Chapter 4: Monstrous Consequences

David immediately went home after his frightening discovery. It took a while but he managed to create a pulley system on his home base. Besides the waterfall was a large and sturdy tree. David used it to create a makeshift elevator. 

There.

David carries himself up with the bluefur cow Mk. 2. 

~Huff huff~

David feels a bit winded as he continues to work the pulley. 

Once on top, David ties the thick vine on the tree branch. The elevator stops as it connects itself to the ground on the top. David then locks the elevator through a mechanism.

The elevator itself was made out of sticks and some branches, all attached to each other through the liberal use of vines and dried fiber. David pulls the bluefur cow to the stable and safe ground. Taking a look at his elevator, David frowns a bit.

Need better wood for this… It might break if I bring something heavier than the cow.

David takes out the sharpened stone. It still was only half done. If David ever needed an axe, he needed to have this stone sharpened. David drags the dead animal near the river. Cutting its neck, David lets the animal bleed out to the river.

David cleans his hand on the side.

“Okay, once this thing is drained, I’ll try to skin it later. Now...”

David’s thoughts return to the evolution of the creatures in the world. 

“The log almost completely confirms my suspicions but I want to see it with my own eyes. That way, the log confirms it 100%.”

David frowns when he thinks of the danger of confronting the evolved creatures.

“Do they keep evolving or does it stop? The muckat is on its 11th evolution. Is 11 the cap? Or was it just a rare case?”

David shrugged.

“Probably a rare case… but just to be sure, I want to see the other animals. For now though… let’s eat.” 

David goes through his stockpile of mushrooms, vegetables, fruits, and dried meat. 

David takes out a small wooden plate. It was a crude wooden plate but it was David’s current best work. It was flat enough to hold food and concave enough to hold soup if David planned on making soup. 

David goes to the river and quickly rinses the wooden bowl. Once clean, David goes to a stone table. It was something he found by the side. It wasn’t flat but it was wide enough to put stuff on. Taking out a crude cutting board, David puts some alien-looking vegetables, weird-colored fruits, and mushrooms on it. 

Looks weird but at least they’re tasty and healthy… or so the log tells me.

David pulls out his unfinished stone knife. Using the sharpened part, David starts to cut the non-edible parts of the vegetables and fruit. He shaves the dirty parts of the mushrooms. David takes the dirty parts of the fruits and vegetables and puts them in a leaf bag hanging by the wall. David was saving it for compost. 

David puts everything else on his wooden plate. He puts some dried meat on his mouth. He starts to chew.

Hard…

Without salt and spices, David could only go so far in the aspect of cooking. At least the fruits didn’t need spices.

Add spices to the list of things I need.

David started eating the fruits and vegetables. 

Delicious…

The fruits were sweet while the vegetables felt fresh and healthy. The meat was a good change of taste every once in a while. After his meal, David notices that the sun was starting to go down. David goes to the edge of the waterfall and he takes a seat. Eating some of the fruit, David watches the sun go down.

~Sigh~ 

David sighs at the beauty of this world. It was a silver lining of the cruel and hard situation he’s been thrust in.

David chews the fruit.

He swallows the chewed fruit and he enjoys the peaceful moment.

Eventually, the sun is gone and David is surrounded by darkness.

David stands up silently. He goes to his cave bed, which is just a large collection of leaves with some furs placed on top of it. 

Lying down, David closes his eyes. He would need all the strength for tomorrow. Tomorrow, he was going to hunt again. 

I need to confirm the log.

David goes to sleep.

The morning quickly comes and David finds himself refreshed. Standing up to do his morning routines, David intends to finish the stone knife before he goes anywhere. 

Taking a few fruits from his stockpile, David eats his breakfast. 

Hmm… I’m gonna need more fruits… the trees here aren't producing enough.

Looking at the clear and open plots of land in his area, David contemplates planting some trees. 

I’ll see if I can get some fruits outside.

Once having eaten his fill, David takes a seat on a patch of grass and continues to sharpen his stone knife. 

It doesn’t take long since David already finished half of the knife. Once the knife was complete and satisfactory, David puts it in a leaf sheathe. 

Okay… now for an axe but… I still need to go look for those animals.

