Suddenly, the sound of a big creature walking resonated through the ground. The air grew still, the usual chirping and rustling of the jungle falling silent. A primal instinct, even through the beetle's simple nervous system, screamed danger. Leo felt a cold dread, a feeling far more intense than any discomfort he'd experienced as a ghost, it was the danger sense of the scarab ringing bells. This was a threat to the body he currently inhabited, and by extension, to his connection to the physical world.
He quickly looked around trying to find where this creature is. And then he saw it, a bear was heading towards his direction. He appraised it and saw it's stats that were much higher than his. This situation could only be described as "extremely dangerous".
After the initial shock subsided he knew he needed to run away but he was way too slow to do so, the bear even as it was just walking was faster than him. He tried to fly but the beetles terrible flight ability along with his inexperience made him crash back to the ground and it wasn't long before the bear stepped on him crushing him, forcing Leo out of the scarab's now dead body.
'Ouch, that hurt' he checked his status and saw that he had lost 30 HP. 'You damn bear, i just got this body and you just come and crash it' Leo was angry to say the least.
'I'll show you not to mess with me' He approached the bear that was eating the beetle he was possessing. He jumped into the bears body but it didn't even take a second before he was violently ejected from it's body, failing to take control.
Now he was floating with a pained dignity and a weird feeling of pain 'Ah, i understand feeling pain after being crushed and ejected from the beetles body but why am i in pain now' He checked his status and saw that he had lost another 10 HP and a personal log that said his possession had failed.
'There was no mention in the skill description that a failed possession will hurt' he grumbled 'And why did i get thrown out so fast, i possessed the beetle so easily. On the other hand, the beetle was much weaker than me while this bear isn't. I guess i can only possess creatures with a lower spirit stat than me'
With this realization he now knew to be more careful with who he chooses to possess. He now wandered around again in search of a creature he would be capable of possessing. He saw all kinds of creatures but most of them were strong or at least stronger than him or too weak to be of use to him after possessing them.
After a while of looking around and appraising all kinds of creatures he finally found one that looked to not be too weak and not too strong for him to fail the possession either. It was a cat-like animal, sleek and agile, with fur the color of twilight and eyes that seemed to glow faintly in the dim jungle light. It moved with a silent grace, stalking something unseen in the undergrowth. Its ears twitched, listening to the subtle sounds of the forest, and its tail swished gently behind it.
Leo appraised it, his spectral gaze focusing intently.
[Name: None]
[Age: 1 Year]
[Species: Shadow Cat]
[Level: 5]
[HP: 80]
[Mana: 50]
[STR: 12]
[AGI: 15]
[VIT: 10]
[INT: 8]
[SPR: 10]
[Skills: Stealth (Lvl 3), Pounce (Lvl 2), Night Vision (Lvl 1)]
Leo's eyes widened, or what passed for widening in his ghostly form. A Spirit stat of 10! This was perfect. It was lower than his own Spirit of 15, meaning he should be able to possess it. The Shadow Stalker was also a much more capable creature than the Rainbow Scarab, with skills like Stealth and Pounce that could prove incredibly useful. This was a great chance for him.
He swiftly approached and jumped into this cat and fought against it's consiousnes for control over it's body. It didn't take more than a minute for him to win and take control over it's body.
The world shifted once more, but this time, the transition was smoother, less jarring than with the beetle. He felt the supple strength in the Shadow Cat's limbs, the keen sharpness of its senses. The jungle scents were richer, the sounds more distinct, and the dim light of the canopy was perfectly clear through the cat's specialized eyes. He instinctively stretched, feeling the powerful muscles ripple under the twilight fur. This was a body that could move, that could hunt, that could truly explore.
He brought up his status window again, eager to see the changes.
[Status]
[Name: Leo Hawthorne]
[Age: 19]
[Species: Ghost (Shadow Cat)]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 138/150-(80/80)]
[Mana: 100/100]
[STR: 12]
[AGI: 15]
[VIT: 10]
[INT: 10]
[SPR: 15]
[Stat Points: 0]
[Skill Points: 0]
[Unique Skills: Status Window, ???]
[Skills: Item Box (Lvl 1), Appraisal]
[Species Skills: Invisible, Ethereal Form, Levitation, Spectral Sight, Chill Zone, Possession, Undying]
[Possessed Species Skills: Stealth (Lvl 3), Pounce (Lvl 2), Night Vision (Lvl 1)]
He felt a thrill of anticipation. This was it. With this new and more capable body he was now capable of even hunting other creatures. It was time to level up.