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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAW1o4nlwprj
210Please respect copyright.PENANAAvZP9IE90u
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAcBk1VghG0L
210Please respect copyright.PENANAJpKMk9hPTR
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANA7XVUtHHQbh
210Please respect copyright.PENANAMlC6XLUu60
"Now then, mana beasts."210Please respect copyright.PENANAHT2k8mhGWz
210Please respect copyright.PENANAtdtgs7OCYz
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAPxSOwCk1Ny
210Please respect copyright.PENANAf9UmmaysUC
Kenny shook his head. He didn't have infinite time, so it would be best if he hurried quickly.210Please respect copyright.PENANAqJgt48U0il
210Please respect copyright.PENANAxiVwamIUX6
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAt7cqXsHoZQ
210Please respect copyright.PENANAzJFcb6ZSuK
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANASJN0j6IXk3
210Please respect copyright.PENANAnmHq38LCyU
"...Maybe I need to put out a little more."210Please respect copyright.PENANAdn1XcUqORu
210Please respect copyright.PENANACRiInythWU
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAhZFqAskik4
210Please respect copyright.PENANAawlsAwvRV0
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAg0Jl5Bm27f
210Please respect copyright.PENANA9nr19Scjud
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANALiTJ370LCi
210Please respect copyright.PENANALZszQy3d9V
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANA8VlEJjLnuR
210Please respect copyright.PENANAdwxFZJX8g3
"..."210Please respect copyright.PENANA9fd5JuEv6m
210Please respect copyright.PENANAYKNBlB3cpn
He couldn't say it didn't feel gratifying.210Please respect copyright.PENANApHKVBuHb7X
210Please respect copyright.PENANAgYvloyg85m
"I need to study this stuff more. Hmm..."210Please respect copyright.PENANAXaq8zp29QX
210Please respect copyright.PENANAFLZut4QLyK
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAeh1vL90s9e
210Please respect copyright.PENANA3gBpZrU1cc
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAabuBtLow6e
210Please respect copyright.PENANAePNCpGPEez
So of course, he created a small, cute puppy.210Please respect copyright.PENANAFAN89kIj0w
210Please respect copyright.PENANAp3Lx45LkS0
"H-Huh?"210Please respect copyright.PENANAA7iSxwAGtt
210Please respect copyright.PENANAtwqQSN26F9
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAhREw4AzMyi
210Please respect copyright.PENANA0tqsxjZD6g
Kenny was deeply disturbed. He didn't even imagine the horns, and yet it appeared anyway.210Please respect copyright.PENANAakdgQjqWVm
210Please respect copyright.PENANAm0qv595J9I
"...Intent is too honest."210Please respect copyright.PENANAwWHbN82csC
210Please respect copyright.PENANAYKYnIbD5A3
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANADdQCD3CLLY
210Please respect copyright.PENANAwejLmZDKKR
Kenny was deeply, deeply disturbed.210Please respect copyright.PENANADm3S2EYyG4
210Please respect copyright.PENANAyL55yNawNh
"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.210Please respect copyright.PENANADIRqzXGbTR
210Please respect copyright.PENANAusLZJkX5Tu
"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."210Please respect copyright.PENANAEu7sdHK0Oy
210Please respect copyright.PENANArrJb4dwuSc
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANAvVCCRRDFxq
210Please respect copyright.PENANAmBHIFM8oDT
"..."210Please respect copyright.PENANAa3KS1ZVyjN
210Please respect copyright.PENANAU7POUqQFjl
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.210Please respect copyright.PENANA8eQK0qZltQ