Henry whimpered in pain as he slowly let himself sink to the seabed. Every moment was agony, and even popping every remaining Hoard Vital charge has not been enough to fully heal his burnt skin. It helped with his ruined eyes, though, and he finished off the rest with Regeneration as he quite needed his vision.

  His skin might have to wait a bit, though.

  A few feet away, a Stoneskin kraken was slowly sinking along with him, its cracked, stony forehead bleeding freely. The glowing heat was still emanating from it, but Henry knew it was dead.

  1x [Juvenile Stoneskin Kraken (D) - Lvl 23] core was collected.

  His bone-flail was broken. It had taken at least six full-strength swings to get through the incredibly tough skin of the kraken. All the while playing hide and seek with the hostile clone, because every time it had the line of sight, it would ensnare him and he’d eat more molten projectiles.

  The last one had been particularly painful. The Stoneskin kraken had sprayed him with a cloud of ink that might as well have been pyroclastic flow. His skin had seared as the heat cooked through his flesh, and both eyes had popped from the heat.

  The pain had been unimaginable. Still was, but it was getting better by the second.

  Makes no sense how things could still be that hot underwater. Must be the magic.

  With the Stoneskin dealt with, he’d turned his attention to the hostile clone. But it was already gone.

  Probably camouflaged and watching. Preparing for the next assault.

  He didn’t have the mana to go after it. He was completely spent.

  Being completely out of mana felt weird. The only thing he could compare it to was a mix of mild dehydration and motion sickness. He wasn’t about to conk-out, but it didn’t feel great.

  Henry meditated for a few minutes, enough to regain some mana and to iron out the last touches of his plan, then went and grabbed some meat from the Arcane and Stoneskin krakens.

  Next, he found a spot near a reef and settled down. He was sure he was being watched, so a high enough spot to see incoming danger was more important than hiding. Lastly, he brought out Maurice from Maw of the Trickster.

  The crab popped out of thin air and looked bewildered for a moment. “[What’s happen–what happened to you?]” Maurice scuttled over and took Henry’s ruined flesh in. His pincer extended, as if to touch, then jerked back. “[Are you okay?]”

  Henry was going to wave the crab’s concerns away, but his arm was still painful. “[I’m okay, don’t worry. Just low on mana to heal all of this. Now, do you want the Arcane core or the Stoneskin core?]”

  Henry quickly explained the differences to Maurice, who nodded along, still worryingly examining Henry. The crab peered around when Henry mentioned that the clone might still be nearby, then slowly rubbed his pincers together, hesitatingly. “[I didn’t help much.]”

  “[You helped with the Goliath and you got nothing for it. And you’ll need levels. We’re going to the main kraken after this. I think I know where it is. And why it hasn’t shown up itself yet.]”

  Maurice clacked his pincers. “[Okay! Can I have the Stoneskin one, then?]”

  The core appeared in front of Henry. It was metallic gray, with lines of red that matched the looks of the monster it came from. Maurice tapped the core, and the object exploded into smoke that rushed into the crab.

  Maurice froze for a moment, then his annoyed voice came through. “[I got penalized. It said I didn’t contribute, so the core’s value was reduced.]”

  Henry frowned. “[I didn’t know about that…]”

  Maurice grumbled, and Henry continued to rest for a moment, slowly healing his burnt skin.

  After a few minutes he spoke. “[We’ll get some rest and then we’re going hunting. Also, keep an eye out. I’m taking my evolution. If anything happens, just get to safety, okay?]”

  Maurice looked up from the meat he was examining. Henry sensed a spike of worry from the crab that immediately got him on edge. “[What’s wrong, Maurice? You see something?]” Henry looked around, but he couldn’t see anything. Looking back at the crab, he found him rubbing at his eyes.

  The crab hesitated for a second. “[I… I think evolution will be painful. But I’ll keep watch. Of course. Just…be okay?]”

  Henry paused, alarmed. “[What do you mean?]”

