Before I could approach the crystal, it began pulsing with intense energy. The dark mana surrounding it swirled faster, and the air in the chamber grew thicker.
"Something's happening," Maya warned, raising her bow.
The crystal's pulsing reached a crescendo, and with a pulse of dark energy, a massive form materialized in the centre of the chamber.
This wasn't just a slightly stronger bear—it was enormous, easily 4 metres tall when it stood on its hind legs. Its muscles bulged with unnatural size, providing both protection and devastating power.
"Alpha," Victor breathed, his grip tightening on his dagger.
Instead of charging like the others, it studied us with calculating eyes, assessing each team member and their positions.
When I moved to draw its attention, the alpha kept tracking the others in its peripheral vision, making it difficult for them to find openings.
"It's smart," Alex observed quietly.
The alpha proved his point by feinting a charge at me, then suddenly pivoting to swipe at Tyler when he tried to move into position. Only Tyler's quick reflexes saved him from claws that would have opened his chest.
I shifted, bringing out my axe once again and hardening my form to better absorb the creature's attacks. "I'll try to keep it busy. Hit it when you can."
The alpha's first real charge was devastating. It dashed towards me and swung its claws, I was caught off guard by the speed of it and the claws left deep scores across my surface.
Victor darted in, his dagger finding the soft spot behind its front leg. The wound was deep, but the creature barely slowed down.
The alpha's intelligence showed immediately. It backed towards the chamber wall, using one of the bear corpses as partial cover. The positioning forced us to attack from a narrow angle, and Maya couldn't take the shot without risking hitting one of us.
The creature's bulk made the chamber feel smaller, its massive frame intimidating as it reared up to its full four-metre height. Tyler and Zoe tried to circle around opposite sides, but the alpha shifted position constantly, keeping the wall at its back while using the corpse as a shield.
Alex watched the bear's movements carefully, reading its patterns. When the alpha focused on me, Alex darted forward and struck at its exposed ribs. But the creature was learning too—it anticipated the flanking attempt and swung a massive paw towards Alex, who barely rolled away in time.
"We need to overwhelm it," I called out, absorbing my axe and beginning to form a sword instead, however I was a bit too close.
The alpha saw the weapon change as an opportunity and lunged forward, its massive jaws clamping down on my arm just as the sword was starting to form. The bite severed my arm cleanly.
Pain shot through my system, but I didn't let it stop me. Using my remaining arm, I completed the sword and drove it into the alpha's neck. The creature staggered back, black blood flowing from the wound.
But my arm was gone and the mana in it too, I had to recreate the lost mass and reform my arm. While the process was mana consuming I didn't rush it to avoid hampering my ability to fight
The alpha watched the regrowth with what looked like fascination, clearly having never encountered anything like it. The momentary distraction gave the team their first real opening.
Victor struck at the creature's wounded leg while Alex moved past him. But the alpha had grown warier—it spun faster than expected, forcing both men back.
In their haste to avoid the sweeping claws, Victor and Alex collided, stumbling over each other's feet and giving the alpha another precious moment to reposition.
The creature dragged the bear corpse with it as it moved, using the dead weight as both shield and obstacle. Maya's arrows thudded into the corpse instead of finding their mark, her frustration evident as she constantly searched for better angles.
Tyler tried to exploit the alpha's focus on the others and charged in. But it was ready, it feinted an attack on Alex, then whirled towards Tyler. He managed to get his rapier up in a defensive position, but the alpha's claws raked across his forearms as he blocked, opening deep and painful wounds.
"Back off!" Alex commanded, moving to cover Tyler's retreat.
The alpha's breathing had become laboured now, black blood seeping from multiple wounds. But it wasn't ready to give up yet, it was determined to drag them down with it.
Nate slid under its guard with his short sword aimed at its belly. The alpha saw him coming and slammed down with both front paws. He jumped sideways, the massive claws missing his head by a few centimeters and leaving gouges in the stone where he'd been.
My arm finished regenerating as the fight continued. The alpha was slowing down noticeably now, its movements becoming more laboured and its attack lousy.
The accumulation of wounds was finally taking its toll—Victor's stabs to its leg made it favour one side, while its neck continued to seep blood with each movement.
Alex watched as the alpha raised itself up to intimidate Zoe, exposing its wounded neck area. Instead of attacking directly, Alex waited for the moment when the creature's balance shifted, then launched himself forward with both daggers.
The alpha tried to bring its claws around to defend, but exhaustion made it a fraction too slow. Alex's daggers found the open wound and stabbed through it almost severing the creature's head.
The massive bear crashed to the ground, its body shaking the chamber floor. For a moment, we all stood breathing hard, the fight was brief but intense.
"Good teamwork," Victor praised.
