The treant was large.

But in his [Titan] form, Zeke was much larger. And considering that Voromir had grown to match his new stature, when the hammer dropped on the enormous creature, it shattered into kindling. Shards of wood rocketed off into the woods as blobs of sap covered the hammer’s head.

Zeke had always been strong. Even going back to the very beginning, when he’d awoken in that cave only to be attacked by juvenile trolls. And he’d grown much more powerful since that day, taking a huge leap upon ascension to the Eternal Realm. The step he’d taken by gaining his new [Titan] form was just as – or perhaps more – impactful. It was like his strength and endurance had doubled, with his other physical stats taking smaller but still impactful steps forward as well.

“Told you so,” said Eveline.

“What?” Zeke asked, whipping around to brace himself for another attack. Three more treants, each one just as large as the first, raced toward him, only to be met by a sweeping attack from his hammer. One managed to duck beneath the heavy blow, but the other two were sent flying off into the distance, broken and bleeding sticky sap. He followed the attack up with a momentous front kick that the remaining treant attempted to block. The creature was ill-suited to the task, though, and its arms were destroyed before Zeke’s metallic foot buried itself in the monster’s chest. The momentum of the attack sent the creature to the ground, where Zeke’s stomp ended its life.

And then, the forest went quiet.

“I said I told you so.”

“No – I heard that. But what are you talking about?” Zeke asked.

“About the level seventy-five skill evolution. I told you it would change everything. It’s always a huge step forward,” she explained.

“What was yours?” he asked.

“A spell meant to charm my enemies,” she answered. “Its original form could only affect a single target, but in the evolved form, it could bespell more than a hundred.”

“That…that’s disturbing, Eveline,” Zeke admitted. He’d known that her class had dealt with mental manipulation, but he’d rarely considered the implications of that. The notion that she could have controlled other people against their will was more than a little distressing.

“It was still limited. It only lasted for a short time, and even then, I couldn’t actually make them do anything. Instead, they sort of just stood there,” she stated with a wistful sigh. “I’d hoped to evolve it again, but…well, that just wasn’t my fate. Now, I don’t even have any skills. Or a body. Sometimes, I question if I’m even real. This could all just be a figment of my imagination. It does sound like a fairy tale. A beautiful princess, imprisoned against her will and rescued by a…well, not a handsome prince, but by…a…well, that doesn’t really fit the analogy. If it was all a fantasy, I would have imagined you as much more handsome. And far more cooperative. So, I suppose that’s evidence enough that this is real.”

“Unless your subconscious mind knew that was what you would assume,” Zeke suggested. “Then, it would imagine things like this so as to trick yourself.”

“I hate you.”

“I’m just saying…”

“Don’t. Next time you feel like making me question my entire existence, just don’t.”

Zeke was going to respond – after all, he rarely got the chance to tease Eveline to such an extent as to elicit a reaction – but before he could, Talia returned. She was covered in sticky sap that made her hair stick up in all directions, but she was unperturbed.

“I found it,” she said without preamble.

“Really? This isn’t like the last time?” he asked. They had been searching for the ratongi tribe for what felt like weeks. In reality, it had only been a few days, but the nature of the jungle hadn’t allowed them any rest, which made the task seem like it had taken much longer than it had.

The last time Zeke had referenced had occurred when Talia had pinpointed the location of a group of ratongi that they had both assumed was the one they’d met before. However, they were quickly disabused of that notion when the monsters attacked them with a level of ferocity neither had expected. The monsters had lost, but when the dust had settled, it had become clear that they had found a completely different tribe. Once they’d had a chance to inspect the corpses, the differences in their attire had become obvious.

“It is not like last time,” said a stone-faced Talia. However, her tone told Zeke that the question had annoyed her. “I saw the witchdoctor.”

“Oh.”

“What do you want to do?” Talia asked. “I think I can rush in and grab the witchdoctor before anyone can react.”

“What if it resists?” he asked.

“I will deal with it,” she answered without hesitation.

“I love the confidence,” Eveline stated. “But I think your demeanor is rubbing off on your companion.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zeke asked inwardly.

