Mash was happy to see them, and relieved to notice that the fight was over. He looked over the surroundings, noticing Leah’s dead body slumped over to one side of the room. It seemed like he had managed it before getting eaten. He didn’t feel any satisfaction for getting his revenge. He felt nothing for his kill, an emptiness filling him like it had before. Except this time, he was able to notice how unnatural the feeling was. It was as if all his emotions just stopped, hitting a barrier and dissipating. He surmised the cause was his class. From what the World Carrier had told him, the classes were influencing his mind and body. He wondered if everyone felt the same way, or if different classes caused different feelings. His sister had certainly disliked the concept of death, but his father and brother seemed somewhat apathetic. Plus, she never killed anyone as far as he knew. Did combat classes change a person’s mind? If that was the case what about his runner class. Did that count?

He needed to ask someone about them, and looked towards Jill and Red. Jill at least, must have killed the shadow bandit. His question died as he met their faces. They did not seem happy, still sending glances between them. Eventually, they came to some unspoken decision and moving closer, Jill asked him a few questions.

“What happened to the boss? Did you kill it?”

“Her. The boss was female.”

Mash’s response came automatically, as if it were something else that was speaking. Red and Jill were looking at him strangely now, eyes narrowing with suspicious gazes. He didn’t know what to say either. Where had the information even come from? He got an answer, but it wasn’t out loud, instead he heard the response within his head.

“We are one now. My knowledge is now yours.”

Leaping to his feet Mash looked around, unsure of what exactly was happening. He could feel his heart rate rising, still unable to see the boss, he tried to feel the mana within his own body. There he found the boss’s mana, which outlined three snake-like creatures moving around within him.

“What’s wrong?”

Red’s voice came out quickly, her eyes flicking around the room, trying to see what he was looking at. Mash wanted to know the answer too and thought of the question, trying to send it to the boss like he did before. The response came again, and he got the feel of exasperation from the being, annoyance coming through the bond.

“You have agreed to the connection, and now your mind controls and guides mine. While my mind controls the rest of our bodies. I can even control your body if you will it.”

“No! That’s ok, and did you really expect me to know?”

Mash responded quickly, not wanting to give it the possibility. He didn’t want to let the creature control his body, the thought causing him to shiver slightly. He asked the question, confused as to why he would be expected to know. He had read of monster tamers but didn’t think that their situation was similar. The connection was simply too different from what he had read. The creature’s next response confirmed his suspicions.

“Our connection isn’t as flimsy as one of the tamer bonds. It is more permanent, more powerful. You lack so much information.”

That apparent lack bothered the creature, a flood of information and images entered his mind. He didn’t seem like he could resist or stop the creature, but neither did it feel like it was doing anything to harm him. The information though, was a little much for him, and he could feel a headache building. It didn’t last long with only a couple heartbeats passing, but the information he gained was surprising.

The creature’s knowledge was skewed, and he got everything from her perspective. He understood what their connection was. It was as she said. His mind was in charge, but not alone. They were linked, but she still maintained an independence, having a mind of her own. He still guided them though, and she would have to follow his commands. On the other hand, she was able to control all the bodies that she produced.

There were only three bodies right now, but he could already feel her creating more. She was siphoning a small amount of energy and regrowing additional bodies. Each additional body strengthened the both of them. It improved his natural regeneration, resistances, and even some of his stats. There was one other benefit that seemed useful, its mind would add to his own, improving things like concentration and processing power, even if it didn’t directly change his stats. Speaking of stats, he took the opportunity to look at what the improvements were like.

Name: Mash Class: Scale Wood Devourer

Level: 40

Health: 1070 / 1070

Energy: 1750 /1750

Fortitude: 100 → 107

Endurance: 71 → 75

Strength: 71 → 77

Agility: 72 → 76

Intelligence: 100

Wisdom: 66

Charisma: 32

Free Stats: 0

Skills: Persist, Mana-wood Creation, Inhuman Hibernation, Mana Territory, Unnatural Energy, Inhumanity, Wooden Body, Carnivorous Tree

He found himself grinning, this would hopefully be enough to compensate for his lack of years of training. Although there were certainly others who had ways to boost their stats and would still be a little ahead of him. He would take what he could get, and the other abilities that the boss could offer were also useful. She didn’t have enough power now, but eventually she would be able to shoot lightning she did before. On top of that, she could change her bodies size once she was outside, currently she could become as big as a large dog. Honestly, everything but the body control was useful, and he was happy to have her.

“Good, now you are beginning to see. Except not fully.”

That last comment came off very snidely, and he realized that his mind was probably affecting hers too. He was going to ask the boss but realized that he had left his friends hanging. They did not look pleased, and by now Luke was coming to his senses.

“Well, are you finally done with spacing out. Care to explain anything, like at all.”

