Zeldritzon [Cycle 32] - Morning

  Current Location:

  ?[Crystal Shelter: Underground Training Tower]

  ??????

  ??????

  ? [Revenue & Upkeep] ?

  ??????

  Crystal Vault: 362,405 {?C}

  ? +163,451 ?

  Crystal Upkeep: 189,911 {?C} per cycle

  Cycle 31's Crystal Collection: 55,451 {?C}

  ????

  ? [Notes] ?

  - {?C} means Crystal Credits

  - The Crystal Vault and Collection represent the total accumulation of all crystal assets.

  - The amount is calculated based on the total of the blue, green, orange, and other crystals that have been foraged.

  - Monsters must consume 1/100th of their APeX (power level) to survive. Consequences begin on the 10th cycle without consumption.

  - This is the Crystal Upkeep that must be maintained. This total is calculated from all the monsters members of the Chimera Crew.

  ??????

  After our brief clash with Zesza's forces, we took the necessary time to regroup and formalize what would become the [Chimera-Zespzap Alliance] of UvoSath. It was strange, in a way—shaking hands, or stingers, with enemies just days after trading blows. But diplomacy often comes stitched with bruises…

  …And a generous payment of [108,000] {?C} from our kind Zespzaps.

  Zest was the first to be assigned—a decision that, to no one's surprise, generated a few sparks of its own. Literal ones.

  It made sense. Zespzap, being creatures of the [Voltage] attribute, were naturally drawn to electric energy, and Zest radiated with it. He was more than just compatible; he was magnetic to them. The moment the delegation arrived, two wasp-women began orbiting him like charged particles. They didn't even try to hide it.

  Seemed like Queen Zesza IX had… preferences.

  "I know. You're disgruntled. Sorry, Zest," I told him quietly. He didn't answer, but his antlers gave off a quick crimson snap. One of the wasps giggled. The other hissed at me—territorial already.

  He didn't speak when she did that, but the snap of his antlers said more than words. I'd thrown him into a hive of suitors and politics, and I wasn't sure if he'd come back the same.

  I kept my tone steady. "Maintain the peace. At all costs. You can do this."

  He nodded. Then they led him away—escorting him toward the hive's inner sanctum with the kind of reverence usually reserved for divine artifacts. Or offerings.

  I hoped he'd forgive me later. Zest was grim, focused—a true companion in battle—but he'd always known that his nature would draw attention from the [Voltage]-kind. He was lightning incarnate. The Zespzap couldn't resist.

  That wasn't even the biggest shock of the day.

  Queen Zesza, in what she called a gesture of "sincere alliance," handed over her only son. Just like that. Wrapped in honey-woven armor and crowned in chitin-gold. I was stunned, and I wasn't the only one.

  Back on Earth, bees and wasps didn't have princes. They had drones. Disposable, directionless. But here? The Zespzap only had one male of true lineage: the Hive-Prince. And unlike Earth's analogs, the Hive-Prince wasn't some accident of nature—he was the result of a rare and violent ascension.

  I didn't want to go into the details. No one needed that imagery. But I had learned the truth. Hive-Princes were born from the union of a Queen and a Hive-King—a warrior who had survived countless trials, endured the agony of evolution, and proven himself worthy of choosing his mate. Hive-Kings were rare. Legends, even among the Zespzap. They earned their freedom, their own hives, and the right to select a Queen.

  That made the boy a legacy. A promise. And a responsibility.

  I didn't know if this was a gift, a burden, or a trap. Was it an olive branch, or a pawn dropped onto our board? No Queen gives up her heir without cause. But I accepted him. Just as Zesza accepted the alliance. For now.

  Without further delays—by the very next morning, the Chimera Crew's training sessions were already underway. Our focus: the tournament in seven days.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  I checked my status—to study, to improve. Once I understood where I stood, I'd begin assessing the others.

  ???

  [Status] KiAera's

  Creature: [Merecritt] — [Meremecritt (D)]

  Innate: [Human]

  Age: 320 Cycles (25)

  Dominions: [Revise] [Virtuoso]

  APeX: ["651,161" Units]

  Limit Cap (APeX): [79,200,000 Units]

  Attributes: [Fire] [Beast] [AltRe:]

  Evolution Stage: [Dominant]

  Current Variant Grade: [Unique] ☆

  Active Transformation: [None] [Dormant State]

  Alter Evolution: [None]

  Possible Transformations (Alternative Modes): [Feral Form]

  ???

  Refresher for myself: Creature was self-explanatory. Not every Merecritt was a Meremecritt—but all Meremecritts belonged to the Merecritt species. The form I'd reached was one of the [Dominant]-stage evolutions of the species, meaning I had hit a major milestone few others did.

  As I flipped through another tab, I noticed my [Alter Evolution] slot was empty. That caught my attention.

  According to GamaGen's docs, [Alter Evolution]—also known as [Slide Evolution]—lets Zeldritchmon like me shift sideways into a different species entirely, while staying at the same power level. Kind of like a class change, not a level-up. Think of when I transformed from a Mearcritt into a Pluffcritt—both were Merecritt evolutions, both at [Emergent] stage. I could shift between them freely… if I had access to both.

  In theory, if I unlocked a third form, I could jump to that as well, no restrictions. Slide Evolutions don't require de-leveling. Just the right access.

  But in this case? No dice. My current form—Meremecritt—seemed to be a [Unique] branch of the Dominant-stage line. One-of-a-kind. Meaning? I was locked in. No slide, no alternate paths. Stuck.

  Unless I Devolved.

