《Useless Dragon [Monster Evolution LitRPG]》 0: Contestants The gold-lined tome flew open, pages flipping wildly. Every reagent I had gathered levitated, beginning to spin in a large circle. A fossilized dinosaur skull, A preserved knight''s sword, an impressive sapphire, a set of bat wings, and finally an iron heart plated in gold. They took off one by one, wobbling and undilating as the tome set them into motion. Wonder filled my eyes as the objects spun, blending into eachother. My goal of this life was fulfilled to create a better next one, same tide of fulfillment washing over the shores of Me. The five objects lost detail, releasing puffs of silver and azure. The smoke trails converged upon me, wrapping me up like a christmas present. I could feel my grasp on my body slip. And an upwards pull accompany it, no longer knowing something as silly as weight. The sight of the room sunk and faded, every bit of it un-rendering from the outside inwards. The last thing I precieved was the tome closing, drained of power and colour alike. At first, I saw nothing. I lacked limbs, but could feel a gentle bobbing, as if floating on an endless, lightless, yet peaceful sea. I lacked eyes, yet could see lights in the distance as my vision adjusted. They swirled around eachother, colours dancing against the stygian canvas. I lacked a brain, But what I did not lack was a mind. A mind was all I was, full of memories, hope, and will. That same will carried me forward. Brought me more and more speed, only to skid to a stop before the throng of lights. "Who''s this one?" one asked in a hushed tone. "No idea. I was told there was fifty, not fifty-one" said a second, boredly. "They''re... not human" Yet another whispered, keeping a wide berth from me. I was about to speak. To introduce myself. To ask what was going on, when a massive golden head breached the surface from below. "Greetings, contestants!" It asked in a booming, mocking, radiant voice like a desert sun. "I, Mathias the Merciful, have deemed all fifty of you worthy to behold my illustrious creation." An arm the size of a bus rose into existence, as if clipping through a floor. The car-sized hand opened, seconds later spinning an searing white orb into existence. That white was obscured by blinding red, then glowing red, then bright, dulling- no, cooling to brown before a dotted patchwork of blues and greens making shapes. Oceans and islands, I realized, as mountain detail started to show. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!"I have grown bored with my old world, and a seat in the pantheon has opened. Your planet has such interesting specimens. Such tenacity in the face of mana deprival." The being, clearly identifying himself as a god, emitted a laugh like a collapsing wall. "But I''m rambling again, aren''t I. While all fifty of you are special in their own right, only one can fill the prestigious role of my assistant." A worried murmur spread through the crowd, me included, as Mathias boomed on. "I give you fifty days to entertain me and prove your potential." "Ah, so weak without your technology!" He condescended with a sigh, other hand seeming to rummage before drawing out a cloud of smaller, detailed orbs. "I''ll give you each a little cheat. a special Skill of your own, to at least put you on even ground against my library of creations" Mathias gave a long, piercing look over the crowd. For the next few minutes, he pointed. A glowing white skill orb shot towards one of the fifty contestants, announced as they flew. Each skill orb swirled into the sentient ones, every mixture larger. Brighter. Stronger. A cloud of awe descended over the contestants, talking in hushed excitement about their Skills. I strained my ears, blood running colder and colder as I heard snips of conversation. Super luck. Perfect Memory. Master Blacksmith. Astral Summoner. Infinite Inventory. Darkness Manipulation. Axe hero. Predator. Ultimate Regeneration. "Look upon my generosity and be thankful!" The god''s voice boomed with egomania, cut off by a voice smaller but just as full of itself. "Grandmaster Cultivation of the five heavens" Mathias shot the lucky cultivator a dirty look, clearing his throat. "Without further delay, you all possess your Gifts. Now, on to the show!" He splayed his fingers, as if holding something large. The invisible floor began to whirl, comparable to a plug pulled on this dark ocean. Fingers moved to flick glowing orbs through, circling the drain one by one- Until halfway through the back, his gaze settled on me. "You are not part of this challenge." Mathias observed with surprise and scorn. "But it''s not within My jurisdiction to kill you. Instead, I''ll give you a special gift. A balancing act. A way to make it fair to your competitors, Dragon." He spat. An orb of a dull ashy black shot from his finger like a homing missile, striking me dead-center. A wave of weakness swept over me, and I felt myself sink to the looming whirlpool like a sleep I never wanted. 1: Hatch I awoke slowly. Painstakingly. My sluggish eyes adjusted to the light easily, but less so came adjustment to the chill. I felt my back, sides, limbs press to a surface as cold and hard as winter stone, front grinding against itself in a serpentine- I stopped. My memory shot back just a bit farther. The Skills of my other Contestants, the massive glowing figure, the ritual to shed my humanity- And judging by Mathias''s spitting epithet, it worked. My entire form began to fill, with joy. With hope. With confidence. The motions expressed themselves in what would have been a fist pump, limb slamming against the cold stone near my back with a satisfying crack. I was going to overcome all the challenges before me and I knew it. I twisted around to the crack, seeing rock and coral through the tiny hole. The beauty of it gobsmacked me, enough to give me a few seconds of pause And in those few seconds, water gushed in. My satisfaction quenched at the impending drown, as if I was made of living fire rather than meat. I felt desperation, uncoiling myself to escape this stone shell. A larger crack formed, center straining as I uncoiled to my full length in a moment of majesty. Water crashed in around me. In a moment of panic, I tried to suck in air, tried to buy myself some more time, but it was already too late. Water slid right down my throat like acid, causing me to curl, cough, and sputter. My eyes narrowed from discomfort, heart accelerating with fear. When from my sides, pressure equalized. I felt the same water pushed out slits near my neck, sighing in relief. Of course I could breathe under water if my egg hatched there! I closed my eyes and focused. My lungs were running on empty. My desire to breathe flared, unfamiliar muscles flexed, and my new gills bubbled with activity My eyes widened. I was free, and the golden god was not going to deprive me of that. However, I was a biological creature, bound by the same rules as any other. I scanned my environment for feline priorities. threats to avoid, prey to eat, and small holes to avoid the first and catch the second. My eyes, free from any inefficiencies they had in life, took in this waterfall of information. I was in a nest, a hatchery, a nursery of some sort, almost twenty other eggs of jagged grey strewn about the skyblue sand. Several others had the same idea as I, siblings letting me get a good look at what I could be. Each one was long and thin, clearly some form of sea snake. All of them bore horns on their head unlike any snake I knew of, two massive back-mounted fins apiece in clear pastiche of wings, and side-pointing translucent growths on their tails. Even more bafflingly, all of them were coloured every hue of the rainbow, plus one black and one white. Their, no, our underbellies were darker and duller in colour but clearly not suited to camouflage. "Are we poisonous?" I thought, lacking the mouth muscles to speak. I had no other explanation for the bright, varied colour schemes, dedicating that slice of brainpower back to watching and learning. My eight hatchling siblings thrashed, flexed, and undulated; their little brains working overtime to figure out these new pieces of equipment, when I noticed another variance. Red looked more like a ruby with more defined scales, orange and yellow sported a longer, wider set of gills, green and green alone had fangs that poked from their mouth rather than rested in it, blue purple and white had larger and frankly prettier tailgrowths, and the black one finished off the list with larger and sharper-looking horns. Not knowing if it was an early sign of sexual dimorphism on display or something more bizarre. I curled my own tail backwards, seeing a pleasant shade of pink scales surrounding a cyan underbelly. Giggling at what the colours meant, I swished my tail up and down. Aquatic movement was... fickle at the best of times, and I nearly bumped my head into the coral on the ceiling before an epiphany hit. I stretched my back-mounted fins, my aquatic wings, and smoothly flexed my tail up and down. Water slid past the hydrodynamic membranes, muscles in them flexing to stay open against the heavier-than-air tide. While I was flying, my siblings were practicing. Red and green were playfighting, seeming to train lining up for a takedown. One''s enlarged fangs matched the other''s scale armor, offense and defense boosted in equal measure. And while the others were getting their own handle on swimming, the black one with impressive horns posed in the center of the hatchery and made a small but respectable roar. Heads turned. Mine snapped right to their attention, and before I could decide we galumphed as one through the cavemouth and into the open ocean ahead. I could practically hear our collective stomachs growl, desire for food stronger pushing us to hunt as a school of nine. It seemed to outweigh a dragon''s desire for individuality- unless of course that desire simply took longer to kick in. The area outside looked impossibly large, making me feel even smaller. The surface looked passably close, only a few meters up, but what caused my stomach to drop was the view down. very quickly the shelf I floated over gave way to inky depths, rocky spires jutting upwards like elephant hairs. Aquatic beings of all shapes and sizes swam, diversity of tactics likely even more vibrant than diversity of form. In my half-minute of still observation, my school of siblings had swam ahead. I kicked my wings and tail into high gear, pangs of hunger reverberating with every rapid tailstroke and forceful adjustment of my backfins. My squad was still ahead, trailing a large, fat-looking fish as it swam in a lazy circle between the shallows and over the depths. The red one got it''s rear in gear, living up to the stereotype and popping right up infront of the fat fish. It opened it''s jaw impossibly wide to bite, wide enough to fit around my sibling and have enough room to spare. Oddly dull, curved, rodentlike teeth bristled, ready to close down on red scales with a sickening-Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I was expecting a crunch. Instead, all I received was a scrape, and a roar from my dark-hued leader sibling. While the red one played distraction, the large-tailed trio and miss-or-mister fangs latched onto the fish''s side, while the gilled duo swam ahead, brightly-coloured forms dancing in hypnotic patterns and drawing the fat fish''s attention. It swam towards the blindingly obvious trap. The hangers-on shook, spilling blood into the water that only invigorated the wrecking crew. I felt a spur forward, wings getting a workout as they held steady against the beating of my tail. I retracted one, turning to meet the fish''s trajectory, and opened my mouth for a charging bite. My lower row of teeth, smaller but more stable, gouged at the monster''s eye. While the sharps couldn''t find their way past, the damage was already done. Our opponent was down a fin, sporting several new openings along it''s side, and uselessly scraping against my red-armored sibling while they painted the inside of it''s mouth red. Unusually human disgust rose up, before quelled by a wisp of fishblood. Within seconds, My behavior was indistinguishable from my more instinctual kin. Within a minute, the fish ceased to move. And within only a few minutes more, we picked it clean. The nine of us lay on the sand, basking in the rays of the shallows after our display of efficiency and brutality like the cutest type of special forces imaginable. The sun moved across the sky, and we started to move again. The black one lead the way with a subtle roar, seeming to march us into line for easy organization. We returned to the safety of our cave with little fanfare, spreading out to rest and play. And while it might have been my imagination, I noticed some of the eggs looked larger than before. Closer to joining us in the realm of the awake. I might not have been the leader-sibling with majestic horns or a roar to match, but I could at least be proactive damn it. While my siblings swam about in search of enrichment, I swam out. Air cycled through my gills, renewed energy cresting me over the lip of our coral home cave with ease. I pulled in my wings and let myself sink to the shelf, surveying my small hunting ground. Another fat fish passed overhead without a care in the world, thick fins propelling it intermittently. I lacked the toughness to take in a fair fight or the precision to defeat in an unfair one, so observed it descend too close for comfort and root around in the shelf. It''s jaws opened wide, closing a second later to crunch around something small and burrowing. It spat out a burst of sand and swam away, gulping loudly as it went. It all made sense. Those teeth weren''t just for biting, they were for digging. And while I lacked teeth to dig, I had a tail. I sucked in water through my gills, spitting it out my mouth, and jabbed my tail under. With a flap of my wings, I catapulted a quickly-dispersing clump of sand upwards, uprooting a crab at least the width of my body. It struggled and snapped, blocking any potential lunge with a layer of apprehension. I did not want my snout, or worse, my eye on the business end of it''s claws. I had to have more weapons than that... My wings were strong, but likely easy to snip. My attention however turned to my tail, plan formed before the crab fell. I whipped it around like a drunken haymaker, crab''s claw moving to intercept but snapping nothing but water as my spinning strike went wide. I pumped my wings, lining my twisting form up again, and struck true. My tail-crystals cracked crab armor, brilliant blue burst of encouragement all I needed to swing again. The crab''s claw couldn''t block in time, as my built-in blade pierced the crab''s vitals. A voice, cold and calculating resounded through my head and snapped me back to reality. [You have slain: Tunnel bit. Expirience gained.] I was so lost in being a social aquatic predator that I forgot I was an otherworldly contestant. If I didn''t level up as fast as draconically possible, I was going to be toast. Either I was included last-minute, and someone else winning would mean humiliaion, torture, or nonexistance at the hand of the gold bastard, or I was simply part of the world and most likely mean one of them death, enslavement, or processing into crafting material by the hand of one of those absurdly powerful ''Contestants.'' While the possibilities were hard to tell apart, they had the same solution. I, Valerie Flying Drake, was going to become or overcome the heir of the world! By... killing a lot of crabs. Everyone has to start somewhere. I swam to another spot on the shelf and stabbed downwards, wings letting me act like a shovel. A terrible piercing feeling shot through the base of my tail before I could draw it back out. I panicked, hearing one of my thin scales crack, and sweeping my wings down. I flipped forward, almost crying out at the scraping feeling of the crab''s claw on my tail, before feeling a sudden release of pressure. Taking a second to reorient myself, my gaze fell on the crab seconds later, as it fell back to the ground. At least, the right 90% of it did. The crab was down a claw and painting the sea blue. Shaking away my pain I wasted no time and delivered it another spinning strike, tailblade striking it''s entire unguarded side. [You have slain: Tunnel bit. Expirience gained.] While definitely more painful, this kill was faster than the last. I took it''s confirmed-dead form in my mouth and dropped it over the lip of the cave like a mailed letter, barely stopping to do anything more before another delve. Gears turned in my head. I sought a away to reveal crabs without getting stabs. And thinking back to the fat fish''s digging, I concocted a plan. I swam low to the ground, narrowing my eyes, and swam forward as choppily as possible. Sand kicked up under the flap of my wings, disrupting a dozen nest crabs in their sandy shelters. I wasted no time, side-flipping to get one right between the eight legs. It snapped wide, then snapped out of existence with another bit of praise from the System. Only suprred further on, I chased after one that was trying to tunnel away, wings taking me as close as I need for a bite. My teeth closed around the back of it''s shell, out of claw range, to crick-crack-crunch away at the crab. I raised it high in victory, and a different System message played. [You have slain: Tunnel bit. Expirience threshold has been reached] The cold voice congradulated. [Phyllopteryx Hatchling]- So that''s what I was? This world must have had odd species names [Has completed its advancement from level 1 to level 2] My eyes brightened in happiness. Possibly artifically so, but who was I to question it? [Skill point gained] I could tell this was a real boost in power. I gathered up the two more meal-crabs and dropped them in my small pile near the enterance for hatchlings, met with looks of confusion, worry, and awe as I swam back in, curled up in the very center of the nest, and willed my [Character Sheet] into existence. 2: System White lines formed in my vision, impossibly thin and curving at the corners. Blue light opacified into existance within, lighter at the top and darker at the bottom, but what I was most interested in was the white text of condensed information. [Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling (I)] read the first text box. I had no idea what a Phyllopteryx was- loads of fantasy creatures had complex names, but those names were evocative. This seemed like a medicine, as did loads of species invented by creative people. Keeping my name was a nice touch, and the hatchling part was to be expected- I hadn''t been out of my egg for an hour. The (I) left me stumped. Did it mean Immature due to being so new? Immaculate due to taking no damage? Invited to partake in this divine competition? I tried not to let it worry me too much [Level: 2/10] Aw heck. I didn''t know how big of a jump in power existed between levels, but being 20% of the way to the cap and still this weak worried me. "Maybe power exists independantly from levels?" I mused, letting out a few bubbles of air in my attempt at speech. As if on cue, my stats loaded in as a measure of this power. [Strength: 8] [Quickness: 11] [Vitality: 6] [Mind: 15] None of them surprised me. Small size and my siblings'' style of evasive pack hunting required quickness, and our bites were enough to wear down a creature clearly above our individual weight class. I didn''t know how my values stacked up against an adult human, or even against a sibling. The mind stat was probably an artifact of my reincarnation, but I wanted to be able to take a hit or ten. The red sibling''s armor made me green with envy, and my vitality being awful was a slap in the face. But not nearly as much as my title. [Titles: Useless] ...That was just plain rude. I sank in my coiled position, letting out a sigh and stirring up some of the same skyblue sand as I did. [Skills: none] "yeah yeah, rub it in" i responded, swishing my tailblade like an annoyed cat. However, my hopes began to rise. [Skill points: 2] This caught my attention! Maybe I could acquire some skills! As soon as I did, a smaller window slid out from my main one. It sported white lines with curved corners, a gradiented blue background, and several things I obviously knew to be Skills. But what I saw there wasn''t nearly as interesting as what came below, on my main window. [Fundamental Power: 1]. That sounded... important. Words like "Fundamental" don''t get thrown around so easily, when "base" tends to work perfectly well. It gave no indication of what I could use it for, so I turned my attention to the right window. My small but widely-applicable list of skills stared back, four in all. [Skill choices: Swim, Bite, Breath, Scent] These had to do more. I reached out and thought hard about [Bite], new panel unfolding from the top of my set. Words crossed it like a news-ticker, just slow enough to annoy. [Bite: Improves the force and precision of biting with fangs, mandibles or teeth.] My forward-facing weapon... when I acquired the bravery to use it. [Swim: Aids speed and control when moving underwater]. Mobility, cleanly and simply [Breath: Increases oxygen intake and expulsion, allowing increased stamina recovery]. A useful passive at first glance. [Scent: Improves sensitivity of olfactory receptors and clarity of information recieved]. That was unusually niche. It was a widely-available skill, I guessed, seeing as how my species didn''t seem to hunt by smell Looking at the Skills, one stood out. [Breath]. I could inhale more to get a big whiff of air, sustain my muscles for longer with the larger lungful, and even make use of a boost of speed by launching spent air out my gills. The fact that I was a dragon was not lost on me in the least. Dragons loved their breath attacks, and the image of burning a swathe of foes with gouts of flame distracted me from my rigid System windows. "I wonder if I can inhale to suck blood out of a foe or even worse? Or while I''m dreaming, shoot air with so much force it counts as an attack?" I reached my tail out to tap the Skill, when my tail awkwardly slipped mid-tap. Instead of selecting, I scrolled, to see a two new Skills. [Sword proficiency. Slightly improves skill with a sword. Unlocks weapon arts as level progresses] ...I didn''t even have arms. [Frenzy: Temporarily boost strength and speed. Quickly consumes stamina] I knew a combo when I saw it. And while the stamina drain was concerening, fights between beasts of the wild were often decided in seconds, if not before they began. A tide-turner would be crucial, and a way to recover after it even more so. Without further thought, I tapped both with my tail. Both skills turned from white to yellow, and a small button formed on the bottom-right hand corner. [Confirm?] A pulse of acceptance flowed from my chest. Both skill points rolled like coins down a slope, slotting into the skill panel, and spitting out my choices. [Breath (I) Level 1] and [Frenzy (I) Level 1 ] There was that (I) again. My eyes scrolled to my new skills, finding something else in the now-expanded window. [Mutations: Copper Heart (1)] I paused, looking too long at this strange mutation. The rest of my siblings had more obvious physical variances, like tougher scales or more productive gills, but I had... a better heart? Copper wasn''t that strong, but it was better than flesh. I hope. Looking back at my Character Sheet, I saw something change. Formerly white text was red, demanding my attention. [Fundamental power: 1 (!)] I focused my thoughts on it again, news-ticker of an information bar slowly filling again. [Fundamental Skills are slightly more powerful, slightly more efficient, grow more quickly, and grant more interesting evolution options] That was a burst of information. Clearly a Fundamental Skill was a straight upgrade over a standard one, but which did I want? What were these "more interesting options?" My lack of knowledge was frustrating, doubled by it''s apparent permanency. I only had one fundamental power, and I had to make it count. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.Ultimately, I saved my choice until I had more to use it on. I highly doubted these were my only skills, and if I could get my team to carry me to unlocking one that made my (copper) heart do a backflip, I could render it fundamental with ease. Until then, I had to rely on my normal ones. My stomach was growling slightly, but I was not hungry for food as much as I was for power. I swam out, seeing my crimson-hued tank of a sibling rising to join me. I saw no reason to stop them, and took the lead as we swam out in search of prey. They likely could not speak, but hardly needed to. We swam up past the cavemouth and onto the shelf, scanning for prey. Small worms wiggled through the water, cyan streaks on their sides glowing like Halloween sticks. I watched them as if in a trance, not realizing any danger- Until one stuck to me and burrowed in with formerly teeth. A trio of others joined it, much like how my siblings and I took down that very round fish, only further spurring me into action. I inhaled a deep breath and rocketed towards my sibling, dislodging a single leech on the way and knocking them out of their scan. [Skill: Breath has risen to level 2] the system rewarded, my efforts paying off already The red one turned, realized what was going on, and lunged past me, eliminating one with a snap of faintly-glowing fangs. I was almost certian this was the [Bite] skill in action the way it snipped through the leech. I twisted around, putting my other side in range, another suffered the same fate. Not willing to be completely a mere bystander, I awkwardly slashed with my tail, sawing one apart over a few seconds and letting it burst into a cloud of inky liquid. [You have slain: lumen leech] the System noted before I chomped it down. It looked too small to grant me any EXP, but I was safe for now as we shared the leeches in their dying glow. Long, four-winged birds flew dangerously close to the surface, one of them breaking into a swoop. I dove down to avoid being picked up when I saw it dive wide, spearing a long fish with an axe-like mouth. A turtle, larger than us, grazed on plants in the shallows. The red sibling and I looked at eachother as one, indescribable expression spreading on our snouts. With first a nod from me, then from them, we barreled towards the shelled creature. The turtle looked aside, hard head met by one of equal power. I could hear the sharp crack, not questioning who it came from as I made my move. I darted forward, latching onto the back of the turtle''s knee. My mouth was large enough to get a good hold, and after only a pause I shook rapidly. My wings churned the water as I thrashed side to side, strategy cut short as the turtle withdrew it''s leg. My head struck the rim of it''s shell with such force that stars spilled across my vision. Stars that obstructed that same shell from descending, pushing my head into the sand. I could feel my wing trapped, movement cut off from the fight. I struggled, slapping my tail on the ground and failing to straighten my wing. Even my own breath worked against me, sand sucking into my gills. I lacked leverage. Lacked an angle to hit. And lacked patience. Enough to throw me into a [Frenzy] My muscles began to burn, forced past their safe limits. I curled back, hit from my sibling distracting the turtle just long enough to give me a way out. My stamina was half-gone, but my options sure weren''t. I flexed my wing back into place, planting my back half against the sand and pushing upwards with my front. The turtle rose through the water, extending it''s wounded leg for another weapon to use. The leg struck true, delivering it''s impact to my draconic skull and knocking me back a few feet- But that was all I needed. The turtle reached a tipping point, falling onto it''s angular shell before my refocusing eyes. The turtle''s belly was unprotected. And that kill was mine. I pushed towards it, spinning sideways and using the last quarter of my [Frenzy] stamina to slash my tailblade into it''s gullet like a pickaxe. I felt it sink in, sharply wrenched aside to a horrid aquatic roar. [You have slain: Juvenile Komodon. Phyllopteryx Hatchling has risen to level 3. Skill point gained] My crimson ally swam back towards me, scales cracked in several places from the fight. I looked with sympathy, placing a wing on the shell to pry off the leathery underbelly for the meat underneath. We dug in without fanfare, sibling seeming to need it more than me. Turtle meat vanished quickly, swallowed by two growing squiggle dragons. We returned to our home cave to rest for the evening, and I returned to my central spot to rest and look over my Skills. My list of choices had expanded in the recent fight. Swim, Bite, Scent, and Sword proficiency remained of course, but several new ones joined them. Critical Eye for detecting weak points and driving weapons into them, Dash for bursts of movement. Realizing I simply needed a better melee attack, I chose [Bite]. The skillpoint rolled towards the list again, spending itself on power and potential. I felt my heart beat in my jaws, giving it a few test snaps and feeling the recoil of my fangs closing in on water. I looked over my wounds, assessing if I could go for yet another hunt, and expected my state to be worse. Despite my awkward, side-eyed angle, I could only see one wound on me from the leech''s scrape, flesh having closed over already. "Does my species heal super quickly? I''d expect a better vitality..." I thought, realizing this did not extend to my siblings. The red one''s scales were still banged up, replaced nowhere as quickly as mine. I settled in to sleep, practicing with breath. Inhaling and exhaling through my mouth, gills, both at the same time, before trying different tricks. I attempted to pass air in through my mouth and out through my gills, making a constant stream of air. Reversing it took even more tries, punctuated by coughing and sputtering, but everything became just a little smoother once the System acknowledged my attempts. [Skill: Breath has risen to level 3.] The water grew darker, letting us sleep under the cover of the night. I closed my eyes, falling into an efficient sleep for another day full of promise. 3: Hunt We woke up the next morning to the sound of stone cracking. I lazily watched the others rise, play, and in the case of the green-scaled sibling, bring crabs from a small pile to the new hatchling. They were considerably smaller than us, eyes looking more innocent "Did we hatch as small adults?" I thought, seeing the verdant duo loop-de-loop. I had little time to ponder my question as my black-scaled sibling made a hollow roar, catching our attentions like a fishhook. As I recognized that roar as a Skill, something in my mind clicked-- list of available Skills no doubt growing longer. [Nameless Phyllopteryx Hatchling (I) has invited you to join his party. Accept?] [Yes][No] I tapped yes, and felt a sense of connection to my leader and two allies. I looked back to see the source of the connection, observing the armored red and bitey green. They swam towards him, while the others seemed to receive no such invitation. With orange, yellow, blue, purple, and white left behind as nest guards and entertainers for the hatchling, the four of us swam out. I followed my allies and looked back at the nest, seeing the quick swimmers sift through sand for scavenge material while we hunted more important prey. This nameless leader had obviously chosen combat-focused mutations, but what did he see in me? Quick healing only mattered if you survived the hit, and I didn''t convey much intelligence, so I left my guess to be mere initiative. Even if I didn''t have a mutation, my entire mind could comprehend and desire growing in strength. We swam out over the spires, keeping close to one for cover. A crevasse gave me pause, my underwater wingflap stuttering. As soon as it did, a set of long squid-arms shot from the rock. They grasped around the green one, fear gripping me as arms gripped my verdant sibling. Red and black turned as one, red rushing straight ahead while black narrowed his eyes. A set of tentacles intercepted red, large beak slipping out to catch him by the time I recovered my wits and ran forward to [bite] the squid arm. It pulled back, but not fast enough as my teeth sunk in. Inky blood emerged, tentacles whipping about and knocking us away from the crevasse I thought we had repelled it, but the large squid had other ideas. Two large eyes made up the center of the crevasse, pushing themselves out before a cluster of limbs followed. Ten in all, the two longest ones easily capable of grabbing us. One locked onto me, the wounded one missed my green sibling- who saw the chance to return favor and charge for the tentacle about to grab me. They bit down, and in the morning light I thought I saw something inject from my sibling''s fangs into the squid''s vein. The squid advanced upon us, lashing out with it''s arms like stinging whips. I parried one with my tail, getting spun in a double backflip I never wanted. Both arms coiled around both chromatic siblings, And my stomach dropped. I thought we were done for. Until I saw something move. Like a black dart, my sharp brother barreled into the squid''s head. His horns glowed purple, dialing up the squid''s pained reaction from serious to near-comical. Wasting no time I activated my [Frenzy], racing towards the squid''s eye and thrashing. [Skill: Bite has risen to level 2] [Your party has slain: Tunnel squid. You have risen to level 4. Skill point gained. Mind +1. Your party leader has risen to level 3. Your allies have risen to levels 4 and 3.] A small burst of power shone from all of us, lighting up the mottled brown squid. First my dark-scaled brother, then the rest of us got under the squid and pushed, gills pumping air into the atmosphere. We swam and struggled, roaring in victory as we placed it onto the shelf. The dark brother swam towards home, leaving me to wait around with red and green. I curled up just beside our prize, ready to pick a new Skill. Another had joined my list, so integral to both my preferences as a sapient being and hunting style as a predator. [Poison synthesis. Turns stamina into poison. Poison works most effectively when injected or swallowed.] I was venomous now, and irrationally happy with that fact. A small celebratory loop later, I tested the Skill. I felt my stamina drain, terrible-tasting orb welling up in my mouth and quickly spat out. A purple ink bled into the water before quickly thinning, diluted to almost nothingness like car exhaust. While I was distracted by my new toy, something in the side of my vision stirred. Whipping my head around, my eyes focused on a shadow move across the water. Four wings and a sharp beak crashed down through the surface tension in a smokebomb of bubbles, and I felt something barrel towards me. A long thick beak grabbed at the squid, ripping off a massive chunk and flying away. