Stanley flew through the air ducts and up to a higher floor. "Something has changed…" Something had happened after he killed the previous two bats.

He'd frozen them, killed them and taken the Cores. He even kept them frozen until he was a floor above. But now the bats weren't settling back down. No more sleepy bats, only Danger! Attack? Sound? Danger! Or variations of that.

+0.4 Intelligence

+0.2 Strength

"Better than nothing…" Stanley had made another odd discovery. The windows around each floor were indestructible. He'd had the bright idea of dragging some Red Eyes from where they sat on the neighboring building, to get their Cores. It worked… except the damn thing had died by slamming into the outside of the building. The window was unblemished and he couldn't get the Core through afterwards. The sound of the impact on the building hadn't even come through.

He CUT the window.

Undamaged…

To Exit, Clear the Beast Lair or Retreat to the Entrance.

"Fucking magic!" He'd froze when he saw and felt the Raid Leader coming. It'd hovered in the air outside and just looked at him. Stanley shivered at the memory. The creepy thing didn't do anything but sit there. Stanley had even tried to CUT it. A glowing sphere had flashed around it and otherwise nothing else happened.

"Fucking magic!" He cursed again. He didn't know why his Energy could pass the window or even if the Undead's could not. He assumed not since it only watched him until Stanley heard the bats coming and had to hide again.

"That shield…" Stanley grimaced. Magic was a problem. He hadn't been able to block it before and now it was blocking him. "Mind over Matter…" He thought. "Matter is technically Energy, right? And magic is just Energy, right?" He mused as he waited for his own Energy to recharge.

The other problem was if he killed too many bats, then the Undead might decide to come inside after him.

This 'Beast Lair' was something specific and maybe designed, so the kamikaze style of fighting they used must be sustainable somehow. "Maybe all the bats that were running away with the Mana…" He mused. "Taking it somewhere?"

Stanley focused on his new Skill and let it go longer, trying to get a bigger picture of the building. Bats. Above and below. Raid Leader flying slowly around the building. "Piece of shit." More bats above. Many more.

Undead outside. So many Undead all around him. More… something...

Stanley pulled his focus away as the inputs threatened to overwhelm him again. "There are lots of bats. Should be more than enough for me to kill without weakening them." As long as he didn't trigger a swarm and find himself forced to slaughter them.

Stanley wasn't really afraid of the bats, they were weak and he felt that he could kill enough to escape if necessary. But he had sensed something high above himself, something that made him think 'bat' but different somehow, stronger and… smarter?

He felt his Energy nearing capacity and set off to find more Cores. Caffeine was sleeping on his chest still and Stanley was careful to let him rest. Although the exploding bats made sleep difficult. "You always go all out Caff." He thought of the pug defending him in the street. "You earned your rest and a feast… as soon as I find some damn food."

Stanley was trying to stay low in the building, partly because there were increasingly more enemies the higher he went and also he suspected that this 'Lair' was akin to a Dungeon. The deeper, or higher, you go. The stronger the monsters. And somewhere up there would be a boss monster. "That one I sensed…" Plus keeping a large number of the bats in the area and on edge would hopefully help deter the Undead from trying anything.

Stanley flew through the ducts with his eyes closed, using his power to 'see' the sides of his tunnel. It was slow but he was getting better at taking in the sensory inputs and building a mental picture of his surroundings. Not that hard when you're in a narrow tunnel… but improvement, any improvement, was good.

He stopped on a floor that only had four bats and sent his mind’s eye slowly through the space. Starting at one side, he slowly touched everything, looking for something like a vending machine. The mental image he was building wasn't great but… "There!"

His power had brushed through a box near a wall and inside he had felt a lot of smaller things. Not 'that' helpful but once he focused in more closely, he was sure. "Vending machine." And next to it was another similarly shaped box that he was pretty sure was a drink machine. "Jackpot!"

Rather than kill the bats, Stanley tried something different. He reached into an office in the corner and started rattling a chair ever so slightly. As he did that he watched the bats perk up and start crawling that way. Sound! Danger? Hungry!

