Now I was a fast critter. There wasn't much I'd encountered that I was worried was faster than me. But these god damn monkeys were smart. I hadn't seen any of them yet, but they were doing some long-distance communication. I could hear more hooting and howling rising from multiple directions. I had underestimated how much they really wanted that lizard dude or dudette. I had no idea how to tell the gender of alien reptile or amphibious bipedal creatures. I hated knowing the emberfangs were corralling me, and I needed to take control of the situation.

  ?

  I stopped running before the rocky landscape became too sparse. I realised that they were chasing me towards the grasslands, where I would have nowhere to hide, instead of indulging the red monkeys. I turned the environment against them. First, I used my Tremor Sense to locate the nearest group. It didn't take long for me to get a response. To my left, a group of five individuals moved through the large boulders. Four were the feral kind, judging by how they moved, and only wore loinclothes; the other was the well-equipped kind. If they'd all been the better-equipped type, I would have been more wary, but the feral kind, I was certain I could kill before they could set a warning off.

  ?

  I used soil Manipulation to cover my tracks as I ran as quietly as I could, keeping my Tremor Sense. It didn't take me long to find them. I didn't give them much of a chance. I walked as close as I could and decided to try something new. I got as close as I could to them while keeping myself hidden, and when they were in range, I tried summoning my void blades without having direct sight of my targets. I was worried I'd have to amplify them, but thankfully it worked. The blades flew true, and all but one of the ferals was instantly killed. Before he had a chance to escape or alert the others, I closed the distance and bisected the emberfang. I loved how easily this sword cut. I knew a normal weapon would have got stopped by bones and shit, but to this glass sword, everything might as well have been butter. I really wanted to give it a name, but I thought that it wouldn't be right until I activated the true form.

  ?

  Anyway, with having taken out the emberfangs, it was going to be a while until the rest caught on, at least long enough that I could run in the direction these monkeys had come from and make some distance. With that in mind, I quickly and somewhat messily removed the cores. I was disappointed that the armoured fella wasn't a greater creature, but hey, more cores were always welcome. I then went and opened the door to my storage area. It was now time to speak to my new friend.

  ?

  My meeting with my new friend did not go quite as well as I imagined. Well, I wasn't quite sure what I imagined it would be like, but I should have seen this coming as I walked into the storage room. The vulcarotl, Kiko, was huddled in the corner furthest from the door. I stupidly held up my hands in the universal sign I was coming in peace, only to notice the creature's amber eyes widen, and a crystalline frill erupted around its head. That's when I noticed my hands were covered in blood. I had just been removing the cores!

  ?

  "Now, hold on!" I started slowly approaching the clearly panicking creature before me.

  ?

  "Stay away! I won't go back!" The Vulcarotl said. I was shocked that the words that had come out were in a language I did not recognise, yet their meaning was conveyed just as it had been in that temple. I wondered whether it was a feature of my storage space or something I had permanently gained from the temple.

  ?

  "Hey! Calm down, no one is sending you anywhere," I said, dropping my hands lower but still trying to make myself as non-threatening as possible. A task that made me aware of just how deadly and intimidating my new form was. I decided to change tactics. I mentally closed the door behind me and made my way around the room to where I stored all the food stuff. This included the cheese and wine I had found in the room at first, but a variety of fruits had joined them, I'd discovered. I had wanted to try my hand at making some juice with them, but hadn't been able to bring myself to empty a bottle of the wine.

  ?

  I grabbed a bottle of the wine and two fancy cups I'd discovered in a smaller box inside one of the wine boxes. I also grabbed a couple of my favourite fruits, which were square-shaped and tasted like a mix of strawberry, mango and scotch bonnet. They were hot but tasted amazing. My title had told me all about the fruits, but it hadn't given them a name. Instead, it had labelled them as newly discovered. I hadn't quite thought of a name for them yet, though—something I would have to get to.

  ?

  With the fruit and wine in hand, I walked up to the wary vulcarotl. I sat in front of Kiko and poured us both a glass. Then, before they could protest or say anything, I took a sip of my wine and bit into my fruit before putting the other in front of Kiko. It took a full minute of watching me drink and eat before the vulcarotl finally took a bit of their fruit. That one bite was all it took. I saw their face light up, their huge maw open wide, and they demolished the fruit, exposing the glowing, needle-like teeth that filled their mouth.

