As Jicker desperately clung to a tree branch high above the forest floor, he swore at himself. He’d been correct in thinking he could manage to find the flowers, and only had a few more to find. He’d also been correct about his beliefs about being able to defeat a small fox in battle, his poisons making short work of his targets. It hadn’t even crossed his mind however, that there were plenty of other things living in the woods, and many of them were far stronger than he was.

This left him in his current situation, trapped up a tree while a large brown bear growled at him, clawing at the tree in a vain effort to climb up and get him. It seemed the tree wasn’t strong enough to support its weight though, as it slid back down to sit at its base. After a few hours of sitting as still as possible to avoid stirring up the bear any further, it eventually got either bored or hungry and wandered off deeper into the trees. Carefully climbing down and making sure it wasn’t going to start running back, Jicker hurried as quickly and quietly as he could back to town.

Back at the inn, sitting in his room after dinner, he considered what had gone wrong and realised it was simple. Despite having some fairly effective poisons to work with, in the end he was a support class, and wasn’t supposed to be fighting on the front line. Normally, a person with a support class would attach themselves to some more combat focused ones and level up that way, taking a share of the experience from the group. But if he attached himself to a group, they’d want see his stats and that would lead to a much shorter life span. There was a chance they wouldn’t want to see them, and his achievements would remain hidden, but the people who don’t care who you are were also the ones who would probably stab you in the back.

That didn’t leave him with a decent way to grind any levels, at least no normal ones he realised. His evolution stat was giving him a tiny trickle of experience, not enough to even bother counting. But that was because there was only so much snuffles could do on his own, and the azure roaches had the combat ability of a brick. But if he could put something together that could hold its own, and spread across the world...Patching himself up with a few of his healing pills and grabbing some food on his way out, Jicker hurried back to the forest while the idea was still fresh in his mind.

~~~~~~

The trick would be, he thought, to make something that could take on low and maybe mid level players without being so specific that it ended up being a one off creation. It also couldn't be too weird or it wouldn’t spread out properly. Something weak enough that it would fit in a low level forest, but could also manage to take out higher level players if they worked together.

“Let’s see... forest creature, aggressive, pack tactics...I need a wolf don’t I?” Jicker said to himself as he snuck through the trees, keeping an eye out for movement. Moving as quietly as he could it didn’t take him to long before he found something that fit the bill. Closer to a wild dog than a wolf, the large animal was asleep under a tree, apparently more of a day creature than a nocturnal one, which suited him just fine. Getting closer, he loaded a tranquiliser and fired not wanting to be torn apart while he tried to work on it. Flinching slightly as the shot struck its side; it rolled over but didn’t wake up. Sighing in relief, he put away his weapon and went over to his target, getting between it and the tree to hide his presence. Sitting down, he used his Adaptation ability and got to work.

There were a few more options than the last time he’d used it, which he attributed to either his increased evolution stat or the fact that this creature, apparently called a forest hound, was several levels higher than what he’d worked on as a base in the past. After about an hour, he had something he was happy enough with.

After playing with the colour sliders, he found he could make its fur so black that it became hard see anything but its outline, which inspired the entire creature. Making its eye, claws and even its teeth the same pitch black and adjusting its fur to a more shaggy length, it would have been hard to make out any detail if his ability wasn’t compensating. Putting various pack tactics into its mind and making it nocturnal was simpler than he’d thought it would be, and he promised to himself that he’d play around with that when he had more time.

He also managed to give it a special ability, to be able to emit a cloud of fog. By shaking itself like a wet dog, it could release a fifteen foot cloud of impenetrable black fog which nothing, not even it, could see through. To compensate, Jicker greatly heightened its sense of smell, and altered its ears, giving it a bat like sonar ability.

The end result was a large canine standing four feet tall at the shoulder, its large ears making look like an over sized fennec fox that had been dunked in ink. Under the cover of the trees in the dead of night, it was hard to spot the animal lying in front of him, even when he knew it was there.

Ding!

Adaptation has become permanent. Creature remains too similar to existing creatures become unique, adaptation can be repeated at a 10% chance of permanency

Type: Modified Forest Hound. Level: 20

Do you wish to name this creature?

“Hmmm, let’s see... its name will be Silhouwolf.” Jicker said proud he’d succeeded on his first try.

Name accepted. Do you wish to be identified as the creator?

“No, definitely not!” He said quickly. The last thing he wanted was to be blamed for killing a bunch more players.

Creator will remain unknown. Now applying changes to creature.

As the creatures form began to shift before his eyes, another notice got his attention.

You have unlocked the Enigma Statistic.

Do wish to accept?

Each point of Enigma increases your ability to go unnoticed, increasing your stealth.

For each point of Enigma, you produce an aura that causes players, NPCs and monsters to ignore and forget you. The strength of this field is based on the level of the stat vs. the targets wisdom.

Warning: Once a statistic is selected it cannot be removed. You have 4 Stat slots remaining.

“Oh great,” Jicker sighed quietly, not wanting to wake the newly formed creature in front of him, “another stat I've never heard of.” This one at least seemed to be a clearer ability to do with hiding, and was probably offered to him since he kept refusing to get any fame for his creatures. It wasn’t something he’d planned to try and get, but since he was pretty much winging it as he went anyway, he accepted it. If nothing else it would hopefully make people less likely to rob him on the roads.

Enigma accepted. Note that performing actions that gain lots of attention or fame can lead to temporary or permanent reductions of this Statistic.

And of course it could go away, just his luck he thought grumpily. Still, it made sense that if he started attracting people’s attention it would be harder to make them ignore him. It was only went something soft batted against his legs did he realise he hadn’t been quite as stealthy as he thought he had. The silhouwolf had woken up, and by the slight amount of moonlight reflecting in its eyes, he could see it starring at him calmly. Whether it was his handle animal skill at work or it was still adjusting to its new shape, it made no move to get up as he hurried off.

With a stroke of luck he managed to spot a few foxes on the way back to town to fill in the quest, though he’d need to come back tomorrow to try and find the flowers. The academy was closed at this hour so he made his way back to the inn to log off for a while.

