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.28Please respect copyright.PENANAwOmRHjdLNm
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA5nmkvJUauN
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA2tUDomalTq
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"Now then, mana beasts."28Please respect copyright.PENANALpbnf4YE1L
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANArUO4ybhRgV
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Kenny shook his head. He didn't have infinite time, so it would be best if he hurried quickly.28Please respect copyright.PENANArvUG2Dppwr
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA4B1BEh7Nps
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANAjzRewq273G
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"...Maybe I need to put out a little more."28Please respect copyright.PENANAyLxfgFZNGc
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANAlczCKcytEG
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA8T0hPtKd2t
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA3rubctD2FR
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA7GwN0hmsyL
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"..."28Please respect copyright.PENANAHCQNwmgVoA
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He couldn't say it didn't feel gratifying.28Please respect copyright.PENANArgHn1Q4MON
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"I need to study this stuff more. Hmm..."28Please respect copyright.PENANAd8LK3UgYUR
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANAOSQpmxoNsX
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANAZ6pKZC46Hy
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So of course, he created a small, cute puppy.28Please respect copyright.PENANATxgNwg5Wkl
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"H-Huh?"28Please respect copyright.PENANA2Uo7UKLY4s
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANAO1LLMeHpRA
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Kenny was deeply disturbed. He didn't even imagine the horns, and yet it appeared anyway.28Please respect copyright.PENANAmWZ4rzPiwi
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"...Intent is too honest."28Please respect copyright.PENANAxFlUUDBiuE
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA9kX3usHb08
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Kenny was deeply, deeply disturbed.28Please respect copyright.PENANAS2LooHLu6m
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"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.28Please respect copyright.PENANAmSnlYGcYEm
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"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."28Please respect copyright.PENANA0KdbeREU5I
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANA2ttWgjBfDW
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"..."28Please respect copyright.PENANAaPw27jZM8t
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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.28Please respect copyright.PENANArUq10S0Caw