Perhaps not all humans are parasites... perhaps. I've never seen Vassos or Chase do anything particularly parasitic. Should I give them the benefit of the doubt? This is a dangerous line of thought and I dwelling on if for the wrong reasons. Maybe I should just admit that I'm operating on of fear.

  We're back in the overworld and I don't think I could make it out here by myself. There are no suicidal pigs that'll just run into my mouth, so what will I eat? The few animals I have seen—the ones I could catch anyway—are all trapped in pens, and that means some parasite's already claimed them. There's just too much civilization here, any wrong move and I'll be captured or killed.

  So that's how it is now. I'm still following Vassos, despite abundant opportunity to slip away. This seems to be what the two of them want as well, so I suppose they still need me. We're still a team because they still need me. That would be the rational explanation, anyway. But I need to be careful not to attribute reason to humans. There's likely some other force guiding their decision making. No doubt it's something ridiculous.

  It's mid-summer now and the air is dry. My skin itches. Oh, but that will soon be a thing of the past. That's right, I'm level 20 now! Soon I'll have a class that permanently resolves my hydration problem. But let's rewind a bit. You see, shortly before the battle of Perlin, I was force-fed a whole bag of domain pearls. Most of them failed to take, but the ones that succeeded gave me new domains.

  Now that I'm at the level 20 milestone, I can finally get a better class, and it can't happen soon enough! Woundweaver had been a bad choice. Honestly, what was I even thinking, choosing a domain and class because the icon felt familiar? This class that literally requires me to get injured for most abilities to take effect really hasn't been good for my mental health at all. And since joining a team, I've come to realize, I need to play to my strengths more.

  Well, today I am not lacking in choices. System, show them my domains!

  Domains unlocked,

  Faculty Body:

  physique->strength#3

  physique->constitution#2

  biology->restoration#1

  biology->adaptation#2

  Faculty Awareness:

  mind->comprehension#1

  sense->hearing#2

  Faculty Extension:

  defense->resistance#1

  avoidance->stealth#2

  World Objects:

  equipment->apparel#4

  World Surroundings:

  nature->alliance#1

  environment->water#5

  World Physics:

  time->precognition#1

  Action Precaution:

  support->healing#3

  Action Interference:

  intrusion->confusion#2

  affliction->torment#1

  affliction->poison#1

  Action Manifestation:

  conjuration->puppets#2

  energy->thermal#1

  There are apparently 81 domains in total and I've only unlocked 18, so there's still plenty of room for improvement, but this is way better than when I had to choose my primary class with just 5 domains. All of the new ones are from domain pearls, all except (physique->strength#3), which I chose to upgrade from (#2) as part of my level 20 reward.

  There's so many classes available now. System recommends focusing on those with highest rank. Every class has variants of higher rank. To get the better variant, you just need the right domains. My woundweaver (biology->adaptation#1, mind->comprehension#1) is a rank 1 class, but can now be upgraded to woundweaver (biology->adaptation#2, mind->comprehension#1, biology->restoration#1), which is rank 2—not that I intend to take that.

  My highest domains are: (environment->water#5), (equipment->apparel#4), (physique->strength#3) and (support->healing#3). Obviously, I should pick something based on these.

  As I understand it, (support->healing#) is a weaker and slower variant of (biology->restoration#), but can also be used on allies. So, it's basically useless.

  (physique->strength#3) is exactly my style. I've upgraded my strength ability all the way up to +3 on my base class already, and would've taken +4 if it were ever offered. If I have a class with the (physique->strength#3) domain, that ability will be easier to upgrade.

  (equipment->apparel#4) is another dud. It supposedly lets me cast buffs on the things I wear. Problem is, I don't wear anything. I wouldn't know where to get clothing. I don't know if they even make clothing for hydra. And even if they did, with me being a natural born meat-shield and all, any clothing I wear would just get destroyed in combat anyway. So this one's also out.