~~~~~~

Taking off the mask and looking at his phone, he saw that it was apparently the middle of the night. Having nothing to do apart from play Genesis, which had its own time scale, was really beginning to mess with his internal clock. Deciding not to risk getting another call from August, he shot a quick email over to Sarah

Hey Sarah,

Just giving you a heads up here, I made another beastie recently that I want to get checked out and get the ok on before I let it go and spread around the place.

Matt

After the...thing that happened before, he wanted to out of his way to avoid confronting that man, so if he had to clear any creations with his people, fine. There were a lot of worse things than going through some paperwork. Deciding he needed a break, he heated up a bowl of noodles and sat in front of the television, unsure if he wanted to turn it on. The images he’d seen on the laptop were still fresh in his mind, and he didn’t want to have to deal with those emotions again right now. Instead, he threw on an old action movie, choosing to just clear his thoughts with some mindless violence. After a while even that lost its appeal and he went to bed to get his first real bit of sleep in the past few days.

After only a few hours he woke up, his body not really needing more rest, despite what his brain thought about the matter. Taking a shower and grabbing a cup of coffee, he flicked on the news; just in case something was going on that he needed to know. While there was a piece on the televised murder, it seemed to have become more of a background piece behind talks on gun laws. Apart from that it was just tax changes and bad weather, things that he couldn’t control but could ignore. Checking his phone, he saw that Sarah had already replied.

Matthew,

Good idea on passing that through before you started throwing them everywhere, but what if it had become unique straight away? I know you can’t really plan for that, but we should figure something out. I got access to pull up the specs of your “Silhouwolf” and took it to the boss, and he’s given it the all clear. He’s not even shuffling any funds around so I guess it doesn’t affect him? Anyway, you’re good to start mass production.

