"You're not joking, are you?" My question might have come out wrong, but I had to be sure.

Thankfully, Becca seemed to understand. "No, Korra. In my eyes, you're a [Deviant] now."

'No fucking way!' I wanted so badly for it to be true, yet I didn't dare to cheer for fear that it was just my damaged brain's fantasy. And so, with bated breath and hope, I looked to Palemoon for confirmation.

"It is so, Grey. When we started the fight, you were a [Slave] to me. That changed as it went on. Now when I look at you, I see a [Deviant], whatever that means..." Again, her voice held a note of curiosity, a desire to find out more about me. And honestly, I didn't hold that against her this time, actually willing to tell her more. Not right away, though.

Before that, there was something I simply had to do, no way around it, no stopping myself as the long weeks and months of pent-up yearning to rid me of the label of slave had bubbled to the surface. 

"Fuck yessss....." I screamed at the top of my lungs in pure, unbridled joy, letting the whole world know Korra'leigh Grey was no longer a fucking slave. That brand, weighing on me since I'd unwillingly landed on Eleaden, was gone, no longer flaunting to others what I never wanted to be. Never again!

Despite the pain-dulling potion I drank, my little cry of joy made me hurt like hell. It happens when you strain burned skin. I couldn't give a shit, though. The thought of me being stripped of the slave stigma was incredibly liberating, much more than I thought it would be. After all, I hadn't been a slave for a while, enjoying my newfound freedom for over a month now. Yet the joy filling me was almost suffocating.

"I guess it was something you needed to get off your chest," Becca said, rubbing her hurt ears. "Feeling better?"

My face stretched in a broad grin. "You have no idea how much better."

"The whole barracks knows," Palemoon remarked, but there was no reproach in her voice, if anything, then understanding.

"I want them to know." I wanted everyone to know what I wasn't any longer.

"Figured," she said as that one cry of my joy brought her more understanding of me than all our fighting. "So, a [Deviant]...?"

"Not what you might think..." I said, still with the grin plastered on my face, not ashamed of my mirth. 

Then as Becca - figuring it was her cue to leave - left us alone, saying that we just had to call if we needed anything, I proceeded to tell Palemoon the gist of my class. Actually, there wasn't much to it, just a human pushing the limits of her kind. Or rather, abandoning the limitations of humanity. Of course, Palemoon had a lot of questions. You could see it in her eyes. But to her credit, she reined in her curiosity, waiting to hear what I would tell her myself. 

A wise approach I liked, and one that turned into a trade-off: you tell me about yourself, and I'll tell you something in return.

Palemoon was a warrior, an aura warrior - not the name of her class - meaning her domain was auras and weapons. While she did well in one-on-one combat, she took on a more supportive role in team fights. Basically, she couldn't dish out as much damage as a pure warrior, so she played second fiddle to them while supporting the rest of the team with her auras. And they were pretty versatile, more than I thought, actually. Depending on the situation, she could increase the team's speed, strength, and agility or clear their minds of ailments like fear. The lower stamina consumption, thus prolonging our endurance, sounded great, too. Last but not least, she could heal to some extent or, more accurately, boost the team's natural regeneration.

Combined with my already ridiculously high regeneration and ability to boost it as needed, that brought my healing to heights where even a mana potion and her auras boosting my mana regen weren't enough to replenish my stores in time. We found that out by trying. Pretty fun. Although, the results were, well...disturbing. I could actually see my flesh, my skin slowly repairing itself before my eyes.

Honestly, the possibilities that ridiculous regeneration presented terrified me. Sure, on the one hand, it meant I could absorb more damage with Palemoon by my side. But it also meant a hell of a lot more pain. So, either I had to find the trick Blaine was talking about in the [Indomitable Will] fast or replace the [Eleaden Standard Language] with a skill that would ease my pain.

