It only took a second for them to exchange places, the lion seeming happy enough with the idea. The fact that there were two females which were about to come into heat was probably helping – though Dominic hoped that they’d actually get some sleep, he wasn’t stupid. Leo would mate with them as soon as they were willing to let him.

  Actually, maybe Dominic should have taken that into his considerations – he remembered how frequently Leo had wanted to mate the last time he got his chance. Oh well. He’d just have to convince anyone still in heat to come along with them to the elves, even if they didn’t want to be involved in the fighting.

  Pushing into their mental space, Dominic paused for a moment, wondering whether it would be nicer to curl up on the soft sofa or settle in the shade of one of the trees outside. Padding over to the archway, he looked out.

  Leo’s been busy, he noted to himself. Apparently the lion hadn’t always been idle when he’d been in the back of Dominic’s mind – he’d been pushing the savannah outwards. Now Dominic could barely even see where it ended – and that was with the enhancement to his senses helping him. In fact…. Are those animals?

  Sure enough – there were gazelles, warthogs, zebras, and giraffes roaming around. Considering the cover offered by the various bushes and trees, he suspected that there were still some more hiding.

  Curious, Dominic started running, using his wings to help him take gliding leaps which covered the ground even faster than he’d be capable of normally. The air felt lovely as it streamed through his mane and he roared at the sky in pure joy at almost being able to fly.

  The creatures around him looked up at the sound, but unlike their real counterparts, they didn’t take flight and just went back to munching.

  Getting close to one of the giraffes, Dominic realised that, from this close, it was clear the creature wasn’t real. It wasn’t even really eating. If anything it looked more like an illusion. When Dominic prodded it with a paw, his paw felt a moment of resistance before going through. Sitting back on his haunches, he looked around at all the creatures thoughtfully.

  I wonder…. Could this be linked to Momentous Charge? It was based on illusions, and so were these creatures, clearly. Were their Abilities reflected in his inner space or was it just coincidence? Maybe they just didn’t have whatever was necessary to create ‘real’ creatures.

  After exploring the new area a little more, seeing all sorts of typical pre-System savannah animals – nostalgic, much, Leo? – he returned to the study. Interestingly, he hadn’t seen any lions among the new denizens of his mental space. Was that because Leo didn’t want the competition or because he knew they weren’t ‘real’. Probably the former for not having other males and the latter for not having any lionesses – Dominic suspected that it would be a bit tortuous for Leo to see lots of lionesses but not be able to rub against them or mate with them.

  He had to admit that he was tempted to try to recreate some of his own friends and family, but dismissed the thought a moment later. After all, how painful would it be to be able to see his father or his best friend, yet know that they were nothing but intangible illusions? Putting it out of his mind, he headed back into the study, not wanting to look at the outdoors any more.

  Deciding to relax on the couch, he jumped up onto it, enjoying the soft cushions. It was only then that he realised something.

  I’m…still a lion. A moment of focus later and he was lying on the sofa in his human form, feeling a little discomforted. It wasn’t the first time he had appeared in his mental space as a lion – he’d even done it intentionally a few times – but it was the first time he’d gone for this long without realising it. His lion form just felt so…natural by now. If anything, it was his human form that felt unnatural, though he found that he settled into it after a few minutes.

  To distract himself, he pulled up his Pride status screen, requesting it to show all the changes since they entered the dungeon.

  Pride status

  Level 6 Pride (progress to next level 69/80)

  Current information shared:

  Level, Abilities, Changes in last 4 System days

  Current members:

  Tier 2, Level 30 x1

  (Nyx: Sonic Attack, Group Homogeneity, Group Enhancement, Vibrating Body, Pack Defence) level 30 -> 30

  Tier 2, Level 27 x1

  (Leader – Dominic: Quick Strike, Second Wind, Crushing Bite, Pride Attack, Pounce, Powerful Swipe, Rapid Attack, Sharp Bite Attack, Sure Feet, Venomous Acid Bite, Enhanced Stamina, Momentous Charge, Majestic Sonic Roar, Airborne, Easy Landing, Tail Strike, Spatial Awareness, Hypnotise, Temperature Tolerance, Mapping, Rage, Bleed, Enhanced Fertility, Fleet Foot, Flash Step, Camouflage) level 22 -> 27

