Instinct watched Arwen gather the leather waterskins she had brought with her.
“I’m going to fetch water from the stream.”
He nodded.
“Don’t take too long.”
Arwen gave him a small smile before disappearing between the trees.
Instinct waited until the forest swallowed her from sight before turning his attention inward.
Nyx.
We need to talk about the levels.
Her presence responded immediately.
” FINALLY.
I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU’D ASK.
”
Instinct ignored the amusement in her voice.
Eighteen levels from one bond still seems excessive.
” DOES IT?
”
Apparently.
Nyx paused just long enough to make him suspicious.
” ARWEN IS LEVEL EIGHTY.
YOU FORMED A BOND WITH SOMEONE FORTY TIMES YOUR LEVEL.
I’D BE MORE SURPRISED IF YOU GOT NOTHING FROM IT.
”
Instinct went still.
Level Eighty?
” YES.
”
His gaze shifted toward the trees where Arwen had disappeared.
He had known she was powerful.
Even dying, her presence within the Inner Realm had been formidable.
But Level Eighty?
Suddenly, the fact that she had managed to wound a basilisk and escape despite the contamination spreading through her body seemed considerably less impossible.
Instinct looked down at his hands.
And I’m Level Twenty now.
” WHICH MEANS SHE IS STILL FOUR TIMES YOUR LEVEL.
TRY NOT TO LET IT DAMAGE YOUR DELICATE EGO.
”
I’ll survive.
” WITH HER AROUND, PROBABLY.
”
Instinct almost smiled.
Then his attention returned to the real question.
My attributes already say Absolute.
So what exactly changes when I level?
Nyx’s amusement faded slightly.
” YOUR ATTRIBUTES DON’T FOLLOW THE NORMAL NUMERICAL SCALE.
WE ALREADY KNOW THAT.
BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE PERFECT CONTROL OVER EVERYTHING THEY REPRESENT.
”
Instinct settled onto a fallen log.
So levels improve control.
” CONTROL.
MASTERY.
ACCESS.
YOUR ABILITY TO ACTUALLY USE WHAT YOU POSSESS.
”
That made sense.
He had already noticed changes since awakening.
His movements felt increasingly natural.
His awareness sharper.
Even Moonfall seemed more familiar in his hand than it had when he first received it.
But eighteen levels at once—
There had to be more.
Nyx apparently followed the direction of his thoughts.
” THERE IS.
”
Instinct waited.
” LEVELS ALSO HAVE THRESHOLDS.
”
Thresholds?
” POINTS WHERE YOUR DEVELOPMENT TRIGGERS SOMETHING MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN IMPROVED CONTROL.
”
Nyx became unusually serious.
” YOUR FIRST IS LEVEL THIRTY.
”
Instinct straightened slightly.
Ten levels away.
” AT LEVEL THIRTY, YOUR SKIN BECOMES ELIGIBLE FOR TRANSFORMATION.
”
He looked down at his hands.
Transformation how?
” RECONSTRUCTION.
YOUR SKIN WILL BECOME EXTRAORDINARILY RESISTANT TO DAMAGE.
ORDINARY BLADES, CLAWS, HEAT—THINGS THAT CAN TEAR YOU OPEN NOW WILL HAVE A FAR MORE DIFFICULT TIME DOING SO AFTERWARD.
”
Instinct remembered the wolf’s claws opening his flesh.
The boar’s tusk.
The injuries his regeneration had been forced to repair.
How resistant?
” I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY.
”
That answer caught him off guard.
You don’t know?
” I KNOW WHAT THE TRANSFORMATION IS SUPPOSED TO DO.
I DON’T HAVE A CONVENIENT LIST OF EVERY WEAPON AND CREATURE IN EXISTENCE WITH A LITTLE YES-OR-NO BOX BESIDE IT.
”
Instinct smiled faintly.
” STRONGER ATTACKS WILL OBVIOUSLY REMAIN MORE DANGEROUS THAN WEAKER ONES.
