SSS-Rank Bloodline: Wolf Evolution

Arthur was aware that he was taking a great risk by entering the cave like this, and yet, he could not bring himself to simply ignore it and leave. Yes, he was afraid, and at the same time, his curiosity urged him to press on.

After passing through the small and narrow entrance, he found himself inside a very long descending rocky tunnel, filled with mushrooms and moss, and cold water drops fell from its ceiling. The tunnel was dark, but a little further ahead there was a faint green light.

Upon seeing how strange the place was, his tension increased, and he seriously thought about leaving and returning later when he was adequately prepared.

He took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and decided to press on.

One step, two, three... He walked forward with great caution, as though walking through a minefield, avoided all the mushrooms, and placed his paws in the small gaps in the ground.

After covering a short distance, he drew close to the source of the light, and then it became clear, it was a large glowing mushroom attached to the wall, like a traditional lantern.

The green shimmer reflected in his eyes filled with confusion and astonishment, and involuntarily, he took a few steps toward the mushroom wanting to examine it more closely.

When no more than four meters separated them, he came to a halt, a slight frown appeared on his face and he murmured: "Something is not right, why do I feel as though I have been through a similar experience before?"

Suddenly, an old memory flashed through his mind. ’Wait? Wasn’t I involuntarily drawn toward the spider woman’s web when I first saw it? Is it possible? This damned mushroom just lured me closer to it?’

The moment he realized that, a shiver ran through every part of his body. Quickly, he examined the surroundings of the glowing mushroom, and found it surrounded by dozens of black roots, which trembled every now and then, as though they were breathing.

Without any hesitation, he activated the "Iron Will" skill, and slowly stepped backward. At that moment, all the roots suddenly surged toward him, like a volley of spears.

He did not tense or panic. Instead, he quickly stood on his hind legs, swung his front claws, and severed all the roots with ease. They fell to the ground, writhing like headless snakes.

When the mushroom realized that its surprise attack had failed, and sensed how dangerous he was, its glow dimmed and it curled in on itself, then withdrew what remained of its roots, and covered itself with them, forming a solid layer around it.

Despite the danger having passed, Arthur did not relax, but rather increased his alertness, and after observing the mushroom for a little while and confirming that it would not attack him again, he continued walking.

When he had covered a short distance, he came across another glowing mushroom, and this time he did not fall into its mental trap, and passed it with ease.

The tunnel was filled with turns and slopes, and as he went deeper and deeper, he felt himself sinking into the ground, and he also came across more green mushrooms, which were useful in a certain way, for their faint light helped him see his surroundings with great clarity, given his powerful sense of sight.

Even though he had not encountered any serious threat along the way, Arthur felt uneasy, and that was because he had not seen any living creature in the place other than the mushrooms, of course. The tunnel was silent, silent in a very eerie way, and what added to the strangeness of the situation, was that throughout the entire time his bloodline was showing a faint reaction.

In truth, it had been the same reaction it had shown in the early days of his time in this area. The problem was that over the past two months he had not known its source, despite having wandered through the entire area he was permitted to move in.

But now, things had changed, for the deeper he pushed into the tunnel the stronger his bloodline’s reaction became.

After venturing deeper into the tunnel, he finally arrived at a fork in the road leading to three different directions.

He stood in his place contemplating the three passages before him, from one of which came a faint breeze of air, and from another a strange and incomprehensible rustling sound, while the third was silent.

’These tunnels extend deep underground, it is clear they are not as empty as they appear, there is something living here, and perhaps it has already detected my presence, whatever it is, I do not want to meet it.’

A grim expression appeared on his face. He would gain nothing from this adventure, and curiosity alone was not enough to convince him to continue.

’Well, the time has come to return to the surface, the full moon frenzy is about to begin, and it is not practical for my instincts to be in control of me while I am inside this place.’

He had not forgotten how he had become delirious and led himself toward death in the first full moon frenzy he had gone through, and even in the second frenzy he had done many reckless things. It was very natural that he did not want to repeat those uncomfortable experiences.

Without any hesitation, he turned around, and headed back toward the surface. Just as on his way in, he passed by many glowing mushrooms, and climbed several small and narrow slopes, and after more than half an hour, he saw natural sunlight creeping through the entrance, which appeared much narrower from the inside.

His tense body relaxed, and he sighed: "This is better, tight and suffocating places do not really suit me anymore."

A small smile appeared on his face, and for some reason he thought about how many changes had come over him, he had spent a short time in this world, and yet, he had become an entirely different person in the literal sense.

Yes, he still possessed many of his previous traits, and his essence as a human had not changed, but at the same time he was aware deep down that he had not and would not return to how he had been before.

This was sad in a certain way, and yet, he did not care. What he had gone through had given him a firm conviction that life would not stop and take pity on him, he simply had to keep struggling.

"How ridiculous of me." His smile widened, and he shook his head mocking himself, and as he drew close to the exit that smile suddenly froze, as his steps also slowed until he stopped.

Before him, the exit did not appear narrower from the inside, but there was something standing in front of it, something that had not been there when he entered. It was large and solid, of a black color, and worst of all it was completely covered in mushrooms.

Arthur closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then sighed with a resigned expression, as though what was happening was a normal and expected matter.

Slowly, the thing blocking the exit moved, and poked its head into the cave. Its form became completely clear—it was a giant ant, with ugly and bloody mushrooms growing all over its body.