Even though Oliver could not find his teammates, he opted to stay in the forest because it benefited him a lot. Many available corpses could fill his satiation level and even mutate his forms. If he was lucky, he could get new essences as well, thereby adding varieties to his fighting style aside from the things he learned in his training. He planned to consume as many corpses as he could while the war was on-going.
He sneaked through the area and successfully evaded all the enemies' attention. Every time he saw a battle, he carefully hid in a corner and observed how they fight. This was the first time he had seen full-blown magic attacks.
Indeed, the markings on their bodies were used to transform themselves into animals. He realized that the most common form they morphed into was the wolf. This was the very reason why he easily completed the essence and successfully inherited the transformation skill.
The second form he had witnessed was the spider. Luckily, he was not arachnophobic because the ones he saw were bigger than the wolves. Armed with poison, their spits were potent enough to melt trees. He even spotted armors sizzled when hit by the spider's claws.
But the warriors clad in knight armors were very unique in their rights. Each of them was good in weapons and they could use it as if they were their bodies' extensions. Most of them were using swords of different sizes, which were enveloped by bright lights. He doubted if the light was a form of energy or simply magic cast by the weapon user.
The chip recorded everything, including the words the aborigines had spoken, so that Oliver could use it for future reference.
He attempted searching for a warrior's corpse to eat but their allies always carried their dead friends back with them. For now, he could only settle for these dead people with etched images on their skin.
----------------------------------------
A week passed by.
The battle between the knight-like warriors and the people with markings on their bodies intensified. The number of deaths was increasing as they continued their fights inside the forest. No matter who ended up winning, Oliver did not care at all. What he needed from them were their fatalities.
Oliver could not count how many bodies he had devoured within the forest. His physical attributes grew slowly as he continued feasting the corpses like a hyena. Even then, he was dismayed because his wolf essence did not mutate. The only good thing that happened to him was the completion of the Spider Essence, adding new form in his arsenal.
Analyzing Status...
Spider Essence: 100%
Learned Skill: None
Agility is increased...
Wolf Essence: 256%
Learned Skill: Bloodlust, Energy Claw, Call for Help
Agility is increased...
Strength is increased...
Oliver studied what the chip recorded about the spider transformation. Once he was done, he tried activating his spider form using his tried-and-tested method. Soon, he felt the tingling sensation inside his body, indicating that the transformation was successful.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
He had no idea what was actually happening within him but he knew that he was becoming a spider. When the process was completed, he saw a new world before him. This time, he had eight eyes on his head. He could detect the motion of the animals around him through his two pairs of 'side' eyes. The two most central eyes were used to focus on the target so he could see the details, while the pair beside it helped him determine the relative distance in his visual field. What made him surprised was he could also perceive the surroundings through touch, vibration, and taste stimuli. He realized that the essence he absorbed this time had the capabilities of both hunting-type and web-building spiders.
He experimented further and noted that he could spit acid from his mouth, although it was weaker when compared to what he had witnessed. Spouting webs also required some dexterity on his part because he needed to constantly move his legs to form it.
When he was done, he deactivated his spider form and continued with his hunt.
----------------------------------------
Thirty days flashed by quickly. The war did not stop but they were unaware that someone was benefitting a lot from their casualties. Oliver hunted for life essences daily, being a wolf at night and a spider in daylight. He treated the forest as his home, to the extent that he would not be lost even if he closed his eyes. Slowly but surely, he became stronger with each passing day, fully embracing the powers he had received. The only thing that frustrated him was he did not know where his teammates were.
With the help of the chip, he became familiar with the language of this world. Although he could not speak fluently, the chip helped him translate what the aborigines were saying. At last, he somehow had a general overview as to what was happening right now.
Two groups were at war with each other.
The shapeshifters were those who have animal markings carved on their skins. Based on what he had heard, they were called rebels by the Meru Kingdom, a country ruled by the knight-like warriors called weapon masters. There was some sort of a power struggle between them but that was the only information he had gathered from his spying.
By default, the weapon masters would consider him as an enemy if they knew he could transform as well. But if the shapeshifters would detect that he had no markings on his body, he would be labeled as a spy from the other side. After a lot of deliberation inside his mind, he decided to stay away from the two sides and keep the status quo. But if he would encounter them and they deemed him as a threat, then he would retaliate without remorse.
Oliver was just done training and went back to his cave. After making sure that the alarm systems were set properly, he took a rest on his bedding.
"It's been a month since I've arrived. One thing for sure, this is not Glendale but more of a world that was similar to that of the past Earth. No matter, I have to become stronger and take advantage of this war before I venture outside."
He reviewed the gains he had in the past days through the chip's help inside his mind. At once, several prompts appeared on his retina.
Analyzing Status...
Spider Essence: 165%
Learned Skill: Webs, Venom Spit, Poison Claw
Agility is increased...
Wolf Essence: 499%
Learned Skill: Bloodlust, Energy Claw, Call for Help
Agility is increased...
Strength is increased...
Oliver wondered if his wolf form would mutate when it became 500 percent. "Better do it later at night. I hope it does because the body count this time is getting smaller."
No matter what, he had to persevere. With no one to help him, he could only rely on himself to become stronger.
After he mused over his current situation, he lied down and slept.
He woke up late at night, transformed into his wolf form, and immediately went outside to look for corpses. After an hour of searching, he finally found several bodies piled at an inconspicuous area. He scanned his surroundings to make sure that there were no enemies nearby. When he was convinced that no one was present, he approached the bodies and started devouring the life essences.
He enjoyed the invigorating sensation he felt every time he absorbed the essences. He was halfway in consuming the body parts when he sensed his body twitching.
It started with a slight warmth feeling on his chest, which began to spread all over his body. Like experiencing a terrible fever, he could not think properly and his visions were blocked by dazzling lights. He could only rely on his other senses to detect the changes that were happening on his body.
After seemed like an eternity to him, he found himself back into his human form. He was sweating a lot despite the coldness of the night. Curious, he instructed the chip to show him the changes that it could detect inside his body.
Analyzing Status...
Mutation detected...
Wolf Essence evolved into its higher form - Wolf King...
Wolf King Essence: 1%
Learned Skill: Webs, Venom Spit, Poison Claw
Agility is increased...
Strength is increased...
Endurance is increased...
Vitality is increased...
Health and stamina regeneration is increased...
At once, Oliver activated the advance form and felt that his body length became longer. He executed his skills and studied the changes that go with the mutation. When he realized that his moves were more powerful than usual, he was elated because he needed all the strength he could get to power up. His senses becoming sharper were an added bonus.
Oliver was about to hunt again while in this form when he detected a dangerous presence approaching his direction. He returned to his human form and hid in the darkness as he waited for this random visitor to arrive.