard to determine that he should be earning 27 Prey Points per hour considering that he received 10% of the Place of Power¡¯s 272 Points per hour benefit. Which indicated that Pride Enhancement wasn¡¯t impacting the Place of Power¡¯s offerings since then he should have earned more Points in the hour. ¡°Well, that¡¯s disappointing,¡± Dominic sighed, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. ¡°Though I suppose it would be a bit of a cheat since we already gain more Prey Points by levelling up the Place of Power.¡± Imagining a tablet into existence for comfort¡¯s sake, he pulled the Pride Enhancements back up onto the screen and browsed through them. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. After having used Pride Tribute twice, he had only 2 Pride Enhancement points left and wasn¡¯t actually able to buy anything anyway. But he could at least make plans for when he did have the Pride Points. Which should be soon enough when the group of kesh came to join the Pride. Dominic suddenly sat up as a thought occurred to him. Waiting for the kesh to arrive wasn¡¯t the only source of Pride Points: the cubs! He¡¯d temporarily forgotten their plan to check whether any of the cubs had got old enough to join the Pride ¨C their hunt had put it out of his mind. Now impatient to try, Dominic immediately left his mental space and settled back into his body¡¯s senses. He waited quietly for Leo to finish his current activity, and then spoke up as the lion disengaged. Whether it was his distraction or Leo¡¯s reflexes weren¡¯t fast enough, but they actually got a claw-filled paw across their face as the lioness snarled at him. It was Jenkins, as it turned out, apparently in the mood for something fast. ¡®You know, you¡¯re supposed to dodge that, not get hit by it,¡¯ Dominic teased Leo, thrilled to be on the other side of it this time. ¡®You distracted me!¡¯ Leo complained, but apparently even he couldn¡¯t be grumpy after having so much fun with his Pride. He did need a little bit of convincing not to just go and bask in the post-orgasmic haze, but willingly ceded control of their body back to Dominic. To his alarm, Jenkins seemed to notice, looking at him thoughtfully even as she washed herself. Dominic quickly padded away ¨C not that he wouldn¡¯t mind a round with her himself, but he did have other things to do too! The lion approached the various cubs lying in piles or playing in the clearing. It always surprised him just how many there were ¨C at least twenty cubs of different ages ¨C everything from the size of a puppy to almost a full-grown lion. ¡®Are there usually this many in a pride?¡¯ he asked Leo curiously. ¡®It depends on the pride,¡¯ Leo answered with a mental yawn. ¡®And we haven¡¯t lost any since we took over which, apart from the fact that normally I would have just killed all of my rivals¡¯ offspring anyway, is unusual.¡¯ Dominic made note of what Leo wasn¡¯t saying ¨C that he would have kicked the older male cubs out in any case. He took it as a good sign. Since he was giving off distinct vibes of ¡®don¡¯t disturb me any more¡¯ Dominic let him go back to his relaxing. Though he did wonder again what was happening in the larger ecosystem as a consequence of all the changes the System had brought. Checking with each of the cubs which looked as if they were approaching adulthood, Dominic was pleased when several of them were able to join the Pride. Six in total, from two different litters. One of the litters was that of Isis, the matriarch of Dominic¡¯s first pride. Her three cubs had survived a lot ¨C attacks by hyenas, combining with another pride, moving twice to create a new territory ¨C Dominic actually felt proud that he was finally able to add them to the Pride. ¡®Welcome, Siera, Bella, and Elsa,¡¯ Dominic greeted the cubs of Isis¡¯s litter ¨C though they weren¡¯t really cubs any more, not considering they had been allowed into the Pride. ¡®And welcome too Cecilia, Devi, and Max,¡¯ he greeted the cubs of Saffron¡¯s litter. It was interesting that only one of the group was male ¨C as far as he could tell, lions tended to have an even distribution of males and females among their offspring. Then again, it was quite likely that the cubs present weren¡¯t all the ones who had been born in their litters ¨C life in the savannah had been hard even before the System arrived. Leo was obviously sleeping as he didn¡¯t say anything about the new ¡®rival¡¯ male. Dominic decided not to tell him about it even when he woke up ¨C let the young male have a bit of time to establish himself and prove whether he was more like Fang or Lionel, or Prince. Starting at level 1, all of the new Pride members would need to work hard to catch up with everyone else. But they at least had an advantage ¨C even if they didn¡¯t do any hunting, they would probably gain their first level in just a couple of days due solely to the Place of Power, less time if they did actually do some hunting. That was assuming he didn¡¯t take them with him, of course, something he was in two minds about. On the one hand, taking the new members of the Pride with him would be a bit risky since they were so low level. On the other, there was no better way to shoot up the ranks than to take on enemies with the might of the Pride surrounding them. As long as they played at least some role in the fight, they¡¯d benefit from it as much as anyone else would. And ultimately, increasing in power was the best way to keep them safe in the long term¡­. With the addition of six new members to his Pride, Dominic now had 8 Pride Enhancement points ¨C enough to get something nice for the group. He moved away from the new members of the Pride after instructing them to find a hunting party to work with, and lay down, pulling up the options available again as well as what they¡¯d already taken. 21% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members ¨C level 7 Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of pride members in the fight/Pride level)*level of enhancement)% ¨C level 4 Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) ¨C on 20% increased chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier ¨C level 4 Intra-group communication system ¨C on, range level 2 Lion¡¯s Share ¨C 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members to the leader ¨C off Immunity ¨C no direct negative effects will be sustained from Abilities used by a member of the Pride ¨C on Pride defence level 1 ¨C create a shield over the Pride which is strengthened by the combined defences of all Pride members within a certain radius. If the shield is forcibly broken, defences will take X time to return: X = 10-n (where n is Defence level - current level 1). If the shield is voluntarily released, defences will return immediately. Cooldown: 5 mins Lion¡¯s Generosity ¨C (Powerful Swipe ¨C> Sekhmet) Pride¡¯s Tribute ¨C (Healing Cloud, Group Enhancement) [Pride enhancements (Points available: 8) Increase the number of Prey Points gained by 7% (repeatable) (7) Increase the damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)%(repeatable) (5) Increase the chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (4) Increase the chance of being able to determine the type of Ability a Pride member will gain on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (5) Intra-group communication system (repeatable to extend range) (4) Lion¡¯s Generosity ¨C give one of your Pride one of your Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of your original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 you have raised the Ability, you have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (5) Pride¡¯s Tribute ¨C one of your Pride can give you one of their Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of their original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 they have raised the Ability, they have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (5) Pride defence II ¨C improve your Pride defence shield ¨C double the defences of your Pride in exchange for doubling the cooldown and the time required for the defences of individual Pride members to return if the shield is forcibly broken. If the shield is voluntarily released, defences will still return immediately. (20) Pride defence (enhancement): increase range, reduce defence return time after forcible fracturing of the shield, or reduce the cooldown) (10) Anti-immunity ¨C Enable some negative and neutral affect Abilities to affect Pride members at will either individually or as a group. (15) Note: more options may be added later depending on your actions with the Pride.] Chapter 19: Before Leaving So, the question is whether it would be better to go for one of the Enhancements I can currently afford, or save up for something like one of the defence enhancements, or Anti-immunity, Dominic said to himself. He prodded Leo lightly with his mind to see if the lion had any feedback to give, but his companion just grunted in annoyance, once more giving off distinct vibes of not wanting to be disturbed. Mentally shrugging, Dominic decided that if Leo couldn¡¯t be bothered to wake up, then he couldn¡¯t complain about not being part of the decision-making. Well, knowing Leo, he probably would still complain, but Dominic wouldn¡¯t need to feel guilty about it. With 8 Pride Enhancement points available, Dominic now had seven options to choose from if he did decide to go for them right now. He hesitated over both Pride Tribute and Lion¡¯s Generosity, but then decided against them for now since he had no immediate Ability he wanted to get or give. Besides, he had Group Enhancement now, so didn¡¯t want to waste any Points unless absolutely necessary. Actually, he questioned himself, a sudden thought occurring, can I even share Group Enhancement with Group Enhancement? It seemed like the kind of thing that shouldn¡¯t work¡­but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean it wouldn¡¯t. Dominic resolved to try it out before they left. Eventually, if everyone in the Pride could have Group Enhancement it would be pretty awesome. Not only would everyone be able to share Abilities they gained on increasing in Tier or half-step Tier, but they would be able to enhance Abilities which they shared with each other. Dominic imagined his whole Pride of lions enhancing each other¡¯s Pounce, or the whole Pride using Sonic Attack on a strong opponent. Now that would be powerful. Returning to the question of Pride Enhancements, he dismissed the ones linked to affecting the Ability one of his Pride got on Tier up. It seemed like the beasts themselves were able to push towards certain desired Abilities and if there was an Ability he wanted someone to have, that¡¯s what Group Enhancement and Lion¡¯s Generosity were for. Not to mention that one day they might be able to get awesome Abilities from the Ability Forge. And as for increasing the Tier of the Ability, a higher Tier didn¡¯t mean that an Ability was actually good. Several of Dominic¡¯s Tier 1 or even Tier 0 Abilities were his bread-and-butter when it came to a fight. Simple, easy to use, and not so costly he couldn¡¯t use them multiple times in a fight. If everyone ended up with Tier 2 or above Abilities, they might be powerful, but also might end up being completely useless. So those options weren¡¯t worth the investment. He did hesitate for a long time over saving up for the Pride Defence enhancements. Certainly the shield had come in very useful in the dungeon. But the issue was that it required them all to be together in a group which he wasn¡¯t sure would be the case in the coming fights. In the end, he decided to spend his points here and now, and go for the next Prey Points Enhancement. The reason why was because that underpinned everything. New Abilities? Required Tier up unless he used Group Enhancement or Lion¡¯s Generosity. Better defences? Those could be picked as perks on level-up. More offence? Also perks on level-up. There was certainly something to be said for multipliers, but they worked best when there was a good baseline to multiply. That said, he decided that perhaps the next Pride Points they earned should go towards either the Pride Shield or increasing their damage when fighting together ¨C combined with faster levelling up, it should put their Pride into a good position to face whatever challenges they¡¯d have in the future. Decided, he selected the increase in Prey Points to bring it from 21% to 28%. [Error: You are unable to raise a Pride Enhancement above the level of your Pride.] What? What is this rubbish? Dominic asked angrily enough that he felt Leo stir in the background. ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ the lion asked warily. Dominic explained with an annoyed tone to his voice. ¡®You woke me up for that?¡¯ the lion demanded after Dominic had finished. ¡®Just choose something else or wait until we increase our Pride level again. But don¡¯t bother me!¡¯ With that, he essentially slammed the mental equivalent of a door between them and left Dominic to his thoughts. It was a little surprising that Leo didn¡¯t seem to care what Enhancements they took but perhaps he was too sleepy to think about it. Huffing in frustration, Dominic closed the Pride status. Leo had a point, much as he¡¯d like to reject it ¨C they were only five members away from the next Pride level, so maybe he should just wait for the kesh to come. It was even possible that more options would appear when the Pride levelled up, so perhaps it wasn¡¯t a bad thing to wait. Seeing the hunting party with Sekhmet returning, Dominic brightened up. Maybe there was a good way to spend the time ¨C one even Leo would approve of. ***** It was close to sundown. Dominic mentally ran through his to-do list even as his gaze roamed over his assembled party. This time he was taking a much larger group with him than previously; he hoped that it wouldn¡¯t leave the Place of Power too undefended. The group of kesh had appeared shortly before noon, the five clan leaders with four of their seconds-in-command accompanied by seven young and enthusiastic members of their groups. It had been significantly more than he¡¯d told the kesh leader to bring and Dominic had been more than a little displeased with that. To mellow Dominic¡¯s obvious irritation, the main leader Three-Spots had quickly explained that one of the other leaders, Long-Ear, had thought it to be a good idea to add to the Pride both elders in control of the clans and youngsters who could join as part of the hunting groups. Though Long-Ear didn¡¯t know about Dominic¡¯s plans to leave, the lion decided to take the suggestion on board. During the trip away, he¡¯d be able to see just what advantages the kesh could bring his Pride in a fight. With some grumbling more for show than anything else, Dominic had accepted their explanation. He did say that he would only accept the leaders and the youngsters, though. If things worked out, he¡¯d add the seconds-in-command. But if he added them now, they would end up outnumbering the small skeleton crew he¡¯d be leaving behind. Bringing the five leaders into the fold hadn¡¯t taken more than a few minutes, and the clan leaders and their direct subordinates had left shortly after. The seven younger kesh had stayed, though, and would be travelling with Dominic. Adding twelve new members to their numbers, several of them already in Tier 2, had pushed their Pride into the next level and earned them several Pride Enhancement points, allowing Dominic to purchase several benefits for their Pride, including the desired Prey Point enhancement. He had also chosen to increase their group attack bonus, thinking about the possibility that they might be outnumbered in the fights to come and wanting to lock in some good bonuses to their damage in that case. Finally, he had decided to buy something instead of saving up for the more expensive Pride Defence enhancement. Instead, he had taken the increased range for their Pride chat. The reason was that he suspected that they might need to communicate at greater range than ever before and he didn¡¯t want to find out at the last moment that they¡¯d lost contact with one of their groups. That had left them with 11 Pride Enhancement points remaining in the bank to use for the better defence system. Instead of saving up for the expensive upgrade later which doubled their defences ¨C useful as that might be ¨C he decided to buy the cheaper upgrade to reduce the cooldown. After all, he figured that when he did eventually get around to buying the more expensive upgrade, the fact that the cooldown would double would be a bit annoying. Hopefully the reduced cooldown he¡¯d just bought would apply to it even then. When the upgrade turned out to halve the cooldown, he was satisfied with his purchase even if that only left him with 1 Point in the bank. He¡¯d done a bit of experimenting with Group Enhancement too. He¡¯d only been able to give Healing Cloud to one Pride member so far ¨C Isis, interestingly enough. It hadn¡¯t worked at all without something to heal, so the hunters had been charged to bring half-dead creatures in to give the prospective healers a target. It seemed like one share lasted for about five minutes or so at level 1 which only Isis had managed to use to level it up and thereby gain the Ability. Dominic had also been able to confirm something interesting ¨C and useful. Group Enhancement itself could be shared. No one had managed to keep it after the time the Ability could be shared had elapsed, many of them struggling to share one of their own Abilities with someone, but it was a good discovery to have made. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. There were only two other things left for him to do before leaving and Dominic headed towards the obsidian stone to take care of the first one. ¡®Are you sure we should do this?¡¯ Leo asked in the background, his voice with a hint of a whine. ¡®We¡¯ve discussed this. The Points do us no good when we¡¯re not here,¡¯ Dominic reminded him. Returning to the forest had proved that: he hadn¡¯t been given all the Prey Points which he¡¯d ¡®missed¡¯. He didn¡¯t know what had happened to them, but he might as well make sure that they at least benefited him by plugging them into the growth of territory itself. Adjusting the distribution of the Prey Point division, Dominic redirected the 10% he usually received towards the territory growth. Then he hesitated with his thoughts turning towards Selessa. The goddess had come through for them: she¡¯d directed him to a means by which he could repair the damage to his Mana Heart and Soul, she¡¯d helped Jenkins, and she¡¯d given free advice about how to level up his Place of Power. Maybe he should do something for her beyond the hunting that he¡¯d done earlier. Leo emanated agreement which only increased his resolve. Focussing back on the interface, he reduced the portion dedicated to the territory expansion by 3% and directed it towards Selessa. ¡®There,¡¯ Dominic thought at Leo. ¡®Good job,¡¯ the lion praised, ignoring Dominic¡¯s surprise at the rare occurrence. ¡®She¡¯ll definitely reconsider us as a mate now!¡¯ Dominic shook his head ¨C he should have known that would be Leo¡¯s motivation. For him, it was enough to know that even while he was absent, his territory would continue growing in power. Considering how many of them were leaving, those behind should grow pretty quickly too ¨C far fewer Pride members to share the Prey Points between meaning quicker individual growth. In fact, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the kesh were quite eager to join the Pride after seeing the leaders soar in strength. On that note, he returned to the group. ¡®Are you sure that I can¡¯t convince you to stay and look after everyone?¡¯ he asked Nyx. The ameshek eyed him, her antennae moving in a way that Dominic knew expressed frustration. ¡®We have discussed this. I wish to make some progress too. If what you have indicated might be the case is indeed the situation, this will be more productive for me than remaining here. And you will need my strength,¡¯ she replied, reiterating the points that had caused Dominic to agree in the first place. ¡®Yes, I know. But with few Pride members staying behind, you¡¯d probably get to the next level in a matter of days.¡¯ The ameshek leader hesitated, but then a feeling of negation came across his telepathic link with her. ¡®I wish to explore too. My pack members had interesting tales to tell from when they travelled with you before. I wish to experience some of it myself.¡¯ Dominic let out a disappointed breath. Technically, with her being his vassal, he could probably order Nyx to stay, but he wasn¡¯t keen on doing that. Not unless it was absolutely necessary ¨C coerced obedience was never as good as willing obedience especially since he wanted her to be in charge here. For all he knew, she would ¡®accidentally¡¯ allow an enemy to take over while he was away, meaning he¡¯d have to do more damage control on his return than he¡¯d prefer to. ¡®Fine. Hopefully Procyon and Sirius will be able to hold the fort until we get back, then.¡¯ They had been the only two amesheks he¡¯d been able to convince, though Sirius had been a hard sell. As the highest levels of those he was leaving behind, they were unquestionably the leaders. And hopefully they¡¯ll find those two dungeons which should be appearing soon and be able to take groups through them, Dominic said to himself. The juveniles had been another group he¡¯d tried to make stay behind and then caved because they¡¯d looked so disappointed at having finally properly joined the Pride and then getting exiled from all the hunting groups and left with the rest of the cubs. At least, that¡¯s how they seemed to see it. Even Max who had been most willing to do that had changed his mind when he saw how eager the lionesses were to join. Brushing cheeks with Nyx, Dominic moved onto the second remaining task: making sure the albuhas were fully under his control. ¡®Alright Jenkins, front and centre,¡¯ he called in the Pride chat, moving to the open space between the four groups. ¡®That means ¡®come here¡¯,¡¯ he quickly clarified, feeling her confusion. The lioness stepped forward, her head cocked sideways curiously. She had managed to level up in the last hour and the mini wings on her back had got noticeably bigger. Clearly, she was still determined to be able to fly one day, but it also proved how far she still had to go to achieve it. ¡®We fight?¡¯ she asked with interest. ¡®Yes ¨C I need to prove to your group of albuhas that, even if you command them, I command you, and for good reason.¡¯ The enthusiastic lioness didn¡¯t need any more encouragement. She didn¡¯t even wait for Dominic to tell her to start, but just pounced on him using both Enhanced Speed and Pounce to try to knock him out of the fight early. Even with Enhanced Speed, though, to Dominic who had invested significantly in his own speed and reactions, it was almost like she was moving in slow motion. He easily dodged the first strike and then the second and third. My turn, he said to himself with a mental grin. Activating Rapid Attack, he landed several blows that batted at Jenkins¡¯ head and drew blood even if he¡¯d had his claws sheathed and intentionally not aimed anywhere vital. She snarled and backed away for a moment. The momentum of the fight lost, Jenkins was barely able to react in time as Dominic leapt for her. She dodged his first attempt to bite, but didn¡¯t spot his wing in time. Still off-balance from her dodge, she was bowled over onto her side by the hit from his wing. Dominic struck at her vulnerable back, gripping her neck with his sharp incisors. He didn¡¯t bite hard enough to break her skin, but she could very clearly feel his presence from the way she went still. ¡®Give up?¡¯ Dominic asked her, surprised at how much fun the last few seconds had been, despite how little time the fight had taken. ¡®I yield,¡¯ she agreed with a pleased rumble. Dominic let go of her neck, unsure as to why she was pleased at losing. The lioness twisted around and Dominic was hit by the scent of her arousal, an aroma which made heat and answering interest go through him. ¡®Strong male,¡¯ she practically purred. ¡®Powerful male. Good mate.¡¯ It took every ounce of Dominic¡¯s willpower not to give in and mate with her right then and there, but he succeeded. Just. ¡®Later,¡¯ he rumbled at her privately, giving in to lean his head down and rub it hard against hers, an instinct making him want to spread his scent over her so that everyone around knew that she was his. And then Dominic caught his own thoughts and recoiled from their possessive nature. That was Leo¡¯s influence¡­right? He enjoyed mating, but that was because it felt really good and he liked both Sekhmet and Jenkins. Right? Not daring to even look at his own emotions too closely, Dominic stepped past Jenkins and focussed on Howler who still seemed to represent the albuhas as Jenkins¡¯ second in command. ¡®Satisfied?¡¯ he asked the albuha. The winged-coyote lowered himself to the ground, his head flat on the earth and looking up, his wings spread out sideways. Behind him, the six remaining albuhas did the same. ¡®Yes, satisfied, pack leader,¡¯ Howler answered respectfully. ¡®You are strong. You are alpha over and above female alpha.¡¯ ¡®Good,¡¯ Dominic answered, both pleased and relieved at the answers. At least that wasn¡¯t complicated. ¡®Right, is everyone ready? Goodbyes said?¡¯ he looked around at the groups of different species. There were only positive responses. ¡®Then let¡¯s go.¡¯ Leading the way towards the edge of the clearing, the albuhas choosing to spring up in the air and start to fly, Dominic paused for a moment to look back. Procyon and Sirius stood with the single albuha, who Dominic quickly instructed to follow Procyon¡¯s command, and the four lionesses staying behind: Saffron, Kalista, Aurora, and Neith. Around them were the fourteen cubs, several litters of different ages. ¡®Be well,¡¯ he told them, ¡®and look after our home.¡¯ ¡®We will, pack leader,¡¯ the two amesheks answered, the four lionesses echoing a similar sentiment. ¡®But remember that we can always find another home ¨C take care of yourselves even more than this place. If you need me, send Shrieker to find me.¡¯ That was, after all, the main reason why he was leaving one of the few albuhas behind. Once more they stated their understanding and agreement. Dominic gave them a final glance and then turned and led the way into the forest. Chapter 20: Release As they approached their destination a day and a half later, Dominic wondered what the elves would think when they saw the army he was bringing with him. He threw a glance back over his Pride, pleasure filling him at the sight. Well, perhaps the elves would see an army, but as long as they had been straight with him, it was one intended to help them. The sandy lions trotted through the dusty plains, their soft paws making little sound and their fur blending into the background. Well, most of them ¨C Luna¡¯s pale fur stuck out as always, and more than one seemed to be going down the route of taking faint tiger-like stripes or leopard-like spots. They also weren¡¯t as uniform in size as they used to be ¨C even among the females there was a wide range as a result of different levels and choices made on level-up. The presence of the albuhas, amesheks, and kesh put any differences between the lions to shame, however. The kesh turned out not to be very efficient at travelling on the ground ¨C their lolloping style of vaulting with their hands was fast but seemed to be quite tiring if used for too long, and their walking pace was far too slow. As a result, they¡¯d ridden others for most of the trip, trying different members of the group at various times. It seemed that Dominic would have to get the albuhas to level up a bit more before his dreams of a flying bomber battalion would come true ¨C only Howler was able to actually fly with Weak-Eye, the smallest kesh, on his back and that was without any ammunition. They would need to increase their wing power significantly before they would be able to reliably carry the monkey-like creatures into the air. On the ground it was fine, though the albuhas did run out of stamina more quickly as a result. Not as quickly as the lions, though. Sekhmet and Jenkins had both refused to let the monkeys even try ¨C with full agreement from Leo ¨C and so it had been the level 13 Anuke who had given it a go. Within half an hour, she¡¯d had to stop and rest ¨C the weight was just too much. The juveniles didn¡¯t try either ¨C they had to keep hopping into Dominic¡¯s storage space to prevent them from slowing the whole Pride down as much as the kesh. And that didn¡¯t work for too long before they needed to come out or risk losing health. The amesheks were better mounts than both the lions and the albuhas in that sense ¨C their stamina wells seemed to be deeper as they managed to just keep going without needing to stop often. At least part of the reason was probably their higher levels ¨C the lowest were still three levels higher than Howler¡¯s level 15. No one dared to suggest that Nyx or Dominic himself carry the kesh, though Dominic had noticed a couple of kesh looking at them speculatively. Dominic himself had managed to level up before they left the forest. Now at a lofty level 28, he was only two levels away from the next half-tier ¨C and finding out what new form he would gain access to. He''d chosen to increase Mana Heart and Soul, eager to finally release some of the restrictions he was under. He pulled up the details of the change again just to remind himself that it had worked. - Mana heart level 2 (15 -> 26 MP) - 75% -> 67% penalty - Soul level 2 (Resilience to mental attacks standard measurement 7) +2% -> +6% mana regeneration (-80% -> -70% reduction to mana regeneration) 26 Mana Points wasn''t a large amount, but it was significantly better than what he had had before and proved that better was yet to come. Similarly, a 6% increase to mana regeneration wasn¡¯t great, but it was better than 2% and implied that by the time he repaired his Soul stat, he should have at least +90% to his regeneration, which was much more impressive. And maybe more if it wasn¡¯t a linear growth. Closing his status, Dominic turned his attention back to the situation at hand. ¡®I¡¯m going to scout out the meeting spot,¡¯ he told Nyx as they neared the kopje where the dungeon had been. ¡®Be careful,¡¯ she warned. ¡®I¡¯m always careful,¡¯ he protested cheekily. She sent him the mental equivalent of a playful cuff. He ignored that and turned his attention to what lay ahead. Running forwards quickly, he bent his legs underneath him and propelled himself into the air with a powerful bound. Snapping his wings out, he beat them down as he reached the apex of his jump, the motion pushing him further into the air. He repeated the motion twice more, each time gaining a little more height than he lost, and then he spread his wings out wide and glided, his paws held tightly to his body, his mane blowing back in the breeze. As always, Dominic gloried in the sensation of flying. Though he¡¯d been a bit distracted on the way back from the dungeon last time, on this journey now he¡¯d done as much practice with flying as he could fit in. Sekhmet and Jenkins hadn¡¯t been too pleased at his different focus ¨C nor had Leo or the other lionesses in heat ¨C but since Dominic had had a valid reason to justify why he wasn¡¯t mating with them at every opportunity, they¡¯d accepted it. Leo had argued that the ¡®winged canines¡¯ were there for scouting. Dominic had just answered that learning to fly would help them stay alive later; the lion had subsided and accepted restricting mating to their rest times. Up high above the ground, Dominic¡¯s eyes narrowed on the faint curl of smoke rising into the air. Following it down, he saw the faintest traces of what might be a campsite. It was well-camouflaged, but his sharp eyes were able to pick out the edges of what appeared to be tents that surrounded the source of the smoke and hid it from view. ¡®Looks like the elves never left,¡¯ he remarked to Leo. They had taken a little over half the time they¡¯d said to return, after all. ¡®You were expecting them to?¡¯ Dominic shrugged mentally. ¡®I thought they might have gone hunting somewhere, gained a few Prey Points. Or XP or whatever they get.¡¯Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Leo sent across a feeling of uncaring. ¡®We won¡¯t have to waste time searching for them, then,¡¯ he answered after a moment, as if that was all there was to it. ¡®Sure, but I figure it says something about them. Wasting time that they could be using to get stronger when their home is under attack¡­¡¯ Dominic mused. ¡®Perhaps they have been, and they¡¯re now taking a well-deserved rest ¨C we could do more of that ourselves,¡¯ Leo told him pointedly. Dominic sent him the feeling of an eyeroll. There was always the next task to complete, the next way to help himself or his Pride to get stronger. Rest was necessary, but always felt like such a waste. He knew Leo didn¡¯t agree. Soaring closer, Dominic saw it when one of the tent edges twitched and opened. A moment later, a figure stepped out of it and waved to him. Dark green hair, nut-brown skin. Berion, if Dominic remembered his name correctly. The leader. The flying lion didn¡¯t go down to him straight away ¨C he wanted to be sure that they weren¡¯t setting a trap for himself or his Pride. Yes, they said they needed his help, but that was the point ¨C they said it. Meanwhile, Jenkins and her group had killed one of theirs ¨C clear justification for trying to get retribution, at least for some of them. Dominic didn¡¯t really think that they had been lying ¨C they had a better chance of winning that kind of encounter the last time they had met than now and Berion had stopped his two party-members from pressing the attack back then. But there was no harm in being a little cautious and approaching with his whole Pride rather than alone. Gliding back to join his little army of beasts trotting or flapping across the savannah, Dominic let them all know what he had seen and got three of the albuhas to fly a little higher to get a better vantage point on the elves. Then, travelling side-by-side with Nyx, they covered the last stretch of land. As they crested the low hill that separated them from the elves¡¯ campsite, Nyx dropped back a little so Dominic was head and shoulders in front of her by the time they were making the descent. He sent her a quick glance but then decided to take it at face-value ¨C her making it clear who the overall leader of the group was. By this point, all of the elves had emerged from their campsite and were standing with expressions ranging from shocked to grim as they beheld the mass of beasts flowing towards them. Forty-two technically wasn¡¯t a very impressive number on paper, but it certainly was impactful when mostly composed of large predators. ¡®Stop here,¡¯ Dominic instructed his Pride as they got within a hundred feet of the elves. ¡®We don¡¯t want them to think we¡¯re about to attack.¡¯ Everyone obeyed, slowing to a stop but staying standing ¨C they also seemed to realise that they shouldn¡¯t completely relax just yet. ¡®Stay up in the air for now,¡¯ Dominic told the three albuhas ¨C Claw, Teeth, and Speedy. ¡®Keep an eye out for anything approaching us or any moves to attack from the elves.¡¯ ¡®Yes, pack leader,¡¯ they chorused in acknowledgement, continuing to drift lazily through the air, reminiscent of buzzards. Dominic stepped forwards and Berion did the same. They met in the mid-point between their two groups. The lion stood taller than the elf, his eyes at Berion¡¯s hair-line. With their vastly different bulk, the elf was rather dwarfed by the massive Pride leader. To show his good will, Dominic sat down, though didn¡¯t relax further than that. Dominic caught Berion glancing at the even larger Nyx with a hint of awe. ¡®Honoured brother, you¡¯ve returned faster than you suggested you might,¡¯ the elf started carefully, his eyes wandering from the lion in front of him to the mass of animals beyond. ¡®And you have brought¡­many companions.¡¯ It was still strange for Dominic to hear his words in his head while the elf spoke verbally, he did not understand. ¡®The affairs I needed to sort out took less time than I thought they might,¡¯ Dominic dismissed. ¡®Since you indicated that time was of the essence, I thought it would be better to get here sooner rather than delaying until the time we decided.¡¯ ¡®Indeed, we are grateful that you have returned sooner,¡¯ Berion admitted, though his voice was full of tension. Dominic could read between the lines ¨C he was happy to have them there sooner as long as they were there to help. ¡®I have brought all those among my Pride who were interested in helping you with the problem you described,¡¯ Dominic explained, trying to reassure the elf. ¡®They will not attack any of your kind unless they are first attacked.¡¯ He added in the caveat just to make sure that the elves realised that they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to defend themselves ¨C especially if someone decided to continue the violence which had broken out between their two groups before. ¡®I¡¯m sure that won¡¯t be a problem,¡¯ Berion reassured him, though turned and looked back at the two elves who were looking the most grim at the sight of Dominic¡¯s group. Pelir and Ruthror if Dominic remembered it correctly. The two elves straightened up at Berion¡¯s warning look and while Ruthror¡¯s grip tightened on his spear before it loosened, Pelir looked away, her mouth set in an unhappy line. ¡®See that it isn¡¯t,¡¯ Dominic warned him. ¡®Though I think we should probably keep our groups somewhat separate while we travel, just to make sure there aren¡¯t any¡­accidents.¡¯ ¡®I agree, though it pains me to do so,¡¯ sighed Berion. He smiled, though it was a thin, worried one more than anything else. ¡®I thank you again for your rapid response to our plea for help. Do you need to recuperate from your journey, or shall we depart immediately?¡¯ Dominic checked with the various members of his Pride. ¡®We would like to pause for a brief time to rest and eat, but then we can leave.¡¯ He noticed the elves look a little wary at the word ¡®eat¡¯ but chose to ignore it. Gazing into the sky, Dominic eyed the position of the sun. It was almost at its zenith ¨C not the best time to travel anyway. ¡®Let us rest for the hottest period of the day and then take our leave. How far away is your people¡¯s settlement? Berion eyed him cautiously for a moment and then sighed. ¡®It is about a day and a half at our speed of travelling. I do not know whether you travel faster or slower than we do.¡¯ It was a good question, and one Dominic didn¡¯t know the answer to either. They¡¯d find out. ¡®How do you feel about travelling at night?¡¯ Chapter 21: Think Twice As it turned out, the elves were fine travelling at night as long as at least one moon was in the sky to provide some light. They said that when all three of them were present, it wasn¡¯t much worse than travelling during the day, which could be difficult in itself since the heat caused mirages to form which made visibility difficult. The downside, of course, was that there were far more creatures active in the night than during the hottest period of the day. But for Dominic¡¯s Pride it was often a welcome source for some Prey Points, and food. Leo snarled as he realised they had been lured into a trap. While drinking and resting at a waterhole, they had been surrounded by enemies. How dare they interrupt my mating! he thought angrily to himself. Two other females were coming into heat and he needed to give them his full attention, not dozens of ugly, slimy, wart-covered toads! ¡®I think the spikes covering them are of more concern,¡¯ his brother¡¯s voice said with levity that was made thin by the undercurrent of tension also present. Leo growled and struck out at a beach ball-sized one with a claw filled paw. His testing blow ripped away a large chunk of the toad¡¯s skin. It croaked miserably, then hopped backwards, landing on top of another one behind it and then wriggling to find a space between its brethren. Somehow it managed to not be pierced by the other toad¡¯s spikes. But Leo was forced to admit that he hadn''t come off unscathed either. His paw had been pricked by some of the toad¡¯s spines and was now throbbing painfully. Venomous spines, he realised a moment later as the pain pierced more deeply and the red bar in the corner of his vision gained a green tinge. It started reducing with alarming speed. ¡®It¡¯s a strong poison,¡¯ Dominic informed him grimly. ¡®There are two drops above our health bar.