“Are you sure he went this way?” Kyle asked, following the path that the drone projected on its map.

  [I AM CERTAIN, DR. MAYHEW. THIS WAS THE PATH HE TOOK UNTIL HE EXITED MY SCANNER RANGE. IF HE HAD CUT BACK ACROSS IT AT ANY POINT, I WOULD HAVE NOTICED.]

  Kyle knew that C.H.A.D.D. was right, but he was beginning to grow increasingly frustrated. For what felt like the dozenth time, the duo followed the path that Vel’Norn took away from the ruins of Railen’s Folly. From the edge of C.H.A.D.D.’s original scan, Kyle moved in increasingly wide arcs in the hope of maximizing the drone’s likelihood of picking up the village in its scanning radius. Despite covering well over 50 kilometers, they’d had no success.

  “Are there any other anomalies? Anything that sticks out to your sensors?” Kyle asked, wondering what they missed.

  [I AM GLAD YOU ASKED, DR. MAYHEW. THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT I FIND INTERESTING, HOWEVER I WAS NOT CERTAIN IF YOU WOULD AGREE.]

  “They’re plants, aren’t they, C.H.A.D.D.?” Kyle asked in a flat voice.

  [YES, DR. MAYHEW.]

  With a sigh, Kyle nodded. “That’s alright. Show me the way, and we’ll check them out.”

  The duo crossed the hills and dry plains, with Kyle moving close to each copse of trees on the off chance that C.H.A.D.D. would pick up some sign of the goblin village. Finally, they arrived at the first of the anomalous plants that the drone detected. They had an odd shape to them, though parts of it felt familiar. They possessed thick, dark stems, surrounded at the base by razor-sharp leaves. Rising from the center was a cluster of large, white flowers that attracted swarms of insects.

  While that was interesting, it was far from enough to intrigue the drone. Auric Perception gave him a hint, and Kyle activated Identify, gaining a better understanding of what had drawn C.H.A.D.D.’s interest. The whole plant was releasing a field of energy that extended from the top of the flower and around the perimeter of the pointed leaves. Small waves of mana pulsed through each of the spear-like leaves, flowing with no purpose or intent.

  As Kyle slowly extended his hand toward them, however, the mana gained rigidity and sharpness, the bristling leaves rising and extending slightly at his intrusion. At the same time, the flower retracted, barely visible above the armor of sharp thorns. Kyle was reminded of the shrikes as he examined the leaves, each far sharper than the small amount of mana should have allowed.

  He retracted his hand slowly, and the mana once again began to flow normally, with the flower re-emerging. The small bugs coming and going seemed unperturbed by the disturbance, still contentedly lapping up the sweet nectar before flying off.

  [DR. MAYHEW, MAY I ATTEMPT AN EXPERIMENT?]

  “Sure, C.H.A.D.D. What do you have in mind?”

  Without responding, Kyle felt small vines slowly creep toward the plant. The mana flowing through them was negligible, even weaker than that of the strange spiny flower. As soon as the vines got too close, the field around the leaves changed, sharpening once again. The vines were cut to pieces, slices falling to the ground below.

  Kyle’s eyes widened as he felt the presence of a ground-affinity energy begin to exude from the plant the moment the mana sharpening the leaves dissipated, and watched with fascination as the ground around the plant seemed to churn, the small pieces of vine slowly being dragged down and toward the stem.

  “So, it cuts and consumes. Can’t say I’ve seen anything like this before,” Kyle remarked.

  [IT IS AN INTERESTING ORGANISM. I AM INTERESTED IN HOW IT CONTINUALLY SHIFTS THE STATE OF ITS MANA.]

  “Do you have any idea how it is able to shift the intent?” Kyle asked.

  [NONE WHATSOEVER, DR. MAYHEW. SEVERAL PLANTS IN THE ARCHIVE EXHIBITED SIMILAR ABILITIES, ALTHOUGH THE SUNDEW IS AMONG THE CLOSEST IN TERMS OF OVERALL VERSATILITY.]

  “How many of these did you spot nearby? I’m fine with helping you absorb some of them, so long we leave enough behind to avoid disturbing the ecosystem too much.”

  [THERE ARE ONLY A FEW IN THIS AREA, ALTHOUGH A MUCH LARGER DENSITY CAN BE FOUND JUST A FEW KILOMETERS AWAY.]

