《Centipede》 Chapter One: I Am The monster was not, and then it was. It woke alert, dangerous, fully formed, and it sensed. The air was warm and damp around it, thick with the scent of its kin. The spawn point that had formed it glowed bright with mana, a small blue sun. The monster did not know suns or spawn points, but did know home. The pulsating orb was the center of home. Home was where one returned after the hunt. The orb hung in a small cavern, where kin skittered and intertwined, coming and going from a number of tunnels that led out to the hunt. Ragged veins of blue and violet snaked through the floor and ceiling, and softly radiated mana. A small kin with lighter chitin glided over and inspected the infant monster, antennae flickering over it. Then it spoke within the new monster''s mind. "I am your Noble. Obey. Hunt. Kill. Return with Biomass." Yes... the commands felt good, right. Hunt. Kill. Return with Biomass. Wait, return with the kill? Why return, and not eat? But the thought was snuffed out by a surge of the noble''s will within the young monster''s consciousness. Its fifteen pair of legs flowed together, and swiftly it moved through the tunnels toward the movement of open air, antennae dancing about and sensing the way. I am... the Noble had said "I am." As it ran, an instinct bubbled up unbidden, and it thought a command. Status. [Name: ____ ] [Level: 1] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35] [MP: 0] [Skills: Pincer Snap 1, Grip level 1, Sting level 3, Sprint level 1] [Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)] [You have one Skill point and one Biomass Available] [Go forth and forge your own path] The monster considered. I am, it decided. And because it was, the blank where its name should be felt wrong. There should be a name there. I am.... Hunter. The urge to follow kin into the expanse, to hunt, rolled through him in rapid waves, an almost physical force. But Hunter was less than they could be, and knew it. They had a Skill point and a Biomass point to become... more. Better. Hunter summoned the full, modest force of its young will and suppressed the instinct to rush to the hunt. Instead, it thought another command. Spend Skill Points. [Would you like to spend your skill points?] Yes.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. [Skill Points: 1] [Biomass: 1] [Skills available to purchase: Stealth: cost 1sp, improves your ability to hide and move unseen Tail Strike: cost 1sp, a quick strike with the stinger that is less powerful but can be executed from more body positions Survival Instinct: cost 1sp, improves instincts for danger and opportunity Piercing Snap: cost 1sp, claw attack that penetrates more deeply and can pierce some defense Dodge: Improves ability to evade attacks] [Body improvements available to purchase: Exoskeleton +1: harden your exoskeleton to improve resistance to mundane damage Claws +1: toughen claws and improve ability to pierce and grip Legs +1: improve agility Eyes +1: improve eyesight Antennae +1: increase sensitivity to air current and scent Stinger +1: increase strength and flexibility of tail and potency and quantity of venom Tomosvary organs +1: improve sensitivity to humidity and vibration] Hunter started life capable in body and in mind. They did not need to learn the language of the Path any more than they needed to learn to use their antennae or legs. It was known, as it was known that stingers and claws were for killing, antennae, eyes and Tomosvary organs were for finding prey or danger, and legs were for running down prey or away from danger. Hunter knew these things, but had no experience to draw upon in how to weight them. Were monsters that would think Hunter prey fast but weak enough to fight? Were such predators powerful but slow? What would Hunter''s prey be like? Did they need faster legs to chase, sharper senses to find, or deadlier weapons to kill? Another thing was known to Hunter. To grow, they must kill. By growth, all else would strengthen. So the choice was between claws and stinger. Claws were good to fight, but the stinger was what killed. They would improve their stinger. The skill point required less deliberation. I am, thought Hunter, and it is wonderful. I must not go back to not-am. I must survive to hunt and eat and grow. Select Stinger +1 and Survival Instinct. [Would you like to purchase Stinger +1 and Survival Instinct?] Yes. Power flowed through Hunter''s body and condensed in their tail, as knowledge poured into their mind. Both changed and strengthened; the feeling was intoxicating. Hunter had to find prey, gain Biomass and Skill points, to grow further. They had to. Had to. As soon as the upgrades finished their work, the young monster raced to find kin and hunt. It was important to hunt with kin. Easier to kill, easier to not die. Hunter followed a group of four kin to the mouth of a tunnel that opened into a world vast beyond their comprehension. As they''d gotten closer to the entrance, new smells and vibrations excited their senses, and the monster could not wait to explore, run, taste, kill, eat. Tall fungal stalks surrounded the mound that was Home, and swayed gently as the air moved. Home, all things had been blue or brown or black, but now there was color, red and orange and indigo and yellow, in patterns that ran up and down the tubular stalks. There was much more light here than in any part of home save the orb at its heart. These thoughts and sensations lit up the monster''s mind as they ran with kin, seeking prey. The kin who lead was larger, with a dark exoskeleton and a heavier body structure. That kin''s scent tasted strong. Hunter felt safe, confident, running behind it with the others, whose scents were more like Hunter''s. The strong kin lead them all through a path between the stalks, antennae flickering, tasting the air as they ran. Then the lead centipede veered abruptly, and a moment later, as the young monster followed, Hunter tasted prey in the air. Soon, Hunter saw the prey. It was a green monster, larger than even the strong kin, and its body was a bit thicker than that of kin, and covered in tiny scales. This prey had only four legs, one clearly injured, and its long tail looked powerful but lacked the stinger a tail should have. Prey opened its mouth and hissed, a pink forked tongue darting in and out. There was no question in Hunter''s mind that this monster was prey, but it also tasted of danger. It was prey, but could kill. Perhaps were Hunter alone, rather than with kin, and the green monster uninjured, Hunter would be prey. Strong kin rushed in, dodged a snap of prey''s mouth, and clamped down on the underside of the green monster''s throat with strong claws. Hunter and the other three kin followed. The other kin, maddened by the taste of prey in the air, attacked without thought or fear. Hunter hesitated; instinct warned him to wait. Prey''s tail lashed out, quicker than Hunter''s eyes could track, and crushed two central body segments of one of the smaller kin, who fell to the dirt and twitched. But prey was struggling, the strong one''s claws in its neck, stung repeatedly, harried by the other two kin, and it had gone off balance to make that attack, stumbled on its injured leg. It was an opening. Hunter activated the Sprint skill and darted in to sting where prey''s weak leg met its body. Tail strike would have been safer, faster, but Survival Instinct was the more important skill to take first. The hatchling monster was still quick enough. Prey whipped another tail strike, this one at Hunter, but it was injured, weak, and off balance. The tail still moved faster than Hunter''s eyes could follow, but their antennae felt the disturbance of air, allowed them to twist away from the blow. Hunter stayed back, wary now that they had come close to harm. The injured kin stopped twitching, and its taste in the air shifted from kin to biomass. As the other centipedes finished off the prey, Hunter began to eat the biomass that had been kin. [You have consumed a new source of biomass: Unguibus Scolopendra. You are awarded one Biomass.] [Basic profile of Unguibus Scolopendra unlocked] [ Unguibus Scolopendra: Claw Centipede, has strong claws and a venomous spike in its tail]. [You have gained one Biomass] It tasted good. Chapter Two: Hunt When all of Hunter''s instincts agreed, it was simple to act. When they clashed it felt like their brain got twisted, and it was difficult and unpleasant. The young predator mulled this over as he ate and the prey finished dying. Prey was prey, and so instinct said it should be killed. But it was also dangerous; even outnumbered and injured it had killed kin. So instinct said to wait rather than run to claw and bite and sting. In this instance, the instinct to wait seemed to have been wiser. If one rushed in, like the tasty biomass that had been kin, then there was risk of going back to not-am, and the not-am can not hunt and eat and kill. So the careful way was better. Again, there was conflict on whether to eat the biomass that had been kin, bring it back as the Noble wanted, or help kill prey. Prey was prey regardless, and would die and be eaten. If Hunter could be the one to finish the kill, the experience would be useful. One must kill to grow. But there were three others fighting the prey, and one was the strong kin whose jaws were snapping at prey''s throat. It did not seem likely Hunter would be the one to kill. So it was right to go to the biomass. But what should be done with it? Instinct said to obey the Noble, and instinct said to eat and grow stronger. It was hard, until Hunter realized that by eating and growing stronger, they would be able to hunt better and get more biomass, some to eat and some to bring back. So they could follow the instinct to eat and the instinct to obey. It was very good that the right thing to do was to eat Biomass. Hunter was pleased. Prey got done dying and became biomass. The strong kin probably got the experience and grew stronger yet, but that was fine. There would be other prey Hunter could kill. All of the kin were eating now. The prey was large, and there would be biomass to eat and biomass to bring back home to obey the Noble. Hunter walked over and ate prey too. [You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Juvenile Varinus Prasinus. You are awarded one Biomass.] [Basic profile of Varinus Prasinus unlocked] [Juvenile Varinus Prasinus: Young Emerald Monitor. A fast, cunning predator with sharp senses, sharp teeth, and a powerful tail.] [You have gained one Biomass] It had been an excellent first hunt. Hunter had four biomass now, enough to grow much stronger, but it was not safe to improve one''s body away from home. One could not move or fight while being improved, and could become prey, and thus not-am. This would not do. So they helped kin cut up biomass with claws and carry it home. Hunter and kin were careful on their way back, and moved slower, more quietly. This made sense. They had biomass to protect. The best way to protect it was to not be noticed. Before long they reached home, safe. Hunter presented the biomass to the Noble, and was commanded to hunt and return with more. This was fine. It hurt in the mind to think of defying the Noble outright, and the young monster was not certain whether it was possible. That went strongly against instinct and felt wrong. It was good that the Noble''s commands were not specific though. Hunter could decide the best way to obey, and did. The best way right now was to use biomass to get stronger. Then more things could be hunted and killed. Four biomass was very much, and could be used for many different things. There were seven body parts to improve - exoskeleton, claws, legs, eyes, antennae, stinger, Tomosvary organs. To improve a part to +1 would cost one biomass, from +1 to +2 would cost two, from +2 to +3 three, from +3 to +4 four, and from +4 to +5 five. This was known. It was also known that it was not possible to improve past +5 until one changed and became more through much killing. So Hunter had used one biomass and had four more from the hunt, and would need seventy beyond this to make every body part strong. Instinct said it would be best to do so before the change. It was important for body parts to improve to +5. Hunter knew this, but not why. What to improve first though? It was unclear. But it seemed right to improve four parts to +1 rather than stinger to +2 and two parts to +1. Four improvements was more than three, thus better. Hunter''s mind went back to the kin that became biomass, remembered how it twitched on the ground with crushed body segments. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Spend Biomass. Exoskeleton +1, Legs +1, Antennae +1, Tomosvary Organs +1 [Do you wish to improve your Exoskeleton to +1, Legs to +1, Antennae to +1, and Tomosvary Organs to +1?] Yes. For the first time, Hunter experienced euphoria. Energy suffused almost every part of them, reshaped, strengthened, sharpened. They could not move, as if in a trance. Too quickly it ended. But the young monster''s body improved greatly. Their exoskeleton felt harder, more solid. Legs held more power. Antennae and Tomosvary organs combined to grant much improved sensory awareness. Eyes were limited things, slow and constrained by field of vision. Vibration, scent, heat, air movement - these were omnidirectional. Hunter knew little of the broader world, but was convinced that it was better to sense danger and be quick enough to move out of its way. They did that in the first hunt, and grew stronger. Kin who became biomass was too slow or unaware. That was a bad way. They joined another group of four kin, and left together for the bright place above to hunt. None smelled as powerful as the strong kin from the first hunt, but one''s taste was a bit stronger than Hunter''s and the other three, and so that one lead and the rest followed. They ran down a different path through vibrant fungal stalks, and the air grew wet. Water. They neared water. Then Hunter scented prey. It was to the left, through a cluster of large mushrooms with pale, thick stems and orange caps. Instinct said the strongest kin should lead, but stronger instinct said prey should be found and killed. The young monster turned, and their kin followed. Prey was three, and noticed the approach of the centipedes and moved toward them. The three had short, heavy bodies with three pair of legs, a large head with prominent eyes and a powerful jaw, and a thick pale exoskeleton. The back pair of legs were large and strong. Instinct said they were dangerous, but less so than the emerald monitor had been. Hunter sprinted diagonally around a wide stem and toward the right flank of the three prey. Kin attacked. One of the prey was smaller than the others. It jumped away, jumped again, then jumped again. Kin could not move so quickly. The other two prey fought. The stronger kin quickly stung the prey on the left. That was good. The attack left it slow to dodge, and prey''s bite crushed its head. That was bad. Another kin ran under that prey''s body, stung it, grabbed with legs and bit down with claws. Good. This left the prey on the right. One kin stung and one kin bit. The kin that bit was only a little too slow to dodge, and lost a claw instead of their head. It could no longer Pincer Snap, so it stung. At the same time, prey attacked and bit the one clawed kin''s body in two. Bad. Hunter sprinted as fast as they could go, and stung that prey in the side, where its body and strong back leg joined. This had worked well against the emerald monitor. The kin that stung first wrapped up prey''s three left legs with its own, and its claws snapped again and again at the joint of the front leg. Prey tried to turn, but could not. Hunter pincer snapped the middle right leg and stung again. [Sprint has reached level 2] [You have defeated level 3 Brachytrupes Megacephalus] [You have gained XP] [You have achieved level 2, one skill point awarded] Good. Very good. Hunter and the two surviving kin attacked the last prey. It died and became biomass, but Hunter was not the one to kill it. This was fine. The two kin set to eating and cutting apart that biomass. Hunter quickly ate part of the other prey''s body, then ate the biomass of the two that had been kin. [Pincer Snap has reached level 2] [You have consumed a new source of biomass: Brachytrupes Megacephalus. You are awarded one Biomass.] [Basic profile of Brachytrupes Megacephalus unlocked] [Brachytrupes Megacephalus: Big Head Cricket. Has a strong, quick bite, a tough exoskeleton, good vision, jumps well, and has a leap attack] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] Hunter had learned. It was bad to attack prey that could bite well from the front. It was good to attack from the side, or from behind, while kin distracted. If a centipede must become biomass, it was better that be kin than Hunter. It was a good second hunt. Chapter Three: Anger Hunter was happy. Their stomach was full. They attained Level 2, and with it a second skill point. They had another four biomass to use. They learned. There wasn''t much biomass left once Hunter and the two kin finished eating, but there was some. They carried it home together, held in claws, traveling away from the wet air near water. This water was important. Why was not known. The why needed to be learned. After Hunter presented biomass to the Noble, and was again commanded to hunt and return with more, it was time to think on skills and body enhancements. Eyes and claws would be brought to +1. That part of the thinking was easy. They could improve for one biomass, while other upgrades would cost two. There would be two biomass left then, with all body parts at +1. Which should be improved to +2? This part of the thinking was very hard. Three kin became biomass during the first two hunts. This was fine, but for Hunter to become biomass would be bad, bad, bad. Bad. Exoskeleton and antennae enhancements would both help to not become biomass. Good. But one did not kill with exoskeleton or antennae. Bad. Stinger kills, and is thus good. But does it help one not die? After intense thought, Hunter decided that it did. If their stinger killed prey faster, then prey would turn to biomass and could not bite them into two parts, or crush their head or body segments. Biomass could do none of those things. The decision was made. Next Hunter thought on skills. Piercing Snap was not the one, because a stinger kills better than claws do. Stealth, Tail Strike, and Dodge all seemed good though. All would help to kill as well as to not die. Which to choose? Hunter remembered the emerald monitor. It had been injured, and was still more powerful than any one of the kin, even the strong one. There could be monsters more dangerous than a healthy emerald monitor. There probably were. Above was very large. It would be best not to fight such things at all. Then there was what Hunter had learned on good and bad ways to kill. It was bad to try to claw or sting the front of a monster that bit. But if the biting monster knew where one was, they would turn their bodies so that it was hard to claw or sting in a better place, such as in the side where a leg met body. If prey did not know one was there, things would be easier. Stealth then. Spend skill points. Hunter confirmed the decision, and was again gripped with ecstasy as their body parts were reshaped and empowered and new knowledge filled their mind. And again, it was over much too quickly. That feeling was even better than killing or eating. And both of those were very, very good. Better eyesight was interesting. Eyes tracked more quickly now, and could pick out finer detail. Hunter still didn''t think highly of eyes compared to antennae or Tomosvary organs, but perhaps with enough biomass invested they could be made more useful. It would be interesting to find out. On the other leg, strengthened claws were good. Somehow they made all of Hunter feel stronger and more capable. One kin had used claws to grab hold of the underside of a cricket that was prey. In this position, the cricket''s strong bite could not reach them to hurt. Strong claws could also cut biomass faster and carry more of it. They could do many things. That was still not as important as the one thing a stinger did, but claws still felt quite worthwhile. It would be good to strengthen them further. Hunter''s improved antennae, upgraded after the first hunt, informed them that the strong kin was near and moving quickly. It was good to hunt with the strong kin, because that one killed well. The young monster had just painstakingly established that turning prey to biomass more quickly made a hunt safer, and was pleased to be able to apply that conclusion again so soon. They rushed to join the hunt. This time Hunter was one of eight who followed the strong one out and above. It set a fast pace as it lead them all through the fungal forest, unlike the first hunt where it had moved more deliberately and taken time to scent carefully for prey. Soon the taste of biomass wafted through the air to Hunter''s antennae. Hunger and excitement filled their heart. Then the air carried a taste that was both prey and danger. Moments later, the biomass and the prey that was danger came into view. There were two types of biomass. One type of prey, who were five, ate it. Much of the biomass had been kin. The rest had been of the same type as the prey. Those had bodies round like a mushroom cap, with gray fur, strong back legs that ended in a hard blunt claw, long sharp teeth, and baleful red eyes that lifted up from the biomass and stared at Hunter and the kin. The taste in the air of two prey said they were injured. Prey attacked.