Chapter 4

The air in the cave was cold and stale. The absence of the smells of the forest that I was so accustomed to brought a deep sense of discomfort.

The slight discomfort was necessary for my plans.

In preparation for my first conscious evolution I had spent days meticulously sealing off all entrances and exits to my den.

The red energy was extremely powerful, the risk of something going wrong was less than a tenth of a percent. Nonetheless I chose to stockpile dozens of large prey which could be used to replenish myself if something were to spiral out of my control.

'I'm ready.'

The red energy stored in my chest was so thick that droplets of liquids continuously formed and dissolved.

I no longer hesitated to begin my plan.

Responding to my thoughts, the red energy swiftly began to change.

The trickle of energy that usually nourished my body with a gentle flow doubled and tripled with no end in sight.

My nervous system was forcibly disabled as my flesh and bones gradually dissolved. The powerful strength that usually accompanied by every action dissipated into nothingness and my awareness of my surroundings was reduced to almost nothing.

Without a brain to contain my consciousness, the red energy became my only tether to the material world.

In my fluid like state I was helpless to defend myself. Forcibly enveloping my foe in my own biomass and fusing with them would be my only form of attack. The risks of this were huge.

The successful fusion that had created my wolfman self was nothing less than a miracle. I was not so foolish or arrogant to think that I could rely on luck for a second time.

The red energy continued to break down my genome, splitting it into its most basic parts in order to make it anew. 

I had decided the direction of my evolution long in advance and the red energy now followed my commands to reconstruct my anatomy. 

The outline of my new form began to take shape.

A thick and sturdy carapace formed, hard enough to shrug off the sharp edges of a sword or the pointed tips of arrows. The wolfman form was strong and fast, but its defense was ultimately weak.

I had found clear evidence of human civilization in the forest, resembling the aftermath of a fierce battle. After this discovery I had decided to prioritize the strengthening of my defense.

Anything related to flesh or blood had been removed from the scene, but the killers seemed to have no interest in the carriages or goods that they carried. 

The inherited memories from my human body were murky and fragmented. The majority of them had been lost due to the prolonged period of oxygen starvation before I repossessed the body. 

Fortunately the wolf's memories were better preserved. 

In one of the ruined carriages I had found a journal, detailing the journey of a merchant caravan that had accidentally become lost in the endless forests. The journal detailed the party's struggle to survive in the face of nature's fangs. 

However the final entry of the journal revealed that the party met their end at the hands of something far more monstrous than wolves or bears. 

The journal described them as deformed and savage foes, trapped in this world by the conjunction of the spheres, a cataclysmic event that had lead to the near extinction of this world's native race. 

After reading the final entry, frantically scrawled in human blood, I realized the nature of the world I now inhabited. 

There were the Witchers that wielded silver blades with deathly precision and strength. Sorcerers that could bring down lightning from the skies and cast spells to destroy entire cities. Then there was the terrifying black empire of Nilfgard, hungrily stretching out their forces into new lands. 

For the first time I felt just how vulnerable I was. 

My wolfman form, even after the strengthening of the red energy, was still no more than a slightly larger ant to a prepared sorcerer. I doubted even whether I would be able to escape alive from a Witcher. 

The strength of a Witcher lay not only in their formidable mutations, but also their extensive training and alchemy. Even if my speed exceeded theirs, I would have no choice but to engage in desperate combat if a barrier sign sealed my escape route. Worse still were the alchemical bombs used by Witchers. 

The energy consumption of repairing muscle that had been sliced open by a blade was very low. But the consumption of regrowing flesh that had been melted to nothing by fire and acid was immense. 

'Concentrate.' I reminded myself. 

I focused my attention back on the changes taking place in my body. 

The thick carapace had now roughly taken shape into a humanoid form. The carapace was a dull brown color and would allow to blend in more easily with the forest floor. 

Four thick and powerful limbs gradually became more defined. This new body was predominantly insectoid in genetic makeup and combined the raw physical strength from the black bear with the heavily armored exoskeleton of a beetle. 

The formation of the carapace continued and I watched as the substance harder than bone stretched and elongated in incredible ways. 

Two bug like eyes, beginning as white granules, grew crazily in the eye sockets of the huge insectoid creature. Fleshy pink strands trailed from the backs of both eyes and connected to the gradually forming nervous system. 

I knew that I was deviating even further from my humanity.

Werewolves were inexplicably linked to mankind. Some myths considered their huge hairy forms to be the result of a curse, transforming them into bloodthirsty beasts. Others told the tale of a terrible disease transmitted by bite that would turn the infected into half-man, half wolf monsters. 

Regardless of the how, werewolves were widely considered to have once been ordinary men and women. 

If a kind traveler were to chance upon me prowling the forests, I might be able to beguile them with a tragic tale of how I came to be my monstrous half-wolf self. 

However the integration of insectoid genes had erected an invisible barrier between humanity and I. 

The 7 foot tall insectman emerging from red goo in front of me looked like an alien bred on another planet. Its two bug like eyes held no trace of pathetic emotions such as kindness or joy. 

The insectman continued to take shape. Its muscles were a deep shade of red and interlocked with such tightness that they seemed unbreakable.

The growth process continued for several hours. 

Finally, I felt the red energy call out to my consciousness. 

Then, I opened my new eyes.