ã€ŠChimeraã€‹


 01.

    The more I eat, the more I remember. It¡¯s odd.

    I am a chimera, so it would be pretty normal for me to expect changes based on what I have eaten. However, these memories don¡¯t feel normal or even like they¡¯re my own.

    As a chimera, I am a particularly strange existence, even among the oddities that exist in this crazy world. I was born as little more than a sack of flesh with a mouth and a minimal nervous system. I ate the food that was presented to me by my parent along with my siblings, and began to express the traits of the things I¡¯d eaten . After a few days of regular feedings, I¡¯d developed proper sensory organs and legs. Then the feedings stopped, and my siblings began to disperse and hunt for themselves.

    As with all my siblings, I was a pretty good hunter, and I avidly stalked and killed whatever small animals or insects I could, taking some of their traits and becoming a better hunter in the process.

    Chimeras, by nature, seek to improve themselves by consuming others. In that way, we are able to assume some of the traits of that which we consume. Because of this, we generally avoid eating plants or anything that wasn¡¯t recently living. We avoid eating old meat, because it does very little for us. We avoid plants and other things because it might make us weaker.

    When I was still but a whelp, I saw what happens to chimera that primarily ate plants and soil, because it was neglected as one of the weakest in the litter. Gradually, it lost its fleshy tone and its distinguishing features, and became a translucent blob of matter, which simply moved about, absorbing things without a care in the world. I came back to the nesting site often to check on this wayward sibling, and I watched as it gradually changed. Its color darkened, and its exterior eventually came to resemble a pile of dirt and dead plant matter, and it gave off the pungent odor of compost. I would learn much later that this sibling of mine had become what is referred to as a compost slime.

    I saw this process repeat several times as other mature chimeras nested and created their offspring. Since chimera litters tend to be several dozen whelps, only the strong and viable ones are properly fed. The rest are left to fend for themselves. Without proper nutrition, most chimeras whelps end up eating strange things and transforming into the creatures I would later come to refer to as slimes.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Further, slimes reproduce even more rapidly than proper chimeras, but their offspring are even weaker than chimera whelps. They¡¯re basically the most common and weakest monster there is in the forest I call my home. It¡¯s hard to go more than a few yards without spotting a slime of one kind or another.

    Honestly, a normal chimera wouldn¡¯t consider any of those facts interesting, and would have not bothered to be that observant of other members of our species. Yet, the emerging fragments of feelings and memories impressed on the rest of my mind that it was actually pretty fucking cool.

    I tried several times to interact with my kin and others of my species, but was always ignored. Chimeras, it seemed, were a bit asocial as a species, routinely ignoring others of their kind except to present food to the young, then abandoning them after a few days of tending. Luckily for me, they would simply ignore my presence, rather than react violently when I bothered them.

    So instead I watched them from afar, learning what was useful and what wasn¡¯t. I saw many of my kin and siblings die due to a lack of caution or poor judgement. Some of them hunted and ate indiscriminately, others were selective.

    It¡¯s somewhat troublesome, to be a chimera with all these strange concepts in my head. Thankfully, up to this point, the weird memories and thoughts haven¡¯t interfered with my normal hunting.

    Recently, I had been managing to get better and better quality of prey. I¡¯d started noticing that when I eat certain animals, those that are particularly sly and clever, along with the increase in my my ability to think about and recall things I also could sense other memories, the ones that were not my own.

    Lately, when I haven¡¯t been hunting, I¡¯ve started sitting down and thinking about things like that, taking notice of the difference between myself and others of my kind. I began to wonder why I was different. Did the others of my kind not have these memories too? Abstract concepts like these were very new to me.

    Suddenly, I froze in place. I began sniffing, and flicked out my serpentine tongue to taste the air. Good prey was nearby. I indulged in my senses for a moment to get a proper sense of it.

    Upwind, maybe 500 yards, there was the scent of blood. Two kinds. One from a bear, which would be a welcome meal, and something else I had not yet encountered. Judging by the smells, they were probably fighting each other, and were both injured but not dead. That was ideal. The bear would be a welcome treat, as it would improve my strength. I¡¯d only had a few scraps and pieces of bear myself, not enough to properly emulate its traits, but enough to know the smell. The unknown creature tantalized me with its possibilities.

    I followed the scent toward its source.

 02.

    I followed the scent for a good thousand yards before I came upon it, coming across numerous signs of struggle. It was a well used trail, and the signs of bloodshed were everywhere. Judging by the state of the magic aura in the area, many parties observed. But none had yet intervened.

    Ah, that¡¯s why, I thought to myself. The bear wasn¡¯t any normal bear. It had lived long enough and consumed enough magic that it evolved, becoming a dire bear. It was not yet dead, but judging by how much blood it had lost, it would expire soon. It would seem that it fought against a particularly fearsome opponent.

    I turned my attention to the source of the unknown smell. It was rather frail looking. How could this creature have possibly stood up to a dire bear, much less mortally wounded it? Yet, something about its shape called to me. I turned my attention from the dying dire bear and focused on the creature. Hmmm, this magic aura seemed particularly potent, even as it was beginning to fade in the throes of death. It seemed to have covered itself in the hides of other creatures and materials refined from the earth. Lying next to it was a large quill made of tree matter with a refined earthen tip. Spear, my memory whispered to me in recognition of the item.

    Spear? What is that? Is it some kind of growth? Is that how it managed to wound the dire bear?

    I brushed the stray thoughts aside. Presented with such a lucky feast, it would be strange if I were not to partake, right? The other observers that I sensed, they slunk away in fear. They knew that they cannot hope to match a chimera. As a species, once we mature, we are quite powerful.

    As I appraised the frail looking corpse before me, I sensed the dire bear¡¯s last breath. The beast is no more. Presented with a bounty such as this, I am at a loss. Which shall I eat first? The creature with the strange spear/quill, or the dire bear? As I mull over my decision, I feel something. It is odd. Something of a reluctance from within me if I were to try to identify it. It is like it is pointing me away from the frail creature and to the dire bear.

    Well, I suppose that settles it. I will eat the dire bear first.

    Oh! This taste is quite strong! It is so strong and full of vitality!

    Unable and unwilling to restrain myself, I devoured the beast. It was many times my size, but I ate until it was gone. I consumed gigantic mouthfuls of the magnificent beast. My stomach did not bulge from this feat, for I am a chimera and our appetites are never truly sated. Our stomachs convert anything and everything to magic, whose properties are used to reinforce our bodies. As I consumed its flesh, I could just imagine how its strength would suffuse my body. That strength, such an exquisite taste! Seven or eight more and I would have absorbed all of the best attributes of a dire bear!If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    My hunger urged me to go out and hunt more of them right now, even knowing how foolish such a thing would be.

    Yet I restrained myself. To mortally wound such a powerful beast, this frail creature must have possessed extraordinary power of its own, despite its frame. I decided to devour it too. I felt some unexplainable reluctance about eating it, but my instincts and desire to grow stronger overpowered that slight reticence. It must have been powerful to mortally wound a dire bear.

    A short while later, I awakened from my customary nap after eating something new.

    What the fuck?

    What just happened?

    Something is really strange here. Why is everything so off?

    Everything is suddenly so different!

    I don¡¯t understand!

    I had just eaten that puny thing, then took a nap, so why was I acting like this?

    Human, my memory informed me. The creature I just ate was called a human. Why do I know this? Oh fuck, why are my thoughts so different all of a sudden?

    What is this?

    ¡°Gaaaaaaaah!¡±

    Hearing the sound of my own roar, I calmed down a bit.

    This was weird. Seriously weird.

    My brain suddenly felt so much more¡­ nimble? Is that the right word? It is and it isn¡¯t.

    My mind scrambled as it suddenly began making new connections between things I had never considered related before. Was it because I ate that human?

    I didn¡¯t like this one bit, it was very unsettling the way that my mind suddenly began racing about. Eating that human thing changed me. It was like when I eat something more clever, but amplified by a million times.

    What is going on?!

    Calm down. Calm down. Consider your situation calmly. Think. You¡¯re a chimera. You absorb the best traits of what you eat.

    What I ate was a human. I need to calm down and concentrate, and figure out how much it changed me.

    Okay.

    A few minutes went by, and I calmed down. I¡¯d taken the time to search through my mind. For some reason, I had more knowledge in there than I can remember learning. Actual knowledge, unlike those fragments I¡¯d always experienced. According to these memories, humans are a race of creatures that have managed to survive and thrive by the use of their wits.

    Hmm, there¡¯s something else there, but it''s on the verge of being remembered. Perhaps if I ate another of these humans?

    Not acceptable! I didn¡¯t know why, but my mind rebelled at the thought of hunting more humans down. They should be nothing more than food, but why was I feeling so reluctant to kill more of them? I felt no such compunction towards other beings.

    Ah, this is quite irritating.

    So, for the time being, I decided to move on and look for other prey.

    I stretched myself out from where I had fallen unconscious, and stood up. Concentrating my senses, I noticed a buildup of magical power to the south. South? Where did the concept of that kind of direction come from?

    Ugh. I dismissed the thought, and instead focused on what lay ahead.

    I decided that I should head toward the site of conflict, and consume the loser. If the winner is sufficiently weakened, I would eat them too. I am a chimera, that is my nature. And despite everything, I felt stronger than ever.

 03.

    As I ran through the forest, I reveled in the newfound power in my legs. While it was only a fraction of the difference in strength between myself as a young chimera, and that of a dire bear, the sensation left me feeling giddy. This giddiness was a new sensation, too. What limited joy I had experienced in the past seems so shallow and cloudy in comparison.

    Pushing that aside, I made note of the changes to my physical body thatwere still settling into place. I¡¯d grown slightly. Where I was previously of similar size and overall shape to an average wolf, my body had become a bit bulkier and my limbs a bit longer. My hide was still a patchwork of scales and fur, although thicker. My tail still arched and curled over my back, with its scorpion stinger. Then therewere my forelimbs. My paws had changed shape, with the digits becoming longer and more flexible. I approved, since it would make it easier to grab onto my prey. My throat and mouth had changed as well, but to what extent I was still uncertain. Since my fangs were still intact and my jaw still felt strong, I ignored it for the moment.

    I began adjusting my course as I approached, trying to get downwind of the fight, to see if I could learn more about what was happening. I didn''t have to circle too far around before I started to pick up on traces of blood. I smelled some unfamiliar things as I crept up, and one thing I knew very well and would normally steer clear of: a troll.

    I slowed my pace and crept through the forest, coming up on the sounds of battle. The troll was in the middle of a clearing, flailing about with the trunk of a small tree. Three creatures surrounded it and circled around it in a seemingly coordinated fashion. I climbed a tree to better hide myself and for a clearer view of the battle.

    The troll, as was typical of its kind, had rough gray skin, long thick arms, and a head that was more like a mouth with eyes and ears tacked on as accessories. This troll was covered in scratches and deep gouges, which could be seen visibly closing.

    Its assailants were not something I''d seen before in this forest. Two of them were bipedal reptiles, that seemed like a blend between the human I had eaten earlier, and some kind of fierce lizard. They both were carrying weapons similar to the spear I¡¯d seen earlier, but the shiny metallic tip was much larger, and clearly used more for cutting than stabbing. The third was like a larger version of the human I ate earlier. A dire human? The dire human was only a head or so shorter than the troll, and was swinging around a giant piece of metal, which my memories identified as a sword.

    I settled in and made myself comfortable and continued watching. The three attackers nimbly avoided the troll''s wild and clumsy attacks and darted in to make attacks as opportunities presented themselves, so they were definitely skilled. It¡¯s a shame they were idiots. They seemed to be trying to wear the beast down by inflicting numerous smaller wounds. A proper predator would have known that would never work. Trolls heal too quickly. You must incapacitate it quickly, then finish it off. Otherwise, they can continue fighting until they run out of stamina. A well fed troll could keep up such a fight for many days.

    As I watched, I committed the scents of the creatures to memory. While I still felt an odd reticence to hunting the dire human, I felt no such qualms about the lizard humans. As I associated the scents with the individuals, I became concerned. There were two more creatures hiding out of sight. One smelled slightly similar to the human I¡¯d previously eaten, while the other smelled of something else.

    I scanned the underbrush and trees around the clearing, searching for the other two. There they are, the sneaky little fuckers. A human draped in hides, with a curved piece of wood in its hands, which my memories identified as a bow. That one smells strongly of the forest, but only a little of this forest. The other one also looks like a human, but with reddish fur, a tail, and ears atop its head. It held a long stick in its hands, a staff, maybe? This one didn¡¯t look imposing at all, but it had a very condensed magical aura about it. Curious, I watched these two while they watched the ongoing battle. They were making low growls at each other that seemed to have complex variations and patterns in them. Talking, it¡¯s called? While my acute hearing could pick it up, and differentiate the sounds even from this distance when I focused, none of it made any sense to me.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    After studying the pair for a bit, I turned my attention back to the fight. Exactly as I¡¯d thought, the troll was showing no signs of slowing, while the others were. As I studied the fight a bit closer, I saw numerous sticks on the ground, with bird feathers on one end, and troll blood coated points on the other. Many of them had been trampled and broken. As I did, my mind seemed to draw a connection between the arrows and the bow the human was holding. That must be why the human isn¡¯t helping then. Those arrows couldn¡¯t possibly cripple the troll, other than maybe blind it for a short while if an eye were hit.

    The watching pair roared out more of their talking noises, seemingly directed at the other three. The fighters stopped trying to strike at the troll and began to focus solely on evasion and defense. I felt a change in the furred human¡¯s magic aura, and my attention snapped to it and focused. Magic aura was flowing out of it and into the staff it carried. The aura moved in strange ways as it swirled around the staff, then streamed out to wrap around the troll¡¯s head. The furred human¡¯s magic aura weakened significantly. The troll dropped its club and began pawing at its eyes. The three fighters ran to join the two in hiding, and the group fled.

    I hesitated for a moment and considered. The troll was weakened somehow by what the furred human did. I was curious and wanted to follow the strange group, but I might never get a chance to do something like this again.

    I leapt from my perch and charged at the troll. I scaled its back like I would a tree, then bit down hard on the back of its neck with all my might, trying to break its spine. The troll didn¡¯t even react, but continued to ineffectually paw at its eyes. The strangely patterned aura was dissipating, and would be gone in a few more seconds.

    Hot damn, this spine is thick, and does not want to break. Plan B then.

    I¡¯d eaten many snakes and other beasts with venomous fangs, and naturally incorporated that ability into myself. While trolls are naturally resistant to such attacks due to their prodigious healing, I figured I might be able to overwhelm it by sheer quantity. I pumped venom through my fangs, and struck it with the scorpion stinger on my tail to inject even more. While I pumped in venom and strained to break the beast¡¯s very sturdy spine, I began ripping and tearing with all four of my limbs. Relying on the vise grip of my bite to anchor me, I gouged at the troll¡¯s flesh, faster than it could heal. I used my forelimbs to tear at it around the shoulder, hoping to dig deep enough into the flesh to sever tendons. My rear legs trying to tear deep enough to reach its organs.

    The patterned aura clinging to its head faded, and the troll finally became aware of my presence. It let out a roaring howl of rage and began to awkwardly bat at me, trying to grab a solid hold of me so it could tear me from its back. However, its movements were clumsy. Several times, its fingers brushed against me, but did not begin to close until several moments later. Good, my venom was having an effect. As I continued to savage the troll¡¯s back, I felt something in the bloodied mess I was making of the troll¡¯s right shoulder. It felt like a thick cord. Without thinking, I began to tear at it with my claws, and was rewarded with a snapping sound, which was followed by that arm falling limply to the troll¡¯s side. Seconds later, this repeated again with the other arm.

    Without warning, the troll toppled backwards, unconscious. I was so focused on keeping up the damage, that I didn¡¯t notice until it was too late.

    Crunch.

    Fucking shit! That hurts so fucking bad!

    With great effort, I dragged myself out from under the troll¡¯s form. My rear legs, which had been extended to try and claw their way into the troll¡¯s kidneys or liver, were broken. Badly. There was a spike of white bone protruding from one of them. My tail dragged limply behind. I couldn¡¯t feel anything from it at all.

    Shit. This is a really fucking bad situation.

    But then again, maybe not as bad as I thought. I¡¯m a chimera, after all. Normally, I could heal from any wound given enough time and food.

    Judging by the damage I had done to the troll¡¯s arms, and the rate it was healing, it¡¯d probably take it hours to heal. And I¡¯d pumped enough venom in it to kill a herd of aurochs. It was still alive, butI was sure I could fix that, and myself in the process, by doing what a chimera does best.

    Eat.

    I thank you, furred human with the strange magic stick, for this feast.

 04.

    I was somewhat surprised when the troll woke up during my meal. I was buried deep inside its chest cavity, chewing my way through one of its lungs, when it began to wheeze and weakly thrash around. When I realized I had no way to break open its skull or rib cage, I had decided to eat my way through its abdomen to its vitals. With the flesh growing back as I ate it, this took a while, but the more of it I ate, the slower the wounds knitted themselves back together. My rear legs were already healthy and whole, though my tail still flopped limply behind me.

    Whatever weak thrashing about the troll did, it did not hinder me as I continued to hollow out it¡¯s chest cavity. Before too much time passed, I managed to reach the weakly pulsating lump of flesh that was the troll¡¯s heart. After just a couple bites, it shuddered and then became still. I continued to eat.

    By the time I finished picking the troll¡¯s skeleton as clean as I could, the next day¡¯s sun was already rising. Before sulking away, I glanced back longingly at the jumbled pile of bones. Normally, I¡¯d eat those as well, but I simply couldn¡¯t crack them.

    Drowsy, but satisfied, I climbed a tree not far from the clearing, settled into a fork in the trunk as comfortably as I could, and dozed off. My tail still hadn¡¯t healed, but I was confident all would be well after I¡¯d rested.

    Upon awaking, I felt better and stronger than ever. As I moved to climb down the tree, I instead tumbled to the ground gracelessly, landing on my back with a dull thud. The landing came as a bit of a shock, but I did not feel any pain. I took a moment to assess myself, and quickly realized why I had fallen. My body form had changed significantly while I was sleeping. For one, I was no longer a quadruped, I was now a biped. By my estimation, I now stood about a head taller than the human from yesterday. Still significantly smaller than the dire human, but a respectable height. My forelimbs were now proper arms with proper hands and fingers, though they were still tipped by wickedly sharp claws. My legs were long and powerful, and my feet looked much as the troll¡¯s had, but with claws similar to the ones on my hands.

    My scales had faded away, and instead I was covered with thick grey-brown skin, with swathes of bristly black hair. Sadly, my tail had withered away as well. Its venom glands weren¡¯t nearly as potent as the ones in my fangs, but it had proven useful while I¡¯d had it.

    I spent some time testing out my new form, and getting used to its balance and movement. I was certainly stronger than I had been, and could still move and climb quickly. However, it would take some acclimation before I could move as lightly and silently as I had before.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    Since it was still close by and I wanted to test out my newfound strength, I headed back to the bone pile. It had been knocked about and scattered by scavengers trying to get the few scraps off the bones that I¡¯d overlooked. Worryingly, one of the femurs appeared to be broken in half by some creature which had eaten the marrow from inside.

    I picked up the other femur and strained against it, trying to bend it, bite through it, or do anything at all to it. I¡¯d already tried earlier and had with some effort had snapped a branch of similar thickness.

    Shit, I thought. Whatever broke that other femur must have been insanely strong. I sniffed around it to take note of its peculiar scent, so I could be sure to avoid it in the future.

    Failing to break the femur, I then began working my way down through smaller bones. Yep, nope. Except for the finger bones and some others of similar size, they still proved too difficult for me to break. Still, waste not want not. I absentmindedly devoured the smaller bones while an idea nagged at me.

    When it was fighting the group, it had been wielding a good sized tree as a club. While the remaining femur was heavy, I could swing it around with one hand. Even better with two. It was nearly as long as one of my own legs, and about as thick as my ankles.

    The idea of using a weapon pleased me, which was odd. I am never without a weapon. I waved aside the stray thought, and began practicing swinging the femur about. After I felt like I had grown proficient enough, I loped off through the forest, in search of prey to test it out on and feed upon.

    The first trial run was an abject failure that left me cursing my stupidity. I was so intent on the prey as I snuck up, I failed to take my surroundings into account. A healthy sized boar was rooting through the foliage, and I hastily went for a roundabout horizontal swing, only to have my club resoundingly smack into the tree that was just outside arm''s reach which I hadn¡¯t paid attention to, well before it had built up much momentum. I rapped a fist against my forehead. Stupid.

    Of course you can¡¯t swing something like this around wildly. Especially in the denser parts of the forest. However, it could still be of use. Most of the branches were well up in the air, more than twice my current height. So, as long as I paid attention, I should be able to use a downward strike to clobber my prey.

    This turned out to be a much more suitable way to use the club. When I finally located another animal, it was only a few hours from dusk. It was a large brown bear, but just a normal one, not a dire, and it was aware of my presence. It eyed me warily, then stood on its hind legs and roared at me, hoping to intimidate me. I charged forward and swung my club down on its head with all my strength and speed.

    I suppose it hadn¡¯t been expecting that, because it failed to react in time. The bone club came whistling down on the bear¡¯s skull and struck with a crunch that pleased my ears. The bear teetered and fell, its skull crushed by that powerful blow.

    I felt extra giddy about the hunt¡¯s success. I would now be able to hunt even more efficiently, and grow stronger that much more quickly.

    I made sure not to leave even a scrap of the bear behind.

 05.

    ¡°It¡¯s following us again,¡± whispered Vee, the human ranger.

    ¡°Still just watching?¡± Trella, the fox-girl mage asked.

    Vee nodded in confirmation.

    Both of them frowned in worry. They¡¯d first noticed the presence during one of their early forays into the woods. It had shown up some time after their party had engaged with a gigantic grey humanoid monster, that they would later identify as a troll. Grix, the half-giant warrior, and the lizardman brothers Sul and Sil, had not been making any progress against the beast, as its wounds healed too fast. Vee had given up on peppering it with arrows, as they did not penetrate far into its hide and would just plop back out onto the ground moments later. Even if she took its eyes, its movements would just become more erratic for the next couple minutes until they recovered. It had been a very tough battle.

    When Vee noticed the presence, she had started furtively looking around for it, but could not find it. She had discussed it with Trella in quiet tones, and they agreed to withdraw. Even if they somehow managed to take this monster down, they¡¯d be exhausted and vulnerable. A terrible thing in a place like this filled with deadly monsters.

    Trella had cast her strongest spell, which would block all of the troll''s senses for a short time, and they beat a hasty retreat.

    Three days later, they had come back to that same clearing, to find a scattered pile of bones, which looked to be roughly the correct size and shape for the troll they¡¯d fought. That discovery had sobered the group, and they retreated back to the newly established fort on the edge of Slime Forest, ending their hunt for that day.

    The next day, and every time they ventured into the forest, Vee¡¯s keen senses gave her the sense of being watched, and Trella¡¯s magic had picked up on it, just barely. It continued to follow them, every time they went into the forest. Sometimes it would leave for a bit and return. It was truly unsettling, and when they¡¯d shared what had been happening with the others, a pall had fallen on their mood.

    Weeks passed, and their constant watcher began to grate on them. Rumors had started to circulate among the adventurers around the fort about a mysterious beast in the forest that would swoop in and snatch fallen or badly injured beasts away from groups, and before long they¡¯d begun to blame any and all disappearances of adventurers on the Devil of Slime Forest.

    After some time with these rumors circulating and growing wilder and wilder, the guild put a bounty out for information on or subjugation of the infamous Devil.

    The only ones who were not eager to take part were Vee¡¯s party. While they had no information on it to share, they wanted no part in fighting against a beast that could kill that dreaded troll. Especially since they suspected it had been the one stalking them all this time.

    <hr>

    Time passed, and I hunted well. I was stronger and faster than ever, and as per usual with my kind, my appearance evolved with me. I was still bipedal, but my form had shifted a bit so I could just as easily run on both legs as all four. Wondering if it¡¯d bring back my tail, I¡¯d eaten a a few dozen scorpions, and even some dire scorpions. That hadn¡¯t had much effect.

    I could now hunt dire bears, at least as long as I caught them by surprise. There¡¯d only been three or four left in the forest, and I had successfully killed and eaten two of them. A clean hit to their head with my club would knock them senseless, then I¡¯d leap on them to rend and tear at their throat until they bled out.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    I¡¯d taken to night hunts as well, which I had usually avoided when I was younger and weaker. Some of my hide had once again been covered by patches of scales, and oddly, my arms had some feathers growing along them as well. My coloration had darkened, making me all but invisible in the night. I feasted upon the creatures I found, from big felines to blood sucking bats to owls the size of a wolf.

    My troll femur club had seen a lot of use, and I¡¯d gotten much better with it, although sometimes I didn¡¯t bother and just leapt upon my prey for the satisfaction of rending them with my own fangs and claws.

    The humans had been venturing into my territory more and more. Maybe they were migrating?

    The group with the furred human also came back often. I stalked them, curious. They hunted smaller prey now. I listened to their strange burbling growls that were meant to be communication. I still didn¡¯t understand it, and that weird part of my mind gave up after some time, having only figured out that certain sounds were used to designate each member of their little pack. Vee was the normal human. Trel was the furred one. Gris was the dire human, and the two scaly humans were Sil and Sul.

    Vee and Trel always seemed to be tense, and I could always smell a bit of fear from them. Sometimes they said things that made the other three uneasy, but they didn¡¯t seem to fear the forest in the same way.

    Ah, they must be teaching those two to hunt. That makes sense. The bigger three always move to protect the other two, and only let them participate in the hunt from a safe distance. While other humans of many types would sometimes come into the forest with groups of similar size, usually it would be alone, or in a pair or trio.

    Sometimes I would watch the other humans. While I felt a desire to hunt and eat them, that weird part of my mind was very insistent that I don¡¯t. How bothersome. I gave in because I hunted many stronger things, and I failed to see how eating them would make me any stronger. My arms were stronger than a dire human¡¯s, my hide tougher than the scaled human¡¯s. I was quicker and stealthier than any of them. The only thing I stood to gain was to learn how to make those strange magic aura patterns, but the humans who could do that were few and far between.

    As the days and nights passed, I ate more and I grew stronger.

    I saw other chimeras come into conflict with the humans. The younger and weaker ones would often be overwhelmed and killed, as was right. The humans were pretty active about retreating from stronger predators, so few of them fell. While I could smell and sense the conflicts, I was often too far away or otherwise engaged to go and steal the loser myself. I occasionally snatched away prey from the humans, because I was stronger and it was right. However, I restrained myself from snatching prey from the group I¡¯d been watching. If I scared them off, I might not get to observe them anymore, and I found their antics to be entertaining. Entertainment was something I had not realized I''d been missing out on until recently.

    Just a few days ago, they¡¯d stumbled on a swarm of slimes, my much lesser cousins. Their frantic flailing about as they smashed and stomped the squishy gelatinous creatures had made me accidentally roar in appreciation. Sadly, that caused them to suddenly become very serious and coordinated, and they slaughtered the rest of the swarm without incident.

