In the morning, I woke up and stretched. Which mostly meant I vigorously swung my new Digging claws back and forth, knocking down swamp flies and sucking them up into my mouth with my frog tongue. The healing properties can’t activate if they are already dead! And the exercise helped make me feel better about my new form.
My main body remained lavender ooze, filled with my hybrid monster core, my mongoose eye, my crayfish stomach, and the small rat cochlea. At the top portion of the ooze curled my healing tongue, with the bluebird beak situated at the edge, in a mouth-like location. At the very top, my antenna peaked out.
Meanwhile, the bottom part of my body were four crayfish legs, hauling my ooze around. Right above those were my new crayfish digging shoves. Above those were two humanoidish limbs, made of tentacles, and the right one ended in my serrated foreleg.
I struck several poses. How amazing, that absorbing the body parts comes along with natural instincts of how to use and incorporate the body parts. Despite the fact I have so many limbs, it doesn’t feel unnatural…
Ah, that’s probably why they involve an Anima cost upfront; part of that energy somehow… taps into the body part and lets me incorporate instincts?
…the more I think about it, the more confused I am about the underlying laws of this fantasy world…
Green took one look at my crayfish hypocrisy, Kehk-ed loudly in my face, then hopped away. Indigo seemed deeply involved in whatever project he had begun, so he also departed early. I could only sigh as I looked down at my claws.
I wanted to put these to use and start the day but in the end… I definitely need to focus on reaching Level 10, huh?
Instead of heading to the mud beach, I went back to the lair of the spiderlings. I felt uneasy when I saw that they had done some modest expansions of their spider silk-wrapped area to the North, but at least those Bluebird Chirpers were still hanging around to pluck up reckless spiders. These would be the precious stepping stones to Level 10!
But before that… I looked around furtively, then snuck to the Southern reed area. I could only sigh at my own behavior. One of the big advantages of these Chimera Core bodies is the lack of any bathroom requirements. And now… somehow, this feels even more shameful.
I activated my Blessing and earned 2 more proficiency points. In the light of day, all that paranoia about my sweat glowing vaguely proved to be just paranoia! Absolutely nothing to worry about. I shook my body to rid it of any remnants and hurried away to meet my foes.
“Chirp!” I called out cheerfully. Three enemy Chirpers whipped their heads around, two Level 8 and one Level 9. They belted out their own battle cries, perhaps wanting this fight just as badly as I did. We Chimera Cores had swaggered onto their turf and needed to be addressed (before we sucked away their life and pilfered their corpses for parts). They came in with their stereotypical low swoops, arranged in an arrow formation. The leader dropped first, skimming over the wet ground and raking me with its claws.
Curious, I flourished my heavy and flat digging claw. The birds were of a size with me, so the relatively broad two claws screened quite a lot of my body. The Chirper squawked and beat its wings to avoid the blockade, moving it right into the path of its companion. The unfortunate minion bird couldn’t adjust its vector and crashed into its other fellow, causing both to collapse into the shallow water as the Level 9 Chirper leader managed to right itself.
Don’t mind if I do. I scuttled forward. The right bird hopped up first. I bashed him boldly on the head with a crayfish claw, stunning him. At the same time, my serrated foreleg scythed around and slashed open the breast of the second bird. A tentacle followed up, latching onto the wound.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +9.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +7.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +11.
Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 16.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has triggered! Restoring 4 Health over the next 30 seconds.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has grown to Level 5.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +5.
You have slain the Bluebird Chirper Lvl 8.
The bleeding bird succumbed quickly to a foreleg in the chest and a tentacle-straw slurping down its blood. The other recovered from the first clobbering blow in time to see the second digging claw sweeping toward it. With a screech, it met my giant claw with its thin wing… and somehow managed to push my attack backward.
I had to take a few steps back to steady myself. Okay, bluebirds hit the gym. I suppose real animals do have their advantages, including non-Temp Stats.
