Due to strain from the alternate activation of your Second Blessing, you are afflicted with the Status Weakened: Stats are slightly less valuable for the next four hours.

Due to strain from the alternate activation of your Second Blessing, you are afflicted with the Status Exhausted: Regeneration is halved for the next four hours.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 8.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 6.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 7.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 9.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Mucker Lvl 4.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 8.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 9.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 8.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Mucker Lvl 5.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 10.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 11.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Mucker Lvl 3.

You have slain a Mutated Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 17.

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, +8 Mana.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 7.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 8.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 8.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Mucker Lvl 5.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 10.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 6.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 7.

You have slain a Reanimated Crayfish Snapper Lvl 9.

Eventually, the flurry of movement stilled.

“Ah,” My voice was strangely loud, in the muted (obliterated) mud beach. With a trembling tentacle, I reached behind me and grasped at a crayfish claw stuck in my back; the rest of that particular crayfish had been blown away by the overwhelming tide of mud-clay I had unleashed. I tugged and removed the dangling limb.

Tossing the limb to the side, I tried to steady the strange tremors running through my jelly. So much had happened so quickly, I tried to stay focused on the positives. “Looks like a mutant was lurking in the horde. Good, good, good.”

A cloud slid sideways out from screening the sun, dramatically illuminating the destruction I had wrought.

My surroundings were so filled with pulped crayfish bodies and torn limbs that I was surprised I hadn’t earned any Levels in Field Butchery for my action. A half second later, it occurred to me that maybe the very subjective System that had usually tortured me had been similarly shocked, and just forgot to grant me my well deserved reward.

The thought made me giggle. I hurriedly steeled myself; now wasn’t the time to descend into shock.

Besides, notifications continued to arrive.

A Mundane Achievement: For slaying 10 enemies at once, +1 Insight and +2 Malignance.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +2 Malignance.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 8.

An Interesting Achievement: For slaying 20 enemies at once, +15 Proficiency to Launch Clay.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +15 Mana.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 9.

“Wait, how much Mana can I accumulate before I tear my animating array to shreds…?” I asked the air.

Obviously, the System didn’t care about me, happily disgorging more nonsensical notifications.

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

A Notable Achievement: For reaching a total amount of additional Skill Levels of (+100), you receive the bounty of the land! Energy flows into you, to the point you have enough experience to gain your next Level.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +5 Wisdom.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 10.

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, +20 Mana.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 11.

“No, seriously, my Maximum Mana-”

For raising an appropriate (Earned) Skill to (+25), you have been given an opportunity! Would you like to consume the additional Skill Levels in order to evolve the Skill?

Finally, this opportunity gave me pause. Although, the ‘pause’ was purely figurative; in comparison to the still plateau of clay I had created, my jelly and flesh were really starting to tremble.

The possibility excited me. After so much nonsense getting thrown my way, wasn’t a Skill evolution quite valuable? Especially for Mana Sensitivity.

The more I watched Kami’s actions, the more I realized how important the interplay of energy became. My experiments with Minor Realm Step affecting the Mana ecosystem reinforced those impressions. Plus, with the ongoing threat of my animating array destabilizing-

Across the mud beach, a few crayfish legs twitched underneath the massive weight of clay I had unleashed. Unfortunately, their reanimated bodies couldn’t lift themselves out of the muck. But as I looked at them, I felt their helplessness. There were forces in life you could control and those you couldn’t. A claw poked out by the edge of the water and swung around.

Is it weird I almost feel better, knowing that my Second Blessing Claypocalypse… didn’t kill everything?

I put effort into the now exactly so the weight of the world wouldn’t bury me. Today, I had come close, with the mistake that had seen me afflicted with Rage, as well as the constant frustration and indignation of being seen as responsible for the undead horde.

“I’m advancing,” I whispered. My voice was weak, probably due to the Status aftermath of exploding all of my Mana like that. “Can’t stop improving now.”

Your Skill (Earned) Mana Sensitivity Level 25(+25) is evolving! (+25) consumed.

Rarity of the outcome increases via Exalted’s Due.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 12.

“Oh? Exalted’s Due? To think you had this functionality as well… System, have I misjudged your gifts?”

Your Skill has become (Earned) Intrinsic Mana Attunement Lvl 1

(Earned) Intrinsic Mana Attunement: A Skill only possible to creatures whose possess a foundation within the realm of Mana. Taps into a deeper, natural understanding of the characteristics and behaviors of energy. All uses of Mana experience slight increases in efficacy. Provides a minuscule boost to Leveling other Skills related to Mana. Effects increase with Skill Level.

Almost immediately, my sense of self quivered. Without even narrowing my attention to my internal array, I felt the way energy flowed through my person. The presence of those spikes of specialized Mana essence heated up, pressing directly against my core flesh. My jelly wiggled back and forth-

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Your Skill (Earned) Intrinsic Mana Attunement has grown to Level 2.

