Fudge’s mana poured into me, crossing the threshold born from the bond between us. It was a journey, a distance, one that would require energy to cross. For Fudge and I, that distance was immaterial, such was the deviant nature of our connection. The journey was not a journey at all, not really. It was a single step.

  There was no moderation. Mana had been requested and mana had been emphatically provided. I should have been able to stifle the flow. I could have. I just didn’t. The thought did not occur to me. Or, maybe it did and was simply swept away.

  There was a physicality to Fudge’s mana, viscous where my own was ephemeral. Some involuntary impulse, a reaction that went beyond thought, tried to reject its presence - was desperate to reject it, violently so. Muscles spasmed. Knees buckled. Somehow I remained upright through it all.

  Like the flailing of a drowning man, some survival instinct kicked in. I felt Taming [Fudge] pulse, releasing a fresh wave of mana in response to my body’s reaction. It joined the influx coming from Fudge. As the two sources of power intertwined I felt the primal panic, the dread and wrongness subside. Had I the capacity for considered thought at that moment, I might have revisited my desire for the Mana Sense Skill, for while I knew that something had occurred to cause the mana to behave the way it did, the details were beyond my perception.

  It was from Fudge's version of the Dog Skill - his Core Skill, his most powerful Skill - that I drew the mana. To force Recovery through its bottleneck, I would not allow myself any half measures.

  Make me faster. Make me stronger. Share with me all that makes you exceptional. I had called the Skill with a purpose, one that it was finally free to fulfil. As I felt the effects of the Skill settle into me it was like my blood turned into blissful fire.

  A loud gasp escaped my lips. My eyes snapped open.

  Words fail to grasp the true extent of the experience, of the sheer unburdened freedom I felt in that moment as I was greeted by a world that was suddenly so much more. Mana had a strange way of compensating for the limits of biology, and never before had I felt the implications of that reality so starkly. The darkness did not impede me. The scope of my peripheral vision expanded, easily surpassing two-hundred degrees. Fudge’s Skill had bestowed upon me all the benefits of a dog’s vision without dulling my usual capabilities.

  It was just the beginning. The world exploded with sensory information, my improved vision barely contributing to the cognitive bombardment. There was a ringing in my ears as they adjusted to every new scrape, rumble, and gust; countless small sounds and frequencies now known to me had me tilting my head in their direction as they vied for my attention.

  Yet, even they were insignificant compared to the world of scents, of olfactory stimulation that erupted around me. They should have overwhelmed me, should have left me clawing at my nostrils so that I might find relief. Instead, they ignited a furious curiosity that demanded to be sated. The odors did not simply exist, they had substance. Signifiers. Direction. The experience thoroughly transcended my understanding of the human experience; even standing on the shoulders of my original world’s giants, I was in uncharted territory. Yet it did not matter.

  Every concern I had, every worry, suddenly felt so very small. I breathed deeply, the world coming alive in ways it never had before. It was electric. Idly, I noted Cruz wasn’t where he’d been when I first closed my eyes.

  His scent remained, though. Musk and silks and so much more; vocabulary did not exist that could describe the depths and layers of the olfactory nuances that identified someone as themselves; humans had never needed those words before. His scent lingered. It followed him. It hugged the path we took when we first arrived, revealing the past. It also showed me where he had gone, unveiling the present.

  Nearby. Watching. Waiting.

  It did not bother me. There was nothing to be bothered about. There were smells, though. So many odors and scents. Impulse seized me. I gave myself over to it. There was no reason not to. A sniff. A target. I moved. Mana surged into my legs. The distance disappeared. Every step was effortless.

  A hole in a wall. There was a rodent in there, and I was unsure how I knew that with such certainty. I simply did. I stuck my nose right to the interesting smell. Another grabbed my attention and so my target had changed.

  Delighted feelings, playful feelings, came from Fudge. I saw the world as he did. I experienced it as he did. He joined me as I explored, sniffing every interesting sniff I did.

