Reborn As An Evolving Monster

Chapter 3 Reborn As An Evolving Monster

?'So I can evolve into a stronger version of the Skeleton or into a whole other species of Monsters...'

[Correct.]

The Skeleton picked up the unmoving Paralyzing Centipede and started devouring it.

It was a huge centipede, over one meter in length.

'What happens to my Skills once I evolve?' The Skeleton asked telepathically.

[Most will be kept.]

[Some might get upgraded.]

[Some might be lost.]

[Skills can be obtained through Evolution.]

'Is that so?'

[You have gained 10 Evolution Points.]

The Skeleton had swallowed the whole Paralyzing Centipede and took what looked like a bigger version of the Muscular Goblin.

It was a Hobgoblin.

'I should hurry. Can't take my time when that Orc might come back...'

About fifteen minutes later, the Skeleton had devoured every dead Monster in the room.

'Can I see my Status?'

[ Name: None

Species & Level : Skeleton Lv3 (10/50exp)

Evolution Points: 485

HP: 40/40

Endurance: 170/170

Stats: Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Sense: 5

Vigor: 4

Endurance: 17

Skill(s): Silent Steps.

Curious Ears.

Title(s): System's Holder.

Devourer.

Evolving Monster.

]

'Alright! That's a huge increase in Evolution Points!'

[Would you like to check the available Evolutions?]

'Sure!'

[You can Evolve into:

1) Skeleton Warrior.

2) Hobgoblin.

3) Black Wolf Skeleton.

4) Venomous Flying Snake.

]

'This isn't super impressive. None of these can beat an Orc... '

[You have mostly devoured [F] Rank Monsters after all.]

The Skeleton thought about what to choose for a bit.

'Will evolving use up all my Evolution Points?'

[Negative.]

[Each Evolution has a different cost.]

[That cost cannot be divulged.]

'So even if I evolve, I'll be able to get modifications. These will be essential... Do the Body Modifications depend on the Monsters I devoured too?'

[Correct.]

'Alright then. Hobgoblin and Skeleton Warrior might be the strongest, but they're still weaker than an Orc. I'll evolve into a Black Wolf Skeleton!'

[Understood.]

As soon as the Skeleton thought that, its consciousness faded.

And while it lay on the ground, the Skeleton's bones were broken and reassembled differently.

The Monster's size increased a lot.

***

'Huh... Where am I?'

White walls.

Machines at his side.

White sheets covered the lower portion of his body.

'What is-'

The person tried talking, but somehow, couldn't.

'A dream? What the hell is this place?'

The person tried to look around, but couldn't move their neck.

Knock-

A gentle voice.

"Hey, hey! It's me..."

***

Minutes later,

[Congratulations!]

[You have evolved into a Black Wolf Skeleton[F].]

'Cool... WAIT I FELL ASLEEP? FOR HOW LONG?'

[You have been asleep for 3 minutes.]

'Oh... Alright. I had a dream... I was somewhere. I can't remember it at all. Strange. Somebody... yelled my name... My name...'

The Black Wolf Skeleton got up on its four limbs.

It resembled the ancient fossils of wolves that could be found in museums.

'This feels weird though... Being on four limbs. Maybe I should have just evolved into a Hobgoblin...'

The Black Wolf Skeleton was a bit smaller than a tiger in size.

The Monster tried walking around for a bit with its new body.

It only took a couple of minutes before doing so became comfortable.

'Status?'

[ Name: None

Species & Level: Black Wolf Skeleton Lv1 (0/40Exp)

Evolution Points: 250

HP: 80/80

Endurance: 150/150

Stats: Strength: 8

Agility: 15

Sense: 10

Vigor: 8

Endurance: 15

Skill(s): Silent Steps.

Curious Ears.

Title(s): System's Holder.

Devourer.

Evolving Monster.

]

'Name... Name... Oh, right. My name is... Mark? Or... Was Mark?'

[Your Name has been recorded as Mark.]

'Mmm... I'd like to think about that dream more, but the Orc might come back soon. Tsk. Anyway, I didn't gain Skills, I kept those that I had which is good, I guess. My Stats increased a lot, especially Agility. WAIT! 250 Evolution Points?? How come I still have that much?'

[Your Evolution consumed 235 Evolution Points.]

'I don't get an answer, huh? I guess it's because, in the end, I'm still a bunch of bones. The more the body has to change, the more Evolution Points the Evolution will consume, probably. Mm. Yeah. That seems to make sense.'

