A large beast, powered by crystal energy, stared and grunted angrily at Skyler at the foot of the mountain on Planet Grania. For the last day or two, Skyler had been put through intense training so that she could understand how to use the elusive power known as Eneraflux, the combination of the continuous flow of energy with the body’s energy. At first, the training seemed easy and somewhat challenging, something she was more than able to handle. Carrying the heavy object and fending off the energy auras was easy, that was until she was made to punch the object in half, leaving her hand severely damaged. Thankfully, her hand was healed once she was placed inside a cylindrical container with green fluid inside. All was going smoothly, that was until she got hungry. Asking for only a simple snack turned into a battle to the death between a massive beast and a woman with the ability to turn any part of her body into whatever beast she desired, provided she had its DNA infused in hers. While this seemed dangerous and harsh to Skyler and even some of the Granians present, Lord Grania found it quite amusing for his entertainment. He not only saw it as a way to train Skyler but also to assess the aspects in which she needed improvement. "BEGIN!!" she shouted. "SHOW US, SKYLER. DIVE INTO YOUR POWER AND SHOW THAT BEAST WHAT YOU HAVE." "Why don’t you come down here and do it yourself?" She argued while making sure not to look away from the beast. The beast, being some form of mutated hog, jerked its front hoof twice and prepared to charge. ’Alright, you big-ass swine. Come at me. Let’s see what sort of transformation you’ll give me.’ The hog beast stood on its hind legs, roared powerfully, and slammed back down on the ground. The ground beneath shifted and broke into cracks all the way to Skyler. The woman simply jumped away from the point of action, grabbed a piece of shattered earth, and threw it at the beast with her monstrous strength. "Damn it," the beast was now pissed, its anger rising even further than normal. With no hesitation, it started running at full speed toward the woman. Skyler ran away from the beast, prompting it to chase her. The Granians, with Grania excluded, watched with much anticipation and anxiety for Skyler. Despite her having large, deadly arms, she did not look well equipped to fight a beast such as the one chasing her. "COME ON, HUMAN," Grania cheered. "QUIT BEING A WEAKLING. USE THE SAME ENERGY YOU USED EARLIER." ’Stop talking!’ she panicked and found herself nearly hitting a dead end. Quickly turning around, Skyler readied herself to challenge the beast head-on. The beast, not slowing down at all, lowered its head and moved its tusks up and down. ’Here goes nothing.’ Skyler took a deep breath, stood in a defensive position, and raised her right arm while her left hand was folded in a fist. Her feet transformed into those of a humanoid groundhog, allowing her to dig them firmly into the ground. "HYAAHH!!" She screamed while punching the beast’s forehead to disorient it and grabbed its head. The creature, upon making an impact with Skyler’s, slowly slowed down and soon found itself slowly rising into the air. With much strength, Skyler lifted the beast off the ground while turning her entire body into her groundhog form. To prevent herself from breaking apart, she made sure to reinforce her body which not only did so but provided the energy she needed to lift the beast. "AAAAAAAARRRRRRHHHH." Both beasts shouted as the smaller slammed the larger into the ground on its back. The hog’s back, upon hitting the ground, became dislocated due to its immense weight. Meanwhile, Skyler didn’t let go of the beast just yet. Without wasting time, she incorporated her other beast form which was a cat-like beast with six legs. On her sides grew two more arms, both being smaller than her main ones. Using her claws, she dug them into the beast’s mouth and took out its tusks. Blood gushed from the beast’s mouth, its anger only further getting aroused at this point. Seeing the beast’s crystal glow brighter, Skyler quickly jumped back with blood tusks in her hands. She looked at them, and then at the beast, and wondered what sort of form she would get from it. "I always hate this part." Skyler licked the blood off the tusks and was shocked with a bone-piercing pain in her chest. Her body reverted to normal with her veins bulging. Her voice, declaring the agony she was in, deepened and changed