Prometheus woke up to the sight of the General and the three Majors walking toward the center of the large chamber, holding various boxes and a blackboard. Theo turned around to see Zilch and Sayuri walking closer to him, as they had been sleeping exactly where they had trained the day before. He refocused on the blackboard, which was wider than the tunnel that exited the room. How did they even get that in here? asking about what they were going to use the objects for, one of the Majors said that it was equipment for the next few days, not today.

Prometheus turned to his worm friend, noticing his slow movements, "Hey Zilch, what's up?"

"The ceiling?" Replied the scout, confused.

"No, I meant, how are you? You're acting weird."

"I'm-I'm fine." Said Zilch with a stutter

"Glad to hear it. And you, plant buddy?" Asked Theo, moving his head toward Sayuri. Prometheus had finished yesterday in a lizard-like form, resembling a wingless dragon.

"Fine, thanks Prometheus." Replied the samurai, while fixing her sunhat in place.

"I wanted to tell you something, about yesterday's fight." Started Prometheus, drawing the attention of his two companions. They both looked at him expectantly.

"I believe you didn't contribute enough in the fight. I was the only one that did anything, honestly. I wanted to make sure you were aware of it."

Zilch nodded slowly, lowering his head and turning around. Sayuri crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side, perplexed. It's difficult to read her face when her only facial characteristics are two black almond-shaped holes as eyes.

"Did you hit your head somewhere, Prometheus?" Asked the samurai.

"No, why? Why would it matter? I am just as durable on my head as anywhere else!" He replied, posing pridefully. Sayuri shook her head and uncrossed her arms, explaining, "I meant it as in, 'Are you mentally deficient'?"

Theo stopped in his tracks, surprised at the plant's words. She's saying I'm stupid? Why would she say that, knowing that I'm probably smarter than anyone present? Naturally, Prometheus' nature as an advanced Artificial Intelligence made him particularly intelligent in various areas, but what the shapeshifter didn't know was the fact that relative to other sentient AI in his same generation back on Earth, he was deeply flawed and outdated. Only his ability to control biological cells made him stand out.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"Prometheus. Listen to yourself. You're saying that we did nothing in the fight, but Zilch was the one who took down the golem by himself, only needing your help to throw him. And even before that, all you did was just throw punches with it, distracting it. I tried to attack the weak spot as best as I could, but saying that you were the only one to contribute to the fight is just objectively incorrect."

"That's.." Prometheus immediately countered, thinking quickly how to respond. I know she's wrong because there's no way that I wasn't the most important member. They needed me, not the other way around! I'm sure of it. She's just wrong.

"You're wrong." That was all that Theo said, offering no explanation.

"How am I wrong?" Asked Sayuri.

"Because I said so." Theo then turned around and crossed his lizard arms, managing to do so in an awkward manner, as lizards weren't designed to cross their arms.

"As you say." Sayuri then moved closer to Zilch, who was observing the General and the three Majors organize various objects around the blackboard. Prometheus couldn't recognize any of them, except some Cores from dead creatures, the ones that allowed monsters to advance in Soul tiers. After a minute or two of the shapeshifter mulling in indignation, he moved next to his companions to watch as well.

The General finally clapped his hands after finishing the preparation and said, "We're ready, finally. Today, soldiers, we are going to upgrade your Status. First of all, each of you show your Status to the Major in charge of you. Private Prometheus, show me your Status."

Prometheus nodded and mentally commanded his Status to be shown to the General,

Name: Prometheus

Stats: Body:14

Mind:13

Soul:15

Skills: Inventory lvl 3

Medium-rank Shapeshifting lvl 2

Medium-rank Genetic manipulation lvl 3

Low-rank Supernality sense lvl 2

Perfected manufacturing lvl 1

Traits: Tribulation Immunity, Leading Actor.

Titles: Climate Activist. Any action you take for the benefit of Eventum will be skewed in your favour.

Private of the Monster Army: You will be slightly more resilient on the battlefield and will intuitively understand your allies' intentions.

Each Major, except Major Vine as he was in charge of the three non-combat monsters, moved to their respective apprentice. The General looked at Theo with his eyestalks and started, "Private, there is one thing you should know before starting the System training. There is a limit, or a cap, on how many skills, traits, and titles you can get. The limit has been studied for centuries, and it varies for each individual, but we believe it to be around twelve skills, five traits, and three titles. There is no limit to stat points, although they get progressively harder to get. For what reason these limits are there, we do not know, but it's probably to prevent skill and trait hoarders from becoming too powerful. There are many holes in that theory, but it doesn't matter to us. I'll tell you how to get three essential skills that every individual has," Continued the General, not taking even a single second of pause to breathe. Oh, right, we aren't using our voices to talk. What's that small key down there?

