The host's body was broken. The leg wound festered, blood seeping steadily into the dirt. Pain radiated in dull, constant waves, and his breathing had become shallow, labored. The direwolf corpse still lay across his chest, heavy and cooling. He was no longer useful.
I considered the host dispassionately. The hobgoblin had served his purpose—carried me, fed me, brought me here. But he was finished. No saving this one. The leg was severed tendon and cracked bone; infection would take him soon if the blood loss didn't. Better to end it cleanly. Take what I could.
I turned inward. No eyes to see with, but the void behind my thoughts lit up anyway. The status panel unfolded.
—--
[Status]
Species: Parasitic Tentacle Worm
Level: 6
Biomass: 3.2% (Moderate – Accumulated from host)
Strength: 10 ↑ +9
Agility: 12 ↑ +9
Vitality: 11 ↑ +9
Intelligence: 15 ↑ +6
Wisdom: 14 ↑ +6
Dexterity: 13 ↑ +8
Mana Pool: 44 / 44
(15 × 2 + 14 = 44)
—--
Satisfactory. Growth had come. The host had paid for it.
Another line appeared beneath the panel, burning quietly.
—--
[Assimilation Target Detected]
Proceed with integration? Y/N
—--
I paused. The corpse was fresh, traits valuable. But the host was dying. Better to claim the body first. Consolidate. I dismissed the prompt for now. It could wait.
Decision made.
I uncoiled slightly at the nape of the neck, tentacles spreading along the spinal column toward the base of the skull. The host stiffened—his mind registering something wrong, a sudden pressure at the back of his head.
He grunted, tried to reach back with one hand. Too late.
I pushed forward, thin filaments piercing through bone and membrane, into the brain. No dramatic tearing, no fountains of gore—just a slow, deliberate intrusion. The host's body jerked once, violently. A choked scream tore from his throat—raw, animal, cut off as I reached the brainstem and severed the signals. His limbs twitched, then went slack. The scream died into a wet gurgle, then silence.
I felt the last pulse of his life fade through the link. No regret. No satisfaction. Just fact.
He had assaulted the women. Used them. Discarded them when convenient. This was not justice—it was efficiency. But the thought lingered: their screams had echoed in his ears once. Now his ended in mine.
I began to consume.
Tentacles spread through the skull, then down the spine, through muscle and organ. Biomass flowed in—steady, unhurried. Flesh dissolved under enzymatic slime, nutrients absorbed directly. The process was quiet, mechanical. No spectacle. Just the slow collapse of a body into absorbable enzymes.
The host's corpse deflated gradually—skin sagging, limbs thinning—as I reduced him to usable essence.
Then the system chimed.
—--
[Host Consumed]
Biomass +17.8%
Level Up! Level 7 Reached.
Level Up! Level 8 Reached.
—--
After consuming the hobgoblin, I felt the change immediately. The biomass surged, filling out my form. No longer a few centimeters. Roughly thirty now—longer, thicker, tentacles more substantial, muscle bands stronger. Still small enough to hide, but no longer fragile.
I turned my attention to the direwolf corpse. No eyes to see with, but the mana in the air hummed around it—faint pulses of life-force lingering in the cooling flesh. Vibrations through the earth told me the shape: heavy, sprawled, blood-soaked fur matted to the ground. Close enough to touch.
The system notifications flickered again in my mind, insistent.
—--
[Assimilation Target Detected]
Proceed? Y/N
—--
The alpha and the remaining wolves could return any moment. Full assimilation would take too long—devouring the entire body. Risky. Better to take what I could quickly.
Using the excess biomass from the hobgoblin, I split myself into two halves. One part remained the main core—thirty centimeters of dark-red, tentacled mass, heavier now with the added weight and size. The other half was smaller, a duplicate extension, lighter and more agile, sharing my thoughts through the hivemind. It slithered ahead, testing the path.
I decided to devour the insides only. Leave the husk intact. A shell to fool anything that passed by.
The main half slithered across the dirt, tentacles extending, piercing the direwolf's abdomen. Flesh parted easily now—stronger than before. I burrowed inward, dissolving organs, muscle, blood vessels. The process was quiet, efficient. No spectacle. Just steady absorption. The body deflated slowly from the inside, skin sagging over empty space.
Meanwhile, the smaller half ascended a nearby tree—tentacles wrapping around bark, pulling itself up branch by branch. It positioned itself on a sturdy limb directly above the husk, hidden in the foliage, waiting. Vibrations from the ground would signal approach; the hivemind linked us perfectly.
I finished in minutes. The husk remained: fur, bones, outer shape—intact enough to look like a fresh kill from a distance. The insides were mine now.
[Biomass +10.1%]
The alpha and the three others burst into the clearing.
They stopped short at the sight of the husk. One of the smaller wolves stepped forward, nose low, whining—a low mournful sound. The alpha's hackles rose instantly. Fur stood on end along its spine. It growled deep, eyes scanning everywhere, sensing danger it couldn't place.
I was already moving.
From the branch above—using the new mass and strength—I dropped. Tentacles extended, fleshy bulk falling straight onto the alpha's head, right between the ears where fur parted slightly.
It reacted instantly. The massive head whipped sideways, throwing me off with a violent shake. I hit the ground, rolled, and slithered into the nearest bushes before it could snap.
The alpha snarled, shaking its head, searching the shadows. But I was gone—hidden in the undergrowth, small enough, fast enough.
Then it heard the howls—distant, urgent. The two other wolves facing the hobgoblin chief. The alpha's ears pricked. It turned, muscles bunching, and charged toward the sound.
A sigh rippled through me—not audible, just thought.
They were running to the chief.
And I was free.