[Quest completed. Growth achieved. Quest board updated. Status updated.]

I hadn’t received any surprising notifications, and so I turned to look at my [Status].

[Status:

Name: Ashlani

Race: Young Sonic Magicblood Brood Alpha Keelish

Titles: Chosen of Nievtala

Current quests:

-Hunt 3 new species. Reward will vary depending upon the evolutionary level of prey. Base reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +2.

-Gain control of 15% of the entire swarm. Reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +5. Progress: 7%

-Subjugate a group of at least 10 individuals with at least 5 Intelligence. QUEST COMPLETE. New Quest: Speak the entirety of the First Iteration of the Words of Power of Nievtala. Reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility +4, Intelligence, Magic +3. Progress: 4/5

Stats:

-Constitution: 35+5+1=41

-Strength: 42+5+1=48

-Agility: 45+5+1=51

-Intelligence: 35+5+1=41

-Magic: 28+5+1=34

Skills:

Adversary: 2/10

Dominance: 49/100

Evolutionary foresight (Cannot Evolve)

Evolutionary Guide: (Cannot Evolve)

Exceptional Individual (Cannot Evolve)

Improved Bloodlust: Requirements Hidden

Innate Leadership (Cannot Evolve)

Innervating Address (Cannot Evolve)

Pack Tactics: 1/10

Sonilphon: 29/50

Evolutionary Possibilities

-Adult Sonic Magicblood Alpha: Survive 60 days. Progress: 31/60

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

-Young Sonic Magicblood Brood Alpha Khatif. Requirements: Evolution of Bloodlust Skill to Combatant’s Bloodlust, Evolution of Sonilphon, Brood Alpha race (Completed).

Other evolutions possible, but not currently foreseen. Progress further, and such possibilities will be presented to you.]

Again, nothing that I hadn’t already expected. I was a little disappointed that even though I’d “subjugated” twenty instead of just ten, I hadn’t gotten any bonus Stats. It might have been that they were weak, or that it was a pack of keelish, or any other number of reasons. I couldn’t experiment to figure out how best to capitalize on each of my [Quests] as they came to me, but at least I had been able to complete it at all. If I got a second chance with a similar one, maybe I would focus instead on groups of more powerful non-keelish creatures. Bonus points if they were more intelligent, maybe?

I shook my head and stopped thinking about a possible eventuality, instead looking at my Stats, then [Dominance], right at the halfway point. Hopefully I would have more opportunities to evolve it soon, but I couldn’t be sure, since I needed to be careful and not anger Redael. I had never been more sure than I was now of how easily he could kill me. So, we would take it slow, and if we managed another hunt anywhere near so successful as this one, maybe that could serve as another excuse to continue expanding.

Then my Sonilphon. I was happy to see that I was over halfway done, and it was currently near full, so I would watch it tick over to 30 before long. At least I knew that this upcoming evolution to the Sonilphon was all that was necessary for that particular requirement for my evolution to khatif. I wasn’t sure what the difference would be in this particular evolution, but I suspected that it was even greater than any other evolution I’d had, considering the name of the race had no mention of “keelish”. I still itched to know what the hidden requirements for [Improved Bloodlust]’s evolution, and I couldn’t deny a small amount of anger I continued to hold towards the Administrator for withholding that information from me. She said there was some reason for it, but just as much as I didn’t want to deal with meddling gods, neither did I appreciate some seemingly omniscient creature dictating what I should and shouldn’t know.

Then, finally, my new [Quest]. Whatever the blessing I would receive would be upon speaking the Fourth of the Words of Power, I would also be receiving a boon of additional Stats. A part of me wanted to begin saying whatever came to mind until I somehow stumbled over the Words, but I knew that wouldn’t work. The opportunities to Speak the Words were specific and special. I knew as much, since I hadn’t been able to force any members of the pack to Speak them, even if they said the words, they weren’t the Words.

Instead, I needed only focus on how to somehow get these new keelish to trust me enough to benefit from [Evolutionary Guide]. If I could do that, maybe they would become worthwhile members of the pack, since as they were, afraid, weak, tired, and hungry, they weren’t worth the food I was giving them. In pursuit of that, I retired to my quarters. Nobody liked being bothered when they were hungry, and nobody wanted to be pulled away from their long-desired meal to have a forced heart to heart with their superior. Thus, I took the time I currently had to practice with my Sonilphon.

I felt closer and closer to figuring out how the sonic magic could work in my arms. Maybe it was an understanding of the concept, because while I felt like I was on the cusp of breakthrough, I had no idea of what this new application of my magic would actually do. For the life of me, I couldn’t begin to understand how making my arms shake would or even could help me. If it shook more, then I would be less accurate. Maybe less predictable? But that didn’t matter if I couldn’t dictate where my blows fell. So maybe the ideal for the “sonic strike”, or whatever it ended up being called, was instead a narrower vibration?

An intense, small vibration. What would that do? I thought for a moment, then the epiphany struck. Most knives, axes, and spears my old tribe had used were long, straight blades, but there were saws that had teeth in them. They were best for cutting through tough, hard things, and that was because of the jagged teeth. They bounced up and down, and could cut more accurately and quickly through bone, trees, and cured woods.

With that thought, I carefully compressed and intensified the vibrations and sent them carefully up my left arm. Controlling the magic as it tried to literally shake out of my control took a considerable effort of will, but finally, as the magic reached my hand, I could feel the beginnings of success. I took a step forward to reach a wall, and with amazing ease, I dragged all of my claws through the packed earth. I flexed my hand, and with a swift swipe, I cut through a massive chunk of wall and sent a cascade of loosed earth flying through the air.

I was most of the way to acquiring a new [Skill]. I could feel it, just a little more fine-tuning, and it would be perfect.

With that in my mind, I immediately set to channeling my magic down my arm and to my hand again, making sure I would have enough reserves left in my Sonilphon to try a third time after this.