The surface was a long way off and his gills were pumping as much oxygen into his system as they could. He wasn’t even close to the surface when the first wave brushed by him. It was a small fish with a multitude of sharp teeth. Its scales were white, and they looked like plate armor. It had human eyes.
Jack twisted in the water to avoid its initial probing. But it didn’t commit. Small bites covered his body and he was leaking health. If he wanted to live, he needed to go on the offensive. Jack lunged for the fish, but it darted around and circled. The fish was clearly better at maneuvering in the water.
He moved his tentacles and lunged slower and slower. His every attack was a bit less coordinated than the last and the fish circled him. Then when it was at his back the fish lunged. Jack’s tentacles moved like lightning grasping the fish after it finally committed. His needles pierced through the little grooves in the fish’s scales. Jack brought the fish to his sucker and expanded it over the fish. Once it was tucked away Jack continued his journey to the surface. He had no idea how powerful the fish was, but it struggled the whole way down. Other creatures watched within the depths, but they kept their distance. It was possible, Jack was too small for the powerful monsters to care about and too strong for the weaker aquatic creatures to care about.
As he neared the surface. He saw something completely out of this world. A massive blue monster dove beneath the depths. Just a glimpse at the blue monster told him that it was a predator of the highest order. Something not to fuck with. He was frozen there for a minute when the monster emerged. Massive feathered wings rose up water sliding off without issue. The blue feathers covered powerful scaly wings and hundreds of pounds of muscle. Within the monster’s jaws was a catfish. The catfish’s whiskers blasted the beast with lightning to no effect. The dragon tossed the fish up and blasted it with a beam of blue energy. It then snapped on the charred remains of the catfish before swallowing it down whole. The dragon flew back in the air head east towards the rising sun.
Jack was frozen after seeing such a powerful creature in this random place. He eventually turned back towards the pelican cliff and swam towards it at a sedate pace. The Pelicans weren’t flying so it was safe for now.
Life as a leech was depressing. If he was normal, he might have settled on trying to feed off something like a pelican. Only, he something would have eaten him off the bird eventually. Jack would keep evolving it was better than remaining the same.
Ping!
Quest complete
Survive the depths
+5DEX
83DEX
New Skill Tree
Tool Making 0/3
Cord lv0 – +1% rope making
Resource Gathering lv0 – +1% more resource detection
Craft lv0 – +1% chance to make better tools.
He rose up spinning his tentacles together to form makeshift arms and legs. His growth had made his body nearly six feet long. While standing and wrapping himself in tentacles it gave him the illusion of a chest, arms, legs, and even a face. His single eye was the only thing visible. Reaching down in his makeshift form he picked up a rock. It was a simple action. His eye stung as tears he didn’t know he had drifted down his tentacles.
This false human form was the best he could do. The fingers and thumb were multiple tentacles wrapped together. He took his rock and started walking up the cliff. The fish had already digested, and he wanted more food. Just dipping his new knees down, he felt himself enter stealth mode. When he moved his feet, they made little noise. Right now, he looked like a 3ft tall man with weirdly flexible arms and legs. If he was going to do this for real, he needed a lot more food.
No, he needed to plan. He needed Clare’s silk to make cords or rope. He had a forest full of sticks and a cliff full of stones. While in stealth mode none of the Pelican’s noticed him. He made it to the tiny hole where Clare lived with little difficulty.
Quest
Appease Clare
Catch pelican chicks to tempt Clare 0/5
Reward
Clare’s thread
+2CHA
That was a great idea. If he went in there demanding something from Clare, she might string him up and eat him. He was much stronger than before but not that strong. An alliance with Clare was much more valuable than making an enemy out of her anyway.
It didn’t take him long to sneak up on a pelican puking in her chicks’ mouths. He looked around to make sure no other pelicans were around. Taking the rock carefully in hand he chunked it at the pelican mother as hard as he could. It sailed true and smashed against the side of the pelican’s head. Jack moved and picked up the foul forcing it down his throat.
The bird went in smooth and slid into his crushing throat breaking its frail bones. When its webbed feet crossed his sucker, he focused back on the chicks. His hand like grouping of tentacles broke apart and wrapped around each of the chicks. He counted six and tossed the spare in his mouth. It crunched nicely as it joined its mother.
