Azotreh awoke on a bed far more comfortable than any they had slept on previously. It felt as if they were sleeping on a cloud, or something of equivalent softness.
They slowly turned their head to see what they were lying on, only to find something fluffy right in front of their eyes. They squeezed their right hand and found the softness beneath them felt as if it were pulling their hand into it.
They tried to sit up and get a better view of their surroundings, Eye of the Black Dragon activating on instinct, but they couldn't sit up. The fluffy bed they were on pulled them back down each time they tried to rise.
[You are being affected by: Binding of the Sheep. Speed poten reduced by 99%.]
The system message was bright. Brighter than before, if that was possible.
They still felt their fingers dig into the softness around them. Their body suddenly turned to bright slime, the physical facade of skin almost instantly replaced by semi-transparent cerulean gelatin.
Acid began to secrete from their outermost layer, creating holes for slime to invade and wrap around the bindings. Even if this was an ability, it was clearly an ability with some physical properties. So they began to melt and devour it in hopes of escape.
They didn't know much about acids, but they knew the acid they had was potent. It melted through iron and steel, so there was no way it couldn't break through what was apparently wool.
The bindings were very mana dense, though they didn't know why.
[You have devoured a small quantity of higher-ranked magic. Devouring options have expanded.]
[Devouring Options: Convert to Poten (Q, D, C), Convert to Resource (PBMIEW), Convert to X (EXP, XP, DX, X), Convert to DP, Store Record, Gain General Concept, Gain Root Concept.]
Despite suddenly being told that their devouring options had expanded, the list had actually shortened. It was strange, since the system was normally rather direct. When it said something happened, that something normally happened. So this was definitely strange.
But they didn't care about poten progression for now. Atu still hadn't begun training them in poten progression, and they didn't want to possibly damage their own progression by doing something wrong.
They were full on resources at the moment, as they had apparently been asleep for long enough that their natural regenerations kicked in and brought them back to full pools across the board.
They had also somewhat learned to absorb EXP from the air around them through the technique the cold consciousness had developed or simply figured out, so there was no reason to choose that one either.
Finally, they decided to store the record. They didn't know what gaining a general or root concept entailed in this case, leaving them with only that option.
[Record stored. Record incomplete. Continue devouring to advance record.]
[Record stored: 5.3%]
That wasn't an inconvenience in this case, actually. They had to break the bonds somehow, and if the only way to complete the record was to continue devouring, then they would.
They redoubled their efforts, making thin tunnels into the woolly surface with their acid before pushing the slime into those holes to gouge out pieces of the arcane wool.
Despite a lack of a mouth being used to consume, or a tongue to taste, Azotreh could still taste the magical substance as it dissolved in their body. It was mostly tasteless, though with a very slight prickling pain buried underneath. It wasn't enough to truly hurt, just enough to clearly disincentivize someone from eating it.
That didn't stop them, though. Azotreh had experienced more than enough pain to keep devouring their way through the arcane wool.
They felt their prana slowly draining as it seemed to inflict damage as well, but that damage was rapidly negated as each bite caused more mana to pulse through their body. Even with the records being stored rather than being used to gather resources, the wool still seemed to speed the beating of that massive heart, pushing mana through their body.
[You are suffering from Mana Toxicity due to the overconsumption of higher-ranked mana. Mana within your body has become poisonous.]
[You have acquired Mana Toxin Resistance (0.01%) and Mana Poison Resistance (0.01%)]
They once again felt the mana tearing away at their body like it was a thousand tiny swords, but kept melting their way through it.
It didn't take too long for the cold awareness to exert its presence, and they rapidly felt their body begin to grow.
[Ability: Mana to Biomass has advanced to level 3!]
[Mana Toxin has been cleared!]
[You are suffering from Mana Toxicity.]
The two flashing screens kept switching places. One first, then the other. Each time, the pain from the mana toxicity either vanished or redoubled. But with the cold presence working to preserve them by using their mana to create more biomass, they felt okay with the accumulating damage.
[Record stored: 50.4%]
Over a time they couldn't actually estimate they continued to consume more and more of the wool. It seemed to slowly multiply itself to keep them constrained, which made sense from an ability. They had even figured out, after accidentally pushing some of their mana into the wool, that it would grow on its own if they supplied it with power.
They had completely severed all senses of the outside world as they consumed more and more of the wool, then used some mana to regenerate the devoured portions. They didn't want the ability to break and stop whatever was happening.
Their body fluctuated in size as the cold awareness produced more slime to offset the mana toxicity and then compressed the new mass to return them to their former size. Neither knew how to stop now that they had started. It would only end once that record stored percent had reached one hundred.
