Malik didn’t know how long he was out but assumed it wasn’t extensive. The sun was roughly in the same spot and the settlement below hadn’t seemed to notice his absence. Looking at the sun had been a mistake. It burned his eyes and made his head throb even worse.

With a wobble and surge of pain, he got to his feet. Those visions gave him a glimpse of what he would be facing below. It was much worse than he imagined, but it was priceless information. He collected the rest of the beast cores, trying not to vomit, and eyed them. What exactly had happened? If he did this again, he might not survive. On the other hand, the information gained could save lives. He would discuss this with Charles, Naveck, and maybe even Zahid.

His stomach settled, but something still felt different so he checked his stats. Everything was normal except for his base stats. No new skills, but he was excited to find something had indeed changed.

Vitality:

12

Strength:

7

Dexterity:

15

Energy:

5

Consuming the beast core had given him two extra Energy. Malik wondered what he could do with it. None of his skills really required it, but he did see the world a bit differently now. More vibrant. What did the world look like to Aisha? Was he looking at everything through a veil? A distorted, muted version of the world? It was exciting to think about peeling those mysteries away.

The experience with the beast core had been so much different than when he first awoke from the Energy essence Zahid had leaked onto him. The Energy from Zahid had a pleasant feeling attached to it, but the beast core was horrible. There was a sense of similarity between the two, Malik just couldn’t quite grasp what that was.

Peering down at Stone Wing Spire, Malik spotted Naveck directing dwarves on the building process of his home. He narrowed his eyes and jumped off the peak. The building required his involvement, but he also wanted to know what they had done with the beast cores.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, Naveck spotted Malik and stepped out of the way as the gargoyle flew straight toward him, “Ah, bloody hell, you almost flew right into me,” the dwarf complained.

“Sorry, my head is in quite a bit of pain,” Malik grumbled, still squinting his eyes.

Naveck studied the gargoyle more closely, “Ah, yeah I know that look. You been holding out on us? Where’s the mead!” he joked.

Malik forced a fake smile, “So, what’s been done with the beast cores from the beetles?” not beating around the bush.

“From the other night? We plugged them into the runes of our burrow. They act as a power supply, keeping the runes active and connecting them to a steady stream of energy. O’course the low-level cores won’t last forever. Need to be replaced quite often,” The dwarf waved Malik over to the stones being used on his home and pointed at one covered in runes. “See, we’ll need more for your place too. Don’t worry, no “heaviness” runes,” he chuckled.

Guilt washed over Malik. He should have trusted Naveck, “That’s brilliant, thank you. What else can you tell me about beast cores?”

Naveck picked his ear as he thought, “Uhh, well they’re pretty versatile. They can provide power to all kinds of spells, enchantments, or anything that requires Energy.”

“What happens if you eat one?”

Naveck looked at Malik as if he were trying to decipher whether or not he was joking, “Well, uh, I wouldn’t do that. I’ve never heard of anyone try ‘ta be honest. I imagine it’d kill ya. Uncontrolled Energy mixin with your own inside yer body? Bad news if ya ask me,” Naveck stroked his beard in thought, “Now, you can store Energy in beast cores, but too much and they shatter, not a pretty sight when that happens if yer holding it. So, if you ate one strong enough to flood the core in your own noggin, I imagine it’d make your pretty, gargoyley head pop,” he said, wiggling his fingers and smiling a childish smile.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Huh. I saw a squirrel stick one in its mouth,” Malik said, promising himself to never tell anyone that he ate a core.

Naveck’s face relaxed, “Ah I see. Yes, little critters like squirrels, rats, pigeons, or small fish typically don’t have beast cores. They might develop a core or get their hands on one and evolve. If that squirrel got one of these Junk Tier Cores, it’s either evolved or popped from the influx of Energy, becoming nothing more than a stain on the forest floor.”

Malik smiled at the thought of the squirrel experiencing a similar pain that he just did. Then let his face droop as he imagined it developing powers. What a nightmare.

“Wait, what if a monster eats something with a core? Such as a beetle eating one of us,” Malik blurted.

Naveck’s mouth opened a bit then closed it and frowned, “The bastards get stronger. It don’t work that way for us though… far as I know,” he continued to frown and trailed off.

Malik felt a little giddy. Was it possible that he stumbled upon something that other races didn’t dare try? Surely someone had to have done it successfully. Charles and Zahid might know more. He wasn’t eager to try again just yet.

“Well, that has satisfied my curiosity, thank you,” Malik said, patting Naveck’s shoulder, “I have one more request of you. Can you make me a copy of the blueprints of all present and future buildings?” Malik asked.

“Yeah, that’s easy. We aren’t master architects or nothin’ but we can sketch up the simple plans for you.”

“Perfect. Bring them to me as soon as you can. Where is Themo?”

Naveck jerked a thumb toward Charles’ camp, “Over with Charles workin on yer project.”

“Thanks again, Naveck.”

Themo came running up as he was headed their way.

“Lord Malik! I think I did it. Charles had the perfect bottle for it with an airtight stopper. The fuzzy human even had a funnel for ya,” Themo excitedly explained, waiving about a bottle that malik was able to see through.

“What material is that?” Malik asked.

“Oh, this is glass. It’s incredibly valuable stuff, but you need to be careful with it. Very fragile. One drop and it could break into pieces.”

Malik wrinkled his nose, “Sounds like a horrible material. Why would anyone want that?”

Themo scratched his bald head, “Ya know, I’m not sure. It’s a pain to etch runes in the side. Had me sweatin over whether I’d break it or not.”

Charles interrupted them as he strode over. He threw a thin piece of leather at Malik, “Here. I couldn’t believe you didn’t have a proper belt of all things. Put that around your waist. See those little straps all along the belt?”

Malik looked down at it as he fastened it around his waist. There were indeed loops of smaller pieces of leather attached to it. There were also thin strands of leather that just dangled from the belt. He pinched one between his fingers and looked at Charles.

“Yeah, those. You can tie that around the bottle so you don’t have to carry it around in your hand.”

Malik nodded in thanks. Still not at a hundred percent, Malik didn’t mind putting a little blood in the bottle to test it out. He was starting to get used to the little slices on his finger. As he did, he didn’t even use the funnel, opting to just stick his finger in the bottle and watch it pool at the bottom. Blood was quite pretty to Malik, but he knew it was best to keep it inside him for the most part. If only the beetles had blood this pretty — he would sacrifice them for his buildings regularly. His Stone Skin slowed the bleeding quickly, but there should be enough inside to know if the runes worked.

“Stick it in the water for a minute and we’ll see if the runes hold,” Themo said through a smile behind his beard.

“You do it. It’s your artwork after all,” Malik shoved the bottle back to Themo. It was someone else’s turn to be a guinea pig for unknown outcomes.

Themo jumped at the opportunity and scurried toward the water. After a minute, he pulled it out and cupped the bottom with his palm, “It worked! See for yourself!”

Malik didn’t have a chance as one of Charles’ daughters yelled out, “Incoming!”

Malik instantly reacted, launching himself into the air and activating Camouflage. There were three groups of ten. Each group was mostly made up of Level 5 Soldiers, but there were three total Level 10 Horned Beetles. The ones with the stingers that Charles had warned him about. His heart thumped in his chest, nervous for the others and Aisha, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to test his skills against the larger, more lumbering beasts.

He was about to fetch his own Stinger and begin harassing the beetles when something caught his eye. Sam was walking into the Incubation Chamber.