I going to have to track those people down in order to get my clothes, but I DONT HAVE FUCKEN LEGS! The regeneration process is excruciatingly slow. It's been a few hours since I came back and I'm barely done with more than half my calves. My bulging stomach full of shark meat has shrunken and is almost back to normal.
From the looks of things I'm going to have to go eat some more before I can continue. Luckily I still have the two crabs I caught earlier. In order to test my live prey theory I bite into it instead of killing it first. Almost immediately I fall into madness as I savagely devour the poor creature. I didn't even care about the shell in my daze and ate it. It wasn't until it's death that I regained control of myself. This proved my point, the undead side of me liked to eat living creatures over freshly killed ones.
I did the same to the other crab and laid down. It was going to take a while before I regrow my feet and I might as well relax. Remembering something, I hand Lightning the shark meat I had saved for him. I could see the excitement in his serpentine eyes as he ate the meat of an alpha predator. Looking at him, I notice he's grown quite a bit since we met. He was originally around 7 inches long, but low he was pushing 11. 4 inches in 2 days is an alarming growth rate. He'll be growing over a foot a week if this continues. Could I even support to feed him if he got too big? Meh, problems for another time.
By sunset my feet were back, good as new. I got up and stretched my new legs. They were perfect in every way. If I hadn't seen them be eaten, I would never believe they were gone in the first place. There wasn't even a scar.
The trail had been mostly erased by the wind, but you could still somewhat make out the basic direction from the parts that remained. Without a place to put Lighting I hung him from my neck like a chain.
The trail only went along the beach for a few hundred feet before it took a turn inland, where it could no longer me tracked. Sensing my issue Lightning perked up his head and pointed slightly to my right. Thinking about it I remembered that snakes had a great sense of smell because of the way they taste the air with their tongue. I congratulate him with a pat on the head. He hisses with pride.
Using my little snake compass I traverse the jungle. The sun had already set and it was pitch black. The moonlight was blocked by the tree canopy. I would have called it tiring if I was a normal person, but fear not, for I am a Deadman with infinite stamina. As long as I was careful, I could mostly feel my way through the brush.
Eventually, I found my target. Ahead of me was the light of a fire and the sound of faint voices. As I approached my view became better and I could see more, which I quickly regretted.
In front of me, two women held branches in their hands as they whipped the testicles of a scarred man restrained in front of them. He was tied to a tree with his arms and legs spread. Everytime the crack of a strike sounded it was followed by a moan of the man's pleasure. They continued their barrage of attacks as they humiliated him.
Even to me who found pleasure in eating a live prey was disturbed by this. It reminded me of the time I accidentally clicked on fendom porn. I was scarred for days after seeing the ball crunching scene.
The two blonde girls looked to be in their 20’s. They are pretty hot, truth be told, and looked similar, perhaps they are sisters. They had a good curvy figure and pretty face, but that fetish ruined it for me. At least the poor sucker tied to the tree seemed to enjoy it.
I could hear what the older looking one told the other, “Emily I think we've done enough for today. It's already night, we should go to sleep.”
Emily looked disappointed at her sister's statement, “C'mon Cindy it was barely getting good. At least let me kick the pig in the sack before I go it bed.”
“Sigh. Fine get on with it, make it quick. Also don't play with your toys to much because then they eventually break.”, Cindy said in a bored voice
I didn't dare look at the scene of a cheery Emily walk up to the man as she swung her leg and gave one of the hardest kicks I ever seen. Ok, maybe I did look. Doesn't change the fact my own balls scrunched up in fear at the sight. At least the sound of his scream of pleasure made me not feel as bad for him, he seemed to like it a lot.
Emily then untied the rope binding the man, and walked to the small tent where she and her sister slept. As for the masochistic man, he just collapsed on the ground immediately, and fell into a sound sleep.
Bothered by what I saw, I wanted nothing more than to get out of here. I had to snatch back my clothes while they are asleep the run away as fast as I could. The problem is, where are my clothes? Looking through my surroundings, the only place they could be was in the large backpack next to the tent. Aw fuck.
My heart was beating at an extremely fast pace from my fear of getting near those women. I could hear it pounding in my ear so loudly I felt it might wake them up. This was the perfect opportunity to use death status. If I doubled the Mana cost, I could allow myself to move freely. That have me about 6 and a half minutes to get the job done.