    While I enjoyed the relatively idle time I found myself in, I currently had another goal for myself. I wanted to be stronger than a troll, as there were still a few left in this forest, and they were stronger than anything else I''d seen, with too big of a gap between them and the next strongest, the dire bear. My one kill of a troll had been foolishly lucky, and I would not try to hunt one again until I was stronger. Soon I would need to travel further in my hunts to find prey that would make me stronger.

 06.

    Vee and the others cursed, stomping and flailing and swatting. They had stumbled upon a swarm of Lesser Slimes, which was not really that far outside of expectations, given what everyone called this forest. It certainly wasn¡¯t their first time encountering slimes here either. However, it was their first time encountering a swarm like this.

    The Lesser Slimes were all tiny little blobs of mildly corrosive gel that jiggled and bounced and moved about, mindlessly eating. A bored house cat could easily kill one. But right now Vee and her party were surrounded by hundreds of the things. Grix was happily stomping away, his feet messily ending several slimes with each step. Trella was kicking and flinging them away, disgust evident on her slightly vulpine face. Sil and Sul grumbled sullenly and lashed out, stomping and kicking, and smashing them with the butts of their pole arms.

    Objectively, they probably would have recounted this scene later at the tavern and laughed uproariously, had they not been so forcefully reminded of the presence that watched them in the forest. A booming roar split the air not far from them, cutting in and out. It sounded like nothing so much as sinister, primeval laughter. The expression of malicious mirth caused their blood to run cold.

    Smoothly, they moved into a proper defensive formation like they¡¯d always practiced, with Vee and Trella at the center, and the fighters surrounding them. With the former mood of annoyance mixed with amusement having been shattered, they slaughtered the remaining slimes with cold efficiency, gathered the cores, and made haste to return to fort.

    That evening, more rumors spread amongst the adventurers about that great booming laughter, which they all attributed to the Devil of Slime Forest. Several groups had seen it now, and although many of the broader descriptions of it coincided, many of those first hand witnesses argued vehemently with each other over drinks about finer details.

    Vee and her group sat around a table in the in, somberly listening to the arguments.

    ¡°It had wings, I tell you! Wings with feathers as black as the midnight of a new moon!¡±

    ¡°Pfft, wings? At least three witnesses have seen it carrying a club made from the bone of a giant. It couldn¡¯t carry a club if it has wings!¡±

    ¡°Me and my partner seent it! It had it the horns of a ram! And skin what looked like flint!¡±

    And so the arguments carried on, until one somber man spoke up. His voice resonated through the tavern, drawing attention. ¡°I saw it clearly. The details matter not, but there is one thing I will never forget. Its eyes looked like those of a man¡¯s, and it stared me down as it brazenly snatched up the stag I''d hunted. And those eyes stared at me with contempt, as if I were nothing before it, not a threat at all. And I knew it was right.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    <hr>

    I was a bit disappointed after I hunted down the last dire bear in my forest. There were still a handful of trolls here, but they were not yet something I could beat without an overwhelming situational advantage. Aside from that, the next strongest predators were some of the older chimeras. Chimeras don¡¯t prey upon each other, or even fight except occasionally over food.

    It was time I started to range further from the place of my birth. To the southwest was where the humans came from. When they retreated from the forest, they hid inside a big nest with walls made of wooden logs. Beyond that nest was a range of wide open plains with the occasional rolling hills. In the other directions, the forest gave way to mountains. Since the humans were weaker than me, I¡¯d need to climb into the mountains to seek out strength, or maybe even see what was beyond the mountains.

    Lately, the weird part of my mind has quieted down a lot. It still insists that I don¡¯t hunt the humans, and seems to get irritated when I take from them. But they are weak. It is my right to take what they cannot hold. They are lucky that I allow them to flee and do not claim them as well.

    My form continues to shift, reflecting what I eat, gaining and losing aspects, but my body refuses to give up its bipedal shape. I don¡¯t mind at this point.

    My face still stained with the blood of the last dire bear in the forest, I finally set forth into the foothills of the mountains.

    After the first day of my trek, I was annoyed. Trolls were more and more common as I progressed toward the mountains. This was not what I needed. Still, I pushed onward.

    I did find some interesting new things to eat, at least. One was this tall white horse that moved with great speed and grace. It had a single horn sticking out of its head. I had hoped it would make me faster, so after I split its skull with my club I devoured it, flesh, bones, horn and all. However, the only change I noticed was that my own magic aura seemed to become a bit denser. A pity.

    A few days later, I found the goblins. I observed them for a time. I didn¡¯t know what they were at the time, and although they vaguely resembled the humans, their behavior quickly dissuaded me from the notion of them being related. They seemed to live in constant fear of the trolls and each other. They were vicious little bastards, and as far as I could tell, there were a lot of them in their deep cave warrens.

    Their behavior reminded me of the vermin of my forest. How they would scavenge and prey opportunistically on each other. Out of curiosity, if nothing else, I ambushed a pair that had gone out to check their hunting snares. They tasted foul, and they were weak. I tossed aside the half eaten remains, and for the first time ever wished I could vomit. They were definitely not worth the effort of hunting, much less finishing.

    Well, at least I thought so until I saw a large winged reptile snatch a handful of them up from a roving patrol during my wanderings. Maybe I wouldn¡¯t hunt them for myself, maybe I could use them to attract worthier prey¡­

 07.

    I watched the beast fly off, filled with awe and desire. That creature¡¯s magic aura called to me. It reeked of strength and resilience. I wanted it. I would have it. I would not rest until I devoured it and made that power my own.

    While I could not see why it would choose to consume such weak prey, it mattered not. My mind spun with new ideas. I was not unskilled in hunting through ambush, but if the nascent plan that was forming were to work, it would be a far cry from how I usually did things.

    I holed up in a small burrow whose owner I had promptly eaten. I spent a full day cooped up in there, ironing out the fine details of my plan. It was the most complex plan I had ever come up with, and I felt a bit proud of it.

    I would cripple some goblins, and leave them in the open in an area I knew my target would hunt. When it swooped down to take them, I would hit it in the head until it died, then I would feast.

    Truly, a masterful plan.

    The first step of the plan became a little annoying. I killed maybe twenty goblins before I figured out how to incapacitate them without them dying immediately, or shortly thereafter from blood loss. What weak vermin. The method I eventually settled on was to carefully snatch them in one hand, and use the other to squeeze their tiny frail legs until I heard the crinkling sound of their weak bones breaking. I collected six of them, then carried them to a spot near where I had seen my target descend previously. I found a nice clearing, and scattered them about near a tree that I could leap from to strike my target. Gingerly, I used one of my finger claws to poke through their legs, exposing their blood to the air. I rankled my nose at the scent, which had become indelibly associated with weakness and filth.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    I climbed up to my perch and waited, focusing on reducing my presence. This was something I instinctively did when seriously hunting, although until I had eaten the human I did not really comprehend what actions I was taking. I was essentially taking the magic aura that normally overflowed from my body, reining it in, and holding it within my body. I especially focused on suppressing the aura that emitted from my eyes, as that was more potent and focused than the rest.

    I waited there in my perch for half the day, ignoring the mewling whines of the insignificant creatures I used as bait.

    Finally, the target arrived.

    The first indication of its arrival was a shadow passing over the clearing. The pathetic cries of the bait became frantic, and they tried to squirm and crawl away.

    Finally, with a great whoosh of stirred wind, the target landed on the other side of the clearing. I watched it and took in every detail. It had two powerful hind legs, which it balanced on, and two wings. Discounting the wings and tail, its body was roughly the size of a troll¡¯s, though its head was larger and more saurian in appearance. Its scales were obviously thick, with those on its underside being a light grey-blue, and those on top being a vibrant green with red and black markings. The tip of its tail was covered in wicked looking spines that gave off the scent of a potent venom.

    Once it landed, it kept its wings up high and out of the way, while its body and tail were held parallel to the ground. It sniffed the air, before cautiously approaching the goblins. Gradually, I tensed my muscles ready to spring out at any moment. Tentatively, it snatched up the closest goblin in its maw, and swallowed it in two bites.

    The remaining goblins squealed and screamed in panic. Satisfied, it moved closer to eat the next morsel.

    I sprang forth from the tree, swinging my club down at its skull with all my might.

 08.

    I plummeted from the tree and brought my club down in an overhead strike, adding all my momentum to it. The ball joint at the end of my femur club struck solidly against the the beast¡¯s skull, with a resounding thud.

    This was concerning, as I had been expecting the typical wet crunch of a shattered skull.

    The beast reeled back, stunned by my sudden assault. I pressed forward and swung the club up, striking it squarely on the underside of its jaw, causing its partly open mouth to snap shut with an audible clack. That seemed to snap my opponent out of its temporary stupor, as it hopped back, flaring its wings to increase the distance and buffet me with the wind pressure. In that moment, it stood upright, and stared at me, studying me with a wary intelligence.

    I could see that although not fatal, my strikes were not without effect. Slight trickles of blood dripped from one nostril and from its slightly open mouth. Its head swayed slightly, still unsteady from the effects of my assault. I felt emboldened by these signs of damage and charged forward, only to find myself stumbling in a great gust of wind as it flapped its powerful wings and took to the air.

    I roared in irritation as my prey fled. I would not be denied. My prey might be stronger than I had anticipated, stronger than me in all likelihood, but I had taken the initiative, and I would not give it up easily.

    I chased after the rapidly retreating form, watching its ascent as it spiraled higher. Since it did not seem to be leaving the area entirely, I slowed my gait and concealed myself once more, watching to see where it would go to recuperate. If it had a nest nearby, I would follow it there and strike it where it felt safe.

    After several minutes, the wheeling figure descended from the sky, landing on a large outcropping that was about two thirds of the way up a massive cliff face. Dropping to all fours, I ran in that direction, keeping my presence as subdued as possible.

    Upon reaching the stone wall, I inspected it critically. It was almost entirely vertical, and riddled with cracks and rough outcroppings. I¡¯d never climbed a rock face before, but my hands, feet and claws were all suitable for climbing. I¡¯d eaten many creatures that would be more than capable of the ascent, so I was certain I would be able to do so without much trouble. However, I would not be able to easily carry my club with me as I climbed. I would have to finish this with tooth and claw. I laid my trusty club aside, and began climbing.

    The climb itself was both easier and harder than I¡¯d imagined. I could not sink my claws into the stone, which made it different to climbing trees, but the handholds and footholds were more plentiful, and I could leverage even the smallest cracks. My progress was slow at first, but I sped up as I gained confidence and experience.

    My meal was waiting for me, and I did not want to disappoint.

    The winds were not favorable for me to be able to smell out my quarry and sniff out its state, as I was constantly buffeted by updrafts. My kind do not give off much scent unless we are wounded, as we do not sweat or emit pheromones or excrete waste, so I was not particularly worried about being detected that way.

    As I scurried upward, I surveyed my destination and tried to decide where I should approach from. Coming up straight over the edge would be dangerous, as it could possibly knock me off the ledge with the wind pressure from its wings. I could veer around and drop on it from above, but I would risk being spotted before I got into a good position, and I would be at an even greater disadvantage.

    I decided to aim for the sides of the outcropping, and try to continue my stealth-based approach. I climbed until I was in position, just below the lip of where the ledge rejoined the cliff face. I could smell my target now, I was close enough that the updrafts didn¡¯t matter. I braced myself to be ready to quickly spring up and over the ledge if necessary, and peeked up above it. My target was nowhere in sight. I clambered up and onto the steady ground and surveyed the area. It was roughly wedge shaped, and with plenty of room to move around on without nearing the edge, even for a creature the size of my target. The prevailing winds seemed to push toward the cliff face, so there was little worry about a stray gust resulting in a long fall.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    In the cliff face itself there was a massive crack that extended up to several times my height, and was just wide enough at the base for the winged lizard beast to stride through with wings mostly extended. As I crept closer to the cave, I could smell the target clearly, and the rich scent of its dried blood, along with the stench of decay, amongst other lesser smells.

    Making myself as small as possible, I crept forward silently on all fours. As I entered the lair, my eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Bone fragments were scattered across the floor of the cave haphazardly. Many of them smelled of those detestable goblin filth, but others smelled familiar, while others were intriguingly new to me. Continuing further, I was able to pick up the sounds of my target¡¯s breathing, deep and even, and I could make out its bulky form. However, I could also hear rustling and what sounded a lot like other creatures breathing.

    Did this beast have younglings? The thought pleased me. Maybe it was better that I had failed to finish it off in the clearing. They sounded to be further into the cavern than their guardian, which was for the best. Once I had finished with it, I could consume them at my leisure.

    I studied my target as it rested. It was curled up in such a way that it would be difficult for me to attack its underside, which led me to believe that the lighter colored scales on its belly would be weaker than the ones on its back. This fit what I knew of reptilian creatures in general. However, that did not mean it would be easy for me to pierce them. The membranes of its wings were thick and leathery, but they should be easier to damage than its scales. Doing so should prevent it from knocking me off balance with wind pressure, as well as prevent it from escaping. I continued to study its sleeping form as I worked out a plan of attack.

    Once I was ready, I pounced.

    I landed on its scaly back and immediately set to ripping and tearing at its wing membranes. It woke with a start and began to thrash around wildly, but my legs maintained a strong grip on it as it whipped its body about trying to dislodge me. It flared its wings out as much as it could in this cramped space and roared as it violently tried to buck me off, but I held fast. Stretching its wings out actually made it easier for me to slice the almost taut membranes with my claws, and they now had several large rents in them. It tried to snap at me with its jaws, but its neck was not flexible enough to reach where I was lodged on its back. It tried to flap its wings in an attempt to dislodge me, but as the membranes billowed with the air they caught, the pressure against the holes I¡¯d made caused them to tear open even wider.

    With the wings badly damaged, I crawled further up its back and wrapped my arms around its neck, with the intent of tearing at its throat. My claws skittered off the hard scales as I felt around for a gap.

    In desperation, the beast began to throw itself against the cavern wall, hoping to squish me. In truth, it did a fairly good job of it, as my spine and ribs took the brunt of the damage. However, the accelerated healing rate I had gotten from eating the troll kicked in and the pain of the bruised and cracked bones faded almost as fast as they could be inflicted. I maintained a death grip on the monster, and took the beating while I struggled to damage it.

    Finally, after a seeming eternity of being smashed over and over into the cavern wall, my right hand found purchase along the edge of one of the scales, and I pried it away. The beast thrashed and bucked even harder, and now I could smell its fear. Excited, I plunged my claws into the gap to tear and dig deeper into its neck. A small trickle of blood quickly became a spurting stream as my hand wormed its way through the creature¡¯s neck, causing worse and worse damage.

    Slowly, its wild flailing weakened, and then it no longer had the strength to throw itself against the wall. I reveled in the rich scent of its lifeblood as it spilled out onto the cavern floor. With a final shudder, it slumped to the floor and lay still. As my blood cooled and my focus on the battle gradually faded, I could hear squawks and chirps of distress coming from deeper in the cave. I left the corpse of the great beast behind me, and headed toward the source of the sound.

    Two hatchlings, barely the size of a wolf, were in a nest at the end of the cave. Their sounds of distress quickly changed to fear as I loomed over them. I grabbed one by the neck with both hands and snapped its soft, young spine, then repeated with the other. I dragged the two morsels with me over to the main course, and set to eating.

 09.

    It took me many hours of continuous eating to devour the beast and its progeny, which I now knew were from a type of of draconic beast called wyverns. I carefully descaled the corpses, which was a laborious task in itself, before eating the flesh. The bones were hard, but just within my ability to crack. It made some sense that they weren¡¯t as strong as a troll¡¯s when I thought about it, as they would have difficulty flying with bones that dense.

    I¡¯m not exactly a picky eater, but wyvern meat was probably the most delicious thing I¡¯d ever tasted, especially the hatchlings. Once I¡¯d eaten the flesh and bones, I ate the scales. They were crunchy and interesting, and made that weird part of my mind wish for some type of fizzy drink.

    Speaking of that odd corner of my mind, it had objected strenuously to killing the wyvern hatchlings. I ignored it because they were good prey, and were right there. If I¡¯d left them alive, they¡¯d just die anyways without their parent to provide for them and I¡¯d have lost my chance to eat them, which is just unthinkable. After completing my rather bountiful meal, I felt rather drowsy, so I curled up in the now empty nest and dozed off.

    When I woke up, the rays from the rising sun were flooding into the cavern. I stretched out and stood up, assessing myself to see what had changed.

    I had a tail again! Yes!  Oh, how I missed having a tail, especially one I could use to hit things! It looked just like a smaller version of the wyvern¡¯s, complete with venomous quills. I flicked my new tail experimentally, and was quite pleased at how flexible it was. My patches of scales had expanded, and now had a very dark green and brown patterning. Tapping on the new scales, they felt much more like the wyvern¡¯s did than anything else I¡¯d eaten before. Aside from my tail, my body shape seemed almost the same, except now with a slightly different balance.

    However, the most immediately noticeable difference to me is that my mind felt a bit clearer and quicker than before. More strange memories and ideas filtered out of that weird corner of my mind, but I dismissed them except for some that seemed relevant to my hunt yesterday. The pertinent memories seemed to do with some thing called a ¡®roleplaying game,¡¯ and from those memories there was information on beasts like wyverns and other things I might want to prey on. I also learned from that that the horned horse I ate earlier was called a unicorn. Unfortunately, aside from vague information on what they looked like and what environments they lived in, the rest was just a jumble of lines that the memories called ¡¯stats.¡¯

    Regardless, I felt so good.

    I strolled out of the cave and stood near the ledge, gazing out over the woods of the mountain valley. I closed my eyes and savored the warmth of the sun and the wind on my face. This was a new feeling for me. Contentment.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    After I¡¯d had my fill of standing on the ledge, I looked down to the valley below and lamented that I had not grown wings as part of my transformation. The mental image of swooping down out of the sky like the wyvern had done just seemed so pleasing to me.

    As I thought of this, I felt something inside me respond to that image and shift. The bones in my forearms writhed and twisted, then began to separate, staying joined only at the wrist. My forearm widened and flattened as the bone jutted out, and my hide reformed to encase the new arm segment separately, making my arms look somewhat like those of a praying mantis. The bones lengthened and a membrane began growing between the forearm segments, and extending along the arm until it connected to my torso, filling in to become wings each twice as long fully extended as I was tall. My shoulder joints rotated to a more natural position for wings and my torso narrowed and deepened. All the while, my feet changed, to resemble the four toes of a wyvern, with one jutting from the heel and the other three splayed forward.

    I now looked more like a wyvern than I looked like my old form.

    All of these drastic changes took course in the span of roughly one minute.

    I was exhilarated by this sudden change. I¡¯d never changed like this when I was awake! Fuck yes! I can shape shift! And I can fly! Fuckinghell, this is awesome! Even that strange corner of my mind seemed excited about this.

    Without thinking it through any further, I took a few steps forward and leapt from the ledge.

    Oh, shit, I don¡¯t know how to fly. Shit! Fuck! Fucking shit! Oh crap!

    I was now plummeting toward the ground head first at a speed that would ensure I would not be able to survive. I strained my wings and snapped them out to my side, but there was no change. What?! Why?!

    I looked over at my wings and saw that I was currently holding them parallel to my body. Maybe if I adjusted their angle a bit?

    And with that, I felt the muscle in my chest and back tighten at the sudden resistance from my wings as they caught air, and my headlong descent began to turn into a steep glide. I was still approaching the ground very quickly, so I angled them even further and my descent leveled off a bit more, but now I was just flying straight ahead at high speed with little control. I tried tilting one wing slightly, and I began a long wide banking turn.

    Okay, okay, I was starting to get the hang of it.

    Over the next hour or so, I continued to fly, experimenting and refining my technique. I wasn¡¯t anywhere near as proficient as an actual wyvern, but I was learning quickly. I think it¡¯s safe to say that I upgraded my flight rating from Disastrous to Poor. Eventually, I made my way back over to where I had stashed my club, and executed a perfect crash landing complete with three forward tumbles and a transition into a sideways roll. I shook myself off. I focused on changing back to the form I¡¯d woken up with this morning, and I felt my body comply, gradually reshaping itself, and reabsorbing the excess materials. The reversion went a bit quicker than the initial transformation.

    I picked up the club and hefted it to my shoulder, then set off to continue my hunt. While I could fly, I¡¯d rather hunt from the ground until I had better control.

 10.

    Several days had passed since I consumed the wyverns. During that time I ate another unicorn, a dire goat, two dire badgers and a host of miscellaneous lesser critters with interesting or unique attributes. While my form has not changed in any significant way, my magic aura has become significantly more dense. This has made it even easier for me to withdraw it into myself, and has caused my transformation to speed up significantly. It now only takes me about ten seconds to completely transform.

    I would like to learn how to shape my aura like that furred human that I observed for a while, however, my control of my aura is still rather clumsy. My attempts to push my thoughts into it have only resulted in all the lesser creatures in my area fleeing and leaving the place reeking of fear.

    My flying ability had improved significantly. I could now land without crashing, and had fairly decent maneuverability. I still required a bit of a running start to take off, but that too would improve with practice. However, it was still not at the level I was comfortable hunting in that form.

    I continued to travel on the ground, as there were far bigger things than me flying in the skies, which I had spotted numerous times in the distance. Many of them seemed to live even further up the mountain. Until I was certain that I was strong enough to hunt them, I figured I¡¯d rather avoid drawing their attention. Also, I didn''t have a good way to carry my club while flying, and there was no way I¡¯d leave it behind.

    After that period of light hunting, I felt much more comfortable with using my newly acquired strength. Truly, feasting upon those wyverns was of great benefit to me. I now was confident that I could stand toe to toe with a troll in combat, although I doubt I¡¯d be able to bring one down in a timely manner without ambushing it. After all, their regeneration makes them difficult to kill without inflicting overwhelming damage.

    I resolved myself to try to ambush a troll the next time I detected one.

    As my path meandered further up the mountains, the malodorous vermin known as goblins became more prevalent. They even appeared slightly stronger than the ones in the valleys closer to the base of the mountain, although that''s not exactly a difficult standard to surpass. Some of their patrols even rode wolves that they¡¯d somehow tamed. I found this distasteful. Surely the wolves could simply rip the goblins from their backs and devour them, so why didn¡¯t they? The thought of their subservience put a foul taste in my mouth.

    I did not bother trying to avoid these patrols. Any that managed to stumble across me I annihilated. This led to me acquiring a new habit. As I could not bear the fetid stink of the goblin blood that splashed upon me, and I could not bear to lick it off myself as I normally would, I took to bathing myself in mountain streams, using the cold, clear water to wash their stench from me.

    The only thing that stopped me from going into their warrens and erasing such a blight from existence was the thought of their stench, and how it would cling to me and how much worse it would be in the confines of a cave system. I truly detested their existence.

    Finally, I found a suitable diversion to take my mind off of those filth, and fill me with anticipation. I found a troll lair.

    I suppressed my presence, and began to scout it out.

    The lair was a large and crudely built hut, made from a number of boulders, large stones and logs. The area around it was littered with decomposing piles of troll spoor. I could smell two adult trolls. One of the adults smelled like it was going to whelp soon, and that one seemed to stay within the lair.

    Presently, the other adult was gone. I could not sense them nearby.

    This was a perfect opportunity that I could not pass up. The pregnant troll should be easy prey, then I could ambush the other when it returned to the lair. I was also happy to finally get a chance to properly test the wyvern tail venom against a strong target. I had not yet needed to resort to using venom to weaken a target since I acquired it.

    I set the club aside, as it wouldn¡¯t be capable of the kind of damage I needed to inflict upon the trolls, and shifted to all fours. Then, with great care, I crept toward the entrance of the troll lair. While there were many gaps in the shoddy structure, none were so large that I could squeeze through them stealthily.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The gravid troll sat opposite the entrance to the lair, hunched over a partially eaten corpse of a particularly large dire goat. The troll leisurely reached over and tore off another chunk of the corpse, and shoved it into her mouth, bones and all. I approved. It¡¯s wasteful to leave anything behind. The floor of the lair was hard packed dirt, and there was plenty of space to move around. With her attention on her meal, I slid along the wall and circled to her rear, then tensed up, preparing to pounce.

    With all the strength in my legs, I jumped at the troll¡¯s back. I landed on the top of her back, my momentum knocking her forward a bit. As I did the last time I fought a troll, I sank my fangs into her neck and began pumping in venom. As I did this, my legs began digging towards vital organs and my arms reached around to tear and slash at my prey¡¯s throat. All the while, I lashed my tail about. Wherever my tail struck, quills broke loose and pumped their toxin into the troll. I managed to lodge quills in her lower back and both arms, and just kept striking over and over.

    The fight was over surprisingly fast. The wyvern¡¯s tail venom was quite potent, as it paralyzed the areas I struck. Almost as soon as the quills struck, the nearby muscles would lock up, and the effect would continue to spread. Even the troll¡¯s regeneration capabilities could only slow down its spread, as the quill continued to pump its load of venom into my prey¡¯s body. With my prey nearly immobile, I focused on killing it, and tore out its throat with the claws on my hands. It took a few minutes for the troll to bleed out as I continued to tear at its neck, preventing its regeneration from closing the opened blood vessels.

    By the time it finally died, the dirt floor was soaked with troll blood. Having learned my lesson the last time, I immediately kicked off of the corpse as it collapsed backwards.

    I was elated. The wyvern tail venom was an absolute success! Truly, it was a formidable weapon to add to my already potent arsenal.

    Ah, well, that could be a problem, I thought, as I briefly looked at my tail. By continuing to strike at the troll with my tail, I had broken off all of the quills. I could see the tiny points of new quills slowly growing in, but it would take time. Time I might not have. The scent of troll blood was heavy in the air, and the other troll would undoubtedly return soon.

    I considered my options as I began to rip off chunks of my prey and feed.

    I absentmindedly ate while I monitored the surrounding woods. I barely even noticed that I could now crack through all but the thickest bones in the troll¡¯s body. I had consumed the limbs and most of the abdomen by the time I detected the other troll returning. I could faintly hear it crashing through the underbrush and bulling through smaller trees, its aura flaring wildly out of control. I glanced at my tail, but the quills were still taking a stubbornly long time to grow.

    I gazed longingly at the corpse before me. Well, nothing to be done about it. I hate to waste a meal as rich as this, but in my current state it would take far too long to kill or drive off the other troll. By then, all the magic aura would likely have faded from the still uneaten flesh and it would be wasted anyways. A shame.

    I fled the troll lair and headed for a nearby stream to quickly rinse the blood and gore from my body, and cleanse myself of the troll scent. Satisfied that I could no longer smell it on me, I crept back toward the troll lair just in time to see the arrival of the other troll. Its great loping strides carried it quickly across the ground, and it slowed as it approached the lair. Almost tentatively, it stepped inside.

    A loud pained roar erupted from within and reverberated through the air. The troll stepped out of its lair, sniffing at the air, then took off running in the direction I had fled to reach the stream. I watched curiously from a perch up in the high branches in a tree. Minutes later, the troll sulked back. It stood staring at its lair for several long minutes, before letting out a frenzied roar. It threw itself at the structure and began to smash at it, tearing it down. It threw logs and stones haphazardly and smashed at it with its fists until the entire thing collapsed.

