The size increase was the single most predictable thing about Micky’s evolution – it was standard for Green beasts to grow about as large as elephants, so Percy should have obviously expected it.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have been this shocked then, as he craned his neck up to gaze at the colossus standing in front of him. In his defence, he couldn’t help but compare the current Micky to the tiny chick that used to stand in his palm, too small to eat a single mouse in one sitting.

‘Well, I guess we’re the mice now…’

Instinctively, he glanced back at his companions, to make sure he wasn’t the one who had shrunk. Micky now towered over everyone, standing twice as tall as an adult human. His wingspan stretched even wider than that, casting a massive shadow on all three of them with plenty of shade to spare as the bird gleefully showed off.

“Do you think we’ll be able to ride him?” Elaine asked, some excitement seeping into her voice, though it was somewhat muted by the pain of her missing limb.

“I think so.” Percy nodded.

Technically, Micky had already been more than powerful enough at Yellow to fly while carrying three humans – especially with his boosting arts active. Sadly, they hadn’t even tried it, since they knew his smaller size would have made it quite awkward. Right now, it looked like they should be able to sit rather comfortably behind his neck though. As for their weight, he wouldn’t even feel it.

“This is going to be a problem later, isn’t it?” Nesha suddenly asked, clearly less optimistic about the changes.

She wasn’t wrong. Even before, the crow had been hard to miss while flying in the distance, but this would be far worse. People would easily spot him from several miles away, and he would definitely raise a lot of commotion too. Green beasts weren’t that common. A flying monster soaring over populated areas was rarer still, as well as dangerous enough to scare any sane person out of their mind.

Not to mention that everyone on Remior had heard about the two-cored crow the dead Holy Child had flaunted around. It wouldn’t be long until people drew the connection to the giant bird.

Percy sighed.

“We’ll talk about that stuff later.”

Figuring out what to do after leaving the Valley was certainly a huge item on their agenda, but not right now. Tired as everyone was from the hellish fights, they all deserved some rest. Percy wanted nothing more than to switch his brain off for a few hours, taking some time to appreciate all the good things they had struggled so hard for.

Scanning his familiar again, he paid closer attention to the other changes.

Micky’s previous mutations had remained, but they had expanded to cover even more of his body. His magical feathers now adorned both sides of his wings, as well as his back and tail, leaving only his head and underbelly unaffected. Their colour had changed again, now a much paler green, resembling snow more than grass.

Upon further examination, the feathers sported a faint silver tint as well. To Percy’s mutated eyes, it was clear there wasn’t just air mana sticking to them anymore, but also traces of ice and soul mana. Brushing his hand against his familiar’s plumage, he noticed it was quite cold to the touch. Even more curiously, this wasn’t regular cold. The feeling seemed to seep directly into his soul, causing him to shiver.

“Weird. Have you noticed any difference while flying?” he asked.

“Not really.” Micky shook his head. “I played around with them on the way back. They work like before, though I think they’ll help me unleash deadlier attacks.”

Percy nodded.

Now that Micky was finally free, he couldn’t wait for the two of them to start exploring his capabilities – both old and new. His familiar had been forced to sit the previous battle out, but that didn’t mean he was weak. Not even close. After some practice, he was confident the crow would be able to hold his own against Blues too.

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In any case, the changes to the bird’s feathers were just the result of his old Wind Dancer and Soul Predator mutations. The two seemed to have grown even stronger, blending together and gaining a few new properties. But that wasn’t everything.

Examining the crow carefully, Percy could tell there was more. There was a lot of mana sticking to Micky’s veins. And not just the beast mana that normally circulated there. It was water mana.

‘A water-based mutation?!’

Percy’s heart skipped a beat. This was the one thing he was hoping for the most. He didn’t even know what it did yet, but just having it was massive. It meant the crow would be able to use Regulation with all his mana types right now, which should help with his hunger.

“Micky, do you mind if I draw some blood from you?”

