Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Chapter 9 – Another Painful Evolution

[Warning - There is gore and massacre in this Chapter!]

It's been 25 days since he started to hunt for his prey. He didn't directly fight anything out of his league, mostly because he ambushed all of them. That didn't stop him from provoking some of his enemies and then using [Burrow] to hide in the ground and confuse them, before killing them. This was also a great way for him to increase its Level.

That night he activated Sprint again. He managed his Stamina well, so he always had his Stamina topped up, to the point that he increased his [Stamina Recovery] to the 3rd Level. He also increased his [Health Recovery] to the 4th Level. He experienced many hardships, mainly because he overestimated his luck. There was a landslide nearby chopping his HP almost down to zero. That was also the first time he experienced the effects of Low HP. His body felt heavy and unresponsive and for Stamina it felt like he was dizzy and out of breath, his coordination in both cases dropped sharply and as such he always maintained full HP and Stamina whenever he could.

What made him very upset was that he never levelled up again at his main Level. It stood at 100 this whole time. It seems like he will have to Hunt a much more powerful beast for him to increase his Level again.

He only had a few days left while the forest grew restless. He also spotted Buddy a few times. He was bloodied alongside his fellows. The least injured was the panther, but guessing by his fur he was probably also a shadow predator, allowing him to avoid much more damage than someone like that lizard or lion, who confronted their enemies up front.

He snacked on some more eggs and returned to his Den. He realized that his [Burrow] skill softened the ground so that he could 'move it' out of the way when he burrowed. This could also be used during digging. He could soften the ground with [Burrow] and then 'shovel' it away with her paws.

He laid down in his enlarged Den. She was worried that she would be stuck inside if his Evolution enlarged her too much.

She lay down and waited for the counter to finally finish. She would then hunt for some food later once it was finished. It would take her about half a day to 2 days to digest the eggs, and she was fine without eating for just 3 days. He had water nearby so that wasn't a problem, but even then he could go for 5 days without water. Not that he would...

...

[Starting Evolution process: [Shadow Fennec Fox] - 0 days, 0 hours, 1 minute]

The Evolution was upon him. He was waiting for it to start, quite anxiously. He noticed things like [Reduced Pain] or [Increased Pain Tolerance]... but they were too expensive. He would have to bear with his skin and teeth.

[Evolution is in process]

'AGHHHHHHHHHHH'

Her mind immediately blanked from the pain soon after he heard strange voices.

-100Hp

'It's nice to be in the darkness right? You can kill anything you want and nobody will find you~'
'It's nice to be female, they dote on you so much and when you are pretty enough they even worship you. Imagine having everyone at your beck and call~'
'It's fine to just murder everyone who enters your domain, after all, it's yours!'
'You should enjoy your beauty and create a harem, so you don't need to hunt for yourself and just wait for the delicious meat dripping with juice to arrive in front of you~'
'You should expand your domain, so you can continue Hunting! The Hunt never stops!'

-100Hp

They were strange noises that gnawed at his Willpower. His mind was in turmoil asking questions about his race, attraction, murdering, hunting... everything was asked, but only some were answered. This was the burden of the Unique rarity.

-100Hp

Then he heard another snap. Her body shook as unimaginable pain coursed through it. Her body swelled as her bones expanded. Her muscles and skin ripped as it couldn't accommodate her new larger body. Her fur was died red from her bleeding and she soon lost the ability to feel her body.

-200Hp

She lay there motionlessly, the pain still torturing her body as new bones, muscles and tissues for skin were swiftly created.

-1 Vitality

She could feel this draining her greatly as something small was slowly forming in her body, something so minuscule, yet...

-1 Vitality
-1 Vitality
-1 Vitality
-1 Vitality

It was draining her so much. The system didn't expect her to reach Unique rarity so soon. It was supposed to guide him through a few worthless rarities and slowly make it up the chain, but the one who controlled it was currently making a new Feather Duster and wasn't watching all that much.

Her Vitality dropped to 5, yet it was not over. She could feel her life flashing in front of her eyes as her vitality slowly dropped to 1, but it stayed there. Soon a violent draft of air entered her Den. It collided with her body as her body was trying to greedily suck everything in. The dirt turned from a nutritious black to mere brown and soon into sand. The Den was slowly collapsing and outside it was no better.

