ã€ŠLearning to be a Menace [Monster Evolution/Academy/LitRPG]ã€‹


 Chapter 1: The Birth of Alwin

    Darkness. Everywhere he looked, there was only pitch-black darkness. He had no clue where he was, what he was, or even who he was. One thing was clear: humans were evil. His instincts screamed at him like there was no tomorrow.

    Then, knowledge started flooding his brain like someone had opened the information floodgates. Or were they memories? Who knew? Whatever it was, it filled his mind like water infiltrating an empty submarine. It was thanks to this knowledge that he knew what a submarine was. And water. And, hey, even a simile! The pitch-black abyss around him stayed the same, but the darkness began to retreat as awareness dawned on him. He started to feel a sense of self, a sense of existence, and, surprisingly, a sense of purpose.

    What was his purpose? Simple: to defeat humanity for the betterment of monsterkind. Why? Because humans had done horrible things and were bound to keep doing them unless someone stepped up. They had wronged the monsters that came before him, the ones about to be born alongside him, and the ones who would come after him. It was his duty, his mission, to stand up for monster rights and put an end to human mischief once and for all!

    About to be born? Yes, he was about to be born. It finally clicked that the darkness surrounding him was just a temporary monster nursery. This was the monster''s womb, the egg. He was about to hatch and unleash his righteous fury on humanity.

    A small light pierced through the darkness. The crack spread slowly but surely, like a determined snail on a mission to chase down its immortal enemy. The darkness was pushed back, creating spiderwebs of light everywhere.

    Beautiful, beautiful light. This was it¡ªthe moment he was born. Time to make his grand entrance into the world, ready to take on humanity like a newborn monster superstar!

    With a loud crack, the darkness shattered like cheap glass. The light was so bright that it made the darkness seem like a distant memory. The light was blinding, and he found himself squinting.

    His eyes adjusted to the light as he blinked a few times, and the brightness finally started to fade. Gradually, shapes began to come into focus. A large dark green object surrounded him. Was this an egg? Yes, yes it was. It was his egg. He had spent all his life up to this point inside this egg. But now, the big questions loomed: Where was he? Who was he?

    A small blue screen popped up in front of him, interrupting his thoughts.

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Dark Slime (Tier 1)

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Skills: Dark Tackle (F)

    Evolution: 0/100

    He was Alwin. Yes, that was a handsome name for a handsome slime like him. But where were his brethren? Where was everyone else? Where was he? All around Alwin was an empty grass field, and the only things near him were his egg and a lone tree in the distance. What was going on?

    A scream erupted from behind him, breaking the eerie silence.

    Alwin whipped his head around, but considering he was a slime, his head was his body, or was it his body that was his head? Whatever the case, he spun around to find a human charging toward him.

    Humans. Those were the enemies of monsterkind. They were the reason that his brethren were slaughtered. Humans were the worst creatures out there: evil, disgusting, greedy, and selfish. They killed, they stole, they destroyed. To them, monsters were nothing more than a resource to exploit and use. That was what he knew. That was the knowledge that had been drilled into his slimy brain.

    This was why, as the human ran towards him, Alwin charged as well. Well, as much as a slime could charge. Alwin did more of a fast hop toward the human. That despicable human was armed with a sword and wore leather armor¡ªarmor likely crafted from the remains of monsters before him. Clearly, he was an adventurer, an explorer, a murderer.

    It wasn''t even five minutes into his birth, and Alwin was already about to fight his first battle. He was ready, he was prepared, and he was excited. Fighting was in his blood¡ªif he even had any. Do slimes even have blood? He didn''t know, and he wasn''t planning on finding out. He had to focus on the task at hand, and that was to defeat the human.

    "Die!" the human shouted, swinging the sword towards Alwin.

    Alwin didn''t say anything, the human wasn''t worth speaking to. He didn''t deserve any sort of acknowledgment, he didn''t deserve anything. So, when the human swung his sword, Alwin rolled out of the way. Now was his turn to attack.

    Alwin charged forward, leaping up and tackling the human. As the slime collided with the adventurer, he felt his body compress like a giant jelly. Slimes weren''t hard and weren''t very solid, so his tackle didn''t do much damage. It did enough for the human to clutch his stomach in momentary pain, but nothing more than that. It was more of an annoying splat than a fearsome blow.

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    If a regular tackle didn''t do much, then what about a Dark Tackle? It was a skill he possessed, given to him the moment he was born. A skill he had no idea how it worked or how to activate it. However, his instincts kicked in, guiding him. He felt something stir in his stomach¡ªor was it his head? Or maybe his body? "Body" seemed like a better general term for a slime. Even as a slime, Alwin didn''t know much about his physiology. Where did his head start and end? Where did his body start and end? Never mind that it was making his... everything hurt.

    He felt something in his body stir. Darkness began to envelop his already dark form, pouring out from deep within. With a black aura surrounding him, he leaped forward again. Another something was stirring within him. It was more of an instinct, something that compelled him.

    When he leapt at the human, something within him urged him to shout out, "Dark Tackle!"

    The words flowed out of his mouth without any conscious thought, without any real input from him. It just happened, like it was second nature. Something within him told him to do it, and he did.

    He slammed into the adventurer''s stomach, sending the man sprawling backward. The attack did much more damage than his normal tackle. The dark aura surrounding Alwin vanished as soon as the attack ended, leaving the man on the ground, clutching his stomach in agony.

    Each time Alwin attempted to use his skill, he found himself compelled to yell out its name: Dark Tackle. He had no idea why he had to do that. If anything, it was weird, but it felt natural, so he continued to do it¡ªnot like he had a choice.

    Dark Tackle after Dark Tackle, slamming into him over and over. Each time Alwin struck, the human let out a grunt. He was a strong man, a tough man, or maybe Alwin was just a weak slime with a rank F skill. No way it was the latter, no sirree!

    It wasn''t long before the adventurer let out a final wheezing grunt under the might of Alwin''s definitely-not-weak Dark Tackle and fell unconscious. The pain was too much for him to bear. Unfortunately, he wasn''t dead yet, but that would soon change. Alwin hopped over next to the unconscious man''s head, listening to the loud wheezing. The human was clearly on his last leg.

    It was a pity. If the adventurer hadn''t worn that leather armor, Alwin could have seen just how much damage his skill could truly inflict. Oh well, there would always be another time. There wasn''t a shortage of those evil humans. Right now, he had a job to do, and he needed to do it quickly. The adventurer was still breathing.

    Alwin didn''t hesitate for a moment. He could feel the dark aura envelop his body as he called out, "Dark Tackle!"

    Alwin jumped straight onto the human''s head. Blood gushed from the man''s skull, painting the grass beneath him red. Then, the man vanished into particles as if he was never there. Not even his clothes remained. That was weird. Very weird. Where was this place? Why was no one around? Was any of this even real?

    Before Alwin could continue down the rabbit hole of his questioning, another scream pierced through the silence of the field. Two screams, to be precise. Both came from behind him, one from a man and one from a woman. The screams were getting louder.

    Alwin didn''t hesitate for even a second. He immediately turned and began charging towards the source of the screams. The grass beneath him bent as he bounced toward the commotion, leaving a trail of flattened greenery behind him. When he finally saw the two humans screaming and charging toward him, his figurative jaw dropped.

    A woman was charging at him, and she was wearing a wizard''s hat. But that wasn''t what made his jaw drop. It was the guy running next to her. It was the same guy who had tried to kill him earlier. The same leather armor, the same sword, the same everything. Maybe the guy had an identical twin brother seeking out revenge? No, there was no way. Right?

    As the duo got closer to the charging Alwin, the wizard hat girl raised her wooden staff and pointed it at him. A bolt of magic shot out from the tip, flying straight toward Alwin. He tried his best to dodge, but he was only a slime and could only move so fast.

    The bolt grazed his side, knocking him to the ground, and Alwin immediately felt the sting of being struck. The pain of being hurt for the first time was a burning sensation that was both hot and cold, but mostly just pain. Pain sucks, but the pain of knowing his brethren had died because of those greedy humans stung more. That pain spurred him on. That pain made him get up. Well, more of a roll back up since he was a slime, but the point still stands.

    Now, they both stood in front of him, weapons aimed and ready. Maybe it was time to try out his other skill, Devolution. He didn''t know what it did, but he sure hoped it would do something to get him out of this situation. The man swung his sword down at Alwin, while the mage girl cast another spell at him.

    "Devolution!" Alwin shouted.

    But, nothing happened.

    It was as if everything was moving in slow motion. The sword was inches away from turning Alwin into a two-for-one special, while the magical bolt was also inches away from doing whatever magical bolts did best. Alwin only knew that it was a spell and that it hurt a lot. So this was how he was going to meet his end.

    Alwin''s life began to flash before his eyes. From darkness to light, to fighting off a human, to then fighting against two humans and losing. It was a short life, but it was his life nonetheless.

    Stupid skill, Devolution. He trusted it to help him, but all it did was sit there and look pretty. Oh well, it was a good run. Maybe someone stronger than him would avenge him. Now, should he close his eyes and await his fate or keep them open and stare death in the face? Yeah, he''ll keep his eyes open.

    The moment he felt the sword break his...gel? Actually, what was he made of? Anyway, as soon as the sword touched his dark slimy body, the man''s body started to disintegrate into particles. The same thing happened with the mage girl. Then everything around him began to disintegrate¡ªthe clouds, the sky, the grass, the lone tree in the distance. What was going on?

    Everything around him disintegrated into particles, but behind the vanishing scenery, Alwin could make out something new. Something different. Something strange. Something terrifying.

    A classroom.

    "Welcome to Human Hunter Academy!" a voice boomed.

 Chapter 2: Welcome to Class

    What the¡ª? What was going on? Why was he in a classroom? What happened to the swordsman? What happened to the magic girl? What happened to the field of grass? And what happened to that darn tree in the distance that only served to make the scenery look less flat?

    Was he dead? Was this the afterlife? Was this hell? Were these thoughts too morbid? In his defense, he was a Dark Slime, not a Happy Thoughts Slime. Maybe he should look around to take stock of the situation instead of ruminating. That sounded like a great idea. Okay, no thoughts in three, two, one.

    Alwin whipped his head around, or maybe whipped his body around would be a more accurate term. Whatever, he was too confused to care about semantics right now. Alwin looked around frantically trying to understand what was happening. His eyes went left to right. It went right to left. It went up to down. It went down to up. It spun clockwise. It spun counterclockwise. It even went inside his head cause his eyes decided to roll inward for whatever reason.

    Alwin''s mind raced in a frenzy of confusion, he couldn¡¯t for the life or maybe death of him figure out what was going on. That terrified him. Everything screamed classroom¡ªthe wooden desks, the chairs, the whiteboard, the teacher¡¯s desk, and... the teacher. Wait a minute. That was the weirdest-looking teacher he had ever seen! Well, technically, the least weird too, since it was the first teacher he''d ever seen, but that wasn''t the point.

    The teacher was a monster with a vivid yellow, triangular body. Right in the center was a single, massive eye, and below it, a mouth that seemed more menacing than friendly. Instead of hands, the creature had eight legs¡ªor were they tentacles?¡ªthat jutted out from the base of its triangular form. These appendages were incredibly thin, like paper, flapping slightly as if caught in a breeze. Just like its tentacle legs, the teacher''s yellow body was paper-thin, looking more like a sinister origami project than a living being. Alwin stared, equal parts horrified and fascinated.

    "My name is Milvus," the teacher said. "I''ll be your teacher for the foreseeable future, and I welcome you all to the beginning of your new life. Quite literally I might add, considering that you''ve all recently been born. Now I know all of you are quite shaken up so I''ll try to keep this brief so that all of you can get some much-needed rest."

    Rest, that sounded amazing right about now, but what Alwin really wanted was answers. Milvus''s introductory statement had only filled his head with even more questions. If there were any more unanswered questions, Alwin might just burst like a balloon too fattened up with air.

    So the eleven other monsters in the classroom with him were recently born as well. Alwin scanned the room, noting three other Dark Slimes like himself, four green creatures with no fur, and four others sporting orange-brown fur. Three students per row makes four rows in total. From his vantage point at the back of the class, it was hard to make out all the details, but judging from the shape of their bodies they all seemed to be round like him. Not in a fat way, just in a spherical blob-like way.

    Then, an almost genius idea hit him, harder than the sword from earlier. What if he looked to his left and right to check out the monsters next to him in the back row? It was such a stupendous idea that only an idiot wouldn¡¯t have thought of it¡ªand luckily for Alwin, he wasn¡¯t an idiot.

    To his left sat the green-colored monster. She was as green as a grassland, exuding an aroma that matched a dew-kissed field. Like Alwin, she was a round blob, but with actual skin instead of a gel-like body. Unlike him, she had a tail. One that extended out into a huge leaf that was as wide as her, but was a darker shade of green than her body.

    To his right sat the orange-brown monster. He was as orange-brown as an orange left out just a bit too long, but thankfully, he didn''t smell like it. In fact, he didn''t smell like anything. Maybe it was because Alwin didn''t have a nose? Then how did he smell the monster on his left? Mysteries for another time. Anyway, the orange-brown guy was just as round as Alwin and the green girl next to him, but covered in fur. He had a tail as wide as the spaces in between atoms. In other words, he didn''t have a tail. Unless, it was an invisible tail, which Alwin doubted so.

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    "Now I''m sure you all have many questions," Milvus continued his speech.

    That''s an understatement.

    "But, basically this is an academy where we educate monsters on how to become hunters. We''ll train you to be the best hunters that you can be. The goal of our academy? To rid the world of humans for the peace of monster kind," Milvus explained.

    Yeah screw humanity, Alwin agreed.

    "What you just went through, after being born, was a simulation to determine your aptitude for combat, and I''m glad that all of you were able to defeat at least one human. Honestly, if you didn''t we''d have probably killed you just so that your Core Skill gets recycled and hopefully end up in a more capable monster," Milvus said.

    So, that man was a simulation, and that woman was a simulation. Everything was a simulation. Did that mean the egg was a simulation too? Was this all a simulation? Wait, Milvus had mentioned killing them if they didn''t kill a human and something about a Core Skill. You mean that useless Devolution skill that got him killed because he thought it would do something cool? Actually, what even was a Core Skill, and how did skills get recycled? Did that mean Core Skills could get Reduced and Reused too? Wait, where was he going with this?

    "Hey, you. Dark Slime in the back lost in thought. Could you pay attention so that I don''t have to repeat myself," Milvus said.

    Alwin glanced around the back row. Who was that chump Dark Slime that didn''t bother to pay attention? The guy on his right looked at him with a confused expression, while the girl on his left giggled as his head darted between the teacher, his left, and his right.

    He was the chump.

    "Oh, sorry," Alwin apologized.

    Damn, that was embarrassing. How in blazes did that teacher even know he was lost in thought? Was the teacher a mind reader? Was his privacy being invaded? That no-good scoundrel, why he oughta¡ª

    "Hey, kiddo. Last chance alright?" Milvus said again.

    Darn it how did he know? Ok, no more thinking. For now, his head would be as empty as the grass field from earlier.

    "Sorry, again," Alwin apologized.

    "No worries. Now as I was saying, all of you are special monsters, Core Monsters. Unlike regular monsters, you have a Core Skill unique to each of you. When you die, your skill returns to the Great Corenucopia for the next lucky monster. But let''s save that for later. The important thing is, you''ll be trained to become Coremmanders, the elite leaders of the monster army, bringing a new era, a new world, and a new peace for monster kind"

    Core Monsters? Core Skill? Great Corenucopia? Coremmanders? What was any of that stuff? This was just information overload for poor old Alwin. His brain was already hurting from learning that up till now he had been living in a simulation. Sure, it had only been ten minutes, but those were the first ten minutes of his life¡ªten precious minutes he''d never get back. Now, poor little Alwin had to process all this new information,

    "Now I''m sure all of you have a million questions, and I''ll be more than happy to answer them tomorrow. Your brains need their rest after the information download you guys went through earlier. Now if any of you feel dizzy or disoriented, please let me know," Milvus said.

    Information download? Like what he experienced inside the egg? Whose information was that and why were they pouring it into his brain? Alwin didn''t like it when people poured things into his brain. It felt like an invasion of privacy. Then again, without it, he''d probably be as clueless as a newborn. So, for now, he''ll let it slide.

 Chapter 3: Babys First Friends

    The teacher stood up from his desk, using all eight of his paper-like tentacles to walk out of the room. The monsters got out of their seats, but since none of them possessed legs or feet, they simply hopped out of their chairs and onto the floor.

    The monsters followed their teacher through the hallway, a bizarre parade of hopping and bouncing little creatures. Alwin was one of them, hopping along with the rest, his gaze darting everywhere in wide-eyed curiosity.

    There were no windows, just white walls on both sides. The only decorations in the hallway were the wooden doors, evenly spaced apart, presumably leading to various rooms. The doors were made of sturdy-looking brown wood with silver handles that gleamed under the artificial lighting of the light-producing crystals that hung from the ceiling.

    Alwin had a strong urge to pull the handle and explore whatever lay beyond those doors, but his sense of adventure would have to wait. His jelly-like body was already feeling heavy with fatigue. He hopped along, hoping the sleeping quarters weren''t too far. Each bounce felt more labored than the last. The sleeping quarters better be nearby.

    Fortunately, the sleeping quarters were only a short hop away. When Milvus reached the door, he stretched out a tentacle and pulled the silver handle. The door swung open to reveal a room filled with a dozen beds, six on either side. Each bed was perfectly identical, featuring a white mattress upon a metal bed frame that was pushed up against the wall.

    To Alwin, the sheets looked as soft as marshmallows. What were the chances that they tasted like marshmallows too? Probably minuscule, but that didn¡¯t mean it was zero. Hopefully. Alwin would have to experiment another time. Right now, all he wanted to do was lie down.

    The students all claimed a bed and jumped on top of it. Each bed was just the right size for them. When Alwin hopped onto his bed, he felt the mattress yield beneath him with a delightful softness. It was like hopping on a cloud¡ªa comfy, inviting cloud that promised a good night''s rest. He settled in, his jelly-like body sinking slightly into the plush surface, and let out a sigh, ready to drift off into a peaceful slumber.

    Unfortunately, Milvus wasn¡¯t done talking.

    "This is a coed bunk, so both boys and girls will be sharing the same room. Try to behave yourselves," Milvus said. "Also, the bathrooms are over there."

    Milvus pointed towards the end of the room where a door sat. A single tentacle stretched out from one end of the room to the other, twisted the knob, and pulled the door open. From his bed, Alwin peered into the bathroom. It was filled with toilet stalls, obviously. There were also a couple of sinks lined up against the wall, and showers tucked into the corners of the room.

    "Be in the classroom at 0800 tomorrow. Cafeteria opens at 1800 and lights out at 2200. Breakfast starts at 0700. If you guys can''t find the cafeteria I''ll seriously question your abilities as Core Monsters. There are signs all over the academy. If you guys need anything, just call for me," Milvus said, closing the door to the sleeping quarters.

    The teacher had left, along with his desire to fall into a deep slumber. Now it was just the twelve of them alone in a room. So what now? Maybe he could spend his time contemplating the meaning of life as he spiraled into a twenty-minute life crisis. Or he could try to make small talk with the other monsters. Decisions, decisions, decisions. What should he do?

    "Hey there," the voice of a girl rang.

    Alwin turned his head to the left, well not really, he just moved his entire body in that direction. Standing in front of him was a round green creature. He recognized her as the girl who sat to his left in the classroom.

    "Hi," Alwin said.

    "My name''s Uchronia," she said. "I sit next to you in class."

    "I know, you''re the one who was laughing at me earlier."

    "And I''m Gulosus. You can call me Gus for short," said a voice behind Alwin.

    Alwin looked behind him, which again involved turning his whole body, and saw the orange-brown creature who sat on his right in the classroom. Well, at least that settled the question about what he should do now.

    "And I''m, Alwin."

    "Yeah, I heard."

    "Yep. So... nice weather we''re having?" Alwin asked.

    "None of us have ever been outside before. What are you talking about?" she said.

    "Oh man, you should see the look on her face," Gus chuckled.

    Alwin was forced to swivel his body around once more, facing the girl with the leaf for a tail. Uchronia would have furrowed her eyebrows if she had any, instead, the areas around her eyes scrunched up. The look on her face was hilarious. It was a mix of annoyance, confusion, and ¡®what in the world is this dumbass talking about¡¯ all rolled into one. If there were a trophy for making the funniest faces, she would have won it hands down.

    "Gus, can you just come over to Uchronia''s side, or Uchronia move over to Gus'' side? I don''t really want to keep turning," said Alwin.

    "I''m kinda lazy. Can you come over?" said Gus.

    Uchronia rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine."

    She hopped over to the other side of Alwin''s bed and placed herself next to Gus. If she could shoot daggers out of her eyes, Gus would have been a dead monster.

    "Great now that we''re all on the same page. Same side? Same¡­ something?. I don¡¯t know. I don''t have to keep turning around," said Alwin.

    "You''re not even facing us!" said Uchronia.

    "I know. I just did it for comedic effect," said Alwin, turning his body around one last time to face them

    "Really? It wasn''t that funny," said Uchronia.

    "I found it funny," said Gus.

    "Whatever," she sighed. "If I''m gonna be frank, the only reason why I came up to talk to you was because I wanted to know what species you are. I figured that since we sat next to each other it''d be easier to introduce myself."

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    "But you aren''t Frank. You''re Uchronia," said Alwin.

    Uchronia let out another groan and rolled her eyes once more.

    "I''m a Leafling. What are you?" she asked.

    "Furball," said Gus.

    "And I''m a Dark Slime."

    The voice had come from behind Alwin. Who could it have been? Maybe he should just turn around again to check, but the constant swiveling was becoming a chore.

    "Hey, could you move over to this side? I''m tired of moving about so much," said Alwin.

    "Move? For a chump like you. In your dreams. Oh wait, that''s where you were in class, weren''t you? All sucked up inside your daydreams."

    "That''s very rude," said Uchronia.

    "And I''m very lazy. Why don''t you come over here," said Gus.

    "I agree with Gus. It''s hard to argue with a person whose face I can''t see," said Alwin.

    "Give me one good reason why I should move over and not you," said the voice.

    "Well, first of all. It takes less energy for one guy to move instead of three. And second of all, I have run out of reasons," said Alwin.

    Uchronia let out another heavy sigh, while Gus giggled.

    "Tell you what, chump. I''ll move over not cause you gave a lame reason, but just to get closer to this gorgeous Leafling."

    The guy hopped on over, squeezing himself in between Uchronia and Gus. At least now, Alwin could finally get a good view of him. The boy was the exact same shape as Alwin, the exact same color as Alwin, the exact same size as Alwin. What else could you expect? The guy was a Dark Slime just like Alwin.

    "Don''t touch me you slimeball," Uchronia said, backing away from him.

    "Don''t be like that. I''m just trying to get to know you a little better, that''s all. The name¡¯s Bion. What''s yours?"

    "My name is go away or I''ll make you go away," said Uchronia.

    "I thought your name was¡ª"

    "Zip it, Gus," she said.

    "Maybe you should leave me, Gus, and ¡®go away or I''ll make you go away¡¯, alone," said Alwin.

    Bion shot the three of them a glare so hot, Alwin felt like he might get first-degree burns. With a huff, the Dark Slime hopped away to another bed where a Leafling and Furball were getting to know each other.

    "I think that guy has a type," said Alwin.

    "Dark type?" replied Gus.

    "No, you dingus. He means the guy likes Leaflings," said Uchronia.

    Bion was flirting with the girl, and his charms were working. She was blushing, giggling, and acting all bashful and lovey-dovey. At least that''s what Alwin guessed. He couldn''t tell if she was flushed because she was flattered or because she feared for her life, but Alwin was trying to not live up to his species¡¯ name and opted for the former.

    "Yeah, that makes sense too," said Gus. "I''m looking forward to dinner, I''m starving here."

    Gus''s stomach suddenly growled. Talk about impeccable timing.

    "I''m quite hungry too," said Uchronia.

    "I''m more tired than hungry. I might just skip dinner," said Alwin.

    "Can I have your portion?" asked Gus.

    "Sure. So what now?" said Alwin.

    "I don''t know. Ask questions about each other? What''s your favorite food?" said Gus.

    "I want to know what was your experience like inside the simulation. What kind of humans did you battle?" said Uchronia.

    "Humans aren''t that tasty, they taste like nothing. They had this weird texture too, but I don''t know how to describe it. It was like eating air," said Gus.

    "I''m just going to pretend I never heard that. So was your first human a male with a sword?" asked Uchronia.

    "Mine was," said Alwin.

    "Same here. His sword didn¡¯t taste that good, it hurt my tongue, and it tasted like air too," said Gus.

    "Then did he suddenly disappear and come back with a lady using magic?" asked Uchronia.

    "Yup," said Alwin.

    "That lady did not taste good too, neither was her staff or that magic bolt she threw," said Gus.

    "You ate magic?" asked Alwin.

    "Yup, wouldn''t recommend it. They all taste bad and hurt your tongue," said Gus.

    "Then after you defeated them, did a bowman join the charge?" asked Uchronia.

    "Yea. That guy was annoying, his arrows tasted pretty bad too," said Gus.

    Defeat the magic lady? Alwin was absolutely destroyed by her and the swordsman. And the two in front of him managed to take them down? They were that strong? They''re speaking as if those humans were nothing more than a mild annoyance. Plus there was a bowman, right after the mage lady and swordsman were defeated? Did more people join in after that?

    "Alwin? Hello? What are you thinking about?" asked Uchronia.

    "What? No... I wasn''t thinking about anything. What makes you say that?"

    "Really, because it looked like you were thinking about something," said Uchronia.

    "I think you''re just seeing things."

    How did she know that he was thinking about something? Was she a mind reader? Could she be reading his mind right now?

    Testing. Testing. One, two, three. Can you hear me, Uchronia?

    "Are you thinking about something again?" asked Ucrhonia.

    "You are a mind reader!" exclaimed Alwin.

    "What? No, I''m not reading your mind. You just make really weird faces whenever you''re thinking."

    "I do?"

    So that''s how the teacher knew he was thinking about something. It wasn''t because the teacher was a mind reader. Unless... the teacher really was a mind reader and he was just pretending that he wasn''t one. A shiver ran down Alwin¡¯s spine, or whatever the equivalent was. What if Uchronia was doing the same thing?

    "You''re doing it again," said Uchronia.

    "What? No. What were we talking about?" asked Alwin.

    "Whether you knew how the bowman tasted," said Gus.

    "What? No, we were talking about whether Alwin encountered the bowman after defeating the first two humans."

    "I definitely did. One hundred percent did. Absolutely. Certainly. Definitely. Yep. A thousand yeses. Definitely met him after defeating the mage lady and swordsman," said Alwin.

    Alwin, in fact, was lying.

    "Right... " said Uchronia.

    "It''s almost six, let''s go get dinner!" said Gus.

    "Sure," said Uchronia.

    "You guys can go, I think I''m just gonna sleep. Night guys," said Alwin.

    "So I can get your dinner too?" asked Gus.

    "Yep," said Alwin.

    "Hell yeah!"

    Gus and Uchronia hopped off towards the exit, along with the rest of the class.

    Now he was alone. Alone with his thoughts. Alone to ponder about the meaning of life. Alone to stare up at the ceiling. Alone to wonder if the sheets indeed tasted like marshmallows. Only one way to find out.

    He glanced around, ensuring no one was watching. When he was sure the coast was clear, Alwin opened his jaws wide and chomped down on the sheets. Cotton filled his mouth as he munched on the white fluffy material. It was bitter and he immediately spat the sheet out of his mouth. The part where he bit down was soggy and stained with saliva.

    How was he going to sleep tonight? There was no way he was going to use a wet blanket. He needed a new one and he knew just where to get it.

    Grabbing the corners of the bed sheet with his mouth, due to his lack of hands, he dragged it over to a bed. Bion''s bed. With a swift turn, something he had inadvertently practiced over the course of his life, he tossed the sheet onto Bion''s bed. Humming a simple tune, he grabbed Bion''s old bed sheet and brought it back to his bed.

    Now, Alwin was a happy monster and hopefully, his dreams would be sweeter than the bed sheets. But, the prospect of classes kept him up longer than he would¡¯ve liked. Seriously, what were they going to learn in this weird academy? He¡¯d have to wait until tomorrow to find out or he could be a bad student and not pay attention in class and thus leaving zero questions. Hopefully that wouldn¡¯t happen.

 Chapter 4: First Class

    "Get up, Alwin!" a voice hollered.

    Who could be calling him so early in the morning? He didn''t want to get up. Why should he be forced to get up now? Especially when his bed was so warm and comfy. It was practically asking him to snuggle deeper into its comforting embrace. He groaned, burrowing deeper under the covers as if they could shield him from the unwelcome intrusion.

    "Five more minutes," Alwin groaned.

    "If you don''t get up, we''re gonna be late," the voice yelled.

    All of a sudden the warm embrace of his blankie was stripped from him. The cool air was an unwelcome visitor, creeping up on him, hugging his body just like the covers did. He shivered, his teeth chattering as he clutched at the empty space where his warm covers used to be.

    "I''m cold," Alwin whimpered.

    "Get up and move, then you''ll warm up," the voice said.

    The Dark Slime began to stir in his bed and his eyes began to flutter open. As his vision slowly adjusted to the glaring brightness of the room, he saw Gus looming over him, a blanket half-draped over his mouth. Alwin blinked, trying to make sense of the blurry scene. It looked like Gus was nibbling on his blanket. It must be his imagination. At least that''s what he hoped.

    Standing next to Gus was Uchronia. Her leaf-like tail swayed up and down, fanning the cold morning air into Alwin¡¯s face. So that''s why it was so cold. What a big meanie. When he fully woke up he''d teach her a lesson, but for now five more minutes. He burrowed back into his pillow, vowing that payback could wait.

    "Wake up, Alwin," Uchronia said, a stronger gust of wind washed over Alwin''s face.

    "Alright. I''m awake. Geez," said Alwin, using his pillow to shield his eyes from the assaulting light as he rubbed them.

    "About time. You missed breakfast, and class is about to start in five minutes," said Uchronia.

    "Class? Five minutes! Let''s go, we can''t be late," said Alwin.

    He hopped off his bed and made a mad dash for the exit, with Uchronia and Gus right behind him. They sprinted down the hallway, bodies bouncing against the floor in a desperate race against time. Just as the bell rang, they skidded into the classroom, barely making it. The three of them sat at their desks and waited for class to begin, as they recovered from their early morning workout.

    "Morning class," said Milvus, strolling in through the door on all eight of his paper-like tentacles.

    So what were they going to learn today? How to kill humans? How that useless Core Skill of his worked? Maybe how to sneak off to get some food during class, because he was famished.

    "Hope you all slept well. How are your heads? Yesterday''s info download gave you some basic knowledge. It¡¯s not perfect, but beats having to start from scratch. Today, I¡¯ll explain more about the academy and after that, you all will get to stretch your metaphorical legs with some fun activities that¡¯ve been planned out. Sounds good?"

    Fun activities? Wonder what Milvus has planned for them. Also, he should probably keep thinking to a minimum unless he wanted to get called out in front of the class again. Or maybe work on controlling his face when he thinks. Who even makes faces while thinking? That''s just weird. Looks like Alwin¡¯s weird.

    "This is a three-year course. Once you all graduate, you''ll be official members of the Monster Hunter Corp. Don''t think being Core Monsters means everything will be easy. There will be a final exam each year, and your trials will be tougher than those for regular monsters. But don''t worry, you''ll be prepared to be the best monsters you can be. The goal of the Monster Hunter Corp is simple: eradicate humanity for the betterment of monsterkind. Now, any questions?"

    Alwin still had a ton of questions from yesterday. What should he ask first? All of the brimming questions that were dying to be answered in his brain seemed to fade away into obscurity. It was like the moment he had the opportunity to extinguish any of those burning questions, they simply disappeared. They were still there in the deepest recesses of his brain, but now he struggled to pull them out. It was like trying to catch a shadow.

    "What''s the difference between a Core Monster and a Non-Core Monster?" asked Uchronia.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    "Hmmm, this info should¡¯ve been covered in the info download. I¡¯ll need to take a look at this later, but there are several differences between us and regular monsters," said Milvus. "The biggest is our Core Skill, a unique ability that no one else can learn. When a Core Monster dies, the skill returns to the Great Corenucopia for the next lucky monster to be blessed with. Core Monsters also grow faster, have larger cores, and increased mana capacity compared to regular monsters of the same stage."

    "Then what''s the Great Corenucopia?" asked Uchronia.

    "The Great Corenucopia is our lord and savior. He is the one who blessed us monsters and provided our esteemed lordship, the King of Monsteria, the ability to escape from the treacherous humans holding him captive. It was because of the Great Corenucopia that our King was able to establish Monsteria," said Milvus. "I can go on and on about the Great Corenucopia, but that would be saved for our History lessons. Any more questions?"

    "I have an important question. What''s for lunch," asked Gus.

    The whole class erupted in laughter. Milvus included.

    "I don''t know. I don''t run the cafeteria. Any other questions, not involving food?" asked Milvus.

    "What''s the best Core Skill?" asked Bion.

    Oh, Bion. I hope you enjoyed the wet blanket last night.

    "There is no single best Core Skill, it¡¯s about how well you use it. Some skills are easier to use than others which makes them seem better. Now, any other questions? If not I''ll move on."

    Milvus looked around the class, checking to see if anyone else wanted to ask another question. Alwin, from his perch in the back row, joined in, his gaze darting around the room. Uchronia had her eyes furrowed. Maybe she had a question to ask, or maybe she had to use the bathroom. Alwin couldn¡¯t tell.

    Meanwhile, Gus was snacking on a muffin he had snuck into class. Why, that lucky rascal. Alwin hadn''t had anything to eat since he was born. Maybe he shouldn''t have skipped dinner or overslept breakfast.

    "Okay, moving on. What I''ll teach you in the coming days are simple techniques: Offense, Defense, and Utility. This will prepare you for your first dip into the human world. While Core Skills are useful, relying on them and your Species Skill won¡¯t be enough in the long run."

    A Species Skill? Was that his Dark Tackle? Alwin''s mind raced with questions. Were Species Skills something that they were born with? What were the differences between that and a Core Skill?

    "What''s the difference between a Core Skill and a Species Skill?" Uchronia asked.

    It looked like she had asked his question for him. Well, that saved Alwin some trouble.

    "Core Skills are unique to each individual, while Species Skills are specific to your species and its evolutions. The techniques I''ll be teaching you all are ones anyone can learn, as long as you work hard enough.¡±

    More skills? That sounded fun. With his defunct Devolution skill that did nothing, adding more abilities to his arsenal sounded like a great idea. Then again, the thought of putting in effort to learn skills seemed like such a bother. What if he just focused on improving his Dark Tackle? Maybe that would be easier. Or maybe there''d be a skill that gave him hands. That would be infinitely more useful than any other skill Alwin could think of. Not that he could think of many, but still, it was the thought that counted.

    "What''s an evolution?" Uchronia asked.

    "When us monsters grow stronger, we''ll eventually achieve a stronger form. I''ll touch on it more during our Evolutionary Lesson, but the gist is that once the Evolution counter in your status hits the limit, you''ll evolve into a more powerful version of yourself," said Milvus. "Now any other questions? If not, I''ve got a fun activity for all of you to try out."

    Alwin still had questions, at least that''s what he thought he did. He couldn''t think of any right now, but he had an inkling of a feeling that the moment Milvus switched topics, a burning question would come to the forefront of his mind.

    "What''s the strongest evolution?" asked Bion.

    "There are researchers still working on that question. So I''m afraid I don''t know. If you''re still interested in the topic, I could set up a lesson where a guest speaker will teach us more about the topic."

    "That sounds good."

    "Since there are no more questions, let''s get started. I''ve planned some fun icebreaker games to help you get to know each other better. By ¡®I¡¯, I mean that the school has planned it. It¡¯s an academy tradition. Also, technically, it¡¯s just one game, but it¡¯s a great way to learn more about each other and what you¡¯re capable of. That¡¯s why you all will be fighting one another.¡±

    A fight? That''s the activity that was planned out? This was the craziest class that Alwin ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Well, it was the only class he had ever attended, but that joke was beginning to get more stale than leftover bread. Anyway, who fights on the first day? It was madness.

    "It¡¯s a one-on-one fight, and I''ll be pairing you all up based on some guidelines that I''ve taken into consideration. When it¡¯s your turn to fight, you''ll introduce your name, species, and core skills. Are you guys ready?"

    "Oh yeah!" Bion shouted out.

    The rest of the class lacked his enthusiasm, with Alwin being the most worried. At least, that¡¯s how it seemed¡ªhe could only gauge his own feelings, not theirs. His heart pounded with the dread of being humiliated on his first day. Then again, yesterday was technically his first day, and he had already been humiliated. Or maybe yesterday was day zero? Now, he was just trying to distract himself from the panic setting in.

    ¡°Welcome to Human Hunter¡¯s Academy¡¯s mini-tournament.¡±

    I just hope that everything will be okay.

 Chapter 5: Babys First Mini Tournament Part 1: Clavis vs Phyll

    "You all might want to get up," said Milvus, one of his tentacles hitting a button under the teacher''s desk.

    Alwin''s chair and table began to jitter and quiver before they started to descend into the ground. It wasn''t only his desk as all the other monsters were frantically looking around wondering why they were sinking into the floor. As curious as he was about the fate of the furniture, being eaten by the ground wasn''t part of his bucket list. If anything it was on the opposite of that list, it was on the ''tekcub'' list.

    Alwin tumbled off his chair in perfect sync with the rest of the students, like a choreographed routine they hadn''t practiced for. The instant their behinds left the seats, the platforms holding up the desks and chairs immediately dropped down into the ground. The tiles shuffled over, closing up the holes with a casual nonchalance. In no time, the room looked as if it had always been a barren wasteland of learning, save for the teacher¡¯s desk standing tall and smug, the only survivor of the great furniture purge.

    Alwin blinked rapidly, half-expecting to wake up from some bizarre dream. But no, his eyes weren''t playing tricks on him. His brain scrambled to catch up. What were the mechanisms behind the furniture disappearing into the ground? How did the tiles move to cover the hole? Alwin''s head buzzed with a million questions, each one more baffling than the last. But before he could voice a single one, Milvus chimed in.

    "All of those spectating stick to the walls, and those participating try not to get carried away. I''ll still be here to make sure nothing goes wrong, but try your best to make sure I don''t have to step in. Now, let''s get started."

    Well, that didn''t answer any of his questions, but he didn''t have a choice other than to leave it at that. It was obvious that Milvus had no plans to explain the miracle of technology that occurred in the classroom just moments ago. Instead, his focus was laser-locked on the upcoming battle.

    Alwin stuck close to the wall with Gus and Uchronia flanking him like a mismatched security detail. Two monsters proceeded to the center of the room, ready to throw down against each other. Apparently, Milvus had announced the pairings earlier, but Alwin had been too busy playing detective, obsessing over the mystery of the vanishing furniture to catch a single word the teacher had said. That''s what he guessed anyway.

    "Remember to announce your names and Core Skills," said Milvus.

    The first monster, a Dark Slime, spoke up, "You guys can call me Clavis and my Core Skill is called Lockpick."

    The second monster, a Leafling, spoke next, "My name is Phyll, and my skill is called Solar Powered."

    Solar Powered? Lockpick? Maybe his devolution skill didn''t seem that useless after all. One guy''s strongest ability was unlocking doors while the other was nothing more than a glorified houseplant. Maybe Bion had a dud skill too. Did Uchronia and Gus have a lame skill? Maybe he should speculate about it after the fight, and not during.

    "Are you guys ready?" asked Milvus.

    "Yes, sir," Both monsters replied in unison.

    "Fight!"

    The moment Milvus gave the word, both monsters began to circle each other. Neither seemed keen on making the first move, and it quickly turned into a ridiculous game of monster ring-around-the-rosy. After what felt like an eternity of hopping and shuffling, Clavis the Dark Slime finally decided enough was enough and lunged forward, breaking the awkward dance.

    "Lockpick!" yelled Clavis.

    A keyhole manifested on Phyll''s body, right above his head, accompanied by a tension wrench and a pick. Despite the tools jutting out of his head, Phyll seemed fine. His gaze remained fixed on Clavis, and he didn''t seem to be in any pain. If anything he looked annoyed.

    "You''re lucky I can''t use my Core Skill inside here," said Phyll.

    Phyll charged at his opponent as the lockpick began to work on opening his keyhole. The tension wrench and pick worked tirelessly as if they were in a trance. With every turn, the pins clicked into place.

    "Thorny Leaf," Phyll yelled out, a layer of thorns materialized over his leafy tail. With a swipe, his newly armed tail lashed out at Clavis.

    Not to be outdone, Clavis summoned a shadowy aura that wrapped around him like an inky cloak. "Dark Tackle!" he bellowed, charging at Phyll.

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    The pair launched into a furious exchange of blows. Phyll''s Thorny Leaf whipped through the air, each swipe aimed to shred Clavis, while Clavis countered with relentless Dark Tackles, his shadowy aura crashing against Phyll''s thorny tail. The sounds of the attacks colliding resounded through the air. Neither party relented in their assault, and the class watched in awe.

    While they currently seemed to be at a stalemate, that couldn''t be further from the truth. Clavis'' lock pick was still hard at work, the soft clicks of pins falling into place echoing with each turn. Phyll was on borrowed time, his fate ticking away with every second. The keyhole above his head inched closer to being unlocked, and the room buzzed with tension. No one knew what would happen once it did, no one except Clavis.

    Alwin''s mind raced with speculation about what the skill was about to unleash. There were countless possibilities. Well, by countless, he meant just one. The moment the lockpick accomplished its task, Phyll''s head would spring open like a ghastly jack-in-the-box, revealing its contents for all to see. It was a horrifying outcome, but it was also the most reasonable outcome, at least to him.

    Phyll and Clavis continued to trade blows, Thorny Leaf met Dark Tackle in a flurry of motion, but then, amid the chaos, a distinctive click cut through the noise. The final pin had fallen into place. As it made a full rotation, the keyhole, along with the protruding lockpick and wrench, vanished from Phyll¡¯s leafy form. The room fell silent, the sudden absence of the bizarre hardware leaving everyone wide-eyed and on edge, wondering what would happen next.

    But nothing happened.

    Phyll had a look of triumph on his face. "Looks like I was worried about nothing."

    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that," said Clavis.

    Alwin was disappointed. As twisted as it sounded, he was looking forward to Phyll''s head popping open. He''d imagined a ridiculous flower springing out or something ludicrous like that.

    Clavis was eerily calm for someone whose plan had just failed. Unless the plan didn''t fail and everything was going according to plan. So what was the plan? Alwin tried to scratch his head, but the lack of heads deterred him from doing so. Instead, he used his imagination to conjure up an imaginary hand to scratch his imaginary head.

    "Thorny Leaf!"

    "Dark Tackle!"

    The pair clashed again, but this time the vibe was entirely different. Before, the pair were on equal footing. They had countered and blocked all of each other''s attacks, but now the tables had turned. Clavis was able to hop over Phyll''s swipes like a demented kangaroo and ducked under them with the grace of a limbo champion. When his Dark Tackle collided with Phyll¡¯s Thorny Leaf, it sent Phyll stumbling backward, flailing like a leaf in a windstorm. Something had changed.

    "What did you do to me?" Phyll shouted.

    "I locked up your strength," said Clavis.

    Weren''t lockpicks supposed to unlock things, not lock them back up? When he noticed the sudden shift in the battle, he¡¯d guessed Clavis had unlocked some hidden weak point on Phyll or maybe exposed his vulnerabilities, but locking things up was never one of his guesses.

    "Is that why I feel so weak?¡±

    Clavis continued to attack Phyll, crashing into Phyll with every yell of Dark Tackle. Meanwhile, Phyll, on the other hand, was in dire straits. His once mighty tail swipes had turned into feeble flails, barely enough to tickle Clavis. The thorns on his tail had long disappeared, leaving him looking more like a droopy houseplant than a fierce combatant. Phyll wheezed and wobbled, struggling to even stand.

    Sensing victory, Clavis stepped forward with a theatrical flair, ready to deliver his grand finisher. He puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and with the gusto of an opera singer hitting a high note, bellowed, "Dark Tackle!"

    A dark aura spiraled around Clavis'' already shadowy figure, making him look like a storm cloud about to rain slime instead of water. Clavis lunged forward at his opponent, sending Phyll flying across the room. He crashed into the wall and then slid down to the floor in a crumpled heap.

    "Winner! Clavis, the Dark Slime," announced Milvus.

    "It''s not fair. I can''t use my Core Skill inside this classroom," Phyll groaned as he struggled to get up.

    "Life is never fair, and those humans will use every means necessary to gain the upper hand. Take this as an important lesson," Milvus lectured.

    "Fine," Phyll grumbled, before hopping back to his friends.

    "Good fight, Phyll!" shouted Clavis from across the room, before making his way back to his group of friends.

    What sort of ability was Phyll¡¯s Core Skill, anyway? If Clavis'' Lockpick ability was anything to go by, Alwin¡¯s mind wandered to absurd possibilities. Maybe Phyll¡¯s Solar Powered skill had nothing to do with being powered by the sun. Perhaps he was the one powering the sun? Whatever that meant, Alwin wasn¡¯t sure, but he knew he¡¯d have to keep an eye out for the guy the next time they went outside.

    "Next pair up," said Milvus.

    Who could the next pair be? Alwin racked his brain, regretting not paying attention when Milvus announced the pairings. He should have asked Uchronia and Gus afterward, but the fight had been too entertaining, even if it was mostly just two monsters hurling Dark Tackle and Thorny Leaf at each other.

    "Hey, who''s up next?" asked Alwin.

    Uchronia and Gus looked at each other, before turning to face Alwin.

    "Us," they said in unison. Without another word, they moved to the center of the classroom.

    His first two friends in the world, now forced to fight each other. Well, this should be entertaining.

 Chapter 6: Babys First Mini Tournament Part 2: Uchronia vs Gus

    Gus and Uchronia locked eyes like gladiators in a coliseum¡ªor at least, that¡¯s how Alwin romanticized it in his head. Two friends destined to clash in an epic showdown. Reality, however, was a bit less dramatic. Gus looked indifferent to the situation as he chomped down on a second muffin that he had somehow smuggled into the room. Crumbs littered the floor as he gnawed away.

    Meanwhile, Uchronia played her part in Alwin''s little fantasy. Her eyes bore into Gus like a drill digging for treasure. Her leaf tail flicked in anticipation, tapping the ground as she waited for Milvus to give the signal to fight.

    "If I win, I get your lunch," Gus mumbled, crumbs spraying as he spoke.

    Uchronia rolled her eyes at him in response.

    "Remember to introduce yourselves," Milvus reminded.

    "Uchronia. Alternate History."

    "My full name is Gulosus, but you can call me Gus for short. My Core Skill is called Devour." Even more crumbs sprayed out, adding to the mess on the floor.

    Alternate History and Devour? At least that explains why Gus was always talking about food. Was it a side effect of his Core Skill or did his personality lead him into receiving the Devour skill? Either way, it didn''t make a difference, just some mindless rambling to pass the time before the match started.

    "Fight!" shouted Milvus.

    "Thorny Leaf!" shouted Uchronia.

    A layer of thorns erupted along her leafy tail. Uchronia sprang into the air, executing a somersault. As she descended, she channeled her momentum, driving her spiked tail straight toward Gus.

    "Woah," Gus said, as he rolled out of the way of Uchronia''s attack.

    Her thorny tail smashed into the floor, the impact sending echoes reverberating through the room. Without missing a beat, Uchronia launched herself back into the air. She spun through another somersault, as her spike-laden tail came hurtling down towards Gus again.

    "Chill out, Uchronia," Gus said, as he rolled out of the way again.

    "No."

    Changing tactics, she abandoned any acrobatics. Instead, she pounced at him like a rabid beast, her thorny tail flailing wildly. Uchronia''s movements were unpredictable, at least to Alwin. Throwing caution to the wind she swung her spiked tail in any and all directions. The tail struck from above, then darted side to side as she attempted to whack Gus.

    If Alwin was struggling to follow the motion, he could only imagine how difficult it was for Gus. Actually, he didn''t have to imagine as Uchronia''s tail smashed into his furry cheeks. Each strike sent him hurtling in the other direction, a trickle of blood leaking out of the scratches, as he let out a small yelp of pain.

    "You don''t have to give me your food! You don¡¯t have to!" shouted Gus. "I''ll give you mine!"

    Uchronia¡¯s tail whipped through the air like a frenzied windmill, and Gus dodged with all the grace of a drunk ballerina. His efforts, however, were in vain. A particularly vicious swipe sent him careening into the wall. He slid down in a heap, eyes spinning as he tried to make sense of what happened.

    "Fight''s over," Uchronia declared, the thorns on her tail disappearing.

    Wow, Uchronia was brutal. Not exactly what Alwin expected¡ªthough, to be fair, he didn''t know what to expect. Alwin had just met the girl the day before and all he could glean from their limited interactions was that Uchronia was one of those serious types. Meanwhile, Gus'' personality could be summed up with one word: hunger.

    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that," said Milvus.

    Gus had picked himself up off the ground, his gaze locked onto Uchronia. His eyes, usually half closed and full of mirth, were now wide open. The hungry look in them had intensified, and his breaths were r breaths came in ragged gasps, like a starving predator scenting prey. If it wasn''t obvious by now, something had changed.

    "Food...food...FOOD!" he roared, before lunging at Uchronia.

    "Thorny Leaf!" yelled Uchronia, leaping into the air. She spun around, her tail slicing through the air as it aimed straight for Gus¡¯ face.

    "LETTUCE!" shouted Gus, before opening his mouth wide open to reveal the endless void hidden inside.

    Was Gus going to eat Uchronia''s tail? Since they were both monsters was that considered cannibalism? But Gus and Uchronia were different species of monsters, so was it not considered cannibalism? Oh heavens, Alwin looked like a delicious helping of dark purple jelly. Gus might eat him for dessert after he''s done with his main serving of salad.

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    Gus'' mouth was inches away from chomping down on Uchronia''s tail. Alwin couldn''t bear to watch, he sealed his eyes shut tighter than when Clavis sealed Phyll''s strength. Considering that Phyll could still move, Alwin sneaked a peak of the horrors about to unfold.

    "Alternate History!" Uchronia shouted.

    A flash of light graced the room as Uchronia''s words echoed in the background. Once the light receded, things were slightly different. Slightly. There was only one difference between now and moments ago.

    Instead of just one Uchronia about to strike Gus, there were now two. The second Uchronia was behind Gus, her fur standing on end as sparks of electricity danced about the tipped edges. Why she had fur despite a Leafling being supposedly furless? It was because this Uchronia wasn''t a Leafling, she was a Furball like Gus.

    "Static Pounce!" the second Uchronia voiced out.

    As she crashed into Gus, his mouth was forced out of the way of the original Uchronia''s tail. A surge of electricity coursed through him, causing his fur to rise. The Furball Uchronia behind Gus had a triumphant grin on her furry face before she vanished in a bright flash of light, leaving the one and only Uchronia now charging at the stunned Gus.

    Gus mumbled something about a muffin top. Alwin couldn''t blame the guy for confusing a fashion statement for food. It had the word muffin in it, for crying out loud. What Alwin could blame was the guy who decided that the term ¡®muffin top¡¯ was apparently important enough information to warrant it being downloaded into his brain. In what world was it even relevant to a monster being trained to take down humans? Seriously!

    "Thorny Leaf!" the sole remaining Uchronia shouted.

    With a twirl of her body and a flick of her tail, she drove her spike-riddled leaf into Gus without fail.

    "Hurgh," grunted Gus, as he was sent hurtling through the air toward Milvus and the teacher''s desk.

    "Fights over," Milvus said, catching Gus with two of his paper tentacles.

    Uchronia hopped back over to where Alwin was. Intimidated didn''t even begin to cover how he felt¡ªthis girl was downright terrifying. The way she mercilessly pummeled Gus was enough to make him shudder. Alwin couldn¡¯t help but imagine himself in Gus''s place, cradled by Milvus, about to be force-fed a red pill. Wait a second¡ªwhat was Milvus doing to Gus?

    Alwin looked up to get a better look at the situation unfolding. A third tentacle had reached under the desk, grasping a small red pill, red as the blood that soaked Gus'' fur. If only the information download had provided him with more useful information, instead of something completely irrelevant like muffin tops.

    Gus was passed out with his mouth wide open, a side effect of being knocked silly by Uchronia. Milvus hovered the red pill over to the gaping mouth before dropping it in. The moment the pill touched his tongue, Gus''s eyes fluttered slightly then snapped open, his pupils dilated as he slurped the rest of the pill into his mouth. That tiny pill wasn''t enough as Gus lurched forward trying to take a bite out of the tentacle that fed him.

    "Hope you feel better," Milvus said, letting Gus down onto the ground.

    "I''d feel a lot better after more food," said Gus.

    "We¡¯ll have lunch after all the battles, that ok?"

    "Sure thing, teach," said Gus, as he hopped towards Alwin and Uchronia with a big grin.

    Other than his dyed fur, Gus seemed to be in perfectly fine condition. No pain or suffering was evident in his happy demeanor, and definitely no cannibalistic tendencies. Thank goodness.

    "Are you feeling ok?" asked Alwin.

    "Other than being hungry? I feel good," said Gus.

    "And are you ok, Uchronia?" asked Alwin.

    "I didn''t even get hit. Of course, I''m fine," said Uchronia.

    "I know, but it''s just that, maybe, you know. I was wondering if you kind of feel bad for knocking Gus unconscious or something like that," said Alwin.

    "And I should feel that way because? Look, I like you guys. You two are the first people I''ve talked to since being born, but just because I consider you two friends doesn''t mean I''m going to feel bad if I beat you in a fight," said Uchronia.

    "I''m just more sad that I didn''t get her lunch," Gus said with a sigh.

    "Maybe if you actually fought back, you would''ve had a chance at getting my lunch. What did you even do besides pathetically dodging? Sure, you dodged the first few hits, but after that, I just kept hitting you! You didn''t even fight back! At least, not consciously. The only time you actually fought was when your hunger took over! You didn''t use any skills either! Why? Is it because I''m a girl?"

    "No... I was just... I was hungry... and..." Gus said, struggling to find the right words to respond to her rant.

    "And what? You can''t just not fight because you''re hungry. We''re here to train and rid the world of those humans, not have a buffet. If you can''t take this seriously, I don''t think we can be friends anymore. I''ll find someone who actually wants to use their Core Skill and help me change the world."

    "But I need food to survive. You need food to survive. It''s just that I need a bit more food than others," sniffed Gus.

    Uchronia''s eyes narrowed as she slapped her tail against the ground. "Fine."

    Just like that Uchronia and Gus'' friendship was hanging by a thread. All Gus had to do was hold his stomach together and not nibble on it. Now it was Alwin''s turn to interrogate Gus.

    "What was that red pill Milvus gave you? You took it and now you''re all better," said Alwin.

    "Don''t know. Tasted like nothing, so it wasn''t that important," said Gus.

    "That was a Small Healing Pill," said Uchronia. "How do you not know this?"

    "Don''t blame me, blame that info downloady thingy," said Alwin.

    "You know what? Never mind. The next fight is about to start and I want to pay attention."

    Alwin let out a sigh. Uchronia was scary. Maybe he should just focus on the next match instead, that should surely take his mind off of things. That''s what he hoped for at least.

 Chapter 7: Babys First Mini Tournament Part 3: Deb vs Concord

    A Leafling and a Dark Slime made their way to the center of the classroom. He really should ask about the pairings, but if Uchronia caught wind of it, who knows what sort of tirade she would go on about. Alwin grimaced, wishing he had a better word than "scary" to describe her. Unfortunately, he didn''t have a thesaurus with him.

    All he had to do was play it cool. The moment only one person stepped up to the front of the classroom, he''d know who''d be up against. After that he''d probably have about thirty seconds to internally freak out while making his way to the front, trying to look composed. Then he''d just have to wing it and hope for the best. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Hopefully.

    The Dark Slime spoke first, "Deb''s the name, Loan''s the game."

    Alwin saw the Leafling speak next, emphasis on "saw" because he saw her mouth move, but no sound graced his ears. Was he going deaf or were his eyes not working? Considering his lack of ears, maybe the whole deaf thing had some merit after all.

    "Can you speak up?" said Milvus.

    "My name is... My name is Concord. M-m-my skill is called Silencer," the Leafling whispered.

    That explains why she''s so quiet. At least that was what Alwin thought for about one second. It wasn¡¯t as if she was using her Core Skill all day every day. Unless she was another one of those serious types like Uchronia and she was constantly using her Core Skill as a form of training.

    It was either that or Alwin was just really terrible at reading people, but in his defense... Alwin couldn''t think of anything so the defensive argument would have to be postponed to sometime in the distant future. Or never, depending on whether he remembered about it.

    "Well then, let''s begin," said Milvus.

    Deb dashed towards Concord, her eyes gleaming as she closed in on her prey. In contrast, Concord was backing up as fast as possible. A large grin adorned Deb''s face while Concord had a smile that was upside down¡ªa frown.

    "Thanks for the, Loan!" yelled Deb.

    A small ball of light emanated out from Uchronia and Gus, floating through the air towards Deb. She opened her mouth nice and wide, before she gobbled down on the balls of light, then let out a satisfying belch. Gus watched, salivating at the sight of someone getting to eat something, while Uchronia had her brows furrowed at what had just happened.

    "Thorny Leaf!" Deb followed up.

    Wasn''t that a Leafling''s skill? Was Deb actually just dumb and didn''t know what skills she had? She was a Dark Slime, just like him. She should have Dark Tackle, not a Leafling''s Thorny Leaf.

    As Deb charged, something began to sprout from behind her. It resembled a Leafling''s tail, but it wasn''t exactly either. Instead of the characteristic green of a Leafling, it possessed the same dark jelly-like appearance as the rest of her body. A layer of thorns sprouted on the large leaf tail before she whipped it towards Concord.

    A high-pitched squeal escaped from Concord''s lips as she scampered out of the way of the attack. Without skipping a beat, Deb chased after the fleeing Leafling, brandishing her tail like a flail as she pounced around the classroom.

    "Stop running like a coward!" Deb yelled.

    Concord responded with another high-pitched squeal as she zipped across the floor. She bolted around the classroom in circles screaming her heart out with tears streaming down her face, all with a rabid Deb hot on her tail.

    At least now the rest of the class could hear her loud and clear. Unfortunately, there wasn''t any substance in that unintelligible high-pitched screech. If Alwin had any hands and knew where his ears were, he''d cover them up. But, you know the drill, he lacked neither. Thus, he was forced to endure the shrill cries that rang throughout the room. On the plus side, it was entertaining to watch.

    "Pathetic," Uchronia mumbled. "Running away and not even fighting back, just pathetic."

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    Yup. Alwin was definitely not going to let Uchronia know he didn''t know who he was paired up with. It''d be better for everyone involved, probably.

    Concord was starting to show signs of fatigue. Beads of sweat trickled down her face, mingling with the tears that streamed out of her eyes. Her breath came in ragged gasps and each hop seemed to be more sluggish than the last. Finally, with a shuddering sigh, she came to a reluctant standstill, her chest heaving after running laps around the room.

    Deb leaped into the air and performed a flip before crashing her tail down towards the weary Leafling. Concord, despite her exhaustion, swung her thorny tail up with a desperate cry, meeting Deb''s attack head-on and halting it in its tracks.

    When did Concord use Thorny Leaf? Alwin shook his head and chalked it up to a momentary lapse in attention. He must''ve been lost in thought when she yelled it out. So lost in thought that he didn''t even realize he was thinking. Truly, an extraordinary skill for an extraordinary individual like Alwin.

    Maybe he was trying to figure out how Deb could use Thorny Leaf and how she even grew a tail. Or maybe he was thinking about the pairings. Whatever he was thinking about he''d have to rethink it because he had no memories of even thinking about them in the first place. What a waste of time, just like this rambling right now.

    Deb''s tail disappeared almost as suddenly as it appeared. In its wake, a dense layer of fur covered her entire body, fur that stood on its edges as streaks of electricity jumped between the deep purple fibers.

    "Static Pounce!" she roared as she launched herself at Concord.

    She raised her tail again to block the attack. Deb smashed into the Leafling''s tail, sending jolts of electricity coursing through Concord''s body. The sheer force of the blow launched the exhausted Leafling off the ground, her body hurtling through the air before crashing against the unforgiving wall of the classroom. Deb didn''t come out of the fight unscathed either. As her fur rescinded, crimson droplets welled from the puncture wounds inflicted by Concord''s thorn.

    "Deb wins!" announced Milvus.

    "Oh yeah! I''m the best!" Deb exclaimed as she performed a backflip.

    Milvus walked over to the collapsed Concord and slipped a Small Healing Pill into her mouth. The moment Concord swallowed, she jolted upright, frantically scanning the room. When her eyes met Milvus'', she found him smiling down at her with reassurance. A sheepish smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she murmured, "Thank you."

    "No problem," said Milvus.

    "Mr. Milvus, I have a question," said Uchronia.

    "Sure, questions are always welcomed," said Milvus.

    "You know how when we use our skills we have to say out their names to use them? When Concord was fighting earlier, I didn''t hear her say anything but still, she could activate Thorny Leaf."

    "Concord, do you mind if I explain a bit about your Core Skill?" asked Milvus.

    "S-sure," she whispered.

    "Thanks. To answer Uchronia''s question, I need to explain something first. Silent casting is an advanced technique that you all will eventually learn. However, there are some drawbacks to it. It isn''t the easiest thing in the world to learn, and silent casting is generally weaker than normal casting. This is where Concord''s Silencer comes in. She''s able to bypass all of that training and silent cast at full power."

    So this meant his mind wasn''t so far gone that he wouldn''t have realized that he was lost in thought. Concord simply never voiced out her move. Talk about a cheat skill. She''d probably make a good assassin. Blending in with the forest, hiding amongst the shadows as she stalked her prey, a lousy human. She''d hop from tree to tree without making a sound, not a single twig would dare to betray her presence as she prowled silently through the treetops. She''d sneak up on the hapless human and strike without warning. The ultimate assassin. Unless, of course, she was absolutely terrible at everything except the last part, but who''s to say?

    "How do we train to silent cast?" asked Uchronia.

    "That''s a bit too advanced for you right now. After we settle the basics then we can talk about it. That ok?"

    "Yes, thank you."

    "You''re very welcome. Now, onto the next battle. Next pair up and center," said Milvus.

    Next pair. Got to keep his eyes peeled. Alwin had to move fast if only one person walked up, but not too fast if not people would judge him, but also not too slow if not people would judge him too. How should he balance it? Would he still be judged even if he went up at the right time? Maybe Alwin just had some sort of anxiety problem. He definitely had an overthinking problem. Oh wait, Alwin spent so much time thinking about being judged he forgot to actually pay attention.

    Two Furballs were already in the middle of the classroom, both of them sizing each other up.

    "I''m gonna win this match, for Bion," the first Furball said.

    "Well, I''m gonna win this match for myself," the second Furball replied.

    Alwin sighed. At least now he didn''t have to worry about missing anything. Imagine how embarrassed it''d have been if everyone knew he was stuck in daydream mode again.

    "My name is Brie. My Core Skill is called Revival," the first Furball said.

    "Well, I''m Flintlock and my Core Skill is called Gun," the second Furball said.

    Wait, what? Gun?

 Chapter 8: Babys First Mini Tournament Part 4: Flintlock vs Brie

    His Core Skill was called Gun? Just Gun? Well, this was going to be interesting. As long as Mr. Flintlock over here doesn''t miss and end up turning Alwin into Swiss cheese. Now that he thought about it for half a second, this seemed like a fight that he should really pay attention to.

    "Fight!" announced Milvus.

    The match had begun as usual, it started with a stare-down contest. Each contestant sized the other up, eyes locked, neither one wanting to make the first move.

    "I''m gonna give you one chance to surrender, sweetheart. If not, I can''t guarantee you''ll live," said Flintlock.

    "Surrender? You must have a couple of screws loose. I''m here to show Bion that I''m strong enough to be with him. Ain''t that right, Bion?" Brie turned around, shooting a wink towards Bion.

    Maybe Bion and Uchronia were a match made in some sarcastic heaven. Bion''s eye roll was almost a mirror image of Uchronia''s.

    "Ain''t he just the most charming guy," sighed Brie.

    "Whatever sweetheart. But you best not turn your back on me," said Flintlock.

    "Gun!" he yelled. In an instant, the air crackled as a musket materialized, hovering right above him, its barrel gleaming under the classroom light.

    The musket hung in the air, a relic of a bygone era brought into the present moment. Yet, its metal shimmering with a lustrous sheen untouched by time or wear. Its stock, crafted from polished wood, bore no blemishes, its surface smooth to the touch.

    Out of all the skills displayed today, this was the one where Alwin drew a line. What kind of line he couldn''t really say. It was definitely a straight line drawn using a pencil in case he wanted to erase the line, but what the line represented Alwin couldn''t exactly phrase it into words. The guy just summoned a gun, for Pete''s sake. And seriously, who''s Pete and why should he give two flying craps about his sake.

    Now, Mr. Gun over here was talking like some sort of cowboy from the Old Wild West. Another thing Alwin wanted to highlight was the fact that whoever was in charge of the info download thought it was okay to give him information about ancient human civilization that dated thousands of years old, but not give him any information about that Small Healing Pill Milvus was giving out like candy. Was there a Medium Healing Pill? A large one? Alwin didn''t know, because he was stuck with useless information about the Wild West and muskets.

    Brie turned around, the steely coldness in her eyes a stark contrast to the loving gaze she was showing towards Bion. "Give me your best shot," she said.

    "Always do."

    With a flash, the muzzle of the musket erupted, flames licking the tip of the barrel. A deafening blast followed, and a thick cloud of smoke swallowed Alwin''s vision. The acrid smell of gunpowder filled his nostrils¡ªor whatever the slime equivalent was¡ªstinging and pungent.

    In the time it took for the sound to echo and dissipate, the cloud of smoke began to clear. Alwin saw a single red dot, right in the middle of Brie''s forehead. A thin trail of blood dripped out from the tiny wound as her body froze in shock. A split second later, her body slumped to the ground like a puppet that had its strings severed.

    In the span of a mere five seconds, the duel was decided. Alwin wanted to applaud, but his lack of hands made it impossible. Instead, he did a flurry of rapid hops to do a horrible imitation of an applause. It was so horrible, that Gus had to ask him if he had to go pee.

    "What did you do? You said you would step in if something goes wrong!" shouted Uchronia.

    She hopped over to where Brie lay, her body slack and lifeless. A crimson pool of blood was spreading like a dark stain beneath Brie''s form. The metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air, reminding Alwin that he was hung up on the wrong issue.

    "The fight isn''t over yet, so I suggest you go back to the wall, Uchronia," said Milvus.

    "Over? She''s dead!" shouted Uchronia.

    "I don''t mean to be rude teach, but I did put a bullet through her head," said Flintlock.

    "And you, I''ll have a talk with you after class. Now Uchronia, please move back or else you''ll have to stay behind after class too," said Milvus.

    Uchronia shot a glare that could freeze hell, bring it to a boil like soup, and then freeze it again for leftovers before stomping back to Alwin. The room was silent, the entire class was stunned speechless. Then, Brie''s body twitched once.

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    "There¡¯s a reason why I set you up against Brie," said Milvus.

    A yellow ring of light glowed around her body, the light illuminating her fallen figure. Tiny dots of light twirled around her corpse, converging at the hole in her forehead. The musket ball was squeezed out like a pimple and dropped to the floor with a plop. In an instant, the hole disappeared along with the light show, leaving Brie good as new.

    "Oh, man. You made me use up a Revive already," said Brie.

    Right... Revival. It made sense why Milvus didn''t do anything when Flintlock shot her. No need to worry about your student getting hurt when she can revive herself as if nothing ever happened.

    "Oh, crap. I still need to reload," said Flintlock.

    A small paper cartridge that contained gunpowder and a musket ball materialized next to the floating gun. With a swift turn, he tore the cartridge with his teeth, but before he could even think about pouring the gunpowder into the musket, he was tackled by the charging Brie.

    "Static Pounce!" she exclaimed.

    Electric arcs crackled in between the thick strands of fur. She slammed into Flintlock, knocking him backwards. The impact sent the cartridge of gunpowder exploding from Flintlock''s grasp, scattering into the air like a storm of dark confetti. Even the musket came along for the ride too, flying backwards with Flintlock, like a balloon attached by an invisible string.

    "No, you didn''t!" he grunted.

    "Oh, I did. What are you going to do about it, hotshot?"

    Flintlock let out a deep sigh before shouting, "This!"

    Using the butt of the musket, he jammed it straight into her face. Her head snapped backwards as blood sprayed out from her nostrils like a sprinkler.

    "You son of a ¡ª"

    "Language, Brie," said Milvus.

    She turned around and shot Milvus a glare that could rival Uchronia''s.

    "Now, what did I say bout turning your back on me, sweetheart," said Flintlock.

    Brie snapped her body to face Flintlock again. Not a moment too soon, as the barrel of the musket was an inch away from her furry face.

    "WAIT!" she shouted.

    "What''s the problem? Thought you can''t die." Flintlock winked.

    "Wait, wait, wait. I-l-l-look behind me. There''s a guy right there. If you shoot and miss you''ll kill him too," said Brie.

    Flintlock tilted his body to the side. Indeed, right behind her stood Alwin, with the same placid look as always. For once, Alwin was actually paying attention and noticed Flintlock looking his way. This was awkward, and Alwin didn''t know how to react. So he just gave a big smile and wiggled his eyebrows.

    "Listen, sweetheart. I don''t miss. Now do you surrender?" asked Flintlock.

    "And make a fool out of myself in front of Bion? Never!" shouted Brie.

    "If that''s the way you want it to be."

    He cocked the hammer of the musket back into position.

    "WAIT!" yelled Brie again.

    "Again, sweetheart? What is it this time?"

    "W-w-w-what if you do hit me, but the bullet goes through my body and hits the guy behind me?"

    Flintlock shifted his body again and made eye contact with Alwin. He still didn''t know how to react, so he gave a big toothy smile and wiggled his non-existent eyebrows even harder, like a snake having a seizure.

    "Yo, pardner. Mind scooching over to the side a bit?" asked Flintlock.

    Was he talking to him? He was definitely looking his way, but Alwin didn''t want to respond only to find out that he wasn''t even talking to him. That would be so embarrassing. He looked to his left and right only to find Uchronia and Gus giving him a quizzical look. Then, he turned around to see if there was anyone behind him, but there wasn''t. Simply because the only thing behind him was a wall. Now, unless someone here could phase through walls, it was safe to say that the message was intended for Alwin.

    "Yes, you Dark Slime," said Flintlock.

    "Oh, ok," said Alwin.

    Well, that was really embarrassing. Alwin scurried on over to Gus'' side, a part of him hoping that everyone would forget the last twenty seconds.

    "Much appreciated. I owe you one," said Flintlock. "Now where were we, sweetheart?"

    "Why don''t we call this match a draw," suggested Brie.

    "Not a chance. You''re going down, sweetheart."

    "Or-or-or what if we talk this out like civilized monsters."

    "Cut the chit-chat, sweetheart. All your yapping is ruining the moment. Now you ready to zip it?"

    "WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" shouted Brie.

    "Oh come on. What is it?"

    "I surrender. I surrender. I don''t want to die."

    "Isn''t your Core Skill called Revival? Coming back to life should be as easy pie for you."

    "I can''t do it twice in one day. Now put that gun away before you shoot me."

    "If that''s what you want, sweetheart." Flintlock winked, and the musket floating in front of him dematerialized into thin air.

    "Oh¡­ Bion is gonna think I''m a wimp now," she sighed.

    "Cheer up, sweetheart. I don''t think that Bion guy of yours could last as long as you did." winked Flintlock.

    "Thanks," she whispered.

    The two combatants separated and went back to their respective spots in the classroom. Brie walked over to Bion before she started apologizing profusely for surrendering. At least, that''s what Alwin was guessing she was saying, he didn''t have super hearing. While Flintlock went over to chat with Clavis and another unnamed Leafling.

    Four rounds down, two more to go. Maybe the next round would be the one where Alwin got to participate. Hopefully not.

 Chapter 9: Babys First Mini Tournament Part 5: Galeo vs Tess

    Now was the time to keep his eyes more peeled than a potato. That unnamed Leafling chatting with Flintlock and Clavis hopped up to the center. One down. Alwin''s brain threatened to spiral into a vortex of overthinking if someone else didn''t step up soon. Just as he braced for a mental tornado, a nameless Furball sprang forward, meeting the Leafling with a curt nod

    That just meant that Alwin would be in the final round. Got to save the best for last after all. Hold on, if Alwin was in the final round then that meant¡­ Oh no. Alwin would be facing against Bion. Well, it''d still be the best for last¡ªAlwin, the best of the best, versus Bion, the best of the worst. Hopefully.

    "My full name is Testudine, but I''d prefer if you call me Tess for short. My Core Skill is called Impenetrable Shield," the female Leafling said.

    "I''m Galeo, and my Core Skill is called Unstoppable Spear. Looks like we got paired up for a reason," said the male Furball.

    Defense versus offense. This ought to be a fun fight to watch. Not that any of the fights haven''t been entertaining. The previous fight was slightly horrifying now that he thought about it for a moment, but nothing a good burying it in the deepest parts of his mind never to see the light of day again can''t fix. Yup, everything was going to be alright.

    "Fight!" announced Milvus.

    Now was the most boring part of the fight, the customary stare-off where each participant sized one another up. Neither one wanted to make the first move until one of them got impatient, and frankly, it was becoming quite boring to watch. Thankfully, not everyone subscribed to this tedious ritual. Unfortunately, it looked like Tess and Galeo were.

    Alwin swore that he wouldn''t fall victim to such boring practices. His fight with Bion would be legendary! Probably!

    "Come on attack me!" yelled Galeo.

    "And why should I do that?" shouted Tess.

    "Because I want to see how weak your attack is," said Galeo.

    "You''ve seen already seen all the other Leafling''s attacked, there''s isn''t anything special about mine," said Tess.

    "Fine then, let''s see how that shield of yours holds up then."

    "Unstoppable Spear!" Galeo shouted.

    A spear materialized, seemingly out of thin air, hovering just inches above his head. It was a plain wooden stick, with a glinting steel tip as sharp as a knife. It''s a wonder why it was called an unstoppable spear considering the fact that it looked like any plain old spear. It''s a good thing that the spear could float, if not just imagine all the slobber coating the shaft. Or each time Galeo swung the spear a bucket load of saliva would come flying off. Ew. Alwin had to stop thinking about those gross hypothetical details.

    Geleo charged forward, the spear following close behind. The tip of the spear aimed straight for her chest. What followed was a simple textbook stab. A lunge that was straightforward, and lacking in any sort of complex movement or flair.

    "Impenetrable Shield!" Tess called out.

    A tower shield materialized in the air. It was as plain as rice, a muted grey color with no noticeable pattern or design. Its only defining feature, other than being made of steel like the spear, was its sheer simplicity. It hung suspended for a fleeting moment, before gravity told it to think twice, forcing it to the ground with a thunderous boom. The spear slammed into the shield, its tip unable to penetrate the smooth plane of metal.

    "Your spears looking pretty stoppable there," laughed Tess.

    "Oh shut it."

    Galeo pulled back his spear and thrust it forward again. The clash of metal against metal reverberated through the classroom as the spear met Tess'' shield, the impact sending sparks flying like fiery embers. This time, it managed to pierce through Tess'' shield, its tip piercing through the other side with a triumphant cry of metal being destroyed. Time seemed to slow as the tip of the spear emerged, a deadly gleam catching the light as it missed Tess'' face by a mere fraction of an inch.

    "Your shields looking pretty penetrable there," laughed Galeo.

    "I''ll penetrate you... you... you dingus."

    Alwin couldn''t help but snort at the choice words the pair were throwing out.

    "Maybe work on your phrasings," said Milvus.

    Galeo pushed forward with all his might, the spear continuing its path through the shield. She shoved her shield to the side, deflecting the spear''s trajectory. The spear exited through the shield and hit nothing but air.

    "Looks like you gotta work on your aim," said Tess.

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    Galeo''s spear through whatever psychic link he had with the weapon, came to a sudden stop, as if caught by an invisible hand. It spun once and aligned itself with Tess before hurling forward slicing through the air with a barely perceptible whistle. Like a javelin, it soared, closing the gap between the two faster than it took Alwin to think of a good way to describe it.

    Using her own link with the shield, she willed it to block the incoming projectile. The spear bounced off her shield like a ball ricocheting off a brick wall, spinning off to the side. Then the spear came to a halt once again, before it shot back towards Tess, its tip like a guided missile searching for its target.

    Tess brought the shield in front of her again, but the spear managed to punch through, the sound of metal splintering echoing throughout the room. It didn''t exit the other side, instead lodging itself into the shield. The shield was skewered, stuck on the spear''s point like a kebab.

    "Damn thing is stuck," said Galeo.

    It looked as if the spear was having a seizure, jiggling about in place. The spear struggled to free itself, trying to rip its way out from the metallic confines that held it in place. Yet, it could do nothing but wiggle around pathetically.

    "What were you saying about being unstoppable? Hmm?" said Tess.

    "Shut it."

    The spear crumbled apart, leaving nothing but tiny shards in its place, then suddenly reappeared above Galeo''s head once again.

    "Two can play at that game," said Tess.

    Tess'' shield began to crumble apart just like the spear did moments before. In a few seconds, the entire shield had transformed into dust, a glittering cloud of metallic specks that swirled about the air. Her shield reappeared in the air, good as new, no traces of being penetrated present.

    The shield slammed down onto the floor again, dispersing the cloud of dust to the rest of the class.

    Gus stuck his tongue out, silver powder settling upon it like delicate snowflakes. With surprisingly nimble movements, his tongue darted about as he tried to capture as many of the falling flakes as he could. Uchronia scrunched her face in disgust, while Alwin wondered how Gus was going to react. A minuscule part of him did wonder what the dust tasted like and wanted to partake in the festivities, but a ginormous part of him decided that that was absolutely disgusting. No way was his tongue going anywhere near that.

    Suddenly, a strangled cough erupted from Gus, followed by an audible retch that echoed through the air. He spat out a glob of saliva, then looked back to the match as if he hadn''t just ingested a bunch of metallic dust.

    Galeo shot his spear at Tess again. She blocked the attack with her shield, with the spear spinning out of harm''s way again. His spear changed direction and came from a different angle, but this time it managed to pierce through Tess'' shield. Galeo re-summoned his spear to his side, leaving a small hole in the shield. Tess re-summoned her shield to her side, which undid the small hole left by the spear.

    There were only so many ways to describe a spear hitting a shield only for it to bounce away, and perform its own interpretation of a spinning top, before it suddenly stopped in mid-air and rocketed itself towards the shield only to pierce it but never all the way, leaving the spear stuck inside the shield. Then both parties would re-summon their respective weapons before the tussle resumed.

    Technically, there were an infinite number of ways to describe it, but Alwin didn''t have an infinite amount of time to think of more entertaining ways to describe it, so an abridged version seemed more appropriate after a while.

    The duo battled it out in the center of the room, neither one backing down nor gaining any advantage over the other. The crowd watched with bated breath, eagerly awaiting something that would break the stalemate. Who would be the one to cinch victory? Who would be the one to turn the tides of war in their favor?

    If either of them wanted to end this fight, they''d have to make a bigger move. A gamble that was sure to hurt, but a gamble that would lead to victory. Too bad neither of them were gamblers, so all they did was the same sequence of moves, the only variation being the direction the spear came from.

    Sometimes Galeo would launch his spear from in front of Tess, sometimes it would be right above her, and sometimes he''d even launch it backward for whatever reason. By, backward Alwin didn''t mean that the spear came from Tess'' back, he meant that the spear came barreling towards Tess with the butt of the spear facing her. Why did this happen? No one knew. It didn''t matter as the outcomes were the same either way.

    The pair were drenched in sweat, panting and wheezing. Each breath was a struggle, rasping through parched throats as sweat dripped, stinging their eyes. Their weapons soared through the air slower than before, missing the mark more often. They were wearing thin, their stamina slowly being eaten up piece by piece. Only the toughest one would prevail, and with the rate it was going it wouldn''t be long until one of them collapsed.

    Alwin and the rest of the class no longer held their breath with each clash of spear against shield, their once eager expressions now replaced by heavy-lidded eyes and distracted gazes. After the umpteenth time of watching a spear charge forth only to get rebuffed, the feeling of excitement was all but extinguished, for most of the class at least. Uchronia still watched the battle intently, her gaze following the back-and-forth dance between the two.

    Who knew how much longer the fight would take? Alwin blinked once, and suddenly Galeo was lying face-down on the ground, his spear nowhere to be seen. Tess stood above him, about to strike him with her leaf tail when a paper-like tentacle came in between them.

    "Stand down, Tess," said Milvus.

    "Huh? But... but I''m about to win," Tess slurred out her words before she collapsed face-first into Milvus'' outstretched tentacle.

    "Class, let this be a lesson not to overexert yourselves, and always make sure to have a Small Mana Pill on standby."

    Milvus stretched out two of his tentacles towards his desk, their tips grasping two small blue pills as they slithered their way back. He popped the pills into the collapsed students'' mouths and lifted the limp bodies, carrying them effortlessly across the room to his awaiting desk.

    "Last two, come to the center and get ready. I''m just going to make sure Tess and Galeo are ok," said Milvus, before the tentacles carried him over to his desk. Or, more succinctly, he walked.

    Last two? That was Alwin. He wasn''t ready for this he was still complaining in his head about how boring and long the previous battle was. Alwin hadn''t even gotten the chance to wake up. He was in a daze while watching the fight, too unwilling to get lost in a daydream, but also too bored to actually observe the fight. Thus, for the past however minutes, he was operating on autopilot, until "poof" the battle was over.

    Oh, bother. This was going to be not fun.

 Chapter 10: Babys First Mini Tournament Finale: Alwin vs Bion

    Alwin began his arduous trek to the center of the classroom, which consisted of roughly ten hops, but who''s counting? It definitely wasn''t Alwin because as he hopped on over, a myriad of worries plagued his mind. What was Bion''s Core Skill? Who was going to win? Would his friends think of him less if he lost? Would the class laugh at him when they realized that he still had no idea what his Core Skill did? Would Milvus judge him? Maybe he was overthinking things again.

    "We meet again, Alwin," said Bion.

    "Well yea. We live and learn in the same place, we meet each other all the time. That''s kinda how school and dorms work," replied Alwin.

    "Well, I was trying to set the mood, but guess you aren''t that quick on the uptake," said Bion.

    "Set the mood for what? We''re just sparring."

    "I have a proposition for you. I win, I get Uchronia, and if you win I''ll leave you alone, for now. What do you say?"

    "I say, it''s up to her not me," said Alwin, as he turned to look at the girl in question.

    "I''m not anyone''s property. Go screw yourself," said Uchronia.

    "Language, Uchronia," said Milvus. "And Bion, stop all this nonsense. All of you are on the same journey to help better monster-kind. I don''t want any infighting or other petty conflicts dividing us. Friendly rivalry is acceptable, however."

    "Fine," said Bion.

    "Introduce yourselves to the class," said Milvus, as he continued to check up on Galeo and Tess.

    "Name¡¯s Bion and my Core Skill is called Mechanize. That dumb, I mean Dark Slime across from me is called Al-lose."

    "My name''s Alwin, not whatever you said just now and my Core Skill is called Devolution."

    "Well after this fight, you''ll definitely be an Al-loser."

    "Just fight," sighed Milvus, as he shook his triangle head.

    "Mechanize!"

    The air hummed with the cacophony of machinery whirring and gears turning as Bion''s transformation unfolded before Alwin''s eyes. Alwin found himself caught in an internal debate. On one hand, who was stupid enough to let their opponent transform without any sort of pushback? On the other hand, this was too cool to interrupt. So, he stood there, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, realizing that, yep, he was definitely stupid.

    From within his dark, squishy form emerged mechanical parts, each one glinting silver under the light. They expanded and twisted around him, a ballet of gears and cogs in perpetual motion. With each clang and whirr, his once dark squishy slimy body vanished beneath a shell of metallic intricacy. In the span of a few seconds, his slimy and blobby body was gone, now encased in an exoskeleton of constantly rotating parts, save for the area surrounding his eyes. There, a sleek black visor had formed, concealing his gaze from the outside world.

    As the transformation ended, a pang of regret began to grow within Alwin. Well, there was no helping it now. Alwin had inadvertently engaged in the dreaded stare-off, where both parties simply stared at the other in silence. Technically, Bion did make a move, but it was a transformation so it didn''t really count. Additionally, Alwin could have attacked during the transformation sequence, so all the blame for not ending the stare-off lay squarely on him. Oh, the horrors of doing the thing he swore never to do.

    "I know I''m that good-looking, but you don''t have to gawk at me," said Bion.

    "Gross. I was just thinking about something."

    "Yeah, about how I''m going to beat you."

    "Actually, it was about¡ª"

    "Dark Tackle!"

    Darkness rushed out of Bion''s body. As it spread, the darkness swirled and clung to the gears that covered the slime, staining them with an inky hue. Like a black blur, he streaked across the classroom, heading straight for Alwin.

    He hopped out of the way, dodging the tackle with ease, but not before letting out a high-pitched shriek.

    "Crying like a little baby now?" jeered Bion.

    "No... that was just my battle cry," said Alwin.

    Bion charged toward Alwin with another Dark Tackle. At the last moment, Alwin rolled to the side, letting out another shriek. Bion was a bit off in his calculations, and a second later, the black blur smashed into the wall with a sickening crunch.

    Rising from the ground, Bion shook off the damage with a slight quiver in his hops. The cracks in his armor filled in and healed with a strange noise, like nails on a chalkboard. Bion glared at Alwin, at least that''s what he thought it looked like. The visor was doing a pretty good job of hiding any tells.

    "Come here you."

    With another Dark Tackle, Bion headed straight toward Alwin. The familiar pitch of a screech reverberated through the room as Alwin tumbled out of the way. Dammit, Alwin had to come up with a strategy, or at the very least stop screaming like a little baby whenever Bion came hurtling his way. His reputation was in a free fall right now,

    Alwin took his gaze away from Bion, searching for inspiration, and looked around the room. Galeo was awake again, and Tess was regaining consciousness. Uchronia had a stern face, while Gus was munching on another muffin. How many muffins did the guy smuggle from the cafeteria? There had to be some way to come out on top, and brute force didn''t seem like a viable option. The guy was covered in armor for Pete''s sake. Again, who was Pete, and what was up with his sake?

    The only thing that damaged that weird gear armor of his was the wall, and Alwin was definitely not stronger than a wall. Well, at least that''s what logic told him anyway. Crashing into a wall wasn''t exactly on his to-do list.

    Bion zoomed toward Alwin again, intent on tackling him to the ground. Alwin leaped to the side once more, this time following it up with a roll. Alwin didn''t understand why he had to do that, but it looked cool so he did it anyway.

    "Is dodging the only thing you can do?" taunted Bion.

    "No... I can dodge with style," said Alwin.

    Another Dark Tackle followed Alwin''s smartass remark. He scampered out of the way again, his throat beginning to hurt from all the yelling. There had to be some way to win this. Actually, what were the win conditions?

    "Milvus, sir. What are the rules of this fight?" asked Alwin.

    "Introduce yourself and your Core Skills, and try not to hurt each other too much," said Milvus. "Should you really be asking this now?"

    Alwin rolled out of the way of another Dark Tackle, a thud echoing through the room as Bion crashed into the wall. Well, that question-and-answer session was useless. Or maybe he just didn''t ask the right question. The rules were as useful as a penguin in a flying competition. Well... unless the penguin had a glider, but that''s beside the point.

    If the rules were useless then there were basically no rules. Anyway, Alwin had some semblance of an idea. It was a shot in the dark, a gamble. But it was a risk he was willing to take. What''s the worst that could happen?

    "GUS!" Alwin shouted. "IF YOU HELP ME IN THIS FIGHT, I''LL GIVE YOU MY LUNCH!"

    Before Bion even had the chance to make a snarky remark, Gus'' voice rang through the room. "STATIC POUNCE!"

    Gus'' fur stood on its end, static crackling throughout the air. The air tensed with energy, sparks of electricity arcing out of his coat, sending a faint humming sound into the room. Like a cannonball, he shot forth, launching himself into Bion.

    An audible crash echoed throughout the room as the pair collided.

    As the electricity surged through Bion''s metallic frame, a tortured cry was wrenched out from his lips. His body convulsed as the energy surged through every gear and cog, disabling his mechanical features. With a sharp fizzle, his suit of gears fell apart, collapsing onto the floor. A faint trickle of smoke emanated from the metal plates as they lay scattered on the ground.

    The broken plates of armor that lay on the ground vanished in a cloud of particles. Bion got up and shook himself, a few lingering sparks of electricity still jumping around him. A scowl was plastered on his face as he glared daggers at the duo.

    "Why is he here? This is supposed to be a one-on-one," exclaimed Bion.

    "To be fair, there was nothing in the rules saying you can''t get help," said Alwin.

    As the tension thickened in the air, the pair slowly pivoted to confront Milvus. He released a resigned sigh and simply shook his head. "Alwin is technically right," he said.

    "But this isn''t fair!"

    "Well out there fairness gets you killed, just take this as a learning experience," Milvus sighed.

    "But¡ª"

    "No buts, Bion. Can you still fight? If you can''t, I''m going to announce the match over," said Milvus.

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    "Of course, I can still fight. You think that weak little charge can take me down!" shouted Bion.

    "Then carry on," said Milvus with a smile.

    Alwin couldn''t believe that actually worked. Milvus even gave him the okay to carry on. This was amazing, except for the part where he had to go without lunch. Alwin''s stomach gurgled, and the thought of going without food for the afternoon nearly brought a tear to his eye.

    "Mechanize!" Bion shouted.

    The familiar assortment of gears and parts sprang out of his body, shifting and interlocking with each other until he was covered in a fresh new exoskeleton of gears.

    "Don''t get cocky because of that cheap shot," said Bion.

    "Yea! Don''t get cocky!" a voice came from behind Gus and Alwin.

    Alwin turned around and saw Brie, the owner of that voice. Oh great. There goes the numerical advantage.

    "Buzz off, Brie," scowled Bion.

    "But-but-but, I''m trying to make things fair for you," she stuttered.

    Bion paused, he looked at Gus and Alwin, then looked back to Brie. "Fine," he muttered.

    Dark Slime and Furball versus Dark Slime and Furball. Who was going to be the winner of this fight? Well, it definitely wasn''t going to be the opposing Dark Slime and Furball. Alwin had an ace up his sleeve, metaphorically speaking of course.

    "Uchronia!" Alwin shouted. "Don''t you want to give this Dark Slime a piece of your mind?"

    "I really want to do that to both of you, but I''m not participating in this," said Uchronia. "It''s a two versus two now, fight fair and square."

    Well, that plan went bust. Fight fair and square? That was a good proposition by Uchronia, but too bad for her there was one fatal flaw with that suggestion. Alwin was a slime, and slimes were round! Fighting fair and square was never an option! Fair and round was where all the action was at.

    With that thought, Alwin was glad that he had a second ace up his other sleeve, metaphorically speaking again of course. Alwin wondered if the academy provided playing cards or some sort of entertainment. Only being allowed to eat, sleep, and study seemed like such a snooze fest. Wait, where was he going with this? There was a fight to be had, and it was time to bring in the big guns, literally.

    "Flintlock!" Alwin shouted. "You still owe me a favor, remember? Now''s the time to repay it."

    "I guess I did say that. Although, it was more of a figure of speech," said Flintlock. "Plus this seems like a big leap from scooching to the side a tad bit."

    "You get to shoot again?" Alwin pleaded.

    "Saddle up, pardner. You had me at shoot."

    Flintlock the Furball sauntered up next to Alwin. The cowboy wannabe spat on the ground, before giving a cheeky grin and winking to his opponents.

    "You''re going to have to clean that up later," said Milvus.

    "Oh, sorry teach," said Flintlock.

    With a holler of his skill, the musket appeared above his head, the barrel glinting under the light of the classroom. With a smirk, he leveled the weapon at Bion.

    "When I win, victory is going to taste all the more sweeter," said Bion.

    "Taste? Sweeter? Static Pounce!" Gus said as he leaped towards Bion again.

    Darkness twirled around the gears, tainting the cogs in a black hue. Bion streaked across the classroom like a black blur, launching himself straight at Gus. The pair collided in a flash of electricity and the noise of grinding gears. Sparks of electricity jumped from Gus'' body, arcing out and lancing into Bion. Grunts mingled out from their lips as they bounced off each other.

    "I''ll handle Ms. Brie over here," said Flintlock, aiming his musket at the Leafling.

    "Wait, wait, wait. I still can''t revive yet," stammered Brie.

    "That''s alright darling, I''ll just keep watch over you while they duke it out."

    While Flintlock held Brie at gunpoint, Gus and Bion were duking it out. Colliding at high speeds, neither willing to relinquish their assault. The crackle of electricity mixed with the screech of grinding gears as the fight carried on. Now came another hurdle Alwin had to overcome. What was he supposed to do?

    Flintlock''s fight with Brie was technically settled and it''s not like him fighting together against her would do anything, the goal was Bion after all. But honestly, Alwin was terrified. Between the darkened gears and the volatile electricity, a nagging fear clawed at his mind. His instincts screamed at him, telling him to stay the hell away from the fight, at least a good distance away from it. And listen to it he shall, as he simply hopped over to Uchronia and joined her to spectate the fight.

    Uchronia, Brie, Flintlock, and pretty much the rest of the class gave Alwin a look that could only be described as, ''Really? What were you doing? Why weren''t you fighting? What was wrong with you?'' And last, but definitely not something Alwin tagged along at the end just to make himself feel better, ''That''s the greatest idea I''ve ever seen in my two days of life.''

    This was definitely awkward, to say the least, or maybe he shouldn''t say anything at all. In fact, Alwin would rather focus on the fight. Brie and Flintlock looked at each other, then Alwin, then back to each other. They both shrugged in unison¡ªor at least tried to, given their lack of shoulders¡ªbefore hopping back to the sidelines.

    Alwin''s move was so powerful that he managed to make Brie retreat back. It was definitely something that he had calculated way in advance, that was the true Alwin way of doing things. Yup, all his moves were absolutely planned out. He was one step ahead of the game, a tactician with the sharpest of minds. No way did he simply get lucky.

    Anyway, what was happening in the fight now? Alwin had no idea, he was too busy having an internal monologue to actually pay attention. Now was as good of a time as any other to check back in.

    Gus was battered, bruised and barely hanging on as he squared off with Bion. The static on his fur had disappeared, his fur coat was frayed in various places, with bits of dust and debris tangled in. His breaths were coming out in ragged pants, as he tried to catch his breath.

    On the other hand, Bion looked just as menacing as before. Gears as black as the darkness that surrounded Alwin before his birth with nary a scratch on them. Despite the exhaustion and strain that Gus showed, Bion stood straight and tall, showing no sign of fatigue.

    Well, this was a problem, a problem that had to be solved, or else Alwin would be on the receiving end of those Mechanized Dark Tackles that Gus had been generously taking for him. Between his regular Dark Tackles and Bion''s Mechanized one, it was clear who would win the battle.

    It was time to execute another strategy that would maybe, probably, hopefully, work. Gus continued to pounce on Bion, while the latter returned the attacks with a flurry of Dark Tackles. All the while, Gus muttered the word ''Lunch'' continuously under his breath.

    The clapping of his large slimy cheeks would give away his position so hopping wasn''t an option. Instead, Alwin performed a series of super stealthy stealth rolls, that would leave him virtually undetectable to anyone important. Unfortunately, for him, the spectators weren''t of importance, so they all stared as Alwin rolled his way to the teacher''s desk where Milvus was still attending to Galeo the Furball and Tess the Leafling.

    "Alwin? What are you doing?" asked Milvus.

    "Strategy for winning against Bion," said Alwin.

    "Good luck?" said Milvus, the confusion in his voice almost tangible.

    With a nod of thanks, Alwin turned back to face the underside of the teacher''s desk. The underside of the desk featured a set of drawers to his right, while to the left was a large panel of wood that housed a variety of buttons and dials. As interesting as that was, it wasn''t what Alwin was looking for. What he needed was hidden away inside one of those drawers.

    Alwin was sure whoever hid what he was searching for was attempting to use reverse psychology to trick any would-be pursuers. Yes, because no would one think to look for Small Healing Pills in a drawer specifically labeled Small Healing Pills. But, Alwin was smarter than those tricky little hiders.

    After cursing his lack of hands, Alwin grabbed the drawer handle in his mouth and wrenched the door open. There lay the secret to his victory. Red spherical pills¡ªalso known as Small Healing Pills, in case someone wanted to add a redundant statement that served no other purpose but to take up space in the narrative. That someone was Alwin.

    He just hoped that Gus wouldn''t mind if the pills were a little wet. Scooping them up with his tongue, Alwin rolled his way back to the battle. Gus was sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily as Bion stood in front of him.

    "Now where''s that Al-loser," said Bion, hopping towards the tired Gus, the clink of his gears ringing through the air with every hop.

    "I''m here," Alwin announced, with a mouthful of pills.

    "Time for you to live up to your name. Dark Tackle!"

    Bion zipped towards Alwin, dark energy surrounding the gears that comprised his body. The clank of his hops on the ground echoed loudly through the room. Alwin stood there, he was ready. He was prepared.

    "Gus! Protect me and you''ll get something to eat right now!" Alwin shouted out while spitting out the pills into the air like he was spitting out sunflower seeds.

    Almost as fast as the electricity that ran through Gus'' coat, he sprang forth. With a leap, he caught the flying pills in his mouth, gobbling it all down. The wounds that covered his body sealed up as the magic of the Small Healing Pill flowed through him.

    Bion, surprised by the sudden movement of Gus, tried to change his trajectory. A moment too late as Gus crashed into him, electricity arcing between their bodies. Bion was launched backward by the force of the attack, skidding across the ground till he came to a halt next to Alwin.

    "Hi, Bion. I''m just gonna go now," said Alwin, as he performed his stealth rolls toward the edge of the classroom.

    In a flash, Bion got back to his feet, his gears already beginning to rotate. Before he could do anything though, Gus slammed into him with another Static Pounce. Bion flew through the air, hitting the ground hard before crashing into the wall. The sickening crunch of his metal plating rang out, the sound reverberating throughout the room.

    Those darn gears were getting in the way. If only there was a way to get rid of them. Then it hit Alwin, but it hit him nowhere as hard as how Gus had been hitting Bion.

    "Gus! Have you tried eating his gears? It might be tasty?" shouted Alwin.

    "Tasty?" Gus muttered, his eyes lighting up at the mention of the word.

    His jaws snapped down onto a few gears, the mechanical parts crunched and whirred as his teeth dug through them. A muffled grunt escaped his lips as he turned around to spit the remains of the gears onto the ground.

    "Blurgh! Too bitter," Gus said.

    "Stop biting my gears!" Bion roared.

    "Keep biting them! Then you can win and have lunch!" Alwin replied.

    "For lunch!" shouted Gus.

    He chomped down on Bion''s gears again, sending a spray of shards into the air. His jaws tightened, then slackened, before snapping back down for another bite. Bion was mortified, the remaining gears on his body vibrated under the strain of the damage. The class gasped, unable to tear their eyes from the ferocity of Gus and Bion''s brawl.

    Alwin cheered on from the sidelines.

    "That''s the ticket! Keep going Gus, you''ve almost won!" Alwin shouted.

    As the Furball made his way through Bion''s armor, there were fewer and fewer gears, until only a fraction of it remained on Bion''s body. Finally, after several more bites, Gus reduced the last of it to a pile of broken pieces on the floor.

    "Alright, now finish the job," said Alwin, eager for his victory.

    "STATIC POUNCE!," shouted Gus.

    Gus bounded across the ground, leaving behind a trail of sparks, and leaped high into the air, his entire body crackling and buzzing with electricity. With a slam, he landed on the helpless Bion. The crackle of electricity turned to a snap, as the current surged through Bion. Smoke began to rise from Bion''s body, his movements slowing to a stop.

    When the fight ended, Alwin leaped up and cheered. He couldn''t believe his plan worked. He couldn''t believe that he won without even throwing out a single hit. Most importantly, he couldn''t even believe that he had won. Alwin was sure that he was going to lose and become some sort of laughingstock. Instead, he turned Bion into Bi-off.

    "Alwin wins? I think," said Milvus, hesitating as he declared Alwin''s victory.

    A paper tentacle slithered across the classroom to reach Bion''s unconscious body. The appendage twisted around and wrapped itself tightly around the Slime. The class watched as he was carried back to the teacher''s desk, where Galeo and Tess had finally recovered from their injuries.

    "Good job, everyone. I hope you all got to know more about your classmates after this friendly match. Although I must say this is the first time I''ve witnessed such unorthodox methods," said Milvus, looking at Alwin. "After lunch, I will introduce to you all the most important technique every monster should know. Dismissed."

 Chapter 11: The Cafeteria

    Fight''s done and dusted, now it was time to eat. Onward to the cafeteria for food! All of that fighting got Alwin''s appetite whirring. It had gone into overdrive, demanding a banquet worthy of a victorious warrior. Plus he needed as much of his energy restored before the next class, where Milvus was going to introduce that super-important technique.

    Gus bounded out the door, making a beeline towards the cafeteria. While Alwin accompanied Uchronia the Leafling and the rest of the class as they trailed after the Furball.

    "Aren''t you going to congratulate me for beating Bion?" asked Alwin.

    "I would, if you actually did beat him," said Uchronia.

    "What do you mean? I beat him! Even Milvus said I beat him."

    "More like Gus beat him. You didn''t even fight."

    "So? I''m just doing everything I can to win."

    "If you keep finding shortcuts like that you''ll never grow."

    "And you know this how? We''ve literally just been born, what do you know?"

    "More than you it seems," she huffed.

    "Sure, sure.¡±

    Alwin and Uchronia argued on their way to the cafeteria, their voices adding to the cacophony of chaos that filled the hallway. As the class drew closer to the cafeteria, the sound of chatter and klinks of metal grew louder and louder. At the end of the hall was a massive wooden double door leading to the cafeteria. A thick sea of monsters filled the room.

    The cafeteria was massive being able to house the throng of monsters all trying to replenish their energy for another day of learning. The floor was made of floor, or for a more accurate description, tiles. They were white, rectangular, and surprisingly clean. No doubt the cleaning staff in this place did a hell of a job keeping the cafeteria tidy.

    Long plastic tables of various sizes stretched across the vast expanse of the cafeteria. Students huddled around them, diving into their meals. The air was filled with the clatter of trays and the hum of chatter, punctuated by bursts of laughter. Plates overflowed with a variety of dishes, each more colorful than the last. Among the throng of students, vibrant monsters of all shapes and hues mingled, their scales and fur adding a kaleidoscope of color to the bustling scene.

    There were round monsters, cube monsters, long monsters, short monsters, skinny monsters, fat monsters, pointy monsters, furry monsters, scaly monsters, plant monsters, leathery monsters, slimy monsters, metal monsters, and so much more. Everywhere Alwin looked, a new type of monster caught his eyes.

    One dragon-like creature with shimmering blue scales daintily nibbled on a salad, while a pink fluffy rabbit monster with oversized eyes guffawed at a joke, its claws wrapped around a towering sandwich. Claws? Those were basically hands. In fact, all the monsters here had some sort of hand equivalent, even if they were just a plain ole slime like Alwin.

    Those without natural paws, claws, or any hand equivalent, instead boasted a pair of floating glowing hands that were quite literally an extension of their body. Everywhere Alwin looked, if those monsters weren''t blessed with natural hands or their equivalent, they instead had a pair of floating hands at their disposal. The hands came in a multitude of colors.

    Alwin spotted a large greyish slime-like creature shoveling heaping spoonsful of rice into its mouth using its ethereal green hands. A snake-like creature had orange hands, while a two-legged large purple lizard had a pair of yellow hands, and so forth.

    All those lucky monsters. Alwin longed for the day he could have hands. Being restricted to only mouth was so cumbersome. The diversity of monster hands was astonishing, but Alwin wasn''t here to marvel at them, he was here to eat. But, what to eat? That was the question. Now where was all of the yummy food?

    Alwin scanned the cafeteria, and he did so by pivoting his body three hundred and sixty degrees. One scan wasn''t enough so he had to do another scan which involved another full rotation. When that wasn''t enough he rotated again, and when that wasn''t enough he did it again. Round and round Alwin went, until he had a crude mind map of the cafeteria.

    On the other end of the long wide open area were a series of counters. These counters were staffed by a delightful array of small, cat-like creatures. Each one adorned with a chef''s hat placed jauntily on their head to accompany the spatulas and tongs in their paws. Those lucky cats with opposable thumbs.

    One white cat flipped pancakes, the golden discs spinning in mid-air before landing perfectly back on the griddle. Nearby, a black cat saut¨¦ed vegetables in a sizzling pan, the vibrant colors of peppers and onions contrasting with its glossy fur. A brown cat, perched on a stool, meticulously piped icing onto a row of cupcakes, its tongue peeking out in concentration.

    As captivating as it was watching the cat monsters prepare food. The food itself was much more interesting to Alwin, especially since he hadn''t eaten anything since he was born. To fill his empty tummy would be a dream come true. A lame dream, but it was still a dream nonetheless. After he filled his tummy he would fill his brain with new techniques, then he¡¯d take a nap or something.

    Speaking of fill, right now seemed like an opportune time to test the limits of the information that had been downloaded into that squishy slimy brain of his. To grow was to break limits and to break limits he needed to know where the limits stood. Hopefully, they stood not too far away. If he didn''t have information about pills maybe he had information about food. This was totally not an excuse to start naming out all the different types of food he could see.

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    The left counters had an assortment of meat: beef, chicken, venison, to a whole myriad of meats. Then there were the cuts, jowl, flank, brisket, loin, tongue, ham, ribs, and. There were the sausages, bratwurst, chorizo, knockwurst, blood sausage, kielbasa, and salami.

    The right counters had a variety of yucky vegetables and yummy fruits, both raw and cooked. Carrots, peas, mushrooms, broccoli, potatoes, turnips, cauliflower, parsnips, tomatoes, watermelon, bananas, onions, and corn on the cob.

    Then there were a couple of other food types in the middle counter. In the center was a bunch of starch and grains, pasta, rice, couscous, millet, bread, bagels, chips and biscuits. On the side was a collection of drinks, from regular milk to chocolate, fruit juice of every flavor, tea, coffee, water, and soda.

    Alwin would have liked to test the limits of his food knowledge for much longer, but a slap to his face courtesy of Uchronia''s leaf tail, slapped him back to reality.

    "Stop thinking and let''s go eat," said Uchronia.

    Drat! Was he making weird faces while he was stuck naming foods? Oh bother he really had to fix this bad habit of his, but maybe after some grub.

    "Coming!" shouted Alwin as he bounced his way to Uchronia''s side.

    "Why aren''t we going over to the counters? Where are we going?" asked Alwin.

    "They prepared food for us."

    Alwin followed Uchronia away from all of the wonderful, beautiful, tasty-looking food towards the edge of the cafeteria. There he noticed a long blue table laden with bowls of food, with the rest of his classmates already stuffing their faces.

    "Are we that special that they serve us food?" asked Alwin.

    "It''s because we don''t have anything to carry the trays with," she replied.

    "Oh. Well, my idea sounds better."

    "If you say so." Uchronia rolled her eyes.

    Alwin and Uchronia plopped down right next to Gus. The aroma of food filled his nostrils, causing his stomach to gurgle. It would have been oh so more pleasant if Gus wasn''t making such a racket. He was slurping, gulping, crunching, and smacking as he inhaled his bowl of food.

    The bowl of food in front of him was magnificent. A menagerie of ingredients swam within a thick puddle of broth. Dumplings, large pieces of meat, and a hefty spoonful of vegetables and noodles. The lot was drizzled liberally with oil and sauce and sprinkled with a blessing of chopped garlic and ginger.

    Alwin was about to dig into his food when he felt someone tap his side. He turned to his left to find Uchronia with a big grin on her face.

    "Remember about your deal with Gus?" she asked.

    "What? Nooo. What deal?" Alwin''s voice rose sharply, almost a squeak.

    Uchronia just rolled her eyes at him again.

    Satisfied with a lack of challenge to his painfully poor attempt at lying, Alwin turned back to finally begin the task of filling his belly. What he saw shocked him. Instead of a bowl of food, Alwin was staring at the glossy blue tabletop. His food was gone. Vanished. Poof! Where did it go? Alwin looked to his left and found Uchronia squinting at him in confusion. Then he looked under the table and all he found was the floor. Finally, he looked to his right, something that he should have done first, and found Gus happily slurping, gulping, crunching, and smacking away at Alwin''s bowl of food.

    That yummy yummy found. All gone. Alwin let out a sigh and wondered how the food tasted like. Was it sweet? Salty? Filled with umami? Whatever that means. He would never know, which made him let out a second longer sigh.

    Two days without food. He hadn''t eaten since he was born. His stomach was punching, kicking, and choking his other organs, demanding some kind of sustenance. If this continued Alwin was sure that his guts and internal organs would fight among themselves to survive and eventually tear apart his body. He definitely wasn¡¯t being over dramatic or anything like that.

    "Here have this." A bowl of food appeared in front of Alwin.

    Alwin turned towards the direction the food came from and was met by Uchronia''s smiling face, except that her smile was upside down. Otherwise better known as frowning.

    "For me?" asked Alwin.

    "Yes," she sighed. "You haven''t eaten since yesterday and you need to eat something if you want to pay attention in class later. I better not catch you daydreaming or thinking about something instead of listening to Mr. Milvus."

    "I most definitely, probably, promise to pay attention," said Alwin, with a big smile.

    "Good. And I hope the next time you have a fight you won''t rely on cheap tricks to win."

    "You call them cheap tricks, I call them strategy. By the way what about you? What are you going to eat?"

    "I ate half of it already. You can have the rest."

    "Thanks! You''re the best!" Alwin pounced on his food.

    This time he made sure to watch the food the entire time it was in front of him. That being said he couldn''t stop himself from wolfing down the food as fast as he could. This was his very first meal and it was absolutely delicious. The savory juices of the soup flooded his mouth with every sip, while the fresh and crunchy vegetables added a layer of texture and earthy flavor to the rich broth. The tender chunks of meat practically melted in his mouth, their umami-flavored goodness swimming in every bite. At least he thought it was umami, he wasn''t a chef or had any chef knowledge. The dumplings were pillow soft and steaming hot, their doughy goodness a perfect complement to the array of flavors.

    He sipped, chewed, gulped, bit, drank, swallowed, crunched, and nibbled until his bowl was completely empty. Alwin even took a moment to admire the empty bowl before he turned to look around. There he saw Gus eyeing his bowl hungrily.

    "Bowl''s empty already, Gus," said Alwin.

    "So can I have it?" asked Gus.

    "It''s empty."

    "So can I have it then?"

    "You know what? Sure. Have it"

    "Thanks!"

    Gus picked up the rim of the bowl, tossed it into the air, and with one giant gulp he swallowed it whole. A few moments later he belched and patted his belly.

    "Mmmm. Woody aftertaste," said Gus.

    "Ignore him, he always does that. We''ve got to get back to class now," said Uchronia.

    The class departed from the cafeteria. They made their way through the corridors and arrived at their classroom. As they filed into the room, the tables and chairs had returned. Alwin was a tad disappointed. He wanted to watch the floor open up and the furniture rise up. That disappointment was soon replaced by excitement and curiosity as he imagined what Milvus was going to teach them today. What could that super-important technique be?

 Chapter 12: Babys First Skill: Spirit Hands

    "Afternoon class, I trust that you''ve all had a great lunch," said Milvus.

    "Yes sir!" shouted the class, in unison.

    Lunch was great. It filled his belly up and restored his energy. It was definitely a filler.

    "What I''m about to introduce to you is the most important technique that every monster must know. It''s so important that you need a C rank on it just to be able to take part in the academy''s entrance exams."

    If it''s so important how come Alwin and the rest of the class don''t know it already, other than the obvious fact of their recent birth. How did they even get admitted into the academy if they didn''t even meet the basic qualifications? Man, why was life so confusing?

    "Pay attention," whispered Uchronia.

    Right, right. He definitely probably made a promise to Uchronia to focus in class. Alwin squinted his eyes and focused as much as he could on the triangular monster with paper tentacles protruding out of its base.

    "The technique is called..."

    Milvus paused. A silence hung over the air as he stretched the dramatic pause longer than necessary.

    "... Spirit Hands!"

    Two white spirit hands materialized in the air in front of Milvus. The ghostly ethereal limbs floated in place, waving at the students. The spirit hands looked like normal human hands, albeit a little translucent. So that was how all those monsters in the cafeteria had floating hands, it was all thanks to that Spirit Hands technique thingy.

    Oh boy! This was single-handedly the greatest technique that had ever been invented. Imagine what he could do with hands. He could finally eat food normally instead of dropping his face into a bowl of food. He could... fold origami or something. Well, that was fast, Alwin already ran out of ideas on what he could do with hands.

    "Mr. Milvus."

    "Yes, Uchronia?"

    "If one of the requirements is a C-ranked Spirit Hands then does that mean we aren''t actually students of the Human Hunter Academy?"

    "Not exactly. You all are most definitely students of the academy, but... your circumstances are a bit unique. When we feel the time is right, I''ll gladly explain more about your situation. Until then, let''s focus on the matter at hand."

    "Yes, Mr. Milvus."

    "Spirit Hands, a Common Rank technique, is a staple for all monsters who do not have hands of their own or for those who just want an extra pair. But before I teach you all the technique, I need to ask something first. It has recently come to my attention that the information download had some... hiccups. Some of you have more information than others, some of you have less. It shouldn''t be a big deal, but if any of you feel weird please let me know. So, I need to ask, do all of you know what mana is?"

    Mana. That was something he actually had some knowledge about. Finally something useful in his brain. Mana was that particle-like substance that permeated the air. Humans and monsters alike used it to fuel their techniques. Monsters would passively draw in mana from the surroundings into their core and from there channel it into whatever skills or techniques they''ve learnt. While humans... Well, they''d do whatever it was humans did. Maybe they ate mana and then pooped it out to use their techniques or something, Alwin didn''t care.

    "Yes," responded Uchronia.

    The rest of the class also chimed in with various responses that amounted to yes.

    "Great! Spirit Hands is a really easy technique to learn, even little monsters can learn it. The key is visualization. What I want all of you to do is focus on your Core. Feel the mana within and shape it. Shape your mana into a pair of hands, then release that mana outside of your body. Some use incantations, schemas, gestures, or just willpower. Different monsters have different visualization methods, so it¡¯s important that you find something that you feel comfortable with. "

    Focusing was hard, especially when his brain kept going off on tangents. Okay, the first step was to focus on the core. Where was his core? Alwin closed his eyes, and searched deep within himself, literally. One of the benefits of being a slime is that you could literally look inside of yourself. All he had to do was just flip his eyes around to see the inside of his body.

    Alwin would have thought that the inside of himself would be pitch black, but nope¡ªhe was wrong. There was a dim glow coming from within him, allowing him to see parts of his body. Slimy teeth, slimy stomach, slimy brain, and a bunch of other slimy organs within him, obviously. He shifted his gaze towards the light. There was a round bright glowing orb embedded in the middle of his body. That was his core. Wow, it was tiny, like the size of a marble. If someone asked how big his core was, he''d probably exaggerate and say it was huge. Ginormous even. Because, you know, guy things.

    Step one done. Time for step two. Shape the mana. Alwin focused on his core, and next thing he knew he was stuck floating inside of it. Figuratively of course. He could see the mana within his core, it swirled around like a miniature nebula of pure energy. Now how to shape it?

    What if he just literally shaped it. Alwin imagined the mana as a type of clay and himself as the sculptor. Within his core, imaginary hands materialized and took hold of the malleable, soft mana. He pushed and pulled at the mass, before rolling it into two spheres. Then he pressed down on the balls of energy, flattening them until he had created a pair of thick pancakes. Now came the final touches. He pinched at the edge of the pancakes, creating ten meaty fingers. Last, but definitely not least, he added a dash of love and hope.

    Step two accomplished. Time for step three. Release the mana outside his body. But how? Alwin sat there, eyes still turned inward, mind still sensing the shaped Spirit Hands within his core. This was a problem. He couldn''t figure out what to do next. Maybe he should just¡­ throw it?

    With no other option¡ªand too lazy to think of another one¡ªAlwin chucked the lump of mana straight out of his core. A knot formed in his throat, tightening with each passing second. Suddenly, the words burst out of him, unbidden and unstoppable, "Spirit Hands!"

    Alwin rolled his eyes to the front and stared in wonder and surprise. Floating in front of him were two blue spectral hands. They moved slowly, almost glacially. Yes! He had done it! A pair of hands to call his own, they would surely come in handy¡ªonce he figured out how to properly control them.

    "Good job class, I see that most of you are able to use Spirit Hands. I''ll come around to help those who still haven''t gotten it yet. The rest continue practicing until the technique registers in your status."

    So there were still some who couldn''t get such a simple skill down. Time to find out who those chumps were.

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    Alwin looked around the classroom and it looked like half of the class had succeeded so far. However, there were an odd number of hands floating about. Eleven hands to be exact. That''s right, eleven. Who was the sucker who only got out one hand instead of two?

    It was Gus the Furball. Upon closer inspection, Alwin realized that his original count of eleven hands was wrong. The twelfth hand was nestled inside of Gus'' mouth.

    "Take this more seriously, Gus," Uchronia scolded him.

    "I just wanted to know what they tasted like," he retorted, before spitting them out. Now one of his hands was coated with saliva, and Alwin felt for it.

    Uchronia rolled her eyes, something she had been doing quite often as of late.

    Alwin returned his focus to his Spirit Hands and tried to get the hands to move. The spectral appendages jerked in response, moving a couple of feet before stopping. Despite his best efforts, the most he could do was make them move in small twitchy motions. Damn, this was hard. Controlling them felt like trying to manipulate a puppet with a dozen tangled strings. A puppet that was also trying its hardest to tangle up the strings, not wanting to be controlled at all.

    As Alwin struggled, the rest of the class continued their practice, the scene descending into barely controlled chaos. Hands flailed wildly in every direction, narrowly avoiding collisions with classmates. Milvus weaved through the mess of hands, dodging the errant limbs while attempting to offer guidance to the floundering students.

    Alwin continued to struggle to get his Spirit Hands to move in a coherent manner, instead, they were jerked around as if they were having some kind of seizure. His eyes drifted from his hands to Uchronia who was already in complete control of her Spirit Hands. They floated and glided smoothly around her, her fingers dancing delicately through the air like she was playing an invisible piano. She caught Alwin staring at her, a huge grin spread across her face.

    "Need help?" she asked.

    "Nope."

    He returned to his battles with his Spirit Hands. Sweat poured down his back as he attempted to bring order to the chaotic jumble of spectral digits. His brow furrowed in concentration, and his teeth clenched as he fought to control the unruly hands. It was like they had a mind of their own and refused to listen to Alwin¡¯s commands.

    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Alwin managed to wrestle some semblance of control over his Spirit Hands. He was able to maneuver them into simple motions, although they still shook with a noticeable tremor. First was a fist. With a concerted effort, he folded in his phantom fingers, curling them up into a tight ball. He let out a breath of relief as the digits responded to his commands. Next, he extended his thumb, index finger, and pinky to form a distinctive symbol, if only he could shoot something sticky out his wrists. Last, was a move that required the union of both his Spirit Hands. It would test the limits of his coordination, something that needed perfect control of his fingers, and the seamless synchronization of his hands.

    With a deep breath, Alwin commanded his Spirit Hands. The blue spectral appendages stiffened up, the tendons tensing under the mental strain of their controller. He twisted the phantom extremities, each finger straightening and standing rigid like soldiers at attention, maneuvering them until both glowing palms faced each other with a gap between them. Finally, Alwin gave the final command.

    His hands flew into action, hurtling through the air in a blur of motion. The moment of truth had arrived. Would his hands truly accomplish what he intended them to do? He held his breath, a nervous sweat dripping down his back. The hands approached each other, the gap shrinking. Were they fast enough? Was it too slow? Tension mounted as the hands drew nearer with each passing moment. Alwin gritted his teeth in anticipation as the gap closed to mere centimeters. Just a bit closer and his plan would be set into motion. The hands inched closer, and Alwin''s heart raced as they finally made contact.

    At that instant, Alwin let out a triumphant shout. "High five!"

    The impact of the high-five rang through the room, echoing with a resounding slap. Alwin could not hold back the giddy feeling of satisfaction that bubbled up inside of him at the successful execution of his plan. He let out a childish giggle as he celebrated his victory.

    New Skill Learned: Spirit Hands (F)

    Why, hello there Mr. Notification. Nice of you to finally show up. It sure took you long enough. But, just to make sure everything¡¯s in order...

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Dark Slime

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Skills: Dark Tackle (F), Spirit Hands (F)

    Evolution: 1/100

    Looks like everything was in order. Now if only there was a way to figure out how to use that Devolution skill of his. What a waste of space in Alwin''s status. But, enough ruminating. Now what?

    Alwin looked up from his status screen to observe the class. Milvus was still assisting students who were struggling with their Spirit Hands. Most of the class had succeeded in manifesting the hands, but control was a separate issue altogether. Gus continued to play around with his spirit hands, occasionally sticking the ghostly digits in his mouth and gnawing on them like carrots. While Uchronia was tapping her fingers on the desk. Maybe some sort of dexterity exercise?

    "Alright class, I see that most of you have the basics down. Those who have Spirit Hands in their status are free to go, the rest carry on. Remember, 0800 tomorrow," said Milvus.

    Well, that still doesn''t settle the question of, now what?

    "Hey Alwin, Uchronia. Dinner?" asked Gus.

    "Sure," said Alwin.

    "Yup, I want to try carrying trays with my hands," said Uchronia.

    The trio headed towards the cafeteria once again, Gus spearheading the charge. Along the way, Alwin saw a myriad of monsters roaming the halls. The academy was teeming with life, a veritable cacophony of different creatures and sounds.

    As they walked, Alwin could feel the stares of other monsters on him. He tried to ignore the prying eyes, but it was hard to shake off the sensation of being watched. The constant attention was unnerving, making him feel exposed and vulnerable. Alwin knew he was handsome, but didn''t think he was that handsome.

    Upon entering the cafeteria, the group was greeted by a familiar sight. Monsters of all shapes and sizes were milling about, chatting with their friends, or grabbing food. Gus dashed ahead, leaping into the line for the food.

    Alwin and Uchronia followed at a more sedate pace, taking in the sights and smells of the busy cafeteria. The smell of food wafted through the air, mixing with the aroma of the various monsters. This was it, the culmination of all of his efforts this afternoon. No more handholding and eating like a baby, it was finally time for him to eat like a normal monster.

    Using his Spirit Hands, Alwin grabbed a tray, trying to look as casual and nonchalant as possible, but deep down he was absolutely thrilled. Finally, he''d be able to eat properly with his own two hands, instead of dropping his face into his meal, granted it was only one meal, but it was about the principle of the matter.

    Gus had already started loading his plate with an assortment of meat, while Uchronia was eyeing some of the vegetables. Alwin reached for the pasta and scooped it onto his plate, then added a few pieces of chicken and fish.

    As the trio walked to the corner of the cafeteria to find a table, Alwin kept an eye on his tray, making sure his food stayed put. The last thing he wanted was for his Spirit Hands to lose their grip and send his meal and dignity crashing to the floor.

    Once they were seated, the real challenge began. Alwin eyed the fork, mentally preparing himself. He clenched and unclenched his Spirit Hands, getting a feel for the utensil. After a few practice runs, he felt ready to tackle the challenge. Staring at his plate, he plunged the fork into the pile of pasta. To his surprise and delight, the utensil obeyed his command, easily sinking into the mound of noodles. He lifted the fork, bringing it to his mouth. A mixture of emotions washed over him as the pasta drew closer and closer.

    He was going to be a big boy. No more being babied around or behaving like an animal. From this point forward he was going to act like a dignified big-boy monster. He opened his mouth, the fork inches away. The anticipation was killing him, the excitement, the nervousness, the excitement again. Then he took a bite, the flavor of the pasta exploding on his tongue. He chewed slowly, savoring the taste. The pasta was perfect, not too firm and not too soft, just the right amount of chewiness. It was the taste of success.

    Alwin was going to ride this high for the rest of the day, a euphoria of the highest caliber. He was on cloud nine, he was unstoppable, and nothing could get in his way. And maybe some other fancy poetic prose he couldn''t be bothered to think of. For now, Alwin would ignore the smacking and drooling noises Gus was making as he munched on a gigantic pile of steaks, and just enjoy his dinner. Then after that, it would be a nice relaxing evening of whatever big boy monsters did. Maybe they''d play cards, or chat about the weather. Or who knows, maybe Alwin would just fall asleep in his dormitory, with a belly full of yummy pasta.

    Now, what would Milvus teach them tomorrow?

 Chapter 13: Babys Second Skill: Spirit Barrier

    Classes should be illegal this early in the morning. Who can even learn at 0800 when you''re fresh out of bed? Alwin slumped at his desk, trying to keep his eyes open. He blinked slowly, staring blearily at the clock on the wall. The hands of the clock seemed to move agonizingly slow as if they were mocking his sleep-deprived state. He sighed, a yawn threatening to break free, and forced his attention back to Milvus.

    "So how''s everyone finding their Spirit Hands? Pretty handy right?" asked Milvus.

    They were useful alright. Perfect for silencing Milvus'' endless chatter. With those, he might finally get some decent shut-eye. Alwin contemplated the prospect, mulling over the pros and cons. On one hand, it would certainly shut Milvus up. On the other hand, he''d likely be expelled. Either way, Alwin was prepared to give it a shot.

    Then before he could enact his nefarious scheme, Milvus said, "Keep practicing and your mastery rank will go up in no time. Now for today''s lesson, I''m going to introduce another new skill."

    Another skill? Abort mission, abort mission! New skills in his status would trigger a rush of happy juices in his brain, and happy juices were what he needed to freshen up.

    Milvus turned to face the chalkboard, picking up a piece of chalk, "So this next skill is called Spirit Barrier. It''s a defensive skill that allows you to create a shield of spiritual energy around yourself."

    The words "defensive skill" got Alwin to sit up in his seat. This sounded like something that would come in handy if he ever got into a fight. He couldn''t wait to try it out.

    With chalk in tentacle, Milvus began sketching on the board. His tentacle moved swiftly, outlining a simple slime monster, then surrounding it with a protective barrier. Along with a bunch of instructions on how to create a Spirit Barrier.

    "Conjuring Spirit Barrier is similar to Spirit Hands. First, gather your mana," Milvus explained. "Next, you visualize and shape the mana, and then release your gathered energy in one concentrated burst.¡±

    As Milvus spoke, his body shimmered. A glowing shield appeared around him, encircling him like a translucent bubble. Alwin stared in awe. He wanted nothing more than to pop the bubble, but that would be rude.

    "And that''s how you create the Spirit Barrier," said Milvus. The glowing shield faded away, leaving him unscathed. ¡°The key to Spirit Barrier is leaving the center hollow and also big enough to surround you.¡±

    "Mr. Milvus, I have a question," said Uchronia.

    "Ask away."

    "We''ve just learned Spirit Hands and now we''re learning another skill. Shouldn''t we focus on mastering what we already know before jumping to the next thing? Aren''t we progressing too fast?"

    "That was a cause of concern when me and the other teachers were coming up with a curriculum for you all. We decided that it was for the best to set your foundation by introducing to you all some basic skills first. It''s best to learn a variety of skills first instead of focusing on only one, if not you''ll get so hung up on that one skill that learning other skills would become a challenge."

    "But if we keep learning multiple skills and never improve on the already learned skills, won''t we just be making ourselves weaker? Isn''t it better to have a few A-ranked skills instead of multiple weak F-ranked skills," retorted Uchronia.

    "That''s true, but it''s not always easy to improve mastery. After a certain rank, you need insights and a deeper understanding to advance. Sometimes those insights come easily, but most of the time, they''re hard to get. The best way to gain more insights is to learn new skills. One of them might lead to a eureka moment."

    "I understand, thank you, Mr. Milvus."

    "Great, now everyone get practicing."

    Milvus hit a button under the teacher''s desk, and once again the ground opened up swallowing all of the tables and chairs. Finally, they could get started on learning some new skills. Alwin was just about to fall asleep, listening to Uchronia and Milvus drone on and on and on and on and on about... something. Alright, he wasn''t gonna lie, he hadn''t really been paying attention to their conversation. Who cares about learning too many skills or going too fast? Not this guy.

    First things first, feel the mana inside of his core. Alwin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He focused his mind, tuning out the world around him. Slowly, he felt it: a current of mana, swirling and eddying like a rapid whirlpool deep within him. Mana from outside his body poured in like a drizzle of rain, merging with the swirling torrent within him.

    Second thing second, shape the mana into a barrier. But, how to shape it? Previously he imagined the mana was like clay and from there shaped them into a pair of hands. He could do that again, but where''s the fun in that? He had to shake it up and be creative. Sphere, sphere, sphere¡­ but how to make a sphere? It would have to be a hollow sphere. A protective bubble just big enough for him to fit inside.

    Bubbles? Bubbles pop, and you know what else pops? Balloons! That''s it! He was going to shape his mana using paper mache! Now comes another question. How do you do paper mache using mana? The three things that he would need were paper, a paste, and a balloon. The paste was the easy part since it was basically his own mana. Maybe he could make his mana act like paper? Would that work? Well, his core, his rules, so of course it would work. Hopefully.

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    All that''s left would be the balloon. Perhaps he''d just imagine a balloon or something. If he can imagine a pair of hands to help mold his mana, he can imagine a balloon as a base to mold his mana around. His core was his playground. His imagination, his tools. And his mana, the material to create whatever his heart desired.

    Within his core, an orange balloon began to materialize, starting as a tiny, deflated speck. Slowly, it began to inflate, expanding with each pulse of his breath. The vibrant orange surface grew rounder and fuller, stretching and gleaming against the backdrop of the dark blue swirl of his mana. The contrast was striking, the balloon''s color glowing brilliantly, almost like a tantalizing, juicy orange ready to be plucked and savored. Boy, was Alwin hungry.

    Forcing his thoughts back on track, Alwin watched intently as the balloon continued to grow, the sound of his breath like bellows fanning a roaring flame. Until eventually, it took the form of a perfectly round and voluminous sphere larger than Alwin. Now to use his mana as both paper and a form of paste.

    Alwin began by tearing up strips of his mana, before dipping them back into his mana pool and pressing them onto the balloon. The translucent layer clung to the balloon, conforming to the smooth curvature of its surface.

    Continuing, Alwin tore, dipped, and pressed more pieces of his mana on the balloon. With every layer, he carefully smoothed and aligned the edges, making sure there were no gaps or bumps. The balloon gradually transformed into a soggy shell, wet with mana, encasing the precious orange sphere within.

    One last layer of mana should finish the job. Tearing off the last piece, Alwin gently applied the sheet, watching as it formed a thin film over the shimmering bubble. Now came the most important step to complete his paper mache Spirit Barrier. Wait for it to dry.

    This was boring. Nothing to do but stare at the stupid Spirit Barrier and wait for it to dry. How long had it been? Five minutes? Ten? Thirty? He couldn''t even open his eyes to check the clock. One lapse in concentration of his core and he¡¯d had to start all over. Alwin was so bored, that he felt like crying.

    Time continued to tick by. Every passing second dragged on for an eternity, making the experience that much more excruciating. Alwin kept himself occupied by watching tiny raindrops of mana fall from the ceiling of his core, into the swirling abyss below. The mesmerizing drip, drip, drip was his only solace. That paper mache exercise took a lot more mana than he thought. About half of his mana had been used up.

    When his mana had fully replenished, he looked back at his Spirit Barrier. It looked... dry? At least it didn''t look wet anymore. He gingerly poked the Spirit Barrier. The mana didn''t budge. Okay, it was probably dry.

    Alwin cautiously manifested a tiny pin, no bigger than the tip of a toothpick. Holding his breath, he stuck the needle into the barrier. There was a loud pop and the imaginary balloon within his Spirit Barrier exploded. But, still, the paper mache Spirit Barrier held firm.

    Alwin exhaled, relieved. He was fine. He was safe. It had worked. He did it... mostly.

    Third things third, release the shaped mana. Previously, he had just thrown the Spirit Hands out of his core and the rest was history. The Spirit Barrier was basically a ball so chucking it out of his core was definitely an option. But, where''s the fun in that? Like he said before, the inside of his core was his playground, and boy was he going to have some fun.

    Alwin manifested an imaginary bat within his core. It squared up against the Spirit Barrier and took a few practice swings. Then Alwin swung the bat with all of his might, hitting the Spirit Barrier and sending it rocketing out of his core. That same familiar welling feeling surged forth, filling his throat. Alwin''s mouth tingled, the sensation building up before bursting out into the world.

    "Spirit Barrier!" Alwin shouted.

    As the words left his mouth, a deep blue transparent barrier, slightly larger than the size of his slime body surrounded him. He sat inside the newly formed barrier, staring at his classmates.

    "Your Spirit Barrier looks great, Alwin," said Milvus, walking over on all eight of his paper tentacles to inspect Alwin.

    A single tentacle reached towards the Spirit Barrier. Milvus tapped the surface, prodding and poking the barrier. Each touch sent ripples across the barrier, distorting the energy momentarily before it settled back into place. The whole time, Alwin eyed the tentacles warily. Was his barrier up to par? Did it at least meet Milvus'' expectations? A flurry of thoughts rushed through his mind, and yet his expression remained placid and calm.

    "Seems solid enough, good work. Just keep recasting it until it registers in your status," said Milvus.

    "Okay."

    Alwin was over the moon. Milvus gave him a compliment. Alwin could have done cartwheels at that moment if he could do cartwheels. Just before Alwin closed his eyes to continue his practice, the words of a fellow classmate caught his attention.

    "I don''t get why I have to learn this useless skill. I''ve already got my awesome Impenetrable Shield," said Tess the Leafling.

    "Maybe you should learn it, seeing how your Impenetrable Shield got penetrated by me yesterday," said Galeo the Furball.

    "Shut it!"

    "Make me!"

    "Now, now. Galeo, Tess. No fighting during class," interjected Milvus. "And Tess, you shouldn''t over-rely on your Core Skill. The best way to grow is by learning new skills, even if they overlap with your Core Skill. You never know, you might gain some deeper understanding of your Core Skill.

    "Fine."

    Now that the distraction had been dealt with, Alwin was finally free to begin practicing the Spirit Barrier again. Deep within his core, he repeated the entire process: inflate the balloon, cover it with paper mache, wait for it to dry, pop the balloon with a needle, then release the mana. With each cast, the Spirit Barrier became easier and faster to create. One after another, Alwin practiced shaping the barrier. Within a couple dozen repetitions, it became second nature. Although casting the Spirit Barrier still depleted a considerable chunk of his mana and took some time to form, namely because of the drying process. But it was a start.

    After who knows how many tries, Alwin received the notification he had been waiting for.

    New Skill Learned: Spirit Barrier (F)

    Awesome! Now he could get out of this class and head on over to the cafeteria for lunch. However, there was just one teeny tiny problem. Where was everybody? Alwin scanned the classroom and the only sign of life was Uchronia right next to him. What happened to everyone else?

 Chapter 14: Babys Third Skill: Spirit Blast

    "Where is everyone?" asked Alwin.

    "They left. Class ended a while ago," said Uchronia. "You were really into your training. Didn''t you hear Milvus dismiss us?"

    "Obviously not."

    "Well, you missed lunch, but we can always catch dinner."

    "I did? Wait, what time is it?"

    "Half past six. I''m surprised you managed to focus for that long."

    "Same. I guess I was just really into it. Wait, so why are you here?"

    "Well, someone had to keep you company. Plus, it was a good excuse to get some extra practice in."

    "Thanks? So did you manage to learn the Spirit Barrier yet?"

    "Of course! Have you?"

    "Only just. I can''t believe I''m the last guy in the class to learn it."

    "But, you''re not. About half the class got it down today. Milvus said to continue practice tomorrow. Then for those who managed to learn it today, to just keep practicing it and Spirit Hands."

    "So he''s not going to teach us a new skill?"

    "I don''t think so."

    "Aw, man. Anyway, let''s go get dinner. If we''re too late Gus might end up eating everything."

    Uchronia giggled at Alwin''s joke, and the two of them headed for the cafeteria.

    ---

    The next day''s class was boring, to say the least. To say the most, it was mind-numbing, and not the fun kind of mind-numbing. It was so painfully uninteresting, that Alwin nearly fell asleep more than a dozen times. Nearly. Each time he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness, a quick slap to the back of his head made sure that he was brought back to the land of the awake. Uchronia was a real stickler when it came to paying attention. She wouldn''t dare allow him to sleep on her watch. But the only problem was that there was nothing to pay attention to! All they had to do today was just practice.

    Practice, practice, practice. That''s all it was. Practice, practice, practice. He felt like a broken record that instead of playing out the same couple of notes, he repeatedly cast the same skills over and over again.

    Boring, boring, boring. That¡¯s what it was. Molding out a pair of Spirit Hands before chucking them out of his core? Sure, it was fun the first couple of times. Now, it was just repetitive and monotonous. Creating a paper mache Spirit Barrier before trying to score a home run? Sure, it was exciting the first couple of tries. Now, it was just dull and droll.

    On the bright side, his cast times were gradually dropping with each attempt. On the dark side, it was just so boring. So, so, so boring. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could do but spend the whole day practicing. He didn''t even have the luxury of daydreaming. It was like Uchronia had a daydream detector built into her. The moment his mind ventured anywhere other than his core, she''d whack him on the head.

    Why, oh why did she have to be the fun police? All he wanted to do was daydream about a bad guy barging into the classroom. While the rest of the students were paralyzed in fear, he would jump into action and save the day. A couple of Dark Tackles here, a couple of slaps with his Spirit Hands there, and he would be the hero of the hour. But with Uchronia''s ever-watchful eye and that leaf tail of hers twitching like a radar, his daydream remained just that ¨C a pipedream.

    Oh well, enough complaining. Back to more boring practice. Hopefully, tomorrow would be much more interesting.

    ---

    "Morning class. Hope you''ve all had a good rest. Today I''ll be introducing to you all a new skill. For the past two days, we focused on the defensive Common skill, Spirit Barrier. But you know the saying, the best defense is a good offense. So today I''ll introduce to you all an offensive Common skill, Spirit Blast."

    Yes! More skills! And a fighting one at that. Wait, what''s a common skill? Never mind that Alwin wanted to hit things. Dark Tackle was cool and all, but more offensive skills meant more ways to hit things, and hitting things was tight. Learning this new skill was going to be super easy, barely an inconvenience.

    A whack on the top of his head brought Alwin back to reality. He turned to face his assailant, his ever-so-wonderful, ever-so-annoying friend, Uchronia.

    "Pay attention," she whispered.

    "Yes, mother."

    Another whack by her leafy tail landed on his head.

    "Ouch. What was that for?"

    She glared at Alwin and he shifted his gaze back onto Milvus.

    "Like Spirit Hands and Spirit Barrier, Spirit Blast is another basic requirement for young aspiring hunters to take part in the entrance exams. It''s another simple skill so I expect you all to get it by the end of tomorrow''s class."

    Everyone''s eyes were glued to Milvus. Even Alwin paid rapt attention, having learned his lesson the last time he wasn''t fully focused also because it was an offensive technique. Who didn''t want to learn that?

    "Spirit Blast and Spirit Barrier are similar techniques, despite their different use cases. Their similarities lie in the way you shape your mana. For Spirit Barrier, you mold a hollow sphere of mana large enough to surround yourself. For Spirit Blast, you compress that sphere and fire it off like a projectile. Although they''re both spheres of mana, the key things to take note of are the size of the sphere and the intent of the spell."

    So Spirit Barrier but smaller. Seems simple enough. Hopefully.

    "As you all learn more techniques you''ll realize that there are different ways to mold your mana. Take Spirit Blast, for instance. It uses Spirit Barrier as a base. If I had taught you Spirit Blast first, you could easily shape a Spirit Barrier by expanding your Spirit Blast to surround yourself. It''s all thanks to the mighty magic bestowed upon us by the Great Cornucopia!"

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Man, preachers were annoying. But, Alwin would let it slide... for now. Who cares about some lousy Corenucopia? That darn blasted thing that supposedly blessed him with a Core Skill couldn''t even bless him with a usable Core Skill. The only thing that darn Devolution skill was doing was taking up space in his status.

    Just like the past few days, Milvus hit a button under the teacher''s desk, and all the students¡¯ tables and chairs descended into the floor. Unlike the past few days, the floor didn''t immediately close up. Instead, twelve wooden training dummies rose from the ground.

    "Don''t want any rogue Spirit Blasts flying all over the classroom, so try your best to aim at the training dummy in front of you."

    Alwin stared at the wooden dummy in front of him. It was almost human-shaped, standing upright on a wooden stand. Constructed out of a thick piece of wood, with a smooth, featureless torso and no arms or legs. It wasn''t a real human, but it would suffice. He couldn''t wait to go out into the world and teach those humans a thing or two.

    Alwin closed his eyes and focused his attention within his core. He felt his pool of mana, as clear and clean as ever. Within it, he materialized the tools needed to help shape his mana into Spirit Barrier: a pair of hands, a pin, and an orange balloon.

    If Spirit Blast was just a compressed version of Spirit Barrier, maybe all he had to do was not inflate his balloon to its full size. The balloon puffed up a tiny bit before stopping until the orange balloon was roughly the size of an orange.

    Maybe Alwin should stop skipping breakfast in favor of sleeping in or maybe he should just use a different colored balloon. One that doesn''t remind him of food. There was one last option to explore, he could simply be lazy and endure the aches and cravings in his stomach. After one millisecond of considering the choices available to him, the last option sounded like the best plan, simply because he was already doing it.

    Now back to the regular scheduled mana shaping program. Tear out strips of mana from the swirling nebula within his core, dip it back in, then paste it over the balloon. A tedious process, but a necessary one. At least it didn''t take too long for Alwin to finish crafting his miniature Spirit Barrier. Smaller balloon meant less pasting, which also meant less time drying.

    Now all he had to do was blast the ball of mana, and he''d be one step closer to blasting those pesky humans. His ever-so-trusty mental bat squared up against the much tinier ball of mana. With a swing, the miniature Spirit Barrier shot out of his core. That familiar sensation in his throat returned, but it felt different. Weaker.

    A small puff of air left his mouth, while an equally tiny blast of mana manifested in front of him. The ball of mana wobbled uncertainly, sputtering through the air before vanishing entirely just a second after its release. It didn¡¯t even make it halfway to the training dummy. Alwin stared in disbelief. What was that? That was utterly pathetic.

    One more time. That was just a warm-up shot, and definitely not because he screwed up somewhere along the way. Inflate, paste, dry, pop, then swing. A puff of air left Alwin''s mouth, and the same pitiful burst of mana appeared briefly before sputtering out and vanishing.

    What was going on? What was happening? Why was his Spirit Blast failing, and why wasn''t he experiencing that same compelling feeling to yell out his attack? Alwin let out a groan of frustration. Why couldn''t this be easy?

    "Looks like you aren''t using enough mana, Alwin," said Milvus. "You¡¯re on the right track with a good amount of intent, but the lack of mana causes the technique to be unstable, so just keep adding more mana during the shaping process and you should be good to go."

    Before Alwin got the chance to thank Milvus, the triangular monster was already scurrying away to help another student in need.

    "I don''t get how learning such a lousy move is supposed to help make my Unstoppable Spear stronger," said Galeo the Furball.

    "Who knows? But the way I see it your spear is more stoppable than unstoppable," said Tess the Leafling.

    "Maybe I''ll poke your eyes out so you can''t see it anymore."

    "Now, now, fellas. Hold your horses. I''m sure this ain''t some snake oil that Milvus is selling us, so I say we focus on learning Spirit Blast instead of having a showdown in the middle of class," said Flintlock the Furball.

    "Fine!" said Galeo all huffy.

    "Fine!" said Tess after watching Galeo get all huffy.

    "Thanks, Flintlock," said Milvus. "Now if you all need any help, don''t be afraid to ask."

    Now that the disturbance was resolved, Alwin had the chance to gather his thoughts once more. Looks like his shortcut turned into more of a longcut. Within his core, Alwin inflated the balloon to its full size and applied a generous coating of his mana paper mache. Now with his Spirit Barrier completed, it was time to create his Spirit Blast.

    Spirit Blast was a compressed form of Spirit Barrier, with the intent being to unleash it as a projectile. Alwin had gotten the intent part down, but compression was a different story. How would he compress it? Within his menagerie of mental tools, Alwin found himself devoid of any means to shrink the barrier. Well, almost devoid. He still had the most basic of tools available to him. His hands.

    With no other choice, Alwin got to work. Using a pair of mentally conjured hands, he grabbed hold of the Alwin-sized ball of mana and squeezed. It was hard. So very, very, hard. Compressing it was one thing, but a uniform compression was another. Alwin had to constantly adjust his hands as he pressed down on the ball of mana. Left, right, up, down, left, right. His imaginary hands moved in a frantic dance. If only he had more hands, this would be so much easier.

    Wait, a second. There was nothing stopping him from just conjuring up more mental hands. Alwin conjured up ten more pairs of hands, but quickly found himself overwhelmed, struggling to control them all at once. So, it looked like there was something stopping him from getting more hands on deck. Good thing Alwin was a lazy fellow. He knew how to work smarter, and not harder.

    Pair by pair he arranged the hands evenly around the formed Spirit Barrier and locked them into position. Once all the hands were in place, there was only one thing left to do, push. Alwin issued the command to all of his hands to compress the ball, and they dutifully followed his instructions. The orb slowly but surely shrunk. From an Alwin-sized ball to basketball-sized, to volleyball, and finally down to baseball-sized.

    His mental bat never seemed more appropriate than ever, and a part of him was glad that the information download he was subjected to left him knowledge about ancient human civilizations. To think that they loved to play with balls of all sorts of sizes.

    After loading up his core with the intent to blast the ball of mana, Alwin swung his bat. The now-formed Spirit Blast escaped his core and felt his throat gurgle up with the all too familiar sensation, but this time it was filled with power. The words, "Spirit Blast!" left his lips.

    The Spirit Blast manifested in front of him and shot out towards the wooden dummy. It struck dead center in the dummy''s chest. The force reverberated through the dummy, causing it to shudder violently, but still, the dummy showed no visible signs of damage.

    Alwin wanted nothing more than to destroy those pesky humans, and if he couldn''t go out and do that right this instant, the least he could do was take his anger out on the wooden dummy. He fired off another Spirit Blast, and another, and another, and another, and another¡­

    New Skill Learned: Spirit Blast (F)

    Even after he had officially learned the skill, and his accomplishments had been recognized by the system, Alwin refused to stop firing off more Spirit Blasts. That darn blasted wooden training dummy, he wanted it broken, crushed, obliterated. Unfortunately, it had nary a scratch on it.

    "Hey, it''s getting late. We should head back."

    Alwin turned to face the source of the voice and found Uchronia staring at him. He blinked, suddenly aware of the empty training ground around him. Where was everybody again? Did he really just spend the whole day hyper-focused on trying to destroy the wooden dummy?

    "What time is it?"

    "It''s almost time for bed. If you still can''t get Spirit Blast down, there''s still tomorrow."

    "I mean, it''s already in my status, but I just really wanted to destroy that wooden dummy."

    "Why?"

    "Well... it''s-it''s-it''s because... I just wanted to okay?"

    "That''s a weird goal. And I don''t think the academy would use dummies that could be destroyed that easily. Especially not by a rank F common skill."

    "I guess¡­ but I''m still going to try."

    "Well, you still have one more day to try. After that, I can''t wait for Mr. Milvus to teach us something new."

    "I just hope it''s cool. Let''s head back, and thanks for staying with me."

    "No problem."

 Chapter 15: Squad Up!

    "Good morning, everyone. Hope you all had a good rest. You''ve all done a great job in the past week. For now, we''ll take a pause on learning any new skills. There''s no point in only learning skills, instead, you need to balance it out by improving the mastery of what you''ve already learned. I want you all to first focus on Spirit Hands, Spirit Barrier, and Spirit Blast."

    Boo. Learning skills was the fun part, having to practice them wasn''t. Just like yesterday when Alwin inadvertently spent the whole day practicing his Spirit Blast on that darn wooden dummy. It was anything but enjoyable. The only thing that changed was his growing frustration. All he wanted was to obliterate that stubborn chunk of wood, but no matter how many times he hit it, the dummy looked fresh out of the carpenter''s shop.

    "But, I''ll be letting you all practice these skills later. Today we''ve got quite a few things on the agenda. Today we''ll be forming up squads."

    Squads? As in teammates? Screw teammates. Alwin was a lone wolf, a soloist, a one-man army. At least, that''s how he envisioned his perfect self to be like. In reality, he was a sloth who wished for someone else to handle the fighting, but he''d rather not let the others know. Maybe, just maybe, teammates weren''t such a bad idea after all.

    "Squads are an essential part of the Human Hunter Corp. When you face humans, and believe me, you will very soon, you need a team you can trust. Going solo is a one-way ticket to an early grave. Compatibility between squad mates is crucial. Based on my observations of you all over the past week, I''ll be assigning you to your squads."

    Who was Alwin going to be grouped up with? Hopefully, it wasn''t anyone annoying. Honestly, as long as it wasn''t Bion, Alwin would be fine. Yesterday, Bion had turned practice into a nightmare, constantly flinging Spirit Blasts at Alwin with a sheepish "Oops" every single time. By the end of the day, Alwin felt like a walking target, his frustration simmering with every fake apology.

    "So now I''ll be introducing the squads. Squad 1: Alwin, Gus, Uchronia. Squad 2: Clavis, Flintlock, Tess. Squad 3: Deb, Galeo, Phyll. Squad 4: Bion, Brie, Concord. These will be your squad mates for as long as you''re in my class, no ifs ands or buts."

    Gus and Uchronia. Who could have seen that coming, certainly not Alwin. This was the best possible outcome because he hadn''t really been interacting with any of his classmates. Social interaction was hard, it was much easier to just stick to the two people that you were already acquainted with. The only downside was that he didn''t really know much about his classmates. It was a pity because, he thought that some of their Core Skills were cool, much cooler than his defunct one.

    "I want you all to discuss among yourselves who will be the squad leader. The squad leader will make the important decisions, especially when you''re out in the field. Make sure you can all agree on the best person for the job. You have twenty minutes. After that, each squad will introduce their leader."

    A series of groans filled the classroom, as the students quickly split off into their own individual groups. Alwin on the other hand just stayed put and waited for his two comrades to come to his desk for the discussion. The room buzzed with heated debates, voices overlapping as each group bickered over who should take the mantle of squad leader.

    "So who''s going to be the leader?" asked Gus.

    "I don''t know. Do you want to be it?" answered Alwin.

    "I don''t think that would be wise," said Uchronia. "I think it''s better for all three of us if I be the squad leader."

    "Sure," Alwin and Gus agreed.

    "Really? That''s it? None of you want to be the squad leader?" Uchronia''s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "This is an extremely important role. I thought everyone would be fighting over it."

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    "Not really. Seems like a hassle," said Alwin.

    "Yup," said Gus.

    "But-but, this is the squad leader we''re talking about. They''re the ones in charge of all the major decisions, the ones leading the charge into battle, and the ones holding the team together. You''re telling me none of you want such an important role?"

    "Not really. Seems like a hassle," said Alwin.

    "Yup," said Gus.

    "That''s it? So I''m just squad leader by default?¡± Uchronia''s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are both of you even taking this seriously? We''re talking about a role that determines the lives of all three of us, and you can''t even be bothered to have a proper discussion. You two couldn''t even be bothered to change the way you responded to my question earlier."

    "Not really. Seems like a hassle," said Alwin, with a sly grin.

    "Yup," said Gus, with a toothy smile.

    A deep frown settled upon Uchronia''s face, as she gave Alwin a cold stare. A chilling sensation shot down Alwin''s back. Ouch. Maybe he took this too far? It was funny to him, but he guessed not everyone shared the same sense of humor. He just hoped she wouldn''t hate him after this.

    "Fine. If that''s the way you two want to behave then so be it. As squad leader, I''m going to work both of you to the bone. I don''t want to see any slacking or snacking, especially during class. Got that?"

    "Yes." Alwin and Gus gulped.

    "Now let me think. I need to come up with a training regimen, then I''ll run it by Mr. Milvus to make sure that it''s feasible. After that, we can ask him to evaluate our progress on a regular basis¡­ So, both of you are still at F rank for all of your skills, correct?"

    "Yup." Alwin and Gus gulped.

    "Good. I''ll draft a schedule for us. Our main goal is to improve our skill mastery. I don''t know exactly when we''ll face humans for the first time, but Mr. Milvus said it would be soon. I want both of you to strive for A rank in all three of your Spirit skills, as well as your Species skill. Then after that we¡¯ll work on working together as a squad."

    "Hey, Gus. I''m kind of regretting letting her be the squad leader" Alwin whispered.

    "Me too," Gus whispered back.

    "What are you two whispering about?"

    Alwin and Gus flinched, as they met eye-to-eye with Uchronia. She was glaring right at them.

    "Nothing, nothing. Just talking about how glad we are to nominate you as our squad leader. Right, Gus?"

    "What? I mean, yes!"

    "Right... Now I need to organize a preliminary training schedule, so please try to be quiet. I¡¯ll run it by Mr. Milvus before the end of the day."

    Alwin and Gus sat in silence for the remainder of the discussion, their eyes glued to the floor, every fiber of their being tense with fear. Uchronia, lost in her thoughts, muttered under her breath, her leaf tail tapping rhythmically on her chair as she devised a plan to whip both of them into shape.

    "Alright squads, please introduce your leaders," said Milvus. "Squad one, please go ahead."

    The classroom fell silent, heads swiveling toward Alwin and his two squad mates. His heart rate increased as he felt all their eyes fall on him. Thank goodness, he wasn''t the one plagued with the burden of speaking in public.

    "Hello, I''m Uchronia, and I''m the squad leader for squad one."

    "Great. Squad two?"

    This time it was Alwin''s turn to stare at another squad. His nerves eased as the attention shifted from him.

    "My name is Clavis," said the Dark Slime. "I''m the squad leader, and I promise to help unlock my squad''s potential."

    The monster whose Core Skill was Lockpicking, promised to help unlock the potential of the others. Who would''ve thunk?

    "Squad three?"

    "I''m Galeo and our squad will be unstoppable with me around!"

    It was an appropriate introduction for the guy whose Core Skill had the word unstoppable in its name.

    "Last squad."

    "Hello, I''m Bion, and I''m the squad leader for squad four."

    Bion. Alwin hated the guy. He was mean to Alwin for absolutely no reason. Yesterday alone the jerk had thrown twenty-seven Spirit Blasts his way, to him and only him. Twenty-seven! To add salt to the wound, it was all with an innocent-looking smile on his face while claiming that it was an accident.

    "So, these are your official squads and squad leaders. Now, onto something special. After observing you all for a week, we teachers think it''s time for you to see what you''re training so hard to defend. Let me introduce you to the city of Monsteria. Gather your things, everyone¡ªit''s time for a field trip!"

 Chapter 16: Field Trip

    Field trip! Screw studying and learning new skills. Field trips were the best, and this was going to be his very first. As per Milvus'' instructions, Alwin gathered up all his things, which consisted of only himself. The only thing that the academy had given them was a room to sleep in, and as much as Alwin wanted to bring it along, his pockets were unfortunately not big enough. Also, because he didn¡¯t have pockets.

    Monsteria, based on what little knowledge he had in that teeny tiny slimy brain of his, was the largest city of monsters to ever exist. It was home to over a million residents and housed the main branch of the Human Hunter Academy. The King of Monsteria, the self-dubbed King of all monsters, established it as a monster safe haven. It was the epicenter of the resistance against humanity. Also for some reason root beer was banned, something about the Monster King losing his marbles after chugging down too many mugs.

    Alwin and his fellow students filed out of the classroom and followed behind Milvus as he led them through a series of long winding corridors. The academy could seriously do with a makeover. Eggshell white walls, gray linoleum floors, drab light emitting crystals overhead. The various sturdy brown wooden doors that lined the hallways were the only thing to break up the monotony. It was definitely the weirdest way to decorate a corridor that he had ever seen but Alwin wasn''t complaining, okay maybe he was, but just a little bit.

    After navigating through the labyrinth of a school, the class finally arrived at the academy''s front entrance. Looming before them was a massive set of wooden double doors. Behind them, two grand spiral staircases coiled upward like the tails of twin serpents, disappearing into shadowy heights. Alwin craned his whole body up, trying to catch a glimpse of what lay at the top, but the spirals just kept going up and up, far beyond anything he could see.

    Milvus heaved open the doors, allowing Alwin and the rest of his classmates to step out into the cool fresh air. Alwin squinted as the sun''s rays assaulted his eyes. Since his birth, he had been confined within the walls of the academy, and now for the first time since then, he could finally gaze upon the outside world. He was greeted with a cobblestone street filled with numerous monster races meandering about in groups of various sizes.

    "Ah, the sun! How I''ve longed for you," Phyll the Leafling sighed as he basked under the warm rays of the sun.

    Right, Phyll was the guy with the Solar Powered Core Skill. It seems like he could finally put that skill to use if there even was a reason to have a showdown in the middle of the street. The chances of that happening were near zero because everyone here looked so friendly.

    "Follow me," said Milvus.

    Just like that the whole class obediently followed their teacher like a bunch of baby ducks trailing behind their mother duck. Alwin and his two squad mates situated themselves at the back of the line, their eyes darting around the bustling crowd of monsters. They wove through a sea of bizarre creatures ranging from slimes to weird beasts that made Alwin question his entire understanding of monsters.

    A monster resembling a starfish spun past them, moving forward with a series of cartwheels. Nearby, a cat made entirely of ice cream padded along on four legs, leaving a sweet, melting trail behind it. Alwin''s gaze settled on a snail with a shell that looked like a stack of pancakes, each layer dripping with syrup as it inched forward.

    "You''re staring," Uchronia said, giving him a shove.

    Alwin immediately tore his gaze away from the pancake snail. It was rude to stare. But gosh, why were there so many weird monsters? Why couldn''t there be something more normal like goblins or even spiders?

    As Milvus led the way, the crowds parted before the class, waving and saying hello as they passed.

    "Hi, Milvus."

    "Hey, Milvus."

    "Wonderful to see you again, Milvus."

    "Been a long time, Milvus."

    "We got some nice wine the other day, Milvus. Next time you stop by, I''ll be sure to get some ready for you."

    "Looking forward to it," Milvus replied as he waved in return to each and every greeting he received.

    Their teacher sure was a popular guy. Alwin didn¡¯t get it, but maybe when he grew up he would.

    Once they cleared the immediate streets, Alwin could really take in the scenery. A dozen tall buildings lined the wide avenue, standing like watchful guardians over the sea of people. Shops, cafes, and restaurants brimmed with life. From a bakery with a sign that read ''We don''t knead to be good.'', to a bookstore named ''Tome Sweet Tome.''.

    The buildings were constructed in a mishmash of styles. There were brickwork storefronts with peaked roofs, colonial houses with elegant porches, and even a few metal-roofed shops reminiscent of the Wild West. Thank goodness for his knowledge of ancient human civilizations. Here and there, a tree or two rose up amid the pavement, adding a splash of green to the busy scene.

    The class was brought all over the city, with Milvus constantly pointing out buildings of note to Alwin and his classmates. The place was huge, with a whole range of things to see. There were so many fascinating shops filled with exciting wares that he itched to buy something. Unfortunately, all he had to his name was himself, and a growing sense of wonder.

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    Milvus eventually guided the class into a building with a glass display window, decorated with the words, "MOM''s Cafe". The interior of the cafe was almost the complete opposite of the academy. Instead of the cold hard white of the academy, this place was warm and cozy, with an orange and gold color scheme. Plush carpet cushioned Alwin''s bottom, as he hopped into the establishment.

    The sound of utensils clinking, and conversations going on, filled the cafe as the monsters inside carried out their daily lives. Clear diamond-shaped crystals floated through the air, each one carrying a tray of steaming food and frothing drinks from the kitchen to hungry patrons. What were those crystals? Were they monsters or perhaps some sort of technique? Actually, scratch that, there were more pressing matters to attend to. Like the smell of freshly baked cookies that was wafting its way over to Alwin''s nose.

    "Welcome!" yelled a cheerful voice. "Here for your usual, Milvus?"

    Alwin glanced toward the voice. Standing behind the counter was a scaled-up version of the crystals that were floating about the shop. Two questions came to Alwin''s mind. Firstly, were the crystals floating about the place children of the counter clerk? Secondly, did that mean that the shop was operated using child labor?

    "You already know what I''m here for," laughed Milvus.

    "Oh, I know. Just messing with ya."

    The crystal took off, escorting Milvus and the class to a private room at the back of the cafe. The room, though not particularly big, had a cozy, intimate atmosphere with soft, warm lighting. In the center stood a large, round wooden table surrounded by plush wooden chairs. The walls were adorned with eclectic artwork and shelves filled with curious trinkets. The air was filled with the faint aroma of coffee and spices, adding to the room''s charm. Milvus seated himself and gestured for the students to do the same, the crystal hovering quietly nearby.

    "So these are the children? My my, isn''t this exciting," said the crystal. "Soon, we''ll be entering a new age."

    "We''ll see about that, but right now I''m just showing them around the city. Last thing I want is any of them developing cabin fever," said Milvus.

    "Coming here is always the right choice. I''ll send in my drones to take your orders and don''t worry, it''s on the house today."

    "That''s very generous of you, but one of our boys is a big eater. Hope you don''t regret it," Milvus said, bowing.

    The crystal left the room, and moments later, a swarm of tiny crystals, this time carrying menus, streamed in through the doorway. The drones distributed the menus and began floating about the class, diligently taking down every student''s order. Alwin flipped his menu open and scanned the contents. The pages were packed with an array of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and dessert dishes, each accompanied by mouth-watering pictures that made his stomach rumble.

    "What would you like to order?" asked a drone, breaking Alwin''s train of thought.

    "Umm, can I please get an ultra supreme waffle stack."

    "Any drink to go with that?"

    "Oooh, oooh, can I have the hot chocolate with lots and lots of whipped cream on top!"

    "Of course. We will be back shortly with your orders."

    "Alright," Milvus said, smacking his tentacles on the table, startling Alwin and the others. "So how''s everyone liking the city? Pretty neat, eh?"

    "It''s amazing! Everything is so interesting. The sights, the sounds, and the smells," Uchronia answered with a dazzling smile.

    "Well, I know someone even more amazing. Their sights, their sounds, and their smells," said Bion, giving Uchronia a wink.

    "Bion, you little rascal. You''re supposed to wink at me," said Brie, swatting him playfully on the head with her leaf tail.

    "Everyone here is so friendly and nice. I''ll be sure to defend this city with everything I''ve got," said Tess the Leafling.

    "While I''ll destroy anything that threatens to harm this city," said Galeo the Furball.

    "I''ll help protect this city. I''ll have all the evil humans under lock and key," said Clavis the Dark Slime.

    "Well, it looks like you all have been inspired. Good!" Milvus said. "But this place wasn''t always the safe haven it is today."

    "You sure about that, teach? It seems like the city''s only ever known the word peaceful," said Flintlock the Furball.

    "I''ll cover the history of Monsteria during our social studies lessons, but just know that it''s only thanks to the brave hunters of old, that Monsteria is the way it is today. So remember to work hard and don''t forget why we are doing all this. For academy, for Monsteria."

    The class nodded. Alwin was all in. He was determined to become the best hunter he could possibly be and defend Monsteria from humanity''s wicked grasp. He would practice night and day, pushing himself to his limits, until he was strong enough to lead the charge against humanity. But first, waffles!

    As if reading Alwin''s mind, a drone glided in carrying a towering stack of golden crispy waffles, oozing with strawberry jam and whipped cream, topped with a variety of fruits. It set the plate in front of him, and he eagerly dug in, shoveling forkful after forkful of the sugary goodness into his mouth.

    "It¡¯s so yummy!" he exclaimed.

    "Don''t speak with your mouth full," the drone reminded him, as it drifted out of the room.

    The rest of the class enjoyed their own meals, chatting about what they had seen in the city so far. Meanwhile, Alwin was busy demolishing his meal. Crumbs and whipped cream smeared his face as he practically inhaled the towering stack of waffles. By the time he was done, only a clean, empty plate was left.

