Bring on the Leisure! [Chapter 11] (Patreon)

ToC: https://www.patreon.com/posts/98777693

Real quick author's note: I'm back and ready to get back into writing gear for the new story! My timeline got a bit delayed; while traveling, my phone was stolen. Had to spend quite a bit of time getting back into my accounts, but should all be sorted now.

Added the revised versions of chapters 1-10. The most significant changes are in the Prologue and Chapters 9 and 10. Essentially, I changed how Tallum encounters the duck, gave a bit more time for an emotional reaction.

Over the next few days, I will be posting to get Patreon to Chapter 20, as I start the earlier releases on RR.

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Is this going to be a problem?

The thought wasn’t a new one; over the past few days, I felt like all I discovered were more problems.

Local concerns first: I looked at the corner of our stump. This was day five of Green, Indigo, and I arrival at our leisurely country home. Somehow… it seemed that all the details of our current existence began to spiral wildly out of control around me. Including-

I looked from the now empty spider egg sac in the corner to the many holes in the stump. Ah, I had completely forgotten about those eggs. Weren’t the outer ones soaked in the water? The flies are just so numerous and more convenient to eat and now…

This morning, movement had woken me up. I opened my eye and saw a tiny-but-many-legged creature leaving our stump. Green and Indigo both slumbered away, heedless of its passage. 

I leapt up, thinking some animal had attempted to attack while we slept. But quickly I realized the source. And the empty egg sac confirmed that the maybe fifty or so remaining eggs had all hatched. Hex Spiderlings now walked through the surrounding marsh.

It’s probably fine? The one we fought in the tower isn’t strong enough to massacre the animals here. I thought. My emotions darkened. Furious trembling began. Especially since that massive bastard…!

Ahem, let me take things one day at a time.

On the second day, the rain had continued. I think I had still felt a little shaky with grief and anxiety, so when the other two Chimera Cores stayed in the stump bouncing back and forth and playing all day, it was exactly what I needed. We joked and wrestled (Green always won) and simply cemented our bond.

Toward the end of the day, I came to a realization. They knew I was feeling down, even if not why. So they stayed here with me.

The warmth and embarrassment mixed. I forced the embarrassment down and tried to relax. That’s right. If I feel the wild joy and sense of belonging from our wriggling celebrations, they do too. Probably… I am just as valuable to them, as they are to me. That’s what it means to have these bonds.

On the third day, the rain finally ceased, leaving us with larger puddles, a browner river, and a whole expanse of dew-encrusted reeds. Finally, with a little bit of relaxation grounding me, I started on the project of renovating the local area to be more hospitable for us Chimera Cores. I also wanted to experiment with new body parts, but it seemed more important to set the environmental changes in motion.

Time to invest in my blessing of a second life.

I had three projects: expanding the rotfly swamp to ensure safe access to food, shifting the strawberry patch closer to the stump home, and affecting the habitat of the dragonflies, who were the food of the toads.

The rot flies mostly swarmed around the nearby swamp because of the red chrysanthemums floating on lily pads. I cannot smell with this body, but I observed the yellow pollen dripping from their petals that the flies happily eat. So I circled around and discovered more of those chrysanthemums in the area. Coincidentally, my serrated foreleg is actually excellent for taking plant clippings.

My first few attempts… well, I had only a passing familiarity at gardening. The transplanted chrysanthemums began to wither without taking root. But the last few seemed likely to survive. And if they did, the number of chrysanthemums in our little fly farm would double.

Next I worked on the strawberry farm. I took some ripe fruits and spread them atop some mud ridges only a short distance away from our stump home. Due to the rainfall, the area between them housed sluggish streams, but from my exploration on the first day, these would gradually dissipate.

Truly, the simple joys of a farmer are best. Only below Green and Indigo, my true relationship is with the land!

For my final project, I sculpted the topography of the mud beach. The toads' only action (aside from interacting with Green) were to shoot out its powerful tongue and gulp down dragonflies when they landed on the nearby cats' tails. With my human ingenuity, I took note. 

