Hunting

‘Ahh! Why would you even think that!’

『 ☆☆ Snow Hyena LV31 』 『 ☆☆ Snow Hyena LV28 』 『 ☆☆☆ Snow Hyena LV33 』

The creatures that emerged from the cracks in the wall were much larger and more menacing than the hyenas I’d seen in documentaries.

Their glowing red eyes darted around, and their gnashing teeth seemed capable of tearing my tender shoots to shreds in an instant.

‘Quick, show me the status…!’

I desperately needed information about the Snow Hyenas.

However, due to the distance or my own lack of focus, the status window didn’t respond.

‘Please… don’t come this way…’

I instinctively dug my roots deeper into the ground and curled up as tightly as possible.

Fortunately, the Ice Hyenas weren’t interested in me.

Their attention was solely fixed on Drake’s corpse.

They growled and circled each other, slowly approaching the body.

The sound of their sharp claws scraping against the ice was terrifying.

For the moment, I seemed safe.

But to those beasts, I was just a fragile seedling.

All I could do was remain as still as possible and hope to survive.

Just as the hyenas drew closer, the status window finally activated.

『 Snow Hyena : Danger Level C. A monster that inhabits the middle layer of the Shia Kalt Ice Cave.

Unlike regular hyenas, they are solitary creatures with strong territorial instincts. They primarily feed on the corpses of other monsters but also hunt prey using the cave’s terrain for ambushes. 』

‘Phew…’

The information about this being the middle layer was somewhat annoying, but what mattered now was that their main food source was corpses.

‘Will they just eat Drake and leave?’

At first, the Snow Hyenas circled each other, growling lowly.

But the moment one of them took a bite of Drake’s flesh, hell broke loose.

“Kyaaaak!” “Kiiiek!)

In an instant, the three Snow Hyenas turned on each other.

Their sharp claws tore flesh, and their teeth ripped through meat.

Blood stained the white ice floor.

‘Ugggh…’

『 「Detection LV7」 skill level has increased. 』

I didn’t want to watch, but the heightened senses made everything feel even more vivid.

I could hear muscles tearing and bones snapping.

The LV33 hyena bit into the LV28’s neck, and the LV31, seeing an opening, struck the LV33’s side.

The sight of them tearing each other apart was so brutal it was almost unbearable to watch.

‘Ahh… Please end soon…’

I curled up tighter and prayed.

In a game, such battles would be obscured by flashy effects and damage numbers, but here, it was a desperate fight for survival.

The bloody struggle continued for a while.

In the end, the LV31 hyena fell, and the LV28 collapsed with its neck nearly torn open.

Only the LV33 Snow Hyena remained.

As expected, it survived, but its condition was pitiful.

Its body was covered in wounds, one eye was blinded, and a foreleg was broken.

‘Is it… over now?’

The victorious hyena slowly approached Drake’s corpse.

But its movement felt incredibly threatening to me.

My position was too close to the corpse.

‘Stay calm… It hasn’t noticed me yet.’)

While the hyena focused on Drake’s body, I carefully extended my roots.

Blood from the fight had seeped into the ice around me.

『 「Blood Absorption LV8」 skill level has increased. 』

‘Good… slowly…’

The hyena was too engrossed in eating Drake’s flesh to notice anything else.

Having lost one eye, its awareness of its surroundings was poor, and its broken foreleg made its stance unstable.

『 「Blood Absorption LV9」 skill level has increased. 』

I could feel myself growing stronger with each bit of blood I absorbed.

『 ★ (Nameless) Blood Sprout LV12 0 years ♀

【Stats】

HP : 66/66

MP : 66/66

Attack Power : 66

Magic : 66

Defense : 66

Magic Resistance : 66

Agility : 0 』

Absorbing the hyenas’ blood had brought me to level 12, and my health was fully restored.

I looked at the lone remaining hyena.

‘In that condition… maybe…’

For the first time, I saw it as prey.

Until now, I’d been consumed by fear, but somehow, I felt calm.

‘With the poison and root projection… can I do it?’

I thought about what I could do.

The root projection had become faster at level 2, and I hadn’t used the poison yet.

Plus, the hyena was already severely injured.

‘Michel… this is my first hunt…’

I prayed quietly, and my heart steadied.

I moved my roots cautiously toward the hyena’s broken foreleg.

