At the request of Aragoth, Ryo teleported themselves to the throne room where Ryo had first encountered Aragoth. The bronze Goblin from before was sitting on the ornament-covered seat, tentacles flowing from his torso to his arm. The Goblin perked up at the sight of Aragoth, almost relieved to not have to take charge of the dungeon. Aragoth made his way up to the throne, patting the Goblin on the shoulder before lifting him off the throne and assuming his previous position, just without the intimidating size.
He snapped his fingers, and two unique monsters made their way towards him. A large, circular golden shield-like creature with no discernable features, and a canine Monster with brown, paper-thin skin, yet with razor-sharp claws that Ryo assumed could cut through most metals. The shield had small etchings carved into it, although, for what purpose, he wasn't sure. The dog-esque Monster appeared to be vibrating slowly, and Ryo couldn't discern whether or not it was due to its skin being so thin that its ribs were clearly visible, or that it was excited.
Aragoth lifted his hands into the air, looking at both creatures as he moved one hand slowly on top of another. The shield-like Monster moved to the head of the canine one, embedding itself into the dog-like Monster's skull. Blood slowly dripped down from the wounds, as the canine Monster let out a howl that sounded like a mix of pain and excitement. Shards of metal burst out from the dog-like monster's spine, acting as a form of protection.
The small etching on the shield began taking form, the metal warping to showcase two exaggeratedly-large eyes and a mouth that stretched from one side to the other. Its mouth was contorted into a smile, and Ryo felt like he was staring into an endless, treacherous abyss that was the soulless eyes of the newly-formed Monster.
"Meet the Glasya-Labolas, Ryo!" Aragoth announced, Monsters like Slimes, Goblins and Ghouls surrounding them to make a faux-arena. "A fusion between a shield Monster, a Glasya, and a canine Monster, a Labolas! Quite an easy naming scheme, isn't it?" He explained, pointing a finger at Ryo.
Ryo concentrated mana into his spine, preparing for what was about to happen. He could see the Glasya-Labolas doing the same thing, getting ready to pounce forward. Its face never changed that entire time, a devious smile staring through Ryo, looking at his soul. At least, that's what Ryo was assuming.
"Attack."
The Glasya-Labolas rushed forwards, its claws as sharp as Ryo had assumed. He may not be as fast as this Monster, but he had an advantage. Demon magic. He teleported out of the way, watching as its claws appeared to cut the very fabric of reality with its strength. It lunged at him once more, poised to do the exact same thing, but this time Ryo was ready. He formed a pillar of fire where he stood, teleporting out of the way as he did so, singeing the stomach of the Glasya-Labolas with the intense heat.
The Monster took a second to turn around, but when it did, Ryo noticed a different expression on its face. Its mouth was still smiling, but its eyes were closed, almost as if it was satisfied. The burn marks that Ryo had left behind were fading away rapidly, meaning that this creature had Healing magic. Ryo decided to take advantage of this small downtime to make another attack, so he created a spike of roots underneath the Glasya-Labolas, stabbing it straight through the base of the Monster.
Purple blood, not too dissimilar from that of the Umichron, dripped from the undergrowth that had pierced the Glasya-Labolas. 'That couldn't be it, could it?' Ryo asked himself, and he was right. The Glasya-Labolas did the same thing that Ryo did against the Hollowkind. It healed at a fast enough pace that it cut the roots away, expelling it from the body before patching up the hole. "Oh, I hate you." Ryo muttered, fusing both Water and Lightning magic to create an electric ball of liquid death.
He fired it at the Glasya-Labolas, but instead of dodging, it stood still. It watched the ball of electrified water move closer and closer, and only when it was around two metres away did it do anything. Its expression changed, becoming sad for a brief moment. The ball of water exploded, sending electric sparks to the floor before they dissipated into the air. Ryo looked at it, dumbfounded, as he had never seen anything like it. Ryo felt a sharp pain in his chest, his stomach feeling lighter.
The Glasya-Labolas had taken advantage of his confusion to swap back to its happy face, slicing through Ryo's abdomen and stomach in one swipe. Ryo felt his intestines drop from his body, and he almost lost consciousness right there, but he activated Healing magic before he did, allowing him to just barely stay conscious. He used Psychokinesis to place them back into his body, healing his flesh to make sure they stayed in the correct position. Throughout this, the Glasya-Labolas made no moves on him. No attacks, no noises, nothing. If this was the grace of Aragoth, he owed his life and more at this point.
Ryo slowly stood up, staring the Glasya-Labolas down. "No more fucking around." Ryo said, his voice more serious than he'd ever heard himself speak. He tried a new application of the Teleportation spell, based on how he had learned that he could teleport anywhere in his immediate line of sight. His body appeared underneath the Glasya-Labolas, but his right arm was upwards, hand splayed and shoved into the underbelly of the Monster. It let out a screech as Ryo scorched its insides before sending an electric shock into the creature's organs.
To any other normal Monster, this would have killed it, hands down. However, this was a Glasya-Labolas, and it had to earn its right to be the Monster that provided people with the Manabound mutation. Ryo felt his hand tear away from his arm, the Monster using its paw to rip him away. Blood spurted from his stump as he was sent flying backwards, landing on a group of multi-coloured Goblins, one of them having glittery black skin. He stood up, teleporting to where his hand now lay, blood stained around it like a murder scene.
