[Level Up!! Life Essence Absorbed.]
[System Note: You are now eligible for Core Awakening. Begin evolution process? Y/N]
'What's all this supposed to mean?'
He tried to reach out and see if he could touch the screen, but his fingers went right through it. Its rectangular frame looked like something out of this world.
'What kind of sorcery is this? I have never heard of something like this before,' he thought just as he bent low, trying to grab it from below, but his fingers went right through it again.
"What's this supposed to be though? A guide?" finally rising back up into a squatting position to properly examine it.
'So how do I operate it if I can't touch it?' he asked inwardly, staring at the holographic green screen that hovered through his vision.
His attention finally shifted to the information displayed on the screen, which he still found a bit alien to his mind, but he did his best to understand it.
'So... I'm guessing every time I absorb whatever I absorb from these plants, this thing gets notified, and it informs me about it?'
'And the green stuff I'm absorbing from the plants is called... life essence? So it contains some aspects of life in it then?' He thought hard, trying to make out everything the notification was trying to tell him.
While he was busy trying to decode the information, something slipped right through the bushes behind him, and he quickly turned, slightly sensing it's movements.
'Staying any longer down here isn't safe, but I should probably start thinking about food before I get hungry.' His stomach growled softly.
He glanced back at the hovering neon green screen that followed his movements, moving up as he stood up, left, right... any way he looked, it followed, just hovering by the corner of his vision without obstructing his view.
'This is quite cool, but how do I turn it off or at least pause it until when I'm ready... I can't study this on an empty stomach. Also, it would be way safer to study it in the shed than out here.'
He glanced up, looking at the shed one more time before he headed off to the other end of the foot-carved path that had slowly started forming with his continuous movements.
As he moved, the field around him was glowing a neon green, just like the system. Each of the plants looked like an X-ray vision to him as he saw right through them.
'So this is what life essence looks like.' His eyes expanded from the motion of raising his eyebrows, still surprised by everything.
'It's almost supernatural if I must say,' he thought, watching it flow between plants.
He was too engulfed in the scenery that he had briefly forgotten the reason he was moving toward the riverside.
Another ruffle through the bushes behind him cut him from his thoughts, and he turned around instinctively to find out what it was.
'I could feel the movements properly this time. It was almost like the creature was right behind me!' he thought, glancing between the bushes around him.
With another slip, he felt it again. It was swiftly moving through the bushes with a speed that felt like that of a creature the size of a rodent.
He slowly followed the movements with his senses; as the feeling came, he moved with it without questioning it.
'This is so amazing. I am literally tracking a beast I cannot see!! It's as if I can feel the beast itself. If I use this correctly, I might actually have breakfast to eat this morning!'
The beast suddenly pulled to a stop and dropped low with its leg winding back, compressing its limbs together in a tight position.
'What's it doing now?'
Then it released itself like a spring and leapt straight for him, but he was already feeling each movement and had sensed the leap before the creature came into sight.
So he swiftly shifted to the side and dodged the attack with a fluid motion, it almost felt like he was a different being at that very moment.
'If I hadn't sensed its movements, that definitely would have been a fatal strike!'
He turned around as he saw the beast crash into the tree, claw first. The grab cut deep into the tree and it landed to the ground with a heavy thud. It shook itself to get rid of the debris and recover from the hit.
Then it raised its head and glared at him with a confused expression before it growled.
'Must be wondering how I dodged that huh,' he smirked, staring at the beast, the feeling of him being invincible filling his head.
He glanced at his hands and noticed he could see the green essence flowing through him as well.
'I don't know how this thing works, but I'm starting to like it already!'
He crouched low and started moving, following the beast's movements with an idea forming at the back of his head.
As the beast leapt again for a second time, he didn't dodge this time. Instead, he grabbed the beast by the paw and yanked it onto his chest, squeezing it with his body muscle.
It was almost the size of a rodent, just slightly bigger, so his arms could easily go around it without any problems.
'Damn, it stinks though!'
He took a deep breath and held it as he struggled to keep the beast within his grip.
'Now, let's see how this does with living creatures.'
With a single thought, he began absorbing the creature's life essence, draining it at a rapid rate.
[Life Essence Absorption active: 30% speed rate.
Warning: Essence Absorption Rate nearing Host Limit (91%). Overload may cause tissue strain.]
[Advising Host to stop or bear the after-consequences.]
'Sorry, but I can't stop now when my breakfast is literally within my reach!' He grinned, his grip strength growing stronger as he continued holding it tight.
The beast continued struggling within his grip, trying to set itself free, but to no avail. His grip was way too tight, maybe due to desperation or upcoming hunger.
It released high-pitched noises, still trying to be set free, but Ralph just wouldn't budge.
Soon, it was slowly losing its energy. Its struggle was no longer tough as every bit of life essence was being drained from it.
[Warning: Essence Absorption Rate nearing Host Limit (97%). Overload may cause tissue strain.]
[Urging Host to withdraw and takea rest.]
The system chimed, glowing by the corner of his eye.
Then the beast stopped moving, its heartbeat throbbing loudly within its body as it slowed to a stop.
'Finally!' he gasped, finally releasing it from his grip and taking in fresh air.
'Don't mess with me, I'm not your average kid!' he smirked, wiping sweat from his forehead.