∼ Day 3 ∼

[Siphon]

[You've consumed the blood of an (Alpha) Swamp Stowler twice]

[You're currently at the level threshold, no EXP will be rewarded]

[Stats have been added]

[Due to continuous increase in stats and EXP hitting the level threshold, you've begun to approach forced evolution]

[Puncture has reached LVL: 5 and can now be advanced!]

Hold up for a minute, the hell?

A bunch of things had just happened, but the first thing I wanted to address was the fact that I had customized my notifications. I changed my prompts of Siphon to collectively show my gains in one single prompt, instead of having multiple different prompts to go through.

Secondly, forced evolution? It would appear I couldn't make use of indefinite increases in my stats before going through with my next evolution. And just to be sure about the details, I was going to ask the system.

-System, what is forced evolution?-

[Due to excessively hitting the level threshold with EXP or stat influx, will result in a forced evolution at a certain point. Forced evolution will immediately start the evolution selection progress.]

Huh, guessed as much.

But now I at least didn't have to worry about accidentally hitting the forced evolution and get my evolution picked for me since I was worrying a bit about that.

Now then, to the skill advancement! Hell yeah, I can finally advance one of my skills. I wonder if the rest of my skills will also advance once hitting level 5?

-Skill advancement - puncture!-

Skill advancement - Puncture Choose one advancement -Greater puncture- Greatly increased penetration capabilities. -Enhanced puncture- Increased penetration. Can consume stamina to increase penetration further. -Shredding puncture- Increased penetration. Adds shredding effects to penetrating related attacks or skills. -Lesser sleep inducting puncture- Will create a compound that will induce drowsiness in creatures affected. Effects may vary.

Hmm, so I can either advance my ability a rank to Greater Puncture or choose a new effect to the skill.

I could already throw the Shredding Puncture out the window. I had a hard time believing I'll ever be able to feed silently again. As for the Lesser Sleep Inducting Puncture, I supposed it could be very useful. But I doubted I'd ever be able to even put a dent in a stowlers resistance or vitality with simply the lesser version of it.

It was an undeniable fact that I was still just a mosquito, whereas these huge beasts could probably eat elephant tranquilizers like they were snacks. And still, be unaffected.

I might've been able to slightly affect a horned rabbit and cause some drowsiness. But I had no exact idea of all the properties of the sleeping compound. For all I knew, I might be able to cause some drowsiness to my target but once it notices me it will immediately snap out of the effect.

Then it was up to either Enhanced Puncture or Greater Puncture. Enhanced Puncture might've been quite powerful, but there was one crucial flaw. With it turning from a passive skill into that of both an active and passive skill means it has a cost tied with it.

The problem with that is if I want to use the active part of the skill, it would cost stamina. Something I was already in short supply of. If I suddenly overtaxed myself on my stamina use, I could probably meet a rather unglorified end with me dropping out of the sky while flying, or I might not even be able to escape to the sky with one of my skills that provides me with the greatest survivability in my kit, the Flight skill.

Then it was decided. It might be a bit basic not choosing an extra effect. But currently, this was the most reliable and safest option, besides I should be able to advance the skill once more later. Also, I had realized that if I have the Puncture skill and the next rank should be Greater Puncture, did I start out with rank-two Puncture skill by skipping the Lesser Puncture?

Probably by courtesy of me being a mosquito, and hey, I'm wasn't complaining.

[Skill - Puncture has been advanced to Greater Puncture!]

[For advancing a skill you receive 2 skill points!]

Oh, sweet! I get skill points from advancing skills. Another thing not listed in the description of my traits, I hope I soon will get more information about them, so I can use them to their full effect and potential.

Onwards to the next agenda, what the hell am I supposed to do now?

I needed to figure out what I should about this forced evolution thing.

Do I try and drink a few more times or do I just find a hiding spot and start my evolution?

I guessed that I should at least be able to drink one more time before I hit Forced Evolution. Promptly returning to the now monotonous routine of drinking blood and then lazing on the back of the stowler, I inwardly sighed to myself with the lackadaisical nature of my way to power.

Though, halfway through filling myself, something happened...

Since I started my leisurely EXP and stat farming on the backs of these massive beasts, nothing unexpected had happened in quite a while, so I was already starting to grow relatively complacent, much to my own chagrin. So when all of the swamp stowlers' startled grunts all of sudden begun echoing out, increasing in both pitch and intensity, I was a bit thrown off.

