'Finally!'
[ Exp: 3000 → 7400 ]
[ Level up: 8 → 9 ]
[ Level up: 9 → 10 ]
[ Aura: 0 → 10 ]
'It wasn't so obvious before, but now I can feel just how strong I've become in such a short time.'
I laughed, amused.
After evolving my organs, the difference between me and my siblings was clear.
My senses had become several times sharper.
My muscles had grown stronger and more defined, and they were developing much faster.
It felt like I was using top-tier steroids even though I was only eating regular meat—the exact same meat as always.
My skin had undergone a qualitative improvement, becoming more vibrant, which not only somehow made it easier to hide but also greatly increased my resistance.
Claws and Fangs had also developed, becoming sharper and more durable despite not being the targets of the evolution.
As a consequence, after the evolution I felt an uncontrollable hunger.
My stomach seemed to have become a black hole.
And even after eating several animals in a short period of time, the hunger didn't go away easily.
Seeing my incessant hunger, my mother ended up giving me an entire adult boar to eat.
And then a deer…
And another boar…
My siblings watched me with wide eyes as I ate nonstop.
My chubby cheeks chewed incessantly for hours on end.
'I feel like a parasite in this family…'
My siblings seemed to look at me with mixed feelings of admiration and envy, while my mother's chest swelled with pride.
It was strange…
In my past life, I was an orphan and had never known the meaning of any love other than sexual love.
And even that always had a price…
This time, I had a mother who did everything for me and showed her love and pride at every little achievement.
It was hard for me…
Hard to process…
I wanted… really wanted to make her proud.
I wanted to be strong to prove to everyone that she truly was the best mother in the world.
What a strange feeling.
I sighed as they watched me eat with increasing shock.
At last, I understood the importance of evolving the organs.
All of my body's systems had evolved in some way, and now required much more energy to maintain.
Eventually the hunger would cease, and the excess energy would accumulate as fat, but until then I risked starving to death even while eating a lot.
I needed to keep this knowledge for the future—evolving at the wrong time could mean a foolish death.
Preferably, I should have some high-calorie foods ready for such circumstances.
After restoring myself to the peak of my physical form, I admired the difference between me and my siblings.
'They're small and fragile… While I am clearly bigger, stronger, and still just as non-threateningly cute, the kind of cute that makes you want to hug me. I don't even look older, just bigger and more vibrant. Man, appearances really are deceiving.'
With a satisfied sigh, I returned to my usual activities. There was still much to hunt in this forest, and this was just the beginning of my evolution.
I found fish and rabbits; without any difficulty I bit them with surprising speed, executing them instantly.
Foxes, which once could be dangerous and required great caution, now didn't even notice me approaching with regular steps, and a single paw strike was enough to knock them out.
It was fun testing this—the fox was completely unaware even with me sitting right beside her.
Her shock was priceless.
As for the boars…
I could hunt some juvenile boars with some difficulty, but the fight was clearly in my favor despite still containing relevant risks.
They still offered some challenge and still gave me some aura, but far less than the first encounter.
In a way, I was already the apex of this food chain.
Among small animals, there was no challenger.
Among predators, they chose to avoid me.
Among aggressive herbivores, they also didn't want confrontation.
No cub was stronger than me—and cubs eventually grow, and the differences become even more evident.
The boars would never be as strong as me, nor the wolves, nor the foxes, nor any other animal in this forest.
Even among tigers, I clearly stood out as the strongest of my litter, giving me an advantage for the future.
This forest had become small for me, with easy and predictable challenges.
However… this applies only to wild animals…
There are those who dominate the sky and earth like gods, and it is them that I aspire to be like.
Yet so far, I hadn't met anyone like them—or like me.
Only I seemed to be evolving, and only they seemed to have evolved.
I wondered, why?
Crack Crack Crack
Pulling me out of my thoughts, the sound of footsteps echoed through the woods.
They weren't common animals; these moved clumsily, making constant noise as they pushed through branches and vegetation.
I approached with extreme caution to see who it was.
'Damn! They're here!'
A group of humans advanced, cutting through the forest with blades in hand.
Their clothes weren't like the previous group—there were no nobles and certainly no inexperienced soldiers.