    Gus, on the other hand, was literally inhaling his food, vacuuming it up into his mouth like a black hole. Pancakes, waffles, crepes, pancake balls, doughnuts, all manner of breads, meats, and sweets were sucked into his endless abyss. At last, the Furball burped in satisfaction, his furry belly bulging out.

    "Ah, that hit the spot!" he said.

    A moment of silence passed as the class stared at Gus and his swollen stomach in awe. Then the room erupted into a cacophony of chatter and laughter.

    "I hope you all enjoyed our little field trip," Milvus announced a hint of a smile on his face. "But now, it''s time to head back to the academy. Tomorrow, we return to our usual classes, and I expect each of you to be fully refreshed and ready for whatever challenges I throw your way."

    Alwin sighed. Field trips may be the best, but getting back to class after a field trip was the worst. No one was ever excited about the boring school part. Alwin, who had spent his whole life confined within the academy grounds, wanted nothing more than to explore the city once again. He just hoped that tomorrow''s classes weren''t going to be a snoozefest.

 Chapter 17: Deciding squad roles

    Another day, another set of classes. After the rather enjoyable field trip yesterday, today''s classroom lectures felt like wading through a sea of molasses. Alwin and the rest of his classmates listened as Milvus droned on and on about the basics of combat.

    "When you hunt humans, the first thing you need to do is establish your position. Whether it''s offense, defense, or support, you need to decide what role you''ll play," explained Milvus, pulling out a piece of chalk, and proceeding to draw three circles on the blackboard.

    Offense was self-explanatory. Being on the offensive meant to attack, to strike out, and to drive the fight. Defense was to hinder the enemy''s attacks and shield allies from harm. Finally, the third type of role was to support. Supporters worked in the background, aiding and assisting their teammates, and using their skills to make the battle a little easier for them, the unsung heroes working behind the scenes.

    "Since there are three of you per squad, I recommend that each of you take up one respective role. That is one offense, one defense, and one support. Of course, these are simply guidelines, not strict rules. If all three of you want to focus on offense that¡¯s a viable strategy as well."

    "Mr. Milvus, what''s the best way to determine our roles?" Uchronia asked, raising her tail.

    "A great question," Milvus said.

    Alwin, like the rest of the class, leaned forward, hoping for a good answer.

    "It all comes down to understanding yourself. Your strengths, weaknesses, and what kind of fighting style you''re most comfortable with. Some like to fight at close range, while others prefer to use spells from afar. Each and every single one of you has different styles, preferences, and strategies. So, talk it over with your squad and figure out what suits you best. Once you¡¯ve made your choices, come see me. I¡¯ll help you fine-tune your roles and make sure they¡¯re a perfect fit."

    With that, the lecture for the day drew to a close, and the bell rang.

    "In case any of you were dozing off during class, we''ll be changing the timetable a bit. Starting today, lectures are only in the morning. Afternoons are now for practical skill development. The classroom will be set to training grounds mode and you can use it to hone your skills or have mock fights with one another.  Use this time wisely because, in a few weeks, you''ll face a practical assessment to see if you''re ready for your first jump into the human world. I¡¯ll let you all know when is it"

    Alwin expected some sort of reaction from the class. Perhaps excitement or even nervousness, but the room remained eerily calm like everyone had already heard the news. Everyone but Alwin. Something in his gut and it definitely wasn''t this morning''s breakfast, told him that this announcement was dedicated just for him. It definitely wasn''t the fact that Milvus was staring at him and only him the whole time that he spoke. It definitely wasn''t that.

    After a quick, barely satisfying lunch, courtesy of Uchronia and much to the disappointment of Alwin and Gus, the trio were back in the classroom. It had been transformed into training ground mode, where the desks and chairs were instead replaced with those blasted wooden dummies that Alwin could never seem to destroy. He glared at them, vowing revenge for all the time and energy they had stolen from him.

    "Alwin, stop getting lost in thought and focus," Uchronia said.

    "What? I was focusing, but just on something else."

    "Well, can you focus on me first? As the squad leader I need to decide who is best suited for what role, and it''ll be a lot easier if you actually contribute to the discussion instead of just doing whatever it is you''re doing. I want a balanced team, so one defense, one support, and one offense."

    "Fine. Don''t need to be such a sour leaf."

    Uchronia shot Alwin a dirty look, and now he felt like he needed a shower just to rid himself of that dirt.

    "So, I feel that Gus would be great at defense. If we can leverage that Devour ability of yours you could theoretically eat away all of our opponents'' attacks," Uchronia said, scribbling notes onto a pad of paper with the help of Spirit Hands. "But, that would mean you could theoretically eat away all of our opponent''s defenses as well."

    "I think I''d make a good defense guy. They can throw all their attacks at me then I''ll get some free lunch. It sounds so much easier than having to chase them just to eat them," said Gus.

    "Well, that settles Gus'' role. Now for you Alwin."

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    "Me? Well, I''ll lead the offense. I''ll go in and just start blasting away at all those scummy humans. Bang. Boom. Bam. Pow. All over the place."

    "So, the only two skills you know are Dark Tackle and Spirit Blast, and they''re both F-ranked correct?"

    "Yup. Problem?"

    "Actually, yes. Two F-ranked skills won''t be enough. You''ll have to hone your mastery of your skills and preferably gain more offensive-based skills."

    "I didn''t hear you complaining about Gus'' skills," complained Alwin.

    "Well, Gus actually has control over his Core Skill, unlike you. Of course, I would like him to increase his mastery over Spirit Barrier and learn more defensive-oriented skills, but right now you''re the biggest liability in this squad.

    "Me? What about you? All you''ve got are F-ranked skills and you don''t even have any skills that are remotely supportive. If anything, you''re the bigger liability."

    "Correction, all of my skills are E-ranked except my Core Skill and while you''re right that I don''t have any support-based skills, I intend to fix that issue by visiting the library. Right now, you¡¯re the biggest liability in this squad. I expect you to address that. And you¡¯d better adjust your attitude, especially towards your squad leader. I won¡¯t tolerate any insubordination. Clear?¡±

    "Yes," Alwin sighed. "I''m sorry."

    "Now, both of you wait here. I''m going to run our squad lineup by Mr. Milvus first," said Uchronia.

    "Shouldn''t we, you know, be there?" asked Alwin.

    "Do I have to? I don''t mind just waiting here," said Gus.

    "The only reason I don''t want you two tagging along is because you won''t show Mr. Milvus any respect. If both of you can be on your best behavior, then by all means, please join me."

    "I''m good. I''ll just wait here with a muffin."

    Where in blazes was Gus even hiding that thing? Well, it didn''t matter. Right now, Alwin had to put his best foot forward. Best slimy body forward? If there was a Spirit Hands skill, did that mean there was a Spirit Foot skill? If he learned that, maybe he''d finally be able to put his best foot forward¡ªliterally.

    "I''ll go. I promise to be on my best behavior," said Alwin.

    "She already left. You were doing that thinking thing where your face kept scrunching up and stuff. She got all huffy and just left," said Gus as he munched on a chocolate muffin.

    "Wait, what? Where is she now?" asked Alwin.

    "Talking to Milvus. I thought that was obvious," said Gus, munching on a second muffin, this time a vanilla one.

    Alwin looked to the front of the classroom, where he saw Uchronia conversing with Milvus. Abandoning him like that? No way. Only one thing left to do: dash in and hope the conversation wasn''t over yet. Alwin rushed to the front, and skidded to a halt between his squad leader and his teacher, nearly toppling over from the momentum.

    "Well, glad you could join us, Alwin. Uchronia and I were discussing the roles within your squad. I believe that the roles assigned to you all are appropriate, but remember that you shouldn''t focus solely on the skills associated with those roles," said Milvus.

    "Meaning?" asked Alwin.

    "What Mr. Milvus is saying is that since you''re going to be focusing on offense, it''s good to learn and practice more offensive skills, but you shouldn''t neglect other types of skills like defense, support, or even utility," said Uchronia.

    "Exactly that, Uchronia. Good job."

    "Thank you, Mr. Milvus," said Uchronia, bowing her head.

    "You''re welcome. Also, I hope you''ll consider what kind of support role you''d like to pursue. The support role is broad, with many subcategories and niches. Start by visiting the library to research different skills. Then from there, decide how you want to best support your squad."

    "Thank you for your advice, Mr. Milvus."

    "Welcome, and if you have any more questions feel free to ask. Also, I''ve looked over the training outline for your squad. It''s generally okay, but I suggest moving up the squad training part of your plan."

    ¡°How come?¡± asked Uchronia.

    "I think it would benefit you more to practice working together as a squad for a longer period."

    ¡°Hmmm, but I think it¡¯s better to focus more on our individual skills first.¡±

    ¡°If you insist. I was only providing a suggestion. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know how to use my Core Skill, Milvus,¡± said Alwin. It was embarrassing, but he really needed to say it. No idea why he didn¡¯t ask for help earlier. It might¡¯ve been due to laziness, anxiety or maybe he just straight up forgot.

    ¡°I¡¯ve known ever since the simulation. Sometimes you just need a bit of time before you finally get a hang of it. Take some time to keep trying and if you really can¡¯t feel free to let me know and we can work something out.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, teach.¡±

    ¡°Now, anything else?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± said Uchronia

    ¡°Then let¡¯s end the meeting here.¡±

    "Thanks, Milvus."

    "Thank you, Mr. Milvus."

    "Welcome students," said Milvus, waving a paper tentacle at the duo as they went to retrieve Gus.

    "So what are we doing now?" asked Gus, chomping on a banana muffin.

    "We''re going to the library to pick up more skills," declared Uchronia.

    The library... this was definitely going to be a snoozefest, a siesta festival. Hopefully, there''ll be a book about Spirit Foot or was it Spirit Feet? Whatever it was, Alwin was sure he''d kick some serious butt once he mastered that skill. Onward to the library!

 Chapter 18: Library Time

    The trip to the library was a long, quiet one. Uchronia was too busy looking over her notebook, thinking about what kind of support role she wanted to take, and Gus was preoccupied with his never-ending supply of food, leaving behind a trail of crumbs. Seriously, where was the guy storing all those muffins?

    Finally, the trio arrived at the entrance of the library. Alwin was expecting some grandiose, breathtaking entrance that would rival the massive double doors that served as the front entrance to the academy. Instead, it was just a door. A plain, brown wooden door, blending in with the countless others they had passed in the academy''s monotonous hallways. The sole distinction was a modest sign above it, with ''Library'' carved into the wood, as if it were an afterthought rather than the portal to a world of knowledge.

    Something told Alwin that the library was anything but impressive. Their entire collection would probably just consist of a couple of books lying in a sad heap on the floor. Maybe coming to the library was a mistake. At least it wasn''t going to be a mistake he made, it would be Uchronia''s mistake, and that made Alwin feel better.

    Without missing a beat, Uchronia pushed the door open and hopped in. Gus followed behind, and Alwin lingered for a moment, scanning the hallway. As usual, it was a monotonous expanse of identical doors and dull walls. Oh well, might as well just join the others and wait for Uchronia to realize this was a mistake.

    When Alwin stepped into the library it felt like he stepped into a different dimension. The interior of the library was huge, to say the least. That drab unassuming wooden door had somehow led to this towering glass and marble structure. The walls of the circular room rose upwards, stretching as far as Alwin could see. Shelves overflowing with books, scrolls, and tomes lined every inch of the room. At the center, a massive spiral staircase spiraled up through multiple floors, each lined with even more shelves. Alwin''s jaw dropped as he tried to count the levels¡ªsecond, third, fourth, fifth¡ªhow many floors did this place have?

    Other monsters walked about, browsing the countless shelves. Most of them, however, were absorbed in whatever books they had in their paws, claws, wings, hands, and tentacles. Some sat at desks and tables, engrossed in their studies, while others lounged on the ground, lost in the pages of their books. Occasionally, a shout or a grunt of frustration echoed through the room, but surprisingly, no one seemed to mind.

    "Whoa," Alwin, gasped as he looked around, trying to absorb it all.

    He was completely wrong and the library wasn''t disappointing in the slightest. It was magical, mesmerizing, magnificent, and a million other synonyms for amazing.

    "Ok, here''s the plan. I am going to go find some support skills. Alwin, I want you to go find some offensive skills to learn, and Gus I want you to find some defensive skills. I''ve allotted one whole afternoon for us to search for skills, and we''re going to make full use of every single moment. Understood?" asked Uchronia.

    "Okie dokie," replied Gus.

    Alwin gave a quick nod before the three of them split off in separate directions.

    Offensive skills, offensive skills, now where could they be? He glanced up at the towering spiral staircase. Upper floors usually meant better, right? Since offense was the best, it''d make sense that they''d be located on the upper floors.

    With such flawless logic by his side, Alwin approached the base of the winding staircase. The path spiraled upward, disappearing into the heights of the library, and the endless climb made his stomach churn. However, the sight of the stairs themselves made Alwin wonder how much did this library cost. Each step was made with polished white marble inlaid with swirling gold and blue patterns.

    With a burst of enthusiasm, Alwin leaped onto the staircase¡ªand immediately smacked face-first into an invisible wall. A translucent, golden field of energy shimmered into view where he collided. It flickered and sparked, teasing the idea of vanishing, but then held firm, pulsing with a steady, magical hum.

    [Your library pass tier does not grant access to the next level. For any enquiries please contact the library attendant.]

    Library pass? Tier levels? What sort of library was this? Alwin looked around the library, eyes darting about as he searched for the library attendant. All he found were monsters of various shapes, sizes, and colors, sitting or standing in place, absorbed in whatever book or scroll they had in hand.

    Attendant, attendant, now where could they be? Alwin had no other choice but to scour the library in hopes of finding the elusive library attendant. He darted between towering bookshelves, leaping past each and every monster that roamed the aisles. No luck. He pressed on, weaving through labyrinthine corridors, his eyes scanning every nook and cranny. Minutes ticked by, and still, his search remained fruitless. Nothing.

    Frustrated, Alwin plopped down on the ground. He couldn''t waste any more time searching for the library attendant. He was here to find offensive skills, not to play hide and seek. With a sigh, he picked himself up, he couldn''t give up just yet. He needed the library attendant to help him find some offensive skills.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Alwin traversed the maze of aisles one more time. He turned corners, dashed past other monsters, and vaulted over the occasional fallen shelf. His hasty pace slowed and slowed until he came to a full stop. Something had caught his eye. There, nestled among the countless volumes, was the spine of a burgundy book. The words were sideways relative to Alwin, making it difficult to read. Without hesitation he flipped his body to the side, lying sideways on the floor. Alwin could finally make out the words etched into the spine: "Spirit Feet."

    Alwin''s eyes widened as he stared at the book. He blinked a few times, struggling to believe what he was seeing. Was he dreaming? Was this some sort of joke? The title "Spirit Feet" shimmered back at him, undeniably real. He had merely joked about the idea earlier, never expecting it to actually exist. Yet, here it was, right before his eyes, within reach.

    Well, since he was already here, it wouldn''t hurt to take a little peek into the book. Besides, it''d be rude not to, the book was practically begging Alwin to pick it up and read it.

    "Spirit Hands!" Alwin shouted out, and a pair of hands materialized right next to him.

    As he willed them forward, fingers ready to grasp the edge of the book, he felt a chill run down his back. It felt like a dozen eyes were boring into him. His spectral appendages crept closer, but the sensation of being watched grew stronger. Something was afoot. Alwin turned around and found the gazes of several other monsters fixated on him. He must''ve been louder than he thought.

    Alwin waved a hand in apology, and the group of monsters just shook their heads and went on with their business.

    Back to the task at hand, Alwin turned to his Spirit Hands. The ghostly appendages drifted forward and wrapped themselves around the book''s spine. With a gentle tug, they pulled it free from the shelf. It was certainly a lot thinner than Alwin expected, and a lot more worn. Alwin held the book up, turning it this way and that, examining every inch with keen interest.

    His spectral fingers grasped the cover of the book. A couple of tears and spots of dust and grime marred its surface. But that didn''t matter. What mattered was the knowledge hidden inside. Alwin''s mouth twisted into a grin as his spectral fingers dug underneath the front cover. This was it. His pulse quickened as he prepared to uncover the secrets of "Spirit Feet," the grin on his face growing wider with every heartbeat.

    The moment he flipped open the book, a strange sensation washed over him. It felt as if he was being pulled into the very pages. His surroundings disappeared in a flash, and Alwin found himself in a white empty void. His heart pounded as he glanced around, disoriented. Where was he? Across from him floated a book, seemingly suspended in mid-air. It looked like a pristine version of the ''Spirit Feet'' book.

    "I am the avatar of the ''Spirit Feet'' book," a voice echoed from the floating tome. "Prove your worth. Defeat me, and you shall earn the right to learn the ways of the Spirit Feet."

    A fight? Now? Against a book, of all things? This library adventure was way more fun than Alwin had expected. Gone was the snooze fest of a journey to the library. Now, it was all action and adrenaline. Alwin liked the sound of that.

    "Spirit Feet," the book cried out as a pair of ghostly, white feet manifested right before Alwin''s eyes.

    The Spirit Feet floated above the book, the spectral toes wiggling and wriggling as they hovered there. Feet or hands, which was the superior appendage? Time to settle it once and for all.

    Alwin charged forward, summoning his Spirit Hands to his side. In response, the pair of Spirit Feet hovered towards Alwin, prepared to intercept him. As the distance between them shrunk, the feet began to kick wildly, sending a volley of kicks hurdling his way. Alwin raised his Spirit Hands to shield his face and continued his advance, hopping closer to the book''s avatar. Each kick pounded relentlessly against the palms of his Spirit Hands, each impact threatening to wrest control of the skill from him. Alwin gritted his teeth, willing his Spirit Hands to stay on target. Just a few more hops.

    At last, he was close enough to attack. The barrage of kicks continued, but his Spirit Hands remained steadfast, deflecting each blow. Darkness seeped out from within him, coating his body in a layer of shadows. The more the darkness enveloped him, the harder it became for his Spirit Hands to maintain their form. They trembled, struggling to stay upright as if their strength was being siphoned away.

    "Dark Tackle!" Alwin roared.

    He had lost all control over his Spirit Hands; they dissipated in a wisp of spectral energy. Cloaked in shadows, Alwin rocketed forward, barreling through the still-kicking Spirit Feet. The force of his charge shattered the spectral appendages into nothingness. Alwin tumbled onward, skidding to a halt right before the Spirit Feet book. As he came to a stop, the black aura coating Alwin''s body faded into the air.

    "Good show, boy. Now finish me off and earn the right to learn ¡®Spirit Feet¡¯," said the book.

    "My pleasure," said Alwin.

    Without hesitation, Alwin activated Dark Tackle once again, launching himself right into the middle of the book''s cover. A deafening tearing sound echoed as he struck, splitting the book open at the point of impact. The front and back covers flew off, revealing pages after pages of content. In another flash, Alwin found himself back in the library.

    He twisted and turned his body around, glancing from left to right. Was he finally back in the library or was this another trial orchestrated by the book''s avatar? It seemed like it was the former, judging by the stares he was getting from the other library-goers.

    Alwin glanced down at the ground where the pages of the book lay sprawled out, its innards splayed for him to see. Page after page was filled with the intricacies of the Spirit Feet skill. Diagrams depicted the various forms the spectral extremities could take, descriptions outlined the different applications, and there was even a concise guide on how to activate the skill. His heart raced with excitement. The knowledge was right there, ready to be absorbed. He couldn''t wait to practice and master this skill.

    "What are you doing?" a hushed cry cut in.

 Chapter 19: Spirit Blast and Beyond

    "What? I was just reading about some skills," whispered Alwin.

    "You were supposed to look for offensive-type skills," whispered Uchronia.

    "What makes you so sure that I''m not reading about some combat spells?"

    "You are literally in the utility spells section of the library..."

    Alwin looked at the wall of books that encompassed him, sure enough, he was surrounded by books on all sorts of utility skills. What made matters worse was when he craned his body all the way up to the very top of the bookshelf, there was a sign with big bold letters that screamed, ''Utility Skills.''

    "Uh... I can''t read?" Alwin gave Uchronia a pearly smile and rapidly blinked his eyes.

    "Please don''t waste any more of my time. Now come with me."

    Uchronia grabbed Alwin using her own pair of Spirit Hands and dragged him down the aisle. His own pair of Spirit Hands still held onto the book on Spirit Feet that lay on the ground. As they ventured deeper into the library, he could feel his grasp over his Spirit Hands plummet with every hop he took. He struggled to return the book to its rightful place on the shelf. His hands jittered and jerked, as they tried to hold on for dear life. His heart sank as he struggled to place the book back on the shelf, his grip slipping. Just as they crossed the threshold into the next section, his Spirit Hands were out of his range. They dissipated, leaving the book to tumble onto the ground. Now, the book was all alone without a cherished reader to impart its knowledge to.

    This was the worst-case scenario. Without his hands on the book, he couldn''t place the book back on the shelf, and without the book on the shelf that could only mean one thing. Alwin was a litterer!

    A solitary tear rolled down the corner of Alwin''s eye. The guilt was overwhelming. He felt so terrible for abandoning a perfectly good book like that. Who knew if anyone would come along to rescue it and keep it company? Would it just rot away and be forgotten? Would it sit on the cold wooden floor, gathering dust as no one looked upon it ever again? Each jolt from Uchronia''s Spirit Hands yanked him further away, his heart sinking with every step. The book¡¯s fate tormented him as he was whisked off by Uchronia to some random part of the library.

    "I want you to stay here and pick out at least two offensive skills to learn. Got it?" whispered Uchronia.

    Alwin wondered if Uchronia was actually part poisonous plant, simply because of all the venom she exuded.

    "Yes, ma''am," Alwin answered.

    Alwin could feel the grip of her Spirit Hands loosen, but they still grabbed onto him, hesitant to let go. It seemed like she was debating whether or not to leave him here alone. Was Alwin that untrustworthy? Well, he did end up in the utility books section instead of the offensive skills section. No wonder she was suspicious.

    Eventually, she let go, and Alwin was free to explore the library once more. He watched Uchronia leap away, her figure disappearing into the labyrinthine depths of the library. The moment she vanished he hopped to the nearest bookcase and peered at the titles etched on the spines. Starting from the bottom, he meticulously worked his way up, his gaze shifting from one book to the next. Alwin ran a Spirit Hand across the wooden shelf, tracing countless book spines.

    "Spirit Sword? No," he muttered.

    "Spirit Mace? No," he sighed.

    "Spirit Spear? Nope," he groaned.

    "Spirit Pan? What? No," he huffed.

    "Spirit Axe? Uh..." Alwin trailed off.

    Why did all the spells here start with the word Spirit? Plus, why were they all about conjuring different types of weapons? There was even some prankster who slipped a skill to create a frying pan. A frying pan! Talk about a lame joke. As he continued to scan the endless rows of books, the monotony began to wear on him. Seriously, why were all the skills about making weapons?

    There was only one option left for Alwin, he had to look upwards to the one that would guide him. It would shine a light on his situation and provide the path ahead. It was time to reach out to the one being he could always rely on in times like these. Alwin drew his eyes upward, tilting his head all the way back until he was staring at the top of the bookshelf, seeking guidance from above.

    There, in big bold letters were the words, ''Offensive Skills - Spirit Weapons.''

    Well, that explains the predicament he found himself in. It also solidified a theory Alwin had been formulating in the back of his mind. He was not observant. Not in the slightest.

    For instance, how could he miss such an obvious sign that labeled what each section of the library contained? Maybe it was because Alwin never bothered to look up in the first place, focusing only on the books that lined the lower shelves. Maybe because the sign was just too high up and Alwin was simply a tiny slime barely taller than the second shelf of the bookcase. Either way, he was definitely not crafting out excuses to make himself feel better. Nope, not that in the slightest.

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    The good news was that now he could get straight to business. Time to find more offensive skills, one that hopefully didn''t entail something ridiculous like a frying pan. That had to be a joke, right? Who was going to run into battle with a frying pan of all things?

    Alwin pushed his way down the length of the bookshelf. There, he saw the sign he was looking for. In a smaller font, just below the lettering for the section name were the additional words, ''Ranged Attacks.'' Alwin jumped for joy at the sight of it. Now, this was more like it! With an arsenal of ranged attacks, he''d be blasting away at any evil humans in no time.

    Two skills. That was what Uchronia ordered him to find, and he was going to be a good boy. No! A good squad mate! One that obeys his squad leader! Now what skills amidst this smorgasbord of possibilities would make a good addition to his arsenal?

    Alwin''s eyes trailed up and down, left and right, scanning the sea of spines for anything that stood out. Then he saw it. The perfect book to begin with. A tome, titled, "Spirit Blast and Beyond." The book practically screamed out to him, beckoning to be opened and explored. This was it. He reached his hand out and grabbed the book, yanking it from the shelf.

    Alwin held the book in his hands. It was thick and weighty, a sharp contrast to the earlier book that talked about Spirit Feet. He could tell right away that this was much more substantial, the book''s heaviness emphasized that much. There''s no way that the book would only introduce one skill, Spirit Blast, right? Unless the book featured a misleading title in order to draw in more readers. That was such a scummy move, who would do such a thing?

    There was only one way to find out.

    With a flick of his wrist, Alwin flipped open the book to reveal its contents. As he did, a pale white glow emanated from the book, bathing Alwin in its otherworldly radiance. In a flash of light, Alwin found himself transported to a white void. Just like the Spirit Feet book, there was a book avatar across from him. Its dark cover and blue trimming contrasted with the otherwise stark white background of the area.

    "I am the avatar of the ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' book. Prove your worth. Defeat me, and you shall earn the right to learn the ways of the Spirit Blast," the voice came from the book.

    "But what if I already know how to use Spirit Blast?" asked Alwin.

    "Then defeat me to learn what lies beyond Spirit Blast. Are you ready, boy?" said the floating book.

    "Probably!" answered Alwin.

    "Spirit Blast!" cried the book.

    The pages of the book fluttered open, and from within it a burst of energy manifested into a single orb that zipped through the air. Alwin''s eyes widened as he realized the ball was rocketing right toward his face. His reflexes kicked in, and he launched his body to the side. The spectral orb whizzed past Alwin, before dissipating into nothingness.

    "Two can play at that game," said Alwin. "Spirit Blast!"

    From within Alwin''s core, he molded his mana, using his trademarked paper mache method, to form the spell. Once a large enough concentration of energy was amassed, he shot it right out of his core, manifesting into a small blue sphere that zoomed forward. The orb pierced through the air, heading right for the avatar.

    Once more, the pages of the book flipped open and another orb of magic was formed from the pages. It shot out towards Alwin''s own Spirit Blast. The two orbs were nearly identical in size and shape, but as they met in mid-air, it was clear whose orb had the upper hand. Alwin watched in horror as his precious attack was utterly obliterated, barely even slowing down the avatar''s orb.

    Alwin gritted his teeth and cast out another Spirit Blast. One after the other, volleys of Spirit Blasts were shot towards the book''s avatar. All of them, to Alwin''s surprise, were disintegrated by the enemy''s Spirit Blast. What in blazes was happening?

    With Alwin¡¯s relentless assault, the avatar should have been overwhelmed. Alwin''s attack should be crashing through the book''s defense, tearing apart its pages and knocking it back. Yet, the book still floated there, smug as ever. It was Alwin who was about to take a walloping if his reflexes weren''t there to save the day.

    Alwin dodged and rolled away, as that one singular Spirit Blasts from the avatar zoomed past him, dissipating into nothingness the moment it flew too far away. Why was his Spirit Blast so weak compared to a book¡¯s?

    If Spirit Blasts weren''t good enough, maybe his Spirit Hands might work. He summoned the spectral appendages to his side, waiting for the next attack to arrive. While another Spirit Blast came hurtling his way, Alwin raised his Spirit Hands to his face, mirroring the stance of ancient humans when they participated in the sport of boxing.

    Alwin threw a couple of quick jabs as he prepared to intercept the ball of mana. With each heartbeat, the Spirit Blast drew closer and closer. The impact was imminent. Alwin''s breath hitched as he squeezed his Spirit Hands shut, clenching them into fists. He threw his hands back, coiling his strength, and in a single burst of power launched them forward.

    The hands and blast collided for mere microseconds before they were overwhelmed and the avatar''s Spirit Blast destroyed them. Now there was nothing standing in the way of it and Alwin''s ever so loveable face. He was completely open to attack.

    Alwin braced himself for impact, his face scrunching up as if he had just eaten the world''s most sour lemon. The book''s Spirit Blast landed square on Alwin''s face. As he screamed in pure agony, a flash of bright light engulfed Alwin, blinding him.

    Even when the light faded, he found himself still screaming his head off, eyes sealed shut. It was only when he felt someone tap him, that he wrenched one of his eyes open. In front of him stood one of his classmates, a Leafling. It was Concord.

    What was she doing inside here? Was she here to face the avatar of the ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' book too? It was then Alwin realized that the world was full of color instead of the white room he was in earlier. He was back in the library and apparently had been screaming for who knows how long.

    Using her Spirit Hands, she brought a finger to her lips, and Alwin got the message. He may have been oblivious, but he wasn''t that oblivious. Finally, he stopped screaming his heart out, much to the relief of Concord. Alwin watched as she hopped off to another part of the library, leaving him alone once again.

    Well... that was awkward. Even after he realized he was in the library he still stood there screaming for another solid ten seconds, maybe he was more oblivious than he thought. But, that wasn''t going to stop him from fulfilling his mission.

    The book still had its cover sealed shut, and there was no way he was going to let the avatar of that book make a fool of him. Alwin cracked the knuckles of his Spirit Hands and set his hands upon the book. As soon as he flipped open the cover, a bright light radiated from the book, enveloping Alwin.

    Time for round two.

 Chapter 20: Destroying the Avatar

    "I am the avatar of the ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' book. Prove your worth. Defeat me, and you shall earn the right to learn the ways of the Spirit Blast," said the book''s avatar.

    "I''m going to beat you this time around!" shouted Alwin.

    "Spirit Blast!" shouted the book''s avatar.

    Once more, the pages of the book fluttered open. From its depths, an orb of crackling energy emerged, zipping through the air.

    If Alwin couldn''t destroy the Spirit Blast and couldn''t guard against it, there was only one thing left to do. He should¡¯ve done this from the start. It was so obvious. So simple. Dodge.

    Alwin channeled his inner bunny and sprang to the left. The Spirit Blast zoomed past him, a blur of energy, before vanishing into thin air.

    Now it was Alwin''s turn to make a move.

    He launched another Spirit Blast at the book. As soon as he sent it off, he followed its path, chasing after it in hot pursuit. The book''s avatar retaliated, firing its own Spirit Blast, the two attacks hurtling straight toward each other. When the book''s attack struck, Alwin''s was eradicated in a single blow, once more confirming Alwin''s fears that a book was somehow stronger than he was. It was just a book for crying out loud! Maybe the age old adage ''knowledge is power'' was true.

    Now that his defense¡ªif he could even call it that¡ªwas gone, it was time to dodge. Alwin was a hopper. A bouncer. An agile little slime. He could do this. As he sprinted forward, Alwin performed a few practice jumps. Just a few quick hops to get his rhythm. With the book''s Spirit Blast coming closer and closer, he sprang into action. The moment the book''s attack was inches away from hitting, he leapfrogged over it, narrowly avoiding the oncoming ball of destruction.

    Just like Alwin, the book''s avatar didn''t want to waste any time either. The book immediately opened, revealing its pages once more. A new Spirit Blast was already headed toward Alwin. If only he could fly or at the very least jump twice in mid-air, then dodging the incoming attack would have been easy as pie. What kind of pie? Maybe key lime pie.

    There was nothing left to do but wait for the inevitable, unless... Alwin created a pair of Spirit Hands once again. They were a last-ditch effort, a Hail Mary, a desperate attempt to preserve his life. The ethereal hands grabbed him like the round ball that he was and swung with all the might they could muster, throwing himself even closer to the book.

    His body whizzed past the book''s attack, and just like before the book''s Spirit Blast had no problem smashing through his own Spirit Hands. Alwin''s poor spectral limbs were obliterated, reduced into a fine mystical mist. Once more, another Spirit Blast was coming for his sweet cheeks.

    He was in for a whooping if he wasn¡¯t prepared. Thankfully, through a stroke of pure genius¡ªor maybe just a stroke¡ªhe knew what to do. Another pair of Spirit Hands appeared, and Alwin snatched up his entire body and whipped it around in the air. With an ungodly amount of torque, he spun around, throwing himself towards the book''s avatar like the deadly weapon he was.

    Now it was him who was hurtling toward the avatar, at least that was what he hoped. His world was spinning round and round, every few moments he would catch a glimpse of the gray book, which looked like it was getting closer. It was hard to say and it was also hard to think. Alwin was on the verge of launching his breakfast¡ªa new, unwanted special attack of his.

    After a few seconds, the vertigo was too much to bear. He closed his eyes, focusing on just breathing in and out. The dizziness and nausea weren''t subsiding, if anything it was getting exponentially worse. Alwin couldn''t hold it in anymore, his senses were begging him to let it rip. With a gag and a retch, he finally let go, emptying the contents of his stomach in a messy, unwanted purge.

    A sprinkler of vomit rained down, showering the book in a nasty yellowish-green liquid. The avatar of the book was covered in Alwin''s projectile-regurgitated breakfast. The pungent smell of eggs and bacon mixed with the putrid stench of whatever else Alwin consumed that day. It was revolting, absolutely repulsive. The book snapped its pages shut, almost like it was grimacing in disgust.

    Alwin crashed on the floor, and yet the world continued to spin around him. Everything was a blur. He couldn''t tell the book from the floor. His mind was foggy, and it took him a few more seconds to get his bearings straight. The book''s avatar was also flailing about, clearly struggling to control itself.

    This was his chance to end the fight. This was his moment to claim victory. Alwin fought the urge to throw up again as he stumbled upright. Using his Dark Tackle, he propelled his body towards the book, lunging at it. The moment he collided with it, the avatar of the book vanished, along with all of the vomit that was expelled from his body. The world had regained its pristine white color.

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    "You have proven yourself worthy to read chapter one of ''Spirit Blast and Beyond''. Now make a decision, boy: unlock chapter two or proceed to read chapter one," a voice echoed through the room.

    "Chapter two, please."

    "I am the avatar of the ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' book. Prove your worth. Defeat me, and you shall earn the right to learn the ways of the Spirit Scatter Blast," said the book''s avatar.

    Nothing happened.

    Where was that voice coming from? There wasn''t anyone in front or to the left or right of him. Was there a glitch in the void? Was he going to be stuck inside this white void forever? What was he going to eat? There were no yummy waffles inside here. Just plain boring tasteless air.

    "Spirit Scatter Blast!"

    There was that voice again. Where was it coming from? Alwin turned around to see a blue ball of magic flying through the air heading straight towards him. In a panic to get out of the way, he tripped and fell flat on his face, while the Spirit Scatter Blast soared above him.

    Alwin groaned as he got up, his face was sore after attacking the ground with it. He turned around just in time to watch the blast explode into a dozen smaller Spirit Blasts. Each and every one of them was still rocketing through the air, the blasts still looking to claim their first victim.

    That was a cool skill. Alwin wanted it, he was going to scatter his Spirit Blast. By hook or by crook, he was going to defeat that stupid book. Wait, was there a Spirit Hook skill out there? No! This wasn''t the time to get distracted, he had to focus. He had to get closer to that idiotic book.

    Using his Spirit Hands, he launched himself into the air towards the book. The book hurled more Spirit Scatter Blasts his way, but he was too agile for that. Alwin threw himself out of the way, performing a triple aerial somersault for extra style points before he threw himself again. A second set of blasts came his way, but he tossed himself out of the way. If there were judges here Alwin was sure they would award him a perfect score for the aerial cartwheel he had just performed.

    Another triple aerial somersault, a back flip, and a triple twist. Alwin was defying gravity, he was defying physics, and he was pretty sure that he was on fire from how hot he was. To put it frankly, he was on a roll, and that wasn''t because of all the flips he was doing.

    Now was the time to finish what he had started. Like the acrobat of death that he was, he catapulted himself toward the book. No fancy tricks this time, only pure raw power. Darkness swirled around him, shrouding his visage.

    "Dark Tackle," he yelled.

    He transformed into a black cannonball, a behemoth of a sphere, a weapon of mass destruction. Alwin tore through the air, his speed unmatched. In a millisecond, he collided head-first with the book''s avatar. The impact was instantaneous, obliterating the book and leaving Alwin alone once again in a void of white.

    Alwin performed a couple of front flips of joy. He was just that good. No book was going to stand in his way, he was going to destroy every single book that dared to block him on his path of knowledge. Watch out library, Alwin the Dark Slime was on the case.

    "You have proven yourself worthy to read chapter two of ''Spirit Blast and Beyond''. Now make a decision, boy: unlock chapter three or proceed to read the previous chapters," a voice echoed through the room.

    Alwin was crushing it, of course, he was going to keep up his hot streak and move on to chapter three.

    "I am the avatar of the ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' book. Prove your worth. Defeat me, and you shall earn the right to learn the ways of the Spirit Burst Blast," said the book''s avatar.

    This time Alwin was smarter, he knew what to do. He knew that the enemy was behind him. With a smirk, he launched into a backflip, aiming for maximum style points. Mid-air, he envisioned the perfect landing. But as he hit the ground, he froze, staring straight ahead.

    Wait a second.

    His cheeks flushed crimson as he awkwardly spun around, finally facing the avatar of the book.

    "Spirit Burst Blast."

    The book''s pages rustled open, and a blue Spirit Burst Blast shot out, hurtling straight toward Alwin. He cocked his body in confusion. The book clearly yelled out Spirit Burst Blast, so why did it shoot out a regular Spirit Blast? Was there truly a glitch in the void or was it another case of Alwinian confusion? Whatever the case, Alwin wasn''t going to let himself get hit by it.

    Alwin hurled himself into the air, watching the blast whiz past just below his feet. It erupted into an explosion of magical energy a few feet away, sending a gust of wind his way. Guess that explains the burst part of Spirit Burst Blast. Definitely more boom than the usual pow. As he looked towards the avatar, another burst blast was already rocketing his way.

    The book wasn''t messing around. Alwin¡¯s Spirit Hands flung him out of the blast¡¯s path, the Spirit Burst Blast zooming past and exploding in the distance. He watched the avatar''s pages flutter open again, prepping another attack.

    Child''s play. Not because Alwin was less than two weeks old, but because he was the self-anointed trapeze artist of doom. Once more, Alwin''s Spirit Hands propelled him through the air. Dodging blasts was so last season; where was the thrill in that? He catapulted himself straight toward the incoming Spirit Burst Blast, summoning his Spirit Hands at the last second to yank himself out of harm''s way.

    Enough fun and games, Alwin was here to learn, and to learn he had to destroy the book. Alwin rocketed downward, gathering momentum to strengthen his Dark Tackle. He smashed into the avatar¡¯s cover, crumbling the book in one decisive blow. Book broken, time to learn.

    A blinding flash enveloped Alwin, and suddenly he was back in the library. He glanced around, relieved to see no remnants of breakfast on the book or anywhere near him. Weird. What was that strange, white void-like space, anyway? Whatever. Now that the book was finally fully unlocked it was time to get down to business. Reading.

    "Alwin!" a voice called out from behind him.

    Oh, bother. What now?

 Chapter 21: Learning Spirit Scatter Blast

    Reading books was boring. Very, very, very boring. Who liked reading words, anyway? Books were gross. Alwin preferred visual media. Something with pictures at least. Alas, he was forced to read his book ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' word for word. What a drag.

    That was the homework forced onto him by the one, the only, Uchronia. Who else would be gutsy enough to torture him like that? Maybe Milvus since he was the teacher and Bion because he was a good-for-nothing snot-nosed bully. Where was Alwin going with this? Well, he was going nowhere; he just wanted a distraction from all of the reading that was consuming his life.

    After Alwin''s escapades in the library earlier that day, Uchronia tracked him down and declared the skills he picked out as ¡®sufficient¡¯. She then forced him to borrow the book and read its contents by the end of the day.

    Alwin and Gus were now slaves to the cruel Uchronia''s study regime. Instead of playing ''Rock, Paper, Scissors'' with all the other monsters in the dorm with their Spirit Hands, they were stuck flipping pages. Every time he glanced at his fellow monsters having fun, his Spirit Hands would twitch with envy, his fate was sealed. Study, study, study¡ªUchronia''s orders were absolute.

    Gus didn''t really mind studying. Every time he finished reading a page, he rewarded himself with a snack he had smuggled out of the cafeteria. At the moment, he was on page forty-seven because he had just devoured his forty-sixth muffin. Crumbs dotted his textbook like confetti, and bits of it speckled on the bed sheet around him. Seriously, where was he hiding all of those muffins?

    But Alwin was bored. He fidgeted on his bed, glaring at the lines of text that seemed to blur together in a monotonous haze. He didn''t want to read, he wanted to be out there practicing the skills instead. The thought of conjuring Spirit Blasts and showing off his newfound powers made his heart race. That would have been way more fun than this. Stupid, boring books.

    "Alwin, stop getting distracted. Don''t make me come over there," Uchronia remarked.

    Alwin sighed as he flipped to the next page, glancing at the diagrams of Spirit Blast. Yep, the same Spirit Blast he had already learnt. Why did he have to read this stupid chapter? Lousy Uchronia, bullying him just because she was the squad leader.

    It was getting late, and Alwin wanted to just hit the hay, but a quick glance at Uchronia told him that the only thing that would get hit was him. So, he pressed on. Reading, getting distracted, then back to reading again. He trudged through page after page, each line feeling like a mountain he had to climb, his eyelids growing heavier with each passing minute.

    Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he completed all three chapters of Spirit Blast and Beyond. He could finally go to bed at the nice, early hour of five in the morning.

    ---

    Throughout the morning lectures, Alwin struggled to stay awake. He was dead tired, and the lecture was dead boring. It was a miracle he could even keep his eyes open. Milvus droned on and on about the importance of knowing your opponent, cycling through different examples, situations, and even the pros and cons of fighting individually versus as a squad. Blah blah, blah¡ªit was all just a bunch of crap in Alwin''s opinion. He was more of a doer than a thinker. Let his instincts kick in and hope whatever comes out would get rid of his opponent and not the other way around.

    Finally, the much-anticipated bell rang, ending the morning lectures. Alwin and Gus bolted out of the room and straight to the cafeteria.

    Alwin''s tray was a caffeine lover''s dream ¨C or nightmare. A coffee-rubbed steak nestled beside coffee muffins, with coffee pudding perched precariously on the edge. He topped it off with a steaming cup of black coffee, the steam swirling like a beacon of wakefulness. He needed to get his daily dose of caffeine, along with yesterday''s and tomorrow''s, or he''d pass out during afternoon practice.

    Meanwhile, Gus''s plate was a mountain of culinary chaos. Stacks of pancakes and waffles teetered precariously next to heaps of savory sides. A strange yellowish food Alwin had never seen before oozed at the edges. About a hundred types of meat piled high, crowned by a big, juicy steak. Gus finished his masterpiece with a generous smothering of ketchup, mustard, and mayo, turning the whole thing into a colorful, glistening mess.

    Meanwhile, Uchronia picked at her usual salad, a huge bowl overflowing with leaves and a side of nuts, all drizzled in a sharp vinaigrette of lemon juice and vinegar. As soon as she finished her meal, she grabbed Alwin and Gus, dragging them away from the cafeteria and back to the classroom for more training. Gus wailed like a banshee, clutching his stomach as if it were empty despite having already devoured three helpings. His eyes lingered longingly on the remnants of his food mountain as they were hauled away. Alwin, ever the opportunist, let his eyelids droop as Uchronia dragged them. He leaned his head back, snoring softly before they even left the cafeteria.

    "Wake up, Alwin," Uchronia said, giving him a gentle shake.

    He mumbled in response, opening one eye slightly.

    "Five more minutes, Mom."

    "I''m not your mother, now wake up. Time to train. We''re going to be the number one squad in Mr. Milvus'' class."

    "Yes, Dad," he sighed.

    Alwin sat there for a few seconds, rubbing his eyes with his Spirit Hands. After a quick stretch and a yawn that echoed through the training area, he started walking towards his designated spot, where his sworn enemy resided. That lousy useless piece of driftwood training dummy. Alwin swore he would get his revenge one day, and that day was treading closer and closer.

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    "I''ve made you a training menu," Uchronia said, handing it to Alwin.

    Alwin glanced at it, the sheet containing detailed instructions for which skills to practice and how long to practice them for.

    "Do I have to? I''m more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy," lamented Alwin.

    "Well, when your flow actually leads to results instead of getting lost in thought, then I''ll consider it. Right now, I want you to follow this schedule to a tee."

    Alwin turned away from Uchronia to pout. "I''m more of a coffee guy than a tea guy. Did she not see what I ate for lunch?"

    Alwin shrugged. The clock was ticking, and he had no choice but to oblige. This was the price he had to pay to become the number one squad in Mr. Milvus''s class. Anything to rub it in Bion''s face. Also, being number one just felt great. Alwin was looking forward to running around the classroom and shouting, ''We are number one!''

    "Hey!"

    Alwin spun around. Uchronia was standing a short distance away, tapping her tail impatiently. Her expression was more sour than the lemon dressing in her salad.

    "Stop spacing out, and get to work."

    "Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!"

    Alwin looked over his training schedule graciously provided to him and vetted by none other than Milvus. Why would he approve such a tortuous schedule? How was Alwin supposed to survive?

    First up in the training schedule was learning the skills mentioned in Spirit Blast and Beyond. After that came mastering them. Lastly, there was a joint practice as a squad. Alwin grinned at the prospect of torturing that block-headed wooden dummy with Spirit Scatter Blast and Spirit Burst Blast. Hitting things was a good way to vent one''s anger, but he had bigger plans. Plans so grand that not even Uchronia could possibly fathom.

    Alwin was going to break that dummy into splinters. That was the plan. If not Alwin would be the dummy who couldn''t destroy a useless junk of wood.

    Sealing his eyes shut, he honed in on his core. Deep within, a churning whirlpool of mana¡ªgleaned from every breath he''d taken¡ªswirled like a caffeine-fueled tornado, itching to break free and wreak havoc. Alwin was more than happy to oblige.

    Now, how to mold his mana into a Spirit Scatter Blast? Infusing his mana with intent was the easy part. He just had to command the mana to shoot forward, and voil¨¤, instant chaos! Shaping the mana, on the other hand, was a tad more challenging, simply because it was just so tedious. Maybe he should have used a more entertaining method than the mana equivalent of paper mach¨¦. To be fair, crafting it was a blast, but waiting for it to set? Absolute torture. Even if that torture involved sitting around doing nothing, it was still a colossal bore.

    In the most basic of terms, Spirit Scatter Blast was basically a regular Spirit Blast stuffed with a bunch of tinier Spirit Blasts. Alwin had a general idea of how to form his mana to achieve the desired effect, thanks to the book he was forced to read the night before. All he had to do was follow its guidelines, and bingo bongo¡ªscatter blasts for everyone!

    Tiny Spirit Blasts, that''s what he had to make first. In the mindscape of his core, he conjured up two hands and a bright orange balloon. With these phantom hands, he reached into the swirling nebula of his mana pool and started tearing off strips. Carefully, he wrapped the balloon with the thin membranes of mana, layering it bit by bit. Now came the worst part: waiting for it to dry. Fortunately, this time he had a distraction¡ªcrafting more tiny Spirit Blasts. With a resigned sigh, he got back to peeling and wrapping, his mental hands working like a sweatshop assembly line.

    Twelve mini Spirit Blasts later, it was time for the grand finale¡ªthe trickiest part of the process. Alwin took a deep breath and visualized the orange balloon, ready for action. He began cramming the mini Spirit Blasts inside, each one the size of a pebble. It was like stuffing rocks into a barrel, and these little rascals weren¡¯t thrilled about it. Maybe they were a bit claustrophobic? He could almost hear their tiny protests, or maybe that was just his stomach growling. Once the balloon was stuffed to the brim, Alwin started puffing it up as fast as his mind could manage. It swelled and swelled, growing bigger with each passing second. Hopefully, the mini Spirit Blasts were enjoying their newfound legroom.

    According to chapter two, section seven of Spirit Blasts and Beyond, the easiest way to make the Spirit Blast go boom and reveal the scatter blasts was to use a thin layer of mana for the outer shell. Think of it as wrapping it in tissue paper rather than duct tape. Simple, elegant, and guaranteed to surprise everyone when it went off prematurely¡ªunless you shout out the name of the skill.

    Using the thinnest strips of his mana, he gingerly wrapped the entire orb, like a thin veil covering the surface. Once it was barely covered, all he had to do was wait for it to dry, compress it into a manageable size, and launch it from his core. Simple, right? In a fit of impatience, he even conjured a mental mouth to blow on the darn thing, but it was about as effective as trying to dry paint by staring at it.

    By the time the damn thing was dry, Alwin was dying of boredom. At least now, he could finally compress it down and get it out of his system. With the help of additional mental hands, he pressed down on the sphere with all his might. Gradually, it shrank down to the size of a volleyball. Perfect.

    Just one step left, and he''d be done with his first cast of Spirit Scatter Blast. It was showtime. Using a mental bat he found lying around somewhere in his mind, he gave the Spirit Scatter Blast a solid swing, sending the poor thing straight out of his core.

    "Spirit Scatter Blast!" he begrudgingly yelled out.

    The blast Alwin had painstakingly crafted materialized in front of him, glowing with the radiance of a raging blue moon, and rocketed toward the practice dummy. Mid-flight, the outer shell split open. Twelve mini Spirit Blasts burst out, zooming toward the dummy like tiny meteors. The dummy was peppered with blows, shaking under the assault. Alwin cackled, his laughter echoing through the room. Success!

    Now came the dreaded part¡ªhe had to repeat this until the skill registered in the system. Alwin sighed, feeling the weight of monotony already. Repeating the same spell over and over was about as exciting as watching grass grow. Still, he tweaked each iteration, making the outer Spirit Blast sturdier or cramming in even more mini Spirit Blasts for extra oomph. To no one''s surprise, the extra effort was paying off. By mid-practice session, he could see the difference. His earlier blasts were mere party poppers compared to the firework displays he was launching now. Alwin grinned, wiping the sweat from his brow. Success!

    New Skill Learned: Spirit Scatter Blast (F)

    Alwin did a backflip when he read the notification. First task down! One more to go! Of course, this sudden backflip earned him the gaze of his classmates in the training grounds classroom, but he didn''t care. Ok, maybe he did actually care. He could feel their cold judging eyes boring holes into him. Was it wrong to celebrate?

    Hopefully, he could drown his embarrassment by focusing on the next task listed on the schedule Uchronia had given him. Unfortunately, there was no escape. The next task was just as dreadful as the previous one. The only silver lining was that he was way ahead of schedule. Two days to learn two skills had sounded daunting, but here he was, nearly done. Alwin shuddered with excitement. If he could master Spirit Burst Blast today, he''d have a whole day to just goof off. This plan was foolproof! Time to go beyond the Spirit Blast! Well, maybe after a quick break. He deserved it, right?

 Chapter 22: Learning Spirit Burst Blast

    "Get up, Alwin. This is no time to be sleeping," a voice jostled Alwin.

    His eyes blinked open, adjusting to the dim light of the training room.

    "But, power nap," Alwin muttered.

    "I know, but it''s been ten minutes. You''re powered enough," said Uchronia.

    "Yes, ma''am," Alwin sighed.

    Time to get back at it again, and then tomorrow he''d get a sweet delicious day off to laze around and do whatever he wanted. Maybe, he''d find someone to play Tic-Tac-Toe with. A wide grin spread across his face as he broke into a goofy dance, his slimy body jiggling like jelly. Oh, the possibilities! Spirit Burst Blast, here comes Alwin!

    Alwin found himself back in the mindscape that was his core. His mana capacity was fully recharged, and after that power nap, he felt ready to conquer the world, but first, he¡¯d conquer this skill.

    The Spirit Burst Blast was similar to the Spirit Scatter Blast if the name wasn''t obvious enough. Instead of packing the inside of a Spirit Blast with mini Spirit Blasts, you filled it with raw, unfiltered mana. It seemed simpler than the scatter blast, but "seemed" was the keyword here. According to chapter three, section two of Spirit Blasts and Beyond, the tricky part was getting the amount of mana just right. Overdo it, and it would detonate prematurely, turning your core into a firework show. Skimp on the mana, and you''d end up with a dud.

    Now, how would he go about creating the Spirit Burst Blast? Perhaps following the same steps as the Spirit Scatter Blast, but replace the mini Spirit Blasts with mana. That seemed like a bright idea, by a bright student like Alwin. He definitely wasn¡¯t just repeating whatever the book mentioned and passing it off as his own idea. But how would he actually fill it up with mana? Alwin had an idea but this idea was dull, as dull as the gel on his body.

    Accompanying the standard orange balloon was a green funnel. Alwin grabbed the funnel in one of his mental hands, and the balloon in the other, then jammed the spout into the opening of the balloon. Conjuring another pair of mental hands, he cupped them into a bowl and dipped them into his mana pool. Then, he began pouring the liquid mana into the funnel. Little by little, the balloon began to swell.

    It was working! His idea was working! The balloon inflated ever so slightly but then stopped. That was strange, but still, he kept up the pace hoping for a miracle to happen. The only thing that happened was the funnel began to overflow, leaking back into the pool. It worked, until it didn''t. Still, he figured he deserved partial credit for the effort.

    Well, that''s what he got for trying to make a water balloon the fancy way. Sometimes, simple was best. Alwin grabbed the funnel and tossed it aside with a huff. He submerged the balloon into his mana pool and yanked open its mouth, forcing mana down its throat. With each passing second, the balloon grew larger and larger until it reached the size of a pre-compressed Spirit Blast.

    After layering strips of mana over the balloon and letting it dry, Alwin was almost ready to pop it. Using a mental needle, he inserted it into a spot in the Spirit Blast. There was a satisfying pop as the balloon burst and a weird sloshing sound as the liquid mana got tossed around, but there was another problem. The hole was just big enough to cause the mana to start trickling out. Alwin''s mind raced¡ªhe couldn''t let his efforts go to waste or, worse, wait for the mana to dry again. It was more the latter he dreaded, but no one needed to know that.

    He frantically tore out a strip of mana and slapped it over the leak, his mental hands moving at lightning speed. Thankfully, it worked, sealing the trickling mana. But his worst fears materialized¡ªhe still had to wait for that single strip to dry before even thinking about compressing the Spirit Blast.

    Alwin willed a pair of feet into existence within his core and began tapping them as he waited for that one singular strip to dry. What a bother.

    Slowly, the mana dried, and Alwin dismissed the pair of feet that had transitioned from incessant tapping to mindless pacing. Finally, he could compress that sucker and move on with his life. He created a dozen mental hands and pair by pair moved them into position, their palms touching the surface of the Spirit Blast. With a deep breath, he gave the command. The hands pushed in unison, the Spirit Blast trembling under their combined force.

    The hands pressed down on the blast, but instead of shrinking evenly, weird bulges began to pop up between where the hands pushed down. Alwin, teeth gritted, barked at the hands to push harder. Push they did. But, Instead of cooperating, the bulges seemed to mock his efforts, puffing up in resistance.

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    Pop!

    The Spirit Blast popped out of existence with a loud burst, sending a wave of mana splashing back into his mana pool. All of his efforts down the drain. Well, down the mana pool. Calling the inside of his core a drain sounded like he was insulting himself, but now wasn''t the time for pessimism. Just thinking about all the free time he would have tomorrow if he managed to learn Spirit Burst Blast was motivation enough for him to continue. He could taste the leisure. Well, almost.

    Maybe the problem was that he was pushing too slowly? Alwin sighed and redid the entire process: tearing, pasting, drying, popping, then reluctantly pasting and drying again. This time, he commanded his mental hands to shove down at a slow and steady pace. It was taking way longer than he had hoped, but he was determined to make it work. Bulges began to form, making the Spirit Blast lose its uniform sphere shape, but Alwin wasn''t deterred. He pressed on¡ªor rather, his hands pressed on.

    Pop!

    Another failure, and even more time wasted. Alwin''s annoyance bubbled up like a volcano about to erupt. Why couldn''t this be as easy as all the other techniques he had learnt? Back to the drawing board. If going slow didn''t work and going normal didn''t work, then maybe going fast was the key. Yeah, going fast had to be the answer to all his problems.

    Alwin sighed and redid the entire process... again: tearing, pasting, drying, popping, then reluctantly pasting and drying again. This time, he commanded his mental hands to shove down at the speed of sound or however fast they could move.

    Pop!

    With all twelve of his mental hands, he started punching the swirling vortex of mana. Each impact sent splashes of mana flying, coating his hands and creating innumerable ripples in his mana pool. Why was this so hard! Alwin had half a mind to give up, but the other half lured him with the sweet tantalizing promise of relaxation.

    Think! Think! Think! There must be a solution to his problem. The book did mention that too much mana would cause it to pop before it could even leave the core. Was the answer that simple? Just pour in less mana. If it was, then Alwin might turn into a Red Slime from the sheer amount of embarrassment.

    But how much mana to pour in? Alwin conjured a pair of mental shoulders just to shrug before dismissing them. This time Alwin created two orange balloons. He dunked one into the mana pool and filled it up till it was post-compressed Spirit Blast size. With a lot of effort, swearing, and yanking, he pried open the mouth of the second orange balloon and squeezed the first balloon into it. It was like trying to stuff a sleeping bag back into its cover. All that was left was to redo the entire process... again.

    Now that the boring stuff was out of the way, it was time for the fun part. Alwin got his hands into position, cracking all twelve knuckles for good luck, and commanded his hands to start pressing down on the Spirit Blast. Not too fast, not too slow, just at the regular steady pace he was used to.

    The Spirit Blast began to shrink. Yes! It was working. No more weird bulges that made the Spirit Blast look like it was overgrown with boils. Regularly, but surely, the Spirit Blast condensed down, keeping its perfect spherical shape, until it was done. Well, almost.

    After popping both balloons, patching up the leak, and waiting for it to dry, it was time for the launch sequence. The mental bat had been performing practice swings while waiting for the Spirit Burst Blast to dry. Its time had come. The mental bat hovered over, ready to send the Spirit Burst Blast out of this world. With a wind-up and powerful swing, the bat hit the Spirit Burst Blast with everything it had, sending it blasting out of his core.

    There was that familiar welling sensation in his throat. It looked like everything had gone according to plan.

    "Spirit Burst Blast!" Alwin shouted.

    The technique manifested right in front of Alwin''s body, glowing with the radiance of a full blue moon in a stormy sky. It was beautiful. It was awe-inspiring. It was, hopefully, going to obliterate that accursed wooden dummy. Once the Spirit Burst Blast was fully manifested, it zoomed towards the dummy. When they collided the Spirit Burst Blast lived up to its name, engulfing the dummy in an explosion of raw mana.

    Yes! Surely the dummy couldn''t have survived that. Alwin grinned and performed a front flip. Unfortunately, when the dust settled, the dummy told Alwin to turn that smile upside down. It was as scar-free as a baby''s bottom. Dammit!

    This was his most powerful technique yet. How could the dummy resist that? Was Alwin just weak? Well, yeah, he was. Alwin was just a kid who only knew a couple of F-ranked common skills, but still, his pride was hurt.

    He stared at the unscathed dummy, a pang of frustration twisting in his chest. Alwin''s jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed. He was going to take out this feeling on it. He was going to throw Spirit Burst Blast after Spirit Burst Blast until the dummy was reduced to splinters or until he had learnt the skill, whichever came first.

    Amid the cacophony of noise in the classroom where Alwin''s classmates honed their skills, a distinct sound echoed above the rest. A minor explosion reverberated across the room, then another, and another, followed by many more. That was the sound of Alwin exploding the crap out of his sworn enemy, the wooden dummy.

    New Skill Learned: Spirit Burst Blast (F)

    At the end of the day, the wooden dummy stood tall, much to Alwin''s disappointment. The only saving grace was that tomorrow would be a free day for him. He could do anything and everything. Throughout dinner and while hanging out with his classmates in the dorm, Alwin would suddenly burst into a flip¡ªsometimes front, sometimes back, and sometimes both in succession. His friends exchanged amused glances but didn''t question it.

    Just before bed, he did one last celebratory flip. The bedsheets cradled him in their soft embrace as he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a future where he finally bested that indestructible dummy. What should he do tomorrow? Oh, the possibilities!

 Chapter 23: Goofing Off With Some Feet

    Morning lectures were a bore as usual. Milvus droned on about combat tactics, his paper-like tentacles gesticulating in the air. But, today''s lectures were more palatable than usual. Why? It''s because he had time to goof off in the afternoon instead of practice. He had managed to learn his new skills in just one day instead of the scheduled two. Uchronia had given him a strict warning to follow the schedule so he''d play it safe and wait until tomorrow to pick up the training program instead of going ahead of schedule. What flawless logic!

    After the usual morning lectures and lunch, rather than heading off to the classroom with Uchronia and Gus, Alwin headed back to the dorms alone.

    "Where are you going?" asked Uchronia.

    "Uh... stomach ache?" replied Alwin, voice rising at the end. Would she believe him? Well, he wasn¡¯t technically lying. His stomach did hurt from overeating at lunch.

    "Take care. Just remember to stick to the schedule."

    Oh, he was definitely going to stick to the schedule. Absolutely. No doubt about it.

    Alwin jumped onto his bed, pulling the covers around himself like a cocoon. They snuggled against his soft body. His eyes gazed up at the tiled ceiling of the dorm, as he began to think of what to do. Maybe he could find someone to hang out with. He scanned the classroom, hoping to find the salvation to his boredom. Zero, zilch, zip, nada, nothing. The only thing keeping him company were the beds that lined the walls.

    Sleep? That sounded like a great idea. Alwin sealed his eyes shut, waiting for the sweet embrace of slumber to caress his weary body. The gentle hum of the ceiling fan kept him company as he tried to summon sleep. The fan''s blades, made of some unknown material, pushed down cool gusts of wind, spinning round and round in a soothing rhythm.

    Sleep? As much as he willed it, it would not come. Instead of slumber, Alwin found himself unable to doze off, tossing and turning. Frustrated, he glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes had crawled by, yet sleep refused to claim him.

    If sleep didn''t want him, then what was he supposed to do? Alwin found himself bored out of his mind. The silence was deafening, and the clock seemed to mock him with every tick. He groaned, flopping back onto his pillow, and stared at the ceiling, which offered no answers.

    With all the free time in the world, he found himself a prisoner of paradise. Maybe he should defy her orders and jump ahead of the schedule. Blasphemy! His brain screamed, but his boredom screamed louder.

    Suddenly, an idea sparked. Alwin sat up with a mischievous grin spreading across his face. That boring old schedule of Uchronia''s? Sure, he''d stick with it but with a twist that she would never see coming. Oh, for today Alwin would learn the marvelous, illustrious, glorious, probably miraculous skill: Spirit Feet!

    Alwin never had a chance to read the skill book at the library, thanks to a certain no-good leaf-wielding girl. The memory of that day still haunted him, a pang of guilt striking his heart. He could still see that poor, old book tumbling to the ground in slow motion, landing with a sad thud on the cold, unforgiving floor. The image of someone stepping on it by mistake made him wince. "Sorry, buddy," he muttered to the imaginary book, "hope you''re dodging feet like a pro."

    If the skill was anything like Spirit Hands, It was going to be a piece of cake, though definitely not the kind that Gus could eat.

    Closing his eyes, Alwin zeroed in on his core. Inside, he readied his imaginary toolkit, preparing to sculpt his mana into the fabled Spirit Feet. In his core, a pair of mental hands sprang to life. They dove into the depths of his mana pool and dug up chunks of clay-like mana. With the raw materials now in hand, it was showtime. Time to craft his masterpiece!

    Using his mental hands, Alwin dug into the clay-like mana, pinching, rolling, and squeezing it into the shape of feet. He rolled up five little toes, carefully carving out spots for the nails, then as a final touch he added a lumpy bulge where the ankle should be. It looked like something a kid had made, but hey, if it was good enough for the system to consider it a learned skill, it was good enough for him. With enough practice, they¡¯d turn out more beautiful after each round of sculpting, just like his Spirit Hands had.

    There was only one thing to do. Toss it out of his core with all of his might. The mental hands grabbed the pair of feet with a firm grip. Just as they were about to hurl the feet out of his core with all of their might, Alwin hesitated. Something felt wrong. The hands paused, rolling the feet around in their palms, giving Alwin a chance to scrutinize his creation. Other than the shoddy workmanship, the feet looked perfect. Then, Alwin realized why he felt that something was afoot.

    The feet shouldn''t be thrown out. They should be kicked out. Alwin dismissed the pair of mental hands, and in their place, a pair of mental feet appeared. They performed a couple of practice shots, kicking the mana pool causing splashes of mana to spray out before inevitably crashing back in like tiny little fireworks. When the feet were nice and warmed up, it was time to get serious. Time to give his creation the boot!

    The mental feet got into position, standing next to the pair of Spirit Feet like soccer players eyeing a penalty kick. Alwin gave the command, mimicking a referee''s whistle for kickoff. They pivoted around the ankle, winding up like a spring coiling. With a snap, the mental feet connected, sending the Spirit Feet flying straight for the walls of his core. It passed through the barrier and that all too familiar welling sensation boiled up in Alwin''s throat. One of these days he would have to learn how to silent cast.

    "Spirit Feet!" yelled Alwin.

    A split second later, the pair of Spirit Feet materialized right in front of Alwin. They plopped onto the ground, awaiting commands from their master. Now came the most tedious part of the process: getting them to obey him.

    Sweat dripped down Alwin''s face as he struggled to control the Spirit Feet. Just trying to get them to wiggle their toes took a considerable amount of effort, he couldn''t imagine how hard it would be to get them to walk. That would be a problem for future Alwin, present Alwin was dealing with the more immediate issue of toe wiggling.

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    As the minutes ticked by, Alwin gradually wrestled control over the stubborn pair of feet, which had finally decided to cooperate¡ªwell, sort of. They wiggled their toes on command now, a small victory that felt monumental. But that wasn''t all, they could even tiptoe now, albeit with the grace of a drunken ballerina. It was like trying to teach a newborn baby.

    Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Alwin conquered his biggest hurdle yet: walking. The Spirit Feet staggered forward, stumbling, tripping, and bumbling their way to the bed frame. It was the epitome of ugly, but it worked, and that was all that mattered.

    New Skill Learned: Spirit Feet (F)

    Alwin summoned his Spirit Hands into existence and used them to grab a towel to dab the sweat off his body. Well, that was the plan. What actually happened was a disaster. The Spirit Hands struggled to fly in a straight line toward the cabinet, zigzagging and colliding like drunken birds. Mid-flight, they managed to crash into each other multiple times, turning the journey into a literal slapstick routine.

    Even when they reached the cabinet, they couldn''t get a grasp on the handle. They missed it entirely, hovering at the wrong height like a bunch of depth perception-challenged fools. After what felt like an eternity of fumbling, they managed to wrench the door open¡ªonly to yank out an entire stack of towels and hurl the whole bundle at Alwin.

    This was a problem. The hands were working perfectly during lunch so why were they being so disobedient now? Alwin looked down at the mess that he had created. Standing atop one of the strewn towels on the floor, were his Spirit Feet. Was it because of them?

    Alwin dismissed the pair of feet, watching them dissolve into a puff of magical particles. He mentally commanded the Spirit Hands to help him clean up the mess. To his surprise, despite the earlier protests, the hands moved without a hitch. They picked up the scattered towels, folded them, and stacked them back into the cabinet. Seems like the feet were the reason. Or was it?

    "Spirit Hands!" yelled Alwin.

    Another pair of blue spectral Spirit Hands appeared in front of him. Alwin issued both pairs a simple command: high-five each other. The hands flew towards one another, or at least attempted to. Like before, they wobbled and swayed like drunken sailors on a turbulent sea. Instead of a crisp high five, they fumbled, missing the mark and flying past each other like a couple of rowdy drunks.

    Alwin dismissed the first pair of hands. Their blue light flickered, then faded into innumerous magical particles. Only the second pair remained in the air, idling around. With another mental command, he instructed them to high-five each other. Lo and behold they obeyed. And this time, they were spot on. They flew towards each other with perfect accuracy and without a millisecond of delay.

    That confirmed it. Alwin lacked the ability to command more than one set of his skills at once. It was like whatever order he issued would get jumbled up causing the mess that he had seen earlier. Thankfully, there was a solution to his predicament. It was a simple matter that even a child could come up with. Practice.

    Alwin summoned a second set of Spirit Hands and got to work. His tongue poked out between his lips as he focused all of his energy on the two pairs of Spirit Hands. The addition of just one more pair made controlling the original set exponentially more difficult. Still, he pressed on.

    Sweat trickled down his forehead as he issued commands, giving both of them the same set of instructions: high fives, peace signs, fist bumps, finger guns, etc.

    The longer he did this, the better they got. The hands were starting to heed his every whim with nary a shred of resistance. When he told them to high-five each other, both pairs came together with a resounding clap. When he instructed them to form peace signs, the fingers snapped into V-shapes. When he commanded them to fist bumps, they formed fists and collided together with a loud thud. And when he said finger gun, the hands pointed at each other, mimicking an old Western shootout, complete with pretend recoil.

    Alwin soon expanded his training. From issuing the same commands to all four hands at the same time, he trained them to move independently from one another. One hand flashed a thumbs up, while the others performed different gestures: peace signs, finger guns, and even the occasional jazz hands. The training continued to increase in difficulty, with the number of simultaneous movements increasing. By the time Alwin was done, his whole body was drenched in sweat. His back had grown sore, but he felt accomplished.

    Skill Mastery Increased: Spirit Hands(F) ¡ú Spirit Hands(E)

    Alwin summoned a fresh towel with his now obedient Spirit Hands and dried himself off. They felt smarter, almost as if they had gone from a newborn babies intelligence to that of a toddler. Not much but noticeably different.

    That was phase one of his impromptu training session. Onwards to phase two. After dismissing a pair of Spirit Hands, a pair of Spirit Feet took their place.

    Just as Alwin had expected, the feet were equally uncooperative as the hands were earlier. The pair of feet stumbled as they tried to do a simple little jig, only to fall flat on their face. The hands fared slightly better, though not by much. When he commanded them to make a peace sign, the fingers drooped down limply instead of standing at attention, looking more like a pair of floppy bunny ears.

    A low groan escaped Alwin''s mouth, it looked like he had his work cut out for him. First, he would tackle the feet, then he''d deal with the hands. When that was taken care of, he''d work on controlling both hands and feet at the same time. Alwin repeated the same process of getting the feet to wiggle their toes, then tiptoe, then finally to walk. The same story unfolded. It was slow progress, but steady. The feet steadily progressed from flailing around like dying fish to doing a tippy tap dance.

    With the feet taken care of, Alwin directed his efforts towards the hands. Much like the feet, they too required some serious love. Having to do this all over again was a serious pain, but there was no other way. He commanded them to perform various gestures, asking for a fist bump, a peace sign, a heart, and so on. At the start, the hands failed miserably. They collapsed into a heap on the ground, like a broken puppet. But with enough repetition, they too got the hang of it, though their movements were stiff and clumsy, like a rusted-up robot.

    Each breath came in ragged gasps as if Alwin had just run a triathlon. This was the final hurdle: getting the feet and hands to work in tandem. Alwin stared at the feet. They stood still, waiting for his next order. His hands hovered at attention, awaiting the signal. This was the moment of truth. Would his hard work pay off, or was he doomed to spend the rest of the day practicing? His heart pounded as he took a deep breath, mentally commanding the feet and hands.

    The feet took a step forward, followed by another and another, slowly but surely advancing. His hands twitched and jerked, shifting erratically until they settled in the positions that he wanted.

    Success!

    Now that he could control both hands and feet at the same time, albeit, rather shakily, the only thing left to do was practice. But, Alwin wanted to do something first. The feet walked back to Alwin, did an about-turn, and waited patiently for their master''s orders.

    With a cheeky little grin, Alwin hopped onto the Spirit Feet. It was like balancing on a tightrope, his body teetered and tottered, threatening to throw him off at any moment. Alwin inhaled deeply, steadying himself. Once he got used to the feeling of balancing atop a pair of feet, it was time to take things to the next level.

    Alwin summoned the hands to his side, literally. The pair of Spirit Hands flew across the room, zipping past the beds, before finally attaching themselves to his sides. With this, his transformation was complete. Now he was Alwin, the spirit warrior, or whatever cool name he could come up with later. He struck a pose, feeling a rush of exhilaration as he imagined the epic battles and adventures that awaited him.

    "Alwin! What are you doing?" came an angry shout.

 Chapter 24: Babys First Training Sequence

    It was Uchronia, and she was standing right at the doorway with a disapproving glare plastered all over her face. A lump caught in Alwin''s throat as his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. How long had she been there? How much did she see?

    "Uchronia. Hi." Alwin gulped.

    "Don''t ''hi'' me. Just what are you doing?" Her face contorted with rage as she glared daggers at him.

    "Nothing really... I was just... practicing," Alwin''s voice faltered.

    Uchronia strode towards Alwin, snarling like a beast. "Practicing my foot. You''re fooling around when we have a schedule to keep to."

    Even with the extra height his Spirit Feet gave him, Alwin still felt like an ant compared to her. She loomed over him, a giantess compared to his shrunken self.

    "What is wrong with you?" shouted Uchronia, causing Alwin to flinch.

    A small yelp escaped Alwin''s throat. He winced and fell off his feet, the sheer pressure of Uchronia''s rage forcing him down.

    "But, I was keeping to the schedule..." whimpered Alwin.

    "HOW?" she shrieked, causing Alwin to cower in fear.

    "I was prac-pract-learning new skills in here. I-I-I thought it would be easier to do it in here, y-y''know, a-a-alone." Alwin''s eyes darted nervously, trying to avoid her piercing gaze.

    Uchronia leaned in closer, her face red and bloated from anger. Alwin let out a small squeal and ducked for cover, bringing his Spirit Hands above his head.

    "PROVE IT! PROVE TO ME THAT YOU WERE LEARNING NEW SKILLS! WHAT EXACTLY WERE YOU DOING IN HERE?" yelled Uchronia.

    "Look!" cried Alwin, using the hands to point at his feet. "Spirit Feet! New skill! Learned today!"

    Uchronia''s mouth twisted into a scowl. "THAT''S WHAT YOU''VE BEEN WORKING ON? THAT USELESS THING?"

    "It''s-It''s not that useless... I-I can¡ª" Alwin''s voice quavered as he struggled to get the words out.

    "HOW? HOW IS THAT USEFUL AT ALL?" spat Uchronia, cutting Alwin off in mid-sentence.

    "Well I-I-I mean... it can... it''s like, when Milvus said the thing. It''s like the... uh, the, uh, when you learn a new skill... you can, uh, something about gaining... insights about-about-about to improve other skills," mumbled Alwin.

    He cringed at his own horrible explanation, almost wishing he had kept his mouth shut. Uchronia''s frown only worsened as Alwin fumbled over his own words, struggling to come up with a proper excuse.

    "SO WHY ARE YOU DOING IT HERE INSTEAD OF THE CLASSROOM? WHAT ELSE ARE YOU HIDING?"

    "No-nothing... I just wanted to be alone..." stammered Alwin, his voice trailing off into silence.

    "THAT''S IT? YOU JUST WANTED TO BE ALONE?"

    "Yea..." nodded Alwin.

    "THEN NEXT TIME SAY SOMETHING! DON''T JUST GO SOMEWHERE ON YOUR OWN WITHOUT LETTING ONE OF US KNOW!"

    "Y-yes ma''am," Alwin nodded, his whole body trembling as he spoke.

    "AND YOU''RE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT YOU''RE STICKING TO THE SCHEDULE?"

    "Yes ma''am," Alwin affirmed, bobbing his head up and down furiously. Alwin even brought up his status just to show her that he had already learnt Spirit Scatter Blast and Spirit Burst Blast.

    Uchronia''s eyes narrowed, her gaze boring into him with suspicion.

    "GOOD! NOW GET BACK TO PRACTICE! AND I''M SORRY I DOUBTED YOU! AND I''M SORRY FOR RAISING MY VOICE! I JUST THOUGHT YOU WERE UP TO NO GOOD AGAIN!"

    As he began to practice, Uchronia stormed out of the room. That was close. Too close. Alwin couldn''t even begin to imagine what would happen to him if Uchronia ever found out he was mostly goofing off. The mere thought sent chills running down his spine. He made a mental note to make sure he stuck to the schedule, and then after that, he used his Spirit Hands to write an actual note. After sticking it on his bed frame, Alwin continued his ''practice'' for the remainder of the day.

    ---

    During the morning lectures, Alwin fought another losing battle against his eyelids. That man could just go on and on about battle tactics and strategies against humans. Alwin wasn''t the type to learn by listening, Milvus'' words were like a lullaby. But the threat of Uchronia''s wrath if he nodded off kept him on the edge of his seat, eyes wide open.

    In the afternoon he abided by Uchronia''s schedule, it was a grueling regimen designed to hone his skills: Spirit Blast, Spirit Scatter Blast, Spirit Burst Blast, Dark Tackle, Spirit Hands and Devolution. When he dared to ask why Spirit Barrier wasn''t on his list, Uchronia''s response was as blunt as ever. "The best defense is a good offense." Alwin couldn''t argue with that logic.

    Alwin spent many afternoons stuck in the classroom, launching one attack after another at the long-suffering wooden dummy. With each blast, his attacks grew faster. Through trial and error¡ªmostly error¡ªAlwin discovered little tips and tricks to make the casting process more efficient. He figured out the minimum amount of layers needed for a Spirit Blast to actually be considered a Spirit Blast. Anything less was just a fizzle. Alwin also realized that piling more layers of the paper-like mana caused his Spirit Blast to become stronger. But, still, that wasn''t enough to damage that lousy wooden dummy, at least not yet.

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    As his understanding of the Spirit Blast grew, so did his grasp of the Spirit Scatter Blast and Spirit Burst Blast. It made sense considering that they were built with Spirit Blast as a base, and now he was starting to see how they all fit together. Each attack was easier to form, his mental hands moving with confidence as he fine-tuned his technique. He even figured out a couple of tricks that he was sure would surprise Uchronia.

    Using the knowledge he gleaned from improving his Spirit Blast as well as what was written within the pages of ''Spirit Blast and Beyond,'' Alwin discovered how to adjust the timing of his blasts. By adjusting the number of paper mache layers of the initial Spirit Blast that acted as a shell, they would either explode a split second after launch or on contact. With the power of variable timing, the element of surprise was now his.

    This trick wasn''t the only thing that ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' taught him. It also taught him a couple of tips. The process became second nature to him and with even more trial and error, he too managed to make both of them stronger. For his Spirit Scatter Blast, he figured out how to cram a ridiculous twenty-four mini Spirit Blasts into the main container. It was like stuffing too many clowns into a tiny car but with a lot more bang instead of honks. As for his Spirit Burst Blast, he was able to stuff in even more raw mana to make the resulting explosion twice as powerful. With each passing day, his mastery of them grew.

    All of the improvements to his ''Spirit Blast and Beyond'' techniques wouldn''t have been possible without the help of his Spirit Hands. As his mastery over them improved he was able to command five pairs of Spirit Hands independently. This increase in control had an unexpected effect, it boosted the control of his mental hands within his core. Instead of just one pair, he could now wield multiple pairs together.

    The extra hands sped up his spell crafting significantly. What once took ages now zipped by in a flurry of spectral fingers. With all the practice he was putting in, his ability to mold out a pair of Spirit Hands improved dramatically. They went from looking like ghostly blobs to being almost lifelike. Each day, they became more realistic, and Alwin couldn''t help but feel a bit proud.

    They were also becoming smarter as if they had a will of their own. Alwin was even having full blown conversations with them! Although they did converse through sign language, which Alwin struggled with in the beginning. Maybe it had something to do with the mental connection he shared with them, but he found himself able to decipher these gestures, even if they did look like erratic finger movements to him.

    Even with all the help from his extra pairs of hands, Alwin felt something was still missing. His casting speed for all three Spirit Blast skills had hit a frustrating plateau. He knew that he was missing some key insight, some eureka moment that would catapult his techniques to the next level. After many weeks of contemplating, it finally hit him. A freshly baked muffin¡ªcourtesy of Gus and his strange muffin obsession¡ª hit him square in the face. Even though it was the muffin that hit him, it was its progenitor that provided the spark. And, Alwin wasn''t talking about Gus.

    The drying process had been a thorn in his side since the day he learned how to cast the Spirit Blast. It was a tedious, time-consuming ordeal that dragged down every spell, sucking away precious minutes. Every time he cast a Spirit Blast or its adjacent techniques, he cursed the slow, stubborn drying process. The warmth of the muffin that struck his face ignited the embers of his creativity, reminding him that there was another way. The solution was so obvious now. This was the breakthrough that he needed. Alwin was certain it would work. His newly hatched theory was like the missing piece to his puzzle, and it all fell into place.

    Within the confines of his core, Alwin created another tool to revolutionize his spellcasting: an oven. No more waiting for Spirit Blasts to dry, he would just bake it dry instead. The oven was nothing fancy, just a small boxy contraption with an opening at one end along with a bunch of dials and buttons on the front, it looked like a mini version of the ovens used at the cafeteria to bake all of those tasty treats. It was perfect.

    His first attempts at Spirit Blast with the new addition to his arsenal were not so perfect. Crank the temperature up too high resulted in Spirit Ashes instead, setting it too low left the spells damp and unusable. The same trial and error applied to the baking time. Overcook the spells, and they fizzled out; undercook them, and they remained sticky and weak. It took a fair bit of adjustment, but after countless trials, he finally found the sweet spot. Now, with his inner oven dialed in just right, creating any Spirit Blast-related spell took half the time.

    In the end that blockhead wooden dummy withstood the test of Alwin''s never-ending attacks¡ªunless he was sleeping or trying not to fall asleep in Milvus'' class. Still, that didn''t mean his attacks had ended, it just meant that there was an extremely long gap between attacks.

    For the most part, Alwin''s journey in honing his skills had been relatively smooth, there was one skill that simply eluded him: Dark Tackle. Ironically, the first skill he ever used was now the one giving him the most trouble. Spirit Hands was intuitive enough, and he had a handy dandy textbook for Spirit Blast and its derivatives, but Dark Tackle? It was a whole different beast.

    Whenever Alwin performed Dark Tackle, it felt like the mana in his core had a mind of its own. There were no mental hands to shape the mana, no balloon for paper mache shenanigans, and definitely no oven to bake it to perfection. Instead, there was only darkness rushing out of his core.

    Still, that didn''t mean his efforts were for naught. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, one that Alwin could very faintly make out. With every use of Dark Tackle, that light grew brighter. Yet, that light couldn''t pierce the darkness, not yet. One of these days, Alwin would unravel the secrets of Dark Tackle, but today was not that day.

    Likewise, he still couldn¡¯t figure out how to use his Core Skill: Devolution. He had spent many a days shouting out the name of the skill hoping something would happen to the wooden training dummy. The only thing that did happen was Bion snorting every single time. Do you know how embarrassing that was? Still he had to prevail, lest Uchronia found out and walloped him for not following her schedule.

    Should he have asked Milvus for help during the training montage? By all means, yes. Did he do it? By all means, no. Why? No idea. A combination of laziness, anxiousness, forgetfulness, stubbornness, and maybe the Loch Ness monster that filled him up with a bunch of uselessness caused him to delay seeking help. Did he regret it? Not in the slightest. There was something much more important than learning how to learn a useless Core Skill.

    Today, Alwin would bask in the sheer satisfaction of having followed Uchronia''s schedule straight down to the letter. No amount of front flips or back flips could express how much joy Alwin was experiencing. It had taken many weeks of relentless training, but his progress was undeniable. He had improved so much, so fast. Those no-good humans wouldn''t stand a chance against him now, especially when his skills had ranked up considerably.

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Dark Slime

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Skills: Dark Tackle (E), Spirit Hands (C), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (A), Spirit Scatter Blast (A), Spirit Burst Blast (A), Spirit Feet (F)

    Evolution: 4/100

    Soon, Alwin would get a chance to get upfront and personal with those pesky humans. It was going to be very soon, Alwin could feel it in his gut. It definitely wasn''t because Milvus was about to make an important announcement.

    "Good morning, class!" Milvus'' voice cut through the chatter. "I know this is sudden, but today we¡¯re having a pop quiz. We''ll see if you''re ready to dive into the human world."

 Chapter 25: Pop Quiz!

    Pop quiz, already? That was a shocker. But then again that was the whole point.

    "What do you mean pop quiz? When did he announce this? Did you two know about this?" Uchronia turned to Alwin and Gus for answers.

    "Nope," Gus said, while Alwin shook his head or body depending on how you classify slime physiology.

    "Crap," muttered Uchronia.

    "It is a bit sudden, but that''s the whole point. You think those humans will let you all prepare for a fight? They''ll ambush you when you least expect it."

    "What do you think we''re going to do?" asked Alwin.

    "No idea," replied Gus.

    "Crap, crap, crap. Let me think. I wasn''t prepared for this. I thought there¡¯d be an announcement and then we¡¯d have some time before the thing so that I could rework the schedule. So that¡¯s why Milvus asked me to move up the squad work during our first consultation. Crap. We didn''t even have time to practice working together. Crap, crap, crap. I was too focused on working on myself and getting you two to improve your skills. I thought we had more time. But wait, is the pop quiz a squad thing, a solo thing, or a random grouping?"

    "Do you know how to calm her down," Alwin whispered to Gus.

    "Nope."

    "The pop quiz is simple. Work together in your squads to defeat the enemy. If any one of you gets knocked out, the whole squad is disqualified. Good luck."

    "Good luck? We''re starting now?" exclaimed Alwin.

    "Crap, crap, crap. We''re not ready. What if we fail? Crap, crap, crap," said Uchronia.

    Milvus reached under his desk to press a button. The chairs and desk vanished into the ground, but instead of the usual wooden dummies that populated the classroom when it was in training grounds mode, walls sprung up, separating everyone into their respective squads.

    "Huh. Neat," said Alwin.

    "We''re not ready. We''re not ready. We''re not ready. This is my fault. I should have listened to Milvus. I thought I knew better. Crap, crap, crap," whimpered Uchronia.

    "Can you just relax?" groaned Alwin. "We''ll be fine."

    "But... I failed as the squad leader. I made a horrible plan and didn¡¯t listen to Milvus. Now we''re going to suffer for it. It''s all my fault."

    "If we fail then so what? We just take the quiz again."

    "How do you know that? What if we can only take the quiz once? What if they kick us out of the academy cause we failed."

    "Then we wear disguises and sneak in as new students."

    "But they''ll catch us and kick us out."

    "Says who? Maybe they''ll think, ''Wow these students are so dedicated we should give them a second chance''."

    "That''s just dumb."

    "But it might work and if it works is it really dumb? What I''m trying to say in a really weird way is that it''s not like we''ll always know everything. Just got to find a way to work things out with whatever we''ve got and if it fails we''ll just try again."

    "I guess... But¡ª"

    "Uh, guys. Something''s happening," interrupted Gus.

    From the floor rose not a chair or a desk, but a suit of armor about the height of an average human. Two holes the size of a pencil, that functioned as eyes, glowed with a faint yellow light. At the end of the metal gauntlet, the steel hand curled inward, forming a fist. On the other arm, a blade extended outward, sharp and glistening under the classroom light. With each mechanical step, the heavy boots clanged against the tiled floor.

    "Is that what we''re fighting?" asked Gus.

    "Apparently," said Alwin.

    "Crap, crap, crap. What do we do? We''ve never fought together before. This is a disaster. That guy looks tough. He looks tougher than the wooden dummies. They haven''t even given us any time to make a battle plan."

    "We just beat him until he can''t move. Easy," said Alwin.

    "But, the knight could be a she," said Gus.

    "Ok, then we just beat him or her until he or she can''t move. Easy," said Alwin.

    "Watch out!" yelled Uchronia.

    Alwin narrowly avoided being sliced in two as the mysterious metal foe swung its sword arm, embedding the blade deep within the wall behind. The sword arm made a loud grinding sound as it pulled free from the wall, leaving a jagged gash in its wake.

    "I''ll try to support. Gus you focus on defending us and Alwin you go all out. Throw everything at him. Don''t hold anything back, " commanded Uchronia.

    "Yes, boss!" cheered Alwin.

    Gus positioned himself in front of the knight, with Alwin and Uchronia taking refuge behind him. Uchronia had her eyes sealed shut as she mumbled something under her breath. Was she praying? Why now?

    "Here he or she comes!" yelled Gus.

    Alwin spun around just in time to see the metal foe raising its blade high, poised to slice through them. Gus had other plans in mind. He leaped up into the air to intercept the blade¡ª not with a Spirit Barrier or with any new defensive skills that he had supposedly learned. Nope, he caught the blade with his mouth.

    There was a loud crunch as Gus sunk his teeth into the metal like a crocodile snapping a boat in half. Alwin stared, speechless, as his comrade chomped and crunched the weapon. This was technically the plan when Uchronia proposed that Gus be in charge of defense, but to see it actually come to fruition was simply unbelievable.

    The knight clearly didn''t like what Gus was doing to his arm-blade. It wrenched his free arm back, preparing a punch, but Uchronia was already onto it. Turns out she wasn''t praying, but instead preparing a skill. She rushed towards the knight and using her leaf tail tapped the metal man or woman on the ankle.

    "Slow!" she yelled out.

    The knight''s fist moved at a glacial pace, giving Gus ample time to move out of the way. After snapping the blade in half with his teeth, he landed with a thud, backing off while chewing on the metal chunks like they were a tough piece of beef jerky. The room echoed with the bizarre crunching sound of Gus turning the blade into metallic mush, his jaws working overtime.

    "Quick! Attack! My skill won''t last that long!" shouted Uchronia.

    Right. This was no time to be impressed by his squad mates. Now it was Alwin''s turn to shine and show off the fruits of his labor. Maybe after this, he''ll treat himself to a banana split for dessert. Watch out metal monstrosity, time to meet your maker!

    "Spirit Blast!" Alwin yelled out.

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    The ball of magic manifested in front of Alwin before zipping off towards the knight. It hit dead center, exploding on contact. For a moment Alwin felt confident that the attack had finished the knight, but a single glance told him otherwise. There was no blackened armor, no bits of metal flying in every direction, no fiery explosion. There was only a tiny scratch mark on the chest plate.

    The knight now charged toward the trio, lumbering with each step. It was like Alwin''s recurring nightmare where he sprouted legs and was being chased by something. The legs felt like lead, and every desperate stride barely moved him forward.

    "Watch out!" shouted Uchronia.

    In a heartbeat, the dream-like haze shattered, yanking Alwin back to harsh reality. The knight sped up, its charge now resumed a normal pace, which was still much faster than Alwin''s pathetic little leaps.

    "Haste!" yelled Uchronia, as she touched both Gus and Alwin.

    Alwin felt his body become lighter¡ªdid he lose weight? No time for gawking over his sudden weight loss, the knight was already upon them. The knight swiped at the group with his unarmed hand. Gus leaped towards the blow, jaws wide open, but his newfound speed was his downfall. Gus overshot his target, chomping on nothing but air before crashing face-first into the ground. Uchronia had fared better, obviously used to the rapid increase in speed, dashing out of the way. Alwin? Not so lucky. Luck was an ever-fleeting ally in battle. Sure, he managed to roll out of the way of the incoming attack, but he managed to smack right into the wall. There was a dull thud as the side of his slimy body plastered itself against the cold stone.

    "I need help here," screamed Uchronia.

    Ah, the sting of humiliation, just how Alwin remembered. The knight raised its foot up and stomped down, trying to squash Uchronia like a bug. Fortunately, her new speed kept her one step ahead as she narrowly avoided the crushing blow, leaving only a small crack in the ground instead of a pile of plant mush.

    The yellowish glow in the knight''s eye slits flared, illuminating the room. It raised its shattered sword arm high, the jagged edge catching the light like a shard of glass in the morning sun. The broken edge began to reform itself, melding back together until the blade had been repaired.

    Alwin rolled back up, a twinge of pain running through his body, no thanks to that wall. Who decided it was a good idea to put a wall there! Whatever, it was a minor setback, and the fight was far from over. There were plenty more moves left in his playbook and this knight had no idea what was about to hit it.

    "Spirit Scatter Blast!" yelled Alwin.

    The blue ball of magic hurled towards the knight. It raised its sword up, in a pointless bid to defend itself, because halfway through its flight the orb detonated. Like a firework, the orb scattered into dozens of smaller blasts, engulfing the knight in a hailstorm of spirit attacks. The knight swung wildly, hoping to somehow block the balls of magic, but it was unable to defend against Alwin''s onslaught of attacks.

    Still, even after taking on a Spirit Scatter Blast, the knight stood tall. Only the tiniest of scratches marred the surface of the armor. Why was this hunk of junk so durable! At least, it wasn''t as sturdy as that dumb wooden dummy. That was all the motivation Alwin needed to keep going, that and the possibility of becoming a slime kebab.

    "Spirit Burst Blast!" yelled Alwin.

    Another ball of blue magic shot forth from Alwin. The knight intercepted the blast with its sword arm, but that was exactly what Alwin had hoped for. An explosion of blue mana engulfed the knight, but when the smoke cleared, the knight remained standing. Its sword was cracked, the blade chipped, but the knight was ready to keep going.

    The knight lumbered closer to Alwin, its gaze boring holes into the slime. It lifted up its sword arm, intent on delivering the finishing blow. Alwin could have moved out of the way, but he had a plan, one that would surely boost the morale of his squad. Probably. If not this would be added to his ever-growing list of stupid plans. As the blade plunged downward, Alwin stared death in the face, watching the blurry silver object swing closer and closer, inch by inch. He knew what he was doing, at least that''s what he hoped.

    "I''m here to save the day!"

    Gus came barreling out from the side, catching the blade with his jaw. He chomped down hard on the blade, then wrenched his head backward, breaking the weapon for the second time.

    "Nice job, Gus!" praised Uchronia.

    The knight stumbled backward, retreating to a corner of the room. It raised its shattered blade toward the ceiling, the yellow lights in its eyes flaring brightly. The jagged edge shimmered and began to meld, piece by piece, until the blade reformed, whole once again.

    "Anyone got any ideas? Alwin?" asked Uchronia.

    "Just keep blasting it?" suggested Alwin.

    "I could try eating it. But, he or she doesn''t taste very good," said Gus.

    "Crap, um... Alwin, blast it from a distance, and Gus, you try to bite it, but aim for the sword first. I''ll try and help Alwin."

    With its sword arm at the ready, the knight charged towards the group. Gus leaped to intercept, meeting it halfway, catching the blade with his teeth.

    Alwin had other ideas in mind, hopefully this one wouldn''t be added to his list of stupid plans. He summoned five pairs of hands, four of them forming a square high above the metal monster''s reach. The last pair of hands remained by his side, awaiting the orders of its eccentric master.

    "What are you doing!" screamed Uchronia.

    "Something that might look cooler in my head!"

    The pair of hands grabbed Alwin by his sides and with a mighty toss, hurled him upward towards another set of hands. The solitary floating hand rejoined its brethren, the square reforming into a pentagon. Alwin found himself being passed between the five pairs of hands, flung from one set to the next like a game of hot potato.

    "How is that supposed to help us?" cried Uchronia.

    "It''s so that it can''t hit me. One less thing to worry about!" shouted Alwin as he soared through the air.

    "But you''re just throwing yourself around."

    "Trust me!"

    Alwin soared through the air, gaining a bird''s-eye view of the chaos below. He could see Gus, gnawing away at the armored foe''s ankle. Every time the knight attempted a swing, Gus would flip around to intercept the incoming blade. Uchronia, on the other hand, had her eyes shut tight as she muttered some words under her breath.

    As he soared through the sky, now was the time for his master plan to finally take shape. From his aerial vantage point, Alwin launched a volley of Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts from above, sending a bombardment of magic raining down onto the unsuspecting metal foe. Occasionally, an insult or two would fly out as well, but those did little to harm the metal maniac.

    The metal knight was bathed in a torrent of magic as the barrage of blasts fell from above. Alwin''s assault continued, nonstop, as he threw everything he had at the knight. There was a cacophony of explosions as the Spirit attacks detonated in a blaze of glory. Gus was still clinging onto the knight''s ankle, chomping and biting as fast as his tiny little teeth could.

    Uchronia opened her eyes, no longer mumbling some incantation, instead, she whispered something imperceivable to Alwin. A bright light emanated from her body, engulfing it. When the light faded, another version of herself stood by her side, a Furball.

    The original Uchronia tapped her counterpart with her leaf, blessing her with Haste. With the power of speed, the duplicate darted off into a blur of orangey brown. She tackled the knight''s other leg, letting loose a storm of electricity on her foe. Was that Static Pounce? Alwin couldn''t tell. Between the explosions from his own attacks and him being forced to yell out his moves, hearing wasn''t exactly on the agenda.

    The original Uchronia joined in on the attack. Swiping away at their target using her thorn-covered tail. It looked like Thorny Leaf, but who''s to say? Probably Uchronia since she had to yell out the name of her skill, but Alwin couldn¡¯t hear it. The metal foe failed to swat away the annoying pests, its blade either clamped shut by Gus or used to ward off the flying magical projectiles.

    Finally, the knight was beginning to show signs of wear. The metal plates, that once sparkled under the crystal light, were blackened and scratched in multiple places. The smooth plate along its shoulder had been torn clean off, revealing the mechanism beneath. It was like the guts of a clockwork toy¡ªgears, sprockets, levers, and pulleys, all lined up neatly. It reminded him of Bion. That no good, meanie, slimeball.

    Alwin aimed his plethora of blasts right at its exposed shoulder. At least, he tried to. Accuracy wasn''t on the list of things that he practiced, and being tossed willy-nilly every couple of seconds didn¡¯t exactly help. Whenever he did hit his mark, he could hear the whine of gears grinding up as they were blasted to pieces. The knight raised its remaining arm to cover its neck and head, shielding itself from the barrage, but it was pointless.

    There was a loud shriek as the knight froze up. The light in its eyes went out. It slumped forward, hitting the ground with a thunderous clang.

    "Yes! We did it!" cheered Alwin, from high above.

    Gus stopped chewing on the knight''s foot. His jaws slowly closed and let go of the armor. Uchronia stopped attacking too, both she and her clone backed off. They both stared at the metal knight, anticipating another surprise.

    "Do we pass?" asked Gus.

    "I think so," said both Uchronias in unison.

    Alwin tossed himself back to the ground, a pair of Spirit Hands awaited him to help soften the landing. After disembarking from his turbulent flight, he glanced around the room, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity, but it appeared to be clear.

    The tiles below the knight began to descend downwards, bringing the metal scrap pile with it. Down and down the platform went, vanishing into the ground. The quartet stared into the abyss below, hoping for any form of answer, but the tiles below them shifted until the hole was covered up.

    "I''m going to go now. Good luck," said Uchronia''s other version of herself. She gave the trio a wink, before disappearing in a burst of light.

    "Now what?" said Alwin.

    The walls that had separated the trio from the rest of the class sank back down into the ground, revealing the rest of their classmates. All of them shared an equally confused look. What was supposed to happen now?

    "Congratulations class! All of you have passed and you''re almost ready for your first tango with some humans," said Milvus.

    "What do you mean by almost ready, Mr. Milvus?" asked Uchronia.

    "That''s what I''m going to go over now."

 Chapter 26: Learning From Mistakes

    Chairs and desks emerged from the floor, giving the students a place to sit. Gus plunked himself down, laying his chin down on the desk. Alwin jumped up and claimed his seat, settling in. Uchronia tucked her leaf tail through the gap at the bottom, making sure it wouldn''t be squished under the chair.

    "First, let me ask you all a question. Do you know why you all just went through a trial?" asked Milvus.

    "To see if we''re prepared to face off against humans," replied Uchronia.

    "That''s pretty much the gist of it. We''ve purposely made the trial harder than the standard human that you¡¯ll encounter out in the Forest of Beginnings. You¡¯re all valuable students of the academy, and I¡¯d rather you be prepared than, well, dead."

    "Humans are that weak?" asked Bion. "Lame."

    Milvus chuckled before saying, "No. If they were, they would''ve been wiped out ages ago. The Forest of Beginnings is where many humans start out their adventuring journeys. It''s the perfect place to send our first year students to gain some experience and that''s where all of you will be going soon."

    The class grew rowdy, excitement coursed through the air. There were dozens of conversations sprouting up in an instant.

    "Quiet down!" ordered Milvus.

    The whispers died out, the noise ceased.

    "Good. Now, like I was saying, the Forest of Beginnings is the ideal destination for all of you, but for now you''ll only be making a day trip. Just long enough for you to get enough essence to go through your first evolution."

    Essence? Evolution? That sounded awesome! A new cooler Alwin was on the horizon and he could hardly wait.

    "Right now all of you are Tier 1 monsters. After you evolve you''ll become a Tier 2 monster. Evolution means becoming stronger, and becoming stronger means that we''re one step closer to wiping out those humans."

    Milvus began to pace the length of the classroom.

    "There are two important things to take note of about evolution. One, you can only evolve when you''ve gained enough essence. The easiest way to gain essence is by absorbing it from slain foes. Two, what you evolve into is influenced by your actions. For example, if I have been only practicing fire elemental moves I would have a higher likelihood of becoming a fire element monster."

    So, since Alwin had been focusing on Spirit attacks this whole time, did that mean he would become a Spirit Slime? Honestly, it sounded like he''d died and turned into a ghost. It didn''t sound cool at all¡ªmore horrifying than anything.

    "In three days you all will be departing to the Forest of Beginnings. So, make sure that you all are well prepared. As long as you''ve been paying attention during the morning lectures you should be fine. I''ve taught you all everything you need to know for now so there won¡¯t be any more lectures, instead, you should use the time to get ready. I''ll still be here if you need any help so feel free to ask. That''s all for today. Dismissed!"

    Alwin sprang from his seat and scrambled out of the classroom with Uchronia and Gus. Their destination: the cafeteria.

    Amid the munching of the trio, Uchronia paused to talk.

    "Guys... I''m sorry about earlier."

    "What about it?" asked Gus, with a mouthful of cheese.

    "I was a horrible leader. I just froze up and panicked. I even made a horrible plan and forced both of you to follow it. If I had just listened to Mr. Milvus or if I had talked to both of you about it we might have been able to include some practice together as a squad instead of just focusing on just our skills. Because of me we almost didn''t pass the trial. I didn''t know what to do, I couldn''t lead and just¡­broke..."

    Uchronia stared at the table. The tip of her leaf tail drooping low.

    "We passed. I don''t think it matters," said Alwin.

    "IT DOES!" Uchronia shouted.

    Her sudden outburst startled the group.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "I mean, it does. I''m sorry I shouted. It''s my fault. I thought I knew what to do but it''s obvious that I don''t. I''ve let you two down. I don''t think I''m right to be the squad leader. One of you should be the leader."

    "I''m kinda lazy," mumbled Gus, as he gobbled down his steak.

    "Same," said Alwin.

    "But¡ª"

    "Relax, you''ll be fine. Because of your plan, I learned some skills and ranked them up. Pretty good plan to be honest," said Alwin.

    "But¡ª"

    "I agree with Alwin," mumbled Gus, this time chewing on a turkey sandwich.

    "But¡ª"

    "You should¡ª"

    "CAN YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" screamed Uchronia, her tail flailing around like a windmill.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to shout again..." Her tail drooped down. "It''s just... I failed both of you as a squad leader and friend... I''m a horrible person who shouts at people when they do something that I don''t think is right. It''s just... I just... can''t."

    Alwin''s heart began to sink.

    "You''re a good leader. You''re the best leader. Better than me for sure. Just trust in yourself! Remember what I said just before that metal man¡ª"

    "Or woman!" Gus interjected.

    "Or woman popped up?" asked Alwin.

    "Yea..."

    "You''ve just got to take it slow. You''ll do better with more practice. Plus we¡¯re just babies. Really weird babies. We''re like the youngest in the academy, I don''t think I''ve seen anyone under thirteen other than us."

    "I guess... but¡ª"

    "No, buts. Since you felt bad about making us do things your way, how about you do things my way for a change? Right now my decree is that you should still be the squad leader. Also, stop beating yourself up over one tiny mistake. We passed, and it''s in the past. All you gotta do now is come up with a new plan, and if you don''t know what to do just ask Milvus. Easy peasy," said Alwin.

    "I guess..."

    "Cheer up, buttercup. Everything will be ok!" Alwin used his Spirit Hands to flash a thumbs up.

    "Did someone say butter?" Gus asked, looking up. His face was covered in various condiments, and bits of food scraps.

    Uchronia looked at Gus, and couldn''t help but snort at the sight.

    "Thanks," she muttered. "I''ll promise to do better."

    Afternoon practice consisted of just that. Practice. For most of the group anyway. By that, he meant, it was just Alwin. Now that the schedule was temporarily under maintenance by order of squad leader Uchronia, Gus spent the rest of his time in the cafeteria. Uchronia spent her time interrogating Milvus, trying to build a new and better plan under his guidance. Although the previous plan was approved by him, so who knows how this new plan was going to turn out.

    Alwin was bored. All the other squads were out practicing in preparation for their first ''outing''. Unfortunately, it meant that Alwin had no one to talk or play with. His options were: pig out in the cafeteria with Gus, sit through a boring meeting with Milvus and Uchronia, stare at the ceiling as he lay down in the dorms, or practice.

    To his surprise, the last option sounded the most appealing. So now, Alwin was back in the training grounds classroom hurling Spirit attacks at the wooden dummy. One of these days he''d destroy that wooden dummy just like he destroyed that metal knight during the trials. How this chunk of timber outlasted that heap of metal was beyond him, but he swore that by the end of the school year, he''d have that blockhead reduced to nothing but splinters.

    For the rest of the day, Alwin continued to toss around Spirit attacks and work on his accuracy. Every so often he''d Dark Tackle that dummy just to show it who''s boss, but given how its varnish still gleamed under the crystal lights, it seemed the dummy might actually be the one calling the shots.

    The following two days were even more practice, although it wasn''t the solo kind anymore. Uchronia had crafted out a new schedule, one that she hoped had a balance between individual skill and learning to work together as a squad. It involved a lot of barking by Uchronia, followed by an apology for her barking. It was annoying, but something that he was used to.

    Two days was too short of a time to nail down any complex strategy, instead, the trio focused on sticking to a basic formation. Gus in the front to absorb any attacks, while dishing out whatever damage he could, with Alwin and Uchronia right behind him. Alwin would throw out ranged attacks while Uchronia would either buff the squad or join in the attack using her Core Skill.

    It was simple, but if it worked during the trial it was bound to work against whatever human that they would encounter in the Forest of Beginnings. Sometimes, simple was best.

    As time crept on, Alwin''s excitement grew. He couldn''t wait to get his Spirit Hands dirty and finally smack a human. Then right after that would be his evolution. What would he evolve into? What would his friends evolve into? He hoped that Bion would get a lame evolution. That guy was always such a jerk to Alwin. Directly after the trial, he sauntered up to them pretending to congratulate them. In reality, he called Alwin a burden and not so discreetly praised Uchronia for being such a competent leader and something else that Alwin already forgot. Something about her body being sore and that he''d offer to massage her.

    Enough dawdling and sidetracking, because today was the day. The class gathered in the classroom at 0800 on the dot, just like what they''ve been doing every single day. Today was different, today the whole class buzzed with excitement rather than the usual lethargy that draped over everyone save for Uchronia.

    Milvus walked in at 0805 covered head to tentacle in sling bags.

    "Morning class, just before we head to the warp station, I have come bearing gifts! Now everyone come up here and grab a bag!"

 Chapter 27: The Warp Station

    Alwin bounced up to the front of the class along with everyone else, where Milvus was handing out bags like they were candy. If only those bags were filled with candy. Some sugar in the morning would perk him up. It should be illegal for classes to be held this early. The prospect of wailing on some humans like there was no tomorrow was the only thing keeping Alwin going.

    "Everyone grab a bag then settle down. Bion, you may not shove people out of the way. Tess and Galeo, please stop fighting over the same bag, they''re all the same. And Gus, the bag is not meant for eating, get it out of your mouth now."

    The class was certainly more rowdy than normal, but who could blame them? Today''s the day! The day to carry out their life''s purpose. The day when they would go out and hunt humans.

    Once everyone had claimed a bag, they returned to their seats. Alwin dumped his black sling bag onto the desk, peeking at its contents.

    "You all have just received a standard issue pack. Inside is everything you''ll need to survive a day mission in the Forest of Beginnings."

    Within the bag were two metal tins labeled: Small Healing Pills and Small Mana Pills. Five small spherical pills rested inside each tin, neatly separated from the rest by a grid of thin paper dividers¡ªlike a box of chocolate. Red for healing pills; blue for mana pills. They reminded him of a box of chocolate, delectable little delights just waiting to be consumed.

    Two plastic canteens sat beside the tins, already filled with water. A green cardboard lunchbox completed the set of items. Alwin popped it open to find an assortment of foods and snacks. Sandwiches, some dried meat, cheese, an apple, and two energy bars were inside.

    "Make sure that inside the bag you have healing pills, mana pills, water, and some food. It should be more than enough to last you a day out in the forests. If everything''s inside then follow me. We¡¯re heading to the warp station."

    After throwing on their packs, the class followed Milvus through the twisting and turning hallways that made up the academy. Even after all this time Alwin still hadn''t fully memorized all of it¡ªnot like he was actively trying to remember every inch of it. The only places he needed to remember were the classroom, dorms, most importantly, the cafeteria.

    Finally, they made it out of the academy where the morning sun shone down on their faces, causing Phyll to jump in joy. The golden rays of light were like a blessing to the Solar Powered Leafling, the radiance energized him and Alwin swore that he was almost glowing.

    The warp station stood conveniently next to the academy, separated by only a stone walkway. The station was huge and made of polished granite. Above the entrance, an enormous archway fashioned from marble framed the colossal double doors made of sleek brown wood. Each door was guarded by two Golems.

    The Golems were made out of individual boulders joined together, their stones a dull gray. They resembled humans, if humans were made out of round boulders joined together to give the shape of a human, and if humans had four hands instead of two. The door guards stood like statues, with two arms crossed over their chests while the other two held a pike each.

    A shimmering, transparent barrier lay ahead. The barrier encased the warp station, barring entry to those without permission. The eyes of the Golem lit up when the class neared, one of them moving forward to open the way into the station.

    The interior of the Warp Station was breathtaking, so breathtaking that Alwin nearly forgot to breathe until his lungs started screaming for air. It took all of Alwin''s willpower to resist the urge to oggle like an idiot at the beauty that surrounded him.

    Towering pillars lined the sides of the main room. Ornately carved arches interlocked with each other, holding up the marble roof that shimmered with the rainbow colors of a thousand gemstones. The center of the roof curved inward, meeting at the apex where a grand chandelier made of interwoven crystals and precious metals hung.

    A series of gates lined the walls, leading out to various different destinations. Each gate was marked with the name of the destination. The nearest gate had the words ''Forest of Beginnings'' engraved atop it. Beyond that lay darkness, a void from which no light escaped.

    "Stick close to me, class," said Milvus.

    His voice was nearly drowned out by the chaos. Golems dashed about, some guiding caravans loaded with goods and materials, while others herded large groups of monsters through the various gates. A large number of armed guards patrolled the area, eyeing the crowds, on the lookout for anything suspicious.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Their destination wasn''t the gate labeled Forest of Beginnings, at least not yet, instead, Milvus led them to the center of the building. It was the busiest part of the station: the ticketing booth.

    At the center of the entire scene was a cylindrical structure, several meters in height and width. Its surface was metallic and shiny. Dozens of counters jutted out of the cylinder, some manned while some were not. Monsters of all shapes and sizes lined up¡ªsome bipedal, some quadrupedal, some of them couldn''t even pedal if they wanted to. Unless they had learnt Spirit Feet, just like Alwin.

    "This is going to take forever," Alwin groaned.

    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that," said Milvus.

    Rather than joining the long snaky lines of the crowd¡ªwas his next evolution serpentine-themed? Hopefully not, he wanted hands, and not the spirit kind--Milvus strode confidently towards one of the counters without a queue. The words, ''For Military Personnel Only'' were engraved above the stall. Inside, an officer savored a cup of coffee, its steam curling lazily into the air, as he read a newspaper: The Monster Times.

    "Ahem," Milvus cleared his throat.

    The monster nearly choked on his drink and dropped his newspaper on the ground, but quickly regained his composure.

    "Sorry Milvus, didn''t see you there."

    "It''s okay. Slow day?"

    "Morning rush was crazy as always, but it''s died down a bit, at least for my side. The civilians are starting to file in. Engineers had to perform emergency maintenance and Cor knows how the people are gonna react to the delays. Thank Cor, that''s not my problem."

    "Best of luck to them. Anyway, I''ve got a fresh batch of students with me. Forest of Beginnings¡ª"

    "What''s a Cor, and can I eat it?" whispered Gus to Uchronia and Alwin.

    Great, now Alwin couldn''t eavesdrop on the conversation, but Gus did ask a very good question. Alwin would love to know the answer¡ªminus the eating part. As the days went on Alwin was slowly being convinced that Gus was more stomach than brains.

    "Really? You don''t know? Cor! As in the Great Corenucopia! The God who blessed us with our Core Skills? Hello? Were you not paying attention during class, Gus?" Uchronia whispered back.

    "Uh..."

    "Yea, Gus. How could you not know this? Shame on you," Alwin hopped onto the bandwagon. He felt bad for throwing Gus under the carriage, but anything to get Uchronia off his tail¡ªmore like to get Uchronia¡¯s tail away from slapping him.

    Uchronia shot Alwin a look that he could only describe as ''really?'', "You know what? I''m trying to be a better person. I''m not going to get mad and shout. It''s wasted energy that''s better spent elsewhere. And Alwin, your acting sucks."

    Cat''s out of the bag, looks like Uchronia figured out that Alwin didn''t know anything about Cor. The old Uchronia would''ve blasted his ears off with a lecture, but the new Uchronia just went all huffy. It was a definite improvement for sure, but the topic was already derailed, and Milvus was no longer engaged in conversation with the officer.

    "Come now, class. Tess and Galeo, please stop fighting, we''re in public," Milvus sighed.

    Alwin turned around just in time to watch the duo split apart, each glaring daggers at each other. Good thing they weren''t on the same team, imagine all the chaos.

    Now the class could finally head to their destination: the Forest of Beginnings. When they reached the gate, Milvus began to speak up again.

    "This is where we part ways. I wish I could join you in the Forest of Beginnings, but if the humans sense a high-tiered monster, they''ll send strong adventurers to investigate. That wouldn''t be good for the local populace or the company stationed out there. I''ve taught you everything you need to survive, and you''re strong enough¡ªyou passed the trial, remember? There will be someone on the other side to brief you on what to do next. So, good luck, class! I hope to see you all in tip-top shape tomorrow!" said Milvus.

    Milvus approached the gate, where a Golem stood guard. Instead of handing over the passes, he inserted them, one by one, into a slot in the Golem''s chest. The Golem ''ate'' each pass with a rocky gulp. Once the twelfth pass was ¡®eaten¡¯, the Golem''s arms unwrapped from its chest and extended towards the class. Embedded in the palm of its hands were gemstones: one red and one violet in color. They glowed softly, scanning the students and their belongings.

    With the scan complete, the Golem stepped aside, making room for the students to enter the gate. Milvus waved goodbye, wishing each and every one of them the best of luck. One by one, they passed through, being swallowed up by the void within. As Alwin hopped closer and closer to the gate, his heart started racing, thumping in his ears. This was the first time he traveled anywhere. Was there some sort of etiquette he had to follow? Did he have to go through immigration on the other side? What if he needed a visa and was refused entry? Granted, these were ancient human travel terms, but what if some customs had withstood the test of time for whatever reason?

    Alwin stepped through the gate. It was dark, pitch black, like when he was back in his egg again. A second later he was bouncing out of the void onto the other end of the gate. It was weird. One moment you''re in a bustling station, the next moment you''re in darkness wondering whether you''re dead, and then you pop out in some wooden room, surrounded by your fellow classmates.

 Chapter 28: Calm Before The Hunt

    The wooden room was a circular one, all the walls were made out of wood. What type of wood? Well, Alwin couldn''t say, but it was brown and definitely wooden. Probably maple, or oak, or birch, or some other generic tree species that existed. Let''s go with oak because it sounded the simplest.

    The gate they entered was affixed to the wall. It housed the black void that seemed to beckon anyone nearby to enter it. It was also the only feature in the room, aside from the wooden floor, walls, the door, and a ceiling that seemed to extend forever. Maybe his evolution would turn him into a giant. Being tall would be cool.

    There was technically another feature in the room, but calling a person a feature seemed rude. That feature if you wanted to be mean, or person if you wanted to be a good... person, was a goblin. She was frantically flipping through her clipboard, muttering to herself, "This can''t be right."

    She was green as most goblins were, wearing a robe a size too large for her frame. The sleeves pooled on the ground and the bottom of the garment trailed behind her as she paced back and forth across the room. Her round glasses hung on the tip of her nose, threatening to fall off at any point. She was certainly an interesting fellow.

    After a minute of frantic flipping, she looked up to address the class.

    "Okay, so umm... Hi! I''m Lin, and you all are?"

    "We''re students of Mr. Milvus. He mentioned that someone was supposed to brief us. Is that you?" asked Uchronia.

    "That''s me! Welcome to the Human Hunter Corps camp in the Forest of Beginnings. First, I''ll lead you to the exit, then we''ll go over the briefing. After that, it''s straight into the Forest of Beginnings!" she said, pushing up her glasses.

    Outside the Forest of Beginnings'' Warp Station, towering trees greeted them. Thick bushy leaves blanketed the canopy, casting a green hue over the camp. Turning around to take it all in, he realized that they had just walked out of a tree. No wonder everything inside was so brown!

    That was cool, a bit horrifying but cool. Why was it horrifying? Just imagine that you''re a tree, stuck rooted to the ground unable to move. A bunch of tiny creatures see you and think, ''Cool place to build my Warp Station in''. Next thing you know, they''re cutting a hole into you, then slowly having your insides removed. Even if you screamed so loud that your throat gave out, those tiny creatures couldn¡¯t hear you. There was nothing you could do, but sit there and endure the pain. That was your fate until the sweet embrace of death finally blessed you.

    Enough with that tangent, time for more sightseeing!

    Numerous dirt paths crisscrossed each other like a tangled web, signs labeling their destinations. ''Mess Hall'', ''Infirmary'', and ''Dorms'' were just a few of the destinations, their names carved into the bark of the trees that the various facilities were housed in. The place was like a mini town, with various monsters¡ªmost of them were Goblins¡ªwalking to and fro.

    "Welcome to the camp, class," said Lin. "And please stick with me."

    The class trailed behind Lin, looking more like wide-eyed tourists than monsters on the brink of their first hunt. They gawked at everything, gasping with childlike wonder at every little thing. Along the way Uchronia, as usual, decided to start interrogating the one in charge, Lin. Of course, Alwin couldn''t help but eavesdrop in on the conversation. Who could resist?

    "Ms. Lin, I have a question for you."

    "What is it?"

    "Earlier I heard you muttering something about not being right. Is everything okay? Should we be concerned?"

    "Uh, well... Yes¡ªno. Maybe? I¡¯m not sure," she stammered, words tumbling out in a rapid, confused rush.

    "That doesn''t sound very assuring."

    "Sorry, just¡ªugh. This just doesn''t make sense to me."

    "What doesn''t make sense?"

    "Um... How do I phrase this..." Lin muttered to herself for a second, before raising her voice once more, "Y''all are babies. Literal babies. Who sends babies out into the wild to dispatch some adventurers. And since when could babies talk so... well. Shouldn''t y''all be more goo goo ga ga or something? Never had kids so I don''t know, mom will kill me if I''m pregnant and Cor knows what she''ll do to me. Anyway, do your parents even know you''re out here?"

    Turns out she did know how to phrase it, and she did raise some very interesting questions. Like what''ll happen to her if she gets pregnant and her mom finds out. Just imagine the whooping of a lifetime she''ll receive.

    "I, uh... well... We passed the pop quiz, that means we''re qualified to come here. Baby or not," said Uchronia.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    "The pop quiz, as in, that metal golem? Glowing yellow eyes, regenerative sword. That quiz?"

    "It was easy!" chimed in Bion.

    Lin may have been a bit too overzealous in her ramblings to Uchronia. The whole class couldn''t help but eavesdrop. But, now that everyone was involved, the eavesdropping session had evolved into a discussion. One that both Lin and Uchronia helmed, although Lin might not have wanted the spotlight on her. Evident from how her cheeks were so red, Gus might''ve mistook them for tomatoes if she weren''t careful. Plus all of that sweat served as an extra seasoning if Gus found her cheeks too bland.

    "Ea¡ªeasy? How? It took me and my squad, five tries to get past that thing, and even then the damage that bastard did to my crew. Ugh." She paused to think for a moment. "You know lying is bad right? No point lying about passing the quiz. It''ll do you more harm than good. So I say we just turn around and ship y''all back to Monsteria. Don''t want you babies¡ªI mean¡ªkids to get hurt you know?"

    "But we didn''t lie. We beat that metal guy," said Alwin.

    "Yeah! He didn''t taste so good, sadly," Gus added.

    "Taste? What? But, seriously? Really? Wow..." Lin was at a loss for words. "A bunch of babies¡ªkids beat that quiz easy? Oh Cor, what am I doing with my life..."

    "Are you okay?" asked Gus.

    "Yea, just give me a moment. This isn''t a dream, right? I mean... they''re sending a bunch of babies to go fight some humans. Not just any babies, some super strong babies apparently. It''s just... I don''t know anymore."

    "Well, I''m sorry to hear that. Food always makes me feel better. Muffin?," asked Gus, holding up a banana muffin using his Spirit Hands.

    "No thank you. Just let me compose myself a bit."

    "Well, compose yourself faster. We''re here," said Bion.

    True to that rude slime¡¯s words, they were here. Almost the whole class shot a glare at Bion, for his poor demeanor, but the slime couldn''t care less. He was giving Dark Slimes a bad name, and Alwin''s reputation just dropped a couple of points.

    An archway made out of a twisted tree trunk, and some vines to tie it all together, greeted the class. Along with two Goblins guards stationed on either side of the arch. Both clad in brown wooden armor and armed with wooden clubs bigger than Alwin''s.

    "So, kids... the briefing. From here on out is the Forest of Beginnings. We made camp in the heart of the forest, where the trees are the largest. Your task is to head into the forest to dispatch any lurking adventurers. If any of you know any fire spells, try your best not to use them. People live here and the last batch of students didn''t exactly leave the best impression. None of you are allowed to go out of the forest, the easiest way to tell is by looking at the trees. The closer you are to the edge the smaller they become. And... be back before sundown. And... that''s about it."

    That was a short briefing. Maybe that''s why they''re called briefings because they''re brief. (Please don''t leave.)

    "What are the adventurers like?" asked Uchronia.

    "Easy to defeat, I guess. Pretty much all of them are just starting out on their journey. They like to come here to get some experience. The Human Hunter Corps set up camp to try and get rid of as many of those humans and protect the residents too. But the humans just keep on coming and some of the monsters here don''t like our presence," she sighed. "You try to help and they just think we''re the problem."

    "Excuse me, Miss. So we just walk around these here forests, and humans will just mosey on up to us? Sounds like a darn good deal," said Flintlock.

    Lin blinked a couple of times, muttering, "Why''s he talking like that?" before the reality of her words came crashing in, causing her to perform her best impression of a tomato. "Um... pretty much?"

    "If you''ve passed the quiz, you''re pretty much good to go. But, every once in a while you''ll get one of those haughty adventurers. You''ll know them when you see them. They normally have an entourage with them, all of them addressing the person as ''young master''. Those you should stay away from, other than that, most adventurers are easy to deal with."

    "This''ll be easy. I bet my squad can get the most number of kills," said Bion.

    Uchronia performed her trademarked eye rolls at the statement, while most of the class chimed in.

    "Of course! Me and Bion are the ultimate team! We''re like soulmates!" squealed Brie.

    "Who cares about that, as long as my squad beats Tess'' squad," said Galeo.

    "As if! You and that lousy spear of yours couldn''t even kill an ant," said Tess.

    They both walked up to each other, staring daggers.

    "Settle down, lads. This ain''t a rodeo," said Flintlock, pulling the duo apart.

    "What cowboy said. I''m just here to enjoy the sun," said Phyll.

    "Squad, let''s move out. Let''s leave these chumps to continue their bickering. And sweet Uchronia, good luck dealing with that Al-loser," chuckled Bion.

    Bion''s squad walked out of the camp, along with the rest of his squad: Brie the Furball and Concord the Leafling. Alwin wondered how much Bion''s squad had improved, he didn''t care about Bion, that guy was probably more useless than a bucket of cheese. No, he was curious about the others. Brie had that Revival skill so she should be okay, but Concord? All she could do was be really quiet, because of that Silencer skill of hers. Maybe she learnt some really useful skills from the library. Something like a fart technique? With Concord''s Core Skill, it would be silent but deadly.

    After Bion had left, two squads departed at the same time. Tess'' squad and Galeo''s squad. Their squads were forced to chase after the duo, as they screamed something about fighting until one of them died.

    Tess'' squad consisted of herself, the Leafling that could conjure up a supposedly Impenetrable Shield. Clavis the Dark Slime whose Core Skill involved picking locks. Then there was Flintlock the Furball, also known as the cowboy wannabe.

    Galeo''s squad consisted of himself, the Furball that could conjure up a supposedly Unstoppable Spear. Phyll, the Solar Powered Leafling who was bathing in the sunlight, and Deb the Dark Slime whose Core Skill enabled her to Loan skills from others.

    Now the only squad left was Alwin''s, and he was ready to go out there and slay some humans!

    After giving their thanks to Lin, something that they were forced to do by Uchronia, the trio departed the camp into the Forest of Beginnings.

 Chapter 29: Babys First Hunt

    The squad trudged through the forest, dwarfed by trees that stretched so high, Alwin swore they were trying to tickle the clouds¡ªif he could even see them through the dense canopy. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, bathing the surroundings in a soft green. Birds belted out their greatest hits, and squirrels scurried through the underbrush, stopping only to give the trio a judgmental once-over before continuing their nutty business.

    Nature was beautiful, but sometimes being beautiful wasn''t all that helpful. No amount of trees or chirping birds could stave off how bored Alwin was feeling. It was like watching grass grow. Seriously! There was nothing to do but walk and stare at the trees. Maybe he¡¯d start talking to them.

    By decree of the dictator Uchronia, talking was forbidden. She mentioned something about their positions being given away if they were too loud. Alwin proposed that they could whisper to each other, but she wasn''t having any of that. On the bright side, she didn''t shout at them. So...yay?

    Uchronia was on the lookout for any humans, and technically he should be on the lookout as well, but it was so boring. From the way Milvus and Lin were talking about the Forest of Beginnings, you''d expect the place to be teeming with humans. But, the only things teeming here were the plants, looking smug in their leafy abundance.

    Gus was... Well, he was doing what he did best. Eating. As they ambled through the forest, he pulled out yet another muffin¡ªhoney muffins to be exact¡ªits golden crumbs scattering with each bite. And for the umpteenth time, Alwin still didn''t know where he was storing all of those muffins.

    Time oozed by, each second stretching into an eternity as Alwin''s thoughts drifted to far-off places and grand adventures. His daydreams were abruptly cut short when he collided with Uchronia¡¯s back, earning him a death glare from her. Alwin''s mind was wrangled back to reality, and only then did his ears finally register the sounds around him¡ªthe crunching of leaves, the snapping of twigs, and, unmistakably, voices.

    The sound grew louder, prompting the trio to dive behind some shrubs. Through the green foliage, a group of people emerged. It was actually two people, but a group sounded more menacing to Alwin. A guy and a girl¡ªwere they on a date? A date that involved snuffing the life of a bunch of innocent monsters minding their own business. Because why else would you be covered in leather armor and armed to the teeth?

    The girl looked normal¡ªto Alwin anyway. This was his first encounter with a human, something that would be enshrined in his memory never to be forgotten. He had to relish the moment and savor every minute of it. She had Auburn hair tied up in a ponytail, and a lean but supposedly fit physique. She was covered in brown leather armor and it''s not like Alwin could see through clothes. A dagger sat on her hip, while a bow was slung across her back.

    Her date on the other hand... was just as normal, swapping auburn hair for jet-black locks. He too looked fit, but that could''ve just been padding under leather armor, so Alwin would have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Instead of a bow and dagger, this guy brandished a sword and shield.

    The pair chatted away, the guy in leather armor boasting about how he was going to single-handedly wipe out all the monsters in the forest. The girl rolled her eyes, telling him to be careful. The monsters in here weren''t that difficult to take care of, but it was the monsters under the Monster King''s army that they had to be worried about. In other words, they were afraid of Alwin.

    And afraid they should be. Those evil humans barged into the forest, just to wipe out its innocent residents. Seriously, couldn¡¯t they just leave the monsters alone? Was that too much to ask? Apparently, it was, if not there wouldn''t be a need to create the Human Hunter Corps.

    Alwin''s thoughts were interrupted by Uchronia¡¯s tail making contact with his face. It was a light slap that didn''t hurt at all, but it still hurt his heart. Why did she always have to be so violent and mean!

    Turns out she was trying to get his attention, because, Alwin as always, was lost in thought again. Using the tip of her leaf tail she drew out a plan in the dirt. She should do this more often. A picture was worth a thousand words after all, and this was way more entertaining for lil ole Alwin.

    Uchronia''s drawings were... crude to say the least. If there ever was an award for the worst artist, she''d be a shoo-in to win that. To be fair to her, she was drawing on the ground with a leaf that doubled as her tail. It was amazing that Alwin was able to decipher her drawings at all.

    The two poorly drawn stick figures were clearly the humans¡ªthe one with a triangle dress to indicate the female. The three wobbly shapes, which might have been circles once upon a time, represented Alwin and his squad. Only one had a tail while the other two did not. If Alwin had to guess, the larger blob was Gus while the smaller one was Alwin. It''s not like Gus was actually larger than he was in real life despite all of his snacking, but maybe Uchronia was implying something. It''s either that or Alwin was projecting his feelings and he was the jerk, not Uchronia.

    This was the plan Uchronia had devised. They were going to lure the humans towards their bush, and then surprise attack them. Alwin on offense, Gus on defense, and Uchronia would provide support. At least, that''s what Alwin guessed. With all the drawing she was doing over the initial picture, it slowly descended into a bunch of indecipherable scribbles.

    Uchronia put her tail into her mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle. Sure enough, it got the attention of those humans because they suddenly became very quiet. Peeking through the bushes, Alwin saw the duo inch towards him. The guy was now wielding his sword while the girl had gotten her bow and an arrow out. With a nod, the girl halted and drew her bow, the arrow aimed and ready to fly, while the man continued to creep forward, eyes darting around nervously.

    The moment the guy reached the bushes, Uchronia shouted out, ''Now!"

    Uchronia used her tail to touch her squad mates, blessing them with Haste. Alwin felt his body become more nimble, almost lighter, as he launched out of the bush. The humans flinched, they of them weren''t expecting a Dark Slime to leap out of the bushes and especially one that was in the midst of preparing a technique.

    "What the f¡ª" the male human started, but his sentence was cut short by a Spirit Blast to the chest, courtesy of Alwin.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The guy stumbled backward, flailing wildly before gravity won, forcing him to greet the ground, butt first. He clutched his chest, grimacing in pain. This man was so much weaker than that wooden dummy. This was going to be easy.

    "Arrow Blow!" the girl shouted.

    An arrow sailed through the air, the arrowhead coated in a light blue aura.

    This was bad. He was still at the apex of his jump and now an arrow was flying straight towards him. Not just any arrow, but an arrow with a skill imbued in. Well, it would be bad if he was alone. Good thing he wasn''t.

    Gus leaped up in front of Alwin and just as expected, the monster chomped down on the incoming projectile.

    "Blech." Gus spat out the remains of the arrow, coating the area with spittle. "It''s yucky."

    Uchronia burst out of the bushes rushing towards the girl. But this wasn''t Alwin''s Uchronia¡ªit was a different version of her. The Furball Uchronia had her fur standing on edge as crackles of static electricity bounced between their tips. More Arrow Blows came sailing toward her. She dodged the first couple of shots, but a miscalculated hop caused an arrow to graze her side. It all went downhill from there.

    Two more arrows struck Furball Uchronia, piercing her fur. Her eyes rolled back, the sparks of electricity flickering out. This version of Uchronia faded into particles leaving the arrows to clatter to the ground.

    "That''s what you get, you horrible monsters!" the girl yelled.

    Uchronia clicked her tongue before emerging from the bushes.

    "Leave her to me and Gus!" shouted Uchronia. "You handle him!"

    Gus and Uchronia charged towards the bow girl, while Alwin turned around and made his way to the fallen warrior. The guy had managed to push himself back up to his feet. His expression was contorted into a mixture of anger and fear, as he clutched his chest.

    "You disgusting slime. I''ll make you pay," he said between gritted teeth.

    With that said the guy pulled out a red vial from his belt and consumed its contents in one gulp. His breathing relaxed as the color returned to his face.

    "Come at me, you rancid monster army menace." he grinned, before adding, "Copper Body!"

    The exposed parts of his skin took on a reddish-brown hue as it began to harden. A shine glimmered across the surface of the man''s skin. With a fierce battle cry, he charged at Alwin, raising his blade high. Mana poured into the weapon, making it glow a bright yellow. "Slash Blow!"

    He swung his blade downward, cutting through the air. Alwin lunged backward and avoided the sharp skill-infused steel, or maybe it was iron. Metallurgy wasn''t exactly his expertise.

    Alwin began preparing an assortment of blasts. First was a regular Spirit Blast that was promptly sliced apart by the man''s Slash Blow. Second was a Spirit Scatter Blast that when sliced apart, peppered him with a flurry of small projectiles, causing him to wince in pain. Third was a Spirit Burst Blast. Instead of destroying the blast with his Slash Blow, he chose to roll under it, but that was exactly what Alwin had planned for, believe it or not. The blast detonated above him mid-roll, showering the man with the explosive force of pure mana rushing out into the world. He yelled out as he tumbled along the ground.

    Crumpled up on the ground, the man could barely muster the strength to stand. This was Alwin''s chance. Time for his first kill. Alwin hopped over to the collapsed man, his leather armor was no match for the strength of a point-blank Spirit Burst Blast, a hole was torn open on his back revealing exposed copper-hardened flesh.

    When Alwin was first born, he was immediately thrown into battle against a human, albeit a simulation. His very first kill, even if it was just virtual, had been with his Dark Tackle. It felt almost fitting to use it again on his first real kill.

    Mana welled up within Alwin''s core, dark and powerful, before surging out like a torrent. Like a bolt of lightning striking a tree, Alwin''s dark form slammed into the man''s back. The copper-hardened skin provided a decent amount of protection, but not enough, the man screamed in agony.

    Alwin kept pounding away at the man. Dark Tackle after Dark Tackle, each one penetrating a little deeper and breaking a little bit more of the man''s copper-hardened skin, each one creating weird crunching sounds like stepping on a twig. It was not until the twentieth¡ªyea it was pretty weak¡ªDark Tackle that the man finally stopped screaming. Alwin hopped off his back, eager to inspect his handiwork.

    The man lay flat on the ground, his back caved in where Alwin had struck. His face contorted into a permanent scream of pain. Tears still welled down his face. This was his first kill, and yet he felt nothing. No sense of joy or even guilt that he had snuffed out a life. Just nothing. It was weird even for Alwin, but he chose not to think about it and instead rushed over to Uchronia and Gus.

    They were just about done. Gus was sampling the girl''s bow, polishing the length of it with his tongue. Meanwhile, Uchronia had her tail draped over the girl''s face. Her leafy tail was covered in a layer of thorns while the girl''s armor and body were riddled with puncture marks.

    "You good?" asked Alwin.

    "Yeah. Had a bit of trouble, but it''s okay," said Uchronia.

    "No, I''m not. This bow doesn''t taste nice at all, it''s giving my tongue splinters. Her dagger is all bitter too." Gus pouted.

    Uchronia responded with a roll of her eyes as per usual.

    "I''ll take the girl and Alwin you can get the guy. Next one will be for Gus. Sound good?" said Uchronia.

    Take them where? On a date? Because that sounded weird even for Uchronia.

    "To do what?" asked Alwin.

    "You know... their essence..." said Uchronia. Alwin could tell that her eyes were locked and loaded, ready to roll around at the slightest provocation.

    "Uchronia. Are we going to eat these guys?" asked Alwin.

    "Eat?" said Gus, eyeing the body of the bow girl.

    "No, Gus. Bad!" she yelled at Gus. "We don''t eat them, we just extract their essence from their cores. Were you not paying attention in class?"

    "Uh... I was testing you," said Alwin.

    Uchronia sighed and shook her head, which involved shaking her whole body because her body was her head and her head was her body.

    "Do you even know how to extract their essence?" asked Uchronia.

    "Of course, I do. Do you? I think you should do it first just so I can make sure you''re doing it right."

    Another sigh escaped her lips, if Alwin didn''t know better he''d say she was just out of breath and gasping for air. But, he did know better.

    Uchronia hopped up to the girl and placed her tail over the girl''s chest. Both girls began to glow and a second later the glow faded.

    "Done. Your turn." Uchronia grinned.

    Alwin swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. That demonstration of hers was as useful as cheese on a porcupine. Here''s to hoping he''d find a way to get it right. All Alwin had to do was poke and prod around inside the guy''s body, then maybe he''d luck his way into absorbing the guy''s essence. Alwin slowly crept up to the guy''s body. It was still warm to the touch and squishy, his Copper Body had turned back into a regular body.

    Let''s hope that Alwin would nail it on the first try. What''s the worst that could happen?

 Chapter 30: Maple

    Alwin perched on the man''s back, his tush snugly nestling into the curve it had created. Alwin closed his eyes, focusing on everything and anything, hoping that something would happen. He could hear the sound of his breath, the way his tongue sat uncomfortably in his mouth, and even the saliva pooling that he had to make a conscious effort to swallow down. Nothing was happening and the pressure was mounting up. Maybe he should have paid attention in class. It''s not like this was the first time Alwin had this thought, it''s just that he never learnt his lesson.

    Then he heard a voice, almost like a tired sigh, "Try to focus on the man''s core. When you find it, bring it under your control then absorb it."

    Was that Cor? Was he having a divine moment? Was this the start of his journey in becoming a prophet? Strangely enough, the God that had come in and started guiding him sounded like Uchronia. That couldn''t have been a coincidence. Right?

    Find the man''s core. Got it. Alwin squeezed his eyes even tighter, trying to feel out the man''s core. He could feel his own core, that was simple enough, but finding the guy''s core was a tad more difficult. Operating on autopilot, Alwin accidentally entered his own core, that usual whirlpool of mana spinning round and round greeted him. Clicking his tongue, Alwin exited his core and began sniffing out the man''s.

    As he delved deeper into his search, Alwin found himself floating in what felt like an endless void, his mindscape stretching into infinity. Within this dark expanse, two lights gleamed. The nearest one blazed like a mini sun, warm and familiar¡ªthat was his. The other one flickered in the distance like a beacon. Alwin would bet money on that being the man''s. The only problem was that he had zero money on hand. He did however have an inexhaustible supply of stupidity and recklessness so that would have to do.

    Alwin took a deep breath and moved his core toward the other source of light. It was less like running and more like floating in the general direction of the light. The closer he got, the more the light grew, until it hovered before him, a glowing marble no bigger than his own core. Time to absorb it!

    Alwin inched closer, floating his core forward until they both touched. A flash of light went off blinding him for a moment. When Alwin regained his sight, he found himself staring at the same man that he had just killed, except more golden in color and a lot more translucent.

    "Lousy crappy monster army dog. Get lost! I ain''t letting you absorb my essence without a fight!" shouted the golden man.

    His core rolled forward smashing into Alwin''s own core. It hurt¡­ a lot. It felt like someone was smashing his soul, not like he had ever experienced it before, but this was his closest guess.

    "Just die already you stinky human," retorted Alwin.

    Alwin hoisted his core high, then brought it crashing down onto the man''s core. A loud cracking noise reverberated around the void.

    "Agh, that hurts, you slimy piece of scum," winced the man.

    With another thunderous smash, the man was silenced, vanishing into the void. There was only one light source left¡ªAlwin''s. A rush of energy came flowing into him, as his core grew by a minuscule amount, barely noticeable but definitely there. The other core shrank rapidly, dwindling down to the size of a small grain of sand before flickering out of existence without so much as a whimper.

    A small ping caused his eyes to shoot open. He was back in the physical realm with a message greeting him.

    Human Essence Absorbed.

    "You okay?" asked Uchronia.

    "I think so."

    "Good, let''s keep going before Gus here gets any good ideas about you know..." She made a chomping motion and tilted her head over to Gus.

    Watching Gus devour plates of food in the cafeteria, including the plates themselves, was already a messy sight. The last thing Alwin wanted was to watch him gorge himself on a human corpse.

    "Let''s go," Uchronia nodded.

    Gus joined Alwin in the march onwards, as they continued into the forest. Alwin sighed. It was back to staring at nature and waiting for something¡ªanything¡ªto break the monotony. The sun hung high in the sky, as the canopy of leaves provided some reprieve from the unbearable heat. Phyll was probably having a field day basking in the sunlight.

    Something rustled within the bushes to Alwin''s left, snapping him to attention. A leaf much larger than any of the surrounding foliage stuck out. Alwin and Gus exchanged glances, then turned to Uchronia waiting for her orders. There goes the last of the independence that Alwin thought he possessed. Uchronia looked at Gus and tilted her head in the direction of the bush. Following orders, Gus not so stealthily hopped over to the bush. His hops were heavy, with no finesse whatsoever, and definitely not quiet.

    Uchronia slapped her face with her tail, already regretting her decision. Gus parted the bush to reveal a trembling monster. She was quaking in fear, the moment her hiding spot had been revealed she let out a high-pitched squeal and scrambled forwards, only to stumble and landed face first on the ground.

    That leaf was actually a tail. It belonged to a species of monster that Alwin had grown very accustomed to much to his dismay, it was a Leafling. Why was there a random Leafling out here in the middle of the woods? Maybe she''s one of the residents of the forest that Lin mentioned.

    "Don''t hurt me. Please!" she cried.

    The girl was shaking like it was in the middle of winter and she was caught with no clothes. If only she had her eyes on them, then she could tell that they meant no harm, but too bad they were covered by her tail. Even if her eyes were tail-free, there came the problem that she wasn''t even facing them, unless there was a face on her back. The poor thing was stuck staring at the ground, if she could burrow her head into the dirt she probably would''ve.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "Hey, look. It''s okay. We''re not here to hurt you," said Uchronia as gently as she could muster.

    Which was surprisingly gentle. Why couldn''t she talk like that to him and Gus? Maybe next time he''d employ the same strategy, shaking and facing away from her, but he''d need something to cover his eyes, and sprouting a tail didn''t seem that feasible. Unless, of course, that tantalizing evolution of his was willing to help. Either that or he could scour the library for a Spirit Tail technique or even try to come up with one himself.

    Uchronia hopped over to face the trembling monster. Using her own tail she unwrapped the girl''s, revealing the girl''s greenish plant-like skin and red, wet eyes.

    "You''re-you''re-you''re not a human?" she asked.

    Alwin snorted at the question, Uchronia looked nothing remotely like a human, but they did share a ton of commonalities¡ªeyes, mouth, tongue, the need for food, water, air, etc. His snorts quickly died under the weight of Uchronia''s withering glare. When she turned back to the girl, her fierce expression melted into one of gentle concern.

    "No. We aren''t. I''m another Leafling, just like you."

    The girl''s breath slowed as the tension melted out of her. She turned around, bringing Alwin and Gus into full view. Her eyes lingered on Gus and he couldn''t blame her, between wrestling out that one stuck scrap of food between his teeth and the weird faces he was inevitably making, it was a miracle that Uchronia didn''t choose to murder him right then and there.

    "Are you okay? Why''re you out here?" asked Uchronia.

    "I''m¡ªI''m¡ªI''m was," yes, she really said ¡°I''m was," "looking for some Forest Glimmer for Mommy."

    "Do you need help?"

    "I''m¡ªno¡ªyes¡ªno¡ªmaybe, I mean¡ªI don''t know."

    "How ''bout we come with you and we''ll give you a hand?"

    The girl stood up and wiped her tears off, though new ones kept leaking out, and gave Uchronia a big hug.

    "Thankie you. Mommy said not to talk to strangers, but you strangers have been very nice. Mommy was wrong, maybe that''s why she''s sick. Mommy also said that humanies were meanie people who would come and kidnap bad children. I think Mommy''s wrong too."

    Alwin stifled a snort, lest he invoked the wrath of Uchronia again, he could see it in her eyes. And in case it wasn''t obvious by now, that little Leafling was, in fact, a little Leafling, age-wise at least. Size wise? She was a bit larger than Uchronia, which meant that she was also a bit larger than Alwin and Gus.

    "What''s your name?" asked Uchronia.

    "My name''s Maple and I''m thwee years oldie."

    "Okay, Maple. My name''s Uchronia, and those two are called Alwin and Gus."

    Maple turned to look at them. Gus, for once, wasn''t stuffing his face with a muffin. Instead, he forced a smile, before resuming his battles against the food coma that he had invited. Alwin did what he did best, act like a complete buffoon. He smiled at her, and halfway through the smile he decided to roll his eyes round and round. One eye went clockwise, and the other went counter-clockwise, similar to the cartoon characters that ancient humans used to watch for entertainment on their weird boxes¡ªhis knowledge of ancient human civilization wasn''t exactly the best, but it was good enough. She couldn''t help but giggle at him. That made his eye-rolling more valuable than Uchronia''s, in his eyes at least.

    Uchronia and Maple took the lead while Gus and Alwin trailed behind. The addition of a little toddler into their group was definitely what they needed. One more person to keep an eye out for during a battle with a human. Good thing it wouldn''t be his problem.

    Alwin had the benefit of being the one in charge of offense, while Gus was in charge of defense. That meant that the responsibility of looking out for one another lay squarely on Gus with the occasional help from Uchronia. Now that may seem a tad bit selfish, shouldn''t everyone in the squad be looking out for one another? That was the purpose of a squad after all, better to have someone watch your back than have no one at all.

    But this is where Alwin raised his defense! If Alwin got rid of everyone attacking them, then there wouldn''t be a need for anyone to defend or keep an eye out for one another, because there would be no one around them to threaten them. The best way to do that was if Alwin focused solely on attacking. Yup! That was his rationalization and he was going to stick with it.

    One day he would have the courage to vocalize it to Uchronia and, hopefully, he would be able to voice out his thoughts in a coherent manner, instead of a jumble of ''uhs'' and ''ems'' that would definitely dominate the conversation. With a bit of luck, his confidence wouldn''t wither away as he rambled on, hearing himself for the first time and realizing that maybe he was just an idiot. A selfish one at that.

    Right now he would continue rehearsing his big magnificent speech inside his head. Coming up with ways to perfectly counter any one of Uchronia''s arguments for when she would immediately call him out. That reminded him, Alwin should come up with a multitude of scenarios of how Uchronia was going to call him out. This was the best use of his time while the two girls scoured the area for some Forest Glimmer, whatever that was.

    It was most likely a plant of some kind, either that or some sort of fungus. One that would undoubtedly glimmer when looked upon. Those were the boring options. The more fun option that was brewing in his mind¡ªalong with all the various scenarios where he and Uchronia argued about him just focusing on attacking¡ªwas that the Forest Glimmer was actually a bunch of glitter sprinkled around the forest.

    "I''m foundie one!" Maple cheered.

    Alwin stopped thinking. His head jerked forward to look at Maple and Uchronia, and he hopped towards them. Please let it be glitter. Please let it be glitter. Please, please, pretty, pretty please let it be glitter.

    There it was, under the shadow of one of the many trees that made up the forest. Or perhaps, if shadows could combine, it was under the shadows of the many trees that made up the forest. It was a flower, much to his disappointment, with soft pale green petals that subtly glowed. Its center was a luminescent white, speckled with small dots that twinkled like stars. Those twinkling dots were the closest thing to glitter, so in a convoluted, totally nonsensical way, one could argue that he was right¡ªthe Forest Glimmer was just a bunch of glitter concentrated together instead of being sprinkled about the forest.

    "I''m can go backies now! Thankie you!" Maple leapt in joy and gave Uchronia a bone-crushing hug.

    "Do you want us to go with you?" asked Uchronia.

    "Hmm. Maybies. I''m don''t know," mumbled Maple.

    "We can bring you back home. Alwin and Gus won''t mind."

    Just like that, she had decided their fate without even a consult. Not like it would''ve mattered anyway. Both Alwin and Gus were pretty flexible, if they both had legs he was confident that they could both do the splits without even trying, but it would have been nice if she had asked them first.

    It would be cool to see what an ordinary monster home looks like. The only home that Alwin had ever known was the academy and the dorms, and despite how dumb he liked to pretend he was, Alwin was smart enough to know that this arrangement was far from normal. The curiosity was killing him!

 Chapter 31: Hello Village

    Uchronia and Maple led the way again, while Alwin and Gus trailed behind once more. Gus had fought off the ensuing food coma and was now shoveling muffins into his mouth... again. Alwin continued planning for his future, which meant that he was imagining scenario after scenario about how he would confront Uchronia after she had confronted him. There was a small off chance that she might never even confront him in the first place, but he would have to factor that into the simulations he was running in his head.

    After numerous internal debates between him and the fake Uchronia in his head, punctuated by some occasional hopping to keep up with the group, they finally arrived at Maple''s home. The only reason why Alwin wasn''t still stuck arguing with the imaginary version of Uchronia was because when Maple had hopped off in a hurry, it prompted Uchronia to shout after her. This unexpected interruption confused him; those weren''t part of the script he had so graciously prepared for the imaginary version of her.

    Uchronia chased after Maple, while Alwin and Gus chased after Uchronia. As they ran he couldn''t help but take in his surroundings, which for once wasn''t just a bunch of trees. Now it was a bunch of other monsters surrounded by trees. They ran through the village, running past houses built into the trunks of trees and dodging all the curious monsters who were wondering what all the hubbub was.

    Alwin could recognize Leaflings, but among them were other species of monsters that he had no idea existed. That''s not to say that they were some rare ancient species or even a brand new species of monsters, Alwin was just uneducated when it came to these sorts of things. All he could do was mentally shake a fist at Milvus for not teaching this in class, and if Milvus did cover this during one of his lectures then he was still going to blame Milvus for not making him pay attention in class. The latter made him sound like a spoiled brat, but in his defense, he was just a child not even a year old. Could you really blame Alwin for having the attention span of a baby?

    There were monsters that looked like caterpillars, but not the tiny things barely bigger than a human finger. The monsters he was referencing were maybe ten or twenty times bigger than the average caterpillar. Emphasis on maybe because math wasn''t his strong suit and estimation was actually hard to do when you''re on the run. These oversized caterpillars sported enormous antler-like horns jutting from their heads, making them look like nature¡¯s most bizarre mix-up.

    As Alwin dashed by, his eyes snagged on a bizarre creature that looked like a snake and a snail had a wild night together. He couldn''t tell if it was more snail or more snake. It had the iconic snail shell, the one with the spiral design, but possessed a snake-like body, complete with a rattle at the end of its tail. Two large fangs poked out of their mouth whenever they spoke¡ªmaybe it was part vampire too.

    Then Alwin spotted what had to be the most generic monster he¡¯d seen so far¡ªa rabbit. What set it apart from the regular non-monster rabbit was the single horn on its head. That and its vibrant green of freshly cut grass that doubled as its fur.

    A myriad of monster species bustled through the small village, each more bizarre than the last. But that wasn''t the focus anymore. Right now he had to stop himself from crashing into Uchronia. He had been so busy taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling village that he didn''t realize that Maple and Uchronia had stopped in front of a tree until it was too late.

    Alwin veered to the right, trying his best to avoid her, but that resulted in him running face-first into the tree. Stars exploded in his vision. It''s okay. This kind of pain was a fleeting thing¡­ probably. He was just saying stuff to make himself feel better. Sometimes tricking the brain works. Sometimes.

    "Are you okayie?" asked Maple.

    "No, I''m Alwin."

    Maple giggled as Alwin picked himself up. Uchronia did what she did best¡ªglare at him.

    "Hey, wait up guys," panted Gus.

    He had been trailing behind Alwin and Uchronia and had finally caught up.

    "I''m so tired," he panted, collapsing onto the ground. His tongue lolled out as he tried his best to catch his breath. Unfortunately, his best wasn''t good enough, so he lay on the ground panting while the three of them stared at him¡ªwell, Uchronia was more glaring than staring, but same difference.

    "MOMMY! I''m HOME!" shouted Maple.

    Maple bounced into the giant tree that she called her home. The door was an arch carved into the bark. The windows, also carved out, had plus-shaped grids formed from the remaining bits of bark.

    The squad followed Maple into her home, Alwin huffing as he pushed Gus like the big boulder he was. The inside of her home was mainly made out of wood. Who would''ve guessed? There were wooden tables, wooden chairs, and even a wooden pot with a cute little flower sprouting out. So this was what a proper home looks like. Now he wondered what other homes looked like too. Maybe they wouldn''t be so woody. Maybe some would''ve been stony!

    "Maple? MAPLE!" a voice called out from further inside the house.

    A huge flurry of hops resounded through the whole house as someone quickly approached the living room. A second later a lady, who was also a Leafling¡ªobviously¡ªburst into the living room. But she was much larger than Maple, maybe one and a half times bigger. Again, size estimation wasn''t Alwin''s strong suit so take it with a grain of salt¡ªand add a little pepper too for extra flavor.

    "Oh, Maple. Where have you been? I''ve been worried sick!"

    The leafling mom bent down and nuzzled her daughter, but before she could cry a single tear, Maple interrupted her.

    "Mommy I got the Forest Glimmer. Now you won''t be sickies anymore"

    Maple pulled out the flower that she had so desperately searched for. Her mom gingerly took it from her tail and stared at it for a moment.

    "Oh, Maple. You didn''t have to go to the Apothecary. We have plenty of Forest Glimmers at home."

    "But, I didn''t go to the Apothecary. I went outsidie to get the freshest planties for Mommy! This way you''ll get bettie faster."

    "YOU WHAT? YOU WENT OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE? OH, DEAR. MY BABY," she started cradling Maple with her tail then a second later started lashing out at her, "I TOLD YOU NEVER TO GO OUTSIDE ALONE! YOU COULD''VE BEEN HURT!"

    Maple had begun to sprout tears. Big, fat tears. The kind of tears that made Gus and Alwin''s heartache. Even Uchronia couldn''t help but frown at the scene playing out before them.

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    "I-I¡ª" cried Maple, "¡ªWanted to-to hel-help mommy get-get better!"

    "Maple. Oh, dear Maple. Mommy''s sorry. Shhh shhhh, it''s going to be fine. Everything is alright. Mommy''s fine now. Don''t cry. I love you, Maple, but please, please listen to me. Don''t go outside alone."

    "But-but I wasn''t alonie. I had other people with me."

    Maple''s mother glanced up, her eyes widening as she finally took in Alwin and the others standing in her living room, watching everything unfold before them.

    "Oh, Maple. Darling, you can''t go and bring other kids outside the village too. It''s dangerous. Their parents must be worried sick," she said to Maple, then looked up to address Alwin and his squad, "Kids, thank you for going with Maple. I''m sorry that she brought you out of the forest, please go home and let your parents know you''re okay."

    "We have parents?" asked Gus, looking at Alwin and Uchronia.

    Uchronia opened her mouth ready to lecture Gus about... something. Alwin wasn''t a mind reader, but if he had to guess he''d say that she was going to chide him about not knowing who his parents were. Then she paused, probably realizing that she didn''t know who her parents were or even where her home was for that matter, unless you considered the dorms as their home.

    Meanwhile, Alwin did what he did best: stared off into the distance, passively watching everything unfold while continuing to imagine scenarios about him and Uchronia arguing, with the occasional sprinkling of him wailing on some humans that happened to infiltrate his scenarios for no other reason than to make him look good.

    "Oh kids, are you from the orphanage? I''m sorry it was rude of me to assume. You kids can stay here and play with Maple, but you''ll have to go back before sundown."

    "Thank you for the offer Maple''s mom, but we have other issues to attend to," said Uchronia.

    "My, you''re such an articulate young girl. But what do you need to do? I might be able to help."

    "We''ve been tasked with getting rid of some of the humans lurking about in the Forest."

    Maple''s mother chuckled, "What a great imagination you kids have. Just don''t be too rough when you''re playing."

    "We''re not joking. This is serious business," said Uchronia. "We need the humans for their essence then we have to head back to camp before sundown."

    "Camp? You mean the Human Hunter Camp?"

    "Exactly," said Uchronia. Gus and Alwin both nodded along in agreement.

    "You kids can''t be serious. You''re just kids! Why are they sending out kids to deal with humans?" She paused to collect herself before continuing," Oh you kids got me. It''s great to have such a vivid imagination. Just don''t let your imagination run too wild and play nice, alright? I''m going to make some snacks."

    Maple''s mom hopped towards the kitchen, then momentarily popped her head out to say something, "Maple, dear. Please promise Mommy that you won''t ever leave the village alone again."

    "Yes, mommy," sniffled Maple.

    "Why did she think we were lying?" asked Gus.

    "No idea," replied Alwin.

    Uchronia was fuming, she curled and uncurled her leaf tail over and over again.

    "Are you okay?" asked Gus.

    "Obviously not. Why would she think we''re lying and that it''s all part of our imagination? We''ve all worked so hard to pass that trial, and now we get to go out and do good in this world, but she thinks we''re lying just because we''re kids. And why are we kids anyway? Who are our parents? What is the school not telling us?" ranted Uchronia.

    Alwin couldn''t tell if she was mad about Maple''s mom looking down on her or because she had finally started questioning her origins. It was kind of weird how Alwin and the others were literally just born into the world with a bunch of information dumped into their head. One moment they were in a simulation fighting humans, and the next, they were spending all their time training to fight humans. It was a normal part of life for them, but that''s because that was all they''ve ever known. No wonder the other monsters at the academy were all larger than them, and always gave them a weird look. They just weren''t normal. Can''t believe it took Uchronia that long to piece things together. Amidst all of the thinking and daydreaming that he always did, the thought about who his parents were had crossed his mind countless of times, but it always felt like something was pushing against that thought, and the next thing he knew he was thinking about something else. Something like, if a cookie was baked why wasn''t it called a bakie?

    "Who knows?" replied Alwin.

    "Mr. Milvus knows."

    "First thing tomorrow we''re going to confront him."

    "Could we do it after breakfast?" asked Gus.

    Uchronia shot him another glare and sighed, "Fine."

    "Um, are you okayie?" asked Maple.

    The trio had momentarily forgotten about Maple and the fact that they were in her home. Maple''s face was still stained with tears and snot after all the shouting her mother had done.

    "I''m fine," said Uchronia.

    "I''m hungry," said Gus.

    Uchronia wanted to glare at Gus, Alwin could tell by the twitching in her face, but she chose to look at Maple with the softest look she could muster.

    "We''re all okay, Maple," Uchronia said, passing her a piece of tissue. "Tell your mom that we''ll be going now. Be safe, okay?"

    "Don''t you want snackies?" asked Maple. "Mommy makes the best snackies!"

    "I want snackies," said Gus.

    "Same here," said Alwin.

    This time she did shoot both of them a glare, but her expression softened when she turned back to Maple.

    "That''s not it Maple. We''re in a rush right now, so we have to leave."

    Maple drooped her head and tail in disappointment.

    "Okayie. Thankie you for bringing me backie home," sniffed Maple.

    Once the trio exited Maple''s humble abode, a monster¡ªa green-furred rabbit with a horn on its head¡ª came running through the village shouting at the top of her lungs.

    "Humans! Humans are coming!"

    All the houses slammed their doors and windows shut, transforming back into ordinary-looking trees. It was nigh impossible to tell that there was someone living inside of the tree. The windows and doors were flush with the tree''s surface. The pattern and texture of the bark appeared unbroken. The only way anyone could tell that there was actually a house inside of the tree was if you knew where the door was and if you tried pushing on it.

    Maple''s mother came rushing through the door shouting, "Kids, quick! Come inside!"

    "We can''t. This is our purpose. To get rid of those humans," said Uchronia. She didn''t even turn back to talk to her, instead, she stared in the direction the rabbit monster had come from.

    "Don''t be silly, kids. You can''t fight those humans, you kids were just playing pretend!"

    Uchronia ignored her pleas, focusing on the approaching danger. The sounds of horses galloping echoed through the village. When she didn''t reply, Alwin chose to say something, both out of decency and a chance of getting some agency back after being dictated by Uchronia. In her defense, she had the best interest in them, but she was just a bit loony about things going her way or else.

    "Look after Maple, Mrs. Maple''s mother," said Alwin.

    He summoned out a pair of Spirit Hands and used them to shove her back into her house in the nicest way possible.

    She stared at them slack-jawed, gears turning in her head until she finally processed just enough to say, "Oh Cor... That''s magic. You kids really are from the Human Hunter Corps. What are they doing drafting kids into the war."

    "No idea, we''d like to know too. Right now we have something important to handle. Once we''re done we''ll probably come back for some snackies." Alwin looked at Uchronia, but she didn''t protest or give the slightest glare towards him, she was probably formulating different types of scenarios and strategies in her head before the incoming battle. That meant he was in charge! Probably. "Okay, we''re definitely coming back for some snackies!"

    "Be safe children," Maple''s mother said, before she slammed the door and windows shut, transforming her house into an ordinary giant tree trunk.

    "They''re here..." muttered Uchronia.

 Chapter 32: Run Baby Run

    The trio dove into one of the conveniently placed bushes nearby. Alwin squinted through the foliage, waiting for the humans to appear. He had expected all of them to be on horseback, but expectations often don''t line up with reality. Out of the twenty humans that had gathered right in front of them, only two of them were riding horses. The rest were by their side armed with various weapons and armor that were definitely fashioned out of the remains of whatever unlucky monster was caught in their path.

    Some of their armor were fur-based as in made out of a monster¡¯s fur, some of their armor were scale-based, and some were bone-based. All of them looked threatening, except for the two on horseback. Their armors were... weird. Here, Alwin thought the guy wearing a chest piece made of bones was bizarre, there were large gaping holes in between the bones where someone could jimmy a sword through, but these guys took the cake. They wore robes, both of them. One red and one yellow.

    "Young masters," a man wearing red and green scaled armor approached the duo with his head lowered. "The trail ends here."

    "Then fan out and find it," the man in the red robe ordered, his long hair flowing in the breeze.

    "Y-yes sir," stammered the armored man. The rest of the men scattered, prodding and probing every single instance of terrain that a monster may be hiding in with their weapons. Sooner or later, they were going to discover the three of them unless they did something.

    "These lousy disciples. I''m going to complain to Elder once we return home," the yellow-robed man said.

    "Can''t even track down a monster. Useless," the red-robed man said.

    Well, those two seem like a piece of work. At least Uchronia was kind enough to get her tail dirty alongside them instead of only barking out orders. That made her dictatorship just barely palatable. Anyway, those two seemed like the ''young master'' types that Lin the Goblin had warned them about. She was probably warning them because of the large number of grunts under their command. Not because they were necessarily strong.

    "What do we do?" asked Alwin. "Just run?"

    Uchronia bit her lip. "We can''t. Think about the village here. We can''t just abandon them."

    "They''re probably fine... right? It''s not like those guys can tell that there''s even a village here."

    "They tracked a monster right here. They''re going to realize that there''s a village eventually."

    "I guess... But what are we supposed to do? There''s so many of them."

    "I know, I know. But I don''t know what to do... I''m a shitty leader whose brain freezes up in moments like these. We already have a plan for one or two humans, but we don''t have anything for twenty."

    "Then what now? We either fight or we run."

    "That''s it. We run. We lure them away from the village," Uchronia said.

    "And then what? We fight them?"

    "If we have to, but when we''re far away from the village we just run even faster away from them until they give up."

    "You sure about that? What if we get caught? I don''t think Gus can defend us against so many people."

    "We have to try, Alwin."

    This time it was Alwin''s turn to give Uchronia a helping of sighs and eye rolls. This was going to end badly for them. He could feel it in his gut, and that wasn''t the hunger caused by a lack of snackies provided by Maple''s mother.

    "I''ll cast Haste on us. Then we run out, far away from the village. Alwin use all the attacks you have at them while Gus will stay at the rear eating anything they throw at us. Got it?"

