Chương 16: Book 1 - Chapter 16: Time And Tide Wait For No Man

Dominic waited eagerly for his choice of rewards to appear. [Completion of Anomaly Trial: Successful. Reward: survival.] Dominic's stomach swooped. Is… is that it? Surviving is good, Leo pointed out. Sure, but it's the minimum – they mentioned rewards! Dominic objected indignantly. Fortunately it was only a moment before the message was wiped away and another replaced it. [Completion grade: A Rewards available: 3 relics] Dominic's indignation turned into relief at the confirmation of rewards.

He was a little dissatisfied with his grade, though. A was good, sure, but he knew that there were three other grades above A. What did I have to do to be considered special? Or SSS? Unfortunately, he didn't seem to have that knowledge. Finally, the screen he wanted to see appeared, his options for rewards writing themselves line by line before him. [Tail-Mounted Morningstar – A living weapon that armours the tail and terminates in a heavy spiked flail capable of devastating strikes. Stormstep Anklets – A pair of anklets that consume mana to unleash brief bursts of speed, agility, and jumping power. Telepathic Ear-Cuff – A mental communication relic that allows the exchange of simple thoughts and emotions with nearby creatures. Vanguard Pawshield – A mana-powered shield mounted upon the forepaw, capable of intercepting incoming attacks and absorbing damage. Chest-Mounted Sword – A retractable blade housed along the chest and forelimbs, designed to augment grappling and close-quarters combat. Predator's Lantern – A floating beacon that illuminates hidden tracks, recent movement, and concealed creatures within its radius. Dimensional Gorget – A reinforced gorget that protects the throat and chest while containing a pocket-sized extradimensional storage space. You will be returned to normal reality in: 00: 10: 00. At the end of this time, all rewards not chosen will be lost. All reward choices are final. Choose wisely.] Immediately, Dominic began rereading the screen in more detail, feeling the time pressure. The timer itself stayed in the top right corner of his vision no matter where he looked, reminding him every second of its presence. Unlike the mutations, these relics didn't offer him any more information when he concentrated on them. Fortunately, they at least gave him a basic description. The only problem – he wanted all of them. Well, almost all of them. A shield that attaches to a paw?

What is it expecting me to do, limp around on three paws? he wondered. Then, thoughtfully, he considered, It might be useful for a stationary defender, I suppose. He considered that possibility, then dismissed it as an option. Choose to tank hits instead of just avoiding them? No thanks. Yes, no good, Leo agreed. Sword no good either. But think about it, Dominic asked him playfully. Haven't you ever wished to have a sword sticking out of your chest?

Not sticking out of chest, Leo pointed out, taking Dominic seriously. Harness on chest. Sword somewhere else. Point, Dominic admitted. Now he was wondering exactly how he was meant to wield it – in his mouth? He swore he remembered two of his coworkers talking about a game with a wolf that did that. It sounded pretty cool – and definitely memorable. How many lions walked around with a sword? Got teeth already, Leo told him pointedly. Dominic hesitated.

Because yes, they had teeth, but teeth couldn't do everything a sword could do. Then again, he imagined hitting something hard with the sword and the force reverberating into his mouth and cracking his teeth. Alright, fine, that one's out. So, five options left – three to choose. He checked the timer. Two minutes down already. Turning back to the list, he reviewed the options again. These two look pretty good, he commented slowly, his eyes tracing the first two options.

One turns our tail into a weapon; the other allows us to put on sudden bursts of speed. Quick leap is good, Leo replied eagerly, firmly indicating his preference. Quick leap kill bird. Quick leap hurt green prey. Sure, you make some good points there, Dominic agreed, but he was still hesitant to pick it. After a moment of thought, he realised why. Quick leaping is good, but… that's what we were already able to do.

If I'm understanding things right, we can get faster at leaping just by improving Translocation or Predation. But we can't necessarily suddenly turn our tail into a weapon. Dominic imagined being surrounded by those pig-dogs again. They'd get a bit of a shock if they attacked his rear only to get a spiky ball in the face. Not lion, Leo replied, though Dominic detected a hint of uncertainty. Well, we are apparently a chimera now, Dominic pointed out, though not without some unease of his own.

A tail weapon seems pretty on-theme for that. Thinking about it that way, he was a little disappointed that there was no biting snake tail on offer. Anyway, perhaps we can get both – let's have a look at the other options. The last three all offered something different. Telepathic Ear-Cuff would be excellent for communication – and would solve an issue that Dominic hadn't wanted to think too much: how he would communicate with his father.

Dimensional Gorget also sounded awesome – protection and storage space all in one. However, Predator's Lantern would be interesting too – not only would it improve his tracking in general, but it might be useful for finding his father. Out of all of them, though, that was probably the weakest. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Find prey good, Leo disagreed. Sure, but surely you're good at finding prey anyway, Dominic argued.

He felt Leo be inclined to argue, but not want to deny his skills at tracking prey. In the end, the lion subsided wordlessly. Dominic checked the timer. Less than six minutes left. Time and tide wait for no man, he sighed. Can we agree on Dimensional Gorget, at least? he asked Leo. The storage space could end up very useful. And protection for throat. Good, Leo agreed. That was easy. Dominic considered taking both the Morningstar and anklets, but hesitated. What problem? Leo asked. Good idea, take both.

I want the Telepathy Earcuff, Dominic admitted. Maybe not find father, Leo pointed out bluntly. What use then? We're likely to meet humans eventually, Dominic argued. It would be better if we could communicate with them when we do. And out of everything here, telepathy and extra-spatial storage are both the least likely to turn up in a mutation, I reckon. And perhaps the morningstar too. Then if take Telepathy, take quick leap anklets, Leo replied firmly. Dominic hesitated. What? Leo demanded. Fair, yes?

