Chapter 16, Reborn with pleasure

Running in an almost frantic manner I make my way up the tunnel. When the tunnel walls turn from rock to gravel and finally dirt, about 10 hours of constant running after my goodbye with the orc, I’m all giddy with excitement and slight trepidation. Where will I come out? Will the world look the same after all this time? I haven’t met anyone else yet and I start to think that I won’t have to explain my presence here to anyone.

Half an hour later I see light ahead of me, coming out around a bend 100 meters further up the tunnel. Increasing from running to sprinting I make my way towards the bend and have to run on the wall to keep my balance and not lose any speed. I can see rays of sunlight in front of me and without slowing down I burst out from a hole covered in foliage.

It’s glorious. I close my eyes, not ready to see my surroundings yet, and just drink in the warmth penetrating my skin. It must be close to noon as the rays shine brightly from above. I hear different birds singing and the sound of a brook not far away, splashing in that energized way they always seem to do in spring and after rainfall. Leaves rustle in a slight breeze and the chill brought by the wind is just the right temperature to complement the feeling of the sun. Not too cold or too warm but refreshing and just right.

My sense of smell is bombarded with a lot of information that takes Ari a little while to sort out with reference to our memories. There's the unmistakable smell of late spring in the air, the smell of fresh grass and vegetation just having gone into full activity in preparation of the approaching summer. I disperse my boots and socks, falling into the soft, slightly wet grass, curling the smooth blades between my toes and enjoying the feeling of damp earth beneath me.

Ari finally managed to parse the last smell as petrichor and I reason that this might just be a slightly chilly day in the early summer and not spring. Not ready for the sights yet I disperse the rest of my clothes, sheaths and daggers before falling back splayed out in the short grass. There are a few scratchy twigs that I have to move out from underneath me but when it’s only me, the grass, the earth and the sun I feel at peace.

I lay there nude with my eyes closed, drinking in the feelings as I silently cry golden tears of happiness, sadness and pain. It’s been so long since I’ve felt anything this varied in stimulation. The best I could hope for down in the dungeon was a new type of gore to smell and coat myself in.

As a fluffy white cloud covers the earth and me in a light shadow I finally sit upright. Slowly, ever so slowly I open my eyes. My tears renew their flow as I watch the different colors getting calibrated to match what I can remember and I just sit there for a while. I look at the tree trunks and grass in my immediate surroundings before I make my way in an almost beastly crawl towards the nearest trunk and place a smooth hand against its bark.

This one’s a pine tree.

I can feel its shedded needles piercing my legs and bottom but I’m too entranced to care. The feel of the bark is nostalgic as I used to play around one of these trees when I was younger. It’s a faded and random memory but it keeps my hand placed against the gnarled surface for some time.

Having had my fill of nostalgia I start looking around and drinking in my surroundings in full. I just want to sit here and enjoy this moment forever but I need to make sure I’m not in any immediate danger. Standing up I brush the prickly pine needles from my lower half before walking back to where I had been born anew. The sun is back out from behind the small cloud and its rays shine down at the foliage covered hole I had emerged from.

It’s really well hidden and the orcs must keep their tracks covered as there’s really nothing to suggest an entrance to a dungeon or an orc city here. As I look up from the hole I take in as much as possible of the view before me. I’ve emerged into a forest of old and twisted pines and green leafed young trees. I’m at the edge of the mountains and I see several of the high peaks behind me, reaching for the sky with even a few piercing the clouds further into the rocky region.

The sun seems to have risen behind the mountains and I can therefore conclude that I’m currently west of the mountain region I entered. This area wasn’t part of the Riverflow Kingdom last I remember and if I want to make my way back there I’d have to go southeast.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it, Ari?”

There is no answer.

“Ari?”

Still no answer.

“Ari?? What’s wrong?”

Like a damn crumbling, a confused, happy and overwhelming mix of both good and bad feelings stream into my mind. Ari must have tried to keep it all in to let me enjoy myself alone for a time.

“This, this, I can’t, it’s too much. Too much, I say. I don’t even know where to begin. Help me, Zel.”

