Chapter 81 - The Birth of a Magical Body II

As Jonas left the room, Bryn read the first notification before him.

Flidais praises your efforts and congratulates you on your first step.

Do you accept?

Yes or No.

Who would deny another boost? Thought Bryn as his mouth said "Yes" as he pondered.

– Blessing Improvement –

Only those attuned to the world's truth can transform themselves.

Flidais’s Blessing improved.

– Blessing Description –

Flidais’s Blessing

All living animals have their ways; as a faun, you do too.

Base dexterity +35%; Skill Experience +35%; Vitality 20%; All other status +5%; Experience +5%.

It is possible to level up faster!

Before he analyzed his status, a second notification appeared before him. Reading caused his palms to sweat.

– Title Improvement Error –

Requirements to evolve the title Pathfinder met.

Pathfinder title is the highest possible title for non-legendary races.

Calculating compensation…

There are legendary races! How strong could one be? His mind lost focus on himself, trying to identify all the creatures inside the considered Legendary races. As he read the message a few times, and all mythical beasts crossed his mind, another notification popped.

– Compensation Calculated –

Race boundaries are broken.

First compensation: a possibility for evolution

From lesser demi-human to demi-human variant - Minimal Requirement level 100.

Second compensation: choosing between an unknown blessing or the Taming Touch skill.

– Choice Required –

Option 1: Unknown Blessing

Option 2: Taming Touch

I can evolve! But really, level one hundred? Also, what's up with these options?

Bryn appraised both his blessings; they added incredible amounts of status points and buffs to skill experience and even regular experience. If he grabbed another one, he could become the strongest faun ever to live.

Why would the system put the two things as equals on such an accomplishment? The evolution for the title is only available to legendary classes, meaning that a third blessing or the skill should be at least a taste toward that realm of power, no?!

Bryn's mind was going in circles. He analyzed his skills, even the best ones he had improved and created only gave him a mild boost compared to his current blessings. Not only that, none of his skills boosted him ultimately; the only percentage ones were for damage.

A voice called from the outside as he leaned toward a third blessing.

"Bryn, the meat is ready!"

Jonas's voice calmed Bryn's anxiousness to decide, allowing him to let the decision go until his body was back to normal. Confirming that no timer was attached to it, he focused on letting the notifications away from his view.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He saw Jonas's pupils constricting outside as he tried to keep a straight face.

Has he already noticed the evolution of my blessing? He appraised me through the process and now. I should have waited for a few levels and other circumstances to accept.

Jonas noticed that Bryn had bent his knees a bit, and his movement was similar to that of a cornered prey.

"I don't care about your status, Bryn," Jonas said as he turned to the mystical boar over the fire, using a small knife to cut apart a few portions so they could enjoy.

Bryn relaxed his body, walking toward the stool next to Jonas.

"Have you analyzed your body?"

As Bryn was about to sit, his movements stopped.

I got caught up in the notification and forgot to check my body!

Jonas started laughing at his reaction, pushing a plate of food at his stomach, causing him to fall onto the seat.

"You are young, and I'll deny doing it. But here you go. I thought we lost you for a moment there." Jonas said, giving Bryn a cup of wine.

Bryn accepted the offer with open arms, grabbing the cup and extending it toward Jonas's. Bryn smelled the cup as it touched, looking at its color and aroma before trying it.

How long has it been since I had a cup of wine? It is just as good as I remembered.

His face loosened as the tension over his eyebrows relaxed, and his lips curled upwards at the side of the cup. Jonas looked at the young faun, confused by the situation. The usual reaction of an infant was to spit everything away, but Bryn embraced it.

What a strange kid, he thought.

Jonas didn't bring up the events from the previous week, simply allowing Bryna a good night of sleep.

Jonas started clapping as the sun crossed the horizon the following day.

"Wake up! The sun is out; wake up!" he said, entering Bryn's room and removing him from the bed.

Bryn tried talking to the man, but he didn't care.

"Bryn, your body just suffered major changes. It is not time to sleep."

Bryn couldn't hide his smile at Jonas's words. He got up instantly, asking if they could start with his yoga routine. Bryn felt differences from the get-go as they moved their bodies and breathed.

I'm much heavier than before, and my range of motion has also increased.

Bryn ended the session with more energy than he had begun; his muscles were warm from the stimulus, and his tendons ached for more work. It was as if the necessary energy to do the same things had diminished; the control over his body had increased.

Drinking water from a canteen, Bryn couldn't stop looking at his arms and legs. He jumped a few times, but his maximum height stayed the same, and his top speed stayed the same when running on the open grounds.

So, maximum output is still the same, meaning it is more likely to be reliant on my stats. Efficiency and endurance must be the next tests.

He turned his head around in search of taller trees. The dense forest was a bit further from their camp, but he started walking in that direction before engaging with Jonas.

