I ceased fluttering my wings, unwilling to reveal my presence. The key here would be subterfuge and effortless guile. I snuck closer as combat began. As expected, the frogs surrounded the tortoise and attacked.
But unfortunately-
Their tongues smacked against the tortoise’s shell and did precisely nothing. The massive tortoise yawned and wiggled its body, sinking a bit deeper into the mud. This monster seemed like he was prepping himself for a long nap.
What the? Try it once more, and this time put your warts into it!
The frogs hopped around angrily, splashing mud. One finally had the insight to hop around to the front of the tortoise. This tongue smashed into one of the tortoise’s closed eyes. The giant monster flinched back in surprise. Its whole shell rose as it roused itself, eyes reddening with rage. One by one, its legs lifted out of the muck, straightening out. Then right as the frog was about to take another shot, the tortoise's leg kicked sideways.
…I can expect no help from these frogs…
The frog's body popped on impact, at least the top half. The bottom half shattered. The remnant flesh skittered sideways, drawing grotesque patterns in the mud. It had one last twitch left in its body, then it fell still.
It said much about the last two weeks of my monster life that I didn’t flinch in the face of the sudden gore.
Their friend’s death made the remaining frogs even more furious. They hopped all around, one even climbing up to sit on top of the tortoise’s shell to shoot the tongue directly down, a righteous condemnation in the form of mouth muscle.
The tortoise didn’t even seem to notice. With no more enemies hitting it in the eye, it released another large sigh and settled deeper for its nap. It stretched out its legs in every direction, mucking up the surrounding ground so it could sink into the cool mud. It left its neck extended, half submerged in the murky particulate.
I watched with mounting frustration. My hopes of an easy harvest had completely dissipated. Yet I couldn’t just turn and walk away, like my brain urged me. I watched the tortoise with emotions that were definitely not leisurely. Maybe normally I wouldn’t have felt it so keenly, but with Indigo making it to Level 11…
I didn’t want to be left behind. I shifted back and forth, digging my own small burrow. For a bit while longer, I stayed to gather information.
Right as the tortoise seemed about to doze off, a frog hopped and splashed onto its neck. Blearily, the tortoise's neck slowly drew back. A split second after it had sunk under the protective auspice of its shell, the head shot forward. It chomped down with its blunt teeth and ate almost three-quarters of the frog.
Definitely a dangerous enemy. But also, if you pay attention… doesn’t it telegraph all of its attacks…? And such slow opening movements— with my new Agility and Poise, and my former human observation… My eye sparkled as I examined the tortoise. Part of it was the desire to kill this foe and reach Level 10, but also…
I must admit, I have another small flaw. That is, when I have a plan in mind… sometimes I stick to it, even to the point it becomes untenable. Once I’ve sunk my teeth into a problem, I don’t release easily. I recognize it more easily in the operation of the machine, but its not the clockwork that produces this stubbornness. Like with the issue of perfectly getting my mongoose claw through the Mana-cage, sometimes I need to forcefully disengage. I like to think of it as flattering terms such as grit or tenacity… but others have been much less glowing in their reviews-
Your Skill (Earned) Basic Wisdom has grown to Level 10(+1).
You eavesdropping System… I quivered in fury. But at the same time, I did note that Basic Wisdom, as well, was one of those transition Skills that wouldn’t grow past 10 yet.
Instead of worrying about the System, I observed and solidified my plan.
Only two frogs remained, but they continued to raise a fuss in the area of the tortoise. The much larger tortoise eyed them suspiciously but wiggled back down into a comfortable mud cocoon once more. Filled with anticipation, I crept closer. The mud silenced my movements and I was nowhere near as eye-catching as the temper tantrum-throwing frogs.
I soon hopped up onto the shell of the tortoise and waited quietly to see if it reacted to my weight. If anything, the tortoise began snoring. After releasing a sigh of relief, I crept across this being’s back. I couldn’t help but notice I was tracking mud all across the tortoise’s shell. From the bottom it was difficult to see, but the hexagonal plates were covered in gorgeous spiral patterns. Like the floor of a rich person’s bathroom.
I moved until I stood atop the opening above its extended neck. I crouched down, considering the distance. Although I definitely clung to this opportunity out of stubbornness, I also had the outline of the plan. Because of the massive (relative) size of the tortoise, it would be hard to strike through the neck. But I had a chance if I could land a decisive blow with my serrated foreleg on the top of its head.
