NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
“`html
The time it took to reach the source of the presence was just over a minute.
In that short time, I contemplated the skills I could observe and thought of the possible scenarios.
It was only a matter of time before the monster-like wolf lying on the ground woke up. Defeating the black wolf, which was sure to be much stronger than me in that limited timeframe, was something only possible in a game.
But it wasn’t a zero percent chance. There was a possibility. And that opportunity would be determined by the first ambush. I had to finish it in one go.
Waiting on the tree, I erased my presence with Stealth and curled my body into a ball as much as possible using Transformation. Adding a weak Hardening, the moment I became a metal ball, I pulled back the bowstring and shot.
A huge cannonball was fired towards the black wolf. This attack couldn’t be dodged… or so I thought, but it easily evaded it. Not only that, but it even counterattacked.
Even after approaching from an unseen angle with my presence erased, it didn’t work. Was it its hearing? Sight? Or was it instinct? It effortlessly dodged with those keen senses.
It was frustrating to miss the first strike of my ambush, only to be on the receiving end of a counterattack.
Fortunately, it didn’t recklessly charge at me, perhaps sensing me as a threat, but that wouldn’t last long.
I wished for support, but the woman I glanced back at was already down. Suddenly, a thought I had firmly resolved to never have again popped into my head, dizzying me.
No, it’s a useless thought. Even if it were viable, there wasn’t enough time to evolve. With a firm shake of my head, I faced the black wolf.
Could I escape? —Impossible. Even if I obtained all related skills, it would catch up to me in no time with its speed. If I hadn’t come here in the first place, maybe it would’ve been different, but since I was here, I had no choice but to fight.
‘……’
[Worg]
[Height 3.79m] [Body Height 1.42m] [Weight 390kg]
Having observed the creature, which had reached level 8, I realized that no matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t a size permitted for a wolf. I couldn’t check its stats, but no matter how positively I thought about it, it was hard to believe they were lower than mine. Perhaps the only thing it might have going for it was its health.
A real monster, unlike me.
Even beyond that, facing the fallen monster wolf, I didn’t dare to engage in observation. At that moment, the black wolf seemed to finish assessing me and began to salivate.
I quickly checked the list of skills I could acquire.
[Acquirable Skills List]
1. Tentacle (F)
…
367. Weak Vision (E)
[Remaining Skill Points 6]
Six skill points I had never used from level 10 up until now— I must not make a wrong choice. I needed to acquire the most essential skills.
[You have acquired the skill Weak Vision (E) Lv.1]
[Weak Vision (F) Lv.4 has been integrated into Weak Vision (E) Lv.1]
[The proficiency of Weak Vision (E) Lv.1 has reached the maximum level. Weak Vision (E) Lv.1 → Weak Vision (E) Lv.2]
My vision became clearer, and colors grew varied. Contrary to the term ‘weak,’ I could see just as well—or even better—than when I was human. As I gazed at the creature with my now sharp eyes, fear washed over me once again.
Could I really fight against such a creature that was faster and stronger than me?
No, I shouldn’t doubt. If I couldn’t escape, I had no choice but to fight.
To confront it, I first needed to see it.
[You have acquired the skill Insight (E) Lv.1]
[Remaining Skill Points 2]
[You can link it with Weak Instinct (F) Lv.5. Would you like to link them?]
Then, an unexpected notification rang in my ears. I nodded slightly to remain unseen by the creature.
[You temporarily acquire the skill Instinct (E) Lv.1]
It may be temporary, but that would be enough. The moment I obtained E-grade instinct, I saw the black wolf charge at me. It bent its knees and closed the distance in an instant—! For a moment, I flinched but soon realized it hadn’t moved yet. I merely felt that it would.
‘……!’
That wasn’t a reality, yet at the same time, it was reality.
Just like the movements I had seen earlier, the black wolf moved as if it were following a hallucination. If I had seen it in advance, I could dodge.
At the moment its giant paw grazed past my head, it bared its teeth. As if the very fact I had dodged annoyed it. This time, it came in deeper, as if to make sure it wouldn’t make a mistake.
For something that didn’t like me, it was rather cold-blooded. Assuming I could stay evasive, it closed in further. Retreating would lead to disaster.
So, I decided to act inversely.
