“[You have six? I only got three!]”

  A boy–around thirteen or so–crossed his arms in irritation, standing on a sandy stretch within the kelp forest. Multicolored cord-like hair hung around a neutral expression as he stood on hidden within a deep grove surrounded by reefs.

  From his seat on the side of series of coral-covered reefs, Henry eyed the humanoid illusion with a critical eye and began counting on the tip of his arms. “[Your skin’s too red. For a human, I mean. It looks like you’ve stayed in the sun way too long and got a severe sunburn. Also, your facial expression doesn’t match the emotion. Here’s what that would look like.]”

  The crab looked at the human-Henry’s demonstration, then focused back on his own projected illusion. Human-Maurice’s red color lightened and his frown deepened, while the edge of his mouth curled down a bit further than what was naturally possible.

  The crab pointed at his illusion and looked up at Henry. “[Better?]”

  It wasn’t perfect, but it was moving in the right direction. Human-Henry gave back a thumbs up and a smile in response. Maurice’s illusion smiled back, then pointed at Henry. “[Good. So how did you end up having so many Aspects?]”

  Henry’s image shrugged. “[I’ve got no idea how these things work out. I just knew I was about to get four Aspects, and then I was offered to use my Evolutionary points to get two more. It also took back a bunch of trait and skill slots from my class. Like…a lot. Maybe that’s another reason why I ended up with more Aspects.]”

  Human-Maurice stared back blankly at Henry’s illusion. “[Oh… Those are the points you get for doing dangerous things, right? Maybe I didn’t have a lot of those. Yeah. That would explain it.]”

  Henry eyed Maurice’s illusion and noticed how the crab struggled to keep track of both his own body and his illusion’s expressions. Something he hadn’t been struggling with at all, thanks to the Octominds.

  He curled an arm and looked down at it, then his illusion as it danced in a circle around Human-Maurice.

  Henry had been working with his Octominds and trying to push their limits all day and so far, he’d rank the skill in the top three, maybe even top two of his most useful abilities. Magic Mimic was hard to beat, but everything else? The Octominds were better, just from the sheer utility and improved cognition they provided.

  With Maurice’s question answered, Henry turned his attention back to the points he wanted to buy but still couldn’t afford while still keeping his human illusion synced to his mood. Occasionally, he’d get uneasy at seeing his image and he’d feel an odd-feeling clash between who he was now and what he looked like, but he’d shove the unease deep down and focused on something else. All the while, he was still paying attention to Maurice and his surroundings. With all that, he didn’t feel overwhelmed. Stimulated, sure. But not overloaded.

  It was an interesting ability, and he was still exploring its limitations. The Octominds allowed him to keep any task he’d started going–like he’d done with healing and keeping Maurice safe in the fight against the Goliath. He could also empower his own focus and concentration on specific tasks, but he couldn’t order the Octominds to start something by themselves. They weren’t fully independent.

  That’s be a nice upgrade. I do hope they get better as the Aspect upgrades. And just by paying attention to the Octominds and testing them out, it’s gained another level since yesterday. Which means I should be able to come up with some exercises to push them further. Speaking of…

  Henry paused his point-buy browsing and eyed the new options available in the Aspect Workshop. He could now remove the ‘weakened’ tag from the Assistance of the Octomind and Arcane Regeneration, but both options were costly.

  10 D-token each. While I barely have one right now…

  He could easily afford them—and the points—but they had to go hunting. Both upgrades should unlock the E-rank ability of their respectives skills, and Henry was looking forward to them. The only issue was, this area didn’t seem to have that many D-ranks.

  We need to find something stronger than random sharks.

  The ants they’d seen from afar weren’t strong enough. The few specimens they’d seen were only high E-Rank, which wasn’t much better than the seals. But maybe they’d have stronger specimens deep within their hives?

  Henry and Maurice hadn’t tried poking their nest, but it might be worth the try. As for krakens, they hadn’t shown up since the Goliath's death. A high-level D-Rank kraken or two would have been welcome. Their cores would let him pay for everything he needed. Maurice had sensed the clone once or twice, but it kept away.

  Well. We just started looking for something to fight, thought Henry. Turning his attention inward, he felt the odd soreness that still permeated his whole being and sighed.

  I probably need to take it easy for a day or two.

  He was still sore. Not physically. No, it was something deeper. He wasn’t used to feeling his ‘soul’–if that was the right term–but ever since the evolution and that incredible pain he’d been put through, it felt as if some new sense had awoken. And what he was getting from it was plain old soreness. Like a gnawing ache. He assumed it was from the large amounts of mana he’d been forced to channel from both his own reserves and the Goliath’s, which was something he hadn’t really done before.

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  Which happened right after I had soul surgery. Or something like it.

  Henry inhaled. At least his heavy investment in Constitution was paying off. With two arms, he picked up a couple of small boulders and began lifting them rhythmically. Then he ordered the two arms to coordinate and continue the exercise.

