I looked at the broken remnants of the cage in front of me. I felt irked and humiliated, even through the pleasant haze of victory.

When it was clear the Corrupted Heron had truly died, I left Sage with her smug frostiness to swim over and rescue the gecko. The creature was snarky and arrogant, but it also had the ability to communicate. And I couldn’t help but feel curious why the Corrupted monster had captured it.

I stretched a tentacle into the murky water and groped around. As soon as I felt the sturdy bars of the woven cage, I dragged it to the surface. To my surprise, two of the bars had been chewed through. The cage was empty, the gecko having escaped at some point and slithered to shore. Yet the most galling portion-

The gecko had left a tiny little turd in the middle of its cage.

When I came back to shore, Sage patted my back. “Inexplicable idiocy can only be witnessed, brother, never understood. Your tender heart is a virtue, yet the world is rife with arrogant cretins. We cannot protect these fools from their own befuddled inclinations.”

The mood was definitely cheery as I walked toward the teddy bear. I fixed the feeling in my heart and moved to satisfy another question. At this point, I knew my query would have consequences, but I was still curious enough to ask. “How does a monster become Corrupted?”

The bloodthirsty chitterer patrol reveled and frolicked around us, trying to keep up with Sage’s enthusiastic celebrations. I tried to ignore the small interloper squirrel, which still directed awe-struck glances in my direction after I used my tail to protect it.

The mood did a lot to erase my bitterness toward the vanished gecko and its parting gift.

Next to me, the Kami brightened visibly at my question. “Heh, does the underworld rely on logic to disgorge fresh horrors unto this world? The history of speculation as to the nature of Corruption stretches as long as the existence of Kamis. Is there perhaps a third plane, other than the physical and the origin of Mana? Or perhaps-”

“Maybe I should clarify my question,” I choked out. “Is there… a physical representation of Corruption?”

“No,” For whatever reason, that question sobered up the Kami. Perhaps it was worried that I would be tempted to be Corrupted? “...perhaps even more ominously for the Souls of those corrupted, they do not possess a Mana Core. It is… for lack of a better term, sacrificed in the process.”

What does a Mana Core have to do with a Soul? Ah, undoubtedly, the answer isn’t worth another long lecture-

Actually wait, does that mean I’ve been absorbing Souls, or portions of them, when I incorporate these colored aspects into my Mana Core?

Maybe a lecture is worth it…

My concerns were tabled for a bit as a cheer rose up amongst the gathered bloodthirsty chitterers; Nightshade had finally dredged up the corpse of the heron and dragged it to shore. The squirrels hopped over the body, examining it closely and then posing heroically on top of the corpse. They flexed their small muscles, as though they had a hand in its demise.

“If I could bring smartphones to a fantasy world…” I muttered as I imagined how immediately the squirrels would embrace the concept of taking photos. Then I was somewhat shocked at my willingness to introduce such an addiction to an innocent fantasy world.

Meanwhile, Nightshade moved slightly off to the side and settled down into a soft hollow of mud. I could feel both his heavy exhaustion and his spent satisfaction.

“Brother Tallum!” Sage landed on top of me, bouncing slightly. “Obviously, Brother Nightshade shall take the beak; his obsession with heads will only have been strengthened after this minor success. And I wish for the tails. Yet many gooey bits persist in the interior. Shall I lay them bare for you?”

“Sage, don’t trouble yourself,” I thought out loud, while inwardly thinking: ‘Sage, don’t obliterate another body’. “In fact, please, I hope you’ll allow me to extract the tail for you, as a small token of my appreciation for what you’ve accomplished today.”

“Tallum, how could I possibly allow you to do that? It would be unseemly,” Sage said with obvious pleasure. And although she said those words, she started prodding me forward with her tails, so I would hurry about the favor.

I couldn’t even be mad at Sage at her most willful, not after she had both helped me convince the Kami and she had warned me about the importance of my inaction in regards to Nightshade. I looked over at my brother and he nodded back at me, agreeing to my offer to extract the head.

