Ikaris ignored the threat, striding on at an even pace, glowering impassively ahead. He appeared calm, but inside his mind, a vortex of surging impulses was seeking to bend his will.
[Transformation 29>30%]
'It takes less than a minute between each evolution now.' He reflected gloomily.
At this rate, he would become a Crawling-Thrall in under an hour. Quelling the symptoms before that deadline was now just a pipe dream. That was why he had to stay focused.
He had to muster his willpower and reconnect with everything that made him who he was before more destructive impulses began rewriting his personality into a ferocious beast that was nothing like him.
In silence, the pair walked to the border of Karragin territory. Seeing Ikaris still moving forward after leaving the jungle under the protection of the village Guardians, Krold finally understood his intention and began to worry.
"Ikaris, we are no longer safe here." The warrior warned him, showing for the first time signs of restlessness as if he was about to face a terrifying peril. "The Guardians have no deterrence on the Demonic Beasts that thrive here."
"I know." The boy replied indifferently. "I've been here before."
Krold squinted his eyes as he noticed his calmness. He didn't seem to be lying. If the teenager was still alive and willing to return here, then he had underestimated him.
Bzzzzzzzz!
"Look out!" Krold shouted as he darted toward Ikaris to save him.
But he froze before he even took a step.
With lightning reflexes, the boy stabbed the air behind him with his knife and as he turned his head he saw a sharp proboscis the width of a thin straw less than ten centimeters from his neck. The giant mosquito's thorax had impaled itself on his blade, but the insect was not yet dead.
Before the mosquito could adjust the position of its proboscis to sting it in a last suicidal effort, Ikaris shook off the insect from his knife in one swift swing, sending it crashing into a tree.
"Tche, filthy vermin." The boy sneered as he wiped his knife against a leaf.
[Transformation 33>34%]
Krold said nothing, but he was growing increasingly uneasy and rattled. The speed and accuracy of this stabbing surpassed that of most adults in the village. A controlled transformation brought far greater benefits than he presumed.
He was not too far from the truth. Because most people bitten or scratched by Crawlers were ordinary humans, they rarely stayed sane for more than a few hours. All the Crawling-Thralls he and his former colleagues had slain were perhaps only 3 or 4% of the way through their transformation.
The appearance of a Crawling-Thrall whose mutation was more advanced, or even complete, had been described to him by his superiors, and it was a full-fledged Destruction Sorcerer dispatched by the Confederation who had taken him out.
Ikaris was also surprised by the insect's slowness and immediately checked his status.
'System'
[Ikaris:]
[Species: Human.]
[Status: Infected by a Rank 2 Crawling (Transformation to Crawling-Thrall in progress 35%)]
[Side Effects: Night Vision, Crawling Physique 35%, Attributes +1, Vitality+10, Insatiable Appetite, Strict Carnivore, Loss of Sanity, Bloodlust, Absolute Loyalty to the Glenring Race]
Since his last check, the attribute bonus had literally doubled. His stats now exceeded that of most active adults.
[ATTRIBUTES:]
[Age: 15 years old.]
[Height: 1.62>1.63m.]
[Weight: 44>41kg.]
[Magic Power: 0.002>0.003 points.]
[Stamina: 1.1>6.6point.]
[Strength: 0.7>1.7 points.]
[Agility: 1.2>2.2 points.]
[Constitution: 0.9>1.9 points.]
[Vitality: 1.3>11.3 points.]
[Soul Strength: 100 points.]
[PRIMARY SPARKS:]
[Divine Spark lvl1: 0.002>0.003 points.]
[Soul Spark lvl1: 100 points.]
[Life Spark lvl1: 1.1>6.6 points.]
[SECONDARY SPARKS:]
[System lvl2: 1.26>1.32 points. Passive Effect: The System can now be accessed subconsciously at the cost of immense concentration]
[Appraisal lvl2: 1.00>1.03 points. Passive Effect 1: It is now possible to roughly Appraise the targets of your choice]
[Black Veil lvl1: 0.26 points]
[Self-Healing lvl1: 0.02 points.]
[Heart-Puncturing: 0.005]
[See-Through Vision: 0.005]
His Stamina appeared to be assessed on the basis of his Constitution and Vitality. A higher Constitution made his cells more resilient to stress, but his Vitality sped up his metabolism and recovery. To cast a powerful spell instantly, Constitution seemed more useful, but to cast a weak magic continuously, Vitality was much more interesting.
But things were never simple. Looking at his current weight, Ikaris couldn't help but to cringe sourly. A fast metabolism meant he needed to eat a lot more to maintain his weight.
