Ghoul Evolution

Chapter 18: Blemished

Oliver didn’t waste much time and quickly got the soul core out of the beast’s body.

When Oliver had first entered the spirit realm or wherever this island was, this process used to make him grimace.

Digging around inside a corpse wasn’t exactly something he had imagined himself becoming accustomed to but after the snake and now this rabbit, it no longer felt quite as disturbing.

He then took the purplish soul core into his hand and directly absorbed it. freewёbnoνel.com

The core dissolved into countless particles of light that flowed into his body and almost immediately, the familiar cool voice of the System echoed in his mind.

[Soul Core of Aether Beast: Thornback Hare being absorbed.]

[Grade: Tarnished | Rank: Feral]

[1 Essence Shard absorbed]

[Essence Shards: 5/500]

’Hmm... one percent done already. Not bad, Oliver.’

Thinking about it that way actually made him feel a little better.

Of course, Oliver knew that hunting beasts wasn’t supposed to be this easy. If it were, humanity wouldn’t be treating the Spirit Realm like a place where death was practically guaranteed.

The truth was that he had been ridiculously lucky.

First, he had somehow managed to gain three Essence Shards directly from an Aberration-class beast. While the System categorized them the same as ordinary Feral shards, it was common knowledge that the real effects of them had some difference.

Then there was also his weapon, the spear in his hand wasn’t some ordinary weapon as it had been crafted from the fangs of that same monster.

Without something like that, normal knives and weapons would have struggled to even pierce the hides of Aether Beasts, and yet his spear cut through them without much resistance.

And if all that wasn’t enough, there was still the strangest advantage of all.

His body.

More specifically, whatever weird effect his Path and attributes were having on it.

Twice already, his body had moved on its own and saved him from situations that could have ended very badly. Once against the snake and now again against the rabbit.

"So in summary..."

He raised a finger.

"I got lucky."

Then he raised another finger.

"I got an overpowered spear."

And then one final third finger.

"And my body is apparently smarter than I am."

Goldie, who had perched back on his shoulder, immediately nodded.

"...Hey."

After some time, he began moving ahead again, occasionally eating some of the pear-shaped fruits growing on the nearby trees.

He had walked only for a few minutes when he was suddenly attacked from behind.

"Argh!"

A sharp pain shot through his back as Oliver stumbled forward before hurriedly turning around.

The moment he saw what had attacked him, he couldn’t help but shiver. It was a giant wasp-like monster who was nearly the size of a dog, with black and yellow patterns covering its body and a long stinger hanging behind it.

The wasp had managed to hit him with that stinger, and it hurt like hell. More than that, his body wasn’t moving normally anymore, his limbs felt sluggish, and even simple movements seemed delayed and painful.

’Some sort of paralyzing venom?’

Before he could think further, the wasp attacked again and this time its stinger shot straight toward his chest which Oliver barely managed to dodge, escaping the attack by inches.

This was going to be a difficult fight as the beast didn’t seem to be some ordinary tarnished feral beast this time around.

Before Oliver could do anything else, Goldie suddenly sprang into action. The squirrel leapt from his shoulder and smacked the wasp directly in one of its eyes using its tail.

Bzzzzzzz!

The giant insect recoiled while, after landing, Goldie turned toward the wasp and stuck out its tongue, making a strangely human expression.

’Wow... is he really rage-baiting it?’

Still, the attack had worked.

The wasp became occupied with its injured eye, giving Oliver enough time to move. He rushed forward and thrust his spear toward the beast, but the wasp was simply too fast as it’s wings buzzed and it’s body blurred before effortlessly dodging the attack.

Oliver clicked his tongue and tightened his grip on the spear.

The wasp was faster than him, it could fly and it possessed a paralyzing weapon.

’But it doesn’t seem to have very strong attacking capabilities, luckily.’

He had a plan now.

As the beast rushed toward him once more, Oliver immediately summoned the Viperlash Whip and swung it toward the incoming stinger.

Crack!

The whip struck the stinger head-on, causing the wasp to let out another angry buzz but the attack didn’t end there as the whip curled around the stinger like a living snake and tightly wrapped itself around it.

The wasp immediately sensed something was wrong and hurriedly tried to pull away but unfortunately for it, Oliver wasn’t planning to let it escape so easily.

In his mind, he couldn’t help but remember one of those ridiculous lines that cultivation novel protagonists were always saying.

’Since you dared to attack me, you are already as good as dead.’

For a moment, Oliver thought it sounded pretty cool.

But then as he actually processed what he had just thought, he nearly shuddered from second-hand embarrassment.

Meanwhile, the beast began struggling violently, shaking its body and beating its wings harder and harder in an attempt to break free. The force was so great that Oliver was actually lifted off the ground, but even then, he refused to loosen his grip and the whip remained tightly wrapped around the stinger.

In the end, Oliver found himself being dragged into the air and somehow ended up sitting on top of the giant wasp while the whip remained coiled around its stinger.

It was honestly a ridiculous sight.

The beast was large for a wasp, nearly the size of a dog, but compared to Oliver it was still much smaller overall and so it couldn’t carry him for too long.

The wasp continued to struggle more and more, but the extra weight combined with its inability to properly use its stinger was taking its toll and eventually, it couldn’t keep itself airborne any longer.

In the end, the beast lost control and crashed into the ground.

Boom!

The moment they hit the ground, Oliver didn’t hesitate and immediately released the whip, grabbed his spear, and lunged forward.

The wasp tried to resist as it’s wings buzzed wildly and it’s legs thrashed around, but after the crash it no longer had the same advantage that had made it so dangerous before.

Oliver’s spear struck again and again and in the end it finally went still. Only the faint buzzing of its dying wings remained for a few seconds before even that disappeared.

[Aether Beast: Gloom Sting slain]

[Grade: Blemished | Rank: Feral]