Ambrose groaned in blissful satisfaction, soothing molten heat surrounding her body as she rested against a cushioned surface. Memories of being pressed into pillars and feasted upon filled her head. Dernia's lips on her body left her feeling melted and lightheaded. Her body felt like she was a living putty, being worked by masterful hands into a work of art. She felt no stiffness in her muscles, no soreness, just heat, pressure, and the lingering pleasure from within her slumber.

  Still, warm hands roamed up her back to her neck, firmly squeezing and massaging there. “Yeesss~” Ambrose half moaned, half mumbled as the touch only helped her relax more. She had no idea where she was or what was going on, and yet she couldn't quite bring herself to care when it felt sooo good. “Right there. Just like that~ Oh, lover~”

  “Certainly my lady. Anything to please you,” came the soft words of another woman. Ambrose didn't recognize the voice, which immediately put her on alert. This wasn't who she'd thought it was, and she wasn't where she expected to be. Ambrose tensed immediately, her eyes flashing wide as her combat instincts kicked in again. She found herself in a brightly lit room with tile floors.

  Turning her head to get a look at who was touching her she found herself nude in a bath with another woman. This certainly wasn’t the manticore. The human woman in her bath was of a fairer skin tone and with light green eyes and dirty blond hair. Her hands were held up as though she was surrendering, though she didn’t seem to be afraid in the least.

  “Who are you?” Ambrose asked, looking around herself, her situation slowly coming to her. She was in the bath, in her human form, being bathed by someone she didn’t know, in a location she didn’t recognize. She had passed out after her fight with the first princess of Diestol and had been at the mercy of whomever had been around at that time. Part of her was surprised no one had killed her in her sleep.

  “I am your maid for the time being, my lady. You may call me whatever you like, but my name is Gizelle,” the woman said with a smile, moving forward and reaching out to return to massaging Ambrose, who put up a hand between the two of them, not quite ready to have anyone else’s hands on her after her… rather intense dream and rude awakening.

  “Thank you, Gizelle, but I think I need to get up for the moment. I… I need to think,” she said, looking around the tub.

  “Of course my lady. Allow me to have a towel brought and you will be dried and dressed,” the maid declared, clapping twice before Ambrose could protest or question what was going on. In the next moment, three maids, all carrying big fluffy towels and dressed in Advelheid colors in their long uniform dresses, roamed into the room and surrounded the bath. Each of them seemed unabashed and ready to tend Ambrose. The maid in the tub with her gently urged Ambrose to the edge of the bath and up out of the steaming water while the Heiress herself stepped into the room, bowing deeply at the waist as Ambrose gawked.

  “Um… what?” Ambrose asked, staring in simple disbelief. Part of her thought she should bother covering her chest in front of the noble woman, another part of her thought she should probably scream, jump out of the tub and make a break for it. She was considering both options when the Heiress spoke up.

  “Blessed Lady Di. I am overjoyed to see you well. After such an intense night I expected you to rest for much longer,” she said, straightening up as Ambrose was helped out of the bath by two of the maids and the third began to dry her body off with that big, extremely fluffy towel. The sensation of the fluffy fabric dabbing away the moisture from her skin was pleasant and soothing,even as Ambrose's mind ran in circles.

  “I… Um… How long was I out?” Ambrose asked, looking over at the other woman to try and distract herself from the feeling of two towels running over her body, another of the maids having joined in drying her off. The women were brisk, to the point, and thorough in a way that made Ambrose slightly uncomfortable.

  “It is only now approaching dawn. It was near midnight when I returned you to this room. Only six hours or so have passed,” the Heiress said, smiling pleasantly. “Never to worry. You could have slept for days and you would still be welcome in my suite,” she continued, clasping her hands in front of herself. “Would that I could be so blessed as to have your company that long.”

  “I… um… thank you, Heiress,” Ambrose said, looking around as the maids did a second sweep of her body, the one behind her tending her hair gently with the towel.

  “Beatrix, please, Lady Di. You’ve no need to address me by title. It is my hope that in time we can become friends,” the lady said, surprising Ambrose a little more each time she spoke.

