Mangowo
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Chapter 101: Growing Paranoia
🕑 Added 2024-12-29 00:30:01 +0000 UTCThe instant I woke up, it felt like my entire body was ablaze. Not the comforting warmth of a hearth—this was the kind of burning that seared from the inside out. Something within me had ignited, cells flaring to life and ricocheting around like restless fireflies. The inferno’s epicenter was unmistakable: my core. The one thing all three of my forms had in common. My monster core.
Something had definitely gone sideways—or maybe upward—while I was in my dream with Lotte. Even Belle was flitting around my head, chirping nervously. I wanted to reassure her, but every time I tried, the molten energy tearing through me laughed in my face. I couldn’t move, couldn’t pry my eyes open. My body was locked in place, but my awareness stayed stubbornly intact, thanks to Air Sense feeding me a constant trickle of environmental details.
There was a full-blown hurricane raging in my chest. Something was digging in—no, embedding itself—like it was carving out a permanent residence.
So there I lay, paralyzed and simmering in my own personal hell, clinging to the slim hope that this torment would have the decency to wrap up soon. And then, as if the universe decided I’d suffered enough, it did. My first breath after the chaos was so forceful it could’ve knocked a house of cards across the room.
Belle darted back to me, her worry palpable. “I’m fine,” I croaked, though my voice was far less convincing than the rivers of sweat pouring off me. Speaking of sweat—I was soaked, not just in that salty sheen but something else entirely. A thick, tar-like muck clung to my skin, reeking of impurity. My body had just gone through some sort of spring cleaning, but instead of a lemon-fresh finish, I got hit with the stench of raw death. Lovely.
It was a phenomenon I hadn’t experienced firsthand before. My growth process wasn’t exactly textbook, but I wasn’t ignorant to the usual signs. When someone’s core advances in color, their body tends to purge itself of impurities, leaving them fresher, stronger—basically, like a newly polished blade. Except, oh sweet Thalador, the smell. It was enough to make me reconsider having a nose.
I should’ve stood up immediately, if not to escape the stench, then to survey the damage. But dread rooted me in place—the dread of seeing what horrors had befallen my poor sheets. Before I could decide whether to face the carnage, my attention snapped to the string of notifications now blazing across my vision.
[Alignment Evaluation Complete.]
[Conditions Met! Alignment Assigned!]
[Alignment: Judgment (Lightning)]
[Alignment Bonuses Unlocked:]
Lightning-based spells enhanced by 25%.
Additional effects unlocked for Lightning Affinity.
Judgment activities accumulate bonus experience.
[Alignment activities detected! Experience points acquired!]
[Level increased: 15 → 16.]
[Strength +6, Durability +3, Intelligence +6, Willpower +3.]
[Level increased: 16 → 17.]
[Strength +6, Durability +3, Intelligence +6, Willpower +3.]
[Level increased: 17 → 18.]
[Strength +6, Durability +3, Intelligence +6, Willpower +3.]
Holy Thalador! While the shiny new bonus was great and all, was I staring at an entirely new method of leveling up? A second track? My excitement spiked as I immediately summoned my stat screen.
Name: Jade
Level: 18
Species: Wraithscale (Draconis) (IV)
Alignment: Judgement (Lightning)
Attributes:
Strength: 237
Durability: 200
Intelligence: 262
Willpower: 195
Mana Points (MP): 154/154
Dark Mana Points (Wraith Heart): 30/30
Stamina Points (SP): 311/311
Abilities:
Mana Devourer
Distortion Cloak
Alignment Abilities (1/4):
Thunder Verdict
Species Skills:
Resonance Roar: Level 1 (II)
Reinforced Scales: Level 2 (II)
Advanced Flight: Level 3 (II)
Rich Respiration: Level 4 (II)
Breath of Shadows: Level 7 (II)
Adaptive Grip: Level 3 (II)
Flame Jet: Level 3 (II)
Advanced Mana Manipulation: Level 7 (II)
Advanced Core Stabilization: Level 5 (II)
Constrict: Level 2 (I)
Exclusive Skills:
Transformation: Level 2 (I)
Lightning Affinity: Level 4 (I)
Dark Affinity: Level 2 (I)
Techniques (1/1):
Phantom Dragon Dance: Level 4 (I)
Mutations:
Eyes: Focusing Lenses, Peripheral Optimization (III)
Claws: Claw Flexibility, Razor-Edge Claws (III)
Scales: Colour Adaptation, Shock-Absorbent Scales (III)
Wings: Hollow Bones, Mana-Infused Fibers (III)
Legs: Joint Flexibility, Mana-Responsive Cartilage (III)
Fire Gland: Mana Reservoir, Mana Conservation (III)
Macro-Trophic Sac: Stamina Surge Reservoir, Toxicity Neutralizer (III)
Mana Conduit Vasculature: Micro-Mana Control, Mana Conduit Resilience (III)
Dimensional Lamina: Resonance-Stabilizing Membranes, Phase Microfilament Clusters (III)
Dimensional Convergence Tendrils: Reactive Tendrils, Refined Neural Pathways (III)
Resources:
Skill Points: 37
Morphogens: 76
My gaze darted across the familiar layout, scanning for the anomaly. Hmm. Aside from the Alignment addition and a shiny new section titled Alignment Skills, nothing else seemed obviously out of place. Thunder Verdict was already there, clear as day—a spell I’d literally felt etching itself into my skull earlier. But now, a gnawing thought clawed at me. I closed my eyes and focused inward, turning my attention to the volatile mana storm that had been thrashing inside me mere moments ago. The sensation of something carving into my core hadn’t just been some fever dream.