Jack made his way back to the hole and eased his way in. He had to really stretch himself thin to fit. “Hey Clare, I’ve returned with 5 chicks are you hungry. His spider friend looked at him with an air of trepidation.
“Jack you’ve grown larger than before.” Jack shrugged and held one of the chicks up to her. It peeped before Clare wrapped it up bending on her back legs and throwing her silk around it. She soon tied a string to it before attaching it to the ceiling. The male spiders above looked on at the chick hungrily. “Thank you for the gift they are lovely. Though I don’t think you can stay here much longer.” Said Clare.
“Yea, I’m thinking about trying my luck in the forest. Clare would you mind giving me some of your silk for the chicks?” Jack asked. She looked at him oddly.
“What do you plan to do with my silk?”
“I need it to bind stone to wood to craft weapons. Your silk would be perfect for making rope.” Jack said.
“I can produce silk that lasts a bit longer than most. For the last four chicks, I will give you some.” Clare said.
Jack handed over the baby birds and Clare put them up just like their sibling. “Let me evolve after this meal and we will begin our trade. I’ll need to leave this cave as well for something larger soon as well.” Clare said.
Jack managed to pull the entirety of his body into the cave and settled down to rest while Clare snacked on the pelican chicks.
When next he awoke, he yawned and checked his level.
Quest complete
Appease Clare
+2CHA
Jack lv15
AP33
His gluttony had to be the best skill tree out there. With it he had no fear of over eating and he gained more xp thanks to it. He had eaten a fully-grown Pelican and digested it.
He slithered out of the cave and rose up high in the air. His main body when stretched out was now 8ft. When squeezed down he was less than 2ft long. His tentacles made up the rest of his body. They could wrap around each other to make human like legs, arms, a rib cage, and a torso. All the while his main body acted as a head. It was night time and pelicans were night blind. It was the best time to eat their strongest.
Jack made his way into the series of nests that made up their little village. He found one of the guard pelican’s and hit it with a solid rock. Jack’s body was squishy, but he could lift a rock and use it well. From there he surrounded it with his barbed tentacles and injected it full of acid. He took it into his false torso to melt down while his tentacles absorbed the soup.
A thought occurred to him. What would happen if he increased his intelligence? Jack was already confident in his own crafty nature. But if he was smarter, the world would be his.
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He slammed 33AP into INT. His eye bulged as his every action returned to the forefront of his mind. Within seconds a headache shook his world. His brain pounded as everything he did was dragged into a new context. The bold truly favors the stupid.
Jack’s form twisted as he tweaked the aesthetics of his humanoid tentacle form until he looked a bit more human and less like a monster. More tentacles were used to make squared shoulders and less were devoted to the ribs. He cut down on the five-finger model and resorted to four. It was easier to control. A new desire took over him. He wanted to evolve.
Forget about the skill trees and crafting evolution took priority. That dragon was a testament to that. He was also horny now that he had more brain power. Emotions and feelings clouded his mind. It took a moment to calm down. He opened his sucker and belched.
That’s right he’s basically eating his fellow man in this world. That needed to be reconciled, later. For now, he needed to get this pelican quest over with. Well the +10STR part of the quest was done but he needed to hit complete on the quest widow to collect his reward. Saying that he might as well try for the bonuses.
The problem with that was the sheer number of nests between him and the center of the pelican encampment. To his dumb leech mind before they were a bunch of random nests. Now, with his increased intelligence he could tell it was something like a hierarchy. In the center were the high evolution pelicans. Farther out were the lower evolution until you reached 1st evolution pelicans. How anyone with half a mind could fail to evolve Jack didn’t know. Then again Jack had eaten his siblings to evolve. Another thing he needed to reconcile, later.
This was still his best chance at fighting them for now. He found another nest and snatched up the pelican mother on the spot. She let out a cry as he took her from her chicks. She scratched and bit at him only to get a backhand for her trouble. He was getting used to keeping up this semi human appearance.
Sending Chat information
Opening Chat with Velma the Pelican
“You monster, my chicks they will freeze now and die.” Multiple tentacles held the pelican incapacitated.
“I understand your situation, I really do. Please calm down.” Jack said. The Pelican froze as it turned its large bill to Jack.