  This is different. A small part of my mind managed to note. Unlike Tina, I was not bubbling with barely restrained aggression. The thought was destined to be discarded, like all those before itt, lost beneath the sheer intoxication I felt. Except, it wasn’t.

  Perseverance stirred in response to my interrupted musings. It granted me a moment of cold lucidity, just enough to grab a mental foothold. Seizing the opportunity, I drew deeply from Perseverance before the Beast High reclaimed its grasp on me. With a thought, I conjured the expanded System information for my Core Skill.

  You see that shit? I asked Perseverance. You are made for this. I am made for this. The Beast High makes it hard to think straight? It will influence my behaviour? Good. Fine. Let it try. I will think straight anyway. The words bordered on unhinged, but I threw as much conviction as I could muster into them, layering them into my Skill, molding its intent.

  The mana from Perseverance pushed its way through my mana channels, causing an uncomfortable sensation, like an internal itch that could not be scratched. It was as if Fudge’s mana had clogged the pathway, but I could not be certain.

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  The mana finally reached my mind. I flexed it. I shaped it. I wrapped the mana around my sense of self to shelter it from the involuntary influence of Fudge’s Skill.

  Lucidity returned to me in full.

  Almost in full, I corrected myself. I was still aware of the impulses, the feelings of bliss and freedom waiting for me if I'd only surrender to them. That was by design. Perseverance had served its purpose, but it also put me on a clock; my mana was finite, and if I wanted to have enough to push Recovery to its limits I’d need to hurry.

  I was in a space between two buildings, having wandered down to investigate a-

  Oh, that doesn’t feel quite right. As I tried to regain my bearings the sensory input I’d been instinctively adapting to suddenly left me wobbly and disoriented. I reached an arm out to prop myself against a wall and tried to keep down the dinner that suddenly wanted to rush up as the smell of several dozen chamber pots in nearby houses rushed at me with superhuman clarity.

  “Keep it together, Will,” I told myself through gritted teeth. “You just have to blrf-”

  Nope. No talking. Mouth closed now. I breathed deeply and drew deeper from my reserves to reinforce the effects of Perseverance on my mind. I expanded its purpose, I refined the intent. I need to focus. I cannot be distracted by sensory overload. I slunk down to the ground and wrapped a hand over my nose as I pinched the nostrils shut.

  Precious moments and more mana than I cared to lose were lost to the effort, but so long as I sat still and kept my eyes closed I could function. Mostly.

  Going to have to work on that, but that is a problem for much, much later. Without any more time to waste, I seized the mana shepherding Fudge’s Skill into my core space and ended the process, cutting off the stream Fudge had continued to funnel into me.

  In hindsight, I should have done that first, but it is through error that lessons are learned. It was also the only error I was going to allow myself as, finally, I called upon Recovery, sending a wave of the rejuvenating mana flooding through my body. Without knowing exactly what effect Fudge’s mana was having on me, the quality of my intent would be limited. To that end, I focused on what I knew.

  The presence of Fudge’s mana felt ill suited to my body, even with Taming bridging the gap. It was cloying. Clotting.

  Tina remained on edge hours after her confrontation with the fueha; either venting the excess mana ranged from difficult to impossible, or there was some other factor at play, some kind of… residue that took time to disperse on its own.

  It’s not much, but it’ll have to be enough. Come on, Recovery. You’ve got this.

  The two sources of mana clashed, the pressure from Recovery causing me a spike of pain as it was pushed back on itself, its momentum insufficient to blow through the strange clogginess I felt. It was not an immediate success, but I felt something happening. Having decided that Fudge’s mana was no longer welcome, Recovery was gradually eroding its presence, but the process was slow. Clumsy.

  It was not enough to Advance the Skill.

