Mark woke with a start, more for the fact he’d been sleeping soundly than anything else. His limbs and back ached as he rolled, coming to a stand and looking around. ‘Right, slept in a cave.’
He ate some raw leftover meat, he’d overestimated how much he would need for the test, but it lacked the euphoric feeling. Disappointment coiled in his gut, snapping him fully awake. ‘Cool, great. Just some light mental conditioning to go with the insanity and death, s’all fine.’
Knowing about influence wouldn't necessarily guard him against it, though, and this stuff was several times more effective than anything he’d heard about. More a drug than traditional brainwashing, something that made him feel good instead of breaking him down. Not something he could do anything about, not unless he wanted to stop eating all together.
The boar corpse was where he left it, only some slight nibbling hinting to the existence of predators, and he set about tearing out its tusks. Not as easy as he thought it would be, seeing as they’re overgrown teeth. Only one of the things had even survived his treatment of the boar's skull, although that had also broken the jaw.
It made the removal possible, if taking some effort, but he held his prize in hand. The visible part, the part that stuck out of the boar's snout, was only about half its length. The rest was hidden, serving as a handhold. After he wrapped it with some tough plant, mind, since it didn't offer the best grip.
A weapon secured he went to find water, reasoning there must be some nearby if the boar lived here. Or not, if it was a magic boar.
‘Not a magic boar.’ He thought, hearing the stream. ‘Or at least there’s water. Here’s hoping some protection will stop anything nasty from living in my gut.’
Drinking from an icy cold river was a new experience, quenching his thirst and near freezing his throat. The brainfreeze left surprisingly quickly, though.
With water and a weapon shelter was next on the list, assuming his fat would keep him alive for a while. The thought of hunting for things to kill crossed his mind, pushing it off with some effort. ‘Later. Make a camp, find a way to start a fire.’
He had metal. Metal that sparked, if struck with stone. He hoped so, anyway, and he made to turn and walk back to the cave. Except he wasn’t the only one that woke up thirsty, freezing when he spotted another boar drinking some distance away. It spotted him at the same time, raising its head to look.
Fight or flight wasn’t a conscious decision. It wasn’t a weighing of pros and cons, making the best possible choice. It was a snap judgement, made in a heartbeat.
So Mark stood his ground as the thing charged, his tusk knife on his belt and a large stone in hand. Fear slowly overcame his urge to eat the thing, but he stood. Stood until it was close, until he couldn't not move, and finally sidestepped. He brought the stone down, feeling one of its tusks tear through his knee as it corrected its charge, and they both collapsed in a heap.
He abandoned the stone for his knife, stabbing as best he could as it squealed and thrashed. It took longer than he thought it would, his arm burning with effort when it stilled. It wasn’t exhilaration he felt, not exactly, as he watched the thing die. More like satisfaction, a primal part of his brain basking in victory.
For killing a Star Boar you have been granted twenty experience.
General Skills gained twenty experience.
Pain Tolerance has increased to level two.
Then the pain hit, and he grabbed the boar close. His keys were better suited for carving, but seeing as they were pinned under his weight he made do. With his knee as it was turning would be excruciating, though his mind was clear enough he would if he had to. He didn’t, and stabbed until a chunk of meat was carved from its leg.
Brief hesitation came over him as he raised it to eat. ‘I can wait, make a fire. Roast it.’
The fact he waited made him hesitate more, wondering how much pain tolerance was already changing him. That he could debate while his knee was a ruin, stabbing pain radiating up through his leg.
He bit, screaming as he forced his leg into a better position to heal. The euphoria came in time with the message, blending together as he watched his leg knit itself together again.
Minor Regeneration will be active for thirty seconds.
Mark sat for some twenty minutes, round after round of regeneration fixing up his knee. Long past where it didn't need healing anymore, until he remembered to set a timer. Basking in the euphoria was addicting, like a good meal on steroids, and a terrible idea came to mind.
‘I’m stronger, tougher. Three hours, two and forty minutes now, until the meat expires. I could hunt another, heal with its meat, and get a level.’
Not doing so felt like a crime, wasting precious moments even as he debated, so he stood. ‘Carve, then we’ll see if I can track down another. I’ll decide if I find one.’
