Buzz! Buzz!
Crystalline wings, almost invisible to the naked eye, flapped in a frantic rhythm, stirring the humid air as Ricky hovered over the dense foliage.
Each flap of the wing was a desperate attempt to defy gravity, to keep his tiny body aloft as he scanned his surroundings with multifaceted eyes.
It had only been a few minutes since his last al, but the hunger gnawed at him again. An insidious, ever-present reminder of his cruel fate.
His ti was running out.
Ricky clenched his tiny mandibles. One hour. That was all he had. One hour to feed, to grow, to survive. And if he failed—if he didn't make every mont count—then he would simply cease to exist.
No. Not yet. Not before I taste the perfect whisky.
The absurd thought rang through his mind, a relic from a life he no longer possessed. A vague dream, but one that clung to him stubbornly, refusing to be erased.
His wings trembled. His compound eyes glead. No matter what, he would not die again.
---
The world stretched endlessly before him, a vast and untad expanse of green. Towering trees lood overhead, their leaves thick and damp with moisture, creating a canopy that swallowed the dim light filtering through. The air was alive with the hum of unseen creatures, the distant croak of frogs, and the rustling of sothing moving just out of sight.
Sowhere in this endless wilderness, Ricky hovered—a re speck against the vastness of nature.
Then, his eyes caught sothing.
A warm glow—faint, pulsing with life. Blood.
Ricky's wings twitched. He moved.
Flying should have been unnatural. And yet, his body moved flawlessly. He weaved between thick branches, danced through fluttering leaves, glided past dewdrops that shimred in the dim light. Every movent was instinctive, precise—like he was designed for this.
Then, he felt it. A tremor. A presence.
Sothing big. Sothing dangerous.
He froze mid-air.
A sleek black shape lay sprawled in the underbrush below. Golden eyes flickered like molten fire, half-lidded, yet fully aware. The creature's fur was smooth, its muscles taut beneath its velvety coat. Each breath was slow, deliberate.
A forest cat.
And it was watching.
Ricky's instincts scread at him.
Not prey. Death.
The cat's ears flicked. Its gaze narrowed. Ricky barely dared to breathe.
Then—
A blur of motion. A silent explosion of muscle and claws. The air itself seed to split apart as the predator struck. Ricky braced himself, his minuscule heart hamring—
But the blow wasn't ant for him.
A desperate squeak. A rodent, hidden in the leaves, now lay impaled beneath the cat's claws. Its small body twitched, then fell still.
Ricky watched, transfixed. So fast. So precise. Could he have dodged that? No. He knew the answer. One mistake and I'm dead.
The cat, uninterested in eating, played with its kill, batting at the lifeless body with a purr of amusent. Its golden eyes shimred with sothing sinister—pleasure in the ga.
Then, with a final flick of its tail, the cat walked away, leaving the mangled corpse behind.
Ricky didn't hesitate. He descended imdiately.
The scent of blood was thick, warm, intoxicating. It clung to the air, drawing him in like a siren's call. Ricky landed on the rodent's still body, his tiny legs sinking into the cooling flesh.
He hesitated for only a mont.
Then, his proboscis extended—razor-thin, needle-sharp.
A single, piercing stab.
His world exploded.
A rush of warmth flooded his body, seeping into every fiber of his being. His wings trembled, his vision swam. A thrill surged through his tiny form, the sensation unlike anything he had ever felt before.
A notification flickered before his eyes.
[20 Minutes of Lifespan Absorbed.]
Ricky's mind cleared instantly. He lifted off, retreating before the cat could return.
He needed more.
---
Minutes passed. Five. Six.
Another squirrel. A bird. A frog near the water's edge. Ricky darted from one target to another, stealing monts of borrowed ti with every bite.
Each drop of blood stretched his fragile existence a little longer.
[Lifespan: 2 Hours.]
Not enough.
Just as he took a final sip from a chick's fragile body, his vision blurred. A notification flared in the air.
[Sufficient bloodline genes gathered.]
[Lifespan doubled.]
[Rank-Up Condition t.]
Ricky froze mid-flight.
Then, it hit him. A deep, primal hunger. Not for blood. For sothing more.
His body trembled, his exoskeleton shuddering. Heat surged through his veins like liquid fire, burning him from the inside out. He needed to hide.
He darted beneath a thick, rotting leaf, clinging to the underside. His body tensed. Hardened.
Then—it split.
A thin, mbranous shell wrapped around him, pulsating with an eerie, crimson light. His insides twisted, his cells reshaped. His fragile fra broke apart, only to rebuild itself—stronger, faster, deadlier.
Minutes passed. Hours? Ti blurred into nothing.
Then—
The cocoon shattered.
Ricky erged.
His body had changed. His wings, once delicate, now thrumd with power. His senses stretched wider, his vision sharper, his instincts honed to a razor's edge.
He wasn't just surviving anymore.
He was evolving.
[Rank Up: Stage 1 - Rank 2 Achieved!]
A thought crossed his mind. Status.
A glowing window unfolded before him.
---
[Status Window – Stage 1, Rank 2]
Na: Ricky Stormwind
Bloodline: None [Gather more to awaken a suitable bloodline.]
Lifespan: 1 Day (Base)
Rank: Stage 1 - Rank 2
Evolution Progress: 15%
Abilities:
Lifespan Sense (FF - Rank, Passive) – Can vaguely sense lifespan-rich beings within a 10-ter range.
Micro Drain (FF - Rank, Innate) – Absorbs minutes of lifespan per bite.
[NEW] Blood Infusion (F - Rank) – Converts lifespan into temporary power boosts.
---
A final notification flickered.
[Lifespan can now be used to level up abilities.]
[New skills may be unlocked after a successful hunt—at a cost.]
Ricky's wings twitched.
His ti was no longer asured in minutes.
Now, it was only a matter of how far he could go.
Hehehe.... Ricky internally chuckled, the feeling of growing stronger filled him with mirth, the fact that his efforts were instantly rewarded made the situation even more appealing.
Now slightly bigger, he turned his gaze toward his next target.
However Just as he was about to move, he felt a strangely familiar presence moving closer.
That cat..why it had returned?
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