The Sun shined over the Swamps of Oragauhst, the land for the most part devoid of trees. Such was the toll the Entity committed to defend itself against the intruder, and they would likely not regrow for centuries if left to their own devices. As for the toxic waters that surrounded the forest, within the coming months it will drain out and leave behind fertile dirt.

Indeed, the land will go back to the way it was. With the plague killed, man will likely try once more to reconquer the lands. For their chance of success, well nothing is there to stop them.

However, one can't ignore what would likely be the corpse that shall forever stain the lands with its form. Within only a night the toxins have all but drained themselves from the body, leaving behind whatever hide or had yet to be burnt away. Such material will rapidly petrify due to its making, becoming a literal mountain of rock like growth and a symbol of the Shield's grand triumph.

As for Maple, she had awakened to a stirring in her bag. It had been a good sleep, similar to what an athlete would experience after the greatest marathon of their lives. A little incoherent, it did not take her long to find what had awakened her.

Egg of an Abomination

Level 15

Vit 75

Poison Immunity

Mutation Override Occuring…

Assigning New Genome…

"Is it… hatching?" It did not take long for Maple to light up with realization, "Come on little guy! You can do it, I believe in you!"

Maple had never seen a creature being born before in real life. Though, she has seen videos of baby chicks and the hatching of Syrup in New World Online. The chance to witness its hatching was surely something she was not going to miss.

Maple held onto the egg with a grip one of a doting mother. Yes, she realized that maybe taking the egg to a boss fight was not the best thing, but seeing it hatching now was well worth the risk!

The sounds of breaking shells soon reached Maple's ears, the shaking became rapid and then suddenly stopped. Soon enough the top of the shell cracked open, and slowly the sign of a singular golden head poked itself out from the shell.

"Oh, you're so cute!" Maple cheered, but she was soon stopped as something else seemed to break from the shell.

From the left of the head emerged a second, its head slightly different from the other but still containing the golden hue. Quickly after a third emerged from it, the creatures all focusing on Maple with beedy golden eyes.

"..."

"Kya?" The middle one cried.

"KAWAII!" And with a swift motion Maple hugged the creature in her lap, a great smile adorned upon her face, "Oh you three are so cute! Here, let me get you out of that!"

With a few motions of her hand Maple quickly ripped the creature out of the shell, the full body of the being exposed to the world.

Like a turtle it had a massive shell, though this one seemed to be tilted upwards as if giving the creature it would house much more room. Small spikes bordered the edges of the shell. Its feet were of sturdy build, but Maple could already see signs of sharp claws it would eventually grow later in life. All that was left was a massive tail, a spike at the end of it similar to a morning star.

"Kyaa!" The little creature called out.

Maple patted their heads for a moment before a sudden thought struck her, "Are you hungry little guy?"

The little guys gave a slight nod, to which Maple simply grew a small smile. She picked it up and steadily carried him towards a rather fleshy looking part of the monster. With a small tug Maple was able to remove a piece of it and handed it to the little creature.

"Alright, here you go." The turtle abomination looked at the meal for only a moment before one of the heads ensnared it and started eating it. She grew a small smile herself, as the cute Hydra-like creature started nibbling on the pieces.

"Alright, now that I think about it, I need to give you a name." Maple thought to herself for what was fifteen minutes. Her desire to quickly name the little guy Syrup was there, but she already had a pet named Syrup.

Oh the troubles of coming up with another name though! It was such a perfect name that Maple could not fathom another. Such were the problems with different worlds, being in a medieval fantasy surely had some downsides.

"Yeah… I haven't seen the others in a while." Maple soon spoke, a small tug popping up in her heart, "Yeah, I wonder what Risa is doing right now. Is she looking for me?"

The Shield Hero thought to herself a little more, stretching the palm of her own hand for the moment, "Everything was real, so that meant any moment back there would have meant death for me. If I died, I would never have a chance to see Risa or the others again."

"Kyu?" The girl turned to see her hatchling looking at her with a series of tilted heads.

With a small smile Maple patted her lap, the now larger creature crawling into it. What was once a creature the size of a newborn kitten had now grown to the size of a large cat. With its sleek shell, the Abomination settled itself into Maple's lap.

"Sorry about that, I guess I was thinking a little too much there." she began to scratch the creature's heads, a small cry of enjoyment coming from them, "Well, I won't forget what happened before. So how about this, I'll name you Syrup the Second Serving! Like it?"

