Lanek’s feline guide lunged in to take swipes at the undead abomination, its attacks passing through the stalker’s body. Was it unable to interact with the creature? It seemed all the cat could do was distract the monster.

Lanek approached the stalker, noting its familiar shape before realization struck him. The posture, long arms, and the color of its skin pointed to a single conclusion. This thing was wearing a gaunt. As if the stalker itself wasn’t enough, Lanek had to deal with a stalker that had dispatched a creature that he had only stood a chance against because he surprised it.

Should I make a run for it? No, I can’t outrun this thing and there is no guarantee that it will stop at the gate. According to Caelis, creatures had already escaped the dungeon to conquer the city. Maybe they are already spreading into the countryside?

Unfortunately for Lanek, the stalker wasn’t nearly as unaware as the gaunt had been. Its head turned in Lanek’s direction as if detecting his intent to engage. The stalker’s eye burned with a hateful red light that seemed to intensify as it charged Lanek.

Judging from how easily it had thrown him aside, Lanek knew he couldn’t tank another hit from this thing. Lanek stepped out of its charging path, watching it barrel past him before skidding to a stop and turning to charge again. After several passes, Lanek noticed that the Stalker was not able to adjust its path while charging.

Is it because of the stalker or the modifications the gaunt skin made to its body? Lanek prepared to dodge once, but the flaring of the creature’s eyes set off warning bells in his mind. Rather than sidestepping, he threw himself into a roll. Lanek could feel the air rushing above him as the creature swept a grotesquely long arm to the side.

If I had just sidestepped, this would have been over! The damn thing is adapting.

While he was trying to come up with a plan, the cat leapt for the monster’s face. The stalker covered its face and Lanek noticed a frost forming on the blocking arms as the cat phased through it. The undead creature turned toward Lanek, preparing to charge again, but its arms were moving more slowly than they had before.

Lanek ran forward, ducking under its arms and slashing his makeshift dagger along its ribs. I really need to learn how to use this whip properly.

Snarling in pain or anger, the stalker swung its massive arms at Lanek, barely missing him. Shit, it’s already starting to regain its speed.

It seemed as if the cat had noticed the stalker’s speed fluctuations as well and began to repeatedly launch itself at the stalker’s arms and upper body whenever it had a clear path. The creature became more and more sluggish while Lanek now moved around its body, rapidly slashing, stabbing, and dodging its attacks.

Lanek did not dare step too far away from it for fear that it would be able to pick up speed and simply crush him against a wall with its body or trample him. The cat did not seem to be able to slow the entire beast down, it could only affect portions of the stalker.

Despite his constant attacks, the creature did not seem to be taking much damage. In frustration, Lanek’s attacks turned frantic, striking one of the small blades embedded in the stalker’s stolen skin, knocking it free. Without the blade securing the flesh, a portion of the skin hung loose.

Wait, if these creatures are stronger with flesh, removing it should make it weaker. Hopefully it isn’t a gradual process.

Lanek targeted the blades stabbed into the flesh, grabbing them with his off-hand while stabbing and swiping at flesh and the intestines cinched around the thing’s waist, causing sheets and chunks of severed skin to fall to the ground. The stalker shrieked and went into a frenzy, but it was still being slowed by the spirit of the snow leopard.

He went in for the final blade, stepping in close to reach it as the stalker backpedaled. Lanek’s hand closed on the blade, but his fixation cost him. The creature’s head snapped forward, its gaping maw going for Lanek’s face. With no other options available to him, Lanek shoved his chain-covered arm into the beast’s mouth and hoped it could not bite through the whip.

Lanek screamed as the bones in his arm were crushed, but his agony was only beginning. The stalker thrashed and swung its head like a crocodile preparing for a death roll. Suddenly, Lanek felt himself come free of the stalker, flying through the air to bounce several meters from the beast.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I need to get up. I’m going to die if I don’t get up. Lanek turned his head to see the creature bereft of most of its flesh. All that remained was the patch of flesh it had fixed over its head in a sort of mask and hood.

