“So gallant! How cool!” Sage bounced back and forth when I finally crawled my way out from under the monster. As a counter point to her joy, I shambled forth with enough blood spatter and gore across my body that the evening news would cover me in a mosaic.
When she landed and practically barreled me over in an overpowering tail-hug, I wasn’t sure whether to feel vaguely disgusted (on her behalf) or touched. She pushed back, radiating positive energy. “With your heroic actions, the strawberry fields have been liberated! And good thing we did it today, too, because tomorrow we aren’t allowed to kill anything.”
My body twitched. Ah, yes, I cannot forget our sensibilities are so different… the strawberries have been liberated… by being reduced to bombed out craters. Her relief is that we finished before moral imperatives prevent us from defaulting to violence.
…and yet, I still feel so warm? Sweet humanity, how fleeting your touch…
With the foes vanquished, Sage quickly lost interest and bounced away (likely to find more victims before she wasn’t allowed to kill anything). Honestly though, this was for the best; during the entirety of our short conversation, I had stood in front of Sage, hoping to screen her from looking at the Albino Python Baron.
The memory of her cannonballing the crayfish corpse and eliminating all the possible body parts weighed heavily on my mind.
The fickle incarnation of destruction had ceased darkening the threshold, which left me with time to consider my next move. During the fight my beak had melted due to the acid, so I currently had nine absorbed body parts.
[Hybrid Monster Core with an Azure Aspect- Mana +15, Wisdom +2]
[Fat Stomach of the Sleepy Swirlback Tortoise- Strength +2, Recovery +5, and Constitution +1]
[Holy Paw Set of the PIous Squirrel- Mana +10, Wisdom +2, Faith +2]
[Four Legs of the Sleepy Swirlback Tortoise- Strength +4, Defense +2, and Agility+1]
[Slightly Mushed Left Eye of the Vindictive Static Mongoose- Perception +5]
[Slightly Pulped Tail of the Hopeful Armored Viper- Constitution +1, Poise +3, and Agility +1]
[Heavy Heart of the Sleepy Swirlback Turtle- Recovery +3 and Constitution +3]
[Slimy Yet Generous Tongue of the Three-Horned Swamp Frog- Accuracy +2 and Attack +2]
[Digging Claws of the Buff Crayfish Mucker- Defense +1 and Strength +2]
Most are quite valuable… but considering this corpse, I can definitely upgrade the tail. I hummed to myself, allowing my jelly core to vibrate. In addition… compared to the Stats given by others, the Digging Claws a little… hah, but with the building deadline tomorrow, I need to stick with them for now…
Nothing can rival a crustacean’s potential for mundane chores.
I stomped around the python's body, using my crayfish claws as pry bars to flip it over and get a better look at it. Most of the Albino Python’s length was at least half as thick as I was, meaning just positioning its flesh was a hassle. And without my serrated foreleg to sculpt-
Dwelling in the past is a trap! Live in the present. And now, I need a chainsaw to hack this bastard to manageable pieces…
Tragically, as the local land developer, I would need to be the one to open the chainsaw store. So for now, I improvised. First, I went to the Python head and kicked out a gleaming tooth with my turtle legs. I would probably Integrate the tooth eventually, because I did need a better offensive body part. Eye gouging would only get me so far. Then I mucked around until I found a sharp rock.
With my tools, I returned to the corpse. My eyeball twitched, as I considered what was about to happen. This will not be a pretty process.
Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+2).
Very aware that I still needed to return to our home base and create some more bricks, I got to work. I punctured a hole a little bit up the tail and then used the sharpened rock to expand it. I scraped away muscle to make the severing as clean as possible.
Your Skill (Earned) Apprentice Butchery has evolved into (Earned) Field Butchery!
An Interesting Achievement: for evolving an Apprentice Skill into a specialized variety, +5 Health and Mana.
Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 2.
What the hell System, My eyeball bulged as it observed the notifications and then got back to work…. with a few noticeable differences. I scraped my rock down and blood spattered across my vaguely lavender interstitial flesh. Is it just me… or does this ‘field’ version of butchery create larger blood sprays?!
Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+3).
Hah. Don’t stress Tallum. At least the System is kindly answering my questions. And after all, what are blood spatters but dramatic flairs?
Just don’t think about the dwindling remnants of your humanity…
Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 3.
I focused on my work and not its bloody implications for a few minutes and quickly had a workable tail. I ripped off mine and activated Integrate Body Part.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Would you like to integrate the reliable tail of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14?
Integration requires 91 Anima. Continue?
My emotions were a rollercoaster. Soaring high at the moniker of reliable… and then crashing to the ground when I saw ‘Unlucky’. I raised my tiny little mouse hands and clenched them. No, I can’t invest in this life if I’m paralyzed by fear of bad outcomes. Just because some weird reaction occurred with the last integration… ruining the best body parts I had ever found… doesn’t mean it will happen again…!
Perhaps all of the Python’s bad luck was consumed when it died? Yes, let’s go with that…
You have integrated Reliable Tail of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14! Reliable Tail of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron provides Constitution +3, Poise +4, and Agility +4.
I remained very still for a moment. When no further notifications came, I wiggled my tail back and forth. The Poise difference was only 1, but getting extra Constitution and Agility from the deal made it worth it. Wasn’t I shaping up to a pretty respectable amount of Stats. Even if you compared me to my companions-
Well, no, better not to get ahead of myself.