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Kin attacked. Hunter hid and watched. [Survival Instinct has reached level 2] Strong kin used the same technique they had against the monitor. They dodged a bite, then snapped prey''s throat with claws. This time they grabbed hold of prey''s body with all of their legs and stung. Prey kicked at them, but was not in the right position, and their blunt claw glanced off dark exoskeleton. That part of the hunt was good. One of the prey could not move their left back leg, and had not reached the fight yet. That too was good. Two kin who were not as quick as the strong one had tried the same method and become biomass. Bad. But kin who still lived had all grabbed tight hold on the bodies of prey, who kicked and bit as kin clawed and stung. Hunter was very sure it was bad to get bitten by this prey. It was not good to get kicked, but much worse to be bitten. Hunter decided to sprint in and sting the prey fighting strong kin in its back part. This would be wrong if it could kick, but prey''s legs were tangled up with and grabbed by kin''s. [Sting has reached level 4] It would be good if that prey finished dying so the strong one could help the other kin. But the injured prey was almost to the fight, and if it bit kin who were grabbing hold of other prey with all their legs, that would be bad. The injured one seemed unable to move fast, but no sense said their mouth or sharp teeth were damaged. Hunter moved toward it with caution, tested how quickly it could bite at them from a moderate distance. It tried, but was clumsy with only one back leg that worked, and stumbled. Hunter sprinted forward and stung where the mushroom body met the strong leg. Then they sprinted a short distance away and watched. Venom worked quickly, and neither of prey''s back legs moved right. Hunter stung again, then left prey that could not move in order to help kin. [You have defeated a level 2 Dens Sanguinem Leporis] [You have gained experience] Good. It was best now to go back and take a bite of the biomass that had been prey, because that was a way to learn about the prey that was not biomass yet. [You have consumed a new source of Biomass, Dens Sanguinem Leporis. One Biomass awarded] [Basic Profile of Dens Sanguinem Leporis unlocked] [Dens Sanguinem Leporis, Blood Tooth Rabbit. This monster is known for its affinity to shadow and powerful fangs capable of draining health from the victims of its bites] [You have gained one Biomass] Good. Also good things to learn. Hunter was right; it was bad to let one of these bite. The closest prey smelled hurt, but so did the two kin fighting it. The air''s taste said all of prey and most of kin were injured. This was a hard hunt. This prey''s legs still worked. There was need to be quite careful. Hunter was. With prey weak and busy hurting kin, they crept up from behind and to one side, then stung. [Stealth has reached level 2] Prey kicked hard in retaliation. Hunter dodged, but was not fast enough to avoid the blow fully. Exoskeleton cracked, and they knew pain. Pain was bad. They retreated a safe distance back and checked their status to evaluate the damage. [HP 29/35] All of their body parts still worked, but instinct insisted that they not allow further damage where their exoskeleton was cracked. Hunter knew anger. Instinct said to stay careful, but it was very hard to listen. It felt almost as if their Noble commanded them to kill the prey who hurt them. They fought anger. It was hard, like it was to fight prey, but in a different way. [Survival Instinct has reached level 3] That made it easier to fight anger. Hunter thought. Anger would make them fight worse against that prey, because they could not think right about how to fight that one. So they would sting other prey. Strong one was done killing their first prey, and soon the next prey they fought would become biomass too. It smelled badly hurt by venom. Two more kin had died, and the taste in the air of so much biomass made Hunter very hungry. Hungry and angry was an interesting way to feel. The last prey, who was not the one strong kin fought or the one who hurt Hunter, was almost biomass, but so were the two kin killing it. Since those kin would die, it would be bad for experience from the kill to be wasted on them. Hunter sprinted over and stung, then stung again. [You have defeated a level 1 Blood Tooth Rabbit] [You have gained experience] [You have achieved level 3, one skill pointed awarded] Two more kin and one more prey became biomass, and now only the prey who hurt Hunter was. Strong one and the last other kin who lived fought it. Anger said to join that fight. Instinct said it was better to eat biomass. Their venom gland was empty and they hurt. Hunter listened to instinct. Chapter Four: Glutton During the third hunt, Hunter learned pain and anger. After, they learned what it was to be engorged. This was not pain. It was uncomfortable and hard to move. They also learned "too much biomass" was a thing that was, which seemed quite wrong. They ate biomass that had been kin, and biomass that had been rabbit, then kin, kin, rabbit, rabbit, kin, rabbit. It got hard near the end, and breaks were required before they could eat more. Still there was more biomass than Hunter and the two kin, also engorged, could carry home. They waddled back with swollen stomachs and claws heavy with biomass. No other monsters came as they ate, and none came as they went home. That seemed wrong, but made Hunter happy. As they walked, the young centipede considered recent events. They gained much. There was nine biomass to spend. Skills grew higher, and they were Sting and Survival Instinct. This pleased Hunter, because stinging and surviving were quite good things to do. They learned. One thing learned is that hunts with the strong one were not in fact safe. The strong one correctly understood, as Hunter had also learned, that kin becoming biomass in a hunt was fine so long as oneself did not become biomass. In fact, if much prey and much kin became biomass, that meant one could grow much stronger after the hunt so long as one still lived. Strong one knew where to lead Hunter and kin to find the five Blood Tooth Rabbits who were prey along with a great deal of biomass, some that had been rabbit and some that had been kin. How did the strong one know? Intense thought hatched the conclusion that the biomass that had been kin had gone with strong one to hunt, and rabbits and centipedes had disagreed on which was prey. In this instance it turned out kin was prey, so strong one returned to the mound that was home to gather more kin and make the rabbits prey instead. All of this worked out very well for strong one, because they were strong and grew stronger yet after they ate biomass when the fight was done. It went poorly for most kin who joined them on the hunt, however. Hunter''s best guess was that a total of fifteen kin went with the strong one, and now thirteen of those were biomass. This was fine, because Hunter was not one of them. Still, it would not do to be in the other group in the future. But they also needed to hunt to get strong. It was difficult. They would think more. The Noble seemed agitated and unhappy when they brought home biomass this time. Perhaps this was because it would have been better for the Noble if more kin and less biomass returned from this hunt. If so, Hunter believed they should amend their orders, which only considered the issue of biomass and not that of survival. Strong one was doing a very good job of following Noble''s orders as given, and so the Noble really should have been pleased. Hunter left this thought aside and found a quiet place in a side tunnel of home to think, digest, and spend biomass. They felt tired, which was a new thing, and realized they would need to enter torpor soon. That probably had to do with much hunting and fighting or else with engorging one''s stomach with biomass. More could be learned on this in the future. There was nine biomass to spend! Hunter was not sure how much biomass the world held, but thought perhaps nine was a large share of it. It had to be for their insides to feel so close to bursting. This seemed wrong when they thought about the numbers of it, but then their mind went back to how their stomach felt and they were pretty sure they''d been right after all. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. In any case, the sooner this biomass became powerful body parts, the sooner the uncomfortable feeling would leave. But first they decided to pick a skill to buy with their new SP. This thinking would be easier than the biomass thinking. There were three skills to choose from - Dodge, Piercing Snap, and Tail Strike. Hunter was surprised to find that it was not a hard pick at all. It was very good to sting, but the bad of being hurt or turned to biomass was even more bad than the good of stinging was good. To dodge attacks would be much, much better than to have their exoskeleton cracked open. Also, it seemed very likely that the strong one had the Dodge skill with many levels in it. When other kin tried to attack in the way the strong kin did, they died. But for the strong kin it worked all of the time - dodge prey''s bite, grip prey''s throat with claws. They would take Dodge. How to spend their nine biomass? Stinger could to improve to +4 and another part to +2. Tempting. Hunter could also improve three parts from +1 to +2, and would then have four parts at +2 with three biomass left over to bring one up to +3. Which would be the stinger, because that was the most important part. It would be good to have a very strong stinger, but four upgrades was more than three. That seemed more important. While one''s stinger was best, the strong kin did well in hunts by using claws to clamp on prey''s throat and keep them from biting. With the Dodge skill and stronger claws, Hunter might be able to fight like the strong one did. It still seemed safer to let kin fight head to head and sneak to sting in prey''s side or back parts though. In hunts so far, very many kin had died because they were not careful and because when prey bit or hit them, their exoskeleton could not protect their soft inside parts. Hunter had been hurt by a kick that cracked their exoskeleton. It was best not to be hurt, but a stronger exoskeleton would help the hurt to be less when it could not be no hurt at all. The last part to strengthen after stinger, claws, and exoskeleton was hard to choose. Legs were good because one could run in to sting when prey was distracted or in a bad position, and could also run away from prey that was too dangerous, or if one was hurt in a way that made it bad to stay and fight. Antennae could help in many ways and tell Hunter many things, but in a fight with many prey and many kin, Tomosvary organs were much better. All monsters made vibrations when they moved and fought, and it was easier to kill and to not die when you knew where all of kin and all of prey were and what they did. This one big thing Tomosvary organs did seemed more important than the many smaller things antennae could do. Hunter was pretty sure knowing where to move was more important than being able to move more quickly, which meant Tomosvary organs were better to upgrade than legs. Spend Biomass. Stinger +3, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +2, Claws +2. Spend SP, select Dodge. [Would you like to purchase Stinger +3, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +2, Claws +2, and Dodge? This will cost 9 Biomass and 1 SP.] Yes. A moment later, Hunter was quite sure no sensation in existence could possibly be more pleasurable than body part upgrades in progress. Mana energized and strengthened them from claws to stinger. When it completed its blessed work, the young monster was left exhausted, powerful, and quivering with happiness. This was a heady set of things to feel at the end of an eventful first day of life. They slipped into a deep, contended torpor. Chapter Five: Noble When Hunter emerged from torpor, the Noble was there waiting in the snug tunnel. Hunter. I have new commands. Do not die. Hunt only what you can kill safely. Eat biomass you find. If there is more than you can eat, return with it. Learn. Hunter was confused. This was very new and not a thing they thought could happen. How does Noble know I am Hunter? The noble''s mind again touched theirs. You are Hunter because your status labels you such. Many kin are good for hunting. You have high Cunning. If you do not die, you will be good for thinking. Hunter knew offense. They were quite sure they were already good for thinking. Offense was not pain, but was uncomfortable, though in a different way than eating too much biomass was. One more command: Do not hunt with the kin that has large claws and a black exoskeleton unless the prey threatens Home. If prey threatens home, hunt it even if it is not safe. Obey. The noble turned and scurried away. Hunter went through the tunnels to above and thought. They had not known that one could see their Status, and did not expect such commands. It was fine because the commands were good and Hunter wanted to do them anyway, though it would have been better to choose when to hunt with strong one and when not to hunt with them. Why would the Noble want Hunter to eat biomass rather than bring it back though? It just did not make sense to want one''s kin to eat rather than eating the biomass oneself. Unless the noble thought Hunter was worth more than biomass was? That was the only reason for the commands they could think of, but it still seemed... odd. None of the other kin were worth more than biomass after all. Before Hunter left home, they decided to look at their Status. It would help them decide how the noble''s commands should be obeyed, and maybe it would help the thinking on why those were the commands instead of the normal ones. Status [Name: Hunter] [Level: 3] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35] [MP: 0] [Skills: Pincer Snap level 2, Grip level 1, Sting level 4, Sprint level 2, Survival Instinct level 3, Stealth level 2, Dodge level 1] [Mutations: Stinger +3, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +2, Claws +2, Antennae +1, Eyes +1, Legs +1] Hunter was powerful in every way and skilled at many things. It would be easy for the Hunter of now to hunt the Hunter who hatched, except for the time of it - thinking about how the Hunter of now and Hunter of then could be Hunters of the same time hurt the mind, so they stopped. Confusing. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. They went back to easier things for thinking. Commands were hunt but only when safe, eat biomass and return with what was too much to eat, learn, do not hunt with strong one, and return alive. Most of these were good, and easy, but to hunt less than one could hunt would be very hard. Hunter had used a precious skill point to purchase Stealth, and had good eyes and antenna and very good Tomosvary organs. They would use all of these to go to where the air held much water without stopping to fight. With the upgrades to their Tomosvary organs, they could have found the way back to this place with only those. Hunter moved in careful ways. They used stealth all of the time when a sense said there was another monster near, even kin. They stopped often to use each organ that told them things and think on what those said to them, even their eyes which would not tell them about things unless they pointed their head at them. There were two big head crickets along the way, but without kin it would not be safe to hunt them, so they hid very carefully behind a mushroom stalk. [Stealth has reached level 3] It took much time to reach the place of water. The water was huge. Hunter could not see or sense where it ended. Where water met land many monsters gathered and were drinking. It was known that it was safe to drink here, but also that one could not hunt by the water. Why was not known. Perhaps it was safe to drink because the other monsters also knew they could not hunt. Still, Hunter used stealth and tried to stay away from the monsters who would be prey in another place and if Hunter was stronger, or with kin. It was good for learning; there were types of monsters they did not know. Because they were not biomass yet it was not possible to bite part of them to learn more, which would have been good, but Hunter could use senses to learn which was still fine. One monster was very, very large. It had thick brown fur streaked with green, a huge head with a thick strong neck, smelled bad, and altogether was more big and more strong than the young monster had guessed anything could be. It would be very bad to fight such a thing. One could only hide, or try to run away if found. It had only four legs, so running away for one with thirty legs might be fine. It would be best not to find out. There were many Big Head Crickets, two Emerald Monitors, a green monster with no scales or exoskeleton that was covered in slime and had a huge mouth and huge back legs (that one was in the water), a monster that had no legs or claws at all and was much longer than kin. That one moved by pushing against the ground with scales, which was a very interesting way to move but seemed much worse than just running on legs. There were three who had strong bodies covered in gray fur, four legs, a tail that looked powerful, a soft black part on their snout they seemed to use like antennae to taste the air, and mouths very good for biting. It would be bad if those found Hunter away from water. They looked like they could run fast even with only four legs. Overall, there were many monsters that were too strong to be prey and more still that would be too dangerous to hunt without kin. Perhaps Hunter was not so strong as they had believed. It was fine. In their first day they gained three levels and nineteen biomass. This meant that in five hundred days they would have one-hundred and fifty levels and nine thousand five-hundred biomass, and could hunt and eat whatever they wanted without need to be careful or use stealth. That would be very good. Or maybe there was something wrong with the numbers there, but Hunter was not sure what such a problem could be. They sneaked down to the water and drank. It tasted like power, and was good, but instinct said it would be bad to drink too much. Their body could only fit so much power in it before the power would try to break out and hurt them when it could not. Water was wet, like the red fluid inside biomass with fur. Hunter liked it. Then they had a very good idea. They went away from the water. When they felt that again it was allowed to hunt, they searched for a good place to hide where prey might move past and go to the water or come back from it. The place to hide was in grass that grew tall and thick on a small rise next to a path worn by the legs of monsters. They waited and sensed a very long time. Six blood tooth rabbits went past and to the water, but could not find Hunter and were too many to be prey. The two strong monsters with gray fur and four legs went past, and Hunter hid as hard as