A Choice

Mike sat next to the corpse as he properly calculated his gains.

'I was level 11 when I arrived on Naraka, and I had 15 stat points from previous levels. I then leveled up three times to level 14. One was from killing the Verdant Boa, another was from escaping the giant flower, and the third was from asserting my dominance over the Alpha, that's 24 stat points in total.' He counted on his fingers.

'I put all of those stat points into perception during the fight, but I have 12 now after leveling up four times during it. The question now is... where did those levels come from?' He mused.

He gained levels not from repetitive killings but from significant achievements. Either by doing difficult things he'd never done before or breaking his limits to achieve something.

As such, he could infer where two of the levels came from.

'Landing a White Spark seems like a pretty significant achievement to me. And I'm pretty sure what I did with my perception back there counts as breaking my limits. So that's two levels explained. But... what about the other two?' He thought about it for a while but eventually shook his head.

'System?' He called.

[The other two actions the Host performed that netted him level-ups are regaining his composure during the fight as well as actually killing the creature.] The ever-capable construct answered promptly, but the responses still threw Mike off.

'Wait, what? I thought you said that just killing things over and over again isn't enough to level me up. Granted, I leveled up from the Verdant Boa, but that's because the conditions were right as I proved myself to be the superior hunter. And how does getting my head in the game count as a significant action?' He asked, adequately perplexed.

[For your first question. Yes, simply killing things isn't enough to warrant a level. However, killing things that are genuinely dangerous and can push you significantly can still warrant level-ups. You said it yourself. Your level from the Verdant Boa was due to the conditions lining up properly. Your fight just now forced you to level up two of your skills, land a White Spark, and use your Partial Transformation along with your Aura for the first time. All of that was enough to gain a level.] It explained concisely, and Mike nodded slowly.

'That makes sense, actually. Fighting with it forced me to evolve mid-battle. So it only makes sense that I got a level from it,' He smiled slightly. "I should fight stuff like that more often." He mumbled.

'So what about the other level? How did I level up from that?' He asked.

[The Host gained a level from sharpening his mindset simply due to how unstable his mind was in that moment. Not only were the effects of the approaching full moon acting on you, but your ferocity was also unstable, and your mental state was rapidly deteriorating. However, you managed to get a grip and force your thoughts to flow rationally, allowing you to find a way to win.] Mike pouted slightly at this.

It sounded like a lot, but he truly didn't feel like it was enough to warrant a level.

'Oh well, can't be mad about a good thing, i guess.' He finally shrugged, then he frowned.

'Speaking of. System, what's with this full moon business?' He asked slowly.

If he hadn't been distracted by the way his body started acting out and the notification, he would have been able to react to the creature's opening attack properly, and he wouldn't have been so frustrated.

There was no point in dwelling on it, but he was pretty sure whatever it was, it was very important.

[You should be well aware of the dual nature of Lupines. Wolf and Human. Depending on the Lupine, the Wolf or Human side may be dominant. However, an ironclad rule is that wolves, in general, are closely tied to the moon. Moreover, the purer the wolf bloodline, the stronger this connection, and the wolf part of Lupines always have extremely pure bloodlines, making this connection very solid. It's also why your gauntlets give you stats.

When the full moon comes out, this connection is harnessed to its fullest, and the wolf experiences a period of power. However, it also brings out their most primal parts, and for that time, no matter which side the Lupine entertains the most, the wolf side will become the dominant side. As such, full moons are usually prepared for in earnest among Lupines, and this will be the first one you experience.] When it finished, Mike frowned.

'That's... a lot. And there's no way to stop it?' He asked.

[No. You can learn to resist it after a few times. But as things stand, this will be the first full moon you've ever experienced, so unless you are extracted from the planet early, it will happen.] Hearing this, Mike fell silent, and then he sighed.

He pulled up his stats and looked at his ferocity.

Ferocity: 18% (slightly unstable)

Normally, he could calm himself down pretty quickly after a fight, but now, the rate at which his forecity dropped had reduced, and he knew that raising it would be a lot easier, which wasn't exactly a good thing.

Even now, as the tension from the fight faded, he could feel that the smallest thing would set him off more than usual.

'Should I just tap out?' He mused.

If he wasn't careful, the arrival of the full moon could reveal his true nature to his fellow students, and that isn't something he wanted. Moreover, if he had to guess, chances are that he wouldn't be the most... friendly person if his ferocity went over 50%, so there was a chance he could hurt someone close to him when that happened.

Logically, tapping out now was the smart choice. Not only would it get him out of a potentially risky situation, but it would also keep his secret under wraps.

However...

'That would mean forfeiting my chance to earn more credits, which I need. But more than that...' He frowned. 'That means I won't be able to deal with Namor.'

His desire for points aside, he really wanted to handle that specific matter during this excursion. As much as he looked down on him, he was still dangerous. Just a few words from him managed to turn their entire year against them, and if he failed to deal with him now, who knew when he would get another chance?

Moreover, in contrast, Mike had no background, and it wouldn't cost much for Namor to ask some powerful expert in his family to deal with him and leave no traces. Namor had all the advantages, so Mike couldn't be lackadaisical about it.

There was one more reason.

'I really, really want to win.' He clenched his fist tightly. He joined Eventide to prove himself superior to the rich and pampered young masters of humanity.

If he tapped out now, what about the next time? And the time after that?

With that, he made a choice.

'I'll make preparations, but I'm not tapping out. I can't just fold when the situation becomes complicated. Or else, how will I deal with similar situations in the future?' He huffed and stood, then he stared at the corpse before him and gulped.

Of all the stuff he'd killed and eaten so far, this one was particularly appealing, probably due to its strength.

'Let me handle this first, then I'm going to find Kris.' He thought as he bent down.

A series of crunching noises filled the forest shortly after.

***

'This is tiring.' Kris panted slightly as he held sat on a ledge on the side of a cliff. His back was against it, and his brow was slick with sweat.

He'd been running non-stop for hours.

Whenever he thought he escaped the tide for at least a while, he'd discovered that he'd been caught, and he would have to run again.

He could supplement his physical strength with energy. However, constantly being on guard for so long was starting to take its toll, and he was trying not to doze off right now.

The rats were getting smarter, too.

Now, they knew not to simply charge him the moment they spotted him. Sometimes, they would act like they hadn't noticed him and wait for him to rest, then they would surround his position and pounce.

... Like right now.

'Not yet.' Kris thought as he felt the creatures approaching. Either creeping through the ground or eating their way through the mountain.

He wasn't like Mike, whose senses had reached absurd levels. Instead, he had something else that allowed him to sense his opponents.

Electrical signals.

He could sense the electric signals going through nerves to sense living beings, which is how he was able to observe Mike that time during their first class, and every other time.

And right now, he was using it to pinpoint the position of the Rat King, as he decided to call it.

He knew of its general direction, but it seemed to constantly bury itself in a swarm of its brethren, constantly producing more and more.

From what Kris noticed, it could produce rats based on how much they ate. Moreover, the better the stuff they ate, the better the rats that would be produced.

That's probably why they were so fixated on him.

He'd seen the thing a few times. It honestly didn't look that much different from the rest of the rats. If he hadn't seen it split into more rats like it was performing mitosis endlessly.

It was almost discouraging... but Kris had a plan.

And it would be time to enact it soon.

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