Chapter 27 - HUNTER

[ Host Evolution ]

" Huh, my evolution?!... I have not even undergone my first evolution " Ossa said, perplexed by the system's answer.

[ Yes.. .true, but the presence of a Deus seed adds two new stages to your evolution... ]

[ A grim reaper and a death god ]

" A death god?!... You mean the god of death?! " Ossa exclaimed not believing what he heard.

It was nearly impossible for a creature of Terra to transcend into godhood. Knowing he had the potential made him experience mixed emotions, with his only thought being that his master had something to do with it.

"Wow, that would be incredible... Wait, even the normal stages have some far-fetched requirements. What are the requirements for the Grim Reaper and Death god?" he inquired.

[ Requiriments from a Lich overlord to a Grim reaper is ????? ]

[ Requirements from a Grim Reaper to a death god is ?????? ]

" Hey, What did you say, I didn't quite catch that " Ossa exclaimed as he could not hear the requirements, the system's voice glitching as it mentioned the requirements.

[ Requiriments from a Lich overlord to a Grim reaper is ????? ]

[ Requirements from a Grim Reaper to a death god is ?????? ]

The system once again said it, her voice glitching as she said the requirements.

"I didn't get it, you seem to be breaking up... Are you alright?" Ossa said, worried about the system as it had never acted like that before.

[ Sorry host, it seems you are not authorized to know the requirements until you reach Lich overlord.]

"Is that so... OK, then that only means I need to work harder... Yeah, I almost forgot, after my fight with the sonic bats, I seem to have become stronger, my swings are heavier than before," he said, caressing the axe that lay by his side.

[ Due to continuous regeneration, your bones become stronger—a mechanism common to all organisms to improve after a failure.]

" Oh, ok... Then I guess a defeat is not really a defeat, " He said, looking at it from a different angle, as he was still shaken by his utter defeat at the hands of the sonic bats.

[ Yes, you can say that ]

" Got it... Then I don't need to sit around doing nothing, got to stack up more life force so that I can evolve quickly to welcome master " He said as he got up.

He grabbed his axe, and took a long look at the sleeping Bel, before heading out.

" I won't make you sad ever again"

The sun was at the highest point in the sky, casting its radiance. Clouds slowly drifted, interrupting the sun's job of providing light, but the winds would blow the clouds out of the sun's way, allowing its radiance to fall on Terra.

This continued as the day uneventfully went on.

Ossa walked through the forest, the clacking sounds of his bones mixing with a symphony of the forest.

After several minutes of uneventful walking, he reached his destination, his axe on his shoulder.

"How many do I need to kill to get enough life force for an evolution?" he asked the system as he looked at the giant wasp nest, his new hunting grounds.

[ Normally you would need, 100 peak tier normal magical beasts' life force, but most of these creatures are mid-tier with a few being above that, if you are to kill only the mid-tier you would need two hundred ]

" Two hundred... That's a tall order, but I need to do it either way... By the way, what about the creatures I killed earlier " He inquired as he noticed the dead wasp corpses on the ground, their fellow wasps going about their business ignoring them.

" I guess not all creatures mourn for their dead " Ossa thought remembering the ritual of the sonic ware bats.

[ The life forces you gained earlier would be added, so you would need to kill about 180 or more ]

"Got it," he said, his dark green eyes glowing with determination.

With determination, he strolled into the territory of the giant wasp; their antennas twitched as they sensed the intruder.

Buzz!!! Buzz!!! Buzz!! Buzz!! Buzz!!! Buzz!!

They swiftly flew towards him, forgetting that he was the skeletal abomination they encountered a couple of hours ago.

Ossa, ready to attack, lowered the axe from his shoulder and tightly gripped it with two arms. If he had muscles, veins would have been bulging as he held the axe shaft tightly.

"Bring it on," he said as he rushed towards them.

Swish!! He swung his axe, slashing a wasp in two.

[ Killed a mid-tier normal giant wasp ]

With another swing, he slashed another, but this time was slammed into by one of the many wasps that had swarmed him.

[ Killed a mid-tier normal giant wasp ]

He found himself on his back, unable to get up, as the onslaught of wasps kept him pinned down, their mandibles and pincers trying to rip through his bones.

Cracks formed but slowly healed.

[ Mana extracted from contractor to heal host ]

"Yeah, I forgot, I need mana for my regeneration, or Bel will be the one to compensate for it," he said, realizing he had not replenished his mana yet.

Still on the ground, he slashed forward, hitting a wasp squarely in the head, its blood and tiny brain matter spewing on him.

"This should do," he said as he had an idea.

Still on the ground, he focused his eyes, dark green glows emanating from the abdomen of the wasp, where their cores are.

Aiming at the spot, he stabbed at one of the wasps which was on top of him, its mandibles on his bones, cracking it as it gnawed on it.

"Too shallow," Ossa exclaimed as the creature jumped up, flying away from him, feeling the pain of the stab.

"Let's try again," he said, slashing at another which was also gnawing on his bones.

*Buzz!*

The creature fell, its abdomen cleaved in two, the orange core lying by its side.

"Yes, it worked," Ossa exclaimed as his plan had worked.

With precision, he started slashing at their abdomen, trying to get their cores out.

*BUZZ!! BUZZ!! BUZZ!! BUZZ!! BUZZ!!*

Wasps fell one after the other, their abdomen cleaved in two.

Ossa finally had room to move, as most of the wasps that had ganged up on him were dead, their bodies littering the grassy ground, adding yellow to the greenery of the grass.

"Now all I need is to absorb the core," Ossa said, noticing the many cores around him.