Mausoleum of Nature

After waking up, Tuot immediately rushed to look for his friend with fluffy ears. The dinosaur ran along the corridor of gray-brown logs and somehow miraculously found the right room.

Etinnei was sleeping with her head, and Noru was sitting next to her, looking angrily at Tuot.

“What have you forgotten here, chicken?”

"My head..." Tuot answered the first thing that came to mind. "I'm not a chicken."

"I'd look at you without a head.”

Tuot imagined a feathered dinosaur with a long tail and no head walking on the ground, and he felt scared. But the sight of the sharp dog ears that adorned Noru's head made the fear recede.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the dog girl frowned. "Do you want to try?"

"No," Tuot replied. "I came to check that Etinnei was okay.”

“She’s just sleeping. Why are you so worried about her?”

“I had a dream in which I attached Etinnei’s head to a hook and caught a lizard.”

“You need to talk to the spirit of the mushrooms. Lizards don't live in the sea.”

“I know. This is no ordinary lizard.”

A small purple semicircular shield appeared on Tuot's elbow. The dinosaur touched the black symbol on it with his claw. Soon, a lizard with yellow scales appeared in front of Tuot.

Noru noticed the summoned creature and immediately found herself in front of him. The lizard looked at one point and did not react in any way.

"What is this?" Noru asked. "Is it alive?"

“I don’t know,” Tuot answered. "It doesn't say anything. It just emits an aura that removes negative effects."

Tuot touched the symbol on the shield again. A yellow energy aura surrounded the lizard. Soon, a wave of yellow energy spread out from it in all directions.

“This aura is yellow,” Noru noted. “It is associated with the element of earth.”

“Itinit said something about this,” Tuot recalled. “But I don’t remember.”

Noru put her hand on the lizard's head to pet it. The creature’s eyes filled with a yellow glow, and another wave was released from the aura.

“It reacts,” Noru said. “Can’t she do anything else?”

“The skill description says that it can only activate the aura and release waves of yellow energy,” Tuot explained. “It's something between a creature and a skill.”

“Cool!” Noru's eyes "lit up" with joy. “You’re lucky that you have this skill.”

“But I had no luck with other skills. I can only use skills related to pure energy, but it runs out quickly.”

“No wonder. Your tail is too long. It takes a lot of energy. Do you want to give up your aura?”

“No. Without an aura, I'm too clumsy. But I can't use an aura for long. Last night, I dreamed that I caught a lizard that restores energy. If I had one...”

“Huh, go and catch it! If you dreamed it, it must be true. I often learn important things from dreams. For example, what kind of food I'll be yum-yum today.”

... Tuot stood in front of the lizard-shaped stone coffin and couldn't believe how lucky he was.

"Is this really the same lizard?" the dinosaur thought. “But suddenly I open the coffin, and there’s nothing there. I doubt I'll get a lizard again. Last time was an exception."

Tuot raised his finger to the lizard-head button, but did not press it because of a sudden attack of anxiety.

"What if there is something scary in there. It is better not to open the coffin. Maybe it is better to leave here?"

Tuot did not press the button. The anxiety lowered, but did not completely leave the dinosaur.

"Maybe it's empty? Nothing will happen. I'll just press one button."

Tuot put his finger to the lizard-head button again, but he couldn't press it. The anxiety had reached such a level that it made the dinosaur change his mind.

Tuot turned to run, but noticed the head of a horned mammoth in a bubble above the rocks, and stopped.

"There's something there," the dinosaur pointed at the coffin.

“That’s what I need, a blue-green lizard that is connected to the element of water and can restore energy,” Myuryuri answered. “Thank you. I have been looking for it for a long time. Now I will explore it.”

Only now did Tuot realize that he was wrong.

“The coffin isn’t empty,” the dinosaur thought. "What I was looking for lies there."

Tuot turned around and reached for the button he wanted to press, but he couldn't this time either. A blue energy wall appeared between him and the screen. The dinosaur was thrown back a few steps.

“This lizard is too imbalanced for you,” Myuryuri said. "It needs to be explored."

Tuot looked toward the coffin. A blue translucent energy barrier in the shape of a sphere covered it from above.

"There's a barrier here," Tuot said. “It's disturbing me.”

"That's to keep you from opening the coffin and activating the lizard," Myuryuri said.

Tuot began to understand something.

"That..." the dinosaur looked at Myuryuri. “Did you do it?"

“Yes,” the creature in the bubble answered. “You don’t need that lizard. With it, you can have energy without running out.”

“That’s what I want.”

“It's unbalancing. I can't allow that.”

Tuot looked at the coffin inside the barrier and realized he had to act. The harpoon from the tail of the aura struck the barrier.

The barrier began to shimmer, but did not disappear. The harpoon struck again. The barrier became almost transparent, and the third strike finished it off. Tuot took a step towards the coffin to press the button on the virtual screen above it, but he was too late.

