General Irkish’s morning wasn’t going well. On top of having to manage the majority of the war, their kingdom's recent growth had led to some serious imbalance. The kingdom had ten individuals over level 200 now. It was a problem since two of them were beastmen. One of whom had inherited a king class. Unsurprisingly, they gained the throne of beasts. Having dominion over monsters was an annoying ability.

There were four kinds of powers that could be inherited at 200. Thrones were what kings or lords occupied. Divinity was naturally for the gods. Then came aspects, but those only belonged to monsters. Few people knew that monsters leveled and advanced. In their case, it was more of an evolution. Finally, there were people like her. Classers who didn’t want to abandon their class and levels gained a secondary class. Those were the most annoying to deal with. Unlike the monsters and gods, who she was fairly certain earned some method to return from death, classers and kings didn’t get that ability. Kings were tied to their kingdoms. They could only really die once their kingdom collapsed. As for classes, they lost their weaknesses to an extent.

The second class she had gained was the reason she had outlived even the kings. Even gods and monsters couldn’t do much damage to her. She was known as a guardian for a reason. Even still she was bothered by the beastmen. She had sent three level 200 individuals after them, but the beastmen were still resisting. The king shouldn’t have the power to stop them, even with an army of monsters at their back. No, she was certain it was their other elite that was the problem. Like her, the beastmen’s champion was proving troublesome. That was also the problem with classers. Unlike the other avenues for power, secondary classes didn’t announce themselves to the world when they were achieved.

The rest of the war honestly, wasn’t that bad. The north had a plethora of worthless leaders and few actually capable combatants. The south had just been opportunistic and hadn’t mustered their full might. Plus, armies of undead could be handled by a handful of people over level 100. Internal problems were the cause of her stress. Arthur had broken at the news of Mash’s presumed death. Normally, that wouldn’t be a concern. But his mood affected the city. He was a hero and pledged to one of the princesses. Not to mention his sister had been even worse. She had very vocally criticized her own goddess for not doing to help. It had already been a month, yet they weren’t doing any better. The worst part of that was that she had dumped most of her paperwork to Arthur, and now she couldn’t even do that.

She had been sitting in her office going for over three hours and even more, reports lined her desk. She had been working on them when she felt something change. Her head rang with a warning, and the entire world seemed to react. She cursed, and the king warped into her room.

“What monster was it? The harpy to the east? But when did pass level 150?”

She asked the question as soon as the king arrived. It didn’t even surprise her, and she was sure the others at their level would be asking soon enough.

“No, and this isn’t just one aspect. I feel two within the same being, which shouldn’t be possible. There aren’t any monsters that were close enough, which means it came through a dungeon. The aspects are strange too. One is warping the world, and the other is breaking my control over the land.”

The king sounded worried, and Irkish wasn’t slow on the uptake. If something could take away his control, then it could kill him. His power was his kingdom, and the more he lost, the more susceptible he became.

“Isn’t it in your domain?”

“I told you it's blocking my control. Its reach is a little over 15 thousand feet, so I can’t get anything more than you.”

The king sounded annoyed more than worried. She nodded. They had weathered worse than an unknown high-level monster. The issue was they had too much to deal with already. A monster of the scale the king imagined would take more attention than they could give.

“I think we need to try and pacify or redirect it. Allow me to access the vaults, we should have something to tempt it away.”

The king understood and trusted her implicitly.

“Agreed but go yourself and take the Hunter with you.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Lisa P.O.V.

Lisa fought against what was a swarm of something. It was a monster, but she didn’t know what to call it. It was somehow a horrific combination of a spider, a turtle, and a bird. A shell had openings for eight legs, although it had a beaked head and pincers simultaneously. Furthermore, its shell could open into a pair of wings granting it a limited amount of flight. In the scope of everything she had seen during the war, she put it as the third worst monster she had seen.

She dodged out of the way as it bit at her legs and ducked another as it flew overhead. Jill appeared beside the one in front and skewered it with her javelin. Lisa held a hand upward and shot a simple spike of mana through the monster. It didn’t do much physical damage but cut through its mana and softened them up for her to kill them with a swift strike of her sword. She had picked up a simple scimitar, its only enchantments were for sharpness and durability.

As another monster dashed at her, she prepared to deal with it, when she felt something within her change. Mash’s mark which covered her right arm changed. The teeth marks tattooed onto her skin morphed, and it hurt. Hurt enough that she dropped her weapon and clutched at the hand. She bit her lip rather than scream but couldn’t react to the charging monster. Jill appeared and killed the monster easily, before turning to her.

“What’s wrong? What is…”

Jill trailed off as she realized that it was the mark. Something had happened to Mash, but they had no idea what. Jill moved rather than talk, as Lisa just struggled not to scream. Her whole arm felt like it was burning. Even her bones felt hot. Jill grabbed her and they both vanished, reappearing near Luke in a different part of the battlefield.

“She’s hurt, something to do with the mark.”

Jill spoke fast then vanished again, presumably returning to where they had been

“Is it Mash? What do you feel?”

Luke peppered Lisa with questions as he began healing her. The pain diminished enough that she could talk, but it wasn’t easy.

“I. Don’t. Know.”

“Don’t force yourself to talk, we can talk later.”

