I feel so much better. Where once I felt weak, I now feel powerful. Each step, hand movement, and motion is quick and backed by strength and power. I feel good.

Both of my functioning eyes nearly betray me, sacrificing precious water for an emotional celebration. I almost keep my steel calmness, then the dam bursts. Eyes drowning in their own pool, my belly joins in on the party, and a fit of joyous laughter overwhelms me.

This whole time my body has felt off. Like it was a shadow of its potential. And that isn't even including these last four brief existences. Even after intense training, I still felt like it was wrong… It feels good to fix an insurmountable problem. Solving this mystery was much like quenching an unyielding thirst. "Behold my power!" I exclaim to the captivated audience, my sands, because why not embrace the moment? This is my victory, and I'll relish if I want to.

After satisfying my morale, I waste no more time. I turn towards the mountains and begin sprinting home. Running is no longer the chore it used to be. I am practically jumping from dune to dune. What had taken days to cross previously now takes moments. Within two hours, I am at the edge of the desert and near the creek. I'm not experiencing any shortage of breath, nor is my heart racing. Instead, I feel good. Really good.

The following five or so miles to my home offer no challenge, and I find myself back in my cave in no time.

My cave is as I left it. To be safe, I summon Bones. Before he jumps into a tirade, I motion for him to be silent. Mentally I command him to scout our area with me. We go through routine checks. Bones leaves his mouth agape, barely keeping his words at bay. Once we are satisfied, it is safe he can hold back his comments no longer.

"You can walk again! Man, was I tired of killing you." His hands are planted on his lips, and his energy expressions are jovial. "If felt so wrong, like I was going against my very nature. Can we burn the Dark Deep Woods down yet? That place is the worst. Also, I would like my new arms now. I think you owe me that much. "

"Bones, do you think it is possible for you to have multiple arms? Aesthetically speaking, you will definitely look more abominable. That's got to count for something." I ask sincerely, not wanting to harsh his vibe.

"Well, you are the one with the power. So maybe just try reshaping me with another set of arms. While you're at it, could you make my joints pointier? Give me pointy elbows, knees, maybe even points on my feet."

Taking Bones' advice, I un-summon my minion and then focus on all his arms. It takes a few tries to get them placed right and have them functioning correctly. Finally, after trial and error, we settle upon a form that works and looks almost normal. The trick is setting the extra arms just below the first set of arms. We were worried this might reduce functionality, but to our delight, there is minimal setback. When the extra arms aren't needed, they practically become one with his original arms.

After seeing his extra functioning arms, Bones requests four blades and then takes off in the direction of the dark woods. He is so excited about his new hands that he forgets about the fire he requested back in the desert. Which is a good thing. I have no idea how I'd help him acquire some firepower.

One thing is sure about the memory flashes I gained from the Spider Queen. With her leaving the brood, nothing will stop the spider population from devouring the entire island. Hungry spiders are ready to feast.

It takes all I have to resist following Bones into the woods. If not to fight the impending plague, then definitely to experience my strength. Giving myself a moment, I fight back the battle lust. Even if the parting thoughts can be trusted, I shouldn't be quick to send the spiders to their deaths.

Bones is recalled, and I suggest a plan before he can question my actions. "Boss, we could use more information about the spiders. Maybe we don't start off killing. Rather, maybe we can do some scouting, figure out what they are doing and then act?"

"Yup. Good suggestion. New plan. I will scout out the problem, and then later, we can talk about what we want to do." Having said that, Bones starts heading back to the dark woods. He gets no further than ten steps, turns around, and states. "I'm gonna still need some blades."

"Right. But do you really? You are only scouting. The task doesn't require any stabbing or slicing." Despite my words, I summon two swords and four axes for him.

"You know the scouting motto. Have enough weapons for any occasion."

"That's definitely not the motto." I help Bones equip the weapons while simultaneously calling out his bull.

"You don't know." Bones objects to my objection defensively. "You've never been a scout."

"Neither have you, boss."

"False! Objectively false. It was my first scouting mission when I found this new home of ours." His hand motions from the cave to the pond, covering the entire woods around us.

"Shoot. I walked right into that one." I say a little quieter.

Full of pride, he continues. "I remember that mission like it was yesterday. Do you know how many monsters I couldn't fight off because I didn't have any weapons?" He pauses, hoping I will take a guess. I don't. "It was more than one…Ill-equipped and unprepared, it was then the motto of the first scout was born." Bones is clutching tight to a sword now. I am surprised the weapon isn't dramatically suspended in the air.

Invigorated from his own words, Bones drops the conversation and heads out. Just when he is about to ascend the steep hill, he turns back to me, raises his sword in the air, and shouts. "Preparation is everything!" Hand still raised high, he runs up the hill and eventually out of my line of sight.

Hard to argue with that. Though that could possibly be the number one contender for worst battle cry, even if the battle is primarily observational in nature.

Following Bones' motto, I get started on my own preparations. Upgrading my ranged weapon.