    I watched with dispassionate curiosity, though that odd corner of my mind tried to push something called pity and guilt on me. I shoved those down and ignored it.

    With nothing further to rage at, the troll slumped down to its knees and leaned its head against one of the boulders from the ruined lair. Slightly influenced by the other part of my mind, I decided to put this beast out of its misery. I was still without the quills on my tail, but I should still be able to kill it in its current state.

    I carefully climbed down from my perch, and snuck up from behind the troll. I leapt on its back and began to tear at its throat with my claws while I clamped down on its spine with my jaws and began injecting venom.

    To my surprise, aside from a brief flinch, the troll didn¡¯t struggle or fight back. So I tore its throat out without further delay. The other part of my mind kept trying to push more stupid concepts at me, but I steadfastly ignored them as the beast bled out then collapsed in death.

    I am a predator. I was stronger, so I took their lives. That is only natural.

 11.

    All I left of the troll was the hardest of its bones. I regretted being unable to finish eating the other, but it was now buried in the rubble of the collapsed lair, and would be worthless to me by the time I could dig it out.

    As I continued to ascend higher into the mountains, I was made to realize that I was aiming too high too fast. Much like the trolls were far stronger than anything else in my forest, the beasts dwelling higher up the mountain slopes were far stronger than anything else I had encountered yet. Only, the gap in power between myself and them was more akin to the difference between a lesser slime and a troll. I watched them from afar, and I was filled with anxiety and fear at their displays of power.

    I first came to these realizations when I spied on a clash between a great, shaggy bear with reddish fur, at least twice the size of a dire bear, and a gorilla that was about half its size and covered with white fur. They roared and postured at each other, and stamped the ground. I could feel the tremors even from over a hundred yards away. The way their magic auras flared up made me shiver at the thought of drawing the attention of either one.

    As I watched, the air around the red bear began to shimmer, and the leaves and needles of the trees nearby began to curl and blacken. Meanwhile, around the ape, frost seemed to creep out across the ground and toward its opponent.

    They charged at each other and exchanged several blows before breaking off. Each time they made contact, a flash of steam was emitted. My eyes could barely track their movements as they struck at each other. After the third such exchange, the ape backed off, with red crystals of frozen blood matting its singed fur, and loped away from the encounter while the bear roared in triumph.

    Oh, how I would love to eat them both. However, even with every conceivable advantage, I was certain that I would die if I attempted it.

    I stayed for a few days, and picked out other powerful beasts to spy on from afar, but I dared not tread further into their territory. Watching them reinforced my natural desires. I would grow stronger, then I would come back here and devour them all.

    I retreated back down the mountain, and pondered how I could possibly attain such levels of power. The way their auras moved, it was like a crude version of what the furred human had done, but with vastly more power behind it.

    Perhaps I could learn to do the same. Maybe I could coerce one of the humans to teach me how they do it.

    One high note of my return trip was that I found another wyvern. I tracked it to its lair and ambushed it in the night while it slept. Its meat was every bit as delicious as the first one. My mind even became slightly sharper as a result, although my form didn¡¯t change.

    I continued to improve at flying, and I would practice hunting lesser prey by swooping down and snatching them up. I also practiced with my wyvern tail, striking carefully so no more than one or two quills would embed in the target. For most creatures, this was more than enough to completely paralyze them and in some cases kill them outright. The only exception was a unicorn I had come across.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I swooped down and lashed at it with my tail, embedding two quills in its flank as I passed by. To my surprise, it bolted away from me, seemingly unaffected by the fast acting toxin. I gave chase and tackled the creature to the ground, rapidly transforming back to my normal form as it struggled to get up. Curious about the seeming immunity to the wyvern venom, I broke its legs to immobilize it, then bit and pumped a sizable dose of the venom from my fangs before I stepped back to watch. Once more, I was surprised to find out it seemed completely unaffected. I deduced that it must have a high degree of innate resistance or possibly even immunity to toxins. Satisfied with this conclusion, I snapped its neck, ending its struggles, and consumed it. Such a trait could prove useful.

    Upon my return to the forest, I took some time to find a suitable lair for myself. I found a nice cave near the top of a ridge at the northern end of the forest. Running off the previous tenant, a large chimera that looked like a cross between a bear and a giant spider, was a bit nostalgic for me.

    Once I was comfortably settled in, I once more resumed my routine of watching the humans. It did not take me long to locate the group with the furred human. They were following a game trail deep into the forest, near a lesser chimera¡¯s territory. Now that I thought about it as I quickly assessed them, applying some of the memories that weren¡¯t really mine, their party seemed a bit unbalanced. They had three frontline fighters, a ranged damage dealer, and a mage whose specialization I couldn¡¯t determine. I wondered if there was any type of healing specialized humans that they could recruit. That would certainly help round them out.

    I saw the archer and the furred mage stiffen up as my gaze settled on them. Ah, they must be able to sense my presence. I reined my aura in a bit, but not all the way. It amused me to let them know I was watching. As they began to talk amongst each other, I listened closely to the sounds, trying to memorize the context in which each was used.

    I¡¯d had a lot of time to think about it as I returned from the mountains. If I wanted to learn from one of these creatures how to control my magic aura, then I would need to be able to communicate with them. So I¡¯d just have to observe them until I was confident I could communicate sufficiently for the task.

    The little group seemed unnerved by my presence, as they turned and headed back to the nest outside the forest. Once they had left the forest, I concealed my presence fully, and began to watch the other humans that were present in my forest, mostly paying attention to those that were with others. The other humans were not nearly as entertaining, except for one group I chanced upon. They had set up their own little nest, no, camp, within the forest. While they hunted the beasts, they also seemed to stalk the other humans and observe them. While they were away from their camp, I snuck in and investigated, sniffing around. There were maybe a dozen humans of various types that frequented this place. There were pelts and bones and preserved parts from various forest beasts. There was also significantly more equipment than they could use.

    More sets of fake carapace¡­ armor? Yes, that¡¯s the word. More sets of armor than people, and those extra sets seemed damaged and smelled of human blood, and not from the members of the camp. They must be collecting it from the other hunters who fall in this forest.

    My curiosity sated, I departed from the camp, and decided to try investigating the big nest outside the forest. Ah, fortress! That¡¯s what it¡¯s called, a fortress. I stalked various groups of humans and listened to their odd burbling language until dusk.

    Once the sun had set and most of the humans had vacated the forest, I prepared to infiltrate the fort. I was curious to see what it was like on the inside.

 12.

    As twilight faded into night, I crept out of the forest and towards the fort where the humans that hunted in my forest holed up each night. I kept my aura tightly suppressed. The place had grown since I last peeked at it from the southern edge of the forest. While the fortress walls remained unchanged, a second ring of rough wooden walls were being constructed, and there were many half finished buildings in the area which would be enclosed. The fortress was growing into a small town. Several large fires were built near the edges of construction for the outer walls, and the humans were continuing to work by the light of the fire.

    I watched the fires for a few minutes, mesmerized. I¡¯d never actually seen one before. The way the flames danced and twisted was oddly mesmerizing¡­

    I snapped out of my reverie and focused on the task at hand.

    I crept around, well away from the light of the fires, and headed towards the inner wall. As I reached the rough wooden walls, made of thick shaven trunks sunk into the ground and snugly fitted together, I leapt up nearly halfway to the top and dug my claws in. I climbed up and peeked over the edge. There were watchmen at each corner with braziers giving off a bit of flame, but they seemed barely awake. I slipped over the top of the wall and onto the rampart, then quietly dropped to the ground.

    I felt a small shiver of thrill. It was kind of exciting to sneak into a place that I wasn¡¯t supposed to be.

    The inside of the fortress was packed with buildings, with pathways of varying width leading between them. The space was rather crowded. I could hear a hubbub of activity coming from deeper within, so I wended my way through the buildings until I got closer, then climbed up a wall and onto a roof. I inched toward the edge and watched the humans and listened. Most of them were congregating in and around one building in particular. They held containers of various liquids which I could not identify, but my other memories suggested was alcohol, some kind of mild toxin that made humans act weird.

    I sat there and listened and watched the humans for hours. Their antics amused me. Eventually, the activity wound down and the lights went out. There were still a few humans here and there, but I¡¯d had my fill of watching them for the night. I shifted to my flying form and took off into the sky, and practiced my flying skills for a while before dawn, before catching a bit of sleep back in my new cave.

    I settled into this new routine of watching the humans and practicing my flying. When I wanted to eat, I¡¯d either track down one of the few remaining trolls in the forest, or I¡¯d fly into the mountains. During the days I¡¯d watch the furred human¡¯s group, and let them feel my gaze. I enjoyed watching them squirm and try to ignore my presence. Many days passed in this manner.

    While I was observing and learning, I felt like something was missing. Even though I was making progress towards what I deemed to be the next step I needed to get stronger, I also felt like I wasn¡¯t really progressing as quickly as I should be. I kept remembering those great beasts up on the mountain. Since there were no strong beasts here I could hunt, I wasn¡¯t growing stronger.

    It was aggravating, so I distracted myself, focusing on the humans.

    The humans from the fort had begun hunting my kin.I watched my group defeat a young chimera that looked like a feathered wildcat with six insectile legs, and take its body back to the fort. The odd part of my mind tried to insist it was sad to see it happen, but I couldn''t really understand why, nor did I try to.

    I¡¯d never actually paid much attention to dead chimera before, so I watched their return journey. The magic aura in its flesh decayed far slower than other beasts. The potency had only decreased by a small amount by the time they entered the town which now surrounded the fort, even though several hours had passed. I didn¡¯t feel like trying to sneak in during broad daylight, so I did not get to see what they did with the corpse.

    The humans from the camp that smelled of blood were preying upon other hunters. I watched from a distance, but largely ignored them. They were competent at hunting their own, striking when their target was worn down or unaware, but they buried their prey, wasting it. That odd corner of my mind found them distasteful as well, although probably not for the same reasons. I didn¡¯t give it enough thought to examine why.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    I was finally beginning to understand their speaking a little. It was odd, learning a language, and I had to lean heavily on the knowledge in the memories that weren¡¯t my own. I disliked doing this, as the ways of thinking in those memories was so¡­ different. Different and weak. The memories were incomplete, but I could tell that they belonged to a being weaker even than the hunters I watched.

    Wherever it came from was strange. The dangers were few. The humans were soft. Their daily actions meaningless.

    Dwelling on these memories irritated me, and added to my impatience.

    <hr>

    Grix dropped the chimera corpse on the worktable with all his usual grace and delicacy. The alchemical researcher who¡¯d posted the bounty flinched at the thud of flesh on wood.

    ¡°Yes, yes, thank you. Oh, this is quite marvelous!¡± The researcher muttered as he poked and prodded at the corpse, examining it. ¡°When I heard of these strange beasts, I just knew I had to come out here and see for myself. My expectations have already been greatly exceeded! It¡¯s presenting traits from no less than four different beast families! Bird, feline, some sort of insect for its overall body makeup, and these fangs look very much like a snake''s. Did you take it in the wild or at its lair?¡±

    ¡°We tracked it back to its lair,¡± Vee answered. She glanced at Grix who was shifting back and forth, clearly bored.

    ¡°Good, good. You should write down what you saw. I have a colleague who is on his way who is eager to study these chimera as well. He will certainly be grateful for any information you can provide. Until then, I will gladly pay you the same amount for any further chimera you bring to me. I will even provide a small bonus if you can bring me some with wider variety, as I¡¯ll be doing a comparative study on the level of alchemical potency compared to the relative expressed features of¡­¡±

    The researcher rambled on enthusiastically for several minutes before realizing it was lost on his present audience. He quickly paid them and saw them out of his rented workshop, before turning to the corpse, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

    Flush with cash, Vee, Trella and the others decided to spend some time shopping and upgrading their equipment. Vee spent most of her money on a new bow with a stronger draw, then spent the rest on getting her leather armor patched up. Trella purchased a spell compilation book detailing a handful of minor evocations, intending to learn some new spells for directly dealing damage. Although the others would disagree and insist her illusion and sensory spells were quite useful, she still felt like she wasn¡¯t pulling her weight in combat. The brothers pooled their money and dipped into their savings to buy a high end storage bag which would allow them to carry considerably more than it should be able to hold. Meanwhile Grix bought a pair of steel gauntlets, then paid off his gambling debts, and went and racked up some more.

    Despite the return of the presence that stalked them after it had been absent for several weeks, they¡¯d been doing well and steadily growing in strength. Grix boasted that they could even take on a troll now. Supposing they could find one. The trolls had all but disappeared from Slime Forest.

    The Hunter¡¯s Guild was investigating, and adventurers were whispering that it was the work of the Devil of Slime Forest. Although sightings of it had all but come to a stop, that only further fueled the speculation around the mysterious beast. There had also been sightings of some kind of large beast flying about in the early morning hours before sunrise, though the guild had yet to issue any kind of bounty on it.

    Although Vee and Trella strongly suspected that the Devil of Slime Forest was the same presence that watched them every time they were in the forest, they were hesitant to bring the information to the guild as they had no actual proof.

    There were also rumors of bandits and more hunting parties failing to return.

    As was their evening routine, all five met back at the only alehouse inside the fort to plan out their next day. A new tavern had opened out in the town that was spreading around the fort walls, and most of the nonmilitary and non-hunting customer base had migrated to it, but since the rowdiest groups had remained behind it was just as lively and noisy as usual.

    ¡°So, should we hunt another one tomorrow?¡± Vee asked.

    Trella nodded without taking her head out of the new spellbook, and Sil and Sul gave noncommittal shrugs.

    ¡°Yes, but let us find a bigger one. The puny one today was no challenge,¡± Grix grumbled.

    ¡°We can try. I¡¯ve heard that sightings are more numerous in the northwestern part of the forest. I¡¯ll see if I can track a bigger one, but if I can¡¯t we¡¯ll settle for any we can find. The pay is too good to pass up on a small one just because you¡¯re pouting over it not being a challenge to fight,¡± Vee said.

    ¡°Maybe two?¡± Sil asked.

    ¡°New storage bag, can carry more,¡± Sul added.

    ¡°If time permits. We don¡¯t want to spend the night out there if we can avoid it.¡±

 13.

    The evening after my group returned to the fort with the young chimera¡¯s corpse, I snuck in again, as was my usual routine. I watched the humans inside the fort, listening to them speak. I could manage to follow along on the simpler conversations now, but not many of the conversations I eavesdropped on were so simple that I could understand everything they were talking about. Not that I was interested in what they were saying, as I was listening in solely for my own purposes.

    I heard much talk about increased bandit activity and missing hunters, and inferred that they were referring to the camp in the forest that hunted the other humans.

    They also talked about something they called a devil, which seemed to be a strong beast living in the forest that scared people even more than the trolls. These discussions piqued my interest, as I had not yet come across this creature.

    I wondered just how it is that I could exist in the same forest as this devil creature and not have come across it.

    But, wait¡­ That one time, wasn¡¯t there something odd? The first troll I killed. Something snapped one of its femurs to suck out the marrow, a feat which I can now achieve, but only with great difficulty.

    I got excited just thinking about it.

    This devil monster must be quite the master of stealth to have gone unnoticed by me. I wonder what I could gain by eating it.

    Once the night¡¯s activities had wound down, I snuck out once more and resumed my normal routine, flying about and doing some late night hunting.

    The next morning, I set out in time to see my group leave the fortress town. They seemed to have more energy today than usual, and barely reacted to my presence. Maybe they were getting used to me watching them? Perhaps I could mess with them a bit so I could enjoy seeing their reactions.

    I thought about how to mess with them as I followed their path through the forest, not paying much attention to what else was going on.

    While I was distracted with coming up with and subsequently discarding potential pranks, the bandits made their move to encircle my group. There were a dozen of them, and they completely surrounded my little group.

    Vee had noticed the bandits and notified the rest, as they took up a defensive formation. They seemed tense and anxious, as the bandits closed in with weapons drawn.

    The bandits were trying to hunt them?

    They were exchanging words, but I could not focus on them.

    They were trying to take my group?

    Did they not know the consequence of trying to take from one that stands above you?

    Did they not know that these ones were mine?

    They¡¯re mine!

    MINE!

    ¡°MIIIIIINE!¡±

    <hr>

    As usual, Vee was on edge because of that damned, persistent presence. While she could tell roughly the direction it was coming from, she simply could not pinpoint its location, even after all this time. It felt like it was mocking her.

    Still, she was professional enough to push that to the side when traveling in a potentially dangerous area, and keep her senses sharp to detect dangers. Her pride as a woodsman and a hunter demanded it.

    Yet, this time, it didn¡¯t help. These guys were pretty good. By the time she detected them, they were already closing in from multiple directions.

    ¡°Guys, trouble,¡± she whispered to her comrades. ¡°We¡¯re surrounded. I think it''s the bandits everyone has been talking about lately. At least ten.¡±

    They continued to walk forward, but Grix moved up to take the lead while Sil and Sul trailed behind Vee and Trella and off to each side. They readied themselves to draw weapons at any moment.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Hohohoho, you guys are quite good!¡± A tall, rail thin, rat of a man stepped out from behind a tree, with an axe casually leaning against his shoulder and a cruel sneer on his face. ¡°But it¡¯s no use. You¡¯re outnumbered and surrounded. Drop your weapons and strip off your armor, and we might just let you go free. Although, I¡¯m sure the ladies wouldn¡¯t mind keeping us company first, right?¡±

    As he spoke, more bandits stepped into line of sight, most of them carrying crossbows that they held trained on the fighters.

    Before Vee could respond to the bandit, she became aware of a rapidly rising growl that sent a familiar chill down her spine. The presence that she¡¯d distantly felt up until now, it seemed to be wildly fluctuating. She glanced at Trella, who only nodded in response. The presence rapidly became palpable and oppressive, rising in time with the volume of that malicious, rumbling growl.

    The bandits began to look around in trepidation. Even they could sense it now.

    The growling stopped for a moment, and then came a thick, gravelly voice that resonated with a fury that clawed at the primal centers of the brain.

    ¡°MIIIIIINE!¡±

    In a flash, of blurred movement, two of the crossbowmen disappeared in a spray of gore. In their place stood a terrifying beast. It stood on two legs, with a long reptilian tail behind it that was tipped with vicious looking quills. Its hide smoothly transitioned from black fur along its limbs and joints to dark green and red scales over the rest of its body. Blood dripped from the wickedly sharp claws on both its hands which hung from its long arms. Its face was broad, with a slight muzzle, and was an odd mix of reptilian and mammalian features that made a cohesive whole, while having an element of something completely alien and aberrant to it. The eyes themselves seemed human, but with an animalistic cast to them. Its posture was similar to the way Sil and Sul carried themselves, but more hunched over, and with a decidedly feral edge to it. Yet, even hunched over, it was nearly as tall as Grix, who was himself a good eight and a half feet tall.

    Nobody seemed able to move a muscle as it stood there, glaring at those who would dare offend it. While it felt like they stood there for several minutes, staring in shock, it was only a bit more than a second before the beast made its next move.

    It leapt at the next nearest bandits, a cluster of three, and seemed to just wind right through and past them, its tail lazily flicking at each one as it passed. The three bandits stayed frozen in place, and began to shake violently while remaining locked in the same pose.

    Vee spotted the quills sticking out of their legs and necks, and her eyes widened in shock. They looked remarkably like quills from a wyvern''s tail.

    At this point, everyone finally began to move. Grix, Sil and Sul pulled in tight around Vee and Trella, and they all drew their weapons, preparing to defend themselves. The bandits with crossbows fired wildly. Some at the beast, some at their original targets. Most went wide, except for a single bolt that embedded itself in one of Grix¡¯s massive shoulders.

    The beast pounced on another bandit, barely stopping to tear her abdomen open with a single hand before throwing himself at the next in line, who happened to be the pompous leader. He seemed to still be processing the events of the last few seconds, as he only turned to run moments before the beast was upon him. It grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his face into the trunk of a tree with such force that his skull was crushed like a rotten melon.

    With over half their numbers dead, the remaining bandits dropped their weapons and turned to flee. This seemed to enrage the beast even further, as it let out another angry roar, and bounded after them.

    Seeing their chance to escape, Vee silently gestured and urged the group to flee in the opposite direction. They could hear the screams and growls continue for a minute as they ran, and they dared not stop or slow until they had returned to the fort. When Trella couldn¡¯t keep up the pace any longer, Grix picked her up and carried her.

    No words were shared the entire way.

    <hr>

    Once I finally calmed myself down, the last bandit was dead. I was caked in blood and viscera. I could sense my group running back towards the fortress town. They all seemed to be relatively unhurt, although I could smell a bit of the dire human¡¯s blood.

    Well, I seemed to have made a bit of a mess. The whole area reeked of blood and fear. It would only be right for me to clean it up. I wouldn¡¯t want to just leave corpses laying around the forest. I gathered up the bodies of the ones I¡¯d run down, and began to trudge back to the spot where the rest had died. I dumped the two bodies on the ground, then stopped.

    Two bodies? But five fled. Did some of them get away? No, I¡¯m positive I killed them all. I remember stopping seven times to pick up all the pieces of the five humans.

    It was at this point, I realized that my jaw was distended, and I had one of the two corpses I¡¯d dropped on the ground sticking halfway out of my maw. I threw my head back and swallowed the remainder of the corpse. Well, regardless of how horrified it made that odd corner of my mind¡­ I had killed them. It would be wrong of me not to consume them. Its not like they were as bad as those foul, filthy goblins. Besides, its not actually cannibalism, no matter how much those memories insist that it is.

    I quickly finished eating the humans, then retired to my cave, feeling rather drowsy.

 14.

    Grix grunted in annoyance as the healer applied a healing unguent to the hole in his shoulder. The wound was not particularly bad, and not worth using a healing spell on. He listened in as the third official of the evening grilled Vee over the details of what had happened in the forest. He wasn¡¯t sure, but he thought this one might be from the Mercenary Guild, the guild typically responsible for security, bounty hunting, and bandit eradication.

    Vee gave detailed descriptions of the bandits whose faces she saw, and answered the numerous questions the Mercenary Guild official threw at her.

    A group of mercenary scouts had been sent out a bit over an hour ago, looking for the site of the ambush, to see if they could track back from it to the bandit¡¯s camp. This had been the first solid lead that had been received in regards to the bandits¡¯ location, since the rumors of their presence started spreading.

    The interview was interrupted by a messenger kite flitting into the office. Grix gawked at it, he¡¯d never seen one up close before. Messenger kites were rather expensive little magical constructs that could act as messengers to carry documents between two designated people. They consisted of a small wooden tube, into which the document would be inserted, and wings made of a waxy, paper-like substance. Overall, that made it look like an overly simplistic rendition of a butterfly.

    The guild official uncapped the tube, and withdrew a scroll. He quickly unrolled it and read the contents.

    ¡°Damn, I was hoping you all would be full of shit. They found the ambush site, and some of them are tracking back to the camp, while the others are still searching for the bodies. The Hunters'' Guild are going to want to recover and examine them if it really was a beast.¡±

    ¡°It was,¡± Vee interrupted. ¡°It had quills on its tail just like a wyvern¡¯s. It took down three of them, just by hitting them with those quills.¡±

    Grix decided to speak up at this point. ¡°We seen wyvern quills before. A band of goblins were using them as blowgun darts in the Eastern Territories. They¡¯d managed to capture a baby wyvern, and harvested its quills as they grew back. Sil and Sul took the brunt of it when we were clearing out their warren because the gobbos couldn¡¯t penetrate their scales with them, but I got hit by one, couldn¡¯t feel my left arm for weeks.¡±

    The man grimaced. ¡°Yes, wyvern quills are rather nasty. Luckily they¡¯re very difficult to harvest. I know the Hunter¡¯s Guild already covered this with you, and I¡¯m sure they questioned it, but are you certain it wasn¡¯t a demihuman?¡±

    Vee looked conflicted. Grix, however, felt no such reservations. ¡°That thing was a beast, for sure. Smart. Scary strong. And definitely a beast. The way it moved, the look in its eyes, how it chased down the ones that fled¡­ Nothing humanoid about it.¡±

    Trella chose to speak up as well. ¡°I could feel its aura. It was strong, far stronger than a typical beast. If a demihuman had that strong of an aura, then they could only be some sort of magic practitioner, or a warrior strong enough to have crossed the divide, and either way, their aura would be tightly controlled and orderly. Its aura was wild, and overflowed with its emotions. Its aura was strong enough for someone with low sensitivity to pick it up, even if they wouldn¡¯t know how to interpret it.¡±

    ¡°Well, I thank you all for the information you¡¯ve provided. Our folks will finish up the investigation of the bandit camp, but if it is as you say, then the rest will be in the Hunter¡¯s Guild hands.¡± The Mercenary Guild officer gave a polite bow and took his leave.

    Sil spoke up with a question. ¡°Why not tell them? It followed us for weeks. Why not say?¡±

    Sul answered his brother¡¯s question, ¡°If they know, then they use us. Try to lure it out. You want to be bait? Bad idea. That thing is too strong.¡±Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Your brother is right. That information won¡¯t help anyone and will only put us in a precarious position. After seeing it in action, I¡¯d rather not do anything that might piss it off,¡± Vee said.

    <hr>

    Ugh.

    I feel weird.

    I shouldn¡¯t have eaten those humans.

    Sure, my mind is feeling far more nimble and able than it ever has. But that odd corner of my mind has grown. Those fragmented memories are now far more complete and cohesive. I even remember his name. James Borland.

    Ugh. What a stupid concept names are. If there are so many members of your species in a given area that you need to refer to each of them by nonsensical sounds with no inherent meaning of their own, then maybe your species deserves a plague or calamity or two. Fucking humans.

    Without even intending to, I found myself wandering through one of James¡¯ memories.

    <hr>

    ¡°Alright James, I know this is last minute, but I really need the crunchy bits of this new proposal completed by start of business on Monday. Just whip up some graphs and shit using the raw data in there, and stick them in into the presentation template.¡± James¡¯ boss, Chad, tossed a USB drive onto his desk.

    ¡°But¡­ It¡¯s Friday and I should be going home in like fifteen minutes,¡± James complained, knowing he¡¯d already lost the battle. After all, this was always the extent to which he would stick up for himself, which is to say, not at all.

    ¡°I know, I know, I¡¯m asking a lot. But Reynard is out on sick leave due to his stomach thing, and you¡¯re the only one here I can rely on. I mean, come on, would you trust Brad to do this?

    James sighed. ¡°No¡­¡±

    Chad smiled brightly, his blatantly manipulative ploy an obvious success. ¡°If you get this done, I¡¯ll put in a good word with Kevin from HR when it comes time to consider moving you from contract to permanent. I know that your review is coming up soon. I definitely haven¡¯t forgotten.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± James said as he took the USB drive and plugged it in so he could examine the contents. It was going to be a long weekend.

    <hr>

    I quickly withdrew from the memory and distanced myself mentally. That was weird. I can¡¯t really describe it any other way. What a weird and pathetic life James lived, toiling over meaningless things in the place of another. I really can¡¯t comprehend how his world ended up like that.

    Why did I have his memories?

