"Ahhh.. I'm falling to death..."
As I was about to be grabbed by the aberrant, I accidentally fumbled between two wobbly rocks that I carelessly stepped on and ended up flying head first again, toward my certain demise.
After my second chance of life, accepting this pathetic way of dying will be my greatest regret!
Cracking my head to find an escape, I suddenly remembered that I still have stat points left for me to allocate.
Boom!!!!
The abrupt fall from a 100 meter high cliff created a small crater and clouds of dust burst forth. The dust settled down, and there I am, lying flat and arching my back due to the immense pain from my head down to my butt.
"AhHhHhH!!!!"
I immediately covered my big mouth as my screams left my quivering lips.
Thankfully, I hastily spent all of my points on my Vitality, which subsequently increased my Health cap by 10 per point, a total of 30 HP!! And with my luck, I only took 15 fall damage. So now I just have a meager 20 left out of 80 health.
"But for god's sake! why can't they just remove the pain receptors if we based everything on an RPG system?!" I bickered relentlessly to the one who created this masochistic system.
I wiped my dirty clothes full of tears and holes as I tumbled my way down through those thick branches of trees. Picking up myself again, I closely inspect my right arm and to my surprise, the black gooey and deformed arm solidified, fully transformed into a new and completely functional limb!
"And I gained points from both my innate traits too- so my misery ain't a waste after all." I tearfully spoke as I recount the things that I just experienced.
Arhaaaahhhhhawaaaawl!!!!!!!!!
A deafening incoherent roar coming from the abomination of a man, blasting the silence and sending chills to my very core. Looking up, I saw the glowing blue eyes piercing my confidence once again.
Then countless howls echoed beyond the dark valley, responding to its call. I darted again, running for my precious life.
"...Weapon, I need something to kill that monster..." Trying to search for anything I can use while trudging my feet forward into the depths of the forest.
"F*ck--these twigs won't even leave a scratch to that beast, let alone kill it. What am I supposed to do, there's gotta be a way!..."
I tried checking my skills, hoping for something but I don't have any offensive ones. I might be able to throw them at the Void, yet I'm doubting myself if I can pull off that stunt without me being dragged along too.
And I'm also getting hungry, is it lunch time already? I can definitely open another portal after two hours or so.
"I have to survive first before then..." I muttered, ignoring my stomach growling with each step I take.
Delving deeper, I stumbled upon a dark and murky swamp spanning beyond my vision. The rising fog also doesn't help at all. With my limited vision, I can only see certain areas from here and there.
"...Venturing forward to the unknown is very risky. The best way will be to go around the swamp instead."
With my path forking toward the left side, I marched quickly while three shadows followed my trail.
"AAW...SHIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.............."
Having no footwear at all, it's difficult to navigate the swamp side. I can barely contain my body from twitching in pain whenever I step on a thorny bush. Due to the effect of my [Ungodly] trait, I don't need to worry about dying from infection or poison, but the rhythmic suffering I get is very maddening.
Rustle.. Rustle..
Not even half way through, I heard a rustling sound a couple of yards away just behind my back. I reluctantly turned my head and paused nervously, there they were!
Three small-sized black dogs with faint blue eyes, sniffing my trail. Their open wounds festered by maggots, broken bones piercing their ribs and their rotting flesh barely hanging. The one near my position spotted the statue I became and barked at the other two, sprinting alone maniacally.
[Accursed Tiny Terror Lvl.1]
Pawn Rank Aberrant
Health: 10--------Mana: 5
Str: 1--------------Int: 0
Agi: 3-------------Vit: 2
Def: 0------------Mor:-35
"...They're just level 1 with low attributes, but the problem is that I can't fight them all at once. I have to pick them one by one." I thought as I mustered my remaining courage to fight these zombie mutts.
Standing firm to brace from the incoming impact, the dog jumped at me in full speed, barring its fang, aiming to bite off my neck.
Humpfh!!!
Judging at the right moment, I sent a blitzing uppercut towards the head of the dog, I felt the mushy meat on my knuckle as my fist swept its upper body, instantly exploding. The remaining two sprinted apathetically, ignoring the fact their buddy just died in front of them a while ago.
