Bestial Shift

Kaden stared at the description, his mind racing. This wasn't something he had access to before—not in his last life, not even in any rumors he had heard about players with similar paths. It had just... appeared.

Was it because of the Abyssal Core Fragment? Had the dungeon run altered his system options somehow? Or was it because he finished that quest?

His fingers hovered over the selection. The ability to morph into another creature could be very useful in many situations. It was a unique utility skill at the least and maybe even better if he could use some of his other skills in his beast form.

Kaden decided to take a chance and try this skill out. Maybe there would be a better option when he finished more quests but the strength right now also mattered. He couldn't simply keep saving everything for a perfect outcome. Without hesitation, he selected Bestial Shift.

[Ding! You have acquired the skill: Bestial Shift.]

A sudden wave of heat rushed through his body, his muscles tensing, his vision momentarily blurring. 

Something deep within him stirred like a caged beast just waking up. His senses sharpened, his skin prickled, and for a split second, he could feel something coiled in his core, waiting to be unleashed.

However, the next second everything went back to normal. Kaden was confused and he opened the skill description to take a look again. Everything remained the same, except this time there was a new addition.

Beast forms available: 

Bilge Rat (Common)

??? Locked (Legendary)

Kaden froze as his heartbeat quickened. The bilge rat form was expected. It was the only beast he had come in contact with in such great numbers. 

He even had a feeling that this was why he had been offered this skill in the first place. Perhaps coming into contact with or slaying huge numbers of specific beasts was the prerequisite to unlocking this skill or that specific beast form.

But what was the second one? Legendary tier?

There could be only one explanation for something like this. The egg sac essence! He had freaking absorbed the essence of a legendary creature? This meant he had come into contact with something far more powerful than he initially thought.

Something legendary.

His jaw tightened. What the hell was lurking in that egg sac? It couldn't be a dragon or something like that right? He couldn't help but tremble at the very thought. No. Something like that couldn't possibly appear out of nowhere in their backwaters world that was only good for becoming a slave world.

Wait, so what happened to this legendary beast in his last life? Maybe it was born normally and it just upped and disappeared to another better world with more ambient energy? Maybe the reason it was in this random trash world was to complete its evolution process when it was most vulnerable?

And now… part of it was inside him.

Kaden swallowed hard, his pulse hammering in his ears. Shit.

He was excited about unlocking a legendary beast form, sure. It was the kind of power people could only dream of. But the consequences?

Yeah. He was completely, utterly screwed.

Because whatever creature had been inside that egg sac—whatever legendary being had been growing in that dungeon—it wasn't dead. He hadn't killed it. He had just stolen a part of it.

And there was no way something that powerful wouldn't come looking for what was rightfully its own.

His hands clenched into fists. He had no idea what kind of creature it was. No clue if it was sentient enough to remember him, or if it would just hunt him down by instinct. But whatever it was—it wasn't going to let him off easy.

And if he wasn't strong enough when it finally found him…

He was dead.

Kaden exhaled sharply, forcing his mind to settle. Panicking wasn't going to help. First, he needed more information. That meant he needed to stabilize his bloodline. This would give him many answers and would probably also unlock this bestial form for him to use. 

A locked legendary form was of no use to him in any way. It only put a freaking target on his back!

Also, maybe he needed to get the hell out of this continent. With the arrival of mana and Earth's evolution, their world was about to get a lot bigger at the end of the tutorial period. Actually, it was already slowly evolving but the full effect would activate on the last day.

It was also at the end of the ten-day grace period that teleportation options would be available. A chance for him to jump to the next continent. Putting a whole ocean distance between him and the beast should buy him some time to become stronger.

Kaden was planning on exploring the eastern mountains completely for resources in these last few days that were left in the tutorial but maybe he needed to go to the next phase already and be ready for the complete integration.

Kaden's mind was already racing as he started planning but then he suddenly stopped. Why was he thinking of running away? Why was he panicking? He was no longer the person he was before. He needed to get rid of the mentality of the weak who only thought of running away from trouble.

He was stronger now. He needed to face his enemies and his challenges.

Instead of thinking about how to run from something like that, maybe it was time for him to head back there and finish off that egg sac once and for all. It was a risk but maybe it would be equally rewarding?