His gaze stayed on her arm, and she stared at it too. The bite marks that had been the tattoo were changing. Each bite mark turned instead into a flower. It maintained the color, but the shapes changed. Before long, her whole arm was covered in flowers of different sizes, shapes, and colors. There were roses, sunflowers, and many more. All the pain had changed to awe as she stared at the beautiful tattoo. She had been wearing long sleeves to hide the previous tattoo but was now thinking of clothes to compliment it.

“Now, that is something I could live with. But what is it?”

Red spoke as she walked into the tent where Luke was. Lisa shook her head indicating that she didn’t know. She would find out and moved her focus inward.

Name: Lisa Class: Bonded Mana Dancer

Level: 138 → 146

Health: 1911 / 2050

Stamina: 1934 / 2040

Mana: 4220 / 5490

Fortitude: 198 → 205

Endurance: 201 → 204

Strength: 101 → 140

Agility: 302 → 310

Intelligence: 511 → 549

Wisdom: 200

Charisma: 312 → 350

Free Stats: 0 → 80

Skills: Charismana, Mana Armor, Haste, Master’s Message, Lead’s Supporter, Mana Signature, Temporary Mana Battery, Dancer’s Pull, Partner of Mana, Mask of the Slave, Bound Dancer’s Chain, The Devourer’s First Marked → The Chimera of the Beginning’s First Marked

The Devourer’s First Marked → The Chimera of the Beginning’s First Marked (Unique): The first to be marked by the Chimera. The boon of the Chimera, your skills advance more quickly. The monster’s interest is not without benefits. Gain levels more rapidly. Race changes become more common. The Chimera has no control over you as it has offered you a new beginning, but your growth will help the Chimera grow.

Lisa smiled, relieved to see the change. It meant that Mash was still alive and had succeeded. The new mark seemed even better than the old one. It was a little frightening to know that the old mark had given Mash some control over her. This one explicitly stated that it didn’t, and it meant that she could finally give something back to him. She had gained levels fast despite not killing that many things. The problem with a war against another army was healers. People rarely died, and they didn’t have the time or desire to confirm their kills in a big battle. Luke, Red, and Jill all struggled with that. Jill had killed a lot of people on their first fight, but her explosion had done way too much damage to the battlefield to be used again. Lisa knew Jill was troubled by it.

That had been the reason they moved from the southern front to deal with the horde of monsters that the Beastmen King was controlling. Jill could be a little freer with her magic. Red’s magic was arguably just as indiscriminate, but her control over it was better. Even still, she didn’t get many kills. Monsters or people would flee and get healed, and there wasn’t much she could do about it. Also, they weren’t supposed to intentionally kill people beneath level 100. It was something every side had agreed to.

“Well, what is it?”

Jill asked as she teleported into the tent. Lisa excitedly explained the changes. The group all felt the same relief she had. Mash was alive.

____________________________________________________________________________

Mash P.O.V.

Mash was about to return to his world when he remembered the weapon. The staff had withstood everything. Even after digging out of his shell, he had found the weapon undamaged. Which was especially impressive when he got to see his cocoon. It was bigger than the mountain and had grown on it like the top of a tree. He looked at the staff, and now that his domain worked, he could tell that it was a magical item now.

[What happened to it?]

He tried to analyze the item and could actually see a lot of the details. His domain was strictly better, even beyond the growth in its size. He knew the growth was a good thing too, but it gave him a bad headache. His senses were beyond what his mind could easily handle. He guessed that this was pushing the limits of his mental stats. He would make sure to increase those stats next. It would be fine once he adapted to it, but there wasn’t anything he could do to speed that up now. He focused on Priscilla’s response as she scanned the item with his new senses.

[I believe it will become tougher and be able to repair itself. It would be best to check with a professional once you go back. Also, you told me to remind you to check your blood bond. It has been a while, and this recent change is likely to affect it as well.]

Mash wondered if he should bond to the item. It had held up well in this trial and deserved it. What was the worst-case scenario? It would always function as a staff. He channeled a tiny amount of mana into the item and felt it respond. Then the weapon and vanished, and he felt a slight sting on his fingers. The word ‘teeth’ had been tattooed across his fingers. He stared at the black letters as they spread across his finger. That was a weird one for sure.

[I believe that tattoo is the most appropriate considering the nature of your abilities. The flowers do not fit your nature.]

Priscilla’s snarky message surprised him. She rarely made jokes, but then again, she might be serious. It was the truth that this fit his image better than the flowers. Now that was done, he did what she had suggested, and grabbed the book that would have the skill in it. The book was a little different, and he noticed there were a lot more stories and information on his skill.

Path of the Blood Bond

Armor: A bonded armor is a set meant to represent and protect your life. It signifies the strength of your life. It will forever match you.

Shaping: The armor automatically shapes itself to fit your body, regardless of changes.

Connection: The armor’s state reflects your own, its design molded by your thoughts.

Physical Defense: The armor’s physical defense is proportional to 1.5 times your Vitality.

Magical Defense: The armor’s magical defense is proportional to 1.5 times your Mind.

Temperature Adjustment: The armor will automatically adjust to your environment.

Cloak of Identity: Resist or block tracking or scrying attempts.

Armor for the Army: Produce lesser versions of the armor for others.

Connection through Cloth: Your cloth can reattach separated limbs.

Mash stared at the new abilities and just hoped that the ‘Armor for the Army’ came after his recent evolution. If it was before then he really should’ve given his friends a set. Taking it in a positive light, it looked like he would have gifts.