I found Shyara near the cave entrance… twerking?
What the fuck was this world coming to.
"Yo, you really are picking up some degenerate habits. Have a bit of class, Princess."
She turned to me, grinning. "Like the pot calling the kettle black. I learned this from you."
"Why it gotta be black though? And I didn't teach you shit—don't put that hood-rat behavior on me."
"Your memories, my guy."
"Yeah, but it's not like I curated that shit for you."
"Mmm, true. Still, I prefer this over the other nonsense in your head."
"A world of wonders, I'm sure."
"Sure, sure." She waved off my sarcasm.
Honestly? It was kind of a breath of fresh air, talking to her like this. I'd spent so long code-switching back home that I forgot what it was like to have a real conversation with someone who just… vibed. She was green, yeah, but close enough. People of color gotta stick together, right? Or does that not count when one of us is technically a goblin?
Wait—am I the only Black person in this whole world?
Am I low-key Aang!?
Focus.
"Anyway," I said, getting back on task. "You and I need to get out there and put in some work."
"Yeah, I'm aware."
"…How are you—oh. Right."
"Yeah, I'm literally in your head. How do you keep forgetting that? Are you slow?"
"The short answer: yes. The alternative: fuck you."
"I'm game."
"Of course you are. I mean, look at me."
"You're i'ight."
"Yeah, whatever. As fun as this banter is, the grind awaits. Let's walk and talk."
We headed out into the daylight. The sun was high, and the air was still. No monsters came near the cave anymore—not with Nyla's scent blanketing the area like a natural alarm system. We'd have to travel deeper into the wilds. I wasn't at full strength, but my arms were back—fully regrown and mostly functional. Still felt weird operating them, but I couldn't keep waiting on ideal conditions.
Yuki and Nyla were leveling faster than me, and I hated trailing behind. Leaders lead from the front. I wasn't about to hide behind girls—monster or not—when I had skills of my own begging to be used.
"So here's the plan—"
"No need," Shyara cut in. "I get the gist. Power leveling. I was there when you had the idea too, remember?"
"I don't care for your tone, but yeah, it's convenient not having to relay everything. Still, humor me—what am I thinking?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes before reciting it back to me like a teacher calling on the one dumb kid in class. Which, rude.
Brat really could access anything I'd ever thought—even the old, half-formed junk buried in the back of my brain. Low-key? She might be the biggest threat on my team.
Did I fuck up by not killing her when I had the chance?
Nah… probably.
"Basically," she said, "you want me to evolve, and you need to level up enough to close the gap with Nyla and Yuki."
"Accurate."
"There's a problem, though."
"You gonna explain or just aura-farm next to me all smug?"
"Oh, you noticed?"
"…"
She cleared her throat, suddenly more serious.
"Those two have reached super rare status. It's unlikely you'll catch up."
I raised a brow. "I believe you. But elaborate."
"It's simple. Monsters have rarity tiers. Common, Uncommon, Rare, Super Rare, Ultra Rare, and Mythic. Each tier acts like a stat multiplier."
I nodded. "Go on."
"Commons? What you see is what you get—no bonus. Uncommon has a 1.25x boost. Rare is 1.75x. Super Rare is 2.5x. Ultra and Mythic? Unknown. No one's ever verified them, so my system can't pull exact numbers."
"Great. More hidden bullshit."
"It's not all bad. If no one's reached them, maybe they don't exist yet."
"That's just wishful thinking."
"For sure. But I didn't want you to get depressed."
"Press deez nuts to yo mouth."
"Rude."
We kept walking. It had been about ten minutes since we left camp, and the scent of Nyla's territory was finally fading. Time to get serious.
We stopped to take a quick break, and I opened Shyara's evolution tab to see what options were available.
Time to game-plan.
⸻
We moved through the forest in search of reasonable prey. I was feeling deflated after checking Shyara's status.
Perfectly useless. She'd gained a few levels, sure, but her stats were still mid—at least on paper. She was supposed to be a super rare, so the numbers should be doubled. Eh, whatever.
More importantly, her evolution page was a mess. For some reason, I couldn't view any of the requirements. She was my tame, but I had no agency over her path. She didn't seem concerned, though. By her logic, since she could read my thoughts, she could simply evolve into what I wanted using that knowledge.
