Kill his mother.
That was the first idea that popped into my mind, but I quickly discarded it. Killing Somani’s mother without him or Hambara noticing was almost impossible, as I couldn’t leave Somani’s body.
What if… I make her my new host?
This idea really sounded great. If I could turn Somani’s mother into my new host without him noticing, then I could use her influence over him to continue his training.
Controlling him would become much easier, but…
Taking control of a human mind would take me months, and she wouldn’t even make a great host.
It was then that I got another idea. One that involved using my cat host.
…The falcon.
***
I awoke inside the cat’s damp cave. The air smelled of rain and a bit of decay.
My food is wasting faster than I thought.
I quickly licked myself clean, then got up and headed for the exit.
I was now using only the cat’s senses without my spherical vision, as that would be too much of a load on my mind. I was already struggling with focusing on Somani and the cat at the same time, and if I were to add another sense, I’d go blind.
The cat's vision is better than my senses.
It was a bit disorienting observing the world with only the cat's senses, but I knew that I’d get used to it eventually.
Outside, moonlight barely broke through the trees’ heavy foliage, creating thin streams of silver light. Night crickers filled the place with their constant hums, while beastly roars could be heard in the distance.
Oh… I miss this place.
The plan was simple: Hunt the falcon, then use its flying capabilities to reach Cervita quickly and kill Somani's mother.
With this plan, I’d get a strong new host and get to kill Somani’s mother without him noticing.
Of course, there were problems with this plan. Although the falcon’s mind was less complex than that of humans, it would probably still be more difficult to take control of than the cat. Also, there was this soul barrier thing that kept me from obtaining a high-level host.
No matter, this is the best option for now.
I ran towards the place where I had first met the falcon, and in the way, I kept my eyes open for a rat.
With my increased muscle density, I noticed that my running speed was slower than usual, plus it was more taxing on my lungs. Although modifying my muscles made me stronger, it had its downside.
I should be more careful with body modification. Creatures… they are complex things.
Thankfully, I hadn’t yet done any modifications to Somani’s body, but if I were to understand the human body, I would probably change some things so that it suited me more.
I pounced.
The rat tried to scurry away, but I was way faster and managed to hold it with my mouth around its neck. Twisting, I broke its neck, then continued on my way, but then…
Amplus Migrating Ant, Lv. 4
The ant was very fast. Its mandibles shot at my leg, creating sparks as they impacted against my bone armour.
The ant then tried to pin me to the ground, but failed miserably at that; its size was a quarter of mine.
I dropped the rat and bit at its head.
Crk!
Its chitinous armour broke under my canines, but I didn’t stop until its head exploded with blue blood and internals.
You have killed…
Since the user…
I ignored the messages.
Why are its mandibles still stuck to—
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
My thought was cut short as another ant reached for me.
I barely managed to dodge this one, evading with a jump while dragging the carcass of the ant I just killed with me.
Another ant came. I swiped at it with my claws, pushing it away but failing to break its carcass.
Suddenly, the jungle went silent, only one sound left…
Scurrying legs.
I climbed a tree to get a better vantage point, and what I saw… it made me scared.
Hundreds, no thousands of ants were moving to my right, blanketing the jungle with their black colour.
They moved with silent commitment; if one of them were to hesitate for a second, the rest would move over it, but never stop the march.
The few ants that attacked me had already managed to surround my tree, with three of them climbing to reach me. I saw a trail of ants coming from the congregation towards my direction—reinforcements.
I created a Blood Bomb. Ducking behind the tree trunk, I threw it at the ants.
The tree shook.
Boov!
You have killed…
You have killed…
You have killed…
Since the user…
Ant's innards were splattered everywhere.
Looking at the main ant body, they had turned to face me and were quickly scurrying in my general direction.
Oh shit! I used one of the human responses for trouble.
As much as I was impressed by their coordination and fast response, I knew I’d die if they reached me.
I quickly climbed down and was met by new ants; they didn’t seem to care for their fallen brethren, lurching at me immediately.
I created as many bone arrows as I could at the same time—three.
The brain strain was immense, as I was still focusing on Somani, but I didn’t stop creating the arrows, nor did I forget about Somani; I knew that combat levelled skills faster, and I was one level away from [Soul Mind]’s evolution.
I shoved an ant away, then started running, but they were hot on my tail.
Two bone arrows were created, but the third fizzled out of creation, its Mana strands breaking apart as I couldn’t hold them together.
I shot them at the chasing ant; they both missed.
Argh… my aim is terrible without [Manima Senses].
The ants’ speed was close to mine, so they didn’t manage to gain ground on me, but I was getting tired, and they didn’t show any signs of exhaustion or stopping the chase.
If I can’t fix my aim, I might have to stop focusing on Somani.
I tried to create three bone arrows, but could only form two.
I shot them, and this time, one hit the target in the middle bulbous part. I had aimed at its head, but it was better than nothing.
The ant didn’t even flinch at the injury, continuing its pursuit.
I don’t have that much Mana left; I should be more careful.
I created two bone arrows, but this time, I took my time in aiming and managed to injure one ant and kill the other.
