Prometheus had seen enough. The abuse of creatures that weren’t even in their adult stage disgusted him. From their behaviors, the feathered lobster and the water-spider were at most a couple of weeks old. The suffering of the young was one of the things that he hated the most, regardless if it was an implanted instinct or not.
I cannot allow this to happen.
Prometheus himself didn’t know this, but this restriction was applied to him after various discussions between his creators involving war scenarios and how child enemies should be treated. They concluded that Prometheus should try protecting individuals younger than 14 years old, for humans, to the best of his abilities.
Apparently, this restriction carried over to non-human beings of an equivalent age, which resulted in Theo’s reaction to the two caged monsters.
The two ballista men were sleeping, and the two woman mages were about to. The man with the backpack also yawned, giving him the perfect opportunity to attack.
He had created tendrils hidden under his arms, many meters long, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. They had a stinger at the end with enough neurotoxins to take down elephants. He hoped this wouldn’t kill these people, as he wanted the bonus points for capturing them alive.
He moved his body as swiftly as his mass allowed, and the stingers hit each of the four jugulars, pumping liters of toxins in each. They didn't even react.
The leader opened his eyes at the sudden movement. Prometheus was standing completely upright. His imposing figure cast a malevolent shadow on the surrounding terrain.
The man took out a long spear, longer than the man was tall from his main backpack.
He pointed to Theo’s center of mass and charged.
This guy…
He almost reached the towering monster.
Is so much slower than the ice golem.
Granted, he couldn’t completely follow the man’s movements, but predicting them was completely doable. He grabbed the spear with his left hand, which almost wasn’t enough to stop its charge. The man’s eyes widened and he preemptively dodged an attack. However…
I wasn’t planning on hitting you, dumbass.
With his right hand, which he shifted into a longer and thinner arm minutes ago and had sharp scissors-like fingers, grabbed the man’s backpack by cutting its straps and half of his secondary bags.
Theo stepped back and inspected the items. The man snarled and seemed to yell at him, although he couldn’t understand the language.
There’s Influence here, it is structured in a weird way. A lot of it seems to concentrate on the middle in a single point and then root outwards? I don’t get this. But..
The man jumped and aimed his spear at Theo’s heart. His teeth were fully exposed in a snarl.
What if I tried doing something like this?
He used a little bit of his own Influence and tried to move it to the center point of the external Influence.
Nothing seemed to happen.
Mmm, what about this?
He swiftly dodged the man’s strike by millimeters, the air moved by the strike creating small cuts on his scales.
Theo tried applying Influence to the external Influence around that super dense point. That seemed to destabilize it.
It is wavering!
He continued blocking off the Influence powering the central point. Meanwhile, the man was getting more and more desperate, attacking him without sense of self-preservation.
The structure of the backpack’s Influence wavered one last time before dissipating into nothingness. The backpack then disintegrated into dust.
Low-rank Enchantment breaking leveled up to lvl 2!
That is very interesting.
The man abandoned any pretense of survival and engaged Theo planting his feet on the ground and using every move he could. Tears seemed to drop from his eyes.
Prometheus did the same to every other storage item, which resulted in another notification.
Low-rank Enchantment breaking leveled up to lvl 3!
The man seemed tired and disheartened. He glanced toward his unconscious and shaking companions.
Mmm, maybe I should have kept them?
A lightning bolt struck his mind.
Did I just forget about my Inventory ability?
He face-palmed.
Too late now, I guess.
Theo kept dodging the strikes aimed at his heart, or where it would be from the perspective of outsiders. He didn't have a heart, obviously.
Why is this person trying to kill me? Sure, I took out his companion and broke his bags, but killing me won't get those back.
He sighed heavily and grabbed the head of the spear. Its level of sharpness indicated technology beyond what he had seen so far.
Maybe someone with a Sharpening skill?
He also noticed a fair amount of influence throughout the spear. He couldn't detect it before he grabbed it and moved it close. Theo then pulled the spear out of the man's grasp, easily stealing it. The surprise on the man's face didn't last long, as he took a combat stance with his fist and started swinging wildly once again.
Once again, Prometheus dodged the strikes effortlessly. This time even more so that the strikes were unarmed. The towering, scaled monster studied the weapon's Influence.
I can sense a decent chunk of Influence on the shaft, and it gets so thin at certain points I can't see what's happening. But much more Influence is on the head of the spear.
He prickled his skin with the weapon. It went through more easily than it should have. The white light from the accretion disk around the black hole reflected off of the metallic spearhead. It looked like simple iron, but Theo knew other factors were at play. The shaft was simple and unadorned, made purely for functional purposes.
He nodded, satisfied. The spear disappeared, safely stored in his inventory.
Now, about this guy. This trial was about melee prowess, wasn't it? What I did could barely be considered melee expertise, so I'll change that.
Massive amounts of steam seemed to escape from Theo's body, large meat chunks following soon after. The steam was incredibly hot, so the man stepped back, covering his face with his hands.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
What came out of the steam was the same monster as before, only human-sized. Prometheus got into position, holding a combat stance, his arms over his face, jumping from foot to foot.