  “Friends?” she asked, chuckling to stifle her uncertainty as she pondered the concept.

  “Oh, yes. Long term friends. If you would be okay with such an arrangement. Getting to know you would truly brighten my life,” the woman who would one day inherit a large chunk of the continent proclaimed.

  “I… uh… Wow…” Ambrose said, trying to process the information. “Can’t say I expected that, but I’m not opposed. No. Not opposed at all, Beatrix. Just uh… give me some time to get used to it. And call me Ambrose. Di isn’t a name I’ve had long, and answering to it feels weird. Especially if we’re being friends,” Ambrose concluded.

  “Of course, Ambrose. Thank you for this honor,” the Heiress said, curtseying. Ambrose would have to get her to work on the overformality too if the young empress… no… if Beatrix truly wanted to be friends.

  “It’s not a big deal to me. Out of all the noble folk I’ve met, you’re the only one who’s even bothered to speak to me outside of being preachy. You’ve helped me, and vouched for me. As far as nobility goes, you’re one of maybe two I can say I have a positive opinion of,” Ambrose stated honestly, stepping away from the other women and trying to shift forms to the hollam, only to find she couldn’t. She found that a bit curious, as she’d grown pretty fond of the form, as it was a little of the happiest parts of being a Beastiary for her. Yet nothing happened when she tried again, and she frowned. Had she somehow broken her form?

  “That’s amazing for me to hear,” Beatrix said with a genuine smile. “Do you mind my asking who the other noble you think positively of is?”

  “I don’t mind,” she said distractedly, looking at her stats with a little concern, only for her jaw to drop.

  Beatrix must have noticed because her attention shifted and she moved around to check on Ambrose, who was staring, stunned at her stats. “Ambrose? Ambrose, are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah.. I..” she started, only to trail off. To be frank, she wasn’t okay. She was pretty confused.

  -

  Congratulations. Class Evolution Available. You have reached level twenty and are ready to progress to a deeper level of class development. Until your evolution, class skills and racial skills may not be used. Please apply your stats, upgrade two of your class skills, and choose any unchosen forms before evolving your class. Class evolution may give its own statistical bonuses and class skills.

  -

  “Ambrose? I worry for you. Are you not feeling well?” the Heiress asked, pulling Ambrose’s attention away from her notification long enough for the Beastiary to focus on her again.

  “Uh… yeah. I’m fine. I got a lot of levels from the fight last night. Right then, I checked my class and stats. I’m ready for something called a Class Evolution,” Ambrose said, still thinking about that as an option. After what all had gone on the night before she felt like she needed the power now more than ever. While she had an odd feeling of trust toward Brandr, she had no such feelings about Olferig, or Laecia. Both of those royals seemed set on taking advantage of her.

  “Your class evolution? Already? Just yesterday the Scion of Light said you were around level ten!” Beatrix gasped, seeming to be genuinely worried. “Such explosive growth couldn’t come from just one fight. What all have you been through?”

  “Uh… since yesterday? A lot. There was… a fight at the guild house, a huge operation in the city that involved stopping a smuggling operation and I was nearly crushed to death under a giant vat of siren crystal, then on my way home the princess swarmed me with guards and then fought me with her summons. It was pretty non-stop, and most of the people I encountered seemed like they had much more experience than me,” Ambrose listed off, just thinking about what all she had been through since leaving home. In under a week, she had been pushed, and tested and beaten to the point that her class was evolving from the necessity of it. Were all M ranks under such pressure to grow?

  She was so distracted by her own thoughts that she was caught off guard when Beatrix wrapped her arms around Ambrose, pulling the shorter woman to her and squeezing her in a sisterly embrace. “Oh, dear Ambrose, how they have abused you,” she said, holding Ambrose tightly. So as not to be rude, the Beastiary put an arm around the Heiress and pat her back a few times.

  “Um… Beatrix?”

  “Yes, Ambrose?”

  “Friends tend not to hug friends while they’re naked where I come from,” she said with a chuckle.

