David carefully strode back into the chambers he was born in. His eyes quickly settled on the remains of the large serpent from before and he spoke slowly to his companions.

“Gather… Food.” Nodding his head towards the corpse the pair of kobolds scampered over and began to peel chunks of meat off of it and stuff it inside small bags around their waists. The smaller of the pair, a soft blue kobold, began to gather up sticks and bones nearby. The larger kobold, with a more striking red color, focused on slicing up the remains into easy to transport pieces. Once they were finished they had fashioned together a workable meat transporter they could both lift together. The bones and sticks were weaved together with roots, and some spare string they produced out of their bags.

David pointed his claw at the red kobold, “Red” and quickly pointed at the blue kobold followed by a simple, “Blue”.

The kobolds stopped for a moment as they slowly processed what was said and offered a somewhat surprised nod. David was also surprised but mostly thrilled by how intelligent they seemed to be. This was good though he thought. These kobolds were an asset in all manners of ways yet unrealized. David wondered what the cost would be in the end for their service though. What price will this Qazayss expect? Something to think about more later as he shifted his focus back to the task at hand.

After they had successfully salvaged what remained of the serpent they made their way down yet another connecting tunnel. David’s hearing was rather acute now thankfully. It was the only reason they were able to avoid the passing of a few massive creatures that were patrolling the depths of the seemingly endless tunnels. They reeked of filth, blood and caused his flesh to tingle in danger. They either didn’t notice the trio or simply weren’t interested in the lack of meat they would provide. David didn’t really wish to find out.

After what seemed like days, but David doubted it was more than a few hours, they stumbled upon a damp underground stream. The long expansive cavern containing this barely flowing stream was littered with thick mushrooms, and small patches of dirt. David’s brain tingled with hunger as he picked up the scent and sounds of distant creatures. Some of these distant creatures his senses told him were too much for him and others he could feast upon if given the chance. It was almost terrifying how beastial his nature had become but he wouldn’t let it take control. No. He would remain as human as he could damnit.

Without asking, as David was in a daze of his own thoughts, the Kobold pair began to spread out and pick up mushrooms. David could only assume they were safe enough to eat as he decided to test that theory before chomping off a mushroom’s wide dull gray head. He chewed slowly… it was not great but it was also not awful. His sensitive tongue and other senses didn't seem to be raising any alarms. Good he murmured. This would be a good place to settle down for the night. His eyes, now keenly adjusted to the dark, peered into the blackness looking for a suitable place to sleep. His eyes settled on what appeared to be a hole in the wall.

Slowly and carefully he crossed the small stream as he approached the small hole. As he neared he noticed massive claw marks around the hole, if he had to guess something very strong had torn this hole open. Hmm. David considered for a long moment before deciding he could at least take a peak first. He creeped up to the hole’s entrance and peered inside.

The darkness of the hole seemed endless and empty until David picked up the sound of something shuffling inside. Just as David decided to back away something massive rushed towards the entrance. Bouncing back David snarled defensively as massive claws burst through the hole. The beast reminded David of a mutant, massive mole. Its huge front claws were clearly powerful but appeared awkward for it to use. This mole-thing swiftly lunged at him, missing and causing a massive wave of dirt and rock to go flying everywhere. Curiously, David’s senses didn’t seem to tingle like before when he encountered those overwhelmingly massive beasts patrolling the tunnels. He decided action was the best choice then.

David counterattacked quickly with a powerful bite. His teeth dug into one of the beast’s massive arms as he tried to tear off a chunk of flesh and yet, it failed. His teeth clamped down hard but couldn’t penetrate the hard, front, clawed forearms. He was sent flying as the mole-beast thrashed back. The sharp rocks, and dirt of the cave floor dug into his scaled hide as he landed roughly. Red and Blue both chirped loudly as they ran to his side. He barked them back as he shuffled to his feet.

The mole-beast backed up slowly and used its massive forearms to start to block the small tunnel’s entrance. David cursed internally. He couldn’t let the thing seal itself back in or he would miss his chance. He quickly dashed forward and slashed at the beast’s forearms over and over attempting to prompt a response. Red and Blue both began to toss rocks and other debris at the creature too.

The creature was clearly lacking intelligence since it took the bait and lunged forward out of the tunnel once more. As it did David dashed to the side and sunk his teeth into a soft part of the creature’s upper arm. Tasting flesh David began to jerk back in an attempt to draw out as much blood as possible. David almost let go of the mole-beast in surprise as he began to pull the massive beast out of its hole. How? David’s mind ran wild. Wait he thought as he began to out pull the creature that outmassed him by easily three times. He had Condensed Musculature and it was making a massive difference. He could feel his muscles pulling on a deeper strength that he couldn’t quite describe. Little by little he pulled the beast further and further out of its home.

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Blue and Red weren’t idle. They showed their worth once more as David wrestled with the mole, as they snuck around the back side of it. Blue began to stab the soft rear of the mole with a sharp stone, as Red bit and tore into it with equal vigor using its claws. The fight went quickly after that. The struggle became easier for David and eventually the beast stopped moving altogether. YES! David let off an exhausted roar. His new instincts took over and he began to dig into the flesh of the beast. He couldn’t stop himself as he ate and ate. After consuming more than a quarter of the beast his prompt popped into his eyesight again and caused him to stagger.