¡¯ Leo backed away a little bit more from the toads before him ¨C the stubby spines had barely pierced his skin, yet it was apparently enough for the venom to infiltrate his system. Fortunately, it didn''t last long: the effect wore off within a few more breaths. Baring his fangs at the loathsome amphibians before him, Leo gathered a ball of acid in his mouth. He wouldn''t risk biting the things, but melting them with acid from a distance? That, he would happily do. The ball of green liquid landed on its target with a satisfying sizzle, the unfortunate amphibian unable to get out of the way. Leo watched in satisfaction as it, too, scrambled backwards ¨C rubbing the corrosive liquid onto its companions. Seeing the success of that acid ball, Leo started firing off more. The damaged toads retreated away as quickly as they had replaced their companions. Unfortunately, they moved quickly enough that he hadn¡¯t yet managed to kill any of them ¨C his acid wasn¡¯t strong enough to kill in a single blow. ¡®They¡¯ve probably got armored skin, or maybe that shiny substance on their backs neutralises the acid somehow,¡¯ Dominic warned him. ¡®Protector, help!¡¯ The voice of one of his females pulled his attention away from the toads he was melting. Looking around, the lion saw that while he¡¯d been distracted, the rest of his Pride was getting pressed by toads suddenly emerging from the waterhole as well as penning them in on three sides. While Leo had practically been able to halt the advance of the spiky amphibians on his side, the same wasn¡¯t true for everyone else. The amesheks were putting up a good fight, using their vocal attack to good effect ¨C though they hadn¡¯t yet killed any due to the same issue of the toads switching positions as soon as they were injured, they had managed to make the advancing line start retreating slightly. On the other side, the elves were using their weapons to attack the toads without risking contact with the poisonous spines. To Leo¡¯s disgust, they were actually the most successful front, with several toads already lying dead. ¡®Don¡¯t moan about it, Leo,¡¯ Dominic scolded him. ¡®We need all the help we can get.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯re supposed to be the help,¡¯ Leo grunted at his brother, his lips lifting to bare his teeth as he realised that the lions were the group coming off worst. Not only did they not have any ranged attacks, but they tended to be some of the weakest members of the Pride meaning the poison was ravaging their health bars. Previously, they¡¯d been at the back of the group and most protected, but with the toads emerging from the water behind them and no way to stop their advance nor any space to evade them, the situation looked grim. At least the primates were helping out a bit ¨C they were intermingled with the lions, throwing rocks at the advancing wave of enemies. It was helping, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Leo looked up with irritation at the winged-canines ¨C they had managed to escape the whole thing by soaring into the air, but were now unsure how to help. ¡®We need to get out of this trap,¡¯ Dominic told him grimly, recognising the severity of the situation. ¡®I know that! But even if I could leap across all the toads, there are too many of them for all of my females to be able to do the same,¡¯ growled Leo. He still leaped into the air, gliding over to join his trapped females. They squashed together to give him enough space to land and he had to be careful with his wings so as not to knock them into anyone. As soon as he landed, Leo dropped some carcasses for the most injured to absorb, and released Healing Cloud for those he was rubbing against to benefit from, sharing Healing Cloud with Luna who was on the other side of the group from him so she could heal those around her too. Opening his mouth, Leo released the ball of acid he¡¯d been building, causing two toads in front of him to let out pain-filled croaks as they scrambled backwards. Leo considered striking at them to kill them, but quickly reconsidered it ¨C his health was already dropping due to it fueling Healing Cloud. The lions rubbing against him switched with each other, making sure everyone who needed more healing than the carcasses provided got access to it. Meanwhile, Leo tried hard to think of a solution that would get everyone out alive. He might not be as fond of the canines ¨C winged or not ¨C as Dominic was, and he¡¯d willingly abandon the male lion, but he refused to have them taken from him. Everyone here was his and he would be damned before he let a bunch of croaking, slimy toads take them away when he could stop it. Especially when there was no closing door that threatened to trap him in a flooding room with crocodiles in it. ¡®If we can¡¯t get everyone out over the toads, we have to go through them,¡¯ his brother told him. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Leo snarled mentally at Dominic. ¡®You think I don¡¯t know that?! But how?¡¯ Then a thought occurred. ¡®Maybe we can use that new Ability of ours ¨C Poison Cloud,¡¯ he said to his brother thoughtfully. It would clear out his venom stocks and be unusable again until they¡¯d replenished, but if he could clear a way through the toads¡­. ¡®The elves aren¡¯t part of our Pride,¡¯ Dominic reminded him. ¡®They don¡¯t have immunity, and we don¡¯t have enough time to try to convince them to join. We can¡¯t use any area of effect Abilities unless they¡¯re out of the way!¡¯ ¡®If they¡¯re not part of our Pride, they¡¯re not under our protection!¡¯ declared Leo firmly. ¡®And if we have to choose between them and our females, I know what I will decide!¡¯ ¡®You always do this!¡¯ raged his brother with an impressive snarl ¨C for a human. ¡®Either it¡¯s the amesheks or the young male lions or the albuhas or the elves. Somehow there¡¯s always someone you¡¯re willing to sacrifice! Well, I¡¯m not! The more allies we have, the stronger we are. I wish you¡¯d just realise that already! The elves are doing a decent job with their weapons. The amesheks are having an effect too. Even the kesh. We need to work together to get out of this!¡¯ Leo forced himself not to respond angrily. Even he could admit that having an internal fight between brothers was the wrong thing to do at that moment. ¡®Then what is your genius plan?¡¯ demanded Leo, unable to completely rid himself of his snide tone. If the human didn¡¯t have one¡­. Dominic had apparently been trying to calm himself down too, as when he started speaking again, it was more levelly than before. When Dominic related his plan, the lion had to reluctantly admit that it might work. It wouldn¡¯t kill all of the toads, which was his preference, but that was of secondary importance. Ultimately, getting his Pride out was the most important thing ¨C his females as a priority. Working together, Leo and his brother communicated with the two groups, Leo electing to use the Pride chat, Dominic using telepathy to contact the elves. The groups shuffled around to face the area where the toads were the thinnest ¨C where the elves had been attacking. The amesheks and Leo stepped forwards first, the albuhas gliding towards them from behind the Pride. As Leo started to Roar with a focus on doing damage and chasing the toads away, the amesheks joined in with their own vocal attack. The toads directly in front of them took the brunt of the damage and were frozen in place. Notifications started flashing in front of Leo¡¯s eyes, but he dismissed them irritably. He cut out the Roar as his stamina bar emptied past the halfway mark and the amesheks stopped shortly after. The elves ran forwards to flick the dead toads out of their way with their weapons. As soon as space was cleared, the albuhas came in to land, howling at the toads as they did so. The advancing wave of amphibians halted and then started recoiling quickly as they were hit by the repelling power of the vocal attacks, particularly that of the albuhas. Unfortunately, the winged coyotes had been a bit over-eager and the elves got caught by the effect too. They started running ¨C straight towards the spiky toads. ¡®Stop them!¡¯ Leo growled and several of the lionesses sprang forwards. They bit at the fleeing elves¡¯ clothes, dragging them backwards against their best efforts to escape. ¡®Stop howling!¡¯ Leo snarled at the albuhas. The winged coyotes hesitated, several taking the opportunity to suck in dearly-needed breaths. It was enough for the elves to come back to their senses and realise that the lions weren¡¯t aiming to hurt them. It was a good thing too as one had already turned to attack the female stopping him from running headlong into the spiky wall ahead of him. Leo thought darkly that if the brown-furred elf had landed just a single blow, Leo would have taken it out of his flesh tenfold. The elves now clear, they tried again. The effects of the albuhas¡¯ vocal attacks pushed the wave of toads back again ¨C they had started creeping closer again while the elves were being retrieved. Unfortunately, they¡¯d lost the momentum and the effect wasn¡¯t as great as before. ¡®Try using Fearful Voice with Group Enhancement,¡¯ suggested Dominic. ¡®Maybe they¡¯re similar enough to work together.¡¯ Leo opened his mouth again and tried out Fearful Voice. Instead of the Roar he was used to, a far deeper and more resonant one appeared. Even behind the battle-lines, he saw the elves cringe away and almost start to run again as they were caught in the fringes of the sound; only when they clapped their hands over their ears did they appear to be released from the worst of its thrall. The toads had a much more obvious reaction. With fear-filled croaks, they redoubled their attempt to escape, leaving an open corridor in front of the Pride. ¡®Go!¡¯ Leo said to everyone. Even his mental voice was tired and strained. That Ability appeared to have taken something out of him which didn¡¯t seem to be reflected in any of his bars. His Pride ran past him as he struggled to limp forwards, pushing through the exhaustion which had settled into his bones. Fortunately, it appeared that the side-effect was limited in duration ¨C each forced step forwards was a little easier until, by the time he cleared the last of the toads, he felt almost none of the exhaustion which had been weighing on him. Ahead, his Pride had paused, far enough away from the toads that they weren¡¯t likely to be caught again, but it would take Leo only a couple of seconds to catch up at a run. Instead of doing that, however, he hesitated, looking back at the toads. Although they had killed a few of the amphibians, they hadn¡¯t killed nearly enough for Leo¡¯s tastes, not considering the trap they had just escaped. Thinking about it, Leo now realised why there hadn¡¯t been any other creatures drinking at this waterhole. It hadn¡¯t been obvious at the time because the plains were emptier than Leo ever remembered them being, but it was still a mistake he shouldn¡¯t have made. And attacking them was a mistake that the toads shouldn¡¯t have made either. Turning, he ran back to the centre of the toads, regaining the still-empty space that his Pride had recently vacated. ¡®Leo, what are you doing?¡¯ Dominic asked urgently, then apparently he caught wind of what the lion was thinking. ¡®Oh. Good idea,¡¯ he continued brightly with a hint of bloodthirstiness in his voice. Crouching down, the lion waited until the toads piled in closely, almost close enough to touch him. Then, activating Poison Cloud, he covered all the space within one of his body-lengths around him with a choking cloud of his haemotoxic venom. ¡®See, we could have used this Ability to get our Pride out of here,¡¯ Leo couldn¡¯t resist telling his brother. ¡®It doesn¡¯t go that far.¡¯ Leo was silent as he breathed in and out slowly three times ¨C the duration of the Ability ¨C and then leaped up in the air and glided out. The remaining cloud was spread further by the gust of air from his wings and affected even those toads who had been out of its range before. ¡®Yeah, and then they could have been poisoned by that backdraft or if the wind went in the wrong direction,¡¯ Dominic pointed out. ¡®Anyway, we got them out.¡¯ ¡®That we did, brother,¡¯ Leo agreed with satisfaction. When the slightly yellow-tinged mist cleared, he¡¯d left behind a field of bleeding, dying amphibians. The toads who had escaped his attack or hadn¡¯t received enough of the poison to kill them retreated, some disappearing into the water, others burrowing themselves into the ground. ¡®Perhaps they¡¯ll think twice about taking us on in the future,¡¯ Dominic said, his voice filled with the same satisfaction as Leo¡¯s. Chapter 22: Every Stray The elven leader came up to Leo as he was collecting the Cores of the toads which had died. He¡¯d refilled his own health and the extra bar which fed Healing Cloud by absorbing bodies. Isis and Luna were doing the same and helping to heal the rest of their Pride-mates. Luna hadn¡¯t yet gained the Ability herself, so Leo had lent it to her again at his brother¡¯s urging. Since two lions with Healing Cloud weren¡¯t enough to heal everyone, the rest were absorbing the toad carcasses to top themselves off. They were careful to avoid touching the poisonous spines on the toads¡¯ backs, though it seemed that the toads were coated in a weaker version of the poison too. Fortunately, using a claw tip which could then be wiped off in the dirt seemed to be enough to trigger the Consume effect. At his brother¡¯s urging, he¡¯d stored a few of the carcasses too ¨C he wasn¡¯t sure what the former-human was thinking of doing with them, but he trusted Dominic enough to do it without asking too many questions. The elven leader stopped near the big lion and waited patiently to be acknowledged. Curious about how long he would wait, Leo pretended he hadn¡¯t seen the green-furred elf. Despite the fact that it had to be increasingly obvious that Leo was ignoring him, the elf¡¯s patience never broke. ¡®Come on Leo, stop being rude,¡¯ Dominic told the lion with exasperation clear in his voice. Apparently he was the weak one when it came to patience. ¡®I¡¯m not being rude,¡¯ Leo told him loftily. ¡®Then what are you doing if not being rude?¡¯ ¡®Testing his resolve.¡¯ ¡®OK, why?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s good to know how prey might react before pouncing.¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s not prey,¡¯ Dominic answered, the exasperation even clearer. ¡®And we¡¯re not going to pounce on him either. So find out what he wants, already.¡¯ ¡®Another predator then,¡¯ Leo answered, unruffled. ¡®Why don¡¯t you reach out, if you¡¯re so desperate.¡¯ ¡®Fine them, I will,¡¯ Dominic answered, sounding piqued. To be fair to him, they did tend to have an unspoken rule that whoever was in charge of their shared body was the one to communicate with those around, unless it was the middle of a battle, explicitly requested, or urgent for some other reason. But by this point, Leo felt like it was a competition between him and the elf to see who would blink first, and he refused to be the one who gave in first. But if his brother was the one to reach out¡­. ¡®Berion, I apologise for my companion,¡¯ Dominic started with an obvious dig at Leo. The lion snarled internally at his brother in response. ¡®He seems to be treating this like a game. What did you wish to talk about?¡¯ The elf appeared slightly startled. ¡®You are¡­two minds in the same body? I have wondered at the way you seem to change dramatically from time to time.¡¯ Leo wasn¡¯t surprised that it would be that obvious when a monkey-descendant took control of his body, though he was ashamed at what the females might think of him at those times. Apart from the ones with odd tastes, of course. Dominic seemed more surprised than he was. ¡®Yes, we are,¡¯ Dominic confirmed. ¡®I¡¯m Dominic and he¡¯s Leo. Now, what do you need?¡¯ While releasing a scent of curiosity, the elf evidently decided to not pursue his questions further. ¡®I wished to thank you Honoured Brother for your pack¡¯s protection during the most recent altercation,¡¯ he said, crossing his wrists and raising them to press against his forehead, his paws open. ¡®Pride,¡¯ Leo interjected ¨C now that the silence had been broken, he didn¡¯t feel the need to hold back. ¡®Honoured brother¡­Leo?¡¯ the elf asked with confusion. ¡®We¡¯re a Pride. Not a pack. That¡¯s for canines and we¡¯re felines,¡¯ Leo explained with pride. ¡®My apologies. We are grateful for your Pride¡¯s protection.¡¯ ¡®Of course,¡¯ Dominic answered before Leo could. ¡®We are travelling together; we fight together. Thank you in return for helping to clear the way and defending our flank even before that.¡¯ ¡®Of course,¡¯ the elf echoed. ¡®On that note, actually, I have a question to ask you,¡¯ Dominic continued. ¡®You¡¯re not going to invite them to join the Pride, are you?¡¯ Leo asked his brother warningly, keeping his words private between the two of them. ¡®It makes the most logical sense,¡¯ argued Dominic, also privately. ¡®Otherwise we¡¯ll be restricted from using our full range of Abilities as long as they¡¯re nearby.¡¯ ¡®Brother, we can¡¯t just pick up every stray that comes along,¡¯ Leo objected. ¡®It¡¯s not picking up strays. Come on, Leo, think of it this way. We¡¯re not in the Place of Power, so we don¡¯t even have to share those points with them. We might share Prey Points from the fights with them, but they¡¯ll be helping to kill the creatures anyway, so it just evens things out a bit. And we¡¯ll even gain some Pride Points for it which don¡¯t seem to be subtracted when they leave ¨C as I¡¯m sure they will after the current problem is resolved. It¡¯s a win-win situation.¡¯If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Leo thought through it but couldn¡¯t think of any good argument against it other than simply that he didn¡¯t want the elves to become part of his Pride, part of his group of responsibilities. As if sensing his grudging concession to Dominic¡¯s arguments, the human reached out again to the elf and made his suggestion. He explained much the same benefits as he had to Leo, though in different words. The former human was annoyingly good at convincing people sometimes, the lion had to admit. Though, the elf seemed to be a harder nut to crack than Leo had been as he didn¡¯t seem entirely convinced. ¡®I would not want to risk giving up my allegiance to my people,¡¯ the elf explained as he hesitated. ¡®I am already part of a community and a party. I fear that joining your Pride, even temporarily, might supplant one of those.¡¯ ¡®What if we just try it?¡¯ Dominic suggested. ¡®Usually the System seems to warn me if an action is going to have significant consequences ¨C if becoming part of the Pride would take the place of your party or community, we can choose not to do it.¡¯ The elf hesitated for a long moment, but Leo could smell the curiosity and interest coming from him. He already knew what the answer would be, even before the pointy-eared being could give it. ¡®Very well, we will try,¡¯ the elf announced a moment later. Leo felt his brother concentrate and send out the invitation. A notification flashed up in front of his eyes. By this point, Leo was actually able to understand enough of the message to get the gist. ¡®It didn¡¯t work, did it?¡¯ he asked his brother. ¡®No, it didn¡¯t,¡¯ the former-human said thoughtfully. ¡®Wait, can you read now?¡¯ he asked a beat later. ¡®If hairless-primates can learn to do it, a feline surely can too,¡¯ Leo proclaimed smugly. ¡®But why don¡¯t you read it out anyway.¡¯ ¡®Uh huh,¡¯ his brother replied dubiously, not entirely fooled. He extended the communication so that the elf could hear him too. ¡®I tried to invite you, Berion, but a message came up. To paraphrase, it seems that because you receive XP from your kills and we receive Prey Points, our groups are incompatible.¡¯ ¡®Interesting,¡¯ answered Berion curiously. ¡®Then we shall just have to be careful with attacks which could impact each other if we are pulled into another fight before we make it back to Selanthis.¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ agreed Dominic. ¡®Avoiding fights as much as possible may be a good idea too.¡¯ After a few more words to determine exactly which way they were heading and how long until they could head out again, they both turned their attention back to dealing with the results of this fight. Leo had already continued absorbing carcasses and collecting the Cores from around the area. The elf returned to his group who were using knives to slice into other carcasses, retrieving items and tucking them away. ¡®Looks like they have some extra-dimensional storage too,¡¯ Dominic remarked, obviously paying attention to the same things Leo was. ¡®I wonder what they¡¯re finding in these toads that could be useful?¡¯ he wondered. ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ Leo dismissed. He was more interested in what they themselves were finding. ¡®What do you think about these Cores?¡¯ ¡®Well, they all have Poisonous Mucus which is pretty gross. I hate to think about it, but maybe it¡¯s secreted by those spines? It would make sense that those would be the most poisonous bits in that case, while the skin below them was just shiny and only a bit poisonous. My concern over that one ¨C apart from the fact that no way do I want an Ability called ¡®Poisonous Mucus¡¯ ¨C is that I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s active all the time, or whether we can choose to activate it. I don¡¯t really want to be walking around, poisoning everyone around us who¡¯s not part of our Pride.¡¯ ¡®Though those would mostly be enemies,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Not in the elven settlement,¡¯ disagreed Dominic. ¡®We hope,¡¯ replied Leo pessimistically, though he had to admit that his brother had a point. ¡®But we won¡¯t even be able to get the Ability until we level up again. And it might combine with Venomous Bite instead.¡¯ ¡®True,¡¯ admitted his brother, ¡®Though we can¡¯t be sure about that. And even if it does,¡¯ he continues with a hint of wicked mirth, ¡®imagine what might happen when we groom ourself ¨C do you really want our fur to be wet and sticky at all times? Imagine our mane unable to ruffle in the wind because it¡¯s slicked up like some kid who uses half a bottle of hair gel every day?¡¯ ¡®Absolutely not!¡¯ cried Leo, horrified enough to actually stand still and growl, his lips pulling up to bare his teeth. ¡®What would the females think if my magnificent mane was¡­was¡­¡¯ he sneezed as if he actually had an allergy to the idea. ¡®No Poisonous Mucus! We are not getting that Ability!¡¯ ¡®I suppose if we accidentally pick it up, we could get rid of it the next time we go back to our Place of Power ¨C the Ability Forge might be quite useful at getting rid of unwanted Abilities,¡¯ Dominic mused though Leo could sense the glee he was badly hiding. ¡®Or we might be able to transform it into something more useful. What do you think about these other ones?¡¯ They continued discussing the secondary and tertiary Abilities from what were apparently called ¡®poisoned spine zelops¡¯ with an average level of thirteen, though they unanimously agreed to continue calling the things toads. By the time they left the area, Leo and his brother had gained a few extra Abilities to add to the list. Poisonous Mucus, of course, had reached the point of being acquirable on their next level up ¨C with it being the basic toad Ability, it would have been hard not to absorb it. They had aimed for a few more interesting Abilities when they had the chance, though. His brother had been pleased about Extended Hop, seeing a chance to increase their leaps even more. He¡¯d been even more excited about another one, though ¨C Enhanced Regeneration. One of the most common secondary Abilities among the toads, Dominic thought that that explained the sacrificial strategy of the toads nicely. Leo had wondered at the point of having an Ability which was the same as the Aspect they had already gained from the chimera ages ago; Dominic seemed to think that the two might combine to offer even better regeneration. Since they¡¯d managed to get that one to 100% too, they¡¯d have to see on their next level-up. But there was something Leo found even more exciting, though: Enhanced Fertility. Although that Ability of his had been increasing steadily with his efforts in mating ¨C efforts which his brother definitely didn¡¯t seem to be as appreciative of as he should be ¨C absorbing a few Cores which contained it sent it close to reaching the next level. A few more rounds of mating with the females in heat and coming into heat ¨C since Sekhmet inexplicably didn¡¯t seem open to his advances ¨C should see it reaching level 2. Which meant an even higher chance of impregnating his mates. ¡®Leo, are we leaving or what?¡¯ His brother¡¯s voice intruded into a lovely day-dream where his progeny covered the whole of the savannah and his mates were as numerous as the blades of grass. Leo sighed. No rest for the wicked. He thought the saying was to let sleeping lions lie ¨C it didn¡¯t seem to work out that way for him. Chapter 23: Forest Town The rest of their journey passed without much conflict. There were a couple of skirmishes, but generally once the attackers realised just what a big chunk they¡¯d bitten off, they beat a hasty retreat ¨C the survivors, that was. More interested in making it to their destination than chasing every Prey Point they could, both Dominic and Leo agreed to let them run. There was only one particular skirmish which almost led to the death of two Pride members ¨C when the savannah ground erupted and closed on a kesh and ¨C to Leo¡¯s dismay ¨C one of the newest lionesses: Bella. But with the rest of the Pride piling in to attack, the massive creature which had made its lair underground was soon killed. Oddly reminiscent of a flatfish, though with feeler-like legs that allowed it to move around, its only real advantage was its ability to camouflage itself against the ground ¨C but there was no need to see the enemy when it had already been located. Unsurprisingly, its Core had given Dominic a few more percent towards that very Ability ¨C the chances were even more weighted than normal towards getting its starting Ability. On the positive side, thanks to the fight with the toads and the other skirmishes which ended up in a few dead enemies each time, all of the level 1 lions that survived had gone up to level 2. A few others had increased by a level too. None of those Dominic knew very well, though. Dominic himself was still far from his next level ¨C which wasn¡¯t surprising. As the sun rose on the second day of travelling with the elves, their prediction of how long it would take to reach their home proved to be correct ¨C apparently the speed of the Pride limited to its slowest and weakest members was not dissimilar from the usual travelling speed for the elves. The rising sun¡¯s rays fell upon an interesting sight ahead of the Pride. ¡®Another forest?¡¯ Dominic wondered mentally at his companion. Then, when Leo didn¡¯t respond, he prodded the lion mentally. ¡®Hm? Are we doing something interesting that¡¯s worth me waking up?¡¯ Leo asked with the sensation of a wide yawn and stretch. ¡®Well, you tell me, Your Majesty,¡¯ Dominic told him with exasperation. Lazy lion ¨C it wasn¡¯t even that he¡¯d done all the fighting. In fact, he¡¯d been far more eager to take over when they were having a pause ¨C so he could mate with the lionesses who were still in heat, or coming into it. To Dominic¡¯s disappointment, Sekhmet was out of heat by now and didn¡¯t seem interested in anything more than cuddling. Jenkins was still interested, but Dominic was already mentally preparing himself for a dry-spell afterwards ¨C he still wasn¡¯t keen on doing it with just any random lioness like Leo was. Though he¡¯d found it rather embarrassing at first to do it within view of the elves, his partners hadn¡¯t been cooperative with his desire to find a bush to hide behind so he¡¯d had to either deal with the embarrassment or go without. He¡¯d chosen to deal with it. Fortunately, the elves hadn¡¯t seemed to consider two lions mating to be anything to stare at or he might have had some performance anxiety. ¡®It looks like a forest¡­but not at the same time,¡¯ Leo replied after taking his time to observe it. ¡®The trees seem¡­unnatural in a certain way.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s what I thought too,¡¯ Dominic replied, glad that his companion was seeing the same things he was. The trees seemed to be normal insofar as they had trunks and canopies, but their proportions were odd. They were more like the baobabs Dominic had seen in a documentary at some point, their trunks were bulbous and their canopies were sparse. The real oddity was that the bulging of the trunks didn¡¯t look natural at all. And as they got closer and the sun moved higher into the sky, more details became visible, all of which served as more evidence that this forest of trees wasn¡¯t natural. They decided to take a rest when the sun was at its zenith to escape the worst of its heat ¨C they didn¡¯t want to arrive at their destination completely exhausted and they still had a while to go, despite how close it looked across the flat savannah. By that time Dominic was sure that this forest was what they sought: Selanthis, the home of the elves. While they were resting, for once Dominic didn¡¯t let Leo take over ¨C he wanted information. He padded over to where the elves had formed a small circle, sitting cross-legged on the earth. They were drinking from their seemingly-bottomless water flasks and eating what appeared to be travel rations ¨C a mixture of jerky and hard tack. Or at least things that appeared very much like those. It was a mark of how the relationship between them had relaxed a little that only Ruthror and Pelir tensed when he approached, though even those two limited their reaction to a slightly-hostile look as the rest looked up at Dominic. Luthor, the closest to Dominic, shifted to the side so he wasn¡¯t right under Dominic¡¯s head. ¡®That¡¯s Selanthis, right?¡¯ Dominic asked, sitting down opposite Berion. Ruthror, who was the closest on his other side shuffled away from him ¨C the golden-haired elf still wasn¡¯t his greatest fan. But neither he nor Pelir had made any attempt to attack him or any member of his Pride, even when they¡¯d had the opportunity, so Dominic was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. ¡®It is,¡¯ Berion responded with a mixture of wistfulness and worry. ¡®At least I can see some evidence that our people are still there. I was worried that it might not be the case on our return.¡¯ ¡®So are those trees or are they houses?¡¯ Dominic inquired curiously. ¡®Either way, they¡¯re where you live, right?¡¯ That much seemed obvious ¨C closer to the forest, Dominic could see that the trees bulged sideways in what appeared to be rooms due to the various openings he could see. They seemed to have glass or something of the sort since many spots reflected the light of the sun. There were even wrap-around balconies on the outsides of the bulges higher above the ground. ¡®Yes, most of us live in the trees, though not everyone ¨C the trees are limited in number and capacity. As for whether they are trees or houses¡­they are both. We have many among our number who are able to guide and support the growth of the trees into becoming homes for us. At the same time we care for the trees, ensuring that no rot, drought, or parasites cut their lives short. Thus, we live together in harmony, giving as much or more than we take.¡¯ His mouth turned down with his eyes taking on a saddened glint. ¡®At least, it used to be that way before the System arrived. Now¡­¡¯This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡®Now we don¡¯t know how to live,¡¯ finished the violet-eyed Talathon. ¡®The System appears to be one that encourages violence more than it does crafting, taking more than it does giving. And we are lost in this new land, so different from the one we knew before. Either we learn to live differently or we will fall.¡¯ He looked around the group who were all staring at him, some of them unhappily. ¡®You know I speak only the truth. If we are not willing to hear it, we will be destroyed.¡¯ ¡®The truth as you see it. We do not want to descend into the savagery that long ago killed so many of our kind that we almost became extinct ¨C and the world with us,¡¯ rumbled the white-haired, dark-skinned Luthor. Dominic started feeling awkward ¨C this discussion had the feeling of one which they had had many times before and never came to a satisfactory conclusion, merely postponing it to another time. ¡®How long do you think it will be before we get to your home?¡¯ Dominic asked, trying to divert the conversation back to something more productive. The elves looked at him, some appearing a little startled, as if they¡¯d completely forgotten that he was there. ¡®At the pace we have been making so far, as long as we go soon after the sun has moved past its zenith, we will be there before it has dropped much further.¡¯ Talathon answered. ¡®Alright, thanks,¡¯ Dominic said, deciding to beat a hasty retreat before he was drawn into existential questions from the elves again. Though, as he did, he had to wonder how his fellow humans were dealing with the whole situation. He doubted there was much questioning about whether they should be using violence to solve their problems or not. If they¡¯re also being attacked by waves of beasts, I hope they don¡¯t end up using nuclear weapons and poisoning this planet for everyone, he worried to himself. ***** They started moving as soon as it was bearable for even the weakest members of their group. Sure enough, Talathon¡¯s prediction seemed to be accurate ¨C the sun had noticeably moved in the sky but not by a massive amount by the time they were approaching the elves¡¯ settlement. Forest city? Tree Town? Dominic wondered what to call it. There were at least fifty of the baobabs which, this close, appeared very much like downsized skyscrapers. Downsized in the sense of probably only having ten stories at most, but in real terms they were big enough to make Dominic feel small. Even the massive tree at the centre of their Place of Power was only the size of the smallest of the trees, and vastly smaller than the immense one he saw standing head and shoulders above the others. Around the feet of the giants were a number of earthen-coloured lumps, appearing like growths on the roots of the trees. They were probably more homes. So it could surely be considered to be at least a town. Then, as he saw what was happening, he dismissed the question about correct appellation. He was flying, wanting to get a better view of the settlement than that he could from the ground. It also gave him a good view of the events in the city just ahead of them. Beasts were attacking right at that moment! Targeting the side of the city closest to Dominic was a large group of creatures. They were too far away and too tightly packed for Dominic to properly identify them, but they looked to be of all sorts of shapes and sizes. ¡®Sekhmet!¡¯ Dominic reached out to his favourite lioness ¨C even if he knew he shouldn¡¯t play favourites, she definitely was. ¡®Tell the elves that their city is under attack. Ask if they would prefer to rush forwards or whether they would prefer to conserve our strength and hope that their people are still alive by the time we get there.¡¯ ¡®Yes, Dominic,¡¯ she acknowledged. That was one of the downsides of him not being able to bring the elves into the Pride ¨C no direct communication with them when he wasn¡¯t next to them. Fortunately, there was another lion in the Pride with Telepathy. While he waited for Sekhmet to come back with the answer, Dominic scouted ahead a bit more. He suspected he knew what the elves¡¯ answer would be, but since it was their city, he thought that they should have the choice. Fleet Foot didn¡¯t work in the air which meant that he was slightly slower there than he was running with his boosts, so Dominic angled his wings to land. On the ground, he dashed forwards as fast as he could with all his movement enhancers active, before leaping back into the air. Beating his wings a few times brought him laboriously higher into the air, giving him a better view of the attack. Now closer, he was more able to identify some of the creatures present. Predominant, interestingly enough, were hyenas. ¡®Dirty scavengers,¡¯ Leo snarled. ¡®What do you think are the chances that these are connected to the group we tangled with before?¡¯ Dominic questioned. The lion went quiet for a moment, but his growing anger was obvious to Dominic. ¡®Bring up our map,¡¯ he requested thoughtfully. Dominic wouldn¡¯t have done so if he was running ¨C too much chance of tripping or colliding with something ¨C but while gliding, as long as he kept straight, the chances of nose-planting were reduced. At least as long as he didn¡¯t do it for too long. ¡®Alright,¡¯ he agreed, pulling the map up in front of his eyes. Even more intrusive than the notifications normally were, this map completely filled his vision ¨C only his peripheral vision could see anything else. There wasn¡¯t much on it at the moment ¨C a route which looked like two sides of a triangle showing where he had gone from the dungeon to the Place of Power and then from the dungeon to where he was now. ¡®To get to our old territory, we went through the Place of Power, though we didn¡¯t go in a straight line,¡¯ mused Leo. ¡®And then when we ran away from those hyenas before, we retraced our footsteps to return to the forest. It¡¯s quite possible that we aren¡¯t actually that far away from it. Perhaps one of the females would know ¨C we didn¡¯t stay protectors of our territory for long enough for me to be able to recognise it from here.¡¯ His tone was rather accusatory. Dominic ignored it. ¡®Which means that, in addition to helping out the elves, we might be able to have the chance to have a second round against the ones who drove us out of our territory before¡­.¡¯ ¡®And this time, the outcome will be very different,¡¯ agreed Leo with a sense of blood-thirstiness. Chapter 24: They Need Our Help! The elves, predictably, were far more interested in hurrying ahead and hopefully helping their people than taking their time, conserving their strength, and probably arriving after the attack was over. They started sprinting ahead as a group, accompanied by as many of the Pride as could match their pace and keep it. Technically, most of the Pride members could out-pace them but there was no strategic advantage in arriving at the battle with half of them exhausted. Dominic decided to lead the runners ¨C the albuhas were faster and more agile in the air and could fulfil the scouting role better than he could in many ways. They had already gone ahead of the land-bound Pride members and gave regular updates of the situation as Dominic¡¯s group closed the gap. ¡®Two-legs holding against beasts but struggling.¡¯ ¡®Beasts going around two-legs.¡¯ ¡®Lots of plants growing. Most beasts trapped ¨C face two-legs or retreat. Some beasts still going around.¡¯ ¡®Two-legs spreading out ¨C need to stop beasts who escaped plants. Two-legs spread thin,¡¯ ¡®Beasts getting through two-legs ¨C not enough to block them.¡¯ ¡®We need to get there ¨C they need our help!