“Why should we be left out?” asked Adam. He already had his eyes on what looked like a spear.
Michael’s face fell as he too had been looking at the weapons he had helped make. “I think I understand,” he said with a sad look towards Otto, “You think that the two of us won’t be able to grow as well when we are human.”
The giant man nodded, “Our hypothesis is that since the two of you are marked as Beasts in the system, actions that you make while not literal beasts will not give you the same amount of experience as it would while you are transformed.”
While he could understand their reasoning, Adam was conflicted. The skill that he and Michael were granted was undoubtedly strong, but unlike any of the others, theirs had a warning attached to it.
“What do you think Adam?” asked Otto.
So far, everything that Otto and Syl had theorized seemed pretty accurate. Not to mention, he hadn't felt any different when he had transformed before, so maybe the warning only applied for long periods of time? Or maybe for periods of high intensity? Adam wasn’t sure what seemed the most likely but heck, why not give it a shot.
“Alright, I’m in. But with how monstrous we look, we are going to need to keep some of you by us. Otherwise, some of the people in the Arts building might think we are enemies too.”
Henry clapped his hands, causing everyone to jump, and grinned, “What if someone rode you guys! Wouldn’t that be awesome?”
Emi rolled her eyes, “And how exactly do you plan to stay on them? Cause, ain't no way am I making saddles out of the materials I have here, AND there is no way we should go into combat against monsters like that with no training.”
"I've ridden a horse before!" Henry said with indignation.
Professor Johnson burst into laughter, his deep voice echoing through the quiet hall. "Ah, yes. I am so sure that your horse riding skills would directly transfer over to riding a large wolf or a bull-boar monster thing." He looked over at Adam with the last comment and shrugged, "Sorry, I don't have a clue what else to call you."
"None taken."
“I just thought it could be cool.” Henry mumbled to himself as he collected his newly sharpened sword. The jian that he had wasn’t meant for real fighting and he was really new to using it. He would need to find a sword that was closer to his fencing foil for the future.
“The most pressing thing that I learned while making this stuff,” Emi gestured to the weapons before gesturing back to herself, “I gained another skill at level 3. Did you get one too, Syl?”
Sylvia could barely contain her excitement, “Yes, I did!” She held her palm up for the others to see, gathered herself and a pale red glow seemed to move under the skin of her hand. “I finally got my first magic skill, it's called Beginner Mana Manipulation and it lets me use the mana within my body. The skill doesn’t actually let me do anything, aside from move it around but I think that I can use it for other stuff too. Otto and I think that if I just try a bunch of things then I should be ab—”
“Sorry to cut you off, Syl, as I am actually very interested in that skill, but we need to stay on track.” Emi interjected.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m just really excited.” Sylvia blushed, “Anyways, I think that what Emi was getting at is that we gain another skill once we reach level 3.”
Everyone perked up upon hearing that. This was great news. If they could increase their levels, then their journey to Newport would be much easier. They had all felt the difference in their physical abilities due to their increased stats, so any way they could increase them would be a bonus.
“On that note,” Emi continued, “I think that we all need to try and level up as much as we can. My new skill lets me empower items that I have used my abilities to create or to augment, so I think that others fighting with these weapons and Henry’s sword will also benefit me.”
“I know it looks like this is set up for everyone just to choose, but I made some of these for specific people,” she started by handing out a small stone dagger to each of them. “Everyone can make use of this, even if it's not for combat. I also have a couple of extras, just in case they break.”
She moved over to a stack of spears, “I made a spear for Otto and Sylvia as well.” Emi passed a small spear to Sylvia and just pointed to a massive branch on the ground while looking at Otto, “That one is yours, you giant. The rest of these are for any survivors we come across.”
She turned to Sylvia, “I know you have wanted to figure out magic so, I can alter yours to be more of a staff if you want.”
Sylvia smiled and nodded in thanks. At this point, she didn’t have any way to make the spear into a true magic staff so it’s current form was perfect. I’ll see if I can push mana through the staff… she thought.
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Now that the weapons had been passed out to everyone, Adam did a quick once over of the group. He and Michael were the same as before, a bit disheveled with torn everyday clothes substituted for basic athletic wear. Henry had his broken foil on his hip and carried his sheathed jian in his hands. Syl studied her new spear and had a stone dagger on her hip as well. Otto was the current pack mule, with Henry’s athletic bag being converted into a spear holder, thrown over his shoulder. His massive spear laid beside him as he looked to be tinkering with some of the basic wooden stakes Emi had originally made. The markings on his skin seemed to flash with teal light as he attempted to carve some of the shapes that Adam had seen plastered on the wall into the sides of them.
Lastly, Emi armed herself with a weird club/sword thing. It looked like a flat narrow paddle with sharpened stone shards tied(?) to the outside edge, looking similar to a stationary chainsaw blade.
