“So what will it be, Little Beast? The Labyrinth or the training grounds here in the barracks?”
That was no brainer. “The training grounds. Call me a pussy, but I’ve had enough of the Fallen’s Cry for a while.”
Deckard laughed at that, slapping me on the back as we walked down the hallway. “I can totally understand that. Actually, I feel the same way about going down there as you do. But at the same time, I’m itching to fight some beasts, to see how far I can grow now. You’re gonna have to face some beasts at some point, you know that, right?”
This time it was me who laughed. “Once I get to Esulmor, I’m sure I’ll be in training with the mossbears.”
“Ah, I forgot about them. Do you think it would be possible to set up a sparring session with them as well?”
“I’m not sure about the sparring part; it would be more like going for each other’s throats, but I think it should be doable. As I recall, the adult mossbears had too much energy and were willing to defy both the Mothers and Esudein. If they get a chance to blow off some steam, they will take it.”
“Excellent.”
“Are you two listening to what you’re saying?” Captain Rayden asked, following like the others. They all wanted to see where I stood with my skills, whether it was my squadmates, Lord Egerton - pale as he was, or the two librarians still fervently discussing my inner self, not something bound by the Oath. “Merchants are shitting their pants when they have to travel within sight of Esulmor, with Miros and the northern eagles in the mountains more than ever, and you’re talking about training with the beasts in the woods.”
Deckard and I looked at each other, the same thought on our minds - the eagles. “No, I’m not good at aerial combat, neither in my beast form nor in this one.”
“It’s good to learn to fight against flyers, even if you can’t fly yourself.”
“I can make you fly,” Idleaf chirped helpfully, excited at the idea.
“Not good to rely on something you can’t do yourself.”
Although Deckard hadn’t actually spoken about the system, it was unbelievable how that pretty much fit the way the system worked.
“True. Even so, I’d love to fly with you again,” I said to Idleaf, thrilled with the idea myself while understanding where Deckard was coming from. He had been a solo seeker for the past few years. Down there alone, he had no one to rely on but himself. And yet he had spent most of his life in the military. He should know how important it was to trust others on the battlefield. I learned that myself in the Echo. On a small scale, I had Stella’s back; she had mine. On a grand scale, we trusted the other knights to do their part.
But I guess that wasn’t what he was talking about, and it was a completely different topic for another time altogether. Now it was about flying and those were good times.
Being able to fly again - Idleaf trembled with impatience. “When?”
“Soon.”
“How soon?”
“I don’t know, tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?” She whimpered, looking devastated.
“Oh, come on. It’s not that long.” Truthfully, it was about plans for tonight. No one had mentioned it yet, but I had a feeling that Stella and I were in for a night at the Drunken Filly.
“Hmm...” Idleaf grumbled, only to scuttle away when something in the niche we passed caught her attention; mine turned back to Deckard. “You say we shouldn’t rely on something we can’t control, but you lean on the system to hold your hand.”
“That’s about to change, Little Beast.” He didn’t deny it, he faced it. I’ve never seen him so determined and excited.
Well, we could only hope that none of us would leave the training ground disappointed.
***
Of course, as soon as our procession entered the barracks courtyard, everyone’s attention was drawn to us. It wasn’t so surprising then that dozens of off-duty city guards now stood around the training grounds, excited to see the fight between me and Deckard. And, in fact, the sparring between Stella and Rayden as well. The Captain wanted to see what someone who bragged about fighting without a system could do.
At least that’s what she said. I would say she just didn’t want Stella to feel left out and wanted to give her the best possible chance to test her skills. Regardless, it reminded me of when we faced Ronnu. Sure, Rayden and Deckard likely wouldn’t have fared any better than the two of us did, even if they were working together. But them being weaker than her gave us no advantage. We were to face our opponents alone.
“So how do we do this?”
Good question. “Well - those system notifications were pretty overwhelming, weren’t they?” At least that’s how it looked to me.
“Damn annoying,” Deckard nodded, smiling. “I see what you mean. Test our skills, individually, see where we can push them, and then...”
“Then we spar.”