Mukurric's avatar had long entered the room of the strange draconic child. Her horns scraped along the ceiling as she entered. But she didn't see the small humanoid the lady Atu had brought back to this room and she had gotten the powerful orc Gharjari to wrap it in arcane wool. Instead, there was a mass of cerulean gel.
It looked like an ooze, though it didn't have an obvious core. The core of a mana ooze was a shining orange like authority, but this mass of slime had no such core.
She could distinctly sense the cold stillness of the child's aura, making it clear that this was still the one called Azotreh. She could also sense the conflicting draconic nature within, making it all the more clear. But it was strange seeing such a drastic change in physical form.
Most shapeshifters had some slight aura change to fit in better with the kin of the lifeform they transformed into. But the child had no such capability. Just another thing she would have to teach if they were to ever find a time they weren't hunted by other dragons.
Far more interesting, though, was their current action. They had seemingly realized they were restrained, but rather than reaching out for help, they had decided to escape themselves. Or, that's what she assumed at first. As she watched, however, it became clear that this was no escape attempt. They were moving and devouring the mass of wool as if they were trying to escape, but instead they caused the binds to regenerate before consuming them once more.
Normally, she could tell some kind of intention from their aura, but she found none. Even to her far more refined aura sense, there was no emotion seeping through. No intention. Just the same cold stillness she'd felt from them just before they had passed out in that room before Anthei.
When they had slept, their aura fluctuated as most people's did. Seemingly at random and only very slightly. Only extremely attuned aura senses could be woken up by normal sleeping fluctuations, though extreme dreams and nightmares could disturb normal people.
But now that they were awake, they once more had that cold flatness to their aura. It was a little stronger than normal, likely due to the titles they carry, and possibly several achievements. But that could simply be explained by a long time in the tin rank. Atu had said they'd been near each other for nearly two months at this point, and other than the G to F-Grade jump they'd made early on, they had made no substantial rank progress.
But she wanted to know what this was all about, so she continued to watch for what her true body told her was about three hours from the progress of the moons above.
Finally, they stopped regenerating the binds and fell free onto the stone floor, their slimy mass constricting again before slowly returning to their original size. About four feet tall, with a thick white-scaled tail and blue wings.
The rabbit ears had also returned as they regenerated. She didn't know why they didn't have them when she first encountered them, but Atu had said they normally had rabbit ears that matched their multicolored hair.
Azotreh finally reached 100% in the record storage and finished consuming the arcane trap a moment later, their slimy form turning into a puddle on the floor before slowly shaping into the flattened sphere most slimes were.
They spent a quiet moment checking over their system notifications before deciding to take their normal form again.
[Record complete! Recorded Ability: Binding of the Sheep]
[New Titles: Mobile Library, Ability Thief I, Devourer of Magic I]
[New Achievement: Devourer of Magic I]
[The Skill System has recognized your achievement and granted you a Minor System Boon!]
[You have been issued a new quest!]
[System Quest: Records of Existence]
[A strange confluence of your abilities has allowed you to gather and store information to a far greater extent than most entities, even several ranks above you. System Administrator HD7431 has asked that you use those capabilities to their fullest.]
[Objective: Gather more information within your Records of Existence ability (0/1)]
[Uncommon]
[System - Repeating]
[Rewards: System Boon (variable quality), Additional depth to random poten.]
[Penalties: N/A]
[Time Limit: N/A]
The large window appeared for a moment before another layered atop it.
[You have been rewarded by System Administrator HD7431!]
[Analyze has advanced to Greater Analysis (1)]
[Dungeon Devouring has changed from (Innate) to (1)]
Azotreh stared at the quest. While tasks from the queen of gluttony weren't particularly rare, quests were. Azotreh had received none, but apparently, Doctor had only received one from the true divine. Azotreh didn't know who that was, but they were clearly someone of great importance.
Azotreh finally reformed their body only to see the towering form of a draconic woman in the same room. They couldn't feel her aura at all, which was rather disconcerting when she was standing right before them.
"What is going on with your aura? I've never experienced such an effect. It's as if you're nothing more than a vessel for power…"
She looked at them curiously.
"What are you talking about?" They asked in turn.
"Nothing. If you can't tell me, then I will simply figure it out while we train."
"Train?" Azotreh's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean we? Do I know you?"
"No, but you will. An old friend asked me to train you properly."
