Hardcore OP-ness

Chapter 6: Michael's Best Friend

The average human was actually only level-zero, and they certainly didn't possess a mana-core. In order to obtain one, a person would have had to consume one from a rank-G magical-beast, or spend years going through intensive training for their respective field of expertise and gaining a 'Class'.

Michael was different; perhaps it was related to the being that brought him from his original world, but he did start with a significant advantage over most humanoid races. Of course, he had no way of knowing it at the time, and could only writhe in agony as his body struggled to stay alive.

He yelled "Oi, Hare-Bear, where the hell are you!? Someone, please just fucking kill me!" It wasn't that he didn't try to bash his skull open with a rock, or tear out his carotid artery with his fingernails, he definitely did attempt to commit suicide in quite a few ways... but he wasn't allowed.

Whenever he was about to do it, an invisible barrier appeared and stopped his actions, while a monotone feminine voice told him "Friendly Fire has been averted." There was no emotion, yet he felt as if she was taunting him.

Michael yelled "Sarah, didn't you want to use me to evolve?! You're there somewhere right?! Come on, don't worry, I'll let you do whatever you want with my corpse, just please kill me, okay?!" Unfortunately, rather than attracting the attention of ravenous predators, bandits, or monsters, he was just lying there, slowly losing health and gaining it back in a never-ending cycle.

Ironically, his HP regen was boosted after digesting the level-two mana-core, otherwise he would have died a lot more quickly. Eventually, his stamina reached the point where he was about to lose consciousness, so at least he didn't have to worry about the pain for much longer.

However, it was at that time, when he heard a faint whimpering near his left ear. He lazily opened his eyes, and glanced at the adorable red-furred fox that was laying down beside his head.

He asked himself "Geeze, why does it feel like... ugh, the wild animals in this world, are way too easily domesticated? Although, considering how aggressive those magical-beasts were... maybe it's some sort of balancing mechanic?" Michael reached over and picked up the docile creature, and placed it onto his chest, while gently caressing its relatively small and fragile body.

Foxes were part of the Canidae family, so they followed many of the same behavioral patterns as dogs. Although, most animals who lived in the wilderness, didn't easily grow accustomed to humans, and would typically avoid them.

As the dying man gazed into those cat-like, bright yellow eyes, he smirked and whispered "Did you come looking for more of that tasty bunny-meat? Heh-heh, don't worry, I still have quite a bit left..." He pulled a rabbit-carcass out of his bag, and placed it to the right of his body; without hesitation, the kit quickly got off of his chest and started devouring it.

It was rather messy, and a decent amount of blood and other juices splashed onto Michael's body, but he was in too much pain to care. As he lost consciousness, a jet-black wisp emerged from his forehead, and hovered a few feet in the air.

Immediately after eating the mana-core of the white-rabbit, the red-fox began to change. It's fur lost all its color, and its eyes turned a bright-crimson: the vulpine pupils remained the same though. Then, its tail split in half, and both became significantly longer, while maintaining the same magnitude of fluffiness.

The wisp muttered "Seriously, so cliche... but it's still kinda cool. Usually, the maximum is nine, but if the highest rank is SSS, which I'm just completely guessing at this point, shouldn't it be possible to have eleven? Although, there's no guarantee that each additional evolution would keep increasing the tail-count. Sigh, oh wow, those ears... it definitely looks like a fennec now."