章 6: Chapter 6 Raining Cats and Dogs

[Status:

Name: –

Age: 3 months 17 days

Evolution Points(EP): 70.3/160

HP: 1920/1920

MP: 320/320

CON: 192

INT: 32

AGI: 120

Stat Points(SP): 25

Skill(s): Bite, Sharp Edge, Lock, Dash, Cognizance, Regeneration, Poison Spray, (New)Defensive Curl, (New)Sixth Sense]

The centipede stared at his status board in contemplation. Another month had passed since he first got out, and he gained 2 new skills. [Defensive Curl] he got due to the turtle incident and [Sixth Sense] was something he obtained after he honed his instincts when going out for hunts.

Unlike what he had wanted, the scorpion was the one laying around while he fed it…it was kinda ridiculous, but he owed it for finding them a cave to live in. It was also a very good scout since it can sense vibrations in the ground.

Ignoring all that, there were a few things he learned during this time. Stats themselves don't increase when eating mutated creatures, but there is a chance to obtain the [SP] instead.

[EP] gain is also directly correlated to his stats. He encountered another [Prehistoric Obsidian Rodent], but the points he got in return for killing it was only a measly 0.2.

He didn't even gain any extra when he ate it either. Other than that, he had encountered three other species which included a flightless bird the system called a [Multi-Legged Dromornis]. It resembles a bird with a thin but tall beak similar to a puffin, stubby wings, but large legs like an emu. It probably isn't supposed to have 3 pairs though, right?

He had obtained a stat point from it and roughly 10 [EP]. Afterwards, he encountered another damn salamander, and finally, a lone [Sabre Fanged Epicyon Haydeni], something that seemed to be from the canidae family. A hyena of some sort? If that were the case, maybe it had been kicked out of its pack, afterall, hyenas hunt at least in pairs.

They weren't very difficult opponents since they were alone, maybe some more troublesome than others, but a good curl around it and [Poison Spray] did the job.

[Defensive Curl] came in handy when preventing them from piercing through his carapace….although that probably wasn't how it was intended to be used. Nonetheless, what works, works.

Through all that, he had obtained a grand total of 14.8 [EP], 1 [SP]...and that was about it if one didn't count hunting experience. He felt kind of good about himself even if his progress was slow.

A once normal human man now surviving and adapting in a Prehistoric, mutated Earth? And from the fact there were so many mammals, in the Cenozoic period at that. It was a bit fantastical thinking about it in that perspective…but it still wasn't enough.

If he wanted to live and not just survive, he needed to grow stronger. Stronger than the turtle and stronger than the vulture…no matter how long it took. There was probably a few million years before modern humans appeared so he had time.

He turned to his companion, who was lazily chewing on a salamander spine. He sweat a bit, seeing nepotism and Indolence take its course. He screeched, calling out to it.

He planned on bringing the scorpion for a hunt, if only to stop it from becoming fat. The other reason was because he wanted it to grow stronger along with him. If the evolutions required/forced them to fall asleep, he would need a guard to prevent him being eaten while unconscious.

The scorpion stood up almost immediately wagging its tail happily. Well, at least it listened well. At this point, he should just give it a name…what would be good..?

He didn't ponder on it for long since it wasn't a very pressing matter. He'll think of one at some point. Wait, what gender was the scorpion…?

…

Centipede and scorpion crawled through the foliage of the jungle together. The former took a path he memorized down to a more open area on the outer edges of the tropical forest. He could see a vast, grassy plain, the place where he hunted the hyena and bird. It was also in the opposite direction of the ocean.

He didn't want to mess with the marine animals for now. The kelp forests are already hard to deal with because of its regeneration and his greatest weapon, his poisonous blood, was less potent in water. Who knows what else could be in there? He might just die, especially if he expels too much of his blood.

That was the downside to [Poison Spray] since he didn't have proper poison pouches to produce toxins normally…though, he was sure he did have them before? Maybe he was thinking too much on it.

He twitched, his antennae swaying with his movement. He could see the silhouette of a creature behind the bushes. He gestured the scorpion to stop, waving his arm gently in front of it.

Out of the bushes ran out a wounded feline. The moment it spotted the duo, it hissed, bounding passed them. 'The hell was that about?' The centipede wondered, staring at the last place he had seen it before it disappeared behind more bushes.

Not a second later, the leaves shuttered and out came a wolf-like creature. It observed them with intelligent red eyes, a pair of wings on its back.

The centipede stared in wonder at the semi-majestic creature. He had yet to see a mammalian animal with such a unique mutation. Usually, it'd be extra legs or horns, maybe teeth. Hell, he'd seen ones that negatively impacted a creature such as stubby arms or removing an important limb.

He looked down at it due to his size, but the wolf didn't seem scared, rather, it was scrutinizing the both of them. After a moment, it huffed before turning away and back to the plains just a few meters beyond.

The two insects looked at each other in confusion. 'Seriously..what is going on?'

To be continued…