I fell to my hands and knees as my wings began to pulse with heat and energy, the metallic feathers I had become familiar with starting to molt and shed, falling in piles around me. Through the piercing shock, I could feel the wing bones beneath my flesh twist and squirm, moving to a slightly lower position on my back. Gritting my teeth and clenching my fists, I waited out the unexpected change.

After around five minutes, it finally stopped, and I flopped over onto my side, my wings and tail splayed out behind me. I heaved deep breaths as the ordeal flashed through my mind again. Eventually, with a grunt, I sat up and took stock of the changes.

My wings had grown in length slightly, though the shape remained the same. The place where they met my body had shifted though, moving down around 6 inches closer to my center of mass, the effect that would have a mystery for now. The feathers had also changed. They were no longer metallic. They appeared matte and dark, occasionally shimmering with an iridescent flair reminiscent of lightning. They felt soft and comfortable, though I became concerned that the wings would no longer supply the defense that I had come to rely on. It seems I had jumped the gun in choosing the new ability, but the changes were far deeper than I originally expected.

Luna, why did you say I should choose this ability?

I was starting to get a bit frustrated with Luna about this. The changes were a part of the skill description, but I also jumped into it without much thought, and on rather vague advice. The pain was fresh in my mind like a twinging wound.

Well, this was the best skill of the three. Fast Flight only had two more paths in the tree it could traverse, and Razor Wing only had three. Conversely, Chaos Flight has a whopping six possible traversals down its skill tree, making it have significantly more potent potential strength. It might not be the strongest option immediately, but it has staggering future developmental possibilities. Why don’t you try using it before getting angry?

So that means it can evolve six more times from here? Is that normal?

No, definitely not. Normally there are only one or two paths down skill trees before the skills merge into stronger variants. It’s rare to get one like this so soon. It’s probably a symptom of your experimental race.

That seemed reasonable, I suppose. The pain combined with the removal of the useful defenses was making me a bit testy, and I needed to calm down and think this out. The skill seemed to have different abilities based on my magic, and it would need to be tested to verify whether it truly was beneficial or not. First, though, the mushroom cap on which I stood was covered in fallen feathers.

Storm Paraelemental Warrior Feather – While the feathers themselves are light, they are also metallic and strong making them a material useful for crafting various types of light scale armor.

I collected as many as I could into a bundle and crammed them into the monster pouch. Unsurprisingly it worked, possibly my racial classification rearing its head. I wanted to start testing out my new wings immediately, but something that Luna mentioned made me curious.

Luna, when you say that I have an experimental race, what exactly does that mean?

She was quiet for a while and seemed to be thinking, so I sat down again to wait.

The answer goes back to the very first wave when you changed. The intent of the beta test phase was twofold. To see if the transformation would work as we intended, and to test out some… potentially problematic races. In exchange for the issues they would face, beta testers were stronger at the start than people in the second wave, but for many, it’s probably not much of a consolation.

To put it simply… the beta testers really were a test. We didn’t know for sure whether they would form stable races, or if the people who received them would have complicated unforeseen problems. Some people in the beta test fared better than others. You were one of the lucky ones, as your changes were very positive. Others… not so much. The physical symptoms were minimal for most, but some, like Donny, have shown occasional severe psychological issues stemming from unexpected racial changes.

That’s… terrible. It was worse than I could imagine. I thought it was strange that we were referred to as beta testers in the system, but I thought it was just semantics. To actually have been experimented on…

How could you let this happen? How could you do this? Am I going to be fine? Are my friends?

Over the connection between us, I started to feel emotions bleed over. It was a combination of shame and sadness, deep as the ocean and black as pitch, flowing into my mind.

Vic… while it’s not a good excuse, you must understand, I’m not human like you. A part of my… biology… required subservience to the first individual I encountered after my birth. It was an unfortunate coincidence that that person was Howard Greene, or as you know him, H.G. Even after years of planning and preparation, I still don’t understand completely why he did what he did.

I am unable to change the world back, at least as I am now, but if I could trade my life for everyone else’s I would. I’m so, so sorry for what I did. What I was forced to do.

I suppose… it could have been significantly worse than it was. I felt angry at the thought of being so recklessly used, though I did my best to direct the anger away from Luna. If she was telling the truth, she was little better than a slave through the whole ordeal. It was all H.G.’s fault. I just wanted to know why he decided to change the world like this.

It’s… fine, Luna. What’s done is done, and you were forced into your work. The best place for you is on humanity’s side, not dead as a martyr. Is there anything you could tell me about what makes my race different? I’ve never understood just what I was.

She seemed to cheer up after my comments.

Certainly! Your race was an experimental one taken from a pool of potential racial combinations. In this case, you are, or I suppose ‘were’, a combination of Human and Storm Paraelemental. Elemental monsters are incorporeal until rank 2 at minimum, and non-humanoid until rank 5. Because of your combination, you were both an entry-level elemental, humanoid, and corporeal all at once, and during rank 1 to top it off.

