Since the sun was already halfway into the sky, Dominic decided to take a nap as soon as possible. He didn’t feel comfortable doing it too close to the forest given the inhabitants he’d already encountered, but he found a nice stand of shady trees. Not a species either he or Leo recognised, but given how many different places seemed to have been smashed together, that didn’t seem like too much of a surprise.
Resting underneath it, he catnapped the heat of the day away, coming bac...
2023-12-04 20:55:00 +0000 UTC
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Hell! Dominic spat mentally as he counted nine more wolves surrounding him. Worse, they were actually bigger than the one he had been facing. Perhaps a level or two above the one he’d been fighting. If any of them had broken through into Tier 2, Dominic was in trouble. Heck, he was in trouble even if they hadn’t – he’d been having difficulty with one; how was he supposed to win against ten.
‘We should run,’ Leo told him firmly. Do...
2023-12-04 20:47:56 +0000 UTC
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‘I agree with your thoughts about improving our sense of smell, Leo replied after a moment. It could certainly help us to find some females, he added. Perhaps we should consider enhancing our vocal cords. A more fearsome roar could help us as it highlights our power. Other males might run away instead of facing us if our roar is strong enough.’
Sure, Dominic equivocated, wondering how he could argue against this choice. Then he thought about some...
2023-12-04 20:35:49 +0000 UTC
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Decision made, Dominic jogged away from the bunch of kesh. He had some strange sense of a direction which he ought to go in. At first he’d just thought that it was because he was heading uphill, but as time had gone on, he’d realised that it wasn’t just that. There was a…pull. An attraction.
He still paid attention to the kesh, of course. He didn’t want a rock on his head, even if it would only remove a few health points thanks to his improved defences of fur, skin, and harden...
2023-12-04 20:34:02 +0000 UTC
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A quick glance around showed that most of the kesh had already thrown their projectiles at Dominic, though there were a few which still had one. Those, Dominic avoided but kept an eye on, preparing to dodge. The ones which had already launched the rocks and nuts were turning away, clearly preparing to go and get more.
Dominic could see their strategy: pin him down with a few rocks here and there, then drown him in them again when the majority returned with their ammo replenished. Unfort...
2023-12-03 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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[Beast Core: Warthog level 6
Ability option 1: Charge (80% chance))
Ability option 2: Boundless Fertility (20% chance)]
Those percentages add up to 100, Dominic noted immediately. That’s different from how the Guardian Core in the dungeon worked. Is that because the dungeon one was a reward that anyone could get, whereas I only get these ability options because I can absorb abilities?
Then again, th...
2023-12-02 19:00:04 +0000 UTC
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For Chimera Rising, current tiers are +5 chapters for $5.50 and +10 chapters for $8 (new +15 chapter tier coming soon).
For Taming Destiny, current tiers are +10 chapters for $5.50, +15 chapters for $8, and +25 chapters for 12$. New side stories coming out soon.
2023-12-01 19:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Dominic braced himself, expecting for that download of information to hijack his mind again now that he’d thought the trigger word. A few moments later, he risked opening his eyes again from where he’d unintentionally closed them as he prepared himself.
It’s…not starting? Place of Power? he tested, wanting to make sure. Dungeons? Dungeon controlling a Place of Power? Nothing.
Perhaps only a small amount of information was given to us, Leo suggest...
2023-12-01 19:00:04 +0000 UTC
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[Congratulations! You have earned enough PP to level up. You can choose 2 aspects of yourself to enhance via Evolution. See options?]
To his delight, it appeared that being able to choose two options last time hadn’t just been a fluke or reward specific to level 11 after all. Not needing to see the full list, he quickly thought about the two aspects he wanted to enhance.
Mane: darken. Strike, power.
When the message came up to question if h...
2023-11-30 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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There was a moment of stillness as the two sides sized each other up. Their battle so far had landed mostly on Dominic’s side, with five hyenas dead and eight left, but they only needed to kill one of him to win a decisive victory. And if they managed to pin him like they had earlier, it might easily be game-over for him.
The five beasts he’d killed had been mostly the smaller and weaker ones – those which didn’t have the health pools to cope with him ripping out their throats o...
2023-11-29 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Crouching, he leapt into the air, landing behind the line of hyenas which surrounded him.