they could hide. One tasted the air with the wet black part on their snout, but the other made a loud noise with their mouth and the first quit tasting the air and walked away with its kin. [Stealth has reached level 4] Hunter knew fear. It was good to grow better at Stealth. Stealth was very good. Three Big Head Crickets went to the water. Two hopped past the place to hide, but one stopped and scratched at their head with a large back leg. Instinct said it would be safe to sting that one in the side. Hunter stung. The cricket who was prey tried to kick Hunter, but the kick made many vibrations so it was easy to feel in the air and dodge out of its way. [Dodge has reached level 2] It seemed best to sprint back into the tall grass and see how well venom with a +3 stinger worked. Prey made an angry chirp and jumped after Hunter, but it jumped at the wrong place. When it landed, Hunter stung again, then grabbed a back leg with claws, clamped down hard, and wrapped the big leg up with many legs. [Grip has reached level 2] Prey tried to turn and bite, but had a rigid body and could not move their mouth so far back. Prey tried to kick with the leg that was free, but did not have a good way to hurt Hunter with the kick, and it bounced off exoskeleton without cracking it. Prey tried to kick again, but it was a weaker try, and then prey became biomass. [You have defeated level 1 Big Head Cricket] [You have gained XP] [You have gained one Biomass] The safe way to hunt was very slow. But it was good to learn, and to grow in skill. Hunter decided that the safe way could be both slow and good. Chapter Six: Ambush Hunter had a good hiding spot, but it might not have been the best one. So they moved. They were very careful and slow and used all of their organs for sensing. The world was large and new, and in many moments the young monster would feel or smell or vibration sense a new thing that they had not known before. There was a Mushroom that was a monster, and hunted by pushing a sharp dart with venom on it through the air, very fast. It killed a cricket. Hunter was curious how the mushroom would eat the biomass, since so far as they could tell mushrooms could not move. But instinct said it was a bad, dangerous mushroom, and Hunter agreed and left as quickly as staying careful allowed. There was another monster who was much too strong to be prey. It was like the monitors except it was larger, with a thick long body, strong short legs and large, tough scales. Its head was large and wide. A bite with the mouth in that head could probably crush anything except the big monster by the water who stank and had brown fur with green in it. Fortunately, this one did not seem to be fast or good at sensing. Hunter thought it was probably bad at thinking too, though wasn''t sure why that felt right. There were smaller things that were new. Hunter found different types of grass that tasted different ways in the air, many new kinds of mushroom that did not decide to be monsters, and a place where water moved through a narrow channel that fed into the big water. There were also things that were not new. Many of those were monsters, but those were either too strong to be prey or too many to be prey when one did not have kin to help, so Hunter hid and used Stealth. Hunter grew very good at that, and even reached Stealth level 5. If they had a skill point, it could make Stealth become Advanced Stealth, which seemed excellent. They did not have a skill point, which was bad. The skills they had bought, Survival Instinct, Stealth, and Dodge, were all quite useful. That was good. Hunter was fairly sure that without Survival Instinct and Stealth they would have become biomass by now. There was a problem with the very careful way of hunting. It was hard to find prey that was alone and weak enough to kill, which meant that one grew hungry. Hungry was an uncomfortable that was almost pain. But the Noble had commanded Hunter to not die and only hunt prey that could be killed in a safe way. Vexing. If good prey could not be found soon, they would need to go back to the mound that was Home and find a group of kin to hunt with that did not include the strong one. It would be better to think of a way to hunt alone though. Kin became biomass at an alarming rate, and Hunter was concerned that soon they would run out of kin to hunt with. That would be fine if one could hunt alone, but bad if one could not. Hunter was so busy thinking these things that they nearly walked into trouble. Fortunately, their Survival Instinct skill and their good senses saved them. Trouble was a dark hole along a path to big water. The hole had a mass of thin white strands coming out of it. It felt dangerous. Hunter did not know why. [Survival Instinct has reached level 4] That was good and not so good. Good, because higher skill was valuable. Bad, because that skill grew when Hunter came very close to becoming biomass. It was just a hole though, with strange stuff that came out of it. Why was it dangerous? Hunter was quite curious and wanted to learn the answer. It was probably a monster, but there were monsters of many kinds that killed in many ways. They wanted to know why this one was dangerous. There was a large mushroom with a broad cap that draped over the dangerous hole. The top of the cap was even a color similar to Hunter''s exoskeleton, which would make it easier to hide on it. Some monsters seemed to have very good eyes, so such issues were important to keep in mind. They slowly and carefully climbed the stalk, underneath the mushroom cap and up on to the top. [Grip has reached level 3] Once they were settled into a safe spot to hide on top of the mushroom, they waited. And waited. And waited. When one hid and did not move, it turned out that hunger did not grow worse very quickly. Eventually a thing happened. There was an emerald monitor going down the trail in what was a fast walk or a slow run. When it reached the strings of white stuff that came out of the hole, its legs got stuck and tangled. Then the monster that hid in the hole burst out from it and bit the monitor. That one had eight legs, which was better than most monsters though not enough, a body with two parts that was covered in exoskeleton, and two very large teeth that also could sting. A bite with venom in it was an excellent idea. Hunter knew envy. The exoskeleton had a few hairs growing on it, and that was rather odd. Quite soon the monitor became biomass and the eight legged monster began to eat it. Meanwhile, Hunter had stayed very still, hid, and studied that one intently. It was hard to tell if it was safe prey or not. They decided that it was safe prey if fought correctly. It had its stingers in its mouth, which mean that if it could not bite it could not hurt. Hunter was behind and above the prey, on top of a big mushroom. As fast as they could move, they jumped on top of the prey, gripped it with claws and all thirty of their legs, and stung. Prey ran around wildly, but could not do anything to one who was on top of it. Hunter stung again. Prey became biomass.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. [You have defeated level 3 Atrax Robustus] [You have gained XP] [You have achieved level 4, one skill point awarded] [You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Atrax Robustus. You are awarded one Biomass.] [Basic Profile of Atrax Robustus unlocked] [Atrax Robustus, Funnel Web Ambusher. This evolution of the Funnel Web Spider is an ambush hunter that weaves a flat web on uneven ground. It has a powerful, venomous bite.] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] It was a very good hunt. Hunter ate the spider. Hunter ate the monitor. Hunter hid in the hole to digest and think. The prey that was ambusher did a thing very, very well. It was a good thing. It made a trap for prey, then bit prey with stinger teeth and ate biomass. This worked well enough that the spider had even evolved. But it did not seem able to do different things. It put its stingers in its mouth, which gave it a very good bite, but meant that it could not defend if a hunter got to its back side. It hid in a tunnel to make that hard to do. Maybe it should have made a tunnel where there was not a big mushroom to drop down on top of it. When eating, Hunter found something interesting. It was the core of the Funnel Web Ambusher. Monster cores were a thing they knew of when they spawned. It was valuable, but they could not use it now unless they wanted to make a small spider. They did not. Because the core was valuable, and could not be used now, Hunter had to hide it. The spider''s ambush hole seemed like a good place. The white stuff, now that the centipede had opportunity to examine it thoroughly, was of two types that had different smells. One type was sticking and bad to touch with legs. The other type was fine to walk on, and was what the spider used to run out very fast to bite sting the monitor. Hunter was careful as they climbed into the hole. Monsters like their legs to work, so it did not seem like one would go inside the hole unless they were very cunning and could find the good white strands and avoid the bad, sticky ones. Inside, all of the white stuff was of the type that did not stick. That type was very good for sensing vibrations. With good Tomosvary organs, which they had, it may be possible to imitate the spider and use the trap it built. That seemed like a safe way to hunt. They used their claws to dig a safe place to hide the core, then buried it. It would be important to remember this place. The spider''s hole was also a good place to hide while they upgraded a skill and used their biomass. The skill was easy. Stealth should become Advanced Stealth. Spend Skill Points. Upgrade Stealth to Advanced Stealth. [Would you like to purchase Advanced Stealth? This will cost 1 SP] Yes. Hunter again felt knowledge and skill, which was like knowledge but included how the knowledge should be used, fill their mind. It felt good, but not as good as upgrading body parts. Which it was now time to do. There was5 biomass to spend. Two ways to spend it seemed best, and both would leave one biomass left. One was to grow stinger from +3 to +4. It would be good to upgrade that to +5. That was important. The other way was to upgrade antennae and legs to +2. It was also possible to upgrade one body part from +2 to +3 and another from +1 to +2. However, their plan was to upgrade their Stinger to +5, because it was the best body part and because it would be good to know what happened when an organ got to +5, and to upgrade all of their other body parts to +2, because of the rest it was not clear that any was better than the others. It was much cheaper to upgrade parts to +2 than to +3. Two upgrades was twice as many as one. So far, Hunter had always chosen more upgrades rather than fewer. But this time, after hard thought, they decided that being better able to kill was most important. If they were to hunt alone, they had to become very good at killing. Spend Biomass. Upgrade Stinger to +4. [Would you like to upgrade your stinger to +4? This will cost 4 Biomass] Yes. An upgrade of only one body part did not feel as good as upgrades of many. It was still incredible. Chapter Seven: Decision Hunter was nestled snugly inside the hole that had belonged to the spider, but now rightly belonged to Hunter because they killed and ate the previous occupant. Their stomach was full of biomass and they had just emerged from the joyous rush of a body part upgrade. Status [Name: Hunter] [Level: 4] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35] [MP: 0] [Skills: Pincer Snap level 2, Grip level 3, Sting level 4, Sprint level 2, Survival Instinct level 4, Advanced Stealth level 1, Dodge level 2] [Mutations: Stinger +4, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +2, Claws +2, Antennae +1, Eyes +1, Legs +1] [Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)] [You have one Biomass available] It would be hard to decide whether to save Biomass to upgrade their Stinger to +5 or to get Antennae, Eyes and Legs to +2 next. Probably it was better to upgrade three parts rather than one, even the best one. Also, those could be improved one at a time, and then help to hunt and get more biomass to upgrade the others. Hunter had an idea. The spider had a very good way to kill safely. It was dead now and could not use it. But Hunter was alive, and had figured out how to tell the safe threads apart from the bad, sticky ones. Other monsters seemed to be less clever. They just blundered into the sticky ones and became prey. Hunter also had good vibration sense because they had upgraded Tomosvary organs, and could feel if something touched the threads. Hunter practiced running quickly out of the hole on the safe threads a few times. Once one knew how to tell them apart it was not too hard. But it was better to be sure one could sprint out and not get stuck before rushing at dangerous prey caught in the sticky threads. They waited. In a time that was long but not very long, an emerald monitor that was dumb blundered into the threads and got stuck. It thrashed around, which was bad because it twisted the threads into a mess. Hunter ran out and stung it, then grabbed hold with legs and snapped with claws. Then they stung two more times and their venom gland was empty. [Sprint has reached level 3] [Pincer Snap has reached level 3] [You have defeated level 2 Young Emerald Monitor] [You have gained XP] This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. [You have gained one Biomass] That hunt was easy and went very well. Hunter went back into their hole and waited more. They could have upgraded one of their +1 parts to +2, but decided to save their two biomass for now. It would be very good to know what happened when one''s stinger got to +5, and if this way to hunt was safe already, they did not need to upgrade something right away. This time they had to wait a bit longer. Then three blood tooth rabbits rushed all together into the sticky threads and got all tangled up. They kicked and tried to jump and made a big mess of the threads and got tangled until they almost could not move at all. Then Hunter killed them. [You have defeated level 3 Blood Tooth Rabbit] [You have gained XP] [You have defeated level 4 Blood Tooth Rabbit] [You have gained XP] [Sting has reached level 5, upgrade available] [You have defeated level 4 Blood Tooth Rabbit] [You have gained XP] [You have reached level 5, one skill point awarded] [You have reached the level cap, evolution menu available] It was the best hunt of all hunts in all of time. Blood Tooth Rabbits were dangerous prey. One rabbit was an even match for two kin. The first time Hunter fought rabbits six kin died, and a kick hurt Hunter and cracked their exoskeleton. It was much, much better to kill rabbits that could not move to kick or bite. There were other good things too. It was time to evolve, and they had another skill point and could spend it upgrade Sting, which had reached level 5. Very good. First though, there was biomass to eat. Hunter ate and gained four biomass. They could now upgrade their stinger to +5 and have one biomass left, or spend it all to upgrade their eyes, antennae and legs to +2. The web of threads was very tangled up now, and it did not seem safe to use it to hunt more. There was much to think about. Evolution might leave one unsafe until it finished. It would be better to evolve at home. So that is where they went. It was some distance to travel, and their body was heavy and weighed down by a very full stomach. It would be hard to fight like this, so they stopped often to sense and moved in careful ways. Before long they reached the mound that was home. It was good to see and smell kin again. They did not know why. It just made them happy. Hunter found a quiet spot in a small tunnel that was not busy, and thought. They had a skill point and six biomass to spend, and they could evolve. If they were more skilled and had better body parts, perhaps they could evolve in better ways. But if they evolved first, maybe there would be better skills and different body parts to spend skill points and biomass to upgrade. It was hard to know. Eventually, they decided that it was not possible to know for sure, but it seemed it was a bigger and more important thing to evolve than to spend biomass or a skill point. So if they did the big thing first, they would know more, and could better decide how to do the smaller things. [Would you like to use the Evolution menu?] Yes [Congratulations on reaching the maximum level for your current species. Evolution will allow you to change your form and increase your stats as a monster. Warning: Evolving will make securing XP and Biomass more difficult as fewer rewards are given for preying on creatures less evolved than yourself. Your evolution options are as follows: Mature Claw Centipede Condense Monster Core] It would be much better to become a Mature Claw Centipede than to stay a Hatchling. They did not know how it would help them to condense a monster core, but instinct said that would be very good also. They asked for more information on both. Sometimes this worked. This was one of those times. [Mature Claw Centipede - advance from a Hatchling of your kind into an adult. Base stats will significantly increase, new skills will be unlocked.] [Condense mana absorbed by the individual into a monster core. The core allows monsters to store and utilize MP, can also be utilized to empower custom evolution. 100% of mana required has been obtained.] This was very interesting. If they wanted to be much stronger right away, they should evolve into a Mature Claw Centipede. That would be good because it would become easier to kill and not die. But it would be bad because it would be harder to gain XP and biomass. They could also condense a core. The Funnel Web Ambusher was the only monster they knew that had a core. That one had thought of a very good and safe way to hunt and gain XP and Biomass. This worked very well until Hunter, who was more cunning, killed and ate it. Still, it was interesting that of the many monsters Hunter had killed and eaten, the one with a core had been the best at hunting. A core could also be used to empower custom evolution. That sounded like a way to choose how to become stronger, rather than have it happen without choice. Hunter was very cunning, and was certain they would choose a very good way to become stronger. There were other things to think about. In this last big hunt, made up of many small hunts and a lot of hiding and moving, Hunter had learned much. One thing learned was that there were many monsters far stronger than Hunter was. Even if Hunter grew bigger, and had better claws and a better exoskeleton and a better stinger, there would still be monsters far stronger. To ever hunt such beasts in safe ways, they would need a new tool to use, one beyond claws and stinger. They were unclear on what type of tool MP could become, but instinct said it was important. Also, it did not seem that it would be harder to get XP and biomass if they condensed a monster core. They would still be a hatchling, just a better one with a core. This thought decided the issue. It had taken a very, very, long time to get to level five. It would take far too long to evolve again if they received less XP from each hunt, even if the hunts were easier. [Would you like to spend this evolution to Condense your Monster Core?] Yes. Hunter slipped into an unconsciousness deeper than torpor. Chapter Eight: Sting Hunter woke to a deep, energizing burn within, centered two thirds down their body. It had to be their new core. Status. [Name: Hunter] [Level: 1 (core)] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35] [MP: 10] [Skills: Pincer Snap level 3, Grip level 3, Sting level 5 (upgrade available), Sprint level 3, Survival Instinct level 4, Advanced Stealth level 1, Dodge level 2] [Mutations: Stinger +4, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +2, Claws +2, Antennae +1, Eyes +1, Legs +1] [Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)] [You have six Biomass and one Skill Point available] Hunter was not stronger, not yet, but it was fine. Instinct said their core was power that would grow in a slow way but become very great if fed. They had 10 MP where before that had been 0. This had to be important, because it was listed right below HP, and nothing was more important than having more than 0 HP. They did not know how to use MP, but that was also fine. There had to be a way. Hunter checked their available skills, and there was a new one there. [Mana manipulation: Cost 1 SP, basic skill to manipulate absorbed mana] They had two choices now. Both were very hard. One was how to spend their skill point, and the other was how to spend their biomass. Whether to evolve or condense a monster core had been a choice of the same kind. Evolution would have made them stronger, right away. That would have been good. They chose instead the monster core, even though they did not know for sure how it would help - just that instinct said a core would make them stronger yet if they gave it time to grow. They were also very curious what could be learned from having a core. It was good to hunt, kill, and eat, but it was also good to explore and learn. Then one knew better how and where to hunt, kill, and eat. There were two good ways to spend the skill point, and two good ways to spend the biomass. The skill point should either upgrade Sting or purchase Mana Manipulation. It was very clear how it would be good to be able to sting better. It was not clear how it would be good to be able to manipulate mana, but they had sacrificed much for a core, and it seemed as if they could not use it for anything without this skill. So it was hard. The choice of what to do with their biomass was between upgrading their stinger from +4 to +5 and upgrading eyes, antennae and legs from +1 to +2. This was not a new choice, and they had thought about it as they walked home from the spider hole. It was still hard. They knew it would be good to improve a body part to +5, especially their stinger, which was the best part. They did not know why +5 was important, only that it was. However, if they upgraded eyes, antennae, and legs, it would be easier to know what was around them and to run away if needed. That would let them choose only safe fights. Hunter had two other thoughts on which was the better use of biomass. The first was that a better stinger would make it easier to kill. Then they could eat more biomass and upgrade the other parts faster. The second was that they could upgrade the other parts one at a time, and it would only take two biomass for each upgrade. They could not do this with their stinger, because that would cost a whole five biomass, which could take a long time to get. Spend Biomass. Upgrade Stinger from +4 to +5. [Do you want to improve your Stinger to +5?] Yes.