Waking up, the pain was all-consuming. It only increased when I tried to see the damage through [Manima Senses]. The skill obliged, if barely, and I saw…

  …it worked?

  I was staring at duplicates. They both resided in a single cell—my original one.

  They… I.

  I—both of myself—was looking bad. I didn’t know how long I had slept, and trying to expand my visions outside the cell’s boundaries was pain-inducing, but from how faint my souls were.

  Either I slept for a short while, or my soul didn’t recover that much.

  Although my Mana films looked fine—each film now had half my original capacity—unlike the cell I occupied. It was looking bloated, with building materials filling its insides, and was doing nothing other than eating.

  It’s overloaded.

  I tried to activate [Mana Manipulation] only for intense pain to assault me, making me stop. I tried using other skills, but nothing worked except for basic soul manipulation and [Manima Senses].

  What’s wrong with my skills?

  I contracted both of my souls, hoping to find…

  No!

  The golden stars inside of me, each one representing a skill, hadn’t duplicated. Instead, each one occupied a different soul.

  Status.

  Species: Manima Monoform.

  Species-specific skills:

  -Mana manipulation Lv. 7

  -Soul manipulation Lv. 5

  -Rudis Subtilis Biomancy Lv. 4 {Tier 1} (Unique)

  -Soul mind Lv. 7

  -Manima senses Lv. 5 (Unique)

  Class unavailable

  General skills:

  They had split!

  ***

  My emotions quickly settled, and in the end, I was actually pleased with the result.

  I now had double the normal amount of skills at my disposal, and although it would take me a lot of time to regain [Forced Mana Regeneration] and level it up, I didn’t mind; I had plenty of time and patience.

  I debated whether to regain [Identify] for my first self, but decided against it for now.

  I didn’t know how long I spent inside my cell, but my species skills started to be usable again—albeit with a bit of pain.

  My souls were healthier now, their white colour restored.

  I noticed that my species skills could be used from both of my bodies, but general skills could only be used from one Monofrorm.

  Controlling both Monoforms at the same time was a bit taxing on my [Soul Mind], so I mainly focused on my first self.

  Shortly after regaining the use of my skills, I moved my other soul to a new cell, but… it didn’t work.

  Does it need a host cell from a different body?

  My theory made sense, but I couldn’t confirm it until I got my hands on a host.

  ***

  I awoke in my cat body to the worst thirst ever. I moved towards a small pond that had droplets tickling into it from a hole in the ceiling.

  After quishing my thirst, I looked around.

  I need to hunt.

  The Hyena had decomposed to an unedible degree a day before losing my consciousness, so I had disposed of it, and with me staying unconscious for who knows how long, I was feeling famished.

  I went through my skills one last time, ignoring the minuscule pain I got when I activated one.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Everything is working. Now… let’s hunt.

  I licked myself for a bit, cleaning the faeces that my body had automatically disposed of before going out.

  Pssssshhhhhh!

  It was raining heavily outside.

  I knew of rain, but like anything else, experiencing it for yourself was different. The air smelled fresher, and I liked the sensation of water droplets hitting my fur; it tickled.

  I’m… alive.

  I wanted to find something strong and test my new abilities against it—maybe find a host; eating wasn’t my only objective.

  I first hunted a rat—my cat's body sufficed for the job, especially with my enhanced muscles. After that, I created a skin rope around the dead rat’s neck and tied it to a tree, letting it dangle from a branch.

  The rain had stopped, so I smeared some blood over the place, then hid inside a bush.

  The trap idea came after thinking about the hyena’s behaviour. It had chosen to appear after I had finished the python, stealing the kill. Animals liked to preserve power, and predators were no exception, so if they saw a strong feline like me, they might be dissuaded from…

  A bird, a large one, settled on a branch close to the hanging rat. It observed the surroundings with cautious eyes. I used identify on it.

  Energy Falcon, Lv. ??

  The falcon was within my spherical vision, so I decided to take away its flight ability. I used my biomancy skill and…

  The falcon snapped its head, looking at the Mana strings flying at it. It took to the air.

