My life as a reborn monster

-----Sondar POV--------

I was shocked as I received the message, over the last year I had gotten somewhat familiar with how the system worked. I was not used to being able to see my skills all the time, the last time I had seen what skills I had was when I left the mercenary company I was with and received a free pass to use the observation crystal.

I didn't immediately open the message because I was scared at what it might of said. I didn't want to find out that this was his last goodbye, I didn't want to find out that I would never see my brother again. I still replay the memories I received from him after he gave up a part of his life to give me mine back. I never said this but I know he is from another world. I knew he was a human from a world called 'Earth', I could feel how happy he was with his family.

I didn't want this to be the ending to his story, I didn't want the last flames of his life to be blown out with just a message.

With tears in my eyes I reluctantly opened it up, and read what it said.

[Hey Sondar, I don't have time to explain but this is Vexsus' Dual mind. Something went horribly wrong and I just now woke up but I can feel myself fading away again. I am sendi.. messa...warning..Ve.su.s....Feral....Caution]

I read it over and over again trying to figure out what that last part said. I can tell it was saying something about Vexsus and something feral, I could only imagine that it was saying that Vexsus himself was feral and that we had to be cautious. Maybe because we were so close to him now? I knew that it could be dangerous but I had to go rescue him, even if he became dangerous to me I would do everything I could to bring him back.

I turned towards the others and spoke.

"I just received a message from Vexsus' Dual mind. It said that it had been asleep up until just now but it was fading away again. It was sending us a warning that Vexsus had become feral, so if that scares you than I will go alone, I promised I would bring him back and that's just what I'll do."

I could tell that the thought of how powerful Vexsus was even a year ago was a scary thought for the others, but to think that as strong as we got, he who had been fighting for a full year nonstop He had to have grown exponentially. We all thought the same thing. 'What if he tries to kill us'.

That's why I wanted to go alone, I didn't care if he killed me. I had to try my best to bring him back, my life was given back by him so it's only fair for him to take it away. I turned to walk down the tunnel alone before I was stopped by a different hands holding me back. I turned my head and saw the original members all holding onto me, they had tears in their eyes but I could see a insurmountable resolve behind them.

"Ha...Fine we will all go together. But what about you guys?" I asked pointing towards the raccoon beastkin brothers, Hannah, and Gaia. I didn't know how they felt and didn't want to risk their lives over this if they didn't want to.

Gaia was the first to walk up and stand proudly before saying. "I would give my life to Vexsus if he required it. I would do anything to repay him for forgiving me of how stupid I was back then. It might not mean much coming from a weakling like me but I'll use what power I gained over this past year to help anyway I can."

"Yea, I'll help to."

"Same here." Said the brothers

"Why wouldn't I help rescue Vexsus? He promised to always protect me. I think it's time he held up that promise." Hannah said, they all held the same resolve that the rest of us had.

I was very happy to hear them say that, not only because for the past year we had become a close knit group. But also because I didn't know what to expect when we went deeper down the tunnel.

I had Jasper and Victor, along with Konna and Kitsoma upfront as the main tanks of our group. Jasper being a pure shield user who controlled ice in order to create near impenetrable defenses was perfect for the job. Victor was always right beside him as he and his brother had made up their own unique fighting style, similarly to how the twins, Tinoa and Vinoa use their respective magic affinities to create a altogether new spell element and fight that way. Konna on the other hand was like a berserker on the battlefield. We would try and hold her back but ever since Vexsus lost most of his connection with the goblins, they had developed more animalistic tendencies. They still were somewhat civilized like us but when it came to fighting they basically reverted into the goblins they used to be and tried to kill anything with brute force. Even Shorunt had begun to resort to using a small dagger he wanted Hannah to craft for him.

Next we had myself who was still fairly crippled both from the missing arm and being plagued by Vexsus' pain. I sensed how sorry he was everytime this happened, but I also got the feeling that this was his way of trying to preserve the last piece of himself. That's why I was confident that I could bring him back from insanity.

Then besides me was Shorunt and Sylvania who were both the healers and damage dealers of the group. then behind us were the twins. Oh I should mention that ahead of us was Liosa and Howy who had both turned into excellent assassin like fighters. Liosa had developed shadow like skills that allowed her to merge and disappear into the shadows all around us, and Howy had developed a kind of invisibility, he would actually kind of shimmer before all together blending in with the faint light that dimly illuminated the cave.

We had been travelling for quite a distance before we came across a large room like area. It had a wooden shack and even a few tables setup with different items strewn upon it. Liosa and Howy went to investigate but quickly came back as they said that it resembled a trading outpost. It had both ants and goblins working around it.

"Well hell, what should we do now Sondar? We can't go any further without getting into a fight with these guys." Kitsoma said as she contemplated what we could do.

"Well me and Liosa could sneak around and try and take out as many of the goblins as we can. I don't think the ants would be an easy target for us but the goblins on the other hands only have soft skin and bones to protect vital points." Howy said as he pulled out a couple newly made daggers that faintly glowed an almost toxic greenish color.

"Hmm well that wouldn't really be a bad idea, I'm just worried about if there are any relay ants still alive. We haven't seen any this whole time and who knows what other mutations could have been created during this. We need more info before we just go killing things. You two go and see if there are any weird looking ants around first then try and pick off a couple of the stragglers. Just because we need info doesn't mean we can't start helping our case a bit." Sylvania said, as the months went on she had become more and more of the strategist in our group and everyone followed her suggestions because of how well they seemed to work out. She had on more than one occasion, saved us from an almost certain death because of her planning.

"Ok you heard the lady, You two go and scout some more and we will stay here. I will prepare some surprises for when we take action. Be safe out there." I said before turning towards the wall besides us and grabbing a hand full. I was able to grab straight stone because of how much strength my remaining hand had gained. I was able to punch apart magically hardened stone after just a few punches, But when I combined it with my magic I became like a earthen god. I was able to control the earth in a certain radius around me almost freely. The only limitation I had now was my low amount of mana. I was still having trouble increasing my limits but thanks to the ones who shared their Mana with me I was able to realize my potential.

I took the stone in my hand and molded it into a ball with a small opening. Then I turned towards the twins.

"Ok I need you to create some mist and then put it into this ball. once this ball is thrown and breaks open, the mist inside will be released and will impair the goblins vision. I don't think it will work on the ants only because they use Pheromones as their main source traveling. But this will atleast work on half of our problems. Next I will need you Shorunt to use your druid powers and try and grow any plant that you can think of that has a pleasant scent, or really anything that could interfere with the ants pheromone detection. Once those things are set up and Howy and Liosa come back we will set our plan into motion and attack."

"Wait didn't we just agree to wait and find out if something possibly more dangerous is around here? I mean I know the whole goal is Vexsus but if we die here due to not being prepared enough what's the point?" Kitsoma said as she stared at me.

"I know how you feel Kitsoma, and we will survive to see him again. But I need us to hurry..... ever since I received that message I started feeling like the connection between me and Vexsus had begun to get weaker. It's almost like he is dying and I need to save him."

She only stared at me with small tears forming in her eyes at the thought that Vexsus might be dying. She sniffled and she shook her head to clear it and drew out her whip.

"Ok, I'm ready, let's do this." She said, regaining the resolve in her eyes.

About that time Howy and Liosa came back but their faces shown that they had found something troubling before they even spoke.

Howy walked up to me and motioned for me to bend down so he could whisper in my ear. I did but what he said next was jaw dropping.

"There are ants with scales."