  Beatrix immediately blushed and backed away, flustered and already apologising. “Oh! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean t-”

  “It’s fine. It’s fine. I’m not that uncomfortable. I just wanted you to know,” Ambrose said, waving away the apologies. “I promise, it’s okay, Bea. Just let me look at my stats for a minute, and then you’ll have my attention,” she said, returning her focus to her stats.

  “Bea?” the woman mumbled to herself, even as Ambrose stopped focusing on her.

  Ambrose moved over to the rim of the bath, sitting quietly on the side of it and staring off into her stats, making changes. Beatrix, not sure what else to do while she waited, sat next to her, wondering how she could help the woman she was now trying to become close to. How could she aid her when her life was already so tragic, so packed with hardship, that in a few measly days she had achieved something that it had taken Margaux a month and a half to achieve, and herself over a year of what she considered rigorous, if safe and stable, training.

  -

  First Ambrose spent time adjusting her stats so that they were as even as she could make them. She noticed that there had already been an evolution of her Investment of Essence class skill. Instead of each point giving ten percent of potency bonuses to the special stats of each form, the investment points now gave fifteen percent each. That made the adaptive potency stat even more crucial, and so Ambrose did not neglect it when she leveled recognizing just how much the invested forms improved, especially after evolution.

  Once she’d handled the stat distribution, she followed the advice of Guidance, upgrading two of her class skills. First, she upgraded the Bestiary of forms skill, eager to gain more options with regards to forms. Once that was done, she also upgraded Chimerism.

  Doing so only unlocked an additional slot for more chimeric forms, which was a little disappointing at first, but once Ambrose considered the power of each hybrid created, she relented. Each and every chimeric form she had made was truly impressive. Which was why she was so interested in trying to unlock the hollam form again, as it let her feel like herself, while still feeling secure, confident and powerful.

  The last big decisions to make before her class evolution were the new forms she would be adding to her arsenal. The night before she had added on the Rainin, the Palumu, and the Moon Blood. However, with her upgraded options, she had seven more forms she could possibly adopt, and the list of available forms had changed greatly.

  Goblin

  Dormouse

  Nagini

  Satyr

  Harpy (Pigeon)

  Ifreet

  Sylphae

  Tsurarae

  Slime (Hatcher)

  Arachne

  Centaur (Warhorse)

  Doll (Articulated)

  Will-o-Wisp

  The Lamia was no longer available, replaced by the form of the Nagini, which Ambrose found far more naturally appealing to herself as a prospective form. A form of natural Ice elemental had been added to the list, along with the arachne and a graduated form of the Centaur. The centaur form in particular was interesting to Ambrose simply because there hadn’t been a standard centaur form available before it.

  The last two forms added to her list were the Doll, of which Ambrose had met one in her life, and the Will-o-Wisp, which Ambrose was aware was more of a spirit than a demi-human in classification. Once again, some of her options brought into question some of the teachings of Guidance. Guidance itself, was giving her options that were, by the word of the church, Humanoid, as though they were the same as demi-humans. Ambrose was beginning to further doubt that there was any difference.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Since she had the freedom of more options than before, Ambrose scooped up the Nagini form along with the Tsurarae, the Centaur, the Doll, and the Will-o-Wisp, before thinking on the possibilities and taking the ifreet from as well. Lastly, thinking of Anastasia, she took the Satyr form that had popped up on her list. It was always nice to try and relate to people she was fond of. Once that was done, she expected to feel the changes of leveling up in her body, but instead she received a message.

  -

  Chimeric form Hollam only has two fused forms. New minimum for fused forms has been imposed. Please add another form to Hollam.

  -

  Ambrose paused at that, thinking about the form. She honestly didn’t believe it had anything that it needed. She loved the form for what it was. It was dense, tanky and powerful. Adding more to that almost seemed unfair. But, after last night, after nearly dying multiple times… to the hells with being fair. Who should she be more fair to than herself? If she was going to be facing down people who could topple buildings and send armies after her, taking every advantage she could to keep herself alive was fairness.

  With a devious smirk on her face, she considered the least fair combination she could come up with in the moment, and then added a monster to the Hollam form. As soon as the chimeric form was complete she began to feel the changes in her body.

