NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14
[The Horror of the Eel Bone (Worg – Amorphous) Lv.1] [EXP 111 / 1032]
[Body Length 52.7cm] [Height 27.5cm] [Weight 5.4kg]
The first thing that caught my eye was the experience points.
When I was in my amorphous gel phase, I needed 324 experience points to reach level 1, but now after evolving, I needed over 1000.
Right now, it’s 1000, but thinking ahead, it feels even more daunting. When I achieved the last level 20, the required experience was 11,000, and with a minimum guess, it looks like level 20 will surpass 30,000. As I got stronger, the demand for experience points went up too.
…But wasn’t the idea to evolve based on what I consumed? Why have I shrunk so much?
I’m smaller than I was in my amorphous gel form. Just to check, I reflected myself in the water and saw a cute, little…
‘…Puppy?’
Yeah. There was a puppy. Its wagging tail looked excessively cute. If I thought it was adorable, others would definitely feel the same. Fortunately, with the base being a wolf, it looked agile, but still, it had the appearance deserving of the name ‘Blackie’.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
…I thought I’d follow the Worg’s height exactly, but I was fooled. However, looking at the status, I could tolerate it.
Pre-evolution: [Strength 66] [Agility 45] [Stamina 146] [Magic Power 1]
Post-evolution: [Strength 76] [Agility 81] [Stamina 151] [Magic Power 1]
Overall, the stats increased.
The magic power stayed the same, but agility saw a significant boost. My stats rose across the board compared to my amorphous gel phase at level 20, and the percentage that was attached for comparison disappeared.
At least among the animals, there’s no need to worry about weight class. It didn’t have a % sign next to stamina before, either.
The weight has decreased, but considering the potential for future growth, it seems limitless. Definitely much more than before evolution.
By the way, with being amorphous… The stats have gone up, so it’s definitely evolution, but it feels more like transforming into a puppy than evolving from amorphous gel.
First things first, I need to level up.
“Woof! Woof!”
After checking the stats, I opened the skill window and noticed some different skills compared to before evolution.
[Presence Detection (F) Lv.9 has reached maximum proficiency. Presence Detection (F) Lv.9 → Presence Detection (F) Lv.10]
[Presence Detection (F) Lv.10 has reached maximum level. Presence Detection (F) Lv.10 → Presence Detection (E) Lv.1]
[Heat Detection (E) Lv.1 and Presence Detection (E) Lv.1 exist simultaneously]
[Heat Detection (E) Lv.1 and Presence Detection (E) Lv.1 merge to become Detection (D) Lv.1]
Finally, I obtained a D-rank skill. Just like in the previous evolution, I got two additional skills this time: ‘Enhanced Senses’ and ‘Weak Sense of Smell’. Without needing to spy, I could already guess what the skills were about.
Since I evolved, I should do some tests. First, the pain sensation. I bit my front paw, and with the physical damage reduction, I couldn’t really tell well, so I resolved to bite hard this time. But I didn’t feel any pain. It’s definitely amorphous.
Next was ‘Enhanced Senses’. Just by looking at its name, I understood its meaning, so I started running.
Running had a different joy than rolling around. Feeling the wind on my face as I ran was refreshing. I was surprisingly fast, but it still felt like a puppy.
Unless it was a hill tires couldn’t climb, rolling was still faster. There was no pain, and running was pretty nice. The only thing left was the sense of smell.
Sniffing around, there were sweet smells. Fishy smells. Rotting smells. Earthy smells. Even some smells I had never encountered before blended together into a chaotic mix. I could smell them, but I couldn’t distinguish what was what. It wasn’t a problem with the sense of smell itself; it was just that I didn’t know what they were. It seemed I needed more experience.
I tried to track down the sweet smell and found a beehive hanging from a tree. Below it was a bear. Did I find the bear, or was I looking for honey? Probably honey… right? Anyway, the bear underneath didn’t seem fully grown, probably just a juvenile. Maybe it was a female.
[Asian Black Bear]
[Height 140cm] [Body Length 67cm] [Weight 84kg]
[Strength 111] [Agility 51] [Stamina 76]
Having a strength in the triple digits was quite high, but thinking of the hunters I had seen before, it felt somewhat pathetic.
After all, I had seen a 24kg giant eel and dealt with a black wolf, so animals didn’t seem that scary anymore.
It was a new experience. Just a few days ago, when I saw the bear passing by in the eel bone area, I was holding my breath and hoping not to disturb it.
Of course, if we were judging just by stats, it wasn’t that big of a difference. Instead of being overly cautious and getting hit unexpectedly, it was better to face it properly from the start.
“Grrr?”
As I was about to make my move, I saw its dazed face and deflated. It looked so blissful hunched over the honeycomb, wearing an expression as if it had everything in the world…
A strange standoff lasted a moment when it offered me the honeycomb it had been eating. Surprised by its gesture of goodwill, the bear raised its arms as if inviting me to eat.
“…?”
Even though I had become a Worg, I had no sense of taste due to being amorphous. Still, I was too deflated to think about fighting. I just accepted it and ate, and the bear clapped happily.
“Gwaaa. Kwooo?”
Then it leaned in, and I tensed up thinking it wanted to fight, but it stuck out its tongue and licked me. After getting drooled on, which I wiped off with my tentacle, I finally understood the situation.
‘…Is it perhaps seeing me as a cub?’
My appearance was indeed peculiar. Although a Worg is a black wolf, right now I was a cub. At a glance, it might confuse me with a bear cub.