As I approached the squirrels bounced away, leaving trails of glitter in their wake. Even now, the magicality of this world made me wish to roll my eyes. I did my best to suppress that impulse and instead moved to the head

Although it is a small gesture… the first and most important extraction from this body will be the head. The cost of today’s victory was steep for Nightshade.

Plus, this lets me test another area in which I might step forward. Was Violala right, to compliment my actions? Am I the best of my siblings when extracting body parts…? Or does the malicious system just take extra pleasure from inflating my ego and then popping my hopes…

Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+21).

You think I won’t find the server room and tear out whatever gives you this attitude?!

Hah, Tallum, be as the wind. Light and untouchable, constantly flowing… think of Nightshade…

With my Bloodsoaked Left Fang, I began to carve into the corpse. The Heron’s torso had been thoroughly ravaged by Nightshade to kill it, but the neck and head were largely intact. I smoothed away the rough chomps left by the strange Skill used on the venom mantis head. Then I cleanly decapitated the heron.

Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 10.

Blood spattered out in every direction; a fae squirrel flinched back as a coagulated clump of gore smashed into its chin. I shook my head, but felt more amusement than I would admit that my Skill began affecting the peanut gallery. Why did my bloody aoe continue to grow?

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

That thought stilled me. Honestly, the precision of my butchery hasn’t much increased… is the main benefactor of gaining levels… just the splash radius…?

A troubling thought, to the point I decided that examining too closely would just stress me out. Instead, I considered the graceful neck and head before me. Even now, the lengthy beak glistened with razor-sharpness. Yet at this point, I couldn’t really figure out how I could improve the harvested body part. Perhaps I could draw a few strange patterns, but considering the slimness of the neck and my own artistic potential-

“Ah,” A thought occurred to me, as my gaze caught on one detail of the corpse. The bit of Corruption hanging on its forehead had vanished when it died, as implied by the Kami. Yet a burned dot remained on the feathers of its forehead.

Following an impulse, I extended a squirrel paw, already the fingers making hand sigils. My Mana condensed with my will. At the point of the forehead that had once housed Corruption, I created a Mana Array node. For a second I waffled between two options, but decided to cause the rotation to be outward. Of the two hoops, the top would rotate bottom in, while the bottom rotated top in: a Dispersal node.

Whereas once Corruption sucked in the energy from the world, Mana hummed through my fingers. Now, this head will push energy out into the world.

Your Skill (Earned) Lesser Array Knowledge has grown to Level 16.

Your Skill (Earned) Lesser Array Knowledge has grown to Level 17.

Your Skill (Species) Contemplate Flesh has grown to Level 10.

Huh? Contemplate Flesh grew… I nodded. Then my actions should have had a positive effect on the limb.

More Mana than I expected flowed to create the array node, almost six times as much as I usually used. In an instant, my Mana pool had been reduced to dregs. Yet simultaneously, Nightshade moved to my side. Both of us peered down at the result. In a curious mirroring of the past, Mana surged outward from the forehead, making the surrounding energy messy.

“Heh. You have given me a most effective needle brother,” Nightshade chuckled. “With which I will sow the doom of our foes into the fabric of creation. Many thanks.”

Nightshade moved forward and his flesh parted to allow jelly to touch the base of the long neck. I felt a pulse of energy from his animating array as he activated Integrate Body part. The shift gave me pause; I made a mental note to watch the arrays of one of my siblings while they integrated body parts.

Yet the most satisfying part of the process was the black flame that flickered into existence right on the new node as the body part became Nightshade’s. He raised the slender limb, the sleek Heron beak giving him a vicious weapon. He held aloft a torch. From the glitter in his eyes, I knew he would use it to light his path forward through carnage.

“A repayment of an old favor,” I said, burying any lingering regrets in my heart. “When you brought me that serrated foreleg… well, it helped me find my bearings.”

Sage’s body part came next. I cut away her tail, drawing a few whimsical whorls with blood, but didn’t earn any Skill Levels for my trouble. She gushed over my labor and how it was completely unnecessary, but still took the body part. Which left me with the middle portion of the body.