    Admittedly, I can¡¯t say that his memories are completely without use. Looking back on my thoughts at the time, I¡¯d have never picked up or used my club without the influence of his memories. There was also a certain knack for problem solving there that I am fairly certain is not a normal chimera trait.

    Ugh, if only I could dispose of the dross that most of his memories are made up of. So many of them consist of him staring at a brightly lit panel with moving pictures on it, or another brightly lit panel filled with rows and columns of numbers and letters which I absolutely refused to remember what they meant. His life had a lot of memories of staring at brightly lit panels, and those memories were all useless to me. What use do I have for his memories of how to play a video game or of his repeatedly failed attempts to find a life long mate through some sort of ¡®web¡¯?

    However, even though I am a bit loath to admit it, his memories of the food of that world are something special. I¡¯ve always eaten solely to gain strength, and the only time I¡¯ve derived pleasure from the taste was with the wyverns¡¯ meat. The food of his world seemed to mostly be made for the sake of being pleasurable. Some of it would even be passable fare for me, particularly the sushi. Perhaps, in the future, I might try experimenting with my food a bit. There¡¯s no harm in making the act of devouring my prey a bit more pleasurable, is there? At least, as long as I consume it before its magic aura fades.

    Ah, I kind of got lost in thought there. That¡¯s certainly a new feeling. I¡¯ve always had a fairly one track mind.

    I ambled toward the mouth of the cave and checked the sky. It was early morning out, so I must have slept through the rest of the day and through the night. At the least.

    I checked myself over real quick and confirmed that my form didn¡¯t change noticeably. I shifted to my flying form to check it as well. Still the same.

    Well, since I¡¯m in this form anyways, I might as well head into the mountain valleys for a quick hunt. Maybe I can try heading to the northeast or northwest for a bit, see what else I might find to hunt. The mountain valleys directly to the north don''t seem to have much else for me to hunt, and I think my little group might need some time without me around. I had a feeling that the forest would be busy with humans for a while, and I had no real reason to stick around and watch it. I could just return in a week or two and resume my language lessons to further my goal of learning to control my magic aura properly, like the furred human can.

 15.

    I set off to the northwest, flying well above the treetops. The forest looked so different from the air during the day.

    Ah, no doubt about it, there are definitely more humans in the forest right now, and these ones seem different than the usual hunters. Well, it¡¯d be troublesome to stick around and chance running into them, and I don¡¯t have any particular reason to hunt them, currently. It really would be good to let things settle for a bit.

    As I left the forest, the landscape gradually changed much like it did when I went due north. I descended upon the foothills and decided to go by land for a bit, as I would be better able to track things by scent that way.

    Ah! This is so boring! There¡¯s nothing new in this direction! I¡¯ve already seen these things and eaten them!

    I plopped down and sat at the base of a large oak, and leaned against its trunk.

    Ugh, this trip is going to be useless, isn¡¯t it? What was the point, in the end?

    I¡¯d never experienced self-doubt before, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is so useless! Why did I even leave? I could have just holed up in my cave for a while. I¡¯m not going to find anything of worth out here¡­ I''ll probably just run into more of those ridiculously strong beasts further up in the mountains and have no choice but to turn back.

    In my despondent and apathetic state, I fell asleep, still leaning up against the tree which felt oddly warm.

    <hr>

    I awoke feeling rather peaceful, and oddly comfortable. I didn¡¯t even want to open my eyes, I just wanted to stay like I was for a while.

    A hand gently stroked the top of my head.

    Immediately alert, I rolled to my feet and leapt away, taking a defensive stance and forcing my senses to full alert.

    My actions only resulted in a giggle from the humanoid being who I now stared at.

    It was clearly a female, based on the very well developed secondary sexual human characteristics. She looked much like a normal human, except her skin was a vibrant shade of green, and she appeared to be wearing formfitting tree bark as clothing. She did not seem afraid of me, and the look in her eyes was more like¡­ amusement?

    Ah, I don¡¯t know! Human types are all so weird.

    However, she didn¡¯t seem to be a threat. That, and, well¡­

    She smelled strongly of grass and trees and flowers, and I could not detect even the faintest hint of flesh in her scent.

    If I had to guess, I¡¯d identify her as a dryad.

    Ah, James¡¯ memories can be useful at times, I suppose.

    Dryads are spirit creatures that are tied to trees in some way. They are guardians of nature with a high affinity with plants. Although the details were a bit fuzzy beyond that.

    What did she want?

    She smiled at me, and for some reason, it put a part of me at ease. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, little beast. I can sense your origin, even if your nature is a bit¡­ unusual.¡±

    I froze. Why did I understand her so clearly? Did my language skills suddenly progress after eating those humans? Was that all I needed to do to learn the language?

    She laughed again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much. As a nature spirit, I can freely communicate with you, or any being that arises from the natural world. I¡¯ll even be able to understand you, even if you cannot speak the languages of the humanoids.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Okay, that¡¯s¡­ convenient? Ugh, fucking James, his memories are suddenly coming at me with unnecessary information like plot lines, tropes, flags, and expected story routes. Were I more like him, I¡¯d be delighted by this encounter, which would undoubtedly provide me with exposition on the nature of this world.

    As if.

    Although I hadn¡¯t practiced actually speaking, I managed to croak out a few words. My tongue felt clumsy and too thick as I formed my question. ¡°You¡­ What¡­ Want?¡±

    Her face split into a ridiculously dopey grin. The look in her eyes made me a bit uncomfortable.

    ¡°You are just soooo cuuuuuuute! Oh, I can¡¯t even stand it! How did you become so adorable, little chimera?¡±

    I instinctively backed away, putting another yard or so between us.

    She put an overly exaggerated frown on her face, which seemed rather false, according to James¡¯ memories. She was most certainly enjoying herself. ¡°Aww! Don¡¯t run away!¡±

    It was irritating. Half my instincts had me on edge, while half of them insisted that there was no danger.

    She exaggerated her frown even more and threw her arms across her chest, pushing up the lumps of flesh on her chest. Pouting? Yes, that¡¯s what it was. ¡°I was just so lonely, and you came and lay here in my lap and fell asleep so innocently¡­ I¡¯m sorry, dear chimera. If you hate me so much I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll¡­¡± She began to emit an over-exaggerated fake sobbing with choked hiccups.

    I took a moment to properly study her.

    She had a great deal of magic aura. More than me, for certain. But she smelled so strongly of wood and earth and leaves, I was certain that she was not actually flesh and blood. Probably made of plant tissue and magic. And no matter what, I would never eat a plant. I¡¯ll never end up like that compost slime. I could maybe tolerate using them sparingly as herbs or spices to flavor meat, for the sake of the flavor that resided in James¡¯ memories, but anything else is strictly forbidden. Certainly, eating her would be no different from eating a high level plant. Ugh.

    ¡°What want?¡± I croaked once more.

    Her face brightened with that dopey grin once more, and her false distress was immediately forgotten.

    ¡°I¡¯m just so boooooored. I¡¯ve lived here for like four centuries now, ever since my last tree in an elven hunting preserve was felled by a lightning strike. I thought that this area would become super popular after just a few decades, after all, it¡¯s clearly an ideal place to train low ranked hunters. But nobody ever comes out this way. You¡¯re the first being I could actually meaningfully communicate with in centuries. Sure, you¡¯re clearly a chimera, but you seem smart enough to be able to hold a conversation once you¡¯ve adapted to it. My only company for a very long time has been stupid forest animals who can think of nothing other than their day to day survival! Do you know how hard it is to hold a conversation with a gods damned squirrel?! Ugghh!¡±

    I recoiled a bit as she spewed forth words at a rate which I could barely follow.

    Then she straightened up, seeming very serious all of a sudden, except with an alarmingly excited expression on her face.

    Ugh, my stomach hurts just thinking about what she might try. Humanoids are weird generally, but this dryad put them all to shame.

    ¡°So, it¡¯s decided, then! You¡¯re going to keep me company!¡±

    What?!

    I edged away from the dryad.

    ¡°Aw, don¡¯t be like that. Just entertain me for a bit. Because, you know, if I didn¡¯t have anything to entertain me, my roots just might seek out the blood of the one who refused me, you know?¡± She laughed at that and waved her hand as if dismissing the idea. ¡°I kid! I kid! Please forgive my lack of manners here; I have been without company for too long.¡±

    I stared at her. Surely, there must be some point to these antics?

    She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll quit the foreplay and tell you what I actually want. I¡¯ll give you a cutting from my tree that I would like you to plant somewhere closer to one of the kingdoms. I tire of waiting for them to show up here. Once it¡¯s been planted, I¡¯ll be able to transfer to it, or something sort of like that. In exchange, I¡¯ll help you find something that I¡¯m sure you would love to eat. And maybe I can help you to understand your¡­ unique gifts a bit better.¡±

    ¡°You help first. I plant after.¡± The words came slow, and the cadence of my speech was a bit off-kilter, but I was getting a bit better at speaking.

    She pretended to think on it for a moment before agreeing. ¡°Very well, I suppose that will have to suffice,¡± she said. However, the excitement in her voice gave away that she probably would have leapt even at an offer with less favorable terms.

    Not that I particularly cared, so long as she properly guided me to the location of suitable prey.

    ¡°You can call me Dendra. What shall I call you, adorable little chimera?¡±

 16.

    ¡°I am a chimera. Nothing more,¡± I replied. For some reason, this answer didn¡¯t please the dryad.

    ¡°But that¡¯s just sooo boring. And you¡¯re much more than just a chimera. You should have a name. We could go with something obvious like Kai.¡± She seemed to consider that for a bit, then shook her head. ¡°No, wordplay names get a bit tiresome eventually. Hmm.¡±

    I stared at her as she paced back and forth, coming up with and discarding names. I didn¡¯t particularly feel like I needed a name, and didn¡¯t understand her insistence that I have one. Based on James¡¯ memories, it seemed that it was expected of humans, and I am very much not one of them.

    Uninterested, I sat at the base of the tree and grabbed my club. I really needed a better way to carry it, so I didn¡¯t always have to hold it in my hand or grasp it with my feet in my flying form. It was quite inconvenient.

    Inconvenient. That was a relatively new concept for me. Influence from James¡¯ memories, no doubt. Still, convenience and efficiency were useful concepts to me, so I wouldn¡¯t discard them out of hand.

    While Dendra muttered to herself, I rifled through James¡¯ memories, searching for anything that might be of use. It didn¡¯t take long for me to come up with a few ideas which matched with some of what I¡¯d seen from the humans of this world. Not only ideas for how to better carry it, but how to shape it into something even more useful.

    Tuning out the strange dryad, I began to work on shaping the club to better suit my purposes. Using my claws, I shaved off bits of the bone, a little at a time, primarily focusing on the ball joint where it had once connected to the troll¡¯s hip. I reshaped the large knob of troll bone into a sturdy spike. As dense and hard as the bone was, it took nearly an hour to complete that portion. When I looked over at the dryad, she¡¯d somehow acquired a large, flat board of oddly smooth and dark wood, and scribbled numerous shapes on it with some kind of chalky material, which I guessed were some sort of written language. Some of the scribbles had been crossed out, and she glared at the thing as if it had stolen her dinner.

    I looked back at my newly reshaped club, which now somewhat resembled something that James would have called a war hammer. The smaller knob of bone would act as the striking surface if I wanted to deal a blunt force strike, and the spike would work for penetrating armor, scales, and chitin. I¡¯d half expected to break through the dense material and encounter bone marrow, as I normally would, but I found out that troll bones contained very little of that spongy substance. They also seemed to contain a lattice of metallic substance, which reinforced their strength quite well.

    I¡¯d need to scrounge up some sort of material to use to make a sling to more easily carry the weapon.

    When I looked back away from the weapon, I noticed Dendra was watching me, her green eyes unfocused.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s no use. I need more information to figure out what to name you. I can¡¯t even decide on where you would fit in a relative chimera evolutionary hierarchy, except that I am pretty certain you¡¯re not a Chimera Lord, or you¡¯d probably be traveling with a pack of underlings. It¡¯s never that straightforward with your kind.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    As she spoke, the surface she¡¯d been writing on withered and rotted away as if many years had suddenly elapsed.

    ¡°Hunt now. You promised good prey.¡± I stood up and stretched out, preparing to go hunt.

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll lead the way. However¡­¡± She reached one hand and plunged it into the soil at the base of her tree, and pulled forth a root which writhed like a snake. She stared intently at it, and the root twisted and reformed into a braided line about the thickness of one of my fingers, with numerous leaves sprouting from it. Dendra then moved toward me and stood on her toe in order to drape it over my neck. The loose ends moved and intertwined with each other, causing it to form a loose necklace. ¡°This will act as the cutting that you will plant for me. Until then, I will be able to use it to communicate with you, as long as you do not travel more than a couple hundred miles from here. For now, what you need to know about your target is that it will be quite dangerous. It¡¯s called a thunder drake, although it actually isn¡¯t a drake at all, no draconic blood at all. Really, it¡¯s just an overgrown shock lizard that can fly and discharge bolts of lightning.¡±

    She stopped a moment and looked at me as she considered something.

    ¡°Do you have a way to catch it if it tries to fly outside your reach?¡±

    To answer her question, I simply shifted into my flying form. I was down to three seconds for the change now. Definitely improving.

    ¡°Oh ho. I see. You¡¯re even more capable than I originally thought. You¡¯ll want to try to strike its underbelly and joints with your wyvern quills, if you can, as you probably won¡¯t be able to pierce the scales on the top easily. It will be a bit larger than you in that form. You should be able to sense when its gathering power for a lightning attack, so back away from it when you do, and try to make sure that something else is closer than you are. Immediately run away if there¡¯s more than one. Their attacks get far more dangerous when they work in concert.¡±

    I shifted back to my normal form and listened without interruption as she poured out the details about the thunder drakes I would be hunting. There was a nesting ground for the creatures some ways to the west, and their population was starting to get a bit unmanageable, which would inevitably result in forest fires until some migrated away, according to Dendra. If I could kill a dozen or so adults and raid some of their nests, that should bring them back in hand for a few decades, and be more than enough to integrate their abilities.

    As soon as she provided me with all the relevant information, I turned and headed west, in the direction of the thunder drakes¡¯ territory.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    I looked down as I bounded away, to see a tiny version of the dryad clinging to the necklace of roots. Well, that would explain how she would communicate with me.

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to leave without saying goodbye!¡±

    ¡°Probably, if I were human.¡± I responded.

    ¡°Hmph. Go figure, I find the one smart ass chimera in all the worlds. Anyways, I want you to hold off on your normal sleep cycle after you get your first couple of kills. I want to see if you can consciously guide your adaptations. Oh, and also, have you tried to make any other forms?¡±

    ¡°¡­ No.¡± I felt a bit dumbfounded that I hadn¡¯t thought of that before. If I could make a flying form, why not more?

    ¡°Well, I suppose we can see what else we can do in that regard when you have some free time to experiment. Ooh, maybe you can make a super cute and fluffy and cuddly form that I can squeeze and pet and¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

 17.

    I ignored the nattering little dryad as I continued to run towards the thunder drake territory to the west, keeping my senses at full alert.  The goblins were more prevalent in this direction, but I avoided them with ease.  Much more prevalent.  I bypassed at least a few clusters of fifty to a hundred or more of the filthy creatures.  I was sorely tempted to plunge into the depths of those groups and just lay waste to them all.  I couldn¡¯t really explain or rationalize it, but I wanted so very badly to destroy their vile existences.

    Dendra had grown uncharacteristically silent as I passed through the goblin held territories.

    As dusk rolled around, I finally approached the area that the dryad had been directing me toward.  The thunder drakes wouldn¡¯t be active again until the morning, most likely.  I could  have gone to sleep, but sleep had always been more of a luxury than a necessity.  I could function just fine for many days on end without sleeping, especially in these most recent weeks as I¡¯d continued to grow and change.  If anything, the night presented an opportunity.

    As I¡¯d learned with wyverns, it is far easier to hunt a flying creature in its nest than it is to take it when it is out hunting.  My only concern now was the electrical ability of the thunder drakes.  While Dendra had described it as a less powerful form of lightning, James¡¯ memories had translated that to mean it was some sort of electrical attack.  Once more, I found his memories somewhat useful.  Although he was not exactly¡ªas was called in his world¡ª an electrical engineer or a physicist, he still knew a fair bit about how the strange power worked.  Most importantly: it would follow the path of least resistance to the ground, where it would dissipate.

    I waited for dusk to fade into night, then crept into the nesting area with all due caution.  The nests themselves were all well removed from each other, no closer than several hundred yards.  I stalked toward the closest one, where a large female slept curled around three juveniles.  I studied them as I closed in.

    The adult was about fifteen feet in length, from nose to tail.  She had four limbs, arranged in the same way a smaller lizard¡¯s would be.  In fact, aside from the wings, it looked very much like an oversized monitor lizard.  The ¡®wings¡¯ of the thunder drake were somewhat interesting, as they were not true wings like you would find on a bird or a bat or even a wyvern.  They were more like fins from a fish; thin, elastic membranes spread between spines of bony material.  Even from a distance, I could sense a concentration of magic aura in the wings, which suggested that their ability to fly was assisted by their inherent magic abilities.  Along the flanks of the beast, there was a patch of scales that contrasted to the rest, a light whitish silver color as opposed to the dull gray of the rest of its body, and I could also sense a concentration of magic aura there as well.  On the head of the beast were two small and stubby horns, with the same whitish silver coloring as the flanks, but there was less magic concentrated in these.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I approached the sleeping thunder drake family, moving with all the stealth and grace I could muster.  Thankfully, the dryad was being uncharacteristically silent.  Taking an idea from James¡¯ memories, I gently leaned my weapon against the thunder drake¡¯s side.  The deep and even breathing of the sleeping form did not change, so I felt certain that it was still asleep.  I then moved into position by its neck, and struck at the softer scales of the underside with my tail as hard as I could, piercing its hide with a handful of quills.

    The thunder drake spasmed as it woke, all the muscles in its neck responding to the wyvern quill venom.  I felt a building of magic aura in the flank closest to me, and a sense of some other kind of energy building that I was not yet personally familiar with, then it dissipated instantly, and my club turned war hammer sparked as the electrical discharge passed through it and into the ground.  Before it could charge up another attack, I moved quickly to rip its throat open with my claws, then jumped over the weakly spasming neck to land amidst the juvenile thunder drakes and lashed out with my tail, paralyzing each of them in turn before I focused back on their mother.  Her eyes were already unfocused, and I could sense that she was in the throes of death as her lifeblood drained away and the wyvern quill¡¯s poison spread through her body.

    I relaxed a bit then, and took a moment to end the little ones.

    With the thunder drakes dead, Dendra chose to speak up.  ¡°That was clever, using that troll bone to direct the thunder attack into the ground.  How¡¯d you come up with that?¡±

    ¡°Electricity seeks easiest path to ground.  Troll bone has metal in it, makes easy path.¡±

    The diminutive dryad form looked up at me from her perch on the root necklace.  ¡°And how did you know that?¡±

    I ignored the question, and picked up the war hammer, looking it over.  While it had served its purpose, it seemed that the energies involved were too great for it to handle without damage.  The bone was smoking and blackened, and the metallic latticework patterns on the surface appeared distorted.  I squeezed my hand tight on it, and could hear the material creaking and cracking a bit, where before it would have not made any sound.  It would probably break the next time it struck something with any real force.  This annoyed me greatly, but I lacked an outlet to express so.  I tossed the weapon aside.  I  needed something new.

    My mood soured by the loss of my weapon, I set upon the corpses before me and devoured them.  Aside from the crunchy scales, the meal was relatively boring.  It took the better part of an hour for me to devour the thunder drakes¡¯ bodies, constantly tearing away chunks and shoving them in my mouth.

    Once I was done, I withdrew from the nesting site, and looked for a safe place to rest while I integrated the traits of the thunder drakes I had consumed.

 18.

    ¡°Right, so, for this next bit, I need you to go into a bit of a meditative trance.  Do you know how to do that?¡±

    I looked at the tiny dryad form that hung from my neck.

    ¡°No.¡±

    She rolled her eyes.  ¡°You know how you usually go to sleep after a big, new meal?  Try to do the same thing, but don¡¯t let yourself fall asleep.  Relax, but stay focused.¡±

    I stared at the dryad again, and briefly contemplated flicking her diminutive form to the ground.

    ¡°Relax, but focus.  Sleep, but remain awake.  Warm, but cold.  Wide, but narrow.  Such wisdom is only to be expected from a plant.¡±

    The tiny plant spirit glared at me.  ¡°Sit.  Close your eyes, relax your body.  Keep your mind alert and focused.¡±  She mimicked the position she wanted me to take and muttered to herself under her breath.  ¡°Just what did he eat to gain the ability to sass me?  Not cute at all.¡±

    I sat on the ground, and roughly copied the dryad¡¯s pose, crossing my legs and resting my hands on my knees.  I closed my eyes and forced my thoughts to still, and slowly released the tension in my body.  As I did, I could feel my usually tight control over my aura be released.  I¡¯d become a beacon of magic aura, and nearly everything would be able to sense my presence until I reined it back in.

    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯ve really packed away quite a bit of power, haven¡¯t you?  Right, well, keep relaxing and try to focus on the image of the thunder drakes you consumed earlier.  Examine that image in your mind to the exclusion of all else, and pick it apart.  Figure out what made it what it was.  Strip away the parts you understand, piece by piece, until you¡¯ve comprehended it in its entirety.¡±

    I followed Dendra¡¯s instructions.  In my mind¡¯s eye, I saw the adult female thunder drake and the three younglings.  I examined them from every angle, burning it all into my memory.  Once I had memorized their form, I mentally reached out and touched the images.  I could feel the rough scales beneath my hand as I imagined running my hand along the flank of the adult, feel its warmth and the slight expansion and contraction of its chest as it breathed.

    This was quite fascinating and all, but I couldn¡¯t quite figure out how I was supposed to do what Dendra wanted me to do.  How would I be able to comprehend what makes a living creature how it is?  How would I be able to figure out the mechanisms that made it tick?  I¡¯m a chimera, not some kind of magical biologist!

    Ah.  That must be it.  I am a chimera.  Such an obvious answer makes the questions seem foolish.  I must simply do what my kind does.  Eat.

    I began with the adult.  This time, the feast was far less messy.  I did not even need to bring the parts of the thunder drake to my mouth.  I just touched them, and willed them to be consumed.  I began with its scales.  The darker hued ones were actually quite different to the whitish silver ones, primarily in how they interacted with electricity.  The darker scales were actually quite difficult for electricity to pass through.  They acted as an insulator, I believe the term is called.  The lighter scales instead acted as a conductor, easily allowing the current to pass through them.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Feeling like I understood the scales enough for now, I willed the rest away, and turned my interest to the wings.  The membranes were normal enough, not too different from my own wing membranes in my flying form.  However, the spines in those fin-like wings were rather interesting.  They were highly conductive, and contained specialized cells which used the beast¡¯s magical energy to generate an electric field that caused air to pass under the wings.  I supposed that this was what allowed the odd looking wings to keep them aloft.

    I devoured the wings, and moved on.  The muscles were nothing special, so I quickly stripped them away.  Its flanks, where it produced its lightning attack were of interest though.  They, like the wing spines, generated electricity using the beast¡¯s magic aura.  However, these did so with much greater potency.

    I continued to consume the mental construct.  Little else was of interest, except for the two stubby little horns on the head, which turned out to be sensory organs, capable of picking up on electric fields.

    Once I¡¯d finished, I repeated the process with the immature specimens.  Although I did not learn anything new, my understanding of the creatures deepened.  Then I brought myself back to the surface, opened my eyes and spoke to Dendra.  ¡°Done, what now?¡±

    ¡°Now, you need to focus on how to integrate the traits you want into yourself.  I imagine this should be somewhat similar to how you make yourself change forms.  Just try to visualize the changes you want and will it to work.  It might help if you go back into the meditative state again.¡±

    I grunted assent, and did as she suggested.

    I sank back down into the recesses of my mind, focusing now on my body, trying to visualize my form.  This was a bit difficult.  To me, the image of my form was misty and indistinct.  I¡¯d never consciously dwelled on my appearance before.  I concentrated, willing the image to clarify and come into focus.

    Still, it refused to become clear and distinct.  It just wasn¡¯t working.

    No, this type of visualization didn¡¯t seem to be the key here.  I dug into my memories, recalling the first time I changed into my flying form.  It hadn¡¯t been my own form that was the focus of my will at the time, so much as it was what I wanted to be able to do.

    I seized upon this method, and began to focus on a series of images: lightning arcing from my claws, my hide shrugging off lightning, sensing the currents of electricity.  As I continued to conjure these images, I began to feel a shift within me.  I persisted until the shifting sensation subsided, then pulled myself out of my meditation.

    I opened my eyes and stood up.

    ¡°Well?  Did it work?  I wanna see!¡±

    I answered Dendra with action.  I held my hands out and focused.  I could sense the charge building up, feeling like it wanted to burst forth from my hands.  Then I released it, and a thin line of blue-white arced out and struck the ground several feet away, accompanied by a loud cracking snap of a sound that echoed through the trees.

    Dendra squealed and clapped her hands, and babbled appreciative words which I ignored.

    I would need a lot of practice, and would probably need to eat several more thunder drakes, but I felt confident that in time, I¡¯d master this new power and truly make it my own.  Once I did, I might even be able to consider hunting the beasts higher up in the peaks of the mountains.  Especially if I also learned the magic of the humans.

 19.

    I had envisioned myself becoming a god of lightning-fueled death. Or, at the least, an avatar of electrical fury. The reality turned out to be somewhat less grandiose and a bit more disappointing. Or maybe vastly more disappointing.

    As I hunted my next thunder drake, I discovered that my improved resistance to electrical attacks was just that, resistance and most certainly not immunity. So when I carelessly allowed myself to be struck by one of its bolts of lightning, instead of being killed, I was merely wracked with pain and involuntary muscle spasms and left disoriented. I barely recovered enough to evade the next strike and take to the air after it.

    One thing did turn out better than expected: my integration of the thunder drake¡¯s flying ability with my own through my flying form. My speed and maneuverability improved by a significant amount by incorporating the structures that enabled electrically charged movement of air into my existing wing structure. This allowed me to outmaneuver and quickly get above the thunder drake I¡¯d been fighting, and dive down onto it, tackling it to the ground. We impacted with a wet snapping sound, and my opponent thrashed about limply, its limbs no longer seemingly able to operate properly. The fight ended not long after, and I rapidly ate the corpse.

    I backed off on hunting the thunder drakes until night fell, then continued to hunt them in their nests. It really was far easier. Over the next two nights, I killed eleven adult thunder drakes, and wiped out eight nests.

    With that, Dendra seemed satisfied.

    After consuming all of those thunder drakes, and using the technique that Dendra taught me, I was able to bring my own electrical abilities nearly on par with a healthy adult of their species. This allowed me to further understand their limitations, and adjust my usage accordingly. For example: unless I was flying, my electrical attack was near useless beyond a few feet. It would simply arc to the ground, or whatever else was closest to my hands. I tried for hours to try and find some way to direct it, but the electricity followed its own path regardless. The thunder drakes¡¯ ability really only lay in generating the electricity, not manipulating it. It would still make for a very useful addition to my close combat repertoire, but would likely never be a good ranged attack unless I was flying directly above my target, and not near any trees, which seemed to be the thunder drakes¡¯ main mode of attack.

