“A truly fascinating coincidence emerged during the epoch where humanity began enshrining their greatest champions as gods,” The Kami continued to speak, only building up more momentum over the presiding five minutes of monologue. “Not that they were granted access to Blessings, those are purely the domain of Kamis, but the chosen ‘gods’ grasped a method to mimic the effect. So they could provide to their followers with certain Skills.

”Ah, I can see in your eye that you wish to ask about the exact difference between Blessings and Skills. Heh, even philosophers are stumped by such a query. Yet can we not glean plenty of information just from their procession? Consider Skills, which accumulate Levels. Then, Blessings, which involve proficiency. Why does such a distinction exist? In my opinion-”

Before my brain melted into sapience-less sludge, I tuned the Kami out and categorized my body-part gains.

First, it was interesting to note that the term Corrupted had been cut away by the System, after the heron’s death. I supposed it was another way the System showed that whatever allowed for the Corruption dissipated when the creature died.

Second, the System’s attitude remained almost reassuringly insulting; a second brush up against a redacted presence made it give such an insultingly low reward for the achievement I suspected it had given it to me just to be sarcastic.

Whatever. Achievements are Achievements. When I select a glittering orange option during my next evolution, won’t you feel bitterness, System?

…unless my impressive achievements open the door for an even more sparkling color?!

Third, I had lost a few points of Recovery by switching my heart from tortoise to heron but gained Agility and Poise in spades, which was a worthy trade. Plus, the huge boost to Oppression, but considering that it mostly affected the species of those I had killed before, it really just cemented my position as the object of dread of the fae squirrels.

I could feel them behind me, looking at me with eyes dominated by dilated pupils.

Or perhaps they tried to listen to their blustering Kami and were bored into a zombie-like state? Who can say.

Ah, this is why all the forest dwellers are so muscular. With a Kami like this leading them, how can one develop intelligence? It becomes an asset to be ignorant. Move the body while your brain melts.

To prevent a slide into meat headedness, I completely deactivated my hearing as we walked. Sure, there were interesting bits of knowledge contained within the Kami’s rambling discussions. But-

“...normal progression might have a limit, but did you know it depends on the Kami Tier? Lowered Tiered Kamis actually possess a great deal more flexibility, but in return, they are more tightly bound to the land. Hum hum, a scholarly fellow like you probably is salivating, thinking of studying the essence of a Kami and how they differ, yes? Naive! To look upon the majesty of a Kami’s truth is to have your awareness seared away by majesty! And even if you managed to gaze for longer… well, the philosophers disagree on what exactly you will find. Have I mentioned I was once head of the Philosopher’s Council of Kamis, back when we ruled the lands without challenge? If not for those treacherous, jealous fools from the Vast Sun desert plotting to oust me from my role as Chairkami…!”

For every useful tidbit, you had to survive the battering of five nonsensical sentences. Mentally, the exertion wasn’t worth the result.

I shifted from one foot to another and felt my muscles tightening within my interstitial flesh. At this point, I knew what I wanted from my next body part upgrade; these sturdy tortoise legs had carried me thus far, but were beginning to reach the end of their feasibility. They just didn’t possess the requisite acuity for my increasing Stats.

A jelly hum brought me back to myself. I vaguely gestured at the Kami with my bloodsoaked fang and cantered forward to join my sister.

“Tallum you have that look on your face again,” Sage spoke and woke me from my thoughts. She wiggled her new heron tail from side to side, admiring the bloodstains in the sun. “Shall we seek out more enemies to kill?”

“Sage-” I released an exasperated breath, expecting to need to deny her weird assumptions, but then I froze.

Uh, wait. I hadn’t considered it in quite those terms, but isn’t she right? To get new, more powerful legs… we will need to find an enemy to kill…

What happened to you, Tallum? You used to be so pure, so innocent…

“Honestly,” I threw my squirrel hands up into the air. I felt vulnerable, but I tried to vocalize my feelings. “I have a different issue. Sage, I’ve been trying to live a more relaxed and leisurely life… but I don’t think I’m doing so well. I keep getting distracted… by necessity, so I don’t regret it. But… I need a hobby.”