  Tier 2, Level 24 x1

  (Procyon: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 24

  Tier 2, Level 23 x1

  (Sirius: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 17 -> 23

  Tier 2, Level 21 x1

  (Sekhmet: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Telepathy, Powerful Swipe) level 13 -> 21

  Tier 2, Level 20 x1

  (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 20

  Tier 2, Level 19 x4

  (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 19

  (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 18 -> 19

  (Fang: Pounce, Sharp Mind, Sure Feet) level 8 -> 19

  (Lionel: Pounce, Healing Cloud, Poison Cure) level 7 -> 19

  Tier 2, Level 18 x2

  (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 17 -> 18

  (ameshek: Sonic Attack, Vibrating Body, Group Enhancement) level 17 -> 18

  Tier 2, Level 15 x2

  (albuha: Fearful Howl, Tearing Bite, Sharp Mind) level 12 -> 15

  (Jenkins: Pounce, Quick Strike, Enhanced Speed) level 12 -> 15

  Tier 1 Level 13 x3

  (albuha: Fearful Howl, Sharp Tooth, Bleed) level 9 -> 13

  (albuha: Fearful Howl, Tearing Bite, Bleed) level 8 -> 13

  (Anuke: Pouce, Rapid Attack, Quick Strike) level 12 -> 13

  Tier 2, Level 12 x 4

  (Hathor: Pounce, Rending Bite, Stealth) level 11 -> 12

  (albuha: Fearful Howl, Quick Snap, Rapid Attack) level 8 ->12

  (albuha: Fearful Howl, Tearing Bite, Soaring Glide) level 8 -> 12

  (albuha: Fearful Howl, Quick Snap, Soaring Glide) level 7 -> 12

  Tier 2, Level 11 x4

  (Menhit: Pounce, Sure Feet, Wind Breath) level 11 -> 11

  (Isis: Pounce, Protective Mother, Rending Bite) level 10 -> 11

  (Neith: Pounce, Keen Senses, Quick Strike) level 10 -> 11

  (albuha: Fearful Howl, Quick Snap, Rending Bite) 6 -> 11

  Tier 2, Level 10 x4

  (Leona: Pounce, Stunning Roar, Quick Strike) level 8 -> 10

  (Cleo: Pounce, Keen Senses, Rending Bite) level 8 -> 10

  (Simbi: Pounce, Quick Strike, Rapid Attack) level 8 -> 10

  (Lyla: Pounce, Rending Bite, Powerful Strike) level 8 -> 10

  Tier 1 Level 9 x5

  (Zarini: Pounce, Ambush) level 8 -> 9

  (Kalista: Pounce, Rapid Attack) level 8 -> 9

  (Saffron: Pounce, Sharp Mind) level 7 -> 9

  (Luna: Pounce, Keen Senses) level 7 -> 9

  (Aurora: Pounce, Rending Bite) level 6 -> 9

  Tier 1 Level 8 x4

  (Kiera: Pounce, Rapid Attack) level 7 ->8

  (Leah: Pounce, Piercing Bite) level 6 -> 8

  (Serena: Pounce, Quick Strike) level 6 -> 8

  (Nova: Pounce, Pride Attack) level 6 -> 8

  Tier 1 Level 7 x1

  (Amber: Pounce, Ambush) level 6 -> 7

  There were rather a lot of changes to see. First it was good to see that they hadn’t lost any more Pride members than he’d known about. He’d expected to see a notification if that changed and it seemed that the lack of one hadn’t misled him.

  Almost every member of his Pride had gone up by at least one level. The exceptions were Nyx, and Menhit. They were both completely understandable.

  Menhit was probably not doing much hunting as she was no doubt caring for her newborn cubs. As for Nyx, she was high enough level that she probably hadn’t accrued enough Prey Points to level up yet.

