Free Web NovelChapter 9: Chapter 9: [Unique Skill - Devour]
Lying down on the forest floor, Night decided to check his recent system notifications to see exactly what had happened while his mind was drifting. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
[You have slain Lvl. 1 Berserk Hyena (x4) | +40 EXP]
[You have slain Lvl. 2 Berserk Hyena (x1) | +20 EXP]
Status
Name: Night (Nightmare)
Race: Homunculus (Artificial Human)
Class: Unlocks at Lvl.10
Level: 1 (EXP: 60/100)
Energy Value (EV): 0.5 (+10%)
So I get levels for kills and they were Berserk Hyenas, which is a name scary enough to give normal people actual nightmares, he thought with a dry chuckle.
Soon Death walked over and gently pulled him back up to his feet. Leaning heavily against her shoulder for support, they walked over together to inspect the scattered carcasses. He stopped beside one of the large fallen creatures and looked up at his companion.
"Can you raise them as undead or something?" he asked.
Death did not speak but simply pointed a slender finger directly at his chest to make her meaning perfectly clear.
She could certainly try to reanimate them but his meager energy reserves would be sucked completely dry in the process.
I really am the proverbial pig teammate in this party, he realized with a sigh.
Unsure of what else to do with the remains, he squatted down and pressed his small hands against the coarse fur. The moment his palms made contact, a sudden reactive jolt flared within his soul space almost as if his inner domain was begging to claw its way out into the physical world.
He looked up at Death and warned, "I am about to try something so please be careful."
Death gave a firm nod in response. Just like before, he relaxed his focus and allowed the domain to do its own thing since the strange power had always worked to keep him safe anyway.
A thick swirling black fog slowly seeped out from his palms to completely coat the monster. A sudden powerful suction force pulled at the air and the heavy carcass vanished into thin air.
He closed his eyes to inspect his inner soul space and found the beast already slowly disintegrating inside the dark mist.
[Energy Value (EV): 0.6]
Damn. Night was absolutely bamboozled by the sudden change. The corpse had barely even begun to break down yet he had already recovered a whole minute worth of energy in a mere ten seconds.
This is six times more efficient than standard meditation and the best part is that I do not have to do anything extra besides feeding the bodies to my shadow, he thought excitedly.
Thrilled by the discovery he rushed over to the other carcasses and repeated the process until all of them were pulled into his space. However, his initial excitement quickly faded when he realized the overall absorption speed remained exactly the same.
So it is not about the number of corpses I store but rather my base ability to absorb the energy from them. I am certain this absorption rate can be improved, I just need to figure out how, he reasoned.
He checked the lingering system breakdown and estimated it would take roughly an hour for the dark fog to completely convert a single hyena body into usable power.
He moved along with Death to hide behind a large bush about a hundred meters away from their previous location. The thick greenery effectively covered them while he regenerated his reserves.
It was very easy for Night to hide because of his tiny stature but the concealment proved difficult for the towering skeleton. Death was forced to lean heavily over him just to stay completely hidden.
He thought she might be uncomfortable crouching like that but looking closely at her glowing eye sockets he realized she did not mind at all. In fact she seemed strangely excited.
× - × - ×
Death’s POV
He looks so cute up close, she thought.
Those stupid mutts dared to harm him. If I had even a fraction of my true powers I would have given them a fate far worse than death.
I must admit that despite being useless bimbos those tin cans make perfect shields for Master. I can bear with them a little bit as long as I am the only one who gets to be with Master up close like this.
They can gawk at us from afar. Hehe.
If they play their part as good little shields I might just consider turning them into part of my skeleton army.
And just like that Death spent the next hour keeping a very close eye on her Master while happily lost in her not so rebellious thoughts.
× - × - ×
Night’s POV
[Energy Value (EV): 40.15 (36.5 + 10%)]
Sweet. The corpse is almost dissolved and without the title I might have only received 36.5 EV, he thought happily.
He didn’t feel physically stronger but his tiny body felt completely overflowing with vitality.
EV might not grant me raw strength right away but I have a feeling it will eventually lead me to it. One thing I have noticed is that Death consumes almost no EV and I wonder why, he mused.
Soon the first corpse was fully dissolved and a sharp chime rang out.
Ding!
[Unique Skill: Devour]
"Hmm, no explanation?" Night muttered. Then came the real surprise.
Ding!
[Sensitive Nose (Lvl. 1) - Cost: 10 EV]
[Description: Gives the user’s nose a sensitivity to ambient mana.]
[Purchase? Y/N]
"Damn! This looks like a skill from the hyenas," Night whispered in shock. "Did I get it because I devoured them? Haha finally I get my cheat."
Yes purchase. One hundred percent yes, he decided instantly.
Suddenly his nose started twitching rapidly.
A fraction of a second later the combined stench of the damp forest and the rotting beast blood hit his newly hyper sensitive senses like a physical brick.
He almost fainted on the spot and ended up falling forward onto Death causing both of them to awkwardly roll right out of the bush.