All four moved to the office and once they were all inside he very gently shut the door and waited. None of them freaked out and he moved cautiously out of the vent. He confirmed with his eyes that they couldn't see out from the office before he floated silently to the vending machines. Robbing the machines was easy. Staying quiet was a bit harder. He eventually settled on making an airless bubble and just grabbing all the snacks that Caffeine could eat and dumping them out on the floor. He grabbed all the chocolate for himself, though he did wonder if it mattered anymore what the pug ate.

Caffeine woke up when the snacks started piling onto the floor and Stanley managed to focus enough to create an encircling airless gap. They both went to town on the snacks and the water that he held in an invisible bowl in the air for Caffeine.

Stanley was nervous the whole time, waiting for any bats to come up or down to their floor. And he did feel something descending as they finished up and he climbed back into the ducts. They went down a level and Stanley found a bathroom and repeated his luring technique to clear the way.

As they came out and headed to the vent Stanley hesitated. There was a new Soul above him. Right where they had been eating. The Soul was giving him new sensations. Smell! Intruder! Danger! Hungry!

"That can't be good… none of the others were chasing smells." He reached up mentally and touched it. It was a bat, a bigger bat than the others, and he watched it stalking around until it suddenly jumped onto the ceiling and started nosing at the vent. "Shit. It's following my smell?"

Stanley hurried into the ventilation and headed back up. The bat was scratching at the vent and it pulled the cover off as he approached.

STOP

It was slightly stronger than the smaller bats and Stanley quickly killed it and collected the Core before the drain grew too high. He sent it to a far corner away from the office with the other bats and let it go.

It exploded, sort of. Instead of the bang of detonating Mana, it just popped. A sound wave or vibration, rippled past them and Caffeine whined just a bit as it did. The creature wasn't destroyed by its death like the others, it's head however, was gone. And something tiny was drifting away from it, like a cloud of dust.

+0.3 Strength

Stanley grabbed the vent cover as the chaos began. He forced it back, mostly into place, as the four bats in the office started crashing against the closed door. Above, the chirping and screeching was gaining enough volume to travel through the building and reach his ears. "They are coming…"

Stanley flew through the ducts, heading up. He figured if everything was going down, then he might get behind enemy lines before more of the new scent hunting bats found his trail. "Something is smart up there…" Something had figured out that he was inside and realized that Mana wasn't being used. And now he had a new bat looking for him. "Can new monsters get created like that? Or was it just staying higher before?"

Stanley thought about the Undead all over the place outside. "Did the Mana eaters get created to handle the Undead?" It was a disturbing thought. He really hoped they wouldn't be able to create a hard counter for him, at least not until he was finished here.

He went up a few floors as he sensed a whole lot of bats descending through the elevator shafts nearby. There were at least three more of the new bats among them.

Stanley was tempted to kill them but wasn't sure if that would be better or worse. Plus he wouldn't be able to collect the Cores and pinpointing them without seeing them was still a bit tricky.

Instead he settled into a new spot and wrapped his arms around the sleeping pug. "Get your rest Caff… I might need your help later."

He focused onto his [Soul Awareness] and watched the bats below as they crowded around the dead one. He had to keep pulling back from his Skill as the information overloaded his senses, so he watched in skipping time as the bats went from crowding the dead, to being spread through the room, to crowded around the air vent, to crawling through the ducts. "Fuck me."

Stanley reached his mind down towards them, following the ducts to guide him, and simply killed all three by breaking their necks. He only stopped two, letting the third's head explode to see if it would still give up a Core.

It did. He grabbed all three and started pulling them back as the strange pulses shot past. Part way back he remembered the 'dust' that came from their heads and quickly dragged the Cores through a vacuum in an attempt to keep whatever it was away from him.

+0.5 Strength

+0.5 Vitality

+0.4 Intelligence

"So close…" More screeching sounded out from above and below and Stanley saw the regular bats had followed the new ones into the ducts and they were exploring rapidly up and down.

Stanley flew higher up the building, he wasn't sure how many floors he passed, until he sensed more of the smelling bats along with a new bigger variant.

The bigger one was clicking and each click resounded through Stanley, making his teeth ache. All three stopped in the elevator shaft, only feet away. "They found me?" He had time to think before they all turned and charged straight at him. "God dammit!"

