Then, out of nowhere, I heard a voice in my mind. It wasn't the system.
It wasn't what it said that filled me with fear, it was how suddenly it appeared.
"You stole my prey."
The voice slithered into my thoughts without warning, uninvited.
It wasn't sound. It was a presence.
It had invaded my mind.
Telepathy.
Then out of the hole in the ground, it floated out.
It was a fragment. It was the brain.
- System Warning -
- Powerful foe detected. -
- You have received 1 urgent quest. -
- Devour the brain fragment. -
- Reward: Flight Level: 1, 10 Magic Stat Points -
Flight? 10 Magic Stat Points? That's really good.. I need to devour this guy.
I took a stance, preparing for battle. This was the fragment that the system had warned me about- the strong one in the cave.
"Don't be alarmed. I'm here to request an allianc-"
I interrupted it. I charged at it, knowing it would try to betray me later on. If it was a brain, it must be cunning.
It flinched, and narrowly avoided my sharp claws. It shot 3 magic bullets at me.
I dodged each one of them, picking up a rock from the ground as I moved.
I threw the rock with all my strength. The brain easily dodged it, moving to the side.
It used telepathy to relay another message. "What are you doing? This is a great opportunity to-" I ran towards it again, as I wasn't interested in what it had to say.
"Fine. I'll stop going easy on you."
Suddenly, a spike rose from the ground beneath me. I dodged it, but that wasn't the real attack. The massive magic cannonball hit me from behind. I exhaled sharply as it collided with my back. Blood and teeth went flying out of my mouth, and my core was launched out of my body towards the enemy brain. "You fool, you would have survived if you had just accepted the alliance."
The brain used its magic to make a giant leg. I watched as its stomp was traveling down, about to impact my core. Before it crushed my core to bits, I jumped up. The brain was shocked.
"How did you get up..? You should be paralyzed with pain!"
Right, I have the pain nullification ability. I would call this a lifesaver.. But I'll die anyways when the foot reaches my core. I thought.
Right before the collision, a human arrow landed in the back of the brain. The magic leg disappeared. The brain fell to the ground. As powerful as it was, it had low durability and was destroyed by an arrow. The human noticed my core that was on the ground, thinking it was some kind of precious material. It looked over at my torn-up body. It shot another arrow at it and my body was destroyed. My vision outlook changed to my core. This was all that was left of me, but if I regenerated my body now, the human would surely kill me. The human picked me up. I tried to say something. "Hey, human." But no words came out. I had no mouth to speak. I tried again, desperate for a response as we walked further and further from the brain. "Human, can you hear me?"
No response, once again. I tried yelling with all my might, and to my surprise the human looked as if he had heard me. With a shocked expression on his face, he asked me, "Did.. Did this orb just speak?"
- New skill unlocked: Telepathy -
"Yes! Human, I am a sentient relic. My purpose is to absorb monsters. When I do I gain more power." I made up.
"I will share with you my knowledge, if you allow me to absorb that brain monster," I said.
The human paused for a moment, then spoke.
"Alright," he said.
We went back to the brain fragment. He set me down next to it. "Look away, it isn't very pleasant to see," I said. While I did feel guilty for deceiving him, it was the best way to devour the brain, and to survive.
The human did as I told him, and I used my regeneration skill to regenerate my mouth. I consumed the brain as quickly as I could, hoping the human wouldn't sneak a peek. I chewed vigorously, then swallowed.
- Quest Completed -
- Devour the brain fragment. -
- Reward: Flight Level: 1, 10 Magic Stat Points -
- Secret Quest Updated -
- Devour all fragments of ????????? -
- Reward: ??? -
- Status: 2 / 38 -
- System -
- You have devoured one of your kin and received 2 Agility, 2 Magic, 2 Vitality, 2 Strength, And 10 Unallocated points. -
"You may look," I said.
The human looked back at me.
"I have so many questions," spoke the human.
I told him, "I will answer your questions, but first I have 2 questions for you."
The human put his head closer, anticipating my questions.
"First, what is your name?" I asked.
"My name is Elir," he said.
"One more question…"
Elir nodded his head.
"Would you like to be my friend?" I asked him.
"Uhh, sure?" he said.
Before I could say anything more, the system appeared.
- Quest Completed -
- Make a Human Friend
- Reward: Arch-Human Evolution -
I began evolving, slowly generating a human-like form from my core.
Despite having the flesh reaper class, my claws disappeared.
Elir vomited at the sight.
- System: Congratulations on your evolution! -
- You have received 1 quest and 3 quest choices-
- Devour 10 Humans -
- Reward: Title Upgrade - Kin Eater + -
- Note that Kin Eater + will give you the same effects as Kin Eater when eating a creature of the same subrace. -
- Quest Choice 1: Undergo the trial of sharpness -
- Reward: Z Rank Sword, Class Upgrade: Flesh Reaper + -
- Note that Flesh Reaper + enhances your base class with increased blade affinity, faster limb regrowth, and grants you higher mobility. -
- Quest Choice 2: Undergo the trial of magic -
- Reward: Z Rank Staff, Class Change: Mage + -
- Note that Mage + grants you access to structured magic casting, arcane manipulation, and limited elemental synthesis.
- Quest Choice 3: Undergo the trial of sight -
- Reward: Z Rank Relic: Eye of God, Class Change: Watcher + -
- Note that the Watcher + is an evolved reconnaissance class that manipulates mystical eyes to observe, uncover, and predict. Watcher + grants enhanced sensory abilities, including autonomous eye familiars, a third eye that sees the past and intent, and brief glimpses into the future. A class built not for brute strength—but for control through knowledge. The Eye of God passively reveals hidden truths, sees through illusions, and stores visions of possible futures.
"What are Z rank relics?" I asked the system.
- Z rank is a rank in the ranking system used for relics, as well as ranking the power of an individual. The rankings go as follows from weakest to strongest. D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, Z, ZZ, and ZZZ.
Okay so Z must be pretty decent then.. Hmm.
I then realized that now that I have the telepathy skill, there was no need for me to speak out loud to the system.
I choose to undergo the trial of sight.
- Are you sure? You will be teleported to the trial after confirming. -