Chapter 75: Mutation

Thursday, April 27th, 4:27 PM

Dungeon Ciara

The mana construct he’d been shaping fizzled out. “Fuck,” Mike whispered. He tossed the bar of spring steel into a bin with a few dozen other failures.

Something in his gut told him that if he got it right, the result would be well worth it, even after hundreds of attempts.

“Hope I’m not on a damned snipe hunt,” Mike muttered.

Jeffrey Stapp wheezed out a laugh from his workstation to Mike’s right. “Hah! Ye’re too hard on yerself, kid. Ye been pushin’ for weeks with nary a scrap o’ personal time. Everyone needs ‘em a hobby.” He scratched his cheek and glanced over at Mike. “Once ye figure it out, drop a hint for an old man.”

There had been progress for sure, but his hunch was eating into his personal time enough that it had started to wear on him.

Mike snorted. “Hah. I wish I had your confidence, Jeff.”

Jeffrey set down the leather harness he’d been crafting and walked over to place a callused hand on Mike’s shoulder.

“Pappy.” Jeffrey tapped his chest.

“What?”

“We’re friends, ain’t we, kid? Call me Pappy.”

“Hah. If that’s what you prefer, Pappy.” Mike shrugged.

Jeffrey’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t look angry. “You remind me o’ Lucas, my first-born. Quiet, serious, an’ driven—enough so, that sometimes ye let the better parts o’ life slip on past.”

Mike wrinkled his brow with a sigh. “Half of that slipped away when Brooke passed, and I lost the rest when my kids disappeared.” He focused his attention back on the steel in his hands.

“Ye never remarried?”

Mike looked up to find Jeffrey staring quizzically at him with one bushy gray eyebrow raised halfway to his silvery hairline.

Mike replied, “Never found another woman who was worth the effort.”

“But ye ain’t been lookin’, have ye?” Jeffrey’s expression hadn’t changed.

“I did a few times, but what I found left a bad taste in my mouth. They only cared about a stable meal ticket, or they wanted 50% of my income and assets.” Mike shook his head bitterly. “I’ve got no reason to look.”

“Sure, I’ll give ye that a lot o’ folks are greedy, but they ain’t all that way, son.”

“Yeah, I know. But in my experience, once women are old enough for me to be interested, the ones who aren’t married are single for a reason—just like me.”

“What’s yer reason? Ye got some kinda malfunction, kid?”

Mike snorted. “PTSD, for one, and a massive dose of skepticism for another. That’s normal for anyone who’s been deployed. Never goes away—not entirely. But those are just the obvious ones. If my shrink weren’t dead and you had a few hours to spare, I could’ve had him read one hell of a list for you.”

“Hah! At least ye ain’t lost yer sense o’ humor.”

Mike sighed. “Gotta push through, somehow. I need a way to travel a few million light-years away.”

Jeffrey whipped his head toward Mike. His eyes were wide. “Magic’s real, son. I reckon if ye keep at it, ye’ll find a way.”

Mike managed a half-smile as he recalled how that worked out for Joe. “I appreciate it, Pappy. With that in mind, I’m gonna get back with it.”

Jeffrey nodded.

“Right,” Mike muttered as he picked up another blank of spring steel and stared intently at it while sculpting the minute flows of mana within. “Come on, now. Tell me your secrets.”

---

<-Affection-Safe-Content-> Nita sent those feelings and arched herself upward as Siobhán stroked her cephalothorax and sent a sense of maternal affection and protectiveness back to Nita through their bond.

Over time, Siobhán’s familiar had begun to exhibit behaviors similar to a feline who was enjoying their just due in the form of pets and scritches.

Nita had become playful as well. She sometimes ran laps around Siobhán while sending emotions of joy and contentment. She’d even learned to play fetch—though the game had to be played with chunks of animal flesh and her attention span for that game was far below what one could expect from a canine.

Some people used to say jumping spiders were like tiny kittens… and now I have a giant spider who actually is.

Siobhán hugged Nita gently. “You’re amazing, you know that? I can feel it when you want to eliminate threats instead of just tying them up for me, but you always listen and you never complain.”

<-Adoration-> Nita wrapped her front legs around Siobhán’s neck and her hind legs behind her back as she assumed her bra position.

Yeah, I like snuggling, too. You’re the best bra ever. Siobhán beamed down at her familiar.