His backache had disappeared as he bent over, doing a terrible job of butchering the boar. Some part of that was the lack of tools, another his lack of skill. Not like he could carry all of it, admittedly, so wasting much of it wasn’t too bad. He used his ruined pant leg to make a bag, picking up a stone to carry with him.
He dropped it after his buff ran out, reasoning he’d find another, and stalked the stream. If boars had to drink that be his best bet. He pulled up his status as he walked, clicking pain tolerance again.
Pain Tolerance. You have survived wounds that should have killed you, where it not for your Class. Enduring the pain and fighting on earned you this skill, which will help to ignore pain in the future.
‘Nothing new. Can’t tell if it does more at level two than one, but it does something.’
Another general skill had arrived too, a copy of rock fighting, but this one for bone. He ignored it, not that he had the points to spend anyway, and dismissed his status.
He stopped at an outcrop of stone, climbing up to get a view of the surrounding area. Sheer beauty stretched around him, an idyllic stream with a backdrop of looming mountains filling his vision. Their peaks reached over the clouds, and some dipped down so low he couldn't see the bottom. That’s when he saw what he’d assumed was a mountain partially hidden by clouds, appearing to float. Except it wasn’t hidden at all, rotating gently as it bobbed in place.
Massive, far away, and floating. Mark stilled, taking in the scene with a smile, and his mind wandered. ‘Another world, figures. Amy would have loved this.’
His mood dropped, old coldness coming over him as he hopped down. The boar that found him ten minutes later either had the best luck or worse, the strange ape it had found barely making a sound as it gored him.
Then it was dead, the ape having picked up a rock and eaten something before he’d closed the distance. Mark tore it’s belly open with vengeance, eating a handful of red meat to heal his arms and thigh, then dumped his old stash on the ground to replace it.
Killing it had been almost easy, the tusks, while doing horrific damage, not able to do as much as before. It’d been his strength that surprised him, managing to keep his footing and brain the boar to death. His wounds closed, his status pinging. He looked it over almost uncaringly, even the euphoria not able to dislodge his mood.
For killing a Star Boar you have been granted twenty experience.
General Skills gained twenty experience.
Gluttony has increased to level three, new skill available.
He dismissed it, calling up his status.
Name: Mark Dallton Class: Gluttony Level: 3 Class skills (1):
Adaptable
Durance +
Strong Stomach +
General Skills (1):
Pain Tolerance: level 2 +
Dodge (locked)
Rock fighting (locked)
Bone fighting (locked)
Feature: Kill and eat, eat and survive. Buffs: Minor Regeneration (Star Boar): 0:21
Mark clicked the new skills, some measure of curiosity sparking.
Durance. Man hunts by exhausting its prey. This skill doubles the duration of buffs, and any skills that depend on it. Hunt and kill, kill and hunt.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
He bought it, eating another stripe of flesh to see the timer increase to sixty seconds. His uncaring cold was being thawed by the euphoria, forcing dopamine into his brain without care or subtlety. Mark shrugged, filled his sack to the brim, and moved on.
The next boar got luckier, tearing out part of his thigh and flooding his mind with pain. The rock dropped from his hands, leaving him with nothing. The knife had broken on the floor as he fell, grabbing the tusks that looked to kill him. Boars were stronger than human’s, especially with him on the ground and the thing able to use its weight, but Mark wasn’t just human. Not anymore, not as he jerked its head to the side, the beast falling over and needing time to right itself.
Mark forced himself to stand, using his wounded leg for balance only, and used the time to grab the rock. His hand was covered in blood, making a good grip harder, but it fell well enough. Well enough he grabbed what was left of his knife, forcing it into the thing’s eye while it was stunned. It went deep, his hands being covered as it burst.
For killing a Star Boar you have been granted twenty experience.
General Skills gained twenty experience.
Pain Tolerance has increased to level three.
He collapsed on the thing, not having the energy to take the fresher meat, and ate from his bag. Double the time for regeneration didn’t matter as much, he could just eat two after the fact, but the strength lasting longer was a lifesaver.
The thought made him snort, looking over his thigh. It hadn’t bled as much as he would have expected, not when he could see bone, but he reasoned that was due to having regeneration active as he was wounded. He also groaned, a sound filled with self recrimination, as he snapped out of it. ‘Get a new tusk, then back to the cave. No more fighting.’
