I sat down and watched the warriors work the corpse. One of the young runner boys took off to alert a gathering crew from the city. The snake was apparently valuable. If I killed a few more, I’d make Danek very happy.

I had nothing to do while I waited for them to dig up the core from somewhere by the snake’s spine. Good thing I didn’t blow it off with that Water Spear spell.

It had been so fun! I wanted to cast it again. I already had half a dozen improvements I wanted to try.

Everyone had been impressed, but this was a fortunate circumstance. We had absolute initiative during the encounter. If an Awakened beast got the jump on me, it would be a very different situation.

This time I had ample time to prepare the spell. Hell, it had taken a few minutes to figure out the spell formula and to charge the spell. The snake could have escaped too. It didn’t, and that meant it had charged straight at me, as I was the most dangerous one. Or the most mana rich target. Either way, that gave me an opportunity for a point blank full blast that I couldn't miss. 

I was delighted it had worked out so well, but I had no illusions about how perfect the setup had been. I hoped I could repeat the circumstances, given that I had a new and exciting spell to master. Maybe the Awakened beasts favored caves?

I couldn’t bank on that though. The raptors had come suddenly from the woods.

But I wouldn’t let that spoil my joy. Mother cooked meat from the snake and while it was pungent and gamey, it was very mana rich, which I used to invigorate my body after a long morning. After some elbow-deep digging in gore by the Warriors, they discovered my prize.

Finally, I got my hands on the monster core.

It was covered in grime, but still impressive. A black marble, I had to hold with two of my hands. It had something swirling inside it, like black ink, and it was cool to the touch. But most importantly, when I used my Mana Sight, it shimmered in my hands like a miniature sun. The mana was stacked into a tight lattice that formed a liquid, just like the stuff Elder Piraka had used. I wondered how they processed this stuff into liquid mana. Was that something Artificers did?

Ah well, that wasn’t important now. It was time to cultivate!

The mana was so rich that it was easy to wield. I started transmuting it into the purified form, compatible with the Arcane Body Art. I had absolutely no trouble absorbing and controlling it with my Skill set. And because I was greedy, I was also mixing the core’s mana with atmospheric mana and the mana from the snake meat inside me. Hey, I wanted to be efficient, nothing wrong with that!

Soon enough, the System rewarded me with the sweet fruits of my labor.

[Mana Transmutation level 9!]

[+2 Magic Power]

[+2 Mana Flow]

[Meditation II level 22!]

[+1 Perception]

[+2 Focus]

I crossed into triple digits with both of my mana-related Attributes. Sadly, no Achievements, which meant the thing with my Perception had been a one-time thing. I was getting close to level ten in my special Skill inherited from the First Ones. I was eager to see what kind of a Perk I would get. Hopefully something that would allow me to leverage these monster cores better.

My Meditation was also coming along quite nicely. Transmuting the mana required such concentration, that I wouldn’t be surprised if it leveled a lot during this expedition.

Anyway, I cultivated while the rest of the expedition ate and rested. Betuko went off scouting with mother. The guy had seemed a little rattled. Maybe he had bad memories with the big snake.

It took me a few hours to work through the core’s energy, but when I was done, I was extremely happy with the results. The monster core was a complete game changer!

[Arcane Body Art — First Layer: 2.2%]

A full percentage of progress? I had nearly doubled my cultivation with a single monster core!

The blue fingertip of mana was now a full finger of mana. I watched it in awe. Of course it was only visible when I used Mana Sight, but it was beautiful. It shimmered in my magical vision like someone had painted my finger with the sky. And that finger was a well of power. I could feel a stronger sense of connection with magic through it.

It was still unclear to me exactly how this all worked, but the Arcane Body Art seemed to make me able to embody magic. I cast a water bullet and shot it at a nearby tree. The ease and speed at which I managed to cast it was astounding. Sure, I was getting pretty good at the spell, but now I could just… wield it. 

I cast the spell a few times.

Tsok!

Tsok!

Tsok!

Three consecutive casts just like that. And these were starting to actually be useful and dealt some damage to the tree. They would definitely wound lesser beasts.

Not only that, the mana reserves I could now contain within my arcane finger had grown substantially. I could cast even more interesting spells!

What a truly powerful magical technique. I hadn’t made a leap of progress like this in a while.

I got lost in play with it until I suddenly felt lightheaded. I had drained and recharged my arcane finger a dozen times, and it was sapping my strength. I could use a nap.

“Moom,” I called.

“Yes, little gem?”

I gave her my best puppy eyes. “I’m tired. Can you carry me?”

“Of course,” mother said.

Veena just stared at me in disbelief.

Our journey into the jungle’s depths continued. Betuko now listened to my words with rapt attention and called me young master with pure reverence. I wasn’t sure I liked his obsequiousness, but it beat having him second guess me all the time. The warriors were also more willing to follow, although Veena seemed to be sulking at me. That was nothing new, so I ignored it. 