That wasn't something I wanted to discuss with Palemoon, though. My skills were my thing. She might be my squad leader now, and this infirmary stay might wash away some misunderstandings. However, we still weren't on such good terms and close enough for me to share my skill issues with her. 

Actually, I didn't tell her any more about myself than she already knew. That I was enslaved, forced to take the [Slave] class, experimented on and what she saw was the result. Fate and my determination to live free then brought me to the heart of Esulmor, where I met Idleaf and became her Guardian. That was my story in a nutshell. She could read the rest in my file.

As for her? She was no more forthcoming. Stella Palemoon was the eldest child of Meredith Palemoon, maiden surname Egerton, sister of the present City Lord, which made my squad leader his niece. A fact she wasn't so proud of. That couldn't be said of her grandfather, the late lord Egerton, who she looked up to and was her inspiration. That role, in her eyes, was largely taken over by Rayden. Hence her desire to impress her.

That was it. No heart-wrenching stories from her or me. And for now, I was happy to leave it at that, preferring to enjoy the inner bliss I was still bathing in.

Then when Palemoon got released from the infirmary and I - despite the hard work of my regeneration still not quite okay - stayed there, I finally took the time to check my Status Screen properly. After all, [Never-Dying] wasn't the only skill that leveled up during the fight - nor the only one to get a new tier, for that matter.

 

Name: Korra'leigh Grey

Race: Human/Beast

Gender: Female

Age: 29

Main Class: Deviant of Humanity

Sub Class: Slave

Level: 121 -> 122

 

Constitution: 155 (41) -> 159 (41)

Strength: 88 (30)

Endurance: 44 (29)

Dexterity: 41 (28)

Intelligence: 33 (13) -> 46 (16 -> 17)

Wisdom: 29 (14)

Class Skills (8/8):

Indomitable Will (Passive V): lvl 133 -> 135

Master’s Shield (Active III): lvl 35 -> 37

Behemoth (Active II): lvl 29

Wrought Hide (Passive III): lvl 38 -> 42

Unbending Resilience (Passive III): lvl 31 -> 35

Mantle of Magic (Active II): lvl 15

Ride of Ancestors (Active II): lvl 19 -> 21

Call of Nature (↑Passive III↑): lvl 29 -> 31

 

General Skills (10/10):

Eleaden Standard Language (Passive I): lvl 9

Perfect Equilibrium (Passive III): lvl 43 -> 45

Spatial Domain (Passive III): lvl 47 -> 49

Beast (Passive IV): lvl 61 -> 65

Never-Dying (↑Passive IV↑): lvl 59 -> 64

Tail of Poison Empress (Active II): lvl 27

Heart of Magic (Passive II): lvl 20 -> 24

Striving Mule (Passive III): lvl 30 -> 32

Dancer’s Stride (Passive III): lvl 41 -> 44

None to Squander (Passive II): lvl 21 -> 23

 

So yeah, the same old song. The Constitution was a league ahead of the rest of the stats, except for the Strength, but even that one wasn't up to my main stat. So I threw that one stat point into Intelligence to increase the potential of my mana capacity. The fight with Palemoon convinced me once again that it was where I was lacking the most, as some of my skills and talents were quite mana hungry.

Speaking of hunger, although not really related to the fight, [Behemoth] remained stuck at level 29, a bottleneck. My guess was that all I had to do to break into the next tier was fill my behemoth stomach. After all, I haven't managed to do that in all the time I had the skill. It was easier said than done, though.

So far, I have managed to fill only a little more than half of it. But my need to sit down and spend the day gorging myself on food aside, I was most interested in [Call of Nature] and its new tier.

 

Call of Nature

Passive III (Deviant - 30%)

No matter how it came to be, you're more than a mere human torn from your roots. Connected to your nature stronger than any beast, you can call it to its full potential. Whether it's a human or beast trait, it will be → 39%(30%) → 58%(45%) more prominent, and if you were to use the talents you've been pursuing to acquire, you'd find them 65%(50%) → 91%(70%) more powerful.

