“This is annoying”

Turns out, continuously injecting them with healing potions while I tried to cut them open, counted as harming them.

Just by making a small incision on C1’s freshly shaved chest, my body started to spasm with red electricity running through my limbs.

[Alert]

[Breaking Slave Command]

[Cease this action]

The spasm only stopped when I dropped the scalpel.

“Damn it. It didn’t work… Assistant, open the door.”

The black knight who hasn’t written a single line down yet ran to the door and opened it, letting in my walking chair.

“…This won’t do.”

I sat back in my chair and turned to the apprentice.

“Keep the subjects sedated. I need to…make a few new tools for this operation.”

I left the research facility and went into one of the many tunnels in which we kept our wilds.

Selecting about a dozen, I smooshed them together and started to craft them in a way that suited me for the current situation.

“Thin fingers with additional joints… Several arms for holding tools…. More arms… Internal pockets for storage… of course, it will need legs… let’s make it four. This one is for scientific experiments so it can be slow-moving. Do I need extra eyes? Let’s keep them. If they’re not needed I can always get rid of them later.”

Once I was finished and observed my newest creation, notifications started pouring into my mind.

[New creature created:[Kayeri Medical Armor Mimic]

[God of Forging is amazed by your creativity and wishes to send his blessing on it]

[God of Darkness is amazed by your creation and wishes to send his blessing on it]

[God of Research is amazed by your creativity and wishes to send his blessing on it]

[Goddess of Healing is delighted by your creativity and wishes to send her blessing on it]

[Do you accept?]

“God of Research? There is something like that in this backwater world? Well, whatever, blessings are always accepted.”

[Blessings have been accepted]

[Creation received the name:[Six-Handed Flayer. ]]

[Special effects received: [Auto repair] [Dark Vision] [Organic Evolution] [ Multi Vision]]

[The Armor’s rank has been increased to [Unique]]

Unlike my previous creation, a thin halo showed up above the armor’s head for a couple of seconds.

“Flayer? Why did it receive such a name? I won’t skin people with it… probably.”

I took off the armor pants and touched the chest of my newest creation.

It was around one and a half meters tall, entirely black, and mostly insectoid in appearance. It had a cylindrical shape with six eyes placed around an oblong head, which ended in an insectoid mandible.

I gave it six multi jointed arms, two around its chest and two on its back, which were hidden inside its body, and six small pouches like organs for storage on its outside.

As for legs, four crab-like limbs were arranged in a circle on its underside.

With a light push, the monster's chest slowly opened up, allowing me to lay into its gooey green flesh.

Once I crossed my hands on my chest, the monster closed up, and a tube descended over my mouth, leaving me in the darkness for a while, but like with the chair, my nerves got connected to the armor, allowing me to see and move.

“Fascinating.”

Slowly, I moved my newly gained arms, getting the feel for them.

“Maybe multi-jointed parts weren’t such a good idea.”

After a few stretches, I started to walk.

Like always, I started with baby steps. One leg forward, the other leg left, this kind of thing, till I can move at a quite good tempo.

Not to mention, with the tube over my mouth, I was able to exhale the black cloud from the armor’s mouth, capable of storing the pants and the chair in my… body?

“Now that I think about it, where do all of that stuff go? Pocket dimension? Item Box? I keep learning about this world, but I know frighteningly little about myself. Once things settle, I will do a medical checkup on myself.”

I went back to the research lab, going as slow as a turtle.

“…I will need to do some upgrading on this thing.”

Once in, the assistant tried to attack me, but when I told him that it was me, he quickly stepped aside.

“Now where were we?”

I picked up the scalpel and cut it into the wolf.

[Alert]

[Breaking Slave Command]

[Cease this action]

“Fuuuucccck!”

The spasms returned, making me shake like crazy, till I dropped the scalpel again.

“Shit! How can I work when I can’t even make a proper incision?!”

I breathed in deeply and tried to think.

Can’t cut them. I can drain their blood and examine it under an improvised microscope, but what good would that do? Maybe I could store them and use them when I need them…? And there is something else.

I looked at the knife on the floor.

If I react like this with a small cut, how will I fight in the tournament? I can imagine her pitting me against one of her children. What the hell will I do?

I hit the chest of the wolf with one of my extra arms, feeling the rock-hard muscles beneath the skin.

He isn’t waking up. It isn’t surprising considering the number of sedatives I gave him… THAT’S IT!

“Assistant! Drain their blood in separate containers. Take as much as you are able without killing them and take them into the deepest parts of the forest, far away from our entrances!”