Sarah the Great

Happy to see he had a go ahead on his wolves, Matt finished off his coffee and a few slices of toast before cleaning up and getting back to work.

~~~~~~

It was just after dawn when he opened his eyes, the morning sun streaming through the window. As if on cue, and it probably was, there was a knock at the door.

“Housekeeping sir, may we come in?” A voice called from outside.

“One second.” He replied, collecting his things from around the room. He silently hoped that at one point all of his possessions wouldn’t fit in a small bag.

Going out to the main room as a maid swept in behind him, he went over to the innkeeper.

“Sir, I'm wondering if I could put a room on hold. I'm planning to move into the academy this afternoon, but-” Jicker began before being cut off.

“No can do sir. I don’t mean to sound rude, but with so much of the housing in the area destroyed, each bed is tightly contested. In fact, you were lucky to manage to get one yesterday, since we had a sudden cancelation. So it’s nothing personal, but if you’re planning on moving on, then there are plenty of people who will be quick to take your place.”

Jicker considered paying for the room in advance, just in case things didn’t work to at the academy, but his funds were already stretched pretty thin, even with the gold he’d gotten from the shells. Without knowing how much he’d need to pay for his education, he couldn’t afford to pay for a room he hopefully wouldn’t need.

“Very well then, in that case, could I get some breakfast before I head out?”

“Right you are sir; I’ll have something brought to you shortly.”

The streets were already busy even at this early hour, though a city of this size never really stopped. Merchants bringing in their goods, craftsmen and cooks beginning the day’s work and all manner of adventurers going about their business. The academy was quieter than most area, since even virtual students didn’t want to wake up before noon, so he managed to get to the anatomy teacher’s office with too much hassle. The man took his time looking over the samples he’d brought in, making Jicker wonder if they were good enough. He’d made do with a camping knife he’d picked up for a few silver pieces, not having the gold he’d need for a good knife.

“Well the cuts are rough,” the man said after he’d finished his inspection, “though far enough from the organ that it isn’t much of an issue. It’s also the correct organ, which was something I wish I didn’t need to check, but apparently standards have fallen considering what some applicants have handed me. However there’s also some discoloration on them that I’d associate with illness or poison. So did you take these from already dying animals or...?” He left the question hanging.

“Poison sir, I hope that’s ok.” Matt answered, not having considered that to be an issue.

“For these it’s fine, though for other collections it’s something to keep in mind. Regardless I can safely say you possess the necessary talent to begin learning the art of anatomy.”

Ding!

Quest: It’s what’s inside that counts. - Complete!

Reward: 1000 EXP. You have gained the Anatomy skill.

You have unlocked the Anatomy skill!

Current level: 1

Gives you a greater understanding of living forms, giving increased critical damage, healing and poison effects against living targets.

Synergy - Adaptation will be increased by 2% per level of Anatomy on living animals.

You have gained the ability: Prime Specimen!

This ability can be used on a member of a created species to upgrade it into a leader, elite or boss of that species, making them unique. This can only be done once per species. Cost: 300 Mana.

“Wow, good work Sarah.” He said, surprised at his results. He’d need to get a bit more mana before he could try it, but that ability was definitely going to get some use.

“What was that?” The teacher asked suspiciously.

“Nothing sir, just being thankful for my blessings.” Jicker replied quickly.

“Well, while I won’t stand between a man and his gods, this is a place of science, not religion, so I ask you to keep it to yourself while you are here. Now then, in case you weren’t told, you may address me as Professor Kaldari and should do so with respect. I teach those I find acceptable the finer points of anatomy, which you are right to be thankful to be included in. I hold classes throughout the week, of which you can find a schedule in the main hall. While attendance isn’t mandatory, you will gain significant insight on the subject should you attend. In addition, students staying at the academy are required to attend at least three lectures a week unless told otherwise to be allowed to stay. Any questions?” The professor said blandly as he looked down at him.

“No sir, although about staying here...”

“Ah yes, I’d figured as much.” He said, grabbing a small copper token and handing it to him. “Take that to administrations and they will give you permission to rent a room. Now then I have important work to do so be off with you.” He said shooing him away before closing the door in his face. Since he’d heard that rooms were limited, Jicker wasted no time heading over to see about a room.

After waiting what seemed like an age, an elderly woman came out of the administration office and took his token, inspecting it.

“A token like this allows you to rent a basic room for 50 gold pieces a week, assuming you can meet the necessary lesson requirements, which I assumed the professor explained. You also can use the facilities here freely, as well as take part in meals served here. Will you be taking a room today?” she asked.

The room he ended up with was small, little more than a prison cell with a bed, cupboard and desk. If he hadn’t been so small he would have felt trapped in the tiny space, but as it was it was a safe space he could finally relax in. Lying down on the bed, he stretched out and chose to take a nap before going out to track down the last few flowers he needed for his herbalism quest.