[Would you like to check the available Body Modifications?]

'Yeah!'

[Available Body Modifications:

1) Strengthened Bones: 100 Evolution Points.

2) Horned Skull: 40 Evolution Points.

3) Sharp Fangs: 35 Evolution Points.

4) Poisonous Claws: 50 Evolution Points.

5) Stone Tail: 60 Evolution Points.

]

'Huh? More options than before... Wait, why is the Strengthened Bones Modification more expensive than it was before?'

[As your size as a Monster has increased, the quantity of bones did too.]

'Oh, yeah. With 250 Evolution Points I can get a good combination... Just need the right combination to fight that Orc, or at least run away from it...'

Mark thought about what to do for a bit.

'I'll get Strengthened Bones.'

While the bones that made up his body previously had some cracks, those disappeared completely.

The bones also became whiter and looked sturdier.

[Your Bones have been strengthened.]

'Alright, Ummmm... Sharp Fangs too.'

Mark's fangs grew in size.

[Your Fangs have been sharpened.]

They looked deadly.

'Alright. I'll go with... Stone Tail.'

The Black Wolf Skeleton's bony and weak-looking tail got much longer.

The tail's bones were covered by what looked like hard rocks.

The tail became heavier.

At its tip, a large rock appeared.

The tail looked like that of an Ankylosaurus.

Mark moved it around a bit until he got used to it.

'55 left, huh? The horn wouldn't be that useful since I'll mostly use my fangs-'

Suddenly, the rock that separated the room from the outside was moved.

The Orc had pushed the rock away.

It bent its body and entered the hole headfirst.

Just when its head had entered the room,

BAM-

The Orc's face was met by a huge rock that hit it with great strength.

The blue-skinned Monster growled as it let go of its full pouch.

The Orc's nose bled.

Nevertheless, it fearlessly entered the room.

The Orc looked around but couldn't find a thing.

Not the enemy.

Nor the food it had stored.

Suddenly,

Pierce-

The Orc's neck got bit by extremely sharp fangs.

The Monster that bit down did not let go until a portion of that neck was stolen.

Huge amounts of blood squirted out of the Orc's neck.

The Orc jumped away and found one Monster in the room.

It was Mark, currently a Modified Black Wolf Skeleton.

The two Monsters faced one another.

A river of blood was going down the Orc's body, as numerous arteries and veins had been slashed by Mark's fangs.

'Come. I'll hit again, then make a run for it!'

The Orc's feet hit the ground.

It pulled its muscular arm back, ready to deliver a strong punch.

In response, Mark quickly turned his body sideways.

The Orc's hard fist was met with an even harder rock.

The Monster's fist was broken.

It growled in pain.

'Should I run now? While it's distracted by the pain?' Mark asked himself.

[The Orc has about half of its Health Points remaining.]

'Is that so? Losing a portion of its neck and bleeding that much obviously hurt it a lot. Still, I should probably-'

The Orc, seeing the amount of damage it had sustained, turned away.

'Huh?'

It turned its back to the enemy.

'Is it... Running away?'

As soon as the Orc took a step forward, away from Mark,

Pierce-

Fangs sank deeply into the Orc's neck once more.

The latter tried to grab the Monster on its back with its strong arms, but Mark was agile enough to jump away at the right time.

Just after landing on the ground, Mark used his tail to sweep the Monster's legs off the ground.

As the Orc fell to the ground, Mark started slashing it with his claws.

Eventually,

[You have defeated one Orc. 70Gold Coins and 140Experience Points earned.]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

'Holy shit... Holy shit... Even though that was simple enough, it sure was stressful. The element of surprise helped. Also, getting used to having a tail and using it to fight are totally different things...'

Mark felt ecstatic.

Not just because he had won, but because the roles had been reversed.

The predator greedily savored the fallen prey.

[You have gained 100 Evolution Points.]

'Oh, right. I also get Gold Coins when defeating monsters. What are those for?'

[Gold Coins can be used in the Store to buy Items or Skills.]

[Would you like to check out the available Items and Skills?]

'Huh? Of course, I do. Why wasn't I told sooner?'

[Select what it is you are looking for:

[Items] [Skills]

]

'Umm. Let's start with Items.'

[ Available Items:

1) Healing Potion: 5 Gold Coins.

2) Iron Sword: 50 Gold Coins.

3) Wooden Shield: 50 Gold Coins.

4) Mana Potion: 25 Gold Coins.