He ate as he walked, keeping his regeneration active for another couple minutes to wash away the last of his aches and pains. Poking his thigh revealed pink flesh, looking out of place but feeling fine to the touch.
Summoning his status kept him entertained, his eyes narrowing at the locked general skills. ‘Either I get to pick only one, seems unlikely, need to be a higher level to have more, or I can only have one at the time. Thanks for the explanations, by the way. The tutorial was almost too comprehensive.’
The stream wasn’t far from his cave, although far enough he couldn't hear it, and paused when he saw something inside. Another boar, rooting through his bed and making a mess of things. His resolution to avoid fighting for the day was tested as it looked his way.
It charged, same as all the others, and he managed to dance out of the way before it could hit him. His new knife slashed downwards, raking a line over its back. Wouldn't have done much without his increased strength, the bone wasn't even all that sharp, but the boar squealed.
‘One in, four? Three. Dodging one in three isn’t bad.’
It stomped, a surprisingly human gesture of frustration, and ran. Mark blinked, watching it leave and blinking again when its wounds began to heal. It slipped out of sight, new skin already covering the wound. ‘Oh. Guess that’s why I get regeneration from them. Brain damage is a priority, got it.’
He shrugged, turning to fix his bed. He took out his keys, using the smallest to try and spark a flame. The tinder was bone dry, cloth from his ruined pant leg served as something to catch the spark, and he smashed a small stone against it. No spark came, nor did it when he tried another twenty times.
Making fire wasn’t easy, he knew that on a theoretical level. Not without proper tools or training, and certainly not when all you have is nothing. Using sticks needed special wood, or so he remembered, but even if he wanted to try the tinder he’d gathered didn’t have proper sticks. They only bent or broke as he tried, wasting a good two hours before he gave up.
‘Not like I’m all that cold anyway.’ He reflected, sitting on his bed and watching the entrance. ‘Should be, but I’m not. Almost no snow, but wind aplenty.’
Something caught his eye, moving some distance away, and he stood. Picking up a rock, and holding a chunk of meat at the ready, he investigated. He raised an eyebrow as the boar fake charged him, only barely holding back on eating the chunk of meat.
Mark knew he should be afraid. He wasn’t some hardened survivalist, hated camping when he was younger, even, and all his knowledge came from tv. Without regeneration he’d be dead twice over, and if that thing caved in his skull he doubted it would save him anymore than it had the boar itself.
Yet no fear came, wrung out of his frame months ago. “Come on then, piggy. You the same one as before? Can’t really tell you apart, ugly as you are.”
The sound seemed to encourage it, charging again, even if it couldn't understand the first taunt that’d come to mind. Mark sidestepped, but the thing jumped. Actually jumped, ramming him full speed in the torso. They went down, his useless rock falling from his hands again, and he started stabbing even as he struggled to breath.
His shoulder burned as a tusk impaled it, his other hand trying to stab the thing's throat. It worked, to an extent, as it tried to run again. Mark scowled, chasing after it. He caught up in seconds, surprised squealing being cut off as he jumped on its back and rammed his tusk in its forehead.
It snapped, but not before lodging through its skin and stunning it. The skull was too thick, some part of his mind noted, so he forced his fingers in the wounds on its neck. They were already closing, to his concern, but he heaved and tore them open again. Blood gushed to the ground in spurts, its struggles not slowing in the slightest. Mark’s free hand searched around, his hand clasping a stone, and hit it over the head.
Then he hit it six more times, the skull cracking and the boar falling silent.
For killing a Star Boar you have been granted twenty experience.
General Skills gained twenty experience.
“What the fuck am I doing?” Mark groaned, rolling over. “Chasing boars like a caveman, hitting them over the head with stones?”
He ate, the satisfaction absent even as his mood lifted by force. Half his body was covered in blood, a feeling he couldn't stand for reasons he couldn't name. “Wash in the river, try making fire again. Test why the hell I can outrun a boar.”
That last part turned out to be because his legs were stronger, letting him sprint like he’d never been able to. The first turned out to be somewhat pointless, his freshly cleaned hands holding back tusks as his leg burned. Mark was really glad he’d taken pain resistance over dodge, doubting he could have focussed with his lower leg gored and broken.
“Fuck off.” He hissed, managing to twist the thing on its back. He grabbed one of its hind legs, dispelling the boar's hope of righting itself, and endured the kicks he received as he crawled over it. The stone smashed again, two hits stunning it. He corrected his grip, bringing it down in almost mechanical motions.