Feeling the distress emanating from my other half I sit down, close my eyes and cover my ears. It leaves me vulnerable but I have to try and make Ari calm down and get a grip once again and all this sudden stimulation clearly isn’t something she’s ready for.

“Calm down, Ari. Shut down all our senses if you need to and just take a breath. Breathe.”

I also send it as a mental push, nearing a command, towards Ari to get her to focus on something else and it seems to work.

“I’m sorry, Ari. I hadn't thought about how this would be the first time you experienced the outside world and not from our memories. Of course it would be different and I was stupid to not realize it sooner.”

Sending calming waves towards Ari she begins to calm down after a few minutes of me silently holding her in a mental embrace.

“I’m sorry Zel. I didn’t want to ruin your metaphorical rebirth and I silently tried bearing it without telling you of my struggle.”

“It’s alright. We’ll take however long we need to get you acclimatized to all this.”

“There’s really no way for me to describe it but reliving our memories of the world outside the dungeon was kind of like looking through a window. It showed me everything you had collected and stored as memories but it was always filtered through your own lens.

"I didn’t think of how it would be to experience it for the first time personally. It’s absolutely wonderful but too much at the same time. You’ll need to give me a few hours to just get the hearing and touch under control.”

I patiently wait as Ari gets everything back in order and an hour later she’s ready to start with our vision. I slowly open my eyes and let a little light at a time enter before my eyes are fully open once more. This time I can feel Ari being a bit pressured but still keeping everything under control as she adjusts to all the new sensory information. It takes two whole hours of sitting still and looking around me until Ari says she’s ready.

Standing up once more I stretch my back and luxuriate in the afternoon sun. It’s still warm enough to be comfortable while naked. Sitting still with my eyes closed only hearing nature and the brook nearby had been tantalizing and I planned on exploring the feeling of real water against my skin next.

Making my way through the woods parallel to the mountains southwards I soon come upon a crystal clear brook of what must be run off water from the mountain next to me. I walk up to it and study my reflection in the rippling water, golden slightly glowing irises stare back at me from beneath my reflected ample and firm bosom. I look as beautiful as I remember, if not even more so with my new eyes, and the dirt on my skin doesn’t take that impression away.

I slowly place my hand into the water flowing by me and it’s cold, very cold in fact. The brook isn’t very large, only about a meter wide and half that deep and I lower myself slowly into it both to give myself time to enjoy it and to give Ari time to adjust.

Once I’m sitting down in it I slowly start splashing water on myself and scrubbing the dirt away. Once I’ve had enough of that I lower myself to my back, barely keeping my head above with the flow going past my shoulders and down my legs. Taking a wholly unnecessary breath I plunge my head down the last way and stay underwater for a few seconds before reemerging.

Standing up I dust a few grains of sand off my bottom before stepping up on the bank of soft lime green grass. I almost lazily manifest a thick blanket of the silken arcane material used in my panties before spreading it out on the grass next to the brook and sitting down upon it, facing the afternoon sun.

I just sit there enjoying myself, feeling my stiff nipples that refuse to go soft after the cold bath tingle slightly in the soft breeze. I lower myself to my back when my hair goes from soaked to damp and spread out my limbs to feel the grass outside the blanket’s reach. As I feel my nipples still refusing to go soft even as the rest of me starts getting dry and warm again I reason that a little celebratory pleasure wouldn't go wrong at an occasion such as this.

I grip my left nipple between two fingers before pinching slightly, eliciting a surprised moan as the feeling is much stronger than I’m used to. I can really get behind this kind of sensory calibration.

Grabbing my right breast with my other hand I feel the soft flesh fill my hand to the breaking point, barely contained as I massage it and squeeze gently. I can feel myself getting wet almost at once and move my left hand slowly down my stomach, enjoying the journey.

Spreading my legs I massage the inside of my thigh for a little while before moving my fingers down to my pearl. I keep my pace slow, enjoying every moment of it as the sun warms my insides and my pleasure slowly makes its way down my slit, sticking to my skin as it runs between my cheeks and onto the blanket.