We were in accord. And so I opened my Status Screen, and for the first time in a very, very long time, I saw the numbers in it grow.
Name: Korra’leigh Grey
Race: Human/Beast
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Main Class: Deviant of Humanity
Sub Class: Slave
Level: 122
Constitution: 159 -> 171 (41)
Strength: 88 (30)
Endurance: 44 -> 53 (29)
Dexterity: 41 (28)
Intelligence: 46 (17)
Wisdom: 34 (14)
Class Skills (8/8):
Indomitable Will (↑Passive VI↑): lvl 135 -> 157
Behemoth (↑Active III↑): lvl 29 -> 36
Wrought Hide (Passive III): lvl 42
Unbending Resilience (Passive III): lvl 35
Mantle of Magic (Active II): lvl 17
Ride of Ancestors (Active II): lvl 21 -> 23
Call of Nature (Passive III): lvl 32
Beast Core: (Passive I): lvl 4
General Skills (10/10):
Perfect Equilibrium (Passive III): lvl 46 -> 48
Spatial Domain (Passive III): lvl 50 -> 53
Beast (Passive IV): lvl 67 -> 68
Never-Dying (Passive IV): lvl 66 -> 80
Tail of Poison Empress (Active II): lvl 27
Heart of Magic (Passive II): lvl 27
Striving Mule (Passive III): lvl 35
Dancer’s Stride (Passive III): lvl 47
None to Squander (↑Passive III↑): lvl 28 -> 34
Roundhouse Kick (Active I): lvl 7
Even though I went over eight months without seeing the growth of my strength measured by the system, it was so rewarding to see the hard work recognized. Not too many changes so far, most just from our return to this time. Well, with two exceptions. [Behemoth] and [None to Squander]. After long months of eating the same thing over and over again, I spent hours in the kitchen yesterday and considerably thinned out their stock before retiring to bed.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
BEHEMOTH
Active III (Slave - 10%)
Whatever you use to attack, be it claws, fists, or fangs, you do it with the proper weight behind it. When you kick, it is no longer the tantrum of a little puppy but the boot of a behemoth that shakes mountains. When you satiate your hunger, you can choose up to 66%(60%) → 77%(70%) of consumed food to be stored as an energy reserve, bringing your weight but not your size up to that of the behemoth.
The amount of stored energy can reach 2.2(2.0) → 3.3(3.0) times your regular weight, and with that, your [Constitution] and [Endurance] grow up to 27%(25%) → 44%(40%).
Tier II - Still more of a puppy than the true behemoth you are, yet one that is hard to cuddle in one’s arms without causing oneself serious back pain. Your weight should not be underestimated as well as the sheer hardness to kill you that comes hand in hand with it.
The [vitality] and [vigor] of yours increased by 11%(10%) → 16%(15%).
Tier III - No longer merely a pup, but a creature bearing the essence of a genuine behemoth. Though your size remains tethered to your origin, your weight now stands as a testament to your unyielding march toward true behemothhood.
The [toughness] and [resilience] of yours increased by 11%(10%).
Tier III of [Behemoth] made me less fragile. Actually, that was the wrong way to look at it. I grew to be less fragile.
Yet, no matter the way you take it, not really anything game-changing. At least not yet. Still, every little bit counted, and if eating made me stronger and harder to kill, then I just had to eat more. After all, at my current fullness - seriously, I ate so much yesterday that I could not lie down on my belly - it pushed my Constitution to a whopping 171 and Endurance to 53.
On the downside, I now had to be careful not to accidentally step on someone’s toes. Whether I liked it or not, I weighed 2.2 times more than I should have, a massive 147 kilos. I know, nothing for a gal to brag about, at least not on Earth.
Weight aside, my overstuffing had another consequence beside a full stomach. [None to Squander] reached a new tier overnight as well.
NONE TO SQUANDER: LVL 34
Pasive III (Slave - 10%)
You’re one of those people who consider wasted food a crime and an unfinished plate an insult to the cook. That mindset is mirrored in the nature of your body itself. Don’t waste a single grain, and digest what you can of the mouthful you get!
The efficiency with which you digest food increased by 49%(45%) → 71%(65%).
