The monster was not, and then it was. It woke alert, dangerous, fully formed, and it sensed. The air was warm and damp around it, thick with the scent of its kin. The spawn point that had formed it glowed bright with mana, a small blue sun. The monster did not know suns or spawn points, but did know home. The pulsating orb was the center of home. Home was where one returned after the hunt. The orb hung in a small cavern, where kin skittered and intertwined, coming and going from a number of tunnels that led out to the hunt. Ragged veins of blue and violet snaked through the floor and ceiling, and softly radiated mana. A small kin with lighter chitin glided over and inspected the infant monster, antennae flickering over it. Then it spoke within the new monster's mind.

"I am your Noble. Obey. Hunt. Kill. Return with Biomass."

Yes... the commands felt good, right. Hunt. Kill. Return with Biomass. Wait, return with the kill? Why return, and not eat? But the thought was snuffed out by a surge of the noble's will within the young monster's consciousness. Its fifteen pair of legs flowed together, and swiftly it moved through the tunnels toward the movement of open air, antennae dancing about and sensing the way.

I am... the Noble had said "I am." As it ran, an instinct bubbled up unbidden, and it thought a command. Status.

[Name: ____ ]

[Level: 1]

[Stats:

Might 11

Toughness 14

Cunning 26

Will 15]

[HP: 35]

[MP: 0]

[Skills: Pincer Snap 1, Grip level 1, Sting level 3, Sprint level 1]

[Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)]

[You have one Skill point and one Biomass Available]

[Go forth and forge your own path]

The monster considered. I am, it decided. And because it was, the blank where its name should be felt wrong. There should be a name there.

I am.... Hunter.

The urge to follow kin into the expanse, to hunt, rolled through him in rapid waves, an almost physical force. But Hunter was less than they could be, and knew it. They had a Skill point and a Biomass point to become... more. Better. Hunter summoned the full, modest force of its young will and suppressed the instinct to rush to the hunt. Instead, it thought another command.

Spend Skill Points.

[Would you like to spend your skill points?]

Yes.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

[Skill Points: 1]

[Biomass: 1]

[Skills available to purchase:

Stealth: cost 1sp, improves your ability to hide and move unseen

Tail Strike: cost 1sp, a quick strike with the stinger that is less powerful but can be executed from more body positions

Survival Instinct: cost 1sp, improves instincts for danger and opportunity

Piercing Snap: cost 1sp, claw attack that penetrates more deeply and can pierce some defense

Dodge: Improves ability to evade attacks]

[Body improvements available to purchase:

Exoskeleton +1: harden your exoskeleton to improve resistance to mundane damage

Claws +1: toughen claws and improve ability to pierce and grip

Legs +1: improve agility

Eyes +1: improve eyesight

Antennae +1: increase sensitivity to air current and scent

Stinger +1: increase strength and flexibility of tail and potency and quantity of venom

Tomosvary organs +1: improve sensitivity to humidity and vibration]

Hunter started life capable in body and in mind. They did not need to learn the language of the Path any more than they needed to learn to use their antennae or legs. It was known, as it was known that stingers and claws were for killing, antennae, eyes and Tomosvary organs were for finding prey or danger, and legs were for running down prey or away from danger. Hunter knew these things, but had no experience to draw upon in how to weight them. Were monsters that would think Hunter prey fast but weak enough to fight? Were such predators powerful but slow? What would Hunter's prey be like? Did they need faster legs to chase, sharper senses to find, or deadlier weapons to kill?

Another thing was known to Hunter. To grow, they must kill. By growth, all else would strengthen. So the choice was between claws and stinger. Claws were good to fight, but the stinger was what killed. They would improve their stinger.

The skill point required less deliberation. I am, thought Hunter, and it is wonderful. I must not go back to not-am. I must survive to hunt and eat and grow.

Select Stinger +1 and Survival Instinct.

[Would you like to purchase Stinger +1 and Survival Instinct?]

Yes.

Power flowed through Hunter's body and condensed in their tail, as knowledge poured into their mind. Both changed and strengthened; the feeling was intoxicating. Hunter had to find prey, gain Biomass and Skill points, to grow further. They had to. Had to. As soon as the upgrades finished their work, the young monster raced to find kin and hunt. It was important to hunt with kin. Easier to kill, easier to not die.

Hunter followed a group of four kin to the mouth of a tunnel that opened into a world vast beyond their comprehension. As they'd gotten closer to the entrance, new smells and vibrations excited their senses, and the monster could not wait to explore, run, taste, kill, eat. Tall fungal stalks surrounded the mound that was Home, and swayed gently as the air moved. Home, all things had been blue or brown or black, but now there was color, red and orange and indigo and yellow, in patterns that ran up and down the tubular stalks. There was much more light here than in any part of home save the orb at its heart. These thoughts and sensations lit up the monster's mind as they ran with kin, seeking prey.

The kin who lead was larger, with a dark exoskeleton and a heavier body structure. That kin's scent tasted strong. Hunter felt safe, confident, running behind it with the others, whose scents were more like Hunter's. The strong kin lead them all through a path between the stalks, antennae flickering, tasting the air as they ran. Then the lead centipede veered abruptly, and a moment later, as the young monster followed, Hunter tasted prey in the air. Soon, Hunter saw the prey. It was a green monster, larger than even the strong kin, and its body was a bit thicker than that of kin, and covered in tiny scales. This prey had only four legs, one clearly injured, and its long tail looked powerful but lacked the stinger a tail should have. Prey opened its mouth and hissed, a pink forked tongue darting in and out. There was no question in Hunter's mind that this monster was prey, but it also tasted of danger. It was prey, but could kill. Perhaps were Hunter alone, rather than with kin, and the green monster uninjured, Hunter would be prey.

Strong kin rushed in, dodged a snap of prey's mouth, and clamped down on the underside of the green monster's throat with strong claws. Hunter and the other three kin followed. The other kin, maddened by the taste of prey in the air, attacked without thought or fear. Hunter hesitated; instinct warned him to wait. Prey's tail lashed out, quicker than Hunter's eyes could track, and crushed two central body segments of one of the smaller kin, who fell to the dirt and twitched. But prey was struggling, the strong one's claws in its neck, stung repeatedly, harried by the other two kin, and it had gone off balance to make that attack, stumbled on its injured leg. It was an opening. Hunter activated the Sprint skill and darted in to sting where prey's weak leg met its body. Tail strike would have been safer, faster, but Survival Instinct was the more important skill to take first. The hatchling monster was still quick enough. Prey whipped another tail strike, this one at Hunter, but it was injured, weak, and off balance. The tail still moved faster than Hunter's eyes could follow, but their antennae felt the disturbance of air, allowed them to twist away from the blow. Hunter stayed back, wary now that they had come close to harm. The injured kin stopped twitching, and its taste in the air shifted from kin to biomass. As the other centipedes finished off the prey, Hunter began to eat the biomass that had been kin.

[You have consumed a new source of biomass: Unguibus Scolopendra. You are awarded one Biomass.]

[Basic profile of Unguibus Scolopendra unlocked]

[ Unguibus Scolopendra: Claw Centipede, has strong claws and a venomous spike in its tail].

[You have gained one Biomass]

It tasted good.