I found a kind of clarity in giving myself over to my primal instincts. It was as if by letting that part of my mind take over I was also reducing the burden placed on my more rational side. I no longer needed to resist. Reflex controlled my physical actions now, and yet I was not a slavering beast left unable to think.

I wasn’t sure if I was in control, or if the Companion was. There might not even be a real difference between us anymore. We were separate entities, and yet we were also two parts of something more – it was yet to be seen what that something would become.

I could sense the body of the Companion. With its every pulse it drove oxygen into my lungs. It augmented my senses and strengthened my body. I could feel the creature pulling on the eldritch energy around us, strengthening us, and growing its mass as it did so.

The clump of flesh around my face tightened and began to flow downwards over my back and shoulders. Eyes dissolved into protoplasmic bubbles and tentacles merged and lengthened. When the transformation was complete six long tentacles trailed behind me like demonic wings, pumping to propel me through the darkness of the abyss.

A thin clear membrane had been created in front of my face, allowing me to see for the first time since waking. The water was dark, with only the thinnest hints of grainy beams of moonlight cutting through the gloom.

My perception and willpower had recently received a boost, increasing by five when I gained my class and by an additional point at each level up. My perception was increased even further from my connection to the Companion. Even with this boost, however, I couldn’t see more than a few meters in front of me.

My vision was not the only sense that had been enhanced. I still regained the strange sonar-like sight I had experienced earlier. When I closed my eyes faint vibrations in the water would become visible to me as cloudy outlines. The images were like paintings crafted from smoke, hazy and quickly dissipating.

I scanned around myself discovering vast emptiness and a jagged and scarred landscape beneath me. Life was teeming here, but it had retreated and hidden away. Small creatures concealed themselves on the ocean floor, diving into various crevices and holes. I could sense faint movement as water moved around and through these creatures. My senses were strong enough to pick out individual heartbeats and the low hum of water flowing over gills.

The dolphin sized fish had all fled, leaving the strange blob of flesh and tentacles as the only danger.

I could make out its misshapen form and the writhing arteries that madly flailed around it. Some dark instinct in me called out in glee to see the panicked flailing, I sensed injury and desperation, and I felt a primal desire to strike back at my attacker.

I continued to dive deeper, far deeper than any river could ever be. It was hard to tell if this was the terrain warping that seemed to grow stronger as we had grown closer to the dungeon, or if I had been dragged far out to sea. The pressure was immense, and most likely an unenhanced human would be unable to survive under this crushing pressure for long. I could feel the air in my lungs compress, and bones groan in protest.

My physical stats and resistances protected me, but I also suspected that my final class feature was playing a role in my survival. I had yet to work out exactly how the ability worked, but it had the potential to be my most powerful ability - if I could properly understand and harness it.

I opened my status screen, noticing the staggering amount of FP as well as the remaining stats I needed to allocate. Somewhere along the line I had gained two more levels, leaving me seven stat points to allocate.

First, I looked at my fourth, and final, class feature to see if I could gain any further clues as to how it worked. As I did so, my body continued to swim down deeper propelled by the writhing tentacles of my Companion.

Chaotic Mutability Ⓐ - Eldritch energy swims through your every cell, leaving them pliable and easily mutable. Your cells drink in the ambient energy around them changing and evolving over time, giving you the ability to adapt to any environment or challenge. Occasionally, you will take on characteristics and abilities of unique, boss, or raid level monsters that you have slain. Your chaotic nature permeates every part of your being, greatly increasing your resistance to any external abilities that seek to control or predict your actions or thoughts.

I wasn’t sure if it was an upgrade to Reactive Adaptability, but it sure as hell was just as promising. Hopefully I would get more out of it.

Of my seven unallocated stat points I knew that I had to allocate them in multiples of three. There were too many choices, and each time I was about to allocate the points I would freeze. I couldn’t shake the idea that I was making a mistake and somehow gimping myself by not choosing something better.

