All three of his "named" Titanspawn had shown vast improvements over the last few weeks, partly in thanks to his trait and class and partly thanks to the experiments and examinations he'd performed. A close study of the Titanspawn had shown they bore remarkable similarities to earth species. Specifically, Canid (Beta/Gamma) and Chiroptera (Alpha).

Honestly, he had been expecting something more... alien, but given he was currently in the belly of a giant, evil, but otherwise earthly snake, he assumed it made some sense. They definitely had some other stuff mixed in there as well, making Jonah wonder how such Chimeric genes were even viable, but he chalked it up to more System shenanigans.

At the very least, it gave Jonah a baseline on what to expect and how to handle his new "friends."

The end results of his experimenting showed a noticeable increase in all three's levels, with Alpha being the highest at level 10, Gamma sitting at 9, and Beta a little lower at 8. Alpha and Beta had also increased their rank to D+. In contrast, Gamma had grown to D. The disparity between levels and ranks made Jonah think there was something more going on here than was immediately apparent. Still, like a lot of things recently, he just didn't have information to say what.

That didn't mean he wasn't learning, though. For one, it seemed that his passives not only increased an attuned creature's speed of growth but the quality of that growth as well. The level 10 Alpha, for example, was not only more robust and faster than even the rare level 13 Titanspawns that had started spawning a few days ago, but also more intelligent. If this pattern continued, Jonah suspected it was more beneficial to start them "young" both in level and rank than simply attune the strongest creatures he could find.

Not that he wouldn't attempt to grab that level 40, B rank creature if he could. But given enough time and care, the beast that started off as a puny level 1, E ranked creature would benefit much more from his skills. It even might come to surpass them in strength if trained correctly. It seemed his trait really did "break" their fate as weak creatures.

He was excited to see what could become of them in the future.

Their increased intelligence helped Jonah in other ways as well. While his theoretical limit for attunement was 47 creatures at his current level, Jonah found his actual limit was much lower. He didn't quite understand HOW these connections worked yet, but he did know that each one put an increased strain on his already recovering soul. And that strain only increased as the attuned creatures increased in power and intelligence.

After 10 attunements, Jonah had started to feel a precipitant throbbing in his head. At 13, the throbbing had increased to a piercing headache, and he could have sworn he heard the Titanspawn roaring in his head. This had forced him to break his connection with several of the stronger spawn (which became experience points for Alpha, Beta, and Gamma).

Several tests yielded similar results, and as his Named Titanspawn grew in strength, he found himself having to drop a few more of their lesser kin. It was only after he watched Alpha seeming to direct several spawn to heard others into a trap that something clicked, and an Idea was born.

A General didn't concern himself with every single soldier under him. If he tried to address and command each soldier individually, he'd not have had enough time in the day. In the same manner of thought, he was born with two arms; adding 2-3 was totally fine, it might take a while to learn how to use them, but it was doable. But what if he suddenly grew 10 extra arms? or 100? or 1,000? It would be chaos trying to coordinate and control everything.

Jonah suspected that his attuned creatures were similar. While his Named Spawn were growing intelligent enough to act independently, the others were more akin to puppets, perfectly content to remain still and unmoving unless given a command. Trying to control all of these different minds, no matter how simple they were, was causing undue strain on his brain. But then the question became, how could he reduce the pressure while still making the most of his attunement slots? The answer seemed simple once it came to him.

Do as a General did; Delegate.

He started experimenting with transferring the "connection" to Alpha, first. It took about a week to get it right, but finally, he felt something fall into place, and the thin thread of "something" that connected him to the unnamed Titanspawn slip from him and move to Alpha. He could still tell that the spawn was still "attuned" to him and took up a slot, but it was no longer a direct connection; instead, he could feel it through Alpha's own link.

Like a finger on a hand, or like going through a proxy website to visit another one.