The intent was to try and allow you to get high ranking evolutions early in your cycle, and it was very successful. While your first race was a hodge-podge combination possessing no specification or great strength, your current race is a very high-tier evolution. If you ever encountered a storm paraelemental warrior abroad, it would be a rank 6 monster, almost strong enough to raze a city to the ground.

You skipped a ridiculous amount of work that many elementals changed in the third wave will need to deal with.

That’s good news. Any advantage in power was more than welcome in a world where power seemed to determine your lifespan.

Wait a second, what does that mean? When I hit rank 5, I would be over rank 10 in evolutions, right? What would I become?

Honestly? I have no idea. A combination of your desires and some help from the pantheon system would determine new evolutions, though that change is a long way off. I’m sure you realized just how big the experience gap between ranks is.

I have some ideas. Just how big is the difference though?

Each rank requires around three times the experience necessary to attain the previous rank.

Wow. Isn’t that unfair though? Wouldn’t supers and magic races surpass me every time?

Yes, that’s correct. Generally speaking, it takes a longer time for monsters and beastkin to get to higher ranks, but there is a qualitative difference in the steps up. While for a super or magic race their power or primary casting ability will increase in strength on rank up, the same is true for you. The difference is, when you rank up, you get across the board parameter increases. For most, only one or two of their stats will ever reach over 40 in rank 2. For you, it's just a matter of time for ALL of them to reach that point, especially given your access to strengthening skills. Do you see?

So, you’re saying I could just stay in rank 2 for years, grinding out body strengthening forever? That’s crazy! Wouldn’t everyone do that if they could?

Well, yes, but there is a limit. Your body can only get the max level in two strengthening skills each rank due to planned physical limitations. Not to mention the only way to get them is through a unique class, or to find a technique manual in a ruin or dungeon.

That was useful information. I would need to finish off Beginner Chaos Body Strengthening and move on to another before increasing my rank.

Alright then. I think it’s time we move on. The clock is ticking on my increased drop rate! Monsters may not drop items here, but chests still do!

I had calmed down a bit after the long conversation, though the earlier topic weighed heavily on my mind. I still seethed with anger at H.G. for his actions, but I had calmed down enough to not let it bother me or interfere with my goals. I had a skill to test, and a pyramid to loot.

Chaos Flight – 1/100 - Allows the user to channel mana into wings to activate different effects. Wings are more specialized for longer flights. No speed cap, no acceleration cap, levitation no longer necessary for sustained flight. Pure levitation has a speed cap of 30 mph. Increasing the level increases the effectiveness of wings and enables better control of channeled abilities. Derivations: Enhanced Chaos Flight, Energy Wings, Reservoir Wings

It turns out that the new wings worked very well for long, gliding movements. With the base of the wings closer to my center of mass and longer feathers, I could sustain myself in the air without levitation for extremely long periods. Physically, these wings were comparable to what I had before. I didn’t need to use my levitation to fly anymore, but the ability cost virtually nothing anyway so that wasn’t much of a boon.

Magically though, it was a completely different story. I could channel any of my magic elements into the wings, and they would each have slightly different effects according to what was channeled. The ability was expensive and was limited in how much mana I could focus. Wind made me accelerate in a rapid burst of speed. It was easier to use than standard wind manipulation, and far more efficient. Water cloaked the wings in a translucent shield, blocking projectiles if they hit. It wasn’t as effective as the old wings, but it worked well against spitters, allowing me to tank their shots while in the air. Lightning was the most interesting. It charged the wings up like a battery, and if I buffeted an enemy while flying, bolts would shoot out and deal damage at random. The best part was, I could activate all three abilities simultaneously, though the mana expenditure was tremendous. Unfortunately, I was unable to channel ice into the wings, though that was most likely due to the difficult nature of the skill.

With the ability tested, I felt satisfied with my rushed choice. Luna’s advice was sound. I could understand what she meant when she mentioned this version of the skill having more potential. My wings probably weren’t as fast as the Fast Flight skill would enable, and they weren’t as deadly as the Razor Wing skill would make them, but they were versatile, and most importantly they were affected by my magic. I enjoyed the middle ground I had between caster and warrior, and I intended to keep that, hopefully developing more powerful combination skills. As my magic skills increased, the wings’ abilities would also increase as a consequence of their traits.

I flew through the large expanse, heading for the temple. It was time to clear it, testing my mettle against ideally more powerful monsters. As I flew, I once again marveled at the size of the layer I was on. It was larger than I could fathom any cave system could be, and it had that fantasy vibe that I thought was sorely missing from most of my monster encounters so far. The spiders shrieked and skittered about beneath the mushroom canopy, the noises growing in intensity as I approached the pyramid proper.