¡¯ The last was panted out by Ruthror, his eyes wild. Dominic had been passing on the updates from the albuhas, but now he was wondering if he should have just kept quiet ¨C sometimes ignorance really was bliss. Now, they were close enough to see the details of the back ranks of the beasts, though the situation at the front with the elves was still hidden to them. As before, he noticed that there were quite a few hyenas present, most of them hanging around at the back and hooting as if to encourage the rest forwards. There were also trodils, resorels, kesh, and wild dogs all pressing forwards as if eager to sink their teeth ¨C or beaks ¨C into elven flesh. He was pretty sure he even saw a group of large scrin somewhere in the middle of the mass. It wasn¡¯t surprising at all that the elves were struggling with the onslaught. They couldn¡¯t just leap into this ¨C Dominic had had enough experience with fighting the creatures he recognised to know that they needed a plan. ¡®Everyone, the most important thing is to stick together! Once you¡¯re surrounded, form a circle and protect each other¡¯s backs. If you get seriously injured, drop back into the center. Nyx, I¡¯m going to share Healing Cloud with you ¨C don¡¯t hesitate to absorb carcasses to power it. Isis, you too, and use Protective Mother on the most vulnerable. Otherwise, kesh, stick in the centre of the ring ¨C throw stones at beasts outside the circle. Try to target enemies attacking other Pride members, but don¡¯t risk hitting a Pridemate. Amesheks and lions, work together in pairs as we discussed. Amesheks stun, lions attack. If the strategy doesn¡¯t work, though, don¡¯t hesitate to try something different. Everyone, use quick attacks ¨C in and out. Make sure you always know where the rest of the Pride is and don¡¯t get trapped or isolated from the group. Albuhas, harry them from the air with your Fearful Howl and physical attacks, where possible. If you need a break, land in the middle of the Pride. We don¡¯t want to lose anyone ¨C stick together and work as a team everyone. Any questions?¡¯ They were less than two minutes away from slamming into the back ranks of the mass of beasts. ¡®What are you going to do?¡¯ Sekhmet asked. ¡®I¡¯m going to check out the front lines and help relieve the pressure if I can. If I can¡¯t or they refuse to accept my help, I¡¯ll return and help here at the back,¡¯ Dominic told her. ¡®Be careful,¡¯ she warned, several others joining in with a similar caution, including Jenkins and Nyx. ¡®I will,¡¯ Dominic promised, then contacted the elves to quickly explain the gist of the Pride¡¯s plan. A minute or so until they¡¯d strike the beasts at the back of the group. He saw some of their targets becoming aware of their approach. Not many, fortunately, but that would change quickly, especially as he heard the hyenas at the rear begin whooping. Hopefully few enough would be alerted that the lions¡¯ Pounce Abilities would still take effect. ¡®Perhaps the female has a point,¡¯ Leo commented quietly, projecting more anxiety than Dominic had ever sensed from him before. ¡®We should fight together as a Pride. We will make each other stronger.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s exactly what we¡¯re going to do. We¡¯re more mobile, flexible, and do more damage in a single hit than anyone else in the Pride, save perhaps Nyx. We will do more good moving around the battlefield than if we stay close to the Pride. The System should recognise that we¡¯re still working together even if we¡¯re not in close proximity ¨C we¡¯re attacking the same group with the same aims.¡¯ ¡®But if members of our Pride start being overwhelmed¡­.¡¯ ¡®Then we will come back and protect them,¡¯ Dominic assured him. The lion¡¯s presence retreated a little ¨C not entirely content but willing to concede for a time. Not wanting to get distracted by notifications, Dominic intentionally willed them to only tell him about deaths among his own group and any challenges that might be levied against him. Those would probably come through no matter what he wanted, anyway. ¡®Our friends may not realise that you are here to help,¡¯ Berion warned. ¡®We will do our best to skirt the main body of beasts and communicate with those at the front. Don¡¯t be too fast to get there,¡¯ he suggested. Thirty seconds to go. ¡®Fine,¡¯ Dominic said shortly, then he activated Momentous Charge. Every footfall made him grow in size and this time, with so much distance to build up, he found himself actually hitting a limit that he hadn¡¯t realised existed. It became harder and harder to push against the air in front of him and to continue growing his momentum further. Fortunately, that happened only a short distance away from the enemy beasts. Gathering his full enhanced power, he leaped the final feet to land on his targets. Only, with his greater size and weight, he practically turned them into a paste, dead in an instant. The first beasts barely slowed him down, and he took advantage of the lingering size and strength given by Momentous Charge to gather his back feet beneath him and leap forwards again. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! It took at least four beasts before he was slowed to the point where his strike didn¡¯t instantly kill his target and knock back those around as well. By that point, his size and weight were almost back to normal, though he still had some lingering momentum propelling him forwards. Planting his front paws into the earth below his pulverised opponents, he used the rest of the remaining momentum from his charge to add extra power to his Tail Strike. The force of the Ability drove his back end around, twisting him 180 degrees. His by now metal-clad tail ripped through the beasts before him like they weren¡¯t even there. Blood exploded into the air from the impact, the smaller creatures almost vanishing as a result of the force of the blow. Momentous Charge might have given him the power and weight to bulldoze through four beasts; Tail Strike pulverised at least seven. Dominic couldn¡¯t sit on his laurels, though ¨C the rest of his Pride weren¡¯t far behind. Leaping high into the air, he cleared the way just in time for the first ranks of his Pride to plough into the beasts. Spreading his wings, he watched their progress. Nyx was leading the charge, her large frame and armoured body allowing her to drive a wedge deep into the mass of beasts. Behind her in a natural v-shape, the rest of the Pride followed. In the first second of the battle, at least twice again the number Dominic had killed were overcome. When Nyx¡¯ forward momentum ground to a halt, the rest of the Pride pushed forwards to surround and support her, the amesheks naturally gravitating closest to her, the rest of the Pride arranging themselves next to them. Dominic heard Isis, Simbi, Sekhmet, and Jenkins all calling out orders. The first three were arranging the Pride; Jenkins was directing her albuhas above. Dominic felt pride swell inside him ¨C they were well able to take care of themselves. That freed him up to be more mobile on the battlefield. With a flap of his wings, Dominic pushed himself through the air, soaring high enough that he shouldn¡¯t have to worry about being attacked from below. Abruptly, his body dodged to the side, his instincts responding to the threat he felt with Spatial Awareness even before he noticed it. And then he dropped down as another two flew at him. His eyes caught up with what his senses had already detected ¨C three arrows had just flown at him. There was only one source for that ¨C the elves. Dominic eyed the group of humanoids in case another missile was about to be sent his way, but it looked like all the elves were currently fully occupied. Perhaps they had risked a shot at him because he looked to be the biggest airborne threat. Clearly, Berion had a point about not rushing to the front too quickly. It seemed like the elves¡¯ lapse in concentration had cost them, though, if the way the beasts had surged forwards was any indication. The bow-wielding elves were now fully focussed on the battle immediately in front of them. Dominic kept a wary eye on the elves just in case that situation changed and he became a target once again. In the meantime, though, he got a firsthand view of the battlefield. There were easily a hundred beasts present, possibly a lot more. It was hard to get a proper count considering the massively different sizes and shapes of them all and the way they were moving around. The back ranks of the battle were now fully aware of the new players, but the middle section and front sections weren¡¯t, still pressing forwards in eagerness to taste elven flesh. Dominic now had a better idea of what the albuhas had been trying to communicate earlier. The elves were very limited in numbers, it seemed with only around twenty-five fighters against the whole of the beast force. To lessen the advantage of numbers on the beasts¡¯ side, the elves had grown thorny hedges to try to channel the attackers to a choke-point. The problem was that some of the beasts had gone around the funnelling hedges and were attacking the elves from the sides. To defend against that, elves had been pulled from the main choke-point and diverted there. But now, the weight of numbers pushing through the choke-point were driving the elves back bit by bit ¨C and if they lost that section, they would easily be surrounded by the numbers present. But they couldn¡¯t ignore the beasts harrying their flanks either. Dominic didn¡¯t know why they hadn¡¯t grown more hedges to narrow the choke-point even further or trap the beasts entirely, but they hadn¡¯t. They were lucky that the beasts didn¡¯t seem to have recognised that the easiest way to win would be to pull back and simply go around the hedges. Berion¡¯s group were following the outside of the hedge to the right ¨C they were going to support that section which should help take some of the pressure off the defending elves and redistribute the fighters back to the choke point. Dominic wanted to do the same on the left, but he¡¯d need to wait until he wouldn¡¯t be immediately attacked as an enemy beast himself. Looking back at the Pride, he saw that they were doing fine. Making up his mind, he decided to do his best to alleviate the pressure of numbers on the main chokepoint. The beasts appeared all to be ground-bound ¨C the lack of aerial surveillance and the focus on their prey meant that when Dominic dropped to the ground in the centre of the densely-packed beasts, he was completely unexpected. His teeth and claws bared, Dominic used his weight to crush the beast he landed on ¨C from its lack of fight beneath his paws it was either dead or wished it was. Whirling around, he struck at the creatures within range. Throwing in a Tail Strike every few blows meant that he cleared the area immediately around him rapidly. Stopping his attacks for a moment, Dominic concentrated. He did earn a couple of scrapes as a bold beast he didn¡¯t recognise saw his lack of movement as vulnerability ¨C which it was. It was unfortunate that this Ability took a few seconds to get going. By the time the greenish smoke was wreathing his body, he was bleeding from several places, but fortunately nothing had dared to commit to a proper attack. Pumping out poison, Dominic emptied his venom stocks, breathing as slowly as he could. He heard the sound of creatures whining, yelping, and screeching in pain as the venom ravaged their bodies, but he hardened his heart. They were his enemies, any of his attacks caused them pain ¨C that was just the result of a battle. And if he didn¡¯t fight, then it would be him and his Pride who would be in pain and dying instead. Or the elves. And then, three breaths later, his cloud stopped thickening around him and began slowly dissipating. The effects on the beasts within a body length of him weren¡¯t as significant as they had been on the toads, but most of the creatures who had spent any time in his Poison Cloud were hurt, their blood haemorrhaging out of their eyes, noses, and mouths. And due to the way the beasts at the back were pressing forwards, those caught close to him hadn¡¯t been able to escape. Dominic reaped a bloody harvest as he capitalised on the effects of his poison. Swipe by swipe, Bite by bite, he made his way through the beasts around him. Those who hadn¡¯t been affected were still very wary of him, their eyes wide and staring, flinching back from him when he came close to them. A hyena snapped at him, but it seemed half-hearted and got repaid with a bloody swipe that ripped open its nose, then a follow-up Crushing Bite of his own that crunched its spine to shards. [A member of your Pride has died] The message made Dominic snarl in a mixture of anger and fear. ¡®Who died?¡¯ he demanded in the Pride chat. ¡®One of Isis¡¯s cubs,¡¯ Sekhmet answered tersely. ¡®We¡¯re surrounded. Couldn¡¯t get to her in time. Another one next.¡¯ Before she had time to finish the thought, another notification flashed up. [A member of your Pride has died] ¡®I said stay together!¡¯ Dominic growled into the Pride chat. Guilt and fear spiked into the chat from others which indicated that they were on their own too. His rumbling growl increased with his mounting anger even as Leo snarled mentally in accompaniment. The creatures around him flinched. There were just too many of them ¨C already the space around Dominic was shrinking again despite the fear of those around simply due to the crush beyond them. ¡®Roar,¡¯ Leo told him. ¡®Warn them of what will happen if they continue to fight.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a bad idea. They wanted to gain Prey Points, but losing Pride members was counterproductive as well as infuriating for both Dominic and Leo. If they could scare a few away, and perhaps give their trapped Pride members a moment of leeway to get back to the protective Pride lines¡­. Dominic opened his mouth and Roared. Chapter 25: Smelling Blood The effects of Dominic¡¯s Roar were not entirely as expected ¨C or desired. The beasts around him filled with panic largely fled, some even crushing others in their flight, which worked to his advantage. For a moment, a couple of his Pride members were revealed by the fleeing beasts as the enemies closest to the mouth of the funnel ran into the open space beyond. Unfortunately, some were unintentionally maddened more than fearful. Or perhaps they were maddened because of fear ¨C their reflex was to attack what frightened them, especially with the packed ranks denying many an escape route. Either way, Dominic quickly found himself hard-pressed as he was cut off once more from his Pride by the beasts closing in on him. Tooth and claw attacked him from every angle, and judging from the green tinge to his health bar, he had already been poisoned. The sizzle and burn of acid landing on his fur made him snarl even as he fought back against his attackers. Finding that he was struggling to make any dent in the beasts ganging up on him both due to their strength and sheer numbers, he leapt upwards. A moment later, feeling jaws close around his back paw, he realised that it might not have been his best idea. The weight which had attached itself to his leg pulled him down and off balance, his wings not powerful enough to keep both of them in the air or even stable. While he dropped inexorably down no matter how much he laboured to stay up, he did his best to kick whatever it was off his back leg. But it refused to let go, its surprisingly-blunt teeth crushing more than slicing, his paw screaming in pain. Giving up on that temporarily, Dominic tried to take advantage of the height he still had, spitting acid around himself ¨C his venom might have run dry, but his acid hadn¡¯t. Some of the creatures drew back; others tried to press the attack further. When he¡¯d lost enough height to make his hindquarters an easy target, he tucked in his wings and dropped the rest of the distance, crushing those of his attackers who were standing below him ¨C they would regret forcing him back down to earth. Four feet planted once more on the ground, he was quickly attacked again. ¡®Need a bit of help here!¡¯ he exclaimed in the Pride chat even as he bit and swiped, exchanging one of his own blows for three of his opponents¡¯. The irony ¨C he¡¯d attacked to lessen the press of numbers against the elves, yet now found himself outmatched and overwhelmed. It didn¡¯t escape him that he was now in the same situation he¡¯d warned his Pride-mates to avoid. Desperately trying to reduce their numbers, he did his best to concentrate on a single enemy, going for the kill every time he could. It worked ¨C slowly. But his health bar was quickly draining. His stamina didn¡¯t fare any better. Unfortunately, even if he was definitely the highest level in this fight and bigger than most of his opponents, numbers had a power of their own, and the sheer variety of his attackers meant that at least some were always able to get through his defences, no matter what they were. When he bit or swiped at an opponent in front of him, those behind and to his sides tore at his hindquarters and flanks. When he swung around in a Tail Strike, there was always one able to either jump over his strike or duck below it. When he beat his wings to buffet those around him, they suffered sharp teeth set into them or a large weight landing on them in an attempt to pin him down. Then, a particularly large beast slammed into his left wing, forced an unnatural bend outwards with a nasty cracking noise, and left it dragging limply on the ground. After that Dominic stopped using his wings as weapons and just did his best to keep them out of the way. Before long, Dominic had to activate Second Wind, not keen on using carcasses considering how many lay around that his opponents could use too, despite all his efforts to grab as many for his storage space as he could. His health and stamina both shot up ¨C but the time was now ticking. No help had come yet ¨C his Pride was too beleaguered themselves at the moment. Even the albuhas were struggling against an enemy which seemed capable of powerful jumps straight upwards, harrying them and stopping them from coming to the aid of either Dominic or the other Pride members. Dominic was on his own. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. If only he could get out of this encirclement¡­. ¡®We haven¡¯t tested that in combat yet!¡¯ Leo yelped fearfully in his mind. ¡®We don¡¯t have a choice unless you want to die here,¡¯ growled Dominic with determination. ¡®Doing this might kill us faster!¡¯ argued Leo. ¡®Then at least we¡¯ll take as many of them with us as we can,¡¯ Dominic snapped at him. Leo didn¡¯t answer. Dominic was nervous ¨C they¡¯d only tested this once before. Concentrating was difficult, but necessary, though the time he needed to do so earned him several more injuries and a notable chunk taken out of his health pool. And then, in an instant, they were a body-length ahead and up, and Dominic¡¯s tail and ass were on fire. He stumbled forwards a few steps over the backs of the beasts before him, feeling oddly off balance. Something was wrong. Daring to take a moment to check on the pain radiating from his tail, he twisted around the check if it really was on fire. The reality was far worse. When he¡¯d used Flash Step, he¡¯d successfully got his body clear of the enemy encirclement by going up. However, bad luck seemed to have intersected his tail with the head of the creature he¡¯d first tried to Flash Step on top of. Neither of them had come out unscathed. The alien creature was only now falling over, its head and neck blown to bits. Dominic¡¯s tail tip, however, was just gone ¨C and the head of the metal mace with it. ¡®My tail!¡¯ Leo exclaimed with horror. It must have exploded, Dominic realised as he saw the way those around had been peppered and injured by piercing shards of bone and metal. The shock was enough to cause a momentary lull in battle. But that lull was over quickly, and the large beast now beneath Dominic¡¯s feet heaved like a boat on the sea. Dominic dug in his claws reflexively, then scrambled to make a break for it towards the Pride he could see not that far away from where he was. With one wing broken, he couldn¡¯t even attempt to escape by flying. Unfortunately, the lack of counterbalance, normally provided to him by his tail, meant that instead of being able to run sure-footed across the tops of the beasts, he slipped and fell instead. Before he could recover, the beasts around him pressed forwards, like sharks smelling blood. Dominic regained his feet quickly and twisted around again, his tail flaring in pain as he used it to counterbalance his movement, the rest of his injuries raising their own protests. At least he was starting to get used to not having half of his tail when all four of his paws were touching the ground. Snarling, he dared his enemies to approach. He was injured, but he wasn¡¯t out, and he¡¯d make them pay for every drop of his blood they¡¯d draw.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡®We come!¡¯ Dominic looked up at the sky and saw the albuhas heading towards him. Good ¨C reinforcements. But beyond them, Dominic could see that their absence was costing the rest of the Pride ¨C without their distraction more beasts were attacking the already-beleaguered circle of Pride members, even if Dominic didn¡¯t see any of those jumpers that had been attacking them earlier. He needed to end his own skirmish quickly. Dominic decided to go all-in. Orienting himself towards where his Pride was, he opened his mouth and let out a short Roar, concentrating on his intention to kill anything in his way. The lines of enemies between him and his Pride thinned slightly, but not enough. Still, it gave him a little bit of space. Activating Rage, he felt a sudden wash of increased strength as the world slowed just a little to his perception. After backing up as much as he could, taking several bites to his hindquarters as he did so, he pushed off the ground with his powerful legs. Leaping forwards, Dominic once more activated Momentous Charge. Already bigger due to Rage, Momentous Charge gave him the effect of a gigantic bowling ball as he slammed into the group of beasts who stood between him and his Pride. Some of the beasts attempted to run as a whirlwind of sharp claws, sharper teeth, and burning acid dug into their midst. They found that running was of little use, however, as the albuhas fell from the air onto their backs to end what little was left of their lives. Dominic emerged out of the other side of his knot of enemies to see his Pride before him. His Roar had helped lessen the burden on them a little, but it made Dominic seethe to see several lions surrounded by knots of enemies. He ran towards those knots and bulled straight into them, snarling at the lions involved to get back behind the Pride lines. As he twisted around to face the battle again, he saw another consequence of his previous Roar. When he had tried to scare all the beasts away, he hadn¡¯t taken into account that he was in the middle of them. Which meant that some of the beasts he¡¯d scared away hadn¡¯t dared to run around him to flee. Instead, they¡¯d gone for the only other escape route ¨C piling onto the choke-point. The elves had apparently been able to reinforce the area, but they were faltering under the strengthened press of beasts attempting to get past them ¨C and the press had only further increased as a result of this last of Dominic¡¯s Roars. Seeing the timers of his Second Wind and Rage ticking down, and knowing that the sense of unending strength and stamina would only remain for a short time longer, Dominic decided to make it count. And more than that, how dare these beasts attack him? He wanted to taste blood ¨C all of their blood. Once more calling on Momentous Charge, Dominic ran towards the packed beasts at the point where the space between the hedges narrowed. ¡®Brother! This isn¡¯t wise! Brother! We¡¯re too low on health! Dominic! Stop!¡¯ Leo¡¯s words were like the buzzing of a fly ¨C annoying, but ultimately inconsequential. Dominic¡¯s paws pounded the ground like a heartbeat, his size swelling once more. The impact of the wrecking ball of a lion was even more powerful than his opening move. Beasts actually flew up into the air as he drove into the back of their lines. Several died in the collision alone; more as he brought his claws and teeth into action. Blood filled his mouth and he snarled in pleasure. It wasn¡¯t enough. He ripped and tore at those around him, caring nothing for the strikes his attacks earned him in return. ¡®Dominic! Our health! It¡¯s almost gone!¡¯ The panicking tone of his companion briefly raised a sense of concern within Dominic, but it was quickly washed away by the sheer confidence in his strength and his desire for more blood, more death, more, more, more! And then it was gone. Dominic shrank in size, and the confidence and strength which had propelled his movements left only cold and awful, impeding pain behind. Reality hit like a freight train ¨C he could barely move, he was surrounded once more by enemies, and worse, there was but a sliver of his health remaining and only a couple of minutes left on his Second Wind clock. Dominic eyed the beasts surrounding him with a quiet whimper that he would deny ever left his lips. He couldn¡¯t do this! He was in too much pain and too damn tired. ¡®Maybe this wasn¡¯t such a good idea.¡¯ ¡®You think?¡¯ Leo asked sarcastically. There was a brief lull ¨C he¡¯d stopped attacking and had a little space around himself from when he had been larger before and his opponents seemed wary of him. That wouldn¡¯t last, though ¨C they¡¯d soon sense his sudden weakness and attack nonetheless. His mind raced, trying to work out a way he could come out of this with his hide intact. Well. Somewhat intact, anyway. The feeling of blood trickling through his fur informed him of his many, many wounds; his whole body was a ball of pain. ¡®We still have a health potion in our storage space,¡¯ Leo urged him. ¡®We won¡¯t have the time to get the cork out ¨C the moment I move, they¡¯ll attack.¡¯ ¡®Then absorb a carcass!¡¯ Dominic grit his teeth, but agreed to that one. It might accidentally strengthen some of his enemies too, but so be it. The ground around him was covered with carcasses; it was easy enough to trigger the absorption of several of them. The moment they dissolved into golden dust, however, the beasts around him attacked. His health was like a yo-yo ¨C every time he managed to get a little bit back, it was ripped away by a strike or bite that ripped a new wound into his hide or worsened an existing one. And worse, he saw some of the golden dust benefiting the creatures around him, negating the work of his own strikes. Which was especially bad because, stuck in the recuperation period after the boost of Rage, he was slower and weaker than normal. His stamina never got high enough for him to risk using many Abilities, though he did use Quick Strike judiciously along with Crushing Bite and Powerful Swipe at their lower levels and for as little time as possible. All the time, Dominic saw the timer for Second Wind tick down inexorably. Less than a minutes until it ripped away what little health he still had remaining. ¡®We need to get out of here!¡¯ he said to Leo desperately. The lion agreed wordlessly, but there was a hint of helplessness to it ¨C he didn¡¯t have any more of an idea than Dominic of how to do that. The enemies seemed unending and the lion was too tired, hurt, and over-extended to figure out any better plan than to try to carve his way back out of the mess of enemies. He would try to jump but he was feeling too weak to do more than just pad slowly forwards towards where he knew his Pride had to be. He¡¯d fly but his wings were a mess of blood and feathers, half-ripped apart in his reckless attack and with at least one bone broken. Just as everything seemed lost, less than fifteen seconds left on the timer for Second Wind, no more carcasses left around him, Dominic realised that there were fewer and fewer attacks happening from in front of him. He tiredly looked beyond the beast just before him to see a wall of bloody lions and amesheks fighting their way through to him with determination written on their bodies. ¡®Get inside the circle!¡¯ ordered Sekhmet who was leading the charge, sternly. Dominic didn¡¯t need to be told twice. Hurrying as quickly as he could ¨C which was barely more than a fast walk ¨C he headed into the protective circle. Inside, Nyx came to him, surrounding Dominic with golden dust. He idly noted that she must have increased Healing Cloud ¨C the dust was already emerging a paw¡¯s width from her body. Then the effects of the healing started washing over him with a sense of euphoria and warmth. His limbs couldn¡¯t hold him up any longer and Dominic sank to the ground. ¡®We can¡¯t sleep here! Don¡¯t be an idiot ¨C again!¡¯ scolded Leo. ¡®I¡¯m not sleeping,¡¯ Dominic protested even though he couldn¡¯t argue the idiot tag ¨C what good was a battle plan if he tossed it aside for no good reason? ¡®I¡¯m just closing my eyes for a moment.¡¯ Suddenly a massive pain and icy cold hit him, which ripped his eyes open. The timer of Second Wind had run out. Dominic saw his health and stamina plummet towards zero as they were ripped away by the double-edged sword of his Ability. Using the last of his concentration, he summoned several carcasses from his storage space and immediately Consumed them. The drop rate slowed, but it was still happening far faster than he preferred. He tried to summon more carcasses as the golden cloud around him thinned, but his over-wrought body was simply unable to push any further. He faded into blackness as his health and stamina once more approached empty. Chapter 26: Drowning When Dominic became aware again, he knew two things even before he opened his eyes: that he felt worlds better than when he had closed his eyes¡­and that it had been a lot longer than the moment he¡¯d promised Leo. Still, he was alive which, as the returning memory of the last moment before he¡¯d fallen asleep told him, hadn¡¯t been guaranteed. ¡®Nice you¡¯ve finally woken up to join the rest of us,¡¯ the lion told him sarcastically, his willingness to joke making Dominic relax a little ¨C if they were at dire risk, Leo wouldn¡¯t be so casual. ¡®Wait. What do you mean ¡®the rest of us¡¯? Did you take control of our body while I slept?¡¯ Dominic asked. It was something he¡¯d wondered whether it was possible to do, but not something they¡¯d actually tested. The fact was that usually when he took the time to sleep, either Leo was perfectly happy to take a nap too, or their body needed the rest as much as their minds did. ¡®No. I tried to but our body was too exhausted to move and wouldn¡¯t respond even when the females managed to stabilise our health. I was able to communicate with our Pride, though ¨C fortunate, as your favourite female was panicking that we were about to die.¡¯ ¡®Sekhmet was panicking?¡¯ Dominic asked incredulously. ¡®I can¡¯t imagine that.¡¯ ¡®Well, her panicking was shown through increasingly concerned demands for us to wake up and respond to her, and a killing rate that mounted with her anxiety,¡¯ Leo admitted. That sounded far more like her. ¡®So how long have we been asleep?¡¯ ¡®You¡¯ve been, you mean? And not that long, really. Long enough to clear up the rest of the beasts which dared to fight us and for everyone to recuperate after the battle. We¡¯re the last to recover ¨C you really did a number on our body. We had shards of bone and metal popping out of our butt as those wounds healed! Even our health being filled to full wasn¡¯t enough to wake you or allow me to move our body. It¡¯s fortunate that the combined healing of the two females was enough to keep our health above zero. After getting us out of the danger zone, they moved to work on other Pride members and we¡¯ve been recovering ever since. Our stamina refilled a little while before you woke.¡¯ ¡®Something to bear in mind for later reference,¡¯ Dominic sighed. ¡®Just like how we need sleep from time to time, heavy depletion of resources apparently needs extended rest.¡¯ ¡®It seems so,¡¯ Leo agreed. Then an accusing feeling came from his side of their mind. ¡®Do you realise how close we came to dying there? We were seconds away from it ¨C several times! I saw our health drop down to a single point twice and it bobbed above that for long enough that the females were still concentrating on us when the rest of the fight finished. You drove our body to its limits, Dominic! And you didn¡¯t even realise it!¡¯ ¡®And what was I supposed to do about that, Leo? I was just trying to survive!¡¯ ¡®You were the one in control of our body. You were the one who chose to use Rage for the first time in a difficult battle like that! Flash Step was bad enough, but at least we had already used that once before and had more of an idea of what to expect and, frankly, there weren¡¯t any better choices. Rage was a whole new waterhole!¡¯ ¡®There weren¡¯t any better choices here either! We were stuck in the middle of enemies in close quarters with a broken wing, a damaged tail, and the ticking time-bomb of Second Wind waiting to grab its chunk of our health and stamina. We needed to get to the Pride!¡¯ ¡®Then why didn¡¯t you stay with the Pride when we got to them?¡¯ Leo demanded. ¡®Why did you turn around and charge at the clump of beasts attacking the elves?¡¯ Dominic was silent. He didn¡¯t have a good answer for that ¡®You got taken over by Rage, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ Leo continued. ¡®You stopped thinking. You just wanted to kill more and more and more.¡¯ ¡®Yes, damn you, yes!¡¯ erupted Dominic. ¡®I got overtaken by the desire for blood and revenge. I¡­.¡¯ Running out of steam, Dominic trailed off. ¡®I suppose I got tunnel-vision,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®I just wanted to kill all of those creatures and I wanted to do it as quickly as possible.¡¯ ¡®At the cost of almost losing our life,¡¯ Leo reminded him. ¡®If it was such a bad idea, why didn¡¯t you stop me?¡¯ Dominic demanded, his temper flaring up at Leo¡¯s continued recrimination of his actions when he hadn¡¯t been the one in charge. ¡®I couldn¡¯t!¡¯ ¡®What, you couldn¡¯t have just dropped me a word saying, ¡®Hey, Dominic, I don¡¯t think this is a good idea¡¯?¡¯ ¡®Like you gave me much chance?¡¯ Leo demanded. ¡®I was distracted ¨C monitoring the Pride chat and paying attention to our surroundings with Spatial Awareness. I didn¡¯t realise what you were planning until it was too late. And then¡­.¡¯ His voice gained a seriousness to it that pulled Dominic from his angry indignation at Leo¡¯s criticism. ¡®When you activated that Ability¡­it was like you fell into a pool of water and I was trapped above it ¨C able to see everything you did and why you did it, but unable to stop you from drowning.¡¯Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Dominic was taken aback by the vulnerability that Leo was showing him. So much of the lion seemed to be bluster, bloodlust, and lecherousness; having him speak so openly about his feelings was definitely out of the ordinary. And the truth was that he had come far closer to death than he¡¯d been in a while and this time he had far more to lose: what would happen to the Pride if he died? ¡®I take it that you weren¡¯t affected by Rage then?¡¯ ¡®No. I could feel traces of its effects on you but my mind stayed my own. I tried to stop you. I even tried to forcibly take control over our body when you refused to see reason. Nothing worked. It felt¡­it felt like I was back to being a mere observer in my own body, watching someone else move it without any input from me.¡¯ The raw emotion with which the lion spoke the words made Dominic¡¯s heart clench. And in that moment he could completely empathise with his leonine companion. He¡¯d been stuck, like in a car which someone else was driving, watching it careen towards a cliff and being unable to do anything to stop it. ¡®Look, Leo, I won¡¯t use Rage again,¡¯ he promised. ¡®When we get back to the forest, I¡¯ll put it into the Ability Forge. Maybe one day we¡¯ll be able to strip out the mind-altering component and just keep the boost.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not saying we should do that,¡¯ Leo responded to Dominic¡¯s surprise. ¡®Why not? It almost killed us.¡¯ ¡®No, what almost killed us was using it when we were already injured and without a plan for after it wore off. We need to practise, to learn how it works so we can properly use it ¨C to our benefit, not our disadvantage.¡¯ Dominic was silent for a long moment. Ultimately, though he still resented the lion for being so critical when he hadn¡¯t been the one making the decisions, and though he still felt like he hadn¡¯t had much choice¡­the lion did have a point here. He needed to get a much better control of Rage before using it in combat like that. He could only be relieved that it hadn¡¯t directed him to attack any of his own people. ¡®Perhaps more practice will enable us to control Rage better,¡¯ he agreed, offering an olive branch to Leo. ¡®Or if not, yes, learning how it works can only help us plan for the disadvantages. But I still say that I chose what I thought at the time was the best option for us to survive. And in the end, we did, so¡­.¡¯ ¡®Just,¡¯ Leo conceded, but Dominic took it as the returned olive branch that it was. ¡®Unfortunately, not all of our Pride can say the same.¡¯ Dominic hesitated, not wanting to know, but still knowing he had to face up to reality. ¡®I know we lost those two juveniles at the beginning, but¡­did we lose anyone else?¡¯ ¡®One of the albuhas was pulled out of the air and killed before anyone could get there to rescue her,¡¯ Leo told him bluntly. ¡®Which albuha?¡¯ ¡®I believe it¡¯s the one you called ¡®Speedy¡¯.¡¯ Dominic mentally sighed in relief even as his stomach clenched in regret. Three deaths before they¡¯d even properly met the elves¡­that wasn¡¯t a good omen. Or perhaps it was a wake-up call that he needed to change his strategy. He felt guilty at feeling relief that at least the ones who had been lost hadn¡¯t been any of those close to him. Though the loss of the albuha would definitely be felt ¨C there were already few enough of the winged canines remaining as it was. Dominic wondered if they regretted joining his Pride. ¡®On the positive side, the lead females have indicated almost all of the Pride members have blurred at least once. The juveniles who survived,¡¯ Leo sounded rather grumpy about the loss ¨C probably because at least one of them had to be a female, ¡®have gone up by three levels. They will be better prepared for the next battle.¡¯ Dominic agreed that that was a positive outcome ¨C the one he¡¯d wanted, to be honest. ¡®Alright, good. So what can you tell me about events while I was gone?¡¯ Leo proceeded to give Dominic an accounting of what he¡¯d been able to get from Nyx and Sekhmet while his body and brother were sleeping. As it turned out, the elves had both been informed that Dominic and his Pride were there to help them and had seen them fighting the beasts. Fortunately, as a result there hadn¡¯t been any more awkward situations where the elves had turned around and tried to attack any Pride members. Nyx, Jenkins, Sekhmet, and the two matriarchs had helped to ensure this by keeping the Pride together and at a distance from the elves. A number of the beasts had fled ¨C for obvious reasons. Leo had been unable to get numbers, even approximate ones, out of their Pride members. The kesh struggled to count further than twelve it seemed. And from the looks of it, the elves had their own injured and dead to cope with, though fortunately it didn¡¯t seem that there were many of the latter. Dominic would have felt immensely guilty if his attempt to help had inadvertently caused more deaths than would have happened otherwise. Consequently, neither party had yet contacted the other. The Pride members felt that it should be Dominic who did so rather than Sekhmet. Perhaps the elves were too wary or were just waiting for the Pride members to come to them. Dominic was glad of it ¨C he¡¯d have been uncomfortable if a whole lot of diplomacy had happened while he¡¯d been out. Now, of course, was another matter. Finally opening his eyes, Dominic saw that he was resting in the middle of a rough circle of Pride members. They had managed to get under a tree ¨C an umbrella thorn tree or something similar ¨C so they weren¡¯t too hot in the sun which was well on its way towards the horizon. He didn¡¯t remember seeing the tree when they¡¯d been fighting. ¡®No, it just grew not long after the battle had finished,¡¯ Leo contributed helpfully. ¡®The female canine pulled our body into the shade. She did ask my permission first,¡¯ he clarified after a short pause. Interesting ¨C the elves¡¯ work? If so, Dominic was grateful ¨C he¡¯d never realised how hot the sun could get before he had come to Africa. Or whatever this place was called now, if anything. And even with his new Temperature Tolerance and heat-adapted body, it could still become very uncomfortable. Pushing himself to his feet, the rest of the Pride lying around him either lifted their heads or stood up themselves in reaction. They were apparently ready for whatever instructions he would give them. Dominic could only be grateful that they were still willing to follow him despite his poor planning in the most recent battle ¨C and the losses of three of their number that they had suffered. It was time to say goodbye to the cubs who had barely lived, and the albuha who had had more to offer the world. Chapter 27: What His Pride Needed ¡®Dominic, you¡¯re better?