'System. From now on, show me the Stats of any creature I look at. Any creature for which I haven't seen the Stats yet. Don't wait for me to ask.'
[Your Command has been saved.]
'Good.'
Amon looked around for a bit.
'This forest really isn't as wild as I thought. I feared it would be dangerous, but it's actually way too peaceful.'
[The Goblins are partly responsible for that.]
'Yeah? That's surprising... Wait, partly? What else is there?'
[The Beasts and Monsters sense an ominous energy coming from this area.]
'So they steer clear, huh? Should I do the same?' Amon scratched his chin. 'Or should I look for the source of this ominous energy?'
[Those that can sense the dark energy are mostly Creatures capable of using Mana.]
'So the Goblin Chief is one of them. What are the Goblins still doing here then?'
Amon's eyes widened for a moment.
'Could whatever it is that produces that ominous energy be what he's trying to exchange for the Fox Girl?'
The System went silent.
'Guess you won't share that kind of thing... No matter. For now, I'll just focus on-'
Amon's thoughts were interrupted as a System Window appeared for no apparent reason.
[-Stats:
Strength: 1
Agility: 2
Perception: 15
Endurance: 5
Vigor: 1
]
'Huh? Oh.' Amon quickly understood as he remembered the command that had just been saved by the System. 'Don't show me JUST their Stats! Show me everything you've got!'
[Your Command has been saved.]
[Species: Disappearing Chameleon[F Rank]
-Stats:
Strength: 1
Agility: 2
Perception: 15
Endurance: 5
Vigor: 1
]
'Disappearing...' Amon continued staring at the branch. 'This goes beyond camouflage, it's completely invisible!'
He stepped closer carefully, the previously obtained horn in hand.
'Should be... Around here?'
With one hand around the horn and the other pushing on the flat end,
'Hit!' Amon rejoiced internally.
The instant that the horn went through, the Disappearing Chameleon became visible.
'Sick Skill you got.' He chuckled. 'The skin and muscles are soft. That's the only reason why the horn managed to pierce through.'
While previously focused on finding another Horned Hare to sharpen his blade, Amon had now found another, much more productive task.
'If I can gain a Camouflage or Invisibility Skill... But that's pretty much impossible. I'd have to glance at them randomly and get lucky enough when attacking. Additionally, I don't know how many there are in the forest. I could spend hours studying every square inch of any area and still not find anything. Plus, I would have to eat a bunch of them to gain a Skill capable of turning my whole body invisible. I am much bigger than a Chameleon, so…'
With a sigh, Amon decided that looking for Horned Hares was still the better choice.
'If I can find some Disappearing Chameleons randomly then sure, but...' He shrugged.
The Palm of the Devourer Skill was used.
[The Palm Of The Devourer presents one choice.]
[1-Disappearing Chameleon's Eyes(Perception Stat +10).]
'Don't tell me... Can Disappearing Chameleons see each other? Are they invisible to all when using the Skill, except to other Disappearing Chameleons?!'
Amon didn't even wait for the System's answer. After all, it wasn't much of a choice. Either a massive Stat increase that came with the possibility of seeing Disappearing Chameleons or... Nothing.
Amon felt his eyes twitch for a moment.
'Holy...'
He blinked over and over again, both troubled and impressed by the drastic difference.
With the Disappearing Chameleon's Eyes, Amon could see much more clearly, much further. He could study the tails of the tree bark that stood a dozen steps away without even needing to squint.
"Ha... Hahaha." A certain sense of euphoria rose as his gaze moved from one tree to the other, from one leaf to the other.
The sky, reddened by the approaching dusk, was more beautiful than ever.
"Who would have thought that chameleons had it so good." Amon chuckled to himself. "I guess they do need to see each other, for mating reasons and all."
As if on cue, a lonely Disappearing Chameleon was noticed climbing up a tree not twenty steps away.
'Sweet invisibility Skill...' Amon smiled. 'Here I come!'
***
"Oh, mushrooms! Yummy!" A fat Goblin shouted.
"They look... Like the kind that gives a tummy ache." A scrawny one whispered.
"Shuddap! You're just jealous 'cause I will get to breed the female first!"
"W-What? Wait, you're right… If I don't bring anything, I won't get a turn… The best offering gets to breed after the Chief…" The Goblin muttered, remembering that his hands were completely empty.
"That's right! With these mushrooms, I will… Huh? Wait, what are you-"
The knocked-out Goblin fell to the ground, and so did the mushrooms in his hands.
"With this, I have my chances!" The Goblin quickly lowered his body to pick up the mushrooms. He needed to leave the scene of the crime as soon as possible.
However, as he picked up the last mushroom, his body instinctively froze.
Grrrr!
The Goblin slowly turned around.
"WHA-"
The Goblin's neck was torn before it could do a thing.
[Species: Black Wolf[E Rank]
-Stats:
Strength: 10
Agility: 15
Perception: 10
Endurance: 9
Vigor: 7
]
***
"Did you really have to do that?" The female Hobgoblin asked with a sigh.
"What do you mean?"
"We only have twelve of them." She clicked her tongue.
"Waiiit what?? Do you mean that my ride somehow set itself free? Oh, noooo! Whatever will those poor Goblins do?!"
"You could whistle and call it back." The female Hobgoblin said, not finding the situation the least bit funny.
"Oh, right, right."
The Hobgoblin brought its fingers to its mouth.
"Huh. I'm trying to call it back but... I can't. Maybe it has to do with the air here. It's not letting me whistle. Maybe it was polluted by these Goblins."
The female Hobgoblin shrugged, looked in the cage's direction, and sighed.
"How many do you think it'll kill before I call it back?" The Hobgoblin asked with a perverted smile.
The female Hobgoblin walked away without answering.
"You can be so boring, Syl."
"Fuck you." She cursed with turning back.
***
The Black Wolf, its pelt tainted by Goblin blood, raised its snout up.
Sniff-
The Black Wolf's eyes opened wide.
Nine slightly different smells. Nine Goblins were waiting to be torn into pieces.
The Black Wolf started salivating and moved as quickly as it could towards the area.
Upon getting there, it only took three seconds to judge the situation before jumping in.
Before the Goblins could notice anything, one of them was already dead.
"A-a Black Wolf?"
"The damned Hobgoblins!"
The Goblins did not run.
Some did not run because their fear was kept them from doing so. Others did not because they knew that giving their back to such a creature meant certain death.
Two, three, four. Only four Goblins left!
One by one, the Goblins were decimated, completely unable to put up a fight.
The Black Wolf leaped towards the fifth Goblin and,
ARRGGRRRRR!
The Black Wolf growled fiercely as the fifth Goblin fell to the ground.
A drop of blood made its way down the Black Wolf's head.
Rage like it had never felt before was coursing through its body. The Black Wolf leaped towards the next Goblin despite having lost its right eye, despite having something embedded in its head through the eye.
Six, seven, and eight.
All were dead.
An injury had been incurred, but it was worth-
The Black Wolf's body suddenly froze.
Weren't there nine scents? Nine slightly different scents… Yet only eight Goblins?
Just as the Black Wolf realized, a sharpened horn was pushed through its neck, piercing it and rendering the Black Wolf completely unable to breathe.
A whimper exited the Black Wolf's mouth as it tried to move away, but it fell to the ground a couple of steps later.
The confusion only made it all more painful.
Out of nowhere, a Goblin appeared. The ninth. Out of thin air, it appeared.
Amon extended his arm towards the Black Wolf.
He opened and closed his hand repeatedly.
"Time to eat." He hummed.