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. [At this level you may choose a mutation advancement, select from the menu] This was very interesting and very good. There were many, many ways to improve their stinger. It could be made larger and stronger. It could have a longer, harder and sharper point. It could have stronger venom, or venom that paralyzed. That last option seemed quite good. Prey that could not move also could not bite or kick or sting, which made the killing easy. There was an option to be able to hold much more venom, or to regain venom much more quickly. Hunter wanted all of these things. Finally, there was one last option that was extremely interesting. [Infused Stinger: Allows one''s stinger to be infused with mana. Can be used to improve venom regeneration rate, venom potency, or in combat the stinger''s toughness and ability to pierce.] The mutation would let Hunter have pieces of many of the other options. For each thing listed that mana could do, there was also a mutation option that could probably do that thing much better. Mana also could not make stings paralyze, which was bad. But it was almost a way to pick four things instead of one thing. Also, this option was special. Hunter was pretty sure monsters without cores could not use mana, and would not be offered such a powerful choice. It was also the only way they knew of to use their core to help now instead of in a future time. The thinking was pretty easy, and they made the obvious choice. The feeling that came was amazing. Hunter could not think of a way to describe how good an upgrade to +5 felt. They desperately wanted to go and hunt everything and eat all of the biomass so they could feel more upgrades to +5. But this was not the thinking way. The upgrade finished. It took an effort of will not to go and hunt, but they managed. There was still a skill point to spend. The stinger mutation made the thinking on which skill to purchase easy also. Before, they could either learn to manipulate mana, which would be good later, or learn to sting better, which would be good now. But Mana Manipulation would probably let them infuse their stinger in better ways. So it would be good later and would also let them sting better now. This was perfect. Hunter was very clever to have thought of all of these things, even though it was hard to think so much. They confirmed their choice. Much knowledge rushed in and crowded up their mind. Before gaining the Mana Manipulation skill, it had been easy to feel where their Monster Core was, but now they could feel it in a new way. It was like their mind could move inside of the core and feel the mana pulse within it. They could feel how mana was around them, in the air, and how it slowly pulled toward their core. And they knew the mana could be pulled out of the core, used in different ways. It was hard though. So very hard. Hunter strained with all of their mind and tugged at the mana, willed to move out and into their claws. It worked a little bit, but left them very tired. When they checked their Status, it showed 8/10 MP. Even such a little thing used one fifth of their mana. After a short rest, they tried a new thing. Hunter willed, and mana moved from their core back and into their stinger, where it settled in their venom gland. They had not known where the source of venom was before, but now could feel it through the mana that moved there. They focused on making the venom better. The way to do this was not clear, so they just thought very hard about venom that would kill prey very fast as they pulled more and more mana from their core into their stinger. It was much easier to do this than try to put the mana into their claws. Which was fine. They had a mutation to put mana in their stinger. When they improved Claws to +5 they could probably get another mutation to put mana there too. There might be a better way to grow Claws though. They would have to wait and see. Hunter concentrated very hard on making their venom strong, and for a long time. Eventually they felt their core empty and there was no more mana to pull into their stinger. They could not tell in what way all that mana made their venom better, but it had taken much time and they''d worked very hard at it. Probably the venom was much, much better. They were eager to test it. It seemed good to go first to the big water that had mana in it. Perhaps drinking the mana water would let their core fill back up faster. They went quickly through the tunnels of home up and out into the above. Then they were slow and careful on the way to water. A group of three crickets passed, and Hunter hid even though they very much wanted to fight instead. But the Noble''s orders were to only fight if it was safe, and while they thought they could win, the fight would have been hard. They reached the water and drank deeply. There were many powerful monsters there, but it was fine because the edge of water was not a place to fight. The water burned in a good, clear way as the mana in it flowed into their core. Soon their Status showed 10/10 MP. It was time to hunt. Hunter went back to the first hiding place they had found on a trail leading to water. They hid carefully and waited. An emerald monitor passed by, but that was too hard of a fight to be safe. Three of the powerful monsters with strong jaws, four legs and strong tails went down the trail to the water and Hunter hid as hard as they could hide. [Advanced Stealth has reached level 2] That was good, but Hunter was scared to be near to such strong monsters away from the safety of water. If such a monster found them, Hunter would surely become biomass. It was a hard thing to hunt alone. Most monsters were either too strong or traveled in groups if they were weak. Hunter waited long, and a chance came. The chance was two Big Head Crickets hopping together down the trail to water. Crickets were good at biting, kicking, and jumping, but bad at sensing and thinking. Hunter infused their stinger with mana, then burst out of hiding and stung the back cricket in its side. Their stinger punched through the cricket''s carapace easily and pumped venom deep inside the prey. The prey that was stung tried to kick, but Hunter expected this and it was easy to dodge. The prey that was not stung yet turned around and jumped at Hunter. This time it was not easy to dodge, but with a hard twist to the side they managed. It left Hunter off balance though, and they had to dodge two more times as the cricket tried to bite them. The stung cricket was busy twitching and becoming biomass. The third time the cricket tried to bite, Hunter was ready and dodged just to the side, clamped down on that prey''s throat with claws in the way Strong Kin liked to do, and stung. A stinger with mana in it worked much, much better than one without mana. The cricket tried to kick at Hunter, but it did not have a good position to do so and the kick glanced off the centipede''s exoskeleton. [Pincer Snap has reached level 4] Hunter had an idea now, and tried a thing. They let go with their claws and sprinted away, sensing carefully with Tomosvary organs to see if prey would follow or try to escape. Prey hopped once after them, but then stopped, turned around, and tried to get away. The first prey to be stung became biomass. [You have defeated level 3 Big Head Cricket] [You have gained XP] The other one was not biomass yet, but it had slowed much and did not seem able to fight. Hunter sprinted over and stung it again with a stinger infused with mana. [Mana Manipulation has reached level 2] [You have defeated level 3 Big Head Cricket] [You have gained XP] [You have gained Biomass] [You have gained Biomass] Hunter ate in a happy way. It was a good, safe hunt. They gained enough biomass to upgrade one of antennae, eyes, or legs from +1 to +2. They gained a level in Piercing Snap, which was a favorite skill of Strong One and thus must be good. They gained XP. They learned that an Infused Stinger was much better at killing than a normal one. That was very, very good. Now more things would be safe to hunt. Chapter Nine: Manipulate Hunter had a problem. The problem was bad because it would stay a problem until they could think of a clever thing or some different thing they could not guess at happened to change it. It was not a good plan to wait for an unknown thing to help. There may not be such a thing at all, and even if that thing were real it might not happen, or might happen somewhere or somewhen else. The problem was this: Hunter was one centipede, and there was very little prey that it was safe for one centipede to hunt. They were a very strong centipede with many improved body parts, many skills, a core, and they were very good at thinking, but they were still just one. Most monsters in the above were stronger than even a very strong centipede who was alone. Monsters who were not so strong went in groups, as kin did. Hunter had to hunt. They needed XP and biomass and more levels for their skills. Noble had ordered them not to hunt with Strong One, which would have been the best way, and had also ordered them to hunt only prey that was safe to hunt. So how? How could they hunt and eat and grow stronger like this? Their stinger was very, very good now that they could put mana in it. That helped. More prey was safe to hunt, but not enough. There was another thing to think about. They had two biomass, and could upgrade eyes, antennae, or legs. This should have been easier thinking that they could do first. Except, except, what if part of the right answer to the big problem was improving one of those parts and not the other two? So it was not a thing to think about on its own at all. It was a small part of the big problem that just made the thinking harder again. Hunter had three ideas. One was to hunt like Strong One did. Hunter was strong now, not as as strong as Strong One, but more than other kin. They could gather kin and hunt with them. Then Hunter and kin could fight either a strong prey or many weak ones. Prey would become biomass and kin would become biomass and Hunter would eat it all. Kin was not good at thinking though when prey was near, even if it was dangerous and bad prey to hunt. They would still try, and then it would not be a safe hunt at all. This was fine for Strong One, who had what Hunter now recognized as mutated exoskeleton and claws, and was very hard to kill. For Strong One the way of hunting was good and safe and gave much biomass. Hunter though could kill well but was not so good at not becoming biomass in a big fight. They could think, and be careful, but could not control a big fight. Hunts that could not be controlled were not safe hunts. It would have been good to hunt with Strong One, who would rush in and fight strong prey while Hunter was sneaky and stung prey''s back parts, but this was not to be. So that was one thought, but not a very good one. They had two more thoughts, and both of them seemed better. The first was that they could spend time to practice mana manipulation. This was very safe, and that was very good, if they did it either by the water where no one could hunt or in the tunnels of home. Hunter very much wanted to learn what would happen when Mana Manipulation reached skill level 5, and for two reasons. One reason was that it might open a strong skill that would solve the problem of not being able to hunt most prey, but that did not seem like a thing that would probably be. The second reason was that then another big thing would be known, and knowing that thing might make the rest of the thinking easier. The second thought was that they could explore to learn more of the above. Hunter had the Advanced Stealth skill and good parts for sensing, so it should be pretty safe. They might find prey that was safe to hunt alone, or things that helped them to hunt better. It also just made their mind happy to learn new things. Instinct said that the above was very large but not all of the world, that there were ways to go up and ways to go down. Up was safer and down was less safe. If they found a way to go up, perhaps there prey would be easy to hunt for one strong centipede. This last idea was what Hunter very much wanted to be the good idea. It would be a happy thing to explore and learn. But the idea to practice Mana Manipulation did seem better, because they could think of no way for it to be unsafe or bad. It was only good, and thus the best choice. If they explored, a thing they did not know but that was very dangerous might kill them. Such a thing might be very good at sensing even a centipede with Advanced Stealth, or could hurt what it could not sense, or dangerous in some new way Hunter had not thought of at all. So the thinking was done on the big problem. They would focus on Mana Manipulation. This left the smaller thinking on what body part to improve. Here they decided on legs, because they had only one way to move faster but three parts to sense with. They went back to the big water, where it was safe.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Spend Biomass. Upgrade Legs to +2. [Do you want to improve your legs to +2?] Yes. The upgrade felt good, but not as good as improving more than one body part or improving a part to +5. There was a thing left to do before Hunter began to practice Mana Manipulation very hard. They had left a core from the Spider back in the hunting hole. Before, they had not had a core of their own and thus could not use it. Now they had this, and so could use it. On the way back they were slow and careful and used stealth so that dangerous monsters would not find them. This, they had decided, was simply the best way to move about. Perhaps when their parts for sensing became very strong by spending very much biomass, they could move more quickly and only hide when a monster came near, but for now this was the safe way. They got back to the hole beneath a big mushroom and carefully picked their way through the sticky white threads that had all tangled together in the last hunt there. The core was where they left it. [Compatible monster core detected. Would you like to reinforce your core or reconstitute a monster?] Reinforce my core. The sphere vanished and power rushed into Hunter, through their body and into their core. It left a good type of burn everywhere it touched. Status. [Name: Hunter] [Level: 1 (core)] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35] [MP: 12/12] [Skills: Pincer Snap level 4, Grip level 3, Sting level 5 (upgrade available), Sprint level 3, Survival Instinct level 4, Advanced Stealth level 2, Dodge level 2, Mana Manipulation level 2] [Mutations: Infused Stinger +5, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +2, Claws +2, Antennae +1, Eyes +1, Legs +2] [Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)] Before they ate the core they had ten MP. Now they had twelve. Twelve MP was better than ten, and so it was good to find and eat cores. They wanted very much to do so right away. This was, sadly, not the thinking way. Instead they traveled carefully back to the big water. Once they got there, it was time to manipulate mana. This seemed like a thing to do that had no use, but it could grow the skill, and thinking said that when the skill got to five it would become good and strong instead of hard and useless. They hoped this was right thinking, otherwise they were doing hard things with their mind for no reason that was good. Hunter grabbed the mana in their core and tried to pull it out of that core and into their body and then move it to their mouth. This was hard, but it was fine, because it was not so hard as it had been when Mana Manipulation was level one and not level two. It was slow to do, so very slow, but with time they managed. A puff of mana went out of their mouth. Their mind was so tired that their legs shook. It would be too hard to do again so soon, so they let their mind rest and heal a bit before they tried again. This time it was a very small bit less hard. Then their core was empty of mana, so they drank the water than burned in a good way. The burn in the water was actually mana that went back into their core and filled it up to full. They did this again and again and again and again and again again. It took very much time, but Hunter was determined. [Mana Manipulation has reached level 3] [Mana Manipulation has reached level 4] They did not know how much time they spent with practice, but it seemed like it was more time than all the rest of their life all together. When Mana Manipulation finally improved to level 4 they were very hungry and their mind was much too tired to manipulate any more mana for a very long time. They had to hunt. Hunter went back to their favorite hiding place by the trail to water, and waited. This time they did not have to wait long for two crickets to pass by. Hunter killed and ate them. [Dodge has reached level 3] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] Crickets were safe and easy prey to hunt if they were only two because it was easy to know what they would do. Hunter was pretty sure crickets could not think much more than a mushroom could think. They went back to the big water. There were only two parts left to improve to +2. The choice was between Eyes and Antennae. Antennae were better than Eyes, but the things Antennae could do were more like the things that Tomosvary organs did than the thing Eyes did. So because Eyes could do a thing that was their own, Hunter decided to improve them next. Spend Biomass. Upgrade Eyes to +2. [Do you want to improve your Eyes to +2?] Yes. The upgrade felt good. Hunter was surprised in a good way when it was done. The upgrade to +2 made Eyes more useful than they would have guessed Eyes could be. They could see things that were far away, and the things were only a bit fuzzy. This was quite good. The upgrade from +0 to +1 had not seemed to make so large of