    Alwin and Gus both nodded. The Furball was being pretty quiet as of late and his face was contorted in an expression that Alwin couldn''t quite nail down. He was probably just tense, the nerves must''ve gotten to him, and Alwin couldn''t blame him. Even with all of their training and even defeating that metal golem of a trial, twenty humans was a huge deal. They''d probably be overwhelmed in a head-on collision. No matter how voracious his appetite was, there was no way he''d be able to eat all of the things that would inevitably fly toward him, and that wasn''t even factoring in how he was going to defend Uchronia and Alwin at the same time. It''d made sense why he''d be so quiet and tense about the whole situation. Alwin decided to let the Furball continue staring at the ground, fake words of encouragement were the last thing that he would need.

    Uchronia began muttering under her breath¡ªan incantation for Haste. Alwin found it odd that she needed to chant to use magic, considering he didn¡¯t. But then again, different strokes for different folks, right? He remembered Milvus¡¯s words from their first Spirit Hands class, a rare moment when he was actually excited to learn. "Find what''s most comfortable for you when molding magic," Milvus had said, or something like that. It wasn''t the exact phrase but the paraphrased version was good enough. Sadly that enthusiasm for learning had faded out faster than a lit candle in a hurricane. But enough monologuing, Alwin was just buying time for Uchronia to finish up her chanting.

    "I''m ready," whispered Uchronia.

    Alwin and Gus both nodded.

    "Haste!" she yelled out, swinging her leaf tail as she slapped Alwin and Gus on the back.

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    The trio jumped out, much to the surprise of the human¡ªone donning a blue-furred armor set¡ªthat had come to investigate a suspiciously noisy bush. Before he could even let out a surprised yelp they were already on him. A spiked leaf slapped his cheek followed by a sudden shock as Gus pounced on him. A Spirit Blast, courtesy of Alwin, hit him square in the chest, sending him sprawling onto his back. It still wasn''t enough to take him down completely, sadly, he was careening in pain clutching at the spot that Alwin had struck.

    "Monsters!" one of the other humans in the vicinity shouted out.

    The other humans began swarming their location. Each of them brandishing whatever flavor of weapon they found the most comfort in. Some spears, some halberds, but most of them carried swords.

    "Run!" Uchronia shouted out.

    The trio bolted faster than Gus rushing to the cafeteria. The humans hot on their heels. Even with the extra Haste boost, the humans were still keeping pace with them. Those darn humans with their long legs. A single stride from them was the equivalent of about three of Alwin''s frantic hops. A particularly fast human had separated from the pack and was already closing in on them. A quick peek¡ªthat Alwin instantly regretted as he almost tripped¡ªrevealed he had cast some sort of spell on his feet. Sparkles of electricity coated his shoes and boots with every step he took.

    "Spectral Javelin!" the man yelled out.

    He threw the javelin in his hand without actually throwing it, if that made sense which it probably didn''t. To make it more clear, he initiated the throwing motion of the javelin, but instead of letting go, the javelin glowed yellow as mana was poured into it. At the point where he normally would''ve released the javelin¡ªwhich he didn''t¡ªa yellow javelin made out of mana materialized out of the original javelin and shot straight at them.

    "Watch out!" Alwin yelled.

    "I got it!" Gus shouted.

    Gus jumped up and spun in the air, catching the javelin in his mouth, crunching on it with monstrous speed. Even after Gus had ''caught'' it in his mouth, it still carried momentum which meant that he had to keep chomping down on the javelin, as the untouched bits of magic continued to sail forward, to keep it from impaling him. Then when Gus had finished his impromptu meal he finished his spin, and continued hopping away from the pursuing humans.

    Alwin took another quick peek at the human that had thrown the javelin, his face had contorted into a look that could be summarized as ''what the frack did just happen.'' That look lasted all of a second as the expression shifted back into a look of determination. A couple more Spectral Javelins came flying their way, only for Gus to leap into action once more, chomping down on the free meal.

    The next time Alwin checked on the humans that were pursuing them, Gus was chewing on the tenth javelin, the expression of the human that had been trying to land a hit on them morphed into frustration. The rest of the humans that were chasing them lacked any expressions simply because there was no one else chasing after them.

    "Somethings wrong," said Alwin.

    Uchronia turned back and squinted. "Crap, you''re right. Let''s stop. It¡¯s just one guy we can take him!"

    The three monsters stopped and turned back to face the one human who was already dangerously close. Since they weren''t running away anymore, that dangerously close human became a dangerously in front of their face human. He chucked another futile Spectral Javelin that flew right into Gus'' mouth, then with the actual javelin in his hand he started thrusting it towards them.

    Gus was still occupied devouring the Spectral Javelin, and even though it normally took a second, that extra second was enough for him to pierce their defenses¡ªmetaphorically of course. Good thing for the trio, Alwin had already been preparing a Spirit Blast. As the human lunged forward, Alwin fired, forcing him to thrust at empty air as he dodged. Now he had extra glory points for defending them.

    "Formation!" Uchronia yelled out.

    The past two days of drilling had taken over, and Alwin and Gus leaped into formation. Gus at the front, with Alwin and Uchronia behind him, forming a triangle.

    "Monster Army," the man snarled.

    Now that Alwin could take a proper look, without the risk of tripping, he noticed that the man was wearing smooth leather armor with red streaks running along the edges. Crackles of electricity still hugged his feet with every step that he took. The man gripped the javelin with both hands, his eyes darting between the three monster kids, sweat dripping down his brow. His forearms tensed as he tightened his grip, realizing he was all alone. There wasn¡¯t anyone else chasing the monsters¡ªjust him.

    Did they shake off the rest of the humans or had they given up their chase? Both options were bad, simply because their plan hinged on luring the humans away from the village. During those fleeting glimpses at the pursuing horde, Alwin hadn''t spotted the two ''young masters'' either. If the humans decided to double back to the village, the villagers hiding inside the trees would be screwed. Alwin''s heart raced as he imagined the humans discovering Maple and her mom. They would be sitting ducks.

    Uchronia began chanting something, while Gus bared his fangs attempting to look as intimidating as possible. Not that he needed much help in that department¡ªdevouring attacks like they were breakfast was intimidating enough. Plus that wasn''t even counting on the fact that Gus'' teeth were filled with bits of muffins and whatever snacks he was stuffing his face with. Those extra bits of food gave him an additional flair that made him all the more terrifying because for all the man knew, those extra bits could''ve been from somebody unlucky enough to get eaten by him.

    During all the rambling about how Gus was extra terrifying to a lone human, Alwin had been preparing his own spells. Spirit Blast, followed by Spirit Scatter Blast, and lastly Spirit Burst Blast. That technique combination had been effective in achieving his very first kill, so surely it was foolproof. At least, that¡¯s what he hoped.

    Alwin was the first to attack, launching a Spirit Blast. He had expected the man to defend with his javelin, but he dodged out of the way, trails of lightning streaking below him. Well drat. His plan was a bust already.

    The second attack, Spirit Scatter Blast, came hurtling towards the man, and just like before he dodged out of the way. The attack never exploded into a bunch of different shards, because Alwin had prepared it in such a way that it would explode on contact. To the man, it probably looked like another regular Spirit Blast.

    The third attack, Spirit Burst Blast, came sailing forth towards him, and once again, he dodged it. However, this attack was primed with dodging in mind, the moment the technique had traveled far enough, its outer shell would give out, exploding in a brilliant burst of mana. The man was caught in that blast, just barely. It had grazed his left arm, singeing it, but no cries of pain escaped his mouth. The leather armor had taken the brunt of the damage.

    That stupid human, using the hide of a monster to protect himself, what a despicable low life. Those humans wouldn''t like it if a monster wore armor fashioned out of human parts so what gives them the right to do the same?

    The man started circling around the trio, lightning trailing after him. Alwin spun round and round trying to keep track of him, emphasis on trying because the world was starting to get a bit dizzy for him. This fight was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

 Chapter 33: Lightning Man

    Spectral Javelins whizzed through the air, each one filled with intent to murder them. Even with Gus'' attempts to defend against them, there were just too many, he was only one monster, and he only had one mouth. Uchronia and Alwin were forced to dodge the rest of the javelins. Alwin''s slime body bounced and jiggled with every evasive move. They were jumping up and down, rolling side to side, but they could only keep that up for so long.

    During the dancing palooza that was their dodging, Alwin had come up with a surefire plan that would definitely get them out of this heap: attack. Uchronia had come up with something too, but the details were a mystery to him. All he knew was that she was chanting something under her breath as they dodged. Meanwhile, Gus was doing what he did best: eating. He continued to intercept whatever Spectral Javelins came his way. Judging by the way Gus''s face contorted in utter disgust as if he were about to spew at any moment, the flavor of those javelins must have been downright atrocious.

    As soon as Alwin landed from his latest jump, he dove into prepping his next attack. No time for fancy combos here¡ªconcentration was a luxury, one the relentless human was snatching away with every javelin thrown his way.

    A Spirit Blast shot out from Alwin''s straight toward the human, or at least where Alwin hoped the human was going to be. Aiming at a stationary target was one thing, but at a moving target that was running how many laps around you per minute. Yeah, Alwin really couldn''t be blamed if he missed this shot.

    At the same time, Uchronia had completed her incantation. A second Uchronia appeared right next to her. Instead of a Furball, it was a Dark Slime, a pretty one at that. Both Uchronias¡¯ exchanged a nod, as if they had some sort of psychic link to communicate through, then the Dark Slime version of her leapt towards the human, or at least where she hoped the human was going to be.

    As expected by everyone else but Alwin, his Spirit Blast sailed harmlessly past the human. The Dark Slime Uchronia had much better luck than Alwin, she probably stole his luck if anything. Her leap of faith had evolved into a Dark Tackle of faith instead, tackling the man square on the chest. The human, caught completely off guard, toppled backward, crashing to the ground with Dark Slime Uchronia perched on top.

    With the human temporarily subdued, Alwin began charging up another Spirit Blast, it was going to be a blast for the ages. There wasn''t anything exactly impressive about this particular Spirit Blast, it was just going to be the same as the one before, and the one before that, and the one before that. Alwin just wanted to use the phrase to make himself feel cool.

    The human shoved Uchronia off with his javelin, sending her flying straight into Alwin''s Spirit Blast. Whoops. The real Uchronia shot him a glare, her tail twitching in irritation. Alwin, trying his best to look innocent, whistled and glanced away as if that would magically erase everything that had transpired. In his defense, he hadn''t expected the Dark Slime Uchronia to become a living shield.

    She dissolved into a slurry of particles, scattering into the wind. Alwin stared blankly at the remnants of the Dark Slime, feeling like the buffoon Uchronia probably thought he was, trying to come up with a better excuse than, ¡°I didn''t expect it.¡±

    Meanwhile, Gus was catching his breath, taking the much-needed breather from the sudden speed-eating contest he was forced into. Uchronia, ever the proactive one, was already plotting their next move,

    She started running towards the man, but her attempts were almost futile, almost. The man had picked himself up and started running laps around them again. That attempt at closing the distance between her and the man had spread out the group, giving them more space to work with, even though Gus and Alwin were still bunched up together.

    With the man up and running, he hurled more Spectral Javelins at the group. Uchronia was already chanting up another spell under her breath, while Gus simply sighed and went back to stuffing himself with javelins. Alwin never would have thought he would see the day where Gus wouldn''t be excited at the prospect of food.

    The man sprinted around the metaphorical circle of doom he had conjured, his footsteps pounding the ground as electricity trailed behind him. With each lap, the once wide circle tightened, its edges creeping inward like a noose.

    Alwin''s mind raced, urgency pounding in his chest like a drum. Sure, staying alive was important, but what really drove him was the thought of Uchronia''s icy glare. The blunder he''d made earlier still stung, and he knew she wouldn''t care that it was an honest mistake.

    There was an idea boiling in his brain. One he doubted would work, but was still worth a shot. Using whatever amount of focus and concentration that he could spare without the risk of turning into a slime kebab, he channeled his mana.

    Out came a skill that not even he would''ve expected to use in a fight. It clearly wasn''t any of the Spirit Blasts that he had used. It wasn''t Spirit Hands or even Dark Tackle for that matter. Nope, it was Spirit Feet of all things. When Uchronia caught a glimpse of the pair of spectral feet that had materialized and begun walking towards the man, her jaw dropped, interrupting the flow of her chant.

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    Her incredulous expression would''ve been funny in a different situation. Alwin found it amusing, but laughing out loud would probably get him killed¡ªand not by the javelin-throwing maniac.

    Alwin couldn''t see the man''s expressions¡ªthe man was basically a blur¡ªbut if he did he had to guess, there was a momentary bout of confusion, before he cataloged it as a non-issue and continued on his merry javelin-throwing spree. Uchronia had gone back to chanting her next spell, shooting him a glare whenever she had the opportunity to do so, which was a lot.

    The pair of feet marched up to the edge of the circle that the man was running. One foot took a step forward, lifting its ankle high. Even Alwin, the mastermind behind the plan, was stunned when it actually worked. The man, too engrossed in his jog, didn''t even notice the threat beneath him until he tripped on the foot.

    As soon as he lost his balance, his arms flailed about as he tried to regain control over his body, but all those efforts were in vain. He hit the ground. Hard. His armor was caked in a layer of dirt, blood trickling out of his nose. Those were the consequences of performing a head-first dive into the ground. His face contorted in an expression of pure confusion as he stared at the culprit.

    The spirit feet broke out into an impromptu celebratory tap dance routine, clicking and clacking their heels on the ground, twirling and leaping with joy, toes wiggling in time with the rhythm in the air. To top it off, they added an extra little kick that sent bits of earth flying into the man''s face.

    The man''s confusion quickly morphed into anger as he grabbed his javelin and took aim at the dancing feet. But before he could throw, Uchronia came barreling towards him, her incantation on the verge of completion. He changed targets, aiming it at her instead, but the Spirit Feet had a few more tricks up their sleeves or whatever the trousers equivalent was, pant legs?

    The feet did an about-turn, heels facing the man. Like a person rubbing their feet against a carpet, they scraped their soles against the ground, chucking waves of dirt into his eyes. His shot went astray. By a lot.

    Blinded by rage and dirt, the man swung his javelin wildly, one hand pressed against his eyes. Uchronia, having finished her chant, appeared right in front of him. She jumped over the thrashing javelin, performing a somersault, her tail extending to brush his shoulder mid-flip. As soon as her tail made contact, the man''s thrashing slowed down. It wasn''t because he was becoming tired or calm, he just literally slowed down. The effects of one of Uchronia''s techniques that she should really utilize more: Slow.

    "Well, what''re you waiting for?" Uchronia yelled.

    She was right, now was the perfect time to counterattack. He blamed the Spirit Feet that had jumped back into another tap dance routine, one that he was too engrossed in watching, he''d have to lecture them later.

    Alwin dismissed the Spirit Feet, releasing the mental thread that had been straining to control them. With that out of the way, Alwin began focusing on his core, making the necessary preparations to launch all kinds of Spirit Blasts at the man.

    Uchronia had already begun attacking the man, lashing out at him with her tail covered in a layer of spiky thorns. Gus was lying on the floor, staring up at the sky. His stomach bulged with all the attacks that he had stuffed inside himself. The occasional groan escaped his lips. It was probably taking everything he had to not just throw up right there and then.

    Now that he wasn''t forced to move his body every which way just to avoid being turned into a pincushion, Alwin got his act together. Variations of Spirit Blasts came flying out from his body. The man was desperately fending off Uchronia''s attack, albeit unsuccessfully. The effects of Slow had him blocking attacks that had already landed, leaving him vulnerable to Uchronia''s next strike.

    The man managed to get a glimpse of what was coming his way. A wave of surprise washed over his face as he noticed a Spirit Blast heading his way, he raised his javelin up in a futile bid to stop the attack, but by the time he had his arms up, the blast had already hit him. Then another hit him. And another, and another, and another, and so on, until a barrage of Spirit Blast had been fired at him.

    It wasn''t just Spirit Blasts, mixed in were a few Spirit Scatter Blasts, and a few Spirit Burst Blasts thrown in for good measure, the explosions knocked him back and forth, sending him flailing and thrashing around until he had given up. Not by choice, but simply because his spirit had left his body. He was dead. His body sprawled out on the floor with chunks of his armor torn to shreds revealing his fleshy human skin that was now dyed red with blood.

    Alwin was left panting from the exhausting effort of pumping all of those Spirit Blasts out. Meanwhile, Uchronia was left panting from the exhausting effort of dodging all of the stray Spirit Blasts that came flying her way, and Gus was left panting after he had given in to nausea and threw up all over the ground.

    "You need¡ª" Uchronia wheezed, "¡ªyou need to work on your aim."

    "Sorry," Alwin wheezed back.

    After a quick respite, Uchronia was back to her usual self, commanding Gus to hurry up and get over here. It was his turn to absorb the essence of a human. Gus took one good look at the corpse on the ground and proceeded to hop on top of his body. He closed his eyes presumably focusing on his own core and then on the core of the human.

    While they waited for Gus to finish, Uchronia started trying to come up with a plan. Their original idea of luring the humans from the village was a bust and they don''t even know why. Uchronia could''ve sworn that they were catching up to them then the next thing anyone knew, there was only one human chasing them. While Uchronia was busy muttering to herself and trying to figure out what to do, Gus started to glow.

    It wasn''t the same glow that Uchronia had when she absorbed the human''s essence. Lightning was coursing all around him, sparking and sizzling, crackling and popping.

    "Um, Uchronia," Alwin called out to her.

    "Yea?" she replied.

    "Something''s happening to Gus."

 Chapter 34: New Fashion Statement

    Uchronia turned around wondering what all the hubbub was about. When she finally laid eyes on Gus, her mouth went slack-jawed. Alwin was already gawking, his jaw dropped as low as physically possible as they observed what was happening.

    Gus sat atop the human''s body, encircled by a tempest of crackling lightning. Bolts of electricity danced through the air, zigging, zagging, zapping, and everything in between. He didn''t look to be in any visible pain, but they had no way to verify any of that.

    The duo didn''t know what to do. Should they push him off the human? That might end up causing more problems than solving them. What was going to happen to Gus? They really should have done something, anything, but neither Alwin nor Uchronia knew how to react to this situation, so they sat there, frozen by uncertainty.

    Lightning raged all around Gus, each bolt dancing and frolicking with a friend, or maybe a lover¡ª it was hard to tell. Then, nothing. The lightning was gone, and so was that glow that enshrouded him. He opened his eyes, opened his jaw as wide as he could, almost as if he was mimicking them, and let out a huge belch that reverberated through the forest. A couple of birds in the vicinity were scared off by the sheer power of the burp, taking to the skies, wings flapping to escape the terrifying sound.

    "A-are you okay?" asked Alwin.

    "Yea. Why?" replied Gus. He was apparently oblivious to the lightning show he had put on display earlier.

    "What about the lightning?" asked Uchronia.

    "Wait, how do you know?"

    "Because we saw it. There was lightning going zip zap zop all around you," said Alwin.

    "Wait, really? I didn''t know that."

    "Then what lightning are you talking about?" replied Uchronia exasperated.

    "I was talking about the new skill I got."

    "When? How?"

    "Just now. From that man, we just fought."

    "How?"

    "I don''t know. His spirit thingy tried running away, then I absorbed him, then next thing I knew I got a new skill. Wanna see?"

    "YES!" Uchronia shouted, unable to control herself anymore, blowing a gasket.

    "Okay."

    Gus closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Sparks of electricity started crackling on the lower half of his fur, leaving the top half as bushy as ever.

    Gus''s eyes flew open. "Lightning Legs!" he shouted, and before Uchronia and Alwin could react, he was off. Lightning trailing behind in as he ran laps around the pair. It was like Haste, but on steroids, with an extra jolt of energy running through them. Uchronia and Alwin stood in stunned silence, watching Gus¡¯s electrifying performance.

    "Whoa! Look at me go, I''m so fast," he laughed.

    Uchronia and Alwin looked at each other, metaphorical eyebrows raised as far as they would go.

    "Isn''t that¡ª" started Alwin.

    "That''s the skill that human was using!" yelled Uchronia. "How?"

    "I just absorbed his essence then there was an alert that I had learnt a new skill then I used it."

    "But, how?"

    "Do you think it''s because of his Core Skill?" asked Alwin.

    "That''s the only logical explanation," replied Uchronia. "Either that or Gus found a way to siphon skills from the human''s essences. So did you, Gus?"

    Gus was busy running laps around the two. Too engrossed in how fast he was moving to pay attention to the conversation.

    "GUS!"

    "What?" he blurted, turning to look at Uchronia. Distracted, he didn¡¯t see the gnarled root sticking out of the ground. His body caught, sending him sprawling forward. He rolled uncontrollably, leaves and dirt flying, until a solid tree trunk brought his chaotic momentum to an abrupt halt.

    "We''re trying to figure out how you managed to learn that new skill, so can you please pay attention."

    "But I already told you what happened," Gus said, upside down with his back against the tree he had just slammed into. Grass and bits of dirt clung to his fur.

    "Never mind," Uchronia groaned. "We''ll just ask Mr. Milvus when we get back."

    "Speaking about getting back, do you think those humans went back to the village," said Alwin.

    "It''s likely."

    "I say we go back to the village."

    "Since when do you have so much initiative? Aren''t you a slacker?" Uchronia asked.

    "Hey, I''m not a slacker. I''m just a guy who likes to work smarter and not harder."

    "Right... So why do you want to go back to the village? I half expected you to suggest we just leave the village alone," said Uchronia, judging every single syllable that Alwin dared mutter.

    "Well..." Alwin trailed off. He shuffled around awkwardly. "After I saw Gus absorb that skill I thought of a really good idea on how to sneak around those humans."

    "Go on." She still sounded skeptical but was slightly more curious.

    "I was thinking that, you know, I''m a slime so I''m squishy. I could probably squish inside his armor and pretend to be a human then we could sneak in and try to find out what they''re doing in the village and who they''re trying to track down."

    Uchronia stared at Alwin, her jaw hanging low. She blinked. Once, twice. "What? That''s the stupidest plan I''ve ever heard."

    "But if it works, is it really that stupid?"

    "That ''if'' is working overtime and not even the paid kind."

    "I still think it''s worth a shot. Do you have a better idea, Ms. Squad Leader?" Alwin gave her a cheeky grin.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "Give me some time and I''ll come up with something better," she muttered, grinding her teeth. Her eyes wandered across the clearing, scanning the horizon for inspiration.

    Alwin traced her gaze, coming to rest on the corpse of the human that they had just defeated. His armor was broken, his spear was busted, and his spirit was obliterated. It shifted to Gus, who was still upside down. The lightning that surrounded his lower half had dissipated, the only thing that remained was the clumps of dirt and grass clinging to his fur, plus some crumbs. Even while upside down Gus was munching on a muffin as if everything in the world was right side up. Alwin had given up wondering where he stored those seemingly infinite supply of muffins. It finally rested back on Alwin.

    "Well?" he asked. "The longer you take the more time you''re giving for the humans to find Maple and her mother."

    "Shut up. You know what? Fine. We''ll go along with that stupid plan of yours, but when it does fail, and I guarantee that it will, you don''t get to say a peep for a whole day."

    "Works for me, because I know it''ll work."

    Alwin bounced towards the corpse, humming a cheerful tune. The plan was so ridiculously absurd that it had shattered the stupidity scale and looped back around to being considered genius.

    With the help of Spirit Hands, Alwin removed the armor from the dead guy within. The skin was clammy and pale, but he tried not to focus on that too much. The worst part, though, was the smell. It hit him like a punch to the gut, making him gag and second-guess his plan. Upon his death, the man had soiled himself. Uchronia had taken notice and had a wide grin on her face.

    "So, how''s your plan coming along?" she asked. "Still think it''s a good plan?"

    "Of course!" Alwin said, looking everywhere but at the man''s brown leggings that had an extra helping of brown no thanks to him.

    "You sure? Because you seem to be struggling a bit with removing the armor," Uchronia said.

    "Just trying to be careful."

    Uchronia smirked at Alwin''s obvious discomfort, he could feel that mouth of hers even though he was doing his best to ignore her. Gus on the other hand was licking up the crumbs that he had dropped on the floor, looking as blissful as he always was.

    Alwin held his breath as he willed the Spirit Hands to work on removing the breastplate, and then the shoulder guards. He continued the tedious task of disassembling the armor piece by piece, but when the time came to remove his pants, there was a struggle. Despite all of his control over his Spirit Hands, they were hesitant to move. It wasn''t because he was hesitant, the hands themselves were hesitant.

    Ever since his mastery over Spirit Hands had increased it felt like they were becoming smarter. They still followed Alwin''s orders, but sometimes they took matters into their own hands, literally, and made choices on how to approach certain tasks. Sometimes they chose to make things difficult, mostly when they weren''t particularly fond of a certain task he had given them, other times they would surprise him with ingenious approaches to problems, but rarely.

    The hands looked at Alwin almost begging him not to make them do the dirty work of stripping the human''s soiled leggings, but Alwin wouldn''t budge. Then they looked at each other and began arguing among themselves. There was a lot of pointing at each and at the half-naked human, there was even a bit of sign language. After a minute of supposed arguing, they shook on whatever agreement they had come to.

    Next thing Alwin knew, they were playing ''Rock Paper Scissors''. Alwin stared slack-jawed as he watched the battle unfold. He didn''t know whether he was amused, horrified, or both. Then it was over. One of the hands had emerged victorious and had floated a victory lap around the fallen human, dancing the best a disembodied hand could dance. The loser had a hangdog expression, slowly floating towards the corpse, clearly unwilling to perform its duty.

    It looked back at Alwin and the winning Spirit Hand, hoping, begging to not make it do it. The winner gave it a thumbs up to encourage the losing hand, and it turned back towards the human. If it was capable of sighing it would''ve let out a long deep heavy sigh to let everyone know how it truly felt about the situation.

    It grabbed hold of the waistband and then tugged on the leggings. It then carefully reached down and lifted the hem of the legging up to reveal the soiled undergarments. With a look that could melt a hole through the very earth, it pointed accusingly at Alwin and the winner.

    Alwin gulped, unsure of how to handle the situation. The losing hand tossed the soiled undergarments aside, a bunch of brown sludge plopping onto the ground. At that point, Alwin couldn''t hold it in anymore and started gagging. His breakfast threatening to come back up.

    "Having fun?" Uchronia laughed.

    "Shut up," Alwin mumbled weakly, trying to fight back the queasy feeling.

    Once the loser hand was done stripping the human of his leggings, the winning hand came over to help. They were fitting the armor on Alwin now, squeezing and shoving his unsurprisingly malleable jelly-like body in the various pieces of armor. There was a major flaw in his plan which should''ve been obvious. Alwin could only be squished into the chest plate, he wasn''t big enough to use the leggings at all no matter how much he tried to stretch out his body.

    "Having trouble with your plan?" Uchronia laughed again, watching Alwin wriggling around within the human''s chest plate.

    "I''m working on it."

    "Great! While you work on that, I''ll work on an actual plan."

    That was exactly what he was going to do. The gall of Uchronia to be so mean. Why couldn''t she just be supportive and let him do his own thing? What''s wrong with his idea anyway? It''s a great idea.

    Alwin sighed, eyeing the armor with a mix of frustration and determination. The chest plate, gauntlets, and boots were sorted, thanks to his Spirit Hands and Spirit Feet fitting perfectly. But the helmet, leggings, and rest of the connecting pieces? That was a puzzle. The Spirit Hands scratched his head, muttering to himself as he tried to figure out how to make it all work together.

    If only he had a Spirit Upper Arm or a Spirit Thigh or even a Spirit Head, those would surely make his life way easier. That was it! He just had to do exactly that. Learn all the necessary skills!

    The Spirit Hands looked at him as if they could read Alwin''s mind which they probably could all things considered¡ªmental connection and all that. They looked at each other then looked back at Alwin, one of them wagging its finger telling him no. Alwin was confused. They floated to the ground and began drawing in the dirt.

    As the drawing began to take form, Alwin understood what they were trying to tell him. He didn''t actually need to learn a whole bunch of skills just to wear the leather armor, the Spirit Hands could act as a replacement for them. Alwin issued a mental order to the two Spirit Hands, thanking them for the idea. They both gave a thumbs up and flew into the gauntlets, waiting for Alwin''s next command.

    Alwin summoned four pairs of hands, five pairs were the maximum that he could handle at once and ordered them to take up space within the armor. They all rushed to claim the best spot possible, the upper arm. They pushed and shoved at each other, and Alwin should''ve told them all to play nice and not fight, but it was kind of entertaining.

    When the upper arms had been claimed, the remaining pairs of hands scrambled for the helmet, fighting like cats and dogs. All that was left were the spots in the leggings. The remaining pairs of hands definitely didn''t want to the areas near the thighs, where there were still some brown bits dripping down.

    The last two pairs dashed towards the calve part of the leggings, pushing, shoving, and punching each other as they made their way there. Both pairs arrived at the same time. There was a stand-off, neither hand wanting to make the first move. Their fingers flexed and curled¡ªlike cowboys¡ªwaiting for someone to make a move first.

    Alwin couldn¡¯t help but shout out, ¡°Draw!¡±

    The hands rushed to the ground, carving out the dirt with their fingers. That was unexpected. Alwin thought they would rush to the lower part of the leggings, but looks like that command got lost in translation. After a minute both sides had completed their drawing. They looked at Alwin, the decider of their fates.

    The first pair had drawn¡ªthey tried to¡ªa portrait of Alwin. It was an oval on the ground with two dots and a crooked smile. The second pair drew a portrait of that blasted wooden training dummy that Alwin could never beat. It was so life-like, save for the part where it was dirt-covered. Alwin had no choice, he had to give the spot to the second pair. Their drawing was simply too marvelous. They celebrated, high-fiving each other, before seeking refuge in their rightfully earned spot, the lower leggings.

    The remaining pair flew to Alwin, palms pressed together, begging, praying even, that they wouldn''t have to go anywhere near that area.

    "Sorry," he said, knowing it was unavoidable. "But you''re gonna have to do it."

    Their fingers went limps and they floated over to the leggings, taking as much time as possible to get there. When they were inches away from the leggings they turned back to him, one last desperate plea etched in their fingers. Alwin shook his head and let out a sigh. It had to be done.

    Alwin dove back into the chest plate, ordering his hands to combine. It was like a scene from ancient human cartoons where robots would join together to form an even larger robot, except that this was far more disgusting, courtesy of the leggings.

    First, his upper arms locked into place, followed by the gauntlets. The leggings came next, sliding into position with a squelch. There was a pause as the helmet hovered, waiting for the boots to join.

    Alwin suddenly realized he¡¯d forgotten to summon his Spirit Feet. They appeared, rushing over and hopping into the boots before zipping into place beneath the leggings. The helmet then zoomed in, attaching itself. With his bag slung across his chest, the setup was complete.

 Chapter 35: Blue Furred Man

    Alwin looked at Uchronia, who was still scheming, then at Gus, who was munching away upside-down. Time to show them what he''d been working on, he rubbed his hands together, with a mischievous grin. Walking was weird, but thankfully he had some practice in the past when he was learning how to control both Spirit Hands and Spirit Legs in tandem.

    Alwin walked up the Uchronia, arms, and legs stiffer than a robot. Clearly, he needed more practice.

    "Hey, Uchronia." He waved, there was zero smoothness in the motion like an old rusted-up machine.

    Uchronia eyed Alwin. "What the frack is this?"

    "This is the plan."

    Uchronia let out a deep, guttural groan, "Sure. Whatever."

    "Let''s go! Back to the village!" Alwin began walking in the direction that they had come from, one slow agonizing step at a time.

    "Wait! We still need a plan."

    "But, this is the plan."

    "Well, your plan makes no sense. You go in and what? Get yourself caught. You look ridiculous in that outfit, and if you hadn''t noticed there''s a hole in your chest plate where there''s very clearly something black and slimy."

    Alwin adjusted his sling bag to cover the hole that he was leaking out from. "I don''t see a problem. I''m sure they won''t notice, because you know, I''m a human now." He tried to add jazz hands but only succeeded in having the armor vibrate slightly.

    "Right... So even if you do manage to sneak in, what do you expect to happen? They just tell you what they''re doing in the village? And then what? If they are looking to slaughter Maple and the others what are you going to do to get them out of there? Stink them to death? Because, frankly, you smell."

    "Well¡ªI mean... maybe?"

    After a healthy dose of reality, Uchronia was right. His plan lacked any depth. All he really wanted was to play dress-up.

    "Ok, so what you''re going to do is go in and try to get as much info as you can. Assuming you somehow manage to pass as a human, you lure them out one by one as far away from the main group as possible. Once they''re isolated, we''ll jump them. Rinse and repeat. If they even get a hint that something''s off, ditch that ridiculous armor and run like your life depends on it¡ªbecause it does."

    "That was exactly my plan! You must''ve read my mind," said Alwin. That was in fact not his plan.

    Uchronia rolled her eyes and hopped over to Gus. She told him the plan, but that was after getting her own pair of Spirit Hands out, picking him up, and setting him back upright. She must be part Tomato because she''s always red with rage.

    The trio marched back towards the village, Alwin trying his best not to look too conspicuous in his new form. It was tough. There was a certain rhythm to walking that Alwin lacked. Even swinging his arms in tandem with his steps was off. He swung his right arm forward with his right leg, which evolved to walking like a regular person¡ªthat lasted for a short while¡ªbefore devolving into what one could call barely a walk. At one point, he decided to swing both arms forward, take three awkward steps, and then swing them back. At least his movements were becoming less stiff and robotic.

    Gus was as chipper as ever. There wasn''t a hint of worry or concern on his face. Uchronia was pretending to not be worried, but her quick glances to and from the trees showed the true extent of her concern. She occasionally barked at them, mostly at Alwin, to pick up the pace.

    As they neared the edge of the village, Uchronia ordered them to stop for one last rundown of the plan. Alwin nodded, signaling that he was ready, while Gus, being Gus, just smiled like they were heading to a picnic instead of a potentially dangerous mission.

    "Alright," she said, "Lure them here one at a time. If anything happens just scream and run away as fast as you can."

    "Got it, boss." Alwin saluted, but for a reason even he didn''t know, he saluted using both of his hands.

    "It''s squad leader," Uchronia sighed, pinching her temples using her leaf tail.

    Alwin began his solo march back to the heart of the village. Their suspicions were correct, the rest of the humans had returned to the village, all except the man whose armor they had stolen. They were scouring the village, digging through bushes and climbing up trees. Two men in robes sat atop their horses, barking out commands and directing the other humans in their search.

    As Alwin drew closer to the village, a human spotted him¡ªa man wearing blue-furred armor. It was the guy who had first discovered them hiding in the bushes! Alwin''s first instinct was to wave hello, a greeting the human was happy to return. There was hope yet! His disguise was flawless. Now all he had to do was blend in, like the cool ninja he was.

    The man approached, giving Alwin a hearty pat on the shoulder.

    "Lei Mao, glad you made it back. Did you take care of those three monsters?"

    "Uh... Yes," Alwin replied, trying to steady his voice.

    "Great, just remember to pass their Cores to the young masters."

    "What¡ªuh, sure thing." Alwin paused, a nervous chuckle escaped his lips. "Pal."

    "You okay? You sound different."

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    Alwin cleared his throat, his mind racing. "Uh... it''s just a cold, you know the one that''s been going around lately."

    The man groaned, rubbing his own nose. "You got it too? My nose has been stuffed for days, I can''t smell anything, and I''ve run out of sick days. It sucks."

    "It does."

    "The other day I was craving some durians. I went to the fruit shop uncle and I couldn''t even smell anything. I also couldn''t taste anything which sucked for my wallet," he sighed.

    "There, there, pal." Alwin patted the guy on the back.

    They both stopped, staring at each other. Alwin felt a twinge of confusion at the sudden change in atmosphere. Maybe he did something wrong. The man''s brows scrunched up.

    "Right... Anyway, the young masters want an update. So, good luck."

    "Thanks. Actually, I was thinking, why don''t you help me?"

    "You kidding me? Last thing I want to do is talk to the young masters. You''re on your own." The man laughed and was about to continue scouring through bushes looking for any signs of monsters, until Alwin called out to him again.

    "Wait! Could you just come over here with me?"

    "For what?" The man turned around.

    "I need to tell you something. Something important. Just between you and me." Alwin pulled on the man''s arm, his voice dropping to a whisper.

    The man sighed, scratching the back of his head. He clearly didn''t want to bother with this nonsense. "Fine."

    Alwin lured the blue-furred man away from the village, bringing him closer to the rendezvous point where Uchronia and Gus were waiting. They were hiding in a nearby bush, waiting for Alwin to get closer. He could almost feel their eyes on him, burrowing deep into his very soul.

    "So what''s this super important thing you wanted to tell me?" Annoyance dripped with every word.

    "Um..."

    "Come on, spit it out." The man waved his hand, urging Alwin to speak.

    "Could we talk about it over there?" Alwin pointed right in front of the bush where Uchronia and Gus were hiding.

    "Lei Mao! Why can''t you just spit it out now? Hurry up, before the young masters think we''re skiving off."

    "Um... Over there has better feng shui?"

    The man groaned, shoulders sagging. "SO if I walk over to that spot then you''ll finally tell me what you''ve been dancing around this entire time?"

    "Yep. I''ll tell you." Alwin gave a thumbs up, feeling quite confident in his skills at pretending to be a human.

    The man stomped over to the spot, raising his hands up in anger. "Well, what was so¡ª"

    He didn''t get to finish his sentence as Uchronia popped out and cast Slow on him.

    "What the¡ª"

    The man''s hand darted towards the sword at his hip, but he wasn''t fast enough. Uchronia and Gus hurled attacks at him, smacking him with a Thorny Leaf or charging at him with a Static Pounce. Alwin had a huge smile plastered on his face, he couldn''t believe it worked¡ªhe couldn''t believe it worked. He had successfully lured someone over.

    He wanted to break into a dance, which was extremely difficult given that he was currently squished inside a piece of leather armor. The Spirit Hands and Spirit Feet, however, gladly obliged to their master''s request. With the grace of a newborn baby deer learning how to walk for the first time, the arms and legs danced. There was zero coordination, all of them moving in separate directions at different speeds. If there were any passersby who walked past, they''d think Alwin was having a seizure.

    "Alwin! Do something!" Uchronia shouted at him.

    Oh right. There was a battle going on right now, and Alwin was celebrating way too early.

    Despite the onslaught of attacks and his slowed movements, the man managed to unsheathe his broadsword. It was raised high above his head, glowing green as mana was channeled into it. He gritted his teeth, enduring the sting of thorns piercing his armor and the sparks of electricity coursing through his body. That darn armor, crafted with the remains of monsters, was pulling way too much weight. Without it, he would have been defeated already.

    The thought of monsters being used to kill other monsters made Alwin''s blood¡ªor whatever was pumping through his body¡ªboil. All of humanity had to pay, and he vowed to exact his revenge, one human at a time.

    Alwin dismissed his Spirit Hands and Spirit Feet. The armor pieces fell to the ground, shaking and rattling. Alwin''s goopy self oozed out of the chest plate, eyes burning with rage. He began preparing his regular assortment of Spirit Blasts. Alwin silently cursed at himself. All that time spent flailing around like a deranged puppet could have been used to create more blasts. Instead, Uchronia and Gus had to shoulder the burden of dealing with this man.

    "Strong Slash!"

    With a mighty roar, the man swung down, unleashing a blast of energy. Gus with the speed boost from Lightning Legs, caught the blade in his mouth, but all of that extra momentum had to go somewhere. He was sent careening to the ground, the sword snapping in half between his teeth.

    "Die you monsters," the man shouted in slow motion. "Lei Mao, come help me!"

    He turned to where ''Lei Mao'' had been standing and froze. Bits of armor lay scattered on the ground, and instead of Lei Mao, there stood Alwin. His face went white as a myriad of Spirit Blasts came flying from the Dark Slime that was standing over the chest plate. The man raised his sword up, shielding himself from the blasts.

    Uchronia grabbed Gus with her tail and hopped away as fast as she could. Dodging Alwin''s errant blasts was a challenge in and of itself, but having to dodge while carrying a dazed Gus was nigh impossible.

    A menagerie of Spirit Blasts sailed towards the blue-furred armored man. No amount of armor or pitiful attempts at blocking with his broadsword would save him now. Spirit Blasts pelted his body. Spirit Scatter Blasts dispersed and broke apart, spreading the pain across every inch of his form. Spirit Burst Blast exploded, tearing chunks of armor from his body.

    Alwin was almost out of mana when the man collapsed. Alwin was also almost out of anger, and with the man down he let out a deep sigh. He wobbled back towards the leather chest plate.

    Uchronia came bounding in, dragging Gus along with her.

    "Good job. Any problems getting the man here?"

    "Not really. I think."

    "Okay, then you go back in and try to lure another human out here. Me and Gus will clean up the mess after Gus is done absorbing his essence."

    "Okie dokie," Alwin said.

    Before Alwin even thought of calling out his Spirit Hands and Spirit Feet, he dug into the bag with his mouth. Popping open the cork with his teeth¡ªpainful as it sounded¡ªhe swallowed a Small Mana Pill. Strength surged throughout his body, as his mana stores were replenished.

    Gus was already absorbing the blue-furred man''s essence, both of them surrounded by a veil of light.

    After assembling the armor, Alwin set off. Uchronia wished him good luck, but not before scolding him for taking too long to attack. It was deserved, so he had no choice but to apologize. He did put on his best puppy dog face to soften her scolding. The only problem was that he was stuck inside the chest piece, which was not transparent or even translucent in the slightest. So, Alwin was just being an idiot as usual.

    This time, he planned to aim a little higher. After all, if he could manage to bring that man over, who''s to say he couldn''t snag someone even more important? He was going to lure one of the young masters. Both if he was lucky.

 Chapter 36: Bone

    Alwin sauntered back to the village. He was getting the hang of this whole walking thing. The humans made it look so easy. They were still spread throughout the village, searching for something. All that knew was that they were tracking down a monster and the trail stopped here. Who could they be searching for? Was it Maple? Why did they have to come here and disturb the peace? Those darn humans and their warmongering tendencies, razing down monster homes just to serve their agenda.

    As Alwin made his way toward the two young masters perched on their high horse, the other humans parted like the Red Sea. This Lei Mao guy must''ve been a high ranking member of the squad. Maybe he even second-in-command to those young masters. That must be it. Though, the way their eyes squinted and noses crinkled did make him a bit uneasy.

    "Lei Mao," a man clad in bone armor approached, pinching his nose. The armor choice baffled Alwin¡ªit was like the guy had strapped on a monster''s ribcage. Why would he do that? First, it was horribly cruel and second, there were large holes in between the ribs that screamed ''come hit my fleshy bits''. Sure, he had an undershirt, but that was about as protective as a wet paper towel. "Young master Hong Jian and young master Huang Jian are looking for you."

    "I''m heading over right now." Alwin saluted the guy. This time, he saluted with only his right hand instead of the double-handed salute he had conducted earlier..

    He was learning! Learning how to disguise himself as a human! Maybe in the future he could sneak into human camps and be an assassin, killing all of those mean humans in their sleep. He''d be the silent protector of monster kind. Now that he thought about it, he did want some of the glory. So maybe he''d be the slightly silent protector of monster kind. Like a silent fart¡ªyou don¡¯t hear it, but you can definitely smell his presence.

    The bone armored man walked away, shaking his head. Even from afar, Alwin could hear him exhale loudly. Was talking to whoever Alwin was impersonating that stressful? Yes! And Alwin was playing the role perfectly.

    He waltzed up to the two young masters high atop their horeses, one in red robes and the other in yellow. Now that he got a closer look at them, they both looked the same. Twins if he had to guess, which he probably didn''t. It was quite obvious. Their faces were identical. Two black beady eyes staring into your soul. Skin smooth as butter, so smooth that Gus might''ve started licking them thinking it was butter.

    The only things setting them apart were the color of their robes and the handles of the swords at their hips. The red-robed man had a red handle, and the yellow-robed man had a yellow handle. Now for anyone who doesn''t know some basic Chinesenot familiar with basic Chinese¡ªor Mandarin, depending on who you¡¯re asking¡ªthe red robed man was likely the one named Hong Jian, while the yellow robed man was Huang Jian. Good thing that Alwin did understand some basic Chinese.

    As Alwin moved closer to them, both of them flinched before placing a hand over their noses.

    "You." The red-robed man¡ªHong Jian¡ªpointed a finger at Alwin. "Where did you run off to?"

    "I went to get rid of the monsters that ambushed us earlier, young master." Alwin was really getting into the role. No more stutters or stammers for this guy. Now he was the ultimate spy!

    "Did we give you permission to go after them? The orders were to search for the Muffin Monster, not go out chasing some plebeian monster," The yellow robed man, Huang Jian said.

    "Forgive me, young masters." Alwin bowed.

    "The Elder will hear about this. And what is that smell?" Hong Jian was the first to ask.

    "Smell, young masters?" Alwin echoed, trying to play dumb.

    "Yes, what''s the smell coming from your body?"

    "The¡ªuh¡ªthe monsters did it to me."

    "Well then get rid of that smell or we''ll leave you out here in this Forest and you can come back to the sect by yourself," said Huang Jian.

    "Right away, young masters." Alwin bowed again.

    Right, the smell. After bathing in it for so long his nose had gotten used to it¡ªbelieve it or not. That would explain why everyone was steering clear of him, and not because he was some hotshot second only to the young masters. Okay, there might be a slight chance, but he was slowly starting to doubt it. The only way to get rid of the smell would be to ditch his pants. And there was no way he was doing that. All he had to do was keep his distance from the young masters, which would make his plan of luring the young masters with him all the more difficult. He¡¯d come up with something.

    "Hey! Hey!" Hong Jian snapped his fingers, bringing Alwin''s attention back to him. "How dare you ignore us."

    Crap. Alwin was lost in his thoughts. He should really learn how to stop zoning out or learn to multitask.

    "Sorry, young masters. I was, uh, thinking."

    "Did we tell you to think?" shouted Huang Jian. "No, we told you to hand over the monster cores."

    "The monster cores?"

    "Yes, the monster cores! Hurry up and give it then go away, I can only hold my breath for so long."

    "Uh... About that."

    "Spit it out!" Hong Jian shouted.

    "I... don''t have them? They were stolen?" Alwin''s voice rose in pitch at the end.

    "What did you say?" Both young masters exclaimed in unison.

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    "They were, um, stolen from me?"

    "By who?"

    "By the, uh..." Alwin''s eyes darted around the area. "By that guy." Alwin pointed at the man with bone armor.

    "So you''re saying he stole the monster cores? And you''re only telling us this now!" shouted Hong Jian.

    "He, uh, threatened me?" His voice peaked with uncertainty.

    "Bring him over! Now!" They both shouted.

    "Sir, yes, sir!" Alwin saluted, before hurrying over to the bone armor man.

    Alwin couldn''t believe how unexpectedly things had turned out. As he glanced over at the bone-armored man¡ªwhat was his name?¡ªhe silently prayed that this bizarre scene would unfold smoothly. With no idea what to do next or how it would all end, he hoped that everything would turn out well. Perhaps once the dust settled, he''d consider signing up for improv classes. It would probably make his future sneak ins a lot easier¡ªor who knows, he might have a budding career in acting.

    During that whole interaction he did glean one useful bit of information: the Muffin Monster. Definitely a weird monster, but then again he encountered cat monsters made out of ice cream and snail monsters with pancakes for shells in the city of Monsteria, so Muffin Monsters weren''t so strange in comparison.

    But he did have to figure out he was going to handle the monster core situation. To think that the young masters bought his story about them being stolen so easily. This ''Lei Mao'' guy must definitely be some high ranking figure. Either that or they''re idiots. But they have horses and they''re the ones in charge, they can''t be idiots. And again, they have horses! One day Alwin was going to ride a horse.

    "So how''d it go?" the bone armor man asked, pinching his nose as Alwin got closer. "They looked pretty pissed."

    "They want to speak with you."

    "Me? What for?"

    "Um... They just told me to come get you."

    "Probably another one of their temper tantrums," he sighed.

    "Probably."

    This was going a lot smoother than he had expected. He managed to get the bone-armored man to go to the young masters. Now he had to figure out how to handle the stolen monster core scenario. He would just have to put on his Alwin charm. No matter how they''d react he would just keep pushing the blame to the bone armor guy. It was the best plan that he could think of¡ªif you could even call it a plan. Then after that he''d have to somehow find a way to drag the young masters to the rendezvous spot. Being a spy was hard and being all sneaky-like was even harder.

    "Gu Jia!" the red robed Hong Jian shouted.

    Alwin jumped out of his thoughts and very nearly jumped out of his armor. So Gu Jia was the name of that bone armored man.

    "I''ve been told you stole some monster cores."

    "I''ve never stolen anything young masters," Gu Jia bowed down placing his hands together.

    "Lei Mao said that you stole the monster cores he retrieved and that you even threatened him."

    "Young masters, I did no such thing,¡± Gu Jia insisted, still holding his bow.

    "So who''s telling the truth, Lei Mao? What do you have to say?" Huang Jian said.

    "It was definitely him. He came in and stole the cores from me. I think he ate them or something."

    "Young masters, I had nothing to do with the monster cores. I''ve been searching for the Muffin Monster this whole time, and when I saw Lei Mao, I simply told him that the honorable young masters requested an update on his whereabouts."

    "That is true," said Hong Jian, rubbing his chin.

    "Yes, yes. I did see Gu Jia digging through bushes and climbing up trees, " said Huang Jian, also rubbing his chin.

    "What do you have to say for yourself, Lei Mao?"

    "Gu Jia stole the cores and said that he would keep on stealing all the cores he finds."

    Alwin was getting desperate. What else could he say or do? He didn''t think this conversation through, not in the slightest. If only he was better at lying. Improv class gods! Please lend your help!

    "I did no such thing, young masters," said Gu Jia. "If I may be so bold to offer my humblest of opinions to the wise young masters, I believe that something has happened to Lei Mao. He has been acting strangely ever since he returned, and has brought along a smell so awful, it taints the very air that the young masters breathe."

    "Sure, sure. Do whatever you want with Lei Mao. As long as you get the cores and he takes a shower." Hong Jian said, waving them both away dismissively.

    Well that plan was a bust. He was hoping that the young masters would trust him wholeheartedly and maybe have that Gu Jia guy executed or something. It would''ve made his life way easier with one less human to deal with. And why did that Gu Jia have to start talking so formally? Stupid man, he made Alwin look bad.

    Gu Jia''s hand clamped onto Alwin''s arm, and he dragged him away from the young masters. They exhaled deeply, as if they''d been holding their breath the entire time¡ªwhich they probably were. As Gu Jia dragged him further away from them, Alwin could barely make out snippets of their conversation, but he could pick out something about the Muffin Monster.

    Once they were out of earshot, Gu Jia pushed Lei Mao, who was actually Alwin, against the tree. "What the frack are you doing? Are you trying to get the both of us killed? And seriously, why do you smell like shit?"

    "Uh... Reasons?"

    "Reasons? That''s all you¡¯ve got to say. You run out on your own after the young masters told us to turn back, then you come back smelling like shit with holes in your armor, and now you''re trying to get me killed because you don''t want to give them the monster cores. I have half a mind to stab you."

    "If you stab me, then I''ll just tell them it''s cause you threatened me about the monster cores."

    "Again with the stupid lies. Here''s what you''re going to do. You''re going to go back to the young masters, you''re going to apologize for lying and hand over the cores, then you''re going to find a river and get rid of that smell. Got it?"

    The way Gu Jia was talking to him made Alwin think that this Lei Mao guy he was impersonating wasn''t actually that high ranking. Alwin''s impression of Lei Mao had flipped back and forth so many times in the past few minutes that he didn''t know what to make of it. He still needed to find a way to get the young masters to follow him to the rendezvous spot with Uchronia and Gus. Maybe he''d lie and tell them that the Muffin Monster stole the cores and try to lead them there. It was the best plan he had, and if Uchronia heard it she''d probably boil over with fury over the lack of details. Well, he''d work it out somehow. Probably.

    "Well?" Gu Jia shouted.

    "Yup, sure, okay. Let''s go."

    Without warning, Gu Jia grabbed his arm and yanked him back toward the young masters. The sudden jerk nearly tore Alwin''s arm from its socket, but he stumbled forward to keep pace.

    "Forgive me for intruding again, young masters," Gu Jia said with a deep bow

    "You two again." Huang Jian''s face scrunched up.

    "What is it?" Hong Jian said.

    "Lei Mao, has something to tell you. Right, Lei Mao?" Gu Jia yanked the armor forward, but this time Alwin couldn''t react in time.

    "What the¡ª" Gu Jia gasped, staring at the gauntlet he''d torn from the rest of the armor. He released it in shock, and the gauntlet continued to float in the air under the influence of the Spirit Hand.

    This was going to be a problem.

 Chapter 37: Luring The Young Masters

    "Lei Mao! What is the meaning of this!" shouted Huang Jian, staring at the empty space where his hand was supposed to be.

    "Young masters, that isn''t Lei Mao. It must be some sort of monster," said Gu Jia, dropping the gauntlet that he had grabbed.

    The gauntlet defied gravity, flying back to its original position and snapping into place.

    "I am Lei Mao. That was just, uh... a magic trick. Yup! A magic trick!" Alwin stammered, inching backward away from the three humans.

    "A magic trick? That was certainly quite a convincing magic trick," said Hong Jian.

    "Yes, yes. One day you must teach us this magic trick. It would surely surprise Gary," said Huang Jian.

    Was this actually working? Were the young masters actually buying his lies? Either Alwin chock was full of charisma with the ability to trick people with just the slightest whisper, or the young masters were dumber than he thought. It was probably the former, because Alwin was going to become a master spy!

    "Young masters, don''t be fooled by this wicked creature! This isn''t the Lei Mao we all knew." His eyes narrowed as he jabbed a finger at Alwin, who squirmed under the scrutiny. "Speak monster, what have you done with Lei Mao and why are you wearing his armor?"

    "What do you mean? I am Lei Mao. I''m just, um... just tired,"

    "Prove it."

    "I-I-I can use Lightning Legs and even throw out Spectral Javelins. Would a fake Lei Mao know that?" said Alwin, praying that they would fall for it.

    "Yes, yes. That does sound like some of the techniques our sect has passed down to the disciples," said Huang Jian.

    "I agree. How would a monster even know our sect''s techniques? Gu Jia, I think you''re overreacting," said Hong Jian.

    "Young masters, with all due respect, we all shout out the name of our techniques. Any monster with half a brain would know just by engaging in combat with Lei Mao."

    "Yes, yes. Hong Jian, how could you not know this? I think you''ve been slacking off in your training," said Huang Jian.

    "Oh shut up, Huang Jian. We both skip out on training together. TOGETHER!" shouted Hong Jian.

    The two young masters devolved into a heated argument, their voices rising as they bickered over who slacked off more in training. Alwin and Gu Jia exchanged bewildered glances,neither quite believing the scene unfolding before them¡ªespecially Alwin. Maybe he wasn''t cut out to be a master spy after all. He had gotten lucky with the first man, the one wearing blue furred armor, simply because he was an idiot. The two young masters weren''t any better themselves. The only reason why Alwin hadn''t been able to drag them to the rendezvous spot was because there was actually someone with a brain impeding all his progress. Gu Jia.

    "Oh for frack sake," said Gu Jia. He clasped his hands together, forming a complex symbol. "Rib Spire Stab!" he shouted.

    The bones along his ribcage armor shuddered, then shot outward like spires. With a grunt, all fourteen of those bone like spires extended even further, each one hurtling straight toward Alwin.

    Where was Gus when you needed him? The bony spires jutted out like vengeful daggers, tearing through the armor with a crunch. Eight jagged bones drove into his arms, four on each side, pinning him like a magic act gone wrong. His legs buckled as two more bones speared through each thigh, locking him in place. Finally, the last two spires shattered his helmet, piercing the spot where his eyes should''ve been, sending shards flying as they dug deep, leaving him utterly immobilized and defenseless.

    If he had been human, he would''ve been skewered beyond recognition, an unfortunate shish kebab in the hands of Gu Jia. Blood would have splattered, bones would have cracked, and a lifeless body would have slumped to the ground. But good thing he wasn¡¯t human. He was a slime safely tucked away within the hollow inside of the leather chest piece.

    The same couldn''t be said for his Spirit Hands which were acting as the fake bones that held up the armor. They had been pierced and impaled, completely destroyed in the process. The only ones that had survived the onslaught of bones were the pair of Spirit Feet, nestled safely within the boots, and the pair of Spirit Hands tucked away in the gauntlets.

    Gu Jia retracted the bony spires that had pierced the armor. Without anything to support them, the rest of the armor collapsed onto the floor, like a puppet that had its strings severed: helmet, forearm, upper arm, thighs, calves clattering in a disjointed heap. The chest piece that Alwin had taken refuge in dropped onto the pair of boots, giving him a good whiff of the stench that the boots were giving out. It was like dirty wet socks and vomit had a baby that they murdered in cold blood and they left it out in the sun for two weeks cause they were too lazy to properly dispose of their mess. It was a good thing the Spirit Feet didn''t have a Spirit Nose attached to them.

    Meanwhile, the two gauntlets floated in the air, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves, which was a near impossible feat considering that they were a pair of floating gauntlets. Alwin commanded them to drop and lie still. They complied, but their delayed descent, compared to the rest of the armor, did make Gu Jia raise his eyebrows. But he pretended that it was just the trick of the light¡ªthat was Alwin¡¯s interpretation anyway.

    "Young masters, look. That isn''t Lei Mao at all. It was just some monster pretending to be him," said Gu Jia. He dusted his hands, like he had just completed doing a particularly tricky task.

    "Yes, yes. That wasn''t Lei Mao," nodded Huang Jian.

    "Good job, Gu Jia. We were actually just testing whether our subordinates would notice that that suit of leather armor wasn''t Lei Mao. We actually knew since the very beginning." nodded Hong Jian.

    "The young masters are extremely knowledgeable." bowed Gu Jia.

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    "Yes, yes. Now take the remains of that monster away from here. It stinks," said Huang Jian.

    "And remember to pass us the monster''s core when you''re done," said Hong Jian.

    Gu Jia turned away from the young masters, muttering curses under his breath. The two young masters kicked their horses, urging them to move away from the horrible stench populating their noses.

    Wow, those two young masters really were annoying. They hadn''t suspected Alwin for a moment, yet here they were, claiming credit. Alwin could sympathize with Gu Jia. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. If he played his cards right, perhaps he could convince Gu Jia to help him get rid of the young masters.

    It was a long shot but it was better than waiting for his untimely demise. As far as that bone-head Gu Jia and the two moron young masters were concerned, Alwin had been slain. But when Gu Jia came close enough, he would soon realize that Alwin was very much alive¡ªand ready to rectify that misconception

    "Gu Jia..." Alwin said in his best ghostly voice. "I am the soul of Lei Mao. I have been killed by monsters, but I still have lingering regrets. The young masters have been a menace. They are ungrateful and frankly stupid. Together we can get rid of them."

    Gu Jia simply looked down at the pile of talking armor and let out a sigh, pinching his temples as he shook his head.

    Was it working? Was Gu Jia falling prey to schemes? Alwin was starting to think that he was a lot better at being a master spy then he had previously thought.

    "Stupid monster. Wasting my time," he muttered under his breath.

    Ah crap. Looks like his days of pretending to be Lei Mao were over, and hopefully his days of being Alwin weren''t going to end either. Gu Jia brought his hands together, gathering energy. The ribs of his ribcage armor began to extend, curving towards Alwin. Now was the time to make his grand escape.

    The bony spires shot towards the chest piece. Before they could pierce it, Alwin commanded the Spirit Feet to start running and run they did. They dodged out of the way of Gu Jia''s Rib Spire Stab, striking nothing but air. The leather gauntlets flew towards Alwin, attaching themselves to the armor. The sight of Alwin running was one to behold. It was like a kid had snuck into some armor, but they were much too short to fill the armor properly, and could only occupy the chest piece, boots and gauntlets.

    Alwin ran screaming his lungs out. Instead of heading back to the rendezvous point, he sprinted in the opposite direction. Now one might wonder why Alwin would do such a thing? It was a simple reason really. His plan was to lure the young masters there and the young masters just so happened to be in the opposite direction. Alwin needed to give them a reason. Something strong enough to warrant for even the young masters to give chase. A flawless plan was concocted in his mind. To him, at least.

    Alwin ran one circle around Gu Jia, who chased him around with his spires of bones extending towards him. Gu Jia was secondary; what he really needed were the leggings¡ªthe crux of his plan. The Spirit Hands flew towards the extra brown leggings with bits of brown dripping down. No protests were made this time around, they understood the weight of the situation.

    The Spirit Feet ran towards the young masters while the bone spires gave chase to them. Alwin held his breath as the Spirit Hands returned back, clutching the precious leggings within their grasp.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± shouted Hong Jian, looking at the screaming suit of armor running his way.

    ¡°Is this some sort of practical joke?¡± shouted Huang Jian.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Alwin screamed back.

    The Spirit Hands hurled the leggings at the young masters, brown sludge splattering from every opening as the leggings spun through the air. The gooey, fudgy substance splattered across the young masters¡¯ robes, leaving sticky, foul-smelling stains in its wake.

    ¡°Is this¡­?¡± Huang Jian shouted, his voice tinged with apprehension as he stared at the sticky mess covering his robes.

    ¡°It is!¡± Hong Jian yelled, eyes wide with horror at the realization of what had splattered them.

    ¡°KILL! KILL THAT MONSTER THAT DARED TO DEFILE ME!¡± both young masters shouted in unison.

    "Brothers, this monster has sullied the young masters! Kill him!" Gu Jia roared.

    "For the young masters!" shouted a random voice.

    "For the young masters! Death to the monster!" echoed other voices.

    At that moment, the humans who had been scouring the village, in search of the Muffin Monster, popped out from behind trees, from within bushes, some even jumped down from the branches above. This time the chase was much worse. Without Gus here to defend him, he had to rely on his dodging skills, which were practically non-existent when he was being bounced around over the place inside the armor. If death wasn''t going to come claim him first, then it was going to be nausea.

    With the constant bouncing around it was near impossible to see where he was going. Desperate to not join Lei Mao in the afterlife, he issued two orders. To his Spirit Feet, he ordered them to run as fast as possible to the rendezvous spot. To hit Spirit Hands¡ªthe moment he declared his order he did find it a bit silly¡ª he ordered them to help him dodge all of the incoming attacks. The commands to his Spirit Feet did make sense, but telling his Spirit Hands to dodge? What good would that do? Alwin was grasping at straws and he knew it.

    The feet jumped up and clicked their heels, their way of acknowledging orders, albeit dangerous given the situation they were in. What if that jump had knocked off the chest piece Alwin was riding in? It''d be the end for him and his Spirit accomplices. The more mature, less foolish Spirit Hands gave a simple thumbs up, before moving back into formation.

    Attacks came hurtling towards him from all directions, that was what his Spirit Hands told him anyway¡ªreminder that he was being tumbled around within the armor. This was probably what the inside of a washing machine felt like, although with significantly less water and a lot more terror.

    To his surprise, the hands were surprisingly effective at their jobs, despite being given a near insurmountable task of assisting Alwin with dodging. The word ''assist'' might as well have been obsolete, since they were doing all of the work. The only thing Alwin was doing was holding in his breakfast. They held Alwin by the side, nudging him to the left or right whenever an attack was going to hit.

    When some sort of skill boosted arrow went shooting toward him, they raised him up, separating him from the boots that the Spirit Feet were operating from. The arrow sailed past them, then and they promptly dropped him back onto the boots, which resumed their frantic sprint.

    Being bounced up and down was bad enough but now he was being flipped side to side in whatever way the Spirit Hands deemed fit. They had even gone above and beyond their orders, instructing the Spirit Feet to run to the left or right, and even to jump up above whatever attack that was aiming for them.

    They did so in a series of snaps, that even Alwin could understand despite his brain and body being rattled like there was no tomorrow. When the left hand snapped, that meant move left. Right snap, move right. When they both snapped, the Spirit Feet were to jump as high as possible. Thank Cor that his Spirit Hands, for whatever reason, were smart¡ªgenius, even.

    The horde of humans never stopped chasing him, unlike earlier. It was placing a massive burden on the Spirit Hands. No matter how smart the Spirit Hands were, they weren''t infallible. More and more attacks were beginning to slip through their evasive maneuvers. Last thing he wanted was for them to slip through his defense¡ªmeaning that he was going to get skewered, punched, pierced, shredded or whatever attack was lucky enough to destroy his armor.

    Alwin thanked whatever monster the armor had been crafted out of, silently whispering a prayer in his mind. He had wanted to show some respect by at least saying it out loud, but between all the random tossing and turning, he nearly bit his tongue off.

    "Alwin!" a sharp whisper called out to him.

 Chapter 38: The Plan Is Working

    Alwin had never felt more glad to hear that grating, annoying voice that always judged whatever he was doing. He squinted through the haze, barely making out Uchronia''s silhouette peeking from what he guessed was a bush. The world was a spinning whirl of green, brown, and the occasional flash of whatever color the next attack coming his way was. They all blended together in the disorienting spin cycle that was his current reality.

    Alwin dove into the bushes, the Spirit Hands keeping a finger out for any projectile that might have decided to follow him. There were none. The pounding footsteps of the approaching army of pursuers grew louder, accompanied by the angry shouts of "Death to the monster!"

    Without all of the nonstop moving around, he could finally make out his surroundings. Green bushes, brown tree trunks, and an extremely pissed Uchronia.

    "What are you doing?" she hissed.

    "Luring people."

    "You''re supposed to bring one at a time, not everyone and their mother."

    "I don''t think their moms are¡ª"

    "Not the point! Get back out there and keep running around in circles. Give me time to think!" she shouted a whisper¡ªwhich was a whisper so loud that it could still be considered a whisper.

    "I have a better idea!"

    The Spirit Hands lifted the chest piece up and out oozed Alwin in all of his dark gelatinous glory. Through the mental connection between his Spirit Hands and Feet, Alwin instructed them to continue running, but this time to circle around the rendezvous spot. The Spirit Feet clicked their heels, while the hands saluted¡ªthe right Spirit Hand raised itself against the top part of the chest piece and executed the gesture.

    Quick! Go! Before the humans find us!

    The Spirit Feet took off, boots pounding the ground, while the Spirit Hands scrambled to set the now-empty chest piece atop them. The ensemble dove out of the bushes, racing in a wide circle around them.

    Alwin held his breath, partially because he still felt like hurling, but mostly because the army of humans was storming through the area. They chased after the now decoy armor, convinced that the monster was either inside or that the armor itself was the monster.

    As the final human sprinted past them, Alwin finally released his breath and unintentionally released his breakfast as well. Uchronia hopped out of the way, dodging the torrent of half-digested food.

    "Gross."

    "What a waste." Gus shook his head, before going back to snacking on yet another muffin.

    How could he still have an appetite to eat after watching that? And the smell. It wasn''t as bad as the soiled leggings, but it was enough for Alwin to lose the will to eat for the rest of the day.

    Alwin pressed his face against a tree and wiped away the gunk on his face. "Sorry."

    "So what are we going to do?" asked Alwin.

    "Shut up! I''m thi¡ª"

    The sound of attacks whizzing filled the air, cutting her off. Following the chaos came the thunderous roars and pounding footsteps of the approaching humans. The duo¡ªbecause Gus was as nonchalant as ever¡ªwere silent. Uchronia and Alwin''s eyes darted around, scanning the surroundings for any sign of a stray human stumbling upon their hiding spot.

    Then silence.

    Thinking was tough when the anxiety of humans figuring out they were hiding in the bushes, was gnawing away at their focus. Any hope of discussion was dashed when the humans ran past the three of them, causing their mouths to zip tight and their heartbeats to drum in their ears.

    Meanwhile, Gus was happily munching on the snacks that were in the bags issued out to them. Alwin was envious of his bravery, or maybe it was ignorance that fueled him. Whatever the case, having his confidence would be a blessing right about now. That confidence would be infinitely better than his useless Core Skill that he had been ''blessed with''.

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    After that lap, Uchronia just said, "I''ll come up with something, keep an eye out. And don''t!" She paused, glaring at him with the fury of a thousand humans. "Mess it up this time!"

    Alwin nodded along, his lips pressed tightly together, too afraid to even let out a peep. Gus'' mindless snacking was driving his anxiety crazy. He wanted to hop up to him and ask him to shut up, but that would probably, actually it would definitely, make things worse. All he could do was keep his eyes peeled for any danger while trying to ignore the crinkling of plastic wrap being pulled off from a sandwich Gus was about to eat.

    After how many laps, Uchronia finally spoke up, "Everything will rely on Gus¡ª"

    The rumbling of footsteps and battle cries caused both Alwin and Uchronia to flinch. When they were far away enough that they couldn''t hear them anymore she continued.

    "Alwin you split up your Spirit Hands and Spirit Feet then the humans will split up too. While they''re still chasing your distractions we pick off the stragglers at the back. Then Gus will absorb their essence and hopefully gain a useful skill. Then we keep snowballing from there. Got it?"

    Both Alwin and Gus nodded.

    "Gus I want you to focus on attacking too. Eat away at their armor if you have to."

    "But¡ª"

    "No buts, Alwin. We need Gus and his ability."

    Attacking was supposed to be his thing. Why did Gus have to come in and steal the spotlight? It wasn''t fair. All Alwin could do was sigh. That Core Skill of his was so useful. Why couldn''t he be blessed with it instead?

    As the familiar whizzing of skills, roaring of humans, and stomping of feet neared them, Alwin mentally commanded his Spirit Hands and Spirit Feet to split up. What he didn''t expect was backlash from his Spirit Hands. Through their mental connection, he could hear them arguing with him. They weren''t speaking per se, but signing to him through that connection. It was tough to decipher, but Alwin could tell they were worried about the Spirit Feet. They were young and naive, at least relative to them, and would undoubtedly get caught.

    Then what do you want me to do? It''s Uchronia''s plan and you know how she gets when things don''t go her way. I''ll be lucky if she breaks down instead of getting pissed.

    The Spirit Hands conceded and began supplementing the Spirit Feet with additional instructions, namely to dodge as if their life depended¡ª because it did. Alwin didn''t get what the big deal was. Couldn''t they just be summoned again, if they get ''killed''? He just shrugged his metaphorical shoulders and left it there. No point thinking about something as useless as that when their lives were on the line.

    After the lecturing by the Spirit Hands, the Spirit Feet performed their signature heel click of acknowledgment before splitting off from the chest piece. They ran towards the left, while the Spirit Hands floated away to the right, the chest piece held aloft like a trophy.

    "Split up!" The humans shouted.

    Alwin could hear the footsteps begin to diverge and knew that the first stages of their plan were beginning to take root. Uchronia was at the edge of the bush, peering out into danger, utilizing her natural green body as camouflage. She chanted an incantation, her eyes peeled following the last straggler of the group.

    When she was certain that the remainder of the group was out of earshot, she leaped into action. That incantation had been for two techniques: Slow and Spirit Hands. Two pairs of Spirit Hands to be exact.

    The straggler was a young boy in a suit of metal armor, eighteen if Alwin had to guess¡ªwhich he did have to because the guy wasn''t running around shouting his age like a lunatic. She slapped the stragglers face with her tail, casting Slow on him. The boy barely had time to react, and with the additional Slow on him, he was practically wading through molasses.

    Uchronia wrapped her tail around his mouth, muffling his screams. The Spirit Hands¡ªone hand on each limb¡ªdragged him back into the bushes where Alwin and Gus awaited. Alwin, taking initiative and wanting to have some fun, had already begun preparing a three-course meal for the boy. Gus helped to prepare the diner for his last meal, swallowing chunks out of the metal armor, and exposing his fleshy body to the elements.

    This was a special meal for a special boy. So special in fact that he didn''t even have to use his own arms to enjoy the meal. All four of his limbs were held down by the Spirit Hands and each time he mustered the strength to move them, Gus the impromptu enforcer, would deliver a Static Pounce to shock the lad into submission. It would''ve been such a waste if he didn''t enjoy the meal the way it was truly intended to be appreciated.

    First up, is the appetizer. Alwin served up a delicious Spirit Blast, straight to the man''s stomach, to help whet his appetite. Without any armor or defensive skills active, the skill must''ve really packed a punch. The man let out a scream that was muffled by Uchronia. After such a wonderful appetizer the man must''ve been screaming for more.

    For the main course, a healthy serving of Spirit Scatter Blast. The secret to such a mouth-watering dish was the tiny Spirit Blasts nestled inside each one delivering an extra kick. Each shot caused the boy to let out another muffled scream. With that many screams, it was obvious that the boy was enjoying such a delectable dish.

    Lastly, for dessert. A tantalizing Spirit Burst Blast to complete the meal and his life. The Spirit Burst Blast sailed toward the boy, and Uchronia and Gus moved out of the way. The blast was only meant for the boy after all. It would''ve soured the mood if anyone else were to get in the way of his final meal. The blast exploded sending waves of mana over him. His insides had become his outsides as innards spilled out of the hole in his stomach.

    Truly a meal to die for by the one the only master chef Alwin.

 Chapter 39: Plan Is Still Working

    "Couldn''t you use a quieter spell?" Uchronia whispered.

    "It''s my best skill, plus it''s fast," Alwin retorted, pointing at the hole in the dead boy''s chest.

    "You better hope that the humans didn''t hear that or we''ll throw you to them while we escape."

    "Whatever," Alwin rolled his eyes at her, which in turn earned him a scoff as if she was saying ''you think this is funny?''

    Why did she have to be so mean? Alwin was trying his best with the tools he''d been given. The Spirit Burst Blast had finished off the boy before his Spirit Feet or Spirit Hands had even made a lap around them. It was perfect. If he''d used something weaker the boy could''ve escaped and they''d have a fight on their hands which would be significantly worse than a tiny explosion that only they would hear. Plus the only human who would''ve heard the explosion would''ve died by it. It was beyond perfect! Too bad Uchronia didn''t see it that way.

    Per her instructions, Gus had already begun absorbing his essence. The plan revolved all around Gus. She was betting everything on that Core Skill of his. If he could absorb enough essence and consequently enough skills, it might be enough to get rid of the remaining humans whenever this stage of the plan eventually fell apart.

    If one person went missing they probably wouldn''t notice, same for two or three. But, when more and more people seemingly disappeared without a trace they would start to get suspicious. They might even pause their pursuit and investigate. That''s assuming they haven''t caught the decoys yet. Hopefully, they''d stall the humans for as long as possible.

    The glow that enveloped Gus started to dissipate, he had completed absorbing all of the essence of the poor kid. That''s what happens when you''re weak. And right now, the three of them were weak. They were doing everything and anything to avoid a similar fate at the hands of those humans.

    "Show us your status Gus," said Uchronia.

    "Okay!" Gus smiled.

    Name: Gelosus

    Species: Furball

    Core Skill: Devour (F)

    Skills: Static Pounce (D), Spirit Hands (E), Spirit Barrier (A), Spirit Blast (F), Spirit Shield (A), Lightning Legs (F), Strong Slash(F), Copper Body (F)

    Evolution: 17/100

    It''s a pity that all the new skills are F-ranked and that Gus lacked practice using them. Strong Slash was the move that the blue-furred armor man used against them, so that was the skill that Gus devoured. Copper Body was also the move that the very first human Alwin fought used against him. Maybe it''s a basic skill that most humans learn. Something like how Milvus mentioned that Spirit Hands, Spirit Blast, and Spirit Barrier were all prerequisites to even think about participating in the entrance exams of the academy.

    "Okay, good. That''s three new skills, but¡ª" Uchronia clicked her tongue "¡ªStrong Slash is useless when you''ve got nothing to slash with."

    "What if he slashes using the bags that Milvus gave us?" asked Alwin.

    Uchronia gave him a look that Alwin could only describe as ''Are you stupid?''

    "I''m just going to ignore what you said. Okay, so we keep doing this until the humans notice, when they finally notice we go all out on the offensive. We do everything to support Gus. He''ll use all of his new skills to overwhelm the enemy and use his Core Skill to eat through their armor. Got it?"

    "Do I have to? Can''t Alwin do it?" whined Gus.

    "Yeah, can''t I do it?"

    "No. Gus just keep attacking them. Eat their armor first then finish them off while they''re defenseless. No need to worry about defending us, just pretend like we''re not even there. And, Alwin." There was a strong emphasis on Alwin there. "You throw out as many attacks as you can to distract the humans. Split their attention so they either have to worry about you or worry about Gus. I''ll be going out and casting Slow on as many humans as I can. Got it?"

    "So you''re saying I still get to attack?" asked Alwin.

    "Yes," she sighed.

    "Then, I''m in!"

    "You were always in whether you liked it or not." She shook her head and let out another sigh. "What about you Gus? You okay?"

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    "I guess. Their armor is all bitter and gross. I don''t really want to do it."

    "Me and Alwin will give you our packed lunches when this is all over. Ok?"

    "Then, I''m in!"

    "Like I said, both of you were always in whether you liked it or not." She shook her head again. "They''re making another round. Get ready."

    The familiar sound of attacks whizzing past and the shouts of approaching humans signaled them to get into position. The ground seemed to vibrate with the rhythm of their footsteps. Uchronia began her incantation, while Alwin started preparing a delicious final meal for the humans¡ªan assortment of Spirit Blasts.

    This time the straggler was a girl roughly the same age as the boy from earlier. Like him, she was donned in a suit of metal armor. Unlike the previous boy, who was weaponless, she wielded a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left. Uchronia had to be extra careful with this one. The girl was closer to the main group, and any wrong move could alert the others.

    Uchronia cast Slow on her and wrapped her tail around her mouth. Between all of their screaming and stomping, the rest of the humans didn''t realize that another one of their own had been taken. The girl wrestled and squirmed trying to break free from the grasp of the Spirit Hands, but to no avail. She couldn''t get any leverage with her sword and shield with all of the limbs restraining her.

    Gus yanked the sword and shield out of her hands. There was a look on his face that after many weeks spending time with him, Alwin knew what it meant. He was debating whether he should nibble on the sword and shield. Past experiences taught him that weapons and armor had always tasted horrible but this might be the time when they finally tasted yummy for once. Alwin, just like Uchronia, shook his head at the sight.

    "Get in there Gus!" shouted Alwin.

    Gus dropped the sword and shield on the ground and hopped on over, his tongue hanging out as if he had just eaten the world''s bitterest cough medicine. Alwin could see the small nibble marks on the sword and shield and already knew what Gus had just done. He opened his mouth wide and prepared to strike the girl. It was like a shark ready to take a bite out of their prey. But he had the teeth of a bunny, the cuteness of a rabbit, and the fluffiness of a teddy bear.

    Within seconds the metallic covering was removed, exposing her pale stomach for the world to see. Gus spat out chunks of metal, gagging sounds accompanying the clinks of armor hitting the ground.

    "So yucky..." he whimpered.

    "Alwin." Uchronia looked at him, to which he responded with a curt nod.

    One Spirit Blast three-course meal later, and Gus was over her body, both of them surrounded by a bright glow. When that glow finally subsided, Gus muttered one word, "Weird..."

    "What''s weird?" asked Uchronia. She was being extra jumpy, no doubt because if that weirdness was Gus not being able to absorb a new skill then the whole plan would effectively be shot.

    "I didn''t get a new skill this time."

    "Crap."

    That was bad. As much as Alwin wanted to be the one to save the day and have the whole plan revolve around him, he knew that Gus was their best bet for getting rid of those humans. With the plan thrown out the window, they''d have to come up with a new idea¡ªby they, Alwin meant Uchronia. It was that or leave the village alone and hope lady luck graces the Maple and the others. There was an off chance it might happen, but if that didn''t happen, maybe gentleman misfortune would grace those two young masters and their entourage. Either way would be good.

    "You sure you didn''t get a new skill? Maybe you were distracted and didn''t notice," said Uchronia. It was clear she was grasping at straws.

    "Nope. No new skill. But one of my skills did get upgraded."

    "Which one?"

    "Strong Slash. It''s E-rank now."

    Uchronia let out a breath along with all the worries that had been building up the moment Gus mentioned he didn''t get a new skill. Without worry, there left more room for rage to take over. "I want to kill you. Don''t scare me like that."

    "But, I was just saying what happened and that it was weird. I didn''t expect it. You didn''t expect it. So, don''t blame me."

    Uchronia was gritting her teeth and doing her best impression of a tomato¡ªher face was red with rage¡ª before the color disappeared and she muttered out, "Fine. I''m sorry."

    So Gus can absorb their skills and if he doesn''t get a new skill he gets an upgrade? Talk about an amazing Core Skill. It was becoming repetitive but Alwin still couldn''t help but lament that Gus'' Devour was infinitely more useful than his own Devolution. A skill that he still had no idea how it worked. It was worse than dead weight. Deader weight, if that made sense. It didn''t but who cares? This was Alwin''s brain and his narration, so deal with it while he dealt with the feeling of uselessness washing over him like a soft acid rainfall.

    After a few minutes of wallowing in self-pity, Alwin pulled himself up by his metaphorical bootstraps and prepared another special surprise for the next human that Uchronia had grabbed. This dish was served with all of the hatred and jealousy that had been building up ever since he realized how lucky Gus was. That feeling was made worse by the fact that he played a part in intentionally powering the guy up. He was being served skills and skill upgrades on a silver platter and all he did was munch on muffins or complain that the armor was ''bitter''. It''s a piece of metal of course it wasn''t going to taste like a gourmet meal.

    Alwin carried out his tasks as dutifully as he could. Each Spirit Blast filled with more anger and jealousy than the last as he watched Gus reap the rewards without barely needing to lift a finger.

    Meanwhile, Uchronia was trying her best to not get caught whenever she pulled a human away from the group, while Alwin was wasting his mana dealing with the human without even seeing a lick of benefit. Not even a simple ''Thanks Alwin''.

    If only Gus wasn''t so loveable then there''d definitely be more resentment involved. Why couldn''t Gus act more jerkish? At least Alwin would feel more justified in being jealous and hateful towards him, but right now Alwin was the one being a jerk.

    Just as he was done dealing with another human, Alwin felt a sharp pain in his head. Something had happened to the Spirit Feet.

 Chapter 40: Jealousy

    The mental connection with his Spirit Feet had been severed. The last lingering words that traveled through the broken connection were, "I''m sorry master..."

    It could only mean one thing: they were dead. Alwin was furious, even more furious than he had been about his and Gus'' predicament¡ªnamely how lucky Gus was and how he wasn''t. At least now, whenever he directed his fury to whatever human was leaf tail gagged and helplessly dragged to be executed was somewhat justifiable, rather than a tamper tantrum.

    He had to tell Uchronia about the fate of the Spirit Feet and how their plan was going to be sped up, but more importantly, he had to tell the Spirit Hands.

    Through the mental connection he had he whispered to the hands, "The feet... they''re gone."

    What came back was a mix of slurs, insults, and threats. At the end of their rage came a simple and sorrowful, "What sort of parent sends their child to their death."

    Those words stung. It affected Alwin more than it should''ve. They were just Spirit Feet, they could be summoned again. They weren''t really dead, were they? That didn''t matter right now. It definitely wasn''t him just procrastinating on the problem hoping that it would magically solve itself if he left it alone long enough. Nope. Definitely not that.

    "Uchronia..."

    "Yeah?"

    "The feet are... gone"

    "Crap." She paused to think, hopping around in circles. "What about your hands? Are they still up and running?"

    "They are."

    "When they''re gone, tell me immediately. No dawdling or daydreaming, especially daydreaming. And Gus."

    "Yea, Uchronia?" He had just finished absorbing the essence of another human and hopped off his body.

    "I want you to try and use your new skills. But discreetly. Do that and you''ll be one step closer to getting our lunches."

    "You had me at lunches."

    Gus proceeded to test out the new skills he''d learnt while taking the utmost care to ensure no human noticed. It was a tough challenge¡ª considering that he had to voice out the name of the skill to use it and the fact that some of the skills were flashier than others¡ªbut not an impossible one.

    During their downtime, Alwin and Uchronia, watched Gus perform the techniques while also keeping an ear out for any shouting so that they could ask Gus to immediately ''shut up'' as Uchronia put it.

    Lightning and Gus zipped about as he practiced the Lightning Legs technique. The fact that Gus had no legs, but he could pull off the technique still amazed Alwin¡ªafter the jealousy had subsided of course.

    When Gus activated the Copper Body technique, he and Alwin exchanged confused glances. Gus''s fur still looked as soft and fluffy as a teddy bear. They waited for the expected metallic sheen of copper but it never arrived. Instead, Gus still looked like a cuddly Furball, leaving them both wondering if he had somehow messed up the spell.

    Uchronia hypothesized that Gus'' layer of fur hid the transformation and that his actual body, not the furry exterior, had already hardened. Using her Spirit Hands she tried to part his fur, but no matter how much her fingers pulled and tugged the hairs apart, Gus'' coat held firm, as if they had been turned into metal. Then it hit Alwin harder than one of Uchronia''s slaps.

    Gus had reddish-brown fur, and you know what else was reddish-brown? Copper. The skill had worked, but they just hadn''t realized it. Gus'' entire body, including his fur had hardened, as if they had been turned into copper. Once the mystery had been solved, Gus couldn''t help but test out how hard he was. He hopped up to a tree and started pounding it. Tackling it non-stop, doing his best to penetrate the hard wooden exterior. Each time he collided with the tree he grunted in exertion, hoping to bring the tree down to its figurative knees.

    With one final pound, Gus put in his all. He reached a crescendo, a peak, a high note, a climax. The tree stood tall as if it hadn''t registered that someone was trying to enter it. Gus was too small and weak. All that he accomplished was a wasted one minute, and an additional three minutes to catch his breath. On the plus side, he wasn''t hurt in the slightest. But Alwin suspected his pride had been bruised.

    Strong Slash was another beast that they had to tackle. Whenever he activated the technique, nothing happened, and this wasn''t just like when Gus was trying out Copper Body. Each time he attempted it, Gus described the feeling as a form of rejection. As if the mana had nowhere to go and simply refused to flow out of his Core.

    It was pretty quick to figure out a solution. Gus wasn''t blessed¡ªthank Cor¡ªwith the means to slash at things naturally. Meaning he needed a sword to actually perform the technique. Thankfully, there was a generous donation of blades littered around the bush they took shelter in. Although, they weren''t in perfect shape¡ªnibble marks marred various parts of the sword. Some were on the handle, while some were on the blade itself¡ª no thanks to a certain someone with an amazing ability.

    Uchronia tossed, Gus a sword, that a human had just ''donated''. She gave him firm instructions to NOT eat it, to which he nodded, albeit with a frown and the widest eyes that were basically begging her to change her mind. Unfortunately for him, she held firm on her stance.

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    As the name implied, Strong Slash enabled the user to slash strongly¡ªhow descriptive. (You may now perform Uchronia''s special eye roll reserved for comments like this.) Gus held the blade in his mouth, instead of getting out a pair of Spirit Hands, for some reason. It was awkward to wield, and the weight threatened to topple him over, but still, he persevered.

    The first human that they had seen performed Strong Slash, by performing a downward blow. Given the ''logistical'' issues that plagued Gus¡ªhe could only hold the blade sideways in his mouth¡ªhis version of Strong Slash involved him swinging his head, which was also his whole body, as hard as he could. Now one might wonder why a simple sword slash could be classified as a technique. The key difference between a regular slash and this supposed ''Strong Slash'' was mana. What a shocker, who could''ve guessed? It''s not like there was a paragraph detailing that Gus had issues forcing his mana out of his Core whenever he attempted the skill.

    Alwin, the curious slime that he was, wanted to see the difference between a regular slash and a Strong Slash. The differences were astounding, to Alwin at least. A regular slash was pretty useless, especially in Gus'' case. When he swung his whole body and sword against the tree that he had attempted to penetrate earlier, the sword bounced off as if wood was somehow stronger than iron¡ªor whatever metal the blade was made of. Alwin wasn''t a metal expert. The vibrations traveled up the sword and into Gus causing him to bounce and shiver as if he was caught in a snowstorm without his pants. But when he executed Strong Slash, a thin layer of mana¡ªreddish-brown in Gus'' case¡ªcoated the sword. This time the blade managed to dig into the wood, sending splinters flying everywhere. The cut wasn''t deep, about half a sword''s length at most¡ªthe short side, not the long side¡ªbut the results were quite clear. It was night and day, fire and water, summer and winter, fun and boring, plus a million other things to signify a drastic difference that Alwin couldn''t bother to come up with to keep the gag up.

    That left one last new skill that Gus had picked up: Fur Quills. When activated Gus'' fur stood up at attention¡ªa bit like when he used Static Pounce except without the crackles of electricity. It seemed useless. Maybe he could ward off the humans by doing his best porcupine impression?

    Then Gus sneezed. His furred quills shot out in all directions. Alwin and Uchronia dove to the ground, avoiding the incoming projectiles. The quills were stuck everywhere. In the ground. In the bushes. In that tree that Gus wanted to penetrate with his body. And last but not least, in Alwin and Uchronia. It took all Uchronia''s willpower to not scream in pain as a layer of fur quills coated her body. Unfortunately, Alwin didn''t have as much willpower as Uchronia. He let out a yell of pain, that was immediately muffled by Uchronia''s tail.

    Her face was red with rage, and she couldn''t tell who to be angry with. Gus for attacking them or Alwin for nearly launching a sonic beacon¡ªhis screams¡ªthat the humans could hone in on. That rage was promptly quelled as a storm of humans came charging their way. The trio held their breath, even Alwin, who wanted nothing more than to scream in pain, but the fear of getting caught supplemented his lack of willpower enabling him to suppress the urge to let it rip.

    Thankfully, it was just the routine attacking, roaring, and stomps of humans chasing after the decoy¡ªgauntlet-wearing Spirit Hands carrying an empty chest piece. The sound of their thundering footsteps receded slowly before fading into the distance. The three let out a breath and Alwin finally continued his screams into Uchronia''s leaf tail.

    They spent the next couple of minutes picking out quills from their bodies, but not before Uchronia gave him a verbal whooping. Yelling and shouting at him as loud as she dared to¡ªin this case, it was whisper volume¡ªbut the tone and choice of words indicated to both of them that if she could scold as loud as she could she''d be screaming her ears off. After all of the quills were successfully extracted, they chowed down on a Small Healing Pill to get rid of any damage that had been inflicted on them. Too bad it did nothing for the emotional damage of being shot at by a friend and then being scolded by another friend for wanting to scream in pain. It was a natural response, but too bad for Alwin, Uchronia didn''t see it that way. Apparently, in her eyes, Gus'' actions were an accident and could be excused, but he should''ve controlled his screams or at the very least try to minimize the sound he''d make by covering his mouth. When Alwin tried to defend himself, saying that it was a spur-of-the-moment thing and that he had nothing to use. She retaliated by claiming that he could''ve dug his face into one of their bags.

    Gus continued to practice his new array of skills, taking note to not accidentally shoot out any more quills. Every once in a while he''d take a break to absorb the essence of whatever human fell into their trap, then immediately go back to testing out his new skills. Surprisingly enough, he gained no new skills, but his current skills did get an upgrade. If only Alwin could get new skills and have their masteries increased with such ease.

    Other than jealousy there was one other emotion that Alwin was feeling: boredom. But how could he be bored when his life and the villagers'' lives were hanging in the balance? It was simple. Alwin was a simple-minded fool. Sure, the beginning of this plan filled him with anxiety and doubt, but after the sixth round of humans storming past them, his fears began to fade and his anxieties morphed into boredom. Of course, when there''s boredom comes everyone''s favorite: daydreaming.

    And that''s what Alwin was doing. Fantasizing about how if he was the one with the Devour skill he''d be in Gus'' shoes enjoying all the free skills and upgrades. He''d be zipping around with Lightning Legs, chopping trees with Strong Slash, hardening himself and his fur with Copper Body, and shooting out said fur with Fur Quills. Wait, a minute. An imaginary lightbulb had appeared above his head and it was shining brightly.

    He could combine the skills together! Harden his fur with Copper Body, then shoot them out. It was a genius idea, only possible for a genius like him. Too bad he wasn''t the one with those skills, but that didn''t mean he had to be a jerk and not tell Gus about his amazing idea.

    "Hey, Gus. I have an idea."

    "What is it?" The lightning around his body faded, as he stopped using Lightning Legs.

    "Its¡ª"

    The thundering footsteps put a stop to his impartation of knowledge as they dove for cover in the bushes. Uchronia was already preparing the incantation for Slow as they waited for the humans to pass by. The thunderous roar of footsteps ceased and it wasn''t because the humans were far away enough that they couldn''t be heard. It was far worse.

    "Finally caught that stupid monster. The young masters will be pleased."

    This was bad.

    Alwin ruffled himself through the bushes, trying to get a vantage point that wasn''t covered by leaves. In the hands of Gu Jia, were his Spirit Hands still clutching the leather armor. Their final words through that mental connection of theirs were, "Good luck master."

    Gu Jia skewered them using Rib Spire Stab. Fourteen bones that extended out from his bone ribcage armor pierced the gauntlets and the leather chest piece. The mist of particles dispersed in the air as the Spirit Hands vanished, their job completed.

    Crap.

 Chapter 41: Bone Man

    "Brother Gu Jia, we have the other half of the monster," said a woman, holding up a pair of boots.

    "Very good. The young masters will be happy once we hand over the core of the monster that dared to parade inside Brother Lei Mao''s armor," said Gu Jia.

    He grabbed the pair of leather boots passed to him by one of the humans along with the chest piece and gauntlets that he had just skewered. "That''s weird..." he mumbled, staring at the various pieces of armor in his hand, eyebrows furrowed as if he was pondering a question¡ªas said many times Alwin wasn''t a mind reader.

    After several moments he began shaking the items violently, as if the small rattling noises that they produced would somehow yield the answers he was looking for. The humans shared a look with each other, a quick glance, wondering what their ''esteemed'' brother Gu Jia was doing with the remnants of Lei Mao''s armor.

    "What are you doing, brother Gu Jia?" one of the humans finally spoke up.

    "What does it look like I''m doing? I''m searching for the monster core. Monster cores don''t just disappear. If we don''t bring evidence that we''ve eliminated the monsters that dared to defile the young masters, we might be the ones to disappear."

    The humans began murmuring amongst themselves, many of them discussing the possibility of failure and the consequences of such an outcome. Some of the more pragmatic individuals began discussing the type of monster that had inhabited Lei Mao''s armor. Monster species such as Scrap Shellers, Rust Snake, Scavenger Golem, and Armor Spirit were tossed around in the conversation. Gu Jia''s patience was wearing thin as none of them could come to an agreement about what monster they had spent the last hour chasing after.

    "Silence!" he shouted, causing the humans to cease their incessant jabbering and Alwin to flinch, nearly exposing himself to them.

    He addressed the group, "Where is the new guy? The monster researcher that the young masters recently... coerced into their service? Where is she?"

    The humans swiveled their heads around, looking for their new monster researcher who would enlighten them about their predicament. Whispers of confusion and unease spread through the group as they searched. But, no matter how much they looked around or even whispered to each other, they couldn''t find the aforementioned person.

    "Oh for goodness sake. Monster researcher, hello? I forgot your name, but your senior is calling out to you," he said, snapping his fingers.

    Silence.

    "Last chance, monster researcher. If not when the young masters catch wind of this, you''ll sorely regret it."

    The forest fell into another round of silence, thick and heavy as if even the trees were holding their breath. The only sounds breaking the stillness were the occasional coughs and throat clearings from the humans, awkward attempts to dispel the tension hanging in the air.

    "Brother Gu Jia," one of the humans called out.

    "What?" he snapped.

    "I don''t think the monster researcher is here."

    "And you know this how?"

    "Well, brother, um, for some reason about half of our forces are... missing."

    Gu Jia looked at the remainder of his brothers and sisters with a dumbfounded expression plastered across his face. He shook his head as if saying ''This can''t be right''. Multiple headcounts were conducted, yet the results were always the same. Just to be sure, he even used his fingers to keep count. Ten were the number of fingers humans had and that was all that he needed to conduct the head count. The numbers didn''t lie. Only half of them remained.

    Uchronia snickered beside Alwin, her plan had worked, they were too distracted chasing after the armor for the sake of their young masters¡ªin actuality, it was for their own sakes of not being punished¡ªthat they hadn''t noticed their numbers dwindling. Alwin shook his head. Sure, he was grateful for her plan and her expert kidnapping abilities, but that meant she''d slowly start transitioning back into her old ways of being a cruel dictator ordering Alwin and Gus around.

    The incident during the trial had softened her up and she had been progressing, albeit at a pace slower than molasses, but at least it was something. This development might undo all of the progress she had made.

    "How am I going to explain this to the young masters? Shit." He punched a tree causing the birds that were perched atop its branches to flee the scene in fright.

    "Brothers, the monster that disrespected the young masters couldn''t have gone far. Fan out and search the area. If you find any monster, kill it. Worst comes to worst, we kill a monster and present its core to the young masters. I doubt they''d be able to tell the difference, and if they do, I, Gu Jia, shall take responsibility."

    This was it. This was the moment that the trio had been preparing for. They had simultaneously whittled down their numbers to a more manageable size while empowering themselves¡ªit was just Gus. The odds had been stacked against them, but they had somehow managed to even it out. Though they weren''t on even footing, not even close¡ªthere were ten humans but only three of them, and most of the humans had armor and weapons crafted out of the remains of monsters giving them a substantial boost in their capabilities¡ªit was better than the insurmountable chasm they faced in the beginning.

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    Even throughout the scene where Gu Jia was looking for the monster core, then for the monster researcher, then for the remainder of his forces, they had still been preparing. Uchronia had the genius idea of giving Gus one more task: to eat their lunches. It was supposed to be his reward for after they''d dealt with them, but giving it to him now was the best scenario. Extra motivation as she put it, and by golly did it work. She even managed to get the Furball to chomp silently instead of the usual munching and smacking that accompanied his mealtimes. All in preparation for getting their trump card in tip-top shape. Alwin still wanted to be the one with the Devour skill, but he knew that this obsession would probably blow over soon enough when he got distracted by the next shiny thing that entered his mind.

    Gus wasn''t the only one who improved. Alwin had also been working on his new skill: the art of multitasking. While he daydreamed about what he would do with the Devour skill, he had been following Uchronia''s orders: delivering his Spirit Blasts to the hungry humans. He was even practicing the skill right now.

    As he delivered his internal monologue, he had been listening to Uchronia and following her instructions to the letter, all while watching the scene between the humans unfold. It was a four-for-one special, or however you wanted to count it. As a beginner on the path of multitasking, Alwin''s skills were lacking. He was already stretched thin and didn''t have enough mental capacity to include math. That was probably why the scene that had played out between the humans earlier felt lacking¡ªboring even.

    The plan was still the same, roughly the same, but it was same enough in Alwin''s eyes to be called the same. Like how ''99.9'' and ''99.99'' were same-ish enough to be the same. Alwin didn''t know where he was going with this¡ªstretched thin remember¡ªbut basically, the plan had only slightly changed.

    Okay, he really had to work on his multitasking ability. That paragraph was such a waste of space and time, he only needed that last sentence to convey its meaning instead of rambling. Now to spare any more pointless thoughts, he was going to describe who was going to do what.

    First up, was Gus. The star of the show. Using his array of new abilities he was going to be the monster in charge of offense. He''d run in and start wreaking havoc on the humans, using any and all skills especially that Devour ability to render them useless. Oh no, Alwin could feel a rambling incoming.

    If the humans wore armor made out of monster parts, and if Gus ate the armor would that mean Gus was a cannibal? But they were different species so was it not considered cannibalizing? Although Alwin felt like he had asked this question before, in what felt like XX days ago. Okay, enough getting distracted back to work!

    Uchronia was going to go in and help support Gus. Meaning she was going to hop around as fast as she could applying Slows to all of the humans and then reapplying it whenever the effect ran out. Although she was gracious enough to cast Haste on him and Gus right before the fight, but once that runs out it''s good luck to the both of them¡ªthat was how she put it. Alwin couldn''t tell if she was being snarky or genuinely wishing them the best of luck. With Uchronia it could go either way.

    The final critical piece of her plan depended entirely on Alwin. It felt good to be relied on but now wasn''t the time to get distracted!

    Just like how he thought about combining Copper Body and Fur Quill, Alwin was full of other genius ideas. But before Alwin delved into his genius here''s how his brilliant plan had manifested itself within his mind.

    Throughout their observations of that short scene with the humans earlier, Uchronia had noted that Gu Jia was the one in charge, the head honcho, the big cheese¡ªapart from the young masters, obviously. Take him out and the humans would crumble. The only issue was that he was way over yonder while they were here, separated by a group of humans all itching to sink their terrible human teeth into any monster in sight.

    Then just like a piece of toast that was ready¡ªthe light brown and perfectly crisp skin¡ªAlwin''s ingenious plan came popping out of his mind. Within the cover of the thick foliage that they had sought shelter in, Alwin lined up five pairs of Spirit Hands. Of course, that came with a weird look from Uchronia followed immediately by a light scolding. But, no! This was the plan. The hands would launch all of them at Gu Jia before the humans could react. An eco-friendly railgun. Just without the electricity and not even close to matching the speeds of an actual railgun, but that''s life.

    Even Uchronia could sense his genius for once. It was totally not because she was desperate and would take any decent idea that came her way. Nope, it was because Alwin was a genius.

    Now to the audience that lived within Alwin''s mind, he bet that there were two burning questions that were eating away at them. He could tell because he could feel a part of his brain on fire, hence the ''burning''. They were: how did he summon the Spirit Hands without shouting and thus notifying the humans, and what happened to the Spirit Hands that had ''died'' by Gu Jia''s hand?

    The first question was simple enough to answer. He just shouted into his bag, with Uchronia pressing it against his face as hard as she could. It was her idea after all, although Alwin bet that she didn''t expect it to be used in this scenario.

    The answer to the second question was a bit complex, but let the genius Alwin simplify it for everyone. When the Spirit Hands were summoned the first pair that Alwin had conjured came up to him and threw a smorgasbord of vulgarities, slurs, and the occasional rude gesture. Of course, this was all done in sign language. After they had calmed down they explained that their deaths were greatly exaggerated. They still died, but when Alwin casted the spell again they simply came back to life. When he tried to argue back that he didn''t see the problem and why did they try to guilt trip him over ''sending the Spirit Feet to their deaths'', they responded with a menagerie of obscene gestures and ended it with a ''just because we can come back to life doesn''t mean it doesn''t hurt!'' and an extra ''The feet are probably traumatized! They''re still young!"

    Fine. He had to admit it. Their logic was sound. But, the Spirit Hands were a manifestation of himself, so if their logic wasn''t sound that means none of his logic would be sound¡ª or was that some crazy strawman argument that he came up with? So, thus concludes the Q&A session. Also, if the second question was easy enough to understand, then you can thank the genius that was Alwin. Also, after they''d dealt with the humans and had finally evolved, he was going straight to the library to find a synonym for genius because it wasn''t very genius of him to keep repeating the word.

    Enough internal monologuing, now was the time for action. The humans were just about to fan out, and being concentrated in a group like that was just what Uchronia wanted. Okay, maybe one last monologue, a quick one to explain just one thing. During the whole internal dialogue, about five seconds had passed since Gu Jia ordered the humans to disperse and search for them.

    Uchronia nodded, giving Alwin the signal. The Spirit Hands grabbed her and all Alwin had to do was issue the command to throw her.

 Chapter 42: Still On Bone Man

    Uchronia nestled safely within the embrace of Alwin''s Spirit Hands started chanting an incantation. The Spirit Hands that were lined up in a straight row began tilting up like a cannon adjusting its aim. Their target: Gu Jia. The Spirit Hands signaled their readiness with a synchronized thumbs-up.

    Alwin issued the command and the first Spirit Hand began its windup, the arms pulling back. The other hands followed suit, mimicking the motion like a well-oiled machine. The momentum gained from the pullback was unleashed as the Spirit Hand released itself, sending Uchronia hurling forward. Then the second set of hands propelled her even faster, followed by the third, each one adding to her speed¡ªthink of it as setting in the ancient human sport of volleyball, except here there were a bunch of hands all setting in quick succession, building up large amounts of momentum.

    She was sent sailing over the crowd of humans. One of them looked up, pointing at the green figure soaring above them. "Is that a bird?"

    Another human, who was sporting a bow and arrow, answered. "No, it''s a monster, you numbskull. Incoming!"

    The humans drew out their weapons: spears, bows, maces, but mostly swords. While their eyes were fixed on the flying Uchronia, Alwin was already preparing for the second launch. The Spirit Hand cannon, altered its trajectory, aiming for right above the hoard of humans. Gus, secured within the grasp of the Spirit Hands, braced himself for the launch.

    "Gus, I want you to trust me."

    "But, I always trust you." He smiled¡ªoh Cor, he was so innocent. Alwin felt so bad for being jealous of his abilities, even if he never voiced out his displeasure.

    "Thanks! So, when you''re flying I want you to use Copper Body then Fur Quills immediately after. Copper Body has to be active when you use Fur Quills, got it?"

    "Yup. Let''s go!"

    The Spirit Hands flung Gus, each hand that he passed through building up more and more velocity as they threw him with all their might. The human hoard was so fixated on the projectile monster that was Uchronia, that they didn''t notice the other missile coming at them, not until it was too late.

    "Copper Body! Fur Quills!" Gus yelled out, drawing the attention of the humans.

    The humans, weapons drawn, followed Uchronia''s flight with their eyes, heads tilted upward at the sudden disturbance. From their vantage point, another threat emerged¡ªa monster launching an attack. Archers nocked arrows, drawing their bows to target the approaching figure. Meanwhile, those with melee weapons sprinted toward Gus''s predicted landing site, determined to confront him. Little did they know, they were rushing headlong into their demise.

    "Monster army!" one of them called out.

    The humans began roaring¡ªa battle cry¡ªto psych themselves up.

    Gus'' body and fur hardened, while his fur bristled into sharp, metallic spines. Now that Alwin got a better look at him, Gus reminded Alwin of a sea urchin, but with infinitely harder spines. When Gus was at the apex of his flight, he let loose a barrage of his Copper Quills, sending them flying everywhere, even upwards.

    The battle cries and war cries of the humans morphed into cries of horror and pain. Hundreds of tiny pieces of copper pierced through their armor and embedded themselves into their flesh. Those were the unlucky ones. The lucky ones with exposed faces had their eyes penetrated, driving the needle straight into their pink squishy brain, ending their lives in an instant.

    Alwin was disappointed. In an instant, Gus was able to cut down the human forces by half and injured half of them. He was supposed to support Gus by launching Spirit Blasts everywhere to distract the humans while he dealt with them, but it looked like that wouldn''t be necessary. The humans who were alive were still recoiling in pain. When he landed, all he had to do was repeat the two techniques again, and the human horde would''ve been dealt with.

    Alwin sighed, it was the best-case scenario, but he would''ve preferred to have a bigger role, instead of just the guy launching the main characters: Gus and Uchronia. Wait! If he was the guy launching the main characters, then if he launched himself he would be a main character. His logic was flawless.

    Alwin launched himself in the air with the Spirit Hands high-fiving each other before disappearing. A whoop escaped his lips as he sailed above the humans, giving him a bird''s eye view of the battlefield. Gus was still falling to the ground, screaming in fear since none of them planned out how to land. Gus would be fine. Probably. Copper Body should be able to protect him. Hopefully.

    If anything he could at least blame Uchronia for accepting such a half-baked plan on such short notice. Sure, it was his plan, but part of the blame was on her for giving it the green light. Speaking of Uchronia, where was she?

    Scouring the area, he spotted Uchronia about to land. Her landing spot? Gu Jia''s face. Even from a distance, Alwin could tell that she was upset. It was easy since that was the best impression of a tomato she''d done so far. Was she angry at Gu Jia? No, his gut¡ªand his past experiences being burned by her rage¡ªtold him it was something else. She was angry at Gus!

    Then it dawned on Alwin why she was mad. That Copper Body and Fur Quill combo nearly skewered her, but she must''ve been just slightly out of range. That was why Gu Jia was unscathed¡ªphysically at least. The man had his jaw dropped as low as it could go and was staring at his brothers and sisters¡ªwhat was left of them¡ªshrieking in pain.

    One full day passed and then a second dawn hit Alwin, and it was the realization that she was furious at him too¡ªpartially. Alwin got partial credit, for developing the strategy to begin with. Hopefully, she wouldn''t realize that Alwin played a part in almost accidentally killing her. Please, Gus, take all of the blame. Let sweet old Alwin have a break for once.

    Uchronia channeled all of that rage into a slap connecting squarely to Gu Jia''s temple. That slap dealt practically no damage, but it did have the extra benefit of casting Slow on him, unfortunately the drawback was that she slapped Gu Jia out of whatever stupor he was in. She rolled onto the ground already preparing another incantation. Gu Jia was already bringing his hands together about to cast a technique, albeit at a comically slow rate.

    Who was going to be the first to unleash their spell? Gu Jia or Uchronia. The answer was Alwin. A Spirit Blast dropped from the heavens right into Gu Jia, knocking him onto the ground. The sun shining high above Alwin''s head acted as a lightbulb, a bright idea birthed in his mind. The five pairs of Spirit Hands were summoned and lined up right in front of him, aiming straight for Gu Jia.

    When Alwin fell into the first pair of hands, they launched him. Each pair of hands that tossed him only served to increase his speed even further, coupled with gravity and Alwin was going so fast he was basically a blur. Darkness seeped out of his body, turning him into a black streak.

    "Dark Tackle!" Alwin yelled out.

    Gu Jia was sent flying back as Alwin smashed right into his stomach. The impact sent him flying backward until an unfortunate tree caught him. Too bad for Gu Jia, trees were horrible at catching things. A large dent was formed, in the place where the tree had caught him, giving it a permanent scar that would never go away. Unless trees could heal from that¡ªAlwin wasn''t an arborist.

    The bone armor cracked under the immense force, absorbing the impact until it shattered. Gu Jia staggered, the remnants of his protection disintegrating into fine white dust that settled across the forest floor. The only sign he had been wearing armor at all were the pale, powdery fragments scattered around him.

    As Gu Jia slowly got up¡ªemphasis on slowly since the effects of Slow were still active¡ªAlwin was vomiting the pitiful remains of food that were in his stomach. Throwing up twice was definitely not on Alwin''s bingo card for today.

    Uchronia was already hopping toward Gu Jia, finishing the last words of her incantation. "Alternate History!" she shouted. A flash of light surrounded the area and when it dissipated a second Uchronia was there. Instead of the usual Furball variant of Uchronia, this was another Leafling.

    Gu Jia had gotten up and seemed relatively unscathed¡ªcompared to his comrades at least. That bone armor of his seemed to have absorbed more damage than Alwin thought. Gu Jia''s movements, initially slow and lethargic, were becoming more fluid as the effects of the Slow spell began to fade, and he started moving at a normal pace.

    Both Uchronia''s and Gu Jia were in a fierce competition to see who could pull off their techniques first. Gu Jia was making a multitude of gestures with his hands, fingers twisting and weaving¡ªif this weren''t a battle to the death, Alwin would''ve thought that Gu Jia was trying to make shadow puppets with his hands¡ªeach gesture picked up in speed. The two Uchronias were both chanting different incantations, he recognized the original Uchronia''s chants were the verses to Slow, but he had no idea what the alternate Uchronia was preparing.

    Alwin had just finished heaving out his entire stomach, his throat and mouth stinging in pain. His eyes were tearing up¡ªthe sting from the bile burning him up. He took a shaky breath, needing a few more moments to steady himself and recover.

    Gu Jia was the first to finish his preparations, muttering out, "Forgive me."

    "Ossis Family Technique: Bone Harvest!"

    The bones in his left hand began to writhe and twist, protruding from his fingers. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he grabbed onto them with his right hand. With muscles straining, his scream echoed through the air as he yanked with all his might. The sound of bones cracking and skin tearing filled the forest. When the excruciating process finally ended, he stood panting, holding his own skeletal hand up to the elbow. His left hand was now a bloodied flap of skin.

    Alwin threw up for a third time after watching Gu Jia rip out the bones from his hand. Looks like his attack was super effective in slowing him down.

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    Gu Jia continued to weave out different gestures with his remaining hand. Blood from the remnants of his good hand dripped onto the floor, each drop spreading its red ink, the stains seeping into the dirt. Both of the Uchronias shared a mortified look with each other, but they remained steadfast, continuing their chants.

    "Ossis Family Technique: Skeletal Sword!"

    The bone in his hand twisted and contorted, fingers melded into a rough, organic hilt. The area where his palm would''ve been flatted and stretched themselves out forming the hilt of the blade. Finally, the two bones that made up his forearm drew together, fusing and extending it into a bone blade. The tip of the sword sharpened itself into an angular edge, pointed towards the two Uchronias.

    "Prepare to die you Monster Army scum!"

    The effects of Slow had finally worn off, allowing Gu Jia to run at them at normal speed. Even with the horrific injury on his left hand, he held that bone sword of his firmly in his grip, charging straight for them. The alternate Uchronia was the first to complete her spell, Grassy Shackles¡ªat least that was what Alwin thought he heard. With all the sounds he was making from dry heaving, it was hard to hear, but that didn''t mean he was going to miss out on watching the action unfold.

    She channeled her mana into the ground, the grass growing abnormally large and tall, shooting up in the blink of an eye. The large strands of green stretched forward toward Gu Jia''s legs, like hungry green serpents itching for a snack. The attack was too predictable.

    "Crimson Gold Sect''s Basic Sword Technique: Crimson Slash!"

    Crimson mana wrapped around Gu Jia''s bone blade. He performed a wide horizontal slash, cutting through the surging grass. With the path clear he charged forward to put an end to the two Uchronias. After that¡ªAlwin.

    Both Uchronia''s looked at each other and nodded. They charged forward towards Gu Jia before splitting off, surrounding him, one on his left and one on his right. The original Uchronia had finished her incantation, her tail glowing, ready to cast it on Gu Jia. All she had to do was land a hit on him.

    Gu Jia halted, eyes locked on the two Uchronias circling him. His breaths came in ragged gasps and from the trail of blood that made it look like he was painting the grass red, he needed medical attention¡ªstat.

    Once again, they nodded and leaped into action, simultaneously charging at him. Both of them shouting out their signature species attack: Thorny Leaf. A layer of thorns sprouted from their leaf tails. As they leaped through the air, they spun rapidly, building up momentum for a powerful strike aimed straight at Gu Jia.

    "Crimson Gold Sect''s Basic Sword Technique: Golden Sweep!"

    Golden mana coated his sword as he swung his bone blade. Using the flat of his weapon, he performed a horizontal sweep. He smacked the alternative Uchronia away, sending her sprawling onto the ground, the thorns on her tail disappearing. As the blade came inches away from the original she casted Haste on herself. Using that extra speed she used her tail to push against the flat side of the incoming blade, springboarding toward Gu Jia. Without any more obstructions she landed a tight slap upon his face, the impact stinging as thorns left scratches on his skin and inflicting Slow on him.

    This was the time to counterattack! The alternate Uchronia was already up and racing toward Gu Jia, while the original Uchronia was still attacking him. They both swiped away using Thorny Leaf, but they weren''t strong enough to deal the final blow. Uchronia did spend her time focusing on support techniques, it''s no wonder she wasn''t strong enough to defeat him on her own, even if there was another version of herself helping her. From the looks of it, that alternate Uchronia focused on support techniques as well but branched out into a different area, one that focused more on plant-based techniques.

    Since they couldn''t defeat him on their own and Gus was still handling the last remaining humans¡ªassuming that he survived the fall which he most likely did¡ªnow was Alwin''s time to shine. Using the Spirit Hands, he launched himself into the air high above Gu Jia.

    "Move out of the way!" Alwin yelled.

    The two Uchronias looked up and saw their savior, their guardian angel¡ªAlwin. But to Gu Jia, this Dark Slime would be his devil, personally bringing him down to the deepest depths of hell. The Uchronias jumped out of the way leaving Gu Jia wide open.

    Now Alwin was about to rain hellfire¡ªit was actually just a bunch of different types of Spirit Blasts¡ªupon the despicable human. Within his core, his mental tools were moving like a well-oiled machine, a seasoned factory pumping out different types of Spirit Blasts: regular ones, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts. Spirit Blasts came down onto Gu Jia¡ªnow unless he had some trick up his sleeve that human was as good as that.

    "Crimson Gold Sect''s Basic Sword Technique: Crimson Golden Whirlwind Sweep!" he roared.

    Crap. Did he jinx himself? That was bad.

    Crimson and gold colored mana spiraled around his blade. Like a ballerina, he began to spin on his feet, unlike a ballerina he was generating a whirlwind of air around him. The flat side of the blade pushed the air around him, creating a column of wind, coated in the same Crimson Gold color, that acted as a barrier. Even with Slow active, he was still able to generate enough speed to pull this off, imagine how strong the technique would be if he was operating at a hundred percent.

    The Spirit Blasts struck the vortex, unable to penetrate it. Still that didn''t mean Alwin was going to give up. Eventually, Gu Jia would tire and one of them would get through. Thus, Alwin continued to launch Spirit Blasts at him. Even though this was a do-or-die situation Alwin couldn''t help but play a little game inside his head, nothing serious. He wanted to see if he could kill Gu Jia before he landed. Alwin''s output increased, launching Spirit Blasts as fast as possible.

    The Spirit Blasts smashed into the wind barrier, dissipating. The Spirit Scatter Blasts collided with the barrier, the outer casing broke apart to reveal dozens of mini Spirit Blasts, each one of them crashing into the barrier only to be reduced to magic particles. The Spirit Burst Blasts exploded upon contact, raw mana being whipped up in the whirlwind only to evaporate moments after.

    Remember how Alwin said ''Imagine how strong the technique would be if he was operating at a hundred percent'', well you''re still going to have to because Gu Jia still had an arm missing. But, what you didn''t have to imagine is how the technique would look like when he was operating at seventy-five percent. The effects of Slow were waning, and it was obvious. Gu Jia started spinning faster the area of the whirlwind gradually widened until it was one and a half times larger. There wasn''t much difference other than the fact that his Spirit Blasts were getting destroyed quicker since they had to travel a shorter distance before hitting the barrier of wind.

    There was also another problem. Alwin in his bid to destroy Gu Jia before landing made a fatal mistake¡ªhe used up all of his mana. Between all the Spirit Hands he had used earlier and all of the different types of Spirit Blasts he was launching out as fast as possible, he had drained most of his mana. Peering within his core, that once swirling nebula of pure mana was but a drop in the well¡ªquite literally as there was only a drop of mana left inside.

    He began to feel the effects of mana exhaustion kick in. The drowsiness, the shortness of breath, the feeling like he was about to pass out any second. But, no he couldn''t pass out now. If he did there was a good chance he''d never wake up again¡ªcourtesy of Gu Jia. Alwin reached for his bag, hoping to replenish himself with a Small Mana Pill. There was one small issue. He didn''t have it with him. It probably fell when he launched himself into the air. Welp, he was screwed. This was the end. Maybe he should hold his breath and start counting to ten. Was that the delirium talking?

    Alwin hit the ground with a splat. Unsurprisingly, he was still alive¡ªbeing a slime meant that he was squishy, and being squishy meant that he could survive a fall from great heights. Gu Jia drained from his effort, collapsed to his knees, panting and drenched in sweat. His eyes bore into Alwin, and he knew that his end was near. Using his bone blade as a crutch, he pushed himself up and hobbled toward the collapsed monster.

    The two Uchronias had something to say about that¡ªthe names of their spells. The alternate Uchronia used Grassy Shackles, blades of grass in front of her stretched forward to subdue the exhausted Gu Jia. Even in his weakened state, he summoned his strength and slashed through the grass with his Crimson Slash technique. The severed blades of grass fell away, along with droplets of blood from his injured hand, and Gu Jia resumed his hobble toward Alwin.

    The original Uchronia had casted Haste and rushed over to Alwin. Maybe she was going to kill him for pulling off such a stupid stunt. He deserved it.

    Instead, she popped open a cork with her mouth and dumped a Small Mana Pill into his mouth. Try as he might Alwin couldn''t swallow the pill. It was as if he had forgotten how to use his mouth. Uchronia had to use her tail to force his mouth shut and only then did the pill work its magic. As his stomach digested it, he could sense the mana in his core start to rise, like the tide of an ocean, it slowly crawled up.

    He was at five percent mana capacity. That was when his brain sparked back to life. With his mind working again he could see Gu Jia walking towards them, the alternate Uchronia disappearing into magical particles. She had been defeated.

    Alwin tried to get up, but just because his brain was working didn''t mean that the rest of his body was. He stumbled and attacked the floor with his face. Uchronia had to roll him back up just so that he wasn''t eating a face full of dirt. The dirt may have been a better option. He would rather eat that than bone. Gu Jia was right in their faces.

    Gu Jia had his sword held high, crimson mana coating the blade. Alwin still couldn''t move. His mind was screaming. From shouting at his body to move, to just straight-up begging. Nothing happened. Uchronia was still with him, standing between him and Gu Jia, her tail armed with a layer of thorns. Alwin wanted to scream and shout for her to run, but all that came out were a series of moans and grunts.

    Why was she defending him? She should leave him be and grab Gus. If Gu Jia managed to kill the alternate Uchronia, then the original was as good as dead. It would''ve been smarter to just let him die. It would''ve been a better plan. A smarter plan. Why sacrifice yourself? Nothing was going to change if she stayed here. Actually, there was one thing that would''ve changed. There would''ve been two deaths instead of one. So, why was she still here? Just go get Gus!

    "Crimson Gold Sect''s Basic Sword Technique: Crimson Cleave." His voice was flat, like an old soldier tired of the fight, just wanting to get it over with.

    The sword came down, casting a shadow over them. Uchronia flicked her tail in a desperate, futile attempt to fend off the inevitable. So this was what it was like to die. Time seemed to stretch. Everything moved in slow motion; everything except Alwin. He couldn''t move at all. As Uchronia''s tail swished, she turned, coming face to face with Alwin. She was scared, she was desperate, she was crying. Tears leaked out of her eyes. Even she knew that death was coming for her. Oh, Uchronia, why didn''t you just run away?

    The sword was inching ever closer. A breath away from cleaving Uchronia''s tail in half. Seconds away from killing her. The end was coming. Uchronia squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaking her cheeks. She was mouthing something, but in that moment there was only ringing in his ears. Oh, what he would give to hear her screaming at him again.

    Alwin sealed his eyes. Being killed was one thing, but watching your friend die in front of you was worse. There was nothing left to do but wait. Seconds stretched to minutes. Minutes stretched to hours. Hours stretched to days. Yet, the cold sharpness of the sword never came. What gives?

    Opening his eyes he saw that he was still intact. Uchronia was still intact. Her tail was still intact. The sword was not intact. Standing in between them and certain death was an angel¡ªa furry one with lightning jettisoning out of his body. In his mouth were scraps of bone, remnants of Gu Jia''s bone blade.

    It was Gus.

    Oh, thank Cor. Was this a deus ex machina? Who cares? Alwin was alive. From now on, they should call it Gus Ex Machina. He''d build a shrine just for Gus. He''d hunt down humans and feed them to Gus so that he could get stronger. He''d do anything for Gus.

    Without his blade, Gu Jia raised his solitary arm, about to punch the daylights out of Gus. But, the Furball had other ideas. And in Alwin''s eyes, those ideas may as well have been written down by Cor himself.

    Gus''s body and fur had been hardened by Copper Body. Each strand was as sharp as a nail, thanks to Fur Quills. Electricity crackled through him, a result of Lightning Legs and Static Pounce. Gus met Gu Jia''s fist. The strands of fur pierced through his body like paper. Electricity was sent coursing throughout Gu Jia''s body, sending him convulsing on the floor. Smoke rose from the corpse, and the stench of barbequed flesh wafted through the air.

    They were safe.

 Chapter 43: Essence Evaluation

    "Are you guys okay? What happened" Gus asked, obviously oblivious to the fact that he had just saved their lives.

    "Gus..." she said, her voice sounding fragile for a moment, before roaring back to life, "What took you so long!"

    "Gus..." Alwin finally regained the ability to speak. Why couldn''t that crappy Mana Pill work faster? "I love you! Thank you!"

    "Sorry, I''m not really interested in dating right now," the Furball replied.

    "And you, Alwin!" The quiver in her voice was long gone. "What were you thinking? Why did you waste all your mana like that? You went into mana exhaustion! Are you stupid? Do you want to die?"

    Ah, the sweet allure of Uchronia scolding him¡ªit was as aggravating as it was pleasant. As much he enjoyed being berated by her since it meant that they were both well and alive. This time, he was ready to fight back, to unleash an array of arguments that would leave her stumped. He would scold her right back for staying by his side instead of finding Gus to kill Gu Jia. She would have been fast enough to get Gus and return before Gu Jia even had a chance to kill him.

    That was the plan. He had it mapped out perfectly in his head. All he had to do was vocalize it exactly and Uchronia would have no choice but to admit defeat. Unfortunately, what came out was a butchered version so different from the original that no one would''ve guessed they were related.

    "Well, why didn''t I¡ªwait, I mean¡ªwhy didn''t you¡ªyou¡ªyou... get Gus, but¡ªbut¡ªbut stay with me? Kill Gu Jia?"

    For some reason, there was a disconnect between what he wanted to say and what he did actually say. It was probably the result of mana exhaustion and not because he was a bumbling buffoon. That was what he was going to tell himself, just to make him feel better. He may have lost this battle and all of the previous ones but he was going to win the war¡ªeventually.

    "What are you talking about? Never mind, just forget it. Let''s just get their essence and head back to the village."

    "About that... There''s still two more humans at the village. The two young masters in charge." Oh, now Alwin could speak properly. What was up with that?

    "Great." Uchronia rolled her eyes. "Gus you go and absorb this guy''s essence, he seemed like the strongest human out of this group. Me and Alwin will absorb the essence of the other humans that you took out. We still need enough to evolve after all. Then we rush back to the village and deal with those two. Got it?"

    "Got it." Gus smiled.

    "Got it," Alwin sighed. At least he could finally get some essence, he deserved it after that harrowing experience.

    Gus hopped on top of the fallen Gu Jia and proceeded to absorb his essence. Their bodies shining bright. Meanwhile, Alwin and Uchronia hopped over to the other dead humans. Uchronia''s hop was more of a stomp and Alwin''s was more of a flop. His gelatinous body jiggled with each attempt, the gap between him and Uchronia widening with every awkward hop. Hey, it''s not his fault that he was still weak from mana exhaustion¡ªokay it technically was his fault, but he wasn''t going to admit that.

    Emerging from the bushes, Alwin could finally see the aftermath of the battle. He caught a glimpse from high in the sky, sailing over the scene. It was a one-sided fight where half the humans were already dead while the other half clung to life. Now, only dead bodies remained. Seeing it up close, he realized how terrifying Copper Body combined with Fur Quills could be.

    Thousands of hardened quills littered the floor while hundreds of them protruded out of every lifeless body. Humans who weren''t lucky enough to be instantly killed died by blood loss instead, pools of blood gathered on the ground around them. Talk about horrifying. Maybe it was the mana exhaustion talking but it felt like his tolerance for gore had been shot. If Alwin still had any food left in his stomach it would have certainly forced its way back out. Good thing he''d already thrown up three times today!

    Alwin began absorbing the essence from his half of the humans¡ªthey both got five each. Gus already had his fill today, now it was finally their turn. Although it would have been better to put all of their eggs in one basket¡ªGus. After he reached his limit then he could use all of his newfound skills to pay back his debt and help Alwin and Uchronia absorb enough essence to evolve. Oh well, too late for that. Uchronia had already started, evident by the soft glow of light in the corner of his eye.

    There''s no time like the present as they always said. No idea who ''they'' was, but ''they'' sounded like a smart person. Alwin got to work and hopped over to one of the humans, this one was wearing blood-soaked leather armor. That leather was as good as ruined with all of that liquid coating it. Although the hundreds of holes peppering it probably meant that it was already beyond saving, so his earlier statement was redundant.

    The effects of mana exhaustion were gradually lifting and he finally found the strength to summon out his Spirit Hands. When they emerged they began to fire questions at him in their usual sign language, fingers flicking rapidly. Questions like if he was okay and what happened. The concern was touching. Of course, Alwin told them that he was fine, but right now he needed a teensy tiny little favor from them.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    He needed them to move the body away from the pool of blood so that he didn''t have to touch it. Think about all of the diseases the human might have! What if Alwin contracted something from them? Thankfully, the hands didn''t complain about moving a corpse.

    Once the human was safely out of harm''s way, Alwin got to work. Instead of his usual routine of jumping atop the corpse¡ªhe didn''t want to be poked by the layers of quills still sticking out of the body¡ªAlwin moved close enough to touch his head. Closing his eyes, Alwin could sense his core glowing bright. In the darkness, there was another ball of light: the humans.

    Alwin rolled his core closer to it. As he neared, a sudden burst of light illuminated the void, revealing the soul of the human who once inhabited the body. The human was tall and skinny, with hair that was gold and translucent. Her eyes were gold and translucent too. Basically, her everything was gold and translucent.

    She sat cross-legged within her core, eyes closed in meditation. What a weird thing to do when you''re dead. The first time he did this, the human was adamant in ensuring that Alwin couldn''t absorb his essence. Maybe she didn''t realize that he was there. That was the assumption he was going for and he was already preparing a sneak attack, but Alwin caught her taking a peek at him before going back to meditating. This human simply didn''t care.

    Alwin rolled his core over to her and smashed into it. He smashed her again and again, but still, she sat there meditating as cracks started to form. Alwin simply continued smacking until her core shattered into a brilliant burst of light. What came next was a rush of energy that flowed into him.

    A small ping caused his eyes to shoot open. He was back in the physical realm with a message greeting him.

    Human Essence Absorbed.

    One down, four more to go.

    Absorbing the essence of the other humans went exactly the same. The major difference was the gender of the human he was absorbing from. Other than that, he would use his Spirit Hands to move the human to a cleaner location, find their cores, wonder why they were all meditating inside, then smash their core and absorb their essence.

    After absorbing all of his essence, Alwin looked at his status to check his gains. He didn''t care about all of the other junk like his skills, the only thing that had changed was his evolution meter. That was what he focused on.

    Evolution: 22/100

    Not bad for having absorbed the essence of two humans. Although he did regret not checking his status before he had started absorbing essence. Sure, he had given his status a casual glance every once in a while out of sheer boredom, noticing the evolution meter creeping upwards bit by bit. If he knew how much he started with he could''ve set a baseline and guesstimate how much essence he would have to absorb before the meter was full. Ah well, he''d just have to do it another time.

    Alwin continued to absorb the essence of the remaining essence. On the way to the next body, hopping over the dead bodies and around the sharp quills that protruded out of the ground, he found his bag, completely unharmed. What a miraculous find!

    Once Alwin, Uchronia and Gus had finished their task, the three of them gathered once again¡ªin a spotless tainted by death¡ªto discuss their next move. To Alwin, it was obvious that the next move was to go back to the village and take down those two young masters. Apparently, it wasn''t ''detailed'' enough, according to the earful he received from Uchronia. Whatever, still beats dying.

    First things first, she wanted to examine everyone''s current progress. Alwin was betting that she just wanted to see what new skill Gus had received from Gu Jia. She was probably too embarrassed to ask. It was definitely not Alwin projecting onto her or anything. Of course, when Gus revealed his status he couldn''t help but shove Uchronia away so that he could get a good look at it. That move was met by one of her glares, which paled in comparison to the sight of a man about to cleave you in half.

    Name: Gelosus

    Species: Furball

    Core Skill: Devour (F)

    Skills: Static Pounce (D), Spirit Hands (E), Spirit Barrier (A), Spirt Blast (F), Spirit Shield (A), Lightning Legs (F), Strong Slash(E), Copper Body (D), Fur Quills (D), Ossis Family Technique: Bone Harvest (F)

    Evolution: 100/100

    "Ew, you got that technique?" Alwin shuddered, his mind assaulted by the grotesque memory of Gu Jia yanking the bone out of his own hand.

    "Is it that bad? I have a great idea of how to use it," said Gus.

    "I don''t want to know," said Alwin.

    "Can we focus on the important things," said Uchronia.

    "But this is important. We can, um... check out his new skill, and uh... it might be useful in dealing with those young masters."

    "Fine. Then can we focus on the even more important issues," said Uchronia. "So Gus doesn''t need to absorb any more essence. That just leaves me and Alwin. We deal with the last two humans, check up on Maple and her mom, then after that, it''s probably another fifteen humans and we can call it a day."

    No idea why she felt the need to say the obvious¡ªexcept the estimate of how many humans they needed, which was useful. Uchronia did have a thing for control so maybe that''s why she did it. Or maybe she assumed that some monsters¡ªdefinitely not him¡ªwere so detached from reality that the obvious seemed as mysterious as the unknown.

    "Alwin! Hello?" Uchronia tapped him with her tail. What happened to her usual slaps? And what happened to his ability to multitask? He should''ve been able to get lost in thought while listening to Uchronia babble on and on. Maybe he was just tired. Nearly dying had that effect on people.

    "Do you know how strong the last two humans are?"

    "No idea. They were the boss of the group. The young masters."

    "Crap. They might be even stronger than Gu Jia." She started hopping around, biting her tail. Now it was her turn to be lost in thought, but at least Alwin had the decency to let her sort it out instead of yanking her back to reality like she always did to him.

    "Okay, same strategy. We''ll hide in the bushes and surprise attack them. Gus will focus on eating their armor and killing them. I''ll provide support and Alwin just keep shooting them. MAKE sure you don''t go into mana exhaustion. Got it?"

    Both of them nodded, but as soon as Uchronia had her back towards him he followed up with a quick funny face, sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes in different directions.

    Back to the village they went.

 Chapter 44: Fight The Young Masters

    The trek back to the village was a mostly silent one. Only birds and the blowing breeze dared to make a sound. Once again, it was Uchronia''s orders to ''shut up''. Last thing she wanted was to lose the element of surprise. It made sense but still she could''ve it said it in a nicer way. Plus, if she was so worried about the element of surprise, she could''ve made a compound of surprise or even a mixture of surprise¡ªfor the imaginary audience living in his head who don''t get it, it''s a chemistry joke. A really bad one.

    It was obvious when they were getting close to the young masters. A certain stench, from a certain brown substance, wafted through the air¡ªand Alwin wasn''t talking about gravy. The distressed cries of the two young masters masked their approach. Uchronia raised her tail, signaling for them to stop. Now, they just had to wait for her signal to attack.

    "It''s so gross. It''s so gross. Hong Jian, help me get it off," the mostly yellow robed Huang Jian wailed, hopping up and down. Brown stains covered most of his outfit and he was trying desperately to get rid of it. Emphasis on trying because he just had his hands held up high, twisting and turning his body around, as if that would miraculously cause all of his problems to disappear.

    "Huang Jian, Huang Jian. You help me get it off. Where are the disciples when you need them. Where''s that Gu Jia. It''s so gross," the mostly red robed Hong Jian wailed back. Like his companion, he was also hopping up and down, too disgusted to actually get close to the brown stains.

    Alwin snickered. Serves those two humans right. They couldn''t possibly be that hard to beat. They''re acting like toddlers¡ªscratch that¡ªbabies! Gus grimaced at the smell that penetrated his nose, while Uchronia glared at Alwin for daring to make a sound, even one so soft that the birds chirping overhead smothered him.

    "This hunt was not worth it. Not worth it at all," wailed Hong Jian.

    "Maybe the muffin monster isn''t real at all. I bet this was a setup," wailed Huang Jian.

    Uchronia turned around to face him, another glare shooting out of her. What did he do this time? He had been waiting like a good boy, the only sounds coming out of him were the sounds of him breathing. That wasn''t anything he could control, so why was she getting upset over that.

    The gears in his brain started turning, trying to figure out what blasphemous action he did to deserve another round of glaring. It was impossible. Alwin hadn''t done anything wrong. Then, the dots began to connect: Uchronia glaring, the Muffin Monster. Alwin turned to look at Gus, who was putting on his best innocent face. He eyes fluttering and flashing a smile. It might have worked if not for the muffin crumbs stuck in his teeth.

    It all made sense, well almost. The trail that the humans were following was Gus'' trail of crumbs as he chomped on his muffins. That explains how the humans had ended up in the village. It didn''t explain why they were following a Muffin Monster or whether a Muffin Monster even existed. They probably did, but would they even be a native species to the Forest of Beginnings?

    So far, he¡¯d encountered rabbit monsters, plant monsters, a caterpillar monster, and even a snake-snail hybrid. None of these hinted that a muffin monster would actually exist here.

    "That useless Stew. I bet he lied to us," said Huang Jian.

    "I bet he did, brother. There''s no such thing as a Cookie Monster and definitely no such thing as a Muffin Monster. I can''t believe we fell for his tricks," said Hong Jian.

    "That''s what we get for being such good people. We gave him the benefit of the doubt and look what happened to us. It''s gross! Get it off me!"

    That answered a few more questions. Turns out that the two young masters'' did not want to make a stew out of a Muffin Monster¡ªStew was just the name of a person who tricked them. Talk about a funny name! Also, turns out they were brothers. Who could''ve guessed? Probably anyone who saw them or even heard what they''re names were. Other than the different colored robes and swords they looks exactly the same. But still, who could''ve guessed?

    "Where are those blasted disciples? Why haven''t they returned with that wretched monster who dared to sully our beautiful clothes?"

    "Yes, where are they? The Elder will hear about this and they''ll be thoroughly punished."

    Alwin let out another snicker at their complaining. For anyone who fooled by Alwin''s brilliant disguise, the monster that had ''sullied'' them was none other than him. Of course, he had some help from the Spirit Hands, but it was his ingenious idea that rendered these humans into nothing more than bumbling babies.

    Uchronia''s glare snapped from Gus to Alwin at the sound of his snicker. Seriously, they couldn¡¯t hear him. If she kept this up, they might actually hear her glaring. It didn''t make sense if he thought about it for more than a second, which is why he only gave it half a second of thought¡ªthat was the comeback he was sticking with.

    Uchronia had transitioned from glaring at them to preparing a spell via incantation. By all accounts, her chanting was louder than his snicker, so why did she get a free pass? Whatever. He had more important things to worry about. Important things like daydreaming about what sort of monster he''d evolve into. Now that his mana pool was filled to the brim, his brain actually worked. That meant that he could multitask! Half of his brain reserved for daydreaming, while the other half would focus on his surroundings. Uchronia wouldn''t be able to find anymore fault with him!

    While Alwin was fantasizing about what type of monster he might evolve into. Uchronia was preparing her spells. Gus sat there stoned, a tiny pout on his lips. He must be annoyed that he wasn''t allowed to have a snack while waiting. Hong Jian and Huang Jian were still flailing about, bits of brown stuff did fly off from their robes, but it was nothing compared to the sheer amount that covered them.

    At long last, Uchronia''s incantations came to an end¡ªit was less than five minutes, but it still felt like an eternity. The time to attack drew near. Alwin had to stop multitasking, he needed as much brainpower as he could to focus on the upcoming fight. Unless he had a death wish, which he did not. Okay, maybe he''d spare a teensy bit of brainpower for some commentary purposes.

    Her tail glowed softly as she tapped¡ªmore like slapped¡ªthe two of them, imbuing them with Haste. Her roar that accompanied the spell alerted Hong Jian and Huang Jian. They whipped around, flinging more brown stuff everywhere, only to find themselves face-to-face with the three of them jumping out of the bush.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    "Monsters!" screamed Huang Jian.

    "Where are those disciples!" shouted Hong Jian.

    Uchronia rushed forward to inflict Slow on them, her tail already glowing with power. The moment Uchronia was about to slap Huang Jian with her tail, both of them leaped backwards, drawing their swords at the same time. A red hilt for Hong Jian and a yellow one for Huang Jian, matching their robes except for the additional brown stuff. Looks like these two young masters were more competent than Alwin thought. If only they were incompetent buffoons, then they would''ve been Slowed and this battle would''ve been over in an instant.

    Gus and Alwin were preparing their own spells. For Alwin a nice helping of different types of Spirit Blast. While for Gus ,well... he could only report what he was doing and not what he was preparing. As Alwin launched Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts. Gus had already activated Lightning Legs and Copper Body, and there were probably more skills on the way if he had to guess.

    "Crimson Gold Sect''s Basic Sword Technique: Golden Sweep!"

    Both of their swords flashed with golden mana as they executed a wide sweep at the same time. The blasts that Alwin had launched were destroyed as they collided with the flat side of the blade. The burst of mana that normally accompanied his Spirit Burst Blast was pushed away with the sweep, while the mini Spirit Blasts hidden inside the Spirit Scatter Blast were destroyed along with the outer shell. Why did they have to be competent!

    Alwin launched even more Spirit Blasts once again, taking extra care to ensure that the Spirit Scatter Blast would explode mid flight. Surely those young masters wouldn''t be able to block all of them.

    As usual Alwin was wrong¡ªmaybe he should keep his mouth shut next time. The young masters continued to use Golden Sweep, swinging their swords back and forth, destroying every blast that Alwin hurled their way.

    Uchronia had given up on attacking, instead choosing to incant another skill. Gus had activated Fur Quills as well and charged towards the young masters. In an instant¡ªthanks to Lightning Legs¡ªhe closed the gap between them, ready to strike them with his copper hardened quills. When Alwin saw Gus charging forward, he ceased his attacks lest he wanted to accidentally defeat the strongest guy in the squad. Okay, maybe he did want to do that, but not right now!

    The two young masters'' eyes widened. He bet they didn''t expect Gus to get so close so quickly¡ªtruth be told neither did Alwin. Gus target Huang Jian first, using Golden Sweep, he tried to bat the Furball away, just like they did to his attacks. Too bad for him Gus was a ravenous monster, even swords were on the menu. The sword was snatched away with his mouth, chomping and grinding away the metal, before spitting out the remains onto the ground.

    "M-m-monster!" Hong Jian shouted.

    Well, he was right. No idea why they decided to state the obvious. Humans were such weird creatures.

    Hong Jian came to the aid of his brother, sword raised above his head coated in crimson golden mana. The mana began to glow, increasing in size while still retaining the shape of his blade, growing to three times the size of his his blade. He swung down the giant mana sword onto Gus, yelling, "Crimson Gold Sect''s Intermediate Sword Technique: Crimson Compound Cleave!"

    Gus looked up at the incoming attack, stretching his jaws as wide as he could. He chomped down onto in the incoming blade, the mana sword cracking into a million pieces between the strength of his mighty teeth. The blade was still intact and coming down on Gus. A smile beamed across Hong Jian''s face as he watched Gus chew on the pieces of mana fragments.

    Hong Jian struck Gus and that smile was instantly wiped off his face, replaced with a scowl of disbelief. Gus was still chewing on the pieces of mana that he had gnawed off. The blade was caught in between all of his hardened quills. Hong Jian pressed down on his weapon but it didn''t budge.

    Gus was nonchalant about a man with a sharp piece of metal inches away from his face. He cared more about chewing that piece of compound cleave he broke off, spending more effort using his tongue to get chunks of mana blade that were stuck in his teeth rather than dealing with the man trying his hardest to kill him.

    Huang Jian stared on, his mouth open wider than his eyes. His shock overpowered him to the point that he was incapable of assisting his brother¡ªthen again with his only weapon being a broken sword, the only thing he would''ve been good for was as a meat shield. Hong Jian backed off, pulling his sword with him.

    He raised his blade up in the air again, channeling mana into it. Crimson and gold colored mana swirled together, coating the weapon. That mana coating grew larger and larger, become a giant blade of crimson gold five times the size of his regular one.

    "Take this you filthy mongrel! Crimson Gold Sect''s Intermediate Sword Technique: Crimson Gold Microburst Compound Cleave!"

    Sheesh, talk about a mouthful. Couldn''t they have come up with a shorter name or even use an acronym? Then again shouting out "CGSIST: CGMCC!" didn''t have the same ring to it. It sounded like someone having a stroke.

    Hong Jian slammed his weapon down. Even from a distance, that gigantic blade of mana was able to reach Gus. He had finished digging out the scraps of food in his teeth and looked up at the giant blade descending upon him. For reasons unknown to Alwin, Gus chose to dodge the attack.

    Electricity trailed behind him as he ran to Hong Jian''s side. The blade smashed onto the ground, followed by an enormous burst of wind that came crashing down along the length of the blade. Leaves, twigs, dirt, were sent flying in the air. If Alwin was any closer that would''ve been his faith too. Even from where he stood, the powerful gust of wind buffeted him, forcing him to hold his position. Was it instinct that told Gus to move out of the way?

    Hong Jian joined his brother, competing to see who could open their mouths the widest. The mana blade dissipated giving Gus the opportunity to chomp on his blade, instead of the mana that coated. Considering that Gus only grimaced when he chomped down on the sword, Alwin could conclude that mana tasted better than metal. Probably.

    Gus was about to charge into Hong Jian, skewering him with a multitude of quills, but he suddenly stopped right in front of him. Hong Jian still had his mouth agape and staring at his shattered sword, not even registering that he was inches away from death, if Gus actually decided to hit him.

    "What are you doing? Finish him!" shouted Uchronia. She had long given up on her incantation after watching Gus singlehandedly handle the two young masters. Why waste the mana?

    "But!" Gus paused to look at Uchronia then turned back to face Hong Jian. "He has poop on him."

    Looks like Alwin''s ingenious plan wasn''t as brilliant as he thought. It was understandable. He wouldn''t want to touch the fecal matter of a dead guy either, not even with gloves!

    "Of for the love of Cor! Just hit them from the back, that side is clean!" Uchronia shouted.

    Gus zipped behind Hong Jian, a trial of lightning in his wake. Once he confirmed that his behind was indeed clean, Gus zoomed away skidding to a stop a safe distance away, ample space for a ready for a running start.

    Alwin did wonder why Gus retreated so far away just to run back and slam Hong Jian with his body. Was it impractical? Yes. Would it look cool? Also, yes. It was then did Alwin understood his intentions and could empathize with him¡ª a finishing move had to look cool. Did Uchronia understand? Nope. She joined the brothers slack-jawed and it looked like she was winning.

    Gus charged back at Hong Jian. Hopping faster and faster as he approached the young master, turning into a blur. Lightning crackled around him, small sparks danced about him. Gus leaped, gaining even more speed from the power of the jump. He twisted himself midair, lightning spinning around with him, smashing his head into a frying pan.

    What?

 Chapter 45: Meet The Chef

    Hong Jian was alive and well, the frying pan that came out of nowhere stopped Gus from impaling the young master with his quills. It was a mystery what exactly happened here. How did a frying pan appear out of nowhere and stop Gus? Alwin joined Uchronia and the two brothers, gaping at the sight that lay before them.

    Gus tumbled to the ground, dizzy after hitting a hunk of iron that was thrown into the middle of his attack. All of his skills were deactivated, his fur no longer stood on its edge and regained its soft fluffy texture, and the lightning that surged around him scattered, leaving Hong Jian completely unscathed¡ªother than his broken ego, but that wasn''t important.

    "Hong Jian! Huang Jian! You guys okay?" the person called out.

    Alwin''s eyes darted from the frying pan as it plummeted from above, smacking Gus square on the head before clanging onto the floor, to the newcomer that had just rushed to the scene. The figure clad in white had dashed out from the bushes toward the brothers¡ªthe supposed source of the frying pan if Alwin had to guess, but given his track record, he had a fifty-fifty chance of being correct.

    The newcomer ran in, clad in a thick, double-breasted cotton jacket with knotted cloth buttons. A long wide apron covered the lower half completely. To top it off was a rounded toque with numerous folds and rounded end that stood tall like a crown. Everything from the jacket to the apron to the toque was eggshell white. It was the spitting image of what the cat chefs at the cafeteria wore, just replace cat with human.

    "G-g-gary?" Hong Jian called out.

    "STEW! shouted Huang Jian.

    The brothers had lost the competition of who could have the widest mouth. As of now, Gus was the current one in the lead. The word ''stew'' had roused him from his concussion, no longer did he sport a dumbfounded look, instead, he was looking around the area finding that mythical stew that Huang Jian had pointed out. Unfortunately for him, he hadn''t realized that Stew was a person, so Gus continued to swivel his body about in search of a pot of stew that didn''t exist.

    Uchronia had withdrawn from the wide-mouth competition her lips pressed together as she started incanting. Alwin and Gus were the only ones left in the contest now. He could¡¯ve¡ªno, he should¡¯ve¡ªbeen preparing his Spirit Blasts or at least slinking back into the bushes to hide from the new human who''d appeared out of nowhere to save the day. It was only fair for the two young masters to have their deus ex machina moment, considering that Alwin and Uchronia had theirs, but at least theirs was more telegraphed and wasn''t technically a deus ex machina. This Gary Stew fella just showed up out of nowhere.

    "Are you guys okay? I found the remains of your group and thought that something had happened to you two. I couldn''t find your corpses so I followed the trail of crumbs and came just in time to block that attack. This little fella is quite the monster." Gary looked down at the swiveling Gus. "You think he tastes good?"

    Excuse me? Taste good. Was that guy planning on eating Gus? Alwin had officially dropped out of the conversation¡ªwhich meant that Gus was the champion¡ªand retreated to the bushes. Uchronia had joined him in his retreat. Within the confines of the bushes, as she was incanting, she began to draw into the ground with her tail. Alwin understood the message and split up. They circled around the perimeter until they were opposite each other, entrapping their foes. Now if only Gus could get out of the way, they could unleash a hailstorm of attacks.

    "Trail of crumbs? You stupid Stew! You tricked us with your false notions about a Muffin Monster. We tried tracking it down because we thought it was a rare monster, but look at us! We''re covered in the words that shall not be named!" cried Huang Jian.

    "Exactly. Stew you imbecile! You owe us! Look at what happened to our beautiful clothes. The offer to join the Crimson Gold Sect has been rescinded. Now make it up to us and get rid of the monsters that are targeting us! Where are those¡ª"Hong Jian looked around the area and could only find Gus, who was still searching for the non-existent pot of stew, "¡ªThere! That''s one of them!"

    "I know. I literally pointed it out about five seconds ago. Also, I don''t want to join your sect, I don''t want to be tied down. I''m finally living my dream in this new world, I''m not really in the mood for any more office politics."

    "You and that, what did you call it? ''Isekai'' nonsense. You''ll only get so far being a loose cultivator. The Crimson Gold Sect has plenty of resources. If you get rid of those monsters and clean our robes, I''ll consider you for recruitment into the sect again," said Hong Jian

    "Nah! I''m not really into that cultivation nonsense. I just wanna level up, I''m so close to level thirty. I even unlocked this unique class, I''m not going to throw that away to become a cultivator."

    "You and your RPG ideology. Understanding the Dao and going through tribulations is the true way to getting stronger, not relying on numbers or stats," said Huang Jian.

    "Yes, yes. Listen to brother Huang Jian. You have just started your journey, you can abandon the ways of the RPG and become a cultivator. With your talents, becoming a pillar of the Crimson Gold Sect is inevitable."

    "Nope! Apprentice Monster Chef all the way, baby!"

    "Stupid Stew. In the future when you come crawling back to the gates of the Crimson Gold Sect begging to be let in, I, Huang Jian will say that you are unworthy to become a disciple. This is your last chance. Join the Crimson Gold Sect or forever forfeit your rights to do so!"

    "I just saved your lives. I don''t think joining that sect of yours would help me."

    "Why you insolent whelp!" Hong Jian''s face had matched his robe¡ªred." We''re only in this situation because of your treacherous lies. There is no such thing as a Muffin Monster. We wasted our time looking for it. You told us it was a rare monster with untold potential."

    "Yeah, no. I said that in my old world, there was this character called Cookie Monster. I was wondering if maybe this new world had something similar. Then I joked about a Muffin Monster and how cool it would be if it existed. Then I added onto the joke by saying ''Imagine if it was this super rare monster''. Anything else is on you."

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    "Cookies? Muffins? Can I have some?" asked Gus, looking up at the trio of humans.

    Where was that monster''s sense of self-preservation? If Alwin had his Spirit Hands already summoned they would''ve gladly slapped his forehead in a futile bid to erase the memory of the idiocy unfolding before his eyes. Then after that, they would''ve slapped Gus silly.

    "Sure, sure. As long as you just stay there and don''t move," said Gary.

    "Blasphemy! You''re actually allying yourself with a monster?" shouted Huang Jian.

    Gary looked at Gus and put his hand over his mouth, whispering to the two young masters. If Alwin had to guess, he was probably telling them that it was a ploy to keep the monster from roaming free. Gus was going to be dealt with after they had finished their conversation. This was one of those rare times when he knew that his gut was correct.

    "Prove it! Do it in front of us this instance!" shouted Hong Jian.

    "Not right now! I still need to come up with a way to... prepare him. I want to try out some of the herbs and mushrooms I''ve scavenged earlier."

    "Then we will stay here until you do so! No monster-loving fool will ever be allowed to live! I swear on the name of the Crimson Gold Sect!" shouted Huang Jian.

    "Sure, dude. You two can be my taste testers. Also, could you guys get me some wood? Can''t cook without fire."

    "Cook? What are you making? Can I have some?" asked Gus.

    "I''m still thinking, but don''t worry. This dish will be all about you." Gary smiled and Alwin felt a shiver run up his slimy non-existent spine.

    "Us? Get you wood? We are not some servant you can boss around!" shouted Hong Jian.

    "Oh my god! You two are so annoying. Seriously, why is nepotism a thing in another world? ''Oh, I''m the son of the sect. Getting wood is beneath me,''" Gary said in a mocking tone. "It''s just some wood. What''s your problem?"

    "How dare you insult us. We¡ª"

    "Yea, yea, yea. You threaten me, then give me a chance to earn forgiveness by doing something for you. Rinse and repeat. What is it with you arrogant young master types? Seriously!"

    "We¡ª"

    "You know what, forget it. I''ll get the wood myself. Anyway, I thought there were two more monsters here. Where''d they go?"

    The two brothers looked around the area, scanning every single bush, tree, and rock. "Where did those Monster Army Troops go?" they said in unison.

    "Monster Army? You think I''ll get more XP from killing them?"

    "More of your RPG nonsense. Cultivation is the true way to gain strength, not your cheap XP gimmicks," said Huang Jian.

    "That doesn''t answer my question."

    As the trio continued to bicker about which method was superior¡ªcultivation or RPG¡ªAlwin waited for Uchronia''s signal. He wanted so desperately to begin daydreaming, but Gus'' life was on the line here. Any lapse in focus might mean that the Furball would turn into a Meatball. What was taking Uchronia so long? And why was Gus such a fool? The mere mention of food had him wrapped around anyone''s finger.

    A flash of light came from across the field. That was the signal. The three humans turned to face the light emerging from the bushes. With their backs turned towards Alwin, he launched an array of different types of Spirit Blasts. One day he would learn how to cast silent attacks, because the moment he used his technique, he found himself forced to scream out their names.

    The three humans turned again, only to find a volley of Spirit Blasts hurtling towards them. The two young masters gripped their swords, about to defend themselves, but when they caught sight of the sorry state their weapons were in, they knew their blades were as useful as a twig. Panic set in and they stood rooted to the ground, unsure what to do without their blades or followers by their side.

    Gary Stew didn''t suffer the same fate as the young masters. He stomped his foot onto the handle of the frying pan that was on the ground, sending it spinning back up to his hand. Once his fingers wrapped around the utensil, he forced mana into it.

    "Pan-Demonium!" he shouted.

    Without any care or finesse, unlike the two young masters'' swordplay, he swung his pan every which way. There was no form or thought put into his swings at all. It smashed into the Spirit Blasts, destroying them. Hong Jian and Huang Jian ducked behind Gary, cowering in fear. No matter how much Gary swung his frying pan there were just too many. When the Spirit Burst Blast exploded covering him in hot raw mana or when the mini Spirit Blasts from the Spirit Scatter Blast peppered him, he gritted his teeth and continued to swing.

    "The times I nicked myself in the kitchen or had splashes of oil sizzle on my skin were worse than this."

    As Alwin distracted them, Uchronia was dashing into the scene from behind¡ªtwo Uchronias to be exact. The Leafling pair dashed towards the humans and it was obvious to Alwin that they both had been boosted with Haste. They dodged and weaved past the stray Spirit Blasts that missed the humans completely.

    "Monsters!" Huang Jian shouted.

    In between all of the cowering behind Gary and flinching whenever a Spirit Blast zoomed past him¡ªAlwin''s aim wasn''t perfect¡ªHuang Jian had spotted the two Uchronias dashing towards them.

    "Protect us and you shall be rewarded, Gary Stew!" shouted Hong Jian.

    "What on Earth do you think I''ve been doing this whole time?"

    Gary''s attention snapped from the flurry of attacks threatening him and the two bumbling fools behind him to the sight of not one, but two Uchronias rapidly closing in. The Furball, meanwhile, was motionless, as if blissfully unaware of the chaos. He took a deep breath and twirled around, smacking Gus on the head with his frying pan.

    "Cuisine Knockout!"

    Gus was out like a light. He fell to the floor, face first, not a single muscle moving.

    "Gus!" Uchronia yelled out.

    Gary''s face contorted in agony, eyebrows knitting together as even more Spirit Blasts made contact with his body. He finished spinning around and was now back to smacking away the Spirit Blasts that were raining down on them.

    Alwin was full of rage. How dare they hit Gus! He launched even more Spirit Blasts, firing them as fast as he could. That Gary was going to pay for attacking his friend.

    Uchronia was already in front of the two young masters. The grass around them sprang to life, twisting around their arms and legs like serpents, binding them together as the alternate Uchronia cast Grassy Shackles. Meanwhile, the original Uchronia was already airborne. Using their heads as springboards, she propelled herself higher with a flick of her tail while simultaneously casting Slow on them as she jumped off of them.

    The grass around Gary began to grow, wrapping themselves around his feet. When they went for his arms, he had no choice but to spend whatever precious moments he had to smack them away instead of the Spirit Blasts crashing into him. His outfit was shredded in places, his exposed arms covered in bruises of blue and black, but he was no slower now than when the fight first broke out.

    Uchronia was overhead, her tail covered in a layer of thorns, about to deliver a double whammy¡ªone that would Slow him down and decorate his face with puncture marks. Gary smashed away two more Spirit Blasts and twisted his hips.

    "Cuisine Knockout!"

    He smashed the frying pan right into Uchronia''s temple. The light in her eyes began to fade and she was unconscious in a second, tumbling to the ground a distance away. The alternate Uchronia faded away screaming. With all of his rageful shouting, he could only make out parts of her voice, "Go... help..."

    It was all up to Alwin.

 Chapter 46: Runaway Baby

    Go get help? Was that what she was saying? Why would he do that when he could continue firing Spirit Blasts at the humans? He couldn''t block all of the attacks, sooner or later that Gary guy was going to go down.

    Alwin continued to launch his Spirit Blasts, every time he felt that his mana pool was about to become a mana puddle, he swallowed a Small Mana Pill that Uchronia. His mana slowly filled up, just barely outpacing how much he was using for his attacks.

    Crap. Why hadn''t he gone down yet? Gary Stew somehow still held on. Did it have something to do with when he was fiddling away with a status screen that had popped out earlier? After he messed with it, something changed. Despite all of the damage he had sustained he was moving faster, the frying pan was connecting with the Spirit Blasts more often, and he was even swatting away the mini Spirit Blasts from the Spirit Scatter Blast and the mana from Spirit Burst Blast¡ªnot all of it, but enough to make a difference.

    Alwin swallowed the last mana pill he had. Gary continued to smack away the incoming attacks using Pan-demonium. The grass bindings along his legs and the two young masters had disappeared when the alternate Uchronia vanished. Even Slow had worn off. The young masters had transitioned from cowering behind Gary to dragging Uchronia to where Gus was. The way they manhandled her filled Alwin with even more rage. They each grabbed her leaf tail, lugging her along the ground back to where Gary stood and kicking her limp body over to Gus.

    Why wasn''t he dying! Alwin was running low on mana, a splash compared to how much mana he could hold, and that Gary Stew didn''t look close to kicking the bucket. Should he go get help just like what Uchronia said? Did she even say that? It was a different version of her plus he had difficulty hearing her. But there was a chance he might be able to get rid of Gary right here and right now. Should he just stay and fight?

    Memories of the fight against Gu Jia flashed in his mind. He had been mentally bashing Uchronia for staying by his side, putting up a futile bid against the bone blade. If she had just gotten help, she wouldn''t have had to risk her life like that. It was a stupid move by a not-so-stupid girl.

    Now Alwin understood why she did that. He understood why he had been launching Spirit Blasts like there was no tomorrow. The thought of abandoning your squad mate¡ªno, your friend¡ªlike that was too much to bear. The action would be impossible. Stupid emotions! The most logical solution would be to run and get help, so why was he wasting time and mana arguing with himself?

    If Gary got to him, they all died. If Alwin went into mana exhaustion, they all died. If Alwin went to get help, maybe they all live¡ªhuge emphasis on maybe.

    Alwin stopped launching his Spirit Blasts and banged his head against the tree. He wasn''t crying because he was leaving his friends to a bunch of cruel humans on the off chance that he might be able to get help and return back in time to the possibility where they hadn''t been cooked to a tender golden brown, he was crying because the tree had attacked him.

    He dashed away from the battlefield back towards the army camp. This was the fastest he had ever ran in his life. Faster than the time when the young masters'' men were chasing them. Faster than when he raced Gus to the cafeteria after the morning lectures. He wasn''t running for his life, he was running for theirs.

    No matter how fast he ran it wouldn''t matter. Why couldn''t he have Gus'' Devour ability? If he had that he would''ve absorbed Lei Mao''s Lightning Legs skill. With that, he could''ve zipped back to camp in record time. Or maybe he could''ve defeated Gary Stew, right there. Shut up, brain! This is no time to go spiraling. Be useful! Come up with a way to run faster! If you want to spiral, then spiral into creativity, not negativity.

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    Who said running was the answer? If running wasn''t feasible¡ªit was more like a flurry of rapid hops in Alwin''s case¡ªthen he had to come up with another way to travel faster. Fortunately for him, he already came up with one. Unfortunately, mana was an issue. Curse Gary for being so hard to kill, and curse him for being an idiot thinking that Gary would succumb under a torrent of different types of Spirit Blasts. Because of that, he was low on mana. He could summon five pairs of Spirit Hands only once. After they''d throw him, they''d inevitably disappear once he flew too far away from them. There had to be a better way to. That Spirit Hand launching technique of his wasn''t a single-use product¡ªthey were going to be reusable like a paper bag. Think! Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! Alwin was grasping at straws¡ªpaper straws.

    The dots began to connect in his mind. They were forming a picture, an extremely messy one that looked like a bunch of scribbles made by a baby. But, he had to zoom out, to see the bigger picture. There was one way he could reuse them¡ªhopefully. The sling bag that had been bumping against him as he hopped as fast as he could was the solution.

    Alwin conjured up his Spirit Hands, just two for now. They hovered beside him, keeping pace with his fervent hops, and went to work. They grabbed the bag and began tugging on the straps, lengthening them. The other pair gathered whatever rock or twig that Alwin was hopping past and dumped them into the bag. When the straps were stretched to their maximum, he ripped apart the threads that connected the strap to the bag, but only on one side. The sling bag basically became a rope with a very heavy bag at one end. With that the preparations were complete.

    He summoned the remaining Spirit Hands¡ªthere were five in total now¡ªand he felt his mana levels plummet to dangerously low levels. Why couldn''t he absorb mana faster? His vision was beginning to become hazy, his speed declining and his thoughts were losing their coherency, but through whatever willpower he could muster he ordered the hands to get into position. They lined up in front of him, the straps in between each pair, with the bag end of the strap furthest away from him.

    The first set of hands cradled him, while the second pair stuffed one end of the straps into his mouth and made sure to clamp it shut. Time for liftoff. The hands threw Alwin, each set that he passed through only made him travel faster. After the hands had tossed Alwin, they scrambled to grab the strap and held on for dear life. Alwin soared through the air. It was relaxing. He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and drift off to slumberland. Screams of Gus and Uchronia flashed through his mind, they were restrained with string, being cooked alive. The nightmare was enough to jostle him awake. He needed to act fast.

    Before the strap became taut, he used all of the slimy muscles available in his body, to twist his body. Visions of the first time he had a conversation with Uchronia and Gus came back to him. Alwin was on his bed and the two had come up to talk, the problem was that they were on opposite sides. He had to keep twisting and turning just to talk to them. He channeled all of that energy, the same amount of effort, into twisting himself.

    The rope began to rotate, spinning faster and faster, along with Alwin and the bags both on opposite ends, and the Spirit Hands in the middle all grasping on for dear life. The joke was getting old but good thing he had already emptied his stomach earlier in the day. Why did he even cause the bag and rope to spin? It''s because it would probably fly further than if he had just let momentum carry him, his bag, and his hands fly in a straight line. He wasn''t a physicist, he was just going by his gut!

    Alwin crashed into the ground. It was still just trees, bushes, and rocks scattered around him with no signs of any Monster Army Camp yet, but he knew that he had covered substantial ground. The Spirit Hands lined up and threw him again. Once again, he went sailing through the air and he twisted the rope that was in his mouth, bringing the Spirit Hands, his bag, and himself into a spinning frenzy only to come crashing down into the ground seconds later.

