Pain roared through my body, twisting my limbs and knotting my muscles as the chi raged. I thrashed, twisting around, my eyes squeezed tightly closed against the agony.

  I could hear voices, people talking, but it was muffled by the thunderous beat of my heart and my own screams, which tore out of me like a caged beast. I tried reigning in the chi, but I might as well have tried taming the ocean in a storm.

  I tried riding it out and fared no better. The storm within my body battered my mind, shoved it under, tossed me around. I was dizzy and lost in a black tempest. I wasn’t able to open my eyes, my entire face was clenched tightly as my muscles cramped.

  I couldn’t see my health, my status screen, or any of the UI I had grown so familiar with. Everything was black pain.

  Time became unknowable in the raging storm of chi that assaulted my psyche from every direction. I struggled to remain conscious, not to drown in the power that I had cultivated. I could feel myself slipping further away from consciousness.

  A gentle melody cut through the storm. It began with a whisper, a thread of shimmering white. I reached for it. The song flowed into me, wrapping me in warmth and calming the tempestuous sea of chi raging within.

  I breathed, guided by the music, and the energy responded. I coaxed it back, drew it within, and began circulating it. The pain receded, the storm now gone.

  I opened my eyes and saw Encore performing a song, sitting on my chest. My friends stood around me in an all-too familiar circle of concern. I reached up and scratched behind one of Encore’s ears, taking in slow, deep breaths.

  “Thanks,” I whispered. He gave me a half grin and nodded, continuing to play.

  Katarina let out a breath, pursing her lips in a ‘whooo’. “You okay?”

  I swallowed, looking over at her. “Sorry about that. I think I’m okay now.”

  “What happened?” Abernathy asked.

  “I… I’m not sure.” I was quiet for a long second, listening to Encore’s gentle melody and circulating my chi. It was calming and helped soothe my cramp-sore muscles. “I think my chi core reacted to my new form badly.”

  “The sounds problematic.” Sebastian intoned.

  “That’s an understatement,” Abernathy added. “If you do that in a fight, I don’t wanna think about what might happen.”

  “Same.” Katarina agreed. “We need to figure this out. Now, before we continue.”

  “But we need to make it to the Keep,” I objected. I shifted to sit up, but Encore put a paw down and grew slightly large, forcing me back.

  “This is important.” He spoke with a gentle finality, maintaining the performance with his tail-lyre. “Please.”

  I sighed, nodding and laying my head back. “Okay, okay. You’re right.”

  “It happened when you changed forms, right? But not right away?” Abernathy asked.

  “Yeah, everything was fine until I shifted my focus to the chi core. Then it went wild and I wasn’t able to do anything. At all. It was like being thrown overboard in a storm. I was helpless. Until I heard Encore’s music. Thanks again, buddy. You saved me.”

  He smiled and nodded, shifting slightly.

  “Hmm,” Katarina said thoughtfully. “Maybe the chi core didn’t recognize your new body? The lines of power that it courses through might change slightly with each form? I mean of course they would. Your limbs and body parts all shift around when you transform, right?”

  “Yeah, they do. It used to be a lot more painful than it is now that I advanced the skill. That makes sense.” I focused on my breathing and listened to Encore’s song. It had shifted into a more energetic tune.

  “Maybe you should try another form?” Abernathy asked. “While listening to Encore, could help avoid the same, horrible thing from happening again. But only once you’re recovered, mate.”

  “That’s a good idea.” I glanced at my health, it was full. I had no lingering debilitations in my status screen, either. “Alright. I’ll start with the smaller races first, so I don’t have to change clothes. Here goes.”

  “Just like that?” Sebastian sounded aghast. “After that crazy seizure and all that pain? You’re just going to dive right back in?”

  I laughed. “It’s nothing new. Been like this since logging in. Keep the music going, please, Encore.”

  “Of course.”

  “Should I… hold you down or something?” Katarina asked, crouching near me.

  “I don’t know if this is the right time for that kind of thing,” I chuckled.

  Katarina snorted, a dangerous gleam to her eye. “Careful, lute boy.”

  I smiled and looked through my list of available races.

  “Alright, let’s do this.”

