Olivier felt the bloodlust inside him increasing as he succumbed to the wolf essence. The more his body transformed into a wolf, the more his animal instinct became uncontrollable. Even then, something inside his heart kept telling him to resist his emotions because something terrible would happen if he let it become unfettered.
He was barely aware of what he was doing. No matter how much he tried withstanding the primal urges the wolf essence was doing to him, his body simply followed what it body dictated. This time, he stood on all fours, his mouth frothing like a rabid dog. All that mattered to him was to look for prey to hunt, sniffing the air to capture the scent of unsuspecting victims.
The time passed by as he trod the forest like he was at home. His ears twitched when he finally detected a sound of clashing metals on his right. Slowly but surely, he approached the source of the noise.
He peeked through the shrubs and saw a young man fighting against one of the knight-like humans he saw back then.
"Ug kali wargi numa."
"Nari megi huma!"
Olivier could not understand what they were saying but he did not care. Even then, the chip continued recording every word he heard and compiled it for future use. After all, he still had to learn their language if he wanted to communicate with the locales.
The knight hurled a spear toward the young man, who in turn dodged to the right and escaped through the clearing. They continued their chasing game as they both entered deeper into the forest.
Olivier's body was about to follow them when the chip suddenly gave a prompt.
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Wolf Essence Absorption: 100%
New Abilities detected...
Transformation: Wolf
Agility is increased...
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Olivier felt his chance came and reigned in the wolf's desire that wanted to consume his sanity. Gritting his teeth, he forced his mind to think of good things and stayed on the spot. There was a battle of tug-of-war inside him, which made his body twitched all over as the grey fur on his skin started disappearing. This time, he gave all his effort to purge the bloodlust and finally, he could control his body once again and he changed back into his human body.
Mysteriously, his clothes were still intact. He suspected that they were changed as well when he became a wolf back then. When he was sure that everything was okay, he went back to where the corpses were and hid atop the trees.
Olivier recalled what transpired earlier and checked the chip for further evaluation. After reading the information the chip had given him, he concluded that Serum-X was the culprit as to why he transformed into a wolf. The force-feeding process was its means to feed the body when its satiation level became zero percent. Since Christian Law, his stepdad, was the one who had given him the serum, then the only one who could clarify his doubts was him alone.
Nevertheless, it was useless for him to dwell on things that were impossible to answer right now. He simply set things aside and fixed his thoughts on the new ability that the chip detected inside his body. "Does it mean that I can willfully change into a wolf?"
He jumped down and landed on his feet. What he wanted this time was to fully control this newfound skill, which could help him a lot in his survival. He kept repeating the words 'I want to transform into a wolf' inside his mind and focused his will and body into it. At first, nothing had happened but he persisted. After several minutes, he felt the familiar sensation and he became excited.
Soon, his body transformed into a wolf. The only difference was he had full control of his body and the urge to kill was gone. He tried speaking through his mouth and was genuinely surprised when he was able to hear his own words. "This is getting unscientific. But everything I witnessed earlier was unrealistic, to begin with."
He experimented what he could do when he was in this form. After running back and forth, he realized that there was more to it than simply becoming an animal.
First, he could activate his bloodlust as a skill every time he wanted to. When he used it for the first time, he noticed that the small animals were shivering in fear. Some even fainted but it was only a small percentage.
Second, he could gather stamina on his limbs and attack with a devastating slash. The poor tree beside him was wrecked when he tried hitting it.
Lastly, he could call for help and summon wolves by howling out loud. For now, he could only dominate two adult wolves.
After he was done with his tests, he transformed back into his normal body. The wolves that he attracted a while ago came to their senses, looked at him, and ran away.
"I have to find a place where I can temporarily stay."
Oliver used his wolf form to mark the trees and continued searching for a safe place. It took him an hour before he found a cave at the depths of the forest.
Thanks to the light-reflecting surface right behind his retina commonly associated with wolves, he had no problems finding his way through the darkness. There were many bats hanging between the stalactites, which made him realized that the place was infested with these flying mammals. Nevertheless, he went deeper because he had to find out if it was safe for him to stay for the night. He sniffed the air as he searched the cave and concluded that no possible predator was living inside after investigating for half an hour.
Olivier was thoroughly beaten because of the strenuous activities he had done for the day. As soon as he morphed back into his human form, he took out the inflatable bedding from his bag and set it on the ground. He set up several alarm systems around him and at the cave entrance before he plopped on the bed and closed his eyes. He did not expect that he would fall asleep right away despite the dangers he was facing.
=====================
AAAAAHHH!
Olivier was roused up from his sleep when he heard several screams right at the mouth of the cave. His drowsiness was totally gone, his eyes peeled at the only entrance he knew. He took out the dagger from his waist and crouched on the floor. If possible, he wanted to avoid unnecessary battles by camouflaging himself in the darkness.
He did not know how much time had passed but it felt like an eternity to him. Even then, he was used to waiting because he was trained by the Special Agents to be patient. Such skills were especially needed to assassinate their targets.
He slowly retrieved the alarm systems he set up and cautiously sneaked around the area, making sure that he was not revealed by any light sources. When he arrived at the entrance, he witnessed ten knight-like warriors butchering several humans that had bird-like images etched on their foreheads. He even noticed some victims having spider-like and wolf-like drawings engraved on them. He did not dare moving forward because he realized it was already daytime and they could easily notice his movements. Like a praying mantis, he went still and readied his weapon for any incoming attacks.
"Gulika hu gari!"
"Meru!"
Even though they were far away, Olivier could hear the words they were speaking. The chip did his work and compiled every bit until they were done with their conversation.
Olivier could hear several footsteps walking farther from the cave until the sound became fainter. After a minute, it disappeared and the place was quiet once again. After making sure that they were gone, he headed outside and true enough, the victims were indeed related to whom he had seen back then.
"I can't stay here."
Before leaving, he asked the chip if he could eat the corpses just the way he was forced to consume the dead bodies yesterday.
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Analysing...
You may devour any bodies as long as your satiation level is not full...
Not all bodies will give any bonus traits...
Transformation: Devouring Eel
Satiation Level: 75%
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Without a choice, he needed to satisfy his needs or he would be subjected to force-feeding, which he did not want to experience again. Just like what he did when he transformed into a wolf, he focused his thoughts and willpower and his arms became fanged eels and started eating. He felt the satisfaction of his cells as if screaming in delight when every chunks of meat entered his body via the orifice from his hands.
76%...77%...78%
The satiation level gradually increased until it became full. The devouring eels changed into his hands once again, leaving only the dead body's lower torso untouched. Everything was gobbled up.
Olivier checked the chip to determine what changes it caused within his body.
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Analysing Status...
Wolf Essence are enhanced...
Possible mutation if wolf-related essences are continuously consumed...
New essence is detected...
Spider Essence: 10%
Agility is increased...
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Spider essence? Oliver knew that some of the corpses were different from the rest but it was too late for him to investigate the bodies because they were already eaten. He suspected that the images on their skins were the key in determining the life essences they possessed.
Disgruntled, he left the vicinity and followed the trails he marked yesterday.