Stanley killed them all by blasting the metal air duct into a cloud of shrapnel. When the new bigger bat died it didn't explode. It pulsed, over and over with an ear wrenching tone. Every bat Stanley could sense turned and headed straight towards him. "Fuck you!"

Stanley grabbed the Cores and dove through an open elevator door and out into the wide open office space.

+0.2 Dexterity

+0.4 Strength

+0.3 Perception

The few bats in the room died.

+0.3 Vitality

+0.4 Intelligence

+0.5 Strength

He threw their stilled body's into the shaft just as more were climbing and swooping into sight.

The explosion cleared the entrance and Stanley swept up the cubicle walls, desks, everything that wasn't nailed down. He threw it all against and around the open elevator doors.

Caffeine was awake and squirmed free to stand before him. "We're in for it now, Caff…" He turned and saw the Skeletal Necromancer, the Raid Leader hovering outside the window behind him. "Fuck!" He managed not to flinch and turned back to the elevators as the screeching reached a crescendo. Behind him he felt the Leader drop down and out of range. "That can't be good…" The pile of debris started rattling and bouncing as Stanley winced and his ears screamed. A bat crashed out of the air vent just as a few more crawled through or around his improvised barrier. "Idiot! Forgetting the vent!" He smashed the air vent upwards and crushed the duct into a useless dead end.

The duct exploded where he had accidentally crushed a bat, meanwhile he stopped the three that had made it out of the elevator shafts and killed them. He snatched the Cores and threw the bats through a path he created in the pile and through the elevator doors.

Stanley slapped a mental wall over the opening to the shaft as the bats exploded and the screeching dropped from painful to annoying. He crushed the blown out air duct again, carefully, to avoid killing another bat. A distant explosion rang out somewhere far below. "They are coming… fuck!"

Stanley absorbed the Cores in his hands…

+0.4 Intelligence

+0.3 Perception

+0.2 Vitality

You have reached the F Rank Threshold.

Evolution to E Rank has begun.

"Oops…" Stanley had a moment to see Caffeine grow large in front of him and then something happened in his head and darkness swallowed him up. He hung in the darkness for an eternity until something changed.

Evolution options are Available.

Ranking up is a period of personal Evolution and growth. As a [Human] you are [Adaptable] and you now have the chance to alter your destiny. Choose wisely.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Stanley floated in the void around his Soul and looked at the sight before him. "I wasn't ready…" Ghostly paths stretched out from his Soul and led into alternate versions of himself. "Caff…" His thoughts felt sluggish and thick as he tried to orient himself and make sense of his surroundings, all while wondering if Caffeine was safe. He was really hoping that this only took an instant. "Hold on Caff."

His eyes landed on the first path.

[Human](E Rank)

Stay on the path of Humanity. Adapt to survive.

Traits: [Adaptable]

(Unavailable)

He saw his Soul as the glowing crack faded and the [Source] slipped free from it. His Soul crumbled and rotted, falling to pieces, while turning to dust and blowing away. Simultaneously or alternatively the crack split wider and grew brighter until his Soul was swallowed up by the [Source] and only a blinding light remained. "I would die." He realized why it was unavailable.

Stanley forced his eyes away, glad that this System wasn't actively trying to kill him, and looked at the next option.

[Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

You have been irrevocably changed by prolonged contact with a [Source].

You have made Choices. Those Choices don't have to be permanent and can still be changed.

While still mostly Human, you have started down a path but may still take an alternate route. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Adaptable] [Source-Touched]

(Yes/No)

He saw himself amongst shadowy allies fighting against an army of faceless foes, sword in one hand and a Psionic shield in the other. Caffeine stood strong beside him. Energy surged from his blade and fire cut into the hordes opposing him. Energy swirled throughout his body and he moved in a deadly blur through his foes, cutting a path that his allies moved into behind him.

"I would get Mana?" He wondered as his mind tried to process what he was seeing. "No… that's not Mana… but I would lose my other trait? I don’t know…"

He turned to the next option. "No time to waste."

[Psionic Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

You have been irrevocably changed by contact with a [Source].

You have forcefully altered your body to accept more Psionic Energy.

You have made Choices. Accept your Choices Permanently.

