Capítulo 5: Cold-Blooded

Derrick confidently walked forward while staying alert, his eyes constantly darting around to where attacks could come from. After all, he was stark naked and had no defenses whatsoever, meaning that a single slip up could be his end.

In this vast and quiet darkness, the only sounds were his frantic heartbeat and muted footsteps.

*Thu-Thump* *Thu-Thump* *Thu-Thump*

It was beating faster and faster, but it wasn't from fear... No... It was from sheer excitement.

Hunting, he recalled, truly was a thrilling experience. He just loved the activity, born from his self-reliance, since some animals would threaten you if you weren't careful enough. The resulting adrenaline rush was an addictive experience.

Meanwhile, the reptile remained hidden, its discipline nigh psychotic.

He could tell the valley was at a standstill, like a calm ocean before a storm.

Io, for his part, diligently watched Derrick's rear, hidden in his shadow and awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike.

On his way, the necromancer also found a fallen piece of stalactite, his eyes giving it a quick glance before returning to their scanning duty.

"Better than nothing…"

After grabbing it, he continued forward and descended in a U-shaped depression he'd located earlier. This was it, the perfect trap to lure it out.

With no way out, he was now a sitting duck.

"Come out, you bastard... I know you've been watching for a while..."

Derrick's years of tracking had led him to develop a sixth sense, one that had been screaming he was being watched, observed like a prey in its final moments, the predator's viciousness increasing the more cornered he became.

It was finally about to make its move, the tension in the air at its apex.

"Get ready, Io. We're about to have some fun…"

With his brain catching on, Derrick's pupils narrowed as his muscles expanded, gorged with newly oxygenated blood. Adrenaline had finally been released in his bloodstream, his senses now heightened to their maximum. Even Io became excited, his shadow slightly trembling.

Showtime.

Suddenly, two large emerald eyes appeared in the darkness, followed by a long slender tongue, with rows of inverted bones, darting in their direction.

"HERE WE GO!!! COME AT ME, YOU UGLY BASTARD!!!"

Derrick sprinted forward, only armed with his makeshift stone pike. This was it, the gamble he had taken.

Whether it succeeded or not now only hinged on his skills.

After what felt like an unending second, the tongue had finally reached him, its terrifying spikes ready to impale and seal a fate worse than death.

But not today.

In a desperate and late maneuver, he dove over it before thrusting, with all his weight, his weapon into it, its bluntness of no consequence as it ripped through the target's soft tissues.

But despite this success, his timing, still poor from not being completely accustomed to his new body, led to his right shoulder being mercilessly ripped apart.

"AHHHH!!! THAT HURTS!!!"

*SCREECH*

The chameleon, in turn, let out an ear-piercing cry as its black blood spurted everywhere, the gushing wound covering Derrick's body.

"IO, IT'S YOUR TURN!!! GO FOR IT!!!"

As if a cannon, his shadow let out a blazingly fast Nightmare Bat, its black mist covered body and shining red eyes locked onto their target with only destruction in mind. Barely another second went by before Io began lacerating the poor chameleons' face as it continued to shriek like a dying pig.

The following fight, or massacre for that matter, lasted a few more minutes before the chameleon fell, its state reduced to a gory mess: its eyes were missing, its tongue had been ripped apart, and two of its limbs had been severed.

Frankly, it was a miracle it was still alive.

"Enough, Io... It's my turn..."

While holding his shoulder, Derrick walked forward, his gaze not leaving the wounded beast.

"You thought you had an easy meal, uh... Not this time."

His eyes burned with anger as his face contorted in a devilish way.

This pain… He'd return it 100-fold.

He then looked around, trying to find anything he could use… Oh? There it was! A stone sharp enough to be used as a knife… This'd do.

After making sure it was sturdy enough, he returned to the creature, which had kept desperately crawling forward, sensing the imminent danger. It was letting out small cries, seemingly imploring the others in this cave to somehow intervene… But none had come.

In a brutal and almost inhuman move, Derrick ruthlessly stabbed in the wounds inflicted by Io, the makeshift knife then making its way between the skin and the twitching muscles, the cries of the beast getting more and more strident, their eeriness of apparent no concern to the man.