    The electrical sense was interesting, and added a bit of information on top of my already keen senses, but it didn¡¯t really give me any particular advantages. Perhaps if I didn¡¯t have such innately strong magic perception, it could have become a lynchpin ability for me.

    While I did not regret gaining their abilities in the least, I was still disappointed. I was a long ways away from challenging those beasts I saw up in the mountains.

    Having concluded my business, I prepared to head back to my forest when Dendra spoke up.

    ¡°Have you ever gone aquatic? There¡¯s a good lake not far from here to try it in. Plenty of rivers as well.¡±

    Thinking back, I couldn¡¯t recall a single time I¡¯d gone into water other than to cross a stream or river. I¡¯ve stalked prey that were at or on their way to water, but my body stays hydrated through the use of consumed magic aura, so I don''t need to drink, myself. The fish in the streams and rivers in my forest never looked particularly large or strong, so I never bothered trying to eat them.

    ¡°Never tried.¡±

    She squealed and clapped her hands. ¡°Perfect! We¡¯ll just need you to do a little bit of preparation, then we can see if you can make an aquatic form!¡±

    ¡°Okay. I can try it.¡±

    She directed me toward a nearby river, a bit to the north. It was wide, shallow and slow. I took a few moments to appraise it. The sound of the water rushing over the river stones was actually quite relaxing.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Okay, so, Shaper¡­ By the way, I decided on your name: Shaper Mahkken. Shaper for your ability to shape your own form, and Mahkken is a word in an old world language for predator. I think it¡¯s a good, strong name. Way better than just calling you chimera or ''Hey you!''. Anyways¡­ Where was I? Oh, yea, so, try to catch a bunch of fish here. There shouldn¡¯t be anything particularly interesting about the fish here in this part of the river, but what you want from them are their gills and fins. Just eat a bunch of them until you can manifest those traits in a form like you did to make your flying form.¡±

    I grumbled a bit as I waded into the river, following the scatterbrained dryad¡¯s instructions. I stood out near the center, then waited and watched the slightly chilly water that rushed past my calves and tail. I could see the occasional flitting form of a fish, but even the few that came near me, I was not quick enough to snatch with my claws. Dealing with the resistance of the water caused me to misjudge my timing, and the fish were surprisingly quick to react.

    I stopped and thought for a few moments, trying to think of a better way to do it. James apparently had a fair amount of knowledge related to recreational fishing from his childhood, but I didn¡¯t want to take the time to try to build a fishing rod or make fishing lines or even try building a trap. However, there was one thing of use. According to James¡¯ memories, there was a practice in his world called electrofishing. It involved discharging electrical current into a body of water, stunning or killing fish in a small area.

    I took several minutes and waited, staying as still as possible, hunched over with the tips of my claws dangling in the water. Once I saw more than a couple fish swimming around my legs, I let loose a blast of electricity. I felt a slight spasming in my legs, but mostly what I noticed was the several fish now floating belly up near me, lazily drifting with the current. I snatched them up real quick and took them ashore.

    I took a few minutes to snatch up a few pieces of dry wood, and piled them up. Then I discharged a bolt into the pile, causing it to catch and burn. I took a moment to skewer the fish on sticks, then planted the sticks so the fish would roast next to the fire.

    I didn¡¯t feel particularly interested in Dendra¡¯s plan, so I thought I¡¯d take a little bit to try to make them taste delicious.

    Once the fish were properly roasted, I ate them. I was slightly disappointed. They didn¡¯t taste bad, and were actually pretty decent, but they were not nearly as good as what I expected from James¡¯ memories. Perhaps I¡¯d need to resort to using herbs and seasonings to enhance the flavor.

    I went back out to the river, and kept shifting my position before discharging. I didn¡¯t bother to cook the fish I caught then, I just ate them raw, which actually tasted about as good as they had when roasted, though different.

    After I¡¯d consumed a few dozen fish, Dendra told me to sit in a deeper part of the river, and try to focus on making an aquatic form. I humored her, since I had nothing better to do, and so far she had led me towards overall improvements, even if they fell short of my expectations. I settled in, sitting with my head just above the water, and the current pushing against my bulk.

    I meditated and focused on understanding the various aspects of the fish I had eaten, then took some time to visualize what it would be like to move freely throughout the water, and to not need to surface for air.

    I maintained the mental image until my body began to shift and take on the traits I¡¯d imagined. Physically, I was much like my land form, aside from webbing between my fingers and toes, fins protruding on my forearms, and gills along my back. The quills on my tail were still present, though they stuck out less, giving my tail a bit more of a streamlined look. I ducked under the water, and stayed there for a few minutes to ensure that the gills worked fine. It was certainly a different kind of sensation, not needing to breathe but just moving water through my gills.

    There wasn¡¯t really enough room to test out my swimming, so I surfaced and waded back to the edge of the river, shifting back to my normal form.

    ¡°Alright! That was perfect! You make such a cute little fishy! Well, I¡¯m not really in that big of a hurry, since you¡¯re kind of entertaining, so I was thinking, would you like to try going to a lake? There should be some aquatic monsters there for you to hunt. As long as you promise to leave behind a viable population, I can lead you to it.¡±

    I thought for a moment before agreeing. I would like to try out the aquatic form in a larger environment and see how I might use it for hunting.

 20.

    As I headed toward the lake, I picked up a familiar scent. Troll. I followed my nose and found a troll lair, occupied by a rather large male.

    The ensuing fight was brutally short, and barely worth calling a struggle. I knew the capabilities of a troll quite well by now. I paralyzed the brute with a few well placed quills, then executed it with a massive electric shock to the head. My mouth tightened in a feral grin. I had certainly grown stronger since my first encounter with a troll.

    I devoured the corpse, save for the femurs, and a few other bones that were still too tough for me to bite through. I was glad to have a new club once more. I carried both femurs with me, having recently learned the value of spare equipment. After I was done with the lake, I¡¯d modify them to suit my needs and try to come up with a good way to hold them without my hands. I doubted they¡¯d be of any use underwater, based on my poor experience of trying to fish with my hands.

    As we broke through the forest cover, I took in the sight of the lake. It was long and narrow, filling the bottom of the valley, and the crystal clear water afforded a spectacular view of its sharply sloped floor that descended into darkness once you got more than a few yards from the shore.

    ¡°Ooh, look, over there! There¡¯s an orc village here! They¡¯re really violent, but they become quite reasonable once you kill a few of the stronger ones or show off overwhelming strength. Hmm, you can play that one whichever way you like. They¡¯re not too disruptive, ecologically, and are really just kind of xenophobic dicks, but they respect strength above all else. They just happen to treat most other humanoids as inferior because they didn¡¯t happen to be born with hyper-dense muscles that grow super easily.¡±

    I rifled through James¡¯ memories, pulling out what information I could on orcs. There was a lot of conflicting information, and little of it lined up with what Dendra had told me. The only thing that did stand out to me was an apparent link or relationship to goblins. Oh, how I hoped they would not reek as bad as goblins.

    I thought on it and decided to play it by ear. My own information was unreliable, and Dendra hadn¡¯t really misled me yet.

    I ambled along the shore, heading towards the orc village. I could just make out the green humanoids moving about in the distance. There seemed to be a flurry of activity within the cluster of huts and crude stone buildings at the lakeside. After a few minutes, a group assembled and set forth from the village, following the lakeshore towards me.

    Well, that would make things easier.

    About a half mile away from the village, I came to a stop in front of the greeting party. I studied them closely. There were eight of the green-skinned creatures standing before me, and they all ranged from five and a half to six feet tall, and were built like bodybuilders. Some were clad in metal and leather armor, while others were clad in rough clothing, and one wore naught but a loin cloth; the latter of which eyed me aggressively. They smelled of an odd mix of leather, vinegar, and peanuts. Definitely not like goblins, then.

    One of the orcs in the rough spun clothing spoke in a guttural and harsh sounding language. Like German filtered through a garbage disposal, James¡¯ memories proffered. Dendra translated for me.

    ¡°Halt! You are trespassing on the territory of the Moon Cutter Tribe. Leave, or die.¡±

    I listened to Dendra¡¯s whispered translation and advice, before speaking up, following Dendra¡¯s suggested wording. ¡°I challenge your champion for the right to wander this area freely.¡±

    The orcs gargled gravel at each other for a minute or so, before the orc in the loincloth stepped forward. ¡°I accept your challenge!¡± Dendra translated his roar for me.

    Based on the standards of James¡¯ world, this orc was a truly impressive specimen. His muscles bulged and strained at his skin, and he was nearly as broad as he was tall. I¡¯d be surprised if he had more than a few ounces of fat on his entire frame.

    Not knowing the specifics of the ritual, I stepped forward and waited and stared at him until he attacked. While there was a modicum of power behind the blows he launched, he was slow and inflexible. I easily slipped around his first few strikes with almost no conscious thought before I realized it was time to start.

    Well, there¡¯s no victory like overwhelming victory. I ducked under a strong right cross then came up from beneath and grabbed his sternum with my right hand, my claws sinking in like they would if I¡¯d grabbed a pillow, aside from the sound of ribs breaking. I unleashed a middling strength electrical bolt in that spot, then released my grip and allowed the corpse to fall to the ground. I studied it for a brief moment, and concluded that to just leave it would be a terrible waste, and that eating the fallen orc would make a strong impression on the gathered group. Without any delay, I tore manageable pieces off the fallen champion and devoured them while Dendra began to rapidly speak to the orc welcoming party. Five minutes later, I was escorted into the village by a group of very nervous but seemingly respectful orcs.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Dendra translated a lot of useless cultural information the orcs were spouting off, and I ignored her in turn.

    All of the construction looked fresh, And I could find neither sight nor scent of any little orclings. This village was definitely brand new. I followed my nose to the communal fishing area, where a number of strips of fish and various meats were drying on racks above smokey fires. I took a few moments to sniff through each one, but the aura had already faded from these samples. However, they did smell quite interesting. Dendra took to asking the orcs about the game and fish they caught, and any interesting characteristics they had, and I listened as she relayed the information to me. The orcs seemed to be watching my every move, but I wasn¡¯t overly bothered. I snatched one of the dried pieces of fish from the smoking racks and sampled it. The added flavor was quite good, much better than the simple roasted fish I¡¯d eaten previously. If it weren¡¯t obvious that this method took a long time to do, I¡¯d consider trying it on one of my next kills. Perhaps next time I killed something I didn¡¯t need to integrate?

    The orcs, via Dendra, told me of the various beasts in the area. In the forest, they were the only thing around that I¡¯d yet to come across. In the water and along the shore, they described some creatures that piqued my interest.

    The first was one that was called a fog turtle. They were difficult to hunt because of their namesake; when spooked, they would emit a thick cloud of roiling mist that would quickly fill the area. Nearby fog turtles would then join in, and the entire area would become shrouded in dense fog that masked scent and dampened noise while the turtles retreated to the water or other hiding places. The orcs apparently still hunted them at every opportunity, even if most attempts ended in failure or, at best, one or two caught. They apparently enjoyed the taste of their meat, and used their shells to make a number of tools when they couldn¡¯t afford to trade for good steel implements.

    The second was the giant mole beaver. It was a large, predatory beaver that had teeth capable of biting through solid rock. Despite the name, it did not dig tunnels through the ground, but it did excavate stone and dirt to form its home. It constructed its lodges of wood, stone and mud, and tended to ambush prey at the lake¡¯s edge. There was a decent sized colony of them on the other shore of the lake. The orcs did not hunt them often, but when they did, they prized their teeth for making tools and small knives, which were on par with those made of good steel.

    The last one was something they called the Master of Orc Village Lake. Dendra giggled as she told me about this, and added that orcs were well known for their unimaginative and overly straightforward names. They had little solid information on the Master of Orc Village Lake, other than that it was a very large fish, and it would aggressively attack any boats, canoes or rafts on the water, and presumably ate the occupants. However, it seemed to ignore anyone brave enough to swim in the water.

    I decided to start off my hunt with the giant mole beavers. I leaned my two troll femurs against one of the huts, and walked straight into the water from the orc village, then shifted to my aquatic form. I figured I might as well figure out how to swim properly while I was at it.

    I spent a few hours figuring out the most efficient way to swim. I couldn¡¯t directly rely on the instincts of the fish that I¡¯d eaten, as my body was simply far too different. In the end, it was mostly trial and error. Even James¡¯ memories didn¡¯t help much, as my body was simply laid out too different from that of a human, my arms didn¡¯t rotate in the same way as theirs, and my lower body had more in common with what James¡¯ memories picked out as a kangaroo and a dinosaur, as opposed to a human. Even the scaly humans ¡ªLizardmen¡ª had a more upright stance and humanoid shoulders than I did. However, I did make decent use of the ¡®doggy paddle¡¯ technique as a basis and worked from there. Eventually, my main technique developed to include sinuous movement of my whole body in an almost corkscrew pattern, aided by more precise kicks and paddling from my limbs. It was still a long ways from perfect, but it would do for now.

    Having learned to swim well enough, I reoriented myself, and swam to the area the orcs had pointed out as the nesting site for the giant mole beaver colony. In the fading light of dusk I surfaced and looked over the area, I picked out a dozen of the lodges spread out over a few hundred yards of shoreline. I picked the one furthest to my right and swam toward it.

    Although my vision underwater was far inferior to what it was above water, my magic perception, scent, and, surprisingly, electrical perception were quite well enhanced. I could sense the giant mole beavers making their way back to their lodges, so I waited. I studied my surroundings, and noted numerous types of fish, and even experimentally tried to catch some without resorting to electricity. I managed to catch and eat a single fish, which as far as I was concerned was a success.

    I waited until it had been properly dark for a couple hours before I headed for the marked lodge. Once I reached the threshold, I burst forth from the water onto the miniature hillock where the beast rested. It woke from the sloshing and splashing of my entry, and fought with me.

    My claws tore long rents in its hide, and its teeth bit into my shoulder until they struck bone, and after a brief snag, kept going. My left arm dangled uselessly as it tried to reposition to bite my throat, but I managed to snake my head under and latch onto its throat. Due to our positions and the cramped space, I had difficulty reaching it with my tail, so I ignored that option, and focused on rending and tearing with my right hand as I pumped venom into its neck and crunched down on its windpipe. It still struggled firecely and tried as best it could to bite at my shoulders and back while I savaged its neck.

    Then, remembering my newly acquired abilities, I charged my right hand and sank my claws deep into the beast¡¯s side before discharging. I barely felt the current that passed over to me as the giant mole beaver stiffened and fell still.

 21.

    Once Shaper had subdued the giant mole beaver, Dendra watched him intently. He devoured the creature swiftly, and his wounds recovered with a speed not unlike that of a troll¡¯s. She had seen him consume at least one troll, but the level of the ability he displayed spoke of experience in devouring their kind.

    Through the segment of herself that she¡¯d invested into the root necklace around Shaper¡¯s neck, she¡¯d observed and communicated with him. Shaper was fascinating. Fascinating and amusing. And, above all, ridiculously adorable.

    She watched him as he entered a deep meditative state, right there in the center of the giant mole beavers¡¯ lodge. While his consciousness was in a deeper state, she took the moment to extrude tens of thousands of hair thin roots from the cutting, and had them gently come into contact with the various areas of his surface.

    She restrained a giggle. This chance would allow her great insight into her adorable little companion. She allowed the little hair-like tendrils of roots to alight upon Shaper¡¯s skin with the utmost delicacy. Through the thousands of points of contact, she viewed his magic aura, and how it was reacting to its most recent feast, as well as its reaction to the remaining environment.

    The results were interesting. Intriguing, even. It was clear that there was more to this anomaly than just a talented beast with an unusual mind. Once more, she was surprised with the speed with which he entered into a deep meditative state and directly interacted with his own magic aura. She watched as he isolated the freshly added sections from his most recent meals, then tore chunks away, fully integrating it with the rest of his aura. It reminded her of when she¡¯d watched the elven mages and druids who would sometimes visit her and meditate beside her tree.

    She lost herself in her memories for a moment, recalling when she had had her current tree planted, a contingency in case of disaster. She¡¯d been exceptionally irritated when she was forced to fully transfer to the new tree, as her own was struck by a bolt of lightning far more powerful than could naturally manifest. Even now, centuries later, she was certain it was that damnable storm sprite who had been responsible.

    She shook herself from her reverie and returned her attention to Shaper. He¡¯d finished ¡®digesting¡¯ his meal and was now focusing on altering his present form. The ease with which he did this hinted to her at the staggeringly high potential he¡¯d have for magics that focused on himself. She watched with giddiness as she awaited the changes to his form. Her adorable little Shaper would certainly leave his mark on this world.

    <hr>

    Finished with integrating my meal, I pulled myself back up from my meditative state. I¡¯d reinforced my fangs to be more like the beaver¡¯s ultra dense teeth, and discarded the venom glands for now. The venom that had been in my fangs had become less and less of use as I grew stronger, because it simply took too long for it to take effect, and was far inferior in quality to the venom in my tail quills.

    As I came back to my senses, I noticed Dendra withdrawing numerous hair-like tendrils back into the necklace. Curious.

    I slipped back into the water and moved on to the next lodge. I moved much more stealthily this time, and inched my way into the structure¡¯s interior. As I gradually surfaced onto the mound inside the lodge, I barely made a ripple. There were two targets nesting here, both soundly asleep.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    I crept around until the heads of the two sleeping forms were in sight, and charged up a large blast of electricity. Once my hands were both fully charged, I placed my hands a hair¡¯s breadth above their heads and discharged the bolts. A loud crack and the smell of burnt fur later, I had two corpses. I quickly ate them.

    I cleared out half of the beaver lodges this way, sneaking about with supreme care. The sturdy construction ensured that no sounds escaped the structures and woke the others, so it proceeded rather smoothly. Having consumed ten of the beasts, I departed and headed for the section of shore the orcs said the fog turtles inhabited. I passed the remaining hour or so till dawn first by ''digesting'' the beavers, then by practicing my swimming.

    As the sun peeked over the valley¡¯s edge, I headed to shore. I found a nice rock outcropping that overlooked the shore, and laid there. It was pleasant, lying there and absorbing the suns¡¯ rays. I¡¯d never thought much of it, but in James¡¯ memories, there was only one sun. Here, there were two of the fiery orbs. Presently, they were both easily distinguishable and disbursing a double dose of luminescence and warmth. For a late fall day, today would be quite warm.

    As I luxuriated in the unseasonably warm weather, I kept my senses on full alert and waited for signs of my prey.

    Ah, there, I thought. I picked up a weak magic aura crawling toward the shore. I turned my gaze toward it, and spotted a dark greenish grey shell a yard across dragging itself towards the water on thick legs. Its head had a heavy brow rimmed with spikes, and an obviously heavily muscled jaw. I wasn¡¯t sure what to expect, but it appeared that they sheltered on land during the night.

    I remained as still as possible as I observed the creature on its ponderous path towards the water. As I inspected it, I picked out small gaps in the shell along the ridge that bisected the shell into left and right halves.

    In the distance I could make out other fog turtles ambling their way toward the water.

    I watched my prey. They were extraordinarily cautious and slow. The closest one was about twenty feet from my perch when I decided to act.

    I leapt at the turtle, aiming to land right next to it. Noticing the movement, the turtle began to scurry toward the water, as the vents along the ridge of its shell began to pour out a thick, silvery mist. As I landed within the rapidly expanding cloud of fog and began to pivot towards the turtle, I was shocked. Not only was the fog inhibiting my eyesight, but it was all but impenetrable to my magic perception, and had a cloyingly sweet odor to it which overrode everything else. Even the sound of the turtle¡¯s legs churning along the rocky shore was muted and difficult to pinpoint.

    The fog was a formidable defense indeed. However, there was still one sense which came through unhindered, perhaps even a little amplified - the electrical field perception I had picked up from the thunder drakes. I could sense the slight field given off by the turtle. I reoriented myself and closed the few feet between myself and my prey.

    The turtle, sensing me closing in, withdrew into its shell, trusting in its last line of defense as it continued to pump out its fog. The shell was indeed quite strong. My claws could barely scratch it and it shrugged off my electrical bolts. I tested out my newly enhanced fangs on it and found that, with some difficulty, I could damage the shell. I chewed open a small hole in the side of the shell, between the limbs, just large enough for me to poke a few fingers through.

    Utilizing that breach, I electrocuted the beast. As the turtle¡¯s fog began to clear, I began the laborious process of eating the fog turtle.

    The ensuing meal took more than an hour, but I managed to eat the entire creature, shell and all. However, in that time, the other fog turtles had cleared out from the lake¡¯s shoreline, and were nowhere to be seen.

    I¡¯d have to come back and hunt them later. For now, I had the beginnings of a plan for hunting the last creature of note in this area. I swam back to the orc village and had Dendra translate for me as I bossed them around. They were surprisingly compliant.

    ¡°Dendra, tell them to build a raft for me.¡±

 22.

    As I¡¯d hoped, the orcs set about following the order I¡¯d issued. Four burly specimens had gone out into the forest to cut timber for my requested raft. While I did not know it at the time, but as Dendra informed me later, most orcs naturally suffered from what she called ¡°Minion Complex.¡± According to Dendra, Minion Complex is the polite term for ¡°full of bluster, but folds at the first sign of real danger.¡± So when I had effortlessly destroyed the village strongman, they felt an instinctual need to suck up to and serve me if I chose to stick around. Not that I would, these orcs didn¡¯t seem very entertaining.

    ¡°Also, they¡¯re just villagers, so he probably wasn¡¯t that strong compared to a proper orc chief. Just a small fish in a smaller pond,¡± Dendra added.

    It all sounded weird and unnecessarily complicated, but it was easier than threatening their lives if they didn¡¯t comply as I¡¯d originally planned. Still, if there were stronger orcs elsewhere, perhaps I could eat them. This one hadn¡¯t really been of any use to me.

    While I waited for the lumber team to return, I took some time to meditate and integrate the turtle I¡¯d eaten. Its shell was truly interesting, and practically glowed as I viewed it in my mind and stripped it away. The bony structure apparently drew on the creature¡¯s magic aura to reinforce it. The other major point of interest was the fog glands that were located along the ridge of the shell¡¯s spine. They produced and stored a complex liquid compound which, when exposed to air, would burst forth into a thick fog. This fog, as I¡¯d already observed, seemed to almost entirely block sight and magic perception, as well as dulling noise and smell. Interestingly, it also seemed to have a lot of nerve endings on the bottom of its feet, implying that it would be able to feel slight vibrations in the ground, and possibly in the water as well. But that wasn¡¯t terribly useful to me right now.

    Aside from those features, it was rather mundane.

    I greedily integrated the fog glands into my normal form. They held very high potential both for ambushes and escape. Yet I hesitated on using the shell. It would make fantastic armor for my body, to be sure, but it was heavy and would restrict my range of motion wherever I used it. I had an inkling of an idea for how to best use it, but the concept wasn¡¯t properly formed yet, so I set that aside for now.

    As I roused myself from my meditative state, I checked on the status of the raft. The orcs were just now bringing in their first log for processing.

    To kill time, I grabbed my two troll femurs and started modifying them to match what I¡¯d done to my first club, making them more like a war hammer than a club. If only I had an easy way to carry them¡­

    ¡°Ah! Dendra, tell the orcs to make something that lets me carry these easier.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, well¡­ Normally that wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but I¡¯m not sure they can make something to accommodate your shifting forms. I suppose I can help with that. Are you going to take them to hunt the lake¡¯s master?¡±

    ¡°No. Not good for underwater. Can¡¯t swing it right.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Well, once we¡¯re done here I can figure something out.¡±

    I sat and thought for a few minutes, ignoring as Dendra continued prattling on about other things. As I worked, I began to pick and prod through some of James¡¯ stranger memories, looking for inspiration for the idea I¡¯d had earlier. While the concept of ¡®video games¡¯ and ¡®table-top games¡¯ was rather strange to me, they seemed to be a virtual treasure trove of ideas that I might be able to implement or emulate eventually. Without realizing it, I¡¯d fallen back into a trance as I explored the concepts from his memories, moving from one to the next, following along related concepts as I clarified my understanding of them and gained further context or backtracked to previous ones to follow along a different path of related ideas.

    I snapped back to the surface in a moment and stood as a nervous orc approached and gargled gravel at me, his green brow shiny with a slick of sweat.

    ¡°The raft¡¯s done!¡± Dendra cheerfully translated.

    Already? But it can¡¯t have been more than a few minutes since the first log was brought back¡­

    I looked at the sky and noted the suns were much further along in the sky than I¡¯d anticipated. I must have been browsing his memories for longer than I¡¯d thought. I¡¯d even finished working on shaping the troll-bone war hammers without realizing it.

    I followed the orc to where they had constructed the raft at the edge of the water.

    The raft was a simple, but sturdy design. Several logs had been split lengthwise and lashed to two whole logs which were on the bottom. Overall, it was a platform about eight feet wide by ten in length. It should be plenty sufficient for my purposes. After all, for now, I just wanted to lure it out and get a good look at the thing.

    I directed the orcs to push it into the water, and I followed, shifting to my aquatic form as I partially submerged myself in the cool water. Once the raft was floating on the water, Dendra spoke to them, giving one more order. The orcs chanted something in unison and gave a mighty shove, sending the raft drifting out towards the center of the lake. I ducked all the way under and watched as the lure gradually worked its way toward the deeper parts of the lake.

    I swam along the steeply sloping lakebed and found a good, inconspicuous spot to keep an eye on the raft. I waited there, with my aura tightly controlled, not moving at all except for the slight fluttering of my gills. Several minutes passed before I finally spotted the target surging up from the darkness of the depths.

    It looked like a snake, but with a fish¡¯s shiny scales and a set of massive gills behind its colossal head. The creature must have been over a hundred yards long, and four or five yards wide at its thickest.

    It came to a perfect stop about thirty yards down from the raft, which is about the time I noticed the wholly unnatural way it moved through the water. It didn¡¯t swim. It made no movements of its flesh. It simply moved. Then, without the rest of its body moving, it lashed its silvery tail tail out in the rafts direction, and I saw that it possessed a fin at the end of its tail. The moment that tail fin flicked the surface beneath the raft, it simply exploded. Only then did it make any noticeable shockwaves in the water, with the area that was stricken becoming cloudy with bubbles, and spreading waves distorting the light that played down from the surface.

    Nope. No chance. Not happening.

    There was simply no way for me to fight this thing, let alone kill it or eat it.

    The colossal snake beast, having done what it came for, descended once more with its strange way of movement.

    I waited until a few minutes after it disappeared and returned to shore.

    ¡°That was a-¡± Dendra started to speak but I interrupted.

    ¡°Back to hunting turtles, I guess.¡±

 23.

    While I waited for dusk to resume hunting the fog turtles, Dendra pestered me until I paid attention to her so she could tell me about that colossal snake monster at the bottom of the lake.

