I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Lian looked around, this matter did not bother him that much because there could be any reason for it, this forest was so strange that practically nothing else could surprise him anymore.

And before he could finish his thought, Predator’s Instincts reacted.

A short warning moved along his spine.

One also slowed down almost at the same time, the giant ant moved a few more steps forward and then stopped completely, its antennae rising.

”Do you feel it?” Seris put her hand on the handle of her sword, she also felt a sense of danger.

Lian looked to the right, a very quiet sound came from among the black leaves.

Rustle.

Then a similar sound came from the left.

”How many?” Aren quickly made himself stable on One’s back.

Lian did not answer, Predator’s Instincts was warning him from several directions this time.

In the darkness, two red eyes appeared.

Then four.

Eight.

Twelve.

Four-legged monsters came out from between the roots one after another.

They had long bodies covered with thick black skin, red lines moved along their legs and spines, and their jaws were longer than normal.

Sharp teeth could be seen inside their mouths.

System panels appeared one after another.

[Emberhide Stalker — Lv.17]

[Emberhide Stalker — Lv.18]

[Emberhide Stalker — Lv.17]

[Emberhide Stalker — Lv.19]

At least eighteen creatures.

One of the Stalkers jumped onto a high root, a rough sound came from its throat, and then the entire pack attacked at the same time.

One did not even wait for an order, it lowered its head and slammed directly into the first creature.

The sound of armor and bones hitting each other rang out.

The Stalker was lifted off the ground.

One closed its jaws around its body and slammed the creature into the tree trunk like a piece of cloth.

The sound of several bones breaking could be heard.

Seris jumped down from One’s back, her sword was not even fully out of its sheath when the first Stalker reached her.

The blade came out in one horizontal movement, a thin line appeared on the monster’s front leg.

The Stalker lost its balance.

And the young Pendragon moved behind it with a short turn and cut its neck with the second strike.

Two more monsters approached her from both sides at the same time.

Lian jumped off One, Thunder Calamity formed around his fists, blue lightning lit up the darkness of the forest for a moment.

He landed in the middle of the pack, the first Stalker jumped toward him.

Lian moved his right fist forward, the direct hit against the monster’s jaw made a heavy sound, and lightning passed through the bones of its head.

Its body spun through the air and fell several meters away on the ground.

[You Have Killed Emberhide Stalker Lv.17.]

[Bloodlust Activated, 100% EXP Acquired.]

The second one jumped toward Lian’s shoulder from behind, Predator’s Instincts warned him before it reached him.

He did not even turn completely, his body made a half-turn and his elbow covered with Thunder Calamity hit the side of the monster’s head directly.

The Stalker’s skull broke with a dull sound, its body fell to the ground.

[You Have Killed Emberhide Stalker Lv.18.]

[Bloodlust Activated, 100% EXP Acquired.]

A new panel immediately appeared below the EXP notification.

[Level 20 Evolution Threshold Reached.]

[Further Level Advancement Locked Until Evolution.]

[Excess EXP Will Be Stored.]

Not only was the Evolution Quest unreasonable, but the next Levels were also locked behind it.

Even if he killed a thousand Monsters, Level 21 would not be available until he evolved, although he already knew about this.

Another Stalker attacked him.

Lian released his anger on it, Thunder Calamity gathered on his left fist and the punch hit the monster’s chest.

A wave of electricity came out from the back of its body and the creature was thrown several meters through the roots.

One slammed two more Stalkers under its body with its front legs.

Seris moved through three monsters.

The first blade cut off one of their legs, the second strike split the jaw of another, and the third did not even have time to react, the only thing it saw was blue lightning.

Thunder Step.

Lian appeared in front of it, struck its head with his palm, lightning covered the monster’s entire body and knocked it to the ground.

The battle did not even last five minutes, when the last Stalker tried to escape, One reached it from behind.

The giant ant’s jaws closed around the middle of the monster’s body, the sound of breaking bones spread through the forest.

One released the creature, the forest became quiet again and System notifications appeared one after another.

[You Have Killed Emberhide Stalker Lv.18.]

[EXP Stored.]

[You Have Killed Emberhide Stalker Lv.17.]

[EXP Stored.]

[You Have Killed Emberhide Stalker Lv.19.]

[EXP Stored.]

Lian looked at the word Stored, the EXP was not disappearing, this was at least good news, after Evolution, the stored amount would probably be applied.

But until then, his Level progress was completely stopped.

Besides that, he was still gaining Stats Points, apart from the 100 he had received as the reward for the Emergency Quest, and after this battle, he needed nearly 600 more Stats Points to reach his limit.

”Why do you look so upset?” Seris looked at him and asked.

”I can’t increase my Level until I evolve my Class.”

”Then you should complete your Quest sooner.” Seris laughed.

”If you knew what it asked for, you wouldn’t say that.” Lian looked at her for a few seconds.

The young Pendragon became more curious, she knew this boy, even in the worst situations, he never made things this difficult and always did his best to reach his goal.

But the way he was talking now made it sound like he was facing an impossible goal, but this time she did not ask.

After a short inspection of the corpses and Lian collecting all of them as usual, they got back on One.

”These creatures were not here before.” Aren gave the Stalker bodies a quick look as they passed them.

”Maybe they migrated, probably the drying of the Forgotten Tree is causing changes in the entire ecosystem of the forests and even causing problems for the Monsters.” Lian thought for a moment and answered.

This possibility was much more reasonable and Aren did not disagree, he also thought such an answer was possible.

The journey continued and several more hours passed without any incident, but the farther east they went, the more the forest changed.

Some trees were completely dry, while the trees beside them had extremely swollen and twisted roots.

In several places, the water in the pools had become a very dark brown color.

Every time One got close to the water, it changed its path by itself, its instincts did not trust it.

Lian did not force it either, finally, One suddenly stopped again.

This time Predator’s Instincts sent a very different warning.

It was not like the presence of the Stalkers, the warning was heavier.

An unpleasant feeling formed deep inside Lian’s body, something like getting close to a creature whose nature was wrong.

One placed its legs firmly on the ground, a quiet sound came from its jaws.

Aren smelled the environment at the same moment, his expression changed.

”That smell...”

Lian also sensed it, it was sweet, too sweet, like a fruit that had been rotting in the heat for a long time, but beneath it was the smell of blood and rotten meat.

The sound of a tree breaking came from far away, then a huge root moved away from the path and a large creature came out of the darkness.

It had four legs, but that was its only similarity to normal animals, its body was as large as a small house.

Its thick gray skin had split in several places and black roots were coming out from the wounds.

Some of the roots were still moving.

A black liquid dripped from the creature’s mouth and every drop that fell on the ground turned the small plants around it black within a few seconds.

One of its eyes was completely gone, while the other shone with a yellow and sick-looking light.

[Corrupted Hollowroot Behemoth]

[Lv.23]

[Rank: Mutated]

Aren immediately moved back, real fear could be seen on his face.

”That blackness...”

Lian looked at the sticky liquid on the monster’s body.

”The Black Silence?”

”No... at least not completely, these are creatures that should live around the Forgotten Tree, so why is one of them here?” Aren answered quickly, then paused for a moment.

This was the reason this creature was Mutated, something had caused its mutation and it seemed that a small amount of The Black Silence here had caused it.

”You have encountered them before?”

”A few times, yes, I have been wandering in this forest for a long time, but as I said, I always saw them in the areas near the tree, the drying and death of the tree has also affected them.”

”Is it possible that the tree’s condition has become so bad that even these creatures have been driven away?” Lian frowned.