The three heads quickly gave nods, a small "Kue" coming from them as Maple fed it another slab of the plant meat. She herself got a small chunk in her hand, munching off of it as she opened up the menu to look at Syrup the Second Serving's Stats.

Syrup the Second Serving

Race: Abomination

Lv. 17

HP: 374

SP: 136

-{Attributes}-

Str: 204

Agi: 136

Vit: 187

Dex: 85

Mgk: 0

After that there were a few skills, some of them good and bad. For Maple however she was quite happy that her little guy was pretty strong on his own. While nowhere near the Vitality of herself, and probably never will be, Syrup was already sizing up.

And with that Maple went over to the other menus, Syrup leaving her lap to go eat more as she did a little work. The thing that caught her attention the fastest was the [Biohazard Shield] and its ability. With a few clicks Maple was able to see a variety of options, almost instantly becoming dizzy from the onslaught of statistics and data.

The little girl shook her head for a moment and gave the form a quizzical look. This was going to be something she needed to learn, that much she understood. This was the same thing as that [Poisoner's Shield, in that she needed to just experiment with them. Why, that is how she gets half her abilities.

And with that the two spent their morning near the carcass of the great being. Maple focused on her learning, using the ready plant meat all around her to manufacture Hazardous Waste far worse that the Entity was willing to make.

It was only after Maple finally crawled out of the chemical hole that she made that she looked over to see Syrup, "You're so big!"

"Kya!" They cheered as the now person sized creature walked over to Maple. The now four heads began to rub against her like an affectionate cat.

"Oh I can remember like it was yesterday," She said while hugging a head, "You were only so small, but now look at you!"

The creature did not mind much, simply having a little fun with its Mother. Happy Mother to it meant a happy life!

As Maple finished up with her babying of the little monster, "Well, we need to get moving. Are you fine carrying me Syrup?"

The heads all gave a nod to her, to which Maple smiled, "Yata! Then lets get some vegetables for the road and be on our way!"

They did not take long, for the most part just taking the largest chunk that Syrup could carry and tied to its back. It was quite easy, as Maple simply used her new [Ensnare] ability to wrap it around the Abomination's 'waist'.

With materials acquired the pair set off, Maple easily placing herself in between one of Syrup's many spikes. Due to the beast's improved Shell, it was much more able to walk long distances compared to its more pure cousins. The speed they went would be roughly 20 mph without breaking a sweat.

The lands were of course the same that Maple saw when she first came over, hills for the most part converted to farmland for large livestock and fields for people. This time, however, people had a good tendency to stare at Maple, and a good reason too.

No one knew what the fuck she was riding.

When it came to small towns they just walked through, no one daring to attack the adventurer who clearly punched the higher levels. However the curiosity was also something people had, like who in the world was this girl and her beast.

In the end it took the pair a little more than two days to arrive at Castle Town, the stockpile of Plant Meat for the most part gone as the gate was in sight. They did not have any real trouble when it came to Bandits and Monsters, likely because both parties were scared shitless of Maple Syrup the Second Serving.

The gates as always stood tall, the amount of traffic, howeve,r was quite low in respect to the early morning. In a few more hours the city's merchants would be waking up and moving about with all the standard operations.

Standing guard were the two guards pulling the night shift. They of course were still waiting on their replacements, so one could not fault them for becoming a little bit laxed. However, that did not stop them from looking at the horizon towards the incoming figure.

"Hey Johnny you know what's that thing coming closer to us?"

"Ah give me a second, [Farsight," The other said while using an eye improvment skill to see further, "Its the… fucking hell I lost the bet!"

Evan could not help but laugh, "So the Hero has returned? Doesn't that mean I won the biggest pot yet?"

"Well did it include a new minion?" The man asked with a raised brow, "She's got a new monster. It's like a Rockjob but with five heads and runnin' feet."

The two did not have much longer to talk, as their target of intrigue finally arrived next to them, "Hello there! Am I good to head in?" Maple called with a smile adorning her face.

"Hell yeah you can." Evan laughed while looking over the creature, "Though I can't say the same for your mount. It's too big and uh…"

"Oh really?" Maple quickly hopped off Syrup and landed upon the ground, "Hey Syrup, since you grew so fast could you shrink down too?"

The head's all looked at one another as if trying to figure out what exactly to do. It however did not take long for them to come to a conclusion, quickly shrinking down to the size of a large dog.

"Yata! Can Syrup come in then?"

"Yeah, better make sure you're known so no one doubts you are here." Responded the guard, who grew a smile while nailing the other in the stomach with his elbow, "Better yet, go see the King right away."

