He started looking around there for a while then he started marching in my direction.

I waited for him to get close...

70 meters... 50 meters...

The moment he reached around 30 meters from me, I directly summoned two umbra hands and I controlled one of them to hold his arm.

Then

*Whoosh*

[You have Killed a Body Refinement(Mid) Monster |Experience Points +2000|]

I hastily dissolved the wind blade that still had some energy which kept it going forward, and controlled the second Umbra Hand to grab the head that was going to fall.

A perfect, quick, and deadly assassination.

After all, this is my species' specialty.

I slowly put the head and the rest of the body above a branch.

*Pheww*

That was dangerous, just one little mishap and I'd have died a terrible death in the hands of his brethren.

I was thinking of maybe going to eat that body, but why take the risk when there are a lot of enemies around.

The Mandrills have all mostly gone by now, even the ones who were in the nearby branches are nowhere to be seen.

The sound of battle stopped a while ago, I thought that the Mama bird would be rushing here, but she isn't here yet.

Could something have gone wrong? Like she died?

If she died it'd be very bad news for us! How unlucky would it be to lose the support of such a strong creature this early on?

I also feel a bit ashamed that my mother in every sense of the world might be dead and all I'm thinking about is my safety.

Is this life of constant danger changing me for the worst? I know that due to my real age and being previously human it's very hard to make genuine emotional bonds with a monster. I don't think that she being the monster is the reason, the concept of a mother is just too alien for me.

I hope she isn't dead, that's all I can say. I don't think emotions are necessary to do the right thing, nor do I think that forcing myself into something that I am not is the answer either!

Maybe it's because I'm approaching this through the intellect. Mainly through thoughts, which are in essence just words.

It's impossible to capture the immensity of life in words, can you capture the love you have for another being in words?

You can describe it, sure! But capture it in its entirety? Impossible!

Can you love in words? Grieve in words? If not then living in words is utterly unnatural.

I can only put that at the back of my mind for now.

I still have some questions that need to be answered.

'System, I have already reached the prerequisites you've mentioned to become a Mid-Body Refinement but I'm still in the lower stage?'

[You must have noticed that when cultivating you don't gain any Spirit, Agility, or Intelligence right?]

'Yes! That is true and I've been meaning to ask you, why is that?'

[For those attributes to grow they need a strong body. The stronger your body and the more refined it is, then the more mana you can hold inside. So far so good?]

'Yes, Go on. The stronger the vessel, the more it can hold. Make sense.'

[Perfect, your body hasn't reached yet a certain level for it to gather the Mana required to strengthen those attributes and that level is Body Refinement(Mid). Technically, you are already stronger than any Mid-level monster in every way but you have reached that stage through adding the Stats points you gained not through cultivation.]

'Well, isn't that bad?'

[It might seem like it, but it's a great advantage! It means your body's potential is way higher than any living being of the same rank. Because the Stats don't count as the finish line of breakthrough you can keep improving.]

[In other words, you can keep cultivating while solidifying your foundations to the limit. You're able to have unimaginable strength for those of the same rank as you are.]

'Alright'

Hmm... I think I see where this is going.

Even though my body is technically stronger than any low Body Refinement monster, I can still keep on making it even stronger. It's like the difference between a vessel that can hold 10 liters of water and a vessel of the same size that can hold 100 liters of water through compression.

[The difference won't be too clear to you right now, but as you keep on breaking through and advancing to higher realms you'll see the difference.]

As I was contemplating what all of this meant, I felt a familiar presence below.

The Mama eagle!

However, she looks awful! One of her eyes is closed, probably damaged. One of her wings is dangling to the side, a sign that it's broken and she's barely holding it and one of her legs is up, probably too damaged to stand up on it!

By god!

She looked in our direction, she's way stronger than me so it makes sense that she'd be able to easily sense me. Still, it frightened me. If she doesn't come back I'll probably be killed by that other fella.

I hurriedly held Kali's wings with my claw and dove down. As I neared the nest, I spread open wings to stop the fall.

