The skeleton was level 1, so it wasn't a problem. One of the zombies was the same as the one they had faced before, level 2; it really wasn't a problem for his caterpillar, which swallowed it after he distracted it for a moment.
The other one also fell victim to the voracious appetite of this caterpillar, which craved to eat more and more.
He still needed half the experience to reach level 2, but Edward was already seeing the results.
The caterpillar returned from inside one of his rivals' corpses and landed on his sword with a strange, satisfied little face.
"You've grown a bit, huh?" He patted it with his finger. "I'll find you more food soon; I want to see when your wings come out."
Although it had grown only a few centimeters, for its size, this growth was significant. If it continued like this, it would soon see wings sprout, as its next evolution should be that of a Fire Butterfly.
For now, the only thing it had learned about its caterpillar was that it had one ability: to devour fire.
It wasn't described by the system, perhaps because it didn't recognize it as such, but based on what he had seen, that was what his caterpillar did.
And as he ventured deeper into the forest in search of his rival, he was able to understand several things about his caterpillar and its natural "ability."
First, its speed seemed astonishing, and for its size, it was. He had never heard of or seen a caterpillar capable of devouring anything, let alone at such speed. But it had one problem, and that was its lack of strength.
Although it can devour level 1 and 2 undead, it is because they are weakened. When they are not weakened by his sword, it has serious problems devouring them, to the point of losing to its rival.
The weakness of a caterpillar is clear, and that is why he must be there. In recent battles, it hid behind his sword and helped him with what little spiritual energy it had, waiting for him to find its food; then it would go out to feed.
Raising a beast was complicated, especially if its initial evolution was that of a caterpillar.
But it was fun.
Edward stared at it as it devoured a small zombie they had found neglected in the forest.
[Experience Points: 92/100.]
'Almost level 2,' he thought and looked to the other side of the tree.
About seven meters away, among the trees, a fire-breathing zombie walked clumsily and slowly.
That was his goal. It was level 2, like the first one he faced.
When the caterpillar returned to his hand, Edward gestured for it to watch.
"Since you're about to level up, I'll let you do it in style. I'll show you the perfect way to kill these guys without affecting their core; then, when you grow up, maybe you can hunt like me."
The caterpillar looked at the zombie, then turned to Edward.
KIII
In the last few hours, he had learned to listen to it. It was speaking to his subconscious through the spiritual connection they shared. It was actively seeking to communicate with him, which made him long for the moment when it grew up... maybe it would be able to talk.
'Or maybe I'll have to teach it how to do it?'
It didn't matter. He had heard that some beasts, after evolving, can speak naturally, even if they retain their form.
He knew it was excited, so he let it ride in its favorite spot of the last few hours: the hilt of the sword.
Perhaps it was because, from there, it could see everything happening firsthand.
He then went behind the tree, but did not show himself to the zombie. Instead, he walked stealthily behind the trees, moving among the dry and green leaves of the branches that hung down to the ground.
Although he was not an expert in stealth, he was sure he could do this job.
His pace quickened, avoiding dry sticks to avoid attracting attention and also dry leaves that made a lot of noise. He quickly got behind the zombie and then stopped trying to hide.
He jumped on his opponent and swung his sword with a perfect vertical movement.
SWING!
His sword met no resistance; he managed to break the zombie's neck, just below the core, separating the head from the body.
[Your Fire Caterpillar has gained 20 Experience Points.]
[Fire Caterpillar has leveled up.]
[Level 1 > 2.]
[Reach Level 10 to unlock its first skill and evolution.]
He smiled and looked proudly at his caterpillar, which, after receiving the experience from this guy's body and throwing a KIII at it, entered a state of ecstasy due to its level-up.
'Good. It has grown more.'
While waiting for his caterpillar to go through its ecstasy process, he grabbed the core and allowed the caterpillar to swallow the fire. It only ate fire, but if they left the core, it would devour it too. But the core is valuable; it can cost a few Yakins, so it's better to save it to recoup the profits.
At that moment, Edward frowned and looked at his hands.
"Hm?" He squeezed the sword in his fist.
The sound of something crunching reached his ears clearly, leaving him perplexed.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing, so he grabbed a dry stick and did exactly the same thing.
CRUNCH!
It shattered in his hand with astonishing ease. It wasn't that he hadn't been able to do that before—he always knew he had decent strength—but this much?
'What I felt... Was that an increase in my stats?' He thought, looking at his caterpillar...
'Leveling it up makes me strong too!'
He realized...
Technically, that's possible, since evolution seeks strength, both for the summoned beast and the summoner, but in a world where levels don't exist, and stats are difficult to see without special tools, it's too difficult to determine if your stats go up with a small change in your beast.
But he, who can raise the level of his beasts and will soon be able to see his stats, may be able to see the progress more closely...
Although he began to fantasize, he had not forgotten where he was.
His caterpillar soon finished its improvement phase and emitted the usual sound to get his attention.
"Haha, looks like you did well." He nodded and petted it a little. "Let's keep going then."
His step stopped abruptly when his body tensed at a powerful presence.
He immediately raised his sword and stepped back firmly, just in case. His caterpillar also rushed into combat position.
The atmosphere between them became tense. A minute passed...
KIII
He frowned and looked at his caterpillar.
It was trying to tell him something.
It was flying strangely around him, without hiding.
"Why are you moving?" He whispered.
That unusual movement gave him a bad feeling. And soon, he felt himself burning.
He shook his left arm when he felt it and wanted to attack to the left, thinking that his opponent had used fire magic, but...
He noticed something.
His skin, his flesh, was actually burning.
The cursed energy!
"Shit."
He was alarmed. He had walked too far, overconfident, and hadn't taken it into account.
He was so focused on raising his caterpillar's level that he almost forgot where he was.
Not only was his left arm burning, but also his right arm, legs, and torso.
It was an attack from within!
He didn't think twice and took out one of the pills he had bought and swallowed it immediately.
The pill's reaction was immediate, quickly blocking all incoming cursed energy, and it was effective in every way.
But there was a problem.
The cursed energy that was already inside his body was not expelled!
It continued to wreak havoc!