I moan while softly massaging my firm breasts, pinch my rock hard nipples and rub my clit. My fingers slowly make their way down into my slit as I keep on my rubbing with a thumb, stroking my insides. Taking my hand out from between my thighs and lifting it to my face I smell it and am pleased by the correct erotic smell making itself known. I lick the slick fluid off my fingers and moan once more as the taste hits my tongue.

Getting my hand back where it belongs I increase my tempo and pressure while keeping the massage of my breast at a slow rhythm. My right hand wanders to other places at some points in my journey of pleasure but it’s not really a conscious decision, only carnal lust having gotten a firm grip on me.

Letting out my loudest moan yet I collapse back down on my back, heaving for breath with legs shaking from overstimulation. I lick my fingers clean while savoring the taste as my heart rate slowly makes itself back to normal levels.

“Holy shit, Zel. That was so good. If the sun wasn’t going down over the treetops I’d have convinced you to continue whatever magic you're working.”

My only answer is another moan as Ari gives her praise and sends me a mental kiss. I’m so out of it after that trip in heaven I can almost swear I taste Ari’s lips against mine, which is just crazy. Might be some sensory fuckery on Ari’s end since that’s her area of expertise.

As everything my body expels is mana there’s nothing to clean up after the hour long session. Only waiting a few minutes is enough for the liquid to dissipate leaving me as clean as I was walking out of the brook. Standing up I once more stretch, leaning forwards like a cat and splaying my legs in what could only be called a provocative stance.

I take to stretching my hamstrings, inner thighs and back muscles before raising myself up in a movement fast enough to make my still slightly pink breasts bounce violently. I’d heard something and it better not be someone sneaking a look at me.

It’s not like I’m shy. I have the body of a goddess, made to be seen, and not showcasing it isn’t doing anyone a favor. But being caught pleasuring myself and in such a vulnerable state is still unpleasant. I wouldn’t mind someone watching if they just announced themselves beforehand.

Dispersing the blanket, manifesting my clothes and daggers I make my way towards where the noise came from. I approach slowly and silently before enhancing my speed and rushing towards a bush. It’s lucky I’m expecting something of less than nefarious intentions as I just manage to stop myself from piercing the brain of a boy with his pants down. Looking at me with terrified eyes still gripping his rock hard member in one hand.

He can’t be more than 13 or 14 years of age with barely any stubble on his chin. The boy is frozen like prey caught by a predator and his mouth is working soundlessly while he keeps stroking himself. His brain must have stopped working from fear.

Noticing the golden glow on his face even though I should be casting him in shadow with the sun behind me I realize that I must have instinctively turned my eye glow all the way up to blazing sun status. I probably look quite terrifying leaning over him with a dagger nearly piercing his brain and eyes blazing while the sun behind me casts a shadow over my face.

Lowering the glow of my eyes and manifesting sheaths for my daggers I slip them in smoothly while leaning back from him.

“Like what you saw, farmboy?”

He looks like the usual farmhand teen. I have no idea if that’s what he actually is but his simple tunic and pulled down pants sure give that impression. What he is doing in the middle of the forest is anyone’s guess. His mouth still works soundlessly and I put on a slight grin as I look down, giving him an ultimatum.

“You’ll have to sheath your own dagger if you don’t want me to pull out mine again.”

Going scarlet in the face the boy finally stops stroking himself and hurriedly pulls up his pants at a frankly impressive speed. He fumbles with a cord trying to tie his pants on correctly but his erection gets in the way. Taking pity on the poor boy I turn around to give him a little privacy. Most people are a lot shyer than me and the first scare I gave him was enough of a punishment.

Once his rustling cloth finally settles down I turn back around, still a grin on my face, but before I can say anything else the farmhand hurriedly bows. No, he prostrates himself to me.

“Please forgive me! I didn’t mean to, I was just wal-”

“You didn’t mean to furiously masturbate to my perfect form, splayed out erotically and showing my whole self to the world while moaning and shivering in pleasure. Is that what you’re telling me? I don’t believe you.”

