White room returns with another card flying atop the sky, accompanied disappointingly by a single floating eyeball.

  “Blue, I don’t suppose the other eyeballs are going to show up later?” I ask.

  “Negative.”

  “Damn. So no level. You’d think exploding a tree and barely surviving would level me.”

  Blue doesn’t comment, completely content to wait patiently.

  I sigh. “Alright, let's just get this over with. Blue, what’ve I got?”

  “Entity Quasi Eludo, you have obtained the Priestess card. Please choose one of the following blessings:”

  Reading through the offerings, I find them all to be rather useful to some extent. [Advanced Spatial Cognition] is simple enough. It seems like it would allow me to create a mental map of my surroundings whenever I want and with not only greater detail, but greater speed. A perfect skill to have had for this test. Now though, it’s probably much less useful, especially for a Fenrimorph.

  “Decent, but rarely used. I doubt I’d be placed in a situation where I’m unable to see again. So Priestess Intelligence is probably out. The next one though, that could be useful.”

  Priestess Perception wouldn’t necessarily have been useful against the trees unless they somehow modified their temperature, but outside of this test, the ability to see heat has many uses as a Fenrimorph. It allows me to see living things through walls and easily notice abnormal heat signatures. The downside is that my bird form already has a superior sight ability that can see wavelengths. Well, with the restriction that I can’t see through extremely dense mana.

  “Useful, but not absolutely required.”

  [Efficient Metabolism] is initially very simple, but possibly useful depending on how the effect works. If all it does is allow me to eat once every three days, then the skill is basically useless to me. I have no problems obtaining nourishment, nor am I a picky eater. As a Fenrimorph, I can eat anything that moves without problem.

  The real question to the skill is how exactly I am longer sustained. If my body is just better efficient at converting food into energy, then the skill becomes significantly more useful to me. One of the weaknesses to a Fenrimorphs regeneration is that the regeneration has a catabolic cost. If my caloric stores are low, my regeneration weakens and takes forever if at all. For example, my arm will likely take hours to regenerate if at all without additional food consumption.

  If the skill works as I think it does, that means the cost to regenerate my body decreases to a third.

  “Then again, the skill only works when I’m getting hit. It’s not like I’ll be severely damaged all the time, right?”

  My question goes unanswered as I think back to every moment I’d been severely wounded.

  I can’t help but groan.

  “Ughhh, every fucking tower so far,” I groan. I glance at the silent spectator with a pout.

  “Blue, give me the Priestess Vitality blessing.

  Blue blinks.

  “Choice: Priestess Vitality, accepted.”

  “Blessing application completed.”“Activating Reset Protocol.”

  _______________________________________________________________

  Waking up back at the initial tower, I find that my mana has fully recovered, my arm still missing, and the pangs of a gnawing hunger.

  I growl in annoyance alongside my empty belly.

  Hungry, I make my way down to the tower and glance at the opening and the empty room past it.

  Striding out of the tower and the moment I leave the barrier, I’m quickly brought to my knees.

  SUBMIT!

  SUBMIT!

  SUBMIT!

  The mental force hits me like a truck as I sense the Alpha attempt to ascertain control over my mind. The psionic force is even stronger than when I was in the prison, but still nowhere near strong enough to do anything more than to stun me.

  Shaking my head, I recover quickly and frown as I turn towards the direction where the force originated.

  Transforming into a cat, I rush out of the room and to the storage. When I arrive, I find the place completely empty.

  Following their scent, I rush to a tunnel. At the side of the tunnel, someone carved the words

  I rush into the tunnel, dearly hoping that my crew is still alive.

  _______________________________________________________

  Jiro watches with arms crossed as the last of the civilians enter the tunnel and make their way to the rice fields. As the last person enters, Jiro grimaces and turns. He strides to the tower to find his brother kneeling in prayer. An odd thing to see considering his brother isn’t religious at all.

  Then again, seeing someone enter the tower does bode a great deal of interest. It creates questions that he himself would love to get answers to.

  Answers that unfortunately must wait for a better time.

  He approaches his brother until he is but a meter away. “It’s been hours now, Yuto. Preparations are complete and we can’t delay any longer.” Jiro explains.

