It is, in fact, the non-human cases of forced awakening that I find most intriguing and that have been the focus of my research for many years. Despite the common consensus that forced mana awakening affected only high-intelligence primates, there have been, albeit rare, documented instances in non-primate species. These cases have largely been dismissed as instances of beastification, yet this classification is inaccurate, as the phenomenon affected only individual specimens rather than entire species.

  The most well-documented example is the case of Amphioctopus marginatus, commonly known as the veined octopus or coconut octopus, at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta—better known to the public as Gary the Octopus. The veined octopus is widely regarded as one of the most intelligent cephalopods, known for its tool use, problem-solving abilities, and complex behaviours. On the Day of Awakening, Gary underwent an extraordinary transformation, rapidly increasing in size to that of a two-story building. In the immediate aftermath, he wreaked havoc across Atlanta, killing and consuming thousands before eventually retreating to the Georgia Aquarium. There, he established what is now classified as the Georgia Dungeon, with strong evidence suggesting that he became its Dungeon Lord.

  In recent years, Gary has exhibited signs of decreased aggression and increased cognitive function. Given his species' natural intelligence, it would be particularly compelling to observe whether meaningful communication with such a creature might one day be possible. The extent to which his cognitive abilities may continue to develop remains an open question, especially as previous attempts at aggressive intervention have consistently resulted in heightened hostility in response.

  — Extract from a lecture by Dr Elliot Barnes, Doctor of Applied Mana and System Theory, delivered in September 2042.

  Chapter Four

  Day of awakening – 23:02

  Knowing that every second wasted was lost exp that had gone to someone else, I tucked the iron pipe into my belt and grabbed a length of steel box section that someone had cut the end off at 90 degrees and headed back out the side gate. The thick iron pipe felt awkward and bounce against my leg and the steel box section was too long and bounced as I jogged down the street, I could have stayed long and found something better, while I didn’t have access to any of the tool, the yard for full of different piece of discarded scrap, but I didn’t want to risk the delay. A growing concern I had was that if someone had already farmed all the immediately local exp opportunities then I would need to travel further, which would take more time, increasing the chance that someone might take those opportunities and so I would have to travel even further where I would be lucky to find anything at all.

  No! I wouldn’t leave this up to chance, I need to farm every possibility of exp that is close by before it is snapped up by someone else, anything that I can find further afield after is just a bonus.

  Makeshift spear in hand I set off towards the closest disturbance that I could hear which was luckily close by, a group shouting one street over. I set off towards it at a steady job, wary that I was on an unknown time limit, but at the same time knowing that this was going to be a marathon, not a sprint.

  It had only taken me a couple of minutes to get to where I heard the commotion, it had gone quiet by the time I had drawn near, and I had worried that someone had already beaten me to it. But an odd sound drew my attention to an open house door and found a creature hunched with its back to me, its attention focused on something I could not make out on the floor. This time it looked like someone had started to transform into some sort of gorilla, but it had only affected it up body where it appeared to have ripped itself out of a shirt hulk style, but it legs were still that of a normal human, wearing what looked like normal suit trousers and shoes.

  Skipped leg day I see.

  I didn’t stop to consider anything else, as I brought up my makeshift spear while lowering my body down into a full charge. My plan wasn’t anything special, I had no real combat trying other than some after school judo classes and I knew that direct confrontation would most likely get me killed or at the very lease injured to the point that I wouldn’t be able to farm any more exp. So, I only really had one play.

  Ambush, then extreme aggression

  The length of box session steel slammed into the back of the creature, used more like a lance than a spear, my momentum and the weight of the metal driving it through it back, under it ribs, and out its stomach by a full meter. The creature tried to arch back in pain and surprise at the sudden strike, causing the steel box section to bash against the floor, restricting it movements. But I hadn’t stop though, the moment I felt it penetrate through, I had left go and was already bringing the thick iron pipe down on the creature’s head, first blow stunned it, fourth blow brought it to its knees and with the eighth the skull started to cave in- I stopped on the twelfth.

  Panting I looked over at what the creature had been focused on before I ambushed it, the remains of a woman and a child were laid out on the floor, body’s broken and shattered, the flesh had been stripped from the woman’s arm where it had clearly been eating them.

  So, you came home late from work and were greeted by your wife and child…

  “Fuck…”

  While I had sort of prepared myself to deal with the fact I would likely see more dead people, or at the very least convinced myself I had, the scene of the dead child, broken from what looked like multiple enraged blows was too much, and I stumbled back, my vison starting to spin and my stomach clamped down. Grabbing the doorway, I spewed the contents of my stomach down the side of the open door as a message appeared in my vision.

  “Just ignore it Jack, what’s more important? A corpse that you can do nothing for or power to prevent it in the future?”

  Or, more importantly, not having the power to prevent it in the future.

  Clarity and focus returned and bracing my foot on the creature’s back, I pulled my makeshift free, slick blood coating it, wiping the worse of it off with a strip of the creatures torn shirt. I ignored the faces of people watching me from the windows of the other houses and set off back the way I came, following the sound of shouting and a dog’s barks.

  My next EXP encounter was an easy one, this time in the form of a much more recognisable werewolf, I found it trying to attack a dog that was darting back and forth barking before dodging back and the wolf man tried to swipe at it. Its distraction made it easy, as I once again ambushed it, by running it through with the box section and then beating it over the head until I got the congratulation message and moved on, the dog just stood over a body of a person I hadn’t seen before and growled at me as I passed.

  Hmmm so know I know what evisceration looks like, another thing I could have done without knowing.