¡¯ Sekhmet asked, obvious relief showing in her body language as she padded to him. She rubbed her head against his in greeting. ¡®Much better, thanks to you and the others,¡¯ he replied, eagerly rubbing back against her. He was startled to realise that his fur was nice and clean. ¡®The females cleaned us up,¡¯ Leo informed him with a mixture of pleasure and something Dominic had rarely felt from him before: embarrassment. Dominic understood the pleasure bit ¨C he knew all too well how pleasant grooming felt; to have it being done by his ¡®females¡¯ had to have been a great experience. Dominic regretted that he¡¯d missed it. But why shame? It took a little bit of mental prodding, with Dominic visualising poking his companion with a hard paw, but the lion finally answered, lashing out defensively. ¡®We should have been grooming them as they groomed us, not lying there like some dead prey-beast.¡¯ The shame rose hot and uncomfortable within both of them at the image Leo sent across. ¡®Well, maybe we can do that later,¡¯ Dominic suggested, satisfied now that he¡¯d got an answer and sensing how much this meant to his companion. ¡®That¡­would be nice,¡¯ Leo admitted, showing just how off-kilter he still was from their experiences earlier. Dominic was reminded that Leo was still really young, even for a lion. It was hard to tell exactly how old, but he was probably about three years old since he remembered three periods of cold and four periods of intense heat. And besides, Dominic himself was still feeling a little shaken at how close to death he¡¯d got. After he¡¯d greeted Sekhmet, he moved onto the rest of his Pride who all seemed eager to reinforce their intra-Pride bonds. ¡®I¡¯m sorry,¡¯ he said to Isis when she rubbed against him and then again to Saffron ¨C the two lionesses who had both lost one of their daughters. The two lionesses both expressed grief, but no blame ¨C they knew as well as he did that life on the savannah had always been dangerous, and even more so with this new System. Saffron was a younger lioness ¨C this had been her first litter ¨C so she was more upset than Isis. The matriarch¡¯s grief was tired, the memory of many other griefs echoing through her words of understanding. In return, Dominic promised to do better, guilt wracking him. If he¡¯d stuck with the Pride instead of leaping ahead, he might have been able to save the juveniles before it was too late. The albuhas greeted him last, and he apologised to them too. ¡®Is way of life,¡¯ Howler said philosophically. ¡®We much bigger pack before world changed. Maybe we have pups and grow again. Maybe we last of our kind. We hide and not fight, we die all same. We fight, we get more powerful ¨C maybe we not die later.¡¯ It humbled Dominic to realise how much more understanding animals were than humans. He wondered how the elves would deal with the deaths of their own from this battle. But for now, they needed to have their own funeral rites. Dominic padded over to the dead Pride members who still lay where they had fallen. They were the only bodies left on the field and with that easy to spot. Carefully, he carried them one by one to a spot beyond the hedge funnel where it was flat and clear. He could have put them in his storage space, but he felt that they deserved to be treated as individuals. As he moved back and forth with the bodies in his mouth, their cooler flesh all too obvious against his tongue and lips, the rest of his Pride gathered around. Those who hadn¡¯t been part of this the last time followed the lead of those who had. Dominic hesitated as he looked at the three bodies before him, so much smaller in death than they had seemed in life. He suddenly wished that he hadn¡¯t brought the juveniles with him ¨C only their second true battle and already two of them had died! ¡®We asked for too much from them, too soon,¡¯ Leo said solemnly, grief and disappointment emanating from him. Dominic suspected it was more because the two juveniles were female ones, and therefore potential mates for him later, than because he mourned the lions themselves. ¡®That is true,¡¯ Leo admitted, ¡®but they were mine¡­and we didn¡¯t protect them.¡¯ Dominic was a little surprised at the possessiveness ¨C the juveniles certainly weren¡¯t Leo¡¯s by blood. But if he was starting to see even the cubs as his own, that could only be a good thing. He decided not to argue. ¡®We need to come up with some training program for the cubs,¡¯ Dominic decided. ¡®Some way for them to increase in level as fast as they can, but without risking their lives.¡¯ ¡®Agreed,¡¯ Leo replied quietly. Dominic moved forwards to say goodbye to the three, licking Devi and Bella¡¯s heads and nosing at Speedy¡¯s muzzle. Her wings were crumpled and limp, dirty and bloody. Dominic hated seeing them like this. ¡®Has everyone said goodbye to them?¡¯ he asked, stepping away. When several lions and albuhas stepped forwards to mimic his own actions, it was clear that they hadn¡¯t. While they said their final farewells, Dominic was deep in thought. Last time, they had all taken a bite from each of the carcasses. But perhaps they shouldn¡¯t do that this time.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. His reasoning was partly because of the numbers. Last time there had only been a small group of lions and amesheks. This time, it was a much larger group of lions, albuhas, kesh, and amesheks. Actually, did the kesh even eat meat? Dominic pushed that question away for later. The other concern was about what the elves might think. Would they be concerned with what they¡¯d see as cannibalism? Or would they just see it as something animals would do? Dominic himself was even more uncomfortable with the thought of doing it in front of them than he had been about doing it at all, and that was saying something. But ultimately, he didn¡¯t want to let what other people might say get in the way of what his Pride needed. And there were only two who would be able to answer this better than him. ¡®Isis, Saffron, they¡¯re your cubs. Do you want everyone to take a little bite from them before we Consume their dust, or not?¡¯ The two lionesses were silent for a long moment. Then Saffron sent a picture of golden dust swirling in the air, and the sense of being content with that. Isis followed shortly after with agreement. Dominic dipped his head for a moment. He felt a little guilty about his relief that he wouldn¡¯t need to do something he didn¡¯t really want to do. But practically speaking, it was the best option. ¡®Alright. Do you want to activate the golden dust for your cubs?¡¯ Saffron immediately stepped forwards, but Isis hesitated for a moment before joining her. They each paused next to their cubs. Saffron leaned down to nuzzle at Devi a final time. Dominic stepped forwards to touch Speedy. He did wonder whether he should ask Howler or even Jenkins to do this, but decided not to. Saffron and Isis were a different question ¨C they were the mothers and the dead were juveniles. Speedy was a full adult. Touching the edge of Speedy¡¯s wing, Dominic triggered Consume. The two lionesses followed his lead a moment later and golden dust flew into the air. Those who had taken part in the funeral before led the dance, trotting into the dust and then out of it again, some only touching the cloud on the edges. Those who were new to the rite quickly followed after. Since, with only three bodies, the cloud was far smaller than before, Dominic didn¡¯t stay in it and instead joined the rest of his Pride in their dance as they brushed past each other in the cloud, only to emerge, turn, and then dive back in to do it again. The golden dust was soon gone, but the Pride members continued rubbing together, wordlessly reinforcing their bonds with their living companions. The rubbing soon turned into licking and soon everyone was grooming everyone else within reach. Even the kesh were combing through the fur and wings of their Pride-mates. It seemed like Leo had got his wish for some mutual grooming, even if it wasn¡¯t only with the lionesses. Within the grief that Dominic felt for the dead, he also felt a bit of amusement at Leo¡¯s ambivalent reaction to being groomed by ¡®males¡¯, ¡®primates¡¯, and ¡®canines¡¯. He personally found it all soothing, reminding him that death was just another part of life, yet life was for the living, not for the dead. It was a wrench to pull himself away ¨C he was still tired despite his forced nap. But he¡¯d left the elves to wonder what was going on for long enough. Hopefully by this point Berion would have managed to tell them that they were here to help, but Dominic felt that he needed to speak to them too. Dominic briefly considered whether to approach the elves alone or with a small group, but in the end he decided that he shouldn¡¯t just be conscious about the elves¡¯ sensibilities, but his own safety as well. As a result, after a few words from Dominic, the whole Pride formed up together and walked across the former battlefield between them and the elves. Dominic found their slow pace almost unbearable, eager as he was to talk to the elves. However, considering everything, he felt ¨C and Leo agreed with him ¨C that running towards the elves might scare them. Though the lion didn¡¯t fully agree with him that they therefore shouldn¡¯t do it. ¡®Prey might turn and run; predators might present their claws. It would be interesting to find out which of them these elves are,¡¯ the lion remarked. Dominic couldn¡¯t deny that the question he posed was an interesting one, but ultimately disagreed with choosing it as their course of action. ¡®But since we don¡¯t want the elves to see us as threatening to them, we shouldn¡¯t test them now,¡¯ Dominic responded, pointing out, ¡®If elves are anything like humans, they tend to kill those they fear just as much as they would kill things they see as weak.¡¯ Leo didn¡¯t have any issues with that as an approach. In fact, he approved of it. ¡®Destroying the danger before it can threaten your Pride? Very proactive. If we¡¯d done more of that with the hyenas, we wouldn¡¯t have been forced out of our territory,¡¯ he needled at Dominic. Dominic refused to give him the satisfaction of an argument. Instead, he looked forwards, the slow pace giving him all the time he needed to get a better idea of the situation. The battlefield was still there, bloody and already stinking in the hot sun. There were no carcasses, though ¨C between the Pride members absorbing some for health and stamina recuperation and the elves carting the remaining ones away to somewhere else, the field was bare. The blood and viscera that had soaked into the earth, however, was another question. The hedges remained in place too. Perhaps they were permanent installations and the beasts had been lured into their embrace. Or maybe they remained as a precaution against their Pride. The elven fighters hadn¡¯t moved far either. A number of them were laid out on the ground with blankets to make them more comfortable while what looked like healers attended to them. More sobering, there were three bodies to the side which were all too still and covered from toe to hair by a green cloth. Dominic felt a twinge of guilt at the sight. More elves had come from the city, either to help treat the fighters or to clean up. Already, Dominic could see several walking slowly through the cleared battlefield, the earth shifting beneath their outstretched hands. Seeing magic in action was no less wonderous than the first time Dominic had seen Healing Cloud being used. More so, perhaps, since this was actually making the earth move without them even touching it. Deciding that even if he wanted his Pride relatively close by, it probably wouldn¡¯t be too diplomatic to take them right up to the elves, Dominic asked the majority of them to halt where they were. He could already see that the elves were a little alarmed ¨C their heads were turning more towards the Pride and, drifting to his ears on the breeze, Dominic could hear that their voices had become louder than the murmur they had been before. ¡®Sekhmet, Nyx, Howler, Jenkins, Loud-Hoot, come with me please.¡¯ Between all of them, he had representatives of each of the Pride¡¯s races. And of course he just simply wanted Sekhmet to be there. Jenkins was also not strictly necessary since the albuhas would now follow Dominic¡¯s commands without question, but again, he just wanted her to be there. Besides, she clearly liked her position as leader of the albuhas and it made sense for them to have a commander who could focus on them. Leading the mini-pride, Dominic kept padding forwards until he¡¯d reached a mid-point between his Pride and the elves. There he stopped and sat on his haunches, waiting patiently. The rest of his Pride did the same. Chapter 28: Arrangement Observing the elves, the lion watched them evidently discuss what to do with the Pride, hand gestures directed in the Pride¡¯s direction showing their focus on Dominic¡¯s group. It wasn¡¯t long before they had put together a party of their own, the reaction they had obviously decided upon. While waiting for them to approach, he had a quick look at his progress to the next level. Progress to Evolution: 578/1090 PP He¡¯d actually got more points from that fight than he¡¯d been expecting ¨C just over three hundred. The average level of the beasts he¡¯d faced must have been higher than he¡¯d thought. Unfortunately, the division across the whole of his Pride meant he was still barely more than halfway to the next level. Sighing, he dismissed the information and looked at the elves finally coming towards them. Their approach was characterised by nerves that Dominic could see in their hesitant steps and tense facial expressions. He didn¡¯t blame them. He and Nyx alone would have made a formidable picture with their sizes; adding in the other four, three of whom were clearly predators, would just make them even more threatening. Not to mention all the rest of his Pride who remained within a short distance. But Dominic didn¡¯t tell his group to appear more docile ¨C if the elves wanted defenders, they would have to be brave enough to approach them. Which they fortunately appeared to be. Berion was the only one of the elven party that Dominic recognised. There were ten others, five of whom appeared to be there as guards, if their expressions and grip on their weapons were anything to go by. Of the other five, only one was carrying a weapon at all ¨C a spear. Dominic could only marvel at the colours of the elves¡¯ skin and hair. Unless they were dyed ¨C which he assumed was not the case ¨C the sheer range he saw before him was far beyond what he had expected. Practically the whole rainbow was represented ¨C the only colour missing was orange. There was even an elf whose white hair almost seemed to glow faintly in the sunlight. ¡®I wonder if that one¡¯s hair acts as a torch at night,¡¯ Dominic thought with amusement. Leo grunted in amusement at that. ¡®Not much good for hunting.¡¯ ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic agreed, ¡®but convenient at many other times.¡¯ They were unable to exchange any more idle chatter as the elves had reached them. Berion stepped forwards, his copper-coloured skin and green hair almost unremarkable when amongst the rainbow nation of his brethren. ¡®Honoured Brother Dominic, Honoured Brother Leo, I present to you our principal elders accompanied by their honour guard. Elder Alwen is the current leader of the elders and has held the position for many decades.¡¯ He indicated the elf who stood to the front of the group and had pale pink hair and even paler skin. Dominic was pretty sure that Alwen was female, though their fairly androgynous figures made it hard to tell for sure. Her body looked closer to Pelir¡¯s than Ruthror¡¯s or Berion¡¯s, though. She looked young, but there was something in her eyes that said appearances could be deceiving. That and the fact that she was called ¡®elder¡¯ and had held that position for quite a while. The elf in question stepped forwards and crossed her wrists over her chest, bowing her head slightly. ¡®On behalf of myself, the elders, and all of Selanthis, I greet our Honoured Brethren who have come to help us in our need.¡¯ ¡®Nice to meet you,¡¯ Dominic responded, feeling a little awkward. He had never been all that comfortable meeting new people. Though he thought he¡¯d got over that since none of his meetings with other beasts, even the ones who talked, had been half as awkward as he remembered things being as a human, but apparently not. Maybe it was just meeting humanoids ¨C since the elves were that even if they weren¡¯t humans. Still, the elven elder took his awkwardness in stride. Perhaps she didn¡¯t expect much more from a ¡®beast¡¯. After all, even if he¡¯d told Berion about them having two minds in the same body, he hadn¡¯t revealed that one of the minds was human. If elves even knew what that was. ¡®I am accompanied by Elder Lystar who represents our mages, Elder Ilastir who directs our hunters, Elder Sylmar who works with our crafters and healers, and Elder Melia who is the voice of our farmers. And I represent the voice of our people as a whole.¡¯ One by one she indicated the elf with the bright white hair, another with deep violet-coloured hair reminiscent of Talathon¡¯s, an elf with blue hair, and the last with green. Dominic supposed that at least it would be easy to tell them apart ¨C he wouldn¡¯t struggle like he had with the lions in the beginning. Their names might be a bit more difficult to remember though. ¡®Hi,¡¯ he said to them all, then internally told himself off for reverting to the unconfident young adult he had been before the System had arrived. ¡®It is good to meet all of you,¡¯ he continued, trying to sound more self-assured. ¡®The pleasure is ours, from what Berion informs us,¡¯ Ilastir answered, his voice deeper than Dominic was expecting. ¡®My hunters in particular will value your support.¡¯ Alwen sent him a look and he closed his mouth on the words he was evidently going to say next. ¡®My esteemed colleague, though perhaps a little¡­presumptuous in his words, does not lie. Hunter Berion has indicated that you might be willing to help us in our current predicament, and your demonstration with this most recent of the beast waves which assail us indicate that you are most certainly capable of doing so. We have little to offer in payment for your help ¨C we are not a wealthy city ¨C but we will recompense you as much as we can.¡¯ Dominic eyed the elven leader carefully, drawing his lips up and breathing through his mouth to catch her scent. He didn¡¯t smell anything which might indicate that she was trying to deceive him in any way. She was nervous, but not unduly so, though she did flinch when he drew his lips up and revealed his teeth. She was also tired, exhausted, actually, and Dominic suspected that it wasn¡¯t a case of not getting enough sleep. Underneath the strong smell of fatigue was the sour hint of fear and the mournful scent of deep-set grief. All five of the elders were the same in that regard, but Alwen scent had the strongest grief component out of all of them.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡®Listen,¡¯ he said, looking awkwardly at the covered bodies lying off to the side. ¡®I¡¯m¡­sorry. For those you lost.¡¯ The elves¡¯ expressions didn¡¯t change, but he smelled pain spike in their scents. Alwen bent her head, her pink hair shifting forwards to half-cover her face. ¡®Young warriors, barely out of their childhood and untrained. They will be sorely missed along with all those who have fallen in this conflict before them.¡¯ She was silent for a long moment that Dominic didn¡¯t dare to break. ¡®But we can only keep moving forwards. Anything else would be to dishonour their sacrifice.¡¯ She looked up, her expression set. But Dominic could see the grief still in her eyes, like she¡¯d known each of those who had fallen. Known and loved them. And maybe she did ¨C what did Dominic know? ¡®I believe you also lost some of your own.¡¯ It was Dominic¡¯s turn to look away. ¡®We did,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®Young ones too, as well as one who was older.¡¯ ¡®My condolences,¡¯ Alwen said softly, her words almost a whisper. And in that moment, Dominic truly felt that she understood his grief at three of his Pride being lost. They were silent for another long moment and then Alwen cleared her throat quietly, as if to naturally bring an end to their mournful silence. ¡®What would you desire in repayment for your protection and aid so that no more of these young ones might die?¡¯ It was an understandable attitude, not wanting to lose any more, and it was one that Dominic shared. But ultimately, he felt that it was unachievable. Not for beasts, anyway. Even pre-System life had been a daily struggle for most animals where inattention at the wrong moment could be fatal. And now in this world where to get stronger they had to kill others, that fight for survival had only intensified. Yes, he knew he needed to do things better ¨C bringing the juveniles had been a risk he probably shouldn¡¯t have taken. Even so, they¡¯d must have got significantly stronger after the recent battle. It had been too much, too soon. But if he tried to protect them from all harm, they would just stay weak while others grew and then would become easy pickings for someone else. However, maybe the elves weren¡¯t required to kill to level up. If so, it made sense that they could survive without needing to fight. On the other hand, they had needed to ask a Pride of beasts for help¡­ Dominic realised that he hadn¡¯t responded to the elf¡¯s question and her expression was tightening, the fear in her scent spiking too. ¡®Well, when you say you¡¯re not a wealthy city, what do you mean? And what could you provide?¡¯ Dominic asked, not really knowing what they had which would suit the Pride best. Gold was no good without anywhere to spend it ¨C he still had that pouch in there from the first time he¡¯d cleared the dungeon. ¡®Our people came together to seek simplicity, away from the great cities. We do not create fine cloth or grow costly spices but everyday food. Our tanners do not treat fine pelts nor do our clothiers create garments suitable for high society, but those suitable for the common elf. Our metal-workers deal with farming tools and weapons, not intricate filigreed designs. And our mages are not the battle mages sought by the King but instead those more interested in communing with the earth and performing simple enchantments which enrich the lives of the common folk.¡¯ ¡®Well, that works out fine,¡¯ Dominic replied cheerfully, something coming to his mind which they could do with, particularly him right now since using Flash Step in that battle. ¡®We don¡¯t need any of those fancy things. We do, however, need craftsmen who can create equipment for us. Armour, weapons, storage containers, that sort of thing, since we can¡¯t really do it ourselves.¡¯ He lifted a paw, demonstratively flexing what he had as fingers, his claws sliding in and out of his paw. ¡®There might be some other ways your settlement can benefit us too,¡¯ he added, thinking about the mention of farmers. Dominic had no desire to see the savannah turn into a wasteland, but at the same time they needed to keep advancing. Perhaps magical farming could hold the answers for that dilemma? The elders didn¡¯t look entirely relieved. ¡®Beasts can wear equipment?¡¯ quietly commented the one Dominic thought had been called Lystar. ¡®It¡¯s the first I¡¯ve heard of it,¡¯ Sylmar answered just as quietly. Not quietly enough, though ¨C he obviously underestimated the effects of Telepathy. Dominic decided not to respond, though ¨C if they didn¡¯t realise he could hear them, it was just as well to keep it that way. Alwen glanced between her fellow elders and the Pride members. Berion, standing off to the side, looked slightly anxious too. ¡®It pleases us that we might be able to make a balanced agreement,¡¯ she said carefully, ¡®but we admit that we were unaware b- your kind could wear armour or use weapons.¡¯ ¡®They have to be specially worked,¡¯ Dominic admitted, then stood up and turned to show his tail. The elves briefly drew back at his movement, but then approached again as he turned his back to them. ¡®It¡¯s a bit damaged as a result of that recent fight, but it¡¯s served me well.¡¯ He was speaking, of course, of his tail armour which was in a sorry state. The ball had burst apart along with the tip of his tail when he accidentally left them inside another beast at the end of a Flash Step. His tail tip had partially grown back ¨C still fur-less ¨C but the metal ball was missing completely. Dominic hadn¡¯t taken the armour off, though, since the metal around his tail both protected and enhanced it all the same, but he was keen to replace it if he could. Sylmar and Lystar stepped forwards and seemed to almost forget where they were as they started chatting about its construction, its materials, its enchantments, and a whole load of other jargon that Dominic couldn¡¯t understand even with Telepathy helping him. ¡®Lystar, Sylmar,¡¯ Alwen said sharply. The two elders looked up from where they were crouching together, almost touching Dominic¡¯s tail. They looked faintly embarrassed, quickly standing up and stepping back with more haste than grace. Alwen looked at Dominic, the skin around her eyes tight. ¡®My apologies ¨C my colleagues are intrigued by the construction of your¡­equipment.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s fine,¡¯ Dominic dismissed. ¡®So, do you think your crafters can help us?¡¯ Alwen looked first at the crafter and then mage representatives. Sylmar and Lystar nodded, the first uncertainly; the second enthusiastically. ¡®Yes, I believe that we can come to an arrangement.¡¯ Chapter 29: It Doesn’t Work On Elves Upon a tentative agreement having been reached, Alwen invited Dominic to join them in hashing out the details. Interested in finding out more about why so many beasts of such different races were attacking the city, Dominic agreed, though insisted on bringing his party along with them ¨C he didn¡¯t like the idea of being outnumbered too much, especially since he didn¡¯t know what kind of force the elves could bring to bear. They all decided that leaving the rest of the Pride out here in the lengthening shadows of the trees was for the better ¨C until the general populace was fully aware that there were beasts fighting on their side, seeing them in the streets could provoke a panic. Besides, Dominic was careful enough to not want his back-up potentially neutralised by the elves just when he needed them. Better for them to stay out here where they would be comfortable. Before they actually left, Dominic decided to raise a possibility, his eyes fixed on those the healers were still working on. ¡®Elder Alwen?¡¯ ¡®Yes, Honoured Brother?¡¯ ¡®Some of us have the ability to heal. Do you think your healers would appreciate some help?¡¯ He sensed the full attention of the elf settle upon him again ¨C she had become a little distracted when conversing with the other elders and planning their route through the city with the guards. ¡®You are capable of healing?¡¯ she asked, as if not sure she¡¯d heard it right. ¡®Yes,¡¯ Dominic answered, then decided to be fully honest. ¡®At least, we can heal each other. I cannot be certain that we can heal you ¨C I could not add Berion to the Pride earlier, not even temporarily.¡¯ He figured that there was no harm in revealing that ¨C the elf would probably tell them anyway, if he hadn¡¯t already done so. The elder looked at him, her eyes slightly narrowed. The two elders from earlier who had been so interested in his tail armour focussed on him again too. ¡®Alwen, it would be interesting to see if it¡¯s possible,¡¯ the female elf with the almost-glowing white hair urged, her voice a whisper that she probably imagined Dominic couldn¡¯t hear. Dominic couldn¡¯t remember her name, though. ¡®And the healers wouldn¡¯t mind some help and seeing a new form of healing,¡¯ agreed the male elf. Sylas or something? ¡®Will they not be alarmed at us allowing a powerful predator close to our injured?¡¯ asked Alwen, though to Dominic¡¯s ears, she was calm, not accusing. Perhaps she was playing Devil¡¯s Advocate. ¡®We¡¯re going to trust them in our city, among all of our people. I think that this isn¡¯t a bad first step to see whether we dare do so.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a good point, Sylmar,¡¯ Alwen admitted. They drew back from the circle they¡¯d automatically gone into. ¡®Honoured Brother, if your healers would help ours, we would appreciate it.¡¯ Dominic hesitated for a moment over who he should send to test it, but then decided that it was probably better if he did so himself ¨C they were concerned about letting him into a city; he¡¯d show them that they had nothing to be worried about. All five elders accompanied him to the injured, the elves before them fleeing away like the waters of the red sea before Moses. The healers looked pale, but didn¡¯t flee from Dominic as he crouched next to a wide-eyed elf lying on the ground. Dominic didn¡¯t pay any attention to the words the elders exchanged with the healer and patient, concentrating on bringing Healing Cloud to the surface and then touching the injured elf with a paw. ¡®Is it helping?¡¯ he asked after a few moments had gone by and his store of golden dust had reduced a little. ¡®Uh¡­I don¡¯t think so, Honoured Brother,¡¯ the injured elf said hesitantly. Dominic kept it going a little longer, but when the elf again appeared to think that nothing had changed, he stopped the Ability. ¡®It appears it doesn¡¯t work on elves,¡¯ Dominic said with disappointment. He wasn¡¯t the only one, though he did notice an odd relief on a few of the healers¡¯ faces. ¡®A pity,¡¯ Alwen commented, her own expression neutral. ¡®Shall we continue with our original plans, then?¡¯ While they finished preparing the parties and then started walking into the town itself, Dominic couldn¡¯t help wondering why Healing Cloud hadn¡¯t worked on the elf. Because he was an elf? Because he wasn¡¯t a beast? At least he knew it wasn¡¯t because the elf wasn¡¯t part of the Pride ¨C the creatures they¡¯d brought in when Dominic was trying to share Healing Cloud with Group Enhancement had taken the healing well enough. Soon, though, he was distracted by his surroundings and drawn out of his thoughts. The trees ¨C not baobabs, apparently, though they still looked pretty similar ¨C were utterly immense. The smallest was at least ten feet in diameter at its base, and the biggest Dominic estimated to be more than fifty feet. They often bulged out further up the trunk making them even wider up in the air. Some had doors at the base, others had staircases winding up the sides or ropes hanging from balconies that jutted out. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Elves could be seen all over these, peering at the odd procession from above. Dominic¡¯s keen hearing could hear a murmur that buzzed through the air like a swarm of bees. If Sekhmet¡¯s flattened ears were anything to go by, she wasn¡¯t keen on that sound. She was tense, too, constantly looking around for potential threats. Jenkins, in contrast, was as interested as Dominic was. Her head twisted and turned as she sought to see everything. Riding on Howler¡¯s back, Long-ear was the same. Dominic was surprised ¨C as was everyone around ¨C when he abruptly leapt off the winged-coyote¡¯s shoulders to grab at a rope hanging down above their heads. The murmuring around them took on a fearful tone but when the elders didn¡¯t react and neither did their guards, the people around calmed down again. When time passed by and all the kesh did was clamber around without causing harm to anyone, the atmosphere relaxed to the point it had been before. His eyes on the elders, Dominic saw by the odd anxious glance they sent up at the kesh that they weren¡¯t as relaxed as they pretended to be. He didn¡¯t blame them. ¡®Loud-Hoot, come down from there, would you?¡¯ he sent to the kesh. ¡®But I¡¯m enjoying myself,¡¯ the primate-like beast complained. ¡®This is far more to my taste than those dry, barren lands we¡¯ve been travelling through ever since we left the forest.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re making our hosts uncomfortable,¡¯ Dominic told him, ignoring the contemptuous snort with which Leo greeted that sentiment. ¡®Play nice for now. If we make a proper alliance with them, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get the opportunity to have some fun later.¡¯ The kesh didn¡¯t come down immediately, and Dominic started to fear that he wouldn¡¯t pay heed and wondered what he should do in that case. Fortunately, the monkey-like being thumped down onto Howler¡¯s shoulders just a moment later, making the coyote growl in annoyance. ¡®Sit nicely, or get off and walk,¡¯ the canine shot at Loud-Hoot. ¡®Sorry, friend,¡¯ the kesh apologised, returning to his usual sensible self. Dominic decided to put his uncharacteristic behaviour down to excitement and left it at that. Not all of the elves lived in the trees. Around the bases of many of the massive trees were a number of earthen constructions. Looking almost like red earth beehives with only a single face made out of wood, smaller wooden buildings mushroomed up from the trees¡¯ roots in clumps, some also lining the earthen boulevard that ran between the trees. He wondered what they might be for. They didn¡¯t seem to be houses to live in, at least not from what he could see of them. Finally, they reached what was obviously their destination. ¡®Is that really a tree?¡¯ Jenkins asked, awe-struck. Dominic couldn¡¯t blame her. It looked less like a tree and more like a small mountain. But judging by its shape that stretched high into the sky, sure enough, it was a tree. At least a hundred feet wide, possibly even a hundred and fifty, and tall to the point that he was unable to estimate its height, the tree dwarfed even the other immense trees around it. ¡®Our Great Mother,¡¯ Alwen told them with pride unmistakable in her voice. ¡®Planted centuries ago when this city was founded; there are three plant mages dedicated to her around the clock to ensure that she continues to thrive and grow no matter the conditions.¡¯ Dominic sneaked a look at the rest of the elders, seeing that they all regarded the tree with great respect and fondness. The guards, however, remained focussed on their duties. ¡®It¡¯s certainly¡­big,¡¯ Dominic answered, a feeling of awkwardness returning as he searched for something to say. The elders shot him a look, most of them amused, though Lystar appeared slightly more aggrieved. Perhaps he hadn¡¯t shown enough appreciation ¨C she was in charge of the mages if he¡¯d remembered correctly. ¡®It is that,¡¯ Alwen responded, no hint of the amusement she¡¯d displayed just a moment ago. ¡®Please, join us inside.¡¯ With that, the elves led the way forwards. As they approached, lines filled with a faintly glowing light cut through the rough bark of the tree trunk. Quickly, they formed the shape of a massive door which soon cracked open, though Dominic didn¡¯t see anyone pushing from inside. Magic, he decided. The pride followed the elves through. The door was big enough that Dominic and Nyx could walk side-by-side as they entered and still have a bit of room to spare. It was even taller than it was wide, the space arching high above their heads. Inside the tree, there was a strong scent. Enough to make Dominic sneeze a couple of times while his acute senses got used to it. It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever smelled before but had an undeniable hint of growth to it. Whether it was the magic that went into the care of the tree which gave it that quality, or the tree itself, Dominic didn¡¯t know. Either way, he doubted he¡¯d be able to mistake it for anything else in the future. As for the actual appearance of the inside of the tree, frankly Dominic would have merely thought it was a particularly cleverly wood-paneled hallway, one where the joins between each plank were so closely set as to be invisible. The walls were also covered with carvings. Some of them were discernible pictures; others appeared to be merely decorative patterns. ¡®Who carved these?¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help but ask as he ventured closer to one. It was beautifully done ¨C no hint of a chisel or knife. ¡®Some were created by our plant or wood mages. Others were the tree herself,¡¯ Lystar answered proudly. ¡®The tree itself?¡¯ Dominic asked, startled. He¡¯d got his answer to how they had been done so skillfully ¨C magic, of course. That would probably be the explanation to a number of things he¡¯d encounter in the near future. However, the answer had raised another question. ¡®Plants have their own consciousness,¡¯ the green-haired elf answered quietly ¨C Melia, Dominic believed she¡¯d been introduced as. ¡®The older and more magical the plant, the deeper the consciousness takes root. The Great Mother tells us many things through the pictures she creates in her internal chambers.¡¯ ¡®Interesting,¡¯ Dominic remarked in response and then stepped away from the carvings to rejoin the others. While it was indeed interesting and in different circumstances he¡¯d ask more questions, right now they had more important things to be getting on with. Chapter 30: Settlement Challenge Somewhat unusually, the great doors didn¡¯t open onto a room. Instead, the hallway split to go in two directions directly after the entrance door, each curving to follow the shape of the trunk. Their party moved to the right and Dominic soon found that they encountered stairs. It was the first time he¡¯d climbed stairs as a quadruped and the dissonance felt a little odd in a way he hadn¡¯t felt in a while. Still, it was little different from climbing over rocks so the feeling disappeared soon enough. They climbed higher and higher, continuing to curve around the tree. Dominic kept expecting to reach a flat surface of a floor wrapping around the main part of the trunk, but they never did. Instead, they just came to small landings every so often. Most of the time those landings were accompanied by a door or two on their left sides, but several times the landing instead only led to the other set of stairs which apparently wrapped around the tree in the opposite direction. By the time they reached their destination, Dominic felt that they must have gone around the tree at least three times. The windows that had opened outwards seemed to support that supposition as they returned to the same view several times, each time far higher up in the air. ¡®Please enter the meeting room,¡¯ Alwen invited, pausing before a large door on the left hand side and then leading the way into the room that the opening door revealed. She was accompanied by the other elders and guards though Berion took up a position next to the door with the air of someone intending on waiting there. Dominic eyed Nyx for a moment, seeing the same uncertainty that suddenly assailed him was present in her eyes too. ¡®If they try to trap us in here, we can break through the wood to escape, I¡¯m sure,¡¯ Nyx told him with more confidence than Dominic suspected she truly felt. ¡®I¡¯m sure they don¡¯t intend to trap us,¡¯ Dominic replied, with the same false confidence. ¡®They need us,¡¯ chimed in Leo. ¡®They won¡¯t do anything against us until that changes.