'Shit shit shit'
[ [Dig] Activated]
'C'mon c'mon'
He was too late. The robin snagged his tail and started pulling him.
He only got his head underground. But little did Quinn know. This was all he needed.
[Conditions met Growth Skill Unlocked]
Before Quinn could even read the next system window, his head expanded. Suddenly, the walls of his make shift burrow came crashing in. Or rather, his head started griping the walls.
[ [Expansion] Activated]
The robin was pulling his tail, and he was holding on for dear life. He got stretched.
'Ahhhhhhhhhh'
Quinn felt as though his whole body was being torn in half. However, he was lucky. His body was wet from the rain. Due to this fact, the robin's beak began to slip.
'Ahhhhhh... Just a little longer'
In one motion, the bird went from pulling on a worm to falling onto its backside.
Using this chance, Quinn dug as fast as he could.
[ [Dig] Activated]
[Skill Levelled up
[Dig]Lvl 2 --> [Dig] Lvl 3
Exp: 6 ]
[Exp: Locked]
'Yes!!! I'm gonna be faster now.'
Not wasting any breath, Quinn dug as fast as he could. Now that Dig has risen level, it he could dig faster. This substantial increase was not fast enough, though.
The robin got up immediately to snag at Quinn's tail. But Quinn couldn't be brought up.
Activating [Expansion], Quinn held on. Only a bit of his tail remained outside of his burrow. But it was enough for the robin to have another try.
This time, the robin didn't slip. On the contrary, the robin sunk a sharp hook into his tail to prevent such things.
'Ouch... It's using a skill?!?! No, this isn't fair.'
The greedy robin was determined to get a quick meal out of Quinn.
With the robin hooked onto Quinn's tail and Quinn holding on for dear life, the two creatures found themselves at a stalemate. It all came down to one thing.
Endurance.
'Aww, c'mon. Why is it always me?!!'
Quinn was stretched out. Like a tax man stretching someone's wallet thin. The robin kept at it. So did Quinn.
Both beasts seemed to not be willing to give up. Nature does not discriminate, it is cruel to everyone.
After a constant tug a war, the condition of Quinn's tail went from bad to worse. What once was a simple hole with a beak in it now turned into a bloody and bruised mess of injured flesh.
'Can worm even bruise. pfft whatever'
Hence, the stalemate ended when Quinn's tail was torn off. Quinn internally screamed. The only positive was that he was alive.
Curious, Quinn opened his status window.
[
Name: Quinn
Species: Earthworm(Juvenile)
Growth:59%
Satiety:98%
Strength:2
Agility:2
Vitality:2
Intelligence:2
Arcane:1
Skills:[Dig] [Appraisal] [Tenacious diet] [Internal Compass] [Pheromone detection] [Expansion]
]
It seemed that his stats grew according to what he used in a time of desperation. He was also satisfied with his satiety levels.
The most shocking thing was Quinn's increase in growth level. Not even a constant relent to eat the soil and level up his [Dig] skill had harbored such results.
'Dam, That leaf really worked wonders. I wonder what happens at 67%. Seems like "Aging" happens every third'
Since he Aged from a hatchling to a juvenile at 33% Quinn felt it was safe to assume something would happen after another third of the completion. But now he had no tail and one inquiry.
'Arcane is a stat. So, how do I use it?'
In the comfort of the soil, Quinn decided to try to feel an imaginary force called magic. It didn't work. Seemed like it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.
...
Over the course of the next day, Quinn spent most of his time trying to 'sense' mana. All to no avail. No matter what Quinn tried, nothing worked.
He tried meditating. Focusing on his oxygen absorption through his skin. Even curling himself into a circle to create a path for the magic to flow. All until
[Growth progresses ...]
[You have Aged:
[Juvenile Worm] --> [Adolescent Worm] ]
[Growth completion: 67%]
'I was right!!'
[Aged body hosts new skill:]
[Growth Skill Unlocked:
[Hermaphrodite] ]
Similar to what happened before, it suddenly felt very cramt. And more importantly, his tail returned.
He was now one step closer to his goal.
To become a humanoid creature.