What style should I use? Mmm, what about some Muay Thai?
He threw a rotating kick at the man, who clearly didn't expect such a move. He quickly moved his arms to parry, but only one of the two was close enough for it. The moment his leg came in contact with the man's forearm, Theo knew he had won. A loud crunching sound echoed throughout their vicinity. The man flew a dozen meters, rolling at the landing to avoid damage, and got up. He immediately dropped to one knee, his face a painting of pain.
Did it hurt that much? I didn't go all out.
The man glanced at the forearm that had been hit. A two-centimeter hole was present and rapidly oozing out blood. The wounded leader opened his eyes wide and moved his head to look at Prometheus' leg. A prominent spike was growing there, which the man was sure wasn't there earlier. Clear liquid dropped from the tip of the spike.
I am finally done. I didn't think it would take this mu-
The man growled and grabbed his wounded wrist with his healthy hand and started pulling.
What is he doing?
The man's face became red from the struggle and Theo watched him out of pure curiosity. A couple of pops sounded quietly on the man's arm.
No way, is he actually...?
The man tore his own arm right off. A massive amount of blood gushed out of the womb. Surprisingly, the blood stopped coming out.
What?
This world had surprised him again.
Theo stood there, flabbergasted. The man took the opportunity and threw his severed arm at him like a stick. It floppily flew towards his face.
A gift?
He moved his arm to grab the flying arm. When he did so, a detail sprung in his mind.
I can't see him!
A kick from the side hit his jaw, breaking it off and making it fly off.
He used the arm to cover my sight? But why did my other sensors not notice him?
He also noted another detail: Influence had gathered at the man's foot the moment before impact. Perhaps that had made it much stronger than the leader's previous hits.
He glanced at his flying lower jaw.
He slowly moved to look at the man: He looked fatigued, but even so, tried another similar kick. He easily parried it and threw an elbow strike while the man's guard was down. The latter dodged the strike but didn't do so well enough. He tripped on the ground. The expression of the wounded man said it all: He knew this mistake had just cost him his life.
Prometheus took the chance to grasp the man's neck. His brown eyes burned with determination, or perhaps foolishness, Theo didn't know. The shapeshifter pumped the neurotoxin into the man's neck until he passed out.
When it happened, he threw the unconscious body on top of the others.
A whirring sound came from behind him, and a portal opened. He couldn't see on the other side, like on the way here. A mental message confirmed his success.
I wonder how difficult this simulation was to create at this level of detail. Actually, I've only seen medieval-styled weapons thus far, so how could they even create complex simulations? Something doesn't add up here.
A chittering from behind him took Theo out of his thoughts. He turned around to notice the two monsters that had been caged by the men. He considered for a moment what to do with them, as killing them was a waste. He would ask Examiner Brown, but for the moment he would bring them back. Creating two mental connections, which was exponentially harder than one, he directed them to follow him.
The feathered lobster and water spider didn't seem too inclined, but Prometheus also knew these were farm animals: They couldn't live in the wild. They seemed to recognize that fact too, so they cautiously approached him.
He slowly morphed his arms to become longer to grab all five unconscious bodies. He slowly carried them through the portal. When he appeared on the other side, it was still "night". Not in the sense that there wasn't light, since the black hole left the planet in constant twilight, but in the sense that creatures were sleeping.
Examiner Brown was peacefully sleeping on his bed. He moved closer to the creature, dropping the people on the ground.
Wait. What if they have shiny loot?
He immediately began searching through the various people lying on the ground. none of them had any possessions other than their weapons, which he had already put in his Inventory.
He moved closer to the Examiner to wake him up when the latter disappeared out of thin air. He glanced behind him, but he wasn't there, instead tapping his right shoulder.
"Weren't you, mhm, much bigger when you entered?"
"I was, but to show my combat knowledge I wanted to fight at the same size as my adversaries. Actually, how did I do? And what am I supposed to do with these two?" He pointed to the two monsters that had followed him.
Examiner Brown analyzed the two much closer, which made them skittish.
"These species are quite rare, since they rarely, uh, breed. They are used mostly by the civilized species, since they can't really, you know, eat food the way monsters do. So they are useless for us. You can do whatever you wish with them, like, as long as they don't cause any problems."
Mmm, I don't need food or water for myself, as any organic mass will do. But for the others...?
He glanced down to the ground, spotting Zilch and Buzzelina sleeping together near one of the holes he had made earlier.
I'll keep them around for now.
"Regarding your performance, I'll evaluate it now, please give me like, a minute or so."
The rodent lay down on the platform and seemed to reflect, nodding at various points and showing various reactions such as surprise and joy.
When he was done, he got up and told Theo he had done really well, earning the bonus points.
Congratulations! For ruining the life and future of a young group of humans days before their retirement, you have obtained an item!
Item: Hungry toolbox.
Nice. I'll check it out later.
"Once all the other monsters finish the Martial prowess trial, we'll continue with the other trials."
"Wait. So I can't do the other trials now? Why?" He asked impatiently.
"I'm sorry, that's the protocol."
He hissed, annoyed, and turned toward the stairs. Theo walked down the platform to join his companions, finally having some time to review his progress.