I interrupt his stammering apology with my arms crossed. It’s fine if he got to sneak a peek but to say that he didn’t mean to while obviously having been watching for quite a while, going by the stains on his pants, is just insulting to me.

“Yes, I mean no! I did and I’m ashamed to admit it. Forgive me. I have a little sister and she needs me to provide for her. Don’t kill me. Please!”

“Well that's good. You should have just said it was the horniest you’d ever been in your life and I’d be on my way. I won’t kill you, don’t worry.”

His face goes even redder but the lack of denial is satisfactory enough.

“How about you do me a favor as repayment for the show? You live nearby, yes?”

“Ye, Yes that’s right. Just outside of this forest an hour's walk southwest from here.”

“Alright, good. Then could you point me in the direction of the nearest town or city to the south or southeast of here?”

He looks up at me, slightly confused but clearly thinking hard. A few seconds of thought later before his eyes land on my breasts and quickly return to the earth, he answers.

“It’s probably White Rock town if you want to go southeast. It's a 5 day journey by cart on the roads southwest of this forest.”

“How long if I cut through the forest if you had to guess?”

“Umm. About 3 days maybe. There aren’t any dangerous monsters this far down and to the west of the mountains as far as I know. You should be able to go straight southeast from here. You might go too far east though so I’d recommend going south first and then east once you come upon a road.”

“Thanks. Consider your debt paid. I won’t come after your soul. Goodbye!”

I give a short wave before enhancing my legs and jumping 10 meters away over the brook and disappearing between the trees in a flash. I hear a slightly shrill question of what I meant by coming after his soul from the boy disappearing out of sight but Ari and I simply chuckle at our little farewell gift of paranoia I left him with.

I continue bounding through the trees with the slowly setting sun at my right barely making its way through the thick canopy. Finding a good spot for a rest, not that I physically need it, on the top of a small hill with a lone tree giving a good view out over the forest I settle in for the night, leaning my back against the tree while looking out over the emerald canopy and the now crimson orb disappearing behind the horizon.

The birds are quieting and preparing to settle in for the night while a thick layer of dark gray clouds roll down from the north. It smells like possible rain tonight but there’s a chance it will pass and drop its burden further south.

“Isn’t this the life, Ari?”

“Yeah it is. I would be able to stay like this forever with a few breaks for pleasure now and then of course.”

I chuckle at that. Ari seems to have become even more lustful than me over time. Not that I mind it as it’s good for spicing things up a little.

“Do you want us to find some real dick when reaching White Rock Town, Ari? You know we haven’t had any before.”

“No, I think [Arcane Manipulation] should suffice for quite a while yet. We could probably do a lot more with it than we’ve done so far.”

“I agree. I was just curious if our views differed on the matter. I might be tempted if we find someone as attractive as ourselves though.

"Lean muscles carved to perfection, standing next to a waterfall completely nude with a rock hard, giant cock with the sun practically glinting off a strong jawline. Golden eyes piercing our soul, making us want and making us need.”

We giggle like fools at that imagery but neither can we deny that we’d probably go for it.

“We’re such perverts.”

The sun has now set and the moon and stars are covered by the cloud layer making it almost pitch black. I’m currently using the glow of my eyes to make out my immediate surroundings but I want to have a real campfire for when sitting like this out in the wild. If I only plan to use my eyes for light I could as well be making my way towards the town instead of sitting still.

“Arcane flames. Think it’s possible to create anything like that?”

“Probably. It won’t be real fire but we could probably create something convincing enough to fool anyone without high enough [Mana Sight] or [Mana Sense].”

“Yes, we probably could but I have a better idea. Celestial flames.”

“You mean golden flames, Zel?”

“Well you were the one to name our golden blood celestial blood so I was just sticking to the theme.”

“Touché. That might be pretty I guess. How about its heat? Should it be hotter than normal fire? It would be lame if our glorious celestial flames didn't burn any hotter than normal fire.”