So I completely demolished the cattails on the southern side of the mud beach. Some I attempted to replant on the north, but mostly I just ripped open their flesh and spread their seeds, so they would grow later on their own.

At the end, I actually felt quite pleased with my adjustments. Snip snip, hello, I am your monstrous gardener. Yes, I will mow your lawn for practically free! Just a bit of your lifeblood is necessary…

Ah, you don’t want to mow? Heheh, well, you will soon receive a letter from your Home Owners Association! Enjoy your escalating dues~

Toward the end of the third day, those swaggering crayfish caught me heading back to the stump home. Of course, with my Serrated Foreleg-

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +5.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +6.

You have slain a Lvl 3 Crayfish Mucker!

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +6.

Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 8.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +5.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +2.

You have slain a Lvl 4 Crayfish Mucker!

I didn’t even want to take any of their body parts, so I left their corpses strewn along the beach to serve as a warning for their families. Clicking claws are not welcome here.

Ah for the record, Green and Indigo were not idle in that time. 

Green, who since absorbing a crayfish brain has killed a frog and absorbed its legs without my interference, went down to the mud beach and… well, she cosplayed as a frog. I think she lured frogs away from the pack and murdered them in the shadow of mud mounds…

Ahem, well, hobbies are a part of savoring the present.

Indigo roamed. Likely challenging more monsters to duels or something? He hadn’t yet brought me back any more body parts, but the warm glow of satisfaction still suffused me on the third day, so I didn’t mind.

As evening approached on the third night, Green and Indigo showed back up. Green bounced up to me, showing off her new snake tail. From the sinuous ease of her movements, it was clear it came along with a useful Stat. I made a mental note to try different body parts and see how they affected my growth.

The fourth day saw most of my efforts souring.

Turns out the snakes Green had hunted were much closer than I realized… because they love strawberries. A group of vipers had become our next-door neighbor.

My plan to spread the cattails had been a smashing success. The North Bank was now full of them. Which meant more dragonflies came to land on them and mate. Which meant more toads arrived, to eat the dragonflies while they were distracted. Which all culminated in-

Five Horned Bloat Toad Broodmother Lvl 19

A massive, boar-sized toad had now established itself as a permanent presence on the North end of our beach. 

Which also, as an unintended consequence, meant that more and more crayfish crawled out of the water and clicked their claws on the Southern Beach.

Farming, I realized, was a bit more complex than anticipated. I wasn’t the only one who could take advantage of the bounty I had brought to the area. My head hurt as I tried to figure out countermeasures. I gulped down rotflies to keep my Anima high and went to sleep.

So day five dawned. I stared at the remnants of the egg sac, laying empty in the corner of the stump. The area was now infested with powerful crayfish, frogs, and serpents. These last few days had been too hectic, but they were also a necessary adaption period. My point of view shifted from a human born in a civilized society to a being living in the wild.

To put it bluntly, I learned how to be a monster.

Investing in our environment is all well and good, but anything valuable gets taken from us if we are weak, I thought. I had assumed I would have more time to Level, but these monsters are ridiculous. Why did so many bullies show up as soon as I started to develop our little area? Ah, am I the force of gentrification? Rising property values have brought higher-level monsters?

One of my iconic feelings had solidified in my gut, watching waves of monsters arrive over the past two days. Calm investment in relationships and living situation would not solve this problem. Being relaxed was all well and good, but life in this fantasy world required a baseline of reliable strength.

I could not live without regrets if I lacked the power to follow through on my resolve.

With my goal set, I headed to the Southern portion of the mud beach. My eternal foes, the crayfish, milled around and lazily clicked their claws. They were self-indulgent clowns. I selected my first victim and hurried over.

You grow used to anything, if you do it enough. At this point, it seems more strange not to kill these bastards.

Crayfish Snapper Lvl 6

The first crayfish pivoted around, noticing my approach. Its companions didn’t bother to come help against me. Typical crustacean arrogance. So I could remain relatively carefree as the crayfish swaggered up to me, as though it was the aggressor in this situation. It slashed with its claw, sinking the appendage into my gooey side without inflicting any damage.