  In the back of her mind, she noticed Beatrix gasp and observe her as her musculature shifted and she bulked, if only slightly, her body maintaining its natural curvature even as her alacrity rose dramatically.

  When all was said and done, Ambrose took a deep breath before reviewing what her sheet, and she, had evolved into.

  -

  Class : Superior Beastiary

  Rank : M

  Race (current) : Shifter (Humanoid)

  Level : 20

  Adaptive Might : 40

  Adaptive Virility : 49

  Adaptive Agility : 45

  Adaptive Comprehension : 25

  Adaptive Reason : 44

  Adaptive Potency : 55

  Class Abilities: Grown Bestiary of Forms, Improved Investment of Essence, Chimerism, Sharing of Might

  Grown Bestiary of Forms:

  Bestiary may freely shift between a number of forms dictated by their level. Evolution Enhancement allows one extra form per designated level.

  Forms Chosen [17/17]

  Pantrada - Evolved - Investment 5/5 - Cloth Armor, Hidden throwing knives,

  Special Stats: Superlative Feline Grace (Alacrity), Keen Night Hunter's Awareness (Reason), Lunar Blessings (Instinct) -

  Lambda - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - Heater Shield (new), Steel Mace, Leather Armor,

  Special Stats: Stubborn Nature (Vitality), Discerning Mindfulness (Reason) -

  Merfolk - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - Spear

  Special Stats: Deep Flow (Alacrity), Lost Knowledge (Comprehension) -

  Redcappi - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Fiendish Momentum (Alacrity), Bloody Essence (Instinct) -

  Holstaurus Herd Princess - Evolved - Investment 5/5 - Clothes, School uniform, Halberd

  Special Stats: Decimating Fury (Ferocity), Eternal Endurance (Vitality), Stellar Source (Instinct), Wanderer’s Intuition (Reason) -

  Deviswine - Unevolved - Investment 0/10 - Robes

  Special Stats: Domina’s Form (Vitality), Peerless Observation (Reason), Conqueror’s Allure (Instinct) -

  Anfaunum - Unevolved - Investment 0/??? - No items

  Special Stats: Eternal Learning (Comprehension), Divine Principles (Reason), Essence of Glow (Instinct) -

  Palumu - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Night Sky Hunter (Alacrity), Mental Map (Reason) -

  Rainin - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Thundering Potency (Instinct), Crashing Power (Ferocity) -

  Moon Blood - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Hunter’s Might (Ferocity), Survivor’s Resilience (Vitality) -

  Nagini - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Constricting Might (Frocity), Ambusher’s Patience (Reason) -

  Tsurarae- Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Frigid Form (Vitality), Cold Calculation (Comprehension), Icy Mind (Reason) -

  Centaur (Warhorse) - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Charging Prance (Alacrity), Stampede (Ferocity), War Body (Vitality) -

  Doll (Articulated) - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Crafted form (Vitality), Enduring Existence (Reason), Willful Presence (Instinct) -

  Will-o-Wisp - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Everburn (Vitality), Persisting Loneliness (Reason), Heartfire (Instinct) -

  Ifreet - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Soul of Fire (Instinct), Core of Heat (Reason) -

  Satyr - Unevolved - Investment 0/5 - No items

  Special Stats: Stubborn Nature (Vitality), Flightful Fancy (Alacrity) -

  Improved Investment of Essence:

  Invest points into a form to enhance that form’s unique statistic by 15% Potency per point spent.

  5 investments of one form will result in an evolution of that form.

  10/20 spent.

  Chimerism:

  Beastiary may begin mixing existing forms into Chimera forms. Maximum number of forms that may be put together is dependent on level. Forms may be freely adjusted and shifted to. Chimera forms will maintain logical racial abilities from their parent forms. 3 chimera forms may be saved and shifted to naturally. Saved forms may gain a chimeric token to further enhance their abilities.