from a human into that of the beast before her. "What’s happening to her?" Helda wondered as she tried to offer a helping hand. Her mate, Grim, placed his hand over her and nodded in objection, knowing that Lord Grania wouldn’t agree with that. "She possesses the power of transforming her body into whatever beast’s DNA she ingests." One Horn explained. "The more DNA she consumes, the more beasts she’ll have in her arsenal. I think her body’s transforming at this time due to the new DNA she has consumed." One Horn’s explanation was right, for Skyler’s body had started to resemble the beast before her. Both creatures, growling and grunting in excruciating pain, stood up on their feet and glanced at each other. Skyler’s body was now two times larger than it was, much larger than her groundhog form. Her skin was darker, rougher, and thicker, making it harder to be penetrated. Her hands were nearly the size of her body, and her legs seemed powerful enough to break the ground underneath. "RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" She screamed, her voice being just as intimidating as the beast. "WHAT’S THE MATTER, PIGLIN? TOO AFRAID TO FIGHT SOMETHING AS BIG AND BAD AS YOU?" "Why’s her skin glowing?" Lord Grania questioned, pointing out the glows within Skyler’s body. For a while, a slight grin of excitement etched onto his face for he thought the woman had finally hit her Eneraflux aura. "Could it be that she had finally learned how to control her aura?" "Perhaps it could be the fact that she consumed the DNA of a beast with an intense energy crystal within," Grim answered, pointing out the obvious irony. "In doing so, she now has the same energy coursing through its veins. If she’s not careful, she could become unstable." "HUMAN," Grania shouted. "THE FIGHT HAS ENDED. STAND DOWN, WE’LL STOP THE BEAST FOR YOU AND...." "SHUT UP AND WATCH, LIZARD!!" Skyler aggressively barked and charged at the beast with its tusks gripped tightly in her arms. "TIME TO DIE, PIG!!!" [The Middle of the Mountain.] For more than four hours, Ace had practiced with the block of blood he gathered from the goblin-like beasts he killed. The young man kept himself occupied to the point where he lost track of time. At that moment, Jim came from the cave and saw Ace dueling two blood clones made of black blood. The clones had hardened bodies with projectiles for arms. With great speed, they both attacked Ace, who was equipped with a simple blood sword and claws for hands. His body, tense, dripping with sweat, and shirtless, moved swiftly and smoothly, allowing him to evade the attacks from his own clones. On his back was his symbiote protruding from his skin, its tentacle structures spread all the way to his shoulders, ribcage, and lower back. The clones would incorporate all the combat skills Ace picked up over the years, making it quite an interesting challenge that pushed him to improve not only his blood skills but also his body. "How long have you been doing this?" Jim questioned, startling Ace in the process. The Blood Mutant rested for a while and turned the clones back into blood puddles. He then looked over at Jim and answered his question with a question of his own. "Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?" Jim nodded and clicked his teeth, knowing well that Ace had been up for so long that he lost track of time. "Ace, it’s high time you got your rest." Jim urged. "You have been awake far too long. Your eyes have bags under them. Don’t worry, I’ll take the next watch." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚~𝙣𝙚𝙩 "No thank you," he rejected. "I’m good. I can still keep going for a little longer." "True," Jim calmly answered, hoping not to start an argument that could turn into a fight. "...but if you go on , you might not have the strength to move at all in the morning." "I said I’m good!!" Ace grunted, his eyes glowing a faint red color while his canines grew by a few centimeters. "If you want to keep watch, do as you please. Let me do what I’m doing, OKAY?" "Okay, okay." Jim took a few steps back and watched as the boy’s symbiote pulsated a red glow in unison with Ace’s beating heart. Never in these last few years with Ace did Jim ever see him have red eyes or sharp teeth, causing him to grow weary of the symbiote and the training he was putting himself through. ’What the hell will these things do to us?’ he questioned while feeling his own symbiote acting dormant on his back."