The rock smashed right on top of the red mask’s head, where his mask wasn’t protecting him, though it was large enough that it wouldn’t have mattered much. The spear ripped from my stomach as he fell back, and I quickly scurried away before the two of them could get their bearings back.
“W-What is that?” the one holding Lily shouted. He removed his knife from her throat to point it at Grick.
The goblin raised his arms in the air, the four scrawny limbs coming from behind the red mask that almost seemed to be floating in the barely moonlit cavern. “Fear me! I am the all-powerful Grick!” he shouted.
“I-It’s the spirit!” He backed away fearfully, still holding Lily by her scruff.
“Drop puppy or forever be cursed!” Grick commanded, wagging his arms. “You have angered Grick!”
He instantly dropped her and stammered as he fell to his knees and folded his hands. “P-Please forgive me! Oh, Spirit!”
As soon as Lily’s paws touched the ground, she scurried over to stand by my side, looking at me with worry in her eyes. My teeth were clenched in pain. That wound was nearly fatal, and I didn’t need to check my vitals to know I didn’t have much HP to spare at this point.
“Idiot!” Rakul shouted. “That is no spirit!” He ripped off his mask and tossed it to the side so he could touch his wound. He had tan skin and braided blonde hair, and there was a streak of red pouring down his face from where the rock hit him.
“W-Wait… isn’t that…” The other red mask squinted through the dark. “But Rakul! That’s Kaileen’s mask!”
“Would a spirit throw a rock!?” Rakul shouted at him. “We’ll figure out what happened to Kaileen later! Now raise your damn weapons!” In a fit of anger, Rakul suddenly threw his spear at Grick.
The goblin let out a surprised yelp and hopped down behind the boulder. I saw him scamper away into hiding, the oversized mask bobbing with each exaggerated step. But I wasted not another second.
{Elemental Cocktail}! Pentaclysm!
I swiped my claws and formed the sphere of light. Rakul’s eyes instantly shot back to me as if just remembering I was still a threat.
The spear flattened as the beam shot at him, but I unfortunately had to commend his reflexes as he leapt to the side and just barely dodged it.
Stupid, I should have gone for the one still blubbering about spirits!
I turned tail and ran, realizing that if I struggled so much against Rakul while at my best, this wound would certainly turn the odds in his favor. Lily was right at my side, but we were both worn down, my wound making me slower. Still, humans were slow, and I was able to stay ahead of them.
Healing Potions.
I realized that was the one way to win at this point, so I arced my path wide, heading back to the first red mask I had killed, hoping I would find one on his corpse.
I wasn’t quite fast enough in my injured state to gain much ground on them, but Lily was, despite however tired she might be.
Rakul snatched his spear off the ground as he passed by it, and the other finally got his wits together enough to sprint after us as well.
I would eventually tire out, and they would catch me. My open wound draining my hp even further with each lost drop of blood.
I huffed at Lily and cast {Veil of Shadows}, then dove into some greenery so they would lose sight of me.
I hated using her for bait in this situation, but even without mana to properly cast her spells, she was much faster than them, and I was the only one who could take them down, so I had to heal if we were going to stand a chance.
“Shit, where did it—” the stupid one stammered.
“Go alert the others! I’ll keep the damn beasts busy!” Rakul barked at him.
“Right!” He then put two fingers into the mouthhole of his mask and let out a loud whistle that echoed through the caverns.
Damn it! I can’t let him get away.
I wasn’t being actively pursued, so I stopped and searched the cluster of Direwings. A single one swooped down, heading right for its master. He jumped and swung his legs up just as it passed him, smoothly taking flight atop the beast.
I thought quickly, looking towards the hole in the ceiling, and then jumping atop a boulder.
This already worked once.
This time, I knew I might only get one shot at it, so I carefully watched his trajectory until he flew into the danger zone. I channeled lightning, wind, and ice.
{Elemental Cocktail}! Ice Missiles!