My own inability to choose was eating away at my confidence, but it was my trust in my friends that finally brought me back to my senses. I didn’t have time to debate and think through each choice, so I would instead choose to follow the advice of someone I trusted. Tiller had advised I put points into will next, so I did.

I was met by the usual congratulations informing me that I had earned a new feat before getting the details.

Iron Will ® - By focusing on the power of will during your earliest training you have learned to infuse will into your every thought and action. You are twice as likely to resist a mental attack or illusion, and mental attacks or illusions created by yourself will be twenty-five percent more powerful.

A solid and easily understood ability. I wished more of them were as obviously useful and clear in their effects.

The remaining four stat points I decided to hold on to until until I could examine my options more closely. I was curious to see what would happen if I could gain the rare feat for each stat, would the system recognize it? It seemed likely that there would be an additional reward, but at the same time gaining them all should be impossible - unless I was not the only one to have avoided the tutorial.

I looked out with my sonar, trying to gauge the distance between my prey and me. I had crossed maybe a quarter of the distance, though the distance now seemed to be growing. The creature had begun to flee, slowly slithering away as it tried to drag its massive body across the sea floor. Despite the apparent slowness of the creature, its massive size meant that every movement carried it a considerable distance.

I increased my speed until I began to gain on the creature once more. Its attempts to flee excited the darkness within me, prompting my Companion to redouble its efforts. This allowed me to continue managing my stats, in a curious division of labor.

My largest resource still remaining was my FP. I had twenty-two points, a number higher than I expected. Checking my skills, I noticed that Eldritch Mimicry had increased by three points, while Eye of Madness had gained a single level. I had gained the final two points by gaining a new skill, Swim ©.

I quickly looked over my list of available feats; Warrior (0/3), Acrobat (0/3), Swordsman (0/5), Defensive Fighting (0/5), Illusionist (0/25), Circle Mage (0/25), Erudite (11/25), Corruption (0/???), Prophet (0/100).

Corruption was new, and I saw absolutely no reason to put points into it. Throwing away good FP just to corrupt myself seemed like a poor trade. It was also disturbing to contemplate why the feat had only just now become available. It was almost as if the system was judging me - or sending me a warning.

Prophet was an enigma, though I could guess it had something to do with my Hierophant class. It was most likely powerful due to its high cost, but that very cost made me ignore it.

Circle Mage was almost as much as a mystery, but Illusionist looked promising. It seemed likely to contain new spells, which would create new FP in a glorious cycle. If I had had enough points to finish it I might have taken it right then and there, just to see if it synergized with Eldritch Mimicry.

Similar feats, such as Hedge Mage, had only given skills but if Illusionist also increased my ability to use illusion then it might increase the strength of the constructs I created with Eldritch Mimicry.

Erudite was the obvious choice, as It was already almost halfway finished, and had previously increased my intelligence stat. It was also the only high-level feat I could complete. I spent the fourteen points needed to purchase the feat, saving the remaining eight.

I smiled as I received four points to my intelligence stat, bringing it up to an even forty and further increasing my physical stats by one each.

Erudite ® - You have chosen knowledge and self-reflection as the path to power. The speed at which you assimilate and internalize knowledge has increased, giving you a further boost to the rate at which you advance skills and acquire new ones. Additionally, the effects of this feat will become greater as you increase your will and intelligence stats.

It wouldn’t immediately impact the battle ahead of me, but it was a welcome ability that seemed a satisfying conclusion to the scholar and able learner feats. I especially liked the way it would continue to grow more powerful as I did.

By this point I had covered almost half the distance to the fleeing creature and was only about ten meters from the sea floor. I could sense the ground vibrating, but It wasn’t clear what was causing it, until several thick tentacles of dark slimy flesh burst from the ground to surround me.

Several more growths shot out from the creature to cut off my escape, caging me off both from below and from above.

I could sense the creature’s movements shift as it stopped fleeing. Instead, it was charging forward at incredible speeds. Far faster than I had believed it capable.

“Well,” I said with a grin. “This ought to be fun.”