It was about an hour before dusk when Jicker eventually set out for the forest, but he told himself it was so that he could try to find some more of the forest hounds, and not because he overslept. There were still plenty of other adventurers walking around through the woods, either beginning their night time activities or ending their days work. Most players just gave a passing nod out of courtesy, though a few drew their weapons on him before realising he was a character and not a weird monster. Since no one really played as gremlins, and the natural ones were almost entirely contained as orcish slaves, most people had never seen one before.

Eventually he reached a spot in the forest that he thought should be a good place to track down the plants on the list. After searching around for a while he managed to find most of them, but one on the list eluded him. A small white flower called a moon lure, which should have been around here, was nowhere to be found. It was only by studying his surroundings for signs of the flower that he noticed a patch of shadow that shouldn’t have been there.

The Silhouwolf he’d created the night before stood silently as he turned to face it, not moving in the slightest as it was discovered. Jicker didn’t think it wanted to attack him, or it would have done it before now, but why it had found him again was still a mystery. Slowly he moved over towards it, hoping he hadn’t misread the situation.

“Hey boy, sorry if I'm in your territory, I was looking for a flower and I kind of wandered so...” He realised he was rambling to an animal that couldn’t understand him, but the way it cocked its head at his words made him wonder if it could. Carefully taking out the list he’d gotten from the professor, he showed it to the wolf.

“I’m looking for these, have you seen any?” He asked not sure what to expect. The beast stared at the flower for a moment before huffing softly and turning down a path Jicker hadn’t gone down yet. After a few yards it paused and turned back to him, huffing again.

“I'm supposed to follow you? Sure, why not? Not like I've got a better idea of where to find them?” he said. For the next fifteen minutes he followed the animal as best he could, which kept stopping every time he began to fall behind as they made their way through the undergrowth.

Eventually it stopped completely next to a large oak and looked up at it expectantly. Jicker squinted up at the branches trying to make out any detail in the dying light.

“It grows up there huh? Weird, the list didn’t say anything about-”

Being too busy looking up at the treetop he didn’t see when the silhouwolf tackled him from behind, tripping and forcing him down through a hollow he hadn’t seen at the trees base. As he rolled and fell, he came to a stop a few dozen feet underneath the tree. He couldn’t tell whether it was a natural cavern or whether it had been dug out by hand or paw, mostly because he was preoccupied with the dozens of hounds that his entrance had disturbed, which were now beginning to circle him growling menacingly.

Getting to his feet and looking rapidly around, Jicker wondered what had possessed him to follow something he’d designed to kill players so deeply into the forest. Part of him had known it was a foolish decision but he’d done it anyway. One of the larger hounds had apparently had enough of just growling at him, suddenly rushing forwards.

Before Jicker could even reach for his weapon to defend himself, the silhouwolf that had pushed him dropped down from above, keeping itself between Jicker and his would be attacker. To two beasts began growling at each other, seeming to have an argument at a level he couldn’t hope to understand. It came to a head when the hound rushed forwards, jaws goings for the wolf’s throat. The wolf darted back, getting clear of its attacker before shaking its head, releasing a thick cloud of darkness.

In the pitch black that the cave was left in, not even Jicker's natural night vision could pick out anything, only having the whines and howls to go by. After a few tense moments of not knowing whether he’d feel teeth in his neck before being sent to respawn, the cloud began to clear. Standing over the bleeding and whining body of the forest hound, the silhouwolf stood proudly, untouched and looking for other challengers. When none came, and the cave fell to near silence, the silhouwolf seemed to give a command to one of the other hounds.

Slowly it approached and stood in front of him, seeming as confused about it as he was. He wondered what was going on, when the silhouwolf growled at him and bumped his hand with its nose. Suddenly everything clicked, leaving Jicker astonished at the animal intelligence. He assumed it had been a part of this pack before he had changed it, and now it wanted him to change the rest of them.

This was a far higher level of thinking than most animals in genesis possessed, most needing to be of very high level to have the intelligence needed for such forward thinking. He wondered for a moment why they were able to do it, when he realised that it was obviously him. His evolution stat was giving a bonus to all of his created animals, including to their intelligence, something notoriously hard to increase in an animal. While they weren’t as smart as a person, at least not yet, they were still far more capable than they should have been. It explained why Shuffles had been so easy to talk to, and the roaches... well a cockroach wasn’t ever going to be a genius.

Placing a hand on the animal’s side, he hesitated as it flinched and growled at him only to be silence by a single bark from the silhouwolf.

“This...might not work straight away.” He said, hoping they’d understand, and praying that it would.

Activating his adaptation, the energies slowly flowed out and around the hound, changing it into a second silhouwolf, to what seemed like the surprise and delight of the surrounding pack. Jicker breathed a sigh of relief as the change held, as the new wolf trotted off, inspecting its new form.

The noise was over powered by a bark from the original, and another hound came towards him, this time far more eagerly.

“I'm going to be at this for a while aren’t I?” He sighed to himself before beginning work on the next animal.