I didn't trust it. We shared some memories, but it's not like we thought the same. She'd do what I wanted… but with a twist.
She was still singing happily when we finally came across some monsters.
A group of four orcs. A quick scan told me they were common monsters. Mid-tier stats. I could take them, especially with Shyara as my healer. Should be a good warm-up.
"Alright, Shy, I'm going to take these dudes."
"Pause."
Little twerp. "Just watch my back."
I took up my stance. My hands were a little shaky—still not quite right. But when would they ever be?
The orcs were massive, mounds of muscle with crude weapons and no armor. 1v4 wasn't the best odds, but this world didn't play fair. I needed to adjust to that.
I took a deep breath. Then exhaled sharply.
"Aye pigs! You've been chosen to be my XP! My condolences!" I shouted. Doubt they understood me, but it sure got their attention.
The first orc charged, a stone sword in hand. It swung down at me with enough force to split rock, but its moves were slow. Predictable. I stepped to the side and delivered two quick hooks to its ribs. Couldn't tell if the hits were solid—my still-healing hands dulled the feedback.
The orc staggered. I followed with a kick to its stomach, forcing it to double over.
Two more tried to pincer me. I jumped over the one from the right, letting them crash into each other. They fell hard.
The fourth was heading straight for Shyara. I tried to cut it off—no luck. The others regrouped, blocking my way.
"Tsk. Fucking walking bacon strips." I growled.
The fourth orc lunged for Shyara, but she didn't run. She didn't even flinch. Instead, she took up a boxing stance—my boxing stance.
It swung, trying to grab her. She ducked under its arms and unleashed a barrage of left and right hooks to its core. It doubled over, grabbing its sides with a grimace.
Then—CRACK. She kicked its knee with a vicious snap. The orc collapsed, howling.
And then it happened. Shyara gathered mana in her right foot and delivered a rapid flurry of kicks—each one shattering bone.
"What the—" All sound in the world seemed to stop. Even the other three orcs didn't dare move.
That move. I'd recognize it anywhere.
Shyara had just mimicked Chun-Li.
She flipped her hair and flashed me a shit-eating grin.
"I'm in your head," she sang.
"Oh. This changes everything," I said, smirking as I re-engaged the fight.
Shyara charged the same target. I threw a series of jabs at its face. It blocked them—just like I wanted. I knew what came next if it blocked… but I wasn't the one to execute it.
In a manga I'd read, the main character used a kick to drop an opponent's guard after a block. I'd been thinking of trying it. And then—Shyara did it.
The moment her kick landed, I saw her next move in my mind. My body moved on its own. Mana surged into my legs, and I launched a roundhouse kick to the orc's temple.
Its eyes rolled back. Blood spilled from its nose and mouth. It hit the ground hard and convulsed… then stopped.
We'd killed it.
The system flashed:
⸻
Mental-Link (Shyara): 30%
User is sharing memory with tame Shyara. Allows Shyara to access memories of user. In exchange, user also learns techniques from Shyara. Higher link rate increases thought-sharing speed.
⸻
"…It doesn't seem like an even trade-off, but still—dope."
"That was awesome," Shyara said with a laugh. "I just kinda got a feeling that you wanted to use that attack pattern, and before I knew it, I was the one using it!"
"Yeah, I felt that too," I replied, looking at the lifeless orc.
"Look out!"
Too late. The next orc's massive fist slammed into the side of my face, twisting my neck.
I withstood it.
"I eat those," I spat, delivering an uppercut to its chin from an impossible angle—a Smash. Something I'd picked up from Sendo.
The orc dropped face-first, unmoving. Blood trickled from its ears. I'd put mana into the punch, but maybe that was overkill.
I turned in time to watch Shyara finish the last orc with the same flurry of kicks she'd used earlier.
The battle had gone extremely well.
Shyara was far more capable than I'd realized. I'd planned to use her as a healer, but she'd just proven herself a weapon—my weapon.
And if I understood the skill right, what she learned, I learned. And vice versa. Which meant… I was essentially leveling two characters at once.
I smiled.
"Bet. Let's shake shit up."
Our celebration didn't last.
A thunderous roar ripped through the forest.
"Eyes up, Shy. We're about to be in the shit."
She nodded, taking her stance beside me.