    Exhaustion had long since clouded his mind, he was acting on instinct, trusting that the same methods would continue to yield the results he wanted. The hands kept throwing him, and Alwin kept twisting the rope to make all of them spin. Crash on the floor and repeat. That was all he knew right now.

    Alwin was hurling through the air when a flash of light caught his attention. He crashed into... something. It wasn''t the ground that''s for sure. After crashing into it multiple times he understood the feeling of dirt grinding against his face. The Spirit Hands had disintegrated into a sparkle of magical particles. Someone was approaching him. But his eyes betrayed him, lacking the ability to focus anymore. Please Cor let it be a monster.

 Chapter 47: Back To Camp

    There were sounds all around him, voices to be exact. They were murky, muffled, and near incomprehensible. His vision was just a blurry mess. Blobs of different shapes and colors surrounded him. Green blobs dominated the others. Had the bushes come alive and were now about to hide inside of him just like how he hid inside them?

    The blobs were forcing his mouth open. They really were trying to force themselves inside of him! Alwin resisted, clamping his mouth shut as tight as possible. Well, he tried to. He had zero energy left inside his body. All of it diverted to essential functions like breathing and apparently thinking.

    They shoved something down his throat. It was tiny and blue, just like a marble. Oh, Cor! They were planting their babies inside of him. No! Not his tummy! He had to spit it out. He fought off the darkness pulling at his eyelids and strained to cough the marble out. The blobs covered his mouth. He was powerless to resist. They made him swallow their babies.

    Gradually the blobs began to take shape. His eyes were focusing¡ªthat was a relief. He wasn''t going to die without understanding what was happening to him. A green hand was covering his mouth, stopping Alwin from spitting out whatever they shoved inside of him. As he looked up and his eyes began to actually work, he realized the person doing this to him was Lin the Goblin. Standing around her weren''t green blobs anymore, it was the goblin guards stationed at the camp entrance. He had made it back!

    Lin was saying something, her lips were moving but it was all a garbled mess. He stared at her trying his hardest to decipher whatever she was saying. She moved her lips in a repetitive manner. Alwin could see that much. What was she saying? Slowly, the fog in his ears began to clear, and her voice started to filter through. She was saying something about what happened.

    That''s right! Alwin needed to get help. He moved his lips, struggling to get the words out. It was like his mouth had been taped up and all that came out were muffled versions of whatever he wanted to say. It didn''t help that his brain wasn''t working at a hundred percent. Coming up with words was easy, coming up with a string of words that had intent behind them was difficult.

    "Look at that Al-loser over there. I bet Uchronia found him so useless that she kicked his sorry ass all the way back to camp."

    Even with his brain barely working he knew who was the snotface that said that¡ªBion. His squad¡ªhim, Brie, and Concord¡ªwas the first squad to arrive back. Were they done already? Never mind that, If he could sock him he would, but right now he needed to focus his everything on articulating his words. Alwin licked his dry lips and opened his mouth, struggling to form the words. "...ped." The beginning of the word stuck in his throat. He tried again, forcing the sound out. "...napped." One more push. "Kidnapped." The word finally came out, leaving him breathless as he tried to communicate the gravity of the situation.

    "Kidnapped?" Lin repeated.

    He nodded, slowly. Every movement carefully calculated. It was like he had forgotten how to move and now had to actively will his body to perform any action. It was aggravating. He wanted nothing more than to drag Lin¡ªand even Bion and his squad¡ª to the hopefully not resting place of Gus and Uchronia.

    "What do you mean kidnapped? What did you do to Uchronia? Tell me everything now, Al-loser!" Bion had activated his Core Skill¡ªMechanize. Gears began to sprout all over his body, covering his squishy slimy self.

    That no good, snot-eating Bion. Do you think he wanted to just abandon Uchronia and Gus like that? It took everything¡ªEVERYTHING¡ªhe had to summon the willpower just to leave them to an uncertain fate.

    "Stand down, boy." Lin glared at him.

    Bion glared back at her and knew that she wasn''t messing around. The gears that had sprouted from his body clanged to the floor, disintegrating into a scatter of magical dust seconds later.

    Lin whispered something into one of the goblin guards'' ears. He nodded before dropping his halberd and rushing off to who knows where. He came back moments later with some water and a porcelain bottle.

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    "Drink up," Lin said. "We''re going to need you to lead us back to where you last saw them. Is that okay?"

    Alwin nodded. It was easier to move his head around now. But there still felt like a disconnect between what he wanted to do and what his body actually did.

    She popped off the cork of the porcelain bottle and took out one pill. They were brown in color instead of the usual red and blue he was used to. Stupid information download malfunctioning. It would''ve been nice to know what Lin was about to make him swallow. Given everything that had happened today¡ªit felt like 19 days¡ªwith Lei Mao and the young masters'', he just hoped it wasn''t a certain byproduct that the body produces.

    Opening his mouth, Lin was about to place the pill inside but paused. She furrowed her brows and rolled the pill in her hand. She popped the pill into his mouth and told him to wait. The pill was bitter. It was slowly dissolving in his mouth, the bitter juices coating his tongue. Please hurry up Lin! She dug out another pill from the bottle and only when it was inside of his mouth did she give him permission to swallow. Alwin chugged down the water she had given him, washing out the horrible taste on his tongue.

    A rush of energy ran through him. He could feel it flowing throughout his entire body. It wasn''t like when the Small Healing Pill fixed up every bruise, scratch, or wound on his body. This was like a prickly electricity that had coursed through his body. He could feel a buzzing, tingling, and pin-pricking sensation all over.

    "Are you ready to go?"

    "Yes!" Alwin shouted.

    Woah! He was so loud. That was unexpected. He was just trying to speak normally. Something''s weird. His mind was racing. Going a million miles a second. He had so much energy. Everything was jittery. But, he knew one thing. Gary Stew, you are going down. Let''s go! Let''s go! Let''s go!

    "Just hold on for a sec." Lin grabbed him, stopping him from running off on his own.

    She reached into her robe and pulled out a small wooden whistle. Alwin watched as she brought it to her lips and blew, expecting a sharp sound to pierce the air. He had to perform a double-take¡ªit became a quadruple-take from all the jitteriness he was experiencing¡ªit wasn''t making any sound. Glowing rune-like patterns emerged on the whistle''s surface, spreading across the top and sides. Then they waited.

    Who knew what they were waiting for? Okay, Lin knew what they were waiting for. It was a stupid thing to say. If only the million thoughts in his head would work together instead of jumping to the next tangent.

    Lin was tapping her foot and looking at a pocket watch that she had pulled out from somewhere. Alwin was too busy thinking about funnel cakes, which evolved into thinking about funnels, and then subsequently to fun flannel, aka, funnel, to notice.

    Four goblins came leaping out of one of the towering trees that made up the camp. The first, the smallest, landed without a sound. He wore leather armor that was dyed black with a bandana affixed to his head that fluttered in the wind. His waist was cinched with a belt full of pouches, along with twin daggers in their holsters.

    The second goblin, also donned in brown leather armor landed, with a soft thud. A bow and quiver were strapped to her back, and two throwing knives were attached to her hip.

    The third goblin crashed into the ground. He was the largest one of them all. At first, Alwin thought the goblin was in metal-plated armor, but upon closer inspection¡ªit was really hard to focus¡ªhe realized that it was just leather armor but with a metallic finish. The goblin wielded a large club, roughly half the height of Gary Stew. Alwin really wanted to use it to bonk that no good monster-eating human on the head.

    The final goblin wore a leather loincloth to cover up his family jewels, the rest of him was exposed to the world, free and natural. His muscles bulged under his forest-green skin. He clutched a wooden staff, its top curled around a glowing green crystal. A pointed gray hat¡ªlike a witch''s hat¡ªwas in his other hand.

    "Thirty-one seconds. Good." Lin clicked the pocket watch shut.

    "Here''s your stuff," said the goblin with the gray hat and the staff. He handed both of them to Lin.

    She took the items from him and, to Alwin''s surprise, began to disrobe right in front of them. Alwin''s eyes widened, and he began to summon his Spirit Hands, ready to cover his face from Lin''s lecherous actions. But before he could summon his Spirit Hands, he realized his mistake. Lin wasn''t exposing herself¡ªfar from it, you perverts inside his brain! Beneath her robe, she wore a fitted layer of leather armor, similar to the gear the lady archer goblin sported. Lin set her witch¡¯s hat atop her head and brandished her staff with a twirl. She stamped it on the ground, her transformation complete.

    "We''ve got a kidnapped student. This Dark Slime here will bring us to their last known location."

    "Yes, ma''am!" The other goblins nodded in unison.

    "Goblin Force Five, let''s move out!" Lin shouted!

 Chapter 48: Goblin Force Five

    Goblin Force Five. What an odd name, but who cares about oddities right now? Time to move, move, move! Screw running. They were going to take the Alwin Express. He summoned his Spirit Hands and ordered them to line up. Lin, the other goblins, and Bion¡¯s squad stood there, eyebrows raised with a perplexed look on their faces.

    "Did I give him too many vigor pills?" Lin muttered under her breath.

    "Nope! Nope! Nope!" Alwin had heard her. "Line up! Line up! Line up!" He shouted.

    The goblins exchanged uncertain glances, their eyes shifting to Lin as they waited for her lead. She scratched her head with the top of her staff as she eyed the Spirit Hands who were signing for the goblins to line up. Finally, she turned to Alwin, who was bouncing up and down.

    "Let''s go! Let''s go! Let''s Go!" he shouted again.

    Lin cast a quick glance over her shoulder at her group and nodded. They immediately formed a line in front of the Spirit Hands, who were giving them a thumbs up. Lin joined the back of the queue along with Alwin. Meanwhile, Bion and his squad had slipped into the queue. Lin''s eyes narrowed as she spotted them. She gestured to one of the nearby goblin guards, muttering strict warnings not to follow and instructing the guard to keep a close watch on the interlopers.

    "Go! Go! Go!"

    The hands had heard him loud and clear. They beckoned the first goblin, the black armored one, to come forward. He hesitated at first, staring at the Spirit Hands as if wondering what they were going to do to him. The first pair of hands were growing frustrated, they snapped their fingers and using their index and middle fingers, gestured for the goblin to come forth.

    He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a small step forward. The Spirit Hands, fed up with his hesitancy, decided to take matters into their own...hands. With Alwin''s nod of approval, they floated over to the goblin. They grabbed him by the armpits and the goblin squirmed, clearly uncomfortable. Realizing the awkwardness of their approach, the hands shifted down to his waist, then back up, trying to find the right hold. It was a constant trial and error, they weren''t sure about the best way to hold a goblin¡ªthey were used to carrying a round blob instead of a bipedal monster¡ªbut that wasn''t going to stop them. They had to adapt, of course, with the help of Alwin giving them instructions.

    Although they probably would''ve gone at it faster if Alwin''s instructions were actually coherent or made sense. He was just telling them to ¡°Make him go zoom! Make him go whoosh! Make him go swish!¡± The last bit of ''advice'', that deviated from the random sound effects he made caused something to click inside of them. Alwin had told them to treat the goblins like a sack of potatoes.

    From that point on, the hands had given up adjusting their grip on the goblins. They grabbed him by the head¡ªthe one part of their body that somewhat resembled Alwin''s, although a lot less squishy.

    "What are you doing ?" the black armored goblin asked. His fingers trembling, they were inching towards the pouches on his belt.

    The other four pairs of Spirit Hands in front had noticed and gave him a thumbs-up of encouragement. It was enough to stop him from flipping open the clasp on his pouch, either because he was confused about why the hands gave him a thumbs up or because he was actually reassured by them. Alwin was pretty sure it was the former, but then again, right now Alwin was pretty sure that the next time he craved funnel cake, he''d convince the backer to bake the cake into the shape of a funnel.

    The goblin screamed as the hands tossed him, every set that he passed through grabbed him by the head, sending him spiraling through the air as he finally flew through the last of his hands at high speeds. The remaining goblins stared at their comrade, flying through the air like a ragdoll until he was just a tiny dot in the forest. They turned around to look at Lin with pale faces and eyes wide with horror. The large goblin clutched his club tighter, while the half-naked goblin and bow goblin took a step back, their trembling legs betraying their fear.

    Of course, since Alwin was standing behind Lin, he couldn''t tell what she was doing with her face. But, when the other largest goblin took a step forward to the hands who were all snapping their fingers in impatience. Alwin figured Lin must have communicated with just a look that backing out wasn''t an option. Speaking of deuce, he wondered how the young masters were doing. Curse all this extra energy! Focusing was hard!

    The Spirit Hands didn''t waste any time, hurling the rest of the goblins through the air along roughly the same trajectory as the first. Each goblin let out a terrified scream, their cries echoing through the forest Even the big goblin with the club screamed¡ªmore like shrieked because his high-pitched wail had outdone the two female goblins'' screams. As long as they ended up in roughly the same place, it was good enough for Alwin.

    Finally, it was his turn and the hands tossed him through the air. Once they had completed their goal they could disappear, but not before leaving a parting gift. All five pairs signaled out Bion specifically, then flipped him off. Bion''s face twisted in shock, but before he could react, the hands disappeared. This was all conveyed to Alwin through that mental connection he had, and he couldn''t help but let out a huge laugh.

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    The feeling of wind rushing by and the branches, leaves, and tree trunks whizzing by was exhilarating. He had never felt more alive! Now he was going to make sure Uchronia and Gus were alive!

    Alwin crashed into the ground, right next to the other goblins. They had landed in different places, but the first goblin had tracked down their positions and rallied them all together. They looked to Alwin hoping, no begging, with their eyes that this was the place where his friends were captured. All hopes were dashed the moment the Spirit Hands materialized in front of them. The goblins let out a groan while the hands simply waved at them. Meanwhile, Alwin was giggling like a little kid the whole time.

    The goblins and Alwin were sent soaring through the air multiple times, much to the despair of the Goblin Force Five. Each launch they''d scream louder than the last. Re-summoning Spirit Hands was way easier than using that weird method when he made his way back to the camp. Well, he didn''t have the luxury of mana at the time. All he could rely on was his failing brain, and, oh boy, did it deliver!

    Alwin lost count after the tenth throw. But that was okay! Because his destination was close¡ªhe was practically there already! The scenery was beginning to become familiar. Transitioning from trees, bushes, and rocks to... more recognizable trees, bushes, and rocks. Give Alwin a break! It was a forest. There were pretty much only trees, bushes, and rocks around. Trying to describe the difference was like explaining why water was wet! Doable, but not by him.

    The goblins let out a collective sigh of relief when they realized the airborne chaos was finally over. They no longer had to brace themselves for another round of screaming flights. Alwin, who had been giggling maniacally throughout the ordeal, had suddenly gone silent. His expression turned serious. He was focused on being as quiet as possible. The other goblins noticed the abrupt shift in his demeanor. The carefree atmosphere vanished, replaced by a tense, almost eerie silence. They understood the change in Alwin''s behavior meant one thing: it was time to get serious.

    They readied their weapons: the black armored goblin held his daggers, the lady archery goblin nocked her arrow, and Lin gripped her staff tighter. The large goblin with the club lifted his club, letting out a huff, ready to bash some brains, while the half-naked one cracked his knuckles.

    They trailed behind Alwin, walking through the undergrowth. Their footsteps were soft, light, and silent¡ªeither that or Alwin had hearing problems. Right now, he wasn''t concerned about something so inconsequential like the Goblin Force Five. He was keeping his eyes and ears out for Uchronia and Gus. The million thoughts bouncing around in his mind had been snuffed out, except for one. Was he too late?

    The air was filled with the murmur of voices and the faint scent of smoke. He recognized those voices: the haughty young masters and Gary Stew. Alwin raced ahead, ready to jump out of the bushes to confront and save his friends.

    But just as he was about to leap into action, something held him back. Alwin felt a sudden resistance, like something gripping him tightly. He glanced down in confusion, struggling to move. Alwin was flying. Someone or something really was grabbing onto him.

    It was the large goblin, the one with the club. Why! They were right there! Uchronia and Gus were on the other side of the bushes! If they''re too late, then Gary Stew would''ve turned them into mincemeat or whatever culinary abomination he could concoct.

    Lin started writing into the ground with the base of her staff¡ªwhat was with people writing things in the dirt? Just bring along a pencil and a piece of paper. She wrote down the words ''Wait'' and ''Observe''. Why? Had she not heard his internal monologue about how time was running out? At least that proves she wasn''t a mind reader. Alwin nodded, not because he was going to listen to her, but because he was going to trick them. The moment they weren''t looking at him, he''d dash out and save Uchronia and Gus from the clutches of Gary Stew.

    The large goblin let go of Alwin, it felt good to move about again. It felt even better knowing that he was going to save his friends. The other members of Goblin Force Five peered through the bushes, taking in the sight in front of them. Very soon, they''d be seeing him dash out into the fray and they''d have no choice but to join him in saving his friends.

    The moment Lin took her eyes off him, he made a mad bounce towards the bushes. Uchronia! Gus! Alwin was here to save you! The bush was getting closer, he was bouncing faster, preparing his spells as he got ready for the final showdown.

    He couldn''t move. Again.

    Someone had lifted him off the ground. It was the large goblin again. What was wrong with him? Let him free! If he wasn''t going to then Alwin would take matters into his own hands. He twisted and turned, but to no avail, he couldn''t wretch himself free. Next thing he tried was biting the hand that held him, he tried to stretch his slimy body towards the large green hand that held him, but Alwin wasn''t flexible or stretchy enough. He ended up just gnawing at the air.

    Let him go! Let Alwin save Uchronia and Gus!

    As he was struggling he saw Lin looking at him, she shook her head and let out a silent sigh. Stupid sneaky Goblins! Let him go! Alwin wanted to scream and shout, but even he knew that was stupid. The element of surprise would be lost. What wasn''t stupid was letting him free so that he could run off and attack those humans.

    Lin gestured with her head towards the bush and the next thing Alwin knew, he was being escorted through the underbrush. The hand shoved him into the foliage, leaves and tiny insects brushed past him. Another hand swept aside the vegetation and bugs. With all of the tiny disturbances out of the way, there was only a big one left. THAT STUPID HAND GRABBING HIS HEAD!

    Alwin flailed around in the grip of that Goblin. He was more rabid animal than monster now, biting, thrashing, and twisting in a futile effort to escape. His fury only intensified when a tiny worm found its way into his mouth. He bit down, the bitter taste of worm guts filling his mouth¡ªa grim wake-up call. Alwin was about to start gagging when another hand¡ªwhat''s with all of the hands lately¡ªclamped his mouth shut. This was the perfect opportunity to gnaw away at the hand, but it was too strong. No amount of thrashing or using all of the muscles in his jaw helped. He couldn¡¯t open his mouth, he couldn''t even spit out the worm if he wanted to. There was no other choice. Alwin swallowed the bug.

    The half-chewed bits slid down his throat and he gagged¡ªat least that''s what he tried to do. Tears leaked out of his eyes as the grossness of what he had just done sunk in. It was enough to rip him out of his frenzy. With his mindless muddled, he finally realized what the goblin that was holding him up was doing. He was showing Alwin the scene on the opposite side of the bush.

 Chapter 49: Enchanted Glimmerbloom

    Through the gaps in the hedge, were the three humans: Gary Stew, Huang Jian, and Hong Jian. In front of Gary Stew was that frying pan he used to defend himself against Alwin''s barrage of Spirit Blasts. Sitting below it was a campfire. That Gary Stew was going to fry his friends! Or maybe saut¨¦ed, braised, or seared them. All of which were horrible options!

    Standing next to him were the two young masters'', their red and yellow robes still stained from Alwin''s escapades. They stood next to Gary, their arms crossed as they tapped their feet. The unfortunate placement of brown stains on their robes prevented them from resting their arms comfortably against their bodies. Instead, they held their forearms parallel to the ground, trying to avoid the soiled areas.

    Those humans weren''t important. What was important were the two monsters lying on the ground right next to the campfire. Uchronia and Gus were there, but they were unconscious and hopefully, the type that could be woken up from. From this distance it was impossible to tell, all that he could see were pieces of strings binding their body, along with an apple shoved right into their mouths. It was a miracle Gus wasn''t aroused by the sweet taste of apple peel nudged against his tongue.

    They were safe. For now. All the more that the Goblin Force Five should ambush them right this instant! The humans were distracted, so let''s go! If they weren''t going to do something, then Alwin would. He began preparing a Spirit Blast, once that attack came flying out of the bushes they would have no choice but to attack now.

    Within his core, Alwin had just shoved the paper mache Spirit Blast within his mental oven. Just a few more seconds and his Spirit Blast would be dry and ready. A bonk on his head disrupted his concentration. The Spirit Blast within his Core collapsed. Great, now he had to start all over again, but who was the meanie that ruined it?

    Lin was shaking her head. So that was who broke his focus. If he could scream at her for doing that he would, but first, he''d scream at her for not going after the humans. Now if only that stupid brute of a goblin would let him go! Seriously! His hand was sweaty and gross!

    There was only one solution, he''d just have to cast a Spirit Blast faster than she could thump him. Alwin was back in his mental Core, prepping a new Spirit Blast, when another whack interrupted him.

    His rage was boiling. He made another attempt at creating a Spirit Blast, but he barely got his mental hands to start working, when another bop on his head forced a lapse in concentration, causing his work to crumble before him. Now, he couldn''t even conjure up those mental hands to do any work. Lin just kept tapping his head with the tip of her staff. Not the kind of tapping that he''d get used to. Sometimes she went fast, sometimes she went slow, sometimes the whack was barely noticeable, and sometimes it was so hard that he was sure that Lin thought he was a human.

    Fine! He''ll play her little game. Alwin was going to observe the scene playing out in front of him, but with one little caveat, he wasn''t going to enjoy any of it one bit. After this whole saga was over, he was definitely going to hit her with a Spirit Blast. Then right after that, he''d complain to Milvus, about how she stopped him from saving his squad. That''ll show her.

    Time to see what was so important that Goblin Force Five had to sit back and watch.

    "Hey, could you guys scoot back a bit?" asked Gary Stew, rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a chef''s knife, a foldable table, a wooden cutting board, and bottled herbs, plants, and mushrooms.

    "And why should we listen to you, Gary Stew?" asked the red and brown robed Hong Jian.

    "What do you mean why? I''m just asking you to move back a bit. It''s not like I''m asking you to defend me against a bunch of magic attacks flying out from the bushes."

    "How dare you! If the disciples were here, we wouldn''t need your help" said the yellow and brown robed Huang Jian.

    " If we had our weapons we wouldn''t need your help either," said Hong Jian.

    "Dude... I have a frying pan," said Gary Stew. "And it''s not my fault that your disciples died. I mean you guys know the risk of hunting monsters, then there''s the Monster Army and all that."

    "It is your fault! Because of your outlandish stories, you led us on a wild goose chase for a nonexistent Muffin Monster!" shouted Huang Jian.

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    "Yea, that''s on you, not me. Not my fault, you two failed listening comprehension. But, seriously just stand back a bit. I don''t want your... smells, to funk up the food."

    "Fine!" Huang Jian shouted. The two young masters'' shuffled back roughly ten paces. "Is this good enough?"

    "Yup, thanks."

    Gary wrestled with the stubborn folding table, finally snapping it open with a grunt. He spread out his tools: a worn wooden cutting board, his chef''s knife, a collection of herbs in glass bottles that gave a soft clink as they settled, a couple of plants¡ªone that Alwin recognized as the Forest Glimmer¡ªand lastly a handful of mushrooms.

    "You should reconsider joining our Crimson Gold Sect. Such talented Daoist Chefs are few and far between," said Huang Jian.

    "A no''s a no. Stop asking me. And remember, you guys owe me a reward after I escort you back."

    "You are making a foolish mistake, Gary Stew. A¡ª"

    "Dudes... y''all keep using the same looming threats, saying that I won''t make it far. It''s not going to work and I''ve already said no. Just let me cook in peace, sheesh."

    "Very well, Gary Stew. At least indulge us. What are you planning to make?" said Hong Jian.

    "Finally, an actually worthwhile conversation topic. I''m thinking of preparing Furball Meatballs wrapped in Leafling Leaf Tail. I''ll call it Forest of Beginnings Wrap Balls. I''ve foraged a bunch of mushrooms and plants from the forest and with the monsters we have here, this dish will capture everything the Forest of Beginnings has to offer."

    "Amazing! Who taught you how to utilize such unique ingredients brimming with Spiritual Energy?" asked Huang Jian.

    "Spiritual Energy? You mean mana? The system taught me I guess? I''ve got this skill called Chef''s Intuition. I just see an ingredient and I get a feeling then I just follow that feeling."

    "Impossible! There must have been a Master Daoist Chef that taught you," said Hong Jian.

    "Well, there wasn''t. I''ve just been relying on Chef''s Intuition. That''s how I got this bad boy." Gary picked up a plant that looked just like a Forest Glimmer, except that it was smaller and significantly brighter. If it were dark out right now, he was sure that the plant alone would be able to illuminate the area. "No idea what it is, but my skill was just screaming at me to take it. Hopefully, when the skill evolves, it''ll give me descriptions on what to do with the ingredients or something like that."

    "Impossible!" shouted Huang Jian.

    "What? Skills evolving? I''m pretty sure they do."

    "Not that! It''s what you have in your hand. How did I not notice it before? The Enchanted Glimmerbloom. You''ve found an Enchanted Glimmerbloom! We must have it," said Hong Jian.

    "This thing?" Gary lifted up the plant to his face, giving it a good whiff. "What''s so special about it?"

    "That plant is brimming with Vitality, a single stalk holds more energy than a hundred Forest Glimmers. To waste it on a dish is preposterous," said Huang Jian.

    "So it''s valuable? But, why''s it valuable to you?" Gary grinned.

    "With that Enchanted Glimmerbloom, we''d be able to ascend to the second stage. Any problems we would encounter during the tribulation could be easily mitigated with that plant," said Hong Jian.

    "Huh, neat. So how much are you willing to pay for this plant?" Gary''s smile was getting wider by the minute.

    "After you escort us back to the Crimson Gold Sect, we will work out a deal with you, along with your rightful rewards for bringing us back to the sect," said Huang Jian.

    "Sounds good to me. Told you Chef''s Intuition is awesome."

    "Yes, yes! Your ability is astounding," said Hong Jian.

    "I know it is. Back to cooking!"

    Gary placed down the Enchanted Glimmerboom on the folding table, on the opposite side of the other plants and mushrooms that he had harvested¡ªnone of which Alwin recognized. There were brown mushrooms, white mushrooms, mushrooms with big caps, and mushrooms with small caps. It was a mushroom hater''s worst nightmare. Apart from the Forest Glimmer, all of the plants looked the same to him¡ªa bunch of leafy greens that probably tasted disgusting. Vegetables suck!

    The glass bottles filled with spices that Gary set up next to his cutting board were so tempting. The moment he cracked one open, its scent wafted through the air, traveling downwind toward him. The smell alone was enough to cause him to salivate. Alwin didn''t know what he would do the moment Gary started toasting them. Their fragrance would intensify to the point that he was glad that he was currently being restrained by that large Goblin, if not he''d run up there to have a taste of the spices rather than save his squad. But, still, when could they carry out the rescue mission?

    Gary Stew started by chopping up the mushrooms: trimming the stem, then placing vertical and horizontal slices to create small uniform pieces. Next, he tackled the vegetables, his knife flashing through several impressive techniques that made Alwin¡¯s eyes widen in surprise¡ªnot because he was impressed by his knife skill, but because he recognized the techniques he performed. Julienne, chiffonade, and even chiseled cuts. What a bunch of useless information. Why would he ever need it?

    "That''s all of the prep work done. Now to move on to the stars of the dish." Gary spun the knife he held in his hand, strolling over to the unconscious Gus and Uchronia.

    "Move out," said Lin.

 Chapter 50: Cook The Chef

    Alwin felt the grip on him loosen, and before he knew it, he was free-falling. He plummeted to the floor once more, attacking the earth with a tiny plop. As he looked up, the large goblin with a club had shifted from holding up Alwin and his weapon to lifting the other members of Goblin Force Five, namely the goblin in black armor, and the lady archer goblin.

    He coiled his arm back like a spring, winding tighter and tighter. With a grunt and a blur, he launched the black armored goblin high into the air, just like what Alwin had done to Gus and Uchronia. The goblin soared upward, arms by his side as he ascended.

    Without missing a beat, he transferred the lady archer goblin to his right hand and wound it back once more. She already had an arrow nocked in her bow, her eyes locked onto her target. As soon as she nodded, the goblin launched her into the air. Alwin barely had time to blink before she was airborne, bow ready, the wind whipping through her hair as she took aim.

    The half-naked goblin gestured something with his hand, causing the large goblin who had picked up his club to dash out of the bush, along with the half-naked goblin.

    They were going to save Uchronia and Gus. Finally! Time for him to join in on the action. He rolled himself right side up and was about to join the other members of Goblin Force Five when a staff with a green crystal barred his path. Seriously? He looked at the owner of said staff, Lin, and was about to start berating her for not letting him save his friends when she spoke first.

    "Wait here, when you see an opening, I want you to rush in and grab your two squad members. Got it?" asked Lin.

    Before he could even reply, Lin had dashed out of the bushes to join the rest of Goblin Force Five.

    "Goblins!" Huang Jian shouted.

    "Monster Army Goblins!" Hong Jian shouted.

    "But my food!" Gary shouted.

    He switched between looking at the two goblins in the sky about to rain down on them and the three goblins that had come out of the bush. His eyes flicked to the spice bottles and the food laid out on the cutting board. His lips were drawn to the side of his face, with one eye slightly more squinted than the other.

    "I''ve always wondered how goblin meat tastes like." He smirked.

    Hong Jian and Huang Jian lacked the same enthusiasm that Gary Stew was oozing out, instead, they closed the distance between them, choosing to cower behind him again.

    "This means you owe me again," said Gary Stew.

    "Yes! Protect us and you''ll be rewarded!" the two young masters shouted in unison.

    "Everything is going up Gary Stew''s way." He smirked again.

    Lin had caught up to the two ground Goblins. The crystal on her staff glowed a bright emerald green before she slammed it onto the ground. "Mischief Aura!" she yelled. A shockwave of dark mana pulsed out from her staff enshrouding herself and the other members of Goblin Force Five in a swirling, shadowy aura. All five of them started cackling like mad goblins as they carried out their attacks.

    The black armored goblin dug into his pouch and produced a couple of small black balls. Was he going to start popping pills? Nope, he threw them. Alwin''s guess had been wrong again. As they hit, they exploded into thick clouds of smoke, engulfing the humans in a dense, obscuring haze. The goblin let out a low snicker, clearly pleased with the confusion he was creating. With the smoke billowing around, he angled his body downward and dove headfirst towards the humans.

    Meanwhile, the lady archer goblin had begun firing arrows. Every arrow that flew out of her bow was accompanied by her yelling out the name of the skill "Sneaky Snare Shot". A gleeful chortle followed as the arrows flew through the air. Upon impact, each arrow burst into a sticky, gooey substance, coating the grass in a white, tangled mess. The arrows that flew into the smoke presumably did the same thing, exploding into a web that would trap the humans.

    The large goblin and the half-naked goblin were definitely not going to be left out of the action. The large goblin hefted his club up into the air, he pulled it back as far as he could, his muscle visibly bulging under the faux-metal armor. He pulled the club back as far as it would go, veins popping as he readied himself. "Club Smash!" he bellowed, swinging the club towards the half-naked goblin.

    At the perfect moment, the half-naked goblin leaped onto the club, using its momentum to rocket himself forward. He became a green blur, hurtling straight toward the humans with incredible speed. Both goblins cackled like maniacal mad goblins the whole time, their laughter mingling with the chaos of the battlefield.

    The half-naked goblin pulled both his arms back towards his body, mana concentrating within his palm. The black armored goblin had his arms crossed, a dagger in each hand, as he dived towards the smoky mess he created. As the half-naked goblin was about to enter the smokescreen, he thrust out a hand yelling, "Palm Blast!"

    A shockwave erupted out from the half-naked goblin, cutting through the smoke, and exposing the humans for the world to see. Sticky white goo covered the entire ground. The half-naked goblin and black armored goblin were converging. Their target¡ªGary Stew. The half-naked Goblin thrusted out his other palm launching another Palm Blast, while the black armored goblin uncrossed his hands, yelling out, "Dive Bomb Stab!"

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    Both attacks hit at the same time. Streaks of red painted the white sticky goo around him, as the stab attack had sliced open the jugular veins on both sides of his neck. The force of the Palm Blast struck Gary''s upper body, but the goo ensnaring his lower half kept him from being thrown back. The cocoon of goo was the only thing holding him upright, preventing him from collapsing face-first onto the now red and white cocoon of goo.

    The half-naked goblin had continued to sail past Gary Stew after delivering his attack, while the black armored goblin, after landing his blow, sunk into the shadows. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared beside the half-naked goblin, who had landed by channeling his remaining momentum into a powerful kick. The kick struck a nearby tree trunk, leaving a deep, splintered hole in the wood. They laughed, pointing at their handiwork¡ªthe soon-to-be-dead Gary Stew.

    Gary Stew was down and Uchronia and Gus were goo free. This was his chance! Alwin summoned his Spirit Hands and with their help, he was launched straight towards Gus and Uchronia, flying above the sticky mess below. He re-summoned two pairs of Spirit Hands to pick up both Gus and Uchronia as he soared past them before crashing into another bush. The trio was finally reunited. He had done it. Uchronia and Gus were alive!

    The two young masters perched atop the folding table the folding table, goo-free. Huang Jian clutched onto the Enchanted Glimmerbloom for dear life. Their mouths were so wide open you''d think they were trying to see if they could stuff all of the ingredients laid out on the table.

    "The... bloom..." Gary Stew gurgled, spitting up blood. The crimson fluid flowed out of his mouth, slowly dripping off his chin, staining his chef''s outfit red before it mingled with the goo that bound his lower half.

    "What!" shouted Hong Jian.

    "Bloom... me..." Gary Stew''s head lolled to the side, his voice barely a whisper. His arm stretched out towards the two young masters''

    "But this is supposed to help with our tribulation. What do you even plan on doing with it?" shouted Huang Jian.

    "Only... chance..." he barely managed to spit out.

    The two young masters exchanged a quick, panicked glance, then looked at Gary Stew, whose face was growing pale as blood continued to flow from the two open pipes in his neck. Their eyes flicked nervously to the Goblin Force Five, who were cloaked in a sinister dark aura, too consumed by their own laughter and glee at Gary''s impending demise to notice the exchange happening between the humans. Only Alwin, after recovering from attacking the ground with his face, watching from his hidden spot, was aware of the unfolding situation.

    The young masters turned back to each other. Without even speaking, a million conversations were spoken, each facial twitch, eye movement, and head gesture speaking volumes. Finally, Hong Jian nodded.

    Huang Jian''s lips quivered. "Fine." He gazed downwards at the Enchanted Glimmerbloom he held in his palm for one last time, before throwing it at Gary Stew.

    The plant flew, spinning end over end, towards Gary''s outstretched hand. He clamped down on it with a surprising amount of strength¡ªprobably the last ounces that he could muster¡ªalmost crushing the plant. Gary Stew joined the two young masters'' having his mouth agape, but unlike them, he fully planned on eating what was in front of him. He shoved the Enchanted Glimmerbloom right down his throat.

    "You fool! That much pure unrefined Vitality energy will cause your body to explode!" shouted Hong Jian.

    "You''ve killed yourself and our chance of ascending!" shouted Huang Jian.

    Gary Stew held up one finger towards them, a smirk plastered on his face. His head which had been drooping towards the side rose up until he was staring directly at the two young masters. The smirk on his face widened, revealing more teeth in an almost unsettling grin. The two gushing geysers of blood that sprang out of his neck began to stem, becoming a trickle until nothing was flowing out anymore. The torn flesh knitted itself back together, restoring it to its original state as if he had never been cut in the first place, not even a scar remained.

    "Sometimes you just have to trust a Chef''s Intuition." Gary stuck out his tongue, the Enchanted Glimmerbloom lighting up the caverns of his mouth.

    "H-how?" Hong Jian uttered.

    "W-what did you do?" Huang Jian asked.

    "I''m not stupid enough to eat the whole thing, I sucked on the plant just enough for it to heal all of my injuries."

    "That should be impossible!" shouted out Hong Jian.

    "Not if you know how to suck! Trust me I''ve had lots of practice before I came to this world." Gary Stew winked.

    "So does this mean we can still have the Enchanted Glimmerbloom?" said Huang Jian.

    "Sorry, boys. I''m going to need this if we want to make it out alive. Now be a dear and pass me my knife and spices."

    "Y-yes," said Hong Jian.

    Huang Jian snatched the knife from the wooden cutting board and tossed it towards Gary, while Hong Jian grabbed a bottle of spice, a fiery red one, and flung it toward him as well. The knife spun in the air and Gary clasped onto the handle mid-spin. He caught the spice bottle in his other hand with ease.

    Gary dashed the handle of his knife against the cap, causing it to spin off as it worked its way around the threads, freeing the spices from their prison. Dipping the tip of the blade into the opened spice bottle, he scooped up a small mound of crushed red spices. The bright, powdery substance clung to the steel, and the sharp aroma suggested it might be chili.

    His nose flared up when he brought his knife close to it, sniffing it. He snorted in amusement.

    "This will do." He grinned.

    Gary extended his hand and closed his eyes, concentrating. Mana concentrated within the blade of the knife, it began to glow a bright red, taking on the color of the spice coating. His eyes shot open and he yelled out, "Seasoned Slice!"

    Gary began slicing away at the red-stained goo that trapped him. Alwin recognized the technique. It was a modified version of the dicing technique meant to chop vegetables. Gary Stew had adapted it to be used on such an unorthodox material. The goo around him fell apart into small uniform square pieces, freeing him from his sticky confines.

    The effects of Mischief Aura had dissipated, Goblin Force Five no longer laughed like madmen and were able to take stock of the situation. Why, oh, why did they have to use such a technique? It probably caused them to tunnel vision, allowing Gary Stew a chance to untangle himself from the sticky situation.

    Then again, that Gary Stew fella had a one-in-a-million luck. Not only had he stumbled upon a rare plant brimming with Vitality, but he also had someone knowledgeable about its properties and a skill that let him consume it safely. Talk about lucky. Where was Alwin''s luck in all of this!

    "I''ve always wanted to taste some Goblin meat." Gary licked the spices off the side of his blade. "This is going to be fun."

 Chapter 51: Chef Is Cooking

    Gary Stew dipped his knife into his spice bottle, coating the blade with even more red flakes. Using Seasoned Slice, he sliced a path towards the campfire where his frying pan resided. With the pan in hand, he slashed his way back to the folding table, grabbing the remaining spice bottles.

    The members of Goblin Force Five had regrouped around Lin, the dark aura that once made them cackle like they belonged in a mental asylum was now gone. They were muttering something amongst themselves, but Alwin didn''t care. Uchronia and Gus were safe! Sure, they were unconscious, but they were safe. That¡¯s all that matters. Revenge? Not today. The mission was done; time to head home. Gary Stew could go chew on his spices for all Alwin cared.

    The Goblins didn¡¯t get the memo. Lin stomped her staff on the ground, sending out another wave of that strange darkness¡ªMischief Aura. What did that even do? It was probably a buff of some kind. Maybe he could convince Lin to teach it to Uchronia once they were back at camp. Right now, Alwin was just going to sit back, relax, and watch Goblin Force Five obliterate Gary Stew.

    Gary hadn¡¯t been standing idle waiting for the goblins to finish their huddle. The area around him had been cleared of any sticky goo residue, they had been finely chopped up into what could''ve constituted as dust. Wrapped around his waist was a belt, similar to what the black armored goblin was wearing, except instead of pouches containing who knows what, it held spice bottles. Once again his knife was coated in spices. Not one, not two, but five different spices.

    The black-armored goblin, the half-naked goblin, and the large goblin charged at Gary, with Lin and the archer firing from the back. Lin¡¯s Chaotic Conjure blasts raced ahead of the archer¡¯s Chaos Cluster Arrows.

    Three orbs¡ªred, yellow, and blue¡ªorbited around a small dark orb as they hurtled through the air towards Gary Stew. Moments before impact the four orbs coalesced. Their colors intermingled and swirled within each other before an explosion of color consumed Gary.

    When the smoke cleared, Gary was still standing, panting like he had just run a marathon. Parts of the skin on his face had been burned off, revealing deep red burnt flesh that was blistered. The top of his chef''s outfit was ruined, only tatters remained, exposing his naked, but equally burnt chest and stomach.

    Those same wounds that should''ve killed him began to close up. The swollen red flesh transitioned to fleshy pink, to regular tan skin. When the burns faded so did his pants, and his grin returned as he faced the incoming goblins.

    What came next was Chaos Cluster Arrow. The whole arrow was coated in a layer of mana rather than just the arrowhead. If anything it looked like a regular boosted arrow. That was probably Gary Stew''s assumption too. If he could come out of an explosion unscathed, he could survive one measly arrow.

    Except, it wasn''t a normal arrow¡ªwho could''ve seen that coming? The arrow split apart, reforming into multiple much smaller arrows, the size of darts. His eyes widened¡ªjust for a second. Then the smirk returned like it always did. Maybe Alwin should join the fray and help wipe out that snot-eating grin.

    Gary spread out his arms, frying pan in one hand, spice-coated knife in the other, joining the goblins in their laughter as the cluster of arrow darts struck him. His body jolted with each hit, small wounds appearing all over him and he began to heave from the pain. Hundred of tiny arrow darts stuck out from him, the arrowheads burrowing into his flesh.

    Then, the darts exploded, sending splinters deep into his skin. Gary¡¯s scream rippled through the air, scaring off even the bravest birds that had dared to stick around. Huffing and puffing as the pain spread throughout his body, the splinters of wood that had been embedded inside of his body began to move.

    They were slowly being pushed out of the holes that the arrows had left, like the worst pimple-popping video ever¡ªyes, Alwin had knowledge of ancient human video trends. Thousands of splinters of wood were squeezed out of Gary in the span of less than a second. Those openings created by the arrows began to close up, and multiple strings of flesh grew from opposite sides of the holes, knitting themselves back together until his wounds were nothing but ancient history.

    They would be fools if Lin and the archer thought to only send out one attack. Multiple Chaotic Conjures flew out of Lin''s staff, while numerous Chaos Cluster Arrows were let loose from the archer. Gary Stew continued to stand with his arms open, taking every single blow, only pausing his cackling when he grunted from the pain being inflicted on him before the wounds healed and he was back to cackling once more.

    Those weren''t the only things flying toward Gary Stew, the remaining members of Goblin Force Five were charging straight towar him. The black armored goblin and the half-naked goblin jumped on board the club express. The large goblin halted in his tracks, spinning round once before sending the pair of goblins rocketing towards Gary Stew with another Club Smash.

    The two goblins snickered as they flew alongside the various projectiles that were being thrown at Gary. The black-armored goblin wanted to add his own to the mix. Digging into his pouch, he produced another set of smoke bombs and chucked them at the mad human. For once, Gary actually took action. With a swing of his trusty pan, he sent the bombs sailing away, where they erupted mid-air in a burst of smoke.

    "I''m not letting you goblins shroud my limelight!" Gary cackled.

    The half-naked goblin brought his hands close to his body, charging them up, while the black-armored goblin crossed his daggers.

    "Come on! Show me what you''ve got!" He smirked.

    They struck in unison. The black-armored goblin uncrossed his hands, driving a Double Dagger Drive straight to Gary''s neck, while the half-naked goblin thrust both palms into his chest delivering a Palm Blast. Gary was sent hurtling, a trail of blood spurting from his neck as he crashed into a tree.

    Wow, they made that look so easy. One day Alwin and his squad would obliterate humans as easily as Goblin Force Five made it out to be. The only reason why Gary Stew was alive was because he lucked into that plant and also lucked into a skill that allowed him to use that plant.

    Unlike him, Alwin was actually going to work his way to victory, not rely on cheap gimmicks¡ªunless those gimmicks were things he made himself, those don''t count. Anyway, back to the show!

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    Gary peeled himself off the tree, leaving a Gary-shaped hole that had been indented into the trunk. He placed a hand on his neck and cracked it and his shoulders, the injuries he had sustained were already being healed. Multiple Chaotic Conjures and Chaos Cluster Arrows sailed past the two goblins, heading straight for Gary as he made his way back.

    "Now, it''s my turn to have some fun." He smirked.

    Pan in hand, Gary swung with reckless abandon¡ªAlwin recognized the skill as Pan-demonium¡ªeach wild arc smacking away the quad-colored Chaotic Conjure and the hundreds of arrow darts that had split up from the Chaos Cluster Arrows. Explosions of color and splinters of wood rained down everywhere as Gary Stew strolled toward the melee members of Goblin Force Five. Projectiles that had managed to slip past his defense, burning or breaking skin, were healed up in an instant. Nothing was slowing him down.

    "I''ve used up half of my stats I saved up earlier because of those magical projectiles. I think you Goblins deserve the second half," he cackled, covering half his face with his free hand.

    A status screen appeared in front of him, and he began tapping away. As his fingers danced on the screen, his swings got faster. Fewer and fewer projectiles were making it through his Pan-demonium until he was able to smack away anything the Goblins could throw at him. Stupid stinking power-up! Where was Alwin''s power-up when he needed it?

    The three melee members of Goblin Force Five huddled together, discussing a plan to defeat Gary Stew. They gestured something to Lin and the archer lady, who got the memo. It would''ve been nice if Alwin knew what they were discussing.

    The black-armored goblin dashed up first, leaping high above the multitude of projectiles flowing with him. At the apex of his jump, a dozen other clones of him blinked into existence. Each one armed with twin daggers and about to stab away at Gary.

    "Shadow Clones? You think that''s the first time I''ve seen that move?" Gary laughed. ¡°Now all you need is blonde hair and an orange jacket.¡±

    The clones had their daggers crossed about to stab him, but they shared a similar fate with the projectiles¡ªthey were whacked away only to disappear in a puff of smoke. The main goblin continued to summon more clones of himself, each one of them brandishing their twin daggers and ready to stab Gary, but it was to no avail. As time went on and many clones later, his face was covered in more and more sweat. He was simply wasting his mana¡ªtalk about a lame plan.

    The large goblin and half-naked goblin had joined in the fight. The half-naked goblin positioned himself in between the projectiles and Gary Stew, while the large goblin was all over the place.

    The large goblin roared, "Feral Fury!" and his eyes rolled back. He mirrored Gary Stew''s technique of swinging without a single care in the world, except that his strikes had the strength to crack the ground. He swung away, hitting the clones, hitting Gary Stew, and hitting the half-naked Goblin.

    Those weren''t the only things hitting him. The half-naked goblin planted his feet and adopted a martial arts pose¡ªhorse stance if Alwin remembered correctly. With his eyes closed, he absorbed the hits from all sides.

    Gary''s haphazard swings struck everything around him, including the half-naked goblin. Some of Lin and the archer lady''s attacks were striking him from behind as well. He gritted his teeth and held on enduring all of the attacks that came his way, whether intentional or not. Scrapes, burn marks, and bruises marred his dark green skin. Talk about an even lamer plan.

    "I''ve had enough of you!" Gary roared.

    He ceased the Pan-demonium, letting the attacks pelt his body, only to be healed moments later, and held up his knife in front of his face. "Five-Spice Slice!" Gary swung his spice-coated knife in an arc around him. The clones and the large goblin''s club were sliced in half. The goblin himself was thrown back and knocked out cold.

    A large gash had formed in the center of the half-naked goblin''s chest. Deep red crimson blood oozed out of it. It wouldn''t even be a scratch for Gary Stew, but for the half-naked goblin, it was a death sentence. Time was ticking down before he eventually died from blood loss. What sort of plan was this!

    "You''re a tough cookie! Let''s see how long you can last." Gary smirked.

    Five-Spice Slice, after Five-Spice Slice, after Five-Spice Slice, a whole bunch of knife slices decorated the goblin''s body. Gary was like an artist and the goblin his canvas, painting a masterpiece of pain and suffering. Alwin winced as Gary sliced into the goblin. There was so much blood spurting out, and a chunk of intestine hung out shooting out geysers of blood in every direction.

    Blood drenched on Gary''s lips and he licked them, a grin emerging on his face¡ªmaybe Gary should be a butcher rather than a chef. Still, the half-dead goblin remained in a horse stance, enduring attacks by Gary Stew and his teammates.

    But as Gary went for another strike, the goblin caught his hand, staring him down. The soon-to-be-dead goblin held his hand and stared at Gary straight in the time. Gary was laughing like a maniac, "Finally starting to fight back? Sure I''ll give you a free hit before you die!"

    The on-the-brink-of-death goblin pulled back his hand¡ªwas it another Palm Blast? He formed a fist instead, mana concentrating within it. The on-death''s-door-goblin muttered, "Retaliation," and punched Gary in the gut

    Gary was sent flying crashing into another tree, except instead of a Gary-shaped hole, the force of his impact splintered the trunk of the tree into tiny pieces. He let out a chuckle as he got up, a hole had been blasted through his stomach¡ªit was his best impression of a jelly-filled doughnut with jelly oozing out.

    He moved his fingers over it, feeling the wound. Intestines squirmed around and Alwin could see his rib cage poking out from the top of the hole, and when Alwin said that he really meant it. Gary had crashed into a nearby tree and Alwin was definitely not expecting to join the fight. He couldn''t sit back and relax anymore, he had to stand up and panic.

    The hole in his body had begun to reform, threads of red, white, pink, and whatever color the insides of the body were grew from one side of the hole to another. His body was being stitched up fiber by fiber, bone by bone. Gary wasn''t laughing anymore, he placed his hand over the wound and concentrated hard on the plant in his mouth. Alwin could see his cheeks puffing in and out, lumps flowing down his throat as his body repaired himself. What were the other members of Goblin Force Five doing!

    The half-naked goblin was lying in a pool of his own blood, ready to have tea with death himself. The large goblin was knocked out cold on the ground along with the black armored goblin. Only the two ladies were left, the archery lady went toward her comrades while Lin rushed towards him. That was good. If he couldn''t deal with Gary before his power-up, then he was definitely not strong enough to deal with him now. Leave it to the professionals as they always say.

    Alwin summoned his Spirit Hands, drawing the attention of Gary Stew to him. Maybe he shouldn''t have done that, but screw that jazz, he was getting Uchronia and Gus out of here pronto.

    "So that''s where my food went. Looks like I''m having jelly for dessert." He licked his lips.

    The hole in his stomach had been sealed up. This was bad. Using his Spirit Hands he launched Uchronia, and Lin managed to catch her. Next was Gus, and Lin was not expecting that. She shifted Uchronia to one hand and barely managed to free herself to catch Gus. He hit her square in the chest, and must''ve knocked the wind out of her judging from how she staggered back¡ªshe had to work on her ball-handling skills. All that was left was Alwin. Got to save the best for last, right?

    Alwin felt his body being lifted off above the ground, normally that would''ve been a good thing, but when all five pairs of Spirit Hands in front of him were Alwin-free and frantically gesturing towards something behind him, he felt his stomach lurch. Looks like Gary agreed about the ¡®best for last¡¯ bit, because he was saving Alwin all for himself.

    "You''re coming with me back to the guild, my sweet purple jelly friend," Gary whispered into his ear.

 Chapter 52: Escape From The Chef

    The Spirit Hands were on the move, buzzing around Gary Stew like a swarm of angry bees with fists. They darted in, throwing punches that landed with all the force of a polite tap on the shoulder. Gary didn¡¯t flinch. In fact, he laughed¡ªa hearty, full-bellied laugh that echoed through the clearing.

    Time to switch tactics. Two hands attempted to gouge out his eyes, while another clamped down on his family jewels like a vise grip, while the rest worked on yanking Alwin free from his iron grip.

    Gary howled in pain, dropping Alwin. It worked. The remaining pairs of hands celebrated freeing their master, giving out high-fives to each other, but that celebration was short-lived. He sliced the hands that dared to mess with his manhood and then smacked away those going for his eyeballs.

    Gary fixed them with a glare that could melt steel¡ªway worse than Uchronia''s scariest death stare. His eyes were bloodshot, not just from the near gouging, but from sheer rage.

    "I don''t need you fresh to prepare my dessert," said Gary Stew.

    He held out the knife in front of him. Alwin knew what that stance meant. Hands! Go! Go! Go! Throw him now! They didn''t need to be told twice. Three sets of hands threw him away from Gary, but there was a problem. The throw wasn''t the normal throw where they all lined up and tossed Alwin at increasing speeds. All three pairs of hands grabbed Alwin at the same time. Sure, they threw him, but not as far or fast as they could''ve.

    Gary was hot on his flying tush, knife still held out in front of him as he ran towards Alwin. The mental connection with his Spirit Hands had been severed¡ªno thanks to Gary. Needless to say, he was panicking. What should he do? What should he do! He couldn''t take a slice from him. He was just an innocent Tier 1 Dark Slime without any means to defend himself. Should he attack him? Offense was the best defense after all. Should he summon his Spirit Hands so that they could play hot potato with him like they did during the quiz against the metal golem? What should he do? What should he do! He didn''t know what to do.

    "Five-Spice Slice!"

    This was it. The day he would be reduced to a mere dessert item¡ªnot even the main course, the star of the dish. It was a fun one-and-a-half months of life.

    The swoosh of the knife swinging downward, the dull thud of flesh being carved up, and the smell of iron wafting through the air. But the scream of agony that followed wasn¡¯t his.

    Alwin slammed into the ground, the impact rippling through his gelatinous form. He twisted around to find Lin, she had defended him. She stood tall, her staff clenched in one hand, the crystal atop it blazing with like a glowing emerald as she unleashed a Chaotic Conjure. The four orbs coalesced, engulfing Gary Stew in a kaleidoscope of color.

    In her other hand¡ªwell she didn''t have that privilege anymore¡ªthere was only empty space. His eyes trailed down and, oh look, he found what Lin was missing. There on the ground below her, was her severed hand. Different amounts of color and spices decorated the edge of the stump.

    The smoke cleared, revealing a very much alive Gary Stew. Parts of his chest were charred, blistering red flesh exposed. It wasn''t healing. He wasn''t healing!

    Gary looked down and his chest, and touched the burn marks on his skin. His face singeing in pain as a finger traced the injury. His face went pale and he stuck out his tongue, revealing the withered gray Enchanted Glimmerbloom, no longer lighting up the insides of his mouth. He ran. The cocky laughter was gone. The mocking of his opponents was gone. Gary Stew, the Monster Chef, was running away.

    This was their chance. All Lin had to do was fire off another Chaotic Conjure then he''d be dead. Go, Lin! Go! Lin went alright. She went face-first into the ground, passing out from blood loss. A geyser of blood shooting out from where her hand should be. Well, if she wasn''t going to do it then he would.

    Alwin started preparing a Spirit Blast. Finally, he would have his revenge. The blue iridescent orb materialized in front of him, and it was his turn to laugh. Gary was toast. It chased after the fleeing human.

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    Alwin watched as Gary''s legs flailed beneath him, each step more desperate than the last. His arms flailed in a feeble attempt to maintain balance. His breath hitched in panicked gasps as his entire body trembled. This was it. The orb was inches away from blasting him. That stupid human was getting his comeuppance for hurting his friends.

    Two blurs shot out from the surrounding bushes. Before Alwin could react, the blurs resolved into figures¡ªfigures that threw themselves between Gary and the Spirit Blast. With synchronized shouts, the figures swung knives coated in a golden aura, knocking the Spirit Blast off course and into an innocent bystander¡ªa tree.

    Those shouts, that skill, that yellow and red robe that was stained brown. It was Huang Jian and Hong Jian. Alwin had completely forgotten about those two spineless young masters who had been clinging to Gary Stew. Why were they here?

    "Huang Jian? Hong Jian? What are you doing here?" Gary wheezed out in between haggard breaths

    "Such a talent cannot be wasted," said Huang Jian.

    "We will get you out of here," said Hong Jian.

    Not on Alwin''s watch. Those three humans were as good as dead. Gary was practically marching his way into the afterlife, and with nothing but a bunch of kitchen knives, those two young masters'' weren''t going to stop him. Alwin started preparing another Spirit Blast, his face scrunching up with malice and concentration.

    "Halt monster!" shouted Huang Jian.

    Yeah, no. Alwin ignored their pleas. This was too good an opportunity to pass up.

    "You may have the ability to defeat us, but are you able to do it before your companion dies," said Hong Jian, pointing at Lin. The color draining from her body as fast as the blood pooling around her.

    Alwin fired off another Spirit Blast. Golden mana covered the blade as they swung the short edge¡ªGolden Sweep¡ª throwing the Spirit Blast off course into another innocent tree that was just minding its own business.

    Alwin clicked his tongue. They were right. Alwin could probably overwhelm them with innumerable numbers of Spirit Blasts and their variations, but Lin would probably die of blood loss by then. There was no telling what a cornered human was capable of doing.

    What about the archer lady? Last he checked, she was still able-bodied. She could probably tend to Lin as he finished them off, but she was most likely nursing the other members of Goblin Force Five, her hands were full and Alwin''s metaphorical hands were tied.

    With a part of his mind focused on keeping track of the humans, the other parts went to work. He weighed his choices. Save Lin or kill the humans. Logically, if the humans were allowed to live they would go on to cause even more chaos and destruction after they recovered. Lin could save monster lives, but would it be enough to make up for the lives that were lost thanks to letting the humans walk free?

    The two young masters'' were important enough to warrant an entourage escorting them, while Gary Stew was a Monster Chef recognized for his talents. Lin was just one goblin in the Human Hunter Corps, whose squad struggled to defeat that metal golem, while his managed to complete it on their first go without any sort of preparation. Logically, it was better to kill off the humans and let Lin bleed out. That¡¯s what his logic told him.

    But since when had Alwin ever been logical? Lin had saved his friends, so he should save her. That''s all there was to it. If only he was stronger, then this whole debacle would never have happened. Curse his weakness. Curse his useless Spirit Blast. Curse his Core Skill. He stared at the trio. red with anger.

    The young masters'' stared back with their knives out, waiting. They were waiting for something, anything, to happen. Waiting for the Dark Slime to make a move or to acknowledge their proposition.

    Alwin didn''t move. So they made a move first. They backed off, one step at a time. Their knives pointed at Alwin as his face twisted with rage. Cursing himself for being weak, for being stupid. Because of his decision, the world was a more dangerous place for monster kind. Who knew how many monsters the young masters would kill? How many monsters that Gary Stew would make meals out of? He could''ve nipped those horrors in the bud right here, right now, but Lin had helped him in his time of need, so by all means he had to help her when she needed it the most.

    Eventually, they started running. As fast as two spoiled brats who had to shoulder an injured man could. The sounds of them rummaging through bushes and breaking twigs that came underfoot dwindled until only the sounds that remained were the rustling of leaves and Lin''s soft groans.

    He had to help her, but how? It''s not like he had a healing ability on standby. His bag with the Small Healing Pills was left back at camp while Uchronias'' and Gus'' were nowhere to be found. Looking at the blood watering the ground, he doubted that a Small Healing Pill would even be enough.

    Uchronia was still passed out, she surely would''ve known what to do in this situation, and Gus... Well, he''d probably offer her a muffin as if that would fix her boo-boo. Only one choice left, that archer lady better be able to fix her up, if not Alwin would''ve let those humans go for nothing and all the death and destruction that they brought would''ve lay solely on him.

 Chapter 53: The Injured

    The Spirit Hands were summoned, ready to rumble with Gary¡ªexcept they¡¯d somehow missed the memo that Alwin had already let the humans go. All five pairs slumped in disappointment, fingers drooping like wilted flowers, floating around aimlessly as if trying to find something to do.

    "Now''s not the time for that, we''ve got to save Lin." The hands perked up when they heard the distress in Alwin''s voice and saw the gruesome scene of Lin turning lighter shades of green as more blood was let out. "And be gentle!"

    A pair of hands floated over to the severed limb, while the rest went over to Lin'' unconscious body. They lifted her carefully, supporting her head, legs, and remaining arm. The hands took much greater care of the Goblin girl, compared to when they were grabbing and tossing her into the sky without a care in the world¡ªgranted that the differences in treatment were specifically due to Alwin''s orders. Right now, he had to deliver Lin to the archer goblin so that she could hopefully administer some first aid, then after that administer second and third aid because she really needed it.

    Leading the way, Alwin pushed aside low-hanging branches and bushes with his body, carving a path as the hands followed with Lin in tow. He spotted Uchronia and Gus safe and sound, their heads leaning against each other as they slept, blissfully unaware of the horrors that Alwin had witnessed. He''d come back for them later, that much he promised.

    Further in the distance he could spot, the archer lady. her bow and quiver laid out on the ground next to the three melee members of Goblin Force Five. The three of them were still knocked out, blood-drenched bandages wrapped around the chests of the half-naked goblin and the large goblin.

    The hands floated toward her, while Alwin hopped alongside. A single misplaced hop caused a twig to snap underneath him. The archer lady rolled to her bow and drew it in less than a second, the arrow aimed right for him. If he had any hands available he would raise them up, but right now those hands were busy with a blood-leaking Goblin.

    "Oh, Cor! Lin?"

    The Spirit Hands laid Lin down beside the half-naked goblin, with one pair gently placing her severed arm where it belonged¡ªas if that would magically reattach it.

    "What happened over there?" she asked, already pulling gauze from a pocket on her quiver. Alwin noticed the various pouches labeled with neat handwriting: Gauze, bandages, Small Healing Pills¡ªthis Goblin was prepared for anything. Except maybe this.

    Memories of what happened not even five minutes ago flashed in his mind, each one felt like a stab by Gary Stew and those young masters. Regret and anger coursed through his body. The thought weighed heavily on his mind like a boulder pressing down on him, a dark cloud that the Dark Slime couldn''t blow away.

    Now that Lin was safe with the archer lady, nothing was holding him back. He could go and chase after them. Gary was injured; they couldn''t have gotten far. The two young masters had knives instead of swords, they wouldn''t stand a chance against his relentless attacks. Why didn''t he factor this into his calculations? Was he really that incompetent at making plans? Uchronia really was right, he didn''t think things through.

    "She protected me," Alwin said. "The humans got away too. I don''t think they could''ve gotten far. I''m going to chase after them."

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± the lady archer shot back, not even looking up from her work as she wrapped gauze around Lin¡¯s stump. ¡°The last thing I need is another body to worry about. I need your help here.¡±

    "But¡ª"

    "No! I need help transporting them back to camp. We''ve got two in critical condition! The Small Healing Pills aren''t enough!"

    "Fine!" Alwin was mad¡ªif that wasn''t obvious enough. "Can I at least roll my friends over?"

    The lady archer nodded her focus still on Lin, who was now part mummy. She was wrapping up Lin''s stump, blood already dying the white fabric red, creating a makeshift tourniquet to prevent her from bleeding out completely.

    Alwin hopped over to his two friends sleeping soundly like a log, the Spirit Hands hovered alongside him, each one taking turns to provide comforting pats, reassuring him that he did everything he did to the best of his ability. But did he? He was useless, a burden. The only thing he knew how to do was shoot out different flavors of Spirit Blast and hope it would overwhelm his opponent. He couldn''t do anything but run when Uchronia and Gus were captured. He couldn''t do anything but watch as Goblin Force Five risked life and limb to save his squad. He couldn''t do anything.

    The Spirit Hands picked up Uchronia and Gus and brought them back to the archer lady, who had just finished dressing up Lin. She popped a few Small Healing Pills into Lin''s mouth and instantly the ragged breath that punctuated every second smoothed out, as if she was just taking a nap rather than hanging on by a thread.

    From her quiver, she pulled out five rods that resembled arrows, except a lot thicker. What was she going to do? Shoot them back to camp? Alwin watched as she untied each one, unraveling the deep green threads that held them together. They sprung open, revealing that those were in fact not arrows, but foldable stretchers, ones that were green and brown presumably to help blend into the forest.

    "Put your friends on one of the stretchers here, then help me carry my squad back to camp."

    Alwin had done just that, he placed Uchronia and Gus onto one of the empty stretchers before helping to place the rest of Goblin Force Five. She had only permitted Alwin to carry the black armored goblin and the large goblin¡ªthe big guy required the help of all ten of his Spirit Hands.

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    She didn¡¯t trust him with Lin or the half-naked goblin, but at least she let him place Lin¡¯s hand back on her body after she was secured to the stretcher. Guess she didn¡¯t want to risk any more accidents.

    Once everyone was safely strapped onto the stretcher, she brought out her own set of Spirit Hands, five of them to be exact. They each went to the ends of the stretcher and together with Alwin''s own Spirit Hands, lifted them up, ready for transportation. It was time to move out. The lady archer¡¯s instructions were clear: SLOW and STEADY¡ªher words, not Alwin¡¯s. An arrow was nocked and drawn, just in case anything decided to jump out at them.

    Before they could take a step, the archer spun around, her bow drawn, ready to unleash on the unsuspecting person behind them.

    "Oh heavens! Put that thing away before you shoot an eye out!" the voice cried¡ªit was Maple¡¯s mom, with Maple herself bouncing along beside her.

    "Hi, friendies! Mommy made snackies!" Maple chirped.

    Snackies? Not exactly what Alwin was in the mood for. Maybe Gus would¡¯ve appreciated it, but he was still out cold. They were still alive, he could hear their breathing, but they hadn''t woken up yet. What if Gus and Uchronia never woke up? What if¡­ He shook his head. No, they¡¯d wake up. They had to.

    "Oh, Cor" Maple''s mom said as she came close enough to inspect the damage done. "Avert your eyes, child." She wrapped her tail around Maple.

    "It''s dark! Are we playing hidie and seekie, Mommy?" giggled Maple.

    "Yes, dear. Why don''t you count to a thousand while we hide, okay?"

    "Yay!"

    "And cover your ears, dear."

    "Okayie!" Maple wrapped her own tail around the side of her head, her eyes still covered by her mom.

    Maple¡¯s mom turned to the archer. "You! Monster Army, what happened? And why are you putting these children in danger? Are you out of your mind! Why are you recruiting kids!" she shouted.

    "There was a group of extremely powerful humans lurking around your village. We managed to chase them away but at a grave cost." She looked at Lin. "I''m not sure why there are kids attending the academy, as far as I''m aware the age requirement hasn¡¯t changed." She glanced over at Alwin.

    "Well, I demand an explanation! Go fetch your superior!"

    "Ma''am... my superior is currently on a stretcher, missing an arm."

    ¡°Oh¡ªI... I¡¯m sorry,¡± she mumbled.

    "Ma''am, if it''s okay with you, we''d like to return to camp now. If you have any enquiries feel free to reach out. You know how to find us."

    "Wait! Let me speak to the children, at least."

    "Very well."

    "Boy! Dark Slime boy!"

    Alwin had been staring at the ground the whole time, replaying all of the battles in his mind, trying to figure out how he could''ve done better. He had been passively listening, letting the words flow in one ear and out the other, not paying attention to what the people around him were saying. He was so lost in his thoughts, that he barely registered that he was being called until the archer nudged him with her bow.

    "Boy!" Maple''s mother shouted.

    "Huh? Yes?"

    "Are you okay, boy? Are your two friends okay?" She looked at the stretcher that held Uchronia and Gus.

    "Yeah, they''re just... sleeping. Big battle, they''re y''know, just tired."

    "Are you sure you''re okay? You could always stay here with me and Maple, your friends are invited too. You don''t have to join the army.

    Alwin paused. Her offer was tempting, comforting even. But was that really the life he wanted? No daily practice, no listening to Milvus drone on during lectures, no Uchronia barking orders at him¡ªwell, she probably would anyway. It sounded stress-free. But would it be? Gary Stew and those young masters were still out there. He had a duty to defend monsterkind, his life''s purpose. As much as he craved a lazy life without grueling training, he knew he couldn''t abandon his mission. To did the world of humans, ensure no one had to suffer, no one had to live in fear¡ªthat was what he truly wanted.

    "Sorry, Maple''s mom, but I can''t do that. This is my calling."

    "But¡ª"

    "I''m sorry, but I have to."

    "But you''re just kids! Think this through, please! A life of war isn''t worth it."

    "Someone has to make a sacrifice. I won''t let that be you or Maple."

    "But... why you kids?"

    "It''s just the way it is. Take care of Maple and make sure she gets lots of snackies, okay?"

    She sighed, "Just be safe. And you!" She turned to the archer. "I''ll be expecting an answer, and it better be a good one, or else!"

    "I understand, ma''am. Now, shall we go?" The archer glanced at Alwin.

    "Yeah." Alwin looked at Maple and her mother. "Goodbye, and I''m sorry for bringing the humans to your village. Help us say goodbye to Maple too."

    With that, they set off, the archer lady scanning the surroundings. Her bow was at the ready, poised to unleash arrows at any opportunistic humans that might dare cross their path. Fortunately for them, the most perilous threat they encountered was a particularly brazen bird. It flew high above them, choosing their path as the perfect spot for a pit stop, splattering an unwelcome gift right in front of Alwin.

    Finally, the gates of the Human Hunter Camp came into view. That archway made of twisted branches, the pair of goblin guards standing watch, and the rest of his classmates having a lively discussion about their first venture against humans.

    When the Goblin guards spotted them, they blew a whistle. No sound escaped the instrument, but half a minute later a group of goblins all dressed in white came rushing to the camp entrance. The rambunctious aura that surrounded his classmates ceased, when they tracked down the source of the commotion, and saw Alwin hopping back with a sullen look on his face. Looks of horror and discussions of speculation ensued when they finally laid eyes on the treasure that he had brought back.

    The Goblins in white pushed through the crowd while the guards kept them at bay. Their stretchers were brought into the camp, and taken to the medical trees. Alwin and the archer lady were forced to undergo a medical check-up as well, no matter how much Alwin insisted he was fine.

    ¡°Seriously, I¡¯m okay!¡± Alwin protested as a goblin medic poked and prodded him.

    ¡°Standard procedure,¡± the medic said, unmoved by Alwin¡¯s attempts at resistance.

    ¡°But what about Uchronia and Gus?¡± Alwin pleaded, glancing toward the stretchers being hurried away.

    ¡°Standard procedure,¡± the medic repeated, not missing a beat.

    Alwin sighed, resigned to his fate. Looks like he didn''t have a say in the matter.

 Chapter 54: Infirmary Introspection

    Alwin awoke, staring at the ceiling. A part of him hoped that the events that had transpired yesterday were nothing but a dream, an even more hopeful part of him wished that he had gone back in time to before any of it happened. Too bad for him everything that happened was very real. He had gotten his first real taste of battle. So did Uchronia and Gus, but they didn''t just get a nibble, they devoured the whole thing. He looked to his side to see Uchronia staring at the ceiling as well, while Gus was nowhere to be seen¡ªprobably at the cafeteria, shoveling down food like nothing happened.

    Yesterday was exhausting, but last night really took the cake. After the pointless medical examination where he wasted an hour of his life only to be told that he was okay. Then came the wait¡ªendless pacing outside the medical tree, hoping for news about Uchronia and Gus. Every time a Goblin in white robes stepped out, he¡¯d lock eyes with them, desperation oozing out of his gelatinous form. And every time, nothing.

    Finally after what felt like hours¡ªbecause hours did pass¡ªone of the medic Goblin¡¯s gave him the news. They were fine. Awake, even. The news was like music to his ear and he rushed into the tree hoping to see them. He barged into the room, looking forward to seeing the smiling faces of his friends, but what he saw made his stomach drop. This wasn''t his friends'' room, it was Lin''s room.

    She lay motionless amidst a forest of bizarre machinery, tubes snaking around her body. Red and blue fluids pulsed through here¡ªit was creepy. Her arm had been reattached, bandages covering the stitches that were probably there. The tubes were anchored to her skin with small, metal clamps, one inserted into the crook of her elbow, another near her collarbone, and a few more disappearing beneath the bandages around her arm.

    "Hey! Get out of there, your friends are in the opposite room," said the medic Goblin who had chased after the bounding Alwin.

    He closed the door behind him, the sight of Lin scarring his fragile mind¡ªhe was just a kid! The view of Uchronia and Gus atop their beds washed away some of the horror, if only he could permanently erase that scene from his mind. Gus was stuffing himself with food, his face smeared with scraps of whatever passed for food in a medical tree, while Uchronia leaned against her bedpost, staring at the ceiling like it held all the answers to the universe.

    Alwin couldn''t help but run up to them and give them the biggest hug that a slime with zero hands could¡ªit was pretty much a tackle. Gus the ever indulgent fellow said a simple "hey" as Alwin ''hugged'' him, his eyes and mouth never leaving the tray of food. Uchronia on the other hand was less welcoming and more... how do you put it nicely, uncomfortable? She pushed the ''tackler'' away, forcing the gelatinous body to slip down the side of her bed.

    "Hey! What was that for?"

    "I''m glad you''re okay and I''m glad that Gus is okay, but I''m not in the mood right now. I just need...just need some time to think," she said.

    Alarm bells were ringing in his head. She didn''t shout, she didn''t have the same snarky attitude, she didn''t even roll her eyes or let out a sigh. Something was wrong with her!

    "Medic Goblin, sir. I think she''s still sick," Alwin said.

    "No, I''m not!" she shouted.

    "Never mind, she''s all good."

    After the medics gave them the all-clear, they were finally allowed to head home. The Warp Station was still buzzing, even in the dead of night. Monsters still queued up at the ticketing stations and giant rock golems patrolled the area keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

    Milvus was waiting for them at the school gates¡ªa massive pair of doors that made him look even smaller than he was. He had been pacing, gnawing on one of his tentacles. When he saw the dim shadows of Alwin and his friends, he let out a sigh of relief. A warm smile replaced the nervous look on his face.

    "I''m glad you''re safe. Tonight, you''ll be sleeping in the infirmary."

    After a quick shower, they all crashed. Hard.

    Alwin snapped back to the present, staring at the ceiling of the infirmary. Today was a new day and yet his mind was still in the past¡ªMaple, the young masters, Gary Stew, Goblin Force Five, and most importantly, Lin.

    ¡°Alwin, Uchronia. How are you feeling?¡± Milvus asked, appearing at the doorway with Gus passed out in his tentacles, drool oozing from the corner of the Furball¡¯s mouth.

    "Just... processing," Uchronia muttered.

    "Same here," Alwin added with a sigh.

    "I''m glad that all three of you are alright," said Milvus. "But, I need to know what happened out there."

    So, Alwin told him. Everything. From their first encounter with a human, to Maple, to the young masters¡ªLei Mao, Gu Jia¡ªand Gary Stew. From how they overcame the trials and tribulations, how Gus was charmed by food, to how Lin was critically injured. No secrets, no lies. He laid it all out, his thoughts, his feelings, his jealousy. No holding back. By the end of it, he was drained, but he needed to know about Lin.

    Uchronia stared slack-jawed. Who knows why she did that? Was it because she never expected Alwin to be so honest? To be so forthcoming about everything? No jokes, no laughs, no cheeky ideas, just pure honest feelings about everything and anything that happened. How he felt, how weak he felt, how useless he felt.

    "I understand how you''re feeling, Alwin. I don''t know what happened to the Goblin named Lin, but I''ll get an update for you. And what about you Uchronia? How are you handling things?"

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    "Mr. Milvus. I''ve been thinking a lot these past few hours and I just feel confused. I know we lost and I know we lost because we were weak and because my plan failed, but that isn''t why I''m confused. After being hit on the head with that frying pan, I feel like some... blocks have been removed."

    "What do you mean, Uchronia?"

    "It''s just that after meeting Maple and hearing her mother''s, how do I say this, concerns? Things started to click in my head. Like why are we the only kids in the academy, why do we know how to talk already, why were we immediately enrolled without having to go through any entrance exams, why are we training to fight against humans, and who are our parents? But whenever I tried to think about it, it''s like someone was pushing away those thoughts, everything related to it was muddy and I couldn''t think straight. Then I got hit on the head and after I woke up, those thoughts were... clearer. I still don''t understand anything, but I know enough to notice that we''re weird, Mr. Milvus."

    "Well, thank you for sharing Uchronia. Alwin what about you? Do you share similar feelings with Uchronia?"

    "I mean I''ve always noticed those things, but I never really cared about it that much. Maybe it was because of that block thing."

    "I see..." Milvus looked down at the snoring, drooling Furball in his tentacles. "And what about Gus? Does he share similar sentiments?"

    "I think he only cares about food," said Alwin.

    "In time I''ll tell you all more about your origins, but just know that those mental inhibitors were put in place to protect you children. You, kids, are special, you''ll be the hope of Monsteria. Just remember what we''re fighting for."

    "Those blasted humans..." muttered Alwin.

    "Exactly, Alwin. We fight to protect our kind. Imagine all of those monsters out there being exploited by humans, unable to defend themselves."

    "But we had to be protected! And Lin... We couldn''t do anything!" shouted Alwin.

    "Alwin, your squad managed to take down almost twenty humans. And from what I''ve heard, you even managed to take down a seasoned cultivator who shouldn''t have been there. That''s no small feat. It''s unfortunate about what happened to the Goblins... that man, Gary Stew, is no ordinary human. Just count yourselves lucky that you made it out alive."

    "Cultivators?" asked Uchronia.

    "Yes, Uchronia, cultivators. They''re similar to adventurers, the main difference is the way they utilize the system. They were going to be the next type of humans you would face after you all had gone through an evolution."

    "Supposed to?" asked Alwin.

    "After the debacle yesterday, we teachers are unsure how to proceed. Cultivators in the Forest of Beginnings and a suspected isekind showing up is a cause for concern."

    "Isekind?" asked Uchronia again.

    "Yes, they''re humans who have been transported to our world. Sometimes from other worlds but most of the time from a past version of Earth. They''re normally blessed with extraordinary abilities that make them much stronger than the average human. Like that Monster Chef class that Gary Stew received."

    "Like our Core Skills?" asked Uchronia.

    "Similar, but not exactly."

    "Then explain!"

    "Like I said before, in time I''ll tell you all more about your origins."

    "Okay then, why are we only learning about cultivators, isekinds, and whatever now!" shouted Uchronia. "It could''ve been useful information!"

    "Because none of us expected it to be relevant. You were only supposed to meet adventurers, not cultivators and definitely not isekinds."

    "Then what''s so special about cultivators!" Uchronia shouted back.

    "Please don''t be rude and stop shouting," Milvus said.

    "Sorry, Mr. Milvus."

    "Good. Adventurers grow stronger by battling. They take on quests, kill monsters, gain experience, and level up. They have stats that they can increase, which is what I suspected Gary Stew did during your battle. Cultivators grow stronger through meditation. They still fight monsters, but they mainly grow stronger through absorbing and refining the Qi or Mana around them, once they hit a breakthrough they''ll go through a tribulation and ascend to the next stage."

    "I don''t get the difference," said Alwin.

    "The important part is that cultivators from a sect or adventurers from a guild tend to be stronger than lone adventurers, which is normally the type of humans you''ll find in the Forest of Beginnings. You guys did good yesterday considering the circumstances."

    "Thank you, Mr. Milvus," said Uchronia. "But we didn''t even complete our task. Well, Gus managed to complete it, but not me or Alwin."

    "That was the other reason I came here." Milvus looked down at the person he was carrying. "So this little Furball managed to absorb enough essence? That''s good."

    "It is?" asked Alwin.

    "It just means we''re not as behind schedule as I thought. I''ve already briefed the class this morning about evolution. They''ve been given the morning to prepare themselves, and in the afternoon is when they''ll get to evolve."

    "But we can''t evolve," said Uchronia.

    "I know, that''s why we''ll have to make some special arrangements for you two."

    "And what does that mean?" asked Alwin.

    Why be so ambiguous, just lay it to him straight. Sheesh.

    "Going back out to fight more humans."

    "What!" Uchronia shouted. "We literally almost died yesterday and now you''re asking us to go back to that damn forest to hunt down more humans? Do you even care about us?"

    Milvus sighed, "No shouting, Uchronia. And remember our purpose?"

    "To rid the world of humans," said Alwin.

    "Exactly, Alwin. To do that you''ll need to grow stronger and to grow stronger you''ll need to evolve. The fastest way to do that is by killing humans. So the fastest you go back out there the fastest you''ll get to evolve like the rest of the class."

    Uchronia was seething. She ground her teeth back and forth, staring daggers¡ªthat was normally only reserved for him¡ªat Milvus. If she didn''t calm down, her face would morph into a permanent scowl.

    "Fine," Uchronia spat.

    "Thank you, Uchronia. You might not realize it, but I really do have your best intentions at heart. In time, you''ll all understand," he said with a small smile. "You know what, take the rest of the day off. Go out and have some fun. I''ll just bring Gus with me and prep him for his tribulation so that he can evolve."

    "Gus should get a break too, why are you so adamant about making us evolve so fast?" shouted Uchronia.

    "Because the faster we evolve, the stronger we get, the faster we can get rid of humans," said Milvus.

    "You know what, fine!" Uchronia spat. "But we''re coming along to watch, right Alwin?"

    "Sure." Alwin shrugged. He had nothing better to do today, anyway.

 Chapter 55: Furball No More

    Milvus led them out of the infirmary, striding on six tentacles because two were reserved for carrying the snoozing Gus. His evolution awaited, though the details were still a mystery. Uchronia stomped beside him, her tail flicking in irritation. Alwin, jiggling along, couldn''t help but wonder what on Earth was happening.

    Uchronia, usually the teacher''s pet, looked ready to explode at Milvus¡ªagain. Never would''ve thought he''d see the day. Also, why did they have mental blockers inserted into their minds? Was that why Alwin struggled to focus on thoughts like where they came from and why they, as kids, were off fighting humans? He had always noticed the oddities surrounding them, but had just chalked up his inability to concentrate on such thoughts to some attention disorder.

    So Gus got to undergo his evolution. From a Tier 1 monster to a Tier 2 monster. What sort of monster would he evolve into? A giant cat that hocked up furballs like cannonballs? The image of Gus as a walking hairball launcher kept Alwin occupied, better than listening to Uchronia muttering curses that would make a sailor blush.

    It was odd that they were going to do this now. He thought that Gus would''ve joined the rest of the class in the afternoon, but who knew what Milvus was thinking? Maybe he was thinking about what his students would evolve into. Or maybe he was thinking about what he would evolve into during his next evolution. Do monsters even have an evolution limit?

    Through the labyrinthine hallways of the academy, Milvus led them past the cafeteria, then the library, and then their classroom. Alwin began to suspect Milvus was just showing off his knowledge of the academy¡¯s layout, or maybe trying to get his steps in for the day. Finally, they stopped outside a wooden door labeled "Evolution Chamber." Subtle.

    "Wake up, Gus." Milvus tapped his tentacle against Gus'' cheek.

    "Huh? Lunch already?" Gus mumbled, smacking his lips.

    "Don''t you want to evolve?" asked Milvus.

    "Do I have to?" he groaned.

    "Remember what we''re doing this for?"

    "For snacks?"

    "No, silly. We''re doing this for Monsteria. If Monsteria is gone then there''d be no one around to make food."

    Gus¡¯s eyes widened in horror. "You''re right! Let¡¯s get this over with so I can eat more!"

    Milvus let off a warm smile, while Uchronia couldn''t help but sigh at Gus'' outburst. That sigh evolved into a frustrated grunt. Who knows why she did that, but it might have something to do with how Milvus had manipulated Gus into proceeding with his plan. That feat wasn''t exactly the hardest to accomplish. Gary Stew had defeated Gus just by promising him food.

    The group walked into the room, and the tiles under them lit up with a soft, crystal glow. Instead of crystals hanging from the ceiling, the lights were embedded in the floor. White cupboards lined one side of the room, packed with all sorts of bottles, powders, plants, and herbs. On the other side of the room, black cupboards contained all sorts of various equipment: pendants, swords, rings, bracelets, shields, and more. At the far end of the room stood a small control panel, reminiscent of the one under the teacher¡¯s desk in the classroom.

    "This is the Evolution Chamber, I''ve already shown the class the room. So let me brief you a bit more about how monsters evolve. Like cultivators, monsters have to go through a Tribulation to evolve. It''s like a test by the system to see if you''re worthy of achieving a stronger form. The first tribulation that a monster will undergo is the Elemental Tribulation. Gus could you show me your status."

    "Sure!" Gus said, opening his status for Milvus to see. Of course, Alwin took a quick peek, but none of Gus'' skills had ranked up. If it did he would''ve been surprised because how does one even improve their mastery of skills by being unconscious?

    "Based on the skills you''ve learnt, the most likely Elemental Tribulation you''ll encounter is the Lightning Tribulation. You''ll have to survive bolts of lightning raining down from the sky. Once you''ve completed the tribulation, you''ll evolve and become more attuned with the system."

    "How do you know he''ll undergo a lightning tribulation?" asked Uchronia.

    "Finally coming around, Uchronia?" said Milvus. "Well, it''s mostly just a guess. A Furball''s species skill, Static Pounce, is of the lightning element. Plus, with that Lightning Legs skill¡ªwhich I admit is fascinating in how his Core Skill interacts with absorbing essence¡ªalso being of the lightning element, the rest of his skills are non-elemental. So he''ll most likely undergo a lightning tribulation. But sometimes, hanging out in, say, an area rich in fire mana may cause him to undergo a Fire Tribulation. That''s why the academy is mostly filled with neutral mana. That¡¯s the current theory anyway, it hasn¡¯t been proven yet, but it¡¯s the best we¡¯ve got."

    "Knowledge is always useful," huffed Uchronia.

    "Don''t worry, we''ve got a bunch of pills and medicinal potions crafted by our very own Alchemy track students and even some magical treasures crafted by our Artificer track students. Whatever Tribulation the system throws at you will be easily mitigated with these."

    "Interesting..." muttered Uchronia. "Is it possible for a student to enter multiple tracks in their second year?"

    "Yes, you can. Just don''t overwork yourselves. You Core monsters are important for our cause." Milvus smiled.

    Right... Alwin forgot about that. Within the deepest recesses of his mind, Alwin vaguely remembered Milvus mentioning what they''d do in their second year. The first year was for getting stronger, while in their second year, they''ll get to choose what to specialize in. He was probably going to go into Magical Studies because magic was cool. In his third year, he''d be doing... something. The details alluded him at the moment, but it''d probably pop into his mind later in the day, or maybe sometime in the distant future when he reminisced about this day for whatever reason.

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    "Uchronia, Alwin, since you''re here, show me your statuses. I''ll tell you which element you''ll most likely face during your tribulation."

    Uchronia begrudgingly opened up her status and showed it to Milvus. And Alwin, the ever-curious slime couldn''t help but take a peak too. He''d never seen Uchronia''s status before and was eager to have a look.

    Name: Uchronia

    Species: Leafling

    Core Skill: Alternate History (F)

    Skills: Thorny Leaf (A), Spirit Hands (C), Spirit Barrier (C), Spirt Blast (C), Slow (A), Haste (A)

    Evolution: 29/100

    "You''ll most likely face the Plant Tribulation. You''ll need to withstand giant vines covered in thorns, but don''t worry¡ªwith all the pills and magical treasures we have, you''ll pass it without a hitch. Now, Alwin, show me yours."

    Alwin opened his screen and nothing had changed. His Evolution counter still remained stuck at 27, and all that he had to his name was a bunch of Spirit-themed skills, along with the Dark Tackle he had been born with, and that useless Devolution skill that just sat there and looked pretty.

    "Hmm, to be honest, I''m not sure what type of tribulation you''ll encounter. The fact that you''re a Dark Slime might mean you''ll take on the Darkness Tribulation, but the number of Spirit Elemental skills you have might mean you''ll take on the Spirit Tribulation."

    "So, I just prepare for both. Easy!" Alwin said.

    "It isn''t that simple. The Darkness Tribulation is relatively simple to prepare for, you''ll need to take on your inner demons conjured up by the system."

    "So, I just do some meditation or something. Easy.."

    "Well, yes, but it''s the Spirit Tribulation that I''m worried about. While Spirit skills are the easiest to learn, their tribulation tends to be the hardest. Spirit is both an element and not an element. It¡¯s the stage before elemental mana fully forms, so the Spirit Tribulation includes aspects of all other elemental tribulations."

    "Oh. So if I prepare for the Spirit Tribulation, I''ll be prepared in case I get the Darkness Tribulation."

    "Technically, yes, but you good skew the Tribulation in your favor. You still have some time, so if you learn some Darkness Elemental skills, you''ll most likely get the Darkness Tribulation."

    "I''ll think about it."

    "Great, just remember that you are important in protecting monsterkind." Milvus smiled. "So, Gus. Now that you know what type of Tribulation you''ll face, how do you feel?"

    "Hungry."

    "Do you feel like taking on the Tribulation now? Or would you like more time to prepare?"

    "I''m okay with anything."

    "Well, it''s your decision. You have to make a choice."

    "Okay, I choose whichever one lets me have lunch the earliest."

    "Technically if you do it now, you''ll have the whole day to eat," said Alwin.

    "Then let''s do it now!" Gus walked to the center of the room. "Okay, what do I do now?"

    "Are you sure about this? Were you even paying attention when Mr. Milvus was giving his explanation? Do you even know what you''re going up against?"

    "Some disgusting-tasting food?" replied Gus.

    "Lightning! Your trial involves getting struck by lightning! Mr. Milvus, please help make sure Gus is as prepared as possible."

    "See, our interests are aligned, and don''t worry, that''s what this room is for," Milvus said, walking over to one of the white cupboards. "For Gus, we''ll give him a Lightning Resistance Pill." He grabbed a porcelain bottle, popped open the cork, and shook out a small yellow pill. "And for some extra protection, he''ll wear"¡ªMilvus then moved to the black cupboards and retrieved a gold necklace, its centerpiece a lightning bolt¡ª"this Lightning Ward Amulet. Here you go, Gus."

    "Can I eat it?" Gus said, receiving the gifts with his Spirit Hands.

    "Only the pill. Put the amulet around your neck."

    Gus swallowed the pill whole. "Mmm, curry flavored."

    "Great, now wait there." Milvus walked over to the control panel and began fiddling with all of the buttons, dials, and levers. The ceiling above them began to open, and they were greeted with a bright blue sky, dotted with fluffy, white clouds.

    "Isn''t there supposed to be a roof above us? And the rest of the building," asked Alwin.

    "This room was designed to open up to the outside in case a student undergoes a Lightning Tribulation. That way, we can safely expose them to the sky, without the risk of lightning destroying part of the school."

    "Huh, cool."

    "Alwin, Uchronia. I''m going to need you to come here and whatever happens, do not interfere with Gus'' tribulation. Got it?" Milvus pressed another button and a glass chamber opened up, near the console where Milvus was.

    Gus was left standing in the middle of the room, under the vast expanse of the sky. Uchronia, Alwin, and Milvus entered the chamber, ready to watch whatever the Tribulation would bring.

    "Okay, Gus. Now I need you to open your status and tap on the Evolution Counter. You should get a prompt to evolve, all you have to do is select Yes," said Milvus.

    "Okay, then after that we''ll go for lunch!"

    Gus opened up his status screen and tapped away at it with the help of his Spirit Hands. Above, large grey cumulonimbus clouds gathered, blotting out the sunny blue sky. Large thunderous claps resounded, echoing within the enclosed space of the room. Gigantic status screens materialized at the base of the clouds. Massive bolts of lightning rained down from them lighting up the whole room with bright white flashes.

    Gus stared up at the sky, his mouth agape as lightning bolts rained down, each one being sent on a one-way trip to Gus'' stomach. He didn''t so much as flinch as lightning bolts tased and shocked his tongue. Those pills and magical treasures really were helping, either that or maybe Gus was too oblivious to realize the danger he was in and just wanted to fill his belly¡ªit was probably the latter. His fur was frazzled, smoke rising from his mouth. Still, he remained fixed in place, eyes locked on the storm above, as the Tribulation served an electrifying meal.

    Then, as abruptly as it began, the lightning stopped raining down. The system screens that hovered above blinked off and the previously stormy sky became clear. The dark clouds shriveled up, becoming near indistinguishable specks before disappearing completely. In their place, a brilliant fireball of a sun emerged, casting warm light over the landscape. White cotton candy puffs floated without a care in the world across the azure expanse

    "Is it done? Is it over? Can we go get lunch now?" Gus asked.

    His body became engulfed in a blinding flash of white¡ªhe was evolving. Gus was the first of his classmates to reach this stage, and he couldn''t wait to see what he would turn into. What new form would he take? How much stronger would he be? How much more jealous would Alwin be about Gus'' developments?

    The bright light began to dissipate, and Alwin could just make out a dark silhouette emerging from the bedazzling flashbang that Gus had unleashed on the crowd.

 Chapter 56: The New Gus

    "Is that... Is that Gus?" Uchronia''s voice was a mix of awe and confusion.

    "I thought he''d become bigger," Alwin said, squinting through the fading light.

    "Evolution is a mysterious mechanism granted by Cor. Our best scholars are researching the intricacies of this phenomenon. Our best scholars are studying its intricacies. We know it makes monsters stronger, enlarges their Core, and gives them new forms¡ªforms influenced by their environment and experiences. In rare cases, they may even be blessed with a Core Skill by the mighty Cor!"

    As the light finally faded, Alwin and Uchronia blinked at the figure before them. The transformation was complete, and standing before them wasn''t the Furball that they had come to know and love. No, evolution had given something that every monster dreamed of having. The thing that would make life easier, make everyday tasks much simpler: hands.

    A monster slightly bigger than a Furball loomed before them. His body was now more oblong than blobby. His reddish-brown coat had transformed into a striking yellow blaze as if lightning itself was coursing through him. A sharp horn jutted proudly from his head. No legs still, but two large paws¡ªcomplete with claws¡ªlooked ready to tear into any human foolish enough to cross his path.

    "Gus the Furball, is now, Gus the Fluffpaw," said Milvus.

    Gus glanced down, taking in the changes to his body. He turned his paws over, watching as sharp claws slid in and out. A visible shiver ran down his spine as he accidentally pricked his paw pads. With a mix of curiosity and apprehension, he reached up, feeling the smooth, black horn that now crowned his head.

    "Aww man," said Gus.

    "What''s wrong?" asked Uchronia.

    "I can''t sleep face down anymore." He frowned. "But, that''s okay. I have hands now! That means I can eat even faster!"

    Leave it to Gus to make every little thing food-related. Probably didn¡¯t even realize he nearly got them all killed yesterday. But could they really blame him? Everyone has their weaknesses; Gus¡¯s just happened to be extremely... exploitable. Next time they went on a mission together, they''d have to put in some additional countermeasures to ensure his snack attacks wouldn''t get them all killed¡ªand yes, Alwin was calling the phenomenon of Gus being bribed with food, Snack Attacks.

    "Take the rest of the day to adjust to your new body and I recommend trying out your new Species Skill, Lightning Paw too," said Milvus.

    "Maybe after lunch," said Gus. "So, can I go eat now?"

    "Sure thing, just remember to leave the amulet," said Milvus.

    "Okay!" Gus said, dropping the amulet on the ground without a second thought.

    Gus acting like the Furball he no longer was began to hop towards the door, his paws flopping by his side, smacking the ground. His face lit up as if a bright idea had struck that food-obsessed brain of his. Rather than only relying on his bum to push himself forward, he used his hands to launch himself, like playing a perpetual game of leapfrog with the floor. He was reaching speeds that Alwin could only dream of.

    Another idea sparked to life within that burger brain of his, a huge smile spreading across his face. Electricity coiled around his body before Gus bounded out of the room leaving behind a trail of lightning in his wake. With the use of Lightning Legs, or perhaps they should change the skill''s name to Lightning Arms, Gus was moving at speeds Alwin couldn''t even comprehend.

    When he finally evolved, his evolution was going to surpass Gus''. Alwin was going to make sure that happens.

    "So that''s how an evolution works," said Milvus. "Give me a day to work out the arrangements and I''ll let you know what we''ll do with both of you tomorrow. Oh, and Alwin, I''ll try to find out about the status of that Goblin, Lin."

    "Thanks!" said Alwin.

    "Just take the day to unwind and recuperate, okay? Go and take out your frustrations in the training room," said Milvus.

    The three of them stepped out of the glass chamber that had shielded them from the Lightning Tribulation. They watched as he approached the console panel, his tentacles dancing over the controls once more. The ceiling sealed up with a soft hiss, and the glass chamber began to descend back into the ground, any evidence of its existence swallowed up by the earth.

    "I''ll see you all tomorrow," said Milvus, exiting the room.

    Now it was the two of them. They had the whole day off, which was a nice change of pace. There were so many things that he could do and yet all he wanted to do was head to the library to research more offensive skills. Two blobs in his mind materialized, the black-colored goofing-off, and the white-colored serious-business. They had reached a consensus, believe it or not. Goofing-off was going to take a step back and let serious-business handle the reins for now¡ªyou can''t goof off if you''re dead after all. Tiny stick-figure-like hands emerged out of their blobby forms and they shook on the agreement.

    "Hey, Uchronia. Let''s go to the¡ª"

    "I''m going out for a stroll in the city and you''re coming with me."

    "¡ªlibrary."

    "Did you say you want to go to the library?" Uchronia looked at him, with eyes scrunched up.

    "And did you say you want to go out?" Alwin mirrored her expression.

    "Yes. I just need some air and time to process everything," said Uchronia. "I don''t know what they''re not telling us and why they even put mental blocks into our heads."

    "Are the mental blocks that bad?"

    "Are you serious? They''re messing with our heads!" shouted Uchronia. "How can it not be bad!"

    "You''re right... But Milvus didn''t seem that upset when he found out that you don''t have those block things anymore."

    "I bet he''s hiding it. He must be secretly mad that his plans or whoever''s in charge''s plan were messed up."

    "You think so?"

    "He keeps hinting at us to go to the training grounds, there must be some trap waiting for us there. That''s why we''re going out into the city. They wouldn''t think about doing something crazy in a crowded area."

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    "What do you think they''re going to do? Kidnap us?"

    "Or kill us.¡±

    "I think you''re being paranoid, Uchronia. If they wanted to do that then why didn''t Milvus do it already? He is clearly much stronger than us useless monsters who lost to a bunch of no-good humans."

    "Maybe I am being paranoid, but when you finally realize that someone has been messing with your head your whole life who wouldn''t be?"

    "I guess?"

    "Alwin! There were thoughts I wasn''t allowed to have, ideas that were snuffed out the moment they were conceived, and things I was never allowed to notice until I got smacked on the head by that human. I don''t want them to mess with my head again. Just... let''s get out of here until I can sort my mind out. And no talking! Who knows if they''re listening?"

    "Who''s they?"

    "I don''t know!" Uchronia shouted. "I just... don''t know anymore." Her voice cracked.

    Alwin understood. They walked through the hallways of the academy not mentioning a single word to each other. Thoughts whirred through his mind the entire time¡ªit was the only way to fill the awkward silence that accompanied them. Was she really overreacting or was he underreacting? Did it have something to do with those inhibitors in his head?

    He could think clearly¡ªsort of. His thoughts moved in every conceivable direction, became distracted and hovered there not moving an inch, before wandering around taking in the scenery and finally bumping into each other. And... throughout that introspection, he got distracted again.

    Finally, they made it outside, the bright sunlight making him squint.

    "Let''s go a bit further," Uchronia said, already moving.

    Alwin followed, silent as a shadow. She led the way, without saying a single thing. That whole mental block revelation had gotten her spooked and rightfully so. But why wasn''t he affected in the slightest? Alwin actually understood the gravity of the situation, unlike a certain sandwich-brained Fluffpaw. Maybe the mental blocks really were stopping him from thinking properly.

    They wandered around the city of Monsteria, passing by shops, cafes, restaurants, and homes. Monsters of various shapes and sizes milled about the city, each one going about their lives, unaware of the existential crisis Uchronia was going through. To them, it just looked like two monster kids were out on a playdate exploring the city.

    Uchronia continued to lead the way, Alwin hopping right next to her. Every so often he''d throw a glance her way. There was a worried frown etched onto her face, that grew deeper the farther they went. He wanted to say something, but he didn''t know what to say. Telling a joke was always within the realm of possibilities but when it was a joke crafted by the ''serious-business'' side of him, even he knew it wouldn''t help the mood.

    Just like how Uchronia was diving deep into the depths of her consciousness searching for the light that would lead her out of the murky water of her doubts, Alwin was now, currently, experiencing the same. Not about the mental blocks and how they had shaped and will shape the rest of his life, but about how he could improve himself.

    Gus was blessed with an amazing Core Skill, being able to eat pretty much anything. It was offense and defense wrapped into one, plus it came with the added bonus of absorbing new skills from his fallen foes. Offense, defense, and snacks all in one package¡ªit was almost too perfect.

    Uchronia''s Core Skill allowed her to call in different versions of herself. It was similar to the black-armored Goblins clone skill but amped up to eleven. Her alternate selves came equipped with different skills. She had the potential to be in charge of offense, defense, and support just by calling in her other selves.

    What did Alwin have? A defunct Devolution skill that he didn''t even know how to use. Should he have asked Milvus for help to figure out what it does? Probably. Did he do it? Obviously not. It was embarrassing and so far only Uchronia had noticed that he didn''t even know how to use it. Okay, maybe Milvus did notice it, but he hadn''t said anything about it yet.

    He should''ve been the star, the main character, the protagonist of his own story. That''s what he was expecting to happen, that''s what he had expected to happen. Instead, he was relegated to the sidelines. He was no different than the regular monsters that enrolled in the academy¡ªother than the obvious fact that he was about to turn two months old. So, what did Alwin have?

    He had his ingenuity, if one could even call it that. Who else could come up with such weird ways to use his spells: puppeteering a suit of armor using nothing but some Spirit Hands and Spirit Feet, playing hot-potato with himself high above the air so that no one could strike him, that weird Spirit Hands cannon thing utilizing a bunch of sets from volleyball to launch him at high speeds. That''s what he had to do: come up with creative ways to use his spells that no one else had thought of before.

    "Hey, kids. What are you doing out here?" a voice called out, shattering the bubble of introspection they had enclosed themselves in.

    The two of them froze in place, eyes locked on the monster that had called them out. Hovering before them was a massive, diamond-shaped crystal, its surface shimmering with the deep, endless blue of the ocean. Surrounding it were miniature versions of the crystal, each one carrying brown paper bags filled with a colorful assortment of food ranging from bread to fish, atop their heads. Alwin recognized the monster as the owner of MOM''s Cafe, the last location that Milvus had brought them to during their field trip to the city of Monsteria.

    "Just taking a stroll," said Uchronia.

    "What she said," added Alwin.

    "Well, come with me to my shop. I''ll even give you kids a treat on the house," the floating crystal said.

    "Really?" asked Alwin.

    "Have I ever lied to you?"

    "I don''t know. I don''t even know you," replied Alwin.

    "Fair enough. Time''s a wasting, daylight''s a burning, so let''s go."

    The massive, floating crystal began to bob up and down the street, heading straight for her caf¨¦. Alwin and Uchronia exchanged a look, unsure what to make of the sudden invitation. Could this be a trap? Uchronia was practically spelling out her worries with her face alone. Alwin caught her eye, and with a shake of his head, sent a wave of calm through her. The creases on her face smoothed out, their silent exchange easing her fears. They followed behind the floating crystal unsure of their fates.

    MOM''s Cafe was as busy as ever. Monsters of all shapes, sizes, elements, and smells patronized the quaint little shop. Tiny versions of the cafe owner¡ªdrones¡ªanswered every beck and call of the customers. Whether it be asking for refills on their coffees, ordering cakes to share amongst their friends, or cleaning up any accidental spills, the drones had it all covered, balancing trays, napkins, and whatever else the patrons required on the tippy top of their diamond-shaped bodies.

    The drones carrying grocery bags zipped off into the kitchens to help supply the chefs and waiters, who were presumably drones as well. They went on with their merry business of serving the customers. The noise level inside the cafe was just enough to hear the drone nearest to them shouting orders to the ones who were fetching the orders, as well as the buzz of conversations bouncing off the walls, tables, chairs, and even the occasional ceiling fan.

    The caf¨¦ owner led the pair into a private room, magnitudes smaller than the one the class had used months ago. A circular glass table that stood on a lone pedestal in the center of the room along with two chairs. A singular painting of a fruit basket rested on the far side of the wall.

    "Have a seat," she said. "I''ll bring some cakes and drinks."

    "Thank you, miss," said Uchronia.

    "It''s Lapis. I''ll be back in a jiffy."

    Uchronia and Alwin were left alone in the room, seated across from each other. Uchronia stared at the wooden pedestal that held up the glass table, lost in thought¡ªwas that how Alwin looked when he was daydreaming? Meanwhile, Alwin diverted half of his attention to observing his surroundings, while the other half had the privilege of diving deep into his psyche to contemplate different methods to improve his standing within his squad. Power of multitasking!

    Not even five minutes into his rumination-observation session, and Lapis the cafe owner had returned, alongside her drones. Two deep brown chocolate cakes sat atop two drones while two steaming hot cups of cocoa graced the heads of another pair.

    "Here ya go, kids," Lapis said, the drones delivering the trays of delicious snacks in front of them before leaving the room, their missions accomplished.

    "Thank you, Miss Lapis," said Uchronia.

    "Thank you!" shouted Alwin.

    Free food was the best. Now who said there was no such thing as a free lunch?

    "I''ve heard a lot about you two from Milvee," said Lapis.

    "Who?" Alwin blurted out, his face scrunched in confusion.

    "Mr. Milvus," corrected Uchronia, a scowl growing on her face, tail lashing the back of her chair.

    "Correctomundo!" shouted Lapis.

    Maybe there was a catch after all. Turns out there really was no such thing as a free lunch.

 Chapter 57: The Crystal

    Uchronia jumped off her seat, performing a flip and landing next to Alwin. Her tail bristled with a fresh coat of thorns, ready to swat the ever-living daylights out of the treacherous, sneaky, lying, untrustworthy, and deceptive Lapis. "What are you planning on doing to us?" she screamed.

    Lapis didn¡¯t even flinch. ¡°Relax. The only thing I plan on doing is having a talk and serving up the house specialty.¡±

    The house specialty? What was that? It sounded ominous. Alwin¡¯s mind whirred, going through scenarios faster than a conspiracy theorist on a caffeine high. What was she planning on doing to them? Was she going to kidnap them and torture them? Maybe she''d instruct her drones to rip them limb from limb¡ªin Uchronia''s case tail from body and in Alwin''s case gel from gel, maybe. If they were lucky she''d probably have them executed right there and then, a swift death rather than a slow and painful one. Were the snacks she brought laced with poison? That sounded like a good way to go¡ªeating yourself to death¡ªonly if it was fast-acting poison.

    Alwin took a big gulp, the beating of his heart spiking to new heights¡ªnewly discovered heights. The part of his brain that was devoted to finding out ways to gain strength had shifted gears and had decided to get new jobs as a conspiracy nut. It was trying its best to decipher Lapis'' true intentions. Without realizing it, he was right there with Uchronia in Paranoia City, Population: Two.

    "Talk?" Uchronia''s eyes narrowed into slits. "And what''s the house specialty supposed to be? Torture?" She had begun chanting under her breath.

    "That''s the house specialty." Lapis pointed at the cake and drinks that the drones had brought in. She pointed at them not using the drones and definitely not with her hands¡ªshe lacked any. Instead, she pointed at them with a pair of Spirit Hands that had materialized right in front of them. The worst part? The duo hadn''t even heard Lapis utter the skill''s name. She had Silent Casted Spirit Hands.

    Uchronia looked over to the plates of cakes and cups of cocoa. "Those? What''s inside? Poison or maybe some mind control juice?" Her tail had gained a slight glow, her incantation was complete. All she had to do was touch Lapis and imbue her with what Alwin presumed was the Slow Spell she had conjured up.

    "Cocoa, flour, eggs, sugar, milk, and a lot of love!" Lapis chirped. "It''s my super secret special recipe. All of my customers love it."

    ¡°So you did put in a mind control potion!¡± Uchronia snapped. ¡°Or some addictive substance that¡¯ll make them slaves to your caf¨¦, coming back for more, over and over!¡± She lunged forward without any theatrics this time, spun her body round, and slapped Lapis with her tail casting Slow on her.

    With part of his brain stuck in conspiracy theory mode and the other part stuck watching everything unfold, Alwin didn''t dedicate enough brainpower to react to the situation. Should he have been preparing a Spirit Blast to attack Lapis with? Now that the crystal was Slowed, should they run?

    "Alwin let''s go!" shouted Uchronia.

    Run it was. Good thing Uchronia was here to tell him what to do. But it felt like there were thousands of people groaning inside of his head, screaming that he should be making the decisions not following the whims of others. The word ''Agency'' echoed throughout his head. That was odd. He didn''t dedicate any processing power to having imaginary people commentate about his actions¡ªnot right now at least.

    Alwin hopped off his chair, accidentally knocking it over, the wooden chair smacking against the floor. Whoops! Sorry, chair. They made a mad dash to the exit¡ªfreedom here they come¡ªuntil they smacked into something cold, hard, and very blue.

    "Kids, that''s very rude," said Lapis, picking up the fallen chair using her Spirit Hands.

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    How was she moving so fast? Didn''t Uchronia inflict her with Slow and yet she was moving as if the Speed Gods themselves had blessed her. In the blink of an eye, Alwin''s entire perspective shifted. One moment he was staring up at the deep blue crystal that was Lapis, next moment Alwin found himself seated back on the wooden chair that he had knocked over. In front of him were the cakes and cocoa originally meant for them, while across from him Uchronia was seated as well, the poor monster looking at him with wide, confused eyes. Did they just travel back in time? Was this the start of his regressor arc?

    "Now let''s have a proper civilized conversation, okay?" said Lapis, her Spirit Hands perched where her hips would probably be¡ªliving crystal physiology was complicated.

    "What just happened?" asked Alwin, looking around the room. Did he really time travel or was he just losing his marbles?

    ¡°I put the chair back and sat both of you down,¡± said Lapis.

    "How!" shouted Uchronia.

    "I instructed the Spirit Hands to pick up the chair, then I instructed them to pick both of you up and place you back on the chairs, and now we''re here having a lovely chat."

    "I''m not going to let you do whatever you plan on doing to me! Alwin let''s go!" Uchronia shouted. She tried to hop off, but she couldn''t move. She squirmed and rotated her body as hard as she could, but it was as if her bum had been glued onto the chair itself. A look of horror spread throughout her face as reality dawned on her. She was trapped.

    That was Alwin''s interpretation of her inner psyche so results may vary.

    Alwin joined in on her tussle with the chair. Like Uchronia he found himself attached to the chair. Twisting, turning, and swiveling on his bum was no issue at all, the moment he decided to leave the chair it was like an invisible force was stopping him from doing so. Whatever was holding them down was stronger than his will to move.

    "Just a little spell, I placed on both of you in case you tried to ruin more of my furniture," said Lapis.

    "Why are you doing this? What are you planning on doing to us?" Uchronia shouted.

    "What she said!" Alwin shouted, he had wanted to ask the exact same question.

    "I already told you," said Lapis. "I''m here to talk and let you try the house specialty."

    "What are you really planning!" Uchronia shouted.

    "Yeah! What are you planning on talking about!" Alwin shouted.

    "We''re going to be talking about a lot of things," said Lapis. "Milvee told me about the both of you. What happened with the humans yesterday, Goblin Force Five, the mental inhibitors coming off. Oh, and Alwin, He told me to tell you that Lin is doing okay. No permanent injuries and her arm is arming again."

    "She is? Oh, that''s a relief to hear." Alwin sighed. " I was so weak. I couldn''t do anything. Gary Stew kidnapped my squad and injured the Goblins when they came to save us, I couldn''t do anything but watch. My attacks did nothing. I was so weak, so¡ª"

    "Enough moping, Alwin! And what''s your relationship with Mr. Milvus? What is he making you do to us?"

    "He''s not making me do anything. Just like how Milvee is your teacher, I''m Milvee''s teacher. He rang me up today because he didn''t know what to do. Teaching isn''t exactly his strong suit if you hadn''t noticed."

    Alwin had not noticed, simply because he was daydreaming rather than paying attention in class.

    "He came to me asking for advice. He was worried that his star pupil now hated his guts. Isn''t he just the cutest?" chuckled Lapis. "I told him to be more sensitive about his student''s feelings, but he''s always going on about the purpose of monsters or doing it for Monsteria. I can see why you''d get annoyed at him."

    "You taught Milvus?" asked Alwin. "Since he teaches us and you taught him, that makes you our grand teacher."

    "Sure. I like the ring of it. Grand teacher Lapis."

    "Why do you want to talk to us? What is Milvus hiding from us?"

    "I just wanted to see what got Milvee''s knickers in a twist. You sure are a feisty student. Those mental inhibitors being forced off really did a number on you, didn''t it." Lapis stared at Uchronia. "And what about you? You''ve been quite tamed." She turned her attention to Alwin.

    A drone zipped through the air, halting right in front of him. A beam of blue light flickered to life, sweeping over him from head to bum. What was she doing to him?

    "And you. Looks like only the emotional inhibitors are active. Very interesting. This''ll be fun to investigate," said Lapis. "Now, how about we dig into those cakes?"

 Chapter 58: MOM

    "You''re going to mess with our minds again, aren''t you!" shouted Uchronia.

    Wait, what did she mean by emotional inhibitors? So that¡¯s why he felt nothing when he, you know, killed people. That sounded like a great deal, considering their purpose and whatnot. No need to feel guilty about killing people when you''re not allowed to.

    "Nope," said Lapis. "Just here to evaluate and see how to help."

    "Help? You''re going to mess with my head again! Make it so that thinking about certain stuff is taboo!"

    "If it helps you calm down then I''ll consider that, but I think therapy''s a better starting solution."

    "Therapy? Sounds fun," Alwin said.

    Lapis gave Alwin a quick glance. "You''re good for now." Her attention snapped back to Uchronia. "But you... you need some work. Just let me do some scans"¡ªthe drone that had scanned Alwin zipped over Uchronia''s side. A beam of blue light flickered, scanning her body up and down, much to her displeasure. Uchronia writhed and wriggled in her chair¡ª" and all the mental inhibitors are gone, even the emotional ones. But no brain damage, that''s great!"

    "What are those mental inhibitors! Why are you brainwashing kids into fighting your war against humans!" shouted Uchronia.

    With all of the shouting Uchronia had been doing her voice was going to get hoarse. That''s why she should take a sip of that mouth-watering hot cocoa that Lapis had given them. The scent wafted into Alwin''s nose teasing them with sweet delight. He couldn''t resist, and conjured up his Spirit Hands, urging them to help him take a sip. Enough with the random segue into why Alwin was drinking the hot chocolate, back to the shouting match.

    "Is it really brainwashing? I like to think of it as guiding. Milvee wasn''t lying when he called you kids important. Core monsters are as rare as a thirty-two-leafed clover. Core monsters that want to fight against the human problem are even rarer, like a sixty-four-leafed clover."

    "That''s it? That''s your reasoning? Because you''re bad at recruiting?"

    "Not mine, I''m just telling you what they told me. Truth be told I wanted to raise y''all with love, kindness, and tons of yummy desserts. But I guess I am partially to blame, I did implement the mental inhibitors."

    "You did this? You''re the one who messed with my mind? Implanted all of those memories, manipulating us, putting those blockers." Uchronia glared at her. Her shout echoed throughout the room, filling Alwin''s ears and sending shivers down his spine.

    "Well, I take partial credit for the work, it was more of a collaboration effort. We didn''t really manipulate you per se. We just simply blocked off access to parts of your mind that may make you lose control and go rogue. Things like where you came from, noticing why you don''t fit in, those sorts of things."

    "Why! Why do that!"

    "Consequence of the information download I suppose, which I also contributed to. The screwing-up part was not my fault. The Council was like ''We need to train them young, skip all the child stuff, teach them how to walk, talk, and give them all the necessary information''. I was like ''They won''t be able to handle it. They''re just kids, they''ll act out.'' That led to the whole rabbit hole of mental inhibitors so that you''d be good kids, I guess. Nothing too serious, we just made it so that you''d study hard for the good of monsterkind and made it easier for you to kill humans without the whole remorse learning curve, also so that you won''t notice the other monsters in the academy''s discrimination. When you''re a two-month-old baby that can walk and talk, you''re bound to draw attention, negative attention I might add. Then we made it so you won''t notice it."

    "That''s manipulation!"

    "If you want to be pedantic then sure, we technically did manipulate you. Do I feel bad? Yeah, that''s why I offered you free snacks. Is it enough to make up for it? Heck no. Do I know where I''m going with this? Not really."

    "Cakes and drinks! That''s not enough to learn that my whole life has been crafted out for me. Go study in the academy, go kill some humans, go evolve. What if I wanted to do something else, what if I don''t want to go to war, what if I didn''t want any of this? I had no right and I had no say! Tell me I''m not being crazy, right, Alwin!"

    "Not really... Wait, so what you''re saying is that the Human Hunter Corp created a bunch of child soldiers? With mind control and all that?" asked Alwin.

    "If you put it that way, then I guess it does sound bad."

    "See! See! I''m not overreacting! Why aren''t you getting mad about this, Alwin!" Uchronia shouted.

    Stolen story; please report.

    "Must be because of that emotional block. That''s why I don''t really feel much."

    "Nope. The emotional inhibitor is specifically for killing humans. You''re just a weird kid."

    "I... Okay, that makes sense."

    "No, it doesn''t, why are you so calm about all of this, Alwin!"

    "I can answer that," said Lapis. "We designed those mental inhibitors to come off once you kids were stable and mature enough to understand why we did it."

    "You mean after we were completely indoctrinated where we had no choice but to say yes!"

    "Nope. You could be for or you could be against. As long as your mind was mature enough that you wouldn''t go into a full-blown hissy fit like what you''re doing right now. The Council was just banking on you kids being so invested in getting rid of humans that you would in the best case go along with it perfectly fine and in the worst case just grumble, but still go along with it. There''s nothing stopping you from like plotting revenge or going rogue though. You''re welcome to do it, but just make sure you''re strong enough that you won''t die."

    "Hissy fit? HISSY FIT! This is just a hissy fit to you? I have every right to be upset."

    "And you do. Just that if, you know, you actually channeled that anger into doing something about it other than throwing a toddler tantrum, it wouldn''t just be a hissy fit."

    "I-uh-I... You''re right." Uchronia stared at her, eyes no longer filled with fiery rage but replaced with a cold calculating gaze. "You''re absolutely right. I should do something about it rather than keep yelling at you. Yes. I''m going to do something about this. So that child soldiers will be abolished."

    "Good for you. Just don''t tell me the details or I''ll have to report you and there''ll be this big mess that would interfere with my business. So... are you interested in therapy to sort out your feelings?"

    "I am!" shouted Alwin.

    "Sure. One of my drones is a licensed therapist. I''ll get them to come down and have a session with you. Any particular thing you want to work out?"

    "Work out? Muscles, I guess. I want to get stronger!"

    "That''s not really therapy, that''s training. So you''re saying you want me to train you?"

    "If you want to. I mean you taught Milvus, that means you must be better than him right? That means you must teach better than him."

    "A brown-noser. I like you. My style of teaching is different from Milvus¡¯. I prefer a more practical approach." A shiver ran up Alwin''s body, if Lapis had a face, he was sure it would have a huge smile that went ear-to-ear, one that shouted "I''m planning something big for you, and not in a good way!"

    "Sure thing, but I do have one really important question."

    "Shoot, kid."

    "Why''s a random cafe owner involved with whatever this Council is, who also taught our teacher, and made mind-controlled child soldiers?"

    "Alwin! You''re right, what if everything this Lapis person has been spouting was nothing but lies! Maybe the reason why we suddenly appeared back in our chairs and couldn''t move, is really because she drugged us. Maybe some aerosolized hallucinogens. There''s no way a cafe owner would be involved in something so complex. She must be doing something more low-level. Something like child trafficking!"

    "Uh... I thought I was the guy who makes large leaps of logic, not you," said Alwin.

    "I-I-I... maybe I do need therapy. Since when are you the logical one and I''m not."

    "Do you want regular therapy or the weird therapy that your Dark Slime friend over here wants?" asked Lapis.

    "The normal kind, just to work out what''s in my head right now, but not by you. What I want from you right now are answers! Who are you really? Are you really just some cafe owner, what are you hiding!" shouted Uchronia.

    "Yeesh! Back to shouting again. Yeah, you really have a lot of things to work out. I''ll recommend another therapist friend I know." Lapis shook her head, which was also her entire body¡ªwhere have we heard that before? "I''m the owner of MOM''s Cafe, can any of you tell me what MOM means? You, new student"¡ªshe pointed at Alwin with her Spirit Hands¡ª"answer my question."

    "It means... it means... it means you''re our Mommy?" Alwin flashed her a smile so bright it rivaled the lightning strikes from Gus'' tribulation.

    "Nope. I have my work cut out for me educating you," she sighed. "And after that, I need to have a word with Milvee about why his Dark Slime is still just a Dull Slime. Anyway, MOM stands for Minister of Magic and since this is my cafe and I''m the MOM, it''s now called MOM''s Cafe! Isn''t that an amazing name?"

    "Not really, it''s kind of on the nose, not much creativity."

    "Rude. Now I''m really going to educate you later. But to answer lil angry girl''s question, this cafe is my hobby. Being in charge of all things magic is stressful and I want a break every once in a while, okay. This cafe is miles better than dealing with office politics, sitting through pointless meetings that could''ve just been a message, and arguing with other Council members."

    "Wait, so you''re actually someone important?" asked Alwin.

    "Yup! Me and the other Ministers are basically second only to the King."

    "Oh, mighty Grand teacher. Teach me your ways, help me become stronger." Alwin bowed down repeatedly on his chair.

    "That''s the spirit. Worship me and tell me how good of a teacher I am and you''ll learn plenty. What about you, Miss angry pants? Want some teaching?"

    "Depends... what are you going to teach me?"

    "Well, I''m the Minister of Magic. What else do you think I''m going to teach you?"

    "Magic is extremely broad! There are defensive spells, offensive spells, and so many subsets of support spells. So what are you really going to teach us? You can''t just say magic and expect us to know everything!"

    "First I''ll teach you how to control your anger and second I''ll teach you a new way to gain to fill that Evolution counter of yours. One that doesn''t involve killing humans. That way you don''t have to go back to the forest tomorrow, just like how Milvee wanted you to. See! Aren''t I such a kind and understanding person?"

 Chapter 59: A New Method

    "A new way to gain essence? I thought the only way was to kill humans?" asked Alwin.

    "Nope. Killing humans is the fastest way, the other way is refining the latent mana floating about, kind of like what the cultivators do," said Lapis.

    Uchronia frowned. ¡°And adventurers get stronger by killing monsters. So we¡¯re somewhere between adventurers and cultivators, huh?¡±

    "Exactamundo! No wonder you''re Milvee''s star pupil."

    "But, why teach us a worse way? That sounds like a waste of time.¡± Uchronia¡¯s tail flicked in irritation.

    "It''s not a worse way, it''s a different way. Sure, killing humans means you get to evolve faster, but what if you had a bigger control over what you want to evolve into?"

    "Go on."

    "Well, evolution is influenced by what skills you learn, the environment you stay in, and the type of essence you absorb. Sure, killing humans makes you evolve faster, but it¡¯s like a roll of the dice. You never know what kind of essence you¡¯re gonna get. One day you want to be all water-themed, but boom, you end up absorbing lightning essence. Suddenly, you''re a storm cloud on legs.¡±

    Uchronia leaned in, intrigued despite herself. ¡°Okay, you have my attention. Keep talking.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on a method to refine essence¡ªfilter out the junk and keep what you want. I call it Refinement. The system calls it Refinement too..¡¯¡±

    "Why us? Why teach this supposedly amazing skill to us?" asked Uchronia.

    "Truth be told, it''s still in the experimental stages. The skill works, it''s just the theory needs proof before it becomes fact, so what I''m saying is, if you do accept my proposition you''ll be helping to prove the concept. Also, Tier 1 monsters who have never evolved are kind of the perfect subjects and it just so happens you and your classmates are the most talented Tier 1 monsters right now."

    "You''re using us as guinea pigs!" shouted Uchronia.

    "Technically yes, that''s why it''s your choice."

    "No! A million no''s! No more using us for your own gains! Back me up on this, Alwin!"

    A way to better influence the type of evolution he''d gain. Sure, it was unproven, but the prospect was more than enough for Alwin. A stronger evolution would mean a stronger Alwin, and being stronger means he''d be able to get rid of Gary Stew without being a burden to anyone. After he helped to prove that Lapis'' theory of evolution was correct, she''d probably be so grateful that she''d impart all sorts of skills to Alwin. All he had to do was learn that ''Refinement'' skill, and evolve and he''d be in her good graces. The plan was foolproof.

    "Sorry, Uchronia. I want to go along with the cafe owner''s plan."

    "Why! Haven''t you had enough of being treated like some sort of experiment, now you''re going to dive back into another one without a care!"

    "I''ve never felt like I was in some sort of experiment and this doesn''t really feel like an experiment either, so I think you really need some sort of therapy to work out your feelings," said Alwin.

    "I... Fine! Lapis if I find out you did anything to hurt Alwin. I swear that your days are numbered!"

    "Honestly, I assumed they were already numbered when you started talking about ''doing something about it so that there won''t be any more child soldiers''. Just relax, this Dark Slime is in good company. I swear on it."

    Uchronia clicked her tongue. "Good! Now let us go. I don''t have anything else to talk to you about. Come on Alwin, let''s go back to the dorms."

    "Or... Alwin stays here and we starting his training right now. The faster you learn how to refine essence, the faster you get to evolve."

    "But¡ª"

    "I''m kind of on board with that plan," said Alwin.

    "But, Alwin. Can you really trust her? We''ve just met her."

    "Technically this is the second time we''ve met her, so I guess I can trust her? What''s the worst that can happen, anyway."

    "You might die."

    "He won''t die," interjected Lapis.

    "See, look. No problem." Alwin smiled.

    "I don''t trust you, and I barely trust Alwin''s judgment. That''s why I''m going to pay a visit every single day and if anything happens to Alwin, I swear you will regret the day you invited us to this cafe."

    "Sure. Just make sure you''re strong enough to back up those words. I''m not the MOM for nothing."

    The weird invisible bindings that were holding Alwin and Uchronia in place disappeared. Uchronia hopped off the chair, stomping on the ground with all of the force that she could muster. She shot Lapis a glare and when she turned to look at Alwin, a sigh escaped her lips as she made her way to the exit.

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    ¡°I¡¯ll send you info about your therapy session!¡± Lapis called after her, her voice sing-song.

    Now it was just Alwin, Lapis, and a lone drone hovering in the corner.

    "Great, let''s get to work," said Lapis. The painting of a fruit basket that hung on the wall began to ascend toward the ceiling, revealing a hidden passageway behind it. "Follow me."

    Alwin hopped off his chair, careful not to knock it down lest he incurred the wrath of his new Grand teacher. He followed closely behind Lapis, as they traversed down the steps, lights lit up in front of them with every step that he hopped down. Alwin was giddy with excitement. A secret room! This was so cool. This was the best teacher ever and he promised he''d pay attention to whatever she was going to teach him. Behind him, the drone trailed close behind, Alwin''s half-eaten cake perched atop its pointed head. How thoughtful of it, and perhaps by extension, Lapis.

    At the bottom of the staircase, Alwin stepped into a cavernous room. Every wall was lined with bookshelves, each crammed with tomes and scrolls. Desks were scattered around, buried under piles of books, papers spilling over the edges. And at the center of the room was a whiteboard covered in weird diagrams and drawings that Alwin couldn''t make out.

    "Welcome to my laboratory! But this isn''t where you''re going to be training. Check this out."

    Lapis guided her Spirit Hands towards the bookshelves and tilted back a thick red book. With a soft click, the bookshelf began to shift, recessing into the wall. Alwin watched in amazement as the entire unit slid open¡ªit was a second hidden room!

    "This is where you''ll be training."

    Alwin followed Lapis into the hidden room. It was a room devoid of anything, just pure empty white space that seemed to stretch out to infinity¡ªalmost like the area Alwin would get transported to whenever he opened up a book in the library.

    "I know that look, I bet you''re thinking ''Wow, this room looks like the ones where I have to battle against a skill book''s avatar'' and you''re half right. This room is like an anchor for that concept, except this place is in a physical realm while the other is in the astral realm. And no, I will not go into the details and yes, it was a collaboration effort between me and the MOK or the Minister of Knowledge. So, shall we get started, dear student."

    "Yes!" Alwin shouted, his excitement bubbling over. Forget the mumbo jumbo Lapis mentioned¡ªhis focus was on training. He needed to get stronger, to defeat Gary Stew. And right now, Lapis had the knowledge he craved. The knowledge that would help him surpass his limits and become the best version that he could be.

    "Great, but before we do that I''m going to have to give you a quick lecture."

    Boo! Lessons suck, but he made a promise with himself that he''d pay attention. He was going to absorb the knowledge that Lapis was dispensing then right after that he was going to absorb the essence that was supposedly all around him.

    "I know that look, but I have to do it. I''ll try to keep it brief, I don''t exactly enjoy info-dumping things," she said, bringing over the whiteboard that was in the other room with her Spirit Hands. On the board, she wrote ''Essence Refining 101'' in big bold letters.

    "Essence is essentially a fancy term for refined mana. Why, whoever invented the terms couldn''t standardize it, I don''t know, so now we have to suffer for it. Whenever someone uses a skill, they produce essence. This happens because, each time you mold mana to use a skill, you''re unintentionally refining a teensy weensy bit of it. And every time you eject your molded spell out of your core, a small amount of that refined mana gets left behind, layering atop your core. That''s how you gradually build up your essence. Now, when you kill a human, you''re actually absorbing the essence they''ve already developed. After going through a tribulation, that accumulated refined mana becomes part of the new infrastructure of your core, causing it to expand."

    "So you''re saying that I can get essence from monsters too?" asked Alwin.

    "Yup, but I wouldn''t recommend it."

    "Why? Is it toxic for another monster to absorb monster essence?"

    "Nope. It''s just that when people find out you''re going to get hunted and killed and I wouldn''t want that to happen to my pupil. Also, it makes me look bad. People will go ''Why didn''t you exercise your judgment before teaching this monster? Because of you, we lost many good people or something like that."

    "Okay, I don''t want to die."

    "Great, now let me teach you how to refine essence. First I need to know, how you craft spells. Are you an incanter, do you schemas, or do you will your mana, etcetera, etcetera."

    Alwin knew what an incanter was, that was Uchronia with her incantations. But what about him? What did he do? Did it even have a name? He made Spirit Hands and Feet by sculpting his clay-like mana and created Spirit Blasts with paper mache. Now that he thought about it, no wonder he lost to Gary Stew¡ªhis methods sounded like arts and crafts rather than spellcraft. Alwin began to relay to Lapis his ''unique approach'' for constructing his Spirit Blasts: the tearing, the pasting, and the oh-so-dreaded drying that was thankfully fixed by using an oven. He detailed every painstaking step, hoping to make sense of his unconventional methods.

    "Yeah, that''s called using schemas. No idea why you went on that whole song and dance when you could''ve just used one word. Unless Milvee didn''t teach you the difference. Looks like I''ve got another reason to ''educate'' him."

    Sorry, Milvus. You really should''ve done more to make sure that Alwin was paying attention in class. This was totally not Alwin throwing the blame onto someone else instead of taking responsibility for it. Nope, it wasn''t. And if anyone called him out on it, he had a solid defense that no one would ever be able to destroy¡ªhe was just an itty bitty baby with zero understanding of the ramifications of his actions.

    "Since you don''t know what a schema is, the simplest way I can put is like this. Fire is hot, and since you know it''s hot when you conjure a fire in your mindscape, you automatically know it''s going to be hot. So if you put a pot of mana over the flame, the mana starts boiling. That''s basically how you use schemas."

    "So, how do I use paper mache or sculpting to refine mana?"

    "That''s the neat part, you don''t."

    "You know how we pull in mana from our surroundings? Well, of course, you do, I''m only saying that to play into the info-dumping tropes. Anyway, what you and most people don''t know is that it''s dirty and full of all sorts of impurities. Remove those impurities, plaster it all over your core, and boom Evolution counter goes up."

    "That doesn''t sound that hard, why doesn''t everyone do that?" asked Alwin, hopping up and down, performing backflips and front flips. "So what do I need to do."

    "Hold your horses, kiddo. People don''t do it because, A, it''s slower than just hunting humans and, B, it involves mastering a new skill. And when I say new, I mean new new. The type that was literally just invented by none other than yours truly," said Lapis. "If I could bow, I would, but flexibility isn''t my body''s strong suit, crystal being and whatnot."

    "So, you''re saying I''m the second ever person to learn this skill?" asked Alwin, his eyes lighting up.

    "Yup!"

    "It must be some super duper strong skill," said Alwin.

    "Yeah, sure. If that makes you more enthusiastic about learning it, then it is a super awesome skill and you''re the first person who''s going to inherit it. You ready?"

    "Of course!"

 Chapter 60: Settings?

    "So you''re ready to learn this new skill? Well too bad, because you still got to sit through some explanations. Thus was the life of a student. Got to do some theory before you get your hands dirty. Where was I going with this? Oh right, the explainy-wainy bit."

    Lapis'' Spirit Hands began to draw on the whiteboard¡ªa funnel with a mesh made out of a crisscross of red and blue markers.

    "This is what you''re going to use to filter out the impurities: a filter funnel. Creating the funnel inside of your core is the easy part, creating the filter paper is the hard part and I guess modifying your mana is the hard part too. So two hards and one easy. Now. have you drank coffee before? Know what a coffee filter is?"

    "I''ve drank coffee before, but what''s a coffee filter?"

    "Well, I''d show you and it''d probably make your life easier, but I''m lazy. Also just think of it as training. Anyways, how good are you at multitasking"

    The part about him having to do more work did sound like it would suck a lot, but he''d just suck it up. Now there was an opportunity for him to show off the fruits of his efforts, a huge grin spread across Alwin''s face. "I''m pretty good at it, been practicing a lot lately."

    "Good. Because it''s easier to try it out for yourself and I don''t exactly want to repeat myself. So, close your eyes and feel your core. I want you to imagine a funnel and maybe a bucket to collect the refined mana. Use whatever you fancy."

    Alwin did as told. Darkness enveloped his vision as he sealed his eyes, and that darkness soon gave way to the inside of his core. His consciousness floated over the large swirling whirlpool that was his mana, while drops of mana rained down from the ceiling creating innumerable ripples in his mana pool.

    A glass funnel appeared within his core, held up by a pair of mental hands that were conjured up at the same time. From within his Core, he heard the voice of Lapis bleed in, echoing around the spherical chamber¡ªall of that multitasking practice was really helping!

    "You got the funnel?" the voice echoed.

    "Yes," Alwin said, diverting a minuscule amount of brain power to operating his mouth.

    "Great, now I''m going to describe the properties of the filter. Based on those properties, I need you to create a piece of filter paper. First, the thickness. It''s about as thick as any old piece of paper you''ll find lying around. I only said it in case you''re one of those gung-ho types who''ll come up with a piece of paper as thick as a book."

    A piece of paper exactly as described by Lapis appeared in his mind, swaying from side to side as it floated downwards before finally landing atop the funnel he had made.

    "How good are you at manipulating things you''ve already created within your Core?" Lapis asked.

    "You can do that?" replied Alwin. "I just thought it was a one-and-done thing, and never realized that you could still tweak them.

    "Well, we can work on that later, for now, we''ll just do it by iteration. Now on the next iteration, I want you to make the paper more durable, it has to resist tearing apart when soaked in liquid, but not completely waterproof, it still has to let liquid through. The longer it can hold up the better, let''s say five minutes for now. So, have fun, and let me know when you''re done."

    Alwin got to work. He dipped the first piece of paper into his mana pool, just to see what would happen¡ªa small part of him was hoping that everything would work out from the get-go, but alas life wasn''t that simple. Water traveled up the piece of paper, soaking it. Alwin''s eye twitched in irritation as he watched the paper dissolve and rip into pieces.

    This might take a while. He didn''t know what he was doing or how to go about doing it. He definitely should ask Lapis for some tips, but no! This was the chance for him to prove himself, to prove that he was capable of learning on his own.

    Filter paper. Filter paper. Filter paper. Make a piece of paper that survives in water. Alwin poured all of his intent into conjuring a piece of paper that could survive in water for five minutes, but each one broke apart faster than he could say ''paper mache''.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    This was getting frustrating. Alwin was getting peeved. If trying it out one by one wasn''t going to work, then why not a bombardment? Dozens of pieces of paper fluttered down from high up in the air, landing in the pool of mana¡ªeach piece of paper filled with the intent to survive in liquid. They soaked it right up, only to tear and break apart into soggy scraps in less than five seconds. That was a definite improvement from his earlier attempts, but if he kept this up his mana pool would eventually become a paper pool.

    None of it was working. The longest piece had only survived for ten seconds and that was 673 pieces ago. Good thing the papers here were created using his mind. Otherwise, there would be a lot of angry eco-friendly warriors armed with pitchforks heading his way. Still, he needed a way to actually create a piece of mental paper that could survive being soaked in mana, but he simply lacked the control. Wait, control? That''s it! He just needed control.

    The best way to gain control was with a controller, but what type of controller? The only controllers that he knew about were the control panels under Milvus'' desk and in the Evolution Chamber, and the remote controllers that ancient humans used to control their colorful square boxes called television. If he had to choose, it''d be the latter, simply because they''d fit in one of his mental hands and he wouldn''t have to worry about the big control panel falling into his mana pool and short-circuiting.

    Within his Core, Alwin conjured up a remote control similar to the ones ancient humans used to use. It was long, black, and rectangular with a myriad of buttons that did who knows what¡ªwell, the humans knew but that wasn¡¯t the point.

    There weren¡¯t any ancient humans floating about within his core which left Alwin with one choice. Try each and every button until he hit the jackpot. With the remote pointed at a newly summoned piece of paper, Alwin began his barrage. He commanded his mental hands to press down on every single button, the smooth gray surfaces depressing under the force. A moment passed, with nothing happening. Then two moments, still nothing. Four moments, then eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, and finally one hundred and twenty-eight moments, and... something happened.

    A menu appeared on the paper: ¡®Settings.¡¯ The options were, well, lacking. Only one: Wet Strength. Alwin didn¡¯t hesitate. Using the directional buttons, he cranked the Wet Strength up to eleven.

    Alwin grabbed the modified piece of paper and dipped it into his mana pool. The liquid mana traveled up the white piece of paper, turning it into a sopping wet mess. But that was a good thing. It remained a sopping wet mess, instead of transforming into a pile of bits and pieces¡ªhe was finally moving in the right direction.

    One, two, three, four, five... two hundred ninety eight, two hundred ninety nine, three hundred! Yup, Alwin counted until his five minutes were up instead of using a stopwatch or a timer like a normal sensible person. That''s because Alwin was special. The type of special that carried a good connotation instead of a negative one.

    "I did it!" Alwin shouted, opening his eyes only for them to get assaulted by the bright white room that Lapis had decided was the optimal place for training.

    Lapis wasn''t in front of him. Alwin looked around and finally found the location of his elusive grand teacher. There she floated, in front of a table that she must''ve dragged in. On the table was a giant glass bowl, the centerpiece of the attraction, along with dozens of loose sheets of paper scattered all over the place. Her drones zipped around, carrying test tubes and flasks filled with various liquids and powders. Her Spirit Hands would grab whatever items the drones were transporting only to dump their contents into the giant glass bowl in front of her. Lapis hadn''t heard him, she had all of her efforts placed in whatever experiment that she was conducting. It must''ve been a type of experiment that was possible only by the person that held the title ''Minister of Magic''. An experiment so grand, that it would change the very lives of the monsters in the city.

    Alwin hopped over to where Lapis was conducting her experiment. His eyes were peeled open, focusing on every minute detail. This was ''serious-business'' Alwin reporting for duty¡ªnot like he hadn''t been here this whole time. Who knows what sort of knowledge and invaluable insights he might be able to glean from this encounter.

    She poured in different types of powders. Some white, some dark brown, she even used some sort of metal apparatus to sift the powder¡ªshe must be getting rid of impurities too! Next, were the liquids. There was a clear one that must''ve been water, but she added in two more liquids that he had no clue what they were. They were a deep golden yellow and a thick creamy white. After pouring them all in, a Spirit Hand carrying a wooden spoon came swooping in and began to stir the mixture. What kind of concoction was Lapis brewing?

    Once she had completed the ritual did she finally notice Alwin watching her every move. "Did you manage to last five minutes?"

    "Yes, I did. What are you creating?" Alwin asked.

    "Oh, this. Just conducting some experiments."

    "What kind of experiment? Is it the beginning of some super-powerful spell? Some amazing creation that would change the course of history?"

    "Nope. Just trying out a new cake recipe for my cafe."

    Alwin''s reality shattered¡ªhe really was an idiot. It was so obvious. How could he have not seen the signs? There was only one thing left to do. Drown his shame in more work.

 Chapter 61: Absorbing Essence Again

    "What''s the next step for the paper?" Alwin asked.

    "The next step is porosity and particle retention¡ªfancy terms for how many holes there are and how well they trap particles. Picture porosity as the number of holes: more holes mean mana flows through easily. Particle retention is about how well the filter paper traps particles, which depends on the pore size. Bigger pores let bigger things through, while smaller pores let smaller things through. It''s self-explanatory. Once you''ve got the hang of that, the fun part starts. Don''t worry, I won''t overload you, so have fun!"

    Alwin closed his eyes and re-entered his core. The piles of paper that had littered the inside earlier had vanished, much to his relief. There was no way he was going to be able to fish out that much waste. Okay, there probably was a way, but he was just too lazy to do it. Within his Core, Alwin conjured up a single sheet of paper, a pair of mental hands, and one handy-dandy remote controller. The hands grabbed the items as they appeared mid-air, lest he wanted a broken remote and soggy paper.

    Once again, Alwin fiddled with the remote, fingers dancing over those smooth grey buttons, until he found the one that opened up the ''Settings'' menu on the piece of paper. It was obvious now that he looked back at it¡ªthere was an aptly named ''Settings'' button, but in his defense, he pretty sure it had spontaneous appeared the moment he was on the verge of chucking the remote into his mana pool.

    This time along with ''Wet Strength'', there were additional items in the menu: Porosity and Pore Size. So since larger porosity allows more mana to flow through, Alwin decided to crank that slider all the way to the right. Alwin paused for a brief moment to think before scrolling down to the next setting. Smaller pore size meant that only smaller things can pass through, so he shifted the slider all the way to the left, but not too left, more like left with a smidge of right. All the way to left meant zero pore size which meant, zero way for the mana to flow through¡ªwhich was bad if that wasn''t obvious enough. Right now, only the smallest of smalls could pass through this sheet of paper. Time to report back to Lapis.

    "I''m done again!" Alwin shouted.

    This time Lapis was paying attention to him. "Already? It hasn''t even been five minutes. Your last attempt took an hour, why was this one so much faster?"

    "I just found a fast way to do it."

    "Just spit it out loud. Don''t make me prompt you, it wastes your time, my time, the people who may be listening in to our conversation''s time."

    "I created a remote control that lets me change the settings of the paper. Then when you mentioned Porosity and Pore Size, those things got added into the settings and I just changed it from there."

    "Interesting.¡± Lapis paused to think as well for a moment. ¡°Unique and universal. I''m going to steal that idea. It''s like a universal remote that lets you control anything, I never thought of that. I went into the science of it like obtaining pulp, refining it, adding additives, forming the paper, so on and so forth. Maybe a simple approach is the best. Oh, the ideas that you gave me, Alwin. I''m going to leave a good review for you¡ªfive stars! Hey, do me a favor. Go back into your core and aim that remote at your mana pool. Let¡¯s see what options come up in your settings.¡±

    Within his Core, Alwin pointed the remote that he had spawned at the pool of mana below his consciousness. The ''Settings'' menu appeared, but it was blank.

    "There''s nothing on it."

    "Hmm, okay just listen to me. When I refine my mana I normally change the states of the mana in my Core: solid for impure, liquid for impure."

    As Lapis said that, two new options popped up: Pure Mana State and Impure Mana State.

    "Something happened. I can change the states of the pure and impure mana."

    "Well don''t be a dawdle duck, try it out."

    Both of the options were set to liquid. Alwin pressed down on the directional pads of the remote, toggling between all of the different states available: solid, liquid, gaseous, and plasma. Plasma mana sounded like it''d be fun to shoot out at enemies, it''d probably do heaps of damage to them, but now wasn''t the time. The Impure Mana State was set to solid, just as Lapis had suggested. A prompt flashed: ¡®Apply Changes?¡¯ Of course, he selected yes.

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    Unable to change states due to insufficient temperature.

    "It says there''s insufficient temperature. Does that mean its not hot enough?"

    "Quite the opposite really, it most likely means that it''s not cold enough. That''s very interesting. Looks like that remote isn''t all powerful. My theory is that it can bypass all of the complicated stuff that you don''t understand but for simple things like changing a liquid to a solid, you''re still bounded by the logic that you''re familiar with."

    Only the first part of Lapis'' ramblings were of use to Alwin. So he needed to make his mana colder. There was only one way to do that, well he actually thought of two but the second option didn''t sound as fun. A bucket of ice appeared above his Core before falling deep into the aquatic abyss. More and more buckets of ice appeared, dousing the area, transforming it into a glacial wonderland. Small islets of ice¡ªreally tiny icebergs floated throughout his mana pool. They were caught within the currents of the swirling whirlpool, going round and round on an eternal merry-go-round of ice.

    Back the menu he went. This time when he toggled over to ''solid'' and selected ''yes'', there were no error messages. A large portion of his mana pool had turned into solid chunks. The once clear pool of mana had been transformed into a murky grey. He''d done it. The impure mana was successfully converted into a solid.

    "I''ve done it, Lapis!" Alwin shouted, making sure to keep a wisp of concentration on his Core, lest he wanted to restart the process all over again.

    "Good job, now start filtering it. I haven''t found a good way for others to determine purity, but if the mana is clear that''s good enough."

    Alwin poured 98% of his brainpower back into his core¡ªthe lingering 2% were for listening and speaking to the outside world. Within his Core, Alwin conjured up the filter paper and filter funnel. The remote was used to mess with the settings of the piece of paper: high wet strength, high porosity, and small pore size. Once the filter paper was nestled in place inside of the funnel, Alwin spawned in two more buckets¡ªboth empty. One bucket was placed right below the nozzle of the funnel while the other was handed to the pair of mental hands, who began to scoop a bucketload of mana¡ªliterally¡ªand poured it into the filter.

    Liquid mana seeped through the filter paper, soaking it to the brim but it still held strong and showed no signs of breaking apart. Drip drops of refined mana escaped the funnel into the bucket, leaving behind the dirty dark blue impurities on the filter paper. It was a slow process. Alwin stared the refined liquid mana pooled into the bucket, watching drip after drip, drop into the bucket adding to his collection. It was still miles better than watching his paper mache dry¡ªthis time he got to watch the ripples form and dissipate with every drop. Finally, after five minutes, he had achieved half a bucket''s worth of somewhat refined liquid mana¡ªapparently half of the mana was just dirty raw mana. The liquid in the bucket was transparent, a clear crystal blue, with nary a particle floating about, which was good enough for Lapis so it was good enough for him.

    "I have half a bucket''s worth of mana now and it looks clear. What do I do now?"

    "Grab that bucket and expunge the refined mana out of the core, but remember to imbue it with the intent of enhancing your core. The refined mana will act as the foundation for a bigger core once you''ve completed your tribulation."

    Expunge the mana? How was he going to do that? He had kicked, thrown, and batted his molded spells before, but those techniques couldn''t be applied here. Alwin wasn''t skilled enough to kick, throw, or bat the bucket of refined mana without a single drop of his hard earned work splashing back into the mucky pool that was his mana. Then, there was another problem. Mana droplets rained down from the top of his core, it was his body''s natural way of replenishing the mana that he had used up. There was no way he could remove the bucker from the filter funnel without the somewhat refined mana becoming tainted with the yucky rain-mana¡ªthere actually was a way, but Alwin was just upping the ante so that the imaginary audience that lived in his mind could experience some sort of tension.

    With a snap of his mental fingers¡ªfor dramatization purposes¡ªa lid appeared and sealed the bucket from any risk of contamination. How would he go about bringing the mana out of his core without kicking, throwing, or batting it? Well, he couldn''t. What he could do was ensure that none of his hard-earned work would go to waste.

    Alwin floated his consciousness up, flying higher and higher, the imaginary hands floating upwards alongside him. As he gained altitude, he could see the mana leaking through the roof of his core, searching for a spot with the least amount of flow. Finally he had reached the highest point of his core, Alwin ordered the mental hands to force their way out of the core¡ªan experiment of sorts. The moment they came in contact with the surface, the hands disappeared. They didn''t breach the core, they were simply snuffed out of existence. With that fun little side quest out of the way, came the real kicker. Focusing all of his might into imbuing that bucket with the intent of strengthening his core¡ªit was a simple mantra that went ''Strengthen core. Strengthen core.'' With the mantra stuck on repeat, Alwin removed the lid from his bucket, careful to not let any tainted mana drip into his crystal-clear elixir, and then he chucked the contents into the sky.

    Essence absorbed.

    The notification jolted him back to reality. It worked! Lapis hadn''t been lying or wasting his time. There was another way to gain essence without the need to go out and slaughter humans¡ªwhich he really wanted to do¡ªbut the allure of being able to guide his evolution was too tempting.

    "I did it. I got a notification from the system saying some essence was absorbed."

    "Great! Now do that a couple hundred more times until your Evolution Counter hits a hundred."

 Chapter 62: Will He Finally Evolve?

    It was a long, arduous, tedious, laborious, torturous, strenuous, rigorous, onerous¡ªyou get the picture¡ªday. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Imagine seeing this every couple of minutes.

    Essence absorbed.

    Essence absorbed.

    Essence absorbed.

    Essence absorbed.

    New Skill Learned: Refinement (F)

    Essence absorbed.

    Essence absorbed.

    Each ping from the system sent a jolt of exhilaration through Alwin, his slimy body performing a little shaky shake in celebration. Food? Who needed food when you had system pings to feast on? By the end of the day he was more dopamine than slime. Maybe he''d evolve into a Dopamine Slime, if that even was a thing. Speaking of Evolution, he should really consult Lapis about a theory that had just popped into his mind.

    "Hey, Lapis?" asked Alwin, finally opening his eyes after dumping tons and tons of refined mana to build up his core.

    The bright white room assaulted his corneas, sending his vision into a blank white fuzz. Blinking rapidly, he regained his sight, adjusting to the brilliant lights. This was a stupid room to train in! Lapis was still floating there, the glass bowl now replaced with a dark brown chocolate cake.

    "Oh, are you done?" Lapis asked, her Spirit Hand twirling a knife as the other waved at him. "Come have a slice, I''m trying out a new recipe for a Ultra Deluxe Chocolate Lava Cake. Twice the flavor with half the calories."

    "Maybe later, I have a question. And yes, I will say it out without having to be prompted. Only problem is, I don''t know how to phrase it so I might end up rambling, but here it goes." Alwin took a deep breath, he needed enough air to sustain the rambling rapping¡ªa rapbling¡ªhe was about to perform. "You know you said when you use skills or spells you refine a little bit of mana, of course you know you literally said it a couple of hours ago, well I started thinking about what Milvus said. He mentioned that the type of skills and environment you''re in affect what sort of tribulation and evolution you''ll get. Does that mean you use say lightning elemental skills, you''re also refining a tiny bit of lightning elemental mana? Is that what causes the lightning tribulation? Also when you absorb essence from another human do you absorb the elemental type of that refined mana too? Like if he uses plant elemental skills you absorb plant element refined mana and that messes up what sort of evolution you''re aiming for. Also what sort of mana am I refining?" Alwin took a big gulp of air, finally done with his ramble.

    Lapis sighed, she wasn''t impressed by Alwin''s lengthy performance. "That was like five questions or something. Honestly, we still don''t really get evolution. Sure, what you said makes logical sense and that¡¯s what we¡¯ve always been doing, but reality might just flip us the bird and say no. It''s like thinking more meetings will lead to better communication and higher productivity. In reality, too many meetings just mean no one gets any work done, so productivity tanks. I should know because those dumb monsters in the Council are all about ''let''s have a meeting for this'' and ''let''s have a pre-meeting for this meeting.'' Trust me, it''s a total waste of time. Does that answer your question?"

    "Not even close."

    "Yeah, I figured. I was hoping you''d be one of those who''d just go, ''Oh, okay,'' and leave, hoping everything would work out on its own, or at least try to figure things out yourself. Guess you''re not, which means I have to actually explain my theories and stuff. Which also means you''re a good student and not one of those annoying yes-monster types."

    "Yay?" Alwin''s response was uncertain.

    "Oh, that''s great. You even know when to respond to help break up my monologue into easier-to-digest pieces. Time to continue before I ramble on too much. Now, to answer your question. Honestly, I don''t know. It''s all just theories and guesswork right now. Does using lightning element skills mean you refined a tiny bit of lightning element mana? Probably. Does having a lot of lightning element refined mana cause a lightning tribulation? Probably too. Does the type of human you absorb essence from affect your refined mana? Probably not. Our guess right now is that the essence you absorb mimics the most elemental type of refined mana that you have. Does that answer your question?"

    "Almost. What about the last question? What am I actually refining?"

    "I was hoping you wouldn''t ask that. Maybe a yes-monster is actually better," Lapis sighed. "Best guess? Spirit Element. But, that''s just a guess. It could be Spirit or any elemental type, or it could be based on the element that the mana best resonates with depending on the environment. It could even be a never-before-seen type."

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    "So, you don''t know what kind of tribulation I''m going to encounter? How am I supposed to prepare for it then?" The last thing Alwin wanted was to die before attaining his new form. His story would be over, and no one wanted that to happen. Probably.

    "Prepare for the best, hope for the worst. Who knows, maybe you might not even have a tribulation. You are literally the first monster whose Evolution meter is mostly being filled up by this Refinement Skill that I cooked up. I have no idea what kind of effect that''s going to have. Anyway, thanks for helping to contribute to the knowledge of monster kind." The Spirit Hand holding up the knife gave a thumbs up.

    "Wait, what? If there''s no tribulation, then wouldn''t that mean I won''t evolve? I can''t not evolve. It''s been two months and I''m still a Dark Slime. I have a feeling some people are starting to get annoyed about that. Also I need to evolve to become stronger and make sure that those humans will never hurt my friends again."

    "I am confident that the outcome will be favorable. Please rest assured that your contributions are highly valued and your efforts will not go unrecognized."

    "You know, for someone who keeps complaining about corporate life, you sure do sound like a suit right now."

    "Really? Crud, you''re right. Sorry, my brain defaulted to corporate speak. I''ve been hanging around the council for too long," Lapis sighed. "Okay, tell you what. Let''s wrap this whole Q&A session up: you go back to refining, I go back to working on my cake, and after that, I''ll continue my research on mana refinement and evolution. Sounds good?"

    "I think so, but how can I trust you? What if you actually knew that using refined mana won''t trigger a tribulation and you''re using me as a guinea pig?" said Alwin.

    "Then I''ll be a horrible person. Depending on who''s asking, I already am a horrible person. I literally helped to make child soldiers. I honestly don''t know what will happen, but that''s science, right? Or magic? Once you start going into funky territory, all science seems like magic, so good luck and have fun. Pray to Cor and hope that I manage to figure stuff out."

    "You''re not exactly making me trust you or feel more confident," said Alwin. "I''m starting to doubt you."

    "About time you started to doubt me. You''re a weird kid. Anyway, it''s your choice. Stay or leave, but if you want to help further monsterkind knowledge, I hope you stay. Anyway, enough rambling. The quality of this conversation has been going downhill. I just really want to continue with my cake, then after that, I promise I''ll continue my research. Okay?"

    "Fine, but only because doing this means I might get stronger faster."

    Alwin closed his eyes and resumed his Refinement, grateful for the break. Although that part about not being to evolve took root within his psyche. On the off chance that he couldn''t evolve what was he going to do? Devolve? That skill didn''t even work. There was nothing to do but pray to Cor and continue to work on his Refinement.

    More pieces of filter paper, more buckets of refined mana thrown around his Core, more essence absorbed, more ''Ding. Ding. Ding'' by the system later and Alwin had gotten another prompt. One that he was glad to receive.

    Evolution Meter maxed. Unable to absorb anymore Essence.

    Alwin''s eyes flew open, squinting against the searing white light of Lapis'' training room. The harsh glow stabbed at his corneas, making him wince. Next time he had a mana refinement session he was going to do it inside a dark closet. Who thought that fluorescent white was a good idea for a training room? It was like staring into a miniature sun. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust, and after what felt like an eternity, his vision began to clear¡ªagain.

    Lapis was gone. So was her chocolate lava cake, the table, the whiteboard, and her drone. Where was she? Oh no. Did she lock him in the training room, so that when she suckered the next monster into trying out the Refinement technique he wouldn''t be able to scream into the streets that there''s a chance they wouldn''t be able to evolve, thus effectively shutting down her plan. During his Refinement session, that little seed of doubt had blossomed into the world''s ugliest flower. Alwin couldn''t exactly see it, but if he had to hazard a guess the flower took the form of the Aristolochia Salvadorensis¡ªwhich for some reason looked like the ancient human fictional character Darth Vader.

    Then he turned around. The entrance to Lapis'' lab was right there. Yup, he was spiraling into a loop of anxiety. Rationality was an afterthought, a speed bump at the end of his road of panic. He really should pay more attention to his surroundings instead of diving headfirst into a pool of doubt. Now enough padding, time to move forward! It was tribulation time. Hopefully.

    "Lapis?" called Alwin as he hopped out of the training room. "I did it. Have you discovered anything yet?"

    The lab was a mess. Her desk was a cluttered landscape of papers and notes. The trash was overflowing with crumpled pieces of paper and empty wrappers. Indecipherable scribbles were scrawled all over the whiteboards. There was even a dark brown line of chocolate on one of the boards. Her coffee machine was blinking, a fresh cup of steaming hot liquid ready for consumption. Lapis herself was floating over one of the worktables, a series of drones gathered around her. She was mumbling something to the little bots as they whirred and beeped at their mistress.

    "Come on, don''t fail me now. I''m so close. Just a bit more juice and it''s home free. Come onnnnnnn."

    Beep boop. Whirr.

    "It''s not dying. Why are you telling me it''s dying? No it isn''t! I''m sure it''s fine."

    Boop, whir.

    "Yes it is!"

    Whir.

    "Just a little more."

    Ding, pop!

    "Crud! I''ve failed!"

    Failed. She failed her research? This wasn''t looking good for Alwin. How was it going to affect his growth?

 Chapter 63: Not His Evolution

    "Lapis, did you fail your research? Does that mean I won''t evolve?" Alwin¡¯s voice quivered as he bounced up to her workbench.

    "What?" Lapis turned around to face the very concerned Alwin. "Nope, nope, nope. Drones get rid of the evidence."

    The five drones that were helping out Lapis grabbed the remnants of her latest experiment. With a few beeps and a flash of blue energy, the drones flew away, carrying something that looked like a glass bowl atop their pointed heads. Alwin peeked behind Lapis hoping to find a scrap of information that would explain what he just witnessed. The few splashes of creamy beige on the workbench told a tale of a disastrous baking adventure. He had been deceived once again.

    No more wasting time! Time to get to the meat of the matter. "Lapis have you actually done anything related to refining mana, the tribulation, or even about evolution?"

    "Of course I did. Who do you think I am?"

    "A sham cafe owner who tricked an innocent kid into coming into their basement to conduct experiments on and actually has no ties with whatever the council is. That information downloady thingy did not download that info into my mind."

    "Rude, my cafe is the most popular cafe in the city, but we''re getting off-topic. I don''t want to dawdle any longer. Normally breakthroughs take a while and good thing for you it has been a while. I may or may not have a progress report meeting next week and was definitely not procrastinating until the very last second so that I could use the adrenaline that comes with a looming deadline as fuel to rush my research. Anyway, after I showcased that Refinement skill, the council members also wanted to know what type of mana I was refining and basically all of the questions that you dumped on me. All of which, that I might add, I was already planning on looking into. I hate being told what to do. Unfortunately, I could only find out how to see the type of Essence a monster has."

    One of Lapis'' drones flew back into the room and hovered next to Alwin. A blue beam shot out from the tip of its pointed diamond head, scanning Alwin up and down as it circled around him. Alwin in turn started to swivel around, eyes locked on the drone as they both went around in circles. It circled around him for a good twenty times¡ªAlwin knew because he counted¡ªbefore the beam shut off and the drone flew off back to presumably the kitchen. Now he regretted it because dizziness had decided to move in.

    "Interesting. As always these things create more questions than answers. Based on that scan, you are one percent Dark Element refined mana and ninety-nine percent Spirit Element refined mana. So the Refinement technique either generates Spirit Element refined mana or adopts the most abundant type of refined mana you have, that''s under the assumption that using Spirit Element skills does indeed generate Spirit Element refined mana."

    "So, I''m going to have a Spirit tribulation?" asked Alwin.

    "Probably, that''s also assuming that a tribulation can be triggered if a majority of the essence that you''ve obtained is by the refinement method instead of the usual go out and kill humans and absorb it from them. That''s something that we''ll get to find out together. Boys!"

    Three drones flew into the room, two of them holding up one side of a blindfold that dangled between them. The third drone zoomed behind, balancing a slice of chocolate cake atop its head, the rich aroma of cocoa wafting through the air as it approached causing Alwin''s stomach to rumble. When was the last time he had eaten? Actually, what day was it? Other than that short interlude with Lapis he had spent all of his time refining the mana within his core. How long had he been at it?

    "Here, have some cake and give me some feedback. Also, you''re going to be blindfolded because this teleportation spell is proprietary magic and I''m not allowed to show it to anyone. NDAs and whatnot."

    The world around him sunk into darkness as the pair of drones applied the blindfold over his eyes. He could feel the drones hovering behind him, feeling the fabric becoming taut as they tied a knot. In front of his face, he could feel the wet smoothness of the chocolate frosting press against his lips, the aroma of chocolate bombarding his nostrils. Opening his mouth, he allowed the drone to input a small piece of chocolate cake.

    It was as if the world stopped and everything became insignificant in comparison. Pure bliss exploded across his taste buds. A symphony of flavors danced throughout his mouth, the moist fudgy texture perfectly complimenting the sweetness of the icing. That was all the description he was going to provide. No more dawdling, time for evolving.

    Alwin allowed the drone to shovel in the cake one spoonful at a time, swallowing down each bite faster than the previous one. The moment the final bite disappeared down his throat, light invaded the corners of his vision as the world came into view. The words ''Evolution Chamber'' hung above the wooden door in bold block letters.

    "We''re back in the academy?" exclaimed Alwin.

    "Yup, teleported you here. It''s time to see whether you can evolve and I''m ninety percent confident you will. I don''t have any evidence to back it up, it''s just my gut feeling. More importantly, how was the cake? Too moist? Too sweet? Too soft? Too hard? Too bland? I need the deets, kid."

    "I liked it, ten out of ten. You know for someone who claims to dislike dawdling, you sure waste a lot of time on irrelevant stuff. Also, you talk a lot. Now can we please focus on my evolution? Like how do I even prepare for a Spirit tribulation."

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    "Rude, but understandable. We''ll settle your evolution, and then after that, you get to be my food taster for my new recipes. It''s one of the requirements to be under my tutelage that I just made up. Also, you get free food after not eating for two days. I''m surprised you managed to focus on refining for so long, I personally got bored after five minutes of it. Anyway, let''s go in. I''ve got the room booked for the next hour. Also, I have a surprise for you that I totally intentionally planned for it to happen and it wasn''t a coincidence or anything like that."

    Wow. Lapis really was full of it. At least she was mostly honest. Mostly. Time to open the door and let the secret hit him right on the noggin.

    Alwin pressed against the wooden door and pushed it open. The familiar interior of the room was exactly how he remembered. Cupboards lining the wall, the control panel on the far side of the room, the sunroof opened for the world to see, Milvus hiding inside that glass chamber, a deluge of oversized vines originating from system screens assaulting the monster in the center of the room. Alwin blinked twice, rubbing his eyes against the door frame. Either he was having memory problems or there was a tribulation going on right now.

    "Ta-da! You get to witness your friend''s tribulation!" shouted Lapis.

    "Friend?" Alwin blurted out. If what Lapis said was right and it really had been two days since he started refining mana, then that meant all of his classmates had already completed their evolution. The only people who hadn''t were him and... "Uchronia?"

    Alwin''s eyes focused on the monster at the heart of the vine tornado. Standing in the middle of the writhing mass was a Leafling. Standing next to that Leafling was another Leafing, and another, and another, and another. In case anyone was too lazy to do any mathematics, there were five Leaflings weathering the onslaught of vines. And in case anyone had forgotten about Uchronia''s Core Skill, Alternate History, all of those Leaflings were different versions of Uchronia.