He was in fact, done with spacing out and explained his situation. He even tried to get the boss to come out. She did as he asked, and peeled out from his neck, forming into her snake-like body. The curved beak at the front, giving away her identity. There was one difference now, her scales had changed colors, matching his own black scales. There was another noticeable issue. When she left his body, he felt his stats drop a little, and predicted his stats would drop back to normal when all her bodies were outside.

“I guess, I control the boss now. Gives me some boosts.”

He raised his hand up, and the boss moved to his palm. She was able to stick to his body easily and crawled along his skin and armor. He expected himself to react to the movement, for it to feel uncomfortable, instead she felt like an extension of his own body. Her scales sliding across his skin felt the same as his own hands would.

“It has the same eyes as you.”

Red’s sounded very interested, and had moved closer to look at the boss. It seemed like her curiosity was getting the better of her caution. Although, he noticed Jill was resting her hand on the pommel of her dagger. After hearing Red, he looked over the boss more carefully. The eyes did not match what he expected. One of its eyes was like his monster one, a thin, white triangular pupil surrounded by black nothingness. The other was a replica of the World Carrier’s, with a white circular pupil, surrounded by concentric rings of white while everything else was filled with darkness. Both shone faintly, almost invisibly. Only upon close examination did he notice the glow.

“The vision!”

Red yelled the words, her face filling with noticeable surprise. She quickly looked towards Jill, who nodded her head. Mash forgot that the String of Fate had given his friends a vision, only now realizing that it might have been of his own future. He remembered something else, and quickly gave them his reply.

“The vision is probably false now. The snake from earlier can’t control my future anymore.”

He didn’t stop there, explaining the events since they parted ways. Clearly, they were still very uncertain but decided to trust him anyways. There was another distraction as well, who was struggling to get to his feet. Luke finally coming to his senses, looked over the three of them. The most concerning thing to Mash were the tears filling Luke’s eyes. His face contorted in despair.

“I’m sorry… I c-couldn’t do anything.”

His words were strained, his disappointment was obvious. Shaking with each word and stuttering slightly, he continued to explain his situation.

“Leah had some kind of charm skill. She told me it only worked on beastmen. Even now, I feel like I need to save her, or do something for her.”

Mash realized that he wasn’t shaking with sadness but shivering in disgust. The effects of that kind of skill were repulsive. It was the kind of skill that got outlawed. Luke had a lot of other information to give, explaining who Leah was and what she was doing.

She was with the bandits and had snuck into the city to find the others. Apparently, they were stuck at the top of the dungeon, having suffered some injuries from escaping the guards. They couldn’t find the way through either. Once they found the way through, she enacted her plans. Luke knew what she would do, but couldn’t do anything to stop them. He tried resisting, but she ultimately strengthened her control, causing him to become a mindless puppet. He also had some information on the bandits plans in general.

They were connected to rebels within the beastmen city. Led by beastmen, they wanted to become independent from the kingdom, to abandon the human king. The banditry was in preparation for a war, but not an invasion. Meant to cut off support from the neighboring cities, while they started a civil war inside. Luke didn’t get any specific names. Although, Mash thought Davin would appreciate the information. Hopefully, he wasn’t the one running the bandits. Mash guessed that it might be Ellis, since Leah really might have been her sister. Luke didn’t know either. Hoping he didn’t really kill Ellis’s sister, Mash asked Red and Jill for what happened to them. They had some new items, and he was curious to hear about what they experienced. However, he never got the opportunity, Luke speaking up more quickly than he could.

“Who are you? You’re not Mash! Your soul is different.”

Luke took a step backwards, raising his hands for a fight. Although, he clearly wasn’t ready for another fight, both mentally and physically exhausted. So, for the second time, Mash explained what had happened. Jill and Red seemed interested, despite having heard the story already. Its not everyday that you meet someone of unfathomable power. Thinking about it, he realized that it was a surprisingly common occurrence for him.

“My power is also unfathomable to you.”

Finding the need to interject, the boss added in her own input. It seemed like his thoughts would no longer be his alone. Well, the boss was a part of him now, so he guessed that wasn’t entirely true. The boss hadn’t melded back into him, now sitting on his shoulder, with her tail wrapped around his neck. He wasn’t sure if he liked the snide remarks, but it did make him more comfortable with the creature. Thinking about it he asked the creature for her name. She didn’t have one, not ever having a need for an identifier.

“Is there a name you have in mind? I can’t keep calling you the monster or the boss, it doesn’t feel right.”

He asked the question aloud, so the others wouldn’t think he was weird for having another mental conversation. Calling it those things really did feel wrong, the boss was a part of him now, and he wouldn’t refer to himself that way. When the boss made it apparent that she didn’t have anything in mind, everyone tried coming up with names for her. He did as well, offering her a few but ultimately leaving the choice to her. The discussion grew longer, and they found themselves talking freely. The tension they felt was slowly dissolving as the names grew sillier.