Evolving Towards a Griffin?!
A campfire blazed in the heart of the Toxic Mist Forest.
Soon, the mouthwatering aroma of roasted meat filled the air.
Crunch!
Oliver took a bite of the roasted insect, and he was taken aback by its surprising flavor.
Though it resembled a bug, this magical creature was actually a type of plant. Once roasted, its taste was fresh and crisp, with a subtle sweetness that reminded him of apples.
It was nothing like the disgusting flavor he had imagined!
[Life Essence +3]
[Life Essence +3]
...
The system notifications kept popping up, lifting Oliver’s spirits. Once he absorbed this Life Essence, he would be able to max out the fusion rate with his tiger companion, Kitty.
Of course, Oliver didn’t eat the entire creature himself. He tossed part of it to Oinky, the wild boar, and Kitty, rewarding them for their contributions in battle.
Anyone who’s raised a dog knows: rewards and discipline are essential. Only with both can a pet grow closer to you and become more obedient.
After finishing the roasted vine root, Oliver found himself at the base of a nearby stone wall.
Beneath it lay piles of animal bones—few of them human, but not none.
At that moment, Oliver’s attention was drawn to a particularly unusual human skeleton.
The skeleton was wearing a robe with the insignia of a magical academy.
He examined the robe carefully and spotted the academy’s crest:
Eldermist Academy.
“Hmm, I feel like I’ve heard of this academy before… but I can’t quite place it.”
The academy crest was a red badge with silver edging, indicating that the wearer was at least a Red-tier mage.
To think, even a Red-tier mage had fallen here.
The Vineclaw Spriggan alone shouldn’t have been enough to take down a full-fledged mage.
This person must have been injured elsewhere, and the poisonous mist of the forest had restricted his abilities.
The poor soul had met his end here.
Oliver, by contrast, had dispatched the Vineclaw Spriggan with ease.
He carefully folded the academy robe and stored it away.
It showed no signs of decay, which might make it worth a fair amount.
He dusted off his hands with some water to clean away the grime.
[Life Essence +3]
[Life Essence Points: 280]
The Life Essence kept accumulating, and Oliver now had a staggering 280 points.
He didn’t hesitate to invest the points into boosting Kitty’s fusion level with the tiger form magic core.
Before long, the fusion level hit 100%!
[Striped Giant Tiger (Red), Fusion Level: 100%. Shape Enhancement: +100%]
[Striped Giant Tiger (Red): Fusion complete, you will gain significant sensory enhancement.]
[Special Skill: Bloodlust Tracking: Use the enemy’s blood to track them. Mark one target as prey. Every 30 seconds, your attacks will apply a fear-inducing effect, causing the target to be frightened.]
Wow, after reaching full fusion, the Bloodlust Tracking skill had gained a new effect.
Every 30 seconds, it could stun the target?
This was a powerful control skill!
And the sensory enhancement from the innate skill, though simple on the surface, was enormous in practice.
For instance, Oliver had failed to notice the hidden Vineclaw Spriggan earlier because his sensory abilities were still lacking.
Both his Unknown Hunting Dog core and his Tiger Form core had increased his perception.
But in the Toxic Mist Forest, those enhancements weren’t quite enough.
Now, however, with the significant boost to his sensory abilities from the tiger core, his situation should improve greatly.
In this perilous forest, he’d be much safer moving forward.
Fully maxed fusion levels truly came with substantial benefits!
“Next, it’s time for Kitty to evolve into a magical creature.”
With this thought in mind, Oliver looked down at the large tiger.
Having consumed part of the vine root, Kitty now only needed 60 Life Essence points to evolve.
With 140 points left, it was more than enough!
“Come here, Kitty!”
Oliver called the giant tiger to lie down at his feet.
Given its enormous size, even lying down, it was still taller than Oliver. He had to stand on the back of the wild boar to reach its forehead.
Kitty, sensing what Oliver was about to do, kicked its legs in excitement, stirring up a cloud of dust and sending the nearby birds into a frenzy.
With a wave of his hand, Oliver focused his magical energy. The Life Essence began to surge from his palm into the tiger’s body, filling it with warmth.
“Roar!”
Kitty let out a joyful roar as the Life Essence poured into it, causing its fur to tremble.
At that moment, mist began to billow from its mouth and nose, similar to what happened when Oinky evolved.
The giant tiger’s body also began to shrink—its massive form shrinking visibly at an astonishing rate!
If this continued, it would soon be about half its original size, closer to the size of a normal tiger.
That might not be so bad, though.
Kitty’s enormous size had made it difficult to stealthily move through the forest, which wasn’t ideal for hunting.
After shrinking, its muscle definition became smoother, suggesting that its strength had increased dramatically.
What was even more surprising, however, was that Kitty suddenly began writhing in discomfort on the ground.
Oliver was startled at first but quickly realized that it was due to an intense itching sensation on its back.
Bumps were forming on its back, gradually morphing into small wings.
Though the wings were still small, like those of a fledgling bird, they looked out of proportion compared to the tiger’s massive body.
Flying with those wings seemed pretty unrealistic.
The process, though long in description, had actually taken over an hour.
The giant tiger, exhausted from rolling around, finally collapsed by the campfire, panting heavily.
[Evolution Complete!]
[Your pet tiger has evolved into a Flying Tiger. For more detailed information, check your panel.]
It’s done already?
Oliver was a bit stunned at the system’s notification. The wings were barely fully formed, and they looked more like the wings of a baby bird than anything else.
Curious, he quickly checked his new panel.
This was his third magical creature!
[Available Form: Winged Tiger Form]
[Captured Creature: Winged Tiger (Orange), Fusion Level: 100%]
[Evaluation: A rare magical creature in the forest, the Flying Tiger seems to be evolving toward a griffin-like form, with wind-based attributes.]
Evolving towards a griffin-like form!?
Griffins—those legendary creatures…
It sounded odd for a tiger to evolve into a griffin, but then again, lions and tigers were both felines, and they could even crossbreed into ligers.
Griffins and lions should share some bloodlines, right?
Thinking about it that way, it didn’t seem so strange that Kitty could evolve in this direction.
This creature had a lot of potential.
With this thought, Oliver continued to explore the remaining skill information.