“So the Razor of Envy can even transform my body to this extent. I can’t tell if I’m intrigued or horrified.”

Rainier commented on the numerous bone spikes sticking out from his skin on his arms and legs. They were probably the ugliest things he had ever seen on a human body, yet they stood out with a malicious grace to them. It was as if the spikes belonged to his body and were melding with his skin even though Rainier had only just recently grown them.

After concentrating on a single spike situated on the side of his right forearm, Rainier was able to confirm a suspicion of his which he was very grateful for. Rainier was able to retract the spikes back into his body and presumably meld into normal sized bones again.

Rainier toughed out the painful feeling of the insides of his arm reconnecting. After the deed was done, Rainier tested out his new ability by experimenting with the extent of the spikes. He measured how far they could extend (around eight inches or twenty centimeters), where exactly they could protrude from which was restricted to his limbs. He also checked the shapes he could make with the spikes, though they always veered off into a crescent curve with a sharp tip. Rainier also found out how many spikes he could form at any one time, which seemed to be about thirty-six, though Rainier wasn’t able to bear with the pain of thirty-six holes in his limbs for too long. Lastly, much to Rainier’s disappointment, he found out he could not shoot out spikes like Skaren could. Perhaps accomplishing that required practice.

In all, the ability to create multiple spikes from his limbs would be a very deadly skill if Rainier used it properly. Still, Rainier found it strange that the magic behind a simple dagger could affect him to this extent. “This world’s magic is amazing; it’s abnormal to any kind of magic I’ve read in any fiction.”

Still, Rainier knew next to nothing about the basics behind magic in Ademptis. The encyclopedia had yet to tell him anything about it, not that Rainier expected it to be that easy.

“Speaking of which, I was recently treated to an update on it I have not yet read.”

Rainier quickly found the encyclopedia back where he had awoken and flipped the pages to where the latest update was on. He noticed that it was an update on a previous entry for the evoants detailing their mating habits and hierarchy that was explained to him by Sataska. He also noticed an entry talking about the mangrove trees that Rainier was camped under.

Spider’s Web Tree- A type of tree that grows in areas with vast amounts of underground aquifers. Its thick roots resemble a spider’s web crisscrossing from the trunk into the ground. It is often used by creatures to hide among its dense network of roots. Study indicates that in order to penetrate rocky layers of earth, it utilizes a form of magic to reach underground rivers, though the research was considered useless and abandoned before it was discovered what kind of element it used for its magic.

“You’re awake at last!” Rainier saw Sataska standing in the widest gap of the mangrove roots.

Rainier closed the encyclopedia and gazed upon Sataska with calm eyes. “How long was I out?”

“I believe for two nights and days.”

“And you took care of me all that time? You must have even carried me and my belongings with you here.” Rainier found it hard to imagine that Sataska could carry him and all these supplies with. He knew the evoants were naturally strong, but it was still hard to believe that she could lift such an awkward bundle.

“Oh… Um…”

Seeing her hesitation, Rainier figured it couldn’t be helped. “In any case, thank you. I guess I do owe you one. If I was out cold for two days straight in this dangerous land, I’d surely be dead.”

A look of relief washed about Sataska. “Good, because I already have a task for you I want you to help me with. Heh heh…”

Rainier began sweating profusely once he heard the suspicious laughter. ‘Why do I feel like I’m not going to be pleased with what she wants?’

Rainier’s worries were soon proven true.

“You will help me gain my freedom by helping me kill my mother!” Sataska placed her hands on her hips and stood upright with an annoyingly prideful and smug expression.

“You ask me to help you commit matricide so easily, Christ. Well, why not? I’m not going to live peacefully on this damn plateau without eliminating my enemies first.” Rainier stood up and stretched his limbs behind him casually. “I have a feeling things will go my way if I help you out anyways.”

Still, Rainier was rather worried. He alone against a colony of powerful evoants is an impossible victory. In an all-out fight against the ants ten out of ten times Rainier would lose, even with his ingenuity. Taking out this enemy evoant queen would require complete subterfuge and stealth, both of which Rainier wasn’t familiar with.

“Yes! With a strong person like you, Mother is sure to be dead in no time!”

Rainier felt that Sataska’s personality was not unlike an elementary student. He figured that was simply due to the difference in education and culture. Of course a child brought up in vastly different surroundings would be different than Rainier. ‘It’s a pity she’s an ant considering how cute she is.’ And in the end, Rainier showed that he was not incapable of slight xenophobia.

“Hm, I have a plan roughly mapped out already, but for it to work, how are you in a fight?” Rainier was also curious as to whether Sataska could even defend herself.