Theo's attention moved to a bright, metallic key dispersed over the mass of various items near the blackboard. Espanto stopped talking and snapped his fingers in front of the shapeshifter's face, gathering Theo's attention once again. "I know this is boring Private, but you need to hear it. You'll learn how to get Danger Sense, Acting, and Mental Fortitude. Here's how you'll do that,"

The General then went on a long and highly detailed explanation, which Prometheus found extremely boring, about how to obtain the three skills. First, they would be thrown into a dangerous situation, as that tended to make progress faster, and then they could start, except for the Acting skill. For Danger Sense, it was developing the natural sense of danger that every creature had. For the Acting skill, they needed to act in a room full of spectators while playing a specific role. For Mental Fortitude, they would be thrown against an enemy with mental manipulation techniques, and Theo was given instructions on how to avoid being manipulated, as well as suggestions on emotional control.

This is boring. When can I fight?

The General noticed the shapeshifter's impatience, which made the tree monster sigh and think to himself, If only he was more mature, then I could trust him with a lot more power. My gut says that he could be a defining factor in our army's success in the future.

Prometheus, along with his two companions, were brought out of the chamber, and outside the fortress, near the edge of the floating island. From there, The General and the two Majors walked over to a seemingly random spot on the edge. One of the Majors took out a simple rod from a pocket made of leaves and implanted it in the ground. Theo looked around, noticing his companions' confusion mirrored his own.

Then, a large amount of Influence moved in an incredibly complex configuration, creating a familiar whirring in the air that Theo had learned represented a portal being opened. The six monsters walked through, arriving at a dark and moist room, foul smells immediately entering Theo's lizard nose. I hate this place. If I had a stomach, I would puke. Naturally, as he had no organs, he couldn't do that. The General had to lower his head to pass through the regular-sized door, which was the only thing present in the small room. It's not even made of roots, just compacted dirt. Like my old base. A tinge of nostalgia appeared in Theo's mind, reminding him of the small base he had created with Zilch before getting abducted into the army.

"Hey Zilch, remember that base we built? What do you think happened to it?"

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

The worm slowly turned his head to look at the shapeshifter, and 'shrugged' mentally, before continuing forward. Theo didn't continue the conversation after that. It seems like this is a...dungeon? A prison?

Various metal bars with enchantments on them lined the sides of the walls, too dark to see what was behind them. At least, too dark for anyone without infrared vision. Prometheus could see many bodies behind the bars, most of them shackled to the wall. He couldn't see anything else in the prison cells, such as toilets or beds.

The group continued moving, passing by a well-dressed monster with an elongated body made purely of shadows. It looked like a thin tree, flatter, and with no limbs. It greeted the group and continued its work at a desk.

After many cells, they passed through another door with a staircase going down. At the end of it, a somewhat large area opened, about as big as the Colosseum on Earth. All the immensely large rooms I've seen these days make the Colosseum look small. The difference was the larger amount of spectator seats around the fighting area. Other than that, it looked like a gladiator pit.

"Is this where we'll fight, General?" Asked Theo.

"Correct. You'll fight an enemy that you can't sense, for the Danger Sense skill. We'll only intervene if you are about to die, not a second earlier. You'll be first, Prometheus. Move to the pit and remember what I taught you earlier."

Prometheus excitedly ran down the spectator seats, jumping into the gladiator pit, imagining himself fighting against a fierce monster. Then, General Espanto moved out of the arena and returned soon after with an extremely thin man in his grasp. The tree monster was holding the guy from his head, while he was squirming rapidly in an attempt to escape. He was then thrown into the arena with Prometheus, with no weapons or equipment, just wearing simple brown robes. Seems like he hasn't eaten for weeks. He still has a strong soul, so I shouldn't underestimate him.

A public mental connection, which included the struggling prisoner. The General started, "Prisoner 352, you'll fight against that monster. If you kill it, you'll be free. No rules other than that. Start."

Prometheus readied himself, immediately switching to a bear form, weighing more than a metric ton. Using his [Cellular Surge] to its limit, Theo took under a minute to change form. Thankfully, the man was still panting on the ground, not moving to attack the shapeshifter. What is he doing?

Once again, the General's voice boomed into the mental connection, a tad bit louder and angrier than before, "If you refuse to fight, we'll be forced to terminate you and your cellmates, 352. Choose carefully."

Theo heard words from the man's mouth, but they weren't in the language spoken in Golden Lake, so he didn't understand them. In just an instant, his opponent disappeared. Not a trace of the weak man was left where Theo had been looking just seconds ago.

What?

A strong impact from the side of his head caused Prometheus to lose balance temporarily. A barrage of similar strikes hit him without pause, causing the shapeshifter to recoil after each blow, which was quite powerful.