  And then, last—but certainly not least—there's (environment->water#5). I asked System if it would help with my dry skin problem and the answer—though lacking in specifics—was a clear ‘yes’. That was all I needed to know.

  System, list my (environment->water#) class options!

  Excluding superseded variants, you have 15 classes available using the (environment->water#) domain:

  - surgeclaw: (environment->water#5, physique->strength#3, physique->constitution#2, conjuration->puppets#1)

  - aquamancer: (environment->water#3, conjuration->puppets#2, mind->comprehension#1)

  - abyssal-lurker: (environment->water#3, avoidance->stealth#2, affliction->torment#1)

  - tide-warrior: (physique->strength#3, environment->water#2, biology->restoration#1)

  - raindrop-assassin: (avoidance->stealth#2, environment->water#2, affliction->poison#1)

  - abyssal-listener: (sense->hearing#2, avoidance->stealth#2, environment->water#1)

  - barnacle: (physique->constitution#2, biology->adaptation#2, environment->water#1)

  - slippery-wrestler: (physique->strength#2, physique->constitution#2, environment->water#1)

  - monsoon-healer: (support->healing#2, environment->water#2)

  - water-mage: (environment->water#2, mind->comprehension#1)

  - mind-washer: (intrusion->confusion#2, environment->water#1)

  - cleanser: (environment->water#2, biology->restoration#1)

  - mist-mage: (environment->water#1, energy->thermal#1, mind->comprehension#1)

  - lake-oracle: (time->precognition#1, environment->water#1)

  - water-druid: (nature->alliance#1, environment->water#1)

  Now, list my (physique->strength#) class options.

  Excluding superseded variants, you have 11 classes available using the (physique->strength#) domain:

  - surgeclaw: (environment->water#5, physique->strength#3, physique->constitution#2, conjuration->puppets#1)

  - tide-warrior: (physique->strength#3,environment->water#2,biology->restoration#1)

  - ironfist: (physique->strength#3, biology->adaptation#2, physique->constitution#1)

  - herculean: (physique->strength#3, physique->constitution#1, biology->restoration#1)

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  - hulk: (physique->strength#3, physique->constitution#2, biology->adaptation#1)

  - linebreaker-knight: (physique->strength#3, equipment->apparel#2, defense->resistance#1)

  - concusser: (physique->strength#3, intrusion->confusion#2)

  - slippery-wrestler: (physique->strength#2, physique->constitution#2, environment->water#1)

  - shadowfist: (avoidance->stealth#2, physique->strength#2)

  - knowing-fist: (physique->strength#2, time->precognition#1)

  - fire-punch: (physique->strength#2, energy->thermal#1, defense->resistance#1)

  You would think that I should have more options involving (environment->water#) at (#5), but it turns out, high rank classes have more complicated requirements. That means you need a very specific combination of domains at high level to unlock one.

  It would be great if I could get aquamancer at a higher rank, but that would require a higher domain level for (conjuration->puppets#).

  Abyssal-lurker, raindrop-assassin and mind-washer all seem like good options too, were they at comparable ranks. But obviously, surgeclaw is the clear winner—no competition. Not only is it the highest rank, but it uses both of my preferred domains.

  Surgeclaw: Engulf your enemies in a surge of water. Pin them down. Drown them.

  The description is a bit vague, but it seems to be a hybrid water-mage and wrestler class. Really, I've made my mind up about this one days ago—back when I killed that level 32 jaguar and got to level 20. I've been holding off because it's a big decision and will probably set me back several levels once I switch. The last few days I've probably asked System more questions than throughout the rest of my life combined. That is how much I've been overthinking this.

  Oh, and if you're wondering why I don't talk to System more often, then you've clearly never tried talking to System. It's not like normal communication: information gets pumped straight into your head. It leaves you disoriented and stuck with a throbbing headache.