All of them wore light, breathable armor while carrying spears, swords, and bows.
They didn't seem easy to deal with.
They knew where they were going and what they had to do.
Their sharp eyes revealed that they were also hunters.
Their leader—a blond man with piercings and a saber—suddenly stopped.
His eyes slid like a sneaky snake through his sockets and quickly locked onto me.
He stared in silence while my instincts screamed like never before.
He was going to kill me!
Dodging was impossible!
I immediately counterattacked with my claws, knowing it was only a desperate move and that my death would follow.
CLING
In a movement faster than lightning, he crossed dozens of steps toward me and struck my claws with his saber, releasing dozens of sparks.
"One," he said with a ferocious smile.
'How the hell?!' I couldn't believe I was still alive—or his speed.
But I had no time to think.
The blade was coming down again!
My fur bristled, my instincts sharpened crazily.
He was too fast for me to follow.
Then I needed to predict his next attack!
CLING
The blade fell even heavier, again emitting sparks as the sheer force of the impact sent me flying through the air.
"Two." His eyes lit up as his smile widened even more; insanity seemed to course through his exposed veins.
The next attack would come soon—I was midair and couldn't react anymore.
The next attack would be the last.
I was going to die…
Damn…
I had tried so hard in this life, and even so I would die without even being able to fight back.
In that last second, dark and gloomy feelings filled my heart.
But I quickly contained them.
If this was my last moment alive, then at least I would die with pride!
I pushed my focus to the absolute limit—I couldn't just sense the next blow, I needed to see it before my enemy even decided what it would be.
For an instant, I saw it…
I saw a faint red line coming from his blade, connecting to my head.
I knew I couldn't react in time.
However, even as my mind screamed, it also screamed that I could still live.
There was something inside me I could still use.
It was…
Aura!
Immediately from within me, like a bestial roar, the same aura that once destroyed my organs surged toward the man.
He momentarily stared in shock as his movements suddenly became slower and his attack weaker.
When the blade fell toward my head, he had lost his momentum.
It was still fast—very fast.
But so was I!
I gathered all my strength and bit the blade before it could decapitate me.
"Three?" The man stared in shock, completely incredulous at what he was seeing, even dropping his saber.
"Hey! Am I crazy, or did this cub withstand three of my attacks?" His companions exchanged looks of growing perplexity.
"Yes… he did."
"Ha ha haha hahaha!" The leader suddenly burst into laughter, forgetting me for a moment.
"This is good, very good. Bring him—I already have an idea of what to do, and I love it."
'As if I'd let these humans capture me!' I immediately released the blade and ran away.
However, chains suddenly shot toward me, driven by magic, and wrapped around me.
A hooded woman crouched beside me and pulled me in.
"Here he is, now what?"
"Now we finish our mission and hope it works."
The group immediately moved in a familiar direction.
They went to the cave where we lived.
"This is your cub, isn't it?"
He immediately showed me to my mother, who was about to attack, but aborted the idea the moment she saw me.
"My dear mage, translate for her: Tell her she'll be executed, but if she surrenders, we'll let the cubs live."
The same woman who captured me stepped forward and stared at my mother for a few moments.
Somehow, the tigress's expression changed several times in succession.
Soon after, she walked forward without hostility, like a lamb to the slaughter.
"Let's hope this works… Take the cub to her and kill her."
'What…?'
They placed me beneath her neck; her eyes looked at me with pity.
She wasn't afraid of death.
She was afraid of what would happen to me.
Of what I would become after this.
And then…
They slit her throat, my own mother's blood pouring over me like a waterfall.
Her body fell dead beside me, her glassy eyes staring at me with the same pity even after death.
"I can't believe it! It worked!"
Suddenly, a white aura began to rise from her body and condense into a beastly shape.
I watched without reacting as it approached me and was absorbed into my body.
"Damn! They'll pay a fortune for this! We're rich."
'No… you're not rich…' My eyes slowly shifted toward them.
'You're dead! I'm going to kill you! Even if I have to go through hell, I will kill every one of you!'
"Capture the rest! We'll take them to the king—he'll love this!"
He laughed in amusement, while that day I made my vow of vengeance.
I understood a truth that day.
Blessings and curses are always born together.