The spikes of ice formed in front of my claws as I swiped down, the barrage shooting out in a messy barrage that zagged through the air before correcting their direction and zeroing in on the fleeing human.
The spikes tore through the wings of his mount, and a few jabbed into his back as he hollered in pain and surprise, and the Direwing screeched in panic as it lost its lift and spiraled back to the ground.
He hit hard, but that wasn’t the only reward I got for my well-timed shot.
Achievement! Multitasking!
When time is limited, handling the now and the next simultaneously is the key to success!
+1 sense
It had been a while since I got one, and it strangely did not quite align with what I had done. Not only that, it’s not like I really did anything new, and it once again gave a pitiful reward of a single stat point…
Something pricked at the edge of my mind as a thought grabbed hold… I’d seen this before…
Messages related to leveling up and my stats seemed far more automated than these achievement messages, but achievements seemed to be tailored to me, and on occasion they even seemed to try to warn me or communicate. This got me thinking… was it once again trying to tell me something?
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Mauve urging me towards the evolution path I unlocked?
I quickly glanced over to check how Lily was doing. She was easily dodging Rakul’s attacks and staying on the run. He growled with frustration and yelled, “What are you doing! Call another Direwing!”
“I-I’m hurt,” the other complained, probably barely picking himself up from the ground. Besides taking a few of my Ice Missiles in his back, it looked like he had hit the ground hard.
The potion would have to wait; I went for him.
The Direwing was still screeching and flapping its torn wings, barely getting a foot off the ground as it tried to take flight. The red mask was on a single knee, but he raised his fingers into his mask to call another.
Not so fast!
I pounced, cutting off his whistle just as he got it off.
He swung a fist, cracking me hard in the side of the skull and throwing me back. He then rolled as he drew his dagger and lunged at me. My torn stomach screamed in pain from all my quick movements, but I ignored it, dodged, and tried something to back him off.
{Elemental Swipe!} Galing Claw!
A burst of wind shot from my claw as I swiped towards him. It blew him back, knocking him off his feet. I gave him no time to recover as I pounced again, snapping my jaws at his hand. The dagger raked across my face; I felt its sting slip through my already bloodied eye, and half my vision went completely dark in an instant. If it were not for the adrenaline, I’d be howling in agony, because I had just lost an eye.
But my jaws found his weak finger bones and smashed through them like a series of snapping twigs.
He screamed. I shook—throwing his dagger free from his grasp. Now it was time to end this—I went for the throat.
He fought me off a little longer, but not much longer.
Prey Eliminated - Lvl 15 Homo Sapien - Bloody Peaks Tribe
Experience gained!
“Damn it!” Rakul shouted, and I looked to see he had given up on chasing Lily. He looked over his shoulder at the hole in the ceiling and began to raise his fingers to whistle.
But he stopped. He must have been thinking of how I shot his ally out of the sky. So instead, he headed towards the slope that would lead him out of the cavern.
He was actually fleeing! He must have realized even if he was stronger, he was wasting time chasing Lily around and we would eventually counter attack. So now, he was instead going to get reinforcements. Bet he never expected we would have been able to kill his entire group like this.
Lily didn’t bother chasing after him; she knew she wasn’t a match for him, so instead came looking for me.
I sniffed urgently at the red mask I’d just killed, checking his waist and spotting a pouch that most of them carried. I pawed at it and tried to undo the clasp with my teeth. It was awkward, but I managed to tear it open.
Amidst a scatter of cheap coins, a strip of dried meat, and a small metal case containing who knows who, I found what I’d been praying for—a glass vial filled with red liquid.
A healing potion!
Relief hit so hard my legs almost buckled. I tried for only a moment to get my teeth on the cork and pull it off, but my paws slipped on the glass surface.
Grick was nowhere to be seen, and I didn’t have time to communicate what I needed from him—I had a fleeing red mask to catch and kill.
I snatched the vial between my teeth, threw my head back, and bit down hard.
