'I have to eat somehow and going into the forest would be suicide so this is my only choice. Let's hope these newfound stealth skills hold up.' Arvion thought to himself as he used the stealth skill for the first time.

His body seemed to contort to the wall itself as he slowly contorted and became one with shadow. It was a strange feeling similar to being submerged in a tub of warm water as his joints comfortably moved in the strange new posture his body took. He felt completely at ease as his body took on this new form.

He currently had a 21% increase towards his stealth though 10% of that would only last for roughly one minute so speed was of the essence. He slowly scrambled forward at a strangely fast yet slow speed trying to not draw the attention of the now drinking man who had sat down on the chair in which he had previously dozed off.

He moved up a dresser in the span of a few seconds and then quickly crawled across a chair that had the book on it. He moved as gently as he could but also as fast as he could which the natural benefits seemed like he was naturally born to be as sneaky as possible.

He finally made his way on top of the countertop of the kitchen which seemed to have a spread of strange creatures primarily one strange yellow meat. He eagerly bit down into the meat and found it to be oddly delectable. It tasted of lemons and a strange zing that couldn't be described with mere words. It was more than delectable, one could even go as far as to say as it was delicious. But the thing that surprised Arvion most of all was the fact that he got a system notification as soon as he ate the meat. Or two to be exact.

'Oh My! What a wonderful surprise. Not only am I full from eating this meat but it also provides evolution points upon consumption. This is truly marvelous.' Arvion thought to himself as he hurriedly made his way back to the small hole he found in the house.

It seems like even without the 10% bonus to stealth on the way back it didn't really matter. The old man seemed to be interested in specifically drinking whatever strange bug concoction that poor fly fell in.

After finding his way into the bowels of the house Arvion nestled down trying to think of how he should spend his newly acquired evolution points.

'Spending it on skills seems to be the most logical choice but honestly, I could use some instant gains right now... I wish I could have eaten more so I could have gained more Evolution points if that's even how it works.'

'Either way, I should hold off on spending them for now. Maybe I could use them when it really matters like in the heat of a battle or when I learn more about my new skills.'

'Now, time to practice.'

Arvion sat down with a full stomach looking forwards to what he would unravel from his strange new Mana Manipulation skill. Hopefully, it held great strength but only time would tell.

'Mana Manipulation Activate!'

A strange sensation filled Arvion as he felt his... being become more clear to him. It felt as perhaps he could feel something in the core of his being which would allow him the ability to do things with it. He gingerly reached out with tendrils of his mind which seemed to be innately attached to this thing. He probed it and coaxed it to move and he slowly felt the energy fill his hands taking place as strange glowing black energy that flowed with no direction outwards towards the room around him causing minor bumping noises to be heard around him.

Arvion immediately halted his actions and drew back the energy into himself only to find that it would not listen! Instead, it seemed to have a mind of its own as it rapidly left his body at a dangerous rate as it flooded the room causing the noises to grow louder. All around Arvion was a cloud of inky blackness that began to batter at the walls and ceiling of the area he was in causing minor damage all around but when it all finally left it turned its attention towards him as it started to pound at him with the tendrils of physically manifested shadows.

It felt as if he was being slashed at by a thousand pin-sized razers as he felt immense pressure overwhelm him.

'Think Think Think!!! I need to think! How can I stop this from getting further out of control. Perhaps increase my intelligence so I can better think of a solution? That's the only thing that's coming to mind so why not give it a go.' Arvion thought to himself in a hurried manner.

A wave of inspiration and mental power overflowed his mind and what he couldn't see clearly before he could see as clear as day now.

' I need to tether the magic to me. Make it mine.' Something inside Arvion shouted in his mind.

Arvion fumbled trying to form a tendril of his mind and attached it to the magic quickly reigning it under control. He quickly drew it back into himself to stop the noise that was being made by the horrendous magic. After the barrage of tendrils had subsided a noise could be heard from above him. The creaking of floor boards. And they seemed to be getting louder!