  I need something more. When I first gained Recovery, I’d drawn heavily from my rudimentary understanding of biology, of cell theory and the mitochondria. Those were the insights, insights gleaned from a high school textbook a world away, that informed the Skill. What if I reinforce that? Double down?

  It was as good an idea as any.

  Listen up Recovery. My body is incredible. It already has structures and tools to deal with foreign presences, with that which we deem unwelcome. I was on the right track. Mana started pouring out of my core in response to the budding intent. I felt the first stabs of discomfort that let me know I was dipping below safe mana reserves, but I forced myself onwards anyway. Recovery, YOU have access to all of that information. Every white blood cell, every antibody - it is coded into my very being, just as much a part of me as you are. Use it. The residue and remnants of Fudge’s mana oppose you. What are you going to do about it?!

  The discomfort turned into a fresh wave of pain as Perseverance pulsed, the current synergy between the two Skills enough to push Recovery beyond an invisible threshold. The effects were immediate.

  There was no more strain. No more risk of draining the last of my mana. Even though I’d already experienced it twice before, the mysterious surge of power and competent confidence that accompanied a breakthrough remained incredible as it was mystifying; a trick of the System, one beyond my comprehension. The mass of Recovery mana I’d gathered exploded into motion, dispersing into motes that carried the furious persistence of an immune system.

  Like an avalanche over an unsuspecting mountain, Recovery was unstoppable. The motes moved with purpose, surrounding equally small sections of Fudge’s mana and destroying it piece by piece. There were moments the motes lingered in my channels, in the areas that felt the most discomfort, before moving on. The bestial mana was doing something more than just taking up space, I just couldn’t tell what. For now, thankfully, it didn’t seem to matter.

  All was well. Before long, my mana was my own again and the rush of Advancement subsided. It left a throbbing headache behind, one I would have to bear with while my mana reserves recuperated.

  Worth it.

  I opened my eyes. A familiar, less colourful world was waiting for me. I was myself. Even though I knew cleansing myself of foreign mana would not be as easy the next time I attempted the feat, the experience of Advancing Recovery gave me something to reach for. A slight tug at the back of my mind let me know there was a System notification waiting for me, but that could wait until I got back to the fort.

  Time and a place. That, and I was two-for-two in getting conked out by a Skill Advancement. It shouldn’t have happened when I Advanced Taming, but still; I’d grown gun shy and beds were more comfortable than alleyways.

  Fudge was nearby. He pressed his nose against my face when he saw I was okay and wagged his tail while I pulled myself to my feet.

  “Good work, boy,” I whispered, reaching out to give Fudge a pat on the head. “We just got one step closer.”

  Once I’d been able to get a grasp on the canine impulses with Perseverance, any real risk posed by the Beast High in the short term had been largely nullified. The stakes Cruz prepared for me had been lost. I had stakes of my own, though, stakes I only realized with crystal clarity when I was faced with the possibility of failure.

  Every time I experience a major setback, every time I stall in my Advancement, I risk losing her for good. As it turned out, those stakes were more than enough for me. Success had been my only option.

  It took me a few steps to regain my stride, but once I did I was quick to step back out onto the streets. Cruz was there waiting for me and I gave him a small wave, too tired for petty barbs.

  “You did not fuck up,” he said flatly. “Good.”

  I reached up to rub one of my temples.

  “You have a way with words,” I replied, matching his tone. “Thank you, though.”

  Cruz gave me a slight nod.

  “Time to head back. Keep up.” That was the end of it. He spun and started following the streets back towards the Slayer fort. The message was clear; if I wanted more of a debrief, it would have to wait a month.

  That was fine. I had more than enough to fill my time in the interim. I craned my neck slightly and looked towards the night sky and the infinity that stretched beyond it. For the first time in a long time, the sight wasn’t a depressing one.

  One step closer...

  I wonder what would happen if someone took in too much Beast mana at once...

  You can read up to 10 Chapters Ahead over on my . Today's chapter features the passage of time and an odd performance.

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