“You charge first, think later.”

“I think.”

“Sometimes. After the fact.”

“Agree to disagree,” he muttered. Then, aloud, he said, “Let me get into position, first. There’s a good chance that things are going to change the moment you make contact. Something like that room outside the gate or the roc.”

“That makes sense,” Talia said. “How long do you need?” She looked up at him. “And are you going to remain in that form? It is not good for sneaking.”

That was the truth. At more than twenty feet tall – he couldn’t be certain of the exact measurements – it was large enough and shiny enough that there was precisely zero chance of him going unnoticed, so long as he remained in his [Titan] form. Still, he was hesitant to let it fall away.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Aw – you like your new toy,” Eveline said with a chuckle.

That was enough to cut through any hesitation Zeke held in his heart. So, he let the form fall away, returning to his normal stature. Still, in his own skin, he felt more vulnerable than ever before.

Once Zeke had let [Titan] fall away, he proceeded in the direction Talia had indicated. For a few miles, he found himself wondering if he’d misunderstood her directions, but eventually, he reached an open area characterized by more ruins. In the center of those ruins was a large ziggurat, atop which was a giant pagoda. Surrounding the ziggurat were hundreds of ratongi, each one armed with great, knobby clubs and wearing hardened leather armor.

“Looks like we were expected,” came Talia’s voice as she slowed to a stop. “The plan does not seem viable.”

Zeke shook his head. He hadn’t wanted to kill the creatures. After all, it hadn’t been that long ago that they’d tried to help Talia and him. However, he expected that the witchdoctor would refuse to give up their staff, which was the only way to progress past the gate. Already, Zeke had attempted to climb the mountain in other places, but he’d been rebuffed by a force similar to the one that had kept him from bypassing the obstacles in the centaur’s dungeon.

The message was clear. He had to play by the dungeon’s rules, or he had no chance of emerging victorious.

“I think we should at least give them a chance to surrender,” Zeke said. He didn’t feel bad about the prospect of killing the ratongi, but he didn’t relish it, either. Perhaps his previous thoughts about the morality of what he’d become hadn’t quite faded from his mind.

“That is not tactically sound,” said Talia.

“At least she’s thinking logically,” muttered Eveline. She was privy to Zeke’s thoughts, so she knew just how inflexible he was on the subject. “But go ahead. Try to reason with the monsters. I’m sure that’ll go very well.”

Zeke rolled his eyes at her. Then, he said to Talia, “It’s fine. If they attack, I’ll just use [Titan].”

“You’re not invulnerable in that form,” Eveline reminded him.

“I know,” Zeke responded inwardly. “But it’ll be fine. These guys didn’t seem that strong before.”

After discussing it with Talia a little more, establishing her role in the fight to come, Zeke stepped forward. The moment he did, the ratongi closed ranks and pointed their clubs at him. Meanwhile, the witchdoctor and the chief faced him from their spots halfway up the ziggurat. Only when Zeke drew within a couple hundred feet did the scent of blood and death hit him.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Evelien said.

Zeke ignored her. Instead, he squinted at the structure, finally noticing that the sides had been stained red. He slowed to a stop when he saw the results of [Inspect], though:

Ratongi Chief – Level 74

Then:

Ratongi Witchdoctor – Level 77

Zeke used the ability again, getting the same results. It didn’t make sense. The last time he’d encountered the tribe, the chief and witchdoctor had both been in their mid-sixties. There was no way they’d managed to progress ten or more levels in the space of a couple of weeks.

“I think I know what’s going on,” Eveline said. “Sacrifices.”

“Is that possible?” Zeke asked, focusing on the bloodstains marring the ziggurat’s sides. “Can people level via sacrifice?”

From what Zeke understood, the Framework took into account things like difficulty before rewarding kill energy. Sacrifices didn’t seem like a viable option, and even if they were, there weren’t enough ratongi in the area to fuel those kinds of gains. It would have taken tens of thousands of rat-people for the chief and witchdoctor to have progressed that many levels.

Zeke stepped forward.