Tier II - Many people can eat every crumb and drink every last drop, while their body gets the most out of it and still squander most of the nutrients they got from the food. Not you. Your body is not as wasteful and needs far less nutrients and water to run.
The efficiency with which your body uses nutrients increased by 33%(30%) → 49%(45%).
Tier III - Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and more. Food holds many flavors that can make your tongue writhe in delight or squirm in disgust. While others would toss the food aside for bad taste, not you. Taste hardly matters when it comes to nourishment, and you know it.
For that, you can simply choose to disregard taste when it comes to your sustenance.
Honestly, I shouldn’t have lingered on looking at my Status screen. If I had done that first thing when I woke up, I could have tried this Tier III part at breakfast.
“Do you have any snacks, Deckard?”
Already testing his stride, he halted. “Why? Don’t tell me you’re already hungry after what you had yesterday?”
“My skill, new tier, I should be able to ignore a taste.”
“Yielding to the system’s guidance?” he mocked as he tossed me a piece of jerky.
“I’d be a fool not to take full advantage,” I said back, activating the skill, or at least I believed I had, and took a bite of the snack. Honestly, I thought I had eaten a few tasteless meals in my life. Damn, the jerky was as tasteless as the food could get. Wrong.
Even the water had flavor, but not this piece of jerky. It was truly tasteless and - well, tasted bland. There was nothing to describe it. I was just chewing on something stiff.
“Doesn’t taste good, huh?”
“Tastes like nothing,” I nodded, shuddering at the blandness of the meat in my mouth. “How do you know? Do you have the same skill?”
“Similar. When you’re in the army, especially on the battlefield, you can’t do without such a skill.”
“Don’t you have spatial rings - you know, for food?”
“Sure, but not every tool has an ever-fresh enchantment, and if it does, it doesn’t hold forever. That aside. When are you going to show me what you can do?”
“We agreed that...”
“I know, Little Beast. I just want to see, to compare with what I remember of your abilities.”
I chewed my lower lip. “You know, I didn’t get much opportunity to practice kicks - or magic, for that matter. I spent more time there in my beast form than I ever did before.”
He smiled knowingly. “So you said. And don’t worry, I won’t look down on you for it.”
“Thank you...” Looking back, I truly trained the way people were used to at that time. Focused on one path. Not as a melee fighter, not as a mage, but simply as a shifter. And with that thought, I took a deep breath - only to realize that my outfit-spatial ring was gone. No comfort of making my clothes disappear in order to shift a heartbeat later.
Going to the edge of the training ground and taking everything off was met with a huge cheer, especially from the men. They liked what they saw.
Embarrassing? Yes and no.
Geran tried to instill in me the notion that true shifters were not ashamed of their bodies, regardless of form. Vienlin, on the other hand, wanted me to see the pride in it. And while I was still somewhat conscious of my lack of clothing and the exposure of my private parts, I could see that if my naked body didn’t arouse the attention of males, the real shame would be in that.
“Little Beast?”
“No tools,” I explained, showing him my bare hands, fingers without rings.
Deckard got the message. “Speaking of which, catch,” he said, tossing me a tiny object. “Union ring. I keep a few in my stash, just in case, you know. Don’t worry, it’s with placed enchantments for shifters.”
I couldn’t help but grin.
Instead of putting on the union ring, I threw it back to Deckard and shifted into the weird foxy beast with a massive tail, long hind legs, and wings on its back.
“I don’t need it anymore.”
“Traiana’s tits,” Deckard cursed, thoroughly startled. And he wasn’t the only one. Some onlookers even lost their footing. I guess it wasn’t so common to hear a beast speaking in a woman’s voice, though admittedly with a somewhat bestial undertone. Then, when I giggled, which sounded close to the cackle of hyenas back on Earth, some of them even took a few steps back. What protectors of the city they were, huh?
“You got me there, Little Beast. Really nice. Still, it might be worth considering wearing a union ring; being able to communicate through thoughts can come in handy.”
“Sure, just not in the presence of Eleaden.” Since the truth about the planet we now walked on was not to remain a secret, I had no qualms about talking about it, even if it left those who heard me rather puzzled, unable to grasp straight away what I was talking about.