  I worked my way through the races. My chi core was fine after each transformation, until I focused on it. The attention set it off, as if it were unaware of the change until interacting with me.

  Encore’s music provided safe harbor in the storm, a lifeline I was able to use to calm the chi and coax it back into the core. It took nearly an hour for me to go through my entire racial roster.

  I shifted back to my dwarven form before moving from gnome to quokka beastkin and confirmed that my chi core didn’t have the violent reaction once I had greeted it in the form once, which was very fortunate and something I would need to keep in mind each time I acquired a new form.

  By the end of the hour I was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. I had introduced my chi core to every form but one — the alpha arctic kobold.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Okay,” I breathed. I had just settled the chi in my tera elementalkin form. My voice was deeper, with a subtle undertone like rumbling earth. “One last form. I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

  “The werewolf?” Sebastian asked, swallowing with an audible click in his throat.

  “It’s not a werewolf,” Katarina replied. “It’s an alpha frosty whatever.”

  “An alpha arctic kobold,” I laughed softly.

  “Might as well be a werewolf.” Sebastian squeaked. “Scary as hell.”

  “Can you restrain me?” I asked.

  “You don’t have to ask me twice,” Katarina purred. Abernathy coughed into his hand before pulling out a wide bundle of rope.

  “Here, I infused this with mana. It’s a synthetic blend of spider web, steel, and jute. It should hold him.”

  Katarina took the rope. I sat up as she approached.

  “Leave just a little bit of space, not much. I’ll grow some, but I don’t want to be able to wriggle free if I can’t control myself.”

  “You got it. Be careful, Chanter. If you feel weird, get the hell out of that form. Don’t lose yourself again.” She kissed me, then pulled back quickly. “You taste like sand in the form. Not doing that again.”

  She gently took my hands and tied them together, then did the same with my legs.

  “Alright, here goes.” I shifted into the alpha kobold form. The restrains dug uncomfortably into my wrists and ankles, and a wave of rage washed over me at being restrained. A deep growl began rumbling in the back of my throat and I felt my consciousness begin separating almost immediately as the feral instincts of the form vied for control.

  I closed my eyes and fought against the form’s awakened desires for indiscriminate violence. It was like wrestling with an angry badger. I felt my psyche being shredded by the undiluted rage and looked to my chi core for strength.

  The core’s reaction had been the same with every form, and I had grown to expect it. I had done this so many times that I had begun to anticipate its reaction, which allowed me a greater degree of control when paired with Encore’s music.

  That didn’t happen this time. My chi core erupted, but it funneled into the feral side of the form. It was violently ejected from the form and assaulted me, making my conscious mind reel from the attack. It surged, throwing my mind into a now-familiar sea of turbulence. I began to take hold of it, with the help of Encore’s music, when it fled me and entered the bestial nature of my form.

  The transition of chi happened three times before I triggered transform and fled the form, going back to the wood elven form I had grown accustomed to over the last week of journeying.

  I heaved in great bursts of ragged breath as Katarina gathered the rope and offered it to Abe. He waved her away. “Keep it, you might need it some day.”

  She thanked him as I recovered, pulling out my lute and performing Radiant Winds. The radiant orbs helped melt some of the exhaustion I felt, but a large portion of it was internal and beyond the influence of the song.

  “You okay?” Katarina asked, crouching beside me and looking between my eyes.

  “Yeah… I am. Can’t get that form to cooperate. The chi bounces between my waking mind and that crazed one. I’m not able to get it under control. Going to have to work on that later.”

  “At least you were able to transform out of it,” Abernathy said, breathing a sigh of relief. “That’s a step in the right direction.”

  “True. Thankfully.” I looked over my races. I had unlocked information on the racial bonuses for each one, which displayed as a small informational paragraph under each name.

  Changeling

  Savant. Expedites learning of skills by 45%. Provides passive bonus of 25% when in other forms.

  Human (Basic)

  Offworlder. Neutral faction with most races, from the sea to the warring tribal lands. While they may not exactly be loved by anyone in particular, their relatively new entrance to the world stage means they have not yet cultivated any blood feuds, as have sprung up between other races between the centuries.

  Dwarf (Mountain)

  Tremor Sense. Through their close affinity with earth and stone, Mountain Dwarves are able to sense the gentlest of vibrations in the earth. This is muffled as the vibrations amplify, protecting them from over-stimulation.