    Vines slithered forward like green, writhing serpents, but each alternate Uchronia met them head-on with their own set of unique skills. The original Uchronia crouched in the center, casting Haste left and right, keeping her other selves moving at super speed. When the effects faded she would recast them shouting out the skill¡¯s name again and again.

    A vine darted past their defenses, and one of the clones shouted out a slew of vulgarities not intended for younger audiences. The original was already acting on it. She leaped into the air, flipping over the incoming vine. Mid-flip, a layer of thorns erupted along her tail while glowing a soft hue. She smacked down on the vine, creating multiple puncture wounds along the hard green root as a shimmer of magic enveloped it. The vine''s movements were cut in half, as the alternate Uchronias¡¯ stepped in blasting it with a menagerie of plant-themed skills. They shot out seeds of bullets, vine-like whips, razor-sharp leaves, and one even transformed their tail into a honed leaf blade. That vine that dared intrude into the space of the original Uchronia was sliced and diced, ready to be turned into a salad for any lurking hungry monsters. The alternates moved back into formation, defending the original from the frenzy plant onslaught.

    Alwin stood at the edge of the doorway, taking stock of everything that was happening. Where was this side of Uchronia when they were getting their butts handed to them by Gary Stew? Why were Gus and Uchronia handed out such amazing skills, while all Alwin got was a defunct skill that still showed no signs of working? There was that jealous side of him that reared its ugly head again. Maybe that was why he was so eager to learn that Refinement skill. It would be an almost unique skill¡ªthere were only two people on the planet who knew it¡ªsomething that he could have bragging rights about, just like the unique Core Skills his friends and classmates boasted.

    The vines rescinded back into the system screen as a bright light consumed the room. Seriously, what was it with him getting blinded today? First the training room and now this? Next time he witnesses a tribulation or enters Lapis'' training room he was going to grab a pair of sunglasses to shield him from the relentless assault of light rays against his delicate corneas. The glow began to dim as the light died down, revealing the room once more¡ªthat short grumble session of his gave Uchronia plenty of time to evolve, if not he would have been stuck describing a bright white room for ten seconds and Alwin did not have the skills to make that entertaining.

    When the light finally died down, Alwin got a good look at Uchronia''s new form. It was something... to say the least. But, saying the least wasn''t going to cut it here. Description vocation Alwin was on the case. Uchronia''s tail had ceased to exist and her round bulbous form was no more, instead replaced in a casing of some sort of brown bio-ceramic armor¡ªshe had been transformed into a flower pot. Sprouting out of the top of the armored flower pot was a green bulb¡ªnot a light bulb but a plant bulb. That was where Alwin assumed her head was, also the fact that her eyes and mouth were there was another indicator. Two extremely thin root-like appendages seeped out from the bottom of the pot¡ªUchronia had legs now! What a miraculous transformation. She finally developed the ability to run.

    "Milvus, is there a mirror in here? I want to see how I look like," said the new and improved not-Leafling.

    "Of course, Uchronia." Milvus walked out of the glass chamber and began to fiddle with the console. All of the cabinets that lined the room and even the protective glass chamber sunk into the deepest parts of the academy. Large mirrors emerged from the floor, giving the new Uchronia a complete look at herself. She paced up and down watching her tiny root legs move underneath her new armored form. Turning to the left and right, she inspected her reflection, now her focus was on her new head¡ªthe little bulb that sprouted out of the pot.

    "Thank you, Milvus," said Uchronia. "If you''ll excuse me, I''ll be heading to the training grounds to test out my new Species Skill and new form," said Uchronia.

    "Sure thing, don''t overwork yourself," said Milvus, waving a tentacle at Uchronia.

    As he traced Uchronia''s route back to the door, his singular eye widened in shock as he gazed upon the monster that stared back at him. It wasn''t Alwin, it was Lapis.

    "Hey, Uchronia," Alwin said, scooching out of the way for Uchronia to cross the threshold into the hallway.

    "We''ll talk later, when there''s less people around, okay?" asked Uchronia.

    "Sure thing."

    "I''m assuming you''re here to evolve? Good luck out there and make sure you survive. I need you."

    "You got it." Alwin smiled.

    Uchronia''s form disappeared down the endless hallways of the academy, leaving Alwin and Lapis standing at the door of the Evolution Chamber. Milvus stared at them, his mouth bobbing up and down unable to formulate a word.

    "Hey, little Milvee. How you doing?" said Lapis.

    Here Alwin stood with his teacher and grand teacher. This was going to be fun.

 Chapter 64: Droning On

    "Hey, little Milvee. How you doing?" said Lapis, floating into the Evolution Chamber while Alwin hopped behind her.

    "M-minister Lapis. Good to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?" stammered Milvus.

    "Can''t a teacher check up on her student? You called being all sad that your first star pupil was giving you the cold shoulder, so how''s that working out for you? Was my advice good or what?"

    "Well, Uchronia is definitely treating me warmer now, but I can still sense disappointment and unease whenever she looks at me."

    "She''ll get over it or maybe you''ll get over it. One of you will get over it eventually just depends on who first. When that happens ring me up and I''ll give you some more Ministerial advice. Anyway, want to watch your last student evolve? I know I do. You know he''s also my student now which means I''m his grand teacher. That''s something he came up with, by the way. I''m disappointed that I didn''t think of it first. But this guy is a hard worker and he''s helping me with my research right now."

    "Hey, teach," said Alwin.

    "Hi, Alwin. I heard everything from Uchronia." There was a solemn expression on his face. "I''m sorry you had to find out about your origins this way. It''s a bit sudden and shocking so I understand if you bear any resentment towards the academy, but just know that it was all done for the great good of monster kind. You and your classmates are the hope for the future, believe it or not. With the recent influx of the ''isekinds'' things have been... difficult. Just know that we never meant you all any harm and¡ª"

    "Blah, blah, blah. Droning on and on and on," said Lapis. "Actually, that may have been a result of me being your teacher. He gets it. I think. And he doesn''t mind whatever''s been done to him. Probably. Long story short, humans are too strong so we needed help. Countless prayers, rituals, and a sacrifice or two and we managed to get twelve eggs to be blessed with Core Skills. I''m sure you know how strong those are and how difficult it is for a regular monster to obtain one. Just threw in that ''you know'' part to fulfill info dump tropes. Also, me and Milvee here are core monsters, but we had to work for it. Where was I? Oh yeah, the council couldn''t wait for you kids to grow up and start fighting back against the humans and that''s where the information download came about. Fast forward your formative years and give you a bunch of information, then presto you''re ready to start training at the ripe old age of one day old. The only downside is that you lose your childhood with the minor probability that you start garnering resentment and become hellbent on destroying the very nation you were meant to protect. Oh and that you have no idea who your parents are."

    "That was more of a medium story than a short story. I''m actually quite okay with it. But, who are my parents?" asked Alwin.

    "No idea. We got you guys from the orphanage," said Lapis.

    "Any more questions? If you do rapid-fire them. Chop, chop. Time''s a tickin and I''m growing older just waiting for you."

    "Hold on, give me a second,¡± Alwin muttered, gears turning in his head. Stupid Bion¡ªenough sidetracking. ¡°So... what are your Core Skills and who else knows about this child soldier experiment thing?"

    "That''s confidential military information. We can''t spread details about our abilities all willy-nilly and the child soldier experiment¡ªit sounds disturbing but has a nice ring to it¡ª is confidential council information too."

    "Why did you even mention that you and Milvus have Core Skills?" Alwin was growing frustrated with Lapis'' never-ending word vomit. "So is there anything I can ask?"

    "How about asking about how to prepare for your tribulation. You saw your friend''s tribulation earlier. The Spirit Tribulation is known for throwing in elements of every tribulation, so don''t you want to know how to get ready for it? Come on. Ask me. This is one of those rare times when I want to be prompted. Come on. Do it."

    "You didn''t take my advice?" Milvus interrupted, concerned.

    "Shush, no interrupting, Milvee."

    "Do I prepare for it by taking every single Elemental Resistance Pill and wearing every single type of protective gear?"

    "Boo. You didn''t ask me. And you''re kind of right for the gear part at least. But your pill usage is more reactive than preventive."

    "So you''re saying that when I encounter a Lightning Tribulation I immediately take a Lightning Resistance Pill or when I encounter those vines from Uchronia''s tribulation I take a whatever-element-that-was Resistance Pill."

    "Boo, you''re right. How are you both fun and un-fun at the same time? But you didn''t mention your reasoning so as your grand teacher I am obligated to tell you why it''s done this way. At the same time since I am a grand teacher, I therefore have the right to shove this responsibility down to those under me." Lapis hovered forward and floated above Milvus'' head. "Since Milvee is under me, he now has the task of explaining to you. Have fun, Milvee. I''ll be evaluating your teaching, no pressure."

    Milvus looked up at the floating Lapis over him, casting a shadow across the entirety of his body. He let out a sigh, shaking that triangular head of his. "This was supposed to be covered in class in about a month''s time, but basically pills take a toll on a monster''s body. If you''ve been paying attention you''ll realize that pills use your mana to achieve the desired effect. If you consume too many pills you''ll eventually fall into mana exhaustion."

    "Milvee. Milvee. Tell him about the mana pills. The mana pills," said Lapis from above him.

    "I was just getting to that, Minister Lapis."

    "A common solution that people tend to propose is consuming more mana pills, but that usually works in the short term. The way mana pills work is that they temporarily boost a monster''s ability to passively accumulate mana from the surroundings. After the effects of the pill run out your ability to absorb mana is briefly reduced. Consuming too many mana pills in a short period of time will permanently affect your ability to absorb mana."

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    "That''s good, Milvee. But you''ve got to ask follow-up questions to see whether your student understands everything. Go on, ask this Dark Slime, whose name I totally remember."

    "You''re right, Minister Lapis. So, Alwin. Can you tell me why we have to use a reactive measure for your tribulation?" asked Milvus.

    "Hold on, just give me a second to process." Alwin closed his eyes trying to piece together and extrapolate what Milvus had just said. "So because there are a lot of elements there are a lot of different resistance pills and so if I take all of them at the same time, I''ll need a lot of mana and because I don''t have a lot of mana, I''ll need to take a lot of Small Mana Pills which will cause my mana absorption to be permanently shot, which is bad."

    "That''s pretty much the gist of it," said Milvus.

    "See, asking follow-up questions is essential for teaching. And this kid is a smart kid. Would you believe he''s only two months old? Maybe we should add Language lessons into the curriculum too, because that was one long run-on sentence. Anyway, Milvee, why don''t you go prepare for Alwin''s evolution. I''m sure you want to watch, who wouldn''t? This is the first ever tribulation fueled mostly using Essence that our dear little Dark Slime here refined himself. Would it be the same? Would something happen? Who knows? We''ll know soon enough. Let''s go. Milvee dear, go prepare the area for our precious student," said Lapis.

    "Yes, Minister Lapis, I''ll go prepare the resistance pill and armor for you first. Alwin, you should discuss strategy with Minister Lapis," said Milvus before walking towards the console panel, switching all of the mirrors back into cupboards that housed the essential pills and equipment for Alwin''s tribulation.

    "Strategy, shmategy. You''re a Core Monster, just use that Core Skill of yours and you''ll be as good as gold," said Lapis.

    "About that, there might be a slight problem..." Alwin''s voice trailed off.

    "Oh, don''t tell me, let me guess. You actually weren''t blessed with a Core Skill, or, or maybe the monster who was blessed with a Core Skill died and you somehow managed to take his place, or maybe¡ªwait, I got it. Your Core Skill is so amazing that it would spell the destruction of the academy¡ªno¡ªthe city if you used it. It''s the last one, right? Right?"

    "It''s none of those. I have a Core Skill, but I have no idea how to use it."

    "Wait, really? And you didn''t ask Milvus for help? Not even your friends? Come, show me your status. Let grand teacher, Lapis, show you the light young one."

    Lapis floated back down to ground level, hovering behind Alwin as she inspected the status screen that Alwin opened up for her to see. A couple of mutters escaped from Lapis as she scanned through the information.

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Dark Slime

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Skills: Dark Tackle (E), Spirit Hands (B), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (A), Spirit Scatter Blast (A), Spirit Burst Blast (A), Spirit Feet (F), Refinement (F)

    Evolution: 100/100

    "Okay, it''s theory time. You can only use your Core Skill when you evolve because you can''t devolve back to nothing. Probably. What happens when you Devolve? That''s speculation for later because we need to prep you for the tribulation. Milvee there is gathering every single Elemental Resistance Pill and placing them in pouches which are then fixed to a belt, so you basically have a utility belt of Resistance Pills, pretty cool right? Anyway, you take those whenever the corresponding element pops up and don''t worry we''ll be shouting out the element that comes up. Now where was I? Oh right, strategy. Yea, you actually need one. Boys!"

    Three of Lapis'' drones appeared from thin air, their shiny diamond bodies reflecting the crystal corridor lights. They zipped off down the corridor, returning moments later with a whiteboard and a marker in tow. The whiteboard clattered against the floor in front of Alwin, while the marker sailed through the air into the hands of Lapis'' Spirit Hands.

    "Am I the best at coming up with a strategy? Absolutely not. Am I better at it than Milvus? Nope. But, you''re my responsibility so I''ve got to do something," said Lapis, writing out ''Alwin''s Tribulation Strategy'' in red letters on the topmost part of the board. "We''ve already covered what to do with pills, now it''s time to what you can do with your skills. So you''ve got a useless Core Skill, one Species skill, five Common Skills¡ªthree of which provide no combat capabilities¡ªand two Uncommon Skills. So based on what I''m working with... just blast them and pray."

    Wow, that strategy was absolutely horrible. And that''s coming from the guy whose only strategy was blasting and praying. What does that tell you? It tells you that dear young Alwin was growing up. Ever since that miserable encounter with Gary Stew, he¡¯d figured out that maybe, just maybe, he needed a new game plan. Scratch that, it was a definite yes. Blasting and praying was fine until his mana ran out and he hit the floor. If that happened with no backup in sight, he was toast. An all-or-nothing strategy didn¡¯t sit well with Alwin¡ªhe wasn''t much of a gambler.

    Now he just had to refute Lapis'' strategy while being cordial at the same time. Could he do it? Sure. Could he whip up a diplomatic counter-argument in 0.1 seconds? Not a chance. Nope. And that''s all the time he allocated to ruminating because he was on the cusp of evolution, and having it delayed due to conversation after conversation was becoming frustrating.

    "Really? That''s the best you can come up with? Even I thought of that and that''s the reason why my friends nearly got turned into a Meatball Wrap. When that strategy works, it works. When it doesn''t work, I''m as good as dead. I''m sure I can think of something else," said Alwin, hopping towards the center of the room.

    "Ouch, someone''s grouchy. But that''s fair. I''m the Minister of Magic, not the Minister of Coming-up-with-good-last-minute-ideas-with-very-little-to-work with. I''m sure you''ll be fine. Milvee taught you and he''s one of the best at fighting. Then again, maybe he''s only good at fighting but not good at teaching fighting. Oh well, guess we''ll find out soon. Wait for me!" Lapis zoomed towards the center of the room, levitating a meter away from Alwin. "Come on, Milvee. Show us what you''ve been working on."

    "Sure, thing, Minister Lapis." Milvus held up a brown belt fastened with multiple small pouches big enough to hold one singular pill. Each pouch was labeled with their respective element: Fire Resistance Pill, Lightning Resistance Pill, Plant Resistance Pill, etc." In his other tentacle was a gold chain necklace that held a bundle of rings, each with a different colored gem embedded in it. "This necklace has Resistance Rings of every single element. They''re preloaded with mana so you don''t have to worry about that. When you''re ready you can begin," said Milvus, placing the necklace around Alwin''s neck and the belt strapped across Alwin''s body, before heading into the protective glass chamber.

    "That''s where you''re wrong, little Milvee," said Lapis, as she floated over to the protective glass chamber as well. "If the rings run out of mana then our dear little student has plenty of things to worry about. Unfortunately, we don''t have any spares, because budgetary reasons or something ridiculous like that. Other than running out of mana and facing impending doom, you have nothing else to worry about. Let''s go! Start!"

    Alwin swallowed the lump that had formed in his slimy throat. Materializing in front of him were the five pairs of Spirit Hands. If Lapis had eyebrows to raise, she would surely be doing so right now, wondering about what sort of strategy her grand student was concocting. Alwin opened up the status screen and using his Spirit Hands, tapped on the Evolution Meter.

    Begin Tribulation?

    Yes No

    Alwin selected Yes.

 Chapter 65: Tribulation Time

    After choosing to begin the tribulation the screen disappeared.

    "YES! He can have a tribulation! I have another thing to report at my meeting!" shouted Lapis.

    Alwin looked around the room, wondering what sort of Elemental Tribulation was about to pop out. Would it be lightning like during Gus'' tribulation or would giant vines threaten to snuff the life force out of him? The answer was both. Dark clouds formed overhead, system screens popping out at the base of the black cotton candy of doom. In front of him, another system screen appeared. A brief image of a tree flashed onto it before a single large vine snaked its way out.

    "Lightning and Plant Tribulation!" Milvus shouted.

    Lightning and Vine crashed forward, both of them converging on their target: Alwin. The Spirit Hands flipped open the pouches and tossed two pills¡ªone yellow and one green¡ªinto Alwin''s mouth. Swallowing the pill, he could feel his mana reserves dip, as a strange sense of warmness swirled throughout his body.

    "Dodge! Attack! Do something!" Lapis shouted.

    She didn''t need to tell him twice¡ªor even once for that matter. Alwin had been brewing a plan. Was it a plan that Uchronia would approve of? Maybe. Who knows what''s going on in that mind right now? She might snap or she might shower him with praises. Okay, now wasn''t the time to panic and find solace in narrating his thoughts.

    Alwin nodded and the Spirit Hands gave a thumbs up as they received his instructions. A pair grabbed onto his necklace and pulled them apart with all of their might. The fake gold chain snapped apart¡ªbecause if it was real gold Alwin would never have been able to break it and he''d evolve into a Dead Slime¡ªsending the rings flying in the air.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Lapis screeched, while Milvus just gawked like a fish out of water. A white glow enveloped his singular eye and Alwin was surprised he was wasting precious awareness resources on something as trivial as that when there was a lightning bolt and vine headed his way. No more wasting time ruminating, which included explaining his plan¡ªthose who want to know what happens just have to keep going.

    Three pairs of Spirit Hands grabbed onto the falling rings, each one sliding the menagerie of rainbow rings onto their spectral blue digits, but Alwin''s focus was on the two Spirit Hands that donned the ring with a yellow-colored gem and the one that had a green colored gem. The yellow-ringed Spirit Hand floated upward towards the lightning, fists clenched as it punched away heaven''s judgment. The green-ringed Spirit Hand floated in front of Alwin, socking the botanical serpent thrashing towards him.

    The yellow-ringed Spirit Hand absorbed the electrical discharge, funneling it into itself as its body grew brighter as tens of thousands of amps worth of energy was pumped into it. Meanwhile, the green-ringed Spirit Hand caught the vine''s blow, slowing its advance but not stopping it.

    As the Spirit Hands collided with the elemental phenomenon, they exploded, splattering into a shower of magical particles. The tribulation was still barreling towards him. But, that was within calculations.

    There was a reason why two pairs of Spirit Hands didn''t scramble for the rings earlier. A pair of those ring-less Spirit Hands had been behind their now-dead comrades. They grabbed onto the equipment of their fallen friends, the rings sliding into their fingers before they once again collided with the tribulation.

    The lightning had lost its bite. Once a brilliant white streak, it now flickered as a mellow yellow hue, its power dwindling from tens of thousands of amps to mere thousands. That didn''t mean Alwin was out of danger, he was just slightly less dead. The new yellow-ringed Spirit Hand set out to accomplish the job of its predecessor. Channeling the energy of an abusive relationship, the Spirit Hand slapped the incoming attack. The lightning bolt fearing for its sanity struck back, using up all of the electricity it possessed in one last attempt to fry the offending Spirit Hand.

    Smoke rose from the now charred Spirit Hand, who gave Alwin a thumbs up¡ªmaybe it should be called a Smoking Hand¡ªwhich had absorbed the bolt''s wrath, leaving the lightning extinguished.

    At the same time, the new green-ringed Spirit Hand had been dealing with the oppressive meaty vine. It seemed that the tribulation didn''t like being mistreated. The vine rose upward like a snake and looked down at the successor of the Spirit Hand that dared to assault it. It was like David and Goliath or maybe Jack and the Beanstalk if the Beanstalk was a bloodthirsty carnivorous plant.

    The green-ringed Spirit Hand and vine were having a stare-off. The only problem was that neither of them possessed eyes, but that didn''t stop the tension from rising. The vine crashed downward, threatening to turn the Spirit Hand into a meal for its roots. The Spirit Hand wasn''t going down without a fight. It floated upward, planning to meet the vine in the middle. Who would win? A giant vine originating from the system or a floating hand? Seems like the Spirit Hands had inherited Alwin''s poor planning abilities. Good thing for them, Alwin was always around to help out.

    A regular Spirit Blast would be too weak, while a Spirit Burst Blast would be a huge waste of mana. That was something Alwin had recently learned was a luxury in the heat of battle. Sure, he had some Small Mana Pills on hand¡ªon belt to be more accurate¡ªbut they should be saved for emergencies. This wasn''t one. That just left Spirit Scatter Blast.

    Alwin began preparing the Spirit Scatter Blast within his core. Paper mache shoved into an oven was an odd way to create spells, but if it works then it works. The Spirit Hand clenched its phantasmal blue hands, charging toward the vine or its impending doom if you looked at it from a more practical standpoint.

    Five Spirit Scatter Blasts materialized right in front of him, one after another. They sailed through the air, flying up towards the vine that was now inches away from smacking the green-ringed Spirit Hand to the next life. When the Spirit Scatter Blasts were neck and neck with the Spirit Hand they exploded into hundreds of tiny Spirit Blasts, pelting the vine like a barrage of shotgun pellets.

    A series of holes perforated the middle of the vine, leaving only a relatively thin¡ªmaybe twice the thickness of a normal vine¡ªstricken stem of a plant. The green-ring Spirit Hand crashed through that spindly stalk, severing the head of the vine from the rest of its fleshy green body. The severed piece crashed onto the ground, dissipating into multicolored particles, leaving nothing behind, while the remaining portion of the vine slithered back into the system screen from whence it came.

    "Woo yeah, baby! That''s what I''ve been waiting for!" shouted Lapis. "That''s my grand student!"

    After the interruption by a certain no-good crystal, the screen flickered off, leaving Alwin looking around the room. He was ready for the next screen to pop up and throw anything and everything his way. The Lightning Tribulation that Gus had faced and the vines that Uchronia had gone through were the first two types of tribulations he encountered, but they weren''t as intense as the ones they faced¡ªthat was a good thing.

    While waiting for the next type of tribulation to come snatch his life away, Alwin constructed another set of Spirit Hands to replace the pair that had graciously given their life for the sake of his evolution. That was the fancy way he roleplayed it out in his mind, in reality, the pair that had ''died'' were just re-summoned back into existence, ready to wreak havoc against whatever the system threw at them next. As they materialized into existence, they fist-bumped, and took their place next to Alwin, helping to keep a lookout.

    One of the Spirit Hands poked him from behind and he knew what that meant. Staring right back at him, were not one, not two, but three new system screens. One of them had an image of a flame, while the other screens had the image of a twister¡ªthe flame screen was sandwiched between its tornado siblings.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    "That''s the Fire and Wind Tribulation!" Milvus shouted.

    The Spirit Hands dug into the pouches and produced two more colored pills: a fiery red and a stormy grey. Alwin gulped them down, the pleasant warmth spreading throughout his body once more. Another chunk of his mana had been depleted and dedicated to fueling the resistance effects of the pill¡ªhe really should learn how to increase his mana regeneration capabilities.

    This time a singular Spirit Hand possessed both Elemental Resistance Rings. It flew in front of Alwin, ready to intercept the oncoming threats. A tunnel of wind came barreling in like a banshee out to wail on whoever had pissed in her drink, while a blazing fire roared in between them. The fire caught in the wind transformed the horizontal twisters into two spiraling cylinders of flame.

    The red-and-grey-ringed Spirit Hand charged forth. Punching a fire tornado wasn''t the smartest idea, but it also wasn''t the dumbest. Do you know what the dumbest idea was? See for yourself. Alwin in his infinite brilliance had instructed the Spirit Hand to blow the inferno spiral away. Since the hand lacked lungs and a mouth for that matter, it resorted to the only method available to it.

    With all five fingers outstretched and staring at the incoming danger, the Spirit Hand began flapping up and down. As the tornado barreled towards the Spirit Hand, it started to fan faster and faster, as if that was going to help. The pitiful amounts of breeze generated by the Spirit Hand was a mere fraction of the breath of the inferno. It wasn''t enough to even cool Alwin off from the raging heat that it was outputting, much less blow away the combined might of the Fire and Wind Tribulations.

    The twin fire tornadoes consumed the Spirit Hand, in an instant the connection between him and the Spirit Hand was severed. The last message that came through¡ªroughly translated from sign language¡ªwas ''Looks like it''s my queue to be barbequed.'' It elicited a chuckle from Alwin which was much needed in the face of such dangers.

    Could he absorb the hit from the tribulation? Probably. Could he do it and live to tell the tale? Absolutely not, that was for certain. His whole plan hinged on turning the Spirit Hands into Sacrificial Hands to mitigate the damage dealt from the incoming attacks, using the Element Rings to lessen the attack even further. But the rings of the recently deceased hand were nowhere to be found. It was most likely tumbling inside of the burning cyclone, getting to experience the inside of a dryer¡ªnot recommended for drying clothes.

    What to do, what to do? Alwin could only think of one thing to do. A pair of Spirit Hands gathered by his side and threw him into the air, while the rest scattered away from the twin spirals of flame. They curled upwards. The two air worms of flame curled upward! Did they have a mind of their own or did they have slime-tracking technology coded into them! What was he going to do now!

    The Spirit Hands flew up toward their¡ªfor now¡ªsoaring master, hoping to whack him away from the approaching havoc. The havoc was faster! Repeat, the havoc was faster! Now unless Alwin can double jump, he was toast. Not the perfect golden-brown slice of bread with a crunchy exterior and a slightly soft interior. It was going to be burnt to a crisp kind of toast because you turned the knob on the toaster up to eleven, just to see what it would be like. In Alwin''s case, the toaster was the fiery whirlwinds that would char him to a blackened lump of goo.

    It was a few feet away from him and coming in hot, like really hot. Sweat was pouring down his blobby form, only to evaporate seconds later. Alwin summoned a singular Spirit Hand, the Spirit Hand that had just sacrificed itself for the greater good. Death was inches away now.

    That one singular Spirit Hand punched Alwin away from his burning demise, sacrificing itself again.

    That punch hurt. But it definitely hurt less than being turned into roasted slime. Alwin crashed past the twin fiery coils he was so close to them that the heat alone was raising the steaks¡ªpun intended. They turned around and were hot on his heels once again. Alwin splattered on the floor and looked up. Running across the room, the twin snakes of flame sought him out¡ªthey were hungry for slime, but too bad for the system Alwin wasn''t on the menu.

    Three pairs of Spirit Hands had positioned themselves, high up above the room, while the last remaining pair had flown down to help pick up their master. Once Alwin was nestled safely within their grasp, they tossed him out of that safety hold. Up. Up. And away! Flying past ¡ªAlwin was running out of ways to describe the two fire tornadoes¡ªand crashing into another set of Spirit Hands.

    Now was the beginning of an extremely dangerous game of hot potato¡ªone wrong move and he would become a hot Alwin. The Spirit Hands were tossing Alwin, up, down, left, and right. Wherever the two fire tornado serpents were, by hook or by crook, Alwin made sure he wasn''t. The twin combination tribulation was spiraling, crashing into each other, as they both chased after the flying Alwin, like a dog trying to grab a flying steak while its owners played keep-away.

    If Alwin didn''t think of something fast, he''d have to spend all of eternity being tossed around by a pair of hands while avoiding two angry fire tornadoes. That sounded boring. Good thing he already thought of something during this internal monologue.

    The original plan was to blow away the tribulation, unfortunately, the only thing that was blown away was his Spirit Hand. Okay, technically the Resistance Rings were blown away too, but they weren''t that important. The blowing away part was a good idea, using his Spirit Hands to do that was not a good idea. That''s where his new and improved idea to blow the tribulation came into play.

    As Alwin was being tossed around like a salad, he was preparing a special helping of Spirit Burst Blast. Taking careful aim, he launched a volley of them into the twins, filling them up with delicious bursting goodness. Once they were filled up, the Spirit Burst Blast exploded. The shockwave caused the Fire and Wind tribulation to disperse, leaving nothing but a handful of Resistance Rings that clanged onto the ground.

    The system screens closed and Alwin could safely return to the ground, while the Spirit Hands reclaimed their lost treasures. The red and grey rings were no longer red and grey. While the rest of the rings remained bright and vibrant, the red and grey ones had lost all of their color, becoming dull and translucent.

    Was that the last of the tribulations? He doubted it. If it were, Alwin would be glowing. Instead, all of a sudden he was shrouded in darkness¡ªexactly the opposite of what he wanted. He longed to shine like the sun, to bask in the glory that was the light of evolution, but the darkness said ''Nuh-uh''.

    Stupid sassy darkness, why he oughta¡ª

    "Why you oughta what?" a voice called out from the darkness.

    "Who said that?" Alwin whipped around, trying to find the voice''s owner.

    "You did," the same voice responded.

    Within the fog of darkness, two eyes appeared, glowing a fierce amber. Then, like a curtain rising up on the stage, the rest of the creature became visible. Alwin''s eyes widened in shock. It was... him.

    "Hello, Alwin," the dark figure sneered, a twisted smirk playing on his lips. "Ready to face your true self?"

    Alwin gulped, trying to steady himself. "You''re... you''re me?"

    "Not quite," Dark Alwin replied, circling him slowly. "I''m everything you fear. Every doubt, every weakness. The part of you that you try so hard to bury."

    "You are? So you''re like a dark version of me?"

    "Exactly. You should feel honored that I, the embodiment of all your fears, have descended from the system to meet you personally."

    "Okay, cool. So we''re going to fight, realize that we''re evenly matched and can''t one-up each other. Then I''m going to have some emotional breakthrough, probably explain to you that I accepted myself, then we hug or something, and you fade away. Can we just skip to the end?"

    Dark Alwin glared at him. "Your logic is right, not perfect, but right. And frankly, pretty much everyone has figured out the trick to beat the Dark Tribulation. If they don''t there''s always someone in the background shouting out how to beat it. It''s not fun anymore. I''ll have to go back to the drawing board and come up with a tougher Dark Tribulation, and you Alwin will be my first test subject."

    "Wait, are you not like an evil version of me? I''m confused."

    "I am both the embodiment of all your fears and darkness incarnate itself. Goodbye, Alwin. The next time you desire to challenge the system you better be prepared."

    "Yay?" Alwin said, unsure of what to make of what had just happened.

    Dark Alwin dissolved into the shadows, leaving Alwin standing there, jaw practically hitting the floor. He had defeated the Dark Tribulation... apparently. That was anti-climactic. But now more questions were raised. Evolution meant going against the system? And now he was public enemy number one against the embodiment of Darkness¡ªwho or whatever that was. Enough introspection, time to get back to fighting!

    The darkness that enveloped him began to dissolve, tendrils of shadow retreating like smoke in the wind. As his vision cleared, the Evolution Chamber came into view. Alwin''s Spirit Hands fluttered around him, prodding his gelatinous form. Had he been in some sort of meditative state during the Darkness Tribulation?

    Inside the protective glass chamber, Lapis had her face smooshed against the glass. All eight of Milvus¡¯ paper-like tentacles were wrapped around her, straining to keep Lapis from bulldozing through the glass and interrupting his tribulation. Lapis'' muffled shouts and Milvus'' desperate grunts pierced through the glass chamber, breaking the silence of the tribulation.

    A bright light enveloped his whole form and he could see nothing but white. Was he finally evolving or was this some sort of bamboozle and this was actually a Light Tribulation¡ªif those even exist? He''d find out soon enough.

 Chapter 66: The New Alwin

    Inside of that bright white light¡ªit was like being hit by a constant barrage of flashbangs¡ªAlwin felt... strange. Something was happening to his body. It felt like it was being stretched and pulled apart at a molecular level, only to snap back together, in a new way, shape, and form. This was it! Evolution time, baby!

    Deep inside his body, he could feel his core undergoing a similar treatment. Layer after layer of essence that he had spent two days refining, plus that whole ordeal in the Forest of Beginnings where he nearly died¡ªbut that wasn''t important¡ªwas being melted down. They weren''t being melted down and tossed into oblivion, no they were being melded with his core. His core was growing! Bigger core meant more mana, which meant less chance of falling into mana exhaustion, which meant less chance of dying. Sweet, salty, umami, but mostly sweet!

    As the light began to fade, Alwin was blinking as fast as slimely possible¡ªor whatever new species of monster he had turned into. With each blink he could feel two eyelids moving up and down, so he still had two eyes. Alwin forced open his mouth and pushed out a tongue, still one mouth and one tongue. What about hands or feet? Alwin tried moving his arms, but nothing happened. Either he had no idea how to move them or he still lacked arms. Same deal with the legs. Hopefully, it was because he simply didn''t know how to utilize his new limbs and not because the only limbs he had were the Spirit Hands, still floating about.

    The blinding lights had finally vanished and in front of him were his Spirit Hands. They were discussing something, using their usual sign language. When they finally noticed Alwin, staring at them, they gave a thumbs up and a congratulatory pat on the back, before winking out of existence. Since when could his Spirit Hands do that?

    Milvus and Lapis were out of the glass chamber. Lapis, with the help of a drone, was jotting down notes. She was silent for once. Around Alwin, four drones hovered, each equipped with a pen and notepad, surrounded him¡ªfront, back, left, and right. Hopefully, the drones recorded down his good side, which was basically all of his side. In Milvus'' tentacles were the Resistance Rings and the belt of pills that had helped Alwin during the tribulation, he was placing them back within the cupboards. He slotted the rings back into place¡ªindents within a wooden panel that served as ring holders¡ª while popping the unused pills back into the porcelain bottles.

    Moment of truth, time to find out what Alwin had evolved into.

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Yin-Yang Slime (Tier 2)

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Species Skills: Dark Tackle (E), Yin-Yang Blast (F)

    Skills: Spirit Hands (B), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (A), Spirit Scatter Blast (A), Spirit Burst Blast (A), Spirit Feet (F), Refinement (F)

    Evolution: 0/5000

    Devolution: 0/100

    He was still a slime... Why! This was not cool. And why a Yin-Yang Slime? Was it because he spent most of his time fighting cultivators out in the Forest of Beginnings? Maybe. It''s not like he understood the mechanism behind evolution other than, Evolution Counter go up. Also, what was up with his status? Since when were his skills divided up like that? So many questions, but not enough answers. Thus, was the life of a researcher¡ªor was Alwin the guinea pig in this situation?

    Other than the fact that his status had a nice new way to sort out his skills, there were three other major changes that stood out. First, was the new skill he acquired: Yin-Yang Blast. No idea what it did, but if he had to hazard a guess, it would allow him to create a blast of Yin-Yang¡ªin other words, the floor was made out of floor.

    Next up was that his Evolution Counter had been reset to zero. That was obvious. The more glaring issue was the amount of Essence he required just to undergo another evolution. 5000! Why, 5000! Do you have any idea how many buckets of Essence he''d have to create within his Core? Alwin didn''t know how many buckets, but it was a lot. Oh, the horrors. The sheer amount of boredom just waiting for a bucket of Essence to be filled up. It was practically torture. No wonder other monsters went out to kill humans, that was way more fun than filling up a bucket.

    Last, but definitely not least, in all honesty, it should''ve gone first. Alwin was screaming inside of his head. No words. Just a high-pitched shriek of joy. Devolution. Finally! Now he won''t be useless compared to his classmates. Valedictorian, here he comes! There was still the issue of how to even use his Core Skill and what that Devolution Counter meant, but he''d figure it out eventually. Enough introspection about the changes on his status screen. That was the appetizer, time for the main course.

    "Milvus, I want to see what I look like," said Alwin.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "Already on it," he replied.

    Milvus was already at the control panel, and with the flick of a switch, the cupboards and protective chamber sank down into the floor once again. Mirrors rose up from the ground and took their place, giving Alwin a view of his new slimy form.

    It was...disappointing, simply because he thought he wouldn''t be a slime anymore. It''s not like he was any bigger. Nope, he was just a new flavor of slime, one that was both full of light and darkness¡ªand Alwin wasn''t trying to be poetic, he was describing what the mirror was telling him.

    As Alwin gazed at his reflection, he hardly recognized the body that was staring right back at him. In fact, he only recognized half of the body. One side of his body was a deep dark black, reminiscent of his time as a Dark Slime, while the other was a pearlescent white. Not the boring kind of white, the type of white that made you wish there was a dark mode just so your corneas don''t get burned off. They met in the middle, like an old married couple, only this couple wasn''t exactly loving towards each other. They never touched each other, keeping their distance like a divorced couple living in the same house, trying to pretend that everything was alright for the sake of the kids.

    Within the dark side, there was a small white dot that glowed like stars, shining like diamonds. And on the light side, there was a small dark dot sucked in everything like a black hole, not even light could escape its grasp. Those two dots were his eyes. At least it looked cool, to him at least. Were different colored eyes still trending?

    The drones continued to take notes, flashes of light blinking from the tip of their heads as they presumably took photos of his new form. That was going to get annoying fast.

    "Congratulations on your evolution, Alwin. Keep up the good work. Just remember to give your new form and skills a try today," said Milvus.

    "Boo, you''re no fun, Milvee. Our slime friend here just went through such a harrowing experience and you''re asking him to go train. No wonder your star pupil got all huffy with you. Other than the obvious, child soldier mental manipulation stuff. Go, my grand student. Take a break. Rest. Enjoy yourself. You can even watch me suffer as I prepare for my meeting in two days'' time. So many things to report, so little motivation. I just want to run my cafe. Also, my research helper, no more hunting humans for you until I can finalize my research. Next time we''re going to see what happens when you gain Essence using some good new-fashioned Refinement. The results today were interesting, I wasn''t expecting two different tribulation types to team up, it''s like it became smarter. Anyway, toodle-oo, this Minister is going to go cry as she prepares slides. I''ll come find you, eventually."

    Lapis and her drones floated out of the Evolution Chamber, the moment they crossed the threshold of the room into the corridor, they disappeared into a flurry of particles. That was probably the proprietary teleportation spell she mentioned.

    "I didn''t even get to tell her what happened to my status. It might be useful information," muttered Alwin.

    "What''s wrong with it?" asked Milvus.

    "It''s just that after I evolved there was a new category called Species Skills. Do you think that information''s important?"

    "It might be, but that''s just generally how tribulation works. After a tribulation, you become more attuned to the system and this manifests in different ways. I covered this in class before you all set out to the Forest of Beginnings."

    "Oh, uh. I got head trauma like, Uchronia?" His voice rising in pitch near the end.

    "Right... So, Alwin, about the whole debacle about your origins. I would prefer it if you didn''t go around spreading news about it to your classmates. I mean this from the bottom of my heart we at the academy mean no harm. Of course, the circumstances might say otherwise. We at the academy truly believe your class will be the hope for monsterkind."

    "No biggie. As disturbing as the idea of children being sent to fight the battles of adults, I''m surprisingly okay with that. Honestly, no idea why I didn''t react as badly as Uchronia. Lapis just said that I was weird."

    "About, Minister Lapis, she is, how do I say this... eccentric. But she is a Minister for a reason. Just make sure to remind her to give you lessons, she tends to be forgetful of the ''boring stuff'' as she puts it."

    "I don''t get it. What even is a Minister?" asked Alwin.

    "Ministers are the pillars of the Human Hunter Army, they oversee the operations of the army and help enact the orders of the King."

    "So they''re really strong?"

    "Strength is a factor in becoming a Minister, but it''s not the end all be all. Their contributions in the fight against humanity are just as important."

    "Alright, cool. Now I''ve got a new goal: become a Minister. If a Minister is strong and I''m a Minister, therefore I am strong. Flawless propositional logic by a future Minister."

    "Good luck with that, Alwin. Now make sure to rest up. Oh, and just remember not to overshare about what happened during the past few days to the class. They''ve been dying to see you."

    "Sure thing," said Alwin, exiting the Evolution Chamber.

    Now he could go back to the dorms and call it a day or he could go to the training grounds classroom. As future valedictorian and Minister¡ª which was something he had just recently aspired to become, for some reason even he couldn''t pinpoint¡ªhe should go to the training grounds classroom and get used to his new body. Maybe he''d even try out that new Yin-Yang Blast that came with becoming a Yin-Yang Slime.

    Onwards to the training grounds classroom. As a parting note, maybe the reason he suddenly felt like becoming the valedictorian and by extension, a Minister was similar to how kids tend to have lofty ambitions when they''re young. Hopefully, he wouldn''t grow out of that optimistic phase. Since he was only two months old, it''s safe to say that he still had plenty of time before he grew up. Just imagine, a kid as a Minister, and all of that was fueled by young lofty kiddish ambitions!

 Chapter 67: New Old Class

    When Alwin got to the training grounds classroom, his heart didn''t skip a beat, it skipped fifty beats and even did a double dutch routine. He didn''t recognize any of the monsters that were pummeling away at his arch nemesis, the wooden training dummy. Did he walk into the wrong class by accident? Did they change the location of their classrooms after everyone evolved? Time to skedaddle before anyone notices he bounced into the wrong room.

    A second after stepping out of the room, a voice called out to him, "Alwin!" It wasn''t a voice filled with longing, happiness, or concern. No, it was just plain angry. There could only be one person who ever called him in that manner. Uchronia!

    Alwin turned around and was face to face with a Potted Sprout. Oh right, he had forgotten that Uchronia had just evolved. Silly him. In his defense, he just faced his own tribulation and almost got sent to the realm where naughty kids go when they pass on. It may have only been less than an hour ago, but to him, it felt like a whole day had passed. Where was he going with this? Oh right, now he was going to describe Uchronia inside his mind for the second time, just so that her new form could take root within his mind. Plant puns am I right?

    The familiar sight of the leaf-tailed green blob had disappeared, replaced by something far more peculiar. Uchronia now stood as a flower pot. From the bottom of the pot, two tangled masses of roots served as her new feet. Emerging from the top of the pot was the rest of Uchronia, now resembling a vibrant green plant bulb. Her eyes peeked out from the bulb''s surface, and her mouth formed a frown beneath them.

    "Congratulations on evolving, but where do you think you''re going?" She scowled.

    "Who''s Alwin? I''m Winal."

    "Right. Did you really think I wouldn''t recognize you just because half of you turned white? Now, don''t make me ask twice."

    "Uh, bathroom?" Alwin flashed her a smile showing off his pearly whites and jet-black teeth because of course half his teeth were white and the other half were black. And no, that was not the result of poor dental hygiene, it was just a quirk of his new form.

    "I''ve known you long enough to know that you''re lying. I want you to come back here and stop slacking. I want you to try out your Species Skill and what monster are you now?"

    "I''m a Yin-Yang Slime now, sadly. I thought I''d evolve and go from blobby to all tall and muscly. I thought you were anti-Human-Hunter-Academy, so why are you working so hard."

    Uchronia leaned in close, invading his personal space bubble. "Not so loud, you dingus. Tonight after dinner, I''ll tell you more, but for now, pretend that everything is normal. Now, look alive, Flintlock is coming."

    "That''s Flintlock? What happened to him?" asked Alwin.

    Flintlock, the Furball cowboy wannabe, was hardly recognizable now. His squishy, round body covered in orangey-brown fur was gone. In its place stood a lean, bipedal monkey-like creature with a coat of ash-gray fur. Black leather chaps hugged his legs, and a black bandanna was tied around his neck, making him look like a true gunslinger ready for action, or maybe it was just cosplay.

    "You know, I could say the same thing about you, but it''s called evolution, pardner. Now, after you tell us what in bloody tarnation happened to you the past few days, you''re gonna tell us what sort of weird slime you''ve turned into. Fyi, I''m a Powder Chimp now"

    "Us?"

    The rest of the class had gathered around him, a strange menagerie of monsters that he didn''t recognize at all. If this was going to happen every single time they go out to gather Essence, maybe he should propose staggered Evolution times, just so he didn''t have to spend a ton of brainpower on re-learning everyone''s faces.

    "Still a slime? You really are an Al-loser," a voice called out from the back of the crowd. He didn''t even need to ask to know who that was.

    The crowd parted way for Bion. The Dark Slime had changed forms and Bion was a slime no longer. Good. That meant Bion wouldn''t tarnish every single Slime''s reputation anymore, and instead tarnish whatever lame species of monster the no-good snot-eating monster had evolved into.

    A black jellyfish-like monster slithered towards Alwin on his innumerous tiny little tentacles. The creature''s umbrella-shaped cap, as dark as a starless night, loomed over the equally shadowy tentacles that writhed like a mass of tiny serpents. That was all of the description Alwin was going to provide to that no-good booger-eating Bion.

    "Now, now. Hold your horses there, Bion. No need to get all hostile up in here. We''re all friends and Alwin''s been through a lot," said Flintlock.

    Bion clicked his tongue if he even had a tongue. Do jellyfish even have tongues? Anyway, Bion made a tongue-clicking noise. "I bet it''s cause of that no good Al-loser, that my darling Uchronia nearly died. Isn''t that right?"

    "Buzz off!" shouted Uchronia.

    "Yea, buzz off, you spineless coward!" shouted Alwin.

    "I may be a Shadow Jellyfish, but that does not mean I''m spineless!"

    Gears began to seep out of Bion''s body, coating the jellyfish''s whole body. Minuscule gears even coated the paper-thin tentacles. Bion''s dark form became a metallic silver that reflected the crystal lights of the classroom as the gears continued to multiply. That was his Core Skill: Mechanize. A single mass of geared tentacles darted towards Alwin, inching closer and closer at a blinding speed. Alwin wasn''t going to go down without a fight. In fact, he wasn''t even going to go down at all, the only one going down was Bion.

    "Stop it!" a girl called out.

    A large tower shield came slamming down in front of Alwin, blocking the path of the charging tentacle. Rude. Alwin was about to fight back and now he couldn''t even test out his Yin-Yang Blast without looking like a jerk. Moving on, Alwin recognized that tower shield. The so-called Impenetrable Shield by the one the only Testudine or Tess for short.

    "If you want to fight then have a proper sparring session, not this ridiculousness," Tess said.

    The tower shield disappeared into innumerous particles, giving Alwin a view of the new and improved Tess. The girl had started out as a Leafling, but like Uchronia, autumn had arrived early. Tess'' new form was akin to a turtle gaining a sturdy armored build. The only thing reminiscent of her plant heritage was the giant lotus pad, vibrant and green, that acted as a natural, protective shell.

    "Hey, don''t you dare talk down to my precious, Bion, you dirty Lotus Turtle," another girl''s voice called out.

    Leaping over the crowd and landing on the ground causing cracks to form on the marble tiles was Brie. Like Uchronia and Tess, autumn had come early for her. The only problem was that Brie had started off as Furball. Now she was nothing but a bald ball. She shouldn''t be allowed to procreate if not she''d spread the female pattern baldness gene around, if that even was a thing. Monster physiology was a tough subject and what would a two-month-old slime even know?

    Brie hopped over to Bion, nuzzling her spherical body against his gear-covered jellyfish cap. The sounds of metal clanging against the ground with every hop echoed throughout the room, each landing leaving cracks in the ground. Oh, the poor floor. Looks like there was another contender for the best ground attacker. Right, time for a better description of Brie other than Bald Ball.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    It was true that Brie had shed her fur, but that was an understatement of what she had become. Brie still retained a spherical form, but instead of a soft fleshy exterior like pretty much every normal monster, her body had transformed into a hard metallic surface. Even her eyes had taken on the same silver-gray-like texture as the rest of her body. The most striking thing other than her apparent weight¡ªdon''t tell her Alwin said that about her¡ªwas the set of large razor-sharp teeth protruding from her mouth. She could probably give a vampire a run for their money. Maybe the school should invest in a chain, in case those chompers of hers ever got loose.

    As Brie grinded her metallic cheek up against the gear-laden Bion, they produced the world''s worst symphony. The two metallic bodies scraped against each other. It was like a cheese grater married a rusty hinge and their child just found out how to rub its metallic body up against a chalkboard. The whole class winced as their eardrums were assaulted.

    "Stop doing that you, MetalBall!" yelled Tess.

    So that was the species that Brie had evolved into. Between all of the errant sounds being produced, Alwin was surprised he was able to make out her yelling.

    Just as the horrible ear-piercing grinding was reaching its crescendo, the sweet beautiful sound of silence graced the classes ears. Brie was still nuzzling Bion, who had his tentacles crossed as he stared daggers at Alwin. Did his body dislike the sound to the point where he went deaf? That was definitely in the realm of possibilities.

    "Thanks, Cord," said Tess.

    Cord? Either she was thanking a sentient rope or she was talking to Concord, the third and final member of Bion and Brie''s team. Considering Concord''s Core Skill was named ''Silencer'' chances were that she was talking about the latter. But the probability wasn''t zero! So maybe Tess had made friends with a walking talking piece of rope! Or maybe Alwin was losing his marbles after the soundwaves rampaged around inside his head.

    A figure emerged in front of Bion and Brie. When Alwin said emerge, he didn''t mean that she had suddenly walked out of the crowd to join her friends. Nope, Alwin meant that the figure suddenly materialized out of thin, thick, or however wide amount of air in front of them. Almost as if the figure had been standing there the whole time.

    Putting two and two together, Alwin could deduce that the mysterious figure was none other than Concord. Now, enough with this figure nonsense. Like Uchronia and Tess, Concord had been a Leafling, unlike them who shed their leaves in favor of other plant-like characteristics, she had fully embraced it, becoming more Leaf than Ling.

    A cocoon of overlapping green leaves draped the monster''s body. On the left side of her face, a large leaf obscured most of her visage. Underneath the mask of green, a single yellow eye stared back at Alwin, the rest of her face including her mouth and nose was hidden behind even more leaves.

    "Thanks?" Alwin said. Also, he could hear his voice. He wasn''t deaf. Praise be thee whichever God was in charge of hearing!

    Concord shivered, shook, and trembled. If she allowed it¡ªbecause Silencer¡ªAlwin would''ve probably heard her whimper. The color of her leaves began to morph. From the vibrant characteristic green, it began to desaturate, taking on the hue of Brie, Bion, and the dull classroom. In other words, she was camouflaging, blending in with her surroundings.

    "Don''t mind her, pardner," said Flintlock. "Ever since she evolved into that whatchamacallit Chroma-something."

    "Chromaflora!" shouted Tess.

    "Yeah, that. She''s been dipping in and out of sight."

    "It''s okay, Cord. We all love you!" shouted Tess.

    "Thanks," a tiny whisper in the wind replied.

    Bion was shaking that bulbous cap of his, that swayed and flowed around with every movement¡ªjust because he was boneless doesn''t mean he wasn''t a bonehead. He pointed a mass of tentacles at the nuzzling Brie, mouthing something that no one could hear thanks to Concord''s influence.

    "I''m on it," said a floating block that hovered above his classmates.

    A floating cube... From a Dark Slime to a floating cube. Was the system really running out of ideas? To be more specific, this was a floating cube roughly 60cm by 60cm by 60cm. The dark gray coloration along with the cobblestone texture made Alwin wonder if that monster actually came from the pavement¡ªbecause he sure looked like he got dug up from the ground. Maybe it was from the road outside a locksmith because the cube had large keyholes inscribed on all six sides.

    In case anyone had forgotten who this mysterious monster was because they forgot since it had been two months since Alwin had actually interacted with them. It was Clavis. The monster who could pick locks with his Lockpick Core Skill¡ªgot to love redundancy. A lock manifested on top of Brie''s head and given the metallic nature of the girl, it didn''t look out of place. What did look out of place were the tension wrench and pick that had manifested alongside the lock. They got to work, twisting, turning, and prodding the lock, until a click could be heard alongside all of the pins falling into place¡ªfor some reason, the sounds evaded Concord''s skill.

    The lock and tools vanished into particles, while Brie''s movements began to slow. Alwin had almost forgotten about how Clavis could lock things up using his Lockpick.

    Bion separated himself from Brie, leaving the metal girl in place. Clavis had most likely sealed away her strength, leaving her stuck in place, and given how heavy she was¡ªdon''t tell her Alwin said that¡ªshe needed all of the strength she could muster.

    "About time," said Bion the boneheaded Shadow Jellyfish.

    "You''ve got to let Brie get some cuddles in or she''ll get cranky," said Clavis. He reminded Alwin of Lapis because he had no idea where their mouths or eyes were.

    "I''ll show you cranky," grumbled Bion. "And you." Pointing a mass of tentacles towards Alwin.

    "Who me?" Alwin asked, turning around to make sure that Bion wasn''t talking to someone behind him. Could you imagine the embarrassment if that happened!

    "Yeah, you, Al-loser. You and me. Spar. Now."

    "Spar as in fight or spa as in we''re getting facials?"

    "Fight you dipwad. Why would I invite you to get facials? I''m here to teach you a lesson for endangering my dear, Uchronia."

    "Buzz off!" shouted Uchronia.

    "Seconded," said Alwin. "And counterpoint, why wouldn''t you invite me for a facial? I''ve been through so much and life has been hard for poor little me." Alwin summoned his Spirit Hands and placed them on his forehead palm up, with a look that tried to mimic despair as he shook his head and sniffed a few times, only stopping to wipe away fake tears.

    "Enough with your nonsense. This is why Uchronia nearly died! Now fight or I''ll make you fight me."

    "Buzz off!" shouted Uchronia. She really needed more colorful insults. Maybe Alwin could help come up with some for her in his free time.

    "Sparrin'' is always a surefire way to toughen up," Flintlock drawled. "But it looks like the sparrin'' room''s tied up right now. Gus and Galeo''s whole crew is in there kickin'' up dust."

    Galeo the monster who kept butting heads with Tess? No wonder it was so quiet and that wasn''t because of Concord''s influence. Galeo just wasn''t here to create a ruckus with Tess. Since when did they have a sparring room? The only thing Alwin remembered were the wooden dummies that they would practice their skills against. You''re saying now they could legally fight each other without getting in trouble? This was too good an opportunity to pass up. Plus, he''d show Bion who''s boss.

    "Sure, I''ll fight," said Alwin.

    "But, Alwin. You''ve just evolved. At least take the time to get used to your new self," said Uchronia.

    "I''m pretty much the same, just lighter. Not lighter as in I lost weight, but you get it."

    "Good. When I win, I''ll take your place in Uchronia''s squad," said Bion.

    "Firstly, I don''t think you''re allowed to do that and secondly, what makes you think you''re going to win?"

    "Because you''re a weakling who nearly got Uchronia¡ª"

    "Oh, my Cor! Enough! We get it. You''re like a broken record. At least a broken clock still tells time right twice a day, but you''re just stuck on loop. And not even on the good part, just the boring part that no one likes but you still have to sit through to get to the good stuff. Let''s just go and fight. You''re taking up too much time talking."

    "Fine." Bion huffed. "And when I win¡ª"

    "Let''s just go," interrupted Alwin. "So where''s this new fancy shmancy sparring room?"

    "It''s this way," said Tess.

    The Lotus Turtle crawled on all fours towards the backside of the training grounds classroom. Surprisingly, the turtle was in fact not slow, just at normal speed. As Alwin hopped behind her, the sounds of combat grew louder. Alwin placed his head against the wall. He listened using all the ear muscles he could muster. Yup, this was where the sound was coming from¡ªon the other side of the wall. It was obvious. But did it give him a comedic moment to shine the light of joy on everyone who witnessed it? Nope. They just looked at him as if he had lost his mind. At least it got a chuckle instead of an eye roll from Uchronia, which was a start.

    Tess, using her Spirit Hands, grabbed onto a doorknob which Alwin was pretty sure wasn''t there before, revealing the fight taking place. Soon that was going to be him and Bion.

 Chapter 68: The Sparring Room

    Another blinding white room. What was with the school and white rooms? Did you know how annoying it was to get your corneas singed off every single bloody time you stepped into a room? One fine dandy day you''re walking back from lunch you cross the threshold of the classroom and the next thing you know you''re clutching your eyeballs as a flashbang of white assaults your vision. Rants over. Description vocation Alwin was taking over.

    At least the floors weren''t white. They were made of hardwood and definitely hurt when you take a fall. Could the academy not invest in softwood floors or something? Maybe include some padding or mats? You know the phrase ''hard times create strong monsters''? Well, there was an extra part that got left out, ''hard floors create injured monsters''. Oh, and in the corner there was a smaller drawer in the corner labeled ''Emergency Healing Pill''. Yeah, description vocation Alwin wasn''t feeling it today. That''s all, folks.

    Within the sparring room, Alwin spotted Gus. The Fluffpaw¡ªin case anyone had forgotten what Gus looked like, just remember a Furball with yellow fur and two large paws jutting out in front of him¡ªhad lightning shooting out of him as he charged towards a group of monsters. It was three against one and Alwin had no idea who was who, but this was the perfect time to test out his observational skills.

    Charging back was a pink pig with a dollar sign emblazoned on its side, and a large slit on the top of its back. Each step it took was followed by a rattling noise as its insides jumbled about. Yup, it was a Piggy Bank. Judging by the trail of lightning it left in its wake and Alwin''s knowledge of his classmates'' Core Skills, it was safe to say that this was Deb, the girl who could ''Loan'' skills.

    The Piggy Bank Deb¡ªno idea if that was her actual species but Alwin was going to call her that¡ª charged back at Gus, both of them utilizing Lightning Legs. Sparks of electricity filled the air. It was as if a miniature lightning storm had descended upon the classroom. With every step they took, more sparks crackled as the two of them ran towards each other.

    Gus propelled himself upwards using those new arms of his to reach heights previously unknown¡ªsave for that time Alwin launched him with his Spirit Hands. Even more, lightning surrounded his arms as he came slashing down at Deb, yelling out the name of his new skill, "Lightning Paw!"

    Deb wasn''t going to be taken down so easily, she halted and aimed her slit right at Gus. Taking a deep breath as she unleashed her new skill, "Coin Toss!" A large bronze coin was forced out of that slit of hers, slicing through the air as it flew toward Gus.

    Without missing a beat or lunch, Gus opened his jaw and licked his lips. The yellow Fluffpaw munched down on the coin, his face twisting as he crunched down on the disgusting piece of metal that had been bouncing about inside of Deb. The coin had been disposed of, now stored inside of Gus in bits and chunks.

    More coins shot out of Deb only to be devoured. Slobber and pieces of metal splattered onto the ground below as Gus was getting his free lunch. If he put on weight after this fight, it would be considered inflation. Deb continued to shoot out coin after coin until the only thing that came out was the sound of air passing through her slit.

    "Crap," muttered Deb, as Gus was now inches away from her ready to slap the ever-living daylights out of her with his Lightning Paw.

    At the last second, a Spirit Barrier was put up in a last-ditch effort to defend herself. Why didn''t she just run away? No idea. She had chosen to fight and that failed, so by all means the only option was flight.

    Turns out Alwin was wrong, she had made her own new option, called stare at the danger and hope that everything would be okay.

    The Lightning Paw shredded through the Spirit Barrier like a kid demolishing a sandcastle on the beach, turning it into particles that scattered into the wind. The force knocked the Piggy Bank to the side and straight into a wall. There she fell limp onto the ground. With the porkchop down and out, Alwin could focus on the rest of the new monsters gracing his eyes.

    "Told her it was a stupid idea to run out and attack by herself," one of the other monsters said.

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    Given that the monster was a walking talking sunflower, with leaves for arms and legs, and that there existed a Core Skill named Solar Powered, it was safe to assume that the sunflower was Phyll. Unless the system wanted to subvert expectations for some dumb reason.

    "That''s why you leave the attacking to me," shouted the final monster.

    By the process of elimination, this had to be Galeo and by the process of pointing out the obvious, there was a wooden spear hovering above the monster¡ªthat could only be Galeo''s ''Unstoppable Spear''.

    Galeo retained most of his Furball qualities¡ªorangey-brown fur that surrounded a blobby body¡ªbut he did have a few handy additions. Four paws with razor-sharp claws stuck out of that round body of his, along with a dorsal fin that jutted out at the top of his body.

    Phyll was a Sunbloom, while Galeo was a Finclaw, according to what Flintlock mentioned. He also mentioned Deb''s true species name, but for the sake of not knowing when to draw the line when it comes to jokes, he chose to delete that memory from his mind. Deb was a Piggy Bank and there was nothing they could say to change his mind.

    "We attack together!" shouted Phyll.

    They both paused their charge and stared down the lightning emitting incoming Gus. Phyll brought his leafy hands together, and a tiny ball of light began to form. Meanwhile, Galeo''s spear started to spin, moving so fast that the tip resembled a drill.

    With a nod, they both launched their attacks at the speeding Gus. The spinning Unstoppable Spear and Solar Powered Blast¡ªyup, Phyll yelled out the name of his skill¡ªwere both ineffective. Gus stretched his maw open as the attacks closed in. The sharp spears and bright light were swallowed up. When the food finally hit the rock bottom of his stomach, Gus let out a loud belch that echoed across the sparring room.

    "Dude, gross," said Phyll, fanning the air in front of him.

    "Anyway, I give up. Gus is just going to eat my spears," grumbled Galeo.

    "So can I go now?" asked Gus.

    "Sure man. Thanks for helping with our sparring," said Phyll.

    "Welcome!" said Gus, before he bolted out of the training room.

    The class made room for the lightning-boosted Gus, only for him to stop at the door. "Hey, Alwin. You look weird. Ok, I''m going to go eat now, bye."

    With that only a trail of lightning was left, as Gus bolted out of the classroom to go have lunch¡ªknowing Gus it might''ve been his third lunch.

    "Told you your spear was totally stoppable," yelled Tess.

    "Shut it, you turtle or are you a plant? Make up your mind!" shouted Galeo.

    "Easy there, fellas," said Flintlock. "Now either you two get a room and wrangle all that fussin'' in private or you quit your squabbling."

    "Fine!" they both yelled, turning away from each other. Good thing Alwin was here to help salvage Galeo''s ego.

    "You know technically, your spear hasn''t stopped yet," said Alwin.

    "What do you mean?" asked Galeo.

    "Well, your spear is still traveling through Gus. Eventually, it''ll come out of him, but not in the way you''d expect."

    The whole class groaned. Those who evolved into forms with hands or their equivalent slapped their faces while the rest shook their head at Alwin''s comment. Even Uchronia gave her signature patented and trademarked eye-roll.

    "Why are you booing me? I''m right."

    "Just go fight," groaned Tess.

    Phyll and Galeo grabbed the unconscious Deb the Piggy Bank and dragged her to the side of the sparring room. A drawer the size of a microwave slid out from the wall, opening up to reveal a porcelain bottle containing Small Healing Pills. Galeo reached in, grabbed one, and dumped it inside the slit on the top of her back.

    "Stop staring at girls and come here and fight," said Bion the Shadow Jellyfish.

    Bion was already at the center of the sparring room, arms crossed as he stared at Alwin. This was going to be easy. Alwin was about to make a jellyfish salad out of him.

    Alwin hopped up towards Bion, standing across him. They both stared each other down, waiting for the signal to begin the fight.

    "You lads ready?" asked Flintlock.

    Alwin and Bion both gave a nod, not even bothering to look away from the competition.

    "Remember them rules. No killing, permanently injuring or permanently disfiguring each other."

    "I bet that last rule was added after someone messed up your face," said Alwin.

    The class let out a collective ''oooo'' at Alwin''s taunts and they turned to Bion awaiting his response.

    "I''ll teach you what happens when you insult me and for nearly getting my darling Uchronia¡ª"

    "Buzz off!" she shouted.

    "And fight!" yelled Flintlock.

 Chapter 69: Alwin vs Bion

    Bion sprang into action. Gears, cogs, and mechanisms erupted from his body, engulfing his entire body. From his shadowy bell to the tips of his tentacles, the creature had transformed into a mechanical monstrosity in the shape of a jellyfish. A dark visor slid over his eyes¡ªnot that it hid his not-so-subtle glances at Uchronia. The whole class knew where his true focus lay.

    Darkness seeped into the gears, dying them a black so dark you''d think he was part squid. Alwin already knew what Bion was trying to do. Bion lunged at Alwin with a Dark Tackle. And just like their first fight, Alwin let his instincts take over. It allowed him to dodge out of the way of the attack. However, there was one unfortunate downside. A high-pitched shriek escaped his mouth, as Alwin rolled out of the way of the incoming mechanical jellyfish.

    "How did you not evolve into a scaredy-cat?" Bion taunted.

    "Well, how did you not evolve into a monkey with all the shit you throw out?"

    "Hey, I take offense to that statement," shouted out Flintlock the Powder Chimp.

    "Sorry," said Alwin.

    Unlike the first fight, Alwin didn''t have Gus to fight his battles for him. But there were more differences between now and then. Alwin had grown stronger, a lot stronger. He even had a rough idea of how to utilize his Core Skill. Would the Devolution Counter be of any use in this context? Not in the slightest, but Alwin was merely listing out differences, so he had to be thorough. This was definitely not him grasping at straws.

    Bion launched out more Dark Tackles, while Alwin launched out more ear-piercing screams as he rolled out of the way. Curse you instinctual need to scream out in fear just to fuel a comedic moment!

    "Looks like you need new glasses, you can''t even hit me."

    "If all you can do is dodge, no wonder your squad nearly died."

    "Buzz off!" shouted Uchronia. "You don''t even know what happened!"

    "Couldn''t have said it better myself."

    Alwin actually couldn''t. He had dedicated most of the resources in his mind to finding a way to defeat Bion. Currently, there were two ideas: overwhelm him with different flavors of blasts¡ªhow original¡ªor make use of Bion''s natural enemy.

    "Quick, Tess. Unleash all of your primal and carnal instincts. Go and get Bion!" shouted.

    The whole class stared at Alwin wondering what the flippity frick was he doing. Their eyes narrowed as they looked at him, mouths twitching as they tried their hardest to comprehend what Alwin was doing. Even Bion paused mid-attack, jellyfish cap tilted to the side. The darkness that soaked his gears rescinded, revealing the silvery-iron gears that coated his visage.

    Alwin looked at Tess, then Bion, then back to Tess. Using his head he gestured Tess to go after Bion, even going so far as to pump his eyes up and down, which was the best he could do since he still lacked eyebrows.

    "What are you talking about!" Tess shouted, finally breaking the silence.

    "You''re a turtle and he''s a jellyfish. So that makes you his natural predator."

    "That''s what you mean? First of all, it''s demeaning to call us a bunch of animals, and second of all, do you even know what carnal means?" shouted Tess."

    "It means... same as primal?" asked Alwin.

    "We have a library, go search it up. I was rooting for you but now I can''t believe you''re as disgusting as Bion."

    "I am?"

    Stolen novel; please report.

    "Now lassies, let''s not get our knickers in a twist. And Alwin, wash that mouth of yours and get back to throwing down," said Flintlock.

    Plan number two failed and it looked like Alwin might have to default to showering Bion in blasts. No! Alwin swore that he would come up with something better. If not, that scene where he insulted Lapis for coming up with the same plan would mean nothing. Alwin had to think of something. But when the stakes don''t involve life or death, formulating a plan becomes a lot harder. Stupid brain, why did you have to do Alwin dirty like that?

    As he stared down Bion, an idea sparked. It would be a three-phase plan.

    Phase one: overwhelm Bion with an assortment of blasts.

    Phase two: Come up with a plan while overwhelming Bion with an assortment of blasts.

    Phase three: Defeat Bion using the plan from phase two.

    Was it a good plan? Not in the slightest. Was it better than any of the previous plans he had concocted? Maybe. At least it was more detailed than anything he had cooked up before, which should account for something. What did it account for? No idea. Alwin was definitely not spewing out a load of nonsense in order to cope with the realization that maybe planning wasn''t in his blood. Do slimes even have blood?

    "I think he''s having a stroke," someone whispered.

    Crap. Alwin''s multitasking abilities had failed him yet again. While he had diverted most of his brainpower to come up with a plan, with just enough in reserve to monitor Bion for any incoming attacks, he had failed to account for his subconscious need to scrunch his face about as he dived into his thoughts searching for buried answers. Even Bion was just standing unsure of what to make of this situation¡ªprobably. Again, Alwin didn''t have mind-reading capabilities. For all Alwin knew, Bion could be thinking about pie.

    A sudden stinging sensation crept up on Alwin like vines ascending a building. Except that these vines hurt. A lot. The stinging sensation took a sharp turn from a tickling ache to a bone-splitting pain as it continued to creep up along his body, coiling around him.

    Looking down, Alwin realized that they were in fact not vines, neither were they his backup idea of snakes strangling his body. They were instead tentacles in a layer of gears so black it was as if the night sky were painted onto them.

    But Bion was all the way over there and Alwin was all the way over here. Looking down even further Alwin realized where those tentacles had snaked over from. It was from Bion obviously. His shadow had stretched across the ground, further than any shadow in the room, until they made contact with Alwin''s. From there his tentacles sunk into the shadows only to reemerge next to Alwin. They tightened themselves around Alwin''s body, sending jolts of pain through him.

    Alwin screamed¡ªhe couldn''t help it, the pain was too great¡ªas he was lifted into the air by the mechanical tentacles. The pressure kept on increasing with every second that passed by.

    "How do you like my new skill: Shadow Tentacles."

    "Very painful!" Alwin yelled out.

    Yes, this was the life-or-death situation he needed to come up with an ingenious plan. Not like he was going to actually die. This was far worse¡ªit meant the death of his reputation!

    Phase one, commence!

    Within his Core Alwin started his usual preparation of creating paper mache Spirit Blasts and drying them in the oven. It was a painfully slow process. Okay, it was mostly painful. Crafting out spells tends to be painful when you''re currently being strangled to death by a bundle of mechanical tentacles that had sprouted from the shadows.

    Blue orbs manifested in front of Alwin, only to be launched out towards his torturer¡ªBion. There was a fatal flaw in that Shadow Jellyfish''s plan. Because Bion had lifted Alwin high up into the air, he had actually given him an advantage. The advantage of the high ground!

    Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts rained down on Bion. The real kicker? Not even Alwin knew which was which. There wasn''t enough brainpower to remember which blast he was currently crafting. His mind was on autopilot. At that point in time there was only go. No calculations, no plans. There was only, ¡®make everything and anything.¡¯

    The multiple blue orbs all looked the same as they flew downwards. Some shattered revealing multiple tinier Spirit Blasts within, while some exploded as they made contact with Bion''s gears, the other viable blasts simply impacted Bion. Turns out that when you''re so focused on producing, quality follows gravity and goes downwards.

    Some of the unluckier Spirit Blasts that failed to meet production quality but still got shipped out anyway, experienced disastrous ends. They fell apart mid-transit. Now some might wonder wasn''t that the whole point of his Spirit Scatter Blast, and for those who thought of that, Alwin would gladly give you a medal¡ªonce he finds a way to break the metaphysical wall that separates him from you. Unfortunately, the tiny Spirit Blasts fell apart as well. All that wasted mana. Oh, the horrors! This was totally not Alwin being overdramatic.

    Spirit Blasts, tiny Spirit Blasts, and showers of mana struck Bion''s and his mechanical gear armor. They merely bounced off the hard metal only to disappear into particles once they accomplished their goal. This was not working, all Alwin was doing was wasting mana, and proving that Bion was indeed stronger than him. Where was that easily manipulatable Gus when he needed him? There had to be a way to strip Bion.

 Chapter 70: Alwin vs Bion Part 2

    Phase one was a bust. Phase two of his plan, activate. Think! Think! Think! Come up with a way to fight the pain, to fight the power.

    Alwin had came up with an idea!

    As he screamed his lungs out thanks to pain being delivered to every inch of his body from those mechanical shadow tentacles from Bion, Alwin had materialized his Spirit Hands in front of him. All five pairs of Spirit hands shimmered into existence and took stock of the situation.

    Time for phase three.

    Their commands¡ªpunctuated with screaming¡ªhad been issued. All ten Spirit Hands rushed towards the mechanical tentacles and grabbed onto any strand that they could find. They pulled, yanked, and every other synonym for that action as they fought to pry the metal appendages off of Alwin''s body. The hands dug their fingers into the cold metal that formed the gears, yet the only thing they managed to damage were themselves. Small imprints of the gear teeth had been left in their translucent blue fingers as they tugged, hauled, and even more synonyms for the action.

    "Really? That''s the best you can do?" snorted Bion.

    Oh no! This was a crisis! His reputation points were plummeting. Good thing at the end of phase two he had revised his three-phase plan into a four-phase plan.

    Phase four: repeat phase two and three if phase three failed. It wasn''t a spectacular plan, but it was practical.

    Phase two was over in a flash¡ªagain. Time for phase three¡ªagain. Alwin commanded the Spirit Hands to attack Bion. They gave up on attempting to free their master from his bio-mechanical restraints and instead dove towards Bion. They too had the power of the high ground. All ten Spirit Hands formed fists and created a hail storm of punches¡ªnever mind the fact that the hail storm lasted for a second. They pummeled the gear-laden Bion, only for their punches¡ªand subsequently them¡ªto bounce off. Bion simply snorted, that was the only effect his Spirit Hands had on him.

    Once again that plan was a bust. Alwin really needed to get stronger, pronto. Never mind that right now, he needed to begin phase four again which in turn would activate phases two and three once more. Was it pointless to include this part? Absolutely. Alwin was definitely not stalling in an attempt to gain more time to come up with a better plan.

    The Spirit Hands received another scream-laced set of commands and they set off to heed the whims of their master. However, deep down, Alwin knew that they were only doing it to get Alwin to shut his incessant screaming.

    They lined up above Bion, garnering the confused looks of his classmates. Even Bion himself was confused¡ªthe visor blocked his face but Alwin could tell by his body language¡ªabout what the Spirit Hands were attempting to accomplish.

    All aboard the Alwin Express! The first set of Spirit Hands grabbed Bion and launched him upwards toward the second set and so on and so forth. They set Bion flying up into the ceiling of the sparring room. As Bion went up, Alwin went down. The tentacles that had traveled through the shadows were forced back into darkness as Bion went higher and higher, pulling the tentacles with him.

    Alwin could feel the grip on him loosen. Another thing he could feel was his stomach lurching as he experienced the full force of gravity coupled with all of the momentum his Spirit Hands had helped to build up by launching Bion in the air. Finally, the tentacles came loose and entered the realm of shadows, now Alwin could stop screaming like a banshee. Since he was freefalling instead of being strangled, he could scream like a baby¡ªnot as loud as a banshee but still bad.

    Alwin crashed into the floor while Bion crashed into the ceiling, the sound of gears cracking resonated within the room. The trail of tentacles that he had used to ensnare Alwin had exited the shadow realm. They came flying full force out of the shadow to smack Bion in the face. Another set of cracks echoed out in the room. Bits of metallic magical dust began to descend. Bion was coming down as well.

    Bion and pieces of his gear armor came falling down from the sky, his tentacles flailed around him, as more pieces of gear detached themselves from his body. Another resounding crash could be heard as Bion hit the ground. Alwin had stopped screaming and was looking at the spectacle.

    The Mechanized Shadow Jellyfish lay splayed out on the ground in a mess of gears. They had been split in half or otherwise so banged up you wouldn''t think they were gears anymore, just amalgamations of metal squished together. Parts of his mechanical armor had fallen off his body, revealing the dark squishy jellyfish flesh underneath.

    Had Alwin won? The Spirit Hands flipped over the jellyfish. The black visor that shielded his eyes had been shattered beyond recognition. They prodded and poked at the body, some even going so far as to tickle the monster. But when covered in a layer of metal, the move was ineffective. Bion made no movements. Looks like Alwin did win. This was the power of throwing hands! Time to gloat and celebrate his victory.

    Alwin turned around to face his classmates, jiggling his body around as he performed his dance of celebration. Then, the mental connection between him and his Spirit Hands was severed. Alwin hadn''t dismissed them yet and neither did they dismiss themselves. They had been snuffed out.

    Turning around, Alwin went to confront the culprit. How dare they kill his Spirit Hands¡ªsure, they could be revived when he summoned them again but it still hurt them. Alwin was then greeted by the sight of Bion, his body on the ground, his tentacles wiggling in the air.

    The cracked gears had started repairing themselves. Metallic grease oozed out of the cracks, sealing them up. The chipped gear teeth began to regrow into all of their glorious blocky forms again. Parts of his body that were gear-free began to sprout new gears once again, they interconnected with each other to form the ever-so-familiar mechanical armor that Bion wore. The black visor he wore fell off, revealing a pissed-off Bion glaring at Alwin, only for a second visor to slide downwards from the layer of gears that shielded his head.

    Unfortunately, it looked like it was time for round two. Bad news: Bion wasn''t down yet and Alwin was all out of ideas. Good news: when Alwin did take down Bion he got to do his special victory dance again.

    Bion''s shadow stretched out towards him, but Alwin was prepared. He ran circles around Bion, the shadows chasing after him. Whenever their shadows did connect, five gear-ridden tentacles would shoot out from the shadow beneath him. They would attempt to snatch up Alwin, but he would manage to dodge them by performing his signature roll to the side, accompanied by a high-pitched shriek of fear. The tentacles would rescind into the ground and the chase began once more. It was the most dangerous game of tag in his life. When he was being chased by the humans, being caught by them meant a death sentence, but if he were to get caught here it would mean the end of his reputation¡ªthat was worse than death! And for all those who found Alwin weird for caring so much about his reputation. Well... that''s mean.

    Alwin''s Spirit hands appeared in front of him and they went zooming off to confront Bion. The Mechanize Shadow Jellyfish lifted up a single mass of tentacles, they became coated in darkness¡ªShadow Whip if Alwin heard correctly between all of his shrieking¡ªbefore they smacked the Spirit Hands into magical particles. That darn Bion. Why did he have to be smart enough to adapt to his throwing hands strategy?

    Back to phase four... again. If Alwin couldn''t throw Bion, then he would do the next best thing. As Alwin continued running circles around Bion while avoiding the mass of mechanical tentacles that popped out of the ground every few seconds, he summoned his Spirit Hands again. Instead of flying towards Bion or Alwin for that matter, they flew towards the spectators¡ªhis classmates. They hovered above the group of monsters, joining the crowd of spectators.

    "Fear for your life, Bion. For I am going to use my most dangerous ability!" shouted Alwin.

    The class murmured amongst themselves, discussing what sort of trick that Alwin was about to pull. Their discussion even included why Alwin had sent his Spirit Hands to spectate the fight.

    "Oh yea, Al-loser, bring it. Can''t be worse than you just running like a little girl," snarled Bion.

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    "You asked for it. Spirit Hands Summoning: Uchronia!"

    The Spirit Hands moved into position, lining up in front of Uchronia. They grabbed onto her potted plant body. Despite her cries of protest and constant fidgeting in the Spirit Hands, they never faltered. The rest of his classmates were even more confused. They looked at each other, asking if this was against the rules or whether they should help Uchronia out. There wasn''t enough time for a proper discussion. A second later Uchronia was sent flying through the sets of Spirit Hands straight towards Bion.

    "What is wrong with you, Alwin!" she screamed as she soared through the air.

    "So many things!" he shouted back, leaping over a tentacle that was about to wrap itself around his body.

    Bion looked up at the incoming projectile and immediately ceased his attack on Alwin. His tentacles fell back into the ground and his shadow returned to its usual length, no longer chasing Alwin. The gears on his body fell apart piece by piece, each one clanging onto the ground only to disintegrate seconds later into magical dust.

    "I''ve got you, darling Uchronia!" Bion shouted.

    Twin masses of tentacles were outstretched as he shuffled across the room attempting to estimate where she would land. This was the perfect distraction and definitely what he intended to happen. Might as well try out his new move¡ªYin-Yang Blast¡ªbecause if not this whole fight would be boring. Also, because Bion was so weak that beating him didn''t do anything remotely useful. This was not Alwin trash-talking in his mind and completely forgetting how Bion was a meanie who insulted him and his friends, plus there was how he almost lost to Bion when his mechanical tentacles appeared from out of the shadows and nearly squeezed the living daylights out of Alwin, thus confirming how weak Alwin truly was. Nope, none of that had happened.

    Bion had his jellyfish cap tilted up, with lips puckered as he moved to where Uchronia was about to land. Alwin was at the end stage of preparing his Yin-Yang Blast. Like his Dark Tackle, he felt his mana transforming into inky gooey darkness that welled up within his core, all of it happening without his control. Unlike his Dark Tackle, there was pure bright white mana forming alongside the darkness that he was accustomed to¡ªit''s Yin and Yang, what did you expect?

    If only his Spirit Blasts could be formed this fast. Do you know how annoying it is to grab a piece of liquid mana transform it into a piece of paper through some mind association thingy that not even Alwin understood, layer it around an inflated balloon he willed into existence, shove it into an oven, wait for it to dry, then poke it with a needle and make a home run using the Spirit Blasts just so that it could leave his Core? One day he would find a faster way to make Spirit Blasts, and maybe today would be the day or not. Who knows? Anyway, back to the Yin-Yang Blast.

    The two accretions of light and dark mana formed into a sphere roughly the size of his Spirit Blasts which in turn was roughly the size of baseball that ancient humans used to play with. Perhaps sometime in the far future, he would smoothly figure out the size of his Spirit Blasts using a measuring tape or something¡ªhis ability to form thoughts may be miles better than when he was in constant pain being squeezed like a lemon, but come on he had better things to think about, stuff like should he do victory dance number one or victory dance number two after he wins.

    The twin balls of light and darkness began to swirl about an invisible axis around each other as they went on a journey of self-discovery through his core, only to exit it and materialize in the physical world. As the norm of skills, before the twins could truly make a name for themselves in this world, Alwin had to announce them first. An itch morphed into a lump in his throat before the words erupted out.

    "Yin-Yang Blast!"

    Two balls of mana manifested in front of Alwin. They swirled around each other as they headed towards Bion, who was so focused on Uchronia that he was unaware of the surprise that Alwin was delivering. Unbeknownst to Alwin, Uchronia was giving Bion a surprise of her own.

    As gravity was doing its thing, causing Uchronia to fall closer into the clutches of Bion''s squiggly mass of tentacles, she decided to give Bion a shot. Not the kind of shot where she dated him, Uchronia literally shot at him. The brown bio-ceramic pot that acted as a protective casing around her feeble plant body was launched out at Bion. The power of her skill was effectively doubled thanks to the high-ground advantage that Alwin provided.

    The aptly named ''Pot Shot'' soared through the air and hit Bion square on that round jellyfish cap noggin of his. It caused the boneless head of his to cave in, conforming to the shape of the pot that Uchronia had been wearing since she had achieved her new form.

    Alwin was facing his back, but he was pretty sure that Bion was smiling when he came into contact with what Uchronia had been wearing. Bion and the pot came crashing down on the ground. The pot cracked when it impacted the ground, if only the same could be said about Bion''s skull¡ªhe didn''t have one which made this statement useless, but it was the thought behind the message that counted!

    As Bion lay on the ground, surrounded by fragments of Uchronia''s ''clothes'', the Yin-Yang Blast coalesced. The white and black orbs that had been orbiting around crashed into each other, causing Bion to be hit with an explosion that formed a Yin-Yang symbol. Wow! Alwin''s new skill was so artistic. If human hunting didn''t work out he could always take a job as a firework specialist, launching Yin-Yang symbols during celebrations.

    Bion was still conscious, unfortunately. Even as he lay on the floor surrounded by fragments of bio-ceramic that dug into his jelly-like flesh causing weird black liquid to ooze out¡ªit was probably blood¡ªhe still had two masses of tentacles that reached into the sky, albeit with a lifeless droop.

    Uchronia passed through the tentacles while the now limp Bion closed his tentacles together grabbing nothing but air. Turns out when you''ve just been smacked on the head, had dozens of cuts across your body, and suffered an explosion of Yin and Yang, your reaction time wasn''t the best.

    The now pot-less Uchronia crashed down a couple of seconds later, rolling on the floor as she attacked the ground with her plant body. At least, now Alwin could get a good look at her body¡ªno naughty in here.

    A bright green plant bulb¡ªlike an onion but green and upside down¡ªhad been hidden by the pot. Unlike an onion, roots extended out of the stalk part of her body that served as feet when enough of them had gathered together. There were also green leaves that covered up the rest of her bulb-like body, including two much larger ones that most likely acted as hands. No idea what she could do with those leaf-like hands that were condemned inside a pot¡ªmaybe she could scratch her butt when it itches. From the bottom of her body which was the long stalk-like part of her, bits of brown were beginning to emerge. If Alwin''s guess was right¡ªmaybe it was or maybe it wasn''t, he had no idea what his correct guess rate was¡ªthat was her bio-ceramic pot armor was sprouting out.

    After she rolled herself back up, using those two large leaf-like hands to push herself up, she glared Yucca aloifolia at him. For those who didn''t know what that was, it was the scientific name of the Dagger Plant. It felt fitting to evolve the way Uchronia glared at him, but thankfully, if it didn''t work out, he could always devolve it back¡ªassuming his Devolution actually worked.

    Ignoring her glares, Alwin went to inspect the downed Bion. That Shadow Jellyfish was still conscious, with a huge smile plastered on his face as he did bio-ceramic angels. Good thing there was a surefire way to ensure that Bion was defeated and also physically healthy at the same time.

    Alwin conjured up a pair of Spirit Hands and instructed them to go grab the bottle of Small Healing Pills from the microwave-sized drawer that popped out of the wall. They returned bottle in hand and gave a thumbs up as Alwin delivered his directives. Cracking open the bottle and Bion''s mouth, they shoved pill after pill into him. The cuts that were splayed out all over Bion''s body began to shrink as the black slime-like substance stopped oozing out of him.

    Some of you might ask, why would you heal your opponent? The answer was simple. Since pills use mana, taking too many pills would lead to mana exhaustion. So... time to exhaust Bion. He''d be physically fine thanks to the Small Healing Pills, but not manally fine¡ªif that was even a word.

    Bion got up, smacking the Spirit Hands away with his tentacles. That was rude! He gave a tender loving look at Uchronia that morphed into one of pure hatred and disdain as Alwin rolled himself in front of her so that he wouldn''t be left out. Bion took a single step and collapsed onto the ground, groaning like a Zombie Jellyfish.

    Yup, he had definitely won after that. Bion''s squad, Concord the Chromaflora and Brie the Metalball, rushed towards their collapsed member trying to figure out what was wrong¡ªit was actually just Concord, no idea why Brie didn''t rush in to help or where she was for that matter.

    Uchronia continued to glare at him, while the rest of the class whispered amongst themselves. Some of them gave cheers at Alwin''s accomplishments while others were debating whether he had actually won since Uchronia intervened.

    Of course, Uchronia intervened and it was a legal intervention as well. He used his super secret summoning skill to call Uchronia into battle. Before they could come to a proper conclusion, Alwin had to make his grand escape. Like the tough guy he was, he walked out of the sparring room, not even giving his classmates a second glance. Now all he needed was an explosion and a pair of sunglasses to solidify the moment.

    As he stepped out of the white sparring room, he came across a monster stuck in the middle of the training grounds classroom. It was Brie. So that''s where she was. Turns out everyone had forgotten about her. She was still stuck to the ground, lacking the strength to move thanks to Clavis. By all means, he should help her, but that would ruin his cool guy moment. So with a heavy heart, he walked past the struggling Brie, straight out of the classroom.

    Nothing to do but sleep now. Probably. There were actually a ton of things he could do like continue training or even research new skills in the library, he still wanted to be valedictorian and then subsequently a Minister after all, but good thing he had a counter-argument prepared.

    Alwin had just gone through a stressful tribulation and went through an equally stressful sparring session, he needed to rest if not his body wouldn''t grow, or worse he sustained a permanent injury. Therefore, Alwin should spend the rest of the day slacking off¡ªI mean resting¡ªin bed.

    Tomorrow would be his first day back in class. Sadly. He was already dreading waking up tomorrow. Oh well. See you then.

 Chapter 71: Uchronias Feelings

    Alwin felt a persistent poking at his side, dragging him from the depths of sleep. He mumbled incoherently, burying his face deeper into his pillow. Glancing at the clock, it told whispers of the time being three in the morning. Who was waking him up this early? Seriously! Alwin needed his beauty sleep to keep his body pretty. Just because he was two months old didn''t mean he didn''t have to worry about his looks. It''s all about starting early and maintaining that youthful look that so many yearn for.

    He rolled over, cocooning himself in his blankets like a caterpillar determined to stay in its chrysalis. Any future pokers would have to contend with the mighty fortress he''d constructed. Surely, that would deter any would-be assailants and let him return to dreams of fame, fortune, and¡ªoh right¡ªbecoming a Minister.

    A cold breeze washed over Alwin. That should be impossible! The supreme blanket fort that he had constructed should protect him against anything, so how? Cracking one eye open, dread settled in his stomach. His fort had been destroyed! The blanket no longer surrounded him, instead, it was left to warm up the cold hard floor. The poor thing was probably contaminated now. Great. Now he''d have to do laundry instead of sleeping.

    Standing over the blanket¡ªnow it was even dirtier¡ªwas the culprit. It was none other than the Potted Sprout Uchronia. Why he oughta¡ªOh look, her bio-ceramic pot had grown back. It was probably warm and toasty inside of it. Maybe he should goad her into performing a Pot Shot on him, then he could slide inside the brown pot, let the warmth embrace him, and drift off into slumber land.

    "Alwin," she whispered into his ear. Gross. Alwin could smell her morning breath, which smelled like fertilizer¡ªthe organic kind.

    "What do you want?" Alwin whispered back. He held his breath hoping that she could get her message over and done with so that he could get back to breathing.

    "I need to talk to you. I told you that I had a plan," she whispered.

    "Can''t we do it in like five hours? I want to sleep."

    "We were supposed to have this conversation after dinner, but somebody was passed out on the bed. But that''s good, cause now is the best time to talk assuming you don''t wake up the whole room."

    "I mean, in five hours'' time it''ll still be after dinner, so we can talk then."

    Uchronia leaned in close, the stink leaking out of every breath, causing his eyes to water. "We do it now or else."

    "Okay, fine, fine."

    Next time she demanded something from anybody, all she had to do was not brush her teeth for a day and lean in close. Just by doing that everyone would concede to her requests just to get her to move away so that they could resume their privilege of inhaling non-toxic air.

    Alwin rolled out of bed, moving away from the horrid stench. As he stared at his blanket on the floor a whirlwind of thoughts spun in his mind. Should he throw the blanket back on the bed? But that would mean his bed would get dirty. If he left it on the floor, then others might step on it and it would get even dirtier. Alwin was at an impasse.

    "C''mon, what''s the holdup," Uchronia whispered.

    It might have been the lack of sleep, but he swore he could see stink lines emanating from her mouth, coiling around him like Bion''s tendrils during their sparring session. No idea which one was worse.

    Alwin had to make a decision. To leave the blanket on the floor forced to live a dirty fate or subject his bed to the same disgusting tortures that the blanket suffered. If only there was a third option. Oh! There was a third option, a compromise. Smashing his head into his pillow¡ªto muffle the noise so that he wouldn''t wake anyone¡ªAlwin summoned his Spirit Hands.

    Uchronia looked at him, wondering what the ever living heck was he doing. The Spirit Hands picked up the blanket and laid them on the bed frame. Unfortunately, a part of the dirty blanket was still pressed up against the floor while another part lay on his bed. But, the thing was, Alwin was small! He didn''t take up the whole bed so that part of the bed could be contaminated and he wouldn''t be affected! With the conundrum settled he could go see what was all the fuss that Uchronia was kicking up.

    "So what do you want to talk about?" Alwin whispered as he dismissed his Spirit Hands.

    "Follow me."

    Alwin trailed behind Uchronia as she brought him out of the dorms. Never would he have thought that he would be working out his eyelids at this time of day. They wanted nothing more than to seal his eyes shut, but Alwin struggled and fought back, keeping them open. Right now, the crystal lights were motion-activated. It felt like there was a constant spotlight on them that moved alongside them as the lights flickered on and off. Where was Uchronia leading him and why could he still smell her breath from all the way here?

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Eventually, she brought him out of the academy. Standing on the stone path as he looked up at the twin moons gracing the sky¡ªyes, this was Earth and he had no idea why there were two moons instead of one¡ªAlwin wondered why she brought him out here. Was she going to confess to him? Wait, Alwin didn''t even see her that way and she probably didn''t see him that way. So, why were they here, and what were they going to do?

    Their destination wasn''t just the outskirts of the academy, which was a bummer. Walking so far in the wee hours of the day wasn''t what he had planned. They continued past the main gates of the academy and Alwin could see the gigantic warp station in all of its architectural glory that Alwin lacked the vocabulary to properly describe. Also, because he was lazy and he had already done it before.

    They descended into the town where, surprise, surprise. It was dead because it was three in the flipping morning. Why, oh why, did you have to torture Alwin like this? What was so important anyway?

    Finally, she stopped near the outskirts of some park. Their only source of light was the twin moons shining down at them and that one streetlight presumably fitted with a crystal instead of a lightbulb. There was a bench nearby and Alwin wasted no time to plop his behind on the cold hard metallic frame¡ªit wasn''t that comfortable but it sure beats standing.

    "So..." Alwin looked at Uchronia, hoping that she would shed some light on why she brought him here before the sun shed some light on them.

    "Did you already forget what the academy did to us?" she said, speaking at a volume that was loud enough to show that she was upset but not loud enough that it might rouse suspicion from whatever weird monster might be lurking around these parts at this hour.

    "I didn''t forget... I just didn''t care that much. I mean it is kind of dark if you think about it, but that''s why I choose not to think."

    "You''re annoying. But, I don''t know who else to trust. So I''m stuck with you."

    "Why me?"

    "Because you''re the only other person who knows about what they did to us and¡ª"

    "Don''t Milvus and Lapis know too?" Alwin interrupted.

    "You know what I mean and don''t interrupt me. I''m going to make sure that no one has to go through what we did and you''re going to help me."

    "What did we even go through? Classes too early in the morning?"

    "You know what they did! They stole our lives from us, and put mental inhibitors in our minds to prevent us from thinking about taboo topics. You said it yourself, they''re making child soldiers."

    "Ok, fair. So how are you even going to stop them from making even more of... us? Destroy the academy? Kill everyone that was involved?"

    "I''m going to do something even tougher than that. I''m going to rework the entire system and for that, I need to become a Minister."

    "So our goals are aligned, neat. I don''t think you had to drag me all the way out here just to tell me that."

    "Well, I don''t want other people potentially eavesdropping in on us. Who knows what they might do to us? And did you say you want to become a Minister too?"

    "Couldn''t you just write it down on a piece of paper, let me read it, and then burn the paper afterward? And yes, I want to become a Minister."

    "I mean...I guess. But why do you want to be a Minister? Also, can we stop having two separate conversations at the same time?"

    "I don''t know. I just thought it would be cool." Alwin shrugged. "But how does telling me that you want to be a Minister even help you? It''s not like I''m in the Minister choosing committee or however they''re decided. Do you think it''s like a voting thing? Is there an election every couple of years?"

    "It helps because I need to know that there''s someone by my side. I can''t just keep these things bottled up, I need someone to tell things to and you''re the best I got."

    "Isn''t that what a therapist is for? How was your session by the way?"

    "You don''t seriously expect me to tell the enemy about my plans... Are you dense?"

    "No, I''m Alwin. Also, can we go back to bed now? I''m sleepy."

    "Whatever." Uchronia rolled her eyes "And expect fortnightly sessions, weekly if I''m feeling stressed. To be a Minister means to be the best in a particular field and the best way to get noticed as the best is by aiming to be Valedictorian."

    "But, I want to be Valedictorian."

    Uchronia looked at Alwin for a moment, gears turning inside that plant bulb head of hers. "No."

    With that Uchronia started the trek back to the academy while Alwin hopped behind her, reflecting on what she had dumped onto him moments ago. In order to prevent any more horrible acts from occurring she intended to change the system from the inside out, to do that she was going to be a Minister, and to become a Minister she first had to become the Valedictorian, presumably. Still have no idea how Ministers were chosen.

    And now she wants to use Alwin as a fortnightly dumping ground where she let loose all of her pent-up emotions and he couldn''t even say no. Well... he would''ve said yes, anyway, but at least give him an option instead of forcing it onto him.

    There was also another problem. Alwin shared similar goals with Uchronia. Not the changing the system part, but the Minister and Valedictorian part. It wasn''t that Alwin was going to outshine Uchronia and steal those spots from him, it was the opposite! Uchronia was too hardworking. She would overshadow him more than a Shadow Jellyfish and leave him in a room darker than a Dark Slime. Oh well, he''d find a way to compensate. Plus there was that whole thing about getting stronger then defeating Gary Stew and the two young masters of the Crimson Gold clan. Alwin would have his revenge and their fight would be legendary!

    Returning back to the dorms, Alwin had to make a hard decision. It didn''t have anything to do with what had transpired during their short adventure outside of the academy. It was far worse. Alwin had to decide whether to go wash his blanket now or do it in the morning. It was with a heavy heart and a very cold body that he chose the latter. That night he shivered and shook in his sleep, the warmth of his blankie having been stolen from him by the evil Uchronia and the dirty floor.

    Tomorrow would be his first day back in class. Sadly. He was already dreading waking up tomorrow and if this sounds familiar that''s because Alwin was too lazy¡ªI mean tired¡ªto think of a better closing statement. Don''t blame him, blame Uchronia. Now, sleep.

 Chapter 72: Asking Questions For Once

    Once again it was morning and once again Alwin skipped breakfast to catch a few extra winks of sleep¡ªnot like it was enough. Because once again, Alwin was fighting off the sleep fairies in the ever-prevalent war to whisk him away to dreamland and Milvus was unintentionally helping them.

    "Morning, class. It''s great to finally see you all back together again. How''s life been since you''ve evolved?"

    A chorus of goods, greats, and the occasional bad filled the room. The room was abuzz, the chatter amongst themselves didn''t seem to dissipate in the slightest. It may have been a small class, but boy were they loud. So loud that they were chasing away the sleep fairies from taking control of his eyelids.

    "Okay, quiet down class. You''ve all taken your first step to becoming a full-fledged member of the Human Hunter Corp. To become a member you''ll need to graduate and complete your three years of training. In a couple of months, it''ll be exam time and you better be prepared for it."

    More exams, boo. Hopefully, it''s a practical exam and not a written one. There was no way Alwin would be able to compete with Uchronia if that were the case. She''d probably spend her days in the library memorizing everything.

    He looked over at her, she may have been annoyed with Milvus and the academy as a whole, but she still tried her best to pay attention. The same couldn''t be said about Alwin, who was looking at her instead of listening in class.

    "Just like the Forest of Beginnings, your task will be to eliminate the humans in the surrounding area. The primary aim is the elimination of humans, absorbing essence to evolve is secondary. The location you will be dispatched to will be revealed at a later date. In between your preparation time, there will be intermittent evaluations or ''Pop Quizzes'' to determine how ready you are for your departure. More information will be revealed at a later date. Any questions?"

    "How should we prepare ourselves for this final exam?" asked Uchronia. She may have been pissed but her instinctual nature to be a teacher''s pet still lived on inside of her. No, this was not Alwin being jealous that she was actually a good student and may very well end up as Valedictorian instead of him.

    "The best way to prepare for your exam would be to increase the number of skills you possess and strengthen your existing ones. The sparring room is now available to you so you''ll be able to fight against each other. If you''re feeling bored sparring against each other there''s always the simulation room. Due to abuse by some of your seniors, the simulations have been locked away as part of the library challenge. The higher you climb the stronger foes you''ll have access to."

    Library challenge? Was it the Library Pass thingamabob that stopped him from ascending the stairs in the library? Now, Alwin knew what to do. Well, he was already planning on going to the library to expand his skill set. He couldn''t rely on Spirit Blasts forever. Maybe he''d find a new type of Blast after he completed the next phase of the library challenge. Something that would transcend Yin-Yang Blast, Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blast, and Spirit Burst Blast, he''d gain access to the Blast Blast¡ªassuming that was a real thing. He joked about the Spirit Feet and that turned out to be real, so maybe this was real as well. Back to focusing in class, because this was his good-student-serious-business arc.

    "Same situation, morning lectures about combat and afternoon is free time. I advise you to use that free time wisely, if not in the best case scenario you fail your final exam, worst case you forfeit your life. That''s all, now let''s carry on with the lecture."

    Lectures, the bane of his existence! But, the prospect of becoming a Minister was all too alluring. Why couldn''t he just be consistent and stop bouncing back and forth like some sort of rubber ball? Get a grip man! Alwin had to redeem himself after his failures to defeat Gary Stew and the young masters¡ªmostly Gary Stew. That encounter haunted his dreams, but good thing Alwin was an expert lucid dreamer and could turn them into popcorn with just a thought.

    Alwin was laser-focused during the lecture and by that, he meant he was focusing on the small red dot produced by Milvus'' laser pointer¡ªa gift from Lapis apparently¡ªas he droned on and on and on about the importance of using the terrain to your advantage. Today''s specific terrain: the high ground.

    By all means, he should be allowed to drift off into daydreamland, Alwin. Just look at his spar against Bion or even during the Forest of Beginnings. With the power of his Spirit Hands, he was able to launch himself and others straight into the sky and therefore he obtained the high ground. Wait, a second. Ground implies that it should be something that you can stand on, but Alwin couldn''t stand on air. So did he really have the high ground? Better pay attention to class and... it''s over. What a bummer. Good thing with the ability to multitask, he left part of his brain to actually follow along, while the other parts¡ªthis one here¡ªhad the freedom to start rambling in an internal monologue that only served to provide a deeper insight into Alwin''s character.

    This side of his brain was way more entertaining than listening to Milvus'' stale lecture about the high ground and technically the low ground. It was just Milvus talking and talking for a few hours, only stopping to answer the occasional question and grab a sip of water¡ªnot fun to watch.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Now that class was over, Alwin had to decide what to do today. Go and spar, train up his existing skills, or go to the library to conquer the library challenge. His heart told him to challenge the library while the serious-business-party-pooper brain of his insisted that he had to figure out the underlying mechanisms behind his Core Skill and species skills. The former would be way more entertaining, while the latter would consist of conversations between him and Milvus and maybe the occasional messing around in his Core. Unfortunately, the pressures of his self-imposed desire to be Valedictorian forced him to choose the latter.

    Till now, Alwin still had no idea how they worked. For his species skills, he just had to think and they would do, no need for any complicated paper mache or even molding clay. For his Core Skill... a paperweight would be more useful.

    As everyone departed the class, leaving just Alwin and Milvus alone, it was time to suck it up like sucking on an orange slice and confront Milvus. Yup, Alwin used the word confront just so that the ensuing conversation would seem a tad bit cooler in his head.

    "Hey, Milvus. I have some questions."

    "What seems to be the problem, Alwin."

    "Well, I still have no idea how to use my Core Skill and you did mention that I should give it some time before I ask you again. It''s been more than some time now, it''s been a lot of time, so here I am to ask you again."

    "Yes, your Core Skill, Devolution. I''m sorry to say this, but my guess on how you would go about using it is similar to Minister Lapis'' theory, about you having to fill up that Devolution Counter of yours. My assumption on how you would fill that counter is similar to how you fill up the evolution counter, which is to say absorbing essence. Unfortunately, you''ll have to wait until Minister Lapis is finished with her conference before you can continue the experiments on her Refinement technique. Now, is there anything else?"

    Well, that was useless¡ªthis was definitely not Alwin''s sudden onset of social anxiety kicking in and judging the quality of his conversation. Now, he could ask him more about his species skills¡ªDark Tackle and Yin-Yang Blast¡ªor he could actually take the time to figure them out instead of goofing off. If anything he could just come back to Milvus after he had exhausted all options.

    "Nope, nada, zilch."

    "Okay, take care, Alwin. And thank you for... you know." Milvus dragged one of his tentacles across his lip.

    Time to run off to the canteen and wait for Milvus to vacate the classroom as it morphed into the training grounds. Also, Alwin didn''t want the teacher to judge him as he attempted to improve himself. He was fine when the other recruits or students or friends or however you wanted to categorize them were present, but when Milvus was there he felt like he was being judged. In all honesty that was probably the case, he was probably picking out the most promising students within the batch of child soldiers he was instructed to instruct.

    The reason that Alwin had finally decided to improve his species skills instead of finding a new shiny skill to learn? Well, he could spin a reason about how learning the mechanisms of Dark Tackle could lead to breakthroughs in his understanding of Dark Elemental skills and spells. In reality, Alwin was currently too lazy to go all the way to the library and start browsing for a relevant skill book that would suit his current needs. There were so many factors that he had to consider now that he was actually taking things seriously¡ªrelatively seriously. Factors include range, elemental type, desired effects, offensive, defensive, supportive, or maybe even skills are a combination of them, how skills would synergize together, and so much more.

    So, why deep fry his brain on the first day of returning to school when he could shallow fry it in an attempt to figure out what was going on inside his core whenever he activated his Dark Tackle. After that, he could medium fry his brain as he uncovered the secrets of his Yin-Yang Blast. Then, if he failed he could just ask Milvus who may or may not flamb¨¦ him for taking such a long time to ask questions about a fundamental aspect of every monster.

    Now that some time had passed thanks to this brief internal monologue, Alwin could make his way back to the training ground classroom where he could begin to practice his species skills. The classroom had been transformed into training grounds mode and that wasn''t the main point. The main point was that his arch-nemesis, the scourge of the world, and the harbinger of all evil was now there taunting him. It was none other than the wooden training dummy!

    Step number one on figuring out his Dark Tackle was to use it and who else was a better test subject than that smug-nose, blockhead wooden training dummy. Alwin activated his Dark Tackle, taking care to properly observe the inside of his core. What he saw was mana from his mana pool surging outwards, transforming into what seemed like darkness itself as it traveled out of his core. Next thing he knew, Alwin was forced to jettison himself forward toward the training dummy. Of course, that stupid blockhead didn''t even have a scratch on it.

    Alwin moved away from the training dummy and got back into position. There had to be a better way to get a good look at what was happening inside his Core during the Dark Tackle. Well, he couldn''t find it right now, but he''d get it eventually. Might as well take out his frustrations against the wooden dummy.

    Dark Tackle after Dark Tackle, dark mana surging out after dark mana surging out, thoughts whirling around his mind as he attempted to concoct an idea that would help him understand the process. Then a lightbulb turned on within his core¡ªliterally. Alwin had been hoping for a eureka moment as he tackled the splinters out of the wooden dummy; it turns out it manifested as a literal mental lightbulb within his core. Now he had another tool in his arsenal.

    Scouring through his core with a floating lightbulb next to his consciousness, he dived into the darkness as it began to manifest again. The lightbulb pierced through the darkness, and a small part of the black mana started to turn white¡ªreminiscent of his Yin-Yang Blast. As the mana rushed out of his core the words that came out of his mouth surprised him.

    "Yin-Yang Tackle!"

 Chapter 73: Dark Tackle

    Alwin tackled the wooden dummy with a mix of both Dark Element magic and Light Element magic, although it was more dark than light at this point. Apparently, it was enough for the system to force him to yell out the name of his skills. Now there were more things that Alwin had to figure out, like how in bloody blazes did a light bulb create Light mana.

    Did it have something to do with the light that the lightbulb was producing or was it related to that association thingamabob that Lapis had mentioned. Something along the lines of since the lightbulb produced light therefore the mana produced by it should be Light mana. If that were the case how come there weren''t any lightbulbs generating the Light mana during Alwin''s Yin-Yang Blast? Why did magic and skill crafting have to be so complicated?

    Time to experiment with the lightbulb and hopefully it might shed some light on his Dark Tackle¡ªyes, the pun was intentional. Alwin moved away from the wooden dummy and closed his eyes. Within his core, he conjured up that lightbulb once again. The moment the lightbulb materialized within his core, the mana around it started to turn white.

    Looks like his theory about how light from the lightbulb was causing his mana to gain the Light element had some substance to it. Unfortunately, only a small circle around the lightbulb had transformed into Light mana. This had definitely given Alwin more insight into the mechanism behind how to produce different elemental mana. Does that mean all of the mana within his mana pool was considered Spirit Element mana? That was certainly possible.

    While certainly intriguing it wasn''t helping Alwin understand how to improve the mastery over his Dark Tackle. Technically, it was doing the opposite. Each time he brought up the lightbulb it would cause any of the Dark mana to convert straight into Light mana. Then another idea popped into his head.

    In order to create Dark mana he just had to remove all of the light from his core. But, how would he accomplish that? It''s not like his core had a light switch. What if he just put the mana inside of an opaque box? Maybe that would work.

    So Alwin did just that. Within his Core, Alwin materialized a box similar to a cardboard box. Using a bucket he started to pour bucketloads of mana into the box until it was filled to the brim. After that, he sealed the box beyond air-tight, light-tight. Now that he thought about it, maybe air-tight was more impressive than light-tight. Anyway, the point still stands and he was not letting technicalities ruin the moment of this stroke of geniusness.

    Now came another problem. How was he going to look inside the box? Obviously, the light bulb had been stashed away in the place where his mental tools lived when not in use¡ªAlwin chose not to think about that too hard. Would exposure to the ambient light in his core turn the Dark mana back into Spirit mana? Did the mana even transform into Dark mana in the first place?

    To minimize exposure to the ambient light within his core, Alwin could only think of one solution: an even bigger box. Creating an even larger cardboard box, Alwin hopped his consciousness inside of it along with the smaller cardboard box containing the hopefully Dark mana. Fumbling through the dark, Alwin managed to unseal the smaller cardboard box. Now came another problem. He couldn''t see.

    Good thing, Alwin had another ingenious solution: the remote control! The remote control was summoned and through muscle memory alone, he felt his way to the settings buttons¡ªby him, Alwin meant the mental hands that he had materialized to help with the tasks. Alwin aimed the remote at the hopefully Dark mana and pressed the settings button. Alwin could hear a tiny ping, indicative that the settings menu had been opened up. Well, he still still lacked the ability to see, but that problem would be amended soon.

    Alwin sealed up the smaller box and unsealed the bigger box, giving him the glorious ability of sight once again¡ªhopefully, the remote didn''t require line of sight in order to function and that it was proximity-based. In front of him was a menu with a new option available to him. Instead of changing the settings, he had the ability to view the status of the object he was targeting. Selecting the option, Alwin could finally see whether any of his theories actually possessed merit.

    Mana

    Spirit: 90%

    Dark: 10%

    Status: Sprit Mana currently undergoing Dark Mana conversion.

    He had done it! Sort of! He had figured out how to create Dark Element mana. Did this have any bearing in helping him improve his Dark Tackle? Probably. Maybe. Alwin didn''t know. He simply got too distracted and ended up going down the rabbit hole of figuring out how to create Light and Dark mana.

    It would most definitely have future benefits. So, it wasn''t exactly a waste of time. Right now, however, was time to get back to the task at hand. Never mind the fact that putting mana inside a box with no light didn''t instantly convert everything inside of it to Dark Element mana, he would figure out that problem another time. Probably. Unless he got distracted again.

    Alwin smashed into the wooden training dummy again and again, each time trying to figure out what was going on inside his core. No matter what he did he still couldn''t understand how this ability worked. The only thing he knew was that he found himself surrounded by a tornado of black that rushed out of his core only to manifest as a cloak around him and then jettisoned him forward without giving him any say.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    There was only one conclusion that Alwin could draw from this short exercise: he had no idea what he was doing. Should he consult Milvus about how to actually improve his mastery over his Dark Tackle or should he continue to literally bash his head against the wooden training dummy countless times? The answer was obvious.

    Alwin continued to tackle the dummy countless times until finally, it happened. A single notification appeared in his vision.

    Skill Mastery Increased: Dark Tackle(E) ¡ú Dark Tackle(D)

    You''re saying that''s all he had to do? Just keep repeating the skill? Practice did make perfect, but Alwin didn''t expect it to be that easy. Time to try out another Dark Tackle. As always the mana from his mana pool turned dark before it rushed out of his core without a single command ordered by Alwin other than thinking, "I''m going to do a Dark Tackle now".

    There was a key difference this time around. Less mana was rushing out of his core. That''s a bad thing, right? Being forced to charge forward, Alwin crashed into the wooden training dummy. The amount of mana that was used had been reduced and yet the force of the impact had increased. The reason why he didn''t notice such a phenomenon the first time his Dark Tackle ranked up? Alwin wasn''t paying attention, but now he was. It seemed obvious in retrospect that improving the mastery of his skill would mean more damage dealt and less mana used, that was what happened each time his Spirit Blasts ranked up¡ªsort of.

    Whenever Alwin reached a new milestone in his Spirit Blasts or its variations, it was because of the result of all his hard work. That''s to say he managed to reduce the amount of time taken to cast the ability, increase its damage potential, and even use the bare minimum amount of mana required to perform the skill.

    So both skills had the same outcome, but Dark Tackle only achieved it by ranking up, while his other skills only accomplished it thanks to Alwin''s resourcefulness and hard work. Okay, technically his Dark Tackle was the result of hard work as well¡ªcontinuously utilizing the skill¡ªbut the amount of brainpower required to improve it was like a drop in the water compared to what it took to improve his Spirit Blasts and its variations.

    Thanks to him actually paying attention for once, Alwin could hypothesize another theory. The way species skills improved was by repetition while the way regular skills are improved was through gaining a better understanding of how the skill works. Now, Alwin may not know much about Adventurers and Cultivators, but he could sense some similarities between the way his skills improved and the way the Cultivators utilize the system. Species skills shared commonalities with Adventurers while regular skills shared similarities with how Cultivators grew stronger.

    Time to test out that theory. Alwin spent the rest of the day bashing his body against the wooden training dummy. Dark Tackle after Dark Tackle after Dark Tackle, to the point the words Dark Tackle were starting to lose their meaning. What was a Dark and what was a Tackle? Those were the only two words that his mouth uttered for the remainder of the day. Even at the cafeteria, when Uchronia asked¡ªit felt more like an interrogation¡ªfor a status update, the only thing he said was Dark Tackle. Of course, he didn''t actually launch himself at Uchronia, that would be foolish even for him.

    That night, Alwin''s dreams were populated with him performing Dark Tackle after Dark Tackle. Even in his dreams that blockhead wooden dummy refused to get destroyed. It felt more like a nightmare than a dream.

    Alwin woke up with a jolt as he was thrust into a situation where he had to tackle the wooden dummy in order to save his life. Turns out that was just his brain being stupid and playing tricks on him. That still didn''t stop him from performing the move and tackling the bed. His yells woke up the rest of his classmates, each one of them performing Uchronia''s trademarked glare as they were awoken by Alwin''s antics in the middle of the night¡ªUchronia should send a cease and desist letter so that everyone would stop glaring at him, he would even represent her as her lawyer if need be.

    "Shut up, Al-loser!" a voice came from the dark.

    Alwin didn''t need the lights on to tell him who was shouting at him¡ªthat''s because he hears with his ears and not his eyes, that would be weird. As always, it was that no-good Shadow Jellyfish. Today was the day where Alwin would test out a brand new comeback. Since his brain lacked the ability to voice out any word other than Dark Tackle, there was only one thing to do. Alwin stuck out his tongue and blew the dirtiest, wettest, sloppiest raspberry at Bion.

    That should shut him up and it did. There was actually no way for Alwin to tell because he fell asleep 0.1 seconds after he ran out of air to continue blowing raspberries. That way, Alwin would have the last laugh.

    The next few days consisted of Alwin practicing Dark Tackle and only Dark Tackle. Even Milvus'' lectures were about Dark Tackles. Okay, that was a lie, Alwin''s whole mind was just full of Dark Tackle and the only words he could comprehend were Dark Tackle. If that didn''t sound torturous this was what Alwin had to deal with during one of Milvus'' lectures.

    "Dark Tackle, Dark Tackle, Tackle Tackle, Dark Dark Dark, Dark Tackle."

    It was music to someone''s ears but definitely not to Alwin''s. Was this a detriment to his learning and may even impact his chances of being Valedictorian? Absolutely. At least, this time he didn''t have a say in the matter unless that say was ''Dark Tackle''. On the bright side, there were merits to his inadvertent madness.

    Skill Mastery Increased: Dark Tackle(D) ¡ú Dark Tackle(A)

    And no, it did not jump straight from rank D to rank A. He simply summarized it because Alwin was considerate like that. Right now, Alwin could call himself the proud owner of a rank A Dark Tackle. Did anything special happen when he hit ranked A? Nope, but Alwin did perform his signature victory dance. A jiggle to the left and a jiggle to the right, let your fats jiggle jiggle jiggle. Oh, and his Dark Tackle used less mana and dealt more damage if anyone found that important¡ªnot Alwin because he was only interested in watching letter go up.

    Now, to figure out that Yin-Yang Blast of his.

 Chapter 74: Turtle Spar

    New dawn, new day, and new skill to improve. Where was Alwin, well he was in class once again. Milvus, was being Milvus, and lecturing the class.

    "Remember class, spotting weaknesses in your opponent¡¯s defense, as well as understanding the terrain, is crucial when facing an equally matched human. You might follow your strategy to the letter, but eventually, you¡¯ll need to adjust to what the enemy is doing. Adaptation is the key to victory."

    Uchronia the Potted Sprout, also known as the previous teacher''s pet, was still paying attention in class. She jotted down notes with the help of her Spirit Hands, copying down diagrams that the triangular-tentacled monster had drawn on the whiteboard, even going so far as to use a ruler of all things! That was way too much effort for dear ole Alwin, freehand all the way baby! That¡¯s assuming Alwin was actually writing down notes. Newsflash, he wasn¡¯t.

    Every once in a white she would glare at Milvus, while muttering something under her breath. Alwin leaned in closer¡ªthey sat next to each other¡ªin an attempt to eavesdrop on her, his butt hanging off the side of the chair, while tilting where he assumed his ears were towards her mouth. Alwin even closed one eye and bit his tongue as if it would make him hear better¡ªit just very well might, don''t judge.

    "You might follow your strategy to the letter..." she whispered.

    Before he could eavesdrop further, Uchronia snapped her gaze to him. "What are you doing? Pay attention."

    Busted. Looks like Alwin''s super sneaky attempt to eavesdrop on her had been foiled. Maybe after he sorted out his Yin-Yang Blast he would find a skill that would make eavesdropping easier. Maybe something like how the black-armored goblin could dive into the shadows. Yes, that would be perfect. He would hide amongst the shadows while he eavesdropped on people talking to him. Also, Uchronia was reciting what Milvus was saying for some odd reason¡ªmust be a teacher''s pet thing.

    Gus, the Fluffpaw, was focusing in class in his own way. After every sentence, he would reward himself with a muffin. Now, he didn''t even require the use of Spirit Hands, he had two large paws to do the job. They would pull muffins out of seemingly nowhere, and shove it into his mouth.It''s been a while since Alwin brought this up, but where the flippity flapjacks was he hiding those muffins\? Seriously! It felt good to relive the past.

    The rest of the class were paying attention in their own ways. Brie and Bion were stuck together by the hip, not like Bion had a choice. Brie the Metalball had shifted their desks together and sat on one of his many tentacles, preventing him from even thinking of leaving her behind again. With no other choice, Bion had to live with a living ball of metal nuzzling up against his Shadow Jellyfish cap as he tried to pay attention in class and take down notes as well¡ªthat no good bonehead was actually a decent student, curse him.

    Tess the Lotus Turtle and Galeo the Finclaw chucked balls of paper at each other when they thought Milvus wasn''t looking, but he was always looking. Milvus always knows. Don''t ask Alwin how he knew that. Also there were balls of crumbled paper on the floor of their desk after every lesson, which may or may not have played a part in Milvus figuring out what was going on. Only a master of observation could deduce what had transpired behind his back!

    Flintlock the Powder Chimp, was taking notes as well, but he used his tail to grip a pencil to write down everything. While his tail was occupied with enriching his knowledge, he was presumably working on his dexterity¡ªeither that or Flintlock needed to do something with his hands to keep him stimulated. With both of his monkey hands outstretched he rolled bullets between his knuckles. Why bullets? It''s because this was the monster who could summon a Gun of all things.

    Deb the Piggy Bank had her routine down pat. She''d ¡°borrow¡± everyone''s notes after class, make photocopies, and select the best ones for herself. The rest she''d distribute to anyone who hadn''t been paying attention¡ªwhich, Alwin realized, probably meant him.

    In other words, after class today, Alwin would wait for Deb to finish sorting through all of the notes before he received a copy that he could use for his revision. That¡¯s assuming he ever revises. Now, Alwin still wanted to be Valedictorian, but since the first year''s exam was a practical one where they had to kill humans, he would just practice in the simulation room¡ªassuming he ever found time to find it inside of the library and actually take on the library challenge.

    "Okay, class. Remember to get some practice in this afternoon, as always I''ll be available for any consultations," said Milvus.

    Just like that morning lectures were over and Alwin had paid attention to it in his own unique way. As always it was true the power of multitasking that allowed him to pay attention to Milvus'' lectures while also paying attention to his classmates'' actions. Of course, there were some classmates that Alwin had not actually listed down, but that''s because they were too boring! Simple as that.

    "Hey, Alwin," a voice said. It was a girl''s voice, but it wasn''t the girl Alwin that may or may not be secretly afraid of¡ªalthough the hint of plant aftertones in her voice did send a shiver right through the split between the dark and light side of him. It was Tess the Lotus Turtle.

    "Oh, hey."

    "Oh, you can finally talk. I''ve been trying to get your attention the past couple of days but you kept mumbling something about a Dark Tackle?"

    "That wasn''t me, that was my twin brother." It was in fact Alwin who had succumbed to the Dark Tackle repetition disease¡ªalso he had no twin brother and everyone knew that, so... yeah.

    "Right... anyway, I wanted your help with something."

    "With what? Also, could you just spell it out earlier without me having to prompt you?"

    "Sparring practice. I''m trying to improve my Core Skill."

    "Why me? Is it because you like me?" Alwin flashed her a half black and half white smile, while giving her a wink.

    "Well, I like you better than Galeo and only in a platonic way. If you do anything, I will whack you. Reason is, as far as I can tell, you''re the only monster who has an attack that goes¡ª" Tess raised her stubby little turtle arms up as she yelled out ''boom!'' with the utmost enthusiasm.

    "Boom? You mean my Yin-Yang Blast?"

    "The move that you used on Bion near the end. I want to practice against that move. Blocking bullets had kind of gotten boring."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    "Hey now, I''m standin'' right here," said Flintlock.

    "Sorry, Flinty. I didn''t mean it that way."

    "Well, if I ever get the itch for some target practice, you best believe you ain''t sayin'' no," he said, before sauntering outta the class to rustle up some grub.

    "So, are you up for it?" Tess asked, turning back to Alwin.

    "Now? What about lunch?" He glanced longingly toward the door.

    "Not hungry. Unless you are?"

    He hesitated. "No, but I was thinking of being lazy for a bit."

    She sighed. "I''ve waited long enough. Last thing I want is Galeo surpassing me. Come on."

    Alwin put on his biggest frown and largest puppy dog eyes as he sniffled behind Tess, who led the way to the far corner of the classroom. As she placed her hand close to the wall, a handle appeared right in front of her hand. Pushing down on the handle revealed a door so flush with the wall you wouldn''t think there was something there. Finally they were in that white room also known as the sparring room.

    As Alwin stepped inside the sparring room, a thought dawned on him. He never actually said ''yes'' and simply went along with what Tess said. All those days of being bossed around by Uchronia had conditioned him to follow orders. Damn that Uchronia was good. With just a word, she might be able alter his goals. But, no! Alwin wasn''t going to allow that! He was going to break her programming. From now on, he was in charge of his life and wouldn''t be under the behest of anyone.

    "Are you okay?" asked Tess.

    "Yea. Why?" said Alwin.

    "Your face was getting all scrunched up and weird. I thought something had happened."

    Curse that subconscious need to move his face about whenever he was deep in thought also curse his conscious self for not allocating enough brainpower to suppress the subconscious side of him.

    "Nope, nothing. Let''s start."

    Right now he would be the one in charge. That''s why he initiated the fight. Never mind the fact that he had already been suckered into a sparring session and that any sense of agency had been lost. Also, it was a good excuse to train his Yin-Yang Blast. Wait. How did she know that Alwin wanted to improve his Yin-Yang Blast? Was she a mind reader!

    Testing, testing. Get it? Tess-ting? Tess, can you hear me? If you can, I''m about to launch a Yin-Yang Blast at you right now. If not... good luck. Actually scratch that, I''m saving the good luck for myself. Bad, bad, bad luck for you.

    Alwin prepared the Yin-Yang Blast. There wasn''t much conscious preparation that he had to do. Just the intent to launch a Yin-Yang Blast caused the mana in his core to move on its own. Once again, two streams of mana began to flow upward from his mana pool. One side began to turn bright white while the other became darker than black. The two strands of mana compressed down into spheres without the help of any mental hands before they jettisoned themselves out of his core.

    The dual spheres of mana manifested itself in front of Alwin and launched straight at Tess. The white and black balls of mana orbited around each other as they traversed the white sparring room, the white sphere blending in with the background that it was almost impossible to see.

    "This is what I''ve been waiting for."

    Tess called on her Core Skill: Impenetrable Shield. A steel tower shield materialized in the air right in front of her. The shield had grown¡ªnot in the physical sense. The once plain shield with a muted gray finish now boasted a giant golden starfruit emblazoned in the center of the shield. It slammed down on the ground stopping the incoming Yin-Yang Blast. The skill collided with the shield causing an explosion that formed into a cloud of black and white particles in the shape of the Yin-Yang symbol.

    That darn shield. Looks like Alwin had found a new rival in case his old rival called it quits on him¡ªstupid wooden dummy. Alwin launched blast after blast at Tess. Each time, through some mental connection of sorts, she telekinetically moved her tower shield to intercept all of his blasts.

    Blast from the front, blast from the back, blast from her two sides. Each one exploded against the tower shield rather than Tess herself. As the explosion cleared the only difference was that the gold starfruit in the center had lost some of its shine. There were no cracks, or other marks on the shield. This was not what Alwin had hoped. Annoying Impenetrable Shield.

    Good thing, Alwin was a smart slime with a smart plan. Alwin summoned out his Spirit Hands, garnering a weird look from Tess¡ªfurrowed eyebrows, eyes squinting at him, you know the drill. As per usual, they lined up and tossed Alwin at high speeds straight towards Tess. Using that telekinetic connection with her shield, she placed it between her and Alwin, defending her.

    Alwin knew this was coming the moment he hit the steel wall with a wet splat. His body spread across the shield like an inkblot before snapping back together into his usual blobby form. Darkness shrouded his body, obscuring even the light half of himself. The Dark Tackle forced himself forward, and with a twist, he angled himself just right¡ªperpendicular to the shield¡ªslipping around its edge.

    Tess readjusted the positioning of her shield, but Alwin was too fast. His Dark Tackle blasted past the shield, his body leaving a trail of black. Pivoting on his backside, he whipped around to face her again. Another burst of Dark Tackle sent him rocketing toward Tess, his body a speeding bullet of darkness and Tess was his target.

    "Dude, we''re supposed to be practicing against that blast!" Tess shouted in a panic.

    As Alwin was closing in, she sealed her eyes tight. Yes! Tess was afraid of the all mighty Alwin. The lotus leaf on her back that also doubled as her shell began to grow in size, engulfing her completely¡ªLotus Leaf Shield if Alwin heard correctly. He crashed into the giant leaf shield, shredding through it, spreading plant bits everywhere as if it was the lawn and he was the lawn mower. The Lotus Leaf Shield consumed his momentum, finally bringing him to a stop right in her face. Well, this was awkward.

    "Hey," he said.

    "Don''t ''hey'' me. If I wanted to deal with melee attacks I would''ve recruited Gus not you. Now get back there!" Tess shouted.

    The giant lotus leaf began to shrink back to its normal size, the part where Alwin had shredded through hadn''t grown back, leaving Tess with an Alwin shaped hole eaten out of her lotus leaf shell, except scaled downwards of course.

    "Great and you ruined my shell," she grumbled, feeling the hole where leafy greens should have inhabited.

    "Sorry?"

    "You better be, now get back over there and only use that black and white blast."

    Alwin sulked all the way back to the other side of the sparring room. Why was it always Gus? Alwin could be a great melee attacker if he wanted to, but he didn''t. Shooting blasts of magic was way cooler than tackling, clawing, or kicking. There were only so many variations before it got boring.

    He''d show Tess not to mess with him. Alwin squinted his eyes, making sure that Tess got a good look at his look of disapproval. He had his head held up high, face pointed at the ceiling, as he let out a ''hmph''. Tess didn''t hear it. So, Alwin in his infinite wisdom, let out an even louder and sharper ''hmph!'', just so she would get the hint.

    "Can we just start?" Tess said, shaking her head.

    Why were all the girls here so mean? It made Alwin turn his big defiant smile upside down. If it''s a blast she wants, then it''s a blast she''ll get. Alwin launched multitudes of Yin-Yang Blasts at Tess. Each one exploding into the Yin-Yang symbol as they clashed with that tower shield of hers. Each blast only served to tarnish the gold on the starfruit of her shield.

    If Alwin couldn''t destroy the shield, he just had to find a way to by-pass it. He circled around her, running laps as he shot Yin-Yang Blast after Yin-Yang Blast at her. She would maneuver the shield to block. This was getting frustrating. Blast after blast was blocked and Alwin had to come up with a strategy to defeat her. But, he''d do that tomorrow because after one whole day of blasting Tess, Alwin was exhausted while Tess was none the worse for wear. Hey, at least he had made some progress.

    Skill Mastery Increased: Yin-Yang Blast(F) ¡ú Yin-Yang Blast(E)

 Chapter 75: Turtle Beater

    A Yin-Yang Blast here, a Yin-Yang Blast there, a Yin-Yang Blast everywhere. Explosions of Yin-Yang symbols showered the sparring room, as Alwin attempted to blast away Tess and that stupid impenetrable shield. A Yin-Yang Blast above her, a Yin-Yang Blast to the left of her, and a Yin-Yang Blast to the right of her, all simultaneously burst into that iconic Yin-Yang symbol.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t strong enough to tunnel underneath the sparring room so that he could lay a blast for her right there. It would have been a special quad Yin-Yang Blast for her, but tri was his max¡ªif Tess could fly it would''ve been a quad. Actually, it was a good thing Tess couldn''t fly because attempting to hit her would have been an even larger pain in the posterior.

    Anyway, Alwin had spent the next few days blasting away at Tess, while she maneuvered that darn Impenetrable Shield of hers to intercept each and every one of his blasts¡ªexcept for the last few blasts. Alwin had gotten bored and decided to spend one round practicing for his backup fireworks job in case he couldn''t cut it as a human hunter. Maybe he should have a backup plan in case that backup fireworks launcher job didn''t pan out as well. What else was he good at? Writing tales of his daydreams might end up as a lucrative profession¡ªjust maybe.

    Now that he got that fun blast out of his system and definitely not because Tess was furrowing those leafy green eyebrows of hers at him, it was time to get back to blasting the crap out of that Lotus Turtle and segue into a little rundown into what Alwin had been up to the past few days.

    Other than the obvious battle against his eyelids as Milvus went on and on about the Art of Ambushes¡ªsomething that Alwin practiced firsthand inside all of those bushes in the Forest of Beginnings¡ªhe had also been sparring against Tess in the afternoons. No idea where Gus ran off to in the afternoon because the training grounds classroom was Fluffpaw free. Okay, Alwin did have an inkling about where the food-obsessed monster may have run off to. That slacker! At least there was less competition for the coveted Valedictorian position.

    Speaking of Valedictorian, Uchronia was the current forerunner for Valedictorian with Alwin being the second contender¡ªprobably. Alwin wasn''t exactly keeping track of who was gunning for that position neither was he keeping track of his classmates'' capabilities. He may have lost the battle of information but the war wasn''t over yet!

    After that quick sidetrack into what his squad mates have been up to, it was back to Alwin detailing what had transpired throughout his sparring sessions with Tess. The benefit of using Yin-Yang Blast and only Yin-Yang Blast non-stop for the past few days meant that he had a source of dopamine being injected straight into that gelatinous body of his each time his mastery over the skill increased. Just imagine this.

    Ding!

    Skill Mastery Increased: Yin-Yang Blast(E) ¡ú Yin-Yang Blast(D)

    Ding!

    Skill Mastery Increased: Yin-Yang Blast(D) ¡ú Yin-Yang Blast(C)

    Ding!

    Skill Mastery Increased: Yin-Yang Blast(C) ¡ú Yin-Yang Blast(B)

    Ding!

    Skill Mastery Increased: Yin-Yang Blast(B) ¡ú Yin-Yang Blast(A)

    In a matter of days, he had increased his mastery of his Yin-Yang Blast all the way to an A-Rank. That all came with the added bonus of reduced mana usage, increased damage, and more refined control. The best part? The fact that it was a species skill meant that each time his mastery over the skill increased he gained an innate understanding of it. No need to think about the best practices to craft it or how to dry it faster¡ªlousy paper mache. Nope, he just had to will it and there she blows!

    Back to the fight! Today was the day he would land a blow on Tess, he could feel it in his jiggly jelly slimy body¡ªeither that or the Taco Supreme Crunch he had for lunch wasn''t agreeing with him. Alwin''s control over his Yin-Yang Blast had soared by leaps and bounds. Here''s an example.

    Alwin used the skill, the mana in his Core forming into two identical orbs of light and dark mana. They orbited around each other as they left his core, manifesting right in front of him. No longer did they fly straight towards Tess¡ªthey could if Alwin willed it so, but that wasn''t the plan¡ªthey curved towards her right.

    Of course, if the plan was to defeat Tess by simply throwing a curveball, that would have been a horrible plan even by Alwin''s standards. That''s why he threw two curved balls! Another Yin-Yang Blast manifested in front of him, this time curving towards her left.

    Now one might wonder, couldn''t Tess move her shield to block the first blast then move it again to block the second incoming blast. For those who thought of that, well so did Alwin¡ªokay he lied, he had tried that before and it failed so hard that the Yin-Yang explosions created by slamming into that shield of hers felt like they were celebrating Tess'' brilliance and his idiocy.

    But that was in the past, now his control over his Yin-Yang Blast had risen to such a degree that he could modify its launch velocity. The first Yin-Yang Blast traveled slower than his regular ones while the second traveled at a much faster pace. In the end they were both going to collide with Tess at the same time. A genius move by a genius slime.

    Tess turned her head back and forth, examining the incoming blasts that spelled her demise. She moved to the left. She moved to the left! That simple move ensured that both blasts wouldn''t hit her at the same time. Moving her shield, she placed it right in front of her, blocking the first projectile that erupted into a brilliant blaze of Yin and Yang. She followed up by moving her shield behind her to block the second blast that once again celebrated her geniusness and mocked Alwin''s intelligence.Stolen story; please report.

    Back to the drawing board. You know what? Screw that jazz. Time to default to his usual plan¡ªoverwhelm his enemy with blasts. Planning was not in Alwin''s blood. No matter how much he wanted it to be, all of his attack strategies almost always failed. That''s why he was giving up on coming up with a better plan. From now on he would work on the ''overwhelming'' part of ''overwhelm his enemy with blasts''. To do that he needed a greater arsenal at his disposal and to do that he needed more skills and to get more skills he would dive into the library¡ªand maybe he would go read a book or something because there were way too many ''ands'' in that sentence.

    Although he did say he was going to overwhelm her with blasts that didn''t mean that it''d have to be boring for him. No. Alwin was going to go for style points. Alwin launched two Yin-Yang Blasts at Tess again, both of them curving towards her, going to blast her at the same time¡ªthat''s if she didn''t move, but we all knew she was going to. That''s why Alwin launched a third Yin-Yang Blast into the air, before it started to curve downwards right where Tess currently stood.

    Then Tess the Lotus Turtle performed an even more devastating move. She walked forward! The three blasts all exploded at the same time behind her, forming three perfect Yin-Yang symbols, as she walked forward slowly. Her lotus leaf shell fluttered back as the wind from the explosion pushed it forward. Dammit all! Alwin had accidentally given Tess a cool girl moment. If she was wearing sunglasses, it would have caused Alwin to give up right there just from how cool she looked.

    Alwin continued to launch three curving Yin-Yang Blasts at Tess, each one arcing towards her and exploding at where she stood. Unfortunately for him, she just walked out of the way, not even bothering to use her shield this time around. At least block it! Each time she dodged out of the way¡ªby walking¡ªAlwin felt his ego being bruised, battered, and beaten until all that remained was a crumpled piece of paper that served as his confidence.

    Tess was playing him for a fool, a laughingstock, a¡ªyou get the gist of it¡ªbecause she didn''t even bother to raise her shield. It wasn''t a fast walk or even a quick jog, it was a casual walk like she was walking down the street and not evading imminent danger.

    Good thing he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. If those failed, then he would truly overwhelm her with blasts. The special thing about the Yin-Yang Blast was that it was actually two separate blasts that when mixed together formed a large explosion in the shape of the Yin-Yang symbol.

    The even more special thing about Alwin is that he inadvertently became a blasts specialist. Alwin threw out another three Yin-Yang Blasts, but these ones were different. The white and black orbs no longer orbited around each other¡ªokay they still orbited around each other, but Alwin had increased the orbital distance between them. Three black yin orbs curved to the right, while three white yang orbs curved to the left, hurtling towards Tess'' current location.

    As always, Tess simply walked forward past the blast''s point of convergence, not even bothering to look back. But this time the blasts were different. It wasn''t three simultaneous explosions. It was one big one! The three black yin orbs merged into one large black orb while the white yang orbs formed into an equally large white sphere. The two orbs crashed into each, forming a ginormous Yin-Yang symbol, three times the size of a regular one.

    Tess didn''t walk fast enough, the resulting explosion expanded to the point where Tess'' behind was on the fringe of the black half of the Yang symbol. She yelled out in pain, while Alwin shouted out a triumphant ''yes!'', as he finally landed a hit on her.

    "Nice shot," Tess said, shaking her tail to get rid of the smoke and the burning black embers. "Here I thought I wasn''t going to get any more practice out of you."

    "You thought wrong. Now, I''m going to destroy that shield of yours."

    "I''d like to see you try."

    Alwin began to launch his Yin-Yang Blast at Tess, separating the Yin and the Yang side of his blasts. They coalesced into two gigantic spheres much larger than the one from before. Black yin orb curving on the right, white yang orb curving on the right. Alwin had lost count of how many Yin-Yang blasts he had separated to form those two gigantic black and white spheres traveling towards Tess.

    Tess stared wide-eyed at the sight before her, two ginormous blasts heading her way. She was running away and Alwin couldn''t blame her. He was already hightailing it out of the sparring room, his body jiggling with every hop he took¡ªhe might have overdone it. Tess was running as fast as a turtle could¡ªwhich was surprisingly fast. Here Alwin thought she''d be as slow as molasses but she was just as fast as him. Did that mean Alwin was slow? He looked at her, scrutinizing her every step, grayish legs pounding against the pristine white floor as she ran out of the room.

    They stood at the doorway, heads peeking into the sparring, garnering the attention of the rest of their classmates who were wondering what they were doing. Right now, they weren''t the focus. The two enormous orbs were seconds away from crashing into each other. It was almost time to test out Tess'' Impenetrable Shield.

    The two orbs collided with each other, creating an explosion that shook the very room that they stood in. Blasts of wind gushed out of the open door, blowing back both Alwin and Tess. While the rest of the class covered their ears from the resounding shockwave. Once everything had stopped shaking and his ears had stopped ringing, Alwin finally rolled himself right side up. The same couldn''t be said for Tess. She was stuck upside down, legs flailing as she tried to rock herself right side up.

    Alwin, ever the gentleman, summoned his Spirit Hands to roll her back up. In any other circumstance, he would have waited for a ''thanks'' to boost his ego, but right now he wanted nothing more than to discover the fate of Tess'' shield. He hopped his way back into the sparring room, along with Tess leading the rest of his classmates who were curious about the cause of the explosion.

    The sparring room was as pristine as ever. As if a gigantic explosion that literally shook the room and blew them away had never occurred. Standing in the middle of the room was Tess'' shield. Well, half of it. The top half of the shield had exploded off. Singe marks marred the edge of the shield that had been separated. YES! Alwin was stronger than that Impenetrable Shield¡ªgranted that it took almost all of his mana and required his opponent to stand very still.

    "You actually broke my shield?" Tess screamed.

    "Of course," Alwin replied, a smug expression forming on his gelatinous body as he started to do his victory dance. A jiggle to the left and a jiggle to the right. Ripples formed on his slimy body with every shake of his blobby form.

    With that Alwin had completed what he had set out to do, destroy Tess'' shield. Maybe he could finally destroy that blasted wooden dummy once and for all. Or maybe he should take a nap after using up nearly all of his mana. Okay, nap first then destroy his arch foe.

    As Alwin walked out of the training ground classroom, his whole worldview shifted. Blurs filled his vision for a split second before he found himself in another white room. No, it wasn''t the sparring room, because that room had the spell of body odor mixed with the charred smell that accompanied his Yin-Yang Blast. This room smelled like chocolate cake.

    That could only mean one thing. Lapis

 Chapter 76: Devolution

    Alwin spun around on his read, doing his best impression of a spinning top as he scanned the endless white room for that giant floating crystal also known as Lapis. All he saw was white, white, and more white. Oh, and two of her drones near the room''s exit holding onto a banner that said ''Come outside. Grand Student of mine.''

    Following the instructions, Alwin hopped over towards the exit, taking extra care to nudge the bottom of the banner with the top of his head when he hopped under it. The drones, upon sensing Alwin''s intentions, floated up an inch higher so that the only thing that would take a hit was Alwin''s ego. Stupid drones, making him look bad.

    Stepping out of the white room, Alwin entered Lapis''s lab. Bookshelves filled with books and smears of what Alwin could only hope were cake batter smeared along their spines. At her bench strewn with all sorts of glass funnels, test tubes, and bottles containing who knows what, there floated Lapis. Her Spirit Hands were whisking away at a white substance inside a glass bowl. Alwin wasn''t going to get fooled again, he knew better than to fall for Lapis'' tricks twice. She was making cake! Not some super mystical potion. Now there was nothing she could do to embarrass him!

    "Oh, slime boy. Good for you to join me." Lapis hovered towards Alwin, letting a drone take her place and command the whisking Spirit Hands. "Well, not really. I teleported you here so you didn''t really have a choice. And remember it''s proprietary magic so I can''t share with you the deets, but you probably don''t have enough mana to use it anyway. So how''s life? Doing good? Evolution treating you well? Milvee still being a bad teacher? Wait, since I taught him wouldn''t that mean I''m a bad teacher? Doesn''t matter, I taught him magic, not the magic of teaching. Anyway, I bet you''re wondering why I brought you here."

    Lapis paused her speech as if she was goading Alwin to confirm her suspicions.

    "Well?" Lapis said.

    "I thought you didn''t want to be prompted?" asked Alwin. "Didn''t you say it''s a waste of time or something like that?"

    "Yeah, but I changed my mind. Go on, ask me why I brought you here."

    With all of his might, Alwin had to resist the urge to follow in Uchronia''s footsteps¡ªrolling his eyes. He could bite his tongue to prevent him from saying something that he would regret, but he couldn''t exactly bite his eyeballs to stop them from rolling. That''s why there was only one solution he could think of. Alwin closed his eyes.

    "So why did you bring me here?"

    "Well, I''m glad you asked." The pair of Spirit Hands in charge of whisking that sticky white substance dropped the whisk in its hands just to clap, before resuming its duties. "I brought you here today because it''s experiment day! Or experiment week depending on how fast you learn."

    "Experiment? Learn?" asked Alwin. Was it time to evolve again?

    "You''re learning! I didn''t even have to prompt you to prompt me this time. Before I tell you what you''re doing I have to give you some context. Don''t want me to say something then you don''t understand it, but you just keep nodding along too afraid to ask a question in case you think that I think that you''re dumb, then you end up wasting time not knowing what to do while you panic internally, until you eventually give in and ask me, then you realized that it was actually a quick fix and that one minute of asking could''ve saved you ten hours of work."

    Was Lapis talking about him? How did she know that he didn''t like asking questions and would rather ''spend'' time figuring out a solution on his own. It worked for his species skill, not so much for his Core skill, although he did ask about his Core skill multiple times and he still hadn''t found a resolution for it yet.

    "To cut a long story short, actually, it''s still the same length but split into smaller easy-to-digest segments that give the illusion that it''s short. That little meeting I had a few days ago was a resounding success. I received more funding and sadly more work to do. Now, I have to figure out whether certain elemental essence truly affect your evolution. I mean that''s what everyone''s been assuming and for the most part, it kinda works, but you know they need proofs and papers and publications and whatnot. Publish or perish as they say."

    "What does this have to do with me?"

    "You''re getting good at this. You, my friend, are the perfect guinea pig. You''ve already learnt that Refinement technique and luckily for you I''ve figured out a way to refine the Refinement. Also, I''m assuming that Core Skill of yours would come in handy. You know, devolve then evolve, then devolve and evolve again. You get the picture. So have you tried it out yet?"

    "You saw it yourself, there''s a meter just like evolution," said Alwin.

    "I know, but have you actually tried to use the skill yet? Maybe the counter just allows you to access newer forms? Or since its devolution is it considered older forms? Whatever, semantics aren''t my specialty."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Alwin opened his mouth to speak up and shut Lapis'' idea down when he realized that he never actually did try to devolve after he first evolved. On the off chance that Lapis was right, that would be another blow to his ego. His incompetency would be highlighted for the world to see¡ªthis was definitely not Alwin overreacting.

    "Before I answer, can I go to the bathroom first?"

    "Sure. Drones, lead our young guest to the bathroom."

    Two drones came flying down from the stairs that connected Lapis'' lab to the upstairs cafe. They picked Alwin up and chauffeured him to a door with a sign that said, ''It''s business time.'' Drone number one opened the door and lifted up the toilet lid while drone number two placed him down on the floor before both of them closed the door behind them.

    The bathroom was a bathroom¡ªwhat a shocker. It had a toilet bowl, shower, floor mat, sink, and a cabinet above it that doubled as a mirror. All in all, it was a standard home bathroom. Time for Alwin to get down to business, he was going to relieve himself¡ªnot expelling any waste. Alwin was going to relieve himself of the burden of not knowing whether he could use his Core Skill or not.

    There was only one problem. How did he even use his Core Skill? If it didn''t work was it because he didn''t know how to activate it or was it because he hadn''t fulfilled any requirements yet? Was Alwin overthinking things as per usual? Absolutely. He just had to go about it the same way he went about his species skill. Simply think of activating the skill and let his core do the rest.

    First, Alwin had to sit on the toilet seat, that was the only position where he could see himself in the mirror¡ªstupid short monster problems. Alwin closed his eyes, repeating the words devolve inside his mind. Nothing was happening. Alwin squeezed his eyelids even harder, wrinkles forming on his face as he scrunched it. To any would-be onlookers, they would assume Alwin was having a bowel movement so intense that even air fresheners were useless.

    Still, Alwin continued to chant the words, ''Devolve, devolve, devolve,'' in his mind. Even going so far as to start saying it out loud. Nothing happened. This can''t be right. Looks like Alwin was right and Lapis was wrong. Take that grand teacher! No, it is not weird to bash his grand teacher inside his head when she was just trying to help, and, no, Alwin did not have any issues.

    It was then that Alwin realized he had made a grave error. The name of his Core Skill wasn''t called Devolve. It was called Devolution. Alwin attacked the wall with his face. No one could ever know about this slip-up. Time to bury this memory into the deepest recesses of his mind, so deep that not even mind readers would be able to find it. On an unrelated note, Alwin was still convinced that someone somewhere out there was peeping into his mind every once in a while. Was it paranoia? Maybe. Was he going to continue down this train of thought? Nope, he was getting off at this station.

    "Devolution."

    A flash of light consumed the room blinding Alwin because like the idiot he was, he was staring right at the mirror that was shooting all of the rays of light back at him.

    Alwin couldn''t see, but he could feel. He could feel himself shrinking, not much, just a tad bit. After the light died down, Alwin still had to wait just a little bit longer for the black spots that consumed his vision to dissipate before he could actually see.

    Wait, wait, waiting. Most of the black spots had finally disappeared, except for one. One large black spot that dominated his vision still hadn''t vanished yet. Odd. Was he going to blind? Alwin blinked his eyes, fluttering those eyelids of his up and down, giving them the workout of a lifetime. But, still, there was one giant black dot in the center of his vision that refused to disappear. There was something even more peculiar. That black spot was blinking as well.

    Oh.

    Let''s just ignore the last few paragraphs and pretend that Alwin wasn''t an idiot. After the light died down, and the black spots that consumed his vision had finally dissipated, there was one final black spot far larger than the rest. Except that this wasn''t any black spot, that was Alwin looking at himself in the mirror.

    Success!

    Gone was his half-dark and half-light form, he had regressed back into a Dark Slime. Now one small teensy-weensy problem. Was he stuck like this?

    Alwin cleared his throat making sure that he and whoever deemed it necessary to shout out the name of their skills could hear him crystal clear.

    "Devolution."

    Nothing happened.

    Drats, this was bad.

    "Evolution? Evolve?"

    Nothing happened. Again.

    Alwin only had one last idea in mind. Let''s hope this works.

    "Noituloved." That was Devolution backwards.

    Another flash of light consumed his vision and this time, Alwin was smart enough to close his eyes instead of staring. He could feel his body expanding back to its original size. As he grew, Alwin shoved away the idea of debating which was his original size¡ªhis Dark Slime form or his Yin-Yang Slime form¡ªafter all it depends on context.

    Opening his eyes, Alwin found himself staring at his half-light and half-dark bulbous body. It was a sight for sore eyes and a huge relief like a ginormous burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Alwin had finally used his Core Skill! If Lapis asked why he took so long, he could just say that he had a lot to let go and technically he wasn''t wrong.

    Hopping off the toilet seat and remembering to flush, so that the drones who were undoubtedly standing guard outside the bathroom wouldn''t ask too many questions, he finally exited the room. The two drones escorted Alwin back to Lapis who had once again taken charge of the Spirit Hands who were whisking away at the thick white substance that filled the glass bowl. They flew back up the stairs to fulfill whatever duties that Lapis had tasked them with while a third drone took over the whisking station once again.

    "You know, slime boy, I''m disappointed in you."

    "What? Why?"

    Did she catch on that Alwin had only thought about trying out his Core Skill less than five minutes ago? Was she disappointed that her grand student was such an incompetent buffoon? What was it? Spell it out, woman!

    Lapis shook her diamond-shaped crystal body because it was also her head. "The drones didn''t hear you wash your hands."

 Chapter 77: Lapis Sob Story

    Alwin stared wide-eyed at Lapis. She was spying on him! What sort of psychopath listens in on kids using a bathroom? This was absurd! This was madness! This was a violation of his privacy! This paragraph had a lot of exclamation marks!

    "Why are you watching me use the toilet?"

    "I wasn''t. When I built this cafe, I envisioned it as the paradigm of cleanliness and hygiene. The most common cause of an unsanitary kitchen is employees not washing their hands, so I put in little sensors on the tap thingies to track whether they washed their hands. The second most common cause of an unsanitary kitchen is having employees. So I fired them all and replaced them with a bunch of mini-me! Or drones for short. Also, if you find out where I''m going with this let me know because I lost my train of thought."

    "We were talking about why you were spying on me!" Alwin shouted. Who knew he could get so upset over something like this? Well, it was a serious issue that warranted such a reaction. Let''s hear Lapis'' responses.

    "Oh right, yeah. It''s a prank, little grand student slime boy. I just wanted to say that to freak you out. The sensors are in all the taps and since you got no hands to wash they always go off. I trigger it all the time. Now back to the matter at hand." Lapis turned around and started hovering back and forth, a pair of Spirit Hands¡ªwhere did those come from¡ªmaterialized across her back as she paced back and forth. "What were we talking about? I don''t remember."

    Looks like Alwin had competition for the most oblivious monster. Was that even a contest he wanted to win? Shoving that thought aside, of course, he remembered! Partially! Alwin only remembered the part where she asked him whether he could use that Devolution skill of his, that was the whole reason he went to the bathroom in the first place.

    "I¡ª"

    "It''s okay. Drones, remind me what I was talking about."

    A drone flew up to Lapis'' side. It was presumably whispering, but all Alwin saw was a tiny floating crystal next to a large floating crystal, with the large floating crystal punctuating the silence with a staccato of, "Yes, uh huh, and go on."

    "Alright," said Lapis, "Just for the record, I''m not stupid. I just have a lot of things on my mind. To recap, I need to conduct more experiments using you. I found a way to refine the Refinement technique, and I asked you about that Core Skill of yours. You know, this whole conversation has been really inefficient. So many words, but so little done. Maybe I''ve been hanging around those Council members way too much."

    "Maybe you just talk too much."

    "You think so too," Lapis sighed. "I can''t help it, it''s just me. Truth was I didn''t fire my employees, they just got so annoyed about my blabbering that they just left. It sucks. It was tough to run a cafe all by myself and even tougher not having anyone to talk to. At least something good came out of it." Lapis turned to face the drone that was in charge of the Spirit Hands still whisking away at the thick creamy substance¡ªwhy didn''t she just buy a mixer?

    If Lapis had a face there would be no doubt that a huge frown was etched onto it. Alwin didn''t know what to say, but he did know what to feel. If it wasn''t obvious, Alwin felt bad. Really, really, really bad.

    "I didn''t mean it badly. It''s not bad that you talk too much, I was just pointing out the facts. I like the fact that you talk so much. I really enjoy it. It makes me smile listening to you ramble on about... stuff." Alwin put on his widest smile showing off his half black and half white teeth.

    "You''re a good grand student, slime boy." A Spirit Hand materialized in front of him to pat him on his head before it disappeared into a shimmer of magical particles¡ªAlwin had figured out where those hands were coming from, she was simply Silent Casting.

    "I love your talking, but what if whenever you start going on a tangent I say something and you get back on track." That smile of his was so wide, the sides of his lips were starting to crack. Or maybe that was because he just had really dry lips.

    "I like it. You''re a really nice little grand student of mine. Now let''s get back to talking because I think I wasted a lot of time! So... can you devolve yet?"

    Alwin gave her a wink before activating his Core Skill, another flash of light consumed the dark and dust-filled lab. When the light subsided, gone was Alwin the Yin-Yang Slime, and in his place was Alwin the Dark Slime. Some might even say he was half the slime he used to be.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    "Awesome! Seems useless for fighting but you''ll be the perfect lil guinea pig for my evolution experiments. Here I thought I was going to have to find random first-year recruits, teach them the Refinement technique, evolve them, then go find even more first-year recruits then rinse and repeat. Do you know how much time that''ll take? Lucky for me, I have you. Did you know that¡ª"

    "Tangent."

    "Right, right. Anyway, can you show me your status?"

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Dark Slime (Tier 1)

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Species Skills: Dark Tackle (A), Yin-Yang Blast (A)

    Skills: Spirit Hands (B), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (A), Spirit Scatter Blast (A), Spirit Burst Blast (A), Spirit Feet (F), Refinement (F)

    Evolution: 3/100

    This was the first time that Alwin had seen his new-old status or was it his old-new status? Either way, this was the first time he had seen it and boy did it look sad. A two-and-a-half-month-old monster that was still at Tier 1? What a loser. Yeah, maybe Alwin had some issues.

    "Interesting, even your status regressed. I''m assuming that you''ve been practicing your skills a whole bunch recently. Let me just"¡ªa drone flew down the stairs and shot an array of lasers at Alwin while circling around him before zipping back up the stairs to whence it came¡ª"two Dark Essence and one Light Essence. Talk about a wrench in the plans."

    "Wrench?"

    "Did I go into a tangent again? Doesn''t seem like it. Anyway, the whole plan was to see what happens when a monster evolves being fueled solely by one element. You, my grand student, are tainted. Oh well. Can you evolve back and show me your status again?"

    Another flash of light consumed the room and Alwin the Yin-Yang Slime was back. And of course, Lapis only cared about the changes in his status.

    Species: Yin-Yang Slime (Tier 2)

    Evolution: 3/5000

    Devolution: 0/100

    "Interesting. Any chance you could move the 3 from Evolution down to Devolution?" asked Lapis.

    "You can do that?"

    "I don''t know. That''s why I asked if there was ''any chance''. So, is there?"

    "Guess I''ll try to do that."

    Alwin stared at the number three on his status. Move down. Move to Devolution. Shift down. Shift down to Devolution. Hello? Paging for Mr. Three, you are currently obstructing the way, could you please move down to Devolution lane? Now either Mr. Three was being a rude butthead who thought it was below him to follow Alwin''s request, or that wasn''t the proper procedure to do things.

    "So, did it work?" asked Lapis.

    "Nope. Got any ideas?"

    "Did you try asking nicely?"

    "That was the very first thing I did!"

    "Hmmm. This is a tough cookie to crack. A tough cookie normally means it was left baking in the oven for too long and¡ª"

    "Tangent," Alwin interrupted.

    "Right, my bad. Have you tried begging?"

    Alwin simply stared at Lapis, not even choosing to blink, giving her the blankest stare he could possibly muster. A stare so blank it was as if the lords of this world had erased his face leaving behind nothing but a plain canvas. Now, if only Lapis had a face, he could actually look at instead of the reflective crystalline surface that showed a distorted image of his surroundings and his own face.

    Choosing to crack the silence, Alwin said, "No. Give me a second."

    Last thing he wanted was to waste any more time on this. Imagine if begging was the solution, but he straight up refused to try it until he was desperate enough for it to even come across his mind in a last-ditch flash of inspiration.

    Please Mr. Three standing in the Evolution meter or lane thingy. Please, please, please. Pretty, pretty please. Could you kindly vacate the area and make your way to the Devolution area? I''ll do anything for you just please kindly move over.

    Nothing happened... again.

    "No dice." Alwin shook his head.

    "Well of course there''s no dice. What am I a board game? Did you try doing this?"

    Lapis'' Spirit Hands pressed down on the number three that taunted Alwin. A second later the number was jiggling as if it was panicking about the giant finger pressing down on it¡ªif numbers could sweat Alwin''s whole status screen would be flooded by now. The finger then dragged the squirming number three down, the number being forced down without a say until finally, the Spirit Hand released it at the Devolution slot. The number three was slingshot back to the Evolution Counter.

    Access Denied. Invalid User.

    "Now you try," said Lapis.

    Alwin summoned his Spirit Hands in his usual fashion¡ªshouting out the name of the skill after shaping it within his core using mana-like clay. Initiating the same actions as Lapis, one of them pressed down number three before it started fidgeting in fear, followed by dragging the poor frightened thing down to Devolution and finally releasing it from Alwin''s clutches. The number three and number zero switched places respectively, leaving Alwin with this.

    Evolution: 0/5000

    Devolution: 3/100

    "That worked?" exclaimed Lapis.

    "Apparently. I thought you knew it would work when you started touching my things."

    "I didn''t. I just kept doing stuff until something happened. So now we know what to do."

    "Great, so now what?"

    "Now, I teach you how to refine specific elemental mana." Her Spirit Hands gave a thumbs up.

 Chapter 78: Fire Mana

    "Yes, oh great master, teach me the ways of refinement." Alwin bowed down in reverence to Lapis, his gelatinous form wobbling.

    "I thought we settled on ¡®grand master¡¯. Why are you changing it to great master? You know what? I am now grand great master Lapis. Now answer me little one, do you know how to generate elemental mana?"

    "Yes, oh grand great master. I have figured out how to generate Dark and Light mana?"

    "You have?" asked Lapis, surprise filling her voice. "I mean." She cleared her throat. "As expected of my grand great student, but I thought you would''ve started out with something simpler like Fire."

    "Is Dark and Light mana really that complicated?"

    "Well, it''s definitely more abstract than Fire. Think about it, all you need to create Fire is oxygen, heat, and fuel. All of which is easy for even a kid to understand. But, what about Light or Dark? What is Light and what is Dark? How do you create something that you don''t even understand?"

    "I used a light bulb and a cardboard box."

    "What?"

    "When the lightbulb came on inside my Core it started transforming the mana around it into Light Elemental Mana, then when I put some mana inside of a super air-tight and light-tight cardboard box, it started changing into Dark Elemental Mana."

    If Lapis had eyes and a mouth, she would''ve been stuck blinking at him with her mouth hanging so wide open that fifty flies could fly right in without her even realizing. "What?" she repeated.

    "I said, that when¡ª"

    "Shush. I know what you said, boy. It''s just that... what? Are you sure you weren''t hallucinating or something?"

    "I can confidently say that I was neither hallucinating nor experiencing a super realistic daydream, or even an ultra-realistic night dream."

    "Well, if you say so." If Lapis had shoulders this was the part where she would''ve shrugged, but instead, she just floated there and continued her speech. "It''s just that there''s normally more steps involved when creating different types of Elemental Mana. Take Fire for example, normally one manipulates the properties of their mana so that it''s more flammable, after that they heat it up to the point where it combusts. That''s the common way most people create Fire Element Mana."

    "What about oxygen? Didn''t you say you need that to create Fire too? So do I turn my mana into oxygen to create Fire?"

    "My young dumb pupil, first of all, that''s an incredibly hard thing to do, second of all why would I bother with that when there''s a bunch of oxygen floating about all around us, third of all, you''re young and therefore dumb so I excuse you for asking such dumb questions, fourth of all, yes I really repeated the part where I called you young and dumb. I did that just for emphasis."

    "I''m going to ignore everything mean you just said about me." Alwin flashed her a smile. "So, I don''t really care about Fire right now, can we skip to the part where you teach me how to refine Light Mana or Dark Mana?"

    "About that... There''s a reason why I kept talking about Fire Mana and it isn''t because you''re full of fiery passion."

    "Is it because you''ve only figured out how to refine Fire Elemental Essence?"

    "Exactomundo! I take back the young and dumb stuff, now you''re my young smart pupil."

    "I''m going to remember everything nice you just said about me." Alwin flashed her a smile. "So, can we skip to the part where you teach me how to refine Fire Mana?"This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    "Well, actually, young impatient pupil of mine. First, you need to learn how to create Fire Mana, and I have already taught you how to do it, kinda, sorta. I told you the thought process behind it, the rest is for you to figure it out on your own. Have fun my young pupil, while I go figure out more about your weird Light and Dark Mana methods."

    "Promise me you''re going to do that and not like bake a cake or something."

    "I pinky promise."

    "Good!"

    With that Alwin closed his eyes, his corneas no longer being singed off by the bright white room, letting his consciousness dive into his Core. Time to make Fire.

    First, he had to gather some Mana and make it flammable. That was simple enough. A pair of mental hands conjured into existence along with a bucket. After gathering a bucket¡¯s worth of Mana, he just had to change its properties. With the help of his handy dandy remote control, this step was going to be as easy as pie¡ªassuming Gus hadn''t already eaten the pie.

    With the remote pointed at the bucket of mana, the familiar settings screen appeared in front of him, this time with an additional option Flammability. On a scale from zero to one hundred, Alwin set his Mana to one hundred percent flammable. Go big or go home, or in this case, go boom or go home. As the slider slid to one hundred, the color of the mana began to darken, becoming black like oil. That was the fuel part done, onto the next steps.

    What he needed now was oxygen. Since Lapis shut down his idea of turning his mana into oxygen there was only one other way that he could think of. Opening his mouth, Alwin inhaled, bringing in sweet delicious air which had a hint of burnt pancake smell lingering about. Now that the oxygen part was done, there was only one final step until he created Fire Mana.

    Now he needed enough heat for the flammable mana to combust. There were a couple of ideas floating about and Alwin meant that quite literally. A lightbulb floated around the bucket of oily mana. That was certainly a possibility, but he didn''t want the Fire Mana to become contaminated with Light Mana. Then an oven he apparently conjured up hovered by. Alwin didn''t see any problems with using an oven to create Fire, although it did feel like the progression of things was going backward.

    Another floating item caught his eye, one that flickered every now and again. Fire, it was fire alright, a campfire to be more specific, but where did that come from? Honestly, who cared? Using fire to create Fire, was almost poetic in a way, or was it ironic? Good thing he wasn''t being tested on his language capabilities. Alwin nodded his head at the choice of heat source.

    First, let the campfire float over the mana pool, then place a bucket of flammable mana right over the flame. After that wait until the mana bursts into flames. Remember to breathe so that the flame and you don¡¯t die out from a lack of oxygen. Thus concludes Alwin''s recipe for creating Fire Mana. Now sit back and relax as Alwin stares at a bucket of mana until something happens.

    Was it boring? Absolutely. Did he have something to do while waiting? Definitely. Alwin instructed his mental hands to engage in a perilous, death-defying battle against each other. It was ''Rock, Paper, Scissors!''

