Menace mana coursed through my blood, present in my legs. I activated it across my hooves and jumped, swiping a fruit from atop an aguarty. A tree colored in varying shades of blue, with large leaves teeming with aguar fruits. The fruits were shaped like very round bananas growing only in pairs.

I peeled my aguar and handed the other to Moonwash who also ate. She was pulling a sled of her own making just because she wanted to keep more of the materials we harvested. The most valuable prizes of course being the large water mana repository and the water focus tusks that came from the dead marrong.

We’ve been on this journey for over a week now, more if the start was when we left the last village, and in that time the landscape has changed. The trees became tougher, more moist, and also more blue. Some of them still looked familiar, just a little more mutated, while others were entirely new and unique species. Plantlife like this apparently worked on a mysterious but similar system to ours, and it was also possible to identify them in the same way, but the way their Mutations worked was different. The trees themselves were connected to the very planet itself, gorging upon its abundant source of mana, giving them strength over the course of their lives.

The mana here in this place especially was potent, I could feel it in the air. It was something my mother had once told me about, the planet’s mana subtly shaping the world. Its presence was palpable here, giving me a subtle sense of drowning, but it wasn’t unkind. This force changed the very flora and fauna around it.

As an aside, being subjected to nature magic could also influence plantlife in a variety of ways. They could stop progressing at all as regular plants would, the same as how someone subjected to biomancy might lose access to their Mutations. But plantlife was more forgiving in this regard. Their progress might just slow down or reach some sort of new equilibrium. Being merely boosted to the maturity of an adult tree could also be often recognized by the ‘System,’ allowing the plant to grow in power normally. It’s also not unheard of for added features to be added to the plant’s Mutation list, albeit there were no records of this artificial creation ever being passed down to offspring. Perhaps it was necessary to trigger a full species change, something that wonderzones and the world itself was able to do easily, but it seemed that even the angels could only scarcely repeat the same feat. So many were sacrificed to create the first shepherds, fountans, and ishkawtans. And their species might not even be new, instead owing their origins to the greater Heavenly Hegemony!

“We’re here,” Baston said, and a wondrous sight was revealed. I broke into a run the moment we exited the treeline, and Moonwash was right behind me. Luine kept up with us to keep apace with danger, but my eyes were already on the gaping abyssal lake right in front of me.

The Endless Dive.

It was a body of saltwater said to go straight into the heart of the world. Full of monsters and other dangers, it was a wonderzone whose depths had never been explored, even when this place had once been under the control of the Angelore Empire. Few who attempted to prove or disprove this had ever returned.

I stared mesmerized as Fish swam near the water’s surface, and larger creatures dwelled underneath. Colorful glowing corals grew from the walls and lit up the place, just as it started to become too dark to see, and then they too stopped, leaving only the gaping abyss. But there were still flashes of light from those depths, only they gave a sense of dread to contrast the welcoming sensations of the coral.

“Wow,” I spoke, in awe.

“Yes.” There was a tinge of the same amazement if Moonwash’s voice.

This was why we insisted on coming here. To see a wonderzone for ourselves. For me to truly experience what it was to be in another world.

And then a long crocodile snake crawled its way up, its body like a reptilian centipede. I immediately pulled Moonwash back, and Luine alongside Baston dueled against the creature. Roots and vines speared and wrapped around it, breaking upon the monster’s thrashing. Luine took out its eyes from the get-go, but they quickly healed once she moved on to slicing apart its looong torso.

She ran around and did it again, robbing the creature of its vision once more. This time it took longer for it to heal, and I reasoned that the regeneration was uncontrolled, now taken up and strained by many wounds. Luine and Baston kept up their onslaught, but the croc-centipede turned around and they had to fall back from the whip that was its body. I could feel the force from here, through the wind.

The monster retreated back into the water, and Luine thought better than to keep chase after it.

“Ugh. Regenerators,” she said. I smirked at my own Mutations.

“Was that a Level 40?”

“Oh yes. Definitely.”

“Yes! I was right!” I pumped my fists. “I had that vague feeling. Kinda. Level sense.”

She snorted. “If something that obvious is a ‘kinda’ to you, then you’ve still got a long way to go kid.” She patted my head, but both my cowl and helmet were in the way.

I still leaned into the touch.

