Three days of hunting.
Alex had tracked and killed four more Venomwolves, each one a calculated fight using terrain and tactics. Ember's assistance had been crucial. Her flame darts and aerial harassment kept the wolves off-balance while Alex exploited weaknesses.
[EXPERIENCE: 95/100]
[ESSENCE STORED: 9/10]
One more wolf. One more essence. Then Ember would evolve.
Alex sat by his cave fire, cleaning his spear. The weapon had served him well, but it was wearing down. The stone tip was chipped, the binding fraying.
I need better equipment. But that means guild access. Which means I need to be strong enough to impress them.
Catch-22. Need strength to get resources, need resources to get strong.
Ember was perched nearby, preening her feathers. Over the past few days, Alex had noticed changes in her. She was slightly larger, her flames burned hotter, and her intelligence seemed to sharpen daily.
The essence is already affecting her. Preparing her for evolution.
Through their bond, he could feel her anticipation. She wanted this. Wanted to be stronger, to help him more effectively.
Just one more fight.
As if summoned by his thoughts, a howl echoed through the forest. Close. Too close.
Alex stood, grabbing his spear. Ember's head snapped toward the sound, feathers igniting.
Through the bond: multiple wolves. At least three.
A hunting pack. Perfect.
Alex had learned the venomwolves' patterns. They hunted in groups of two to four, using coordinated tactics. But they were predictable. Always tried to flank, always targeted the weakest prey first.
And they probably think I'm weak prey.
Time to prove them wrong.
Alex extinguished his fire and moved to intercept the pack, choosing his battleground carefully. He'd scouted this area. There was a narrow ravine with steep sides. Chokepoint territory.
The wolves appeared through the mist. Three of them, spread out in hunting formation.
[VENOMWOLF - LEVEL 2] x2
[VENOMWOLF - LEVEL 3]
The level three is the leader. Take it down first, the others will panic.
But the system was showing him something new. Additional information he hadn't seen before:
[VENOMWOLF - LEVEL 3]
[HP: 45/45]
[ABILITIES: PACK TACTICS, VENOMOUS BITE, ENHANCED SMELL]
[WEAKNESSES: FIRE, LOUD NOISES, ISOLATION FROM PACK]
What? I can see their stats now? Like a game interface?
Another notification appeared:
[BEAST SENSE UPGRADED]
[BOND STRENGTH WITH EMBER: 55%]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: ANALYZE - VIEW BASIC ENEMY INFORMATION]
The system is evolving with me. The stronger my bond with Ember, the more abilities I unlock.
That's... actually incredible.
Alex filed that revelation away for later. Right now, he had wolves to kill.
"Ember, focus on the leader. Keep it distracted. I'll handle the other two."
The fire bird chirped acknowledgment and launched into the air.
The wolves charged.
Alex retreated toward the ravine, moving deliberately. Not running. Just repositioning. The wolves followed, confident in their numbers.
Come on. Just a little closer to the edge.
The level two wolves split up, trying to flank. Predictable. Alex had counted on that.
He threw his spear at the wolf on the left. The weapon wasn't meant for throwing, but at this distance it didn't matter. The stone tip caught the wolf in the shoulder. It yelped and stumbled.
[VENOMWOLF HP: 28/40]
The other level two wolf lunged. Alex sidestepped and grabbed a burning branch from the pile he'd prepared earlier. He swung it like a club, catching the wolf across the face.
Fire. Their weakness.
The wolf backed off, whimpering. Alex pressed forward, jabbing with the burning branch. The confined space between the trees worked in his favour. The wolf couldn't easily dodge.
Meanwhile, Ember was engaging the level three leader. Her flame darts peppered its face and flanks. The wolf snapped at her, but she was too fast, too agile.
Through the bond, Alex felt her stamina draining. She couldn't keep this up forever.
Need to finish this quickly.
Alex drove the injured level two wolf toward the ravine edge. It backed up, snarling, not realising the danger behind it.
One more step.
The wolf's hind paw found nothing but air. It teetered, and Alex kicked hard at its chest.
The wolf fell howling into the ravine.
[VENOMWOLF DEFEATED]
[ESSENCE ACQUIRED]
One down. Two to go.
The other level two wolf charged from Alex's blind side. He barely managed to bring the burning branch up in time. The wolf's jaws closed on the wood instead of his arm.
The branch snapped.
Damn it!
The wolf shook its head, spitting out splinters, and lunged again. Alex rolled away, grabbing for his knife.
Ember shrieked a warning through the bond. The level three leader had broken off from fighting her and was charging at Alex.
Two wolves incoming. No weapon. This is bad.
Alex's mind raced through options. He couldn't fight both in close combat. Couldn't outrun them. Couldn't...
Wait. The Analyse ability showed their weaknesses. Loud noises.
Alex took a deep breath and screamed. Not words. Just a raw, primal roar that echoed through the forest.
Both wolves faltered, ears flattening. The level two backed up. Even the level three hesitated.
It worked. Holy shit, it actually worked.
Ember didn't waste the opening. She dove at the level three leader, flames wreathing her entire body. This time she didn't pull back. She slammed into the wolf's face at full speed.
The wolf's fur caught fire. It thrashed, trying to extinguish the flames.
Alex grabbed his knife and went for the level two wolf while it was still disoriented from his scream. Close combat. Brutal. Desperate.
The wolf's claws raked his arm. Alex felt skin tear, hot blood flowing.
[HP: 28/45]
But he was inside the wolf's guard now. He drove the knife up into its throat. Once. Twice. Three times.
The wolf collapsed, twitching.
