My training routine continued. It had only been 2 days since I had had the kung fu match with a giant death rock. I was currently in the process of staring Bob down, supporting my body with a trembling arm, mana powering through my limbs as I attempted another one-armed pushup.

“Bob, it’s okay if you don’t want to be friends. I’m okay with it, alright? You don’t have to stretch your neck out for me if you don’t want to. But can you at least tell me if you don’t want to?” I ranted at Bob, staring into his slitted golden eyes, hissing at me in agitation.

I wasn’t crazy enough to leave the clearing yet, Bob slithering and hissing audibly just out of reach, almost pacing. My mood flip-flopped instantly.

“S’okay Bob. I forgive you. I get scared too sometimes, y’know? It's okay to be scared. But you don’t have to be scared alone! You can let out your feelings, tell me about yourself! I’m sure, whatever it is, we can work it out together!”

I beamed, smiling in my best ‘I totally get it’ smile. Bob didn’t seem to buy it, green venom dripping from their fangs. I shook my head, feeling the wind tickle my face. I was still stuck, eating off that neutral mana patch. The damn rock was still there, unmovable. I had used mana sight to trace every little crevice and crack of the thing.

I knew the whole boulder pretty well now. The skull took an hour to form, and the residual mana it took to completely form was when it was at its weakest, the mana the thinnest. Sometimes, the tiniest of gaps would open up, revealing blank stone in all its glory. The stone seemed completely ordinary actually, It was just the death mana wrapping it up like a baby in a blanket that made it a ‘death rock’.

I shook my head at the thing, walking around the boulder in circles. I observed the crunch of the dead grass under my numb and battered feet, the sun that couldn’t manage to banish the chilly wind, the ethereal giggles that echoed through the forest.

Was I going crazy? Absolutely! I hate this place! And I owe it all to that damn fox!

I sat down, splurging in meditation to calm myself. By the time I was feeling better, burning resolve had lit up in my crimson eyes, the fires of determination silhouetting my irises. I looked into the forest, the barely perceptible chirp of birds that didn’t seem to care for the cold. I took a deep breath, looking over at Bob on the other side of the clearing. A plan formed, one stupid, dangerous, and above all suicidal. I loved it.

I closed my eyes, just taking a minute to feel everything with mana sense, reveling in the crisscrossing chaos that was ambient mana. I took one more deep breath and...

I bolted, returning to the forest of my certain doom, winds of a distant freedom carrying my resolve. My limbs ripped through the trees, bashing against them in a frenzy. My breathing came steady and even. A long sharp earth-shaking hiss jolted me from behind, a massive body crushing trees with oversized green scales.

“Damnit Bob, it doesn’t have to be this way!” I shouted. I had figured out how to broadcast my telekinetic voice across the woods. The use of Psychic tendrils was entirely for private conversations now. No skill for it though. The small blue tether that led me to Junior was a long ways off, but I wouldn’t be going there anyway.

I kept running, focusing on trying to lose Bob, but my telekinetic voice had unfortunate consequences. I felt a couple of powerful minds waking up, looking over in my direction. I kept running, trying not to focus on the fact a few were now following me. I glanced back, a small smile on my face.

I need to attract bigger fish for this to work. I thought while pumping my legs. A bee 5x the size of the African hornets back on my homeworld erupted from the bushes, coming towards me like a bullet. It whizzed madly, sound warping around its speeding form. My eyes barely had time to widen before my side erupted with pain as I was sent off-kilter, skidding a couple of feet into the nearest fern.

I was dazed, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened when I heard a certain whizz, the winds ripping and screaming at me to move. I rolled, mud sticking to my flesh as the ground exploded.

Well, it’s not exactly bigger fish, per se. I thought sourly.

The weird bullet bee, as I’m going to call it now, dislodged itself from the mud with a wet 'schlopp!', rising again on unsteady wings. I sat there, Bob and his gang approaching rapidly on my location. The whizzing sound returned, the bee coming back for me.