  Can it see Mana?

  This was the first beast I faced that could see Mana through their normal vision, a feat I couldn’t do with my cat vision.

  It would make a good host.

  Unfortunately, the bird didn’t return.

  I waited, and waited. The rain returned, washing away the blood with its scent.

  …Nothing.

  No beast came, and the sky was starting to lighten with the coming of dawn, so I decided to return home. The rat would have to satiate me for the day.

  The next night, I redid my trap, but this time, I dug a hole, placed some twigs and leaves on it, and put the rat’s body above it.

  I didn’t have to wait much this time, but what came wasn’t a predator; no, it was a glob of liquid.

  Aqua Slime, Lv. 3

  Finally, a creature I can see its level.

  The slime was double my size, transparent blue, and strode forward through a mechanism I couldn’t figure out. I saw some organs floating in its insides, so that meant it could become a host.

  How does it even feed?

  I was hesitant to send my second soul into the creature; it looked… so weak.

  Maybe it’s strong. I’ll observe it before making my decision.

  The globe finally reached the rat. For some reason, the twigs didn’t break under it.

  Is it light? Or maybe it saw through the trap and decided to distribute its weight in a way that’ll let it not fall. Does it even have a brain?

  I tried to look at the creature’s different organs, finding a small wrinkly thing that could pass for a brain.

  The rat seemed to pass through the slime’s outer membrane. The slime stopped moving.

  I observed the rat, and… nothing.

  Is it feeding on it or what?

  I waited, but nothing happened. I used [Manima Senses] to zoom in on the rat, and found the surface of its fur was breaking apart.

  It’s… dissolving it?

  The process quickened with bubbles forming. Within moments, I became able to see the process with the cat’s eyes.

  Interesting… although I would prefer the falcon over this creature.

  I decided to try to kill the slime as a final test of its power. Also, I wanted to salvage the rat—hunting it wasn’t that easy.

  I created a bone arrow, aimed it at the creature’s organs, and released.

  The arrow whisled through the air before penetrating the slime. It swam inside of it for a short distance before the slime matter stopped it; it didn’t hit any organs.

  As I got ready to create another one, the slime’s body twitched. A wave moved across its outer membrane before coalescing into a point that dipped inward, then…

  Swiiish!

  A jet shot at me; I ducked behind a tree.

  Boof!

  Looking at the damage through my peripheral vision, I saw the deep wound the jet cut in the tree. It sizzled and made popping sounds.

  …That’s why no one bothers it.

  The slime didn’t move, seemingly waiting for me to make an appearance, which I didn’t.

  I used biomancy to create a Soul Bomb. It was made of a globe of blood the size of my head. I tore an additional part of my soul to feed the globe; it was excruciating, but I persevered.

  The Soul Bomb shone red. I shot it in a curve at the slime before it detonated.

  Boom!

  Slime chunks flew everywhere, filling the entirety of the area with goop.

  I assessed the damage from behind the tree. Half the slime was now gone, but the organs were spared.

  …

  I watched in amazement as the dispersed slime goop started to twitch before sliding towards what remained of the mother slime.

  I debated whether to take the creature as a host, but in the end, I decided to kill it. Although it had a unique and formidable skill set, especially for its low level, I didn’t think it’d add anything important. Plus, it was unreasonably slow.

  The falcon is better. Flying will open many options.

  I didn’t form another Soul Bomb; instead, I took control of the bone arrow I had created and made it strike the slime again. I struck the slime a few more times with the arrow, aiming for its organs before the system notified me of its demise.

  You have killed Aqua Slime, Lv. 3

  Since the user does not own a class, the experience will be stored until one is acquired.

  I gave the dead rat’s body one glance before I decided to hunt another one—no creature would eat a blood lump, not one I would hunt at least.

  …I failed.

  I didn’t manage to catch a second rat before sunrise.

  Trying the second night, I caught a big fat rat.