  Well, I've asked all the questions I need to and now's as good a time as any to make my choice. Nothing's attacked us since we left the labyrinth, and the only other humans on this road are commoners, so it's probably safe.

  You have adopted ‘surgeclaw’ as your primary class. You have lost the ‘woundweaver’ class.

  As you no longer meet the achievement threshold, ‘masochist's clarity +2’ has been removed from your ability set.

  As you no longer meet the achievement threshold, ‘guide injury +3’ has been downgraded to +1.

  As you no longer meet the achievement threshold, ‘understanding +2’ has been downgraded to +1.

  Due to incompatibility, ‘guide injury +1’ has been moved to your base class.

  Due to incompatibility, ‘assumed limp +1’ has been moved to your base class.

  Due to incompatibility, ‘understanding +1’ has been moved to your base class.

  Invariant clash detected! Due to a tag prerequisite, ‘understanding +1’ has been upgraded to +2

  Ability ‘strength +3’ has been moved to your primary class for easier leveling.

  Woops! I almost got dumber back there. Perhaps I didn't question System thoroughly enough. Something to remember for the next time I switch classes. No use dwelling on it though. Let's consider what ability to take.

  You have one unallocated ability point. Select an ability to add or upgrade. Available options are,

  - strength +4 (passive)

  - contortion +3 (passive)

  - toughness +1 (passive)

  - tough skin +1 (passive)

  - water skin +1 (passive)

  - constriction +1 (passive)

  - guiding wave +1 (passive)

  - wrestlers grip +1 (active)

  - slippery +1 (active)

  - absorb blow +1 (active)

  - skull whip +1 (active)

  - death roll +1 (active)

  - whirlpool +1 (active)

  Strength +4: Your muscles exert more force.

  Contortion +3: Your joints can bend and twist further.

  Toughness +1: Your body absorbs more damage.

  Tough Skin +1: Your skin resists cutting and piercing damage better.

  Water Skin +1: Your body is covered in a thin film of water which you can control.

  Constriction +1: You gain increased crushing strength while having an enemy in a hold.

  Guiding Wave +1: While swimming, create a wave that assists your movement.

  Wrestlers Grip +1: Your skin grips enemies more effectively. (duration, 3 seconds), (cool-down, 2 minutes)

  Slippery +1: Your skin and any worn apparel becomes slippery. (duration, 3 seconds), (cool-down, 1 minute)

  Absorb Blow +1: Brace to better absorb damage from an attack. More effective against blunt damage. (duration, 2 second), (cool-down, 40 seconds)

  Skull Whip +1: Your head becomes hard and resistant to blunt damage while your neck gains elasticity for increased whipping speed. (duration, 2 second), (cool-down, 2 minutes)

  Death Roll +1: While inside a body of water and having an enemy in a hold, gain the ability to rapidly roll. (duration, 10 second), (cool-down, 3 minutes)

  Whirlpool +1: While inside a body of water, create a whirlpool centered on you dragging others towards you. (duration, 20 seconds), (cool-down, 1 hour)

  I want them all! But there's no need to weight pros and cons here, my mind's already made up. Goodbye dry skin, goodbye forever!

  You have selected 'water skin +1'.

  You may transfer one ability point between classes. Select an ability to downgrade if you wish to proceed?

  You have lost the ability, ‘assumed limp +1’. Select an ability to add or upgrade. Available options are...

  Looking at the list again, there is a new ability on offer,

  Atmospheric Siphon +1: Pull moisture out of the air and towards your body. (radius, 3 meters), (duration, 30 seconds), (cool-down, 10 minutes)

  I was wondering why there aren't more water abilities on offer. Probably because I've never actually used water in combat. But also, I'm guessing atmospheric siphon +1 is only now on offer because I took water skin +1.

  You have selected ‘atmospheric siphon +1’.