~~~~~~

The first time he had to wait while his mana recharged, the surrounding pack got annoyed, and after the first time the transformation didn’t stick, they became actively angry. Luckily, the original held them back and got them under control while Jicker tried again. Slowly the pack began to be converted, and it was only when the sun came up and Jicker tried to leave they once again turned aggressive, blocking his exit. The meaning was clear: he would stay until he was done, whether he liked it or not.

Though they kept him trapped inside, they didn’t try to attack him, even letting him get some sleep. The moment he started yawning the pack had scattered, either going out to hunt or getting some sleep themselves, with only a few of the new wolves remaining to keep an eye on him. When he woke up he found that a freshly killed rabbit had been dropped by his feet, again reminding him Snuffles, leaving him wondering exactly how smart that rat had ended up. He wasn’t bothered as he gutted and cleaned the meat, though several pups had come to watch him, and fought eagerly for the scraps he threw their way. Even lighting a fire appeared to be only a passing distraction for the wolves, though the hounds backed away from it. Once he’d cooked and eaten his meal however, the line of transformation began again, carrying him through the rest of the day. He wondered how the animals would respond if he logged out, but he decided not to risk it, since he doubted they’d react well, when he came back.

Finally, after almost four days, the last hound pup was changed, leaving him looking at a cavern full of nothing but shifting shadows, the silhouwolves watching him from every angle. Getting up and stretching out his back he noticed a few prompts from the game system.

Enough Silhouwolves now exist in the wild that they are now a sustainable species.

Do you accept?

“Yes.” He said relieved.

Silhouwolves are now a full species of Genesis.

They will now breed and spawn naturally within this area, and slowly spread to other areas in the world that can sustain them.

You can no longer create Silhouwolves. You cannot create other species from Silhouwolves.

Evolution has increased by 1! Total: 3

Handle Animal level has increased by 2! Current level: 6

You have been playing for more than 18 hours.

It is highly recommended by Masquerade Entertainment that you take a break.

The wolves moved out of his way as he headed for the exit, climbing back out the surface as the sun was rising. Before him sat the original silhouwolf, a small bundle of flowers sitting at its feet, and what he could only describe as laughter in its eyes.

“Fine, you win. Good luck with your new pack. In fact...” Jicker said as he picked up the flowers he’d been looking for, before an idea struck him.

Putting a hand on the wolf’s neck, which it seemed to tolerate out of curiosity, he activated the ability he’d unlocked recently. A wave of energy poured out of him, soaking into the animal, now shaking under the flow of energy. After a minute it stopped, and Jicker looked at what he’d done, blinking the spots from his eyes.

