Ethan waited until he had just enough MP and eagerly activated Beast Assimilation, this time with his new beast, Talon. Bracing himself, he didn't feel much - no wings sprouted from his back, no claws from his fingers. But then...
His vision sharpened.
More correctly, it exploded.
The world expanded outward, and he could see details dozens of meters away with crystal clarity - tiny cracks in stone, through heat distortions, any movement far on the horizon.
Even more incredible, but slightly disorienting, was his field of view.
It had widened dramatically.
Humans had roughly 180 degrees of vision, and much of that was peripheral blur.
Now?
It felt closer to 270.
He couldn't exactly see directly behind him, but when he lifted his hand slightly behind his ear...
'I can see it!'
It wasn't perfect, just like normal peripheral vision wasn't, but it was clear enough.
"That's insane."
It was slightly overwhelming at first, as if his brain was receiving more input than it could compute, and certainly more than it was used to.
But he quickly adjusted, and in this open, rocky biome, this was invaluable.
From spotting camouflaged beasts to tracking movement from afar, this improved sight was just as incredible, or even more so, than the Ulfen's enhanced senses.
That was without factoring in the physical changes to.
With Minor Assimilation, he gained a quarter of the beast's stats on top of his own - that's an addition of 5 points. Of course, that was not as drastic or alarming as the hawk's natural speed of 30 when in the prime Growth Stage, but it was a big jump for Ethan.
But he was too busy looking around at his surroundings with his hawk-like eyes to bother trying out his physical abilities. It was also partly because he was drained and aching, though he did notice that his body felt lighter.
It wasn't long before he ran out of MP and the skill deactivated; the world immediately narrowed back to normal.
'I'll save that for when I need to run from another rock worm.'
For now, he was starving and needed to focus on recovery.
He looked at the Skyrend Hawk's body lying nearby, and it would be a waste not to eat it.
It was also probably one of the few semi-edible creatures in this biome.
"I'm not chewing on rock worms," he muttered.
He also had two beasts to raise now.
Right on cue, as always, the system chimed in.
{Beast meat accelerates the growth of beasts. It also benefits both the host and his Beasts in progress and recovery.}
He blinked.
"Oh?"
So it wasn't just him who would benefit from eating beasts.
He nodded slowly.
"Alright. Wolfy's getting some, too."
His Ulfen had greater potential for one, and he wasn't about to force Talon to eat what was technically a grown version of itself.
"That's even more messed up than cannibalism."
Finding fuel for a fire in this dry, rocky wasteland proved harder than expected.
He searched between rock crevices and eventually found brittle shrubs clinging stubbornly to life. After gathering enough of them, he struck rocks together until sparks set the shrubbery alight.
Eventually, a small fire flickered to life.
Ethan grinned.
"I'm getting good at this."
He puffed his chest slightly.
"I could have my own show, like Bear Drylls or something."
He then quickly butchered the hawk as best as he could, which mostly meant ripping it apart with what little strength he had left. Then he roasted chunks of its flesh over the fire until they were at least somewhat cooked.
The fire died out pretty quickly, but it was good enough.
'Let's just hope this doesn't make me shit my brains out,' he thought to himself before chomping down on a piece.
The taste?
Well, it was gamey, tough, and oddly bitter, but it was edible.
Ethan shoved it down as quickly as he could; he wasn't exactly eating it for pleasure. Within moments of consumption, he could feel warmth spread through his body and his stamina slowly begin to return.
Even his wounds felt tingly, as if they were stitching themselves back together in real time.
'This really is a cheat code.'
He imagined feeding unwell or elderly people beast meat to help their health, but he wasn't sure if he was the only one who received such benefits from it.
'Maybe I have some special beast digesting system in my stomach.'
Either way, it wasn't like he could bring any back with him, nor did he plan on feeding his summons to anyone - that would just be cruel.
With that thought in mind, and after eating his fill, he summoned Wolfy with his MP, which had somewhat recovered.
The small Ulfen appeared with a curious bark.
"Dinner time," he said, ushering the beast towards what was left of the Skyrend Hawk.
Wolfy sniffed the meat, then eagerly began eating.
Ethan watched with mild satisfaction as the infant Ulfen devoured every last scrap - from the charred meat, the bones, and even the crispy skin Ethan had left behind.
"Slow down," he muttered, watching it tear into the remains like it had been starved for weeks.
Technically, it had only been alive for a day, so that wasn't even possible.
'And most of that time has been in my body or soul or wherever the fuck it goes when it isn't summoned. But then, how does it work? Does it feel hunger when I'm hungry, or is it a separate entity?'
That then begged many more questions, like: Do the beasts need water and sleep? Do they experience time when they are not being used? Why is there a limit on how many beasts he can acquire?
But the system didn't seem to be planning on answering any of them, and something else caught his attention.
A faint glow began radiating from Wolfy's body.
Ethan blinked, thinking maybe the heat was causing him to hallucinate.
"What's going on?"
He leaned forward and literally watched the small creature grow.
It wasn't dramatic or explosive, but it was visible, which was alarming in itself.
Wolfy's frame broadened slightly, its limbs thickened, and even its fur seemed to gain some density. In a matter of seconds, it went from the size of a small puppy to still being roughly the size of a small dog.
He reached out and grabbed it under the belly, lifting it off the ground slightly.
"Oh, damn."
It had put on at least 5 to 10 kilograms, which was around 11 to 22 pounds.
Just like that, no need for sleep or months of growth, it was almost instantaneous.
Ethan navigated the System Interface to the Beast tab, which now contained both his beasts, and sure enough, even its stats had increased slightly.
"That's absurd."
He stared at Wolfy.
"How is that even physically possible?"
Then again…
He was on the first floor of a magical tower that was made up of what felt like infinite biomes stitched together over 69 floors. It was also filled with beasts, and he could only enter it in his sleep.
Not to mention the system screen floating in front of his face.
"…Yeah, okay. Sure. Why not?"
He shook his head and stood up, not bothering to dwell on it.
His body felt fresh after eating.
Though not instant, his wounds were closing at an alarming rate, far faster than any normal human should recover. It was only a matter of time before he would be in peak condition, maybe after consuming another beast.
He flexed his fingers.
The soreness was still there, but it was good enough.
"Alright, back to work."