Nita’s big jumping-spider eyes gazed up at her as Siobhán pet the spider’s cephalothorax. “I wish we could talk, you know? Like those enkelyn. I hope you’re able to become like them, someday.”

As with numerous other times she’d had powerful thoughts along those lines while alone with Nita, nothing happened.

After her experience of acquiring a powerful skill while making love to Joe on the night they became a couple, Siobhán had hoped she could keep gaining new abilities. But so far, beyond Nita seeming to adapt to their bond in ways that mirrored a cat or dog, there hadn’t been any magic-based changes for Siobhán or her spider.

When the light in the false sky began to fade above the Dungeon’s second floor, signaling that it was early evening, Siobhán took off at a jog toward the surface. She smiled as she felt Nita flex her middle legs on either side, preventing her boobs from becoming unruly.

---

After waiting for her latest conquest to regain sufficient mana to walk and waving him out her door, Rachel called out, “Next!” With a winning smile, she welcomed the man who’d been waiting outside.

From behind her privacy curtain, she drank in the sight of a handsome, well-built military officer who looked to be in his early forties. To her surprise, three marines behind him entered behind him, and the last one shut her door.

Rachel sized them up and squeezed her nipples as she grinned. “Four at once, eh? I suppose I could—”

“Ma’am, that’s not why we’re here.” the officer raised a hand to cut her off. His eyes held no trace of desire, and neither did his men. None of them made a move beyond her privacy barrier.

Oh, crap. Rachel folded her arms and backed away as a bad chill swept over her.

“Uh… is there a problem? I swear I’ve been making sure everyone knows about my—”

The officer cut her off. “No, Ma’am. The government is aware of your abilities, your activities, and the steps you have taken to avoid misunderstandings.”

“Then… I’m not in trouble?” Rachel swallowed.

The officer smirked. “No, Ma’am. We’d like to arrange a schedule for service members who have sought your company, as well as any who may wish to do so in the future.”

“I’m sorry… what?”

“Miss Rachel Wallace, the military has quite a few servicemen and women who have been thrill-seeking during duty hours, and every one of them knows better. In the interest of being realistic about the situation and in lieu of the fact that STDs are no longer a concern, we seek to correct that behavior without denying them access to you.”

“Oh?” Rachel cocked her head and stepped around the barrier.

The officer’s gaze ran over her naked body for a moment. She caught a hint of desire in his eyes and it made her clench. But he looked away and sighed.

“Ma’am, would you mind dressing yourself for a few minutes while I explain?”

Ten minutes later, they exited and Rachel welcomed her next suitor—Terrance Jones—a tall black man who’d been a frequent customer and really knew how to handle himself.

Terrance chuckled as he shut Rachel’s door and winked at her as he undressed. He said nothing as he tackled her playfully to the bed and pulled her into a deep kiss.

Rachel’s thoughts were torn away from the military’s offer when Terrance’s expert hands roamed her body and his nibbles and kisses lit a fire between her legs in preparation for his substantial offering.

When Terrance had finished and lay recuperating from her ability, Rachel’s mind lingered on what the officer had said.

I can’t believe they’re gonna have someone arrange everything for me. I don’t even have to ask around. I can have fun from morning until night, and they’ll even bring me food!

She looked at Terrance and smirked.

If only everyone could get straight to the point and take care of me properly like him… Steven’s good, and he can change his size, but Terrance is incredible. Something about the way this man handles a girl. It’s so fucking primal. Too bad he’s already awakened with a combat class. Terrance would’ve made one hell of an Incubus.

Rachel glanced at Terrance again, brushing her fingertips across his thick, muscled arm. She noted that, as usual, he was recovering from her ability much faster than most.

Other men need to step up their game. It’s too bad nobody gives classes on how to take care of a girl in bed. Terrance is the only one aside from Miller with enough stamina for a round two.

With her thoughts running through the hundreds of faces who had shared her bed, Rachel bared her teeth in a smile as she practiced a very special ability she’d been working to perfect with Steven.

Men definitely need help. Then again, mama can teach.

---

After the sun had set and a certain Dungeon’s interior had dimmed to match, a simple housefly resting against the bark of a tree was drawn by a series of soft, reddish-white glows. It flew through the gloom and as it neared to orbit the light warily alongside a pair of moths. Its short, sensitive antennae detected the presence of something sweet, triggering a feeding response.

