I finally begged Sage to stop the training a short time before noon.

Her… enthusiasm in instruction meant I had been flung around like a rag doll for the entire morning. My flesh had torn, getting me an Interstitial Body Structure Level, but also meaning I had lost a fair amount of Health.

“Tallum!” She coed at the end of it. “Your capabilities of absorption are truly impressive. No doubt you will soon be a peerless dancer.”

I didn’t have the energy to reply. I took a few tottering steps, still dizzy, and my tortoise legs gave out beneath me. Perhaps I was some sort of absorption savant, but if I were truly a sponge, most of what I was soaked with was probably mud.

Still, Sage’s cheer was infectious. Once I had recovered, we returned to the main portion of the Kami’s base and found Nightshade waiting for us. But what truly melted my heart (am I just as weak to praise as Sage?) was she made a great show of testing my blight road with her tails and praising my genius in creating it.

All three of us had dancing jello in our chests as the sun reached its zenith in the sky. I felt a pulse of life energy underneath our feet. A massive, duck-shaped shadow seemed to stretch across our path; the shift in responsibility had occurred.

The Chimera Cores would now endeavor to obtain the third additional Mantle for To and Fro, so that it might begin to eye the gap between Tier III and Tier II Kamis.

Those thoughts I very purposefully set aside; I couldn’t understand the broader implications of our success, but I could definitely see the steep consequences of our failures. Mookt was the most vocal, and relations with some of our fellow were cordial, but we had been buoyed by a string of victories.

Finding the Mantle would mean cementing our position here, I released tension through my interstitial flesh. Being unable to do so just means we are another half-baked and irascible servant of a three-headed duck. I suspect these allies will turn on us just as quickly as readers lose faith in a story…

“To the South then,” Nightshade said. “The cold specter of oblivion will no doubt be dancing down the spines of our foes. Once we are unleashed… the triumphant conclusion is inevitable.”

“Run! Hide! Flee!” Sage giggled, getting swept up in Nightshade’s mood. “We will march across your machinations and devour your hopes, but at least make it interesting for us.”

Ah, everything is back to normal, I shook my head as I turned away. While my siblings cavorted around to arouse their bloodlust, I looked to the sky. My sense stretched out and followed the massive flow of life energy that filled the wild blue expanse. The blurry clouds vanished, leaving me with just the simmering undercurrent of power that filled the wetlands with the return of the Kamis.

Your Skill (Earned) Innate Mana Attunement has grown to Level 14.

I began picking out the distant points of descent, the tumbling fall of energies from the sky river which indicated the presence of a Kami. The more I looked, the more I grew irritated with my energy sonar; at least at my Level, it was not a fine-toothed instrument. Only after really sinking into the awareness, and forcing myself to relax, could I begin to sense the nearest area of descent, the energy flow extremely small.

Your Skill (Earned) Innate Mana Attunement has grown to Level 15.

“I’ll need to be closer for the exact location, but its definitely South,” I finally said.

For my siblings, that was enough. They bounded forward. It broke my heart a little, in a good way, that they had so much trust in me. I performed an extra little jelly dance of my own and followed.

The first leg of the journey took us directly along the river, following it upstream. The changes, stress, and emotional turmoil made the scenic journey to arrive in the wetlands seem so long ago, but it was only a couple of weeks. I looked down at my squirrel hands, at my stained fang, and wondered at the transformative power of fantasy environments.

“I must say,” Sage said as she landed from one of her massive bounds. “I possess much anticipation for your civilization of this land, Brother Tallum. One only needs to feel so many squelches of mud before the experience becomes tiresome.”

I nodded politely, even while wiping off mud that she had splashed onto me with her impact. And then she was gone, detecting movement by the water and pouncing toward the unfortunate prey which drew her eye.

Nightshade slithered up next to me. “Shall we propose that we take turns fighting? Otherwise…”

“Thank you for volunteering to bring up the issue,” I felt a twinge of amusement and patted Nightshade on the back.

He gave me a doleful look, made comical by all his heads. “Brother Tallum, let us not avoid the behemoth in the room. We might all be siblings, but you are her favorite brother. I…”

I patted with a bit more vigor. “Well, I understand why you are saying that… but isn’t that just because she worries for me? If anything, it just proves Sage thinks you are strong; she knows none of her… playful jests will affect you as they do delicate ole’ me.”

Nightshade seemed to genuinely chew on this revelation in a way that made me almost feel bad for him; did he really worry about what Sage thought of him? But those concerns fell away as we continued to move, enjoying the power we felt in motion.

The only break in the march was a tingling sensation I felt in a rather nondescript stretch of sand and reeds. I paused to study the feeling, even as my siblings hurtled around in their nonsense. My energy sonar buzzed, scanning for threats.

