Henry whimpered in pain as he slowly let himself sink to the seabed. Every moment was agony, and he was out of mana to heal his burnt skin. He’d expended the last of it healing one of his eyes.

A few feet away, a kraken was slowly sinking along with him, its cracked, stony forehead bleeding freely. The glowing heat was still emanating from it, but Henry knew it was dead.

1x Juvenile Stoneskin Kraken Core (D) was collected.

His bone-flail was broken. It had taken at least six full-strength swings to get through the incredibly tough skin of the kraken. All the while playing hide and seek with the hostile clone, because every time it had the line of sight, it would ensnare him and he’d eat more molten projectiles.

The last one had been particularly painful. The Stoneskin kraken had sprayed him with a cloud of ink that might as well have been pyroclastic flow. His skin had seared as the heat cooked through his flesh, and both eyes had popped from the heat.

The pain had been unimaginable. Still was, but it was getting better by the second.

“Makes no sense how things could still be that hot underwater. Must be the magic.”

With the Stoneskin dealt with, he’d turned his attention to the hostile clone. But it was already gone. “Probably camouflaged and watching. Preparing for the next assault.”

He didn’t have the mana to go after it. He was completely spent.

Being completely out of mana felt weird. The only thing he could compare it to was a mix of mild dehydration and motion sickness. He wasn’t about to conk-out, but it didn’t feel great.

Henry meditated for a few minutes, enough to regain some mana and to iron out the last touches of his plan, then went and grabbed some meat from the Arcane and Stoneskin krakens.

Next, he found a spot near a reef and settled down. He was sure he was being watched, so a high enough spot to see incoming danger was more important than hiding. Lastly, he brought out Maurice from Maw of the Trickster.

The crab popped out of thin air and looked bewildered for a moment. “[What’s happen–what happened to you?]” Maurice scuttled over and took Henry’s ruined flesh in. His pincer extended, as if to touch, then jerked back. “[Are you okay?]”

Henry was going to wave the crab’s concerns away, but his arm was still painful. “[I’m okay, don’t worry. Just low on mana to heal all of this. Now, do you want the Arcane Core or the Stoneskin core?]”

Henry quickly explained the differences to Maurice, who nodded along, still worryingly examining Henry. The crab peered around when Henry mentioned that the clone might still be nearby, then rubbed his pincers together. “[Can I have the Stoneskin? I didn’t help much.]”

“[You helped with the Goliath and you got nothing for it. And you’ll need levels. We’re going to the main kraken after this. I think I know where it is. And why it hasn’t shown up itself yet.]”

The core appeared in front of Henry. It was metallic gray, with lines of red that matched the looks of the monster it came from. Maurice tapped the core, and the object exploded into smoke that rushed into the crab.

Maurice froze for a moment, then his annoyed voice came through. “[I got penalized. It said I didn’t contribute, so the core’s value was reduced.]”

Henry frowned. “[I didn’t know about that…]”

Maurice grumbled, and Henry continued to rest for a moment, slowly healing his burnt skin.

After a few minutes he spoke. “[We’ll get some rest and then we’re going hunting. Also, keep an eye out. I’m taking my evolution. If anything happens, just get to safety, okay?]”

Maurice looked up from the meat he was examining. Henry sensed a spike of worry from the crab that immediately got him on edge. “[What’s wrong, Maurice? You see something?]” Henry looked around, but he couldn’t see anything. Looking back at the crab, he found him rubbing at his eyes.

The crab hesitated for a second. “[I… I think evolution will be painful. But I’ll keep watch. Of course. Just…be okay?]”

Henry paused, alarmed. “[What do you mean?]”

“[I don’t remember. I just remember feeling relief when I woke up. And being scared and in pain.]”

Henry looked over at the crab as he shuffled uncomfortably, then reached over and gently tapped him on the head with an arm. “[Stop worrying. And I’m sorry I reminded you of that. I’ll be alright, okay? Then we can beat up the kraken sending the clones. Okay?]”

“[Okay,]” said Maurice as he posted himself nearby, starting to pick bits off the meat while watching the surroundings. Henry caught him peering at him every few seconds.

Henry smiled inwardly. “[I’m okay Maurice, I promise. And I’m about to be even better in a few minutes. No matter what.]”

That seemed to help a bit, so Henry turned his attention inward and got to work. “Evolution first, or Skills first.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

An Evolution first would allow him to free up slots and pick a direction for his abilities. At this point, it was clear he was about to become a juvenile kraken. On the other hand, he might miss out on some synergies from the krakens he’d just killed.

“No, that’s not good. Skills first.”

Henry had put the meat of the krakens into two different piles that Maurice and other small fish kept stealing bites from. He wanted to think of himself as a kid in a toy store, considering the possible abilities he was about to get, but the image of raw flesh and bloodied organs really didn’t mesh with that image.

Henry sighed and started with the Stoneskin kraken. He cut some of the monster’s innards–because the skin was too tough to cut through–and bit into it. A bitter taste hit his tongue, quickly filling his senses with the taste of charred meat and sulfur. Henry looked down at the piece of meat. It was definitely tasty, and somehow tasted almost cooked. “Nice change from the usual raw meat.”

Molten Projectile (F) was copied by Magic Mimic. Ephemerals are full.

Inner Furnace (F) was copied by Magic Mimic. Ephemerals are full.

Mimicking Tentacle: Resilience of the Stoneskin Kraken acquired.

