Xana could not help but think back to the description of her Skill [Blinded Eye of the Dragon], she had used it on Alice in hopes of learning more about the young bat, never did she think it might be detected nor interpreted as an attack. Usually when she actively used it no one noticed, they might feel a bit of heat but nothing like what the bat had felt. Perhaps some sort of heightened senses?
Regardless none of it explained what she had seen, a shadow of a human. She shuddered inwardly, she had not yet been born when the The War happened yet she was aware of the results. How could she not be, she lived every day in the result of that human conquest on nature.
"How is this supposed to help me get [Mana Control]?"
Squeaks interrupted her thoughts, she looked over at the bat who had slumped out of their position and was now lazily staring at her.
"I told you Alice, to manipulate you must first connect. Mana is all around us, those of the Time Before referred to it as Lifeforce because it is in all living things, even things you do not think are living."
Xana had a proud smirk across her snout, not many of the Monsters had such knowledge as her. She prided herself in her knowledge of history, of where they had come from. Learning Human language was hard, but she could still remember the day that the System rewarded her with [Human Language], it had allowed her to read the books that, that... human had left for her.
"Can't you just like read some books to me to give me intelligence points?"
Xana froze, she looked over to Alice with a curious gaze. How had the young bat known about books? That was weird, maybe that shadow meant more than she had first thought.
"How do you know about books little bat?"
Xana watched and waited trying to catch any detail from the bats reaction.
Alice looked at her, a smile forming on her snout, it made Xana felt uncomfortable, unsafe even.
"The System told me about Skill Books, if those exist then surely Books must exist as well right?"
Xana thought to press her question, but quickly remembered the sight of the bat ripping apart the Rats and draining Tyra of her blood.
"I suppose that could work... but gaining a skill through practice can be better than gaining it with Skill Points, those are rare and usually only gained during evolution. However having skills can give you access to greater evolutions, for example I am a Flame Salamander, I gained access to this evolution by learning [Fire Magic]."
Alice nodded along as she listened, Xana felt her fear fade and her pride swell once more. It had been weird having the young bat insist that she teach her, but Xana so loved teaching she had not gotten many chances to do so.
"You know a lot about the System huh..."
Alice muttered, she seemed to be puzzling something in her head, Xana could tell she was thinking of how to word a question so she waited patientally for the young bat to speak.
"So... all of my evolution options included age in them, do we age normally or only through evolution?"
Xana paused, that was a question that all Monsters considered at some point in their lives.
"We age yes, some of us longer than others. If you do not reach evolution you will be forcibly evoled by the System into an older version of your current evolution. However this comes with reduced gain in Stats it also does not allow you to Branch, which is a major detetriment."
Xana began dragging her claw through a soft part of cave ground, creating branching paths.
"We all start here, the Source, the further you get away from the source the more powerful you are, as you escape further and further from The Gaze of Illia"
"The Gaze of Illia?"
Alice was curious, the System had not told her anything like this.
"Illia is an Human Goddess... a Goddess is a being of great power that lives in the Kingdom of Light. Illia is the Goddess of Golden Light, she ensures that any monster that walks within the light of Humans is weakened. To escape her gaze is to gain power."
Alice had never been the religious type, but she was in a world where magic existed and some absolute System existed, the existence of gods wasn't that far fetched she surmised.
"You sure know a lot Xana."
Xana puffed out her chest slightly.
"I can read Human after all, I read all about it in this book called The Faiths of Turia."
Xana didn't mention how the same book right after had explained how this was a clear sign that Monsters were all evil and could not be trusted, that they needed to be executed before they gained too much power.
Alice was quiet, seeming to complenplate things, Xana felt more pride in having a student who was already so ingrained in thought.
"Did your book mention anything about... about a woman in a dar-"
Alice suddenly fell to the floor clenching at her head with her wing claws.
"Alice?!"
Xana shouted moving to the girl only to find her passed out, a bit of blood dripping from her eyes.
When Alice awoke she was somewhere else, somewhere... she didn't recognize, but she barely paid attention to any of that. Instead she focused in on the notification in front of her.
That was... uncomfortable. She realized now that she felt slightly off in her body, she stumbled about, watching the notification change.
So she would need to stumble about until she felt fully herself again? That sucked. She didn't even know she couldn't talk about The Dark Place!
Alice blinked, and looked around, she was in an area that was completely different than The Cave, low ceilings and cramped corners, she saw massive books lined against blackened walls, moss lined the area she had been laying, it seemed to be gathered in such a way that it created a small bedded area. On the walls that had been charred black she saw different forms of writing, although she could not understand them she saw similar writing in the massive books. As she explored she suddenly got another notification.
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"Abode... of Xana?"
Alice mused to herself, before leaping up as a voice spoke behind her, she hadn't been snuck up on since well since she evolved.
"This is my home, I risk a lot by bringing you here. I hope you do not make me regret it little bat."
Xana's voice had a dangerous edge to it, she seemed uncomfortable with having Alice here but also had a look of relief.
"It is good you did not die, I was... concerned, you began to speak of something and then fell over bleeding from all over your body. Luckily I was able to pour the blood of a Horned Frog that had attacked us as I dragged you here. Your body absorbs it automatically, quite a useful skill."
Alice blinked once more, staring at Xana.
"It's not that I don't... appreciate it but, why? You've been very helpful, despite all my demanding and insisting."
Xana did not answer her at first, instead she walked over to one of the walls, looking upon the notes.
