I shifted to my demihuman form, and asked, "Where to?"

"There is a colony of death attuned vampire bats in the mountains. They are generally ignored by hunters and adventurers both because their crystals are small, and they do not pose much of a threat. A change in their environment has altered them.

They have begun to hunt the monsters on the mountain as a swarm, and have grown to the point where they would make a good target for you."

I felt like there was something she wanted me to hear, but when the knowledge of their location was fed into my mind my instincts pushed me into hunting mode. I jogged out of the building and leapt into the air, shifting to my sky terror form as soon as my feet left the ground.

I beat my wings, and sensing how far away my targets were, I shifted my core to air. I aimed for the incorporeal Aspect that I had caused so much destruction using in the arena just after my class change.

The joy of the freedom of flight overwhelmed my mind. I was only able to stay on task because of how hungry I was for growth. I drank in the blissful feelings that the Aspect held. I allowed myself to spiral through the free mana that joined me on my trip. I had somehow forgotten how all-consuming the rapture of this Aspect had been. Or maybe I just craved the feeling.

More and more air mana joined me in my journey to the mountains. I welcomed it into myself, consuming it to fuel my core, and adding to the mass of air that made my body.

Any thoughts I had about limiting the Concepts that I was being subjected to flew out of my mind.

I was nearing the border of the higher tier deep mountain zone when I saw the dark cloud that was my target. I could sense the density of the mana, I didn't know what would happen if I crossed the border. It felt as though it might crush me.

I focused on the bats, no notifications showed up, they were not aware of me. They would be soon.

I shrieked with joy as I crashed into my playmates. There were hundreds of them, my winds tore scores of them apart during the first seconds. I got notifications then, but I disregarded them. It was so much fun!

I tore through the swarm, then I began to slow. Parts of me were changing, they were still air mana, but they contained Concepts like stagnant, and dead. I tried to let go of those pieces, but it spread, soon it had infected nearly the whole of me. What it could not infect, it burned away.

I had seen it before, a few times, one element could affect the Concepts in the mana around it. As I sank to the ground, I remembered the taste of the air mana in the death tuned arena.

I bitterly regretted my choices but I didn't have the inclination to do anything about it. My body, still enlarged by the air mana that had joined me, spread and covered almost a mile of mountainous terrain. I got a few notifications, and felt myself being breathed in by various living things. Thankfully it was only monsters and animals, they all died.

I could feel the bats I had come to slay moving through me, and feasting on my kills. But I was too heavily inundated with the infectious Concepts that called on me to simply rest. My mind was unsettled enough by the sudden loss of joy that I didn't have the mental fortitude to fight it.

Besides, I wanted to rest, and Dux would help me eventually. The infection entered my channels, and I thought nothing of it. It entered my active core, and the song of joyful air mana that I hadn't realized was ever present, disappeared. My core settled, the mana in it became like my current form.

It began to touch my other cores. My life core spent itself to push the deathly influence away. My water core gave no resistance, and the heavy thrum of focus that it radiated turned murky and still. It did not seem to affect fire, light, or dark. The earth that I contained went from stalwart and solid to weakened and poisonous.

My death core flared and I felt the strong desire to activate it. I pulled myself together into a vague approximation of my true form, since I didn't know any incorporeal death Aspects I felt like it would be best. When I shifted my core, I laid on the rocks ground like a corpse.

Parts of my body seemed to be missing, I noted it, but didn't care.

Time passed, hours, I think. I wasn't sure why Dux hadn't intervened, but I was growing hungry. Which empowered the Concept of the same name to overwhelm the desire to rest.

I staggered to my feet, my body didn't seem to work right, there were holes in some very important areas. It took me a little while to figure out that I could move myself like I did in my more obviously elemental forms. Puppeting my body with the mana inside it.

It took some time to get used to moving that way, I placed my feet wrong often, but it didn't do more than slightly slow me. I felt no discomfort, only my hunger pushing me forward. I didn't seem to have very good senses, my vision was clouded, my hearing was muffled. My sense of smell might have been fine, but I couldn't figure out how to work my lungs.

I found dinner by following the marker to a cluster of my targets.

When I stumbled up to them, they were on the carcass of some sort of moose-like creature.

Their heads turned to look at me in unison and they stiffened. I felt a large presence bear down on me through their gaze. It wasn't the bats, I could tell that much. It was something working through them. Something powerful.

A voice boomed in my head, it sounded both gravely and distinguished.

"What is this? How lovely! A brand new pet! Come!"

I shuddered as the command slammed into my mind. I knew what the voice wanted, I could feel the direction it wanted me to travel. But I allowed my jaw to hang slack, walked up to the bat that seemed to house it, snapped my head forward as quickly as I could, and ate it.

The other bats did not react quickly enough. I was enraged.