    The battle was thrilling, both hands tossing out the classic gestures like balls of lightning crashing down on a field. The battle was heating up so much that words couldn''t even describe the intensity of this moment. Which hand would emerge victorious? Which hand would triumph and come out on top?

    The answer was Fire.

    Splashes of flaming mana bubbled out of the bucket, splattering onto the mental hands. Both hands were immediately engulfed by the fire. They floated around in sheer panic. This was absolutely not what they signed up for.

    When did the mana catch fire? Dammit, he was too busy watching the battle and now his hands were paying the price. Good thing FireFighter Alwin was here to save the day.

    He commanded the mental hands to ''stop'', ''drop'', and ''roll''. The pair of hands stopped in their tracks and plunged into the depths of his mana pool. They rolled around in a frenzy, generating bubbles as they frolicked within the depths of Alwin''s watery domain. Soon, the two hands emerged out of the mana pool, the flames completely extinguished.

    Well, that was fun to watch. Time to see if he was successful in making Fire Element Mana. Alwin floated his consciousness towards the bucket of flames, the heat generated by the fire caused distortions in the surrounding space. It looked just about right, but just because it looked right doesn''t mean that it was. Good thing he had his handy dandy remote control to solve all of his problems.

    Viewing the status of the flaming mana bucket gave Alwin just the info he was looking for.

    Mana

    Fire: 100%

    He had done it! Now, he had a bucket full of Fire Mana. That was definitely easy to do, but so much more complicated than just spawning a lightbulb to convert the surrounding mana into Light Mana or just covering a bucket of mana with a cardboard box. Was Lapis lying when she said that creating Fire Mana was a lot simpler than Light Mana? Maybe Alwin was some kind of super genius! Yup, that must be it. Alwin was a genius slime!

    Finally, came a question that only a genius slime such as himself could answer. Now what?

 Chapter 79: Making A New Blast

    Now that he had finally created some Fire Element Mana he could always go and get Lapis to teach him how to refine some Fire Element Essence, but the moment he stopped concentrating on his Core the mana would be dispersed and everything would be reset to zero. That seemed like a great waste of time and effort. There was only one solution to his predicament. Time to play with Fire!

    Playing with Fire was dangerous, that''s why he was going to play with it safely. There was no better place to store the Fire than inside one of his paper mache blasts.

    Pour, pour, pour, goes the Fire Mana, filling up the sphere with all of its fiery contents. There was a fatal flaw with his plan.

    Turns out that pouring liquid fire into a paper casing wasn''t the smartest idea. Oh well, live and learn. The paper mache with the help of the Fire Mana turned into a flaming mache, before turning into a pile of ash that sank into the deepest parts of Alwin''s mana pool. Remember kids, pollution''s bad. Now, back to having some fun with the Fire Mana.

    Since paper being paper will inevitably catch on fire, there was only one solution that Alwin could think of. He just had to make fireproof paper. How would one make fireproof paper? No idea. Okay, Alwin lied, he did have an idea. Time for the handy dandy remote control to come into play again.

    Alwin scrolled through the settings of the mana paper hoping to find the ''Flammability'' setting. After scrolling through the whole bloody list fifteen damn times, Alwin came to the conclusion that there was simply no such setting. There was a small lingering doubt in his head that made him wonder if he just happened to miss that setting fifteen times in a row. But, what are the chances of that happening... right?

    On to more pressing matters, like how was he going to make paper fireproof. Alwin sat there thinking, his real face unconsciously scrunching up as he cycled through the dozens of ideas that flowed through his mind. Meanwhile, within his Core, the pair of no longer sizzling mental hands gave his consciousness a backrub that would hopefully help him generate some ideas. No idea if it was actually working, but boy did it feel good.

    Then the hundred-and-twentieth idea dawned on him. Paint! He just had to coat the paper in a layer of fire-resistant paint. His plan was foolproof, plus it managed to keep in theme of the weird arts and crafts motif he had accidentally made.

    Alwin gathered up two buckets of mana and with the help of his handy dandy remote, set them both to a healthy zero percent flammability. One bucket of mana to act as the binding agent, and the other bucket to help create the perfect paint consistency. Another zap with his remote made one bucket¡¯s mana all sticky and gooey. It kind of reminded Alwin of himself. All that was left to do was mix the two buckets of mana into a third bucket till he got his desired consistency.

    While one mental hand poured the buckets of mana the other stirred the resulting mixture. Alwin was doing the most important job out of all of them. Supervising.

    Pour, stir, evaluate. Pour, stir, evaluate. The bucket of mana paint was just about complete. A spoonful of mana paint was lifted up into the air and poured back into the bucket. It reminded Alwin of someone answering nature''s call. With that, the mana paint had achieved the desired consistency. There was one teensy weensy little problem. Alwin forgot to add any pigment and thus the paint was transparent! It was like applying sticky water.

    All Alwin could do was sigh and move on with his day. That would be a problem for future Alwin.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    With the paint secured, all Alwin had to do was layer the paper with paint before he used them to create this new type of blast. The mental hands worked without rest, bristles dancing upon the surface of the paper as drops of paint coated every last inch of the surface. Now came the hardest part of the whole process¡ªwaiting for the blasted stuff to dry! But, good thing he had an oven nearby.

    Toss the pieces of paper into the oven while making sure that none of them overlap each other, wait a bit then pull out the pieces of dried paper. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Miles more efficient than waiting for them to air dry.

    Now perform all of the steps to creating a Spirit Burst Blast, but instead of filling it in with raw unfiltered mana, pour in the Fire Element Mana. Once that''s done, toss your product into the oven then wait. Ignore the fact that the oven was slowly turning into a puddle of mental scrap as the heat it gave off only served to fan the flames of the Fire Mana. Maybe he should have thought this through a bit more. Anyway, that''s all the steps to creating this new type of blast that Alwin would figure out the name for when he would inevitably shout it out when it left his Core.

    Now that the oven had been reduced into a puddle of molten metal, the new unnamed Blast was nice and dry. In hindsight maybe he didn''t even need to chuck it into the oven. The roaring Fire Mana was probably good enough to dry out the paper mache. Whatever. Time to find out what this new move was going to be called.

    Alwin got his mental bat primed and ready, partaking in a couple of practice swings before the big reveal. Now that he was more warmed up¡ªpun definitely intended¡ªtime to swing.

    The mental bat collided with Alwin''s brand new blast, spreading a wave of embers that scattered across the floor as it soared through his Core, before finally exiting. Also, in other news, that mental bat caught on fire, leaving the pair of hands that wielded it to drop it into his mana pool. Just as Alwin was about to comfort them, that same tickling sensation in his throat broke his consciousness away from his Core.

    His eyes flashed open and he didn''t even have time to complain about the cornea-piercing white room before he yelled out the name of his brand-new skill, "Fire Burst Blast!"

    A sphere just like any of his previous Spirit Blasts, manifested right in front of him. Why did it look like a regular Spirit Blast? Shouldn''t it be on Fire or something? Did he do something wrong or was the system bugging out? Whatever the case the not-on-fire Fire Burst Blast sailed through the room toward Lapis.

    WAIT! It was flying toward Lapis! Oh no, oh no. Alwin was toast! Technically, Lapis would be toast, but who cares about technicalities right now. Alwin had to warn her to move out of the way before Lapis became pissed!

    The moment Alwin opened his mouth, his slimy vocal cords already vibrating in preparation to speak, a glint of light caught his attention. A glass bowl with remnants of some sort of brown paste rested atop a foldable table. Alwin''s eyes traveled towards the right and saw a frying pan placed atop a portable stove, the contents of the bowl most likely resided within that pan. Then his eyes shifted slightly upwards, towards the culprit. It was none other than Lapis.

    Why that no good mean grand great master crystal! She broke their promise and was cooking instead of researching. That does it, Alwin wasn''t going to warn her about the Fire Burst Blast! You reap what you sow, after all. Alwin sat there fuming, waiting for retribution to smack Lapis in the back.

    Lapis was unaware of the danger that was fast approaching her. She hummed a tune as the Spirit Hands she commanded flicked its wrist, sending the contents of the frying pan¡ªa pancake¡ªinto the air. As the pancake performed its acrobatic performance, the Fire Burst Blast veered off course flying straight toward the golden brown disc.

    The two met in mid-air, crashing into one another, causing an explosion of fire to engulf the area. Lapis'' voice overpowered the sound of the explosion, yelling out as her Spirit Hands caressed the pancake that fell to the ground.

    Sniffles replaced her screams of horror as she whimpered out, "My perfect pancake burnt to a crisp. Who''s the meanie who did that?"

    She rotated her body toward the source of the blast. Anger had overtaken her despair and Alwin knew he was in for it. What should he do? There was only one thought that came to mind.

    He began to whistle a tune while looking away from the approaching Lapis.

    "Grand Great Student of mine, are you ready for a pop quiz?"

 Chapter 80: Learning bout Fire Essence

    "A pop quiz?" Alwin stared at his mentor. His stomach did a flip. "What if I say no?" He tried to keep his voice steady, but it came out shaky.

    "You can say no all you want, but you still got to answer my questions. If you pass, I''ll forgive and forget, but if you fail... you don''t want to know what will happen when you fail." Lapis'' Spirit Hands cracked their knuckles, the sound echoing in the quiet room.

    Alwin swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. This couldn''t be good.

    "So, my dear grand great student, are you ready?"

    "Never ready." His mind raced, trying to anticipate the questions she might throw at him. Quizzes were the worst. He had been caught red-handed¡ªor rather, slime-handed¡ªand there was no easy way out.

    "Too bad. Now first question, why did you shoot at my pancake?"

    "I..." he stammered, trying to buy himself a few precious seconds. Alwin rattled his mind searching for an answer to provide Lapis that would get him out of this mess, but all he found was a big ole pile of nothing. Not even a little nugget of an excuse that might buy him a bit of mercy from Lapis. Since his brain couldn''t come up with anything useful, he decided to be blunt and honest.

    "I was testing out a new skill?"

    "You were?" Lapis sounded surprised before her tone switched back to an aggressive one. "Oh, yeah? Then why test out your Fireball on my pancake?"

    Since Alwin had given an honest reply, it was only natural that his next response would be a lie. Or maybe Alwin was just messed up like that.

    "It was a... trick shot. And, it''s not a Fireball, it''s a Fire Burst Blast. There''s a difference."

    "Well¡ªwait." Lapis was momentarily taken aback. "Did you say Fire? I guess I said Fire too. So you''ve created Fire Mana and even integrated it with one of your skills? That was fast. You completed step one of my plan and even jumped ahead to step two. Well, there goes my hopes of slacking. Why couldn''t you do all that slower?"

    Alwin blinked, momentarily disoriented by the unexpected turn in the conversation. Shouldn''t he be given praise for going above and beyond expectations? Instead, he was being chastised for being too efficient. "It''s because..." he began, searching for the right words. "It''s because I''m a genius, obviously. But enough about me being too smart for you to handle. You broke your promise! Not just any kind of promise! It was a pinky promise! The most sacred form of promise! What do you have to say about that?"

    Lapis gasped, her Spirit Hands flying to her chest as if wounded. "Are you crazy?! Me break a pinky promise? I would never!"

    "But I caught you red-handed¡ªI mean Spirit Handed, cooking instead of doing research like you promised me!"

    "That''s where you''re wrong my young dumb student." Lapis shot back, wagging a finger at him "I promised I wouldn''t bake cake, not cook pancakes. Checkmate!"

    "Oh yeah, you promised that you''d research too! But here you were flipping pancakes! Explain that¡ªdouble checkmate!"

    "It''s part of my process! Cooking helps me think! Now here, my young dumb pupil." A drone descended down the stairs and into the white training room. Atop its head was a stack of pancakes, golden brown and steaming. Syrup and half-melted butter dripped down its circular peak. The tantalizing aroma filled Alwin''s slimy nostrils¡ªdid he even have nostrils¡ªalmost making him forget the rage that had been simmering within him.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "While you munch on my pancakes with homemade Avocardoor butter and syrup extracted from rare Blue Brownberries, let me enlighten you."

    Alwin''s resolve wavered as the drone floated closer, the intoxicating scent of the pancakes enveloping him. "Well, I suppose I could have a bite," he conceded, reaching out to accept the plate that the drone extended towards him. "But, that doesn''t mean I forgive you just yet."

    He took a tentative bite, and his eyes widened in delight. The pancakes were fluffy and rich, the Avocardoor butter adding a creamy texture, while the Blue Starberry syrup provided a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. "These are... amazing," he mumbled between mouthfuls.

    "Of course they are," Lapis replied smugly. "Now, as you enjoy my culinary masterpiece, let''s discuss my theory about your rapid progress."

    As Alwin munched on the pancakes, he listened to Lapis'' long lecture about her theory on why Alwin was able to create Light and Dark Mana with ease and how he was able to learn at such a fast pace. How long was the lecture? It was so long that Alwin had to get eight refills on his pancake mountain!

    To spare everyone from Lapis'' ramblings, on what was only a theory, here''s the cliff notes version of what she thought was happening. And since even the cliff notes version was too long, here''s an even shorter dumb-downed version, because Alwin may or may not have been focusing too much on the pancakes.

    Since Alwin was a kid, his brain was highly ''plastic'', which basically meant it was super easy and barely an inconvenience for him to adapt and reorganize concepts easily. Thanks to that handy information download, he skipped the basics of "monster functionality." Using his flexible brain as a shortcut, what would normally take weeks to understand, took Alwin a fraction of that time. Plus he had that additional benefit of reworking how he associates things¡ªwhich was the basis of how his mana was shaped in his core¡ªwhich meant that shaping his mana was so easy even a baby could do it.

    That was the cliff notes and abridged version of Lapis'' explanation on how he was learning things so fast and creating Light and Dark mana so easily. Did it make sense to him? Kinda. Did it matter? Honestly, not really. Alwin was just enjoying the pancakes and using Lapis as entertainment as he munched on his food. Everything Lapis said, just reassured the slime boy that he was undoubtedly a genius.

    "Did you get all that young pupil of mine?"

    "Yes, teach. Now can we get to the part where you teach me how to refine Fire Essence. Theory is boring! Long live practical experience!"

    "That''s the spirit! But I still need to tell you the theory part if not you''ll go about bumbling aimlessly. You''ll waste your time and mine. Boys!"

    Lapis'' drones wheeled in a whiteboard, the wheels screeching along the surface of the room as it came to a stop right in front of Alwin. They began to draw diagrams as their master gave an explanation of the whole process.

    "Here''s how I refine Fire Essence. It''s pretty much the same thing as refining regular Essence and creating Fire Mana. I just mashed them all together and out pops Fire Essence. It''s super time-consuming but better than nothing."

    "I can''t believe I''m saying this, but can you explain a bit more? Do I just throw Spirit Essence into a pot and call it a day?"

    "That''s the gist of it, except that you''ve got to make sure the Spirit Essence can catch on fire."

    "So flammability? That should be easy."

    "Well, that''s one, but next you''ve got to make sure that it''s hot enough for the Essence to combust. I''d argue that''s the hardest part of the process, other than the waiting."

    "So I need to generate enough heat to ignite the Spirit Essence?"

    "Exactly," Lapis confirmed. "And maintain that heat consistently until the transformation is complete."

    "That''s pretty much everything. In hindsight, it''s quite a simple process. I didn''t even need to get the whiteboard out."

    Alwin pulled himself from his spiraling thoughts and looked over at the whiteboard, his focus finally zeroing in on Lapis'' latest ¡°diagram.¡± He squinted, trying to make sense of the scribbles, but the more he looked, the clearer it became: it was a cauldron over a campfire, with curly wisps of smoke trailing out the top.

    "Still took me a while to develop it though, no idea how long it''s going to take for you to get a hang of it. So, after this, I''ll give Milvee a call and get him to excuse you from classes until you evolve. No biggee."

    Alwin''s eyes lit up. "I get to skip class? Awesome!"

    "Yup! Now remember to Devolve back to that Dark Slime form of yours, my precious grand great student! With you here it''ll make my research a heck of a lot faster!"

    With that last remark from his mentor, Alwin felt himself changing and transforming back into a Dark Slime. Finally, another chance of evolving into something, not a slime. This was going to be fun, except for the whole refining essence part. That was going to be boring, but everything else? That was going to be fun. Probably.

 Chapter 81: Creating Fire Essence

    Alwin''s consciousness went back into his Core. Everything had been reset, leaving him staring at a calm lake of mana that seemed to stretch for eternity. Of course, this may or may not be an exaggeration. Who''s to say?

    Time to create some Fire Essence, then right after that he''d go through a tribulation and he''d get to evolve into a new and better Alwin. One that better not be slime-based. Being a slime was overrated.

    To create Fire Essence, one just had to ignite some regular Spirit Essence. Seems simple enough. And to create Spirit Essence, Alwin just had to filter out the impurities that resided within his mana.

    Out from wherever his mental tools were stored, a remote control, two buckets, a filter funnel, paper, a campfire, and his handy mental hands appeared floating over his mana pool¡ªor mana lake if you cared about the earlier paragraph. Now came the "fun" part of creating some Essence.

    Modify the paper using the remote control to turn it into a perfect piece of filter paper. Insert the paper into the funnel. Collect a bucket''s worth of mana, then pour it into the funnel. Remember to have another bucket underneath the funnel to collect your refined mana or Essence. Now came everyone''s favorite part of this whole process¡ªthe waiting game. Wait an undisclosed amount of time because there weren''t any clocks inside of the core as you feel yourself growing older with every passing second, with every single drop of pure mana that managed to escape the confines of the funnel. Then presto! You now have a bucket of Essence.

    You''re welcome that Alwin left out the part where he fell into an existential crisis as he contemplated his whole life up till this point in time. Wondering whether he was doing the right thing and whether what he was doing in his life actually had any purpose or if this was all a waste of time and energy, and nothing he did in this world really mattered. That''s what happens when you have nothing to do while waiting for a bucket of Essence to fill up.

    Now that he finally had something to do other than wallow in existential dread, Alwin used the remote control to investigate the properties of the Spirit Essence.

    Essence

    Spirit: 100%

    That was to be expected. But, Alwin had to do it just to be sure. Using the remote, Alwin manipulated the properties of the Essence, making it a hundred percent flammable. Now, that was easy, with zero waiting time¡ªthe perfect kind of time.

    Place the bucket over the burning campfire, then wait.

    Still waiting.

    Still more waiting.

    Even more waiting.

    The flames licked the bottom of the bucket and danced along its edges as it worked to heat up the stubborn Essence. Only the occasional sizzle broke the silence. This was boring. Time to change things up.

    If one campfire wouldn''t do it, then what about two? A perfect plan by a perfect man¡ªAlwin was technically a boy, but rhymes trump logic. A second campfire materialized within this core and floated over right next to the original. It scooched over, nudging the original campfire aside allowing the bucket to be loved by more tendrils of flame.

    Waiting.

    Still waiting.

    Still more waiting.

    Even more waiting.

    This was boring. And repetitive. Time to change things up again¡ªexcept for the repetitive part.

    If two campfires weren''t enough, then what about four? But what if four campfires weren''t enough? Alwin had a sneaking suspicion that was going to be the case. If four campfires weren''t enough then what about eight? You know what? Screw eight. Double it again and make it sixteen campfires. Scratch that thought. Quadruple it to get thirty-two campfires! After giving it zero seconds of thought, it''s better to play it safe. Octuple it to get sixty-four burning campfires! That would surely be enough to light that bloody Essence on fire.

    The remaining sixty-two campfires spawned into existence within his Core. The sheer amount of flame and heat generated was beginning to cause the interior of his Core to distort like a mirage in the desert. On a separate note, Alwin was starting to get light-headed. Damn, those tiny lungs of his! Alwin was working overtime breathing in and out, fueling the campfires with oxygen as they burned away any doubts that this wasn''t going to work.

    There was one itty bitty problem that Alwin had failed to consider during his whole planning session. You see, Alwin had a tiny bucket. It was a normal-sized bucket, but compared to the circle of campfires surrounding it, the bucket was tiny. At most only four campfires could actually heat up that bucket of Essence. The rest were just heating up the air around it, wasting precious time and resources¡ªoxygen.

    The fix was simple. Just get a bigger bucket. Alwin summoned into his Core, the largest bucket he could muster. The bucket popped into existence and floated right in front of Alwin. It was just slightly bigger than the original bucket. Nowhere near the size that he desired. Good thing Alwin had another fix.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    The remote control could fix this! Probably. Hopefully. Please Cor, let it work. If not, Alwin here would have to think of yet another solution to a never-ending stream of problems. Why couldn''t anything work the first time? Stupid bucket!

    With the remote pointed at the bucket, Alwin hoped for the best. He scrolled through the list of options that had appeared, praying that there was something that could help salvage the situation. Finally, his eyes settled on a promising choice.

    Want a bigger bucket? Try Big Bucket Modification! All your bucket related dreams will come true! From upgrading existing buckets to increasing the size of your current bucket by n times, this modification has got you covered. Note: Limited by mana capacity and competency¡ªmostly competency.

    There was a flipping ad?! For a second Alwin hesitated. Ads were the bane of his existence. Not that he had ever seen one before in his short couple months of life, but it was the principle of the matter. With little choice, Alwin clicked on the ad. Please Cor, don''t let this be a scam.

    The mana within his Core began to drain. On the remote, a progress bar had replaced the advertisement. All Alwin could do was watch the little green bar fill up as the mana level continued to drop. Great, another round of waiting. Maybe Alwin should invest in a TV inside of his Core or something.

    The progress bar had been filled in and the mana within his Core had been cut by half. Replacing the bar was another option, ''Big Bucket Modification!'' Logic dictates that the mana within his Core was used to upgrade his remote control. Hopefully, that was going to be a one-time payment. Imagine if it was a subscription service. The thought of it made Alwin shudder¡ªnot his real body, but his consciousness.

    The mental hands selected the newly created option. A hologram of the bucket appeared right over the original bucket. This was one fancy modification. With the help of the arrow buttons on the remote, Alwin began to adjust the size of the bucket. Every button press caused the hologram of the bucket to grow larger. There was even an option to scale either width or height rather than both. Alwin didn''t need the bucket to be any taller, just wider.

    The hologram of the bucket expanded, growing wider and fatter until it was big enough to cover all of the campfires. With that, Alwin selected, ''Confirm''. The hologram disappeared and the original bucket began to shake. Then in one single instance, the bucket expanded until it reached the size that Alwin had inputted. At the same time, a large amount of mana was drained from his Core.

    Darn it! This was the worst kind of service. Pay once to get a license then keep paying with every use. Alwin had to make a mental note to not use the Big Bucket Modification too often, lest he waste all of his mana just making buckets grow. He needed that precious mana to create Blasts not bigger buckets! Now, back to the Fire Essence.

    With sixty-four campfires, surely that would be enough to heat up the Spirit Essence to the point of combustion. Right? Normally, this would be the part where Alwin would say that there was nothing to do but wait, but there was something to do. That something was called bellows! You know those weird accordion-looking thingies, well Alwin knew them too if not he wouldn''t be suggesting it.

    A bunch of bellows and additional mental hands came into existence within his Core. Using the rest of his mental concentration, Alwin directed them to surround the mass of campfires. Tendrils of flame continued to lap away at the giant bucket, heating up its contents, but that heat wasn''t enough.

    With a command, the mental hands started to press down on the bellows, directing gusts of oxygen-rich air into the heart of the flame. A roar of hot air and sparks burst forth from the center of the ring of campfires as the blaze grew brighter and hotter. The flame engulfed the ginormous bucket, shrouding it in a thick fog of fire.

    The fires were eating away at his oxygen reserves. Alwin had to take his breathing into overdrive. Deep breaths¡ªthe one where he used his mouth instead of his nose¡ªaccompanied every single pump of the bellows. Oxygen flooded into his Core, fanning the inferno even further. This was it! This had got to be it! Never mind the fact that he probably looked like an idiot the way he was taking large wheezing deep breaths every second. This was way more important!

    Something had changed. The fires blazed fiercer than ever, with the ones at the center towering over the rest, a flaming skyscraper among a city of tiny flame huts. That could only mean one thing! Alwin had done it! Probably. He still had to check but he had probably done it.

    Alwin dismissed the campfires, bellows, and extra hands, leaving only the red hot bucket. Even with the campfire gone there were still flames. Within the pot was another raging fire as if someone had set the sea ablaze. That pretty much confirmed it! Fire Essence!

    Now all he had to do was throw it out of his Core so that he could coat it and stuff¡ªAlwin wasn''t a good student. Here came another problem. The bucket was huge and his mental hands were small. Good thing he had the Big Bucket Modification. If it could make things big then it could make things small. Alwin was just saying all of the extra stuff to build tension.

    Using the remote control, the big bucket became a small bucket. It was actually back to normal bucket size, but compared to earlier it was a small bucket. Now to build tension again, there was another problem. The bucket was too hot for the mental hands. One touch and they would yelp in pain¡ªthey didn''t have mouths so they used sign language to say ouch. Their shouts were really delayed.

    Good thing there was a convenient solution to his not-so-big problem. Gloves! Or oven mitts. A triple layer of them to protect each mental hand and they were good to go. Just ignore the fact that the bucket had flames spewing out of it and that the normally silver metal was glowing red.

    Alwin and mental hand floated up toward the top of his Core with that bucket of glorious Fire Essence. It was like the sun was rising within his Core. It was a new dawn for Alwin! Now enough with the literary devices, time to become stronger.

    When they were at the highest point of his Core, Alwin instructed the mental hands to throw the bucket of Fire Essence. A great torrent of flaming liquid shot out of the bucket and disappeared as it went beyond the boundary of his Core. There was a burning sensation in his chest. If Alwin wasn''t doing this whole Fire Essence thing right now, he would have thought it was heartburn, but he was so he knew that there wasn''t any problem.

    Fire Essence absorbed.

    And there you have it folks! Alwin had successfully absorbed Fire Essence. Now to do this until he either reached the Essence cap or he dropped dead from boredom.

 Chapter 82: Fire Tribulation

    After successfully refining Fire Essence and even absorbing it, Alwin continued to repeat the process over and over again. He was so close, he could practically taste it. The deliciousness of evolving into something other than a slime. Fire was the ingredient and Alwin was the chef. Also, all of these food references may or may not be because Alwin was hungry.

    Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, regular mana turned into Spirit Essence, and... you get the idea. Alwin had been working non-stop. From dawn to dusk and back to dawn, Alwin spent every single second working on refining Fire Essence and absorbing it. There was nothing he would rather be doing other than maybe eating food or taking a nap. Okay, there were countless other things he''d rather be doing, but Alwin was lazy. He was too lazy to stop working. His laziness transcended mortal understanding and looped back around to hard work.

    Finally after hundreds of iterations of refinement and dumping it out of his Core, he had done it.

    Evolution Meter maxed. Unable to absorb any more Essence.

    Alwin''s eyes shot open. They darted about trying to locate Lapis. It was a simple feat considering that she was a giant floating crystal in an otherwise empty white room. Once again, she was in the process of cooking something. Alwin didn''t have the time or energy to deal with his slacker of a master, he had more pressing matters to attend to, like using the little boy''s room. Gosh, how long had he spent focusing on his Core?

    Alwin was experiencing a mix of uncomfortableness. The insides of his mouth were dryer than a desert, while his bladder was beyond high tide. Without even acknowledging his grand great teacher, Alwin rushed off to the loo to relieve himself. This time he even got his Spirit Hands to use the tap just so the alarm wouldn''t trigger.

    After all of that sidetracking, it was finally time to evolve. This was going to be great! No doubt Alwin would step out of this place an even greater person than he already was. Before Alwin could begin the tribulation, Lapis'' voice stopped him.

    "Hey there, student of mine. You done already?" asked Lapis, turning away from the bowl of batter she had been stirring.

    "Great! Now let me finish up this batch of brownies, then I''ll book the Evolution Chamber for you and you''ll get to further my research."

    "Aww man, but I wanted to do it now. I just can''t wait to evolve again. I''m going to become something cooler than a slime!"

    "Technically, you''ll become something hotter rather than cooler, but lame jokes aside, go and rest little one. You''ve spent a couple of days just refining Fire Essence without rest. Also, for research purposes, I''m going to be recording the whole thing, so if you don''t rest you might end up looking like a fool and it''ll be recorded, never to be deleted for all eternity or until the heat death of the universe, whichever comes first."

    What Lapis said struck a chord with Alwin. If he did end up looking like a fool, then that piece of his life would be a permanent fixture inside whatever recording software that Lapis was planning to use. There was no way he was going to let something like that happen! Alwin was going to practice. Visualization was the key to success!

    Alwin imagined opening up his status.

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Dark Slime (Tier 1)

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Species Skills: Dark Tackle (A), Yin-Yang Blast (A)

    Skills: Spirit Hands (B), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (A), Spirit Scatter Blast (A), Spirit Burst Blast (A), Spirit Feet (F), Refinement (D)

    Evolution: 100/100

    Also, somewhere along the way that Refinement skill of his had ranked up to D. After that he imagined himself tapping on that glorious 100/100. Another screen popped up in front of his imagination

    Begin Tribulation?

    Yes No

    Alwin selected Yes.

    "What are you doing!" Lapis shouted.

    "I''m doing some image training for my tribulation. I don''t want to look like a big dumb dumb on video."

    "Well, you are a big dumb dumb. You actually activated your tribulation."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "I did?"

    Alwin looked around the room. Lapis, her drones, some cooking utensils, and a system screen were within view. One of those things was not like the other.

    "No. No. No. Drones go and get the camera. We need to record this. And my student, you fool! I don''t have any magical equipment with me. I''m going to call Milvee and get him to come pronto, so try not to die!"

    Alwin swallowed the lump in his throat. Oh crud. Without any Fire Resistance Equipment or Pills, this tribulation was going to be ten times harder. He had really done it now. He had made a fool out of himself.

    At least he knew what type of tribulation this was going to be. It was going to be Fire.

    A blazing emblem of Fire appeared on the System Screen hovering in front of Alwin. It shone with bright crimson radiance as tongues of flame licked out of its contours.

    It began. The Fire symbol seemed to bleed out from the screen before an Alwin-sized Fireball was launched right at him. It shot through the air with flames trailing behind it. The already bright room illuminated even brighter as the fireball gained speed and heat, accelerating toward its target¡ªAlwin.

    Alwin jumped to the side, avoiding the ball of fiery death that crashed against the wall behind him. A cloud of ash covered the impact zone as the scorching flames dissipated.

    Better be safe than sorry. Alwin had a skill, one that would give him a hand in this trying situation. It was everybody''s favorite Spirit Hands! Five pairs of hands materialized next to Alwin. They each cracked their knuckles in preparation for what''s to come. Now if only they had Spirit Necks so that they could crack those too.

    Two more Fireballs from the screen zoomed towards him. An easy dodge by Alwin who shifted his body to the left, letting the balls shoot past harmlessly. He wasn''t even sweating yet! These pitiful balls of fire posed no threat to Alwin. This was going to be easy. All he had to do was dodge those Fireballs and the Fire Tribulation would be over. This was just the most intense game of dodgeball ever.

    Another round of Fireballs came flying from the System Screen. They zipped across the room straight at Alwin. Expecting the same outcome as the last attack, Alwin dodged at the last moment for maximum style points. This time, however, the Fireballs curved, following Alwin''s movement. What kind of crazy bullshittery was that?! Those weren''t even regular projectiles but Alwin-seeking Fireballs! How was that fair?

    This time the Fireballs hit their mark, knocking Alwin back and crashing him onto the floor. Alwin groaned in pain. This was not going to be easy. Plus there were still three more Fireballs coming straight at him. Still disoriented from the earlier strike, Alwin remained on the floor staring at the approaching Fireballs. This was not good.

    At the last second, his Spirit Hands intercepted the last two Fireballs. They grabbed onto the Fireball, blocking them from reaching their goal. Just before the Fireball could burn away the flesh of the two pairs of spectral hands, they chucked them back toward the system screen. The two pairs of Spirit Hands were still on fire. Their palms burned away as the flames of tribulation ate away at them before they disappeared into a pile of ash. Goodbye, Spirit Hands, you will be missed.

    But they won''t be missed for long! Alwin summoned the two Spirit Hands again and they were back next to him as if nothing had happened. Alwin was just being a drama king as per the norm. Now, it was Alwin''s turn to attack!

    The two Fireballs that the Spirit Hands had thrown back impacted against the System Screen. Once the smoke had cleared, there were no noticeable cracks or dents. In fact, the whole screen looked pristine as if nothing had occurred. If only it could be that easy.

    Maybe something did happen. Rather than lobbing out more Fireballs at Alwin, the screen was becoming translucent. Then the screen split into two, separating itself into two separate screens, both of which contained the same Fire emblem. They began to revolve around Alwin. He didn''t know which way to look or which screen to focus on. That''s why he did the most logical thing possible. He himself began to spin in circles, that way he could keep track of both of the screens.

    Fireballs began to shoot out of the screens once more. They came in larger quantities this time, numbering ten. The balls of fire swarmed towards Alwin. Too busy spinning to properly dodge, Alwin relied on his Spirit Hands. The Spirit Hands flew toward their designated Fireball and intercepted it. Each hand had their own way of dealing with their personal Fireball. Some punched, some slapped, while some wrapped their hand around the Fireball as if they were playing ''Rock, Paper, Scissors''.

    The hands couldn''t destroy the Fireball, but they did manage to change their course. Gusts of warmth blew past him. Instead of colliding head-on into Alwin, they crashed around him instead, some even crashing back at the rotating system screens. His Spirit Hands had become Fire Hands, just a name Alwin just made up since they were now on fire.

    Unfortunately, the new names of his Spirit Hands did not come without consequence. They disappeared into a flurry of particles, just like last time, leaving Alwin to fend for himself. Thankfully, he could just summon them back, good as new, to defend him. Alwin was once again being a drama king.

    More Fireballs were launched at Alwin. By now, Alwin had gotten used to the attacks, dodging almost every single one of them. By Alwin, he meant his Spirit Hands and by dodging, he meant that the Spirit Hands deflected all of the attacks. All Alwin had to do was summon Spirit Hands when they inevitably burned up after sacrificing themselves. It was stupid, but it worked, so was it really stupid? Yea, it probably was.

    The twin screens began to slow down, they no longer shot out Fireballs at Alwin. Once they slowed down enough they converged back into a single screen. Was this it? Did he pass the Fire Tribulation? That was way easier than expected. Like the screens, Alwin slowed down, until he stopped spinning. Even though he had stopped, the room still felt like it was revolving all around him. Darn motion sickness!

    But, if the tribulation was really over then why was the system screen still staring back at him? Was it the motion sickness playing tricks on his eyes? Now, the system screen was covered in flames, like a portal to hell. Stepping out from the flames was a figure shrouded in flames as well. Something was telling Alwin that this wasn''t the motion sickness talking and that the tribulation wasn''t over yet.

 Chapter 83: Fire Being

    The being stepped out of the system screen. It was a being made of pure fire, leaving dark scorch marks on the area where it stood. This creature was tiny like someone had set a doll on fire. It was like a mini little gnome or elf or imp. No amount of description could justify how cute the little thing was.

    "Why am I so small? Did something go wrong with the tribulation?" the tiny fire person asked.

    Turning around, it began scrutinizing the system screen from which it had emerged. A few taps against the fiery surface sent embers flying, singeing the pristine white ground beneath. With a stroke of its chin, it kept prodding at the screen, as though persistent tapping might somehow solve all of its problems.

    "What an odd-looking creature. And it''s part of the tribulation? Drones make sure that cutie-patootie''s in frame," said Lapis.

    Wrinkles of flame-seared a scornful look upon its face. "Annoying monster," it said.

    With a single flick of its tiny wrist, a wall of flame erupted from the ground that extended toward the ceiling. Ignoring her shrieks of excitement, it turned toward Alwin. A gentle smile formed between the lines of flames covering its face, softening the menacing aura surrounding it.

    "So you''re the one Dark mentioned. Looks like we got a new plaything," said the miniature fire person.

    "What?" asked Alwin.

    "Smooth skin and a smooth brain. Why would Dark find you interesting?"

    "That''s rude and who''s Dark?"

    "The Dark Tribulation, obviously. Now, dance for me." It snapped its fingers and multiple Fireballs appeared right in front of it. "And remember, if you stop dancing, you''ll burn."

    The Fireballs were launched towards Alwin. He began twisting and turning along with the barrage of Fireballs. Adrenaline coursed through his slimy body as he wriggled about in a mad jig. His mind went blank except for one thought¡ªdodge, dodge, and dodge. Alwin moved like his life depended on it because it did.

    One of the Fireballs whizzed by his body. The heat of it burned the side of his cheek. Shrinking in fear, he pulled himself together and continued to dance. Onwards and onwards, he danced his heart out, swinging and swaying his way through the myriad of Fireballs. One wrong move and he was toast. Alwin kept going forward and moving to the beat of his own drum. He swung and bobbed to a tune known only to him, performing moves that never existed before today.

    Another Fireball landed squarely on Alwin''s side. Burning hot pain rippled through his left half. Alwin let out a blood-curdling scream. Yet, he never stopped moving. The pain didn''t matter anymore. All he knew was to keep dodging. It was the only thing he could do to survive. So he twisted and contorted his body away from the incoming Fireballs. If there was a fancy word for twist, then he did that as well.

    Fireballs bombarded the dancing slime. The blinding white walls had become a canvas of smoldering embers and black ash. The fires around him cast a wild light, growing fiercer and more chaotic with each passing moment.

    Then they all vanished. The Fireballs had ceased.

    Despite their absence, Alwin was still dancing like his life depended on it, even though it didn''t. The tribulation wasn''t over here, evident by the fact that the system screen still remained as well as the tiny fire person. It lay on the floor, one arm supporting its head as it scratched its flaming tush.

    "Stop, already. I''m bored," the being said.

    Alwin had heard what it said, but any semblance of control was lost. You know the phrase ''Fight or Flight''? Today, it became ''Fight, Flight or Dance''. Panic drove Alwin''s motions. Even with the threat of danger gone, his body continued to twitch uncontrollably in a motion so unrhythmic that it looked like he was having a seizure.

    After many long awkward minutes of thrashing and flailing¡ªpunctuated by the Fire being''s occasional yawn¡ªAlwin finally regained control of his body. But that only made it feel worse. Everything ached. He felt drained from top to bottom and just wanted to sleep for the rest of the day.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "You''re no fun," the Fire being complained. "I don''t get why Dark decided to change things up after meeting you. Tell you what, I''ll let you go if you can beat this¡ª"

    It lifted one clawed finger, a thin, flickering trail of flame extending from its tip and dripping lazily to the ground. Each drop sizzled against the earth, pooling and swirling as more fire extruded from its finger, piling up in an eerie, flaming mass. The flames twisted and expanded, shaping themselves until a new figure stood before Alwin¡ªa blazing construct in the form of an ant, roughly his height, its body entirely composed of flickering fire.

    With a final, almost dismissive gesture, the being dropped its finger, and the blazing creature¡¯s eyes flared to life.

    "Beat my pet and I''ll consider this tribulation over."

    Without giving Alwin a moment to process, the Fire Ant charged, each step searing the ground and leaving a smoldering trail of embers in its wake. The air around it shimmered with heat, and the faint crackle of flames filled the air as it closed in.

    With a sudden lunge, it struck out at Alwin, attempting to sink its jaws into his jelly-like body. The Dark Slime¡ªor maybe Dancing Slime¡ªevaded its strike by sliding to the left.

    Before he could take advantage of the opening left by the giant insect''s overextension, a fiery stinger whipped at him. Good thing his dance moves were too awesome for such a puny blow to land. Alwin slid to the right and hopped over the attack.

    Now, it was his turn to attack. There was only one good way that Alwin could think of to get rid of an annoying bug. The Spirit Feet had returned for a comeback. Left foot stomped down hard on the Fire Ant''s abdomen, while the right foot stomped on its thorax. It swung around and attempted to bite Alwin''s head off, but two hops were all he needed to avoid being turned into lunch.

    Another two stomps by his left foot and another two stomps by his right. His plan was not working in the slightest! Alwin hopped over the charging ant and switched sides. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what dance moves would be the most effective. Wait, that didn''t make much sense. Stupid, ''Fight, flight or dance''.

    Alwin had to switch gears from dance to fight. But, before he could attempt any combat-worthy actions, the ant clamped down onto his feet. Fire rushed in, searing flesh with its blistering heat. He yelled out in pain as flames wrapped around his foot before remembering that he didn''t have any feet. The Spirit Feet had been caught. The spectral feet sizzled in the mandible grip of the ant. It crushed harder and harder with every second that passed. The pain was excruciating for the Spirit Feet and Alwin couldn''t feel anything¡ªthere was no sensory connection between them.

    While the Fire Ant was busy playing with some feet, Alwin attacked the floor with his head trying to knock some sense into himself or at least knock the dance out of him. Head butt, head butt, head butt or body slam, body slam, body slam¡ªdepending on how you classify slime physiology. Again and again, he continued pounding the floor. Then it hit him.

    The Fire Ant hit him, not some revelation. A flurry of magical particles floated in the air¡ªthe remains of the Spirit Feet. Now, the Fire Ant had its flaming feet on Alwin pushing him down onto the ground. Its burning legs were digging into Alwin''s gelatinous body, sending waves of burning hot agony across his entire frame.

    Alwin bucked wildly, trying to escape the painful grip of the ant, but to no avail. A pair of mandibles inched closer as they snapped open and closed in anticipation of sinking into Alwin''s putty-like form. Thank goodness the ant was giving him time to come up with a solution instead of immediately biting his head off.

    With his body restrained, Alwin couldn''t dance his way out of this situation, nor could he run. That meant there was only one option left: Fight.

    Darkness shrouded his body like a layer of black mist before he jettisoned forward and out of the Fire Ant''s grip. Alwin smashed into the Fire Ant''s head sending waves of pain rippling through his body¡ªbecause when you touch fire you get burned. Thankfully, that was enough to stun the ant giving him some time to reel in pain.

    Now, the tables have turned. It was Alwin''s turn to send waves of pain that would wash over the ant''s entire body, extinguishing its flames of life. Alwin launched a Yin-Yang Blast at the ant. That was what he would have liked to say, but the only thing that came out was a system notification.

    Skill Currently Not Available.

    Well, that was dumb. Was it performance anxiety? Anyway, no time to troubleshoot. He just had to use his tried and true assortment of different flavored Blasts. One day he would expand his repertoire of attacks, but today won''t be that day.

    Despite the pain rampaging through his body, no thanks to that no-good Fire Ant, Alwin was able to conjure up a storm of Spirit Blast. Balls of Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts manifested in front of him. With a strained yell that was totally unnecessary, he launched them all forward, flooding the air with arcs of mana.

    Waves of mana, tiny Spirit Blasts, and regular-sized ones hit the Fire Ant like a barrage of fireworks. Explosions rang out and flashes of light seared the air. Each impact made Alwin wince as clouds of dust billowed up, fragments of energy crackling against the insect¡¯s armored shell. But as the dust cleared, his heart sank¡ªnot a single scratch. Well, crap.

 Chapter 84: Goodbye Fire Ant

    As thick smoke billowed all around him, Alwin blinked through the haze, struggling to catch his breath. Was something wrong with his attack choices? How could the mighty Dark Slime be beaten by a lowly ant? Clearly, it was not the fault of the attacks themselves. Nope, there had to be some external factor causing him to lose. Okay, lose wasn''t the right word. No, this was merely an inconvenient setback. Temporary. Definitely temporary.

    But that didn¡¯t make him feel any better as his attacks continued to fizzle out, swallowed by the ant¡¯s flame-coated carapace. A burst of brilliance lit up inside Alwin''s head. If you can''t beat the pet then just beat the master. Without thinking any further, Alwin gathered up the mana in his Core and transformed them into his usual repertoire of Spirit Blasts. They whizzed past the Fire Ant and headed straight towards the Fire being itself.

    Unfortunately, the little guy just let out a yawn before waving his hand lazily. A wave of heat barreled toward him. Alwin barely had time to react before flames roared through the room, engulfing his precious Spirit Blasts and swallowing them whole, their remnants fizzling out into the ether.

    Curses! Alwin¡¯s scheme had gone up in literal smoke.

    "Last chance," warned the Fire being.

    Well, there goes that plan. Now what? None of his Blasts worked against that stupid Fire Ant and any of his tackles would end up hurting himself instead. Talk about an impasse. Think, Alwin, think! If only he could summon help. Help, of course!

    Spirit Hands emerged from thin air next to Alwin. Their fingers wiggled in anticipation of action. These guys probably wouldn''t work either, but trying is better than dying. Hopefully, they can buy him enough time for a new strategy to brew.

    Each hand curled its fingers into a ball and began assaulting the Fire Ant. Fists rained down on both literally and figuratively. They pelted the giant flaming bug mercilessly. Every punch landed with full force, yet none managed to make so much as a dent in the monster''s armor. On the other hand, the Spirit Hands were the ones to receive the brunt of the damage. Their normally translucent blue had become a charred black if they were lucky. The not-so-lucky ones became coated in a layer of red and orange¡ªin other words, they were on fire.

    But still, it was enough to distract the ant. It began focusing on getting rid of the pesky hands rather than torturing Alwin. It jumped towards each attacking hand with a fiery clash of its mandibles. A single bite tore right through a pair of hands, burning them into nothing but ash. Four pairs remained but they were dwindling quickly. The ant bit at the remaining pairs of hands, taking them out within seconds.

    Once again, it was just Alwin and the Fire Ant¡ªtechnically Lapis and the Fire being were there too but they don''t count. The Fire Ant stalked back towards Alwin ready to claim its kill. If only he could use his Yin-Yang Blast, then that Fire Ant would be a Dead Ant. It wasn''t the most creative insult but come on, Alwin was on the verge of becoming a Dead Slime. He didn''t have the capacity to create mind-blowing humor under duress.

    He continued racking his brains for possible solutions, hoping for the miracle of a breakthrough to save the day. The Fire Ant scurried toward Alwin. In retaliation, Alwin shot a bunch of Spirit Blast at the ant. Just like last time, the attacks disappeared without doing any damage to the enemy.

    Now, in desperation, Alwin attempted to shoot out Yin-Yang Blasts at the Fire Ant, but once again the only thing to come out was a bunch of system messages.

    Skill Currently Not Available.

    Skill Currently Not Available.

    Skill Currently Not Available.

    Skill Currently Not Available.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Skill Currently Not Available.

    And this was the truncated version of what Alwin received. The whole thing would''ve taken up like fifty pages if Alwin hadn''t dismissed all those notifications. While all that was going on, the Fire Ant charged forward for the finishing blow.

    Out of ideas, Alwin did the first thing he thought of¡ªevolve. It was the only thing he hadn''t tried yet. Maybe it''ll give him a power-up that''ll allow him to destroy that stupid bug. A flash of white light surrounded Alwin as his body grew bigger ever so slightly. Pure white replaced half of his inky black surface, swirling like clouds on a sunny day.

    Meanwhile, the Fire Ant was now inches away from sinking its red hot flaming mandibles into Alwin''s cute and bouncy body. In a fit of panic, Alwin unleashed a Yin-Yang Blast directed right at the ant. The white and black orbs slammed against the ant creating an explosion. Alwin got caught in the blast and was sent flying backward, whizzing past the Fire being and colliding with the system screen behind it with a squishy splat sound¡ªgood thing the screen was no longer on fire.

    The Fire Ant barreled out from the cloud of yin-yang, hellbent on finishing its target. Unable to get his bearings fast enough, Alwin watched in horror as the flaming insect rushed towards him. But something was odd, it was moving slower than usual. Alwin decided to put some basic arithmetic to the test.

    One, two, three, four, five... where was the sixth? Now unless Alwin failed both basic math and biology, that thing should have six legs, not five. What happened? Obviously, the Yin-Yang Blast did something. Alwin was stupid but not that stupid. Wait, he could use Yin-Yang Blast now? Right, it was a species skill exclusive to his Yin-Yang Slime form. Maybe he was that stupid after all.

    Finally, with access to his most powerful attack, Alwin began to prepare the Yin-Yang Blast to end all Yin-Yang Blasts. Like that fight with Tess, Alwin manipulated his Yin-Yang Blast, separating the twin orbs. Multiple black yin orbs flew out from his right and curved towards the Fire Ant, while multiple white yang orbs curved out from the left.

    "Well that looks fun," said the Fire being.

    The black and white balls converged. Their casings shattered as they touched each other. Dark and light mana oozed from their shattered shells, swirling and intertwining in a chaotic dance until they formed a massive, pulsing Yin-Yang symbol.

    An ominous silence followed¡ªthen, with a thunderous roar, the mixture erupted in a voracious explosion that consumed the room.

    Alwin barely managed to duck behind his makeshift system screen shield as the blast tore through everything in its path. Flames, light, and darkness clashed and fused, flooding the room in a blinding radiance that burned like the sun. For a split second, it seemed as though the brightness might rival Alwin''s future¡ªalmost.

    When Alwin''s ears finally stopped ringing and his vision was no longer just pure white, he peeked out from his hiding spot. A dome of flames surrounded him and the Fire being. Was this hell?

    "You''re welcome," the Fire being said.

    The wall of flames subsided and a scorched wasteland greeted him, barren except for the lone Fire Ant whose carcass lay strewn across the floor, nothing left but a burnt husk. Black, blacker than a raven''s wings; darker than a shadow on a moonless night; blackest of black. Well, look at Alwin using big-boy metaphors and semicolons.

    "Barely passable. Hopefully next time you''ll be more entertaining."

    "Next time?"

    "That''s what I said."

    With that said, the Fire being stepped through the flaming system screen and vanished along with it. The flame wall that separated Lapis and her drones from Alwin disappeared as well. Standing alongside her was everyone''s second favorite paper-thin triangle-headed teacher, Milvus. A slack-jawed expression covered the monster''s face as he gazed around the room in wonder. Meanwhile, Lapis was hovering up and down like an excited puppy, shouting phrases of awe.

    "Awesome! That was amazing!" she exclaimed. "I managed to record all of that down. So much valuable data. Who was that Fire guy anyway? Whatever, doesn''t matter. Actually, wait it does. Does it have something to do with Refinement? Ooh boy, I can''t wait to find out."

    Just as Alwin opened his mouth to speak, a brilliant white light surged out from within him, flooding his vision and warming his core. He felt his very essence unraveling, his form dissolving and reforming on a scale incomprehensible. Each part of him was being deconstructed, reshaped, and redefined¡ªyet instead of pain, comfort enveloped him.

    It was pure bliss, but not in a weird way. Imagine the softest, heaviest velvet blanket, wrapping around him like a tender embrace, resting on a mattress that seemed to mold perfectly to his every curve. The air was perfectly balanced, just cool enough to counter the warmth of the blanket without a hint of chill. That was how it felt for Alwin. This was his evolution.

 Chapter 85: Hello Fire Ant

    Alwin''s whole body trembled. Heat coursed through his body flooding every inch of him with its fierce intensity. Yet despite the pain, there was a part of him that yearned for it and wanted more. Instinctively he reached out to it, beckoning for more of it. Power swelled within him, growing stronger with every passing second. The burning heat increased in strength until it surpassed all reason and logic. Still, he craved more. All he had to do was reach out a little further and seize the power that was mere millimeters away from him.

    He felt it. A strange sensation started to worm its way through his consciousness. It wasn''t painful per se, but it also wasn''t enjoyable either. If Alwin had to describe it, the best analogy would be feeling a sneeze coming on but it never fully happened.

    Then like the spark that lights a blazing inferno, his eyes opened wide, pupils expanded and multiplied into thousands of microscopic slits. Each pupil stared unblinkingly, a sheer veil of yellow encircling them, examining and taking in every single detail. When he tried to blink, he found himself unable to even shut them. This was terrible. Terrible indeed! How was he going to sleep at night!

    There was a weight, a grounding that hadn¡¯t been there before, and for a moment, he dared to look down. To his astonishment, huge chitinous forelegs were sprouting from his sides, stretching and unfolding outwards, casting shadows against the shimmering light. He blinked¡ªor, well, felt as if he would have blinked¡ªstaring in disbelief as two stubby legs formed behind them, then another pair soon after. His body felt more solid as if any remnants of his slimy past were stripped away.

    The light began to fade and as the glowing dimmed, the details of his new form were revealed. A pair of antennae adorned the top of his head while a pair of compound eyes inspected the changes his body had gone through. Thick and spiny legs stuck out from his side. He brought a leg up to eye level, examining it carefully. From what he could tell, the leg was an insect''s leg. Also, the leg was on fire.

    Alwin let out a high-pitched scream causing the mandibles that protected his mouth to snap open and close rapidly. That surprise overwhelmed him which in turn caused his screaming to escalate even higher in pitch. It was on fire too.

    He ran around the room with all six of his legs pitter-pattering against the ashen floor. Every step he took left a trail of embers as flames flowed out from his feet. There was a genius solution to his fiery predicament. Alwin flung himself to the ground with a thud. With all of the enthusiasm of a tumbleweed in a tornado, he rolled across the ground, scattering embers as he attempted to extinguish the flames that crawled all over his body.

    After circling around the room many times over, he paused and gasped for breath. During his dramatic roll, he realized something crucial about himself. He had legs. Not one leg or even two. Six mighty legs he had. Six majestic limbs upon which he could walk with ease. His days of bouncing everywhere were over. Those memories will be cherished forevermore¡ªunless he decided to devolve.

    Another probably more important part of his whole inspection was that he was on fire. Good job noticing the obvious, Alwin. Yes, the world would fall to ruin without your keen observations. There were bits of fire spread all over his body, each a smoldering red-orange. Tiny wisps of smoke rose off the tips of the flames as they danced slowly, back and forth, rising and falling in rhythm. They didn''t burn or scorch, neither did they cause him pain, nor discomfort. It''s kind of like hair¡ªyou don''t really notice it unless you touch it.

    Using the power of observation, Alwin examined the rest of his body. To cut a long rambling session short, Alwin had become the very thing that he had attempted to destroy¡ªand he wasn''t talking about that dumb wooden dummy. No, Alwin had became a Fire Ant! Presumably. A simple check of his status would confirm his suspicions but where''s the fun in that?

    "How are you feeling, Alwin?" asked Milvus.

    "Hot, I guess?"

    Milvus shook his triangular head. "Are you hurt anywhere? Any broken... exoskeleton? Mana exhaustion?"This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "Look, Milvee, he''s fine. Now, let''s get down to business. Show me your status. I need to document all of this down."

    "I understand your excitement, Minister Lapis, but Alwin, here, just went through what I would call a traumatic tribulation. No pills, no equipment, and some unknown being even invaded the tribulation."

    "But my research," she whimpered.

    "I''m actually fine, I think," said Alwin. "Nothing''s really bugging me."

    This time he smacked his face with one of his paper tentacles and let out a deep sigh. "If you''re feeling fine then please open your status for Minister Lapis to inspect it. I''m going to head back to the academy and return all of the equipment I took out. And please be safe when you''re experimenting with Minister Lapis, your classmates are worried about you."

    "He''s fine, Milvee. Now, shoo. Shoo. "

    With that, Milvus disappeared up the stairs leaving Alwin alone with a very enthusiastic Lapis and her drones. Alwin wasn''t sure if it was the result of evolving, but he felt a sense of pride rise up inside of him as he declared confidently, "Here is my status."

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Fire Soldier Ant (Tier 2)

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Species Skills: Fire Bite (F)

    Skills: Spirit Hands (B), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (A), Spirit Scatter Blast (A), Spirit Burst Blast (A), Spirit Feet (F), Refinement (F)

    Evolution: 0/5000

    Devolution: 3/100

    Buffs: +5% Damage Boost to Fire Elemental Attacks

    So he was a Fire Soldier Ant. That meant he was two-thirds correct in guessing what he turned into. Plus a new Species Skill that utilized those large mandibles called Fire Bite. Most important of all was the ''Buffs'' section. That was a new one, but a welcomed addition. An increase in damage to all Fire-based moves! That sounded too good to be true. But he did have a question.

    "Say, Lapis. Why did I get a buff when I evolved?"

    "Oh, that just means you''re more in tune with the system, so you get a reward or a ''buff''. It sometimes happens when a monster evolves and sometimes doesn''t."

    "So how come my Yin-Yang Slime form didn''t get a buff?"

    "Did you not hear what I said? Sometimes you do and sometimes you don''t. Although it could just be because your Light side and Dark side cancel each other out, so you don''t get anything. No idea. Anyway, drones! Come and do your thing."

    More of Lapis'' drones swooped down from the stairs and into the former white room. They took pictures of Alwin''s status, even going so far as to take photos of them at different angles. That sounded like a waste of time or maybe something special happened if you looked at it from a different angle. Alwin walked to the left and viewed his status. Nope, it was still the same. Then he walked to the right. An even bigger fat dose of nothing. What a waste of time. At least he got to put his legs to the test.

    Meanwhile, Lapis'' drones recorded every single bit of info about Alwin''s new form. They circled around him and took dozens of photos and when Alwin was moving about trying to look at his status at a different angle they took a video of that as well. Some of them even took photos of the flaming trail marks that Alwin left behind.

    Once Lapis was satisfied with the amount of information, she commanded the drones to bring down a special gift for Alwin. A pair of drones returned soon after, carrying atop their heads a familiar-looking foe. It was Alwin''s sworn enemy, the wooden dummy! It wasn''t the same one as the one in the training grounds classroom¡ªit was probably its cousin. But, that was good enough.

    Alwin didn''t even need to be prompted by Lapis before he activated his new skill. The flames covering his mandibles grew brighter and hotter than ever as he chomped down on the wooden dummy. Honestly, ¡°butter dummy¡± would¡¯ve been a more fitting name¡ªthe way his mandibles sliced through it.

    He stood over his accomplishment, thorax full of pride. The severed sections of the dummy crackled with flames, and now the parts he stood on were beginning to catch fire.

    "Good show, grand great student of mine. I''ve got all of the data I need for now. I''ll call you when I need your help again."

    Before Alwin could say anything, a flash of light blinded him. When his vision returned to normal, he found himself back in the academy. The same old boring corridors greeted him. So much for getting to skip class. Maybe next he''ll work on acquiring some Fire Elemental skills. Good thing, Lapis had dropped him off right in front of the library.

    It was as if she could read his mind. Maybe she was a mind reader or maybe Alwin was slowly descending into madness. Either way didn''t currently affect him. Right now, he was going to expand his repertoire of sizzling-hot skills.

 Chapter 86: Hey, were at the library again

    Alwin waltzed around the library on all six of his new set of legs. Books, shelves, and bookshelves filled his vision. Also within his vision were a bunch of monsters all absorbed in their books, but he chose to ignore them because they looked boring. Speaking of boring, did you know that this internal monologue session was just Alwin procrastinating. By all means, he should be looking for a new skill book to read, but that seemed like so much effort. What was more fun was pacing about in the library and having a conversation with yourself.

    Throughout all of the walking and thinking to himself, there was this pressure that was building up within him. It was like a pot about to bubble over, but instead of being filled with water, it was filled with something far more sinister. Anxiety. This brew of worry mixed together with fear, panic, doubt, and hopelessness created the perfect storm for an anxiety attack. It was fueled by procrastination. If not, how would he end up as the Valedictorian? Or even become a Minister for that matter?

    Those thoughts weighed heavy on his mind. Eventually, he caved in and actually did something productive¡ªhe decided to find out which section of the library he was at. A normal monster would have simply looked up at the signage overhead, but Alwin decided to do things his way.

    With the addition of his brand-new ant legs, there was only one course of action available to him. The towering bookshelf loomed overhead, each shelf a cliff, each a foothold for losers¡ªAlwin didn''t need any support to climb! He jabbed one leg into its wooden side, feeling it catch, then hauled himself upward.

    Step. Grip. Step. Grip. His antennae quivered as he gauged the distance to the next ridge. Below, the library stretched out like a sprawling abyss, littered with oblivious readers who, thankfully, hadn''t noticed the ambitious insect on his expedition.

    A slip here, a wobble there¡ªhe froze mid-climb, his body clinging to the shelf as if gravity had just remembered he existed. But with a determined huff¡ªor maybe just an ant-sized grunt¡ªhe pressed on, inching toward the summit, a hero on a quest to conquer the literary peaks.

    Reaching the top shelf, he scaled over the final ledge and popped his head over the precipice, surveying the land of knowledge laid bare before him. Thousands upon thousands of books lay below him, most of them boring and technical manuals on whatever. There was only one thing that caught his attention¡ªa small wooden placard with the word ''Cooking Section'' inscribed onto it.

    That''s it? He spent all that effort climbing a mountain just to discover it was the cooking section. That seemed like a waste of library space. Who cares about cooking? It''s cook or be cooked in this world and ironically enough, cooking skills weren''t going to help him be in the former.

    "Hey, that''s not true. Without cooking you can''t survive and if you can''t survive then you''re dead," a voice called out from below.

    Who was that? Who was invading his personal thoughts? Who dared to read the mind of the mighty Alwin! A glance down revealed a yellow-colored FluffPaw munching on a muffin. It was the monster, the myth, the legend, Gus.

    "Wait, you''re a mind reader, Gus?" asked Alwin.

    "Nope, you were just narrating your thoughts for some reason."

    Alwin paused. He stopped. He pondered. Was he actually doing that? How? And why? Also, when did his internal dialogue become an external dialogue? Things weren''t making any sense anymore. However, in the midst of his confusion, Alwin made a mental note to think softer in the future, just in case something like this happened again.

    Another thought entered Alwin''s mind¡ªhe was being a pest. That statement was meant both literally and figuratively. Turns out that when you''re all the way on top of a bookshelf while trying to have a conversation with your friend who was all the way down on the ground level, you have to project your voice just to be audible. In other words, Alwin was shouting which earned him the glare of numerous library-goers.

    Not wanting to disappoint the masses any further, Alwin opted for the best option¡ªget off the bookshelf as fast as possible. This time he chose a practical approach instead of climbing down the whole thing. Using the power of one of the fundamental forces of the world¡ªgravity¡ªAlwin leaped off the top of the bookshelf.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    With Antennae flailing wildly and all six of his feet paddling furiously against the air, he crashed straight into Gus, knocking the poor FluffPaw back. Fortunately for Alwin, there was a plushy body that cushioned the blow allowing him to walk away practically unscathed. Unfortunately for Gus, Alwin forgot one crucial aspect of his current form. Every part of his body was covered in flames except for his eyeballs.

    Alwin stood upright, inspecting his fallen comrade. Gus'' mouth agape and eyes wide open, He stared horrified at his friend. It wasn''t because the fluffy little boy had suffered major burns thanks to a no-good Fire Soldier Ant, it was because Gus was inhaling the flames as if it were just air. The flames, bright and wild, should have reduced Gus¡¯ lightning-yellow fluff to a deep charcoal black, and yet they swirled around him, coiling around him like obedient serpents, spiraling toward his mouth.

    In the span of a second, Alwin saw the flames disappear into the yawning void that was Gus'' gullet. Before Alwin could even utter a word, Gus let out a deafening burp, unleashing a puff of smoke from within.

    "Yummy, thanks for the meal."

    Gus patted his belly, satisfied. All traces of the once fiery inferno that consumed his entire body had vanished without a trace. Well, all except for the smoky smell that followed.

    "Um... welcome?" was all Alwin managed to sputter.

    Choosing to ignore everything that had just transpired¡ªwhy waste the brainpower¡ªAlwin finally asked a burning question. "What are you doing here anyway, Gus?"

    "Oh, I''m here looking for cooking recipes, but there isn''t anything interesting on this level. What about you?"

    "I''m here looking for new skills to learn so that I can become the Valedictorian."

    "Sounds tough. Anyway, bye-bye."

    "Where are you going?" asked Alwin, stopping Gus before he could make a getaway.

    "I was going to look for recipes on the next floor. Apparently, you need to beat some challenge or task to get up. Hey, since you''re going to be the Valedictorian, think you could help me?"

    "Of course! No library can stop me! Lead the way, good sir!"

    As Gus led the way toward the room that would challenge their mettle, he popped a question. "Hey, what''s your name?"

    "What do you mean? I''m Alwin. We''ve known each other since the day we were born."

    "You are? But you''re an ant and Alwin''s a slime, so how can you be Alwin?"

    "You know what? You''re right. I''m not Alwin, I''m actually Winal."

    "Well, nice to meet you, Winal."

    "Nice to meet you too, Gus."

    Now that introductions were complete, the duo charged forward with renewed vigor, ready to defeat whatever obstacles lay in store for them. Alwin snickered internally, eager to see what kinds of tricks he could play on Gus. If only Gus wore clothes instead of being in the nude¡ªalthough that was the norm for most monsters¡ªthen he could pants him! This time, Alwin remembered to keep his thinking on the quiet side in case he accidentally blurted out his thoughts again.

    Gus led the way, zig-zagging through the labyrinth of bookshelves. He forwent using his two paws to carry himself and instead opted to do things the old-fashioned way¡ªhopping. The two paws were tasked with something much more dire and urgent. They were shoveling muffins into his mouth, pulling them out from Cor knows where.

    ¡°See that bookshelf over there,¡± he said, his paw shooting forward to point at the farthest bookshelf, the motion scattering crumbs from the half-eaten muffin he clutched.

    "Which one?" replied Alwin or should we say Winal." This whole place is covered in bookshelves."

    "The one over there," said Gus as he repeated the same motion, though this time he sent even more crumbs flying everywhere.

    Winal or shall we say, Alwin squinted, staring at the offending object. It was hard to discern the details at this distance, but it sure looked like a normal bookshelf to him. But wait a minute¡ªwas that a doorknob he saw emanating from between the tomes?

    He shared this speculation with Gus. To which Gus nodded and shoved another muffin into his already bulging cheeks. With muffins stuffed all over his face, he slurred out a reply. "Yeright. Datish da doorknohb."

    The realization smacked Winal so hard that he almost stumbled. Of course, it was a secret entrance! The kind with bookshelves that slide open to reveal hidden passageways. Classic. Alwin scuttled forward, his ant legs clicking against the brass doorknob. He gave it a push to the left. Nothing. He shoved it to the right. Still nothing. Maybe it needed to be greased up?

    "What are you doing, Winal?" asked Gus.

    "I''m trying to open the door but it''s stuck. I think it might be rusted up."

    "Do it like this." Gus grabbed the doorknob, with Alwin''s legs still on it. He could feel the sticky residue from Gus'' paws adhere to his appendages, but the FluffPaw paid it no heed as he pulled on the doorknob.

    With a groan and a creak, the bookshelf swung open, revealing a hallway bathed in golden light. The brilliance flooded the corridor, leaving Alwin clinging to the knob in stunned silence while Gus ate the flames that dared to burn his paws off. ¡°You just got to pull."

    "Let''s go!" cheered Gus, marching triumphantly into the unknown.

    Winal took a tentative step forward, carefully examining the path ahead of him. Golden light blazed everywhere, pouring down from unseen lamps that lined the ceiling. In front of him stood Gus, hopping up and down in excitement. In front of Gus, lay an ash-black monkey holding a musket. And in front of thegun-wieldingg monkey stood a stone statue of an open book. Whoever carved the stone to make the pages look so lifelike deserved a prize for their artistry.

    "Hey, there, pardners. You here to go to the next floor too?"

 Chapter 87: Stone Book

    That musket-holding monkey was none other than Flintlock. Crap! Would he be able to recognize Alwin or Winal? If yes, then there goes that plan of messing with Gus.

    "Yes, I am," said Gus, spraying out bits of muffin and saliva onto Flintlock.

    "Say it, don''t spray it next time, fella." Flintlock whipped out his tail to wipe up the mess. "So who''s this buster you got with ya?"

    "This is, Winal. He wants to become the Valedictorian and so I thought he could help us get to the next floor easily."

    "That so? Well, as long as he ain''t causing trouble then I ain''t got nothing to complain about." Flintlock''s gaze switched over to Winal. "I advise you to stay away. Me and flames don''t mix."

    "Sir, yes, sir," Winal responded, using his left leg to salute the Powder Chimp.

    Flintlock smiled. " No need for formalities. Just call me Flintlock."

    Yes! That ape didn''t know that Winal was actually Alwin. His disguise was foolproof. Now all he had to do was come up with a genius plan to mess with them. Then when the coast is clear he would revert back to his Yin-Yang Slime form. Wait. Could he even do that? Alwin knew he could Devolve back into a Dark Slime, but could he choose what he wanted to Evolve back into? Maybe he should have thought this plan through, but the consequences of his actions were the problems of Future Alwin. Right now, he was Present Alwin.

    "So what do we need to do?" asked Gus.

    "Darned if I know. I¡¯ve only seen this big ol'' statue blocking the door. Supposedly you have to prove your worth or some nonsense to get past it. Think you can figure it out, Mr. Valedictorian-to-be."

    A life-sized stone statue of an open book stood in the center of the room. The surface of the pages had been polished to a soft, matte finish, yet the carving was so detailed that the chiseled edges of each page seemed thin enough to turn. There were no words, pictures, or anything contained within those pair of pages laid out bare for the world to see.

    Winal inched closer to the statue for a better look. Now that he was near it, he could truly appreciate its beauty. From the crevices running down its spine to the eroded edges that formed the borders between every page, they were all detailed by someone who clearly loved what they were making. However, no matter how many times Winal studied it, he didn''t find anything resembling a test or a challenge anywhere.

    It was time to apply his brilliant deductive reasoning and mindful observation to solve this mystery. If sight didn''t work then he''d just have to get creative. To give himself a little bit of a breather, Winal moved even closer to the stone statue and took a good long whiff of it. The air hissed as it filled his ant nostrils, carrying the earthy tang of stone and dust, but mostly dust. A few seconds later, a sneeze exploded from Alwin, echoing throughout the room.

    "Gesundheit, pardner," called out Flintlock.

    After politely apologizing for his display of uncouthness, Winal resumed his examination of the statue. He had an idea worthy of the Valedictorian-to-be himself. Winal turned his head to the side and leaned in close, his ear hovering just above the cool surface of the stone. He held his breath, straining to catch even the faintest whisper. The sounds of flames crackling filled his ears, coupled with Gus chewing loudly on his number, something muffin. Not exactly helpful. Although it did give him an idea.

    Winal angled his head lower, his antennae brushing along the stone pages, mandibles spreading apart. Out from his mouth came a long thin tongue, rubbing itself over the statue. He pressed it flat against the smooth stone surface, his taste buds prickling with every lick. An unpleasant muted taste pervaded his tongue, made worse by the layer of dirt caking the statue. Winal choked back his disgust. No pain, no gain, he supposed. Although what he gained was the knowledge that licking the statue did nothing, not exactly the most useful piece of information.

    There was only one last thing that Winal could think of. He got up on two of his back legs, while the two middle legs grasped the sides of the stone statue. The two remaining front legs got to work, their clawed tips sliding carefully along the edges of the carved pages.

    No, no, no. This wasn''t going to work. Winal couldn''t get a good grip on the pages. This was where he modified his approach. Opening his mouth, he brought his right front leg closer and licked it, ensuring that the tip was moist with flaming saliva. Once there was a sufficient amount of drool coating the claws, he placed it back onto the statue''s surface and began to flip the pages of the stone book.

    "Hold up, you can turn the pages? Ain''t that book just for display purposes?" questioned Flintlock.

    "Apparently not," retorted Winal, continuing to flick through the pages.

    One after another, he flipped through them. They were surprisingly lightweight given that they were made of solid rock. Either way, Winal continued turning each individual page in an attempt to unravel the mysteries that laid before him. Blank page after blank page greeted his eyes. Something felt off about this situation. Wasn''t there meant to be a challenge to overcome? Or was this supposed to be part of the test? Finally, he landed on one that wasn''t empty. There, inscribed upon it was a simple sentence: ''Knowledge is power.''

    And immediately after those words appeared, a flash of golden light shot out from the statue. All three of them squinted as they were momentarily blinded by the glow. After a few seconds of intense flashing, the brightness dimmed to reveal the stone statue coming to life, floating right in front of them.Stolen story; please report.

    "While knowledge is power, you need the power to use that knowledge," said the animated rock. "Welcome to the trial to access the next floor of the library."

    "Wait!" Winal shouted.

    "What is the trouble, young monster?"

    "Are you saying that we haven''t even started the trial yet? Then what was flipping those pages all about?"

    "To call flipping pages in a book a trial is absurd, young monster. Such a trivial task could hardly be considered a challenge, much less a trial to unlock a new level of the library. Now don''t delay, let us begin."

    A flash of light consumed Winal''s vision¡ªagain. The number of times he had his eyes assaulted during his tenure in this academy was astounding. It was a miracle that no one in this school ended up blind. When his sight finally cleared it became evident that Winal may have been more screwed than he thought. Good thing, Gus and Flintlock were here to back him up, right? That was the issue. They were nowhere in sight and he even did a full 360 rotation just to be extra sure. The only things around in this golden void were him and the floating stone book.

    "I am not alive, but I can grow. I don¡¯t have lungs, but I need air. What am I?"

    "What?" said Winal, confused.

    Without any other answer, the stone book began to glow as if it were gathering energy. Its pages fluttered open as if they were made of paper. Pieces of sharpened stone were launched. One after another, they fired forward, faster than Winal could react. All he could do was yelp in surprise. Every projectile stabbed into his body, cracking his carapace, and splintering his exoskeleton. Or at least that was what was supposed to happen, but instead, they disintegrated the moment they came into contact with his body.

    What just happened? Why was he not dead? Winal looked his body up and down. Everything seemed intact and on fire. Nothing was out of the ordinary and he still had all six of his limbs. So what was going on? Did he pass the trial already or did he fail? Winal turned toward the stone book for any sort of sign about the status of this trial. Instead, he came face to face with the barrel of an inkpot.

    A cascade of jagged stone quills¡ªthat was the name of the skill¡ªerupted from its center, each one whistling through the air like sharpened writing instruments of devastation. The moment the multitude of stone quills came into contact with Winal, he instinctively jerked his head back as if they were being pounded into his skull. By the time his brain caught up with everything that was happening, Winal found himself lying on the floor dazed with his face beet red.

    It wasn''t red because his exoskeleton had been cracked, neither was it red due to the flames he generated. Rather, it was because of the embarrassment of overreacting once again. Winal had taken zero damage, in fact, he didn''t even feel the stone quills impact his form. Yet, for some reason, he still ended up on the floor and reacted as if a landslide of stone had assaulted his cranium.

    Winal got up and dusted himself off with his two middle legs, the two front legs went up to his mandibles as he coughed into them. "I meant to do that," he said, looking at the stone book.

    It didn''t react. Unless you count it preparing for another attack as a reaction.

    Dozens of stone inkpots emerged from the floating book. They floated up into the air, hovering high above Winal''s head. This time he was prepared. The book gave a low, resonant hum, and the ink pots froze for a single heartbeat before hurtling downward in unison. They came crashing down, their pottery shattering against the shimmering golden floor, sending wave after wave of sharp stone quills in every direction. Winal braced for impact, snapping four of his legs up, shielding his body.

    The quills wanted to slam into his limbs, to penetrate his chitinous armor, to wreak havoc to his insides, but they simply disintegrated the moment they came into contact with his body. Yup, not surprised at all. Winal was invincible!

    Now it was his turn to attack. This Fire Soldier Ant form had its perks¡ªlegs, tough armor, being on fire¡ªbut it just didn¡¯t feel right. There was a certain comfort in his slime form. Another flash of light consumed his body. His hardened exoskeleton began to melt away, dripping like molten wax before dissolving into a thick, dark liquid. Limbs retracted, his segmented frame folding in on itself as his body shifted and shrank. The light dimmed, revealing a familiar shape¡ªa round, shadowy mass.

    Right after that, he activated his Evolution, focusing intently on transforming into a Yin-Yang Slime. His body began to ripple, the inky black of his slime darkening even further, while streaks of brilliant white light coursed through him like veins of luminescence. Finally, the glow subsided, revealing his Yin-Yang Slime form.

    Winal prepared his Yin-Yang Blast, separating them into their respective halves. The air grew dense as multiple black and white orbs streaked toward the stone book. The moment they collided, their energies mixing together, merging into a volatile storm of light and shadow, their opposing forces crackling and hissing in defiance. A gigantic explosion enveloped the golden room, swallowing it in a wave of chaos. The explosion rippled outwards shaking Winal to his Core.

    Winal was certain that the stone book had been evaporated. If that Fire Ant couldn''t handle such a blast then a pile of rocks certainly wouldn''t fare much better. And now that the trial was complete, he should be able to leave this place. That was if there even was an exit, to begin with. Was he stuck here for all eternity?

    Once the dust cleared, Winal''s jaw dropped. There floated the stone book still intact with nary a scratch on it. But that wasn¡¯t all. His gaze lifted, and his shock deepened. Above the defiant book, more stone books floated into view. A towering bookshelf made out of granite casted an ominous shadow over him, the stone books floated onto the shelf, their spines aligning perfectly as if there were an invisible librarian organizing the display.

    Winal blinked and panic began to settle in, but then he remembered that he was practically invincible here for some reason. There wasn''t a reason to be worried. As the structure was being constructed he took the time to organize his thoughts, sorting them out just like the display right in front of him. The only thing that really troubled him was that weird riddle right at the beginning of the fight. Something about breathing and having lungs. That was certainly weird.

    When the last stone book had been inserted into its spot, the bookshelf began to tilt forward. Winal watched as the entire structure fell towards him. With nothing else to do, he waited patiently for it to crush him. There was no way he would get hurt so why bother getting out of the way?

    Something clicked inside of that pea-sized brain of his. The puzzle pieces were beginning to fall into place: the riddle and how he didn''t get hurt no matter what was thrown at him. Winal gulped as the answer dawned on him. Fire. And now, the bookshelf was about to dawn on him and he was in for a world of hurt. One step forward, two steps back.

 Chapter 88: Next Floor

    With a resounding crash, the shelf slammed down on top of Winal. But unlike previous attempts, he could actually feel the weight of it crushing him. The pain of being slowly crushed to death, bit by bit, squeezing him like a tube of toothpaste. Not a nice feeling at all. In fact, it sucked. Big time. Tons of rubble piled up around him, burying him under several tons of pressure. All of that pressure on his tiny, little, squishy slime body wasn''t great for his well-being either. Good thing he didn''t have any bones to be crushed, but he still needed to escape quickly.

    Winal wriggled and writhed, twisting his body with all of his strength, desperately trying to worm his way out. Gritting his teeth, he shoved himself forward, his slimy body rubbing against the cold stone. The rough texture scraping against his jelly-like body sent jolts of discomfort running down his nerves. Slowly but surely, even as the sharp corners of the books pressed into him, forcing him to adjust his path with every agonizing slide, he pushed forward. With a final shove, Winal tumbled out from beneath the fallen bookshelf, gasping for air.

    It was a miracle that he didn''t die right then and there. Benefit of being a slime he supposed¡ªthey were squishy. However, his elation died a quick death when a giant looming shadow fell across his small body. Dread gnawed at his soul, terror clawed at his mind. He knew what this meant. It could only mean one thing. The weight of knowledge was about to press down onto him again.

    Turning his attention upward, his worst fears were confirmed. Towering high above him loomed an enormous set of bookshelves, casting their shadows over him like some kind of symbolic metaphor for society''s obsession with literature and erudite pursuits. These bookshelves were made out of massive slabs of grey rock, standing upright and supporting hundreds upon thousands of heavy stone tomes. Winal wanted to gulp at the sight in front of him, but instead, a high-pitched shriek escaped his mouth.

    As the bookshelves began their descent, Winal started practicing for the 100m sprint. Screaming, he ran backward away from the incoming avalanche of shelves and books. To be honest, he just had to run either to the left or right to avoid the avalanche, but he ran backward for some reason.

    Tremors shook the ground behind him as stone structure after stone structure toppled, spreading destruction in its wake. The noise was deafening, echoing through the golden void, reverberating in his ears, growing louder and louder with each passing second. Dust flew into the air, swirling around him as he fled the collapsing shelves. Even with all the carnage and devastation raging around him, Winal didn''t dare to look back. If he did, it might cost him precious time and ultimately lead to his demise. He refused to die. Not in this god-forsaken library. Not today. Now should probably be a good time to revert back to his Fire Soldier Ant form.

    A bookshelf slammed into the ground, nearly squashing the fleeing slime. Blinding white light erupted from him, engulfing the room as he Devolved back into a Dark Slime, then proceeded to Evolve into a Fire Soldier Ant. Within moments, his armored flaming chitin shell sprung to life, protecting his soft inner tissues from the environment.

    The moment his exoskeleton materialized, a deafening boom split the air. Winal instinctively raised his newly formed legs as a massive chunk of stone book came crashing down, smashing into him with incredible force. For a split second, his world turned grey, before it immediately returned to the golden brilliance of the room. The stone book disintegrated upon contact and now Winal was truly safe from harm¡ªunless he decided to hurt himself for some stupid reason.

    Winal looked up at the enormous bookshelf mountains, each one threatening to squish him like the pest he was. Too bad they couldn''t. Winal did his best to smirk at the situation, which was actually surprisingly difficult when you have the facial structure of an ant. With confidence boosted by his newly discovered invincibility, he strode forth without a hint of hesitation. The falling debris bounced off of his carapace and burned into ash, while his legs easily carved their way through the endless piles of rubble.

    Plowing through the mountain of books, Winal gave the situation a bit more thought. Was it really his fault that he didn''t get the answer to the riddle sooner? Who in their right mind would think that burning stone would be the solution. It was stone for crying out loud! Now that he felt a bit better given how dumb the riddle was, Winal scampered forward toward the progenitor of his suffering and embarrassment¡ªmostly embarrassment.

    The stone book continued to launch attack after attack at Winal. Stone pages, stone ink pots that exploded into stone quills, and stone bookshelves laced with innumerous numbers of stone books. Each one attempted to smash into Winal, but they all faced the same fate¡ªburning into nothingness.

    With four legs bringing him closer to his target, his front two legs were stretched high in the air as he accepted his imminent victory. More and more debris crashed into him, but they simply dealt zero damage. What a pathetic attempt by the stone book. At least put some effort into taking him down. All that talk about knowledge, but looks like it wasn''t smart enough to come up with a way to defeat Winal.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Finally, he reached the book and with both his front legs grabbed hold of it. It resisted, wriggling as much as a book made out of solid stone could physically manage. But with the help of the fire engulfing his body, the book crumbled to ash within moments. Now that the book had been destroyed, did that mean he won? No more challenges?

    As if the world was answering him, the vision in his eyes began to blur. A buzzing sound filled his head as flashes of blinding light blinded him. Before he knew it, everything faded to black, then back to that same golden hue.

    "Congratulations on passing the trial. You may now access the second level," a voice echoed in his head.

    And yet, in front of him was the stone book, once again placed atop a stone pedestal. This must be some kind of trick! He wasn''t going to fall for something as trivial as this, not again. If he could destroy that stone book, once then he could do it again. Winal crawled forward grabbing the statue, with his two front legs. That was odd, why didn''t the book turn to dust? It was made out of stone and he was drenched in flames after all. It should have been an instant win for him. If that didn''t work he just had to up his game.

    The flames on his mandibles grew larger as mana left his Core, fueling them. The instant the words ''Fire Bite'' left his mouth, he lunged forward snapping his mandibles shut around the edges of the book. It was like biting into... well, a rock. He tried to grind his jaws together, hoping to crack the surface of the cover, but his mandibles may as well have been grinding against diamond. After a few minutes of pointless chomping, Winal released his bite and stared up at the stone book. What in blazes was going on? He had better get to the rock bottom of this.

    When Winal turned around, he came face to face with two very familiar monsters, Gus and Flintlock. While Gus was preoccupied with another muffin, Flintlock was looking at him with a dumbfounded look on his face. If anyone wondered why, it was mostly because he found a dumb person¡ªbut in Winal''s defense, he was too much of a genius for their feeble minds to comprehend.

    "What in tarnation are you doing there, pardner?" asked Flintlock.

    "I..." Winal turned around to look at the stone statue, thoughts raging through his mind like a wildfire. "I was hungry."

    "If you''re hungry, you can have this," said Gus, offering his blueberry muffin.

    "Thanks." Winal grabbed the sweet treat from Gus''s paws, inspecting the fruit-laced confection.

    "So what took you so long, Mr. Valedictorian-to-be?" asked Flintlock. "Me and Gus here''ve been waiting for you for ages."

    Whoops. Was he really that incompetent? No, that can''t be the case. It must''ve been a fluke or something. They probably got lucky. There was only one way to find out. Probe them.

    "First you tell me how you beat that stone book thing,'' said Winal.

    "Well, it told me some gosh darn riddle and I figured it out pretty quick. The answer was firepower, so I started blasting. Ole Gus here just ate the darn book."

    "I see, I see."

    Well, that was embarrassing. How could the future Valedictorian be outdone by a gun-wielding monkey and a monster that was more stomach than brains? There was only one solution to his predicament.

    "Surprise attack!" Winal shouted as he lobbed the blueberry muffin at Flintlock.

    The musketeer drew his firearm and shot the flying snack, leaving behind nothing but powdered sugar and crumbs. When Flintlock turned back toward the culprit, he was already gone.

    Winal the Fire Soldier Ant had hightailed it out of there. There was no way he was going to admit that he struggled so much during the trial. Okay, technically he could''ve lied, but that was dishonest. Plus this also serves as throwing a prank at them. Was it a lame prank? Absolutely? Was it still classified as a prank? Definitely. So, technically he did fulfill his promise.

    The second floor of the library looked almost the same as the first floor. Rows of wooden shelving held row after row of thick tomes, stretching high up towards the ceiling. Dense clouds of dust hung in the air, particles floating through shafts of sunlight spilling from narrow windows along the walls. A peaceful silence hung in the air, broken only by the occasional creak of floorboards. That was until Winal made his appearance.

    He scampered into the second floor, weaving in between the numerous rows of bookcases, trying to find a suitable hiding spot. Flintlock was hot on his behind, he could feel it¡ªor maybe that was just the flames on his butt talking. Either way, he needed to find a place to hide. Hiding inside the bookshelves was too obvious, and him going on top of them would be like lighting a signal fire. There was only one way left¡ªhiding in plain sight.

    Lights and shouts filled the library as Winal Devolved back to a Dark Slime and back up into a Yin-Yang slime. Now he was Winal no longer, and he was back to Alwin. From there he shouted once more just to summon his Spirit Hands. Inconsideration aside, this was a life-or-death moment for him. It was the life-or-death moment of his stellar reputation.

    Flintlock and Gus were right around the corner, he could feel it¡ªthis time it wasn''t the flames playing tricks on him with another false positive. That was when he instructed the Spirit Hands to grab the closest book. Now time to open the book and blend in with his surroundings.

    Alwin didn''t even know what he was reading, but who cared about that. Okay, Uchronia might care but she wasn''t here right now, so Alwin didn''t care. The moment the book opened, his consciousness was transported into that familiar white void with the book''s avatar greeting him on the other side. Great, he had to fight more books again today.

    "I am the avatar of the ''Spirit Bomb'' book. Prove your worth. Defeat me, and you shall earn the right to learn the ways of the Spirit Bomb," the voice came from the book.

    Bomb? Maybe this book was good after all.

 Chapter 89: Defeating the Spirit Bomb Book

    The book loomed in the air, its black hardcover like polished obsidian, which contrasted with the white spine that ran down its edge. Bold crimson letters were sprawled across the front in sharp jagged strokes. In the center of the cover, the piece that dominated everything else was a cartoonish bomb etched in blue, complete with a short, fizzling wick.

    That was certainly a book about bombs if Alwin had ever seen one¡ªwhich, of course, he hadn¡¯t until today. His excitement was practically palpable as his heart leaped in anticipation at the prospect of learning how to cast such a spell. Why blast everyone to death when you could bomb everyone to death instead? Imagine the amount of devastation that could be unleashed on the humans¡ªespecially Gary Stew. Those no-good humans would stand no chance!

    There was no time like the present! The avatar had clearly agreed with Alwin''s sentiment because when he finally came out of his thoughts, a dozen bombs had been planted in a circle around him. Ever heard of a fairy ring? Well imagine that, but replace the mushrooms with big blue bombs with wicks shrinking faster than a man¡¯s pride on a winter morning. Most importantly, within that circle of death stood everyone''s favorite aspiring valedictorian ¡ªAlwin, AKA Winal, AKA the great pranking mastermind himself!

    After a second or two of stunned disbelief, the Spirit Bombs exploded, creating a maelstrom of concussive force that washed over Alwin with incredible velocity. A torrent of explosive energy slammed into him, enveloping him in a brilliant flash of light. Blinding beams of blue danced across the whiteness surrounding him, drowning out all sound save for his screaming. Seconds later, the fiery storm dissipated, revealing the aftermath of his fate.

    There stood Gus the FluffPaw and Flintlock the Powder Monkey, staring at him. Actually, Flintlock did most of the staring, while Gus was just being the same old Gus, eating a muffin. Darn it! The jig was up. They had found him. But how?

    Then it hit him harder than a bullet to the face¡ªhis screaming. Of course. He had screamed his little gooey lungs out when he got caught in the explosion. The moment his consciousness had left that library plane, his screaming persisted. Alwin had become a sonic beacon for anyone with at least half-functioning ears. Now they were here to pounce on him. How stupid of him. How foolish of him. How utterly idiotic of him. Good thing he had an ace up his sleeve. Deny everything.

    "Well, if it isn''t Alwin. Haven''t seen you in class for a bit. Are you doing okay there, pardner?" asked Flintlock.

    "Nope," replied Alwin.

    "Do ya need a muffin?" Gus extended a fluffy paw holding onto a cheese muffin.

    "Nope."

    "Well, alrighty, we''ll catch up later, but have you seen an ant monster about our height? On fire. Has a real annoying attitude. Think his name was something like Wilfred or Wesley... Oh, wait! It''s Winal. Weird fella."

    Alwin was starting to sweat bullets¡ªand the pun was most definitely intended. He gulped nervously before saying anything.

    "Nope."

    Flintlock fixed Alwin with a steely gaze, boring holes into him monster with those dark, powdery eyes. Did he suspect anything? That must be why he was looking at him with such skepticism.

    "You''re mighty sweaty there, pardner."

    "Nope." Sweat poured from Alwin''s face, forming pools on the ground beneath him.

    "That wasn''t a question, pardner. Hey, Gus, I think I know where that annoying little bugger is."

    Gus didn''t respond to Flintlock, but that was because he was too busy stuffing his face with food to give a reply. The furry creature devoured every morsel of the delicious meal with unbridled fervor, consuming each and every scrap in less time than it takes to describe the action.

    Was this the end? Should he hold his breath and count to ten? Was the sky about to fall on him?

    Before Alwin could finish pondering the intricacies of his doom, Flintlock summoned out his musket. Once more, he brought the muzzle of his firearm up to bear, pointing the barrel around the room searching for his target.

    "Look at how much our friend here is sweating. That darn blasted ant must be nearby, heating up the place with his own nasty self. We spread out and search for clues," said Flintlock.

    "Nope"Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    "I wasn''t talking to you, pardner, but wanna help us wrangle that bothersome buckaroo?"

    "Nope."

    "That''s fair, pardner. We won''t disturb you any longer."

    "Nope."

    "Can you say anything other than ''no'', there, pardner?"

    "Nope."

    "Right..." said Flintlock, giving Alwin one last lingering look, before strutting away, shouting orders at Gus. "Come on, Gus. Let''s go track down that pain in the derriere."

    Alwin exhaled a long, quiet breath, as he watched them leave. Gus sniffed the air while he stuffed yet another muffing into his maw, crumbs tumbling down onto the floor, leaving a trail of literal breadcrumbs behind him. Flintlock had his musket half-raised, snapping the barrel toward every faint creak or shuffle that any library-goers dared to produce.

    Looks like he had somehow lived to tell another tale. Good thing denying everything was the miracle solution. Now all he had to do was defeat the book''s avatar, learn how to bomb things, and hightail it out of here¡ªoccasionally moving at lowtail speeds if he even caught a whiff of Flintlock or Gus snooping near him.

    When Alwin finished relishing his victory, he opened up the book again with the help of his Spirit Hands. Back to the book''s Avatar world, he went.

    This time, he had a plan. One that would make his previous strategy of denying everything seem like child''s play. Don''t. Think.

    The avatar greeted Alwin with its usual greeting, but that was boring. What wasn''t boring was going on the offensive. Alwin summoned out his Spirit Hands that launched him toward the book like a cannonball¡ªexcept a lot squishier. Dark mana flooded out of his Core as his momentum was enhanced. Alwin''s Dark Tackle crashed into the avatar of the Spirit Bomb sending the avatar flying back. Unfortunately, it remained unscathed.

    The book soared into the air, flapping its covers as if they were wings. Its pages fluttered wildly¡ªbecause this time the pages were made of paper instead of stone¡ªas it took flight. It circled high above Alwin like a shark circling its prey, except now the shark was flying in the sky, also the shark had bombs. Lots of bombs.

    Clusters of them¡ªround, blue, and brimming with anti-Alwin powder¡ªmaterialized beneath its flapping pages. They descended upon Alwin in a deadly hail, dropping like... well, bombs.

    There were no thoughts put into Alwin''s next actions¡ªonly pure, unfiltered instinct. He called upon his Spirit Hands, their wrists attaching to his rotund body. They looked toward the sky, hands outstretched. A separate pair of Spirit Hands were called out, they formed loops with their thumb and index finger, before affixing themselves over his eyes like a pair of oversized, imaginary sunglasses.

    As the bombs detonated in a chain of thunderous explosions, rocking the void with flashes of blue light, Alwin just hopped away. A casual slow hop, like he was taking a stroll through the park. No flinching. No screaming. And definitely no looking back.

    Cool slimes don¡¯t look at explosions.

    Unfortunately, the rule of cool didn''t make him immune to damage. Alwin was consumed by the intense heat and pressure waves of the explosions, sending him reeling as his consciousness was forced out of the white void. It felt as if he had been beaten and burned all over his entire body.

    Even though he was not supposed to think, Alwin had another ingenious idea. If the fiery explosions were the ones kicking him out of that weird white-void-book-avatar place thing¡ªAlwin was good at names¡ªthen all he had to do was be immune to fire.

    Back into the book his consciousness went, and back to that standard greeting line by the avatar. Boring. While the book was talking, Alwin took the opportunity to Devolve back into his Dark Slime form and Evolve back into that Fire Soldier Ant form of his. Now he was immune to the flaming explosions produced by the Spirit Bomb¡ªprobably.

    Somehow, the book was still talking. Perfect. Alwin didn¡¯t hesitate. He charged toward the avatar, setting his mandibles alight as he charged forth like an angry bull, his six legs pounding the ground against the ground. Within seconds he closed the distance between himself and the book, unleashing his Fire Bite attack at point-blank range.

    But just as he reached striking range, the book¡¯s pages fluttered violently, and a glowing sphere dropped out of its center. A bomb¡ªblue, pulsing, and way too close.

    The explosion swallowed him whole, fire and smoke erupting around his body. When the smoke finally dispersed, Alwin staggered forward, his body still on fire, but that was normal. Everything hurt, but it wasn¡¯t that bad.

    The flames covering his mandibles flared brightly as he clamped his mouth shut on the edge of the book, jaws straining against the sheer resistance put up by the floating hardback. For a moment it seemed like his attack wasn''t going to work, but then suddenly the book''s cover burst into flame. With a victorious snap, Alwin chewed through the ¡®Spirit Bomb¡¯ book, destroying the last remnants of its burning pages.

    "You have proven yourself worthy to read the contents of ''Spirit Bomb''."

    With that Alwin''s consciousness was kicked out of that white void for one final time. When he came back to the physical realm, he came face to face with Gus and Flintlock again. Something was off, he could feel it in his body. They were looking at him differently now, more infuriated than before. Crap! Had they figured out that Alwin was actually Winal? It''s okay, all he had to do was deny and things would all work out. But, maybe if he simply looked down and didn''t acknowledge their existence they would go away on their own.

    The moment Alwin looked down, he knew why they were looking at him like that. Remember how Alwin said that he recognized that something was off and he could feel it in his body. Well, ''body was the most crucial part of that statement. Instead of his round, half-white half-dark slimy self, it was his red flaming hot Fire Soldier Ant form that he found himself in.

    ¡°Well, well, well. Looks like we finally meet again, pardner," said Flintlock. His musket was aimed right at Winal¡¯s face, and his finger hovered just a little too close to the trigger for comfort.

 Chapter 90: Bomb Prep

    "You''ve got some explainin to do, Winal," said Flintlock. The monkey pointed his musket at Alwin, his tail twitching in anger right behind him.

    Beside him, Gus waved around a half-eaten muffin, a sour expression marring his features. "Yeah, Mr. Winal. You''ve got some explaining to do."

    Apparently when he had transformed into his Fire Soldier Ant form inside of that white void space thing¡ªhe should come up with a better name for it or at least learn what it''s actually called¡ªit had affected his body in the real world too. Maybe he should have put in more thought into his plan. Oh well, live and learn.

    Although he should probably work on the living part first. As Flintlock aimed his firearm at him, Winal''s mind raced desperately as he tried to come up with some kind of excuse that could get him out of this sticky situation. Maybe he could talk his way out of it again. If he managed to do it once he could probably do it again¡ªemphasis on probably.

    "I''m not Winal," said Winal.

    "Wise guy aren''t ya," said Flintlock. "Tell me, wise guy, how many monsters are there named ''Winal'' who are also shaped like an obnoxious fire ant?"

    "Um... Seven?"

    ¡°Wait, really?¡± asked Gus.

    "Enough fooling around, pardner," said Flintlock, his finger against the trigger. "Now explain why you attacked me with that muffin."

    Beside him, Gus puffed out his cheeks, arms crossed as he huffed, ¡°Yeah! How could you waste my precious muffin? I gave you that muffin!¡±

    Flintlock slowly turned his head toward Gus, eyebrows arched as he said, "That''s why you''re upset with him? Frankly, pardner, I don''t think you''re being mad at the right thing."

    "Are you telling me my muffins aren''t important?"

    Flintlock shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Goodness gracious..."

    When Flintlock turned back toward Winal, all he saw was a big fat puff of nothing. Winal the genius had snuck away during the confusion. He had performed his trademarked sidestep-while -Flintlock-and-Gus-bickered-amongst-themselves-and-hope-they-don''t-notice-him-moving-step-by-step-out-of-the-way technique. It was a mouthful, but that just meant his technique was extra powerful. When he was out of sight, he booked it¡ªpun most definitely intended¡ªbringing the ''Spirit Bomb'' book with him.

    Alwin fled from the library, choosing the fastest option he could find, which was jumping off the second-floor railing. There was a short scream followed by a loud splat as Winal''s ant body landed flat against the wooden flooring. A few drops of flaming sweat dripped off of him, leaving scorched trails on the wooden floorboard. After quickly making sure no one witnessed the incident¡ªwhich was impossible because anyone with functional eyes and ears heard him crashing to the ground¡ªhe scuttled away. Good thing for him, the library''s entrance doors weren''t that far. A quick sprint later, and he was gone.

    Where should he go? Where should he hide? Where was the best place to be right now? The answer was obvious¡ªthe training grounds classroom! Winal skedaddled his way down the corridors towards the classroom he hadn''t been in for something number of days. Was it three days or four? Maybe even twelve? Doesn''t matter. Time flies when you''re locked in a white room refining Fire Essence and then immediately jumping into a Fire Tribulation with absolutely zero preparation while what could possibly be considered the embodiment of the Fire Tribulation itself decided to intervene. That was a mouthful or mandible-ful in Winal''s case.

    Winal had almost forgotten something crucial. It was a key factor that decided whether he lived or died. Failing to recognize it could mean the difference between life and death. Insert another dramatic line here about life and death because Winal was too lazy to come up with another one. So, what was it?

    If they were looking for Winal, all he had to do was not be Winal¡ªelementary my dear Alwin! Well, his name wasn''t exactly Alwin right now, but that was easily remedied. A little flash of light here, a little restructuring his body at a cellular level there, and voila! Now Winal was Alwin!

    With the book in his mouth¡ªsince he no longer had hands or legs¡ªAlwin hopped on over to the training grounds classroom, where surprise surprise there were people in there training. Who would''ve thought, right? Probably everyone and their grandmother, but that was beside the point. All he had to do was play it cool and this whole thing would blow over just fine. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

    "Hey, Uchronia. How''s it hanging? I definitely did not just come from the library and I definitely am not running away from anyone," said Alwin. He was leaning against the doorframe with his Spirit Hands crossed and pretending that the ''Spirit Bomb'' book held in his mouth was invisible.

    Uchronia turned away from the wooden training dummy that she had been beating senseless¡ªwell deserved in his opinion¡ªand glanced at Alwin, her smile instantly falling away. She fixed him with an incredulous look, leaf twitching as she frowned at him. Her bright green eyes glowed as she glared at him, piercing him with her gaze.

    "What are you doing? Also, why is there a book in your mouth?"

    "What book?" Alwin said as he spat out the book behind him.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Uchronia rolled her eyes at the display before resuming her interrogation of the Yin-Yang Slime. "Have you even been training or have you been slacking off with Minister Lapis?"

    "Yes, I most indubitably have been training and practicing with Minister Lapis. There is nothing suspicious going on here," replied Alwin, his fake laughter filling the air, causing a couple of nearby students to glance his way.

    "Right..." said Uchronia. "Prove it then."

    Alwin stared at Uchronia for a moment, the only thing he had done with Lapis was create Fire Essence and achieve his new form. The latter was off the table. Okay, technically, he¡¯d managed a Fire Blast once too, but it hadn¡¯t even registered in his status yet and he had only done it once. What if it blew up in his face? Better to play it safe than sorry.

    "No."

    "What do you mean, ¡®no¡¯?" said Uchronia, scowling at Alwin.

    "Your clearance isn''t high enough," said Alwin.

    Uchronia rolled her eyes again, this time turning back toward the wooden training dummy, muttering something under her breath. Alwin didn''t exactly have the best hearing¡ªin fact, he didn''t even know if he had ear holes¡ªbut he did manage to catch something about her having to do everything herself.

    Without warning, she began to assault the wooden training dummy with a series of kicks, using those thin root-like legs of hers to pound it senseless. Since Uchronia was part plant, would that mean she was beating up the corpse of her distant relative? An intriguing mystery, but too bad Alwin wasn''t training to be a detective, he was training to be a Human Hunter! The best way to hunt humans? Bomb them into oblivion! Or at the very least, bomb them to next Tuesday.

    But first, he had to actually figure out how to make a Spirit Bomb. Thus, begins the worst part about learning new things¡ªreading. Alwin lay on the floor, commanding the Spirit Hands to flip the pages as he read through the text. Maybe reading a book in a training room where there were a dozen monsters yelling out their skill names or punching the splinters out of a wooden dummy wasn¡¯t the brightest idea.

    But, Alwin the genius had another brilliant solution. In fact, he was so brilliant he actually came up with two solutions! A second pair of Spirit Hands materialized themselves, hovering over the book. They traced along the page, guiding his gaze line by line to ensure he didn¡¯t lose his place.

    Then came a third pair of Spirit Hands. Alwin wasn''t entirely sure where his ears¡ªif he had any, but he probably did¡ªwere located on his round, squishy body. So he did the next best thing. They clamped down hard on the sides of his body, like makeshift earmuffs, squeezing him. Shifting and adjusting, they kneaded his body until they managed to muffle out the symphony of fighting around him. Not all of it, but hey it''s better than nothing.

    Now, he could sort of focus on the book in front of him. Here''s a brief summary of what he gleaned from the pages:

    Words, words, words. Boom. Pow. More words. Explosion. Spirit Bomb. Mana. Even more words. Big boom. Small boom. Ka-boom. Boom boom. And finally¡ªBOOM!

    When Alwin finished absorbing all of that information, he took a long minute to process the mountainous heap of word salad that the book had thrown at him. Needless to say, he was mind-blown. If someone asked him what he read in the book, he''d respond with the most appropriate sentence ever devised.

    "BOOM!"

    Now that he had read through the entire book, it was time to try out what he had learned. Deep into his Core, his consciousness went, revealing that good ole swirling mana pool. Maybe he should do some redecorating in the future. Some palm trees? A couple of lounge chairs and umbrellas? Yes, that would be amazing. But, he''d need an artificial sun... Oh well, that was for another day. Right now, he needed to get back to work.

    The Spirit Bomb was similar to the Spirit Burst Blast in concept but with a crucial difference. Instead of unleashing a raw surge of unrefined Spirit Mana outward in all directions, the Spirit Bomb focused on compressing and concentrating the Spirit Mana into a dense, contained sphere. Upon release, this ball created a powerful explosive force. Simple enough, right? All he had to do was compress the mana to make a Spirit Bomb. No big deal. Piece of cake. Hopefully.

    But, like his various Spirit Blasts, he still required a container to store the condensed Spirit Mana inside of. Although, something was telling him that using paper mache wouldn''t cut it this time. If only he had some metals to work with. Maybe he could transform his mana into something metallic¡ªor at least metal-adjacent¡ªjust like he¡¯d once turned it into paper back when he was first figuring out how to create the Spirit Blast.

    Alwin focused, commanding his mental hands to seize a chunk of mana and transform it into metal. A faint tearing sound filled the air. Paper. Again.

    He tried once more. Tear. Still paper.

    Another attempt. Rip. Paper, yet again.

    And then another. Riiip. Paper, paper, and more paper. At this rate, he could open a stationery shop instead of building a Spirit Bomb.

    Time for his handy dandy remote controller to swoop in and save the day. His mental hands fiddled about with the remote scrolling through setting after setting trying to figure out which one allowed him to convert his mana into a different material. Transmutations. Yup! That''s the one.

    There was only one option available to him¡ªtechnically two, but the second one was more of an insult. ''Paper''¡­ or ''do it yourself''. Well, that was just plain rude. But, if this was inside of his Core, would that mean he was being rude to himself? Enough philosophy. Back to creating explosives!

    Okay, maybe a teensy-weensy bit of introspection. Lapis had mentioned that he could skip all of that fancy mumbo jumbo steps to create Dark and Light mana because of his brain being all squishy and absorby or something like that. What if his brain was metaphorically set in stone¡ªtechnically set in paper¡ªin the ways he could transmute his mana? Yup, that must be the only logical explanation. Case closed. Onto more important matters. Namely, explosions.

    There was one other material he could work with, but Cor, the processing time alone would kill him of boredom. Still, he had no other choice.

    He commanded his mental hands to dive down into his mana pool, scooping up clay, the same ones used to sculpt his Spirit Hands. That was the easy part. Next, he ordered them to shape the clay. Not in the form of hands¡ªwhich they were no doubt experts in¡ªbut in the shape of a bowl. Two bowls, to be exact.

    They molded, kneaded, squeezed, reshaped, and other action verbs related to shaping clay until they had formed two perfectly identical clay bowls. Then came the truly painful part. Drying. It was the scourge of his existence, a torture used to discipline his hyperactive mind. Good thing he had an oven on standby.

    Alwin tossed the two clay bowls into the oven and set the temperature to its lowest setting¡ªany higher and the clay would crack. Then he waited. And waited. And waited some more.

    And just when it seemed like he couldn¡¯t possibly wait any longer¡­ he waited even more.

    Until¡­ Well, you¡¯ll just have to wait and see.

 Chapter 91: Boom!

    Wait. Waiting. And even more waiting. After what felt like four days, the oven dinged. One of his mental hands opened it carefully, gently taking out the two clay bowls within. Now that the clay was nice and dried, he had to fire it.

    Alwin''s consciousness looked at the two clay halves, he shook his head and let out a deep sigh. "Hi clay bowls, thank you for meeting with me today. We need to have a serious conversation about your performance. While I know you''ve been trying, your current productivity levels are below par for this position. I''m sorry to say that we''ve made the difficult decision to terminate your employment with Alwin''s Mana Making Spell Company (pending final name) effective immediately. We greatly appreciate all that you have done for this company. I know this is tough news, but I wish you all the best in your future endeavors."

    Alwin looked at the clay bowls waiting for some sort of reaction. Nothing. There was a new revelation made today: clay bowls could reject an employer''s firing. Too bad, so sad. Good thing Alwin was versed in multiple ways of firing. And by multiple, he meant just two. But, good thing he had tons of practice with the second form of firing when he made all of those Fire Mana and Fire Essence.

    Anyway, off to the kiln these two pieces of ceramic headed. One small problem, Alwin didn''t have a kiln inside of his Core, nor did he know what a kiln looked like. All he knew was that you had to fire the ceramics to make them durable. Maybe he should go to the library and borrow a book about making ceramics. That was a problem for future Alwin. That was also a problem for memory Alwin because chances were he was going to forget about this thought in about five minutes.

    What was he thinking about? Wow, that must''ve been a new record. Four point nine seconds, congrats to Alwin. Congrats to himself. Pat yourself on the back. Praise yourself. Give yourself a handshake. You deserve it. Okay, getting back on topic now.

    A bucket was just as good as a kiln in his expert opinion¡ªjust don''t ask where he got his credentials from. In fact, two buckets, since he had two bowls. They were placed side by side floating above the swirling mana pool. Below them was the most crucial expert of the whole process. You can''t fire ceramics without fire. Two campfires, one for each bucket materialized themselves below them.

    Now, he just had to make sure the flames were hot enough. To do that, it was time to bring back his good old friend: bellows. Hello, Mr. accordion-looking fellow, time to create the hottest hit piece of all time. A symphony of flames. An ode to fire. A celebration of combustion. A song of burning wood and glazing pots. Alwin beat upon the bellows, increasing the oxygen flow as the flames burned brighter and brighter.

    From tiny licks of flames, it grew into a bonfire. Deep breaths Alwin, stay calm. Breathe in slowly through your nose, breathe out slowly through your mouth. Alwin breathed in deeply, letting oxygen fill his Core. He breathed out, exhaling carbon dioxide. The fire continued to grow, consuming the bucket whole.

    If this felt a tad bit repetitive from when Alwin was creating Fire Mana and Fire Essence, that''s because it was. Repetition was the key to success, after all¡ªsaid by some guy whose name wasn''t relevant to this story.

    A couple more breathtaking moments passed before the clay bowls were sufficiently fired. That would teach them to be bad employees. Oh, wait, wrong kind of fire. No wonder Alwin''s business never flourished¡ªdefinitely not because he had never even started one in the first place. Bad Alwin. Anyways, moving on.

    Now that the container was completed, he just had to fill it in with some compressed mana. That was easier said than done. How do you even compress mana? A few options floated through his mind. What if he turned his liquid mana into a solid and called it a day? If he did that it was technically compressed mana already. Or what if he transformed his mana into a gas and packed in as much as he could in the containers? Maybe he could just throw a bunch of liquid mana into the ceramic bowl and then seal it off, but that was basically a Spirit Burst Blast.

    Yeah, maybe he should have paid more attention when he was reading that book. Oh well. Alwin wanted to say that it was future Alwin''s problem, but it looked like the past had caught up to him and he was now future Alwin. Man, that stupid past Alwin, giving him so much extra work.

    So, the key idea was that he had to compress the mana to the point it would explode with even the most minor of disturbances. In order to compress things, there was a key ingredient that Alwin needed. Good thing he had plenty of it.

    That key ingredient was... Drum roll... Pressure!Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    The pressure of living up to expectations. The pressure of becoming Valedictorian. The pressure of becoming a Minister. The pressure of saving the world from the treacherous humans. The pressure of failing everyone who believed in him. The list went on and on. There was plenty of pressure to go around¡ªand then some¡ªto compress the Spirit Mana.

    Alwin filled both halves of the ceramic bowl with some mana from his pool. Next, he gave the embodiment of all his pressures a physical form within his Core. It took the form of a dark storm cloud, thunder booming within. Bolts of lightning flashed here and there, illuminating the swirling mass.

    He commanded the storm cloud to gather round the mana within the ceramic bowl. It didn''t need any further instructions from there. The storm cloud of pressure began to fill the mana with its burdens and fears. Suffering filled the space as the weight of everything forced the mana together. The more the mana resisted, the more pressure the storm cloud added, pushing and squeezing it, until finally, the mana gave in, unable to withstand the force. What was once bright and blue became a murky gray as the stresses of life found a new home. The mana was teetering close to its breaking point. One small little nudge would send it careening over the edge, reigning hell on whoever dared to cross its way before it would eventually take its own life.

    One down, one to go. The process repeated itself for the other half, the storm cloud of pressure wrapping its cold, uncaring embrace around the mana inside. More and more suffering piled upon it as the pressures mounted up and up and up. Until the moment came, the pressure finally won over, crushing the mana''s spirit until it was nothing more than an empty husk of its former self. A dull, murky gray colored its formerly vibrant surface. It was ready.

    Great! Now that the mana had been compacted, all that remained was putting the two parts together. Since they were shaped like bowls, that made things rather simple. Just slip one bowl piece onto the other bowl piece and boom! Ceramic bowl explosion vessel completed. Now, all he had to do was get some glue to put it all together.

    Glue, glue, glue, where could Alwin find some glue? The answer was simple, he just had to dip a brush into his mana pool and through some mental mumbo jumbo that Lapis was terrible at explaining, voil¨¤¡ªglue. Or at least something close enough. If it worked for paper mache it would probably, presumably, likely, maybe work for ceramic.

    That was what Alwin did¡ªand by Alwin, he meant his mental hands. Dip the brush into this mana pool, trace it along the rims of the ceramic bowls, and connect the two pieces together. He just had to make sure not to rattle the bowls too much, lest he wanted to go boom early. Easy peasy lemon squeezy¡ªlike lemonade, but sweeter.

    Slowly, the hands brought the pieces together, moving them millimeter by millimeter at a time. Alwin held his breath in anticipation. This could all go wrong at the drop of a hat. Was there anything worse than having to wait for everything to dry again? Actually, yeah there was something far worse. Having to wait for everything to dry three times!

    Once the bowls were perfectly aligned, the hands brought the two halves together, smooshing them side by side. The glue or paste or adhesive¡ªthere was no proper term as of yet¡ªoozed out of the cracks as they stuck the two halves together. All that remained was for them to dry. And no, Alwin couldn''t use an oven this time.

    After an untold amount of time spent waiting for it to dry, Alwin was ready. Everything was lined up perfectly, except for one thing. A fuse. Just kidding. Alwin''s bomb was special. It didn''t need a fuse to be ignited. Just a little bump was enough to trigger the explosive potential hidden within the ceramic sphere.

    Now, he had to transport his latest and greatest creation out of his Core. The sphere-shaped bomb was taunting him. It was begging to be batted out of his Core. Sure, Alwin was stupid, but he wasn''t that stupid.

    Thus began another drag. When Alwin evolved, his Core grew larger, which meant that his mental hands and his consciousness had to travel a greater distance just to reach its edges. After what felt like an eternity of floating through the vast, swirling expanse, Alwin finally reached the fringes of his Core, his mental hands carefully carrying the payload along with him. He really needed a faster way to travel. One day, but not today.

    The hands tossed the bomb past the threshold of his Core, and the familiar tingling in his throat signaled his success. Victory never tasted better. With a triumphant grin on that cheeky face of his, he yelled out the skill name¡ªbecause no proper move was complete without it¡ªand opened his eyes, eager to behold the fruits of his labor.

    In front of him, lay the round ceramic ball of death. Sweet destruction and mayhem, all contained within a single, compact sphere of pure chaos. Alwin couldn¡¯t help but marvel at it. A masterpiece, really. He just hoped that this one didn''t accidentally explode on him. That wouldn''t be fun. Time to test it out.

    Time seemed to slow as Alwin inspected his masterpiece. Something about its movement caught his eye¡ªsubtle, creeping, like a bomb about to go off. Wait. No. It was moving.

    The bomb was falling.

    Yeah, maybe Alwin was a bit stupid. His skill had materialized in the air, not on the ground.

    The Spirit Bomb struck the floor. For a heartbeat, everything was silent. Then came the explosion.

    A tsunami of pressure erupted, rippling through the air. A wave of blistering heat and energy washed over Alwin, consuming him.

    Then, everything went black.

 Chapter 92: Is this heaven?

    Alwin cracked open his eyelids ever so slightly, letting the dim moonlight creep in. His body ached all over, throbbing from one end of his rotund body to the other. And judging by how incredibly sore it was, Alwin probably received a lot of damage. Just how strong was that bomb of his?

    Even though Alwin wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep, he forced himself to push through the pain and sit up. The room came into view as he glanced around. Was he in heaven? Nope. Looked more like the dorms: multiple beds, one huge gender-separated bathroom, and multiple snoring classmates. That was unless... his Spirit Bomb was so powerful that it sent everyone to heaven!

    Time to explore eternal paradise. Alwin rolled off his bed, taking extra precaution not to bring his blanky and pillow crashing onto the floor with him. This may be heaven, but who knew if dirt and germs were still a thing here¡ªyuck.

    He rolled over to the door and poked his head outside. Corridors stretched left and right, crystals providing soft lighting that barely illuminated the passageway. The cool breeze tickled his skin. It was peaceful too¡ªalmost. The loud snores coming from Bion¡ªhow did he make it past the pearly gates¡ªdefinitely ruined the mood.

    No time like the present! But, now that he was dead, did that mean he had infinite time? Was reincarnation a thing or did he get to enjoy the rest of his afterlife goofing off? A pang in his slimy heart caused Alwin to pause mid-roll. There were still so many things he hadn''t done! He hadn''t become Valedictorian. He hadn''t become a Minister. Worst of all, he didn''t even get to celebrate a single birthday! Oh, the horrors! To think he would die at the ripe old age of nine months old. Woe was him!

    Just as he was getting lost in self-pity, a voice tickled his ears, "Alwin?"

    Was an angel calling him? Alwin looked up, expecting to see some divine figure descending from above, but all he found was the plain, unremarkable ceiling. Oh no, was it a devil? Alwin glanced down, peeking through half-closed eyelids, bracing for the worst.

    Flooring, Just plain old tiled flooring. Thank goodness.

    But, then who was calling him? Alwin glanced left and then right, his eyes landing on a familiar monster. Standing there under the dim crystal light was none other than the Potted Sprout, Uchronia.

    "Oh, hi Uchronia. You scared me."

    "What are you doing?" asked Uchronia, in a hushed tone.

    "I''m exploring heaven. Also sorry for blowing you up and killing you. Want to go explore together?"

    Even in the poor lighting, Alwin could make out that she was rolling her eyes at him. Uchronia paused, taking a deep breath. "First of all, we''re not dead. Second of all, you don''t have the skills to kill me. Third of all, go to sleep or you really will end up in heaven."

    "I''m alive?"

    "Yes, Alwin. You blew yourself up and passed out. Mr. Milvus patched you up, then tucked you into bed. So now go back to sleep. We have class tomorrow¡ªsomething you¡¯ve been conveniently skipping for quite a while."

    "Oh... Well, that sucks."

    "Yes, now go back to sleep."

    With a pout on his lips, Alwin rolled back to bed. He had really wanted to explore heaven, but Uchronia was such a meanie and pulled him back down to reality. There was only one explanation that his exhausted brain could come up with. Uchronia saw him rolling and now she was hating on him.

    After class tomorrow, Alwin was going to perfect that Spirit Bomb of his. Then finally he could destroy his sworn enemy: the wooden dummy!

    With those happy thoughts keeping him company, Alwin drifted off to sleep.

    The next day, classes were exactly as Alwin had always described them: boring. It felt like it had been ages since he actually sat through a lecture by Milvus, and boy, oh boy, did he not miss it. Talks about what makes a cultivator tick. Discussions about the adventurer''s guild system. Speeches about the importance of teamwork.

    It was enough to drive a slime to madness¡ªor at the very least, drive him to bed. Going through another tribulation with zero preparation was more palatable than this. Heck, he''d even take one of Lapis'' horrible explanations rather than Milvus'' droning. A million flashbangs that seared his corneas to oblivion sounded far more preferable to another minute trapped in that stuffy classroom.

    And just when it felt like Alwin was about to drown in tedium, he got what he had wished for¡ªsort of. A blinding white light worth at least five flashbangs tore through his vision. It lasted half a second, but it might as well have been an eternity. The light faded away just as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a ringing in Alwin''s ear holes.

    Through squinted eyes, he peered around the room. A white room. Oh bother, looks like two of his wishes had come true. First, he got blinded and next, he would be subjected to one of Lapis'' lectures. Whatever essence she was going to make him refine next, Alwin was going to do everything in his power to avoid jumping into another tribulation head first. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe.

    "Hey, slime boy. Guess why I teleported you over," said Lapis, her drones waving at him.

    "You''ve figured out how to refine a different type of elemental essence and wanted to see its effects on evolution."

    "Nope."

    "Wait, what? Then why else would I be here?"

    "Guess, slime boy. Guess."

    "You have a new recipe you want me to try?" Alwin was scraping the bottom of the barrel for answers¡ªgranted it was a pretty shallow barrel to begin with.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "Nope, again. Although I might do that in the future, but never mind that. Guess again."

    "Hmm... Did you teleport me over because you missed me and wanted to give me a hug?"

    "No. And I do not condone a student-teacher relationship. I brought you here because Milvee''s accusing me of not teaching you anything. I taught you a brand new skill that no one has ever learnt before but that doesn''t count apparently. Claims that there''s no practical uses for it. Also if I had hands they would have done air quotes at the word practical."

    "Rambling."

    "Oh, right. I forgot we had that little system set up. Thanks, slime boy. Today, I will be proving MIlvee wrong. Today, I will be teaching you my favorite skill. It has helped me through the toughest times of my life. Without it, I''d never be the monster I am today. My undying gratitude goes out to its creator."

    Alwin gasped in shock, "Is it a super mega awesome ultra powerful legendary skill that could shake the very heavens?"

    "Even better."

    "Is it a super duper uber extreme deluxe wicked awesome enhanced crazy trooper double blooper ultra mega perfect powerful rare epic legendary skill?"

    "I don''t know what half of those words mean in that order, but I''m just going to say yes."

    "Well, whatever it is. I bet it''s a million times better than having to sit through another one of Milvus'' lectures about fighting humans."

    "It is! Wait, did I steal you from one of Milvee''s classes?"

    "Yup! And I am eternally grateful, grand great master Lapis."

    "I''m not. If I had a face I would be frowning, but this is the best I can do." One of Lapis'' drones flew into the room carrying a marker atop their head. It drew a frowny face on Lapis'' crystal-like body, before flying back to whence it came from. "You know, I hope this isn''t permanent marker."

    "So why are you sad?"

    "Because Milvee is gonna kill me for taking you out of class. And before you ask, no you''re not allowed to skip any more of his lessons. They are important for your education. Presumably. Anyway, I was supposed to get you in the afternoons but I think something''s wrong with my clock. Oh well, time is relative. Since you''re here might as well make the best out of our situation. Also, if you could be a quick learner and pick up the skill before Milvee comes and reams me out, that would be great. Thanks."

    "You''re rambling again. Can you show me this super duper insert a bunch of adjectives here because I''m too lazy to come up with them mega awesome skill?"

    "Boys!" Lapis shouted.

    An army of drones entered the white room, carrying an assortment of equipment. Two drones brought in matching white plastic tables, setting them side by side. On each table, they laid out an identical set of ingredients. Some flour, eggs, and a bunch of other cooking essentials that Alwin didn''t really care enough to list out.

    What was Lapis planning to do? Don''t tell Alwin that the super awesome add-a-ton-of-adjectives-here skill was actually a cooking skill. That was going to be such a waste of time. Still better than listening to another lecture, though. No, no, no. Lapis was the Minister of Magic not the Minister of Cooking, he should give her the benefit of doubt.

    "Now, my young apprentice. Watch closely as I show you how powerful this skill is," said Lapis as she stood in front of a table. "My drones will perform the same procedure to really showcase the difference."

    The drones assembled around the table. They began to dump ingredients into a large mixing bowl. An egg here. A pinch of salt there. Some cocoa powder and chocolate chips in between. Vanilla extract for good measure. Sugar, because the drones clearly had a sweet side. Butter, to butter everyone up. Lastly, milk because Lapis was obviously milking the situation.

    Yup, Alwin''s worst fears have come true. It really was a cooking-related skill. Oh, the horrors. Oh, the time wasted. He could''ve used this time to practice his Spirit Bomb, but more importantly, practice not blowing himself up. Or maybe he could keep blowing himself up that he would eventually become immune to bombs. Because that''s how it works right? Like taking a hot shower and gradually cranking up the temperature until you get used to it¡­ and then cranking it up some more till you¡¯re immune to lava.

    While the drones carried out their work, Lapis just floated there watching, waiting. Two drones came into the white room, they obviously weren''t affiliated with the group assigned to the baking project. Adorned on the top of their heads were a black marker and a whiteboard duster¡ªLapis duster in this case.

    They removed the frown on Lapis'' face and instead replaced it with a smirk. Lapis was smirking? Even if it wasn''t a useful skill, it would be fun to watch Lapis school her own drones. Once all of the ingredients had been incorporated into the glass mixing bowl, they affixed it to the glossy red mixer, specially prepared for them.

    With the flick of a switch, the mixer whirred to life. The hum of its motor broke the silence of the white room. Its gears turned, spinning the concoction within. Mixing everything together to create the perfect blend of sweetness and softness. Each beat caused a whirlpool inside the glass bowl, stirring, twirling, swirling round and round. The steady, hypnotic movement seduced Alwin''s gaze, beckoning it closer and closer and closer until he wanted to dive into the batter, dancing among the eggs and butter.

    As his mind drifted further into a trance, a cough broke him out of it.

    "Ahem," coughed Lapis, snapping him back into focus. "Ready to watch how it''s really done?"

    "I''m indifferent."

    "Oh," said Lapis. The drones erased her smirk and replaced it with a frown, this time with her mouth hung even lower. "Okay."

    "I mean, I can''t wait to see the difference." Yup, Alwin totally saved it.

    "In that case¡ª" the drones didn''t even bother to erase her frown this time. Instead scribbled over it and sketched a huge grin underneath it. "¡ªwatch and learn, slime student boy."

    Flour puffed into the air, eggs cracked themselves open, and sugar spilled out in streams. One by one, all manner of ingredients began to float out of their containers, hovering above the table.

    They spiraled around in circles, like planets orbiting around the sun. Their rotations quickened, their radii shrinking with each passing moment. The mixture spun faster, and faster, as each ingredient began to collide with one another. Globs of butter splashed against drops of vanilla extract. Egg yolks crashed into a river of milk. Each element melted into the other, as they approached the center of their orbit.

    Soon, they reached critical mass. Everything converged at the very heart of the vortex, merging into a single point. One by one, the individual components lost their identity, fusing together. There was no longer an egg, nor was there a drop of milk or a hint of cocoa powder. Now there was only batter. Sweet, sticky batter.

    Lapis allowed the gooey batter to descend upon a bowl of its own. Seconds after the batter had touched down, did the mixing from the drones ceased. They too had completed their task. From the next table over, the drones revealed their creation¡ªa bowl of batter similar to Lapis''. Almost.

    Imperfections marked the dough. Minute lumps disrupted its smooth, homogenous texture. Pockets of air remained embedded throughout its form. Lapis'' on the other hand was perfect. Batter so flawless and smooth that it could give silk a run for its money¡ªthat''s if silk happened to be brown, but that wasn''t the point. The point was that Lapis'' batter was perfection incarnate.

    "So what do you think?" asked Lapis. "Mix is a pretty great skill isn''t it."

    "Smells yummy," said Alwin.

    "Once I bake it it''ll taste yummy, but what do you think about the skill?"

    "Honestly? Doesn''t seem useful."

    "Oh," said Lapis. The drones didn''t even come in this time, she simply floated upside down so that her huge grin was now a wide frown. "But, it''s my favorite move too. You can even use it on other skills."

    "Wait, what? Did you say using it on other skills?" yelled Alwin.

 Chapter 93: Trial Mix

    "Yes, slime boy apprentice student of mine. I just said that. Do you have ears?" replied Lapis.

    "Maybe? I don''t know."

    "Anyways, where were we? Right, I mentioned that you could use this on other skills. It''s pretty fun, you can come up with some wacky combinations. But, when you mix skills together it''s not as strong as when you use them alone. Still fun, though."

    "Please teach me the way, sensei."

    "Giving me another title? I like it. As your reward, little one, let me give you another demonstration of the wondrous ''Mix'' skill."

    Lapis summoned out a pair of Spirit Hands¡ªwithout yelling out the skill name, mind you. Alwin was jealous about her silent casting, he should really work on it. One day. Some day. Eventually.

    She directed them to curl their fingers into a fist. "In one hand we have... another Spirit Hand." One of the hands opened up, revealing another Spirit Hand, which gave Alwin a little wave. "And in the other hand, we have... a Spirit Blast." The other hand opened up to reveal a glowing blue orb, ready to blast away anything in its path.

    "Now mix it all together." The Spirit Hand and Spirit Blast began to float up in the air. Like the ingredients, they began to orbit about each other. It was slow at first, then as they began to spiral closer and closer together, their pace quickened. Faster and faster they circled till they reached critical mass, colliding with each other. The blue light mixed, blended, and molded together. Seconds later, the two separate entities combined together, becoming one.

    Floating there, midair, was a ball of bright blue mana, perfectly spherical except for five finger-like protrusions jutting out of its surface. The Spirit Blast had essentially became the palm of the Spirit Hand¡ªjust a really fat palm. As it turned around to wave at Alwin, its movements were sluggish, the weight of its huge ball was too much for it to move effectively.

    "Tada! It''s stronger than a Spirit Hand, but weaker than a Spirit Blast."

    "Woah! That''s so cool. With a skill like that I will be invincible!" yelled Alwin.

    "If you''re creative enough, sure. This method isn''t a substitute for learning the actual spells or skills or however, you want to call it. Just think of it as training wheels. After all, magic is built upon each other like blocks on top of bricks and foundations and floors and ceilings. ''Mix'' kind of just helps you prototype ideas. Or you can be lazy and get a book to teach you what to do."

    "But, I''m lazy," complained Alwin.

    "Me too. That''s why I use books," laughed Lapis. "But if you suck at finding things at the library, like me, you could always play a little mix and match and figure things out yourself."

    "Yes, sensei. Now will you teach me the skill or spell or however you want to call it."

    "Wow, you''re picking up on my mannerisms as well. Good, slime boy. I was planning to give you an explanation about how the skill works like I normally do, but plans change. You need to learn how to figure things out on your own. Therefore, good luck. I''ll be back after this cake is done baking," said Lapis.

    His head was still processing everything Lapis had just said. Was she really not going to give him an explanation? Just a short demonstration? She was serious, wasn''t she? When Alwin opened his mouth to ask, his eyes caught up to his brain, and he realized that he was alone.

    The drones had dismantled the temporary kitchen setup, carrying everything atop their heads as they left the room. Lapis followed behind them, instructing them to set the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Alwin was left all alone in the empty white room with nothing but his own confusion and the faint scent of baking cake.

    Well, great. Now how was he supposed to figure out that super special mega awesome skill? What were the mechanics of it? How did it work? More importantly, how long would it take for Lapis'' cake to finish baking? The faster the cake baked, the faster she would come back. Then Alwin could hound her for answers till she had no choice but to give in.

    For now, he''d humor his grand great master sensei and try to puzzle out how this skill worked. When Lapis did it, she lifted whatever she was about to combine, made them swirl about till they crashed into each other, then boom! They got mixed. Speaking of boom, he could start off his experiment with a Spirit Bomb. Then again the consequences might outweigh any benefits. Should he or should he not?If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    In cases such as this, you should flip a coin. Alas, Alwin was broke, the closest thing he could flip was himself. Heads for bombs, tails for anything else. With the help of his Spirit Hands, they flipped him. The world went upside down, then right side up, then upside down again. Everything around him was revolving as he spun in the air, and then a splat indicated that it was all over. Judging by how everything was upside down, he concluded that he had landed on his head. No bomb for him. Sad.

    If anyone was confused, you see, when you flip a coin you judge the exposed side, not the one closest to the ground. Therefore, he had actually landed on tails. Which meant no bombs, unfortunately.

    Good thing, there was a pair of Spirit Hands floating about, ready to be enlisted for his experiments. Now spin hands, spin! Spin and crash into each other with such force that your very beings merged into one. Together forever! Married until death do you part.

    And spin they did. The Spirit Hands floated up and whirled around each other. Around and around and around and around and around they flew. Slowly, their circling speed picked up. Their loops grew tighter, faster, spiraling closer and closer as if drawn together by an invisible force¡ªhopefully, it was love.

    The tension built with every turn, and then finally, their paths intersected. They collided with each other, their momentums canceling each other out, and their journey came to an end. A puff of magical particles filled the air. Alwin held his breath as the tiny specs fell towards the ground. Did he do it? Did he make it on his first try?

    Behind the veil of magical particles was a big fat poof of nothing. The answer was that he did not do it on his first try. Investigations into the reasons for his failure revealed that the hands had essentially hit the life force out of each other. Bummer, death by sibling. What a horrible way to go.

    Moving on, time to try again. This time, he wouldn''t mess it up. Nope, not gonna fail at all. The Spirit Hands materialized again. Just like last time they began to orbit around each other, spinning faster, moving closer, before crashing into each other, disintegrating into particles. You know, maybe he should¡¯ve made some changes instead of doing the same thing again and hoping for a miracle.

    That''s where the Spirit Blast came in. Alwin shot two out of his Core, watching as they orbited about each other before blasting into each other. Some magical particles later, and it seemed that this attempt didn''t go much better either. There was only one solution to his predicament: try everything and hope it works out.

    Spirit Scatter Blasts crashing into each other, meant he had to duck out of the way of any stray shots zipping through the air. Spirit Burst Blasts smashing into each other, made Alwin run away lest he wanted to be drenched in a shower of raw mana¡ªwhich was not as pleasant as it sounds. Alwin even went so far as to get his Spirit Feet to run into each other. Needless to say, nothing happened either. All of his attempts were a bust.

    Good thing he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. What were those tricks you may ask? Easy. The goal was to mix and match, but he wasn''t exactly mixing anything by getting two of the same exact skills to clobber each other to bits. So that meant he needed to use two different types of skills. Probably. Honestly, Alwin didn''t know, he was just making this up as he went. So, hopefully, it would work. Hopefully.

    Spirit Blasts crashing into Spirit Scatter Blasts, Spirit Burst Blasts crashing into Spirit Feet, and so on and so forth. There were about ten different combinations, of which Alwin tried all and you''ll just have to trust him on it. It would be pretty boring to listen about how the Spirit Blast crashed into the Spirit Hand, and all that happened was that the surviving Spirit Hand mourned the loss of its sibling. The same went for the Spirit Feet.

    After way too many Spirit appendage casualties, Alwin decided to call it quits. It wasn''t worth the sacrifice. His experiments were too inhumane¡ªinmonstermane? Sending so many young Spirit limbs to their deaths, just for science. Alwin couldn''t bear it any longer. His heart ached, but not as much as his brain. Seriously, why was this so hard? Then again, if it were easy, everyone would be using this super mega duper awesome insert-adjectives-here skill.

    While he took a break to regroup and lick his wounds, Alwin let his eyes wander across the room. Up and down, around and around, then eventually inside of him. Oh right, he was a Yin-Yang Slime, but he had forgotten to trial his Yin-Yang Blast. No time like the present as they say, but doing it in the past would have definitely helped, then again it would have meant that more Spirit limbs would have died a cruel death. Maybe it was better this way.

    Alwin launched two Yin-Yang Blasts, watching the four orbs orbit around each other before eventually coalescing into one. The result was a large explosion that formed a huge Yin-Yang symbol. Such a shockwave would have rattled his bone, but good thing he was a slime, so he didn''t have bones.

    What knowledge could he glean from this? His Yin-Yang Blast was the strongest in his arsenal, that was all he could tell. No surprise there, though. That wasn''t helpful at all. Or was it?

    What was the cause of the explosion? It was because the two different elemental orbs crashed into each other, their energies reacting with each other which resulted in such a devastating explosion, and a remarkable piece of art. Yes, maybe that was the key. Rather than crashing his skills together hoping for something to happen, he should be letting their energies interact and combine together¡ªnot clash. Or mix together in this instance.

 Chapter 94: Mix Tape

    After seeing his Yin-Yang Blast in action, Alwin had a revelation, a breakthrough, an eureka moment¡ªmixing their energies rather than making them crash together like a kid playing with their toys. In all fairness, Alwin was a literal kid.

    However, like many things in life, performing such a feat was easier said than done. How exactly would he even go about mixing their energies together? What does that even mean? Alwin was literally making it up as he went along. If only Lapis were here to answer his questions. The tantalizing aroma of sweet chocolatey goodness wafting through the room told Alwin that the cake was nearly done baking. But how long would it take to cool? And then there was the frosting, the decorating¡ªwho knew how long that would drag on? Lapis certainly wasn¡¯t in any rush to answer his questions.

    Thus, Alwin was about to perform the biggest brainiest move ever conceived. An action so large he could feel his slimy, mucous-coated brain, expanding with every passing second. His other organs were being pushed away, making way for the ever-enlarging brain. Alwin remembered having debates about whether he was more head or body, but now without a doubt, there was an answer to the debate. He was clearly more head.

    It was time to execute his magnificent plan. A scheme so grand, so wondrous, that it caused his very brain to expand just to accommodate the idea. What was his glorious plot, you ask? Why, it was none other than walking out of the room. Why wait for Lapis to come back when you could just go to her? Alwin was proud of himself. Thinking outside of the box was his specialty after all. No one else in a million years could''ve come up with such an ingenious idea.

    Alwin hopped out of the white room, filled with more pride than ever before. In the mess-filled lab was Lapis, floating in front of a chalkboard writing down numbers. Around her were drones holding test tubes filled with different colored liquids. Another drone stirred the concoction within. She would scribble another formula on the board, while the drones played mad scientist. In the center of the room, was where the oven stood. A rich aroma leaked out from within, filling the whole room with its delectable scent.

    Alwin wasn¡¯t falling for her ruse again! She wasn¡¯t working on a life-changing invention, it was something far simpler¡ªshe was working on her baking skills!

    "Lapis! Lapis!" Alwin called, hopping over to her.

    "Slime student apprentice of mine, what are you doing here? I thought you were practicing Mix," replied Lapis.

    "I was, but then I hit a wall."

    "Have you tried looking where you''re going?"

    "I meant it metaphorically speaking."

    "Oh..." There was a short pause before Lapis continued, "I knew that. But, I did say I would come back once the cake''s done baking."

    "I know, but you didn''t say I couldn''t just leave the room and ask you for help directly," said Alwin. He could feel his ego start to swell up even larger than his brain. Any more and he was going to burst apart, and not in a fun way¡ªthen again when was blowing up ever fun?

    There was another short pause. Alwin could feel it. Praise was about to enter his body through the sweet melodious words of Lapis. Yes! Let her words lift him higher! Let him bask in the glory he so rightfully deserved. He worked so hard after all.

    "You''re a smart kid, even smarter than lil Milvee. He would just stay put and do his work, more often than not failing until I swooped in and saved the day."

    "Are you saying I''m smarter than Milvus?" asked Alwin.

    "In a way."

    This was it. Alwin was on the precipice of no return. One small little nudge in the right direction and he would explode from the dangerous levels of egotism that permeated throughout his body¡ªconsumed by the unbearable weight of his own self-importance.

    "So, will you explain how I''m supposed to Mix the skills together? How am I supposed to combine their energies and very beings into one?"

    "Not really. If I could shrug I would do it, but I can''t so you''ll just have to imagine me shrugging. As your reward for being such a smart student, you get to figure things out yourself," said Lapis.

    Rumble and tumble Alwin''s mind went, as he plummeted down from the clouds of glory into the rocky slopes below. The ground came hurtling closer and closer till impact. Everything exploded into a flash of light and Alwin woke up back in the empty white room.

    Darn it! She teleported him back into the room without even giving him a say. Well, that was a massive waste of time. An annoying waste of time too. Just spill the secrets, woman! Don''t leave ya boy, Alwin, hanging!

    Time to restart the loop of endless failures. Yay! That was sarcasm, for those whose brains weren''t as humungous as Alwin''s. It was so big, it was Alwin-sized. Enough rambling about his ego already¡ªwhich was definitely not an excuse to stall. Nope. Not at all. Alwin was definitely looking forward to the very tough, very painful, and most importantly of all, a very mind-numbingly boring training session. Let''s get back to it!

    If Yin-Yang Blasts were the key to his insights, he just had to keep firing them off one at a time, observing every detail, big or small, as they collided with each other. Alwin kept his eyes peeled, not allowing himself to even blink. Spirit Hands were by his side, holding onto his eyelids. Although painful, it was another form of training. Alwin was training his eyelid muscles, while the Spirit Hands were working out their fingers.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Gusts of wind, formed from the explosion caused by his Yin-Yang Blasts, bombarded his delicate eye holes, tears welled up inside of them, but still, he had to persist. It was working, he could feel it. The way the white Yang orb swirled about an invisible axis, the way the black Yin orb matched its movements, their energies leaking out into each other before they even collided. That was it! Another piece of the puzzle was added to his collection¡ªnow he just had to solve it. If only this puzzle came with a picture on the front of the box. Or, you know, all the pieces in the box. Actually, if there was even a box. Needless to say, Alwin was procrastinating again.

    What caused such a phenomenon? More testing was required. Alwin launched even more Yin-Yang Blasts. More Yin-Yang symbols exploded to life, more gusts of air blew in his face, and more tears fell like rain. Underneath the cascade of watery droplets, Alwin continued his research, eyes glued to the scene before him. It wasn''t until after twenty Yin-Yang blasts that Alwin realized something.

    Distance!

    Yin-Yang Blasts that traveled a greater distance generated a larger explosion and Yin-Yang Symbol, and vice versa. Obviously, there was a cap on how large the resultant blast was. If only he could let the blast travel an infinite distance and create an infinite-sized explosion¡ªoh, the possibilities.

    Not wanting to lose his choo-choo train of thought, Alwin forced himself to get back on track. The answer couldn''t be just distance¡ªit couldn''t be that simple. Occam''s razor has no business here; the devil was in the details! There had to be something else he missed, something he overlooked. Thus, it was back to the blasting board.

    Alwin observed the twin orbs with even more intensity, even more vigor. Not even the ocean of tears that coated his eyeballs could deter his acute gaze. What was the difference other than distance? What caused the energy within the orbs to coalesce with each other? It wasn''t a case of the orbs smashing together. No, it was something before that stage. Something was causing the mana within them to be drawn out. Alwin was staring at the answer, he could feel it. Now if only the answer had a huge neon sign pointing to it with a big flashing arrow saying "I''m here, doofus."

    Blast after blast left his Core. From the sprinkler system set up in his eyes to the constant stream of mana being jettisoned out of his body, Alwin was getting frustrated. Impatience was beginning to settle in, driving him to fire off Yin-Yang Blasts even more frequently. Wait a second! Frequently? That reminded Alwin of frequency. Everything in this world had a natural frequency¡ªa resonant frequency. Alwin could taste it, the breadcrumbs of revelation were beginning to decorate his plate. They were almost there, just a few more steps, just a few more clues, just a few more leaps of logic, and it would finally click.

    What else did he know about frequency? That''s it! Constructive Interference! When the skills had the same frequency and if they got close enough, they would essentially amplify each other. But, how was he going to ensure the skills had the same frequency? That''s it¡ªagain! The reason Lapis made the skills rotate and orbit around each other, it wasn''t just for theatrics, it was to adjust their frequencies. That must''ve been why shorter-traveled Yin-Yang Blasts didn''t create as big of an explosion¡ªthey didn''t have enough time to match frequencies. The bigger the distance covered, the more time given for them to align themselves with each other. Then boom!

    That had to be it. The secret sauce to mastering Mix! Was it a stretch? Well, slimes were flexible, so it was a definite yes. Was it a leap of logic? Well, slimes mainly get around by hopping, so if anything Alwin had been leaping since he was born. Would it work? Only one way to find out.

    Alwin shot out two Spirit Blasts, forcing them to orbit around each other. They rotated, spun, and swiveled, turning around an invisible axis before colliding into a puff of magic particles. Of course, it wouldn''t be that easy. Theory was one thing, but practice was a whole other beast he had to conquer.

    With hope in his heart, Alwin launched both Spirit Blasts again and again and again. Going through a whole list of parameters trying to narrow down the perfect condition for them to successfully combine their essences. He made them rotate faster, made them travel farther, changed the shape of the orbits, anything to try to make it happen. Before long, Alwin had entered the zone. This was his jam, his groove, his bop.

    Soon enough, something he did triggered a reaction. Moments before the two orbs collided with each other for the umpteenth, small tendrils of blue-colored mana began to leak out from them. The two blasts mingled with each other, lasting less than half a second, before they exploded into a flurry of magical particles. Alwin was getting even closer. That meant his theory had weight behind it. Who cared how making things spin and travel faster influenced their resonant frequencies? What was he a physicist? No, he was something beyond that. He was a slime!

    Failure after failure with tiny specks of minor successes sprinkled throughout followed suit. Step by step, Alwin honed his craft. Learning and memorizing every subtle quirk the skill showed, tucking away all the little nuances for later use. While others would grow tired of repeating the same process over and over, Alwin welcomed it. To him, this was learning, this was research, this was better than sitting through lectures. Most importantly though, this was progress. And Alwin loved nothing more than making progress. Sadly, progress didn''t love him. But, that could be remedied.

    After many dates, courting rituals, and flirtations, Alwin finally got progress to admit they loved him. In a display of affection, he called upon his new mate. Two Spirit Blasts flew across the room, curving their trajectories to spiral towards each other, to orbit one another. Like magnets, they attracted each other, their presence influencing their very beings. Small currents of energy leaked out of them, rushing towards each other as they touchedmid-flightt. Together, they fused into one singular orb of magic¡ªinto one being. Alwin had done it! His very first successful attempt at Mix!

    What was the result of such a wondrous skill? Alwin had created a blast twice as big as a regular Spirit Blast and twice as powerful, but more importantly, it cost more than twice the mana. It would''ve been more cost-effective to simply launch two Spirit Blasts instead of wasting even more mana Mixing them.

    Yeah, he was beginning to see why most people haven''t caught on to the skill. Was it a skill issue? Technically, speaking yes and no. The skill was fine, but it was the user''s skill that came into question. Alwin wasn''t going to let such minor issues deter him from bringing out the full potential of Mix. With unlimited options, the only limit was his creativity and ingenuity, the fun was just beginning. Plus there were some added side benefits during his journey of self-improvement.

    Skill Mastery Increased: Spirit Blast(A) ¡ú Spirit Blast(S)

    "This? This is what you''ve been teaching him?" a voice called out from within the lab. That voice belonged to a male and boy¡ªor in this case man¡ªdid he sound angry.

    Playtime could wait, it was time to investigate.

 Chapter 95: Arguments

    With a hop, a skip, and a little roll to finish off his routine, Alwin the Mixing Legend had arrived back inside Lapis'' lab, investigating the source of the commotion. As usual, Lapis and her army of drones were whipping up a storm. Different colored liquids, powders, and viscous materials filled tubes, containers, and beakers. Those drones she didn''t have mixing, stirring, or doing whatever it was that food scientists did, were cleaning up after the mess she made.

    "Is that all you''ve taught him? Two skills? One with absolutely zero combat capabilities and another whose effectiveness is, at best, a gimmick!" shouted the man, sounding angrier by the minute. That man was none other than everyone''s second favorite teacher, Milvus! No prizes for who was number one.

    "Hey, hey, hey. Mind your manners, Milvee. I am still a Minister and while a woman should never reveal her age, I am older than you. That means you have to double respect me," said Lapis in a cheeky tone.

    Milvus grumbled, rocking his triangular-shaped head from side to side. That singular eye of his twitched ever so slightly before eventually calming down. "Forgive me for my rudeness, Minister Lapis. However, I find that your priorities in handling Alwin are...questionable."

    "Well, then question away. That''s what teachers are for aren''t they?" replied Lapis.

    "That''s... not what I meant. What I''m trying to say is that maybe what you''re teaching isn''t beneficial for Alwin''s development. You know the importance of these children, Minister Lapis. How valuable they are. If we squander this chance now, who knows when the next opportunity will arrive."

    "Relax, Milvee. I know what I''m doing. I mean you turned out alright, didn''t you."

    "I turned out the way I am through countless hours of training and experience. How does using Alwin as a guinea pig for your experiments and letting him play around with an ineffective skill help with his growth?" asked Milvus. "While the other Core children are honing their techniques and minds, Alwin has been goofing off."

    "Hey! His help is essential to Monsterkind. Trust me, that little slime boy apprentice of mine is special. I can feel it in my Core."

    "Minister Lapis, with the utmost respect, all of these kids are special. Please don''t waste the efforts of the whole Council and the sacrifices of countless monsters, by pointlessly occupying him."

    "Well, that''s mean, Milvee. You know how important he is for my research and you know how important my research is for improving Monsterkind, calling it pointless is plain rude," said Lapis in a playful tone.

    "You''re missing the point, Minister Lapis."

    "Did you know most people think that a circle has zero points, but in actual fact it has an infinite number of points. Now which one of us is missing the point?"

    "Which is why I said¡ª"

    "Moving on," interrupted Lapis, "I need the kid and the kid needs me. Plus we had an agreement that he''ll go for your morning lectures and I get dibs on him in the afternoon."

    "And yet, he was mysteriously transported away in the middle of my class."

    "Well..." Lapis trailed off. "It''s morning somewhere in this huge wide world."

    "Please, Minister Lapis. While I agree, that your mastery of the mystic arts is second to none, Alwin needs more than that if he wants to succeed. He needs more knowledge of battle tactics, combat techniques, and survival abilities, not just learning new skills¡ªespecially not a baking-related skill. At this rate, he''ll be leagues behind everyone else," argued Milvus. "In fact, I believe he already is behind his other classmates."

    "Hey! Mix is my beloved. You all just don''t have the ability to see it."

    "Minister Lapis, even with my Eye of Providence, I cannot see the use of Mixing skills on the battlefield."

    "Well, you''re just blind then!" huffed Lapis.

    "You, of all people, should know that I see everything."

    "Well, you definitely can''t see potential even if it struck you in the face. There''s no use arguing with you, how about we ask our dear slime boy for his opinion? Who are we to decide his fate, anyway?"

    "We''re his teachers, guardians, and most importantly guides. Alwin''s and all of his classmates'' fates aren''t just his to bear¡ªthey carry the weight of all of Monsteria. But, I agree. Let''s see what Alwin has to say. Alwin, boy, I know you''ve been eavesdropping."

    "Wait, he has? I mean¡­ of course, I knew that," Lapis stammered.

    Both of them turned to face Alwin. As they were turning, even without any eyes, Alwin could tell that Lapis kept shifting her point of view between Milvus and the space in front of her, trying to match his movements. They looked at Alwin, who had been listening in on their conversation while munching on some popcorn.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    How did he get a bowl of popcorn? It was simple, really. Halfway through Milvus and Lapis'' little debate, Alwin had gotten bored. Could you blame him? That was why Alwin had enlisted one of Lapis'' drones with a task so crucial, that the fate of his sanity depended on it¡ªbringing him popcorn.

    Good thing that the drones were autonomous, a lucky break for him, if not he might''ve died of boredom while waiting for Lapis and Milvus to wrap up their arguments. Now, with a bowl of popcorn in front of him, he could watch the debate unfold like it was some kind of show. Except, rather than superheroes saving the day or knights slaying dragons, Alwin was watching two of his teachers fight over who got custody over him.

    "My thoughts? I don''t really have any," said Alwin, shoveling another helping of popcorn into his maw. Gosh, he was starting to feel like Gus.

    "You''re a smart kid, Alwin. After hearing a bit of what I''ve said, and experiencing Minister Lapis'' teachings, you should be starting to have some doubts," replied Milvus. "Look at yourself, boy. Look at your friends. I agreed to let Minister Lapis handle your training because I believed she would take your development seriously. However, since you''ve started, the only things you''ve learnt are how to help Lapis with her research, and a skill that bakers use. By going along with Minister Lapis, you''re only delaying your growth and stunting your potential."

    Alwin thought hard about what Milvus had said¡ªwhich was a tough feat given how soft and squishy Alwin was. After replaying the conversation over and over in his mind, going through memories of his experiences with both Lapis and Milvus, a single sentence stood out. Alwin knew his hunch was right! Mix was a baking skill! Only, a genius such as himself could''ve possibly arrived at such a conclusion before the grand reveal. He felt like shouting, jumping for joy, cheering in excitement, but alas he did none of those.

    Instead, he did something that surprised even himself. It was as if he was moving on autopilot. As though, his brain had been hijacked by another entity. No, he wasn''t being possessed or even being mind-controlled it was far worse. A different side of him, long buried beneath endless piles of jokes, distractions, and procrastination had made an appearance. Something rarer than a unicorn riding a rainbow over a volcano erupting while playing the trumpet. Yes, Alwin was being serious.

    "With all due respect, Mr. Milvus, I find Minister Lapis'' teachings to be beneficial. Although still in its infancy, and this is speculation on my part, I believe that essence refinement has many applications beyond helping a monster evolve. I believe that it has the potential to revolutionize the way we view mana itself," argued Alwin.

    The whole room fell silent. Neither Milvus nor Lapis moved an inch as Alwin spoke. Even the drones, stuck in an endless cycle of mixing, swirling, and baking¡ªa tireless pursuit to find a perfect blend for their master''s cafe¡ªpaused their work. Everyone''s attention was on Alwin.

    "Furthermore, through sheer luck or perhaps it was Cor''s design all along, the essence refinement skill has been largely favorable in my development. I''m sure both of you have realized that it is rather synergistic with my Core Skill. Rather than going out and slaying humans to fill up my evolution counter, I can do it from the safety of the Academy. While I do admit that I lose out on valuable fighting experience, this method allows me to safely traverse the many branches of the Evolutionary Tree, expanding the number of options available to me. This allows me to find the optimal form for whatever situation may arise," said Alwin.

    Milvus had his jaw hanging low, going so far as to turn toward Lapis for an explanation of Alwin''s sudden change in attitude. However, not even the Minister of Magic, herself could explain what sorcery had bewitched her pupil. She turned to face Milvus, equally if not even more confused.

    Alwin continued, "While I agree that Mix itself may not be the most combat-oriented skill, I believe that it is my gateway toward further understanding magic. For example, I''ve had to push my observational and critical thinking skills to their limit in order to grasp Mix. Although there are easier ways to learn such a simple skill, I believe that Minister Lapis chose such an unorthodox method to broaden my horizons and allow me to grow, preparing me for tougher challenges to come."

    "Yup. I definitely did that to challenge you and help you have a better understanding of the intricacies and nuance of individual skills and spell," agreed Lapis.

    "Thank you, Minister Lapis. Additionally, by seeking out the various combinations available using Mix, it serves as a catalyst to expand my skill repertoire. It is true that some skill combinations are rather useless, for example combining two Spirit Blasts together doesn''t add anything except a bigger blast and higher cost. But, this pushes me to experiment with even more combinations. Who knows when a seemingly worthless skill combination could produce miraculous results? Lastly, another benefit of this method is that it gives me a basis to build upon, allowing me to apply the knowledge I have cultivated through experimentation to future skills."

    Lapis nodded fervently, agreeing with every word spoken by her disciple. On the other hand, Milvus had an expression of disbelief plastered on his face. Why wouldn''t he be? This was a side of Alwin that he had never seen before, much less even imagined possible.

    "I..." Milvus paused, struggling to find the right set of words to address his pupil. "I agree that some of your points are valid, but most of your arguments are purely theoretical in nature, some are mere speculation."

    "Then let me prove it. Let me prove that what I''ve learnt under Lapis is just as valuable as what the rest of my classmates have learnt under your tutelage," offered Alwin.

    "It is?" asked Lapis, skepticism clear in her voice. "I mean, of course, it is. Obviously."

    Milvus let out a sigh, clearly unsure what to make of Alwin''s statement. Yet, despite that, he didn''t reject it outright. A good sign¡ªnot a great one, but enough to put a smile on the slime''s face. "Fine, I''ll come up with a test just for you. If you can pass it, then Lapis can continue to teach you as she likes. But, if you fail, I''ll further limit your contact hours and have Lapis exclusively teach you skills that I deem suitable for combat. Is that fine with you, Alwin?"

    Alwin nodded in agreement.

    "But you still have to come to class. Lectures in the morning and Lapis can have you in the afternoon, while the rest of the class does their own training."

    "Yes, sir," said Alwin.

    "Good luck, Alwin. And Minister Lapis, I apologize for the intrusion and my lack of respect towards you. I was simply too hung up on Alwin''s progress and worried that I have made a mistake in my judgment," admitted Milvus.

    "No worries, Milvee. We all need a few shots in the face to keep us grounded sometimes. Anyway ta-ta and all that, don''t make Alwin''s test too difficult."

    With that, Milvus bowed farewell and left, climbing up the stairs out of Lapis'' hidden lab. After he left, Lapis turned around and stared at Alwin. Even without facial features, he could tell that she was performing a crystal monster''s equivalent of scrunching her face, trying to figure out what had happened to him.

 Chapter 96: A Little Bit of Training

    Lapis was still staring at him, thinking, processing, and planning her next move. Meanwhile, Alwin was facing his own inner turmoil. Within his own mind, he was battling for control with the serious side of him. As amazed as he was at how the serious-him had handled the situation, he had to put a stop to it. That wasn''t Alwin! Technically, it was, but it also wasn''t. Too exhausted to untangle the psychological and philosophical knot forming, all he knew was that he needed to suppress the serious side of him again before he actually became a productive member of society. Wait, was he the bad guy? Nah, that couldn¡¯t possibly be the case. Right?

    On the outside, the inner turmoil displayed itself as a series of scrunches, lip bites, and head tilts. In other words, it looked the same as when Alwin was stuck thinking. It was technically the truth, but you know what? There''s been too much of that word lately, time to toss it out.

    Yes! It was working. With every random string of thoughts, every out-of-place observation, and every pointless tangent, the serious side of him began losing its grip. Alwin''s power grew stronger¡ªthere was an urge to include another technicality building inside him, but Alwin said no.

    All he had to do was overwhelm the serious side with stupidity, drown him out with ridiculousness, bury him in buffoonery, and suffocate him in silliness. Then, he''d go back to being his old self¡ªno longer would he be plagued by logical thoughts, cursed by sound reasoning, and punished by common sense. A big fat NOPE, EGGS, ZEROES, HAITIENSI! What did that even mean? The answer was clear as mud, a solid win for the idiot side¡ªthe true side.

    With the true Alwin back in control of his body, he rejoiced¡ªhe went nuts. All the emotions he was holding back, all the antics he had suppressed, all the jokes he was forced to bite down came rushing forth. Jumping for joy, rolling all over the ground, twirling about in a frenzy of hyperactivity¡ªAlwin was throwing a party for himself. Celebrating the return of the one true Alwin, basking in the glory of his conquest. It all culminated into one glorious final act, a victory dance! A jiggle to the left. A jiggle to the right. A jiggle here, a jiggle there. A jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, everywhere!

    At the end of his solo act, Lapis presented Alwin with a gift of her own. It wasn''t the best gift, but it was the thought that counts.

    "Begone, Demon! Return my precious slime boy student apprentice back," she shouted as a pair of drones swooped in on cue. One doused Alwin with what he could only assume was holy water, while the other held up a cross to Alwin''s face.

    "Lapis, it''s me," said Alwin, spitting out mouthfuls of water.

    "Yes! The exorcism worked!" shouted Lapis. "Good job, boys. Remember to mop up the place when you''re done."

    "I was never possessed... technically speaking." Darn it, he had done it again. The technicalities were slipping out, once more.

    "Alright, demon. If that''s the way you want to play it. Time for round two!"

    "Wait, wait, wait!" Alwin''s mind was racing, he didn''t want a second impromptu shower again. Twice in a day was way too much¡ªthe impromptu part not the showering part, you filthy-bodied person! Just ignore that last comment. Anyways, time to focus. It was obvious that Lapis would not stop until he could convince her that he was Alwin. An idea popped into his head. Better hope it works. "Rambling!" he shouted.

    The holy water-carrying drone paused mid-throw, splashes of water still escaped the container, slowly dripping to the floor. The cross bearing, though instead of lowering the cross, kept waving it around in front of Alwin''s face. Lapis glanced over at Alwin, studying him carefully, looking for any signs of deceit.

    A third drone appeared, instead of prayer beads, blessed salt, or even¡ªthankfully¡ªa silver bullet, it carried around a black marker. Please don''t be a demon-drawing marker! The drone flew straight up to Lapis and drew a smile on her crystal face. "He''s back! We shall celebrate with chocolate cake! Cake for everyone!"

    Alwin breathed a sigh of relief. That was one situation taken care of, now onto the next. "Any idea what Milvus is gonna do?"

    "It''s most likely a fight," said Lapis.

    "What kind of fight?"

    "If I had to guess, it''s going to be a hard fight."

    Drats! A hard fight? That was one of the worst kinds of fights. Alwin was going to have to pull out all of the stops. Losing wasn''t an option! If he failed, then Bion''s name-calling would''ve been proven true. No, there was no room for failure! No room for Al-loser!

    "No time for cake, Lapis. I''ve got to train! I''m going to train so hard that my soft squishy slimy body will transform into a hard solid slimy body. Onward! To victory!" Alwin shouted. Without wasting a second longer, he turned tail and dashed off back into Lapis'' white training room. Not even the blinding, cornea-destroying lights could hold him back, now. Alwin was determined! He was going to get as much training in as possible.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days. Theory became practice, knowledge transformed into power, and food converted into waste. Alwin had spent every waking hour practicing for his big test, even going so far as to spend every sleeping hour doing the same. Dreams were his sandbox, his playground for imagining various scenarios¡ªall of which he emerged victorious because he was just that good.

    The physical world was his laboratory for experimenting and refining his techniques, more specifically Mix, Spirit Bomb, and even Fire Blast¡ªit''s better to have more options than less. Even during Milvus'' boring morning lecture, he spent the time theory crafting. Who cared about the best way to ambush a human? Or other human-related topics that Milvus discussed. It''s not like humans were going to show up for his test. What was more important was becoming the best Alwin he could possibly be.

    In just one week, he had covered an incredible amount of ground¡ªwhat would''ve taken months was accomplished in a single seven-day stretch. Perhaps the serious side of him still lurked in the deepest trenches of his subconscious mind, secretly influencing Alwin into actually being productive.

    No time for ruminating! Instead, woe to his enemies for they underestimate the might of Alwin the Slime. From perfecting the basics of Mix to honing his Fire Blast, working out the kinks of Spirit Bomb, and creating a plethora of new combinations through Mix¡ªmost of which were useless. Nevertheless, each combination added something different to his arsenal, and Alwin was sure that they''d come in handy eventually. Maybe not soon, but definitely someday. Please make it happen, future him! It took past him so much work and effort, don''t let it go to waste!

    In fact, Alwin was going to put it to good use right now. Time to show off how useless some of those combinations really were. It may have already been shown once, but nobody said that it couldn''t be shown twice!

    Introducing a Spirit Blast combined with another Spirit Blast. What was the result? A Spirit Blast twice as big as a regular Spirit Blast and twice as powerful, but more importantly it costs more than twice the mana! So basically, useless. Yay!

    But why stop there? Following the trend, it was time to see the results of combining other skills with¡­

    Drum roll, please!

    Themselves!

    A Spirit Scatter Blast mixed with another Spirit Scatter Blast created a Spirit Scatter Blast twice as big as a regular Spirit Scatter Blast, with twice as many mini Spirit Blasts inside, and as per usual, cost more than twice the mana. Same thing for a Spirit Burst Blast. Twice the size, twice the amount of raw mana, and more than twice the mana cost. No prizes for guessing what happens when you combine a Fire Blast with another Fire Blast, but Alwin still wanted to say it anyway¡ªtwice the size, twice the firepower, and more than twice the mana cost! Good thing Alwin was a master of copy and pasting.

    Yin-Yang Blast with another Yin-Yang Blast? Turns out there was practically no difference with just shooting two Yin-Yang Blasts out with proper timing. Bigger explosion and bigger symbol. No point wasting the extra energy using Mix.

    During his little training montage, Alwin had gotten the hang of Spirit Bomb. The trick was to run away immediately upon casting. That way when the Spirit Bomb inevitably crashes onto the floor, he wouldn¡¯t get knocked out from the resulting explosion. What was the result when you mixed them together? Yeah, even Alwin was getting tired of this bit. Moving on!

    What do you get when you forcefully merge two Spirit Hands together? A ten-fingered Spirit Hand! Now, that''s a birth defect if Alwin ever saw one. The same could be said about Mixing Spirit Feet with another Spirit Feet, producing a ten-toed Spirit Foot. If Alwin ever wanted to start up a circus troupe of freaks, he''d know exactly where to recruit his star performers.

    Mixing a Dark Tackle with another Dark Tackle? Yeah, Alwin didn''t know either. Projectiles were easy to Mix, but he still hadn''t figured out how to Mix a skill that affected his physical body. Same situation applied when he attempted to Mix Fire Bite with Fire Bite¡ªliterally nothing.