David prepares for the long journey once more. He hides his stone knife in a sheathe by his side. He ties a club on the other side. He brings some fruits and vegetables with him, on the off chance that he has to stay somewhere. He puts his trusty spear on his back.

Once prepared, David goes to the elevator. 

Removing the vine holding the elevator, David starts to lower himself down. 

Wow… this is such a workout.

~Huff huff~

When David gets down, he is winded.

Well… will that help my evolution?

David checks the log but sees there’s no change.

Nothing. Maybe I need to do it more?

David shrugs and he hides the log. 

David retraces his steps towards the place he first appeared in. 

That place was where I was first attacked by that adorable yet vicious three-tailed dog.

David’s arm itches when he remembers that event. Due to some phenomenon that was only possible in this world, David’s wounds healed without any scars. Unfortunately, too big wounds, such as the ones he got from the saberwolves, couldn’t heal cleanly. He has a scar on his leg. The wound on his arm from the suicidal saberwolf wasn’t too bad. It would cleanly heal given enough time.

Following the river and following the many landmarks he knows off, David eventually reaches the area where he first appeared. The body of the three-tailed dog was gone. David shrugged. It was obvious that it would not last there. 

David took out his log.

Super Reptile

Classification: Animal (Apex Predator)

Description: A tall four-legged reptile with thick scales adorning its muscle-bound body. Its claws are capable of ripping and rending flesh apart with ease. Its mouth is similar to that of an alligator, in which that it can make a biting motion with enough force to shatter stone.

Possible Effects: NA

Possible Evolution Number: 1st iteration: ???

You’re my target today.

David wanted to observe the super reptile, the most terrifying creature he’s met so far. And if he could, he wanted to induce evolution in it

The whole time David was there, he was anxious and panicky. He felt stressed due to the possibility of meeting the super reptile in a disadvantageous situation. If he did, he would have no choice but to run again and waste a day.

Despite being on guard, David has yet to see the super reptile. Due to good luck, David manages to find some tracks. The tracks were large and seemed to have sharp protruding claws on the tips of the feet. 

This might be the super reptile.

Doing his best to be careful, David starts to sneak. Utilizing every strength and talent his body has, David moves with almost absolute silence. 

~Growl~

David’s body stops. He turns his eyes without turning his head. 

~Growl~

After hearing the 2nd growl, David calms down. 

Okay… it’s not looking at me.

Looking around, David sees that no creature is about to pounce him. He just heard the creature’s growl, meaning it was near. David looks around for any sign of disturbed foliage. 

There.

Seeing a lightly snapped branch, David follows it. After moving the leaves, he sees his quarry.

Resting on a large dirt mound, the super reptile was currently asleep. Its body seemed larger than before. Its muscles were more well-defined and its claws were a bit yellowish.

What… was it always this monstrous before?

David looks at his log. Nothing has changed regarding the super reptile. 

That means… this thing became this monstrous on its effort, time, and… environment.

David swallowed the building saliva in his throat. 

Okay… it never evolved but… how do I know it’s not evolving because of some other reason? I’ve got to see something else evolve.

Satisfied with his observation, David leaves. The super reptile doesn’t move. David slinks away. Once David was a fair distance away from the super reptile’s territory, David starts to contemplate again.

Can… I artificially force something to evolve… and if I do that, could I manipulate it to fight and kill the super reptile. 

A vicious and very risky idea appears in David’s mind.

To do that… I would need to pick a creature to evolve.

David heard some whimpering. For a moment, David felt his skin hair stand on edge.

Looking at the source of the sound, David sees a three-tailed dog. Its eyes were adorable and cute.

Oh ho ho ho… I’m not falling for that.

David smiles. The creature seems to take that as a sign to move forward. Looking around, David finds that there were small three-tailed dogs watching this one approach him. 

Oh… it’s a parent… perfect.

David’s mind sprung an evil idea. David lets the parent three-tailed dog approach him. 

Once it was close, David took out the log to see its information. 

Three-tailed dog

Classification: Animal 

Description: A small animal that uses its ability to lower the guard of its targets. After taking advantage of an animals’ pity, the three-tailed dog wraps its strong tails on a target’s neck and bites down. It usually clamps down until its target is dead.

