Intelligent Design: A Monster Evolution LitRPG

David limped out of the crevasse and into the now stinging daylight with his eyes scrunched almost all the way closed to avoid being blinded by the sun. The terrain was shredded everywhere he looked, enormous clawed footprints and even long gouges dug into the earth were scattered around the cave exit. He noted that the first Slitherwolf hadn’t even made it 15 feet out of the cave before it had been pounded into the ground, and David was pretty sure Claire had attempted to pounce on the smaller creature. He squinted around curiously at the sheer havoc she had unleashed with a bit of jealousy while his hind leg continued to throb and burn, the wound only now beginning to heal up as his Health slowly started to regenerate.

The large amount of Slitherwolves could have done some serious damage to her had they been coordinated and aggressive, but David had seen to that. Instead of a unified pack of predators, what had charged out from the tunnel out into the morning light had been deafened, wounded, and confused. Claire had taken full advantage of the fact and hit them like a landslide as they emerged from the cavern. More corpses lay nearby the first, only a short distance away, their necks broken at sharp angles below the stained and bloody imprint of Claire’s jaws. David couldn’t help but snarl a grin at that, having been on the receiving end of being shaken half to death only a few minutes prior and hugely satisfied to see the horrible things suffer the same fate. His ears swiveled at a grisly, wet tearing sound and he shuffled awkwardly in place to face it, favoring his injured leg.

Claire paused, half a Slitherwolf crushed under her foot for leverage and the other half swinging loosely in her mouth before she tossed her head back and swallowed the entire thing. She gulped a few more times, powerful neck muscles contracting as a lump moved down her throat before she snapped up the remaining half and swallowed it too, fur and all. David’s eyes widened with surprise before instantly closing again as the light seared into him and Claire made a disgusted sound.

“Don’t look at me like that! I was hungry and they started to smell really good!”, Claire barked loudly as she hung her head in shame, gore dripping from her maw to splatter macabrely against the ground.

“You know what? Fuck em. Eat them all if you want. Nasty creepy things.”, David chittered as he finally allowed himself to slump over onto his side and take the remaining weight off his wounded leg.

“I thought they got you! I heard you scream and then there was all that snarling, and then they ran out but you weren’t there!” Claire wailed loudly after a long moment and came bounding over to where he lay, “I was scared but I just got so mad I kinda…”

David nodded tiredly, “Oh they got me alright. I’m lucky Gloom is such a high rank to start with or they probably just would have– You know what, is it just me or are Quests hard?”

“Other than thinking you’re dead both times we did one I don't think they’re so bad.”

Of course you don't, you weigh like 1000 pounds and have armor for skin. Ugh – Let's hope the Pack system thing is good. That leveled me up for sure. Let's take a look.

“Just give me a minute, you can keep eating, I honestly don't mind.”

Claire didn't wait for him to insist, darting away to another dead Slitherwolf and tearing into it with hideous enthusiasm. David wanted to be creeped out by it, but he honestly couldn't remember seeing her eat since he pulled her out of the woods and couldn’t blame her. The lizard monkeys probably looked too human for her to want to eat them, and they’d simply dragged the corpses away downwind and left them in a pile. He decided to just let her do her thing and called up his readouts with a thought, lightly skimming the notifications that had piled up again to clear them out.

–Landmark Quest: Dangerous Prey completed!–

–8/8 Beasts Defeated!–

–SysAutoGen_LQReward…–

–Gained 120xp!–

–Pack System Unlocked–

–SysAutoGen_BonusLoot…–

–Received 5pt!–

–You have reached level 5–

–Rewarded 10pts!–

–Ev…–

Oh nice, I did level up. Status.

User: David Fisher

Species: Duskling

Rank: F

Health 28/45

Stam 145/145 (++)

Level: 5

Exp: 036/125

Special: Echolocation E

Traits: 4/4

Nocturnal: +8% Damage, Stam Regen, Exp Gain at night.

Next Upgrade: D

Echolocation E: Manipulate high-frequency sound waves to see with more than just your eyes. Multi-stage ability: Repeated uses against the same enemy builds Combat Expertise.|

Next Upgrade: D

Flight: Allows for flight and gliding. Moderate Stamina drain. (stam+)

Next Upgrade: C

Small: Your form is small, weighing no more than 65lbs. (stam+)

Next Upgrade: D

Abilities: 3/4

Screech F (2pts): You emit a loud screech, damaging enemies around you. Low Stam consumption.

Next Upgrade: E

Glare F (2pts): You fix your target with a baleful gaze, inflicting Fear. Moderate Stam consumption.

Next Upgrade: E

Gloom D: Your wingbeats spread Dusk powder with every flap. Enemies under the effect of Gloom are inflicted with visual hallucinations. Stacks up to 7 times.

Next Upgrade: C

Empty:

Mutagens: 1/5

Unnerving Mutagen B: Your appearance is unnerving. May cause enemies to reconsider aggressing you.

Empty:

Empty:

Empty:

Empty:

Alright, not bad I guess, lots of Points for whatever good that does. Pack System?

|Pack System: Allows for the formation of small Packs, up to 3 members in size. Members of the same Pack will gain access to Pack abilities. Additionally, members may unerringly determine the relative position of other Pack members at all times.|

Pack Abilities?

|Pack Abilities: Unique abilities for fighting with a group. Pack members must choose Offensive, Defensive, or Restorative ability, this choice can be changed every 72 hours.|

Oh, shit. That’s really good. I won't have to worry about getting lost anymore, and I could sure as shit use a Restorative ability. Not even locked into anything really, I wonder if–

“Uh…David?”

He minimized his Status and peered around in the sun for a bit before just closing his eyes and sending out a few waves of Echolocation. He located her quickly and oriented himself correctly before cracking open a single eye to find Claire standing perfectly still and staring off into space. Her eyes were locked on a single spot, so he knew she probably wasn’t reading anything on her Status screen and became a bit concerned.

“Yeah, what’s up? You good?”, David chittered back at her uncertainly, “Sorry I was reading about the Pack thing, it’s actually pretty cool. Gives you a free ability, basically.”

“Yeah, that’s cool, uhm, David? Did you hit level 5 as well?”

He frowned at the odd tone she was using and nodded, “Yeah…I’m, like, 30-something xp into the next level. Why?”

“I got one of those little alerts, but it’s in red. Do you just not read the alerts, or did you not get one?”

David mentally rolled his eyes and began to pick through the notification list more carefully this time, taking his time with it. It wasn’t long before he got to the bottom of the stack and found what she was talking about, suddenly understanding her apprehension. On the one hand, it was probably meant to be a good thing, and David recalled the mysterious System Communique from a few days ago. Their silence stretched for minutes, both of them grappling with more questions than answers.

Every choice, huh?

–Evolution Available–