Mash stared at Jill, who was now standing within his storage space. She looked very concerned and was asking him something. It was strange but it took a second before he comprehended what she was saying.

  “Are you okay?

  She looked very concerned, though it had become harder to read her thoughts since her last advancement. The next few seconds passed tensely, as Mash figured out what to say.

  “Do you remember what I said happened back when I got my earrings, I think I can repeat that effect? It seems I get a bit disconnected when I do it. Sorry.”

  Jill seemed relieved to hear it and looked around his storage space more thoroughly. Mash did too and saw the journal he was looking for. The storage space was a large, slightly golden space, and its entrance was as big as a door. Already he thought about how he could take advantage of a space like this. It was large enough that they might be able to trap someone within. However, it was supposedly dangerous to both the user and the creature that got trapped. Putting living creatures in a storage space would cause serious problems. That is why Jill entering this was risky. Although she would probably be able to teleport out before anything serious could happen.

  Grabbing the journal, he showed it to Jill and explained where he got it.

  “This is what I was looking for. I grabbed it when we were in the last dungeon.”

  She didn’t look impressed and started heading out of the storage space. He was impressed by her poise as she only slightly hurried to exit the space. Mash followed casually after her.

  “What is it?”

  Luke asked when he saw the book in Mash’s hand. He probably assumed it was something magical or grand, but the reality wasn’t quite as exciting. Honestly, Mash thought the journal was more valuable than a simple magic item. They were not lacking for power, and he still wanted to give his siblings a chance to read the journal.

  “It’s the story of the ‘Mash’ who I replaced in the dungeon. The person’s life was a lot like my own. Though, his life went in a different direction and showed me what could have happened in my own life. Also, it just felt meaningful to me.”

  Mash didn’t really care how it made him look that he thought so much of a simple journal, but he trusted that his friends would understand. Looking at their faces, it was clear that they understood. He had told them of some of the parts of his past.

  “Can I read it?”

  Luke was the one to speak, but it looked like the others were thinking similarly. Mash hesitated for a second, considering what this could do. Ultimately, he decided that he trusted them, and held the book towards Luke. He grabbed it, though he didn’t start reading immediately. That was relieving. Mash would have found that situation to be supremely awkward. He placed it into his own storage space, and the group started walking further into town. They decided to find someone to ask about where the markets were.

  It was hard, and they just approached a random guard they saw on the streets. The biggest difference between a city and this village was the relative safety the people here seemed to feel. Despite the adventurers and higher-class people that lived in this pseudo-city, it was clear that the guards still treated this place like a village. Nobody would be more important than the locals, and the guards here weren’t weak. Mash and his friends had caught a few more guards who were approaching level 100, which was extremely potent for a village’s defenses.

  Mash doubted that there was much violence around here with guards like those running around. Jill asked the guard where they could find the market, and the man had offered to lead them. She said that they would be fine with directions alone since they still wanted to explore the village a bit.

  After getting directions from the guards, the four of them took a leisure route through the streets. A few people pointed at them, though it was probably because of their somewhat unusual appearance rather than recognition of any kind. Almost all of them had strange eyes, and Red’s skin was tinted slightly pink. Plus, Mash had a lot of tattoos, with the two beneath his ears, and the strange choker-like one around his neck. The golden body had also made Mash more handsome, and Jill had always had an unnatural beauty to her. The others had learned some of the exercises to achieve a golden body, though they didn’t seem all that determined to get it.

  They just didn’t need or care for the improvements. Luke could gain as many stats as he wanted and make the difference easily. Since getting his gift at the dungeon, Mash thought that he would be more willing to take souls and absorb some of their power. He could release them afterward and still retain some of the benefits. Red still seemed to believe that it wouldn’t work properly for her, and he couldn’t really argue otherwise. Her body wasn’t exactly human anymore. Jill was more dedicated to the exercises, and she had started doing them with some regularity. Although it would probably take her a long time before achieving it.

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  They walked towards the market district, grabbing some food from street vendors. They weren’t particularly hungry, but the food had smelled good. Most of the vendors on the street were selling some pieces of fruit that were coated in spices. It was a weird combination but addicting too. They snacked as they walked towards the markets. It felt like they were in a city, but the crowds were a lot smaller, and Mash was glad for the fact.