I immediately activated it, and began to slowly approach the tent. My heart was not beating and my lungs didn't move, not even the basic human tremble of my body was happening. I was truly as silent and steady as a corpse. I made sure not to step on any branches or leaves, else I would wake them up. I arrived next to the backpack without incident. I slowly lowered myself and grabbed the zipper. With carefulness beyond anything I've ever done, I slowly slid the zipper. The low rumble sound it made was like a weak whisper, almost inaudible.
Once open, I stuck my hands in and quietly rummaged through the pack. I felt a familiar fabric and sure enough, it is my clothes. Just as I smiled at the success of my plan, my vision went dark. The distinct sound of a stone smashing the back of my head came with it, damn, my only weakness.
----------------------------------------
I open my eyes and I can see my family. They are sitting around me asleep. I am laying down in a white room, it's a hospital. I try to get up, but my body doesn't respond. I try again, it doesn't work. I want to wake them up, to talk to them, to ask them how they are.
This time I try to speak. All that leaves my mouth is an grunt, but it does the job. Alicia is woken up by the sound. She looks me in the eyes before running to our parents side. She shakes them with all her force while yelling. “Mom! Dad! Wake up! Azrael is awake! He’s awake!”
Looking at the situation it all made sense. That other world, the system, being a Deadman, it was all fake. It was stupid for me to believe any of it, for it was all a dream. I had crashed after entering cardiac arrest. Somehow I didn't die and made it to the hospital. Now I was back in reality, back with my family. Here is where I belonged.
My parents almost immediately opened their eyes at my sister's yells. Tears fell from my mother's eyes as they rush to my side. My mother wraps her arms around me and starts to sob loudly. My father places his hand gently on my head and asked me, “Azrael, how are you? Does anything hurt? Do you feel anything?”
I didn't feel any pain at all. I must have been very lucky in the crash to avoid injury. I happily respond, “No Dad, it doesn't hurt at all.”
Instead of relief or happiness at my response he begins to cry. Confused I ask him, “What's wrong, why are you crying?”
His next words echoed in my mind like thunder.
“Azrael, you injured your neck in the crash. The doctor said if you didn't feel anything when you woke up, then you are paralysed.”
Paralysed?... I'm paralysed?... Is that why I can't move and feel?... FUCK!!!
I already know how hard it is for my family to make ends meet. Add taking care of a cripple like me, and they can't survive. I'm just a burden to them now... FUCKEN USELESS. What was the point of surviving, of living, if this is what waited for me.
I wish I never woke up, no, I wish I had died in that crash. This wasn't life, it was worse than death.
My thoughts are interrupted by a loud beep coming from my side. Next to me, a machine that displayed my vitals was beeping. Where there should have been a heartbeat was a flat line, my heart had stopped again. My parents started to panic and scream down the hallway for a doctor. I wanted to tell them to stop, to let me die. This way I wouldn't cause issues for them.
Unlike last time, I did not feel pain. My consciousness slowly faded away to nothingness as darkness invaded my mind. I was at peace with death.
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My consciousness returned with the feeling of someone slapping me in the face. I open my eyes expecting to see a doctor, but instead i see Cindy and Emily standing in front of me. I was laying on the ground next to a tree naked, with my hands tied behind my back. Connected to that rope was another, this one tied to the tree. I wanted to speak, but my mouth was sealed with duct tape.
This situation didn't make sense, why was I back here? Didn't I already die? Wasn't this all a dream? Am I still alive so I just returned to this delusion?
Now I'm back here. I'm not sure if this is good are bad. I was a cripple in the real world, but here I was whole. No, I was better than whole, I was stronger and didn't feel pain. I wasn't limited here, here I had a future. I much rather stay here than go back at this point. There's no point resisting anymore. This world was my mine now, to explore and to conquer.
In front of me was an obstacle to overcome. These women had caught me, but I don't plan to stay like this. As they looked at me I glared back at them with anger.
Looking at me Emily said, “Cindy get over here, the dog woke up.”
Acting all tall and mighty Cindy responded, “Good, now we can question him. Pig! Get over here and interrogate this dog!”
At her command the masochistic man from yesterday appeared. He crawled up to her legs like an animal and kissed her feet. He then stood up and looked at me with an sinister smile. He was approaching.
