Chương 13: Chapter 12: Alone

Thalion awoke to the gentle chirping of unseen birds. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, dappling the forest floor in dancing patterns. He felt remarkably refreshed; his health, mana, and stamina had fully replenished, leaving no trace of yesterday's wounds. Yet, his situation was far from ideal. Separated from his group and out of potions, he was alone in this hostile wilderness. After a quick assessment of his surroundings, he decided to undertake a daring experiment.

Driven by curiosity, Thalion yearned to experience the raw power of the shadowstalker and glowhorn. Without a second thought, he activated the shapeshift spell. A wave of excruciating pain washed over him as his body began to contort and morph. His nose elongated, and his bones seemed to crack and realign. As his body contorted, Thalion struggled to maintain his grasp on the branch. His claws dug into the bark, his heart pounding in his chest. After what felt like an eternity, the transformation was complete.

A surge of raw power coursed through his newly transformed body.

Status: Name: Thalion Walker Age: 30 Length: 3, 02 Meter Level: 9 Race: Epic Shadowstalker (G) Class: Shapeshifter Health: 250/250 Mana: 50/50 Stamina: 210/210 Experience points: 678/3400 Stats: Strength: 40 Agility: 26 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 4 Dexterity: 11 Perception: 12 Toughness: 6 Vitality: 25 Fate: 2 Skills: Bite (Rare), Devourer's feast (Epic), Acquire form (Rare), Shapeshift (Rare) Identify (Common), Echoes of Worlds (Common) Bloodline: none Titles: none Forms: Glowhorn (Epic) Level 9 Human (Common) Level 9 No wonder he felt so strong with forty points in strength and an epic skill!

Holy crap let's see what he can do with that. Bite (Rare): Unleashes a powerful, feral bite that deals massive physical damage to the target. The attack also inflicts a bleed effect, causing the enemy to lose health over time. This skill scales with the user's strength, making it increasingly deadly as their power grows. Devourer's Feast (Epic): The user can devour fallen enemies, absorbing their essence to permanently acquire a fraction of their stats or even unlock new abilities.

This skill is rare and feared, as it allows the user to grow exponentially stronger by consuming the right prey, turning them into a true apex predator. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. A wide grin spread across Thalion's face. These abilities were incredibly powerful, especially Devourer's Feast. Curiosity piqued, and Thalion jumped down to the ground. He pulled the glowhorn's corpse from his spatial ring and tossed it aside before activating the spell.

Consuming the entire creature took a considerable amount of time. In retrospect, it seemed absurd that he could even manage to eat something so much larger than himself. Despite his initial disgust at the idea of raw flesh, he found the taste surprisingly delicious. You have gained 7 Vitality You have reached Level 10"Okay, that was ridiculous!" He gained seven vitality and an entire level just from eating that thing. The level-up granted him seventeen free stat points.

He put three into strength and the rest into agility, bringing it to forty. Thalion pulled out the shadowstalker's corpse and prepared for a round of cannibalism.

"Time to see what this one offers," he thought, activating Devourer's Feast. You have gained 8 Strength You have reached Level 11 These were, without a doubt, the easiest level-ups he'd ever earned. He dumped all seventeen points into Strength, boosting it to sixty-eight. Afterward, Thalion used Devourer's Feast on the remaining grasshoppers and mantas stored in his spatial ring. You have gained 1 Toughness This message left him puzzled.

He had consumed over twenty grasshoppers and all the mantas, yet only gained one point in toughness. It was likely related to the level and rarity of the creatures. Checking his status screen, he noticed his human form had gained two levels, while the glowhorn had only managed one. Epic classes probably required more experience to level up. Curious, he decided to test his other form and shape-shifted into the glowhorn.

Status: Name: Thalion Walker Age: 30 Height: 4, 20m Level: 10 Race: Epic Glowhorn (G) Class: Shapeshifter Health: 1300/1300 Mana: 210/210 Stamina: 170/170 Experience points: 320/4680 Stats: Strength: 50 Agility: 12 Endurance: 17 Intelligence: 21 Wisdom: 11 Dexterity: 5 Perception: 4 Toughness: 18 Vitality: 130 Fate: 12 Skills: Verdant consumption (Epic), Natural Resilience (Epic), Mana Wave (Uncommon) Acquire form (Rare), Shapeshift (Rare), Identify (Common), Echoes of Worlds (Common) Titles: none Forms: Human (Common) Level 11 Shadowstalker (Epic) Level 11 Bloodline: none"Okay, this beast is just a stat monster.

Let's see what its skills can do," he thought. Mana Wave: Unleashes a powerful wave of concentrated mana energy in all directions, dealing area-of-effect damage to all enemies within its radius. The wave disrupts enemy spells and can knock opponents off balance, leaving them vulnerable. The skill's potency scales with the user's intelligence and can be charged to increase its range and destructive power, making it a versatile tool in both offense and defense.

Verdant Consumption: The user consumes specific plants or flora to permanently enhance their attributes based on the properties of the consumed plants. For example, ingesting a rare strength-enhancing herb permanently increases strength, while consuming a vitality-boosting flower grants a permanent boost to health. This skill allows the user to gradually build power over time by absorbing the natural world's essence, making them more formidable with each consumption.

Natural Resilience (Passive): The user's body has adapted to recover gradually from wounds, drawing on the life force of nature itself. When in natural environments, the user slowly regenerates health over time. The healing rate increases when surrounded by abundant flora or near sources of pure water, making the user highly resilient during prolonged battles or survival situations in the wild. This passive skill ensures the user is always ready to endure and recover, even in harsh conditions.

Thalion stood in the clearing, utterly dumbfounded. After waking up, he hadn't seen a bright future ahead. Every injury would take time to heal without health potions. He almost considered waiting for the system shop to appear, but he dismissed the idea. Instead, he began identifying the plants in the clearing and those growing on the trees. Moonberry Bush Level 7 Nightshade Rose Level 5 Ironbark Moss Level 8 Sundrop Fern Level 8"They're pretty high level. How do plants even level up?

Maybe they absorb energy from the ground," he wondered aloud. Thalion didn't wait any longer and began consuming the plants. After devouring the moonberry bush, he received a notification. You have gained 1 Intelligence The fact that the bush gave intelligence left him speechless. He slowly turned, scanning the area. There were easily over sixteen moonberry bushes in the clearing.

"Well, hell, I know what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future," he thought. But first, he needed to confirm something. Thalion transformed into his human form and stared in disbelief at his status screen. His intelligence was at thirty-nine. So, there it was. The permanent stat increases applied to all forms. That was almost too good to be true. Since the start of the tutorial he had seen himself become a powerful mage, but now... Could it be that he might rise to the top by being a vegetarian?

Not that he cared that much as long as it works. This would probably just be one part of his life. When there was one thing he learned in his former life, it was that evolution always wins. With that, he shifted back into his glowhorn form and began devouring the berries. By nightfall, he had consumed nearly every plant in the clearing. And oh boy, was it worth it. He had gained six intelligence points and reached level thirteen as both a human and a glowhorn.

The shadowstalker only managed to level up once, reaching level twelve. The many transformations had already upgraded his shapeshift skill not in rarity but the transformation now happened instantly, still painful but now he was able to transform midfight. This was undoubtedly the best day so far. Transforming back into a shadowstalker, he leaped into a tree to rest for the night. With the speed of the shadowstalker, he had no worries about outrunning any enemy.

He was alone now, but in the end he was even better off with the two new forms.