I’ve always been aware of my core—not in a visual sense, but instinctively. It’s like the pulse of your heart—if you could actually feel its every beat vibrating in your chest. Okay, maybe not the sharpest analogy, but you get the idea. My mana was what tethered me to it, always has been. It’s how I knew its form: a jagged, asymmetric black crystal lodged in my chest. But now?
Now, it was different.
The black had been replaced with an electric, crackling yellow, a hue so vibrant it almost felt alive. And it wasn’t just the color that had changed. As I probed it with my mana, I could feel intricate engravings etched onto its surface. Tiny, impossibly detailed markings—like a microscopic spell circle that looped endlessly. The sheer number of runes felt almost overwhelming, especially considering how small the space they occupied was. Yet, as my mind tried to decode the patterns, recognition struck.
The runes mirrored Thunder Verdict. The exact spell that had just nested itself in my mind was now physically etched into my core.
But why? Why the hell was this thing carved into my very essence? The question lingered, but answers hovered frustratingly out of reach. A few theories sprang to mind, but testing them would have to wait. First, I had a far more immediate concern: the tar-like muck clinging to me, reeking like something that crawled out of the abyss and shat—twice—on my precious sheets.
Oh, Thalador, the smell!
Grimacing, I peeled off the offending mess with the help of Belle, who, to my horror, was not pleased. Her chirps of indignation were sharper than her claws. Extra biscuits would be required to smooth things over. And as if my humiliation wasn’t already at peak capacity, the sticky black sludge had seeped into the lower mattress. Fantastic.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and exhaled a long, weary sigh. This was going to be one of those days.
***
I wrenched open the tiny window above my bed, welcoming a gust of brisk morning air in a doomed attempt to battle the clinging stench of death and tar in my dorm room. It didn’t do much, but at least I could pretend it helped while Belle squawked her indignation like the world's tiniest, angriest critic.
“Yes, I know it stinks,” I snapped, wrestling the sheets—ruined beyond salvation—into a laundry sack that was, frankly, one insult away from disintegrating. The black stains seemed to glare back at me as if daring the laundress to complain. She would, of course. She always did, and I didn’t blame her. Alchemical mishaps had left me with a reputation, though I suspected the smell didn’t help smooth things over. “I don’t exactly plan this explosion of filth, you know.”
Belle let out a sharp, judgmental squee, pointing her claws at me like an outraged magistrate. She hated when my experiments went sideways, mostly because it meant she’d have to dig out her miniature cleaning cloth. Watching her wield that thing was hilarious—but I wisely kept my laughter internal.
“I hear you,” I sighed, shaking my head. “And I would learn cleaning spells, but who has the time?” Procrastination was my oldest, dearest frenemy.
Belle scurried off and returned with her tiny cloth, chirping pointedly as if to remind me of my inadequacies. “Yeah, yeah, you’re a hero. If you’re gonna help, then help. Otherwise, save the sass for someone who cares.”
I grabbed a fresh set of clothes from the wardrobe. First priority: de-stinkify myself.
As I strapped on my bracer, a flicker of mana pulsed through me. My draconic features melted away—tentacles shrinking, talons softening into dainty fingers, claws vanishing into human feet. Only my horns stubbornly remained, because of course they did.
The hallway outside was mercifully deserted, still steeped in the pre-dawn quiet. Most of the other apprentices wouldn’t stir for another hour, giving me precious time to avoid awkward encounters and the inevitable barrage of questions. Belle, still stewing in her indignation, decided to tag along, chirping something about scouting ahead.
“Oh, sure, Scoutmaster Belle,” I muttered. “Make sure no one witnesses my walk of shame.” Not that I needed her intel—Air Sense was already feeding me a steady stream of information. Still, I let her have her moment.
