After Skylark returned with Kim and Panz in tow, the group got back together one last time at the camp. Hugs were given, and food was feasted upon; it was a celebration, through and through, though some staples were missing.40Please respect copyright.PENANA9kzco2hU1t
40Please respect copyright.PENANAIJvKvXByU3
Victoria and Flinty were chatting. She tried to make conversation with Kenny earlier, but Kenny had politely asked her to let him rest. Ng was making small talk with Skylark, Panz was knocked out cold and tied up, and Kim was still unconscious. And Kenny was alone in the midst of it all. But Kenny had no qualms with it. Kenny was staring at the trees, deep in thought. He was reviewing the whole situation. The people he met, the things that were said, the events that transpired. It wasn't all pleasant, of course. In fact, hardly any of it was, but Kenny viscerally understood that what happened last night was only going to benefit him. Kenny stared at Kim's body, happy that it was temporarily comatose. It could've been much worse. He said his thanks to the higher beings and counted his blessings for Skylark's arrival.40Please respect copyright.PENANAfdNZQzKMfc
40Please respect copyright.PENANAzSmQcWBBm2
Now that the situation has been handled, Kenny stood up and excused himself under the guise of using the restroom. Nobody thought anything of it, of course. Kenny already began forming an extensive explanation for his lie. He walked a good distance away from the camp, found a relatively open spot, and sat down.40Please respect copyright.PENANAiOBvIMPtjw
40Please respect copyright.PENANAjtGtYKtIbR
"Now then, mana beasts."40Please respect copyright.PENANAkrSe1LLxSf
40Please respect copyright.PENANAwJSgZ4yAc2
Kenny harkened back to his post-toddler years. It had been a long time since he's done something like this, sneaking away to mess with the world around him. It was strangely nostalgic.40Please respect copyright.PENANABhYxBuIZjs
40Please respect copyright.PENANADZsm4wsIpo
Kenny shook his head. He didn't have infinite time, so it would be best if he hurried quickly.40Please respect copyright.PENANApSwZDAnzl1
40Please respect copyright.PENANA5ZwNaHpWFH
Kenny began performing mana expulsion with Intent to match the unique mana. He was immediately successful in creating something, but the product only horrified him.40Please respect copyright.PENANAGnEK0G6GLO
40Please respect copyright.PENANAsAF5MOZhBV
It was a bundle of flesh. It was dark gray and was barely larger than the nail on his pinky. He touched it and squeezed it, accidentally destroying it in the process.40Please respect copyright.PENANAhOkAznqKzr
40Please respect copyright.PENANAoW7A5G3A5K
"...Maybe I need to put out a little more."40Please respect copyright.PENANACj3sfSEHew
40Please respect copyright.PENANAZ4VlQsI0hD
And he did just that. He was expecting to create something with some sentience, but instead, he just made an even larger blob of flesh. At the very least, it was in the shape of something he recognized– that being a flower, of course.40Please respect copyright.PENANAkwP50nLCVr
40Please respect copyright.PENANAvY90fNcfxR
Though it was admittedly a stretch to say that. It was another failure, but he was used to such trial and error. He dispelled the blob of flesh much like he did with his earth spells. However, when he did, he felt something crawl into his body. Naturally, he immediately tried to pry it away, and the flesh plant reappeared before him.40Please respect copyright.PENANAAjll88mhVC
40Please respect copyright.PENANAGCNqnCvbBN
Kenny gazed at the blob intently. He started having second thoughts about this, but truly, he has done worse with his own body, so he decided to smush the blob and try again.40Please respect copyright.PENANAHl3WEdvgLR
40Please respect copyright.PENANArrgbhH78CK