I approached the crystal artifact, axe reforming in my grip. Like the wolf crystal, it required multiple strikes to destroy, each impact sending waves of dark energy through the chamber.
The final strike shattered the crystal completely, its dark energy dissipating like smoke in the wind.
"Maybe I should've tried to absorb it," I muttered, looking at the crystal fragments scattered across the floor. The energy was already gone—there was nothing left to absorb but ordinary stone.
But there were other things to absorb. I had caught a glimpse of the path forward for my cultivation and it would require tremendous amounts of mana, so I wasn't going to waste any opportunities.
Moving through the cave, I began the process of absorbing all 6 bear corpses—the 3 from earlier, the 2 enhanced bears, and the massive alpha. It was time-consuming work, but the rewards were substantial.
The bears provided excellent materials: tough hide that could be used for armour, strong bones, and those razor-sharp claws that could be used to make tools. But more importantly, each bear contained significant amounts of mana that flowed into my core as I absorbed them.
The process was like filling a reservoir. The mana I'd lost during the fight—from my severed arm and the regeneration—was restored and then exceeded. The operation was a success, both because we destroyed the nest and because I gained in mana.
While I was focused on that Tyler was helped by Maya, she applied healing salve to his arms and bandaged him up.
The wounds looked worse than they actually were but blood loss was still a concern so he was sent straight to Doc Hayes with Maya.
"Your human form," Zoe said as I finished with the last bear. "Why do you always make it so... basic? Its like a human shaped statue made out of jelly. Don't you want it to look more realistic?"
I paused, considering her question. "I've never really thought about it."
"But you could make it look more human if you wanted to?"
"Yea, probably." I concentrated on my form, drawing on both the bear physiology I'd just absorbed and the small amount of human I'd consumed all those months ago.
The change was gradual but dramatic. Real skin texture appeared across my surface, complete with proper colouring and subtle variations. Hair grew on my head, my eyes developed proper irises and pupils, while my facial features gained definition and character.
"Much better," Victor said approvingly. "You actually look like yourself now instead of a generic human shape."
"The eyes are a bit off though," he added. "Try making them slightly more almond-shaped and the nose should be a bit narrower."
I adjusted the features according to his guidance, fine-tuning the details until my reflection in a nearby pool of water looked nearly identical to how I was before becoming a slime.
"That's remarkable," Nate breathed. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were just another person."
Victor smiled. "Time to head home and share the good news."
The journey back to the settlement was uneventful, though I continued absorbing any mana-rich plants we encountered.
The settlement looked welcoming and peaceful as they approached. Word of our return spread quickly, and by the time we reached the main plaza, Maria, Sam, Walter, Lily, and Ethan had gathered to hear our report.
"Mission successful," Victor announced. "Nest destroyed, and bears eliminated. No serious injuries."
"Excellent work," Maria replied, but her attention was already shifting to me. "AJ? You look..."
"After absorbing the bears and a well timed question from Zoe I figured I should try going for something more realistic," I explained, maintaining my new human form.
"You look just like... you," Lily said with genuine enthusiasm.
Sam was immediately fascinated by the technical aspects, Walter smiled, and Ethan grinned and punched my shoulder.
"Still slimy underneath?" he asked.
"Always will be," I replied, allowing a brief ripple across my arm to demonstrate.
"By the way how'd the experiment go?" Sam asked.
"There's an effect, nothing major but it's definitely a step forward." I replied. The others had confused looks on their faces so I explained that I had finally found a way forward with my cultivation.
"This calls for a celebration if you ask me," Maria declared. "A successful mission, no casualties, and AJ's breakthrough. We should—" She paused mid-sentence, a strange expression crossing her face.
"What is it?" Walter asked.
"I just had a thought, we never actually named the settlement," Maria said slowly. "We've been calling it 'the settlement' for weeks, but we're more than that now."
"We should fix that," Lily said excitedly. "We need a proper name."
"Let's gather everyone up for this." Maria said.
The brainstorming session that followed was enthusiastic and chaotic. Names flew thick and fast : "Valentra," "New Dawn," "Luminar," "Nythelis," "Elenion," "Dauntless."
"Too many good options," Ethan laughed after the initial flood of suggestions.
"We'll need to vote on it," Walter suggested. "Let's narrow it down and then let everyone choose."
The voting process took place that evening, with the entire settlement participating. After several rounds of elimination, two names emerged as the clear favourites: "Valentra" and "Luminar."
"Final vote," Maria announced. "Valentra meaning resilience, protection, and rebirth. Luminar meaning, light, like a beacon guiding the way forward."
The vote was close, but Valentra won by a narrow margin.
"Valentra it is," Maria declared as the count was finished. "Valentra Village, to start with. As we grow, we'll become The Town of Valentra, then Valentra City."
"To Valentra!" someone called out, and the cheer was taken up by the entire gathering.