The screen was cut by a blue energy beam, after which it shimmered and then disappeared.

Tuot turned around and saw an energy "bubble" in the air, inside of which was a ball of the same color with a bright blue clot in the middle.

"This is an energy eye in a bubble," Tuot thought. "This is the ability of that creature."

A blue energy beam shot out of the "pupil" of the "eye". Tuot instinctively summoned a shield on his elbow. This saved the dinosaur from being cut - the beam hit the shield, after which its energy was redirected back into the "eye".

Energy began to accumulate inside the bubble that surrounded the "pupil". A few moments later, the "eye" burst and released a cloud of blue energy that dissipated into the air.

"This shield can attract attacks," Myuryuri noted. "Where did you get this?"

Tuot looked at the shield and thought about it. This weapon had been with him for so long that the dinosaur did not remember where it came from.

“It was in the inventory,” Tuot answered. "Why are you stopping me from getting the lizard? You helped me get here."

“I didn’t know where this lizard was,” Myuryuri explained. "I wanted you to lead me to it, just as your dream led you here. If it weren't for that dream, you wouldn't have known that the coffin with the lizard was somewhere here."

Suddenly, Tuot realized that he had been tricked. The holes on the coffin's "head" stopped emitting a blue glow. Now they were just black bulbs. Only the fishing rod continued to stick out of the "mouth".

Tuot tried to pull out the fishing rod. This movement again activated the coffin's "eyes", and then the virtual screen above it.

Myuryuri noticed this and decided to interfere. One energy "eye" appeared on the right and left of him, in which energy began to accumulate...

... Two energy beams flew at the screen, but the dinosaur had already pressed the button in the shape of a lizard's head. The screen disappeared. The beams flew over Tuot's head and disappeared into the sea.

The lid of the coffin moved aside. Tuot looked into the vessel and saw a lizard with blue-green scales, which was lying on its stomach with its eyes closed.

The beams above the dinosaur's head disappeared. The energy "eyes" discharged and began to accumulate energy again.

"How do I activate it?" Tuot glanced at the creature and its coffin. "This skill isn't mine yet. That creature in the bubble might get in my way."

In his haste, Tuot didn't notice how he ran his finger over the creature's body. A screen with two windows appeared above the coffin. One of them showed an image of a lizard with blue-green scales standing on its hind legs; the other was a text field with black symbols.

“Why are there such requirements here?” Tuot was mentally indignant. "I need to lose all my energy. I will… die."

Meanwhile, the energy in the "eyes" near Myuryuri accumulated and came out in the form of beams.

Tuot did not notice the approaching danger, as he was busy, but his shield automatically aimed at the beam and reflected it back into the "eye". The second beam flew past the dinosaur's other wing and cut off several feathers.

Only then did Tuot turn away from the screen and look at his opponent. Myuryuri was still "hanging" in the air above the cliff and did not even try to move towards the coffin.

"It is not approaching the shore," Tuot noted. "It said something about not being able to fly there."

A third energy "eye" appeared above Myuryuri, several times larger than the previous ones and purple in color. The "bubble" that surrounded it was equal in size to Myuryuri's own barrier.

Tuot remembered the words of the mammoth head about what the color of the aura meant.

"This eye is connected to the element of air," the dinosaur guessed. “It’s scary to imagine what he’ll use to attack.”

The purple "eye" filled with energy, which hid the "pupil". The "bubble" grew in size, and then burst. A cloud of energy formed in the air for a moment, from which something round and purple flew out.

Tuot jumped back, but the projectile reached him and stopped. The dinosaur saw in front of him a purple energy eye the size of his head, which was surrounded by a circular flow of wind.

"Why isn't it moving?" Tuot thought, but then looked at his hand.

The small shield on the dinosaur's elbow blocked the wind flow and did not allow the "eye" to pass further. Tuot realized that he was lucky and felt relieved.

But this feeling was deceptive. The "eye" became brighter, and the wind flow around it was stronger. First, it pushed Tuot back a few steps, and then threw him far back.

The dinosaur's body flew over the mouth of the river and almost fell, but then a purple "eye" appeared in front of him. Tuot instinctively covered his breast with his hands, and this saved him.

The "eye" hit the shield again and was stuck in place for a few moments. Tuot raised his hand with the shield. The "Eye" flew up, then fell and exploded over the dinosaur's back.

Tuot was thrown forward by the blast wave. At that time, beams from small blue "eyes" shot at him, but they missed.

Tuot saw Myuryuri in front of him and released the harpoon. It managed to hit the enemy, but stopped in front of the bubble and went back into the aura.

Tuot began to fall and almost landed, but suddenly something threw him into the air. At first the dinosaur did not understand anything, but then he looked down and saw a purple energy "eye" with a vortex around it.

“So that's what you can do,” Myuryuri said. “So-so. I almost fell asleep. It's not interesting to play with you.”

