Hunter was nestled snugly inside the hole that had belonged to the spider, but now rightly belonged to Hunter because they killed and ate the previous occupant. Their stomach was full of biomass and they had just emerged from the joyous rush of a body part upgrade.

Status

[Name: Hunter]

[Level: 4]

[Stats:

Might 11

Toughness 14

Cunning 26

Will 15]

[HP: 35]

[MP: 0]

[Skills: Pincer Snap level 2, Grip level 3, Sting level 4, Sprint level 2, Survival Instinct level 4, Advanced Stealth level 1, Dodge level 2]

[Mutations: Stinger +4, Tomosvary organs +2, Exoskeleton +2, Claws +2, Antennae +1, Eyes +1, Legs +1]

[Species: Claw Centipede Hatchling (Unguibus Scolopendra)]

[You have one Biomass available]

It would be hard to decide whether to save Biomass to upgrade their Stinger to +5 or to get Antennae, Eyes and Legs to +2 next. Probably it was better to upgrade three parts rather than one, even the best one. Also, those could be improved one at a time, and then help to hunt and get more biomass to upgrade the others.

Hunter had an idea. The spider had a very good way to kill safely. It was dead now and could not use it. But Hunter was alive, and had figured out how to tell the safe threads apart from the bad, sticky ones. Other monsters seemed to be less clever. They just blundered into the sticky ones and became prey. Hunter also had good vibration sense because they had upgraded Tomosvary organs, and could feel if something touched the threads.

Hunter practiced running quickly out of the hole on the safe threads a few times. Once one knew how to tell them apart it was not too hard. But it was better to be sure one could sprint out and not get stuck before rushing at dangerous prey caught in the sticky threads.

They waited.

In a time that was long but not very long, an emerald monitor that was dumb blundered into the threads and got stuck. It thrashed around, which was bad because it twisted the threads into a mess. Hunter ran out and stung it, then grabbed hold with legs and snapped with claws. Then they stung two more times and their venom gland was empty.

[Sprint has reached level 3]

[Pincer Snap has reached level 3]

[You have defeated level 2 Young Emerald Monitor]

[You have gained XP]

[You have gained one Biomass]

That hunt was easy and went very well. Hunter went back into their hole and waited more. They could have upgraded one of their +1 parts to +2, but decided to save their two biomass for now. It would be very good to know what happened when one's stinger got to +5, and if this way to hunt was safe already, they did not need to upgrade something right away.

This time they had to wait a bit longer. Then three blood tooth rabbits rushed all together into the sticky threads and got all tangled up. They kicked and tried to jump and made a big mess of the threads and got tangled until they almost could not move at all.

Then Hunter killed them.

[You have defeated level 3 Blood Tooth Rabbit]

[You have gained XP]

[You have defeated level 4 Blood Tooth Rabbit]

[You have gained XP]

[Sting has reached level 5, upgrade available]

[You have defeated level 4 Blood Tooth Rabbit]

[You have gained XP]

[You have reached level 5, one skill point awarded]

[You have reached the level cap, evolution menu available]

It was the best hunt of all hunts in all of time. Blood Tooth Rabbits were dangerous prey. One rabbit was an even match for two kin. The first time Hunter fought rabbits six kin died, and a kick hurt Hunter and cracked their exoskeleton. It was much, much better to kill rabbits that could not move to kick or bite. There were other good things too. It was time to evolve, and they had another skill point and could spend it upgrade Sting, which had reached level 5. Very good. First though, there was biomass to eat.

Hunter ate and gained four biomass. They could now upgrade their stinger to +5 and have one biomass left, or spend it all to upgrade their eyes, antennae and legs to +2. The web of threads was very tangled up now, and it did not seem safe to use it to hunt more. There was much to think about. Evolution might leave one unsafe until it finished. It would be better to evolve at home. So that is where they went. It was some distance to travel, and their body was heavy and weighed down by a very full stomach. It would be hard to fight like this, so they stopped often to sense and moved in careful ways. Before long they reached the mound that was home. It was good to see and smell kin again. They did not know why. It just made them happy.

Hunter found a quiet spot in a small tunnel that was not busy, and thought. They had a skill point and six biomass to spend, and they could evolve. If they were more skilled and had better body parts, perhaps they could evolve in better ways. But if they evolved first, maybe there would be better skills and different body parts to spend skill points and biomass to upgrade. It was hard to know. Eventually, they decided that it was not possible to know for sure, but it seemed it was a bigger and more important thing to evolve than to spend biomass or a skill point. So if they did the big thing first, they would know more, and could better decide how to do the smaller things.

[Would you like to use the Evolution menu?]

Yes

[Congratulations on reaching the maximum level for your current species. Evolution will allow you to change your form and increase your stats as a monster.

Warning: Evolving will make securing XP and Biomass more difficult as fewer rewards are given for preying on creatures less evolved than yourself.

Your evolution options are as follows:

Mature Claw Centipede

Condense Monster Core]

It would be much better to become a Mature Claw Centipede than to stay a Hatchling.

They did not know how it would help them to condense a monster core, but instinct said that would be very good also.

They asked for more information on both. Sometimes this worked. This was one of those times.

[Mature Claw Centipede - advance from a Hatchling of your kind into an adult. Base stats will significantly increase, new skills will be unlocked.]

[Condense mana absorbed by the individual into a monster core. The core allows monsters to store and utilize MP, can also be utilized to empower custom evolution. 100% of mana required has been obtained.]

This was very interesting. If they wanted to be much stronger right away, they should evolve into a Mature Claw Centipede. That would be good because it would become easier to kill and not die. But it would be bad because it would be harder to gain XP and biomass.

They could also condense a core.

The Funnel Web Ambusher was the only monster they knew that had a core. That one had thought of a very good and safe way to hunt and gain XP and Biomass. This worked very well until Hunter, who was more cunning, killed and ate it. Still, it was interesting that of the many monsters Hunter had killed and eaten, the one with a core had been the best at hunting. A core could also be used to empower custom evolution. That sounded like a way to choose how to become stronger, rather than have it happen without choice. Hunter was very cunning, and was certain they would choose a very good way to become stronger.

There were other things to think about. In this last big hunt, made up of many small hunts and a lot of hiding and moving, Hunter had learned much. One thing learned was that there were many monsters far stronger than Hunter was. Even if Hunter grew bigger, and had better claws and a better exoskeleton and a better stinger, there would still be monsters far stronger. To ever hunt such beasts in safe ways, they would need a new tool to use, one beyond claws and stinger. They were unclear on what type of tool MP could become, but instinct said it was important.

Also, it did not seem that it would be harder to get XP and biomass if they condensed a monster core. They would still be a hatchling, just a better one with a core.

This thought decided the issue. It had taken a very, very, long time to get to level five. It would take far too long to evolve again if they received less XP from each hunt, even if the hunts were easier.

[Would you like to spend this evolution to Condense your Monster Core?]

Yes.

Hunter slipped into an unconsciousness deeper than torpor.