Vaalk chose to ignore the system; it wasn't like he could just up and strangle it anyway. He was tired, his body ached, but he needed to move and to get things done.
He used what little strength he had left to crawl towards the Elite Monster. Placing his good hand on it, he willed Gluttony to initiate absorption.
It was still a surreal experience, witnessing something that almost killed him being turned into some kind of energy, enriching, strengthening him.
It didn't take as long to absorb the wolf this time; barely 5 minutes in, and the system beeped.
[Level 10 Red Wolf (Elite) consumed - Evolution points +30]
His back straightened, his wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, his fatigue faded, and his breath became even.
He clenched his left fist and released it a few times; he could barely feel any pain come from the bite wound on his arm.
Heading over to the second wolf, he repeated the process, this one taking even less time.
[Level 8 Red wolf consumed - Evolution points +10]
He felt better after consuming the second wolf, but not by much.
"I wonder if Gluttony allows me to consume only the kills I make. If it doesn't, that would be too much of a hack." Vaalk thought with a wide grin on his face.
Not bothering to dwell on the topic, he made a turn and rushed towards the clearing with the remaining bodies of the red wolf pack.
"Luckily, they're still here. I guess that's a given, considering the kind of beasts that were involved in the fight." He proceeded to use Gluttony to consume all three of them, with each one bringing him 10 evolution points.
"30 for Elites, 10 for normal ones. That's not bad, not bad at all." Vaalk grinned, licking his lips. "I'm only 10 points away from maxing out my evolution stat now. I need one more creature and I'm done."
He tightened his grip on his dagger and ran into the trees, his heart pounding in excitement and a bit of fear.
The next few hours were a test of patience for Vaalk, which he failed immensely. On more than one occasion, he recklessly ended up in the vicinity of a pack of beasts and had to flee like his life depended on it, which it did.
Narrowly escaping each time. His bloodline didn't bother activating on its own this time, as it too probably felt tackling that amount of beasts was a lost cause. Vaalk was pretty unlucky.
The sun leaned towards evening as the afternoon was giving way.
He had pretty much given up and chose to continue tomorrow. He slipped through a patch of grass and froze. In front of him, barely 20 paces away, a lone beast grazed in a pocket of sunlight at a steady pace.
A scruffy boar, the same kind he killed on his first trip into the forest.
----------------
Wild boar
Level: 6
--------------
It was a beautiful sight; he almost shed a tear. Not hesitating for a moment, he crouched, activated his stealth skill, and made his way over to the boar. He moved fast and quietly, approaching the boar like a ghost.
Tossing a pebble toward the left side of the boar to get its attention, he flanked it at its right. With a fast and quick thrust, he plunged his dagger into the boar's right ear, killing it instantly.
|Level 6 Wild Boar killed +200|
"Consume." He planted a hand on it and willed Gluttony.
[Wild boar consumed - Evolution points +10]
A high chime rang in his head, a different sound than one he's used to.
[Evolution Ready to Initiate.]
Vaalk sank into a nearby tree. He was tired, tired but happy. "I should go back, it's getting dark. I wouldn't want to find out what inhabits this place when it gets dark."
As much as he anticipated the evolution, he held himself back from initiating it. It just seemed like a bad idea, so he decided to trust his gut feeling.
He was going back home anyway; he could always evolve there.
He stopped by close to the den of the ground rats he killed earlier, killing a few more of them. He held them close and rushed back to the village.
"System, what are my current stats?" He asked mainly to kill time on his way back.
------------------------------
Name: Vaalk
Gender: Male
Level: 6 {500/1300}
Race: Goblin
Rank: F
Bloodline: Locked
*****************
Strength: 11
Agility: 17
Endurance: 9
Vitality: 9
Intelligence: 22
Charm: -4
Talent: Infinite Evolution
Skills: Analysis, Night-Vision, Gluttony, Stealth, Dash
AP: 0
-------------------------
"Eh? A new skill? When did that happen? I must have been really out of it during that fight. Dash huh, seems pretty handy. Can't say no to an instantaneous speed boost."
"Today was a really good day, if I ignore the part where I almost died."
He was spent, so he decided to get some rest after he got home. Washing up to get rid of the filth and blood on his body. He ate the remaining hard bread and laid down.
He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, inhaling the stale smell of moss growing from the walls of his cave.
Tomorrow, he would decide, he would evolve. Tonight, he let himself sleep with expectation and without worries for the first time since he arrived in this world.