Trying his movements, he finally realized the importance of his body's changes. The reaction time from his instincts and thoughts to become movements had shortened. He could maintain a much higher speed when maneuvering around the forest. The changes also facilitated climbing; pinching strength increased, and his endurance when holding his weight and pulling himself with a single or both arms didn't spend as much energy.

I feel like a spider or a monkey, Bryn thought as he swung his body from a single-hand hold or glued it upside down to a tree branch.

His skin didn't hurt after rubbing and holding on to the tree's bark. His callus were gone, and yet the adherence and grip were much better than before.

He spent most of the morning trying all the small experiments he could to note the changes. Jonas beside him looked calmly at the joyful boy testing out his skills. The route Bryn had taken to try out the changes was not used by the kingdom or the army whenever an improvement in the body or status happened. His method was utterly different; it was free.

After hours of testing, as the morning was about to end, Bryn felt a stronger pump from his heart.

What is going on? He thought as he stopped in a standing position.

His heart pounded his chest one more time, and his body reacted to the heart-calling tingling all over Bryn's skin.

It's calling me, but what does it want?! His mind started to pay attention all over his body, thinking about the natural desires a body should or could crave.

With each heartbeat, Bryn felt anxious. His shoulder rounded forward, his face contorted, and his fingers clenched, his fists opened. The heart sped up as if the motor inside him had finally awoken; even amidst all the anxiety, he felt his reaction time would be the smallest.

His eyes searched for anywhere he could unleash some of his frustration, not knowing how to deal with this strange craving his body had. A trunk, about five adults in circumference, called his attention.

He understood everything in that instant. The reality of nature was the same in any world. Embedded into all strong creatures and those realizing their potential is a feral desire to conquer, dominate, and overpower. Everything around that tree's trunk blurred, and the anxious feeling transformed quickly into anger and anger in fuel. His body flowed around the obstacles between them as a sidekick was launched at its center.

There was an instant of silence as his body stopped—the hoove lodged on the tree by the end of the movement. A cracking boom followed, causing the tree to break apart its middle. Where Bryn's hoove had impacted, a rounded portion of the tree became dust, exposing its inside. From it, a crack extended to the roots and the canopy.

Birds flew in the sky, flapping and running from the sound. The branches resonated with the shock wave, causing leaves to fall from the tree and the other plants around it.

Bryn could feel the distress had been released; the kick had delivered what body craved, even though he couldn't properly understand it.

Did it want to be tested in battle, or was it a desire for destruction? He used his hands to feel where his hoove had clashed with the tree trunk. He could tell that before whatever happened to him did, he wouldn't be able to cause this much damage.

The sturdiness of the tree was far greater than his bones and body. Even at that speed, what would probably have happened before was breaking one of his joints or the impact going back to his leg and body.

From a small distance, Bryn formed a fighting stance against the tree trunk. Before any movement, he breathed slowly imagining the oxygen empowering every cell in his body. With a small step forward with his left leg, his hips twisted, bringing his left hand to the side of his face as his right arm accelerated.

Hips, shoulder, and fist turned as the arm extended toward the trunk. He used all his focus to impact the tree with his knuckles, diminishing the impact area of his explosive movements.

The moment it impacted, a second crater was created in the tree. At first glance, it appeared to be smaller in area than the previous one.

As Bryn stepped back, looking at his hand, pieces of bark tried to cut his skin open, but none could. He exalted, puffing the dirt away from his hand.

That is when it sounded.

A sequence of cracking sounds comes from the impact point and extends around the tree in many directions.

The tall giant before him could not resist both impacts. The cracks combined, causing the trunk to break apart and the tree to fall to the side. As it fell, anything in its path broke down beneath it. Its weight trembled the ground around the area; all the small animals cried from the situation as Bryn remained there, looking at his fists.

Jonas watched the situation from afar. He knew Bryn would have questions about what had happened to him, and he didn't have an answer.

Bryn eyes alternated between the destruction before him and his fist, the more he did, the better his body and mind felt. An easiness caused him to fall as if his body floated strangely. In that moment, his mind turned to the creatures that gained him his levels, the numerous beasts he had killed and the trolls he had slaughtered.

He could feel the desire to increase even further in the shortest amount of time possible. His body and mind could almost speak to his reason.

Though they couldn't speak, the same notification he had put aside for now appeared in his sight.

– Choice Required –

Option 1: Unknown Blessing

Option 2: Taming Touch

His desires all called for him to pick the first. He could almost taste the power increase it could represent.

I can't be fooled by the candy in front of my eye. I'm a faun; the system told me my race was inferior. Evolving my race will give me opportunities to increase my power. It might be the only opportunity to gain a taming skill, I can't let that pass.

Bryn's hand moved down, choosing the latter.