It was an odd feeling, to say the least. But it seemed to work; the new connection was much more stable and less straining than a direct connection, appearing to share the burden with Alpha. Though at the same time, it felt... weaker. He knew he could still directly command the creature, but he felt a bit lag (for lack of a better term) from the command, most likely because his "command" had to travel through Alpha's own connection first. He could also tell that his skills weren't as effective through the new link, like some of their potency was being lost.

On the flip side, Alpha's own connection felt stronger and more sturdy, as if the creature was siphoning off a bit of the lost potency from the new connection. It was very minor, a fraction of a fraction of a percent, but Jonah could see how this might come in handy later. It felt similar to how Jonah gained a (very) small percentage exp from his attuned creature's kills. He quickly delegated several of the lesser Titanspawn to Alpha's command, sighing in relief as he felt the pressure ease off his mind and soul.

Surprisingly, the Names Titanspawn seemed to be able to connect to slightly more minions than himself, capping out at 16 before Alpha started to mentally complain about the strain. Whether this resulted from sharing the burden with Jonah, or if their similar minds made them more compatible with directing other Titanspawn, Jonah didn't know. Still, it was something to keep in mind for the future.

Knowing what to do now, Jonah delegated the remaining Titanspawn to Beta and Gamma's command as well, slowly building up each unit until he approached his hard cap on slots. Even with the delegated connections, the strain still took some getting used to, but between his pain resistance and willpower, it only too a week or two before he barely noticed it. Still, he left several slots free to reduce the strain and save room if he came across something interesting.

And just like that, four more months passed.

Jonah's "Garden" had started to show results, with both the "Pomme du cœur" and the "Head of Carnage" having already matured. The Pomme du cœur, true to the item description, came out looking like some kind of diseased, pus-filled tumor. It's vile appearance almost made the man throw them away, thinking he might have done something wrong, but a quick check with his Index showed they were perfectly healthy.

Pomme du cœur

Rank - C

Fully mature Pomme du cœur, grown and harvested with love and care. Despite the fleshy outer skin, the Pomme du cœur is actually a tuber and can be boiled, mashed, fried, or eaten raw. Traditionally, the tuber is sliced thinly, fried, and served with a condensed sauce made from the blood of the creature it was grown in. Many others prefer it raw as well, though it's recommended to remove the outer "skin" as many species find its slimy, fleshy texture unpleasant.

Following the Index's instructions, Jonah removed the disgusting, pulsing skin to reveal a somewhat small, surprisingly average looking, but blood-red sweet potato-shaped Tuber. Jonah had hesitated for a moment before taking a small bite, then nearly fell into a pool of acid as his legs grew weak.

Maybe it was just his body reacting to the first starch it had in months after nothing but snake meat. Or perhaps the "potatoes'" C-rank wasn't just for show, and it really was as popular as the description suggested. Whatever the case, it was by far one of the best things he had eaten. It was crisp and juicy like an apple but held a sweet, creamy, earthy flavor that reminded him of high-quality mushrooms and sweet potatoes. As soon as it entered his mouth, it seemed to melt away, flowing down his throat like thick, rich milk and eliciting a small, primal moan from the young man.

His eyes flashing like a ravenous beast, Jonah quickly devoured the rest of the small potato before grabbing a second and then a third. He had to finally stop after the third, not only out of concern for his short supply but because of how dangerously bloated he felt. Though only slightly smaller than his fist, Jonah still felt as if he'd eaten an extensive 6-course meal (or two) after only having eaten 3 of them.

Even after a long jog around the stomach and a heavy round of exercise, Jonah still felt overly stuffed but strangely full of energy. It seemed he would have to go easy on these strange tubers from now on. He selected several of the larger, healthier-looking ones and quickly divided them into several pieces, preparing them to be replanted, and stored the rest.

The "Heads of Carnage" had been trickier to harvest and process. He'd nearly lost a hand the first time he'd tried to harvest them, as every time he approached the vicious-looking plants, their razor-sharp leaves would rattle and spin at high speeds, reminding him of a blender.