I pushed with the wind, throwing its wings and body off balance and shooting to the side of me in another explosion of mud.

I wasted no more time, quickly getting up and sprinting away. My side throbbed, a big purple bruise already beginning to form. I grit my teeth and kept running, Junior's words echoing through my mind.

‘All you have to do is put a single lasting mark into the big ol’ rock right here. I don’t even care how! As long as you use your mana and skills only!’ I panted, the exertion of running like this catching up with me. I felt the winds shift slightly and the earth rumble as an unsuspicious-looking bush swayed to the side, its branches reaching out for me to grab onto my legs. I jumped, blasting myself with shape of wind to dodge to the side.

I landed back on the mud, my feet screaming in pain. I felt my fire mana surging in response to my emotions, before it was tamped down on, and suppressed.

I felt my loud footfalls awaken something big, roaring deeply into the jungle-like I had murdered their wife/husband and children or something. Their mind was most definitely focused on murdering something. Maybe it wasn’t me?

I had no idea how all these beasts were able to notice and find me. Some type of mana sense? Do I really just smell that good? Is that what I’m doing, attracting admirers far and wide?

I had no time to ponder this, as a really fast centipede caught up to me, its hundred legs blurring and skittering across the mud like it was a pathed sidewalk.

I blasted it with winds, feeling them fight against the centipede's body. The skill couldn’t even slow it down. I tried to leap to the side, but it just bent in on itself, flexing its body and trying to snatch me out of the air with its oversized mandibles.

I had no chance to even scream. It grabbed me out of the air quickly, its bristles and thorny maw digging into my side. I bombarded the simple creature with Psychic magic, feeding it my terror and confusion. It seemed to work, as it curled in on itself slightly, loosening me enough that I tried to pry its bloody mandibles off my side. The pain hadn’t been bad so far, the adrenaline and shock both prevented me from feeling much, but the moment those things left my body with a shink, I screamed, green fluid spilling out my wounds.

I clenched my eyes shut, panting and crying. The next members of Bob's gang, a couple of small beetles and an oversized purple lizard came within 30 feet of us, my Psychic awareness pointing it out. My feet hit the ground, my side almost crushed. My vision tunneled as I limped as fast as I could, gritting my teeth once again and berating myself for the stupid plan.

Though it was totally working, as when my greenish-red blood hit the earth, it began to shake. What am I, the world's tastiest snack?!

A huge worm came from the ground, exploding it with its massive leathery flesh. Its gaping maw and thousands of grinding teeth whipped towards me. Suddenly, the pain was gone as I screamed quite like a child for my age, running and feeling my mana draw increase 3 fold. I haven’t bothered to check my mana reserves recently, almost dying and all, but it must have been in the low 60’s. My wind mana surged, leveling quite quickly right now, probably by the distant notifications echoing in my mind.

I ran. I ran as fast as, you guessed it, the wind. As much as I hated fire mana, I was starting to see the use in blasting your enemies to oblivion. I didn’t consciously activate it, it just kinda happened while I was running, circling back to a certain death rock with a horde of growing monsters. Globs of acid pelted the ground in front of me as smoke came from my feet, external ignition activating against my will as chosen of flame urged it to. I had no control as my feet suddenly erupted with a quick burst of movement, twirling out of the way as a swarm of flies descended where I had just been a half a second ago.

Wind and fire worked in tandem to keep me alive, balancing my frantic movements while also keeping me fast enough that I was evading them all. A piece of earth was ripped out of the ground and hurled in my direction, a black-furred ape catching my eye.

My feet jetted flames as I twirled through the air. Well, stumbling is more like it but I’d like to think I looked pretty cool while evading an entire horde of monsters.

I suddenly shot to the side as fast as possible, the area I was in before sinking as the worm swallowed the terrain whole.

I kept circling, going back to that boulder while small gusts of wind blew off tiny strings of web in front of me, a spider hissing in outrage. There were even traps that lay for me in here! This forest is packed!

