Shifter - Infinite Transformation-Chapter 83: Pathways

"I believe you," the elf said. "Not only because you sound trustworthy, which you do, but because I have a Skill that allows me to detect falsehood. And you haven’t spoken a single falsehood."

The way the elf looked at me showed clearly that he knew I was hiding some things, yet he didn’t seem to care enough about that.

"Anyway, I believe you enough to have you registered. However, being from the Zetrian Empire means you need to keep your Hunter tag on you, no matter where you go. If you remove it by force, Hunters will be sent out to catch you–dead or alive depending on your response," the elf spoke gravely. "The Hunter tag can be removed once you have been fully integrated into the Forea Alliance. That usually takes a few years, but I can sense a bond on you, so it might not take you all that long since you are mated."

I just nodded as the elf scribbled down some more information.

"You will be registered as an F-rank Hunter to get you started, but you should not have much of an issue reaching the next Rank," the elf said, his attention still on the slate.

"If you tell me more about your Power, such as its rarity and other facts, such as additional utilities and other forms you can take, I can push you up for an early advancement," the elf added. "Your exact Core saturation would also be very helpful."

"I will keep the details of my Power hidden. After what happened with Earl Nuer’s people, I don’t want to tell people about it if I don’t have to."

"Understandable." The elf scribbled down something once more.

"As for my Core, it’s at a 72% saturation rate."

"That would be enough to reach the E-rank. Are you willing to spar with one of our instructors to increase your Rank, or do you wish to progress through the completion of missions and transactions?"

Sparring with someone implied I’d have to use my Power. That I didn’t want. Using Shift was not optional.

"I don’t think I have to change my Rank right away. A few missions and some transactions will do me good," I said with a smile. "Maybe after I sell the Eserian’s monsters to you, you will increase my Rank without any additional missions."

"We will see about that," the elf said in a professional tone and resumed his work.

He retrieved a small crystal and a small fingertip-sized piece of metal embedded with a similar crystal.

"Please circulate your Essence through the crystal. It is connected to the Hunter tag and will inform us if you die. Our Trackers can also use the Essence within the crystal to pursue you if you act hostile toward the Forea Alliance or its residents. I already told you, but let me say it again: Get rid of the Hunter tag before you are fully integrated into the Forea Alliance and it will result in a pursuit as well."

The elf’s words made enough sense to agree with him. That left him with one more issue.

"You want me to circulate Essence through the crystal, right?" The elf nodded as if that much was apparent. "And how do I do that?"

The elf’s lips parted, and I could have sworn that he was about to laugh out loud. Like I’d just told him the greatest joke of the year. But his lips sealed shut when he realized that I wasn’t joking. Whatever ability he had, it told him that I was genuine. Or maybe it was just my face.

"You...You don’t know how to circulate Essence?" the elf stammered loudly enough to be heard by the Hunters around me. One chuckled loudly enough for me to hear, which confirmed yet another suspicion. Something was wrong. Really wrong.

"Squeeze your Core like you’d squeeze your buttocks, kiddo. Push it into your pathways and force it through your body. Then out of your fingers!" One of the Hunters even shouted in a hoarse and not all that pleasant voice.

The elf grunted something incomprehensible but nodded as if he agreed. Somewhat.

"What pathways?" I asked, tilting my head, looking at the elven receptionist first before turning to the Hunters. "I have no pathways."

In this form.

"Wait a second." I transformed into the Blue Slime form and climbed on top of the wooden counter to insert my Essence. The problem here? My Blue Slime did not have even the slightest bit of Essence. It was born to be killed in the Choosing ritual.

Transforming into a Herculean Ant, I felt something. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it before, but the pathways the others were talking about were...quite obvious, actually. Minuscule strands of some sort of structure connected to the Core. They spread out of the Core in a manageable number, only to branch out and duplicate the further they traveled through the body. They spread everywhere and covered every corner of its body.

The Herculean Ant’s body.

Pushing Essence out of the Core was possible. I squeezed my buttocks as suggested and removed a trace of Essence from the Herculean Ant’s Core. It moved through the body in a slow and incredibly cumbersome manner, which definitely required more attention if I planned to do this more often, but it worked. From all I could tell, circulating Essence through the body amplified it as well. It was not a stark improvement, and it seemed to consume the Essence as well, which was not something I wanted, yet it was worth noting. In an emergency, it would surely come in handy.

Alas, releasing Essence into the crystal was still not possible. No Essence left the Herculean Ant’s body no matter how hard I tried pushing it out of the body and into the crystal.

Another restriction of Shift? I wondered before transforming back into my main form.

By now, almost everyone in the Huntrice was staring at me. Not that it mattered. I was too frustrated with that damn crystal and the fact that my main form didn’t have any pathways to care.

"Sir, even if you could use your other forms, the Huntrice would not acknowledge it. Your monster forms change your Essence," the elven receptionist said before retrieving yet another stone. "I am sorry for your loss. Pathways are important to cast Spells and wield Skills, yet I told you about your loss in such an insensitive manner. I did not intend to hurt you. I hope you can forgive me for my grave mistake."

The elf bowed deeply and placed the stone before me. "This is a Devoa. It’s a relatively rare mineral that grows stronger the more Essence it absorbs. Please hold it for a moment. The engravings will drain a minuscule amount of your Essence before transferring it into the crystal."

"Couldn’t you have done that earlier?" I grumbled, still feeling angry.

"Only children below the age of six require a Devoa when registering at the Huntrice." The elf pressed his lips firmly together.

"Oh."

Fuck me.

I really didn’t like this–all of it–but it didn’t change the facts.

I had no pathways, not yet, so I grabbed the Devoa.