Once the scorpion is dead I check the location of the ant, but I still have some time. Walking over to the scorpion's body, I pull the stinger out of its head and then tear it free from the tail. At my size it is basically a small dagger to me, but it is still quite useful.

It will certainly be more useful than my swords turned out to be, too bad it can't be enchanted. If it could be, I would be making myself a new weapon and some armor. It might just be worth dragging some beasts out of the desert to kill them for the materials.

Although, I haven't really used the swords much so I don't really need to bother with a weapon. Still, I would rather have one just in case I run into something that is immune to magic. On the other hand, my body is pretty much a weapon, I just don't know how to use it properly.

I can move around just fine, but my fighting style in this form is still really basic. I wonder if the dragon knows a martial art or fighting style that he could teach me. If not, he could probably at least teach me how to use my natural weapons properly.

Before I can think about it further, the ant arrives and I have to pay attention. This ant is a little bigger than the first one and its mandibles are much bigger. In fact, the instant I see the mandibles my first thought is that they would make really nice hand-axes.

They are just big enough to use in my current form, but they won't be enchantable. Meaning I won't be able to use them in any other form, they are too big. For now, in the desert, they should prove quite useful in dealing with the beasts.

Of course, they are currently attached to the ant, but that isn't much of a problem. No matter how strong the ant might be, its attacks are too predictable to hit me. The only reason the first ant managed to was because I was taken off guard by my weapons being destroyed.

This time, that isn't going to happen, so when the ant tries to bite me I dodge easily. What's more, I dodge over the bite and shove the stinger into the ant's head. The ant staggers when the stinger pierces its head so I back off a bit and just watch until it dies.

1 Empowered Warrior Ant defeated! 200,000 Exp gained!

Once it is dead, I carefully remove the ant's mandibles, core, and heart. Eating the core didn't do anything for me last time, so this time I plan to try something different. First I eat the heart, hopefully this ant is strong enough for devour to trigger.

Unfortunately, other than getting a bad taste in my mouth, nothing happens. Devour doesn't activate, again, and I can't help but think that it isn't because the ant was weak. Maybe it has something to do with the empowerment from the desert.

If that is the case, then the scorpion's heart will be useless as well, but I will still try it. First I am going to try something with the ant's core, so I take it in my hand. Then, as I grip it tightly, I focus all of my attention on it and attempt to activate absorb.

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Absorb Activated! +5 Evolution Points!

It actually worked, but that is completely not what I was expecting, not that I am unhappy. I might have just found the source of evolution points that I have been looking for. So, I quickly move over to the scorpion, cut out its core, and try to absorb it.

Absorb Activated! +5 Evolution Points!

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Absorb has progressed to level 3!

Absorb

Level: 3

Cost: 5 MP

You can absorb low to mid level spells and abilities!

It worked and absorb leveled up for the first time in I don't know how long, a good bonus. Ten evolution points, just like that, I might need to convince Lin to let me stay here longer. I cut out the scorpion's heart and eat it, but I am not expecting anything to happen.

Devour Activated! +100 HP, +20 Str, +20 End!

It worked, so that should mean that it wasn't the empowered status that stopped it before. If that is true, then the ant hearts did nothing because they are too weak. Or maybe it is more accurate to say that I have become too strong.

Either way, it is nice to know that the skill still works, even if it only works once in a while. At least this time I didn't get a foul taste in my mouth for nothing. I shapeshift into human form long enough to pick up the corpse of the worm and put it in my pouch.

Then, after returning to my normal form, I toss the ant corpse on top of the scorpion corpse. Grabbing the scorpion by the tail, I start dragging both corpses towards the outpost. When I reach the outpost, soldiers are running around like crazy and everyone looks really excited.

The outpost's gate opens before I reach it and I drag the corpses through into the courtyard. When I do, I notice that there are a dozen giant eagles that weren't here before. Most of them are giving me nervous looks since I am in normal form, but one is different.

That one has four wings, and it isn't nervous about me, it must be an evolved form. I can't see anyone normal being its rider, someone important must be here. The outpost commander walks over to me, beside him is a mage in a very fancy robe.

What is surprising is that the mage has one sword on his hip and another on his back. He has short blonde hair with a goatee, and looks to be in his forties. He does not have the normal aura that I would expect from a mage, I'm guessing he is the evolved eagle's rider.

Outpost Commander says "Welcome back! The desert moved and we were able to record it! It moved three times, but each one was a different distance. The first time was five feet, the second was three feet, and the last was two feet. From that you should have killed three things, but I only see two bodies?"

"The first was this worm that was hidden in the sand. It was completely undetectable until after it was dead. The second was the scorpion and the ant was last."

As I am speaking, I shapeshift into human form and take out the worm corpse. The mage takes it from me before the commander can accept it. I give the mage a look and then raise an eyebrow at the commander.

Outpost Commander says "Oh, my apologies. This is Sir Edvar, Knight Commander of the army and currently he is in charge of the desert border."