Contrary to my expectations, the black wolf’s eyes gleamed red at the sight of the gelatinous mass closing in. It opened its mouth wide, trying to bite me in one go, yet I swiftly pushed off, evading its attack with pure elasticity.
Having gone so deep, I couldn’t properly parry its sudden advance.
As our hardened bodies collided, I made a decisive impact.
Considering how different our movements were, it shouldn’t have been possible, but Insight and Instinct made it achievable.
The black wolf stared at me in disbelief. It seemed unable to believe it had been hit.
However, I swallowed hard.
Even though I had been struck by a rock weighing almost 40kg, the impact it received wasn’t significant. In fact, it was the opposite.
[The proficiency of Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.3 has reached the maximum level. Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.3 → Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.4]
This level of Physical Damage Reduction that I had hardly raised was now increasing. As I attempted to escape using my elasticity, I ended up getting ripped apart by its front paw.
Even though I had seen it coming, I couldn’t respond faster than it.
I could see its movements clearly with my instinct and insight. But even with an advantage in terms of strategy, my physical capabilities held me back. I was somehow compensating with elasticity, but even that had its limits.
No, that wasn’t the important part. What mattered most was that I lacked means to attack.
Colliding with my body could only last for so long, and with every backfire, it was only natural I would die first. Even if I collided with it, I couldn’t deal a decisive blow.
Yet, I could fight like this only because its condition was poor. Broken limbs and ribs. Ruptured eyeballs. If it weren’t for those penalties, even with Insight and Instinct, fighting would have been impossible.
Even so, the odds were immensely against me.
This was a battle I should never have been able to win, but it was a rare chance, too.
The creature was already wary of me. If I fled now, the black wolf would recover and come after me, and facing it then would leave me with no chance of winning whatsoever.
If I hadn’t come here from the start, maybe it would have been different, but now that I was here, fleeing would only lead to my death. I could not escape. To avoid such a future, I had to kill it here.
Right. I must do it.
“Grrr…”
The black wolf snarled threateningly, circling me as it searched for a way to kill. It, too, understood. The longer it delayed, the more advantageous it became for itself.
Smart and cunning.
To utilize my instincts and insights to the fullest, I hoped it would make the first move, but that didn’t seem likely. The sight of a mad beast overlapped with that of a rational hunter.
…In the end, I had no choice but to make the first move.
With Transformation, I sharpened my form like a spear. The moment it happened, my elasticity amplified my speed explosively. In an instant, I was faster than the wolf could react.
As we collided, a massive shockwave overwhelmed us, and I lost 20% of my surface area, while the wolf appeared unaffected.
Did I fail…?
At that moment, blood began to drip from the creature, staining the ground. I had succeeded in piercing its abdomen, turning its black fur red.
The first wound inflicted. It was a chance.
I wouldn’t stop. I had to tear it apart until the end.
As I leaped towards it, the wolf bared its teeth as if it was waiting for me. Even with my elasticity, changing direction was tough. Instead, I scattered the dirt I had gathered into its eyes. As the grains mixed with its ruptured eye, it shrieked in pain, but it still wouldn’t close its eyes.
That was okay, though.
Even without closing its eyes, its vision was obscured by the thrown dirt. Using elasticity to attack, despite it being an entirely one-sided attack, I found myself trading blows. I knew a counterattack would come even with its vision obscured, yet I couldn’t evade.
That was the difference between me and it.
The focus of a beast. Even while sand scraped against its eyes, it refused to close them. With a heart full of deadly intent, rage, and madness, its red eyes shone through.
Luck had brought me this far.
Only relying on Insight wouldn’t have allowed me to come this far. Without instincts, I would have undoubtedly died. That instinct was more vividly felt than ever. I had thought I would die when facing the master of the Serpent Valley, but it was far clearer now than back then.
That was the same feeling.
[Will I go forward or stand still?]
The fear lingered.
I could feel reassured by the traits of still being human. I smiled faintly, feeling grateful that I hadn’t completely turned into a monster.
That was enough. More forward. Keep going forward.
[You have acquired the skill Charge (E) Lv.1]
I spent my remaining two skill points. To confront madness, willpower was needed. And the stubbornness to not back down.
“―――.”
