Crises, I reflected. Are not enjoyable in groups.

The light on the mud beach lightened toward grey as the sun finally woke up from the long zombie night and filtered through the clouds. Simultaneously, I stood stock still as Mookt’s bulging little eyes fixed on me. His slithering pathway bent directly for me. My senses thrummed.

The brief conflict against the evolved zombie had shaved off about a fourth of my Health, but it wasn’t a cause for concern. I still had plenty of Mana. But if I also had to deal with a rampaging catfish-

Plus this farcical, ‘Dawn of the Dead Crayfish’ debacle around me-

Mookt wheeled around and roared when a reanimated crayfish scuttled up to its side and jabbed with its claws. “Bottom feeders!”

You’re one to talk, I held back a sniff. But I couldn’t deny the tremor of relief that ran through my jelly as the two threats turned on each other. The lack of a rampaging catfish gave me a chance to consider the six reanimated crayfish clicking their claws and shambling toward me. But also… is this some sort of karma? I disdained crayfish and now I’m smacked in the face with a parody of my prejudices.

Hah…. considering this judgy System… it’s not impossible…

But no matter what metaphysical foul play might be involved, I wasn’t just going to sit here and take the abuse.

I gathered my Mana and concentrated. I fired out three clay bolts; I was inordinately pleased that all three smashed into the heads of my targets and knocked them over. Crayfish legs kicked ineffectually in the air, struggling to understand why contact with the ground had been broken.

With the background shamblers slowed, I raised my stained fang. I lunged forward like a knight errant…. But honestly, these crayfish muckers were even less dangerous now that they were zombies. My target didn’t even try to dodge as I drove the fang through its chest. Its rotting flesh squelched and black sludge dribbled out of the wound. Groaning, the crayfish forced its way forward, deepening the wound and clicking its claws-

It marched forward, deepening its own wound, until the thin bit of flesh connecting its top and bottom half ripped. The crayfish fell to my feet in two pieces, its movements slowing.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 8.

You have Leveled Up! Health +5, Mana +3, Free Stat +1. Please select which Stat will receive the free point.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +5 Mana.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 4.

“Fatality…” I muttered to myself, even as I put the point into Insight. Without much fanfare, I had arrived at Level 20, a short five Levels away from the next Growth Threshold at Level 25. I felt a small shiver of anticipation.

With all the extra +’s in Levels, how strong will I be when I finally transform?

My little daydream couldn’t last long. At least eight more reanimated crayfish moved toward me, in addition to those three I had already destabilized. My hackles rose as I pivoted to examine the situation.

Across the mud beach, a possible Rage-influenced Mookt roared and smashed his tubular body back and forth. When it caught a crayfish, it didn’t stop with just smashing it once. It hammered and steamrolled until all its targets' movements ceased. Hard to tell whether the catfish had a negative Status effect or was his typically unpleasant self.

The monster left huge indentations in the mud and cracked crustacean shells in his wake. However, the violent movements attracted the attention of an alarming number of crayfish. More and more reanimated beings pushed their way out of the reeds and clicked their claws.

A few antennae and heads even began peaking up above the shallows; underwater shamblers had felt the disturbance and waded to shore.

A crayfish lurched toward me. I stepped sideways, allowing its swung claw to sink into the mud. I kicked the limb, shattering it, and then stabbed the torso with my stained fang. But behind me, two more shamblers aimed attacks at my back. One strike clicked against my armored side, but the other sunk into my side.

Wheeling around, I lashed out; my squirrel palms struck the eyes and antenna of one, while I hacked at the legs of another with my fang. I took a half step backward to create some distance, but that half step moved me closer to another zombie that crept toward my back. In a very non-zombie display of agility, the crayfish snapper surged forward--

-right into my waiting donkey kick.

But as I pivoted around, in a small and hard-earned bubble of peace, I felt my skin begin to prickle. Wait, how many zombies are there?!