[VENOMWOLF DEFEATED]
[ESSENCE ACQUIRED]
The level three leader had extinguished most of the flames on its fur, but it was burned badly. Smoke rose from singed flesh. One eye was swollen shut.
It was alone now. No pack. And according to the Analyse ability, isolation was a weakness.
The wolf looked at Alex, then at Ember circling overhead. It was smart enough to know it had lost.
It turned and fled into the forest.
Alex let it go. He'd gotten what he came for.
[ESSENCE STORED: 10/10]
[EVOLUTION THRESHOLD REACHED]
[EMBER READY TO EVOLVE]
Through the bond, Ember's excitement flooded into him. She landed on his shoulder, chirping eagerly.
"Not here," Alex said, breathing hard. His arm was bleeding freely from the claw marks. "Back to the cave. We do this safely."
They returned to the cave quickly. Alex used his basic medical supplies to clean and bandage his arm. The wounds weren't deep, but they hurt like hell.
[HP: 25/45]
Once he was patched up, Alex turned his attention to Ember.
"Okay. This is it. You ready?"
The fire bird chirped affirmation and hopped down to the cave floor, positioning herself in the centre.
Alex pulled up the system interface and selected the evolution option.
[INITIATE EVOLUTION: FLAME WOLF?]
[WARNING: HYBRID EVOLUTION WILL CAUSE PAIN TO BEAST AND BOND-MATE]
[PROCEED? YES/NO]
We've come this far. No backing out now.
"Yes."
The system pulsed, and Ember's body began to glow.
Pain hit Alex like a hammer.
It wasn't his pain. It was Ember's, transmitted through their bond. Her bones were breaking, reforming, restructuring. Her body was being torn apart and rebuilt from the inside out.
And Alex felt all of it.
He screamed. Couldn't help it. The pain was overwhelming, consuming.
Through the bond, he felt Ember screaming too. A sound no bird should be able to make. Agony. Pure agony.
I did this to her. I chose this. Oh god, what have I done?
Golden light erupted from Ember's body. The essence she'd absorbed was being consumed, fuel for the transformation. Alex could see it through tear-blurred eyes. Her small form growing, shifting, changing shape.
Feathers fell away. Fur sprouted. Her wings folded back, absorbed into her body. Her legs lengthened, multiplied. Two became four.
The pain spiked higher. Alex's vision went white. He was dimly aware of his own body convulsing, thrashing on the cave floor.
It's killing her. It's killing us both.
But through the pain, through the agony, Alex felt something else.
Ember's determination. Her will to survive. To become stronger. To fight alongside him.
She wasn't giving up.
So neither would he.
Alex gritted his teeth and endured. Seconds felt like hours. His mind fragmented under the assault of shared pain.
Then, suddenly.
The pain stopped.
Alex gasped, sucking in air. His whole body was trembling. Sweat soaked his clothes.
The golden light faded.
Where Ember had been, where his small fire bird had stood, there was now something else.
A wolf. Size of a large dog, maybe sixty pounds. Sleek build, built for speed rather than power. Its fur was dark grey, almost black, but along its spine and across its shoulders.
Flames. Actual living flames forming a mane of fire, crackling and dancing but somehow not burning the fur beneath.
The creature's eyes opened. Still black. Still intelligent. Still Ember.
She looked at Alex and made a sound. Not a chirp anymore. Something between a growl and a bark. Almost like laughter.
Through the bond, overwhelming triumph flooded into him.
We did it. We actually did it.
[EVOLUTION COMPLETE]
[EMBER EVOLVED: FLAME WOLF]
[NEW FORM ACQUIRED][UPDATING STATUS...]
Alex pulled up Ember's new stat screen with shaking hands:
[EMBER - FLAME WOLF]
[CURRENT TIER: UNCOMMON]
[HP: 40/40]
[ABILITIES: FLAME DART, FIRE BITE, ENHANCED SPEED, PACK TACTICS]
[EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 0/15 TO NEXT TIER]
She'd more than doubled her health. Gained new abilities. Increased a full tier in rarity.
And she was beautiful.
The Flame Wolf padded over to Alex and nuzzled against his chest. Despite the fire mane, the flames didn't burn him. Through the bond, they were safe from each other.
"You're amazing," Alex whispered. "Worth every second of that pain."
Ember made that growl-bark sound again. Through the bond: Agreement. Pride. And something new.
Hunger. For more essence. For more evolution. For more power.
She's got the taste for it now. She wants to keep growing.
Alex understood completely. He wanted the same thing.
[BOND STRENGTH INCREASED: 72%]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: SHARED SENSES - CAN SEE/HEAR THROUGH EMBER'S PERSPECTIVE AT WILL]
[ANALYZE ABILITY ENHANCED: NOW SHOWS ENEMY TACTICS AND BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS]
The stronger she gets, the stronger our bond becomes. And the stronger our bond, the more abilities I unlock.
This is it. This is how I survive in this world. We grow together.
Alex stood shakily. His HP was still low from the claw wounds, and his stamina was depleted from the shared evolution pain.
But he felt stronger somehow. More capable.
Because I'm not alone anymore. I have Ember. And she's not some weak pet. She's a partner. A weapon. An ally.
The Flame Wolf looked up at him with those intelligent black eyes, fire mane crackling softly.
Through the bond, absolute loyalty. Absolute trust.
Tomorrow, Alex thought. Tomorrow we start hunting stronger prey. Building toward the next evolution.
But tonight, we rest.
He lay down by the fire, Ember curling up against his side. The warmth from her flames was comforting, familiar.
As sleep claimed him, Alex's last conscious thought was simple:
We're just getting started.