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. My frustration began to boil. I lacked a way to slow that dirty scavenger down, catch up to it, or follow it into the sky. My brother lead a handful of hatchlings back to the torn kill. They were lighter in colour, smaller, and looked more innocent, back-mounted fins comedically small. As soon as the leader approached the fallen squid, a look of anger crossed his face. I had no way to communicate the recent happening, backing away in attempt to convey a lack of antagonism. [Leader has disbanded the party.] A snarl sent my green sibling running and my red one into a fighting stance, flaring up their wings. "Was this simply a difference in stat?" I pondered "Or due to having enough armor to tank a horn stab?" The wordless argument was flashy. The duo swam higher and higher, horns and fangs flashing with mana, while the frozen hatchlings watched. I swam in front of the five, catching their attention, and slipped back down. I bit from the torn squid, watching them all as they converged on it, small but sharp sets of teeth starting to work away. To scrape meat from bone. I looked back, saw my green sibling was watching the hatchlings like a hawk. I left for the shallows, stomach growling, intent on practicing against weaker foes. I found one, in the form of a ridged seal of around my size. I hung back to watch, but having nothing to hide behind, could do little to stop it from seeing me. The seal''s ridges bristled as it turned to me, fangs bared in an attempt at intimidation. This hunt just upgraded itself into a brawl. I made the first move, drawing oxygen to my lungs and cautiously swimming in a wide arc. The seal predictably charged, blubbery form slowing it down just enough to predict. I shot out of the way, preserving just enough distance to drag a tailblade across it''s side. What I didn''t expect was the blade to get stuck, and seal to take me with it. I curled around to no avail, and played the strongest card in my hand. [Frenzy]- I tried, realizing it failed. The seal''s blubber had stopped any blood from entering the water, and no blood meant no frenzy. I curled myself forward, lacking the raw strength to make any impact, so settled for downwards. And spread my wings. the sudden slowing strained at my membranes, but the seal''s trajectory changed dramatically. It''s head slammed the ground, getting an eyeful of sand, and my chance made itself clear. Using the same protective blubber as a foothold (or tailhold), I curled forward, biting for the neck. I twisted my form and tucked in my wings to avoid a stray ridge, feeling one dig into my long side. The seal howled in pain, sound assailing my hearing, but I pressed on. I was no dumb animal, far harder to drive away with pain or fear. Instead, my jaw merely clenched in fear. The effect faded, and my mind unlocked. I took my new Skill, and pressed as hard as I could. Bracing for the terrible taste, I let the venom conjure into nothing. It covered the seal''s neck, impossible to compress and spreading fast. My stamina dropped to nothing, my grip slipping. I fell backwards, trying to catch my breath [Skill: Poison synthesis has risen to level 2. You have slain: Crag Seal. Experience gained.] I swam towards it and dug in, filling my stomach with soft meat and discarding useless bone ridges. I curled up beside my grizzly trophy, feeling my meal digest and staring at the sky in preperation for predators. With the meal lighter and my ability to lift heavier, I took the half-seal in my mouth and lifted. My wings pumped. My gills cycled air. My mouth kept it''s grip on the bones, as I carried them back to my home cave. [Skill: Breath has risen to level 4] [Skill: Bite has risen to level 3] I dropped the kill over the rim of the cave, heroically rising over the lip of the cave mouth. Hatchlings swarmed the remainder, and my black-scaled sibling gave me a respectful nod. I practiced more with [Poison Synthesis] that evening, careful to do it outside my home cave. The level up to two earned me more control, giving me some choice over where to conjure the poison. A teardrop''s worth cost me a notable chunk of stamina to create in my mouth, and a bit more to coat over one fang. I was certain my green sibling could deliver it more efficiently. I''d have to watch them and learn. This practice was punctuated by interruptions. The monsters in the area seemed agitated, aggressive. A small octopus, a nest bit, and an shimmering blue otter antagonized me while practicing, the same poison I was practicing making these unprepared creatures barely a problem. Poison synthesis jumped to level 3 from practice, but a much better message greeted me. [You have slain: Slip otter. You have risen to level 5. Skill point gained. Quickness +1] [Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling can now advance to another form. Available Options: Phyllopteryx] I stared agape at the option. The singular option. Knowing I was missing something, I looked at my character sheet again. [Level: 5/10] I knew exactly what to do. Keep fighting, level up, make use of Skill Points, figure out Fundamental Power, and- I yawned, fatigue of level grinding getting to me. Spreading my wings for the last time today, I vaulted over the cave lip and into my much more lively home. 4: topaz Topaz was always both lucky and unlucky at the same time. Her life had seen numerous accidents, but none of them had harmed her in any meaningful way- scrapes and bruises were abundant, but she could only remember breaking a bone once; and that too healed unusually quickly, it''s break clean. So colour no one surprised when a drunk driver on an icy road sent her to an afterlife full of potential. Full of contestants. Full of magic. True to her bizarre fortune, her cheat skill, [Omnimapping] matched that. She had a bird''s eye view of kingdoms, cities, towns, mountains, valleys, rivers, dungeons... but the minute she stepped into battle, it ceased to serve her. So when the enigmatic gold-glowing god spat her out, the first thing she did was activate this skill for a lay of the land. Or at least, what little of it was left. She had began on an island- unable to access civilization, but very difficult for another Contestant to find and eliminate her. Out of equal parts necessity and desire, Topaz answered the System prompt and chose her Class. A few dozen options stared back quickly narrowed down to two- thief and shaman. Recognizing both the importance of both stealthy combat and nature magic, and being afflicted with a bad case of the fear of missing out, Topaz selected their middle ground. [Hunter] The second she did, a gold-speckled wind enveloped her. Enough clothing not to die of embarrassment while wearing dissolved, replaced just as quickly by dull brown leather and a mottled green cloak. Tools phased in from nowhere, filling her belt and chances of survival in equal measure. A studry knife with a good angle to lever open monster armor, a pouch full of different kinds of bait, a coil of rope, a bow with a quiver of arrows, and sturdy metal flask for water. Her Skills, while small in number, seemed perfectly-matched to this loadout. [Ambush: Lines up attacks against unaware targets, increasing damage.] [Replenish: Transmutes user''s magic into depleted items, restoring quantity. Mana-intensive] [Beast lore: Understand and cooperate with monsters. Increases chance of pet acquisition, slightly increases pet stats.] [Appraisal: Reveals the stats of a creature or object] The purpose of this Class became clear at the last line. Topaz was truly only half a Contestant alone; she needed to find a good pet. And fast. Methodically, Topaz swept the coast and offered bait to anything she could. Anything landlocked would only be useful as far as it could walk, but an aquatic creature coild explore the vast sea- and if large enough, take her across it. The creatures she found left something to be desired. An amphibious tortoise caught her eye, only proven a bad fit by it''s lack of ability to climb. The strange birds were much too agressive, one of them snapping up the bait in a flash and turning to a gouge in her arm before a reflexive stab with her knife stabbed through it''s thin body. Topaz acquired her first Levelup then, and with it a new Skill point. Thoughts twisted from the recent fight, Topaz chose healing magic, flaring up the cyan flame to life and pressing it to the wound. She had not expected it to drain her mana so fast, but the pain dulled to an acceptable level. After a round-looking fish who wouldn''t give her the time of day after a few cubes of bait and a strange winged serpent that was more interested in carrying the cube back than actually eating it, she was low on options. It was not a total loss, as these attempts had given her two levels in [Beast Lore]. Mostly from learning what not to do, but the few times she got close to acceptance stayed in her memory as behaviors to repeat. This continued for the first day, sparse aquatic beasts oddly reluctant to go near the land while the land beasts were almost humorous in their lack of raw power. Their stats averaged ten, when an average human sported around thirteen, and her highest sat at an even twenty. The next morning, a long, sharp, red fish greedily swam up to her. It took the bait, then another, then her last, before jumping out and making a happy splash. [You have tamed: Arrow-ana (I) level 4. Do you wish to administer a Name?] "you''ll be Mist!" Topaz exictedly answered. The small red fish glowed, happily snapping it''s jaws under it''s sharp nose. "Fight creatures your own size, and bring back as much meat as you can." Topaz instructed. Mist wasted no time, skewering a few fish and sticking his snout out of the water to recieve praise and the occasional burst of healing All the while, Topaz built a fire. Hung up every fish brought on a thick branch, ready-made hole in most of them thanks to mist''s stabbing charge. Notifications pinged in of this speed predator''s work. [Your pet has slain cephalo-requin. Expirience shared. Topaz, Ranger has risen to level 3. Skill point gained] Topaz''s skill list had tripled in size since pet acquisition. New Skills included [Pet Command] to boost a pet''s stats under direct orders, Generic passives such as [Pet strength boost] and [Pet tracking], but topaz chose one that sat right between her budding magic and her exicting beastmastery.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. [You have learned: Mind magic (I). Skill points remaining: 0.] [Your pet has slain: Greater nest bit. Mist, Arrow-ana has risen to level 5. Evolution available.] Topaz jumped at the chance. The system produced it''s largest window yet, pixelated sprite of the red stabfish in the center and surrounded by a handful of sharp aquatic beings, all of which choices. From the humble [Greater Arrow-ana], to the logical extension of ranged weaponry, the [Pistol shark]. Choice paralysis overtaking her, Topaz reached out her mind to the crimson fish of violence. She felt her mana reserves burn up like cotton, stopping at a sliver of magic left- as a double helix of light purple and silvery gold spiraled out from her hand to her willing ally. "You''re about to evolve" Topaz panted through the mind bridge. "Oh boy! I hope I get to be big and strong!" Mist''s voice raced through, words hitting like his hunting style. "What... do you want to be good at?" Topaz asked. "Power, speed, dura-" "Stabbing!" Mist unhelpfully answered. Topaz studied her options. And after a minute of deliberation, chose one. [Confirm choice?] the System asked, as Mist swam close. "Oh boy what''d I get what''d I get" was the last thing he said before his features vanished, transmuting into a glowing orb. Topaz, initially worried she somehow killed her loyal companion, watched it take detail. A larger, thicker body, sharp snout looking reinforced by metal [Mist, Arrow-ana (I) has evolved into a Joustuna (II)] Topaz marveled at her selection. Evolution was no joke, she decided. "I''m ready to hunt!" Mist sounded older. Still confident, but graduated from a highly violent talking dog to a highly violent teenager. The Joustuna, as the system told her, leaned harder into making highspeed charges and killing anything it could it in a single hit, at the cost of being unable to survive a counterattack from anything that could make one. And of course, mist was happy as a clam with that description. The day rolled past. Levels came quickly for Mist as he turned the waters into his playground of impalement, and slowly for Topaz as she collected a share of the EXP. Yet despite this difference in levels, they earned skill points at a near-identical speed, each collecting 3 more in the day''s trawl. Every skill point accellerated the hunt. Topaz doubled down on support, choosing [Pet speed] for Mist to cover more ground and hit even harder, [Mana gathering] to spread more healing, and [Corpse cleaning] for herself to make better use of Mist''s many kills. She additionally chose some simplistic skills for him- [Night vision], [Breath], and [Pain resistance]. She felt dissapointed there was no passive regeneration skill, nor did Mist seem to qualify for anything more defensive. He already had a purely offensive kit and a grand total of three thoughts a minute, so she tried to pick supportive skills that wouldn''t tax his brain even further. That whole evening, topaz built a basic shelter under a broad-leafed tree, and Mist pushed against his cap of level 9. and topaz feared he had reached his maximum- until the moon peaked over the horizon. [Your pet has slain: Young Water wyvern. Mist, Joustuna has risen to level 10. Evolution available.] Topaz called mist back over, recoiling at the numerous cuts and scratches on his flanks. "You''re getting kind of scratched up" She commented waveringly "Isn''t it cool? lady fish love scars" Mist turned his scale-spares side, posing. "I''ve... cooked up a special evolution for you" Topaz half-lied, quickly scanning the list of options and selecting one before Mist could object. Halfway through asking what it was, he lit up the shallows as evolution reduced him to a glowing orb, larger than before. As the glow subsided, Topaz''s eyes adjusted to the dark. What posed back at her was a fish the size of a small canoe, head seamlessly merged with a forward-facing sword. Plates of shiny chitin, mirroring a set of animal barding, covered his skin, streamlined to facilitate an aquatic charge "What are you going to become next, a chainsaw fish?" Topaz joked to herself through her awe. [Mist, Joustuna (II) has completed his evolution into a Barrongcuda (III)] While the last evolution leaned harder into the gimmick of charging, this one ''only'' supported it. Speed saw only a slight bump, strength and mind more of one, but most of this evolution''s power went straight to defense. The tall blade and increased mass and size would make turning awkward, but those very setbacks would put even more power behind the charging stab or vertical slash. "I''m going to bed for the night. Don''t bite off more than you can chew." Topaz instructed to her newly-evolved Pet. "I will not be defeated." Responded the deeper, ever-eager voice of Mist. Fatigue hung off his voice, as a day of swimming obviously burns energy. The two of them slept. However, Mist awoke faster. Full of energy and confidence, he swam along the shallows, eyes filtering the incoming dawn with growing ease, until something he saw brought him words of celebration "Jackpot." said Mist, deep and loud enough to rouse Topaz from her slumber. Topaz sighed wordlessly before answering "What''d you find...?" Mist could barely keep himself composed. "Nest. Tasty eggs. Big sleeping worms." "Be careful..." Topaz warned "Worms are weak" Sidearmed the sword shark, scraping his blade on the cave ceiling. 5: Swordfish A grinding scrape broke my slumber, half-asleep eyes quickly adjusting to the morning''s light. My darker-scaled brother started to roar, just barely waking the others. What stared back at us blocked most of the light with a glinting body the size of a motorcycle and likely just as heavy. My siblings awoke much more quickly than I, spurred into action with a glow of familiar horns. [Nameless Phyllopteryx (II) has invited you to join his party. Accept?] [Yes][No] Something clicked. I knew something was different about my siblings, but was too wrapped up in practice to see it. In addition to the expanded sizes they sported; The black-scaled one had grown a shining helmet of a skull, The red one looked more ridged in their armor design, much like that seal I hunted earlier, and the tail-crystals on the blue one seemed even more majestic in the light. The green sibling took a different approach, cobra-like hood on their flaring in an attempt to dissuade the swimming predator. I suspected I was the runt of the pack, but this only amplified the difference and made me look smaller by comparison. But as the weapon-fish charged, the roar persisted. I felt my strength grow, felt my muscles firing faster, felt- A sense of dread as a sword skewered my leaderly brother. He tried to dodge, tried to twist out of the way, but the impressive blade pierced his stomach and slashed downwards [Party leader has died. Party has disbanded.] I cursed under my breath more than any hatchling should, watching in horror as the shark inhaled. Both halves of my brother vanished down it''s double-rowed maw, and I noticed it wear a look of pain. "That''s what you get for eating my brother!" I shouted through tears. But the whirlpool towards the shark''s mouth did not let up. It pulled a fearful hatchling closer, accelerating by the second- Until my ruby-coated sibling rammed the monster''s side, glowing a similar colour. Just as abruptly as the inward current started, it stopped. The fish awkwardly turned, broad fins thrashing to keep it''s weapon towards it''s enemy, when my speedy azure sibling acted. They circled the swordfish with skill, latching onto the fin''s base and biting. Blood trickled out, only seeming to embolden my not-yet-evolved siblings. White and purple swam up first and grasped onto the other fin, orange and yellow latched onto the shark''s tail, and green floated to the side of the slashing blade. They opened their mouth, ball of quickly-forming poison poised to shoot into our foe''s mouth- When with a burst of speed, the sharp fish jetted forward in a sharp turn and crunched down on my venomous sibling. Greedily the fish swallowed, gulping down a massive amount of water and dislodging those who hung onto it''s fins with the gill-based exhale. The fish swam to one side and turned, putting all of us on the same side of it, and I saw it wear a look of pain. "Is executing my siblings making you guilty?" I spat, noticing a hatchling vanish down it''s hatch. Something in my chest flared. This was beyond predatory. The intelligence I noticed in the slashing fish''s eyes, the pauses to line up it''s strike, and the taunting expression as it swallowed my hatchling sibling were too much for me to put down to instinct. I couldn''t prove it, but I knew: This flipping fish was trying to inflict psychological warfare on all of us. As my thoughts clutched this action, something in my chest sparked to life. I was too far for from the blood for [Frenzy] to activate, not to mention: activating that skill was a conscious decision, albeit sometimes it was very persuasive. I took a deep [Breath] and rocketed towards the creature''s underside, whiff of my own kin''s blood intoxicating in it''s power. Frenzy was only level 1, but seemed to push itself harder than before. I struck it''s underbelly with my tail, knowing no damage was coming, but repositioning sideways with a wingbeat. The shark summersaulted forwards, missing me by inches with it''s built-in blade and giving me the chance to counter, when I saw a winged blue sea serpent on the end of it''s slashing horn. Instead of fear, my frenzy spiked even higher. I swam in the way of it''s tail, bracing for impact and activating my [Bite]. I could feel power jolt through my fangs, one of them cracking against the shark''s armor, but one slipping through to the articulated joint. I swerved wildly with only one point of contact, thrashing my wings to twist and gouge my one good fang. [Skill: Breath has leveled up to 5. Upgrade availabl-] No time, System! I dismissed, as the fish swam in erratic circles to dislodge me. While it''s movements seemed to grow sluggish, they were still strong, throwing me across the cave and into the rough wall. I blinked away the stars in my vision, seeing the fish finish activating it''s breath white a white crystal-lined tail wriggling out of it''s mouth. Frenzy''s stamina drain was gone, it''s pulsing sensations seeming to linger as the pain of exertion faded into the background. I swam forward, lost weapon undeterred, and conjured up my last trick in the bag: Poison. I felt my mouth fill with the orb of liquid, almost losing some out the sides. The shark gulped in water again, and while I couldn''t stop it''s next meal; "I could sure give it the chef''s special sauce, extra-spicy!" I thought, blowing my poison into the whirlpool it created. My orange sibling vanished into hundred-tooth hell, but the deadly purple liquid vanished even faster- look of green overcoming the armed fish. It''s air of confidence was waning, something inside it close to breaking even as it brought me close to being an only child. When something inside me was growing stronger and stronger. A white flame burned brighter and brighter just under my throat, only contrasted by a dark, visceral flame from below. [Skill: Frenzy has risen to level 2.] I charged the beast straight-on, swerving to the side of it''s predictable blade. A burst of breath took me out of range of it''s whirlpool, but not before leaving a poison blob behind as a false prize. I slammed my head into it''s gills, causing the fish to cough and sputter, and began a lopsided series of [Bites]. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.Frenzy had grown even stronger, my tooth peircing through it''s tough but unguarded flesh and into the soft inside. I rapidly chomped while it was stunned, boosted breath shooting spent air right into it''s gills "You''re thirsty?" I taunted, beginning to see red with vengeful anger. "Have a drink!" I left frenzy behind to conserve stamina, and shot glob after glob poison to it''s desperate lungs. The fish grew weaker and weaker, falling closer to the cave floor in defeat. As it did, I felt my heart slow, shining copper feeling more like heavy lead in my chest. [Skill: Poison synthesis has risen to level 4. You have slain: Barrongcuda. You have gained much Experience] A sense of bittersweet releif filled me with the victory notification. [Phyllopteryx Hatchling has risen to level 8. Strength +1. Five skill points gained.] That sounded like... around two more than I should have earned. I swam back and upwards, taking stock of my remaining family. Purple and yellow remained alive, cowering behind coral with a mere seven hatchlings cowering behind them. Ruined eggs littered the battlefield, a testament to my grim victory. [Gained achievement: Giant slayer (Deal the final blow to a creature two tiers above you). One Fundamental Power gained] So Fundamental power wasn''t as limited as I thought. Physically ready to go but mentally exhausted, I left the cave. I couldn''t protect my siblings yet, and my obsession with curiosity had lead me to a weaker path. If I had evolved with my siblings, more of them would have survived the encounter, grown strong, and protected... There was no use in thinking about alternate timelines. Instead, I sought consolation in my character sheet
Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling (I) Level: 8/10 Titles: Useless
Stats Skills Mutations
Strength: 9 Breath (I) Level 5 [!] Copper Heart (1)
Quickness: 12 Poison synthesis (I) level 4
Vitality: 6. Bite (I) Level 3
Mind: 16 Frenzy (I) Level 2
Fundamental Power: 2 Skill points: 6 Mutagen: 0
I had... grown in the days I spent as a hatchling. The raw numbers barely increased, but my core of skills was solid. Mutagen I had neither the knowledge nor the resources to touch, so my attention turned to the points to spend and upgrades to gain. I read as I swam, glare in my eyes daring anything to challenge me. [Upgrades available Skill: Breath (I)] [Controlled breath (II). Allows greater precision when breathing] [Forceful breath (II). Increases exhalation power] [Gathering breath (II). Increases inhalation power] [Lasting breath (II). Increases breath storage] I looked at my handful options, and chose one that was clear to me. Lasting and controlled breath were hardly needed, and gathering looked useful for bullying small creatures by drawing them into your mouth [Upgrade Breath (I) into Forceful breath (II) for 2 skill points?] The cost was steeper than I wanted, but the effect looked promising. I looked at my Skill list again, seeing several more had joined it. Dash, Headbutt, and Dodge joined the party, but what drew my eye was an old returner. Breath (I) Another instance of it was always welcome, and my options were compounding. I knew I wanted to advance poison synthesis, and use my back-mounted fins for flight, but those seemed out of reach at the moment. "Just two new skills" I thought. "Then I''ll save my other two points for more poison" [Stamina cap] [Scent] Frenzy had much potential, but needed a lot of stamina and needed me to smell blood. Even if those didn''t work, they were still useful for tracking prey and sprinting after it. I saw a small island within sight. Not wanting to approach it off-guard, I made a hasty decision for where to spend my Fundamental Power. [Skill: Forceful breath (II) has become Fundamental skill: Forceful breath (II+)] [Skill: Poison Synthesis (I) has become Fundamental skill: Poison Synthesis (I+)] I drew closer to the island, seeing a human on it. She looked... less than threatening, but the bad feeling in my gut returned. What was my intuition telling me, and could I throw skill points at the problem? As I swam closer curiously, a double helix shot at me- one side lilac in hue, and the other side a shiny off-white. "Good morning, creature." Greeted an unusually sad voice. "I''m Topaz, are you hungry?" 6: sadness Topaz''s morning had been heck. She had been woken up by a notification that her pet had slain a Phyllopteryx, then two more, then a trio of Phyllopteryx hatchlings. Two more levelups had even joined in quick succession, raising her hopes. After each kill however, said hopes were dashed by more dire notifications. [Your pet has been afflicted by poison (I)] came the first, rising up through the roman numerals. II, III, IV, but in place of poisoning (V) came the most heart-wrenching notification yet. [Mist, Barrongcuda has died.] Said the System with cold cruelty. The whole ordeal had taken only a minute or two, but the day worth of shared growth was down the drain. and most likely down some scavenger''s gullet. She had depopulated the shallows just training the monster, trying to distract herself with anything she could. Hunting was disappointingly easy, monsters on the island granting her only a single level more and no joy. With the island much quieter, her only real option being her built-in map. It overlayed her vision, capable of changing in size and opacity at a whim, and displayed much information about the world. Much of it seemed to be arranged into hexagons, sporting a side length of about two miles. Topaz first tested zooming in close, seeing more detail rise the second her eyes could process it. A bird''s eye view of the island filled her vision, individual trees, boulders, and openings defined. She even saw her firepit, but not herself, giving her an even deeper feeling of emptiness. Wanting to avoid thinking about that, Topaz adjusted her zoom outwards. Her perception shifted from her island to it''s hexagon, defined by subtle lines on the map. Then further out- to her hex and the surrounding six, then one in every direction, then two, the first new bit of land coming into view after another doubling, to a coast seven or eight hexes away. The next doubling slightly overshot, as from this coast it would be a four-hex walk to the port town of Gaham. While Topaz had no qualms about walking that distance, even more so after the slight increase in vitality, she knew swimming even more than one hex would be troublesome. "Let alone the predators..." Topaz whispered, train of thought shifted by a pink flash against the azure surface of the water. She stared in confusion at the unusually vivid worm, it''s back sporting a middle ground between wings and fins. Not recognizing it, Topaz pointed a mind bridge. Her mind magic had been trained little by little from a perpetual bridge with mist, even more so with every bit of information passed along the connection. "Good morning, creature." Topaz let her unusually sad words spill, still dwelling on the loss of an old ally while trying to find a new one. "I''m Topaz, are you hungry?" The creature spoke with unusual clarity. "Of course I am! Land creatures taste so much better." That was enough to give topaz pause. Just how did this little being hunt on land? The winged serpent must have noticed and identified Topaz''s confused expression. "I''m Valerie, Phyllopteryx. Is something wrong?" For Topaz, that was an unintentional twist of the knife. The hunter had never seen that species name before, until shortly before her pet died. "Did..." Topaz asked, grasping at straws "Did your family have names?" The serpent named Valerie shook her head. "Not that I saw. I was reborn here as-" The information in the mental bridge reversed direction as Topaz cut her off. "You''re the newcomer, aren''t you!" She realized. "I heard Mathias insult you on the way down." Valerie nodded, sad expression crossing her feline eyes "Life''s been a struggle. Hunting for every meal, competing with my siblings, and then having some big blue bastard eat most of us like party snacks" The Phyllopteryx Hatchling spat. Topaz seemed to shrink back, so Valerie altered her trajectory. "How did you get here, and do you know how to get to land?" "I started here, a day and a half ago" Topaz admitted. "I''ve been trying to find and raise a good... beast companion ever since, and didn''t know there would be anyone sentient so close to me." The word Pet seemed wrong to use on another contestant. "Keep everything above-board and I can be one. What are the terms of your... beast companionship?"This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "I think I can show you." Topaz started, raising her finger to manipulate the azure window in her vision, beginning to speak with uncertianty. "This might hurt a bit..." [Large data transmission incoming. Accept? Warning: High chance of psyshic damage] [Yes] / [No] After a hesitant tap of [Yes], The mind bridge flexed and strained close to breaking under it''s connection of mana. Data poured across it, causing a pained writhe from the squiggle dragon. "Why did you-" She started, before a new window appeared. [Pet Mastery] [A humanoid with the [Beast Lore] Skill can form an agreement with a willing Monster, turning it into a Pet. The Pet feels a compulsion to follow the master''s orders and defend them from harm, though may break this agreement if base needs such as food, shelter, and sleep are mistreated or neglected. Both the Pet and the master share incoming EXP at a rate the master decides, and the master gains control over the Pet''s Skill point allocation and evolution. Further Skills may enhance the synergy between Pet and master, such as [Pet (stat) boost], [Mind Magic], and [Mount]] "Did that work" Asked Topaz, trying to read the dizzy expression on Valerie''s snout. "I think so..." she nodded. "Pet mastery, lots of text after?" "That''s the one! I do *not* feel good about any of the mind control nonsense, but anything we can do to get a leg up on the other Contestants is good with me." "What''s your cheat skill?" Valerie asked after a minute of thought. "Mathias was passing out some pretty overpowered stuff" "I think I got the worst one..." Topaz sighed. "Mapping. I know this island like the back of my hand, but it''s not making me any stronger." Her voice seemed to brighten. "But I know where the nearest land is! I''ve got some Pet-helping skills already, and they''re yours to use- on the grounds you evolve into something that can carry me to land." "You know, I always wanted to get larger" Valerie jokingly mused. "Deal!" A blue box that both beings could see emerged. [Pet contract] it read. [Create Master and Pet bond between Topaz, Ranger and Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling?] [Pet] / [Master] [Yes] / [Yes] [No] / [No] Looking towards the box, then towards eachother Both beings tapped yes. "Are you okay if I Appraise you? To use gaming terms, it''ll be easier to see what kind of build you''re running." Valerie felt any suspicions quelled by their bond. "Sure, go ahead" she offered. Topaz looked over the results of the appraisal, counting under her breath, eyes flicking between the screen and the serpent. "You''ve got a higher level cap than my old pet did at tier I, way more skill points than any monster should have, a rare-looking mutation, and *Two* fundamental skills already? Incredible!" Exclaimed Topaz, tone turning downwards from it''s rise. "But... we really need to evolve you soon. For all your advantages, your stats have a lot of room for growth." "You can bolster my numbers with those skills of yours, riiight?" Valerie nudged. "Maybe. These Skills are elusive of how much they add and how much they multiply, but every little bit helps" "I saw an island a few miles that way while I was looking for actual civilization. Island creatures tend to be under little pressure, so that might have some monsters to fight. Be warned, my last pet took a long time to go from 9 to 10" "Sounds good! I''ll bring back lots of Experience and some food" Valerie took off at an angle, wings splashing in her unique locomotion. Watching the spray vanish, a refreshed Topaz looked at her Skill list again. She calculated, flagged, scrolled, and calculated again; passing the hour of Valerie''s travel with optimization. [Pet EXP boost] was an obvious first pick to keep her new ally growing quickly, ideally able to level up to ten before depleting the new island. [Mana bridge] was a second, letting Topaz cast spells over the mind bridge- albiet at a higher cost, and amounts of power vastly limited by her level of mind magic. With a flicker of guilt, she speculated that any amount of healing would have turned the tide in mist''s fight. Her thoughts were interrupted by a third skill, near the bottom of her learning pool. [Mana efficiency. Slightly reduce the costs of all magic] She selected it with haste. The mental strain from the bridge lessened slightly but notably, allowing the two more ready communication- and less exorbitant costs of healing. As if on cue, the first of the kill notifications rolled in. And the next, and the next. A level notification chimed soon after, Phyllopteryx Hatchling so close yet so far to her cap. As the day wore on, Topaz''s Skills clearly taken to the gym. Their synergy began to grow like strands of a spiderweb, mana doing slightly more with slightly less in a slightly easier job. Several of them reached their cap of fifth level over the course of the day, awaiting upgrades like eager students in a lunchline. However their cost was prohibitive- Topaz only had one Skill Point, advancing a Skill any further each needed two. "One of you''s evolving when I get to tenth level, I promise" Topaz whispered. [Your pet has slain: Coast bear. Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling reached level 10. Evolution Available.] "Awesome! Get to somewhere safe so we can figure out your evolution." The two of them discussed over the mind bridge for a few minutes, weighing advantages and disadvantages. Valerie found a place in the shallows, hard for a big predator to reach but easy to move out of should a more aquatic form arise. As soon as everything was in order, and Valerie began her evolution, Topaz saw a large shadow of a pirate ship cross the evening sky. It stopped near the island, small shapes descending from ropes, rowing towards the island, sailinb back, back up with something, and the pirate ship swimming away again. Topaz felt the mental connection stretch, reaching the end of it''s overtaxed range and snapping. [Pet has left Pet Mastery''s effective range. Stat boost reduced] Putting two and two together, a single word bubbled up to the surface of Topaz''s mind "Shit" 7: Island I sped away from the island, skipping along the surface like a stone. The hot sun warmed my pink scales, wings cooled off by the ocean''s spray. My tail churned the water, kept able to sprint for dozens of minutes by the strength of my breath, and most concretely of all, Topaz''s [Pet Speed] Skill. My Quickness stat still read 12 despite the tangible difference in actual travel speed- leading me to believe the stat encompassed more than how much ground I could cover per hour. Forceful breath and stamina cap up leveled once each, better facilitating quick, predatorial bursts of movement. The island appeared crystalline, broad leaves of the trees refracting light in a shimmering scatter of green on the unusually bright orange sand. Spiral-shelled crabs roamed the coast, purple translucent stones glowing on their backs as they parted the sand with gestures in search of prey to eat. I focused on a group of four and charged, entire foot and a half of serpentine dragon hitting one with a controlled crash. It''s top-heavy balance fell to the sand with a quiet thud, and my wings pushed me back out of it''s claw range. The crab tried to gesture with a claw, throwing a clump of dry sand at me as I lined up a bite. I coughed and sputtered at the sand clump striking my gills, [Forceful Breath] clearing the gravelly grains and letting me line up a [Bite] on the crab''s flailing underside. It shrieked and spasmed, Poison from my single fang coursing through it''s pounding veins. [Skill: Bite has risen to level 4. You have slain: Mana crab. Experience Gained] The other three crabs fixed on me their undivided attention. I panicked and flapped backwards, uncoordinated winglike fins unsuited to air travel, and making large targets for the crabs'' thrown sand-gravel. One''s spray shot wide, one pierced my underside, and the third caught my wing. I slithered towards the water, trying to serpentine between sprays from those annoying caster-crabs, and practically rolled into the water once I hit shallows deep enough to hide in. While I waited, the mental bridge pulsed. [Are you hurt?] Topaz asked, voice sounding recorded but very much hers. "And my wing''s pierced. Can you do anything about that?" I challenged, but the answer was already on it''s way. My peripheral vision picked up a cyan light, and I flexed my wing just enough to see the largest holes closing. Her healing, while small, seemed to coast along, persisting even after the light faded. I watched the smallest wound close, taking a minute or two, then turned my vision back through the turbulent surface. The mana crabs surrounded their fallen ally, claws raised. They took a minute to snap performatively at eachother, feistiest one approaching the dead crab and wrenching the purple stone from it''s back. The other two took to scraping apart the body and shoveling their own species into their mouths, while the ''winner'' grasped the purple stone with an odd focus. It''s glow subtly dimmed while the crabs had their meal, but something large and dark blue from the bushes interrupted all three. A bear, large and strong even by ursine standards, crunched it''s jaws around the winning crab''s shell. The other two uselessly tried to fight back, defeated by a claw swipe and a gesture of it''s sharklike tail. The tail struck nothing, merely glowing with power, but that was enough. A deluge of water burst from the ground, shooting into the crab''s underbelly with no hope of defense. The bear''s feasting took only slightly longer than it''s fighting. it scooped and slurped, large paws and barbed tongue unusually dexterous in removing the coastal meat before walking away, likely in search of other prey. I knew I had to act fast, but not so fast as to put myself on the bear''s menu. I swam up to the fallen crabs, course-correcting for my damaged wing, and pressed my snout to the half-drained stone. [Initiate Mana drain?] The System asked I slashed the [Yes] button faster than I slashed most forms of prey. The idea of being a wizard called out to me like a Greek mythos siren, and starting magic without an actual organ for mana sounded preposterous. [Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling is missing component: Kanastone. Loot sufficiently magical foes to acquire one.] I looked around at the stones the crabs carried. They were magical all right, but nowhere near as much as the bear''s must be. Having no way to carry them, I pushed the Kanastones in the ground with my snout and slitheringly swam around the coast. The bear entered my view again, casting another spell with a gesture of it''s paw. Water around a ridged seal thickened and surged, pushing it onto the beach for a chomp from the bear. It seemed satisfied with itself, licking off it''s lips and slowly walking back inland. I followed at a distance, trusting the aura of death by ursine to protect me from predators. And it worked. Something large flew overhead, earning a twitch to the bear''s rounded ears. A roar from the sky chilled my blood, but only earned a roar back from the bear, louder in volume and carrying a much closer impact to it, to the point where I felt several scales crack under the pressure. The bear stood at it''s full height, balancing with the help of it''s shark tail, and tracking it''s eyes I saw it''s foe. A green spiky wyvern, looking slightly mismatched in proportion, swooped towards the bear. It pulled up at the last second, flat of it''s bulky-looking tail clubbing the bear upside the stomach. It coughed, even it''s desperate regulation of air making me think of the sound and threat level of a chainsaw''s motor, slashing upwards at the wyvern''s feet. It responded in kind, attempting to land on the bear and failing on paper- but slashing with the claws of a powerful wing before flapping away with that same wing. It began to fly in a large circle for another attack, but the bear looked ready despite it''s wounds, bending down to scoop water from the ground. The spiked wyvern swooped again, lining up another attack, when that same blast of water struck it point-blank. Not enough to disrupt it''s next swing, but enough to slow it down- and enough for the bear to drive a claw into the underside of the very tail. It slammed downwards, leverage-deprived wyvern breaking something from the force of the throw. The bear turned back, apparently satisfied with it''s win, but it''s opponent wasnn''t done yet. Steam escaped the wyvern''s mouth, scaled head conjuring a glob of dark waxy substance and practically spitting it towards the bear. "Is that fire synthesis?" I thought, my desire to be a fire-breathing dragon growing at this display. The burning wax struck the bear''s back fin, forcing it to roll on the ground, but not before lumbering back and biting the wyvern''s long-ish neck. It lifted and lowered the head in a single, powerful shake, gold-speckled blood pouring from the wound. Where the bear saw a win, I saw an opportunity. I slid around, careful to dodge a still-twitching wing, and spat poison into the wound. The wyvern thrashed, it''s pain only rising with it''s weakness, and I watched in violent glee as my poison took effect [You have slain: Young Wrath wyvern. You have gained much Experience. Level has risen to 9. Vitality +1. Skill point gained.] [Fundamental skill: Poison Synthesis has risen to level 5. Upgrade available.] I multitasked, chomping away at the wyvern while reading the choice of upgrades. I wasn''t expecting much, in the face of the fairly bland options for [Breath], but this floored me. [-Upgrade choices-] [0 SP: Advanced, Efficient, Strong, Compressed] I could, without spending a single resource, turn my poison into a flat-out better version of itself. Or specialize it for this same waived cost, to either hit harder, cost less stamina and therefore food, or store more before running dry [1 SP: Clinging, Bursting, Speedy] I could change how the poison behaved, sticking to surfaces, spreading quickly, or make it shoot faster [2 SP: Sharp, Burning, Freezing, Corrosive] I could add an elemental effect, lightning seemingly replaced with acid in the trio I was used to. Sharp seemed odd, until I thought of how tiny blades in the bloodstream could wreak havoc on a person''s internals [4 SP: Mana-breaking, Life-Seeking, Viral, Gravity-amplifying] These weren''t as obvious. Mana-breaking turned the damage into mana reduction, relegating poison to strictly utility and stopping it from directly killing anything. Life-Seeking seemed to do the opposite, altering not the raw power of my poison but very much the end result. Viral seemed like the odd one out. Would it spread? Snowball in power? Evolve through use, beyond my Skill levels? And of course, Gravity seemed like a gimmick. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Now this is the Fundamental Power" I mused in awe. [I saw your options, are you having trouble?] Asked Topaz. "That was eerily quick. Just how much are you doing outside of watching my Status?" [Looking out for anything. The Island''s empty, and forgive my excitement, that evolution''s my ticket out of here] "Fair enough. I''m looking to make use of my three skill points. Life-seeking is tempting, but-" [You probably won''t reach level ten without it, that island is smaller and nine to ten seems to take as long as one to nine] I gasped, rethinking my game plan on the spot. Gone was the desire to save up for life-seeking, I needed something more practical now. "I have a really bad feeling about sharp. Lots of creatures resist their own acid, but whatever it''s doing I don''t want liquid sharpness anywhere near me." [How much resists acid?] Topaz offered. [If something does, it''s either specialized to resist acid and not much else, or defies physics so much that you probably don''t want to fight it anyway] I made my choice, feeling something churn within the back of my throat. Fearing for the worst, I pointed my mouth away from my meal, but the only thing to come out of me was a Systematic congratulation [Fundamental skill: Poison Synthesis Level 5 (I+) has evolved into Corrosive Poison synthesis (II+) level 1] That was a definite mouthful. My other choice of skill was something I should have chosen already, if not for the opportunity cost. [Stealth]. Good for hunting or not being hunted. I could tell my species was some sort of apex predator, but I was in the stage of weakness known as childhood and needed all the help I could get. Plus, sneaking up on prey would be that much easier. I continued having my fill of the spiky wyvern, smaller teeth tearing apart the gamey meat and swallowing it down, dodging only the scent of my own poison [Skill: Scent has risen to Level 2] Smells seemed sharper, tastes just as much so. I took in the fresh, black-licorice barbeque taste of the wrath wyvern, The refreshing salty sea air, and from one side, the damp, heavy, sweat-and-brine smell of the coast bear. Halfway through a wing, I felt my weight shift. While snakes ate once a week and saved it slowly, clearly my species only got the first half of the memo. Too heavy to fly, I slithered like a stuffed sock in the direction of the bear''s trail, suspicions only confirmed when I saw the center of the island. A small, slightly snaking channel of water connected the island''s edge to it''s center, where a cave of grey stone stood. And within that, a bear of dark, walrus-like skin lay, painting the water a faint red with it''s blood. "This is almost too easy" I whispered, getting into position at the edge of the bear''s lake and conjuring an orb of newly corrosive poison into my mouth. My stamina fell, draining into this orb of condensed unpleasantness. It dropped into the water as I caught my breath, radiating outwards in a sampler platter of gross hues. I recognized the oily purple of my old poison, but somehow interwoven with a thicker yellow-green without fading together into brown. The water, formerly a faint red, darkened. I slid away as far as I could to catch my breath, feeling the wyvern meat in my gullet dissolve into energy at a rapid pace. A suspenseful minute passed, and I nearly shouted in surprise when the System made any sort of noise. [Skill: Stamina cap has risen to level 3] Not one to look that in the mouth, I slithered to the side of the bear''s watery den. Despite the quick initial spread, the dreadful mixture seemed to be taking it''s time to reach the bear. "Meaning" I whispered with a smile "I''ve got more chances to soil the pool." Another orb formed in my mouth, fundamental skill being given a strain. More stored meat burned up, returning me to my standard shape. and more corrosive poison joined the water, bubbling and sizzling as it paraded across the pool, diffusion bringing tendrils ever closer to my sleeping prey. I watched them with baited breath, waiting for the ubiquitous feelings of muscle-burn to fade before trying again. Unfortunately, I didn''t think I''d have to recharge stamina for a third full burst. I inhaled, angled my mouth downwards, towards the densest center of the disgusting mass I made, and let out a fresh gust of [Forceful Breath]. Purple liquid surged towards the bear, only now realizing something was off, to a hideous synergy. Poison blown into slowly-closing wounds was bad enough, compounded by enough acid to hold them open. Not knowing what was going on, the bear trudged towards me with a snarl. Fear from the sound began to overtake me, no doubt a Skill the bear bought upon me, when it raised it''s paw to cast a spell on what it saw as a helpless foe. The start of the same water orb spell tried to rise out of the murky water, but I saw the spell wobble and leak, thrown at me like a punctured water balloon. Lacking any ability to dodge, I blew a gust of wind at the orb, slowing and widening it- to hit me a second later like a thrown blanket. The bear''s expression was confused. It looked at it''s own paws, looked at it''s foe, and roared again- failing to see anything wrong with the orb of liquid flying towards it. Having nothing to fear from a blob of liquid, it gestured with a paw to block with it''s liquid-manipulating hydromancy it knew to expect, but realized too late there was no water in this attack. The blob of acid hit the side of the bear''s face. Completely undiluted, it burned through the bear''s pain resistance with a sizzle, dripping to it''s shoulder wound from the wrath wyvern''s wing. Not panicking, the bear dipped into it''s trusty pool of water to wash off, only to be blindsided by even more of this pain. Base instincts took over, the bear rolling and flailing in a roar that might as well have said "get this bad magic off me now," only further sloshing poison through it''s system, slowing it''s movement and overwhelming any sort of healing it was likely relying on. [Skill: Corrosive Poison synthesis has risen to level 2] And then a minute later, the best notification I had seen thus far. [You have slain: Coast bear. Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling reached level 10. Skill point gained. One fundamental power gained. Evolution Available.] I breathed a sigh of relief, as Topaz shouted mirthfully through our mind link. [I was watching your evolution options the whole time, but didn''t want to distract you] Topaz admitted. I let her talk my tympanum off while I curled up across the cave and watched the battle between whatever potency the acid had left, and the flesh still on the bear''s skeleton. After a minute or two, the dissolving stopped. The toughness of monster parts and the subtle exchange of water left the fallen bear a clear winner, but weakened for me to claim my prize. No sooner did my tailblade stop cutting through weakened flesh and clink against what felt like glass did I hear the System speak again. [Kanastone found. Integrate?] No sooner had I said yes than something inside the bear broken down, swirling up my tail and forming behind my skull. An electrical brainfreeze ignited within my head, pure world-editing power spreading through my systems. I cared not for the pressure at the top of my spine, as no doubt my new form would accommodate that. Before I could make any decision, words rapid-fired through my mental link. [What just happened your list of options just tripled in size] "I held down a kanastone. Do you really think I''d let that go to waste?" [Fair point. Most of your old options were around your fundamental skills, and I''m probably in a better state to filter them. It says you''ve got a skill point and pick of fundamental power left, choose something new wisely and it''ll integrate into your new form.] I brought up my skill list again. It too had grown, with some party tricks and real picks. Water, Poison, Mind, Healing, and Acid served as schools of magic for me to choose, unhelpfully called Spell-ements by Topaz. And while I lacked any reason to choose one without a magic type, mana Skills followed. Gathering, saving, compression, storage, perception... that last one looked useful, but not enough to pivot an evaluation around. I thought for nearly a hundred seconds, when the answer slapped me in the face. I was an aquatic dragon, and my element was everywhere. To flee from it would be pointless, so I chose to double down. [Fundamental Skill purchased: Water magic (I+) level 1.] "I made my choice. Can you find something that specializes in the magic part more than the water part?" As I waited, I idly practiced with the water magic I saw. Nothing fancy, I simply pushed water back and forth until my mana ran dry. [Skill: Water magic has risen- I found one!] topaz cut in with a singsong voice. [It does... pretty much everything you want it to. It''s fairly large for a tier 2 ontop of better vitality and a healing factor, it''s good at multitasking] "Please, get on with it" Topaz sent a statblock over the mind bridge, and it looked unconventional, but useful. Better mind and defense, but truly tied together by it''s name. I accepted it with only a mild sigh, taking a spot in the shallows and readying myself to evolve. I curled up, folding in my hatchling wings for the last time, and felt a protective shell of black surround me [Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling (I) began her evolution into a Hydrapprentice (II)] 8: Blacksmithing Baldemar Keep coalesced into being at the same time as his competitors, and hit the ground running. The desire to choose a Class ran secondary to the desire to try out his shiny new Cheat Skill, [Master Blacksmith]. While his mostly-helpful System was vague about how the aforementioned Skill actually worked, it didn''t take a Mind stat of 100 to know how to make use of it. Armed with nothing more than slightly anachronistic winter clothes and a height that lead itself to bumping his head on doorframes, Baldemar found the warmest building in the large dwarven port town of Gaham, and offered his services to the Terran creatures of greed and productivity. "You''re lucky ol'' Granaec the Grindstone''s out on an errand." Challenged the smithing apprentice. "I''ve been up to my, no, your eyeballs in squan. Go ahead, show me what blades your lank arms can spit out" Not questioning the unfamiliar words but guessing at least two were swears, Blademar picked up a spare hammer and struck away at the forge''s warm ingots. His aim was unfamiliar, his impacts uneven, until half an hour in when the System reminded him of it''s existence. [Skill: Blacksmithing has advanced to level 2] A splash of knowledge poured into his mind, and all at once his aim steadied. Intuitive knowledge of where and how to strike guided his hammer ever so slightly, and pointed his vision to mistakes. Which, a hour and a levelup later, was most of it. Material fatigue had set into the misshapen sword blade, cooled too far to do anything with. With a sigh, Baldemar unceremoniously dumped the blade onto the scrap pile. "You''re getting us naywhere dirking around with the metal like that" "And the day''s not over." Baldemar challenged, tongs drawing another ingot from the pile. The second swordblade graduated from scrap to passable. "Only three-quarters bad" The apprentice praised. "If you want to help, hammer at my work rather than me." Snarked Blademar, earning a smirk of familiarity from the apprentice. The third pushed Baldemar''s Blacksmithing level to five, and earned a look of reluctant impressedness. "I can see some soldier using this. Nothing for a real fighter however." "What''s got you needing so many blades?" Baldemar challenged. "kobolds." the dwarf answered with a scowl. "They''ve been rowdy of late." Needing no motivation to fight kobolds, Baldemar was about to retrieve another ingot from the forge when something caught his eye. A small System notification on the bottom corner of his vision. The notification to level up to 5 was different from the others [Skill: Blacksmithing has risen to level 5. Upgrades available: Advanced Blacksmithing. Weaponsmithing. Armorsmithing. Metallurgy. Metalcraft. Metalwork] After reading through the descriptions, Baldemar concluded several things. Weaponsmithing and Armorsmithing were obvious in nature, Metallurgy handled smelting and alloying, Metalcraft and Metalwork were for small and large metal objects, and Advanced Blacksmithing was a weaker but balanced increase to all 5 points of this metallic star. Not wanting to be pidgeon-holed, Baldemar chose Advanced Blacksmithing. [Skill: Blacksmithing (I) Level 5 has evolved into Skill: Advanced Blacksmithing (II) Level 1] The next blade saw no difference in quality as the day passed, but towards the end of it a new notification arose. [Skill awarded: Blacksmithing (I)]. Over the day, his Skill levels had risen. Three in Advanced blacksmithing, five more in regular blacksmithing to evolve it into first-level weaponsmithing, and four, to only mild surprise, in Hammer Proficiency. The last two swords he made eclipsed the reliable craftsdwarfship of Granaec, personal flair beginning to show "Not bad, not bad. You earned yourself the day''s meal and a bed for the night. Name''s Daredrik, son of Towerond." Baldemar gave his own name, had a simplistic but hearty dish of purple potato-mushroom hybrids and side of oversized grubs in a reddish-brown sauce, and started to settle down to sleep, when he heard something move. Something dark red in the dark, atop an oversized, rugged-looking wolf with two heads. It brandished an oversized spear in one hand, torch in the other, and simplistic armor of furs and scavenged plates. Baldemar knew that he wasn''t completely safe here. He needed a way to defend himself against the monsters of the world, let alone the other Contestant. He needed a Class and he needed it fast. The [Master Blacksmith] scrolled down the list of options, stopping just four letters in once he found something that worked. [Defender] White light poured from his System window, orbiting and clinging around Baldemar. Fine yet thick chain coalesced around his muscled winter clothing from head to toe. Metal plates integrated into them both, protecting every limb and joint, capped off by an angled helmed. As the finishing touch, the last of the light solidified a large shield, locking around his arm with ease [Class chosen. Equipment granted. Skills granted: Armor proficiency (I), Shield Proficiency (I), Armor Charge (I)]. A kit solely built for defending himself and his allies. This could work. Baldemar clanged down the stairs, earning a shout from Daredrik''s housemate. The defender wasted no time, picking up the better half of his swords under his arm and walking around the house. In the low light of torches ahead he saw a swathe of kobolds, twenty in all, poking at half a squad of axedwarves with long spears and jumping out of the way of their shorter, heavier blades. Baldemar ran forward, picking up speed. The clanking of plates and jingling of chains hid him from no one, creating just enough of a diversion for him to barrel into the kobold doublewolf-rider. The creature staggered back, thrown off balance, when an unusually well-made sword drove it''s way into the beast''s underside. It roared in stereo, rearing up to pounce at the Defender. And in this telegraphed move, he knelt. The bottom of his shield planted into the ground, catching the wolf on the sternum. Mouths chomped at air, claws swiped, and swords clattered to the ground as baldemar''s arm reached forward. With a twisting pull and a yelp of uncharacteristic pain, he drew it out, brandished and dripping red. kobolds and dwarves alike turned, torch falling from the kobold''s hand onto the wet grass.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Dwarves, to me!" His voice boomed, armload of swords held high. While the kobolds regrouped and re-assessed the threat, and the two-headed wolf panicked from it''s stomach wound, the dwarves armed themselves, trading improvised axe for specialized sword. Just as the kobolds were regrouping to try and overwhelm the dwarves rather than flank, a thrown spear skewered one. Baldemar charged forward shield-first, bowling another kobold over and feeling their weapons uselessly plink off his defender armor. Emboldened, the dwarves charged, cutting down a kobold or two each before the rest broken and run- straggling few of those clipped by thrown spears. "Never thought I''d fight ''longside a human." Praised the largest. "Who sent ye, and what do we owe?" "Nothing yet." Answered the human with pride. "I''m here to forge weapons and arm myself against kobold and dragon both." "Kobolds" the axedwarf spat "are a thorn in our side. They settled in our mine, took our out best, and are stopping us from promoting another. Liberate the mine, and we''ll Promote you" "Promotion seems like a big deal." Baldemar answered warily. "What does that entail?" A genuine smile crossed the dwarf''s silver teeth. "We cover you in metal and magic. Then, you take''em both with you." "Would you really risk a blacksmith as if he was a common soldier?" Baldemar challenged, arms wide. "I can protect you all right, and I can turn your hits from glancing blows to clean cuts- if and only if you five go to that mine and bring me more materials. Just ask Daredrik apprentice of Grindstone Granaec; every sword, shield, or chestplate will be even better than the last!" To the dwarves of Gaham, that was the day the sun would truly rise. The night''s guard were in good spirits, and the day guard clamored all over eachother for requests. Swords, axes, spears, hammers, polearms; different weapons for different foes. And that day, Baldemar was a blur of steel. He mostly prepared for the next day; making tridents to stab fast targets and catch their weapons, metal plates designed to cover a dwarf''s vitals. His creations grew more consistent as both his skills and his Skills rose; Advanced Weaponsmithing and Advanced Armorsmithing grew, and Hammer Proficiency drew close to evolving. Fire Resistance reset itself to become Fire Nullification; specializing itself on instead of resisting a fraction of damage from heat, simply ignoring the first flat amount- doing little against fire attacks but doing much against lingering heat. Though in the last two hours of the day, a project for himself. Baldemar bagged up as much scrap as he could, tying it to the end of a sword he was unhappy with and making adjustment after adjustment until he was satisfied. That very same bag and sword disappeared into the smelter, poured into ingots, and beaten into discs around a wooden cylinder. Baldemar raised his hammer with pride, leaving it to cool as he took a well-deserved rest. That night''s wave of kobolds fell easily. Their rounding-up tactic didn''t work with dwarves who didn''t fear their weapons, each one capable of wading into a throng of kobolds and defeating one or two before the rest of the split squad broke to regroup. The next day, baldemar joined the the day guard on their first raid to the kobold-occupied mine. Eight tridents bristled in the morning sun, their wielders backed up with a spike-tipped pickaxe each. Towards the front, just ahead of Baldemar himself, trudged a pair of dwarves coated head to toe in steel, sporting maces and daggers. And in the back, likely worth more than her allies put together, walked the town healer. The dozen of them eliminated the door-guard quickly, lacking ranged attacks but possessing enough speed to smash through initial barricades and skewer the first kobolds. The dwarves knew their mine, compensating for the home-turf advantage, and took this chance to set up a counter-barricade of their own in the next room- the three defenders made a living, shifting wall, ready to block kobolds at every step. Yet as each one clambered over the shieldwall, it met it''s end to a trident stab. "Like stabbing fish in a barrel!" One of the speardwarves bragged. Before even a dozen could be felled, A silence filled the air, punctuated by heavy footfalls. "Look alive, boys" A defender urged, heartbeats before fire lit up the tunnel ahead. Wooden guards shouldered, sparse flame barely able to light up smoke pooling at the top of the cave chamber, before the black, scaled head of a dragon followed it. Horns twisted from the top of it''s head to the sides of it''s face, making the pointed head resemble a trident of it''s own. Cursing erupted from the shieldless dwarves, but the fire-resistant Defender was already on the move. With a swing of his hammer, a kobold broke open. another still suffered a cracking, and a third ran, dodging too far and into it''s own ally''s weapon. More kobolds rushed around to try and flank Baldemar, as did his spear-wielding allies, cutting out swathes of safety and keeping the kobolds at arm''s length. Baldemar noticed a red light, planting his shield. An orange light leapt towards him, dragon''s fire at full force. Dwarves and kobolds watched in awe, but Baldemar wasn''t ready to let them wait. "He''s turning my shield to a frying pan, move!" Baldemar ordered, heat starting to accumulate painfully in his forearm. Dwarves charged forward, the two defenders catching the last of the widening breath of flame, before the dragon switched tactics from breath to claws. It slashed with a heavy hand, knocking one defender off-balance for a kobold to tackle before being caught by an allied trident. the other claw slammed down, telegraphed enough for the heavy-armored dwarf to sidestep it and punish it''s claw with a mace strike. As speardwarves drew close, the dragon planted it''s feet, raised it''s head, and let out a mighty roar. All at once, kobolds stood taller. The dwarves, resolute as they were, began to crack and seek shelter behind their defenders'' shields rather than menace the dragon''s underbelly. And just as quickly, the roar ceased painfully. With a hammer strike to the jaw. Baldemar drew his custom weapon back, slamming his shield into the dragon''s inner elbow. The weight forced it to stagger, forced it''s head down, when a head of stronger armor slammed into a horn with a crack. The dragon roared in pain, hairline fracture spreading halfway down it''s horn, pain growing as the first speardwarf ran full tilt into the large lizard''s flank. Joined by another and another still, the stabbing trio outran a sweeping tail and hid behind the shield of a defender. Kobold morale dwindled to see their dragon in such pain, retreating to regroup rather than help their superior. Point-blank flame threatened to engulf Baldemar, second of flame all he took before his hammer cracked at the dragon''s jaw. He stepped forward, swinging his hammer in a wide circle down to collide with the ailing dragon''s head. The strike rang out like a dinnerbell, dwarves piling onto each side of the monster and stabbing for the weakest scales. Corrosive blood spilled, dulling wingspears already deep enough to do their damage. Flame shot out, keeping dwarves away but barely deterring the Blacksmith, and a single hammerstrike changed everything. [You have slain: Black firedrake (III). Baldemar has advanced from level 1 to level 5. 8 skill points gained.] The system, quiet save for messages of skill advancement, showered him in options. Options he''d make much use of. With the dragon slain, the dwarves began disassembling it. Sorting the largest, toughest scales out for armor, the claws and teeth for weapons, and one presented baldemar the sharp blade on the end of it''s tail. Sharp, black, forearm-sized, and tipped in sizzling green, it spelled danger at every step. "I can make something with this, but we''re low on metal. Collect what you can, and I''ll have better gear for you all by tomorrow." Proudly, baldemar observed the harvest. Oversaw the mining. And tried to plan out where the absolute heck to spend his wealth of Skill Points. 9: Capture My first thoughts consisted of a cramped, yet celebratory feeling of a smooth stone shell surrounding me. My mind seemed to be evenly split between reviewing my character sheet and finding food, and with no loss in delay I did both at once. One mind willed my character sheet into existence, treating me to a board of new information and features.