While still mostly Human, you have started down a path. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Adaptable] [Source-Touched] [I Made My Choice]

(Yes/No)

He saw himself hovering in the air. His posture stooped, his face wrinkled and ancient. Caffeine was inside his jacket and cuddled against his chest as the enemy army charged at them. A withered hand rose up and swept through the air. The army fell. The old man bent lower and flew slowly down to sit amongst his shadowy allies.

"I could be young again… if I give up that trait? But if not… is that the price of power?" He wasn't sure how much these visions really meant. "Is this the future? Can anything actually predict the future?" He wasn't really sure anymore. But he doubted it. Maybe it was just one possible future out of many, that seemed more likely. "Choices…"

[Source-Touched Beastkin Human](E Rank)

You have been Soul Bonded to a powerful Beast Lord.

Let go of your tight grip on Humanity. Embrace the Beast Lord within. Lead your Pack.

While still partially Human, you can start down a new path. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Source-Touched] [Beastkin Lord] [Semi-Adaptable]

(Yes/No)

The next one showed him as a werewolf-like beastman. He was charging into the faceless enemies, claws and teeth bared as he ripped and tore his enemies apart. Caffeine ran beside him and they both stopped in the middle of the army. Caffeine howled into the sky. The enemy army faltered. Stanley saw himself laughing before he joined in the Howl. The army broke and ran. He and Caffeine didn't hesitate, they tore a bloody swath through the fleeing foes and feasted richly on their enemies flesh as they went.

"...gets rid of the pain of being a man." There was a beautiful simplicity to it. "But I don't know if that's enough to survive."

Stanley looked to the next.

[Eternal Source-Touched Undead](E Rank)

You have been attacked by multiple sources of Death, Corruption and Decay and have Resisted. You have been offered a place of power amongst the Undead.

Stop Resisting. Forsake Humanity. Embrace Eternity as an Undead Lord.

No longer Human, you can start down a new path. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Source-Touched] [Eternal Undead]

(Yes/No)

He saw himself as a white haired old man looking out over an endless army of Undead. The army knelt before him and the old man turned around. Half of his face was only a pale skull and blinding white light shown from the eyeless socket. Next to Stanley, another old man mirrored him, Lee. Together they ruled over an entire world of Undead.

He knew it was the Earth, now a desolate wasteland. "We could be safe… no more running or fighting with the Undead, we could rule the world." There was a temptation there. To stop fighting the Undead. He remembered what that thing had said. "...entire worlds to rule…" He could be safe. Could change sides. How hard would it be to defeat the humans? Many would probably join him willingly. "We could live forever…"

Caffeine sat between them, his coat no longer gray. Instead it was pure inky black. The pug loomed above them as he chewed on a bone. His tail didn't wag. His eyes didn't roam and roll excitedly. He chewed angrily, hungrily, desperately. His eyes carried no more curious friendliness, only hunger.

In the vision they both turned to a glowing portal leading into a beautiful and pristine world on the other side. Ripe for conquest.

"We would rule dead worlds." He thought. "Forever looking for new worlds to destroy."

The price of this power was high.

"Always hungry, never satisfied."

Too high.

The vision of Caffeine like that… "He would follow me willingly and happily… but the result…"

He tore his mind away from that nightmare and looked back to his other options.

"As much fun as it might be to go Beast mode… I don't think I can." He decided. "Sorry Caff, you would probably enjoy that."

He looked at his only real option. "I need power." He thought. "And I will pay the price for it."

Evolution Chosen.

[Psionic Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

Attributes Upgrading.

Strength: No Fortification

Vitality: No Fortification

Dexterity: +1 Fortification

Perception: +1 Fortification

Intelligence: +5 Fortification

Willpower: +22 Fortification

Stanley felt something happening. He was suddenly back in his body and lying on the floor. He could feel Energy in his body, rising up from somewhere, everywhere. Every cell was bursting with it. No… it wasn't inside his cells. It was surrounding them.

As he watched he saw the Energy was sinking into his cells, his bones, everything. Digging in.

He felt his body seem to shrink and tighten as the Energy dug into every part of him.

It hurt.

It really hurt!

His eyes burned briefly and then his head exploded.

He wanted to scream but his body was too far away. Stanley wailed, silent and helpless in the void, as power flooded into him and from him.