I felt how the command had latched on to the death mana in me, so I switched my core to fire. There was a flash of intense pain when I switched my core, but it disappeared as I became a creature of flame and ash. I burned the bats, I burned the carcass they were roosted upon. I burned the cores that they dropped, it was just this form's method of consumption.

I felt all of my targets approaching me, and as they drew near, I expelled everything from my core into my aura. I did not want to risk the being that had controlled the bat having another method to command me.

As soon as every target entered my aura I turned my mana into flames. Everything died. My fire core was empty, I needed to switch. Hiding seemed like the best idea, and it was the dead of night, a perfect time for my darkness core to protect me.

I almost passed out from the pain I experienced for the moments that I was in my true form while I transitioned between elements. I knew I would have a tough time ahead of me, but I focused on hiding.

I felt a large quantity of pure shadow just below my feet, so I sank into the ground. It was a part of a cave system, I could see through the shadows the evidence that this was probably where the bats had lived.

I could sense small pockets of lingering death mana, but none were connected to any sort of creature. There was nothing that showed any signs of life within range of my senses. Which was good, because since it seemed like I was safe, I needed to do something about the state of my body.

I was leaking mana, which I surmised from previous experience meant that I was effectively bleeding, and would continue to do so until I fixed my wounded true form.

There was no life mana near me, which I blamed on the previous inhabitants, but there was plenty of darkness tuned mana for me to eat and convert once I switched my core.

I focused on my need to heal, and nothing else as I switched my core. I braced myself for the pain I knew would come, and I was correct to do so.

I let out a groan as I slumped to the floor of the cave, I held onto consciousness for mere seconds before I found myself lying in bed in Belua's realm.

My body seemed whole and healthy, but I was aware of how damaged it was in the real world. I could even sort of feel how it was mending itself. I knew I would need to see if I could find a way to make myself wake up. My life core wouldn't last forever, and I needed to consciously call mana to myself if I wanted to fund my healing with my life core having lost quite a bit of mana to the death infection.

I could sense its levels, and it wasn't looking great.

The door to my room opened. Belua took a single step through the doorway, somehow she prevented her aura from hitting me, but I could sense her to talk to her.

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"I'm sending help, but I had to use a deal you made previously to do so. I'm afraid you will owe him."

"Given my condition, I don't think I can complain. Who is it?"

"I don't think you know his name. It's the great cat beast whose form you learned. He will bring you food. Your lady is heading to you as well, but she will take time to reach you. I believe I will have to give you tomorrow off. I hope you learned a lesson?"

"Yeah, death mana sucks. I hate it."

"I hope you learned something more than that."

"I think I learned what you sent me to learn." I didn't say what that was, I knew she had rules to follow. It seemed like she enjoyed using me to get around them.

"Good, good. I had hoped you wouldn't end up corrupted so quickly. But air is probably the most easily influenced mana type of the base eight. So I suppose this is a good lesson. I would advise against taking a form that is composed entirely of mana when in the presence of death, and to a lesser extent, fire."

"What's the second most easy to influence? Water?"

"Correct. Perhaps when you return to the guild you can spend tomorrow reading? I believe the small library little Nefen has put together would be good for you. I'm surprised you haven't thought about that until today."

"Well, I've had a lot to learn, and it seemed like doing was better than reading. Considering my weird class, and the ability to test in what was supposed to be a safe place." I didn't mean to aim any annoyance at her specifically for that, it wasn't like she designed the arena System. From what I could tell, she was too young.

"I am really sorry about that, you know. Unfortunately nothing the founders designed is perfect. Even they will admit that."

I raised an eyebrow.

"What? It's not like they are listening, and I know they wouldn't care if they were. I am not even considered an asset to them yet. I'm a new goddess who has not even weathered a disbelief cycle yet."

"As much as I'm curious about the lives you guys live, can you help me wake up? I need to eat more mana than I'm capable of passively consuming."

"I can, but I can't do much to keep you that way. I wish I could do more."

"That's alright, I think if I tug on survivor, it'll be able to help."

"It will require something similar to a command. But it's not entirely the same thing."

"If that's what it takes. As long as it won't break your oath."

"Wake up."

The pain slammed into me, I held onto consciousness by my fingertips. I mentally swore to my core Concept that I would probably die if I didn't stay awake.

Worked like a charm. It did nothing for the pain, which was worse than anything I had ever felt with the possible exception of the one time I tried to shift while injured.

In fact it felt a whole lot like that experience. I could feel my body shifting as the holes in it patched themselves up. I did the best I could to ignore the sensations and call mana to me.

One eternity later I felt a tremendous aura approaching me. It felt stronger than the one that possessed the bats, and it felt cold. The moment it touched me, I felt it retract. I heard a familiar gruff voice enter my mind.

"Is that you cub? You seem very unwell indeed. I have seen greater beings ended by less. Can you move? I cannot offer you my full protection there. I do not function well in dark enclosed spaces."