Kenny quickly lost himself in the process of creation. He felt a little sick on the inside doing it. It's not like with plants, where all he did was expedite either the growth or the death of them. This was akin to playing God, he realized.40Please respect copyright.PENANAbPH9wwLlTo
40Please respect copyright.PENANAUnTbHAguLr
"..."40Please respect copyright.PENANAg9TT7mlpn8
40Please respect copyright.PENANAQJY6ZkA719
He couldn't say it didn't feel gratifying.40Please respect copyright.PENANA0ttX4M38iN
40Please respect copyright.PENANAIR7grWXtxD
"I need to study this stuff more. Hmm..."40Please respect copyright.PENANAia8nPyj8H1
40Please respect copyright.PENANA8YAZn3oeGD
Kenny's first idea was to transport some of the unique mana here back to his home. Of course, he could only utilize said mana once per container, but he'd rather do that than walk back and forth to this forest. Unfortunately for him, he had no item on hand that could properly store the mana. He made a mental note to purchase one later.40Please respect copyright.PENANAw1KqCjB6uw
40Please respect copyright.PENANAgDeklVoSI7
But, before he got up and left, he figured he might as well try one more thing. Kenny knew that his approach had to change, lest he fall into a pit of insanity, so this time, Kenny did something he ordinarily would deem useless: he thought of what he was going to create when he expelled his mana. He wanted to make an animal, and preferably, something that didn't make him revolt upon glancing at it.40Please respect copyright.PENANARlBeXcuCHV
40Please respect copyright.PENANAvCFbhDWe5h
So of course, he created a small, cute puppy.40Please respect copyright.PENANAipej4HDRIK
40Please respect copyright.PENANAs38ttQ1Ls1
"H-Huh?"40Please respect copyright.PENANAkMmBoLUVSL
40Please respect copyright.PENANAOmuP60nHxz
It wasn't so simple, though. It wasn't just an adorable puppy; it was an adorable puppy with the face of Dragon-Maw, and the horns of a bison.40Please respect copyright.PENANApauU9AJft6
40Please respect copyright.PENANAG7uoA7l5VI
Kenny was deeply disturbed. He didn't even imagine the horns, and yet it appeared anyway.40Please respect copyright.PENANAGa5XY1LO8I
40Please respect copyright.PENANAdcGBQ6o38A
"...Intent is too honest."40Please respect copyright.PENANAjGE6I4UELP
40Please respect copyright.PENANAcnMHQr0lee
Kenny readied to slay the dog. It didn't seem any more sentient than the bundles of flesh he'd been creating, after all. But when he created a boulder with magic, he gazed at the puppy's face. And then he heard the thing sniff. It walked up to him and sat obediently as if it was waiting to be told what to do.40Please respect copyright.PENANABwO23B00Lr
40Please respect copyright.PENANAG5OLuFJ4yn
Kenny was deeply, deeply disturbed.40Please respect copyright.PENANAv9Oxpxix4L
40Please respect copyright.PENANAVLwFpw0fCE
"Don't look at me like that," he said. The creature tilted his head, as he obviously had no eyes and couldn't follow his command. Kenny sighed and dispelled his boulder. He grabbed the dog and put it near a bush.40Please respect copyright.PENANAQOBOQYeL6f
40Please respect copyright.PENANAjbtM9qrjFb
"Hide in there. Don't come out unless you get hungry, thirsty, need to dispel waste, or start feeling funny. Lastly, never, ever enter my life again."40Please respect copyright.PENANA4c50Nh3T9s
40Please respect copyright.PENANAcEUQ0bD5rU
The puppy nodded. Kenny felt satisfied. He was ready to turn away until he saw the thing rip its own horn off and stick it in his chest. He fell to the ground and dissipated.40Please respect copyright.PENANAzJCrgcUJII
40Please respect copyright.PENANAmdMX8BWQ2K
"..."40Please respect copyright.PENANAot7KQm8ixb
40Please respect copyright.PENANAxtSkfS0iTx
Kenny was deeply, deeply, deeply disturbed. But more so, he realized that the next time he practiced with this mana, he needed to make something that could understand nuance.40Please respect copyright.PENANAcH8Yppdi2l