‘What a strange feeling.’
For some reason, I didn’t have the urge to eat this bear. I hurried on my way, hoping it would live a long life.
***
“Yes~ I’ll assist you with the discharge process. Could you come this way?”
Some time later, Euna returned home and collapsed on her bed.
“I definitely saw something at the end…”
What was it? It was that green something that saved my life… What on earth was that?
Suddenly, the slime I had seen flashed through my mind, but I brushed off the thought.
There’s no way that could be it.
***
When the wild boar charged at me, expecting it, I dove in and bit its neck, and it died easily. I was rather surprised.
…It wasn’t a match at all.
I began to understand why monsters are monsters.
Aside from that, the experience points were terrible. It had taken me the last two days hunting to only gain 5 levels. The stronger I got, the harder it became to level up. Even small animals like squirrels or rats no longer granted experience points when eaten. At least I could convert satiety into experience points.
Sure, my smaller size meant I filled up faster, but compared to the absolute amount of experience points, eating wasn’t efficient, even if I converted satiety. So I tried to eat big animals whenever I encountered them, but I still only gained 5 levels.
Recently, it seemed like more people were frequently coming in and out. I felt too many presences. Maybe it was because the detection range expanded. There was also the fact that there was probably still one more Worg left.
I felt uneasy about the rumors that hunters were hunting the monster wolf. While I liked the news, it also felt off; it felt like something was getting taken from me.
In reality, I planned to head to the city after dealing with the monster wolf. Because there was nothing else to do in Jirisan. Ultimately, there would come a time when I couldn’t level up with large animals like wild boars or roe deer. Before that, I intended to take down only the monster wolf and leave Jirisan.
That was my plan, but the frequent visits from the hunters made me feel uneasy. At first, I hoped they would deal with the Worg…
‘Damn. My whims are all over the place.’
Either way, I have no options at this point. I still have too many shortcomings to fight the monster wolf. Even if I used the skill points I have, it would still be a stretch.
At least now I could learn D-rank skills. That was my only consolation. Of course, it would consume 4 skill points.
The D-rank skills I had pre-selected were “All Damage Reduction” and “Hardening.” No need to mention “All Damage Reduction,” and I’d been using “Hardening” effectively until now, so I could easily utilize it. As my skill level rose, the number of options would increase, but that was the case for now.
My immediate goal is level 8. By that time, my remaining skill points would be 12, allowing me to acquire 3 D-rank skills. I might even be able to defeat it then.
Thanks to the hunters, at least it seemed the beast wouldn’t come after me. Maybe it was just disinterested… But anyway, it bought me time to level up.
Of course, if I got caught by the hunters, it would be bad news for me as well as for the beast. I needed to be more cautious.
Skills like Observation and Stealth are not solely mine. It would be best if they just passed by thinking I was a bear or wild dog cub, but if found out, I’d be literally shot on the spot.
“……”
So that’s why I was hanging around with this bear.
“Grrr?”
Honestly, I’ve tried to shake it off many times, but the bear’s sense of smell was so keen that I couldn’t get rid of it at all. No matter how far I went, it would show up the next day, lumbering around. Thus, this bizarre companionship continued on into the second day.
‘For some reason, it feels like I’m being babysat…’
“Grrr?”
After spending about two days together, I could somewhat read its expressions. It was probably asking if I wanted honey…
“No more honey!”
***
“So, we went home empty-handed again today.”
“Boss! At this rate, we’ll become forest farmers!”
Feeling the team’s complaints, the team leader nodded calmly.
“Let’s bear with it a little longer.”
“Why don’t we just request support from Team 2 or Team 1? Or call another clan…?”
A young hunter’s comment earned a smack on the back of his head from an old hunter.
“Are you out of your mind? How do you think Team 1 and 2 would view us?”
“Why hit me? What do you mean view us?”
“You dare say such things over this? ‘Those guys are the search team but couldn’t even find one Worg?’ They’d just ridicule us about why we’re even here.”
“I mean, it’s obvious that the vice team leader is a one-trick pony…”
“Are you insane?”
It wasn’t an incorrect statement. The truth is, there was no way to corner the Worg. Just because we chased it day and night doesn’t mean we could catch it. Even tracking its traces was exhausting, not to mention capturing it in the vast Jirisan. Other teams and clans were certainly aware of this…
“If we’d passed it off as a nuisance from the start, it’d be different, but starting off and failing would just make us look foolish.”
Despite that explanation, the young team member wore a ‘still…’ expression. It seemed he understood, but he remained silent for a moment before the team leader nodded.
“It’s not that there’s no way to do this.”
“You don’t mean you agree with that stupid suggestion, do you?”
“Of course not.”
“That stupid suggestion…” Ignoring the young team member’s gloomy muttering, the team leader explained.
“Look. This is the path the Worg has moved through.”
“Huh?”
“It hasn’t strayed far from the Eel Bone and Chenyang Peak. I don’t know the exact reasons, but… there’s gotta be a reason behind it.”
“Is it searching for something?”
“Maybe. Anyway, if there’s a reason for it to linger around, how about we try the opposite this time?”
“The opposite?”
“Ambush. No way would it miss coming into a close distance.”
The team leader exchanged trusting glances with the team members, and they felt a growing sense of apprehension. Sure enough.
“If we try this and still can’t manage, there’s no leaving until we get it.”
“…….”
“Prepare to die.”
With the hellish remark, the team members reluctantly nodded.