Evolve

by Derek Belfield

  Well, it's not going to stay tranquil for long. He said while grinning. Shale laughed and followed him as he took off into the crops.

  It wasn't long before they had traversed the distance to the Bastion city walls without incident. They found a farm shed close enough to the walls to observe without being spotted. They spotted patrolling guards along the wall and sentries posted at the gates. After a quick journey around the city, they counted three separate entrances that let out from cardinal directions excepting the water.

  There's no way we can sneak in through the gates. Slate said, eyeing the murder holes, receptacles for burning oils, and metal interior gates. Shale silently agreed. We could always climb the walls, she suggested.

  Sure, we could, he replied, but we'll have to wait until dark. Both of our hides stand out too much in the sun. Especially one as enchanting as yours. He said with over-exaggerated charm.

  She punched him in the arm. Be serious. She said disapprovingly. We need to kill things.

  He winked at her with a scaly lid. I'm always serious. He replied.

  ∆∆∆

  Night fell quickly while the two monsters rested within the fields surrounding the city. They weren't particularly worried about being spotted as their mana vision did much to warn them of potential unwanted guests. Once it was full dark, they sat up and shook off the tension, scales rattling quietly. This was going to be their favorite part of the attack on Bastion. Slate ran through their plan once more with his mate. It was more to shake of the pre-battle jitters than to actually inform her of anything.

  Our goal tonight is to scare the shit out of the defense, gain some levels and biomass for ourselves, identify targets for when the Guardians show up tomorrow and clear out any problematic pockets of resistance that our troops may find. Slate paused as a new idea hit him. Additionally, let's try and seal off all of the gates as a secondary objective. The more people we can trap inside, the less that will be able to run when our forces arrive.

  Shale agreed with the plan immediately. They had both been craving a good fight. Let's start by clearing out the wall. She suggested.

  Agreed.

  They took off an all fours towards the wall. Their six-taloned hands and feet dug thick gouges into the ground, providing traction and silence. They ran slowly so as not to catch the eye of watching sentry and also to conserve Slate's energy expenditure.

  Once they reached the fifteen-foot curtain wall, they didn't slow. Instead of running parallel, they merely began running vertically as their sharp claws slid through the rough stone like melting butter. Their dexterous limbs were effortlessly able to find handholds and footholds to propel them quickly up the fortification. In only a handful of seconds, they had reached the top and paused to pick which direction they would choose.

  The top of the wall wasn't wide to fit their combined bulk comfortably. Slate more so than Shale he noted with chagrin. It was only about five feet wide and didn't have an inboard edge to catch any poorly placed footing. In fact, working together this time might cause more harm than good. Let's split up and meet back up on the other side of the wall. Slate suggested. Shale shared an uneasy look with him. She didn't really want to split up but looking at the width of the wall, they would be more of a danger to each other than to anyone else. She sighed heavily. I guess so.

  Slate gave her a roguish smile, his fangs flashing in the moonlight. Good hunting.

  They crept in opposite directions looking for their first target. If the plan went right, they wouldn't hear each other as they made their way around the perimeter of the city. They would take their time to consume everyone they killed so that there wouldn't leave a body. The disappearance of the defense would be more frightening to whoever ran the city than their deaths.

  After only having to creep a hundred feet or so, Slate could see a bobbing torch inside of a wooden guard shack built on top of the wall. Slate remained on all fours, fearing to silhouette himself against the wall. Plus, attacking from a different angle than a typical opponent would surprise his enemy.

  When Slate had closed to a few feet from the torch, it turned and began to walk towards him. Slate froze in his tracks and raised his tail. As the firelight fell across his glittering scales, the human man's eyes went wide with shock. Slate plunged his tail into the man's throat before he could shout for help. As the wan began to slump, he grabbed the torch and put it out on the man's clothing.

  Congratulations! You have killed a level 25 Vallyrian Thrall. You have earned 6,650 experience. You have reached level 28!

  Slate was feeling quite pleased with himself until he noticed that the body he was about to consume started glowing purple. He received a warning over the Scourgemind.

  Quickly! Burn it with your fire! Without thinking, Slate released fire from his maw and let it wash over the body. It charred quickly, and he saw that the magenta light dissipate. He quickly looked around to see if his fire had caught any attention. It wasn't the most subtle attack—especially at night.

  Hearing nothing, he sighed and relief and a short amount of time later, he had consumed the body and earned himself 15 biomass. After the first target, it became a simple matter to rinse and repeat the process. All of the guards on the wall were quickly dispatched, and then their strange magic was dispersed by fire. Honestly, Slate was kind of disappointed. He didn't mind easy experience and biomass, but he hadn't had a real challenge since he evolved. By the time he met back up with Shale he had killed 24 Vallyrian Thralls to her 26, and she made sure to let him know that she had beaten him.

