Charlie had fallen into a rhythm.
Wake up, stretch, [Devour] four cores, get a drink at the river, scout the surroundings, return, bring a new haul of corpses back home, eat, sleep - repeat.
With the metaphorical dawn of each new day, Charlie could see explosive growth accumulating faster than ever before. In part due to having the tools to keep himself safe, but mostly due to finally figuring out how experience is gained by using [Devour].
Through trial and error, Charlie had come to find out that there was a boosting system to it. It wasn't complex, but would have been impossible to know without the opportunity the peaceful sanctity the river provided.
To put it in easily understood terms, one [Devoured] Core provided one percent of Experience, yet two Cores provided six. It was a monumental breakthrough in understanding, and his curiosity was peaked. So, he added a third core, but it only provided seven percent Experience. For a time it seemed that [Devouring] two cores was the optimal choice, until Charlie decided to try the last four Cores from his stacked pile.
What shocked him was that instead of receiving eight percent, Charlie had gained a staggering twelve percent Experience. It was so exciting that Charlie tried again with five, then six and even seven Cores, but none of them gave any additional Experience, only the twelve percent of the original four.
So, with his newfound knowledge, Charlie had become far more efficient in gaining Experience and his progress shot through the roof. Since coming to this world, over a month had passed barely reaching Level 5, but now, Charlie was nearly Level 12 after simply two weeks.
Charlie felt like he was cheating, but quickly corrected his mindset as there was no such thing as cheating in the never ending struggle for survival, and for power. To use any means necessary meant survival, to cheat and exploit meant he could live to breathe another day. Cheating was a human concept.
It was more than just his Level, as all of his {Epitaphs} and attributes had come a long way throughout the last two weeks. Strength and Vitality broke the ten point mark, while Dexterity and Eso were still a few points under. His abilities had gained new descriptions, new Mana costs and provided Charlie with even more powerful tools to conquer the cave.
Charlie had the luxury to visit the world within his soul and check on his progress nearly every day, which allowed him great insight into how he was developing. Though Charlie found that he still needed to sleep properly once in a while, as visiting the inner world didn't absolve him of any actual exhaustion.
At first, Charlie was beyond excited to have become so efficient in every part of his life, so much so that it was hard to notice that his thoughts were slower, his reaction time was becoming more and more delayed. Though not for too long, as more nights of restless sleep accrued, Charlie started making mistakes - some almost fatal.
In the beginning they were small and insignificant, but eventually Charlie made a blunder so awful that he had nearly lost his head.
It was only five consecutive days of visiting the Soul world, but that was enough. The exhaustion was deep-set at this point, and blinding enough for Charlie to miss a large predator stepping into the range of his [Mana Sense].
It's fur was sleek and dark, the dim light reflected off of the glossy coat as if it were repelled, yet it did not shine. It's footsteps were silent, not that it would have mattered, the constant cacophony of nearby screams and bleats drowned out all other sound. It's body was lithe, but muscular, though not particularly large.
In his exhausted stupor, Charlie failed to notice the larger Mana signature during his sloppy fight with a trio of smaller, and far weaker creatures. They weren't exactly pressing Charlie, but he couldn't help but react a little too slow to their frantic lunges and had been accruing damage faster than he would have liked.
It was only when the weakened bodies of the pitiful creatures exploded into bloody gore, one after another, did Charlie wake up.
It had no flesh-rending claws, nor teeth to skewer large prey, but it's presence still felt imposing. That was before Charlie even noticed it's most lethal weapon - a thick-based tail that tapered off into a mace of bones. The sharp bone spikes splintered off of the bulbous weapon and scaled the creatures back, coalescing around the neck and forming a fearsome mane.
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The creature launched three fearsome bone spikes, skewering the fragile and soft bodies of the unaware creatures, nailing them to the ground. One struggled for a moment, letting out a pained gasp but quickly stilled.
A fourth spike didn't come for Charlie, but instead he saw a creature, as black as night, sprint towards him with terrible speed. Charlies sleep deprivation was too grave, and gave the predator the moment it needed to cross the gap between it and it's prey.