I mentally followed the connection he had made with me so I could respond. It was complicated, but my instincts showed me the way.

"It will take me a bit, but I think I can."

"Good."

I pushed myself off the ground on shaking legs. Thankfully I had healed the worst of my wounds already, but I was by no means in good condition.

I understood why he called me ill, not injured. It seemed that the mana had taken from parts of my body that were less injured to fill the parts that had been burned away by the death mana.

The mana assured me that I would be whole and healthy before the day was done. Which didn't make me feel a whole lot better since the day hadn't even started yet.

Food would help, my body was good at converting organic matter directly into whatever I needed, or so the System said. I was glad for that, Belua had said that the ancient spirit beast would bring me food.

I made my way out of the tunnels by using my mana senses to get a mental picture in the pitch black environment. The beast helped by periodically extending his aura to me. I followed the path it took. I wasn't sure if that was his intent, I think he was just checking my progress. He didn't speak to me again until I saw him.

He was smaller than I had imagined. Smaller than me, I had a suspicion that he was regulating his size. It was confirmed when he grew to be just a bit larger than me. I think he didn't want to be smaller than a "cub" like me. I chuffed at that, I knew my place, I kept my head down. I didn't even dare look longingly at the giant bear carcass that was on the ground between us, though I knew it was meant for me, my instincts wouldn't allow it.

"Eat, I have had my fill, there will be more if you need it."

He didn't have to tell me twice. The meat was covered in a thick layer of frost, but it hardly mattered. The bear seemed to be full of dense life mana. It was perfect.

"The mother told me that a life monster from my part of the mountains would work well for your needs. I am surprised that you can tolerate it. Generally it is best to avoid eating things so much higher level than yourself. I was told to inform you that the core belongs to me."

I raised an eyebrow. That was smart. I didn't know what a core from something that out leveled me by as much as he claimed would do, but I had a hunch that without a good reason not to, hungry would make me find out.

I reached out with my senses to find the core, and was interested to find it in nearly the same location as my own. I used my teeth and claws to open its chest. I was smart enough to remove it with my paw, as messy as that was. I wasn't sure any amount of implied threat could have kept me from swallowing the core if I put it in my mouth.

It resonated with the Aspect I was channeling. It would likely have been a very difficult fight for anyone of its own level. Considering the intensity of the mana it contained, I would guess that its wounds would have healed almost instantly.

After getting the core to the beast, I returned to eating. I tried to ask the System for his information, but all I got was three question marks. I didn't even get his name.

When I asked what I should call him, he seemed amused.

"I was simply named Snow by the young tamer who gave me my start. The girl lived in the town that you currently protect. Though it was little more than a lumber camp then."

I was curious. "I was under the impression that you didn't have much experience interacting with humans."

"I do not. The girl died, and I escaped before I formed my core. My memories of that time are not precisely reliable. It has been over six hundred years."

I lifted my head from my meal to look at him at that bit of information. Given what I knew about Belua's age as a goddess, he was very nearly as old as the world itself.

"Yes cub, I was in the first generation. I am one of the few that remain who were created directly by her hand. Though I remember nothing of my creation, so do not ask."

"That would probably make you pretty important to her priests."

The beast chuffed, and laughed into my head. "It is likely as you say, though I'll thank you not to point that out to them when you show me around the town. I would not like to have to put them down for attempting to keep me as a sacred beast."

I nodded agreement, and returned to eating, that would be tragic for all involved. "I promise I won't tell a soul."

Snow grunted, and sent a curt, "Good."

It wasn't long before I slowed my consumption, my healing was done, and I was beginning to feel the pressure of overeating again. I wanted to stop, I tried to stop, I failed. I finally pushed on survivor to help me. Having something stop me from shape-shifting was not a good idea when I needed to be able to fly if I wanted to get home without having to move through the mountains on the ground.

"That is very impressive healing for your level. You are an interesting creature. When are you available to start our lessons?"

I cocked my head to the side, before remembering that I had told him I would teach him about humans.

"I need a few weeks, I have a job to do for Belua. Then I will be undergoing a cleansing that I am told will leave me in a weakened state."

The ancient beast's eyes filled with humor. "I will swear to protect you, contact me the moment you are cleansed and I will retrieve you."

I felt an undercurrent of disdain for the concept that I could get any weaker than I already was in his eyes. It was harsh, but accurate.

"Okay then, I'll do that. I owe you for this."

The old beast inclined his head. Then stood up staring at the sky. "Your mate comes. I believe I will take my leave."

I neither saw, nor heard Snow leave. It was possible that he teleported. The bear carcass disappeared with him.

A few minutes later Torill dropped to the ground in front of me.

"You didn't tell me you were leaving. I had to get a message from my mark to come get you. Tell me what happened."

She sounded very angry. I scrambled to tell her everything.