a difference. It was not clear what to think about this, but it was fine because it was time to go back to big water and practice more on ways to manipulate mana. Hunter hoped very, very hard that it would not take all of time to improve the skill to +5. Chapter 10: Safe or Not Safe? It took all of time to improve Mana Manipulation to level 5. It was longer than the times to improve to 2 and 3 and 4 all together. Hunter had practiced how to move mana into their antennae and let it out, and how to move it to their legs, to only one leg (this was hard), to move it to their mouth and let it out, to move it to their mouth then grab hold and bring it back to their core - all of the ways they could think of on how to manipulate mana that was inside them. It was fine though, because it was done. Hunter got too hungry one time to continue to practice then rest then drink mana water then practice, and had to go find prey before they could continue. That prey was three crickets, and the fight had been harder than when prey was only two, but now all of their parts were at +2 except for their Infused Stinger, which was at +5. They also still had one Biomass left over. The last part they improved to +2 was their antennae, which seemed wrong because those were a very good part, but then again they had thought carefully each time before spending biomass so maybe it was right after all. In any case, they were happy that now all of their parts were strong and had improved twice while their stinger was very, very strong. They were good at sensing, running, not dying when prey tried to hurt them, pinching with claws, and probably the best of all centipedes at stinging. Hunter finally had reached level 5 in Mana Manipulation. They wished a little that they had chosen a different plan, because probably by now they could have been huge and strong like the monsters with brown fur streaked with green who had big mouths with large teeth if they had hunted for biomass instead. It had taken a very, very long time. Hunter knew boredom. Still, it was fine because it was over. The problem was that as far as they could tell it was still not useful in a way that mattered to be able to manipulate mana that was inside you. There might be a skill that would make it useful, but even with all of the Big Head Crickets that they hunted, they still had not leveled. They had to be very, very close. Hunter hunted. An Emerald Monitor came near Hunter''s hiding place along the path to water. First Hunter sensed with their Tomosvary organs the vibrations the monitor made as it moved. Then they saw it with their eyes when it turned a corner and mushrooms stopped hiding it. Hunter though was very good at hiding, and the monitor could not sense them. [Advanced Stealth has reached level 3] They had to do the thinking on if this was prey to hunt very quickly. There was little time. On their first hunt an Emerald Monitor with three legs that worked and one leg that did not had been very dangerous prey. That one had turned one kin to biomass very quickly. Hunter was much stronger now though. Survival Instinct said that to fight this one would be a part safe and a part dangerous. They had to obey the Noble, of course, but Hunter decided that still counted as safe. Mana poured into their stinger as they waited for the monitor to pass. When prey was in the right place, Hunter sprinted out in a very fast way and stung hard where prey''s big tail met its body. The mana infused stinger sunk deep into prey and pumped much venom as quickly as Hunter could pump. Prey was fast though, and twisted to bite. Probably prey would have been faster if it was not surprised and did not have poison spreading through it. Hunter dodged and grabbed hold of the underside of prey''s throat with a Pincer Snap. This was Strong One''s favorite trick, and it was good if one had strong claws and was skilled at Pincer Snap and Dodge. Hunter now had these things, and so it was good for them. In this position prey could not bite, and this type of prey did not have legs that were good to kick with. Instead it tried to hit Hunter with its tail, but its position was not very good for this either. Hunter could not dodge in a way where it would miss completely, but could dodge so that it glanced off their exoskeleton at an angle. It still hurt a little though, and cracked Hunter''s exoskeleton a bit while it jiggled the insides of two body segments in a bad way. They did not want to be hit like that more times, so Hunter twisted to sting prey where its body met its front right leg. Then their venom gland was empty and they grabbed hold to the underneath of prey with all of their legs. Prey still could not bite, and tried to hit with its tail again. It was weaker now though because Hunter''s venom was doing the thing venom does when it is inside of prey. The venom was very good, and Hunter had worked hard to infuse the gland part of their stinger with mana when they made it. [Dodge has reached level 3]Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Hunter did not have any venom left, but still did have a stinger and a bit of mana left in their core. They put that mana in their stinger and used it to punch two holes in the underneath of prey, near its tail. Prey was very weak now, and Hunter gripped it with two claws and thirty legs. It could not do any thing that would hurt Hunter in a bad way. In a little time, prey became biomass. [You have defeated level 2 Young Emerald Monitor] [You have gained XP] [You have achieved level 2, one skill point awarded] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] Hunter checked their status, and found they had lost a few HP in the fight, but it was fine. They had been right that the hunt was more safe than it was dangerous. The important things were that they stayed alive, prey became biomass, they gained a level and a skill point that came with it, and the two new biomass added with the one they already had to make three, which was enough to improve a body part from +2 to +3 or to improve antennae to +2 and have one biomass left. The crack in their exoskeleton was small, and they felt it begin to close and heal even as they munched happily on Biomass. It was fine, and would be all better soon. Then they returned to the safe place by water where none could hunt to think and upgrade a body part afterward, and then think and use their skill point. All of their parts but their stinger and antennae were at +2, so it was an interesting question which should be upgraded first. But it was part of a bigger problem, which made it some hard. The bigger problem was that they could either upgrade each part to +3 next, or they could pick one part to upgrade +3 +4 +5. It would cost nine biomass to either upgrade three parts from +2 to +3 or to upgrade one part from +3 to +5. So what was better, to have no parts that were weak or to have a few that were very strong? The mutation to their stinger when it got to +5 was good good good. A stinger they could put mana in was almost a whole new and better thing compared to a stinger that had no mana in it. However, they had only one core. It was maybe not so good to have many parts to put mana in when there was only one core full of mana to use. There had been other mutations that seemed good though. Hunter decided that it would be better to upgrade one part all the way to +5 next rather than one part to +3 and then three more parts to +3. This was only a little bit because a mutation when a part reached +5 was the best feeling that could possibly be felt. The problem then was not what part would be best to upgrade to +3 next, but what part would be best to upgrade +3 +4 +5. After a small time Hunter used to think and heal, they decided this was really not so hard of thinking at all. One''s stinger killed, and was thus the best part. But one''s exoskeleton kept one from dying, and so was the second best part. It also made much more prey safe to hunt when fewer things could crush one''s body segments. A strong, mutated exoskeleton could even let Hunter use the trick Strong One did to get much biomass, some that had been prey and some that had been kin. It was a very good way if one could be sure of not becoming biomass oneself. Spend Biomass. Upgrade Exoskeleton to +3. [Do you want to improve your exoskeleton to +3?] Yes. Hunter again knew pleasure as all over their body their exoskeleton hardened and strengthened as the upgrade did its work. It was over too quickly. They took a moment to move all of their legs in a happy way and then drink some water full of fire that was mana. The next thinking was on how to spend their precious skill point. Hunter knew they could upgrade the Sting skill, which was a very good skill, but also had worked very very hard on Mana Manipulation. They hoped so, so much that there would be a skill that would make all they had sacrificed, in time and work and hard thinking and condensing a monster core instead of evolving into a stronger centipede right away, finally useful. When they checked skills available for purchase they knew surprise though. There were not just two upgrades that would be good ways to use their skill point. There were whole new skills available that seemed very good. These were the choices: [Sting -> Deadly Sting, this advanced skill improves Sting''s ability to target weak points, penetrate defenses, and to discharge venom more rapidly] [Mana Manipulation -> Mana Shaping, this advanced skill increases the ability to control mana into specific shapes and forms required for casting spells] [Forceful Mana, increases the ability to release significant amounts of mana in a shorter span, with greater impact] [External Mana Manipulation, grants the capacity to control and manipulate mana outside of the users'' body] [Mana Sensing, gives the ability to sense bodies of concentrated mana using the monster core] There were other new skills available to buy also, but they did not upgrade Sting or make one''s core useful and so were less good. It was very hard though. Which of the good skills should they choose? Chapter 11: Tunnel Hunter decided to make the thinking easier by eliminating the least good of the good choices first. This was not too hard. They already had three body parts for sensing, and thus did not need Mana Sensing right now. The only good use for Mana Manipulation was to make it easier to put mana into their stinger in good ways, but their stinger was inside of them. They could not see how manipulating mana that was outside of them would help anything. Those two were easy choices, but narrowing down the remaining three was not so easy. Deadly Sting was good in an obvious way. Forceful Mana might be good because force was a thing similar to might, and Hunter wanted to be strong in all the ways they could be. If they could make their mana mighty, then maybe it would do something good when they let it out of their mouth instead of just puff away into air. Mana Shaping might let them make mana into spells. They did not know what spells were, but instinct said they would be useful. It was not clear though if Mana Shaping could do this by itself, or if it would need other skills that Hunter could not get yet as well. Hunter thought some more. There was one skill that was quite good, and two that might be quite good. If they purchased the skill they knew to be good, then that could help them to hunt more prey and get more levels to purchase the skills that might be good. If that was so, though, then maybe they made a mistake by buying Mana Manipulation the last time they spent a skill point. It was fine. Probably Mana Manipulation would help in some way that was good later. Spend Skill Point. Purchase Deadly Sting. [Would you like to upgrade the skill Sting to Deadly Sting?] Yes. Hunter had known how to sting well from the moment they spawned. As they hunted and stung many things, they had grown more skilled at it. But when the skill upgrade put more knowledge into their mind, suddenly they understood better ways to sting. It was odd. They had not thought that there was much more to learn on how to sting. It was a good and happy thing that they were wrong about that. Hunter wanted to learn everything that could be learned on good ways to sting. Now though, it was time to explore. They had spent far too long sitting by water and moving mana that was inside of them. It all felt a little foolish now. They knew much of the above, but much remained unknown. Where were the edges of the above? Was it like a giant version of home, with a space inside and tunnels leading out to a wider world? Was there a bigger above on top of this above? Hunter followed the shore as it curved. There were many monsters resting and drinking, but none were of great interest. After much walking, Hunter saw in the distance a thing that might be a wall of the above. This, unlike the monsters, was interesting. They went toward it. It was further away than they had thought at first, and larger. When they got close they could see the wall, and that it was very high and made of stone. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Hunter followed the wall for a long time. Then they came to a large hole. It was a tunnel that instinct said was more safe than not safe. That probably meant it went up and not down. Down was bad and unsafe according to instinct. They were very slow and careful and stealthy as they moved into the tunnel. It twisted and turned in a way that moved up, then down, then up, but added together to be more up than down. It was not like the tunnels of home, which were small and cozy and sized for centipedes and felt safe. This one was large in many places. Hunter felt a need to hide, always. It was a fun tunnel though, because it was new, and would take them to places they had not been before. They walked on the walls and walked on the ceiling and then again on the ground as they went. There was a Big Head Cricket that did not know it was safer to move with others of its kin. Hunter killed and ate it. Deadly Sting worked quite well, but it was hard to know how much better it was because one cricket was easy to kill with normal sting also. [You have gained XP] [You have gained one Biomass] They continued on their way through the tunnel. After some time, a thing happened to the tunnel, and the thing was that it opened into a larger space with much water in it. Hunter could feel the change in how much water the air held with their Tomosvary organs long before they got to the large space. They could either explore this new place by walking on the ground or by climbing the wall and walking on the ceiling. The ceiling way seemed sneaky and clever, but they could not run well if they did that because of the need to grab hold with each step so they did not fall. So was it better to sneak better, or to be able to run away fast if something scary did find them? The ground plan had two ways to not die and become biomass, and the ways were sneaking and running away. The ceiling plan had only one way to stay safe, so it was not as good. They went on the ground, but were very careful to hide in the best ways they knew how. Survival Instinct said this place was a bit dangerous, but not how it was. Their antennae and Tomosvary organs spoke, in vibrations and smells, of monsters of different types. Hunter knew some of them already. One smell was of the monsters who wore fur, had four long legs that looked good for running, tails that looked strong and a mouth that seemed very good for biting. There were monitors somewhere too. The air did not taste of Big Head Crickets, which was a pity because crickets were the easiest prey to hunt because they were very dumb. Clever crickets could be dangerous, but Hunter had never seen any of those, and did not think they were real. Some of the monster smells were new though, and this was a reason to be careful. The place with water was big, though not as big as the above that was now below. It was a bit confusing how the above was below; Hunter''s thinking words did not work right for this situation. In any case, the far side was not close enough to see. There was a pool of water that was not big like the big water in the above, but it also was not small. Probably that water had mana in it too. Bits of water dropped down into it from the ceiling and made splash sounds, though where that water came from Hunter had no idea. All through the tunnel and the place with water, on the floor and walls and ceiling, there were lines that glowed with soft blue light. It was the same color of light that lit the above. Maybe the above had a ceiling with lines that glowed. This was not the above, but it was a place near water, and Hunter knew good ways to learn about those. The first thing was to go to the water, where it was safe, and look and smell and taste and listen and sense vibrations. This is what they did. There were three of the monsters with four legs and fur, five emerald monitors, and two monsters of a new type by the water. The new monsters, who were probably prey, looked like monitors that got squished into a fatter shape. They had four legs, a body, a head with a mouth for biting, and a tail, just like monitors did, but all the parts were shorter and fatter. There were spikes on their back that looked like they might be able to poke through exoskeleton. Hunter stayed still and sensed for a time that was not long or short. Some new monsters came to the water and some that had been there already left to go to other places. None were of new types, which was odd because there was a scent in the air that seemed like monster but did not belong to any of the kinds near the water. It was faint though, so maybe it was of a monster that was far away, or very small. There did not seem to be more things to learn sitting next to water, so the next part was to find a place on the way to water to hide and hunt and maybe learn. There was a scent of a monster they could not find, and also an instinct that there was a kind of danger. Hunter wished these things did not go together. They would need to be very careful. It was important to hunt and to learn, but more important to not be like a dumb cricket who became biomass. Chapter 12: Pierce Hunter knew unease. They had left the water to hunt on the path that lead there, and the feeling of danger had grown. There had been times before that Survival Instinct spoke of danger, but in all of those it had been easy to know what the danger was. Here, Hunter knew only that there was a monster they could not find, and danger. The missing monster seemed like it should be the danger, but maybe danger was some different thing, and the missing monster was not important and distracting. There might be many different kinds of danger in the world, and maybe against some it would not work to hide. But Hunter thought danger was usually a kind of monster, and one could hide from those. Hunter hid. [Survival Instinct has reached level 5, upgrade available] That was good and not good. That skill seemed to reach new levels when Hunter came very close to becoming biomass. They were in a good place on the path near water, and stayed very still and very quiet. This was a good way to hunt, but this time Hunter was not hunting. They waited, sensed, and thought. At first it was very easy to focus on these things because it turned out that unknown danger made one''s mind clear. But after a time that was a little long, nothing happened. Hunter still hid, but their mind drifted. The thing that was best to drift one''s mind to was generally one''s status. Even if there was no biomass or skill point to spend, drifting thoughts now sometimes made the later thinking, when there were biomass and skill points, easier. Status [Name: Hunter] [Level: 2 (core)] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35] [MP: 12/12] [Skills: Pincer Snap level 4, Grip level 3, Deadly Sting level 1 (II), Sprint level 3, Survival Instinct level 5 (upgrade available), Advanced Stealth level 3 (II), Dodge level 3, Mana Manipulation level 5 (upgrade available)] [Mutations: Infused Stinger +5, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +3, Claws +2, Antennae +1, Eyes +2, Legs +2] [Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)] [Biomass: 1] Hunter wished they had upgraded their antennae and not their exoskeleton. They did not like danger that hid, and wanted better organs for sensing to find that kind of danger. If they could find the danger then they could think whether it was better to sting it, hide from it, or run from it. It was fine though. A good exoskeleton would help against many kinds of danger. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. After a time that was long but not long enough to grow very hungry, the three monsters who had four long legs good for running and bodies covered in gray fur left water and walked together down the path. Hunter was not sure that one of them would be safe to hunt and quite sure that three were not safe at all to hunt. As they got close to Hunter''s place to hide, it seemed maybe a thing bothered them. They made quiet barking noises to each other, and moved the wet black sensing organs at the end of their snouts around in the air. Hunter hoped they would not sense them. The three monsters walked past. As they did, one looked right at the place Hunter hid, then turned to the other two and barked. Hunter knew fear, but the three continued on their way. There were things in the place of water, on the ground and on the ceiling, that looked like the tip of a stinger but were very large and made of stone. As the three monsters walked, four of the stone stingers let go of the ceiling and fell at the three. When they hit, they stabbed into the bodies of those monsters, who howled, then tried to run, then became biomass. This was curious. Hunter had never before known of rock stingers that could hunt dangerous monsters. Their eyes were not good enough to see clearly what had happened so far away, and they were very curious to learn more about these stone stingers. It seemed like if there were any between Hunter and the four who killed the monsters that those would have dropped down first, so it was probably safe to go a bit closer. Stone stingers could fall fast, but it did not seem like they would be able to move well on the ground, because they had no legs and were made of stone. It was still good to be careful though. Hunter moved with stealth until they were close enough to see the stone stingers clearly with their eyes. The stingers were maybe not stone at all, or else they had monsters that lived inside of them. The stingers or the monsters inside them owned the monster smell that Hunter could not identify before. A slimy monster oozed out of the wide top end of each big stone stinger, or else they were parts of monsters who pretended to be made of stone. Or maybe monsters could be partly made of stone? It was odd. They were odd. The slimy monsters or parts of monsters tipped the stone stingers over and began to eat the biomass that had been the three monsters of a different kind. Hunter now faced a momentous question. Were the stone stinger monsters safe to hunt? Those had to be, right? They had no legs or claws or tails or teeth and did not look like they could move in any fast way on the ground. They could fall fast to sting prey that did not know of them, but had already done that and were on the ground now. Stone was a type of thing that was very hard, and difficult to bite or claw or sting through. Probably the stone stinger monsters thought they would be safe because nothing could hurt them while they hid in stone. Hunter though was very skilled at stinging, and had a very good stinger along with a core full of mana to put into it. They also have a venom gland that was full, and they had used much mana when they made that venom. It would be very good venom. They sprinted over to the stone stinger monsters. More quickly than Hunter would have guessed they could, the soft slimy parts of all four drew back into stone shells. Probably those had some way to sting from the opening at the bottom of the stone stingers. They pulled into their defensive shells in a fast way, so if they could sting it might be in a fast way too. Stone was hard, and monsters who were not clever would try to get to the soft slimy part of those monsters through the opening in the bottom and get stung in their face parts. The four legged monsters had become biomass quite quickly, so the stone stingers had good venom. The stone stingers might not have a second part for stinging in the opening where their soft parts moved in and out of their shells, but it seemed like they should. For all of these reasons Hunter decided to treat the openings at the tip of the stone stingers and at their base as very dangerous, and instead infused their stinger with mana and stung right into the side of the stone shell of the nearest one. The shells were not even, but had ridges that coiled up in a pattern. Deadly Sting said the rings that were between the ridges were a better place to sting. They had never stung stone before, because they had never found stone with a soft bodied monster inside it until now. It was not a certain thing whether even a mana infused stinger could punch through a shell of stone. One''s stinger might even get hurt. Hunter was then quite happy to find that the sting could and did go through the shell, and without damage to their very good and important stinger. The shells were maybe not of stone after all, but of some kind of thing that was very much like stone, and were tough and very hard but not thick. The inside of the stone stinger was squishy flesh, and Hunter pumped venom into it. Then they went and did the same to each of the other three shelled stinging monsters. [Deadly Sting has reached level 2] [Deadly Sting has reached level 3] Hunter was now empty of mana and venom, and so it was time to wait and watch and see how well their venom worked. It took time, but the venom worked well. [You have defeated level 3 Conus Interfodio] [You have gained XP] [You have defeated level 2 Conus Interfodio] [You have gained XP] [You have attained level 3. One skill point awarded.] [You have defeated level 4 Conus Interfodio] [You have gained XP] [You have defeated level 3 Conus Interfodio] [You have achieved level 4. One skill point awarded.] There were new skill points to spend, and much biomass to eat, but first Hunter moved their body and all thirty of their legs in a very happy way. They couldn''t help it. Chapter 13: Grow Hunter very much wanted to rush over and gorge on biomass, but had two new skill points, and Survival Instinct had just reached level 5. Survival Instinct was the best and most important skill, because nothing was so important as survival. So before they began to eat, they did one thing first. Spend Skill Point. Upgrade Survival Instinct. [Would you like to upgrade Survival Instinct to Advanced Survival Instinct?] Yes. Knowledge flowed into their mind in a pleasant trickle. The feeling from getting a new skill was different that the feeling from upgrading a body part, and felt less good, but still good. Advanced Survival Instinct suggested they run over and eat biomass. They were going to do that anyway. They did. [You have consumed a new source of biomass: Lupus Draco Cub. You are awarded one Biomass] [Basic Profile of Lupus Draco Cub unlocked] [Lupus Draco Cub: Wolf Dragon Cub. The young form of the fearsome Wolf Dragon, they have a high resistance to flame] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] Hunter ate the biomass that had been Wolf Dragon Cubs first, because it was not inside of a hard shell. They did not know what wolfs or dragons were, but probably the adults could use fire to hurt. The cubs could not though, and since Hunter did not use fire to fight it did not matter that those could resist flame. Their stomach was already pretty full, but there was all of the biomass that had been stone stingers left to eat. It was a bit hard, but they were able to get a grip on the slimy soft part with their claws and drag it out of the shell. [You have consumed a new source of biomass: Conus Interfodio. One Biomass awarded] [Basic profile of Conus Interfodio unlocked] [Conus Interfodio: Piercer Cone Snail. An ambush predator with two lethal stingers that uses magic to improve their camouflage abilities] [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] Hunter only had time to eat the biomass that had been Wolf Dragon Cub and a quarter of the biomass that had been Piercer Cone Snail when a problem came. The problem was a Juvenile Emerald Monitor. Hunter had regained a little mana and a little venom, but both their core and venom gland were still more empty than full. Monitors were dangerous to fight, but Hunter thought they probably could because they had used so much biomass to upgrade their body parts. Should they run away, or stay and defend the biomass they hunted? Advanced Survival Instinct gave no answer that was clear. Hunter decided to fight. They decided this was a fight, and that a fight was different from a hunt, and so was still within Noble''s commands that they only hunt safe prey. They had to push with their Will to think that thought though. The monitor tasted the air with a forked tongue, looked at Hunter, and ran fast at them. Hunter waited until it came near and tried to bite, then used Strong One''s favorite trick and Dodged to the side before grabbing hold of the underside of the monitor''s throat with both claws. [Dodge has reached level 4] The monitor tried to hit them with its tail, but Hunter could dodge a little while still keeping hold of prey''s throat. The tail hit them, but the angle was bad and Hunter''s +3 upgraded exoskeleton did not even crack. They infused their stinger with mana and stung. Hunter had only enough mana and only enough venom to sting one time, and had not been able to make that venom good by putting extra mana into their venom gland when they produced it. Still, they were very good at stinging, and had a very good stinger. It should be fine. They grabbed hold of the underside of prey with all of their legs. Prey tried very hard to bite, or strike with its tail. It could not. Hunter''s claws and legs made sure it could not move well, and venom was slowly turning it to biomass. [Grip has reached level 4] [You have defeated level 2 Juvenile Emerald Monitor] [You have gained XP]Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The fight was easier than they thought it would be. They still remembered how hard and scary their first hunt had been, with many kin against a monitor that only had three legs that worked. But they had much more practice hunting and fighting now, and much better body parts and skills. Maybe now it was not so dangerous to fight one monitor. They still would not want to fight two. They would have to run away if two came together. Hunter left the new biomass for last, because biomass that had been Piercer Cone Snail was absolutely delicious. [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] The second shell had a monster core within the biomass. Hunter absorbed it. They checked their status and found that they had a maximum MP of 14 now instead of 12. They ran in an excited way back to the first shell and searched inside it. There was a core in that shell too! Hunter absorbed that core, then continued to the third and fourth snail shells. They gained four more biomass and two more cores from the other two shells. All four of the Piercer Cone Snails had cores before they became biomass, and now all of those cores reinforced Hunter''s. There was so much biomass to eat that they even had to take a break to let their stomach work before they could finish it. Another Juvenile Emerald Monitor interrupted Hunter as they ate, but it was fine because it was alone. Hunter killed it and continued to eat. It was a much easier thing to fight a type of monster one had fought before. Monsters of the same type did not seem to have different ideas on the best way to fight, so it was easy to know what they would do. If one knew what a monster would do, and it was not too strong, it was easy to kill it. Hunter finished the biomass that had been snail and then the biomass that had been monitor. All together, they gained 15 biomass, 2 levels that each gave a skill point, four monster cores that raised their maximum MP to 20, and new levels in important skills. It was the new best hunt of all hunts in all of time. Hunter felt indescribably happy. There were many decisions to make and much thinking to be done, however. It was best to be in a safe place while thinking hard thoughts, which distracted from danger a little. It was even more important to be safe when upgrading body parts. They went back to the mana water in the cave. There could be more Piercer Cone Snails hiding on the ceiling, so even though Hunter was very excited and wanted to rush, instead they went carefully and stealthily. Nothing interesting happened on the way, and probably they would have been safe if they''d ran instead. It was fine. They got to the water anyway. Also, they could not know it would be safe to run when they decided to be careful. Hunter''s mind raced with too much to think about. They had 16 biomass (they''d had one even before the greatest hunt of all hunts) to spend, and also a skill point. That was enough to upgrade their exoskeleton to +5 and another part from +2 to +4. Before they decided what part to upgrade next they would need to choose a mutation for their exoskeleton. That felt like it would be a very important choice to get right. There were other thoughts though, and those ran through their mind like centipedes with hundreds of legs. Some of the thoughts were on the types of monsters that Hunter had found who had cores in them. Each of those had a very good trick to kill prey safely. Each did not go and look for prey, but picked a good spot where prey would come to them, and waited there, hiding. All used venom. All were easy prey to kill if one knew what their trick was and waited until they did not hide. Overall, it was a safe way to be a monster so long as no other monster that was cunning like Hunter came to hunt. It was also a way that also would give much time to practice mana skills while one waited for prey to come. A Claw Centipede like Hunter did not have good tricks that were part of their body, but if one was cunning then probably one could think up good tricks instead. Other thoughts were on Claw Centipedes. Since that was what Hunter was, this was an important thing to think about. Centipedes were smaller than most other monsters, and one that was alone seemed to be weaker than one of any other type of monster that was alone. Upgrades could change that, but monsters of other types could upgrade their body parts too. Centipedes were faster than most monsters because they had many good legs, and had good organs for sensing. Groups of centipedes were good at hunting, but bad at keeping individuals in the group from dying. Hunter thought probably centipedes spawned more quickly than other monsters, but did not know for sure if that was true. Some monsters were a little stronger than centipedes, but some were much much stronger than centipedes. Upgrades to body parts and increases to skill levels could make a centipede stronger than the monsters that started only a little stronger, but Hunter did not see how they could make a centipede better than monsters that were very, very strong. Perhaps skills that used mana would be a way, but if that was so it would be very slow. Hunter added all of these thoughts together and tried to grab hold and stop them from running. They were one Claw Centipede. One Claw Centipede was weak, but they had many upgrades and were very skilled so they were a little strong. They could hunt and fight other monsters who spawned weak. There were other monsters though that were much too dangerous to fight, and they would have to run or hide from those. The most likely way Hunter would become biomass was if a monster they could not fight who also had good senses and could run fast found them. There were three ways that might be good then. They could try to learn ways to use mana that would let them fight even the strong types of monster. They could get better at running fast. They could get better at hiding. Of these, the hiding way seemed best. The mana way might not work at all, and even if it did work it would take too long of a time. The running way was pretty good, but not so good as hiding. Hiding helped to avoid dangerous monsters, hunt prey, and learn new things. Things learned were a kind of power one could gain, like biomass, skill points or monster cores. Even if those did not show up in status, they still were good and important. The thinking was done. Spend Biomass. Improve Exoskeleton to +5. [Do you want to improve your Exoskeleton to +5? This will cost 9 Biomass] Yes. [At this level you may choose a mutation advancement, select from the menu] There were many, many ways to upgrade their exoskeleton. Venomous Exoskeleton would cover their body in tiny stingers. Aerodynamic Exoskeleton would let them move faster, and would have been the best choice if they had decided on the running way. Spiked Exoskeleton would cover their body in piercing spines. Flexible Exoskeleton would help their body twist and turn, and would be stronger against blunt blows. Diamond Exoskeleton looked very good, and would be strong against attacks of all kinds except mana or poison. Magic Resistant Exoskeleton was not the one, because very few monsters Hunter had found used mana. There were many more, but Hunter looked until they found a choice that would help them hide. [Adaptive Camouflage Exoskeleton, changes color and pattern to match surroundings and suppresses your scent] This was the way. Hunter was pleased. Choose Adaptive Camouflage Exoskeleton. [Do you wish to confirm Adaptive Camouflage Exoskeleton?] Yes. It was the best feeling Hunter had ever felt. Their entire exoskeleton, covering every bit of their body, lit up with power and changed. They wanted very much to spend every bit of biomass they found in the future to improve their exoskeleton until it could mutate again. That was, sadly, not the right way. Instead they would improve legs next. It was best to hide from dangerous monsters, but it was second best to run. It would be good to be able to run faster. Spend Biomass. Improve legs to +4. [Do you want to improve your legs to +4? This will cost 7 Biomass] Yes. That upgrade felt good too, but not nearly as good as the exoskeleton mutation. When it was done, Hunter had one decision left. How should they spend their skill point? Chapter 14: The Thinking Way Hunter had an important skill point to spend. It was a special skill point because it was the last they would earn before they reached level 5, and could evolve into a better kind of Claw Centipede. They thought maybe the skills one had could effect what evolutions one could choose from. It was true that the hiding way was best for now, but it would be even more good if they could somehow fight strong monsters after they evolved. The only way this seemed possible was to use mana in a very strong way, because powerful monsters started out with bodies that were so much better than centipede bodies that fighting with stinger and claws could never be good. The mana way seemed like a thing that might be, but was much more likely not to be. There were some skills that would be a little good, such as Tail Strike and Piercing Snap. The problem was that Hunter could not see how those would help against very strong monsters. They already had sting and claw snap skills with many levels in them, and in any fight that was a little bit dangerous it would be bad to use a skill with a lower level instead. So they would have to use new skills for their claws or stinger only in easy fights until those got many skill levels also. Only there was a problem. If they just used the skills they already had instead, then those would get better and be more useful in hard fights. Hunter thought more. Their mind went on a long, long walk. One of the places it walked to was back to each monster they''d hunted who had core. Why did those condense cores when no other monsters Hunter found did? Hunter thought on this for a time until they found an answer. Monsters who condensed cores had very safe ways to hunt and grow stronger already, and so they did not need to evolve right away. If instead one was a Juvenile Emerald Monitor or Big Head Cricket or Claw Centipede Hatchling, then each hunt was dangerous. There wasn''t any prey that was all safe to kill. So it was a big risk to condense a core instead of evolve into a bigger and more mighty kind of monster who could hunt more things safely. Hunter had decided to condense a core partly because instinct said it would be a strong thing with some time to grow, and partly because they thought they could find safe ways to level five more times without evolving first, because they were clever. Hunter had been right. Their level was back up to four, only now they were a Claw Centipede Hatchling with a monster core instead of just a normal hatchling. This was even the second thing listed in their Status, and so had to be important and good. Status [Name: Hunter] [Level: 4 (core)] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35/35] [MP: 20/20] [Skills: Pincer Snap level 4, Grip level 4, Deadly Sting level 3 (II), Sprint level 3, Advanced Survival Instinct level 1 (II), Advanced Stealth level 3 (II), Dodge level 4, Mana Manipulation level 5 (upgrade available)] [Mutations: Infused Stinger +5, Tomosvary organs +2, Adaptive Camouflage Exoskeleton +5, Claws +2, Antennae +1, Eyes +2, Legs +4] [Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)] [Skill Points: 1] It was bad their antennae were still only +1. Those were a very good part, but each time they had biomass to spend other parts had reasons to be more important. The next two biomass they got would improve antennae to +2. It was fine.