  Grumbling good-naturedly, he studied his experience and biomass gains. He had catapulted to level 36 with an accumulated experience of 248,149 and earned 390 biomass in total. This was the single largest haul he had ever gotten in one evening, and he almost felt stuffed from all of the biomass he consumed. Luckily his larger frame had been able to absorb and process far more biomass than his previous serpentine body.

  Shale had earned enough levels and biomass to select two new minor mutations for the two leaders, and they were excited by the prospect. Shale figured Slate should assign them now so that they could get something that would help them sneak into the city. As majestic and gold and silver scales were, they didn't help them sneak into a darkened city. Additionally, Slate was still lamenting over his loss of agility when he gained his scaled hide.

  Searching through his available mutations, he chose two relatively boring ones that would hopefully restore his missing agility and perhaps add a little more. The first choice of his was:

  Muscular hypertrophy: This mutation decreases body fat and increases skeletal muscle size resulting in dramatic increases to muscle mass and explosive strength at the cost of increased biomass requirements. Frequent consumption of biomass is required to maintain this mutation. If enough time passes between feedings, this mutation will cause the body to become weaker rather than stronger. This mutation can be leveled up to have self-healing properties, increased strength, increased density, increased size, and more.

  His second choice was designed to make full use of the new musculature.

  Advanced Somatic Nervous System (ASNS): This mutation increases the density and number of peripheral and motor nerve fibers, increases the conductivity of the spinal cord and decreases the reaction time between, brain, spinal cord, and skeletal muscle. This mutation can be leveled up to have self-healing properties, precognitive abilities, active sensory control, and more.

  Next, Slate used his available biomass to level his scales and fire mutations to their next form. He had to spend 150 biomass on each, and he lamented that biomass was easy to come and easy to go. Now, he had to choose how he wanted to advance the two mutations. For scales, that was an easy decision. He wanted the ability to change their look so that he wouldn't always be a bright gold target asking to be shot. The scales were fine for religious ceremonies and to instill a sense of awe, but they were garbage for sneaking. He chose:

  Camouflage Scaled Hide: This mutation gr
ows chromatophores, iridophores, leucophores, and papillae just below the surface of the scales allowing it to change color and texture to match its surroundings. Further mutations can be leveled up to increase the density or number of color-changing cells, infuse the cells with light magic for true invisibility, increase the conscious control, mana cloaking properties, and more.

  Once he confirmed his selection, he tested his skin and watched in awe as it morphed to match the texture and color of the stone behind him. It was so effective that it was like magic even if it was the natural byproduct of biology. He took a moment to appreciate the fact that even in a world full of gods and magic, simple biology could be just as awe-inspiring. He watched as Shale selected the same and damn near disappeared into the stone behind her. Slate immediately felt safer waiting here to choose his mutations.

  His next mutation to evolve was his fire. He hadn't expected this mutation in the first place so he couldn't articulate what he wanted from the weapon. It obviously had utility in addition to being intimidating. It was something of a signature weapon for the Lord of Light which is why he received it in the first place. It would be a shame if he couldn't find a way to use it to its maximum potential. He looked over his status sheet to see what he was missing. He had utility, more than he had used thus far, he had agility with his new mutations, and he had single target damage in the form of his natural teeth, claws, and tail.

  It occurred to him that he didn't have anything to target a group of enemies or soften a hard target. He had relied on stealth and mobility to get him in and out of difficult situations, but it was a fact that he wouldn't always be able to do that. Eventually, he would run into a fortification or an enemy that he couldn't sneak around. Once that happened, he would be screwed. He settled on turning fire into his party-starter. Instead of lobbing a grenade or using a mortar like he would in his previous life, he would simply drown them in overwhelming fire. He looked through his optioned before settling on one that he thought would add significant damage.

  Explosive Fire: This mutation changes the chemical composition of the flammable liquid in the mana conversion organ to give it an area effect, increase the intensity of the fire, and make it more challenging to put out. Using this on biological opponents will decrease the amount of available biomass as the heat from the flames is enough to completely disintegrate flesh. Additionally, the firepower of the flames will significantly damage wood and stone buildings. Further evolutions can increase the destructive power, increase the area of effect, increase the range, increase the effect on inorganic materials, consume magic barriers, and more.

  Slate could feel the intensity of the flames in his gut increased. He felt a rush of power that comes from knowing you have the biggest gun on the battlefield. Looking over at Shale, he wanted to see if there were any visible effects of the mutation since he hadn't noticed any on himself. Sensing his thoughts, she shook her head negatively. Slate switched over to his mana vision and almost cursed out loud. There was nothing on the visible spectrum but they now both shone in the magical spectrum like they had burning stars in their guts. Slate hoped his enemies didn't have the same vision or no amount camouflage would hide them. He resolved to get an upgrade to further evolve his scales to hide this sort of thing.

