Luke P.O.V

Luke stared at the others as they all dealt with Red’s transformation. Ythass words had shaken the group more than Red’s explanation of her class. Although, it was pretty clear that Red was hiding things. Not that she was forced to reveal anything. Rather she had volunteered the information and explained that she couldn’t spar with anyone. She claimed that her skills wouldn’t discriminate, and they weren’t something she could stop either. Plus, her skills affected all of her attacks. This meant that her sparring could only happen with the monsters Mash made, or rather the magical puppets that weren’t actually alive. Even after Priscilla had consented to sacrifice her bodies for the sake of levels, Luke still found the whole thing disturbing. And even Red didn't want to torture a friend.

They had just finished dinner, which meant it was time for Luke to go on his own trial. He would advance similarly to Mash and wondered what he had done to earn the right. He wasn’t as strong as Mash. Both Red and Jill were stronger, even before their advancement. Despite all that, he was given the opportunity.

“Which dungeon should we get him to?”

Mash asked as the question as he put the dishes into his storage space. It had grown with his advancement and was big enough to house a village if he needed to. Luke was admittedly jealous of that too. His own storage item felt pointless in comparison. It was a funny thought, considering how much he had wanted the item. It was worth hundreds or thousands of gold, but money mattered so little to them. They were truly among the strongest adventurers, and their wealth had grown to match their position.

“I don’t know what’s closest?”

Luke replied to Mash as he tried not to look into his friend’s soul. Mash’s soul had fused with his body in a very unnatural way. It was melded to his flesh and body. The sight always bothered him, and after his last advancement, it made him feel odd.

“I have no idea; I don’t have a map. Also, I’m fairly certain that no matter where we go, there will be issues. There were at least five people at or around my level following me when I met you guys.”

“What? Who? And why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

The words broke Red’s melancholy a little, and she struggled not to yell at Mash. Her voice shook with restraint as she glared at him. Luke felt like this was one of those times when shouting was appropriate. He didn’t want to yell, but he sighed in exasperation. Mash raised his hands defensively as he replied.

“I did mention it a little, and, well, it’s kind of expected right? Plus, everything was happening so fast, and then we figured out the thing about killing Priscilla’s bodies to level.”

“Mash! We have been in this world for almost an entire day. You had plenty of time to mention literally any of this.”

It might have been a new life that Red had, but her anger was a lot more noticeable now. Even with her unnaturally youthful and child-like appearance. Actually, that might be the reason now that he thought about it.

She stepped toward him, and Mash actually stepped back. Considering the difference in build and demeanor it was a very strange sight. Red looked like a young teenager at best, and Mash was monstrous. He looked like something pretending to be human. His eyes were inverted in their colors, and he had narrow triangular pupils that were pure white, while the rest of his eye was pitch black. Jill’s eyes hadn’t changed from her advancement, but Red’s had. Her eyes were grey now to match her new hair color. More than that though it was his body that was unnatural. His muscle was too dense and refined that it made him look more like a beast. His hair was pure white, an impossible color for a human. Finally, he kept his teeth sharp. Not just his canines, every tooth was sharpened like a shark would be.

Thus the image of that monster stepping away from a pale, sickly, and little girl was weird. Luke would’ve done the same as he saw Red’s hands change color, they greyed in places and her fingertips turned black. Luke didn’t need the skill to know that it was dangerous. She froze and stared at her own hands, before lowering them and stepping back.

“That wasn’t intentional. I’m sorry. I think the class is messing with my emotions and control.”

Luke wanted to say it wasn’t her fault, but his words froze as he saw her face. Something about her class was bothering her more than she would admit. She hadn’t even done anything wrong, but her face contorted in fear and despair. She didn’t cry, but it seemed like she might. Mash didn’t freeze up.

“Nah, it’s fine. You should’ve seen what I did without knowing. I kind of changed the whole world and killed a lot of people. Poisoning or infecting a single person, especially me, doesn’t even qualify on my list of concerns. Plus, I think I can heal it. Begin Anew sounds like something that wouldn’t get stopped by much of anything.”

Mash was blabbering more than normal, but it worked. Red relaxed a little, and Lisa rested a hand on her shoulder. It wasn’t the right move. Red muttered something quietly, but he heard it in the awkward silence of the moment.

“Don’t. I need to be able to deal with it. And I’m sorry about before.”

Luke didn’t know what Red meant, but Lisa shook her head slightly.

“It was hurtful, but I can deal with words. I have dealt with worse. Also, I don’t need to soothe you completely, I can help you deal with trauma. I’ve done it before. A lot.”

Lisa sounded so understanding and patient that it revealed the truth of her statement.

“You shouldn’t have to deal with it. Least of all from me. I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. Your class changed, and not in a way that you wanted or liked. I know what that feels like.”

Luke heard the exchange and felt the sadness behind the words. The emotions they shared that he had no right to interfere in, and he felt a little jealous. Not of their relationship, but of what Lisa could do. He could heal people’s bodies, but he didn’t know how to help their minds. In truth that made him a poor healer and he knew it. Normally, healers would devote their lives to the task and would learn to do more than their skills would allow. That was what Mash’s sister was doing. Seeing Lisa, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should do it.