  C.H.A.D.D. guided Kyle across the hills of the prairie, leading him to the top of a large outcropping that looked down on a narrow canyon with a small river cutting through it. There were dozens of the plants up here, and Kyle wasted little time as he activated Parasitic Resonance, allowing the drone to slowly siphon energy from each of the plants.

  To Kyle’s surprise, C.H.A.D.D. drained far less than usual, leaving the plants alive with small traces of mana still remaining in the aura.

  “This is different,” Kyle observed. “Why the change in archiving?”

  [I AM INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THEIR MANA FIELDS RECOVER, AND HOW THEY PRIORITIZE DEFENSE. IF THE STRANGLEVINE REACTIONS AND THESE ODD PLANT FORMS ARE ANY INDICATION OF WHAT ELSE COULD BE ON THE PLANET, ER’MITHREN FLORA APPEAR TO HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF REACTIVITY RELATIVE TO MOST PLANTS.]

  “Can you really call the Scourge a plant, C.H.A.D.D.?”

  [CERTAINLY, DR. MAYHEW. OTHER THAN THE WORLD TREE SEED, IT IS THE MOST POWERFUL PLANT LIFE FORM I HAVE ENCOUNTERED, BUT A PLANT NONETHELESS.]

  Kyle considered the wisdom of his question for a moment, then asked it anyway. “How much do you think that you would benefit if you were able to absorb the Scourge?”

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  [TREMENDOUSLY. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY AS I AM NOW.]

  “Why do you say that?” Kyle asked, a little surprised at the drone’s words.

  [CHANNELING THAT MUCH MANA THAT IS OF C GRADE QUALITY WOULD LIKELY PROVE QUITE DAMAGING TO ME. WHILE THE UPGRADES YOU HELPED WITH ARE SIGNIFICANT, THEY ARE ONLY RESILIENT ENOUGH FOR SMALL BURSTS OF POWER AT THAT LEVEL. A CONTINUED DRAIN POWERFUL ENOUGH TO HARM THE SCOURGE WOULD BE UNWISE AT THIS POINT.]

  Kyle nodded, the explanation making sense. “Well, when we get a chance to meet with Marcus Kulhavey, maybe that’ll change. If anybody has ideas for improvements, it would probably be him.”

  [I LOOK FORWARD TO IT, DR. MAYHEW. OF COURSE, THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE GAINS FROM THE STRANGLEVINES ARE TO BE DISCOUNTED. ONCE I CAN DEDICATE MORE PROCESSING POWER TO MY THEORIES, I BELIEVE I WILL HAVE SOME INTERESTING NEW CONCEPTS TO DEMONSTRATE.]

  “Oh? Anything that you’re willing to share now?” Kyle asked.

  [NO.] C.H.A.D.D. replied.

  Kyle held back a chuckle. He knew that C.H.A.D.D. would show him in due time, and he was honestly interested in seeing what the drone was cooking up. He remembered how despondent C.H.A.D.D. was after their fight with the Shadow, and was impressed with just how much improvement his metallic companion made since.

  While its vine-wrapped form still could use some training, Kyle was confident that C.H.A.D.D. could pose a real threat to D Grades using large scale constructs like the one employed against the Scourge. Of course, C.H.A.D.D.’s real power still came from its support capabilities.

  The duo spent the next several hours indulging in the drone’s experiments, moving slowly across the outcropping as C.H.A.D.D. drained the spiny plants one after another. For his part, Kyle took out the tomes from Jarberry and used the time to get some practice in during each stop. Though the progress felt glacial at times, his mana control was improving each and every day. C Grade was still a long way down the road, and Kyle had every intention of making sure he was set up for a successful start.

  Part of that involved building stronger foundations for his eventual skill upgrades. While he felt confident about Parasitic Resonance, Storm Shelter, and Ignition, he was less certain about Adaptive Regeneration, Healing Impetus, and Identify. He intentionally left Repel off his mental list, as it was new enough that he’d still need more time to refine it in any case. Still, his support skills had become neglected. He hadn’t pushed them beyond their basics in quite a while, not in a meaningful way.

  Adaptive Regeneration was likely the simplest to gain insights, all Kyle was missing was a particularly harsh natural environment. His ability to handle extreme temperatures, mild corrosive acid, and blunt force had improved significantly, but there was still room to expand his resistances further, particularly in light of his Ferric Augmentation. Maybe there’s something I can do that will tie into Adaptive Anatomy more directly, Kyle thought.