Shit, I forgot the Mandrill's body I left in the branch above.

I climbed back up, ate half, and brought the other half to Kali.

The Mama eagle sat down and closed her eyes to rest.

As I was thinking of how to get some of the Mandrills I killed earlier, I heard a series of notifications!

-Ding!

[Quest Achieved Successfully. Rewards: 50 Karma Points, 5000 Experience Points, 5 Stats Points, 1 Skill Point]

``

Quest: Big Brother!

Description: A helpless young female eagle hatchling has been discovered in the vicinity of the host. She is afraid, and scared and needs a shoulder to lean on. Her brother died not long ago, she was still grieving but danger never seems to stop. The mother she sees as the strongest creature in the world is nowhere to be found and she is surrounded by vicious enemies.

Goal: Help your sister!

Rewards: 50 Karma Points, 5000 Experience Points, 5 Free Stats Points, and 1 Skill Point.

``

[Karma Points Detected! New System Function Unlocked.]

[Shop Unlocked.]

I finally finished my quest, it was pretty easy not gonna lie! It was also aligned with what I had in my mind, so nothing challenging.

I have also unlocked the shop, this further strengthens my chances of survival. I'm sure there are a lot of good things in there!

But, as much as I was dying to check it out, it can wait!

The best course of action right now is to figure out a way to bring back those bodies.

I already have a plan, though I don't know if it will succeed.

I jumped out of the nest and went towards the branches above the bodies that were laying around.

Once I arrived there, I started looking in their direction and making low-pitched noises.

Contrary to what one might believe, I'm not begging these corpses to climb up for me to eat them.

I kept on screaming like a pig until

*Swoosh*

Finally!

The Mama eagle, though very injured, carried two bodies and carried them into the nest.

I immediately followed her like a puppy with saliva dripping all over the place.

It's sufficient to say that my plan worked!

As I returned to the nest and started munching on Mandrill corpses, I felt very shameless.

I knew she was injured yet I made her do that, but the vitality of a Foundation Establishment monster isn't something I can comprehend.

At least, that's what I told myself.

I don't feel guilty at all. At the end of the day, I have the biggest potential in our little monster family.

This might sound arrogant or condescending but it's the actual truth, should I delude myself into thinking otherwise just to feel some semblance of humility?

There is a very clear difference between morality and its appearance of it. It's like how a parent might damage his child through constant pressure and expectation because they think and feels that what they're doing is for the greater good, meanwhile, the child suffers.

How a parent might control thus damage their child due to their fear and worry, thinking it's for the best.

How a general would go on a suicide mission to save his lover. Meanwhile, due to his inability to face the guilt of not doing anything, thousands of his soldiers die a horrible death.

How a certain eagle might not want to bother and burden others, just to feel humble and righteous. Hence, when a big bad monster shows up he won't have the strength to protect either himself or anybody.

All of the characters in these examples certainly seem noble and they feel righteous and good. However, the damage they leave is certainly anything but that!

If a certain monster comes along that can easily kill both of them and I can run away. I would run!

I'd feel guilty, selfish, and horrible! I'd feel like scum, but I'd do it. This world is cruel and very strange. Due to the high power, the living beings of this world wield it's very difficult to stay moral. I can't imagine how the other more intelligent races are living, like humans and the rest of it, it must be a nightmare I'm sure.

For the sake of all the possible lives that I might be able to save in the future if I happen to stay alive. I'd turn tail and run away as far as I could. Otherwise, what's the alternative? Do some stupid emotional heroic stance then die horribly after them? Don't get me wrong, If I have a slight chance of turning the tables I'd do my best to save them, but to go on a suicide mission? Hell to the No!

From time to time, The system talks to me out of the blue. It doesn't tell me what to think or how to think, just an exchange of ideas. However, as someone who deeply values logic in this very chaotic world a lot of the stuff it brings up sure does make a lot of sense.

At first, they were just ideas but after I directly experienced a situation in which I encountered what we've talked about, I understood them on a deeper level.

-Ding!

``

[Title Unlocked: {Truth Seeker}]