Asher looked at his panel and was a bit surprised that the act of plundering a skill was able to add attributes, but after thinking about it for a while, he was able to quickly understand why.
Unlike humans, who got their skills from their classes or skill books, a monster's skills were already there from birth and if given proper context, were actually closer to something like innate racial abilities.
They were intrinsically linked to the monster's biology, so the true act of plundering and acquiring a monster's skills was like forcefully transforming his body and genes to induce new skills.
And Asher's attention wasn't just focused on his stats as he also noticed that the evolution value count had also shown a slight increase.
If we go by the theory that new skills would trigger changes in his biological makeup then would that mean that changing his biological makeup and getting more skills can increase his Evolution Points?
'This seems to go much deeper than I initially expected…'
The talent [Evolution Through Plunder] was nowhere near as simple as he had initially expected, and Asher knew there was still more exploring to do.
Although he understood how his talent worked, Asher's mind was now filled with more questions than
Was the plunder of skills the only way to increase his Evolution Points?
How would his mastery of skills affect his Evolution Points?
Does the type or rarity of a skill affect how many Evolution Points are gained when a skill is plundered?
Asher wanted to take some time to fully explore this ability, but before he could even take a second to think, a loud guttural growl came out from behind him.
Asher felt goosebumps crawl over his skin as he turned around to see what sort of monster was quickly approaching him
[Detect]
[Blood-Claw Demon]
[Level: 3]
[Rank: Common ★★]
[Skills: Rending Claws (E), Predator's Instinct (E) ]
Yes, a Monster was a perfect description for what Asher saw
The thing approaching in front of him was a strange, gangly creature.
Its arms were so long that even as it was standing upright, they brushed along the ground.
As it walked towards Asher, its Blood-soaked claws dragged deep furrows through the sandy earth that swayed with each slow, deliberate step.
Its face was a warped mask of bright red flesh stretched too thin over sharp bone. Its face and mouth had an opening that split horizontally into four appendages that seemed to curl it into an eerie, forced grin that, in Asher's human aesthetics, looked far too wide for its own skull.
Above that nightmarish grin were a pair of crimson its sunken eyes that stayed fixed on Asher's every movement
As Asher met the eyes of the monster, he could only see the look of raw hunger and calculation inside of them.
He knew right away that this demon had finished assessing him and now only saw him as its next prey, and as for why this was happening to Asher now?
He looked weak, that was all.
In fact, all around him, a similar drama was playing out. Stronger demons who finished devouring the flesh of their first prey were now turning on the weaker ones, demons that had somehow survived the first culling.
The second wave of slaughter had begun in this hellhole.
This was the law of the Abyss. Only the strongest walked away from their place of birth!
Asher had originally planned to spend a bit of time perfecting the use of his new skill [Spike-Tail Whip] before he even attempted to fight another creature, but there was no more time.
Whilst Asher was still trying to plan and think strategically, the Blood-Claw Demon was already moving!
With an excited roar, the Demon dragged the jagged claws on the floor as it rushed towards Asher with an ecstatic frenzy.
In response to this, Asher's tail flexed, causing the black spike at his tail's tip to slide out from beneath the skin's surface like a blade being pulled from a sheath.
As this was happening, Asher felt a sharp wind blow against him.
In just a few moments, the blood claw demon had closed the distance and lunged within arm's reach of him!
Asher's eyes widened as he side-stepped the incoming attack, barely managing to dodge the demon's ominous claw swipe, which was coated in a bloody crimson glow.
Unfortunately for Asher though, the demon he was facing was still at a higher level than he was. And to make matters worse, the demon's innate fighting and predatory instinct far surpassed Asher's ,who had only recently inhabited this strange body. So the moment Asher managed to dodge its first swipe, the demon quickly planted its foot and lowered its shoulder before ramming itself right into Asher's chest!
"Boom!"
"Uggh!"
Asher let off a painful groan as he was tackled helplessly to the ground.
The blood-claw demon, pinning him to the rough ground, didn't even bother raising its hand to finish the job and instead used its teeth and bit straight at Asher's throat like the monster it truly was!
With the threat of death on his doorstep, Asher didn't think and just let his instincts take over.
He quickly jerked his head aside just in time, dodging the demon's feral bite. After this close shave with death, Asher was furious and didn't think as he lashed out and swiped the creature hard across the side of its face.
It was a reflexive strike, and Asher hadn't meant for it to do any real damage, but he had clearly underestimated the sharpness of his new demonic claws.
The shock and ferocity of impact split open skin beneath the demon's eye as His claws gouged a streak of deep bloody lines down the side of the demon's face.
Now scarred and bloody, the Blood-Claw Demon reeled back in pain and screeched wildly.
Asher on the other hand, ignored these deafening shrieks and quickly used the brief opportunity he was given to scurry away and create some distance between them.
The Blood-claw demon wiped its own blood away from its eyes as it glared at Asher with pure hatred.
Although the gash looked quite dangerous, it was still within an acceptable range for it to endure and only caused the demon to feel more enraged than it did hurt.
With fury building up in its chest, the demon didn't waste another second and lunged forward, its claws swinging down again and again in a frenzied storm!
Although Asher would like to think of himself as a half-decent fighter, he was still left helpless in front of this storm of crimson claws.
He barely managed to dodge the first few blows and clumsily deflected some others, but eventually he just couldn't keep up. Suddenly, one of the attacks managed to slip through his guard, cutting right across his forearm.
Asher winced as new burning pain assaulted his mind, and before he could relax, another stroke whistled past his nose!
'Fuck.' Thought Asher
He just barely even dodged that, but how many more times could he get lucky?
''This isn't working,' Asher thought to himself helplessly
He was losing and losing badly
Just as Asher was having these thoughts, the demon leaned in to attack again, and Asher, this time thinking quickly, raised his knee and slammed it up into the demon's crotch with all the force he could muster!
"Bang!"
The sound of the impact could be clearly heard by Asher's ears
But unlike a human man, the blood-claw demon didn't drop to the floor instantly after Asher's shameless and sneaky attack. The demon howled in fury, but still stayed standing upright, and managed to slash Asher's shoulder in retaliation!
Asher yelled as new burning pain burned along the gash in his chest and shoulder
'Damn it!'
Looking down at the Blood-claw demon's legs, Asher realised why his move failed.
His crude tactic may have worked if he were facing a normal opponent. But unfortunately for Asher, his opponent's little brother had been nerfed even harder than Asher's was!
Who knew that something Asher had considered a nerf had actually been a secret buff all along!
Cursing his opponent's Tactical micro penis, Asher covered his constantly bleeding wounds as he backed away
The wound he received was just a deep scratch, but Asher felt like he had just been shot! No matter what he did, blood just kept rapidly pouring out of the wound!
[You have been afflicted with the Deep Bleed status effect]
[It is advised to stop the bleeding as soon as possible to avoid losing any more Health Points]
Asher heard the system notification in his mind, and even as the haze of pain clouded his thoughts, he couldn't help but slander it.
'Fuck! You really think I couldn't think of that you useless clanker!'
Asher cursed in his mind as he rolled to the side, barely dodging another one of the Blood Claw Demon's wild slashes