Kyle’s mind drifted from nightmare to nightmare, visions of Ziern haunting every corner of his consciousness. There were other terrors in his dreams, but they were indistinct when compared to the malicious violet light of Ziern’s eye. No matter how far he ran, how much he fought, the monster always came back.

  “We’ll meet again, chimera. Do try to survive until then.”

  Kyle woke with a start, heart thundering in his chest as the echo of the deep, distorted voice rang through his head. He tried to sit up, and found that he couldn’t. Everything around him was dark, his arms, legs, and torso restrained.

  He was still sore, his body hurting all over. Panic began to grip him as he prepared to strain against his bonds, until Auric Perception helped him identify the mana surrounding him.

  “C.H.A.D.D.?” Kyle asked, voice tentative.

  [I AM GLAD THAT YOU ARE AWAKE, DR. MAYHEW.]

  Beams of light began to pour in through cracks in what Kyle realized was a cocoon of roots, woven tightly above him. The encasing pnt life opened like a lotus flower, the restraints around his arms and legs slowly receding as well. He squinted at the bright light, allowing Synaptic Barbs to give him a snapshot of the space around him.

  He and C.H.A.D.D. were alone in a modest room with some sort of canvas wall. There was no ceiling that Kyle could see, with the walls ending about 5 meters in the air. There was a desk and chair that appeared to be sized for an ogre, a washbasin, and a neatly stacked pile of folded linens.

  Kyle winced in pain as he moved his arm, still damaged, and ran his fingers across his bare chest and stomach. He could feel distorted scars across his body where the sigils were destroyed, painful reminders of how close he’d come to being undone. Even though Ziern was limited, at least for a while, Kyle knew that the lurking threat was real. For a being like that, who could live for millennia, what was waiting a few centuries before continuing its pursuit?

  He shuddered as he sat up fully, rubbing at his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it now, but he didn’t want to linger outside of Collective space longer than he had to. Speaking of…

  “C.H.A.D.D., how long was I out? And where are we?” Kyle asked.

  [YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS FOR NEARLY 36 HOURS, DR. MAYHEW. WE WERE FOUND BY A GROUP OF GOBLINS SENT TO INVESTIGATE, ACCOMPANIED BY VEL’NORN. I ALLOWED THEM TO TAKE YOU AND BRING YOU TO THEIR VILLAGE. THE OUTSKIRTS OF THEIR VILLAGE, MORE SPECIFICALLY.]

  Kyle nodded, feeling the tightness in his neck. “It makes sense that they wouldn’t want to bring me all the way in. Vel’Norn was definitely on edge when we met him.”

  [I ACTUALLY REQUESTED THAT WE STAY OUT HERE, DR. MAYHEW. THE SUNLIGHT IS GOOD FOR MY PLANTS, AND IT GAVE ME MORE OPTIONS IF THEY ATTEMPTED ANYTHING RASH.]

  Kyle raised an eyebrow. “That’s impressive, C.H.A.D.D. I take it that means the World Tree Seed is enjoying the mana I sent it?”

  [QUITE SO, DR. MAYHEW. IT HAS MORE THAN REPLENISHED WHAT WAS LOST, AND HAS GIVEN ME SOME INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF THE SEED ITSELF. I BELIEVE I AM FORMING A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT TO DO WITH IT, IN TIME.]

  Kyle nodded. “I can believe it. What are you thinking?”

  [WE HAVE QUITE A BIT TO ACCOMPLISH FIRST, BUT LIKE ANY SEED, IT IS DESIGNED TO BE PLANTED. WHEN WE FIND A PLACE THAT WE CAN CALL HOME, I WANT TO PLANT IT.]

  “How would you even go about that?” Kyle asked. “From what I can tell, it exists in the Between, not physically here. Did this give you an idea about how to pull it out?”

  [I DO NOT THINK THAT WOULD BE AN EFFICIENT OPTION, DR. MAYHEW. RATHER, WITH SUFFICIENT ENERGY, IT CAN TAKE ROOT IN THE BETWEEN, AND THEN CONNECT TO OUR WORLD.]

