Shifter - Infinite Transformation-Chapter 45: Eyes Above

"Are you still not awake, human?" Clove’s voice rang out from outside the hut. "You are so weak! How can someone as weak as you consider yourself worthy of Fern?! Come out and fight me!"

Fern beside me grunted softly. She was still asleep, but she was already clinging onto me. Her tail was coiled around my waist, her arms sprawled across my chest.

"No~," she muttered in her sleep, pressing herself firmly against me, "Don’t go."

"Don’t even think about running from me. You can’t!" Clove laughed happily, clearly enjoying this part of the day the most. "I can hear you breathing, human!"

Letting out a groan, I turned into a Blue Slime. That was a much better way to escape Fern than nearly getting my neck snapped. Because that almost happened to me. She didn’t even remember holding so tightly to me, but I was nearly killed in bed. The memory made me shudder. Fortunately, I could change forms and escape Fern’s deadly grip.

Turning back to my main form as soon as my liquid body splattered on the ground, I changed into a new set of clothes, adjusted the belt, and, most importantly, freshened up after pocketing a pouch with enough food to last me a day.

"You are so sloooow, human. Whyyyyy?" Clove complained aloud even as I stepped out of the hut. He greeted me with a shit-eating grin, which only made him look more punchable than he already was.

"Shut it, or you will wake Fern," I grunted, rubbing the weariness out of my eyes.

Clove’s lips parted but snapped shut when someone in the hut groaned.

"Let’s go!" Clove whispered, pulling my sleeve and urging me to follow.

"How are you still not tired of waking me up at the first sun’s rise?" I shook my head but hastened up when Clove accelerated.

He chuckled. "Why would I be tired? I always wake up at this time. And it’s even funnier now that someone else is awake to spar with!"

"You don’t even like sparring with me. It’s not a challenge or anything," I said, flicking his hand and removing it from my sleeve. "What you like is beating me up."

"That’s not true!" he said sharply, coming to a screeching halt. "I like watching you grow. That is different."

Watching you grow... and beating the living shit out of you, you mean.

I corrected Clove in my mind but stayed silent. To be truthful, all those sparring sessions had been rather helpful. Clove was a little bit over the top by asking me to spar in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, but it was not like I couldn’t have rejected his requests. He would have complained, but Fern would have made sure the young fae would stop bothering me.

Alas, that wasn’t necessary. For I accepted the sparring requests whenever I was in the grove.

Not because of all the beating. That was a pain in the ass. No, I was far more concerned with my growth. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The monsters in the Eserian forest had been starting to act odd–even more so than they did before I fell from the flying ship. Stronger monsters were seen near the Eserian Grove, which was all the more reason to grow stronger. And strength was something Clove could provide. It was painful, but sparring with him was realistic. It felt like I was fighting with my life on the line.

Actually, that was probably not far from the truth sometimes. Enraging Clove usually led to a bloodbath. He lost himself in his fury and thirst for blood. Even though I knew that someone was always at the tree stump to guard the remains of the Millennial Tree, Clove’s primal form was scary.

Fortunately, I did not manage to enrage him that often after the first time. He was also apologetic afterward, knowing perfectly well what could have happened and how dangerous his fae bloodline was.

But as dangerous as it was to spar with Clove, it strengthened me all the more. The combat experience I gained from our constant spars was invaluable. That was also why my Core’s saturation level didn’t surprise me all that much.

Core: Tier-1 (31%)

Not even three full weeks had passed since we started sparring, but I was already close to the first major threshold. My mother spent years in her hometown to reach that level. Meanwhile, it hadn’t even been two months since my Choosing.

"Let’s practice today. I want to go out on a hunt," I said before stepping atop the Millennial Tree stump.

"Another task from Elder Taria?" Clove narrowed his eyes at me. "You know that she’s been using you, right? Even if she’s been covering your meals, not even Fern and the other Aear have this many tasks. Just because you can fly and meld with the Eserian’s wildlife doesn’t mean you should have to cover all surveillance tasks!"

He continued to ramble, which was nice to hear. Clove was an oddity. He was a pain in the butt and hard to get used to, but he was fiercely loyal. As soon as he liked you, he’d be on your side no matter what. And, somehow, I had managed to achieve just that, despite being weaker and all.

Clove didn’t like weaklings. Fern and the others mentioned that it was something about his heritage. That his kind of fae disliked the weak–to an extent that bordered on hatred.

To befriend someone like me meant a lot. I didn’t realize it at first, but the young fae’s clinginess was a turning point. The fae were no longer as apprehensive about me as before. They regarded me vigilantly, yet there was no sign of their initial hatred. Because one of the fae who was the hardest to befriend was now hanging around me all day.

Clove’s fae heritage considered me worthy, so others followed.

"I don’t mind. It only makes sense to give me the reconnaissance tasks." I could only shrug at that. Being able to permanently shift into a Kerink and some other monsters of the forest allowed me to merge with the Eserian. Nobody would notice me as long as I behaved like one of the beasts.

"There are also a few monsters I’m keeping tabs on." I licked my lips just thinking about my future targets, bringing a smile to Clove’s lips.

"You are probably the only Chosen who’s not even halfway through the first Tier yet thinks about hunting a monstrosity." He shook his head, but I knew he loved my mindset. "If I didn’t know you were serious, I’d call you mad. In the Netherworld, I still think that’s mad!!"

Clove laughed excitedly. "I want to watch you crush your first monstrosity!"

"Yes, yes, but let’s practice first," I dismissed him with a wave, unsheathing my steel sword.

The canopy above us swirled wildly as training began, and two blazing orbs, reminiscent of the first sun, gazed down upon us from high above the leaves.

They didn’t move. They watched patiently.