Seed of Titan-Chapter 118: A Failed First Attempt

"System, how do I trigger the Bio Drain?" Drai asked after opening his screen.

[It should come naturally to you. Imagine yourself sipping a drink, but through your hand.]

"Hmm... My imagination has always been lackluster, but I’ll give it a shot."

Drai focused on his hand, feeling the rough insides of the trunk. And before he knew it, he felt a strange sensation, like something was entering his hand.

"Oh! It’s working!" Drai exclaimed. He then immersed himself in this new sensation. The supposed essence of the tree felt like tiny grains that were flowing along his arm before dissipating into his body.

After five minutes, Drai examined the tree.

"I thought the tree would wither, but it looks fine to me. Is this skill actually harmless?"

Because the essence flow hadn’t stopped, Drai kept his skill running. At the same time, he tried sensing if he felt any changes to his body, but he felt nothing different.

After ten more minutes, Drai’s boredom finally peaked.

"System, when will this finish? Is it supposed to take this long?"

[The remaining essence of the target is unknown; calculating the duration is not possible. However, the absorption rate seems low, mainly due to the target’s large size.]

"’Mainly’? Are there other factors that affect the absorption rate?"

[Presumably so. One of them is your proficiency in using the skill. The other is the target’s resistance, which depends on numerous variables, including their constitution and skills.]

"What about the essence quality? Is it better than the Siprootberry’s?"

[No. It is comparatively inferior.]

Drai instantly stopped his skill. With a sigh, he pulled his hand away, casting the tree an annoyed glance.

Shutting the System interface, he turned away and left the area. He was feeling quite disappointed. Not only did the tree lack any defensive measures, it was also a terrible subject to test his new skill.

As he traversed the jungle, Drai felt a hint of lethargy. He looked at his hand and thought, ’Did I use to much energy earlier? I really should find some food.’

Drai tilted his head back and scanned the tree canopy far above him. But despite his decent eyesight, he found it hard to make out the tiny details, especially when the countless bright rays were juxtaposed against the dark shades under the leaves.

’If I still don’t find anything edible soon, I might have to climb up and find some tree critters or fruits. But how come all these shorter plants don’t have any fruits or vegetables on them?’ Drai asked while eyeing the bushes and smaller trees around him.

After walking for several minutes, Drai’s ears perked up. A faint sound caught his attention, different from the rustling leaves, chirping birds, and distant animal calls he had been hearing all morning.

’That sound... Water!’

Suppressing his excitement, Drai kept his pace slow and footsteps light, making sure that he didn’t rustle the undergrowth much. Years of training in the forest had taught him that water sources were usually gathering places for the local fauna, and Drai didn’t want to scare a potential prey or stumble into a dangerous foe while being unprepared.

The sound grew louder, and soon, Drai finally spotted the source. Peering through the trees ahead of him, Drai could see a waterfall in the distance. And just as Drai had predicted, he could see plenty blurry figures there.

’If it isn’t possible to catch some meat, at least let me find some fruits or something edible...’ Drai prayed as he quietly made his way toward the waterfall.

Slowly, the scenery became clearer. Halfway there, Drai realized the waterfall was a lot bigger than he had expected, around three-story high. It also seemed quite wide with a heavy cascade, which was probably why Drai was able to hear it from a distance.

As the air around him turned significantly more humid, Drai was finally close enough to clearly see the previously blurry figures.

’Wow, look at all these animals. The brown one that’s sitting there looks like a small chubby bear. The group beside it are... apes? And there’s a couple of big lizards too.’

Having inspected the ones closest to him, Drai’s gaze sweeped across the clearing. In the river, several creatures were partially submerged, their heads barely visible above the water. Drai couldn’t tell whether they were aquatic animals or simply cooling off. And across the river, a hairy, six-legged creature was perching on the rocks.

’Freaky,’ Drai remarked upon seeing the peculiar beast.

After he was done assessing the wildlife, Drai surveyed the vegetation.

’Hmm... It doesn’t look like there’s any fruit tree, or maybe all the fruits around the area have been eaten by those ape-like group. Unlucky.’

As Drai was contemplating on which animal he should try hunting, he suddenly noticed several familiar figures. At the far edge of the clearing, near the upper part of the waterfall, a small herd of striped deer gathered near a thicket.

’It’s the strange deer! There’s a bunch of them too!’ Drai exclaimed.

Drai felt that the strange deer were the better option; they were quite far from the other animals, and Drai had also experienced at least one of their abilities, which he didn’t find dangerous at all.

Having made a decision, Drai began heading toward his targets. However, he feared that the strange deer would run away again if they noticed his approach. So, instead of walking straight toward them, he made a small detour, circling around the inclining ground at the base of the waterfall.

Soon, he reached the upper section of the river. Surprisingly, the area was devoid of other animals.

’Makes sense. Even animals wouldn’t risk falling down a waterfall,’ Drai thought upon seeing the lack of fauna. He then focused back on his targets and slowly made his way along the river, staying in cover behind the foliage.

Drai was prepared to make a sprint in case the deer notice him, but to his surprise, he easily approached unnoticed until he was only a few yards away. He was currently hiding behind a bush, watching the five strange deer that were eating small white berries from a thicket.

’The waterfall’s noise probably covered my steps. Heh, you chose a bad spot to graze, deer. Now, do I transform or not?’