I sat on the ground as I quietly munched on the last remaining bit of meat from those humans. It turns out I could get more essence from their meat as well, but it seems most of the essence was concentrated in the heart. Still, you should never waste food.
As I ate, I pondered my apparent numbness to the idea of killing and eating human flesh. I remember I used to think it was a bad thing, but now it just seems like nothing. I tried thinking of their families and the inevitable grieving that would take place when their disappearance was noted. However, somehow I just couldn't make myself care…
Yeah, they were dead, but they tasted good, and I was hungry. Somehow that was a good enough justification in my mind. I suspect it's something to do with my new body; I would assume my new brain works differently from a human brain. That might explain why I seem to have lost all my revulsion for killing and bloodshed.
Well, that was a problem for later. For now, how the hell do I get out of this place? I pondered this next question just as I swallowed the last bit of human flesh. The moment I swallowed, I heard the voice in my head again.
Human Genome Assimilation Complete
Achieved [Human Genome] Level: 1 / 10
[Advanced Cognition] improved
[Colour Perception] improved
[Fine Motor Skills] improved
[Auditory Communication] improved
Hmm, [Advanced Cognition]? Does that mean I can now feel bad about what I just did? I try to make myself feel bad again… and... nope, still don't care. Maybe this means I can do math better or something? As for the rest, well, the world does seem slightly more colourful than before, and as I move the fingers on my hand, I find I can control them a little better.
"Hello," I say out loud, and I hear a garbled, crude hello sound out. Well, it's better than the screeching noise I was making previously. At least now I can attempt to communicate with another person if they decide they want to kill me.
Then I hear the sound of stone grinding, and I see the stone door in front of me start to open. Well, that's one problem solved—let's go see what's out there. I raised myself back up and moved out the door. I am much faster now compared to when I was human; I'm not even trying to move fast, and it looks like I'm moving about as fast as a bicycle.
When I exit the cave, I find myself in a calm forest. I can hear the trees rustling and birds singing. I notice I can smell something peculiar in front of me; I try to pinpoint it, and before my eyes, a glowing trail appears. It leads into the forest, and as I look around, I see the trail leads into the cave behind me as well. I'm guessing this is the smell of those four humans.
Should I follow it? I mean, the past four were far weaker than me, but then again, they said they were iron-ranked adventurers. I'm not sure how strong "iron rank" is, but I guess I could look around and see what I find.
So with that thought in mind, I followed the trail and soon found myself at the edge of the forest. I had just torn through the trees, my body easily able to navigate around them; the terrain proved to be no hindrance to me.
Then I felt a chill in my bones, and I instinctively knew danger was near. I clambered up a tree and faced where I sensed the danger coming from. I saw a group of six humans moving along the road. They were wearing fine armour, and I could see they were much better equipped than the four I just killed. I knew in my gut I couldn't beat them if we fought, so I just watched as they moved past.
"We're finally at gold rank. I wonder what's all the fuss about gold rank quests being significantly harder than silver rank quests," I heard one of them say.
"Well, this is our first gold rank quest; I guess we'll find out," another one of the humans replied.
"The pay is so much higher. I can't wait to upgrade my equipment," another one said.
I eavesdropped on their conversation as they walked past me and down the road, none the wiser to my presence. So it seems I can't fight gold-ranked adventurers yet… I think it's best I avoid human civilization for now.
Once they were out of sight, I clambered down the tree and began heading deeper into the forest. I didn't have to travel long before I ran into another living creature. I turned to see a strange lizard suddenly freeze when I flew past it.
It froze, and its form seemed to disappear before my eyes, but soon a glowing red silhouette appeared. It looks like this one can go invisible… I could use some invisibility…
In a flash, I was on top of it, and I brought my claws right onto its head. I could tell this one wasn't a match for me, and sure enough, I splattered its head into the ground with the force of my swing. Once again, my senses were assaulted by the sweet aroma of the corpse, so I greedily dug into my latest kill. I went for the heart first, and like before, it was delicious.
New Essence acquired
Type: Stalker Chameleon
Insufficient essence for assimilation
As I expected, there wasn't enough essence from one of these. If there's one here, I can bet there are more in this forest. I sniffed at the blood left on the ground, and I caught its scent. I looked around and saw a trail. I'm not sure if I'll find any more by following this trail, but it's better than hurtling blindly through this forest.