I can't see him or sense him at all.

"Private, remember what I told you." The General's voice boomed into the mental connection, causing Theo to think back at the lesson. I have to use my instinctual danger sense and develop it. Easier said than done. The next fifteen minutes passed with the invisible man hitting him without breaks, soundlessly, and without leaving any hints about his whereabouts. Theo had even begun to hit randomly at his sides, hoping to strike the annoying man, but he couldn't manage to hit him even once.

Fuck! I don't even know if I have that instinct!

Another ten minutes passed, and the hits were becoming slower. Even though they were quite powerful, Prometheus could easily regenerate the damage done. If he had to scale the man's power, it was around the spear wielder he had fought back during the Melee Trial, the one with many storage items. Weak but annoying. He isn't dealing any significant damage to me, but I can't do anything in return. He's like a mosquito.

Prometheus growled with his bear vocal cords, his front paw hitting the floor. What am I even supposed to look for? I don't feel anything! Prometheus tried his best to look for the 'instinctive danger sense', but came out empty.

"Empty your mind, Private. Let your subconscious take over."

My subconscious?

Prometheus followed the General's advice, emptying his mind as much as he could. He even removed the sensation of getting his continuously, which was a somewhat difficult task. But when he did so, a sensation at the back of his mind emerged. A small shiver went down his spine, and Prometheus moved his head back.

Congratulations! For evading an invisible enemy strike by just using your innate sense, you obtained a new skill!

Skill: Low-rank Danger Sense!

The new skill changed everything. Prometheus began dodging almost half of the strikes coming at him, using the innate sense he had just discovered, which was amplified by the skill. Using a rough idea of where the strikes were coming from, Theo could pinpoint the enemy's location and attack them with a swipe of his massive paw. His bear form was strong enough and the man was malnourished enough that a single successful hit was all that Theo would need to end the fight.

After five minutes, the shapeshifter hit the weak and skinny man, causing his invisibility to fizzle out. The hit had caused the man to fly over the arena and hit the wall that separated the spectator seats with a crunch. Prometheus walked over to finish the job before the General interrupted, "Don't kill him. Did you get the skill?"

Prometheus nodded while stopping before the man. Even in such conditions of malnutrition, he was able to put up a fight. That's not something to be ignored.

"Good. Exit the arena, and we'll let the two other soldiers get the skill as well."

Prometheus walked out of the gladiator pit while one of the Majors pushed Zilch inside, treating him to the same training that Theo had endured. The flytrap monster even walked over to the man and healed him with a technique, allowing him to repeat the same challenge once again. The technique didn't bring him to a good condition, just what he was at before our fight. Interesting.

Prometheus spent the next two hours watching Zilch and Sayuri engage in the same fight he did, although with a lot more difficulties. Eventually, both of them managed to get the Danger Sense skill. After that, the General brought out the weak man, coming back with dozens of mushroom workers. They all sat in the spectator seats, watching curiously the group of the three amateur monsters.

Is this the acting thing?

Another two mushroom workers hastily ran up to the gladiator arena with various equipment, such as costumes, chairs, stools, and theater curtains. Prometheus, Zilch, and Sayuri were instructed to wear their respective costumes, and a mental packet with further instructions was sent to each.

"You will each act in a specific role, as explained in the mental instructions. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's the fastest way to obtain the Acting skill. Get ready."

Prometheus glanced down at his costume, which was a simple black, tattered robe made for his bear form. It looked like one of those things an old and experienced traveler would wear. Did they make it just now? I can see that it wouldn't fit any other form I have.

After dressing up, Theo glanced at his two companions. Sayuri was wearing a white and blue dress with a skirt that would have been incredible in the Victorian era back on Earth. Zilch was wearing the top piece of an intricate but just as elegant suit, many layers composing the piece of clothing.

Prometheus focused back on the 'plot' of the scene that they had to act on, focusing on its details; This sounds fun!, thought the shapeshifter. The plot was; 'You (Prometheus) are the villain in the story. You want to kidnap the princess (Sayuri) to marry you, and the hero (Zilch) wants to stop you. Make the scene epic and breathtaking.'

His reaction of surprise and confusion was mirrored in his companions, especially Sayuri who said, "What is this?"

The General replied, "That's the plot you'll have to follow. You need to try your best, otherwise you might not get the skill."

The bamboo samurai sighed heavily and crossed her arms. Her costume made her look quite feminine, for the first time. Normally, Prometheus could have never guessed her gender going by her bamboo body, which had no indicators. Zilch had needed the assistance of a mushroom worker to put on his costume, as he didn't have arms. The elegance and simplicity of the scout's clothing resonated with Theo's sense of style. "Looking fresh!" Exclaimed Prometheus, which resulted in an awkward 'thanks' from the worm.