Tier II - To embrace our nature, what we are, is nothing to be ashamed of but hard for many to do. You've done more than that and revel in nature of your own. For that, you'll find using your talents 26%(20%) → 39%(30%) easier.

Tier III - One's nature is something not easily hidden, weighing on the mind even if veiled from the eyes of your kind no less than the thoughts of theirs regarding the nature you have chosen to embrace. You have risen above the petty ones of your kind, unmindful of their dark thoughts toward you, unencumbered by the regrets of your own being, and therefore you find the burden on your mind regarding your nature 26%(20%) lighter.

 

This one skill was a bit on the weird side. It didn't give me anything like more Strength or Intelligence directly, and with the new tier, it was no different. Though the scope of the skill was quite broad and vague aimed obviously at my deviant side. That didn't mean I didn't like what it brought to the mix of the mess of my skills.

My talents being 91% stronger and 39% easier to use, was huge. The key was what this skill considered my talents for use, and given its nature, it was all about my deviations. Sage and his poison, my heart, hence my magic, my mane, its growth, and quite possibly even my core - I wasn't sure about that one since I didn't use it…well, much. Even tapping into the knowledge of my ancestors counted among my talents, thus the [Ride of Ancestors]. Oh, and I almost forgot, my gut. One of my deviant talents, apparently, and so the [Call of Nature] made my digestion even easier.

Unfortunately, since the [Beast] and the [Never-Dying] were passive skills at the core and not talents I could use - despite having an active part - the [Call of Nature] didn't affect them. Damn shame! If that were the case, I'd be OP. Alas, it remained only a wet dream.

The physical traits were the other part of the skill. And it was quite a struggle in my body for those. I had eight contenders, one human, seven bestial. Luckily, my human side seemed to have the upper hand, and I kept my human appearance despite the tiers of the [Call of Nature]. If anything, now and then, the fur covering my body very slightly receded. 

But as always, my beast traits didn't completely lose the battle, and the most prominent ones became all the more eye-catching. My mane seemed to thicken even more and spread a little further down my neck all the way between my shoulder blades. The span of my wings grew to 3.7 meters, while Sage didn't stay behind, and was now a whopping 1.9 meters long. His fluffiness was divine.

I'd love for this to be the end of all the changes. Yet, to my dismay, my ears saw it differently and, unlike the antlers, grew slightly in size. Actually, that was true of my boobs, too, as this feminine trait did not let bestial colleagues shame it. Needless to say, I was still on the smaller side in that regard.

All those changes were where the new tier fit in, though. 

At first, I wondered if it had anything to do with my beast instincts trying to drive me. It would be a little late if that were the case. After all, my instincts weren't so much of an issue for me anymore. But when I thought about it further, it had more to do with the traits of my body that the skill brought to the surface. 

While my beast instincts and the [Ride of Ancestors] may have made using bigger wings second nature to me, getting my brain used to them was another matter. There was no better analogy I could think of than growing a second set of arms. If I got them by virtue of who I was and the skills I had, meaning the beasts in my origins, it would be no big deal for me to use them. But the very thought of having them would make me highly uncomfortable, in other words, putting a strain on my brain. Not to mention what I'd hear from other people about my extra pair of arms. Given my ears, that would be a lot.

No matter who you were, how much you thought you were above the shit, and what others think of you doesn't bother you; deep down, where you didn't have as much control over things, it could do damage. At least, that was my take on the skill. 

All in all, I liked it.

 

***

 

Idleaf didn't show up until the evening, and so I was leaving the infirmary - healed and fine - all by myself. I didn't wander far from the barracks, though. Just across the street to the Drunken Filly. I was starting to see why the city guards liked this place so much. The location of the tavern was just brilliant.

Anyway, having learned from previous visits, I braced myself for a rowdy welcome and a number of shots of hard liquor before I walked in. There was no need, though.