  This should catch the attention of Falcon.

  But it didn’t.

  A feline four times my size gulped the rat in a single bite—rope and all. I tried to confront it, but after a Soul Bomb, it limply escaped; I didn’t follow.

  A while later, I caught another rat, but I didn’t set a trap with this one; instead, I ate at home.

  The second day, I redid the design of my skin rope. I added microscopic bone fragments and engulfed a tendon string with skin. Testing it, it was durable.

  Catching the rat this time was way harder, taking me half the night; they seem to be getting farther away from my base.

  I set up the trap and waited.

  ***

  A week later, and no falcon came. I had managed to catch another horned rabbit and other creatures, but none were as inciting as the falcon; they weren’t even at the level of the slime.

  Thankfully, the week wasn’t all wasted; I got myself some level-ups.

  Soul Mind has reached Lv. 9 (+2 levels)

  Manima Senses has reached Lv. 6 (+1 level)

  Identify has reached Lv. 3 (+1 level)

  My soul mind had been bearing the weight of two bodies constantly, that’s probably why it got two levels, although even at level nine, I still struggled and couldn’t use skills in the two souls simultaneously. I also had spammed [Identify] on every creature I had seen, wanting to level the skill so it could provide more useful information.

  My souls have also healed; I barely felt any pain when using my skills, and my Mana films’ capacity has increased, too.

  But the biggest gain was…

  Skill granted, [Forced Mana Regeneration].

  …

  Forced Mana Regeneration has reached Lv. 2

  I had acquired [Forced Mana Regeneration] for my second soul.

  As I sat in my cave, training while my cat's body rested, I heard a sound.

  I awoke immediately. The sound seemed to be coming from down below; it sounded like…

  The clamour of steel.

  I quickly followed it. It led to the tunnel I hadn’t explored.

  Hmm… I think this is in the direction of the trench.

  I descended it. It was long, and as I got closer to the sound, it became thinner, making the sounds reverberate strongly.

  Light. I saw a yellow light at the end. Now, I had to crawl to fit, but I continued, until…

  My cat eyes took a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness, but my peripheral senses didn’t. What I saw was… unexpected.

  Humans, wearing ragged clothes, were walking in a line. They were tied together by rattling chains of iron at the necks, hands, and legs.

  Around them, heavy armoured horsemen held flickering torches, casting long shadows in the abyss of the trench.

  “What do we have here? A Mana beast, maybe an energy one?”

  I got rattled by the sudden sound. A human, wearing robes of purple, was floating next to my small hole. He held his palm upwards; a weird box with flowing runes was on it—it glowed red.

  Incantatio Magus, Lv. ???

  I turned and ran, warning bells ringing in my head.

  “Smart animal, I see. Are you perhaps a spy?” The magus said before weird otherworldly noises started coming out of his mouth.

  I didn’t look back. The tunnel was suddenly illuminated before the heat came.

  Without thinking, I activated biomancy and shoved at it my film’s Mana.

  Let’s hope one suffices.

  I formed two separate bone walls and filled the space between them with blood.

  The sudden emptying of my film made me dizzy for a second—

  BOOM!

  The fire impacted my defences, creating a thundering explosion.

  I felt my eardrums shatter. The heat reached me, although it wasn’t accompanied by fire.

  I felt like… it was the second-worst pain after the duplication.

  Ahhhh!

  My fur was burnt, my skin got singed, and my eyeballs melted off, but I didn’t stop moving.

  Even when my belly had holes in it, my paws became black bones, and my mind partially melted, I didn’t stop moving.

  When my mind failed me, I took control of my muscles through biomancy and animated them.

  I’m one for, and all is me!

  ***

  I reached the cave, barely alive.

  My heart had stopped, and I was moving blood through biomancy; my insides were kept in place through brute force, and my brain’s damaged points were isolated and cleansed, but I had survived.

  With time, I’ll survive, but the magus… I’ll make sure he feels the pain he dealt me.

  My other soul was now heading at him, promising death…