Instead of a menu like I had with everything else, something almost like a character sheet popped up instead. It even had a model that I could manipulate at will to see all the various changes. The model was naked aside from a loin cloth that covered my privates. It was more than I had at the moment and suddenly consumed by the need to know if the… ehm, ‘lower member’ of my male anatomy was there.
If it wasn’t, then there would be something of a relief for me since I knew I was fully intact as my human self right now. Nudity tends to do that for a person. As for my transformed state, who knows what could have been done to it. But, considering how sensitive that part of the male anatomy was for us humans, it was also a weakness I could do without in the middle of a fight. Either way, I wouldn’t know for certain until I checked when I next used the skill because the cloth couldn’t be moved, and I couldn’t manipulate the model into getting a good enough angle to see under it.
Questions of hidden anatomy aside, the rest of it looked a lot like stretched out version of my regular self. My limbs were indeed longer like I had thought earlier as were my fingers. Black claws looking like pointed, sharpen nails tipped all my digits with bigger, thicker ones on my toes. I was gaunter and more starved looking than I was now and the hair on my head was oddly grayed out like ‘yes it's going to be there but isn’t necessary right now’.
As for my face, the irises of my normally round brown eyes had turned blood red, and the pupils had turned into vertical slits like a cat’s. They sunken in too with the orbital bones surrounding them more pronounced under the skin. My nose was still there but it was larger, fleshier, and wider than the blade I normally had. The lower part of my face had become more pronounced too, turning the original heart shape into something that was more like a wide oval with the larger jaw bones and stronger muscles.
I was also able to push back the thin lips covering my teeth to see the changes there to and was relieved to find that I did not have a mouth full of fangs like who I now assumed was the Demon Lord of Gluttony. I only had four of them taking the place of my much blunter and smaller human canines. As for the rest, they had become sharper, pointier versions of themselves meant more for the crunching of bones and the rending of flesh.
With my curiosity of my alternate form satisfied for now, I returned to my ‘Bond’ tab and shard the info of my ‘Fate’ with Salazar. I had been getting feelings of cautiousness, curiosity, and slight reassurance from him while I had been fiddling around with the settings. I assumed he was receiving notifications relating to what I was doing and his status because of that. What I got from him when I showed my ‘Fate’ page to him paled in comparison to what I had gotten from him before. I was nearly overwhelmed by the flood of overpowering mixture of hope, awe, and excitement he was feeling from knowing what my fate was.
‘I knew my Master was Great! I knew you had a ‘Gluttonous Demon’ fate and had to be powerful in order to catch me like this! I didn’t know you had the Strongest one of them all!’ He told me excitedly. I could feel him squirming like crazy inside of me with the urge to run and jump and do all kinds of stuff to express his happiness. Unfortunately, all of that activity also set off my Phantom Pain Affliction and I grunted in pain even though I found his reaction amusing.
“Easy there Salazar. You’re not the only one in pain here after our fight.” I told him with a pained chuckle. He settled down to an excited trembling immediately at my words and I got a brief flash of embarrassment from him.
‘Sorry Ma-’ He started but I cut him off when there was a flash of familiar red light in the middle of the pit.
“Hold that thought. We’ve got company.” I muttered at him as I focused on what the facility’s ‘Array’ had captured.
The light had left behind a somewhat recognizable form of life from my old one, and I got the prompt to use my ‘Analyze’ skill on it. The bar for completion grew as I remained focused on it, and I was able to make out more details the longer I did so. It looked like a scorpion from my world only it was way too big to be one of the ones I saw at a pet store once. It was the size of a dog with a line of extra spines along the back of its tail and on its curved stinger. The inner ridges of its claws looked like they were ready to make a bloody mess of anything caught in its grip and it had way too many spiky legs for my tastes. While I focused on it, I could feel Salazar ponder my words and current actions.
‘Company….? Monster. If Master is hunting, then Master should know he can talk to me through the bond formed by our Pact. That is how I have been speaking to Master.’ Salazar pointed out to me.
‘Thanks for the heads up. Looks like some kind of scorpion got teleported in here.’ I told him.
‘Oh! Scorpion monsters are tasty!’ He commented just as there was a mental ding from my ‘Analyze’ skill as it completed its scan, and its stats came up for me to see.
WASTELAND SCORPION
LEVEL: 7
STATS:
Health: 100/150
Stamina: 10/10
Strength: 13
Vitality: 15
Endurance: 11
Defense: 20
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Wisdom: 2
Intelligence: 3
Agility: 7
Dexterity: 4
Charisma: 2
Luck: 5
SKILLS
Dodge
Posion Strike
Venomous Sting
Rend
Kick
Bash
SHARE INFORMATION WITH PACK MEMBERS? Y/N
I shared the stats with Salazar and made a note to check out the Pack Skills when this was over.