Sure, I made an impression on the training grounds but not enough to merit free shots of Dragon Fart and Basilisk Breath. Shame, yet not unexpected. After all, I wasn't the star of the night; Stella Palemoon was. Despite all the bullshit she did at the training grounds, it was her who was surrounded by guys and gals from the city guards trying to have a drink with her. To them, she was the new kid on the Castiana City Guards, the interesting one.

And to be honest, I didn't mind. After the fiasco at the training grounds that blew up in her face, she earned the attention. Plus, it meant she would suffer in the morning while I would remember this night for a change.

Another thing was that I didn't exactly want to talk to the other city guards. It was enough to see their curious looks and hear their chatter. Some whispered, others didn't bother. But, honestly it didn't matter, because unless they were using something like union rings, I heard everything. 

"A Deviant? What the hell does that mean?"

"I'm more interested in what you have to do to get a class like that?"

"Deviant stuff, I guess?"

"Obviously."

"...but what? Shit like...taking a shit in public?"

"Go ahead, mate. But I think we'd hear about it if she did things like that."

"I bet it has something to do with the beast thing."

"I know some people who have a thing for animals and beasts."

"Yeah, you'd definitely get a deviant class if you were shagging sheep. Not what I was talking about, though. It's that look of hers."

"Hmm...doesn't rule out that she got it after banging some beasts."

"You're sick in the head, buddy. You know that?"

"Me? Look at her."

One of the many conversations that blended through the tavern into a buzz of awkward and lame chatters that reached my ears, some of them leaving me embarrassed, others pissed off. So, after grabbing a mug of ale at the bar, I did my best to ignore them.

"Hey, guys," I said to Squad Four, sitting at one of the tables by the wall, as I walked up to them, hoping they'd take my deviance with a better understanding.

"Here comes the beast," Freyde bellowed, a broad grin on his face. "Or should I say, where is the slave girl, and who is this [Deviant]?"

Yeah, they knew. They knew how much that slave brand bugged me. After all, I might have mentioned it to them once or twice - a day.

"Congratulations, Korra," Meneur joined in, raising his mug like Freyde.

"Same," Harper said with a smile, joining them.

Honestly, it was their congratulations that warmed my heart more than any potential pat on the back or drink at the bar ever could. "Thanks, guys," I said as I clinked my mug with theirs in cheers and took a sip of ale before taking a seat at the table.

"Can't wait to stop being a fucking [Baker]," Harper remarked as she set her mug down on the table and wiped the foam from under her nose. "Seriously, I couldn't do shit against that bitch. If I was, I don't know, a freakin' archer, it would be a different story, but like this..."

"You want to be an [Archer]?" Meneur wondered, and he wasn't the only one. She never mentioned anything of the sort. Plus, if she wanted to be one, her weapon choice was rather odd.

"No, just a bullshit example. What I'm saying is that the bitch was just playing with me," she said, looking towards the bar where Palemoon was having a good time.

"Did you see my fight with her? Did you feel I did any better?" Freyde argued. "I didn't hit her once, not even once. Your bombs, on the other hand..."

"...did fucking nothing to her!"

"So did my magic," Meneur spoke, and they both fell silent, knowing that he fared even worse against Palemoon than they did. Mindful that he had dropped the brakes on the conversation, he looked at me. "You put up a decent fight, Korra."

"Decent? That was bloody brilliant?" Harper flared up. "The way you turned into a full beast and lunged at her...did you use your presence?"

"Yeah, it caught her off guard."

Freyde chuckled. "Show me someone who wouldn't be."

"I knew it. Shit, we should have bet on it."

"Against who? Against ourselves? We all thought Korra hit her with it."

"You did?" It all happened so fast, so what Meneru said surprised me.

"Yeah," nodded the squad's frontline fighter. "We kind of figured..."

"That bitch may be full of herself, but when you threw yourself at her, she shit her pants."

"Not literally, but everyone could see she was stricken with fear." Meneur agreed with Harper. 