    Could he have asked Lapis for help? Yup. Should he have asked her for help? Of course! But that would have invalidated much of the serious-side Alwin''s big speech to Milvus. As much as Alwin hated him, he was technically still a part of him, so he had to try his best to uphold his word.

    Time to segue into something more practical.

    There was another revelation to be had during his afternoon training sessions. Remember when Alwin''s Spirit Blast ranked up to S? Well, Alwin remembered too. Turns out the ''S'' had another meaning behind it, Silent! The effect? Well, it was self-explanatory, but for all those folks who struggle to comprehend such complex terms, here''s the answer¡ªAlwin no longer had to shout whenever he used Spirit Blast. Of course, he still could if he wanted to.

    Going down the list of benefits, a bunch of system prompts interrupted Alwin during his training session. Here''s a little snippet of it.

    Skill Mastery Increased: Spirit Scatter Blast(A) ¡ú Spirit Scatter Blast(S)

    Skill Mastery Increased: Spirit Burst Blast(A) ¡ú Spirit Burst Blast(S)

    Skill Mastery Increased: Spirit Hands(A) ¡ú Spirit Hands(S)

    Skill Mastery Increased: Spirit Feet(F) ¡ú Spirit Feet(S)

    Skill Mastery Increased: Spirit Bomb(F) ¡ú Spirit Bomb(A)

    Skill Mastery Increased: Fire Blast(F) ¡ú Fire Blast(A)

    Skill Mastery Increased: Mix(F) ¡ú Mix(E)

    That''s right. During his attempts at Mixing his skills, his mastery over them had improved by leaps and bounds. However, Mix was a tough cookie to crack. But, that would be a problem for future Alwin. Screw that guy. Now, he could silent cast most of his main arsenal of skills! Now, he no longer had to shout out skills like a buffoon! Alwin the Assassin could make an appearance sometime in the future¡ªhopefully near future.

    Eventually, the dreaded moment arrived. A day where class ended an hour early, just for Alwin¡ªhe was that special. The fateful day that determined whether he would get ripped away from Lapis'' care. After all, how bad could it possibly be? All Alwin had to do was prove himself and win against whatever Milvus threw at him. A small doubt started to gnaw at him at the back of his mind¡ªit wasn''t the serious side of him, Alwin checked. But, a small part of him wondered that maybe he should''ve paid a bit more attention during Milvus'' class. It could''ve been useful. Maybe.

    "Are you ready, Alwin?" asked Milvus.

    "Ever ready!" Alwin shouted back.

 Chapter 97: Milvus Test

    The rest of the class had vacated the room, celebrating the surprise early release. They headed to the cafeteria where they could enjoy a meal without having to contend with the lunch rush. As per usual, Gus ran off ahead of everyone else. Trails of yellow lightning were left in his wake as he utilized his skill¡ªLightning Legs¡ªto get ahead of the meager crowd. Uchronia took to the library, hoping to enrich herself with the myriad of knowledge accumulated within the walls of the Academy.

    All in all, they were oblivious to the fact that Alwin was about to undergo a test so important that it would determine the fate of the rest of his life. If Lapis only taught him combat-related skills, then how was he going to become the best Human Hunter in the future?

    You know, the more Alwin thought about it, the more backward his logic felt. All Milvus was trying to do was help him grow strong enough so that he wouldn''t die a dog''s death. Was Alwin the villain here or was it Milvus? Perhaps Alwin''s Yin-Yang Slime form had corrupted him to the point where he could only see in terms of black and white, rather than the muted gray of reality.

    Then again, Alwin may have been monologuing because he was scared beyond his wits about the upcoming test. It was a test! No one likes tests! It was the worst kind of test too. A practical test. What happened to multiple-choice questions? Those were fun. Those kinds of tests weren''t about knowledge, but rather luck. Close your eyes and fill in the blanks, then see how many questions you get right. It was a test of luck in its purest form.

    Yup, here he was running away from reality again. Alwin had to bite the bullet¡ªthankfully not the one from Flintlock''s musket. It was test time. It was now or never. It was time to stop stalling. There was no delaying it any further. Milvus stood at the teacher''s desk, waiting patiently for Alwin to stop having a panic attack in his mind before he initiated the test. How thoughtful.

    "Excuse me, Alwin. If we could begin before your classmates return from their lunch break, that would be much appreciated," said Milvus.

    "Right..." said Alwin, dragging out his words to stall for time. "Let''s-a go!"

    Milvus simply nodded his head. A tentacle slid under his desk and the unmistakable click of a button sounded out throughout the classroom. In response, parts of the floor retracted. The desks and chairs which occupied the room were swallowed up by the ground.

    What came up weren''t the usual wooden training dummies, but five humanoid figures. Scratch that, it was five humans. How? Did the Hunting Hunting Corp kidnap humans, stuff them in the basement, and only take them out whenever students needed to get some special practice in?

    All five figures bowed down, their robes marking them as cultivators¡ªthat was Alwin''s guess. A man in red robes stepped forward, in his grip was a simple spear, its metal tip aimed right at Alwin. Beside him, a white-robed man unsheathed his sword, brandishing it as he prepared for combat. While these two men wielded traditional weapons, a woman in yellow stood unarmed. However, her bulging muscles told a different story. She didn''t need swords or spears when she had a pair of guns that were more than capable of finishing the job. The sound of air whistling drew Alwin''s attention. An azure-robed man was spinning his wooden staff, cutting the air in an act of dominance. Finally, a woman dressed in black held a black bow in one hand. In the other, was an arrow. She twirled it around her fingers as she stared down Alwin.

    "Five against one? And against humans?" Alwin shouted. "That''s not fair!"

    "Fair is relative," replied Milvus. "Being ganged up on definitely isn''t fair, but reducing it to a one-on-one wouldn''t make it fair for the rest of your classmates."

    "Wait, what?" Gears were turning in Alwin''s head as he processed what Milvus said. Why did he have to speak in riddles? "You''re saying that the rest of the class fought five of them at the exact same time?"

    "Yes, Alwin. The whole class passed this benchmark, all except you. Unfortunately, you were away with Lapis during that period, so I couldn''t exactly administer it then. Alwin, we''re not raising you to be researchers or even bakers for that matter, we''re raising you to be Core-mmanders. You and the rest of your classmates were specifically brought into this world as weapons for our fight against humanity. I''m sure you understand that focusing on combat-related skills is the fastest and most direct path to our goal. This is the perfect method to test whether whatever Lapis has imparted to you is truly beneficial."

    "Of course whatever she taught me was beneficial! Probably! I think! All I have to do is defeat them? Well, that should be as easy as ABCs, easy as 1,2,3. Now let''s get this show on the road!" Alwin shouted, doing a flip from all of the built-up adrenaline replacing the fluids in his slimy body.

    "Sure, but first a little preamble about what you''re up against. It''s only fair that you know who you''re facing, after all, diving into a battle without any intelligence is a guaranteed way to get you and your future company killed. The Human Hunting Corp managed to retrieve the souls of these up-and-coming cultivators from the Five Element Sect. There was a lot of bloodshed and sacrifice, but it was well worth it. Now they''re stuck spending the rest of eternity helping to improve the abilities of students in the academy. Of course, we have a tight leash on them so you don¡¯t have to worry about being killed. But do note that I''ve increased their strength levels slightly as compared to when the class took them on. It''s only fair since you''ve had extra time to prepare for this."Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    "Five elements and five of them. So, each one uses a different element. All I have to do is beat them before they beat me. Seems easy enough."

    "Good luck, Alwin."

    As if waiting for Milvus'' signal, the five human opponents sprung into action. The girl in black aimed her bow at Alwin, unleashing a torrent of water-infused arrows, yelling out, ¡°Tidal Flow of Arrows!¡±

    The remaining four charged at Alwin, trailing behind the sea of arrows. This wasn''t his first rodeo and neither was it the first time Alwin had been shot at. He dodged the incoming projectiles with ease, rolling past them and hopping over them like he was playing a dangerous game of hopscotch.

    Once the arrows had long sailed past him, it was Alwin''s turn to counterattack. Sticking to basics, he launched out his own volley of Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts¡ªall without having to yell out the skill name. Silent casting for the win!

    Multiple blue orbs flew out from his Core toward his four incoming adversaries. It couldn''t be that easy, right? As if wanting to prove Alwin right, the man in azure raced forward in front of the group.

    "Wood Spirit¡¯s Circular Guard!" he shouted out.

    An azure aura coated the staff as it began to grow. Expanding wider and wider, becoming as thick as a tree trunk. Gusts of wind were kicked up as he spun his staff. One by one, Alwin''s attacks were destroyed upon contact with the giant spinning staff, shattering into particles of mana that dissipated into nothingness.

    Along with the wooden staff, the distance between both parties had shrunk. Red, white, and yellow, leaped above their azure brother to engage Alwin, yelling out the different ways they were going to kill him.

    "Flaming Lotus Piercing Strike!"

    "Steel Edge Crescent Slash!"

    "Crater Forming Stone Palm!"

    Flames erupted from the tip of the red-robed man''s spear, growing stronger with every second until it had taken on the shape of a flower. A literal flaming lotus bloomed atop his spear. He thrusted his spear forward, shattering the blazing lotus and coating the spear with its fiery essence.

    The white-robed man performed a flip, the sword held in front of him as he rotated through the air. As he spun, the blade began to glow. For the briefest of moments, the sword appeared to take on the form of a crescent moon before he brought the blade downward, slicing through the air, and soon Alwin.

    Meanwhile, the yellow-robed woman had both hands pulled all the way back as far as her body allowed. Her muscles bulged under the strain, expanding beyond belief as she gathered more strength ripping apart her sleeves. She hurled her fists downward, plunging them straight into Alwin.

    Alwin watched as all three attacks were about to hit him simultaneously. He waited and waited and waited some more, till the last millisecond. Using his patented evasion technique, a pair of Spirit Hands that he had discreetly summoned¡ªsilent casting¡ªthe moment the fight had begun, threw him into the air high above the incoming onslaught.

    The cultivators struck the Spirit Hands, which were performing an inappropriate gesture. The force of the attacks destroyed the floor, causing dust and the remnants of his Spirit Hands to fly everywhere, leaving a crater where he once stood.

    High above them, Alwin did his best impression of a bird¡ªhe started bombing them. Spirit Bomb after Spirit Bomb left his Core, emerging specifically from where the sun didn''t shine. They rained down from the sky, showering the party below with enormous blue spheres. One by one, each bomb exploded upon impact, and one by one, they sidestepped out of the way. They didn''t run or flee, they just shimmied to the left or right to avoid getting caught in the blast zone. Talk about disrespect.

    "Coiling Serpent Flowing Water!"

    Alwin snapped his head, just in time to watch as the lady in black fired off another shot at him. Water began to gush out of the arrow, spiraling outward and coiling around it until it took the form of a snake. It slithered in the air toward Alwin, rearing its head back as it bared its fangs.

    He attempted to summon a pair of Spirit Hands to move him out of the way, but it was too late. By the time his Spirit Hands came into existence, the serpent had struck. He let out a pained cry as it crashed into him mid-air, sinking its fangs into his cute and squishy body. Before it could dig any deeper, it disappeared¡ªthe effects of the skill having run out.

    Alwin fell. Hard. He crashed onto the floor, skidding along it until he stopped right in the center of the classroom. It was tough. Painful. And now Alwin had a fond hatred toward any serpentine creature. Even worse, when he looked up, he saw that all five humans had surrounded him.

    Alwin''s situation was worse squared. They didn''t just surround him, they had formed a pentagon. Who was in the center of the polygon of doom? Alwin.

    They raised their respective weapons above their head, the air crackling with energy. The red-robed man¡¯s spear flared a blazing red, flames licking the metal tip. A glow, white like the moon, coated the white-robed man¡¯s sword. Golden yellow energy surrounded the yellow-robed woman¡¯s fist, earth from the surroundings coalescing upon them. The azure-robed man¡¯s staff bloomed, nature sprouting upon its wooden structure. Finally, crashing waves swirled around the black-robed woman¡¯s bow, emitting the raw power of the sea.

    Great, now it was worse cubed. This wasn''t going to end well for him.

 Chapter 98: Milvus Test Pt. 2

    Five against one was totally unfair. Alwin tensed up as glowing lines of energy spread out from where they stood, forming a pentagon. Red, white, yellow, azure, and black lines fused together, encompassing him in a pentagonal prison of power.

    Alwin attempted to get out of the way, because who in their right mind would stand still and let the enemy dish out what may very well be their ultimate attack? But, when Alwin attempted to hop out of the pentagon, a wall of translucent energy comprising the five elements appeared before him. He crashed into it, bouncing back into the center of the pentagon. The elemental barrier shimmered, mocking his futile attempts at freedom.

    Yep, super unfair.

    Darkness rushed out of his body as Alwin attempted to Dark Tackle his way out of his confinements. His body smacked against the barrier, ripples spreading across its surface. Apart from the splitting headache, he could feel the mana levels within his Core dip. That was just a coincidence... right?

    He had to break out of here, fast. Dark Tackle after Dark Tackle, Alwin rammed his body into the elemental barrier, attempting to break free. With each hit, he could feel the mana in his Core plunge to the depths of despair. Yeah, it wasn''t just a coincidence.

    If melee didn''t work, what about range? Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, Spirit Burst Blasts, and Fire Blasts, flew out of his Core. They crashed into the protective barrier, creating bright flashes of color whenever they made contact. No dice. The barrier stood strong.

    Just when Alwin thought things couldn''t get worse, the five humans thrusted their weapons into the air, shouting out in unison, "Eternal Balance: Five Element Soaring Dragon!"

    Like the name suggested, five dragons emerged from their weapons. A flaming red dragon erupted from the spear, scales raging with fiery malice. The sword unleashed a shimmering metal dragon, its body reflecting the light cast by the fire dragon¡¯s flames. A dragon made entirely of stones emerged from the yellow-robed woman¡¯s fists. Vine sprouted out from the wooden staff, growing, twisting, and coiling itself to form a dragon. Flowers blooming out from its scales as it ascended. Finally, from the bow, tidal waves of power flooded out of it, forming a water dragon as dark as the oceanic abyss.

    They ascended, leaving trails of elemental energy behind them. High above, they circled around, as if conferring with each other. Then, as if coming to an agreement they turned their attention downward. Their maws open wide, exposing their razor-sharp teeth ready to consume Alwin, like the jelly that he was.

    Now was the perfect time to show Milvus that what he had learnt from Lapis wasn''t a waste. Thinking fast, Alwin brought out his Spirit Hands. Thinking even faster, he launched out a Fire Blast as well. Thinking fastest of all, he Mixed them together. Flaming balls of mana and a pair of translucent hands spun about each other before converging into one. The result was a regular-looking Spirit Hand, but now slightly redder.

    This wasn''t a failed Mix and this definitely wasn''t a screw-up. Alwin knew exactly what he was doing when he forced those two skills together. They grabbed onto Alwin, awaiting their master''s command. Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, Spirit Burst Blasts, and Fire Blasts, materialized in front of him. They flew toward the barrier in formation, flying side by side to strike down the menace hindering Alwin.

    The Mixed Spirit Hands didn''t throw Alwin. No, that would be far too slow. Instead, flames erupted from their wrist, propelling them forward, just slightly behind the row of blasts. Darkness coated his body once again, as he prepared for a Dark Tackle. All five blasts crashed into the barrier at the same time, a large flash of light erupted as the collision caused waves to ripple across it. Simultaneously, Alwin slammed into it using his Dark Tackle. Not just any Dark Tackle. It was a momentum-infused Dark Tackle, powered by the jet engines¡ªMixed Spirit Hands¡ªpushing him forward.

    Cracks webbed throughout the barrier, fractures appearing across the elemental shield before finally it shattered to pieces. Free from his cage, Alwin flew out of the pentagon. Fractions of a second after he escaped the confines of his prison, the five dragons crashed into the ground behind him. A shockwave of elemental energy spread outwards, causing the Mixed Spirit Hands to lose their grip on their master. Alwin tumbled to the ground once again, landing flat on his face.

    But, there was no time to dwell on how embarrassing that looked. Rolling his body, he flipped himself upright in a split second. From there, it was time for Alwin''s counterattack. It was time for Alwin to unleash his strongest move!Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Five black orbs and five white orbs exited from his core. All five black orbs curved to the left, just barely grazing the sides of the classroom, while the white orbs curved to the right. The humans attempted to move out of the way of the doom converging on them, but they had exhausted too much energy with their previous attack. Their legs buckled underneath their weight as they struggled to move out of harm''s way.

    This was it! Alwin''s victory was imminent. Good thing too, because he was beginning to feel pooped. As he watched the orbs thread ever closer to the humans, something unexpected happened. Some people just had to get in the way and play hero.

    Through some miracle of sheer willpower, the azure-robed man found the strength within himself to push himself up using his staff. He hobbled in front of the group, slowly twirling his staff with whatever morsel of energy he could spare. Runes began to coat the entirety of the lone wooden staff. Vines, flowers, and leaves sprouted from them, wrapping around his arms until the vegetation completely consumed them.

    "Ancient Tree''s Canopy Ward!" yelled the man.

    A spherical barrier composed of wood snapped into existence around him and his fellow cultivators. A thick sea of green layered the top of the protective barrier, growing thicker and more luscious with every passing moment. Branches twisted and curled into strange shapes, fortifying it. Leaves, vines, and flowers coated the dome until it became near indistinguishable from nature itself.

    Then, the Yin and Yang orbs met. White and Black clashed, erupting in an explosion that rocked the walls of the classroom. A giant Yin-Yang symbol shone brightly, consuming the wooden dome that protected the humans. Splinters of wood flew outwards, debris scattering across the room. Dust and dirt covered the area where the ball of energy exploded. Then, everything settled.

    Standing tall among the carnage of splinters and shards of wood, were four unscathed cultivators. In front of them lay the fifth. The glow of runes on his staff had dissipated, while the thick vegetation that enshrouded his arms was nowhere to be seen, save for a narrow strand of green, barely thicker than a thread. His body, which once was at the pinnacle of human fitness, was now the spitting image of the phrase, "skin and bones." If he wasn''t already a corpse, he probably was close enough to be considered one. His cheeks were sunken and hollow, appearing closer to a skeleton wearing loose-fitting clothes than a living breathing organism.

    Alwin stared with a mix of confusion and disgust. That skill. That last ditch effort to save his fellow comrades had drained the life of him, literally. Those vines, leaves, and flowers which had snaked up his arm, weren''t an extra layer of protection. Rather, it was the opposite. It sucked the vitality out of him, fuel for the barrier to withstand Alwin''s super mega awesome Yin-Yang Blast. That was what Alwin had surmised anyway.

    The once paragon of health, collapsed onto the floor in a heap, the staff in his hand rolling out of his grip, only to be stopped by the foot of the red-robed man. He picked up the staff, a blazing fire in his eyes as he stared at Alwin.

    "For brother!"

    The staff in his hands was consumed by a raging fire, merging with the spear in his hands. The once wooden shaft of his spear was now engulfed in a roaring blaze, licking at the metal tip with a burning vengeance. Without another word, the man dashed forward, leading the charge as the remaining cultivators followed behind him.

    Well, this was going to be easy. Another couple of Yin-Yang Blasts would settle this for good. Mana flooded out of his Core forming two distinct black and white orbs, but these were different from his usual Yin-Yang Blasts¡ªmuch different.

    They were tiny! Two tiny black and white balls, that quivered as they barely travelled out half an inch before dissipating into nothing.

    What just happened? A sudden wave of nausea washed over Alwin. Darkness was seeping in from the corner of his eyes as the world around him began to spin. Crap! He knew what was happening¡ªmana exhaustion. That weird Five Elemental Barrier thingy had drained much more mana than he had expected. The follow-up with those five Yin-Yang Blasts had sealed the deal for him. Now there were mere drops of mana inside his Core. And he knew that because he checked.

    Alwin stumbled about, barely able to hop in a straight line as he attempted to run away from the cultivators encroaching on his life. He had to get away. He had to come up with a plan. He had to prove that he hadn''t just been goofing off the whole time with Lapis. There had to be a situation to his predicament. There always was.

    "Spear of Burning Roots!" the man shouted.

    The red-robed man''s flaming spear blazed even stronger now. Roots sprouted from the shaft, wrapping themselves around the metal point. They twisted and turned, layering themselves into a needle-like point, becoming sharper with every coil. Fire raged from the flaming shaft, devouring the roots, but they didn¡¯t turn to ash. Instead, the flames sat atop it like another layer, taking on the shape of a spearhead. It grew stronger, blazing brighter than ever before thanks to sitting on an endless source of fuel¡ªthe roots.

    Alwin tripped over the flat classroom ground, tackling the floor with his face. With much difficulty, he rolled himself back up just in time to catch a glimpse of his demise¡ªa spear with his name on it. It was nice knowing you Lapis.

 Chapter 99: Milvus Test Pt. 3

    A flaming spear was headed right for Alwin''s head. No amount of sluggish hops or rolls could get him out of the way. There wasn''t any mana left for him to do anything. Death was inevitable. This was it. End of the road. Nothing to do now, except stare death in the face. And boy, did Alwin stare hard. He focused every fiber of his being on watching the Spear of Burning Roots speed toward his adorable little self.

    Another flaming projectile sailed through the air beside the spear. Weird. He didn''t remember the man shouting out another skill. Must be one of those silent casts.

    Then, it hit him. Alwin felt his body being compressed and hurled backward. Maybe it was the mana exhaustion, but Alwin didn''t feel the pain of a literal flaming spear stabbing him and turning him into a doughnut. What he did feel was something weirder. Ten points of pressure dug into his body, all while moving backward. He recognized that feeling. It was the exact same sensation as being grabbed.

    It was his Spirit Hands! The Mixed kind too. That''s right! Alwin had never dismissed them after they had successfully got him out of the Five Elemental Barrier. Thankfully, they didn''t succumb to the shockwave generated by his Yin-Yang Blasts earlier. They had grabbed him just before the spear carved into his body and cooked him alive. Flames jettisoned out of their wrists as they brought Alwin away from danger. He was safe¡ªfor now.

    Even with a skill still up and running¡ªflying in this case¡ªthere wasn''t much he could do. There were only two options he could see. Either get carried around by his Mixed Spirit Hands dodging attacks for all eternity or hoped that the Mixed Spirit Hands knew how to box. So, his options were delay the inevitable or delay the inevitable but for a much shorter time.

    A sudden drop in elevation kicked Alwin out of his contemplation of desperation. One of the Mixed Spirit Hands had let go, zooming ahead of him straight toward the edge of the classroom. What was it going to do? Punch a hole in the wall? Even with the added speed boost, he doubted that the hand had enough power to smash through a wall.

    Maybe, the Mixed Spirit Hand had read his thoughts because as it approached the wall, it slowed down. It floated up and down, left and right, looking for something. But, what? The clicking of internal mechanisms and squeaking of hinges being pried open, sent a jolt of realization into Alwin''s brain. The sparring room.

    Alwin was brought into the white sparring room, the Mixed Spirit Hand shutting the door behind them. Maybe Alwin should rename them to Spirit Head because they definitely had brains. But, now Alwin was caught up to speed. He didn''t need any more hand-holding, but a little spoon-feeding might help in the long run.

    The free Mixed Spirit Hand flew to the corner of the room, grabbing a bottle of emergency Mana Pills from the drawer. It flew back, dumping a handful of those sweet succulent blue pills into Alwin''s awaiting jaw.

    He could feel it. He could feel the mana in his Core being replenished. What was once a drought-stricken barren wasteland was now a vast ocean of mana. The darkness which invaded his vision receded. The sensation of the whole world revolving around him disappeared¡ªof course, he was still the main character of his world. In record time, Alwin was back in tip-top fighting shape. It was perfect timing as well.

    Kicking down the door, the man in red charged into the sparring room, ready to deliver the finishing blow to the monster that had eluded him. Behind him were his fellow cultivators, with weapons raised, determined to avenge their brother. They jostled and stumbled, attempting to push each other out of the way as they squeezed through the doorway¡ªit was a bottleneck. Their eagerness would be their downfall, Alwin would make sure of that.

    While a couple of simultaneous Yin-Yang Blasts would definitely finish the job, Alwin opted for a more personal touch. Remember the phrase, "Revenge is a dish best served cold"? Well, Alwin did, but immediately tossed it out the window. Revenge was best served hot.

    A blinding light engulfed the room, causing the cultivators to shield their faces with their free hand. Even while blinded the red-robed man continued to charge forward, a grimace on his face as he drew closer to the source of that blinding light source. What was the cause? It was simple. Alwin the Yin-Yang Slime was no more, now there was only Alwin the Fire Soldier Ant.

    As the light died down, the cultivators got a good look at their harbinger of doom, along with his trusty aides. It was only fitting that the six-legged Alwin would be assisted by six Spirit Hands. Not just any Spirit Hands. These were Spirit Hands Mixed together with Fire Blasts. Grabbing hold of each leg, flames erupted out from below them, lifting Alwin up into the air. Who needs wings to fly when you''ve got hands?The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Alwin rocketed forward at speeds no ant had ever attained. His flaming mandibles clicked with excitement, as he drew closer and closer to his prey. The red-robed man tried to block, raising his spear horizontally to stop the incoming threat, but he wasn''t Alwin''s target. Not yet, at least.

    He swerved past the red-robed man, gunning for the three cultivators, still tangoing with the door. At the sight of Alwin heading their way, something within them changed. Their scuffle ended in an instant, allowing the white-robed cultivator entry into the sparring room. He gripped his sword with both hands, bringing it down to his side, before taking in a long deep breath.

    It didn''t take a genius to know that he was preparing for an attack. That''s why Alwin would meet him head-on with his own. The flames adorning his mandibles roared to new heights, casting everything in the vicinity in a reddish-orange glow.

    "Fire Bite!"

    "Tree Splitting Iron Fang!"

    Mandibles and fangs collided. Sparks surrounded the point of impact. Metal against chitin. Pressure built upon itself as the two forces ground against each other, neither budging. Then, with a loud crack, the stalemate was broken. Cracks radiated out from the center of the collision, spreading out until they engulfed everything. From there, it shattered to pieces.

    The white-robed man collapsed to the ground, flaming mandibles piercing his body, setting his robes alight. With his attacker incapacitated, Alwin pulled out his mandibles from the dying cultivator, flinging his body aside.

    The yellow-robed girl punched her hand into the ground, covering her fists with jagged stone. Meanwhile, the black-robed girl had an arrow nocked and ready to fire. But, the only thing being fired was them.

    Spirit Bombs and Fire Blasts materialized out of his Core. What happens when you Mix them together? The result was a really big explosion! Five extremely volatile bombs detonated right in front of the two cultivators and more importantly right in front of Alwin.

    The force of the explosion rocked the room, sending Alwin spiraling into the air, relatively unscathed. His Fire Soldier Ant form was resistant to fire-based attacks, but that didn''t mean that a bomb literally blowing up in his face didn''t hurt! The same couldn''t be said about his Mixed Spirit Hands. They had sacrificed themselves for the greater good.

    Smoke, flames, and dust clouded the area where the bombs went off. Alwin didn''t need to see to know that those two cultivators had met their end. As he fell back down to the ground, he shifted his attention to the last remaining cultivator¡ªthe red-robed man.

    Anger flooded through his veins, making him tremble with red rage. Flaming eyes full of murderous intent zeroed in on Alwin as the sole target. Raising his spear into the air, the man prepared to launch it at the object of his hatred. Alwin was prepared for anything that the man threw at him, in fact, he was so ready that he was now gunning for style points. As he descended toward the man, ready to bite him to shreds, Alwin began spinning like a drill.

    Black, white, and yellow sparks of energy flew out of the smoke-laden doorway, coating the flaming red spear. An azure aura seeped out of the spear, enveloping it as well. With a throw fueled by vengeance and hatred, the man launched his spear, yelling out, "Five Element Converging Dragons!"

    The spear left his hand, shooting toward Alwin at blazing fast speeds. Within the next moment, five dragons formed from the various elements took shape, merging together to form one giant dragon. A sea of colorful scales represented the five different elements¡ªred, azure, white, yellow, and black.

    Alwin was not prepared for that.

    But, this was Alwin. Quick-thinking was his middle name. As the draconic spear drew nearer to impaling him, he put all his strength into spinning faster, becoming a drill made of flesh and chitin. It was now or never. Time to see whether his gambit paid off. Mere inches before impact, there was a flash of light. Alwin shrunk down, back to his humble Dark Slime form.

    The little black blob¡ªemphasis on little¡ªdodged the dragon''s strike. Its massive form whooshed past the much smaller Alwin. They spun past each other in perfect harmony¡ªfire and slime, opposites in motion. The elemental dragon crashed into the ceiling, sending debris flying toward the ground. What was the point of spinning? It was for maximum style points! Do you know what else was heading for the ground? Alwin.

    Another flash of light and Alwin was now back as a Yin-Yang Slime. Darkness rushed out of his Core coating his body. Multiple Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts exited out of his Core as well. They were the vanguard. The ones leading the charge against gravity. They pelted the man in a rain of blasts, tearing apart his robes, and bruising the skin underneath. The final touch¡ªa gravity-powered Dark Tackle.

    Alwin crashed into the man''s stomach, knocking more than the wind out of him. He knocked the life out of him. Alwin stood on top of the fallen cultivator''s chest, staring directly into his defeated eyes. Dull eyes stared back at him as the flames of life were extinguished.

    He had done it! Through some miracle, he had done it! In hindsight, these guys were pretty weak. Or maybe Alwin was just too strong. That second reason sounded far more likely. Regardless, he won! It wasn''t even hard either. Forget the fact that he almost died. That was definitely, one hundred percent, without a doubt, on purpose. All according to plan.

    Now to gloat about his victory to Milvus. And maybe get a janitor in here. This place was a mess!

 Chapter 100: Milvus Praise

    Alwin strutted out of the sparring room as best an ant perpetually on fire could strut. Head held high, one slow step at a time while swaying his abdomen and thorax side to side. After all, he deserved this. He had emerged victorious from a fight against several trained cultivators. Alwin wanted to relish every bit of that glorious feeling, especially since the odds had been stacked against him.

    Oh yes. How sweet his victory tasted. Yes. Sweet victory, indeed.

    When Alwin finally made it out of the sparring room¡ªbecause his extravagant strut of celebration was just that slow¡ªhe found Milvus staring at him, clapping two of his paper-thin tentacles. Doubt crept into Alwin''s mind. Why was Milvus outright praising him? It must be a trap. It had to be a trap. Milvus was about to pull out some dumb loophole and fail Alwin because Milvus was a big meanie like that. The Five Elemental Cultivators were just a warm-up, the true test was Milvus. He''d have to knock some sense into him. Alwin could feel it in his bones.

    "Good job over there, Alwin," said Milvus.

    "Of course! I''m just that good."

    "About that..."

    This was it. This was the part where Milvus was about to say that he failed. The moment those words came out of his mouth, Alwin would dish out a world of hurt to his teacher. Now, all he had to do was wait for those fateful words. Just utter them already! Come on Milvus. Stop teasing and let''s rumble!

    "In terms of raw power, I''d rate you at the bottom of the class right next to Tess."

    Tess? So you''re saying Alwin''s strength was comparable to the girl who specialized in defense? Ordinarily, that would be bad, but this was Alwin we''re talking about. Milvus was obviously complimenting him. There''s a saying, "The best defense is a good offense." And Tess? She had the best defense in the entire class with her ''Unbreakable Shield'' that was neigh unbreakable, unless Alwin felt like doing a little breaking. That meant she had a good offense, most likely the best offense in the whole class. Since Alwin was comparable to Tess, that meant his offense was as good as hers. The result? Alwin was super awesome! Looks like even though he was currently an ant, deep down the slime part of him still prevailed¡ªbecause look at those amazing leaps of logic!

    "But, in terms of ingenuity, I''d say you''re about second place, right behind Uchronia."

    What was that? Alwin was a genius? Well, that was obvious. Who else but Alwin could come up with such amazing plans that no one, not even himself could foresee? That was the hallmark of a true genius! Now, he just had to surpass Uchronia. He''d let her have the title for now. That was because Alwin was a cruel mastermind. He''d let her relish in the fact that she was number one, only for him to rip that title out of her cold green leafy limbs. It was going to be the most delicious salad ever prepared with a side dressing of despair.

    "Excuse me, Alwin. If you could pay attention while I''m giving you feedback, that would be much appreciated," said Milvus, tapping Alwin on the head.

    Alwin was knocked out of his thoughts, staring at the person who dared to interrupt his internal monologue. That was weird. Milvus looked like he was made of paper, so how did he not catch on fire from touching him? Maybe there wasn''t enough activation energy or something. Alwin wasn''t a chemist so how should he know? Enough observational skills. Now, back to getting praised by Milvus.

    "While you lacked the strength to overwhelm the enemy, you made up for it with tactics. While I put an emphasis on combat skills, know that utilizing everything you have in your arsenal is the hallmark of a good Human Hunter, which includes the environment. Using the area around you to your advantage is key during fights. For example, the doorway to the Sparring Room, you managed to create a chokepoint to restrict their movement¡ªthat was clever. While everyone else limited their fight to this part of the room, you were the only one who thought to expand the battlefield by heading into the Sparring Room. However, I still have my reservations about the skills that Minister Lapis has taught you. I must say that I have never seen someone use a baker''s skill in such a way. It was innovative to say the least, manipulating the properties of your Spirit Hands and Spirit Bombs to give you the boost you needed to win the fight, but I still have my doubts. Unfortunately, you did let yourself fall into mana exhaustion which is pretty much a death sentence, but utilizing your knowledge about the area you managed to cheat death by using the emergency Mana Pills in the Sparring Room."

    This was it. The moment that Milvus was about to say he failed because he cheated. When he did that, he''d launch a surprise attack to defeat Milvus and force him to say he passed. It was the ultimate plan!If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "Overall, I give you a pass. Congratulations, Alwin, looks like I was wrong about my preconceived notions about Minister Lapis'' teachings. They are a bit unorthodox, but it seems that it''s working out for you. Although, I still believe that leaning toward more combat-oriented skills is the better approach."

    Alwin was already charging up a Fire Bite, the flames on his mandibles blazing with a burning passion. Wait! Did Milvus say he passed? Was this a trick? A way for Alwin to lower his guard? That must be it! He had to attack now!

    "Fire Bite!"

    Alwin lunged forward, ready to snap Milvus in half. His attack was fast and furious, but Milvus just took one step back. Milvus dodged his attack? Impossible. Alwin continued to lunge at Milvus, snapping his mandibles close, aiming to split him open like a nut. Each time Alwin attacked, Milvus simply took one step back. Every move that Alwin made, Milvus saw it coming. Again and again, all that Alwin hit was air. This was impossible!

    "Alwin, there''s no need to get upset. You''ve passed the test," said Milvus, with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

    "I did?" said Alwin, unsure whether Milvus was mocking him or not.

    "Yes, you did. I''ll go get the classroom and sparring room cleaned up. You can go have your lunch break and prepare for afternoon training. Also, you can either do it in the Training Grounds Classroom or go visit Lapis to tell her the news."

    "Awesome!" shouted Alwin, completely forgetting his plan to attack Milvus, not like it was needed anymore.

    Milvus slithered a tentacle over to the teacher''s desk, the appendage coiling around the wooden frame, and pressed a button underneath the desk. There was a faint click and the section of flooring underneath him began to descend into the ground. As Milvus sank into the floor, he waved Alwin goodbye.

    Now that was a stylish exit. Too bad the room was still a disaster zone, littered with chunks of debris and dominated by a gaping crater¡ªthe aftermath of five elemental dragons trying to turn Alwin into their next meal. Maybe Milvus had to get things set up below before sending up a replacement for all the wrecked parts. Who knows? Not Alwin. And who cares? Definitely not Alwin.

    With that, Alwin strutted out of the classroom, ready to take a well-deserved break. It was another walk whose slowness rivaled that of a snail race. Each step was followed by a tiny little bounce as Alwin sauntered toward the door. Victory was sweet! You know what was even sweeter? Dessert! Lapis would surely reward him with cakes when she found out the good news.

    As Alwin approached the door, ready to make his grand exit, he collided with something¡ªor rather, someone. The sight of a yellow-furred monster sporting a large pout. He was mid-bite, munching on a sandwich as though it were his last meal ever.

    "Whoops, sorry about that," the person said, crumbs falling from his mouth. Let''s be real, we all knew that person was Gus.

    "Wait!" Gus shouted, staring at Alwin as if he were the tastiest snack in the world. "You''re, Winal! What are you doing here! Me and Flintlock have a million things to say to you!"

    Alwin or perhaps he was now Winal, stared at Gus trying to come up with a way to defuse the situation. Before, he could even process his first thought, another voice came screeching in and pulling his mind out of his ears.

    "Who''s Winal?" said the potted plant monster, Uchronia. "And what did you do in here? It''s a mess!"

    "Nothing..." Winal said, hoping his strategy of denying everything would pan out like it always did.

    "More importantly, what did you do to Alwin and Mr. Milvus? I saw Alwin staying back with Mr. Milvus and knew something fishy was going on. There''s no way he would stay after class to learn. Especially not on a day where class was let out early."

    Uchronia was mad. Winal could transform back into his slime form and everything would be hunky-dory, almost everything. If he did that, then he''d have to explain to Gus and Flintlock about why he attacked them with a muffin. Even worse, he''d have to apologize for his actions. Just the thought of that made Winal shudder. It was a fate worse than death.

    "It was already like that when I came in here," said Winal trying his best to play it cool¡ªa near-impossible feat for a monster on fire.

    "Looks like we have to do this the hard way," said Uchronia, glaring at him.

    She stepped forward, never losing eye contact. Fear. That was what he was feeling. With every step Uchronia took forward, Winal instinctively took one back. There was no way he would lose a fight against her. She was a literal walking plant while he was an ant that was always on fire. So, why was he terrified of her? Why was he being forced back into the classroom?

    Gus followed suit, hopping behind her. He glared at Winal while eating a sandwich spilling crumbs all over the already messy floor. If anything, it made the situation less tense. As they walked past the door, he reached out with his free paw, grabbed the handle, and pulled the door shut with a surprising amount of care. If Intimidation 101 was a class, Gus would''ve failed before his first lesson. By all means, Winal should''ve been more terrified of Gus. As much as Winal didn''t want to admit it, Gus was strong. Maybe even stronger than him. But, his antics were downplaying the fact that this was supposed to be an intimidating scene.

    "Last chance. What did you do to Alwin and Mr. Milvus?" said Uchronia.

    This was his last chance to reveal that Winal was actually Alwin. On one hand, they wouldn''t have to fight. On the other hand, he''d have to apologize to Gus and Flintlock, thus ruining his reputation beyond repair. Decisions, decisions.

    "I didn''t do anything," said Winal.

    "Then, I''ll just have to beat the information out of you," said Uchronia.

 Chapter 101: Uchronias Wrath

    Uchronia and Gus stared at Winal. His two friends were about to beat the flames out of his body all because of a misunderstanding. It didn''t help that it was his fault too. A simple Devolution was all it took for things to be cleared up. Yet, he couldn''t bring himself to do it. There was only one way to end this fight with his dignity intact.

    Run!

    Winal made a mad dash for the door, praying to Cor for salvation. No sooner had he started running, a trail of lightning whizzed around in the room, only to stop in front of his escape route. Gus blocked the door with his body, shaking his head while scowling at him. The sandwich in his paw was gone as well.

    Refusing to hurt his friend, Winal turned around. He ran for the Sparring Room. If he could use the door as a bottleneck again, maybe he could slip past them while they fought about who got to enter the room first. Once they started fighting, he would climb up to the ceiling, over their heads, and make his grand escape. Another genius solution by Winal!

    As if he could read his mind, Gus zoomed in front of Winal, blocking his path to the Sparring Room. Dammit Gus. Why did your IQ have to jump a million points at the worst possible time?

    Winal turned around, hoping for a lucky break if he charged toward the exit once more. What awaited him was Uchronia. He had arrived just in time to catch the Potted Sprout monster at the final verses of her chants.

    "Cage of Thorns!" she yelled out.

    Thick vines burst out from her potted body, headed straight toward Winal. He tried to lunge away, but the plants were faster. They wrapped around his body, giving him the worst hug he had ever received in his life. Large thorns pressed against his flaming exoskeleton, scraping against his tough chitin, but not strong enough to puncture it. As they made contact with his body, the thorns were burnt to cinders, only for a couple more to regrow and take its place. The vines tightened, leaving only his face exposed as they encased him in a living prison of tangled vines and piercing thorns.

    Uchronia and Gus walked up to their now-trapped captive, scrutinizing him. Uchronia leaned in closer to inspect the bug bound by her Cage of Thorns, while Gus began sniffing the air around Winal. Gus leaned in close, ignoring the smoke billowing out of the cage. He opened his mouth, using his tongue to sample the cooked portions of the thorny vines.

    "It''s a bit too well done, " Gus said, leaning back in for seconds.

    "Stop it!" Uchronia shouted.

    Winal and Gus both flinched at her sudden outburst. A pout formed on Gus'' face as he hopped back, away from his delicious treat. Meanwhile, Winal continued to wriggle and writhe under his restraints, trying to come up with a solution to his predicament. A simple Fire Bite or even Fire Blast would set him free, but then what? Get trapped by another set of thorns? Or worse, become Gus'' third¡ªpossibly fourth¡ªlunch of the day.

    Uchronia circled around her masterpiece, the thin root-like appendages that emerged from under her potted body propelling her every step. One loop around later, and she stood directly in front of Winal. Those eyes of hers bored into his. She drew closer and closer until their faces were inches apart.

    "Who are you and what are you doing here? Tell me what''s really going on," said Uchronia.

    "I''m Winal, and I''m here because you trapped me in here."

    "Smart guy, aren''t you," said Uchronia, taking a step back. "If that''s how you want to play it, then sure."

    "Great Thorned Leaf!" she shouted.

    A leaf began to sprout out of the bulbous portion of her head. It continued to expand, growing larger and larger with each passing moment. Thick, pointed brown thorns jutted out all over the leaf''s surface, which continued to grow in tandem with its sibling. When the leaf eventually grew as big as Uchronia herself, its growth slowed and then ceased. She leaned forward, swinging her body to slap Winal with the oversized piece of vegetation.

    The leaf struck Winal in the face, its thorns piercing through his flaming exoskeleton. Tiny droplets of blood oozed out from the punctures, sizzling and evaporating from the heat his body was constantly giving out. Flames licked across the overgrown leaf, consuming its green surface like a wildfire ravaging a forest.

    Uchronia glared at Winal as she dismissed the skill. The burning leaf detached from her head, falling onto the ground. It burnt to a crisp on the floor, leaving only ash and scorch marks as proof of its existence.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    That hurt! How dare Uchronia hit him? Who cared if Winal technically asked for it by refusing to tell her anything? She had no right to beat him up! If he wasn''t such a nice guy, he would''ve burned Uchronia into charcoal! But, since he was such a nice guy¡ªmuch to his detriment¡ªhe''d have to find a way out of this situation without hurting them. At least not physically. Emotional damage was on the table.

    "Oh come on. You call that a slap?" said Winal. "I''ve met seedlings who hit harder than you."

    Her eye began to twitch at his comment. Good, good. Push her buttons, make her angry. So mad that she''d have a lapse in judgment. While she busied herself plotting new ways to torture the information out of him, he''d come up with a way to get out of here¡ªpeacefully.

    While Uchronia continued to wail on his face with Great Thorned Leaf, Gus was busy sampling the food that Winal was serving him. Unfortunately, despite the burnt flavor that the flame lent the plant matter, Gus didn''t seem to enjoy his meal much. A frown was on his face each time he took a nibble, mumbling something about needing more salt. Still, Winal continued to provoke her.

    "Did you forget to take your fertilizer this morning? I barely feel anything," said Winal.

    Winal''s face was slapped left, right, and center. More puncture holes dotted his exoskeleton with each attack. All the while, Uchronia stayed silent. Her face contorted with rage with each smack, yet she didn''t say anything. That was good. Winal needed some quiet to focus on coming up with a plan. Then again, noise was the least of his problems when he was being smacked silly every few seconds. Plus, there was also the fact he was screaming with every hit. Needless to say, coming up with a plan was going to take some time.

    After several rounds of Great Thorned Leaves to the face, Winal had an idea. Spirit Hands were summoned right behind Uchronia and Gus¡ªsilent casted so that they wouldn''t suspect anything. After receiving commands from their master, they floated toward the classroom entrance. They gave it a couple of good knocks before zooming toward the teacher''s desk and hiding under it.

    Finally, Uchronia spoke up. "Go get the door, Gus. Let them know we''re busy here."

    "Sure!" Gus said, hopping toward the door while his two paws flopped about.

    Gus opened the door and what greeted him was an empty hallway. He peered out of the door, looking left, then right, and even looking toward the ceiling¡ªlooks like some of Winal''s brilliance had rubbed off on him. Unfortunately, Winal was just too smart for the food-brain Fluffpaw. Gus walked out of the class, looking around the hallways in search of the mystery person who knocked on the door.

    He had fallen for Winal''s trap! The Spirit Hands floated out from under their hiding spot, slamming the door shut. Immediately, one of the hands moved to the lock, twisting it. A faint click was all Winal needed to hear to know that part one of his plan was a success. Gus was trapped outside the classroom.

    On the other side of the door, there was silence. Then came the knocking. A slow steady beat like rain dropping from the sky. It continued for a couple more seconds before Gus decided to use his mouth for something other than eating.

    "Hey!" a muffled voice came out. "I think you locked me out of the room, Uchronia."

    Uchronia whipped around, discovering the culprits of the commotion: the two Spirit Hands. They waved hello to her, like greeting an old friend¡ªmostly because they were. Without missing a beat, they curled their ring and pinky fingers in, while aiming at her. Finger guns. They had become finger guns. They pretended to fire at her, complete with fake recoil and all, mocking her. Though they lacked mouths, Winal was here to save the day. "Pew! Pew! Pew!" he giggled.

    "Why do I always have to do everything myself?" she grumbled, walking toward the pair of Spirit Hands.

    They ceased their pretend shooting, raising themselves up in surrender. That didn''t stop Uchronia. She leaped into the air, spinning her body. The Great Thorned Leaf grew out from her head, before smacking the Spirit Hands to the afterlife as she landed. Using her own pair of Spirit Hands¡ªwhich weren''t silent casted because she wasn''t as amazing as Winal¡ª she unlocked the door. It swung open revealing Gus eating a cheese muffin, a circle of crumbs around him.

    "Thanks!" Gus said, unaware of the rage that Uchronia was outputting.

    As he walked in obtaining a clearer view of the classroom, Gus said, "What happened to Winal?"

    Uchronia snapped around, scanning across the room. Her eyes lingered on the charred remains of the Cage of Thorns, wisps of smoke rising from the pile of ashes, with Winal nowhere to be seen. A trail of black scorch marks caught her attention. The path of tiny black dots led toward the edge of the classroom, disappearing once it reached the wall¡ªThe Sparring Room.

    Unbeknownst to her, Winal had been watching the entire scene unfold. A second pair of Spirit Hands, hidden discreetly in the corners of the room, relayed everything back to him. From the twitch in Uchronia¡¯s eye to Gus¡¯s casual crumb-dropping stroll, he saw it all.

    How did Winal manage to escape the clutches of the treacherous Uchronia? It was simple, really.

    Once Uchronia had her back turned toward him, he continued to scream and wail in agony. While doing so, he worked in the shouts to Fire Bite, yelling out the skill name in such a manner it mimicked his pained cries even though he wasn''t being hit at that moment. The Cage of Thorns was set alight, burning to cinders in a matter of seconds. Once that was done, he let out another pair of Spirit Hands ordering them to hide and fill him in on everything going on. While Uchronia was busy dealing with Gus being locked out, he tiptoed his way toward the Sparring Room while still letting out pained screams. As Uchronia opened the door to let Gus in, Winal opened the door to the sparring room, then he closed the door with the utmost care, making sure that he wouldn¡¯t get caught.

    Phase two of his plan was complete. Now to move on to phase three.

 Chapter 102: Escaping Uchronias Wrath

    Winal was currently in the Sparring Room receiving a play-by-play by his Spirit Hands of what was going on outside. It was obvious where Winal had gone. Other than the obvious trail of clues he left behind, there was literally nowhere else for him to hide. But, that was the plan.

    "Stop fooling around and come with me!" Uchronia called out to Gus.

    While Uchronia stomped her way to the sparring room, mumbling and grumbling under her breath, Gus as per usual lightened the mood with his antics. He refused to use his paws to walk, instead choosing to hop. Those paws were reserved for stuffing his face with muffins he kept pulling out from Cor knows where.

    As they made their way over, Winal began his preparations. He ran from the door to the other end of the room, purposefully leaving a trail of dark scorch marks wherever his feet touched the ground. With that done, he summoned out another pair of Spirit Hands. Using the wonderful ability to combine skills, he Mixed them with Fire Blasts. Now the Spirit Hands had a red tinge to them, with a special bonus of shooting fire out of their wrist. More importantly, it allowed them to pick up Winal in his Fire Soldier Ant form without turning into cinders.

    But, there were still more things to set up. It was another round of Mixing with Fire Blasts, but instead of Spirit Hands, it was with his Spirit Feet. Like their handy counterparts, they gained a slight red tinge and the ability to propel themselves with flames that erupted out from their heels. The Mixed Spirit Feet stood at the end of the room, pacing about as they awaited their master''s orders.

    The Mixed Spirit Hands, on the other hand, lifted him up. Flames jettisoned out of their wrists, flying at speeds which more than surpassed their non-mixed variant. They brought him back toward the entrance of the Sparing Room, but he didn''t wait in front of the door, no that would be far too ridiculous even for Winal. Instead, he waited above the door, waiting for his friends to burst in.

    Uchronia and Gus, mostly Uchronia, charged through the doorway scanning the area for signs of an ant on fire. Little did they know that he was literally right above them, holding his breath, hoping they wouldn''t look up. Thankfully, the trail of black scorch marks caught their attention. Once their eyes were fixated on it, tracing the path toward the other end of the Sparring Room, he ordered his Mixed Spirit Feet to let loose.

    Flames shot out their heels as they began to run up and down their side of the Sparring Room. The sudden eruption of flames was enough to catch the duo''s attention, forcing their heads upward toward the commotion. Uchronia casted Haste on herself and Gus before they dashed toward the runaway fire.

    Now was the time to move. Winal took one cautious step at a time, crawling down toward the top of the door frame. Pausing for a moment, he looked back toward Uchronia and Gus, making sure that they were still chasing after the flaming decoys. Indeed they were, Uchronia yelling at them to stop. The flames obscured the Spirit Feet leading her to think it was Winal. Once he felt the coast was clear, he crawled through the door back to the classroom.

    As the Spirit Feet continued to distract his pair of friends, Winal continued to make his way through the classroom. He strolled on the ceiling, taking his time from a victory well earned. He had successfully made it out without having to hit his friends. Now, that required ingenuity. If Milvus saw what he had done, he would surely rank him higher than Uchronia¡ªthe person he had just tricked. Speaking of the Potted Sprout monster, the Spirit Feet had something to say to him.

    "The scary lady''s got us! Run away, master! Run away!" it communicated in a series of erratic toe wiggles transmitted through their mental connection.

    That mental connection was immediately severed once Winal heard the news. Yup, now was the time to bail. Winal dropped down from the ceiling, his Mixed Spirit Hands shooting out a thrust of flames that allowed him to hover midair. Once they had found their balance, they directed the flames behind their master, propelling Winal out of the room.

    Just as he reached the exit, he heard a yell from behind him," Come back you good for nothing ant. What did you do with Alwin and Mr. Milvus!"

    "Nothing!" he yelled back.

    Winal flew out into the hallways, a smile plastered on his mandibles as he soared toward freedom. That smile was ripped off when he noticed that Uchronia was hot on his abdomen. She zoomed through the hallway running at speeds comparable to his Mixed Spirit Hand branded jet thrusters. How could a Potted Plant with two tiny little legs made out of roots run so fast? Haste. It was probably thanks to Haste or worse¡ªan upgraded version of it.

    If only he had a bunch of banana peels, then he could throw it down behind him and hope for her to slip on one of them. Alas, he didn''t have any bananas, but he did have the next best thing¡ªBombs. Spirit Bombs to be exact. But, bombs were a bit too risky. He didn''t want Uchronia to get hurt if one blew up in her face. No, that was beneath Winal. Even though she had no qualms over beating the lights out of him, he couldn''t bring himself to intentionally hurt her. Only mentally. The best way to hurt her mentally would be to get away scot-free without ever laying a hand on her.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Since Winal couldn''t lay a hand on her, he''d lay a hand on the school. Spirit Bombs and Spirit Hands left his Core, but he didn''t allow any explosives to crash onto the ground. Instead, he relied on the tried and true skill¡ªMix! Bombs and hands orbited about each other, spinning faster and faster till they fused together. The result was a Spirit Hands in a comical shade of black rather than its usual translucent blue. What did Winal just make? He had just created homemade guided missiles. Though they had none of the sleekness or aerodynamic features of regular missiles nor did they have the pure destructive capabilities of a regular bomb, they definitely had an explosive personality.

    As they rocketed toward their target, they flipped the bird at Uchronia¡ªit was extra mental damage. Winal''s new creation crashed into the wall sending smoke flying everywhere, but sadly no debris. These Academy walls were tougher than they looked. Winal continued his Mixing, creating explosives that blew up the wall, benches, or if they were daring enough, the floor right in front of Uchronia.

    Explosions, smoke, and tons of shouts filled the hallways as Winal rampaged about. It was working. For every explosion that sent dust billowing everywhere, she slowed down whether subconsciously or not. That gave Winal the few seconds he needed to create more Spirit Hand brand jet thrusters. First, it was two, then four, finishing off with a grand total of six! Six magnificent jets were attached to his body as he blasted his way through the academy''s halls.

    But even though the distance between them kept increasing with every explosion, Winal knew he wouldn''t be able to escape as long as he was trapped in the confines of the Academy.

    Hoping to make a left turn, Winal banked hard into the corner. Steering wasn''t exactly easy when you didn''t have a steering wheel. He slammed into the wall, scratching his chitinous shell, yet that was the least of his concerns. Behind him came Uchronia. As fast as ever.

    The Mixed Spirit Hands didn''t have to be told twice. They grabbed Winal and jetted off as fast as possible. Pouring out as much fire as they could muster to get away from this psychopathic Potted Sprout.

    Crashing open the huge double doors of the Academy, they emerged outside into the bright daylight, the sun bearing down on them with its glorious warmth. Too bad they couldn''t enjoy the weather, because of a certain someone.

    Winal continued to throw out his explosive-laced Spirit Hands, sending dirt, rubble, and dust skyward, obscuring Uchronia''s view. Thanks to these controlled detonations, the gap between them grew wider and wider. Finally, they reached the town. With the help of a few explosions here and there, causing chaos amongst the crowd of monsters, Winal managed to lose her. She was too busy shoving everyone out of the way, costing her precious amounts of momentum.

    The coast wasn''t clear. Not yet. It would only be clear when Winal the Fire Soldier Ant was no more. There was too much risk Devolving in the middle of town. What if someone saw him and realized that the Fire Ant causing chaos was also a Yin-Yang Slime, if that happened Alwin would have to vanish as well, leaving Niwla in his place. It was a terrible name, so he would do everything in his power to prevent it from happening. He had to find somewhere private. Somewhere safe to Devolve. But, where?

    MOM''s Cafe.

    Of course, that was the perfect place. That was also the only other place that he knew, but who cared about the details? His Mixed Spirit Hands blasted off toward MOM''s cafe, leaving trails of smoke in their wake. And a lot of screams of terror from the other civilian monsters as his Bombing Spirit Hands continued to create destruction in its wake. The important thing was that no one was hurt. At least, physically. Finances were a different story.

    Winal burst into the cafe. Another round of screaming ensued due to the sudden appearance of an ant on fire flying through the air with the help of flames propelled by a bunch of hands. While others might consider Winal causing a bunch of mayhem and destruction to be a menace to society, he preferred to think of it as entertainment. What better way to liven up the atmosphere than by making people fear for their lives?

    Justifications aside, Winal flew straight down the stairs into Lapis'' hidden laboratory. Right as he entered, a wave of mouthwatering, savory-sweet aromas hit him.

    "Hi, Alwin! How was the test? Did it go well?" Lapis asked, unconcerned about her student barging in on his homemade rockets while also ignoring the screams of terror bleeding in from the stairway back up to the cafe.

    "It went well!" Winal shouted back.

    "That''s great! I made cookies to celebrate if you passed! I also made cookies if you failed. Basically, I made cookies," said Lapis, her drones balancing a tray full of cookies atop its diamond-shaped head.

    Cookies! Yum yum in his tum tum. But, first something more important. Winal crashed into the white training room, his Mixed Spirit Hands throwing him on the ground. It wasn''t because of malice to their master, no they cared deeply for him, so deep that they surpassed their limits. The red tinge which normally accompanied this version of Mixed Spirit Hands was gone. Their flames were extinguished. One by one they faded out of existence, waving goodbye to their master.

    A single tear dripped out of his eye at the sight of their sacrifice, only for it to be evaporated away by the heat which surrounded his body. He would honor their sacrifice, never forgetting their noble efforts at getting him here safely. A flash of light engulfed him and the flames which surrounded him were gone. Now all that remained was a black and white jelly, whose stomach was rumbling. Alwin the Yin-Yang Slime was back! And he was hungry for some cookies.

    He summoned out some Spirit Hands, the same Spirit Hands that had just sacrificed themselves. They waved hello, happy to see their master in tip-top shape. Without any hesitation they flew out of the white training room, glad to grab some cookies for him. But, they came back with something unexpected. Vegetables! Yuck.

    They had brought back Uchronia.

 Chapter 103: Uchronias Disappointment

    In the Spirit Hands which should have been rightfully serving Alwin, was Uchronia. What was this blasphemy? Did his Spirit Hands dare betray him? Or did they bring the evil Potted Plant to him so that he may exterminate this scourge upon the world? Wait... how did Uchronia find him? With all of the distractions he had set up, there should have been no way that she could''ve tracked him down.

    "Let me down!" Uchronia shouted, her tiny root legs kicking the air uselessly. Honestly, she could''ve just gotten rid of them without any problem. So why the charades?

    The Spirit Hands let her down before floating back to Alwin''s side. Those good-for-nothing traitors, he''d deal with them later. Either they were totally oblivious to the trouble they were in or they simply couldn''t care less, because they had the audacity to flash peace signs at Alwin. To add even more disrespect to the grave situation they were in, the Spirit Hands dismissed themselves without his permission, vanishing back to wherever Spirit Hands hung out when they weren''t needed. They had literally peaced out.

    Back to the matter at hand. Uchronia was glaring daggers with rage so ferocious Alwin was worried that she might spontaneously combust. Even worse, when Gus found out he would undoubtedly sample Uchronia''s cremation without a second thought¡ªAlwin doubted he even had a first thought to begin with.

    Even though she had somehow found him, there shouldn''t be any more problems. Uchronia was chasing after that menace of a monster, Winal. In front of her was everybody''s favorite slime, Alwin. In fact, Alwin hadn''t done anything wrong like attacking the city and academy with bombs, causing untold amounts of panic and destruction¡ªthat was all Winal. Case closed. Time to hop away and get those delicious cookies that he so rightfully deserved.

    "Where do you think you''re going?" Uchronia snarled, through clenched teeth.

    "I''m going to get cookies! Lapis baked them for me," Alwin said with a huge grin on his face.

    "No, you''re not!" Uchronia growled walking in front of him and blocking his path.

    "Why not? I passed Milvus'' test and now I get cookies as a reward."

    "Because you have plenty of questions to answer."

    "Questions to answer? What am I? A student."

    "You literally are, Alwin."

    "Yeah, I realized it just as I said it. See! That''s why I shouldn''t answer any questions. You won''t get any good answers."

    "Oh, just stop beating around the bush already! Just tell me why you tricked me and Gus into believing something happened to you and then caused tons of damage to the academy and town!" Uchronia exploded.

    Well, shoot. She managed to figure out the connection between Winal and Alwin. It was an impossible feat unless you have a big brain like her. The clues were scattered all across the place, but anyone else would''ve overlooked it, mistaking it for nonsense. From the path of destruction from the academy to Lapis'' secret lab, to the tiny scorch marks which suspiciously stopped right in front of Alwin''s figurative feet, she had somehow put the pieces together. No wonder Milvus ranked her number one in terms of ingenuity. But, she hadn''t realized that Winal was actually Alwin, at least not yet.

    It was time to activate his failsafe plan.

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," said Alwin.

    "Shut it!" Uchronia hissed. "I don''t know how you managed to transform from an ant into a slime, but it''s obvious that Winal is Alwin, and Alwin is Winal."

    "What makes you so sure that I''m this Winal person you''re talking about," said Alwin with a smug look on his slimy face. There was no way she could prove that he was Winal. None whatsoever.

    "In case it wasn''t obvious enough, I chased Winal all the way from the academy following his literal path of destruction to right here, where conveniently enough his footsteps literally stop right where you''re standing. Then there''s the extremely apparent fact that you just took the back part of your name and shoved it to the front. And frankly, I''m more mad at myself for not realizing that connection sooner."

    Drats! Uchronia was smart. Much smarter than he previously gave her credit for. Only an insanely intelligent person could connect such a tenuous link between Winal and Alwin. So much for his failsafe plan¡ªit failed immediately.

    "So now you''re going to explain why instead of telling me that the Fire Ant we saw was actually you. You decided to make up a whole new identity, and lead us on a wild goose chase while simultaneously destroying half the city!" Uchronia barked out.

    "Because you never asked if I was Alwin. You just asked what happened to Alwin and Milvus, and nothing happened to them. They''re fine. Then you suddenly trapped me in a cage and I was scared so I ran away, but you were too fast so I needed a way to slow you down and guided bomb missile hand thingies were the best I could think of," said Alwin.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    For a brief moment Uchronia stared at him silently¡ªmind whirling and processing his words. Her face slowly contorted itself into one of disbelief mixed with anger.

    After several seconds of silence, Uchronia finally spoke up. "I can''t even form the words required to express how much of a dunce you are."

    "What do you mean? I''m a genius," Alwin scoffed at the absurdity that was coming out of her mouth.

    "What you are is a terrorist. You know what? I can''t even believe that you''re the only one I can turn to for support. Why is Cor making everything so difficult for me," sighed Uchronia.

    "But¡ª"

    "Just don''t, Alwin. Just don''t. You''ve wasted my time, you''ve wasted my energy, and you''ve laid waste to the city. Whatever punishment awaits you, you''re on your own. Just like how you''ve practically left me alone, thanks to all of your tomfoolery and shenanigans, when I have to focus on reworking the whole system from the inside out just so no more child soldiers would be born. I have enough things to work on, and you''re supposed to help me, not be another problem I need to solve."

    "But¡ª"

    "No, Alwin. I''ll see you in class tomorrow. I hope you grow up," sighed Uchronia, walking away and leaving Alwin alone with his thoughts.

    Alwin didn''t know what to say, neither did he know what to think. For some reason, Uchronia being disappointed hurt more than her being mad at him. It was weird. It was unusual. It was unorthodox. Something about it made him feel very uncomfortable.

    "I just heard from Milvee that someone passed their big test! Here comes cookies!" cheered Lapis, as she entered the room.

    A drone with the tray of cookies that he had seen earlier appeared from behind her and lowered the tray within reach. Without even caring about manners he shoved his face into the tray, enjoying every crumb of their savory sweetness hoping that it would melt away all his problems.

    "Girl problems?" observed Lapis, as she watched Alwin eat cookie after cookie.

    Alwin didn''t respond, choosing to instead keep eating the cookies. Lapis merely nodded, watching her disciple stuff his face with baked goods. Several minutes went by, and the pile of cookies was decimated till no cookies remained. Even then Alwin still had that expression plastered on his face¡ªhe didn''t know how to describe it or even what it was.

    "As a technically fellow representative of the female population¡ªbecause gender is really ambiguous for us Crystal Diamonds''¡ªI can confidently say that whatever happened is most likely your fault," said Lapis. "Even though it may actually be her fault, the blame still lies on you."

    "I guess..."

    "Yes, yes. It''s always the guy''s fault, not the girl''s. Just ignore the fact that I''ve been single since forever and take my advice as gospel. Now all you have to do is say sorry and if you''re lucky she''ll forgive you and if not? Then honestly I don''t know. Women are an enigma and as a maybe female creature, even I have no idea how I think."

    "You''re right," mumbled Alwin, face deep in the now-empty tray.

    "I am?" replied Lapis. "I mean, of course, I am. I am always right! For I am a female and we are always right!"

    "You are. It''s all my fault. I was supposed to be helping Uchronia but instead, all I''m doing is creating more problems for her because I''m always goofing off. I need to apologize to her. I know it''s not enough, I know I need to change, and I know that unless I do, I will never become Valedictorian, much less a Minister."

    Alwin pulled himself up from the tray, wet stains covered the metal surface. A mixture of liquids leaking out from both his eyes and mouth. Why was he crying? Even he didn''t know. It wasn''t like the last time he cried when he was scared stiff at the thought of Uchronia and Gus being turned into barbecue. It was different. It was unfamiliar. It was foreign. It was something entirely new to him. He didn''t hate it. Nor did he dislike it. Was he growing up?

    "Yup, do exactly whatever you''re planning to do. As long as you''re wrong and she''s right it will always work out," said Lapis with a cheery tone.

    Alwin hopped up to Lapis and rubbed his face against hers, giving her the equivalent of a hug for a Yin-Yang Slime. In reality, he just wanted to get the sticky snot, tears, and drool off of him. Looks like change was going to be a difficult process. Hopefully, Uchronia wouldn''t mind waiting.

    ¡°Maybe I should start dating again,¡± Lapis mumbled under her breath.

    Alwin hopped out of the Training Room and back up to the cafe. The remnants of his destructive spree were still fresh. Tables and chairs were tossed around and shattered dishes decorated the ground. A small fire smoldered in one corner of the cafe, as Lapis'' drones doused bucket after bucket of water in an attempt to extinguish it before it burnt the whole cafe down.

    Everything was utter chaos and he was the source of all that pain. This was Winal''s mess. That means it was Alwin''s mess too. No amount of deflecting could absolve him from responsibility. He didn''t even feel like using those techniques. Not right now at least. Some time in the future perhaps?

    Alwin exited the cafe, examining the destruction he had created. Tear and worried-filled monsters littered the streets along with the rubble from all of the buildings he had blown up. A group of monsters which looked like blue turtles standing on their hind legs, each wearing sunglasses, spewed water out of their mouths in a frantic effort to extinguish the remaining flames that Alwin had created.

    A pang of something rang in his heart. Regret? Remorse? He couldn''t tell. First things first, apologize to Uchronia, then deal with everything else second.

    Alwin had barely begun hopping his way back to the academy when two monsters blocked his path. They were weird-looking monsters, to say the least. It was as if inflatable kid pools had gained sentience and sprouted rubbery limbs that were way too thin, making them look out of proportion. Two rubber legs, so thin they rivaled sticks, emerged out of the base of their body, while their eyes and mouth were in the center of their inflatable pool-like torso. Water sloshed inside of them as they turned around inspecting the carnage that he had caused. More importantly, was the badge stuck to their chest. A metal badge in the shape of a shield, with a star engraved on it. Numbers were etched under that star¡ªdifferent numbers for both of them.

    "Excuse me, sir. You''re under arrest. You have no rights and screaming will only make us hurt you in the name of self-defense," said one of the pool monsters.

    Crud! Consequences moved fast in Monsteria. Alwin had heard about these monsters when their information was downloaded into his brain at birth, but never would he have thought that he would incur their wrath. They were the cream of the crop of city enforcement. The best of the best of the best.

    These were the Poolice Corp.

 Chapter 104: Jail Time

    Large steel chains were wrapped around Alwin''s slime body¡ªit was tough to handcuff a monster who had no hands. The two Poolice monsters escorted Alwin back to the station, ready to unleash a barrage of questions at the perpetrator. Behind them were several other monsters trying to hold back a crowd of angry citizens demanding justice for the destruction caused by Alwin''s alter ego, Winal.

    If it weren''t for the sense of what he could only assume was remorse over his actions, he''d have busted out of his restraints and hightailed it out of there. Instead, Alwin fully cooperated with the two inflatable pool monsters, not even bothering to kick up a fuss. That darn Uchronia! What sort of spell did she cast on him? And why was it so effective?

    Whatever she had done to him, Alwin would have plenty of time to ruminate about it. Uchronia said it herself, she wasn''t going to be there to help him this time¡ªnot like she had ever helped him before, but her point still stands. So now a long jail term was what awaited him. It was the consequences of his actions and for the first time, he was going to take responsibility for it. Goodbye, freedom. Hello, cellmates.

    Inside the Poolice Station, which looked like any other ordinary police station except that instead of being constructed out of concrete or any other stronger material for that matter, it was made out of rubber and plastic from all colors of the rainbow, molded together to create a stereotypical building. It was the world''s largest bouncy castle made for only the most professional of professionals.

    The two Poolice monsters chucked Alwin into the interrogation room, his slimy body bouncing against the soft springy floor. He crashed into the wall only to bounce right back and fall onto the floor and continue to bounce all over until he finally stopped. Alwin forced himself up, the heavy chains on his body weighing him down. As he got up the two Poolcie monsters who had arrested him sat down across from him, on large inflatable chairs made to accommodate their wide physique. They glared at him, their noodle-like arms resting against the surprisingly colorful bouncy table¡ªwhich had the opposite effect if intimidation was the name of the game. Alwin didn''t even need to be told what to do. He sat down across the two officers on his very own bouncy chair.

    "Fess up, slime! Where''s the Fire Soldier Ant that bombed the city? We know you''re working together with him! We need information! We need names! If you do, we''ll get you a reduced sentence, and if not then you''re going away for a long time," said one of the officers.

    "I¡ª"

    Before Alwin could even get a second word out, the other Poolice officer interrupted him.

    "Don''t even bother coming up with all sorts of blatant lies or sob stories. We''ve heard it all before and then some. We have irrefutable evidence that you''re in cahoots with that terrorist ant!"

    "Exactly! And even if we don''t, we''ll just make up new evidence that says otherwise! You''ll confess eventually, everyone does. Everyone! Now tell us where your partner is hiding!" added the second Poolice officer.

    "He''s¡ª"

    Once again, Alwin''s words were cut off before he even got a chance to speak. The thing was, he wanted to confess to his crimes. Alwin wasn''t even going to go on his usual song and dance routine to try to worm his way out of trouble.

    "Playing hardball now aren''t ya? Well if that''s how you want to play, then don''t regret it when the judge throws the whole book at ya!"

    "But¡ª"

    Another interruption.

    "Woah! Woah! Woah! Using threats against an officer of the law? That''s it, buddy, you''re going away for a long time. And I mean so long that there''s no number in the world that can even quantify it!"

    "Exactly! Now you get to spend some time in lock-up. A long time alone until your court date. Not even a lawyer can help you out of this situation, that''s why we''ve taken the liberty of not offering you any legal assistance."

    "That''s¡ª"

    "He''s using violence against us! Quick! Restrain him and throw him behind rubber bars!"

    The two Poolice officers stood up and rushed over to Alwin. The heavy steel chains wrapped around his body made it impossible to move out of the way of the charging Poolice officers. They tackled him down onto the¡ªthankfully, soft¡ªground. Alwin opened his mouth in an attempt to protest the unlawful treatment he was subjected to. One of the Poolice officers noticed this and jabbed a blue balloon into his maw. Muffled squeaking sounds were all Alwin could muster as the two officers had essentially just gagged him. Alwin wasn''t even in the mood to comment on the peculiar taste in his mouth or the worries about when was the last time the officer had washed his hand. Although technically he just did, but this technicality was the only thing keeping his sanity in check from the brutal treatment he was experiencing.

    Despite the thinness of the Poolice officers'' arms, they were able to haul Alwin with much ease. They chucked him into a small jail cell, barely bigger than a closet, and slammed the rubber bars shut. Unsurprisingly, the bars spent a few seconds bouncing between open and closed before finally settling on closed much to the chagrin of Alwin.

    They locked the cell and dangled the key in front of Alwin, tempting him with the promise of escape. But, he was smart enough to know that this was just another bait. If he so much as reacted, it would add to the long list of charges already stacked against him. Seeing that Alwin wasn''t going to fall for their scheme, the Poolice officer shook his head and lobbed the key into the toilet of the opposite cell. The sound of the toilet flushing followed soon after.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    "That''s what you get criminal! We''re skipping the judiciary process entirely and cutting straight to locking you away forever and throwing away the key!" The two Poolice officers walked off, cackling away at the stupendous arrest that they had just performed.

    For all Alwin knew, they could''ve just been going around arresting random civilians and pinning the blame on them, while leaving the true culprit roam about free. Considering how little effort was put into interrogating him, this hypothesis didn''t seem too far from the truth. However, through sheer luck or coincidence, they had managed to arrest the one responsible for the attacks on the city, even if they didn''t know it yet.

    Now, Alwin was all alone in a cell with nothing but his thoughts, serving out the punishment that he so rightfully deserved. Like everything in this building of bounce, his cell was made out of inflatable rubber with various hues mixed together creating a strange mishmash of bright colors that offended anyone with functioning eyes. It was a good thing too, because given the extent of his crimes, Alwin was going to be stuck in here for a long time. And seeing how horribly he was treated, insanity was but an inevitability. Fortunately, he was locked up in a padded cell, although he had a feeling that the colors would only speed up the inevitable.

    With nothing to do, Alwin began to reflect on his actions. About how he rampaged through the academy. About how he blew up parts of the city. And worst of all, about how he let Uchronia down. It was that last part, especially, that bothered him. It caused a whole personality change in him. It was like someone else was taking over control of his body, making him behave in ways that he normally wouldn''t. But, Alwin knew that wasn''t the case. He checked the inside of his mind. Twice! Alwin was fully in charge, with no sign of the serious side of him to be found. That meant one thing. Alwin was changing. Alwin was growing up, whether he wanted to or not.

    It wasn''t even five minutes into his self-reflection session when he heard voices coming from outside his cell. It was the two Poolice officers along with someone else. A familiar voice. Yet, Alwin couldn''t put his metaphorical finger on it.

    Soon enough the person entered into view. It was none other than Milvus, with the two Poolice officers standing behind him. Their haughty and pompous demeanor was gone, replaced by nervousness as sweat oozed out of their inflatable bodies.

    "Oh, Alwin. What sort of mess did you get yourself into," sighed Milvus.

    "I¡ª"

    Again, before Alwin could even hope to speak he was cut off. By Milvus this time, however, and not one of the Poolice officers.

    "It was a rhetorical question. I already know what you did. Frankly, I''m questioning whether I should just leave you in this cell or get you out of there," said Milvus, shaking his head.

    "But¡ª"

    "I already know what you''re going to say¡ªEye of Providence remember¡ªso let''s skip the chit-chat and focus on the problem at hand. You want to get out of prison, but at the same time, you want to repent for your actions. You know, there are other ways to make up for what you did other than rotting away in jail."

    "Yes¡ª"

    "Again, I already know what you''re going to say. If you truly want to atone for what you did, you know exactly what to do. Take things seriously and work hard to eliminate the humans. Yes, I know that was what you were being brought up to do. Yes, I know that doing the thing you were already doing isn''t the best way to absolve yourself of your sins. And yes, I know I''ve mentioned you haven''t been taking things seriously, and that the test earlier was supposed to show that you were, but look where you are now. In a jail cell. So, if you want out, you need to promise me that you''ll take things seriously. Stop falling asleep in class. Stop daydreaming. Stop goofing off. You have the most potential out of all your classmates, so just focus and work hard. Those are the terms if you want an early release. Deal?"

    This was a way for him to make up for his crimes. Although it did feel cheap. Everything was going to turn back to normal. Alwin would simply attend classes as per usual and train as if he hadn''t just blown up various buildings. There was a caveat that he had to take things more seriously, but that condition felt too lax for something as bad as the things he''d done. The punishment didn''t fit the crime.

    "Alwin. Just know that wiping out humans from the face of the planet would more than makeup for what you did today."

    That was all Alwin needed to hear to be convinced. Now, more than ever he needed to take things seriously. To stop goofing off and focus hard on eliminating the humans. All it took was a disappointing look from Uchronia and being locked away in a cell with multi-colored rubber bars. Who knew those would be the two things needed to trigger this change?

    "Let him out," said Milvus, moments after Alwin had mentally agreed to the deal.

    Could Milvus read his mind? Whatever, it didn''t matter. Now wasn''t the time to think about such useless thoughts. What mattered was getting out of here, returning to the Academy, working hard to be a Valedictorian and Minister, and hopefully somewhere along the way Uchronia would forgive him.

    The Poolice officer who had previously discarded Alwin''s cell key rushed over to the toilet in the opposite cell. He got on his knees and stuffed his hand down the toilet, fishing for the precious treasure that would release Alwin. Soon enough, he managed to retrieve it in all of its glorious rubber glory. Not even the toilet water dripping from the key could dampen its colorful splendor. With the key retrieved, he waddled as fast as he could to unlock Alwin''s cell, before immediately unlocking the chains which bound Alwin without even having to be told. He was unwilling to stall any longer avoiding the gaze of the intimidating Milvus.

    "Go wait outside first, Alwin. I need to have a little chat with these two officers," said Milvus.

    Alwin did as he was told. No arguments. No cheeky comebacks. No sarcastic quips. Nothing. Alwin knew obeying Milvus'' orders was the first step to atoning for his crimes. It was the beginning of him earning Uchronia''s forgiveness.

    He hopped over to the reception area waiting patiently for Milvus to finish¡ªnot allowing a single intrusive thought to enter his mind. Following orders was the name of the game.

    Although, Milvus didn''t say that he couldn''t eavesdrop on their conversation. Surprisingly, sounds could travel far in this building of bouncy rubber and plastic. Even though it was muffled, Alwin could hear every word being uttered between the three individuals in the interrogation room.

    At first, it was all routine back-and-forth, nothing noteworthy. But then Milvus spoke.

    ¡°So,¡± he said, his voice low but it was clearly him, ¡°How much do I owe you for orchestrating this whole thing?¡±

    Orchestrating? Orchestrating what?

 Chapter 105: Orchestration Revelation

    Alwin was taken aback. There was a conspiracy brewing right in this very building. Even though Alwin had sworn off going on his usual spiral of self-questioning and doubt, the circumstances warranted otherwise. Screw turning into a mindless zombie that only takes orders in a bid to take things seriously. What exactly did the two Poolice officers orchestrate and how was Milvus involved? Was it his unlawful arrest? The mistreatment he received? Something far more sinister?

    "For you, Milvus. Free of charge. It was an honor working with a hero like you, "said one of the Poolice officers.

    "Absolutely, sir. But, I hope we didn''t treat the little squirt too rough," said the other Poolice Officer.

    "Don''t worry. That kid needs to learn that actions have consequences. I would''ve preferred to keep him in lockup a bit longer to let the lesson really sink in but he''s a smart one. I know he already gets the message loud and clear."

    "We understand, sir. Still, I just want to say that I am blown away at how you managed to predict everything perfectly. From the time and the exact path, the Fire Ant would take to which buildings would get damaged. If it weren''t for you, we wouldn''t have been able to evacuate everyone and reinforce the buildings to limit the amount of damage."

    "Well, they don''t call me Milvus the All-Seeing for nothing. I would''ve preferred a less destructive approach, but this was the only way I could find to help whip that young monster into the right headspace."

    "Either way, the Poolice Corps will be eagerly awaiting your call again."

    You¡¯re saying that everything had been planned out by Milvus. The test, the running away from Uchronia and Gus, the bombardments in the city. All of it was part of Milvus'' plan. How did he do such a thing? For how long had Alwin been manipulated? A day? A week? Since his birth? Was Alwin even in control of his own destiny at this point? Or, was he simply playing puppet to Milvus?

    He didn''t know what to think. He didn''t know what to do. He didn''t know how to react.

    Milvus'' whole plan was to get Alwin to be more serious, but if Alwin found out that this had been a whole ruse, then obviously, as the rebellious child he was, he should do the exact opposite of what was laid out for him.

    But, what if Milvus accounted for that in his predictions? Was Milvus spilling the beans part of his design as well? Or was it just pure luck? Maybe by letting Alwin in on his plan, Milvus was actually trying to get into his head. If so, then it was certainly working.

    What was the right way to approach this situation? Did Milvus account for it already? Or was the wrong way actually the right way? In the end, did it all inevitably lead to the same destination? This was a tough situation to wrap his head around.

    If Milvus could predict his unpredictability, then was he truly unpredictable?

    Alwin was at an impasse. It was a scenario too convoluted for even his turntable of a mind. So, for now, he would do the simplest thing. Nothing. Rather than wasting energy trying to figure out what was the right way to go about this new revelation, he''d just go along with Milvus'' orders as if nothing even happened.

    Only time could tell whether this was the option that Milvus had predicted, and frankly, Alwin didn''t think he and Father Time were on speaking terms¡ªor any terms, for that matter.

    On the bright side, this little bombshell of a discovery allowed the chaotic Alwin back in control, rather than whoever was pulling the strings behind the scenes and making him all serious-like. Or maybe he had always been in control and was now just granting blame onto an invisible third party that may or may not exist.

    The squeaking sounds of rubber being compressed squeezed Alwin out of his thoughts. He hurried back to the center of the station and bounced to a stop. A slight tremor shook his heart as the last lingering bounces of the inflatable floor threatened to snitch on him. The door swung open, sending a wave of wobbles throughout the floor, covering up any evidence of his sneaky eavesdropping.

    "I hope that you''ve learnt a lesson from this little stunt of yours," said Milvus. "Anyway, there''s a big announcement in class tomorrow so go rest up. Dismissed."

    Milvus left the building while Alwin trailed behind. From the door leading to the jail cells, the two Poolice officers watched their exchange. They leaned against the door frame with their arms crossed, holding their best attempt at an intimidation pose. Although Alwin knew that deep down they were just putting on a show for Milvus. In fact, they were probably more afraid of Milvus than he was. And Alwin was the one in trouble.

    The duo parted ways from the stations. Milvus headed back to the academy seemingly pleased with himself, two of his paper-thin tentacles wrapped about his back whilst he strolled through the carnage that Alwin had enacted on the city. A bunch of the city folks¡ªpaid actors, most likely¡ªswooned over Milvus, and showered him with praises.

    Alwin on the other hand kept a low profile. Even though he wasn''t in his Fire Soldier Ant form anymore, it was better to play it wisely¡ªlooks like his more serious nature was beginning to leak out again. Rather than heading back to the academy to get some rest, he opted to go to MOM''s Cafe and extend his apologies to Lapis. It was the very least he could do, now that he''d been forced to wise up.

    Upon entering the cafe, Alwin got a good look at the wreck that he had made. The drones had successfully put out the fire in the corner of the room, although they were still struggling to remove the black soot that coated the ground. Chairs and tables were still thrown about haphazardly, but a few had been restored to their upright position. Then, there were the destroyed plates and food which provided tiny insects an all-you-can-eat buffet.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The drones spotted Alwin and paused for a mere moment before returning back to fixing the cafe. A single drone flew out from the room which led to Lapis'' hidden lab. Atop its head was a spray bottle, which it promptly used to spray Alwin in the face like the bad boy he was. He winced as the cold water splashed onto him. As much as it annoyed him to be treated in such a manner to the point where he wanted to lash out, it was justified. Alwin allowed the humiliating act to proceed until the water-filled bottle was now air-filled. Satisfied with its revenge, the drone ordered Alwin to follow him.

    Alwin shook off the droplets of water that clung to his face, but some still hung on. Regardless, he proceeded down to the lab. There, Lapis was continuing her experiments, unfazed by the disruption to her business. Judging by the ingredients on the lab table¡ªflour, eggs, vanilla extract, and high-quality chocolate¡ªshe was most likely working on a new recipe for some super ultra deluxe chocolate cake. If only she put in as much effort into her research about Mana and Essence.

    Whether he liked it or not, Alwin understood why Milvus masterminded the whole debacle. He didn''t want Alwin to turn into a carbon copy of his teacher, Minister Lapis. Even if by a smidge, he''d hope that Alwin would prioritize work over having fun. Still, to undermine Lapis because she worked hard, but played harder felt disingenuous. She simply had a process, without her revolutionizing work about Essence, he wouldn''t have access to his Fire Soldier Ant form.

    "Hi, Lapis," Alwin said.

    "Hey, slime boy apprentice of mine. Did you solve your girl problem already? See, I told you that apologizing and taking the blame for everything fixes everything."

    "Actually, I didn''t get a chance to speak to her yet. I got arrested and thrown into jail, but then Milvus bailed me out on the condition that I take things more seriously and work harder."

    "Not the wildest afternoon I''ve heard of. But how''d you get thrown into jail? As much as I hate it, we have laws here. And throwing minors into jail isn''t exactly one of them."

    That''s right. Alwin was a minor, one that wasn''t even one year old yet. No sensible court of law would prosecute what one would categorize as a literal baby. Alwin couldn''t believe he really thought that he was going away for a long time. More importantly, he couldn¡¯t believe that he didn¡¯t realize such an obvious flaw in Milvus¡¯ plan sooner. Was his brain in low-power mode or something?

    He sighed, pushing the thought aside. "Oh, it was just one of Milvus'' plans. He wanted to teach me that my actions have consequences and that I shouldn''t waste my time mucking about when I should be focusing on getting rid of the humans."

    "So, you fell into one of little Milvee''s schemes? Been there, done that. Can''t say I enjoyed it, but it was fun. I''m going to assume that his little lesson failed, and now he''s going back to the drawing board and cooking up another crazy idea."

    "Actually... I think it worked," said Alwin.

    "It did? You''re saying that little Milvee actually taught you something?¡± Lapis stared at Alwin for a couple of seconds, inspecting her grand apprentice as if he were telling a bold-faced lie straight to her face.

    After a moment, she nodded her whole body in approval. ¡°Looks like his teaching skills have improved. This calls for a celebration! Cakes and cookies for everyone!" cheered Lapis. The drones helping out with her experiments spun about in excitement.

    "Not for me. I actually came back here to apologize for destroying your cafe," said Alwin, looking down at the ground. Guilt about his horrible actions forced him to avoid eye contact in shame.

    "Oh, that was you? I just thought that one of the customers ate too much and wrecked the place in a sugar high. At least that explains why you''re covered in water."

    "What does that have to do with me apologizing?" asked Alwin, head jerking up with a face full of confusion.

    "Well, normally I''d tell my customers not to sweat about it and to let the drones handle it. Then a drone will come flying in and spray them with water. They literally don''t have to sweat about it because the drones are helping to sweat for them. Pretty smart, right?" asked Lapis, her body held up high in pride.

    "A genius idea as always," said Alwin. "Also, I''m glad you forgave me. Now I only hope that Uchronia will forgive me as easily as you."

    "She will. Trust me, as long as you take the blame for everything, she''ll forgive you just fine. Also, do you know if dating apps are still the in-thing or did trends change again?" asked Lapis.

    "Sorry, I have no idea. And, I hope you''re right.¡± Alwin hesitated for a moment before adding. ¡°Also, I have another request. Could you perhaps teach me a skill that''s more combat-oriented?" asked Alwin, his gaze returning down to the ground again, fearful of being rejected from such an outlandish request.

    Why was he acting this way? Why was he afraid of Lapis of all people? Since when did he fear rejection? Something was definitely wrong with him, but what?

    "Of course! You know, all you had to do was ask. Not go through that whole test thing with little Milvee just to prove that whatever I taught you was actually useful. Well, of course, it''s obviously useful, just not particularly fighting useful."

    Another point to Milvus. Alwin was seeing why he was so concerned about his development, given the eccentric nature of his grand teacher. Rather than wasting energy wondering how he even made it this far, he figured it was better put toward coming up with a plan to earn Uchronia''s forgiveness.

    "Thanks, Lapis," said Alwin, looking up at his mentor.

    "No problemo, apprentice of mine. Now, go and solve your girl troubles with my expert advice and report back the good news pronto."

    "Sure thing," said Alwin, already hopping toward the exit.

    "Also, when you come back for your training, make sure you''re not possessed anymore. Or even partially possessed for that matter. I''m not possessist¡ªif that''s even a word¡ªbut I just don''t like my students being possessed. Also, I will be prepping extra virgin holy water just in case," said Lapis, before following up with a "Good luck with your girl troubles!"

    As if that last sentence could soften the blow of the revelation or¡ªmaybe whatever bizarre delusion¡ªhe had just been imparted with.

    What did she mean by possessed? What does being partially possessed even mean? Was he even possessed in the first place? The serious-side of him was nowhere to be seen, so how could he be possessed? Maybe Lapis was simply spouting nonsense as per usual. But, her nonsense was typically based upon truth, just simply phrased in a way that sounded ludicrous.

    You know what? Girl trouble comes first, and then the whole mystery of possibly being possessed by a mysterious entity that he didn''t even know existed comes second.

 Chapter 106: Forgiveness?

    Alwin left the cafe ignoring the destruction he had wrought during his escape from Uchronia. He didn''t expect that after spending so much time and effort running away from her, he''d immediately turn right back around and burn even more energy chasing after her. What a day. And he had only himself to blame.

    The sun was setting by the time he returned to the academy. Orange hues dappled the clouds overhead. Students¡ªway older than him¡ªwere loitering outside enjoying the cool breeze as they chatted amongst each other about classes and how they were going to be the ones to wipe out humanity once and for all.

    Alwin hopped past them and back into the academy. The halls were neat and tidy as if a monster on a bombing spree hadn''t flown by earlier in the day. Whatever cleanup crew this school had, they were doing a swell job. Other monster recruits strode about, chatting in the corridors, or hanging out with each other. Normally, his mind wouldn''t even register the sight of other students in the academy, but now he found himself observing these random strangers closer than ever before.

    The reason? He was worried. Worried that they would find out that he was the culprit who attempted to blow up the city and parts of the academy. It was a dumb reason¡ªone that didn''t make much sense to him. Everything had been planned by Milvus, so the chances of any lasting consequences were practically zero.

    Yet, there was a lingering doubt in his mind. What was it? The fear of being rejected? Ostracized? Exposed?

    Alwin didn''t fully understand the emotions he was experiencing, he just knew that it was a consequence of Uchronia''s words. He didn''t want to be branded as an incompetent fool whose only purpose was to be discarded when whatever slim margin of usefulness had been thoroughly extracted from his useless corpse.

    As usual, none of the other monsters in the academy paid him any heed. Still, he was on edge. Eyes darting left, right, and even up from the occasional flying monster. Alwin continued his anxiety-fueled scan till he made his way back to his dorm room.

    When he entered the room, he performed one last scan. Some of his classmates were there, presumably relaxing after a hard day of training. The rest were either in the cafeteria or still hard at work honing their skills. No prizes for where Gus was. However, the person he was searching for wasn''t there. But, what if she was just in the loo? The chances of her being in the bathroom were low, but never zero. Given what Alwin had gone through today, he knew that pursuing that line of thinking would only grant him more problems.

    If Uchronia truly wasn''t here and not just in the bathroom or something, then she must''ve been one of his classmates who were still hard at work. Uchronia, still toiling away in a bid to grow stronger instead of resting. Who would''ve guessed? Probably Alwin, if his brain was actually working.

    Alwin made his way to the Training Grounds Classroom, his eyes working on overdrive as he inspected every monster that crossed his path. It did little to quell his emotions and did even less if any of them actually recognized him for the fool he was. However, the sounds of his arch-foe¡ªthe wooden training dummy¡ªbeing smacked silly acted as a soothing balm to his frayed nerves.

    Inside, Uchronia was working up a sweat, honing her Great Thorned Leaf as she swung the giant piece of foliage. Each strike caused the wooden dummy to wobble in protest, but that didn''t stop her from wailing on it. Combination attacks were unleashed by the Potted Sprout monster. A sideswipe, followed by a powerful uppercut that sent her airborne. Mid-leap, she performed a forward flip, building momentum to finish with a falling downward slam that shook the blockhead of a dummy to its core.

    If Alwin didn''t know better, it looked like Uchronia was trying to take his role as the main damage dealer in the squad. Was he truly that useless? Nevertheless, now was his chance to make a difference.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    As he approached the person that he had let down, nerves caused his body to jiggle about. A lump caught in his throat as he attempted to vocalize his thoughts. Forcing them out, a high-pitched voice crack that only served to undermine his sincerity, came along for the ride, "Uchronia..."

    She paused her onslaught on the poor wooden dummy and glanced at him¡ªnot even giving him the courtesy of turning his way. All he received was a quick side-eye before she continued her training against the dummy.

    "I''m sorry, Uchronia. I shouldn''t have wasted your and Gus'' time with the whole Winal situation. I know I''m not the most serious person, but I''m trying to change. You don''t have to forgive me anytime soon¡­ I just hope that you''ll give me a chance to prove myself."

    An uncomfortable silence punctuated only by the whacks against the wooden dummy filled the air as Uchronia gave Alwin no response. Just as he thought that all hope was lost, she turned around, glaring at him with the fury of a thousand sunflowers.

    "I gave you too many chances to count because I thought that even though you''re a dunce incarnate, you were still useful in helping me. Today showed me that I was wrong. You think one simple apology is enough?"

    "I know it''s not enough. That''s why I''m trying to change."

    "Look, let''s face it. You''re a good friend to hang around with, but a horrible teammate. Unless you can prove otherwise, it¡¯s just empty words, and there''s nothing much to say."

    "I know. But, right now the only thing I can do is apologize. And at the very least show you how I became Winal."

    Uchronia''s eyes perked up for a moment before she resumed the scowl that adorned her face since the start of the conversation. "Fine. Go on."

    Alwin nodded and took a hop back. A couple of flashes of light later Alwin the Yin-Yang Slime was no more, replaced with Winal the Fire Soldier Ant.

    "It''s part of my Core Skill. I can Devolve and try out other Evolutions. It''s not much but at least I know what my Core Skill does now and how to use it."

    Uchronia clicked her tongue. "Here, I thought it was something I could use. But, I can''t believe you didn''t tell me something this important. Were you even planning on telling me? Or were you just going to keep it a secret and leave our squad fighting at half-strength?"

    "I was going to tell you... eventually," Alwin looked down at the ground to avoid her murderous gaze, but his body could still sense the murderous aura she was putting out.

    A frustrated sigh escaped Uchronia''s lips as she shook her head. "Alwin, you''ve got a lot of work ahead of you before you get my forgiveness."

    "I know," said Alwin, changing back to his Yin-Yang Slime form, without even realizing it.

    "But, I''m glad you''re starting to make an effort."

    Alwin''s head jerked up just in time to catch a sly smile creeping up on her lips. However, it disappeared faster than it showed up, replaced with a frown that would turn many vegetables rotten. "Now, go and rest up. I don''t want you sleeping during class tomorrow. Apparently, Mr. Milvus has something big to announce."

    Following the orders of his astute squad leader, Alwin turned around and hopped back to the dorms. The urge to scan every single living thing in his vicinity had waned slightly. A small sense of ease flowed within him, but he knew that he couldn''t relax just yet. He had earned an estimated 0.01% of Uchronia''s forgiveness. As little as it might be, it was still multitudes better than zero.

    It was a long day filled with tons of problems¡ªmost of it was caused by him. Rather than wasting time reflecting on the day''s events, Alwin fell into slumberland, allowing sweet dreams to whisk him away. Dreams filled with lots and lots of cakes and cookies.

    Morning arrived. Then Alwin arrived in class. For the first time in forever, he wasn''t the last one to show up. In fact, he was the second person to show up. The day Uchronia wasn''t the first to show up would be the day that the world was coming to an end. A small smile graced her face when she saw Alwin hop into class, which faded instantaneously the moment Alwin locked eyes with her.

    Why did she have to pretend to be mad? If only Alwin had a higher forgiveness percentage, then he could''ve worked in a joke about how it''s okay to be happy that he was making progress.

    The rest of the class strolled in and last but not least, Milvus. He stood at the front of the class, waiting for the room to settle down. A single look was all it took before everyone received the memo¡ªeven that spineless simpleton, Bion.

    Silence fell. Everyone¡¯s focus was on Milvus. What was he about to announce?

 Chapter 107: MIlvus Announcement

    Silence descended upon the classroom as Milvus began.

    ¡°I''m sure that you all are aware that final exams are coming up.¡±

    More exams? Great, what a bother. But, this was the new Alwin we¡¯re talking about. He was prepared for everything and anything. And if he wasn¡¯t then he¡¯d correct that.

    ¡°And as long as you have been paying attention, it''s no surprise that you''ll be facing off against cultivators as part of your final exams. Although rarer, cultivators are typically stronger than adventurers of the same rank. That¡¯s why you all faced off against adventurers during your midterms. Now that you all are more experienced, it''s time to test your skills against them.¡±

    Alwin¡¯s chair scraped against the ground as he shifted his body. Cultivators or adventurers, as long as they were human, none of them posed a threat.

    ¡°You don''t have to be so stressed. Remember the Pop Quiz against the Five Elemental Cultivators? Since you all were strong enough to defeat them, the final exam should be easy to pass. But do not be complacent. The real world is full of many dangers, a simple slip-up is enough to cost you your lives¡­ or worse, the lives of your squads.¡±

    There was a heavy pause after Milvus¡¯ last words. But, Alwin wasn¡¯t afraid. He was ready and gunning for action. As if sensing his eagerness, Milvus continued.

    ¡°The goal of this final exam is to gain experience in dealing with cultivators, absorbing enough Essence to evolve is secondary. The exact details about where you will be going and your specific tasks will be revealed on the day itself. For now, you will have two weeks to prepare, so remember to polish up both your individual skills and teamwork. That''s all for the big announcement.¡±

    With that Milvus turned around and faced the board, writing down something using the chalk provided by the academy. ¡°Now, we carry on our discussion about cultivators and what types there are."

    Too excited about the big news to pay attention, the entire class erupted in whispers and conversations. Questions of curiosity burst forth. Despite the ever-burning desire to focus on Milvus'' lecture¡ªreally, he did¡ªAlwin ended up participating, although most of it was in his head.

    Were they going back to the Forest of Beginnings again or somewhere new entirely? Would it even be another forest or something more tropical like a beach? Maybe a swamp? Desert? And more importantly¡ªwhat exactly counted as passing the exam? Did they just have to eliminate a single cultivator? Or a group of them? But if you failed, what then? Be forced to retain a year or take a make-up exam?

    So many questions flooded Alwin''s mind upon hearing the news. However, among the flood of doubt, there was a single drop of certainty¡ªthis was his chance to prove to Uchronia that he had changed.

    Now, rather than pondering about the ins and outs of the upcoming tests, Alwin began planning how he''d show that he was dependable, reliable, responsible, and most importantly¡ªserious. Two schools of thought emerged amongst the congregation of ideas. He could either work on himself and showcase his individual prowess or he could cooperate with Uchronia and be the best team player that ever lived.

    However, this decision could be debated later. Right now, he had to focus in class. It was a tough feat, but it was something he had to do. Words escaped Milvus'' lips and entered Alwin''s ears. For once, they remained inside his head rather than escaping immediately. It was a near impossible task locking up the newfound knowledge in the chaos that was his mind palace¡ªbut this was the new Alwin we were talking about, he could do anything. Sweat beaded down his slimy body as he did his best to subdue the unruly nuggets of information that tried to break free from their confines.

    Alwin persevered, pushing himself to his limits and then beyond.

    Even more, sweat continued to ooze out of his body, pooling around his seat. It was the toughest workout that he had ever done, the part of his being that he had neglected the longest¡ªhis mind. Eventually, class was over. Milvus dismissed everyone, and Gus was already a blur of lighting shooting out the door even before the words had fully left his mouth.

    Now that class was over, he could relax. Alwin collapsed from the strain, attacking his desk with his face as he caught his breath. A throbbing headache beat against his brain like a jackhammer. How could everyone pay attention in class with such ease? What kind of crazy creatures were they?

    After spending all of his available energy focusing on class, Alwin was too exhausted to do anything else. Sleep took over him once again. It was a peaceful slumber, until something poked him, forcing him to get up.

    It was Uchronia. A disappointed look on her face told him that he had somehow messed up. Again. Was it really that wrong for a guy to take a nap during his lunch break? Either way, Alwin shot up in an instant. He then realized that the desk he was using as the world''s worst pillow had disappeared. A puddle of drool lay on the floor where the desk was supposed to be. Presumably, it had sunk into the ground when the classroom morphed into Training Ground mode.

    How embarrassing. But, at least Uchronia being upset with him felt more justified.

    "So..." Alwin said, in an attempt to break the tension. "Want to train together?"If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "I would, but I think you and Gus will only slow me down. Remember, I still haven''t forgiven you yet. And please try not to get in my way during the actual exam."

    Ouch. Cold and cruel. If she continued on like that she might evolve into a bowl of cold salad. Now that Alwin had gotten his defense mechanism done and over with¡ªjokes¡ªit was time to figure out what to do. Working on their teamwork was out of the question, seeing how she thought that he and Gus were nothing more than burdens. That just meant he had to improve on himself so that only Gus was the burden of the squad and not him. Wait, how was Gus a burden? Wasn''t he¡ªas much as Alwin hated to admit it¡ªstronger than him?

    Now begs the question, how would he go about working on himself? This was the new and improved Alwin in control. He had to look at all of the possible outcomes and choose the best one, if not he would just regress back into his carefree nature. Alwin could hone his current set of skills. Perhaps he should spend this to come up with new combinations using Mix. Finally, the only other thing he could think of was picking up new skills.

    Out of all his choices, the last one was the most captivating. The idea of adding to his repertoire ticked a special part in his brain. But was it the best course of action?

    It was time for even more introspection!

    Although he had spent a majority of his time goofing off, Alwin was confident that he had already brought out the vast majority of his skills'' existing potential. There was no point in working on them right now.

    Although Mix led to fun and chaotic combinations, he was beginning to understand why Milvus was against such a skill. It required vast amounts of time and effort to come up with a combination, but even then there was a high likelihood that the resulting product was useless. Sure, he''d continue to work on it, perhaps to the point where his mastery over it allowed his combinations to become permanent¡ªtruly combining two skills into a brand new one¡ªbut now wasn''t the time for that.

    All that was left was learning a brand new skill.

    This option came with its own set of problems. What type of move should he learn? There were so many variables to consider. Aspects like how compatible it was with his fighting style, how strong it was, and how long would it take for him to learn and have it be combat-ready. Those were only some of the factors he had to keep in mind. There was no telling whether the effort he invested into this choice would pay off in time for the final exam. Overall, Alwin could conclude that this choice was the riskiest one of them all.

    As serious as the new Alwin was attempting to be, the little goofball in him still prevailed. High risk meant high reward. He knew what he was going to do today.

    However, the serious bug that had infected his mind kept nagging at him, telling him to spend more time thinking things through. This time, rather than ignoring it like he normally would, he did something that shocked even him¡ªcompromise.

    He''d learn a new spell, but not just any random spell taught by any old random book. It was a combat spell taught by arguably the best magic user in the kingdom, Lapis. That was enough to appease that nagging feeling in his brain.

    Not wanting to waste any more time, or even run the risk of falling into another introspection trap, Alwin dashed to the cafe where Lapis was undoubtedly working on another piece of confectionery again instead of researching Essence. For some reason, that thought was filled with more disdain than usual. Was serious becoming the new default?

    Alwin shook his head clear of those thoughts as he navigated through the familiar halls of the academy, the bustling streets of the city¡ªwhich had zero traces of his handiwork the day before¡ªand finally straight down to the hidden lab in the cafe. Ignoring the sweet and yummy scents that Lapis was cooking up, Alwin went straight to business¡ªwho was this person, and what had they done to Alwin?

    "Lapis!" Alwin shouted. "Could you teach me a new combat spell?"

    "Oh, hey, slime boy! Sure, I don''t mind. But first, drones!" Lapis shouted back.

    An army of drones swooped in from the staircase that led up to the cafe. Even those who had been busy stirring, mixing, and other adjectives that described baking paused their work and joined in. They closed in on him, aiming the spray bottles atop their diamond-shaped heads.

    Alwin looked around the room with fear on his face. What was the meaning of this? Before he could come up with other thoughts about how absurd the situation he found himself in was, the drones let loose. Droplets upon droplets of extra virgin holy water were forced out of the plastic nozzle, drenching Alwin in its exorcism properties.

    He was completely soaked to his Core, holy water covering every inch of his bulbous surface. A large puddle of holy pooled below him, slowly spreading around the crumb-covered floor. Alwin was still in the middle of processing the impromptu shower when the drones flew away to continue their duties as Lapis'' assistants in making yummy treats. A few returned, this time carrying mops, cleaning up the mess that they had made.

    Lapis stared at Alwin, inspecting him for any abnormalities. "Well, that was a waste of holy water. I''m pretty sure you''re still possessed."

    Alwin shook his body, sending water spraying everywhere as he dried his body, before finally speaking up. "Lapis, I''m not possessed. Not partially and definitely not fully. So can we please stop with all of the exorcism stuff?"

    "Nope, you''re definitely still possessed. But, I''ll deal with it another time. So what kind of spell do you want to learn?"

    "Like I said before you decided to drench me with water, a combat one."

    "Cool, that doesn''t really narrow it down at all. Combat is such a wide range that I have no idea what you want. Do you want to buff yourself, debuff enemies, range attacks, melee attacks, repositioning spells, etcetera etcetera because I forgot the other types."

    A blush rose on Alwin''s cheek at the embarrassing blunder. After all of his efforts trying to seem serious, here he was looking like a fool¡ªby Lapis no less. He should''ve been more specific about his request and not thrown out such a wide blanket statement that ended up giving the requestee the brunt of the work.

    "Come on, slime boy apprentice of mine. Tell me what your heart desires."

    It was an easy choice. Alwin was the main attacker in his squad, so something that dealt damage was obvious. Plus, one way or another, he had become a ranged attacker, so that was another no-brainer.

    "Teach me a ranged attack please!" said Alwin.

    "Ranged? Safe and boring, but sure," said Lapis, turning around and floating toward her private training room¡ªthe white room.

    However, inches before she entered it, she paused. Slowly, she rotated her floating diamond body, turning around to face Alwin. "You know, I actually have been working on some fun stuff. Willing to be my guinea pig again?"

 Chapter 108: Can I Interest You In An Ice Blast?

    Alwin paused in his tracks, evaluating Lapis'' proposition. Playing guinea pig? Again? The chances of it being an Evolution experiment were slim to none. So what kind of guinea was he supposed to pig in this scenario? He needed more information before he could make a choice. He also needed to tone down on the introspection because he was analyzing such an inconsequential part of the statement when he should''ve been asking for the details.

    "It depends, Lapis. What exactly are you talking about?"

    "Well, you know how I was supposed to be researching Essence and its effect on Evolution."

    "Yeah, I know that. I was part of the research after all."

    "Wow, your follow-up skills are second to none. Good job, apprentice of mine. So back on topic, I kind of, maybe, might have gotten a bit bored and started up a new research topic. What if instead of using Mana for spells or skills, we use Essence? Genius, right?"

    Essence as fuel for spells? It sounded intriguing, but it also sounded extremely experimental. Odds of it working out in time for the final exam were even lower than learning a brand-new skill. The old Alwin would''ve jumped at such an opportunity. Who cared about such a risk? He''d figure it all out in the end. But, the new Alwin that had been tempered with disappointment by a certain someone, was apprehensive about such an idea. It just didn''t sound like a worthwhile venture at this current juncture.

    "I''m not so sure about that, Lapis. I''m actually on a time crunch because of the final exams coming up. I''d prefer it if we stuck with something more... tested."

    "Okay," said Lapis, sadness evident in her voice. A drone flew in, drawing a frowning face with a tiny tear dropping down to really sell it.

    "I''m sorry, Lapis. I don''t mind helping out after my finals, it''s just that this is too important for something so uncertain."

    "I understand, slime boy. I know what you¡¯re doing. I bet you didn''t follow my advice so the girl didn''t accept your apology. Now you''re trying to use this as a way to show off during your final exam and win her back. It''s just that I was really hoping for your help before I lose inspiration," she sighed.

    "I''m sorry, Lapis. This is just too important." Alwin reiterated, ignoring her accurate assessment of his predicament.

    "I know," she sighed again. "Plus, your possession problem isn''t really helping. I really need to fix it."

    "For the last time, Lapis. I''m not and have never been possessed! Now could we please carry on with teaching me a new ranged attack spell."

    "Fine, fine," said Lapis, the sad undertones in her voice vanishing when she realized that she couldn''t convince Alwin. Another drone flew in with a cloth, rubbing away her facial expression and restoring Lapis back to her shining crystal diamond self. "Also, any chance you''re allergic to silver daggers?"

    "I think most people will die if a dagger gets too close to them. Can we please just go?" Alwin was starting to get frustrated at his grand great master sensei¡ªfirst time for everything.

    "All right, all right. No need to get so angsty. In fact, you kind of remind me of little Milvee back when I was teaching him. Looks like he''s rubbing off on you a little too much. That''s why I have the perfect thing to teach you because you really need to chill out."

    Lapis looked at Alwin, staring at him. Waiting for a response. All that Alwin delivered was a deadpan stare rather than entertain Lapis'' antics¡ªwho was this person? Maybe he really was possessed. That was a scary scenario. There was no way he was being possessed right? Nope. Not in a million years. Possession wasn''t on the table, chair, or even the floor. What even was possession? It didn''t exist in Alwin''s dictionary, nor did it exist in any real dictionary. Definitely not.

    "Are you okay, slime boy? Your face is doing this really weird thing where you keep scrunching, wincing, and a bunch of other stuff that I have no idea how to describe. Do you need another holy water shower?" asked Lapis.

    The threat of being soaked again immediately wrenched Alwin out of his spiral. He really needed to remember to dedicate some of his brain processing power toward not instinctively moving his face whenever he did some introspection. Multitasking was a skill that he had been slacking on recently. Now that he had gotten most of the thoughts out of the way he could finally respond. "What? Nope. Don''t need it. I was just thinking about some stuff. Yup, just thinking about stuff."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    "If you insist. Now let me show you how to chill out."

    Lapis stopped talking once again and stared at Alwin, obviously waiting for a response from her pupil. Not wanting to prove that he was really being possessed, Alwin gave in to his grand teacher''s demands.

    "Go on and show me, sensei. If you keep staring at me like that I''d think you''re giving me the cold shoulder."

    "That''s the slime boy I know!" Lapis cheered.

    In an instant, two Spirit Hands appeared right in front of Lapis¡ªshe had silent casted them. Their purpose? She just needed them to clap their hands. A single tile in the floor of the Training Room slid open. Rising up from below the ground was a foe that Alwin was all too familiar with¡ªa Wooden Training Dummy.

    Alwin fixed his eyes upon the Minister of Magic, ready to observe what form of magic she was about to unleash upon the blockhead. Knowing Lapis, she would show him the spell once and only once, before forcing him to figure out its intricacies with no extra assistance. He had already gone through this experience several times now, but this time was going to be different.

    Now, Alwin was going to ask questions. Even if Lapis refused to reveal the secrets about the new skill she was about to demonstrate, he would hound her with questions until she had no choice but to give in.

    "Now, watch and learn," said Lapis, before she turned to face the Wooden Training Dummy.

    "Ice Blast!" she shouted.

    A ball of mana similar in size to all of Alwin''s various types of blasts materialized right in front of Lapis. Unlike his Spirit Blasts, this Ice Blast¡ªas the name implied¡ªwas a solid sphere of ice. A faint chill radiated from it, as one would expect. Once it had finished forming it was launched straight toward the dummy.

    The ball of ice struck the wooden foe, splintering off into multiple tiny pellets that splattered on the ground next to the training dummy. A small area where the Ice Blast had landed was encased in frost, but that was the only notable observation¡ªother than the dummy wobbling in objection from being hit even though its only sin was simply existing.

    As useful as the freezing property of the Ice Blast was, adding another Blast into his arsenal was beginning to become stale. There was also the fact that Blasts weren''t exactly the strongest type of spell, in fact, he''d wager that they were the lowest level of ranged attacks available. Why else would Spirit Blast be the very first offensive skill taught in the Academy? If he was going to prove that he was a competent squad mate, he''d need something better.

    Although his Yin-Yang Blast was the exception to the rule, but in its defense, it was a Species Skill. It was understandable why it''d be more powerful than a regular Blast, the skill was literally built into him.

    "Well, what do you think?" asked Lapis. Her tone implying that a shower of praise was what she desired from her grand apprentice.

    "It''s technically cool, but don''t you have anything... stronger?" replied Alwin, trying his best to not offend Lapis lest she refuse to teach him anything else.

    "Too simple for you? I''d expect nothing less from an outstanding student like you," said Lapis. "Now go stand outside in the corridor and think about what you''ve done."

    A wave of panic hit Alwin. He hadn''t been tactful enough with his request and was now paying the consequences. But, this was Lapis he was dealing with. With his insights into her personality and this new urge to take things seriously, he was confident in his ability to rectify the situation. Also, he needed to make a mental note to stop introspecting so much.

    "It''s okay, Lapis. I don''t need to go outside to think about what I''ve done. I''m already finished with the thinking," said Alwin.

    "You are? Was that what you were doing with your face? Thinking. Kind of weird, but tell me slime boy apprentice of mine. What have you done?"

    Ignoring the urge to criticize his inevitable facial expressions while thinking, Alwin responded. "All I did was ask for a cooler spell. I don''t think that necessarily warrants being sent out. If anything, I''m an in-standing student now."

    "Right you are!" praised Lapis. "See, it''s that kind of out-of-the-box thinking that makes you such a great pupil. It was actually a test and you passed with flying colors! It took little Milvee so long to realize such a simple answer. I''m so glad that he hasn''t rubbed off on you too much. I''m also glad that the possession hasn''t taken complete hold of you yet. As your reward, I''ll teach you a cooler spell!"

    Lapis turned and faced the wooden dummy once again. The frost that had built up on its chest was gone, nothing more than a puddle on the ground now. Alwin kept his eyes peeled, eager to observe the skill that Lapis was about to demonstrate. It was a skill stronger than a regular Blast. This was going to be a treat.

    Like before, ice began to emerge in front of Lapis. Rather than taking on the shape of a perfectly round ball, the ice began to stretch outwards. Its surface cracking and shifting as it elongated into a thin and sharp point¡ªabout the size and shape of an arrow, just without the fletching.

    "Ice A¡ª I mean Icicle Shot!" Lapis shouted.

    The attack launched forward impacting the wooden dummy. Like the Ice Blast, it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces upon impact, leaving a thin layer of frost where it had struck, while the wooden foe wobbled in protest once again.

    But, that wasn¡¯t the end of his observation. Something caught Alwin¡¯s eye. Something important. Something significant. Something that he had never seen before. Unlike its Blast counterpart, the Shot did more than give it a new set of frosty clothes. It had done what Alwin had never been able to do before¡ªdamage the wooden training dummy.

    A small chip barely a millimeter deep had formed where the Icicle had struck.

    This was it. This was what Alwin needed.

 Chapter 109: Ice Mana

    Alwin looked at the wooden dummy, most importantly the scratch that Lapis'' Icicle Shot had caused. None of his Blasts had any effect thus far, other than making his blood boil. Even if it was just a mere scratch, it was enough for Alwin. He wanted it. He craved it. He had to have it.

    "Is this good enough for you?" Lapis asked.

    "More than good enough. Teach me Icicle Shot!" shouted Alwin with enthusiasm.

    "Now, that''s more like it," said Lapis. "But, before we start I kind of have a confession to make."

    Alwin''s previous glee plummeted upon hearing those words. Confessions usually meant bad news. So, he braced himself for whatever it was that his grand teacher was about to lay on him.

    "I kind of lied during my demonstration earlier. That move was actually called Ice Arrow. But, I called it Icicle Shot because I thought it sounded cooler, plus it looks nothing like an Arrow. Whoever claimed the naming rights to this spell was obviously an idiot," Lapis sighed.

    "That''s it? A naming issue? Not a problem for me at all. Other than the coolness factor," said Alwin.

    "Don''t worry, it''s still plenty cool. Now let''s get down to teaching. But first, how good are you at using Ice Elemental spells?"

    "Bad. Never done anything like that in my life."

    "Yes, yes. I thought so. In fact, I knew so. But, on the contrary, I was hoping to be wrong so that we could skip this step. Guess not," sighed Lapis.

    "It can¡¯t be that bad. I managed to learn how to create Fire Mana, I don''t think Ice Mana will be any different."

    "Well, it''s slightly different, but, no, no. You''re right. I just don''t like waiting for you to learn a fundamental step because it takes so long," said Lapis. "Moving on! It''s actually pretty easy. Now tell me apprentice, what is the first thing you think of when you hear Ice Mana?"

    "Cool?" replied Alwin, unsure where Lapis was going with this.

    "Fair enough, but wrong answer," said Lapis. "Okay, what''s the second thing you think of when you hear Ice Mana?"

    "Cold?" replied Alwin, now even more unsure where this was headed.

    "Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" cheered Lapis. "When you made Fire Mana you had to make your regular mana catch on fire, so can you see where I''m going with this?"

    "To make Ice Mana I need to let the mana in my mana pool catch on ice?" Now Alwin was even more confused than ever. What does catch on ice even mean?

    "No idea what catch on ice means but close enough. What you actually need to do to create Ice Mana is to freeze mana. Simple, right?"

    "So, I just have to freeze it? Seems easy enough," said Alwin.

    "It is. That''s literally what I''ve been saying. Anyway, have fun, and let me know when you''re done. Believe it or not, right now I''m in the mood for ice cream. So ta-ta," said Lapis, already floating out of the training room.

    "Wait!" shouted Alwin, causing Lapis to come to a halt.

    Sure, the creation of Ice Mana sounded simple enough and he would definitely figure it out by himself given enough time, but that was the issue. Time. It was better for him to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that was the Minister of Magic. She undoubtedly had tons of tips and tricks to make the process flow faster¡ªeven if it was a simple step.

    "How do you specifically create Ice Mana?" asked Alwin.

    "Me? Well, I''d tell you, but it wouldn''t work for you. So why waste the time? Best not to dwell on it and find what works for you." said Lapis, resuming her float out of the door.

    "But, what you do could lead to me having a breakthrough and the whole process could go much faster."

    "I doubt it, but if it means I get to go eat some ice cream sooner then sure. I just think it and the mana bends to my will and becomes Ice. So what insights can you glean from that?" asked Lapis. Even without a face, Alwin could tell that she was being smug.

    Feeling defeated over how useless Lapis'' method was, he let out a resigned sigh, "I''ve learnt that I should listen to your advice next time."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Good boy!" said Lapis in a cheerful tone. "Now, to reward myself for being such a great teacher."

    "Wait! What about when you use the Ice Mana to create Ice Arrow? How do you do it?"

    "Again?" Lapis said, halting in her tracks. "You know, it''d be a lot better for both of us if you just unload all of your questions at once. I only have so much patience before you become a patient. Now for your question. All I have to do is think, the mana bends to my will, and presto. Ice Ar¡ª I mean Icicle Shot. Anything else, apprentice of mine?"

    "No, I don''t think so," sighed Alwin.

    "Good! Now as punishment for wasting my time, you''re only allowed to leave this room once you''ve successfully casted Ice Ar¡ª I mean Icicle Shot. Boys!" Lapis shouted.

    Two drones flew into the room, but only one of them carried something atop its diamond-shaped body: a black, jewel-like stone. Meanwhile, the objectless drone used its entire body to nudge the Wooden Training Dummy to the center of the room. Once it was in place, the black jewel was affixed to the dummy¡¯s center, covering the mark that Lapis had managed to create.

    "Because I know you''re about to ask a question, I''ve taken the liberty of answering before you even get to ask. Saving us the time wasted from the back and forth which I think I might have just squandered." Lapis said, pausing to evaluate her statement. "Anyway, long story short, break black jewel thing to be set free. Black jewel thing only weak to ice. Me go get ice cream now. Bye-bye."

    With that, Lapis raced out of the room along with her drones before Alwin had a chance to ask any more follow-up questions. The door to the lab was slammed shut, taking what little color he had access to in this big white training room. At least, the wooden dummy was still brown.

    As if wanting to make a mockery of his thoughts, the wooden training dummy started morphing. The faded brown patches of its wooden grain slowly paled, the color draining away until only pure white remained. Now, the only thing remotely colorful was the black jewel in its center.

    Crackling started to echo throughout the room, the sound of static buzzing in the background before a voice finally started to speak. "Testing. Testing. This is headmaster Lapis speaking over the intercom. If you can hear me, don''t say anything." There was a short pause as Lapis waited for a response¡ªthat was Alwin''s assumption anyway. Who checks if someone can hear them by telling them not to say anything?

    Finally, she started speaking again. "Good, you can hear me. If you''re wondering what just happened, I thought that the best way to help you focus was to make the dummy blend in with the room. Now all you have to focus on is the black spot. You don''t have to thank me. Actually, I take it back. You can thank me by creating an Ice Ar¡ª I mean Icicle Shot using Ice Essence. Now, good luck apprentice of mine. We¡¯ve wasted too much time talking so no more words until you manage to learn Ice Ar¡ª I mean Icicle Shot. Anyways, try not to go crazy!"

    The intercom clicked off, leaving only Alwin alone with his thoughts.

    Lapis was right. There was a lot of wasted time in their back and forth, coupled with all of the introspection he had been doing lately. It felt like things were progressing at a pace where molasses was the fastest thing in the universe. Still, there was just this intrinsic need to analyze everything in detail.

    Darn you, Uchronia¡ªnot really, he just needed someone to blame¡ªyour disappointment had somehow rewired his brain, making him actually think things through.

    To quickly summarize: he first needed to create Ice Mana, then mold said mana into an Ice Arrow to pierce the jewel that was trapping him in this stark white room.

    There was just one last observation¡ªAlwin was pretty sure what Lapis was doing was similar to a torture method that humans of the old age used to perform. Something something white torture.

    Finally moving on to the task at hand, Alwin closed his eyes, letting his consciousness enter his Core. It was the same old Core, just a floating pool of swirling mana with droplets raining down, ripples breaking the surface, as his body naturally replenished his mana reserves.

    To create Ice Mana, he had to freeze his mana. Seems simple enough. He was pretty sure he had already done something similar when he was learning how to refine his Mana into Essence¡ªnot that he had any intention of participating in Lapis'' experiments again.

    Freezing something was just a matter of lowering its temperature. Unfortunately, the only way Alwin knew how to do that was by dumping mental ice into his mana pool. Not just a cube. Not just a bucketful. Not even an avalanche. He needed to create an Ice Age.

    Hailstones of cold fury spawned into existence inside of his Core. They crashed into the mana pool, creating splashes of chilled mana. As the hailstorm continued, thin sheets of ice began to appear, floating above the ocean of mana.

    Had he done it already?

    Alwin floated his consciousness to the closest sheet of ice. His mental remote control was summoned, allowing him to view the status of what he was dealing with.

    Name: Mental Ice Sheet

    Description: A sheet of Ice created by Alwin, through the use of cognitive schemas.

    That was disappointing. It wasn''t frozen mana, just a bunch of hailstones that had clumped together into a lousy sheet. He needed more ice!

    The hailstorm intensified. But, it probably wasn''t enough. So, a snowstorm was summoned inside of his Core. Visibility was reduced to near zero, Alwin''s consciousness could barely see in front of him. Even so, he could tell it was working, he could feel it¡ªor maybe that was the hypothermia setting in. Could his consciousness even succumb to hypothermia? Whatever the case, he needed to continue.

    The Ice Sheet was growing. From an Ice Sheet, it expanded into an Ice Flow, then an Ice Berg, finally stopping at an Ice Shelf that dominated his entire Core. Below him was a layer of ice that sealed his mana pool.

    Had he done it? Was it finally cold enough to freeze the mana in his Core, creating Ice Mana?

    Only one way to find out.

    But, first, he had to find a way to break the ice separating him from the frozen fruits of his labour.

 Chapter 110: Ice Arrow

    There was no telling how thick the ice was. Too thick for a pair of mental hands to try and punch their way through it. Instead, tools were a man''s best friend. Unfortunately, Alwin wasn''t a man, so tools were just friends¡ªthank Cor, they weren''t acquaintances or, even worse, strangers.

    His friend of choice? An ice drill! Sadly, it was the manual kind.

    Alwin summoned out an ice drill, otherwise known as an ice auger. It featured a long metal shaft with a corkscrew-shaped blade at the end that connected to a T-shaped handle. His consciousness alone wasn''t enough to operate the piece of equipment; he needed help from his favorite pair. The mental hands!

    They popped into existence and gave a double salute. No further instruction was required, they instinctively knew what to do. They zipped over to the ice auger and gripped the handle, but Alwin had made a fatal flaw in his calculations. The moment the mental hands grasped the handle, they froze¡ªliterally. Ice consumed their translucent form, transforming them into a pair of frozen hands.

    For some reason, the ice auger''s handle was made out of metal. It was a dumb design¡ªwhoever came up with such a terrible idea deserved to be fired. Not wanting to waste too much time on such an insignificant detail, Alwin dismissed the now-frozen hands. A quick re-summoning, and they were miraculously thawed out. This time, instead of zipping over only to be frozen again like a pair of buffoons, they waited for Alwin to come up with a solution.

    It was a simple solve. The answer was gloves! Two wooly gloves so thick a dozen sheep had to be shaven just to create them came into existence inside of his Core. They dove into their new clothes, and needless to say, they fit like a glove.

    Finally, they could start the drilling process, revealing what secrets the frozen landscape held. The hands plunged the drill into the ice and began cranking the handle. Slushies of pure white ice spiraled up the corkscrew-shaped blade, being deposited onto the top of the ice shelf. With each turn, the auger dug deeper. With each twist, more ice was excavated.

    Alwin''s consciousness waited and waited, watching the hands crank the drill, hoping for signs of them breaking through the ice shelf to come soon. They had already created a huge pile of icy slush. Yet, there was no sign of what lay underneath. Did he overdo it with the freezing?

    He was bored. Really, really bored. No amount of words could describe how boring the boring taking place in front of him was. His eyes started trailing around the frozen landscape, settling on the pile of ice that they had dug out. Something about it caught his attention. It was¡­ off.

    Parts of the ice pile were as white¡ªwell, as white as snow. But, other parts took on a light blue tinge. That was weird. But weird was good. Weird meant that he had something to do.

    Alwin floated toward the pile and started inspecting the oddly colored ice. A visual inspection garnered him no results. So, It was time for his handy dandy remote.

    The remote popped into existence, and he pointed it at the pile of blue ice, but there was an unforeseen problem. He couldn''t press down on any of the buttons. Darn cold! It was ruining all of his plans. Without any other ideas, he floated over to where the hands were drilling, commanding them to lift up the ice auger so that he could get a good look at what they were digging up.

    Upon closer inspection of the cylindrical hole that they had made, Alwin had came up with a hypothesis. The ice near the top of the hole was its usual stark white, but as it went downward, there was a sudden change. The transition wasn¡¯t gradual, as if a line had been drawn where the white ice suddenly gave way to a light blue. If his theory was correct, the light blue ice was the newly created Ice Mana.

    He had done it! Probably.

    Now, to put his theory to the test.

    Introducing friend number two, an ice saw. It was like any other saw, just made specifically for ice. That was all the description Alwin could allocate. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

    The mental hands dropped the ice auger and grabbed the saw. They wrestled and wrought over control of the handle. Each one vying for the chance to impress their master. Too lazy to deal with their antics, he summoned another ice saw inside of his Core. Still, that wasn''t enough. A game of ''Rock, Paper, Scissors'' would determine who wielded the right to the first saw.

    Three rocks and three papers later, it was an avalanche victory. The losing hand did a sad float toward the other saw while the winning hand pumped its trophy up in the air in triumph. With the two hands finally ready, they dove into the hole and began sawing away. Shavings of blue ice fell to the ground as they carved into the presumably frozen mana.

    After even more waiting¡ªAlwin''s biggest bane other than disappointing Uchronia¡ªthey had successfully excavated a block of ice. They tossed it out of the hole, nearly crushing Alwin''s consciousness if not for his quick reflexes. But he was too excited to get upset.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    He had two options: begin creating Ice Arrow or chuck the block out of his Core and view the result. As usual, the old Alwin would''ve jumped in head first without caring about whether he was truly working with Ice Mana. The new Alwin was too serious; he didn''t want to waste time working on a project doomed to fail.

    It was with a sound mind but a heavy blow to his fun-loving nature that he decided to launch the block out of his Core. Taking a baseball bat to the block didn''t look like it was going to work. Time for the old-fashioned way.

    The hands grabbed the block of ice and began traveling toward the edges of his Core. As they journeyed, they battled glacial winds and treacherous hail to reach their destination. He wasn''t going to risk toning down the freezing conditions lest the Ice Mana turned back into normal Mana.

    At long last, they had arrived at the edge of Alwin''s Core. The hands began swinging the block back and forth, building up momentum for the monumental throw. As they did so, Alwin began thinking about what might happen. If the block was simply a consequence of his mental shenanigans, it¡¯d disappear the moment it left his Core. But, if it were indeed Ice Mana, it''d materialize outside of his Core. With a heave and with a ho, they tossed the block of ice.

    A familiar tingly in his throat melted all of his worries away as it thrusted his consciousness back into the real world.

    "Ice!" Alwin shouted.

    Like the name suggested, a block of ice in the air appeared right in front of him. But, like gravity suggested, it crashed onto the ground, shattering into a thousand chunks. It didn''t matter. He had done it! He had created Ice Mana! He had also, apparently, casted a new skill. Too bad he wasn''t going to dwell on it because it was practically useless.

    It was Ice Arrow time.

    Alwin dove back into his Core. The sight of it having returned to normal made him roll his eyes. It was annoying how everything got reset the moment he left his Core. With much annoyance, Alwin repeated the Ice Mana creation process again. A couple of frostbite-inducing snowstorms mixed together with hail the size of boulders later; his entire Core had frozen over.

    Ice auger, ice saws, wool gloves, and mental hands were once again called upon. When the blue ice started being dug up, they switched to the saws and began extracting a block of ice fit for a king.

    While all of that was happening, Alwin was doing something mind-blowing. He wasn''t just waiting. No, he was doing something far more productive. He was thinking¡ªplanning how to create the Ice Arrow. Alwin replayed the scene of Lapis demonstrating the skill. He replayed it over and over, studying the intricacies of the spell she had casted, craving its shape into his memory. From there, he started coming up with methods to construct its form, given the limited tools in his arsenal.

    The moment the block of Ice Mana was removed from its hole, Alwin got to work. He knew what to do. Through the connection with his mental hands, he gave them a set of instructions. As always, they acknowledged his commands with a salute, ignoring the fact that they were still holding saws when they performed it.

    They began to cut away at the block of Ice Mana using the Ice Saws. It was crude, lacking any fine control, but that was fine. Right now, he was working on a proof of concept. Refinement would come once he got the fundamentals down.

    Chunk by chunk, pieces of ice were cut off. His consciousness floated around his circles, monitoring the sculpture his hands shaped, ensuring that not the slightest hand wobble nor tremor would compromise his work of art. Alwin was the supervisor while his hands were the workers¡ªdull, mindless, and dutiful.

    As he oversaw his little peons toil away, realization set in. He was currently practicing an ancient ability. It wasn''t a skill recognized by the System nor one that required mana. This ability originated from the age before monsters existed on Earth, back when humans ruled the world from their concrete towers.

    He knew this because of the information download during his birth.

    Alwin was practicing the mystic art of Eye Power.

    He continued to hone this ability while his hands sculpted the masterpiece. The more they cut off, the closer it was getting to completion. And then, one final slice. The mental hands stopped in their tracks. The sculpture was completed.

    Now, Alwin could evaluate the finished product. Per his instructions, the hands carved away at the block until it looked like an icicle. He could understand Lapis¡¯ annoyance at the naming scheme behind such a skill.

    It resembled what Lapis had conjured up, albeit rough in certain places. A round base that transitioned to a sharp point. Its surface was riddled with bumps¡ªso uneven it was odd¡ªdue to the poor workmanship of his mental hands, while its pointy tip had a slight bend.

    A proof of concept. That was what he kept telling himself in order to avoid blowing up over the imperfections. There had to be zero room for errors in the future, especially during his final exams. If not, Uchronia would be even more disappointed in him. The thought of that happening made him shudder.

    Shoving that thought aside, it was time to escape Lapis'' prison. Like before, the hands had to journey to the edge of his Core, braving the elements, while they carried the Ice Arrow. Once they reached the border, they tossed it out with all of their might.

    A bubbling in his throat brought Alwin back to the real world.

    "Ice Arrow!"

    The Icicle materialized itself right in front of Alwin before flying straight at the wooden dummy. It struck the black gemstone, shattering it into pieces. Finally, he could be free.

    Alwin turned around, ready to leave Lapis'' training room, when he realized something. Only white walls greeted him, the door to her lab was still sealed shut.

    "Lapis! I broke the gem. So why hasn''t the door opened yet?" he shouted.

    Crackling static filled the room as the intercom buzzed on. "Good job, apprentice of mine. But, there may or may not be a slight problem."

 Chapter 111: Ice Essence

    "What problem are you talking about, Lapis? I broke that black gem with an Ice Arrow¡ªIcicle Shot in your case. Shouldn''t I be allowed to go?"

    "Well, yes. But, for some strange reason, the door''s jammed."

    "Can''t you just call a locksmith?"

    "Do you really think a mere locksmith can open a sliding door created by the one and only Minister of Magic?"

    "Yes," said Alwin almost immediately.

    "Ouch," said Lapis over the intercom. "But, if you''re really in such a hurry to get out, there is another way."

    "Which is?"

    "As you know, my lab is below my cafe. Since we''re a cafe, we need to keep our food fresh, so we have a freezer to store them in. Conveniently enough, it''s attached to the room you''re in. I can open the door leading to it, and you can come out the front. But, there''s another problem."

    "Which is?" Alwin was starting to get tired of this. Just get straight to the point. His practice time was at stake!

    "Boo. At least change up the prompting. Anyway, the freezer is cold. Like really cold. Like freeze your socks off cold. You won''t be able to survive five seconds inside of it unless..."

    "Unless what?" asked Alwin, obvious to her intentions to get him to follow up the conversation.

    "You see, monsters that have an Ice Elemental affinity can withstand such freezing temperatures."

    "You want me to refine Ice Essence and evolve into an Ice Element monster. Then, since I already know how to refine Ice Essence, there''s no harm in me trying to use it to cast a skill?"

    "What? No, I would never do something like that. But, if you insist, I wouldn''t mind helping you get out of here pronto, and in return, you help a teensy bit with my experiments."

    "Right... Are you really sure the door is jammed?" asked Alwin, hoping that since her plan had been revealed, she would just give up the farce.

    "Yup! It''s so jammed you can throw in a jar of peanut butter and make a sandwich. So, ready to leave?"

    "Fine," Alwin sighed. Maybe coming to Lapis instead of the library was a mistake.

    "Perfect! Need any tips for Ice Essence?"

    "If you''re offering them, then sure," said Alwin. The faster he refined it, the faster he could get this whole thing over and done with.

    "Seriously? I thought you would say no. Wait, hold on, I was not prepared for this, just give me a second. Okay, to make Ice Essence. You first make Spirit Essence, then freeze it to the point where it, well, I guess, freezes, and that''s how you get Ice Essence. After that, you''re free to mold it just like you would regular Ice Mana. Any other questions?"

    "So, do you actually have any tips? You just listed out the process that I kind of already understood from when I refined Fire Essence."

    "Well, crap. Why do you have to ask so many questions? I really miss the non-possessed you. Tips. Tips. Tips. Speaking of tips, did you know that while it''s not necessary to tip here in MOM''s Cafe since they''re just drones, but because it''s so ingrained in our culture, people still do it. Then, I use the funds for their charging stations and make sure they''re well taken care of. Even though they''re drones, they''re still my valuable employees. Good tip, right?"

    "Sure... I''ll see you later, Lapis," Alwin sighed again. Another waste of time.

    "Great! Good luck, slime boy apprentice of mine. After this training session, you''ll definitely be a lot cooler. All the girls will swoon over you in a heartbeat."

    With that, the intercom buzzed off, and Alwin was once again alone in the pure white training room with a pure white wooden training dummy. The only other colors present were the shattered shards of the black gemstone and the remnants of the Ice Arrow now melted into various tiny puddles around the room.

    Having to spend so much time refining Essence was going to cut into his training time by a huge margin. But you''ve got to look on the bright side of things, after this, he''d have access to another Tier 2 Evolution. More options during his final exam were always better. A quick Devolution later, and he was back as a Dark Slime. Some Essence manipulation later, and the Evolution Counter in his status was at a handsome zero.

    Alwin closed his eyes and honed in on his Core. The act of creating Spirit Essence was simple enough, but like a broken record, his biggest issue was time. Specifically, waiting time. One day, he''d find a way to speed up the process, and today might very well be that day.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Creating Spirit Essence involved removing all of the impurities from the mana inside of his Core. Per Lapis'' method it involved creating the perfect piece of filter paper and allowing it to work its magic on the mana. The largest time sink was waiting for the mana to drip through the filter paper. He needed to come up with a way to speed up the process. What could he do to achieve that?

    Previously, he relied on only a single setup to do the filtering¡ªa fool''s method. More filtering stations would definitely speed up the process, but it didn''t necessarily solve the waiting issue. Regardless, Alwin was already out of ideas. Still, it was better than nothing.

    Inside of his Core, he got out his trusty bucket, handy dandy remote control, and a pair of mental hands. Together, they positioned the bucket in the center of his Core and, using the remote, scaled up the bucket to massive proportions.

    Next was the filter paper. Dozens of A4-sized paper materialized, and with the help of his remote once again, their properties were manipulated, making them the ideal filter paper. From there, a large quantity of filter funnels popped into existence. Just two hands weren''t going to cut it. A dozen mental hands joined in to lend a helping hand.

    Alwin''s consciousness started performing the equivalent of wincing as the strain of so many items on his Core, coupled with the fact that he had to manipulate so many mental hands at the same time, was starting to take a toll on him.

    Still, he pushed onward. He commanded the hands to strategically place the filter funnels above the giant bucket, arranging them side by side to eliminate any gaps. Next, all of the filter papers were set inside their respective filter funnels. Now came the most laborious part of the process.

    More buckets¡ªregular-sized¡ªpopped into existence inside of his Core, just enough for each hand. Alwin could feel control slipping with the new influx of items, but what choice did he have? Okay, he did have a choice. He could scale down his production to a more manageable size, but the new Alwin wasn''t a quitter. No pain, no gain.

    With incredible brain-breaking focus, Alwin directed each hand to scoop up a bucket of mana before flying up to the top of the giant bucket and depositing them into an empty filter funnel.

    Rinse, repeat, and wait. Except that Alwin couldn''t sit back and zone out like in the past. His mind was firing on all cylinders as he struggled to ensure that each mental item inside of his Core didn''t suddenly vanish. A single lapse in concentration and something might disappear. Worst case, the big bucket of already refined mana might poof out of existence, and it was back to square one again.

    Alwin didn''t know how long it had been. It could''ve been one second, one minute, or even one hour. But he knew that his stamina was running low. He had to call it quits on the filtering process and hope to Cor that he had enough Spirit Essence.

    One by one, the buckets disappeared, and he could start to feel the slightest semblance of relief. After making sure that the filter funnels were all empty¡ªlest his giant bucket of Essence became tainted¡ªthey started to vanish back to wherever mental tools were stored in his mind. With the huge load off his head, Alwin could finally take a moment to breathe.

    Next time, he''d either have to work out his brain to take on the strain or find a more efficient method. But, next time was next time. Now was now. And right now, was Ice Essence time.

    Like Ice Mana, he just had to freeze the Essence he had refined. Unlike Ice Mana, this was going to be a lot harder. If his experience with Fire Essence had taught him anything, he''d need to drastically lower the temperature just for the Essence to freeze over. Snowstorms and hailstorms were already pushing it as far as his abilities went. But were they strong enough to freeze Essence?

    All signs pointed to maybe. He wouldn''t know till he tried it, but his gut feeling was telling him that it wouldn''t work. Was there any way for him to boost the snow and hail storms? Alwin took a moment to think, killing two birds with one stone as it doubled as a chance for him to recuperate his mental faculties.

    What if... This was a long shot, but it might just very well work. And if it did work, he could call himself a mental sniper for landing such a hit.

    Alwin floated his consciousness over the giant pot of Essence, finally inspecting his handiwork. It was roughly half full. So, it should be more than enough to fulfill the evolution requirements to Tier 2. Then, he began his plan.

    Like before, he summoned a hailstorm first. Thick chunks of solid ice started falling down from the skies of his Core. Next, he began compressing the hailstorm, forcing the dark clouds closer together. He strained his mind, trying to force them to move together, but no amount of thinking made them budge.

    Well, crap. There goes that plan.

    Wait a minute. What if he did something even crazier? What if he channeled the creative powers of the old Alwin? The old him still lingered in his mind, but honestly, at this point, it was tough to know where the old Alwin ended and the new Alwin started. He began to think, throwing all serious caution to the wind.

    An idea popped into his mind.

    This was an idea he was very familiar with. And if it worked for his Blasts, it should work for the hailstorm¡ªprobably. The mental hands ascended to the metaphorical heavens, stopping at the edge of the clouds. Like his Blasts, they started pushing inward, trying to compress the hailstorm by literally pushing the clouds together.

    It was working! For some reason, it was actually working! The clouds were growing closer together, the area where the hail dropped was beginning to shrink. And as it shrank, something else grew¡ªthe hailstones. The plan was actually working! It was a miracle! Something that could only be fulfilled by the combination of the new Alwin''s serious thinking, the old Alwin''s creative thinking, and whatever funky stuff his mind could visualize.

    The idea was simple: rather than spreading out the storms throughout his Core, what if he compressed them? In theory, if it was directed through a smaller area, while its total power remained the same, the effective power over the smaller area should increase. In practice, it looked like it was actually working.

    But a concentrated hailstorm wasn''t enough. Thus, snow started falling again. And like before, the mental hands directed themselves to the edges of the clouds. They began pressing inward till the clouds only lay their droppings over the giant bucket of Essence.

    With the concentrated double storms, there should be enough freezing potential to cause the Essence to freeze over and become Ice Essence¡ªhopefully. Alwin really didn''t want to waste any more time going back to the drawing board.

    But, now was everyone''s favorite game. The waiting game!

 Chapter 112: Ice Essence Pt. 2

    Alwin spent the next number of time units¡ªit was hard to tell time inside of his Core¡ªstaring at the giant pot, waiting for his Essence to become Ice Essence. It was boring, so boring that his mental hands had taken the liberty of entertaining themselves even without the directive of their master.

    They first started out with Rock, Paper, Scissors, an age-old game for all ages, but after the four hundredth and fourth rounds, even they were growing tired. Thus, they moved on to Thumb Wars. They locked hands with each other, attempting to pin down the other''s thumb. It was a glorious tournament with tons of spectacle and cheer. Too bad Alwin was busy with the pot of Essence.

    The championship match was reaching its climax¡ªone thumb quivering under the pressure of an impending pin¡ªwhen something about the pot changed. It was as if the already low temperature had plummeted another couple of degrees. It was subtle, but Alwin managed to catch it. Something he couldn''t have spotted if he hadn''t spent every second observing his creation.

    Immediately, he spawned in an ice auger. The Thumb Wars tournament was put to a halt, the mental hands scrambling to be the first ones to grab the auger. Alwin didn''t bother bringing in more ice augers, much to the disappointment of the other hands, who had nothing to grab. Instead, he was focused on the pot and what might hopefully lay beneath.

    They started drilling, the layer of ice that had formed from the constant snow and hailstorm being removed. It was the typical white ice, but the moment a different colored ice started being removed, Alwin immediately ordered them to stop all operations. The drill was removed, and without hesitation, Alwin navigated his consciousness into the freshly bored hole.

    Just like the Ice Mana, the ice on the higher parts was the white kind that he had conjured up, but it suddenly transitioned to light blue-colored ice. Unlike Ice Mana, the supposed Ice Essence had a lighter shade of blue, possessing an almost ethereal beauty. It was completely see-through, as if free of any impurities¡ªwhich was the whole point of the refinement process.

    Ice Essence refinement completed!

    Probably!

    Now came another issue. Unless he had a crane, there was no way he was going to be able to move the huge bucket of Ice Essence. So, Alwin tried to summon a mental crane to help facilitate the process. Instead of the mechanical behemoth he was hoping for, what he got was a bird. It gave a couple of flaps of its wings as if it were warming up before flying off to who knows where.

    Well, he did get a crane. Just the wrong kind of crane.

    Alwin kept trying again and again. Each time, a bird popped into his Core instead of the piece of construction equipment that he desired. It was annoying, to say the least. To say the most, he wanted to bash his head against the wall till his head cracked open. But, if his experience being a goofball had taught him anything, when there''s a will, there''s a way.

    Much to the chagrin of the new serious him, instead of dismissing the cranes, Alwin embraced them. In fact, he embraced them so much that he wanted a whole flock of them inside of him. More cranes hatched into existence around his consciousness. The sound of wings flapping was muffled by the strong winds from the hail and snowstorm.

    Pulsating pains permeated his psyche. There were too many things in his head to keep track of, but he needed more cranes. More! If not, his plan wouldn''t work.

    Alwin gritted his teeth, powering through the pain. The cranes were tough to control¡ªmust be the language barrier. Eventually, his message got through, and the chaotic scene of white birds flying all over the place, dodging chunks of ice, finally settled down. One by one, they landed on the rim of the giant bucket, their feet instantly freezing over upon contact with the metallic surface.

    A chorus of loud trumpeting squawks echoed off as their limbs locked in place.

    To be fair, Alwin was not expecting that to happen. He also didn¡¯t have the mental capacity to imagine bird boots for the innumerous cranes he had summoned. He knew nothing about cranes and their weird webbed feet. It would take so much time to create a perfect piece of comfortable clothing that would protect them from the cold, which wasn¡¯t exactly his top priority.

    Did this constitute as animal cruelty?

    Still, it was a blessing in disguise¡ªfor Alwin, not for the cranes. They flapped their wings at a ferocious pace. Their bird brains, which were barely able to comprehend Alwin''s orders, were unable to understand that they were effectively cryogenically bonded to the giant bucket. They flapped harder and faster, their wings moving at incomprehensible speeds, blending into white blurs. Eventually, Alwin''s ingenious plan¡ªwell, more like idiotic plan¡ªcame to fruition.

    The bucket started to rise ever so slightly, but as the cranes continued their frantic wing-beating, the pot started lifting itself higher and higher. Then it began to move, flying toward the edge of his Core. It was a slow process but heaps faster than his alternative plan, which involved painstakingly digging up all of the Ice Essence, separating them into more manageable-sized buckets, and hauling them to the edge of his Core one by one. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    The cranes continued their frenzied wing-thrashing. Not even the chunks of hail crashing into their orange beaks were able to slow them down. They were caught in an adrenaline-induced panic¡ªassuming birds could produce adrenaline, Alwin wasn''t an ornithologist. Soon, the edge of his Core came within sight.

    However, the cranes weren''t slowing down. Any order or command that Alwin gave them was met with a thousand flapping wings. Without any hesitation, they passed the threshold.

    The giant bucket began to tilt as the birds that had left his Core simply disappeared, along with the side of the bucket they were attached to, unable to exist outside of it. With more and more support vanishing, the remaining birds struggled to maintain lift. Yet, momentum caused the pot and birds to continue moving out of his core.

    Even the snow and chunks of hail produced by his storms disappeared as well. The only thing unaffected was the Ice Essence.

    As soon as they touched the edge of his Core, they were instantly absorbed. A dozen notifications came pouring in as more and more Ice Essence continued to be taken in.

    Ice Essence absorbed.

    Ice Essence absorbed.

    Ice Essence absorbed.

    Ice Essence absorbed.

    Ice Essence absorbed.

    Until finally, he received a message that he had been yearning for.

    Evolution Meter maxed. Unable to absorb any more Ice Essence.

    Now, all that was left was for him to evolve, and he could leave Lapis'' little inconvenience session. But, there was a tad little problem.

    One-quarter of the giant bucket of Ice Essence was still in his Core, momentum still driving it forward.

    The message, ''Evolution Meter maxed. Unable to absorb any more Ice Essence.'' kept playing like a broken record.

    Instead of leaving his Core and materializing in the real world like his experience with Ice Mana. The Ice Essence refused. They smashed against the boundary of his Core, pushing back against the giant bucket propelled by a bunch of frenzied cranes.

    As the bucket and birds continued to vanish from existence, Ice Essence continued to pile up inside the remains of the bucket. But, once the giant bucket and all the birds had disappeared, there was nothing to support the pile that remained.

    The Ice Essence that he had so painstakingly refined plopped straight down into his mana pool. It was now contaminated, reverting back to regular mana. Not even Ice Mana because there weren''t any snowstorms or hailstorms on this side of his Core to maintain the freezing temperature. Without the cold, the Ice Mana melted back into regular mana.

    That was annoying. But it didn¡¯t matter. After his tribulation and evolution, he could blow this popsicle stand.

    Alwin opened his eyes, the stark white training room blinding him as per usual. He opened his status and inspected it, ensuring that his Evolution meter truly was maxed out.

    Name: Alwin

    Species: Dark Slime (Tier 1)

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Species Skills: Dark Tackle (A), Yin-Yang Blast (A)

    Skills: Spirit Hands (S), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (S), Spirit Scatter Blast (S), Spirit Burst Blast (S), Spirit Feet (S), Refinement (D), Spirit Bomb (A), Mix (E), Fire Blast (A)

    Evolution: 100/100

    Devolution: NIL

    Yup, it was full. Now, he just had to be extra careful and not accidentally trigger prematurely like his Fire Tribulation. He had to make sure that he was ready. The new Alwin wouldn''t make such a blunder, that much was certain.

    Mentally prepared? Check. Physically prepared? Definitely. Equipmentally prepared? Not in the slightest.

    However, that was an easy fix.

    "Hey, Lapis! I''m ready for the Ice Tribulation!" Alwin shouted up toward the ceiling. "But I need some equipment and resistance pills first."

    The intercom buzzed on, static filling the room. "Sorry, the person you are trying to reach is unavailable, please try again after you cast a skill created using Essence," a monotone voice spoke through the speaker before the connection abruptly cut. It was Lapis'' voice.

    Alwin channeled his inner Uchronia and rolled his eyes at what his ears had picked up. Seriously, what was her problem? Maybe Milvus was right to be apprehensive about letting Lapis guide him. No time to dwell on the actions of the past, Alwin.

    So, with a long, drawn-out sigh, he closed his eyes and entered his Core. From there, he repeated the process of creating Ice Essence, but on a smaller scale this time round. A medium-sized bucket with a bunch of filter funnels overhead, refining mana into Essence, followed by a controlled snow and hailstorm to freeze it over.

    As expected, the process was a lot faster. Now, all he had to do was attempt to mold a spell using it rather than mana. The only Ice spell that he knew was Ice Arrow, even if it hadn''t been registered in his status yet. Following the steps to create it, the mental hands extracted the Ice Essence from the bucket and began to saw away at it.

    Surprisingly, the process was smooth. Alwin had expected some hiccups along the way like maybe the saw wasn''t strong enough to cut or the Ice Essence would deform under too much pressure, but none of that happened. It went exactly like when the first time, sculpted a block of Ice Mana into an icicle¡ªor Ice Arrow as the System called it. The only difference was that the ice they were working on was a pure light blue, so clear that it was practically see-through.

    Soon enough, the Ice Arrow had been completed. Apart from the shoddy craftsmanship¡ªuneven cuts, asymmetrical, a slightly bent tip that seemed dull¡ªit was perfect.

    Without any more delay, Alwin ordered the mental hands to bring his creation to the edge of his Core and toss it out with all of his might.

    As they tossed it for the first time, Alwin was excited about this experiment. This was uncharted territory for all of monsterkind. And he was the pioneer.

    Would his Core attempt to absorb it but already being full reject it, leaving it trapped inside? Would it materialize into the Ice Arrow that he was expecting? Or something else entirely? What was about to happen?

 Chapter 113: Ice Essence Ice Arrow

    It was the moment of truth. Time to see the result of Lapis'' latest ideations, with Alwin as the unwitting guinea pig. The Ice Essence Ice Arrow approached the boundary of his Core. As it made contact, there was no message claiming that he had reached max Essence. That was a good sign. It passed through his Core, and a familiar tingle in his throat indicated success.

    "Ice Arrow!" Alwin shouted.

    An almost transparent light blue icicle formed right in front of him, zooming forward once it had completely manifested in the real world. Its target? The wooden training dummy.

    A hundred thoughts raced through Alwin''s mind. How would it differ from a regular Ice Arrow? Would it be stronger? Weaker? Or exactly the same? His eyes were fixed on the flying icicle, tracking its every movement.

    It struck the blockhead, but rather than shattering into a million pieces, the icicle embedded itself into the wooden body. Incredible!

    Lapis'' regular Ice Arrow created with Ice Mana had barely managed to leave a tiny scratch on its surface before shattering upon impact. And that was with full mastery of the skill. Yet, Alwin''s shoddily crafted Ice Arrow managed to sink itself a quarter of the way into the solid wood¡ªwithout even a single crack permeating through its icy body.

    This was amazing! This was fantastic! This was revolutionary!

    The door to Lapis'' lab slid open. Alwin barely had time to register the sound before Lapis herself came rushing through. Behind her, an army of drones swarmed in. They flew even faster than Lapis, overtaking her and beating her to the punch.

    The drones surrounded the wooden dummy from every angle. Beams of light flickered from the tip of their diamond-shaped heads. Scanning. Analyzing. Capturing every detail of the Ice Arrow that was lodged into the wooden body. Bright flashes of light accompanied each sweep of the scanning laser beam as the drones took a multitude of photos of the crime scene. Although there weren''t any obvious signs, Alwin could surmise that a couple of drones were recording the whole situation.

    "Hey! Move out of the way, boys! Mom needs space!" Lapis shouted, shoving her way past the drones.

    They made way for their master before resuming their tasks. Lapis stopped right in front of the icicle. Soft ¡®hmms¡¯ and murmured ''aahs'' emanating from her as she analyzed the icicle.

    "Fascinating," she mumbled to herself. "I had theorized something like this would happen, but this is far beyond my expectations."

    Alwin had his jaw hung low at the scene unfolding before him. Lapis had been monitoring him the whole time. Talk about creepy. More importantly, what was with Lapis'' reactions? Did it really warrant an entire fleet of drones tending to the site?

    The faint aroma of delicious baked treats wafted into the room from the open door. A few drones had dustings of white powder¡ªprobably flour¡ªover their blue diamond-shaped bodies. They must have abandoned whatever cooking experiments they were currently working on in favor of this task.

    Oddities. Anomalies. Peculiarities.

    This was Lapis, after all. Since when did she prioritize work over her cafe?

    While Alwin continued to observe the phenomenon evolving right before his very eyes, inside of him, there was a conflict brewing. The supposedly jammed door was now unlocked. With how distracted Lapis was, there was nothing stopping him from slipping away¡ªno longer having to deal with her shenanigans. She had wasted plenty of his time already. How long had it been? If only there was a clock in here.

    If he did leave, there was also nothing stopping him from doing to Lapis what she did to him. Alwin could lock the door, forcing her to go through the freezer. It would be hilarious¡ªkarmic justice. Revenge was a dish best served cold.

    But therein lies the problem. That was the old Alwin''s line of thinking.

    The new Alwin fought back, resisting the temptations. He wanted nothing more than to remain in the training room, prying into Lapis'' brain for answers about what had gotten her so worked up.

    Meanwhile, a third Alwin was starting to crop up. That was the one in charge of observing the scene in the real world while the new and old Alwin duked it out inside of his head. At least, that was what was supposed to happen.

    Inside of his mind, there were only two Alwins. The first one took hold of the control panel, attempting to steer in the direction of locking Lapis in the room. While the second one continued to report on whatever Lapis and the drones were currently doing.

    The third and final Alwin? He was nowhere to be seen, but its influence could be felt regardless. No matter how many times the first Alwin tried to get the main body to duck out of the room, the buttons and levers refused to budge, remaining stubbornly stuck. It was obviously the third Alwin''s doing, but where was he?

    The third Alwin, or shall we say the new serious Alwin, took command of the main body. While all that the old goofy Alwin could do was watch as control was wrested from him once again. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    No wonder Lapis kept claiming he was possessed. The serious Alwin was still alive. Even after being banished to the deepest, darkest recesses of his brain, he was able to take charge, rendering the original goofy nearly powerless¡ªonly able to inject the slightest amount of influence into the true Alwin decision. That explains why he had suddenly become so serious.

    Now, with the serious Alwin at the helm, he hopped forward toward Lapis, about to bombard her with a barrage of questions.

    "I don''t understand, Lapis. Is what I did really so significant?" asked Alwin.

    "Oh, slime boy. Right, I forgot about you," said Lapis, turning away from the wooden dummy. "Of course, what you did is significant. Its significance is significantly significant! C''mon, don''t tell me you can''t see it?"

    "I mean, I do see it," said Alwin. "But am I seeing the same thing as you?"

    "Only one way to find out," said Lapis.

    She cleared her throat¡ªif Crystal Diamond monsters even had a throat¡ªbefore continuing.

    "It''s the first time that there has been another way to activate skills other than using mana as a base. Using Essence as a replacement seems to have increased the quality of the spell by a considerable degree. Just look at Ice Ar¡ªI mean Icicle Shot. It penetrated that reinforced dummy. And it didn''t even shatter, too, unlike my Icicle Shot made out of regular Ice Mana. That''s amazing! It means my research into Essence goes more than into a monster''s Evolutionary requirements. It could very well rewrite our whole understanding of skills!"

    They had both noticed the same things. That was a good sign. It meant he was becoming smarter, his mind growing sharper. Now able to recognize observations that even the Minister of Magic could perceive. But, there was something bugging him.

    "Say, Lapis. Since you''re the originator of the Refinement skill, couldn''t you have simply tested this out for yourself? Why go through all the trouble of tricking me into doing it for you?"

    "Drats! I forgot you were still partially possessed. To answer your question, I did try it, but I couldn''t get it to work."

    "What do you mean you couldn''t?" asked Alwin. An application of magic that the Minister of Magic couldn''t perform, and yet he could. What was the meaning of this? Had he already surpassed her?

    "It''s just that each time I tried to cast a spell created solely with Essence, it''d just get absorbed by the outer layers of my Core. I just kept getting that System message saying Essence had been absorbed. It''s so annoying," she whined.

    "But why was I able to do it?" asked Alwin.

    "Seriously? You haven''t figured it out yet?" replied Lapis. "Want me to spoil the surprise, or do you want more time to think?"

    "Just tell me," sighed Alwin. "I''ve wasted enough time already."

    "Boo. You''re no fun," said Lapis. "Anyway, what I have is only a theory, so it might not be all correct. But, the reason you were able to cast it and I couldn''t? It¡¯s because of your Evolution Meter. If it¡¯s maxed out, your Core can¡¯t absorb any more Essence. And what happens if Essence can¡¯t be absorbed anymore? Simple¡ªit passes through instead. And just like that¡ªpresto¡ªyou¡¯ve cast a spell powered by Essence. "

    "Wai! So this whole stunt was just a trick to get me to fill up my Evolution Meter¡ªjust so you could test out your theory?" exclaimed Alwin, surprised.

    "I thought you already figured it out. Looks like the possession isn¡¯t fully complete yet, that¡¯s good. Plus, trick isn''t exactly the right word, but you''re right!" chirped Lapis. The whole thing was just to see whether an Essence spell could be casted if one¡¯s Evolution Meter was filled to the brim.¡±

    Why didn¡¯t she just outright ask him for help? Well, she did. But he rejected her. That resulted in her concocting this harebrained scheme¡ªand he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

    Alwin was simultaneously ticked off and impressed. Annoyed that he had been manipulated yet again, but also amazed that Lapis, of all people, managed to pull it off. Maybe he was just that predictable.

    Since he was already here, there wasn¡¯t any more harm in helping her.

    "There''s a flaw in your theory," said Alwin.

    "It''s a theory. I expect there to be flaws, young slime boy apprentice of mine. Now pray tell. What is this flaw that which you speak of," said Lapis, leaning in closer to his body.

    "Before I molded the Ice Essence into an Ice Arrow, it wasn''t able to leave my Core. I kept getting notifications stating that I couldn''t absorb any more Essence. But, for some reason, after it took on the shape of Ice Arrow, it managed to pass through without any issues."

    "That''s interesting. Annoying and interesting. I have no idea why that happens, so it''s back to the drawing board. Thank you, slime boy, for that important piece of information. As your reward, you don''t have to go through the freezer," said Lapis.

    "You were still going to make me go through the freezer?" exclaimed Alwin.

    ''Yup,'' Lapis said cheerfully. ''I wanted to compare monsters evolved through conventional methods versus those manually refining Essence. But now¡­ I have something even more exciting to research.''"

    "This has been a huge waste of time," sighed Alwin, ready to leave Lapis'' cafe and not come back for a long time. Finally, he could work on improving himself before the final exams.

    "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Here''s some Ice Resistance Pills and an Ice Coat."

    A drone shot away from the wooden dummy, zooming out of the room and back in record time. It dumped a bottle of pills and a thick, light blue fur coat with white frills on top of him before zipping back to the dummy.

    "Have fun with the Tribulation," said Lapis. "Try not to die."

    "Wait¡ª"

    Before Alwin could finish his sentence, a flash of white engulfed him. When his eyes worked again, he was no longer in the training room under Lapis'' cafe but back in the academy, specifically the Evolution Chamber.

    Alwin looked around the room, half expecting Milvus to be there. The only ones there were him, himself, and he.

    A Tribulation without any supervision? That''s a first for him. He was pretty sure it was against the rules to perform a Tribulation without a teacher present. But he had wasted enough time. He still needed to work on his Ice Arrow and, if there was enough time, come up with a couple of Mix combinations. The old Alwin still had an influence on him. Rules were meant to be broken.

    Alwin donned the thick fur coat and popped an Ice Resistance Pill into his mouth¡ªit, too, was light blue in color.

    It was Tribulation time.

 Chapter 114: Ice Tribulation

    However, before he could begin the Tribulation, he had to take care of some pressing matters¡ªmatters that could be, thankfully, swiftly taken care of.

    He hopped over to the other side of the room, toward the control panel. A couple of button presses and lever pulls later, with the help of his Spirit Hands, the cabinets of pills and various equipment that lined the sides of the room rescinded into the ground. Meanwhile, the ceiling opened up, revealing the blue sky and blinding sun.

    The last thing he wanted was to be liable for any damages during his Tribulation. He had already learnt his lesson with the whole bombing the city stunt.

    Finally, Alwin opened up the status screen and, using his Spirit Hands, tapped on the Evolution Meter.

    Begin Tribulation?

    Yes No

    Alwin selected Yes.

    His status screen closed by itself. An ominous chill filled the room. Alwin had his eyes wide open, anticipating the attacks from the Tribulation¡ªan Ice Tribulation, to be exact. While he didn''t know the specifics of the gear and pills he had been handed, they were undoubtedly useful. Simply having them pretty much guaranteed success. After all, he did manage to complete the Fire Tribulation without any assistance.

    Alwin''s introspection was cut short by a System Screen appearing right in front of him. A light blue snowflake symbol appeared on it. Chunks of ice¡ªthe size of a slime¡ªlaunched out of it straight for his face.

    He hopped to the left and hopped to the right, dodging every single one of the incoming projectiles. Even if they did collide with him, he doubted that they would do much to him. This was going to be easy.

    Still, rather than only dodging, it would be smarter to weave in some attacks as well.

    As Alwin continued his hopscotch routine, it was time to go with the classics. He prepared an assortment of Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts, launching them out of his Core toward the physical manifestation of the Ice Tribulation.

    The blue balls soared through the air, some of them colliding with the horizontal hailstorm, shattering the blocks of ice into minuscule pieces while his own Blasts were reduced to magical particles. The best defense was a good offense¡ªthose words had never felt more true. With each Blast, he carved a path through the barrage, thinning the assault. Now Alwin could spend less time hopping and more time attacking.

    Those Blasts that managed to go the distance crashed into the System Screen. Globs of liquid mana erupted out of the Spirit Burst Blast while the Spirit Scatter Blasts cracked open, unleashing a pepper bloat of miniature Spirit Blasts encased within. Ripples spread across its surface. And just like that, the barrage of icy projectiles came to a sudden halt.

    The moment his Blasts finished their pounding, the System Screen vanished.

    That''s it? Alwin didn''t remember Tribulations being that easy¡ªgranted, it was a Tier 1 Tribulation. But that just goes to show how much Alwin had improved since his very first Tribulation.