Glass sliced my gums and tongue, but I was careful to press my tongue high to stop any shard from making it down my throat as I carefully let the red liquid slip past.
Instantly I felt warmth fill my body, far more intense than when I ate Healing Shrooms, and just like with the other healing method, the warmth focused on my injuries. Even my freshly split gums and tongue benefited from the wonderful human concoction.
Sight came back to my blinded eye, the ache of torn flesh receded, and suddenly… I felt great!
I coughed and spit, shaking my muzzle at the ground, trying to clear the glass from my mouth. I suppose I got enough of it.
Grick approached cautiously, but there was no more time to waste. I gave Lily a huff, then ran ahead. I assumed the last of the red masks were camped somewhere outside, and it was a good distance away from the mouth of the cave, but he had gotten a huge head start on us. He had already disappeared into the tunnels.
Lily waited just long enough to let Grick hop on her back, and soon she was running alongside me again.
As we continued on, I finally took the System’s advice and checked the available evolution.
Epic - Whisperfang Juvenile
Whisperfang Juveniles are budding apex predators. Those who walk this path seek a future where they are second to none.
Hint 1: You have looked into the eyes of one who knew death was coming and saw the lines blur between predator and prey.
Hint 2: You have witnessed death delivered not by strength, but by stillness, and understood that silence may be sharper than fangs.
Hint 3: You have learned with certainty that creatures traditionally thought of as prey are not your only targets.
Requirements
Stage 5 development
Strength: 70
Dexterity: 80
Vigor: 70
Sense: 100
Attunement: 60
Required Achievement: Apex Predator
Budding apex predator… I wondered what kind of skills that would give me. I selected it, pulling up the evolution prompt.
Would you like to advance to Whisperfang Juvenile?
[Yes] < [No]
You will lose access to skills:
Elemental Absorption
Elemental Cocktail
Elemental Swipe
Elemental Attunement
You will regain access to the following inactive skills:
Pulse Sense
Marrow Sense
Crap! That’s a big decision!
Having Pulse Sense back excited me greatly, but I’d be losing all my ranged combat! That had already proven vital to taking down the Direwings. But was it possible I’d get some other kind of ranged attack? I really wish this stupid thing told me about new skills!
I swiped everything away, wanting to check on my resources.
Vitals
Health: 480 / 480
Mana: 03 / 615
Stamina: 80 / 436
Elemental Reserves
Fire: 13/20
Electricity: 11/20
Water: 16/20
Wind: 16/20
Earth: 13/20
Damn it! I was fine on elements, but my last attack must have drained my mana. Even if I doubled back to where we left the crystals, they didn’t restore mana, only elements. The only way to get mana back was to sleep or eat something with magic, but there was no time with this Rakul bastard fleeing out of reach!
Fleeing…
That word perked something in my mind.
He was prey…
The flavor text said Whisperfang Juvenile would make me a budding apex predator…
All other considerations aside, there was something else gnawing at me. The desire to walk such a path. I’ve had a nice taste of it here in these caves. Not just the prey I’ve hunted or the Earth Tyrant, but all the humans I’ve killed that had come here to hunt me and my sister.
This was an epic path, and required a higher development stage. That meant it should be stronger than the one I had now. Arcane Nightstalker was quite powerful, aside from the mana and elemental limitations. But maybe…
Maybe Whisperfang Juvenile would be different.
I pulled the evolution screen back up, and when it asked if I was sure I wanted to evolve, I selected yes. Whether it was a desire to be an apex predator or not, my current path was useless without mana, so I had to roll the dice on something else!
I kept my legs moving, kept running, but already I could feel my body changing. A golden light touched my fur, I could see the glow on the tunnel walls around me, and every time my paws bounded forward I saw it brightening as it consumed me.
Through the golden haze, my claws were changing again. The slightly translucent quality of the nails and the tiny tiny stars swirling within began… turning black.
I bared my fangs, growling with anticipation, and as the evolution completed, I let out a roar.