After I had assigned my stat points. The moment I saw the scorpion, I started kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Even if I wouldn’t get them right away because of my Starved condition, it meant that they would be there as I got the resources to fuel the changes.
‘So?’ I asked him as he looked the scorpion’s data over.
‘It is easy prey for Master. Master swallowed me did he not? And Master is stronger than when he first attacked me. Compared to me, this monster is barely a snack.’ He told me, convinced of my superiority.
‘Thanks for the vote of confidence.’ I replied in amusement before asking. ‘And when it's not compared to you?’
‘It is a feast for the master. It should be worth a few meals at least or full recovery. Maybe. It depends on Master’s level and how big it is.’ He told me after thinking on it for a bit.
‘You’re not sure?’
‘No. I do not have the same skills as Master….. and it has been a long time since I care to know my prey’s status.’ He replied, and I got a sense of shame from him. I watched the scorpion to make certain it wasn’t wandering its way over here before focusing on Salazar.
‘Sal? What’s wrong?’ I asked him gently through our link.
I kept an eye on the scorpion monster while I waited patiently for his reply. It had thrashed wildly when it first appeared and, after seeing its skills, I surmised that I would be very dead if the System hadn’t gotten me up and moving away from that spot. It had calmed down since then and had its tail down in a passive stance as it explored the place it had ended up in. I also notice that some of its legs didn’t work as they should, and I could smell and identify two different types of fresh blood that weren’t mine. I didn’t know how I knew that but if it had been in a battle recently that would explain the injuries and subpar health.
‘Master, I now realize I was in a Feral State when you first appeared. I have not been aware of my actions for a very long time. It wasn’t until I was fully inside of your stomach that clarity came back to me. That is why I was able to realize the futility of my struggles and surrender.’ He explained to me.
‘And now?’ I prodded.
‘I am still not how I was. Most of the penalties from Starvation and Mana Deprivation have been suspended but not the loss of my stats…. Also… I have reached a ‘Fatal Condition’. Even if I did not return to being in a Feral State when you release me from here, I would soon die regardless. There is no timer as there should be that I can see though. I have no doubt that it would appear if I was released.’ He confessed and I sighed.
“I guess I’m not ‘letting the dogs out any time soon-!" I muttered out loud, forgetting for a moment of the danger I was in.
I instantly realized my mistake and my eyes frantically searched the gloom for the monster. It was on the far side of the pit when I finally spotted it. I watched and strained my ears to see if I could detect any movement on its part. I even ‘Analyzed’ it again in the faint hope that it had died from its injuries but no such luck, it wasn’t labeled as a Corpse. I neither I nor the scorpion moved for the longest time in what I couldn’t help but feel was the weirdest and most dangerous ‘staring’ contest in my life.
Unfortunately, I ‘blinked’ first.
My gut decided right then that it was the perfect time to grumble about how tough a meal Salazar was being, and the sound echoed loudly in my fear enhanced hearing. I stared at the scorpion, hoping that it hadn’t heard that and just for a moment, I thought it hadn’t.
I was wrong.
My fear cranked it up another level as the monster turned and started to amble calmly in my direction. Only slightly panicking at this point, I opened up my Stat page to see how screwed I really was.
NAME: Samuel (hidden: Jackson)
RACE: Human
AGE: 18
TITLES: DEMON’S BANE, TITAN HUNTER
SOUL TRAITS: Defiant(worn), Merciful(neutral), Kind(neutral), Noble(strained)
FATE: Demon Lord of Gluttony(hidden)
STATUS: System Champion
STATS:
Level: lv6
Experience: 17/21
Health: 80/80 + 20(reserved due to low resources)
Mana: 120/120
Stamina: 10/10
CP(hidden): 27/60
Strength: 10
Vitality: 8+2(reserved due to low resources)
Endurance: 10
Defense: 7+3(reserved due to low resources)
Wisdom: 10
Intelligence: 12
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 6+4(reserved due to low resources)
Charisma: 8+2(reserved due to low resources)
Luck: 10
Free Attribute Points: 30
SKILLS:
Active: Stealth, Identify, Analyze
Passive: Stealth, Mana Essence Reserve (55), Monster Wrangling, Exploration, Mapping, Enhanced Senses
RESISTANCES:
Mana Poison resistance I
AFFLICTIONS: Starvation (suspended due to ongoing Digestion of Allied Prey) Phantom Pain II (5:50)
BONUSES: None
OTHER: None
As pleasant as it was to see that some of my stats had gone up since the last time I looked, I swore very loudly in my head at the timer. I knew from past experience that I couldn’t move very well with the debuff and I doubted I could dodge a hit from that stinger even though I had the higher agility stat. I was only partially thankful that the screen was see through as it allowed me to keep an eye on the monster while I finally decided where my free stat points should go.