That was a nice thought. He couldn’t commit to it. Despite everything, he wanted to help his people. Even though he couldn’t support the beast king’s war, he wanted a place for Beastmen just like every member of his kind. He would carve that place for them eventually. That mattered more to him than healing or supporting the kingdom. If he had believed that the beast king could succeed, or that his cause was noble, Luke would’ve supported the man. It wasn’t a noble cause thought. The king had forced war upon his own people, and his actions would ruin the frail acceptance that had been established.

Mash nudged Luke to get his attention. Jill was beside him too.

“I think you should go to your trial. I think we should leave them alone for now.”

He gestured at Red and Lisa with his shoulders. Luke nodded, but Mash’s suggestion brought him back to their earlier discussion.

“How? The portals aren’t safe. You said that.”

“I figured that out. Mash’s portals are dungeon portals. He can just open one up to an old dungeon, and you can do the trial. Easy.”

Jill smiled as she proudly shared her insight. Luke gaped at her.

“Isn’t that wrong? It feels unfair.”

Jill grinned even wider at that.

“Yeah, so? Did you not just see what we did?”

Luke felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Mash nodded in understanding. It was his skill, but it was clearly Jill who had come up with the idea.

“Yeah, we will go with the same plan as last time. Hope you have as much as I did.”

Mash did not sound happy, but he summononed the familiar arch and a portal opened as he spoke. Luke stared at it a for a moment. This was sudden. Extremely sudden, he stared at the portal skeptically. What if it didn’t work? Or what if he died alone? The fear made him hesitate.

“Maybe I should wait…”

His voice tapered off as doubt filled him. Jill shook her head and vanished. She reappeared behind him and shoved him into the portal.

“Nah, good luck!”

Luke stumbled through the portal.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Mash P.O.V

Mash heard the closest approximation of a curse he had ever heard leave Luke’s mouth. He couldn’t even hear the whole word, but it felt like it was a curse. Mash faced Jill.

“He is going to get his revenge for that.”

Jill smiled at him.

“No, he’s too nice for that. And he’ll be fine. You know it.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true. Want to spar? Ythass, you can join too.”

The dragon was far away but he felt like she heard him anyways. She claimed that she wasn’t eavesdropping, and he imagined she wasn’t. Her hearing was just good. She nodded and dashed over in the blink of an eye.

“Do I need to remain in this form? I am far weaker in it.”

“If you want to practice in it sure, but you don’t need to. The spar won’t be too difficult either way. We need to go easy on Jill and Lisa if they join. We’ll have to figure something else out for Red.”

Jill spun on her heels and glared at him.

“Go easy on me? I’m the closest to invincible here.”

“Yeah, if that even matters. While me and Ythass might take a lot more hits, you can’t take a serious attack from one of us, at least not without risking your life.”

Mash replied bluntly. He could’ve been more tactful, but then he might say something stupid. It didn’t go over well either way.

“I can see into the future, and I have an invincible shield.”

Her voice had gone up an octave, but she wasn’t shouting just yet so Mash was able to interrupt easily.

“Yup, you do. Maybe we should do some demonstrations before sparring. I actually haven’t seen Ythass do anything yet.”

“Hey, that’s not true. You saw me fly and turn into this.”

Ythass responded testily as she gestured at her body. Mash ignored her mock offense.

“I think Lisa and Red would also be interested in that.”

Jill’s anger faltered a little since she was probably just as interested as the others. Mash had told them of his abilities, but he hadn’t shown them off yet. At least not to the same degree. He still wouldn’t risk using the aspect of change around them. Immortal though they may be, he didn’t trust it yet. The other aspect would be fine though.

“Fine, let’s do that instead but you go first.”

Jill teleported beside Lisa and Red, who were both watching him swell. Mash looked at Ythass who hadn’t moved. She saw his look and walked over to the others. Even if there wasn’t a proper stage, he didn’t want her standing right next to him. Mash looked at all of them. He considered mixing a ton of magic and doing another explosion but thought better of it. He was a bit too close to the others for that. He did the other thing instead. He held a hand up in the air, grinning like a mad fool as he got to show off.

The sky flashed. A greenish light illuminated the atmosphere for only an instant. The expected roar of thunder didn’t follow it, instead wood had appeared along the path of the light. It branched and split as lightning would, and it spread across the sky. It lacked leaves or green of any kind and looked like a dead shrub more than a tree. Even still it had arced and split a dozen times over and stretched far beyond his domain. His domain let him see the open mouths on all of their faces, even Ythass just stared at it dumbly. Then the tree started falling. At first, he didn’t care, but then he remembered that things lived in his world. People, animals, and even monsters inhabited it. A tree that large, even if it was a thing would do damage.

[Control it. It is connected to you still, make the branches pierce the ground and hold the main structure up.]

Mash nodded and did as Priscilla commanded. When he finished, it left his world with the strangest-looking tree he had ever seen. It was almost like a skeleton’s ribcage, if it consisted of many intersecting bones, and was made of wood. Either way, it was an ominous sight. Then he smiled and turned toward the others. He meant to do that, they didn’t believe him for a single second.