My eyes first went to the legs. I could only grimace at the mangled flesh there. Yea, absorbing the legs would have been ideal… but both were too heavily damaged in the fighting. And considering my current body parts….

I glanced at the list.

[Hybrid Monster Core with an Azure Aspect- Mana +15, Wisdom +2]

[Armored Spine of the Insomniac Wetland Armadillo Bruiser- Constitution+3, Strength +5, and Defense +7]

[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]

[Focused Eyes of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron- +7 Perception]

[Reliable Tail of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron- Constitution +3, Poise +4, and Agility +4]

[Blood-soaked Left Fang of the Unlucky Albino Python Baron- Attack +3 and Oppression +5]

[Heavy Heart of the Sleepy Swirlback Tortoise- Recovery +3 and Constitution +3]

[Mysterious Sac of the Bog Monster- +4 Recovery and +4 Wisdom]

My body parts could be split into three categories: innards, utility, and damage.

My innards included my monster core, tortoise stomach and heart, and the spontaneously formed Bog Monster Sac.

My utility included my Armored Spine, my snake eyes, tortoise legs, and snake tail.

Damage… well, of them all, that category was the loosest. Definitely the Bloodsoaked left fang belonged there, but I shuddered to include my squirrel paws in Utility.

Obviously, my Damage portion needed a boost. But I had filled all of my body parts slots and hesitated to sacrifice something for the mangled remnants of the heron’s legs. Even my serpent tail, which had taken a hit from a feather but appeared to be healing nicely. Obviously, part of me wished to dump the squirrel paws, but they did provide 10 Mana, which currently would allow me to absorb the isolated Python Baron essence and empower my Monster Core.

I glared down at my squirrel paws. Another stay from your execution, buccos. But you are on notice…!

Still, I didn’t want to waste this high-Level corpse. Before finalizing my thoughts, I used my fang to split open its stomach. I used tentacles to paw a bit through the organs inside, but the Kami was right; no monster core was present.

So instead I rummaged around a bit and pulled out a heart.

Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 11.

Inferior Adrenaline Rush reacted when the Spine was incorporated, so it should stay even if I replace the tortoise heart, I reasoned. Meanwhile… Mana Feed hasn’t had any such interaction. And losing that extra sustain would be dangerous.

Not all enemies will be smart enough to create summoned leaf avatars to fight against us Chimera Cores…!

…right?

…Nevermind, let’s not tempt fate.

Would you like to integrate the bitter heart of the (*) Bog Heron Lvl 21? Integration requires 81 Anima. Continue?

Please note, integration will require the release of another body part.

You have released the Heavy Heart of the Swirlback Tortoise.

You have integrated the Bitter Heart of the (*) Bog Heron Level 21! Bitter Heart of the Bog Heron provides +2 Agility, +4 Constitution, +7 Poise, and +8 Oppression.

Your Skill (Temp) Inferior Adrenaline Rush is reacting to [Redacted] of Bitter Heart of the (*) Bog Heron. Calculating… incorporating the [Redacted] benefits of Wisdom-

Incorporating the [Redacted] benefits of Insight-

Incorporation failed. Please increase your Wisdom and Insight to gain early access to [Redacted].

A Mundane Achievement: For again brushing up against an aspect of the System locked behind the Second Growth Threshold, +1 Max Health, +1 Max Mana.

“As always…” I couldn’t help but shake my head. “System, why do your notifications contain such baggage?”

“Baggage? Perhaps you mean the specific terminology of notifications?” Eternal Oak Grasps Upward moved to my side. The Kami’s eyes brightened. “Ahem, ahem, actually, I’ve lived for quite a bit of time and have encountered various bits of information in regards to the System. Although it structures the powers and privileges of a Kami, does it truly govern us? Some speculate-”

I let my eyes glaze over. I spent so much effort today to satisfy my morals and keep you alive… and I am punished for it.