Azotreh wracked their brain, trying to figure out who this old friend could possibly be. They didn't know many people. Of the rabbit-kin, there were only Atu, Viket, and Asergia. They knew they had two sisters, but could barely remember their faces.
Apparently seeing the confusion on Azotreh's face, she spoke, "The ruler of this realm. The lich nightshade."
Azotreh's eyes shot wide, and they immediately crouched into a defensive position, trying to put as much of their biomass as they could between her and the beating heart in their chest.
She chuckled, "I don't mean any harm, kid. Don't judge me by my friends."
Azotreh didn't release the tension they were holding. The dragon let out a long sigh, "Fine, you can be tense around me. Just don't let it impede our training."
Azotreh nodded ever so slightly, and the dragon led them back into the main room.
Two orcs and Atu were sitting on strange furniture. The orcs were playing a game of cards while Atu watched the entrance to the room Azotreh was in warily.
The female orc slammed down a hand of seven cards, "seven aces," she said in Aemabi.
The male orc across from her gave her a flat look but examined the hand. It was true, seven aces. The male orc rolled his eyes and put down his hand, a straight flush in the coins suit.
Neither looked up as Azotreh entered the room, nor as the dragon who followed them did. Whatever time it was, it wasn't time for them to do anything. Atu looked at Azotreh as the dragon led them into another room.
She sat them down and began to speak once more, her voice seeming to resonate through the room with audible power.
"You carry a grand destiny, Azotreh. I am here to ensure you fulfill it."
Azotreh looked confused as she explained, "You carry not just the power of dragons, but the power of heroes. There's at least one other unknown variable in your destiny, but I can't be sure how many. To reach that point, you must push yourself and know how to do so."
Azotreh wanted to know what she meant by knowing how to push themselves, but they could barely get the thought out before they felt an aura push down on them.
They almost passed out from the raw pressure, but managed to barely resist. Somehow, the aura carried a domineering power and a hint of flame.
Their aura was pressed flat against their body, completely incapable of pushing back.
[Suppressive Pain (0.05%)]
The aura didn't waver, didn't lighten. It simply continued to push and push. Azotreh could do nothing but resist. It was clear that the dragon woman wasn't going all out, wasn't even close to that. She looked as if she were relaxing on a beach in the middle of the summer.
Errazorrus suddenly also occupied the body and assisted in pushing back the overwhelming aura. For a moment, the pressure let up a smidge. The force of two wills pushing back was stronger than just one. The cold presence was there as well, but it was still controlling their aura and mana. It couldn't help.
"Fight harder." She said, her voice echoing through Azotreh's mind. Their entire body rippled as her voice struck their skull. Their skin melted into slime, and a pair of black draconic horns slowly curled up from the slime. But it was of no use.
Those black scales they used on instinct began to appear across the slime, as if increasing their physical defense would somehow assist against the aura suppression. But it didn't.
[Suppressive Pain (0.10%)]
[For pushing a pain resistance to 0.1%, you have gained title: Pain Resistant I]
[For pushing suppressive pain resistance to 0.1%, you have gained title: Suppressive Pain Resistant I]
The system notifications were blocked out as they fought back. The bright blue lights not mattering before their desperate struggle against a far greater foe.
More scales slowly appeared across their body, creating patterns as they rapidly shifted colors. Black to red to blue to white and back again. Their eyes lost focus and began to spiral with three spots, one red, one black, and one absent. The only way the third dot was noticeable was due to the distance between the first two. They formed a triangle.
They pushed with all their might, with everything they had. But it was like trying to lift a mountain with your bare hands. The weight just kept increasing until finally, their aura broke. The foreign aura invaded their body for a moment before suddenly pulling back into the draconic woman.
"Fascinating. You retained the humanoid form despite everything. I expected you to fully return to a slimy form. A puddle on the floor."
Azotreh let out a sound that was somewhere between a gurgle and a roar.
"Get some rest. Training resumes in two hours once your willpower regenerates."
She left the room, leaving Azotreh to check over whatever progress they'd made.
[Suppressive Pain (0.33%)]
[Title: Suppressive Pain Resistant I has become Suppressive Pain Resistant III]
[Your instinctive actions have created a new ability! You have obtained ability: Scales of the Black Dragon (1)]
[Aura Manipulation has advanced to Apprentice 25!]
[Gained skill: Aura Suppression Resistance (A-4)]
[For holding out against a substantially stronger enemy for a prolonged period, you have gained titles: Persistent I, Defiant I]
[You have gained Title and Achievement: Survivor I]
[Stimulus Discovered! New record has begun formation.]
[Record: Suppressing Pain 32.5%]