Fair, yes, Dominic repeated slowly, but a good idea? I'm not so sure. Why not? Leo demanded Do we have mana? Dominic asked bluntly. Because if we don't, a relic that uses mana is useless. And, I don't know about you, but I wasn't able to cast magic before all of this. Not for lack of wishing, mind, he finished wistfully. Leo was silent. Don't know, he admitted after a long moment. Then let's take the morningstar, Dominic suggested. That doesn't indicate it needs any extra resources to work.

Leo again didn't respond – Dominic couldn't help glancing at the timer. Down to four minutes. He wondered if the lion was delaying just to punish him for having a good point. Agreed, Leo said finally, sounding grumpy about it. Alright, great, Dominic replied, relieved. So, Dimensional Gorget, Telepathy Ear-cuff, and Tail-mounted Morningstar? He gave Leo a moment to dissent, and then, receiving none, thought firmly at the System that he'd made his choices.

Fortunately, the System was as intuitive with this as it was with everything else and the three choices were briefly highlighted before the whole screen disappeared. Suddenly, Dominic felt three distinct sensations. One snaked through his fur uncomfortably and then settled around his neck, one suddenly gripped the base of his tail, and one wound around his ear. Reaching up with a paw, Dominic prodded at the object around his neck.

It was hard, tough, and at least a couple of inches wide at its narrowest – the widest was where it extended over his chest, covering most of it. Dominic tilted his muzzle down and inspected his new accessory. It looked like it was made of ivory-coloured bone plates, connected through some yellowish substance that was translucent, though it resisted his claws. Its appearance was dull and didn't look particularly fancy.

He supposed that was a good thing – if it caught the light it would make it more difficult for him to hunt. I wish I had a mirror, he mused. To his surprise, one of the walls of the savannah box he was in turned reflective. How… amenable, he commented, a little suspicious. Maybe the previous watcher had gone off duty – or medical leave – and its replacement was nicer. Dominic wouldn't count on it. Still, no point not availing himself of the offered mirror.

Stepping up to it, he saw how the gorget connected his chest plate with a thicker section across the back of his neck. It wouldn't be a perfect counter to something trying to bite his spine, but it would definitely make him a more difficult target. Look like collar. Feel like collar, was Leo's grumpy opinion. That's because it is a collar, Dominic pointed out. What were you expecting? Not something quite so… tight, Leo replied after a moment.

Tight wasn't exactly how Dominic would describe it – he'd gone through a period in his teenage years when he'd worn black leather chokers and black fingernails and those had been much tighter. But he could understand where Leo was coming from. If it protects our throat from attack, isn't it worth it? Dominic asked. The lion didn't answer, indicating his agreement through his lack of disagreement.

There wasn't anything around to test the dimensional aspect of the gorget, so Dominic moved closer to the mirror to inspect the second relic. The Telepathic Ear-Cuff was barely discernable from his fur, curling around the back of his ear and hooking into the interior. He turned his ear one way and then the other – marvelling at the fact that he could actually move his ears at all – and noticed that there was only the faintest reminder that it was there. Far more comfortable than any other ear-cuff he'd worn before.

Again, it was hard to test whether it was working or not when there was no one else to speak with, but Dominic just had to trust that the System wouldn't actively try to mislead him. Finally, Dominic inspected the one he was most actively excited about – the morningstar. When he first turned to look at it in the mirror, he was a little disheartened. It looked very much like his gorget, but only covered the very base of his tail. Is this it? he questioned. Anklets better, Leo opined haughtily.

Dominic was very tempted to roll his eyes – not that he was sure he even could in this form. It must be possible to activate it somehow. Concentrating on the section of bone around the section where his tail met his body, he directed a thought to it. Activate? To his satisfaction, the small chunk of bone began writhing and growing with impressive alacrity.

Within less than two seconds segmented plates of ivory-coloured bone had wrapped around the length of his tail like an exoskeleton, and a heavy, spiked ball of similar ivory bone had closed around the tuft of his tail. Dominic posed in the mirror, lifting his head and tail proudly. It looked very cool. It was also very heavy. Dominic only lasted two seconds before his tail muscles spasmed and the mace head dropped to the earthen floor with a thud.

And the weight of the extra bone on his tail pulled on his spine too in a way that Dominic knew would hurt soon. Clearly, this wasn't something he would be able to use effectively in battle until he had conditioned those muscles a little more. A shame tail lifts aren't part of your average gym's offering, he thought wryly. Maybe I should introduce them. They'd be a hit. Well, he would just have to train his tail in the gym of life instead.

That wouldn't be hard to begin with – simply wearing the armour and keeping his tail from dragging along the ground was challenge enough for now. Still, Dominic fully intended to work towards using it like a fifth limb. He could picture it now: an opponent assuming he was defenceless from behind, only to be met a moment later with a spiked ball of bone crashing into their skull. Even without the strength to control it properly yet, he discovered something interesting when he tried a few sharp turns.

The centrifugal force alone could make the tail mace into a weapon, the weight at the end pulling the rest of his tail out straight. Unfortunately, losing control of his tail like that sent him straight back into the fumbling, stumbling mess he had been when he first woke up in this body. Definitely need to work on that, he groaned as he rubbed his head against his foreleg. Face-planting was no more enjoyable on hard-packed earth than it was on stone floors. At that moment, the timer ran out.

The screen disappeared, along with all their surroundings. Dominic had just enough time to feel unsettled by the complete darkness around him when the world abruptly resolved again. He was back on the savannah – and this time, he was certain it was the real one.