“Is this what gets you off. Do you like to talk to your prey before eating them?” Velma snapped. Her beady black eyes were trying their best to glare. Jack was an elm tree in a storm he bent but snapped right back into place.
“Nah, I get off on the crunch your bones make. I wanted to know a lot of things, but I doubt you can answer a thing. How many times have you died?” Jack asked.
“How dare you ask such an intimate question. Even lovers wouldn’t share such a secret.” Velma said. Jack found that interesting. Did he just discover some hidden taboo? His sucker did a great job at mimicking a smile and the pelican was getting scared. A giant pile of bird crap fell from her feathers.
“You’re scared, I get that. But I understand why your scared I’m a big scary leech after all. Its ok to be frightened I haven’t decided to eat you or not. Now are there any of your kind at let’s say 4th or greater evolution?” Jack asked. She struggled for bit and Jack thought about an incentive. “If you answer my question’s quickly, I’ll return you to your nest. You might save your chicks from the cold.” Jack said.
“You are a villain. There are pelicans of the fourth evolution in camp. They will tear you to shreds and eat you.” Velma said. Jack nodded waved his hand in a whirling motion.
“I’m sure their terrifying. How many are there, where do they sleep, and how well do the see at night?” Jack asked.
Velma slumped in his grip. “There are 4 at the fourth evolution. We call them the saints. They Have human faces on their bills. I don’t know were the saints sleep or if they can see at night.” Jack nodded.
“Well Velma you’ve been a great help, I’ll return you to your nest.” Jack said. He walked back to her nest and placed her on top of the unmoving forms of her chicks. She quickly nudged one with her bill and it soon started moving. She moved to each one and like zombies they woke up when she warmed them. Jack went back into stealth mode and eased away.
He ducked passed sentries and found a pelican with green feathers and larger webbed feet than normal. Jack snuck up on it slowly keeping his every step as quiet as possible. The pelican slept its breast moving up and down. Jack waited and unleashed his tentacles pulling the pelican in and sealing it in tight before it could make a sound. From there his tentacles cut into the bird and injected it with acid.
His trick was to give it no room for movement at all. He looked down at the green feathered chicks. Picking one at a time up and tossed them down his sucker until there were no more. Once he was full, he began to make his way out of the camp. Just as he started to make his way out, he heard loud screeching sounds. Soon all around him the camp was waking up and some fires were lit. Jack ducked behind a wall and made himself flat as he could while full.
His best bet was to dive down in the water below. It took most of his tentacles to keep the foul in his torso. A mad idea entered him, and it didn’t want to leave. His tentacles unraveled, and his form changed from a man shaped creature to a large ball. Then he compressed.
The bones of his prey snapped and crumbled as more acid filled the bird. While it died Jack absorbed the soupy mess it left behind. It would be a while before he knew how much xp this meal would give him.
In the meantime, all his exits were blocked, and the pelicans searched everywhere there was light. A truly massive pelican landed with pitch black feathers and a face of a screaming man on his bill. Frost covered its body like a cloak and the stone around his webbed feet gathered frost. This was a fourth evolution. A saint according to the Velma the pelican. Its beady eyes turned to him then looked away. Jack was still in stealth mode so maybe that shielded him from view. That and he was colored black as a shadow.
Jack looked around for any possible exit before finding a crack in the rocks. It was tiny but not too tiny. He slinked towards it elongated his body and began to slowly enter the hole. The small fires were torches held by other high-level pelicans and they were moving around getting closer to Jack’s location. As his lower half entered the hole squeezing through cramped passages he couldn’t tell if he would make it on time or now.
The light was creeping through the shadows when his head finally sunk beneath the crevasse. Then he waited. The pelican’s searched all night. He kept his eye closed and his body deep in the hole. The problem was, he was still growing.