Valerie, Hydrapprentice (II) Level: 1/10 Titles: Useless
Strength: 9 ¡ú 15 Quickness: 12 ¡ú 12 Vitality: 7 ¡ú 21 Mind: 16 ¡ú 17+2
Offensive Skills Defensive Skills Utility Skills Magic Skills
Corrosive Poison synthesis (II+) level 2 Rapid Healing (I) Level 1 Forceful breath (II+) Level 2 Water magic (I+) level 2
Bite (I) Level 4 Stamina cap (I) Level 3
Frenzy (I) Level 2 Scent (I) Level 2
Twin minds (II) Level 1
Stealth (I) Level 1
My stats had *jumped.* Quickness saw no change, and Mind only technically rose, but it beat losing any. strength grew most likely just enough to support this new size, but my vitality had more than tripled. My eyes lingered on that part for a bit too long. Two new skills had joined the list, of which I read about both in detail. [Rapid Healing (I): Spend stamina to quicken natural healing] [Twin minds (II-): Receive help from your extra head. When singletasking, increases Mind by 10% per level. When multitasking, can evenly split the new total, or dedicate only the bonus to your secondary head.] II... Minus? That was new. + meant fundamental, so minus meant... [Ephemeral. Skill cannot be evolved and fades on evolution. Spend 1 Fundamental Power to preserve this Skill] I was a caster through and through, and blundered into quite possibly the single most important Skill a caster could have. And yet while my left head was thinking all those thoughts, my right head was straining it''s new Strength score to break the shell open and hatch. It tried, struggling, in a sensation somewhere between a neck and an arm pressing to the back of a smooth rock, before it? I? spat our corrosive poison on the shell. It sizzled and hissed, and even though my own burned my right snout, a short hollow cry of pain turned to one of victory as light shone through. As one, both heads pressed against the acid- weakened spot, straining with successively louder cracks until we burst from our prison of stone into... A prison of wood. I sighed in defeat, right head seemingly content with eating my discarded eggshells while my left one surveyed the environment. Metal floor-to-ceiling bars comprised my immediate surroundings, coated in a familiar smell. A dull orange glow technically lit up the room, faintly glinting off other bars- though not ones I was familiar with Were more of my species here? I looked at myself with both heads, mind bending under questions of identity. "What even counted as my species anymore?" my left head mused, as my right observed. This was a non-trivial question; creatures tended to have an urge not to kill their own species "Which of the two heads is me?" I knew that most of the time one brain meant one mind, but I felt no train of thought that wasn''t my own. Only a more complex ego that wanted to plan and learn new things about the world and System, and a more simplistic id that wanted to eat and rest without being prey. And while I was at it, "what did I look like?" I turned my heads towards eachother, not unlike a hybrid of pointing at your own hands and crossing your eyes. My pink shade had deepened to a magenta hue, black underbelly still kept. Twisting each of my necks in turn, I could see horizontal markings on the back of each one before they joined my main body: on my left, a calm even blue of water magic. On my right, a jagged dazzling overlay of purple and limegreen; the marks of my corrosive poison. My triangular torso ended in an aquatic tail, crystalline blades replaced with a more sensible tail fin. Based on the size of the halls around me, I did not expect my evolution to raise my size that much. Stretching my heads high, I eclipsed the height of the doorway, and came up to around two-thirds of it''s height at the shoulder. Looking around the room for more details, I felt my reptile ears pick up something. My heads whipped towards it, light from ahead spilling into the room and backlighting a clear struggle. A floating skull champed at the ropes that bound it, skeletal hands locked in chains below in stark contrast to a furry, bent-over creature that looked like a hybrid of a bull and a boxer. Spears still stuck out of his sides, drunken look on his face as he stumbled forward. A glow of light, a painful-sounding sizzle, and an angry moo later, and the punching bovine landed tail over tricep in the largest cage at the end of the hallway. Their captors, crimson and scaly, walked away after locking both cages. [Skill: Stealth has risen to level 2.] The System reminded me none of them had done anything with me, despite existing plain as day. "So, can ya speak?" asked a sassy voice. I looked around with both my heads, pointing one to the more obvious creature sulking in the largest cage, and the other to the skull. "Yes?" I answered, taken aback at the creature speaking to me. I had never thought about how I spoke, but the hollow roaring noises coming out of my more refined head evidently counted as speech. And so did the chattering of the skull as she floated in the cage across from me. "Very nice. Miss bull here can''t, but she knows what I''m talking about. Name''s Hana." She explained. "Miss bull? But aren''t bulls-" I started to ask, before being cut off. "She does not like it when you say that. Nearly bashed my skull in when I made that mistake" Recognizing humor when I heard it, I let out my attempt at a laugh. "A skull must be worth a lot for you! I''m Valerie, Hydrapprentice" I greeted, extending a flipper through the bars. "Ohh, I would have called you a weirdo. What kind of monster needs more than one head?" Hana laughed "A kind gesture, but my hands are well, stuck." Hana commented, jingling her rope-bound digits. Despite the thin-ness of bone, the ropes were elaborately tied, only causing no pain by skeletal creatures lacking nerves to receive it.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. A smile spread across my face. "I think I can bust you out. Stick out your hands." "Don''t bother, they can tell if you''re casting. All you mages see a problem and think you can-" "I didn''t say it was a spell." I challenged, id head sticking between two of the bars. Stick out your hands, ropes-first. Hana reluctantly obliged, and I spat a drop of corrosive poison onto the rope. It missed, striking the bottom of the ship with a sizzle and small plume of smoke, clearing to reveal a smooth round divot in the plank. "Oooh, you''ve got acid spit. If you can actually hit the rope, go nuts" I sighed, almost trying again, when I remembered an old trick. I focused on summoning acid, trying to throw my will forward. Awaiting the muscle burn that never came, as a drop summoned itself into the air directly on a piece of the rope. It too began to smoke, strand weakening and letting the skull''s hand wiggle. "It''s working, try again!" Hana encouraged, skull bouncing up and down as embers danced in her eyes. I summoned up a larger blob of the substance, noticing this level of Skills hardly taking any stamina now and chalking that up to much greater vitality. The orb splashed onto Hana''s ropes, weakening the same point with ease- and with a flexing strain, she broke out. Poison-wet rope flew to the side of the cage and landed in an awkward pile. "Now that they''re free, what''s the range on those hands?" I asked in a move of practicality. "About halfway from me to you. They can operate from the other side of a box, but too far out and they get real sluggish." "I see..." I commented, nodding. "The big one can''t speak, but she knows when someone''s scared. Having trouble coming up with a name for her." Hana rambled, having moved her hand around the lock. I looked at her efforts, clapping my front fins happily when I saw what she was doing. Clicks and pondering sounded from the skeleton, muttering a stronger-than-normal curse in frustration. "This is takin'' a while. See if you can-" The floating skull didn''t get to finish her thought, when something large blocked the door. It appeared to be an adult of the dark red lizard people, large size forcing it to crouch just to get through. "Make a distraction, my hand''s stuck" Hana whispered. "No time like the present to test out my new kind of magic" I thought, looking towards the big creature. It moved ahead with great awkwardness, sword trailing behind it on the wooden boards, and I made my move the minute I saw it''s yellow, feline eyes. I didn''t know what I was doing, but I knew what I wanted. That intention sprayed out from the base of my left skull, forming into a thin stream of water, conjured and held together by real power. The end result wasn''t much, not directly, as all it did was get the big lizardman''s snout wet. And most importantly, distract him from my new friend''s lockpicking. A snarl escaped his lips, as with a fluid motion he opened the door. I sprang back, form too large and slower-by-proportion to dodge a grab, large scaly hand wrapping around my right neck. I, a small but proud dragon, would not take this lying down. My left head swiveled around and bit his arm, icthovoric teeth slicing at weak leather, tearing flimsy cloth, and scraping at underpowered scales. I didn''t have the leverage for a frenzy, even less so when the lizardman threw me against the back wall. My side hit the timbers with a thud, and while I was taking time to recover the lizardman was off, saying something in a language that was almost my own. "That took a lotta stones" Complimented Hana, triumphantly swinging her cage door open. "Now let''s get you free." In about half the time of the first lockpick, my cage door swung open. I stepped free, fins slapping across the ground, before realizing I was only slightly less trapped than before. "What''s your plan to get off the ship? If they wrestled you and your friend on, they can probably keep you there." "Food supplies. I was going to feed her everything I could, but you look carnivorous! Hide in the supplies and have your fill, and they''ll be all hungry and forced to dock. Then, we slip out." "That''s... very smart of you. If you can fly, why not just fly over the water?" "I''m hydrophobic. The sea makes my bones crawl" Not questioning how a skeleton could drown, I slipped through the supply crates with growing ease- and growing hunger. While I could more easily compartmentalize my thoughts with the air-gap between my brains, I very much had a stomach, a stamina allocation, and much use for each. With much exertion, Hana lifted the lid off of one, revealing nothing but nails. Another, potions of some sort. But a third? Rations. Slabs of pressed-looking meat of a type I couldn''t quite identify, separated by crude paper. Twice the heads meant twice the mouths, and both wolfed down salted slabs like they were about to expire. Towards the last few layers, I was feeling full, but something caught my eye. A glass bottle of green liquid, seemingly misplaced. Curious of it''s effects and trusting my toughness, I bit the cork off and poured it down my throat. "What was tha-" Hana started, before the System cut her off. [Mutagen gained.] While I could no longer perform the serpent''s sustenance storage, my entire self was just that much larger. Dragging myself back to my cage was the real source of difficulty, culminating in me throwing myself over the threshold with a round squish. "You look like a real pillow" Hana joked. "Are you flirting with me?" I teased, curling up to rest off the feeding frenzy. "You wish!" She answered, swiping downward with her bony hand. The door burst open again, and Hana rushed to close her own door. It was only the smaller lizardmen, but a tilt of the ship caused my open cell door to bang shut and swing back open, right-sized lizardmen fishing for a key and arguing among themselves. "They must have thought big bro forgot to lock the door." I realized, hearing it click shut in my sleepy state. However, that System prompt unlocked something. I focused on my Mutagen count, eager for information. [Mutagen is used to push yourself beyond the limits of your biology. You may choose to gain a new organ, or improve one of your own. When an organ ranks up, the user may pick between two of a wide selection of mutation options, or increase it''s basic functions and efficiency] [Cost to gain a new organ or promote an organ you have to rank 1: number of leveled organs you have, squared] [Cost to rank up an organ: It''s new rank, squared] And that was the puzzle falling into place. My old siblings had mutations; some for their tail, some for their gills, and one for his horns. Whereas all I had was my copper heart. Yay... But this was a chance to change all that. I could only create or promote one organ before the costs would rise, and I had no idea how common this stuff was. "My brains are important" I rationalized. "Protect them, and I protect everything else." The system read my mind. [Mutations available for skull] it offered... [Hardened Skull] [Dynamic skull] [Mana-conducting Skull] [Skull +1] This looked... bland. But in the case of keeping yourself alive, bland was blessed. [Mutation chosen: Hardened skull.] I felt the mutagen slip up my throats and buzz in my head like a swarm of productive bees. Felt it pour in new material, somehow strengthening the old. In my peripheral vision, I saw my heads'' shapes change, and felt a wave of protection going right up to my brains. Followed of course by a wave of weirdness at having two. "Looking silly." jokingly insulted Hana. "You''re just jealous because I have more skulls than you" she taunted, making some rude gesture I couldn''t quite identify. "Those are my people, ya bigot" My face faltered, jaw hanging slightly open "I was just playin''! Everyone knows floating skulls aren'' people" The evening passed in relative silence, my Scent skill growing a level from detecting the changes in the air. It was only punctuated twice- once in the middle, where lizardmen hauled away the mostly-empty ration box with expressions of pride like they had gained a ton of strength overnight, and once right at the end. The big one threw open the door dramatically, walking down the stairs and speaking into a grey gemstone. Even more dramatically, in a language I could understand. "We''re under attack. The three of you may choose to leave your fate to our raiders, or fight for us. Whoever kills the most invaders earns their freedom, and we will be keeping count." Hana and I looked at eachother with a skeletal smirk, and the lady bull roared. We were in. And we definitely weren''t going to play by his rules. Freedom would be ours. All of ours 10: Dwarves As soon as the beef boxer''s cage was open, she barreled outwards in search of enemies to fight. She squeezed up the stairs, spear that I don''t think she even knew was still stabbing her clattering out of her back. I was unlocked next, navigating awkwardly with flippers on land, and Hana brought up the rear, floating as fast as her jaw could carry her. We piled out, battle clearly brewing between lizardman and... mountain man? Our attackers were somewhat taller than the lizard people, center one taller still still. He was thinner, but covered head to toe in steel, an oddly rounded shield the size of a door blocking the left half of his body from neck to knee. Starting to guess this leader was a summit person, everything clicked when he opened his mouth. "Their monsters are no match for our-" The summit man started to shout before blocking a hybrid of hoof and fist with a clang. While a small explosion rang out, knocking both back a good foot as they regained their balance in half a second, I was less focused on the man''s words and more so on the fact I had understood them at all. I had only heard one other person speak that same kind of language, not a set of chatters and clacks I somehow understood but language I learned from birth. He was speaking english, albeit with some flavor of American accent. The only other person I heard do this was Topaz, and that''s when I knew he was another Contestant. And unless he had the Cheat Skill that made him a giant, my perspective was all wrong. I was only two or three feet at the shoulder, and my new punching friend only matched the armor man''s height if you included her horns. "You''ll be a worthy test for my new creation." Said the armored one, reaching towards his back and making an awkward-looking stab with his sword. She tilted her horn to parry, but the downward-diagonal stab wasn''t aimed for anyone. Instead, the blade locked into the shield with a worrisome click, shield spinning into action and springing open into a pair of axeblades. With a burst of strength, his weapon swung into action. It whipped through the air, shield''s craftsmanship holding true, and slicing right into the combat cow''s arm. Another small explosion knocked it free, likely messing up her blocking bicep. She wildly thrashed, bowling over a speardwarf in the process, but the others began to outflank their enemy. Those spears looked scary. A shaft of wood topped in a Serrated tooth each- and bound by metal, rather than rope. Thinking quickly but not exactly well, I knew I had to get both him and her out of the fight before she was surrounded. While the armor knight was distracted I crossed my necks and positioned my heads at both, spitting something at the feet of each one. A ball of water lobbed itself through the air, and the new force of my breath was enough to make it almost overshoot, bursting on the human''s legs and throwing off some sort of chargeup maneuver for his axe-shield hybrid. A glob of corrosive poison coated the swabbed deck under the hooves of the already-heavy bull-ess, spreading with ease and weakening the timbers. The dwarves stepped back, sudden cracking noise filling them with unsureness before seeing her vanish down a hole below. "Hana, the potions!" I shouted while the dwarves regrouped. A kobold with a pair of axes ran to the back of a distracted dwarf, hacking into the back of his legs. I saw more dwarves dropping fast, and kobold captain stride past me with intent to duel the opposing leader. However my decision of who to back was solidified when the back of a sword struck me like a whip, sending me staggering forward. I knew in that moment I was done playing the kobold captain''s game. And would prefer the dwarf I don''t know to the kobold I do. I gave my most trusting, pleading expression to the armor knight, spinning around on my tail and lashing both my heads towards the kobold captain''s legs. My left head met nothing but blade, attack out-and-out misjudged, but my right one bit into his leg. The kobold captain cursed at me, likely ordering me to stop biting, and I whipped my other head backwards. The leverage caused the captain''s balance to buckle, and with my left head I saw the dwarves rally. Saw a familiar skull pouring a vial of what I hoped to be healing on the fallen dwarf. And saw the captain''s sword rise, using my magic to shoot another thin stream of water into the captain''s eye. It merely closed, stream making him mad, too mad to notice his balance tip. My right head whipped aside, sending the large kobold''s leg right out from under him, and my left one shot towards his sword-arm. Not as able to thrash due to similar sizes, I did the next best thing and pulled apart. Kobold blood from both limbs kicked up my frenzy, and I felt something strain within his limbs. Just as all was going well, a short sword jammed itself through my left throat. Sight from that head ceased, delirium from pain plaguing my right head. My mind was too out of sorts to even activate that rapid healing, and I couldn''t feel any magic- as it was in the head that just fell to the floor infront of me. The captain rose his sword high, likely speaking in his chosen language of insults, and as if in slow motion his scimitar fell on- The armor knight''s bladed shield with a clink. A sword stabbed with stability, hitting nothing but a captain''s longcoat as he dodged. A shield bash sent the captain jumping to the side, enough for my crippled right head to line up an attack. A bite to the ankle. I felt something break under a frenzied bite, splash of poisonous acid further worsening his condition. A shield protected me from above, and a sword ended the threat just as quickly as it began. [Skill: Bite has risen to level 5. Upgrade available.] The kobold captain fell limp. I heard words in a language I didn''t know, felt a warm light of healing, all tied together by commands I could understand. "Throulyn, heal that one. I think it''s sentient." Senses from my left head came online, to see the kobolds panic. With their captain''s deathrattle, they had begun to abandon ship. Swimmable or not, the kobolds would rather lose their ship than their lives or freedom- if it was their ship to begin with. The dwarves began to take control, performing a sweep of the ship, when the armored human knelt down infront of me. "Can you understand me?" My left head still felt tender from the healed-over stab, but I nodded my right. I could see in my peripheral the wound was still very much there, but I was some brand of hydra. The being known not to let something as minor as headlessness slow it down. I focused my willpower halfway up my neck, minute of the intense drain passing while my wound shrunk to nothing, scab flaking off into the wind. "If you can hear me, say no to this message." The defender instructed. I shook both my heads, slightly off-timing as they almost bumped into eachother. "Do you have a Name?" The human ventured. I could hear the capital N in his words, and could tell they held some importance here-- just like Levels and Skills. But I nodded my heads anyway. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Well then little guy-" I shook my heads abruptly. "-Little miss, we''ll get you to land soon. Are you hungry?" I gave a slow nod, ideally interpreted as a less-intense yes. "We don''t have any mind mages in Gaham, but we can work something out..." The human pondered. I took this chance to conjure, water magic leveling up as I summoned a rainbow-inducing spray above my head "So, you can cast magic!" he exclaimed, and I nodded my head. I was about to try and convey something more complicated, when I saw a familiar skull and smash bull rise from the cargo hold, followed by uneasy dwarves "Are those your friends?" he asked. My heads looked at eachother as if conferring, but both turned back and nodded, one after the other. "Then we''ll get you and your friends to a good home. Follow me." The armored human walked away, and I followed. "He seems nice" I said in monster-ese to Hana, floating along behind me. We disembarked with little fanfare, the evening sun beginning to set. Stone and metal fences surrounded this town, dwarven nature showing in the short, wide layout of the buildings, though second stories seemed common. He stopped at the stables, gesturing for my party to enter. "You three can sleep here for the night, if you even need to" he offered with a glance to Hana, brain still stuck in a commander''s mindset. "I''ll collect you in the morning so we can find a mind mage and we can talk for real. Rest well." I was nothing if not defiant, and I wasn''t just going to rest. Clearly Hana had the same idea, though I had to awkwardly flipper-run to catch up to her. "Where are you goin''?" Hana asked, turning around. I could tell she didn''t have to see me, but did she hear me? or sense me. "To kill some monsters for real. I think I can learn another kind of magic, but need to practice it in battle" "Whatever you say, miss bloodknight" Hana laughed. "I''m just going to look around. Enough excitement for one day''s happened" Waving both my heads in a weird goodbye, I headed right back for the water. At least I would, until I saw dark red shapes moving from behind the small hills that made up this coast. Advancing closer, I saw them more clearly. The lizardmen, no, kobolds who captured me, if their soaking pirate-looking garb was any indication. The desire for vengeance welled up, but I stayed put and watched them cross from the shores to deeper inland, their path skirting the walls of Gaham as they moved for the largest hill yet. I followed behind, distance between me and my quarry growing as I slapped along the ground. The kobold trio approached the enterance, reinforced by wood and flanked by great kobolds. The two of them waved the kobolds through, standing guard with heavy-looking hammers. I galumphed closer, unafraid of weapons designed for armor. The two great kobolds barked some form of stay-away at me, but I paid it no heed. To them, I was a random encounter. But to me, they were prey. Seeing as the kobolds were making no attempt to approach, I gestured with my fins. I wove mana together, precision letting me pack this water arrow tight. Something in my Skillset rose, reward seeping into my every movement. [Fundamental Skill: Twin minds has risen to level 2. Mind bonus has risen to 3.] The water arrow sailed towards the kobolds with surprising power, striking one''s chestplate point-blank. The two of them charged, no, [Charge]d, green glow around their legs letting them cover ground impossibly fast. They dodged under my acid shot, telegraphed hammer swing whiffing over my head. I leapt forward, catching the position-recovering kobold in the side and ripping backwards. The taste of blood was all I needed. A Frenzy broke loose, hammer blow from the other kobold crunching my left flipper but barely even slowing me down. I lunged towards the kobold''s arms, sinking my teeth into the muscle and twisting like I was opening a stuck bottle. The hammerbold cried out in pain, deluge running down from his biceps, when I turned my attention to the other one. It pulled out a war horn, panicked expression on it''s face all I needed to see before spitting corrosive poison at the instrument. A third slid down the kobold''s throat like something far tastier, kobold bending forward to hack and cough as my acid ate it from the inside. It fell to it''s hands and knees, and I smiled; It never should have revealed it''s neck. A bite from both sides sealed it''s fate, and I felt a neck bite from my side as the frenzied, desperate kobold sunk it''s fangs into my right neck. My left head turned around, making eye contact with the kobold before delivering it the same apex predator-preferred treatment. [Skill: Frenzy has risen to level 3.] [You have slain: Kobold guard level 6 and kobold guard level 7. Level has risen from 1 to 2. Skill Point gained.] I breathed a sigh of relief, eating fallen kobold with both heads. That fight was almost too easy, though Frenzy both carried it and extracted a caloric toll. Even more so with rapid healing. But with a threat taken out and level under my belt, I called it more than worth it. And with this level brought a skill point, sunk right into mind magic. Not only would it save having to find another mind mage, but was another type of magic I wanted to learn. When I tried to use it however, a difference in the flow of mana made itself clear as day. Water magic was calm, predictable, and impossible to compress. While this might be the fundamental nature of the skill talking: It was rational, it was familiar, and it was much easier to use than this mind stuff. Attempting to shape mana with it was like trying to cage smoke, and my kanastone ran out before I realized something critical. I wasn''t actually targeting a mind. I face-finned in silliness, venturing onto the rougher stone with surprisingly little discomfort- my skin was thicker than it had ever been. In the depths, I saw kobolds. a handful of them roamed the wooden barricades, far too many to take on at once. I lacked the magical reserves to even try and make a mind bridge a la topaz, so defeated, galumphed back to the stables for the night. Hana was nowhere to be found, but the moo-gilist sat against the wider wall like a saddened teenager. I tapped her side with my snout as to not startle her, but earned a lazy elbow to the head, impact reverberating along my reinforced skull. However now that I had her attention, I tried my new magic again. A mental connection wormed it''s way towards her, my eyes wide and innocent-looking. [Hello?] a deep, southern, yet still feminine voice hauntingly droned through the connection. "Hi! it''s... Hana''s new friend." [Ah, you. You were on the ship.] "So were you! I wouldn''t want to get hit by one of your... hooves? Fists? I don''t know how he could have stood up to-" [What do you want?] "To establish myself as a friend of course! We fought against the same foes, but-" [You made me not fight.] My surprise evidently showed on my face, or mental connection. [I could have won.] "You were about to be flanked, and that doesn''t end wel-" [I still could have won.] Sensing a vector for her to talk, I simply asked a question. "...How?" [Smash. The big one falls. His allies scatter. I charge.] "You smashed his shield once, and he didn''t look any worse for it?" [I was getting started.] This raised a question. Did nature produce a creature who ramped up as a fight went on, or did she build herself like this? Only one way to find out. "What Level are you?" [Flat.] "What skills do you have?" [Smashing things. And punching things. And bellowing. Also trampling things.] I sighed, getting nowhere. Either miss minotaur lacked a System, or was too dense to understand it. Remembering what topaz did, I attempted to roll my character sheet tight, and send it along- The connection snapped. I fell over in shock, but she seemed unaffected. As my vision focused, I heard the tail end of a notification. Likely my level in mind magic rising. Out of mana and out of energy, I curled up and went to sleep for the new day. 11: armor My night''s rest was consistent. No rise or fall punctuated it, while one head was out like a stone the other remained in a shallow, watchful state of sleep. Hana slipped back at some point in the night, to curl up on her ally as best a skull and bone-hands could, while the martial arts cow snored like a wind instrument. Full of energy, full of mana, and empty of wounds, I was ready to go. And right on time too, as a passing dwarven peasant seemed to notice my raised heads. He turned his own, speaking words in that same rough, clipped language, but a clear gesture of his arm made his point clear. Hana poked the bull awake, dodged a lazy horn swipe, and floated after me. We galumphed, levitated, and lumbered in a line, turning past a handful of double-decker buildings. While the ground-floor halves held some sort of purpose reflected on their signage- a saw through a log, a chisel on a stone, a rolled paper over a limb which I guessed was a doctor, the top halves looked similar. But I had little time to speculate as we were lead into one- wide and rocky, marked with a hammer over an ingot. "Good to see you this morning." Greeted an unusually tired-looking human. His helm was off, and were I at all interested I might have commented on his appearance. "I''ve collected leads from the dwarves on their trade partners, and calculated likelihood to have a mage willing to teach you mind magic. In addition, I''ve leveraged my status to alter a regular trade route to make a stop in Omlast, where one remembers a promising apprentice. I''m certain you can work with him to develop your magical potential, so that you can communicate and defend wherever you live." "This guy did not stop human-splaining" I thought, my own mind already weaving together another connection. I shot it forth like an awkward javelin, blindsiding the armored human. He stopped, looked towards me, and I felt the connection solidify. [Sounds good with me!] I said through it, waving one of my fins. "How did you..." His eyes narrowed. "Were you holding out on me?" [Nope!] I answered, opting for the truthful path. [I bought this out last night] "Bought? As in, with a Skill point?" This was too truthful. I was flying too close to the sun, but couldn''t figure out how to steer [Yes, with a Skill Point.] I admitted. [It''s already level two] "Which you acquired from victory, did you not?" I nodded one head. "None of the dwarves can improve anywhere near this fast. They have to learn their skills the old-fashioned way, without help from Levels, Skills, or a System. I have reason to believe you''re a Contestant, and am willing to overlook any... reasons for competition if you help my people. Kobolds have taken up residence in our mine, and a mage like you will be a force multiplier." [Deal. I''m ready to go now.] "You don''t want any help from my equipment?" The defender asked with accusation. But I remained calm and patted my flank, hammer wound vanished [Nope. I brought my own. I''ll even go in myself, if your sail-dwarves do one thing first.] "State your terms, hydra." [Visit an island around 12 miles east and pick up a friend of mine. Her name''s topaz.] "That''s where the trade route is going anyway, and a small diversion is far better than a large one. We''ll be leaving at the third hour of daylight. Your deal''s good to go." I slowly, purposefully closed the mental connection, signifying I had no more to say. [Skill: Mind magic has risen to level 3] With a happy expression on my snouts, I set out. I wasn''t just protecting the dwarves, I was hoarding the EXP. "And besides," I thought, cresting a hill that overlooked the infested mine. "Kobolds like taking orders from dragons" Something within me jolted. A dragon was likely coordinating these kobolds. A dragon who was larger, stronger, and smarter than I. Pressure within me to evolve crested as a shadow eclipsed my worth. A shadow with a massive wingspan, a sharp tail, and absolutely delicious meat. The door had swapped out it''s guard force. Two smaller kobolds sat atop the scaffolding, as a larger one leaned against the earthen wall. A scaled canine, snout long and teeth sharp, sat at her side; and I don''t know how I could tell this large kobold was a she. I tried to draw close, navigating to the side of that particular hill and angling a poison shot down, but as I charged up the shot, the lizard-dog barked repeatedly. Kobolds scattered, disrupting my aim to hit only the earthen face. The smaller two ran back inside, while the larger one lined up a javelin. And worse, the canine companion sprinted forward, leaping up the cliffside. It''s claws clung into the side of the wall with an orange light, sprint unceasing in intensity as it covered vertical ground. Panic set into my more rational head at the fast-approaching predator, but that rational head brought a solution. A mind bridge formed with ease, this creature barely having the mental complexity to resist or counter, and I sent three forceful words across it. "No! Bad dog!" The Skill faded. Mere feet away from me, a look of existential panic clouded the dog''s face. It scrabbled for a foothold, knocked off-balance by a blast of wind to the face. I looked downwards, watching it plummet and crack something against the ground below [Skill: Forceful breath has risen to Level 3] A javelin embedded itself into the hill beside me, giving me another jolt. Taking a deep breath, I slid forward and off the ledge, fall broken with my sea blubber and my former foe. [You have slain: Drake hound] The kobold looked at what I had done, look of horror splattering onto her face. I took no pride in this particular kill, only using it to get under the larger foe''s skin. And of course, line up another corrosive shot. It sped across the meters of air between us, wobbling in flight and splattering on the kobold''s weapon and armor The kobold tried to throw another javelin rather than risk closing the distance, but it seemed to flex and turn in-flight, flat of the weakened throwing spear smacking my neck with a sting rather than a skewer. Clearly on the offensive now, I put my flippers to the ground and hauled tail. The kobold swiped with a bent knife, curved tip blocked by one head while the other clamped down on it''s seasoned stomach. I pulled back and bit down, chunk of flesh bitten cleanly from the kobold''s side. It looked at it''s wound, looked at it''s wounder, and seemingly died from shock.