Red still couldn’t believe everything.
“That doesn’t make any sense. My own father is over level 150, and he isn’t like you.
Mash shrugged his shoulders in a non-committal manner and didn’t bother responding to her. Instead, he moved over the tent flap and opened it right as General Irkish approached.
“Maybe you can explain.”
He had been tracking her approach since she entered his domain. He was also aware of when she had begun eavesdropping on them. She knew what they were talking about and would certainly have more answers than him. Without any change in her firm expression, she responded.
“It’s because what Mash did normally doesn’t happen till level 200. And I would love to hear how you managed that. And why did you advance like the monsters?”
The general did not look pleased, but her words perked Mash’s ears.
“Wait, you know that monsters have levels and advancements. Did you know that animals did too?”
“Answer my questions first.”
She made sure to stress every word, and she somehow pressed her power upon him. The highest leveled person in the kingdom was intimating. He let out a relaxed breath as her attempt to press him washed off like rain.
“Sorry, but I don’t have an answer for either of those. I think it was a mark from one of the many world owners that I have met. I mean my own.”
He was made to stop speaking, as Red covered his mouth. She smiled at the general sweetly before speaking.
“I think that’s enough of an answer. It’s your turn.”
The annoyed face the General made when Red decided to speak was telling. Mash decided it would be better to leave her to it.
“You know, this is why your family has such a shitty reputation. But fine, yeah, I know that almost any living being has access to something. Most animals never manage to get far, but you get some stories occasionally. A cat causing some bad luck or a turtle that has been said to live for countless years. Not to mention the things in the seas’ depths. Plenty of the monsters we see outside of dungeons, are animals that wandered into a dungeon and managed to kill or pass it.”
Despite what Irkish suggested with her words, Mash struggled to imagine a cat clearing a dungeon. She answered his question though, so he guessed that meant it was his turn.
“Well, got any more questions for me?”
The General nodded.
“Yeah, but we don’t need to bother with this back and forth. Just ask what you want, and I will just tell you if I can’t answer. I’m not a noble and don’t care to turn a conversation into a competition.”
Mash preferred this as well. Straightforward and simple.
“What’s two plus two?”
Jill’s joke was not amusing, and everyone ignored her as Lisa pulled her away. Red’s voice was biting with her glare pointed at Jill.
“What makes level 200 so special?”
“The normal class system only goes so far. Normally, people don’t hit that limit for a long time. I call it level 200, but it’s really a power threshold. Most people have to find new sources of power after hitting that level before getting out of it. Honestly, I was stuck at level 200 for something like a decade or two.”
The general spoke about two decades in the blink of an eye. He found himself nodding in understanding. He knew that his power far exceeded his level. Thus, getting the change early made a lot of sense.
“Wait, so the same thing won’t happen to us?”
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Luke piped up from whatever deep contemplation he had been struggling with.
“No. I expect you will have to wait unless one of you has gained considerable power outside of your class. Although, from what I was led to believe, Mash was the only one to have done that, I have already been caught unaware once, so I would appreciate a warning if one of you were going to accomplish the same.”
Everyone other than Mash shook their heads furiously. The general nodded, and Mash asked his own question. He had realized something once the General entered his domain.
“What does it mean to have an aspect? And why don’t I feel like you have one?”
“Because I don’t. At level two hundred you can abandon the class system and get something like that, or you can get a second class. If you choose the class, the second class will balance you and cover any would-be weaknesses. As for the aspects, thrones, or shards of divinity, they grant a form of protection, let’s call it. Mash can explain that part better than me.”
Heads turned to him, and he cleared his throat.
“Yeah, I didn’t get there yet. I fairly certain I can’t die. So long as my aspects exist in reality, I won’t die. I’ll just keep reviving, but I imagine it would take a long time.”
He stopped there, turning to see if the general had anything to add. She eyed him curiously before asking.
“What aspect do you have? How fundamental is it?”
“It’s change, so very.”
Her gaze narrowed.