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Oh hell no! I do not swing this way. The last thing I want is to have a naked guy look at me like that, not to even mention approach to me. Once he stood before me he reached out his hand towards my mouth. I felt disgusted from his touch as he removed the tape from my mouth.
“Who are you and why are you here?” He asked me.
I didn't think twice before saying, “Go Fuck Yourself!”
At my response he punched me in the gut hard. Luckily for me, it didn't hurt at all. At my lack of response he was surprised. Once again struck me, this time much harder than the last. I didn't show any sign of discomfort. This angered him more, and he started to hit me like a punching bag, over and over. My silence fueling his frustration.
Endurance +1
His beating was proving to be beneficial me. I felt no pain, but my body was enduring it so I gained a point of endurance. I had no real use for endurance with unlimited stamina, but it was still free stat points, so I can't really complain.
While he was busy beating me I planned my escape. The rope was tied very well behind my back so I couldn't loosen it. The rope itself was good quality, and my strength was incapable of tearing it. My only way out was to break my wrists, but then my hands would be useless until I found something to eat. Hunting without hands wasn't a good idea.
"Stop." Emily ordered.
Bored of watching Emily ordered the man to stop. In an instant be became as docile as a puppy and crawled to her side. God this guy disgusts me.
Emily looks towards her sister and said, “Cindy this guys pretty tough. I think you're going to have to do it.”
“Fine I will.” Cindy said back.
As she approached me I saw opportunity to plant some fear. I smiled at her with a creepy tooth grin. Cindy paused and took a step back at the sight of my teeth. They were still the roughly cut sharpened pair I used on the shark. A few had broken during my feeding frenzy, which only to added to the overall scary look. I'm really glad I didn't bother pulling them out and regrowing a new pair after my last meal.
While she was distracted by my teeth I pulled hard on my arms and broke both my wrists. Neither of the three noticed what I had done. Once I was finished I closed my mouth and grinned smugly. Cindy frowned at me.
She probably thought I found it funny at how scared she was of my teeth. From her pocket she pulls out a box cutter and said, “You think your all that, huh? Let's see you be tough after I make you an eunuch.”
Even if I didn't feel anything and can grow it back, the idea of that shook me to the core. Once she was a few feet away I took action. I lunged at her attempting to tackle her down.
Instead of panicking like any normal person she stabbed me with the blade. It pierced my chest into my lung. I ignored the wound and brought her to the ground.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her in place. She tried to struggle, but with my strength stats it was futile. She screamed, “Emily don't just stand there, do something!”
Before Emily could make a move I spoke to her. “Try anything and I'll tear her fucken throat out!”
To emphasize my point I opened my mouth and placed her delicate neck against my teeth.
Gone was her aura of superiority, with her life so close to ending, Cindy started to shiver in fear.
My words were enough to keep the bitch Emily at bay, but the pig went hysterical. Seeing one of his masters in danger he rushed towards us. He was charging like an enraged animal without a care for his own safety.
I couldn't handle two at once so I pushed Cindy with all my strength, sending her flying away. I then focused my attention on the pig. He sent out a punch with his left. I blocked using my arms, but it was a faint. The real attack was an uppercut with his right, under my crossed arms. Without any other method to block him, I opened my mouth and met his fist with my teeth.
His knuckles broke a few of my teeth, but more importantly I tasted blood. The taste of living prey triggered my undead urges. I bit down and severed several of his fingers.
“AAAAHHH!!!” The pig screamed in pain. He fell to his knees and held what was left in his hand.
As for me I swallowed some meat as blood dribbled down my lips and neck. I was no longer in control of myself. My body was taken over by instinct, and I was ready to feed. Unlike last time with the shark, I was completely conscious while it was happening. I tackled him like a wild animal and bit into his shoulder, tearing into his flesh. It bothered me how much I liked the taste of human, I blame my zombie half.
Watching the scene unfold Emily and Cindy were stunned with fear. Emily screamed like a little girl and ran away into the jungle, Cindy followed right behind her.
The pig squeeled as I tore into his flesh. In his eyes, a look of fear and terror unlike any I had ever seen before. In his eyes, human eyes, I was a monster. I don't want to accept it, but it's true, I really am becoming less human.
It wasn't until the pig died that I gained control of myself. Looking at his torn corpse I felt sick. I had just killed a human being. Not only did I kill him, I ate him. I couldn't stand the sight anymore and looked away. This was one corpse I rather not finish.