“I think we are being followed,” mother said at some point.

“Hmm,” Betuko said. “I sense nothing with my Danger Sense. But you do have the Sixth Sense.”

“Maybe it’s a curious beast,” I suggested.

“Maybe,” mother said. “But it doesn’t feel like it.”

“Are we in danger?” I asked.

“No,” Betuko said, but I ignored him.

“Not yet,” mother said. “But whatever it is, it doesn't feel friendly.”

“We will keep an eye out,” I said. “Tell everyone.”

We traveled for a bit more, but it was getting dark soon. Since it was already late after I was done with my cultivation, we merely ventured towards the closest hunting cabin and spent the night there.

In the morning we enjoyed some snake meat and herbal tea before continuing. Betuko was back on tracking, while my mother watched him. I was focusing on improving my Heightened Senses. I had the distinct feeling that I could somehow link this skill, or its upgrade at the very least to my magic, but I wasn’t sure how I would go about it just yet. For now I was content enough to practice.

[Heightened Senses level 2!]

[+1 Perception]

[+1 Reflex]

I was maybe  starting to feel something with Reflex. It was hard to say because the Skill also made my senses more acute as a standalone. Overall, I was much more alert, and when Betuko told us to stop, I reacted quicker. 

We were also attacked by regular beasts. Actually, almost constantly. Betuko and the warriors had warned me about this, but I told them it was fine. For the most part, they turned tail instantly every time I activated Apex Predator. Me and mother had a good laugh about how I was the king of the jungle, but the others didn’t find that funny.

Only one group of regular beasts had the gall to attack us through my Perk. It still slowed them down massively and made them hesitant, which made the fight easy. It was the same kind of raptors as we had encountered before. They had a pack-alpha, but it wasn’t Awakened. I let the warriors do most of the heroics, but I also peppered one of them to bits with my magic body cultivation semi-automatic water bullet barrage(™). Patent pending.

We didn’t encounter Awakened beasts in the next two days. It was frustrating of course, and the bugs were especially annoying, before I had the sense to practice using a continuous kinetic barrier around me. This was a great time to practice the full eggshell, because I only needed a little bit of force to keep the mosquitoes the hell away from me. Most of the Warriors used a salve they rubbed on their skin. I could totally understand, because the mosquitoes were big. Mother was super smug about them, because she had a Perk that kept them off. How annoying!

The spell formula for a continuous 360-egg-shell-barrier was complicated, but I was finally getting the hang of it. I kept alternating training between that and my Heightened Senses skill.

Some time passed as we adventured through the jungle and slept in a hunting cabin. The runner boy sent for the Mamba found us, for which Betuko praised him. Mother kept a lookout on whatever was following us, but sometimes she sensed something and sometimes she didn’t. Betuko thought it was just some curious beast, because his Danger Sense didn’t flare, but I wasn’t convinced.

Either way, our trek through the jungle was peaceful.

Until we finally hit another jackpot.

Well, to be fair they hit us. 

We had been about to set up a camp by a hunting cabin, when the beasts came. The cooling evening was creating a mist that made it harder to see.

Mother and Betuko were on their feet instantly and Veena let out a rallying command and put her Warriors in a formation surrounding me. I immediately started gathering mana into a spell formula.

The attack started with a sharp roar followed by a chorus of excited hoots. Monkeys.

“Get inside the cabin!” I told mother, and she and Betuko scrambled up the stairs into the tree house.

“These are apes!” Betuko called. “Watch your heads, they can jump down!”

I started casting the strongest barrier I had yet done. I poured all of my advantages into it. The increased cultivation, the relentless practice of barrier magic, the new kinetic components I had gleaned from the artifacts, and I added the continuous spell effect successfully. By now my Continuous Casting Perk had adopted the kinetic components, even when the formula was as complicated as the eggshell-barrier.

I was pretty pleased with myself, but now wasn't the time. I focused and fell into a meditative state of inner stillness.

I activated my Mana Sight and saw humanoid forms approaching us with the telltale signature of a mana beast.

With my other hand, I started weaving the spell formula for a nasty barrage of Water Bullets.

Half a dozen large, red-furred gorillas rushed at us. I activated my Apex Predator which made them hesitate. They crashed into the formation the warriors held, who took initiative with a bold charge from Veena. I released the spell immediately when I saw them and wounded two of them badly.

To their credit the warriors were fighting well. They had clearly faced these gorillas before, and knew how to deal with them. But there was no Awakened beast.

Then something warned me of mortal danger. It was subtle, but my Heightened Senses picked it up. A shift in airflow, a rustle of leaves, faint snap of a branch, and a presence.

Above me!