  The drone projected an image, showing a standard tree with roots underneath the ground, with the trunk and limbs above. Additional bels were put across the illustration, comparing the soil for a regur tree with the Between. [MY COMPARISON IS A CRUDE ONE, HOWEVER I BELIEVE IT ILLUSTRATES THE POINT. OF COURSE, THAT ALL COMES LATER.]

  “How much more mana would you need to be able to pnt it, C.H.A.D.D.?” Kyle asked.

  [I AM UNSURE, DR. MAYHEW. I HAVE THE SENSE THAT I COULD ATTEMPT TO PLANT IT NOW, THOUGH IT WOULD LIKELY RESULT IN A SUBPAR RESULT.]

  “I see,” Kyle said, considering the drone’s words. The seed was a wild card they had in their favor. Knowing how important it was to the various factions across the Universe, there was a real chance he could use it as a negotiating chip, perhaps even to get him a greater level of protection. Strong as he is, Ziern was far from the only A Grade out there, with some of the most notable being part of the Collective. Even he would have to think twice before attacking another A Grade in their own territory.

  He stood and stretched, wincing slightly as he felt stabs of pain through his arms and legs. With a thought, he activated Adaptive Regeneration. Immediately, it felt off. Kyle focused and frowned, Auric Perception helping him to understand the root of the problem. While his physical body had recovered somewhat, his mana pathways were still severely damaged.

  They were functional enough to run a skill like Adaptive Regeneration or Healing Impetus through them, but the efficiency was heavily reduced. Kyle remembered how long it took for his mana pathways to recover after his fight against the Storm, the st time that they had taken true damage. This was an order of magnitude worse, and he had no remedies other than time.

  “Can you tell me if anybody is nearby? Or if they’ve set up any sort of monitoring on this room?” Kyle asked.

  [NONE THAT I WAS ABLE TO DETECT, DR. MAYHEW. WE ARE FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE VILLAGE ENTRANCE, AND GOBLINS HAVE COME BY EVERY 2 OR 3 HOURS TO CHECK ON YOUR STATUS. THE LAST VISIT WAS JUST OVER AN HOUR AGO.]

  “Good,” Kyle said, keeping his voice low. “We didn’t get much of a chance to talk after the attack, and I wanted you to know some of what happened after time froze.”

  Kyle shared his conversation with Administrator Gamma, holding nothing back. The two of them were well and truly out of their depth, and Kyle wanted to face whatever came next with C.H.A.D.D.’s full knowledge and support.

  [THAT IS QUITE A BIT TO TAKE IN, DR. MAYHEW.]

  “I know. One thing is for sure, we don’t want to linger much more than necessary. The Collective’s protection is our best bet.”

  [AGREED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO THE VILLAGE GATE NOW, OR WAIT FOR THEM TO COME VISIT?]

  “Let’s wait, at least for a bit. I’d still like to meditate a bit before we talk to Vel’Norn and his people. First, though, do you know what happened with the shrikes? I remember seeing the alpha before I passed out, but that’s it.”

  [THE ALPHA DID COME AND EXAMINE YOU, THEN IT LEFT. I WAS PREPARED TO DEFEND YOU, OF COURSE, SO IT MAY HAVE BEEN FRIGHTENED OFF.]

  Just a few weeks ago, Kyle would have ughed at the drone’s words. Now, not so much. It still didn’t quite fit, but it was good enough for him. “Thanks, C.H.A.D.D. Once I’m done, we’ll get cleaned up and ready to go see the goblins.”

  With that, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Still standing, pushing back the discomfort, Kyle entered meditation.

  KYLE MAYHEW. ARTHRO-HUMAN CHIMERA (PARASITE), SURVIVALIST. LEVEL 83 (D)

  CORE OF THE PARASITIC DEVOURER 47%

  ADAPTIVE ANATOMY – 9/? – ENHANCED CARAPACE (FERRIC AUGMENTATION), AURIC PERCEPTION (SYNAPTIC BARBS), EXOSKELETAL STRENGTH, CEASELESS VITALITY, INSTINCTIVE INTELLIGENCE, COVERT DEXTERITY, UNBREAKABLE WILL

  VITALITY: 1128

  ENDURANCE: 1317

  STRENGTH: 465

  DEXTERITY: 882

  WILLPOWER: 1679

  INTELLIGENCE: 1679

  PERCEPTION: 1207

  FREE ATTRIBUTES: 108

  Six levels, Kyle breathed. Despite doing nothing other than not dying, he’d still made significant progress along his path. His growth since arriving on Er’Mithren was nothing short of incredible, particurly given how te in the grade he was. It was also a testament to just how close he’d come to death along the way. For a path tied to survival, I’m sure doing a great job nearly getting myself killed, Kyle thought.

