Elania spent what felt like weeks practicing her ability to hunt. She had parted ways amicably with Skinner, but hoped that they would meet again. She felt lonely with little idea of what she should do, other than keep hunting and trying to memorize the caverns' layout.

She was grateful for the leather belt that she had turned into a sheath that went across her shoulder. Now she was able to easily draw up to four javelins from it, although it had cost her the last four scraps of cloth she had been carrying.

Still, it was well worth it because of how many projectiles she could now carry. That was important because she found that throwing javelins without a target didn't seem to help her level her [Throwing Weapons] skill.

She had figured out that it was essential to level those skills. She hadn't noticed much difference in them at first, but that was because the effect they had was terraced at every five or ten levels.

Calling up her [Status] screen, she looked at the results of her hard work.

[Status]

Name: Elania Reyes

Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)

Level: 21

Power: 125/152

Karma: 24

Titles: [Locked]

[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]

[Skills: Elania Reyes]

[Class: None]

[Affinities: Demonic, Mana, Darkwalker]

[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 6 (Deactivated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 13, Battle Concentration Lvl 1]

[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 4, Darkvision Lvl - 3 (Activated), Dodging Lvl - 18, Block Lvl - 12, Stealth Lvl - 31, Throwing Weapons Lvl - 24, Combat Mastery Lvl - 9]

[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 4, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3, Athletics Lvl - 9, Improvised Crafting Lvl - 19, Tracking Lvl 4]

[Attributes: Elania Reyes]

[Current Attributes:

Demon Contract (1 Available)

Regeneration (Normal)

Demonic Self-Sustenance

Enhanced Physical Abilities (Strength, Mana Capacity)

Immunity (Darkness)

Resistance (Poison, Mana)

Weakness (Holy)]

She hadn't experimented any more with her [Mana Manipulation] because, without the Mana Shard, she wasn't ensured a free 'Power' ration. With her Aura off, the consumption of 'Power' had reduced below what she had measured before, so it had been easy to keep it climbing with each kill.

More than ever, she was more appreciative of just how much having that Mana Shard had saved her life at first. She'd never have survived the encounter with the other Demon if she hadn't been jacked up on 'Power' like an addict.

As the amount of essence and 'Power' she had increased, so too had all her abilities seemed to expand across the board. She was faster, stronger, and didn't feel as much fatigue. It wasn't nearly as exaggerated as when she had gone over her power limit, but the effect was certainly easily felt.

Even then, she had almost been killed twice since meeting Skinner, and the cost of [Regeneration] had meant that she couldn’t let herself take injuries needlessly. Luckily, like food and water, she needed little sleep, only bothering to take a nap for a few hours between long expanses where she stalked her prey.

'Absorbing the Darkwalkers felt good.'

Ralfots had the same effect but immensely less potent. They did, however, have good use other than just absorbing. They made good bait.

The whole concept of absorbing the Darkwalkers began to scare her a little. Deep down, she knew that it had changed her... if only a little. She didn't want to lose herself.

By the time her ‘Status’ was reporting her ‘Power’ was nearly full she felt she had improved her skills enough that it was time to get back her Mana Shard.

Elania kept to the shadows as she made her way toward what she had started calling the Mushroohum Fields, which was the place she had first encountered the Bone Demon… and stomped on the poor Elnat before being chased away. She'd avoided those areas mostly, not wanting to get in a fight with the Mushroom Men, despite her success dealing with Skinner.

The cavern hadn't changed, but she had. She'd absorbed enough [Darkwalker] essence that [Stealth] had become her highest leveled skill, and as her 'Power' had risen, it showed. She wasn't quite capable of sneaking up on the Darkwalkers yet, but she could get close enough to throw a javelin as long as she took her time.

Ralfots and Elnats were now child's play in comparison, especially since she kept her distance with no intent to hurt the Mushroohum's herd animals.

Elania was torn between contacting them and trying to communicate, or sneaking in and trying to make a plan on retrieving the Mana Shard.

'Both options suck.'

Still, she had to try, and scouting the outskirts would be the first step.

Except things didn't go according to plan. Once she got closer, it became clear that the Elnats and Ralfots she'd been 'sneaking' past were absent. The fungal growths that acted as the Mushroohum village’s gates had been torn apart somehow, with giant gaping holes in the fungal walls.

For a moment, Elania felt torn between wanting her Mana Shard back and worrying about the Mushroom People. Whatever their differences, she had never really wished them harm.

