***
Name: Alex Campbell
Power Level: 7.1
Progenitor Transformation: 10/100%
Lifeforce: 1,148/2,000
Cultivation Level: Foundation Stage - Early Level
***
[Vesa detected a lair of sabertooth wolves one kilometer to the southeast.
This should be the best place to refill everything in one go.]
Alex turned and sprinted toward the location.
He reached the area in a short time.
He stopped on top of a low hill and looked down.
Below him, an opening led into a cavern.
[Please be careful, King.
Even though the monsters in this area are weaker than those in a Category One dungeon, the area is small.
In the worst case, they can ambush you again and again and make you run out of lifeforce,] Vesa warned.
Alex studied the terrain and the shape of the hill and cave.
"Vesa, as long as they are freshly dead, you can absorb their lifeforce no matter what state the body is in, right?" he asked.
[Yes, King.]
Alex's lips curled into a cold smile.
An interface map appeared in front of his eyes.
It showed the terrain around him and the exact location of the sabertooth wolves.
Good, they are all gathering in one place. After this, I can go back, he thought.
He started to calculate the trajectory, the angle, and the impact area.
His muscles tensed.
Qi and Mana surged through his body and focused in his legs.
He kicked off the ground.
A spiderweb of cracks spread from where his feet had been.
His body rose into the air.
He angled himself toward the position marked on the map.
The hammerhead tilted downward.
Alex started to increase its weight.
Gravity pulled him down, and his momentum grew.
Boom.
He fell like a meteor and smashed the small hill.
Dust, dirt, and rocks exploded outward.
The ground collapsed.
The wolves inside the lair did not even have a chance to react before they were crushed by the falling earth and stone.
As the dust slowly settled, Alex stood on top of the broken hill.
His right hand was torn open, with cracked skin and exposed flesh.
The wound looked bad, but it started to regenerate quickly.
Alex did not absorb the lifeforce yet.
He still sensed a presence below.
The ground shook.
Debris jumped and scattered.
From inside the rubble, a large wolf pushed its way out.
It had thick, black fur soaked in red blood, and its eyes glowed a deep red.
Two long, sharp fangs stuck out from its upper jaw.
Smoke rose from its body as its wounds slowly closed.
The wolf opened its jaws and leaped at Alex.
It clearly understood that he had destroyed its pack.
Alex's movements were slower than usual because his body was still recovering from the previous impact.
A mutation? I have never seen a sabertooth wolf with an ability before, he thought.
He quickly calculated his next move.
He let go of the hammer with his right hand, twisted his body, caught the handle with his left, then threw the hammer upward.
The mutated wolf reached him first.
Its jaws snapped shut around his left arm.
Its fangs sank deep into his hand with a wet crunch.
Blood flowed, but Alex only smiled.
With a heavy sound, the hammer fell back down.
It smashed into the wolf's back.
The wolf howled as its body was pressed into the broken ground under the hammer's weight.
Alex's right hand had now recovered enough to move.
He took out a small cube, one of the prototype storage boxes he had made earlier.
This version was a failure in normal use.
It consumed too much energy and had a strange limitation.
No matter how much space it seemed to have inside, it could hold only one item.
Alex had not studied the cause in detail yet.
But he knew one thing.
This box did not limit him from putting living creatures inside.
He only needed to include the monster, the surrounding earth, and the air as a single "item".
Alex wanted to study this mutated wolf.
Its ability to heal might give him ideas on how to fix Emily's condition.
He pointed the cube at the pinned wolf.
The wolf was badly injured from the hammer strike and could not resist.
Its body and the ground around it turned into light.
Everything disappeared into the cube.
[Name: Sabertooth Wolf (Mutated)]
[Power Level: 3.2]
[Lifeforce: 75/180]
[Ability: Predator's Surge]
[Predator's Surge: Burn Mana to instantly heal wounds and double current power level.
After the state ends, all healed wounds return. Power level is then reduced by half for 24 hours.]
[King, I think we can use the slave contract formation inside the storage box,] Vesa said. [If we modify it, we can capture a weakened monster and automatically enslave it.
This will be very helpful for you and the Queen.]
"It is not the time, Vesa," Alex said.
He had already considered that option before, but right now Emily was more important.
His eyes turned faintly red.
From the broken earth around him, thin green particles rose into the air.
They floated like fireflies at night, except they shone with a green light.
The lifeforce gathered and flowed toward him.
The particles twisted and wove themselves into his body.
[Lifeforce: 1,848/2,000]
[We should have gained more lifeforce if you did not fight so recklessly, King,] Vesa complained.
"No need to repeat it, Vesa. I would not do this if the situation were not urgent.
I will not make it a habit," Alex said as he started running back toward the facility.
Vesa felt relieved after hearing that.
The way Alex had just fought, ignoring his own safety, was dangerous and wasteful.
Healing cost a large amount of lifeforce each time.
It did not help Alex improve his technique or instincts.
If Alex met an enemy who could interfere with lifeforce regeneration, he would be in trouble very quickly.
Vesa also knew there were many enemies like that.
If there were not, the vampire race would have already dominated the universe.
***
Alex soon returned to the facility and went straight to Emily's side.
"What now, Vesa?" he asked.
[I will handle the rest, King,] Vesa replied.
[There is one more thing. This consumed a part of my energy.
I will not be able to open a portal to another world until the Queen kills an immortal or you defeat a Category Five dungeon boss.]