  The Core of the Parasitic Devourer was nearing 50%, and Kyle had a feeling that he was close to a couple of Adaptive Anatomy upgrades. The Abominations and World Tree Seed were undoubtedly where he’d seen the rgest growth. With shrikes nearby, he had a reasonable shot at filling up on them, too.

  With a thought, he allocated his Free Attributes, this time split between Dexterity, Vitality, and Endurance. Improving his Dexterity, even a bit, would be massively helpful when he was able to use Ignition again, the boosting skill giving a multiplicative boost. As for Endurance and Vitality, Kyle had finally found creatures around his level with the power to physically harm him. Both the shrikes and the abominations had some dangerous tools at their disposal, and he imagined those threats would only become more prominent as he approached the end of D Grade. While his main focus would still be on Intelligence and Willpower, shoring up these supporting attributes would be helpful.

  Satisfied with what he’d seen, Kyle exited meditation. He washed, pulled on some of the fresh linens left for him, and then put on what remained of his armor. He felt oddly exposed without his stonebloom chest pte, even though he still had the shin guards and right bracer. Even though its protection was beginning to fall behind what he could do on his own, it was still a comfort.

  [IT IS STRANGE SCANNING YOU WITHOUT THE ARMOR IN THE WAY, DR. MAYHEW.]

  “It can’t have been that bad,” Kyle replied.

  [IT DID NOT INTERFERE TOO BADLY, BUT I HAD GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO ITS PRESENCE.]

  “Me too, C.H.A.D.D. I’d say we should go back and find the pieces to see if we can salvage anything, but who knows if Ziern left any markers on them.”

  C.H.A.D.D. was silent for a moment, and Kyle got a bad feeling. “You didn’t bring the fragments with you, did you?” he asked.

  [THE FRAGMENTS? NO, DR. MAYHEW. I DID NOT BRING THE FRAGMENTS.]

  “What did you do, C.H.A.D.D.?”

  [THE STONEBLOOM HAD UNIQUE PROPERTIES. GIVEN THE LEVEL OF DAMAGE, I DECIDED THAT REPAIR WAS UNLIKELY. SO, I MAY HAVE EXPERIMENTED ON THEM. JUST A BIT.]

  “What do you mean by ‘experiment?’” Kyle pressed.

  [UTILIZING VARIOUS ACIDS AND OTHER MANA-DERIVED PROPERTIES FROM THE PLANTS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE STONEBLOOM’S NATURAL RESISTANCE. WHILE ALSO MELTING DOWN AND CONSUMING THE REMAINS.]

  Kyle just shook his head. Ultimately, it was a pretty good outcome. If C.H.A.D.D. could better understand the unique pnts, who knew what kind of creations the drone could come up with? This brought up another thing for Kyle to consider; the state of his gear. While his forcehammer batons and the C.H.A.D.D. pack construction were still more than relevant, the rest of his gear was falling behind the type of work he found himself doing.

  Kyle had solidified his path, even when compared to when he completed his Practicum. The next time he purchased defensive gear, it would need to either surpass his own resilience, or offer alternative benefits that he could use without risking its destruction.

  Offensively, his Repel skill outcssed both the forcehammer batons and his left arm bracer. Once he was able to more effectively manage the backsh and mana consumption, he would consider a different direction for those items of equipment as well. Assuming we get paid enough credits to afford anything when we get back, he thought.

  [DR. MAYHEW, APOLOGIES FOR THE INTERRUPTION. IT APPEARS THAT VEL’NORN AND HIS ENTOURAGE ARE LEAVING THE VILLAGE GATES. SHALL WE GO MEET THEM?]