Ink jet: Pyroclastic Ink acquired.

Superior Trait analyzed by Magic Mimic. Sample insufficient.

Useful abilities. And both were Skills. Henry was almost sure the kraken got them from hanging around the lava ants. Though so far, none of them seemed compatible with his current core abilities. In any case, he’d be storing some of the kraken’s meat for later, just in case.

He tried a few more bites, gaining no extra abilities, and then moved on to the Arcane kraken. He assumed he shared too many abilities with these krakens, which was why he wasn’t getting as many abilities from them. This one immediately made the insides of his tongue and esophagus tingle, as if the meat was full with tiny bolts of electricity.

Superior Trait analyzed by Magic Mimic. Magic Mimic upgrade unlocked.

Arcane Arm (F) was copied by Magic Mimic. Ephemerals are full.

Dispelling Bubble (F) was copied by Magic Mimic. Ephemerals are full.

Mana Sight (F) was copied by Magic Mimic. Ephemerals are full.

Bite: Mana Draining Bite acquired.

Ink jet: Dispelling Ink acquired.

Henry’s eyes opened wide. “Yes! And Arcane Arm could become part of Mimicking Tentacle. Dispelling Bubble… I don’t think so. Let’s check the upgrade, though.”

Henry opened his Trait upgrade menu, and was surprised at the price required for upgrading Magic Mimic. It required Tokens. A lot of them, for sure. But still. Simple tokens.

“100 D-Tokens is a lot though… ”

Henry exhaled. He’d be getting a lot of them soon, anyway.

“Alright… now for Skills. I guess I’ll replace Toxic Ray. I haven’t even used it once. And I still have some serpent meat in case I want it back. And I can buy Mana Sight. That’s a Trait, and it seems like it would synergize with Mana Conduit and Condensed Mana.”

Henry replaced the Skill and bought the Trait, and with that done he was ready for the next step. There was still one empty Trait slot, but this wasn’t the right time to optimize every little detail. “But no invisibility, huh. Odd. Still, that sounds like a Skill, and I don’t have a space for it, anyway.”

A quick check on Maurice showed the crab liberally eating from the remaining Stoneskin kraken. He shook the bites a bit before gingerly putting them in his mouth.

“I feel like he’d love spicy food.”

Henry consumed the Arcane kraken’s core, and notifications started flying at him. First were the levels, which got him to level 100, followed by his gained stats points. “2 Strength, 2 Constitution, and 3 free points.”

Congratulations. You qualify for a species evolution!

Congratulations. A new class has been unlocked. You qualify for a class change!

Calculating Evolutionary Points…

Triumphed over a predator more than 50 levels above your own.

Triumphed over a predator more than 100 levels above your own.

Triumphed over a D-Rank being as an E-Rank being.

Triumphed over three D-Rank beings as an E-Rank being.

Indirectly caused the enlightenment of a non-sapient being.

Calculating results… 11x Evolutionary Points granted!

“Good. Next.”

Select one of the following Class Evolutions:

(New) Krakenbane Wanderer:

A Class for the traveling hunter of the deep. A terrible enemy to the feared and sometimes worshiped krakens of the abyss. You walk with purpose and confidence where none dare to tread, wielding strength and resilience forged in the darkest depths.

- This Class will empower offensive and traveling abilities

- Focuses on Strength, Spirit, and Constitution

- 4x Skill slots and 4x Trait slots (half on Class Evolution, half at level 50)

Henry examined the remaining options. They were the same as last time. Exactly the same, in fact. “The new class is a straight upgrade. Three stats boosted instead of two. And I like the name. Fitting. Very fitting.”

He made his selection, and the final menu opened up.

Select one of the following Species Evolutions:

Trickster Kraken:

An elusive monster with versatile abilities and terrifying intelligence. Can create illusions and mimic the abilities of its prey.

Arcane Kraken:

A mystical creature that can dispel abilities, drain mana from others, and summon magical limbs to aid in combat.

Goliath Kraken:

A massive, behemoth-like kraken with unparalleled regenerative abilities and resilience.

Blightbringer Kraken:

A harbinger of death, the Blightbringer Kraken spreads a toxic miasma and injects venom with every strike, leaving a trail of corpses in its wake.

Mesmer Kraken:

An enigmatic predator that uses psionic abilities to entrance and crush its prey.

“So many options. No Stoneskin kraken though… Maybe I needed to consume the core? No matter. I wouldn’t have picked it.”

Henry hummed, then re-read everything again. “Let’s see…”

A/N: Reminder of the previous classes(that are still available to be selected):

Stalking Threat:

A Class for the hunters of the ocean. You have proven yourself a ruthless predator; hunting, trading blows, and triumphing over beings stronger than you.

- This Class will empower offensive and stealth abilities.

- Focuses on Strength and Constitution

- 4x Skill slots and 4x Trait slots (half on Class Evolution, half at level 50)

Surviving Opportunist:

A Class for the opportunist who waits to strike and thrives in the shadows.

- This Class will empower stealth and regenerative abilities.

- Focuses on Spirit and Constitution

- 2x Skill slots and 6x Trait slots (half on Class Evolution, half at level 50)

Telepathic Scholar:

A Class for those who wish to observe and learn. The Telepathic Scholar has an easier time befriending sapient beings and fading into the background when required.

- This Class will empower psionic and scouting abilities.

- Focuses Perception and Spirit

- 4x Skill slots and 4x Trait slots (half on Class Evolution, half at level 50)