Seeming to have doubled in size, it actual form seemed to flicker and ripple, its long fur twisting in a nonexistent breeze. While seeming like nothing but a cloud of shadow itself, he had no doubt that its claws and fangs were sharper than ever.

You have created the Alpha Silhouwolf. Level: 45

This wolf is now a boss and the undisputed leader of its kind

Special abilities: The Alpha can summon other silhouwolves from within its own shadow, and can teleport between shadows up to half a mile, bringing other silhouwolves with it.

Do you wish to name this creature?

“Well then smart guy, your name is going to be Penumbra.”

Name accepted. Do you wish to be identified as the creator?

“No.”

Creator will remain unknown. Now applying changes to creature.

Enigma has increased by 1! Total: 2

“Who’s the Smart guy now huh?” He said the wolf as it tried to figure out how to get back into its den with its new size. After a moment it stopped and turned to him, giving a short bark before flowing like water back underground.

“Well, I guess you are apparently.” He said quietly to himself before tiredly heading off to find his way back to town.

As he walked past people heading out for the day, he kept an ear out to see if anyone had spotted his work yet but it seemed that the wolves were either lying low, or hadn’t left a survivor who could come back yet. No one seemed particularly mindful of the forest normally, so it would probably take a while before they learned to watch for the shadows. When he eventually made it back to the academy he got the same reply from the professor that he had gotten about anatomy. A quick check of the flowers, a few words about the lessons and time table and then he received his skill.

Ding!

Quest: Pick for proof. - Complete!

Reward: 1000 EXP. You have gained the Herbalism skill.

You have unlocked the Herbalism skill!

Current level: 1

Gives you a greater understanding of plants, allowing higher grade and quality of plants to be harvested and used.

Synergy - Adaptation can now be used to create and modify plants and plant based creatures.

Useful, he thought to himself, though he wasn’t sure how yet. Still he had no doubt that it would be put to work in the future. Going through the mess hall he pick up a bite to eat, but even though the game told him he was full, part of him was making him very aware he needed to eat. Making his way back up to his room, he staggered in and collapsed on to his bed, almost falling asleep before he managed to log off.

~~~~~~

As he dropped the headset on to his bed, part of him felt tired and wanted to rest. A larger part of him instead raced to the kitchen and managed to polish off three sandwiches, a bowl of noodles, two bananas and a bag of chips. After he’d eaten enough to feed a small family all he wanted to was collapse into a food coma, but he refused to let himself go down that path. For several years he’d spent a lot of his time in a comatose state, and while they’d ensured there were no problems mentally, a person’s physical health was always their own responsibility. Groaning as he threw on his shoes, he went to go walk some of it off, or run if he could manage it and not throw up.

Too many people had begun to have health issues once Genesis had become popular enough, but no one even tried to shift blame onto the company. It was obvious to everyone that if you spent twenty hours a day asleep, only waking up to eat and use the bathroom, you weren’t living a healthy lifestyle. Obesity, bedsores, muscle atrophy and a host of other problems had arisen, but the answer was simple, even if a lot of people refused to do anything about it: exercise.

As he hurried down the road as best he could manage, he thought about his plans for the future. As long as August had him under his thumb, he wouldn’t be doing anything but playing and aiming to do whatever it was that bastard wanted. The problem was, that all he had to do to get out of the situation, was give up his identity to the public, but he’d seen the results of that. He could go to the police for protection, but even if they’d help, who knew how long he’d have to live like that? As he lent against a traffic light, waiting for it to change, he spotted a billboard on the side of a bus for the game.

Genesis, a changed world,

What change will you make?

Not the greatest tag line, but he was still impressed with how quickly they’d gotten out marketing to bring people back into the game. It was everywhere at the moment, though it had always been present somewhere in the media, since something couldn’t be that big and not have coverage. But now it seemed there were thousands of people and groups televising there new adventures or characters in the ‘new’ world. Businesses that had fallen during the upheaval were being replaced by dozens of others fighting out for rights and territory, sometimes literally. It was one of things of strange amusement watching two elderly bankers in the game trying to burn each other alive to see who got rights to certain quarters of a city.

Heading over to the supermarket to grab a few things, a conversation from a cafe caught his ear.

“...thought you weren’t going to make it tonight? I thought you said you were gonna stay and play the whole night.”

“That was the plan, but I figured since I’m dead, I may as well come out anyway.”

“Wait, you died? You were in a low level area weren’t you? How’d you manage to get yourself killed?”

“I know right? I was like, twenty levels above most people around there, but these weird...black things came out of nowhere and blinded me. I couldn’t see what they did, but they took me to pieces. I’m gonna go hunt the things down when I can get back in. So any way where’s Linda at? Is she still stuck dating that...”

Matt didn’t bother sticking around to hear about whatever social drama they had going on, and hurried on. He’d hoped his wolves would be effective, but to already be bringing down players stronger than they were?

Racing home, he rushed through the door and grabbed his head set, before pausing and rethinking his decision. Instead he went and started up his computer, wanting to see if there were any other reports of his wolf’s actions, or whether he’d stumbled onto the only case by pure chance. But sure enough, as he started to scan over the various forums, he found more and more evidence of ‘shadowy animals’ attacking and bringing down players of various levels in Greyleaf Forest. There even a few reported cases coming from further parts of the continent, surprising him with just how quickly they’d managed to spread. Concerned, he sent a quick email over to Sarah wanting to make sure that this wasn’t getting out of control.

After a few stressful minutes she sent back a reply saying that while it was more than expected, it was still well within acceptable limits, and she’d been allowed to draft a few interns to help track the silhouwolves movements and growth across the game.

Calming himself down with a cider from the fridge, he cleaned himself up from his run and got comfortable for another session of play.

