Chapter 19 - 18

After I had finished removing the anti-cavalry spikes scattered inside the cave, I began to test my newly evolved body. At first, it was kind of a hassle. And it wasn't simply because of how much my body size has increased, it was also because this new body of mine was far stronger and way more agile than ever before. Seriously, it felt like I was given an exceptionally powerful weapon despite not having the slightest idea of how to use it.

Honestly, it was vastly different from my first evolution. That time, when I tested moving my body after evolution, I didn't feel any huge difference compared to my Dire Wolf Cub form. Yes, my body had also increased in size and I also felt a little weird moving because of the newfound strength within my body, but at least, I didn't feel like I was losing control every time I made some huge movements. And when I said that I felt like I was losing control, you better believe that was really the case. I mean seriously, I couldn't even properly regulate how high or how long the distance was when I jumped.

'Man, this is such a hassle…' I sighed.

Fortunately, unlike the last time I had evolved, I was not starving this time around. From the looks of it, the food that I had eaten before was enough to bring out the full capacity of this body even after the evolution was completed. Most likely, the evolution process hasn't consumed all the nutrition provided by that food, and that was why there was still enough leftover nutrition within me to help me keep going even if I don't eat for a while.

'If that is the case, then I'm gonna use this opportunity to train and get used to this body first before I explore and start hunting around this area!!'

***

It took me quite some time, but I was finally more comfortable in moving my body now. Of course, it wasn't to the point of complete mastery like I had over my body before. But at least, the weird feeling in my movements has subsided to the point that it was now possible for me to hunt for food. Well, it was more like I had already begun to feel a little hungry so I had no choice but to hunt for food, despite my reservations. And so, I had left the cave and now I was strolling around searching for prey with extreme caution.

Looking at the walls of the cliff, I reckon that it might be possible for me to climb up using the jutting rocks and holes scattered all over it. Unfortunately, the relentless buzzing I was hearing up above prevented me from taking that option. Well, if it was just climbing, I have no problem with that. But fighting off those bees while climbing on an uneven foothold? Nope, not gonna do it. So, of course, if I could not climb the cliff, then I just needed to find some other way to climb back up.

At first glance, those holes on the wall of the cliff might have looked just like a cave with a dead end, but I doubt every single hole was like that. Probably, some of those holes might actually be a path leading inside the holes. My guess was maybe this place was made up of a lot of interconnected caves. Of course, I was not making this deduction based on just my guess. The biggest clue for me was the name of this place. If you could remember, this place was called "Great Vicious Caverns." And based on the name "Caverns," this place was certainly made up of multiple caves.

And so, I was currently carefully looking at every cave I encountered to check if it was a dead-end or not. Unfortunately, I still haven't found any cave that I could use to explore the interior of the walls. Another problem was I still hadn't encountered any other monster. Normally, that would be a good thing. But given that my hunger was steadily getting worse, I really needed to find something to eat.

Actually, I could guess why there seemed to be no monsters around this area. Most likely, it has something to do with that Cerberus from before. Although I couldn't feel its presence right now, I got a feeling that the monsters around this area had either run away or were already inside the Cerberus' stomach. Honestly, that thing was a walking disaster.

'Seriously, that Swamp Drake and Cerberus were both freaking huge. I wonder if it was also possible for me to be that intimidating and huge? Though, if I factor in my goal, I guess being a huge a.s.s monster like that will not help me in the slightest. Well, I have already decided that I will try to become a werewolf, so there's no use imagining being one…'

While I was wallowing in my delusions, I finally found the cave I was looking for. This cave, as I thought, was connected to the other caves. The biggest proof of that was the multiple paths I found deep inside. And because I didn't have enough information to go on, I just chose a path at random. Normally, I would eventually get lost if I kept this up. That was why the solution I came up with was to follow a path that was seemingly inclined upwards. By doing this, I could increase my chance of going back to that wetland area and it might be even possible for me to run into an exit. Besides, even if I happened to hit a dead end, I could just trace back my scent using my Enhance Smell. So, yeah. I highly doubt I would get lost.