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [You have slain: Great kobold (II) fighter Level 3. Experience gained.] "Man..." I thought, chowing down on the fighter. "Was that not enough?" I let my wounds close with rapid healing, curling up to the side to digest. At least, I would have, if not for the sound of footsteps from the mineshaft. Not wanting to get blindsided again, I burned my candle of resources from both ends. My left head created a stream of water, hydrating the grass ahead into a fine slick, while my right charged up a toxic orb. It reached it''s maixmum size with speed, just maintaining the baseball-sized orb making a downward tug on my stanina. [Skill: Corrosive Poison synthesis has risen to level 3] My mouth widened. The orb grew in size and power, hissing at the air. Two flanks of Darker-scaled, more diciplined-looking kobolds poured out, until the first slipped forward on the wet grass. He caught himself with his halberd, booted feet lacking the traction of claws, but falling over as the shortsword kobold from behind crashed into him shield-first. The other flank''s halberd kobold fared marginally better, sliding forward on the water as if he was skating, until my right head fired. An acidic blast sailed into their ranks, splashing against a greataxe-wielder in the middle. Her words toppled, from battlecry to screams as my chemical nightmare ravaged her systems. [You have slain: Zyrbold (II) Berserker (II) level 1. More Experience gained. Level has risen to 3. Skill point gained. Vitality and mind have risen by 1] "An advanced race and an advanced class? And what the heck is a Zyrbold?" I asked myself, other handful of kobolds closing in on my position. I needed a new melee option, and needed it fast. Not wanting to acquaint myself with a new method of attack, I chose to promote a tactic I already had twice. [Upgrades available for Skill: Bite (I)] [Shattering bite (II). Increases bite''s damage to armor] [Severing bite (II). Increases bite''s ability to disconnect limbs] [Lacerating bite (II). Increases bite''s bleed factor] [Rapid bite (II). Increases bite''s speed] Lacerating. Lacerating to the finish. I already had a method of armor removal and techincally doubled [Bite] speed, and severing looked too situational. Not to mention, larger wounds were easier to poison. The six of them spread out to surround me. Or in other words, get into range of my new skill. My heads came up to theirs at full height, but I kept them low, stance sprawled out to confound their weapons. Two held polearms, two a sword and round shield, and the last two a pair of axes each. The first of which came rushing at me spearpoint-first, telegraphed attacks awkward to dodge. I threw myself aside, the head of one halberd stabbing wide while the other thread the needle between two heads. Thinking I was safe from it I spat a quickly-made poison blob in reteliation, but this kobold was wise to my ways, flexing her head to the side and slashing downwards at my back in the same movement. My thick hide couldn''t stand up to the slash of an unusually well-made polearm. Pain shot spread up my spines like oil across water. I thrashed my heads, knocking the polearm aside and out of it''s kobold''s hands and out of my back with a painful clatter. The other pulled back, and in a return to old instincts I grabbed the halberd with my mouths and swung it aside. The clumsy strike caught a sword kobold off-guard, axe head chopping into his shoulder. I lashed forward to the other halberdier, latching my heads onto his arms and [Biting] down. Warm liquid dripped into my mouth from at least a dozen punctures, kobold''s shrill roar of pain rewarding. My healing sped up, wound on my back closing quickly with the continued serrating I raised my fins, ready to slide them forward- Until four axes came down on my tail. My mouthes opened up, eyes blurring, as the kobold escaped. I was running out of options, unable to out-fight this problem, so took my last option. I struck the ground with my flipper, rolling over awkwardly. A kobold tried to block, until his ally pulled him aside. I lay on my front, tailstump painting the ground, and mentally reached out towards the other halberdier. [I surrender. We need no more blood] The kobold, upside-down from my perepsective, looked at his ally''s and nodded. One of the swordbolds bandaged up her battle sister''s arms, while the others debated what to do in a language of chirps and barks. Lacking anything fancier, the five kobolds began to carry me, one headlocking each head while the other three lifted the weight of my torso. [Our leader will be most pleased. Don''t try anything funny] They carried me, past their wooden barricades in the front to control and funnel groups of attackers. past their living space in the large central room, housing made from the mine''s scaffolding. Back to the deepest vein, where an actual dragon perched. My jaw dropped in awe of his power. An aura of might projected outwards, black scales gleaming in the red glow of magical gems along the walls like fairy lights. "Who did you bring back this time?" A voice boomed, full of self-satisfied contempt, but changed it''s tone to one less toxic when I entered the room. "Oh ho, you''ve brought back a fine sample indeed." The dragon complimented, running his tongue over his terrifying teeth, but not before shooting a beam of verdant light towards me. The kobolds said a few things in their language while the dragon pondered. "And you say this is the one who killed your berserker? She truly had it coming then. This one doesn''t even have a Class" The leader kobold, normally collected and in control, knelt before the dragon in an obvious display of pleading. "This one interests me. Her stats are low, but her Skills are many. For bringing her back to me alive, you will suffer no punishment for the lost ally. Resume your duties." He ordered, turning towards me. The kobolds didn''t even bother to cage or bind me, but I knew any escape attempt would end quickly. "What do you want me for?" I asked, trying and failing to mask my fear of being eaten, enslaved, or worse "At the moment, your potential. We as dragonas are gifted with this quantification of power, this reward for identifying and overcoming the weak." I could feel a sweatdrop form on my head. No one you wanted to trust had this mindset. "In any case, you have a System and a Name. And a feminine one at that." The dragon sneered, teeth wide. "I want you to evolve into a factory for my spawn. To carry my kobolds, drakes, and wyverns across corners of the world. my Queen" I was five levels of not into that. Only eclipsed by the six levels of being not into getting eaten or torched by a power-hungry dragon. "I accept. Do you have a plan to raise my Levels?" "I seek to attack Minas Malboor, a human city. I will carry you in my claw, and you will slay as many humans as you can. Fail to reach rank 3, and one of my claws will slip in transit." "Does it have to be a human?" I tried. "Humans are weak, fleshy little things who hide in tin cans. Wouldn''t it be better if we took on another dragon? I''ve punched above my weight before, and I can do it again" The great dragon turned it over in his head, adjusting his wings with a woosh. "There is a thorn in my side, and he will be a fine crucible for my future queen. We will make our departure at nightfall. You will train my skills against my kobolds again, but do not kill any more." My heart slowed back down to a reasonable pace. I didn''t like what he was doing, but I had every chance to get stronger and turn the tables on him. "Sure, I''ll be training all day, as soon as my tail grows back" "Ah, about that." The dragon interjected, clawing downwards. A flank of a massive creature fell out, cooked to rare perfection. "Dig in. You''ll need it." 12: Training In the next ten minutes, monster meat filled my stomach. A minute after my plate was clean, the system generated a message. [Rare creature consumed. 2 Mutagen gained] I happily gasped at the message. "Was my kanastone mutable?" I thought. I couldn''t even rest, as the black dragon gestured for me to leave before I could even spend the mutagen. My stamina filled sluggishly, spent intermittently to heal my lost tail. I stalled the climb, feeling it grow back to the tail and climbed, both [Stamina cap] and [Rapid Healing] going up Level to 3 each. As I climbed, I pulled up my System. The comfortingly familiar azure windows greeted me, navigated through with ease for mutations. Though as I read the formula again, I remembered- I needed 4 mutagen to get a new mutation or rank up a current one. Sighing, I put it away, but more mutagen was definitely something to watch out for. At the top of the slope, I saw the squad of dark-scaled kobolds playing cards around a table. I waved a flipper, starting to speak when I realized I needed a way to actually communicate. A mental bridge to all six sounded unfeasible; the cost to make it wasn''t something I could throw around, and the cost to maintain even one took up an even bigger slice of my mana gathering. That, however, didn''t stop me from making just one. I reached out with my mind to the halberdier still in good condition, bridge formed more easily. Was he more willing, or was it simply familiarity? "Hi... Your boss says I work for you now" [Old Zyr? Of course he''d recruit you. I barely trust you after what you did to my wife, but we''re under the same boss now. What''s your job?] "Queen..." I answered with a sad tone. Concerned Yipyaps resounded through the dark kobold squad, and I elaborated "He wants me to train. get strong, and evolve into a being who can have his eggs" [I don''t care who you bit, nobody needs that. Zyradon making us evolve from kobolds to ''Zyrbolds'' was at least helpful for us, but I''ve got just enough morals to let him steal someone''s future like that.] I breathed a sigh of relief, but pressed on about the oddity I noticed "How did he... Make you evolve?" The head kobold shrugged. [We don''t know. We''ve been serving him for a year, and he''s always been going on about Stats, Skills, Levels, Class, and Tier. We also don''t know how and why the world puts this power in numbers, but he says the Zyrbolds were the best choice for evolution] "Has he, by any chance, bragged about his stats?" [Oh absolutely. He evolved a few weeks ago. Said he''s tier 4 now, with a strength of... 250. The number stuck out from how round it was. Sounds like a lot.] My left head gulped, and my right growled. My highest stat wasn''t even a tenth of that. Yet as I remembered he had mentioned my quantity of Skills, some hope remained. "If you train me enough, I think I can take him" The leader-kobold almost dropped his mug. "You?" he asked incredulously. [You lost to us, how do you expect to-] "Why do you six follow him again?" The leader shrugged. [We''re kobolds. He''s the biggest, strongest dragon around. It''s the rules] "Look at how he talked about your berserker. Like a broken tool, not a fallen ally" I could feel a pulse of uncertainty through the mental connection, so I pressed it. "Does he even know your names?" The leader scratched his head, right over one of his horns. [I... can''t remember when he said mine last.] "Well I will. I''m Valerie, what are yours?" [I''m Cinzek. My wife''s Cilgris. Croc and Drox fight with two axes, and Chec and Khirc with a sword and shield. You killed Ximok] Cinzek explained, last part delivered with a glare. "And I care more about you than he does already. Ready to train me into the biggest, strongest dragon you can?" [I''m on break.] Cinzek rolled his eyes, but turned to one of his opponents. "Drox!" he barked, before giving some instructions in his language and going back to his hand. A more feminine looking kobold set her hand down, scooped her battered coins into a pouch at her side, and picked up her stone axes. Cinzek said something that made Drox smile with glee, and she charged at me with reckless abandon. I staggered backwards, tail not even fully healed yet, and moved my heads like a weapon and shield. My left one moved back, using a bit of magic to spray a distracting burst of water into her face, while my right headbutted an axe, flesh giving way bug the axe repelled with a painful clank. I pulled my right head back, out of range of her other axe, and lashed forward like a harpoon to deliver a barely-dodged shoulder bite. The kobold stepped too close, between my heads, and giggled manically giving me all the chance I needed. I closed my necks together, wrapping them around her torso and arms. Drox flailed, lacking leverage, and I moved my mouths over her neck and very gently bit. While not enough to break the layer of scales, she could tell when she''d been beaten. [That''s enough, let Drox go.] "Chec" Cinzek ordered, kobold swordsman walking towards me with caution. I barely had time to heal, and he was already throwing another enemy at me? Chec kept his shield high, more cautious than Drox was. I took advantage of the lack of charging forward to charge up a classic combo. Small sprays of poison, the mixture corrosive enough to be annoying, sailed the distance between us. The first earned a yip of pain and forced the kobold to raise his shield to just below eye level, letting my lower head charge up a spell in peace. The shield kobold approached, trading caution for speed at every step, and that''s when I made my move. A ball of water with the force and feeling of a speeding tire struck the kobold point-blank, overwhelming his strength and knocking him over. I threw myself forward, bellyflopping on his legs and in the same motion grasping at his neck and sword-arm with each of my heads. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.[Skill: Water magic has risen to level 4]. As if in reward, water magic was so close to evolving. My mouth watered at the thought of what it could become, as Fundamental skills had many options. The kobolds who hadn''t fought whooped and cheered for the fight infront of them, until Cinzek pushed them both forward. Croc and Khirc grabbed their weapons from the nearby table, realized they had the wrong gear, and switched them around. Despite conjuring and accelerating a lot of water, it was unusually easy on my mana, and I could feel more come back from the delay. Not willing to let them coordinate on how to defeat me, I picked up speed with a few jumps and threw myself into Khirc. His eye narrowed, stance widening and lowering, and I crashed into a far larger shape than his shield would imply. [You got a Skill out of her. impressive.] Cinzek complimented. I bounced off, one head pointed to each practice enemy. They made a noise and both charged, fighting my heads as if they were allied snakes. Near-autonomously I weaved out of the way of sword and axe strikes, taking nicks and scrapes from a set I just barely dodged. I didn''t have the stamina to keep on the back foot, so I had to change the game. My left head made several distracting nips, and my right faked a bite. The attack curved right past attack the shield-kobold, teeth lighting up with their red glow, and whipped around towards the axeman. The full effect of the skill caught him in the leg, and while I didn''t do anything more painful, that was enough to slow him down. Khirc threw her shield aside, jumping over a spur-of-the-moment spray of acid and landing on my back. I turned my heads around with awkwardness, but could already feel the slightly curved blade of bronze press to the back of my left throat. [A win for the duo!] Cinzek exclaimed, shouting something in kobold and gesturing for my two foes to leave. Though from the loss, a tide-turner arose. [Skill: Twin minds has risen to level 3. Mind bonus has risen to 5]. I could feel my mental fatigue start fading. The connection took up enough of my regeneration, and just from that tiny rise could feel more magic available to me. Cinzek picked up his halberd, looking very much ready to try his hand, and I knew i needed to stall. "Can you give me a minute or three to heal?" I asked through the mind bridge. Cinzek shook his head. [A real enemy would not give you this courtesy.] he denied, spinning his weapon from upright to forward with a practiced gesture. "You''re not a real enemy. You''re trying to test and train my skills, and you''ll get a better-" I dodged his first stab with a sideways jump, righting myself in the air. "-chance to see them if I have my whole tail" [Of course it''s that way with you dragons.] Cinzek slashed wide over my heads, which I could tell was a testing strike. He was feeling out my speed and reflexes. [All you care about is your own might and control] I spat another blast of water to Cinzek''s face to disorient him, disciplined kobold striding through the spray. "And that''s where you''re wrong." I defiantly contradicted. Cinzek gave a quizzical expression, next stab faltering. My heart began to speed up, words shining like polished copper. Even across the mental connection my voice sounded stronger, wiser. "I seek the defense and stability of Gaham. For how long have kobolds like you have been raiding it?" I challenged, headbutting forward and striking Cinzek''s forearm. [As long as we need. There''s not enough food to go around, and what''s one dwarf in the face of many?] The axeblade came down too close to my neck, striking my shoulder. Yet I persisted, wound seeming to hold itself closed. "Of course there is. Have you seen how much your boss is hoarding?" I asked with a hipcheck, sending Cinzek off-balance. "He creates a problem and makes you clean up his mess." ["And how are you different? You made a fine mess of Ximok"] Something dark in me reared it''s ugly head. Something that wanted me to pull race, to make the kobold submit, intertwined with my desire to protect and support. But like my two heads, those two beliefs could coexist. "Leave the thinking to your superiors, Kobold." I ordered, bite wrenching the halberd from his grasp. Cinzek drew a dagger, slashing at me in his pitiful range. "My will for the flourishing of myself and my people is absolute. You may either join me in this unity, where none hoard food and even the littlest hatchling gets their needs met, or you may starve under your boss''s claw." I advanced with every important word, delivering small bites to his extremities. And with every puncture of his scales and his argument, his motions began to lose speed and certainty. "Whereas under my loving wings will be freedom. To help your fellow kobold in any way you like. Does Zyradon offer you art? Music? Good food? Culture? Anything but his shadow to hide in?" His loyalty was broken. His words, spilling into eachother. And his allegiances, shattered. I slid towards the crying Cinzek, wrapping my heads around him in a strange embrace. Only then did I see the others kneel. My heart sped back down to normal, and only then did I notice my wounds had healed. But not before I notice the kobolds kneeling. A tear fell from Cinzek''s face, and he joined them, knelt down in the safety of my heads. [Gained title: Lord.] the system awarded. I opened my character sheet again, satisfied to find a new box. [Army] 13: [Army] I released my grip on Cinzek, and opened the new panel with haste. [Cinzek, Zybold (II) commander Level 8] [Cilgris, Zybold (II) halberdier (II) Level 2] [Croc, Zybold (II) fighter level 3] [Drox, Zybold (II) fighter level 3] [Chec, Zybold (II) soldier level 5] [Khirc, Zybold (II) defender level 3] These were Zyradon''s special forces? They seemed... underwhelming. I didn''t know how Classes worked, but if they were anything like resetting evolutions then I was lucky to disable the halberd lady first. I could hear the thoughts of all six now, likely from this new title. Fear and awe, uncertianty and hope, all contrasted across their words. "We need to hunt." I said thought loudy, all five kobolds turning their heads towards me. Evidently, Cilgris was still healing off the bites I gave her. "I have that same... Quantification. can improve my Skills through usage, but breakpoints are locked behind slaying enemies. Plus, I won''t let My kobolds starve" At the mention of food, the five kobolds mobilized. We passed through the living chamber, the smaller redder kobolds giving us a wide berth, until we made it out into the sun in search of fitting prey. I had to exert myself to keep up, stamina oddly full despite the fight behind me. Lacking any conventional stealth, I was on the lookout for something big. And ideally something magical, if mutagen was on the table. We roamed the forest, passing birds too small to be of any use and scaring more than one rabbit analog, it''s spider legs carrying it into a nearby den. The party stopped near a lake, moving forward to take a drink while one of my heads kept watch. While my more instinct-driven head admired and hydrated from the silvery water, my more rational one scanned the trees. These ones, I noticed, bore crystalline highlights. My mind whipped back to the coast bear''s home, and a temptation within me grew. A temptation to poison the lake. To plague the beasts who drank from it, to harvest the EXP... I fin-slapped my own face, eyes unblurring from the fantasy of destructive power. The sound scared off a small creature, jumping into an oddly spiky bush for protection. Something within it shook, rising to it''s full height. The spikes moved forward through the leaves, revealing the head of a large deer, elk or even moose as it stood from it''s lakeside resting place. "Large prey across the lake." I warned, kobolds scrambling for their weapons left and right. The moose stood at it''s full height and glared towards me, eyes glowing a yellowish-green, before it bellowed with a hollow, bone-chilling bellow. The sound sent small creatures scattering, most quickly of all the burst of green and cyan birds from the beast''s back. It lowered it''s head, pawing the gtound, when I gave my easily-followed order "Dodge, It''s about to charge" Kobolds spread apart like dropped marbles, placing themselves the beast''s antler-span apart. Leaves seemed to shoot back as it accellerated at a breakneck pace, but I knew I was safe- as I was already in the lake. My fins rejoiced at the feeling of weightlessness, able to serve their real purpose, but this did not stop the moose''s charge. Cinzek jumped aside, dodging under the spikewall of antlers, but not entirely- hoof clipping his leg. A worrying popping sound could be heard as it made contact, moose trampling past to deal with even more of the intruders. I swam forward, look of pain on his face telling me everything I needed to know. "Hold still." I instructed, taking him between my heads again and placing the halberider on my back. He used his torso to weigh down his hurt leg, other at my side for an awkward grip. "I''ve always wanted to ride a creature." Cinzek panted, pointing his weapon forward as another line of defense. It stuck between my heads, likely as a deterrant for anything the moose could do. Air wooshed as the creature bashed a fleeing Khirc with it''s horns, the dual axers dodging erratic back-kicks in the hopes to find a place to land. The four of them looked outclassed, especially without their commander. Cinzek urged me forward, to let himself fight alongside his kobolds, and I did the next best thing. "Kobolds, draw it to the lake!" I ordered, slight gargle in my voice an indicator of what was coming. Croc threw one of his axes, striking it in the flank as the others booked it towards me. Chec took an antler swing to the back, knocking him over, but mercifully the moose guardian did not finish him off. Instead, it looked towards me. Slowly it advanced, my mind cheering it on as approached my effective range for corrosive poison, and stopped. The moose shook to either side, dislodging many leaves from it''s side and floating them around it''s head like summoned swords. They flew towards me as a storm, first baffling then bleeding me as magically-sharpened leaves cut into my necks. I closed my eyes in instinct, curled leaf flying into one magnifying my pain so much that I dropped my attack. Corrosive poison splashed into the water ahead of me, my frantic splashing to get away only spreading it further through the silvery lake. And if the moose was mad before, now it was furious. It ignored my allies, not slowed down one iota by their oppurtunistic strikes to the sides, and sprinted for me. I couldn''t dodge to the side, and couldn''t hope to block it or swim backwards, so took my last option. "We''re going down" I told my rider, halfway submerged by the time I could finish the message. He took a gasp and held his breath, lying forward and clinging to me with his free hand. The moose sailed over me, my head just barely dodging it''s kicking legs, and landed with a meteroic splash behind me.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I turned my heads back, seeing it flail in the water, and made my move. My heads exhaled like bellows, positioning me in a large spin. My fins helped me angle, and from then my tail and water magic worked as one, sending me rocketing towards the swimming moose. A jousting halberd stabbed at it''s hindquarter, wild kicking leg shooting out with force rivaling a firearm. Only by observing it twice could I attempt dodge, hoof instead hitting the area right between my necks. It sunk into my flesh, no doubt rupturing something important, but my heads were in position. Both [Bit] at the tough leg, holding it in place for Cinzek to scrape at it with the halberd''s hook. The moose tried to pull forward, wrenching it''s limb free from my grasp, but the damage was already done. Something between blood and sap fell into the water, wounded leg bending too far. I dipped my heads down for a whiff of that tasty blood, and felt a [Frenzy] take a seat in my mental cafe of pain. I practically jumped from the water, ready to knock the moose down, when it turned it''s head and made a large gesture. Roots sharply grew around my fins, binding them to the land. Cinzek, on the ball as ever, poked and jabbed to distract the moose, but it merely stepped back. Magic glowed within it''s horns again, taking it''s time now that I was the one immobilized. I looked to either side in desperation, only to see hope. my allies had rounded the lake, and took this chance to round on the moose. Croc and Drox hacked upwards from either side into it''s belly, concentration on the roots weak enough for me to burst forward in the charge I wanted. I latched my heads onto it''s neck, twisting from side to side while awaiting the onslaught. [Rapid Healing] roared to life, anticipating the rush of attacks. The moose pounded at my flanks with it''s horns, trying to angle it''s best weapons against me, and Cinzek lined up several stamina-infused stabs. The moose kicked with it''s front legs at an awkward angle, using it''s tools of movement as a good transport, but couldn''t accellerate it''s hooves fast enough. Chec and Khirc slashed at it''s back legs, too wobbly to raise in offense. In an act of desperation the moose even thrashed around to get a good angle to bite me, but all that motion spelled it''s doom. With a final [Lacerating Bite], the moose fell to the ground in a defeated slump. [You have slain: Ivyceros (II). Level has risen to 4. Strength +1] Kobolds whooped and cheered, Cinzek keeping himself curled up on my back but still managing to celebrate with his allies. Not questioning how his leg went from nonfuncctional to barely functional, another system notification joined the first. [Skill levels: Lacerating Bite 1 -> 3. Water magic 4 -> 5, upgrade available. Rapid healing 3 -> 4. Frenzy 2 -> 3] I thanked it for not interrupting my fight, and bit down at the fallen moose "Get it while it''s hot!" I joked, kobolds kneeling down and ripping chunks of meat off with their mouths like a wolfpack. I only ate with one head, giving the other a chance to think and observe. Croc seemed to have the easiest time getting through the tough hide, his teeth glowing a familiar red. Reminding myself to tell him about that, I looked towards my Skill rise. Water magic was Fundamental to me, and if anything like bite, it''s options would not dissapoint. [-Upgrade choices for water magic-] [0 SP: Advanced water magic (II)] [1 SP: Efficient Water Magic (II), Forceful Water Magic (II)] [2 SP: Frost magic (II), Acid magic (II), Mud magic (II)] [4 SP: Abyssal water magic (III), Divination (III)] I wasn''t under pressure to make a choice, so chose to save my skill points and continue eating. One by one, kobolds had their fill, stopping to rest on the ground or agianst trees. I had the most capacity, and stopped last. When I finally did, pulling away from the remaining third of a moose, I saw a wonderful notification. [+4 mutagen] Four was a flexible amount. Enough to get a new mutation. Wanting to wait until I was in a shape I liked more, I scrolled through the list. Full of hope, I searched for my kanastone, and... nothing. Of course it was nothing, the kanastone was techincally equipment. In either case, I needed better movement speed, as the lack of it cost my fight against the kobolds- though thankfully not my life. I needed more efficient stamina generation; so many of my powers used it up and not enough refilled it. And I needed a better way to bite, to speed up both combat and consumption. Alternatively, the more forgiving path would be rank to up either of the ones I already had. The skull spoke for itself, choice of upgrades looking plain. Angular for diflecting blows, Echoing for better hearing, and spiked for better headbutts. Nothing in here was worth taking, so I looked at the other choice [-Upgrades available for copper heart-] [Bronze heart. Increases stat gain in an ally''s peril] [Amber heart. Increases base regeneration] [Silver heart. Spreads both these effects at a reduced power] Everything made sense. The inconsistent behavior of frenzy, which was actually this one mutation. The subtle healing, which i attributed to be intrinsic my species. Already having substitutes for the other two, I chose one of the most important choices. [Copper heart upgraded to Silver heart. 4 mutagen spent.] Cinzek tried to get my attention, but it was in another world. My heart began to heat up with an internal flame. I could feel my heart beat with the intensity of a blacksmith''s hammer, intense heat alternating with intense cold by seconds. Heartbeats. Flashes. I could hear a clang with each one, feeling a biting vulnerability as some force stripped away old plating, replacing it just as quickly with newer, shinier metal. And when everything finished, I blew out a breath, one head of heat and one head of cold, falling forward. "Valerie?" Asked the leaderly voice of Cinzek, drawing me back to my senses. "I found a green stone in the beast''s chest." I whipped upwards quickly. A bit too much so, as the blood in my necks adjusted to the sudden shift. I had lost some in the fight, but my heart was already working to fix and fill my veins. "That''s great!" I exclaimed, before being cut off. "And... ate it. I don''t know what came over me." He bowed his head in shame, but I rested a head on his shoulder. "It''s okay, I was going to ask you to do that anyway." I drew my heads back, addressing the group. "When you see a glowing stone in a strong enough creature, don''t hesitate to absorb it. If you find it in a weak one, give it to a kobold. Those are kanastones, and they let you do magic." A murmur of exicted acceptance resonated through the kobolds. "And while we''re still on the hunt, I have a town that can make you better weapons. We might need them. You know, for prey" I leaned back and did air quotes with my flippers, and an understanding crossed the faces of the kobolds. We set out, not for Zyradon''s cave this time. But for Baldemar''s forge. 14: Training [I''m back with my kobolds!] I called out through the mind bridge, formed as soon as I was within acceptable range. The mental bridge produced surprised static, before baldemar answered. [These are your kobolds? How the hell do you even have kobolds?] Baldemar answered after a minute, clanking upstairs to meet us [Kobolds follow the biggest and strongest dragon around] I repeated, as if stating a rule. "And Zyradon''s got a vested interest in making sure that''s me. Help me out with my plan, and your dwarves will be free from draconic threats and not even have to lift a finger] "You''re about to do what?" Baldemar shouted with disbeleif the second he came into view. I telepathically told baldemar my plan, complete with a diagram or two, and saw a pang of stress shoot through his limbs. "You''re insane, but even if half your plan works the world''s a safer place. I got carried away in making practise weapons, but the dwarves like axes and hammers more than anything serrated. I was thinking of selling''em, but I''m trading them to you for safety instead." Baldemar lead us to the forge that was functionally his, and gestured to a pile. I looked upon it with awe, a faint glow emerging from the weapons- made of metal beaten to purification and tipped with serrated teeth. [How did you get these? They look sharklike!] I praised, clapping my fin. The kobolds tested a few for weight, making a few practice swings "My allies and I bumped off a firedrake in our first raid. Tier three if I remember right. Dwarves got a lot of the scales, but I was left with these." [Does he have anything heavier?] asked Cinzek, mid-swing. I saw his damaged leg brought back to a mere limp, my silver heart the clear cause of this rapid recovery. I translated, and Baldemar''s smile went wide. He drew something sharp and curved from a low drawer in his workbench, dramatically clattering it to the table. And with more care, a red gem, symmetrical from every side. "I was planning on saving these for myself, but..." he admitted. "It''s the right time to use''em. The fang-spears you can have, but bring what I make back when you''ve done your job." [Sounds good! we''ll pick it up in-] A loud, rapid clanging cut me off. Baldemar was already using some of his scrap metal to fashion the two items together, poured acting as the binding between wooden shaft, red gem, and black-and-green tailblade. His arms moved like metal blurs, hammering together the metal before it had time to cool. He picked it up with his hands, and sparks flew as baldemar pressed the reinforced kobold glaive to the rapidly-spinning grindstone. I watched him in awe. The whole process was over in not even five minutes, but I couldn''t detect any hastiness in the process. As soon as my heads stopped spinning, they focused on him again. Baldemar performed strange gestures over the cooling glaive, something I easily recognized as mana clouding around the weapon. Letters that appeared hostile to me congealed from the mana-rich air, binding themselves to the glaive one by one. "Well well, Let''s see how we did." Baldemar said proudly, placing his hand in the steam of the glaive. His expression jumped indescribably within a second of casting a green glow over the new blade. And with some difficulty and more than a few facial expressions, he sent a character sheet into my mind.