  I could do that manually if I focused. So I did. A breath in… a breath out… and just because I felt like it, I de-evolved back to [Mearcritt].

  [New Status Update…]

  ???

  [Status] KiAera's

  Creature: [Merecritt] — [Mearcritt (E)]

  Innate: [Human]

  Age: 320 Cycles (25)

  Dominions: [Revise] [Virtuoso]

  APeX: ["325,580" Units]

  Attributes: [Fire] [Beast] [AltRe:]

  Evolution Stage: [Emergent]

  Current Variant Grade: [Unique] ☆

  Active Transformation: [None] [Dormant State]

  Alter Evolution:

  – [Pluffcritt]

  Possible Transformations (Alternative Modes):

  – [Feral Form]

  ???

  Devolving cut my power in half—that's the usual cost. It's not always a bad move, though. Sometimes, the lower form offers better strategy or access to special Alter Evolutions. In my case? Pluffcritt might have offered more defensive advantages, true. But honestly? I suspected my Dominant-stage had just as much resilience—maybe more. I hadn't been forced to test that yet.

  So I reverted again—back to [Dominant].

  I noticed that when I downgraded to my [E] form; it was like being an overfilled balloon—taut, straining, swelling to the edge of bursting. Yet every few moments, it'd ease—only to swell again. A cycle of pressure and false relief.

  But in my Dominant form, everything felt aligned. Like I had room to breathe again.

  ???

  [Status] KiAera's

  Dominions: [Revise] [Virtuoso]

  ???

  My primary [Dominion] was [Revise], a specialized path that let me rewrite the elemental properties of my abilities—particularly [Fire]. It meant my flames weren't bound to burn one way. I could tweak their temperature, texture, behavior, even their elemental type.

  That flexibility expanded even more after I evolved into a [Unique]-grade. That's when a third attribute slot unlocked—marked by a strange new term: [AltRe:].

  At first, I wasn't sure what it meant. Altered Resonance, maybe? Whatever the full form was, the idea was clear: this slot let me remap or alter one of my elemental affinities—an ability likely tied to the creative power of my [Revise] and [Virtuoso] synergy.

  So I did what I always do when I don't understand something: I tested it.

  Inside a secluded chamber, I summoned my HUD and focused on the [AltRe:] slot. A menu appeared—less like a list and more like a palette. Only six options were available—not the full 24 elements I'd learned existed. Just the ones I had earned through combat, bonding, or exposure.

  ? [Select an Attribute] ?

  - [Ore]

  - [Glacial]

  - [Wind]

  - [Plant]

  - [Deino]

  - [Voltage]

  [Voltage]. That was new. A perfect test.

  I selected it. The change was immediate.

  ???

  [Status] KiAera's

  Attributes: [Fire] [Beast] [AltRe: Voltage]

  ???

  I focused. Flame sparked between my paws… and turned into blue lightning. I laughed—genuinely delighted. I glanced at a nearby training pillar and raised my hand.

  [Spectral Lightning].

  The attack streaked out. The pillar melted before it even collapsed. That wasn't just electricity—it was superheated plasma. Could I rival Zest now? Hard to say—I hadn't seen him fight since his Rite. But with this? Maybe. Or at least imitate his tricks.

  Then came the real fun. I cycled through the other attributes, testing their behavior one by one.

  I tried switching to [Ore]. Immediately, the ground responded. Like Oath, I could pull crystal formations from the sediment, shaping them into jagged spikes or defensive walls. I turned toward the rubble from the last test, and with a little focus, had the fragments orbiting me like moons around a planet. A flick of the wrist sent them shooting into the wall like shrapnel darts.

  [Glacial] returned me to my default frost mode. My [Spectral Flame] shifted cold, then colder, until it became [Spectral Frost]—ice fire, slow-burning, lingering like frostbite. I could freeze enemies and objects from a distance until they shattered.

  [Deino] altered my form slightly. I looked… draconic. A fae-dragon hybrid. Small, still cute, but with sharper edges: scales, claws, fangs. Every slash left ghostly afterimages: phantom claws that cut even without direct contact.

  [Wind] made my body lighter. Faster. I twirled through the air and fired off techniques like [Spectral Wind], [Whirlwind], and [Slice] while airborne and elegant.

  And then there was [Plant]—my favorite. It started with small pellets. I'd toss them, and they'd sprout—into vines, tree trunks, massive bamboos, or even beanstalks tall enough to surprise a giant. Best of all? I could animate them.

  That's when I made a new discovery.

  My [Virtuoso] Dominion wasn't just about switching elements. It let me combine them.

  Most creatures could only wield one attribute at a time—maybe two, if their form allowed. But [Virtuoso] made me different. It didn't follow a fixed script. It let me compose, mix and match, like painting with light.

  So I combined [Ore] and [Plant].

  The result? A handful of fluffy, bear-sized golems. Animated stone wrapped in living vines, shaped in the image of my old [Pluffcritt] form. They were adorable, but more importantly, they were durable.

  I struck one with a high-impact [MereEar Punch]. The golem cracked, but within seconds, the damage began to regenerate. Stone reforging, vines regrowing. Their defense was impressive.

  However, when I hit one with [Fire] or [Glacial], it didn't recover. The combined heat and cold disrupted the synergy, leaving nothing behind to mend. Burned vines and frozen rock don’t rebuild themselves.

  Still… what I had now was powerful. Adaptable and strategic.

  With [Virtuoso] guiding my hands, I could customize my combat style for any opponent, any environment. And this was just the beginning.