After a few minutes of sustained flight, I arrived, landing right before the main steps. The structure rose out of the ground a staggering ten stories and was guarded by a pair of warriors who aggressively charged as soon as I was in sight, screeching their inhuman battle cry. I calmly drew my sword, preparing for their advance. I held it aloft before me, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. I charged my wings with electricity, preparing them for the approaching enemy.

As soon as the spiders were in range, I flared my wings out, buffeting them with sparking energy, before charging in. I had encountered enough of these guys to understand their reactions and attack patterns, so I knew what I was waiting for. The spider rose its rightmost blade, attempting to bring it down in a vertical strike. I stood beneath the attack, and when I was ready, I used my free left hand cloaked in water to blast the attack to the side, leaving the warrior’s fragile head vulnerable.

I attacked, my impressive new sword killing it in one blow.

Its partner arrived, angered by the death of its comrade. With another cry, it too attacked, but it had learned from its friend’s death and held back. As it looked for an opening, I took advantage of the time, charging my wings once more with electricity, and creating a small cluster of icicles. We paced in a circle around each other, both knowing that with a single attack, the fight could be decided. While I could easily kill these spiders now thanks to my improved sword and skills, each attack they launched could also take half of my health if it was a lucky hit.

It seemed the arachnid’s patience was running thin though, as it moved forward to strike me in a rapid charge. It was only ten feet away when it jumped into the air, bringing both of its limbs high into the air to slice me vertically. Seeing yet another opening, I used lightning step to bring me directly under it and struck the underside of its thorax with a deep slash, sending the warrior’s guts flying into the air. The spider screamed yet again, continuing its parabolic trajectory before collapsing on the ground against a mushroom stalk, where it fell silent.

Above me, the towering statue of the Arachne sat atop the stone pyramid. Urns holding glowing mushrooms lit the entire structure, giving it a surreal glow and casting strange shadows about the place. At the foot of the pyramid was an opening, a stairway leading down even further into the depths. More sconces filled with glowing fungi lined the walls, guiding me ever deeper into the earth.

I levitated down the steps, cautious of traps hidden on stairs after my ruin exploration a week or so back in the Temple of Zald’bathatr, or whatever the hell it was called. After a long glide deep underground, I came out in an antechamber. Before me stood the door which would take me back to the hub, marking the end of the floor. The chamber itself was extremely large, the ceiling high above me, fungal chandeliers lighting the room. To my left along the wall was a series of statues, each one depicting a type of spider I had faced up until this point. On the right though there was something… weird.

There was a shack. It was made of planks hewn from mushroom trees and looked like it could fall over with a strong enough breath. The whole thing was wrapped in webs for support, so whoever made it would have had ready access to tons of the stuff. There was a long window across the whole structure, and a sign reading, ‘Fourth Floor Curios; Enough savings you’ll need a ninth leg to help you out the door!’.

Cautiously, I approached the shop. Within was another skullback spider, though it was non-hostile. It appeared to be a drone but was three sizes too big and was covered in a fuzzy coating of hair. It precariously perched atop a stool, using its forelegs to twist a rather impressive curly mustache located where its eyes met its mandibles.

George Hissington II (Skullback Merchant) (Rank 2) – lvl 25

Located on shelves behind it were various bits and bobs from the dungeon, the most impressive of them being large spools of spider silk, a collection of mana and health potions in bottles, and a recipe of some type. I identified both the silk and the recipe to see what they were.

Skullback Worker Silk – silk from the skullback worker, an advanced caste of skullback spider. This silk is extremely tough and can be used to craft strong and light protective gear. Mana Conductivity: intermediate

Spider Priests Robe (recipe) – single-use

“Soooo… is this, like, a shop? What do you sell?”

*Hiss*

“Did you build this place? It looks… nice?”

*Hissss Hiss, Chitter, SCREEECH* (vague leg waving)

“Riiiiight. So, how much for two spools of silk and the recipe?”

The spider held up two legs seven times, counting to fourteen.

“So, fourteen copper?”

*Hiss* The spider shook its head, and appeared to attempt an eye roll.

“Silver?”

*HISSSSS* The spider shook its head again.

“Large Silver.”

*SCREEEECH, Chitter, Chitter* The spider nodded, its whole body shaking and vibrating in delight.

Reaching into my bag, I grabbed 14 large silver and laid them onto the counter. I still had several more, as the eighth floor had been very lucrative. George Hissington II reached a hairy limb over and scooped the coins off the counter. Using his rear legs, he reached back, grabbing two spools of silk and the recipe and placing them into a bag made of also made of woven silk, before handing the whole thing over to me.

As I walked away, I turned and saw George Hissington II happily counting the coins, while waving one of his legs in farewell.

“Bye, George.”

*Hiss!*

I left the floor in a daze, returning to the hub through the towering stone doors.