    ¡°It was an elder lake dragon. Sure, there¡¯s no way you could possibly kill it. It wouldn¡¯t even notice an army of a hundred of you. But that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t gain something from it. Didn¡¯t you see how shiny its hide was? It¡¯s shed its skin within the last few weeks, I¡¯m sure of it. They only do that every few years, so you really are quite lucky. That is something you could definitely eat.¡±

    ¡°Few weeks? Too old, no magic left. No point in eating.¡±

    Dendra giggled. ¡°No, you silly, adorable little thing. The magic in its shed skin will take months to fade, even if it''s just lying around out in the open. A creature like that holds massive amounts of magic in even its most inconsequential parts. By the time a dragon gets that old, they usually find some nice remote ley line to feed off of and make into their lair while they navel gaze and pontificate on their innate superiority. About the only thing they¡¯ll react to when they¡¯re like that is the presence of humanoids, who they fear might steal from their treasure hoards. Just don¡¯t go turning into a humanoid form all of a sudden, and don¡¯t touch anything shiny and it probably won¡¯t even notice you.¡±

    I considered the tiny dryad¡¯s words, then agreed. She¡¯d been pretty reliable so far. At least when she wasn¡¯t pointlessly nattering.

    However, before I went hunting for dragon skin, I wanted a few more of those fog turtles, just in case I needed to make a hasty exit.

    Now that I knew their scent, they were much easier to track, although still a pain in the ass to kill if I didn¡¯t kill them right away. I ate five more of the creatures by mid-afternoon. After properly digesting them, I headed back into the lake and dove down, following along as the steep slope grew even steeper.

    I began to navigate the lake floor that was quickly becoming more like a wall, tracing it around as I descended into the abyssal depths, the late afternoon sunlight barely filtering down to this level. However, I could pick out quite a bit of life down here with my magic and electrical perception. There were all sorts of fish and eels, and they darted in and out of tiny caves in the walls, which were covered with a strangely fuzzy moss.

    As I got deeper, I gradually became aware of two things: I was starting to get very physically uncomfortable as it felt like my body was being compressed, and the water itself was beginning to register as having magic aura. However, I was distracted from these minor nuisances, as my eyes started to pick up a faint silvery glow coming from below.

    As the light grew, I realized that the walls below opened up into a much larger space. I ignored the growing discomfort and proceeded.

    As I reached the entrance to the large cavern, the walls around me had continued to narrow gradually until it was an oblong shape, about 20 yards long and 15 in width. I had to force myself to ignore my magic perception, as the water around me glowed with quiet intensity, and the cavern ahead blazed like an inferno. It was simply too overwhelming, even as I tuned it out, and I felt light-headed and anxious to leave.

    As I entered the cavern in full, the most eye-catching thing was a literal tower of treasures, glinting and glittering in light that seemed to come from everywhere at once. I eyed it critically before continuing to inspect the place. Sure, it was shiny and eye-catching, but what use is it?

    Coiled around the tower of sparkling gems, coins and works of art was the very same gigantic snake thing, the elder lake dragon. It remained in place, although I had the acute sense of being watched.

    That feeling of being compressed was getting worse as I descended, and I could feel my body healing the stress and damage from the pressure as it accrued. I could not remain down here long.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    It was not hard to spot what I had come to find. There were large patches of the thick, translucent stuff caught up on the cavern walls, while some rested on the floor. Small schools of fish nibbled at them.

    I swam to the nearest one, scattering the fish eating my prize, and tugged it free of where it was hung up on some jagged rocks. This one was about five feet wide and ten feet in length. I balled it up as best as I could and clutched it to my chest.

    I¡¯d have to eat it somewhere else. I needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

    I turned back, and was dumbfounded for a moment. The ceiling of the cavern was riddled with holes similar to the one I had come through. There were dozens of them. I picked one that seemed about the right size and might have been the right distance away, and swam as quickly as I could with my new burden.

    I exited the cavern, and began my ascent with all due haste. I needed to be away from the oppressive, crushing place. As I continued to rise, the sense of pressure lessened and faded, although I still had the distinct sense of being watched. That did not fade until I reached the surface, and promptly swam for and unfamiliar shore.

    ¡°Uh, this isn¡¯t the same lake you went down through,¡± Dendra muttered once we were clear of the water.

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. Lucky this came up to the surface. Didn¡¯t know which one was right one.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, by the feel of it, I think this one is a few miles to the northwest.¡±

    I let her continue chattering away while I regarded my loot. The silvery material was about an inch thick, and it was smooth and soft. Under my magic perception, it gave off the same healthy aura as a living creature. I tentatively took a bite of it. It didn¡¯t taste like much, and it was very difficult to chew, but I persisted and it only took about forty minutes to eat. I would not allow anything to go to waste.

    I tried to meditate, but I couldn¡¯t focus. My body felt like it was in a sorry state. All my joints and limbs ached, and my mind was sluggish and tired.

    I found a good spot to curl up by a tree, and rested as my body gradually healed the damage from the dive and my rapid ascent.

    Once I felt a bit better, I was able to slip into my meditative state and examine my meal. Or, at least, I tried to examine it. I saw it as a patch of glowing, shimmering silver scales. However, consuming even tiny parts of the image overwhelmed me with information I couldn¡¯t process or comprehend. I was beginning to get the vague feeling that if I tried to consume and integrate this aura with my current level of strength, it would have dire consequences. I pondered it for a bit, wondering what to do. Even if I didn¡¯t consciously integrate it, it probably would anyways over time, which also didn¡¯t seem a good idea. I couldn¡¯t exactly puke it up either, as it had effectively become a part of my own aura.

    I meditated on it for a long time, before I came up with a solution that left me feeling rather disgruntled. I couldn¡¯t get rid of it, and I couldn¡¯t handle digesting it. My only real option is to find some way to save it for later. Maybe nibble away at it gradually over a long period of time. Until I could handle it, I¡¯d just need to contain it and keep it separate. To do that, I¡¯d need a container.

    I firmed up the image in my mind of what I wanted to happen, what I needed to happen, and I felt my insides slowly shifting. A hollow sphere of turtle shell grew and nestled itself next to my heart, and I forced the unprocessed aura within. Once all the foreign energy was contained inside that sphere, I imagined coils of my own aura coursing through and around that little ball of shell, strengthening it. I wrapped it up in intertwining layers of those coils, leaving only a tiny little hole that I could feel just the tiniest bit of the dragon skin¡¯s essence leaking through.

    I checked and rechecked my work, before coming out of my trance. Once more I noticed Dendra withdrawing those tiny little hairlike roots back into the necklace.

    ¡°Okay, wow. Just when I think you couldn¡¯t possibly be more adorable, you up and invent some high tier sealing magic with an integrated biological component to seal off a chunk of your own soul. And it only took you like three days. That¡¯s like, wow. I watched it all and I am still stunned.¡±

    ¡°Three days?¡± I looked around to find my surrounding had significantly changed. A thicket of bushes that had not originally been there now surrounded the spot where I sat. I could not see the sun through the canopy of the tree above me, but I had no reason to doubt that.

    ¡°Yep. I probably should have warned you to ration that thing, but I forgot you¡¯re still just a chimera. Of course you¡¯d eat it all at once. For a while I thought I was going to just have to accept this as my new location.¡±

    As she continued chattering, I was struck by a sudden realization. I¡¯d left my weapons in that village. Ugh. I didn¡¯t want to go all the way there just for that. Oh well, I can always kill more trolls.

 24.

    I trudged through the forest, contemplating recent events.  I had nearly died due to a lack of caution, blindly eating something far beyond my ability to handle.  I was normally rather cautious when I hunted, but I¡¯d never imagined that something I¡¯d eat could harm me.  No, that¡¯s not really true.  Even though I suspected that I could probably eat anything I wanted without a problem now, I still avoided plants and nonliving material.  I still remembered my early days, stalking and watching my sibling that had degraded over time into little more than a gelatinous blob of gluttony, eventually becoming a pile of living compost.

    I¡¯d grown incautious of late, taking risks I never would have considered before.  I¡¯d suffered grievous harm several times since I¡¯d eaten that first human, and somehow ended up caught in a strange deal with a very strange dryad.  Life had been so much simpler when I was simpler.

    I dismissed those thoughts for now, and recalled what the dryad had said to me when I woke up after eating the dragon skin.  ¡°You said earlier, I invented a magic?  What is that?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?  Oh, yeah.  I was wondering when you¡¯d ask me about that.  You performed some kind of custom sealing spell to contain the dragon essence you consumed.  I didn¡¯t know you knew how to do that.  I mean, I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s ever heard of a chimera mage before.¡±

    ¡°Mage?  Spell?  What do those mean?¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, hmm, how to explain this¡­  Ah, you know how everything has an aura to it, right?  And living things have especially potent ones.  Well, that aura is basically how much you weigh upon the normal rules of reality.  Something like you or me will normally have more, because our very existence is not possible by those rules.  But reality is quite flexible.  Instead of breaking, it just sort of bends and warps around those that have stronger auras.

    ¡°Magic is what happens when a being uses their aura to twist reality.  Most magic beings do this unintentionally.  When it is done intentionally, we call that a spell.  Mages are beings who have chosen to study the use of spells and accumulating their magic aura.  Your own shape changing abilities were already pseudo-spells, as you were twisting a function of your own body to match your intent.  However, that thing you did with the dragon essence was a genuine spell.  A fairly complex one too.¡±

    ¡°You know how to use spells?¡± I asked.  Perhaps I wouldn¡¯t have to rely on the humans to learn after all.  Though, maybe I should anyways, just in case they knew different spells.

    ¡°Nope,¡± she answered with a happy chirp.  ¡°The best I can do are pseudo-spells.  I never bothered trying to learn anything beyond expanding my own natural abilities.  Us dryads aren¡¯t exactly known for doing much planning for our own futures, since we generally care much more about our forest.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s disappointing, but only to be expected.

    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking, Shaper.  You keep trying to use weapons, and keep losing them¡­ Why not try making them from yourself?  Like a sort of pseudo-form.¡±

    It felt like the suns had risen inside my head, to shine upon an idea that had been languishing in the dark.  That was it!  That was the idea that had been nagging at me but not yet fully formed.  If I could manifest creature traits in a way that was suitable for my own body, I should also be able to shape them fully, to create nearly anything I wanted.  The possibilities were practically endless!

    Without any further words, I dropped to the forest floor and took a seat, dropping into my meditative trance.  As my awareness of the outside world faded, my focus turning inward, I was dimly aware of a thicket of brambles growing up around my body and Dendra muttering something to herself.

    In the calm, quiet emptiness of my inner self, I was dimly aware of a glowing presence.  I turned my attention to it and saw the sphere of turtle shell, leaking out just a hint of draconic power.  The cords of aura that ran through and around it writhed and squeezed at it, like constrictor snakes.  That made sense, since I had held the image of one in my mind as I was fashioning the binding.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    I pushed the seal away from my focus, and began to build the concept and image in my mind.  I wanted to start off with something straightforward.  I remembered the spear, the first weapon I¡¯d seen, the one that allowed the weak little human to mortally wound a dire bear, even though it cost him his life.

    <hr>

    Dendra watched as he sank into a deep meditative trance.  He had seemed uncharacteristically excited when she had brought up the idea of growing his own weapons.  She¡¯d have been mildly annoyed with his abrupt stop, were she not overwhelmed by how adorable he was when excited.  She¡¯d pinch his cheeks if they¡¯d been soft enough to pinch.  Instead, she extended the tiny roots once more to monitor the flows of his aura.  If she couldn¡¯t satisfy herself with cheek pinching, she¡¯d have to make do with peeping.

    For the first twenty minutes or so, nothing visible happened, so she passed her time marveling at the sealing spell that writhed within his chest.  Eventually, Shaper¡¯s aura began to condense and flowed in incomprehensible patterns that felt almost, but not quite natural.  Shaper¡¯s right hand moved, and his clawed fingers opened so that his palm was held upwards.  As Dendra watched, the flesh of his palm split open, and veins surged forth.  Then, with unnatural speed, flesh and bone began to form and grow.

    Over the next few minutes, a spinal column made of light gray bone grew forth from his palm, extending to six feet in length.  Red flesh was stretched across the vertebral columns, muscle tissue that kept the bones straight.  Small organs pulsed along its length.  Then a dark grayish green coating spread out  to cover the entire thing, looking much like the shells of the fog turtles that Shaper had eaten.

    Dendra watched with rapt attention as Shaper grew a spear of flesh and blood and bone in a matter of minutes.  She felt the sap rushing through her body flush with pleasure.  Oh, how adorable her little Shaper was.  She would get him to plant her new tree, and then she would continue to accompany him, she decided once again.  She would allow nothing prevent her from witnessing first-hand the waves that he would make as the world dashed itself against him.

    <hr>

    When I felt the spear I had envisioned finish growing, I withdrew from my meditative state to inspect my handiwork, both visually and with my magic perception.  I took the spear in my left hand as I inspected, releasing it from the grip of my right hand, ensuring that it was not still connected to my body by any lingering nerves or blood vessels.  The shaft of the spear was covered with textured fog turtle shell, which encased its core of troll spinal column.  Tiny vents in the shell allowed the uptake of air from outside into the bloodstream to keep the tissue within living, while miniature single chamber hearts distributed throughout kept the blood circulating.  The tip of the spear was a gleaming white with four closely clustered points made of the same material as giant mole beaver teeth.  The four points surrounded a fifth, slightly recessed point which was a thicker wyvern quill attached to muscles that could push the quill forward with considerable force, allowing it to drive deep into a target¡¯s flesh.

    I could feel the spear pulsating with life, sustained by the aura that I fed it.  I was pleased with my work.  Next, I tried to reabsorb the spear. This part went agonizingly slow.  It wasn¡¯t at all like when I was changing forms, it felt more like I was trying to eat it, but through my palm. The process sped up when I held the spear in both hands, but it still took nearly thirty minutes for me to fully reabsorb the spear.

    That wouldn¡¯t do.  I regrew the spear, this time watching with my full awareness as it took shape.  As with my form shifting, the subsequent attempt was faster than the original, so I reasoned I would be able to grow the spear acceptably fast with some practice.

    This time, instead of trying to reabsorb the spear through my hands, I decided to eat it.  I influenced the shell and bone to soften and simply devoured the thing in a few quick bites.  I felt the disjointed aura of the spear smoothly rejoining my own as it vanished into my stomach.

    I then began to practice growing the spear, testing my limits.  As each one completed, I set it aside and began the next.

    It felt fundamentally different than my form shifting.  As I created each one, slightly faster than the previous one, I felt it wear on my mind.  The process was mentally taxing, probably because this was pushing my own natural abilities far beyond what they would normally be capable of doing on their own.  By the time I created the tenth spear, finished in just under a minute, I felt too exhausted to continue, so I set about reclaiming the pile of spears.

    ¡°You know Shaper, I could normally make so many silly jokes about this, but ultimately it¡¯s so practical and utilitarian and you, that I really can¡¯t.  Although I doubt you¡¯d understand the humor anyway.  We¡¯ll have to work on that,¡± Dendra said.

 25.

    I rested for a while in the thicket of brambles that Dendra had thrown up around me while I had been busy creating my first weapon. As I rested, I pondered the possibilities that such an ability opened up to me. Perhaps, with enough creativity and some samples to open the way, I might be able to create some sort of ranged weapon of my own.

    Hmm, but could I not do that already? I delved through James¡¯ memories, returning to some information I¡¯d figuratively glanced over before. I could try creating a bow, though I might have to assume a different form to use it properly. Shoulders are weird, in how different ones have different limits. Or I could create some sort of crossbow. Then my search veered into some of the weirder memories of his, memories of the games he¡¯d played and of a race not too dissimilar from my own in one of those games. This race generated weapons made from living flesh and bone and equipped their soldiers with these weapons. While the actual details of how said weapons worked on the inside were rather sparse, the descriptions of their capabilities were enough to inflame my imagination.

    I continued to lie there, pleasantly daydreaming of fantastical weapons until the fatigue and strain wore off. A ranged weapon would be a very good thing to have, but I recognized that James¡¯ memories were rather severely lacking in their method of manufacture. He only vaguely understood how they worked, but not how to reproduce it. After all, a bow was much more conceptually complicated than a stick with a pointy bit at the end. I could experiment, but it could potentially take days or weeks to come up with something that worked properly. Another reason to visit the humans, then. One member of my favorite group of humans had been using a bow. Perhaps I could force them to teach me how to make one or have them take me to the one who made it.

    ¡°Dendra, what¡¯s the best way for me to make the humans teach me things?¡±

    ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been learning their language?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I saw a furry human using magic. Made a troll blind and deaf while they ran away. I wanted that.¡±

    The tiny dryad¡¯s face split in a dopey grin. ¡°Oh, that is just. So. Cute!¡±

    ¡°I also saw beasts up at the top of a mountain, they used magic too. They made fire and frost and were very strong. I want to eat them, but I need more strength.¡±

    ¡°Well, that makes sense, coming from you. Mountains like these are often thick with natural magic as you get closer to their peaks. Not nearly as much as that dragon¡¯s den, but enough that many strong beasts will congregate there to fuel their own growth.¡± She paused and rubbed her tiny chin thoughtfully. ¡°Yeah, I suppose learning the magics used by the humanoids would be beneficial to you.¡±

    I waited while she appeared deep in thought.

    ¡°Well, probably the best way for you to learn is to pretend to be one of them. Get them to accept you as one of them. Admittedly, that¡¯s a bit of a tall order, so we¡¯re going to have to come up with something of a back story and figure out what kind of behaviors you can reasonably get away with and what you can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°The only way?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The most reliable way. Unless you can get their memories by eating them, which I doubt. I don¡¯t think a chimera has ever shown that capability before.¡±

    ¡°No memories, only natural abilities,¡± I said in confirmation.

    ¡°Well, then you¡¯ll need to pass yourself off as one of them. Which is going to take us some work. I mean, I never did spend much time among them, I mostly treated with those who visited my tree. We should probably avoid you taking on the form of a human though, maybe one of the Kin? What kind of humanoids have you eaten?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I searched my memories. ¡°One that killed a dire bear, the orc, and some that hunted other humans?¡±

    Dendra buried her tiny face in her hands. ¡°But what kind were they? Elves? Kin? Dwarves? Humans?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°Well, you need to make a new form for this. Shape yourself like one of them. Make your body look like one of theirs. Ah, but we¡¯re also going to need clothes and equipment for you¡­ Well, I can handle some of that, I think. For now, just keep walking back home, I need to plan this out. We¡¯ll find somewhere to practice before you try to work your way into their ranks.¡±

    I continued walking, thinking on what Dendra wanted me to do. I really didn¡¯t enjoy the idea of acting like one of the humans. I had no desire to turn out like James. Every memory I touched on related to his personal life filled me with the same revulsion I felt for goblins. However, I knew that power could not be acquired without a cost. For me, the cost was usually fresh meat and the effort to acquire it. But I knew that was not necessarily always going to be the case. I¡¯d been seeing evidence that skill born of experience was a power unto itself, one I would need to master. Combined with my own strength, I would become formidable indeed.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I grumped. I still didn¡¯t like the idea, but she had proven her usefulness to me already. It might be beneficial to listen to her more, even if she was something of a nuisance at times.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so grumpy, Shaper. I think I¡¯ve got an idea that will be really helpful.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Hmm, no, make your shoulders a bit narrower.¡±

    ¡°Perfect. Now the fur needs to be just a bit longer.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. You even got the color right. Though they are a bit thin¡­¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve told you already, get rid of the horns. I don¡¯t care that they help you see. Ditch them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, wow. No. Just no. Not ever. Just undo that one.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you really need to make yourself smell. Otherwise it¡¯ll be a dead giveaway to just about any Kin.¡±

    ¡°Your claws are still the wrong color. They need to look duller than that. Duller. Um¡­ Less shiny.¡±

    ¡°Really? You¡¯re going to risk being exposed just because you don¡¯t want to have a ¡®dangling weak-point¡¯ on you? Blessed Earth Mother, then don¡¯t put nerves in it. You only need it in case you¡¯re seen without pants. It doesn¡¯t need to be functional. Although¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm, no, on second thought, go back to the shade you were using earlier. That eye color just doesn¡¯t suit this visage. The first one was better.¡±

    ¡°Okay, now can you just shorten the forearms a tiny bit? They still look slightly out of proportion.¡±

    After what felt like days, but was instead merely hours, Dendra finally pronounced my humanoid guise as complete. According to her, I was imitating a member of a rare and elusive race of beast kin, called a Ravager. While I had never eaten one, through her guidance and nagging I¡¯d cobbled the appearance of one together out of a disparate assortment of features from beings I¡¯d eaten. She seemed content with the outcome, though, and said that unless someone was inspecting me very closely, with an actual Ravager next to me for comparison, then I was pretty much indistinguishable from one.

    After the form had been perfected to her specifications, she grew clothes for me from woven plant fibers. I did not like the sensation of wearing them, but she insisted that they were a necessity for passing as a normal humanoid, and I knew she was right. That didn¡¯t make me like the odd rubbing sensation against my hide any, so I forced myself to ignore it as much as possible. I was just glad she allowed me to ditch the ¡®shoes¡¯ as they were the worst.

    We continued our travel towards my forest, and I stayed in the new form, getting used to how it moved, its balance, and practicing at using my spear with it. Dendra took this time to try to educate me on how to behave in humanoid society. It actually wasn¡¯t that difficult, since a lot of the knowledge echoed what resided in James¡¯ memories, although with some rather significant differences. That part of the trip was rather uninteresting.

    The part that was enjoyable? Killing goblins. I was still not accustomed enough to this form to be nearly as stealthy as I had grown used to being. This made it harder to dodge the goblins, who were now even thicker in the area than they had been before. So, much to my delight, I was ¡®forced¡¯ into confrontations with the foul-smelling creatures with astounding regularity.

    Being bigger, faster and stronger than the goblins, killing them was astoundingly simple. I¡¯m fairly certain I¡¯m smarter than them, as well, which doesn¡¯t hurt. While they grouped together readily enough, they barely cooperated. I could tear my way through thirty as easily as I could through five. It was also excellent practice for using my spear.

    The only real downside was that I had to frequently find water to wash off the filthy smell of their blood from me.

    During my fifth such bath, Dendra decided to ask, ¡°So¡­ You got a grudge against goblins or something?¡±

 26.

    ¡°They stink.  They taste bad.  They¡¯re weak, and their only use is as wyvern bait.  There¡¯s too many of them and they¡¯re ugly,¡± I said, listing off my complaints about them.  Although, the last one was added out of spite.  I couldn¡¯t really tell if they were ugly or not, but to me, their existence felt ugly, so I suppose it was apt enough.

    The dryad¡¯s tiny form looked at me oddly.  ¡°It¡¯s a bit uncharacteristic, but the passion is adorable, even if poorly explained.  So, you tried eating them?¡±

    ¡°Yes.  I would have vomited if it were possible.  I could make myself do so now, I suppose.  Reject its aura and keep it from merging with my own.¡±  I suddenly regretted not learning how to do so far sooner.

    ¡°Huh.  You know, I think I¡¯m starting to get it.  I¡¯ve never really paid any attention to their kind, so I never could confirm the old stories.  There¡¯s an old story about how the goblins came to be in this world of ours which kind of makes sense with your reaction.

    ¡°Long ago, there was a humanoid tribe.  They might have been elves or Kin or dwarves, or something else entirely.  They were a violent and greedy people that pillaged and plundered and massacred nearby villages until nothing remained in range for their raids.  Then they would move on and start over again.  This cycle of marauding went on for many decades, before they attacked a village that was under the protection of a celestial stag that lived in the forest nearby.  This village was a wonderful, peaceful place filled with people of all kinds who lived in harmony with the land under the guidance of the stag.  When they attacked, they were driven off in a great show of force, as the trees themselves rose up to defend the village¡¯s people under the direction of the shining white stag.  Many of the attackers died, and the village was spared.  The stag warned the attacking people to not come after his village again, and that they should consider trying to live in a better fashion.

    ¡°However, the marauding tribe was filled with selfish and petty people, and they could not allow such an insult to stand.  And so, they devised a plan to distract the great beast and slaughter the village.  They set fire to the edge of the forest opposite the village.  While the stag was away to deal with the fire, the marauders attacked the defenseless village and slaughtered every last inhabitant, tore down their dwellings and defecated on the pile of corpses that they¡¯d stacked in the village¡¯s center.

    ¡°Upon returning, the celestial stag was horrified and angered at the atrocity that had been committed in his absence and filled with a deep regret that he had been unable to save those who relied on him.  And so, he dug deep within himself, twisting his pure heart into a curse just as vile and foul as the acts that had been committed.  He poured the entirety of his essence and being and life into this retribution and inflicted it upon the perpetrators, sacrificing his own existence and forever cursing them and their progeny to be weak, vile things, as twisted in appearance as the deeds their kind had committed.  It¡¯s just an old story, but I think it fits.¡± Dendra finished the story.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.  What does that have to do with goblins?¡±

    Dendra sighed.  ¡°The people in the story who got cursed became goblins.  They are probably foul to your senses because the curse lingers in their aura, which you excel at perceiving.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s dumb.  They¡¯re just gross.  Nothing more complicated than that.¡±

    I continued washing the goblin filth from my body.  Dendra was almost done weaving me new clothes again.

    She sighed and changed the topic.  ¡°Anyways, we really need to go over your behavior for when you¡¯re pretending to be one of them.  You¡¯re picking it all up quickly enough, but I am still worried.¡±

    I shrugged.  ¡°I¡¯m not.  If I fail, I can just leave.  These humans are all over, right?¡±

    Dendra sighed.  ¡°I suppose you have a point there.  Although, that brings me to another thing.  You can¡¯t call everything you see a human.  Yeah, the races are all a part of the humanoid family but, you know¡­  Pure bloods take it as an insult.  Even half breeds will get uppity about it.  Nobody likes being called a mongrel.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°Human is just another word for a mixed breed.  How to explain?  Ah!  So, if a Kin has a child with an elf, the baby is a human.  If that baby grows up and has a kid with an elf, then that kid is a half elf.  Oh, this is going to be complicated.  Do you even know how most creatures breed?¡±

    I nodded.

    She looked at me with suspicion.

    ¡°They have sex.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I guess you do.  Huh.  My adorable baby Shaper grew up before I knew it¡­¡±  Dendra sighed yet again before continuing.  ¡°Well, when they do, they get half their bloodline traits from each parent.  Anyways, the different races can be kind of uppity about bloodline purity.  Even so, interbreeding happens, and that¡¯s how we ended up with humans.  Heck, a few generations without closing in with one of the pure bloodlines and it¡¯s almost impossible to tell where they came from.  Which elves really hate, because those types can almost pass as half elven with a little bit of disguise work.  You might be able to get away with throwing that term around by being too intimidating for them to get huffy about it.  After all, your new form is probably pretty scary to any humanoid.  But it¡¯s best not to rely on that.  I guess a good rule would be if they have fur or scales, call them Kin.  Really tall and bulky?  Giant.  Short and stocky with stone for skin?  Dwarf.  Pointy eared, pointy fanged, and ranting about their own superiority since they¡¯re soooo in touch with nature?  Probably an elf.  Ah, I love them, but I also hate them.  Orcs are obviously the green ones with the tusks and the big muscles.  Otherwise, it¡¯s best to just avoid going around calling them by race.  Maybe avoid it altogether?

