[Warning: Charm stat requires double the AP]
It felt unfair, but at least he wasn't going to be stuck with a negative charm stat for the rest of his life. He chose to increase it by 1 (2 points).
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Strength: 10 (6)
Agility: 15 (8)
Endurance: 8 (5)
Vitality: 8 (5)
Intelligence: 20 (15)
Charm: -4 (-5)
Talent: Infinite Evolution
Skills: Analysis, Night-Vision, Gluttony, Stealth,
AP: 0
Remark: [What a handsome goblin. (¬_¬")]
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A vein almost popped after reading the system remark. "Ignore it Vaalk, it's just a ma... Wait, is it even a machine? What exactly is this system?" Vaalk paused. "This thing seems a bit too sentient for a text-based machine, and it seems like it has a bone to pick with me."
"System, what exactly are you?" He asked, half expecting to be ignored and half expecting an answer.
[You finally decided to ask. I had judged you too dumb, seeing as that wasn't the first thing you considered asking, but I'll have to give you this one... I can't tell you anything but I'm here to assist you, my host, in evolving to the limits.]
Vaalk was slack-jawed. 'It responded, it actually responded.'
"Wait, so you've been throwing jabs at me on purpose this entire time??"
[heh ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
'Heh? It laughed? What the hell is wrong with this guy?' The system left him speechless for the nth time.
"I'm going to have to take shots in the dark regarding you, since you wouldn't tell me anything. Luckily, I have a rough idea of how you work through the countless anime and games I played back on Earth. Quick question though, the immense pain I felt when I was assimilating with you, was it necessary?"
[It took some days for the system to fuse with you completely. Calibration with your soul, and the installation of the Evolution Mod couldn't be done seamlessly. The pain you felt technically happened because your soul needed to be torn open a little... Hehe]
'This little...' Talking with the system always seemed to drive him to the edge; he probably understood how the old shaman felt around him now.
Looking at his evolution stat [30/100]. 'That big guy was worth only 30 evolution points, and it was a level 15 Elite monster. I would need to kill something like it 4 more times to have the chance to evolve.' The thought brought him a little shiver.
'But I don't have enough information to work with. I can't risk my life going after Elite Monsters. I was mostly lucky last time, I could die if I'm not careful enough.'
'I'll go hunting tomorrow and the day after and the day after that. Keep things safe, that's my motto.' Reassuring himself that things would be okay if he played it safe, he went to bed dreaming of roasted boar.
Morning came, he did some stretches, ate some hard bread that he found lying somewhere in the cave, slung on his dagger, and slipped back into the forest.
With more experience than the first time. He kept his Analysis skill running continuously, not skipping anything, not even the lizards in the trees.
He kept his head clear, posture lowered, and his feet found the right spots to be placed on instinct. His first hour was uneventful; he found a pair of Ground rats and picked them off with quick stabs before they noticed him, as his stealth skill was also active.
But they both provided him with barely any evolution points, bringing his total up to [33/100]. He winced at the slow crawl, reassuring himself that even a mosquito is still meat.
Walking a distance away, he heard the sound of a fight coming from between the trees. The muffled sound of roars and an occasional yelp. The kind of sound that would make him turn on his heels and go the other direction on a normal day, but the slow pace of the hunting made him anxious.
He slowly made his way towards the sound until he got to a clearing. He flattened himself on the ground behind a fallen log. A pack of red wolves that were worse for wear circled a hulking bear. Its fur was matted with blood; the bear had definitely seen better days.
Three dead wolves lay scattered around the clearing. Two remained, one at level 8 and a level 10 Elite.
Both were heaving; they were injured, and they had miscalculated the attack on the bear. It was also an elite monster, and they paid the price for it.
Vaalk's eyes shone like torches, his breath held; opportunity winked at him from between the trees like a siren trying to lure sailors into the sea. The wolf pack was on its last legs, and the bear was also in no state to finish off the remaining two wolves.
It let out a roar, warning the wolves to back away. The wolves already had thoughts of retreating, as their wounds had dulled their senses and they needed to find a safe place to nurse them.
As they limped away, they didn't notice the pair of green eyes filled with hunger and excitement staring at them from a distance.