For killing a Star Boar you have been granted twenty experience.
General Skills gained twenty experience.
For enduring extreme pain in your quest to become stronger, General Skills gained an additional twenty experience.
Gluttony has increased to level four, new skill available.
Pain Tolerance has increased to level four.
‘Note to self, they can sneak up on you.’ A slightly crazed laugh escaped him, chewing down on raw meat and crawling into the river again. The water was freezing, even on the shallow side, so he washed quickly and stood. His worry about hypothermia seemed pointless, the constant healing fixing any damage his body might be taking from it, but his teeth still clattered.
His leg felt off, numb fear trying to wiggle into his mind, but that feeling left after a good five minutes of additional regeneration. Feeling his bones shift was more disturbing than painful, putting it out of his mind with some effort as he walked.
“Status.”
Name: Mark Dallton Class: Gluttony Level: 4 Class skills (1):
Adaptable
Durance
Strong Stomach +
Consume +
General Skills (1):
Pain Tolerance: level 4 +
Dodge (locked)
Rock fighting (locked)
Bone fighting (locked)
Hunting (locked)
Feature: Kill and eat, eat and survive. Buffs: Minor Regeneration (Star Boar): 0:05
Every inch of Mark’s old gamer instincts warned him to not press the plus sign next to pain tolerance, just knowing it would take a skill point for something he could level on its own. The rest of him collapsed on his bed after calling up the descriptions of his two class skills, clicking hunting after a seconds debate.
Strong Stomach. To eat is to survive. Your Class Feature grants some protection from eating things that would normally make you sick. This skill increases that protection dramatically. Take and consume, grow and take.
Consume. To hunt is to eat. This skill will make any biological matter you have hunted and killed perfectly nutritious. Eat and grow, grow and eat.
Hunting. Any starving predator will hunt to eat, and man is no different. You have chased down and killed Star Boars, stalking their water source to find them. This skill will help with spotting tracks, chasing prey and increase your killer instinct.
Picking strong stomach wasn’t even a debate, consume not mentioning it would protect him from anything dangerous in the biological matter. Nasty way to put it, Mark reflected. Almost screaming that he’d be hunting more than just animals.
Both were about eating things he’d killed, and now hunting joined the team.
‘Increase killer instinct. Vague and threatening, as always.’ He snorted, dismissing it all. ‘Not like I can choose now. Fire.’
He spent much of his remaining daylight hours hunting for sticks, having found a pair just before sunset. A key drilled a small hole in one of them, the other stick having its edge taken off. The end result fit together well enough he could rub it between his hands, the thick skin from his buff making the ordeal more tolerable.
Rubbing it was tiring to say the least, the plummeting light levels not helping. When he finally got an ember he moved it too quickly, the cold air blowing it out before he could lay it on top of his kindling. His meat had expired, leading to more than a few blisters and curses, but pain resistance made it bearable.
Not lesser, he found that a rather important distinction, but he was more able to think around it. To keep going, even if he was in pain. It resulted in another ember, having shielded his campfire-to-be with rocks this time. Carefully, slowly, he tapped the ember into the driest material around, pant fabric, and blew on it.
The ember caught, smoke billowing as he resisted the urge to pile wood on top of it. He fed it tinder, increasingly large until a merry fire was crackling under his hands. Roasting a chunk of meat took time, enough so he wondered why he wasn’t just eating it raw.
That thought was dispelled when he bit into it, the gamey and tough meat nonetheless heaven on his tongue.
His firewood lasted for an hour, having roasted up a small feast, and he huddled under his jacket as the night turned colder still. The lack of available wood made keeping it burning all night a pipedream, a small smile refusing to leave his lips regardless.
It was two days later he killed another boar again, hunger and boredom fighting to be heard the most. Two days where nothing had ventured close to his cave, and he’d stockpiled about all the firewood he could gather.
The first kill was the hardest, without strength, thick skin or healing, but the second came easier. The third easier still, before the fourth finally showed what he wanted to see.
Gluttony has increased to level five, new skill available.
Pain Tolerance has increased to level five. Pain resistance has reached max level.
A bloody grin stretched over his face, meat filling his stomach as grim satisfaction spread through him.