FUCK!

The single word resonated through the oasis. My voice was air and earth, vibrating from the depths and booming from above. The grass bent. Small creatures scattered.

A small goblin lifted her head and cursed me back. “Fuck you back, voice!”

Right. That was awake, and-

My hunters were returning. They limped towards the oasis, badly hurt. One supported by the other. It was hardly the triumphant hunt they’d wanted - one of them had a leg that seemed dried up, withered, all the blood sucked away. The other was worse. His sword-arm was broken and badly inflamed, shards of bone biting into the muscle. The other was gloved in brutal burn wounds up to the shoulder.

By the look in his eyes, staring up towards the sky with a fervent expression, his mind was in another place.

Damn damn damn. I had Mana left, yes, but not enough to heal such severe injuries. Which meant my hunters were out of commission.

I only had so much time before the crow was past recovery. I had ground to cover, and much of it was made poisonous by the cursed snow. Frustrated, I tried my luck. I still had a Schema pick from leveling.

O’ Beacon of Civilization in the Wild,

Whose Light Makes the Heavens Cover Their Eyes.

Choose a Schema.

Desert Lion [Unranked] - A smaller breed, this lion’s camouflaged hide and swift pouncing leaps make it an excellent predator. Surprisingly intelligent, they can work in packs to wear down stronger prey.

Strangler Vine [Unranked] - Able to disguise itself as a common vine, this predatory creature grabs and constricts prey with its thorny feelers, using them to incubate its seeds. Adaptable and hardy, it can survive in almost any environment.

Brewer Hornet [Unranked] - The size of a grown man’s hand, this enormous and clumsy hornet feeds primarily on fruit and produces a vicious ferment within a secondary stomach. Its sting delivers pure alcohol into the veins of its victims. Some hedonistic animals will actively harass them in order to become intoxicated.

Saline Ooze [Bronze] - A creature born from toxic salt marshes, this gelatinous being resembles primordial eukaryotes. It moves slowly, has little intelligence, and chiefly hunts burrowing animals who are unable to escape as it pours into their dens. However, its poisonous nature and ability to regrow from scattered pieces make it a resilient survivor.

Stone Hermit Octopus [Bronze] - A solitary ambush hunter that relies on its camouflage, this octopus possesses the ability to turn itself to stone and hibernate for countless years. Some are even said to have survived being swallowed, and emerge whole from their foes belly when a unsuspecting fisherman cuts his prize open.

Whistler Centipede [Bronze] - Growing up to twelve or fifteen feet, this burrowing desert centipede uses a unique organ threaded through its long body to produce a piercing whistle at devastating volume and pitch. Most mammalian creatures that rely on inner ear mechanisms for balance will be incapacitated or severely hindered as this sound interferes.

Damn. Nothing that could help me here. Even the ooze would be unable to move through the deep snow without losing its life. Groaning, I selected the Stone Hermit with an eye towards improving my underwater pool with another stealthy predator, then turned my attention back to the matter at hand.

The goblin was looking around, head darting this way and that as she searched for the source of my voice.

“You a god, voice? I’ve got questions for ya so come out!” She had grasped a tall bit of reed and was using it like a sword, slashing at the grass around her feet.

I sighed. “What do you know about the mountains to the east?” Again my voice rose, coming from everywhere.

“Wha? The roc's mountains? Whatcha care about those for? Nobody’s ever been there and come back.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Nobody ever? Not even before you were born?”

“Well. Some somebody’s probably did. Sometime or other. But a long time ago, like, back when the world wasn’t so shit.” She stared at the statue. Her eyes narrowed. “Y’know, you never said you weren’t a god. Which is suspicious. Normal ungodly people either lie ‘n say yes right away and go for some of that worship, or they say no, but they definitely don’t say nothing.”

“Listen. I am me. I am the oasis. Not a god, nor any other manner of thing you’ve seen in your life. I am a new thing.” I paused and let that sink in. She shook her head sideways and back as if trying to dislodge a thought. “You’re free to stay here. I’ll give you water to drink and food to eat. I could use someone to talk to, even if your manners are atrocious. But right now, I need to find a way into the mountains, so if you can't help then please, please, give me silence and let me think.”

She opened her mouth.

And then, in a mercy I could only attribute to divine intervention, closed it again.

The lemurs sank into my waters, the less injured one holding its brother tenderly, keeping the half-conscious thing from drowning as the oasis lapped over its wounds. Broken, twisted bone and flesh turned the consistency of candle wax by flame.

I couldn’t fix that now. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the clock on the divine protection. I knew I was wasting time here, time I could’ve spent preparing for the real battle, but-

Ramses burbled from the mud. His voice sank into my mind, calming me, that lazy confidence settling over my own anxieties. Think slow. Spend your time as you wish, but don’t waste it going in circles.

I blanked my senses for a moment, retreating into the dark of my own mind. Running over everything I’d learned in a handful of days and nights.

It meant suppressing the urge to panic. Meant holding myself steady as moment after moment slipped free of my hands. Eventually, I had an idea. One that might even work.

One that took more Mana than I had without cannibalizing my creatures. Even if I retreated into a meditative state I’d be giving up half a day or more.

One of the lemurs had already been crippled. Looking at it through cold logic, healing him would cost nearly as much as making a new one. But that was cold, cold, cold logic.

In the background, the goblin fidgeted. She played with the ring around her neck.

The ring made of magical stone. It could only hold two motes of Mana, but its raw materials were worth five times that.

“Do you…” I asked. “Happen to have more rings like that?”

“Like this?” She asked, raising it up to the sun and grinning proudly. “Nah, none of the others shine. Guess they’re broken.” An idle shrug.

“How many ‘broken’ things like that do you have?”

“Ohhh, dunno. Can’t count that high. But they don’t call me Shine-Catch for nothing.”

Yessss. There it was. I'd found my path to victory.