Zoe dashed into a backwards roll at just the right point in her spiraling trajectory to flip back onto her feet. As soon as she landed, she activated {Heal Wound} on her fractured chest.

{Kinetic Dash has leveled up! Kinetic Dash is now level 6.}

As her broken ribs began to rapidly mend themselves back together, Zoe took in her new opponent. He was still in the process of rising up from the ground — giving her both the time to heal and to assess her new circumstances.

The prisoner was mutating into another corrupted abomination — but unlike the lionesses, his new form seemed much more coherent and, for lack of a better phrase — well put together.

His hands had grown long, curving black claws. Likewise, his feet had elongated into hooked talons. Meanwhile, dark, rippling muscle strained against his pale, sickly white flesh. There was so much of it that Zoe briefly thought that he looked more like an unrealistically drawn comic book character than a real person.

{Corrupted Worldshaker - ???}

She analyzed him at the same time as he charged. It was far, far faster than anything Zoe had expected — in fact, it looked almost as fast as her own {Kinetic Dash}. Using the ability on reflex, Zoe zipped to the side — but not before taking a glancing blow to her left shoulder.

The blow sent her spinning. Zoe didn’t need {Medicinal Diagnosis} to know that it was dislocated, either — but she didn’t stop to focus on healing. Instead of {Heal Wound}, she activated {Kinetic Dash} again, diving forward just as the corrupted man landed a crushing blow where she had just stood.

And then the exact same process repeated — Zoe dashing in an unpredictable, zig-zag pattern while the monster behind her struck crushing blows just a hair’s breadth behind her. Even with {Pain Resistance}, the dislocated shoulder was starting to cause problems, so Zoe went ahead and activated {Heal Wound}.

The minor distraction nearly lost Zoe her head as a swipe so fast it whistled through the air clipped her ear, not so much drawing blood as ripping a large chunk clean off. Despite the pain, Zoe had no obvious choice other than to keep dashing.

In under a minute her mana was already down by a third and continuing to drop. After several more close calls, Zoe realized she needed to either go on the offensive — or somehow escape.

The latter seemed far more realistic, archmage and beast tamer be damnned.

Backpedaling towards the nearest cliff face, Zoe dashed six meters up and grabbed onto a small, slick handhold. It was the best handhold she could find, but even with {Kinetic Enhancement} helping her, clinging on was difficult.

Zoe was vaguely aware of loud shouting from above along with a thunderous roar, but she was too focused on the most dangerous opponent below her rather than on what was happening up above among the spectators.

In the two seconds that Zoe had taken to scale halfway up the wall, the monstrous man below her had backed up to the opposite cliff face. Zoe narrowed her eyes. There was a gleam of cunning intelligence in his dull, sunken crimson eyes.

He still has his wits about him, she realized. Or at least, whatever is possessing his corpse does.

She also realized what he was about to do, so she prepared for it. Readying both her fist and a {Kinetic Strike}, Zoe prepared to finally go on the offensive. It was going to be incredibly risky, but she didn’t like her chances on making it up the rest of the cliff face safely — not with the abomination hot on her tail.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The corrupted traitor shoved off his own cliff face with so much force that it cracked — just a fraction of a split second before Zoe pushed off with {Kinetic Manipulation}.

In the fleeting moment where they were both airborne, Zoe prayed that she had anticipated his trajectory correctly. In the time it would have taken for her to blink, she saw that she was right — she had angled off to the side and down just right to be able to strike him as he crossed below her.

Zoe’s {Kinetic Strike} never connected. Claws dug deep into her neck, cutting a bloody gash that almost went all the way through to her throat. She hit the sand below hard. It drove the wind completely out of her — but that was the least of her problems.

The second was that she literally couldn’t breathe — at least not with inhaling copious amounts of blood.

But the worst problem was leaping back down towards her.

Zoe put the remaining half of her mana into {Heal Wound} at the same time as she dashed upwards. The monstrosity landed right below her. Before she could even reach the zenith of her natural trajectory, a clawed hand reached up and grabbed her.

He flung her into the wall.

Zoe crumpled. She couldn’t even so much as twitch. Paralyzed, for what — the third time? She honestly wasn’t sure. As Zoe’s vision darkened, she became dimly aware once more of shouts — and screams — and an incessant, thunderous roar. I wonder what’s going on up there? It was a shame that she couldn’t even roll her head over to see it.

{Rugged Constitution has delayed your death.}

Well that’s totally helpful, Zoe thought as the abomination raised her up to the level of his putrid crimson eyes. As her head rolled forwards, she saw that his grip was squeezing and crushing her torso. She was kind of relieved that even with {Pain Resistance}, she couldn’t actually feel it.

But somehow, she still wasn’t dead. The monster was studying her almost quizzically. It sniffed. And then it brought her even closer to its shark-toothed maw. Splitting its face open into a terrible grin, it began inhaling.

Something roiled within Zoe’s veins. The world came back into sharp focus as the throbbing black within her own mana channels was violently unrooted and tugged out of her body towards the hungry maw of the hideous monstrosity.

Zoe felt herself fading. But unlike the warm darkness of her imminent death from before, it was different. It was as if everything was turning gray. She didn’t like it.

As the first tacky strand of her own corrupted mana slid down the abominations greedy throat, Zoe’s mind mustered one last act of defiance. A single word resonated throughout the entirety of her spirit.

Mine.

With the last remaining chunk of her disappearing mana, Zoe activated both {Spirit Enhancement} and {Mana Manipulation}. Tugging with all of her magic and will, Zoe yanked the strands of tacky black mana back into her own core. Slurping it up like spaghetti, she kept pulling, even as her mana started to tick back up.

And she kept pulling. And pulling. Before long, a veritable tide of black was funneling down into her rapidly darkening core.

{Spirit Enhancement has leveled up! Spirit Enhancement is now level 5.}

{Mana Manipulation has leveled up! Mana Manipulation is now level 13.}

Zoe didn’t really care about the system notifications at all. She only cared about one thing — the delicious corrupted mana she was gorging herself on. Her core was practically stuffed, almost bursting — but she was still hungry for more.

And then it cut off.

Enraged, Zoe opened her eyes and glared at the prey that had dared interrupt her feast. Haunted crimson eyes reeled back at her in shock. The abomination was looking even more pale — and instead of attacking, it was just standing there stunned.

Suddenly snapping to his senses, the mutated traitor pulled her back in and prepared to pulp her face with an enormous clawed fist.

Zoe bit a chunk out of his face.

{+201 Mana}

{Lesser Vampirism has leveled up! Lesser Vampirism is now level 10.}

{You have You have You have You have {{{

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{Lesser Vampirism has been corrupted into DEVOUR}/.

{Devour has leveled up! Devour is now level 1.}

{Warning! You have /}

{You have}

{You have}

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{You have}

{You have}

{…}

You have been corrupted.