'Mm… I really got lucky then.' The Paru thought as it munched on the Ornidon's bodies. 'When I moved to look at her coat, I was tempted to eat the gun. Good thing I didn't. That would have been wayy too greedy. A real problem, since she leaped towards it right away…'
With his stomach a bit more full, Rei thought about the earlier events.
'Yeah, that was… Something.' He shook his head. 'Let's just focus on getting a more normal body for now. Being like this is… Unsatisfying, for more reasons than one.'
All five Ornidon were Devoured.
'Status Window.'
[Species: Paru
Health Points: 70/70
Endurance Points: 1060/1060
Stats:
Strength: 8 - Agility: 6 - Perception: 8 - Vitality: 7 - Endurance: 106
Additional Stats:
Attack: 14 -Defense: 355
Skill(s):
Devour - Enhanced Devouring - Invisibility - Night Vision - Thermal Vision - Heat Resistance Lv.2 - Venomous Fangs - Infectious Cut - Spiderweb production - Burning Mist Production - Burning Mist Expulsion.
]
'My Strength Stat increased a lot. I can already tell that I'd be able to push my sharps limbs through their muscles more easily now. Vitality had a nice increase too. More than double the Health Points that I had before… I feel like my body got a bit larger too. The Skills are obviously cool. Let's see…' The Paru rotated its neck. 'Oho… These things that resemble holes on my skin right where my shell ends… That's where the Mist is expelled from, right?'
[Correct.]
'You could have asked me where I wanted it to be expelled from…'
[As you have Devoured the necessary amount of Ornidon Cells and Genes, two Expulsion Points have been added to your body.]
'These… And my mouth, right?'
[Correct.]
'Perfect. You said the spray is highly combustible… Then all I would need is to create a spark to gain the ability to breathe fire, right?'
[It isn't so simple.]
'Well, yeah. Not breathe fire like a Dragon, but I would be able to produce… Something like an explosion? Right? If the Mist is lit on fire?'
[Hypothetically, yes.]
'Cool.' The Paru nodded. 'This is a pretty damn good start.'
Rei raised half of his limbs, excluding the tentacles, those coated by metal, and the pincers.
'My Attack Stat increased to 14 because of these.'
The tip of those limbs had changed and turned into the sharp, sharp claws of Ornidon.
'A pretty damn good start.' He repeated to himself internally.
Rei looked around.
The five unmoving Ornidon were gone. All that was left were drops and stains of blood on the ground.
'There doesn't seem to be another Species on this Planet… At least, not as far as I can tell. There's no sign of another one… Wait…'
Rei thought for a bit.
'The Parus can eat whatever. The Airos are obviously carnivorous. The Ornidons… Could they be herbivores? There's no plant life though… Mm. This is a planet light-years away. Maybe they survive off something that's in the air… Anything is possible really.'
He gazed into the distance opposite to the direction of the spaceship.
'I'd like to get a taste of everything before leaving but… It doesn't seem like there is more. And I definitely don't want to miss take-off. Maybe I'm better off leaving-'
Just as the Paru was about to turn around,
Peek-
'A worm?'
The glowing insect-looking creature's body exited the ground.
'Oho. So they weren't standing around for no reason…'
It didn't take long for dozens of them to exit the ground.
'What a strange color. Are they poisonous?'
[They are called "Kyx".]
[Their Healing Ability is very impressive.]
[Consuming them often increases the Consumer's ability to heal temporarily.]
'Let's test it then…'
The Paru's pincers immediately moved forward.
A second later, one of the Kyx's bodies was split in two.
Both sides twitched and slithered for a bit.
Ten seconds later, one side of it stopped moving, while the other side started growing longer.
'Regeneration… Kind of like a lizard's tail, but with the whole body. If I Devour this and gain a similar ability, that'd be close to what scientists hope to make on Earth for Humans, huh?'
Rei grinned internally.
'Well then,' He wrapped his tentacle-like limbs around two Kyx. 'For science.'
Slimy… Yet satisfying.
'Mm… The Ornidon were waiting around for these to show their heads. Because of the Ornidon' heavy bodies and the shaking they produce with their steps, the Kyx stayed hidden…' Rei looked around. 'There must be a way to tell where these guys reside under the ground. Eating a dozen of them is far from enough Cells and Genes to develop anything…'
It didn't take long for the Paru to notice.
'Drops of a neon green liquid? Same color as the Kyx… They're rare, but now that I've seen them, I can notice them at different spots. Do they release them while traveling underground?'
[Correct.]
'Something like peeing when caught by an avalanche?'
[One could say.]
'So they use it to remember which way is up and which is down… What do they need the surface for? Air? Well, that's the whole food chain, I suppose. Mmm… Just because there are no Ornidon doesn't mean there are no Kyx. I'll look for them on my way back. Hopefully, there will be enough of them.'
The Paru turned around.
[Quest: "Off This Planet"
Objective: Leave the Miro planet in the next 14 hours.
Reward: 1 Skill Point.
Penalty: None.
Time Remaining: 6 hours and 2 minutes.]
'More than enough time.'
And because of that, the Paru took his time, making no effort to look for the neon drops indicative of Kyx.
'Oho. Using Heat Vision, I can see the drops from afar since they're warmer than the ground.'
The tiny Kyx were slurped up one by one.
The Paru wasn't particularly disgusted by that.
If anything, it reminded him of eating pasta, which wasn't the worst thing to be reminded of.
[You have Developed the Skill "Regeneration".]
[Warning!]
[While "Regeneration" can regrow body parts, it cannot regrow internal organs.]
'So regrowing limbs?'
[Correct.]
'Good enough for me.'
The Paru continued.
'Mm…'
Rei arrived at the spaceship with a couple of hours to spare.
There was no one around. He assumed it wouldn't be the case for long,
'Guess I'll do that now.'