Further instructions in the mental packet detailed how the scene was going to play out, so they moved to their respective places. Zilch and Sayuri were sitting together at a nice table, enjoying some biscuits together. The worm was having trouble eating them with his circular mouth and lack of arms, but he still managed. Theo was behind some curtains, waiting for his turn.

"You know, honey, I appreciate that you took your time to join me in this magnificent garden-" said Zilch, causing Prometheus to cover his mouth with his paw to avoid laughing. He sounds so dumb!

He could also see Sayuri straining to keep her composure, but she elegantly replied, "Don't mention it, dear. We are husband and wife, after all, so such a thing is the minimum we can do,"

Prometheus grabbed his head, shaking it side to side, This sounds terrible, holy shit. She doesn't sound happy one bit to say those words! He glanced at the mushroom workers that he could see from his spot behind the curtains and noticed how they were...Invested? How can they like this stiff and stifled story? After that, it was Theo's turn to emerge from the shadows and introduce himself to the public.

The large bear with the dark cloak jumped in front of the 'couple', laughing deeply and gutturally.

"Haha! I hope you are enjoying this nice dinner, princess, as it's the last one you'll ever have!" Internally, the shapeshifter was chuckling at the ridiculous words he was speaking.

"You foul monster! I will never let you harm my dear wife!" Said Zilch while jumping unsteadily in front of Prometheus, trying to stand upright.

"You better not get between me and the princess, Hero, or I'll make you pay for it!" At that point, the spectators had all risen up in anticipation and curiosity, exchanging chatter among themselves. Now's the fight scene.

Prometheus, the Villain, and Zilch, the Hero, stood in front of each other, observing each other aggressively. Lights from above turned off and focused on the two actors. Prometheus threw a side swipe with his paw, slow enough to allow the worm to dodge, who did so without trouble. Zilch then whipped his tail at Theo's head, which naturally did no damage, but he pretended that it did.

"Agh! You have gotten stronger, Hero, but you're still too weak to beat me!" Exclaimed Theo exaggeratedly, flowing into the role.

The cloaked bear then threw another side swipe, identical to the last one, but this time it hit the worm, who pretended to be flung away by the strike. He slowly raised his head and said, dramatically, "My dear... you have to escape...he is too strong!"

Sayuri, the princess, sighed and with a tone that Theo couldn't understand said, "Honey...please don't say that. I will die at your side if your life is at risk. Living without you would be worse than death for me."

"That doesn't matter anymore, you lovebirds, I will finally get what I want!" Theo then laughed with his best impression of an evil laugh. The script said that he had to kidnap the princess and the act would end. The bear ran forward and grabbed the princess with his mouth, but it didn't ruin the dress as Theo produced no saliva. The villain bear ran behind the curtains, ending the scene. The lights turned back on, signaling to the audience that the act had finished. The mushroom workers all stood up once again and flopped their arms in the air excitedly while creating high-pitched whistling sounds. Does that mean that they liked it? Did they hate it?

Congratulations! For acting in a subpar act that somehow managed to enrapture an audience, you obtained a new skill!

Skill: Low-rank Acting!

"Did you get the skill, Private?" Theo nodded, and he saw that his friends did the same to their respective instructors.

Prometheus smiled widely at his own success. Two new skills back to back are nothing to scoff at. The General didn't leave them any seconds to take a break, as all the workers immediately rushed into the arena to clean it up and remove the various items used on the stage, including their costumes.

Their last skill to get was Mental Fortitude, and the tree monster ordered them to engage in a fight with a new prisoner adept in mental manipulation Soul techniques while juggling a couple of blades and avoiding his strikes at the same time. Their instructors gave them advice on repelling memory and mental manipulation. Prometheus was sure that the advice was useless for him as he kept many backups of his memory and often checked them with each other to find bugs. The enemy used techniques to disorient them, influence them to drop the blades, and so on. Sayuri was the first one, and she managed to obtain the skill after an hour of training. Zilch was provided with a hula hoop with a sharp external edge. After many failed attempts, he also managed to get the Mental Fortitude skill.

Theo, on the other hand, didn't get the skill. Not for failing to resist the mental manipulation, but simply because those techniques didn't work on him at all. The prisoner had said that the shapeshifter's mind was 'too alien' and that he couldn't do anything to it. Of course, my mind is too great to be manipulated by anyone!

The group of three monsters spent the rest of the day training their new skills, managing to get a couple of levels along the way. Theo also visited Arthur with his children for a bit through a requested portal, making sure that the Emperor was treating them well. Returning to the fortress, Theo slept on the ground once again, preparing for the next day.