“How about making it sticky instead? Like it attaches even to non-flammable material and keeps burning for a while. Could be useful for prolonged damage against larger enemies.”

“That’s quite good. I like that more. We’d want to keep the celestial fire at a normal heat for our campfire.”

“We might make modifications in the future to make it hotter but for now let’s stick with golden, sticky and hot like normal fire.”

We set to creating the new mana structure. We’d seen enough fire magic in the dungeon from the few goblin shamans we came across and that cursed fire mage orc with his insidious emerald flames. The structure we come up with takes inspiration from both the normal and emerald flames with our own added modifications for making it sticky and golden.

The stickiness was hard to get right but we finally created an overlapping structure on top of the first one that uses the energy of the celestial flames as fuel to bind every particle of flame to anything that isn’t itself. We could probably even burn fire with this as arcane is literally nothing like natural flames.

The mana cost for manifesting the flames and keeping them going in the normal size of a campfire is quite large but not unbearable with our [Wisdom]. It’s also beautiful. We don’t have any wood to burn so there’s no smoke after the first grass burned away but the flames flickering back and forth in different shades of golden luminosity, spreading its warm and almost holy light around the hilltop is good enough in our eyes.

We’d have to get some wood when we got a new storage ring to use as fuel or make an arcane axe to cut down logs. The lack of smell of burning wood and its crackling pops makes the fire seem a bit shallow in comparison to its normal counterpart. It’s a start at least and if we kept refining it we might even get it as a skill one day.

We sit there for a few hours and stare into the flames swaying in the breeze, listening to the nocturnal wildlife waking up. There’s an owl nearby, hooting and I even see a bat pass by overhead at the edge of our campfire’s light. A buck making its monstrous bellow precedes the coming of a light drizzle but the canopy of the oak above us on the hilltop keeps it away. It’s cozy to listen to the raindrops hitting the leaves as the campfire warms us.

“I know I asked you to put our points into [Wisdom] before we met up with Archetkzo but we haven’t looked at the notifications yet. There was just so much going on up until now.”

“Yes, now would be a good time to remedy that.”

Ding! You have slain [Warrior - Level 64]. Less experience awarded.

…

Ding! You have slain [Warrior - Level 91]. More experience awarded.

Ding! [Mana Machine] has leveled from [78] to [87]. +[45 AP].

Ding! [Mana Machine] has new skills [2] available.

Ding! General skill [Identify] has leveled from [21] to [22].

Ding! General skill [Small Blades] has leveled from [70] to [74].

Ding! General skill [Dual Wielding] has leveled from [75] to [81].

Ding! General skill [Unarmed] has leveled from [17] to [23].

Ding! General skill [Arcane Daggers] has leveled from [41] to [42].

Ding! General skill [Arcane Missile] has leveled from [33] to [35].

Ding! General skill [Running] has leveled from [46] to [49].

Ding! General skill [Sprinting] has leveled from [39] to [45].

Ding! General skill [Jumping] has leveled from [55] to [56].

Ding! General skill [Dodging] has leveled from [72] to [80].

Ding! Skill [Passive Power] has leveled from [287] to [290].

Ding! Skill [Arcane Manipulation] has leveled from [375] to [382].

Ding! Resistance [Fire Magic Resistance] has increased from [4] to [5]

Ding! You have gained Resistance [Curse Magic Resistance].

Ding! Resistance [Curse Magic Resistance] has increased from [1] to [3]

Attribute Points: [0]

Strength: [24] -50%

Constitution: [24] -50%

Vitality: [24] -50%

Agility: [24] -50%

Dexterity: [24] -50%

Intelligence: [163] +100%

Wisdom: [265] +195%

Mana: [3260/3260]

Mana regen: [781] / Minute

I let out an appreciative whistle when seeing my notifications. I leveled up a lot thanks to fighting many new and stronger opponents than myself and it seems like my class has finally decided to grant me new skills. Two of them even and now I’ll have to choose since I only have one more slot available.

“Quite the haul, Zel.”

“Indeed. Let’s check out our new skills.”