My best bow was last seen in the hands of the spider queen. I most likely will not be getting that back any time soon. That leaves me with the second bow that Bones practices with from time to time. Though I haven't tested it out, I can feel my strength has increased tremendously. If I can build a bow that matches my new strength, I will have a powerful long-range weapon.

Plan in mind, I get to work. Reinforcement bone is added to the body. Similar steps were taken with my other bow. This time, I make the bone plating as thick as possible while allowing flex. Sinew wraps the bow keeping the plating in place. My last upgrade is adding sinew corded around webbing for my drawstring. This addition to the string results in a draw strength that I don't think previous versions of me would have been able to use.

Larger and bulkier, the bow feels powerful. Regular bone arrows shatter when they are fired from the bow. For it to work correctly, I create thicker and slightly longer chitin arrows. Grooves are implemented into the arrows that spiral down the shaft. I am amazed by the result when I fire my improved bow and arrow. My arrow travels through a hickory tree and pierces the tree behind it, culminating in a loud smacking noise.

Losing my connection to the scorpses was the biggest setback from my death. Since none of my other traps have produced results in my absence, it is up to me to hunt. That is, if I want fresh food to eat. At the moment, nothing sounds better. Maybe all the time I spent rotting has me currently wanting to avoid my preserved food.

Extending out my energy sense, I gain a new appreciation for the mana surrounding me. Green and brown energies are abundant in the ground, rocks, and vegetation. Light blue energy fills the air around me. Deeper shades of blue appear everywhere water is. Pale gray energy is concentrated in my graveyard. Most abundant is the lighter shade of yellow that can be found in all things living. I can feel all the mana around me giving me a vibrant picture of my home.

Following the trace of light yellow energy, I find the most activity on the south side of the pond. Using energy sense makes hunting so much easier. In little time, I'm able to locate a good-sized deer. Silently, I stalk the deer until I'm twenty yards away. Trees are blocking my shot, so I wait. The moment the deer steps into my line of sight, I release an arrow. Like threading a needle, the arrow passes through the narrow opening between trees finding its intended target.

When I get to the downed deer, it is a gruesome sight. Next time I am going to have to use a less intense arrow. Still, there is plenty of meat to harvest. Everything useful is harvested or absorbed. The rest I leave for other forest scavengers. My food is packed up in little time, and I am heading home.

While the deer cooks, I get to work creating more arrows. Even though I can summon arrows near instantly, it might be nice to have a reserve in case my mana runs dry. I'm in the middle of creating my ninety-ninth arrow when I am interrupted.

"Yo, Cap. You gonna make me walk home, or can you do what you do and save us some time… Wait a moment. I take that back. Cap, I am going to need you to call me back." The voice of Bones suddenly in my mind catches me off guard, leaving me with a severely deformed arrow. When my nerves settle, I un-summon my bent arrow first, then recall Bones.

"Spiders are everywhere." Bones shivers uncontrollably. "On trees, in the dirt. It is impossible to escape their webs. So gross." He keeps wiping his body using all of his arms. "So gross."

"Boss, how close to the Deep Woods are they?"

"They are in the Deep Woods. The Deep Woods are becoming the Dark Woods as we speak."

"Any sign of the queen?"

"No, but that is hardly different than before, right?"

"Right." I take a break from the conversation to grab a piece of my cooked venison. My stomach is demanding some attention. Only after a couple of bites do I pick the conversation back up. "So, what is your plan of action?" Promoting Bones to the boss is absolutely the best thing I have done.

Bones fills the silence by stroking his goatee formed of mana, giving himself a moment to consider his options. "I have two thoughts.

"One thought, we go on the aggressive. By squatter's rights, this is our home. We live here. We have the right to defend it and fight for it. Not only that, I believe life in most of this forest will be consumed by spiders if there is no force to keep it in check. Unfortunately, we are the only force I know of capable of fighting them. Everything else we have encountered so far doesn't stand a chance.

"Or, on the other hand, we flee. This doesn't have to be our fight if we don't want it. And home is where you make it. We can find some other hollowed-out rocks by peaceful water and be just as happy there. There is no reason for us to face the nasty plague. We also have to consider the real possibility that they do capture you and kill you. The threat will become so much bigger than Grundle. It might be best for the forest if we leave now."

I think deeply about Bones' suggestions while I finish my meal. The rest of the meat I didn't eat is being preserved, and a small amount is being slowly cooked for tomorrow's breakfast. Once I am done with my food, I wash my hands and sit back down, still deep in thought.

"From a fighting perspective, it would be a good time to test our new strength. You know, science and stuff. I'm not saying that is the right thing to do. Just another thing to consider." I will be honest and admit I am itching to test my new strength, and spiders are looking like a natural measuring stick. While at the same time, I am a bit disturbed by my callous thoughts.

"However, we did kill a lot of spiders already, and I feel a little bad about it. Though we have a right to live, we were only trying to exist. They did not have to persist in their hunt. Also, I can't help but think the queen wants us to help her. It kind of seemed like there was a spider rebellion. Consider me conflicted."

"So you are good either way?" Bones looks me in the eye, and I nod my head yes. "Then get some sleep. Tomorrow we fight."