I released my grip on Cinzek, and opened the new panel with haste.

[Cinzek, Zybold (II) commander Level 8]

[Cilgris, Zybold (II) halberdier (II) Level 2]

[Croc, Zybold (II) fighter level 3]

[Drox, Zybold (II) fighter level 3]

[Chec, Zybold (II) soldier level 5]

[Khirc, Zybold (II) defender level 3]

These were Zyradon's special forces? They seemed... underwhelming. I didn't know how Classes worked, but if they were anything like resetting evolutions then I was lucky to disable the halberd lady first.

I could hear the thoughts of all six now, likely from this new title. Fear and awe, uncertianty and hope, all contrasted across their words.

"We need to hunt." I said thought loudy, all five kobolds turning their heads towards me. Evidently, Cilgris was still healing off the bites I gave her.

"I have that same... Quantification. can improve my Skills through usage, but breakpoints are locked behind slaying enemies. Plus, I won't let My kobolds starve"

At the mention of food, the five kobolds mobilized. We passed through the living chamber, the smaller redder kobolds giving us a wide berth, until we made it out into the sun in search of fitting prey. I had to exert myself to keep up, stamina oddly full despite the fight behind me. Lacking any conventional stealth, I was on the lookout for something big. And ideally something magical, if mutagen was on the table. We roamed the forest, passing birds too small to be of any use and scaring more than one rabbit analog, it's spider legs carrying it into a nearby den. The party stopped near a lake, moving forward to take a drink while one of my heads kept watch. While my more instinct-driven head admired and hydrated from the silvery water, my more rational one scanned the trees. These ones, I noticed, bore crystalline highlights. My mind whipped back to the coast bear's home, and a temptation within me grew. A temptation to poison the lake. To plague the beasts who drank from it, to harvest the EXP...

I fin-slapped my own face, eyes unblurring from the fantasy of destructive power. The sound scared off a small creature, jumping into an oddly spiky bush for protection. Something within it shook, rising to it's full height. The spikes moved forward through the leaves, revealing the head of a large deer, elk or even moose as it stood from it's lakeside resting place.

"Large prey across the lake." I warned, kobolds scrambling for their weapons left and right. The moose stood at it's full height and glared towards me, eyes glowing a yellowish-green, before it bellowed with a hollow, bone-chilling bellow. The sound sent small creatures scattering, most quickly of all the burst of green and cyan birds from the beast's back. It lowered it's head, pawing the gtound, when I gave my easily-followed order

"Dodge, It's about to charge"

Kobolds spread apart like dropped marbles, placing themselves the beast's antler-span apart. Leaves seemed to shoot back as it accellerated at a breakneck pace, but I knew I was safe- as I was already in the lake. My fins rejoiced at the feeling of weightlessness, able to serve their real purpose, but this did not stop the moose's charge. Cinzek jumped aside, dodging under the spikewall of antlers, but not entirely- hoof clipping his leg. A worrying popping sound could be heard as it made contact, moose trampling past to deal with even more of the intruders. I swam forward, look of pain on his face telling me everything I needed to know.

"Hold still." I instructed, taking him between my heads again and placing the halberider on my back. He used his torso to weigh down his hurt leg, other at my side for an awkward grip.

"I've always wanted to ride a creature." Cinzek panted, pointing his weapon forward as another line of defense. It stuck between my heads, likely as a deterrant for anything the moose could do. Air wooshed as the creature bashed a fleeing Khirc with it's horns, the dual axers dodging erratic back-kicks in the hopes to find a place to land. The four of them looked outclassed, especially without their commander. Cinzek urged me forward, to let himself fight alongside his kobolds, and I did the next best thing.

"Kobolds, draw it to the lake!" I ordered, slight gargle in my voice an indicator of what was coming. Croc threw one of his axes, striking it in the flank as the others booked it towards me. Chec took an antler swing to the back, knocking him over, but mercifully the moose guardian did not finish him off. Instead, it looked towards me. Slowly it advanced, my mind cheering it on as approached my effective range for corrosive poison, and stopped. The moose shook to either side, dislodging many leaves from it's side and floating them around it's head like summoned swords. They flew towards me as a storm, first baffling then bleeding me as magically-sharpened leaves cut into my necks. I closed my eyes in instinct, curled leaf flying into one magnifying my pain so much that I dropped my attack. Corrosive poison splashed into the water ahead of me, my frantic splashing to get away only spreading it further through the silvery lake.

And if the moose was mad before, now it was furious. It ignored my allies, not slowed down one iota by their oppurtunistic strikes to the sides, and sprinted for me. I couldn't dodge to the side, and couldn't hope to block it or swim backwards, so took my last option.

"We're going down" I told my rider, halfway submerged by the time I could finish the message. He took a gasp and held his breath, lying forward and clinging to me with his free hand. The moose sailed over me, my head just barely dodging it's kicking legs, and landed with a meteroic splash behind me.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I turned my heads back, seeing it flail in the water, and made my move. My heads exhaled like bellows, positioning me in a large spin. My fins helped me angle, and from then my tail and water magic worked as one, sending me rocketing towards the swimming moose. A jousting halberd stabbed at it's hindquarter, wild kicking leg shooting out with force rivaling a firearm. Only by observing it twice could I attempt dodge, hoof instead hitting the area right between my necks. It sunk into my flesh, no doubt rupturing something important, but my heads were in position.

Both [Bit] at the tough leg, holding it in place for Cinzek to scrape at it with the halberd's hook. The moose tried to pull forward, wrenching it's limb free from my grasp, but the damage was already done. Something between blood and sap fell into the water, wounded leg bending too far.