I swung the serrated foreleg out from its first victim, clipping the other Chirper’s legs from behind. It fluttered its wings but still crashed down into the shallow water. The digging claws attacks were more bludgeoning than slicing, and therefore couldn’t be used to ensure access to Anima, but I could simply ooze forward and immerse the bird in my body.
I shifted my organs away, but even then I felt a bit of worry. Yet instead of moving with purpose, the bird began to panic. I almost felt bad as my foreleg cut open its throat and I sucked away its life.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +7.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +11.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +9.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +9.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +3.
You have slain the Bluebird Chirper Lvl 9.
Tch, a little much to hope I can get to Lvl 10 like this. I’ll probably need to slaughter a lot of such monsters, or fight something that’s Level 10…
I examined the corpses closely before beginning my bloody butchering of the Lvl 9 Chirper. Soon, I had cut out the body part I wanted, inspired by how a pair of claws and four legs could be considered a ‘single’ body part by the System. I said a prayer of thanks to the slightly damaged cochlea of the chubby rat, then sliced it with my foreleg to make room for my new treasure.
Would you like to integrate the wings of Bluebird Chirper Lvl 9?
Integration requires 19 Anima. Continue?
Your Skill (Species) Integrate Body Part has grown to Level 18.
You have integrated the wings of Scowling Bluebird Chirper Lvl 9! You have unlocked Skill (Temp) Flutter Wings Lvl 1. Wings of the Scowling Bluebird Chirper provides Poise +2 and Agility +4.
Oh? Wings are actually such high-stat pieces of the body… I took a look at my current Status.
Name: Tallum Frost (Awakened)
Species: (Nascent) Chimera Core
Level: 9
Health: 29/29
Anima: 81
Kami Allegiance: (III) To and Fro the River Wanders [Dribble Invigorating Liquid 3/15]
(Temp) Mana: 2/11
Integrated Body Parts(10/10):
[Hybrid Monster Core- Mana +5]
[Slightly Mushed Left Eye of the Vindictive Static Mongoose- Perception +5]
[Serrated Foreleg of the Patient Venom Mantis- Poise +4 and Attack +3]
[Wings of the Scowling Bluebird Chirper- Poise +2 and Agility+4]
[Sour and Malnourished Stomach of Lonely Crayfish Egg-Defender- Recovery +4 and Constitution +1]
[Beak of Cheerful Bluebird Chirper- Attack +1, Perception +1, Poise +1, and Agility +1]
[Slimy Yet Generous Tongue of the Three-Horned Swamp Frog- Accuracy +2 and Attack +2]
[Antenna of Prideful Crayfish- Poise +1 and Perception +2]
[Four Back Legs of the Prideful Crayfish Snapper- Agility +2]
[Digging Claws of the Buff Crayfish Mucker- Defense +1 and Strength +2]
Stats: (Temp) Perception: 9 (Temp) Poise: 8 (Temp) Recovery: 4
(Temp) Attack: 6 (Temp) Agility: 7 (Temp) Constitution: 1
(Temp) Accuracy: 2 (Temp) Strength: 2 (Temp) Defense: 1
Skills: (Species) Absorb Anima Lvl 16, (Species) Integrate Body Part Lvl 18,
(Earned) Inferior Body Manipulation Lvl 13, (Earned) Basic Wisdom Lvl 9
(Temp) Lesser Mana Detection Lvl 10 (+13), (Temp) Detect Danger Lvl 10(+3), (Temp) Feed Lvl 5, (Temp) Healing Tongue Lvl 1, (Temp) Dig Lvl 1, (Temp) Flutter Wings Lvl 1
I moved back toward the mud beach, considering my next move. I surprised myself with how little time I had for consideration; even moving through the shallow water and the marshy land, my combination of Poise and Agility meant I navigated the terrain easily.