  Chimeric Investment Tokens Used : [1/1]

  Number of forms per chimera: 3

  Number of saved chimera forms: [2/4]

  Hollam - Partially Evolved - Chimeric investment 0/1 - No items

  Special Stats: Domination (Ferocity), Eternal Form (Vitality), Willful Divination (Reason), Celestial Call (Instinct) -

  Thunder King - Partially Evolved - Chimeric investment 1/1 - No items

  Special Stats: Thunder King’s Fury (Ferocity), Enduring Storm (Vitality), Polarization (Reason), Planar Connection (Instinct) -

  Sharing of Might:

  Beastiary may take and maintain up to 3 characteristics or skills of a form they possess in any other form including their Shifter form.

  Racial Abilities:

  Shifter:

  Partially or fully change physical appearance. Cannot perfectly mimic known persons, but can change all features of the body at will.

  Skills: None

  -

  Ambrose smirked as she finally finished up with her evolution and reading her new abilities. She turned her head to see the Heire-... to see Beatrix observing her body. The noble’s eyes were fixed on her midsection, which Ambrose herself leaned back to get a good look at, clenching her core as she leaned back so she wouldn’t fall into the water.

  Her stomach had always been on the flat side of things. She never really ate enough to put on the plumpness Mizz Shatterhorn had. Now that she’d been working her stats and moving about so much, that flat plane had transformed slightly, her light skin shifting over defined abdominal muscles. It made Ambrose raise an eyebrow.

  “Your body is…” Beatrix began her eyes still lingering even after Ambrose had finished observing and moved on. It felt a little odd being the only completely nude person in the room. So she chose to rectify the issue, sitting up and then standing up. “I… I think your figure is quite admirable,” she said, once Ambrose’s body was no longer on display.

  With a minor force of will, she shifted forms, sighing happily as she recognized the familiar weight of horns on her head, the burgeoning fullness in her chest that told her it was about time for another milking, and the comfortable denseness that came along with being in the form of the Hollam. Yet there was something different, a sensation of powerful, sensual agency that flowed through her body. She took a moment to recognize the change that the Deviswine had made on the chimera form, noticing the same flirtatious curviness in her hip, and sensual sway in her tail.

  The form itself felt denser, more stable and aware, which made the steaminess of the bathroom and the aromas of the lightly perfumed water they had bathed her in, stand out even more to her. Turning, she looked down to Beatrix and offered her hand to the woman who was still seated looking up at her from her place on the side of the tub. When she noticed the hand, she blushed lightly and took it, letting Ambrose help her up.

  “Thanks for the complement,” Ambrose said, smiling before letting go of the other woman’s hand and moving toward the bathroom door. She had changed forms for a number of reasons. The first was to see if the injuries from the night before had lingered. The second was simply for her own comfort, as she had taken a strong liking to having hooves. Most importantly, the form came with her uniform already on. It wasn’t in terrible condition either, though she would likely have to get all of her clothes from the night before laundered.

  Her hips swayed as she walked, her tail tracing their pendulous oscillation as she stepped from the bathroom and into the main room of the Suite. She could hear Beatrix trailing behind her, and didn’t turn back to see if she was following, instead taking in the large, furnished room which was lit by enchanted candle light for the early movement as maids moved around the space.

  “Your dorm room is kind of ridiculous, Bea,” Ambrose chuckled, stepping to the side so that the young heiress could step up beside her. She did, standing a little closer than Ambrose would personally say was necessary, still, the chimera within her felt it was natural for someone to gravitate toward her. So she refrained from commenting on it.

  “I dare not ask how your own room compares,” the noble said, looking around her allotted space. “They have treated you very poorly here, Lady D-... Ambrose.”

  “It’s alright. While I might have a bone to pick with Laecia the next time I see her, she wasn’t wrong about where I come from. I’m a commoner at heart, even if they try to foist fancy titles onto me. I don’t need all of this,” she said, her eyes taking in the room and the maids with extreme detail. Between her new stats and the senses of the new form, Ambrose found herself processing much more information than she was used to, not that it was uncomfortable yet. She just had a feeling she was pushing the limit of her comprehension stat. She’d need to be mindful of how low it was in comparison to the others and work to balance it lest she overwhelm herself with the information.

  “You may not need all of it, but I fear this level of opulence ,at the very least, is in your future after your display last night,” Beatrix said, with a knowing wariness in her tone.

