It was a long time before the bleeding stopped. Longer still before the flesh closed over. The blood stays fresh. Deep. It pooled in the edges of my domain. My own red mirror, disturbed only by the current of my own motion. In its reflection I was night, the black shadow that waited out of the corner of your eye. The paralysis of sleep.
I spared little thought to my abilities. To anything. I stared at the shadow. Nothing stared back.
The Altar had finished consuming the walls of the domain. Deep recesses lined the space now. I picked up the red skin that covered the boar's head and wrapped it. There seemed to be a spot for it.
How long has evolution taken? Dagger came to mind. Had she died to the Chasm, one too many risks? Arm lost, forever. Or had so much time passed that she too waited inside a black cocoon of her own making. Waiting for the turning of a sun I had never seen. A moon that never rose.
My body ached to hunt. The loss of blood and stress of evolution had taken its toll. My limbs felt the need to stretch, to experience my new reach. My new weapons.
Flattening myself out of the domain was a challenge. Not only was I larger, my body was more dense. A problem. A single organ could trap me within. Evolution had granted power, but not the ability to carve stone. I didn't dare try a stinger. Strong as they were they might be brittle, shattering like the glass they bore such a resemblance to.
The Chasm was much darker to my new eyes. The white gash a dull grey. Yet the fauna was brighter. The blues had taken an intense, shocking glow that made it easy to track movement between them.
I tried to climb the walls for vantage and found it a struggle. Where before grip came with a nature fervor, this body was heavy with dexterous but soft hands. I lamented. With height, I'm sure I could have seen prey deep throughout the chasm. As it was, I stood above the ferns now. Sacrifices made. Moving along the cliff walls of the chasm was too slow.
No matter.
I had prey in mind.
This new body covered ground in speedy bounds. Even so, I had to travel a considerable distance to find what I was looking for. Something had been hunting while I was away, clearing the chasm edges of easy prey. Soon I was going to have to move deep into the center, towards the central fissure. Soon, but not yet.
The pigman foraged alone. Evolved, they looked even more pathetic. Dull and lifeless. I thought soulless, but deep down I knew better. My mouths salivated. Better on a fundamental level.
This wasn't food. I jabbed one venomous stinger as deep as it would go, a pierce into the back of its fat hide. To my surprise I could see the flesh picker, then pierce. One tiny well of blood. The shrieking began in earnest, the same cacophony of animal and human. Call out, lost one. Call out to the ones that hate you, who have molded you to be bait for the weak. I hate them too, lost one. It's time to cut them down.
They came. Three of them.
They didn't seem quite as big as I remembered them but they looked as dangerous. They congregated on the fallen pigman, snorting around where I had stood. Wrapped teeth around its head before bringing them down. I had moved far enough I thought they wouldn't detect me immediately. I was close enough to see them carve into the dying pigman. With any luck one of them would poison themselves on the corpse. Was I strong enough to take three? I didn't think so.
But I was going to try.
I stepped forward, for the first time under the veil of my silent hunt. I should assume they were as nimble as the second boar. As powerful as the first. Even so that meant I could take ten or more direct hits as a cliff wraith. The real trick would be taking none.
[Your skill Beginners Silent Hunt has a special interaction. This requires merging your Skill Native Follow. Merge skills?]
A special interaction? It could be dangerous, so close to powerful enemies. If it had side effects like the organs and evolution they would be able to rush me, taking advantage of my exposure. Still, I was quite far away...
[Your assessment has rewards. Beginners Foresight has increased in ability.]
It was like an old fable. One of my assumptions was right. The other led to death. The system was silent on the matter.
I had merged skills before.
[Your merger of Beginners Silent Hunt and Native Follow was a success. Should your evolution be incapable of a follow skill, you will lose full access to the skill.][New Skill Unlocked: Intermediate Shadows Silence]
I needed that information before! Silent hunt had been my most useful skill, except for leap. It was my ambush skill, without which I would be opening myself up to a wide variety of injuries. Even with it the Lizard had done incredible surprise damage. Without it, I died a long time before the Boar.
I hope it was worth it. Intermediate had to count for something?
Activating the skill, Everything began to darken. Colors and sounds muted. Only the boars seemed to stand out, an orange fire flickering about it like a halo. I stalked forward, low to the ground. Too low. My hands were sinking into the shadowed foliage. My heart raced. Fear.
Was I falling into the stone?
Startled, I ended the skill, pulling my hand out. The ground lay undisturbed. If I didn't sink into the earth, where was I going? The skill answered for me. Shadows Silence. Not metaphorical at all. I eased myself back into the skill and pressed down with intent. In the dense dapple of the undergrowth the ferns cast shadows in all directions. Dropping so low I had become invisible. Curious, I pressed down further.
I fell into the void.
It seemed to only be a few feet deep. The hole of my own shadow had disappeared. Ferns left the small flecks where their light could become deep enough to close the world above. This was the world of shadow. It stretched on in all directions, my vision failing before it ended. Black nothingness. Shadows cast rays of light, spaces where the world of substance became dark enough to cross. Even when the darkness became the most impenetrable, I could see the orange outline of the boars. They floated above their own shadows. Soft underbellies bare.
My maw opened in anticipation. What a powerful skill. With impunity, I was able to close the gap between us. I gazed up, my prey unaware that death stalked them through the open waters of the void. How they shone like fire. There was nowhere for them to hide.
I tensed, then leapt.
My maw was able to bite down into a bristled hide. Tensing my forearms,I spring my singers deep into their chest. The bolt was electric, a deep striking motion that sunk without resistance. Defenseless. Built to fight opponents head on, not from underneath.
Latched, the boar managed to squeal. It bucked into the air, kicking and diving, trying to dislodge or trample but I was set too deep. My maw chewed deeper through its muscle. The boar began to run, aimless charges. Its feet trampled around me, dragging me against the brush and stone. But I held on. Just a little bit more, the familiar feeling of bone slipping...
[Fatal Damage done to Lesser Charging Boar Beastman]
[Soul +15]
[Experience Gained]
As it dropped above me, crushing weight now lifeless, I fell back into the shadow. The other two boars were Grunting and screeching. They were looking for me. Having followed the chase, the larger of the two worked to overturn the corpse of its fallen brother.
I took the opportunity to leap out again, deep puncturing stabs emptying venom. The small board seemed like a good target to test its potency. This time I dropped back into the shadow. I had no intention of repeating the bloody rodeo with each boar. I was stronger. Much stronger. But I had no illusions about how my soft skin would fair against a jagged, upturned boulder.
Any debilitating injury could be fatal for lack of care. I relied on leveling and the domain to restore previous injuries. Losing access to that safety, or for that matter organs and limbs, was too high a risk.
Practice makes perfect. I readied to do the same to the largest of the boar. If I could hunt like this, I'd be able to stockpile a vast amount of souls!
[Mana 0/15]
The ceiling went dark, the void collapsing into a skin around me. It stretched thin as I tried to pierce through to the world of substance.
Struggling right below the largest of the boar.