¡¯ It was a good point. Dominic did his job as the leader and led their way into the room, bracing in case they had read the situation incorrectly and this had all been an elaborate trap. Fortunately, their more paranoid musings were proven to be mere suspicions. The elders were sitting on one side of a large table ¨C Alwen was sitting in the middle with the other four on either side of her. Their guards were standing behind them, not quite leaning against the walls, but obviously making an effort to not impose on the discussion. Obviously, chairs weren¡¯t going to suit any of the Pride members except perhaps Long-Ear, but the elves had clearly taken that into account, quickly pulling those on one side away and leaving space for them instead. Dominic advanced and sat opposite Alwen, his companions arranging themselves with Nyx on his left side and Sekhmet on his right, Howler and Long-Ear to the other side of Nyx, and Jenkins to the other side of Sekhmet. It hadn¡¯t actually been planned that way but Dominic had to admit that he¡¯d have probably directed them to do approximately the same even if he¡¯d thought about it. Even sitting, Dominic and Nyx both towered over the table due to being quadrupeds. However, due to the size of the table, that didn¡¯t mean they towered over the elves themselves. A clever arrangement, Dominic supposed. ¡®We apologise that we do not have any refreshments prepared,¡¯ Alwen offered. ¡®With the most recent attack, everything is currently in the canopy.¡¯ Dominic had to guess that that meant something like ¡®up in the air¡¯ or ¡®disordered¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s fine,¡¯ he dismissed. ¡®After the battle earlier, I doubt any of us are hungry. I¡¯m far more interested in hearing how this all started and what exactly you¡¯re facing that you want our help with.¡¯ ¡®Straight to business, I like that,¡¯ Illastir remarked approvingly. Alwen didn¡¯t look quite as pleased, but she adapted well enough. ¡®Very well. What do you know of Settlement Challenges?¡¯ Dominic checked in the Pride chat but, as he¡¯d expected, none of them had any more clue about it than he did. ¡®Nothing,¡¯ he answered a moment later. ¡®Then I shall explain. Under this new System, as a settlement with over five hundred residents, it seems we have to prove ourselves through three Challenges. Apparently, we have to justify that we are worthy of continuing to exist as we do now.¡¯ Her voice was more bitter than Dominic had expected. ¡®The first two Challenges we succeeded in passing ¨C just ¨C as they were healing and crafting orientated, but the most recent has proved to be more than we can vanquish alone. And it¡¯s the most important of the Challenges so far. The other two offered bonuses if we completed them, but if we had failed them the consequences would have been manageable. This time, if we fail the Challenge¡­we lose our home and the survivors will be forced to wander the dangerous lands around in search of a new one.¡¯ Her tone made it very clear that she knew the low likelihood of success of that.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡®I see,¡¯ Dominic replied thoughtfully. ¡®And the Challenge is to defend against a whole load of beasts. For a period of time or what?¡¯ ¡®There are multiple possible win conditions,¡¯ Ilastir answers seriously, ticking them off one by one on his fingers. ¡®If we can defend against the beast waves without losing more than a certain percentage of our population until the double new moon, we win. If we can instead somehow destroy all of the beast forces set against us, we win. If we can convince the beast lord candidate to give up, we win. If we can instead kill the leader and its most important captains so that the beast forces lose cohesion, we win. If we can bring another force to do any of those things on our behalf, we will win too, though I suspect that there are consequences to that option,¡¯ he sighs. ¡®What kind of consequences?¡¯ Dominic asked warily. ¡®We do not know,¡¯ Alwen answered, taking the lead in the discussion again. ¡®Believe us, this is not our preferred option either, but our forces are too weak and our settlement is too indefensible to allow for any of the other options. We have only been facing them for less than half the time we would need to do so, and yet we have already lost several of our number and the beast waves are only increasing in size and strength. Had you not intervened in this last battle¡­¡¯ ¡®Our forces would have most likely been overwhelmed, allowing the beasts bent on slaughter entrance into our city and our vulnerable populations,¡¯ Ilastir interrupted grimly. ¡®And we cannot afford to just retreat inside our trees ¨C we do not have the food or water supplies for such a siege. We would most likely suffer far too many losses ¨C even if fighting the beasts directly would probably result in greater loss of life. Our strategy so far has been that of stalling, but with the increased frequency of the beast waves as well, I do not see that strategy lasting us much longer. Dominic thought that it rather reflected their desperation that they had revealed just how dire their situation was and in the middle of a negotiation to boot! He wasn¡¯t exactly experienced, but even he knew that you didn¡¯t show the other party just how much you needed them unless you absolutely had to. Either elven negotiations were very different from human ones or these elves were willing to take any option that seemed like it might work ¨C no matter the cost. ¡®But I saw what you did with the hedges,¡¯ Dominic argued, finding himself oddly wanting to encourage the elves, even if that played against his own best interests ¨C or did it? It seemed like their odd negotiating strategy was catching. ¡®You had the beasts forced into a narrow gap. Couldn¡¯t you do that all around the town, only allowing certain points of entry?¡¯ He was no strategist, but that made sense to him. Melia and Lystar sighed in unison. ¡®We¡¯ve tried that over the last few days,¡¯ the white-haired elf answered. ¡®Unfortunately, our town is too big for it to be possible. Our mages and farmers are badly affected by our transplantation into this new land. Any changes to the earth or plants takes far more mana than it should and we don¡¯t have access to many of the mana-restoring tools that we used to. Too many of them have already been used without replenishment. And we still need food, the production of which takes up most of our mages¡¯ and farmers¡¯ time for the same reasons. And while we now have more than enough meat thanks to the attacks, we become quickly ill if we only eat that.¡¯ ¡®We have been considering condensing our population into a smaller space around the Great Mother just to make it more defensible, but then we still have the same issue as with retreating to our trees with no access to our main food supplies,¡¯ added Melia. ¡®But then Berion appeared and spoke of you and the strength of those in your following. He said that you even managed to defeat the final challenge in the dungeon,¡¯ Alwen says with a tone of admiration. ¡®We did,¡¯ Dominic answered slowly, his mind turning over what he¡¯d learned. The mention of a beast lord candidate was interesting. He remembered that he had a quest to reach Tier 3 with certain conditions which mentioned something about a title. Could this be something similar? ¡®It sounds like we need to do some scouting. Then we¡¯ll know better how to help you,¡¯ ¡®You still wish to do so?¡¯ Alwen checked; the other elders looked quietly hopeful. Dominic huffed. ¡®I would like to investigate the situation on the beasts¡¯ side first, but I would say that we¡¯ll do our best to help you as long as it doesn¡¯t appear to be a hopeless situation ¨C in exchange for certain benefits.¡¯ ¡®Then let us discuss those,¡¯ Alwen declared. Chapter 31: Mission Howler POV Three albuhas swooped over the savannah. Howler led the small pack with Jaws and Teeth flanking him, flying in his slipstream. They had been given the role of scouts and took it very seriously. At least, Howler did. He growled at Teeth as said albuha playfully struck at Jaws. The younger male looked cowed, but as soon as Howler¡¯s back was turned, he repeated the action. The leader growled again, flaring his wings to twist around and then snapping at Teeth. ¡®Stop that!¡¯ he told the offending young male. ¡®We have mission.¡¯ Teeth looked remorseful and indicated with his body language that he¡¯d behave now. Howler didn¡¯t think it likely that that resolution would last much past the next few minutes, but since they were already approaching their target, that was acceptable. Though Howler hadn¡¯t understood much of the discussion which had been held between the two-legged beings and his pack leader, he understood that it seemed to have gone well. His current mission had been given to him there and then: scouting out the other beasts. Howler wasn¡¯t quite sure why they were choosing to side with the two-legs, especially when he sensed that there was strength to be earned with the other beasts. But ultimately he would follow his pack leader. He wasn¡¯t strong enough to challenge the large male and his experiences recently had indicated to him that breaking away from the Pride would risk losing even more of his people. Howler was surprised at the strength of¡­something that welled up from within as he thought about their significantly reduced pack. Once, they had needed to take down a whole herd of prey beasts to fill their bellies, such was the size of their pack. Now, though, a fraction of the herd would suffice. There was little point ruminating on it, though ¨C they had a more important role to fulfil. And with time, even sadly depleted as they were, cubs would once more fill the pack. As long as the adults became strong enough to defend their pregnant females and the cubs themselves. Ahead of them appeared to be a nest of insects, at least from the air. Multiple clumps of beings shifted and rolled over the dry earth of the savannah. Howler hesitated. He wasn¡¯t sure whether to dive down and join them or to simply remain up in the air and watch. Their leader had indicated that he wanted as much information as possible, but perhaps they could get that from the air. His packmates seemed to feel his hesitation and flew close enough to playfully nip at his tail. ¡®What we do?¡¯ asked Jaws, always the more practical of the pair. Unsure how to answer him, Howler noticed a shape flying towards them. After hope briefly rose at the thought that it might be another of his kind, Howler¡¯s heart sank when he saw that it was instead an unknown creature with two legs and clawed digits emerging from its front wing joints. He prepared himself to fight, confident in the chances of his success, but the other creature didn¡¯t seem to be interested in a battle. The beast paused in front of them, using slow wing beats and little swoops from side to side to keep itself in the air. It expressed curiosity through its movements and the way it shifted its head slowly from one side to another. Although it did not communicate in the way Howler had become accustomed to since joining the big pack, he could still understand what it wished to convey. ¡®What you doing here,¡¯ it seemed to ask. Unsure about how to respond, Howler did his best to will his intentions to the other creature, hoping that his own body language would be equally understandable to the other flying being. ¡®We come to join.¡¯ ¡®You feel the call?¡¯ It seemed that the beast was as able to understand Howler¡¯s body cues as he was able to understand it. ¡®We do,¡¯ Howler confirmed as his leader had bade him to do. In truth, none of them felt anything that could be a ¡®call¡¯, unless it was that feeling of tempting strength he had sensed earlier, but his leader had seemed confident that it had something to do with this group of beasts. Apparently, he had been right. ¡®Then come. I show you to the matriarch.¡¯ With that, the beast turned and started leading the way. Briefly glancing at his packmates, Howler wondered whether he should follow it or not. Then, with a chill that went through him from his claws to his wingtips, he realised that they were not the only beings in the air anymore. It seemed that while they had been communicating, others similar to the beast they had communicated with had silently drifted into the air and blocked them in. It would be possible to escape, Howler was sure ¨C they couldn¡¯t block the whole sky: there were not enough of them for that. But he couldn¡¯t be sure to get all of his pack out with him ¨C Teeth in particular was not one of the most agile or fast of fliers. And making the attempt might mean that they were unable to complete their mission anyway. ¡®What do?¡¯ Jaws asked urgently as the flying beasts started to close in on them. ¡®We follow guide,¡¯ Howler replied grimly, putting action to his words and following the first winged beast. They glided down through the air currents above the savannah in pursuit of the other. As long as they did that, the other winged beasts didn¡¯t get any closer. Finally, the three albuhas closed their wings and dropped lightly to the ground in front of the other winged creature. On the ground, it seemed far more ungainly, its wings folding to create legs which allowed it to do an odd lolloping run across the earth. The albuhas were easily able to keep pace with it.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. They approached a small rise in the earth. Around the rise were spotted brown and yellow beasts with obviously strong jaws and weak hindquarters. They had a ridge of fur on their backs and no wings. Howler recognised them from the fight near the big trees ¨C there had been quite a few of them there. As the three albuhas warily approached, they made a low whooping sound, several pushing themselves to their feet and lowering their heads. Howler didn¡¯t mistake it for a gesture of submission, though, and in return growled back, baring his teeth, his fur bristling and his wings rising into the air threateningly. Their guide snapped its long jaws together sharply, the clashing sound cutting through the whooping of the spotted beasts. Then, fearlessly, it charged towards several of the beasts. They scattered at its approach, snickering and giggling even as they opened the way. ¡®Come,¡¯ the winged beast commanded and then lolloped forwards. Howler and his two companions hurried after it, watching warily as the spotted beasts closed in behind them. At least these ones couldn¡¯t fly ¨C if it came to a fight they could leap into the air and escape. He quickly looked up and checked for the other flyers, they were no longer there. Good. The situation repeated itself several more times before they reached the summit ¨C and the matriarch they were due to meet. This proved to be another of the spotted yellow and brown beasts, but was unmistakable among them. She ¨C for Howler''s nose clearly told him it was a female ¨C was at least twice the size of those around her and her eyes gleamed with an awareness which Howler had only seen in the strongest members of his own Pride. It wasn¡¯t, perhaps, as bright as the gleam he had seen in the eyes of his own leader, but it wasn¡¯t terribly far off. Worse, was the sense of unmistakable danger that he felt in her vicinity. Here was a creature who could kill him very quickly. It didn¡¯t matter whether she was stronger than his leader or not: his leader wasn¡¯t here and she was most certainly much stronger than he or any of his albuhas were ¨C and probably more so than all of them added together. There was also an odd¡­presence to her. An attraction, a call to join the side of the conquering force and benefit from the scraps she left in her wake. Was this the ¡®call¡¯ of which his leader and the winged beast had spoken? The source of the promise of benefits which had tantalised him when he had been in the air above? Only the fact that Howler felt an even stronger connection with those he had left behind in the two-leg nest, his females and other male in particular, stopped him from immediately wanting to submit himself in truth to the matriarch right at that moment. His two leaders were stronger than him, he knew that, but in the presence of this being of power and promise, he found his confidence in them being tested. He could not say for sure that either one or both of his leaders could defeat this being in a challenge, and that troubled him. The matriarch casually stepped forwards and sniffed at Howler, walking around him to nose at his wings, his tail, his genitals even. The albuha didn¡¯t dare to shift a claw or twitch a feather until he felt her presence move a little away from him. Turning his head cautiously, he saw her giving his packmates the same treatment. ¡®You smell¡­familiar in some way. There is a scent on you that I recognise,¡¯ the matriarch conveyed without any sense of intention to attack. Her body language was even easier to interpret than the winged beast¡¯s had been and he felt the presence from before adding weight and clarity to it. It was like the meaning the matriarch wished to convey was shoved under his nose instead of him needing to sniff it out. Far from a mere display of body language, this was almost an attack, but one he dared not meet with aggression. Not when he still sensed the gulf of strength between him and the matriarch. ¡®We have others of their kind here already,¡¯ Howler saw the winged beast who remained attentively present communicate to the female. ¡®Perhaps their scents are similar.¡¯ This caught Howler¡¯s full attention, even if only for a short moment. The matriarch did not appear convinced, eyeing Howler with a vicious glint in her eyes. Nonetheless, she stepped back, the weight of her presence leaving Howler and allowing him to feel that he could breathe again. ¡®You have followed the call, my call,¡¯ the matriarch communicated with small movements of her head and ears, her gaze lingering on each of the albuhas at a time. ¡®Yet, do you know what it means?¡¯ Howler didn¡¯t know how to answer her question. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like she needed an answer as she continued communicating a moment later. ¡®It means power. It means territory. It means hot flesh and blood for our stomachs.¡¯ ¡®Where¡­where do we get food?¡¯ Howler didn¡¯t know whether to admire or despair of the sudden courage ¨C or stupidity ¨C his packmate had just shown. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to bring Teeth with him ¨C the young male had often been terribly impetuous when he had been younger. Howler had thought he¡¯d calmed with age but so far on this mission¡­. The matriarch stalked towards the suddenly-terrified albuha. Howler tensed too ¨C if she tried to tear him to shreds, he would attack her, more powerful or not. If he could distract her sufficiently, Teeth and Jaws could get into the air and escape that way. Their leader would have to understand that they couldn¡¯t complete the mission. But the large yellow and brown beast didn¡¯t attack. Instead, she paused immediately in front of Teeth, practically nose to nose. The young albuha had frozen and didn¡¯t dare to move. ¡®Courage,¡¯ the matriarch shifted approvingly. ¡®That will serve you well in this fight. Perhaps, accompanied by strength, it can lead you to become one of my sub-leaders, fighting for rank and increased access to our kills.¡¯ Then her eyes turned to slits and she growled threateningly. ¡®But do not think that any amount of courage can displace me from my place as leader. Be satisfied with the scraps I leave for you. Or dare to try and die.¡¯ With that, she stalked back to her previous position on the very top of the hill and turned to the winged beast. ¡®Show them to the others of their kind. Let them decide whether they will follow the current leader or challenge him for his position.¡¯ The winged beast lowered its wings briefly in a gesture that Howler could only interpret as submission and then did as she commanded, leading the way down the hillside. Howler was only too happy to leave the heavy presence of the matriarch ¨C he didn¡¯t enjoy knowing that the other could kill him as quickly and easily as he would kill a small prey animal. His pack leader was strong enough to do so too, but there Howler was almost certain that he wouldn¡¯t ¨C most of the time, anyway. There were times when he became his other and got rather short-tempered. Howler had to suppress a shudder at that thought. However, there was another reason for why Howler followed the winged beast willingly, even eagerly. They had both conveyed the sense of others of Howler¡¯s ¡®kind¡¯. Were there others here? Could he take them and revitalise his much-reduced pack even while following his leader¡¯s instructions? Chapter 32: Stronger Opponent Howler¡¯s POV The answer to his question turned out to be that there were indeed others of his kind. Howler stared at the group with a bubbly sensation making his stomach shift and dance. It was a pack bigger than even his original one had been, full of males and females, and even a few wary cubs whose mothers stood over them with their teeth bared. A large male stepped out of the group, eyeing Howler and weighing him up. Howler did the same, Teeth and Jaws backing away. The winged beast which had guided them here spread its wings and leapt off the ground into the air, leaving without any further communication. Howler and the big male started circling each other. Howler eyed the other male¡¯s movements, watching for any hint of stiffness or injury. In this new world where all injuries would be healed by that influx of strength that came after killing many creatures, older wounds were more uncommon. But that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t be there. Howler ventured to guess that he might have blurred more recently than this other male. Howler was certainly almost as big, even if the other male was slightly bigger, and their wingspans were the same. He felt reasonably confident in challenging this other male, especially when his sharp eyes caught sight of the slightest of hesitations in his opponent¡¯s movement. Tracing it to one of the other albuha¡¯s hindquarters, he saw the faintest hint of an injury, almost entirely covered by his opponent¡¯s fur. Heartened, Howler stood still and took in a deep breath. His opponent, his ears pricked alertly, mimicked him. Almost at the same time, they let out a Fearful Howl. The mournful sounds clashed in midair, distorting slightly and making the albuhas around them back away. Some even attempted to cover their ears with their paws or to block out some of the sound with their wings. The mothers lowered themselves onto their cubs to protect them. Howler, however, was unable to pay much attention to such things. He was far too occupied by forcing himself to stand his ground in the face of a seemingly stronger opponent, if the force of his Fearful Howl was anything to go by. Yet this other male didn¡¯t even approach the strength of Howler¡¯s true leader and Howler had learned that the strength of a Howl was not everything. His second leader couldn¡¯t even howl, yet had defeated him in a battle. Nor could she fly. Resourcefulness counted for much, as did determination. And what Howler had learned from their little exchange of Howls was that the other male was stronger than him¡­but not by much. Perhaps his opponent had expected him to back down. Perhaps he¡¯d thought that Howler would feel his obvious superiority and submit himself. Howler didn¡¯t. He had only ever submitted when he was sure that he was the weaker, and he was not sure of that here. Instead, he leapt forwards. He knew that time would give more advantage to his opponent over him ¨C if he could get the male to yield quickly, that would be the best outcome for him. Wishing that he had the Abilities some of his pack had which would have lent speed to his feet, Howler had to content himself with taking his opponent by surprise instead. His first salvo definitely took his opponent aback and he got in a bite to the space between the male¡¯s shoulder and neck. Activating his Ability Tearing Bite, Howler left a nasty, bleeding wound behind. He had chosen to do a quick in-and-out attack, knowing that his opponent would bite back as soon as he got his wits about him. Sure enough, the other male also lunged forwards, missing Howler¡¯s own neck by a hair. Howler took advantage of that miss to again leap forwards himself, aiming straight for the weak spot he¡¯d noticed on the hindquarter. His opponent shrieked as Howler ripped into the muscle over his hip, and then Howler himself felt a blinding pain as his own hindquarter was bitten. Pushing off the ground with all four paws, Howler beat his wings once to rise just high enough above the leader, and then pulled them in to drop like a stone. However, the other male was no fool and sidestepped so Howler didn¡¯t manage to land on his back. By flicking his wings a little to correct his movement, though, he managed to grab his opponent¡¯s wing on the way down, quickly pinning it to the ground with his weight. The male growled loudly and once more opened his mouth to Howl. Not having prepared his own vocalisation, Howler was struck by the full force of the leader¡¯s frightful sound. It demanded that he immediately throw himself to the ground, his wings spread wide in submission. But he didn¡¯t. He remembered the strength of his pack leader ¨C he could not submit to another who was clearly far weaker. His leading female hadn¡¯t submitted before his own howl; he would not do it for the howl of this male. And to add strength to that thought was the realisation that if this pack remained under the control of this other male, they would probably be led into battle against the two-legs and his own Pride. In that case, they would die, just as so many had before them. The fear of losing more of his kind to something that was completely avoidable gave Howler the strength and determination he needed. Instead of quailing beneath the ongoing mournful Howl, he pushed forwards instead. The other male was completely taken aback at the move, his Howl was strangled into a whimpering yelp as Howler bulled straight into his front shoulder. The smaller male had chosen the opposite shoulder to the damaged hindquarter and the force of his impact made his opponent¡¯s back leg buckle. Flapping frantically with his wings and shifting backwards, the leader tried to regain control, but Howler wouldn¡¯t let him. He sensed that this was his chance ¨C the leader most likely wouldn¡¯t be taken by surprise by Howler¡¯s determination again. If he wasn¡¯t adaptable enough to realise that Howler was an opponent to take seriously, he would have been defeated by another long before. Howler beat with his own wings, deliberately smacking the leader in the face and wings, confusing him, distracting him, keeping him off balance. Step by step, he advanced until he was close enough. With a final push, it was all over. Howler had forced the leader to put too much weight on his injured leg and it had buckled beneath him. Howler had taken advantage of the other albuha¡¯s surprise to snap his teeth around the leader¡¯s vulnerable throat. His wings were unable to attack Howler ¨C the smaller male¡¯s own wings were protecting his head from any such attempt. Howler felt his opponent tense for a long moment before going limp. The victorious male backed off a short distance and then waited, his wings lifted high into the air, his gaze fixed on his opponent¡¯s crumpled form on the earth. The previous leader looked up at him for a long moment without moving, then whined and slowly shifted onto his belly, spreading his wings flat on the dusty earth to either side of his body. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Leaning his head down towards his erstwhile opponent, Howler waited for the defeated ex-leader to lick his muzzle and then started grooming the bigger male¡¯s head himself. The battle decided, the rest of the pack gathered around and started grooming the two fighters. Each licked at Howler first, paying particular attention to the wound he¡¯d earned in his hindquarter and then descended upon the one he¡¯d been fighting, their previous leader and now Howler¡¯s second ¨C unless Teeth or Jaws wanted to fight him for the privilege. When he pushed himself to his feet, the bigger male looked towards the two albuhas Howler had brought with him, growling quietly to indicate that he would meet their challenge if they wished to bring it. Howler wasn¡¯t surprised when both of his pack mates declined to do so ¨C they all could tell that, even injured, the erstwhile leader was a hard opponent to take on. Instead, the two dipped their bodies and wings towards the ground ¨C not as low as the bigger had done to acknowledge Howler as leader, but that was expected. There had been no fight; Teeth and Jaws were just acknowledging that they recognised the bigger male as an authority over them. The next while was taken up by meeting each of the pack and exchanging greetings, imprinting the others¡¯ scents on their noses so that they would always know them as part of their pack. The mothers and their current mates were warier than the others, but when none of the newcomers showed any inclination towards attacking the cubs, the parents relaxed a little and greeted their new leader too. It wasn¡¯t long before they had all settled into a pile of limbs and wings, sharing affection. Howler had missed being able to make a proper pile of his pack. It just wasn¡¯t the same with the reduced numbers his pack had suffered. Though his haunch was still stinging and he wished he had a carcass to consume to heal it within the space of a wing-beat, he couldn¡¯t regret finding more of his kind. It was a while later that he felt some of his pack tense. Tuning into the wordless communication of his packmates, Howler¡¯s attention was immediately caught. Pushing himself to his feet, he saw a winged beast much like the one which had greeted them in the air ¨C though, not the same one. It was crouched on the ground, its body language relaxed. ¡®The matriarch wants to see your leader,¡¯ it conveyed with a hint of irritation in its sharp movements. Howler stepped forwards, a chill going through him at the thought of seeing that powerful beast again. ¡®I the leader,¡¯ he responded. The winged beast didn¡¯t communicate anything more; it just turned and started lolloping off, clearly expecting Howler to follow. With a sense of misgiving and a quick glance back at his pack, Howler did too. ***** Dominic paced back and forth under the moonlight shadow of a tree. ¡®Stop worrying,¡¯ his ever-present companion growled in his mind. ¡®Like you wouldn¡¯t be even worse if some of the lionesses had gone into that mess,¡¯ Dominic growled back at him. ¡®That¡¯s different,¡¯ Leo dismissed nonchalantly. ¡®It¡¯s natural to be worried about the safety of my females.¡¯ ¡®And it¡¯s just as natural for me to be worried about the safety of those I sent in to spy for me,¡¯ Dominic retorted. Waiting was never his favourite thing and he¡¯d been doing it for hours. He supposed he could have sent one of his Pride members to wait here, but he was determined to be present for whatever report Howler would bring in, or to be there to help if the albuhas needed extraction ¨C which most Pride members couldn¡¯t do alone. He hadn¡¯t even brought any of his other companions along, despite their eagerness to join him ¨C the lionesses in heat had been particularly keen, and Leo had been rather vocal in his protest when Dominic turned them down. But they would just be a distraction they couldn¡¯t afford if it came down to a fight. Ultimately, in that situation, he was the best single choice, and, more importantly, he would be able to fly away with the albuhas if they needed to escape by air. He was now regretting being so adamant about being alone, though. He had tried to keep himself occupied with trying to work out how he could best use their new Abilities. Both the Pride and Dominic had got several new ones recently and he needed to incorporate them into his strategies. The most recent battle had proven all too well that just using them when he felt pressed wasn¡¯t necessarily the best idea. Still, he¡¯d been quite pleased at how grouping the lions and amesheks together had turned out ¨C apparently that had been one major reason why they had only lost three members in the recent fight. And if the reports he¡¯d had were anything to go by, the deaths had been caused by those particular Pride members being in the wrong places at the wrong time more than the strategy itself failing. Perhaps they could combine the kesh¡¯s ranged abilities into the mix, though they¡¯d have to do it in a way which didn¡¯t put the melee lions at risk ¨C apparently there were a few stones which had gone astray in the recent battle¡­. It was something to consider. Once he was done with reviewing the strategies used in the most recent battle, he¡¯d started training with the Abilities he could. Unfortunately, most of them were not viable to use so close to the enemy¡¯s camp. Rage, which honestly needed the most work, was also the one he was most fearful about trying out ¨C for all he knew, his fury would propel him to the camp to storm it single-handedly. Or was that single-pawedly? If it didn¡¯t drive him to the camp physically, it would probably urge him to announce his presence with a challenging Roar, bringing the camp to him instead. For obvious reasons, practising with Roar was also out, as was Fearful Voice. But Fleet Foot, Powerful Swipe, Sharp Bite Attack, and most of his basic attack Abilities were on the cards. He¡¯d also worked a bit with Spatial Awareness, trying to spread his attention a little more widely ¨C being able to sense everything in a sphere around himself didn¡¯t help if he didn¡¯t pay attention to what he could sense. Having two minds in the same body helped with that, but didn¡¯t solve the issue completely. He¡¯d even practised a bit with Flash Step, Lightning Discharge, and Poison Cloud, hoping that he wouldn¡¯t need to use any of those if it came to a fight later that night ¨C those Abilities would never increase in level if he only rarely used them while in battle. When he had got bored of that, he had started practising with his wings, trying to work out how he could use them more in combat ¨C they were targets anyway so he might as well get some use out of them as weapons like the albuhas did. He even practised a little with Camouflage, but chose not to use mana for it. During all that he practised with Second Wind when his stamina got low enough. Only belatedly, when he checked his abilities for what else he could train, he realised that he might be able to improve his Mapping Ability by scouting more of the wider area. He immediately did so, testing the differences between scouting by foot and flying. He found that the map was a little more detailed when he padded through an area, though his range of vision was smaller. Flying gave him a wider recorded area, but less detail on the map itself. The practice reminded him that, except for what he had just done, he hadn¡¯t done any grinding over the last few days and that though his most-used Abilities were still advancing, others had stagnated. Resolving to find the time to dedicate to advancing his Abilities, Dominic fretted at the time passing and had eventually resorted to pacing back and forth. Finally, a black dot came into view, barely distinguishable against the dark sky. It didn¡¯t descend, but flew overhead as if searching for something. For a moment Dominic wasn¡¯t sure whether it was one of his albuhas and, though the shape was definitely familiar, resorted to hiding just in case. ¡®Leader,¡¯ he heard through the Pride chat, earning a sigh in relief. ¡®I¡¯m here to report.¡¯ Dominic frowned mentally. Wasn¡¯t that Teeth speaking? Why had Teeth come instead of Howler? He¡¯d been counting on the Keen Mind of his highest-levelled albuha to make useful observations. Had something gone wrong? ¡®Where¡¯s Howler?¡¯ he asked, fearing the worst. Chapter 33: An Old Enemy ¡®Howler fine,¡¯ Teeth reassured Dominic as he came in for a landing. ¡®Hopefully.¡¯ The last word served to undo all the good the first two had done for Dominic¡¯s state of mind and served to distract him from suggesting that Teeth stayed up in the air until too late. He would just have to hope that no one was watching the albuha who might be suspicious. ¡®What do you mean, ¡®hopefully¡¯?¡¯ he demanded. ¡®Howler called by matriarch.¡¯ ¡®Matriarch,¡¯ Dominic repeated, the word catching his interest. Now why was that ringing a bell? ¡®I think you¡¯d better start from the beginning.¡¯ And so Teeth quickly did. By the end of his explanation, illustrated by memories projected into the Pride chat, Dominic knew exactly what the address ¡®matriarch¡¯ had reminded him of. ¡®It seems like we¡¯re facing an old enemy again,¡¯ he remarked to Leo. The lion growled in response, the sound both eager and spine-chilling at the same time. He, for one, wouldn¡¯t mind a rematch. ¡®The sneaky vermin leader will meet our teeth this time. Not our backs,¡¯ the lion declared firmly. ¡®It does seem that conflict is inevitable,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®But did you catch how she was concerned about her position? From the memory Teeth projected, she seemed to be doing her utmost in that meeting to intimidate the albuhas and stop them from even considering an attempt to challenge her.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s natural,¡¯ Leo reminded him, as if it should have gone without saying. ¡®I would be concerned about the same thing in her place. Why do you think I don¡¯t want young males around?¡¯ ''So they don''t mate with the lionesses,'' Dominic pointed out. ''That goes without saying ¨C only the dominant males of a pride mate with the females. But I don''t want to raise my usurper.'' ¡®I suppose,¡¯ Dominic granted. But something was telling him it was more than the natural desire to be at the top of the pile, not to mention that as a female, the pressure to be the leader to get access to mates was surely less pressing, not to mention it was a cross-species group. Even Leo hadn¡¯t tried to mate with any of the non-leonine Pride members ¨C yet. This whole situation was odd; unnatural. Or rather, System-made. Why wouldn¡¯t it be such on the beasts¡¯ side just as much as on the elves¡¯? The conversation with the elves had been enlightening. Pre-System, they hadn¡¯t been an independent town ¨C though were pretty self-sufficient for everyday requirements, they hadn¡¯t sported any sort of military force. They had only been able to avoid that necessity thanks to their territory¡¯s capital which had sent Warriors to them through some sort of quick-travel system when they needed it. Unfortunately, the System had transplanted them far enough away from their protecting city that they hadn¡¯t yet found any trace of it or any other settlement, even when their hunting parties travelled as far as they dared, and the quick-travel system was out of action until certain conditions were fulfilled. They¡¯d been rather vague about all of that and Dominic hadn¡¯t pressed them on it. Time enough to do that later once he¡¯d built up a bit more trust ¨C he was certainly interested in a system which might make it easier for him to investigate what had happened to his human family. The Elders had theorised that the Challenges were a way of testing whether a settlement had what it took to survive in this new world. Unfortunately for the elves, the ability to defend oneself seemed to be a highly prized value while they were constrained by limitations which no one had fully explained. Though the fact that the healing and crafting Challenges had come first seemed to indicate that the System wasn¡¯t actually trying to kill them off ¨C at least not outright. And technically there were win conditions which didn¡¯t require them to actually fight, though to succeed like that, they would have to choose to sacrifice a portion of their population. What Dominic was wondering was whether this Challenge was just as much for the beasts as it was for the elves. Unlike the previous two Challenges, this time the elves were up against living opponents, and ones that Dominic was fully aware of being, or could become, just as sapient as the members of his Pride were, or the elves for that matter. What if the matriarch would gain some sort of bonus by leading the beasts to victory? And what if these rewards only went to the leader? Or at least the bulk went to the leader and her most powerful captains could squabble over the rest? That would explain the matriarch¡¯s comments about ¡®scraps¡¯. Of course, those same comments could just be about literal food and might have nothing to do with a System-generated Challenge. Still, Dominic couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Especially since one of the possible win conditions for the elves was to convince the ¡®beast lord¡¯ to give up on the attack. ¡®You don¡¯t think that we can convince the vermin to give up on this prize, do you?