As soon as Vars was done getting accustomed to his new gear he heard rustling in the brush to his right.
Walking out into the open was the Alpha. His deep black fur was clean but he couldn't get rid of the stench the zombies left on him. He started taking in his surroundings and after a couple of seconds thats when he noticed Vars in his new clothes standing next to Snow.
"I'm surprised you survived boy. Maybe you are good for something. Now tell me, what's wrong with my daughter?" the Alpha said harshly as he walked towards them. His shadow barring its sharp fangs despite his calm appearance.
Vars looked at Snow before looking towards the Alpha. 'Ok here's my chance. It shouldn't be long before that blood bag wakes up. He definitely underestimates me so maybe I can catch him by surprise.'
In that split second Vars came up with a plan and a lie.
"Well, you see Alpha while I was fighting the skeleton Snow tried to help but was knocked hard into a tree. Although it was just bones it was surprisingly strong," Vars said as he tried his best to look flustered.
As Vars was talking the Alpha was getting closer and closer until he was standing right next to Snow. He bent down and sniffed the top of her head.
'Shit shit shit he knows. Gotta take the initiative.' Vars thought before he tried to divert the Alpha's attention.
"After killing that skeleton I also got these cool clothes too. It looked like a bracelet that covered my body. It gave me a collar one too. Here it's for you Alpha." Vars lied.
"Oho, so you were hiding some treasure from me, boy? Give it to me before I lose my patience!" the Alpha said while his shadow seemed to grow twice as big.
Vars walked towards the Alpha as he unwrapped the spine from around his back and shrunk the spine enough for it to barely wrap around the Alpha's neck with the vertebrae pointing outwards.
He then stepped back and looked at the Alpha as if he was waiting for something to happen.
The Alpha looked at the "necklace" expecting some grand transformation but to his dismay, nothing happened. "What is the meaning of this boy?!" he spat as he looked at Vars with his shadow furiously growling. Somehow the shadow even had drool dripping from its fangs.
"Oh, I forgot it has to be activated with a specific phrase and action my bad. Here let me fix that for you."
As Vars finished saying this he put his hands parallel to each other as if he were about to clap.
"This is the greatest gift I have ever given. The gift of peace." as Vars finished his sentence he smashed his hands together.
The vertebrae of the spine inverted, sinking into the Alpha's neck like the fangs of a cobra. Before he could react the bones quickly constricted until the deep black fur-coated head of the Alpha plopped right on the ground.
Vars stood frozen looking at the body of one of his tormenters lying in front of him. At first, he didn't know whether this was real until 2 tokens and a deep purple shard dropped to the ground. Then the green motes of light collected together and flew into me.
{You have collected the essence of a lv. 2 Shadow Wolf. You have gained +3 dexterity and +2 strength. You have gained 2 levels and 6 stat points.}
'Damn, I really did it. I guess underestimating me was his downfall. I don't blame him though, if this was before Cosmic Energy came into play he would still be Alpha. Now I'm the Alpha.' Vars thought with a devilish grin on his face.
{You have gained the title "Alpha of the Pack":
A boy raised in the wild has finally defeated his superior and proved he is ready to take over his position. Gain +25% to every stat when in a pack of 3 or more. Beasts lower level than you are more inclined to listen.}
'How the hell did I gain that? I guess it makes sense, even though I hated him for plaguing me most of my life but deep down I really wanted his position. I guess now I need to find some subordinates to make this title useful. In due time, but I wonder what kind of talents he had.' Vars thought as he walked over to the corpse of his adoptive father.
Getting closer to the body Vars' stomach couldn't help but turn. Even though he carried a lot of hate for this wolf he still played a role in raising him.
"I must do whatever I have to to get stronger. I'm sure if it was the other way around he would do the same. As long as I have Bloodbag with me I should be ok for now." Vars thought out loud as he picked up the talents and purple crystal.
One talent was silver on the front and back with a right hand engraved on it while the other was gold on the back and red on the front with an open mouth of fangs.
'Hm, these talents aren't in the same color. I guess they have tiers to them or some are rarer than others? I'll have to find more to be for sure but let's see what they do first.'