"Was he playing with me?" Tuot was scared. “I barely managed to dodge his attacks.”

The purple "eye" that had a vortex exploded. Tuot fell to the sand, but landed on his feet due to the active aura.

“I was hoping to fight you seriously,” Myuryuri said. “But I don’t think you can defeat me. There was only one being on this island who could break through my barrier. That was my creator. But I can’t meet her again. I’d like to ask her how she did it.”

Tuot felt his strength leaving him. He no longer consciously perceived Myuryuri's last words. The aura around the dinosaur disappeared, and then he fell to his knees and closed his eyes...

... It was sunset. Tuot stood on the seashore. This was the very place where he had found the coffin with the blue-green lizard. The same cliffs, behind which steep slopes with coniferous forests and sparse woodlands were visible. The same black sand on the shore. But there was one difference: the day was already ending. The setting sun was shining brightly in his eyes, causing the dinosaur to cover itself with a wing.

"Where is the lizard?" Tuot thought fearfully. "I need to take it before that creature in the bubble takes it."

The dinosaur looked around, but there was no lizard or coffin.

"I'm too late," Tuot realized. "He took the lizard."

The dinosaur ran to the rocks to climb them, but quickly realized that he had little strength left.

"It's useless," Tuot thought. "Even if I catch up with him, I won't be able to get the lizard back. It is much stronger than me. I never thought such creatures existed. Even against a man with a carrot nose it wasn't so hard to fight. Of course, I wouldn't have beaten him in a fair fight, but I could hold out for a while. And against this creature, it's impossible to fight at all."

"Why do you think so?" a voice was heard.

Tuot noticed a purple mushroom cap with black horns in the sand near him and realized who it was.

“Is that you, the spirit of mushrooms?” the dinosaur asked.

The mushroom cap lifted and Tuot saw the lower part of a face that looked like a human's. Now he was sure that it was Sanachan in front of him.

"Myuryuri is an unusual creature," the mushroom girl said. "But even he has weaknesses."

"Can you tell me about it?" Tuot asked.

"It's pointless. Information is only useful to those who can use it. You can't yet. You lack the knowledge and experience."

"Halankuo called me stupid too," Tuot thought. "Maybe that's true?"

"You're not stupid," Sanachan looked at the sea. "You just can't understand what people understand. But it works the other way too. What dinosaurs can understand, people can't understand.

"So I can get the lizard back? It was taken by...”

“Myuryuri. I know. I can read your mind. Unfortunately, you can't yet. This opponent is not for you. Find someone easier.”

“But he took my lizard, which I saw in a dream.”

“Don't worry about it. Summoned creatures choose who they will contact. If you dreamed of a lizard, it means that it chose you and Myuryuri will not be able to use it.”

Tuot felt joy, opened his mouth and gulped in air...

... The dinosaur opened his eyes and saw in front of him the head of a girl with red-brown eyes and black hair, among which small rounded ears stood out.

“Etinnei, your head...” Tuot immediately recognized his friend, or rather, her head.

“What's wrong with it?” Etinnei touched her arctic fox ears with her hands.

Only now did Tuot notice that the fox girl's head was attached to her neck, which was attached to her body. Below the neck was a gray-purple fur top, in which something large was hidden.

"It's in place," Tuot noted. "I didn't see your neck, and I thought that your head was hanging separately."

"I can't do that," Etinnei touched her cheeks with her palms. "But that creature in the bubble is flying.”

“Where is it?”

“I don't know. Noru and I found you on the shore. You didn't wake up. I was afraid that you went there in your sleep, but then Noru said that it was impossible. Because of this spirit of mushrooms, everything is confused in my head.”

“Have you seen her?”

“Yup. Noru said that on this island she often comes in dreams.”

Tuot raised his head and noticed that he was in a room with gray-brown log walls and a round window. Etinnei was on all fours, looking down at his friend.

"What do you have hidden in front of you?" Tuot pointed his hand at the animal girl’s breast.

Etinnei crawled a few steps away, sat on her knees, and then ran her finger through the air. An interface window appeared in front of the character.

“I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time,” Etinnei sighed. “But I forgot. They’re soft, but warm. I don’t know what they’re for.”

The arctic fox girl entered her inventory, and then clicked on the icon in the form of a gray fur jacket. A window with cells opened over the main window, in which there were clothing items: a white and blue jacket, shorts of the same color, and two empty cells.

Etinnei touched the middle of her top with the finger of her other hand and dragged it into the cell, after which it disappeared and left the arctic fox girl’s chest in its original form.

“It’s a lot, but it’s inedible,” Tuot thought. “I was hoping that she put a piece of meat there, and there is what the other animal girls have.”

The dinosaur turned away, but it was too late. The door opened behind Etinnei, and a fireball flew out.

"Don't eat her, chicken!" a dog barking was heard outside the door.