“I want it. That monster.”

We all looked at Moonwash.

Luine ruffled her hair as well, though the older girl barely showed any reaction. “Then get strong to catch it yourself.”

“Yes I will, Mother.”

Luine’s smile grew warmer.

~~~

We made camp beyond the treeline, as far away from the lake as we could be while still having a good view. Baston noted the presence of other people here. There was a carriage on the other side that I could hardly make out as a single dot on the horizon.

“You want to go meet them?” Luine asked, genuinely curious.

I shook my head. “Nah. I’d rather mind my own business. I breathed in and smelled the salty waters of the lake. It didn’t have to make sense.

The woman shrugged. “Suit yourself. I can’t feel their levels from here, but well…” her form blurred for just a moment. “I can probably kill them, if need be.”

There’s probably something I should be saying in regards to that… Oh, right.

“That’s nice. Very cool.”

She smirked. “It is, yeah.”

We had a nice meal, a stew cooked over the fire. The wood had to be dried with magic as this place was a very damp place. For some reason, my menace magic somewhat kind of worked for the task as it took the life away from the twigs. Somehow, that included evaporating some of the moisture. Complicated magics were very complicated.

Moonwash wanted to go fishing, having actually bought a pole in the last village we went through in preparation. Baston dissuaded her from the idea, citing the danger of this fishing spot. So I had the bright idea to have him and Luine do it!

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“This is a terrible idea,” Baston grumbled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Luine was confident and enthusiastic. She tossed the reel right by the shore, and it didn’t take long for her to get a bite. She quickly piled up more seafood for us to eat, which I arrayed neatly by the fire. The different kinds of fish were unfamiliar to me, with way too many fins and regal-looking appearances. Not to mention being unreasonably big.

“Hey Luine!” I called, gorging myself on soup and fish. “Time to eat!”

“Ah! Unfair! You lot started without me!” She dropped the fishing rod as she ran towards us. It was lost in the coming waves. “Oops. I lost it.”

“You lost my fishing rod,” Moonwash complained. “I worked hard on that.”

“What? I thought you just bought it?” Luine asked.

“I did. But I also improved upon it.” She pointed at a sharp-toothed tuna that I’d fileted… or chopped into chunks, really. “It would have broken otherwise.”

“Oh. Well, sorry?”

“No. It’s fine. It was meant to be used.” She looked at all the fish that was caught. “It fulfilled its purpose.”

“Wow. Cold.” I laughed.

She looked up and smelled the air. “Yes. It is. A little bit.”

“Okay. Are you joking or not?”

“What?”

“Nevermind.”

We ate like kings and queens, from the meat of monsters that could be sold for probably hundreds of gold. Not just because of how good the materials were, ranging above level 20, but because we were in a new wonderzone. The rarity and novelty alone would add a lot to the price.

If only I was free to go out into the world and spend it.

~~~

The people on the other side of the bank made their way over to us for some reason, because of course we couldn’t just leave each other alone and be on our way. We too were too proud to leave and avoid a confrontation.

This isn’t their lake, goddammit! We can be here too!

A towering water cobra the width of a modern building that surfaced right at that moment told me exactly who owned the place. Its presence slammed into my mind like the pressures of the deep ocean, uncaring for how my demon brain was supposed to protect me. The other group ran away like cowards into the trees, meanwhile we beat a smart and well-thought-out retreat.

I then watched the snake rear up and breathe out a beam of water into the sky, with pressures strong enough to shear off concrete like paper and colored lightly in green. An absolutely gigantic whale-sized orange pelican dropped from the skies afterward, and the snake scurried it away back into the depths of The Endless Dive.

“Well. That was fucking cool!” I blurted out, my heart still pumping rapidly, nervous energy slamming across my body. My menace mana stirred within my blood, just screaming to be activated.

Luine shook her head. “I… We couldn’t have protected you from that.”

“Exactly.”