And also, maybe just… the amount of distance I usually cover is small; the size of a normal yard, back home… Being a tiny jelly has some disadvantages…
Before starting the beginning of my construction work, I moved to the edge of the water and looked down at my reflection. All my other body parts remained the same since the morning, but now I had a pair of wings stretching from my back, adding some texture to my silhouette.
Definitely, I’m looking quite fashionable these days, aren’t I? I turned myself back and forth. In truth, I had always had… ah, strange sort of preferences. The sort of guy who couldn’t resist squish-faced pugs, hairless cats, and otherwise vaguely alien-looking creatures. In human society, it made certain situations awkward, but it seemed that finally, I had found my place amongst the monsters.
Oh, before I forget.
I activated my new Skill, Flutter Wings. My wings… well, maybe they moved vigorously. I hopped up in the air, hoping to achieve something like gliding, but…
Maybe… is my body surprisingly heavy? So this Skill is… entirely useless.
Your Skill (Earned) Basic Wisdom has grown to Level 10.
Your Skill (Temp) Flutter Wings has grown to Level 2.
Tch…
The lack of a useful Skill filled me with disappointment, but I did find the twitchy movements of my flapping wings to be oddly captivating in my reflection. It didn’t require Mana and only tired me out after quite some time, so I activated Flutter Wings almost constantly while I poked around in the mud, searching for a suitable place to dig.
I tried to make my steps into extended hops. I scooped up some mud and formed a ball. Perhaps someday, they would call me Air Tallum.
In the end, there probably isn’t any meaning in Leveling up the Skill, but I really don’t know, do I? The limit before the Growth Threshold is so mysterious. Probably some of my questions will be answered upon reaching Level 10… for now, might as well improve in every way I can.
With that in mind, I got to work on my ‘hobby’.
Your Skill (Temp) Dig has grown to Level 2.
Your Skill (Temp) Dig has grown to Level 3.
Your Skill (Temp) Flutter Wings has grown to Level 3.
Your Skill (Temp) Dig has grown to Level 4.
I dug up several spots, gathering a fair amount of mud. I brought over some of the reeds I had left out to dry and mixed them into the mud. The process… wasn’t pretty. I was trying to manipulate very frozen ice cream with two wooden spatulas. But at least, patting the sides of the mud balls into flat planes worked. For the detail work of sharpening the sides of the mud corners, tentacles and a foreleg would suffice.
Once I had three reasonably even specimens, I carried them over to my reed stand. I had chosen to make the bricks about half my size, which suddenly felt quite ambitious. Due to their size, I could only fit two onto the reed stand to dry in the sun. The third… I simply left it on the ground.
As I turned to walk away, the reed stand began to lean to the side. The right support bent. One of my bricks slipped off. Cursing, I went back and plucked the fallen brick up before its still liquidy mud could ooze and join with the ground. I used my digging claws to hammer the legs of the reed stand into the ground until it was even. It was less distance off the ground, but the bent part was buried.
Then I put the brick back on top and wandered back to the stump. But on my way, I heard some suspicious splashing near our territory. I looked around the stump; both Indigo and Green were out.
So alone, I went to investigate the disturbance. I followed the noises up through the mud mounds where the frogs slept and bred and into a new, slightly hilly area populated by reeds. I rounded one of the larger mounds and found the source of the noise.
What I found… was so cliche that I chirped in surprise. Then excitement began to burn through me.
Four Three-Horned Swamp Frogs Lvl 8 hopped around, displaying their bravado. They splashed through the shallow water, approaching a foe as large as the stump. This massive creature watched their approach coolly.
Swirlback Tortoise Lvl 14
Ah… this scenario… Only a human from Earth would understand what an easy opportunity this is going to be! Again, I was so excited I couldn’t help releasing a pleased chirp. These two sides are going to fight… and at the last moment, I’ll strike and monopolize the benefits for myself? Level 10 here I come!
Even if I can’t get the experience… isn’t this a body part buffet?