The enemies closed in from every direction. I had improved to the point I had no doubt I could handle a duel, or even a half dozen of the crayfish at once. But en masse, sheer numbers and their stupid amounts of Health posed a definite threat.

My focus shifted sideways at a particular rumbling smash from Mookt. Luckily for me, a few crayfish from my side of the mud beach began to turn in the catfish’s direction. Aside from the 11 that seemed to have fixed on me, the others trooped across the beach. My jello trembled. But if I try to force my way out quickly, I’ll attract more attention-

But I couldn’t afford to waste my time; those crayfish I had wounded hadn’t been killed and began forcing their way back to their feet. I growled in frustration and began hacking off the legs of those nearby; at least if they were immobilized, I would have a bit of breathing room.

At least in this instance, I felt some very real appreciation for the comparative value of energy sonar versus sight. I looked the crayfish in front of me in the face, as I smashed off its legs, plucked it up, and then used tentacles to toss it to the side, blocking the advance of two other crayfish.

But my energy sonar gave me a broader appreciation of how much trouble we were in.

As bodies began to accumulate on the beach, the undead crayfish managed to reach Mookt’s side and rip small wounds with their claws. Mookt released a bellow of rage and swept his finned tail around. A half dozen were knocked back, but the reanimated monsters unsteadily got back to their feet and began to shamble forth once more.

From the other side, a crayfish jumped forward and dug both claws into Mookt’s slimy skin. Releasing a resonant hiss, the giant flesh worm wriggled and rolled to crush the offending monster. But as Mookt straightened, I could see the gorey wound left in its side by the attack.

Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+21).

“Do I have to save Mookt?” I spat out the words, shocked as the idea formed in my brain. Almost instantly, I felt denial; this rude and avaricious mudsucker had repeatedly made clear what it would do to my siblings and I if we were ever at its mercy. Any perceived slight against Nightshade or Sage had me bristling. I had laid the foundation for creating a peaceful city and Mookt was exactly the sort of thug that would destabilize that environment and destroy my efforts to civilize the wetlands.

Besides, wasn’t I also surrounded by crayfish? How the hell was I, Tallum Frost, the most meek and mundane of the Chimera Core siblings, supposed to turn the situation on its head?

And yet-

Crayfish waved their claws and moved closer. Their thin legs made no noise as they stabbed into the mud and marched toward Mookt and I.

My jello pulsed. I might rant and rave against fantasy settings, but they had one advantage I couldn’t dismiss: there occasionally came moments of pressure that, once I stood and inhabited them, I knew my decision was important. My human life passed largely between stretches of confused vagaries, but as a monster, I felt the pivots, even if I didn’t know in what direction the choices would lead.

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My jello pulses slowed as my mental power began to churn.

On the one hand, I was sick and tired of problems that weren’t mine being dumped in my lap.

Yet I could practically feel Mimi behind me, watching me. Her gaze, from beyond the grave, had a physical weight. My skin prickled underneath her empathy. I knew what she would say: did I think I could ignore a problem just because I didn’t cause it?

The words of the Kami echoed in my head. “Your choices create ripples, Chosen Tallum. Never forget that.”

“We cannot see how far these ripples will spread.”

“Even treachery shapes a Kami’s domain. In scope and in character.”

I felt the energy of the land, passing through me, flowing into the ground, then exploding up and falling, like a light summer rain, to speckle all the monsters in the surrounding area. Simultaneously, I sensed the stinking abscess of necrotic energy the reanimated monsters represented, and the way they were polluting that flow of energy. In this fantasy world, with the extra senses of a monster, my nose was rubbed into an unavoidable truth: life is messy and connected.

You are never as isolated as you wish yourself to be. The Kami was likely still absent, heading North to claim the mudfields. And it had left me, its representative, here to manage the situation while it was out.

It hadn’t occurred to me until now, but the burden stretched across my ambiguous flesh wasn’t a light one.

Investment in life happens every second. You are never off the clock, so long as you are alive.

Standing at the inflection, I made a choice.

