Monster and Animal Language?
For the past few days, I've been getting the hang of using [Parasitic Domination] on just about anything that crosses my path. It's been an interesting experiment, to say the least. Every creature I manage to take over adds a little more to my experience, and before I knew it, I leveled up a couple of times. Goblins, deer, monkeys, boars, birds, moles, even a spider—they've all had their turn as my temporary ride.
Surprisingly, they don't drop dead as quickly as the worms and bats did. With these creatures, I can control them for about three to five minutes before their bodies give out. It's like I'm piloting a living mech, just like in those Gundam shows I used to watch back on Earth. Only here, I'm inside the cockpit, and the cockpit is, well… a creature's brain.
One of the most intriguing things I've tried is communication. When I was controlling a monkey and later a goblin, I tried to interact with their kind, hoping to blend in and maybe gather some useful information. But it turns out, they weren't fooled at all. They knew something was off the moment I opened my mouth—or rather, their mouths.
"Ooh ooh ah ah ooh," I tried, using sign language to get the other monkeys' attention. They stared at me for a moment, and then, like a switch flipped, they all started screeching and charging at me.
"Oh crap, ooh ooh ah!!" I panicked, bolting away as fast as the monkey's limbs could carry me. After barely escaping the angry troop, I couldn't help but wonder, "Did I just flash the wrong gang signs? Is that why they got so triggered?"
Goblins, it turns out, also have their own way of communicating. I tried to get the attention of a goblin guard with a casual, "Yo!" and pointed angrily toward a random bird perched nearby. Apparently, my act worked because a group of goblins immediately sprang into action, chasing after the poor bird.
"What a bunch of idiots," I muttered to myself, only to realize a moment later that I'd been dragged along with them on their little hunting mission. We ran through the forest like a pack of rabid wolves, all while I tried to figure out how to gracefully exit this situation before my time ran out.
Both times I tried to communicate—whether it was with the monkeys or the goblins—my control ended after five minutes. Still, it wasn't a total waste. I learned a bunch of skills from those [Parasitic Domination] sessions.
From the goblins, I picked up [Throw LV II]—a surprisingly useful skill for hurling objects with accuracy. The monkeys taught me [Abyssal Mimicry LV I], which lets me imitate sounds or behaviors to confuse or distract others. I snagged [Endurance LV III] from the boars, boosting my stamina for those longer hunts (or escapes).
From the bird, I learned [Quick Flight LV I], though it's more of a quick leap for me as a worm. I couldn't help but laugh, "Maybe at higher levels, I can actually fly. But who am I kidding? I don't even have wings."
The deer contributed [Alert Call LV II], a skill that's quite useful for alerting others to danger—or causing a bit of chaos. The moles' [Rapid Digging LV IV] was a significant upgrade to my existing [Dig] skill, effectively merging the two into something far more efficient. And finally, from that small spider in the trees, I picked up [Venomous Bite LV I]. It's a nice skill, but the irony isn't lost on me. I want my victims to last longer so I can maximize my time in control, so using venom might actually work against me.
Each new skill feels like another piece of a puzzle, adding to my capabilities and opening up new strategies. But the most interesting part? Realizing that these creatures communicate, and they know when something's not right. It's not just about brute force anymore; understanding how these creatures interact with each other could be the key to surviving and maybe even thriving down here.
Still, I've got a lot to learn. But hey, leveling up in a weird, underground world isn't so different from leveling up in a game. You grind, you gain skills, and you keep pushing forward, one challenge at a time.