“ALMOST IMPREGNABLE” DOES NOT MEAN “NOTHING IN EXISTENCE CAN HURT YOU.” ”
That was considerably more useful.
And after thirty?
” LEVEL SIXTY.
BONES.
”
Instinct’s smile disappeared.
” YOUR SKELETAL STRUCTURE WILL TRANSFORM.
DENSER.
STRONGER.
FAR MORE DIFFICULT TO BREAK.
IMPACTS THAT WOULD SHATTER ORDINARY BONES SHOULD BECOME MUCH LESS DANGEROUS.
”
Should?
” YOU’RE GOING TO DISCOVER THAT I DISLIKE PROMISING ABSOLUTES WHEN I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
”
Despite my entire class being called Absolute Tamer.
” THE IRONY IS NOT LOST ON ME.
Instinct laughed quietly.
Then ninety.
” ORGANS.
”
His attention sharpened.
” HEART.
LUNGS.
LIVER.
EVERYTHING INSIDE YOU THAT IS CURRENTLY MUCH MORE VULNERABLE THAN YOUR ATTRIBUTES WOULD SUGGEST.
THE TRANSFORMATION SHOULD MAKE THEM EXTRAORDINARILY RESISTANT TO TRAUMA AND IMPROVE YOUR RESISTANCE TO THINGS THAT ATTACK THE BODY INTERNALLY.
”
Poison?
” AMONG OTHER THINGS.
RESISTANT, INSTINCT.
NOT NECESSARILY IMMUNE.
”
He nodded to himself.
That distinction mattered.
And one hundred and twenty?
Nyx was quiet for a moment.
” BLOOD.
”
Instinct frowned.
My blood transforms?
” YES.
”
Into what?
” SOMETHING BETTER.
”
He waited.
Nothing.
That’s your explanation?
” I’M WORKING WITH WHAT I HAVE.
”
Instinct sighed.
Nyx continued before he could complain.
” I KNOW THE TRANSFORMATION WILL ALTER THE PROPERTIES OF YOUR BLOOD.
IT SHOULD MAKE BLOOD LOSS FAR LESS DANGEROUS AND WORK WITH YOUR RECOVERY IN WAYS YOUR CURRENT BODY CANNOT.
BEYOND THAT, I WOULD RATHER NOT INVENT ANSWERS.
”
Instinct paused.
That was probably the most sensible thing Nyx had said since he awakened.
” RUDE.
”
I didn’t say anything.
” YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO.
”
Instinct leaned back slightly.
Level Thirty.
Skin.
Level Sixty.
Bones.
Level Ninety.
Organs.
Level One Hundred and Twenty.
Blood.
His first transformation was only ten levels away.
After gaining eighteen from forming a bond with Arwen, ten no longer sounded impossible.
Dangerously close, perhaps.
Does it happen automatically when I reach the level?
” BECOMES AVAILABLE.
NOT AUTOMATIC.
”
That caught his attention.
Meaning I choose when to undergo it.
” EXACTLY.
WHICH IS FORTUNATE, BECAUSE I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST DISCOVERING WHAT IT FEELS LIKE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT.
”
Instinct looked down at his hands again.
He had awakened at Level One.
Less than two days later, he was Level Twenty.
Ten more.
Then his body would begin changing.
Not healing.
Not merely growing stronger.
Changing.
The thought should probably have frightened him more than it did.
Instead, he wanted to know what came next.
” ONE THRESHOLD AT A TIME, GOLDEN EYES.
”
Instinct frowned.
Golden Eyes?
” I’M TRYING IT OUT.
”
Don’t.
” WE’LL SEE.
”
He shook his head.
For a while, neither spoke.
Instinct listened to the forest around him.
Birdsong.
Wind through leaves.
The distant movement of water.
Then Nyx spoke again.
” THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE.
”
Instinct waited.
” I’VE BEEN SORTING THROUGH WHAT INFORMATION I CAN ACCESS ABOUT THIS REGION.
MOST OF IT IS FRAGMENTED, OLD, OR CONTRADICTORY.
”
That sounded promising.
And?