I grabbed a gliding squirrel coming at me with its elongated teeth extended, taking its arms, balling it up, and chucking it back into the fray, hitting a certain green snake right on the head who seemed to be leading the charge.

Bob looked kinda hungry. And mad too. I felt a little betrayed, but it was okay. It was just Bob’s nature to eat things. I could only hope the anger reached past their instincts. The trees bent over to catch me, the forest seeming to join in and partake on this absurd manhunt. I was like, 3 months old! I’m already being chased by a horde of monsters galore! What the actual f*^@!

The worm came back for a second round, its teeth spinning and whirling as it blended together with the trees and dirt of where I had just been less than a second ago.

After continuing to dodge for an unknown amount of time, the poison begging to sag my flesh, I saw it. A clearing of dead grass, with a huge boulder in the middle. My steps seemed to gain renewed vigor, my heart racing, and fire burning. I hated the fact I was using the flames, and I hated Junior for it even more. But, if I wanted to survive, it was necessary.

I stopped on the edge, breathing in deeply, nerves and terror oozing off of me as well as the disgusting scent of rotten flesh that I ignored.

I reached for my Psychic mana, surprised at the paltry 13% of mana I had left. No time.

“HA!” I boomed, making sure to clearly state my words as the horde drew ever closer, my from shaking. I had to say this quickly and clearly. “All of you can’t even catch little old me? You call yourselves residents of this forest? Ha! You couldn’t even touch me if you tried! How could you stand to look any of your prey in the eye if a human child like me could beat you all!” Okay, so my taunt played at their pride if they even had any pride. It was pretty weak too, as I was most definitely out of breath and only surviving by the thinnest of strings. But It was all I could come up with okay?

The forest seemed to go still for half a second, even the weird moving trees pausing before all of Bob's gang roared with rage and indignity. This seems strangely familiar...

Huh. Well, they may not be spirit beasts, but they could all definitely understand an insult. I sprinted into the clearing, the beasts, and monsters not even stopping before plowing through the clearing, the boulder barely an obstacle. I ran behind it, static charge in the air as bits of lightning and acid shot towards me.

It hit a certain boulder, still not even putting a dent onto it. About half of the bests still had common sense though. They had stopped and surrounded the clearing, letting all the dumber ones attack me. They most certainly weren’t working together though. A lot of them were fighting each other just as much as they were fighting me. The snake in question was outside and the massive worm seemed to have no desire to partake in eating me.

I for one was screaming and crying, trying to avoid a lot of attacks, feeling terrible as the poison crept through my chest. I hate this plan.

Gritting my teeth as a glob of acid smacked into my leg, burning through my flesh and making me scream louder. The chosen of flame skill was now active, the magic seemingly having its own mind as it disregarded my will and traveled amongst my body, using external ignition. Some part of my mind was screaming at me to top it before something truly terrible happened, but I didn’t focus on it too hard. Instead, I put my focus and energies into not dying.

The poison was up at my shoulders, my entire torso throbbing. My right arm dangled loosely. Yeah. I hate this plan.

It was working though. A plethora of attacks bombarded the boulder, not scratching it, but wearing down the mana. A couple of times, a monster from beyond the clearing took a pot shot at me, streaks of fire, frost, and even a weird gravity attack. I just kept limping around, my mind half blank, the chosen of flame skill keeping me alive.

A particularly large strike of lightning missed me, hitting the rock of death behind me, making the whole thing shutter and shake. My hair stood on end and I looked at it in excitement. Maybe this was it?

I had no time to celebrate though. My mana reserves were almost gone. I had been playing dance dance revolution for only 30 seconds and I was about to be out in 5. At this point, I realized the stupidity of my plan. How the hell was I going to escape? I lured them here, I got them into the clearing, and I got them to attack the rock to some effect. If they really managed to scathe it, then what? Runaway with the little mana I have left?