Maybe it could have been complicated, but actually… it wasn’t, even if it was the harder road. Because in the end… after being blamed for so much, what I wanted more than anything was a pure example of my righteousness.

So, just for a bit, there wasn’t any harm in trying to be a hero.

“I can practically feel cholesterol calcifying in my arteries…” I muttered as I felt my resolve firming. But I didn’t flinch. I straightened. A small part of me wondered whether investing in my current life and leisure were reconcilable goals.

Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+30).

A shambling crayfish arrived next to me, taking advantage of my long moment of consideration. I flicked my stained fang sideways and knocked away its clumsy stab. At the same time, I released a wave of Healing Secretions and covered my squirrel hands in them.

The crayfish forced itself forward and I took a perhaps inappropriate amount of pleasure in slapping it across the face with a healing palm. For a second the crayfish just stared at me, but then golden fire erupted across its body.

After kicking away the crayfish corpse, I paused. I was suddenly very aware that the bright light from the golden flames had drawn the attention of quite a few reanimated crayfish. Seven new foes now pivoted and clicked their way in my direction.

Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 25(+1).

Your Skill (Earned) Unnatural Adrenaline Rush has grown to Level 7.

The encirclement became denser, even as I hesitated. Simply through sheer numbers, their bodies filled the space around me. Across the muddy field, Mookt unleashed another pained hiss. The muscles of my body tensed, still under the strained extended moment granted by Unnatural Adrenaline Rush. I looked around. I saw the movements, the paths that the reanimated crayfish would be taking.

Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+22).

Simultaneously, I saw a crayfish skittering its way up Mookt’s side and standing on top of the catfish while it gobbled down its fellow. Almost in a ritualistic fashion, the crayfish raised its claws and prepared to stab down near the back of Mookt’s skull.

“That catfish is so bloated it doesn’t even feel…!” I hissed out the words, my mind scrambling to grapple with the immensity of what I would need to accomplish in order to protect this bastard. This day had already been so filled with revelations and roiling emotions that I felt squeezed and depleted. But even though it would be difficult, I knew how it had to start.

I felt Mimi looking over my shoulder. She would be smiling, I knew. She always watched me and smiled, happy no matter how bumbling I behaved.

I planted a foot in the mud and took a step forward.

Your Skill (Earned) Minor Realm Step has grown to Level 10.

My foot skidded as I kicked off and I didn’t manage to tap into the energy ecosystem of the environment for extra acceleration, but the Skill still launched me forward with a horrendous amount of momentum. I still had plenty of healing fluid on my squirrel hands, but my first ‘target’ simply crunched beneath the force of my bulk as I body-slammed. I stumbled forward, crayfish offal spraying across my face.

You have gained access to the Skill (Earned) Violent Body Slam. You do not have any room in your Earned Skills!

A Minor Achievement: For being an offered a Skill you don’t have room to accept, +2 Free Stats.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +2 Health and +2 Mana.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 5.

System, are you proud of yourself, offering me the body slam Skill when I can’t actually accept it anymore? My jelly hummed. I looked at the Skill name. Actually, wait; Violent Body Slam? Is this a rare Skill variation because of Exalted’s Due?!

A crayfish hustled its way into my sight line. Which was bad timing, because at that moment, I was wrought of fiery wrath. I would carve an opening to be a hero with my own monstrous hands.

My Stained Fang drilled its way through the crayfish’s head. Its advance faltered for just a moment, then its legs seemed to remember that having a destroyed skull did nothing to stop this type of zombie. Its body surged-

I stabbed it four more times, ripping just holes in its rotten exoskeleton. Which gave me just enough time to kick the shattered thing to the side and twist around to face two crayfish that approached me from behind. I activated Minor Realm Step, tossing my body forward with abandon.

Perhaps it was my heart, shrill and scalding as a boiling teapot, but this Minor Realm Step was even worse than the previous one. Rather than hitting the two crayfish and turning them into a pink mist, I threw my body at them… and almost rebounded, off of a trampoline/ undead trust-fall.

