Francis spotted a ledge of an office building and flew toward it.
Mid-flight, he overheard a conversation and learned the man's identity, or at least his code name—Lex.
For now, he decided to watch the armored man fight, hoping to learn more about this so-called Special Category.
As for fighting, that would be stupid, considering he could only infect small creatures.
Even if he managed to infect something bigger, there was no way he would fight an individual who could wound a beast that even missiles failed to harm.
Speaking of the lizard, the beast began moving again. It sensed danger, yet instead of retreating, it chose to fight.
Superheated air burst from its mouth.
Lex's boots glowed cyan. He leaped forward, then ran across the surface of the building as if magnets held him in place.
The lizard's breath followed him, melting and cracking glass along the way.
He closed the gap swiftly, launching off the wall and striking at the lizard's blind spot.
His spear hit the beast's neck, and before the blast of compressed air could reach him, he leaped back and repeated the maneuver.
The battle between him and the beast dragged on, but it was obvious who held the upper hand.
Lex moved with precision, every strike calculated, turning what should have been a brutal fight into a display of control.
Within five minutes, the beast crashed to the ground, lifeless.
'I should stay away from that guy until I'm at least Category 6,' Francis muttered under his breath.
His statement didn't come from fear but from a clear assessment of the armored man. The issue wasn't just stats or skills—it was something deeper: battle IQ.
Although Francis was intelligent too, he excelled more at planning—deadly in an ambush but less effective in a direct fight.
For the time being, he just took note of the fight, then turned and moved off, searching for his next target.
Watching that fight made him feel a growing urgency to become stronger.
He slipped into the back of a restaurant.
Pots and pans lay scattered across the floor, alongside the bodies of those unlucky enough to be caught by the superheated air.
Their corpses weren't as charred as the ones outside, but the expressions on their faces showed they had suffered more—probably from their lungs burning slowly.
Exactly what he was looking for.
He ripped into one corpse after another, extracting only the liver he required.
[DING!]
[100/100 Human Livers]
Heat flooded his body, forcing most of his parasite form to slither out of the raven, twisting and elongating.
When he reached his peak flexibility, he slowly retracted, merging back.
To the outside eye, nothing seemed amiss; he looked like an ordinary bird, just as he preferred.
[Evolution Complete: Category 3 Achieved]
[Infestation: 2 ->3]
[Parasite Eyes: 2->3]
[Parashift : 1->2]
[Integration- 1->2]
[New Ability: Berserk Mode – When activated, the user's overall stats are tripled for 1 minute. After the effect ends, the infected body explodes, leaving the user weakened and vulnerable in their parasite state.]
He scanned through his abilities, feeling neither satisfaction nor disappointment.
Berserk Mode might prove useful in the future, but for now, he has no plan to engage in an unnecessary fight.
His priority remained the same: stay under the radar for as long as possible. It was the smartest move, given the nature of his power.
Next, he checked his status.
=====
Name: Francis Hall
Category: 3
Energy Levels: 20/20
Infestation – Level 3
Parasite eyes- Level 3
Parashift - Level 2
Integration- Level 2
Berserk - Level 1
=====
'Good,' he nodded in satisfaction after seeing his energy reserve had doubled.
With this much, he wouldn't need to be too stingy with his skills. Not only that, but he could also experiment later with his other abilities to maximize their potential.
Just like when normal people see a pen, they only see it as an item for writing.
But an operative sees many possibilities—a knife, a tool for picking locks, a tiny projectile, or even a trigger for a trap. Everything could have a use beyond its original function.
The system's vague descriptions worked the same way. It gave him the basics, but left room for creativity, experimentation, and mastery.
[DING!]
[New Mission: Devour 1000 Livers]
[Reward : Category 4]
The numbers skyrocketed, and the worst-case scenario had actually come true.
With requirements like that, it was inevitable the Defense Force would start asking questions—having over a thousand corpses missing their livers was bound to draw attention, and even a hundred was already pushing it.
And the scary thing about the mind was that once it became aware of something, it tended to become overly self-conscious about it.
thud!
thud!
Footsteps pounded against the tile floor. Francis moved quickly and found a hiding spot on the highest shelf.
From there, he could see the room clearly and reach the small ventilation window.
"Clear the area first, then we'll assess." barked by a DF Agent.
"Sir, look—we have another one."
Through the gap between the boxes, he peered.
A Defense Force operative crouched beside one of the corpses, pointing at the torn abdomen.
"Liver's gone too. I think Lieutenant Lex's assumption is right. A small creature is targeting corpses."
"Do you think we're dealing with a Category 1 or 2 beast that just eats livers?"
The voice belonged to a man with silver bars on his collar—higher ranking than the others. He stepped closer to examine the wounds.
"Might be the case, sir. These marks and wounds could only be done by tiny creatures."
Francis remained motionless. He expected this eventually—there was no way to hide such an obvious evidence.
"Get forensics in here. I want bite impressions, saliva samples if there are any, and a full autopsy on the corpses."
The officer stepped back, scanning the destroyed kitchen.
"And check the walls, the vents—anywhere small enough for a Category 1 to squeeze through. Beasts like this are usually dumb, so it should have left some traces."
Francis slipped through the vent and flew upward.