Prometheus was in his Golden Ant form, looking at the ground. The shapeshifter hadn’t talked or moved much since his friends had brought him to this cave underground. Zilch and Sayuri were currently outside looking for food, while Giuseppe was tasked with getting materials such as wood and rocks.

They didn't need any water as Sayuri’s ability could conjure drinkable water without any issues.

“When are you going to stop being dead weight?” Saul said.

Prometheus didn't reply, looking at the ground in front of him.

“It's almost been a week, you know. You can't be like this forever.”

“I have no reason to live,” Theo said.

Saul sighed and continued, “Again with that ‘no purpose’ bullshit? Listen, nobody has a purpose, regardless of what you want to think. Sure, the people who made you wanted you to protect Arthur and his family, but it doesn't mean you can't do anything else, you know? Look at humans, for example. They're smart and conscious enough to find a purpose behind the biological one to reproduce. I think you're smarter than humans, aren't you? “

Prometheus raised his head and replied, “Of course I am,“

Saul smiled and nodded, “See? It means you also can find a purpose other than what you've been given at birth. You have that title that makes you stronger with each anomaly you capture, so why not focus on that? I also love getting and studying them so I’ll make each ability last longer with each one we get. “

Theo sighed and got up, “I’ll think about it. I’ll go and help Giuseppe for now. “

Saul nodded.

Getting on top of the chasm, he found the immortal man a small distance away from the edge, slowly collecting wood from the yellow trees. When he saw Prometheus, he waved at him, so the Ant waved back.

“Hi,“ The young man started.

“Hey. Let me help you, “ Theo replied. Giuseppe looked around and hummed quietly, before asking, “Are you feeling better?”

Theo nodded and replied “Yes,“

Giuseppe frowned and nodded. The two started collecting wood and other materials for making fires and small barricades, to hide their hideout better. Prometheus was naturally collecting wood much faster than Giuseppe was, but that was to be expected. Hm, the General said that when you have an Awakened power, anomalies will be attracted to you the higher tier you are. I guess that works for both Zilch and Giuseppe, then. I think we should tier him up.

“Giuseppe,” Theo said, to catch the young man’s attention.

“Mh?”

“Do you want to tier up?” The golden ant asked.

“I don’t know what tiering up means,” The boy said. Theo walked closer and sat down, and with his ant form, it meant that he simply rested his body on the ground, legs sprawled outwards. He indicated for Giuseppe to sit down as well.

“Okay, let’s start with the basics. Every living being has a Soul. Not a metaphysical one, but a tangible one that can do amazing things. They have tiers, that indicate their power. Yours is at tier zero, so you can’t use Influence yet. Everything clear until now?”

Giuseppe nodded.

“Perfect. With that in mind, you can tier up your Soul by absorbing Cores from monsters and other living beings. Fortunately for you, I already have tons of Cores that you can use. Do you want to tier up now?”

“Um, what exactly happens when I tier up?”

“Your Soul gets bigger and stronger, and you pass out momentarily. That’s pretty much it,”

“After I tier up I can use magic like you guys?” Giuseppe asked. Prometheus nodded.

“It’s not that simple, but it’s the first step, yes. So, do you want to tier up?”

The immortal man thought for a moment and nodded, so Theo gave him a Core that should be enough to make him tier up. Giuseppe took it with a hint of hesitation and began to tier up, which he could do effortlessly. Lucky guy, I needed the Major to hit my Soul to make me tier up at first.

The immortal man passed out, and Theo could see his Soul begin to change ever so slightly. Putting Giuseppe on his back, Prometheus continued gathering wood for the base for the next hour and returned to the base. Giuseppe woke up and didn’t feel much different,

“Can I learn magic now?” He asked.

“I can teach you the simplest technique I know, [Mental Connection], so you can start mental communications on your own,” Theo then spent the next fifteen minutes teaching the technique to Giuseppe, who learned it rapidly on his third try. A minute later, a sound outside the cave interrupted their training session, so they went out to find Zilch and Sayuri walking over to the entrance, with a large monster corpse tied up on Zilch’s back. It looked like a red bull with thorns all around its fur, and it had a deep gash under its neck.

“How did it go?” Theo asked.

“Very well, we found this tier three monster, it should be enough to feed us for a while. After the tier-ups, my appetite has grown so much,” Zilch replied. Prometheus nodded and turned to Sayuri, who was looking at the ground with pensive eyes.

“Everything alright?” Theo asked her. She simply nodded. The golden ant turned to the deathworm, asking for an explanation. Zilch sighed and dropped the monster carcass, saying, “I think she misses her arm, like, a lot. I guess it limits her sword techniques and whatnot,”

Prometheus felt a tightening sensation develop in his mind, Is this my fault? She lost her arm trying to save me. Is there anything I can do?

He was sure he wouldn’t be able to grow her a new arm, as his knowledge about the exotic cells was too limited for that. But maybe…What if I make her a prosthetic arm? I could also test my crafting skill at the same time.