Ting!
[You earned 5 experience.]
"Wait... I only earned this much??" Baffled by what just happened, but couldn't complain further.
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Closing in, the two dogs made a piercing attack with their tongue out wagging and plunging in synchrony.
Raaaawrrr!!! Raaaaaawrr!!!
"Not a chance!!" I mockingly said, leaping upward and evading their pitiful attempt while grabbing them at their neck with all of the force I could exert. My thumb and fingertips dug deeper reaching their skulls, crushing and breaking both like tofu.
Ting!
[You earned 5 experience.]
Ting!
[You earned 5 experience.]
"Whoooohhhh...." I sighed in relief as their limping bodies dropped on the soft ground.
"From what I recall, I'll level up after earning 1000 exp points. So does that mean I have to kill a lot of monsters just to reach level 2??" I spouted as the buried dilemma surfaced again.
The bastard who crafted the system made it soul-like and cranked it up to the hardest difficulty!!
"F*cking hell..." I cursed my sorrows away, vividly imagining the never-ending grind I will madly partake in.
"Oof--before I forget, I need to consume these bodies to progress my [Devourer of the Sun] trait."
With a grandiose movement, I knelt down perfectly and stretched my arm with the palm hardly touching the top butt of the deceased mutt.
"Ewww.. the stench is so horrid!" I exclaimed.
With a galant voice, I uttered the skill name:
"[Devourer of the Sun]!!!"
..................
..................
..................
..................
..................
..................
"Uhmm... Ehe.. Nothing's happening? Maybe I didn't say the words clearly."
I tried again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Hell! I even changed my tone and stance, yet all were in vain.
"The skill says consuming the target blah blah blah, why ain't my skill doing it?" Dumbfounded and puzzled by the outcome, I pinched a small meat from its butt cheeks, smelt it good and gobbled it heedlessly.
With a thunderous ting~! ringing inside my head, I can only shed tears and glance at the remaining rotten meat in front of me.
You earned 1 point for [Devour of the Sun] Trait.
You recovered 1 health point.
You also earned a taboo trait:
[Bio-Forge]
Description:
By eating a being from the Void, you unlock the power to transmute the soul core into an equipment. The stats and effects are solely based on the quality of the soul core. The weapon's appearance depends on the user's desire. Additionally, precious stones and materials can be used as reagents to amplify the stats further.
[You can now access the Forge menu at the lower right tab of the Status Window.]
"This is... awesome! A godsend cheat code for me to abuse!"
And after the never ending cycle of eating and vomiting, I found a black marble near its chest cavity, faintly glowing in the same shade as their eyes. Using the interwave to analyze the foreign object, the system confirmed it to be a soul core.
[Soul Core (Tiny Terror)]
Low Quality
Qty: 1
By consuming this item, you will earn 10 experience and 5 points to the corresponding skill immediately. Subsequently, you'll be able to recover 20 HP after consumption. You can also use this as a main component for equipment creation.
"Heck yeah!"
I searched the other carcass and luckily I found another marble at the same spot like the first one. Unfortunately, the one I punched and exploded might not have any core left intact.
With two marbles on hand, I'm saving one while I tossed the other into my mouth.
Surprisingly, it went down silky smooth, and I can taste a hint of mint!!!
Or so I thought.
"With that I gained full health, 25 experience points and 5 trait points... Lemme peek on my gains quickly"
[Innate Traits]
- Devourer of the Sun (Passive Skill)
7 pts out of 100,000 pts to evolve
- Truthseeker (Passive Skill)
20 pts out of 5000 pts to evolve
- Transcended One (Passive Skill)
50 pts out of 1,000 pts to evolve
- Ungodly (Passive Skill)
37 pts out of 50,000 pts to evolve
- Vorpal Hex (Passive Skill)
1 pts out of 10,000 pts to evolve
My soul just left my body.
With that much needed points, I really need to dip my toes and face the danger head on, risking my life!
Upon hearing large movements from a mile behind me, I treaded aimlessly to outpace the pursuers. These swarms are so persistent. Although, this could be an advantage for me too.
"Time to move on then." I said, picking up the remaining carcasses nonchalantly.