After a while of walking through all the twists and turns of this seemingly endless labyrinth, I finally found a new monster. Actually, this was the first time I had seen this type of monster. In a sense, this monster was some sort of insect-type monster. The biggest takeaway for this monster was its arms that were shaped like a scythe. For the most part, it looked like a praying mantis. The only difference was that this monster had three pairs of eyes. So, of course, being that this was the first time I had seen this monster, I used Assess on it. But then, I was surprised by the result.

[Name: (Unnamed)]

[Race: Hackclaw]

[Status: Healthy]

'Wha—'

For the first time, my skill Assess showed a lot of information than usual. Shocked by the unexpected upgrade of Mr. Assess, I unconsciously blinked my eyes wondering if I was seeing it right. But no matter how much I opened and closed my eyes, the displayed information didn't change.

'No way… Mr. Assess has actually acquired some huge freaking upgrades…'

Fortunately, even though I just stood in my position dazed for a few seconds, the Hackclaw just gazed at me cautiously without showing any signs of attacking. Most likely, the Hackclaw thought that I was just acting to set up a trap. Of course, it wasn't acting in the slightest. I was just genuinely surprised by my Mr. Assess' new upgrade. Though, it didn't really matter since that doubt actually worked in my favor.

'Okay, let's forget about Mister's Assess upgrade for now. First, let's just focus on killing this monster.'

Of course, I wasn't about to let the Hackclaw go even if it didn't attack me during my dazed. After all, my stomach was pretty much empty now and I was in desperate need of food for quite some time.

'Sorry, Mr. Hackclaw but you're gonna be my snack!!' I thought as I charged towards the monster.

I know I have already said this before, but let me just say it again, I wasn't in full control of my body just yet. And that's why when I charged towards the Hackclaw, it almost managed to cut me in half. Fortunately, I managed to dodge the Hackclaw's scythe only just by a hair's breadth.

'Crap, I almost died in there!!'

Probably realizing that it had no chance of winning against me in close-quarters combat, the Hackclaw retreated immediately after missing its attack. To be perfectly honest, the Hackclaw was fast. I could even say that this thing was probably as fast as that snake I had fought before. And besides that, those scythe-like arms were also incredibly sharp. Seriously, those things could probably slice even a stone.

As I fixed my stance and lowered my center of gravity, the Hackclaw just stood and kept its distance without showing any intention of charging towards me. And surprisingly, despite clearly knowing that I was a huge threat to its life, it didn't even try to run. Well, to be fair, the Hackclaw also probably realized that I was fast enough to kill it the moment it turned its back. Besides, the only reason I was having a hard time killing it was that I couldn't properly dodge those scythes because my control over my body was all over the place.

'Well, this battle won't end if none of us take a risk.'

Based on the way the Hackclaw behaved, it wouldn't take the initiative to attack no matter how much I wait. If that was the case, then I needed to be the one to break this stalemate and risk being cut to shred. Of course, I also had the option of using the skill Haste to do a surprise attack. Unfortunately, I had noticed that the Hackclaw's reflexes were incredibly fast based on our exchange earlier. So, technically, using haste in this battle was just simply suicide. Not to mention that I already had a hard time controlling my speed on my base form so I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to handle it if I added the effect of Haste over it.

'Guess I'll need to win this fight without using Haste.'

I haven't noticed it up until now, but it seemed like I was starting to get dependent on my Haste skill. Of course, using skills to survive wasn't bad in the slightest. But despite that, I still needed to improve my own combat abilities lest I would be overly reliant on my skills. And once I became like that, I would certainly lose if the time ever came where I would be forced to fight without using skills. That was why I decided to take this chance to not only master the control of my body but also to train in fighting while minimizing the use of skills.

'Well, you are technically risking your life in this fight. So, as a show of respect, I will also risk my life by beating you head-on. All right Mr. Hackclaw, let's do this!!'

And so, I charged head-on towards the deadly scythes of my prey.