It was only after he noticed that the plants seemed to have a short "cool down" period after they stopped spinning. During this period, he could reach into their center and pluck their shiny black "seed" pod, after which they went inert and were safe to harvest.

Leaves of Carnage

Rank - D+

Leaves of a Head of Carnage that has rooted itself in the body of a large beast. Having gorged itself on the creature's blood and flesh, this particular plant's leaves have grown plump and nutritious. Their fibrous and chewy texture hasn't garnered many fans in the galactic community, making the leaves themselves hard to find on the open market. None the less, they are popular with military forces as a meat substitute since they contain many of the same proteins and materials as the flesh of common prey animals. The few fan communities that sing its praise recommend frying or boiling the leaves as you would a steak or roast.

Even after trying to cook the leaves with a well placed and heavily reduced flame from [Breath of the Ancients], Jonah had to admit... he wasn't a fan. They reminded Jonah of soggy cabbage from a slightly overdone roast, but with the texture of soft beef jerky. They combined to create a strange experience that, while not terrible, wasn't anything compared to the Pomme du cœur.

Surprisingly, however, the Titanspawn seemed to love them. While they didn't seem to mind sustaining themselves on the flesh of their former master and their Kin that spawned from the spawn points, they took a particular liking to the strange Veggie. Both Alpha and Beta had devoured half of one of the large, basket sized Heads themselves, while Gamma had eaten the remaining one all by himself. The remaining Titanspawn had fought (rather viciously) over the few smaller sprouts that had popped up along their root systems.

Seeing how well they had taken to them, Jonah transplanted the root bulbs to a new "field" and used the collected seed pods to plant a few more, all the while Gamma sat nearby staring and drooling. Once planted, the armored Dog creature took to guarding the fields with surprising vigor, viciously chasing off any other Titanspawn that might wander to close.

The next few weeks had dragged on slowly, as Jonah worked on rebuilding and upgrading his camp, while the Titanspawn slowly grew in level and power.

Their months of training had paid off immensely. Even with the experience slip among so many Titanspawn, Jonah's skills ensured that they grew at a steady rate. Alpha had just hit level 15, with Gamma not far behind at level 14. Beta was slightly behind at level 12; however, this might have to do more with its Pack Hunter nature, as both its skill levels and the average level of those under its command were higher than the other two.

Alpha's pack averaged around level 8 and was made up of mostly Stalkers and Hounds. The Hounds were used to harass and pressure their prey, while the Stalkers actively herded them towards Alpha's trap, as the camouflaged Stalker lay and wait. It was by far the most coordinated and organized Jonah had ever seen the Titanspawns, and the intelligent gleam he'd sometimes see in the Stalker's eyes as it looked at his, honestly scared the former veterinarian. He'd worked with many different kinds of creatures in his career, but he'd never quite seen a look so... clear before in any creature but humans.

Beta was much closer to what he'd come to expect from the Titanspawn. The much more animistic creature reminded Jonah of an alpha wolf and his pack. Beta was a harsh alpha and kept his pack, who averaged between level 10 and 11, in line with force and violence. Violence that he wasn't afraid to use on their prey, either. The sight of a dozen lizard-dogs charging at their target, viciously ripping bits and pieces away in a mindless blood frenzy, still sent shivers down Jonah's spine. When he wasn't madly tearing was could probably be considered his cousins to pieces, Beta's mannerisms were strikingly similar to a dog's. He would often catch the lizard-dog goofily chasing his tail around in circles for hours on end or find the creature interrupting his work, demanding to be pet.

Gamma was by far the most mellow of the three. He would often stand still as a statue for hours, guarding the field where the Heads of Carnage were planted. He seemed content to let his pack of Hounds govern themselves, and a pecking order within had quickly developed. Despite this, the group seemed to instinctively understand who was in charge, as the pack's "Leader" would often leave offerings at the feet of the armored Beast. While hunting at their own spawn points, Gamma would often take the lead, charging forward with abandon and relying on his heavy mass and armored body to command the prey's full attention. The rest of the pack would then circle around and attack where and when they could. This more coordinated meant conservative style meant that most of Gamma's pack hovered around level 9, with the "lead" Hound only recently breaking level 10.