To kill these monsters, I badly need a weapon. With the newly unlocked trait, I can create equipment on a fly. I only need one core, a portion of its body part and ores to upgrade.
"For now, these core and carcasses are sufficient to create a weapon, but... doing it in an open area will be dangerous, I need to find a secured place."
I don't even know how long the process will take. The monsters though for sure won't be waiting gullibly as I dilly-dally my time here.
"Being out here makes me an easy target, I have to go back inside."
With that, I decided to turn and move forth toward the nearest woodland, hoping to find a temporary solace amidst the veil of darkness.
Chaos ensued and the safety I hungered for was a b*tch, immediately encountering aberrant monsters inside the dark forest. A faceless humanoid with a wide slit in the chest down to its abdomen decorated with serrated teeth; whom I lost my left arm while I escaped. A headless humanoid with blade like limbs who caught and diced my left leg and, a three headed humanoid with a muscular body who tackled me to another cave opening and breaking my bones to pieces.
And now here I am in this damp hole barely moving. The blistering sensation coming from my rib bones sticking out below my lower chest makes it impossible to breathe. And my neck too, it snapped after I landed hard on the stone cold floor. Thankfully, the hole is large enough for me to fit in yet too small for that gym rat monster to chase me down here.
It took a moment before my trait started to kick in and brought me back to full shape. The pain is unforgiving as ever. My HP from being full, went down to 30 again. I gazed upon the rotten meat wrapped in a makeshift bag that I hastily crafted using my own shirt, wretching and thinking whether to eat it or not.
"Going outside with a little health left is just asking to be one shot. But I need the meat to forge a weapon, yes.. I need a weapon.." coercing myself as memories flashed of me vomiting and puking convulsively.
With that, I grabbed both the soul core and the meat, opened the Status Window then went straight ahead to the Bio-Forge section.
The layout is pretty much the same as the previous interface. To create equipment, I have to place all the necessary materials close to me. And then choose 'confirm' to proceed.
"It says here that if the materials are sufficient, then the confirm button will light up, if not then it will just stay grey." I mumbled as I reached out my hand while waiting anxiously.
Ting!
[The minimum materials required are met. Do you want to proceed?]
[Confirm/Cancel]
"Confirm!!!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! F******ck!!! Not agaaiiin!!!!"
A subtle crunching sound can be heard. What I didn't expect is that both my arms are being ripped inside and out by the same black goo-like tentacles ever expanding and consuming the materials. I can't even look properly as my eyes are already full of tears and sweat coming down from my forehead. I bit my lips with the constant pain making me want to bang my head on the floor. The trait didn't also mention that I'll lose a third of my remaining life, leaving me with 20 health.
[Forge Completed]
After the agonizing process, the pain subsided and the goo started to retract inside of me, leaving a pulsing pair of gauntlets already attached to my fists. My heart is pounding as I lifted the weapon I desired.
[Tiny Terror Pads Lvl 1]
Pawn-rank Bio-Gauntlets
Common Quality
Atk: + 20
Vit: + 2
Effects: None
A pair of black gauntlets made by fusing the core and flesh, giving life to once dead 'Tiny Terror'. Unfortunately, the consciousness of the being didn't survive the process, leaving a mindless bio-weapon with no effects retained.
"Not bad~ even though it doesn't have any effects, my vitality will increase by a bit, and the attack power is a good boot too." I pondered, closely inspecting the wriggling gauntlets.
In fairness, they might look disgusting outside but inside, my hands can definitely feel the smooth and supple texture like I'm touching Lei's soft arm...
I blushed, as I remembered how I often touched and pinched her arms whenever we played together back when we were just kids.
"Ehem... So... They are also quite light, the same as wearing rubber gloves, I believe."
Testing the durability, I punched the thick stone wall inside the cave path, cracking and piercing it with ease. As expected, these are very sturdy indeed.
I can't climb back due to the fact that the pathway upward is very steep, not to mention the disgruntled huffs from the aberrant waiting just outside the cave. The area I'm in doesn't have any paths for me to crawl into.
Then a slight breeze from the hole I made slowly caressed my hair as I clenched my fist, ready to embark beyond the nightmares to come.