  “[I don’t remember. I just remember feeling relief when I woke up. And being scared and in pain.]”

  Henry looked over at the crab as he shuffled uncomfortably, then reached over and gently tapped him on the head with an arm. “[Stop worrying. And I’m sorry I reminded you of that. I’ll be alright, okay? Then we can beat up the kraken sending the clones. Okay?]”

  “[Okay,]” said Maurice as he posted himself nearby, starting to pick bits off the meat while watching the surroundings. Henry caught him peering at him every few seconds.

  Henry smiled inwardly. “[I’m okay Maurice, I promise. And I’m about to be even better in a few minutes. No matter what.]”

  That seemed to help a bit, so Henry turned his attention inward and got to work.

  Evolution first, or skills first?

  As soon as he asked himself the question, he knew. An evolution first might free up some slots and depending on what he gets offered, it might affect his skill choices after, but he still had plenty slots to use so there was no pressure to evolve first.

  At this point, it was clear he was about to become a juvenile kraken, but it would be better to get there once he maximized and filled up every slot he had.

  Henry had put the meat of the krakens into two different piles that Maurice and other small fish kept stealing bites from. He wanted to think of himself as a kid in a toy store, considering the possible abilities he was about to get, but the image of raw flesh and bloodied organs really didn’t mesh with that image.

  Henry sighed and started with the Stoneskin kraken. He cut some of the monster’s innards–because the skin was too tough to slice through–and bit into it. A bitter taste hit his tongue, quickly filling his senses with the taste of charred meat and sulfur but once he got past it, he found the intact flesh to be tasty. Henry looked down at the piece of kraken arm. It almost tasted like smoked meat.

  Nice change from the usual raw meat.

  Magic Mimic: Molten Projectile (F) was copied temporarily. Ephemerals are full.

  Magic Mimic: Inner Furnace (F) was copied temporarily.. Ephemerals are full.

  Mimicking Arms: Resilience of the Stoneskin Kraken charge acquired.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Ink jet: Pyroclastic Ink charge acquired.

  Magic Mimic: Superior Trait analyzed. Sample insufficient.

  Useful abilities. One a skill, one a trait. Henry was almost sure the kraken got them from hanging around the lava ants. Though so far, none of them seemed compatible with his current core abilities.

  In any case, he’d be storing some of the kraken’s meat for later, just in case.

  He tried a few more bites, gaining no extra abilities, and then moved on to the Arcane kraken. He assumed he shared too many abilities with these krakens, which was why he wasn’t getting much from Magic Mimic.

  Henry ripped a piece of the white, almost translucent meat and chewed. This one immediately made the insides of his tongue and esophagus tingle, as if the meat was full with tiny bolts of electricity.

  Magic Mimic: Superior Trait analyzed. Magic Mimic upgrade unlocked.

  Magic Mimic: Arcane Arm (F) was copied temporarily.. Ephemerals are full.

  Magic Mimic: Dispelling Bubble (F) was copied temporarily.. Ephemerals are full.

  Magic Mimic: Mana Sight (F) was copied temporarily.. Ephemerals are full.

  Bite: Mana Draining Bite acquired.

  Ink jet: Dispelling Ink acquired.

  Henry’s eyes opened wide.

  Yes! And Arcane Arm could become part of Mimicking Arms. Dispelling Bubble… I don’t think so. Let’s check the upgrade, though.

  Henry opened his trait upgrade menu and found the D-rank upgrade to Magic Mimic requiring Evolutionary Points.

  Damn… I guess I should wait a bit until I get through the evolution process. At least then I’d know what I need the points for.

  Henry exhaled. He’d be getting a lot of them soon, anyway.

  Alright… now for skills. These are all new and most are pretty good, but I’m out of space, and something’s gotta go. I could dump Molten Projectile, or I could replace Toxic Ray or Imploding Bubble, as I haven’t used them much, and I could re-learn them if I need them.

