“Ahhh! Why am I having such thoughts!?”
『 ☆☆ Snow Hyena LV31 』 『 ☆☆ Snow Hyena LV28 』 『 ☆☆☆ Snow Hyena LV33 』
The creatures that appeared from the cracks in the wall were much larger and more menacing than the hyenas I had seen in documentaries.
Their blood-red eyes glinted as their tusks swung around, and it seemed as if they could tear my fragile sprout apart in one go.
“Sa, status window… info quickly…!”
I desperately needed information about the Snow Hyenas.
However, either because of the distance or my inability to focus, the status window did not respond.
“Please… please don’t come this way…”
Instinctively, I plunged my roots deep into the ground and shrank my sprout as much as possible.
Thankfully, the Ice Hyenas showed no interest in me.
Their gaze was directed solely towards Drake’s corpse.
With growling sounds, the Hyenas cautiously approached the body, each wary of the other.
The sharp sound of their claws scratching the ice echoed frighteningly.
For now, I seemed safe.
But to these monsters, I was just a weak sprout.
All I could do was minimize my movements and quietly try to survive.
As the Hyenas got closer, the status window finally responded.
『Snow Hyena : C Class Threat. A monster inhabiting the middle layer of Shia Kalt’s Ice Cave.
Unlike regular hyenas, Snow Hyenas live alone and strongly guard their territories, even fighting fiercely when they encounter each other. They primarily feed on the corpses of other monsters but also actively hunt prey by ambushing using the terrain of the Ice Cave.』
“Phew…”
The information hinting that we were in the middle layer was annoying, but in this situation, the fact that these Hyenas feed on corpses was important.
“Will they just eat Drake and leave?”
At first, the Snow Hyenas only growled at each other, warily observing each other.
But the moment one bit into Drake’s flesh, hell unfolded.
“Kyaahhhh!” “Keeeek!”
In an instant, the three Snow Hyenas lunged at each other.
Claws sliced through flesh, and fangs tore it apart.
Crimson blood stained the white ice floor.
“Eeuuugh…”
『「Detection LV7」 skill level has increased.』
Though I didn’t want to see it, because of the unnecessarily increased detection, everything was delivered even more vividly.
Even the tearing of muscles and the breaking of bones.
When the LV33 bit into the neck of the LV28, the LV31 took advantage of the weakened moment to dig into the LV33’s side.
The sight of them tearing and mauling each other was too brutal to bear.
“Ahhh… please just end already…”
I prayed, curling my sprout even further.
In games, battles were merely hidden behind flashy skill effects and damage numbers, but here they were desperate fights for survival.
The blood-soaked battle continued for a while.
Finally, the LV31 fell, and the LV28 collapsed with its neck half severed.
Only the three-starred LV33 Snow Hyena remained.
I had predicted that this one would survive, but its condition was pitiful.
Its whole body was covered in wounds, one eye was almost blind, and one front paw was broken.
“Now… is it over…?”
The victorious hyena slowly approached Drake’s corpse.
But its movements felt incredibly threatening to me.
My location was too close to Drake’s body.
“Calm down… it hasn’t noticed me yet.”
While the surviving hyena focused on the corpse, I carefully extended my roots.
Blood spilled during the fight had seeped into various parts of the ice floor.
『「Blood Absorption LV8」 skill level has increased.』
“Good… slowly…”
The hyena, distracted by feasting on Drake’s flesh, didn’t notice.
The one-eyed beast was failing to guard its surroundings, and its posture was unstable because of the broken front paw.
『「Blood Absorption LV9」 skill level has increased.』
I could feel myself getting stronger with each secret blood absorption.
『★ (Unnamed) Blood Sprout LV12 Age 0 Female』
【Stats】
HP : 66/66
MP : 66/66
Attack: 66
Magic Power: 66
Defense: 66
Magic Resistance: 66
Agility: 0
Absorbing the hyenas’ blood had raised me to level 12, and my health had recovered.
I looked at the remaining hyena.
“In its injured state… maybe…”
For the first time, I viewed something with the eyes of a hunter.
Until now, I had only been trembling with fear, but strangely, my heart felt calm.
“Poison and root protrusion… can I do it?”
I slowly recalled what I had.
Root Protrusion had become faster when I reached LV2, and though I hadn’t tested it yet, I also had poison.
Besides, this one was already severely wounded.
“Mikel-sama… this is my first hunt…”
Quietly praying, my heart grew calm.
I cautiously extended my roots toward the hyena’s feet.
The side with the broken front paw would be more vulnerable.
