You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +7.
Air whooshing past me dragged me back from the throes of Anima Extacy.
My meal ended up being tragically short. Perhaps the Crayfish Egg-Guardian sensed that Indigo and I sucked away its life, because suddenly Green’s kicks didn’t phase it at all. Instead, it hopped and twisted midair. Alarm flared in my chest as we hung there for a moment. I felt a sinking feeling in my chest as I looked ‘up’ and saw ground.
And then the crayfish brought its body slamming into the mud.
Warning! Your Headless Exoskeleton of the Sluggish Crayfish Snapper has been damaged!
I could only groan and flop around as Egg-Defender heaved itself off of me. The impact had loosened my tentacles' grip. I had even lost 4 more Health, putting me at 14/27. I could only thank my exoskeleton and the soft mud for preventing any of my organs from being squashed during the impact. As I straightened and observed the Crayfish swinging at Green, I understood that while we Chimera Cores were broken, it wasn’t like the regular monsters didn’t have advantages.
So many of our Stats and Skills had the moniker (Temp). If the related body parts were destroyed, all we had built would vanish. Perhaps you could regain those Skills and Skill Levels if you integrated a similar body part, but if you couldn’t…
We are strong and adaptable, but brittle in the face of a decisive blow.
Next to me, A snake popped up out of the mud. I panicked for a second at the prospect of a serpent ambush, but then several more snakeheads burrowed up. Indigo disguised as a mud ball heaved himself up out of the muck and shook himself. He reached over and tugged on my exoskeleton. Despite how simple the movement was, I could tell he was checking if I was alright.
Just like I would do anything for my companions, he would do anything for me.
I felt happy that I had no skin to flush as a wave of pleasure swept through me. I mean, obviously, I was always so close to the characters I invested in… but ehem… real relationships are a bit overwhelming…
Real people (monsters) can surprise you. And it makes all your worries for them worth it.
I nodded and patted him on his muscular flesh. Then we both rushed back toward the Egg-Guardian. We closed the distance to its legs and attacked again. Indigo used both heads to munch off one of its legs while I just stabbed with the serrated foreleg and cut open a wound on the crayfish’s side. It screamed and wheeled around, but Green just used that opening to hop onto its back and start sucking down Anima from the wound I had made earlier.
The Crayfish twisted its head around and shot a waterbast. Green hopped away, but a second too late, and was clipped by the Strike. But just that opening gave Indigo the chance to crunch another leg.
One Chimera Core is scary, but three is Doom in a trifecta of jello-cup bodies.
No wonder those priests were willing to start holy crusades to eradicate us…
The fighting had also drawn the attention of some toads, who observed seemingly out of boredom, and the young Crayfish Muckers. These overconfident bastards rushed over with claws clicking. I snorted and conjured two tentacles. When the closest neared me, I plucked it up off the ground… but staggered sideways, when I couldn’t just toss it at the Egg-Guardian like I had intended.
Damn… I had already grown reliant on the 1 Strength from the paw. And without it, these mud-scuttlers are a bit too fat.
The Crayfish Mucker I held snipped at my jelly tentacles without inflicting any damage. With no other choice, I just sliced through its head. When its companions hurried closer, I slew those well, in a series of surgical slashes with my serrated foreleg.
You have slain a Lvl 2 Crayfish Mucker!
You have slain a Lvl 1 Crayfish Mucker!
You have slain a Lvl 2 Crayfish Mucker!
Your Skill (Earned) Inferior Body Manipulation has grown to Level 8.
When I turned back to the fight, the Egg-Guardian had a hateful glare fixed on me. What? Seriously, Indigo is gnawing on your legs and Green is kicking the back of your head, yet you fixate on me?
Oh, could those Muckers have been freshly hatched? They did seem a little weak…
Maybe this guy considers me a traitor, due to my exoskeleton… ah, I promise I’m just a monster wearing your people’s skin…
No, that probably doesn’t make it much more forgivable-
Your Skill (Temp) Detect Danger has grown to Level 10(+4).
The Egg-Guardian opened its mouth to spew water, but just as it was about to attack, one of Indigo’s snake-head arms swelled to double its previous size. The limb struck upward, sinking its teeth into the Crayfish’s neck and yanking it downward.
The waterblast hollowed out a mud cavity right in front of me, giving me time to reflect. Perhaps I would be a better fighter if I didn’t stop and have so many thoughts. But anyway… definitely I’m the weakest of my companions…? They fight, and I have essentially just served as a housekeeper-
Your Skill (Earned) Basic Wisdom has grown to Level 5.
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Yes, yes, your opinion of me is well known, System…
I ceased messing around with my notifications and hurried back. The Egg-Guardian was busy using a claw to shred Indigo’s swollen arm, so I scored another hit along its side and sipped at its life force. Green also used the opportunity to make a pit stop up by the buffet on its back.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +10.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +11.
Warning, you have absorbed over 100 Anima! You are unable to handle the excess energy. 5 Anima dissipates. Current Health +1.
The notification was annoying, but it came alongside another scary display. I could visibly see sparks of blue energy flowing toward the Egg-Defenders body. Mana comparable to the display from the Church’s raid, more than I had ever felt close up, filled the Egg-Defenders form. My eyes bulged as I felt the energy tingling across my exposed jelly. I didn’t know exactly what was about to happen, but-
Your Skill (Temp) Lesser Mana Detection has grown to Level 10(+11).
Your Skill (Temp) Detect Danger has grown to Level 10(+5).
I hid my serrated foreleg behind my body just as that Mana became a wave of water and blasted out in every direction. The Mana-infused water ripped right through my exoskeleton, cracking it open and destroying a portion of my organs.