-[Mana Machine]-

You have gone far along the path of becoming one with mana. Wielding the most elusive and versatile form of unaligned mana, the Arcane, was not enough for you. You took the concept of being one with your power and manifested your idea in reality. Continuing down this path will give you the tools necessary to turn your mimicry of biological life into a well-oiled machine of unrestrained complexity and possibilities. To wield great power you’ll create a vessel capable of supporting infinite growth.

Perks:

-[Intelligence] +100%

-[Wisdom] +100%

Skills:

-Mana Sight - [66]

-Mana Sense - [249]

-Passive Power - [290]

-Arcane Manipulation - [382]

-Empty

Available skills [2]

[Capacitor]

A machine without a backup power source may go down at an unexpected shortage. You aim to remedy this.

Rechargeable backup power source with a mana capacity at [Skill Level * (Mana / 100)].

OR

[Adaptive Restructuring]

When external forces battle against your machine a weaker part in the link may be targeted. Overall structural integrity is crucial if you don’t want the intricate mechanisms to break apart from within. Give strength to your weakness and take your opponents by surprise. (Adaptive reallocation of power to strengthen mana structure integrity in specific areas).

“Wow, Ari. Both look like excellent choices. We do need a larger mana pool and [Capacitor] would solve that given time and levels. [Adaptive Restructuring] would make focused attacks that we see coming but can’t dodge in time hurt us much less.”

“Yes, both could be quite useful. I’d say this choice will impact our class evolution at level 100 as well. It seems we’ll be choosing between more power or more control with less work on our part.”

“I see what you’re getting at. We could probably figure out how to implement [Adaptive Restructuring] ourselves in the future but we’d need to work on it for a long time and probably acquire a lot more skill with arcane mana structures.”

“Yes, that’s how I see it. I think choosing the second option would also make our class's future skills more aligned with fast adaptation to different scenarios and configurations.”

“Something we could figure out if we spent like a thousand years or so. Maybe not literally a thousand but yeah, I can see that. The first option would give us a secondary power source to draw from before having to be recharged. How do you think that would affect our future evolutions?”

“I think that would lean us more into making our body a literal vessel for great power. We might not be able to solve different problems in the most efficient way while being more restricted, not being as adaptable and all that, but we’d have the power to brute force our way through problems instead.”

“Like regenerating our body again and again instead of just not having ourselves torn apart.”

“Yeah.”

I think about what I want for my future and current shortcomings. It takes a few minutes of making arguments and counterarguments for both choices but I finally settle on having more power. Adaptive restructuring could probably be done by Ari and I if we spent enough time on it when at a higher level and it could be a fun project.

We’re literally immortal as long as we don’t let our core get destroyed. Letting the class take care of it will be helpful but not as fun in the long run. I also want more power and that’s really the main reason for my choice. More frivolous spending would make my combat options a lot more numerous and I’d have enough power to regenerate many lost body parts.

“I know what we’re going to choose, Zel.”

“Of course you do. We’re us after all.”

Ding! [Mana Machine] has gained the skill [Capacitor].

Skills:

-Mana Sight - [66]

-Mana Sense - [249]

-Passive Power - [290]

-Arcane Manipulation - [382]

-Capacitor - [1]

Available skills [0]

I feel a new source of power settle within our soul. It feels a bit strange as it both feels like it’s next to where my primary power is located but at the same time it feels like it’s placed in our chest, surrounding the heart. The source is of course incorporeal but its location is probably there to signify that it’s power for our machine, our [Manabody].

“It feels weird, Zel. It's there but not at the same time. Try charging it with as much power as it can hold at the moment.”

I do exactly that and 32 points of mana drain from my primary source into the capacitor. It certainly isn’t much but it will grow and when it does it’s usefulness will skyrocket.

Ding! Skill [Capacitor] has leveled from [1] to [2].

“Yeah it’s even weirder now that there is power in there. It will take some time getting used to but it’s not unpleasant or anything.”

