This feeling was one I hadn’t felt in a long time. One I hadn’t felt since I was ripped from my own world and placed into this beast’s body by a cruel and unfeeling being of unimaginable power. One I had not felt through this pain and suffering. Absolute pleasure.

My heart was beating so fast I could hear it pulsing inside my own ears. I was thrilled and excited. It wasn’t sexual to me, no, a state of mind. I felt fulfillment. As if this was all I needed. I was truly happy for the first time since I had come to this world. This was something even greater than narrowly managing to escape death.

Where did this feeling originate from? The pain and suffering of another creature. It had attacked me and I had retaliated. It wasn’t weak but I came up with and plan and then followed through outsmarting it, wounding it severely. I made the hobgoblin help me sever its own arm.

I hadn’t even killed it just severed its arm and I felt like this. Someone on earth would call these feelings out as signs of a psychopath but I think it’s different than that. This battle to the death I was enjoying it thoroughly.

More than I should maybe but that didn’t matter any. I hadn’t felt this good in a while and I was going to enjoy it thoroughly. If I was still human there might have been a malicious grin on my face.

Instead if one looked now all they would see is blood and teeth. I was brought out of my thoughts by the hoblins screech. I glanced back at the thing and couldn’t help but watch in amusement as it fell to the ground and desperately tried to find a limb that wasn’t their only grasping at air.

It finally settled down before shooting its head straight up at me, roaring with rage. Good, get mad it will only make this easier. It stood up and started sprinting at me almost immediately. It wasn’t trying to defend itself in any way this was just blind rage.

The hobgoblin lunged at me but I sidestepped his strike relatively easily, its already broken fingers crashing into the ground. I then did what I had planned to before and lunged for its throat.

With no other arm to block my attack, my teeth sank into its neck unimpeded. I pumped Hemotoxin into it before ripping out as much flesh as I could when removing my fangs. I then quickly receded as it flailed its remaining arm around wildly.

The hobgoblin probably could barely see as is with one of its eyes slit open. I couldn’t approach the damn thing since it was flinging its arm in every direction near it. I knew the things absurd strength, if I got hit by one of those strikes that alone could put me out of commission.

Well, that leaves me with a pretty obvious option, I’ll just wait. It can’t keep swinging like that forever after all, especially with all that bleeding. I could see it from here it was spraying blood like a sink which faucet had been broken off.

Just like expected the damn thing finally managed to tire itself out after relentlessly flailing its arm for around 5 minutes. Well, it was either that or the excessive blood loss caught up with it. Either way, it slumped to the ground all the same in a pool of its own blood.

I moved forward toward the hobgoblin until I was above it towering over the hobgoblin now seeming small figure. As I looked over its wounded body I saw the source of its pulsing green veins, that crystal that had been lodged in its chest. The hobgoblin was virtually harmless at this point, it probably couldn’t even muster up the strength to move it had lost so much blood. It was perfectly safe to analyze the crystal in its chest.

Analyze Results:[Creed of Eluplarity’s Sacrificial Crystal: A crystal constructed by the Creed of Eluparity’s cult. The crystal is a necessary item in a ritual to provide a host body for the cult’s patron goddess Eluparity. The crystal causes anyone near or embedded in it to become extremely aggressive and unresponsive to pain. The person or creature embedded with the crystal has all these effects except amplified. As well as this they gain immense strength, the amount depending on both the creature's current strength and the crystal’s limitations.]

Well, that explains a lot. The lack of pain and the anger. Doesn’t explain the enjoyment though, guess that was all me. But a cult’s crystal? I don’t like that how the hell did this hobgoblin manage to get it on itself and how did it get here. Surly if that cult did it they would have kept the hobgoblin. Either way, I don’t think staying near this thing any longer is a good idea.

I ripped its throat out with my teeth snuffing out whatever remaining life it had and headed the opposite direction that hobgoblin had come from.

Proficiency met, [Eyulf: Lv4] has leveled to [Eyulf: Lv5]

[All Stats Have Been Increased], [Body Physique Has Been Both Strengthened and Improved], and [Stamina, Mana, and Health Capacity has been Increased]

[Tier 1: Eyulf Species Skill/Perk Has Become Available: Level 5]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Analyze Lv:2] has leveled to [Skill: Analyze Lv:3]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Hemotoxin Resistance Lv:4] has leveled to [Skill: Hemotoxin Resistance Lv:5]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Paralysis Resistance Lv:5] has leveled to [Skill: Paralysis Resistance Lv:6]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Slash Resistance Lv:3] has leveled to [Skill: Slash Resistance Lv:4]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Blunt Resistance Lv:2] has leveled to [Skill: Blunt Resistance Lv:3]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Blunt Resistance Lv:3] has leveled to [Skill: Blunt Resistance Lv:4]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Heightened Sense of Smell Lv:2] has leveled to [Skill: Heightened Sense of Smell Lv:3]

Proficiency met, [Skill: Heightened Sense of Sight Lv:2] has leveled to [Skill: Heightened Sense of Sight Lv:3]

Special actions have been performed, [Skill: Venomous Lunge Lv:1] has been learned

Gained 100 Skill Points

[Level up report concluded]

Well, I guess that was to be expected that hobgoblin was strong it just lacked self-control and intelligence. If I didn’t have my human mind I doubt I would have won.

Anyways what’s a venomous lunge? I used analysis and a thin transparent screen manifested before my eyes.

Analyze Results:[Skill: Venomous Lunge Lv:1]: An active skill that allows the user to attack someone with a forward thrust of the body. The user has to use either their fangs or claws when making the attack due to the skill’s second property. That being that attack also inflicts a venom of the user’s choosing. Both the physical and venomous aspects of the skill have boosted a boosted effect in exchange for Stamina]

Oh so essentially it’s an improved version of what I can already do? Well, no reason not to use it then.

Now the other elephant in the room, a species skill? If I’m guessing it’s probably a skill you get every few levels or so that has relation to your species. Is that obviously what it is or maybe I’ve played too many video games. Well, one way to find out.

I simply thought of wanting to see the species skill and another screen appeared in front of me though one with more on it than I expected there to be.

[Eyulf Species Skill/Perk Avaliable]

[Primal Tracking(common)](Skill): Increases basic proficiency in identifying and following tracks. Also Increases the user’s ability to find prey through the sense of smell. The user gains the ability to see a very faint glow around tracks left by prey.

[Basic Stealth(common)](Skill): The user gains basic knowledge on how to better stay out of sight as well as an increased ability to do so. As well as this the user appears to others as slightly more blended in with the environment.

[A Predator’s Sight(Rare)](Perk): The perk holder gains the ability to see vital/damaged areas on a creature’s body.

Pretty basic shit for a wolf but this is the first time this has happened so it makes sense. I can already track decent enough and I don’t think I really need stealth. So I’ll just go with the one that helps the most with combat.

[Gained Chosen Perk: A Predator’s Sight]

Upon gaining it nothing happened to my vision or anything. That was to be expected though not like there was any prey in sight.

The wounds I had sustained from the fight probably weren’t going to heal soon. My teeth felt like they were all at the wrong angle and who knows if that could even heal. But at least now that I was getting farther from the crystal I could feel myself calming down.

I whipped my head around as I heard a noise behind me. A figure completely covered by a cloak stood there. Not just one but multiple. All surrounding me in a circle.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. A cult.