The bathhouse wasn’t far, but the sack in my arms betrayed me with faint black drips trailing in my wake. Thalador take me. I groaned internally. Another problem for future me.
Belle darted ahead and peeked around the corner before chirping her all-clear. “Squee!”
“Good work, General,” I whispered, slipping inside like a thief in the night.
The bathhouse was a temple of tranquility, its stone walls echoing with the soft trickle of running water. Wooden benches lined the edges, and tiled pools of steaming water beckoned me from across the room. If there was one thing civilization got right, it was bathhouses—especially ones enchanted to keep the water warm, purify the air, and a dozen other delightful conveniences I couldn’t name but thoroughly appreciated.
I dumped the sack in a corner and shed my tunic faster than you could say “alchemy disaster.” With a triumphant little yip, I cannonballed into the nearest pool, sending a wave sloshing over the sides. Belle’s frantic chirping echoed behind me.
“SQUEE!”
“Oh, relax! It’s fun. You should try it!”
To my surprise, she hesitated only briefly before taking the plunge herself. I grinned in approval. She was learning from the best, after all.
The water was bliss. Warmth seeped into my chilled bones as the filth began to dissolve, swirling away in murky tendrils. Belle paddled around gleefully, her earlier outrage forgotten.
“You know,” I said, scrubbing at a stubborn patch of ichor on my arm, “if you really wanted to be helpful, you could grab me a towel.”
Belle froze, her beady eyes narrowing in betrayal. Then, with dramatic flair, she turned her back on me and floated away.
“Figures,” I muttered, sinking deeper into the water.
***
After flipping the mattress upside down—because, by Thalador, what else could I do with the poor thing?—I decided it might just be time to accept defeat and petition for a new one.
The early morning darkness was still thick, made deeper by the fresh layer of snow outside. I adjusted the notebook on my desk, the faint glow of my mana-lamp barely illuminating my scribbles. Belle perched on the edge of the table, watching me with that expectant, judge-y stare of hers.
I had work to do. Specifically, I needed to test a theory about Thunder Verdict. The spell wasn’t exactly beginner-friendly—it involved manipulating neuron charges in a way that could, theoretically, make someone’s limbs jerk uncontrollably. A flick of their hand here, a stumble of their legs there. The concept on paper was elegant. The execution? I had no clue yet.
Which is where Belle came in.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I muttered. “You’re my most reliable test subject.”
She chirped in protest but didn’t move. That was as good as consent, right?
I was just about to focus my mana when a yawn crept out of my mouth, slow and unexpected.
Wait, what?
My eyes blinked heavily, and I rubbed them with the back of my hand. Sleepy? But why? A faint unease stirred in my gut. Sure, it wasn’t overwhelming—just an annoying pull at the edges of my awareness—but it shouldn’t have been there at all.
I’d just slept a few hours ago. And ever since I’d taken on this draconic form, my need for sleep had practically evaporated. Unless I was mentally overclocking myself, I could go a week without batting an eye.
But now? Now, there was this…wrongness.
My gaze snapped toward the window, instincts on high alert. The curtains swayed faintly from the cold air outside, their motion far too ordinary for my growing paranoia.
Was I overthinking this? Maybe whatever happened to my core had drained my mental reserves, making me more tired than usual? Still, the unease didn’t fade.
I shook my head, pushing the creeping discomfort aside. Whether I was overreacting or not, I wasn’t about to curl up and give in. No way. Not when there was work to be done.
Focus.
I returned to my notes, summoning the intricate details of Thunder Verdict from the depths of my mind. Whatever this weird fatigue was, it could wait. Right now, it was time to experiment.
Comments
TimeDrawsNigh
> I don’t exactly plan this explosion of filth, you know. Feels like it should be “didn’t”
AwesumCoolNinja
Ahh okay, yeah I just wanted to mention that if it was a mistype or something since it seemed like something that could easily slip by.
MangOwO
Patreon app's having a stroke. Tried fixing it, no dice. web version's running just fine, though, so at least there's that XD
AwesumCoolNinja
I was rereading this and noticed that the stat screen seems to be off, all the stats and bullet points are in one big clump at the end under the resources category rather than all sitting in the proper categories listed before them
M van Dongen
Yeah. Totally good instincts there. It's not like she just had a major confrontation or something.
MangOwO
They're more like a deeper connection to an element. Like, what Lotte said in an earlier chapter: every path someone takes with an element eventually converges toward its fundamental truth, the core concept that underpins it all.
IDK
Woooo! At long last, I can put her in a tier and not second guess my brain!
Jonathan
So, are the alignments a deeper connection to elements than the basic affinities, or are they adjacent??
