It had been a few days since our encounter with King Wieka. We took a few days off since then.

  Today, we are repairing cracks in the cabin walls with a mixture of sap and charcoal.

  "Hikaru, we might want to test the skills we acquired in Welcia. They might be useful. I say we do this sooner rather than ter."- Hana tapped me on the shoulder while I was filling some holes in the walls with some sap mix.

  "I agree with you. I have the Predator skill, but I don't know what it does. I got some information about your skills from Sia, but nothing substantial." I put down the tray where I had the sap mix. I sat on the bed and looked around the cabin. It looked a lot cleaner than the st time we were here.

  !The Legendary Skill Predator allows you to absorb skills from monsters or humans you devour with this skill. As a secondary function, it will enable you to harvest things such as pelt and fangs from monsters that you absorb. Also, absorbing monsters will result in a minor restoration of magic power!

  "Can you recommend what monster I should target first with this skill? I want to get as many as I can. Also, is there a way I can share my skills with Hana? I pn to use this method to get a bit more strength aside from evolutions."- I don't know how efficient this would be, but I understood that skills are helpful, and people often rely on them for their day-to-day life in this world. However, most humans have conventional skills that only help them in their jobs; combat skills are uncommon among humans, and the only ones with such skills are adventurers and soldiers in the army.

  !Skill sharing is possible with one of my subskills. Try to hunt down magical wolves; they might possess a common or rare skill!

  That is convenient. We can save time with this.

  "Hana, Let's go and find some magical wolves. I can absorb the skills of other beings with my own. I can also share skills with you, so it wouldn't be a problem if I get more skills than you have."- I smiled at her. It's foreign for me to smile or do anything to express happiness, I rarely feel this way, but at this moment, I couldn't control the grin on my face that goes from ear to ear. Why did I smile? I don't know why; these emotions seem foreign to me.

  "Sia, does the predator skill have any evolutions or other forms that I should be aware of?"- My eyes darted back and forth around the cabin, looking at everything we had bought.

  !The Predator skill can evolve three times from its current state. The next evolution stage is called Devourer, and the second is Gluttony. Then, it will turn into a primordial skill with a random name!

  "Thanks."

  I gnced at the cabin room once more. Looks a lot more lively than when we first arrived. A few days ago, Hana and I decided to produce some paint for the walls. They needed a new paint job and looked better in a coat of fresh red paint. Decorations like wreaths and small piles of cones and acorns are pced in neat piles around the house.

  We should test our skills today. Our st battle was long ago, and we need some practice." Hana sat on her bed and looked directly at me, her eyes locked in.

  "You are on point. But let me ask Sia one more question. It feels weird to be the only one talking to her." I averted my gaze from her. Sweat began to trickle down my body. In our world, this happens whenever I try to talk to someone or when someone is talking about someone else.

  "What do I need to do to evolve the skill Predator?"- Getting as many skills as we can should be our number 1 goal now, especially with the revival of goddess Ifrit being close; we didn't hear anything from King Wieka, but we expected guards and patrols being sent soon.

  We must remember his request, especially about the local lords; that should be our first goal.

  !For the first evolution, you will need 2 skills to do the following things: 1. Can create another dimension, and 2. They are capable of absorbing and dissolving different substances. Your current version allows you to craft items from solid objects by molding them, but it won't work with chemicals. For the 2nd evolution state, you will need 3 skills to do the following: 1. Skill Breakdown 2. Mana control 3. Air and humidity control. For the final evolution stage, you will need to have 4 skills that can do the following: 1. Mana stealing 2. Mana Transferring 3. Heat control 4. Dimensional spatial dividual skill!

  "How do I get these skills? Is there an easier way to get them?"- How in the world am I even going to get all the skills in time?

  !You can steal them with Predator from other people or monsters you meet. Some monsters have all these skills, but some are more challenging to beat than most monsters you meet here. I detect a den of monsters with some skills needed to evolve Predator. I can guide you whenever you are ready!

  "So, what now? What is the next step that Sia suggested?"- Hana's head moved up, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

  "My skill can evolve 3 times. I need to combine certain skills to strengthen it; that's all she mentioned, and… She also said that she detects monsters with some of the skills needed to evolve my skill."- I slowly got up from the bed.