“Now!”
A crimson-rooted spike pierced through the hyena’s broken front paw.
Instantly, a violet poison spread through the wound and started turning the hyena’s skin black.
“Kyaahh!”
The hyena screamed and lunged toward me.
Misjudging the distance because of its blind eye, its fangs missed me.
“Poison, work faster!”
With its front paw completely blackened, the poison had started spreading throughout its body, and the hyena began moving slower.
“Kurrr…”
The weakened howl.
It wouldn’t have imagined that such a harmless-looking sprout would attack.
“Hurry up and die!”
The sharpest root shot toward the paralyzed hyena’s neck.
『Defeated ☆☆☆ Snow Hyena (LV33).』
『Gained a large amount of experience.』
『「Poison LV2」 skill level increased.』
『「Root Protrusion LV3」 skill level increased.』
The thrill of my first hunt coursed through my entire body.
I had become a predator of this dungeon.
“The middle layer is no big deal, huh?”
Though it could be criticized as a finishing blow, this was also a tactic.
Unseen beneath the harmless baby sprout lay merciless roots.
“Call me the hunting genius.”
I prepared to absorb the fallen hyena’s blood.
I was no longer the weak sprout that trembled in fear.
…
“Meow! It’s delicious!”
After the hyenas were all dead, I slowly savored the blood absorbed without worrying about being noticed.
『「Blood Absorption LV10」 skill level increased.』
『「Crimson Reserve LV1」
「Blood Absorption LV10」 skill has evolved.』
“Finally!”
『「Crimson Reserve」
-Absorb blood to grow much faster. Stores part of the absorbed blood.』
Continuing to absorb the blood while reading the description on my status window,
“Ah, the original ability is strengthened. But what does it mean to store blood?”
The vague explanation made it difficult to understand the new evolved skill’s power.
After checking the status window, I noticed some changes.
『★ (Unnamed) Blood Sprout LV18 Age 0 Female』
【Stats】
HP : 84/84 + (11/100)
“Wow, already level 18?”
My level skyrocketed from the hyena’s experience and the large amount of blood absorbed.
But more strange was the HP indicator.
“What is this?”
The HP reading, which should have simply been 84/84, had some strange numbers attached.
“This… is it like a health reserve battery!? This must mean it stores my blood!”
It appeared that the number 11 had been gradually accumulating as I absorbed blood.
The evolved Blood Absorption, now Crimson Reserve, looked incredibly powerful.
The extra health was reassuring in a world where you die the moment your HP reaches zero.
“This is so overpowered.”
Impressed by the new skill, I absorbed all the remaining blood here, and the status window flashed again.
『「Crimson Reserve LV2」 skill level increased.』
『★ (Unnamed) Blood Sprout (Evolvable) LV20 Age 0 Female』
【Stats】
HP : 90/90 + (46/200)
MP : 90/90
Attack: 90
Magic Power: 90
Defense: 90
Magic Resistance: 90
Agility: 0
【Skills】
「Detection LV7」 「Crimson Reserve LV2」 「Freeze Block LV1」 「Photosynthesis LV1」 「Poison LV2」 「Root Protrusion LV3」
【Traits】
[Inferno Stigma] [Mikel’s Support]
The increase in the capacity of the reserve battery along with the upgrade of Crimson Reserve was impressive, but that wasn’t the main issue.
“Huh… another evolution? But I haven’t grown?”
When I evolved from a seed to a sprout, my body grew naturally.
When I emerged from the ground, I only focused on strengthening the tip of the stem.
And after becoming a sprout, the evolution notification came late.
But now, after becoming a sprout, I hadn’t undergone any physical changes.
Suddenly evolving without any warning.
“What is this? Is the great transformation of my dreams finally happening?”
I remembered the thrilling change when I first became a sprout.
This time, it felt like an evolution far beyond that.
“Alright! Evolve!”
My powerful call echoed within.
But no change occurred.
“Hmm, this isn’t it?”
I focused deeply, yearning for evolution.
Still, nothing happened.
“No! What is this?”
This was a problem.
An “evolvable” status, yet unable to evolve.
Suddenly, I realized I was just a sprout.
If a sprout grows, it only elongates the stem.
Was my yearning for the great transformation narrowing my thinking?
“Ugh… Still, I can’t give up on the great transformation. I don’t want to live as a plant forever!”
“Lord Mikel, will I someday evolve into a human…?”
As I fantasized about evolving into a human bathed in holy light, I gathered strength toward the tip of the stem.
And my body started growing rapidly.