The fly landed and applied its spongy mouthparts as it quested for something to drink. Sugary, gratifying droplets were lapped up as it moved cautiously across the surface of the glowing plant that had provided a much-needed meal.

The fly’s feet came into contact with a set of hair-like protrusions and the glowing leaf snapped shut, then chewed. Over the course of half a minute, a series of hard thorns stabbed inward and ground the fly into a paste that was absorbed over the course of a few seconds. A moment later, the leaf unfolded as the plant grew a little larger.

At the bottom of a small lake inside the same Dungeon, a Dragonfly larva lurked motionless while potential prey approached. For the second night in a row, it snapped up the tiny glowing things one after another. Each strike of its extensible lower jaw caused the majority of its prey to flee, but never took long before they came back into range.

Dozens of the larva’s siblings followed the same feeding pattern, and as they did, each of their abdomens glowed a little brighter for having eaten the mysterious but irresistible offerings.

In a tide pool far from any Dungeon on the planet, a single jellyfish gained luminance uncommon for its particular species. The unfortunate consequence was that its transparent body no longer provided camouflage against the hungry eyes of a sea turtle that snapped it up and ground its body down with a spiny tongue before slurping the remains like soup.

Beside a flooded seasonal wetland in the Southern Hemisphere, not far from a Dungeon, a two-meter monitor lizard ambled along just before noon after a good soak in the sunlight. Its long, forked tongue darted out often to gather scent, and its vigilant eyes scanned the shoreline as well as flocks of floating waterbirds for anything sick, injured, or unwary enough to make an easy meal.

This was the season of plenty, and despite not feeling particularly hungry, the Perentie knew it had to pack on as much weight as possible before the waters receded and left the land parched for the greater portion of the year.

Movement along the shore ahead caught its eye and the big monitor quickened its pace, using its inflatable, muscular throat like a bellows to pump air into its lungs.

A blackened head and neck faded smoothly to a speckled dark-brown pattern on the serpent that had caught its eye, and the Perentie slowed to evaluate the situation.

It recognized the serpent as one that should not be taken lightly. Its instinct required a cautious approach to the Inland Taipan—which was, before the arrival of Dungeons, by far the most toxic venomous snake on Earth. And this snake was a big one—over two meters in length—and quite unafraid of the Perentie.

The intelligent Perentie pretended to walk past the serpent before lashing out with its powerful whip-like tail. A single blow landed against the snake’s body, knocking the serpent away as the monitor accelerated fast enough that the snake’s lightning-quick retaliatory strike met with nothing but air.

The battle had already been decided.

Unlike its brethren, this Perentie had a weapon that was uncommon among vertebrates on Earth and, for its species, unprecedented. A series of three sharp barbs had been driven deep into the snake’s body when the tip of the monitor’s tail struck. Once detached, an empty chamber inside each spine expanded as the membrane at its base reacted with air. From a series of slits on each barbed spine, venom pumped into the snake’s tissues and blood under high pressure.

While the monitor would normally risk death fighting against a mature Inland Taipan, this Perentie had never been in much danger. While the Inland Taipan’s venom was ruinous and exceptionally lethal, it was among the least-aggressive venomous snakes in Australia unless provoked. By the time it realized the massive lizard had shown unusual aggression and had struck out in self-defense, it was too late for revenge.

The snake writhed and whipped itself about in agony while venom shut down its organs and made its blood congeal, beating its coils, head, and tail against the seasonal vegetation in a vain effort to free itself from the grip of the Perentie’s potent toxin.

Within two minutes, its struggles had become weak enough for the Perentie to approach within a few meters. But the lizard was too cunning to put itself within striking distance, opting to observe warily for a few more minutes—until the snake’s breathing had stopped.

With an explosive dash forward, the lizard clamped its muscular jaws onto the Taipan just behind and over the back of its black head, then whipped it savagely, spooking a large flock of waterfowl into the air as it beat the snake’s lifeless body to a pulp against the shore surrounding the seasonal wetland. It held on for close to a full minute, crunching down time and again to crush its victim's spine, skull, and tissues before it appeared satisfied the danger had been eliminated.

Only then did the Perentie slurp its meal down like a scaly noodle before flicking its tongue out again as it sought additional prey.

---

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