  The physical soreness was completely gone, as if it’d never been around, and considering how powerful the C-Rank had been… Well. Good thing Constitution was his highest stat, and good thing he’d gotten a few Aspect levels from the last fight. He would be needing a lot more before taking on the Trickster.

  Bite–no, Hunger of the Trickster is getting close to level 10 and so is Misdirection. Those two should be my focus. Not sure how Bite would evolve, or if it would get something new, but if I get Misdirection and Inkjet to the next rank, I might get clones capable of using skills. Just like the ones who’ve been stalking us. And if I get that… I could weaponize them. Have them all use venom. Or mana draining. Or track a lionfish and learn its self-destruct skill. I dismissed that ability a while back, but in this scenario… it’d be perfect.

  They just needed time. A few days to consolidate their skills and get better at using them.

  The power gap between D-Rank and C-Rank was a lot wider than he expected. As an E-Rank, he’d struggled to beat the D-Rank serpent, but even though it had been close and risky, the difference in power had not been as large compared to the Goliath. If Henry had fought the serpent while it was a C-rank and him a D-rank?

  He probably wouldn’t have survived. He wouldn’t have had a shot if it’d been a C-Rank serpent. The venom would have punched right through his resistances and, for that reason, Henry didn’t feel ready to take on the C-Rank Trickster. If that was even its rank. But he could prepare. Stack the deck in their favor.

  We should have time. Before it finishes taking care of its eggs.

  That was his theory on why the Trickster refused to leave its den, and if he was right, eventually it would finish guarding them, and it would venture out. Regular octopuses from his old world died after taking care of the progeny, but Henry doubted a kraken would have the same weakness. And Maurice did sense the clones. It was still watching them. It wasn’t done.

  One thing at a time.

  Henry was considering summoning another illusion to push both Summon Illusions and Octominds further when Maurice’s illusion dissolved into motes. Maurice retreated a bit into his shell and a piece of kraken meat appeared in front of him. With his pincer, he brought it to his mouth and started munching. His eyes seemed to droop lower.

  “[It’s tough to keep it going.]”

  Henry eyed his own illusion, then his stats. He was still comfortably, mana-wise. With all of his upgrades and his recent stats, his mana well has never been deeper and once it broke through the 40 points, it’d be even better. He would be one step closer to being ready for the Trickster.

  “[Take a break,]” Henry said. “[I’ll keep watch.]”

  Maurice looked up at Henry’s illusion for a moment. “[I wish I could have gotten the Octominds ability. It sounds amazing.]”

  Human-Henry leaned down and patted the crab. “[It is. But maybe you’ll have your own version of that soon. Or maybe we’ll meet something that can do something similar. My Octominds seem to be tied to physiological elements in my body–which is probably why it wouldn’t transfer. But maybe we can look into a way for you to create nerve centers in your arms with your own shapeshifting skill? Maybe then the Octomind would transfer. Or at least, it would have a way to adapt.]”

  Maurice seemed to think for a moment, then he stored his meal and rubbed his pincers together, as if to clean them. “[What’s a nerve center? Wait… are you busy? I can wait if you’re busy.]”

  Henry’s thoughts ground to a halt, and everything was still for a moment, aside from the two arms rhythmically lifting their rocks. His illusion raised an eyebrow at the crab. Did he just ask if he was busy?

  “[Are you okay?]”

  “[Yes. Well, I used up most of my mana, so I’m a bit tired. Why do you ask?]”

  He eyed Maurice for a second before responding. “[Ah… just checking. Tell you what, I’ m fine. Just take your break. Recover your mana, and then I’ll explain nerve centers and brains as much as I can, then we can do some trials. How’s that sound?]”

  A wave of gratefulness mixed with fatigue and muted curiosity reached Henry, and Maurice thanked him right before he slunk back in his shell.

  I guess he must’ve been really tired.

  Looking down at his own illusion, he dismissed it and found himself sitting quietly on the rocky seabed. A few small fish swam by and nibbled on the flecks of meat left from Maurice’s snacking.

  How long will it take for them to be ready to take on the Trickster? What comes after? What would the next threat be?

  Will I ever be able to find people? Would I even be able to approach them?

  He knew the answer to that. And seeing who he used to be through Summon Illusion wasn’t helping.

  Is this what I am now? A monster?

  Henry stopped himself. Those were questions he didn’t need to dwell on just yet. So, with the help of the Octominds, he pushed them away and turned his full attention back to his training plan.

  Get better at using my abilities. Level them. Max my stat points.

  That was a realistic goal. An actionable goal.

  After that, deal with the Trickster. Then move on from this area.

  Henry nodded to himself. He just needed to focus on the present. Work on the things he could control.

  Speaking of. I should prepare something for Maurice. A presentation. And this might be the best one I’ll ever give, considering what I should be able to do with illusions. Too bad I don’t have any internet…

  Now, what did he know about the nervous system of crabs?

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