Because once it began bleeding, I could drink its Anima.
I jiggled my jelly body several times to improve my mood. Reassured by the innate advantages of the jello cup, I moved a bit back from the edge of the shell. Then I ran forward with all the speed my Agility could muster. Then I leapt off the shell, aiming for the base of the skull. Midair, I activated Flutter Wings to carry me that extra bit of distance.
Your Skill (Temp) Flutter Wings has grown to Level 4.
Your Skill (Temp) Flutter Wings has grown to Level 5.
It… definitely appears to make no difference at all…
The only concrete result of my wildly beating wings was to draw the attention of the angry frogs still hanging around. They hopped over in my direction, which meant they hopped on the mud near the tortoise's head. So when I came down hard on the tortoise's neck, scrambling to take a few more steps forward, it was because the tortoise had already begun to raise its head.
I smacked down and flailed, but whipped my serrated foreleg in a sweeping arc up over my head. Just as the tortoise stiffened, the foreleg chopped down and sank a few inches of its sharpened length into the neck of the Swirlback Tortoise.
Your Skill (Earned) Inferior Body Manipulation has grown to Level 14.
Blood gurgled up out of the wound. At the moment when the tortoise seemed stunned by pain, I happily gulped down the Anima.
Mr. Instincts began to rave with such excitement my head began to spin. This Anima-
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +15.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +22.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has triggered! Restoring 5 Health over the next 30 seconds.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has grown to Level 6.
Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 17
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +25.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has triggered! Restoring 6 Health over the next 30 seconds.
Warning, you have absorbed over 100 Anima! You are unable to handle the excess energy. 52 Anima dissipates. Current Health +10.
Uwah, isn’t he delicious? No wonder tortoises are endangered on Earth. And the amount of the Anima- My body began to quiver all on its own as a joy surged through me. Some deeper instinct triggered as I absorbed the life force of this creature, causing pure ecstasy to flood through my nervous system. I completely forgot about my situation-
Your Skill (Temp) Detect Danger has grown to Level 10(+4).
The tortoise's tail cracked me off of the neck and sent me flying, dealing 24 damage in a single strike.
Warning! Your Wings of the Scowling Bluebird Chirper have been damaged!
Warning! Your Antenna of the Prideful Crayfish Snapper has been severely damaged! Your body part has been destroyed! You have lost access to Stats (Temp) Poise +1 and Perception +2.
The disorienting combination of losing a chunk of both Poise and Perception meant I had no conception of how fast I was moving until I slammed beak-first into a mud mound. Underneath their soft and gooey exterior, they turned surprisingly firm, so the impact knocked 3 more Health away from me. I felt bleary and jittery as I pushed myself back into a reasonable position.
A frigid wave of fear blasted away any lingering euphoria from absorbing this thing’s Anima. I only have 2 more Health remaining… If I had taken the tail a bit more directly…
I flipped around, horrified the tortoise would follow up and kill me. Indigo and Green wouldn’t even know the foolish mistake I had made that ended my life early. Would they know how desperate I was to keep up with them?
A more chilling thought surfaced. At the end, what had Mimi felt about leaving me alone?
But, as it turned out, my Flutter Wings Skill hadn’t been useless. The toads had gathered from its display and now the Swirlback Tortoise heaved itself to its feet and stomped them into oblivion without even thinking about the pest it smacked away. Blood leaked out of its skull as it moved and dripped on the ground, causing my instincts to whisper sweet temptations.
I suppressed them. Because if I looked at the tortoise for too long-
Your Skill (Temp) Detect Danger has grown to Level 10(+5).
Yes, yes, I get it… I used my crayfish legs to dig out a burrow and sank to relative safety. Because Feed had triggered twice while absorbing Anima, I gained back 11 Health over the next thirty seconds, which meant the tortoise couldn’t quite kill me just by breathing on me. I admitted to myself that I probably shouldn’t have started this fight in the first place-
Your Skill (Earned) Basic Wisdom has grown to Level 10(+2).
Seriously?
I quieted myself before I could get too upset at this unreasonable System. Even though I shouldn’t have started the fight, now that I had experienced it for myself, I definitely knew the method to win the fight.