I stared on in panic, not noticing the black glow creeping on the rock, an ethereal skull, wailing silently at Bob's gang. Death mana surged as the grass went from yellow to black. More beasts fled from the clearing, and most that were outside of it, to begin with just left. It was sickening. I felt death's hands squeeze my throat, the putrid mana leaking into my mindscape, flowing sluggishly through my river.

I gasped at the sensation, the rotten feeling of dead mana curling around my arteries. My mana left me as I collapsed to the ground, my corruption nodes feeling strained and half-broken at the massive amount of mana coming through. The poisonous ambient mana flooded me, giving me something akin to my unused skill mana flood.

Luckily, no beasts were there to harass me as I was twitching as if in a seizure, my conscious half in a daze.

I was already not happy with my use of fire mana, as it was rapidly becoming easier and easier. It was like my body seemed to accept it, urge the fire mana on. Now with the death mana and all the other stress piling up, I couldn’t help the frustrated sob that escaped my lips.

After an uncertain amount of time, the feeling faded. I opened my eyes, feeling terrible and ragged. The grass and other plants around me were gone, the clearing just a space of unhealthy cracked dirt. The clearing itself had expanded too, the multitude of monsters that were trying to melt me had disappeared, the forest quiet once again.

The sky was as bright as ever, the wind whispering playfully, carrying the scent of rot and decay. It was midday, the entire skirmish only taking 15 minutes. A couple of insect-like bugs lay dead and rotten. It took me a second to realize the only reason I was even alive was due to my fire mana, burning away the poison and death mana. The chosen of flame skill had sputtered out at some point. I didn’t actually even know what the skill did…

My head swiveled to look back upon the death rock, seeing its unharmed rocky exterior looming ahead of me. My resolve almost broke then and there. I will admit I cried a little bit there.

But things weren’t all as they seemed. Where I had failed, it seemed the residents of the forest had succeeded. The mana had thinned greatly, its disgusting flesh-like appearance having slowed and stilled to an uneven black coating that shifted occasionally.

I sighed, leaning back on the ground with a huff as meditation kicked in, dispersing my thoughts among the river of ambient mana. I stayed there for far longer than necessary, reveling in the feeling of peace and ease.

I opened my eyes almost an hour later, the sun lower in the sky than it had been before.

*Your pure grit and determination to survive have borne its fruit! Balancing Act VII becomes Balancing Act VIII*

*The flames of your birthright flare along with your whims! External Ignition II becomes External Ignition III*

*Your desperation and efforts in evading the creatures of the forest of Esemar have given you the insight you needed! Shape of Wind V reaches Shape of Wind VI*

*You have experienced the result of your own skill yourself, braving an echo of a fragment of Juriya! Mana Flood II reaches Mana Flood III*

*Your newfound ideas and skills have led to insights into Psychic mana! Telepathy V becomes Telepathy VI*

*You have meditated for more than 30 minutes at a time! Meditation IV becomes Meditation V*

The levels were greatly appreciated. No idea who or what a fragment of Juriya is though. I brushed the notifications aside, looking towards the massive rock again, peering at it. I was hurting everywhere, feeling totally miserable and the bits of torn flesh on my sides from that centipede was still there, but no longer bleeding.

I approached the rock, taking a closer look. Whatever the death rock had done, it had taken death mana, lots of the stuff. There was around 50% less than there was before. It had been greatly weakened.

I breathed in deeply pausing for a second when Psychic perception lit up that a tiny mind was nearby. I studiously looked around, not seeing anything with or without mana sense. Bob had just seemingly left, the traitor having fled after attacking me.

I turned my attention back to the rock in front of me, gathering wind mana. I focussed on gathering a tiny blocky hammer this time, going for blunt force rather than any needle. A finger width handle along with a blocky square that made up a crude hammer. I breathed out slowly, feeling the wind condense further and further as I raised my arm, eyeing the spot I was going for. I waited, the subtle shifts of the squirming death mana barely noticeable. I waited though, refusing to take any chances. I added a sharp spike on the back of the wind hammer, condensing the air further to allow a semblance of solid material.

