It dived from above and opened its four tentacles. Many monsters were passing by, and it fell on the back of one of them. As soon as it fell, it used its tentacles to grab the mouth of the monster, making it impossible for it to bite. Then it bit the opponent in the neck with its big mouth and tore apart some flesh.
It bit the opponent two more times to finally eliminate it, and Rishi couldn't believe how effective the new 'Shadow Crawler' was. While the other Shadow Crawlers had to wait for some minutes to kill their opponent, it took him less than ten seconds to do it.
He pointed his hand towards the Shadow Crawler and said, wiping his tears of joy, "That right there, it's my creation." He touched his chest proudly before starting to raise more upgraded soldiers.
It took him some time, but he finally upgraded a hundred Shadow Crawlers into the upgraded version. It took only a little time for the newly upgraded Shadow Crawlers to regain their previous size, and with the efficient hunting speed, they got even larger with time.
Rishi also felt that his control of the shadow element was increasing very fast, and by watching these creatures, he was learning a lot. He also created a new form for the ones that will reach three meters in size; he named it Type 2.
This form consists of a crab-like form with a small head and a long, needle-shaped mouth, and on its back will be two big tentacles with long, sharp daggers attached at the ends. After reaching a three-meter size, even if the shadow crawler is 1.5 meters after the upgrade, he will still be strong enough to slice the hearts of the monsters.
This will increase the hunting speed even more, with crab-like claws for stability and speed, tentacles to use as weapons, and a needle-like mouth to suck away shadow energy fast.
He rubbed his hands as he looked at his new creation that was about to become a reality. He patted the three-foot-long Shadow Crawler before starting the process of molding its shape and transforming it into something different again.
His tiredness had blown away; he was now more interested in knowing his limits, like a mad scientist, and he was eager for his new findings. He touched the Shadow Crawler and said, "Tranform, my soldier, you have proven your worth. It pains my heart to see you in this outdated form."
"It's time for you to transform into something way greater than what you are now. Your master commands you to accept this new form and rise again so you can serve me better."
If he could, Rishi would not have liked to say something like that, but things like this needed emotions and intent, and saying stuff like that made it way easier, so he accepted it and adopted it for now. The more he researched and studied the shadow element, the more he improved.
A small explosion took place after which the black mist appeared again. He waited for a while for it to settle, and when he looked again, a strange, half-meter-long creature appeared before him. It had a very long, needle-like mouth, two big tentacle-like hands, and four small legs.
He commanded it to attack the monster; the creature moved very fast compared to the other kinds. It appeared in front of an incoming monster and used its sharp tentacles to attack it. The monster tried to attack it, but it only got some scratches while the monster lost its life.
It used its long, siring-like mouth to suck the shadow energy faster before moving on to the next opponent. It was like a killing machine. It took it less than a minute to kill seven opponents and absorb shadow energy. It was already two meters long.
Satisfied with his result. Rishi created more such shadow crawlers, and after he was done, he started to jump again into the battle and fight. With his army, he was pushing the monsters back and killing as many as he could.
His main motive was to move around and find some hidden path to escape. He first went to the north side and cleared that area in the hope of finding something, but when he couldn't find anything, he started moving towards the west. He was disappointed once again, but he didn't lose hope and searched the last two paths.
He found nothing, even on both sides, but he started noticing something that he had never once noticed until now: he saw the end of the horde. Yes, he now knew that there were only a limited number of monsters.
After slaughtering so many of them, his eyes were now filled with hope again. The Shadow Crawlers were also getting stronger with time. They were now all at least three meters tall, which made it even easier for him to kill his opponents faster.
He wanted to upgrade them once again but found out that he couldn't make any further changes. Any change he makes now will make them into a different organism, and that will break his spell, resulting in them turning into black mist. He clenched his fist and started to fight again. He only needed to kill twice as he had already killed.
He moved on and kept swinging his chains. He was getting tired, but he rested for a while and recovered soon due to his passive skills. He wasted no time and started fighting again.
He kept fighting mindlessly until his whole body started feeling pain; he knew it was already enough. He was also feeling a headache, and while his body was still able to take it, his mental strength was giving up now. It was already a miracle he was able to hold up until now. It was all thanks to his mental world, but he had crossed the limit far too soon.
His will was helping him be sane and focus on his goal, and this presence around him was very strange. Instead of weakening as he was getting tired and weak, it was getting even stronger.
"I can still do it," he said, swinging his chains again and dancing through the battlefield, assisting his soldiers, taking out as many as he could. He then swung his chain again and beheaded the last opponent. He looked around and could only see corpses everywhere; there were also some strange black creatures that were five meters tall.
As they approached him one by one and entered his shadow, he could feel a constant black substance entering his body. It was shadow energy--a very large amount of it. This energy transformed into a crystal and entered his chest, storing every ounce of the shadow energy there, from what he could think of. It will be the energy he will require to create things instantly; otherwise, the process of raising a Shadow Soldier would be very long.