But with each fallen ant, another one joined the fray. Their numbers continued to increase, while my speed fell and fell until I had to stop—the cat's body was spent.
Huff, huff.
My chest expanded and contracted quickly, trying to gather as much air as it could, while my heart beat faster than ever.
The ants lunged at me, not giving me a breather.
I sluggishly swiped at one while trying to create another Blood Bomb with my remaining Mana, but the ants were endless, and started surrounding me.
I swiped, bit, stomped, but no matter how many I killed, more always joined.
I was quickly subjugated, with each of my four limbs held by a couple of mandibles, then pain…
The ants started to tear into my torso, cut my limbs, and destroy my bone armour.
I’m going to die…
This realisation hit me like a hammer, but the peaceful search that Somani was doing to find his mother made me remember that I still had another host, that my existence would continue.
Then I should get as many benefits from this body as I could before its demise.
I reactivated my spherical vision, which made me go blind and increased the strain on my mind.
My Blood Bomb; it now only needed some soul matter to detonate. I split it into small blood droplets, making ten of them, then I cut as much of my soul as I could without injuring myself, split it into ten equal pieces…
Ahhhh!
My mind felt like it was about to explode from all the strain of controlling twenty separate objects. It was painful, extremely painful—comparable to soul pain, but I endured like always because…
I was for all, and all is for me!
Soul Mind has reached Lv. 10—Skill evolution available!
Rudis Subtilis Biomancy has reached Lv. 7
The strain eased a bit, and I managed to infuse the ten droplets with the cut soul pieces.
DIE!
I released the ten glowing droplets at ten different ants, and…
BOOV!
You have killed…
You have killed…
…
The explosion created sharp winds, making everything go flying. I was flung away, hitting a tree and breaking its bark.
Argh…
Scanning myself through my vision skill, I was in terrible shape.
I was seeping blood from numerous cuts all over my body. One limb was barely hanging by a stretch of skin. A lot of my bones were broken, throwing bone sharpnel against badly squashed organs.
This is… hopeless.
I knew that even if I had Mana, I couldn’t heal these injuries.
At least I got a skill level, and I can’t see any living ants.
It was then that I heard it before seeing it… flapping wings.
Sly beast.
Energy Falcon, Lv. ??
The falcon had always been careful. When it first discovered that my hanging rats were a trap, it never fell for it again, and now, it had waited for us to kill each other before scooping down for the meat prize—me.
Its talons dug into my matted fur, lifting me into the air. I couldn’t as much as whisper a hiss of defiance; my body was spent.
Flapping its wings, the flacon quickly rose, and rose, until the trees looked like green specks under us.
I looked through the cat’s blurry eyes; it was fascinating.
As we soared high above the jungle, I barely hung to life through forcibly moving blood through my system, while controlling my chest to rise and fall so air could enter it.
Cells continued to die as systems shut down one after the other, and then…
My second host, the cat, died.
Mana film is leaking. Approximately thirty seconds until all mana is lost.
I left the cat's body and headed towards the falcon, but as expected… its strong soul barred my entry.
If I had somehow contained it, then created a new soul and made that soul seemlessly attack it, and when it got tired, made it return to my cell’s embrace, then I could’ve whittled its soul down and entered, but alas…
Warning! If the user doesn’t find a host in 25 seconds, his soul will desipate.
That had been my plan, but all plans had a chance to fail, and this one was no exception.
Still, I didn’t give up. I continued to try to drill through the creature’s soul.
20
19
18
I innovated. Using [Soul Manipulation] and [Mana Manipulation], I shaped my soul and film to resemble a spear. It… it seemed to help with me entering deeper, but the amount was minuscule.
13
12
11
I made another modification. I added ridges to the spear and started spinning. It also helped, but the distance I was crossing was still too little.
I won’t make it at this rate.
I flew outside the falcon’s body. I had decided that the flacon couldn’t be accessed with the remaining time, so I headed back to the ground in hopes of finding an easier prey.
But then the falcon started to descend with me.
Has it reached its home?
I didn’t have time to wait for the flacon; I was much faster than it in this form.
6
5
4
I reached the highest tree at the count of four. Scanning my surroundings, I found a creature hanging from a tree branch.
Hoard Monkey, Lv. ??
I shot at its body, but didn’t manage to penetrate—its soul was strong.
No, no, no…
I shoved my body forward with the highest speed I could achieve.
Another monkey!
But this one, too, had two question marks for levels. I didn’t try to enter it; instead, I continued in the hope of finding a lower-level one.
3
No!
2
Nooo!
1
No low-level monkey in sight.
0
My mana film completely disintegrated into the air, leaving my soul bare against the elements. It held for a second before it started to disintegrate, too.
I used [Soul Manipulation] to buy myself more time.
Why don’t they have children?!
It was then that I noticed it. In most trees I had passed, there was a dark hollow place in their midst.
I focused inside one, and…
Aha!
I found a child huddling against what looked like a female monkey. It was licking milk from a breast.
I tried to reach for it, but… my time ran out.
I couldn’t hold my soul together any longer, and my skills stopped working.
It seems I’m going to lose my soul.
That was my last thought before my vision shifted and returned to Somani.
***
“Mom!"