  Elf (High)

  Arcane Affinity. Lessens mana cost of spells by 15%.

  Elf (Wood)

  Nature’s Proclivity. Increases stealth and perception while in forests. Improved dexterity with hands and hand-eye coordination.

  Elf (Aquatic)

  Amphibian. Allows breathing of air and water, though requires a higher level of hydration for air breathing. Slight webbing of fingers and feet improves swimming speed as the cost of slightly lowering hand dexterity and run speed.

  Half-Elf (Wood)

  Of the Forest. Slightly increases stealth and perception while in forests. Provides increased movement speed and dexterity with hands and hand-eye coordination.

  Beastkin (Ferret)

  Squeeze-through. Allows passage through any space wide enough for the head. Ferret Beastkin spines are less rigid, allowing them to navigate narrow tunnels.

  Beastkin (Quokka)

  Big Hopper. Increases jump distance several fold.

  Beastkin (Goat)

  Headbutt. Increases damage done by horns. Also increases proclivity for hitting things with their horns.

  Beastkin (Otter)

  Slickfur. Allows deft, swift movement in water and increases lung capacity, allowing extended dives for up to half an hour. Grants Watersense ability, which provides a rough view of surroundings underwater from the waters motions.

  Beastkin (Piscivorous Viper)

  Piscivorous Venom. Potent venom which deteriorates flesh and muscle.

  Elementalkin (Tera)

  Strength of Stone. Grants immunity to most toxins and poisons, but is more susceptible to cold. Provides slight boost to strength when in contact with stone.

  Kobold (Alpha, Arctic)

  Spirit of the Beast. Grants immunity to mind-control and illusion spell types. Increases strength, resilience, and speed. Invokes a feral psychotic blood-thirst.

  Kobold (Arctic)

  Pack hunter. Grants a slight increase to strength, speed, and maneuverability when fighting with at least two allies in close proximity.

  Gnome

  Blink. Short range spatial distortion ability that teleports the caster up to 20 feet away. Line of sight is not required. Teleporting into occupied spaces will force the caster into the nearest available space. Useable once a week.

  “Wow, some of these racial traits are powerful.” I looked over them again as I changed form into that of a dwarf. “Gnomes can fricken’ teleport.”

  “No way, really? That’s so OP!” Katarina laughed.

  “What can the other races do?” Abernathy asked, a wide smile splitting his face and poking out his chubby cheeks.

  “I’ll explain it all over chat, let’s get going. It’ll be halfway to dawn before we get to Bornholdt Keep at this rate.”

  “True, I would at least like to get a nap in before we meet your mentor tomorrow morning,” Sebastian agreed.

  “A nap, right, that’s what I had in mind as well, once we get to the inn.” Katarina winked at me as she spoke. Blood rushed into my cheeks and ears, though the blush was mostly hidden behind the beard. “Think you’ll be able to keep up in that form?”

  “For sure, I feel pretty powerful. Dwarves are stocky, but there’s a lot of strength in these muscles.”

  Abe and Sebastian slid into their utes, starting them up.

  “Okay then, lute boy. Race you to the Keep!” She took off, sprinting away in a swirl of displaced sand.

  “Oh gods,” I groaned, running after her with a smile. Encore soared alongside me, both sets of wings spread wide. He eyed me, then the rapidly shrinking visage of Katarina, and laughed. I joined in on his laughter as the last vestige of sunlight sank below the horizon.

  Book 2 of Veil: A Bardic Progression LitRPG first draft finished 2/2/2026.

  Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure! It wouldn’t have been possible without you! Here’s to many more adventures, in this world and others!! Expect Book 3 Summer 2026!!

  Much love!!

  ~ Brandon

  so excited to start working on it!

  This is not forever. It is temporary. Once I have Books 1 and 2 cleaned up I will have a better understanding of how Book 3 should move forward. Book 1 will likely be much longer (maybe ~50% or so), and I am planning on reconfiguring the books. The series might be 3 big books rather than five smaller/average ones. That is TBD based on how the rewrites of books 1 and 2 go, but the whole story I have planned will be written. Nothing will be lost, only added! :)