The bird shrugged, stretching his colossal wing, lowering it in front of Percy. Gathering some pure mana to his finger, Percy sharpened it into a tiny knife, carving a small incision on his familiar’s flesh, at a spot where a lot of water mana flowed. Reshaping the cyan knife into a small cup, he collected some of the bird’s blood, swirling it around to discern its properties.

“What the hell?! Is this even blood? It looks like water!” Elaine exclaimed.

The liquid was almost transparent, a faint red tint barely betraying its origin. It looked rather thin too. Putting some on his fingers, Percy rubbed them together, noticing it wasn’t very sticky either.

He frowned.

There was no doubt this was new, but he struggled to imagine what the purpose of it was. Actually, was there even one?

Useless bloodlines existed. Even detrimental ones did. And not just mixed bags like the one House Tantalus had. Unlike Rambert’s Drain that had some useful features, some blighted bloodlines were purely negative, without a single saving grace. So, it wasn’t that much of a stretch to imagine the same could be true for mutations.

“Micky, how hungry are you feeling right now?” he asked, thinking of something.

The bird fell silent for a few seconds, seemingly pondering over Percy’s question. He had already solved the worst of his hunger years ago, upon learning to keep both Regulation and Circulation active, though he hadn’t eliminated the problem completely.

Of course, he hadn’t complained about it since then, partly because they’d had bigger issues to deal with, and partly because he’d had access to a veritable buffet of powerful beasts during his stay in the Valley. Still, they all knew things wouldn’t be as simple after they left. His second core’s advancement had helped a lot, yet that was just temporary relief. Right now, Micky’s hunger should have already returned with a vengeance – normally speaking.

“Hmmm… It’s there, but it’s not as bad as I was expecting. Definitely better than it used to be when my second core was at Orange,” he said after a while.

‘Could it be?’ Percy wondered, his familiar’s response pretty much confirming his guess.

Opening his Status, he glanced at Micky, pulling up the extended section of the Decree.

___

Mictlantecuhtli (Percival's familiar)

Mana cores:

* [Mana core 1 – Green – Beast]

* [Mana core 2 – Yellow – Ice]

Mutations:

* [Soul Predator] – Allows one to more easily interact with the souls of others.

* [Wind Dancer] – Allows one to augment their flight using air mana.

* [Thin Blood] – Allows one to survive on fewer nutrients.

* [???] – ???

Spectral trait:

* [Weaving] – Boosts one’s proclivity in manipulating one-dimensional structures.

Spells:

* [Wild Art: Regulation – Refined]

* [Wild Art: Rending Tornado – Refined]

* [Circulation – Refined]

Decrees:

* [Moirais’ Decree] – Grants a second mana core.

___

“Two new mutations…” he muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Leaving aside the fourth one for now, he focused on the crow’s strange blood, more than happy with its description. This was easily the most valuable part about Micky’s evolution!

Things should have been stable for the time-being, but there was no guarantee the crow’s first core wouldn’t advance again before the other one. Now, it seemed this might not even be as problematic as Percy had thought. Between the new mutation and the crow’s ability to use Regulation better, they would probably be fine for a while longer.

After sharing his thoughts with Micky and asking him to expand his Wild Art to cover his veins too, he then shifted his attention to the fourth and final mutation, racking his brain to figure out what it did. Its effect wasn’t as obvious as the other three. In fact, it took Percy several minutes to even identify which body part it had affected.

Carefully scanning his familiar from beak to talon, he concluded that it covered pretty much his entire body, though its function was still a mystery. This one seemed to be fuelled solely by ice mana. Not much of it either. Mere traces, subtle enough that anybody without Percy’s eyes would have missed them. Even after spending a lot of time coming up with various ideas and testing a few things with Micky, he failed to dispel the question marks from the bird’s Status.

Was this one useless then? Or merely dormant, the circumstances not right for it to reveal its purpose yet?

“Oh well… Three mutations are good enough for now...”

He shrugged.

If the fourth one did anything, they’d figure it out sooner or later.