  The sun had gone down a little while ago, and Mash was surprised to see that it was actually the buildings that illuminated the streets. There were light gems embedded near the doors of each building, and they shone by drawing in the ambient mana at night. They shone like little replicas of the moon, and the light made it so that they could walk easily. They eventually found the market district, though it didn’t look very different from the rest of the village. The buildings were similar to the others, but they had much bigger windows pointed towards the street. Even more startling was the amount of glass used for each of the buildings, and he guessed that there was probably some with glass-related magic in the village.

  Glass magic was extremely dangerous, and one of the things that most people feared. Not many people could acquire glass magic, and like Luke’s soul magic, it was almost impossible to properly defend against. A good glass mage would be able to tear people apart from the inside out. Kind of like Red did, but with more efficiency. Mash hoped his draconic domain would help against a glass mage but wasn’t entirely certain.

  There were several items placed directly behind the glass. On display for any passerby to see. This made it very easy to find shops for things that they wanted. The first store they stumbled upon was a place filled with instruments of different kinds. The store was like the others, though they could hear music coming from it as they approached. It almost sounded like there was a bard inside already.

  Mash followed the others as they entered and was surprised to hear the music grow louder. After a quick look with his draconic domain, he quickly identified the source of the sound. There was a crystal embedded into the wall just above the door, and the music came from it. He had never seen anything like it and wondered if there were more for sale.

  As he looked around, he spotted the shopkeeper sitting on a stool in the corner. The man was old, with grey hair and wrinkles revealing the man’s age. He had a strange instrument in his hand, and it drew Mash’s attention quickly. It was a rectangle that was no bigger than his palm, and it had squarish holes along one of the sides. Mash took note of the man’s strange appearance as he spoke.

  “Hi, what’s that in your hand?”

  The old man gave him a wry look before lifting the strange object to his lips. The man’s sleeves hung loosely from his wrist, and it was interesting to see the strange design. Every part of his clothes was a different color. Neither of the sleeves matched and the body was a different color along the front and the back. His sleeves were purple and yellow, while the body was white and red. One leg of his pants was blue, and the other was green. None of the colors mixed well either, and Mash restrained from commenting on the weird colors.

  Mash’s focus was drawn away from the clothing as the man began to play the odd instrument. It had a strange vibrating noise, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The music had a merrier tune than Mash expected, and the old man played surprisingly quickly. The complex noises that the small object could make were incredible. Mash found himself just listening for a while, ignoring everything else. It might have been a skill, but he didn’t really care to worry. He could just enjoy the moment. After finishing the song, the man sighed before introducing himself.

  “Hello there, I am Jaffrey. This magical little instrument is called a harmonica. It is quite popular in the neighboring kingdom of Esteria.”

  He pointed towards a box in the room, and Mash could tell that it had more of the instruments. At first, he was going to dismiss getting one of them but stopped himself. He wanted to gain some new hobbies and shouldn’t settle for just trying one thing.

  “Thanks, I will check them out.”

  Walking over to the basket of harmonicas, Jill wandered over beside him. She looked at the strange instruments with him. Mash grabbed a silver one as it had the engraving of a forest on it. The trees grew from where the squarish holes were located, and he realized that it was used to help learn the instrument. It was obviously a design meant for a noble child, but Mash decided that it would fit his purposes. He was surprised when Jill grabbed one as well. Hers was painted blue and had an engraving of swimming fish. She already had a flute in one of her hands, and he couldn’t help but ask.

  “Why are you getting one?”

  “I heard the old man playing and felt a little curious. Plus, it's fun to learn new instruments and this seems pretty convenient.”

  Mash agreed with Jill’s thoughts, as he was picking the instrument for much the same reason. After a short discussion, Red and Luke were convinced into buying the thing as well. It would become something they could learn together. It seemed straightforward too, and Jill had some experience with other instruments. Hopefully, that would be enough to learn how to play the harmonica. After each of them grabbed at least one instrument, they purchased the bunch. Jaffrey seemed quite happy to sell so many harmonicas, and Mash guessed that they weren’t very popular. On the other hand, Mash was quite happy to find something that interested him.