Eventually, the mana shifted in the way I needed, the small opening of the rock leaving an opening big enough for my tiny hammer to get through. I slammed the wind in there, adding all my strength to the blast along with a gust of wind to push it along. My mana was doing okay, the whole hammer taking up 75% of it as the flat surface dug into the stone. There wasn’t a mark still, but I raised the hammer again, turning it around so the spike stuck the stone first. It shook a little, rocking back and forth again. The opening would disappear in a couple more seconds, so I used both hands to wham it in there for the third time, hearing the tiniest fracture that hit the stone. I quickly dropped my mana sense, stepping back and dispersing the crude hammer as I admired my handiwork.

On the surface of that unbreakable rock, the tiniest scratch could be seen, not even noticeable if you didn’t know where to look. I broke out into a wide grin, sheer delight and joy reaching the darkening skies as the wind celebrated along with me, brushing and whipping up bits of dirt that danced around me. The forest seemed to chuckle, swaying along with the wind. I didn’t even care that it had seemingly tried to kill me earlier, after all, I had done it!

I growled, my prey scuttling around the corner of the brush. It sensed its impending doom, my teeth dripping with blood and excitement. Flares of heat sporadically erupted from my fur, my silver-grey eyes narrowing as the insect chitted in panic.

I paid it no mind, pouncing on the seedling beetle I had stalked. I crunched on the chiton, reveling in the feeling of the hunt. Mother had gone in search of offerings for the upcoming naming ceremony, leaving me to take care of my brother. I was excited. My very Identity would be summed up in one or two words!

I sighed in contempt. There was something so satisfying about constricting yourself to a single category.

My prey was long dead, its internals presenting themselves as my meal. I didn't need to eat of course, but it was my prey. And leaving perfectly good consumable material was a waste. A disrespect to the hunt.

I gorged, sapping up its vitality and strength. There was an odd disturbance to the forest, some of the bigger inhabitants stirring in their slumbers. The distant screams and roars of beasts came from afar, but I paid them no attention. Such is normal in the wilds.

I finished my meal, licking my chops in satisfaction and childish glee. I gathered the spacial mana around me, feeling it ripple space around me, barely seen. I tried forming the skill, as I had been for the last couple of hours, feeling the immediate drain on my mana as I attempted teleportation.

The complicated skill began to whirl, space bending and curling around me like a hole the size of a pinprick began to open, before sputtering out. I winced at the cancelation of the skill, grimacing at my newest failure.

I stomped my foot, huffing in irritation. I would have to just walk back. I slinked among the leaves, my mana hidden to prying eyes and noses. I reached my small tree house, grateful to be out of that cave. Sure, the bed was nice and I enjoyed the presence of another while asleep, but it just wasn’t the same as my treehouse.

I was proud of the name, a house in the trees! So simple yet so fitting…

My stuff was as I left it, my small trophies laying around. There was no ladder to get into it, just a series of branches you had to hop up to get in. It resembled a bird's nest, no roof and circular in design with the edges curling up with dead woven sticks. The sun was still up, the mana around me dense from recent mana accumulation.

The density of my personal mana replaced the ambient mana, leaving a comfortable environment. I settled in, my recent kill giving me some remnants of its mana that increased my capacity ever so slightly. It was supposed to be called ‘a level up’ when I would get the system, but I didn’t consider it much beyond that. I would discover these ‘level-ups’ when I had my name.

I opened my senses to my link with my brother, curious in his dealings.

He had stuck to his ideals for the first few days, but recently, he had given in for a small amount of time, his heritage and race flaring up for just a second before fading again. He had grown too, pushing himself to level both skills. I felt his revulsion for me which made me grin mischievously.

According to mother, growing humans that were called ‘teenagers’ often hated their parents and siblings as they advanced. It was a sign of maturity and growth. An excellent sign indeed.

I tapped into my brother's bond, manipulating the bits of soul mana with basic mana manipulation. I felt panic, fear, and bits of disgust. The signs and terror of fighting for one's life echoing in his soul. My whiskers twitched in worry.