Tilting her head to the side with a pondering gaze, Sataska gave it thought. “I suppose it depends on the flesh I’ve eaten and how much of it I ate.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

“I guess since you’re trustworthy, I can tell you about my ability. But before I tell you, I want you to cook something! I’m sooooo hungry for a meal with more of this cooking of yours!”

“What a cheeky girl. Fine, I’m hungry too. I wonder if there’s a fish type creature I can eat from this river.” And on that note, Rainier went fishing.

-----

“SO DELITHETH!” Sataska stumbled over her words as she dreamily chomped down on the strange creature Rainier prepared.

Rainier had watched the stream for a while and noticed a few smaller seafaring animals each of which took an entry in his encyclopedia.

The first was a sharply angled fish with four fins each at ninety degree angles with one another, it is called a Starmonger.

Starmonger- A fish that has four fins that combine movement efficiency with defense against predators. Its fins are normally flimsy, but grow rigid and sharp when it senses a threat. It then either flees if the threat is too large to fight back or engages in a dogfight if the threat is within a reasonable size. As a last ditch effort to survive, the Starmonger can detach one of its fins if it gets caught by an enemy, the time it takes to regrow one depends on the amount of food it takes in return.

Rainier caught three of those as they were the most numerous. The second fish he caught was more like a crustacean than an actual fish considering its carapace. This one is called an Exploding Mollusk.

Exploding Mollusk- A fish with a flat base that houses most of its body in a shell that it creates using secretions from a gland unique to it. Once it finds suitable food, it uses its flat base to wrap around it like a sheet of paper; it then digests its food inside its shell for a period of time. As a defense mechanism, the Exploding Mollusk hides itself snugly in its shell and causes the outermost layer of its shell to explode. It then immediately begins strengthening a second shell layer. Some of the more intelligent members of this species use this method to hunt rather than use it as a defense mechanism.

Although Rainier expected something disgusting like a snail, it turned out the one exploding mollusk he captured truly was a delicious looking fish. He saw a few more species, but decided the four he caught was enough to sate Sataska’s large appetite. The exploding mollusk was larger than the three starmongers together.

Rainier separated the exploding mollusk from its shell and set it aside. He created a circle of large rocks and used them to hold up the shell. Using the large shell as a pot, he poured in water and carefully used the blaze crystals to let out a few sparks, igniting the tinder underneath composed of leaves and dry branches. As there was a slight wind to one side, Rainier wasn’t worried about infesting the temporary shelter with smoke. Rainier then asked Sataska to assist him in descaling the three starmongers. He also sliced up the exploding mollusk into bit sized chunks and carved broken bits of the secondary shell of the fish into bowls and spoons. It reminded Rainier of people who used dried gourds or turtle shells for their meals.

As he was still devoid of any seasonings, Rainier was forced to simply boil the fish meat in a soup, periodically stirring whenever the soup’s contents settled. To compensate for the lack of spices, Rainier added in some chisis seeds for their oil and chunks of rachr root. Eventually when Rainier deemed the meat to be cooked enough, he skewered the starmongers and dished out chunks of meat into the smooth shell bowls. Considering the quantity of fish meat Rainier prepared, he was worried for moment.

The moment soon disappeared over the course of the meal as Sataska ate two of the skewered starmongers, bones and all, and four bowls of the simple soup. He laughed slightly uncomfortably as he watched Sataska down a fifth bowl and eyed the final starmonger in his hands as if saying, “You gonna eat that?”

“Not bad, if I do say so myself considering the simplified steps I used to make this meal.” Casually mentioned Rainier with laidback pride.

“That… Was… So… Good…”

“Why the heck are you panting like you just sprinted through a thirty kilometer marathon!” Cried Rainier cynically.

“So you wished to see how I can fight? Well I’m not well versed in combat itself, but I am confident in the extent of power my special trait gives me.”

Rainier was intrigued. He knew nothing was impossible in Ademptis, so he was very curious about this special ability that Sataska was so confident in.

“And what is it?”

“I have the amazing ability to cross my eyes- Ow!”

Rainier instantly clapped both hands on the sides of Sataska’s head with irritation. "There's a fine line between being annoying and outright stupid."

“Ok, fine. Though to show you my ability, it’s best to continue outside.”

The two walked from out under the roots of the mangrove tree to where a corpse laid still.

“Why do you have that guy’s corpse here?” Rainier eyed Skaren’s lifeless body on the ground. He let go of the fact that Sataska brought not only Rainier’s unconscious body and his belongs, but also Skaren’s corpse as well.