He tried to pick himself up, but his body didn’t seem to have the strength. Lanek retched at the sight of his right arm, bone shards poking through torn flesh and bent at an unnatural angle. At least he couldn’t feel it anymore, although he couldn’t tell if that was due to the damage to the arm or shock.

Why had the beast released him? Lanek wondered, before watching the cat lunge through the crypt stalker’s head. Ah, the cat weakened its grip. That’s probably why I still have the arm.

The crypt stalker let out an anguished wail and turned to Lanek. Its eyes burned hotter when it spotted the small blade in Lanek’s left hand, the last blade that had been holding the creature’s skin in place. It approached, but it was far clumsier in its movements this time. Losing the skin of the gaunt had slowed the thing down, its movements more akin to a shambling zombie at this point.

It didn’t help Lanek that much, he was still going to die. He was helpless. Even though the cat kept lunging through the stalker, the abomination was ignoring the cold attacks, fixated on the crippled human.

The bone creature dropped atop Lanek, one hand reaching for the blade in his hand, the other reaching for his throat. A calmness took Lanek at that point, just staring as the stalker’s hand closed in on his throat in slow motion. He could see the cat rushing toward, but there was nothing it could do.

Then he saw it. In his attacker’s chest pulsed a sickly green light. Lanek could feel [Etheric Presence] pushing him to reach for the light, guiding him. He released the small blade and shot his left hand forward through a gap left behind by broken ribs, closing it around the light.

The crypt stalker wailed as its body froze in place. Lanek gripped tighter and the stalker’s wail turned into a shriek of agony. Suddenly curious, he pulled the green light from the stalker’s chest, holding it up to his eyes. The crypt stalker’s red eyes went dark and it exploded into a cloud of ash.

However, Lanek didn’t notice the stalker’s end, eyes transfixed by the light in his hand. He heard whispers all around, but they spoke in a language he couldn’t understand.

He could feel their intent. Oh, yes. They wanted the light. They craved the light. The whispers began to join into one single voice, speaking a single word.

DEVOUR.

Unable to stop himself, his hand brought the light to his mouth and bit down. He could feel his teeth tearing chunks from the light, feasting until it was gone.

You have ingested the soul of a Crypt Stalker. Would you like to assimilate it into your soul?

No! Lanek thought, finding the thought of assimilating something as foul as the stalker into his soul absolutely abhorrent. As soon as he rejected the soul, his body started to burn and his vision became blurry.

The burning sensation tore through his body, leaving him gasping in pain. Through the haze, he felt the burning focus on two parts of his body, his ribs and mangled arm. He screamed when he felt bones force their way back into place and his open wounds being cauterized by a sickly green light.

Then it was gone. The burning, the light, it was all gone. Lanek shakily looked at his right arm, terrified by what he might see, but all he could make out was smooth, unblemished skin. He also felt refreshed, both in mind and body.

Did I just eat a soul and use it to heal myself? Lanek felt sick once again, this time struggling with the sheer wrongness of consuming something’s soul and using it for his own gain. He would do it again if need be, he realized. He would be dead if he hadn’t done it and the stalker was clearly evil. Sure, he was rationalizing what he had done, he knew that, but this world clearly played by different rules.

Lanek stood up and turned to his companion. The cat was watching him intently, but didn’t seem to be afraid of what he had done. That was a relief, he wasn’t sure he could handle it if his only company were terrified of him, despite how warranted it would be.

He focused on his status, wanting to stop the incessant chiming the System seemed to be doing since he rejected the soul. He didn’t get very far into his notifications as the first one demanded all of his attention.

You have attracted the attention of a higher power. As a reward for your actions, they bestow a title upon you.

Lanek heard something at the edge of his hearing, so quiet he almost believed it was his imagination. It was quiet laughter.

Title acquired: Acolyte of the Void