Progress?

The egg sac was constantly dripping and no one was really collecting the drops before Kaden, so shouldn't the cave be full of the liquid? Shouldn't the entire floor be soaked in this strange, nourishing substance?

Yet, aside from what he had absorbed, there were no traces of the shimmering drops anywhere.

Kaden's eyes narrowed as unease crawled up his spine.

Where did the other drops go?

His gaze swept across the cavern. The corpses were still there, still grotesque and rotting, but something about them seemed... different. Their decomposition had advanced unnaturally fast, the flesh looking even more shriveled and drained than before.

A slow realization settled in. The egg sac wasn't just producing the liquid. It was reclaiming it. Along with the essence of the corpses, it was absorbing its own liquid back. The snake was probably feeding the egg sac all of these corpses.

But now everything had changed. The snake was no longer there and the liquid dripping was constantly being taken away by him. He had taken its nourishment. He had interrupted its feeding process. It seemed like this should make the egg sac somewhat weaker?

If the egg sac had a consciousness, it had to know that?

Kaden looked up again to observe the egg sac and it did feel a little bit smaller. Was his eyes playing tricks on him? Did it look smaller because he just had that thought?

He frowned a little but the next second another drop swelled and he immediately reached forward to grab it. With every single drop, he could feel his cells bursting with vitality and his body greedily sucking everything in.

But was it actually doing something? He did not have any big expectations as the savior only talked about his affinity changing. How long did he have to absorb the liquid to have an effect like that? Would his affinity have changed at all? 

He opened his status screen to take a look at his progress so far.

Name: Kaden MacAllister

Class: Dreadwood Druid

Rank: F

Level: 21

Title: Hidden Class Awakener, Boss Killer, Ruthless Killer, Reckless Survivor

Health: 1434

Mana: 1678

Physical Strength: 53

Agility: 52

Dexterity: 54

Perception: 55

Mental Strength: 63

Soul Strength: 54

Free Attributes: 20

Skills: [Sanguine Roots], [Thorn Whip], [Mana Bolt], [Nature's Grasp], [Healing Touch], [One with Nature]

***

Kaden did not have any big expectations. After all, it has only been an hour or so. He casually absorbed yet another drop and eyed the list when suddenly his entire being froze. "What the hell?" He mumbled in complete disbelief. What were these numbers he was looking at?

His health which was supposed to be somewhere around 1000 only at level 25 or 30 was already at almost 1500. Not to mention his mana had overshot 1500 already.

If that wasn't crazy enough already, his physical strength, agility, dexterity, perception, mental strength, soul strength, every single stat had gained a big boost. At least by ten or twenty additional stat points. 

Heck, his 20 free stat points from the last four levels hadn't even been added yet. What the heck was this crazy stat jump? He focussed inward and his mana was surging. It was not just about the quantity.

Kaden couldn't exactly pinpoint but he could feel that the mana inside him was now thicker, somewhat richer. A single hour of stealing this thing's embryonic fluid had changed so much within him.

He was preparing to leave soon but now he wanted to stay for some more time. How could he leave something like this and where would he even go? This right here was the best treasure he could ever find in his entire lifetime!

Thanking the egg mentally, he reached for the next drop and absorbed that too. Soon another half an hour passed by. This time something different happened.

Kaden barely had time to react before a sharp, searing pain erupted beneath his skin. His entire body shuddered violently as his flesh cracked, dry patches splitting apart, peeling like brittle parchment.

Boils bubbled up across his arms, his chest, his legs—his skin warping grotesquely, shifting as if it were alive.

A horrible burning itch crawled under his flesh, deep within his bones. His breath hitched. What the hell is happening?!

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I knew it! This was all too good to be true!" Kaden wanted to scream loudly in agony. He gritted his teeth, fists clenching as waves of unfamiliar heat rolled through his veins. Every inch of his body was burning in unimaginable pain.

Soon, the pain ended but his skin was oozing out. Kaden's eyes widened in horror. Was he going to become like that damned hideous snake? A part of him felt disgusted but a part of him did not care. It was a trade he was fully willing to make for more power.