  From what Dominic could see, the Pride member who had clearly been doing the minimum was Amber who had only gone from level 6 to level 7. Kiera seemed to be falling behind a bit too. All the other level 6s who had stayed behind in the forest had increased by two or more levels; Aurora had gone to level 9. That implied to Dominic that Amber had probably only been absorbing the Prey Points from the Place of Power and little else. Maybe she’d been caring for some of the cubs or just being lazy. He didn’t know.

  The point was that, as he had experienced, the number of points necessary to get from level 6 to level 7 was practically nothing for a beast at level 18, let alone at level 30. At his current level of 27, Dominic needed almost a thousand points to level up. For Nyx, it must be even worse. He didn’t remember exactly how many points he’d needed for level 7, but he did remember that he hadn’t started needing more than two hundred Prey Points until after he’d got to Tier 2.

  The biggest movers, of course, were Fang and Lionel who had increased by eleven and twelve levels, respectively. Though Sekhmet wasn’t far behind that, having increased by eight levels. Procyon and Sirius had both far outstripped their brethren who had stayed behind with their increase of six levels each. And Dominic himself hadn’t done too badly either – even though he’d started at level 22, he’d managed to level up five times to reach 27.

  Though look at that list of Abilities…he told himself, shaking his head. I think I’ve doubled my available Abilities in the last four days. And of course, several Abilities had changed like Sharp Nip becoming Sharp Bite Attack.

  With all the increases in level and the number of his Pride members who had tiered up, Dominic expected to have received some Pride Points to use on enhancements. Opening up the menu, he reminded himself of what he already had.

  Pride enhancements:

  21% increase in Prey Points for all Pride members – level 6

  Increased damage for Pride members fighting together by ((number of pride members in the fight/Pride level)*level of enhancement)% – level 4

  Equally shared Prey Points for all Pride members (within a single fight) – on

  20% increased chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier – level 4

  Intra-group communication system – on, range level 2

  Lion’s Share – 90% of the points of all kills made by pride members to the leader – off

  Immunity – no direct negative effects will be sustained from Abilities used by a member of the Pride – on

  Pride Defence level 1 – create a shield over the Pride which is strengthened by the combined defences of all Pride members within a certain radius. If the shield is forcibly broken, defences will take X time to return: X = 10-n (where n is Defence level - current level 1). If the shield is voluntarily released, defences will return immediately. Cooldown: 5 mins

  Lion’s Generosity – (Powerful Swipe –> Sekhmet)

  Looking at the list, he found that he had a question. The increase in Prey Points for all Pride members…does that only apply to beasts we kill, or to the Prey Points we receive from the Place of Power too? Because if it also applied to the latter, that would make an already great Enhancement pretty overpowered.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  He pulled up the list of available enhancements to see both how many points they’d earned as well as any changes to what was on offer.

  [Pride enhancements

  (Points available: 12)

  Increase the number of Prey Points gained by 7% (repeatable) (7)

  Increase the damage done by the members of the Pride when working together ((number of enemies/number of pride members in the fight)*level of enhancement)% (repeatable) (5)

  Increase the chance of Pride members gaining a higher tier Ability on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (4)

  Increase the chance of being able to determine the type of Ability a Pride member will gain on their next Tier or Half-Tier by 5% (repeatable) (5)

  Intra-group communication system (repeatable to extend range) (4)

  Lion’s Generosity – give one of your Pride one of your Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of your original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 you have raised the Ability, you have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (5)

  Pride’s Tribute – one of your Pride can give you one of their Abilities (note: Ability will be at level 1 regardless of their original ability. Additional note: for every level above 0 they have raised the Ability, they have a 20% chance of retaining the Ability and/or its level. (5)

  Pride Defence II – improve your Pride Defence shield – double the defences of your Pride in exchange for doubling the cooldown and the time required for the defences of individual Pride members to return if the shield is forcibly broken. If the shield is voluntarily released, defences will still return immediately. (20)

  Pride Defence (enhancement): increase the range and reduce defence return time after a forcible fracturing of the shield, or reduce the cooldown) (10)

  Anti-immunity – Enable some negative and neutral affect Abilities to affect Pride members at will either individually or as a group. (15)

  Note: more options may be added later depending on your actions with the Pride.]