“I need it to show you what I can do.”

Rainier gestured his hands to usher Sataska along with her demonstration.

Rainier soon understood what Sataska meant by the flesh she ate. The ant girl instantly began prying open chitin plates adorning Skaren’s body. It was like she was cracking open a peanut open to eat. Sataska then began devouring the supple flesh of her fellow evoant until there was nothing left but the unappetizing plates, not that the evoant was appetizing to being with.

Then a familiar sight took form, Sataska held out her arm to show that she could grow blades exactly like Skaren’s own and shot one out at a tree trunk, embedding more than half of it in.

‘Is this like the magic of the Razor of Envy? No, she completely copied his ability to nearest detail. It’s like she can use the blades as effectively as Skaren could.’

“Once I consume the flesh of a being, I can completely take on certain physical traits and use them with maximum aptitude. Thus consuming an entire corpse is ideal, as an incomplete meal means that the ability would be deformed to an extent. Also, if I eat another being, their physical traits overwrite the current ones I possess.” Sataska shot several more blades out, completing a smiley face in the trunk with her blades.

‘I get it now. She doesn’t merely acquire ability after ability like the Razor of Envy does for me. She holds only the physical abilities and traits of a single creature at a time.’

Suppose that Sataska consumed the body of an arachnacosa. She would lose the ability to craft her chitin blades from her body and shoot them in exchange for a slew of new abilities. Sataska would then be able to shoot acid from her mouth or weave spider webs depending on the gender she ate.

Still, Rainier needed to see just how far she could go with Skaren’s power that she was taking.

“Alrighty then, let’s have a mock battle.” Rainier drew the razor forth and aimed it at Sataska in a reverse grip. “Though let’s avoid any injuries, even minor ones.” It wasn’t that Rainier was afraid for his or Sataska’s health, rather he was worried that any injuries will affect the plan he had in mind.

“I’ll… I will probably lose. But I will do my best!” As she was unsure of how exactly she should begin in a fight. Her total amount of combat experience equaled zero, though she was lucky enough to be granted a bestial instinct on how to fight from her nature as an evoant as what she took from Skaren.

Without waiting too long, Rainier rushed in and swiped at Sataska with the razor, he held his free hand behind his back, holding something from her sight. She retaliated by stepping back slightly and sending an uppercut at Rainier’s chin.

Rainier easily tilted back and avoided the punch, but he realized that there were several chitin blades sprouted on Sataska’s arm ready to cut through his face vertically. Weren’t they supposed to avoid injury?

Thinking that, Rainier kicked the ground with his legs and launched himself diagonally backwards and to the left. As he did so, he wrapped a string of tense webbing around Sataska’s neck like a lasso and pulled her back roughly onto the ground. He then doubled back before Sataska cut the string with her arm blades and laid the Razor of Envy carefully against her neck.

“Like I thought, you’re too amazing.” Sataska seemed to speak with a sense of reverence and stared at Rainier with dewy eyes.

If the Rainier of two days ago saw Sataska like this, he would’ve painted himself red and slapped himself silly.

“I think I ended it far too quickly. Though I have to say that anyone wouldn’t think you’re an amateur from that quick wit.” What Rainier referred to was when Sataska reacted to his initial leap with a quick uppercut attack using her chitin blades. It was only a single movement, but it gave Rainier all the confidence he needed in Sataska’s instinctive approach to combat.

“If you say so…” Sataska herself wasn’t as assured; in fact she felt that her display was atrociously pathetic.

“Well, I might as well explain to you my plan. I don’t intend to waste any time on enacting it either. The sooner I can eliminate my threats, the sooner I can acquire even a remote sense of peace so I can survive.” Rainier took a seat and rested his head against crossing roots of the spider’s web tree.

“I’m curious about this plan you’ve concocted.” Sataska was more interested if Rainier had both brains as well as brawn. She wanted to be convinced of something, suggested by her expression.

“Your mother obviously cares a great deal about you, in a very obsessive manner at that. I have no doubt that she would sacrifice her entire brood to take you back. Thus you will be my hostage. The next ant she sends after you, most likely one of her personal guard again if she’s so confident in them, I’ll make him return a message about my returning you. During that time, we need to have you antagonize a group of arachnacosa and lure them to the area where the negotiations will take place.”

“Where will these negotiations take place?”

“In the perfect location, back at the oasis trap’s mouth. For these two damnable races to chase me around nonstop since I came to Ademptis, I’ll let them have only a single fate to be eaten alive. It’s perfect for my set of double revenge.