Level up
Jack lv30 max
AP: 75
Would you like to evolve?
y/n
Tendril Shadow
Description – You have become a being made of shadows and tendrils. No longer are you a simple leech you have climbed above those around you. New mutations: Shadow mass, The Shadow, and From the Dark. New skill tree: Shadow sorcery
Eldritch Walker – Stand tall on your own two feet. This form grants you the humanoid appearance you have searched for. You now have bones. New Mutations: Walk Tall, Gestalt Mind, and Blood World. New Skill Tree: Blood sorcery
Pseudo Vampire – You have gained a true body one that can conceal your delicate nature. With this new form your hunger for blood knows no end. +20CHA with dark creatures. New Mutations: Symphony of the Night, Opus of Blood, and Citadel of One. New Skill Trees: Sorcery, Blood Alchemy. Weakness to Sunlight
Eldritch Proto Form – You have consumed many creatures a leech shouldn’t have been able to. This form amplifies that trait. Your tendrils become a solid tail connected to a cartilage spine, chitin plates cover your skin, and you now stand upright with four arms and two legs. You will have hands for working, feet for walking and a tail for absorbing. Mutations: Hormone of the Gods II, Inventive Mind, and Seeker of Answers. New skill Tree: Melee combat
There was no reason to even consider another path, Jack chose Eldritch Proto Form. Unlike his other transformations this time he was overcome by pain. Only when his mind was swallowed up by darkness again did he remember he was stuck in a hole.
Name: Jack
Age: 3days
Species: Eldritch Leech
Mutations: Hormone of the Gods, Fallen, Anarchist, Eldritch, Cannibal, 1 in 1000, 1 in 10,000, Latex being, Franchise, Shonen Archetype, Power Store.
Lv30
Levels Until Evolution 30 of 30
Mutation descriptions:
Hormone of the Gods – Multiply all strength gains by three, all skills increase 300% faster from repetition, and 300% xp when competing or crushing competitors.
Fallen – You are no longer a mere human. After being reborn in hell your soul has adopted the SAT App. (System Application Template)
Anarchist – Your skin has been blackened by your will to escape the system and search for true freedom. While others exist, you believe you will never be free. -50% charisma when dealing with people of authority.
Eldritch – The mark of one of the five sentient species in Hell. The eye of insight has appeared upon you head. A sign of your relation to the eldritch. Mutations appear 50% more often.
Cannibal – You devour your own kind to gain strength. +50% damage to enemies with the same species name as you.
1 in 1000 – The world bends backwards to accommodate your survival within reason. Your desires can reshape probability. +50% to positive outcomes.
1 in 10,000 – You gain more loot, win more poker games, and stay alive in the wild. +100% positive outcomes. Fate is much kinder to those born lucky.
Latex being – Your body has been infused with artificial materials granting you a greater range of flexibility. With greater flexibility come greater health regeneration. Your body seeks to keep itself together. X2 health regen.
Franchise – Your cells have joined together in the franchise Jack. In doing so they are almost impossible to break up. This new conglomerate has doubled your health and increased your growth rate.
Shonen Archetype – This mutation is said to be the key to obtaining eternal power and other wishful idiocy. You refuse to surrender even when your eaten and dying in an acid bath. Stamina doubles as well as all regeneration. From this point onward Endurance will add to any regeneration stats.
Power Store – The user can limit his strength and store it as energy for later usage. The longer this power is stored the larger the increase. Restricting 5STR for 1 minute will result in +5POW for 1minute or +25POW for 12secounds. This power though great can damage the user. POW can be used to augment any action.
Attributes:
HP 680/680 HR 112/min
SP 1830/1830 SR 38/min
MP 190/190 MR 39/min
PP (Power Points) 0
VIT 68
STR 50
DEX 83
END 183
INT 38
WIS 2
CHA 3
LUK 100
Skill Trees: Parasite 0/5, Predator 0/5, Survival 1/6, Gluttony 0/2, Feeding Tendrils, Adaption Under Fire 0/10
Skills:
Parasite:
Leech Life lv40
Stealth Feed lv40
Latch lv30
Suck lv30
Stealth lv30
Predator:
Ambush lv30
Consume Flesh lv30
Digest Meat lv30
Swallow Whole lv30
Throat Crush lv30
Survival: 1/6
Endure cold lv1
Endure heat lv0
Endure shock lv0
Endure acid lv150Max
Reflect Acid lv50
Endure force lv90
Endure poison lv0
Gluttony:
Stomach Expansion lv50
Fast Digestion lv50
Feeding Tendrils:
Acid Damage lv40
Absorption lv40
Adaption Under Fire 0/10
Mutate END lv0
Mutate STR lv0
Mutate DEX lv0