We had been living together for a little over two weeks now. I had taught Vivi how to talk and practised Ordugh myself. She was pretty smart and after I had explained to her how English was not the language of the people living nearby, she started to pick up Ordugh herself. She still had some work to do but soon we would be able to talk using whichever language we wanted. I had also given her a name. All this time together let us form a bond of trust. My instincts were a little messed up after the evolution but I soon found I was still an owl. I still had the same behaviour in most circumstances and could read wild animals as easily as before. Which was the primary reason for our bond. We were both ‘wild’ animals and when we turned our backs on the other one there was no care for being exploited. This was real, honest trust.

I was happy. A friend like this was a first for me. At least I believed as much. My memories from my previous life only indicated family as the ones staying with me in tough times. In this world, I had Roguk and maybe Luk from the goblin village but even then, I had never felt as relaxed in there as I did now. So when Vivi asked me a question one night, of course, I would do my best to help her.

“How do you evolve?”

Well, that was not all that difficult, right?

“You need major mana enrichment” I answered.

“I tried. You know how?”

“You need a larger node. Yours does not have enough mana to punch through and reach into your soul”

“Help me find one!” she demanded.

I took a long look at the ocelot sitting in front of me and imploring me with her eyes wide. There was no way I could have made her drop the idea. And I did not want to.

“It might be difficult. I know one not too far but it is in the middle of the lake and there was a large beast in there.”

“Good! Show!”

With a deep sigh, I shifted to my metal form and beckoned Vivi to follow. We took through the nightly forest following the river leading off from the pond. Soon, the lake came into view. The node was where I remembered it, imposing and central. It held only water as its aspect. Now that I spent a little extra time looking, I saw slow waves going across the lake in a concentric pattern originating right below the glowing orb.

Vivi was staring. I was pretty sure there was nothing with a similar amount of mana anywhere nearby, so I could definitely understand her feelings. Though I wondered why she was not aware of this place. To my question she answered:

“I never go this way. Too dangerous.”

As if to emphasize her words, a sinuous form broke the surface of the lake. It was around halfway in between us and the node and looked pitch black in the night only a few drops of water reflecting the blue shine coming from the node.

“You knew this was here?” I asked.

“No. But I felt. Danger. Don’t come close.”

Some sort of danger sense? Did she have a Skill for that?

“What now? We can’t kill that thing, I’m pretty sure. And you would need some time to absorb enough mana for major enrichment. How long did it take you for medium, by the way?”

“I got sapient at five, don’t know how long near node. My memories are not clear. I had minor then. I got medium at six. No improvement since.”

Huh, one year for medium? That was pretty fast for this world, right? At least for orks, if I could believe the Thaumonomicon’s entry. Maybe she was already a good part into minor when she gained sapience. Still, it would take her at least a year to get major without any interruptions. So she would need to find her own node. And this was not the one we should be going for. The lake was very disadvantageous for me and even Vivi with her movement Skill based on water would have difficulties fighting something this powerful. Though I could probably get in range for an [Identify]. Maybe I could even get the stealth to activate. Vivi had told me she only put a single point into Wisdom and Intelligence each to see what they did. That gave me good chances even if this water snake was too high level for us to fight.

“Go. Find somewhere else.” Was the answer I finally received.

“Alright. Let me try to [Identify] first. Get ready to run.”

The ocelot nodded and retreated into the trees making sure to stay away from the river. I took to the air and started circling above whatever lived in the water. It was definitely aware of us being close because it kept between me and its node as much as possible. Just as I got close enough, I shot my [Hidden Identify]. The feedback felt good and I knew immediately it had worked. The animal had not enough Attributes to notice me. The notification, however, had not changed.

[Identify]

Species: Loch Moray (mature)

Age: 65

Name: Monstrosity

Gender: male

Level: 101

Well, that was a high level. I returned to my friend making sure to keep the window open. After a moment, I decided to take a closer look at its species.

Loch Moraine: This rare animal is found in large lakes and rivers. It has few predators even before growing to its trademark length due to how easily it can hide in the mud. It likes to eat and sleep but is very territorial when perceiving a threat and will keep a position to defend its home.

That did not sound like good news. And with the mature tag behind its species name, I was pretty confident it was not sapient. At least it had perceived us as a threat. What gave me pause was the name. Someone sapient was aware of this beast and called it Monstrosity often enough to make it stick. Vivi knew nothing about it other than the danger she had felt from the area. It could not have been her. Which meant, dwarves had to have come by here often enough to know about it.

After telling my friend what I had seen, we decided to move back home. The sky was starting to light anyway so we should get some rest soon.

As we approached the pond, the sun was almost halfway above the hills. In the morning mist, we almost did not spot them but the edge water was occupied by the herd of deer whose leader had postured before us not too long ago. Said leader was busy drinking along with a few of the deer. There were 18 animals in total, six sating their thirst while the rest kept watch. So, as Vivi and I arrived, we only barely avoided detection.

“What are they doing here again?” I asked.

“Drinking” came the answer. Thanks.

“Yes, but why here? They have the whole river coming in or going out of this pond.”

The answer was soon obvious. After the animals on the water’s edge sated their thirst, they stepped back and the deer each picked up a small mana crystal. The energy quickly drained into them and they sagged to their knees. A few minutes later, they had recovered and made space for the next group. The only one that had not taken a crystal was the stag leading the herd. He was instead watching the surroundings standing close to the exhausted animals that had just filled their bodies with flux.

“They are taking our crystals!” I was angered. This was our home! Or Vivi’s at least.

“Weak crystals” was the response, “Not worth the trouble.”

“But it’s your place!” I looked at her, confused.

I only received a shrug as an answer.

We waited for a little longer and once all the deer had drunk their fill and absorbed a water crystal, they disappeared into the trees. As the two of us got ready to rest, my body returned to normal, I pried a little more.

“Don’t you want to have your home be yours?”

“No need. I don’t need crystals. They don’t touch the node, I don’t care.”

“They are dangerous. That stag might want to hurt us if he knows we live here.”

“Stupid. Can’t understand. No chance to make them leave. I’m too weak.”

Vivi was lying down, ready to sleep. A big yawn left her mouth as she sent those words.

“You’re not alone anymore,” I said.

At that, the ocelot perked her ears. I could almost see the gears grinding in her head. Was the risk worth it? Was it actually possible? I asked myself the same question but I honestly did not know. There was a clear risk to confronting the herd but I trusted my friend to know the animals well enough to make a first judgement. If she said no, I would drop the matter, but I did not want to live in a place where leaving after sunrise was a risk to my life.

A slow and deliberate purr came from her corner. I looked up and saw her eyes narrowed and canines bared. A tongue licked over the edges.

“Not alone. Maybe… we can”

I nodded. We could do it. That was her judgement.

“My traps, your magic. We are strong.”

She was warming up to the idea nicely.

“I will use [Hidden Identify] to learn more when they come back. Then we can make a plan.”

“Good. Now sleep.”

Another yawn, from both of us this time, and we settled down for the day. Tomorrow I would stay outside and investigate the herd’s behaviour. They were not sapient, as far as Vivi knew, so I was not too scared about the danger. I could simply take to the air if necessary. And while I expected some magical shenanigans, all I had seen up to now was the stag hiding its herd and the confusing movements. No ranged attack meant I should be fine to do some scouting.