Caffeine looked back at Dearest Human and whined sadly. Dearest Human had very suddenly laid down and seemed to be having a nap. But Dearest Human was not having a good nap. He smelled like pain and hurting… but not dying. And he was glowing. The hurting glow seemed to be making him better… That was good. Dearest Human hurt himself a lot, it would be good if he was tougher.

Caffeine was hungry and tired. The Stinky Not Humans had been very bad and tried to hurt Dearest Human. Now the Flapping Dogs were chasing him. "No!" Caffeine Barked.

The tiny Dogs jumped away and fell down. They started getting back up and coming close again. "Danger! Attack! Hungry!" Was all they would say, even when Caffeine did his best sad whine. "I'm hungry too!" He whined but they didn't listen, only charged.

"No! Bad Dogs!" Caffeine growled at the tiny Flapping Dogs. They all sat very still, and very obedient. "Good…" They charged again. "No!" He Barked. They jumped back again. "Dearest Human needs to rest." He huffed. "I can't play right now."

A Flapping Dog jumped into the air over Caffeine and toward Dearest Human and Caffeine had enough, he ate the tiny thing in one bite.

He swallowed it and it made his belly feel weird and not in a 'eating Dogs is bad' way.

Caffeine growled again and while they sat still he warned them. "I will eat all of you if you don't let Dearest Human rest."

"Danger! Attack! Danger! Hungry!"

Caffeine decided then. "If you will not stop, you are food."

And Caffeine was hungry.

They attacked and Caffeine ate them all before they reached Dearest Human. His stomach felt very weird but also like he just had dinner. "Good snack, but would rather have chicken!"

More Flapping Dogs came in.

"Dearest Human needs to sleep." He woofed at the tiny Flapping Dogs. "Please let him rest or he might anger shout at you when he wakes up."

They didn't listen and Caffeine ate them when they tried to jump on Dearest Human.

The ones who jumped onto Caffeine were okay. They only wanted to snuggle and play bite. "Don't fall on Dearest Human." He reminded them with a friendly huff as he walked closer to the big Hole. "We can play over here." Caffeine lay down and rolled over.

Some of the Flapping Dogs ran away and jumped into the big Hole. The others got tired of playing with him and tried to play with Dearest Human. Caffeine ate them. His belly was feeling not good. "Like too many snacks." He thought, before giving himself a good shake.

"I am very tired." Caffeine realized and he sighed. "I must be starving… too many snacks… that's not a real thing." He couldn’t believe he had such a strange thought.

Interesting noises and bangs came from the Hole. "I'm a good boy." But Caffeine decided to stay and comfort Dearest Human. "The Hole is not that interesting."

More tiny and some less tiny Flapping Dogs came from the Not Very Interesting Hole. They moved towards Dearest Human and Caffeine politely warned them again. "I will eat you." He Growled.

They all stopped again. "Even though you taste bad." He Barked and a lot of the tiny Flapping Dogs jumped into the very, Very Not Interesting Hole. Some of them missed and crashed into the wall.

More Flapping Dogs climbed from the Hole, one of them was bigger than the others.

They started walking forward on their Flapping legs and Caffeine stepped forward politely to meet them. "Dearest Human is very tired." He huffed. They didn't stop, very rude. "If you make him anger shout, I will eat you." He Barked, only a little, only to explain that he was serious.

They all jumped backwards very suddenly and fell over. Caffeine sat down again after making sure he hadn't woken Dearest Human.

"If you let Dearest Human rest, I will not eat you." Caffeine woofed very kindly. "Also I'll tell Dearest Human you were a good boy." His tail wagged as he thought of Dearest Human saying the happy words that ended with cookies! "He might give cookies!" He woofed excitedly. "Or belly rubs!"

The Flapping Dogs were sniffing at Caffeine and at the Big Not Interesting Hole.

Bad smells came from the Hole, Stinky Not Human smells. Caffeine growled at the Stinky Hole. He did not like the Stinky Not Humans. They smelled bad. And tasted bad. Though they did have tasty crunchy bits…

Loud bangs came from the Stinky Hole and the smell got louder and louder until Caffeine thought he might have to angry bark at the Stinky Not Humans and make them run away.