The girl took a moment to contemplate. She started to bite her lip, not really saying anything for the moment. Of course the two heard of the happenings in the royal court, and both agreed that it was bullshit. Most said they were too cynical because they never had time to head to Church, but the decided to just say fuck 'em for the time being.

"How about you get an escort." Evan said with a genuine smile upon his face, "A Hero of your caliber should definitely be getting one."

"Really?!" Maple's eyes lit with surprising excitement.

The two looked at one another, to which Johnny just gave a shrug, "I don't see why not. You are bringing an unusual beast to the Court of his Majesty, so security is paramount."

"Thank you!" Maple exclaimed with the beast simply cued in happiness.

And with that they headed out, the gate closed for the rest of the morning since no one actually was going to show up. Luckily for the two soldiers, the Captain decided to punish the other for being tardy to their post in exchange for his money from the bet.

Castle Town since Maple was last there had changed somewhat, the series of guards patrolling the streets much larger. As for Priest, while not as many as right after she was persecuted, there are still more than when she first came to town.

However such studying of the surroundings was ignored the moment Johnny opened his mouth, "Hey, you doing okay there?"

"Hmm?" Maple, who had opted to ride a top of Syrup, had tilted her head.

"Well you're looking from side to side." He said with a small frown, "You scared someone is going to jump out and get you?"

"I was?"

"Ah, maybe it was my imagination." He mused while the group soon ran afront two guards.

Said group quickly took steps to block their path, a mustached man standing upfront, "Why the hell arn't you guys standing guard at the wall?"

"Because your fucking late." Evan quickly rebutted the man, "Did a whore keep you occupied for too long?"

"You fucking-!" The man's seething soon tampered off before looking at the two with a scow, "I was attending morning service. You know our religious obligations have precedence before our feudal ones."

"First I ever heard of dat. Last time I checked the Church only met on Saturdays, not every single fucking day." Johnny gave a simple laugh, "You guys should realize it's no excuse to leave us to dry after a long night of work."

"Then maybe you should come join us instead of serving her Majesty," The mustached man claimed with open arms, "It's not like you've already left work for this damn whore you're escorting to your house."

Maple could not help but feel the insult, her face blushing with shame and anger while the man simply smiled happily. However, the man's face quickly changed as Syrup's many eyes gave the guard a glare, causing him to quickly reach for his sword.

However, before he could do anything two swords were quickly drawn, Johnny had his weapon pointed at the men's necks while Evan was more relaxed at his stomach, "I don't know if I should kill you for insulting our escort to the King or for blatant treason."

"Escort to the King?" his eyes began to widen as a snear ran across his face, "Its the fucking Shield Hero. You-!"

Before he could try to draw his sword again a sword was reared to his neck, the man held up by a single sword. The other men around him were going for their swords, but the low hum of something unnatural carried itself through the air.

Evan who had been more relaxed had signs of frost crawling from his hand, "She is our escort, and for good reason too. She's already paying for her crimes, and doesn't need us soldiers of her Majesty doing a streetside execution. Now get to work already!"

"Tsk." The men simply unguarded themselves before going around the escorts and their ward, however it didn't stop the lead from spitting at Maple's feet before heading out.

For Maple, she slowly lowered the prepared Shield when she was sure they were gone. If she was not riding Syrup, she probably would have fallen onto her own knees.

"And they say this girl could do all that." Was all Evan said as he sheathed his own weapon, "Come on, we need to keep moving."

"Y-yeah."

And with that they made their way out of the streets and towards the center Castle.


Full Character Sheets as of now:

Maple

Lv. 33

HP: 2812/2812

SP: 1406/703

Mana: 330

-{Attributes}-

Str: 71

Agi: 32

Vit: 703

Dex: 50

Mgk: 165

-{Skills}-

Bite: Max

Bite of Steel: All bites ignore damage resistnace.

Poison Immunity

Disease Resistance: Medium

Genetic Manipulation: Max: All aspects of the user are now up for editing by the system, as well as manipulation effects gain a massive increase in potency.

One Who Eats the Living: With the exception of those who are mindless, monsters under the user's level are affected by the [Fear] status effect. In addition: Those who are taken to half health due to Bite or other similar abilities experience [Terror].

Dominion of the Horned Rabbit Queen: The User calls upon the Horned Rabbits of the area, demanding them to pay homage and carry out their in bred duty of supremacy.

Blessings of the Shield: Increases all Raw Vitality Input by 25%, Increase Experience Gain, Lower Requirements for Skills, Experience Increase for Party Members.