“Holy shit, all you need is jelly!” My pupils dilated. Energy sonar had previously detected general differences in energy, and could also provide some more detailed analysis, but now my own jelly had become a kaleidoscopic, brightly painted sea sitting at my core.

Energies gleaming with neons of cerulean, emerald, tangerine, and chartreuse chaotically roiled back and forth. Tiny gleaming diamonds of a more inert substance swirled between them all, stabilizing the pure majesty of my jello. Staring at the energies contained within my core, I felt a strange sense of Chimera Core pride.

I’m fucking beautiful. I thought. I almost wanted to cry.

Your Skill (Earned) Intrinsic Mana Attunement has grown to Level 3.

The raw euphoria and release I felt gave me pause. Wait a second… is this another win for Mr. Gains? Is this the first time I’ve ever truly accepted myself?

Ah, but the leisurely jello ripples, the colors… Okay, I sorta get it.

However, the pleasure gradually faded. My body, via constant tremors, reminded me that I had overdrawn my Mana immensely in the hidden function of my Second Blessing. I looked around at the stillness of the mud beach.

I felt guilt… and a tingling of fear.

Everything in the area had been dyed brown. The reeds along the shore? Completely leveled by a wave of mud and clay. The shallows of the river had been dyed brown by the explosion as well, and only now were the first few chunks beginning to break off and drift downriver. Everything had been flattened too, an unexpected tabula rasa that reduced everything to a blank expanse of muck.

Twitching zombie limbs notwithstanding, everything had been wiped away.

My feelings turned complex. If today should be celebrated for the pride and colorfulness I had discovered within myself, it was also a source of shame, for the blighting effect that I had on this stretch of beach. It wasn’t a phenomenon unique to Chimera Cores, I supposed; the crayfish egg defender we had found possessed a similar Blessing. And in retrospect, I was frustrated that it hadn’t occurred to me that I would have similar capability.

But I could now look around and understand, in all the messy details, I was a monster. And that made me-

“You attempted to slay me!” Mookt, gasping and bleeding, erupted out of a particularly lumping mound of mud. It shook itself, dislodging slabs stuck up against its side. And as clay fell away, it revealed gaping wounds; I wondered if Mookt should be thanking me, for my home-remedy bandaging I had graciously given it-

No, no part of this catfish can ever accept help. I realized. I became gloomy. Why again, did I want to help this bastard…?

Ah, that’s right. Because I wanted to feel heroic. Tallum, you are a massive idiot.

Despite the weeping blood covering its flanks, the fat catfish turned and looked at me with naked aggression. “And for your vicious assault, I will devour-”

“If Brother Tallum had coveted your life,” Nightshade called out lightly, swimming to shore and striding up to stand next to me. He had apparently been busy replacing his serpent heads, because he had restored his flesh to his pre-Corruption fight height, albeit with the addition of the heron head. He patted my side. “He would have reaped it.”

“You arrogant Chimera Cores-” Mookt snarled. My Short-Term Prediction trembled, hinting he was about to throw himself forward-

If I had generated a frightful impact with raw Mana, Sage demonstrated the limitations of my method by simply crashing into the beach and shattering the plateau of clay with force. The flattened ground fractured and buckled into giant fragmented pieces. She sniffed as she climbed out of her crater and glanced over at Mookt. “You have been graciously spared and all you can do is crow about arrogance? I suppose you will have conquered the domain of two rival Kami’s then, to overmatch our handling of the Old Oak, annexing his territory and people while also recruiting him to our side.”

Mookt just goggled at Sage.

She sniffed and flicked a tail to the side. “I thought as much. The Kami will likely still be traveling today, but I suspect we will have a meeting tomorrow evening. If you have grievances, gnaw on them until then.”

With a flourish, she pivoted and walked away. Nightshade eyed Mookt with a cold gaze for several more seconds, then also turned. I lurched to follow and Sage’s tail flicked out and wrapped around my waist. Very discretely, she helped me walk to shore and swim away, while my body remained trembling and sluggish with my diminished access to my Stats.

“Sage,” I panted as we bobbed up and down across the water. “We can’t just leave the bank like that-- I don’t know if it happens all the time, but there was an evolved bloat toad reanimant. If the necrotic seeds are allowed to mature-”

“We know,” Her tone was strangely harsh, although I wondered if that was just my imagination. Sage hopped onto the shore and shook herself. She gestured with a tail. “You have the spiderlings, do you not? Dispatch them. Harvest the necrotic seeds so they can be safely disposed of. Nightshade and I largely depleted the zombies on this side of the bank. Old Oak boasts that he and his tailed minions smashed the remainder. For the moment, the threat has been beaten back. Yet set those concerns aside, Brother, there is a more important issue to address.”

I opened my mouth and closed it. No, definitely her sharp tone wasn’t my imagination. I glanced at Nightshade.

He avoided my gaze, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Sage. I tried to remember when I had seen the two of them moving with such solidarity.

A small crack opened in my heart, feeling left out of the sibling bond. The jello in their cores was cool and almost stony in their stillness. I felt uneasy, but too shocked and confused to know what to do about it. So for now, I remained quiet and followed along with the two of them.

