[Chapter 15. Unexpected Change]

  He entered the building and saw a sea of yellow fluff, these were no adult chickens they were mere chicks. He stomped one then a second before smashing the plank down into them. There was no announcement no growing counter, the feat that showed his kills was only showing one thing at this point.

  Before his break there was one more entry on it, simply named "Adult Human Lv.0".

  `They are not included because they have only just hatchlings... or because it represents a kind of protection from the system, so that the species won't get wiped out. No point in killing anything if it won't count towards the goal.′

  

  On his way out of the building with the chicks, he thought for a moment about it. His next target was a short walk away. Searanox's keen hearing could detect even the faintest sounds from his drones. The hissing and roaring of his drones magical cannons was a constant background noise, just one building away. Same as for them it was no different for him self, it was the same whacking and thudding sounds when the plank connected with one of the chickens. The occasional splatter sound of blood and bone if he hit them to hard, but still the same as before.

  As the connection to his Drones was severed do to a lack of TP he looked at the feat it displayed the kills and experience.

  It was coming along well, with the four of them it should be possible to reach Level 10 within the day. Just as before, he was hit and slapped the chickens. It was somehow fun now, it was not so grotesque and repulsive anymore, the slight unease had disappeared. The sent of blood and torn bodies filled the air, it was... intoxicating. Just as before after his TP were full again he summoned the drones and they continued their relentless slaughter. And like this hours past by.

  He was overjoyed when he heard the announcement and knew he was one step closer to his personal goal. But his joy was short lived, because the system notification showing his kills did something quite unexpected. It was mostly the same showing the number of Adult chickens they have hunted... or slaughtered so far, the accumulated experience was listed just below that. At first glance it looked normal but one thing was different.

  He looked at the Exp and his eyes went wide.`There is no Fucking way, diminishing returns...′

  

  Searanox stopped what he was doing and thought for a bit, it made sense that you would not get the same amount of experience for the same slain Beast or Animal if your level went up.

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  `I'm now ten level above them was that the threshold, it must be. For the next level we need twenty-thousand experience, that are two-hundred-thousand kills just for one person alone.′

  The counter in his vision rose by the second.

  `It was a total momentum killer, like hitting a brick wall I didn't see coming. just as I was finding my rhythm. This will change so much.′

  "Fuck!!! there are not enough chickens here."

  His loud cry echoed off the walls, accompanied by a frustrated crash. With full force, he smashed his board against a chicken, the knuckles turning white from his firm grip. The impact of the board was dull, and the chicken itself burst like a watermelon hit by a sledgehammer. Blood and bits of flesh flew across the open space, the board splintering in two from the force of the impact. Searanox stared at the shattered board and tossed it aside before tearing another one from the nearby fence.

  `We can still make it, we have five more days... we just need another farm with a few hundred-thousand Animals, no big deal. They are like everywhere.′

  The copium was strong but he knew he could not change it, the only thing he could do was finishing up here and looking for another one. As the Sun slowly dipped behind the horizon, the day came slowly to an end. He was socked in blood and chunks of flesh. Searanox stretched as he stepped out of the building, looking up into the darkening sky. His drones had merely hovered over a building, having failed to identify any further targets. With a thought he desummoned them the mental connection instantly gone, somewhere two Drones vanish in a cloud of blue sparks.

  After a while, Iris came around the corner. Her once black fur was now matted with blood, a few feathers clinging to it. He looked down at himself. His pants were not just bloodstained, they were soaking wet. Now that he looked down, he noticed how wet they were. A small trail of blood droplets followed him from the building to where he was standing. Then he turned to her and said in an indifferent voice.

  "We should look inside the house for a shower or at least a place to clean up in."

  "The experience..."

  "Don't Iris, just don't, first we clean then we talk about that."

  He cut her off mid way through, while walking towards the Welfare-unit of this large scale poultry farm. The Drones got summoned and cleared the building in under a minute of any form of live.

  Near the entrance, they found a changing room with adjacent showers inside a small washroom. The blood-soaked clothes were removed and thrown away. While the laundry was in the machine, he took a shower and enjoyed the warm water washing away the blood and tension. Shortly afterward, Iris came in, but instead of showering herself, she crept up to him and gently bit him on the shoulder as her blood-soaked hands caressed his body.

  "Nom."

  Searanox turned his head back over his shoulder and looked at her muzzle softly nibbling on his shoulder.

  "you like that don't you?"

  "Mmm-hmm," she purred, the sound vibrating through her chest and into his back. Her amber eyes gleamed with a primal light as she looked up at him, a flicker of something playful, yet dangerous, in their depths. "Its... satisfying. The warmth, the taste of you... its a connection."

  She didn't wait for a response, simply tightened her grip slightly, her claws gently pricking his skin as she leaned in to nip him again, this time a little higher on the neck. It was a gesture of possession, of intimacy, of a predator staking its claim.

  "And you do not seem to mind."

  He turned around, the water flowing over both of them, and gently lifted her chin with one hand, his touch a stark, cold contrast to her warm, wet fur.

  "I don't mind at all, Iris. But you should clean up now, now is rather the place nor the time for this. We have to go move on soon." He let go of her, her lips slightly parted, as she slowly leaned in. But got interrupted by a finger on her lips. "Not the time nor the place, Iris."