Beyond the black wolf, the monstrous wolf’s limbs writhed. It seemed to be recovering quicker than I expected. I had to take down the black wolf as fast as possible.
To do so,
‘—Arrows.’
I couldn’t bring it down just by colliding like a rock. To kill the black wolf, a sharp-ended arrow was necessary. Once more, I transformed into a form that minimized air resistance. I adjusted my bow limb. I needed to become an arrow, not a spear.
Aside from the sharpened arrowhead, I extended my tentacles and twisted them together like a braid. A sturdy bow limb was formed, intertwined in such a way.
The moment I transformed, the creature’s eyes widened with unease. Having already been pierced once, it would surely try to avoid it.
The outcome depended on that. Hit or dodge.
The form I made to surge forward. Adding Charge and elasticity, I drew out maximum speed. My vision blurred. Although a skilled archer’s arrow can surpass speeds of 200 km/h, at this moment, I was surely surpassing even that speed.
That was what I thought.
“―――”
The wolf leaped sideways, evading that arrow.
A straightforward attack may be fast, but it was likewise honest. If it were too fast to perceive, that might be one thing, but there was no way a monster would fail to react to a speed slower than a bullet.
Right. That meant just as I expected.
Unraveling my tentacles towards the nearest tree, instead of stopping to reset, I utilized the recoil. Moving along with greater force and speed.
Since I always anticipated it would avoid the attack.
Thus, I hadn’t even used Hardening.
The black wolf’s eyes widened. The arrow returned with even greater force due to the recoil. The impact shook the tree. At the same time, it pierced through its skin and tore through the minimal resistance in just a blink. It tore its blood vessels and muscle fibers. Finally, it collided with its spine but couldn’t penetrate that. There was simply not enough strength.
This attack was blocked. Even if it failed to evade, if the attack was blocked, it was a victory for the wolf. The remaining surface area was less than 1% of its total. The shock of the collision was evenly distributed to both parties. Consequently, the remaining surface area was reduced to merely scraps, less than 1%.
Yet, it wasn’t over.
[Gluttony: Substitute fullness for experience, allowing consumption merely by contact with the target]
This was my first and finest skill. Greedily, I clung to its spine and devoured it hungrily.
This E-grade skill that had reached level 6 unleashed its might upon the defenseless creature’s back.
While the spine pierced through wasn’t lethal to the creature, it surely destroyed the ribs that came intertwining with it, breaking away.
“―――!”
It rolled on the ground as if it was determined to survive, trying to shake me off. No matter how much a monster it was, it was still a wolf at its core. Unless it could reach its back, it couldn’t get rid of me digging deep into its spine.
The more it rolled, the more it suffered. The dirt and sand granules entered its wounds. My body, which had been merely 1%, began bulging as I consumed it. The expanded form spread beyond its spine to reach more of its insides, soon covering its entirety.
‘……!’
I assimilated its components to make them mine. As a being that lived up to the name ‘monster,’ it struggled vehemently to push me out, yet my form had swelled like a tumor, and I extended my tentacles between its ribs to burrow into its organs.
Maliciously, painfully, and stubbornly.
I consumed its intestines, heart, liver, lungs, stomach, spleen, large intestine, and small intestine.
[The proficiency of Gluttony (E) Lv.6 has reached the maximum level. Gluttony (E) Lv.6 → Gluttony (E) Lv.7]
Its lifeline had already been severed. No matter how much of a monster it was, it was still just one life. With its organs destroyed, it had no means to survive.
[The proficiency of Hunger (E) Lv.3 has reached the maximum level. Hunger (E) Lv.3 → Hunger (E) Lv.4]
Finally, the unending hunger ceased. Like pouring water into a bottomless pit, I devoured. As my stomach constantly engaged in Gluttony, the wolf gradually melted away, becoming a part of me.
And finally, when my hunger had no place to go, it vanished.
[You have consumed the Worg. Experience and fullness has increased]
[Your experience has reached its maximum. Lv.15 → Lv.16]
A myriad of messages flickered before me and then vanished. I had fought valiantly against a formidable foe and achieved victory. This was proof. I had definitely taken a step further.
However, mere one step was absurdly far from such a formidable opponent.
“―――.”
It gazed down at me, letting out a low whine.
“`