For all of Gamma's mellowness, however, it wasn't hard to forget that he was still a Titanspawn at heart. Jonah still remembered the fates of an unfortunate Stalker and Hound who had, in their fight over a choice scrap, fell into the fields and crushed a budding Head of Carnage. Gamma's wrath had been immediate and brutal, with the creature's remains being used to "feed" the remaining plants. Alpha had seemed annoyed at losing one of his Stalkers but hesitated to make his displeasure known, opting instead to glare at the unflinching Bone Beast for the rest of the week.

And now, a year after "The Game" started, something had changed.

How did Jonah know it had been a year? Without any clocks, Calendars, or other such devices?

That was because of the screen that had awoken him yesterday. The screen was much more flamboyant and gaudy than the standard screen, reminding Jonah more of the screens they had first seen at the start of "The Game," with streamers and confetti blowing off the edges on some unseen wind.

!! CONGRATULATIONS NATIVE SPECIES OF SOL-003 !!

It's been a Hard and Eventful Year since this season of "The Game" began! But I am proud to say that this is one of our top-rated seasons from this sector so far! Congratulations are in order!

To celebrate everyone's hard work making it to your first Anniversary and to spice things up a bit, your gracious and benevolent Gamemaster has decided to give everyone a little gift.

[Congratulations! You have been awarded Fragments x200]

Now, now, I know what you must be thinking. "But most handsome and funny of Gamemasters, what are Fragments?!"

Simple, my friend. Fragments are ... Fragments. Hahahahhaha! Specifically, they are fragments of Space-Time, condensed and crystallized after a Realm or similar space-time anomaly collapses. More importantly, they are the standard unit of exchange and trade within the greater Laniakea supercluster.

SEE! Everyone likes New Years Money!

You're Welcome.

They have a few "other" uses as well, but now, that's for YOU to discover!

Now, your next question is probably "But all Powerful Gamemaster! While I am grateful for your most wonderful of gifts, my greedy and selfish heart wishes for more! How do I obtain more of these Fragments?"

Good question, my Boy!/Girl!/Other!

That's the Spice!

Fragments can be obtained in three ways.

1st: Sell! Sell! Sell! Not only are you encouraged to trade and sell among your fellow contestants, but once you've unlocked the Fragment Shop, you will be able to sell items directly to your local friendly System approved merchants. Those with the right Galactic connections may even find their selling and buying options expanded. So be sure to give everyone a good show and attract the right people!.

2nd: Sponsorships! As I'm sure the more... entertaining of you have noticed already, our watching Sponsors are more than willing to share their wealth to those who catch their eyes. And from today forward, this included Fragments. I'm sure that many of you are already noticing the stream trickle in. Everyone got to put bread on the table, so if you really want to make those stacks, be sure to give the people what they want!

3rd: Dungeons! *Cough* I mean, Realms! Realms are pocket Dimensions, small pieces of pinched off space separated from our Reality by the Great Chasm of Space-Time (often simply called the "Vale"). When a Realm rubs up against the Vale in juuuust the right way, doors can form between our Universe and these Realms.

These doorways can cause significant disturbances and chaos wherever they appear, and the System rewards those brave enough to venture into these Realms and close these doorways with Fragments, the left behind energy generated by its closes. Or, in more extreme cases, a Realms collapse. Be careful, however, Realms are dangerous places, and their size can vary between small, modest caves or houses to entire Galaxies.

And if the door closes behind you? Well, good luck. No telling when the next doorway might open... Or where.

So go out there, my Contestants! Gather those Fragments in whatever ways you wish!

For Power!

For Wealth!

For Glory!

FOR THE GAME!

Just as the post had mentioned, Jonah saw several smaller screens off to the side. Pulling them up, he slowly read them.