“Change and freedom are quite immutable. So yes, you won’t die, even if you wanted to at this point. Although with things that fundamental, I imagine it would be a century or two for full revival. It’s shorter with the more specific and fragile aspects.”
Mash had an idea of how she knew what his aspects were. Red didn’t though and drew attention to herself merely by shifting her stance. It was a subtle unobtrusive motion, but it drew everyone’s eye.
“Care to explain how you knew his aspects?”
“You’re not supposed to have two aspects. And when I say you, I mean literally anyone. Whatever form of power it is, a person’s body can normally only handle one. Now that brings me to my questions. Why do you have two, and why does that make you, Mash, my enemy?”
Her gaze turned to Mash. It changed from the domineering but the neutral gaze of a commander. Now it was filled with open hostility and bloodthirst. He met the gaze evenly. It wasn’t the knowledge of his undying nature that made him confident. He had finally made it. His power was no longer something that could be ignored or threatened easily.
“I got offered two and took them. The consequence of that is letting everyone know what I have, and it marks me for those who don’t like those things. It’s pretty unspecific though, so I’m pretty sure most parents would likely see me as an enemy if they could.”
Luke stepped in between the two of them to interject.
“Why don’t we sense these things?”
The General rolled her eyes.
“You're too weak. Get to level 200 then you can sense them too.”
Mash actually felt a wave of relief at that.
“That’s one weight off my shoulders. I was worried that every other person I met would think I was their enemy or something.”
They talked a little more. The general asked plenty of questions, but so did Red. Before long they had tired most points of conversation. It came to an end when Mash finally asked an important question.
“How do aspects actually work? Is it like other magic?”
That question provoked Irkish to an angry response.
“After everything we talked about, you actually think I will tell you anything about them? Don’t use them.”
Her expression hardened. It was the gaze of someone needing to discipline their children. The words irked him.
“No!”
Mash shouted the word, and he could feel his domain react. His very presence seemed to fill the domain. He could see his friends step away from him. Only, Lisa seemed to be withstood the sudden change. The General also remained unflinching, and she stepped closer.
“You don’t understand those powers. They are destabilizing the kingdom.”
He considered what she said but didn’t care. He was tired of restrictions; of people or things trying to manipulate or control him. He was tired of discovering new forces that far outclassed him. This was not the end of his journey, but he finally had enough power to say no.
“I don’t care. I mean I care, but not in the way you do. My powers are good. They will change this world and I want them to. So, I will use them.”
“Is that the grand plan you’ve come to? Destroy the world and force it to be what you want.”
The General was getting angry too. Mash snapped back.
“No. My power is to change the world and give it the freedom to grow without bonds. People like you or me shouldn’t be able to control the whole world.”
“You think I haven’t heard that before? Your answer half baked. It will do nothing but create anarchy. You can’t just break things because you don’t like them.”
Mash cursed and stepped back from her. He didn’t have the words to dispute her, so he turned to things he couldn’t accept.
“Your right, but even still there are things I want to change. There are two things I can start with now. Slavery and the class system.”
The General clearly wasn’t ready for him to agree. Her eyes went wide when he mentioned the things. Then she smiled.
“Well, I’ll be more than happy to drop you like the calamity you are in the north. Although, be careful about messing with the class system. You’re not the only that has the power to affect it. There are changes you can make, but don’t expect much. As for the rest, we can discuss that later. If you want to practice your abilities, do it outside of my home.”
Those last words were accompanied by the warping of space. The entire tent seemed to distort and vanish like Jill’s skill. Mash felt like he could’ve blocked it, but he didn’t. He could tell where she was sending them.