Firedrake Shortspear Level 1/35
Sharpness: 15 (II) Conductivity: 58 (III)
Control: 17 (II) Adaptability: 28 (III)
Durability: 21 (II) Luster 15 (II)
I didn''t know what all the numbers meant. Or what the words meant. So lacking better techniques, I simply asked. "Sharpness is a number boosts to your strength. A giant with fourty strength usin'' a club with zero hits just as hard as a knight with twenty strength wieldin'' a sword with another twenty." "Control" baldemar demonstrated, swinging the weapon around. "Now that''s a bit more of a tough one. Somewhere between a weapon''s speed and it''s handling. If it''s bigger than your quickness, then it''s a boost; Either half of the difference or half of yours. If it''s smaller than your quickness, then it''s a penalty... unless your strength is big enough to make up the difference." "Durability''s just the weapon''s vitality score. But if your strength is too far over it''s durability, you start damagin'' the weapon. And on a magic weapon, it''s half the capacity stat. Other half''s Conductivity, which is a flat boost to the mind stat... but only for the weapon''s domain of magic. More than one domain and the bonus shrinks, generic mage staves being the weakest of all" "Adaptability''s... different. It determines a weapon''s level cap, and every 10 levels, evolve into something new. And finally luster, all it dows is draw out bonuses from the weapon''s material. A high-luster iron sword''s going to be easier to repair. And more magnetic too, but mostly easier to repair. Only weapons that have capacity for magic have the last 3 stats, a common sword or spear''s just got sharpness, control, and durability." I stopped, feeling my brains digest this information. Mostly my left one, as I was certian my right was innumerate, but I felt it digest the basic concepts for use later. I felt it''s brain grow in complexity, represented cleanly in my levelup.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. [Skill: Twin minds has risen to level 4. Mind bonus has risen to 7] [How do you do all of this?] I asked, tone of awe in my voice as I played to his ego "[Appraisal]. And [Master Blacksmith]. First one tells me the numbers of a creature or item, second... hoo boy." I mentally wrote down this first skill, but the second I knew was a Mathias-distributed cheat. And of course, it was the one he bragged about. "It makes everything about blacksmithing better. How strong the results are, how fast I make''em, how fast I level up, and makes the skills free. Hammer proficiency, fire resistance, and every kind of blacksmithing under the sun. I''ve already hit expert blacksmithing and advanced weaponsmithing. A chunk of those skill points I got from that big black burning bastard went to enchanting, so I could do that." Baldemar gestured to the glaive, already wielded two-handed by Cinzek. I could see the awkwardness in his stance from here, and even without any Skill of my own could tell he lacked a proficiency skill. His class was [Commander] rather than anything direct, so I hoped he learned would ripple. [We''ve got until nightfall. I seek to have my kobolds learn from your best fighters.] "I can arrange that, the guard''s been fixing to fight something ever since I''ve been arming them up. And Throulyn needs to get better at healing." [Sounds good! Kobolds, we''re training all day.] My goal was clear, and we were free to... for back of words, level grind. Baldemar directed us to another part of town, familiar set of spear-armed guards scattered around a break in the walls. I waved, and when the dwarves reached for their weapons I reached out for the mind of the toughest-looking one, covered head to toe in steel. [Skill: Mind magic has risen to level 4] Mind magic crept closer and closer to it''s evolution point, just as I hoped we all would. [Don''t stab us! we''re dwarf sympathizers, we want to train with you] [Ah, you''re that weird little dragon] The shield-dwarf spat, disdain for my genus clear. [Very well then, we''ll beat ye to an inch and hope ya learn.] I was unafraid, watching the kobolds square up with a speardwarf each. I chose one of the two dwarven defenders, bowing my heads in respect. When the commander-dwarf shouted a battle cry, it was on. Spears stabbed, kobold weapons flailed, and Khirc''s shield blocked with a flash. A tense moment passed as the dwarven soldiers assessed my allies, untangling from their positions and pointing my allies around with gruff barks. Croc, Drox, and Chec seemed to get the worst of it, told to strike and repeartedly slapped into stance. Khirc blocked strike after strike with her shield, green flashes bolstering it and her against the oncoming tide of pronging. Yet oddly, Cinzek was nowhere to be found. He didn''t seem to be the type to slack off or hide from trouble, so where- A tower shield hit my face with a clonk, returning me from my ponder. Unafraid of a mere shield I lunged forward, alternating my snaps and bites, striking from different angles and varying up my timings to confound his defenses. All around me, kobolds sparred educationally, raising their skills and confidence. Sometime in the next hour, two kobolds returned- Cinzek and Cilgris. The latter took a minute to magically skip the last part of her recovery, draining the healer''s mana reserves in the process. She picked up the polearm, testing it''s heft in her hands, and made eye contact with another speardwarf. As I fought, something in my heart stirred, taking their precieved peril as real- and allowing it to keep me replenished. I eschewed any training to dodge and block, letting my hydra flesh soak the damage and bounce back from it with flexibility. While I only got a few hits in past the dwarf''s kite shield and chain-and-plate amror, my attempts were many, enough for several increases before the dwarves broke for their aftenoon meal. While I was distracted, someone had rolled a cart out, lined with plates of impossibly large meat slices and orange-capped mushrooms, and mugs of refreshing-looking brownish purple liquid. Out of fear and respect, we didn''t approach until the dwarves had their fill, dashing in to scavenge when the larger beings were done. "There will be no more of this under my rule" I assured the kobolds, to a wave of happiness. While I waited for them to take what they needed, I looked over my messages. [Lacerating Bite 3 -> 4. Stamina cap 3 -> 4. Twin minds 4 -> 5.] [Mind bonus increased from 7 to 9] My skills had risen, but I needed to spread some power. My skill list looked a bit taller, new additions to the list always buried beneath the old. But the newest one looked ripe for the choosing. [Leadership. Very slightly increases the coordination of beings in your Army. Shares gained EXP.] After that meal, training resumed with greater intensity. And while the dwarves showed laziness from eating their fill, my kobolds keeping their survivor''s reflexes. Combined with the trickles of revitalization, I saw mroe of their hits land. More sword, axe, or polearm strikes hit armor. But the true game-changer was a crimson flash from Drox''s axeblades. He knocked a dwarf over with a roar, hacking in an unrelenting torrent at his shoulderplates, and would have started on his flesh had my shield-bearing opponent not tackled him aside. Throulyn patched him up, awarding a rest to my kobold and assigning one to her opponent. The afternoon''s training bled into evening, letting the day guard disperse for the night guard to take over. [Lacerating Bite 4 -> 5. Rapid Healing 4 -> 5! Frenzy 3 -> 4. Leadership 1 -> 3. Stamina cap 3 -> 5!] More levelups were always welcome, doubly so if they reached their peaks for advancement. However underneath my System messages, I saw another. [Training day finished!] it read, happily expanded to show the improvement of my kobolds. [Chec, Soldier learned: Sword proficiency, Endurance up] [Khirc, Defender learned: Sword proficiency, parry] [Cilgris, Halberdier learned: Combo strike, Advanced polearm proficiency] [Croc, Fighter learned: Dual-wield, Axe proficiency, Dodge] [Cinzek, Commander learned: Leadership, Polearm proficiency, Fire magic] [Drox, Fighter learned: Advanced axe proficiency, Dual-wield, rend, frenzy] I took a second to read this, as the kobolds crowded around me. Knowing how few Skills they used against me, this day of training had bolstered their chances We trudged back to Zyradon''s cave, to plan our upcoming raid and hunt something to eat on the way there. Cinzek surprised us once again with using a thrown flame, using it to scare a large-horned creature into charging headlong into our weapons. The thing fell in seconds. I took the brunt of it''s attacks, absorbing it''s trample and grasping it''s back legs with my lacerating bites to slow it down for my kobolds to wear down. [Your party has defeated: Hillock ram. Experience shared between your forces.] A dinner of nicely-cooked ram later and we arrived at zyradon''s cave. I approached him, and bowed my head in reluctant submission. "I have trained myself, and drummed up desire to fight within these kobolds. They seek to accompany me" Zyradon laughed with pride. "My queen already knows how to rule. I allow it!" With little fanfare, we were off. Flying towards another dragon''s cave with a plan of insanity, a lot of potential to bleed, and a burning desire to topple tyrants. To topple two of them. 15: Dragons The evening descended on us as Zyradon stepped out of his cave, the seven of us in tow. He reluctantly looked towards the group of kobolds, grasping a clawed hand around each and lifting us onto his ridged back. As the claw came for me, I realized how much more human the hands looked than I was expecting, the wrist rotation matching how a kneeling person would grasp. I tried to pay it little mind as the hand released me closer to the front with the leading couple, Cinzek and Cilgris, while the swordbolds and axebolds sat further back. Zyradon spread his wings, the flight-capable muscles in them flexing like biceps before making a few test flaps. "What kind of mating display is this?" I thought warily. Zyradon''s quad feet thundered across the ground, flapping wings putting more air under him with each step. Steps grew to running hops, which gave way in turn to long leaps, until the great dragon grabbed onto the top of a large rock and practically hurled himself to the sky. As he did, I felt my stomach drop. Kobolds clung to the spikes and ridges on our mount''s back, and I braced my fins as to not fall off. I seemed to resist impacts better than sharp blows, and didn''t want to chance it- as I wasn''t certain I''d survive with my vital organs so close to the ground. My pondering lead to the desire to sabotage my rider. Putting a fin up to my snout as a signal to be quiet about this, I spat small amounts of my corrosive poison onto Zyradon''s flank-scales. Trusting his toughness almost enough, I reached out a mind-bridge to Zyradon. No words came through, but a sense of pleasure- a soft mattress after a difficult day. All of course to mask the thinner spray of poison onto his back. When a single scale the size of a dinnerplate broke off, I knew it was working, and it took the kobolds every ounce of their self-control not to celebrate. [Skill: Corrosive poison synthesis has risen to level 4] We flew with great speed over what seemed to be a jungle, intermittent glows illuminating it''s more magical areas like beacons in the falling night. The lands they illuminated slowly gradient from hills to mountains. A fire atop one inspired Zyradon to turn, spreading and angling his wings to shed his accumulated speed. Looking off the side again, I saw kobolds get into formation under the light of stone torches. Their small flames illuminated kobolds of deep green, raising their curved swords in defense until a single swathe of flame torched them where they stood. While my eyes adjusted, Zyradon touched down with a scrabbling scrape, back-facing claws digging in to slow him further. "Everybody, off!" Zyradon roared, folding his wings and sticking his arm out like a slope. We slid down, landing on the ground with running starts, my kobold allies forming into a protective hexagon around me. Stairs carved into the mountain stretched up ahead, traversed with ease to and leading up to a stone plateau the size of a parking lot. Stalagmites burned with a strange green light, bathing a slender dragon within. Forest green wings parted, revealing scales of black and green. "Marazel!" Zyradon boomed, standing on his hind legs behind us as a fear-inducing backdrop. A jet of fire shot into the air, flash-lighting the platform orange. "State your terms, brother." She threatened, unfazed by the display. "Your death. For my queen!" Zyradon gestured downwards, directly to me. Marazel looked between me and him with her yellow eyes, flash of green predating her scathing remark "I never thought you''d court below your weight class. She''s only tier two." Zyradon started to justify something about being ''mature for my tier,'' but I left my right head in charge of listening to him while my left one politely knocked on Marazel''s mind. When she answered, I made my pitch [It''s a double-cross, and I need him dead even more than you do. I''ve already weakened the scales on his flanks, I''ll pretend to fight you while trying to line up a killing blow on him.] [My brother needs to leave this mortal coil.] The dragon siblings circled the plate, making quick, opportune strikes and feinting out of eachother''s effective ranges. As I watched the two of them in the warmup of their fight, I saw the difference between the two with clarity. Zyradon was larger and thicker, built more like a bear than a wolf. Marazel took the opposite path, being longer and thinner in body and limbs, as if a logical extension of my old squiggly form. I was about to move in to deliver a false blow to Marazel, when she pounced. Her upper half lashed forward with a whip''s cracking speed, her mouth latching onto a discolored spot on Zyradon''s flank. The queen-maker laughed, pulse of flame escaping his mouth. "You expect to break through my scales! You haven''t been able to-" A crunch and a snap punctuated the night''s silence. Zyradon let out an angry roar, light welling up in his mouth. After a second of charging, he breathed towards Marazel- deep red fire shooting from his mouth and engulfing her. She writhed and pulled away, rolling on the ground to beat out the clingy flame just enough to gesture downwards, ring of water passing over her from tip to tailblade. She slunk back, steam rising off the aquatic dragon, and Zyradon pointed. "Charge." He ordered indignantly. I gave a knowing look to Marazel, lighting up my mouths to [Bite] just short of her neck. The kobolds, following my plan, beat their weapons on the slithering Marazel''s side. While we chased eachother around the plateau, kobolds convincingly faking wounds from an errant claw-bash or tail-sweep, I asked a few probing questions. [So, how do you treat your kobolds?] I asked, jumping out of the way of a telegraphed bite. [Well enough.] Marazel answered defensively. [What''s your favorite one''s Name?] I continued, to no avail. [I do not Name my kobolds. An individual is too much of a liability] [Thoughts on humans?] [Beneath me. And would do well to stay that way] This settled it, both these dragons needed to go. I dodged another bite, then ducked under another, and made my move. My mouths shot up, latching onto the underside of her neck. Marazel suspected nothing. My skill-powered bites were the standard, and used primarily for easy telegraphing of fake attacks, but these were made to kill. They teetered on the edge of damaging for half a second, and worry that her armor was simply too tough crept through me, but I felt my fangs sink into something. Felt an unusually tasty liquid grace my tongues [Oh crap, my teeth are stuck!] I lied through the mental bridge, shaking in mock panic to try and dislodge myself. My teeth pressed to supremely-tough dragonflesh like I was trying to eat frozen meat. Marazel whipped aside, force popping out at least two of my serrated teeth and casting me to the stalagmite walls. I rolled to my flippers, righting myself just in time to see Marazel point an open claw at her bit throat. She started to cast a spell, gold and cyan light beginning to fill her hand, when a larger haymaker of a claw whipped across her torso. She twisted to minimize the force of the blow, but scales cracked all the same under it''s force. Marazel fell back, gesturing again. A blade of wind whipped towards Zyradon, breaking several of his scales under it''s own force. My kobolds sprang into action, weapons clanking off her scales again, acting as a haystack for the needle of Cinzek''s tailblade glaive stabbing into the wound Zyradon opened for me. It sunk an inch in, Cinzek slamming the back with his palm for greater depth. He accomplished another, when something with Marazel snapped. She opened her mouth, a spear of wind piercing Cinzek just as deep as Cinzek had pierced her. The kobold fell over in heart deprival, last muttering words a subtle "worth it..."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I had to hold myself back from doing anything worse to Marazel. She jumped over me, light glowing from her, and slashed at Zyradon with a howling breeze from her tailblade. Vermillion blood descended from the diagonal wound on his chest, dragon lumbering forward, blocking another strike with his forearm, slamming down predictably to a dodging whipdragon, eating another windblade like it was nothing of consequence, and launching a spread of flame. Marazel''s position already mid-attack, she couldn''t dodge the spread of flame quickly enough. She slammed herself on the ground, trying to roll away as more and more of her flesh burned. The deep red flame burned itself out, strength of the long dragon visibly fading from the set of attacks when Zyradon himself was barely fazed. I needed a way to tip the scales. "Strike her down. Peirce her heart!" Zyradon thumped the ground in passion, fire in his heart burning even hotter and redder than the fire he served his own sister. I nodded my head, slipping close to Marazel with words of concern. I pulled off my same pain-erasing trick, curled up near her heart. I nested close, whispering words of comfort, words of healing, when my other head summoned my signature brew. [What are you...] she whispered, baffled at my feline behavior. I hushed her, battlefield falling to a quiet before I made my move. My heads chomped at her heart, pulling apart. All at once corrosive poison splashed over her chest, blown into the wound with forceful breath. A burned arm grasped my tail, threatening to pull it off, but I was too [Frenzied] to care. I thrashed in every direction, flesh over her heart beginning to give way, when something magical happened. [You have slain: Marazel, Wind dragon (IV). Experience shared with party.] I didn''t know if hit points as a concept existed in this world. Other game-like stats did, but I hadn''t seen any evidence of them. All I know is that taking an enemy to zero was a concept very much recognized, as the System responded to the practise with abundant clarity and reward. [Valerie, Hydrapprentice has risen to level 9. 11 Skill Points gained. +1 quickness, vitality, and mind] A bolt of surprise filled me. I couldn''t do anything with those Skill Points yet, but the System knew what I wanted before I asked for it. My stronger head reached inwards towards the poisoned wound and touched something smooth. All at once, the stone drilled out of Marazel''s chest and slid down my right throat, large kanastone barely fitting as it rapidly integrated with me. I could feel the pressure on the base of my skull, but there was far more pressure to defeat Zyradon. To protect my kobolds. To use the strength gained from him to sweep the world clean of evil. With every desire in my head joining the pile, something in my heart clicked like a gassed-up barbeque. Zyradon began slow clapping, leaning back on his thick tail. He appeared fatigued from travel and the wounds he inflicted. This was the chance I needed, and his words would be the spark for my blaze of glory. "Ah, Valerie." he started with disappointment. "It seems you''re a level short. You spread your Experience too thin to be my queen. And I can''t just take home a rank two now can-" Something gave him pause. Zyradon looked directly at my two pairs of eyes, flicking between them with uncertainty. "-What does that look in your eyes mean?" I connected a mind bridge to him as if to answer, serving up only a dual-channel load of mental static. He responded with a grip to his head and an unusually human curse, leaving his weapons far enough away to get a strike in. I leapt forward and bit onto his damaged front, poking a small wound onto the left of his underbelly with one head while my other watched out for an attack. His claw scooped down at me, predictable swipe easily dodged backwards I. bit onto the back of his claw, finger-like connections thick as human legs and capable of fitting into my mouth. I grabbed on with both mouths, afforded an easier time dealing damage with greater leverage. Scales pushed aside, thinner and more flexible to allow for grasping and manipulating. Dragonblood, delicious as ever, streamed into my mouth. Zyradon tried to shake me off, only making me twist and thrash harder. "You are to be my queen. Stop this at once!" Zyradon stomped, deep red fire pooling in his mouth. I no intention to stop, no shortage of mana in my tanks, and no problem using it. Before Zyradon could breathe, I conjured dual streams of water, one just above each of my heads, pointed at Zyradon''s snout. Something in his throat gurgled, mouth snapping closed to swallow, and the fire went off in his mouth. Zyradon fell forward with two booms- one for his feet hitting the ground, and one for the fireball going off inside him. I kept going, kept putting more effort into my hydraulic efforts, when I fell back with a rending noise. "You Imbecile." Zyradon roared, air of sharp tranquility entering his state of anger. I scrabbled to flip myself onto my back, swallowing the meat I had with me, as I realized a tide-turning fact. Zyradon was short a claw. He reached his arm up to cover his nose, breathing a lance of deep red flame at me. I slid aside, pushing off with a fin and wetting the ground for reduced friction, but was too slow to dodge the flame. A spray of water spread the burning oil more than it dislodged it, leaving a blackened burnmark on my side that was already fading back to my magenta hue. He fell forward, breaking into a predictable run. And while I couldn''t stop the charge, I could dodge it. And make another lance at his mind "What''s a leader like you doing fighting over scraps like me?" I asked into his head while my other one compressed pain into a neat spear of a package. Zyradon started to respond along the same connection, trying to make it personal, when I struck again. I angled my heads upwards, double- biting onto the back of the dragon''s leg. He thrashed his tailblade aside, too uncoordinated to hit me- Or so I thought, before it took off my primary head. Be half a hydra. Dumb, but not dead. Be fighting a big foe. Fall off his back leg. Foe is strong, grip is weak Use quick healing, no more blood loss. Stamina returns fast. Stamina is my friend. Big dragon turns around. Insults how I follow. But I do not follow. I command. I command acid to fly. Large dragon sweeps claws. One strikes my side. I fly. I strike rocks. My neck stump lengthens. And my brain grows back. My toughened skull sealed over, grey matter rapidly replacing itself in my primary head. Zyradon roared over my kobolds, sword and shield clattering to the ground. I had lost another kobold. crunch signifying it''s death. That was two down, one of the two swordsbolds, and of course, Cinzek. Lying right next to me. Having no time to mourn him, I looked at the stone aside, eyes drawn to the red gem of his glaive. I sighed, taking it in both my mouths like hands. And looking through my periphery, pointed and fired. The flaming spirit of the weapon prevented any sort of water magic, but my other option, mind, came through. I could feel myself lock on even easier, view of Zyradon''s mind clearer. Even with the difference in tier, it was still larger and more complex than mine by almost an order of magnitude. At least, until you count how I was stacking the desk in my favor. A tendril of disdain shot out from underneath, tethering to Zyradon''s and forcefully injecting every kind of inadequacy under the sun. "You will not infect me with your... uselessness" I could tell his heart wasn''t in it, while mine roared with power. Chec''s bite-ridden upper half lay on the ground before where I approached, only stoking my rage hotter. I jumped onto the back of his hand, using it''s lift to throw myself to zyradon''s back, and bit down. He took off, clearly trying to accellerate into the night, and I took a second to calculate. Poison spat forward from each mouth, deforming in the air, and splattered on Zyradon''s eyes. "You idiot! you''ve blinded me..." Zyradon faltered in midair, barely even trying to remove me from his back. Knowing he no longer had any vision to test, I flexed my mental muscles. The mental image of a goddess of some sort in a white dress opened her arms to Zyradon, encouraging him to join the next world, but a single set of words sealed the deal. Just those three words caused him to alter his trajectory downwards, swan-diving into the rocky ground. "We love you, Zyradon." [You have slain: Zyradon, Fire dragon (IV). Experience shared with party.] [Valerie, Hydrapprentice has risen to level 10. Skill Point gained. +1 to all stats. 1 Fundamental Power gained.] [Evolution ready. Excess EXP converted to 6 additional Skill Points] [Gained achievement: Dragonslayer (Kill a draconic being of tier IV or higher). 1 Fundamental Power gained.] [Cilgris, Croc, Drox, and Khirc are ready to evolve. Guide their paths?] I looked over my rewards with awe. And weary from battle, climbed ontop of Zyradon with a roar. I had fucking won. Intermission: Council When C looked over his notification screen, he didn''t believe his eyes. Two fourth-tier creatures dying back to back historically heralded disaster. "L, pull up the data on world 601-B" He requested. L waved a glowing wand in a precise motion, pointing it to a corner of a starry map. She twisted it with one motion, zooming in onto the concentric systems of a star system. "All of it?" L protested. She began to open Her hand over the hellish red planet, when C shook his head. "Correction, 601-D. Specifically the combat data." L sighed, scrolling the map with her free hand towards a much friendlier-looking sphere of green and blue, white clouds rolling across it''s surface. "Someone''s projects are being outclassed~" sang L, filtering for kills on tier IV beings. A tier two creature killing not just one but two beings of tier 4 was heard of only once. And fittingly, on another of M''s little side projects. C focused on the source of the messages, zooming to a mountain range near the planet''s equator. Zooming into the top of the tallest one, to a long dead dragon being carved up by kobolds. C pressed the air and flicked back, carving playing out in rapid reversal and slowing back to a pause as a black firey dragon landed on the plateau. C and L watched the fight scene play out, pausing to examine the damage numbers. Lifebars emptied over the heads of all participants, fading from green to yellow at half-full to red at a fifth, "She''s growing to be a menace, and those fancy little cheat skills F designed won''t save you from someone used to fighting above her weight class. Those contestants are too... risk-averse" L mused, viewscreen frozen on the double-bite to Marazel''s heart. "Say, doesn''t S owe you a favor or two?" C sighed. "Dungeons always give me the creeps. Her avatar had better at least wear clothing this time." From the planet, a Dungeon received a notification. Gold, divine light fell to the hill formerly owned by moles, spreading to it''s owner with an itch across her Dungeon cilia. "Again? Fucking really?" the dungeon asked. Not long after, a barely-clad human rose up to the black-walled room. She looked to her compatriots, sighed, and gestured downwards, forming a dress comprised of fine crimson bricks. "You called? I was busy." She snarked. "We called." L agreed, nodding Her head. "Yes, we called." C stated with impatience. "To finally cash in that favor. You''ll be opening up dungeons across the planet to train the Contestants." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere."Like I get a choice in the matter?" S challenged. "We figured you''d say that" L playfully added. "So big C here''s got a stash of quintessence saved just for the occasion" C glared, but knew he was unable to back out, lest the politics of the Administrators spiral out of control. "Very well, it seems L has sweetened the deal." "I''m in. Didn''t even need the quintessence, but if you''re offering I''m taking." C gestured with a black and gold card, summoning shimmering coins to shower S. S opened her arms, seeming to absorb them like raindrops down a drain. "Deal''s a deal. M''s going to be sooo happy I''m helping with his pet project." Administrators needed no sleep, but some, especially the former humans, preferred to rest. The next morning, after all were operational, a handful of them convened in a large, circular room. Orders were transmitted, quintessence was passed around, jobs were sorted, and an announcement descended. Throughout the planet, Contestants everywhere heard a resonating message. "Greetings, contestants!" A familiar master of ceremonies intoned into their minds. "That extra contestant has slain a tier four being." The umbral queen looked up from her shadowy pawns, and the axe hero fell from his crowded bed nearby. "It seems you''re lagging. As such, I have been given clearance to incentivize more intense progress. Monsters of tier IV are now allowed to spawn, and monsters of any sort are now allowed to grow to tier VI." The Predator licked his lips, stolen from a wolf-bear hybrid and replacing his much weaker human mouth. "You are not, however without gain, Administrator S has chosen to lend a hand, or cilia, to efforts of improvement. She is opening doors to her Dungeons across the world, for all to challenge and grow. Administrator P will be upgrading your Appraisal skill to work on these Dungeons, so that you do not bite off more than you can chew." The Grandmaster Cultivator of the Five Heavens snapped out of a flashy meditation with a burst of gold light. "The gods will not coddle me." "In addition-" The voice developed an evil, icy smile to it. "Dragons of any sort are worth triple EXP, and award Fundamental Power equal to a third of their tier. If there''s a tier III dragon out there, you would be wise to slay it" Baldemar began to celebrate this new vector of power, but Topaz swore with the sudden implications. The world would not be the same, by any stretch of the imagination. 16: evolution I looked over my evolution options with all the wonder and excitement of a child choosing a video game. My desire to make my choice count spiked as I scrolled through the list of pixellated monsters, dismissing common choice after common choice. Greater Phyllopteryx, Water serpent, Phyllopteryx mage, Mega Sea urchin... Their stats didn''t do anything special, sporting rises of 7 to 13 each; barely even worth the loss of my Twin Minds. No one was guiding my evolution, in fact it was my time to guide that of the kobolds- but only after I got my feet under me. Especially in a more literal sense, I was tired to flopping around on fins every time I wanted to move. [Filter applied: Must be able to walk.] My locomotive exhaustion resonated with the system, knocking out two-thirds of my choices. The scrollbar tripled in size, and my selection jumped wildly down the list. Choices like Toxin drake, Two-headed great Kobold, wind serpent, and Dracogator made up my selection. And while these were all passable, I knew I could filter for more. [Filter modified: Must be able to fly.] The list sharpened still, to several brands of wyvern. "Lesser dragon" was tempting, but too plain for my tastes; plus I didn''t know if I could afford to be a lesser anything. I ate as I pondered, having to [Bite] just to get through the more muscular meat. While my primary brain calculated a path ahead, my secondary one appreciated the flavor and challenge in equal measure, until it got to the upper spine. [Cannot integrate Kanastone] scolded the system as my other head bumped into it. Remembering how I had lost mine, I willed it forward. [Kanastone integration in progress] It said, my flesh feeling pushed aside as the stone made it''s way into my primary head. I felt my capacity for magic soar. Most dragons didn''t have two heads. Most dragons didn''t have two kanastones. Hell, most dragons couldn''t survive the loss of one head, grow it back, and slot a newer, stronger kanastone. From the fallen dragon, an absolute windfall of Mutagen poured in. enough to evolve my heart a step further and put a new organ on the map, or bump up my skull twice. I chose to hold off until after evolving on this decision, one of many that could make a dragon''s heads spin. I knew I wanted something dual-elemental, and that desire alone yielded... nothing. Nothing on my list had two real elements, unless you counted poison. "Until I add it myself" I thought, bringing up my Skill panel. I filtered that too, left with three skills. [Fire magic] [Poison magic] [Acid magic] "The choice was a no-brainer" I thought, reaching for the first one. I''d take it, integrate it, and- [Multiple base elements of magic blocked by Title: Useless.] First, I stalled. Then, a tear fell from my eye. Then, I pounded the ground in frustration. If elemental magic was blocked, there was only one thing to do. Acquire magic so weird that the title didn''t even recognize it. With renewed desire, my options filled. While they appeared repetitive due to my trio of filters, those very filters ensured all of them would be something I was at least satisfied with. Winged fire kobold, flying salamander, charred lizard... Not questioning how the last one had wings, I brought up my 3 rarest options. [Wrath wyvern (F): +38 Strength (60), +21 quickness (35), +5 vitality (30), -5 mind (20). Includes wings and a mutable fire gland. Grants the flight and sight Skills] This evolution would take the near-opposite path from my previous one, and make me far better in a straight fight. [Triple-caster orb. -2 Strength (15), +6 quickness (20), -5 vitality (20), +70 mind (90). Upgrades twin minds to trio minds. Allows for three kanastone slots. Grants one free mana manipulation skill]. This one had the strangest design I''ve seen so far, both physically and numerically. It''s body consisted of a lone orb, vents pockmarking it''s surface for what I guessed to be respiration and movement. Three heads, placed in a triangle on it''s sides, menaced anything in the third-of-a-circle before it, eyes positively glowing with magic. and those stats... they dumped everything and then some into casting. I wanted to be a wizard, but not that much! [Mana drake. +23 strength (40), +26 quickness (40), +15 vitality (40), +10 mind (30). Grants the skills Roar and Slash. Includes a free mutation, mana-draining claws] This was perfect. It balanced what I was looking for, allowing me to return to embody the fighting style of equal parts breaking, dodging, tanking, and out-thinking my foes. It didn''t have any wings, but fit so much of my other desires that I didn''t mind at all. Or even question how it defied the filters. I hid in the carcass of my fallen foe, and with some difficulty, maneuvered my head to tap the screen. [Valerie, Hydrapprentice (II) has commenced her evolution into a Mana Drake (III)] [Egg formation boosted by nearby material. Evolution accelerated.] [Error: Multiple kanastones detected]. I gulped. Even as my body was being slowly converted to some sort of universal sludge, I felt in my gut something was wrong. My heads blurred together, back into one, when I felt the kanastones touch. A red-hot stabbing ripped through the sensations, accompanied by repeated jolts of lightning jumping between the two scraping stones. [Mutagen detected. Forming mana cortex from 9 mutagen.] I felt something rush from my gut upwards, insulating the lightning. Directing it. The back of my head ceased shorting out, replaced with a cool, comforting feeling. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling of sleep overtaking me. When I began to dream. I found myself atop a nest of bronze coins, clinking softly as they stirred under my legs. Neither too thick to be awkward nor too thin to be frail, and neither too long to be imbalanced nor too short to be quick. I looked outwards to walls of a purple-grey stone, covered in symbols that ran in bands near the top. They glowed with a cyan light, thought I hardly seemed to need it as nothing cast a shadow. As I looked around, a door opened on one side of this nesting room. Floating through it more than walking, I looked out over a balcony. Stairs hugged the corner, going a quarter of the way around the room to reach the floor, and four stone statues stood, information panels over their heads.