~~~~~~

Waking up in his room, he was immediately greeted with a number of notices.

You have received EXP from Evolution! You have reached level 12!

You have received EXP from Evolution! You have reached level 13!

You have 10 points left unassigned. Assign points now?

“Two levels already?” He said to himself in surprise. He looked to his status making sure he wasn’t misreading anything, and sure enough, he’d gone up two levels while logged out and almost gone up to-

You have received EXP from Evolution! You have reached level 14!

You have 15 points left unassigned. Assign points now?

Jicker shook himself out of it and looked through the information, trying to figure out how he’d earned three levels so quickly. His evolution stat was giving him only 0.3% of any experience earned by his created creatures, which meant he was earning less than a single point of experience for every three hundred that the wolves were pulling in. There was an increased amount of experience given for killing a player, but for them to be getting to be getting these sorts of numbers they’d have to be...

His thoughts paused as he remember the pack moving around so quietly, the intelligence they’d shown in their eyes, the viciousness he’d seen when one of the others had challenged the alpha. No they could have brought down larger targets with their combined efforts before the changes, and were famously known for it. But with what they’d become now, it seemed to have been amplified, and he could easily see them taking out whole groups of players more than a dozen levels higher than themselves. And if Penumbra got involved, well, then he doubted many players in the area would have a hope of winning.

Eventually, once people realised that section of Greyleaf Forest wasn’t as safe as they remembered, the experience he would slow to a tiny amount, and even more once people adjusted their tactics to fight the silhouwolves. But for now he had a source of experience coming in, so with that problem squared away for the time being, it was time to address his other issues.

His main problems now were a lack of useful skills, and a source of income. As it was he had some left from the beetles he’d sold, but between housing, food and the other expenses that came when trying to get anything done in a city it was quickly running out. He also needed to find a way to learn some more skills that could help him improve, but training wasn’t going to be easy. Most skills could be taught and if something could be done; there was always someone willing to get paid to do it. He’d been lucky in picking up the ones he had for free, and the academy could help him out with a few of the simpler ones, but eventually he was going to need to invest in some higher grade abilities, and those were never cheap. It was circle in the end, you needed money for skills, and you needed skills to make money, but fortunately there was a way to break the loop. And with that in mind, Jicker assigned his Stat points and went out to find a quest.