  Newly equipped they descended from the wall and into the city. Most of the buildings here were made of the same rough stone as the walls. Instead of wooden roofs like the structures in Wayward, these had tiled roofs that looked sturdier. Slate didn't bother jumping onto any roofs. His body was significantly bulkier than before, and he was afraid that his weight would crack the tiles and make more noise. Instead, he suggested that Shale ascend to the roofs and provide overwatch for their progress.

  She leapt into the air with all the poise and skill of a dancer before alighting on the roof above them. The changes to her muscle had affected her body more so than Slates. Where he had become deceptively fast and strong for his size, she had become more lithe and deadly than ever before. Every motion became a work of performance art hinting at the extraordinary power of her form.

  Before, their scales had fit loosely over their frames in a lizard-like fashion. Now, the skin was pulled taut over their figure with the loss of body fat. They both looked like a dragon had mated with a crossfit athlete and produced a perfect male and female specimen. They both practically radiated vitality and strength and Slate reflected that if their children possessed the same properties, they would be dangerous adversaries.

  They proceeded through the city, quietly. Whenever a sentry crossed their path, they would ambush and dispose of their body. They didn't meet any enemies outside of Thralls which seemed odd to Slate. In any command structure, weaker or younger forces would be buttressed by more senior supervisors. This allowed training and experience to spread through the entire army. This remained true even of police forces.

  Soon they came across a smaller wall that separated an inner-city from an outer. There was only one entrance to this section of the city, and the two Scourge could tell that there were more opulent houses and shops within the sectioned off part of the town. They also noticed a plethora of purple banners lined in a sickly green that festooned every building. A laughing skull with a stylized rune on its forehead and a knife plunged through the middle resided in the center of every pendant. Slate surmised that this must be the symbol for the Vallyrian Collective.

  The two monsters walked the perimeter of the second wall so that they could collect more information. This wall didn't have a catwalk, so they didn't have any opportunities to thin more of the defense. After circling the entire wall, they found themselves back at the entrance. Two hulking guards stood on either side of it. They wore flat black plated armor with helmets that hid their faces. They both carried giant double-bladed axes held at the ready by their feet, and they were large enough that they were taller than Slate himself by a couple inches.

  Looking at the two, Slate wasn't particularly enthused about taking on these adversaries in a straight-up fight. However, these two would shred his Guardians, and he didn't have so many of them that he could easily replace them. The Scourge could replenish themselves using the biomass of their enemies, but the Guardians had no such boons. He paused to appraise the enemies. Seeing his hesitation, Shale shared her opinion.

  It's been too easy, so far. Let's genuinely test our new forms. If we can't defeat these two guards, then we don't deserve to take the city anyway.

  The strong kill the weak. She asserted.

  Slate didn't quite agree with the sentiment. He could point out that he had beaten her through cunning and planning rather than brute strength, but he recognized that they had different methods of accomplishing the same thing and that was to be valued rather than smothered. He didn't mind having a companion that approached the same problem differently. Hopefully, their difference in approach would keep either of them from making a fatal mistake in the future.

  If he was honest with himself, he wanted to test his new body as well. Let's do this. He confirmed.

  They moved toward the gate and the waiting sentries, adjusting their camouflage as they walked. It wasn't as effective as sitting still, but it would be difficult for their enemies to track the exact edges of their claws and tail blade. A slight miscalculation on the part of their enemies could turn a lethal blow into a glancing one, and vice versa. As if a signal went off when the two approached ten feet from the sentries, their eyes lit up with a violet glow from behind their helmet’s eye slits.

  The two predators were surprised, but they didn't want to lose the initiative and rushed forward as the sentries lifted their giant axes and held them at chest level. Slate saw his mate leap acrobatically to stand on the haft of her opponent's ax before spinning around into a devastating kick and tail combination. Slate narrowed in on his own enemy.

  Slate had been slower than Shale in engaging, and his opponent took advantage of the fact. With supernatural speed, it swung the ax at chest-level toward him, and he had to
stumble backward to avoid a caved-in chest cavity. The sentry advanced forward, plate armor clanking noisily, as it sought to capitalize on his back step. The guard swung the ax in broad sweeping patterns, and Slate almost began to enjoy himself bobbing and weaving from the deadly strikes. He could feel his musculature and reflexes moving him before his conscious mind could assess the fact that he was being attacked.

  He couldn't help himself. He began to laugh out loud as the sheer exultation of speed and power came over him. The armored man stepped forward and took another swing at Slate. His tail swept forward from the side of his body and its blade sheared through the haft of the ax without resistance. As the man was off-balance from the awkward and immediate redistribution of weight, Slate ducked under the sentry's flailing blows and used the claws of his right hand to spear up and through the throat of the sentry.