I focused myself on my surroundings. The camp was deserted except for myself. Inside the tent I found some blankets and pillows, but I didn't need them since I don't sleep. The backpack on the other hand had tools and supplies. It contained clothes, a hammer, 2 knives, a first aid kit, firestarter, a flare gun, rope, compass, water, rations and a map. I had no use for the rations so I threw them out. As for the water I used it to wash off the pig’s blood on me.
After dressing myself I remembered I was missing something. Where in the hell was my snake? I came here with him around my neck, but when I woke up he was gone.
“Lightning where are you!?” I yelled out into the jungle.
Hissss. Sure enough I heard a hiss close by and Lightning appeared from under a bush. I picked him up and wrapped him around my neck.
With my immediate needs met I opened the map. It depicted an island off the west coast of some continent. The mainland to the east had a bay marked with a star. This seemed to be an important location, possibly a major city. As for the rest of the mainland, it was not included in the map, just the coast.
The island seemed to be the place i was currently located. The western beach and jungle where I was currently am was circled in red. Next to it was the words "Newborn Thunder Leviathan". Reading these words I look at Lightning wrapped around my neck. If I wasn't mistaken, he seemed to fit the name perfectly. I don't know why they would want him, but they'd be dammed if they tried to take him. He was mine, period.
The only other two prominent features on the island were a mountain depicted in the center and a symbol on the beach North. The Northern symbol was that of a boat, likely how the trio arrived on the island. This was perfect. Without their compass I doubt the girls could navigate north towards their boat. As for me, with their compass and no need to sleep, I could get a large head start.
Before leaving I decided to check my stats first. When I opened up the menu I was blocked by a sudden popup notification.
You have killed your first human. Although the system doesn't care about murder, human kills do not normally reward you with xp; however, as an undead you are void from this, and will receive xp based on the level of the human.
(100xp per level)
This notification brought back something I rather forget. I closed it and went back to my stats.
Name
Azrael Mortem
Level
3(263/400)
Species
Deadman
Age
27
Classes
None
Main Stats
Health (146)
H.Regen (N/A)
Stamina (Infinite)
S.Regen (N/A)
Mana (130)
M.Regen (11 per hour)
Extra Stats:
Free:6
Strength 4x2[undead bonus] = (8)
Endurance 5x2[undead bonus] = (10)
Vitality = 4
Durability = 4
Agility = 4
Dexterity 4x0.5[undead debuff] = 2
Mentality = 2
Perception = 3
Intelligence = 2
Wisdom 3x0.5[undead debuff] = 1.5
Passive Skills
Numbed Nerves -lvl.N/A: Less feeling of touch.
Cost(0)
Pain Immunity -lvl.N/A: Cannot feel pain.
Cost(0)
Unaging -lvl.N/A: Cannot age.
Cost(0)
Consumer of Flesh -lvl.4(48/100): Eating live or recently deceased flesh heal injuries, regenerates body parts and refills health. Level increases efficiency and speed.
Current Boost: (1lbs meat= .15 lbs regen or 40 health)
Cost(0)
Ambient Sustenance -lvl.N/A: Like undeads all you need for sustenance is ambient mana.
Cost(0)
Running -lvl.3(34/100): Your ability to run over any terrain improves. Level increases improvement and decreases stamina cost of running.
Current Boost: (Running is now 15% easier and uses 6% less stamina)
Cost(0)
Swimming -lvl.5(72/100): Your ability at swimming improves. Level increases improvement and decreases stamina cost of swimming.
Current Boost: (Swimming is now 25% easier and uses 10% less stamina)
Cost(0)
Bite -lvl.5(31/100): Passively increases bite strength. Level increases strength.
Current Boost: (Bite strength increased by 15%)
Active Skills
Death Status -lvl.2(13/100): Stop all metabolic function and enter a dead like state. Movement during this state doubles mana cost. Level reduces cost.
Current Boost: (inactive)
M.Cost(9/min)
Wow the pig really gave me a nice xp boost.
He should have been level 2. This meant that Emily and Cindy are also likely level 2 or above. I am not the only one in this world, and if I want to rule it I will need strength above my peers.
Looking at my new compass, Emily and Cindy had ran South, away from their boat. This is good since I really don't want to meet those bitches again. I really really don't, so I light a torch and immediately start my journey North.