” THERE ARE REFERENCES TO A KITSUNE SOMEWHERE DEEPER IN THIS FOREST.
”
Instinct’s attention sharpened.
A kitsune?
” FOX KIN, IF THE RECORDS ARE ACCURATE.
MAGICAL.
INTELLIGENT.
AND POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
”
How powerful?
” I DON’T KNOW.
”
” I DON’T KNOW THAT EITHER.
”
Instinct frowned.
You’re doing an excellent job selling this information.
” WOULD YOU PREFER I MAKE SOMETHING UP?
”
No.
” THEN APPRECIATE MY HONESTY.
IT’S A RARE AND BEAUTIFUL THING.
”
Instinct ignored that.
Do you know if she’s still in the forest?
” NO.
THE REFERENCES ARE OLD.
SHE MAY HAVE LEFT.
SHE MAY BE DEAD.
SHE MAY NEVER HAVE EXISTED EXACTLY AS THE RECORDS DESCRIBE HER.
”
That made him pause.
Then why tell me?
Nyx was quiet for a moment.
” BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU ARE.
”
Instinct’s expression hardened slightly.
Meaning?
” AN ABSOLUTE TAMER.
”
Her answer was immediate.
” YOU CAN FORM BONDS.
ARWEN PROVED THAT YOUR ABILITY ISN’T LIMITED TO BEASTS.
IF THERE REALLY IS ANOTHER POWERFUL SENTIENT BEING SOMEWHERE IN THIS FOREST, IGNORING THE POSSIBILITY WOULD BE FOOLISH.
”
Instinct considered that.
Arwen’s people needed basilisk venom.
Arwen had nearly died obtaining it alone.
They had already decided they would return together, but he knew almost nothing about basilisks beyond what she had told him.
Another ally could change things.
But that wasn’t the only reason the possibility interested him.
He had awakened alone.
Now Arwen was beside him.
His class revolved around forming bonds, yet he barely understood what that truly meant.
Perhaps the kitsune represented another opportunity to learn.
You think I should find her.
” I THINK YOU SHOULD CONSIDER IT.
”
Not a command.
Not certainty.
Just a possibility.
Instinct preferred that.
And if she tries to kill me?
” THEN I WILL HAVE THE GREAT SATISFACTION OF SAYING I WARNED YOU SHE WAS POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
”
Helpful.
” ALWAYS.
”
A faint sound reached him through the trees.
Footsteps.
Instinct recognized the rhythm before Arwen appeared.
The bond made her presence even easier to distinguish.
She emerged between the trees carrying the filled waterskins, her long black hair shifting around her shoulders as she walked.
When she saw him, she smiled.
Instinct felt something answer quietly inside him.
The bond.
But not only the bond.
” ONE MORE THING.
”
Instinct kept his eyes on Arwen.
What?
” YOU’RE DIFFERENT.
”
His brow furrowed.
Different how?
” SINCE BONDING WITH HER.
SOMETHING CHANGED.
”
Instinct looked at Arwen as she approached.
The bond changed me?
” MAYBE.
”
He waited.
” OR MAYBE SHE DID.
”
That silenced him.
Which is it?
For once, Nyx didn’t immediately have an answer.
” I DON’T KNOW YET.
”
A pause.
Then her familiar amusement returned.
” THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING.
”
Arwen reached him and offered one of the waterskins.
“You look unusually thoughtful.”
Instinct accepted it.
“I learned something.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
He stared at her.
Arwen’s expression remained perfectly serious for perhaps two seconds before the corner of her mouth betrayed her.
Instinct shook his head.
Apparently Nyx wasn’t the only woman determined to make his life difficult.
He drank.
Level Thirty.
Skin.
Level Sixty.
Bones.
Level Ninety.
Organs.
Level One Hundred and Twenty.
Blood.
Ten levels stood between him and the first transformation.
Somewhere deeper in the forest, old records claimed a kitsune might still exist.
And somewhere beyond both waited the basilisk that had nearly killed Arwen.
Instinct handed the waterskin back to her and rose.
One problem at a time.