Chapter 53

[Evolution in Progress…]

[Report: An anomaly in the soul has been detected.]

[Warning: In response to the anomaly, abrupt changes have been made.]

[Adjustment in Progress...]

[Report: Gifts have been altered for the sake of compatibility.]

[Resuming evolution now…]

[Evolution Complete.]

[Congratulations. Individual (Unnamed) has successfully Ascended.]

[Congratulations. Individual (Unnamed) has successfully evolved from a Great Wolf Variant, into a Darkness Wolf.]

[Racial Skill Blood Soaked Fangs has evolved into the Unique Skill Fangs of Void.]

[Racial Skill Sharp Claws has evolved into the Unique Skill Dismantling Claws.]

[Skill Devour has evolved into Rare Skill Gorge.]

[Skills; Night Vision, Enhance Smell, Enhance Hearing, Detect Malice, Detect Life, and Hunt have merged and created the Advance Skill Sixth Sense.]

[Acquired Skills: Rare Skill Magical Resistance, Rare Skill Berserk, Advance Skill Rally, Advance Skill Authority, Unique Skill Shadow Manipulation.]

[Notice, all on hand Skills have also ranked up.]

***

After that flood of notifications stopped ringing inside my head, my eyes shot open. And out of pure habit, I looked around the cave wary for any possible dangers nearby. Only when I was certain that there were no enemies around that I let myself relax and check the changes on my body.

The first change I noticed was the color of my fur. For one, the color had changed from that ashy-white hue, into deep dark-blue. Of course, since it was pretty much impossible for me to see my body as a whole, so I couldn’t be certain about the other parts of my body. And well, it wasn’t as if I was bothered by this color change either. After all, this color would compliment my fighting style a lot better compared to my previous one.

The next thing I noticed was the change in my physique. And strangely enough, this new form of mine seemed to be much smaller compared to my form when I was a Great Wolf Variant. Well, my new one was still a little bigger compared to my Dire Wolf Variant form. But even then, I still find it kind of surprising that I actually shrank in size. Especially knowing that pretty much every powerful monster inside this cave was all gigantic.

I guess there’s always an exception, huh? I thought to myself. Well, my efficiency in battle might have increased with this, so I’ve got no complaints.

And then, there was the improvement with my claws. Which for some reason has not only become a lot sharper and deadlier, but also became somewhat extendable…?

While looking at my claws in shock, I couldn’t help but think; this is… certainly one hell of an upgrade…

To be honest, it was by far the most shocking of all the changes in my body. After all, not only was it now as sharp as a blade, the length in which I could extend it was also insane. And based on my rough estimations, its maximum length was about five to six inches in total. A length in which of course was impossible to conceal inside my paws judging from its size.

…It looks like I am extending it from inside my paw at first glance, but in truth my skill is simply adding more length to it out of thin air… Strange…

After that, I began to move around in order to get a feel on my new form. First, I tried jogging and sprinting around. Hmmm… seems like my base speed and agility has improved once again… Though of course, having gone through the same thing for the third time now, I already knew for a fact that the best possible way to get used to my new form was experiencing live combat. But before doing that, there was something important that I had to do.

Okay, time to check my skills.

***

Just a little distance away from where my evolution had taken place, I found a huge nest. Or at least, what was left of it…

This is… Looking around at the ruined nest, I saw bodies of dead ants lying around pretty much everywhere. And based on the condition of the nest and the dead bodies, I could make a rough guess on what had happened.

A surprise attack… And judging from the way that these ants were killed; they were probably caught completely off guard. But more than that, the most striking thing in all of it was the fact that the offenders seemed to be in a hurry. The proof of that was the fact that they didn’t even bother to cover their tracks. And by combining all of the evidence with what I knew, there was only one group of monsters that could have possibly done this.

Those Apes again, huh…? Truth to be told, it wasn’t even surprising that those monsters were capable of this much. After all, I had accompanied them in their ambush before. Adding the fact that the one leading their army was the Gigarillon, of course they could pull something like this as if it was a piece of cake.

I see, so we were really used as a bait… And since they are making a beeline to the center of it all, their goal was probably to finish this as fast as possible. But looking at it in another way, I could instead use this chance to my benefit.

Since those apes were charging straight into the center, then they would inevitably come across some nest along the way. And of course, they would have no other choice but to destroy any nest that they would encounter if they want to continue moving forward. In short, if I follow their trail, I won't have to worry about being ganged up by those ants. At most, all I need to do is clean up the survivors if there are even any.

And so, I followed the trail of the ape type monsters. Along the way, I also encountered some survivors from time to time. Of course, those unlucky survivors weren’t even a threat to me especially since most of them were either wounded or tired. As a result, my kill count continued to increase which in effect helped me stack up one of my skills.

[Name: (Unnamed)]

[Race: Darkness Wolf]

[Level: 30]

[Status: Healthy]

[Titles: Awakened One, The RunAway, Predator, Survivor]

[Skills: Fangs of Void (Rank D), Call of The Moon (Rank S), Sixth Sense (Rank D), Recovery (Rank S), Dismantling Claws (Rank D), Potential Boost (Rank S), Assess (Rank S), Presence of Mind (Rank S), Accelerate (Rank B), Gorge (Rank D), Antibodies (Rank S), Toughness (Rank S), Pain Endurance (Rank S), Stealth (Rank C), Recuperate (Rank S), Intimidate (Rank B), Magical Resistance (Rank D), Berserk (Rank D), Rally (Rank D), Authority (Rank D), Shadow Manipulation (Rank D)]

After opening my Status Screen, I then opened the tab for my skill Shadow Manipulation.

[Shadow Manipulation:

The ability to dominate and utilize the shadow of the dead.

- Shadow Collection (20/50): Absorb and stack the shadows of any living thing that you kill. Additionally, the quality may vary depending on the source.

- Shadow Release: Weaponize or unleash the stacked-up shadow in the form of an attack.

- Available Releases: Shadow Augment (Cost: 2)]

As a result of testing the skill in the field, I have learned quite a few things about this Shadow Manipulation. The first thing was that I couldn’t absorb the shadow of anything that I didn’t personally kill. Of course, given the current limitation of my testing, I still think that there were more to it than that. But setting that aside for now, I also discovered an unexpected effect upon absorbing the shadow of a corpse. To be specific; the corpse would always turn into dust when its shadow was absorbed. And while at first glance such an effect may not look problematic, the simple fact that it whisks away a potential food could also mean that I might end up dying due to starvation. Fortunately, I could choose when and where to use it so it all comes down to a wise decision making.

The second thing that I learned was about the Shadow Release; the additional feature which for now only has one available release. But knowing how this world works, I’m sure that the options would further expand as the skill ranks up. Anyway, I already tested Shadow Augment in combat, and so far, I discovered that I could apply its effect to any part of my body and anything that had a direct contact to me. As for the effects, well, once the shadow has covered the designated part, it acts just like an enhancement. For example; when I used it in my claws, the shadow made it sharper and more durable. Then when I applied it to my leg, I felt my muscles tightened and my fur became harder.

In short, I could use it to either attack or defend depending on the situation. I thought while whacking the head of an ant using my leg. A short while after that, the shadow covering my legs dissipated. So, it lasts for about a minute, huh? I concluded while looking at my leg. Of course, in order to replenish my stack of shadows, I absorbed the shadow of the dead ant causing its corpse to crumble into dust.

Hmm. Just a single stack again… While checking my shadow stacks, I heard the sound of battle far into the distance. Huh, did I already catch up? That was fast… I asked, confused. Well, there’s no use standing here making an assumption, let’s just check.