Okay, let's summarize. I know Mr. Fluffernutter is alive, but I can't reach him. I tiered up, learned mental communication, and got a few skill level-ups. And this toolbox.
He took out the toolbox from his inventory. It looked like the classic red box with outward opening sides any handyman would carry. He opened it and it had... nothing.
What?
He turned the box in his hands to check for anything hidden. Nothing. It was a simple, empty toolbox.
Fucking useless.
He put it in his inventory once again. He turned back to glance at the two farm monsters.
Now, what should I do with you?
Prometheus considered his options for a while and still came to no conclusion. He still had in mind the plan to create a permanent base, so if more residents were to join it, food and water would be necessities.
I guess I can start by studying them.
He observed the monsters, and he didn't see anything that would allow them to do what they did. He slowly laid a hand on their bodies and sent various scouting cells simply to investigate their internals and how they worked.
Incredible. How are these things alive?
The two monsters had extremely inefficient organs, with weak and undeveloped tissues. He didn't find anything weird, except that he still didn't know how they produced the water and the meat.
Maybe it has something to do with their Influence?
He used his Soul sense and confirmed his suspicion. They seemed to gather energy from the air and slowly converted it into water for the spider and meat for the lobster.
Very interesting. I'll start by improving their genes.
The shapeshifter, currently a scaly humanoid with a snake head, explained the procedure to the two monsters. They didn't understand much, but they got that they would become stronger, so they accepted.
This time I should use anesthesia.
Theo pumped both of them with it until they passed out. He moved around, absorbing biomass from the grass and wood. When he got enough, he returned to the two and changed into his Sponge form.
As last time, he studied the precise genetic makeup of every cell type and ran calculations on how to improve them. Once done, he sent carrier cells containing the new genes to infect the current cells. His level in Genetic Manipulation made it a bit faster and cheaper. It only took around 3 hours for both of them. The improvements included halted aging, improved metabolism, general toughness, and energy usage.
The effects should appear in a couple of weeks like with the goblins.
Low-rank Genetic Manipulation leveled up to lvl 2!
Perfect.
He nodded, satisfied. He sat down, waiting for the monsters to recover.
"Chair."
Prometheus immediately looked around him, trying to find the source of the voice. Wait... there's no mental connection spell active. Who said that?
His sensors were not helpful in that situation, at all. One of his senses gave him an ominous feeling: His survival sense. Theo turned around, hoping to find an answer; The only things that he could see were the grass, monsters sleeping, and a single, completely out-of-place table right behind him.
When did this get here?
The voice sounded in his mind once again. "Chair?"
The table was built with functionality in mind: It was made of dark brown, rough wood. Four legs kept it steady. It would probably be big enough for four people to happily eat dinner together. Prometheus moved to grab it, but just before placing his scaled hands on the surface of the piece of furniture, he got the feeling that he should not do that, under any circumstance.
"No chair?"
Is this thing communicating without a mental communication spell?
Suddenly, his body started to shift. But this time, not because of his own volition. He couldn't move.
What the fuck?!
Prometheus' torso got forced on the ground, putting his hands on the ground. His leg bones creaked and moved to become a single, straight bone. That, of course, was not good for his muscles as they all tore. The same happened to his arms. His torso started getting squished, and after the pressure became too grave it caved in, moving to become flatter in size.
After that happened, the skin of his back, the one facing upwards, peeled off from the neck and stood upright, forming a grotesque flat surface resembling a chair support. He looked like if a modern artist designed a chair.
The same voice boomed in his head once again, this time much more jovial than earlier. "Chair!!"
He glanced toward the spot where the table was, finding it empty. The piece of furniture had just disappeared. Once that happened, the pressure disappeared from his body. He slowly reverted back to his humanoid form, still mulling over the recent event.
Did a table just turn me into a fucking chair?
He couldn't believe it. He had also detected no Influence, so not even magic could explain what had happened.
I need to have it.
An outside observer might question Prometheus' sanity at his desire to own such a dangerous piece of furniture, and they would be right in their worry. Prometheus simply didn't care.
Theo looked around for any other victims and saw none. Maybe sleeping monsters were safe? With that, he decided to enter standby mode, which was his closest approximation to sleeping.
---
The sounds of feet shuffling about and the small tremors accompanying them awoke Prometheus. The first thing he did was look around for any malevolent furniture, and when he was sure none was present, he looked around for his companions. All four of them, Zilch, Buzzelina, and the two farm monsters were waiting patiently in one corner.
He approached them and asked if they had done any trials yet, to which they replied by telling him of their failures on the Melee trial. He wasn't surprised, as it was incredibly difficult for a low-tier monster like them.
The infiltration and espionage trial should be next. I assume that's the one that Zilch completed the first time he joined the army.
He explained to them the various trials and various tricks to beat them. Obviously, he couldn't do much as he didn't have much info, but just the melee prowess one gave him some hints.
Theo walked up to the Examiner, who said that he was still testing monsters on the melee trial, so he had to be patient. In the meanwhile, he went back to the tunnels to train his Digging skill together with Zilch.