  “What do you mean?” Ambrose asked, turning her head to look at the other woman, her eyebrow quirking up as curiosity pulled her attention from the various vases, plants, sofas, chairs, and tables all being prepared and polished for Beatrix while they spoke..

  “I mean that you frightened most of the royal family with your powerful display yesterday. The first princess was beyond herself with blind fear, and the second prince seems determined to woo you so that you will not fly into a rage against the kingdom. No one in this city is prepared to handle the kind of power you displayed, and now they are desperate to make an ally of you,” Beatrix said simply, her tone plain and honest. Ambrose couldn’t help but appreciate that she was frank about the situation.

  “So… that means I can expect some sucking up rather than retaliation?” she asked, only to receive an uncertain head wobble.

  “From Olferig, yes. The second prince feels as though he and you got off on the wrong foot and he is eager to remedy that. On the other hand, I would certainly expect retaliation from Laecia. I do not have a high opinion of the woman, and would not put it past her to try to have you assassinated,” Bea said.

  Ambrose paused at that and nodded. Deep down, she had figured as much from Laecia. She would not let the other woman catch her off guard again, and anyone willing to challenge her would find themselves crushed. She was tired of hesitating and tired of being denied her “no”.

  “Whoever she sends will die. If they won’t take no for an answer, I’ll give them the violence they’re asking for,” Ambrose concluded, her ears flicking as she noticed someone entering the space from the door leading into the hallway.

  “Oooh! You gave me shivers,” Margaux said, smiling as she entered the room in a light, silk, teddy. “Good to see you up.”

  “Hello again, Margaux,” Ambrose said, observing the other woman and her black and pink tresses. The other M rank still seemed a little crazy to Ambrose, but she was acting far calmer than she had after their exhibition match.

  “You’ve grown immensely since our match,” Margaux said, her eyes roaming Ambrose from hoof to horn. “I must admit I’m fascinated by your increase in power.”

  Ambrose shrugged, not sure how to respond. “I’ve been fighting constantly since the moment I awakened my class,” she sighed. “I’m not sure there was any choice other than to grow.”

  Margaux nodded, stepping over and taking the heiress by the arm, even as she leered at Ambrose. “Tell me more.”

  Ambrose paused at that, then frowned. “I guess I have a little time. It’s still before breakfast. But I need to head to class today. So I’ll be going down to eat.”

  “Well, if you must depart soon, then I’m even more eager to hear about your trials,” Margaux insisted.

  Moving over to one of the couches, Ambrose took a seat and relaxed. “Fine. Since we’re being… friendly… I’ll start from after our match…”

  —

  Dernia sighed, looking out over rainy forest lands of Bristol, kingdom of the nature Aeon and home to the Elven royal line. From the Plateau she stood upon, the lands looked like a stormy sea of green, trees swaying as the canopy reached out in every direction. Fantastic aromas that reminded Dernia of overripe wild fruits wafted up from the bloody testing ground beneath her, sweet smells to lure in prey.

  Yet even as Dernia saw the forests for what they were, her mind drifted back to a certain flower she had recently enjoyed in her subconscious. She had shone so brightly from within, smelled so very tempting, and not in the way the forests below did. The promise of the forest was that to lure a hunter. She would be able to snatch her prize only if she fought for it and proved that she was the hunter and king the forest demanded her to be. Not the wildflower, not Ambrose.

  No. That young nubile creature she had met in the middle of her mission promised only satisfaction in every possible facet of Dernia’s desires. The dream had proved it to her, her taste, her moans, her smell, the wildflower was more tantalizing a treat than she could have hoped for. It was almost infuriating that she had been pressed to leave that lovely flower in the human castle town. What if some lesser creature seduced her, plucked her and didn't nourish her and care for her petals? Such a waste should be criminal, no, blasphemy and sin…

  A roar from the trees below pulled Dernia from her thoughts and the manticore sighed and growled as she was reminded of her current task. She could not go and retrieve her prize. Not yet. Though maybe in a few days, when her body finally tired to the point where sleep took her again, she would find that comfortable little patio again, and satisfy her hungers once more…