The hunger that plagued him was not only due to the side effects of his transformation. The sooner he hunted for food, the sooner he would be relieved of this excruciating hunger.
In the meantime, he was burning what little fat and muscle he had eleven times faster than before. This would keep him strong and energetic for a few more days before his health collapsed.
Krold, who walked inexpressively behind him, could see that his body was getting thinner by the minute, but his running pace was only getting faster. Soon the two men, an older warrior and a younger boy, were trotting with ample strides through the jungle.
The veteran soldier may have been lean, but his physical condition was excellent, his lanky figure currently giving him an advantage in this kind of endurance race. Although he was no longer used to subjecting his body to this kind of harsh effort, he managed to keep up with the boy without running out of breath.
During the minutes they ran together, the teenager ahead of him became more and more unfathomable and foreign to him. His stride only got longer and he was running with a feline-like agility, effortlessly weaving his way through the dense vegetation of the jungle.
Dark blue hues shimmered with every wave of his hair while his black fingernails began to resemble claws more and more. His spine had also gained several vertebrae, his bones and tendons becoming almost as flexible as rubber.
[Transformation 35>42%]
Suddenly, Ikaris stopped dead in his tracks. He lifted his head, sniffed the air as he closed his eyes, and then a smile lit up his emaciated face.
"Found you."
"Found wha-?"
Krold fell silent as he saw the sunlit clearing teeming with Demonic Bisons grazing on bloody grass strewn with the corpses of humans, goblins and kobolds. Just then, he spotted the lush strawberry plant of Heart Strawberries and an expression of utter dumbfoundedness crept over his face.
"F-fruit!" He stammered excitedly, his mouth beginning to salivate without him realizing it.
Ikaris was salivating too, but not because of the fruit. His gluttonous gaze was glued to a fat Demonic Bison grazing peacefully a few meters away from him. He was tempted to kill it right away, but a snort a little further away dissuaded him.
The Alpha Demonic Bison was watching.
The boy remembered vividly what had happened when Malia had fought the huge bovine. The other bisons had immediately flipped out. These beasts were pseudo-carnivores, but their prey instincts resulting from millions of years of evolution were ingrained in their genes. Without their Alpha, these massive beasts were harmless.
'So, you'll be my target.' Ikaris decided coldly, licking his lips in anticipation.
Just the day before, he would never have been so confident, but today he was absolutely certain he could hunt such a beast. Even the Alpha didn't scare him anymore, unless like Malia it had a way to resist his magic.
Without their Alpha, this clearing was his.
The reason for his confidence lay in his two new Secondary Sparks: Heart Puncturing and See-Through Vision.
The second skill guaranteed him a real-time view of his soon-to-be victims' hearts. It made the visualization required for Heart Puncturing a breeze.
Krold alternated his gaze between Ikaris and the Demonic Bison in front of them with growing disbelief, but the more time ticked by the more he was convinced that this was the boy's intention all along.
When was the last time he had eaten beef? He couldn't remember... His frozen heart began to thump with excitement as he indulged in the dream of such a kingly meal. He had had enough of the stringy, rancid goblin flesh!
Ikaris fluttered his black eyes open, a golden spark flaring in his pupils, and he muttered under his breath,
"See-Through Vision. Heart Puncturing."
He was about to bond with his Divine Spark when he unexpectedly cancelled his spell. The boy and Krold simultaneously turned south and saw dozens of heavily armed goblins emerging from the bushes. Enough to form a platoon.
From their rabid expressions, they were there to avenge their comrades.
At their head, a gray goblin about Krold's size and remarkably athletic compared to his brethren stood on the back of a huge black wolf. A hobgoblin.
Unlike his troops, there was no anger or lust on his face. Yet when his eyes fell on the Heart Strawberries, an all-consuming greed distorted his features.
He was after the strawberry plant.
As if to poke fun at his ambition, from the west thirty kobolds, also all armed, poured into the clearing. As soon as the kobolds and goblins met, a palpable hostility filled the air.
Before chaos could descend, from the east several dozen human aborigines armed with spears, slings and bows entered the clearing, their resolute faces indicating that they would not leave without the fruit.
A handsome young man wearing gleaming steel armor, almost anachronistic in this place, stood at the head of the group. As he felt the goblins' and kobolds' killing intent converge on him, an indifferent smile flitted across his clean-shaven face.
The hunt for Ikaris and Krold seemed to be in jeopardy. As if to hammer in the final nail, they heard footsteps coming from behind them.
An annoyingly familiar petite gorgeous woman, followed by an even more familiar old hag stepped out of the bushes.
Malia and Grallu were also there.