An ambush, tsk, Detection… you really-

Hum, no Monster’s Wisdom for that insight. So…

It took me longer than I cared to admit to realize the source; we had just passed beyond the edge of To and Fro’s domain. The life energy was perhaps only a third of what I had grown used to.The air felt… thinner. Once I knew to look, the color of the reeds was less vibrant. The change was gradual, because the line constantly stretched outward, but it was interesting to note how far the area that belonged to our Kami now reached.

“Finally!”

Sage’s cry broke me out of my state of concentration as I adjusted our vector toward the Mantle. She had been splashing along the water's edge, but now she made a beeline inland. Nightshade perked up a split second later. I pivoted to follow their attention and there, sitting along a shallow tributary out of the main river stood three plump figures.

Husky Dam Builder Lvl 19

Husky Dam Builder Lvl 18

Husky Dam Builder Lvl 20

“A trio of foes, for the trio with hunger,” Nightshade growled. Sage descended like a bird of prey from her leap, her jelly radiating agreement. She crunched into the mud right in front of the Level 20 foe. Her tails undulated, scarcely seeming to hurry. But before the beaver could even react, she scooped it up and leapt away.

Pretty high Level beavers. So it’s true, then; Levels are increasing all across the wetlands. I thought, even as Sage bugled out the charge signal. I dug my tortoise legs into the dirt to accelerate, then remembered the lessons that my sister had carved into my body with my earlier dancing ‘practice’.

I activated Minor Realm step, while also mobilizing my Mana. My existence quivered with the tightly bound lump of Mana that was ‘me’.

Even as I impacted the surrounding Mana environment with my existence for a little extra oomph, I wondered if such impacts could disturb the spikes holding my array together.

Your Skill (Earned) Minor Realm Step has grown to Level 14.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Your Skill (Earned) Unnatural Adrenaline Rush has grown to Level 9.

Your Skill (Earned) Minor Realm Step has grown to Level 15.

Unnatural Adrenaline Rush stretched out the moment of explosive acceleration. I saw the beaver’s beady eyes, I saw its thick, quivering legs beneath its rotund form. But mostly, I experienced the surroundings. The thin Mana environment meant, upon impact, not only was I propelled forward, but I could almost feel the energy flows in the surroundings turn chaotic. In my energy sonar, little fissures of light flashed into existence, like the choppy top of the sea during a storm.

Then all my focus locked onto the Level 19 Husky Dam Builder in front of me.

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

Right before the body slam, I managed to crunch my body into its ball form. I slammed into the beaver's chest and felt the air whoomph out of its lungs. Yet it only staggered a few paces back; those thick thighs absorbed force too well. When I hit the mud, I hastily unrolled and straightened, even while Nightshade surged next to me and crashed his opponent into a nearby cluster of reeds.

I settled into a crouch, my mind racing through Sage’s complex and whimsical sayings about ‘dancing’ as combat. Now was time to show what I had absorbed-

In the end, I threw my squirrel hands up in the air and just jabbed with my stained fang.

Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 25(+3).

Even before the dam builder moved, I could see its defense; it brought up its wide and flat tail like a shield and just bashed my thrust to the side. The tip of the fang skittered across the surface of the tail, unable to find purchase on the tough skin.

I raised a tortoise leg to follow up with my sure-kill kick to the chest-

Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 25(+4).

Your Skill (Earned) Body Manipulation has grown to Level 25(+23).

The gears of my grand machine, slightly rusted during my stint as a road paver, clanged back to activity. I could see how the beaver would manage to get its own leg up, its foot catching my knee, and stomping my leg back to the ground. So halfway through the kick, I threw my weight to the side into a sidestep.

The husky beaver still stomped but caught nothing. He splashed mud on us both.

Its body rippled with uncanny speed in so plump a creature. Before I could recover, its hand shot forward and slammed against the base of my head. I only lost a few Health, but-

I blinked. “Did you just throat-punch me?”

The Husky Dam Builder growled. Its tail flashed sideways, but this time I had footing enough to lean backward so I wasn’t bashed in the face. Straightening again, I realized the tail strike had been a screen; the beaver had created a short distance. Its muscular legs flexed, tossing its body in a light hop. Not far, but-

Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 25(+5).

The machine clanged, but it was too late.

My face hit mud as 19 Health vanished. During that short hop, the beaver's lower leg snapped forward and delivered a hammering blow to my temple that spun me like a Grand Prize wheel. I felt almost concussed-

Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+27).

Oh, you do know how to be useful? I couldn’t suppress the bitter thought as I rolled sideways. The monster stomped its thick legs, which represented muscle not extra servings of dessert, right in the spot I had just vacated.

For a moment, we both looked at each other. Obviously, the beaver took this opportunity to smirk, its two front teeth protruding almost in invitation.

So I unleashed a clay bolt into its grin and shattered them.

Due to your Actions, Proficiency of your Launch Clay +7.

The beaver hissed in pain but I wasn’t done yet. My python tail snaked (literally) out through the mud and wrapped around its foot. To my vast displeasure, I could only cause a stumble. Yet that was time enough for me to bring my stained fang around-

As though sensing my intention, the Dam Builder leaned forward and then belly-flopped on top of me. Another 16 of my Health vanished as my organs shuddered from the impact. Our faces were only a short distance away, eyes locked together. At least time, its broken teeth made it look like a fool.