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. They returned to thoughts of monsters with cores and monsters without. If their thinking was right, then most of the big and powerful monsters with strong bodies did not have cores. Those were much larger than Hunter, and had much more might and toughness, but a core was a thing Hunter had that those did not. Monsters like Hunter who condensed cores had ways to get stronger that were very safe, and did not try to fight strong monsters unless they had a good trick. Hunter thought about thinking. There was a problem with their thinking, and it was that it should not really be hard. Mana Shaping was a skill they could purchase that would let them get stronger without danger. They could practice it and not fight, which was not true of skills like Dodge and Deadly Sting. It was not clear in what way being able to shape mana would help them, but safe ways to grow stronger were just better than ways that were even a little dangerous. Forceful Mana was the other skill it was good to think about, but Advanced Survival Instinct said that one would not be so safe to practice until one reached a high level in Mana Shaping. The good choice was easy. They should purchase Mana Shaping. Because they wanted very, very much for some other way to be good instead, their mind had made the thinking hard. It had been both very boring and very difficult to get Mana Manipulation to level 5. Mana Shaping would probably be even more boring and more difficult. They did not want to do it. Hunter was a thinking centipede. They would always choose the thinking way, even if it was not fun or interesting at all, even if it made them a little sad. Being biomass would be worse than being sad. Spend Skill Point. Upgrade Mana Manipulation to Mana Shaping. [Would you like to upgrade Mana Manipulation to Mana Shaping?] Yes. Hunter''s mind filled with complex patterns. To practice Mana Shaping they had to move mana from their core and shape it into those patterns. It looked very, very hard. They were not sure they could do it at all. It was fine. They had time. Their stomach was very, very full and would not grow hungry for a time that was long. They would practice and practice and practice, even if it was very, very hard and very, very boring. It was a safe way to grow stronger. Safe ways were the best ways. The big water in the above that was now below them would be a better place to practice. It was safe next to water in the cave, but in the time it would take to practice Mana Shaping, more piercers could come and drop down to kill Hunter when they left the water. This would not do. Thinking more on Piercer Cone Snails, Hunter decided to walk on the ceiling of the tunnels as they traveled back. That way none of those could drop down and kill them. They moved in a safe and careful way away from the water and across the cave floor. Hunter did not know how piercers sensed, but thought it was probably not with eyes, which meant their Adaptive Camouflage Exoskeleton would not help too much. They wished a little that they had upgraded their antennae instead of their legs. Now they knew what scent piercer was, so it would be good to be able to taste them in air from further away. When they got to the cave wall, they saw that another monster had thought to walk on walls instead of the floor also. It was one of the kind that looked like a heavy, squashed down monitor with spikes on its body. That kind had hides that looked thick and tough, but that would not be a problem because Hunter was the best at stinging. Hunter had a full belly, but had not eaten of that kind before, and was curious. It did not look fast, and instinct said it would be pretty safe to hunt if Hunter avoided the spines. So they dashed up the side of the rock wall to attack. [Sprint has reached level 4] Prey turned around slowly. It was not as good at moving on a wall as Hunter was. When it opened its mouth though it looked like it had two long teeth that were also stingers. Hunter knew envy. That was a good trick to keep small stingers in one''s mouth. It was fine. They just could not let it bite them. Prey was slow, and Hunter was careful. They tested how quickly it could dash and bite, and how it moved to make it hard to claw or sting without getting hurt by the spines on its body. It could not catch them, so Hunter had time. Finally it moved in a bad way that let Hunter sting safely. Hunter''s venom gland was full, and they had spent much mana to make that venom good. Their core was full of mana again, so they had much to put into their stinger. It was a very strong sting. [You have defeated Level 1 Spineta Lacertos] [You have gained XP] The biomass that had been prey fell off of the wall and onto the cave floor. Hunter ran down to eat it. [You have consumed a new source of biomass: Spineta Lacertos, you are awarded one Biomass] [Basic profile of the Spineta Lacertos unlocked] [Spineta Lacertos: Thorn Lizard, spines are sharp and contain mutated venom.] [You have gained one Biomass] Hunter knew respect. That prey had only been level one, but was clever enough to have stingers all over its body and in its mouth. This was a very good trick. Hunter now had two biomass to upgrade Antennae, which was good. To do so in a safe place they had to go back to the water in the cave, which was a little bit bad, but it was fine. Nothing happened on the way back to water. Spend Biomass. Upgrade Antennae to +2. [Do you want to upgrade your Antennae to +2?] Yes. Antennae were a good but small part, and the feeling when they upgraded was very good but was also a little small. Still, Hunter was happy. Now all of their parts were improved to at least +2. Because their part for scenting piercers was better now, Hunter moved in a still careful but faster way back to the place where the tunnel opened into the cave. They climbed the tunnel walls and walked on the ceiling. It felt weird at first to walk on a ceiling instead of on ground, but it was a little fun too. Soon it was not weird but was still fun. They found one monster on the way back down to the above. It was a monitor. [You have defeated level 1 Juvenile Emerald Monitor] [You have gained XP] [You have gained one Biomass] Hunter had planned to just go back to the big water in a stealthy way, but if biomass walked all alone right to them, there was no reason not to kill and eat. Chapter 15: Investigation Hunter walked on the ceiling of a tunnel and thought of home. They had been gone a long time, and wanted badly to go home. There was a problem though, and it was that they did not know the reason they wanted to go back. Home was a place where another controlled them, made decisions for them, and that was very bad. It was dangerous. But it was home, and felt safe, even when Hunter knew that it was not. Why did home feel safe? Why did they want to return? There was no thinking reason that explained it. It was instinct, but not Survival Instinct. Probably all kin felt that way, even those who were not clever as Hunter was. Probably all kin knew always where home was the same as Hunter did, could feel in what direction was the swirl of mana that spawned them. Probably kin all wanted to go home too. Hunter could think, and had Will. They chose a different way, and it was the way they had already decided upon. They would go to the big water where it was safe. There they would practice Mana Shaping until they grew hungry and had to hunt and eat. They would do those things. Then they would go back to the water and practice Mana Shaping more. [Advanced Survival Instinct (II) has reached level 2] That was interesting. Maybe home was even less safe than they had thought. The trip back to big water was long, but nothing that mattered happened on the way. They saw monsters of kinds they had seen before. Maybe they could have hunted a few of those safely, but they were back to level 4, and would evolve when they reached level 5 again. They did not want that to happen until they had practiced Mana Shaping as much as they could. It still seemed right that better evolutions would be available to a centipede who had many levels in such a difficult skill that was so hard to get. Their Tomosvary organs found the big water first, then their eyes and finally their antennae. Nothing changed since they had been there last. There were still monsters of different kinds who rested by the water, and a few who rested in it, but none were of new kinds. It was time to practice. When Hunter purchased the Mana Shaping skill, their mind had filled with complex patterns and knowledge of what to do with them. They had to make those patterns in their mind, hold them in place, then move mana out of their core and through the patterns until the patterns were made of mana and not of thought. There were many patterns to learn, and none looked easy. Hunter chose the one that seemed the smallest amount hard. It reminded them of the body of a huge, long centipede that someone had twisted in the middle and then pulled into a circle where the mouth bit the tail and made a loop. There were smaller patterns on both sides of the long centipede, only there was not really a top and a bottom because if one followed the top far enough it would reach the twist and become the bottom. It was a hard shape to understand. It was hard to build out of thoughts and hard to hold in one''s mind once built. Hunter tried very, very hard to make the pattern. They tried very, very hard for a very long time until their mind ached. Just when it felt like their mind would break if they did not enter torpor to rest, after they failed many, many times, the pattern snapped into place. Hunter knew elation. When they tried to hold it and draw mana out and into the shape though, it shattered into a great many pieces. It was terrible. They had worked so, so hard. It was terrible, but it was fine. Hunter was safe, had time, and would try again. They drank mana water and entered torpor. When Hunter woke, their mind felt better and their MP was full. It was time to try again. They tried. They failed. They rested. They tried, failed, rested. Tried, failed, rested. Tried, failed, rested. Tried, failed, tried, failed, rested. Tried. [Mana Shaping has reached level 2] That time it almost worked. Hunter formed the strange pattern out of thoughts, and moved mana into the shape of it until the pattern was almost made of out of mana. They still failed in the end, and the shape broke into pieces, but apparently they got close enough to increase the Mana Shaping skill. It was progress.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. This was good, because mana shaping was harder than anything Hunter had ever done. It was harder than they thought anything could be to do, unless that thing was not possible at all. They had still failed, but gained a skill level anyway. So even if making those patterns out of mana was not possible yet, they could still gain power that was new skill levels in Mana Shaping. That should make it easier to shape mana, which would help them gain more skill levels, until finally they would succeed instead of fail. Hunter kept at this for a long, long, long time. They built the twisted ring out of thoughts. They drew in the patterns that covered it. The pulled mana out of their core and gently tugged it into the right shape. They got closer and closer, but each time it still shattered. It was fine. There was progress. [Mana Shaping has reached level 3] This level of the Mana Shaping skill helped. It was now very hard, rather than very very hard and maybe not possible. Hunter thought they might be able to make the whole pattern out of mana. It would not be soon, and most times they would fail, but it could be. [Mana Shaping has reached level 4] They succeeded. The whole thing, made of mana now and not just thoughts, swirled inside of them. They had to let it go. Soon. If they did not release the mana construct or let it fall apart and flow back into their core, it would hurt them. It was not possible to launch it near monsters when next to water. No monster could harm another by mana water. Hunter knew of no monsters far out into the water though. There were only some who liked to stay in the shallow part near land. Hunter aimed for a point in the distant blue and let go. A bolt made of mana shot out and made a very large splash when it hit water. Monsters near Hunter looked on with alarm, but soon calmed down. By water was a place that was safe, always. Only, now rabbits who had been near Hunter moved a little further away. It was safe, and they would know that, but perhaps now they also felt unease near Hunter. Hunter was pleased. It was good to be scary. ----------------------------------- The pups should have returned by now. It was the first unsupervised hunt for the three of them, but they''d been well cared for. The pack had trained them, fed them plenty of biomass and XP. They were ready. There should not have been anything that could seriously threaten the pups in the tunnel or the cave where they would drink mana rich water and condense their cores. It should have been safe this near the surface, where mana concentrations thinned and monsters spawned weak. They should have returned, proud and eager to grow. But the pups were still gone. The Alpha worried, and so the two Dragon-Wolves were dispatched to investigate. There were three scents in the entrance to the cave. A Juvenile Emerald Monitor had come or gone, and that scent was fresh. The other two scents were of hatchling Claw Centipede, possibly a single individual who had come and then gone. Curious, and thus suspicious. Centipedes did not commonly travel alone until they reached maturity. The larger of the two wolves sniffed carefully at the scent trail on the ground, then sniffed the air. The second trail was on the ceiling. Both scents were of similar strength. The smaller wolf waited. It had invested less biomass in its nose, more in its eyes. A clipped conversation of barks and chuffs later, the pair continued up the tunnel. The next thing of interest was the faint scent of cricket biomass. Again, it smelled like a single individual, which was once again odd. Clearly it had run into the monitor, or perhaps the centipede, and lost the battle. If the fight had been more recent, it may have been possible to pick out whether the centipede or the monitor had been the victor. A bit later the two smelled monitor biomass. This was also strange. Juvenile Emerald Monitors were not the most powerful monsters in the area, but they were far from the weakest. More importantly, they were smart, fast, and had sharp eyes. They weren''t a type that commonly picked fights they could not win. Both wolves glanced at each other, and began to move with greater care. They came quickly to the spot where the smell of biomass was strongest. One other scent was stronger there too. Centipede? Had a single hatchling managed to defeat a monitor? It was very strange. The rest of the way to the cave the only scent trails were of the unfortunate cricket and two of the centipede, one on the ceiling and one on the floor. The trail on the ceiling smelled very slightly different, and both were of similar strength, but both also smelled like a single individual. It was strange that one trail did not smell notably more recent than the other. Too much was strange, and pups were missing. As the cave mouth drew near, the larger wolf smelled Piercer Snail biomass, co-mingled with monitor biomass and, sadly, with pup biomass. The scents were faint of course, just echoes of the recent past left to hang in the air. The big wolf barked a quick warning to its sibling. There were mysteries to solve, and the Alpha would want answers - and if possible, vengeance. What were piercers doing so close to the surface? Such monsters belonged to tunnels much further down, close to where shadow beasts began to appear. Mana had grown thicker in the air of late. Could a spawn point somehow have formed this far up? That was the first mystery. The second was that the scent was not of Piercer Snail, but of Piercer Snail Biomass. Those were not easy monsters to kill. Even if the pups had come across them on the ground, after an ambush, piercers would have been too well protected for pups to fight. So not only were piercers in a cave they had no business haunting, something that could and did kill them had also made its way here. The wolves growled, low and rumbling. They stalked into the cave with eyes and noses focused above. Piercers could threaten even them if they were careless. The site of the battle was easy to find. It was a stew of scent, and it took time to pick the smells apart and reweave them into a scene. There were scents of piercers, piercer biomass, pups, pup biomass, monitors, monitor biomass, and centipede... but not centipede biomass. The battle was easy enough to reconstruct. Piercers killed the pups. The centipede killed the piercers. It must have had a powerfully mutated stinger to penetrate their hard shells - none of the other types of monsters they could sense would have had a chance. Monitors had come, drawn by the smell of biomass, and the centipede killed those too. An unusual specimen indeed. They searched the cave carefully for more piercers, or a piercer spawn point, but found none. Weaker monsters scattered and hid at their approach, but none were worth the time to hunt. So many evolutions below them, such weak game was almost useless for biomass or XP. The only thing left to investigate was the strangely capable centipede hatchling. The smaller of the two paused in thought and sat on its haunches. After a moment, it quietly barked a question. Sibling, one centipede scent trail was on the tunnel ceiling. Could it have learned of piercers here, then traveled back to the expanse on the ceiling to avoid an ambush by others of the kind? The big wolf considered, then answered. Let''s see if we can''t find this monster. The Alpha may find it of interest. Chapter 16: Practice A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Chapter 17: Battle An unwelcome command from the Noble filled Hunter''s mind. Run home. Defend home. Defend me. It was terrible. Hunter''s 30 legs began to move before there was even time to think. It would be better to go in a careful, stealthy way. It was not possible. The command made them run. All of Hunter''s cunning and all of their careful thinking had no use now. The command of another controlled them and made them rush to danger, even though Survival Instinct screamed and they wanted desperately not to go. Home was not far, but was not close either. Hunter would not ever have guessed the Noble could grab their mind from so far away. How did Noble even know they were by the water? Hunter decided that the command was probably sent to all kin who were not very far away from home. What danger would they need to fight? Probably it was a very strong monster, or very strong monsters. Hunter guessed such monsters would be huge, with at least two evolutions and many skills and body part mutations from eating much biomass. What could even very many claw centipedes do to fight such a thing? What could Hunter