A huge whirlwind was above the forest, cycling the Energies of Heaven and Earth, trying to maintain their balance. Yet one greedy little bastard was not satisfied and was continuously sucking it's energy! Soon it couldn't sustain the whirlpool and nearby trees withered, having their Essence forcibly stolen. Yet the culprit was currently marvelling at the fact it didn't hurt her as much anymore. She quietly lay as she waited for her Evolution to finally pass. Unaware that she alerted not only that friendly Village but many Cultivators in nearby... War was upon them. Who would be the first one to find the cause of this?

...

She woke up completely hammered. Her Den was destroyed, or rather it had turned into a sand castle. All the Vitality from the surroundings was squeezed dry. Even her ceiling was slowly crumbling with each tremor. She blinked a few times. It was a warm feeling. A feeling of power coursing through her veins. She felt familiar, even intimate with the darkness. She was loved and caressed by it. Encouraged to run and Hunt, yet hide at the same time.

She walked outside before her Den completely collapsed. It was a full moon. A beautiful night for a Hunt. Her senses were more sensitive during the night. She felt weaker, yet strong. Her Level declined, but she wasn't discouraged. She has mastered almost all of her skills and gained many more. But her senses were warning her. Get away from here, get away from here and quickly!

She ran using her [Sprint], yet the darkness encouraged her further. She glanced at her system. Her eyes were drawn towards [Shadow Walk]. She activated it and the whole world changed. She could see the darkness swaying as if burning. She could see the pathways she should take and others that she should avoid. It was a surreal feeling. She ran on the predetermined path, encouraged by the darkness. The darkness clung to her, yet she only felt lighter and faster, it was not slowing her down, but helping her.

She made it to the edge of the forest. There was a desert, a blood red desert. Her [Shadow Walk] activated with her [Hide]. She stopped there to observe the carnage. Humans were killing each other. Beasts were killing Humans and Humans were killing beasts.

The blood ran until the ground was red, dying the previously creamy and rocky desert into a red and black, putrid hell. The shadows were protecting her. Protecting her from the cruel world, yet she was allowed to observe it. Observe the struggle, observe that massacre. Should she join? Should she leave?

She decided to wait some more. She could feel their energy. It was a strange feeling... like staring at a powerful hero with the mask of a Joker (AN: Card Joker, not the other Joker). They relished in their power, some getting stronger with each kill, while others with each slash. Some were running low on energy and either fled or were killed by other Beasts. Others grew too strong and Beasts avoided them.

She stared as something magical was happening in front of her. It felt like fireworks each time those Humans gathered their energy and released it, yet she knew she would be killed just by the aftershocks.

A person died near her, yet he was completely oblivious to her. She observed him. His Vitality waned as his inner organs slowly slipped out of his wounds, until he died soon after.

The Shadows encouraged her. Guiding her towards his finger. There lay a pretty ring with strange runes on it. If she was in her right mind, she wouldn't take it as it looked like a wedding ring.

She took it, the body still unmoving. Soon she noticed that others came closer to the body and the darkness guided her away.

They searched his body and cursed loudly. It seems like they were looking for the ring, but considering their clothes... they weren't the dead man's friends. Bandits? If so they were incredibly powerful, enforcing her opinion to avoid Humans.

The darkness guided her away. Her senses warned her, but they were too vague. She couldn't make out where and what was the danger. She walked through the darkness. Her [Hide] would no longer break while she moved around. It could be permanent if she willed it, but her Stamina wouldn't keep up forever. She made a mental note to find a way to greatly increase her stamina.

She was in a strange trance. Observing the living as they slowly breathed their last breaths, she didn't feel repulsed or disgusted. She felt broken.

She arrived outside of a small camp. 5 Humans were roasting food around the campfire, chatting and laughing.

She sneered as she stared at their defenceless backs. One move and one of them would be dead, but she would have to fight the rest. That was not optimal.

She observed them for some time as her senses no longer warned her of danger. It was safe, she could take her time.