Heh, you are a thousand years too early to best me with the body slam. I have a secret move for this position, too, My greedy little squirrel fingers slithered (figuratively) into the beaver’s right eye socket and ripped out the presented eyeball.

Finally, the Dam Builder flinched. A few drops of its blood fell on my skin. Almost belatedly, I remembered i was no longer dealing with a poisonous sac of necrotic energy. I could practically feel my instincts rubbing their grubby hands together. I conjured a swarm of tentacles-

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +31.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +45.

Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 41.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +29.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +40.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +37.

Your Skill (Temp) Mana Feed has triggered! Restoring 18 Health and 9 Mana over the next 30 seconds.

Your Skill (Temp) Mana Feed has grown to Level 19.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +54.

Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 42.

Oh damn, I felt sluggish as the beaver reared back and stumbled away from me. If I had a mouth, I would have displayed a dopey grin. What a hit.

Luckily, the intoxication from quality Anima passed quickly. I leveraged myself back up to my feet and faced the Dam Builder. At this point, it regarded me with its one remaining eye with genuine fear.

“So,” I began, perhaps still a little flushed after the Anima. “Let me tell you how this is going to go- oof!”

The impressively thick thighs of the beaver bulged. It shot forward, faster than I had expected, stopping on a dime. I just had enough time to reflect that Sage would be quite impressed by its momentum control when it slammed a kick into my side.

I winced and stumbled, losing a few more Health. But with Mana feed active, I didn’t worry about dying; I even had a fat story of Anima saved up.

But what was a problem was when I brought my stained fang around to counterattack, those same thighs flung the beaver a short distance back.

I lurched awkwardly forward, my fang stabbing into nothing. When it was clear I had over-extended, the beaver hopped forward again. I tried to deflect its kick, but it simply sidestepped and landed a heavy punch on my side. Again, my organs released a pained twinge, even though my interstitial flesh.

Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 25(+6).

My eyes narrowed as the machine told me what would happen next. The beaver hopped back to create distance-- I brought my Mana array slamming down, perfectly aligned with my step. Again, a few brief fireflies of fizzing Mana illuminated my gallant attack.

Perhaps if it hadn't been weakened by having its Anima drained, it could have reacted in time. But that was the horror of fighting against a Chimera Core.

Your Skill (Earned) Minor Realm Step has grown to Level 16.

With great relish, I drop my Stained Fang through the Husky Dam Builders’s chest. Poison began to seep out of my pores. It looked at me, genuine fear in its eyes, as I created another wave of tentacles that began sucking at the edge of its wound.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +29.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +40.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +37.

Your Skill (Temp) Mana Feed has triggered! Restoring 19 Health and 9 Mana over the next 30 seconds.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +31.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +45.

Your Skill (Temp) Weak Secretions has grown to Level 25(+1).

An Interesting Achievement! For Leveling a (Temp) Skill to (+’s), you have earned the opportunity to switch the Skill Designation of Weak Secretions. (+’s) consumed.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +5 Health and +5 Mana.

Your Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due has grown to Level 15.

Warning: you have no open (Earned) Skill Slots!

An Interesting Achievement: For continually trying to earn new Skills with no open Skill Slots, +2 Levels to Monster’s Wisdom.

Due to Exalted’s Due, +2 Wisdom.

I ignored the notifications; at this point, the mocking from the System barely even phased me. Instead, I leveraged all the weight I could and just barely managed to lift the Husky Dam Builder off the ground. Suddenly, those impressive thighs were useless. Its feet kicked ineffectually, just splattering mud around.

The monster glared at me and slammed punches against my side.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +54.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +34.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +22.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +57.

Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 43.

You have slayed a Lvl 19 Husky Dam Builder!

I saw the life leave its eyes. I felt it falter and slump on my Stained Fang. With a great sigh, I dropped the corpse on the ground. With a newfound respect for the muscles contained there-in, I studied the sturdy legs of the Dam Builder. I also considered its tail, comparing them to my tortoise legs and python baron tail respectively.

“Time for a little upgrade,” I muttered to myself.

Then I felt a spike of guilt and raised my head. Were my siblings alright?

Nightshade was actually quite near, dragging his deceased beaver toward me. Most of the left side of its body had been gnawed away. In the distance, I could hear Sage cackling madly and bouncing around.

“If you wouldn’t mind, brother,” Nightshade said as he put the corpse in front of me and gestured toward the head. He peeked over at my body, covetousness in his gaze.

I sighed. “You can have the head of mine, too, if you wish.”

“It would be crass of me to refuse so generous a boon,” He rumbled with obvious pleasure.

I flexed my squirrel fingers and raised my stained fang. I proceeded to paint the surroundings in gore in blood spatter, much to my chagrin.

Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 25(+3).