“Good to hear, Ari. We should probably use it before our primary source in every battle going forward to have a chance of leveling it faster. It could be invaluable in the future as it would be double the size of our primary source at level 200.”

I sit there in front of the campfire, repeating the process of feeding the flames with the stored power of [Capacitor] before switching back to draw from my primary source while I recharge it. It seems like I can’t use the capacitor and recharge it at the same time but I guess that’s reasonable.

When the sun rises I let the fire die down and stand up to stretch. I can’t see the sunrise with the mountains to the east but the steadily lightening sky is good enough reason to get moving once more. I got a few more levels into [Capacitor] while resting and it was already starting to get to a useful level.

Ding! Skill [Capacitor] has leveled from [2] to [9].

It now contained a couple hundred points of mana and I used it up as I ran through the underbrush, jumped between trees and skipped over boulders with enhanced movements. I can probably level the skill really fast if I just keep using it all the time when it isn’t recharging.

I head south as the farm boy suggested but I’m not going at full speed. I’m not in that much of a hurry and being in a lively forest for a while before rejoining society might do me some good. I spot a lone deer who didn’t heed the buck’s call last night, standing and munching on some grass in a clearing and I charge a missile, letting it loose on my prey.

The deer must have heard my not so sneaky movements but hadn’t made its way out of sight before I laid eyes on it and now it was going to be my first meal. The deer somehow manages to skip straight up, right over my missile, but having prepared for the unexpected I send a second missile I manifest straight after the first at the target.

The deer being airborne can’t dodge the arcane construct as it’s hit on the side at the same moment it lands. It lets out a sad, pained cry before collapsing, its lungs and heart torn apart by the detonation sending gore everywhere around the clearing.

“Well that was messy.”

“Might want to tone it down there, overachiever.”

Ding! You have slain [Deer - Level 1]. Less experience awarded.

"I had forgotten that regular animals rarely reach level 10 or even level 5 for that matter. I’m still stuck in the dungeon mindset.”

I walk towards the deer while sidestepping guts and viscera and crouch down over the prey of my first hunt. I have no idea how much of it is edible or tasty but I reason that the still intact hindquarters with all that muscle must be a good place to start. I take out my right dagger and start slicing away the hide before getting at the muscles below and cutting chunks of them out.

Manifesting a much smaller and thinner blanket of the same silky arcane fabric I place the cut out pieces of meat on top of it before wrapping it up like a sack and sealing it with a bit if [Arcane Manipulation] trickery. I’m not going to camp again this soon so I’ll have to bring it with me for dinner tonight.

Weighing it in my hand I guess it to be a few kilos of meat but there’s still a lot left on the deer. I don’t feel skilled enough to get the edible bits left and I leave it for the forest’s scavengers as a surprise treasure to find as I sling the sack over one shoulder and sheath my dagger.

I make good progress during the day and it’s enjoyable to sprint between the trees while trying ridiculous maneuvers while carrying a sack for the fun of it. I move fast enough to catch glimpses of forest critters and animals such as glider squirrels, birds, a family of moles and even a boar.

There is seemingly no human activity going on this close to the mountains which is a bit strange but they might just keep further to the edges to the west. I don’t really mind being the only human with all this life teeming around me.

I set up camp once more when the sky goes dark and the stars come out. There’s no clouds today and I gaze upwards with happiness spilling from every particle in my body. I’d missed the stars more than the sun or moon and their twinkling light paints a sea of glitter on the dark backdrop. It’s always so magical and calming to look at while unwinding from a long day.

I start up the celestial campfire, as pretentious a name as I could come up with, and unravel my sack to display my dinner. They still look fresh even if a lot of the blood has drained out and collected on the bottom. I splurge a little on mana as I manifest a skewer with the same mana structure as the climbing needles I’d used in the dungeon.

Sticking a square piece on my spit I hold it out over the fire and prepare for the delicious smell to hit me.

“Shit, shit, shit, fuck! That’s bad.”

The meat is touched by a lick of flame and promptly catches on fire as the sticky properties come into action. Me in full panic mode over my soon to be ruined piece of meat don’t even think of cutting the flow of power that keeps it going indefinitely. I keep blowing on it like an idiot and don’t stop before it becomes charcoal.

