It's been 3 hours since Vars killed the rabbit and hawk. He knew the pack would take at least another day to reach the lake, so they began to hunt earnestly before calling it a night.
Calling their progress substantial was an understatement.
{Name: Vars Zeras Lv. 13
Class: None
Titles: Alpha of the Pack
Race: Human
Essence Shards: 2/7
1. Shadow Weapon: Create a weapon of choice made of condensed shadows. +10 dexterity when wielding the weapon.
2. Dazzler: Either create a bright flash to blind enemies or bend light to render you mostly invisible.
Stats: (6 stat points available)
Vitality: 30 (42) Strength: 30 (36) Dexterity: 36 (48) Endurance: 28 Intelligence: 42
Talents: 6/10
1. Crossbreeder (One of a Kind): 1/2
Use the combination of your Cosmic Energy and the essence of defeated foes to produce offspring.
2. Stitched up (Silver): (Lv. 10 Bloodhound Mosquito)
Stitch a fresh corpse to yourself, gaining some of their stats and traits. If the user sustains too much damage, the stitching will be undone, and the user will be weakened.
3. Combat Sense (Silver):
The longer the user battles, the more accustomed they are to their opponent. Over time, the user can perfectly counter and replicate what they have learned.
4. Precision (Silver):
The user's attacks have 25% armor penetration.
5. Hyper Regeneration (Gold):
The user's regenerative abilities are increased by 100%.
6. Acid Generator (Gold):
The user's body becomes a producer of acid. This talent allows the user to produce acid from their body and make bodily fluids acidic.
Offspring (1/2):
1. Decaying Mist Wolf
Name: Wormwood
Stats:
Strength: 33 Vitality: 45 Endurance: 50
Dexterity: 30 Intelligence: 26
Traits:
1. Bone Body: This allows the user to control the bones of their body and consume bones of others to increase their bone density.
2. Decaying Mist: The wolf's affinity for ice and shadow mutated, mixing with the undead aspects of this being. This mutation causes her powers to gain the element of decaying biological material.
3. Undead: This being is undead and has no need to sleep and no longer tires. They must consume the cosmic energy of others to prevent degradation.
Companion: Parasitic Leech
Name: Bloodbag
Stats:
Strength: 20 Vitality: 25 Dexterity: 30
Intelligence: 50 Endurance: 20
Traits:
1. Leech Life: The leech attaches itself to an organism and stores its blood. This blood can increase the stats of the leech and its companion or heal them.
2. Hostile Takeover: The leech burrows into the brain of an organism and begins to take control of it. The bigger the level difference between the leech and the organism, the shorter the time limit.}
In just a short time, most of their stats have doubled, Vars obtained a useful talent, and he gained multiple beasts to use for {Crossbreeder}. Vars plans to produce his other offspring before they make it to the lake. He was going to do so after their battle with the Bloodhound Mosquito, but their battle was chaotic and loud, drawing unwanted attention. That is, until Vars saw who the foe was.
It was the same pack that drove out Mother and Alpha. The last time he saw them was about a year ago. They were a pack of 30 strong, known for their greyish black fur that dominated the eastern side of the forest. This was only 7 of them, and thankfully, the alpha wasn't with them. There are multiple different reasons Vars could think of for why they are so far from their usual territory, but his previous battles with them left no room for conversation.
Vars' new stitching turned him into a human/mosquito hybrid. With his arms and legs covered in chitin, an antenna on his head, wings on his back, and a proboscis for a tail, he has improved multiple attributes due to these additions. His sense of smell is 3x better than a bloodhound, and his eyes gained mosquito-like traits. However, the best part of this union was the huge increase in Dexterity. With these improvements, he noticed the pack before they noticed them.
With his title, he could also tell that they were multiple levels below him. With this information, he took the initiative. Using his new wings to swiftly cross the distance to the wolf leading the pack, which was only level 7.
Vars' dexterity was so far above theirs that they were mid-stride as 6 wolf heads separated from their bodies. He ignored the notifications as he stood before the last one left. It was the smallest and lowest level, at level 5. With the oppression from Vars' title weighing heavily on it, it trembled before a 6-foot-tall, humanoid bug.
"So tell me, what's a runt like you doing so far away from home?" Vars inquired. His voice was deeper and more grating, which increased the fear in the little wolf.
"W-we were overrun by zombies before we fled in this direction. We were only scavengers, I swear! O-Our alpha became one but he wasn't like the others. He could still speak to us and he told us to run." the wolf stammered.
"Hmm. Interesting. Well, I will return you to your pack." Vars said as he pierced the wolf's skull with his hand.
He quickly dismissed all the notifications as he didn't level up and the points added to his stats were negligible.
"Let's deal with this zombie problem. We can't let them spiral out of control. I remember where their territory is. With our speed now it's only an hour away," Vars said right as BB and Wormwood joined his side.
"If I recall correctly, the last time you had a run in with them they were at least 20 of them. We're gonna need the last monster you've been waiting on making. We need someone to soak up the damage," Bloodbag replied in a gruff, but pleasant tone.
He was no longer in Snow's body. Instead, he's attached to the brain of a Rose-tailed Ferret. Its coat was a brownish green like the bark of the trees. It was 5 feet long not including its tail and a foot wide.
Its tail looked like a rose but they learned that it's like a second mouth. The inside of the rose's flowers were lined with thorns shaped like teeth and the stigma was like a needle, used to inject neurotoxin.
The toxin is also what killed Snow and the last piece of Vars' old life. He didn't break like he did when Mother died but his rage was palpable. BB actually had to beg him to let the ferret live before he completely beat it to death.
"Yeah, we do need a tank. I have something in mind but I'm not sure how it will turn out. Hopefully, if it does mutate it's not too terrible. With a full house, we should be able to claim some territory," Vars said as sat and began to use {Crossbreeder}.