Their counterattacks were clumsy as I stumbled backward, giving me the space to duck under the wide swings and take a more mundane step forward. My little squirrel hands slap-slap-slapped across their exoskeletons. I saw their flesh beginning to wither underneath the healing, but the critical effect didn’t activate.

I put those two free Stats from the minor achievement into Malignance. My hands flashed out again, twisting with hand seals to slap against the side of the reanimated crayfish bodies. Wither and die!

They continued to shrink, leaking fluids from their wounds. They groaned and advanced.

Seriously? Just let me nail these dramatic moments! Just once!

Why is being a hero such a hassle?!

No powerful golden flames swept through my targets. They had finally moved close enough they lashed out with their claws. Their meaningless prodding finally found purchase-- both managed to score gashes across my sides.

I kicked out the legs of one and hip-checked the other so it stumbled and fell atop its fellow. My focus shifted for a brief moment; Mookt had rolled and crushed a few bodies, but more and more wounds wept blood across its tubular bulk. I gathered Mana into my body, concentrating on the distant targets. I activated my second Blessing, Launch Clay. The small ball of clay manifested in front of me-

A crayfish slammed a claw into my back, taking advantage of my distraction and striking. A chunk of my Health vanished and I yelped, pitching forward. My energy sonar pinged out, several seconds too late; I could feel how four reanimated crayfish had moved up behind me while I had struggled to kill the two in front of me. Behind them, bloated zombie flesh plugged up the last few gaps.

“I’d trade an eye for a duel, right about now.” I groaned. My second Blessing twisted in my mental grip, as I struggled to straighten and take aim to unleash it. However, when I looked forward, a new crayfish climbed over the twitching body of its comrade to slash at me with its claw.

Flinching backward, I scrambled to keep control over my Second Blessing while also not suffering an attack. That strange feeling I had long sensed in the Launch Clay trembled… then began to expand rapidly.

You have completed an Interesting Quest! You have discovered the Secret of your Second Blessing.

You have received a new Interesting Quest: Evolve your Second Blessing again.

An Interesting Achievement: For discovering the secret of your Second Blessing, Wisdom +3 and Insight +3.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +1 Wisdom.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 6.

The notifications were nonsense. I literally had no idea what secret I had ‘discovered’ in my Second Blessing. Instead, I took a half step back, causing the claws of the crayfish behind me to sink more deeply into my flesh and rip away more Health. My instincts urged me to suck down Anima to recover, but I had learned that lesson before. I couldn’t afford to lose my rationality, so deep amongst them.

All the while, that strange, bulging feeling in my stalled Second Blessing grew. The ball of clay twisted, morphed, and gradually vanished.

Surviving, I had learned, was mostly about knowing what to pay attention to. Which was why I set aside all of the strange System nonsense and focused on zombies; only once they ceased their interference would I be able to triumph.

The press of bodies had become suffocating; they scratched and clambered, almost trying to hop on top of each other and me in their efforts to tear my flesh. I roared and unleashed a wave of Healing Secretions. Or at least, I tried to.

The Skill sputtered because, as my instincts belatedly warned me, my Mana was essentially at zero. Suddenly, I had found out the ‘secret’ I had discovered about my Second Blessing. The strained feeling of my Second Blessing grew even stronger.

At the very moment that I felt genuine fear about the press of zombies around me, my Mana hit zero. The Second Blessing sputtered, unable to draw any more fuel from me. The mud underneath my feet trembled and began to roil. My energy sonar informed me of the huge Mana disturbance I had created.

The Second Blessing broke free from my unwitting ‘control’. Although I didn’t move a muscle, my Mana hammered the ground beneath me like a comet tearing through the atmosphere. The delicate energy ecosystem cracked and buckled.

Due to your Unique Actions, Proficiency of your Blessing Launch Clay +20.

Mud erupted from beneath my feet, became clay, and then ripped out in every direction.