Possible Effects: Their salivatory gland has a small amount of poison.

Evolution Number: 3rd Iteration: The creature’s tail has become tougher and its teeth now secrete a small amount of poison which helps paralyze its target.

Oh wow… I didn’t feel paralysis last time it bit me… so this is obviously new.

Looking at the adorable creature, David chuckles to himself.

It has paralysis now… but it would die from one bite from the super reptile… I need it to be bigger… What would force a creature to evolve its size?... Physical trauma?

David shrugs.

Let’s experiment.

Pulling out his club, David charges the three-tailed dog. Its face quickly contorts to a monstrous form. 

~Thud~

~Crack~

David doesn’t give the creature a chance. It squeals in pain as the club hits its face and body. It tries to use its tails to grab onto David but the man was prepared for that. Each time it tried to grab David, David would dodge and immediately counter with a club attack. 

Eventually, the creature started to become weak. David could hear its children cry out for its abused parent. 

No… don’t kill it. Just enough.

The creature twitched rapidly on the floor. Its breathing was weak. David stopped before he could deal the killing blow.

Now… let’s see if you can survive this… and if your children will evolve. Let’s hope, no predator finds you.

Once done with his gruesome but necessary work, David walks away. 

Okay… I started to experiment… If it evolves, then surviving a near-death experience can constitute a requirement for evolution… I just need to wait… I’ll stay here tonight.

David looks for a nearby place to hide in. It doesn’t take a while and David finds a tall enough tree to tie himself to. 

Once David finds a place to sleep, he makes a mark on the tree then he wanders the general area. 

Let’s look for something to eat.

David explores the area and hunts for food. After getting his fill, David goes to sleep.

While David is resting peacefully, the three-tailed dog crawled back home. Its limping and broken body was bleeding from David’s assault. It was fortunate enough that no animals came to kill it. Behind the wounded three-tailed dog, three small three-tailed dogs were following. They were making adorable squeaking sounds as they tried to call the attention of their weakened parent. 

Despite their hunger, the three-tailed dog family entered their den. Once inside, the weakened parent hisses at its children. 

They quiet down.

Hungry and weak, the three-tailed dog family lies to rest. Their stomachs growl but they have no choice as these creatures know that the night isn’t their time to hunt. If they went out now, they would be slain by creatures that didn’t care if they were adorable and had big soft eyes. 

They had to surrender to their hunger for tonight.

Unbeknownst to such simple-minded creatures, a change was occurring inside them. It occurred first in the bodies of the children. The parent’s body was also changing but it wasn’t as quick. The three-tailed dog’s body slowly changed as their limbs became longer and their bodies gained a limited amount of bulk, a result of their lack of food. Despite the simple description, the animals experienced an unbelievable amount of pain. Their bones were forcefully rearranged to compensate for the sudden change. 

Their teeth became sharper but their paralysis venom has become weaker. The bones in their tails become tough and more flexible so they can hold their prey with ease. 

Within mere hours, the three-tailed dog family gained millions of years worth of evolution. It was a forced evolution due to David’s intervention. Unknown to David, the human intervention seemed to force evolutions faster than normal environmental action. 

And eventually, morning came. 

The three-tailed dog wasn’t hungry, they were ravenous. 

They weren’t angry, they were livid. 

And now, they were going to hunt. 

David had a rather peaceful sleep. He wasn’t disturbed. No bone spider to harass him or creature to bite his legs. When he woke up, he stretched and surveyed his surroundings. Looking at his fruit bag, David found that he was out of fruits. Hefting his spear and club, David prepares for another early-morning hunt.

David slides down the large tree and lands on the forest floor. 

~Growl~

David turns around to look for the source of the growl. 

Not here.

~ROAR!!!!~

A deafening roar reverberates across the forest. A large number of birds fly away from the source.

Oh… That’s my cue.

David turns around to leave but the foliage behind him is suddenly disturbed and a large creature bursts out of the trees. 

It was the super reptile.

Shit!

David turns to the monstrous creature and readies his spear. Despite readying up, David quickly noticed that something was wrong.

The super reptile was wounded. Its body had wounds that were reminiscent of an equally large reptile. The super reptile thrashed around as its body was being slowly ripped and mangled by the newly evolved three-tailed dogs that clung to the super reptile’s body. 