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. [Cilgris, Zybold (II) halberdier (II) Level 10. Combo strike, advanced polearm proficiency] [Croc, Zybold (II) fighter level 10. Dual-wield, Axe proficiency, Dodge] [Drox, Zybold (II) fighter level 10. Advanced axe proficiency, Dual-wield, rend, frenzy] [Khirc, Zybold (II) defender level 10. Shield proficiency, Sword proficiency, parry] This was my army. The survivors of it at least. I reached out to Cilgris, mental bridge all too easy to make; as if it was already here. "Cilgris? can you hear me?" Chewing and swallowing followed, stopped with a muffled echo. [Valerie! we were worried when you and old Zyr fell. How are you?] "I''m... evolving. And while I''m not sure what''s going on, I can help you evolve too. What do you and your surviving allies want to be?" I heard echoes of discussion as I explored. I swam downwards past the kobold statues, looking over a set of control panels as Cilgris spoke. "Khirc wants to be something defensive, Drox wants to specialize harder into attack power, Croc wants to do magic, and I''m interested in balance" Looking at the two further, I saw words printed across the top of their translucent screens. A green one for evolution design on one side of the room, and a blue one for class on the other. And of course, both awaited my approval. "Zyradon must have done this to you..." I muttered. "You''re okay if I make what I think is best for you, right?" All four confirmed, so I got to work from the bottom up. First on the chopping block was Class choice. I had no real eyes to strain, but scrolled unblinkingly at myriad options. They seemed simple at first, especially at the first-tier choices, but I quickly became lost in the interbranching trees. I stepped back, taking a breath I wasn''t sure I even needed in this mental realm. There was no way to predict what was ahead, so anything past tier 2 was impossible to optimize for. Cilgris wasn''t even high enough level to raise her class, leaving me with three choices- one offensive, one defensive, and one magical. "This is going to sound gross, but do you still have my head?" [Yes, what do you-] "You''ll have to have mister Croc fish around for a glowing stone, and try to focus on... being one with it. That''s how you get magic here." A half-minute later, I heard Croc make a happy roar through the connection to Cilgris. Croc''s class was a no-brainer, borrowing from the fighter''s strength to advance a mage''s casting. It even worked with his use of axes [Croc has advanced his class into Pyromancer (II)] Drox''s was just as easy. I thought back to the kobold I killed, unwilling to let her class die with her. [Drox has advanced her class into Berserker (II)] Defensive classes weren''t as easy. The base defender class seemed too plain, but another showed up, granting defense and healing magic by proxy. [Khirc has advanced her class to Cleric (II)] Evolution design had just as many choices, far more accessible. This control panel allocated energy from levelups into a myriad of forms- the creation and reshaping of organs, all of which abstracted into four stats. With every change I forecasted on my guinea pix of Drox, her potential stats changed. some rising, rarely falling, all of it reversed as I cleared the changes. And cleared another set. And was about to clear a third before spying presets. "Zyrbold" had no established paths of growth, but that did not stop me from looking into a sea of pixel art monsters. Anything especially muscular was overly monstrous in shape, and these kobolds seemed fairly happy with their anatomy. Questions such as "Do you want to give up your bipedal, two-armed stance to become a three-headed gasball" simply aren''t questions to hit someone with. I chose a subspecies known as the toughscale kobold, reasoning that this bonus to defense would facilitate reckless behavior rather than temper it. When a 3-dimensional image of a kobold spun on the screen, I saw the raised numbers plain as day. Saw the changes, of mutable scales being given for free, and saw I had much evolutionary energy remaining to make changes. Eyes moving past her base stats, I saw options to add new Skills, skipped over as I could do that with enough levels and training; but more importantly options to add new parts. Extra arms, extra legs, an extra head for some reason, and I gave her a strategy modeled off an old one from me. Larger claws sat at the end of her hands and a way to serrate them, more muscle was packed into her arms, but the bulk of this power was spent on a new organ. [Bloodthirst gland. Increase attack power and recovery speed when blood is consumed] I looked over my creation, smiled, and finalized them both. [Drox is beginning evolution into a redscale kobold (III)] Very much on the nose. I didn''t want to make Khirc a tank and only a tank. Greater kobolds were the classic leader; armed with larger size, a more complex brain, and pheromones that bolstered and unified kobolds. I spent the last bit adding more impressive horns, for head protection and further stature. [Khirc is beginning evolution into a great kobold leader (III)] Croc''s desires, luckily, came with a "kobold mage" preset. I took more care on this one, trading the generic mana gland for a more efficient fire mana gland. I didn''t have enough energy to grant a Fundamental fire magic skill, but I gave him the normal level of one [Croc is beginning evolution into a pyrobold (III)] Cilgris I knew was going to be special. Her class was advanced, so her race had to be too. Given my own touch. I scrolled all the way to the top of the race selection, choosing the humble, first-tier kobold. The stats, while somehow worse than mine, left at least 95% of my available energy for creativity. I couldn''t actually edit stats directly, only the organs from which they were derived. Turning her scales to metal sent vitality to the moon, but sank her quickness. Some more muscle increased strength and seemed to be a fair-weather friend of quickness, returns diminishing sharply after too much volume. And yet, I wanted balance. I scrapped those changes, leaning harder into the material aspect, and found a modifiers; which could change how a material functioned. I could apply them to flesh, bone, scale, brain material, even blood; and everything got more complicated. Eyes glazing over, I settled on one that looked nearly universal. [Mana-infused. Increases base capabilities such as power, responsiveness, and durability when provided mana] It wasn''t cheap, but was balanced out almost entirely by three more modifiers [Mana-dependent. Decreases base capabilities such as power, responsiveness, and durability when deprived of mana] [Mana-hungry. Slowly takes damage when deprived of mana] [Valuable. Greedy beings will prioritize acquiring this material] When I applied all four to her scales, the representation changed, from a reddish-black to a shimmering purple. I felt a pang of envy at the beauty of her scales, same emotion informing me they were working. I interwove new coils of muscle around the old for quick bursts of strength. I added a new organ into her gut, a cyan pearl the size of a fist known as a mana beacon, and everything came together. All it did was increase the range at which mana drew to her, better facilitating her magic-hungry fighting style. With the last of my energy, I streamlined her scales, altering their shape and moving mass to protect the vital parts and allow for easier movement. [Cilgris has commenced evolution into a mana-] The text began to glitch, letters losing coherence before reforming into something that made my stomach jump [-into a Valbold (III)] 17: Kobolds As the dawn broke, Cilgris burst from her egg. The pinkish-purple underside of the clouds greeted the Valbold, as did three eggs. Kobold eggs, she knew from her group''s last evolution, but all different in hue. Instead of homogeneous spiky black scales with the occasional lava-red highlights, Cilgris beheld a redder composition. On her left, a deep red of blood. on her right, the orange-red of fire. and in the center, the brown-red of a generic kobold; duller hue compensated by greater size. Cilgris realized something. her own broken eggshell reached knee level before it began to curve back, bringing it up to belt level; the height of a coiled kobold. All to be expected. What was less expected were the heights of the other eggs, coming up to upper arm level for the two "smaller" ones, and head level for the greater. "What did she make me?" Cilgris asked into the air, walking towards her halberd before finding it too large as it lay there. Where once was a polearm from a dead adventurer, taller than her, and training with it on every hunt Zyradon forced her to attend. Until one day, something clicked. The awkwardness from her thrusts and swings halved overnight, and when she truly put her mind into it, she could make the blades dance and even glow. Cilgris lifted the oversized weapon, expecting to hardly wield the thing, struggling to even mount the oversized weapon on her shoulder- when something in her gut flared to life. She felt a chill from within, swinging the halberd into her grasp in a self-taught maneuver. The axe head swung around the dawnlit plateau, halberdier stepping forward to complete the swing, when muscles she didn''t even know she had tensed. The sudden loss of control send the valbold''s heart racing as fast as it sent her weapon, newly-installed coils firing almost all at once. The blade swung out of her hand, flying through the air with a flash and stabbing into a thick stalagmite with a crack. All at once, Cilgris felt a wave of awe at this new level of power, giving way to discomfort at her muscles slowly drew themselves back to a primed position. "Valerie made me so strong, I didn''t even have to use a skill..." she whispered. Over the next hour, Cilgris practiced with her new anatomy. She learned was a bit stronger than a conventional kobold, guessing that with the cool glow empowering her muscles that her strength was on par with her old form; much more pronounced in the reduced effort of lifting a lighter base form. She learned she was a bit more durable, thanks to the handful of falls borne from being unused to her new musculature, but the true jump in power was her reflexes. Her limbs simply had less mass and distance to move to achieve the same results, allowing for much-quicker adjustments to attacks- letting her line up the perfect strike before hammering her point home. More cracking noises interrupted her speculative stabs. Fractures formed on both redder eggs at once, dual bursts of strength from within triumphantly separating the upper halves from lower. Cilgris beheld her two allies with a similar level of appreciation to her new form. Both were larger than before, the primary change to Croc being orange-red scales and an aptly-lengthened snout. Drox however, was a different story. It looked like every inch of her had been modified, her scales darker red and larger, tougher. Her claws took the same formula of an increase in proportional size with a side of serration along the undersides, and tying all these changes together, the look in her eyes seemed hungrier. Fiercer. Clearly willing to rip and tear. "Croc?" "Drox?" asked the kobold couple before embracing with an "I missed you" Croc looked towards the discarded firedrake shortspear with a tentative expression. Seeing the other kobolds too distracted to stop him, Croc flipped the weapon into his hand- and felt his arm awaken, the feeling of pins and needles he never knew he had leaving his arm all at once. It felt smooth, clean, even sharp, as when Croc gave the weapon a few test swings through the air, he could feel it''s movements flow. Not with strength or speed, by familiarity. With instinct. With fire. The blade caught alight, matching a campfire''s heat and brightness at the end of Croc''s arm. The two other kobolds turned, watching him draw his shortspear back like a fishing rod. In one motion the fire seemed to gather on the very tip of the blade, thrown by It¡¯s range¡¯s speed to the bottom of the slope. The kobolds watched in suspense as the flaming orb wobbled down and burst on the rock, spreading fast and fading out faster without fuel. Khirc''s egg opened last and opened largest. A faint glow of light emerged before she pushed the halves of the egg open like a door, revealing the great kobold in a clingy cloud of cyan mist. ¡°Khirc!¡± the trio exclaimed, words close to synchronized. The great kobold leader bowed her head. ¡°That is I. I trust you three had a nice rest?¡° ¡°We did.¡± Answered the minified Cilgris. ¡°But our new leader¡¯s still sleeping¡± Drox rubbed her enlarged hands together. ¡°Then let¡¯s protect her. And rip apart anything that tries to make a dragon omelette." Croc gave his partner an unsettled look, his lengthened snout more expressive than before. With newfound energy, Cilgris was off towards the black blob of Zyradon¡¯s former corpse. Her light weight made it easy to descend, the little valbold seeming to fly more than once before reaching her destination on the ground with a performer¡¯s landing. Drox was right behind her, making up what she lacked in lightness and maneuverability with defense, pain tolerance, and a sense of fun. Khirc and Croc picked their way down more carefully, when something under Croc¡¯s foot gave way. He flailed his arms, reached for a small tree, and failing that, raised his arms over his head to descend. Khirc¡¯s breath quickened, her own leaderly pheromones calming her enough to reach out, in both body and mind.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. And somewhere just outside the world, her call was answered. Vines gripped the legs of the falling kobold, stopping him from lacerating himself on the gravel below. He pushed off from the ground, vines crumpling quickly but serving their purpose. ¡°Khirc?¡± Croc asked, dusting himself off ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°I know not.¡± Khirc answered, glow fading from around her horns. ¡°I reached out for a favor, and Something answered. She said her name was... Phoebe¡± ¡°And you got all that from a vine grip?¡± Croc challenged. ¡°No. It was... implanted knowledge. Much like when your dual-wielding ceased its awkwardness.¡± Unable to argue with that, Croc made his way down even more slowly and carefully than before. The four of them gathered around the mass of scales and potential, Cilgris on top and the others on the ground, watching for threats in each compass direction. Half an hour later and to no one¡¯s surprise, a cross between a cat and a bat pounced from the morning¡¯s shadows. Bladed wings sliced through the morning air, letting the monster glide near silently and latch on to Drox¡¯s neck. Sharp teeth strained under their own bite force, deflected apart by shaped ruby scales, when Drox bit right back. She was smaller and easier to maneuver, shaking bite catching the feline off guard. It threw Drox to the side, backing away and hissing, when Croc conjured his fire again. The orb was smaller than his last, but filled faster as the eager blade seemed to seek conflagrant victory. Croc cast the orb at the monster, striking the edge of its dark wing. The heat spread through the metallic blade with fury, halloween hybrid thrashing at the trees in pain, too much pain to notice Cilgris sneak up on it. She darted under its field of view, under its head, bent her knees, and underwent a mighty stab. The beast¡¯s black furred form was too big to miss, letting the basic [Halberd Chop] Skill strike home. Strike heart. Even the other kobolds could hear the sound of muscle-coils firing, before the cracking of bones, the splitting of flesh, and the snapping of a halberd¡¯s wooden pole. Cilgris had to scramble out of the way of the chiropteran puma, turned from foe to feast in one decisive strike. Kobolds ripped apart flesh and hide, Drox taking great joy in the act of slicing apart a foe. They had barely eaten half when another, blue-scaled kobold approached, followed by one of smaller size and lighter hue. ¡°What brings you to our kill?¡± Khirc threatened. ¡°I am Qriak, and this is Qik. Your leader has slain ours¡± said the azure one, lowering himself in respect. ¡°And some of us were due for a change.¡± ¡°You are making no mistake. Our new leader has slain our old one, and seems to value our desires rather than her own. ¡± ¡°What does that make you?¡± Drox questioned between ripping bites. ¡°Marazel¡¯s oldest mage.¡± Qriak answered with happiness. ¡°The warriors are planning to assault Minas Malboor as the day rises, if they haven¡¯t already.¡± ¡°This is bad.¡± Croc commented. ¡°Our leader likes humans, and minas is full of them¡± ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± Drox started to ask, before Cilgris stepped in. ¡°I think I can make it. Just give me a direction and I¡¯ll be off.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just...¡± Qriak looked from the sun to the kobolds, making several mental calculations. ¡°That way. Go far enough and you should see roads to a city.¡± Cilgris nodded, barely even needing a weapon, and walked off. She seemed to glow as she covered new ground, mana-mounted muscles singing as they turned that azure fuel into speed and power. She sped through jungles with growing ease, dodged the scaly tail of a cobra-hooded gorilla, hopped over a nest of large amber catlike predators and the nearby trees with a muscle-coiled jump, and landed past the treeline. Catching her breath, Cilgris looked over the horizon. A city clearly stood in the morning light, low clouds rolling past the highest towers, but saw something far less hopeful. A large platoon or a small army of kobolds marching half a mile away, familiar firedrakes bearing the best-armed fighters. Unwilling to draw the army¡¯s ire and lacking any reliable way to persuade the soldier-bolds, Cilgris took the longer route. As the kobolds marched, Cilgris ran. She cared little for the looks she received. Cared little for the arrows shot at her, though made sure to time a coil-jump out of the way when drawing enough attacks. And only when she cleared the drake-riders she sped up, fire launched behind her. The beam of it missed by a meter, torching a nearby tree like a candle of celebration. Cilgris didn¡¯t need the help from this distressing prospect, but as soon as she neared the gates of Minas Milboor, began a tirade of shouting. Guards turned from the high stone walls, gatekeeper confounded as the amethyst kobold jumped onto the top of the wall with a single bound, legs giving out from exhaustion. She pointed behind her, felt herself get carried away to some sort of holding cell, yet smiled as she heard the stomping of feet and clanking of armor. ¡°I warned them!¡± Cilgris celebrated from her cell, caring little for its dingy conditions. 18: Malboor An eggshell sat in the middle of the morning¡¯s glow, covered in mana-shimmering dew and glowing purple lines. Kobolds huddled around it for protection and guidance, swapping stories of hunts and raids, of victory and retreat, of service and sustenance- until my head burst through it with an impressive crack. ¡°Good morning, everyone!¡± I roared, startling myself with the volume of my own voice. Evidently, I had gained the ability to speak draconic, as there was no mental reach. I spoke, and kobolds turned. They numbered into the low dozens, blues and greens contrasting what I knew to be a standard kobold¡¯s red. Their noises floated to my head, easily understood by my newly-unified brain. ¡°Is this our new leader?¡± ¡°She¡¯s almost as big as Zyradon!¡± ¡°Is she single?¡± ¡°I started the hearthfire¡± I reared back to a sitting position like a bear, beginning to address the kobolds in question. They seemed smaller than before, only due to the larger size I had gained by tricking Zyradon into defeating himself. ¡°A command report, please.¡± I requested of the confused kobolds. ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of who?¡± Khirc stepped up before a deep blue great kobold with a magical-looking staff could answer. ¡°Kobolds loyal to their old master are marching on Minas Malboor, and Cilgris has left off to warn them. With their absolute unit quantity and the presence of drakes of your tier, it is unlikely that even prepared humans will last.¡± ¡°Say no more.¡± I instructed, reading between the lines. ¡°I think I¡¯m able to carry around six of you. Croc, Drox, and Khirc; pick an ally and let¡¯s get moving.¡± Thankfully, each of them had already chosen. A kobold with a human-level greatsword was her choice, awkwardly sheathing it before climbing onto my dark-scaled back. Croc and Drox nominated the mage who tried to speak to me, identifying him as Qriak, when a third kobold caught my eye with his singular one. It burned with something bright, something deep-set, something worth keeping. I opened my hand for the scarred kobold, but with one space-defying step, he was already on. ¡°We ride.¡± said the aged kobold without missing a beat. ¡°We ride!¡± I roared in agreement, and started to move my legs. My claws dug into the ground, sending me exploding forward with every step. My leg muscles flexed rhythmically, front two launching off the ground and landing in a quick sequence followed by my back two. Qriak shouted instructions over the whipping of the air past our horns, guiding me towards less-wooded jungle and away from difficult ground and predator nests. Though this didn¡¯t stop me from seeing a large orange cat with black streaks and hilariously small wings, nor electing to collide head-on with the monster. My nose-horn parted the way like I was running through a wall of thick paper or thin cardboard, splatter across my face satisfying rather than gross. [You have slain: Chiropanther (II). Experience shared with party] I only slowed to bite the remainder in half, flipping the front half onto my back and taking another large bite out of the back half with my impressive mouth. I marveled at how easily it glided through this monster¡¯s meat, taste satisfying on my carnivorous tongue. ¡°Breakfast is served!¡± I called to the kobolds. Drox loudly served as best she could, while Qriak and Croc held the kill steady. And I placed one foot in front of the others, starting to build up speed again. We breached the treeline, and the path and enemy ahead became clear. I drew closer, unafraid of anything short of their concentrated might, when what I saw took my surprise. Dozens of kobolds hacked at and clambered up the city wall with disunity, acting more like goblins as they crowded and jockeyed for position, a green and blue one close to pushing eachother off the wall. And all the while, humans counter-attacked. Where a wall breach already occurred, humans with axes backed up by pitchforks fended off kobolds. They clambered over the corpse of one drake, comparable in size to me, giving me hope until I saw the numerous armored corpses below. The guards had likely run dry, and another drake alone might be enough to push through and start taking over. I seemed to have fewer qualms about fighting my own kind, especially if they were extensions of a tyrant¡¯s will. With a simple instruction to hold on to something, I reared on my back legs with a mighty [Roar] Dozens of kobolds heard the roar, minds hammered in varying amounts. Some stumbled, some stopped in their tracks, some ran, and a rare few fell over, paralyzed with fright. Three even fell to the ground from their position on the wall, a single one dying on impact. I didn¡¯t look at the rest. I caught the attention of the regular drake ahead of me, keeping my ursine stance and delivering a [Slash] to its face. The dragon blocked with a solid horn, my other Slash coming in high and pulling the enemy drake in to deliver a [Bite]. I felt my scales buckle under the chomp from its wide snout, but not before my kobold swat team slid off my back to strike at weak points. Drox slashed at the drake¡¯s less-armored stomach, the greatsword kobold swung wide for the back of its knee, and the old master seemed to apparate on the drake¡¯s skull. He raised his clawed hand upwards, coating it in an azure-gold light for a heartbeat before pointing his claws together and gouging into the drake¡¯s eye. It opened its jaw to roar in pain, allowing me to push its imbalanced form over. It seemed to trip over a greatsword, blood scored with surprising ease before I dove in for the kill. I forearm-blocked its claws, forcing forelegs apart to deliver a [Lacerating Bite]. The skill rising to level 6 did not prepare me for the frenzy that followed. I twisted and thrashed, feeling it spray fire over my head. I did not stop, grinding and pulling, until finally ripping a large chunk out. The divine taste of dragonmeat and victory ignited me like oil on a fire, my voice bellowing across the plains in another [Roar]. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Fall to the ground or become ground meat!¡± My voice hit the battlefield like a tsunami. Some kobolds fell quickly, some lay down their arms and knelt in respect, but a few challengers remained. I charged into the attempted spear-thicket, kobold weapons seeming too heavy to wield when an apex of their own species approached. My head punctured one, two more slashed by stamina-backed claws, and several more on the sides fell to a greatsword¡¯s golfswing. I charged around the battlefield, drawing attention away from the human city in an effort to save it just as much as grind levels. While I repositioned, I saw some of the runners duck for cover in the skeleton of a shed. Unafraid of a mere wooden frame, I ran closer, batting kobold spears out of the way and glaring down as if my eyes were yet another source of fire. My chosen allies surrounded me, making opportune strikes with their various weapons from the safety of my air of fear. This aura crumpled when a ballista bolt struck my shoulder point-blank. I fell to one knee, rolling out of the way of more and nearly crushing half my allies in the process. My frenzy flickered out, extent of the pain pouring through my leg like a deluge of icewater. Khirc stood guard of my wounded shoulder, bashing with her shield and trying to pose as if casting or meditating, when a gleeful battlecry ripped through the kobold ballista. Drox had already thrown an axe into the ballista¡¯s winch, other one embedding itself firmly in a kobold¡¯s leather chestplate and scaled chest before she went to work with her claws. Red glows surrounded them, cutting down a kobold siege engineer to size, then another, seeming to laugh off the shortsword of a nearby kobold before unifying her claws on his head. The greatsword kobold seemed to be faring just as well if not better, dancing in and out of my vision with surprising skill and despite his wounds delivering many more to the kobolds ahead. Croc finished his dance. An orb of flame flew over my head, the battlefield erupting like a celebratory firework. ¡°They¡¯re retreating.¡± Informed Khirc. ¡°Should we chase them down?¡± ¡°No.¡± I managed to mutter, my flow of blood loss waning bit by bit. ¡°They ran away. We won.¡± I reached aside, bracing my elbow against the ground, and grasped onto the ballista bolt. Holding my breath and ensuring not to bite my own tongue clean off from pain, I pulled. ¡°Valerie what are you-¡± asked Qirak, but I could barely hear the rest. My pain crescendoed from icewater into burning lava, entire upper arm¡¯s nerves swearing at me in their only language to stop whatever I was doing. My clenching muscles only strengthened my grasp, angling the bolt free with an agonizing, liberating, tear. The bolt clattered to the ground, and so did I. My consciousness flickered as kobolds rushed to attend to me, their care for me even more durable than any scale. Drox used her strength to prop me wound-up, Qirak and Croc wielded the last of their fire and water to clean the wound and cauterize it shut, and Khirc finally got a hold of her god. Vines from nowhere wrapped around my shoulder, acting as a mere bandage- until the healing magic hit. My pain numbed, replaced with a spike of odd bliss that quickly faded back to mere discomfort. ¡°Thank you, phoebe.¡± Khirc praised sincerely, kneeling in exhaustion and reverence. [-Battle Results-] the screen showed me [Your party has slain: 2x black firedrake (III), 8x kobold soldier (II), 25x kobold (I). Experience pooled and shared.] [Your level has risen to 5. 5 skillpoints awarded. All stats have risen by 2] [Slash 1-> 2. Roar 1->3. Frenzy 3->5, upgrade available. Lacerating bite 5->6] ¡°Not bad, not bad¡± I commented. The humans had me in their sights, likely as an overly bloodthirsty member of the siege. Ignoring imprecise crossbow fire glancing off my scales and pinprick longbow arrows puncturing through them, I began limping towards the city¡¯s gate. Mana reserves still full, I reached out towards an important-looking guard, designated by a flash of gold worked onto his hat. [I¡¯ve saved you. Please, free my kobold in exchange for my services] ¡°Excuse me miss¡± the grey-tabbarded guard jeered. ¡°We could handle that ourselves¡± A thought crossed my mind in the middle of his posturing. [Aren¡¯t a dozen of your men dead?] ¡°Only the weak¡± came the grating reply. ¡°Minas Malboor offers the finest-¡± [Shut.] I ordered through the mental connection, turning my back and walking away. [I don¡¯t care about your bragging. The enemies are dead, just let me eat in peace.] The guard captain jibbered, but likely didn¡¯t have the manpower to stop me from dragging away ¡°his¡± kills. I hid with my allies, kob-new and kob-old behind a small hill, joined by several more. Just over a dozen smaller kobolds of dull blue had joined my impromptu buffet, awarded with a leg of firedrake for their troubles. I was finally safe enough to use rapid healing, letting it slowly but steadily turn my massive well of stamina into lost health and eased discomfort. We ate like monarchs, taking care to extract the kanastones. And while my allies took their midday rest, I merely drew my limbs under me like a cat. I had systems to engage with, points to burn, and Skills to upgrade. I reached into my panels again, seeing a new one appeared below my Skill panel. A pixellated anvil and hammer icon stared at me, unrecognized. ¡°This must have been installed in my last evolution...¡± I thought, tapping it with a claw. My five level-capped skills emerged, along with two slots to drag them. ¡°What happens if I...¡± I thought, dragging together Mind magic and Frenzy. [Anger magic (II). Cast mind spells with ramping power, channeling speed, and stamina cost. 2 SP] read the new tab. Excited by new tools to fight with, I tried again. Stamina cap and rapid healing granted me... [Buffered rapid healing (II). Gain a special special stamina well, which can be spent only to heal you. Both stamina wells refill independently. 2 SP] I tried again with other combinations of the four, seeing a pattern emerge. When two skills were alloyed together, the result seemed to comprise their overlap, stronger than either could be but in increasingly specific fields. Water magic combining with the others seemed to sidestep this. Likely due to its Fundamental nature, my options doubled. Water magic and frenzy granted me these two choices [Stream magic (II). Cast water spells with ramping power, channeling speed, and stamina cost. 0 SP] [Hydrocast frenzy (II+). Increase the effects of frenzy. Frenzy buffs water magic at a reduced effect rather than inhibiting it. Frenzy drains mana to cast. 4 SP.] My other options included the same sort of deal. A plain-looking but free effect that consumed the Fundamental power, and a more unconventional one that spiked in power and cost. ¡°I need to learn a ton of generalist Skills.¡± I whispered ¡°And level them to five. Some cool synergy is going to be held in there¡± My musings stopped when I heard the sound of something large slow to a crawl. A double-masted ship docked at Minas Malboor¡¯s port, seeming oddly familiar when I squinted my eyes from this range. [Your Master has returned to effective range. Stat boosts restored.] 19: Reunion Topaz¡¯s last two days had been agonizing. Escape from the island was all too close at hand, only to be torn away by kobolds. That day remained a blur of frustration and attempts to train both combat and swimming, but with few monsters worth fighting her chances and her sanity were limited indeed. However, not all hope was lost for her. Topaz had fallen asleep at level 9 and woken up at level 10, with a notification that her pet had slain not one but two named creatures, and new options to choose. [Your pet has slain: Zyradon, black dragon (IV) and Marazel, black dragon (IV). Level has risen to 10. Class change available.] A panel opened up below it, not unlike the class choice that led her to ranger, but this was more so. The variety of basic options spread out along the azure panel, in addition to several new ones, marked below a banner [-Tier 2-] Only five in all. Survivalist read like an advancement to everything a base ranger was intended to do, Sniper leaned heavily into pre-emptive combat via bow and arrow, duelist for faced-paced melee... Beastmaster looked promising, but it was right out. That class focused on controlling pets via mind magic rather than cooperating with them, a big red flag to our contemplating ranger. The middle one, skipped over, she read again. [Aeromancer. Control the four winds for combat and movement] Seasick without even the need for a boat, Topaz chose her new class. [Air magic] lit up her skill list, and lifted her spirits- almost as much as it was ready to lift her physical form. The feelings of freedom and vertigo danced in her head, culminating to stability before a ship¡¯s sail smacked her. She slid southward, landing in a heap on a dwarven ship. ¡° ¡®s that her?¡± one asked, taking a swig of his iron flask. ¡°I think so. Her hair¡¯s unmistakable.¡± his swabbing-mate answered. Topaz stood up awkwardly, healed her limb with her limited supply of magic, and greeted the dwarves ¡°Her? Valerie the dragon?¡± ¡°Tha very one. She¡¯s got two heads now, but who names a dragon something so...¡± The dwarf started, but a dirty look from Topaz cut her off. ¡° ¡®pologies.¡± The captain turned around, trusting his crew to assess the situation. ¡°We¡¯re on a tradin¡¯ run to Minas Malboor. Do ya think you could speak for us? The bastards barely trade with us¡± ¡°I could! Consider it payment for picking me up¡± Topaz ventured, but the dwarven captain revealed only a bronze smile. ¡°Your pickup¡¯s payment for dealing with a kobold problem. We¡¯ll give you a new... Whatever kind o¡¯ weapon or tool you use. We¡¯ll probably make more than that as is!¡± he laughed, peg-walking back to his wheel. While on the trip, topaz helped where she could- putting her new magic to the test by placing wind in the sails of her ship. Air magic became Advanced air magic as night fell, and Topaz left to recharge both energy and mana. The next morning was more of the same, but the damaged wall on one side of Malboor gave the dwarven crew pause. They approached with caution, pulling up to the port cannons-first, but when the familiar-looking trader approached, the dwarven crew went from relaxed to curious.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The captain supplied words of shrewdness through Topaz¡¯s mental connection, integrating interrogation into negotiation. ¡°The kobolds attacked us,¡± the trader answered when pressed. ¡°Lost too many good men. Sir William managed to repel this weird purple drake with his words alone.¡± Topaz nodded along, question interrupted by a system notification. [Your Pet has returned to effective range. Partner effects restored.] ¡°I have business with that drake.¡± Topaz stated in false intimidation. ¡°You¡¯ll be keeping us safe if you deal with it!¡± the trader added sheepishly, before returning to negotiations. Topaz struck where it hurt, missing a few cues but nailing others, earning the dwarves a tidy profit on their trades- but her mind was elsewhere. The aeromancer noticed her steps quicker as she navigated the city, steps longer even as those steps crossed blood and debris. A battlefield of broken weapons and a ruined ballista quickly went from ahead Topaz to behind her, [Beast lore] providing a clearer and clearer signal to where her beast companion was. [You¡¯ve returned] A stronger voice sounded over a mental connection Topaz didn¡¯t even know she had. [Valerie? You¡¯re alive! I heard you defeated a pair of dragons, and worried I was going insane] A purple scaly head almost the length of Topaz¡¯s arm rose over a nearby hill. She instinctively reached for her bow as a claw rose too, but stopped as soon as she saw the movement. The drake was waving, rather than threatening. Topaz nearly flew over the hill, almost landing on a kobold in the descent, when the others beheld the new human. Valerie said something in draconic to calm them, as Topaz beheld the last of their scaly meal ¡°Good that you¡¯re well-fed at least?¡± she asked before changing the subject. ¡°We¡¯ve got a way back to Gaham if you¡¯re interested. And since Gaham wanted the kobolds dealt with, I think we can get you a reward¡± [That would be lovely!] Said the mana drake, lowering her head. [Now get on.] Topaz was not prepared for this speed. Her quadruped mount was already fast, but that oft-ignored ¡°Pet speed¡± Skill let her and her and her kobold riders thunder across the ground. The last ten meters were cleared with a single jump, nearly bowling over a minotaur-like creature. Topaz sported a dozen kobolds when she left, but Topaz counted a total of thirteen- smaller, amethyst-scaled one standing out among the varied red and dull blue. ¡°Is this one of yours?¡± [It¡¯s Cilgris! She slipped out of the nearby jail, too small for the bars] Topaz laughed as she realized the silliness, kobold doing a flip as the bovine porter snorted in exertion. The duo was back together. As the afternoon wore on and the dwarves returned to Gaham, Valerie and Topaz discussed their respective last few days, reacting warmly to eachothers¡¯ stories. Kobolds mostly hid, as to not trip up the dwarves. When the ship pulled back in, Topaz headed right to Baldemar¡¯s forge. ¡°This is the dragon who saved your mine. She killed its lord.¡± [Is this true?] Baldemar asked over the mental bridge. [How else could I reach rank three?] [I¡¯m finding it difficult to believe you did it before.] [I... had help. Two dragons wanted eachother dead, and I managed to last-hit both of them] [Smart. Now that the mine¡¯s ours-] [Ours?] Valerie challenged, draconic pride shining through the cracks. [Calling it yours is unfair when you did next to nothing to free it. I¡¯d like a third of everything the dwarves mine, as a protection fee.] [That¡¯s not my call to make. However, I can get you a tenth without problem] [A fifth. And not a chunk of ore less.] The drake snorted. [And remember, this is far more than the nothing you were getting before] [You have a point, drake.] Baldermar said in dismay. [I¡¯ll bring that news to the dwarves. Where will you be?] [The mines, of course] Baldemar sighed in defeat. He knew he had no way to put up a fight. 20: Leadership -20: Wyvern- I walked into caves that were by all accounts mine, surrounded by kobolds like I was a parade float. And today, I was just as celebrated as one. ¡°I never knew Zyradon had this many kobolds¡± I cheered quietly, marveling at their numbers. The kobolds seemed braver, recognition of me as their [Lord] rather than their potential predator letting them exist in an unusually happy frenzy. Kobolds seemed to need to be doing something at all times- some were carrying rocks out, some carrying logs in, more than one wrangling a rebellious-looking wyvern. ¡°Who are you?¡± I stated, feeling the weight of my command wash over her. I would have my answer. Not her, I thought, as I looked closer, draconic familiarly piecing together the details with this wyvern¡¯s posture and voice. Them. ¡°I¡¯m onyx, wyvern of sharpness!¡± They answered, seeming unafraid; or at least to mask their fear. ¡°And you¡¯re not the boss of me!¡± ¡°Very well then.¡± I reared back, sitting on my back legs in a move of both stature and relaxation. ¡°Show me your right to lead¡± Onyx roared and whipped into a stream of attacks, and it was all I could do to twist aside to let my side-scales block what my underbelly could not. Wings powerful enough for flight this early lashed out with their hooks, before she took off and landed on me with her claws, a death sentence to prey. A long tail clattered off my side, tipped with an end like an estoc, acting as a distraction for the wyvern to dive-bomb me claw-first. I felt the scales on my neck chip, but she was in position ¡°Make sure¡± I instructed, grabbing her long neck with my wide claws ¡°That you can finish those killing blows¡± And in one motion, threw her aside. Her fangs scraped across flesh, almost deep enough to threaten my life, but this was no match for my greater size. I threw her down, pinning the smaller, lighter wyvern under my own weight. ¡°I win.