Bottomless Stomach: User's stomach can never experience being too full. All food that is eaten after this point is transformed into SP. They can go up to double their SP in extra supply

Biological Monstrosity Eater: Everytime a monster is eaten, the consumer gains a chance of assimilation one of the monster's base abilities

Blood of Toxins: The blood of Maple is considered a very dangerous Poison. If someone were to come into contact with it, they will receive damage based on her Vit Score

Blood of Plant Life: The Blood of Maple is rich with plant growing nutrients, allowing her to forcibly grow plants if they took on her blood at an extreme rate. This however can lead to the plants acquiring mutations based on Maple's needs.

Total Defence: All Vit is doubled when calculated. Increasing Str, Agi, and Dex require 3 times the points.

Growth Correction of Monstrosity: High: Monsters under User's Control gain a high bonus based on their growth, but they however tend to become even more monstrous and weird in the process.

-{Abilities}-

Meditation: Regen 1% of HP and SP every Second. User is unable to complete actions while this is occuring.

Devour: User's weapon animates to attack a foe. The User's Vit is used when calculating damage for this attack.

Manufactor Poison: Opens a menu to create poison.

Provacation: Choose a target, they are now forced to attack the User. Resisting the taunt causes mental damage.

Shield Bash: User hits an enemy with their Shield, dealing 10% of their Vit as damage and forcing the target to do a Str test.

Meteor Crash: User forcibly accelerates themselves to an insane degree, equal to that of a astroid coming to earth. The user however must be in the air to use it.

Summon Plant Monster: Summons a plant Monster under the user's control. Its level is always -10 of the user and stats are based on the User's desire.

Syrup the Second Serving

Race: Abomination

Lv. 17

HP: 230

SP: 165

-{Attributes}-

Str: 204

Agi: 136

Vit: 187

Dex: 85

Mgk: 0

-{Skills}-

Innate Loyalty to the Shield Max: The user will always follow the commands of the Shield Hero, and nothing else. User however gains massive bonuses when following the Shield Hero's directions.

Abomination of the World: Creatures instinctively know something is wrong with the user, all lower level creatures naturally staying out of its way.

A Thousand Heads: When one head is cut, two more grow in its place. These will recede to the minimum head count after one day.

Impenetrable Shell: The Shell is so strong that no piercing attack can go through it. Bludgeoning however can be a resistance.


~Omake from Editor~

The surroundings were not familiar. It looked to be an enclosed space with a sun that reflected on all the surfaces, though it was controlled by the taller being that entered the area. But at least it was still alive.

The little one was not successful in destroying its true self as she thought. True that the Entity did not exist anymore, but with time it shall flourish again. Now, if only to escape this strange place it had found itself.

The room suddenly burst into light around it. Some noise could be heard coming closed, however, with no eyes created from the limited biomass it had, it could not understand what was happening. A ungodly amount of pain coursed through its remaining bits and for a small moment thoughts of true death went through its thoughts. The area around it suddenly went to darkness.

When reality came back to it, a strange feeling of wrongness was felt. It had felt like it was back in its original body but something was damping its senses. It tried to create vision for itself, but the cells in this Entity were not responding to its commands. It could only feel the water moving at its roots and no sun on its body.

A ripple could be felt in the water and the whole Entity went on high alert, some control came back to it and took advantage. Taking advantage of some control the Entity made some eyes to see the situation.

A large lizard-like creature was slowly making its way towards its body through the water. Large fins of an odd shape of varying sizes rang downs its spine. As the creature crept closer a feeling of hostility was taking over. It has just obtained a new body, it would not be defeated now!

Large vines came out of the entity and wrapped itself around the lizard. It put up a fight. Started to claw and tugged on the vines as they became tighter on the creatured. Hah! This was an easy opponent and shall be crushed by its only carelessness for walks so near the Entity. The lizard though suddenly stopped moving all together.

The entity was confused, why did the lizard stop its attack? The fin on the back of the creature started to glow a bright blue. A large white stream of light came straight from its mouth and hits its new body. It shall not be killed here (again)! The vines continued its assault, adding mouths as well to spit the acid it had coursing through its biomass.

The other creature continued to fight, shooting lights stream at the Entity and clawing the vines that were too close. It even took one of the vines and beamed it right into the mouth!

The creature, however, never did aim for the main area of the body for where its thoughts reside. So, when the body began to burn all around the Entity, it made an escape. Now with its smaller but more potent biomass, the Entity went out to find more substance to create a new and even better body then before.