I dipped my heads down for a whiff of that tasty blood, and felt a [Frenzy] take a seat in my mental cafe of pain. I practically jumped from the water, ready to knock the moose down, when it turned it's head and made a large gesture. Roots sharply grew around my fins, binding them to the land. Cinzek, on the ball as ever, poked and jabbed to distract the moose, but it merely stepped back. Magic glowed within it's horns again, taking it's time now that I was the one immobilized. I looked to either side in desperation, only to see hope. my allies had rounded the lake, and took this chance to round on the moose. Croc and Drox hacked upwards from either side into it's belly, concentration on the roots weak enough for me to burst forward in the charge I wanted. I latched my heads onto it's neck, twisting from side to side while awaiting the onslaught. [Rapid Healing] roared to life, anticipating the rush of attacks. The moose pounded at my flanks with it's horns, trying to angle it's best weapons against me, and Cinzek lined up several stamina-infused stabs. The moose kicked with it's front legs at an awkward angle, using it's tools of movement as a good transport, but couldn't accellerate it's hooves fast enough. Chec and Khirc slashed at it's back legs, too wobbly to raise in offense. In an act of desperation the moose even thrashed around to get a good angle to bite me, but all that motion spelled it's doom. With a final [Lacerating Bite], the moose fell to the ground in a defeated slump.

[You have slain: Ivyceros (II). Level has risen to 4. Strength +1]

Kobolds whooped and cheered, Cinzek keeping himself curled up on my back but still managing to celebrate with his allies. Not questioning how his leg went from nonfuncctional to barely functional, another system notification joined the first.

[Skill levels: Lacerating Bite 1 -> 3. Water magic 4 -> 5, upgrade available. Rapid healing 3 -> 4. Frenzy 2 -> 3]

I thanked it for not interrupting my fight, and bit down at the fallen moose

"Get it while it's hot!" I joked, kobolds kneeling down and ripping chunks of meat off with their mouths like a wolfpack. I only ate with one head, giving the other a chance to think and observe. Croc seemed to have the easiest time getting through the tough hide, his teeth glowing a familiar red.

Reminding myself to tell him about that, I looked towards my Skill rise. Water magic was Fundamental to me, and if anything like bite, it's options would not dissapoint.

[-Upgrade choices for water magic-]

[0 SP: Advanced water magic (II)]

[1 SP: Efficient Water Magic (II), Forceful Water Magic (II)]

[2 SP: Frost magic (II), Acid magic (II), Mud magic (II)]

[4 SP: Abyssal water magic (III), Divination (III)]

I wasn't under pressure to make a choice, so chose to save my skill points and continue eating. One by one, kobolds had their fill, stopping to rest on the ground or agianst trees. I had the most capacity, and stopped last. When I finally did, pulling away from the remaining third of a moose, I saw a wonderful notification.

[+4 mutagen]

Four was a flexible amount. Enough to get a new mutation. Wanting to wait until I was in a shape I liked more, I scrolled through the list. Full of hope, I searched for my kanastone, and... nothing. Of course it was nothing, the kanastone was techincally equipment. In either case, I needed better movement speed, as the lack of it cost my fight against the kobolds- though thankfully not my life. I needed more efficient stamina generation; so many of my powers used it up and not enough refilled it. And I needed a better way to bite, to speed up both combat and consumption. Alternatively, the more forgiving path would be rank to up either of the ones I already had. The skull spoke for itself, choice of upgrades looking plain. Angular for diflecting blows, Echoing for better hearing, and spiked for better headbutts. Nothing in here was worth taking, so I looked at the other choice

[-Upgrades available for copper heart-]

[Bronze heart. Increases stat gain in an ally's peril]

[Amber heart. Increases base regeneration]

[Silver heart. Spreads both these effects at a reduced power]

Everything made sense. The inconsistent behavior of frenzy, which was actually this one mutation. The subtle healing, which i attributed to be intrinsic my species. Already having substitutes for the other two, I chose one of the most important choices.

[Copper heart upgraded to Silver heart. 4 mutagen spent.]

Cinzek tried to get my attention, but it was in another world. My heart began to heat up with an internal flame. I could feel my heart beat with the intensity of a blacksmith's hammer, intense heat alternating with intense cold by seconds. Heartbeats. Flashes. I could hear a clang with each one, feeling a

biting vulnerability as some force stripped away old plating, replacing it just as quickly with newer, shinier metal. And when everything finished, I blew out a breath, one head of heat and one head of cold, falling forward.

"Valerie?" Asked the leaderly voice of Cinzek, drawing me back to my senses. "I found a green stone in the beast's chest."

I whipped upwards quickly. A bit too much so, as the blood in my necks adjusted to the sudden shift. I had lost some in the fight, but my heart was already working to fix and fill my veins. "That's great!" I exclaimed, before being cut off.

"And... ate it. I don't know what came over me." He bowed his head in shame, but I rested a head on his shoulder. "It's okay, I was going to ask you to do that anyway."

I drew my heads back, addressing the group. "When you see a glowing stone in a strong enough creature, don't hesitate to absorb it. If you find it in a weak one, give it to a kobold. Those are kanastones, and they let you do magic."

A murmur of exicted acceptance resonated through the kobolds.

"And while we're still on the hunt, I have a town that can make you better weapons. We might need them. You know, for prey"

I leaned back and did air quotes with my flippers, and an understanding crossed the faces of the kobolds. We set out, not for Zyradon's cave this time.

But for Baldemar's forge.