Nearby, the epitome of a non-hobbier, Nightshade, finally roused himself from his recovery. He lifted the heron head to the sky and unleashed a roar. A rousing cheer rose from amongst the Fae Squirrels. The Kami immediately waddled over to Nightshade, now settled down into a teddy bear form. “Ohoho! Such martial vigor! This reminds me-”

“Actually, brother Tallum, might I give you a suggestion?” Sage offered me a tail with an elaborate flourish. “Some… logistical preparations will be required, but in the course of my experience in my past life, I became a masterful dancer. In terms of hobbies, none can rival it both for fulfilling connection and physical communication.”

“Dance?” I gave Sage a long look. My immediate instinct was to reject her. Because when I thought about dancing, I thought about what the pairings would look like. Would I dance with Sage? Or Violala? Or even worse, with Mookt rolling across me-

Still, I could only grimace, unable to totally reject the option. Perhaps not the most comfortable option… but of all of the hobbies I’ve considered, at least this one won’t just become one more stressful job. Investing in the present is important. But isn’t leisure the ultimate form of investing in myself?

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“...okay. I’d like to try dancing when we get back.”

Immediately, I could feel Sage’s jelly humming with joy. Yet she kept her disposition cool. “My schedule is quite busy, but I can do some rearranging for you, Brother Tallum. When we get back you say? Then we should depart quickly-- HEY!”

Sage unleashed a booming shout and snapped her whip-like tortoise tail. The jovial and celebratory atmosphere of the mud beach vanished, completely suppressed by her shout. A couple of squirrels hopped up like surprised goats. Even Nightshade seemed somewhat put out by the violence of her shout. Sage gave them a cheery smile, manipulating her interstitial flesh. “Isn’t it about time we head back? We had a deal, Kami.”

“Indeed,” At the reminder of what was to come, the chattiness of the Kami fell away. Looking at those heavy eyes, I remembered with a small shiver the power I had felt when I walked into the clearing and found the bear sleeping beneath the Eternal Oak. The Kami pivoted and looked at the gathered chitterers. “Disperse. As a demonstration of good faith, the Chimera Cores have eliminated the threat to the south, the three-eyed monster. I will proceed from here alone. Now that your future has been secured… our end of the bargain must be upheld.”

“Chiii!” The smallest squirrel, who shouldn’t even have been a part of the patrol, squeaked out a denial and scampered a few steps forward.

Although it currently had shrunk down to a teddy bear size, the Eternal Oak Grasps Upward unleashed a pulse of fury. The Mana in the surrounding space quivered. “Enough. Your concerns are irrelevant. Return to the forest and wait for word.”

The Kami turned and strode purposefully away. At the edge of the reeds, the Kami paused and glanced over its shoulder. “If you don’t like it… grow strong, my children. Else all you can accomplish is witnessing as the world plunders your treasures.”

After proliferating this world’s dominant philosophy, the Kami walked into the reeds.

Alone.

Sage, Nightshade, Violala, and I exchanged a glance. Apparently, we were superfluous for the dramatic impression the Kami wanted to leave on its people. I shrugged; it felt somewhat annoying to now follow the Kami after we had captured its Mantle, but I understood it was just trying to act cool in front of its squirrels.

The chitterers, for their part, now seemed entirely bereft of spirit. Their usually fluffy tails dragged in the mud as they exchanged woeful looks. All except one: the smallest fae squirrel watched us depart with hard eyes.

Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+7).

The Skill increase actually had me slightly concerned; how hard must the little squirrel have been looking for my Skill to react?

We had the advantage because we arrived and freed our Kami, I thought as I moved through the reeds. But I shouldn’t forget that those ripples are spreading outward. Soon, this whole area will be liberated. Which means others will find their own paths to strength and come knocking on the door of my home.

