I had become bigger and stronger; my body was still that of a cub, but clearly a cub larger than normal.
[ Exp: 250 → 5250 ]
[ Level up: 6 → 7 ]
[ Level up: 7 → 8 ]
[ Aura: 20 → 70 ]
'Even so… it's not enough.' I sighed heavily over the corpse of a fox.
I hunted more and more of them, and in response, they began to disappear from the region. And although my experience kept rising steadily, the aura I gained grew smaller and smaller.
Foxes no longer gave me aura.
'I'm so close to the maximum, but at the same time, crossing this last hurdle won't be easy… I'll really have to risk myself next time.'
I looked up at the sky as I thought deeply.
'If it's already this hard to gain aura, once I go through my first mutation it's going to be even harder.'
I swallowed dryly before pondering: What animal was strong enough to be dangerous, yet weak enough that I wouldn't die instantly?
There were two main answers to that question: boars and wolves. Both were species that fought back, and because their limbs were more robust, finishing them off would be difficult.
With that clearer goal in mind, I began wandering through the forest in search of a suitable target.
I couldn't afford to be arrogant; at this moment I hadn't truly begun my journey toward power.
Therefore, my small body was weak. I was a cub of a common species, and obviously that mattered a lot in a confrontation.
Each battle had to be chosen carefully.
However, other species also had immature young, elderly, and sick individuals who could be stronger than me — though not by much.
'Who am I kidding… facing a young wolf, even if not a fully grown adult, could be my certain and terrible death. And more importantly, my mother would never let me fight something like that…'
Once again, I observed the tigress from afar. She allowed me to venture farther and face increasingly dangerous creatures.
However, I was always within her reach for a possible intervention.
She wanted me to grow strong and imposing, she truly wanted me to be independent — but first, I needed to stay alive.
Her eyes followed me everywhere, so I saw no opening to venture even farther away.
As such, I abandoned the idea and when night fell, I lay with her and my siblings comfortably.
However, when the moon reached its peak at the top of the sky and the night grew deeper…
My eyes suddenly opened.
With light and smooth movements — trained diligently through constant hunts — I pushed my siblings off me and slipped away.
'Does this mean I've finally entered my rebellious phase?'
I chuckled as I admired the full moon. It was a dark night, but the moon offered a comforting glow.
I entered the forest once again with extreme care.
During the day, there were some hunters, but at night, everyone was a hunter.
First, I needed to orient myself.
The forest was too dark to see easily, forcing me to rely even more on my other senses.
In silence, I focused on my skin.
On feeling the wind brushing against it, the ground beneath me, and its vibrations — even the faintest ones.
This was the most important sense for now.
Walking silently, I eventually felt a small tremor.
Reacting quickly, I pressed my ear against the ground, trying to detect where the disturbance came from.
'Damn! It's getting closer!' I immediately searched for a tree that wasn't too tall.
I pushed myself up with my hind legs, climbing the tree with the help of my claws.
From up above, I observed in absolute silence. Even the slightest noise could be my ruin.
An adult wolf soon approached cautiously, heading quickly toward where I had been just seconds earlier.
My heart began to race.
If he detected my scent, it could be dangerous!
He sniffed the area, trying to locate the prey.
My heart sank as I gritted my teeth and prepared for confrontation.
However, after some consideration, he chose to ignore that trail and continued on his way.
For a moment, I felt relieved.
Until I realized something was very wrong… why did he ignore a trail so easily?
After some time, I approached the spot and tried to discern his scent… there was blood and pus.
That wolf… he's injured?
Is he avoiding confrontation?
More importantly, why is a wolf walking alone?
My intuition gave me an interesting answer, so I began following his tracks with tension.
It was dangerous, but I thought I knew what was happening.
Soon I arrived near the entrance of a cave. It was difficult to see, but I could make out some figures inside.
There were two wolves — one being the one I had followed — and near them several newborn pups.
'So that's it… a pack in formation.'
The mother had just given birth and was weak, dependent on the male, who also happened to be injured — likely from being a lone and inexperienced hunter.
I couldn't see his wounds from here, but I could tell he was still strong enough to be dangerous, though his injuries kept him constantly on alert.
He didn't want to fight at all, because he knew he was inexperienced despite his strength. And of course, risking himself meant risking his mate and children.
'Should I hunt them?'
I thought carefully about my own words — I had never considered killing him, but rather them.
Killing the male meant the likely death of the female and their pups.
Killing him meant killing his entire family.
I would be the murderer of an entire family.
