Arpious of the Planes
Chapter 7 Servant?

[Day 5]

I woke up today with my entire body aching, and I assumed it was due to the hard ground that I slept on.

I should really try to make this place more comfortable.

After exiting my barren and uncomfortable home, I walked towards the river since I was thirsty. As I reached down to drink some water, I hear a splash in the distance that makes me reflexively jump back. As I look up, I see a school of fish, but they weren't normal. Each one was at least 2 feet long and had orange and white scales. When the sun reflected on its scales, it made a tiny rainbow right above it. The fish had whiskers, but they definitely did not look like whiskers. In fact, they were 10-inch long snakes. Each fish only had 2 snakes on its face, which were alive and squirming around.

[Constricter Koi]

[A species of fish that only resides in the [Great River of Twilight]. The snakes on their faces choke or squeeze their prey until it dies.]

Oh, these things look pretty tasty... but I don't know how I'm supposed to catch them. If I try and swim, I think my feathers would soak up all the water causing me to sink. I mean, I could try and catch one if it's close enough to me, but I don't want to risk falling in.

Once the fish disappear from my sight, I go back to drinking water. I finished quenching my thirst and decide to go hunting since I'm starving. Upgrading my base could be for later. However, before I entered deeper into the forest, I wanted to try something out. I got the [Mind Control] skill and [Body Modification: Fangs] I want to test out.

First, I used the [Mind Control] skill and heard many voices directly above me. I looked up, but all I could see were leaves, so I turned it off and decided to move to the next skill.

I then used [Body Modification: Fangs] and started to feel a searing pain in my mouth. I started to roll on the ground, scratching the inside of my mouth. After about 2 minutes, the pain finally went away, and I went to check for the pain source. Touching the inside of my mouth, I felt 2 razor-sharp teeth-replacing my canines. I then tried to turn off the skill because it felt extremely uncomfortable, but nothing happened.

『Status』

[Name: Arpious]

[Race: Cursed Raptor (Lightning)]

[Status: None]

[Level: 5/20]

[HP: 25/25 MP: 10/10 SP: 10/10]

[Strength: 8]

[Defense: 6]

[Magic: 5]

[Speed: 8]

[Luck: 1]

[Charisma: 3]

[Skills: [******] [Shock] [Boost] [Scratch (3/10)] [Mind Control] [Shadow Control (2/5)] [Beserk] [Swipe] [Posion Resistance (2/5)] [Poison Secretion]]

[Body Modification: [Fangs]]

[Titles: [Blessed by ********* ****** of *************] [Savage Assassin]]

Woah, I got a new tab other than skills and titles; I got a body modification tab. Does this mean I can't undo these effects? I'm going to have to be more careful in the future with these types of skills.

After checking my status, I head deeper into the forest, trying out a new hunting technique. Since the [Mind Control] skills radius is only 3 meters, I'm basically hugging trees to hear any voices near it. This technique helped me replace many more boas than I found yesterday in only about 4 hours.

[3100 XP gained]

[You leveled up (x3]

I was snacking on a snake when I saw a wolf in front of a cave. The cave wasn't big; it was about 3 quarters of the trees around me in height. The wolf wasn't moving at all, just walking back and forth in front of the cave... almost like it was guarding something.

I stealthily moved around, trying to glimpse what was inside, but it was too dark to see anything. After failing, I decided to take out the wolf since it was only one and check what was inside the cave. I manipulated the shadow underneath the wolf and took out the back of its feet, making it fall to the ground. Before it could even howl, I cleanly sliced off its head with [Scratch].

[600 XP gained]

I entered the cave stealthily, hiding in the dark. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see three more wolves surrounding a big black thing. As I got closer, I could finally see what they were crowding around... a crawler. It was the same type that I assassinated before. I could hear its voice, and it sounded like it was crying.

"Save... me... anybody..."

It looks like the crawler is getting harassed or maybe tortured by the wolves. I don't really mind this, so I decide to kill all of them for bonus XP. First, I start using [Shadow Control] to cut the wolves' heels, making them kneel to the ground and start howling. I pay no attention to the Crawler because it wasn't moving at all, just shaking. Next, I activate [Boost] because I wanted the extra speed and level it up. Finally, I wanted to try out a new combination of [Swipe] and [Scratch] for the finishing blow. I'm assuming [Swipe] does the same thing as [Scratch], so I never tried it out and just let it sit there, but now I'm going to combine them.

As I dash in, the wolves try and bite me, but I'm too quick for them to react and strike one of the wolves heads, causing it to explode into hundreds of pieces. This sight scared the other wolves so much that they just sat there quivering on the ground, waiting for their demise. I quickly give them their waited demise by absolutely obliterating each of their heads into a million pieces.

[1800 XP gained]

[You leveled up (x2)]

[Boost has leveled up]

[Swipe has leveled up (x2)]

Alright, now it's time to finish this up with you.

"Wait... please... I'll... do... anything... don't... kill... me... please..."

Do they usually talk this slow, or is it just because my skill level is so low. I don't care if you'll do anything; just become my XP... wait, this sounds tempting, actually. I have it get food for me without, which means I can stay home and eat. I could also use it to help me with hunting when there are too many foes or injured. How could we communicate, though? Wait, I've never actually tried talking with this new evolution...

"So you'll do anything for me... HOLY SHIT, I CAN TALK!"

"Please... help... me..." the Crawler pleaded.

"Alright, I'll help you, but I'll work you to the bone no matter what you say,"

I heard a slight voice but then just the heavy breathing of the injured Crawler. It looks like it fell asleep, but it was still injured, so I have to treat it soon.

I walk out of the cave, searching for something to wrap around the bite and scratch marks all over the Crawler. Finally, I replace some thick and stretchy vines, which is just what I needed for the job.

[Rock Boned Vine]

[Requires basic knowledge of plants]

As soon as I step foot into the cave, rain starts to fall slowly. I make my way to the Crawler and start wrapping its wounds with the vines that I found. Soon the bleeding starts to stop, and the Crawler's breathing starts to steady.

"Looks like the rain is starting to pour harder now."