The witchdoctor gestured with its staff, and it erupted into bright, green light. A moment later, a hundred tendrils of power reached out, slamming into the horde of surrounding ratongi. Each one those snaking tentacles of power hit dropped dead a moment later, and the light returned to the witchdoctor.

“Uh…Ezekiel…”

“What?”

“Use [Inspect] again.”

He did:

Ratongi Withdoctor – Level 79

“What the…”

The creature’s staff once again blazed with power, and another hundred ratongi warriors fell a second later. When Zeke inspected the monster again, it had gained an additional two levels. What’s more, it had begun to glow with that same green power.

“You should not let it sacrifice any others,” Eveline advised. “Especially the…oh…that’s not good.”

Zeke couldn’t help but agree, especially as he watched the witchdoctor slam its hand into the chief’s chest, shout something unintelligible, and withdraw its beating heart. The bloody mass of muscle glowed with enough green power that Zeke felt like he was looking at a miniature sun. Then, the witchdoctor bit into it like an apple.

With grim resignation, Zeke once again inspected the creature:

Ratongi Witchdoctor – Level 83

“This is really, really bad.”

“I know,” Zeke muttered. He’d already infused the rune for [Titan] with enough mana to activate the skill. However, even as he grew, adopting the metallic shape, he heard the ratongi witchdoctor let out a massive screech before sending a thousand tendrils of power to slam into the remaining warriors. A moment later, those same tendrils returned, pushing the monster past level eighty-five. It kept rising until, finally, it settled at eighty-seven. That was only two levels shy of the goliathan.

“It looks like you’re going to have a chance to put that new form through its paces,” Eveline said. “Good luck. Please don’t die to a rat-monster.”

Before Zeke could muster a response, the witchdoctor disappeared. A second passed. Then another. Finally, after the third second, a giant claw made of mud, blood, and shiny trinkets erupted from the ground beneath Zeke’s feet. He tried to react, but the thing’s talons closed around him before he could move. Suddenly, he was surrounded by suffocating earth, with thousands of tiny metal trinkets digging into his skin.

Then, it dragged him under the ground.

Zeke embraced [Shifting Sands], trying to escape the skill’s grasp, but despite his efforts, he found himself incapable of moving through the surrounding earth. Instead, he remained trapped in the skill’s grip, a situation that lasted past the point where [Shifting Sands] forcefully deactivated.

So, Zeke countered it by embracing his twin domains. The moment he used the second, [Aura of Desolation], the claw shook. A second later, the metal trinkets started to melt beneath the onslaught of fiery corruption. That loosening grip gave Zeke the room he needed to bring his immense strength to bear. He burst free, ripping and tearing at the earth until, at last, he shoved his way back to the surface.

By that point, Talia had entered the battle. She had found the witchdoctor’s position, and she was currently circling the creature, darting in every so often as she tried to whittle it down. Meanwhile, a dozen other giant claws closed on the area, slowly crawling across the ground, using their fingers as legs until they reached the site of the battle.

Talia clearly recognized the danger, and she darted away.

That’s when Zeke arrived, swinging Voromir with all his might. The hands rose to meet the heavy blow, but they shattered before his herculean strength. However, when he finally carved a path through the disembodied claws, he saw that the ratongi witchdoctor had once again disappeared.

Furious and frustrated, Zeke whirled around, searching for a target for his ire. None were apparent.

Until he saw the fallen ratongi warriors.

At first, Zeke didn’t know what to make of the green auras that suddenly enveloped the corpses. However, that only lasted until spectral facsimiles of the creatures erupted from the bodies and leaped at him.

Zeke swept his hammer out, but the weapon swept through the incorporeal figures without harming them. Then, they were upon him, leaping atop his shoulders and sinking insubstantial claws into his body.

Zeke roared, trying to rip them free, but because of their intangible nature, he couldn’t grab hold of them. Meanwhile, he felt his strength draining with every passing second. With hundreds having already latched on – and with hundreds more on their way – Zeke felt panic rising in his heart.

How could he fight them if he couldn’t even touch them?

That question loomed large in his mind as he felt himself growing weaker by the moment. But he didn’t have any answers.