Before he could, a Stinky Not Human jumped out of the Hole and looked at Dearest Human. "Bad!" The Fast Stinky Not Humans were very bad! They tried to Kill Dearest Human!

Caffeine bit the Stinky Not Humans head off and it fell down. "Bad! No play! Only Die!"

He dropped it. "Yuck!" It tasted very bad.

The tiny Flapping Dogs all jumped onto the Stinky Not Human. They were very happy while they ate it and that made Caffeine remember that he was Starving.

He found the crunchy snack in the Stinky head. "Yummy!" He looked at Dearest Human guiltily. "I am a good boy for letting Dearest Human sleep… he would want me to eat some snacks… after all we haven't had dinner in a very very long time." He looked away, now very sure that Dearest Human would want him to eat the crunchy snacks and saw that the Flapping Dogs had eaten the Stinky Not Human! "They are strange Dogs." He pushed the Stinky Not Humans head over to them. "You can eat this." They did. "Very strange Dogs."

Some of the Flapping Dogs crawled slowly back into the Hole with glowing bellies. "That's why you Shouldn't eat Stinky Not Humans." The rest started looking at Caffeine and Dearest Human again. "I will eat…"

More Fast Stinky Not Humans jumped out of the hole and Caffeine took away their heads before they could try to Kill Dearest Human.

The Flapping Dogs got very excited and ignored Dearest Human and started eating the Stinky things instead. Caffeine ate the crunchy bits and let them have the rest, though he did have to growl at one of them who tried to take his snack.

When they finished eating, they started walking towards Caffeine again. "Stupid Dogs." He thought as he stood up again.

But the biggest of the tiny Flapping Dogs screamed very loudly at the smaller ones to stop and they did. "Very loud stupid Dogs." But the big one was less stupid. "No Attack? No Danger?" It screamed at him.

Caffeine sighed and sat down. "No attack." He huffed in agreement. He was very tired. He must not have eaten enough…

Slow Stinky Not Humans climbed out of the hole and the Flapping Dogs jumped on them and ate them before Caffeine could help. Then the small ones all turned and jumped into the Very Boring, Not Interesting Hole. "Good dogs."

Some more Flapping Dogs came in and sat with the one who screamed, but they all stayed by the Hole.

Caffeine sighed and laid down. He was tired. A nap would be nice. "But Dearest Human's cuddle naps are the best naps!" Caffeine decided he would wait for the best naps. He sat up again.

Loud bangs were coming from the Not Very Interesting Stinky Hole. Too loud. They made his ears twitch.

Caffeine stood up and woofed politely at the tiny Flapping Dogs. "I will tell them to be quiet." He stepped forward and they moved out of the way.

Caffeine looked into the Stinky Hole. Lots of tiny Flapping Dogs were crawling through the hole. They were glowing and smelled Interesting… but Stinky Not Humans were crawling in the hole too.

Caffeine woofed at them to go away. They did not listen. "I hope Dearest Human won't anger shout if he wakes up." He took a deep breath. "Dearest Human doesn't like the Stinky Not Humans, so he will be happy if I chase them away!" The glowing Dogs all crawled past, only Stinky Not Humans were crawling up in front of him.

Caffeine Barked. "Go away!"

All the Stinky Not Humans jumped away from him and went down the hole. "Good."

Caffeine looked at Dearest Human. "Still asleep." He walked back and sat down next to Dearest Human. "I am a good boy!"

The Flapping Dogs smelled like afraid and Caffeine friendly woofed at them. "Dearest Human might give you a belly rub if you are good! Belly rubs are the best!"

Dearest Human suddenly screamed and made the air go wiggly. Caffeine quickly comforted him with a good face cleaning.

"You're a good boy!" He said the happy words to Dearest Human but he still smelled like hurting. But it was less now! "You're a good boy!" He woofed again, but it didn’t seem to help the second time. Caffeine sighed and gave him a reassuring face lick.

The Flapping Dogs were all trembling now. "It's okay." He huffed at them. "Dearest Human is only sleeping." Caffeine curled up next to Dearest Human's head. He rested his head on Dearest Human and listened to his sleep sounds. "I am a good boy too."

Dearest Human slowly calmed down and stopped smelling like hurting and smelled only like tired. Caffeine decided maybe a small cuddle nap would be okay.