“Zel, I know you’re excited and not thinking straight but you’re still supplying the burning meat with power. Even the skewer is burning now.”

“SHIT!”

Severing the link of mana to the fire on my spit I disperse the construct and let my ruined food fall into the flames with a dull thud. I almost start crying, almost. Pulling myself together I manifest a new and longer skewer before I pierce the second piece of meat and hold it well above the celestial campfire.

Celestial my ass. More like Demonic.

This time it goes as planned and meat is soon sizzling and spreading its intoxicating smell around the clearing. Bringing it down from above the flame I grin as I bring it towards my mouth before opening wide as if to swallow the enormous piece whole.

“Zel… You do remember that we can’t process that right?”

I freeze. Ari's statement is correct of course. I’d forgotten in my eagerness but having a stomach without intestines would leave anything I eat just sitting there uselessly. I’d have to cut up my stomach to get it out again and this time as a chewed slurry coated in saliva. Yuck.

“We have to fix it NOW, Ari. Come on, do your magic. You’re always good at this sort of thing.”

I lower my skewer and close my mouth as I plead with my other half to help me out here. I can’t wait to eat something but having it sit in my stomach doesn’t feel right. It needs to be processed somehow.

“How about just burning it?”

“Burning it?”

“Yeah, we’ve already made arcane flames, why not have your stomach set itself alight and burn everything to ash?”

“That sounds painful as of now, we’d have to reconstruct the stomach sack to withstand whatever heat is generated. And what do we do about the ash?”

“Hmm, I think the reconstruction should be fairly simple to work out but the ash, you’re right. We need a way to dispose of it and I guess we could use the natural biological way by making a path down there but it seems sloppy. We could as well bring back the intestines if we wanted to integrate the ability to defecate in our vessel.”

“No, we’re not going to excrete anything that isn’t arcane mana. If there is one thing I’m thankful for with this new vessel it is our inability to hear nature's calling.”

Ari sends me an exasperated sigh. I knew she’d view it my way but I still had to voice my opinion on the matter. It’s crucial we figured this out correctly.

“How about we try to convert it into arcane mana? I have no idea how we’d achieve that but it could probably be applied in other ways in the future so it shouldn’t be a waste of time to try it out.”

“Convert it into arcane mana… Yeah, we’ve never tried converting anything naturally aligned towards the arcane. We’ve only taken inspiration from it while making our own structures. It will probably take a while.”

Sitting still with closed eyes and holding my skewer close to the fire to keep the meat warm I focus inwards with Ari. We start with remaking our stomach sack into a specific pattern that we thought would keep the heat insulated. The arcane material is half a centimeter thick and has dense, particle thin layers with air stuck between as insulation.

We also create an overlaying secondary mana construct to coat the inside of the stomach sack. It’s necessary to exclude this mana structure as a target in the modified celestial flames we’ll put in there to not have it stick to the walls and instead tie itself to whatever food comes down.

There’s still the ash problem left to solve but Ari helpfully lifts my spirits before they can drop any further.

“Luckily for you this still means that we get to eat since we need food in the stomach to experiment on.”

I laugh out loud in delight at that realization and once more bring the meat towards my mouth. I take a bite, feeling its juices spilling into my mouth as my teeth tear a soft and tender chunk away. Chewing slowly with closed eyes I focus on the taste. It’s quite strange at first but it slowly moves towards what I imagine it should taste like.

Ari doesn’t have anything to go by except for tomatoes and dried meat in our memories but she does a good job at getting the freshness and gamey smell to reflect in the taste. It would be a crime if freshly cooked, tender deer meat tasted like dried rations.

I moan in pleasure as I tear into the rest of the piece, both saliva and meat juices running down my cheeks and dripping onto the white fabric covering my bust. I can’t be bothered to care about the less than appealing way I must look while eating. I’m alone and staid people like Julie can go fuck themselves. This is life and I will eat my meat however I want when no one is around.