I had threatened to kill him, and I would do it should he fail. But I was near certain he would succeed. I had set up small parameters to aid him should he still fail on the last day. He would either succeed and raise to greater heights or he would fail and die just like the rest of the prey. While part of me felt this was wrong, there was truth to it. Mother had been right about a few things.

So when I peered through his eyes for a second, frowning at the terrible quality his senses provided over my own, I was surprised to see a horde of monsters following behind him, his limbs pumping around sporadically, stumbling through the air in a crimson haze.

Fear crept up in my stomach. Had I killed my only sibling in an attempt to give him strength? Did he mess up and truly do something stupid?

I continued watching, the strange crimson haze fading as his mana did, his labored breath and supernatural balance a little disorientating. My worry increased. I had tried to seem threatening and inconsiderate to motivate him into training harder. If he was unprepared when 'it' came...

Eventually, when his mana was near rock bottom, he reached the ancient and dead fragment of Juriya. My brother suddenly stopped, turning around to unleash a series of Psychic mana pulses that angered the residents of the forest quickly. He darted forth into the clearing, the less intelligent beasts following him.

His plan quickly clicked into place when claws and mana blasts didn’t reach him, hiding behind the fragment that took the damage.

It was quite clever, even if very stupid and suicidal. The other beasts were not stupid though, circling around the clearing to wait. My connection faded slightly, my concentration wavering as I sought to help. I was going to jump up, attempting spacial transport before I paused. Something was happening.

I concentrated again, feeling my treehouse fade as I focussed on my brother. An explosion of death mana that erupted from the fragment shocked me. Instantly, the fighting gave way to fleeing as my brother slumped to the ground, the throbbing of pain and panic echoing through him. I felt some bits of disgust again, fire mana traveling through him.

He was mana poisoned, his physical mana channels suffering rot and corruption as he let out a hoarse scream. The fire burned.

I cut myself off, my breathing ragged. I couldn’t intervene. I wouldn’t. This was his trial, and he would survive. He HAD to survive. Distant screams in a fiery death echoed in my mind, my family burning from my actions.

I closed my eyes, focussing inwardly and submerging myself in my soul, the springs of mana running across my mindscape. I reached a leg in the mana, soaking my furred paw and bringing it to my mouth, savoring the memory of the hunt. I stayed like that for a while, calming myself. I emerged soon after, grumbling about stupid humans.

My mana flashed, my skills activating as I started my nightly training. It would distract me. I looked over my recent notifications, glad for the progress.

*The hunt brings gifts of your newest harvest of prey, the forest recognizing you amongst the true predators. Heat Blast XII becomes Heat Blast XIII*

*Your enemies submit to your ferocity, diligent accumulation, and focus providing your newest tools. Shimmering Illusion III becomes Shimmering Illusion IV*

*Peering into the web of minds that make up the forest continues to pay for itself. External Psychic Awareness V becomes External Psychic Awareness VI*

Good enough. I continued to train, the heat mana warming and cooling my fur soothingly. I could feel the studious higher gaze of my spacial mana, sending small feelings of affection and feelings of great growth. I smiled, my teeth showing.

I continued to train for around 10 minutes before something startling actually happened. I felt joy. Great joy in fact. I felt my brother's simple undisguised emotions, pride, and happiness at the forefront. Had he already recovered somehow?

I looked through his gaze after a moment of concentration, seeing his view set upon the fragment.

His eyes, set upon the tiniest scrapes that had been inflicted, stretching across the rock by a centimeter. I was surprised. Very much so in fact. His ploy had actually worked. His skills grew and his fire mana came easier, as I had planned. He may have claimed the victory, but I had gotten what I had wanted, the mana cementing itself into his being.

It was a studious achievement, inflicting damage upon the dreaded stone is not a light achievement indeed.

I smiled, little mischievousness in it this time, full of pride and hope. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time, my young sibling would find survival amongst the wilds. Maybe this time, Kankaar would take mercy upon me, and not take all that I had.