"Not so much, why?" added Freyde and sipped his ale. "Sure, you turned into a big beast, but everyone knows it couldn't have been the first one she saw."

Our squad flour bomb baker nodded. "The word goes around everyone guessing why that was. Sorry, but if you wanted to keep it a secret, that wasn't a smart move." That I was aware of, and the fact that word of my beast presence was already circulating among the guardsmen prior to our fight. Someone somewhere got a taste of it and leaked the info. Honestly, it was only a matter of time. "But don't get me wrong. It was bloody awesome to watch."

"Oddly satisfying, too," Freyde agreed with Harper. "Just...a little bit, and you could have w..."

"I'll stop you there," I cut him off, having an inkling of what he was going to say. "She's good. And if I hadn't taken her hand right from the start, I wouldn't have stood much more of a chance than you guys did."

"No one disputes her strength, Korra," argued our squad mage. "We all know you took her by surprise. You just...seemed so close to beating her, and we...well, hoped you'd succeed."

"Even you, Meneur?" I expected the oldest of us to stay on top of things. Guess I was wrong. When someone wrongs you, the desire for some payback comes to you no matter what your age.

"Korra, you don't understand. What she did to me was what the Taurus warriors used to do to me at the clan. They, too, let me conjure up my best magic just to show me how useless it was against them."

"Damn. That's awful."

He merely nodded and, without saying more, took a sip of ale to wash away the bitterness of those memories.

"I've been saying it from the start, the warriors in your clan are fucking assholes," Harper remarked with a smirk on her face. "When you get stronger, you should show them how wrong they were about you and kick their asses. You can count on me to help you when it comes down to that." To make a point, she cracked her knuckles.

The Taurus smiled back, knowing, like everyone at the table, that it would be a while before he reached the strength necessary to achieve that, if at all.

"Speaking of kicking ass. You think, Korra, you'd beat her if your skills match your level?" That was a good question from Freyde. Would I have beaten her then? It was hard to guess what direction my skills might take, but... "If it was our first fight, yes. I managed to surprise her, and she damn sure underestimated me, all of us."

"But the second bout will be different, huh?" Harper said, knowing well what I was getting at.

"Yeah, our next showdown, if there is one, will be different." That was the plain truth. "No surprise on my part, only pure skills and experience."

"You haven't used your tail yet," Freyde pointed out.

"Too weak. Those damn auras of hers would handle it."

"Now," Meneur pointed out. "But if you got it up to your skill level?"

Having the [Tail of Poison Empress] at level 120 never crossed my mind. Hell, I barely got it close to level thirty, and he was asking me to guess the potency of it at four times the level. The best clue to go by that I had was a centuries-old story of some beast, so…no. "Meneur, I honestly don't know. The poison might be strong enough, and it might not be. As for beating her, I don't know either. I guess I'd be stronger in pure strength, at least at the start of the fight. But her auras make her stronger the longer she fights, you know." A little hands-on experience with Palemoon, there. "And I bet she'll use that skill from the beginning next time."

Freyde grunted, leaning on a chair. "I was hoping for a slightly different answer."

"Something like: Sure, then it would be a piece of cake for me," I chuckled, sparing no irony. "...that my poison would melt her face, and my mane froze her to the bone."

"That's more like it," he chuckled with me. 

"But seriously, guys. Can you say how strong you will be with class and skills at my level?"

Harper took a breath to answer, only to stop in her tracks and ponder my question, just like the boys, all reaching the same conclusion as me. "Shit, I don't even know what class I'm going to have, let alone what skills," Harper said out loud what Freyde and Meneur were thinking. "Damn wish I was already there, though."

"We all do," our squad's front-line fighter laughed. "We all do."

I couldn't help but agree. "True. I may have class levels, but my skill levels suck. So.."

"So we're just a bunch of losers," Harper summed up, holding up her mug. "Let's drink to that."