Dimensional Feast

[Level: 2]

[Experience: 85%]

[Status: Hungry]

Hunger. It was different now. More intense. More... focused. Ethan wasn't just hunting to survive anymore. Each prey was an opportunity for evolution, each devoured creature a step toward something greater.

A vibration in the ground caught his attention. Three creatures were moving in formation about twenty meters away. Shifting into his burrower form, he silently glided beneath the earth, his sharpened senses analyzing their composition.

Dimensional beetles, he realized. Their carapaces glowed with a familiar purple energy, and their legs left traces of residual energy in the soil. A good appetizer.

The beetles suddenly stopped, their antennae vibrating in alert. Too late. Ethan burst from the ground directly beneath the first one, his body partially liquefying to envelop it. His digestive enzymes, far more efficient since his last evolution, immediately began dissolving the carapace.

The other two beetles reacted instantly, their bodies transforming into living weapons. Blades of crystallized energy erupted from their carapaces.

Perfect. Exactly what I need.

Quickly absorbing his first prey, Ethan felt new genetic information integrate into his system. Without waiting, he switched to climbing form, dodging the second beetle's attack by launching himself toward a nearby tree.

"You have something I want," he mentally whispered, his luminescent patterns pulsing to the rhythm of his hunger.

The beetles charged in perfect synchronization. But Ethan was no longer the weak creature he once was. In a fluid motion, he dropped between them, his body briefly splitting into two predatory masses that simultaneously engulfed them.

[Experience: 87%]

[New Ability: Energy Crystallization]

This is just the beginning, thought Ethan, feeling his new powers integrate. In the distance, he detected other potential prey.

A group of luminescent worms emerged from a rotting tree trunk. Their serpentine bodies emitted hypnotic energy pulses, probably to attract smaller prey. Level 2 each, but their numbers made them interesting.

This time, Ethan took a different approach. Using his new crystallization ability, he created a network of energy crystals around the worms. When they tried to flee, the crystals responded to his will, trapping the creatures in a cage of pure energy.

"The hunt is becoming almost too easy," he mused while methodically absorbing each worm. Each absorption brought new data, new possibilities. He could now generate weak bio-electrical pulses and control his body's luminescence with increased precision.

[Experience: 90%]

Movement in the upper branches caught his attention. A colony of spider-like creatures was weaving webs of pure energy between the trees. Their translucent bodies glowed softly, and their movements suggested a collective intelligence.

Interesting. Let's see how they react to this...

Ethan projected a complex light pattern, mimicking their communication signals. The creatures froze, confused. In seconds, he was among them. His climbing form, now enhanced by previous absorptions, allowed him to move on their own energy webs.

The massacre was quick and efficient. The creatures didn't even have time to understand what was hitting them. Their bodies were absorbed one by one, their energy-weaving abilities perfectly integrating into his growing arsenal.

[Experience: 93%]

As he finished absorbing the last spider, a bestial roar shook the canopy. A massive creature, resembling a cross between a lizard and a praying mantis, emerged from a dimensional veil. Level 4, at least.

Finally something interesting.

The predator charged, its cutting limbs slicing through the air with deadly precision. But to Ethan, its movements seemed almost slow. Combining his burrower form for power and his climbing form for agility, he danced around the creature's attacks.

Each time the monster's blades missed him, Ethan counterattacked, injecting digestive enzymes through its reinforced skin. The creature roared in pain and frustration, unable to touch its smaller but infinitely more adaptable opponent.

"You're strong," Ethan communicated through energy pulses, "but you're rigid. Unable to change. That's why you'll lose."

The fight ended in minutes. The creature, weakened by Ethan's successive attacks, stumbled. In an instant, he was on it, his body transforming into a mass of digestive tentacles that completely enveloped his prey.

[Experience: 96%]

Absorbing such a powerful creature triggered a wave of changes. Energy crystal spikes emerged along his body, his metamorphosis capabilities became even more fluid, and his understanding of dimensional energies deepened considerably.

But it still wasn't enough. He was so close to his next evolution that he could feel it vibrating in every cell of his body.

A piercing cry tore through the air. Above him, a flying creature passed in a low swoop, its serpentine body blazing with intense energy. A level 4 aerial predator, different from anything he had hunted so far.

Exactly what I need.

Without hesitation, Ethan leaped toward the nearest tree, his energy crystals creating anchor points as he climbed at dizzying speed. The creature turned around, its multifaceted eyes fixed on him.

"Come," he silently challenged. "Show me what you've got."

The aerial battle that followed was a deadly dance of precision and power. The creature was fast and lethal, capable of slicing the air itself with its energy wings. But Ethan had become a master of adaptation, changing form in mid-flight, using trees and his crystals as platforms, always one step ahead.

Closer... even closer...

Finally, as the predator dove for a desperate frontal attack, Ethan jumped to meet it. His body transformed in mid-air, combining all his forms into a single perfect attack. The collision was spectacular, an explosion of pure dimensional energy that illuminated the entire forest.

[Experience: 99%]

[Evolution imminent]

Landing smoothly on the ground, Ethan felt something different. His body pulsed with contained energy, like a cocoon about to hatch. The patterns on his skin swirled frantically, forming configurations he had never seen before.

The forest itself seemed to hold its breath. The trees ceased their perpetual dance, dimensional energy flows concentrated around him as if drawn by a cosmic magnet.

This isn't just an evolution, realized Ethan as his body began to glow with blinding purple light. This is transcendence.

Dimensional energy swirled around him like a purple storm. Every absorption, every fight, every transformation had prepared him for this moment. He was ready.

The light became so intense it seemed to pierce through dimensions themselves. His body began to transform in a way fundamentally different from previous evolutions. This time, he wasn't simply becoming stronger.

He was becoming something entirely new.

[Critical Evolution initiated...]