Heaven's gate

Silas, who had grown so much in the past 30 days, had already outgrown his old lair and currently made the dormant volcano his new home. He decided to move to a different zone soon as the number of affinities he could receive in this area was limited, and for the past four days, he hadn't found any new affinities.

But before that, Silas had a mission to complete.

Even though Silas had grown quite large, he had not killed any monsters in this world. There were multiple things he had to consider before taking action. First, he wasn't sure about the abilities of the monsters here. In the human world, almost all monsters had been analyzed, and suitable strategies had been devised. But in this world, Silas hadn't even heard of any of these creatures. The second thing- he wasn't sure about the territory of the apex predators. What if the smell of blood attracted a stronger creature? So, Silas had kept quiet, slowly growing his strength. Even though he might not be able to defeat the giant centipede head-on, he was confident enough that he could at least protect himself against it.

The other thing that gave him more confidence was his race. Even now, he wasn’t entirely sure what his race was called, but he had a guess. A couple of weeks ago, he had seen his reflection in a nearby lake.

At first, Silas was stunned, as his reflection resembled a giant cat with fur dark as ink and two golden eyes that exuded majesty. Initially, he thought he looked like a black leopard or a panther, but after closer inspection, he noticed a slight trace of a mane growing around his neck, with strands of red fur scattered throughout. Seeing this, Silas became almost certain that he was some sort of lion—maybe a black lion?

Back in the human world, lions were one of the apex predators before the opening of the gates.

After the gates came into existence there were even speculations that predators might have evolved due to the introduction of the gates. However, news related to the wild had become highly classified, and people were rarely allowed outside the city gates

. Even though no incidents came into light regarding any accidents that might have caused by the gates in the wild, there was a widespread agreement that their arrival had benefited wild beasts, as it had happened with humans.

Having this slight guess about what he was boosted Silas’s confidence. He was certain he was stronger than the insects and bugs that made up most of the creatures in this place. Once his evolution points reached 100, he was sure that his sheer size alone would allow him to dominate the entire realm.

Silas pulled his thoughts back to the present. Now was not the time for speculation; it was the time to act. He galloped toward the narrow valley where the crabs lived. Even though he was massive, his steps were so quiet that not even the fallen leaves rustled. He blended into the night like a silent assassin, making his way to the crabs’ lair. Silas decided to take action today—if he grew any more, he wouldn’t even be able to fit into the valley and would be left as a spectator.

When Silas arrived at the familiar valley, he didn't rush in immediately. He hid outside and peered into the miasma-filled gorge. As he looked in, one of the crabs hiding behind the vines noticed him. Its eyes turned red with unseen ferocity, as if it had spotted the beast that had stolen its mate. Silas, however, was too focused on the holes to notice. He was waiting for the perfect moment to launch a surprise attack.

The reason for the crab’s anger could be found if we rewound time a little.

Silas who stole the night shade berries did not stop after his first time. Every five days, he returned to the spot to harvest more berries as if he had planted and watered them himself. The last time he visited, he had almost been caught, but unfortunately the crabs only caught a glimpse of his tail swaying as he escaped.

Since then, the crabs became extremely alert, with one particular crab standing guard beneath the vines, in rain and storm… even under the scorching sun and biting cold…., waiting for the thief to show up again.

Seeing Silas hiding behind a large group of rocks the crab didn’t let its anger cloud its judgment. It silently slid down a hole and scuttled inside the lair.

Inside the Crab Lair, a crab stood on a high platform, waving its claws emotionally as if giving a grand speech. The crabs below it nodded silently, their claws clenched tightly as they raised them in the air. Scenes of past grievances played through their minds as their eyes turned emotional.

Meanwhile, Silas, completely unaware of the crabs’ uprising, stood behind a tree, licking his lips as he daydreamed about the crab dishes he could make. He counted them off on his paws—crab fry, crab pizza, crab lollipop, crab roast, crab curry... crab soup. He quickly realized that his fingers weren’t enough to count them all and swallowed hard, trying to stop him from salivating.

But unbeknownst to him, the crabs had already started their move. Hundreds of them marched like a silent battalion of assassins, creeping towards Silas in the shadows. This time, there were no loud snapping of claws.

Determination could be seen in the crab’s eyes as they had suffered enough from having their food supply raided, and now they were determined to put an end to it. Their race, the Noctisnappers, only consumed fruits and had been surviving on nightshade berries, which were their favorite. But after Silas's thefts, they had depleted most of their reserves. If this continued, they wouldn't survive the next month, thinking about their families and friends they steeled their hearts.

They were not a group of war mongrels who loved fighting, they were a peace loving community who had been good with their neighbors for countless generations and they never imagined that there would be a day where they need to go to war to secure their food. But there is no going back now….