Chương 2: Second Hunt

The Apparatus, otherwise known as the 'Voice of God. A structure which has allowed humanity to strive as far as we have come today. Permitting us the ability to perfectly analyze each other's numerical value with flawless accuracy.

The Apparatus has existed since the beginning of time. All of life on Atinen follow its rules. However, there are certain exceptions that have been discovered throughout history.

For instance, the prehistoric creatures that have far exceeded the Apparatus's ability based on historians' studies. Or the few Blessed who have been fortunate enough to talk with the Voice of God earning overwhelming strength and abilities. They usually refer to the Voice of God as 'The System'.

Excerpt from 'History of the Voice of God'. Chapter 8. By Orion Magic Academy Professor Almin Hellmore

***

The lizard opened his eyes. He had awoken from his rest. Fully recuperated he took a peek at his HP.

HP: 18

[You cannot restore more HP until you have eaten]

Going through everything on his menu, the lizard realized that he never used his one and only Biomass point. He was curious about what it could be used for. Using his mind he moved through all the unnecessary things until he finally heard the robotic voice again.

[Biomass can be spent to improve or modify aspects of your physical, monstrous form]

[Body improvements available to purchase:

Scales +1: harden your scales to improve resistance to mundane damage

Legs +1: improves agility

Teeth +1: sharpen teeth and improves ability to pierce

Claws +1: sharpens claws and improves claw attacks damage

Eyes +1: improves eyesight

Jacobson's organ +1: increase sensitivity to mana molecules and air currents when smelling]

The lizard looked through everything. There were multiple choices he could go with here, each with their own benefit. However as of right now what the lizard wanted more than anything was proper hunting efficiency.

He looked at all the options once more before he stopped on Jacobson's organ. This was the one, it allowed better sensitivity to the mana molecules in the air, which would allow him to identify predators and prey alike more accurately. A firm with his choice, he selected…

Select, Jacobson's organ +1

[Would you like to purchase Jacobson's organ +1?]

He confirmed.

Soon he began feeling a chill that ran through his face, specifically around the edge of his maw where his mouth and nose were located. It felt cool and refreshing, like how a breeze would brush by against your body or ice cold water being poured on top of your nose.

After about 50 seconds the cool sensation ended. Excited about his new upgrade the lizard quickly began licking the air to see if there was a difference.

The lizard lifted its body from out of the bushes where he had been resting and began licking the air. It was indeed better than before, although it wasn't perfectly accurate it still allowed for a higher chance of accuracy.

Finally done with his tests he was on the search once more for prey. As he licked the air his taste buds collected the mana molecules and transferred them into a strong sense of smell which allow the lizard to hunt.

He sensed various amounts of other monsters, however, he tried to prioritize looking for monsters that were equal in size or smaller than himself.

He used his sense of smell to compare the sizes of monsters. It was built into his body, that he would be able to tell a monster's size based on how strong the scent was of a monster. The bigger the monster the stronger the scent.

Of course, his sense of smell was not perfect so he could possibly be deceived, yet he still felt comfortable with trusting his new sense of smell. Sensing multiple things the lizard's tail stiffened and his arm muscles flexed.

Dash!

The lizard's legs burst with strength and he took off in the direction of a smell. As he ran his eyes continuously darted back and forth and his tongue repeatedly licked the air, staying guarded so as to not get ambushed by any hiding monster.

[Dash has reached level 2]

Sensing that the targets were close by he slowed down. He realized that these couple of targets were hoarded together. Maybe they were fighting? Or maybe it was a group?

Additionally, he senses picked up on something else in this direction. Perhaps a corpse? He moved closer to get a better view of the targets. He maneuvered into a spot where he could clearly see but also where he could easily escape if need be.

In front of the lizard were three small dark green creatures that stood on two legs. Their backs were hunched over and they wore tattered cloth, each one carrying a large club in their hands.

Underneath them was the corpse of a small monster, its back filled with armored plates, and its claws sharp.

The green hunched creatures would hit the already dead creature and jump with joy, sometimes blurting out weird noises. The lizard was confused. He had already checked multiple times and the prey on the ground was dead.

Why were these green creatures hitting it? Why would they play with free prey? Why not eat it instead?

He slowly hissed in confusion, however, he did not care. He would eat it if the green creatures did not, he would simply wait for them to leave. He had thought about rushing and attacking the green creatures but it was more than one of them, which would make the fight against them more difficult. He decided that for this free prey he would wait.

Just like he planned, soon the green creatures began to leave, finding hitting the corpse boring now. The lizard's heart began beating faster with excitement. As soon as they were no longer visible the lizard charged toward the corpse. He licked the corpse twice and then immediately bit into it.

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Armatae Ericius, you are rewarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Armatae Ericius unlocked]

The lizard never once stopped eating to listen to what the robotic voice said. He simply noted to himself what he heard and planned to check it out later after he had his full.

"Blagh!!!"

Hearing the loud scream of anger, the lizard tilted his head to get a peak, however, he never stopped eating. Apparently one of the green creatures had come back. Why did it come back? Did it want to eat the food now? No! It was too late, this was now his prey and he wouldn't give it up!

Seeing that the lizard continued to eat its food the green creature stomped its feet in rage.

***

Monster Profile:

[Armatae Ericius: Armored Hedgehog. High defense, with sharp claws for attacking as well as digging. Watch out for sharp teeth. Only found in the first Stratum of the Great Aeternus Labyrinth]