The first to speak was Garlin, the village head.
"You all know the details of today's incident," he began.
"I won't speak for long. What are your thoughts?"
He looked at two men, an old man named Taint and the blacksmith, Blem. Taint, whose children were closest to the incident, spoke first.
"There's not much information. The boy wasn't killed by a creature we know. The marks on his head and neck show he was killed by an axe."
Blem, the blacksmith, added,
"I can confirm that the murderer's weapon was one of the short axes used in our village.The size of the wound and the damage it caused are on the same level as our axes."
Garlin listened, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Normally, a young man's death wouldn't cause us much harm," he said.
"But the person who did this murder clearly wanted to blame Taint's children. This detail makes the case suspicious."
Blem and Taint nodded in agreement, their faces showing their deep thoughts on the matter.
Meanwhile, Martin sat on his bed, evaluating his new transformation.
"The creature doesn't have much power, but its body allows for quick and agile movement," he concluded.
"It's built for sudden attacks, not direct battles." He had learned this from using it in the woods. The creature's soft body meant its defense was on par with a human's, making it perfect for assassination. Martin was certain of this.
With about two or three hours until dark, he planned his next move.
He would shapeshift into the Claw Demon Minion, secretly enter a peasant's house, and kill the inhabitants to earn more points.
The Paradigna System had told him two ways the creature could evolve.
The first was the classic method: hunting in his creature form.
The more he hunted, the stronger he and the creature would become, though he didn't know the exact requirements.
The second method was simpler: for 1,000 Paradigna Points, he could add 0.1 points to any of his creature's stats.
For example, he could use 1,000 points to upgrade Strength from 0.1 to 0.2. The cost was high, but Martin could earn 1,000 points by killing just ten normal humans, and there were plenty of defenseless people around.
After three hours, the sun had fully set.
The only light came from the village's widely spaced poles, which provided just enough light for navigation, not for clear sight.
Martin transformed into the creature, took a deep breath, and began to stalk through the village.
His target was the family of the boy he had killed. He had used his earlier research to pinpoint their home.
His primary goal was to provoke the villagers against their leader.
The village head had dismissed the boy's murder, claiming the two young shapeshifters were too valuable to punish. By killing the boy's family, Martin would make everyone believe the village head was behind it, further inciting anger and suspicion.
Within 15 minutes, he reached the family's house. A yellow light flickered inside, a sign they were still awake.
He crept toward a window, careful not to make a sound or be seen. Being discovered would mean leaving the village.
He approached the window and peered inside. The man and woman sat by the fire, simply staring into the flames.
This was not what Martin had expected.
As an experienced killer, he knew his targets' usual routines. Their strange behavior doing nothing but watching the fire made him suspicious.
He quickly and calmly buried himself in the dirt just long enough to hide his presence.
He wanted to see if anyone else was around.
He didn't have to wait long. A muscular man holding a bludgeon and a black wolf appeared.
Martin recognized the wolf as the shapeshifting creature of the child he had seen earlier. He also recognized the muscular man as Blem, the blacksmith.
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