Elania didn't blame them for taking the shard or even attacking her when they found her with their animals. If the last few days had taught her anything, it was how predatory the caverns were.

As she moved closer to the breaches, she could hear sounds coming from inside. Growls and hisses and roars that she'd recognize anywhere.

'Darkwalkers?'

Why, how? They were predators that usually hunted alone or in small packs as far as she knew. It would have taken a dozen or more of them working together to tear down the wall. As far as she knew, they were just beasts that followed their instincts to stalk and hunt the wild Ralfots.

Slipping through a hole in the wall, she started up a narrow tunnel that slightly sloped downward. A musty odor filled her nose as the air turned more humid and warm. It wasn't long before the sounds grew louder, and the faint ‘Glua-Glaa’ of the Mushroohum's was barely discernible. Whatever battle lay ahead was still in progress.

When Elania finally reached the end of the tunnel and stepped out onto a small ledge, she felt her breath catch.

It was a circular cavern, with a steaming lake centered in the middle of the caldera-like formation. Numerous buildings, much like the one she had taken shelter in surrounded the water in a semicircle, while the rest of the cave was dotted with the all-familiar fungal growths. The glowing moss blanketed the ceiling thickly, although it looked like it had been pruned back from the wall edges purposefully.

The sight and sounds of the battle riveted her attention as she took in the rapidly evolving action. There were dozens of the Darkwalkers, and they were tearing the Mushroohums to pieces.

Little groups of spear and shield-wielding Mushroom Men still stood defiantly, huddled in small circles, or falling back into the stone buildings. Some had been cut off in the open and fought back to back, while others were pulled down as they attempted to run. Spears and javelins poked back against tooth and claw, but the Darkwalkers seemed to have the advantage.

It didn't make sense to Elania. Had she been totally wrong about the Darkwalkers being small pack hunters? What could have prompted them to work en masse to assault the Mushroohums? Judging from her previous encounters with the beasts, she never pegged them as the cooperating kind. So what was driving them?

'I should get out of here and come back later. There are too many, and the Mushroohums might even attack me.'

It was a very human emotion that held her captive before eventually winning out. Greed.

Dozens of [Darkwalker] corpses were strewn in lines, mixed with even more Mushroom Men. Elania jogged toward the battle. There was no sign of any rearguard or tactics on the part of the Darkwalkers, only pure fury and a forward driving attack. It left Elania free to come in behind them, making a beeline for the nearest corpse between her and the conflict.

She just had to reach the corpse and touch it. The sight of the body turning into essence and mist was no longer novel.

[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]

[You have absorbed 4 Power!]

[You have gained a level in Stealth!]

[You have gained Darkwalker Affinity!]

[Consume more Darkwalker Essence to enable Darkwalker Transformation!]

She sped down the line, repeating the same process for each corpse until suddenly she skidded to a standstill to stare at the new [System] prompt.

[Absorb the lingering Power from ???? - Mushroohum - Level 27's corpse? Y/N]

She'd absorbed a [Ralfot] and many Darkwalkers already, but she'd considered them animals, or in the Darkwalker's case, something more like a monster.

Mushroohum's were people. They smelled like old laundry, were awful to look at, and came with a terrible attitude, but they were still people.

The Bone Demon didn't actually count. It might have been a person at one time, but Elania hadn't discerned any humanity left in the thing as it tried to savage her. The thought of her becoming like that was terrifying.

She immediately refused the system's suggestion, leaving the dead Mushroohums alone, but continued to pick up the Darkwalkers in her path.

[Your body is reaching the limits of its capacity for Power!]

[Your body has reached the limit of its capacity for Power!]

[Find a stronger body or reduce your current Power!]

[Your body has exceeded the limit of its capacity for Power!]

[Your body is experiencing slight thermal degradation!]

That was fine. She felt the heat building inside her, but she could handle a little discomfort and trusted [Regeneration] to handle anything worse.

She came upon a [Darkwalker] that hadn't died yet but was still squirming on the ground, Mushroohum spear still impaling it to the ground. Elania paused briefly, just long enough to finish it off with a quick thrust from her own weapon.

She felt light on her feet. She was high on the 'Power' now that she had gotten used to how it flowed through her.

[Your body is slightly adapting.]

The shouts and noises of the conflict in front of her grew louder with every step she took, and for the first time, one of the Darkwalkers turned on her with a snarl. That seemed to alert the other beasts, and suddenly half a dozen of the monsters stopped attacking a haggard Mushroohum formation and charged at her.