She looked at me, in awe for a few seconds, before barking out a laugh. “Exactly.”

~~~

We went back to lake-watching. I especially enjoyed the swarm of pelican birds going to war with rabid oversized piranhas.

Unfortunately, the other people had not left, although I knew that they could say the same to us. We did not own this place, and they could stay. If they were hostile then they could die.

That sentiment doubled when they came closer. A dozen templars and a shepherd.

Feelings of acceptance.

Warm hospitality.

A friendly neighbor.

All of it was washed away by the tides of my demonic mind. No longer shall I be beholden to the putrid influence of another.

A smirk crossed my face, my heavy breath fogged into my helm. A frantic energy surged through my body, tingling in its excitement.

“Haell,” Luine said my name, gentle but stern. I realized that my emotions were literally oozing out of me, in the form of mana. My intimidation aura had activated, and a few of the approaching templars had already reacted.

I eased up on the pressure, dumping a quarter of my reserves towards the empty ground. Instantly, I relaxed, a constant pressure on my own psyche was gone, drained from my blood. But I already knew that, the design of my very blood allowed me to store a prodigious quantity of magic, in exchange for having no barrier between it and myself.

It was fine. I was fine. This was what I wanted.

The shepherd and her slaves arrived. Her gaze lingered on me, and so did I stare at her, distracted by the glitter of her skin. No longer was such a weak mental effect able to plunder my attention, but shiny things were still shiny.

Finally, Luine broke the silence.

“Greetings, my lady. I am known as Luine, and these are my friends.”

The shepherd turned towards her and flashed a beaming smile. Her skin continued to glisten, and the crown she was literally born with stood proud. She looked to be around Moonwash’s age. “Hello, Luine! I am Ozara Borails. Why, I was just here to do some prospecting on this wonderzone for the empire. What brought you and your party to this place?”

“Oh, nothing much.” She gestured towards our packs. “There was an opportunity, so we took it.”

“Oh wonderful!” She clapped in seemingly genuine cheer. “Would you care to join us then? This place is fraught with danger, and sticking together will surely make both our groups safer.”

The templars flinched at the implication that their services were not enough. I presumed their levels to be around twenty based on my level sense. That was around the norm for joining the order, so they weren’t incompetent, but they weren’t special either. Then again, I was even lower level…

“I appreciate the offer, my lady. But I’m afraid we must decline. We have… prior engagements, you see.”

One of the templars finally exploded. I was actually surprised it took this long. “You would dare–”

Alas, his outburst was not to be. Ozara silenced him with a single gesture. “It is fine, Jacob. I am sure they have their responsibilities, just as I have my own. But come! If we cannot become comrades, then let us at least become friends. Let us have tea!”

She immediately sent off the templar to fetch her order, and he only looked mildly upset. Their carriage was on the other side of the lake, so it took a while for him to run all the way to the other side and then back with the supplies.

Tea was brought, along with folding chairs and even a table. Balancing it all proved difficult for the templar, but the weight was probably trivial for someone an evolution above myself. I can take him though, if it comes to a fight.

The rest of the lackeys set up the tea party, and suddenly we had such an idyllic scene in the middle of hostile lands. I’d be annoyed at the display of opulence in what was supposed to be a very serious situation, but I quite honestly liked it. It’s what I aspired to be, someone who could afford to be so relaxed, because that’s just how trivial all the threats around me were, even in the middle of a monster-infested wasteland.

The rest of the day passed by peacefully, with the occasional large monster breaking through the water’s surface, but few that targeted us, and fewer still that actually gave us any trouble. Rain came and gone, with swarms of cloudbirds passing by, but Moonwash had actually made umbrellas for us using wood, rope, and reptilian hides. Ozara gratefully took the one we offered, even though I was sure she had better ones in reserve.

There was plenty of chatter in between the frankly delicious tea and cookies. Luine did most of the talking, with Baston only occasionally chiming in. Ozara quickly realized that we were dodging all questions related to our identities, and she had the grace not to press. Instead we talked about this place, The Endless Dive, and how wonderful it was. We spoke about the many creatures within, the resources that could be exploited, and Ozara showed great interest in the topic. She was, after all, here to survey the land.

All in all, the experience... was not terrible. I was reminded again that I should really not have such a visceral reaction against all shepherds. They were not inherently evil creatures.

Their innate mind control passive was of course a problem, but they never really had a choice in the matter, and I was personally no longer inconvenienced by it because of my newly improved brain. There was no reason to be unfriendly.

"Thank you, Ozara," she heard my voice for the first time. "That was... nice."

Ozara masked her surprise well. "Of course. A safe and pleasant journey to all of you."