Prometheus walked to the storage room where a large pile of wood and rocks piled up messily, and he took a large enough log to work with. Before he even started carving it, the wood began chipping at itself into the shape of an arm, bit by bit. It was like Theo was carving the wood with his mind. Holy shit. I get the ‘Imaginative’ part now.

Not even five minutes later he was done. He left some empty channels in the wood for Sayuri to flow her Influence into and control the prosthetic arm better. At least, that was the objective. He gave it to her and installed it without issues, and she nodded gracefully. Theo walked outside the chasm and took a deep breath, observing the vegetation around him. I wonder what makes it yellow? He satisfied his curiosity by picking up a leaf and analyzing it, noticing how it had yellow pigments instead of chlorophyll. Once again, magic makes everything weird.

“Good afternoon,” An elegant voice spoke farther up into the forest.

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Theo looked around, finding no one present until a figure walked over some vegetation and appeared in Theo’s senses. What the fuck?! Where did he come from?!

Indeed, a tall, pale human walked over, dressed in fine robes and a hand behind his back. Wait. Those sharp ears, is he an elf? I mean, they’re essentially humans, but still.

Prometheus immediately shifted the shoulder cannon on the top of his head, aiming the weapon at the elf’s head. The man stopped and smiled slightly, raising his hands in the air, “I mean no harm, Mister Prometheus if that is your name?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s me,” Theo replied, in English. Why do so many people know English here?

The elf snickered and continued, “If you’re asking yourself how I’m able to speak your language so fluently, then I must say that it is not by my own efforts, but one of my skills. Anyway, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Misuh the Great, one of the personal advisors of the Supreme Leader of the Great Republic of Kukos,”

Republic of Kukos? I’ve never heard of that.

“Do you mean the elven dictatorship?”

A vein bulged on the pale man’s forehead, but it disappeared as soon as it came. “Some… less than refined societies might refer to us as that, yes. But do know that it is a wholly inaccurate term to represent the Supreme Land,”

“What do you want?” Theo asked, aiming his gun at the center of mass and preparing to use one of his Soul abilities. Misuh chuckled and bowed a little, continuing, “Such bluntness, Mister, wouldn’t you agree that we should first engage in introductory conversations over a cup of tea?”

Theo’s ant eyelids narrowed, and he nodded. Why not, I like tea, and I don’t think fighting this guy would be a good idea. Looks like he’s at least tier seven.

“Very well, let me prepare the furniture and-“ Before the elf could continue, Theo had already chopped down a tree and was carving an ornate table and two chairs for it, alongside two cups of tea. It took less than a minute when he really pushed himself to the limit.

Imaginative Manufacturing leveled up to lvl 2!

Misuh looked on with curious eyes, following each of Theo’s movements. The shapeshifter shifted into a humanoid body, completely covered by metallic spikes, resembling a sea urchin. The cannon was still present on his shoulder, always aimed at the stranger’s head. The two sat down, looking at each other for many moments of pure silence, until the elf spoke, “First of all, accept my heartfelt gratitude as you’ve accepted my presence here without any previous forewarning. For that, you have my true respect,”

Prometheus nodded and crossed his arms, motioning for Misuh to continue speaking. He poured some tea on their cups and they both sipped from them.

“As for the reason for my visit, it is not so straightforward as to be explained in a sentence or two. May I have your attention for a minute or two?”

“Go on,” Theo replied.

“Very well,” Misuh clapped his hands and continued, “I do not know how wide your knowledge of current politics goes, but I will explain nonetheless. The ‘Civilized races’, a presumptuous name if you ask me, are in a war against the Monster Army. That much should be common knowledge,”

Theo nodded, keeping his eyes on the elf’s Influence.

“Perfect. With that said, even the alliance between the three civilized countries isn’t the…” Misuh bit his lip as if looking for the right word, “Strongest, we can say. Many internal disputes over resources and land have plagued our union with unnecessary loss of time. That said, reports have come back of a handful of ‘Deserters of the Monster Army’ appearing, and tracking them has been trivial with our Sages.”

“I still don’t understand what you want from me,” Theo heated up the cannon, just in case. He wouldn’t let himself get caught off-guard.

“It is simple, Mister. The Supreme Land requires your assistance to rule over the Eutrania continent as its rightful owner!” Misuh said as he had gotten up from the pride in his voice. Prometheus tilted his head and asked, “Why would you even want that?”

Misuh’s smile disappeared and he sat down, massaging his eyebrows, “We believe it is our Supreme Leader’s absolute right to rule over these primitive lands! The Human Kingdom, full of nothing more than weak monkeys, and the Mixed Country, a pile of inbred monsters born from the depths of the abyss are an obstacle to our ultimate goal. That is true for the Monster Army as well, naturally. As a neutral party, recently deserted from the Army, you make a great candidate for our cause. Before you protest, you will not fight for free, absolutely not. The Supreme Land has the most prosperous cities, fueled by our mines and weapon manufacturing. We believe we have enough riches to afford such an honorable warrior as yourself, Mister,”

Prometheus replied without waiting a second, “I refuse,”

Misuh’s eyes opened wide, and he continued, “I do not believe you realize what I’ve asked of you. We request your assistance in supporting our Supreme Land in its climb to the role of the continent’s rightful owner. We will get there, with your assistance, or without it. With that in mind, I believe it would be smarter for you to be the victor’s ally, rather than its enemy, don’t you agree?”