David quickly runs to hide so he can observe the situation. The super reptile was still much stronger than each individual three-tailed dog but the four three-tailed dogs were attacking it simultaneously. 

The adult three-tailed dog was now the size of a medium-sized dog. Its young children were slightly bigger than adult cats. The adult was entangled on the super reptile’s neck. It kept biting the super reptile’s neck, revealing a large gash. 

It’s… becoming sluggish.

Despite the overwhelming wounds and gashes, the super reptile had, the three-tailed dog family wasn’t better off. They were all wounded and bloody. They were only clinging due to sheer willpower. For them, the situation was a do or die state.

David’s heart was pounding. This was what he wanted. He needed something to kill the apex predator. 

Will they be enough?

The super reptile roared as its experienced pain it has never experienced before. Its mind was clouded with murderous rage. Unlike David, the creature could not think rationally in front of this brutal pain. 

Instead of finding a solution to its plight, it does the only thing a cornered animal can do.

It thrashed wildly. 

Fortunately for the super reptile, its body was absurdly strong and the juvenile three-tailed dogs started to slowly lose their strength. The parent was holding on strong but without the support of its family members, it would get eviscerated by the super reptile. 

David gripped his spear. 

Should I go in…

David was not sure he needed to go in. At this rate, either the newly evolved three-tailed dogs would die or the super reptile dies from its wounds.

~ROAR!!!~

The super reptile released a roar and it proceeded to do a desperate move. It started to slam its body on the trees. 

David’s sight was quickly covered by the super reptile’s massive body. David ran to escape being trampled on.

The super reptile slammed its body on every surface it could. With each powerful thud, a three-tailed dog was removed from the super reptile’s body. 

~ROAR!!!~

The floor was eventually filled with the broken bodies of the three-tailed dogs.

~Thud!~

~Thud!~

~Thud!~

Now, there was one. The adult three-tailed dog clung to the super reptile’s neck with all its might. But even then, it was showing weakness.

The super reptile knew that it was winning. It continued its tactic of slamming its body into the trees. Each strike weakened the three-tailed dog but the super reptile didn’t escape each strike unscathed

David continued to move. He was not safe as the super reptile kept crashing onto his hiding spots.

Fudge fudge fudge... 

After a few seconds of grueling movement, David senses the super reptile stop. Looking back, he finally sees a victor. 

The super reptile stopped moving.

David internally sighs as he sees the body on the floor.

The three-tailed dog’s neck was snapped when the super reptile slammed it on a rock. 

David stands up and starts to move towards the weakened super reptile. It was now the time to kill it. He spins his spear and prepares to stab the super reptile. 

~growl~

David stops. 

The super reptile starts to move. David hesitates. He did not want to die here. 

Moving slowly away, David observes the super reptile’s body. Its body was moving as if parts of it were being shaken. It was trembling.

An idea came onto David’s mind and he took out his log. 

Super Reptile

Classification: Animal (Apex Predator)

Description: A tall four-legged reptile with thick scales adorning its muscle-bound body. Its claws are capable of ripping and rending flesh apart with ease. Its mouth is similar to that of an alligator, in which that it can make a biting motion with enough force to shatter stone.

Possible Effects: NA

Possible Evolution Number: 2nd iteration: Due to failing to grab the creatures that almost killed it, its first evolution is to increase its body’s flexibility.

It’s evolving!

David took the spear and ran towards the super reptile. If David would kill it, now was the time. 

Raising his spear, David aims it at the super reptile’s chest, just where David thinks the heart is. 

David’s vision suddenly changes as he is sent flying.

Huh?

David hits the ground breathless. Struggling to recover his breath, David raises his head and sees what hit him. 

It was the tail…

The super reptile’s tail was originally only there for balancing its body when it moved but now that it has evolved, its tail has become fully prehensile. 

The super reptile’s body was changing quickly. It raises its head. Its eyes were still glossy but it was now glaring at David. It releases a low growl which scared David senseless. 

David made a mistake. He made something far more dangerous than what he already had.

He had to run.

And he ran as fast as he could, leaving the monster to evolve on its own.

Leaving his monstrous consequences.