Warning! Your Headless Exoskeleton of the Sluggish Crayfish Snapper has been severely damaged! You have lost access to Stat (Temp) Defense +4.
Warning! Your Left Lung of the Lazy Rat has been severely damaged! You have lost access to the Stat (Temp) Recovery +2.
Warning! Your Mildly Broken Antenna of the Sluggish Crayfish Snapper has been severely damaged! You have lost access to the Stat (Temp) Perception +1.
The impact bounced me off the muddy ground and skipped me down the beach like a well-thrown rock. Even more intimidatingly, I lost 10 Health in a single attack. Luckily my legs and foreleg were undamaged, but as my cute lavender exoskeleton melted away, I felt extremely exposed. My body jiggled invitingly for any water blasts. Just like that, I had lost three more integrated body parts and only had 5 more Health remaining. If I was hit again-
Nearby to the trembling form of the Egg-defender, Green smashed into the ground. In horror, I realized that my outcome was actually the best— I had been thrown sideways, but Green had been shot up by the water wave and Indigo… well, Indigo was probably buried in mud again.
The Egg-Defender shifted and shuffled toward Green’s listless form, but a snake head slithered out of the mud and latched onto the Crayfish’s tail. To my surprise, the Crayfish floundered and fell on its face.
It’s not trembling with rage, Certainty filled me as my energy sonar pinged off its body. That massive display of Mana left it in a weakened state.
Your Skill (Earned) Basic Wisdom has grown to Level 6.
I’ll trust you, System, but if you screw me on this…
I scuttled forward on my four legs. Although it was exhausted, the Egg Defender pushed itself up with its large claws and wheeled around. It wielded its claw with all the grace of a butcher’s cleaver, just smashing the weapon into Indigo. The grey flesh tore, but the two rat heads bravely bit down on the claw to hold it in place.
Those weaker rat jaws tore rather easily when the Egg-Defender ripped its claw sideways, but by then I had already hopped up onto its back. I slashed again to widen the same original wound I had made and stuffed my once-again amorphous body directly into its thorax cavity.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +11.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +9.
Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 12.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +10.
Warning, you have absorbed over 100 Anima! You are unable to handle the excess energy. 30 Anima dissipates. Current Health +6.
While I burrowed as deeply into its flesh as I could, the Egg-Defender seemed to realize what a threat I represented. It spun its head around and I hunkered down, the extra Health from the dissipating Anima enough for me to chance a direct hit. But when it tried its typical water spit, only a dribble came out.
It simply stared at me with its ugly crayfish face. It looked like it was drooling. And speaking of drooling, my instincts-
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +9.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +10.
Warning, you have absorbed over 100 Anima! You are unable to handle the excess energy. 19 Anima dissipates. Current Health +3.
By the time it brought up a claw and smashed me directly on the head, I had already regained enough Health to tank right through the 7 Health loss. Only a portion of me remained sticking out above its own shell anyway, limiting the damage it could do. The Egg-Defender swayed. At which point, a bedraggled Green hopped up onto the Crayfish’s neck, wrapped a snake tail around its head, and just squeezed until it popped off.
I felt a rush of pleasure seize me. Yet on the heels of that, I felt confused. Is this my heart stirring? Does Green’s heroic and timely antics make me swoon?
You have slain a Lvl 12 Crayfish Egg-Defender!
You have Leveled Up! Health +2, Anima +1.
Oh, just a Level up. Thank god. Who would want to fall for a crazy monster like Green?
Warning, you have absorbed over 100 Anima! You are unable to handle the excess energy. 1 Anima dissipates.
The body collapsed beneath me, sinking slightly into the mud. I wiggled my way out of the delicious flesh cocoon and looked around. Indigo struggled to get up out of the compressed mud and Green… helpfully hopped over and kicked him free.
-with enough force that he bounced a few feet further down the mud beach.
…yea, no, let’s not let any strange feelings take root in her direction.
I hopped down off the corpse. Indigo finally managed to right himself and scrape off most of the mud. Green ceased bouncing around. As one, we looked at each other. Then we conjured tentacles and engaged in the jiggling, victory dance of our people. The Chimera Core trio pranced and undulated across the muddy ground, triumphant.
With that, we had survived and claimed a wondrous prize. If I had a mouth, I would have been drooling as I pivoted to look at the large Crayfish body. Ah, look at me, down four body parts, with one useless body part still remaining. And because you used Mana… kehehe.
I looked at my current Status and fantasized how it would soon change.
Name: Tallum Frost (Awakened)
Species: Chimera Core
Level: 9
Health: 16/29
Anima: 100
(Temp) Mana: 1/1
Integrated Body Parts:
[Slightly Mushed Left Eye of the Vindictive Static Mongoose- Perception +5]
[Serrated Foreleg of the Patient Venom Mantis- Poise +4 and Attack +3]
[Antenna of Prideful Crayfish- Poise +1 and Perception +2]
[ Four Back Legs of the Prideful Crayfish Snapper- Agility +2]
[Flawed Monster Core of the Domesticated Hex Spider- Mana +1]
[Slightly Damaged Cochlea of the Chubby Rat- Perception +1]
Stats: (Temp) Perception: 9 (Temp) Poise: 5
(Temp) Attack: 3 (Temp) Agility: 2
Skills: (Species) Absorb Anima Lvl 12, (Species) Integrate Body Part Lvl 10
(Earned) Inferior Body Manipulation Lvl 8, (Earned) Basic Wisdom Lvl 6
(Temp) Lesser Mana Detection Lvl 10 (+10), (Temp) Detect Danger Lvl 10(+5)