He picked it up, placed it onto his stump, and attempted to reattach it through healing. The adrenaline running through his system was keeping him sane, for the moment. However, before his hand could fully heal, the Glasya-Labolas leaped at him once more. Its face was still happy, but, as soon as Ryo teleported out of the way, its face shifted again. It appeared to be asleep, and as Ryo tried to puzzle out what that could mean, it was answered for him.
Ryo felt his body get overridden, electric signals clashing with his own for control. His body spasmed, his hand left half-attached. He tried to push back with his own Lightning, but the Glasya-Labolas had him beat in that regard. So, Ryo decided to get crafty. If he couldn't control his own body, why should he let the Glasya-Labolas control theirs?
He activated Psychokinesis, locking his eyes onto the Monster. He shoved heaps of mana into his skull, powering this up as much as he could. He lifted the Glasya-Labolas into the air slowly, realising that his speed depended on how heavy the thing he was lifting was. However, lifting didn't mean horizontal force, and with that, he slammed the Glasya-Labolas into the wall to his right, placing it outside of the arena.
It yelped as its ribs cracked against the wall, giving Ryo a second to heal his hand, attaching it to his arm and fusing the skin and muscles together, but he was not planning on giving the Glasya-Labolas a break. If he did, he could die. Ryo concentrated his Psychokinesis on his legs, noticing that he could now move freely, much like how he did with his mind to speed it up, and he could feel mana surge into his calves. He sprinted forward, a speed unknown to him erupting forth. He pooled mana into his arms, and his arms moved at the same speed. He reached the wall in under a second, bursting through the wall of Monsters, the Glasya-Labolas falling to the floor.
Ryo began throwing devastating punches at the underside of the Monster, as trying to punch the shield that it had for a face seemed like an incredibly bad idea. His fists, empowered by the mana that spread from his arms to his hands, moved at speeds he didn't recognise. He coated his arms in electricity, the sounds of thunder erupting with each and every punch, leaving slowly-spreading cracks in the wall.
Aragoth could only look on in amazement. "He's using a type of magic he hasn't learned yet, albeit a slightly weaker and much more mana-inefficient version, by using Mental magic. It's like Boost magic!" Aragoth said himself, getting excited. "I knew I was right in sparing him. I hope he can keep surprising me with his improvements."
Ryo performed the same technique he had used on the Goblin and the Hollowkind: Convulsion Of Nature. Electricity, Water, Fire and Nature magic all coalesced into one onslaught of spells. His fists sped up, each punch adding more and more of each element to the attacks. Electricity fried the Glasya-Labolas's nerves, while fire scorched its skin and seared its organs. Water forced the flames to cool, blistering the underbelly of the Monster while also aiding the electricity in its shocking capabilities. Nature spread its roots throughout the creature, tearing through the charred skin to create branches inside of the Monster.
Ryo leaned back, his right hand covered in a glowing ball of verdant green energy. It contained the flickering nature of electricity, the consistency of water, the shape of flames, and the colour of grass. He threw that punch forward, piercing the skin of the Glasya-Labolas, roots spreading from his hand. He pulled his fist out, a mix of purple and black, seared, smoking chunks of flesh ripping out with it. The roots from his hand still extended, lifting the Monster into the air. The Glasya-Labolas stopped moving, the noises dying down from its throat.
The roots melded with the branches inside the Glasya-Labolas, turning into a fully-fledged tree, albeit without leaves, but it wouldn't need those. A branch shot out from its mouth, flicking the face-like shield away, revealing the Labolas on its own with no protection. More branches pierced the flesh, revealing the charred innards of the Labolas, smoke still escaping. Stems split off from those, trapping the now-dead Labolas inside the tree.
A root broke out from the side of the Labolas, piercing through its ribs with a loud crack, holding a large purple crystalline object. However, Ryo could see that it was pulsing, despite being from a dead Monster. The root dropped it into Ryo's hand, the weight of it shocking him. It was nearly as light as a feather, despite its size.
"When a Glasya-Labolas' core is filled with short-term adrenaline, it becomes lighter in order to push more blood and mana around the body." Aragoth explained, standing up from his throne. He signalled to the bronze Goblin to get back on it, and with some reluctance, it sat back down. Aragoth made his way over to Ryo, picking up the core. "Well, look at this. Despite how quick that was, you managed to get it quite light. Have fun eating this." He told Ryo before placing it back in his hands.
Ryo looked at the core that lay in his hands, feeling it pulse slightly. He closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and took a bite out of the side, crystal shards coating his mouth. The inside of his mouth was cut with thousands of small lacerations, before the shards disappeared, absorbing themselves into his bloodstream. Ryo quickly devoured the rest of the core, desperate to get it over with as he tasted the now-familiar copper that was blood. He healed his mouth, waiting for something to change. He felt just as tired as he had before, his body slightly stiff from throwing so many punches.
"You know, I think it might have failed. Didn't the Mutation description say 'relative consistency' instead of guaranteed-"
Ryo felt a sharp pain hit his chest, his head, his legs, everywhere. Everything began to close in on him, pressure building in every muscle, the feeling of his veins and arteries about to explode overcoming his senses. He collapsed to his knees, his legs weakening with the pain. Mana coursed through his veins, exploding his senses with a newfound power. He felt like he could take over the world with his new magical strength. He knew he couldn't, but god did it feel incredible, despite the pain. The brown streak underneath his pupil in his right iris grew slightly larger.
Ryo slowly stood up, lifting his body off the floor. The area around them began to shake, Monsters being lifted off the floor collectively. Confused noises erupted from the crowd of Monsters, but Ryo didn't care. He looked at Aragoth, a smile on his face.
"I did it, Aragoth. I have a Mutation."