“Wh-What about the vivisection?”

“Screw that! I have drugs to make!”

*****

King POV:

Something wasn’t right.

After I saw that scene in that white void, I felt like something was not right. I could sometimes hear noises in the wall or felt like someone was watching me.

Once, when I was leaving my room, I saw a rat which had green fur and two heads, but it disappeared so fast I might have imagined it.

And now, in my gut, I had a feeling.

Something I felt long ago, when I was still a little tadpole in a pond surrounded by all those fish and insects.

Fear.

“This cannot be right.”

Growing anxious, I called all my children and generals to me, including my newest slave.

Ever since I put the slave mark on him, Phil hasn’t shown his face around, but I was sure he was using his sneaking skills to hide from me.

It was pointless either way, with the slave mark and restriction on him, he could do nothing to me or the others.

And with the tournament approaching, I will make sure that he is eliminated in the first few rounds.

One by one the people I called came and knelt before me.

“Is everyone here?”

“Not entirely. Phil Smith is not yet present.”

“I am here.”

Leaned to one of the pillars was a tall figure wearing a brown cap, with two black knights standing next to him.

“Why aren’t you kneeling in my presence? Are you so determined to defy me that you won’t show even a shred of respect?

“…The truth is I am unable to.”

The black knight grabbed his cape and took it off his body, revealing the monster underneath it.

A tall insect-like creature, standing on four legs, seemingly with no arms.

“While I was doing my thing, I managed to evolve. While this new form boosts my intelligence and ability to research, in terms of combat power and mobility, it is… somewhat lacking.”

“… What is this race called?”

“To my surprise, the name didn’t change. I believe it to be a chrysalis phase, a sort of between state in which my body will slowly mature, ready to erupt as a much more powerful being.”

As he spoke, the other members present inched a few meters away from the monster, somehow feeling uncomfortable with being too close to this thing.

“I don’t care how you look; you will participate in this tournament.”

“What? My king, for once be reasonable! I have no arms! How do I hold a weapon?! Not to mention my legs! Look at this!”

Phil slowly walked forward with its crab legs and then made a slow spin.

“TOP SPEED! This is the fastest I can move! If I participate like this, I will become a sentient punching bag! There would be no show! I can’t even use prayers for crying out loud!”

It was becoming quite annoying to listen to him, but he did have a point. If he can't put up a good fight, then my plan of taking over the kayeri will not work.

“… What if we feed you EXP?”

“Hmmm?”

He didn’t hear my muttering, so I spoke out loud.

“You said that this current state of yours is some sort of gestation period. What if we give you exp to make you stronger?”

“I don’t know. Never been in a similar situation. I might come out stronger, or it decreases the delay of my birth.”

“Alright. I will give you the required amount of Exp for another evolution.”

The knight looked shocked at me, some even stood up and shouted at me.

“My lord, please think!”

“He doesn’t deserve such an honor!”

“Think about yourselves!”

Annoyed by them I snapped my fingers, making my status screen appear to everyone.

[

Name: Elizabeth Morgum ‘The She King’

Race: [Royal High Amphibian] 345/ 100,000 (66,587/ 100,000)

Main Class: [Monster King]

Sub Class: [Magic Weapon Master] [Master Magician]

HP(Health Points): 57,345/ 57,345

SP(Stamina Points): 57,000/ 57,000

MP(Magic Points): 75, 000/ 75, 000

Blessings: [Blessing of Artemis] [Blessing of Anubis] [Blessing of Hephaistos] [ Blessing of Freya] [Blessing of the Devil] [Blessing of Macha] [Blessing of Poseidon] [Blessing of Echidna] [Blessing of Osiris]

Curses: [Curse of Aphrodite] [ Curse of Buddha] [ Curse of Athena]

Unique Skills: [Ultimate Survivor] [EXP Share]

Active Skills: [Universal Advanced Magic] [Skill Fusion] [Demonic Weapon Summon] [ Demonic Armor Summon] [Perfect Appraisal] [Status Display] [Dimensional Magic] [Inbreeding] [Gender Bending] [Weaponry Morphing] [Architectural Design] [Berserker Rage] [Basic Life Creation] [EXP Siphon] [Evolution Control] [Domination Magic] [Alchemical Knowledge]

Passive Skills: [Water Breathing] [Enhanced Swimming] [Dark Vision] [Bottomless Stomach]

Affinities: [Cursed Weapon Affinity] [Death Affinity] [Fire Affinity] [Archery Affinity] [War Affinity] [Riding Affinity]

Titles: [Possessor of Otherworldly Memories][Blessing Stealer] [Unique Skill Stealer] [Kin Eater] [Bloody King] [Enemy of Humanity] [Parent of Calamities]

]

I waited for a little while for everyone to read it before speaking again.