Perhaps this was also a form of stubbornness. Yet even my desire for leisure couldn’t dislodge the feeling that now seized me: if I didn’t have enough tenacity to push through this…
Someday, this fantasy world would devour me.
So I watched the tortoise’s tail carefully; I had thought the neck was strangely long, but the neck wasn’t even a fifth of the length of the thin, whip-like tail that extended from its backside. As it finished off the frogs, I observed the way it would flip the tail, bringing it around and then swinging it up from below to snap off its shell.
But if you use it in that way, I watched carefully. Then only two-thirds of your shell will be swept. So long as I see which way the tail is coming…
I waited. Afternoon turned into evening before the tortoise tired of stomping around, drawing the attention of curious frogs and then murdering them when they approached. I even watched it eviscerate a Four-Horned Bloat Toad Lvl 11 that came to investigate the hubbub. I considered closing my eyes toward the end, so I wouldn’t lose my nerve. Finally, my quarry began to settle down. The sun began to set and it wiggled itself into the mud for a good night’s sleep.
Yes, yes… lower your guard…
When darkness had fallen, I popped up out of my mud burrow and scuttled closer. As I had hoped, it still didn’t react. Even when I climbed back up onto its shell, the tortoise didn’t move at all. Definitely a design flaw not to be able to feel enemies climbing on your shell. Oh well, not my body, not my problem.
At least not yet!
…
Umu, absorbing a tortoise shell ten times the size of my body might be a little bit ambitious…
I once more went to the front of the shell but decided to satisfy myself with the neck. I raised my serrated foreleg and hacked down. It sank into the soft flesh of the middle neck even easier than the back of the head— though that should be obvious, due to the lack of a skull blocking me. Blood gurgled out and a tentacle happily absorbed this meal.
Your Skill (Earned) Inferior Body Manipulation has grown to Level 15.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +25.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +30.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has triggered! Restoring 6 Health over the next 30 seconds.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has grown to Level 7.
Warning, you have absorbed over 100 Anima! You are unable to handle the excess energy. 55 Anima dissipates. Current Health +11.
Oooo… this feeling… Ah, I’m sailing on a sea of victory, wearing only a crimson cape and a gold crown-
No, focus! Soon-
Your Skill (Earned) Basic Wisdom has grown to Level 10(+3).
Your Skill (Temp) Detect Danger has grown to Level 10(+6).
As soon as the feared notification came, I threw myself to the bottom edge of the shell. I had been hazy with pleasure from the Anima, but my eye had been fixed behind me. So I caught the blurred arc of the tail whipping around to my left and hopped to the right. The tail cracked past and clipped my one wing, dealing 4 damage and almost wrenching it from my body. But the Health from the old feeds and the dissipating Anima meant that I still had plenty to spare.
Seeing the first attack missed, the tortoise struck again, bringing the tail around the other side. Once the attack hit its whipping acceleration, the movement became impossible for me to follow with 7 Perception, but before that point it practically traced out the path of its trajectory.
After the second tail swipe missed, I hurried back to the front and stabbed down into the exposed neck with my foreleg.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +30.
Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 18.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +37.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has triggered! Restoring 7 Health over the next 30 seconds.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has grown to Level 8.
I pulled back first, unwilling to chance my instincts dragging me into another catatonic state of bliss. This time, the tortoise pulled his neck entirely back within his body. I hopped back up on top and pivoted to look behind. What followed was a slew of about ten strikes with its tail, alternating sides of its shell.
A little like jump rope, except a mistake would slice off your foot.
Your Skill (Earned) Inferior Body Manipulation has grown to Level 16.
Your Skill (Temp) Detect Danger has grown to Level 10 (+6).
Ufufu, for a young man raised in the information age, memorizing periodic timing is my bread and butter!
After ten strikes the tortoise finally peeked its head back out of its shell. I was waiting there with my serrated foreleg. I wish this beak could twist into a malicious grin… ah, I miss the human body.
I cut open a new wound.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +23.
Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 19.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +24.
Your Skill (Temp) Feed has triggered! Restoring 8 Health over the next 30 seconds.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +40.
Realizing its mistake, the tortoise head pulled back within the safety of its shell. I cheeped in pleasurable anticipation. You will not sleep tonight, my delicious prey.