¡± I commanded, onyx¡¯s resistance breaking quickly as she accepted what she thought was her fate. ¡°But that was a good display of attacks!¡± Onyx looked confused as I stopped pinning her down. ¡°You would have overwhelmed and killed a foe your own size. I don¡¯t think a human could defend from that at any range¡± Onyx looked so happy I thought she was going to fall over, all the more impressive from her four-pointed stance. ¡°What did you do for Zyradon?¡± I asked ¡°Nothing...¡± Onyx admitted. ¡°I was here as bait for big sis Kiara to rescue me¡± ¡°And if you¡¯re still that powerful, imagine how much more you can become with some real training! You¡¯re free to go home, no harm no fowl, or stay here and hunt monsters on my lands until you¡¯re strong enough to make the trip. You can-¡± ¡°Mom Toria must be worried sick! Thank you!¡± Onyx exclaimed, almost tripping over her wings as she flapped out the doorway and into her freedom. Yet even though I lost some fighting force, I gained some reputation- and a reminder of how I wanted to fight. My claws looked like the missing piece of a puzzle to deal with magical creatures of all kinds, but left me too exposed. Corrosive poison synthesis was at a weird spot, specialty split between acidity and toxicity. And of course, several skills were ready to grow. Frenzy, Rapid Healing, Stamina cap, and both Water and Mind magic... True to my species I was hoarding skill points, so away I spent. [Headbutt] and [Tackle] were two skills that let me make use of better size, one for armored foes and the other for armored structures. I was surprised that a being as large as I could take [Dodge], but that and [Block] shored up my defenses. [Fire synthesis] was a no-brainer, as the first I knew about dragons was their flaming [Breath]- Hold on, [Breath] was back on my list? Purchased! That and [Bite] came back to act as cheap alternatives to their older siblings and explore new paths. Rounding out my physical skills was [Dash], letting me push my boosted speed even further at the cost of stamina. I couldn¡¯t neglect magic either, and scrolled to that section of the Skill panel. Mana Gathering and Mana saving, and Mana storage would let me cast more. Mana compression scaled off of that, and let me use more mana to cast stronger spells. And finally Mana control, a small but straightforward buff. I felt a rush of cool winds just behind my head. Mana built up slightly but noticeably better in my hungry kanastone. And of course, all that mana had a purpose. Intentionally or not I left half my stash of skill points for evolving what I already had. Stamina cap was... oddly game-like. I could increase its size, but that was pretty much it- And that¡¯s how I knew it was fusion fodder. Frenzy was stuck in a similar boat; I could increase its power, increase its efficiency, do about half of both, so I looked at fusing it with [stamina cap up] [Buffered frenzy-] of course it locked away my stamina for no obvious gain. Frenzy became [Greater frenzy], further increasing raw power at no greater stamina consumptionReading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Rapid healing was always useful, but . Ready to give it the standard 2-point advancement, I saw the Fundamental power I had left over and dropped it right in [Skill: Rapid healing (I) has become Fundamental Skill: Rapid healing (I+)!] The options for it opened up. I could always promote it to just a better version of itself, but the other options looked more promising. A lingering heal that kept my health rising even after I stopped the main heal, an automatic heal that activated a little when stamina was full and health was not, a desperate heal that restored health faster the more of it I was missing, and even weirder still. The last option seemed to modify fuel source, be it mana, food saturation, or... [Ki-enhanced healing usage blocked by title: Useless] I sighed, but chose the mana-powered heal. This would allow me to double down on using stamina for the new moves, and let me use my stamina skills in all forms for more important acts. Mind magic allowed communication. Between its choices like advanced, efficient, and forceful, I chose [Distant mind magic (II)], letting me stay in communication range But my final 4 skill points went to... Water magic (I+) -> Abyssal water magic (III+) And I went to test it all out. I was fast, but [Dash] was faster, letting me hurtle through my cave like a thrown rock. Topaz didn¡¯t, couldn¡¯t even stop me, seemingly too busy conversing with a kobold to notice. I stopped my dash by the sea, alternating between taking deep [breath]s and lapping up the salty water with my wide tongue. While both those skills gained a level, I was far more excited about the prospect of this new water magic. ¡°The most basic spell, water orb¡± I lifted one claw, following the flowing motions required by water manipulation. A sliver of mana flowed through my purple claws, power attracting nearby water into an orb and sending it flying a dozen feet ahead to a nearby tree. My aim was true, though likely only at a stationary target. ¡°And now...¡± I thought. I pushed deeper into my well of magic, blacking out for a second. My vision un-hazed, revealing a familiar internal realm. A familiar nest. Yet a new door nest had opened, to a half-full pool of glowing cyan. The square stones on it were much smaller, edges even ridged to prevent slipping. This was a mana pool, I realized, constructed from my knowledge on swimming pools. I looked down this pool, seeing the bottom sliver a deeper, darker colour. More mana slowly fell in through the roof, forming a near-unbroken stream [Skill: Mana gathering has risen to level 2] And the stream widened. My pool began to fill slightly faster. I watched it fall like a cat, turning my focus from the obscured opening to the fill below. Where the stream met the surface, mana plunged. Most of it floated back to the top, joining the light blue, but some seemed to stay heavy, darkening and deepening. Watching it fill another few inches, I realized this was no different. The stream and surface were the same colour. The mana wasn¡¯t separating, it was condensing. ¡°And I can condense it faster.¡± I focused my mind on the top, far away from the ripples, and pressed the mana to the wall. It slipped through my grip like water through an open hand, but I persisted, focusing on a smaller and smaller area until the mana droplet seemed to implode on itself, shrinking in width from finger to pencil eraser. The drop of condensed mana fell to the ground, and I could feel my flesh-self pant, but I did it. [Skill: Mana compression has risen to level 2] The system clearly rewarded my efforts to make compressed mana, but I had some beforehand. Did I just waste... ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t.¡± I corrected myself. That would be like calling rapid healing a waste. I reached into the pool and drew out a handful of compressed mana, azure substance all too eager to work with me. Back outside, I cast the same spell, willing the compressed mana through my claw. It moved in familiar ways, memory reinforced by the Skill. This time, a larger orb of water floated to my hand, it too seeming darker, and shot towards the nearby tree. The mana holding the water together ran out halfway through, but the impact bent branches with a crack. The orb of water decompressed on impact, spreading out with force and weight and taking a clump of leaves down to spread on the drenched grass. ¡°My apologies, tree. But I''m not done with you yet.¡± I wasn¡¯t done yet. And while I might be low on compressed mana, I still had a good chunk of the regular stuff left. I plunged into the depths of my new school of magic, past the intermediate tier and downwards to the first spell. And as it did, I realized how out of my depth I was. Mana gushed out of my pool at an alarming rate, and as I did I felt like I was drowning. All the while it formed a circle on the ground just ahead, cyan mana turning a sinister, dark blue. ¡°What am I casting?¡± I thought, before the dam burst. Water surged upwards from the four corners, entombing the tree in inky depths. I could barely see or hear through the wall of water, but the cracking of the tree was unmistakable. I only had the mana to maintain this spell for a second, maybe a second and a half. I released my grip, and the water ceased to be a cylinder. It spilled all at once, drenching the ground and flowing rapidly back to the seaside. I had to dig my claws into the ground to prevent being swept away, but couldn¡¯t dig them out in time to dodge a log to the foreleg. It struck my limb with a crunch, a curse in draconic hissing out of my mouth like steam. What was left of the tree however was... A stump inside a tiny lake. Water pooled around the snapped tree, its weight having compressed the ground to a concave shape. [Skills have risen. Mana control 1->2. Mana saving 1 -> 3] I knew this was a leap in power, but three levels off one Skill solidified it. Wanting to give my empty mana pool a break, I tried the other Skills. Fire synthesis did exactly what I expected, turning stamina into this burning wax which I could forcefully breathe at foes. Headbutt and tackle turned this stamina into momentum, and a quick spar against the greatsword kobold taught me the basics of [dodge] and [block]. I didn¡¯t want to lose myself in a greater frenzy just yet, but a Level for most if not all of my new skills left me prepared for the basics of what was ahead. I strode to Zyradon¡¯s old nest, curling up on it with pride and letting time blur as I rested. ¡°Valerie?¡± Topaz asked through our mental connection, without even waiting for a pause. ¡°The kobolds dug their way into trouble.¡± I sighed, and stood on my four legs. ¡°It won¡¯t be trouble for long¡± 21: Imps Topaz hopped on, and focused. I started to accelerate, but didn¡¯t have to wait long to observe the problem. A muscular being, brandishing a curved, spiked greatsword and horns to match. A bristling crowd of imps surrounded it, coming up to its... his goatlike legs, bluefire-tipped spears in their hands keeping kobolds away. Several lay dead or wounded around them, Khirc rushing between the wounded like a tornado of protection. As I looked upon the scene, a gust of wind welled up in my mouth. I reared back and roared with force, half the imp squad dropping their spears. Drox rushed forward to take a bite out of the imps¡¯ frontline, burning her foot stepping over a dropped spear but caring little as she bit into an imp and shook. ¡°Stand down, or my executioner will make an example of you¡± I ordered the recovering imps, but before I could scatter them, their boss did. He stepped forward, swinging his cleaver in a wide arc. I raised my forearm as if holding a shield, mentally activating [Block] A circle of grey light formed, ready to hold up to the blade, and my other claw [Slashed] forward and upwards to the underside of the demon¡¯s head. Winds whipped around me, keeping the aerodynamic imps from drawing too close and letting me fight the demon one for one. ¡°Not if I do it firssst¡± the demon hissed, flaring a cobra-like hood. A pattern danced within, jets of flame shooting out at my already-forward hand. A cold fire stung the back of my arm, forcing my hand to pull back. My other arm fared only little better, force of his cleaver breaking through my inept shield and cracking my scales. The demon and I headbutted as one, my scaled forehead slamming into his horns. I felt no real pain, but heard a crack, and saw the demon flinch. I backhopped out of the way of another sword swing, breathing a gasp of relief as it knocked chunks of rock out of the ground. I lunged forward, using one claw to hold down the blade and the other to slash at his arm. As my claws scored sinewy demonscale, I felt a cool, refreshing breeze run up my arm like I just dunked it in mint. My mana felt more full, and the demon looked less solid. He raised his sword to strike again, and I charged into it, confident in my block. The greatsword still broke this shield, levelup for my efforts a sufficient consolation as a scale or two fell off my side. My second headbutt knocked him further off-balance, and my third, empowered by another level-up, sent a crack halfway down the horn. This was my chance. My head already in position, I tilted it downwards to the shoulder. My claws shot forward to his sides to stabilize my position, flailing blade unable to get enough leverage to do anything meaningful to the scales on my back. Mana flowed from the demon to me, weakening his physical presence even further, and my fangs went in for the kill. [Skill: Lacerating Bite has risen to Level 6. You have slain: Lesser demon (III). Level has risen to 6] The demon dissolved in a wisp of red, imps dropping to the ground in bursts of crimson smoke. [Your army has slain: Imp warrior (II) x7. Level has risen to 7]. I roared in victory and planted my feet on the ground. ¡°They came up through the tunnels, my lady!¡± a newer kobold shouted with a point. I nodded my head, and redirected attention to my rider ¡°Topaz, search for a tunnel down!¡± Our mental connection, emboldened by sturdier minds, allowed for greater data flow, and that¡¯s exactly what I received. I sped down a mining tunnel, noticing myself curve too far forward until a steady gust of wind kept my head up, kept my front half from going under my midsection. I made turns at a breakneck pace, cushioned by pockets of thick air to prevent myself from crashing. The longer I ran, the warmer it grew, heat welcomed by my reptilian scales. I saw an imp raiding party ahead, feeling neither shame nor recoil as I bowled through them, swallowing one down to satiate some hunger. A spear from my back stabbed at another, Baldemar''s creations empowering topaz¡¯s strike. Imp flesh was every bit as spicy as I imagined, leaving a satisfying burn on my tongue. The others regrouped, but only two could retreat into red smoke before the others fell dead from spear and claw alike. [Skill: Mana gathering has risen to level 3] Those claws were showing their usefulness early on, and demons were rich in magic. I ventured downwards more cautiously, observing the stone- having gone from grey and home-y to dull red and foreboding. Swirls lined the crimson-grey rock, subtly drawing my eyes away from the tunnel ahead. I whipped my focus back to the opening, feeling a shift in the air pressure before I reached it. The tunnel led into a cave of impossible size, hot wind blowing through it from a swirling sinkhole in the bottom. Agitation filled me at what I saw; Imps crawling over the place like ants. Like rats. Like vermin. [Failed to resist curse.] Of course these little annoyances had some sort of a curse field. They¡¯d need it against me. ¡°And I am here to exterminate¡± [EXP gain increased.] Not questioning the sudden luck, I rushed forward, slashing an imp with my claw as Topaz slashed down at another one. That group fell to the vermillion ground easily, fleeing member dispatched by a corrosive poison orb. The unusually loud shouting of imps drew attention to the rest of the small complex, and I had an idea on how to turn the tides. ¡°Keep them away, I¡¯m charging something big¡± I requested. Topaz pointed her weapon forward, pushing the scattering imps away from their charge. As soon as I knew I was safe-ish, I visited my mana pool again. It was much fuller than before, around four-fifths capacity, with the bottom fifth the deeper, darker material. The abyssal deluge column took half my pool, and I needed results quickly. Allowing compressed mana to flow out, controlling and shaping the flow of compressed mana with my willpower.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. [Skill: Mana control has risen to level 2] Back in the overworld, I pointed my claw, almost dropping the spell when an imp¡¯s spear made it through Topaz¡¯s defenses and stabbed into my eye. Pain shot through me as icy-blue fire blinded me on one side, but I only doubled down on the act and fired. Or, watered. A foot-wide beam of water shot from my outstretched claw, punching a hole in the spearman who dared to take my vision. The beam widened as it went onwards, losing some power- yet keeping enough to turn from a hole punch into a water slide. The imps with wings tried to fly, but topaz was on the draw, confounding their efforts with her own magic and pushing them into the whirlpool of my creation. Imps clawed at the floor, rough ground hardly enough to contain them. And then the notifications started. [You have slain: Imp] played in my mind at least a dozen times, with some imp warriors mixed in. Mana saving leveled up once, and I¡¯d likely need it for the fight ahead. Stealing a glance at my mana, I was nearly out of compressed, leaving me just over half a pool to deal with the large, spider-like construct from out of the sinkhole. ¡°I don¡¯t think we should be here..." Topaz warned apprehensively. An inward-curving smokestack rose out from a stone quartet of bracing arachnid legs. Last to rise was a singular hexagon-meshed eye, glaring at me with truly demonic anger. I roared in challenge, feeling the pebbles dance under my feet, but this creature knew no fear. It responded in kind, opening with a single, wide shot from its eye. Panic knocked me out of my battle-focused mind as icy cold destruction sheared across my back. Stinging pain danced across the wound like chili powder to the highest degree, space on my back meant for wings half-destroyed. The payload on my back felt lighter, and I tried to send a mental call out to the one human I knew I could trust ¡°Topaz? Please be getting me backup¡± My pleas fell on a deaf mind. Out of allies but not out of options, I pumped mana to the damaged flesh. Cold pain descended to cool relief, almost enough for me to notice the demonic forge charge it¡¯s attack again. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m getting blindsided¡± I snapped at the brightening eye, throwing myself to the side in a [Dodge]. While the beam of blue-white destruction snaked across the crimson wall, My scales were spared- its ocular beam could only aim so far to the side. The construct raised one of its legs to turn, and I took this position to strike at it with a headbutt, only to take a leg stab to the side. My scales tried to turn the stab away, only succeeding in taking the leg stab through less important muscle. My head was too valuable to bring close to its hellish heat, and my claws and teeth were better meant for biological creatures than boiling constructs, but I had one reliable trick. I reached up with my arm and wrapped it around the spiked leg, stabbing at my flesh but keeping me secure, and conjured my trademark acid. Poison was useless, but I cared not as my jaws bit onto the connecting joint. Flames shot out at my dark scales, and corrosive poison filled my mouth. My fangs clanged, clashed, then crunched onto the weakening joint, mangling it to uselessness before the hellstone thing threw me off. [Skill: Corrosive Poison synthesis has risen to level 6] I rolled to the side, dumping mana to my small wounds. I saw another ocular beam charge in my peripheral vision, [Dash]ing aside to leave the death range, before feeling one of my back legs give out. I fell to my front from the sudden lack of support, looking behind me in surprise, when I saw the blue-smouldering stump where one of my back legs used to be. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to stop me.¡± I growled, dragging myself directly towards the construct. It seemed to laugh, rubbing its damaged foreleg on its good one. It took its time, savoring my weakened state to lance down at my back. I sprung out of the way, a burst of speed surprising it in my weakened state. And of course, drawing me closer to my goal. [Skill: Dodge has risen to level 3] I pushed off the ground with my good leg, rolling to the side and slamming my claw into its eye. From the heartbeat even before it touched, I felt alive. Mana flowed into my pool. The stone monster shot flames out every side but below, raising one leg to stab me but only managing a half-inept thump from it¡¯s half-leg. I raked my claw across the stone eye, flow rate only rising as my clawpoints drew closer to the pupil. I united them together, building up stamina to gouge in a modified [Slash], and it fired again. My eyes widened. I tried to dive back into my mental realm to avoid the pain, only succeeding in feeling like I had slammed my fingers in a freezer. However, pain faded as I looked upon the glowing pool. [Skill: Mana storage has risen to level 2] [Skill: Mana compression has risen to level 2] [Skill: Mana storage has risen to level 3] It was overflowing. Mana sloshed around the sides as still more flowed in, and I had everything to spend it on. I directed the compressed pool towards my wounds, pain silenced over seconds. [Skill: Mana control has risen to level 4] Back in the real world, I switched claws. My left set was burned off, but my right set was ready to go. Crimson light gathered around them as stamina turned into speed, released like a catapult into the eye of my foe. [Skill: Slash has risen to level 4] The stone eye shattered, and the creature began to slow. I pushed myself out of the way of the sudden collapse, smokestack of a building colliding with the ground. As it did, it released wisps. Ghostly forms of humanoid torsos. Souls. I wanted to bow in respect to them, but felt an urge to claim my prize. [You have slain: Hell forge (III). Level has risen to 8.] This would suffice. I wanted to go back to my internal realm. Play with my new mana. Reach out for topaz, now that I had the range for it. But as soon as I could, I saw a portal open. A tall, serious-looking being emerged. She wore a black cloak, patterned with dark purple hexagons. She said something incomprehensible, but I didn¡¯t need a mind bridge to know her intentions. Challenge. Bloodshed. Victory. Nearly blind to all else, I [Roared]. Intermission 2: The System In the before time, magic was elusive. Those with strong enough spirits could bend elements to their will, and gifted few could see the flow of lights and sensations that others could not. Sometimes when these beings vanquished enemies, the rush of strength would push those two traits together, melding them together to create elemental mages. No two were alike, the same four elements behaving as different materials under the sculpting of their souls All of this changed when the system arose, carving the wispy slope into a uniform staircase. Where once mages were mysterious, now their progression could be guessed; and more importantly guided. Magic turned from an art to a science And with it, levels. Skill acquisition became slow and sure, with every level granting a skill point; the coin of improvement. One could spend their skill points to acquire new skills, advance maximized skills into higher forms, or most complicatedly fuse skills together into new ones. Skills leveled up through use, letting the practitioner know roughly how they stacked up to both their peers and their potential The rigid costs and progression created a clear structure of tier. The standard forms of magic were tier one, advanced tier two, and expert tier three. After expert fire magic came pyromancy, but few reached that far... As diversions stalked every tier. Red fire, blue fire, firestorm, ice, deepsea, tsunami, stone, gemstone, earthquake, gas, bluster, and tornado- all of which could branch from a tier 1, 2, or 3 form of magic. And offered significantly more power, in exchange for potential that few could even fill. As higher forms of a skill take considerably more effort to advance, and the power difference between someone who has diverged their magic and someone who hasn''t grows, no one knows what pyromancy becomes. "Advanced pyromancy" is the common theory, but none have a concrete guess at its divergent school Elemental magic skills could be fused. They had to be at the same place on the same path, or one would overpower the other. This was in addition to holy and unholy. Almost no one could learn both, but they were much more compatible with the basic elemental magics. Often combining to add "light" or "dark" to their fusion partner, they allowed a bit more potential to those who diverged their magic early And those are just the basic tier. Plant, poison, mind, space, blood- elements that could not strongly link to anything in the basic four, were rarer and as such less documented. They simply did not show up on everyone''s skill list, whereas most people could access at least one form of elemental magic. Convention said not to double back on elemental skills. Convention said to only fuse two elements at once. Convention said you could only advance so far before retirement; be it by soul fatigue, violence, or simply old age. Until the dreaded powerflood. The emergence of appraisal. We, Thaumati, always knew our levels were important. But when one of our holy scholars got their hands on a skill that let them observe other''s levels, the world opened upThis tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Everything had a level, a cap, and in monster''s cases a rank. This did not stop at beings who had the system, nor sapiens, not even living beings-- everything from children to chickens to plants to polearms had levels of their own. If it was made by a sentient being, it had a level- corresponding roughly to the skill of Its maker. Most items did not level up. They were made at their cap, and you got what you got. However magically absorbent material worked into the item raised this cap, and magically conductive material sped the rate at which the item leveled. Items leveled up through usage, that was common knowledge, in stark contrast to how living beings leveled up. Fighting. For some, this brought an existential crisis. Made them see themselves as weapons designed by one of the nebulous gods. To others, this brought them purpose. Direction. An increased drive to hunt monsters, push themselves to new heights of power, and bring the materials back to our tower home for building, research, and sustenance Just as item level caps are materially derived, so too are level caps for living beings. Humans, all-rounders they are, have an even round 100- orcs 110, Goliaths 120, elves 140, and celestials 150. We finish our progression at a tidy 130, but few can even get halfway there. Goblins have 80, halflings 70, and kobolds 60. Dwarves however evolve. At a mere level fifty, they bind with a mineral of their choice. Most common are different types of rock, middle of the road are metals, but the truly rich and powerful bind with gems. Level gain is uneven. Your first 8 level ups are fairly quick, and a rare few double-level, but 9 to 10 is a grind. The pattern then repeats, levels 11 to 19 come quickly, but the road to 20 is even longer. This is not without its benefits. Every level gives an approximate percent to one''s abilities to lift, dodge, endure, and think- compounding as levels rise. Most beings start leveling with some skills pre-loaded into them, known simply as fundamental skills. They seem to grow easier and have more interesting evolution choices Every level, those skills gain some progress towards their next level, and this fundamental bonus persists through skill evolution or fusion. Every 10 levels is known as a breakthrough, having approximately five times the effect of a standard level up and either granting a new skill free of charge, or allowing the user to render one of their own skills fundamental. Or both, if the new skill is low enough in tier While level gain is a one way trip, this is not true for monsters. At level 5, then doubling thereafter until a threshold no one has deemed it safe to reach, monsters will trade their accumulated power for base power. All their levels for a higher cap. And of course, keep their skills. While monsters lack a mind complex enough to gain any skill points, they still break through every ten levels- giving them a list full of fundamental skills. Monsters who have the foresight, persistence, or guidance to put off evolving as long as they can tend to be weaker in the short term, but grow higher in the long term A few dozen individuals emerged scattered across the planet and changed histories. Several had elements we had only heard of in prophecies, one had a boundless well of mana to practise with and simply learned more per spell cast, and all were interested in powering up as quickly as humanly possible. Skill points are limited for those uninterested in dying. A dozen or so was as many as most people could acquire, and advancing a skill to it''s fourth tier took ten of them- but most people didn''t even reach that far, instead opting to spend six points on a tier 3 skill and the other six or so on support skills. Quickened casting, mediation, mana compression, magical regeneration, mana perception- some of which advanced or combined to further support the mage Skills cost an amount equal to their tier to gain, be it from purchase or evolution. Evolution consumes the old skill, and rarely is it worth buying back as the two do not share progress- to train it, you need to handicap yourself to the old skill. Most mages simply lack the precise control, unless they buy the skill for that to Combining skills multiplies this cost by their quantity. Two tier skills fusing into a tier three? Twice three, resulting in six And whole our people only gained a skill point every other level, the brightest ones able to keep a steady rate of one for one, these otherworldly people had around twice that amount. They could simply do more with less, leading to breaking much ground. Even the cold, calculating system seems to change, as more advanced mages seem to have new magic types available for purchase, and newer mages with more potential are venturing out into new builds. One day, we will empower one to defeat the great black armored dragon and bring our tower home to peace. Until then, all we can do is train and defend. 22: Excella Elizabeth Sage was always on the rise. Her untimely end, her chance at a new life, buildup from a deity, her unique power, her fierce competition, her fortune regarding early weapon drops, her praise via parallels in local mythos, all culminated in a single System notification. [Special quest: Helldrake] [A draconic being has taken up residence in a low layer of hell off the aurora sea. Defeat it] [Rewards: 40,000 EXP, 1 fundamental power, gold-rank armor ticket] [Accept] she tapped. Excella had abandoned her old name easily. No one knew her here, and hers sounded too stuffy. She wanted something mysterious and impressive, like the cheat skill she was given. [Space Manipulation] It did to her rapid movement and control of gravity what it did to Baldemar¡¯s smithing. Manipulation of such a universal force was easy to integrate into any fighting style, and she kept a hand free to intersperse straightforward casting between her sword strikes. Making an enemy heavier to slow them down or lighter to disrupt their attacks was a common practice, letting her strike above what her stats or levels suggested. At level ten, she acquired a passive mage Skill that let her maintain a spell on herself at reduced power- but without having to focus on it. Even from the first level, the effect was explosive. Coupled with the staple mage skills speeding up the gain of mana and slowing down its expenditure, Excella grew in power and confidence. Both of which necessary to accept the quest ahead. Excella found the shallow slice of hell through trial and error, attempting to open a small portal at the approximate height and poking a dagger through. Oh the sixth try, the dagger came back hot, and the void knight stepped through. She beheld bleached-red stone, feeling the heat and stench from below try to envelop her like a sauna. She strode over the wet ground towards her mark, drawing her blade. ¡°There you are,¡± Excella purred. Valerie, drake of dark purple, was curled into a ball, not noticing Excella having stepped through. An appraisal revealed stats that were greater than hers, but did not eclipse them. Two bars emerged above her head in Excella¡¯s appraisal vision, the larger one steadily filling from orange through the yellows back up to a healthy green while the smaller, lower one slowly emptied. This helldrake was turning mana into health at an alarming rate. Excella shouted an incantation, conjuring a [Repulse Barrier] around herself. She found it odd that a demonic creature would have any method to heal, but trusted the System. If this truly was the demonic dragon the quest mentioned, it would most certainly respond in aggression. All at once, the stale air dispersed. A tall bubble around her shimmered, cooling centrifugal wind stripping it of all unpleasantness. The finesse of this precision bubble ran counter to the weighty, tyrannical [Roar] from the drake as she stood on her hind legs. A being of weaker mind would have fled or at least been shaken, but Excella was a mage first. Fortifying her mind let her facilitate the rest of her fighting style. In a flash, Excella was at Valerie¡¯s underbelly. She drew back her blade for a practiced [Piercing Thrust], but Valerie jumped back. The human stumbled forward, when the drake took her chance to strike. A claw swung down like wrecking equipment, movement slowed by turns as it drew close to the gravity-warping barrier. Excella had ample time to raise her sword in defense, placing a palm to the flat to brace herself for impact. To redirect the drake¡¯s claw. However, her gold-hued eyes widened as she felt a sudden weakness. Saw a total in her vision drain. The amethyst claw was sapping her mana, replenishing that of her enemy. Excella twisted the blade aside, not too focused on escaping the game-changing drain to move it into a favorable position. She ducked under the other hand¡¯s stamina-sped slashing claw, spun the blade of her sword into the drake¡¯s gut to seal off the breath weapon she assumed would pose a threat. It gouged deep, activation of a [Round slash] only widening the wound. Excella backhopped away from a headbutt, kicking midair off one of the horns into a glide, knowing she had her enemy leaking life force. A claw caught her side, knocking her further out of effective range. The draconic being seemed to fight slow and strong, barely giving chase as she dropped to all fours to stalk after Excella, so the graviturge made her move. She dropped her barrier, diverting mana to strength, and cut away at a stalagmite. Purple-green liquid flew through the air, off-course from the puncture but full of deadly potential that Excella only realized as it slipped through the porous ground with a sizzle. Her sword sank into the stalagmite easily, a short-ranged force blast knocking the long, sharp lance of stone free from its base. She diverted everything she could give at once towards stopping it from shattering. Excella had to use the same rock as a shield, feeling it lose mass as it blocked the corrosive assault. Even more so as a glob slipped past, splattering right onto her clothing.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. [You are suffering: Corrosion (II) ] [You are suffering: Poison (I) ] ¡°Suffer this.¡± Excella ordered, chains of gravity launching the rock forward like a battering ram. In a burst of speed, it pinned the advancing dragon, Stamina-sharpened tip piercing right through scale and flesh, dodging bone, and landing in stone. Valerie groaningly roared in pain, noise only acting as fuel to Excella¡¯s fire. She repeated this trick with smaller stalactites, conserving mana but delivering payload after stone payload to the pinned drake. Rocks shattered against Valerie¡¯s flesh, dislodging scales, stabbing flesh, and depleting hit points at every turn. This was Excella¡¯s moment. When she knew she had her prey on the ropes. Excella strode forward, raising her sword high- But faltered, when Valerie bit off her own leg. Something in that dragon changed. Mana coursed through her systems, spent faster and more hastily than before. A dull red glow accented the violet of her scales. And most of all, black smoke built around her mouth like rabid foam. Valerie headslammed Excella back into a fighting stance. She swept a claw across, sending the mana-tight Excella tripping over a stone stump. With more speed than Excella thought possible Valerie closed the gap in a single bound from her three good legs, head close enough for a stab. Excella drove her sword clean into Valerie¡¯s eye, but she shook her head, wrenching the blade out of Excella¡¯s hand. With a single move, Valerie moved her jaw up the same arm, ending it in a horrifying crunch. Excella stumbled to the side, sword-arm gone, and in a panic tried to finish the drake off. Valerie did not let up, swallowing the arm and returning the favor with point-blank acid. Excella fell to the ground, rolling to smother the burning feeling from around her. She reached out for the sword with her casting hand, tried to stab it in with a spell, but Valerie reached up with humanlike grace and closed her mana claw around the handle. Feeling the blade dig into her hand, she pulled it free, casting it aside. Excella¡¯s vision faded, moving her free arm to open up a portal back, but saw before her very eyes a claw seal it shut. She closed her eyes, steeling herself for the inevitable, feeling the dragon¡¯s weight on her as pressing her down into her grave, feeling her bleeding slow, feeling a pleasant chill assuage her acidburns- Excella paused. She looked up, seeing this drake was embracing her. Was awkwardly moving on her slowly-healing stump back up the tunnel. More than once, Valerie slowed down, never ceasing to carry Excella like a protective mother bear. And only when her claw had healed did the drake speak up in her own way. Excella felt a mind bridge try and connect with her, knowing the source all too well [Well-fought] Valerie congratulated. ¡°What¡¯s your game, helldrake?¡± Excella challenged. [Is that what they¡¯re calling me now?] ¡°The System, which has not lied to me once, gave me a quest.¡± [Is that so?] A long pause carried the conversation as the dark-clad duo moved from red rock to grey. [The System calls me Useless whenever I attempt to advance in interesting ways, and I suspect it¡¯s informed by the golden god who cursed me] ¡°Mathias.¡± Excella stated in agreement, thinking back to the pedestal he put her on. [If he¡¯s using me as the final boss, what better position than as my rider? You¡¯ll get to defeat so many other contestants] Valerie grimly offered. ¡°Seeing as I¡¯d prefer it to your payload, I accept.¡± Valerie let Excella onto the ground, using her mostly-healed arm to hoist Excella onto her back. Testing the weight of this new rider, she began to run off into the upper cave. The first swirling clouds of a plan formed in their minds, ready to drop a devastating storm on every contestant who¡¯d rather do it to them first.