"Phaelyn was a friend, but yes that would not be reason enough either. Our lives are dangerous Alice, we are confined to this Cave, and if we get too powerful the Humans send down their [Adventurer]'s to cull us. One might reach great heights of power here yet... without kin and ally we will never be able to win against the unified might of the Humans. I see a great potential in you Alice. I think you will go far and I want to one day escape this cave, to feel the sun upon my scales as my ancestors did."
Alice could hear how fast Xanas heart was beating, her hypertuned ears flicking at the noise; she didn't know if that meant she was lying or if she was uncomfortable sharing this. It didn't matter in the end, she needed a teacher and Xana was right, if she wanted to find Lily she would need help.
"Fine, I'll accept this reason for now. At least now we're in your home so you can teach me how to read."
Alice said motioning to the books and the notes. Xana let out a chuckle.
"It took me most of my second evolution to learn to read. Do not think it'll be easy little bat."
Xana's tone had a bit of teasing to it at the end, to which Alice rolled her eyes at, or at least she thought of doing so but her eyes lacked the ability to do so.
Alice moved over and sat down next to a book.
"Oh great teacher Xana, please place upon me the knowledge of human language."
Alice said in a dramatic tone, holding in a snicker as she did.
Hogarth coughed bile and blood, glaring at his notifications. How had it come to this he wondered, but quickly answered himself, he had trusted that sniveling and scheming mouse Von.
The notifications had begun flooding in once he had eaten his lunch. He realized quickly that the entirety of the kingdom had been infected this way as many rats began to drop dead and then get back up.
"Hahaha do not worry my King! I shall see that we sweep across the Cave! All shall tremble before me! All shall know... decay!"
Von laughed at him, his words were poison just like him.
Hogarth lunged at Von, his massive body moved with force despite his condition, his massive jaws opened up, to crunch down on the small ratkin. But everything of Von was of poison and decay. Jagged nails came flowing out, scratching open Hogarth's skin, it rapidly began to welt and boil as disease built across the skin and infected the wounds.
Hogarth gasped for air, as Von approached him squatting down.
"You see King, this little place was never going to be enough for me, I've been planning how to kill you since I became a [Poison Rat]. This just... works out, but don't worry! Your body will be useful in my conquest."
A jagged claw flowed across Hogarth's skin, ripping through it like butter, as Hogarth gasped out in pain, everything was going numb everythin-
Von looked with joy as Hogarth stopped breathing, and his smile grew wider and wider as Hogarth's body began to get up, and he got a notification.
Von laughed, most of his rats were nothing more than Tier 0 trash, but now... now he had a Tier Three! His army grew and so did his power. He didn't care if he turned every rat into a walking corpse, so long as he could rule above all!
However... the Undead Rat Lord bit down on him, powerful jaws crushing the bone in his right arm. Von screamed out in pain as he glared at the corpse! How dare it! He was its master he was!
"What! That's not supposed to happen that's!"
Von's eyes widened one by one he saw all the rats around him, their eyes which one glowed with a dim green now glowed with a violent blue as they all stared at him.
"Don't you dare! I am king now! Me! I am your master and you shall LISTEN TO ME"
Von shouted activating [Voice of the Decaying] to command control over the undead rats.
Many of them stopped moving but the Undead Rat Lord did not, it charged at him.
Von snarled as he swung out his jagged claws, a miasma flowing off of them as he activated [Rot Slash].
His blow was powerful, carving into the Undead Rat Lord and pinning him to the ground, for a moment the spirit wavered, Von could see it slowly leaving the body, but then it snapped back in and the Undead Rat Lord attacked, crushing his lower left leg in its jaws!
Von glared down at the monster chewing on his leg, he brought up his hand and began to speak.
"[Within the dirt, inside the corpses of men and beast, the festering corruption of the world, cry out now and beg for salvation, HANDS OF DECAY]!"
Blood poured from Von's eyes and mouth as he used his most powerful magic, one that required him to burn his Lifeforce rather than Mana.
Creeping green hands flowed out from beneath the Undead Rat Lord, wrapping onto the body and then flowing through it as they gripped the spirit within, eroding it as they pulled the spirit out of the body, slowly crushing it.
Von cackled loudly, he was unbeatable! None could stand before his magic that could rip apart the spirits themselves! He fell to his back, laughing in a pool of his own rotted blood.
Alice blinked, a string of notifications had come in once she had begun to grasp the language. It was clearly not English she could tell that, it read like gibberish at first, using odd symbols.
And then a much larger notification appeared before her, as a wheel took shape on it and began to spin.
Slowly the wheel stopped; it looked as if it was about to land on [Elvish Language] but then it became fuzzy, Alice swore she could see shadowy hands wrap around it, and suddenly the result had changed.
She felt this was not in fact random. She looked around expecting to see something smiling at her but did not find any such thing.
"Well I learned the language, rank five?"
"What! Rank five?! I've spent a year getting up to rank two!"
Alice's snout curved into a smile.
"Looks like you aren't the only smart one!"
She teased as she began reading the notes and books, and then paused as she looked at one book in particular. Its title was curious.
"A Queen's Notes On Magic?"
Alice said the title in a questioning tone as she approached it, pushing it open, the book itself was bigger than her body but she managed to get open as she read through the contents.
"Oh, don't bother that one isn't in [Human Language]. I couldn't make anything of it."
Xana commented but Alice continued to read because... this book was in English.