    ¡°Ooh!  Idea!  Just refer to everyone as ¡®Hey you!¡¯ until you learn their name.  Yeah!  That¡¯ll work.  Maybe refer to a piece of their gear if you have to.  Like, ¡®Hey you with the sword!¡¯ or ¡®Hey you with the bow!¡¯  Yep, I am brilliant.¡±

    I nodded.  ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and I almost forgot about your spear¡­  Well, for now, let¡¯s just claim ignorance as part of the whole lost memory act you¡¯re going to do, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°So, what do you say if I ask you about your spear?¡±

    I shrugged.

    ¡°Good enough.  You know, the whole tall, menacing and taciturn thing is probably going to work in your favor quite a bit.  Oh, Blessed Earth Mother.  I just totally jinxed you on that.  No, that¡¯s just silly bardic superstition¡­¡±  Dendra trailed off and started muttering quietly to herself.

    I finished scouring my fur in the stream of water, then stepped away and shook myself vigorously until I was mostly dry before donning the new set of clothes Dendra had woven for me.

    ¡°Also, can you try a little harder to avoid these goblin patrols?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

 27.

    Back home in my forest once more, I felt at ease.  The filthy goblins had been left behind, and the familiar terrain with its familiar scents and sounds surrounded me once more.  It was nearing late evening, and most of the humanoids in the forest were well on the way back to the fort, carrying their spoils away from this rich hunting ground.  The growing gloom would make it easier for me to move around in the forest without attracting notice.  My new form wasn¡¯t nimble enough for traveling through the dense forest canopy, so I would need to remain on the ground.

    I allowed Dendra to guide me to the spot she felt would be most suitable for her new tree.  I sat and waited at the place she designated, a small clearing that had a small stream running through it.  I practiced growing my spears, since I would not be able to do so around the humans, and it didn¡¯t hurt to further refine the skill while I had time.  As I did so, Dendra extended a tendril of roots toward the ground, burying a small, round seed and churning up the grass to expose rich, black loam.

    Several minutes passed as I grew and ate the spears.  Eventually, a tiny green shoot poked up from the soil in which Dendra¡¯s tendrils were still buried.  The sprout quickly grew, and as it did, a number of slimes gravitated into the clearing, inching closer to us.  They had a green hue, and leafy protrusions coming from their tops.  The slimes excitedly bounced and rolled about the clearing as the sapling quickly grew.  I could feel the soil shifting beneath me as its roots squirmed outward and thickened, seeking nutrients to fuel its prodigious rate of growth.  The tree grew with an audible creaking and groaning, until it towered above the trees which surrounded the clearing.

    This tree, whatever it was, was certainly something new.  Its bark was an almost glossy, dark gray, complementing its deep green leaves that whispered and shook in the light breeze.  Its lower branches were in easy reach, and were laden with a dark red, knobby looking fruit that pulsed with aura and had a strong, sweet smell to them.  The green slimes closed in on the tree ¡ªgiving me a wide berth¡ª and bumped up against it before retreating.  A full-sized Dendra stepped forth from its broad trunk.

    She stretched and arched her back.  ¡°Ooh, that feels good.  My old tree was nice, but it was about time for me to have little saplings of my own.¡±  She turned to look at her new tree.  ¡°Yes, very nice indeed.  Well, I think waiting here for the inevitable investigation will be the easiest way for you to meet up with the adventurers, no?¡±  She played with the root necklace that was still draped around my neck as she spoke.

    I shrugged.  Go to them or wait somewhere they would come to, it mattered not to me.  The new, very tall tree which radiated life and power would certainly draw attention.  I shifted my position until my back was against the tree¡¯s trunk, and closed my eyes, taking in the noise of the forest as dusk transitioned to night.  ¡°They are jumpier at night.  I can wait here for now.¡±

    I continued to lean against the tree, taking in the sounds of the night life of the forest, thinking and going over my plans.  The new tree was drawing a lot of attention from the forest¡¯s beasts.  Many came to investigate but did not linger when I allowed my aura to leak out.  Infiltrating the ranks of the humans would be interesting.  I had much to gain, and little to lose so long as I was careful.  I did not believe I had anything to fear from them.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I spent the hours until the suns¡¯ rising browsing through James¡¯ memories, building up mental images for other weapons to eventually grow.  The spear would certainly work fine for now, but there was no need to limit myself ¡ª at least when I wasn¡¯t maintaining a cover.

    As the twin orbs rose, a different set of birds began their songs for the day.  More beasts cautiously stalked near the clearing to inspect the strange new beacon of power.

    <hr><hr>

    Vee and her group made their way through Slime Forest.  The activity and scrutiny surrounding the mysterious Bandit Massacre was finally dying down, and she was glad of it.  Having been the only witnesses and survivors of the strange encounter, they¡¯d been the subjects of much gossip and rumor.  They¡¯d even talked of leaving Slime Forest, but the money here was still too good to pass up.  The forest had many things to hunt, some of which, like the chimeras, could not be found anywhere else.

    Today, however, they were not on a hunt.  They had a specific goal: something to investigate.  Sometime during the previous night or evening, a massive tree had sprouted in the forest, nearly twice the height of any other in the forest.  According to Trella, it was practically glowing with aura.  Vee didn¡¯t have the same ability to perceive aura as the young Kin woman of the Red Fox clan, but she certainly felt some kind of draw when she gazed upon it in the distance.

    Grix, Sil and Sul kept a formation around their mage while Vee ranged ahead.  As she drew closer to their destination, she picked up a faint smell of woodsmoke.  A cooking fire?  Had another group already reached the curious tree?

    She reached the edge of a clearing, and peeked through some brush, staying low and out of sight.  Near the center of the clearing stood the massive tree.  Vee drew in a sharp breath.  A dryad¡¯s tree?!  She had seen one of these before, years ago.  Dryads could inhabit any tree that they helped to grow, but only a certain kind of tree would allow them to produce a new generation of dryads.  This would surely be a boon to this forest, especially as a hunting ground.  Dryad trees enriched the soil with magic, leading to a healthier forest and stronger beasts.

    She tore her eyes from the magnificent tree to take in the rest of the clearing.  Not far from the base of the tree was a small fire, with small fish roasting on sticks over it.  Squatting next to the fire was a massive Kin, of a clan she¡¯d never seen before, dressed in loose and simple clothing.  It was a hulking brute of a Kin, with thick and powerful looking arms and legs, and a long, whip-like tail.  His fur was a mottled black and red coloration.  His head was almost like one of the wolf clan¡¯s, aside from the pronounced brow.  And his golden eyes were locked right on Vee¡¯s own.

    He maintained the stare for what felt like minutes before returning his attention to the fish cooking over the fire.

    She had been so caught up in staring at the Kin, she had entirely failed to notice the dryad draping herself over his back and shoulder while speaking in hushed tones, or the oddly colored green and white spear that lay next to their feet.

    After a few more moments of Vee staring at the strange duo, the dryad also looked in her direction and shouted.  ¡°Well, what are you waiting for, aren¡¯t you here to see my new tree?¡±

 28.

    I avoided staring at Vee as she stepped out of the bushes. I was quite pleased that my humans had been the first to show up. I reminded myself not to use any of their names until they introduced themselves. Instead of staring at her, I focused on the fish I was cooking, small things I¡¯d caught from the stream. Dendra had provided me with some herbs to flavor them with, and I was curious to see how the flavor would change.

    Without glancing in her direction, I motioned for Vee to take a seat by the fire.

    ¡°Um, okay. I have four more coming along behind me, if you don¡¯t mind?¡± She seemed unsure of what to say.

    I shrugged.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He¡¯s adorable, but not much of a talker,¡± said Dendra, who¡¯d draped herself over my shoulder. She¡¯d been quite clingy and touchy since her new tree was planted.

    ¡°Right¡­¡± As Vee approached, a root pushed itself up from the ground and molded itself into a shape much like a stool, opposite the fire from where I was squatting.

    I looked up from the fire and inspected the woman as she sat down. She looked much like what James knew human to look like, though her ears were slightly pointed, and her eyes were an amber color that didn¡¯t match anything he¡¯d ever seen. She kept her bow in hand as she sat down, while her other hand rested on a knife sheathed at her belt. I could smell the anxiety on her as clear as I could see it. She seemed to be somewhat unnerved by me.

    Her tension would be noted by her companions when they arrived, and a full group of nervous adventurers might be an annoyance to deal with, so I aimed to diffuse her anxiety.

    ¡°I¡¯m Shaper,¡± I said. Then I pointed to the dryad, ¡°That¡¯s Dendra. You want fish?¡± I pointed at the fish which were roasting on skewers.

    She seemed rather perplexed by my offer. Did she not know they were for eating?

    I grabbed one of the skewers holding up a fish and held it up to my mouth, then took a large bite from it to demonstrate how it should be eaten. The taste was quite good. Dendra had definitely picked the right plants for seasoning the fish flesh.

    The woman hesitantly grabbed one of the fish, and brought it up to her mouth, nibbling on it lightly. Her expression rapidly changed from apprehension to pure culinary bliss. ¡°Sweet forest, this is good! What did you use to season these?¡±

    I shrugged and pointed at the dryad. I literally had no idea what the plants were.

    Dendra seemed rather pleased with herself as she answered. ¡°It¡¯s a mixture of dried Elf¡¯s Breath and Slime Pepper. And the wood it was cooked over is from my own tree. I don¡¯t often feast on the flesh of animals, but this has long been one of my favorite ways to prepare it. Shaper here, as adorable as he is, is actually a fairly terrible cook. He¡¯s always all about the meat. Never thinks of how to spice it up or complement its flavors.¡±

    I shrugged again, and Dendra giggled as she was lifted from the ground by the motion. ¡°Tastes good now.¡±

    I turned to look at the edge of the clearing where the other four stepped into view, then turned my attention back to the skewered fish I was eating. Dendra created more root stools for the arriving visitors, the invitation unspoken but obvious.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    As the confused quartet came forward and settled onto their seats around the fire, Vee tore her attention away from the fish she¡¯d begun devouring and cleared her throat. ¡°Ahem. I¡¯m Vee. This is my adventuring party. Grix is the half-giant. Trella is our red fox Kin mage. The lizard Kin are the twins, Sil and Sul. Guys? This is Shaper, and the Dryad clinging to him is Dendra.¡±

    I gave a half-hearted wave and felt Dendra do the same.

    The three males all eyed me warily, though Trella¡¯s mouth hung agape.

    ¡°Are¡­ Are you a Ravager?¡± She asked.

    I nodded and continued to eat my fish. I motioned to the other fish skewered by the fire; there were more than enough for each person to take one.

    Vee spoke up. ¡°Try it, it is super good. Miss Dendra, you are amazing.¡±

    Dendra giggled at the compliment.

    The others moved to take the fish, except the fox woman. ¡°Guys! Don¡¯t you get it?! Don¡¯t you know about the Ravager clan?!¡±

    She looked to the others, practically panting and reeking of fear. Her terrified gaze was met with a complete lack of understanding.

    I cocked my head and looked at her. Dendra hadn¡¯t told me much about the Kin race I was imitating.

    She shrank away from my gaze and shivered.

    I finished my snack and grabbed another fish. The fox Kin woman flinched at the movement.

    I had no idea how to deal with her, and it seemed like she was prepared to ruin my infiltration before it had truly begun.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, girl. Shaper here is the sweetest, most adorable Ravager ever. Probably because he doesn¡¯t really remember much of his life, but¡­¡± I could feel Dendra shrug emphatically as she trailed off. She pinched the cheek of my muzzle and pulled on it lightly. ¡°See? Totally docile and sweet.¡±

    After a few moments of continued cheek pinching, I lightly swatted her hand away. She¡¯d been doing that a lot since I took this form, and it was mildly irritating.

    One of the lizard brothers spoke up at that point. ¡°We¡¯ve not heard of their clan before, but it would not be right to judge him by the actions of his ancestors or relatives. Clans change with time. Our own clan once hunted other clans for sport, yet you do not fear us. He is intimidating, certainly, but he doesn¡¯t seem unreasonable. He¡¯s invited us to share warmth on this chilly morning and well-prepared food. Save your fear for when it is warranted, Trella.¡±

    Chastised, Trella averted her gaze.

    ¡°Sil, you just spoke more words for this stranger than I¡¯ve heard you say in the last year. You like these fish that much?¡± The half-giant guffawed at his own joke. The reptilian Kin just shrugged his own shoulders in response and took another bite of fish.

    ¡°Then he should be praising me, Shaper¡¯s not a very good cook,¡± Dendra said, preening.

    The other lizard brother laughed and continued eating.

    Dendra continued speaking. ¡°Anyways, Shaper doesn¡¯t have much in the way of memories before I found him sleeping in my lap. However, he was wanting to learn how to properly cast spells. Do you think one of you could teach him? Or maybe introduce him to someone who could?¡±

    The other four all turned their eyes to Trella, who had just worked up the courage to take one of the fish skewers. ¡°Me?!¡± She spluttered, having just managed to put the morsel to her mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t teach you,¡± she said as she tried to regain her composure. ¡°I¡¯m not even that good of a mage outside my clan¡¯s specialties. I don¡¯t know. Maybe I can introduce you to someone?¡±

    I nodded.

    The group fell into silence for a few minutes after that, before the fox woman spoke up once more. ¡°What¡¯s with that spear? It feels alive. And hungry.¡±

    I shrugged.

    ¡°He showed up with it,¡± Dendra lied. ¡°Couldn¡¯t really tell me much about where it came from or how it was made. But he sure can use it well. He must¡¯ve killed two or three hundred goblins with it as we trekked our way here.¡±

    ¡°Two hundred goblins?¡± Vee asked. ¡°Did he wade through one of their warrens?¡±

    ¡°Nope. There were tons of them out and about. Must have been thousands of them wandering the area.¡±

    ¡°Lots of them,¡± I added. ¡°Many small groups, and some very large that I went around. Their stench was everywhere.¡±

    The five adventurers traded uneasy glances.

    ¡°Were they headed this way?¡± Vee asked.

 29.

    My humans finished eating their fish rather quickly and seemed eager to leave.

    I banked the fire and made ready to follow them.

    ¡°Fucking goblins. It had to be goblins, didn¡¯t it?¡± Grix muttered as he rubbed his left shoulder.

    The reptilian brothers murmured their agreement.

    As I stood, Dendra walked back into and merged with her tree, then emerged once more from my root necklace.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡±

    I looked down at the tiny dryad form, and the others all turned to look.

    ¡°What? You think I¡¯m going to leave this adorable lug to stumble around on his own? I have my new tree, and I¡¯m happy. I¡¯m sticking with him,¡± she said.

    I shrugged.

    The others traded dubious looks but said nothing.

    ¡°Well, what are you all waiting for? Onward! Report the vile goblin threat! Teach my adorable little Shaper some magic!¡±

    I flicked the dryad¡¯s tiny head.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    ¡°Stick with us when we get to the gates. We¡¯ll vouch for you,¡± Grix said. Trella seemed unhappy about the invitation but held her tongue.

    Vee ran to Dendra¡¯s tree, and lithely climbed to one of the lower branches, collecting a few of the knobby red fruits that hung there. ¡°These things will be worth a fair bit. Come on, let¡¯s go!¡± She dropped back to the ground and practically sprinted out of the clearing.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re coming with us, Shaper?¡± Grix asked.

    ¡°Yes. I need to learn spells. And other crafts.¡±

    The half-giant nodded. ¡°Well, trail behind us by a few yards. We¡¯ll protect Trella, since she¡¯s fragile despite her power, and you keep an eye out for anything sneaking up on us. Got it?¡±

    I nodded and hefted my spear. With that we set off, heading in the direction of the fortress town.

    Grix and the brothers maintained a loose triangular formation around Trella as they marched through the forest.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she cute, Shaper? Oh, that timid little fox girl is just adorable. Not as much as you, but¡­¡±

    I ignored Dendra as she quietly prattled on.

    I walked with my spear slung over my shoulder, casual in my confidence that we would not be attacked. I could sense everything for hundreds of yards around and felt nothing that I would consider a threat. Occasionally we came within a few dozen yards of other groups, but we passed them by with no interaction beyond a simple wave of greeting.

    It took some time for us to reach the forest¡¯s edge and begin the trek from there to the fortress town. It had grown in my absence. The new outer wall had been completed, a palisade of roughhewn logs encircling the town itself. More buildings had been and were still being erected in the empty spaces between the inner and outer walls, sprawling precursors to the eventual urban crowding.

    We approached the forest-side gate, and Vee stepped forward to speak with the guards. ¡°Viela Tenirlane and party, returning. We have with us an undocumented Kin, friendly. Vouched for by a dryad and us. He¡¯s wearing her around his neck, if you need more information.¡±

    The guards stared at me with wonder. After a few moments, one of them worked up the courage to speak. ¡°Um, sir, if¡¯n ya dun mine me askin¡¯ it, from which clan does ya hail?¡±

    Dendra¡¯s tiny form spoke up before I could. ¡°He¡¯s of the Ravager clan. He helped me to plant my new tree in the forest. I ask that you treat him with the same respect you would any other envoy of the forest.¡±

    The guards both bowed their heads, while the one who¡¯d asked waved his hands and looked anywhere but directly at me. ¡°Certainly, marm. We just askin¡¯ cuz we is s¡¯posed ta. We intend no offense or disrespect.¡± The guard took care to enunciate the last bit, looking at me from the corner of his eye as he stiffened up to stand at attention.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Moments later we were through the gates and into the outer district of the new town. Much of the area was bare earth or patches of grass, with a few worn trails and numerous buildings being constructed, and a few already finished.

    ¡°We¡¯ll head to the Hunters¡¯ Guild. They¡¯ll share the information to where its needed. Goblin invasions are generally part of the shared purview of the Hunter and Mercenary Guilds,¡± Vee said, as she led the way along the hard-packed earth toward a newly erected building.

    I followed as the group trekked toward the inner walls, then through the streets until they reached a rather large building. Inside it was filled with rough cut tables of wood, where dozens of individuals congregated. Along one side was a counter of polished wood, behind which sat several young women. Vee approached one of them and began speaking.

    ¡°Viela Tenirlane and party, reporting on our scouting mission. We found a dryad tree at the point of interest, in full bloom. Fruits collected for verification. Kin of unknown affiliation encountered at the site, brought with us back to town. Seems to be of the Ravager clan.¡± Vee spoke with authority as she reported the group¡¯s findings, then handed over one of the glistening red fruits she had collected.

    The woman behind the counter took the fruit, and produced several sheets of paper, covered with writing. Obviously, I couldn¡¯t read what was printed on it, or what Vee scribbled down on it.

    ¡°Good job. The reward will be added to your account.¡± The woman behind the counter bowed to the group.

    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s more. We have information on a potential threat, so if you could arrange an urgent meeting with an officer, it would be appreciated.¡±

    After a few more exchanged words, the group moved to sit at a nearby table. I followed.

    ¡°So, what now?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We wait for a meeting with an officer of the guild,¡± Grix said.

    ¡°Why not just go and kill goblins instead?¡±

    Grix snorted. ¡°We can kill, as a group, maybe two hundred goblins before tiring? Five hundred? Doesn¡¯t matter. Goblin invasions happen when goblin population gets too high. Tens or hundreds of thousands come pouring out of their warrens, searching for things to eat, steal or kill.

    ¡°The worst ones see millions of the little bastards coming out of their caves. The stories say that this land used to be ours before a massive goblin wave like three or four hundred years ago. Ten million of the little green shits came storming out of their caves. They ran out of things they could easily kill in the mountains and swarmed across the plains. Kept spreading and multiplying until a plague took hold and wiped out most of them. Ten thousand good soldiers on a field ain¡¯t worth shit when outnumbered a thousand to one. Arm¡¯s going to tire eventually. Swords are heavy.¡±

    ¡°Most goblin invasions are only a few hundred thousand in size, relatively easy to handle with some coordination between the guilds,¡± said Vee. ¡°You only get the really big ones once in a while, with multiple groups reaching the critical point at the same time. In more civilized area, we do annual goblin culls and year-round bounties. Keeps them manageable.¡±

    I nodded along, not really understanding or caring. I was here to learn, but not about those foul creatures. However, they seemed insistent about notifying others about the goblins, and talking about boring things until they did so. Maybe it would lead to a lot of goblins dying. That would be acceptable, I supposed. Though it wouldn¡¯t make the waiting or their inane chatter any less tedious. Then her words caught up to me. Bounties?

    ¡°There are bounties for killing them? Here?¡± I allowed a feral smile to cross my face.

    Grix shook his head. ¡°Not yet. Nobody around here has had run-ins with them yet, so no bounties have been established. Sometimes, the guilds can be more reactive than proactive.¡±

    ¡°Oh. But in other places, they give you things for killing goblins?¡± I liked that idea. Maybe I could visit these other places sometime in the future.

    ¡°Uh, yeah. Most places the bounties range from a few silver septs up to a gold mark,¡± Grix answered.

    I tilted my head and looked at the half-giant, whom I still thought of as a dire human, in puzzlement.

    Dendra spoke up, coming to my aid, though not for the right reasons. ¡°He doesn¡¯t really understand money. Lots of his memory is just kind of missing, apparently. Also, I¡¯m not really sure his clan even uses the concept. Most of what I hear about them indicates they barter for goods and slaves.¡±

    I understood the concept of money, but only in the context of James¡¯ old life. I was just unsure of the particular conversion rates of the local economy¡¯s currency of choice. However, I went with Dendra¡¯s explanation and nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Oh. Well. Huh. Trella, maybe you can help me out on this one? I don¡¯t know how good I can explain money.¡±

    The fox girl swallowed audibly, glancing at me then at the ground near my feet. She didn¡¯t reek so openly of fear anymore, but her body remained tightly wound, and her breathing wasn¡¯t as calm and even as her companions¡¯. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ I need to go¡­ I need to use the facilities!¡± Trella squeaked out, after much stuttering and false starting. She bolted off and disappeared through a door marked in script I could not read.

    The dire human¡¯s gigantic hand clapped down on my shoulder, almost managing to encompass it entirely. ¡°Don¡¯t mind her. She¡¯s skittish sometimes. And she seems extra spooked by your clan of birth. Some of the Pures can be a superstitious lot.¡±

    One of the twin lizard brothers snorted. ¡°Only the furred ones, and the elves. The cold-blooded Kin and dwarves are far more rational.¡±

    The other one chuckled with a low, hissing cough of merriment. ¡°You still love dwarves, eh Sul?¡±

    Sul ducked his head and said nothing, causing another round of mirth from Sil. The two were somewhat difficult to tell apart, even with all my senses.

    Some minutes later, Trella rejoined us, right as a human girl with jet black eyes approached us. ¡°The Guild Master will see you now.¡±

    I noticed that the rest of the group straightened up at the mention of who we were to be meeting with. I inferred that it meant the person we were meeting would be important, and probably strong. A little bit of saliva pooled in my mouth at the thought.

 30.

    I¡¯d been keeping my aura tightly controlled ever since I¡¯d taken on the humanoid form, assuming it was more than enough to ward off suspicion. I was wrong.

    As I followed the group into an office, I felt an intense pressure against my aura, poking and prodding, almost like what it felt like when Dendra observed me with her roots, but far more intense. Without thinking, I firmed my aura against the intrusion, and moments later remembered to follow Dendra¡¯s instructions on how to react to a threat. I growled, bared my fangs and flooded the room with aggression pheromones. I heard a faint whimper coming from Trella but paid it no heed. I locked my eyes on the source of the intangible assault.

    Sitting behind a desk was a lean human with long ears, and a blank expression on his sharply angled face. Probably and elf or a half-elf based on Dendra¡¯s descriptions. His raven hair was long and tucked back behind the protruding ears, and his skin was a deep brown color. He smelled like leaves and meat, and some kind of pungent smoke. His aura was far stronger than the others¡¯, though it was difficult to judge its actual extent.

    Dendra spoke with a stern tone that I¡¯d never heard from her before as I shifted my stance and my grip on my spear. ¡°Is that any way to treat an Emissary of the Forest or her envoy? And all without even introducing yourself? Your ancestors would cut their ears in shame at your behavior.¡±

    The pressure immediately eased, though the elf¡¯s features barely moved. The rest of the group had moved aside when I¡¯d started growling, looking at me aghast. Vee had grabbed a hold of a shivering Trella and pulled the frightened fox girl to her chest, stroking the top of her head. Now, they just seemed confused, looking back and forth between the elf, Dendra and me.

    ¡°That¡¯s a bold claim, dryad. Our surveys indicated no spiritual demesnes on this land.¡±

    ¡°Ask these fine adventurers, who have just verified my claim, yearling.¡± It was rather unusual to hear Dendra speak in a tone that wasn¡¯t exasperated or sickly sweet. I relaxed my posture as she continued speaking and ceased to emit the pheromones. ¡°Or perhaps you wish no information on the goblin hordes poised to descend upon this region. If so, my adorable companion and I will take our leave while the goblins close in on this place. Even their lowly kind knows better than to insult a servant of nature. I will just return to my new tree and shelter the creatures of the forest as the goblins pour through and strike at your feeble fortifications. As the blood of your kind seeps into the earth, the forest will flourish and drink deep.¡±

    The elf¡¯s face remained still, but his tone of voice changed. ¡°No disrespect intended, Emissary, to you or your rather odd choice of envoy. Please, do speak of the goblin hordes you have seen.¡±

    Dendra¡¯s tone returned to a much more neutral one, though still somewhat cold. ¡°As I was being transported by Shaper to the center of my newly claimed demesnes, we encountered many patrols of goblins to the northwest of here. He killed his way through all the normal sized patrols, while we avoided the larger groupings and camps. Shaper, how many of them did you kill along the way and how many did we avoid?¡±

    ¡°Killed maybe two hundred fifty. Avoided maybe ten thousand. Lots of them north of here too. Saw them before I met you. Some of them rode wolves. I killed maybe two hundred of them but was not there long.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    For the next ten minutes or so, the elf asked me questions clarifying the numbers and locations of the goblins, as well as when I¡¯d spotted them, and wrote down the details on a piece of parchment. After he confirmed the details, he rolled up the paper, and stuck it into an odd-looking tube with sheets of cloth hanging from its side, then walked to the window and tossed it out.

    To my surprise, it took wing and flew off. I could sense the magic patterns in it taking hold and manipulating it as it departed.

    ¡°Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Emissary.¡± The elf bowed stiffly, then turned to the rest of the group, who had been maintaining an uncomfortable silence throughout the entire interaction. ¡°Hunt Leader Vee, thank you for seeing the Emissary and her envoy safely here. I have some further business to discuss with her, so if you don¡¯t mind giving us some privacy?¡± He gestured toward the door.