  Deluge (uplifted), level 16

  base class: hydra (physique->constitution#1, biology->restoration#1, affliction->poison#1), level 11

  - dense fat +3 (passive)

  - contortion +2 (passive)

  - understanding +2 (passive)

  - rapid regeneration +3 (active)

  - guide injury +1 (active)

  primary class: surgeclaw (environment->water#5, physique->strength#3, physique->constitution#2, conjuration->puppets#1), level 5

  - strength +3 (passive)

  - water skin +1 (passive)

  - atmospheric siphon +1 (active)

  It took years to get from level 16 to 20 the first time. I hate seeing numbers go down, but don't have any regrets—woundweaver was a deception class that really didn't suit me. Deception is best for fast species, or when paired with stealth, or for ambush predators. I doubt ‘deception tank’ is a real class, and if it were, it would be a bad pick.

  Okay, now for the moment I've been waiting for. Activate atmospheric siphon!

  A thin mist cloud is pulled towards me and water slowly condenses against my skin. Water skin +1 is passive, so I don't need to do anything, the water automatically spreads evenly across my body. It feels so good!

  According to the ability description, I should have some control over this water. Let's test it. I focus on moving the water around, and sure enough, it works. I can make it concentrate wherever I want, but only within about two centimeter of my skin. Pushing it away beyond that makes me lose control and it splashes to the ground.

  I move over the lost puddle and touch it. With contact it comes back under my control and I make it flow back up. Interesting... so how do I weaponize this. Guess it depends on how fast it can move. I swirl the water around me in loops but find that it doesn't move particularly fast. System? Oh, I see, it will get faster and thicker at higher levels, that's a relief.

  With a bit more volume and force it might be used to deflect weaker attacks. I don't think it will ever be a proper shield though. I should consider some of the new defensive abilities for that.

  Seems like it will be some time before the water skin becomes useful in combat, but I have no regrets—even at level 1, it already does the most important thing any ability has ever done. From now on, the swamp travels with me.

  I've never seen this much water before. Not even close. It moves violently and smells like my favorite condiment, salt! It would be nice to go down there and bathe, but there's always people down there. Even when I think they've left, Chase points them out as soon as I start to move.

  It's only me and Chase now. The old man has gone into Town for some reason. No need to invite me. That place looks scary. It's nowhere near as big as Perlin city, but the walls have a similar vibe and I have a bad history with walls like that.

  Chase spots something, off in the distance, it's Vassos. Good. I tire of hiding.

  I don't know what the two of them are discussing now. Sometimes I can guess based on the context, but then there are times like this where I have no idea.

  We move out into the open where commoners can see us again. Is this okay? I guess our hiding game is over, but why?

  There are people heading straight for us. I nearly panic but notice Vassos was expecting them. He's pointing them out to Chase and making sounds that must be names: ‘Daire’, ‘Enzio’, ‘Selis’ and ‘Master Thale’. That last one is concerning. I want nothing to do with any ‘masters’. No thanks. That one had better watch himself!

  The four of them reach us and exchange some words with Vassos, but it's clear their attention is on me. They don't seem surprised to see a hydra, just curious.

  The youngest, Enzio, is a commoner, level 2. Not to be prejudiced, but I find commoners off-putting. They clearly don't hunt, and that leaves only two possible lifestyles: parasitism or vegetarianism—both an affront to the dignity of nature and System's gifts.

  Master Thale is level 30 but seems out of shape. His hunting days are probably well in the past. If he were to try anything, I'm sure we could handle him, provided Chase and Vassos are with me. And, well... that part is has me a bit confused. Vassos seems on guard with him, but also deferential, like a commoner dealing with a moody guard.

  Vassos is level 50 now, but I've noticed long ago that human hierarchy doesn't follow the natural order. It's yet another way in which these creatures pervert everything.

  Daire is level 63 and Selis 78. Those are high numbers. I rarely saw that back in Perlin. These two are dangerous. Guess there's no point in even thinking about fighting now.