Anxiety set in as the group prepared to once again leave the Student Center, and with it came a series of other emotions and feelings. Adam noticed people fidgeting with their weapons or tying and retying their shoes. Oddly, he wasn’t as anxious as the others appeared. For him, his primary emotion was hunger. He was absolutely starving. Thinking back on it, he hadn’t eaten anything the day that the Integration started and had been through a lot since then. A loud growl seemed to echo through the space as he grabbed his stomach with a wry grin to his friends.
“I get it, I am also super hungry,” said Michael “Maybe it’s got something to do with our Pursuit?”
Adam shrugged and was about to respond when a laugh cut him off. Henry pointed up at the wall and looked at the two of them.
“I think I figured out how to tell people you guys are with us.”
----------------------------------------
“We are going to look ridiculous,” said Adam.
“Yes, we will. Undoubtedly so.” replied Michael.
“Oh, come on! At least people won’t attack you. Probably?” said Henry.
Emi had just finished making the most embarrassing items for the two men. She tried to hide it but she also thought the items were hilarious. “Alright you two, get changed so I can fasten these on you.” Her smile was absolutely massive as the men cringed.
Michael sighed, “We are never going to live this down.” Emi coughed and attempted to give him a reproachful look. “Fine, fine, but just remember everyone,” he spoke up as he addressed the others, “After we get these things on, we are heading out. Henry, you and I will be in the front, scanning for danger. Adam, you will follow behind with Ms. Edwards and Ms. Kume, followed by Otto in the rear.” Sylvia and Emi nodded while Otto gathered the rest of the spare weapons.
With everyone ready to go, Michael and Adam started stripping. Ugh, I hope this gets easier, Adam thought as he flushed with embarrassment. Sylvia blushed and made an effort to turn away while Emi pretended to turn around while also clearly being interested in the transformation, and making quick glances over her shoulder.
This second transformation didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the first one had. Adam focused as his body expanded in a still unfamiliar way. He felt and watched his new tusks extend up past the top of his wide elongating snout. His vision subtly changed, the colors in his surroundings altering in a nearly indistinguishable fashion. Adam’s body tilted forward as his center of gravity changed, dropping him to all fours. Fur burst through his skin covering his gaunt body in a protective layer of long coarse black fur. His hands turned into mitt-sized paws with a hard hoof-like extension on the ends of his fingers that acted like claws, while his feet stretched into massive lion paws with wicked sheathed claws of their own. Despite all of the changes to his body, the one that he found the weirdest was the addition of his thin tail, capped with a tuft of black fur.
Apparently, his transformation was slower than Michael’s, as upon finishing he looked up and saw the white dire wolf beside him, sitting back on its haunches like a German Shepard waiting for a treat.
“You know, watching you guys change shape is kinda freaky,” Henry said. He walked up to Adam, staring up at his friend's head, “Also, it’s very weird to think that the literal dire wolf looks almost small next to you.”
Adam chuckled, snorting hot air directly into Henry’s face, blowing his brown hair back. He bent his head down and nudged his friend's chest with his brow.
“Woah, careful of those tusks dude, they look wicked sharp!” he laughed and jumped back.
Emi walked up to the two beasts, “Okay, so since you two can’t talk in these forms, I am going to need you to tell me if these are too tight. Lift your right paw if it fits and your left if it's too tight.” Then she held up the dreaded accessories.
I can’t believe they are making us wear fucking collars, Adam grumbled internally. A heavy huff could be heard from Michael as he surely thought the same thing.
They had talked about it when Henry had brought it up but, unfortunately, the others had made good points. While the two of them hated the idea, a visual distinction between the two of them and the monsters was needed. So, Emi modified a cloth banner that hung from the wall into two separate collars.
Michael was outfitted first, a forest green bandana like collar around his neck. Emi had even managed to use the portion of the banner that allowed for the steel blue YCC Heron mascot to be centered on it. After tying it around his neck, Otto got a big grin and started to move towards him before catching a glare from the professor. Otto always loved dogs but, maybe he shouldn’t give this one scritches.
After the old man was done, it was Adam’s turn. He got as low to the ground as he comfortably could while Emi tied the rest of the banner around his neck. The thick muscles of his neck and upper back made it difficult for Emi to tie but she eventually managed it. Adam now sported a thick green collar that said “Go Heron’s!” in bolded white letters. While embarrassing to wear, at least it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Henry whispered a couple jokes to Sylvia as they finished, including one about how Adam could officially loaf like a cat and how Professor Johnson was the goodest boi, before trying to lead them towards the exit. Unfortunately for him, animals tend to have better senses than humans and the two beasts definitely heard every joke he made.
After a quick suffocation of their resident swordsman beneath the paw of a dire wolf, and the gaze of a… whatever Adam was, the group exited the Student Center, ready to take on the monsters that were holding people hostage in the Arts building.
It was time to level up and save the survivors.