  Though Dominic was very much attracted by increasing the Prey Points they earned, his attention was immediately caught by the new changes.

  Going from the least exciting to the most, the first were the new options to affect both Immunity and Pride Defence. While at first it seemed like an odd idea to enable negative effects of Abilities, especially when he’d taken Immunity in the first place in order to get rid of those very aspects, a little more thought made Domnic realise that in certain situations it could be a good thing. Especially when wielded selectively as the Enhancement seemed to imply was possible.

  In the case of betrayal, for example. If the albuhas had decided to turn around and attack them as they came out of the dungeon, Dominic would have wanted to be able to use his full range of Abilities, not just his unenhanced teeth and claws.

  And what if later someone got an Ability which required doing some damage to help. Like surgeries – a surgeon had needed to cut into a person’s body in order to take out or reconstruct whatever was causing problems. Lionel’s healing Abilities so far hadn’t needed to cause damage in order to heal, but what if a future one he got did? Immunity as it currently was might not let his Ability work because it had some negative effects too. Though it would be good to know who could choose whether an Ability worked or not – the being using the Ability, or Dominic as the leader of the Pride?

  But interesting as that Ability might be, it definitely wasn’t at the top of his priority list.

  The options to improve the Pride Defence shield were more attractive since the shield had proven itself against the boss. If they were going to fight more creatures, and possibly more powerful ones too, they might find the shield coming in useful more often.

  But even those options weren’t as interesting as the other new enhancement: Pride’s Tribute.

  Appearing as a companion to Lion’s Generosity, this particular Enhancement excited Dominic for one reason in particular: Group Enhancement.

  He still hadn’t forgotten the third Ability of most of the amesheks which he hadn’t yet been able to earn. It was a Tier 2 Ability which offered two main functions: the enhancement of an Ability which multiple beings shared; and the ability to share a single Ability with a single Pride member. The beauty of it, though, was that the member who the Ability was shared with had a chance to keep the shared Ability if they managed to raise it in level. It was a less guaranteed method than Lion’s Generosity, but it was a whole lot cheaper too. And if the shared Ability didn’t stick, they could try again.

  The combination of Lion’s Generosity and Pride’s Tribute also had other potential benefits. For example, Lionel was currently the only healer in the group. But if he could give his Healing Cloud or Poison Cure to Dominic, Dominic would then be able to share it with others, either through Lion’s Generosity or Group Enhancement. That would potentially make things much safer for them all.

  Fortunately, with twelve points available – eleven from Pride members reaching Tier 2 and one remaining from previous expenditure – Dominic would be able to get both Group Enhancement with Pride’s Tribute and the next Pride Enhancement to their Prey Points.

  Pride’s Tribute was a definite yes and he was tempted to try to get Group Enhancement right away from either Procyon or Sirius. The chance of them losing the Ability if it was less than level 5, though, made him hesitate.

  In the end, he decided to wait until he could ask Nyx instead – since she was their leader and had possibly been the one to give the other amesheks her own Abilities, her own Group Enhancement was probably the highest out of the group.

  He decided to wait until they were back to buy the other one as well – he wanted to see whether the number of Prey Points he received in an hour changed when he bought it. He probably should talk to Leo about it too – he didn’t think that the lion would argue, but he might get huffy if not asked.

  Curious about what his own stats were looking like, he next opened his main status.

  Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo

  Species: Lion (body) / Human (mind), Two-Souled, Chimera

  Level: Evolved Beast Level 27 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution)

  Progress to Evolution: 283/991 PP

  Satiation level: 96%

  Hydration level: 92%

  Health Points: 800/800

  Stamina Points: 600/600

  Mana Points: 15/15

  Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost

  Acquired Abilities:

  Quick Strike (T0) level 5 –> 5 (6% –> 85% to level 6) – 3 SP for +35% speed; 8 SP for +70% speed.

  Second Wind (T1) level 3 –> 3 (39% –> 55% to level 4) – activatable when under 35% health or stamina. Gain 65% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 40% of your max health and stamina.