    Vee and the others gave shallow bows to the guild master and filed out of the room. Once the door was shut, the elf turned his attention back to Dendra and me. ¡°What sort of farce are you up to, tree spirit? Calling this ¡ª whatever it is ¡ª your envoy? I know not what sort of beast it is, for its aural defenses are impressive, but it is most certainly not one of the Ravager clan.¡±

    I glanced down at Dendra¡¯s tiny form, and she just looked back up and shrugged. ¡°I was working from some really old memories. We had no intention of drawing attention, since I didn¡¯t really think much of the goblin horde. They always exhaust themselves eventually. They are of no real concern to the forest. But you¡¯ve had dealings with the Ravagers then?¡±

    For the first time since he¡¯d encountered the elf, emotion crossed that blank face, twisting his features into a scowl. ¡°Unfortunately. The bone spurs on his arms were the biggest giveaway, far too white and they should sweep toward the wrist, not away from. After that, all the other minor inconsistencies started to stand out even more. What is this beast?¡±

    I concentrated a few moments while Dendra continued speaking, that familiar saccharine tone returning to her voice. ¡°This is Shaper. Isn¡¯t he adorable? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything else in the breadth of this world quite like him. And he¡¯s so clever!¡±

    As she continued to gush with praise for me, I altered the bone spurs on my forearms, yellowing them a bit and changing them to project toward the wrist like the elf had mentioned.

    ¡°Some kind of shape-shifter, clearly. Where did you find such a thing?¡± The elf asked, interrupting Dendra¡¯s useless prattling.

    ¡°He found me. Fell asleep right in the lap of my roots. He is sooooo adorable when he sleeps, you know? Why¡­¡±

    ¡°And what is with that abominable spear he carries? It practically oozes with hunger. It almost feels like it¡¯s alive.¡±

    This time, I spoke before Dendra could, ¡°It¡¯s my spear. I hunt with it.¡±

    The elf¡¯s face creased into a frown. ¡°Is this beast actually sapient, or is it just mimicking speech?¡±

    I decided that I did not like this elf. ¡°Are your ears sapient? Is that why they try to escape your face?¡±

    Dendra broke down into a fit of giggling laughter while the elf¡¯s face took on a slightly darker shade and his ears twitched. He glared at me for several seconds before Dendra regained her composure. ¡°I think that answers your question, doesn¡¯t it? You kind of asked for it, talking about him like he wasn¡¯t even present, and so snobbishly too. He answered all your questions earlier just fine, why is it that you would suspect he is anything but sapient?¡±

    The elf scoffed at her. ¡°For all I know you just trained it particularly well. Whatever this thing is, it¡¯s not of the Bloodlines or a spirit. Everyone knows that sapience is vanishingly rare outside those groups.¡±

    ¡°As vanishingly rare as your wits?¡± I asked.

    Dendra snorted. ¡°Okay Shaper, I think he gets the point. And now that it¡¯s not pointed at me, that sass actually is kind of cute. Anyways, Guildmaster, perhaps if you were to help us with some things, we may be able to provide you and yours with some assistance with a certain pending problem as well.¡±

 31

    A few hours after Dendra made her pitch to the Guildmaster, I found myself in front of a building that looked older than the rest of the settlement. It was unclear if the settlement had been built around this building or if it was just so shoddy and hated by the world that it had been weathered prematurely. I knocked on the door made of gray wood, then stepped back to once again study the equally weathered and decrepit sign which hung above the door, engraved with unfamiliar letters and an image of the suns and moons as well as various floral patterns.

    The door creaked open, revealing a short young woman covered in gray, downy feathers and wearing a long, plain brown robe. ¡°Come. Enter already,¡± she said.

    As I stepped in I was assaulted by numerous odors I couldn¡¯t identify, mostly various types of plant matter that was old, but not quite decaying. One wall of the building was covered in shelves, each one occupied by dozens of clear jars filled with dessicated leaves, roots and flowers.

    The woman sat at a table that filled the center of the room, and motioned for me to take a chair on the opposite side. ¡°So, what brings an esteemed dryad to my humble establishment today?¡±

    ¡°Ooh, someone who actually knows how to be respectful, how refreshing! I am Dendra, the dryad who will now be serving as the Emissary of the Forest. The snippy Hunter Guild¡¯s master recommended your services for identifying what magic my adorable companion would be most suited to learn. He said you have some talent in the necessary augury skills, which I take it is high praise from one such as him.¡±

    The woman nodded. ¡°My name is Ava. I primarily make medicines, but I also do some augury and divination. I should be able to at least tell you what sort of magic your quiet friend would be most suited to train. Wait here a moment while I fetch the necessary tools.¡±

    Ava disappeared into a storage room in the back while I remained seated. A minute later, she returned while carrying a small wooden box. She opened its polished lid, and began to set a number of implements on the table. ¡°Tell me, do you at least know the basics of how to shape your aura? I can see you know how to keep it contained, but are you able to manipulate it more than that?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered.

    ¡°Good, that will make this much easier.¡± She motioned to a crystalline prism that was attached to a copper handle. ¡°Take that handle and feed a bit of your aura into it when I say so. Keep feeding it a steady trickle of it until I ask you to stop. Understand?¡±

    I nodded, then took hold of the contraption. My hands were a bit large for the delicate thing, and the handle barely crossed half of my palm, while my knuckles brushed up against the edge of the crystal.

    Ava placed her hands against the prism¡¯s surface, then looked to me. ¡°Go ahead.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    I concentrated and pushed a small tendril of my aura into the handle. I could feel a minute tug on the thread of power, and I allowed it to go with the pull, continuing to feed the power at a steady pace while Ava hummed to herself with a look of concentration on her face.

    ¡°Okay, you can stop now.¡± I withdrew the thread of aura and turned my attention to the feathery woman, who now seemed to have a plume of feathers twitching near either ear. ¡°Your aptitudes are¡­ unorthodox,¡± she continued. ¡°You have minor affinities with water and lightning magic as well as¡­ purity? I don¡¯t understand that one or recognize it at all, but its there. However, your greatest affinity¡­ well, it appears to be for flesh magic. I wouldn¡¯t even really call it an affinity, actually, as its compatibility with your aura is absolutely perfect. None of the typical abstract schools seem suitable.¡±

    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A little bit, though its not entirely unexpected,¡± Dendra answered. ¡°Flesh magic is basically taboo, as practitioners tend to create vile abominations during their experimentation on other creatures, or they go insane after modifying themselves. I don¡¯t think it will be a problem for you, but I think it means you won¡¯t easily find someone to teach you. What of his minor affinities, lightning and water you said?¡±

    ¡°Erm, yes. I think he will be able to learn some minor spells for those and eventually increase his affinity to be capable of more complex spell-forms. He should be able to purchase some spell-form scrolls to study at the shop across from mine. Ganford should be able to help you pick out some low level spells to study. As for your¡­ primary affinity¡­ well, the Emissary is correct. You will likely have to learn it yourself. There are no reputable teachers of flesh magic outside of a few that are closely controlled by the Kingdom, and certainly nowhere near here. We¡¯re way out on the frontier, after all. Spell-forms for it are considered contraband without direct approval from the King, and would never be found anywhere outside of the capitol.¡±

    ¡°Well, thank you for your augury, dear child. I expected his results to be as much, but he was rather insistent about learning magic, and I just can¡¯t refuse him. I mean, he¡¯s just so adorable! Regardless, I would like to convey my thanks. We lack money, but I think I can do something better for you.¡± Dendra extended a tendril of vine towards the table, and a purple and silver flower bloomed at its tip, while a bulbous set of roots grew below it before detaching from the vine..

    ¡°This! This is-¡±

    ¡°Yep! It¡¯s a token of gratitude, since you were both respectful and useful. If you plant it in your garden, it will bloom perennially. I think it will be of real use to you in the future.¡±

    After several minutes of profuse thanks from the feathery woman for Dendra, I was able to escape from Ava¡¯s shop and head to the store across the street to purchase some spell-forms. According to Ava¡¯s advice, I should be able to barter for the spell-forms I wanted using some troll bone. Dendra had made a pouch for me to use, hanging from my waist. I filled it with troll phalanges and tarsals that I produced after several minutes of concentration. Troll bone seemed to be a valuable trade material, although the thicker bones held less value because they were harder to refine and use. Dendra took care of the bartering, and I was able to purchase a handfulf of spell-forms to study.

    However, that only raised a new hurdle. Neither Dendra or I could read the language the spell-forms were written in.

 32.

    At Dendra¡¯s insistence, I continued to wander around the town, allowing her to see the sights. In the light of day, the city did look quite different. That distant corner of my mind where I had walled up James¡¯ memories and emotional fragments brimmed with comparisons to the Old West and fantasy stories.

    Dendra prattled on endlessly, directing me where to go and when to stop. I tuned out and just went with the flow.

    While I allowed my body to pilot itself around the town, I thought back on my journey so far. Every time I seemed to be making progress and getting stronger, the goal would just move that much further away. Unbidden, the name Sisyphus came to mind before I banished the irrelevant thought.

    Even so, I remained troubled by the thought. My aspiration had been to be able to defeat and consume those beasts in the upper reaches of the mountains. Then I saw the dragon beneath the lake, and had yet another peak to reach which was far higher than all that had come before.

    But what then? What would I do upon reaching the absolute peak of power, when I had nothing left to gain in this world? The ideas that formed in response felt too similar to James¡¯ memories. Should I cultivate relations? Should I seek solitude? No matter how I looked at it, the people I knew were weak. However, in their weakness, they sought to work with others whose strength covered their weaknesses. Vee and her team were weak, individually. Together, however, they had a certain strength.

    But that strength was insufficient to defeat one such as me. Now that I was thinking of it, their strength was barely capable of defeating a minor horde of slimes. I felt disillusioned all over again.

    Well, inherent weaknesses aside, they certainly seemed to have strong magics. If I could learn to harness those, then this farce would not be a total waste.

    For now, what I needed most was a tutor. I needed someone to teach me the written language used on the spell-forms. I knew I had many options, but if I wanted to minimize my exposure to society I should rely on those I¡¯ve already become acquainted with, like Vee¡¯s party.

    Ah, no matter how I thought of it, troublesome things remained troublesome. In order to learn from the humanoids, I¡¯d have to maintain this form and continue interacting with them. I¡¯d only be able to stretch my metaphorical legs when I was not around them.

    Dendra seemed to pick up on my agitation as she ceased directing my movements around town and directly addressed me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Shaper?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡±

    The tiny green plant woman remained silent for a few moments before speaking. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s bothering you, but sometimes what is necessary to do is unpleasant and you have no choice but to just deal with it.¡±

    ¡°But they¡¯re all so weak. I wish I could just eat some of them to gain what I need.¡±

    Dendra shrugged. ¡°That would be useful, but it isn¡¯t the case. You just have to deal with what you have to deal with.¡±

    I kicked at the dirt of the road, sulking.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°It looks like you lot are stuck with us for a bit. So, which one of you is going to teach us how to read?¡± Dendra¡¯s tiny form stood proudly on my shoulder as she asked the assembled adventurers.

    We¡¯d caught up with Vee and her group at a tavern, where they were enjoying a meal. I was familiar with the building, as I had observed it many times while learning the spoken language.

    When Dendra asked her question, four heads turned toward the one member of the party who was trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as she could. Trella let out a small squeak in response to the weight of her companion¡¯s gazes. ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°Okay, thank you for volunteering,¡± Dendra said, totally ignoring the questioning tone of the vulpine Kin¡¯s voice. The other four bowed their heads toward her as if to say ¡®Thank you for your sacrifice.¡¯

    Not heeding the distress of the fox girl, Dendra plowed right on to the next subject. ¡°Right, now that that is settled, let us discuss our role in the upcoming events. For¡­ reasons, Shaper and I will act as scouts to verify the scope of the goblin invasion. They have not yet arrived in this forest, but it is a certainty that they will soon. Your boss has seen fit to assign your team to work as our assistants and liaisons. You will relay our findings back to the Guild and provide us with support. Also, I will be assisting your team in setting up an outpost near the far edge of the forest. We will set out tomorrow morning to begin with all that.¡±

    Vee seemed a bit confused by the circumstances, and decided to air her concerns. ¡°Why will you be doing these things? The guilds have no authority to assign tasks to an Emissary or her envoy.¡±

    Dendra smiled. ¡°It was part of a negotiation. For services rendered, the Hunter¡¯s Guild will be making certain arrangements. You will, of course, receive standard pay for your part in our assignment.¡±

    ¡°Why us?¡± Sul asked.

    ¡°Well, we just needed a group that wasn¡¯t likely to annoy my adorable little Shaper here. Since he doesn¡¯t seem to feel like killing you all, it was basically a done deal.¡±

    Trella grimaced upon hearing Dendra¡¯s answer.

    I watched with mild curiosity as Dendra explained the current situation to the group.

    ¡°But, why us?¡± Sil asked.

    Dendra grinned and looked to me. Despite my review of James¡¯ memories, I still did not truly feel ready for these interactions. I sighed internally, maintaining my external stoicism. ¡°You seem fun.¡±

    ¡°And so he says. Objections? Refusals? Complaints? No? Alright, done deal.¡± Dendra spoke with a rapidity that I doubted the humans could keep up with.

    <hr><hr>

    As the humans settled in and the activity within the fort¡¯s walls dwindled, I began to wander the premise of the fort once more. The smell of the place changed. It no longer smelled like a hive of industry and opportunity. Now it reeked with the scents of opportunism and greed.

    I walked toward the walls, intending to leap them and return to the forest for the night. Unfortunately, I was followed.

 33.

    I ducked down an alleyway leading towards the wall, listening to the quietly padding feet of my pursuer. The dense melange of odors in the human town made it difficult to pick out the scent of the being that followed me. At best, I could rule out any of the humans with which I¡¯d made close contact.

    I made a quick jump, sank my claws into a wooden roof beam, and hauled my way up from ground level. Moments later, a small head poked around the corner of the alley. The small human, not seeing their quarry, stepped into the entrance and scratched their head.

    ¡°Damn, I could have sworn he ducked down this way. Crapsicles.¡± The diminutive figure hung their head and their shoulders drooped.

    With great care, I eased my way along the roof until I was positioned above the small human where they continued to sulk and grumble. Thankfully, Dendra had managed to stay quiet this whole time. It was nice that she could occasionally be silent when needed.

    I watched from my perch on the roof for several moments before the small human skulked away. It would be an easy kill, but with all these humans around it might draw attention. A stray noise, the scent of blood - anything could interfere with my cleanup meal. Being around the various types of humans complicated everything so needlessly. At least I was close enough now to distinguish the small man¡¯s scent. It contained hints of something metallic and oily.

    Dendra interrupted my thoughts with some of her usual prattle. ¡°That looked like a gnome. They¡¯re not often types for skulduggery. Even odds, he wanted to research you or ask me questions.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°He was just curious?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a racial affliction. Gnomes can¡¯t resist their need to know.¡±

    I nodded, absently. Parts of a phrase came to mind, filtering out from that segregated section of my psyche. Something about curiosity killing something. Maybe a bobcat or a coyote. Some kind of animal. I wasn¡¯t really that interested in the saying¡¯s provenance or actual form.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Sorry, Trella,¡± Vee apologized. ¡°I know he makes you uncomfortable, but you¡¯re the only one of us who can teach someone how to read spell forms. Then there¡¯s the dryad¡­¡± Vee sighed.

    The other three nodded emphatically. The five hunters had gathered in the larger of their two rented rooms.

    Grix let out a long sigh. ¡°We really didn¡¯t intend to throw you under a stampeding herd. But she is a dryad. And he¡­ scares me.¡±

    Sil and Sul nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

    Grix continued, haltingly. ¡°Most tend to be wary of someone my size and strength. Especially when they might come up against me. When we came into that clearing, it felt like he regarded me as no different than a human. It wasn¡¯t even dismissive and arrogant, it was more like he simply knew I was no threat to him.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°His spear is like an open maw, waiting to snap up a morsel.¡± Sil said as Sul emphatically nodded.

    ¡°Anything that wields something as vicious as that should be feared,¡± Sul added.

    ¡°We might not know all that you do about these Ravager Kin, but we¡¯re not so dense as to be unable to see how much you fear them. Nor to take a being who has drawn the attention of a dryad lightly.¡± Vee said, laying a hand on Trella¡¯s shoulder.

    Trella sighed. ¡°Their clan¡­ they¡­ they destroyed ours. Wiped out all but a handful of bloodlines. Their affinity for Blood was greater than any of our protectors¡¯ affinity for Dreams or Deceit.¡± She took a deep breath before continuing.

    ¡°They raided my clan a few years before I was born. I grew up listening to the tales of their brutality and fearsome power. Many of our strongest warriors died in the stand against them, the blood in the bodies tearing out through their skin and leaving them as little more than dried husks as a handful of us ran for their lives.¡± She sobbed at the memory of the sorrowful tales she had heard as she grew up. The grief had been fresh and raw even during her formative years when she¡¯d heard the stories.

    Grix, being his usual and supremely tactful self, probed further. ¡°What is their original totem? All of the major bloodlines have a totem of origin. He looked like a weird blend, so I wasn¡¯t able to place it.¡±

    Trella looked down at the floor and her shoulders sunk. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve only heard the stories. Their Primes were rumored to be savage beyond belief. They tore blood from the fallen to rip their remaining foes apart. He is probably at least passingly familiar with Blood magic.¡± Trella whimpered lightly at the thought of having to continue dealing with such an abominable beast.

    She shuddered and whined a moment before continuing. ¡°They killed both of my grandfathers. My mother¡¯s father was considered to be one of the best Dream Weavers on this continent, but they yanked his blood out of his body and used it to drown my father¡¯s father who stood beside him.¡±

    ¡°That sounds¡­ terrible¡­¡± Vee said, unable to keep the fox-kin girl¡¯s gaze.

    Similarly, Grix and the scaled brothers were unable to look directly at her.

    After a few minutes of silence, Grix grunted and looked at Trella. ¡°How old did he appear?¡±

    After moment of sputtering and stammering, Trella took her best guess. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe 15 to 17? He looked like he was only just old enough to be considered an adult, even though he seemed quite fit.¡±

    The half-giant remained silent for a moment before continuing. ¡°So, in other words, he is not old enough to have any connections to the fall of your clan, after all. You are about 20 years old, right?¡±

    Vee and Trella both scowled at this line of questioning, while the lizard brothers looked thoughtful.

    Grix shook his head slowly, as if he were stating the obvious to a willfully ignorant imbecile. ¡°If he is younger than you, he was not involved with your unfortunate past.¡±

    Silence echoed through the room.

    ¡°Plus, we know he has little to no memory of anything beyond the recent past,¡± Vee added.

    ¡°Or so he claims,¡± hissed one of the lizard brothers.

    ¡°I distrust the dryad,¡± the other brother added.

    ¡°You also don¡¯t trust chairs to hold your weight,¡± Grix added with a smirk on his face.

    Vee silenced the coming banter with a glare. ¡°For now, I agree that we should be wary of the dryad and her schemes. All of the long lived races are inherent schemers. Sure, the Ravager is scary and those two have some kind of weird and unhealthy dynamic, but immortal races tend to be the ones pulling the strings. I¡¯d give even odds that she abducted him from his clan as a child and raised him up to be her pet muscle.¡±

    The others nodded, looking thoughtful.

    ¡°That said,¡± she continued, ¡°we can¡¯t overlook the potential benefits of working with a being as powerful and old as a dryad. So, unless it seems like she means us harm, we should play along for the time being.¡± As she delivered her last line, she fixed Trella with a hard stare. The fox girl withered under the weight of Vee¡¯s gaze.

    After a drawn out silence, Trella finally consented to act as the beast¡¯s teacher with a nod.

 34.

    As the skies began to lighten with the impending suns¡¯ rise, I slipped back into town and made my way towards the building where my humans were staying. I had spent the night hunting down things from the forest I had previously eaten, and taking the time to consciously integrate their information. I felt like it left me with a better understanding of those creatures than I¡¯d previously had.

    Dendra had mentioned something about expanding her roots and gone blessedly quiet for the whole night, not saying anything as I snatched up snacks left and right before meditating on consuming their patterns. She perked back up again into her usual chatty self as soon as I left the forest.

    I ignored her quiet babbling as I wound through the town to the building in which my humans were staying. Once we slipped inside, it was easy to spot my group, eating their breakfast at a large table in the corner of the room.

    I sat down heavily next to them, at an open spot next to Grix.

    ¡°G¡¯morning, Shaper,¡± the big human muttered. The rest of them barely gave nods of acknowledgement as they clutched containers of steaming black liquid before their faces. The liquid smelled bitter and earthy, but also refreshing. It was a near analogue to the coffee of James¡¯ memories.

    After a long silence, the fox-girl spoke up. ¡°I¡­ I am going to be¡­ be¡­ be teaching you today,¡± she said, shivering uncontrollably.

    I shrugged. ¡°Okay. Are the rest of you going to hunt? Or staying here?¡±

    Vee looked around before matching my shrug. ¡°Trella is an important part of our team. We¡¯ll stay in town with her while she teaches you. Although, if you don¡¯t mind helping us with a hunt here and there, that would make us a bit more even.¡±

    After a few moment¡¯s of contemplation, I spoke. ¡°Agreed,¡± I said, as I extended out my unoccupied forelimb in an imitation of their greeting rituals. Vee reached out and grasped my limb with her hand and gave it a firm shake.

    Humans are weird.

    <hr><hr>

    My first reading lesson was¡­ less than useful. At first.

    She tried showing me a book filled with abstract paint smears, and insisted that the paint smears represented things that they clearly were not. After two hours of argument, Trella was finally convinced that the red blob was not an apple.

    ¡°Fine! ¡®A¡¯ is the first letter in arm!¡± Trella shouted in exasperation. She pointed at her arm as she said this.

    ¡°Okay, that makes sense.¡± I paid closer attention as she finally started speaking sensically.

    She growled and rolled her eyes. Her shyness and fear had gradually eroded over the last two hours and given way to irritation.

    <hr><hr>

    Three day passed since Trella began teaching me how to read. It turned out that I am a rather quick study, at least once the timid fox girl had given up on what she considered conventional teaching ideas. The written language was fairly simple. Each character corresponded with a specific sound. It was like the language from James¡¯ memories, but less convoluted. Each symbol only represented one sound, and anything written out sounded exactly as it was written.

    I didn¡¯t mind the elapsed time, as I had reabsorbed nearly everything I had originally consumed in the forest during my nightly excursions. My understanding of the various creatures I had consumed had grown massively.

    The only thing I was now curious about in the forest was an elusive beast. It had chewed on the bones of my first troll kill, something I had nearly forgotten about. It was strong enough to chew through a troll femur, yet subtle enough to evade my detection. It was a native to this forest probably well before I had been born.

    I wanted to find it. I wanted to observe it. I wanted to kill it. I wanted to eat it.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    I continued searching for the unknown creature during the nights as my lessons progressed from simple reading comprehension to learning vocabulary and information specific to spell-forms.

    It was somewhat amusing, as my quick progress only seemed to reinforce Trella¡¯s fear of me, even as she grew accustomed to my presence. The only thing that seemed to push it back was her irritation at my inability to learn through what she considered traditional methods.

    With her help, I had finally been able to mostly comprehend the spell-form for the Lightning affinity spell, Arc. Even with her poor explanations, I was eventually able to understand that the spell-form described the texture, density and shape of the aura you needed to weave in order to copy the spell exactly.

    The underlying logic still eluded me, but I could at least reproduce the spell with some concentration.

    Although it was an achievement, it still felt rather drab. I could produce similar results by growing Thunder Drakecells, even if I had less control.

    <hr><hr>

    After four days of lessons and ¡®relaxation,¡¯ it was time to once more head out into the wilds. Dendra and I would be ranging out from the forest¡¯s borders to check on the progress of the goblin hordes. Vee¡¯s team would remain nearby to relay our messages to the Guilds.

    After traveling a few miles from my human companions, I shifted to my flying form and headed East.

    The first scouting trip was fortuitous, as I encountered another horned horse which I promptly killed and devoured. With its silvery-red blood still staining my muzzle, I flew further east until I spotted goblin patrols.

    From on high, I estimated that there were roughly 50,000 goblins in the immediate area. Their numbers included a few hundred wolf riders, and a handful whose repulsive auras shone brighter than the rest to my senses.

    Having located one element of the approaching enemy, I turned North.

    I flew over column after column, camp after camp.

    Half a day after setting out to scout, I returned to Vee¡¯s group. I couldn¡¯t hide my grin.

    ¡°Okay, Shaper, what have you got for us?¡± Vee asked, anxiety clear in her voice.

    ¡°Maybe 10 days of goblin marching speed out, from due East to a bit North, I counted a bit more than a million goblins. Maybe sixteen thousand wolf riders.¡±

    After several minutes of consultation and map-marking, the humans sent off a message to their superiors. After which, their expressions turned gloomy.

    ¡°Why are you the only one here who is happy, Shaper?¡± Grix asked.

    ¡°I get to kill a lot of goblins.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°We can¡¯t possibly win against such a force. Counting non-combatants, there are only twelve thousand souls here. Only considering combatants, we number a meager nine hundred. If a single day¡¯s worth of scouting turned up more than a million, then there must be fifteen to twenty times as many goblins involved. Probably more. If we had a few months to prepare, we could appeal to the Kingdom and other branches for assistance. As things stand, by the time the horde arrives, our allies would only just be receiving our pleas for help,¡± the Hunter¡¯s Guild Master sighed as he briefed his contemporary in the Mercenary Guild.

    ¡°Yeah. This is a shitty situation. Even if we evacuate now¡­ The horde would just catch up to us. How did you even get this much information?¡±

    ¡°The rumors about a new Emissary are completely true. She and her Envoy gathered the information personally. They were also the ones who gave us the preliminary warning. They are also supporting our scouts through independent observation.¡±

    ¡°Ugh. If it weren¡¯t an Emissary, I¡¯d probably just dismiss this shit outright.¡±

    ¡°I know, right?¡±

    ¡°So, what do you think? Contingency Bloom? It¡¯d be a shame to lose such a wonderful training ground as this forest, but if it is to stop a massive goblin wave, I think we¡¯d be posthumously forgiven.¡±

    The Hunter¡¯s Guild master hesitated.¡±I think we should reserve Bloom for the very last second. We may yet be surprised by the fortitude of these youngsters. And if the Bloom doesn¡¯t kill the dryad, then I would not want to be on the list of those who approved its deployment.¡±

    The Mercenary¡¯s Guild master sighed in agreement. ¡°No kidding. There¡¯s been too much going on in that forest lately for us to just give up so easily. It truly is a magnificent training ground for the newly blooded, and the materials we¡¯ve been able to harvest have been of superb quality. Still, the idea of an easy and quick solution sings its siren song. Especially if we won¡¯t have to be around to deal with the cleanup¡­¡±

    ¡°If you want to die that badly, do it on your own time. I still have a few centuries left in me and don¡¯t want them to go to waste.¡±

    ¡°Pfft, you elf bloods are all too timid. Too many years and too few thrills, I say.¡±

    ¡°And you dwarves only know how to hit things with hammers and die in battle.¡±

    ¡°Hah! As if anybody needs to know more than that?¡±

    The Hunter¡¯s Guild master poured some more liquor into his tumbler.

    ¡°Still, the Emissary and her Envoy give me an uneasy feeling. Even if we somehow manage to get through this crisis, I can¡¯t help but feel that they will be even more troublesome.¡±