“You mean...?” Deckard tapped his head to get the point across.
“No, apparently union rings don’t work that way, but even so, they couldn’t stop Eleaden from listening in.”
“Oh, that’s a relief to hear - and worrisome. The Army uses them widely. Emphasis on non-verbal communication, then,” his gaze went to Sah, standing at the edge of the training area. The Imperial Agent, listening like everyone else, nodded back to assure Deckard that he would relay the message to the higher-ups.
“Now. Enough talk, Little Beast - though I must say it’s damned strange to be talking to you like this. Interesting in a way. Not like your shifting, though. The way you turned into a beast was damn impressive. In fact, I can’t remember a shifter who could do it so smoothly. It seemed effortless and painless.”
A growl escaped my throat. Not a show of displeasure. On the contrary, my chest swelled with pride. Deckard was impressed, really impressed. That alone made me feel that all the trouble in the Echo was worth it.
If only I didn’t have those system notifications ringing in my head, ruining the moment.
* [Beast] reaches lvl 69
* [Beast] reaches lvl 70
And all the way to level 81, just from shifting to the beast.
* [Beast] reaches lvl 81
What’s more, even [Call of Nature] was crying out for attention. The whole three levels.
* [Call of Nature] reaches lvl 35
And on top of that, I got two class levels.
* [YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 123]
* [YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 124]
To be honest, reading those notifications gave me shivers. This was a simple shift, nothing too elaborate - well, not really. In a way, it was the highlight of what I had learned in my eight months as a shifter. But it was also the reason why fear found its way into my heart. I was a tiny bit afraid of what would happen once I surrendered to the beasts, and wondering how far I had gone with my skills when I dropped that presence that managed to bring down the nearly five hundred level beastman out there on the battlefield.
But unlike Deckard, I was not eager to rush things, and instead shifted back to my human-ish form and back again into beast.
A lie.
I mean, the thing about not being eager. There was this itch under my skin telling me to just go for it. Still, I resisted the temptation.
More notifications followed as my skills grew by more levels. And among them, [None to Squander]. I had a hunch, but the way I learned to conserve energy and weight while shifting did have an effect on this skill as well.
“No longer afraid to lose weight?” quick to catch on, Deckard remarked.
“I learned not to waste it - most of it, anyway.” I still had a ways to go in that regard, but my weight consumption with each shift wasn’t as bad as it used to be.
“Good. So? Ready to trade some blows?”
That impatient bastard. Unlike me, he only had one skill to test. The itch was getting to me, though. I could stand here as long as I wanted, shifting back and forth, submitting to the beasts little by little, but at the end of the day, what better way to test your skills than in action?
“Sure,” I growled, smirking as I pounced.
Of course, Deckard being Deckard, he was quick to step aside, unfazed by my sudden attack. Yet, so was I undaunted by the failure, quickly following with a flurry of attacks. Paw swings and bites, whatever I threw at him, annoyingly missed the human, one attempt after another. Deckard was way too fast.
Far more irritating was his laughter, though. He was enjoying it.
Then again, so did I, laughing with him. At least until the cadence of our spar changed, and he started to take it more seriously.
“You’re good, Little Beast,” he said, his focus on me unabated. “Quick on your feet, quicker than I expected. I guess the visibly better coordination of your wings and tail with your movements plays a big part in that.”
“Vienlin, she taught me.”
“I see. But don’t give her all the credit. You’re the one who learned to move like that.”
My answer was a growl, a simple growl, nothing more. I understood what he meant. The student had to be willing to learn; able to absorb what the master presented.
“Let’s see what else those two have taught you,” he grinned, and instead of dodging my pounce, he slipped past my paw and executed a sloppy kick. Despite how half-hearted it looked, I wasn’t fooled into thinking it was something I didn’t have to dodge. You could say my instincts were screaming for me to jump out of his reach at all costs.
And so I did.
I evaded that one kick, only to have to dodge a dozen more. Deckard made it clear who had the upper hand in this fight. But that was never the question. The question was how far I could push him, and so far I was a ways away from giving my all in this spar.