  ?

  "So good," Kiko mumbled as they swallowed down the fruit. They then grabbed their glass and sipped it. Their eyes widened even further.

  ?

  "It's good, right?" I said, trying to start a conversation. Kiko stared at me for a few seconds before nodding.

  ?

  "Don't drink too much, it'll send you into a deep sleep," I said, thinking back to the time I made that mistake. I was so glad my new form was immune to hangovers thanks to whatever deity had revived me.

  ?

  Kiko nodded once again, sipping lightly on their drink. "Who are you?" She said eventually.

  I grinned and answered. "I am Rakim, first of the saheljin and the master of…well, master of this room. It's not much, but it's safe. You fancy telling me why those monster monkeys are hunting you so insistently?" I noticed panic in their eyes at the mention of the monkeys and added. "They can't get you here, don't worry, only I can open the door."

  ?

  Kiko took a while to speak again, but eventually they answered. "They need me to make more of them."

  ?

  I raised an eyebrow. I decided not to say anything as Kiko looked as if they were about to elaborate.

  ?

  "The world changed, and my clan found themselves in these strange tunnels. At first, it was good. We made a home for ourselves, but then the red one came. He killed our leader and forced us to carve more monkeys like him. He then placed a single hair in each, bringing them to life. He has been forcing us to make them nonstop. He wanted me to teach his new monkeys how to make more monkeys. I was the lead stone worker, and it's only with my help that smarter and newer types of monkeys can be created."

  ?

  I was surprised by how much the little creature was willing to share. I don't think it was a case of sharing because they trusted me. I think Kiko needed to vent. I was glad that at least this wasn't some weird monkey abuse ring. I thought for a while, and a sneaking suspicion popped into my mind. Every Progenitor I had met so far had different skills related to the title. But they were always tied to the ability to gain racial skills and to spread the species. I could convert another member of a species into mine, but they would retain their old abilities, and I could do only one conversion a year. I wonder if this was because my ability would create more powerful members of my species. In contrast, this red monkey progenitor could only produce inferior versions of himself, and perhaps it was constrained by the quality of the carvings.

  ?

  I had a more important thing to think about. I wanted to explore the mountain, and that monkey doing the whole slavery thing was not something I could ignore. A part of me thought it was none of my business, but I couldn't live my life like that anymore. I had been given a second chance, and at first I was weak, with survival as my only focus, but now. I had real power. Before I committed to anything, I just needed to know something.

  ?

  "Kiko, I met one of these monkeys, and he really knew how to fight. He was one of those big fellas in the good armour. How many more of those are there?"

  ?

  Kiko looked at me, and I swear I think their eyes were going to fall out if they kept widening them.

  "Mr Rakim, I'm sorry that one was my own work, a practice for the Red Monkeys' personal guard. I apologise if that one caused you any harm."

  ?

  There was a slight feminine tint to the way they sounded in my mind, but I couldn't help thinking maybe I was projecting. Kiko did remind me of a feisty girl I knew from my time in the system. She'd been a tough little thing. Last I heard, she made a name for herself in the mixed martial arts scene. She'd been like a little sister to me, and I couldn't help but see some of her in this little creature. I reckoned I was getting too lonely.

  ?

  "Don't worry, Kiko, I kicked his arse, but damn, you made that?" I said, "I'm impressed. "Wait, you said that was a test run for this armed guard? Did you ever get around to making this armed guard?" I asked, thinking about an army of monkeys stronger than that fighter from before.

  ?

  "Sorry again, Mr Rakim, I made five. They're a lot stronger than that fighter I made. These are close to power to the original- to the Emberfang King."

  ?

  I sighed as I realised this wasn't going to be a case of hunting some weak monkeys. I had already made my mind up; I knew it was stupid, and I should probably have lain low and slowly built my power. But if I ignored this creature, that was the only person I could have a conversation with that wasn't actively trying to kill me, I was definitely going to regret it.

  ?

  "Right, Kiko. It's your lucky day, I, the amazing Rakim, will help you. I will deal with your monkey problem. I keep all the cores, though. Deal?" I had to put some demand in there. I couldn't say, 'Hey, let me deal with your monkey problem in exchange for your friendship'

  ?

  Kiko looked at me wide-eyed and then nodded slowly.