  Part of me wanted to stay and see if I could find the dogs home or at least get him somewhere safe, but as before I needed to move, every second wasted I was falling behind someone.

  “Sorry boy, you’re on your own. And don’t eat you’re your owner! it will make you sick!”

  My next encounter went differently, I had been attracted by the sound of someone shouting for help and found the source coming from a man running up a back alley, I tried to call out to him, but he bowled right into me, almost impaling himself on my make-shift spear before sprinting off down the road.

  Rude!

  Turning to look down the alley the way he came, I saw what he was running from. It was a blob, a human blob, so bloated was it that as it worked its way down the alley, its body pushed up against the sides, filling it and making a square shape. As I watched a massive, bloated hand pushing what looked like a woman’s body into it massive mouth, swallowing it whole before its eye’s locked onto me, a large tongue came out, licking it lips before it charged, slow at first and it needed to push it pull though the alley, but quickly gaining speed.

  How the hell am I meant to kill that, it’s got to be the size of an elephant.

  With no confidence that I would be able to penetrate dead enough to do more that piss it off and no way that I could see to get to it head, I was left with only one rally option.

  I’m going to have to run and leave this for someone with a gun to sort, the local armed response unit most have mobilised by now, but it is going to take them forever to work their way through all this and it going to kill so many people before then….maybe…maybe I could slow it down though, then trap it somehow.

  I looked down at my makeshift spear / lance and an idea started to form.

  If you can’t beat them, let them beat them self’s

  I braced the flat end of the box section against the edge of a loose paving stone, gripping it tight as the creature hurtled towards me. But instead of tensing for impact, I let my body stay loose, the cut-off end of the steel bar aimed at the centre of the jiggling mass of flesh. At the last second, I threw myself to the side, letting the makeshift lance slip from my grip just as it struck the man-blob-monster.

  I hit the ground hard, clipping the alley wall, and what should have been a controlled dive turned into a graceless tumble. The impact drove the iron pipe, still tucked into my belt, deep into my gut, knocking the breath from my lungs. Pain flared, sharp and immediate, but it was nothing compared to the deep, pained, bellow the creature made.

  Scrambling to my feet, I turned to see it writhing, the box section speared straight through its bloated stomach and wedged deep into the ground. It thrashed in place, unable to advance, its swollen, sagging arms straining uselessly at its sides. Too thick to reach around its massive bulk, unable to reach the makeshift lance, let alone pull it free.

  If it had been smarter, less blinded by rage, it could have probably pulled itself out, but creatures small beady eyes just locked on me tried to charge forward, driving the box section deeper and causing to writhe with pain again.

  “Ha! how do you like that, you stupid, fat fuck! What are you going do now!?”

  As though responding to my words, the creature roared with rage and with a mighty yank, pulled upwards ripping the box section right out of the ground, taking the paving stone with it before turning to face me and whipping around the box section at the same time.

  Driven by possible pure instinct, but most likely just a knee-jerk shock reaction, I pulled my head back just in time to narrowly avoid edge of the box section whipping pass across my eyes, like Neo dodging a hail of bullets, but then losing balance and falling on my arss.

  I didn’t hang around and quickly darted behind a parked car while swearing at myself.

  “Stupid, Stupid Jack, you don’t fucking gloat until you know its dead, fucking stupid fuck fuck!”

  My self-indulgence angry was short lived as something smashed into the car, shoving it sideway and knocking me to my arss again with glass raining down around me.

  I gingerly started quickly picking the glass of myself, before realising that it was the toughened glass of the car and so had shattered into small blunt edge piece and just brushed myself off while getting up.

  Once again the car was shoved sideways, followed by raged fill bellow and looking over I realised that the blob monster had charged the car to get at me and in doing so, rammed the box section though the driver side windows, though the car and out of passenger side. Now trapped it was all the bloated monster could do to shover the car or rattle the box section in the door frame where the car door windows used to be.

  Another shove, another bellow and I realised that as long as I kept it attention of me on the other side of the car I had it trapped, I couldn’t do anything else about it, I couldn’t move from my position as the moment I moved off to either sides it would follow and possibly free itself, but if I stayed where I am, it would keep trying to push forward, keeping itself locked to the car, but leaving us in a stalemate. I couldn’t kill it from where I was, I could maybe climb, up on the car and jump at his head and get a good hit on him with my trusty iron pipe, but the moment I did I would then be on top of him right where his gaping moar of a mouth was lined with teeth like a shark.

  Yeah, hard no on that, wonder if I could attach him more permanently to the car though and then just leave him for an armed police office to kill later, or maybe someone with a bow, anything ranged really……note to self, buy a cross bow.

  Possible interesting future plan aside, I would need a chain or a heavy-duty ratchet strap to tie him down to the car. The monster took this moment to let out another bellow of rage and shove the car towards me another 10 centimetres and knocking me out of my mussing.

  “Oh, shut up, I am trying to think here!”

  Jack, we spoke about this, enough with the gloating you just wasting possible EXP farming time while you are stuck here chatting to this tub of lard.

  This was my primary concern at the moment, the human-blob-monster was most contained and wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else, it was trapping me here at the same time, preventing me from obtaining any more exp and a possible future of falling into the under-levelled hole.

  Fuck it, I might just have to leave this here, it not really my job to keep other safe as many people would like to say it is, normally as long as it not them being the ones who have to actually being the ones who need to be the ones sacrificing for it.

  It was at that moment, as I was weighing up my options that my eye caught some movement from atop the alleyway wall, before someone wearing nothing but black, leaped at the back of the creature, what looked like a kitchen knife in their outstretched hand, plunging it down into the mass of flesh’s neck.