  Yuto sighs aloud. “I understand. I just hope he is well.”

  “His crew trust him to be alive, especially the large human in wyvernskin. He seems the most unbothered by Quasi’s absence.”

  Yuto nods slowly. As his brother stands, Jiro can’t help but admire Elder Ning’s scabbard on his brother's back. It is a hardy thing of metal, one that has slain the emperor's enemies for a long time.

  “Let's go.”

  As the brothers reach the tunnel's entrance, Jiro watches his brother stop and scratch a message at the side. Then they enter and rush through, quickly reaching the exit.

  When they do exit, it’s clear that something has already gone wrong.

  “They’ve already left?” Yuto exclaims in surprise.

  Jiro grimaces. The plan was to wait for both of them first and then make their way across the fields.

  “We need to catch up.”

  The two rush through the fields, their movement impeded somewhat by the knee-high water, but such a thing is easily overcome by their levels. When they do finally reach the group, the reasons for their abrupt departure is made clear.

  Fenrimorphs surround the group in numbers far denser than expected. Wherein they’d expected to maybe deal with a dozen or two, Jiro can already see four dozen surrounding the convoy. Not an insurmountable number by any means, but a greatly unexpected one.

  “Spitter!” Yuto warns. Before Jiro can react, he feels his brother push him to the side moments before a blast of water passes his previous location.

  Recovering immediately, Jiro follows the trajectory to find a finned six-horned Fenrimorph staring in their direction. The thing about Fenrimorphs that undergo Hoka-Kaeru is that not only do they grow stronger and adapt to their environment, but they also gain the ability to spit a projectile. Hence, they are also known as spitters. Somehow, this Fenrimorph must have been drowning to evolve in such a way.

  When Jiro looks at the other Fenrimorphs, the picture of why Mei chose to rush becomes clear.

  “Seventeen spitters!" he warns his brother.

  “Do we thin their numbers?” Yuto unsheathes his weapon and points it at the spitter.

  “Rendezvous with Mei first.” Jiro orders.

  As the two rush to enter the circlement of the convoy, their position away from the larger group is noticed. Several Fenrimorph move to intercept.

  “Save your skill,” Jiro warns his brother.

  When the first Fenrimorph arrives, it attempts a direct assault, one which would have been quite effective in the watery fields. But for a [Samurai], they are barely a restriction. Shifting his body to the side while simultaneously swinging his sword. The Fenrimorph misses its lunge by inches, while Jiro’s blade slices through the monster's neck, killing it instantly.

  Then Jiro steps to the side, dodging a thin line of water that explodes behind him.

  Yuto rushes forward, both hands firmly gripping the Odachi. Two more Fenrimorph rush at him, but his brother reacts appropriately with a dodge and swing as he had. Though he is more skilled than his brother in regards to combat on account of higher levels and age, the odachi makes easy work of Fenrimorph flesh. The long sharp blade slices through flesh like a scythe through wheat.

  When those two Fenrimorphs fall, the others back off, including the distant spitter.

  “They’re reforming. The Alpha is taking control. We need to catch up.”

  “Agreed.” Yuto nods.

  The two brothers catch up and enter the moving convoy. They are then quickly directed to Mei.

  “Jiro, Yuto,” she notices them approaching, her voice antsy. “You’re both late.”

  “You left without us. I imagine our convoy was found.” Jiro says.

  Mei nods. “One of the spitters hid under the water and noticed our group. It howled and now the Alpha knows our location.” She explains. “The only saving grace right now is that we’re far from the city, so if we move fast, we shouldn’t need to deal with reinforcements.”

  Jiro nods. “Good. So the plan is still underway. Where do you need us-”

  A nearby splash and explosion of water shifts their attention. Followed immediately with a violent howl.

  “I need you over there to stop Elder Ning.” She raises a finger. “Some of the [Elite Guard] and the three of [Druids] crew are keeping it at bay, but I’m not sure they can win.”

  “Elder Ning? Shouldn't he be in the city?” Yuto asks.

  “I don’t know nor care.” She growls. “Both of you, get over there and either kill or delay.”

  Yuto and Jiro share a look. They bow to Mei and then rush off to join the fight.

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