Immediately withdrawing from eating the walking lunchbox beneath me, I started surveying the swamp stowlers. In search of whatever is causing them to be so riled up. But for the next three minutes, I couldn't discover what the hell was happening, but the swamp stowlers' panicked states only increased in intensity as time stretched on.

Having a bad premonition I took to the sky and flew over to a nearby branch that I'd scouted multiple times over the last day to make sure I had an escape route if something unexpected like this happened.

Sitting on the branch, I watched the stowlers down below for another minute until something very strange happened. All at once, all of the swamp stowlers abruptly turned to face in the direction of the treeline that was to my left. With rumbling growls and taking a very menacingly defensive stance with their deadly horns facing straight forward, they seemed to ready to face an unseen foe.

One of the stowlers walked into the front of the group, taking front an center, and I immediately recognized it as the alpha of the group of stowlers. It wasn't long after that I found out what had been putting the stowlers so on edge, and I definitely couldn't blame them...

My blood ran cold as I spotted two beet-red eyes within the foliage of the treeline. The two orbs were the unmistakable eyes of predators. The eyes were followed by thick and long grey fur, framing the menacing portrait even more frightening. Stepping out into the clearing was an absolutely massive wolf, completely dwarfing the stowlers, almost doubling the size of one.

What - the - fuck, is that behemoth?!

I had to be around three meters in height and about five-six meters in length, with claws like giant obsidian-like kitchen knives. This wolf was just absurdly monstrous. Shaking myself from my stupor, I immediately used Appraisal on it.

-A-appraisal!- I slightly stuttered from the raw menace radiating off the creature.

Profile: Ebonwood Dire Wolf

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "???" STR ??? Skills ??? -Race- Ebonwood Dire Wolf VIT ??? Traits ??? -Sex- Male AGI ??? Titles ??? -Rank- ??? DEX ??? Resistances

-Level- ??? INT ??? Health 733/733 CHR ??? Physical Resistance ??? Stamina ??? WILL ??? Magical Resistance ??? Mana ??? MAG ??? Mental Resistance ???

My god, what a fucking monster...

I got nothing but its health value, sex, and race which were already enough to determine that this was no weak monster. No, this was true monster. I knew back from on Earth that there once lived dire wolves before going extinct, but they sure as hell weren't that fucking massive.

There was one other fact that I didn't need Appraisal to tell me, and that was the dangerously intelligent and ruthless glint in its predatory eyes, which caused me to shudder. Growling with an even deeper tone than the stowlers could manage, causing rimples in the swampy water, it drew back its muzzle to show a set of absolutely deadly razor-sharp teeth.

For a minute they just stood there and fronted each other, not allowing each other to escape their line of gazes. Wondering what the hell they were doing, I was completely taken aback when a blur of motion from the right side of the treeline flew out and charged straight into the backline of the swamp stowlers hiding behind their alpha.

Taking advantage of chaos signaled by the wails and panicked grunts from the ambushed stowlers, the giant dire wolf charged at the alpha swamp stowler who was now left alone without the help of his flock. With a closer glance at what the blur that had caused such distress in the formation of the stowlers, I saw a slightly smaller version of the giant dire wolf, raking its claw across the forehead and down the throat of a stowler, splitting it open from head to chest.

Abruptly, a wail and a fountain of blood spurted from the sliced apart creature. Following that were only a few pitiful shriek-like wails as it couldn't properly form sounds with its torn open throat. Quickly turning on its hind legs, the smaller wolf lept over the closest stowler as it charged at the dire wolf with its deadly horns, hoping to skewer the wolf.

However, it simply landed gracefully behind it. With a surprised grunt from an unsuspecting stowler that had been hiding behind the one the dire wolf had just lept over, the wolf lunged at it with its teeth bare. Clamping its maw around the thick neck of the stowler, it used its momentum and its weight to shove the six-legged creature off balance. It produced a massive thump as the stowler crashed heavily to the ground; the dire wolf on top of it.

The stowler only managed a single panicked wail that went off pitch half-way as the dire wolf gave a strong shake of its head while clamped down on the neck of the stowler beneath it, like a dog with its toy. Completely shredding the neck of the stowler apart, the dire wolf almost entirely ripped off the head of the stowler in one vicious bite.

Staring with muted horror, awe, and amazement, I couldn't draw my eyes from the bloody battlefield before me.

This was pure carnage.