  "What about the skill you bought for me?"- She got up from the bed standing near me, her gaze fixated on me

  !Her skill allows her to become completely invisible if she stays still for 5 seconds; it can evolve to enable her to run while invisible!

  "In its current form, you must stay still for 5 seconds and activate the skill to become invisible. It can evolve to allow you to run when you are invisible."

  "That sounds good. I can wait in the shadow to attack, and you can be the bait."- Her mouth took the form of a smile

  !I forgot to mention that you also need to evolve every time you want evolve your Predator skill. I suggest that both you and Hana evolve at the same time and gain new skills together!

  "Hey, that could actually work. It would be better if we went together to train or battle monsters. It's not just safety in number; if we evolve simultaneously, we might get bonuses or something simir." – I slowly nodded.

  "Let's get going, then." We exited the cabin, stepping slowly and quietly while enjoying the view.

  "Hey, Hikaru, do you know more about our evolutionary lines? If we want to get stronger, we will need to know what is the most efficient way to evolve."- We stopped at a tree, and the 2 of us sat beneath it for a short while

  "Well, let's ask Sia."

  !Currently, everything is fine regarding your evolutions. You should focus on leveling up and getting new skills that you can use.!

  "She says that we don't need to worry too much about this now; we only need to level up, get stronger, and get more skills; that's about it."- Hana turned her head back and forth in confusion

  "Ok, I don't really understand this world or why the 2 of us were chosen to be monsters. Let's just not think about this for a while; let's see what we can do today, aside from testing our skills, of course."- After a few seconds, Hana started to fade in and out, and then it got stable, she looked like a transparent shadow

  ! That's how the skill Insidious works; it was automatically activated since there are monsters within 100 meters of her. I recommend getting read.

  "Hana, maybe draw your katana and prepare for a small battle." I leaned toward Hana and gently whispered in her ear.

  "I know that. I detected their presence already.

  Hana drew her Katana but didn't move from the spot; I formed a ball with my shadow tendrils around us.

  After a few minutes, we can hear something circling us, fast steps going in a circle around us, moving from bush to bush without being seen.

  "You hear it, right?"- I leaned in to whisper to Hana.

  "Yeah, I do hear it." I got up on my feet and looked around. I don't know what creature is this fast, but it is certainly something that we must recognize.

  !The most probable monster is a shadow wolf pack. These wolves are rare, and the packs they form aren't big—expect at most four of them!

  The rustling subsided after a few minutes, and then the wolves dashed directly at us, but my shadow tendrils seemed to keep them at bay as some sort of barrier.

  I released the shadow tendril barrier and used it to impale 2 of the wolves. Another wolf dashed directly at me. With a quick flick of her Katana, Hana managed to cut the head of the wolf off before it could attack me.

  "There is 1 more"- I made more shadow tendrils, preparing myself for another attack.

  "Found you"- Hana dashed to my left, raising her sword above her head and bringing it down in a fast strike

  "Good job. Let's see what we get from them."-

  *Use skill: Predator*- I put my left hand forward, and a crimson mass appeared, engulfing all the wolves and slowly making them disappear

  *Skills gained: Shadow Movement, Pararrel Thought, and Thought communication*

  !You gained skill duplicates; would you like to share them with Hana?!

  "Yes"

  !Hana gained the following skills: Shadow Movement, Pararrel Thought, and Thought Communication!

  !Pararrel Thought allows you to think 2 times faster. Thought communication will enable you to communicate via telepathy with people who possess the skill. Shadow movement will allow any tamed companion to move in your shadow or the shadows 30 meters around you!

  !Forming a telepathic link with Hana… Complete!

  Both Hana and I seem to hear Sia now.

  "Hey, Sia, you mentioned a nest of monsters containing some needed skills. Where is it?" I can hear Hana clearly now; our thoughts are connected.

  !These were the wolves from that den. They can indeed have one of the skills required to evolve Hikaru's skill, Predator, but these wolves didn't have the ability.!

  For now, we went back to the cabin. Not knowing what to do, we zed around for some time and let the day pass.