I would break a terrible taboo.
It would be a too difficult battle for me — exactly what I needed — but I would be condemning to death those who didn't need to die.
His death would make me stronger, but the death of his family would give me nothing — not even food.
After all, how much had I already eaten during my hunts…
After observing from afar for some time and thinking it over, I decided to retreat with a snort.
He was too dangerous for my taste, and the death of his family would weigh on me.
In the end, I decided to return to my cave and call it a day.
In the morning, I would face some boar while distracting my mother somehow.
The next day, I tried my best to distance myself from my mother — even pushing her away aggressively with fierce growls and scratches.
She had to learn to give me space!
I got smacked hard and rolled across the forest floor… several times.
'She definitely sees me as a hopeless delinquent.'
She snorted every time before hitting me and pulling me close.
However, eventually she allowed me to go farther — while she followed me hidden behind the trees.
'I guess she's curious about my behavior.'
I ignored my stalker and eventually found an ideal target — a juvenile boar lost in the forest.
Under normal circumstances, seeing a young animal alone would be strange.
However, the reason was obvious.
Its mother had died during the celestial clash a few days ago, leaving it orphaned.
Approaching carefully, I leapt toward its flank, digging my claws in viciously and making it release a high-pitched squeal as I bit down fiercely.
It began thrashing, trying to shake me off, eventually succeeding and throwing me against a tree.
With furious eyes, it charged at me with its tusks. I dodged immediately, causing it to crash into the thick trunk.
Once again, I leapt, aiming for its thick neck — but before I could strike, it jerked its head to the side, tossing me away with a heavy blow that slammed me to the ground.
It charged like a fast, rampaging tractor, head lowered, trying to impale me with its tusks.
I dodged to its side quickly, avoiding being skewered, though its tusks still grazed me.
However, I didn't let that go unanswered!
I immediately slashed its exposed belly, leaving a deep cut that made it groan.
Then I bit deeply into its hind leg, pulling just enough to make it trip and fall clumsily.
For a moment, its neck was exposed and vulnerable — and if it were any other enemy, I would have jumped in and finished it.
However, its neck was thick and tough.
So I continued attacking its hind legs, preventing it from getting up while making it bleed more and more.
The battle ended there, but its death would be slower than I would've liked.
Only when it was weak enough to be unable to resist did I go for the neck to finish it.
[ You killed a Boar (Juvenile) ]
[ Exp: 1000 → 3000 ]
[ Aura: 70 → 100 ]
[ Your aura has reached the maximum level. ]
[ Please choose your mutation. ]
'Organs.'
[ Consume Aura (100 → 0) to evolve your organs from [Wild] to [Ferocious (Legendary)]? ]
'Yes.'
Suddenly, something awakened inside me and was channeled into my heart.
It was a strange and pleasant feeling, although I didn't know what it was.
Something touched my heart and pressed it gently and then…
My body convulsed as blood poured from my seven orifices.
[ Mutation in progress. ]
[ Loss of consciousness will result in death. ]
'What?!'
My heart suddenly exploded along with all my organs. My eyes burst, and what remained of them fell from their sockets.
I suddenly vomited chunks of flesh — pieces of my own organs.
Then, I could no longer breathe. My lungs were gone, making breathing impossible.
My consciousness began to waver.
It was too much pain!!!
I couldn't see or breathe anymore!
It felt as though the seconds had stretched, giving me unlimited suffering as all I could do was cling to a single thread of consciousness.
And then, I could see again — gasping.
[ Mutation complete! ]
[ Your feats have been recognized; you have gained the skill [Enhanced Senses (Lv.1)] ]
[ Your feats have been recognized; you have gained the skill [Pain Tolerance (Lv.1)] ]
[ Your feats have been recognized; you have gained the skill [Fainting Tolerance (Lv.1)] ]
'Status.'
Level: 8
Rank: Wild
Exp: 3000/3200
Aura: 0/100
Domain: —
Skills: Stealth (Lv.1), Bite (Lv.1), Strike (Lv.1), Tracking (Lv.1), Enhanced Senses (Lv.1), Pain Tolerance (Lv.1), Fainting Tolerance (Lv.1)
Mutations: 1/5
Available Mutations: Skin, Muscles, Claws, Fangs
'I… I'm stronger. I finally began my journey to power. I can feel the strength I gained. If I keep going, I can protect my mother and siblings! I can survive the calamities! I really can!'
Unfortunately, a new calamity was approaching.
Tomorrow, my life as a tiger would end.