Lizarius, his invisibility shimmering around him, slowly approached the immense tiger corpse. He circled it once, a thoughtful glint in his yellow eyes.
This one was strong, he mused, the thought a silent ripple in his mind. If it possessed a Gene, it would have surpassed the snake.
He stood beside the fallen beast, his yellow eyes glow gaze fixed, calculating. I wonder how many points it will grant me.
His jaws unhinged, impossibly wide, and he bit down. His teeth, like razors, sank deep, tearing off a massive chunk of flesh. Lizarius began to devour his prize.
Half an hour later, a soft, ethereal chime echoed in his mind:
[ System ] Gained 2000 evolution points."
Having finished his meal, Lizarius stood beside the grisly remains, the tiger's Demonic Core clutched gently in his teeth. 2000 points, the same as the snake, he considered.
They must be of a similar stage. He swallowed the Core, expecting a jolt of power, but felt nothing overtly different, only a subtle warmth spreading through him.
No change, I suppose I still can't get stronger until I create my own Core.
Seamlessly, Lizarius faded from view, his scales rippling as he turned fully invisible.
He spread his wings, a silent beat against the air, and launched himself skyward. I need to keep hunting.
Days blurred into a relentless cycle of kill and consume.
He decimated a pack of Flaming Wolves, a formidable group of Rank 7 and 8 beasts, earning him a substantial 10,300 evolution points.
Their leader, a Demonic Beast with its own Core, added another 1000 points to his rapidly accumulating total.
Lizarius continued his relentless hunt. He dispatched an Iron Claw Eagle, a Rank 9 beast, gaining 800 evolution points and, more importantly, its Gene.
His most challenging battle came against an Earth Bear, another beast possessing a Core.
The fight was intense, a brutal clash of strength and cunning, but Lizarius, ever the strategist, emerged victorious.
He devoured it, gaining another 2000 evolution points and its valuable Gene.
After a week of relentless slaughter and consumption, Lizarius had devoured four beast Cores and assimilated two powerful new Genes: the Ice Wolf Gene, granting him chilling abilities, and the Crimson Fang Spider Gene, which blessed him with a potent venomous bite and the ability to weave poisonous webs with his tail.
Another system notification pinged
:[ System ]: Gained 800 evolution points."
Lizarius stood beside the remains of his latest kill, a faint, almost satisfied smirk on his reptilian face as he licked his maw.
"System," he thought, the question a silent command, "how many points do I have now?"
[ System ] clear cold metallic voice responded: "Host has 117,300 evolution points."