  Vassos approaches me and gives a command, "fall in!"

  What?... Are we doing drills now. How do I communicate this? The human thing would be to fold my arms, but I don't have those, so maybe...

  "Hissss."

  The man steps back. Has he given up? Good. Learn to read the room!

  Vassos gets Chase to stand next to me and then motions for Daire to follow as well. The large man, covered in heavy looking armor, slowly raises one eyebrow—as is appropriate for this situation—but Vassos persists.

  Now there's three of us standing in line. Vassos repeats his command and the other two follow. Okay. I don't want to be the only one standing out. Might as well. What follows is a series of formation drills with steadily increasing difficulty. Daire goes through the motions with impressive swiftness and precision. Meanwhile, Thale, Enzio and Selis simply watch.

  I was too concerned with Vassos' behavior towards Thale to have noticed it before, but I now see that Thale is avoiding eye contact with Selis, who seems to have little regard for him. Let me put together a quick theory here: Selis is the real leader here and Vassos is demonstrating my combat training to her. Chase and Daire probably just got dragged into the drill to put me at ease.

  Could this be the start of putting together a new team? Back in the labyrinth, we formed a team out of necessity. There was no choosing who to include or exclude. But out here, with many candidates available, I think it makes sense to show off your abilities.

  Selis and Daire are clearly strong. You definitely want those to on your team. But why would they need me? Everyone's eyes are on me, but why? I'm the weakest one here. Weakest by a big margin.

  Our demonstration is finished and—as their type seem to do when resting—the people find rocks to sit on. There's more talking, but it seems more affable now. Selis isn't doing or saying much but Daire has gotten real animated and chatty.

  The large man picks up a bag that I saw him carry here and pulls something out of it. It's a stack of stone disks each about the size of a human hand. He places one on a large rock and then indicates for me to come over, pointing at the disk and saying, "take!"

  Artifact:

  Guild primer. Serpent's Eye commission. Title - "uplift's guide to civilization."

  Touch to access contents.

  It's not the first time I've seen an object have a screen, but aside from labyrinth portals, it's probably the first one I've been allowed to touch. Okay then, let's see what this is about.

  "... #$))ee@$+~*~#*%_A%(*&$#*yr*~*^&^$ e((((!))))"

  Remember when I told you before about talking to System? Well, this feels like that, but much worse. It felt like getting a particularly long answer from System—except, System at least stops before you pass out—Guild Primer has no empathy at all.

  A cloud blocks the sun, but judging by the shadows, not much time has passed. My heads feels so full. What did it tell me? It hurts to think, but I know I've just learned something very important.

  Nobles... nobles, oathbound, commoners, adventurers, slaves and renegades. It's the human hierarchy. I get it now! but... I don't get it. It's all wrong. Six social classes arranged in a line. A hierarchy of parasites.

  At least I know one thing for certain now. Vassos and Chase aren't parasites after all. Based on what Guild Primer said, they're adventurers—basically hunters like me. I feel strangely relieved to hear that part at least.

  So what am I then? According to their laws, I'm a renegade. I used to be a slave, but when I deserted from Perlin, I became a renegade—one who belongs to no one. One who may be killed on sight. That's not good.

  Daire returns with the next disk.

  "Hisss!"

  I've barely recovered, just give me some time! He's not backing down. Can't pick I fight with someone that big. Nope. Humans may have their own weird and artificial hierarchy, but I still know and respect the true hierarchy. Let's see...

  Artifact:

  Guild primer. Serpent's Eye commission. Title - "uplift's guide to economics."

  Touch to access contents.

  I few moments ago I thought I'd reached the limits of how bad headaches can get. Turns out, I was wrong. Please, just let me sleep! It's no use, I see there's one more disk and the man holding it is level 63 and shows no concern for my feelings.

  Artifact:

  Guild primer. Serpent's Eye commission. Title - "uplift's guide to adventuring."

  Touch to access contents.