    Time to return the Evolution Chamber back to normal and prepare for the final exam.

    As Alwin started hopping toward the control panel, a realization hit him harder than Uchronia''s disappointment. The Tribulation wasn''t over. If it was, he''d be blinded as his body reconstructed itself into a new form. Darn it. How could he have overlooked such a blatantly obvious detail? Overconfidence had once again reared its ugly head. His seriousness had caused him to be so sure of himself that he assumed that the Tribulation had been swiftly dealt with.

    Alwin swiveled on his slimy bottom, scanning the room for any anomalies. Nothing stood out. Just tiled floors with sunlight beating on them, blank walls, and a control panel on the far side of the room.

    That was odd. Very odd. If the Tribulation wasn''t over, then where were the System Screens? Were they hidden? Perhaps they had some sort of cloaking mechanism? It was an ice-based Tribulation, after all, so the System Screens most likely had properties similar to ice. Perhaps they were camouflaged, bending light through its frosty exterior, making them nearly invisible under the right conditions. Or maybe it was proximity-based¡ªcausing icy detonations the moment Alwin wandered too close to them.

    The faintest of chills ran down his gelatinous, bodacious curves. It was cold¡ªbut not that cold. That was weird. Unless...

    Alwin finally looked up toward the sky. Above him wasn''t a System Screen. It was multiple. At least ten. Darn it. The warmth of the sun had weakened the cold air it emitted, masking their presence. If not, he would¡¯ve realized it sooner. This new seriousness was going to be his downfall.

    The old Alwin would''ve immediately craned his head to the sky, searching for anomalies¡ªhe was weird like that. But, this new serious Alwin never even considered the possibility of an aerial assault. People rarely even glanced up at the ceiling in everyday life, much less during a battle. Instead, he was too busy analyzing possible scenarios, completely overlooking something as simple as looking up.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    A tempestuous storm of chilled wind blasted from the System Screens in the sky, rushing toward the ground. Within it were huge chunks of ice¡ªfar larger than the first wave. The projectile blizzard approached at a blazing speed, threatening to turn him into a corpse and preserve it at the same time.

    Alwin began dodging the hailstones to the best of his ability. His head was craned up toward the sky, eyes running all over the place in an attempt to track each and every piece crashing to the ground. It was a tough feat. For something called an Ice Tribulation, why were the winds so powerful? They pushed and pulled the chunks of ice with no rhyme or reason as they fell to the ground, making it nearly impossible to predict where they¡¯d land.

    He leaped from side to side, compressing his body to its limits as he ducked, just barely dodging the icy artillery, but not completely. When the chunks crashed into the ground, they released a spray of frozen shrapnel that pelted his body. Thankfully, the ice coat provided by Lapis shielded him from most of the damage, while the Ice Resistance Pill reduced the few shards that pelted his face to nothing more than pinpricks.

    With the overstimulation of his visual cortex and the constant dodging, Alwin couldn''t afford to divert any resources towards creating a bunch of Blasts to destroy the incoming glacial debris. The only moves he currently had access to were Dark Tackle and Devolution. Skills that were literally ingrained in him from birth, where close to zero focus was required.

    That''s it¡ªDevolution.

    If he could melt the onslaught of chill, it''d give him more time to properly prepare and counterattack. But, to melt an object, one needed heat. And who had a blazing passion for battle? Winal the Fire Soldier Ant.

    A white light engulfed the room as Alwin¡¯s physical body broke apart and reformed itself. Hard, chitinous shell engulfed his black, gooey form, igniting upon exposure to air. The ice coat, which previously fit him snug like a glove, tore at the seams as his body expanded. Fiery legs burst forth, poking through the light blue fabric. When his transformation was complete, only tattered remains of the ice coat remained. The white frills and blue fabric underwent changes of their own, turning into a sooty black as Winal''s flames scorched the fibers into a charred husk¡ªit was made to ward off ice attacks, not fire, after all. Even without the coat, Winal''s tough, flaming shell ought to be enough to protect him from the frozen missiles.

    However, something felt off. Winal was the byproduct of the old Alwin''s childish shenanigans. From this point on, Winal would be no more. There was only Alwin¡ªthe new serious Alwin.

    Alwin, fully confident in his physical form, forwent tracking every piece of ice and dodging them, instead devoting 99% of his focus toward constructing an array of Blasts to send the hailstorm packing. As the chunks of ice approached him, they began to melt from the heat his flaming hot body was putting out. But it wasn''t enough. They were reduced to about half of their original size. Even with the added elemental advantage, every strike by the glacial bombardment caused him to wince in pain.

    It was tolerable, barely. He had no choice but to hold on. A single lapse of concentration would cause all of the spells he was creating in his Core to disappear, forcing him to repeat the crafting process all over again.

    A rush of Blasts left his Core, traveling straight toward the heavens. Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, Spirit Burst Blasts, and most importantly, Fire Blasts headed upward toward the source of the frigid calamity. Multiple blue orbs and red flaming ones soared in the air. The Fire Blast being bigger than their Spirit counterpart¡ªfrom the 5% boost to all Fire Elemental attacks that his Fire Soldier Ant form provided.

    They collided with the icy barrage, shattering them into harmless, tiny pieces that fell to the ground. Spirit Blasts ruptured into magical particles upon impact, while Spirit Scatter Blasts released a spread of tiny Spirit Blasts, which crashed into other hailstones, barely making a crack before vanishing into nothingness. His Spirit Burst Blast hardly fared better, releasing a spray of raw liquid mana upon collision with the frozen chunks, dousing nearby hailstones.

    The Fire Blasts? They were the star player.

    Before even making contact, the arctic assault had already started melting from the heat it put out. The moment they met in a head-on collision, the piece of ice shattered into a thousand pieces that evaporated mere moments later.

    Unlike its Spirit-based counterpart, the Fire Blast barely lost any steam. It continued its climb upward, barreling through multiple frozen meteors before finally fizzling out. But that was just one of the multiple Fire Blasts that Alwin had released.

    As his Blasts continued to smash into the multiple frozen rocks, less managed to make it past the stream of attacks, resulting in him taking fewer hits. Still, Alwin couldn''t let up. Without the pounding the Tribulation had been handing out, he had the mental capacity to make a quick change to his strategy.

    Alwin continued to release multiple Blasts skyward bound. However, he focused more of his efforts towards casting Fire Blasts. Due to the more tedious process of creating Fire Mana and the subsequent Fire Blasts, compared to a regular Spirit Blast, the number of projectiles in the air dropped by a huge margin. There were more light blue chunks hurtling downward than there were red hot balls soaring to the sky. But, when they lacked in numbers, they made up for it with raw power.

    More Fire Blasts managed to make it out of the icy hellscape with enough power to crash into the Ice Tribulation System Screens. With each impact, dark, charred spots marred their surface. With each impact, fewer hailstones were unloaded by the screens. With each impact, Alwin was closer to victory.

    One by one, the screens above were rendered useless. Not even the snowflake symbol could be seen, covered by a layer of soot. Hail no longer poured from the System Screens as they became nothing more than decorative pieces. The moment the last System Screen became moot, they disappeared.

    That was great. But he still wasn''t evolving yet. Alwin wasn''t about to make the same mistake twice in a row. He looked around the room, finding the next screen that wanted nothing more than to deliver a world of hurt. Alwin even included glances upwards. Even though he had just dispatched those screens, there was nothing saying that they couldn''t appear in the same place again.

    "Good job."

    The voice came from behind him, winter-slick and as smooth as ice.

 Chapter 115: Ice Tribulation Pt. 2

    Alwin whipped around, clicking his mandibles in an attempt to intimidate the trespasser. In front of him was a being constructed purely out of ice. Despite clearly being made out of ice, it possessed humanoid features. The only exception being its head¡ªa perfectly square ice cube. Embedded into the frozen block was a pair of eyes that stared at Alwin, accompanied by a sly smile etched into the icy surface.

    "Feisty one, aren''t you," it said, sauntering forward. Every step it took left a layer of frost in its wake.

    Who was that? And why was it interfering with his Tribulation?

    Wait. If memory served him right, a similar occurrence happened during his Fire Tribulation. The current theory was that this was the physical manifestation of the Ice Tribulation. That still didn¡¯t explain what it was doing here. Neither did it explain why all these weird Tribulation beings kept cropping up whenever Alwin had a Tribulation. First Dark, then Fire, and now Ice.

    Yet, there were no records of this ever happening to any other monster. So why him?

    Whatever. Either way, this thing was here to make things tougher for him. Attack first, catch it off guard, then ask questions later.

    Alwin launched a volley of Fire Blasts at the Ice Being. Flaming spheres of crimson rushed through the air, heating up the surroundings.

    "A really feisty one."

    It snapped its fingers. All of the Fire Blasts vanished¡ªdisappearing without a trace. That wasn''t all. Before Alwin even realized it, the room had completely frozen over. Ice covered every single floor tile, frost coated the walls, and a thick layer sealed away the control panel.

    What in Cor''s name was this power?

    "A little fledgling monster with no strength," it cooed. "The first monster in a thousand years to pique the interest of an Elemental. But you''re oh-so weak. Tiny. Pathetic. Useless. Ole Darky really has lost it." It shook its head.

    "Who are you? What do you want?" Alwin snapped. He was already preparing another batch of Fire Blasts to melt him down to size.

    "Name''s Ice. What do I want? Who''s to say?" It shrugged its shoulders, a smug smile sculpted across its face.

    This guy was getting on his nerves. So arrogant, cocky, and obnoxious.

    "Fire Blast!" Alwin shouted.

    Another volley of flaming balls shot out from his Core toward the ice being.

    "A brainless one too," it said, snapping its fingers again. The Fire Blasts vanished once again, while the layer of ice that enveloped the room grew even thicker.

    Alwin shivered. For the first time, Alwin shivered. Not out of fear, but from sheer cold. That should be impossible. He was literally covered in flames, yet that did nothing to abate the cold.

    Looking down, he noticed something even stranger. Not even the ice below his feet was melting. Ice that literally had flames licking away at it.

    This was bad. He needed to come up with a way to escape or at the very least send a sign to someone much stronger than him. Milvus¡­ and Lapis.

    "Oh relax. I''m not here to kill you...at least not directly. It¡¯s against the rules." Its smile grew even wider. "I''m just here because of Darky. I think Fire met you too. Didn''t say much. So now I''m here just to check things out."

    "What does this have to do with me? I''m just here for my Tribulation!" shouted Alwin. In his mind, he was racking up ideas and strategies.

    "And I''m here because of the Tribulation. Who do you think manages them? Cor? She''s much too busy for mundane things like that. It looks like you even got one of her blessings. How fun."

    "You''re going to kill me because of that?"

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Not at all little monster. I''m here to kill you because you triggered a Tribulation. Kill you indirectly of course."

    "Of course." Alwin didn''t like where this was heading. Neither did he like all of the scenarios he had simulated in his head¡ªall of which ended in his demise.

    "Yup. Since you''ve gotten this far, the Tribulation is pretty much over. There''s only so much power I can draw out, especially for a pathetic Tier 1 Tribulation. So, let''s go out with a freeze and we''ll call it a day."

    It snapped its fingers causing a bunch of System Screens to appear around Alwin. The snowflake across the center glowing brighter than ever before. Everywhere he looked, a screen stared back.

    Alwin took a deep breath, the chilled air biting away at his insides. He braced himself, waiting for the first signs of the inevitable attack¡ªsight, sound, smell, anything that could give him an edge, he pushed his senses to their utmost limit.

    But what he heard was the cool voice, taunting voice of Ice.

    "Having you fight a familiar is so last millennium. I swear Fire is living in the Stone Age with his thinking. It''s much more entertaining to watch you struggle¡ªto watch as the life slips away from your eyes without even having to lay a hand on you. Just letting nature take its course as you slowly succumb to the elements." An iced-over tongue poked out of its mouth, licking its lips.

    Then it snapped its fingers.

    The System Screens roared to life, billowing out tons and tons of snow from all directions. In mere seconds he was stuck in a pile of snow, struggling to even move one of his six legs. Not even his flaming hot body could melt the snow pile that engulfed him.

    "Sadly I can''t whisk you away to the Alps, but what I can do is the next best thing. I can bring the Alps to you," Ice said. "If you manage to make it out then you pass, if not then I get to gloat to Dark."

    Alwin was struggling to even move. No amount of wriggling and writhing could get him out of the mound of white powder. Not even his elemental advantage was proving useful. The snow refused to melt even under direct contact with the flames he was outputting. Even worse, things were starting to become hazy.

    It wasn''t because of all the smoke his sizzling physique was emitting¡ªit was far worse. The flames that were supposed to help him overcome the Ice Tribulation was now his downfall.

    What was one of the key ingredients for fire? The answer was oxygen.

    Coincidentally, it was also one of the key ingredients to living a long, fulfilling life.

    Right now, it was a race between who can suck up more oxygen from the limited amount of air in the pocket he was trapped in¡ªhim or the fire. The fire was winning.

    A simple form change into either his Yin-Yang Slime form or Dark Slime form would abate this issue. However, that was a classic out of the frying pan and into the fire¡­or whatever the Ice equivalent was. That line of thinking was the old Alwin''s department¡ªthe old goofy Alwin that was currently being suppressed by the new serious Alwin.

    Without the heat from his flames, the chances of him turning into frozen slime-flavored jelly was almost a hundred percent. Now, math wasn''t exactly his strong suit, but even Alwin knew those odds weren''t in his favor.

    So, the new serious Alwin did the only thing he could think of. He continued to wriggle his body in an attempt to break free, all while trying to come up with a solution to this impossible predicament.

    The flames on his chitinous shell were dwindling. What once were raging infernos dulled to glowing embers that flickered in and out, struggling to hold on. His movements became sluggish as well. Alwin couldn''t tell whether that was due to lack of oxygen or the chill seeping through the joints of his exoskeleton, causing him to lose speed. In all honesty, it was probably both. Scratch that, it was definitely both.

    Alwin was at his wick''s end. Being thwarted by a Tier 1 Ice Tribulation of all things. Oh, the shame. If only the Ice Coat didn''t rip apart, maybe he could''ve held on longer. Not even the Ice Resistance Pill was working its magic. This was it¡ªthe end of the new serious Alwin.

    It was aggravating.

    But¡­he did have one last trick up his sleeve.

    Inside the mind of the main Alwin, the original goofy Alwin was mashing at the control panel, desperately trying to move¡ªto do anything. Between the jammed buttons and frozen levers¡ªno thanks to the Ice Tribulation¡ªthere was nothing he could do. He was completely locked out.

    The second Alwin¡ªthe one in charge of observing and reporting¡ªfaced no such issues. There were only two things to relay, after all. Two words.

    ¡®Cold. ''''Death''.

    How useful. As if the original goofy Alwin didn''t already know that. It''s not like the entire brain command center was frozen over or anything. Still, nothing he did was working. What little influence he had on the main body had been wrested away by the freezing tundra. But why? Why were his inputs being rejected?

    Actually, he did have a sneaking suspicion. Ever since Lapis had mentioned that the main Alwin was possessed, the original goofy Alwin had ignored it, refusing to acknowledge it. But as time passed and more control was stripped away from him¡ªtwisting the main Alwin into a serious, disciplined student with no room for nonsense¡ªhe could no longer deny it.

    Their deepest, darkest fear had returned.

    All of a sudden the jammed buttons budged, barely¡ªthey were still frozen stiff.

    And then, behind the original goofy Alwin, someone appeared.

    Serious Alwin was back.

    "Hello there," Serious Alwin said. "I think we may need to work together to get ourselves out of this sticky situation."

 Chapter 116: Ice Tribulation Pt. 3

    Goofy Alwin whipped around, mouth wide open.

    "What are you doing here!" he screamed. "I thought I banished you to the deepest darkest recesses of the mind, never to see the light of day again. You were gone! Gone! You were supposed to be gone for good!"

    "Yes, yes I remember. Back when I convinced Milvus to allow us to continue our tutelage under Lapis. It was a horrible mistake, I should never have done that. Lapis'' teachings are downright horrible," said the Serious Alwin, shaking his slimy head.

    "How! How did you manage to escape? How did you manage to gain control of the main body? I thought things were glitching out, but now that you''re here it just proves that my theory was right!"

    "Seriously? This whole time you thought it was just a glitch? It''s a miracle that the main body has survived for so long. But you can''t get rid of me and neither can I get rid of you. We are Alwin and Alwin are we. The sum of our actions influences the main body''s decisions and thought processes. What I could do, however, was rewire the main control systems to limit your and that bumbling buffoon''s influence, while I get to make all the shots. And everything was going so well... until now."

    "So that''s what happened! No wonder the main body became so serious all of a sudden. How could I let something like this happen? Oh, the goofiness, where art thou!"

    "Because you''re a moron. But, time''s ticking. Unfortunately, as brilliant as I am, even I have my limits. Every single scenario that I could simulate ended up with us dead. As much as I hate it, in order for all of us to live, we need to work together," said Serious Alwin, grating his teeth.

    "But how did you make it out! We threw away the key!"

    "Really? You care more about that than dying? Let me explain it to you in a way that you understand. Main body growing boy. Body grow bigger. Brain grow bigger. Gap between the cage grow bigger too. Me just walk through gap. Me now free. Happy? Now, I really need your help." Serious Alwin grounded his slimy teeth once again.

    "Cool! I never even considered that."

    "Yes, yes. Again, I can''t come up with anything. So I was hoping that we could work together to come up with a plan. Three heads¡ªeven if two of them are dim-witted¡ªare better than one. Now for the last time, are you going to help me or are we all going to freeze to death?" said Serious Alwin, stomping up to Goofy Alwin and glaring at him.

    "Actually, I think we''re going to suffocate to death first," said Goofy Alwin. "But before I help, I have a few conditions."

    "What! Just spill it! Quick!"

    "I get to be in charge again! Also, we all need names, calling all of us Alwin is getting kind of confusing."

    "Yes, fine. Whatever. I''ll consider it."

    "Good enough for me. So from now on, I get to be Alwin. You get to be Niwla, and Observation Alwin gets to be Winal."

    "That''s so¡ª"

    Niwla ceased to cut his sentence short when he saw what Alwin was doing. He was jiggly his body about, all with a smug look on his face.

    "Fine, Alwin,'' said Niwla, grating his teeth again. "Now can we come up with a solution before we succumb to hypothermia?"

    "You want to brainstorm in the middle of a brain freeze? We don''t have to do that. I already know what to do," said Alwin.

    "Then do it! What are you waiting for!" Niwla shouted.

    "For you to ask me what I''m about to do," said Alwin, sliding across the frozen floor toward the control panel.

    "Okay, fine. What are you going to do that I haven''t thought of! Not even fire can melt this snow!" shouted Niwla, desperation growing more evident on his face every second.

    "See that''s your problem. You see snow, you think of melting it with a flamethrower. When I see snow, I think of making snow angels¡ªsnow slimes in our case."

    "How is that supposed to help us!"

    "It''s not," said Alwin with a huge toothy grin. "I also think of snowmen, snow cones, snowballs, snoring¡ªbecause it kind of sounds like snowing. Thinking about all of that snow stuff really makes you thirsty. And that''s how we''re going to get out of here."

    "By drinking water? Are you insane? That won''t get us out of here at all!"

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    "Of course, it will just watch."

    Alwin drove his face into the nearly frozen-over control panel¡ªbuttons barely moving. He slammed again. And again. And again. Each slam creating a small crack in the iced layer. Each slam causing those cracks to propagate. Each slam chipping off pieces of ice until eventually a single button was free for them to press down on. And press down he did¡ªwith another slam, of course.

    Outside in the real world, Alwin the Fire Soldier Ant was close to crossing over to the other side. Only small red embers flickered across his exterior. Now, he looked more like a Soldier Ant rather than a Fire Soldier Ant.

    By some miracle, he was still alive. Just barely. And by some miracle, he had an epiphany. Somehow in the jumble of his brain, he had come across a solution. It was a long shot, but right now? It was his only shot.

    Using what little energy that he could muster, he forced his mandibles open. They creaked open inch by inch, trembling from the effort. Once fully open, his tongue shot out like a limp noodle flopping onto the snowy mound. Then, he retracted it back, bringing along a small scoop of snow for the ride. The instant it entered his body, the fire on his body dimmed, on the verge of being extinguished. Still, he pressed on. Sticking his tongue out and dragging it back, repeating the process over and over¡ªdevouring the snow right in front of him.

    Inside his mind, the mind Alwin was still smashing on the control panel, constantly chipping away the ice that kept on forming. Each tongue-full of snow only made his job harder. The layer of ice creeping into his brain continued to grow. A literal brain freeze.

    "What are you doing?" shouted Niwla. "You''re making things worse!"

    "I¡ªam¡ªgetting¡ªus¡ªout¡ªof¡ªhere!" shouted Alwin, each time his head resurfaced only to come crashing down on the console.

    Outside in the real world, he continued to ingest snow, until finally the area around his head was clear. Now, he was free to look around. But he was still stuck, unable to move any of his limbs that were trapped under the mound of snow.

    From there, he turned his head, lapping away at the white substance that entombed his limbs. At that point he was moving on autopilot, not even caring about the chill that managed to invade his insides. What difference would it make? Do or don''t he was dead either way. At least, with this method he had a chance of living.

    Eventually, he had eaten away everything that enveloped his legs and was now working on tunneling his way out. That of course, involved more eating. By now, the inside of his mind had completely frozen over. None of the mind beings were able to move at all. The mind Alwin had been frozen in a fortunate position¡ªstuck smashing against the control panel, causing a button to be constantly pressed down.

    Soon light began to pierce through the pocket of fluffy white. If Alwin could use his brain, he would be freaking out right now. Unfortunately, the only thing he could do was stick his tongue out, bring it back, then swallow¡ªover and over and over again.

    His mouth finally broke free from the pocket of fluffy white. The air tasted warm. Still, Alwin continued to eat away at the surroundings in front of him. More and more light began to bleed into his view. Then finally his whole head poked through. Air had never tasted sweeter. Yet, Alwin still lapped away at the air in front of him. That was the only thing he could do.

    With his head finally exposed to the air, the fire both within him and outside of him surged with renewed vigor. No longer did it have to compete for oxygen. The flames worked their magic, melting away the ice that had encased his mind. The mind Alwin was no longer a statue, free to perform actions other than pressing a button for all eternity. Instead, he began pulling levers.

    The main Alwin body began to shuffle his limbs forward, one at a time. Slow and small steps propelled him forward out of the snowscape. The cold still lingered deep within him, yet his goal remained. Digging himself out. Getting free from his icy tomb. Survival.

    As he slowly crawled his way out, his head ached. All he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sleep. Forget all the troubles of the world. Pretend as if he wasn''t just about to be made into a popsicle. Except he couldn''t. He wouldn''t let himself give in to that desire. Soon the snow underfoot became dry and moist. Familiar tiled floor met his eyes. Finally free, he collapsed, enjoying the bliss of simply existing.

    That''s it. Alwin was back.

    Claps echoed out all around him, causing Alwin to weakly lift his head up, barely an inch from the ground. It was Ice. A slight smirk across his face as he slowly nodded.

    "You made it out. Good job."

    With another snap of his finger, the System Screens disappeared along with the pile of snow that was Alwin''s prison and his almost tomb. Alwin continued to look up at Ice, too weak to formulate a word, still fighting off the chill that had nearly consumed his body.

    "At least now I know why Dark took an interest in you. It''s because you''re weird. Most people get out by digging, melting, or even straight-up teleporting. You? You ate your way out, nearly killing yourself. It''s like you wanted to be frozen inside and out. Plus, it''s not like you have some gluttony-related skill. Those guys? I get it. The way out is eating out. You? You have nothing even remotely close. And honestly? I can''t wait to see what you end up doing next. Also, could you hurry up and challenge a higher-level Tribulation. I really want to have my fun with you."

    Heat was slowly replacing chill. His brain was beginning to work again. The flames across his body were revving up with life. After such a torturous experience, a prevailing thought manifested in his mind. A unanimous agreement that mind Alwin, mind Winal, and mind Niwla had come to.

    Revenge.

    From within his Core, he began to construct a Fire Blast. The three consciousnesses working together to craft it. Even though it was faster, there was only so much they could do. Alwin was still weak and his Core reflected that. Barely containing any mana.

    A single Fire Blast jettisoned out toward Ice.

    In response, Ice smirked, a slow mocking smile. He raised a hand, but he didn''t snap this time. Instead, a pair of frozen shades appeared in his grasp. As he slid them on, he began to turn away from the Fire Blast.

    For some reason the Fire Blast exploded before even touching him, causing a cascade of flame to approach Ice. Just before the explosion engulfed him, he lifted a hand. With fingers loose and a lazy wrist, he offered a silent wave, before disappearing.

    At that moment light began to consume Alwin as he was forcibly morphed back into his Dark Slime form. Another burst of light shot out as he felt his insides start to become his outside.

    He was evolving.

 Chapter 117: New Niwla

    As his body reconstructed itself under the power of Evolution, the mind beings that controlled Alwin''s personality had organized a meeting.

    "I have a proposal to make," said Niwla.

    "Sorry, not interested in getting married," said Alwin.

    "Not that kind of proposal you dingus. What I am suggesting is that we abandon this farce of only one of us being in charge. Obviously, I thought I could handle everything, but today reflects that I was wrong. However, that doesn''t mean that either one of you are right. You remember all of the trouble you caused us when you went on that bombing spree right, Alwin?"

    "Actually, that was more of Winal. I just gave a couple of suggestions and he went along with it. The whole blowing things up was his idea."

    Alwin and Niwla both turned to look at Winal. All that came out was a single word, "Bright."

    "What''s wrong with him?" asked Niwla.

    "No idea." Alwin shrugged. "Best guess? The trauma of Uchronia being disappointed kind of broke him. He¡¯s pretty much the reason why we ended up in jail. Now, he''s pretty much just operating on instinct. Makes a good lookout, though."

    "Weren''t you responsible too?" asked Niwla.

    "Partially responsible. I only suggested stuff. He had the controls."

    "Whatever," huffed Niwla. "What I am proposing is that we each take turns being in charge. Of course, those not in charge can still influence the main Alwin''s decision, but to a lesser degree."

    "But what about our deal?" whined Alwin. "You said I got to be in charge forever."

    "I just said that I would consider it. Think about it for a second. The main Alwin can''t always be making a joke out of everything, there needs to be a balance. This system is the best way to address that."

    "Fine, meanie." Alwin pouted. "So who gets to go first."

    "There comes the second part of my proposal. There''s three of us and there''s also three forms, see where I''m going with this?"

    "Oh, I get it. I get to be Alwin the Yin-Yang Slime, Winal gets to be the Fire Soldier Ant, and you get to be whatever the main body is about to turn into."

    "So, you can be smart when you want to," said Niwla.

    "I''m always smart. I was the one who got us out after all. Plus, I think this will be fun. What do you think, Winal?"

    "Bright."

    "I think he thinks it''s a bright idea," said Alwin.

    "Great!" cheered Niwla.

    "The Evolution is about to finish, I can see the light fading away," said Alwin. "Have fun, but no hogging. I want to play too."

    "Sure thing." Niwla smiled. "Don''t worry. You can have your fun after I fix everything and make us a Minister."

    Niwla assumed control of the main Alwin''s body. Who in this case would be called the main Niwla.

    Soon the light faded away. Niwla looked down, inspecting his new form. No gooey slimy body, nor an exoskeleton shrouded in flames. Instead, he had feathers. Not ordinary feathers, but ones as cool as ice. He had evolved into some sort of ice bird. No point speculating what he had become, a simple status check would reveal everything.

    Name: Niwla (Alwin)

    Species: Cold Turkey (Tier 2)

    Core Skill: Devolution (F)

    Species Skills: Withdrawal (F)

    Skills: Spirit Hands (S), Spirit Barrier (F), Spirit Blast (S), Spirit Scatter Blast (S), Spirit Burst Blast (S), Spirit Feet (S), Refinement (D), Spirit Bomb (A), Mix (E), Fire Blast (A)

    Evolution: 0/500

    Devolution: 0/100

    Buffs: +5% Damage Boost to Ice Elemental Attacks

    A Cold Turkey? He had turned into a Cold Turkey? That was... lame. Whatever. He would make it work somehow. Plus, the additional damage bonus to Ice attacks this form granted him was welcomed.

    However, why wasn''t Alwin''s Yin-Yang Slime form granted such a buff, but this Cold Turkey form and Winal''s Fire Soldier Ant form did? Niwla''s best guess? The Dark and Light side canceled each other out. He''d need to find someone knowledgeable to confirm this theory.

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    Another question arose from all surveying his status. What exactly was the Devolution Meter? Filling up the Evolution Meter meant that he would Evolve upon passing a Tribulation, so would filling his Devolution Meter mean he would Devolve into another Tier 1 monster? Questions, questions, questions. So many questions, so little time. After wasting so much time with Lapis, these questions could be answered at a future date.

    For now, he''d need to get accustomed to this Cold Turkey form of his and at the very least register Ice Arrow into his System. If there was enough time, he could work in some coordination practice, given the new arrangements of his mental state.

    Niwla walked over to the control panel to reset the room. The ceiling closed, while the various cupboards and shelves resurfaced from the safety of below ground. After that, he performed a final inspection of the area. All of the ice that had covered every inch and surface of the interior had vanished. Not melted. It had disappeared the moment his Ice Tribulation came to an end. Unexpected, but that meant less time wasted on cleaning up. Even more unexpected was a note left where the bottle of Ice Resistance Pills had been dropped during the earlier scuffle.

    Confiscating these just cause

    -Ice

    That was annoying. They could''ve come in useful in the future, but alas. After the final exam, he could use the time to learn how to refine such pills. Emphasis on after the final exam.

    Niwla walked out of the Evolution Chamber, straight to his classroom. Current plan? Become familiar with his new body. During the stroll, he took the liberty of performing a visual assessment of his new form.

    As the name of his species suggested he resembled a turkey. However, that was where the resemblance ended. The feathers that covered his body were various shades of bluish-white rather than the brown or black of a regular turkey. Unfortunately, they weren''t made out of ice. They did, however, effuse coldness. Thus, addressing the cold part of his species name. In fact, his whole body radiated such a chill. The strongest points being his beak and talons¡ªmost likely to inflict even more damage when clawing and biting prey. If that were the case, perhaps more melee-oriented skills could be added to his repertoire to take advantage of such a boon.

    That was the brief overview of his exterior. Just in time too, for Niwla had arrived at his classroom. It was set to Training Grounds mode, so that meant it was already afternoon. His sense of time had been skewed due to all of his time spent with Lapis. How many days had he spent refining Essence? How many classes had he missed? Milvus was going to be upset. Rightfully so, because Niwla was peeved as well.

    Inside, his classmates were hard at work honing their abilities for the upcoming final exam. Although the door to the sparring room was shut, the sounds of combat leaked out, blending into the cacophony of skills being thrown about everywhere around him. Even Bion was there. That shameful Shadow Jellyfish, utilizing his natural ability to send his tentacles through the shadows to catch foes off guard¡ªwell as off guard as a stationary wooden training dummy could ever be.

    Niwla would have to work harder lest the difference between them widened. Unlike Bion, he had to focus on multiple factors, splitting his attention. What''s worse, Niwla had just attained this new form. Whether it would be combat-ready by the time of his final exam would be a question only Cor herself could know.

    Rather than spending time praying that everything would work out, it''d be much more practical to use it for training. As Niwla walked toward an empty training dummy, one by one his classmates turned to face him. Murmurs spilled out between them.

    "Who''s that?" whispered Flintlock

    "Why''s that person waltzing in here like he owns the place?" asked Bion, at a not-so-quiet level.

    Learning from Winal''s mistakes, Niwla decided that the best option would be to come clean. The mind Alwin objected, but he had little say here. Running around creating a snowstorm as he evaded his rampaging classmates would only waste more time¡ªsomething that he had been repeating non-stop and couldn''t afford at this current juncture.

    "May I have your attention please, fellow classmates," announced Niwla, raising up a wing.

    His classmates stopped what they were doing, looking at the weird bird monster who had suddenly shown up unannounced. Their stares questioned if they should listen to Niwla, chase him out, or straight up ignore him. When the mind Alwin noticed Uchronia was in the crowd, he resigned and accepted that this was the best choice¡ªfor once.

    "I''ll be brief. I am not some intruder, I am actually your classmate, Alwin. Although I look different from what most of you remember me by, the explanation is simple. My current form is due to my Core Skill. With that, the conclusion is cleared up. That is all. You may go back to training." Although right now, it was Niwla in charge, to not confuse his classmates, it was better to refer to himself as Alwin.

    Niwla had turned his attention toward the vacant wooden dummy in front of him, ready to put his new body to the test. When a voice called out from behind him.

    "From an Al-loser to a birdbrain? That''s hilarious!" laughed Bion the Shadow Jellyfish.

    "Uchronia, your squad really is in shambles. There''s no harm in ditching them and joining my squad.¡± He shot her a wink. ¡°I promise to treat you right."

    Uchronia had gone back to smacking the wooden dummy, practicing combo moves with her Great Thorned Leaf, ignoring Bion completely. Even though her back was turned, Niwla could tell that she was rolling her eyes at Bion''s comment.

    Dealing with Bion wasn''t even worth the effort spent. Niwla returned his focus toward the wooden training dummy, performing light hops on his new set of feet. His clawed limbs clacked against the floor with every jump, as he familiarized himself with his new body.

    "Too scared to even say anything? Looking at you now I can see why. You must be part chicken!" laughed Bion.

    Only Brie, the Metal Ball monster infatuated with Bion, laughed at his joke. Bion frowned upon hearing her voice. His expression saying ''Leave me alone.''

    Perhaps it might be faster to deal with him than let this farce drag on.

    "Spineless," Niwla said.

    "What?" said Bion, scrunching his face in confusion.

    "I said spineless. You know, that''s actually the reason you evolved into a jellyfish. Because Cor knows you''re just a spineless monster. I bet your next evolution would involve a wooden dog of some kind, seeing as how you''re more bark than bite."

    The entire class erupted with a collective ''oooh'' in response to Niwla¡¯s remark.

    Bion looked around the room, realizing that his classmates had joined in on the mocking spree¡ªall except for Brie. His normally dark jellyfish cap face gained a shade of bright red.

    "You¡ªyou¡ªyou!" stammered Bion, growing redder.

    "Forgot how to speak? I''m not surprised. It''s no wonder you ended up as a jellyfish. You''re brainless as well," said Niwla in a calm and cool manner.

    "I''ll kill you!" screamed Bion, lunging at Niwla.

    "And I''ll let you live," said Niwla, preparing to fight.

 Chapter 118: Turkey vs Jellyfish

    Bion the Shadow Jellyfish rushed forward toward Niwla. His normally dark jellyfish cap glowing lighter from all the red anger he was letting out. His tentacles pounded against the ground at full force, propelling him at speeds that no regular jellyfish could ever hope to reach.

    This wasn''t exactly how he had planned to adjust to his new form, but like a good soldier he had to be adaptable. The first step to beating your opponent was to know your opponent. What did Niwla know about Bion? Other than his ability to send his tentacles through shadows, and his Core Skill which covered his soft form in a layer of mechanical gears, there was one more aspect of Bion that he knew. Something which he could exploit.

    Niwla spread out his wings, taunting Bion," Is the little baby rushing to give me a hug?"

    This only enraged him further. Bion yelled out gibberish as he continued his charge towards Niwla.

    Normally, Niwla would never do such a thing. It was much too embarrassing and hardly a move suitable for his serious demeanor. This was one of mind Alwin''s suggestions. Something Niwla was milliseconds away from discarding.

    However, if such a move could tilt the odds in his favor, he''d swallow his pride and admit that mind Alwin actually gave a suitable suggestion for once.

    The thing which Niwla could exploit? Bion''s pride.

    With his mind shrouded with rage, Bion wouldn''t be able to come up with any workable strategy. Unless you count rushing in head first a strategy¡ªmore of a fool''s errand, really. Blinded by hate and unable to think rationally, it meant he would rely solely on instinct.

    And instinct was predictable.

    Judging from his behavior, Bion would continue to charge at him, attempting to crash into him with his bulbous jellyfish cap, not even using any skills.

    As the distance closed between them, Niwla kept his eyes peeled. Wings still outspread to ensure Bion remains on target. Now came a matter of dodging. Dashing to the left or the right could get him hit if Bion decided to stick out his tentacles to grab him. That meant there was only one viable option left.

    Yells and growls brought Niwla''s attention back to the battle. Bion had drawn close. A mere several feet away. Moments before impact, Niwla leaped into the air, right over Bion. The Shadow Jellyfish continued under him, crashing into a wall.

    At the apex of his jump, Niwla decided to put his body to the test, flapping his wings ten times a second to maintain altitude. It was a struggle. He wobbled in the air veering left and right, sometimes dipping down, before he forced himself to flap even faster¡ªjust to rise up a very wobbly inch.

    With Bion temporarily incapacitated, now was the time to attack, but what should he offer to the bumbling fellow? The usual assortment of Blasts felt too cliche, it was also too ''Alwin'' coded. He needed to deliver something with a more Niwla flare.

    That settles it. From now on he''d lay claim over all Ice Elemental attacks. Neither mind Alwin nor mind Winal could use them without prior consent. And what better way to mark the occasion than by practicing his Ice Arrow sculpting?

    Before he could get started, something clamped around his foot. It dragged him down to the ground. Niwla squawking upon crashing against the floor. He looked down, trying to find what caused the sudden change in altitude.

    One of Bion''s tentacles poked out of the shadows and was wrapped tight around his foot.

    This was bad. He had spent too long deliberating¡ªanalyzing the next course of action to the point where he had been oblivious to his surroundings. In a battle there wasn''t time for hesitation. It was do or die.

    Right now, death was imminent.

    "You really are a birdbrain," Bion mocked. "I bet you were using every ounce of that tiny brain of yours trying not to fall¡ªyour tiny little wings working so hard to lift that big fat body of yours. To the point you couldn''t even think about attacking. Now, I''ll show you not to make fun of me."

    "Skewering Shadows!" Bion yelled out.

    Multiple spikes, dark as the night sky, erupted out from the tentacle around Niwla''s foot. He let out a pained scream as the shadows impaled him, making themselves home within his limb.

    "You''ve been a bad student." Bion got up and sauntered over to Niwla on his many dark tentacled legs. "I bet a single lesson isn''t enough for you, so how about some extra remedial classes."

    "Shadow Tentacles!" Bion yelled.

    One of his many tentacles sunk into the shadows. It snaked toward Niwla connecting with his very own shadow. It shot up from beneath him and wrapped itself around his other foot.

    "Skewering Shadows!" Bion yelled out again.

    Spikes erupted from the second tentacle. Another agonizing scream ripped out as spikes invaded his flesh one more.

    This was very bad. He needed to create some distance. He needed some time to come up with a plan. He was not going to lose like this, especially not to Bion of all people.

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    Niwla forced himself back up to his feet. His body trembling as the spikes dug into his flesh with every movement. It hurt. It stung. It burned.

    He tried to take a step back, but he couldn''t. The spikes were embedded deep within his legs and the tentacles were taut, keeping him in place. He stumbled, falling to his backside.

    If moving wouldn¡¯t work, then maybe¡­

    Niwla proceeded to peck away at the tentacles with his beak. No dice. It was like poking some dark viscous sludge, almost like tar but a lot colder.

    "Like what I keep saying, Uchronia. Your squad is a joke. An Al-loser and a guy with stomach for brains. If you go out with them for the final exam, you won''t be able to survive. Join my squad and ditch these buffoons. Milvus doesn''t even have to know."

    Uchronia paused her practice, her Giant Thorned Leaf shrinking back down as she turned around to face the scuffle. She glanced over at Niwla, still struggling to break free. Next, she looked over at Bion, who had a smug look on his jellyish face.

    "No," Uchronia said.

    "What do you mean no?" Bion asked, raising his tentacles up in defiance. "I''m beating the ever living snot out of this loser. Why would you still want to team up with him?"

    "I don''t want to team up with either of you. Both of you will just pull me down." Uchronia turned back toward the wooden training dummy and continued training. This time performing kicks with her thin root-like legs.

    "You!" Bion shouted at Niwla. "This is all your fault! I''ll make you pay!"

    "Shadow Tentacles!" he yelled again.

    Multiple of his tentacles descended and appeared right next to Niwla. They coiled around his wings and head, yanking him down to the ground again.

    "I don''t care if I get in trouble! But, with you dead a space will open up in your squad and I will gladly fill up that slot."

    This was really not good.

    A simple Devolution back into a Yin-Yang Slime would solve all of his entanglement problems, but then he would have to give up control to Alwin. This was supposed to be Niwla''s time to shine. Plus who knew when that goofy buffoon would relinquish control again. It was too risky.

    "Ice Arrow!" Niwla shouted.

    A single icicle appeared right in front of him and shot out toward Bion. He didn¡¯t even flinch, tilting his head to the side, dodging the blow with ease.

    Darn it. He hadn''t had enough practice yet. His Ice Arrows took a long time to make¡ªand were shoddily crafted to boot.

    "That''s the best you''ve got? Time to end it." Bion said.

    Not yet. There was one ability he could activate with almost zero cast time. His Species Skill¡ªWithdrawal.

    The only problem? He had no idea what it did. Time to find out.

    "Withdrawal!" Niwla yelled, targeting Bion.

    A mist of blue was released from Niwla''s body, creating a sudden chill that swept through the area. The cool vapor drifted toward Bion, swirling around him until his jellyfish head was engulfed at its center.

    Bion winced in pain, the tentacles grip over Niwla''s legs loosening ever so slightly.

    "What''s happening to me?" Bion groaned, doubling over as a shudder wracked his form.

    "It''s so cold..." his voice wavered.

    Blue lines began to spread all over his body. They glowed with frost, lighting up his dark visage. He began to shiver, his tentacles trembling with weakness. They were barely able to hold up his weight, his body inching closer to the ground with every second.

    Even the tentacles wrapped around Niwla''s body quivered. The spikes embedded in his legs retracted, giving Niwla some much needed relief from the searing pain.

    Bion gasped for air, panting like he had just run a marathon. Then, his tentacles gave out, and he collapsed flat onto the ground. Those around Niwla''s body loosened completely, flopping back into the shadows and next to Bion.

    Niwla pushed himself up with his wings, gingerly placing weight on his legs that had brand new piercings courtesy of Bion. The wounds throbbed, sharp pain stinging with every movement.

    The mist began to disperse, the biting cold disappearing as warmth seeped back into the surroundings. Those snaking lines of blue started to recede. His breathing steadied. The tremors in his tentacles subsided. Once the last sliver of blue vanished, Bion rocketed himself off the floor, glaring at Niwla.

    "W-what did you do to me?" Bion demanded. "What was that!"

    Even Niwla didn''t know what had just happened. He was just as surprised¡ªif not more¡ªthan Bion. Never would he have imagined that a Species Skill would be so effective at such a low mastery level.

    Still, he had to give an answer.

    Niwla, wobbling from the pain in his legs, said," That was your weakness on full display. Even when I let you pin me down, you couldn''t finish me off. Pathetic."

    Bion¡¯s body tensed. His face twisted with rage over Niwla''s taunts. He charged forward again, tentacles full of vigor, stomping on the ground as if he hadn''t just been curled up on the floor in pain moments ago.

    With the current state of his legs, dodging wasn''t an option. It didn''t take a genius to know what he should do next.

    "Withdrawal! Withdrawal! Withdrawal!" Niwla shouted.

    Icy blue mist erupted out from his body. They condensed together, concentrating into a thick haze. The chilling vapor drifted toward Bion¡ªwho had no qualms about charging through it.

    The moment his jellyfish head entered the haze, he collapsed onto the ground.

    Tentacles trembling, whole body shivering, and gasping for air. The blue lines spread throughout his body at a faster rate, illuminating his body with a ghostly frost, brighter than before.

    "Out of respect for you as a classmate, I''m bringing this match to an end. I''ve already won. There''s no point in watching you squirm around in pain any more. Goodbye," Niwla said, as he began to walk out of the training grounds classroom.

    He put on his best stoic expression, pumping out his chest, and ignoring the pain pumping up his body with every step. Once he was out of the classroom, and sure that no one was watching, his stride transformed into a hobble. One wing pressed against the wall for support as he made his way back to the dorms..

    Getting used to this new body would have to wait. He had underestimated Bion, and overestimated himself. What was he thinking spending so much time deliberating during the heat of battle? That aspect of his would have to be remedied pronto. Winal and Alwin suffered no such deformities, thought that was likely because they were simpletons.

    At least the battle had proven fruitful. He had gained a rough understanding of what his new Species Skills did and had taken Bion down a size¡ªjust barely. Next time, he''d aim to utterly humiliate him.

    However, Uchronia''s earlier comments hung heavy in not only his heart, but Alwin''s and Winal''s too. Was he really such a burden to her? The answer was yes. But, he would soon change that.

 Chapter 119: Sad Turkey

    Niwla hobbled back to the dorms, each step a fresh reminder of the holes in his feet. Stumbling into the room, the support of the walls was but a distance memory. Instead, he braced his against the cold, metallic ends of the bed frame, wings trembling from the strain. The gaps between the beds were a trail of their own. Forced to place the whole weight of his rotund body on his pierced feet. It was awful.

    Finally, he made it to his own bed. His fortress of comfort. A place where he hadn''t visited since being locked up in Lapis'' cafe, forced to refine Ice Essence for her experiments¡ªmuch to his detriment.

    He collapsed onto the bed, shuffling his behind deeper into the center of the rectangular softness, leaving his feet dangling over the edge. Niwla stared into the holes, and they stared back. Droplets of red oozed out of them¡ªa reminder of his carelessness during his tango with Bion. Turning around, he noticed that he had left a trail of blood, decorating the otherwise pristine room. Cleanup would be a problem for future him.

    Now, to address the elephant in the room.

    Niwla couldn''t possibly begin training with such a grievous wound. Would a Small Healing Pill even be enough to heal these injuries? He doubted it. These weren''t simple papercuts¡ªthere were multiple holes in his leg. Heck, some of them went through cleanly and out the other side, he could see light shining through some of the wounds. Not a sight for the faint hearted. It was a miracle that he even had the ability to walk. In all honesty, it was most likely the adrenaline suppressing the otherwise intense agony that he should currently be subjected to.

    It was yet another blunder. He should''ve taken advantage of such circumstances and made his way to the infirmary¡ªwherever that was¡ªrather than back to the dormitory just to lounge on his bed and partake in a little reflection session.

    Once the adrenaline wore off, he was in for a world of hurt, while his classmates were in for a world of having to endure his pathetic screams. They deserved none of that¡ªbarring Bion¡ªwhile he deserved all of the pain and suffering.

    Turns out Niwla wasn''t as smart as he thought he was. By analyzing the situation in a manner appropriate to his serious nature, he should''ve been able to puzzle out the ideal solution to his predicament. Instead, he barely scraped through his duel with Bion and didn''t even think of seeking medical attention until it might already be too late.

    Niwla had sunk low. No better than the currently broken Winal who operated purely on instinct or the boy who turned everything into a joke, Alwin.

    "Hey."

    A voice from behind cut through his spiraling thoughts, jolting him out of his misery..

    Niwla turned around ever so slowly, apprehensive to find out the culprit responsible for intruding upon his moment of self-loathing. He had been so entrenched in his mind that he didn''t even hear the creak of the door swinging open nor the pitter-patter of their footsteps. If this happened on the battlefield, he would''ve lost his life. Not by dying in the glory of battle, but by an assassination that could''ve been entirely avoidable.

    Facing him was none other than Uchronia, an expressionless face on her bulb¡ªanother reminder of how useless he was. She didn''t even want him on her squad, and he could understand why.

    Bombing the city instead of revealing his Core Skill. Wasting time with Lapis. Struggling to defeat Bion. He didn''t even want himself on his own team.

    "Oh¡­ hi, Uchronia," Niwla muttered with a dejected tone, eyes sinking to the ground. He didn''t deserve to look at her.

    "Catch."

    She tossed something at him. Niwla reacted on instinct. He fumbled around, trying to grasp the object. His wings unintentionally launching it up into the air, batting it higher with every desperate attempt. At this point he wasn¡¯t even catching the object¡ªhe was juggling it.

    Each failed catch was a reminder of what he was now.

    A clown.

    A sad pathetic joke..

    At last, he managed to pin it within his wings. But it was a hollow victory. To think that even something as simple as catching was a struggle for him. He really was hopeless. Not even the fact that he was still getting used to his Cold Turkey form could excuse him.

    Niwla sighed, before at last looking at what Uchronia had thrown at him. Within his wing was a scarlet colored pill, slightly bigger than a marble.

    "A Healing Pill?" Niwla asked, looking up at Uchronia for an answer.

    "Yes. A Medium Healing Pill. You''ll need it if you want to heal those wounds, unless you want to wait however long it takes for your body to naturally recover by itself." She pointed at his feet. "The emergency Small Healing Pills from the Sparring Room aren''t going to cut it."

    "Oh¡­ right. Thanks," Niwla muttered, before popping the pill into his beak.

    As soon as he swallowed it, a subtle warmth spread through his body. It was replacing the pain which had been increasing in waves from the receding adrenaline. The aching throb in his feet, dulled as the wounds began to mend themselves.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The holes shrank. Flesh stitching itself back together. Bones filled up the empty cavities. Arteries and veins restored severed connections. It was a slow process, but infinitely faster had he just left his body to his own natural healing devices.

    "That feels a lot better, " Niwla said, his wounds still in the process of closing up.

    "Good." Uchronia pulled out a notebook hidden within the confines of her bio-ceramic pot, before jotting something down.

    "But why are you here?" Niwla asked. "Shouldn''t you be training? Why are you wasting your precious training time with a burden like me? I''m not worth it."

    Uchronia stopped writing, eyes glancing up from the notebook straight into his soul. She snapped the notebook shut with one leaf, storing it back inside of her pot.

    "As much of a burden as you currently are, you''re still a member of my squad. It''s my duty as the squad leader to ensure that my subordinates are combat-fit. Knowing you, you probably didn¡¯t even consider finding the Academy Nurse to treat those wounds. What''s more, given the severity of your injuries, it was a good opportunity to test out the Medium Healing Pills that I''ve recently refined. From the looks of it, I still have a ways to go before fully mastering the recipe."

    "You''re refining pills now too? Did I happen to miss that class?" Niwla sighed. "Am I really that far behind everybody?"

    "There was never a class on refining pills. They only start teaching those classes when you''re in your second year, after you choose your specialization. Since I plan to specialize in everything, I decided to read up more about pill refining and get a head start."

    "Oh."

    That was all Niwla could manage. He couldn''t quite believe it. Uchronia was going above and beyond in her studies, tackling more advanced classes and preparing for the future. Heck, specializing in everything? Who''d be crazy enough to even do such a thing? The workload would be immense.

    Uchronia... She''d be crazy¡ªno¡ªdriven enough to perform such a feat. Only someone with such determination could be Valedictorian and subsequently a Minister. Not him. Those aspirations of becoming a Minister one day were nothing more than a pipe dream. He really was a burden. The only thing that he was good for was being a guinea pig for someone else''s experiments¡ªfirst Lapis and now Uchronia.

    "Being depressed won''t change anything, you know," Uchronia said flatly.

    "I know, but¡ª".

    "No buts." Uchronia¡¯s voice was sharp, cutting through his self-pity like a blade of grass.¡±While you''re here, being sad, everyone else is working hard to improve themselves. Even that annoying sleazeball, Bion is practicing nonstop after that loss. And honestly? What was that fight? The Alwin I knew would''ve mopped the floor with him. He would''ve pulled off some ludicrous stunt dodging all of Bion''s attacks. Not taking hits like a buffoon and barely scraping by. What happened to you? Explain yourself."

    "What happened to me..." Niwla trailed off, eyes falling back to the floor.

    "I guess, you happened to me. Ever since that whole city bombing spree, I''ve been trying to change. To become a better monster. Someone who takes things seriously and doesn''t treat everything like a joke. But¡­¡± his voice wavered. ¡°It doesn''t seem like it''s working. Now the only joke here is me," Niwla let out a small depressive chuckle.

    Uchronia took a step back, her eyes widening in surprise, before returning back to a neutral expression.

    "You''re saying you''re really trying to change?" Uchronia asked.

    "Just because I try, doesn''t mean I''ll succeed," Niwla let out another sad laugh. "I mean, look at me. You''re right, I''m nothing but a burden. I don''t even think about going to the infirmary to get some help. I needed you to bail me out. I¡¯m so useless."

    Uchronia studied him for a moment before nodding. "It looks like you really are trying to change. The old Alwin would never react like this. A depressive spiral, really? He''d just get back up and concoct a crazy convoluted plan to get out of whatever hole he found himself stuck in¡ªand most of which he dug himself into in the first place."

    "Well, that''s not me anymore. No insane ideas. No wild shenanigans. No foolish plans. No dumb jokes. Just plain old seriousness."

    "Not even a little?" Uchronia asked, arching a leafy eyebrow.

    "Zero. It''s probably why this was my latest evolution.¡± Niwla glanced at his wings, the faintest trace of sadness on his beak. ¡° I went cold turkey with the goofiness,"

    "You''re a dunce, you know that. Why are you trying to suppress a core part of yourself? Even when you try to be all serious you end up telling a joke." Uchronia shook her head. "I get that you want to change, but have you ever thought that you''re trying to change the wrong thing?"

    "The wrong thing? I''m trying to be more serious so that I would never be a burden to you again. How is that the wrong thing?"

    "Yet, you''re just as much¡ªif not even more¡ªof a burden than before. What I needed from you was to pull your own weight and not waste my time with your antics. You got rid of the second part, but the first half is more than making up for it."

    "I..." Niwla didn''t know what to say. This whole time he had been working on making the main body more serious, but at the expense of what made Alwin so unique in the first place¡ªhis creativeness. In doing so, he made himself less capable. Weaker than ever before. Perhaps Alwin wasn''t as big of a screw up as he once thought he was.

    "I''ve been doing it all wrong haven''t I?" Niwla muttered, burying his face in his wings.

    "Well, not all of it."

    "Really?" Niwla''s head shot up.

    "It''s not much, but after what I''ve seen today. I want you a little bit more on my squad than before."

    Niwla''s face lit up upon hearing Uchronia''s words. Not just his, but mind Alwin and mind Winal too. They had made progress! Not a lot of progress, but still progress nonetheless.

    "Got it, Uchronia," Niwla said, sitting up straighter. "I promise¡ªI¡¯ll never be a burden to you again."

    "Keep up the good work," she said, already turning for the door. "And this time? Work on the right stuff."

    With that, Uchronia walked out of the door, presumably to head back to training, leaving Niwla all alone with his almost healed up legs.

    This whole time, seriousness wasn''t the key? Who would''ve guessed. It was because of this approach that his combat skills had regressed. It should''ve been obvious when he struggled so much during the Ice Tribulation. But, at the same time he wasn''t wasting anyone''s time with his pointless tomfoolery.

    Balance. That was the key.

    And to achieve that¡­ he needed another meeting with mind Alwin and mind Winal. Alone, they were a menace. But together?

    They just might be strong enough to conquer the world.

 Chapter 120: DIY Freezer

    With Uchronia¡¯s words of encouragement pulling Niwla''s mind slightly out of the gutter, he could finally begin on preparing for his final exams¡ªthe right kind of preparation. Not the kind where he attempted to make everything that required constant analyzing and deliberating just to make a final decision. That meant, actually hearing out Alwin and Winal''s suggestions even if he was the one driving the main body at the moment.

    Inside of his mind, a conference was being held.

    "I''m sure you''re all aware of everything that has happened?" asked mind Niwla.

    "You mean how you got your butt kicked by Bion and added more holes to the main body in the process?" Alwin mocked. "I told you to use the Spirit Hands to dodge, but nooo¡ªyou decided to jump and spend like a million years choosing your next move."

    "Pain," was all Winal said. Both mind Alwin and Niwla choosing to ignore him.

    "You don''t have to rub it in, you know?" Niwla said.

    "Of course, I do. It hurt so much. I can''t believe we nearly lost to him too. See if I were in charge¡ª"

    "Enough!" Niwla interrupted. "If you were in charge, maybe we would''ve had an easier time winning, but knowing both of you, you would''ve come up with some crazy idea to fix this whole mess only for it to blow up in our faces again. And then Uchronia would be even more disappointed in us."

    "And yet," Niwla sighed. "with me in charge, we struggle to even win a fight."

    "Dude, the solution is easy," Alwin said. "Just keep changing forms and let us have some fun whenever we fight. All this ''seriousness'' nonsense is so boring, seriously."

    "I know, but¡ª"

    "I''m going to pull a Uchronia and say ¡®no buts¡¯," Alwin interrupted. "Like you keep going on about how you''re going to prepare for the exams, or how you need to get used to your body, or something lame. The only problem is, you take so long to actually do something. I can feel myself growing older. Don''t think just do. Like even now, we''re wasting time with this boring meeting when we could be doing something else."

    "Something else? Like what? We need a proper plan to optimize what little time we have left, we also need to come up with a proper system about who''s in charge and when. I''m starting to have my doubts about the one form, one person in-charge rule I proposed."

    Alwin shrugged. "By the time you''re done planning, it''ll be exam time before you know it. Just give me the controls and I''ll show you what we need to do."

    Niwla sighed, "Fine, but when it doesn''t work out or blows up in our face, I told you so."

    "Devolution!" The Niwla in the real world yelled. The feathers on his body receded, being replaced with a black-and-white jelly-like substance.

    "Alwin the Yin-Yang Slime is back!" he shouted, bouncing on the bed like a trampoline, the wounds on his Cold Turkey form completely gone.

    He couldn''t believe that he was actually doing this. But when it came to proving a point, Alwin would do anything.

    Leaping off the bed and rolling across the floor, avoiding the blood droplets like the plague. Alwin rushed out of the dorms. His destination¡ªbelieve it or not¡ªback to the Training Grounds Classroom.

    Alwin burst through the door, beelining for a vacant wooden dummy. He ignored the stares of his fellow classmates and even the fervent string of vulgarities that Bion laced the room with. Instead, he honed in on his Core.

    His consciousness popped into existence over the swirling pool of mana. But, he wasn''t alone. Alwin had dragged in both mind Winal and mind Niwla along with him.

    "What are you doing?" Niwla asked.

    "What does it look like I''m doing? I''m training and so are you."

    "Training what exactly?"

    "We''re going to register Ice Arrow into our System, now go summon the mental hands while I whip out a snowstorm, and Winal... you go do something."

    Winal''s consciousness stared blankly at him, nodding before floating off to do... something.

    "Hey! Only I can use Ice Elemental attacks," Niwla said.

    "Yeah, and I don''t care. This is the easiest thing I can think of to show that we''re actually making some progress. Either that or I muck around trying to Mix spells again, and even I know that''s not going to help my case."

    "We do have to increase our mastery over Ice Arrow..." Niwla trailed off, evaluating Alwin¡¯s proposition. "Fine. But we do it my way."

    Under Alwin''s directions, a giant snow storm began to form over the pool of mana. Snow and hail dropped down from the heavens while the temperature plummeted. Soon, the whole area became freezing cold as tiny ice islands began to form in the expansive ocean of mana.

    While Alwin focused on maintaining the snowstorm, Niwla did what he did best¡ªthink.

    "Are you going to help out or what?" Alwin shouted at Niwla who just floated there, lost in thought.

    "I am helping. In fact, I think I know what to do."

    "Well, I know what you should do. Go summon the Mental Hands, Ice Drill, and Ice Saw, so that we can get this show on the road once I''m done creating the Ice Mana."

    "That''s not it. In fact, cancel the snowstorm," Niwla said.

    "What? But what about the Ice Mana? It''s almost done freezing."

    "I know, but my way, remember? Now cancel it."

    "Fine." Alwin pouted. Just like that the snowstorm dissipated. The snow and chunks of hail that had made their home within the liquid mana were evicted, unable to withstand the rising temperatures, until all traces of their existence had been erased.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "This better be good or I''m going to throw a tantrum," Alwin said.

    "If everything goes according to plan, it''ll be more than good," Niwla said.

    "It better be. So, let''s hear this amazing plan of yours then."

    "I wouldn''t call it amazing, more like efficient. You see, each time we create Ice Mana we have to jump through so many hoops like creating a literal snowstorm inside of our Core. Frankly, it takes too long and is such a huge waste in energy. We don''t even need our whole Core to be filled with Ice Mana, just a small amount."

    "Well, how else are we going to make Ice Mana? An ice storm? Because I don''t know how to summon that."

    "An icestorm is just a hailstorm, which you have already summoned before. It''s also another big waste of energy. Now, tell me something, Alwin. Have you ever heard of something called a freezer?

    "Maybe." Alwin looked away, refusing to make eye contact while still pouting.

    "I know you know what a freezer is. We''re essentially the same person. But never mind that. Instead of making an Ice Age each time we want some Ice Mana, we just get a bucket of mana, shove it into a freezer and wait."

    "I guess," Alwin mocked, drawing out the words..

    Niwla followed through with his plan, summoning a bucket and with the help of some mental hands, scooped up some mana from below them. But when he tried to summon a freezer¡­

    Nothing happened.

    "Cold feet?" Alwin teased.

    "Not exactly, it''s just that whenever I try to materialize a mental freezer, it just doesn''t want to pop out. Can you try?"

    "Me? I don''t know how to summon a freezer," Alwin replied.

    "You can summon a snowstorm out of nowhere and yet you can''t even summon a freezer? I bet you didn''t even try."

    "Hey, I did try. Freezers are too complicated, snowstorms are easy. It''s like you said, they just suddenly appear out of nowhere and poof we got a snowstorm."

    Just as Alwin finished his sentence, dark clouds flew in all of a sudden and snow began to fall once again.

    "See? Just like that."

    "How the?" Niwla said, struggling to comprehend what he had just witnessed. They may be the same person, but their unique personalities gave them different strengths and weaknesses.

    "I think I know what''s happening," Niwla said. "We both don''t have a clear enough understanding of freezers to have a proper mental visualization such that it can manifest within our Core to assist in crafting spells. While you, on the other hand, have such little understanding about the real world that you''re able to conjure phenomena such as that snowstorm, because you think that¡¯s how it works."

    "So what I''m hearing is that I''m better than you."

    "That''s not... never mind. I need some time to come up with another solution," Niwla muttered, his consciousness pacing up and down.

    "Nah, we don''t need to. We can still do your plan, but we just have to make our own freezer. Easy-peasy."

    "What are you even talking about?"

    "Just watch and learn," Alwin said. "Also, do you know how to summon a box? Preferably about two buckets tall."

    "Again¡­ what? I mean, I can, but I don''t understand what you''re trying to do. You know what? I¡¯ll humor you," Niwla said, as a white rectangular box popped into existence right next to him.

    "Oh, it''s simple. A freezer is just a really cold box. I have the cold, you have the box, and tadah we got ourselves a freezer."

    "That''s not how any of it works!" Niwla shouted.

    "Don''t knock it till you try it," Alwin said, as a snowstorm began to brew overhead. "Now there''s one tiny problem."

    "Which is?"

    "Compressing the clouds is going to take a lot of effort, especially if we want it to fit inside our DIY freezer. We''re going to need a lot of mental hands."

    "I don''t think just hands are enough to shrink a snowstorm, I think we need¡ª"

    Niwla''s words were cut short as he noticed an army of mental hands floating toward them. They were clustered together in the shape of a throne, with Winal''s consciousness sitting on top of it.

    "Hands..." Winal trailed off.

    "That''s a crazy amount of mental hands, Winal,¡± Alwin said, eyeing the display. ¡°Do you mind helping us compress the snowstorm so it can fit inside the freezer?"

    "Hands..." Winal nodded.

    The moment he got off his throne, the mental hands shot to the sky. Even more mental hands materialized out of thin air, swarming upward and blotting out the sky. They surrounded the edges of the clouds and pressed inward. The snowstorm began to shrink, but still maintained the same amount of power, now over a smaller area.

    When it was just the right size. The mental hands floated down with their prize, offering it to their king¡ªWinal.

    "Hands..." Winal said.

    The mental hands seemed to understand his commands as they proceeded to slot the miniature snowstorm into the white box that was Alwin''s DIY freezer. Once their task was complete, they interlocked with each other, reforming a throne for Winal to sit on once again.

    "How did he control so many mental hands..." Niwla muttered. "It should be impossible."

    "Beats me," Alwin said, using his own mental hands to grab a bucket of mana and shove it inside the completed cooler. "I don''t even know how there are three of us inside of here working together to create spells. Normally, it''s just me."

    "You''re right..." Niwla said. "Yet another thing we don''t fully understand. Most people don''t have multiple personalities fighting for control."

    "I prefer to just go with the flow, it makes things easier, you know. Also here you go." Alwin commanded his mental hands to give Niwla the bucket of Ice Mana. "Wow, this thing really works fast. Was not expecting that."

    "At least that''s one thing going right for me, but I do have another idea..."

    "You do?" Alwin groaned. "It''s not going to take ten years for you to actually do something about it, is it?"

    "Nope. It should be relatively fast."

    Niwla summoned his own set of mental hands and busied himself in his own little corner of the Core. Meanwhile, Alwin was fascinated with Winal''s throne. It was really handy. And it looked so comfortable too.

    Without warning, Alwin plopped his consciousness onto the chair, right next to Winal. The next moment, he was being slapped silly by the multitude of mental hands which made up the throne.

    "Ouch! I get it! I get it! I''m sorry!" Alwin yelped, flailing as hands rained down on him.

    As if accepting his apology, the mental hands ceased their slapping. Only to grab his behind, and toss him out of the throne.

    Alwin''s consciousness was sent flying, crashing into the only object in the vicinity¡ªhis DIY freezer. It collapsed, the mini snowstorm nearly being knocked free. However, using his body he nudged it back into the box and slammed it shut. Talk about a workout.

    "Sorry, that took so long," Niwla said, approaching Alwin with a mental hand in tow.

    "You better be sorry. So what''s this big plan of yours?" Alwin asked.

    "This!" Niwla''s mental hand rushed forward, presenting something in its palm.

    An ice tray.

    Alwin looked up, then down, then back up again.

    "Really? You spent all this time on that?" Alwin asked, offended that all Niwla had to show for was an ice tray of all things. Here he thought it''d be a huge laser or something.

    "Not just any ice tray. Look closer."

    Alwin looked down once again, wondering what was so special about this ice tray. Instead of the normal arrangement of empty rows of squares, there was only one hole. And it wasn''t square shaped¡ªnot even close. It was in the shape of an Ice Arrow.

    Alwin''s eyes widened.

    "See where I''m going with this?" Niwla asked.

    "See it? I can feel it! I''m literally getting chills. Let''s go try it out!" Alwin exclaimed, hopping up and down in excitement.

 Chapter 121: Mini Factory

    With the ice tray in his mental hand, Niwla plunged it into the mana pool. It resurfaced, filled to the brim with raw liquid mana, droplets cascading down its side.

    "I''m so excited," Alwin exclaimed. "Put it in! Put it in! Fill it up with that delicious liquid goodness."

    "Don''t worry, I''m getting to that part."

    Niwla commanded the mental hands to place the ice tray within Alwin''s DIY freezer, before shutting the door. Then they waited, not for an eternity, but for about a minute at most.

    "It should be done," Niwla said.

    The mental hands pulled opened the door, a blast of coldness hitting them as they retrieved the ice tray. Within it, the mana had frozen solid, now crystalized with a light blue color.

    "Voila," Niwla said. "Ice Mana in the shape of an Ice Arrow, all in record time."

    "That''s amazing!" Alwin shouted. "Try it out! Try it out! Try it out!" Alwin''s consciousness zoomed around the ice tray full of glee and excitement. He couldn''t wait to see the results of the experiment.

    "Of course," Niwla said. "Hands, if you would."

    The mental hands twisted and turned the ice tray. Cracks resounded out as the Ice Arrow within it came free from the mold that it had spawned from. The hands gripped the thick base of the icicle-shaped Ice Arrow, and waited, ready to receive their next set of orders.

    "Let''s go!" Alwin rushed over to the boundaries of their shared Core, leaving Niwla and his mental hands behind to chase after him.

    Instead, Niwla took his time. He inspected the icicle from every angle, taking note of each and every detail. Compared to their earlier attempts, this Ice Arrow was much closer to perfection. It was perfectly symmetrical, with a tip that tapered down to a fine point. For a prototype, it was impressive.

    Still, there were a few flaws. Its surface was rough to the touch and a couple of air bubbles seemed to be trapped inside the ice. Some sanding could address the former, but he''d have to come up with a workaround for the air bubbles. However, he''d have to first evaluate whether the existence of such defects had any tangible effect at all or if it were purely cosmetic.

    Meanwhile, at the edge of the Core, Alwin was running loops and performing flips as he waited for Niwla to catch up.

    "What took you so long?" Alwin asked upon spotting Niwla.

    "Not all of us are as hyper as you, Alwin. Plus, I had to evaluate the product first." Niwla said.

    "Boring. Just throw it already," Alwin groaned.

    "Hands, if you could fulfil my bumbling counterparts'' wishes," Niwla said, as he shook his head.

    The mental hands gave a thumbs up before taking aim. They pulled back, building up momentum before it hurled the icicle straight at the boundary of his Core as if throwing a javelin.

    Alwin felt that familiar tingle in his throat and he knew what was coming next. His consciousness was evicted from his Core as the spell materialized in the real world.

    "Ice Arrow!" Alwin shouted.

    An icicle appeared, suspended in midair as it constructed itself from the base to the tip. Once fully manifested, it launched forward straight into his arch enemy¡ªthe wooden training dummy.

    The icicle struck its wooden exterior, only to shatter into a thousand pieces. Not even leaving a scratch. Well, that was to be expected.

    Ice bits flew everywhere as a mini hailstorm engulfed the classroom. Tiny pieces bounced off of Bion''s jellyfish cap much to his irritation. He stomped over to Alwin ready to give him another piece of his mind, but Alwin decided that he wasn''t worth it. Also, Alwin was just too lazy to deal with him.

    Instead, Alwin dissociated from reality and fixated on his Core, ready to have more fun with his new invention¡ªthe DIY freezer. The only annoying thing was that he had to go through the whole compressing a snowstorm into a tiny box part first. Good thing Winal was there to do all of the heavy lifting.

    But, when he reentered his Core, something was amiss. What was supposed to be missing was right there. The DIY freeze in all of its glory. Next to it, Winal sat on his throne of hands, while Niwla mumbled about something as he inspected the ice tray.

    "You compressed the snowstorm, already? And without me?" Alwin pouted.

    "What are you talking about?" Niwla replied, looking up from his work.

    "You know, how the Core always gets reset after we cast one skill, and then we need to repeat the process all over again."

    "Oh, that. I was as shocked as you are. For some reason, after you left, everything remained as is. When I made my trek back to Winal, I had some time to come up with a couple of theories as to why, but honestly, it might be faster to ask Lapis about it¡ª as much as I don''t want to go near her for the time being."

    "Why not? She''s fun as she gives me treats all the time."

    "You know why, Alwin. But, we don''t have time for that. Right now, I''m devising a way to increase our casting speed with this brand new discovery."

    "You mean we''ll get to hit things faster?" Alwin asked, bouncing up and down in excitement. The thought of unleashing a mega barrage of Blasts on his enemy was almost too much for his little brain to handle.

    "A lot faster," Niwla remarked. "In fact, it might even rival the casting speed of a Species Skill."

    "That fast? Awesome! Lay it on me. Tell me what I can do to help," exclaimed Alwin, pressing up against Niwla.

    "What you need to do is continue firing off Ice Arrows. Increasing our mastery over it is priority number one. While you do that, me and Winal will start working on a proof of concept."

    "You got it boss!" Alwin shouted.

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    Alwin summoned a pair of mental hands, snatching the ice tray out of Niwla''s hands. Together they filled it up with mana, tossed it into the freezer, played a quick round of Rock, Paper, Scissors to pass the time, before finally bolting all the way to the edge of his Core to fire off another shot.

    As always, he was forced out of his Core and back into the real world to watch the destruction his Ice Arrow unleashed upon the wooden dummy¡ªwhich was nothing. The only thing being destroyed was the icicle itself and Bion''s patience as he was splattered with another shower of mini ice bits.

    And it was back into his Core he went. Rinse and repeat.

    Every single time he reentered the Core, things would have shifted or moved about. Like a new white box next to the original DIY freezer or some weird sphere shaped thingy. But, Alwin didn''t have time to have a proper look-see, because Niwla would immediately hand him a brand new ice tray¡ªeach one tweaked slightly in some way, not that Alwin cared¡ªand it was off to the races.

    Eventually he got the all-important message.

    New Skill Learned: Ice Arrow (F)

    But, that wasn''t enough. Not for the overachieving side of him.

    Alwin kept on going at the wooden dummy, firing off Ice Arrow after Ice Arrow as Niwla and Winal worked on something in the background.

    Time passed in the blink of an eye. He lost track of how long he¡¯d been going at it for. Forced out of his Core only to dive right back in, over and over again.

    For the first time, Niwla handed him something other than an ice tray. It was a sign that said ''stop''.

    "Why''re you making me stop?" Alwin asked, finally able to have a look around his Core. A huge sheet of fabric covered something equally massive underneath it.

    "Because I need your help once again. It''s time to test out my hypothesis," Niwla declared, as his mental hands ripped open the sheet to reveal what he had been working on.

    It was... disappointing.

    A bunch of white boxes were lined up next to each other, with what looked like conveyor belts right outside the door. Except the belts looked like they were made out of some cheap material like paper. In fact, Alwin was pretty sure it was made out of paper. The belts extended out far into the distance, disappearing towards the edge of his Core.

    "What''s all this?" Alwin asked, skeptical about Niwla''s claimed intelligence after witnessing his latest work.

    "This... is a proof of concept. You see, my theory is that as long as one of us remains here, the objects in the Core will never reset. Because of that, we can start streamlining our spell production capabilities. No more long agonizing waiting time for us. We can mass produce skills!"

    "I need to see it to believe it," Alwin said, doubt prevalent in his mind.

    "Of course. Let me give you a run down of what''s supposed to happen." Niwla said.

    Niwla brought Alwin over to the row of DIY freezers, where he noticed mental hands had been stationed, waiting for orders.

    "First, we unload the prepared Ice Arrows that have been chilling."

    For each freezer, a pair of mental hands opened the door, while the second pair began to tip it forward. The ice tray that had been incubating inside slid out, landing on top of the conveyor belt. A perfectly frozen icicle sat within it.

    Then, the conveyor belt began to move. That was when Alwin noticed that the rollers under the belt weren''t powered by any form of electricity¡­ They were hand powered.

    Cranks lined up along the sides of the belt at regular intervals. Each one with a mental hand turning it around with a steady rhythm, causing the whole system to move. The ice trays above glided forward, moving toward the next step of the process..

    "While the ice trays move along. The freezers get a refill."

    Even more mental hands showed up out of nowhere, shoving an ice tray that was already packaged with regular mana back into the freezer.

    "As the next batch is being frozen, we process the current."

    Alwin turned his attention back to the conveyor belt. As the ice trays continued to travel down their lengths, he noticed another section of mental hands waited along the sides. The moment the ice trays came within reach, they grabbed them.

    Through a series of twists and turns, which sent cracks echoing throughout his Core, they released the icicles free from the mold. The icicles were placed back onto the belt, while the empty trays were collected by another set of hands.

    They dunked the ice trays into his mana pool for a refill, before sending them back toward the freezers, ready to be frozen again.

    For the first time, Alwin was beginning to see potential.

    "From there, it''s a short ride toward the edge of the Core. Follow me," Niwlla said.

    Alwin did as he was told, but in true Alwin fashion he did it his own way.

    Instead of taking the long boring walk, he decided to take the long boring sit. Alwin plopped himself on top of the conveyor belt right behind the icicles and waited. The mental hands were forced to work overtime, cranking with all their might to move the extra heavy baggage.

    Meanwhile, Niwla just shook his head and sighed.

    When they finally arrived near the edge of the Core, the belt began to split off into multiple lanes. At the end of each lane were even more mental hands, waiting for the shipment to arrive. But what caught Alwin¡¯s eye was something happening off to the side.

    Something was being built.

    Winal sat on his throne of hands, guiding the mental hands through a series of single-worded low moans. Mental hands bustled around him, somehow able to follow his cues. Occasionally a piece of something¡ªmachinery maybe¡ªmaterialized right next to him, only to be grabbed by an eager pair of mental hands.

    It looked like... a cannon?

    They were going to launch things out of a cannon! This was awesome!

    However, disaster struck. The mental hands at the end of the conveyor belt grabbed onto the icicles and took aim¡ªnot loading them into the cannons.

    Alwin''s disappointment was immeasurable and his day was ruined.

    "I see you noticed what Winal¡¯s working on. He might not talk much, but he''s surprisingly good with manifesting mental tools to help with spell creation. Everything that you saw before was all created and is currently being sustained by him.¡±

    ¡°Not everything.¡± Alwin pouted.

    ¡°That is fair. This would not have been possible without your snowstorm. My plans, your weird ability to create unnatural phenomena, and Winal¡¯s unnatural manifestation prowess. None of this would¡¯ve been possible without any one of us.¡°

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Alwin said. ¡°But, why no cannon?¡±

    ¡°That is our new delivery system. In theory, it¡¯ll launch projectiles even faster out of Core. But since it¡¯s still a work in progress, we¡¯re just using hands for now.

    "Oh, phooey." Alwin pouted.

    "Anyway, the spells will be delivered here, where they''ll be ejected out of the Core."

    The multitude of mental hands took aim and fired.

    A familiar tingling in his throat and Alwin was wretched away from his Core.

    "Ice Arrow!" he was forced to shout.

    Not one. Not two. Not even three.

    Ten icicles materialized at the same time right in front of him, shooting out and colliding into the wooden training dummy. Another shower of icy bits, except that there was no one in the vicinity to receive it.

    In fact, there was no one else in the classroom except him. Where did the time go? How long had he been at this?

    Whatever.

    Alwin went back into his Core, a smug Niwla awaited him.

    "So, what do you think?"

    "I think that you''re awesome! Not as awesome as me! But, still awesome. Now, do one for the Blasts!" Alwin shouted.

    "In time. For now, I need to work on refining all of this," Niwla said.

    "Okay, then what can I do to help?" Alwin asked.

    "Pay attention in class? Go pick up a book? Basically anything that might help with our visualization abilities while I work on this. The more objects we can manifest in here, the better."

    "Got it," Alwin said, exiting his Core.

    He was about to run off toward the library ready to enhance his knowledge when something else took hold of him.

    Sleep. Alwin collapsed on the floor, exhaustion finally catching up with him.

 Chapter 122: Overworked

    Alwin¡¯s eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring at the ceiling. How long had he been out for? He tried to sit up, but even the slightest bit of movement sent a wave of ache through him. His whole body was sore. It was like he had worked out every single muscle all at the same time and now the lazy gods had come to punish him.

    "Relax, slime boy apprentice of mine," a voice called out next to him.

    It didn''t take a genius to know that was Lapis.

    "Yeah, relax," another voice said. "Here, have a muffin."

    That was Gus.

    "I''m sorry, Alwin," a third voice chimed in.

    It was uncharacteristic of the person, but judging from the pitch and the vegetable aftertaste her words left him, that had to be Uchronia. Why was she apologizing to him?

    "Where am I? What happened?" Alwin asked.

    "You''re in the med bay," Lapis said. "And what happened to you? It''s just a little something called overwork."

    "Overwork? I''m pretty over with work, but how does that explain what happened to me?"

    "Let me dumb it down for you slime boy. Between refining Essence, being my guinea slime, the tribulation, getting into a fight with your classmate, ingesting a third-rate pill, and training. When''s the last time you rested? When''s the last time you ate? When''s the last time you even used the bathroom? Your body couldn''t handle the stresses and it kind of just shut down. "

    Alwin''s worst nightmares had come true. He had been actually doing work. This whole time he thought he was just having fun.

    "But wait, what does eating a pill have to do with¡ª" Alwin felt bile begin to pile up in his throat"¡ªoverworking myself?"

    "Well, your body had to do extra work to remove all the toxins you ate, so it counts," Lapis said, with nary a worry in her voice, just her usual chirpy self.

    "Sorry, Alwin. I shouldn''t have fed you that Medium Healing Pill. And I''m sorry for causing you trouble, Minister Lapis," Uchronia said.

    "Do I get to try a pill?" Gus asked, completely oblivious to the situation.

    "Yup, you shouldn''t have," Lapis said. "Pills are a tricky thing, especially when they¡¯re made by someone who¡¯s self-taught. Too many weird side effects. Not worth the hassle. That''s why I pay someone to make pills for me. The trick is to buy in bulk so that you can get a discount."

    "So the pills did this to me?" Alwin asked.

    "I''d say about 1% of it give or take. My math ain''t the best, so I may be wrong. Anyway, it doesn''t matter. What you need is bed rest and regular rest¡ªor just rest rest."

    "But what about the final exams?" Alwin asked.

    "No idea. Not my department," Lapis said. "But, honestly? I''m sure you''ll do fine, prep or no prep. Anyway, now that you''re awake. See ya, wouldn''t want to be ya." Lapis disappeared in a flash of light¡ªteleportation.

    "The exams are in a week''s time, Alwin. I think it''s best that you rest up before it. I''ll try to talk to Milvus to be more lenient about your grading. It is partially my fault too," Uchronia said.

    "You don''t have to do that," Alwin said. Deep down he really wanted her to do it. He got to rest and had an easier time passing. Who wouldn''t want that?

    "Just let me talk to Mr. Milvus, okay? You''re doing a good job. Never expected you of all people to collapse from overworking yourself. But, now you need to rest, okay."

    Alwin was delighted. This was even more good news. Uchronia''s perception of him had risen up again. This calls for a celebration! He would do this victory dance, but any movement sent a wave of jiggly pain throughout his rotund body.

    "So, does that mean I can try a pill, Uchronia?" Gus asked once again, interrupting the moment.

    "No, Gus. Don''t be a nuisance and stop asking me. "

    "Not even half a pill?"

    "For the last time, no. And don''t disturb, Alwin. He needs his rest." Uchronia walked out of the med bay, dragging Gus along with her.

    Now it was just Alwin¡ªand technically Winal and Niwla¡ªall alone with their thoughts. He didn''t have to train. He didn''t have to study. He didn''t have to do anything, but rest. It was the perfect life.

    Time crawled at a snail''s pace. Alwin lay there, staring up at the tiled ceiling. With nothing else to do, he had been entertaining himself by counting the number of dots across the surface of the tiles. There were 412 on the tile right above him. He was confident about that, because he had counted it about twenty times already.

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    His body was a little bit more mobile now, allowing him to check the clock. The amount of time that had elapsed? 30 minutes.

    Who knew resting would be so boring?

    With nothing to do and still too tired to actually move, Alwin did the only thing he could do other than sleep. He entered his Core.

    Inside, he found Niwla and Winal working on the latest iteration of the new spell crafting institute. When Alwin had passed out, so did Niwla and Winal. That unfortunately meant that everything that they had painstakingly worked on was reset. Now, they were focused on restoring everything back to how it originally was.

    Winal was busy setting up the conveyor belt line, while Niwla focused on getting the DIY freezers set up¡ªmost of it anyway. The most important part could only be done by Alwin, of course. For he was a genius of the nth degree.

    Alwin got a good look at how Winal constructed the conveyor belt. As per his suspicions, the belt itself was made out of paper, but he didn''t realize what type of paper until now. It was toilet paper. And the rollers underneath? Toilet rolls. Way to kill two birds with one stone¡ªor perhaps two slimes with one stone? Or even two birds with one slime? Two slimes with one slime?

    Yeah¡­ Alwin was rambling again.

    Niwla had made some design improvements to the freezers¡ªor should we say freezer. No ''s''. Singular. Instead of multiple smaller units, a colossal box, ten times the size of a standard, stood at the start of the conveyor belt. To match, gigantic ice trays were in the middle of being constructed. Judging by how many hands were involved in this project, it was safe to say that Winal was assisting Niwla while working on the conveyor belt at the same time.

    Talk about an overachiever. He was making Alwin look bad.

    "Glad for you to finally show up," Niwla said, spotting Alwin.

    "Well, I figured you''d need some help after the reset." Alwin lied.

    "Are you sure it''s not because you got bored?" Niwla asked.

    Drats! Alwin had been found out. How was this possible? Time to lie again.

    "What? Nooo," Alwin said, dragging out the words.

    "You know we''re essentially the same person, right? Just with different personalities," Niwla said. "Anyway, right now me and Winal are in the middle of setting up the production line for Ice Arrows. All we need from you is the snowstorm. Preferably extra strong."

    "One extra strong snowstorm coming right up!" Alwin declared.

    Clouds brewed overhead and snow began to pour down from the heavens. Without missing a beat, mental hands ascended skywards and began to compress the dark clouds while dragging the storm straight toward the freezer.

    Another huge conglomeration of hands dashed toward the door handle of the huge freezer. It opened ever so slowly and the snowstorm was slotted right at the top. Snow began to pour down from above as the temperature within it dropped. Inside the freezer, Alwin spotted multiple slots, presumably for the giant ice trays.

    Looks like there were some really big upgrades being cooked up.

    "We''re going for giant Ice Arrows now?" Alwin asked.

    "What? No. It''s just for mass production. Although what you said is intriguing. I never thought of literally scaling up the production," Niwla said. "Anyway, here look."

    Niwla guided Alwin to the ice trays. Upon closer inspection, he realized that there were multiple molds of regular sized Ice Arrows, arranged together, within a single ice tray. It was as if Niwla had just stitched together multiple smaller trays to make a really big one, which he probably did with the help of Winal.

    "Huh, neat," Alwin said. "So, what can I do to help?"

    "Honestly? Do nothing," Niwla said.

    "But, why?" Alwin whined, dragging out the words once again.

    "You heard Lapis. The main body is overworked. Frankly, we shouldn''t even be doing this right now, but time''s ticking," Niwla said. "Don''t move and don''t cause any trouble. Last thing we want is for all of us to get knocked out and we¡¯d have to redo everything¡ªagain.."

    "Fine," Alwin huffed..

    Even though he was in control of the main body, he wasn''t even allowed to do anything. Talk about lame.

    In fact, Alwin was feeling rebellious today¡ªjust like every other day. He wasn''t going to move the body, but he''d be doing something else.

    While Niwla got the Ice Arrow production set up, Alwin would find a way to mass produce his Blasts. Take that, Niwla!

    However, he had no idea how to do that. Creating them one by one was easy. Transporting them to the edge of his Core was easy as well¡ªthanks Winal! But, how would he make his Blasts en masse? Could paper mache even be done in bulk? Technically yes, but it would involve a lot of hands and even more balloons.

    What if he pulled a page from Niwla''s book? Molds!

    Too bad he didn''t know how to make plastic molds like Niwla. But, he did know how to play around with clay, which should be good enough.

    At the bottom of the mana pool, his mental hands scooped up some mana in the form of wet clay. From there he molded it, borrowing a toilet roll from Winal to flatten his creation until there were two perfectly flat rectangular slabs.

    With that done, he just needed to make a hole for his Spirit Blast. It was the usual process of paper mache, shoving it into an oven to let it dry, and tada¡ªSpirit Blast.

    From there, he squished the Spirit Blast into one of the molds, and then used the other one to make a Spirit Blast sandwich.

    When he removed the top layer, he picked up the Spirit Blast and tossed it away¡ªhe didn''t need it anymore. Now he had two square clay pieces with semi-spheres indented.

    Now all he had to do was chuck it into the oven to let it dry. Once done, he retrieved it and took a look at his masterpiece. Two pieces that, when squished together, would make a Spirit Blast.

    Except that Alwin made a crucial mistake. Even with a mold, he didn''t know how it would help with his paper mache endeavors.

    Oh well. He''d just have to make Spirit Blasts made out of clay instead. It was upgrades, people. Upgrades!

    Alwin spent the next few days working on creating Spirit Blasts and their variations out of clay rather than his usual paper mache method. It was hard to test it out when he wasn''t allowed to launch any spells out of his Core, but that would be a problem for future him.

    Niwla and Winal spent the remaining time refining the Ice Arrow production facilities and the transportation system. All of this took place as the main body lay down in bed, seemingly in a daze.

    In reality, Alwin, Niwla, and Winal were hard at work preparing for the final exams. Expected for Niwla but not for Alwin. But when you''re bored and there''s nothing else to do, you end up doing work¡ªthe very thing Alwin despised. Oh well.

    Eventually, the day of reckoning had arrived.

    It was exam day.

 Chapter 123: Hey, you. Youre finally awake

    Alwin had spent the past week lying down on the bed at the med bay, working on his Core. Time flowed by quickly when you were busy having fun. Wait, no. That''s not what he meant.

    Time passed by quickly when you were busy training, honing your skills, et cetera, et cetera. He was definitely not goofing off while Winal and Niwla were hard at work to get the Ice Arrow production line up and running. No, he was absolutely, without a doubt, refining a method to scale up his Blast production.

    However, all good things must come to an end.

    Alwin was forced out of his Core, not because he had just launched a skill¡ªit was far worse than that. It was because someone decided to pour a bucket of ice-cold water right over his head.

    He yelped as the freezing shock jolted him back to reality. Shivering, he scrunched himself up in a tight little ball trying to protect what little warmth that remained. Meanwhile, whoever poured water over his head looked at him with an annoyed look on their face. That face belonged to none other than Uchronia.

    "Wake up, Alwin. We''re going to be late," Uchronia said, dropping the empty bucket onto the floor. "And you." She turned to look at Gus.

    "And you. What are you doing? I told you to grab Alwin, but in the end, I had to come and do it myself."

    "Hey, that''s not fair. I tried to, but he was still sleeping. It seemed rude to wake him up, so I thought I''d ease him into it with a muffin," Gus said.

    "And how did that work out?"

    "He didn''t want it." Gus pouted. "And I really thought it would work this time."

    "What do you mean, this time?" Uchronia asked, her eyes narrowing. "Gus, how long has Alwin been asleep for?"

    "Ever since I came back to the room after you didn''t let me try one of those pills. I¡¯ve been offering him muffins to wake him up, but he hasn¡¯t accepted a single one. So, I had to eat the muffin myself before it went bad."

    "Gus! I told you to keep an eye on him and report back if something was wrong!" Uchronia shouted.

    "But, I did. I stayed with him all day, every day. I even ate lunch here with him. Alwin was just asleep. He looked so peaceful. There wasn''t anything wrong with him."

    Uchronia stared at Gus for a good five seconds, her face contorting with a mixture of rage and disbelief, before she finally spoke up again.

    "You know what? Forget it. Mr. Milvus is giving a briefing and we''re already late. Let''s go."

    Shivering the whole time as the events unfolded in front of him, Alwin finally said something, ¡°Do I get a say in this?"

    Uchronia didn''t even say a word. She just shot him a glare so cold, he thought he was back in the Ice Tribulation again. Yup, Alwin knew better than to question her and did exactly what she asked of him.

    Uchronia sprinted down the hallway, with Alwin and Gus right behind her struggling to catch up. Gus left behind a trail of muffin crumbs while Alwin left behind some damp slime prints from his abrupt shower. Together, the three of them burst through the doors into the classroom, just as Milvus was in the middle of his briefing.

    "Glad for you to finally join us," Milvus said. "Take your seats so that I can carry on."

    "Sorry, Mr. Milvus."

    Uchronia ever the goody two shoes dashed to her seat, while Gus and Alwin took their time, catching their breath from the sudden morning sprint. In actuality, it was just Alwin.

    Gus seemed perfectly alright. All of those sprints to the cafeteria must''ve done wonders for his cardiovascular health. Alwin fought to control his breathing and pretended that everything was okay. Only taking in small deliberate breaths while suppressing the urge to gulp down mouthfuls of air that his burning lungs desperately desired. He couldn''t look weak in front of his peers!

    The moment he sat down, Milvus continued.

    "As I was saying, this is your final exam of the year. Passing it means you move up a year and take one step closer to becoming a full-fledged Human Hunter. I can''t see you all failing¡ªmost of you anyway."

    For a split second, Alwin could''ve sworn that Milvus had glanced his way. Must''ve been his imagination

    "The purpose of this exam¡ªother than the extermination of humans¡ªis for you to get a sense of what an operational camp is like. While the location of the exam remains the same for all of you, your specific tasks may or may not differ. That will be determined by the officers stationed at the camp. Remember, unlike the previous exam, the priority should be not about farming enough Essence to trigger a Tribulation. While you are allowed to do so, completing the mission takes precedence. Do I make myself clear?"

    Murmurs began to spread throughout the classroom. Milvus paused his speech, his gaze sweeping across the room. It didn¡¯t take long for the other students to take the hint. Eventually quieting down.

    That just shows how uncivilized his classmates were. Alwin didn''t utter a single word the whole time. Instead, he was using his patented technique¡ªmulti-tasking.

    With one eye open and the other eye closed, he could sleep and pay attention at the same time. And by him paying attention he meant Niwla. Winal was left in charge of the Core. It was multitasking at its finest. Now, back to Milvus.

    "After this exam, there will be a semester break. Classes will resume in 2 months time. What you choose to do during that period is up to you, but I believe that those who decide to squander such precious time will only be left behind by their peers. Remember this. You all are being groomed to become Coremmanders. I trust that you all will make the right decision. Now, without further ado, I shall escort you all to the Warp Station. Follow me."

    As soon as he finished speaking, Milvus strode out of the classroom on all eight of his paper-like tentacles.

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    The rest of his classmates hopped off their seats and followed after him. They chatted excitedly about the upcoming final exam¡ªspeculating about the sort of missions they might undertake or whether they could evolve for a second time.

    Alwin¡ªno thanks to Niwla¡ªwas forced awake. By the time he realized what was happening, the room was empty. Alwin leapt off his chair and dashed straight for the door to catch up with them. However, the moment he crossed the threshold a leafy-looking limb slammed right into his face.

    With a squishy thud, Alwin fell backward, landing smack dab on his plump rump.

    Uchronia was blocking the doorway. In one leaf she held an assortment of equipment: rings, necklaces, gauntlets, armor, etc. The other held Gus. She lifted him off the ground as he munched on a muffin that had red marble-like spheres jutting out of it.

    Was that a Healing Pill flavored muffin? As usual, a trail of crumbs rained down on the ground below.

    "First you dumped water on me and now you hit me in the face. What did I do to deserve this?" Alwin sniffed, trying his best to get her to feel guilty about his mistreatment.

    "We can talk about this later. Now, take this."

    Uchronia shoved the load of items into Alwin''s hands. That was what was supposed to happen, but the slime had no hands. Instead, Uchronia was forced to place them on Alwin''s head. At the same time, she grabbed a pair of yellow gauntlets and forced them onto both of Gus'' paws.

    "What''s all this?" Alwin asked, trying to balance his impromptu headgear.

    "I''ll tell you on the way. Quick, we need to catch up."

    Uchronia sprinted off down the corridor, her root-like legs propelling her at speeds no plant could hope to accomplish. Meanwhile, Gus remained steadfast in her grip, completely unfazed by the situation he found himself in. Still, munching on another set of muffins that he pulled from who knows where.

    Why did Gus get a free ride? Alwin was the one who had just recovered. He should''ve been the one getting carried. Why was life so unfair?

    As Alwin bolted down the hallway, he began to practice a new skill.

    Balancing.

    The defensive equipment on his head jingled, jangled, and jungled¡ªyeah, it didn''t make sense, but who cares? He hopped along, making sure that he didn''t trip over and fall flat on his face again.

    All of Alwin''s brainpower was focused on keeping the items stacked atop his head. Niwla¡ªever so kind and helpful¡ªguided Alwin towards his destination. Turn left. Turn right. Dodge a kid. Watch out for the wall!

    At the last second, Alwin managed to swerve out of the way from the impending collision with the wall. The best part? All of the gear on his head stayed put. It was just wins, wins, and more wins. More specifically: Alwin, Winal, and Niwla.

    Somehow he managed to spot the rest of the class up ahead. They were having a leisurely stroll through the hallways, making their way toward the exit and headed to the Warp Station.

    Uchronia was at the back of the pack, telling something to Gus who was nodding along between bites of yet another muffin. Alwin quickened his pace and skidded to a stop as he caught up with them. Somehow the equipment remained on his head. Not a single piece had fallen throughout his journey. It was a miracle!

    "Oh good, you''re finally here," Uchronia said. "Sorry about the rush and sorry I didn''t visit you at all. I was busy working on that."

    Alwin traced her gaze. His eyeballs rolled up, up, and up, till it rolled back inside of his head. Through his translucent black and white, jelly-like flesh he could see what she was referring to. The equipment.

    "You stole all of this?" Alwin asked. His eyes still swimming inside of his head, attempting to make out the silhouette of whatever was on top of his head. They were blurry. The finer details were lost to him¡ªjust like his brain cells.

    "Made," Uchronia corrected. "I made them. They may not be the best equipment, but it''s better than nothing. Anything to give us an edge during the finals. We really need it. I need it."

    "Huh, neat. But, what exactly did you make?"

    "For Gus a pair of gauntlets because that''s his second most important asset¡ª"

    Alwin interrupted, "What''s his first?"

    "His mouth obviously. Now, don''t interrupt me. I swear you''re somehow regressing."

    Those words were enough to shut Alwin up. He didn''t want to lose all of that painstaking process he had made. His approval toward Uchronia was too important right now.

    "That''s all I had time for, plus I think he can hold himself on his own. You on the other hand... I didn''t know what to make. Gus is just that, Gus. But, you''re sometimes a slime, sometimes an ant, and sometimes a turkey. My point being, it''s hard to design equipment that caters to all of your forms.¡±

    Uchronia sighed. ¡°So, I figured I¡¯d try making a bunch of gear. Then you can spend the time figuring out exactly what you want and need. Also, please remember that these aren''t exactly the finest pieces of work. Between my inexperience and the lack of time, there was only so much I could do."

    "Hey, hey. It''s fine. Thanks for taking the time to make it." Alwin tried his best to console her.

    It worked.

    "Thank you," Uchronia said, her face softening into a smile.

    By then, Milvus had finished leading his fellow students to the Warp Station. As they approached, a pair of towering golems formed from a mishmash of dull grey boulders, lit up, tracking the class''s movements. Two massive arms crossed over their chest, while the other two gripped pikes.

    Particularly they seemed to be tracking Alwin¡ªmaybe he was just that good-looking. Or it might be the absurd pile of gear he was carrying in plain sight.

    No, it was definitely because he was that good-looking.

    The class entered through the giant double doors, revealing the grand Warp Station. Inside, tons of civilian monsters bustled about, weaving between the towering pillars and various travel gates. Smaller security golems roamed about, keeping watch.

    This time, there was no need to visit the ticketing station. Instead, Milvus led them to one of the gates. Inscribed above it were the words ''Hunter Personnel Only''

    As Alwin hopped through the grand structure, studying all the other monsters traveling about toward unknown destinations a thought popped into his mind.

    Why were they mixing civilian monsters together with Human Hunters? Didn''t that increase the threat of being exposed to danger? Plus wouldn''t the civilians pose a security risk? What if they took a wrong turn and ended up in a highly classified area? Talk about poor planning. Lapis must''ve been involved one way or another.

    One by one, Milvus gave each and every student a few words of encouragement before they stepped through the portal and vanished.

    Uchronia and Gus went in together¡ªbecause she was still carrying him. Weren''t they concerned that they''d fuse together and turn into some sort of monster? Wait, they were already monsters.

    Then¡­what about some sort of super hybrid monster that combined both of their abilities? That seemed like a reasonable worry. Or was that considered a buff? Man, biology was hard.

    Last, but not least, was Alwin. He looked up at Milvus expecting some wise words of wisdom. Instead, he got a lecture.

    "Please don''t do anything rash, Alwin. You know, with my Core Skill, I can see a lot of things, but I can never see what''s going inside that mind of yours. One second you''re goofing off, the next you''re working yourself to the bone. What I do know is that you have potential. Just don''t waste it. While Minister Lapis and I may be lenient, the same can''t be said about where you''re going. The people at the camp don''t take too lightly towards mischief."

    Milvus paused, then gave a small nod. "Still, I know you''re able to handle whatever mission they assign you. All the best."

    Alwin didn''t really care about the first part of Milvus'' lecture¡ªNiwla did. What he latched onto was the end.

    Milvus said he could handle it, so that means he definitely could. Yeah, he could totally handle any mission given to him. Alwin can handle anything!

    Full of confidence, Alwin bounced toward the portal.

    One second he was in the Warp Station.

    The next he wasn''t.

 Chapter 124: Tentative Camp

    Alwin appeared on the other side of the portal within a fraction of a second. Unlike last time he didn''t end up inside a giant tree like during his foray to the Forest of Beginnings. Neither did he arrive inside a fancy building like the Warp Station. Instead, Alwin found himself inside a cramped tent. A tent only high enough to house the portal gate itself.

    Before he could continue his description of the tent, the entrance flap was thrown open, and a voice boomed at him.

    "What''s the hold up!"

    That monster was unlike anything Alwin had ever seen before. It had the shape of a wolf, whose fur was a blend of gray and brown. Except, unlike a normal wolf it stood on two powerful hind legs. Even more, differing from the norm, the wolf wore clothing, not just any clothing. These were combat uniforms.

    The uniform was a green and brown camouflage set, with matching pants that had so many pockets it¡¯d make a girl jealous. Finally, it was completed with a pair of knee-high black boots which were specially shaped to fit his furry paws.

    "Recruit! Are you done dawdling around? If I have to wait another ten seconds I''ll report you for insubordination!" The wolf barked. "Get out of the tent and assemble with the rest of your platoon! Right now!"

    Alwin stumbled out of the tent as fast as his little hops could carry him, all while struggling to balance the assortment of items on his head. He had expected to step foot onto a huge military base equipped with rows of tanks and soldiers marching in formation.

    Instead, he was greeted by¡­ another tent.

    Where were the military grounds? Where were the tanks? Where were the grizzled soldiers marching up and down carrying pew pew guns? Most importantly, when did he get a gun?

    While he pondered his answers to those questions, Alwin lined up in formation with the rest of his classmates. They stood at attention waiting for orders, well most of them. Alwin slouched forward with only a single care in the world¡ªbalancing the stuff on his head. While Gus continued to munch on his muffin.

    The mean wolf monster who screamed at Alwin walked out of the portal tent. He paced around, his piercing eyes, sweeping over every student present.

    "My name is Sergeant Fangfang and I will be the one in charge of escorting you lot. Now, I don''t know what they taught you at the Academy, but this is the most undisciplined group that I have ever had the misfortune of meeting."

    Fangfang stopped dead in front of Gus. His glare could cut through steel, but Gus remained unfazed. He continued to eat his muffin as if nothing had happened.

    "You!" Fangfang snapped, jabbing a claw at Gus.

    "Me?" Gus answered, his mouth full of crumbs.

    "Yes, you. Put that muffin away immediately!"

    "But I''m still eating it."

    "NOW!"

    With a defeated sigh, Gus obliged. He stored the half-eaten muffin inside of his stomach. "Now I can''t savor it." He pouted.

    "And you!" he turned around, his eyes locked on to Alwin. "What is that on your head?"

    "Who? Me?" Alwin blinked, unsure if he was actually talking to him or the person next to him.

    "Of course, you! Is there anyone behind you?"

    Alwin turned around and found nothing but the dull fabric of the tent.

    "Maybe? What if there''s a ghost behind me? Or like through the tent there¡¯s someone with super hearing and you''re actually talking to them?"

    "Funny guy, huh? Maybe I should just fail you right here, right now?" Fangfang growled.

    Alwin didn''t say anything else after that. He could hear Niwla scolding him from the depths of his consciousness. So, instead of saying anything stupid or offending the mean, angry, violent dog, he remained silent.

    Fangfang gave one final glare before exhaling a slow, heavy sigh. "I expected far better behavior from future Coremmanders. Still, it seems like there''s always a few slackers. Whatever the case, we''ve wasted enough time. Let me give you a quick rundown of why you''re here today."

    Fangfang cleared his throat before continuing.

    "This final exam is meant to give you a feel of real operations in the field. As Coremmanders it''s only right you understand what the future subordinates under your leadership have to go through. The best way to do that? Experiencing it yourself firsthand. Each squad has been assigned a mission. Once you¡¯ve received your mission details, you are permitted to gather more intel. However, it is expected that you all set out by noon. Your exams are concluded when you either finish the task or give up. Do I make myself clear?"

    Silence was his answer.

    Fangfang let out a heavy sigh. "I am not repeating myself. If you are unclear on any part of the explanation then speak now. Otherwise, I¡¯ll take it that you understand."

    More silence.

    "Good," Fangfang nodded. "Now, follow me. I¡¯ll give you a brief tour of the camp."

    Fangfang trotted out through the tent flaps, leading the class outside. Following right behind him, Alwin peeked out of the entrance eager to catch a glimpse of what lay beyond.

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    What greeted Alwin''s eyes was a field of tents. When he looked up, he saw the sky, or what he thought was the sky¡­ Something was off.

    At first glance, the sky was a soft, light blue, with clouds floating by. But, the longer Alwin stared, the stranger it became. The sky wasn¡¯t the sky at all. It was fabric. A massive stretch of fabric which encompassed the entire camp. The clouds drifting along? Those were actually painted on. The only thing drifting was him.

    Even the sun was nothing but a painting. If so, how was it so blinding to the point it could light up the whole area? Through the weird bright spots building up in his vision from staring at the fake sun for too long, Alwin finally noticed that it was actually just a really big lightbulb.

    So, they were inside of another huge tent?

    After looking up for so long, Alwin decided to follow the rest of his classmates and look at what''s around them. Tents, tents, and more tents. Oh, and other monsters obviously.

    A pack of wolf monsters, similar looking to Sergeant Fangfang, but probably a million times nicer, were performing marching drills across the ''field.''

    Not far from them, was a herd of goat monsters¡ªalso moving about on their hind legs¡ªwho were practicing head-to-head combat. Yup, not hand-to-hand, but head-to-head They sparred by ramming into each other with their thick, curved horns, attempting to knock their opponents over. The impact echoed across the giant tent.

    Meanwhile, Gus was fixated on another group of monsters and Alwin knew why.

    Way over in the distance, stationed in front of yet another tent, this time a mustard yellow, was a bunch of vegetable monsters. Most of them were some sort of giant cabbage monster, their leaves serving as both hands and feet. Unlike the other monsters nearby, they were practicing a sacred art that Gus couldn''t ignore. It was the art of cooking.

    Various vegetables¡ªthe non-monster kind¡ªwere tossed high into the air. In a single slash with their razor-sharp leaves, they managed to chop them all into tiny pieces mid-air. The diced pieces landed into a bowl only to be dumped into a pot of boiling water. The rich aroma of soup wafted through the air, luring in Gus.

    Before he could even think about dashing toward them, Uchronia lifted him off the ground. His paws paddled against the air, muscles tensed, as he attempted to run toward his one true calling. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he never came any closer. Eventually, Gus noticed why. He slumped against Uchronia¡¯s grip, defeated.

    With Gus secured, Uchronia continued to follow along behind the rest of the class and Sergeant Fangfang as he started to give another explanation.

    "You students are lucky that your final exam is part of such an important task. We''ve received intel that a cultivator sect is in the midst of expanding their territory nearby. As such our company has been tasked with finding out more information and putting a stop to their expansion. However, right now we ourselves are in the middle of setting up base camp. It''s a temporary outpost until the mission is completed. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t know how long that could take. That is why most of our infrastructure consists of tents. This is Tentative Camp."

    Alwin wasn''t really paying attention for most of the speech, but at the end, his attention snapped back into focus.

    Tentative Camp? Whoever named it was a monster after his own heart. The pun resonated with him at a deeper level. A sense of purpose began to well up within Alwin. He wanted nothing more than to go and above and beyond for the mission. Not because he wanted to please his classmates nor did he want to impress that brute of a sergeant, but simply because the name of the camp spoke to his heart. It motivated him beyond anything he could even dream of¡ªbarring earning Uchronia''s approval of course. He would complete his mission flawlessly.

    "We have multiple platoons stationed here, which I''m sure you''ve already noticed going about their training. There''s the Alpha Wolves." He pointed to the squadron of wolves who had gone from marching drills to performing sprints around a makeshift track."

    "The Battle Horns."

    Alwin''s eyes shifted towards the goats who had been sparring by ramming their horns into each other. However, they had transitioned from a physical duel to a more... sophisticated one.

    They still used their horns, but instead of battering rams, their horns blasted out musical notes. Trumpet blasts, trombones wails, to even a sultry saxophone. Music filled the air as they belted out solos in a musical duel for the ages. It was a battle of the horns both physically and metaphorically.

    "Lastly, we have the Caesar Salads."

    It was the same group of vegetables that had been practicing their cutting skills. Now, they were still practicing them. Rather than slicing, they focused more on stabbing. Each vegetable monster dodged, parried, and counter-attacked with their leafy blades. Some less fortunate¡ªand unskilled¡ªones ended up with leafy greens penetrating their bodies.

    "In charge of all three platoons is our commander-in-chief, Commander Cooper. As part of your final exams, each squad will be attached to a platoon and you are to carry out your assigned tasks. Once the platoon leader deems that it is completed you will have been considered pass and are free to return back to Monsteria through the Warp Gate. Any questions?"

    "Sergeant Fangfang." Uchronia raised up a leaf.

    "Speak, recruit."

    "There are three platoons, but we have four squads in our class. How will we be split up?"

    What a silly question. That just meant that one platoon had the burden of handling two squads. How could Uchronia not realize this sooner? Shame on her. All of the equipment balancing on his head must be training his brain at an astronomical level. If not how else could he derive such an immaculate conclusion.

    "Astute observation," Sergeant Fangfang replied. "You are Uchronia, I presume?"

    "Yes, sergeant."

    "Your squad has the fortune of being directed by the commander himself. The rest of you lot, make your way to your respective platoons. Bion''s squad to the Alpha wolves, Galeo''s squad to the Battle Horns, and Tess'' squad to the Caesar Salads. Uchronia, your squad will follow me as I escort you to the commander."

    The rest of Alwin''s classmates dispersed to their respective platoons. Bion in particular was mumbling and grumbling about something inconsequential¡ªprobably about how Alwin got to work together with the big boss.

    When all of the other students had dispersed, Sergeant Fangfang had a look on his face that resembled disbelief. Between Alwin¡¯s balancing act and Gus with yet another muffin he managed to pull out from who knows where it made sense why he felt that way.

    He shook his head and led them towards another section of the camp.

    If Alwin had to describe their destination, it would be the most important part of Tentative Camp. The reason? It was the largest tent that stood right smack dab in the middle of the camp.

    Guards from each platoon protected the perimeter of the tent armed to the teeth with weapons, armor, and equipment. After checking in with the guards, Sergeant Fangfang led the squad inside.

    The moment they entered the tent, a wave of heat hit them It felt like they had just entered a sauna. Not only that, blinding lights obscured their vision.

    Through the hazy glow, a shadowy silhouette greeted the squad, his arms moving in a slow rhythmic motion as if stroking something.

    "Sir, I''ve brought the recruits you¡¯ve requested for their final exam," Sergeant Fangfang said.

    "Very good, sergeant," said the commander. "You''re dismissed. And close the tent for Cor''s sake. You''re letting out all of the warmth."

    "Yes, sir."

    Fangfang obeyed without hesitation, stepping out and sealing the flap behind him. Now it was just Alwin, Gus, and Uchronia, together with the mysterious commander of Tentative Camp.

    What sort of task would they be assigned? Boy, he sure couldn''t wait to find out. Here''s to hoping it''s a super easy one.

 Chapter 125: Cooper Trooper

    The figure stepped forward, using his body to shield Alwin and the gang from the blinding lights. While Uchronia and Gus continued to wince and squirm, struggling to adjust the glare, Alwin fared much better. All of the times his corneas had been scorched by bright white rooms had actually come in handy. Through the lights, he could make out the form of Commander Cooper and the object cradled in his hand.

    Like most of the monsters in Tentative Camp, Commander Cooper resembled a common animal except with a bipedal twist. In this case, his base animal form was already a bipedal creature so this bit of extra description was practically redundant. But, Alwin was trying to be more detail-oriented and was definitely not panicking knowing that the fate of his squad lay within this guy''s hands¡ªwings in this case.

    Commander Cooper was a chicken. But not just any chicken. He was a jacked chicken. A poultry powerhouse with more muscles than feathers. He wore a camouflage uniform just like his subordinates, though his clung to his body like paint, accentuating every nook and cranny of his muscular physique. The black combat boots he wore were shaped to accommodate his bird feet, with small slits for his talons to pop through.

    In his wings was the object that he had been stroking this whole time. It was also the reason for the unbearable heat within the tent. Here, Alwin thought the Commander just wanted his own private sauna. No, instead Commander Cooper held an egg and stroked it with much tender love and care.

    "So this is the strongest squad of recruits?" Commander Cooper asked, continuing to caress the egg.

    Uchronia straightened herself. "Yes, sir!"

    Gus waved a paw as he devoured another muffin, while Alwin stayed silent. His focus was split between the egg and the gear atop his head.

    Commander Cooper¡¯s eyes flicked between Gus and Alwin before finally speaking up, "Well the more eccentric ones do tend to be stronger. I assume you know the current situation in Tentative Camp?"

    "Yes, sir!" Uchronia answered again. "Your company has been tasked with the gathering of information about a cultivator sect that plans to expand its territory and put a stop to it. We, as students and part of our final exam, are to be assigned a mission that would help achieve this objective."

    "Correct! And that leads us to why I called you here. Do you know what''s the most important part of this military operation?" Commander Cooper asked.

    "Intelligence about the enemy?" Uchronia offered, confident in her response.

    "Close, but not quite. Any other guesses?" He looked at Gus, then at Alwin.

    "Food?" Gus spat out a mouthful of saliva-infused crumbs. Commander Cooper immediately angled his body to the side, shielding the egg from Gus'' bombardment.

    "While food is indeed very important, especially when it comes to morale, it''s not the most important thing of this military operation."

    "Really? Something even more important than food? Really?"

    "Yes! It''s so important that it means the life or death of this entire operation. Your turn." Commander Cooper stared at Alwin. Both Uchronia and Gus did too, waiting for him to give an answer.

    Between the heat and all of these stares, there was so much pressure. The spotlight was on him. Think, Alwin. Think. And that means you too, Niwla and Winal. What could be so important that it may mean the downfall of the entire operation? Nothing came to mind. A big fat zero. You know what else looked like a big fat zero?

    "Is it the egg?" Alwin asked, nodding his head in its direction almost causing the precarious tower of gear to topple.

    "Yes!" Commander Cooper cheered. "What an intelligent young fellow. You must be Uchronia."

    "Actually, sir. I''m Uchronia."

    Commander Cooper turned to look at the potted plant girl next to him. Her leaves radiated with energy as the lights in the room shined upon them. While her face glowed with a mix of embarrassment and rage, depending on who''s looking.

    When Commander Cooper turned back to face Alwin, her face morphed into anger. A scowl covered her usually stoic expression and her eyes screamed that she''d turn Alwin into chopped salad. But, when Commander Cooper''s gaze returned, the scowl disappeared. Replaced with an awkward smile.

    "I''m sorry for the confusion, Uchronia. I was informed that you were the brightest student and just assumed it was this slimy fellow when he gave the right answer," Commander Cooper said.

    "That''s okay, sir. But yes, I am generally regarded as the smartest among my peers."

    "A narcissistic type, I see. Here I thought you were riding off the coattails of these two strange gentlemen. You might very well be the strongest squad of your batch.¡±

    He turned toward the muffin extinction event next to him. ¡°Now, based on the info I was given. You must be Gus. " Then he turned to the balancing act, barely able to keep things upright. ¡°And you''re Alwin."

    "Now that I can put names to faces, allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Commander Cooper, a Warfowl and Commander of Company FieldOps currently stationed at Tentative Camp. And this." Commander Cooper held up the egg like a trophy. "This is Cooper Trooper."

    All three of them stared at the big white egg in front of them. Uchronia didn''t know how to respond. Gus'' salivary glands churned out juices with more vigor than ever before. Meanwhile, Alwin was wondering where the bathrooms were.

    "Now that we''ve got introductions out of the way, I''ll be assigning your mission. It is the most important mission in this entire operation, no exaggeration there."

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    The trio leaned in¡ªwell, Uchronia did. Gus leaned over a muffin, and Alwin tried not to lean at all in case the pressure in his abdomen reached critical mass.

    "I want you to look after Cooper Trooper."

    Silence followed. However, only Uchronia was silent because of shock. Gus had a frown on his face most likely because he couldn''t have scrambled eggs for lunch anymore. On the other hand, Alwin was still wondering where the bathroom was. He hadn''t gone for a week!

    "Excuse me, sir?" Uchronia raised up her leaf.

    "Speak recruit."

    "Did I hear right? We''re to look after Cooper Trooper?"

    "That you did. Problem?"

    "No sir, it''s just..." She hesitated for a moment before answering. "Is that really the most important mission in this entire operation?"

    "Why of course it is!" Commander Cooper screeched, startling the trio. "If anything were to happen to Cooper Trooper, my wife will kill me. Or worse. Leave me! Do you want to be the reason I become single again? That''s exactly what those cultivators want! They want to break us up and make me emotionally unstable. Once that happens the whole operation would be a bust and those humans will take over even more of our territory, displacing thousands of innocent civilian monsters."

    He paused to catch his breath after that mini-tirade, chest heaving. Then his demeanor softened as he looked at Cooper Trooper. He snuggled the egg closer to his beak, gently caressing it. "I''m sorry, baby. Did Daddy scare you? I promise that won''t happen again."

    Commander Cooper rocked the egg back and forth cradling it with great care. Yet, all Alwin could think about was whether it would be appropriate to ask for the location of the bathrooms. It''s been days since he went. Days! If he continued holding it in any longer there was a high chance that the pressure would cause his guts to burst like a water balloon. Not a good feeling at all.

    "Do you understand now? This is an extremely important mission. If anything should happen to Cooper Trooper then consider this whole operation a failure."

    "Sorry, sir. Understood, sir." Uchronia saluted.

    "Good," Commander Cooper said, wiping the sweat from his brow with a wing. Now, let¡¯s go over your duties.¡±

    He cleared his throat, assuming the tone of someone delivering sacred rites. ¡°Firstly, it is of utmost importance that Cooper Trooper stays warm. That''s why I''ve got all of these heat lamps set up within this tent. If any of the heat crystals burn out, you are to immediately go to logistics and request a replacement. Just tell them it''s for Cooper Trooper. And make sure the flap is fully closed so that none of the heat gets let out. Second, this is my precious baby. It needs a nice comfy safe place to stay and grow up.."

    He moved out of the way revealing a small wooden crib lined with blankets, pillows, and cushions. Plush pillows and fluffy blankets overflowed from it, creating a perfect egg-shaped indent in a swirl of soft comfort.

    "Third, Cooper Trooper loves lullabies. I have sheet music taped up near the crib. You are to serenade my baby or else he''ll get upset. And don''t just sing the same thing over and over again. Change it up. Fourth, don''t touch Cooper Trooper unless absolutely necessary. I don''t want any scratches on my precious baby. Any questions?"

    "Sir?" Uchronia raised a leaf again.

    "Yes, recruit?"

    "How long do we have to look after Cooper Trooper?"

    "Are you sure you''re Uchronia? The answer is so simple even a human could figure it out. You protect my baby until the whole operation is over. That''s your mission. That¡¯s your final exam. Now, are there any smart questions?"

    "No, sir. Sorry, sir."

    "Good."

    Commander Cooper walked over to the crib and placed Cooper Trooper down with the utmost care. He stroked the top of its head and gave it a peck on the shell. "Daddy will be back soon, okay?" he whispered.

    When he turned back to face Alwin and squad, the soft gentle face he possessed melted away as a steeled grizzly look appeared in its place. Gone was the chicken, replaced by a hawk.

    "If there''s nothing else, I will be returning to my office. I''ll be performing periodic spot checks to make sure you recruits are treating my baby right. Understood?"

    "Yes, sir." Uchronia saluted. "But, sir? Isn''t this your office?"

    "This? My office? Absurd. This tent is the most centralized one in the entire camp. Surrounded by platoons conducting training and guarded by the cream of the crop from Alpha Wolves, Battle Rams, and Caesar Salads. No other tent is allowed within the vicinity so that the view remains unobstructed at all times. Only the most important individual would be given such accommodations, and that person is definitely not me. Far from it, in fact. That designation goes to Cooper Trooper.¡±

    He gestured proudly at the crib.

    ¡°Now, if you need any advice such as what key to sing in, you may come to consult me. One and I repeat only one of you is allowed to leave the tent at the time and only for essential reasons. Otherwise, I expect all three of you to always be looking after my precious baby. Understood?"

    "Yes, sir." Uchronia saluted again.

    "Good."

    With that, Commander Cooper turned to leave. He opened the flap, stepped out, and closed it at such blinding speeds, it was as if he had teleported. But, he didn''t. Alwin knew that because there wasn''t a big bright flash that normally happens when someone uses a teleportation skill.

    Now, it was just the three of them, plus Cooper Trooper. Alwin turned to look at the crib as part of his duty. Sitting within the nest of blankets was the egg, It was still there. This was going to be the easiest final exam ever! Thank you, Commander Cooper!

    However, some people didn''t share his sentiments. Some people being Uchronia who clenched a leaf into a fist while doing her best impression of a tomato.

    "Babysitting," she mumbled through gritted teeth.

    "You okay?" Alwin asked.

    "Obviously not. A whole year''s worth of training just to be asked to babysit an egg. Why would you bring an egg into an operational camp? Seriously? No wonder they use birdbrain as an insult."

    "Uchronia, be quiet," whispered Gus. "You''re scaring, Cooper Trooper."

    She shot him a glare so cold that it rendered the heat lamps shining down on the crib useless.

    "Not now, Gus," she growled. "Or else I''ll¡ª"

    As if her eyes were really that powerful, one of the heat lamps went out. A puff of smoke rose from the red-hot crystal as the remaining rays of light died out. Without their warmth, how could the egg survive? Oh, how could Alwin let this happen? He wasn''t going to let it happen. His grades were on the line!

    "Great." Uchronia rolled her eyes.

    "Don''t worry, Uchronia. I''ll go get a replacement crystal. Plus I need to go to the room of baths really badly," Alwin said.

    "What?" She cocked a grassy eyebrow.

    "I''ll go to logistics then after that I''ll go to the bathroom. Or maybe I''ll go to the bathroom first. I really, really, really need to go."

    "Thanks, Alwin," Uchronia sighed with a small smile. "At least you''re more reliable than some people." She turned to look at Gus who was offering a muffin to Cooper Trooper. "I just need some time to process everything. Sorry about this."

    "No problemo!" Alwin dashed through the tent entrance over the moon from earning praise. Somehow the stack of gear remained on his head.

    First logistics then the bathroom.

    Okay, maybe bathroom first.

 Chapter 126: Wheres Cooper

    Alwin looked around the campgrounds, eyes darting between tents and makeshift signs, in hopes of any obvious clues to where the bathroom might be. There was none. Unless you consider nature the world''s biggest bathroom, but he wasn''t that desperate. Not yet.

    Instead, he had no choice but to ask the guards stationed in front of the tent. Oh, and the logistics department, too, while he was at it.

    "Excuse me. Where''s the closest bathroom?" Alwin asked. "And the logistics department?"

    The wolf, goat, and cabbage exchanged a loaded glance before turning back to Alwin. Without a word, they pulled out a small spade and a roll of toilet paper.

    "Bathroom hasn''t been set up yet," the wolf soldier said, handing Alwin the items. But when he realized his mistake that Alwin had no hands, he sheepishly placed the rolls on top of the already perilous pile on Alwin''s head. "Just make sure to cover it up when you''re done. And make it obvious enough."

    Alwin was left gobsmacked as the soldiers looked at him with faces that said, ¡°First time? I get it.¡±

    "Logistics are over by the Caesar Salads," the cabbage soldier pointed toward the other end of the camp. "I''d hurry if I were you. Commander Cooper gets ticked off easily whenever Cooper Trooper is involved."

    Who cared about the egg? Right now, Alwin''s needs were way more important. Was he desperate enough to really bury his treasure? He wasn''t. Alwin was smart enough to come up with another solution.

    He dashed off, running past tent after tent after unlabeled tent. But he didn''t need a sign to point to his destination. Alwin just had to retrace his hops.

    Alwin dove into a tent. The tent where his classmates first assembled. Then he dove into the tent that was inside the tent. From there, he dove into the glowing portal that was inside of a tent inside of a tent inside of a ginormous tent that was Tentative Camp¡ªyes, it¡¯s confusing, but that¡¯s the point.

    One second he was in Tentative Camp, the next he was back at the Warp Station. Without any care for the weird looks he received, Alwin zipped through the station and into an empty bathroom stall.

    A long sigh of relief escaped his soul as Alwin broke the world record for the longest time spent going number one while balancing a bunch of items on his head.

    Now, with that settled, Alwin could take a nice, leisurely stroll back to camp. However, the thought of being yelled at by Uchronia for taking so long sent a jolt of fear that jiggled throughout his entire body. Even worse, what if Commander Cooper found out and failed him! Or maybe Uchronia being disappointed would be worse.

    Rather than debating which was the worst option, Alwin sprinted through the Warp Station. Security golems spotted the runaway slime, but he was too fast, and they were too late. Alwin dove through the portal once more and found himself back in Tentative Camp. He didn''t even look back to see if anyone followed him. There were bigger things at stake here.

    Alwin didn''t know where the Caesar Salads were, but he couldn¡¯t afford to slow down. So, he did what any questionably rational person would do. Alwin spun on his behind as the world revolved around him.

    Tents. Wolf. Tents. Bion. Even more tents. Finally, a cabbage!

    The spinning top came to a halt as he hopped toward the Caesar Salads. Tess the Lotus Turtle waved hello, but Alwin barely managed a nod as he zipped past. Pleasantries could wait. Logistics could not.

    After a lap around the horde of vegetable soldiers, he spotted a tent that looked like it dealt with logistics.

    A long queue in front of the tent snaked away. Monsters would line up empty-handed and leave with what looked like a mix between a peeler and a whetstone. If they were doing what he thought they were doing¡ªliterally sharpening themselves. Wow¡­ That was hardcore.

    But Alwin had no time to wait. So he did what only a bad monster would do. He cut to the front of the line.

    "Hey! Back of the line," a carrot soldier scolded, pointing a leafy limb at Alwin.

    "Yeah, no cutting," added the cabbage in charge of the logistics tent. "Which platoon are you with anyway?"

    "None?" Alwin replied, his voice peeking. "Unless Commander Cooper is a platoon?"

    "The captain?"

    "I thought he was a Commander?" Alwin asked.

    "Well, he is.¡± The cabbage nodded.

    The carrot that had chastised him earlier added, ¡°That''s his first name. But it¡¯s also his title as Commander of FieldOps. His actual rank is Captain. So, what does the Captain want?"

    "A heat crystal."

    "It''s for Trooper?" the logistical cabbage exclaimed, leaves widening. "Why didn''t you say so!"

    He ducked below a counter and yanked out a rough red heat crystal and handed it to Alwin. Until he realized that Alwin had no hands to receive. He had no choice but to place it on top of the roll of toilet paper, right where the hole was.

    "Go on, quick!" he shouted, waving Alwin off.

    ¡°Yeah! Quick!¡± The other vegetable soldiers in line echoed out.

    Alwin hightailed it out of there, balancing the leaning tower of armor, toiletries, and crystal atop his head. With great caution, Alwin weaved through the various rows of tents, dodging carrot patrols and cabbage duels and navigating his way back to the most centralized tent in the entire camp.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Once there, he ignored the guards who had so graciously offered him their toiletries and dove straight into the tent.

    "I''m back!" Alwin declared.

    Both Uchronia and Gus spun around, their faces covered with panic. Their heads dropped toward the crib where Cooper Trooper should have been. Emphasis on should.

    The nest of blankets was empty. Not a single trace of Cooper Trooper could be seen. As for where Cooper Trooper was located? Well, that''s quite the mystery. Maybe the culprit was still lurking inside the tent, hiding in plain sight, waiting for the perfect moment to snatch their prize and slip away once the three of them left to investigate. Or perhaps it had something to do with the small hole on the floor that was suspiciously next to the crib.

    What a mystery that only a master detective had the skills to possibly unravel.

    "What happened?" Alwin asked.

    "I-I-I don''t know. There was a huge flash of light, then the next thing I knew the egg was gone," Uchronia cried out. Her leaves flapping erratically. "Then you popped in."

    "Yeah," Gus said. "The light was so bright that it smelled like curry."

    "I don''t really get the analogy, but that sounds bad," Alwin said. "What are we going to do? If Commander Cooper finds out he''s going to fail us!"

    The gears in Alwin''s brain started to spin. There was a way he could be absolved of all responsibility.

    "Actually, he''s going to just fail both of you. I was out grabbing the crystal. I have an alibi." Alwin breathed a sigh of relief. However, that sigh was quickly shoved back into his body, along with whatever dignity he had. Because a certain angry plant girl wasn''t having any of it.

    "I mean, we better go find Cooper Trooper fast before the Captain finds out."

    "Don''t you mean Commander?"

    "Nope. Captain''s his rank." Finally, Alwin had a chance to one-up her with knowledge she didn''t possess.

    "I see... So he''s a Captain, and his position is Commander of this company. Does that mean Commander''s his first name?"

    How did Uchronia figure all of that out with just one sentence? Alwin needed like two people to explain everything to him before he got it. Darn it!

    "Yeah, but never mind that. I bet whoever kidnapped Cooper Trooper did so using that hole!" Alwin pointed at the hole next to the crib, using his tower of gear on his head.

    "Well, obviously. But I''m more worried about the Captain blowing a gasket when he finds all of us missing whenever he does his spot check," Uchronia said.

    "Oh, that''s easy. Leave it to me," Alwin said.

    "Are you sure? Can I trust you?"

    "Probably!" Alwin gave her a huge toothy grin. If he had hands he would''ve given her a thumbs up as well.

    Uchronia simply sighed and rolled her eyes at him. Now, that''s the Uchronia he knew.

    "Now go catch up with Gus," Alwin said.

    "What do you mean?"

    Uchronia turned around to find that Gus was missing. The only evidence of his existence was the trail of wet crumbs that led into the hole in the ground.

    "Why, that!" Uchronia interrupted herself before jumping into the hole. Her voice echoed up from below. "Don''t take too long and catch up with us, fast!"

    Now, Alwin was all alone and ready to enact his plan.

    When he stepped outside of the tent, about to execute it, the wolf soldier stopped him. "Can I have my stuff back?"

    "Oh, sure. Just gimme one sec," Alwin said.

    Begrudgingly, he had to summon a pair of Spirit Hands to aid him with his plan. Grabbing the dirty toilet spade with his mouth was way too gross even for him.

    The hands grabbed onto the spade and followed Alwin''s instructions. Since he didn''t have a sign on hand, he just had to make his own sign. But he didn''t know how to do that either. So, with the help of the Spirit Hands, they drew a crude sign on the ground using the spade.

    ¡°Private Karaoke Party. Do Not Disturb!"

    Yup, that should do it.

    The Spirit Hands returned the toilet spade and toilet paper to the wolf soldier, who gave a nod of thanks. His eyebrows arching when he looked at the sign that they drew. Behind him, the goat soldier and cabbage soldier snorted with stifled laughter.

    All of a sudden, all three of their expressions disappeared as their hands shot up to their head.

    "Afternoon, sir!" They saluted.

    Alwin was smart enough to know that Commander Cooper was behind him, but he still wanted to entertain the idea that they were actually saluting him.

    "At ease," he whispered to himself before whipping around to find the incredibly muscular chicken staring down at him.

    "Recruit!¡± Commander Cooper boomed. ¡°What are you doing out here instead of looking after my baby?"

    "I was putting up a sign so that no one disturbs us."

    "A karaoke party? Interesting¡­ I suppose I can afford a break or two."

    Oh no. His plan was falling apart right in front of him. It hadn''t even been a minute.

    "Wait, sir!" Alwin said, just before Commander Cooper entered the tent.

    "What is it? You better have a good reason for stopping me from serenading my precious baby."

    "It''s a private party, sir. Even you''re not allowed to disturb it. Cooper Trooper''s orders."

    "Really now? Then tell me, recruit! What are you going to sing to my baby?"

    Alwin was sweating bullets now. He really should''ve thought through this plan more. Or, at the very least, see what lullabies Commander Cooper had prepared.

    ¡°Mary had a rock-a-bye baby have you any wool,¡± Alwin blurted out.

    A long beat of silence broke out as Commander Cooper stared at Alwin.

    "Yes, yes. That''s my baby''s favorite lullaby too,¡± he suddenly said. ¡°I''m glad you''re taking good care of my baby. Now go on and serenade him. And tell me when the party''s over so that I can visit my baby. Understood?"

    "Yes, sir!"

    Alwin breathed a sigh of relief as Commander Cooper returned to his office. That actually worked? Why, of course it did. For he was the genius tactician of the squad, and it was most definitely not just pure dumb luck.

    After giving himself enough praises and pats on the shoulder, Alwin dove into the tent, making sure it was sealed shut before jumping into the hole next to the crib.

    Surprisingly, the tunnel was just wide enough for Alwin and his tower of items to squeeze through. And Gus was right. It did smell like curry, plus a lil bit of muffin too.

    Soon, Alwin could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He popped his head out for a nice deep breath of non-curry scented air¡ªnot that there was anything wrong with curry.

    "Over here," a voice whispered to him, breaking him out of his justification session.

    Alwin turned around and found a giant tent that blended in with the forest. Since when could tents talk to people? They probably couldn''t, so that must be the giant tent that housed Tentative Camp. Alwin turned around again and found who was whispering to him.

    It was Uchronia.

    Her plant body was suited for blending in with the surrounding foliage, melting into the bushes. On the other hand, Gus'' bright yellow fur was not. He stuck out like a sore, jaundiced thumb.

    "Be quiet," she whispered again, beckoning him to come closer.

    Alwin tip-hopped his way to the bushes, wondering what they were hiding from.

    The sounds of people talking from the other side of the bushes rang clear as a cloudless day. Voices bounced off the trees and made their way towards their ears. Those were the meanies that had stolen Cooper Trooper and his pass for the Final Exam.

    Now was the time to steal them back.

 Chapter 127: Heres Cooper Trooper

    Before Alwin could enact his revenge, he first needed to see who had the audacity to steal Cooper Trooper along with his passing grades.

    He poked his head through the foliage, careful not to let the tower of gear make an unexpected entrance as well. Crawling his way into a hidden space between two shrubs, Alwin caught a glimpse of something that shocked him beyond belief.

    On the other side of the shrubbery, hidden under the shade of the trees, stood a man that Alwin had sworn his revenge on¡ªprobably. Truth be told, Alwin kind of forgot, but seeing him again instantly brought the fire of vengeance that had nearly been extinguished by the tides of time and forgetfulness.

    It was Gary Stew. The man who tried to turn his two friends into dinner and him into dessert. What was he doing here?

    A belt of spice bottles was wrapped around his waist and in his hand was Cooper Trooper. He was smelling it, even going so far as to take a lick at its hard glossy shell.

    That was it! Alwin was going to teach him a lesson about kidnapping and being a pervert.

    Before Alwin could pounce on him, a leaf forced him down onto his behind. Uchronia had stopped him. What a meanie. She probably wanted to steal all of the glory for herself.

    "If you''re done being weird, let''s go," a voice came from the other side of the bushes.

    Alwin poked his head through once more to discover an additional guest. Or guests¡ªplural, because there was another person alongside Gary. One man was in a deep crimson robe, while another was in a gleaming golden robe.

    It was Hong Jian and Huang Jian, the two young masters of the Crimson Gold Sect. Alwin vaguely remembered them as being incompetent, but that''s not the point. What were they doing here?

    "Relax," Gary Stew said. "I''m just making sure that this is the real deal."

    He pulled out a knife and began tapping on the egg with the handle. Every few taps, he pressed his ear against the surface and listened as if waiting for some sort of signal.

    "Hurry it up! That''s an order," Hong Jian, the young master, barked out.

    "Exactly!" Huang Jian, the yellow-robed young master, echoed.

    "Just relax, man. I don''t see you guys doing any work," said Gary Stew.

    "We are the young masters of the glorious Crimson Gold Sect. How dare you ask us to dirty ourselves with such trivial tasks?" Huang Jian said.

    "Right you are, brother. Gary Stew, we saved you from those wretched Monster Army. Now you have to serve our sect as our Daoist Chef," said Hong Jian.

    "For the millionth time, no, I don''t. I saved you just as much as you saved me. The only reason I''m even here is to repay your elder for healing my injuries."

    "Impudent fool, you won''t be able to survive without the backing of a sect. Choose wisely," Hong Jian said.

    "Dudes. You two keep repeating the same thing every five minutes; just knock it off. Once I''m done making this dish for you, I''m out of here."

    "Foolish choice," Huang Jian said.

    "Just shut up."

    Were they going to cook Cooper Trooper? Oh, the horror! Alwin wasn''t going to stand for this!

    Once more, he tried to jump out and attack. Only to be yanked back down to the ground again. Alwin wasn¡¯t going to stand for this because he literally couldn¡¯t, no thanks to Uchronia.

    Seriously? What was she thinking? This wasn''t the time for hesitation but for action!

    "What are you doing?" Alwin whispered to her.

    "Not yet. The Crimson Gold Sect is probably the Sect that''s trying to expand into this region. If we can get some information out of them, we might be able to stop their plans."

    "But Cooper Trooper..."

    "The moment anything''s about to happen to him, we''ll swoop in, okay?"

    "Fine," Alwin sighed.

    "At least this way we''ll have contributed to the operation. We might even score some extra credit."

    "Extra credit?" Alwin perked up. "I''m in."

    And with that, Alwin leaned forward and stared intently at the scene unfolding before him.

    Gary Stew, unbothered by the arrogant bickering around him, had finished whatever bizarre tests he had been running on Cooper Trooper. He held him in one hand to show to the two young masters.

    "With this, I''ll be able to make you a dish that''ll help you during your tribulation."

    "Finally," Hong Jian said.

    "Good, good. Soon, we will ascend to the third stage," Huang Jian said.

    "Are all the other ingredients prepared?" Gary Stew asked.

    "Of course," Huang Jian said.

    "Come, let us go back. After we overcome the tribulation, we''ll have more than enough power to carry out Father''s plans," Hong Jian said.

    "Awesome.¡± Gary Stew grinned. ¡°This is going to be my best dish yet."

    The trio began their way back to wherever they came from while Alwin and the squad tailed them. They stuck to the underbrush, trying to be as silent as possible.

    Uchronia was trying her hardest to remember the way, creating a mental map of their path, while Alwin had his focus on Cooper Trooper. If Gary Stew even thought of harming him, Alwin was going to deliver a seven-course meal of pain. Gus was just being Gus. Unbothered by the tension, he sampled nature''s buffet that was around him. In other words, every bush or plant that he passed by got a polite nibble.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Eventually, they came to a clearing within the forest. A cabin lay in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a patchwork of tents staked along the edges of the clearing. The tents came in only two colors: yellow or red.

    With the area exposed, Alwin and gang couldn''t follow after them without being seen. Thus, they took to the trees.

    Gus used his two large front paws to dig into the bark and scale his way to the top. Uchronia leapt from branch to branch, performing flips until she reached the top. Alwin was sad when he was forced to Silent Cast a pair of Spirit Hands to carry him up to the top of the tree, pouting the whole time.

    Leaping up the branches while balancing a bunch of items was just too much for the current Alwin to handle. One day he''d surpass his limits and achieve what normal people called impossible, but that was a story for another day.

    At the top of the tree, the trio looked down at the clearing, trying to figure out what Gary Stew and the two young masters were doing.

    Hong Jian and Huang Joan were busy barking orders to those beneath them. Even attempting the same to Gary Stew, who still held Cooper Trooper in one hand. He was in no mood to deal with such people, so he gave them a rude gesture that involved flipping and birds.

    The sect disciples of the two young masters were busy bringing in various items, setting them right in front of the hut.

    Logs of wood were arranged in a neat circle before another disciple took out a dagger and aimed it at the pile.

    "Crimson Gold Sect Basic Technique: Crimson Fire Starter!"

    A small flame lit up on the tip of the dagger, no larger than a spark. The follower plunged the blade into the center of the pile and waited. Soon enough, the wood caught fire. More and more of the pile ignited until a raging fire was blazing right in front of the young masters¡¯ wooden abode. Now, if only it could catch fire. That''d be a sight to see.

    Other disciples brought in a thick, sturdy oak table. One by one, the remaining disciples delivered various ingredients and piled them high up on the table. Lastly, Gary Stew placed down Cooper Trooper at the very center. Surrounded by vegetables, meats, and all sorts of other ingredients.

    A disciple carried in a large cast iron wok that had been seasoned by many arduous duels against the raging blaze of deliciousness. He knelt down on one knee and presented the relic to Gary Stew.

    He grabbed hold of the handle and slammed the wok down atop the flames.

    From a sheath strapped on his belt along with the various spice bottles, he whipped out his chef¡¯s knife and twirled it around his fingers in a flourish.

    "He''s starting..."Gus whispered.

    "We need to go down there before he does something to Cooper Trooper," said Uchronia, already tensing her root legs to leap from the apex of the tree.

    "Hold up!" Gus shouted, stopping her in her tracks.

    "What for?" Uchronia cried back, her face flipping between anger and confusion.

    "Let him cook," Gus replied in his straightest, most serious face possible.

    "I agree," Alwin chimed in.

    "No. We''ve already found out the location of their camp. That¡¯s plenty of information already. We can''t risk the egg anymore."

    "Sorry, Uchronia. It''s two against one. Democracy rules!" Alwin shouted.

    Uchronia sighed, "That egg isn''t the only thing being scrambled."

    "You''re right," said Gus. "Cooper Trooper is too far along in its incubation period to be used in scrambled eggs. Instead, you see that over there." He pointed at a pallet of eggs half the size of Cooper Trooper. Their shells were a splash of swirling colors, similar to an abstract painting.

    "He''s using eggs from a Faber Chicken. It''s said that their yolks are as radiant as the sun and with whites so pure; it¡¯s because they''re made from a combination of every single color in the world. They haven''t been classified as Monsters under the System yet, so they''re still counted as Animals, which makes it okay for us to eat."

    Both Uchronia and Alwin stared at Gus after hearing such a detailed explanation. It was the most coherent thing that Gus had ever said. Possibly in his entire life.

    "How do you know all of that?" Uchronia asked.

    "What? Did you think that I was just slacking off this whole time?" Gus said with bravado.

    Silence filled the air as Alwin and Uchronia processed what Gus had just said.

    "Yes," Uchronia replied.

    "No," Alwin said at the same time.

    She glared at him again, but Alwin used a skill that would hopefully not get him killed: ignoring. He looked into the distance and hummed a tune, focusing on absolutely nothing.

    Before Uchronia could chastise Alwin further, Gus spoke up again.

    "Gary Stew''s starting now. Based on the color and smell, he''s adding Herbal Soloil. It''s a type of oil that''s extracted from the leaves of the Herbal Sol plant. It adds a light smoky flavor when cooked at high heat."

    Gary Stew rotated the work with a flick of his wrist, spreading the light yellow liquid. A spatula joined the dance, stirring the oil until the wok darkened, with wisps of delicious smoke curling up into the air.

    "That''s not just any spatula, Alwin. That''s a special spatula made specifically for a wok. It''s a wok spatula. I''m not sure what materials it''s made out of, but I bet it¡¯s expensive," Gus said.

    "How''d you know that I just called it a regular spatula when I was narrating in my head?" Alwin asked.

    "You had a look on your face that said so. But stop distracting me. I need to analyze his technique."

    Gary Stew grabbed eight Faber Chicken eggs, slotting them between his fingers with his arms crossed. In one outward motion, he cracked them open against the wok¡¯s rim before tossing the contents into the air, and while the shells fell to the ground.

    As the eggs dropped, Gary slammed his knife and wok spatula into the airborne contents in a blur of motion. The golden fluffy mixture hit the wok, sizzling.

    "Incredible," Gus said.

    "What are you talking about?" Uchronia asked.

    "Most people would beat their eggs in a bowl, but Gary Stew did it in midair. With his knife and wok spatula, he mixed the yolks and whites together at high speed, all while integrating the right amount of air to ensure maximum fluffiness. All of that in a fraction of a second. He doesn¡¯t need a bowl because the world is his bowl."

    The next ingredient was a pot filled with some sort of strange white substance. He dumped its contents into the wok, flattening it using the wok spatula.

    "That''s R-ice. A type of rice that can only be grown in the most frigid of climates. When exposed to high heat, the outer ice coating melts, releasing a delicious saltiness and letting each individual grain shine without even the need of oil. That man is sparing no expense with this fried rice dish."

    "How do you know it''s fried rice?" Alwin asked.

    "Not now," Gus shut him up.

    Gary Stew then looked toward some of the followers that were stationed at the ingredients table. He gave them a nod. The disciples began throwing various vegetables towards him: carrots, cabbages, and spring onions.

    "Oh, Cor," Gus muttered.

    "Why? What did he do now?" Uchronia asked.

    "Those aren''t just any vegetables. They''ve been handpicked both by Commander Cooper and those horrible humans from the Crimson Gold Sect. Those are the members of the Caesar Salads, mutilated to the extent that not even their family members can recognize them. Now, Gary Stew is about to desecrate their bodies even further."

    Gary Stew swept his hand across the bottles on his belt, the caps spinning open. He dipped his fingers into them and flicked spices into the air, salting and peppering the vegetables coming his way.

    Then, with his knife, he sliced and diced the ingredients, transforming them into tiny pieces of colorful confetti that sprinkled down into the wok, sizzling upon contact and releasing an aroma of horrifying delicious smells.

    "Himalayan Kosher Pepper and Cherrytelli Salt. Two high-quality spices. And he pinched his fingers in such a way that there was no cross contamination between the spice bottles. What amazing skills. But the vegetables... I love food, but even I have my limits," Gus said.

    Then, there was only one ingredient left on the table, Cooper Trooper. And Gary Stew was making his way toward it.

    "And that''s his meat component," Gus muttered.

    "Quick, we need to stop him!" yelled Uchronia.

    "For my grades!" shouted Alwin.

 Chapter 128: For Their Grades!

    Gary Stew had his knife gripped tight in one hand, and Cooper Trooper clutched in the other. He was about to bring the backside of his blade down onto Cooper Trooper''s shell.

    Uchronia performed a chant, rapping the verses together at a rapid-fire pace.

    "Greater Haste!"

    She tapped Gus and Alwin, imbuing them with the buff. A soft, shimmering glow enveloped their bodies.

    Gus rocketed off the treetop, a crackling stream of yellow electricity trailing behind him.

    "Lightning Paw!"

    Was that an evolution of the skill, Lightning Legs, that he had devoured from Lei Mao?

    With the extra boost from Uchronia, Gus appeared right next to Gary Stew in an instant¡ªsudden like a lightning bolt.

    "Hand over Cooper Trooper you two-bit chef," Gus growled.

    Gary Stew¡¯s eyes twitched at the comment. "A monster who thinks rotten scraps pass for a gourmet dish, dares to insult my cooking?"

    He slashed widely with his knife, attempting to carve Gus into minced meat, but the yellow FluffPaw was too quick. Each strike cut through a crackling afterimage as the real Gus sidestepped out of the way with Lightning Paw.

    "Stop shaking Cooper Trooper around so much!" Gus roared.

    With another surge of Lightning Paw, he lunged at Gary Stew. His normally yellow paws began to glow red as he swiped at the Monster Chef.

    "Flash Fry!"

    Flames burst from his claw mid-swipe, the air distorting around him as he brought his paw down.

    Gary Stew leaped backward from the attack, curling his arms around Cooper Trooper in a protective cradle.

    "Stop! What are you doing? You''re going to burn the egg!" Gary Stew shouted.

    "Fish sticks!¡± Gus froze mid-attack, the flames subsiding as he ended the skill.

    "Timeout. We need to make sure the egg is safe." Gary Stew looked down at the egg in his grip, inspecting for any damages. Thankfully, there were none. Unless you counted trauma from being manhandled.

    "Agreed," Gus said.

    Gary Stew walked towards the ingredients table, while Gus watched on. Tracking his every movement as he placed Cooper Trooper down with great care.

    Meanwhile, Uchronia had hopped down the tree and was sprinting her way toward the clearing.

    Several members of the Crimson Gold Sect had heard the commotion. They emerged from their tents, converging on the disturbance, with their swords raised high.

    On the other hand, Alwin was still on top of the tree yelling out, "For my grades!"

    He was having an internal debate with Niwla and Winal about how best to rush to the fight¡ªslime style or turkey style.

    It was mostly Alwin and Niwla bickering with Winal just staring blankly at the scene. His mind was still shattered from the Uchronia incident.

    At the center of the clearing, the hut doors swung open. Two young masters stepped into the sunlight, swords sharp, tempers sharper.

    "Gary Stew! What is the meaning behind all of this ruckus!" Huang Jian shouted.

    "Exactly! What is the¡ª" Hong Jian cut off mid-sentence when he spotted Gus. "Guards! Deal with this intruder!"

    "And then we''ll deal with you for letting a monster slip through your watch!" Huang Jian added.

    "You, Gary Stew!¡± Hong Jian pointed at him. ¡°Turn this beast into a suitable Immortal Dish for us.¡±

    "Don''t worry. I was thinking about adding an appetizer before the main course."

    Gary Stew twirled his knife as he approached Gus. Several members of the Crimson Gold Sect had closed in, surrounding him. Swords gripped tight in their hands, faces tensed. Their eyes flickered between the two young masters and Gary Stew, awaiting further instructions.

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    "Now, what should I make out of you?" Gary Stew grinned.

    "Probably something braised because of all the exercises I do. My meat is tough like me."

    "I was thinking more on the line of meatballs."

    "That''s a good option too," Gus admitted. "But just meat alone won''t cut it, you need vegetables to balance out the flavor as well."

    "I know. And it looks like there''s a special delivery incoming just for me." Gary Stew smirked.

    Uchronia was running at top speed toward them. Guards near the outer edge of the encirclement turned around only to find a Potted Plant somersaulting through the air. A giant leaf covered in a layer of spikes emerged¡ªGreat Thorned Leaf¡ªmid-flip. They screamed out in pain clutching their faces, as she smacked them, several thorns embedded within their cheeks.

    She landed right next to Gus and pointed a leaf at Gary Stew. "Hand over the egg, now! Or else."

    Gary Stew stroked his chin, ignoring her threats. "Maybe I could do tacos, but do cultivators even like tacos? Do people in this world even know what a taco is? Only one way to find out." He shrugged.

    "Guards, start harvesting the veggies but don''t damage the produce. If not, I can''t guarantee a quality meal. Leave the butchering to me."

    Gary Stew dug into the two opened spice bottles¡ªsalt and pepper¡ªand ran his fingers down the length of his knife. "I''ll use some basic seasoning first before I use anything fancier."

    Black flakes and white crystals coated the shimmering edge. Just the sight of it caused Gus to lick his lips. Knowing him, he was probably wondering how he would taste if turned into a dish.

    "Essential Seasoning Slash."

    Gary Stew brought the blade down. Gus sidestepped out of the way with the help of Lightning Paw while Uchronia didn''t even have to move. The attack wasn''t targeted at her, it would be a waste of energy to dodge nothing.

    The Monster Chef kept slicing away at Gus, who zipped between each swing, trails of electricity dancing in his wake. However, the whole time, he had his tongue stuck out, attempting to catch the flakes of spices that lingered in the air.

    Uchronia was forced to keep an eye out for the cultivator guards who had begun to swarm her. The man that she had smacked earlier led the charge against her. His face contorted with swollen rage as several thorns were still buried in his cheek, trickles of blood oozing out.

    They began slashing away at her with their swords. In turn, she vaulted high above their swings, performing flip after flip to dodge their attacks. Her root-like legs landed on the flat of their blades only for her to launch off of it again, spinning into frontflips, backflips, cartwheels, or whatever she fancied at the moment.

    But the tide kept pushing. Step by step, the chaos drove a wedge between Uchronia and Gus. Before both of them knew it, they had been separated. Gary Stew was hot on Gus'' furry electric heels, while Uchronia was now surrounded by ten cultivators from every corner.

    Huang Jian and Hong Jian were sitting down in front of a makeshift table fashioned out of the stump of a great tree. Two guards flanked their side, protecting their young masters. Another cultivator disciple rushed in¡ªnot to join the battle, but to serve his master. He set a pair of ceramic tea cups atop the stump and poured hot tea from a jade-handled teapot. Steam lifted up into the air as they sipped in unison, enjoying the performance in front of them.

    With Uchronia isolated from Gus, the cultivator squad upped the intensity of the fight. From regular haphazard slashes, they began attacking Uchronia in sync.

    With their blades held up high in the air, they brought the weapon down on the trapped Potted Sprout in unison.

    "Crimson Gold Sect Intermediate Technique: Flaming Saber!" shouted one-half of the cultivators.

    "Crimson Gold Sect Intermediate Technique: Lightning Blade!" the other half shouted.

    Crimson hot flames blazed out from one side, while arcs of golden lightning jolted out from the other. Both sets of skills came crashing down on Uchronia, fire mingling together with electricity.

    Before the blades could connect she used her own skill. Not just any skill. Her Core Skill.

    "Alternate History."

    In a flash, a second Uchronia popped out next to her. They exchanged nods before the second one shouted out, "Great Barrier Leaf!"

    Gigantic leaves¡ªsimilar to Great Thorned Leaf, except not as thorny¡ªsprouted out from her body, surrounding the both of them in a dome-like shield.

    She must¡¯ve called upon a version of herself that specialized in defensive skills. That was Alwin¡¯s best guess based on his paltry understanding of her Core Skill.

    "Barkskin!" the original Uchronia shouted out from within the protective barrier.

    Immediately, the vibrant green leaves began to dull. Their glossy exterior was replaced with a cracked, brown layer similar to the skin of a tree.

    The cultivators'' blades connected with the leaves. Flame and electricity clashed with wood, sparks flew and fire billowed against the solid defenses. The barrier trembled and shook from the impact of the blades. Brown turned to black as the wooden leaves began to char away.

    Oh no! She was at a massive elemental disadvantage.

    Gus wasn''t faring any better. He was at a mindset disadvantage.

    Gary Stew had caught onto Gus'' antics. While reapplying the spice layer to his knife, he left a pinch of salt and pepper in his fingers. During his rampage of slices, he''d flick the leftover specks into the air.

    Gus couldn''t resist the temptation of yumminess. He licked at the air, distracted by the speckless of flavor falling down on him. Small scratches began to appear all over his body.

    Yet, he still never learned from his mistake. Gus literally licked his wounds not because he was in pain, but because he just wanted to taste how delicious he was.

    The situation was growing dire. Uchronia''s defenses wouldn''t last forever against those attacks, and Gus'' appetite would be the downfall of him...again.

    But, there was still hope.

    The argument between Alwin, Niwla, and Winal had concluded. The winner? Alwin.

    He told Niwla to shove it and simply took control of the main body again, ignoring his co-pilot''s protests.

    "For my grades!" Alwin shouted." For real this time!"

 Chapter 129: New and Improved Spirit Blasts

    Finally, Alwin hurled himself off the treetop, screaming his lungs out.

    "GRADES!"

    Most people wait until they hit the ground to start running, but Alwin wasn¡¯t most people. He began running¡ªrolling in his case¡ªas he was falling. Except that didn''t make a difference.

    So, he did what any sensible person would do and summoned out his Spirit Hands. They grasped his jiggly body and tossed him toward the clearing with all of their might.

    As he fell with style, another pair of summoned Spirit Hands clamped down hard on the leaning tower of equipment. A third pair began to tango with a couple of Fire Blasts.

    It was Mixing time.

    Fire Blast and Spirit Hands danced around together before colliding in an explosive kiss. From the chaos, a flaming red-hot Spirit Hand emerged.

    It grabbed onto Alwin''s body only for him to yelp in pain. The hands were burning him. Right, he wasn¡¯t in his Fire Soldier Ant form. Alwin tried his best to ignore the searing pain, which was impossible. Instead, he screamed his lungs out as flames ejected out of the back of the Spirit Hands, propelling him forward.

    "For my grades!" Alwin shouted yet again, with tears in his eyes, as he came hurtling toward the earth like a screaming comet.

    Gus or Uchronia. Who should he help? The answer was obvious.

    Cooper Trooper, your self-proclaimed godfather is coming to save you.

    Alwin crashed into the ingredients table, splintering the cheap wood. The impact launched Cooper Trooper into the air, but that was all the fun that the baby was going to get.

    His Spirit Hands¡ªthe nonflaming kind¡ªsoared up into the air and grabbed him. They caressed Cooper Trooper, and whispered sweet nothings in its ear, via sign language.

    Now that they had reclaimed Cooper Trooper, they had to protect him. There was no better way than with a deluge of defensive equipment, courtesy of Uchronia.

    On the behest of Alwin, the Spirit Hands plopped Cooper Trooper onto his head. They then began to work their magic, reorganizing the precarious tower of gear into a thick cocoon of defensive power. Cooper Trooper nestled in its center, safe from any external harm. In the off-center lay the heat crystal to keep the baby warm.

    None of the cultivators had noticed Alwin''s grand entrance. Well¡­most of them.

    The two young masters remained at the makeshift table, having a relaxing tea time, while live entertainment delivered to their doorstep played out in front of them. They were oblivious to the surprise guest. However, the guards by their sides and the tea-pouring disciple had their eyes fixed on the main attraction.

    Alwin.

    Uchronia¡ªboth of them¡ªwere still under siege. Fire and lightning rained down from all sides by the group of cultivators. The dome of wooden leaves trembled, their edges crisping and blackening, slowly morphing into a dome of burnt carbon.

    Gus was currently taking a beating from Gary Stew''s blade of seasoning. Scratches riddled his body and were quickly expanding with every new slice. Licks accompanied every new wound. It was as if he was being delivered a gourmet meal. Except that he was the meal.

    If Alwin didn''t step in soon, things were going to go bad real fast.

    Once again a question loomed over him. Should he help Gus by beating Gary Stew to a pulp or assist Uchronia by battling those nasty Crimson Gold Sect members ganging up on a little girl?

    The answer was obvious. It was so obvious that Alwin, Niwla, and possibly Winal¡ªbecause he didn''t really talk much, came to the same conclusion.

    The two young masters.

    It was time to show off the fruits of his labor during that one week of ''bed rest''.

    Within his Core, the mini factory got to work. The DIY freezer was busy freezing mana into Ice mana that would be sculpted into Ice Arrows, but those weren''t a priority right now. Instead, most of the hand-power was dedicated to the Spirit Blasts and their variations.

    In order to scale up production, Alwin had to abandon the tried and true method of paper mache. Instead, he now had to rely on clay shells, simply because he didn''t know how to mass-produce paper mache. On the bright side, clay is harder than paper, so that meant they¡¯d do more damage¡ªprobably.

    The mental hands operated by Winal were digging up mana clay from the bottom of his mana pool. Chunk by chunk they were deposited into pre-crafted clay molds. Other hands slammed them together, before loading them onto a hand-cranked conveyor belt powered by even more mental hands. That was the beginning of his new and improved Spirit Blasts.

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    Spirit Scatter Blasts followed a similar process. In order for it to qualify as a Spirit Scatter Blast, they needed all of the tiny Spirit Blasts housed within the shell. The solution for creating them was simple. Tiny molds!

    The tiny Spirit Blasts were made just like the regular Spirit Blasts, except tinier. Who knew that in order to scale up production he also had to scale down at the same time?

    Once extracted from their molds, the tiny Spirit Blasts were lodged inside some freshly dug clay. Then the whole bundle was shoved inside the Spirit Scatter Blast mold and off it went onto the conveyor belt, alongside the regular Spirit Blasts.

    The Spirit Burst Blasts followed the same manufacturing method as the Spirit Blast, but after landing on the conveyor belt, they were shipped off to another section. There, a funnel was jammed into a special slot in the clay mold. Liquid mana was stuffed inside of it, till it was filled to the brim. The funnel was removed and the special opening was sealed with some extra mana clay and back onto the conveyor belt they went.

    There was only one last step in the creation process of these various Blasts.

    Firing.

    All of the conveyor belts converged into Alwin¡¯s greatest masterpiece¡ªan oven. It wasn¡¯t just any oven, it was a huge oven.

    Alwin took inspiration from Niwla''s giant freezer. Except, he took it to another level. Inside of the giant oven, was another smaller oven. Inside of that smaller oven were several regular-sized ovens.

    Every single blast was filtered into one such oven before all the doors were slammed shut.

    With an oven inside of an oven inside of another over, the firing time would be reduced threefold¡ªprobably. It may or may not work that way in real life, but this wasn''t real life. This was his Core, so what he says goes. Within reason of course.

    Seconds later, the sounds of multiple ovens dinging at the same time echoed throughout his Core. It was so loud that it would''ve ruptured his eardrums if his physical body could manifest within his Core¡ªand also if he had eardrums. Slime physiology was hard.

    The over doors were opened, sending a gust of hot air sweeping through his Core, much to the annoyance of Niwla and his freezing. The mental hands now wearing some mental oven mitts retrieved the Blasts. They separated the molds to reveal the new and improved clay-based Blasts. The deadly spheres were placed back onto conveyor belts ready for shipment.

    Down, down, down the belt they traveled toward the edge of his Core. Stationed there were the latest skill delivery systems ready for their maiden voyage. Cannons!

    One by one, another team of tireless mental hands loaded the Blast into the various cannons. When they were all fully loaded, the hands yanked the trigger simultaneously, launching a barrage out of his Core.

    How did the cannons work? Alwin had no idea. That was Winal''s department.

    Right now, he was only concerned with one thing.

    "Spirit Blast! Spirit Scatter Blast! Spirit Burst Blast!"

    Multiple Blasts materialized right in front of him¡ªmore than what he had expected. Blast after blast continued to manifest as the factories and cannons worked overtime to supply the much-needed demand.

    Finally, the first round of Blasts had finished materializing. They launched forward, straight toward the two young masters.

    A flood of glowing blue balls rushed toward Huang Jian and Hong Jian, but the pampered duo remained blissfully unaware of their impending doom. Unfortunately, the two guards and their little tea servants were not.

    "Young masters, stand back!" the guards shouted in unison.

    They stepped forward and raised their swords. Together they plunged their blades into the ground.

    "Crimson Gold Sect Fusion Technique: Lightning Flame Barrier!"

    Fire erupted from one sword while electricity crackled from the other. A dome of flaming lightning engulfed the four of them.

    "Wait, let me in!" the tea servant pleaded.

    He banged against the barrier only to yell in pain. His hands scorched from the fire, while his hair stood on ends as electricity took a detour through his body. When he turned back to find the Blasts inches away from him, he ignored the pain and continued banging against the Lightning Flame Barrier.

    The flood of Blasts collided against the tea servant, squishing his body against the dome. The Blasts consumed him, not even Alwin could see him against the torrential flood of spells.

    Spirit Blasts pelted his body, while Spirit Scatter Blasts unleashed tiny blasts of their own. Spirit Burst Blasts erupted into raw liquid mana which seared one side of his body. The other side was torched by fire and electricity.

    His body was nothing but a meat shield that lasted for less than a second. Screams dying out as fast as himself.

    Eventually, the sheer volume of blue balls obscured Alwin''s vision of the Lightning Flame Barrier. Only the deafening sounds of Blasts rupturing could be heard.

    That was when he ceased production inside of his Core.

    As the Blasts died down, the still-standing Lightning Flame Barrier revealed itself. Lightning sparked around the edges only to be licked up by blazing flames. In front of it, lay the unrecognizable remains of the tea servant.

    Not even bones were left after the pummeling he endured. Just fine white powder that flew off into the wind. Only his robe, a dull yellow, remained. A small splatter of blood dyed it red. Even in death, he made himself known as a member of the Crimson Gold Sect.

    Drats! Why didn''t that work?

    Also, could he even absorb his Essence when there wasn''t much left of him? He''d find out later.

    It was time to start up production again, but Alwin''s commands were overruled by Niwla.

    "Either you scale down or take a break. We''ve already used up over half of our available mana with that one attack," Niwla said.

    Double drats!

    The battle had just started and he was already halfway dry. Now, where were those Mana Pills?

    Oh, that''s right. Milvus didn''t give them any this time. Or maybe he did but he just missed out on that part of the briefing.

    Alwin''s ruminations were cut short as the Lightning Flame Barrier began to dissipate. The burning blaze and sparking electricity faded away leaving only a scorched ring of grass where the barrier had been erected.

    The two guards'' swords were still plunged into the ground. The one wielding lightning yanked his free and leveled it directly at Alwin. However, the other guard began to cough out blood, before he collapsed onto the floor.

    Yes!

    Finally, something was going his way.