{Talent: Consumption
Consuming the whole body of a being allows you to turn into it. The stronger the being the more Cosmic Energy it takes to transform and maintain it.}
{Talent: Right Hand
Appoint a being as your right hand. They are forever loyal to you and gain 20% of your stats when fighting together.}
{Essence Shard: Shadow Wolf- Shadow Weapon
This Essence Shard allows the user to create a weapon formed from shadows. The user gains +10 dexterity wielding this weapon. The strength of the weapon created depends on the user.}
'Damn, I hit the jackpot! I'll take both of these talents and try to use the Right Hand talent on BB. If it works then we will have an even better start in this new world. This essence shard is a great item to have in case I run out of bones somehow. Maybe I can make it into a weapon BB can use. Also, it says its strength depends on the user. I'm guessing Essence Shards might be like spirits and increase in power as the wielder does. It might be a one size fits all type of deal.' Vars thought elatedly as he crushed all the items in his hand.
'I should probably add those stat points now. Never know what might happen or how powerful the next stepping stone might be.'
Just as Vars was about to open his Chronicle another message popped into his view.
{Notice: Detected certain talents may be fused together to create a different talent. The new talent may or may not be as helpful to the user as the previous talents. Would you like to fuse your talents?}
"What?! So much is happening in a short span of time. Can you tell me what talents at least?"
{The talents that will be fused are Lord of Bones, Right Hand, and Consumption.}
"What?! Well, first off it's nice to know that you actually can respond to questions but that is literally all of the talents I just got. Is there any way I can make this decision at another time?"
{Yes and No. Chances of fusions are rare because only certain talents will fuse with one another. Once you pass up this the only other way to fuse talents is through an item or finding another talent that will jump-start the bonding process. The longer talents lay within you the more they attach themselves to your soul.}
"Well, that's unfortunate. Hmmm I mean so far taking risks has brought me great rewards. Maybe this one skill will bring me to the peak of the peak. Sure fuse them."
{Commencing fusion.}
Vars felt a sharp tug on his chest as if he was having a heart attack. He dropped to a knee clutching his chest when 3 small coins flew out of his chest. These were the talents he just learned.
Having lost his Lord of Bones talent the armor he created crumbled off of him.
'Are you serious?! Now I need to find new armor. Maybe I will find something else to compensate but I need to cover my body just in case I run into another zombie.'
Suddenly, the 3 talents flew in front of him before spinning in a circle wildly. Then a blue light started to shine and the closer the talents got to each other the brighter the light got.
The light was so bright that Vars had to cover his eyes. Once it died down Vars moved his and what floated in front of him was his new talent.
The back of the coin was a deep blue while the front was black with a gold engraving of what looked like 2 double helixes colliding.
'Hm, I have no clue what that symbol is and it is also a different color from the rest I've seen. I hope it's a good thing.'
{Your talents Lord of Bones, Right Hand, and Consumption have fused to create a "One of a Kind" talent, Cross Breeder.}
"What kind of talent is that? Also, I understand what one-of-a-kind means as in the saying but what does it mean in this sense?"
"Well, talents are more of an equalizer. The color of a talent is more so to indicate potential and rarity instead of power. Just because someone has a bronze does not mean they can't kill someone with a gold one. Talents aren't limited to just one person. Two people can have the same talent but the strength of a talent depends on the individual's ingenuity, skill, and fighting style.}
"Ok thanks for the clarification but you still didn't explain what a "One of a Kind" talent is."
{It is the highest rarity talents. The first 3 tiers are bronze, silver, and gold. The are the tiers that are mainly duplicated. After those 3 are diamond, emerald, and ruby. These are the rarest of talents and there is less of a chance of finding 2 people with the same talent in this category but it can still happen. Finally, a sapphire talent is "One of a Kind" and will not be duplicated until the current wielder dies.}
'Damn. This has been the luckiest and unluckiest birthday ever. Well, hopefully, it's a strong enough talent to grant me the ability to accomplish my goals.' Vars thought as he reached for the shimmering coin.
{Talent: (One of a Kind) Cross Breeder 0/2
The user gains the ability to combine the essence of enemies they have defeated into a new being. The stronger the being created the more Cosmic Energy it takes to be birth.
These creations are forever loyal to their maker. They are recognized as a new being and also gain 'Traits' determined by the beings used in creation. As you grow in strength so will the number of beings you can create and the amount of beings you're able to mix together.}
"Holy shit?! This skill's power is insane. The stronger the enemy I kill the more I become even stronger. I can have an army of insane creations and start my own pack. I'll never be alone. We'll take over the world!" Vars thought audibly as let out an eerie cackle.