I felt my resolve tighten. And should they carry only violence in their hands…

“Brother, are you reconsidering the act of sparing the chitterers?” Nightshade whispered beside me. Inwardly, I lamented that it seemed the jelly sensitivity extended both ways; now my siblings had extra opportunities to misunderstand me.

Nightshade unleashed a bellowing laugh. “I understand the impulse to strangle threats in their infancy before they can develop… yet doesn’t your heart quiver to rule from atop a boiling pot of tensions…? The perfume of revolution thickens the air.”

“The squirrels currently lack the strength and leadership to mount coherent resistance, but that won’t last forever,” Violala observed. Her wings flickered. “Perhaps… on this night, I will return to their lands and observe their movements. It will provide a unique challenge to construct a veil of subterfuge suitable to the forest.”

“A direct demonstration of their inconsequential lives would perhaps be more efficient,” Nightshade sniffed.

“Yet is blood-soaked efficiency really necessary? Rather than that, gathering information before we need to commit will give us the greatest advantages.”

Nightshade released a low rumble. “The tedious game of gathering advantages is just that, a game. While you play… you give the opposition the freedom to raise the stakes and manipulate the rules. A superior player always plays the table or the opponent, never the game.”

Violala paused and gave Nightshade a long look. “...indeed, your points are illuminating, Sir Nightshade.”

Further discussion stopped when we passed through the reeds and found the Kami waiting next to a small stream. We moved forward, Violala fluttering and settling on my back, Nightshade practicing thrusts and sweeps with his new head arm, while Sage brought up the rear. The Kami walked in the middle, but heaviness dominated its countenance. Even after a few minutes of proceeding Northwest, he didn’t begin to chatter.

On the one hand, I wanted to learn more about Mana Arrays, but also I took the opportunity to test the limits of my new Agility and Poise. My flat-bottomed tortoise legs seemed to glide over the ground. When I placed down my leg, I felt an impressive degree of control as the limb sank into mud. A few times I even adjusted where my weight was placed on the fly, allowing me to secure a better foothold.

Perhaps I would have been content to walk in that manner the entire way back, but I felt my Skills activate.

Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+8).

Your Skill (Earned) Mana Sensitivity has grown to Level 25(+13).

“Everyone, take it slow,” I said. “Something’s up ahead.”

Aren’t we close to the temple? My heart tightened. If there is danger here- ah, could one of the other areas of expansion… have overcome our champions and retaliated?

The group tightened around me. Violala tapped my spine in reassurance as we pushed through the last of the reeds and arrived at a mud beach. I scanned the area; this wasn’t our mud beach, but it was the stretch immediately to the South of where we had settled. The river was wider here, with several mud islands dotting the middle of the water.

Yet the source of the unpleasant energy was right in front of us: the beach was covered in a half dozen toad corpses. And their flesh-

The Kami grunted, his gaze flinty. “Their bodies are tainted with necrotic energy.”

They were the same Four-Horned Bloat Toads that sat on our own beach, but these had been slaughtered. One seemed to have been popped, another had both of its legs torn off, another seemed to have stuck most of its head into a wood chipper. Strips of shredded flesh and clotted blood dotted the beach.

Yet the energy I sensed, as the Kami pointed out, came from the wounds. A bubbling, black mold-like substance had grown on the torn flesh. On the one hand, I bet it released a rancid stench. Yet it was the wafting waves of energy that had grabbed my attention. Although it didn’t necessarily feel wrong, definitely our animating arrays incorporated a bit of this energy, I could suddenly understand why everyone reacted so strongly to our presence.

The Necrotic energy clung to the beach. Wisps of greyish energy hovered over the ground like a haunted mist. Already, I could see the way it would creep outward and infect the area. In my mind, I recalled the lifeless stretch of forest around Raccain’s tower.

But what I couldn’t get past was the sense of confirmation in the Kami’s tone; obviously, he believed that one of us three Chimera Cores was responsible. Yet from the way the energy spread, these wounds were only a few hours old… and the three of us had been together.

My skin prickled, either from the heavy tang of necrotic energy or from my worries …did another necrotic being escape from Raccain’s tower?