Crusher Mole slain and trait available..

Born Digger - Your limbs thicken and your claws become harder. Your toughness increases and your ability to crush and bore into stone becomes unparalleled. Your toughness increases on selected limbs. Toughness is increased by 8 divided by the number of limbs, with a minimum of 1 Toughness increased.

Born Digger. Absor- Error. Error. Trait slots filled. Absorption aborted.

Damnit. David cursed in his mind. He wasn’t even sure he wanted that trait but it still stung not being given the option to refuse or time to think it over. He did learn something at least. Once his trait’s were filled he couldn’t pick up others. Hmm. He wondered if there was a way to free up slots or gain more? His eyes began to get heavy a moment later. Oh. David felt… so tired. His prompt flashed once more.

Max flesh consumption reached. Growth imminent. Advised to move to a safe location.

The prompt flashed over his weary eyes over and over. Shit. He glanced at the entrance and quickly dashed inside. He rapidly explored the depths of the tunnel. The Crusher Mole had dug itself about twenty feet into the rock surface and then down into the softer dirt below. There it had made two connecting cavities and appeared to be working on more before David had ended its life. The prompt blasted his face again so he moved to the largest of the cavities and laid down. His eyes slammed shut and he instantly faded into a deep slumber…

Evolution commencing. Growth is accelerating. Wyrm stage reached…

David's eyes flickered open but something felt off. The hole he was in initially now felt too small and he was cramped. He tried to stand up and his head became embedded in the soil above his head. He had… horns? He could feel the two points on his head now firmly stuck above. He snarled and jerked his head free causing dirt to be sprayed everywhere. His stomach ached and his mouth watered as he peered around. His prompt suddenly materialized in front of his vision.

Growth complete. Wyrmling has evolved into Wyrm.

David Manning - Otherworlder

Species: Wyrm

Str: 18

Int: 12

Speed: 10

Toughness: 10

Affinity: N/A

Traits: 1/3

Condensed Musculature

David's mind cleared a bit as he looked at the prompt. So he had turned into a Wyrm? His stats have also all increased quite a bit. Ah! He had two more traits opened up as well. So that is how it worked. How many “evolutions” would he undergo though? He still wasn't sure if he could remove old traits. It would be best to assume that he couldn't go forward, at least till it was proven otherwise.

“Blue… Red… where are you?” His voice and mind were both clearer and more crisp. His intelligence stat has increased and it seemed to be reflected in his ability to speak, David pondered this for a long moment. He was interrupted as a small chirp echoed in the tunnel and Blue popped its head into David’s area. Suddenly David's hunger hit him hard. His stomach growled, his mouth watered and his mind grew cloudy. Blue looked awfully good at that moment. Damnit. David shook his head in disgust. No. No. NO.

“I will not… give in.” David snarled as he resisted his primal urges. As he centered himself he looked at the confused Blue. The poor kobold was busy trying to understand David's words.

“Get me food. Quickly.” Blue nodded before it dashed off quickly to only return a moment later with a slab of meat. David quickly consumed the meat, the taste of old mole hitting his taste buds. The meat had clearly aged a while but his body seemed to handle it just fine. As David ate his fill his mind cleared and sharpened. Hmm. David pondered once more. He would have to take into account his hunger and make sure if he ever underwent another transformation he had food nearby to avoid his instincts overwhelming him. He didn't want to do something he would regret to his poor kobolds.

He had two more traits to add to his body now. Each trait seemed to enhance his stats and also have the potential for other benefits. That mole trait gave a boost to digging and gave a very specific toughness benefit as well. As far as David could guess, toughness had to do with one's body thickness and resistance to damage. At the very least that Mole was extremely resistant but that was all he had to go off of.

His Condensed Musculature gave a multiplicative number but it also didn't give another side bonus like the Mole’s specialization in digging and altered limbs. He would have to be careful in the future about picking new traits. He should aim to find ones that synergize together well. He already had increased strength which had proven its worth so far. Strength alone only worked so much for you so long if you didn't have the mass to back it up. Perhaps he could go back and ask…

David perked his head, “I need to go speak with Ambass again.” As he made his decision he began to work his way out of their new home. He didn't get far before stumbling upon something unexpected. He found a small nest in the other cavity and inside was a small multicolored egg. Red was seated carefully nearby tending to some of the details of the nest. Red noticed David shortly after and chirped happily at him.

“You two have a baby?” Somewhat shocked, David quickly recovered as Red nodded quickly. This could be great depending on how fast they grew. Nodding his head he rumbled and barked out again.

“I am going out. Stay safe, both of you. I'll be back eventually” The pair of kobolds appeared reluctant but after some almost threatening glares David was able to leave without them. He fought to work himself out of his new tunnel home because of his increased size but after struggling was happily greeted with the wet smelling air of the stream cavern. David now had to backtrack and hope he didn't get lost…