Mash descended onto the top of the tree. It wasn’t actually the highest point as some of the flower petals bent in such a way that they reached a little higher. However, the top of the tree was rounded and solid, making it a much more comfortable place to sit. The air was cold, and he was able to feel the full brunt of it. his body wasn’t actually at risk though. Red was probably in a similar situation. Even though her body appeared to be bothered by the temperature, she was probably not in any real danger.

  His feet struck the hardwood first, and he was surprised to realize that it was swaying a little. The motion was small enough that he hadn’t noticed from above. Now, that he was standing on it, he felt the small change now. He didn’t worry about it and just absorbed his wings. As they shrunk, he fell backward into a seated position. His legs were splayed out in front of him, and he used his hands to prop himself up. His back was slanted so that he could stare into the sky. The sun was off to his left, and the sky was blue and unblemished. Not a single thing blocked his vision, and he gazed upward. It seemed like his world was free of dragons too.

  The tree was alive, well more than a plant would be. He felt a connection to the tree and understood that it mostly just wanted to be left alone. It feared anything that would damage it. Mash wasn’t sure if it was a spirit, but it didn’t really matter. He would make sure that no one harmed the tree. When he thought about it, he felt an affirmation from the tree. It wasn’t intelligent but just seemed to act on its survival instincts. That was fine, Mash would still treat it properly. Red suggested that spirits were somehow sacred, so he could at least treat it like a living being. Plus, it was here before him, and he didn’t want to infringe on it. Whether the skill gave him the world or created it from scratch, this world was the tree’s home. Mash might care too much for a simple tree, but he felt like it was the right decision.

  He sat there for a bit and just relaxed. The elders would be waiting but he didn’t let it bother him too much. How many days had it been since he just relaxed? Even if only for a few minutes. The time spent sorting through his memories certainly demanded some relaxation, but he just couldn’t find the opportunity. Eventually. Red came and joined him. She didn’t disrupt the rest but just sat with him on the large treetop. Mash opened his storage space and pulled out some snacks and drinks. Both of which became cold after a few seconds. Honestly, he thought he liked it more that way. Especially the drinks.

  They stayed for around an hour before deciding it was time to descend. This time Mash seemed to know of a path through the brush. It was strange, almost like the tree had shifted slightly to let him pass. The tree didn’t move much, it just revealed an easily traversable path to him. The descent took significantly less time than the climb. Even still, the entire journey had been long enough to start changing the day to night.

  “There are two moons. Look!”

  Mash spoke aloud, extending his hands in opposite directions and pointing to what he thought was the north and south. Two nearly identical moons could be seen. The one rising from the north was slightly bigger than the one in the south. The smaller one was slightly redder than the other. Seeing them both rise, he wondered if they would collide.

  “You think they’re going to crash?”

  Red shook her head quickly but glanced between the two moons, nonetheless. Her explanation started soon after.

  “No, I believe one is significantly closer than the other.”

  Mash nodded agreeing with her judgment. He examined the moons more closely and saw that he could make out more detail on the bigger one. He had initially attributed it to being larger, but now he could tell that it was probably a matter of distance. Two moons that rose on the line yet in opposite directions. Although, he wondered what would happen if two moons collided. Would it destroy the world? It was something he didn’t want to experience.

  The elders were staring at the two moons as well. Mash saw them sitting on the ground, and they were eating something. This was the first time he had seen them actually eat something. It just looked like some simple berries, and he wondered where they got them. The forests here had only had one type of fruit. These were a lot smaller and were entirely black. As Mash touched down beside them, he asked them about their diet.

  “Do you guys eat meat? I have some food if you want.”

  The elders stiffened but relaxed upon seeing that it was him. They had probably been anxious, and Mash could see why. The two of them had been abandoned in a strange world, while their supposed protectors had been leisurely relaxing for an hour or two. He felt a little bad but was feeling much more comfortable now. It was like the break had washed away the tension. Helped him deal with the anger and frustration of interacting with Jeral. It even helped him settle his emotions. The elders both nodded.

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  “Yes, we do. We would be very interested in experiencing your culture.”

  Elder AvJi was bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was excited, and Mash wish he had something more extravagant to offer. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized he did have a special item he could offer. He had a few fruits from Aifell’s world left, but they were extremely delicious. Opening his storage space, the two elders stepped back in alarm. A second later Elder AvJi walked closer and almost stepped into his storage space.

  “Stop!”

  Mash held his arm out to stop her. He had obviously been a bit too forceful with his words, and the elder practically scampered away. Although she managed enough composure to stop by the other elder. The two elders obviously had different ages. AvJi acted significantly more childishly than SerJi. While she might just be a more genuine person, he felt like there was more to it than that. her curious nature was too honest. She was also the one to speak her mind and had asked many questions related to their beliefs. It was her questions that had pried the information of their bodies out of Red. Oddly, Red struggled to interact with the girl. It was almost like she didn’t know how to respond. Weirder still was the fact that she seemed to enjoy the conversations. Well, it was hard to dislike an honest person, and he had just frightened her.

  “Sorry, I’m not angry. It’s just that it might be unsafe. I feel like it’s pretty safe but have been told it's risky to enter another’s storage space. With that said, you can enter if you want to still.”

  He knew that he was caving to the curious and hopeful gazes of the elders, but he didn’t worry too much. The storage space was safe so long as nothing unexpected happened. It was only dangerous to utilize in a fight, but it should be fine here. The best word used to describe his world thus far was peaceful. Red didn’t seem as happy with his response. He thought it was fine as he had explained the risk to it. It was ultimately the elder’s decision. To his surprise, neither of them hesitated and started walking into his storage space. Mash followed behind them, to answer any questions and point things out if needed.

  “Thank you. But we are elders and knowledge is our only desire.”