My serrated foreleg sank between its eyes. Ooze spread down the limb and seeped into the wound. Immediately I start gulping down its Anima. Oh, the reason that Indigo can hunt high Level monsters is probably just we are cheat beings…

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +6.

Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 9.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +7.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +4.

You have slain a Lvl 6 Crayfish Snapper! 

You have Leveled Up! Health +2, Anima +1. 

A single Level 6 Crayfish Snapper… was nowhere close to my opponent. However, its pathetic display drew the attention of all the surrounding crayfish. Their clicking became much more aggressive. Two more Crayfish Snappers and four Crayfish Mucker stomped over to me in a righteous fury. I raised my serrated foreleg and beckoned them to come find out.

The Crayfish Snapper’s possess longer and sharper claws, while the muckers essentially have arms that end in shovels that open and close. The two Snappers rushed forward and stabbed with their claws. I saw the blows coming and shifted myself slightly out of the way. Even if I’m pretty sure their claws can’t damage me at all, I don’t want to develop bad habits that will eventually doom me.

All this is training. Invest in the dream of being a martial arts hero(monster)!

Plus, I didn’t know if these snappers had any magical attacks they might have been hiding, or forgetting to use because of their small crayfish brains. After all, a single burst of Mana could carve out a ton of my Health.

I retreated before the muckers could surround me. Even if my jelly is impervious, my useful organs can still be damaged if enough claws are stabbed into me. Hissing with fury, one of the muckers rushed forward, practically screaming ‘I volunteer as tribute’.

I watched as the crayfish awkwardly marched forward, its sharp legs sinking into mud. Hehe, my other advantage is just being able to ooze around when I need to. No instability on soft ground for me.

My serrated foreleg swung and sliced off its antenna. While its body jerked around in pain, the mongoose claw slapped down on its head and cracked open its shell. With the opening, I sucked away most of its Anima.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +3.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +5.

You have slain a Lvl 4 Crayfish Mucker! 

Stingy as Muckers are with Anima, my instincts still released a belch of pleasure. Because for the second time this week, my Anima passed 50. I had almost missed the sensation in the rush of Crayfish attacking me yesterday, but a wholeness seized me at that threshold; I knew that currently, my body would not grow larger from absorbing more Anima. A grapefruit-sized existence was the limit of us Chimera Cores.

Filing that information away for later, I hopped back out of another swipe from a Snapper. The two Snappers now took the lead, which made my job much more difficult. The Serrated Foreleg hurt them, but the deteriorating mongoose paw could only scratch their shells. And when I sank the foreleg into the skull of the first Snapper, the second would have the opportunity to attack.

I scanned the surrounding area, then hopped backward over a muddy puddle. Somehow, these fools were smart enough to edge around the puddle to get to me-

I stand corrected. Only the Snappers avoided the impediment. The three remaining Muckers thrashed their way across the pool without caring that it put them out of position.

I stepped up to the left Snapper and punched between its antenna. It hissed and lashed out at me with its left arm. Allowing that to sink into my ooze, I conjured a dozen tentacles and flipped the crayfish sideways.  While it scrambled to right itself and return to the fight, my claw sliced open its thorax.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +6.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +6.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +6.

You have slain a Lvl 6 Crayfish Snapper! 

The second crayfish Snapper leapt at me and I calmly spread out my body and absorbed it entirely. The small, vulnerable parts of its flesh quickly became straws for me.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +4.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +7.

You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +2.

Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 10.

You have slain a Lvl 6 Crayfish Snapper! 

And after that, I began to inwardly cackle as I finished my fell labors-

You have slain a Lvl 4 Crayfish Mucker! 

You have slain a Lvl 4 Crayfish Mucker! 

You have slain a Lvl 4 Crayfish Mucker! 

I stood victorious over the broken bodies of seven crayfish, a malevolent supervillain. I thought about striking a pose but then became embarrassed. What the hell was I doing? Oh no, is it possible that Green and Indigo’s weirdness has begun to rub off on me…? 

Well, it’s the bullies’ fault… if so many invaders didn’t constantly encroach upon my farming pursuits, I wouldn’t be forced to these lengths…