]

'That's it? The weapons won't help much in this form. Maybe it'll be useful in the future... Show me the Skills.'

[ Available Skills:

1) Slash: Slashing attacks do 1.25times more damage. Cost: 200 Gold Coins.

2) Pierce: Piercing attacks do 1.5times more damage. Cost: 500 Gold Coins.

3) Poisonous Bomb: Grants the ability to shoot balls of poison. Cost: 1000 Gold Coins.

4) Paralyzing Bomb: Grants the ability to shoot balls of a paralyzing poison. Cost: 1000 Gold Coins.

]

'Alright. How many Gold Coins do I have?'

[You currently possess 90 Gold Coins.]

'What the hell? Really? How am I supposed to get 1000?'

Mark would have chuckled if he could.

After the fight against the Orc, he was obviously in high spirits.

[It is possible to exchange Evolution Points for Gold Coins.]

[Rate: 1Evolution Point-->10 Gold Coins.]

[You cannot exchange Gold Coins for Evolution Points.]

'Oh...OH! That's perfect! I'll exchange 150 Evolution Points for Gold Coins.'

[You have exchanged 150 Evolution Points for 1500 Gold Coins.]

'Perfect. I'll get that Pierce Skill. I'll go well with my sharp fangs.'

[You have obtained the Passive Skill "Pierce[F+]".]

'And, ummm. I guess I will go with Paralyzing Bomb for now. Hopefully, I'll buy the other one too in the future.'

[You have obtained the Magic Skill "Paralyzing Bomb[F+]".]

[You have developed a Mana Stat.]

'Mana? You mean that I can shoot firebombs and stuff?'

[That is not possible since you lack a Magic Skill that would allow you to do so.]

'So if I get the Skill, I could do it, huh? Great!'

Mark's gaze fell on the pouch the Orc had brought.

In it, he found two unmoving Gray Wolves and a Goblin.

They were devoured right away.

[You have gained 40 Evolution Points.]

[You have gained 40 Evolution Points.]

[You have gained 5 Evolution Points.]

'Perfect. Exchange 100 Evolution points with Gold Coins. I'll buy the Poisonous Bomb Skill.'

[You have obtained the Magic Skill "Poisonous Bomb[F+]".]

[Two Skills of yours have merged.]

[The Skills "Poisonous Bomb[F+]" and "Paralyzing Bomb[F+]" have merged to give birth to a new Magic Skill.]

[You have developed the Magic Skill "Venomous Bomb[E]".]

'So Skills can also merge, huh? Nice. Any info?'

[The Magic Skill "Venomous Bomb" grants the ability to shoot balls of venom that can both poison and paralyze.

[The effect is stronger if the venom enters the enemy's body through wounds.]

[The Magic Skill consumes 10 Mana Points per use.]

'How many Mana Points do I have?'

[As your Mana Stat is at 15, you currently possess 150 Mana Points.]

Mark immediately left.

He found himself, once again, in a corridor.

As soon as Mark got out, he noticed some kind of small Monster running away.

It was a Horned Hare.

Mark used his four limbs to chase after the Monster, as it was only a dozen meters away.

The difference in speed was obvious.

He caught up in no time.

The Horned Hare had some kind of piece of paper in its mouth, but Mark did not even notice.

His fangs sank into the Monster's body, and blood flowed into his mouth.

[You have defeated one Horned-Hare. 5 Gold Coins, 10 Experience Points and the 10th Floor's Map earned.]

The piece of paper disappeared as Mark devoured the small Monster.

[You have gained 5 Evolution Points.]

'So this is what I could have appeared as? Good thing I became a Skeleton... Oh. What was it about a map?'

[You have obtained this Dungeon's Tenth Floor's Map.]

[Would you like to view it?]

'Sure.'

A map appeared in front of Mark.

There was a white blinking point on it, which showed his current location.

'So this floor is kind of circular. According to this map...'

Mark ran for about 5 minutes.

'Yep. Back where I started.'

Mark was back at the crossroad next to which he had first appeared.

The 10th Floor's layout followed the symbol ?.

The lowest point of that symbol, according to the map, was where the Floor's Guardian was.

A Certain Floor's Guardian is a Boss Monster whose sole purpose is to block access to other Floors.

'So there's a Floor Guardian on every Floor. They won't let you go to the higher Floor, and they won't let you go to a lower Floor? Since this is the lowest Floor, I can only go up... Although, I still am too weak for that... Probably.'