[Haul that monkey butt, Tiny! We need to move, move, move!] I shout as I zip after my pets. Invidia has seized hold of the big ape with his stick-thin arms and clings to his black fur as Tiny leaps and bounds forward with all of his strength, making the little demon flap like a flag in a high wind. …

We make good time as we flee once more, this time with the hulking form of Tiny stomping along behind us. It’s nice to have the big guy’s powerful presence with the group once more. Sometimes a problem just needs to be hit really hard, and while Tiny might have his faults, that is certainly something that he brings to …

For the next ten minutes we make our way through curving tunnels, obliterating monsters whenever we come across them and leaving the Biomass on the ground. It hurts to leave food behind but what can we do? The Dungeon will feast on the remains of my hard work today. Well, I say hard work, but battling with Invidia on my …

[Worms are stupid.] [I said I was sorry already…] [They look disgusting and they eat dirt.] [I know, okay? I know.] [They’re soft and don’t have a carapace which makes them less shiny.] [Not all ants are shiny! Only you are shiny!] [Are you talking back to me?! Invidia, I think he’s talking back to me!] [Sssstrange. It should be …

A crash resounded through the room as Irette Plamine hurled her glass across her private study. The crystal vessel struck the ornate carved stone bookshelf built into the wall and shattered, flinging shards across the room. The only other person present, the youngest member of her triad, Biritite Cryslas, flinched as her true skin repelled the sharp slivers and tried …

I scramble to right myself just as Invidia drops down the tunnel and onto my back. Luckily that extra-dimensional heft of his doesn’t translate to actual weight, otherwise he might’ve put a crack in my carapace. [Which way?] I say to Jim. [Um… Um… this way!] [You don’t sound super confident.] [It’s going to be fine!] There’s an unusual note …

The plan isn’t complicated, which I hope means it’s more likely to succeed. Once I have the space to myself, Invidia begins to weave an illusion around me. The image I ask him to create isn’t anything too fancy, just an shell of myself, cast around myself. The only part of the spell that extends beyond that covers the floor …

Author note. Just a reminder that there are 15 advance chapters on Patreon right here: https://www.patreon.com/RinoZ if you want to support the novel that way. Have a great day folks! 🙂 The Shapers are professional monster wranglers with over a thousand years of experience in the craft. They’re smart, industrious, coordinated and would have put an extreme amount of thought …

It wasn’t easy to explain how they knew, but they did. A tantalising feeling, as if their minds were connected across a great space to something that collected all those thoughts like a whirlpool of the colonies wants and needs. The moment Vibrant placed a leg within its range, she could sense it. “Finally!” She yelled with delight, slapping her …

Booms and thuds shake my cell as the battles continue out in the arena. With my Meditation Skill blunting outside influences my magic practice continues smoothly as Torrina batters my mind with her expert magical handling. To make things even more rude, she suggests that I order Invidia to participate in the training and somehow I’m talked into letting Invidia …