  Crushing Bite (T0) level 3 –> 4 (36% –> 69% to level 5) – Use stamina to enhance the crushing power of your jaws. +10% - 100% Crushing damage for 1-45 stamina per second.

  Pride Attack (T0 –> T1) level 4 –> 5 (7% –> 52% to level 5) – 12% –> +30% to offensive damage dealt when you fight with other members of your Pride during an attack or defence. +5% to all beings in the same attack or defence who are registered to be in the same Pride as you.

  Pounce (T0) level 3 –> 4 (18% –> 25% to level 5) – +120% damage to a hit which is delivered without the target being aware of you until the attack is too close to avoid. +65% damage to an attack which is made directly to a vulnerable area.

  Powerful Swipe (T0 –> T1) level 5 –> 6 (3% –> 34% to level 7) – Use stamina to enhance the damage of your swipe. +20% - +120% damage increase for 2-62 stamina per second. Add a 20% chance to gouge your opponent and create an ongoing bleeding effect that is harder to heal than a normal wound for 5 extra stamina units. Bleed effect lasts for level/2 seconds and causes initial damage*level of Powerful Swipe/10 per second.

  Rapid Attack (T0) level 2 –> 3 (0% –> 5% to level 4) – Spend 2 SP or MP to attack for a second time within 0.4 seconds. SP or MP costs double per additional attack within a quarter of a second of the previous. Maximum number of chained attacks at level 3: 8.

  Sharp Bite Attack (T0 –> T1) level 3 –> 4 (0% –> 61% to level 5) – Active effect: When using your teeth to attack an opponent you may consume stamina to offer a burst of speed. At level 4, consuming 1 SP will offer +40% speed. Consume 3 SP for +65% speed. Passive effect: The sharpness of your teeth are enhanced during an attack +30% to sharpness. Passive effect: Wounds made with your teeth will be 10% more damaging and harder to heal.

  Sure Feet (T0) level 3 –> 5 (57% –> 83% to level 6) – A passive improvement to your ability to your balance and traction. At level 5, this ability offers +60% to your steadiness when moving slowly and +30% to your steadiness when moving at speed (more than 40% of your maximum speed). The bonus this Ability offers may increase as Ability increases in level and other effects may be discovered.).

  Venomous Acidic Bite (enhanced) (T2) level 2 –> 3 (56% –> 81% to level 4) – Use an acid gland below your tongue to shoot balls of acid. At level 3, the maximum range is 3 lengths, and the maximum diameter is 4 cm. Enhancement: your teeth have become resistant to acid damage and your top canines have become capable of absorbing the acid and transferring it in your bite. Haemotoxic venom is now stored in venom glands above your top canines and can also be injected into your opponent with a bite.

  Enhanced Stamina (T0) level 5 –> 6 (0% –> 15% to level 7) – Maximum Ability use period at level 6: 30 minutes: -15% reduction to rate of passive stamina decrease; -18% reduction to rate of active stamina decrease. Recuperation period: 5 minutes: +4% to rate of active stamina decrease. Current exchange of HP for extension of use period or reduction of recuperation time: 1HP/s

  Momentous Charge (T2) level 1 (35% –> 81% to level 2) – When running in a straight line at full speed towards an opponent, appear to gain additional size and weight and its commensurate momentum. Note: this Ability is classed as [Illusion]. Those who can see through the illusion will not be affected by additional momentum. At level 1, gain 1% of size (stacked) with each footfall.