“I’m not refusing because of the offer itself,” Theo started, having already called Sayuri and Zilch to regroup. The two monsters were just forty meters away. Misuh tilted his head and asked, “Why then? What reason could you possibly have to refuse such an offer?”

“I refuse your offer because of the assassins you’ve placed around us,” Theo said as he pointed around them.

Misuh’s eyes flew open. He didn’t say anything for a good minute or two, focused intently on the shapeshifter in front of him. Theo was sitting calmly with his arms crossed. Five tier-six, three tier-seven. They must suck as assassins if they can’t even hide from thermal vision.

Misuh snickered and began, “Keen eyes you got there, mister. Gordon, disperse your units.”

The assassins went out of Theo’s range, possibly hiding in the distance. The negotiations had broken down since the moment Theo had felt the armed warriors at the edge of his perception, that was why Zilch and Sayuri were now patiently waiting just two meters underground below them.

“We have nothing else to discuss. Return to your country, or I’ll have to take measures to prevent you from bothering me ever again,”

Misuh kept his gaze fixed on Prometheus and after an agonizingly long silence, he got up and raised his hands with a silly smile on his face, “It seems that I have overestimated your acumen, Mister. May you farewell without the Supreme Land’s support,” he then walked off into the distance. Right before Theo stopped focusing on him, the elf whispered something on his neck, and Theo’s incredible hearing let him hear, “Destroy them for their disrespect to our country,”

That was all that Theo needed. He sent the mental communication underground to Zilch, who hopefully had gotten it. The Deathworm had become so good at [Soul Cloaking] and other stealthy techniques that even Theo couldn’t feel where he was at all. Thankfully, the same applied to Misuh, who couldn’t react to the deathworm exploding from under his feet and devouring him whole, blood spraying around the yellow vegetation in a macabre show of artistry. Even tier sevens weren’t strong enough to prevent giant Deathworms from ambushing them, especially from genetically enhanced ones like Zilch.

Prometheus got up, stretching his shoulders. The eight assassins were on a beeline towards the shapeshifter, who had already prepared his ability in advance. Since he had already gotten the maximum number of abilities, for now, he didn’t need to seek others. The USB stick entered his neck without issue, and his ability activated. Prometheus fell backward into the ground, entering the subspace, where everything had a purple and blue color to it. He shifted into a swimming predator, vaguely shark-like with a long and sharp needle at the end of his tail.

He could see the assassins look around his previous position, dumbfounded. They closed their arms at their bodies’ sides, like how people who wanted to sink underwater would do, and they fell below the ground, reappearing over at various shadows in the surrounding area. They were furiously looking around for him, but they didn’t find anything. One of the tier six went against Zilch and Sayuri, who began engaging in combat with that one. Before the other assassins could jump in and assist their companion, Theo swam to the closest one and thrust his spike at his neck, pumping as much neurotoxin into it as he could. It went through with some resistance, due to some application of [Enhancement], but it still immediately killed the assassin. Theo had aimed for the back of the skull, with an angle that would penetrate right to the brain.

One down, seven to go.

Before his ability ran out, he managed to kill three others in the same way, including one of the tier sevens. Only two tier sevens and two tier six remained alive. Zilch and Sayuri each went to fight against a tier six, while Theo jumped out of the subspace, as the six minutes were up, and he approached both of the tier sevens, cannon ready to shoot. They were completely clad in black robes, which hid their bodies completely.

Theo took out the Cards USB stick, and before he could insert it, a flying dagger hit it squarely, destroying it. Naturally, he could resummon it the next day, but for the moment, he was fucked. Shit.

Both of them disappeared from the shadows below them, and two sharp daggers shattered against Theo’s hedgehog armor, which he had specifically made for this situation. He turned his head around, ready to shoot the enemies, but they disappeared once again before he could aim. The two assassins kept throwing sharp weapons at him from a distance while warping away through the shadows, making the shapeshifter increasingly annoyed. The barrage continued for another couple of minutes, so he turned his head to look at his two friends. Sayuri swatted away a flying dagger with her katana and jumped forward, aiming for the neck. The elf assassin dove under the shadows and reappeared somewhere else, continuing to throw their seemingly endless supply of weapons.

Zilch used his Golems as a shield while he tried his best to get close, but he also couldn’t get past their shadow-hopping. Both of the monsters had considerable wounds from the assassins, but they still pulled through. One of Theo’s opponents clicked his tongue as the hundredth dagger harmlessly deflected off of Theo’s armor, so he warped right behind the shapeshifter, dagger in hand, aimed at his neck.

Prometheus flexed his Acting skill and elegantly raised his right hand, activating his Effortless Elemental Shapeshifting skill.

“Let there be light!”