That had just replaced my previous tail, and I had already gone down the path of serial murderer disassembly Skill (Field Butchery was definitely not this perverse Skill’s final form), so I set to work with the rest of the flesh. Specifically, the eyes.
My single left eye from the mongoose had served me well for a long time, but it was a lonely orb. While I had unleashed my divine finisher move “Eye Poke” on the Albino Python Baron, it was a higher Level and still had two intact orbs. So I carefully carved away the surrounding skin and produced the two eyes.
Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 4.
Goodbye, old stressed, barely managing to survive Chimera Core. I thought as I decisively got rid of my previous eyeball. Now, me and my companions have grown to become masters of our own fate…!
Would you like to integrate the focused Eyes of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14?
Integration requires 47 Anima. Continue?
You have integrated Focused Eyes of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14! You have unlocked the Skill (Temp) Infrared Vision. (Temp) Infrared Vision has evolved into (Temp) Mana Vision. Skill Redundant; Skill Proficiency will instead be added to Detection. You have lost the Skill (Temp) Mana Vision. Focused Eyes of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron provides +7 Perception.
Simultaneously, two things happened. First, the visible surroundings turned soft and vague. It was at about that point that I began to wonder if snakes had very good vision at all. Yet simultaneously, my natural energy sonar, which I had been letting go by the wayside in favor of more sight-centric detection, somehow became integrated into the vision. Certain objects in the surroundings burned. I could feel their energy pressing against my skin.
So… let’s call it a wash? I remained positive because that was the sort of laid-back guy I was. Part of investing in this life was not trying to force it to conform to my previous experience.
That was another body part replacement, so I still had one more slot. For this, I just wanted to incorporate one of the forearm-sized (relative to my current body) fangs of this python. I had rather roughly kicked and torn my way through the left side of the Python’s mouth to obtain my current tool, so now I approached the right side for a fully intact specimen.
I poked a few holes and began to carefully hack my way through the flesh and sinew in the area. Even though the corpse was already cooling, blood still somehow found a way to spurt out and dribble down my front.
Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 5.
Function over aesthetics, I told myself as I wiped a bit of gristle from my chest.
Although, unintended side effect of the eyeball switch, I barely even noticed the blood covering me as I hefted up my prized. So, silver linings?
Would you like to integrate the right Fang of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14?
Integration requires 36 Anima. Continue?
Your Skill (Species) Integrate Body Part has grown to Level 24.
You have integrated Right Fang of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14! You have unlocked the Skill (Temp) Imbue Venom. Right Fang of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron provides +4 Attack.
Oh? Even a Skill? For an unlucky Python, the universe truly showered it with gifts-
Your Skill (Species) Integrate Body Part has grown to Level 25.
Not this development-! I froze. And my worst fears unfolded in front of me.
Your Skill (Temp) Imbue Venom is reacting with (Temp) Healing Tongue. Resonance achieved. Your integrated body part Slimy Yet Generous Tongue of the Three-Horned Swamp Frog is reacting with the Right Fang of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron. A new organ has condensed.
Your Skill (Species) Contemplate Flesh has grown to Level 5.
Your Skill (Species) Integrate Body Part has grown to Level 26.
Your Skill (Species) Contemplate Flesh has grown to Level 6.
Your body parts have merged to form Mysterious Sac of the Bog Monster. You have unlocked the Skill (Temp) Weak Secretions. Basic Poison and Basic Healing Secretions available. Mysterious Sac of the Bog Monster provides +4 Recovery and +4 Wisdom.
I sat very still for several minutes, not even a quiver passing through my jelly as I watched the weapon of war I had forged, this powerful fang, practically melt and flow inside my body to join the curled form of the tongue. Both of those swirled together until only a pink sac remained.
If Nightshade and Sage had been watching, they probably would have nodded and said something like ‘as expected of Tallum’. In my current emotional state, I don’t think I would have been able to withstand their misunderstandings without an emotional breakdown.
I trembled, but not in a happy way. Let’s remain upbeat! I don’t need to lick Nightshade to heal him anymore… and further evidence that combination body parts are possible. With proper experimentation-
“However… why the hell is it more secretions!” I bellowed out my frustrations at the sky. Reeds waved vaguely in the surroundings. A snake head poked out of the tall grass, noticed my rage-filled and snake-gore covered form, and quietly slipped back into the grass.
A minor blip, in between several leisurely days in my new Chimera life. There is no shame in occasionally backsliding into destructive behaviors, so long as you learned from the experience-
Never trust this damned System. My jelly clenched. But eventually, I unclenched my flesh. My tongue had been absorbed, so again, I didn’t truly use a body part slot on this new… sac. I looked down at the remaining, much uglier fang I still possessed.
It would have to do.
Would you like to integrate the bloody left Fang of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14?
Integration requires 31 Anima. Continue?
Bah. The moniker made me scowl. I stomped out of my little corner of the tall grass area to a pool of water and rinsed the fang as best as I could. I used my human-ish fingers to scrub. Part of investing in life was putting forth effort to better yourself. And usually, the universe would reward you.
I activated my Skill again.
Would you like to integrate the blood-soaked left Fang of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron Lvl 14?
Integration requires 31 Anima. Continue?
This fucking System…!