The hyenas were taken by surprise when an oversized lion flew over their heads, but they quickly skedaddled away once he’d landed. Still, Dominic was able to use their initial surprise to his advantage.
Bite. A hyena cried out loudly as his teeth crushed its back leg as it turned to flee.
Swipe. Another hyena yelped as it caught five claws to the face as it turned to defend its clanma...
2023-11-28 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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This whole thing is getting pretty weighty, Dominic thought to himself as he skimmed his status sheet, actually having to mentally scroll down to get to the bottom of it. He still remembered when it was only a few small sections, and fitted within the limits of his view. Perhaps I can adjust it in some way just to show the most recent changes? he wondered. Or at least minimise all the details. Maybe for next time.
Status of Dominic...
2023-11-26 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Health situation visibly improved, Dominic decided to find the various Beast Cores scattered around the place before checking out his status screen. Wandering around, he hunted down the multi-coloured balls of almost-crystal. The scrin’s was the first one he went for, obvious in the area of flattened grasses by its larger size.
Information, he asked the System.
[Beast Core: Scrin level 7
Ability option 1: Ground Pound (80% chance))
2023-11-25 19:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The hyrilla clearly understood the challenge in his vocalisation and planted its curled paws on the ground, roaring back at him.
Once more, Dominic felt a bone-chilling sense of fear go through him. At this close distance it even served to make him freeze for a fraction of a second too long.
Powerful, clenched fists rose in the air and then slammed back to pound the ground. The force of the blow sent an unexpected shockwave towards Dominic. He found himself knocked back and off-ba...
2023-11-24 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Just before Dominic had slipped into hiding in the thorn bush, he’d taken a few moments to hook the Beast Core out of the zebra’s brain with a claw. Fortunately it was near the spinal cord, so he hadn’t had to go digging too far in the striped equine’s skull. Now he crunched it down and looked at the message that flashed up.
[You have obtained a Beast Core: Plains Zebra Level 2
Ability: Powerful Kick]
Powerful Kick, Dominic ...
2023-11-23 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Ahead of Dominic were a small herd of bad-tempered, striped horses: the instantly recognisable African residents known as zebras. While he didn’t know exactly what level this group of herbivores were now, he wouldn’t take them lightly even if they’d only gained a couple of levels: pre-System, a zebra could seriously injure a lion. He suspected that the System would have only made them more dangerous.
The lead male may defend his herd, Leo warned Dominic. The former-human ...
2023-11-22 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Where did all this come from? Dominic wondered, unintentionally projecting it to Leo.
I…. Leo hesitated. There was that moment with the creature of the stone cave. The…dungeon, I believe you call it. Something happened then. Perhaps this is linked. Dominic would have frowned were his face capable of such a movement.
What are you referring to? he asked, confused.
When you bit the creature, something entered us. Do you not recall?
2023-11-21 19:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Dominic waited impatiently for Leo to finish his meal. It was an unspoken agreement that they would swap over once he was done and Dominic wanted to find out what the warthog’s core contained in terms of ability, eager to discover if his theory about Charge was correct.
Since the warthog had only been level 2, worth a measly eleven Prey Points, he highly doubted that Overdrive was in the offing, even if his theory was proven to be true. It was interesting to realise that Leo ...
2023-11-19 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Following the trail wasn’t as easy as Dominic had hoped - he wasn’t a blood-hound after all. Still, despite a few missteps, he found his prey.
The little family were rooting around in the ground, making grunting noises every so often. Two parents with their little brood of five youngsters. Slightly bigger than the ones he had encountered before entering the dungeon, these warthogs weren’t anywhere near the size of the guardian.
Let’s hope that this will be more of a ...
2023-11-18 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Of course, before he set off, there was just one more thing he wanted to do. He couldn’t test Second Wind properly yet - not only did he not want to use his hail mary for no reason, but he actually couldn’t activate it until his HP or SP were below 50%. However, that wasn’t the only new ability he now had which needed testing.
While he was reluctant to use mana when he had no idea how long it would take for him to regenerate it - if the -80% penalty was any judge, too long - he di...
2023-11-17 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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As he passed through the tunnel in which he’d once fought a pack of hyenas, Dominic became utterly convinced that he’d grown - and not only a little, either. His head was much closer to the ceiling of the tunnel than it had been, and his body was nearer the walls of it too.