Unable to process the angle of the attack, Charlie made a last ditch effort and offered up his abdomen instead of his head. It saved him, but the sharp feeling of the creatures fangs reaching deep inside of him still stuck with him, even after he had fully recovered a few days later.
Though the pain was great, it was exactly what Charlie needed to shake off the exhausted stupor and regain control of his mind. Though it was a sobering experience, it was resolved with a single retaliatory [Hollow Fang], and the creature fell.
Ever since Charlie started fighting the horde of weakened creatures, [Hollow Fang] had become truly terrifying. After it hit Level 3, not only did it's description change, but so did its lethality. There was no chance to truly test it on anything too large, nor did he want to quite yet, but the predator that attacked Charlie was dead before it even had the chance to unlatch it's maw.
After consuming the creature whole, Charlie had underwent a transformation once again in the comfort of his own home. [Devour] had once again stolen the creatures sacred treasure, and [Desecrated Thief] received an additional entry. Though unlike the others, it was underwhelming in the new description. Charlie had learned that the creature was called an Ankathy, and it received no further information from [Desecrated Thief], or the System.
In the two weeks, the Ankathy's sacred gift wasn't the only new addition, though. Charlie had a chance to ambush a lone Skullker, or Horens as they were actually named. Charlie had used [Worm of Envy] and found out that it was a lower Level than himself, posed no real danger to him, and seemed distracted. The ambush and strike were swift, without any flare or real danger.
The singular Horen provided another entry, and much like the Ankathy, lacked in any additional information - simply added to the new tracker.
The sacred gift Charlie received from the Ankathy were it's bone-like spines. Which turned out to be a painfully horrific transformation, as Charlie felt his spine light up like a burning inferno, suddenly piercing through his robust muscle and scales like they were paper. The spikes stretched from the tip of his tail, all the way up to the head, where they formed a mane of sharp bone, though much less flashy than the original.
The Horen though, it's gift seemed useless at the beginning. Which was not entirely true. While one could argue that the gift of enhanced hearing was outclassed by [Mana Sense], Charlie was still somewhat pleased. Another way to perceive the world was simply another tool to exploit. While not as grand and flashy as the bone mane, it was still functional - maybe more so than the bone spikes themselves.
The two weeks were beyond fruitful, and Charlie could only sigh in content as he gazed upon the Mystical text within the boiling clouds.
---A/N---
The (+number) means the increase since the last time the status has been shown.
---A/N---
Level: 11 / 77.5%
Mana: 190/202.5
Strength: 11 (+7)
Dexterity: 8 (+4)
Vitality: 12 (+6)
Eso: 9 (+4)
{Evolution}
[A limitless journey awaits, but you are naked and bare, still seeking purpose.]
{The Challenge}
[Cursed and blessed at the same time, your journey is one of Hunger. Your power is to Devour that which is precious, steal the sacred and become more than your Creator.]
{Powers}
[Devour: Level: 2 / 32.5%
Reap: 50 Mana
Sever: 10% Mana/Level
A wretched power, manifested from bottomless hunger - Unchained.]
[Worm of Envy:
Level: 3 / 70%
Mana: 5/Level
Curiosity, wonder, desire, Envy - none can escape your Greed.]
{Epitaphs}
[No Strings On Me]
[Hollow Fang:
Level: 3 / 0.25%
Mana: 5
The venomous bite of this Serpent is deadlier than it looks. Unassuming and insidious in nature, none escape its chilling grasp.]
[Mana Sense:
Level: 2 / 9%
Mana: 5/hour
Envious of the hidden world, the Serpent unveiled secrets unseen. To peer beyond the mortal is to touch upon the Weave.]
[Desecrated Thief]
[Sklite, The Worm of Envy, Horen, Ankathy]
[An Unknown power manifested in secrecy, hidden away from the eyes of envy and jealousy.]
[The Sklite were the first to know of such a loss, forever marking the Thief as their mortal enemy.]
[Nirina, The Worm of Envy, birthed of an unholy union between Sorcery and the Arcane, suffered at the hands of her creators for millennia. In the depths of True Darkness, the Thief ended her torment.]