Winston growled as Thalysar descended the ladder. The massive tent was easily several times as large as his humans’ house, with dozens of different rooms and sections. But Winston had been brought somewhere he never expected: underground.

  In the corner of the tent was a small kitchenette. One moment, the floor was just the same azure fabric as the rest of the tent, and the next, there was a trapdoor.

  Now, Winston found himself at the bottom of the ladder, still in the grip of the commander. Winston looked about the tunnel. It was well lit, with dozens of glowing orbs floating along the walls. While the tunnel wasn’t exactly cramped, it wasn’t spacious either. The tunnel was more than wide enough, but Thalysar’s head nearly touched the ceiling of dirt and stone.

  They passed several doorways on the sides of the passage before it finally opened up into a larger room. While the ceiling was only a few feet higher, the room was far wider. A few other Caltherans were scattered across the room, some seemingly standing guard while others stood around tables.

  Each of them briefly saluted before returning to their duties. Thalysar walked up to one of the many doors dotting the walls. Winston squirmed as he was passed to the guard.

  “Keep him in there for now,” Thalysar said, shooting a glance at Winston. “We need to research his abilities. Don’t let him out, no matter what. Tell the doctor to be there as well. We might have to do some cutting.”

  ?? ′?? ? ??` ??

  Winston sat in the cell, trembling. He needed to get out. He looked around his cell once more, looking for anything that could let him escape. The room was actually quite nice, at least compared to what he’d seen on TV. The floor was padded, and there was a cot with a blanket next to the wall. Other than that, there was only a single glowing orb floating by the ceiling.

  Winston took a deep breath. He had to get out. He would get out. He just didn’t yet know how. The door to the cell was a solid inch of some sort of metal. Other than a small window with bars in the middle, there were no other openings. Looking through the bars, Winston could see the back of the guard’s head a few feet away.

  Backing back into the cell, Winston took out pieces of the Alpha Fringillade one after another, consuming them. Winston sighed: it was a relief that meat in his spatial ring didn’t rot, or the smell would’ve already alerted the guards that something was amiss. Still, the smell of the raw meat was strong, so Winston did his best to [Consume] it as quickly as possible.

  Once he’d done that, he closed his eyes, entering his soulspace and cultivating. As much as he wanted to, there was no time to take in the beautiful scenery. Winston took one deep breath after another, calming himself as he began to cultivate. One drop after another, the energy-rich liquid filled the bowl.

  When Winston opened his eyes, he felt his heart beating normally once more. There was a sense of clarity as he stepped up to the bowl. He could do this. He would do this. Winston closed his eyes as energy seeped into him, permeating every inch of his body. His very veins pulsed with power.

  Winston looked up from the bowl, staring at his soulspace. The brick foundation had grown a bit, but Winston still couldn’t tell what it was. Opening his status screen, he began to distribute his stats.

  Name: Winston

  Race: Corgi

  Class: Relentless Consumer (Unique)

  Rank: Initiate 8

  Titles (3/5):

  Non-Humanoid Progenitor

  [Redacted]

  Modified

  Food Energy: 450/450

  Stats:

  Strength: 14

  Dexterity: 11

  Toughness: 14

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  Charisma: 45

  Stomach: 45

  Mind: 15

  Free Points: 24

  Winston sighed. 24 points was a lot, but now he had nothing but a single wing and talon from the bird if he needed to replenish his energy. Shaking his head, he put 10 points each into Stomach and Mind, putting the last four into Dexterity.

  Winston exited his soulspace hastily, paranoid that someone would enter the cell while he was unconscious. As much as he wanted to try and escape immediately, Winston knew he should wait for a bit. He’d been in the cell for less than an hour, and he needed to wait until he could be sure that Thalysar had left.

  It was strange. Just days ago, he’d admired the commander, looked up to him for his strength and leadership, but now, he would give anything to never see the commander again.

  ?? ′?? ? ??` ??

  It’d been several hours since Winston had been put into the cell, and he just couldn’t wait any longer. With every second that ticked by, he felt his anxiety growing. With a deep breath, Winston began. He began to channel, forming a small shard of food energy before him, but he didn’t stop there.

  He kept pouring energy into the shard, but instead of expanding, it simply grew a deeper golden, radiating energy. Winston shaped the edge of the shard into a razor-sharp blade. Concentrating, he did something he’d never tried before. One ridge at a time, he serrated the edge. When he was done, the 4-inch-long shard resembled a glowing, golden piece of a saw.