  After the instrument store, they went to look for a bookstore and place that would sell paint. They didn’t actually find a store that sold paint, but the bookstore had some sketchbooks and colored inks. It would be good enough to get started, and Mash grabbed two sets of colored ink and three sketchbooks. They were slightly different from the other books. The pages were a bit thicker and larger. They managed to find everything that they wanted, and Jill teleported them near the inn. They didn’t head back immediately and instead decided to head down the ravine and see what the buildings there were like.

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  Chapter 146: Into the Ravine

  Name: Mash Stellumbra  Class: Draconic Thunder-wood Imitation

  Level: 78

  Health: 2000 / 2000

  Energy: 3510 / 3510

  Fortitude: 200

  Endurance: 131

  Strength: 150

  Agility: 170

  Intelligence: 220

  Wisdom: 112

  Charisma: 96

  Free Stats: 0

  Skills: Hunt, Thunder-wood Creation, Inhuman Hibernation, Monstrous Transformation, Thunder-wood Imitation, Draconic Domain, Adaptable Monster Core, Monstrous Humanity, Wooden Body, Mimic’s Avarice, Golden Body

  Hunt: You have gone beyond your limits when fighting enemies and devouring their power. Go beyond your limits. Continue current fight even after depleting energy. Stats improve while at 0 stamina. Continues until either you or your enemies are dead.

  Current Bonus: +100% stats

  Inhuman Hibernation: You have stolen the techniques of mages and monks to form an artificial technique, your inhuman body morphing it to fit your corrupted nature. Hibernating will increase the rate at which your body recovers, healing most wounds.

  Current Rate: +200% recovery

  Thunder-wood Creation: You know how deadly sticks can be. Forge your mana into wooden creations. Lightning has tempered your wood, and it thrums with the power of thunder.

  Wooden Body: You can connect with the wood that you are touching. By expending your energy, you bring your creations to life as another one of your limbs.

  Monstrous Transformation: Transform your body taking on aspects of those which you have consumed.

  Thunder-wood Imitation: Form imitations of creatures you have consumed, imitating some of their bodily functions through your wood.

  Draconic Domain (Passive): Your eyes just weren’t enough. Sense the changes in the mana around you. Connect to the mana in your space and inherently understand the nature of the mana. Your presence suffuses the space, weakens the magic of enemies beneath you.

  Current Range: 23 feet

  Adaptable Monster Core (Passive): An unnatural mana core has fundamentally altered your body, fusion with a monster has given you access to its potential. Stamina and Mana combine to become energy. Your monstrous body is better able to handle the changes to your core.

  Current Bonus: +75% efficiency

  Monstrous Humanity (Passive): Giving up your humanity has improved your body, improving your physical control, natural defenses, animalistic intuition, and mana control. Now, a human in appearance only, you further empower yourself through your monstrous side.

  Mimic’s Avarice (Passive): Devour your enemy in battle to temporarily raise your stats. The fresher the victim the stronger the bonus. Gain full benefits even when consuming through your magic. Absorbs some properties of those you devour alive. Removes the negative effects of things you consume.

  Golden Body (Passive): Having stolen the techniques of another world, your body evolves beyond its old limitations. However, even this transformation is incomplete. Seek out the next Step and truly make this power your own.

  Trial of the True Body: 0 / 100

  Priscilla Form: Improved Mana Control and control of wooden creations, Better Lightning Resistance and Power: Thin dark blue and green scales that match Priscilla's cover his body

  Dragon Form: Raw Power and a lot of it: Thicker black scales that would look more like armor cover his skin and his body bulks up a bit and he grows claws on his hands and feet. Armor like scales, and large shield-like wings. A dangerous tail that could easily double as a weapon.

  Winged Cat Form (Sphynx Form): Improved Reflexives and Agility, Something he hasn't realized yet, and flight: Fur grows over his skin, and wings sprout from his back. A lion-like mane, and white fur to match his hair. Paws instead of normal limbs.

  nvisible Lizard Form: Has mentioned it but hasn't used it yet, so far you know that it grants him the ability to become somewhat invisible

  Demon Form: black fire affinity

  Treant Form: Improved Wood affinity, living wood creations