Excellent, Leo purred as Dominic made the observation. We will easily overcome the protector of a pride like this.
Unless they’ve also grown, Dominic pointed out. The trodil...
2023-11-16 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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So, that happened, Dominic started inanely. Leo had finally pushed himself upright only a few minutes ago and was currently grooming himself. Dominic felt both tempted to join him - because heaven knew he needed a bit of comfort after what had just happened - and awkward about doing so in front of an audience. Even if the audience was the reason for him doing it in the first place. Are we going to continue, you know, fighting?
Perhaps it was a provocative question to a...
2023-11-15 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Dominic didn’t have enough time to feel more than a sense of foreboding before pain was suddenly ripping through him. It felt like fingers were digging into his chest, clawed fingers. The pain was excruciating, almost as bad as using the magic scroll had been.
“Just agree to be my guardian, and all this pain will be but a memory,” came the voice of the dungeon master, an uncomfortable amount of pleasure in its tone.
Forcing himself to move, even though that felt lik...
2023-11-14 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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In a blink, the dungeon around Dominic disappeared. Instead, he was in a blank white space which seemed to have no end. In front of him, a few paces away, crouched a lion.
Leo, Dominic realised. And he didn’t look friendly. Having inhabited a lion’s body for a few days now, Dominic knew exactly what that position meant. Though, to be fair, he’d probably have recognised it anyway. Lips pulled back over teeth. Ears back. Muscles coiled. Leo was ready to pounce and rip into ...
2023-11-12 19:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Touching the Beast Core with one paw, Dominic mentally sent a request to absorb Second Wind.
[You have selected ability: Second Wind. You have a 50% chance of absorbing this ability successfully. Would you like to continue or return to the list of possible abilities?]
Dominic licked at his lips nervously, the rasp of his tongue unexpectedly reaching all the way to his nose. He didn’t let the surprise sensation distract him, though. Continue, he thought ...
2023-11-11 19:00:01 +0000 UTC
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It’ll take some time to get used to this, Dominic decided after some experimentation with his new piece of equipment. It was heavy on his tail, the strain of the unaccustomed weight quickly making itself known. Clearly, this wasn’t actually something he was going to be able to use in battle until he’d conditioned those muscles a little more.
A shame that ‘tail lifts’ aren’t part of your average gym’s offering, he thought wryly. Maybe I should introduc...
2023-11-10 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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While continuing to consider the choice in the back of his mind, Dominic turned to the other three items in the box. One was a bag. Not an extra-dimensional one, unfortunately, as was obvious by the fact that it was showing the shape of the items stored inside.
A bit of judicious prodding served to force the drawstring neck of the leather pouch open, revealing the contents. Gold, as it turned out. Gold coins. Dominic felt surprise run through him as he pawed through the round disks. The...
2023-11-09 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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There was no foreboding rumble, and the statue didn't spring to life. Dominic decided to be grateful for small mercies. Though, nothing actually happened at all. Wondering whether it was a dud, or whether he’d simply missed something, Dominic hesitated for a long moment, frozen in his position.
When the message flashed up in front of his eyes, he felt his chest relax - he hadn’t realised it had become so tight.
[Congratulations! You have completed the G-Grade ...
2023-11-08 19:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Dominic didn’t know what had just happened. One moment he had been holding onto the warthog’s head with front paws and teeth, his back paws gouging out its throat. The next, he was flying through the air.
Colliding painfully with the wall - again - he dropped a good couple of metres to the ground, landing badly. More than half of his remaining health was wiped out in an instant, leaving just a bare sliver remaining.
He’d have been alarmed if the sense hadn’t just been comp...
2023-11-07 19:00:03 +0000 UTC
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A twisted game of cat and mouse ensued where the cat was the mouse. In the few moments of thought he got, Dominic couldn’t help a sense of amusement from going through him at how similar his strategy was to the one Jerry used to play on Tom.
Fortunately for the lion, for all the enhancements the warthog had gained to its physical size and speed, its intelligence was, if anything, lower than a normal warthog. Like Tom, the warthog eagerly charged after him no matter h...
2023-11-05 19:00:02 +0000 UTC
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