¡¯ Leo asked incredulously, clearly following his thoughts closely. ¡®No,¡¯ Dominic answered immediately. ¡®But what if the ¡®beast lord¡¯ was someone else?¡¯ ¡®The winged canines are not strong enough to challenge her.¡¯ ¡®No, they¡¯re not,¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®But what about Nyx? Or us?¡¯ The lion was silent for a moment. ¡®If that¡¯s the case, then it has to be us,¡¯ Leo replied slowly after some thought. ¡®I refuse to risk others becoming more powerful than us and taking our Pride from us. Vassal or not.¡¯ ¡®Fair,¡¯ Dominic conceded. ¡®But you see my point, right?¡¯ ¡®I do. Though it would be stupidly dangerous to step into the den of another beast without knowing for sure. Especially when they are as numerous as the winged canine has indicated them to be.¡¯ ¡®Oh, I agree,¡¯ Dominic replied immediately. ¡®Which is why we need more information.¡¯ So saying, he returned his attention to Teeth. ¡®Thanks for the information. Please return to the matriarch¡¯s group and find out some more for me. I need to know whether anyone else has challenged the matriarch and if so, why, and what her response was ¨C did she fight herself, send in some of her followers, or refuse the challenge outright? And it would be good to have a more comprehensive picture of what creatures are present in the army itself.¡¯Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡®Especially are there any lionesses,¡® Leo threw in quickly. Dominic sent him an eyeroll but didn¡¯t countermand the order. ¡®Yes, pack leaders,¡¯ the albuha answered respectfully. He waited for a moment longer to find out if there was anything else Dominic would like to say, then when it was clear that the lion had finished, Teeth stepped forwards to lick Dominic¡¯s jaw, and then turned around and took off. Dominic watched the winged shape of his pride member disappear into the night sky. Then he froze as he saw another winged shape cross the path of the moon. Who was that? Another of the albuhas that Howler had apparently won the loyalty of? Or one of those other winged creatures which looked more than a little like giant bats? And if one of the latter, how much had it seen? How much had it understood of their interaction? Teeth had been quick, but he had still been meeting with a creature from outside the army. Unease going through Dominic¡¯s mind, he slowly retreated into the brush behind him, hopefully hiding his shape sufficiently that even those able to fly in the dark wouldn¡¯t be able to spot him. Once more, they had to wait. Uncertain as to who might be watching, Dominic decided not to continue with any of his training ¨C the movement required for it was far too visible, especially in the stillness of the night. Instead, he decided to use the opportunity to sleep for a bit. Even as he laid his head on his paws, he found his thoughts buzzing around his brain too quickly for him to drop off. He found himself thinking back to the conversation with the elves. The rest of it had gone well ¨C both parties had ended up satisfied with the arrangement of exchanging crafted equipment for help with overcoming this challenge. Dominic had offered to contribute the fabric and metal as well as the sword and sheath they couldn¡¯t use that they¡¯d received in the dungeon. The elves had been rather pleased and said that they¡¯d use the materials to help create their equipment. That they were displeased about the destruction of the dungeon had come through a couple of pointed comments which had nonetheless still been polite. They¡¯d actually stung even more because of that. Sylmar in particular had practically been thrown into despondency at the thought that his crafters would no longer have access to the materials from there. All but that particular elf, however, had managed to face the loss more or less prosaically at least after the initial pointed comments as the dungeon by itself had not given them enough advantage to win their current Challenge. Dominic¡¯s Pride, on the other hand, had a better chance of doing just that. Though, Dominic definitely got the feeling that the majority of the elves were moderating their reactions in order not to risk alienating him. He suspected that he hadn¡¯t heard the end of it yet. That was one reason why he and the albuhas were out here ¨C in order to show that he was taking their temporary alliance seriously, Dominic had volunteered to immediately go and scout the beast forces, to try to work out exactly what was going on from their perspective. He just hoped that the rest of the Pride was doing fine. Not entirely trusting the elves just yet, Dominic had instructed the Pride to make their home in the outer edge of the forest town, rather than taking advantage of the elves¡¯ offer to stay in the massive central tree itself. Plus, it allowed them to react faster if they were needed against a new attack. Fortunately, there were some huts which were apparently usually used by hunters coming home late and which served well enough as temporary dens. Nyx and Dominic himself were too big to fit through the doors, but everyone else managed. Though the Pride and Dominic were unable to communicate directly, they had solved that issue by stationing five Pride members in between him and the bulk of his Pride, allowing him to get word back to them if necessary. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t end up like a children¡¯s game of Chinese Whispers if so. Thinking about his Pride quickly led his thoughts onto a certain member of it. Dominic managed to doze off to happy contemplation of Sekhmet and her leonine charms, only emphasised by her sharp intellect and steady personality. ***** Dominic¡¯s sleep was fitful, more a series of catnaps than proper sleep, but considering he was alone and out in the open, only half-hidden by a bush, that was probably a good thing. He woke properly to the sound of strong wing beats in the air, the albuha exchanging stealth for speed. ¡®What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ Dominic asked, their close range allowing for easy use of the Pride chat even if Teeth was still in the air. ¡®Pack leader! Howler order by matriarch ¨C go attack two-leg den!¡¯ Dominic felt adrenaline rush through him, wiping away any remaining sleepiness. ¡®Howler has been ordered to attack the elves? Alone?¡¯ ¡®No. With pack. And other packs. Howler give me this, give you.¡¯ With that, Teeth projected a memory into the Pride chat. Unlike normal, though, the memory was rough, the images barely decipherable; the meaning of the body language almost completely garbled. But Dominic was able to understand enough to get the gist. And to his relief, it actually answered several questions he had. When Howler had been called to the matriarch some hours before, he had been required to take part in a sort of tournament. Dominic wasn¡¯t sure whether the tournament was more for the matriarch¡¯s pleasure or information; perhaps both. He had acquitted himself well, his ability to fly a definite advantage over several opponents. He had lost, however, against several other opponents, notable among which were a bloody-mouthed killer rabbit, at least three times the size of the ones Dominic had encountered, and a large lion which had Leo growling in the back of their mind. Worse, to Leo¡¯s mind, was the fact that he was bigger than them and had a nicer mane. His desire to go and chase the other male off was almost irresistible. Almost. Dominic was able to talk him down by reminding him that if they were torn to pieces by the rest of the army, the lion would keep his pride and would probably get Leo¡¯s Pride too. That little blip overcome, Dominic was able to return to evaluating the memories. Fortunately, the fights didn¡¯t seem to be to the death, either intelligence or fear of the matriarch sufficing to stop the combatants before things got too far. In all but a couple of cases, a snarl from the matriarch was enough to freeze the fighters mid-motion and end the fight then and there. In the cases when that wasn¡¯t enough, the matriarch¡¯s physical intervention did the trick to cow the fighters. All except one ¨C a creature that looked like the scrin Dominic had once faced, though this one larger and more deadly-looking. This scrin had a hyena-like head and a gorilla¡¯s chest. It was bi-pedal, powerful, and vicious. Apparently it thought that it had a chance against the matriarch and, when the large hyena intervened, it didn¡¯t back down but transferred its aggression off its bloody opponent onto the matriarch herself. Snarling in challenge, it had held its ground even as the matriarch almost seemed to grow in size, her fur puffing out and her presence flaring to freeze everyone else within a few paces. The scrin had attacked and the matriarch had responded. The two had exchanged blows, ripping and tearing at each other in a fight which was far more in earnest than that which had occurred previously among the other combatants. Interestingly, the matriarch hadn¡¯t called in any others to join her. Perhaps because she didn¡¯t need to; perhaps because she couldn¡¯t due to the nature of the challenge. Not having been there and barely seeing the movements as it was due to the quality of the twice-transferred memory, Dominic couldn¡¯t say. But he did find it curious to note that she had chosen to take on the challenge alone, neither backing off nor getting others to fight her battle for her as she¡¯d done in their own clash ¨C did her position as ¡®beast lord¡¯ force her to accept one-on-one challenges from her own captains? Or had she become powerful enough herself that she no longer needed her hyenas to distract her opponents for her? In the end, the scrin was left on the ground, bloody and ripped half to pieces. The matriarch was injured too, but there was no doubting her ferocity or willingness to fight again if necessary. No others challenged her, however, and she returned to her place on the top of the rocky hill. The scrin, however, bled out into the earth, his life absorbed by the red soil. Oddly enough, she didn¡¯t absorb him to heal herself. Dominic guessed that she was hoarding that knowledge jealously for strategic advantage, much like Dominic himself did. From the top of the hill, the matriarch had issued her orders ¨C Howler and his albuhas, along with four other groups of beasts were to attack the elven settlement. Dominic was unable to get a clear image of the attackers, but he gathered that the other four were ground-bound. One group was big, two were medium-sized, and the last was relatively small. Howler was given additional instructions ¨C to report back about new defences or strategies no matter what. It seemed she was displeased that her last group had been eliminated so thoroughly. Dominic refocussed on the present, his thoughts racing. ¡®Go back to Howler,¡¯ he told Teeth. ¡®Thanks for the information ¨C I¡¯ll prepare the Pride to meet the attack.¡¯ Chapter 34: Army Dominic rushed back towards the elven settlement, using Fleet Foot, Quick Strike, and his wings in turn to move as fast as he could. It wasn¡¯t his most stamina-efficient means of travelling, but it was certainly effective. While he ran, he reached out to his messenger chain through the Pride chat. ¡®Tell the Pride to prepare for a potential battle. Ask Sekhmet to inform the elves and instruct them to get ready.¡¯ ¡®Yes, Pride leader,¡¯ Anuke answered succinctly, evidently one of the five Pride members taking the current shift as relays. Dominic heard her repeat the same message, almost perfectly word for word, but it was slightly muffled since it was more directed at the next relay member than him. The next relay member should then do the same to pass the message on. At least, he assumed that that was what was happening as he couldn¡¯t personally hear the response. Running through the savannah, Dominic raced to be back in time. Teeth hadn¡¯t been able to come immediately in order to not arouse suspicion so the army had a bit of a lead on him. Still, he was faster than most, especially so when he used his movement Abilities, and not all of the beasts chosen to attack the elves were fast movers anyway ¨C at least he assumed as much. But if he wanted to make sure he was fully recovered before the fight, it would be best to get there ahead of time. The elven settlement had never truly disappeared below the horizon ¨C it was big enough and the savannah flat enough that he¡¯d only lost sight of it completely when it had blended in with the dark night sky behind it. Now, with the rising sun casting its rays into the sky and brightening the background behind the massive trees, it was once more obvious to see. What was also obvious was the black blob of creatures against the pale grass and red earth of the savannah. The winged creatures in the air were evidence that this group was indeed the small army of beasts sent by the matriarch. They were closer to the settlement than Dominic was and made him realise just how long it had been before Teeth had managed to come and warn him about the incoming army. They had clearly arced around slightly as they weren¡¯t moving parallel to Dominic and his relay members, but the angle between them wasn¡¯t massive. Dominic aimed himself at a point where they would meet near the forest-town if the army continued on its current trajectory. Teeth hadn¡¯t told him where the group was, but, to be fair, he hadn¡¯t asked either. The albuha clearly hadn¡¯t thought of it by himself, perhaps too concerned about the fact that they¡¯d been sent against their own Pride. Their position indicated that the little army had set off quite a while ago. Long before dawn, was Dominic¡¯s guess. Which made sense, of course ¨C when better to take enemies off guard than when they¡¯re still sleeping, and the sun is in their eyes? Though if the latter had factored into the matriarch¡¯s calculations, Dominic would have to consider her a far better tactician than he had ever thought she could be. Though if they wanted to catch the elves with the sun in their eyes, they would need to arc around the forest first. Their current trajectory didn¡¯t indicate that as an objective. Seeing as he was away from anyone who might get hurt, Dominic decided to use Rage. Thanks to the way the Ability worked, he¡¯d double his speed for two minutes and no additional stamina, and then have a minute and a half of recuperation time. That meant a net win in speed. Every little bit extra would help. Besides, he desperately needed practice using this Ability While using Rage, he focussed on using Fleet Foot and combined it with Quick Strike and, after a moment of consideration, Sharp Bite Attack. The effect was significant ¨C he could only thank Sure Feet for the fact that he didn¡¯t stumble over his own toes at the sheer increase in speed. It wasn¡¯t only the doubling effect of Rage to his base speed, but the fact that even his three speed-enhancing Abilities seemed to be affected by it. Not doubled, he was pretty sure of that, but increased by a bit nonetheless. Unfortunately, the boost died away all too quickly. He¡¯d made noticeable progress in closing the distance between himself and the elven town, but the crawl he was reduced to when Rage wore off was even more frustrating in its comparison with his speed before. Choosing to take to the air, Dominic used Airborne to reduce his weight and built up his speed as much as possible first. He glided through the air, touching the ground only to recoup the speed lost to air-resistance. The advantage to using his wings for part of the journey instead of just enhancing his running with Fleet Foot was that his stamina drain was reduced. Although he was faster on foot with all his Abilities working together, the way Rage¡¯s recuperation period worked was that it was actually slightly faster and more efficient to glide through the air while moving minimally than try to continue running. Dominic could only guess that it was because of the nature of the Ability that when he tried to run while in the recuperation period, he felt like lead blocks were wrapped around his feet; the effort to move had significantly increased compared to normal. If he was trying to beat his wings, he¡¯d probably find the same with them. But since all he was doing was stretching them out and keeping them steady, the effects of the recuperation didn¡¯t seem to affect them as much. Once the recuperation period was over, he switched back to using Rage and boosting his speed as much as he possibly could, repeating the process time and time again as the elven forest-town grew larger and larger before him and the distance between him and the enemy army narrowed. He was pleased to note that he had been right about Rage ¨C with no target to focus his anger on, it simmered in the back of his mind like Leo¡¯s discontent whenever Dominic did anything with a male lion other than going straight for his throat. If he could get the fury that accompanied the Ability muted to this extent even when he was in combat, Rage would become a viable part of his combat strategy. Until then, though¡­. At least his use now was doing wonders for his progress towards its next level ¨C with any luck, the ¡®rage¡¯ would become less prevalent as he levelled it. Hopefully. It was relatively close in the end, though Dominic managed to earn himself a bit of extra time by contacting Howler. He¡¯d suggested that the albuha advise the army to pause for a little bit to allow their weaker members to recoup their stamina in preparation for the battle. It might mean the army was a little stronger than they might be otherwise, but it was worth it for Dominic to have the added preparation time. Dominic met his Pride standing between the oncoming beast army and the edge of the elven settlement. A group of about twenty elves were arrayed behind them with their weapons held tightly in white-knuckled grips, their faces pale and set with determination to protect their home. The beasts were close enough that Dominic could see more details of the creatures that formed the army than he¡¯d got from Howler¡¯s message passed through Teeth. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. From what Teeth had said, Dominic had theorised that this battle was a bit of a test. Why she hadn¡¯t led an all-out assault on the settlement yet, he didn¡¯t know. Maybe she was too cautious, or maybe there were limitations imposed by the System that he didn¡¯t know about ¨C it would make sense for the System to slowly increase the difficulty for the elves. Though how it would ensure that in practicality when dealing with thinking beasts, he didn¡¯t know. Either way, the army was a clear hodgepodge similar to the one before with five different animal species present. Dominic identified the medium beast species as trodils and wild dogs. Then, of course, there were the albuhas. The large and small species were unknown to him. The small one had carapaces on their backs like large cockroaches; the large species appeared to be some kind of thinly-furred bison, large horns and thickly-armoured skull included. ¡®The elves want to speak to you,¡¯ Sekhmet told Dominic as soon as he skidded to a stop just in front of his Pride and they exchanged quick greetings. ¡®Alright,¡¯ Dominic accepted. ¡®Are we all ready if this comes to a fight?¡¯ ¡®Nyx suggested spreading apart and creating a pincer-like manoeuvre. She¡¯ll hold the line here; the rest of us will close in from the sides.¡¯ It was a good strategy, and one that most of the hunters would understand, But perhaps there was a way to make it even better. ¡®Good idea. I¡¯ll quickly talk to the elves. I¡¯m hoping this won¡¯t come to a fight, but if it does, we¡¯d best be prepared.¡¯ Heading to where the elves stood, several pale and smelling of fear, Dominic went straight for Ilastir. The Elder had apparently decided to join his troops. ¡®These are the only hunters you have?¡¯ the lion asked slightly incredulously. With as many elves as he had seen the day before, surely there had to be more than just twenty. ¡®We have many injured who are still recovering, and we did not want to draw all of our strength to this one location in case they attack elsewhere or some break through,¡¯ Ilastir explained grimly. ¡®We have watch-huts throughout the city ready to respond, though half of them are empty at the moment. They would usually be manned by true Warriors, not my hunters.¡¯ ¡®Yes, yes,¡¯ Dominic acknowledged impatiently. He didn¡¯t need to hear excuses. Not with the beasts coming towards them so quickly. ¡®Are any of them able to quickly create a pit or a hedge?¡¯ Ilastir looked at him keenly. ¡®Three of them have some degree of control over plants; two over earth. But they are not mages or farmers.¡¯ ¡®Alright, good enough. Then here¡¯s what I want them to do.¡¯ Dominic explained his idea and Ilastir nodded in understanding, turning to command the elves in question. The five magic-users hurried forwards and followed directions. Meanwhile, Dominic told Ilastir to keep back as much as possible unless it looked like it was turning into a proper fight. Perhaps Dominic was being a bit selfish in wanting to keep as much of the Prey Points for his Pride, but considering that he was defending someone else¡¯s home, he decided that being a little selfish was fine. If it looked like the Pride was in difficulty, though, they were to work together and strike whichever flank seemed most appropriate, making sure not to kill any of Dominic¡¯s Pride, of course. Though that did cause Ilastir to ask a question. ¡®Within your¡­pride, you have several albuhas. Yet there are several of those in the enemy¡¯s forces too. How would you have us manage that?¡¯ Dominic was glad the elf had asked as his albuhas getting arrows through them was the last thing they wanted. He did note that the elves seemed to recognise the winged coyotes indicating that they might be from the elves¡¯ original world. ¡®Don¡¯t attack the albuhas,¡¯ he instructed Ilastir. ¡®They¡¯re friendly.¡¯ The elf looked a bit dubious, but acquiesced. ¡®Pack leader!¡¯ Howler¡¯s communication in the Pride chat sounded like he was holding onto his calm by the skin of his teeth. ¡®What do you wish me to do? When do you wish us to come to the pack?¡¯ Dominic had been thinking about that as he ran. While there were certainly arguments to be made for Howler immediately abandoning the army and joining Dominic¡¯s side, there were plenty of arguments against him breaking cover too. ¡®For now keep your cover,¡¯ Dominic instructed him calmly. ¡®Don¡¯t attack our Pridemates, obviously, but don¡¯t reveal yourselves either. You can always use the excuse that you¡¯re supposed to be scouts ¨C stay in the air and watch everything going on without intervening. But that¡¯s only if it comes down to a fight. Otherwise, follow my lead.¡¯ ¡®But how will it not be a fight?¡¯ Howler asked, clearly confused. Dominic just sent him the emotional equivalent of a wink. The sound of the army of beasts charging towards them rumbled through the air like thunder. It was an impressive sound, at least seventy beasts approaching them. Maybe over a hundred. With a bare thirty-eight Pride members clearly standing against them, backed up by twenty or so elves more suited to hunting weaker prey than fighting in battles, they were obviously outnumbered. But Dominic didn¡¯t let that cow him ¨C with their advantages granted by both his own Abilities and the Pride Enhancements, he knew that the smaller numbers on their side weren¡¯t an accurate depiction of their true strength. So, with that confidence bolstering his spirits, instead of considering turning tail and running to save his Pride from a suicidal fight, he stepped next to Nyx. On either side of them now stretched a thorny hedge, angled gently towards them as a sort of funnel. In front of them was a ditch, dug by the elves capable of controlling the earth. It wasn¡¯t as deep as he¡¯d have liked ¨C he¡¯d wanted it to be something of a pit that would offer a significant blockage, but instead it ended up being more of a five-foot ditch which was only about four feet across. At least it was filled with stones of all different sizes to make the footing harder for any who couldn¡¯t jump that ¨C they were easy enough for the magic-user to leave behind when she drew away the rest of the dirt. Stepping right to the edge of the pit, Dominic warned the elves behind him to cover their ears. Then, taking a deep, deep breath, he opened his jaws and let out a Roar. Into it, he packed all his sense of strength, fearlessness, and challenge. ¡®Come and attack us ¨C if you dare¡¯ was what he aimed to say. The army of beasts before him, baying for their blood, feet pounding the ground like hobnail boots, prey in sight¡­slid to a halt. Chapter 35: May The Mightiest Win For a moment, there was silence, no one dared to be the first to move in case they were also the first to die. Then, as Dominic¡¯s stunning effect wore off, the bison-like creature took a step forward, its head lowered threateningly. ¡®Who are you?¡¯ it demanded. For a moment, Dominic was taken aback. The creature didn¡¯t have telepathy, that was certain. And, this time, Dominic wasn¡¯t unintentionally using his own. But somehow it was able to communicate with him nonetheless. It was some sort of mixture of body language and perhaps projected intention, but Dominic was easily able to understand it, even if it didn¡¯t technically use words. He doubted that the elves behind him would, however. Maybe this was a means that beasts could communicate between themselves that he hadn¡¯t yet encountered? Or perhaps it was purely because of whatever was pulling all these different species together. Either way, the bison had asked a question; it was up to Dominic to answer. ¡®I am the leader of this Pride and the protector of this area,¡¯ Dominic told the bison, pulling himself to his full height, his wings automatically rising behind him to make him look bigger than he really was. ¡®If you want to attack this settlement, you will have to go through me and my Pride first!¡¯ The bison snorted and stamped the ground. ¡®You are not so big. I fought one bigger than you and won. Your Pride is puny in comparison to my herd. You will be trampled and crushed to the ground if you stand in our way.¡¯ ¡®And we fought an army as big as yours and came out the victors,¡¯ Dominic responded. The bison lowed, several others in his entourage doing the same. ¡®They were puny too. Victory over them means nothing.¡¯ Dominic growled baring his teeth. ¡®Then come and test my teeth and claws by yourself ¨C if you¡¯re not so cowardly as to hide among your herd.¡¯ ¡®It is no shame to shelter with the herd,¡¯ the bison replied without concern. ¡®Or do you refuse to fight with your Pride? So be it ¨C we shall test our strength, horn to tooth, claw to hoof. Us, and our herds.¡¯ [You have been challenged: May The Mightiest Win - leader against leader; party against party. Win ¨C gain the power of life or death over any surviving group-mates of leaders who choose to accept the Challenge. Lose ¨C forfeit your life and all of those of your Pride to the mercy of your opponent/s. Note, no outside intervention is permitted during the challenge. Note also that for reasons of fairness, all participants¡¯ personal resource pools will be returned to full at the start of the challenge. Accept or decline?] Dominic read through the notification, noting with relief that his resource pools would be replenished. That was fortunate as he was still down on stamina. He quickly decided to accept it. Leo¡¯s wordless agreement in the back of his mind helped with that decision. The fact was that they had little to lose and everything to gain. This challenge would focus the leaders¡¯ attention on Dominic, thereby making his Pride a little safer as the most powerful of each species were removed from the fight. And if they won with some of their opponents still alive, they might gain some new allies, poached from the side of the hyena matriarch. As for the lose condition, it was nothing that they wouldn¡¯t have lost anyway ¨C in a fight their lives were always what was held in the balance. And although it would stop him from retreating, that would only open the elves to the beasts¡¯ attack. Though he might encourage his Pride to do that if it really looked hopeless, he was willing to entertain fighting until the end himself. After all, if he couldn¡¯t win here, how could he win against the matriarch who held these beasts¡¯ allegiance? [You have accepted the Challenge: May The Mightiest Win ¨C leader against leader; party against party. Waiting for other potential participants to make their choice. Attacking before all participants have made a final choice entails forfeiting the Challenge.] [Error: Potential Challenger is part of the Challenged¡¯s party while Potential Challenger¡¯s party is part of the force arrayed against the Challenged.] [Potential Challenger is currently acting on behalf of the Challenged while leading members of the forces arrayed against the Challenged. Allegiance of the force of albuhas is already in the process of changing. Win conditions are null and void. Lose conditions are null and void. Waiting for response from Potential Challenger.] [Waiting.] Though prepared to fight as soon as he had accepted the Challenge, Dominic was surprised to see that it wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d have to worry about. Instead, clearly, the other leaders in the fight had to each make their own decision to accept or decline the Challenge before it could take place. Jumping the gun wasn¡¯t permitted ¨C it was actually punished heavily. With the time to think in the quick respite they had, Dominic suddenly considered that he should probably tell Ilastir about the Challenge ¨C if they interfered on Dominic¡¯s behalf, it could lead to dire results. He quickly contacted the elf to warn him that the upcoming fight was special and that they couldn¡¯t intervene. He also took a moment to warn the rest of his Pride not to attack before the leaders started fighting ¨C he didn¡¯t want to lose on a technicality. And it would be just typical for one of the newest additions to prove themselves the equal of Jenkins in her first hunt with him. It seemed like the System was having some problems with Howler¡¯s presence. They¡¯d have to work out a way to prevent Howler from being forced to fight against him. Though with both win and lose conditions null and void. It might not cause a big issue if he did agree and then surrendered quickly. And even if not, him surrendering as an enemy Dominic should be able to nullify his punishment. Watching the group carefully, he saw that his enemies were definitely not in complete agreement with each other: several of the species leaders objected to the bison¡¯s ¨C or rather, ulla¡¯s ¨C unilateral decision. One of each of the groups approached the lead ulla with agitated body language. For the show of things, even Howler did so. ¡®How dare you involve us in your challenge!¡¯ the wild dog leader yelped and growled, the trodil leader growling in agreement. ¡®We did not agree to you being the leader of us all!¡¯Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The ulla lowered deeply again and swung his horns towards the canines, making them jump back if they didn¡¯t want to be gored. ¡®Little yapping predators ¨C you ran out of our fight with your tails between your legs. You cannot assert any authority now. I have made my challenge to the other beast.¡¯ He snorted and tossed his head. ¡®If he is as poor a fighter as the other I have fought, even you have nothing to fear if we fight side by side.¡¯ ¡®You can¡¯t do this! The matriarch will be angry!¡¯ Perhaps Howler¡¯s actions were more than just for the show of it ¨C darting anxious looks at Dominic, it was clear that he sought to stop this before it started. Perhaps he feared that the lion would lose such a Challenge. To be fair, the ulla did look like a difficult target, perhaps even at level 20 based on his clear thought processes. But Dominic had fought bigger and tougher, he was pretty sure of that. ¡®If we lose but remain alive, we will be at the mercy of our opponent! We will be unable to carry out her orders!¡¯ ¡®The matriarch ordered us to attack the two-legs and any who fought with them,¡¯ the long-horned ulla answered calmly but with the immovability of a mountain. ¡®That is what I am doing. If you are so fearful of your own strength, do not join in the fight. Remain in the air and take the news of what happens back to the matriarch ¨C victory or defeat.¡¯ ¡®Fine, I will,¡¯ Howler responded with a mixture of spite and relief. Dominic had to admit to a certain amount of satisfaction at how that little performance had played out ¨C Howler now had a perfect excuse for why he wouldn¡¯t take part in the fight. Dominic found himself reluctantly impressed. The bison-like ulla wasn¡¯t nearly as stupid as he might have thought what looked like a particularly dangerous cow would be, even with the System. But making contingency plans in case of his defeat? That showed a surprising depth of thought. [A potential Challenger has declined the fight: Albuha leader (Howler).Waiting for other potential participants to make their choice. Attacking before all participants have made a final choice entails forfeiting the Challenge.] [Potential Challenger is currently choosing to abstain from the Challenge. No Error is generated.] [Do you wish to require the members of your Pride currently leading a group of your opponents to fight on your side in this Challenge?] Dominic hesitated. If they all died then revealing Howler¡¯s allegiances was the least of their problems. That said, considering that Howler was leading a group of albuhas who were mostly not part of the Pride to begin with, complicating matters unnecessarily was probably not the best idea. He decided not to require them to fight. Hopefully, by choosing ¡®no¡¯ here, it would offer a third route out of this mess. Already they were running out of time, the argument between the trodil leader, wild dog leader and lead ulla was growing in intensity as the two predators accused the herbivore of trying to lead them to their deaths. ¡®No.¡¯ [No error generated. As long as Pride members Howler, Teeth, and Jaws do not involve themselves or their followers in this Challenge, they will not be bound by its conditions.] And there it was ¨C the third way. He lost no time in communicating exactly what the final decision had been to those it affected. ¡®So,¡¯ he continued, ¡®if it looks like we¡¯re losing, you have the choice to join and help us turn the Challenge around ¨C but then forfeit your lives automatically, too, if I lose my fight ¨C or to flee with your group and try to make a life elsewhere.¡¯ ¡®We will not abandon our pack,¡¯ Howler answered fiercely, then he sobered slightly. ¡®But we thank you for your consideration. We will not involve ourselves unless absolutely necessary.¡¯ That was as much as Dominic could hope for, really. And it was just as well they had finished their discussion ¨C they were out of time. The cockroach-like beast, who had been silent until then with its antennae waving thoughtfully, now made a strange rattling noise. The sound broke through the loud snarls, growls and deep lowing which had characterised the argument between the other three leaders so far and grabbed everyone¡¯s attention. ¡®I will join this fight,¡¯ it said with finality. ¡®There is strength in numbers. If our enemy is weak, we shall easily slaughter him. If he is strong, the more of us who fight, the better the chances of all.¡¯ When it spoke, its body language was far harder to decipher than that of the others ¨C Dominic had to reach out with his Telepathy to catch the intentions it was projecting to stand a chance of understanding it. The ulla looked down at the insectile creature. ¡®Your words are wiser than most. Perhaps I shall not stomp you in our next dominance match.¡¯ ¡®We shall have to win this one first,¡¯ the cockroach replied with a hint of humour that Dominic only understood through Telepathy. ¡®But your future forbearance is appreciated.¡¯ [A potential Challenger has accepted the fight: Harash leader. Waiting for other potential participants to make their choice. Attacking before all participants have made a final choice entails forfeiting the Challenge.] The trodil looked from the ulla to the harash, its body language filled with uncertainty. ¡®You think we can win this?¡¯ The ulla snorted and stamped its hoof upon the ground with obvious impatience. ¡®Fight now or fight later. The other beast has put himself between us and our targets. Unless you take your herd and run away from the prizes we have been promised if we succeed, we will come into conflict one day or another. Why not this one?¡¯ The trodil¡¯s body language stiffened, its hackles rising. ¡®We fight with you.¡¯ Clearly this was not the first time these two had butted heads - figuratively. [A potential Challenger has accepted the fight: Trodil leader. Waiting for other potential participants to make their choice. Attacking before all participants have made a final choice entails forfeiting the Challenge.] ¡®You¡¯re fools, going along with this blood-mad grass-eater!¡¯ the wild dog yelped. ¡®But I shall not fight against the pack. May our foolishness win us our prizes.¡¯ [A potential Challenger has accepted the fight: Wild Dog leader. Waiting for other potential participants to make their choice. Attacking before all participants have made a final choice entails forfeiting the Challenge.] Dominic was puzzled ¨C who else was there to make a choice? Howler had made his choice, as had the four other leaders of the army facing them. A moment later, his question was answered as another message flashed up in front of Dominic¡¯s eyes. The reason, however, was completely unanticipated. [A potential Challenger has accepted the fight: Ameshek leader (Nyx). Your vassal has invoked her right of individual choice. Ameshek leader (Nyx) has entered the Challenge as a separate entity.] Dominic barely had time to acknowledge the meaning of the message and feel Leo¡¯s angry roar of betrayal in the back of his mind before the next notification popped up. Certainly not enough time for him to react physically to Nyx¡¯s sudden gambit. [Nyx, Ameshek leader has declared her decision to fight with her ally: Pride leader (Dominic / Leo). She has been accepted as a fellow Challenged. Win conditions will apply to all allied members as long as one Challenged remains undefeated when all Challengers have been killed or have surrendered.] [All potential participants have made their choice. Challenge begins in 3.] [2] [1] [Fight] Chapter 36: Matador Before Dominic could do more than blink, he was already flying up into the air involuntarily, his front right quarter and several ribs screaming in pain. Automatically extending his wings to catch the air underneath them, Dominic growled in pain as his ribs felt like they were on fire at strain of the motion. But at least it slowed his descent and gave him a bit of breathing room. And he needed it ¨C the abrupt impact and toss into the air had rattled his brain enough that his thinking was muddled and his brain struggled to catch up. The ulla had evidently charged from a stand-still, leaped over the pit, and slammed straight into Dominic. Somehow not hitting any other members of his Pride on its route through, the bison-like beast had continued to charge long enough to move the leader¡¯s battle off to the side of the Pride and into an open space. That was a relief, at least ¨C Dominic didn¡¯t know how the System would take incidental attacks. If it judged them as interference¡­. Now, with Dominic still gliding in the air, he could see that a fight had already broken out between Nyx and the ulla ¨C Dominic¡¯s ally had wasted no time in following the two of them to the new space. The massive female ameshek was moving out of the way of those sharp horns with surprising grace. However, the ulla was also surprisingly quick and agile, able to whirl around on a penny. But even when one of his blows took Nyx by surprise, her armoured outer layer deflected the attack. Clearly, she was well able to take care of herself. Their other opponents were only now catching up with the action already happening, very much like Dominic himself. The trodil and the wild dog were quickly running in, their gaze warily fixed on the sky. The cockroach-like harash was much slower, but trundled in the same direction too. Dominic grit his teeth and forced his wings to beat, flying towards the approaching leaders. If he could take one of them out before they even got in the fight¡­. But his ribs were killing him and he could only fly maddeningly slowly ¨C he had never thought that injuring his ribs would hurt this much. His regeneration was slowly taking care of them, but in the meantime it was unpleasant. Maybe it was because he was trying to fly with them like this that was making it even worse. Hopefully it won¡¯t mean they¡¯ll heal wrong, he worried. If they were just cracked, it would probably be fine. If they were actually fully fractured¡­. No time to worry about that now. Getting into range of the wild dog and trodil, Dominic filled his mouth with acid and spat it at one canine and then the other. To his frustration, both shots missed ¨C one because his aim was poor, the other because the trodil leaped out of the way in time. He tried it a second time, but soon had to give it up as a bad job ¨C the canines had made it to the fight and were harrying his ally. Dominic shot a final acid ball at the slower harash, only to be disappointed again ¨C that time it landed, but just slid off the carapace of the odd-looking creature without causing any notable damage. Damn. ¡®Can you keep the ulla occupied while I deal with the other three?