Slasherlover72 has sent you 1 Fragment

Don't think I've forgotten what you did to Jasmine, you Bastard! I know where you sleep! So you'd better sleep with one eye open!

Accept? Y/N WatchingYou has sent you 100 Fragments

|_+)

Accept? Y/N

WarMachineAlpha has sent you 150 Fragments

Duuuuude, this is trippy as hell. Wait till I tell Jīshí!

Accept? Y/N

A dozen more screens floated by with varying amounts. Ignoring the strange messages, Jonah added them all up and saw a his Fragment count increase by another 572 on top of the 200 "gifted" by the Gamesmaster. He had no idea whether or not this was high or low amount, but simply what it represented, started the gears turning in his head.

What both surprised and chilled him the most, however, was the last message. Its eerie red letters and black glow were all to familiar.

̴̨̨̢̧̧̨̠͔͈̦͎͖̺̞̠̙̭̣̹̣̭̥̦̟̮͙͓̖͎̻̱̩̖̜͍̟̪̝̬̙͐̈́͗̈̈͐͂̈́̌͐͛̊̀̍̆͜͝͝ͅ¡̸̧̧͚̣͚͉̗̩͖͈̋̋̓̆͌̀͋̿̅͋̇̎̈́̓̏͌̕ǝ̷̧̨̧̯̣͔̘̲͈̗͈̲̜̣̹̺̱̝̘͓̣̻͚͖̺̼̻̣̰͚̠͉̣͉̈́͋̅̋͛̑̃͊̿̉̌̀̈̈́̍̾̉̾͒͂̃͑̇͂̈́̊̈́̐̚̚̚̕͜ͅͅͅͅͅW̸̡̨̛̪̜̯̮̦̘̞̝̱̙̱͚̳̖̼̥̾͗̃͗̇̓͆̀̽͌̌̋̒͛̾̂̈͋͌̊̃̇̒̈̋͋̀̊̉̇̈́̃̓̔͛͐̕͜͝ ̷̡̡̬̜̹̗̩̜̝̺̦̗̘̩͎̖̺̳̗̝̦̹͈̖̰͈̗̦̟̭͎̥̞̟̻̠̱͎̫̜͎̀̂͌͐͊́̍́̾̐͋͋̋͑̀͐̊̽̿̏̕̚̕̕͜ERorrrrorḑ̷̢̡̧̛̛͔̙̗͈̯͔̜̝͕͍̬̳̼͕͕̤̘̦̖̩̠̞̠͔̞͎̟̤̼̗̖̗̤̳̖͑̐̀́̉͆̂͋̽͊̾̒̓̃̊̉̽̈̒̀̍͗͋͒͋̌͐̌̑͌̐̕͘͘̚̚̕͝ͅl̸̙̖̰̙͉͌̀͗̾̏͐̈͂̎́̅͗͂͗͘͘ǝ̸̡̢̧̡̰̳̘̖̫̺̝͍͍̬̻̞̦̰̗̻͕͊̈͆̿͆̽͗̏̏̍̓̀͗͌̌͌̓̾̆͆̌̊̂̍̈́̾̓̓̈́̕̕͜Ḩ̶̡̥̱̺͕̟͓̖͚̮͖̮̘̥̖̖̬̟͔̳͔͍̠̳̾̊̇̈́̋̇͆̓ Has summoned a Realm Gate to your Location.