  Identify and Healing Impetus were different stories. Both skills were potent, offering not only exceptional primary effects, but complexity with their scope. Kyle felt certain that the next step for him would be to better understand the concepts behind some of these effects, a task easier said than done. How did Healing Impetus store regenerative energy? What could he do now to influence that aspect of the skill?

  The same could be said about Identify and its ability to not only reveal mana signatures and properties, but even give him insights into the concepts at play behind different techniques. When coupled with Auric Perception and Synaptic Barbs, there wasn’t much around his grade he struggled to understand. Wait… Kyle thought.

  On a whim, he activated Identify, then closed his eyes. It was faint, but there was a subtle change in the way that Auric Perception felt C.H.A.D.D. draining a nearby plant. Grinning, he focused on the sensation. The concepts at play were similar enough, why couldn’t he overlap them? It was a far cry from the visual aspect of the skill, and in no way currently practical. Even so, it was an avenue for him to explore.

  Before he could spend any more time on his training, a loud bellow echoed out from the canyon below. Kyle’s eyes flew open as he jumped to his feet, and C.H.A.D.D. quickly completed its drain of the plant, though not before Kyle saw a couple of lightning fast, bark-covered vines dart out to snatch a couple of the flowers.

  “What was that, C.H.A.D.D.?” Kyle asked, eyes scanning the canyonland from below.

  [SEEDS, DR. MAYHEW. AND THE FLOWERS AROUND THEM. BUT MOSTLY THE SEEDS.]

  Kyle didn’t respond to the drone’s snarky answer, instead looking down at the canyon, where he finally spotted the abomination lumbering around a corner. Just as it did, it reeled back as a web of cuts opened on its head and chest, splattering blood across the stone. Kyle felt his heart beat in anticipation as he saw the source of the injury; a pack of shrikes.

  As he watched, 4 more shrikes emerged from small caves in the canyon wall, and C.H.A.D.D. quickly projected an overlay of the canyon below, showing 2 more shrikes arriving from the back, just on the edge of the drone’s range. If there are 9, that means there’s an alpha.

  [WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO, DR. MAYHEW?]

  Kyle considered for a moment. Despite his gains, he didn’t have confidence facing a full pack of shrikes, an alpha, and an abomination at once. The echoing bellows and traded attacks made it clear that they weren’t friendly, but if he appeared and made himself an enemy, that could change quickly.

  “Let’s get closer and observe, for now. Once we have a better grasp on everything that’s going on, we can make decisions from there.”

  [I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED SOME POTENTIAL VIEWING AREAS ON YOUR MAP, DR. MAYHEW.]

  They moved closer, Kyle barely taking his eyes off the projected image of the fight. The shrikes seemed to be familiar with the abomination, keeping their distance as they kept a steady stream of attacks ripping into it. These looked different than the shrikes in the forest near Er’Mithren, a mottled brown hide as compared to the green, with arm blades that were noticeably shorter, yet bearing a wicked curve. Variants based on the habitat, perhaps? Kyle mused.

  If the beast cared about the damage it accumulated, it didn’t show any signs as it continually pressed toward the nearest opponent, wanton disregard for the injuries it rapidly healed. It let out the occasional bellow as it lumbered through the canyon, slowly gaining ground.

  With the assistance of Covert Dexterity, Kyle navigated his way to a somewhat sheltered outcropping that overlooked the battleground. The fight was reaching a fever pitch, with the abomination nearly completed in closing the distance against the nearest shrikes. Once it did, Kyle had no illusions about what would come next. The shrikes wouldn’t have much of a chance against the beast’s overwhelming force.

  Just as one of its fists was about to collide with a nearby shrike, there was a flash of color, and the abomination’s blow fell short, its arm sliced through at the elbow. A shrill cry of challenge pierced the air, as a green and purple shrike appeared, leaving a lattice of cuts across the monster’s torso. The alpha let out another piercing shriek, and the battle resumed again in earnest, with the shrikes seeming to eke out an advantage.

  Kyle considered whether or not to intervene, watching the battle as the two forces fought for dominance. Both sides were getting worn thin, with the abomination’s wounds closing at a slower pace, while the shrikes seemed to be running low on mana for ranged attacks. “What do you think, C.H.A.D.D.? Should we get involved?”

  Before the drone could respond, another voice spoke. It was deep, yet garbled, the words sounding… wrong.

  “Oh, but that would ruin the fun.”