Theo stared up at the Giant Bat. It was asleep.
But gravity was a harsh master... he had enhanced strength and a new arsenal, but none of that mattered if he couldn’t actually close the distance.
Even so, he wasn’t going to just walk away and leave such a prize hanging over his head.
He raised his left hand, aiming his fingers at a stalactite located just a few feet away from the sleeping monster.
A shimmering line of Steel Thread shot from his fingertips, biting deep into the rock.
He wrapped the line around his forearm, took a breath, and pulled himself upward.
He launched through the air, zipping toward the cavern ceiling at a terrifying speed. But his sudden movement disturbed the stagnant air of the cave.
The Giant Bat’s wings twitched. Two yellow eyes snapped open in the darkness.
Theo gritted his teeth, letting go of the thread as he reached the apex of his jump.
He was suspended in mid-air, face-to-face with a monster the size of a small house.
The bat released its grip on the ceiling and swooped toward him.
For a second, Theo was having a genuinely hard time trying to get a proper angle.
He was falling, at the mercy of gravity, while the bat possessed aerial supremacy.
He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding a claw that shredded the fabric of his uniform and left a bleeding scratch across his ribs.
Thus, he found himself falling backward, losing the brief advantage of his surprise attack.
The bat screeched again, diving for a lethal second pass.
But the monster had severely underestimated the weapon in his hands.
The Novice Soul-Reaping Scythe was awkward, yes, but its incredibly long shaft gave Theo a ridiculous reach advantage.
As the Giant Bat opened its jaws to bite down on him, Theo gripped the bottom of the scythe’s handle with both hands and swung it in a horizontal arc.
The blade caught the bat right at the joint of its right wing, tearing through leather and bone.
Without its right wing, the Giant Bat went into an uncontrolled tailspin, crashing onto the stone floor below.
Theo landed a second later. He dashed forward, raising the scythe high, and brought the dark blade down through the monster’s skull.
[Non-human entity defeated. ’Parasite’ class triggered.]
[Absorbing essence...]
[Congratulations! Host has acquired: ’Mimicry (Bat Wings)’.]
Theo fell back onto his hands and knees.
"Mimicry?" he muttered.
He focused his mind on the newly acquired skill. Almost instantly, a strange sensation erupted from his shoulder blades.
The fabric of his uniform tore open as two leathery wings forcefully pushed their way out of his back.
He gave them an experimental flap, and the force generated by the wings easily lifted his boots a few inches off the ground.
He could manifest them anytime he wanted, and just as easily retract them back into his skin.
[Class Experience Threshold Reached.]
[Host’s Class ’Parasite’ has leveled up to Lv. 2!]
[Unlocking Class-Specific Skill: ’Great Sage’.]
Theo paused, pulling his new wings back into his body. Great Sage? What kind of skill was that?
It sounded like a title for an old man reading scrolls in a high tower, not a combat ability for a monster hunter.
[Answer. ’Great Sage’ is an advanced, sentient analytical skill completely bound to the host’s consciousness.]
The voice that spoke was smooth, articulate, and sounded like a knowledgeable scholar speaking inside his brain.
Theo jumped slightly. "Who said that?"
[I did. I am the Great Sage skill.]
[My primary function is to provide detailed analytical data regarding the host’s environment, targets, and abilities.]
[Furthermore, as the Parasite class continues to level up and absorb redundant skills, I possess the authority to upgrade and merge those skills into superior variants.]
"..." A wide smile slowly broke across Theo’s face.
"So, you can merge things?" Theo asked, testing the waters. "If I absorb another snake with poison breath, what happens?"
[Answer. If the host absorbs multiple entities possessing the ’Poison Breath’ trait, I will merge the duplicate essences to upgrade the skill to ’Venomous Cloud’, and eventually ’Corrosive Domain’. I will also provide real-time details on enemy weaknesses and the chemical makeup of any herbs or minerals you encounter.]
"You are going to be incredibly useful, aren’t you?" Theo chuckled, spinning the scythe in his hands before storing it back into his dimensional space.
[I exist solely to ensure your optimal progression, Host.]
Though, admiring his new assistant and his hidden wings would have to wait.
Theo activated his Heat Source Detection again, his eyes scanning the tunnels ahead.
There were no more glowing red or orange signatures lurking in the crevices.
In his hunting spree, he had cleared out this section of the deep cave.
There wasn’t a single monster left for him to absorb in the immediate vicinity.
"Looks like this zone is empty," Theo sighed, feeling a slight twinge of disappointment. "We should probably head back up to the mining levels before that guard comes looking for his carts of crystals."
He turned around and began the long hike back up the winding stone tunnels.
However, as he approached the upper mining forks where the other slaves had been stationed, his enhanced ears picked up a sound that made his blood run cold.
It was the sound of human screaming.
A pack of shadowy beasts had breached the area.
They were Direwolves... monsters the size of small horses, covered in dark fur.
The slaves, armed with nothing but rusted pickaxes and their own terror, were scattering in every direction.
Several carts had been overturned, spilling spirit crystals across the dirt.
Theo’s eyes darted toward the cave entrance.
The gates were shut tight. The armored guards, including the greedy Varis who had sent Theo down here, were nowhere to be seen.
Just as the boy Snow had warned him yesterday, the guards were utter cowards.
The moment a monster pack showed up, they sealed the tunnels and left the slaves to be slaughtered in the dark.
"Help! Someone help us!"
Theo snapped his gaze toward the center of the cavern. "Hey, Great Sage. How many skills do you think we can harvest from a pack of giant wolves?"
[Answer. Given the pack’s size, we can harvest a minimum of five core skills, with a high probability of merging them to enhance your attributes.]