It would be more vulnerable there.

‘Now!’

”Burst!”

A sharp, crimson root pierced the hyena’s broken foreleg.

Purple poison seeped into the wound, and its skin began to blacken.

“Kyaaaak!”

The hyena howled in pain and lunged at me.

Its one blind eye threw off its aim, and its fangs barely missed me.

‘Poison, work faster!’

The hyena’s foreleg turned completely black as the poison spread through its body, slowing its movements.

“Grrr…”

A weak, pitiful growl.

It probably never imagined that a harmless-looking seedling could attack it.

‘Die quickly!’

With the poison taking effect, I struck again, this time at its neck.

『 ☆☆☆ Snow Hyena (LV33) has been defeated. 』

『 A large amount of experience has been gained. 』

『 「Poison LV2」 skill level has increased. 』

『 「Root Projection LV3」 skill level has increased. 』

The thrill of my first hunt coursed through me.

I had become a predator in this labyrinth.

‘The middle layer isn’t so bad, huh?’

It was a hunt that might be criticized for being a “kill-stealer,” but it was also a strategy.

A harmless-looking seedling with merciless roots hidden beneath…

‘Call me a genius of hunting.’)

I looked at the fallen hyena and prepared to absorb its blood.

I was no longer the weak seedling that trembled with fear.

…

‘Hm, delicious!’

With all the hyenas dead, I savored the blood I had absorbed without any distractions.

『 「Blood Absorption LV10」 skill level has increased. 』

『 「Crimson Reserve LV1」

「Blood Absorption LV10」 skill has evolved. 』

‘Finally, it’s here!’

『 「Crimson Reserve」

– Absorb blood to grow faster. Stores some of the absorbed blood. 』

‘Oh, so it enhances the existing ability. But what does it mean to store blood?’)

The vague description made it hard to understand the evolved skill’s abilities.

Looking at the status window, I noticed several changes.

『 ★ (Nameless) Blood Sprout LV18 0 years ♀

【Stats】

HP : 84/84 + (11/100) 』

‘Huh? I’m already level 18?’

The experience from defeating the hyena and absorbing all that blood must have boosted my level.

Even stranger was the HP display.

‘What’s this?’

Instead of the usual 84/84, there was an additional number: 11/100.

‘This is… a health battery! It means the stored blood!’)

The Crimson Reserve skill seemed incredibly powerful.

In a world where 0 HP means death, additional health was more reassuring than anything.

‘This is totally overpowered.’)

Marveling at the new skill, I absorbed the remaining blood, and the status window chimed again.

『 「Crimson Reserve LV2」 skill level has increased. 』

『 ★ (Nameless) Blood Sprout (Evolution Possible) LV20 0 years ♀

【Stats】

HP : 90/90 + (46/200)

MP : 90/90

Attack Power : 90

Magic : 90

Defense : 90

Magic Resistance : 90

Agility : 0

【Skills】

「Detection LV7」 「Crimson Reserve LV2」 「Frost Block LV1」 「Photosynthesis LV1」 「Poison LV2」 「Root Projection LV3」

【Traits】

[Inferno Stigma] [Michel’s Encouragement] 』

While the increased capacity of Crimson Reserve was impressive, what mattered more was something else.

‘Huh… evolved again? But I haven’t grown at all?’

When I evolved from a seed to a seedling, my body grew on its own.

After becoming a seedling, I received a late notification about the evolution.

But now, there were no physical changes whatsoever.

Without any warning, it just said I could evolve again.

‘What’s going on… Is this the dream of a great evolution?’)

I recalled the thrilling transformation when I first became a seedling.

This time, the evolution felt even more profound.

‘Yes! Evolve!’)

A fierce cry echoed within me, but nothing changed.

‘Huh, not this?’)

I focused deeply, willing the evolution to happen.

Still, nothing occurred.

‘No! What’s going on!’)

It was serious.

I could evolve but couldn’t.

Suddenly, I realized I was just a seedling.

A seedling that would only grow taller if it grew anymore.

Was my desire for a major evolution narrowing my thinking?

‘Hmph… I can’t give up on the dream of a major evolution. I don’t want to be a plant forever!’)

‘Michel, can I one day become human…?’)

Fantasizing about being bathed in holy light and evolving into a human, I focused my energy on the tip of my stem.

Then, my body began to grow rapidly.

…