do? They thought as they ran. Hunter decided there were only two ways that might be good, but that until they learned what the threat was it would not help to think more. Very soon the smell of biomass that had been kin filled the air. Hunter ran a little further and saw that all the kin of home were fighting two giant monsters, and it was going very badly. Kin died and died and died. Dozens had already become biomass. One of the two ways Hunter thought might be good was not good at all - this was not a fight where it would help to run in and sting, even with a stinger full of mana. The giant monsters were of the kind that had brown fur streaked with green, huge bodies with four thick, strong legs, huge heads carried by thick, powerful necks, strong mouths with big teeth, and large, sharp claws on the big paws of their front legs. The invaders stood side by side, with the head of each by the back of the other, so that they could fight like one enormous monster with claws and teeth on both ends. They were very large. If one died and turned to a pile of biomass, it would probably take 15 to 20 dead kin to make a pile as big. Kin swarmed and bit and clawed and stung, but did not seem able to hurt the big monsters in a way that mattered. But almost every bite of the huge heads or swing of the powerful front legs killed another one of kin. Sometimes kin could dodge a blow, but usually kin just died. Strong One was still alive because they were very, very good at dodging. Strong One was also larger; it looked like they had evolved. Hunter wanted desperately to run away and hide. This was not a good fight. Those two monsters were not prey. Those were a way to die. Hunter did not want to die. But the Noble made them stay and fight. Hunter felt used and helpless and awful and very, very afraid. They could not do the thinking thing and run away, so they had no choice other than to fight and probably die. It was possible though to think about how to fight, and that was the only good thing left. It was easy thinking to see that it would not help Hunter, home or the Noble to run in to the fight, sting, and become biomass. That would waste all of the ways Hunter was special and strong. Instead, they grabbed hold of their mind and forced sprinting thoughts to slow with Will. They carefully built the twisted loop pattern of a mana bolt out of thoughts. Then, slowly, Hunter pulled mana from their core and poured it into the twisted loop. They had to be careful because it was very, very important not to waste time and mana by a mistake that shattered the pattern. With every moment that passed, more kin died. That would be fine, except that if all kin died Hunter would have none left to help fight the big monsters. Then Hunter would die too. They did a very good job making the pattern out of mana, and held the bolt in their core as they aimed. Dozens more kin died in the time it took to make the bolt, and now there were more kin who had turned to biomass than kin who were still alive and fighting. The best part of those monsters to hit with a mana bolt seemed to be the face, which held a mouth and several parts for sensing. Hunter let go of the mana bolt. The monster they aimed at reacted very fast and turned to roar at them. This was a very dumb idea. The mana bolt went into their mouth and hit them in their insides instead of on their outside, which seemed to be quite well protected with thick fur and probably tough hide or scales. Its insides did not seem to be as tough. The large and dumb monster rocked back on its legs and fell down to the ground. It tried to get up, and almost did. It killed another kin with a paw, then another with a bite, then fell back down. It tried one more time to stand, but it was not a very good try. Then it died and became biomass. [You have defeated level 4 Ursus Terra Tyrannos Dirus] [You have gained XP] [You have reached level 5, one skill point awarded] [You have reached the level cap, evolution menu available] Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. This was a good surprise. A mana bolt had killed a Juvenile Emerald Monitor in an easy way, but an Ursus Terra Tyrannos Dirus was much larger and tougher. Hunter thought that if the dumb dead monster had turned away from the bolt instead of trying to scare it with a roar that the dumb thing probably would not have been hurt much at all. The other one got very, very angry when its kin died, and began to fight in a more fierce and powerful way. Maybe it thought Strong One was the centipede that killed its kin, because the big monster that was still alive ignored all of the other centipedes trying to hurt it and chased after Strong One in a way that was quicker than Hunter thought a monster so large could move. Strong One was very, very good at dodging and almost did again. But almost was not good enough this time, and a paw crushed three of their body segments in a blow. Strong One twitched once before the Ursus'' other paw smashed its head. The big monster picked up the dead body that had been Strong One in its mouth and shook it back and forth in the air. Hunter was not sure why it did this. This did not help to fight the centipedes that were still alive. Perhaps it was a bit dumb like its kin who thought it could swallow a mana bolt. It was a bad thing that Strong One was biomass instead of alive and fighting, but it was fine. It took some time for the Ursus to get angry, chase after Strong One, kill Strong One, then shake the body that was dead and could not fight or claw or sting. Hunter used this time in a better way, even though all of this was of course very interesting. Spend Skill Point. Purchase Forceful Mana. [Would you like to purchase Forceful Mana?] Yes. Hunter had wanted this skill for a long time. Right now, when there was a giant angry monster slaughtering claw centipedes - and Hunter was a claw centipede - they needed it, which was a stronger thing than want. This one was moving too fast to aim well at it, and it probably wouldn''t try to eat a mana bolt. If the Ursus that was alive and the one that was dead had hunted and worked together to become huge and powerful, then the one who was alive must have done the thinking. The dead one was stupid, which was why it was dead. Hunter had to assume the alive one was at least a little bit smart, even if it used valuable time in a fight to shake a dead centipede instead of kill those that still lived. The point of all of these thoughts, and the reason why Hunter needed Forceful Mana, was that they only had enough mana left in their core for two more tries to make a bolt, and it was important that they make a bolt strong enough to hurt the angry Ursus even if it hit on its outside instead of its insides. Force was a thing like Might, and Hunter badly needed a mighty mana bolt. It was a good thing that the Ursus'' head, which held its parts for sensing, had pointed the wrong way to know Hunter killed its kin. If it knew that, Hunter would be dead now unless a thing they could not think of happened to save them. Strong One had been faster and better at dodging than Hunter, but when the Ursus got angry and decided to kill Strong One, Strong One died in a fast and helpless way. As soon as Hunter purchased the Forceful Mana skill they knew important new things. These things did not help to build the twisted loop of a mana bolt, but they did help to fill it with much more than the normal amount of mana. Hunter gradually pulled all of the mana out of their core and squeezed it into the pattern of a mighty mana bolt. In the meantime the Ursus killed many kin, which was still fine but becoming a problem because there weren''t all that many kin still alive. Hunter finished building the pattern out of only mana, and did a new thing they learned from the Forceful Mana skill. They squeezed down hard on the pattern with their mind and Will until it was smaller and very dense. It felt like their insides would blow apart if they tried to hold the mighty bolt inside of them any longer. So they didn''t. They shot it at the Ursus instead. [Forceful Mana has reached level 2] It hit the big monster in the side, interrupting it as it tried to bite another kin into two pieces. Its big body tumbled many body lengths across the ground, and it was very slow as it tried to get back up. The kin who were still alive did a good job of being claw centipedes, and ran over to sting and claw while the Ursus was hurt and confused. Hunter was also a good claw centipede, and so they sprinted over to sting the big monster, even though a core empty of mana made them feel tired in a bad way. Because they had no mana left they could not put some in their stinger, but they did have a venom gland full of excellent venom they had made when their core held plenty of mana. They also had a very good +5 stinger and a second tier skill for stinging in Deadly Sting. The hurt and angry Ursus did not know these things about Hunter. It probably thought Hunter was just another weak hatchling. Hunter hoped it was surprised when their stinger punched right through the tough hide covering its back side and quickly pumped a whole gland full of strong venom into it. The Ursus tried to turn around and smash Hunter with a paw, but it was hurt and full of venom, and had many other kin climbing on top of it clawing and stinging. It was easy to dodge. [Dodge has reached level 5. Advancement available] The big monster slowly died. Hunter was not the one to kill it. They were busy. [You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Ursus Terra Tyrannos Dirus. One Biomass awarded] [Basic profile unlocked: Ursus Terra Tyrannos Dirus] [Basic profile of Ursus Terra Tyrannos Dirus: Dire Earth Bear Tyrant. This monster is known for its extreme toughness and strength. Surprisingly fast, this beast is ferocious and easily aggravated. Known for its affinity to the earth and natural environs, this monster has powerful regenerative abilities. Compared to the more common Earth Bear Tyrant, the Dire variant is slightly larger, more cunning, and resistant to elemental magic] Hunter didn''t know what elemental magic was, but decided that it must not include their mana bolt. The bears didn''t resist that very well. The biomass was tasty and rich, but also not what they were looking for. [You have gained one Biomass] [You have gained one Biomass] [Compatible Special monster core detected. Would you like to reinforce your core or reconstitute a monster?] That was what Hunter looked for. Chapter 18: Spoils The core inside the pile of biomass that had been a Dire Earth Bear Tyrant was enormous. Hunter did not know how many of the core inside of them, squashed together, it would take to make a core a large as the one they''d just found. It was compatible though, and it had to be good to absorb a huge and special core. Advanced Survival Instinct said that reconstituting a monster would also be a good thing to do with it, but Hunter thought it was best to upgrade their own core before they tried a thing like that. Reinforce my core. [Your core has already reached maximum capacity for your level of evolution. Absorbing the special core will take you beyond this limit. Do you still wish to proceed?] This was an odd message. Why would Hunter not wish to proceed? Yes. The core was large and dark, almost black. It began to swirl, dissolve, and flow into Hunter''s body, and then into their core. There was a strange sensation of strings like the spider made to catch prey circling around and around Hunter''s core, and they pulled tight and squeezed it down until it was very dense. Mana began to flow faster and faster into their core. Hunter knew why maybe they might not have wanted to proceed. This hurt. The part of their body that held their core ached badly. The pain got worse as the flow of mana continued to speed up and the core inside them greedily drank it in. In what was either a long time or a short time that felt long, the huge core was gone. All of it had spun away and into Hunter. They hoped very much it would make them much stronger, because it felt worse than anything they had ever felt before. It would be bad and unfair if it did not do something very good to help them. Status. [Name: Hunter] [Level:5 (special core) (evolution menu available)] [Stats: Might 11 Toughness 14 Cunning 26 Will 15] [HP: 35/35] [MP: 1/25] [Skills: Pincer Snap level 4, Grip level 4, Deadly Sting level 3 (II), Sprint level 4, Advanced Survival Instinct level 2 (II), Advanced Stealth level 3 (II), Dodge level 5 (upgrade available), Mana Shaping level 7 (II), Forceful Mana level 2] [Mutations: Infused Stinger +5, Tomosvary organs +2, Adaptive Camouflage Exoskeleton +5, Claws +2, Antennae +2, Eyes +2, Legs +4] [Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra) [Biomass: 5] Hunter''s maximum MP had gone from 20 to 25. They supposed that was a good thing, but had hoped for a reward that was even more good than that. Hopefully the special core they absorbed with great pain would help them evolve in a stronger way. By the time Hunter was done absorbing the core and not dying, which they were pretty sure was a difficult and worthy accomplishment, kin had finished off the second and somewhat smarter Dire Earth Bear Tyrant. It was clear that special cores were powerful and useful things, and Hunter suspected they were also rare and hard to find. Very much biomass was spread all around the ground near home, but biomass was a thing much easier to find than special cores. Besides, Hunter could eat bear biomass while they searched. The kin who were still alive were not many, and were very busy. Some ate biomass that had been bear, some ate biomass that had been kin, and some were hurt. Those stayed still and took time to heal. Hunter rushed over and dug into the biomass that had been the second of the two bears to die. [You have gained 1 Biomass]The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. [You have gained 1 Biomass] [Compatible Special monster core detected. Would you like to reconstitute a monster?] This time there was not an option to reinforce Hunter''s core again, which was just as well. Their body still hurt from the last time. Besides, now that they had absorbed a special core they were very curious to see how the other choice would help them. It was better to reconstitute the Dire Earth Bear Tyrant that was the less stupid of the two anyway. Remaking a monster who thought it was a good idea to roar at a mana bolt did not seem useful. Yes. [Manual Reconstitution is locked since requisite skills have not been acquired. Reconstituting monster] The second huge core swirled and dissolved into spinning strings of dark mana. They coiled and twisted and grew very bright. Then they converged into a strange liquid that gradually made itself into a new shape. This was of course very interesting, so Hunter kept an eye on it as they ate biomass as quickly as they could. [You have gained 1 Biomass] [You have gained 1 Biomass] Then the mana that had been a special core finished the thing it was doing, and left behind a clumsy and small version of a bear. A bear hatchling? Was this good? Probably this was good. It had fur of the same color the big ones had had, and all of the same body parts arranged in the same way, but all of them seemed to not work right quite yet. The bear hatchling looked at Hunter and made what was probably a happy noise. Then it waddled off and began to eat biomass that had been claw centipede. It seemed clever. That was good. Maybe if it ate enough biomass its parts would grow strong again, like those of the big bears. Hunter left it alone. This much biomass was a treasure, and could not be wasted. They ate and ate and ate. [You have gained 1 Biomass] [You have gained 1 Biomass] [You have gained 1 Biomass] There was a problem. Hunter''s stomach was all of the way full, but there was still so much biomass left to eat! They had only one thought of what to do, and it was to go as quickly as their legs could carry their heavy body into the tunnels of home, where it was safer, and spend the biomass to upgrade their body parts. They did this, and the small bear followed with wobbly steps. Fortunately the other centipedes ignored it. It would have been quite bad to spend a special core on a hatchling bear that was quickly killed and eaten by kin. The body part to improve first was claws, because those could help them cut biomass and eat faster. Spend Biomass. Improve Claws to +5. [Do you want to improve your Claws to +5? This will cost 12 Biomass] Yes. [At this level you may choose a mutation advancement, select from the menu] There were many options to choose from, and if there were more time Hunter would have happily thought about many of them. But there was not more time, because the biomass outside home would not last. They had to mutate quickly and rush back out to eat more! They looked through the choices in a fast way and found one that seemed good. [Savage Claws. Increases the size and density of the claws to directly increase penetrating power and compression force.] Choose Savage Claws. [Do you wish to confirm Savage Claws?] Yes. It was the very first time Hunter did not want the very good feeling of a body part mutation to last longer. They had to get back out and eat more biomass! When the upgrade finished, the results pleased Hunter very much. Their claws were large, sharp, and strong. They might even be able to kill weak prey with only claws now, and not need to use venom at all. First though it was time to test how well they could cut up biomass and help eat faster. Hunter ran out of the tunnel in home to the above and the hatchling bear followed. There was less biomass now because twenty or so kin and two juvenile emerald monitors had been busy eating it, but there was still a great deal left. It was strange that kin and the monitors were not fighting, but it did make sense. Why risk a fight when there is plenty of biomass to eat for free? The answer to this question was that Hunter did not particularly like monitors, and did not think the risk of killing these two would be large. It would only take a short time to test their new claws. [You have defeated level 1 Juvenile Emerald Monitor] [You are at the XP cap for your current evolution] [Pincer Snap has reached level 5, upgrade available] [You have defeated level 3 Juvenile Emerald Monitor] [You are at the XP cap for your current evolution] Hunter''s new Savage Claws worked very well. In the meantime, the little bear hatchling proved to be quite clever by ignoring the short fights to eat biomass. This was very good thinking. Hunter was done killing the two monitors, who had not fought or worked for this biomass and should not get to eat it. Hunter began to eat in a very fast way, and gained a great deal of biomass. When they got full, they went back into home to spend some. This time they decided to just upgrade a part to +4 so that they did not have to make an important decision with very little time. Spend Biomass. Upgrade Antennae to +4. [Do you want to improve your Antennae to +4? This will cost 7 biomass.] Yes. The upgrade felt good, in the way that all upgrades did. Again, and this was a weird way to think, Hunter wished it could finish faster though. It looked like maybe the bear hatchling had spent some biomass also, as some of its parts looked stronger than when it hatched from the special core. Hunter and their bear hatchling went back out and ate more. Most of the biomass was gone, but there had been so much at the start that there was still a big lot of it left. Hunter managed to upgrade both eyes and Tomosvary organs to +4 by the time the biomass was all gone. It was interesting that kin were not as good at eating in a very fast way. Perhaps they did not know the trick to spend biomass so that one could eat more, and were limited to only as much as a stomach could hold. It could also be that those had survived fewer big hunts and so did not have practice eating quickly. Kin had cut up the rest of the biomass and moved it into home, probably to give to the lazy Noble who had only called kin home and had not helped to fight. Though it might be a very hard thing to use mind magic to make a call that loud that could be heard that far. Perhaps it used all of the Noble''s mana and left them too tired to help or to come out and eat biomass. Or maybe the Noble was too scared and weak to leave home ever. Hunter did not like the Noble.