  The shard flew up to the opening with the bars and began sawing. It was slow going, but he was making progress. As he worked, he thought. He needed to use [Mental Manipulation] on the guard, and while he had initially been unsure of whether he’d be able to overwhelm the Caltheran’s mental defenses, he was now sure that he could.

  While he’d sat idly in the cell, he’d seen the guard take several glances at him, worry evident in his eyes. As well as that, for the first time in what seemed like ages, [Passive Charm] had leveled up, this time from level 6 to level 7.

  He sawed through the top of each bar, severing their connection to the top of the door. Then, he began sawing at the bottom of the bars, constantly reinforcing the blade as it lost energy. He stopped cutting when the bottoms of the bars were hanging on by threads. It would be easy to break them all at once.

  Now, it was time for the hard part. Winston attacked the guard’s mind. As expected, his mind was significantly more powerful than the Alpha Fringillade’s, but Winston had grown stronger as well. The guard began to turn around, mouth open, but he froze.

  Winston’s will enveloped the mind of the guard. With a thought, Winston commanded the Caltheran to return to his post. Then, Winston sawed the rest of the way through each bar, carefully guiding the metal back into his cell and cushioning the landing with golden Food Energy.

  Taking a deep breath, Winston leaped towards the gap that he’d made. He knew his enhanced strength made it more than possible, but it still felt wrong. Winston flew through the air, narrowly squeezing through the gap in the bars.

  Winston landed on his side, barely holding back a yelp of pain as he hit the stone floor. No one had noticed him yet, so he took the opportunity to use [Mental Manipulation] once more. He shattered the guard’s mental defenses with ease, taking hold of his mind.

  Before he began, Winston checked the ranks of all the Caltherans in the room. There were half a dozen Caltherans, and all of them but one were Initiate 9. The final Caltheran was a woman bent over a table. She was Acolyte 1.

  Winston steadied himself. She was distracted, and it was now or never. He dashed from his spot, gunning for the tunnel that he had entered from. His improved dexterity let him run quickly, but not quickly enough. One of the guards cried out a warning, and the rest of the room looked up.

  Winston growled in frustration. He’d been spotted the second he’d begun. The guard dashed towards him, greatsword raised, but he never got close. One of the guards that Winston had under control slammed into the Caltheran, sending him crashing across the room. The other guard Winston had taken control of followed closely behind him, covering his escape.

  Winston breathed out a sigh of relief as he reached the tunnel. With the guard blocking the entrance, it would be hard for any of the Caltherans to get to him. Still, he couldn’t relax. Not yet. Winston propelled himself down the tunnel, his tiny legs a blur. He could hear the sounds of battle behind him.

  Then, the end of the tunnel came into view. Winston let out a growl at the sight of the two guards at the bottom of the ladder. As he ran, he formed two orbs of golden energy, condensing them to the size of marbles. At the sight of him, both guards drew their blades, but it was too late. A tiny sun slammed into each of them, sending them crashing into the wall. The attack wasn’t enough to kill them, but it shattered their defenses and knocked them unconscious.

  Winston felt his body straining as he channeled and manipulated so much energy, but he didn’t care.

  Looking up the ladder, Winston knew what he had to do. As Winston prepared himself, he felt his connection to both the guards dissipate. Sparing a glance behind him, he saw the Acolyte-tier woman striding down the tunnel, with both of the guards on the floor behind her.

  Winston launched a spear of energy at her, but he never saw if it hit. With a mighty heave, he launched himself up the ladder, making it halfway in a single leap. Then, he formed a block of food energy. His energy should’ve been strong enough to hold his weight, but it began to sink and fracture the moment he stepped on it. There was no time to dwell on it, and it didn’t really matter anyway. Winston pushed off, sending the shards of golden energy launching down below him as he reached the top of the ladder.

  Teetering near the top of the ladder, Winston barely kept himself from falling off the narrow foothold. He launched a blast of energy upwards, blasting open the trapdoor. Then, he leaped. Winston slipped as he launched forward, but it didn’t matter. He made it through anyway, landing in the small kitchenette.

  Winston breathed a sigh of relief, now all he had to do was—he froze. Before him, lounging in a chair, was commander Thalysar, and he was staring straight at Winston, a smile playing at his lips.