  Henry eyed the list of notifications. Nearly all of these new abilities seemed useful. Especially Arcane Arm and Dispelling Bubble. Same for Mana Sight, which was a skill, and he’d bet it could synergize well with Mana Conduit and Condensed Mana.

  After a few more seconds of consideration, Henry decided to hold-off on Molten Projectile, and with that done he was ready for the next step. There was still a few empty trait slots, but the Trickster had put him on a schedule, and he couldn’t just delay his evolution when it might meant his death.

  After all, Henry was beginning to suspect the Trickster might not even be a D-rank.

  I wish I’d gotten invisibility. I thought the Arcane kraken had used it, but no matter how much I’m eating from it, it’s not showing up…

  Maybe it had used something else. Or maybe there’s still some restrictions on Magic Mimic he wasn’t aware of.

  Henry dismissed the interface for a second and checked on Maurice to find the crab liberally eating from the remaining Stoneskin kraken. He shook the bites a bit before gingerly putting them in his mouth.

  I feel like he’d love spicy food.

  Henry consumed the Arcane kraken’s core, and notifications started flying at him. First were the levels, which got him to level 100, followed by his gained stats points.

  2 Strength, 2 Constitution, 3 free points, and 2 bonus Spirit points. Awesome.

  Congratulations. You qualify for a species evolution!

  Congratulations. A new class has been unlocked. You qualify for a class change!

  Calculating Evolutionary Points…

  Triumphed over a predator more than 50 levels above your own.

  Triumphed over a predator more than 100 levels above your own.

  Triumphed over a D-Rank being as an E-Rank being.

  Triumphed over three D-Rank beings as an E-Rank being.

  Indirectly caused the enlightenment of a non-sapient being.

  Calculating results… 11x Evolutionary Points granted!

  Henry read the list and felt a sense of pride grow into his chest, then the final achievement made him chuckle.

  So I’m getting credit for unleashing Maurice on the world?

  The crab lifted his eyes and found Henry staring at him. “[What?]” Maurice asked.

  “[Nothing. Keep eating.]”

  “[Okay!]”

  Henry turned back his attention to the process.

  Select one of the following Class Evolutions:

  (New) Krakenbane Wanderer:

  A Class for the traveling hunter of the deep. A terrible enemy to the feared and sometimes worshiped krakens of the abyss. You wade with purpose and confidence where none dare to tread, wielding strength and resilience forged in the darkest depths.

  This class will empower offensive and traveling abilities.

  Focuses on Strength, Spirit, and Constitution.

  Note: You are currently above the limit of class slots for this rank due to self-learned abilities

  Henry examined the remaining options. They were the same as last time, aside of that note about class lots.

  That sucks a bit… but maybe it’s for the better. I should be more selective about the abilities I pick up and make sure they match everything else. Plus, as it says, I’ve got plenty of slots anyway… As for the new class, it looks like a straight upgrade. Three stats boosted instead of two. And I like the name. Fitting. Very fitting.

  He made his selection, and the final menu opened up.

  Select one of the following species evolutions:

  Trickster Kraken:

  An elusive monster with versatile abilities and terrifying intelligence. Can create illusions and mimic the abilities of its prey.

  Arcane Kraken:

  A mystical creature that can dispel abilities, drain mana from others, and summon magical limbs to aid in combat.

  Goliath Kraken:

  A massive, behemoth-like kraken with unparalleled regenerative abilities and resilience.

  Blightbringer Kraken:

  A harbinger of death, the Blightbringer Kraken spreads a toxic miasma and injects venom with every strike, leaving a trail of corpses in its wake.

  Mesmer Kraken:

  An enigmatic predator that uses psionic abilities to entrance and crush its prey.

  So many options. No Stoneskin kraken though… Maybe I needed to consume the core? No matter. I wouldn’t have picked it.

  Henry hummed, then re-read everything again.

  Let’s see…

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