Time to hunt the smile demon", thought Ralph. He packed up his bags after having a shower.

Time went on as he continued depleting the Shadow ecosystem. This wasn't an enjoyable activity by any means but still getting stronger was a Priority, a priority that Ralph couldn't undermine. He was getting better with the rifle recently. But still, he couldn't be called a sniper.

A month passed and he still couldn't find Mr. Smiley. He didn't forget the embarrassment. He had been the hunter all this time. How could the roles have been reversed all of a sudden? He felt a familiar weakness, it reminded him of the time he got crushed under the giant's feet. The insecurity persisted within him.

He had been visiting the town every once in a while. Still no signs of Mr. Smiley there.

As he hunted more and more he started seeing a symbol in the shadows that he Hunted. The Manas stone dropped by the Shadows usually increased his agility more than his strength. Most likely strength increased as a consequence.

" I don't have any other Monsters to test this on, but the rewards may depend on the type of Monster. I guess I have another reason to hunt Smiley now."

His look was devoid of feelings.

After 2 months of Persistent hunting, he could now outrun those shadows easily. They looked more like children as they tried to catch him. His new routine comprised of running through hordes of Shadows and shooting the guns unimpeded.

"It appears that their numbers have been increasing the more I hunt them. Who would have guessed?" he admired the 10 mana stones that shined on the road.

He was admiring the road when he saw an indistinguishable mass of shadow. He wouldn't have even noticed if he wasn't looking in the general direction. The culprit was of course Mr. Smiley or perhaps his clansmen. Didn't matter who it was, it was going to be a sacrifice for science. He took the rifle that had been stored in the bag and carefully took aim not to let it know of his acknowledgement. The Hunt went smoothly and the Predator became prey. Of course, the bullet didn't kill him outright but the impact and the time it provided was enough to to approach it and get the kill. The Mana stone glittered. It was bigger than the previous ones. Much appreciated by the scientist.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The assimilation went differently than usual. The process on its own was longer than usual and it accompanied chills all over his body. It was a novel feeling. He was used to death but something like this was new even for him.

He had lived most of his life in a warm and arid climate.

"Is this what people in Antarctica feel like"

He could still joke in the beginning but soon all his senses became number.

His heart beat frantically to provide the rest of the body with heat.

But it was of no use as the chills continued rising and soon he couldn't even breathe without heaving.

The cold kept growing no matter what heated and soon he dropped on the floor and collapsed.

It was a long day of inactivity. His body was still safe as no Shadow was nearby. When the metamorphosis finally ended he woke up with a headache.

'Did I enter a comment on the state just now.' Ralph thought.

' I thought after all this time I was finally done in by cold, not counting the other times I have been killed.'

'This warmth feels so much better now. To think that I was taking the heat for granted. If only it had been the winter season I could have been stuck in an eternal winter.'

The thought of winter chilled him to his bones. He welcomes the heat death of the universe to the cold one. Some might say he chose fire over ice.

' Not gonna jinx it, I don't want to burn at such a young age.'

His youth did not burn in that way. He tried to feel the changes in his body but was disappointed when he didn't notice a difference in both strength and agility.

"What a fucking scam, I went through all that for nothing, this is worse than the slot machines, at least you know know that those are rigged," Ralph screamed out his frustration.

Something had changed though, the change though, was small enough that only the sentient blob that was working on it could see it.

The energy no longer gathered but swept all over Ralph's body affecting him on a cellular level.

No longer changing his physique but changing his entire reality. The energy that was foreign to him a while ago now resided in him. As much a part of his lifestyle as his other body functions.

The mana that he used to gather all the while was now produced by his cells.

Of course, Ralph couldn't have known and was busy raging at the unfair heavens.