"Let's just think of it like practice," I said.
"When you move, I move."
"Just like that," I shot back. We chuckled. The system pinged—mental link +2%. We were syncing up.
Another orc burst from the treeline—lean, athletic, skin a violent shade of red. Muscles coiled tight, and there was intelligence in its eyes.
I scanned it.
⸻
Blaze Orc – Variant
Born from the mutation of ingesting flame crystals—usually fatal. In rare cases, the body adapts. Strength of a brute. Intellect of a tactician. Fiercely protective of its pack.
If you face one in a rage—prepare for death. Yours or theirs.
Rank: Super Rare
Grade: B
Level: 3
HP: 2000
STR: 277
DEF: 200
AGI: 89
INT: 75
MP: 300
⸻
Fuck.
Strong, fast, smart—but low level. No scars, no old wounds. This body was new.
"What else is new?" Shyara and I said together. Ping—link strengthened.
"Guess we're having pork for a while."
"Nyla will love that!" she chirped.
The orc roared and closed the distance. No weapons—didn't need any.
It threw a flaming punch at my face. I kicked off the ground, dodging back. Shyara went low, aiming for its knee—but recoiled in pain. The thud sounded like flesh hitting concrete.
This thing was built like a brick shithouse. She'd hurt herself more than it.
It tried to capitalize, but I intercepted—shoulder-checking it in the chest. Its skin burned hot, forcing me to wrap myself in mana for protection and strength.
I planted my feet and launched my favorite combo: 3 to the head, 3 to the body, 4 to the body, 5 to the head, 6—body—1-2, 1-2.
The first punch numbed my hand. The second sent pain up my arm. By the fourth, my hand was screaming.
"Shit!"
I wound up again, but Shyara leapt in and snapped a kick to its nose, sending it stumbling.
"Don't go breaking yourself again! This battle isn't worth it. You need to start thinking ahead! I know that's not your style, but you have to. This world will destroy you otherwise. So get your head out of your ass and start thinking!"
She was right. Again.
"Shut up, brat. I get it. My hands are a no-go for now—you run point."
I used Low Heal on my arms. Pain dulled, but throwing punches was off the table. Time to improvise.
Shyara dashed forward. The orc charged to meet her. She backflipped, heel clipping its chin. It threw a wide hook that missed, but the wind behind it still knocked her back.
Then it pressed the attack—two left hooks, then a right.
It was using my combo.
This thing was learning.
Retreat was an option—but would it let us run? Doubtful.
We needed Nyla. But she was pregnant. Not happening.
The whole point of this was to stand in front of her, not behind her.
I gathered mana in my index finger. If Shyara could copy a video game move, so could I.
She parried a strike and kicked it in the gut, knocking it back.
"Mana Gun!" I shouted, firing.
She ducked. The shot drilled into its chest and exploded.
I collapsed—MP at 10%. My vision blurred, chest burning. Mana depletion was worse than I imagined—like drowning in fire and static.
A hand pressed to my back. Warmth spread.
"You're not dying, you jackass. Just mana deprived," Shyara said.
"Where's the orc?"
"Dead. You BBQ'd the thing."
I saw the smoldering crater. "Damn I'm cool."
"Yeah. You look super cool drooling on yourself like an infant."
"At least I'm not built like one."
"You know I could leave you here, right?"
"Jesus take the wheel."
We survived again. But not forever—not like this.
"Hey…"
"Hm?"
"We need troops. A leader leads from the front, but fighting every battle myself is idiotic. We need pawns. Disposable ones."
"Agreed. I was thinking the same. Will any monster do?"
"Nah. We need troops the enemy can't just treat like fodder."
"That orc was an anomaly. There are no monsters like that in this part of the Wildreach. Do we go deeper?"
"No. We take what we can find and make something new. Monster Mage is begging to be used. I'd been resistant before, but ever since that night with Nyla… the call is irresistible."
"I see. So we create the troops we need to suit our needs?"
"And here I thought you were in my head?"
"I am, but seeing the thought isn't always enough to give it meaning. You're unorthodox."
"Pot, kettle."
"Shut up." She shoved me playfully. "When do we start?"
"When the world stops spinning."
For the first time in a while, I had a clear goal.
Slow is smooth.
And smooth… is fast.