  Elder SerJi spoke as he stepped past Mash. He was speed walking but slowed only to pass the words. Mash couldn’t help but smile as he saw the childishness in the actions of the elders. The irony was not lost on Red either, or he saw her smiling from outside of the space. She hadn’t entered and just stood at the edge. Mash saw that his storage space had grown since he had last been inside. He wondered what had happened.

  “What’s that?”

  Mash heard AvJi ask the question, and he saw her standing in front of a mutilated wyvern corpse. He looked at, and physically smacked himself on the forehead. He was one for over-the-top gestures, but he had never done that before. The wyvern corpse was something he had forgotten about entirely. He easily could have used it instead of one of Priscilla’s bodies when he had changed his core. But it had slipped his mind. Seeing it there, he wondered what he would do with it. Things like wyvern scales were only really good for making magical items and typically armor at that. Thus, it was useless to him.

  “A wyvern corpse. Uhm, it’s a powerful monster.”

  Mash could tell that his answer hadn’t been sufficient. Both elders were obviously still curious, but he didn’t want to explain everything. Although, it looked like they wouldn’t leave it alone.

  “I can tell that this creature was powerful. Its body still radiates great energy. How did this creature fight?”

  The questions came from Elder SerJi, and Mash was caught off guard. That was usually the type of questions he got from the other elder. Mash thought of a response, but let it die in his mind. He was wildly incapable of properly describing the fight he had. It felt wrong to say anything and ruin the experience of the fight. He had another idea though.

  “Um, if you let me, I can send you my memories of it. Or a recreation of them, though you would have to accept my magic.”

  Again, Mash was surprised by how little the two elders hesitated. They smiled eagerly, and both spoke in unison.

  “Knowledge is everything.”

  The way they both responded. He wondered if they were linked like Priscilla was to her bodies. He couldn’t let such commitment down.

  [Send it to them. And before you ask, I don’t mind showing them my abilities.]

  Mash could sense Priscilla’s concern, and he stopped it early. That fight had been before his recent evolution, and any information from that time would be wildly inaccurate. He observed Priscilla’s use of magic. It was something he still hadn’t been very good at grasping. The elemental magic was easier to understand, but the mental stuff was complicated. Priscilla said that mental magic was typically hard to master. Her kind had a natural aptitude for it, even if she hadn’t natively had the affinity. She explained that her connection with her bodies was a type of mental magic. It was a bodily function that replicated the magic.

  The elders seemed to receive the memory slowly, but it was over in a minute or two. Fights always felt longer than they were. The wyvern had been arrogant and given him plenty of time to recover between attacks. Even still, the whole fight was fast. It was one of the fights that he remembered fondly. When he had been sorting through his memories, it had been this fight that reminded him of the love of fighting. The desire to compete in such a complete way. To put everything on the line; both sides are fully ready to kill. He struggled with how much his wants and beliefs clashed now.

  The two elders finished observing the fight and turned to face Mash. Their expressions had changed a lot. It wasn’t like they weren’t respectful before, but the look he was getting now was something else. The way their eyes were slightly wide and focused, and the slight shuffling of their bodies were recognizable. Aifell’s people had reacted much the same when they found out about his abilities. Although there was more awe than reverence here. It didn’t look like the elders were going to treat him like a god, but he expected several more questions to come.

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  Name: Mash Stellumbra           Class: Chimeric Vagabond

  Level: 102

  Health: 3000 / 3000

  Energy: 4070/ 4070

  Fortitude: 300

  Endurance: 186

  Strength: 250

  Agility: 252

  Intelligence: 221

  Wisdom: 110

  Charisma: 100

  Free Stats: 20

  Skills: Hunt, Thunder-wood Creation, Inhuman Hibernation, Chimeric Transformation, Thunder-wood Imitation, Chimeric Reconstruction, Vagabond’s Path, Chimeric Domain, Adaptable Monster Core, Chimera’s Constitution, Wooden Body, Mimic’s Avarice, A Touch of Nothingness, 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.

  Chimeric Transformation: Transform your body taking on aspects of those which you have consumed. Control which aspects to take and combine them to create the perfect form. Greatly increased energy consumption when combining forms.

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

  Chimeric Reconstruction: Consume what you kill for more than just stats. Steal their flesh to repair your own. Their blood becomes yours. Your enemies are nothing more than your medicine.

  Vagabond’s Path (unique): Having chosen the path of the vagabond, you have freed yourself from your own world. An explorer at heart, you laugh as you leap between worlds. Open portals to worlds you have already been. Once per cycle of the moon create a portal to a random world. Create a world of your own, portal to personal world granted.

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

  Current Range: 53 feet

  Reconstructed 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. You have progressed your core further, by forcing it to adapt. Now, you may only further your core by repeating the process.

  Current Bonus: +80% efficiency

  Wooden Body (Passive): 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.

  Chimera’s Constitution (Passive): Giving up your humanity has improved your body, improving your physical control, natural defenses, animalistic intuition, and mana control. No longer a human in any sense, you are no longer bound by that which limits them. You have created your own race, improving your rate of growth.

  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.

  A Touch of Nothingness (Passive): Belonging to no race or group, you have embraced the nothingness that is a part of everything. You are free, and automatically resist others' attempts to bind you. Constantly emit the aura of nothingness within your domain. Your allies will gain some of the freedom you possess. Enemies weaker than yourself will slowly lose that which makes them whole.

  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: 8 / 100

  Mash Stellumbra

  Age: 18 (15)

  Ki-Realm: Third Monstrous Realm

  Body-Realm: Golden Chimeric Body

  Path: Path of the Blood Bond

  Vitality: 300

  Strength: 250

  Dexterity: 252

  Mind: 221

  Ki: 4070