As we passed across the mud beach on our side of the river, I couldn’t help but notice a disturbing sight: a long, withered piece of flesh lay stretched across the beach, charred to a crisp. After a moment, I realized its source; it had been one of the long tongue protrusions of the Reanimant I had been originally fighting. A grim picture emerged in my mind; the horrifying toad zombie, capable of devouring its fellows, escaping the golden fire I had inflicted on it.

Because it apparently possessed enough intelligence to sever the limb and slither away. Depleting the zombie population would slow its growth, but I still had a bad feeling.

I couldn’t help myself. I opened my mouth and began to speak. “Did you see the Reanimant that-”

“Tallum,” Sage spun around, tails bristling. “Can you please at least delay long enough to cease shaking like you are a loud noise away from a seizure before dragging more responsibility across your shoulders?!”

I blinked. “What?”

“Sage, let’s first return to the stump-” Nightshade rumbled, but Sage snapped her tortoise tail at him.

“No, I cannot tarry another instant. This farce needs to be addressed.”

She raised a squirrel tail and jabbed it against my head. I could feel her jelly vibrations, a seething cauldron of rage. “By the all-consuming flame, Brother, how much would be enough? You are not infinite. If you pour out your vim and vigor at every opportunity, you will soon be spent. Do not cheapen your dignity in your expression of generosity. Is the view from the edge of the void truly so compelling?”

‘What?” I repeated myself, but I still couldn’t quite grapple with both the flare of antagonism and Sage’s strange argument.

If anything, my confusion just seemed to incense Sage further. “Truly Brother… our bonds with you will age us prematurely! Truly, the one blessing of this reincarnation is our lack of follicles, but if we did possess them, you could at least witness our premature dusting of silver. Are you unaware of your blithe skipping toward the abyss?! You could have-”

Nightshade stepped forward, placing a serpent head on Sage’s side. She whirled around, pure violence in motion, but she stilled somewhat at the vibrations she sensed from Nightshade’s jelly. If anything, the emotions radiating now from him were even more confusing. Nightshade sat in a burning heart of frigidity.

He pivoted and looked at me. “You seem uncertain as to the source of our ire. Let me pose a hypothetical to you: What would have happened, on that beach, had Sage and I not sensed your massive release of Mana and rushed over to check on you?”

Gradually, my confusion cleared. I remembered the bloody and vengeful Mookt, staring at me with grim purpose; clearly, my motivation for saving the catfish hadn’t been effectively conveyed by my clay explosion. “...I suppose I would have needed to fight against Mookt for a bit. To escape from his wrath.”

“Escape to where brother? To the river, where that monster would have been even more of a menace? To the unexplored expanse to the West? Did you consider the consequences at all, before you unleashed that attack?” Nightshade said. “Domineering though it might be, it clearly left you very vulnerable.”

To give credence to the accusation, my body continued to tremble. I shifted back and forth on my tortoise legs. “It was the first time I had used the Blessing like that, so I didn’t know-”

Sage’s tail lashed sideways, carving a deep rut in the mud. “So you unleashed a powerful and untested Blessing in a dangerous situation, gambling with your life, because…?”

I looked at Sage for a second but found myself looking away before I spoke. “There were so many crayfish. They were swarming us. So I-”

“Mookt’s wounds looked much more severe than your own,” Nightshade observed. “Despite the danger of absorbing Anima from the Undead, you have some resistance to it, yet? You were not in an untenable situation. Yet it seems you defaulted to a very… risky option.”

Irritation prickled in my gut. “I mean, sure, in retrospect, I understand how… aggressive it was, but in the middle of fighting, with my life on the line-”

“Exactly! What we want to make very clear,” Sage hissed. She stepped forward, standing right in front of me. Despite feeling blindsided by the attack, I examined her back. She burned in my energy sonar, practically warping the Mana around here. “Is how inappropriate it would be to sacrifice your life for a cretinous muck guzzler who would gladly devour you, given the opportunity. Who would spend the hours of your wake simultaneously digesting and forgetting you.”

I raised a squirrel hand and rubbed my forehead. That… was certainly a good point, but also- “I couldn’t just let it die.”

Sage yelled in my face. “Letting that fool perish would have been simplicity itself! Tallum, witness my solemn vow: If you had died, the meaningless lives of every squirrel, frog, crayfish, and serpent in this flame-forsaken muckyard wouldn’t have been enough to fill the void cleft open in my heart by your parting. In your memory, I would erect a funeral pyre so all-consuming the sky would weep ash for years. I would have killed and killed, taking from the world until the world stopped me, because these Kamis ask too much of you, and you don’t have the good sense to say no.”

She flexed a tail. I flinched, expecting her to jab me in the chest. But she reached up and brushed the tentacle along my cheek. I shivered at the delicacy of the touch.

“We need you too, Brother. We need you more. Do you know how it would feel, for us, if you would have…?”

Growling, Sage spun away and launched herself from the beach.