  Majestic Sonic Roar (T3) level 3 (75% –> 96% to level 4) – As the lord of all you survey, challenge and damage your rivals with an ear-splitting roar, and support your allies. According to your will, decide to what degree the effects of your roar will have precedence. Those who feel inferior to you may flee; those who feel they are your equal may attack. Those who feel they are your superior will be enraged by your Challenge and may attack blindly. (50% –> 70% + Evolution level difference%) chance that your opponent will be stunned for a varying amount of time. Determination of inferior, equal, and superior is according to your Evolution level with a level range according to this Ability’s level (3). All non-ally listeners have a 40% - 80% –> 50% - 85% chance of feeling intimidated by you and losing some or all motivation to fight or desire to follow orders. All ally listeners have a 40% - 80% –> 50% - 90% chance of feeling inspired by you. A further 5% –> 10% chance of gaining a 5 –> 10 minute buff: *inspired*. Enemies will be impacted by a sonic-damage attack after the first (6 - Ability level) seconds. This attack will deal (Ability level * Evolution level) per second as its base. When fighting an enemy below your Evolution level, damage is (base damage + Evolution level difference). Using a sonic attack consumes stamina at an increasing rate the longer it is held. At level 3 you will be unable to move while this attack is active. You are now also capable of roaring in a way which produces little sound, but causes your body to vibrate. Although your body is capable of withstanding this vibration for a period of time, extended use may have consequences on your internal systems.

  Airborne (T2) level 2 (0% –> 67% to level 3) – Carried by the air and wind currents, you are at one with the wind. At least, perhaps one day. Control your weight to decide the influence gravity has on you. ± 0 -5% weight.

  Easy Landing (T0) level 1 (1% –> 18% to level 2) – Reduce your impact with the ground at will. Up to -30% fall damage.

  Tail Strike (T1) level 2 (2% –> 59% to level 3) – Use your tail to strike an opponent causing blunt damage which is increased according to the momentum and the durability of your tail. Base damage at level 1 is 10 units. The speed at which you are capable of striking is: your maximum speed x (your level of Enhanced Muscular Body x level of Tail Strike)/2. This Ability may be enhanced both by equipment and by other complementary Abilities.

  Spatial Awareness (T0) level 1 –> 2 (0% –> 49% to level 3) – Be aware of what is around you. At level 2, your awareness range is 3 lengths, and your precision is 2.0. Always know which way is up.

  Hypnotise (T1) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 67% to level 2) – make small movements to catch the attention of a single opponent. The longer your opponent is caught in the effect of this Ability, the harder it is for them to break out of it. Injury or significant sensation can shock them out of their controlled state. While your opponent is caught, they will remain unmoving and unresponsive. Beings of greater intelligence, perception, and with higher mental resistance have a higher chance of being able to notice and break out of the effect. This chance is greater or smaller depending on how much higher their intelligence, perception, and mental resistance is in comparison to your own.

  Temperature Tolerance (T2) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 24% to level 2) – Increase your ability to tolerate different temperatures and resist temperature related effects. At level 1, you are able to tolerate +10% temperature extremes and you have a 10% resistance to temperature related effects.

  Mapping (T2) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 15% to level 2) – You are able to recollect places visited more easily and to build a personal mental map of them in relation to other places. At higher levels, you may be able to share your map with others. At level 1 the area mapped extends ten body lengths around you in all directions. Warning: this map is not active and therefore changes to the area after your visit will not be reflected in it. This Ability does not work in dungeons or other folded spaces.

  Rage (T1) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 0% to level 2) – Double your base speed and strength for (1 + Ability level) minutes. After the enhancement time elapses, you will undergo a period of recuperation which lasts (? Ability level +1) minutes. During this period you will only be able to use half your base speed and strength.

  Bleed (T1) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 21% to level 2) – Use 2 SP per attack to apply a bleed effect to any strike which draws blood from the opponent. A bleed effect will increase the rate at which blood flows. At level 1, this increase is +10%. The bleed effect will last (Ability level) seconds. Bleed effects can be stacked.

  Enhanced Fertility (T0) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 0% to level 2) – Multiplies the chance that a mating session will successfully conceive offspring. At level 1 this offers +10% chance that a mating session will be successful in comparison to the unaltered chances.

  Fleet Foot (T0) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 0% to level 2) – Use 3 SP per second to increase your speed by 50% in both combat and non-combat situations.

  Flash Step (T2) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 0% to level 2) – Use 15 SP to flash forwards by a desired distance (within limits of the Ability level), ignoring all physical matter in the way. At level 1, the limit of the distance is your body length.