Name: The Chimera of the End and the Beginning
Stage: Hatchling
Level: 150 → 1
Health: 10010 / 10010
Energy: 8290 / 8290
Fortitude: 501 → 1001
Endurance: 329 → 529
Strength: 393 → 693
Agility: 429 → 729
Intelligence: 250 → 300
Wisdom: 150 → 200
Charisma: 150 → 200
Free Stats: 0
Skills: Hunger, Magic Layering, Begin Anew, Chimera, Magical Beginning, Chimeric Reconstruction, Path of Change, Domain of the End, Reconstructed Adaptable Monster Core, Body of the Beginning, Chimera’s Constitution, Mimic’s Avarice, Harbinger of Nothing, Devoured Soul Body, Mark of the End, Mark of the Beginning, The Aspect of Change, The Aspect of Freedom, Brand of Change and Freedom
Hunger (Passive): You have gone beyond your limits when fighting enemies and devouring their power. Your limits know no bounds. Gain stats continuously when hunting. Rate increases with hunger. Stats decrease rapidly when out of combat.
Current Rate: + 1-100 all attributes per minute
Magical Layered Wood → Magic Layering: You started with sticks and grew them into something that could not exist naturally. But what does the Chimera of Ends and Beginnings care for the natural order. All magic you steal can be combined to create impossible and unnatural magics. The more magics you use at once, the more energy you consume.
Inhuman Hibernation → Begin Anew: You have stolen the techniques of mages and monks to form an artificial technique. You molded those techniques into your unnatural existence. Recover from nearly any wound. As a fundamental aspect your life is tied to it. The greater your end the longer you need to begin.
Chimeric Transformation → Chimera: A Chimera in truth you change your body changes through your species. 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.
Wooden Birth → Magical Beginning: Form imitations of creatures you have consumed, imitating life through your magic. Impart your own life into the creatures to grant them true vestiges of life. As the Chimera of the Beginning, you can create true life.
You cannot gain experience through killing the life you create. A portion of what monsters earn gain will be returned to you.
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 → Path of Change (unique): Having chosen the path of the Change, you have freed yourself from your own world. An ender of era’s, your journey is one filled with hope and devastation. Open portals to worlds you have already been. Once per year, travel to a world in need of change. Your world is one of endless change, of boundless freedom.
Chimeric Domain → Domain of the End (Passive): Your eyes just weren’t enough. Sense the changes in the reality 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, bringing and end of the the magic and strength of enemies beneath you. The end touches all.
Current Range: 75 → 18300 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: 100% efficiency
Wooden Body → Body of the Beginning (Passive): You can connect with the world around you. By expending your energy, you bring your magic to life as another one of your limbs. All of your magic within your domain is bound to your will.
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.
Harbinger of Nothing (Passive): Belonging to no race or group, you have embraced the nothingness that is a part of everything. You are free and deny others' attempts to bind you. Constantly emit the aura of nothingness within your domain. Your allies will gain some of the freedom you possess. You are a bringer of nothingness. Your power causes all that would oppose it to fray and slip.
Devoured Soul Body (Passive, Unique): You have devoured your own soul, uniting it to your body through the primal action. Your body and soul are one, changes to one are reflected in the other. Changes you make in your body are now permanent.
Mark of the Devourer → Mark of the End: Having devoured the marks of greater beings, you have stolen the keys to their power. Mark those who would become the best of meals. The mark will bring you to them when their power becomes significant. Bring about their End.
Mark of the Beginning: The Chimera of Beginnings can grant a boon to those that desire change. Grant them the power to grow. Break all the bonds that would restrict them. Greatly improve their growth at the cost of their species. You grant them a new beginning.
The Aspect of Change: Having manifested an aspect, your existence embodies that aspect. The appearance of a new aspect can be felt across reality. As an aspect of the fundamental, even your power is but a tiny piece of what it embodies. The aspect grants you limited use of its power. Forcibly change something. Energy costs are proportional to the rigidity of that which you strive to change.
The Aspect of Freedom: Your refusal to be bound by any bonds or limits has let you claim the Aspect of Freedom. Manifest the aspect to free yourself or others from restrictions or corruption.
Brand of Change and Freedom: Possessing two aspects marks you as an enemy of those who would resist them. All those who wish to remain unchanged will become your enemies. All those who wish to bind others will become your enemies. Your marks do not allow you any influence over the marked. When you create life, you have no dominion over them. You can never gain or uses skills or items that would be used to bind or restrain others. You can only grant people their end or a new beginning free of any limitations.