¡¯ Dominic checked with Nyx. ¡®For now,¡¯ she grunted in return a moment before a complex movement of the ulla¡¯s horns which threatened to gouge the side of her neck and then twisted to rip at her stomach with the other tip caught under her armored plating and ripped off a small piece. Dominic, fearing that his distraction had prevented her from dodging properly, sent her a wordless acknowledgement and then dived down, his eyes fixed on the two canines who were attempting to circle Nyx to strike at her back legs while she was occupied with the ulla at her front. His mouth full of burning acid, Dominic spat another load at the trodil while he dived at the wild dog with his paws outstretched, claws bared. Unfortunately, both targets dodged out of the way at the last moment. His claws buried themselves into the ground instead of the canine. A moment later, the trodil leaped at him and bit at his flank ¨C its speed was impressive; its teeth sharp. At least its bite didn¡¯t seem to be enhanced in any way ¨C only a small sliver was ripped out of his health bar as a result. The same couldn¡¯t be said of the wild dog¡¯s attack ¨C when Dominic felt those teeth, a red blood drop appeared over his health bar and it began warring with his regeneration, his health dropping and then rising with every second that passed. At least his ribs were feeling better by now. Unabashed, Dominic whipped around in a Tail Strike ¨C even if he didn¡¯t have his tail mace at the moment, his tail alone would still do quite a bit of damage. Yelps met his ears as his thin tail whipped his attackers. He had to keep a snarl to himself too ¨C that hurt. Fortunately, it had the effect he had wanted as his Spatial Awareness told him the two canines were backing off for a moment. In that moment of respite, Dominic darted a look at Nyx, concerned about how her battle might be going. Nyx was managing to hold her ground though she wasn¡¯t exactly dominating the fight: both she and her opponent were bleeding, blows apparently having made it through on both sides. Abruptly, Spatial Awareness registered a warning just a moment before a ripping pain on his back paw grabbed his attention. Twisting around, Dominic saw that it had been the harash: the small creature was pressed to the ground, almost indistinguishable from the rocks around. This close, he could see that it was more turtle-like than a cockroach despite the appearance from afar and its antennae. Its blood-covered bony beak, however, was clearly not to be ignored. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Feeling the trodil and wild dog coming in again for their own attacks, Dominic decided to change the battleground ¨C he leaped up into the air again, spreading his wings at the zenith and firing off more acid balls at the leaders to keep their attention on him. They couldn¡¯t strike him in return, but the two canines at least were still forced to pay attention to him while acid was flying through the air. It gave him enough breathing space to check on how things were going with the Pride. They were currently embroiled in a fight with the army of beasts. They had pulled together and were using the defences that the elves had created prior to the fight; the only reason they weren¡¯t currently being overrun by the army of beasts. For now, the Pride was coping fine, Sekhmet and Isis directing everyone like seasoned generals. Dominic was relieved that the elves were managing not to interfere ¨C another concern he¡¯d had even though he¡¯d warned them not to. He could see that it was a strain, though ¨C their hands were clenched tightly around their raised weapons, their skin pale versions of whatever their normal shades were. They were clearly ready to fight anything that broke through the Pride¡¯s line of defence, but they weren¡¯t offering more help than that ¨C just as he had asked them to do. But that wasn¡¯t going to last for long. Already, Dominic could see groups of harash using their sharp beaks to cut the hedges away at their roots, making their way through the bushes. Once there was an easy way around the Pride members, they¡¯d be surrounded unless Sekhmet and the Isis were able to direct enough Pride members to counteract the move. Or Dominic managed to remove some beasts from the equation. He suddenly realised that his short moment to take stock of the situation had turned into far too long ¨C he needed to end this Challenge fast. That was the only way he could help his Pride. He needed to get his head in the game ¨C he¡¯d been caught on the backfoot and had been fighting half-stupid ever since. He needed to get back into the fight and he needed to actually work with his ally. But maybe there was something he could do to help everyone first. Opening his mouth, Dominic Roared loudly, doing his best to fill his allies with hope and strength, and his enemies with fear. Hopefully the fact that the Challenge included both, leaders and followers, would allow him to impact his Pride¡¯s battle too. In reaction, he saw several members of his Pride straighten, their health bars gaining the ¡®inspired¡¯ icon. Fortunately, Nyx and Sekhmet were both beneficiaries of it. At the same time, his Roar sent several of his enemies into disarray, some of the weaker ones even turning to flee. In his own battle, the trodil and wild dog momentarily cowered low to the ground, the fear clearly affecting them too. Dominic had a sudden wave of inspiration which told him exactly what they needed to do. ¡®Nyx, new plan!¡¯ he ordered, sending his ally a wordless impression of his idea. Without hesitation, the massive ameshek rounded on the three smaller leaders, trusting that Dominic would have her back. And that he did. Diving from the sky with Airborne speeding his descent instead of helping him to remain in the air, Dominic fell onto the ulla like a ton of bricks. If those bricks had sharp claws and teeth. The large bison-lookalike tried to dodge out of the way, but unlike the smaller wild dog who had succeeded, the bison was just too big and taken by surprise at the change in opponent to fully avoid Dominic¡¯s strike. Nonetheless, it was big and tough enough to not take much damage even with Dominic employing all of his boosts. The fact that his attack ended up ripping a gash down the ulla¡¯s flank rather than landing squarely on its spine probably didn¡¯t help either. Landing neatly on his feet, Dominic dodged back from the ulla¡¯s responding strike, and then the next. Though he couldn¡¯t spare anything but the slightest attention for the rest of the fight, he was well aware of the vibrating thrum of Nyx¡¯ Sonic Attack ¨C the main reason for choosing to switch. Clearly she hadn¡¯t been able to get a moment to focus on her Ability while dodging the goring blows of the ulla, but now, facing weaker foes, even if they were more numerous, she had the opportunity to do so. But Dominic had his own fight to focus on. Feeling a bit like a matador, Dominic started using his wings almost as a red cape, distracting the ulla and diverting its attention away from his body. Using Spatial Awareness, the lion was always aware of exactly where his opponent was, especially its horns, allowing him to dodge the ulla¡¯s strikes and attempts to bash or gouge him with fluidity. Of course, dodging wasn¡¯t enough to win this ¨C he suspected that the ulla had more stamina than he did, even with Enhanced Stamina working on his behalf. But the wing movements weren¡¯t just to distract the ulla. Bit by bit, the ulla¡¯s surges forwards and goring strikes slowed as the beast fell under his spell. When the ulla almost tripped over its own hooves, Dominic would have smiled were he capable. ¡®Attack the ulla!¡¯ he ordered Nyx. She whirled around and opened her jaws, letting free her vibrating howl which immediately pierced the hypnotic state Dominic had put it in, but also pinned it in place just as firmly. Powerful as the ulla might be, it was almost certainly a much lower level than Nyx; even alone, her howl started tearing at its health bar. Immunity preventing his ally¡¯s attack from hurting him, Dominic took full advantage of her cover to charge at the ulla directly. Pounding the ground, he triggered Momentous Charge to increase his weight and momentum with every footfall ¨C even if it was only by a little, every bit would help. The ulla, completely consumed by Nyx¡¯s attack, was in no fit state to overcome the illusionary effects of Dominic¡¯s Ability and so the lion hit it full force in the front shoulder. Though the impact of more than half a ton of lion striking a solid wall of muscle and bone was painful for Dominic too, the ulla definitely came off worst. It was sent flying to the ground on its side, one of its wide-set horns digging deeply into the earth and twisting its head painfully ¨C for a moment Dominic wondered if its neck had been snapped, but the way its hooves continued to scrabble at the ground indicated that it was fine. Dominic, limping slightly from the impact, quickly followed up by setting his teeth into the ulla¡¯s throat, threatening more than actually carrying through. He felt the howl which Nyx had kept going throughout all of that finally die away. No doubt she was going back to fighting the three others. A quick communication between them reassured him that the distraction hadn¡¯t cost her too much ¨C even if the other three had managed to attack her hindquarters, they hadn¡¯t got through her armour on her legs and were too short to reach anywhere else. ¡®Surrender or die!¡¯ he snarled at the ulla, sinking his teeth even more deeply into the herbivore¡¯s throat as it started trying to kick him away. Its stiff legs were unsuited for the motion but were dangerous nonetheless ¨C even wild kicks could connect, and if they did, Dominic didn¡¯t doubt he¡¯d be suffering broken bones. Or worse. ¡®I won¡¯t tell you again!¡¯ he warned as the ulla didn¡¯t immediately respond. Blood filled his mouth as he bit deeper and deeper with every moment that passed. Chapter 37: Surrender! ¡®I surrender!¡¯ the ulla said desperately when its breaths were mere bubbling gasps, its windpipe partly pierced and getting increasingly crushed. Dominic¡¯s Telepathy picked its words up clearly but he didn¡¯t let go until the notification came through. [You have caused one of your opponents to abandon the Challenge. 1/4 challengers of May The Mightiest Win defeated. Kill or force a retreat from the others to win the Challenge.] Even once the surrender was formally acknowledged, he still didn¡¯t step back, but for a different reason. Dominic briefly summoned a Healing Cloud, slowly pulling his teeth out of the ulla¡¯s throat and waiting until the healing closed the holes he¡¯d created before releasing it. Though the ulla¡¯s health regeneration should have been able to take care of the wounds, he¡¯d rather not take any chances. The ulla looked at him with wondering eyes, his movements finally calming down as it felt a reprieve from death and sucked fresh air into its burning lungs. ¡®Call your people out of the fight,¡¯ Dominic ordered him firmly. ¡®You and yours have lost, death is not necessary.¡¯ The ulla hesitated for a moment, holding Dominic¡¯s gaze. ¡®Wait, does the Challenge work like that?¡¯ Leo asked quietly in the back of their mind. ¡®It does if the participants agree it does,¡¯ Dominic replied with certainty, refusing to look away from the herbivore lying still on the ground in front of him. ¡®Very well. You have won; I do not wish for more bloodshed between us,¡¯ the ulla answered finally, shaking its head to release its horn from the ground. A pain-filled yelp from Nyx reminded Dominic that the Challenge wasn¡¯t over. ¡®Then I will speak to you further once this Challenge is over,¡¯ he acknowledged before trotting off. ¡®Until then, call off your followers and wait at a distance from the fight.¡¯ While his eyes took in the three beasts surrounding Nyx, he quickly checked in with Leo to see how the rest of the Pride was doing. Although they hadn¡¯t discussed it, they had wordlessly agreed that Leo would pay attention to the Pride chat so that Dominic didn¡¯t have to be distracted by it while fighting. ¡®They¡¯re managing well,¡¯ Leo reassured him. ¡®The insect-like creatures are a challenge due to their strong defences and how low to the ground they are, but now that the grass-eaters are withdrawing, the pressure is easing significantly.¡¯ ¡®Any deaths?¡¯ Dominic asked, fearing the answer. His fear grew as Leo hesitated. ¡®Leo?¡¯ ¡®A few,¡¯ Leo admitted, then continued with fire in his voice. ¡®And if you don¡¯t want it to be any more, you¡¯d better finish this Challenge as soon as you can.¡¯ He had a point. Nyx was clearly getting frustrated with the three beasts she was facing. Though they were coming off worse ¨C while Nyx¡¯s health pool was only down by a quarter, the trodil and wild dog¡¯s pools were down by more than half ¨C they were putting up a good fight. The trodil had activated Rage and seemed to also have something that reduced the damage of Nyx¡¯s teeth beyond what his skin and fur should provide. The wild dog clearly had a movement Ability ¨C it just moved far too quickly for it to be otherwise. It darted around Nyx and bit at her back legs, its teeth ripping through even her chitinous plates, though it did little actual damage to her flesh below. Meanwhile, the harash scurried around with surprising speed after how slow it had been in the beginning, biting whenever it could set its beak into her feet or legs and bearing her own attacks with no noticeable difficulty. In a battle of attrition, Dominic would definitely bet on Nyx ¨C she was dealing more significant damage less often compared to the frequent but minimal damage her opponents were handing out to her. But he wouldn¡¯t put any money on her winning the fight quickly. But that was what he was for. Using Camouflage, Dominic crept in slowly, his padded paws making almost no sound on the earth. Preparing his ambush, he sent his ally the knowledge of where he intended to attack. She acknowledged it, turning her back on him and striking at the enlarged and angry trodil. The wild dog took the bait, scampering around and biting at Nyx¡¯ heels. Dominic struck immediately, Fleet Foot, Quick Strike, and Pounce combining to land an attack which knocked the wild dog off its feet and its health down to the merest sliver. He found himself abruptly grateful that he hadn¡¯t added in a combo of Powerful Strike as he¡¯d been considering ¨C if he could get another ally on his side rather than just a dead wild dog, he would prefer it. ¡®Surrender!¡¯ he snarled at the wild dog, pinned under one of his paws, the massive limb almost a third of the size of the wild dog¡¯s body. ¡®I surrender! I surrender!¡¯ the wild dog yelped frantically, gasping desperately for breath. ¡®Don¡¯t kill me! I surrender!¡¯ [You have caused one of your opponents to abandon the Challenge. 2/4 challengers of May The Mightiest Win defeated. Kill or force a retreat from the others to win the Challenge.] ¡®Good.¡¯ Dominic told it, once more drawing on Healing Cloud to take the wild dog¡¯s health pool out of the danger zone. He then gave the canine the same instructions that he¡¯d given the ulla before him. The wild dog agreed willingly and scampered away fearfully with its tail between its legs, apparently grateful to just get away with its life. A moment later, Leo let Dominic know that the remaining wild dogs were also pulling out of the other fight, grouping together to lick their wounds on the sidelines. ¡®The females have the fight well in paw. Though they¡¯re struggling to cause any damage to the hard-shelled harashes, they¡¯ve found a way of limiting their damage by tipping them into the pit the elves made,¡¯ Leo informed him with a hint of humour. ¡®The remaining canines don¡¯t stand a chance.¡¯ ¡®Try not to kill them,¡¯ Dominic hurriedly said in the Pride chat himself. ¡®Hopefully they will be allies. Don¡¯t take risks yourselves, but if you can just hold them off until we either kill or force their leader to surrender, it would be better.¡¯ Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡®Can we use the obstacle you used in the fight with the spider?¡¯ Sekhmet asked him directly. It took Dominic a moment to work out what she meant. ¡®The shield? Yes, sure. If you can,¡¯ he added, unsure whether it would work if someone else triggered it, but was also pretty certain that the Challenge wouldn¡¯t let him do it on the Pride¡¯s behalf. ¡®Pull close together before you try.¡¯ [A member of your Pride wishes to invoke Pride Defence. Do you agree to this use?] Dominic quickly consented, feeling a sense of draining a moment later ¨C apparently it wasn¡¯t just those the shield covered who would lose their defences ¨C which he should have remembered. A moment later, a pained yelp from Nyx made him realise that she had probably been affected too and was caught unaware. A ticking timer appeared in his vision ¨C the time until the shield would forcibly break, he guessed, even if he hadn¡¯t seen it there before. It started at five and a half minutes, but the seconds ticked away faster than normal, sometimes being lost in handfuls instead of one at a time ¨C the effect of being attacked, he had to guess. Time was of the essence. Returning his full attention to the fight, Dominic leaped straight into the air as his Spatial Awareness informed him of a moving rock right near his left back foot. The harash¡¯s sharp beak sliced a stinging scratch into the back of his paw, but his quick reaction had done him well. Still, the harash wasn¡¯t the focus here ¨C its troops were neutralised for the most part. No, his next target needed to be the trodil leader. Stronger and faster thanks to invoking Rage, it had clearly increased the Ability to a much higher level than Dominic¡¯s ¨C not only was its speed and strength increased by a greater percentage than Dominic could hope to achieve, but it was obviously not as lost in the ¡®rage¡¯ part either. That at least gave him some hope for the future. Despite its bloodlust, it fought with intelligence, using its speed to avoid Nyx¡¯s attacks and its strength to land nasty bites, for all that it didn¡¯t seem to have any Ability like Rending or Tearing Bite enhancing them. Of course, Nyx could have taken it down with her Sonic Attack, and she made it pay with her Vibrating Body whenever it sank its teeth into her. But she¡¯d understood what Dominic intended with this Challenge and had therefore been doing her best not to actually kill her opponents. Dominic would have to be careful with it too. He understood the frustration written in every line of Nyx¡¯s body. Killing opponents was one thing; trying to preserve their lives and force a surrender while they had no such self-imposed limits was another. ¡®Freeze the harash in place, would you?¡¯ Dominic asked Nyx. The ameshek agreed with wordless relief, turning quickly to let out a quiet, almost crooning version of a Sonic Attack ¨C obviously tuned to pin the tortoise-like creature down without doing much to affect its health. In return, Dominic took her place in the dance with the trodil leader. ¡®Your allies are gone. Your pack members are dying,¡¯ he projected to the canine, dodging fluidly out of the way of its next attack. Fast and strong as it might be, Dominic was faster and stronger ¨C even without engaging any enhancements. ¡®Surrender now; join me and live.¡¯ It didn¡¯t respond, only increasing the speed of its attacks even further. Dominic struck out at it with a claw-filled paw, though he didn¡¯t add any enhancements to the blow, the base attack of his claws was as much as he would risk at this moment in time. His swipe struck the trodil right across the face, perfectly timed to divert its attack into the dirt instead of Dominic¡¯s face or shoulder. The surface he impacted, however, was far harder than he¡¯d expected ¨C it had felt more like he¡¯d struck a granite boulder with his paw instead of a creature made of flesh and blood. Still, the attack had been diverted. Dominic took advantage of it to leap onto the trodil, bearing it to the ground with his greater weight and strength. The trodil resisted Dominic¡¯s attempts to keep it pinned, pushing back and doing its best to slip out of his grip. Rage gave it enough increased power to actually hold the possibility of doing so. To prevent it escaping, Dominic struck with Quick Strike, setting his teeth around the back of the trodil¡¯s neck, pinning it in place. His teeth felt as though they were pressing against stone even as his tongue tasted fur and skin. The trodil thrashed around, Dominic¡¯s teeth not penetrating whatever was enhancing its skin to protect against his bite. He tightened as a response, slowly increasing the pressure of his jaws. He was pretty sure that he would be able to bite through the trodil¡¯s neck, enhancement or not. And, frankly, he was willing to find out if this stubborn trodil wouldn¡¯t surrender before he did so ¨C the timer for the Pride Defence shield was less than a minute. If this obstinate creature wouldn¡¯t submit in time, maybe its second in command would once it was dead. Perhaps the trodil sensed his thoughts; perhaps he even communicated them accidentally in the same way they had spoken before. But even in the middle of Rage it proved itself to be able to have some sense remaining. ¡®I surrender!¡¯ It growled angrily. [You have caused one of your opponents to abandon the Challenge. 3/4 challengers of May The Mightiest Win defeated. Kill or force a retreat from the others to win the Challenge.] When Dominic carefully released the trodil, it curled into a ball and shook even as it bared its teeth and growled at him aggressively. It was obviously forcing itself to stay true to its word of surrender, even though Rage hadn¡¯t yet run out. Dominic didn¡¯t heal this one ¨C it was too urgent for it to go and call off its pack and it wasn¡¯t as critically injured as the other two had been. Just in time ¨C he forced the shield to drop as soon as it was down to the final three seconds. The trodils which had been attacking only got in a couple more blows before their leader called them off. A third part of the army dealt with and now licking their wounds grumpily on the side lines. The final leader didn¡¯t take too long to deal with either. Nyx had done an excellent job keeping it in place. Though she¡¯d started with her Sonic Attack, she¡¯d evidently decided to change tactics ¨C to just standing right on top of the harash. Dominic was impressed by just how strong the harash had to be ¨C it wasn¡¯t able to move, but Nyx was also leaning a good portion of her weight on it with both her front paws firmly braced on its back. Even then, it was trying to shift, its legs scrabbling around it desperately. At Dominic¡¯s request, the ameshek stepped back. Dominic, inspired by what his Pride had been doing with the rest of the harashes, hooked his paw under the edge of the harash¡¯s upper shell and, before it realised that it was free, flipped it onto its back. He was relieved to see that, however insectile its carapace appeared to be, underneath it looked more like the tortoise its beak resembled. It had eight legs which were shaped in an odd mixture between an insect¡¯s and turtle¡¯s. The oddly fluid way it glided across the ground was thus explained. Its head was rather flat in comparison to a tortoise¡¯s and its beak was actually sideways like some mandibles rather than the usual top and bottom. But it had scaly skin and clearly bled red if the small injury his claws had caused were anything to go by. It was definitely an odd-looking thing, but not something that Dominic had a squish-on-sight reaction to. Fortunately. ¡®Your allies have all surrendered. You¡¯re the last. Give up now, give up later, or die. Those are your choices.¡¯ The creature looked like it was concentrating hard, its wrinkled flat lump of a head still. The next moment, Dominic leaped back instinctively as his Spatial Awareness alerted him to something flying at his head. Looking at where it landed, Dominic saw a puddle of a quietly sizzling greenish liquid. Incredulously, he looked at the creature. ¡®That¡¯s supposed to be my trick!¡¯ He ignored Leo sending amusement at him in the background, the lion now relaxed that the threat facing the Pride members had been reduced to just tipping the harash back into the pit as soon as one managed to crawl out. Dominic focussed on sharing Healing Cloud with Saffron so that that she could start healing everyone up along with Isis ¨C with any luck, she¡¯d be able to gain a level in it and keep it. ¡®Last chance. It¡¯s surrender now or die,¡¯ he told the harash still rocking from side to side, evidently trying to tip itself back over. Standing over the creature, he let acid drip from his own mouth, the caustic fluid sizzling with much greater intensity on the harash¡¯s partially-armoured underside than the small puddle still lying in the sand nearby. ¡®Very well,¡¯ the harash answered, sounding slightly pained even as its rocking took on more of a writhing. ¡®I am clearly outmatched. I surrender.¡¯ [You have caused one of your opponents to abandon the Challenge. 4/4 challengers of May The Mightiest Win defeated. ] [Congratulations! You have won the challenge: May The Mightiest Win. Would you like to see your rewards?] Chapter 38: Their Sacrifice Wasn’t In Vain ¡®Later,¡¯ Dominic answered the System, as always needing to consolidate things after the actual battle had finished. He suspected that the rewards would require less thought this time ¨C he hadn¡¯t killed any of them so his ability to seize the attributes and Abilities of his enemies might not have taken effect. Still, it was just as well not to get distracted right at this moment. ¡®How are you doing?¡¯ he sent at Nyx, casting his eyes over her form, searching for injuries. ¡®Here, let me heal those,¡¯ he insisted, moving closer and leaning against the spots where he saw that gleaming black armour had been broken, flesh visible in the bloody rents. Triggering Healing Cloud, he watched in satisfaction as her wounds started healing and her frustration lessened. ¡®Better, thank you,¡¯ she answered with a hint of relief in her voice. ¡®That was¡­better than I thought it might be,¡¯ she admitted. ¡®We make a good battle pair.¡¯ ¡®We do, don¡¯t we?¡¯ Dominic agreed. ¡®I¡¯m sorry for the times I left you alone, though. I wasn¡¯t exactly fighting my best.¡¯ Nyx nudged his head with her own. ¡®It was only the big beast which could truly hurt me,¡¯ she dismissed. ¡®And as you see, even then the wounds were not significant.¡¯ ¡®No, but I still wish you hadn¡¯t taken them. By the way, thanks, for choosing to join on my side.¡¯ ¡®Of course. We are pack, are we not?¡¯ Nyx asked. Dominic felt a warm feeling go through him. ¡®Yes. Yes we are.¡¯ Feeling oddly flustered, he sought to distract himself ¨C and Nyx. There was a good excuse not far away and Dominic looked over at the battle between his Pride and the force sent by the matriarch. The harashes were the only ones still fighting, if it could be considered that when their main objective was just to get out of the pit they were trapped in. The leader that Dominic had been fighting had finally managed to tip itself back over onto its feet, and was making that nails-on-chalkboard sound of its back legs scraping against its shell. The harashes stopped moving, suddenly going docile. A signal, of some sort, Dominic had to guess. The other leaders were standing back from the struggle with their group members around them, fewer in number than when they¡¯d started, and many suffering from injuries. All were covered in blood ¨C their own and that of others. As Dominic¡¯s eyes played over the trodils and wild dogs, he saw them flinch or retreat from his gaze. The ulla didn¡¯t back away, but he didn¡¯t show the same aggression that he had earlier. On Dominic¡¯s side, he saw that his pride members weren¡¯t much better off than their attackers, but they were quickly rectifying that with the help of the lionesses with Healing Cloud. He and Nyx quickly went over to add their own to the mix. Behind the lines, the elves were still there, several looking cautiously more hopeful while others appeared even more wary. Why, he didn¡¯t know, since the battle was clearly at an end. Did they fear Dominic¡¯s Pride turning on them? ¡®As if we would,¡¯ Leo scoffed. Dominic sent him a sense of incredulity. ¡®As if you wouldn¡¯t if you thought it would do our Pride more good than peace.¡¯ ¡®Precisely,¡¯ Leo agreed as if Dominic had made his point for him. The former-human sighed and decided to give up on trying to win that argument. There were other, more important concerns at hand. ¡®Who did we lose?¡¯ he asked Sekhmet, fearing the answer. He¡¯d intentionally blocked any death notifications from coming through, not wanting to get distracted in the middle of the fight. Of course, he¡¯d gone against that by checking with Leo whether anyone had died, but he justified it by the fact that he¡¯d chosen the time and place rather than having it be chosen for him. ¡®One of the primates, and one of the females,¡¯ she answered, her tone solemn. While there were far more bodies littered around that showed the Pride had put up an excellent defence, losing even one of their number would have been too much. Losing two¡­. Dominic could only hope that the battle proved to have been worth it. A little more digging while he moved forward to collect the Cores that dropped as the bodies were dissolved to restock his healers¡¯ reserves revealed that both deaths had happened in the early part of the fight. Dominic was unexpectedly relieved to realise that seeking surrenders instead of going for the kill hadn¡¯t been the cause. The ullas had worked surprisingly well with the trodils and wild dogs to pierce their lines despite the pit in front of them. The ullas, as Dominic had experienced with the leader, could jump surprisingly well. In fact, it was surprising that the injuries hadn¡¯t been worse considering that an ulla had jumped straight into the middle of the Pride and started goring any it could reach with its horns while the wild dogs and trodils took advantage of the opening it gave them and streamed around the edges of the pit to protect its flanks. Worse, the ulla had proven itself invulnerable to Fearful Howl, resisting any urge to retreat even as its allies ran with their tails between their legs. Unfortunately, even with that opening, the ulla was as dangerous as any buffalo ¨C more, even, considering the System¡¯s enhancements. Isis¡¯ Protective Mother Ability had been absolutely necessary ¨C offering a group of five Pride members temporary invulnerability which allowed them to drive the ulla back and into the pit without getting run through by its horns or hamstrung by the smaller predators fighting to return to its side. Stuck in a pit with its horns bashing into the earthen sides every time it shifted its head, the ulla had proven to be far more vulnerable to the Pride¡¯s attacks. Once it was dead, absorbing its body cleared the pit ¨C after all, a pit filled with a mountain of flesh wasn¡¯t a pit at all. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t long after that that Dominic had been able to force the surrender of the ullas¡¯ leader so no other ullas had attempted the same manoeuvre. And without the massive bison-like ullas providing the thrust of the attacks, the trodils and wild dogs were far more manageable even with their Abilities ¨C the Pride had enough of their own to repel most of the attacks. And as the last few minutes of the battle attested, the harashes by themselves were easier to manage. So, in short, exchanging two lives for at least fifteen should have been a fair trade, but it definitely felt like Dominic had been robbed. Time to make sure that their sacrifice wasn¡¯t in vain. After checking on his Pride, making sure that their wounds were healing quickly, Dominic decided to speak to the leaders he¡¯d forced to surrender. He didn¡¯t want to have to repeat this ¨C being so outnumbered. And the only way to ensure that was to make sure that their numbers kept growing even as they bled their enemy. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. He knew he needed to speak to the elves too, but he thought it better to make sure he had a complete view on the situation himself before reassuring them. Leaping into the air. Dominic glided over the pit and a good half of the distance between it and the defeated groups of beasts. The harashes had retreated to form a separate group to the side of the others. All of the groups were now standing beyond the hedge funnel, in what Dominic could only describe as neutral ground. Dominic himself stood just inside the embracing arms of the hedges, staking his claim on the ground on which he stood. ¡®We defeated you,¡¯ he projected as widely as he could, though made sure that at least the leaders were included in it. ¡®I defeated you with the help of my ally, and my Pride killed far more of you than you killed of us. Although I will not deny that an all-out battle would cost us dearly, it would cost you far more.¡¯ ¡®We do not deny that,¡¯ the ulla rumbled. ¡®You have proved your might. We wish for no further conflict for the sake of our herds.¡¯ ¡®Does he speak for all of you?¡¯ Dominic asked, turning his head so his gaze settled upon each of the leaders for a long moment. ¡®I wish for no further conflict,¡¯ the wild dog leader said when Dominic looked at him. ¡®I have lost more of my pack than I expected this day.¡¯ Sure enough, at least half of the caracasses lying on the ground were wild dogs. Dominic briefly wondered why that was the case ¨C were they particularly fragile, or was it that the others were more difficult targets? ¡®You and your family managed to prove yourselves cunning enough to not make further losses worth entertaining,¡¯ the harash leader admitted, cleaning its front legs with slow and careful movements. Apparently Dominic¡¯s acid was still hurting it if its movements were anything to go by. The only hold out was the trodil who appeared more than a little angry at the turn of events. He was back to his normal size, and was probably suffering the after-effects of Rage. But that didn¡¯t seem to be enough to make him agree with his allies. Dominic padded closer to him, his head automatically lowering, his lips pulling away from his teeth. ¡®And you? Do you wish to resume the fight? Me against you? My Pride against your pack?¡¯ The trodil leader appeared to be a heartbeat away from taking up the challenge. Then a whining sound from a trodil just behind him, one that was smaller and slightly more delicate, made him back down, lowering his head and his gaze to the savannah ground. ¡®I surrendered,¡¯ he answered shortly, ¡®We will not continue the conflict between our packs unless you attack us.¡¯ ¡®Good,¡¯ Domini responded even as Leo scoffed in the back of his mind, relaxing his body language a little and padding back to where he had started. ¡®Then I will offer all of you the opportunity to be on the winning side. I intend to challenge the matriarch for leadership of the beast wave. Join me and be at my side rather than hers.¡¯ The four beasts exchanged nervous looks between themselves. ¡®The matriarch is powerful,¡¯ the wild dog said carefully. ¡®She beat even you.¡¯ This seemed to be directed at the ulla. The bison-like creature threw his head up in the air. ¡®She was too quick for me,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®And too vicious for the rest of you,¡¯ he continued pointedly. The wild dog whined and the trodil flinched violently. ¡®You should have just pressed yourselves to the ground and withstood her attacks with your strongest defences,¡¯ the harash pointed out placidly. ¡®I would have lost anyway ¨C you did when she flipped you over and threatened to rip off your head.¡¯ ¡®But at least she didn¡¯t bite off my front paw,¡¯ the harash answered with a pointed look at the trodil¡¯s left front leg. The canine flinched again, shifting that paw as if to hide it. And if Dominic was interpreting their discussion correctly, the trodil had somehow managed to regenerate a lost limb ¨C through levelling up, he had to guess. ¡®At least she didn¡¯t feel the need to emasculate any of us,¡¯ commented the trodil with a shudder. The other canine matched him, the wild dog whining at a clearly traumatic memory. It took Leo a moment to understand what the comment referred to, but when he did, a shiver of disgust and outrage emanated from him. ¡®We need to kill this matriarch!¡¯ he told Dominic firmly. ¡®None who do that sort of thing should be allowed to live on this savannah! Unless they are doing it to other male lions.¡¯ Of course. Dominic rolled his eyes at Leo. ¡®More to the point,¡¯ the ulla said with an impatient snort, ¡®could this other leader beat the matriarch?¡¯ Suddenly, their looks were all on Dominic, examining him carefully. ¡®He beat us,¡¯ the wild dog offered with a hint of doubt. ¡®So did she,¡¯ the trodil pointed out slightly fearfully. ¡®And she did it on her own ¨C he had the help of that bigger beast.¡¯ ¡®We were all attacking at the same time,¡¯ the harash remarked. ¡®We faced the matriarch individually.¡¯ ¡®Am I understanding you correctly? Are you afraid of the potential retribution from the matriarch if I lose against her?¡¯ Dominic asked. The beasts before him indicated agreement with their body language that even Dominic could read. ¡®If we side with you and you lose, at best we will be chased out of the attack ¨C and the rewards that we gain in it both every day and when our side wins against the two-legs. At worst, the matriarch may set those still loyal to her against us, destroying our herds completely,¡¯ the ulla explained solemnly. ¡®I see,¡¯ Dominic answered slowly, then fixed them with a hard look. ¡®The thing is, you lost the Challenge. All of you chose to surrender to me instead of dying beneath my teeth and claws. Which, frankly, eliminates the chance of you returning peacefully to the matriarch as if nothing happened.¡¯ He could understand where they were coming from, and the desire to sit on the fence. But he wasn¡¯t going to accept that, not when two of his Pride had already died to win them the Challenge which should have determined the beasts¡¯ loyalties to begin with. He didn¡¯t want those lives to be wasted by a bunch of fence-sitting beasts deciding that the matriarch¡¯s side was more powerful and that they wanted to return to it. ¡®As far as I see it, you have two options. You join me and gain whatever rewards are offered to the winning side when I win,¡¯ He paused for a moment, letting that sink in. ¡®Or¡­?¡¯ the wild dog asked cautiously. Dominic turned towards the wild dog and fixed him with his gaze. ¡®Or you run away right now with your tails between your legs and go back to wherever you came from, hoping that both the matriarch and I have better things to do than to hunt after you.