  Camouflage (T1) level 1 –> 1 (0% –> 0% to level 2) – Blend with your surroundings to reduce the chance of being spotted by an observer. Blending is more effective in areas which match your exterior in colour and pattern. At level 1, +10% to previous effectiveness of blending in all environments. Use 10 MP to reduce the chances of your opponent from spotting you by 50%. Warning, certain Abilities and Skills may not be affected by this Ability.

  Defensive abilities:

  - Fur level 3 (12-16 Slicing damage reduction, 2-4 Piercing damage reduction, 6-8 Crushing damage reduction, 2-4 Tearing damage reduction)

  - Skin level 5 (6-8 Slicing damage reduction, 4-8 Piercing damage reduction) Flexibility +5%

  - Mane level 3 (15-19 Slicing damage reduction, 12-19 Crushing damage reduction, 11-16 Piercing damage reduction (attacks to the relevant area)) +100% charisma (for members of the same species)

  Offensive abilities:

  - Claws level 2 (53-65 Slicing damage, 32-41 Tearing damage, 24-35 Piercing damage)

  - Bite level 3 (54-82 Crushing damage, 72-100 Tearing damage, 55-76 –> 59-80 Piercing damage)

  - Strike level 1 (+10 to Crushing or Blunt damage, +5 to all other physical damage types)

  - Feathered Wings level 4 (+20% to strikes from the air) (25-50 Blunt damage)

  General abilities:

  - Enhanced Muscular Body level 1 (max speed 40 mps; max speed duration 34s) (600 SP)

  - Carnivore Constitution level 4 (600 –> 800 HP) +60% –> +80% health regeneration

  - Enhanced Regeneration level 5 (2.75 –> 3.25 HP / second)

  - Brain level 7 (Cognition speed standard measurement 8 –> 8.5)

  - Mana heart level 1 (15 MP) - 75% penalty

  - Soul level 1 (Resilience to mental attacks standard measurement 7) +2% mana regeneration (-80% reduction to mana regeneration)

  - Bones level 2 (growth +20%)

  - Flesh level 1 (growth +10%) +5% resistance to basic magical attacks.

  - Nervous System level 3 –> 4 (reaction speed +40% –> 55%)

  - Sinuses level 4 +10% –> 30% range; +5% –> 20% intensity

  - Telepathy level 2 +10% force.

  - Sharp Eyesight level 1 +5% acuity of vision

  - Wide Diet level 2 (current diet: 80 - 100% non-poisonous, non-rotten meat; 0 - 20% non-poisonous, non-rotten plant matter)

  Spells:

  Lightning Discharge level 1 (35% progress to level 2) - 1:1 mana / unit of static electricity to damage ratio. Coat your weapons with electricity and discharge it into your opponent on contact. Electrical resistance is effective against this attack. Magical resistance is partially effective against this attack.

  Equipment:

  - Leather Gorget (T1) - +12 to Piercing/Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +6 to Crushing damage reduction to attacks to the neck. 6m3 storage space (non-stasis)

  - Tail Armour + Tail Morningstar (T1, Common) - Tail armour offers +20 to Tearing/Slicing damage reduction and +12 to Crushing and Piercing damage reduction to attacks to areas covered. Tail club offers +10-24 Crushing damage and +5-12 Piercing damage. (currently unequipped)

  Vassals:

  - Ameshek female (level 30)

  He had changed significantly over the time in the dungeon, both with his level ups and just by using his Abilities. Several had increased in level themselves: Rapid Attack, Sure Feet, Venomous Acid Bite, Enhanced Stamina, and Spatial Awareness. The latter two didn’t surprise him at all: he had them active basically all of the time so that their quick improvement was to be expected.

  That the most recent Abilities he’d received hadn’t increased much, if at all, was also not a surprise. He was excited to see what the Mapping Ability did now that he was out of the dungeon. In fact, he was excited to try out several of them. Fleet Foot, for example.

  Wondering if they’d rested enough, Dominic dipped back into their shared mind to find out how everyone was feeling.

  What his senses met as he readjusted to being in the backseat of their body had him asking one question:

  What the hell?!’

  here!