“As you can see, I have Exp to spare. I would be surprised if I couldn’t give him enough. Tell me, Phil, what level are you?”

With his new form, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, which annoyed me slightly.

“…I am currently level 1. I need 10,000 Exp for my next evolution.”

“Done.”

That amount was nothing special, I could gain it by defeating a dozen Gladiator Apes up in the mountains.

With a snap of a finger, I manifested a white rat and pumped 10,000 EXP into it.

“…You, go take it from her.”

At his command, one of the black knights approached and gently took the rat from me.

“If you will excuse me, I would prefer to do my evolution in private. When I turned into this, I was stuck in place for a full day.”

The monster turned around and slowly walked away but was stopped by an arm stretching before him.

The arm belonged to one of my warriors, a giant gray man, with tusks coming out of his mouth and an axe hanging off his back.

“Ya received such kindness from the king and yet you act like that. I should teach you some manners!”

“…Are you really going to beat up a man who is unable to defend himself?”

“This is a lesson, not a beating.”

“Sigh, so shallow.”

Suddenly, Phil disappeared from our sight, probably using his invisibility trick.

The ogre flailed his weapon around, trying to hit him, but I was sure that even with that slow speed of his, any attacks would miss him completely.

Even his knights were nowhere to be found.

“…Something doesn’t feel right.”

I could feel in the back of my head, the sensation of doom.

“Maybe my curses are finally acting up… No, it can’t be, I have been suppressing them for years.”

I shook my head and looked into the distance.

“It's coming.”

*****

“What the fuck am I going to do?”

I was back in my lab, out of my armor, and was looking down at the prosthetics on a table, along with a small wooden box.

There has to be a motive. That woman must be planning something, she can not be so foolish as to give me such a huge power-up just to make the fight more interesting. That would be insane.

But why did she summon me like that? She didn’t even give me time to get out of that thing due to the electric shocks, and I had to be carried by the knights.

“Father, we could step in instead of you.”

Igor, wearing personalized armor, picked up one of the prosthetics to examine it. He was more human-looking, having an actual face that could simulate emotions, although it was still hard to decipher what he was thinking.

“No. From what I know, she could see through such a cheap trick, I have to participate…. Sigh, I have no other choice. I will install these things into me and kill the mouse. The evolution should help them integrate into my body.”

“…Can we help you with anything, father?”

“Just keep the front while I am transforming. Make sure to lead the others to the second hideout safe and secure.”

“…Alright.”

I stood up from my seat, took off my clothes, and picked up a dagger.

“ Here I go.”

Holding back my breath, I cut open my arm, legs, and chest, staining the ground with my black blood. I even cut my face in half.

“AAAAAAAAAA!”

Screaming in pain, I forced my muscles to move, ripping the wounds wide open, causing the green tentacles to swipe at the air uncontrollably. I turned myself into a skeleton entirely surrounded by tentacles.

I grabbed the prosthetics and the box and shoved them into my body.

With a loud cracking sound, I shattered the container into pieces, killing the rodent inside.

[Level Cap reached.]

[Commencing evolution...]

Without realizing it, I stepped a few steps back, falling into the open chest of my newest armor, the thing closing in on me.

The pain kept increasing, as I felt my chest start to burn as my heart slowly expanded, breaking the bones around it.

Then my vision shifted.

I was now seeing through the eyes of the armor, with its lower part slightly bloated.

“Eeeeh, this is new. Status.”

[Error]

[Evolution is currently in progress]

[Status screen and all affiliated skills are unreachable]

[Approximative time to competition of evolution: 5 days]

5 days.

“Igor. When will the tournament be held?”

“The tournament? I believe it will happen this week. Maybe in four days.”

FFFUUUCCCKKK!

*****

At sunset, a dark figure came to the entrance of the colosseum.

Glancing about to make sure that no one was around, it quickly rushed into the building, only stopping at the stairs that led down underground.

Quickly, the figure put on a leather mask and, glowing and with a determined demeanor, descended into the world of the Kayeri.

*****

Under the starry night, on a dirt road, a series of carriages were riding in complete silence, accompanied by a group of leather armored knights.

Any monster foolish enough to approach the column was swiftly dealt with.

And at the center of it, on a tall pole fixed atop the most lavish carriage was a flag.

The flag of the dark elves.