7. The Caretaker’s Cosmos

As my adrenaline-fueled body calmed down, my need for a colossal feast stole the spotlight from my triumphant giggle. The hour-long walk and exhausting fight caused a pang of extreme hunger. In addition, my wounds that caused constant activation of my regeneration skill had probably also contributed to draining away my stamina. I wondered if that was a drawback as it was hard to tell whether my starvation hurt the most or the wounds if they didn’t recover.

I looked around for anything to eat before finally laying my eyes on the impaled insect corpse.

“Ain’t no way in hell I’m eating that,” I gagged as another wave of hunger hit me in the face. “Nevermind, I’m going to feast.” Swallowing my pride, I poked the insect around, hoping to find a slightly more appetizing body part, or at the very least something that wasn’t overflowing with stench. The claws and wings were thin yet solid and inedible like bones. Anywhere near the head was hopeless too, and I certainly didn’t want to eat any organs either. Finally, I settled with the legs, which had a somewhat chewier consistency and strong fibers that mimicked edible meat. I hesitantly bit into it, and from the first chew, it tasted like the bitterest substance to exist, only to shift into some acidic paste.

They said anything tastes delicious when you’re hungry or something alike—what a bunch of hogwash those quotes were. I couldn’t wait to find another way outside and eat food that wasn’t the quality of fertilizers. First, my hearing was tortured in the barker pit, and now, my tastebuds. So what’s next out of my five senses?

Suddenly, my stomach began aching with an excruciating pain similar to when I first evolved. The sense within my gut was as vivid as imaginable. The flesh of the insect reacted with my own by tearing them apart and recombining them to form something new. By the time my growth finished, I was shivering and shaking, panting and sweating. Well, that answered the question, but why did all my powerups have to be so agonizing?

- [Notice] -

You have absorbed the Essence of a Riftborn. As a result, you have gained its abilities.

Active Skill [Revitalizing Claws] Obtained!

Active Skill [Web Creation] Obtained!

- [Notice] -

You have leveled up! Lvl. 1 -> Lvl. 2

[Spendable Points] +10

That was a solid amount of information to digest, but I think I got the hang of what was happening. I didn’t receive any stat points for my newfound skills because I didn’t learn them myself. I vaguely remember not gaining any stat points the first time I obtained a skill. I simply received abilities when the atmosphere awakened my evolution through my wound. Comparing that to recently, when I had learned my skills failure after failure, it made sense that I would be rewarded with stat points.

Nevertheless, it seems like I have leveled up. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, whether it came with special perks or simply served as a title to show one’s approximate strength. I could discern a clear difference when my enhanced senses leveled up, so unless there were hidden rewards, general leveling didn’t make a meaningful impact. Ten spendable points were still adequate, but a mere placebo effect couldn’t begin to compare to how much my senses improved. For now, I’ll wait until I understand the stat system better instead of carelessly distributing my points.

In any case, there wasn’t a point in overanalyzing; I was eager to test out my two new skills, but they were active skills, so how do I activate them? To commence, I started with the least logical approach for some reason.

“Revitalizing Claws!” I shouted. Nothing happened other than my awkward voice resounding in the endless tunnel. That was embarrassing, even though I was all alone.

“Ughh,” I complained. “How can I use the skill of a body part I don’t have? “Do I just try to control an imaginary—”

“Shluk, chut!” A razor-sharp claw flung out of both my forearms. Dumbfounded, I stared at my new body part. So, it really was as simple as moving any other limbs. Furthermore, this skill was perfectly fit for close-ranged battles as the claws imitated the form of two long knives that bend at a curved angle. With another command, my claws instantly retracted back into my arms without leaving scars where they had materialized—a little smirk formed on my face as I didn’t expect such a practical ability to come straight to me. Even better was that it shouldn’t even be all the skill had to offer. I wonder if revitalizing had something to do with how the insect regrew its eyes or if it just had a high-level regeneration skill. Maybe revitalizing meant I could grow new ones if they were cut off, but I’m hoping they had an unusual ability attached to them.

As for the other skill… Well, I’m a bit uneasy about that, to say the least; if I recall correctly, the web shot out of the insect's tongue—the cylinder-shaped, teeth-stuffed, leathery tongue so foul one could faint at its presence. At first, I wanted to try it out, but on second thought, there is no guarantee that my tongue will return to its original form. Not to mention its length; it was so big that it would always stick out of my mouth, eliminating any remaining odds of positive social interaction. Instead, it’ll serve as a potential trump card for an escape.

I picked up a fragment of the insect’s wing as they still emitted enough light for my night vision to catch my surroundings. Unfortunately, the light was becoming weaker with every second passing, so I used that chance to scout the tunnel. Coarse threads were waving along the wall, thin to the point where the naked eye could not see them. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that they were moving ever so slightly. I initially thought that the thin strands carved this corridor over centuries, but that shouldn’t be possible without detritus lying everywhere.

After walking for another hour, the tunnel began expanding to the sides, and the walls were crowded with stinging threads. Then, a dim opal light glimmered in the distance; this was the entrance to something genuinely bloodcurdling. I gulped down a clump of spit before hesitantly proceeding forward.

There was no bloodlust in the atmosphere; the only sound was my footsteps resonating along the walls. However, it didn’t make me feel any safer knowing that there weren’t creatures awaiting me. It only meant that this place was uninhabitable or, even worse, that an apex predator resided around here.

Upon exiting the passage, I was greeted with a massive space at least four times the size of the barker pit. A path, although narrower, continued through the chamber, functioning as a sky bridge that led to an iris purple crystal as big as a cottage. Crescent-shaped and almost liquid-like networks formed from ceiling to floor. Cloudy rays flared from ethereal sources presenting this place with an otherworldly tone. The thought of slipping off the bridge sent shivers down my spine. It was as if this space had a life of its own and would engulf me when I fell within its grasp.

Standing before the unbelievable crystal, I placed my hand on the surface, marveled at its glossy texture, and wondered what value this jewel would sell at an auction. Then, a split second after touching the crystal, a petrifying aura emerged from behind, paralyzing every muscle I had. Then, helpless on the ground, I got a complete picture of the sinister creature—no boundless entity that had appeared out of its camouflage.

A kraken so colossal it scarcely existed within my entire field of view floated right before me. Most of its body consisted of an eye with a lotus flower-shaped crown acting as eyelids, and hundreds of thin metallic tentacles hovered from its back, extending endlessly and multiplying like a probability tree. Its texture was as polished as a diamond yet dazzled with intricate elements. Maybe this comparison wasn’t fair, but the krakens aura was far more potent than the one I felt in the vision about my past.

“Welcome, little one,” sounded a transcendental, deep yet feminine voice. The words resonated in the room, freezing my voice and silencing my response.

“Hmm, I was certain humans spoke this language, but perhaps you’re still too young. On the other hand, you aren’t exactly human either, are you?”

From my end, there was still quiet. I couldn’t muster up the courage or physical strength to move my mouth.

“Oh, sorry, I see. You can’t handle a little pressure,” it apologized as the aura steadily faded.

“Who… wh-what are y-you?” I stuttered while gasping for breath.

“So you can speak, boy. I’m the Caretaker of the Rift, but that title doesn’t fit me anymore. Now I’m nothing but a lonesome monster, spending her days in lethargy. You may call me Icta’zhish.”

“Icta-what?” I accidentally asked, now praying it wouldn’t be offended.

It sighed a few heavy heartbeats later, breaking the deafening silence.“Just call me the Caretaker,” it comforted while gliding past me. “It brings… nostalgia.”