˙̶̝̯͆̄̊̅̚ǝ̴͈͔͈̫̲̤͖̬̫͋̏͜ͅʇ̸̡̻͖͍͖̪͎̼̍̑́́͛̂͘̚ɐ̷̟̰͖̯̦̿͆́͌̏͋̅̽̊̔͠͝ͅפ̴̡͕͚̺͉̩̣͚̘͖̞̌̅͜͝ ̸̛̣̟͔͕̣̠̓͐̽̔̔̋͂̓̊̀̈̅̊́ǝ̶̛̠͔̺̟̏̋̈́͊͌͘̕ɥ̴͓̬̬̈́̈́̏̈́̇̀͋̒̆͊̈́͘͝͠ʇ̴̝̣̦̳͇̼͈̍̀ ̸̡̫̩̣̩̩̭̞͓̩͗̈́͂̌̈́͐͊̆̎͘ Do you want power? ɹ̶̭̯͗͆̔͆͊͂̎̓̊͂͜ǝ̴̼̱͍͕̻̺̲͓̥͔̀̈́̑̏̽̽̆́͗́̀̕͝ʇ̵̧̣͕͖͇͍̫̮͔̅̔͐͜ù̸̝̣̦̖̯̫̮̳̯͇̼̅͊͗̄̅́̅̎̆̆́̔̃͑ͅǝ̸̝͕͕̗͙̲̓̒̈̓̅̈́̈̑̄̕͝ ̵̡̥̹̞̦̩̗̭̫̖̻̋̈̎̿͊̓̿̍̇́u̴͖̝̮͚̬̜̜̤͂̈́̐̄̔͊̀͂̇̋̕͘̚͝ͅǝ̶̪̫̗̌́͗̄͆̄͘ɥ̴̛͎̪̩͔͖̖̮̤̞̹̙̈́̊̎̈̕͘͠┴̸̢̿̃͌

This message didn't even give a confirmation message like the others. Simply shattering in an explosion of pixels and glitching numbers. The weird pixels then froze in place and shot towards Alpha's personal spawn point, swirling and drilling into the glowing spawn point as it twisted and writhed, as if trying to resist whatever was happening to it.

Then all at once, the spawn point exploded in a shower of mana.

When Jonah's eyes had cleared, he saw the spawn point had fundamentally changed. It was no longer a swirling vortex of chaotic mana but instead appeared like a large doorway, its crisp edges ringed by some kind of pure white crystal. It was much larger than the spawn point, easily topping 5 meters tall and 3 meters wide. Through the newly formed doorway, Jonah could make out the form of a distant forest.

Now, the next day, Jonah stood on the platform overlooking the small army of attuned Titanspawn. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma stood in front of a small group of 13 spawn each, as they stared with barely contained excitement at the large, pulsing portal in front of them. Jonah pulled up the screen in from of him once more, going over the details.

Honestly, his gut told him this was a bad idea.

The sponsors as a whole didn't strike him as a very ... benevolent group. Everything they did seemed to be just for their own entertainment, whether that be helping or harming. No, he couldn't trust a group like that. But that didn't mean he couldn't milk them for all they were worth. They wanted a show? They wanted to be entertained? Fine, he would give them a "show." But it would cost them. For now, in items and time and money. Later? In Blood.

How about now?

Are you not entertained?

Primeval Forest of the Serpentkin

Rank D+ Unsealed Realm

Zone Type - Raid

Average Level - 10

An Ancient Forest heralded as the ancestral home of the Serpentkin. Unlike their space-faring cousins, the tribesmen that still call this forest home are primitive and simple. Don't let this simplicity fool you however; they remain powerful warriors who constantly seek to sharpen their blades on worthy foes, or none are available, each other. Rumors have it that any who wandered unawares into their territory, will soon find themselves offered up to the Primordial Snake Spirit who dwells in the heart of their Temple.

Raid Objective - Infiltrate the Temple of the Abyssal Serpent, through force or guile, and stop its ascension into a Flood Dragon.

Raid Bonus (optional) - Successfully slay the Abyssal Serpent and banish it back to its domain.

Raid Failure - The Abyssal Serpent successfully ascends.

Raid Rewards - 3 x D-Rank Omnitokens. 1,000 Fragments. Access to Fragment shop. Serpent's Blood (D-Rank Trait).

Bonus Objective Rewards - 20m2 of [Abyssal Serpent Leather], Serpent's Spirit Gem (C-Grade), 2,000 Fragments.