But as its dark blood kept gushing out, it wasn't long until its already weakened heart gave out, its last breath a relief it was finally over.

And then, silence. A silence so loud it felt like the fight had never occurred.

In a brief moment of self-reflection, Derrick was shocked.

Why? Why such violence?

Had he done this because it had tried to kill him? But as a hunter, he had always treated, both foes and preys, with respect, since their deaths were the reason he could remain well-fed.

Was this bloodthirsty behavior, this nonchalance towards death, part of the side effects of being a Necromancer? If so, how bad would it become? Would he still… hold onto his humanity?

But these questions, although of moral importance, paled in priority when he didn't even feel bad about savagely finishing off the monster.

[Would you like to make a <Contract> with Dark Furcifer Pardalis? You only have 1 contract remaining.]

Bringing him out of these musings was the System, whose ask was promptly declined by Derrick.

Even if the creature had interesting abilities, it wasn't worth investing his last spot, especially with the possibility of other and more powerful monsters out there.

He then continued to carve out everything useful before starting to craft equipment, his hunting skills coming in handy. And as if recognizing his talent, another prompt appeared in Derrick's consciousness.

[You have developed the skill <Craftsman>! Every weapon you make will have a higher chance of granting abilities! This skill will evolve with its user's growth.]

"That's it! We're getting somewhere now."

With things starting to look up, he was very happy, leading him to spend the next few hours crafting and refining his products into something he was proud of.

"System, appraise the weapon and armor I made!"

After wasting nothing of the creature, he had managed to create a weapon, armor, clothes, food and a bag.

[Sorrowful Lance of Furcifer]

[Grade: Unique]

[Attack Power: 3.0]

[Abilities: Stealth Hit (Able to disappear from sight while in combat, allowing for faints and deceit).]

[Description: Made out of the bones of a Dark Furcifer Pardalis. The torture it received while still alive granted the bones one of its innate abilities.]

[Pardalis Vengeful Armor]

[Grade: Unique]

[Defensive Power: 3.0]

[Abilities: Camouflage (Allows the user to disappear from sight if moving slowly), Cold Blood (Allows the user to lower its temperature).]

[Description: Skin of a Dark Furcifer Pardalis repurposed into armor. With its strong desire for revenge, the beasts' skin evolved, keeping its abilities even after death.]

After a quick wipe of his brow, he was finished.

"I've done well. These items are plenty capable of hunting and ambushing monsters with, so we might have to re-evaluate what we do next. Killing the remaining entities has just become an option."

But despite his new-found enthusiasm, he had decided to set up camp and rest. After all, he had to nurse his injury, or he'd be essentially throwing his life away, especially in such an unforgiving environment. Fortunately, his new body seemed fairly sturdy, his right shoulder's bleed already over.

"This cave really has nothing... No vegetation of any kind, no wood... That means no fire, too. I'm going to have to eat this raw... It'll probably be disgusting, but I'm sure it'll help me heal a little faster."

He then grabbed his newly made skin pouch and laid it bare on the floor, its content of red meat subsequently appearing.

The sight, as weird as it was, couldn't help but make him salivate, the smell reminding him of wild game meat. It had also been awhile since he had eaten anything substantial, his past, and normal human habits, pushing him to eat.

"Here goes nothing!"

After getting a mouthful and swallowing it whole to avoid its texture, another unexpected prompt appeared.

[Ingestion of raw Dark Furcifer Pardalis meat... Host's abilities are being enhanced! Recalculating...]

A warm feeling suddenly erupted from his stomach, and before he could do fully realize what was happening, it exploded throughout his body.

Unfortunately for him, the amount of energy was simply too massive, which hit him like a brick wall and led his brain to immediately shut down, the last thing he saw being the disorganized meat pile…

***

While groaning and turning, he begrudgingly woke up, another headache hammering at his head.

"What…"

His confusion was immense, and when his vision finally returned, he noticed that Io was still there, standing guard and protecting him from any danger.

"System, what the hell just happened?!"

[Host's stats have increased! Would you like to see the result?]