I followed the trail for a period of time, and I started to sense it was getting thicker and thicker. I eventually arrived at the mouth of a cave; from what I could tell, this cave was practically bathed in the scent. I sensed no danger, so I decided to enter to have a look. I got a meter into the cave and immediately met another one attempting to leave. It froze and went invisible—well, it didn't work for the other one, and it's definitely not going to work for this one.
This time, I just lunged at it and tore its head off with my teeth. The Stalker Chameleon didn't even have time to cry out as I removed its head from its body. Again, I gorged myself on the body, not wasting a single bit of flesh. It seemed like this hunger in my belly was almost insatiable. It didn't bother me; it was more like a mild hunger that one would feel when you want a snack.
As I finished up, I heard some strange screeching coming from inside the cave. The screeching was then echoed by several others. I think I may have found a nest… lucky me…
These lizards were strange—they had these scythe-like appendages growing out of their backs. I assumed these were for combat, but I think the lizards could tell I was much stronger than they were, so they opted to hide.
Well, their weakness is a good thing; I really wanted that invisibility ability. I'm not sure how I know that eating them will give me their abilities, but I just do. It's something like common sense to me—I guess it's what most people would call instinct? Well, I'll find out if my instincts are right once I clear this place out.
As I continued down the tunnel, I ran into a pair of them. This time they hissed and lunged at me. I guess they realised that I could see them. Well, to me, they might as well be moving in slow motion. I slashed one and bit down hard on the other—in that one moment, they were both dead.
After I ate these two, I heard the voice in my head again.
Stalker Chameleon Assimilation Complete
Achieved [Stalker Genome] Level: 1 / 10
[Invisibility] acquired
[Arm Blades] acquired
[Thermal Vision] improved
With that, I felt something in my body change. I looked down at my hands, and I felt like I could change them somehow. I ran the thought through my mind, and I saw my hand transform into a scythe-like blade. My top two arms now looked like the kind of hands a praying mantis would have. This was surprisingly easy; it seems my body instinctively knew what to do. So bearing that in mind, what about invisibility?
Before my eyes, I saw my hands disappear, and my vision switched so I could see a glowing silhouette of my arms. Well, this silhouette would make it easier for me; I can imagine how confusing it would be to try and use my limbs when I couldn't see them.
Alright then, let's try these new toys out…
I hurtled down the tunnel and realised the Stalkers couldn't see me. I was quite surprised at that fact. I did get the improved [Thermal Vision], so I assumed they would be able to see me. Maybe my body didn't give off any heat?
Well, regardless, this made my job easier. I was able to cut down a Stalker with a single swing from one of the arm blades. I decided to clear out the cave before eating any of them. I didn't want any to escape. With me moving at top speed, I had the cave cleared out within fifteen minutes, which left me with a haul of ten more corpses to eat and about two dozen of their eggs.
By the end of my feast, I was at [Stalker Genome] Level: 3, and my arm blades were much stronger than before. I slashed at the rock wall and found I could easily carve right through it. Well, this is certainly going to be useful.
Still, I wasn't full. I could still feel that slight hunger in my belly. I guess trying to remove my hunger would be a pointless task. As I moved to leave, I realised a problem…
I'm too big to enter the passageway that leads out of the cave…
If only I were a bit smaller… As that thought ran through my mind, I felt my body change, and as I looked down, I realised my body had just shrunk. Well, this is awfully convenient… I wonder how small I can go? I tried to shrink my body to the size I was when I first hatched, but I found I couldn't—I could only get down to the size of a man. Previously, after eating all the Stalkers, my body was almost four meters tall; now I'm around two meters tall. So I guess there's a limit to how much I can shrink. I think I'll stay as small as possible for now—best to keep a low profile…
With that, I activated my invisibility and exited the cave. As soon as I left, I heard the faint sound of screaming. It sounded like a girl's voice… it was coming from the road...
Should I check it out? I mean, if I run into some powerful humans, I might just get cut down. I never got a good look at myself in a mirror, but judging from the reactions of the first humans I met, I'm not exactly a cute-looking creature…
Still, I don't think humans are that strong overall; those humans in the tomb looked quite fit, all things considered. Then I heard the scream again—the girl was clearly terrified. I wonder if she's getting attacked by something. Well, I could just go have a look with my invisibility, and if things don't look good, I could always just flee. I mean, I'm really fast; I'm pretty sure your average human can't catch me.
Alright fine, let's do this…