¡¯ His lips lifted away from his teeth. ¡®And don¡¯t even think about reporting back to the matriarch ¨C I¡¯ll know and I¡¯ll come to slaughter you. Because she¡¯s not the only one whose retribution you should fear. So. What are you going to choose?¡¯ Chapter 39: Between A Predator And A Cliff The four leaders looked at each other uneasily as a long moment of silence passed between them. The ulla stamped his feet. ¡®We are between a predator and a cliff. Either way we turn, there is danger,¡¯ he complained with a low rumble. ¡®Between an attacker and a cliff, there is only one real choice,¡¯ the wild dog yipped. ¡®That depends on the height of the cliff and the attacker,¡¯ growled the trodil. The harash scraped its shell. ¡®And in this case, is it a high cliff or a low one?¡¯ ¡®Rather than talk about cliffs and predators,¡¯ Dominic interrupted with a low snarl. ¡®Consider the fact that I am here, and that the matriarch is not. And that the consequence of the Challenge we have just fought is that you surrendered to me to save your lives.¡¯ And he still didn¡¯t get why the System wasn¡¯t enforcing it. Or maybe it would if they tried to attack him again? He decided not to test it out. ¡®Yet her eyes are everywhere,¡¯ the harash pointed out, waving its antennae towards the sky ¨C and the albuhas soaring on the warm updrafts emerging from the warming earth below. ¡®What good is surrender if we will be killed later?¡¯ ¡®We were all present when the group of winged dogs were ordered to report back to the matriarch. She will know of our defection,¡¯ the wild dog whined fearfully. Dominic had the sense from his shifty behaviour that he was about to cut and run, his pack with him, hoping that Dominic would allow them to leave. Which, if they were truly running away, he would ¨C removing his enemies allies was almost as good as converting them to his side. Better to let them run than risk more of his Pride¡¯s lives trying to stop them. Of course, the wild dog wasn¡¯t aware of one important fact which might make all the difference. Dominic still hesitated for a moment. He hadn¡¯t intended on revealing the albuhas¡¯ allegiance, but if that was going to be the one thing that made the difference between them deciding to throw in with him versus throwing in the towel¡­. ¡®Is your concern about surveillance the only thing stopping you from declaring allegiance here and now?¡¯ Dominic asked the leaders, looking from one to the other with piercing eyes. They were silent for a long moment, looking between each other. ¡®For me, it is,¡¯ the ulla eventually responded with a snort and a stamp of his hoof. ¡®They are the only ones who declined to take part in the Challenge. The rest of us did, and any of us who would dare to tell the matriarch of what has occurred here would be met by her displeasure too, due to our disobedience of her order to attack and destroy until we met significant resistance, at which point we were to retreat.¡¯ ¡®And whose fault is that?¡¯ demanded the trodil, though he lowered his gaze when the ulla turned his head to stare at him. The ulla continued looking at the others, perhaps to see if there would be any further argument. The wild dog dipped his head to look at the ground, while the harash, with its usual placidity, met the ulla¡¯s gaze. Apparently the bison-like creature was satisfied as he turned his head to look back at Dominic, his deep brown eyes resigned to what he must see as an inevitable conflict. ¡®Then, if I can ensure that no hostile surveillance will reveal your changed allegiances to the matriarch, do I have your word that you will swear allegiance to me here and now? And mean it.¡¯ Dominic asked, meeting the ulla¡¯s resigned look with a challenging one of his own. The bison-like creature hesitated. Knowing from their previous interactions that the ulla held a lot of influence with the other leaders of the group, Dominic didn¡¯t shift his gaze until he got a response. ¡®If you carry out your promises, then yes, I will give you my allegiance,¡¯ the ulla finally agreed. ¡®You have proven yourself both powerful and merciful. Whether the latter is a good trait in a leader, only time will tell. It certainly has benefited me today.¡¯ Dominic turned his attention to the other three leaders. ¡®And you? Same question.¡¯ One by one, the other three agreed to the same terms that the ulla had. The wild dog appeared more than a little fearful about it, perhaps fearing that even the admission would damn him and his pack for good. The trodil was more angry ¨C Dominic sensed that admitting another party was stronger than him wasn¡¯t something he liked doing. As for the harash, it considered the matter carefully and then agreed with an ease that none of the others had offered. Dominic mentally grinned in anticipation even as he tilted his head towards the sky. Instead of using the Pride chat, he decided to project his words to the leaders as well. ¡®So, are you planning on telling the matriarch what happened here?¡¯ Howler flew a bit lower and clearly decided to play along a little. ¡®It was an impressive battle. The matriarch would probably like to know that there are several dangerous females in the territory she would like to take as her own.¡¯ ¡®Just females?¡¯ Dominic asked in an outraged tone, though only half-joking. He hadn¡¯t been fighting that badly, surely? Howler glided down and landed in front of Dominic. The other leaders seemed to tense a little, perhaps expecting a fight. ¡®Just the females,¡¯ Howler answered playfully. ¡®Unless you¡¯d rather I don¡¯t, of course ¨C pack leader.¡¯ He leaned in to lick at his jaw in a quick gesture of respect before he brushed along Dominic¡¯s body on his way to greet Jenkins. She enthusiastically returned the greeting with a jaw lick and then added a happy head rub. Teeth and Jaws followed Howler down and sauntered towards the Pride. The rest of the albuhas were a little more reticent, but they landed and tucked their wings away, docilely enough. Stolen novel; please report. Dominic struggled to not break out into huffing laughter at the looks on the faces of the other leaders. Pole-axed was an understatement. The ulla in particular let out a lowing sound which ended on a high note, signalling his shock. The wild dog¡¯s eyes were almost bugging out of his head as he stared at Howler and Jenkins. ¡®One of yours is the winged canine¡¯s mate?!¡¯ he exclaimed a moment later. ¡®What?!¡¯ cried Leo in outrage. ¡®No!¡¯ ¡®No, she¡¯s his immediate leader,¡¯ Dominic hurried to clarify before Leo started calling for Howler¡¯s death just to make sure it was cleared up. ¡®I¡¯m her mate. Anyway, as you can see, the albuhas are no threat.¡¯ He continued by speaking to Howler privately. ¡®You¡¯ve talked to your new packmates, right? They know that they¡¯re going to join our Pride?¡¯ ¡®I spent the battle doing that,¡¯ Howler assured him. ¡®Joking aside, they were impressed by your power and that of the Pride. They are happy to join my Pride. Mostly.¡¯ Dominic was glad to hear it, though hoped that the ¡®mostly¡¯ wasn¡¯t going to come and bite him in the ass. Perhaps literally. He rolled his eyes mentally as he heard Leo letting out a hint of an outraged growl at Howler claiming their Pride. It probably felt like salt in the wound of the wild dog interpreting Jenkins as Howler¡¯s mate. ¡®I doubt he means it in the sense that he¡¯s the leader,¡¯ Dominic told him. ¡®He¡¯s just recognising that he¡¯s as much a part of it as anyone else. And that¡¯s a good thing.¡¯ ¡®As long as he doesn¡¯t think that he can become leader,¡¯ Leo threatened darkly. ¡®Or mate with Jenkins,¡¯ he added. Having greeted the various members of the Pride, Howler came to stand next to Dominic, though making his subordinate position clear by standing at his shoulder rather than moving head to head with him. Teeth and Jaws took up their positions behind Howler with the rest of the albuhas less sanguine about their position so close to those who had been enemies all too recently. But Dominic couldn¡¯t focus on them when he still had the leaders before him whose allegiances he needed to officially clinch. ¡®You managed to sneak some of your own into the attack?¡¯ the ulla asked, sounding reluctantly impressed. ¡®I did,¡¯ Dominic confirmed, seeing no need to go into any more details than that. ¡®They will keep our secrets. So, with no concern about any word reaching the matriarch¡¯s ears about today''s events, will you keep your promise?¡¯ Dominic couldn¡¯t help but complete the question in his mind even if he left it unspoken: or will you restart the fight and need to be killed right here and now? He suspected that the gist might have been communicated one way or another, though, as he saw fear in the ulla¡¯s eyes. Possibly the System would prevent a fight breaking out again, but he had no way of knowing whether it would or how. A moment later, the bison-like beast turned his head to one side, presenting his vulnerable throat. ¡®You have won my allegiance by might and mercy. Prove yourself against the matriarch and you will have a true ally in me and my herd. Be defeated, and we will leave, though we will not try to kill you or yours at that time in recognition of the mercy you have shown us now.¡¯ [Congratulations! You have made your first temporary alliance. To cement this into a permanent alliance, you must prove yourself stronger against the one who previously commanded their fealty: the Spotted Hyena Matriarch, (potential) Lady of the Plains. Note: members of an allied group will not automatically be considered as part of your Pride and will not benefit from or affect any Pride Enhancements you have active.] That the members of an allied group wouldn¡¯t automatically count as part of his Pride wasn¡¯t surprising ¨C he¡¯d had to invite Nyx to become part of it after he¡¯d taken her as a vassal, after all. He hadn¡¯t tested whether she was affected by things such as Immunity at the time. Actually, had he had Immunity at that point? He couldn¡¯t remember. It was the first time Dominic had seen an alliance message, though, which made him wonder why nothing had appeared when he¡¯d taken Nyx as a vassal, or when he¡¯d threatened the kesh into compliance the first time. Maybe, because she was a vassal, the rules were different. And technically the kesh had never really been allies ¨C they¡¯d been defeated and obliged to follow his rules if they wanted to remain in the forest at all. He hadn¡¯t asked for an official alliance. Maybe he should press for that from Three-Spot when he got back. Or maybe, like the ulla, it had to be offered by the subordinate ally. ¡®I accept your alliance and will seek to prove worthy of it by defeating the hyena matriarch in the near future,¡¯ Dominic told the ulla seriously. The bison-like creature shifted back to look at him properly, his eyes silently communicating a message of hope and fear intertwined with each other. Dominic turned to the other leaders. As expected, they followed the ulla¡¯s lead ¨C despite how they¡¯d objected to him putting himself in that position before the fight. It wasn¡¯t long before Dominic saw that same notification three more times. Upon pulling up his status, he found that there were some additions to the bottom of it, in the same section where Nyx was listed as his vassal. Vassals: - Nyx - Ameshek female (level 30) Alliances: - (temporary) Long-horned Ulla male (level 18) (Group representative) - 19 members (highest level: 15, lowest level: 3, mean: 11) - (temporary) Trodil male (level 19) (Group representative) - 11 members (highest level: 18, lowest level: 5, mean: 16) - (temporary) Wild Dog male (level 14) (Group representative) - 17 members (highest level: 14, lowest level: 1, mean: 9) - (temporary) Harash female (level 17) (Group representative) - 22 members (highest level: 17, lowest level: 11, mean: 15) It was a bit of a surprise that the ulla wasn¡¯t the highest levelled leader ¨C it once again showed that natural size mattered and could actually compensate for a few levels. The question why the wild dogs appeared so weak was also solved ¨C they had the lowest levels and that together with their small size basically doomed them. ¡®We¡¯re letting not only canines join us, but also prey. What are we supposed to eat now?¡¯ Leo grumbled. ¡®We¡¯ll figure that out if it becomes an issue,¡¯ Dominic told him, closing his status. ¡®So far, it hasn¡¯t. Let¡¯s hope it remains that way. In the meantime, the ullas are too powerful to just relegate them to prey status.¡¯ He focussed on the leaders. ¡®Alright, good. I have lots of questions to ask you about the matriarch and the rest of her army¨C by answering them to the best of your ability, it should increase the chances of us winning against her without losing too many of our own. But for now, you need to rest, heal, and I need to check in with our other allies. After that, we will deal with those of our dead who still lie in the hot sun.¡¯ He was all too aware that the elves were still standing in a defensive position and had no idea of what was going on since Dominic was unable to communicate with them at the current distance. He¡¯d have to get closer. ¡®Do any of you have healing Abilities?¡¯ he asked the beasts around him almost absently, his mind already on the next task. Chapter 40: Grateful For Your Intervention A series of negative responses made Dominic huff in annoyance and return his attention to his newest allies. ¡®Saffron, Isis, are you finished healing all of our Pride members?¡¯ he asked in the Pride chat while eyeing the wounds that he and Nyx had left on the leaders. ¡®Yes,¡¯ they both answered shortly. ¡®Do you still have some juice left?¡¯ Confusion met his question so he clarified. ¡®Are you able to heal some more?¡¯ ¡®Yes,¡¯ they answered again, though this time with a hint of uncertainty. ¡®Would you be willing to heal the ones who were attacking us? They are on our side now.¡¯ Dominic could feel their hesitance. ¡®Pride now?¡¯ Isis asked tentatively. Dominic hesitated himself. ¡®Sort of,¡¯ he answered finally. ¡®Allies.¡¯ He pushed a sense of supporting each other even if they aren¡¯t exactly part of the same group. Isis perked up, sending back an image of two prides which only contained females coming together to hunt and share a carcass and then going their separate ways again. The sharing was uneasy, but they succeeded because they would all rather have full bellies than fight and risk losing their kill ¨C and perhaps their own lives. ¡®Yes, that¡¯s it exactly,¡¯ Dominic agreed, glad that they had some sort of reference. Saffron, Isis, and Nyx along with Kiera, who he leant Healing Cloud through Group Enhancement, agreed to heal their new allies and padded over to join him. He warned their newest allies that not even the slightest hint of aggression to them would be tolerated and then left them. He left the albuhas watching closely over them. The rest of the Pride stayed where they were though they spread out a little. That way, they could keep an eye and still be between them and the elven city if the trodils, wild dogs, harashes, or ullas decided to do something stupid. Contingency plans prepared, Dominic leaped into the air and flew over to the elves. While he glided through the air, he prodded his mental companion. ¡®No complaints about other males joining us?¡¯ Dominic asked Leo curiously. ¡®Apart from them being canines and prey animals?¡¯ ¡®I doubt any of them will be interested in my females, and I am not interested in theirs,¡¯ Leo told him offhandedly. ¡®If we cannot eat him, that herbivore male will at least be a reasonable addition to our fight capacity ¨C a shield that will protect our more vulnerable members. The others¡­we shall see whether they will be useful. At least they are not a drain on our resources.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s true,¡¯ Dominic agreed. It did mean that they¡¯d have to be careful fighting together, though. But considering the requirement for their alliance to be secret for now, that wasn¡¯t likely to be an issue for a while. Landing not too far from the elves, Dominic approached the purple-haired Ilastir. The elves around the Elder eyed Dominic¡¯s approach with a mixture of fear and determination. While a couple of the elves stepped back a little, more than double that number tightened their grips on their weapons and steeled themselves. Like they knew that they didn¡¯t stand much chance, but would fight nonetheless if they had to. Dominic could respect that, though he felt slightly insulted at the thought that they expected him to betray them. Even Ilastir looked wary. He had neither stepped forwards nor back, and his hand hadn¡¯t tightened obviously on his spear, but something in his eyes told Dominic that he was still ready for anything. ¡®I¡¯ve taken control of the opposing beasts. They won¡¯t attack you, but I wouldn¡¯t send anyone too close to them to test it,¡¯ Dominic projected to Ilastir. The elven leader¡¯s posture relaxed a bit, but Dominic suspected that he could snap into action quickly enough despite that. ¡®The fighting is finished?¡¯ ¡®It is. And thanks for not getting involved,¡¯ Dominic said sincerely. ¡®I don¡¯t know what would have happened if you¡¯d got involved.¡¯ At that, Ilastir looked away for a moment before lifting his eyes to meet Dominic¡¯s gaze again. ¡®In truth, I thought we were lost,¡¯ he admitted. ¡®If it had only been my force against so many invaders, we would not have all survived unless we¡¯d retreated and left our home open to their attacks. After the last attack our forces are too reduced from death and injury.¡¯ Dominic had wondered the same. The group of five species had numbered over a hundred individual members. There were only twenty-seven elves who had shown up to defend their city. That was more than the twenty he¡¯d seen before, and he knew that the others were in other places, but still. Less than thirty elves to defend a town which probably held several hundred elves at the minimum. It was such a small fraction¡­ Even if all they could do was wield a spear or hold a shield, why weren¡¯t more of the elves coming to help? Or defend the trees by using arrows or stones from the balconies? But in a way, it worked out better for Dominic that they didn¡¯t. If they¡¯d had enough elves to defend themselves, they wouldn¡¯t need Dominic and his Pride. ¡®Well, you have us,¡¯ he told Ilastir after a moment. ¡®And we¡¯re grateful for your intervention,¡¯ the purple-haired elder assured him, though he couldn¡¯t completely hide the hint of fear still in his eyes. ¡®As long as we don¡¯t turn around and try to conquer you ourselves,¡¯ Dominic said pointedly, deciding that he¡¯d had enough of pretending he didn¡¯t see their worry or understand why it was there. However much it irritated him. The way several elves looked away told him he¡¯d hit the nail right on the head there. ¡®Don¡¯t worry ¨C I¡¯m not going to do that,¡¯ he told them, while knowing that they probably wouldn¡¯t believe him anyway. ¡®But I am going to consolidate things with my Pride and my new allies and I don¡¯t want any outside force accidentally starting hostilities again. You can go and relax now. We¡¯ll let you know if there¡¯s a sign of any more beasts coming to attack.¡¯ Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. After all, it would be just his luck if one of the nervous elves became convinced that they were about to attack and started the fight first, or some other elves came along and decided that attacking the beasts was exactly what they should do. Maybe the elves had more sense than to do either of those things, but Dominic didn¡¯t want to pin his hopes on that. ¡®I thank you for your service and your news,¡¯ Ilastir started politely, ¡®but it might cause a panic among our people to see only beasts outside with no presence of our people.¡¯ Dominic decided to take that at face-value. ¡®Alright. Leave a group of watchers then, as long as it¡¯s understood that unprovoked attacks on my allies will be considered as attacks on myself or my Pride, which will be met with force,¡¯ he warned. ¡®Any other elves who come to join the group of watchers must be informed of that.¡¯ Ilastir¡¯s face hardened, his knuckles whitening around his spear-shaft. ¡®Honoured brother, I do hope that that wasn¡¯t a threat,¡¯ he said coolly. Dominic eyed him with a predator¡¯s gaze that made several elves around Ilastir quail. The elder himself was apparently made of sterner stuff, however, and stood his ground without flinching. ¡®It is an extension of what we discussed around the table in your central tree. I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten that we are within our rights to meet violence with violence ¨C as long as we are not the instigators. All I¡¯m saying is that my allies are now included under my banner. As long as they do not attack any of yours first, none of yours are to attack any of them, either.¡¯ The elf looked at him for a long moment, then dipped his head slightly. ¡®Very well, Honoured brother. As long as your¡­allies act peaceably, we shall do the same.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s all I ask,¡¯ Dominic responded, relaxing a little. He¡¯d been worried for a moment that ensuring his new allies¡¯ safety might be the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back in the tentative truce he and the elves had come to. While they were indeed obviously and sincerely grateful to have another option before them than either fleeing their home or losing the lives of their people, Dominic could tell that throwing in with another group of beasts was more than a little worrying for them. So he¡¯d take this victory and go with it. Although he¡¯d lost two of his Pride, he¡¯d gained four more groups of allies, he¡¯d won the Challenge with whatever rewards that entailed, and the elves were currently safe and not planning to restart the fight. Howler had even managed to gain more albuhas for his pack. It was good enough for now. He headed back towards his new allies just to make sure they knew that they were not, under any circumstance, to throw the first punch ¨C or whatever attack was their equivalent. ¡®We shall not be the first to attack,¡¯ the ulla promised, the others chiming in with agreement before they moved away again to join their pack-mates. They were all looking far better than they had before the healers had been through, Dominic noticed. Left alone with the ulla, Dominic contemplatively asked a question which had been at the back of his mind for a while now. ¡®Why did you guys join the beast wave, anyway? Particularly you ¨C a herbivore among carnivores. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be sworn enemies with the beasts who seem to make up most of the matriarch¡¯s forces?¡¯ The ulla looked at him carefully. ¡®Though I cannot speak for all of us, I can tell you why I brought my group to be part of it ¨C the chance to gain power. Every day I lead my group in the service of the matriarch, I and my herd get stronger faster than we would outside it. And the more leaders I defeat, the faster my strength seems to grow, like the grass after the rains. Yet if I am myself defeated, it is like the water has run dry and the grass threatens to wither instead of grow. And I know that if we manage to drive the two-legs out of their trees, the rains before will seem like a passing cloud in comparison to the deluge which will soak us then. Strength enough to not need to fear the teeth in the dark.¡¯ ¡®I see,¡¯ Dominic replied thoughtfully. So, probably not Prey Points, but still a source of power. Dominic had to wonder whether the grass metaphor was just because that was what the ulla knew, or whether the herbivores had more in common with plants ¨C the trees and bushes in the influence area of the Place of Power grew faster and taller than those outside it, after all. Either way, it seemed that the reward was greater the higher in the ranks it rose and would be higher still if they won the settlement challenge. ¡®Alright, thanks.¡¯ Now that the elves had been settled and his curiosity had been sufficiently satisfied, there was something else they needed to do ¨C deal with the dead. Calling his Pride together, Dominic asked them to bring the remaining bodies of the attackers and went himself to fetch the bodies of the two Pride members who had died. He collected the remaining Cores lying on the ground and added them to his storage space, not wanting the elves to take them like they had last time. Dominic had realised in the meeting that the elves had had no idea that the Pride might find the Cores useful, and so hadn¡¯t even thought about leaving them behind. They¡¯d promised to use some Cores to help make the armour they were preparing for Dominic¡¯s Pride in recognition that they¡¯d accidentally taken Dominic¡¯s prizes. Carrying the bodies of the two dead Pride members, Stick-User and Amber, over to a more central area within the arms of the hedges, Dominic lay them down among the bodies of the attackers. He hesitated, and then reached out to the leaders, who were already watching the proceedings with confusion and some worry, though Dominic wasn¡¯t quite sure why. While his Pride-mates said goodbye to the kesh and lioness, the newly-allied beasts gathered nearby, standing on the other side of the bodies from the Pride members. It was a bit of a risk to reveal the benefits of Consuming bodies, but at the same time, they had agreed to be allies. Perhaps it would be worth it to extend a little trust to them. And ultimately, most of the bodies here were from their own people. ¡®We¡¯re going to say goodbye to our people and Consume them so they remain a part of us even once they¡¯re gone,¡¯ Dominic told the leaders solemnly, relying on them to communicate with their people. ¡®When the cloud of golden dust appears, walk through it carefully. Be aware that many others will be doing the same.¡¯ He didn¡¯t let any of the nerves he felt show ¨C this could go very badly. But at the same time, Dominic was sure that having the funeral with the amesheks had helped cement their bond. Perhaps it would do the same for the rest of these beasts. Given that there were so many of them still alive, and some of their number were herbivores, Dominic decided not to suggest that everyone take a bite of each of those remaining. Consuming the dust would have to do. And Dominic had to admit that he was more comfortable with that option anyway. Triggering the cloud of dust, Dominic quickly passed through it and then stood off to the side. It was worth losing a bit of extra stamina regeneration in order to make sure things were going well. He did miss rubbing against his Pride members a little more than he thought he would, but that was also a sacrifice worth making to ensure he could keep an eye on the situation. Fortunately, no one took advantage of the cloud to attack anyone else, and by the time it was over, he saw that more members of both sides were either thoughtful or relaxed. And overall, everyone had lost a little bit of that cautious edge they¡¯d had. Satisfied, Dominic decided that it was high time he look at his rewards from the fight. Chapter 41: Faction Pushing himself to his feet, Dominic found a spot off to the side of the groups of beasts and lay down with his back legs splayed out next to him. Even as he started pulling up the notification again, he felt a warm body press against his back, crushing his wings against him slightly, though not enough to be painful. He didn¡¯t even need to look up to know who it was ¨C Sekhmet¡¯s musk was immediately identifiable to his nose. When another body flopped onto his back legs and a third massive presence came to encircle the three of them with her body, Dominic¡¯s nose wasn¡¯t needed to tell him that Jenkins and Nyx had joined too. Rumbling with pleasure, Dominic projected his desire to see his rewards to the System. [You have completed a Challenge: May The Mightiest Win. You have completed the Challenge by forcing all challengers to withdraw. You have no access to enhancements from the challengers.] That wasn¡¯t surprising, though Dominic had been hoping otherwise. He knew he hadn¡¯t got any Enhancements from the fight with Nyx, but he¡¯d been hoping that might have been because of the whole vassal thing. Apparently not. [Error. All challengers are detected as being part of a System-sponsored Beast Wave Challenge; the winning Challenger is a beast leader not part of either faction of the Beast Wave Challenge. Rewards may be affected.] Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Dominic questioned himself with a hint of nervousness. And why was this an issue anyway? Was it because he was a third party interfering in a Challenge given to a whole town? Or was it because he was a beast fighting against the beasts on the side of humanoids? Probably the first, if the error message¡¯s words were anything to go by. [You have led your Pride to fight on behalf of the Nature Elves. Would you like to join their faction and earn benefits which will support your allies?] [You have demonstrated your martial superiority over multiple other beast leaders. Would you like to join their faction and earn prestige within their group?] Dominic was torn. It was a difficult choice which promised far-reaching consequences. It was clear that the System wanted him to commit to one side or the other. At the same time, it didn¡¯t seem to prevent him from answering both questions with no ¨C he didn¡¯t see any reason why he couldn¡¯t stay independent. Though, with the questions, the ¡®rewards may be affected¡¯ gained an ominous tone. The ulla had made it clear that it gained benefits from being part of the wave, and that the benefits increased according to the ulla¡¯s success within the beast army. Things the elves had said indicated that they benefited from the Challenges too, especially from winning them. Quite possibly, if he didn¡¯t commit, he would be robbing his Pride of the rewards they might receive from being part of either group. But which side should they commit to? The elves, who they were fighting to protect? That way he might actually get something from his defence of them beyond what he¡¯d negotiated for with the Elders. Or the beasts, where they could gain ¡®prestige¡¯ and discover what the ulla had spoken about for themselves? He¡¯d already considered how if he became the leader of the beast wave, he could concede to the elves, ending the Challenge in that way. But would that then end up with them losing out on their rewards because of them being the ¡®defeated¡¯ party? On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t sure he liked the sound of ¡®which will support your allies¡¯, unless it was referring to his Pride. But if it was, he suspected that it would have said so. No, based on the context, he had to guess that it would give him some things which would support the elves. Which might be a good thing if the elves would compensate him for whatever he lost by choosing that option, but considering how increasingly wary Ilastir seemed of him, he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to bet on that ¨C they might even claim that it is part of their already existing agreement. So he should consider any rewards he received directly from the System to be the only rewards he would be likely to receive. At the same time, though, he didn¡¯t want to risk being declared as an enemy of the elves which, if they suddenly found out that he was an active part of the beast wave, might easily happen even if he hadn¡¯t led any attacks on them. Besides, he had given the elves his word that he would protect them ¨C joining the beasts who were attempting to destroy them didn¡¯t seem like a good way of achieving that. The best case scenario in that case was him managing to take over the beasts and then negotiate terms of surrender with the elves. Gaining prestige would probably help with that, assuming ¡®prestige¡¯ was indeed the strength that the ulla had spoken of. Of course, in that case, they probably wouldn¡¯t gain any further System-rewards, which meant that he¡¯d be in the same situation whether with the elves or the beasts. ¡®Do we have to stay allied to the elves, though?¡¯ Leo asked, breaking into his thoughts. ¡®We are a lion. It makes more sense for us to become the King of Beasts than the ally of elves. If you wish for them to survive, we can let them continue to live and work in our new territory ¨C just under our rule.¡¯ Dominic sent him the equivalent of a side-eye. ¡®Apart from all the deaths that we¡¯d have to cause to force them to that point ¨C since I know you don¡¯t care about it, even if I do ¨C and the fact that it means we¡¯d be breaking our word, do you really want all the hard work it would take to oppress a group of sapients who don¡¯t want to cooperate? For as long as it takes? Haven¡¯t you dug into my memories of history enough to realise just how much trouble sapients can wreak? And even if the elves continue their surprisingly prevalent pacifist behaviour, there are plenty of non-violent ways they could use to make life hard for us. No, just think of it. What would it gain us to win as a beast lord? More members or allies for our Pride? We¡¯re managing to get that even as enemies of the beast wave,¡¯ he pointed out, looking purposefully towards the ullas, harashes, trodils, and wild dogs now starting to relax a little. ¡®Whereas if we side with the elves, they¡¯re offering weapons and armour in exchange for our aid. And possibly we can trade for things like food or farming or even health potions ¨C we¡¯ve seen they have both mages and healers. Those could be game-changers considering how we¡¯ve seen the land around us change.¡¯ This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Leo was silent for a long moment. ¡®I see your point,¡¯ he admitted grudgingly. ¡®Though don¡¯t pretend that that¡¯s your only reason.¡¯ ¡®No, it¡¯s not,¡¯ Dominic admitted. ¡®Didn¡¯t you hear what they let slip in the meeting? They have teleportation gates.¡¯ ¡®And what interest is that of ours?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t you pretend you don¡¯t realise how much I want, no need to find out what¡¯s happened to my family! I¡¯ll run ¨C or fly ¨C there if I have to, but if we are able to cut the journey with teleportation gates, that would be better.¡¯ ¡®But the elves said it themselves ¨C the gates are not active and they refuse to say how to activate them,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®It¡¯s a dream, brother. A hopeless dream. You say you¡¯d be willing to run there, but run where? You don¡¯t even know where you¡¯re going!¡¯ Dominic found he couldn¡¯t argue except that his heart was telling him that this was the way to find his dad ¨C making allies out of other beasts was one thing, but humanoids with technology offered so many more opportunities. ¡®Anyway, the point is that we still stand to gain a lot more by allying with the elves than with the beasts.¡¯ ¡®But what if this prestige could help us ¨C and our Pride ¨C until the Challenge is finished? No one on the elven side has indicated that they get ongoing rewards in the way the buffalo-creature did. We don¡¯t have to conquer the elves, but if joining the beasts¡¯ side in order to become the beast lord will earn us and our Pride the most benefits, I think we should choose that option.¡¯ ¡®Assuming that¡¯s for everyone,¡¯ Dominic reminded him. ¡®We¡¯re assuming that that¡¯s the same as this ¡®prestige¡¯ and that everyone gets it, but that¡¯s not necessarily the case. Perhaps it¡¯s just for herbivores. He did compare it to grass, after all.¡¯ ¡®Why don¡¯t you check with your flying canines? They¡¯ve been part of the other group for half a day,¡¯ Leo suggested. That was an interesting point and one that might indeed prove things one way or another. Dominic was able to shift the notifications away from his direct vision while he pulled up the Pride status. Looking for the names of the three albuhas who had been with the matriarch¡¯s group, he found his attention being caught by something. ¡®Two of them have gone up a level ¨C Howler and Jaws. Teeth didn¡¯t, but from what I remember, he went up a level very recently, so I wouldn¡¯t expect him to be going up any time soon. Not without a big battle like the one we were in when we first arrived here. And fifteen enemies dead doesn¡¯t exactly count as that.¡¯ He quickly switched to his own status, disappointment spiking through him as he saw that his own Prey Point count had barely budged from where it had been in the late five hundreds. Progress to Evolution: 615/1090 PP ¡®We probably only got about thirty or forty Prey Points from that whole fight. It could be enough to tip someone into another level, but only if they were close to the threshold.¡¯ ¡®We might have to fight with the winged canine again,¡¯ Leo pointed out, his focus intent too. Dominic sent him a mental frown. ¡®Why do you say that? I know he¡¯s got a whole lot more albuhas under his command now, but he still defers to Jenkins and, since we fought her and showed our superiority, us.¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s a higher level than she is now,¡¯ Leo explained simply. Dominic looked back at the Pride status. Leo was right! Jenkins was level 16¡­.Howler was level 17. ¡®Huh,¡¯ Dominic commented eloquently, his eyes wide as he verified what he had seen. At no point had Howler ever been a higher level than Jenkins, and they¡¯d been hunting together and sharing Prey Points equally. Which indicated that Howler and Jaws¡¯ new levels weren¡¯t just because of the most recent fight. So the strength that the ulla spoke about wasn¡¯t just for the herbivores. And it seemed like they only needed to be nominally associated with the beast wave since Dominic¡¯s three albuhas had still benefited, despite the Pride as a whole being a third party¡­. But did that change anything? Joining the beast wave would bring suspicion upon their heads from the elves. And unless he could challenge the matriarch immediately for leadership, he ran the risk of her sending another army to attack the elves while he wasn¡¯t there to protect them, potentially killing more of them. Dominic knew he¡¯d feel guilty in that case. And on a practical side of things, wouldn¡¯t it be better to build the relationships with the faction he wanted to be on good terms with after the challenge was done? Pulling up the notification again, Dominic stared at it thoughtfully. Was it as black-and-white a choice as he was thinking? Was there a way for him to gain benefits from both sides? The possibility of the albuhas only being a peripheral part of the Challenge had only appeared after all other options had been declined, after all. ¡®Ultimately, the reason why we came here was to help the elves and earn ourselves some Prey Points while doing so,¡¯ he mused to his companion. ¡®The latter of which we didn¡¯t really achieve in this battle,¡¯ Leo pointed out. ¡®Because we chose to offer surrender instead of going for elimination,¡¯ Dominic fired back. ¡®So, are you saying-¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m saying that partnering with the elves and earning Prey Points are not mutually exclusive. Maybe beasts earn Prey Points just for being part of the beast wave, but they¡¯re the ones attacking and if we kill them, we¡¯ll earn Points no matter what side of the conflict we¡¯re on. Or, if we choose to accept surrender instead, we earn allies who can help us expand our territory and help our Place of Power progress towards the next level. If we allied with the beasts, we wouldn¡¯t be trying to kill them, but nor would we try to kill the elves meaning we¡¯d be restricted to whatever Prey Point gains we¡¯d get from just being part of the beast wave. And for all we know, those benefits are lost if we actively work against the goals of the beast wave ¨C or what else could this ¡®prestige¡¯ thing be about? Which means that allying with the elves comes out on top whichever way you look at it, based on our current information.¡¯ ¡®Fine. Do what you think is best,¡¯ Leo gave in with an aggrieved huff but Dominic could tell that it was just a front. He didn¡¯t regret having the discussion with Leo, though, even if it had taken some time to settle the matter ¨C he sensed that this was a decision which would have far more wide-reaching consequences than most. Curious to see what would happen next, Dominic selected the option to ally with the elves.