Alphonse looked around. Using his ears, he turned his head in different directions, attempting to hear anything that might creep up on him. It’s safe, for now. Alphonse thought he couldn’t hear anything else.

With his immediate hunger satiated, Alphonse took his cleaver and cut off the leg of the hyena. I wonder what stat buffs I’ll get if I cook it? His eyes rested on the skeletons that had torn away from their slumber as he walked over. They were wearing robes, teal tassels hung from the collar, they were in a perfect condition as not a hint of mould nor rot had taken place. A strange wax-like substance had spread over them. Is that what's stopped them from decomposing? Alphonse ripped them off the body. You don’t need them anymore, do you?

Alphonse bundled up all the clothes and found a small rock from the ground. Grabbing hold of the meat cleaver–he turned it around–using the blunt edge and struck the rock as small sparks splattered onto the clothes. An ember formed onto the dry clothes as he crouched down and lightly blew on the budding ember. Soon, the small budding ember flickered to life as it caught the wax-like substance on the robes, creating a spiral flame. Placing the hyena leg on the fire, Alphonse looked around the crypt.

Is the voice in my head, me going crazy, or something… else? Alphonse thought to himself, ever since he arrived here it was becoming harder to stay sane. Just like back then… Alphonse shook his head. He walked down the crypts hall, when another door opened up into a passageway. Seems like this is the way out. I’ll have something to eat first. Alphonse turned back to his fire–now and then he would rotate the leg so that it cooked evenly.

Alphonse placed his finger and pressed onto the charred leg of the hyena–the dim red juices of the muscle being rendered down flowed through the crackling of the leg. Alphonse salivated as the smell of meat entered his beast-like nose. He couldn’t help but take a few sniffs at the succulent meat. It was the first time he had actually cooked something that wasn't rancid ready made jerky. Alphonse took his cleaver and sliced into the meatiest part of the leg–juices run clear–he first took off the charred meat and put it to the side. Then, he cut again, into the reddish-brown, cooked meat. He took a strip the size of his forearm and placed it into his mouth. It was chewy, but it was no problem for his teeth as they ripped it to shreds.

[ Chef’s Kiss activated ]

[ Recipe: Nearly burnt roasted hyena leg ]

[ Well-done hyena leg: The leg of an Underground Hyena. Cooked anymore and it would be…inedible. ]

[ Rating E ]

| 0.9 Extra Strength added

| 1.4 Extra Dexterity added

[ +1 to Dexterity, +50ft of darkvision for one hour. ]

Hey, that's pretty good. Alphonse nodded in satisfaction. It was cooked… perfectly.

With his meal completely finished and not having to worry about going crazy because of his hunger, Alphonse set off towards the passageway. With his extra dark vision thanks to Chef’s Kiss, he could see down most of the passageway. He continued to follow the direction the voice was telling him to go. After all, it had saved his life. Ahh, back to these damned passageways… this shitty maze. Alphonse groaned to himself.

< Time remaining 26 days. >

That’s plenty of time, right? The thought fermented in his mind for a while at the sudden message as he walked down the stale halls.

What is that? Alphonse looked ahead. His extra dark vision had already ended–his eyes squinted–he got closer and noticed multiple different passageways ahead. Three passageways, four including the one he just came from. His head turned left, looking down the dark hallway. The walls differed from the last. Scratches marred the walls and awful smelling blobs littered the floor. His eyes strained as he looked closer and his nose picked up a foul stench. Is that shit? The small wafted forwards, thanks to a gentle breeze within the maze as it assaulted Alphonse’s senses. A gag was about to leave his throat when he suddenly heard a noise from behind. It was a gentle noise. If he hadn’t had heightened hearing, he wouldn’t be able to hear it.

Alphonse’s legs jolted to the side as a dagger slashed past his arm. Alphonse was quick to react as he sent out a front kick. The force caused the monster to fall to the ground, but it was clearly athletic as it quickly bounced back onto its feet.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

The monster had large pointed ears, a frail loincloth with mottle pieces of leather covering its greenish black skin. The monster’s black, rotten fangs flashed towards him. Its hand clung to the dagger in a backwards hold. The goblin-like creature crouched down ready to attack, but it seemed to wait for something… He picked out a sound behind him. Alphonse quickly spat out his bile above him as he moved to the side again. His head moved behind him as the monster let out a blood-curdling scream. Its flesh was being melted by the second, as not even the bone underneath was safe from the intense corrosive stomach acid. Splatters of his own stomach acid landed on Alphonse, but apart from a burning sensation on his skin, nothing happened. As he had his head turned, the first monster used the distraction to attack. Fuck–they are so quiet–I can barely hear them. A smile plastered Alphonse’s face as their skin bubbled away from the monster.

The goblin-like creature rushed forwards, it thrust its jagged knife straight to Alphonse’s throat. He was shocked at the sudden acceleration of the creature as ice formed in his hands. Alphonse’s cleaver swung forwards as he stepped to the side, dodging the dagger by a hair's breadth. The cleaver's blade almost hit its mark, but the goblin stopped its attack and dodged backwards. It’s fast and crafty…

The monster began its attack again, its bloodshot eyes craving for blood. It sprinted forward–using the wall as a stepping stone–it jumped towards him.

Alphonse raised his hand towards the monster as an ice spike shot forwards. It wasn’t as accurate as he hoped to be because of the speed and flexibility of the monster trying to take his life. The ice spike bored into its shoulder as it let out a dull growl. Despite the hit–it’s eyes only became more desperate–it was ready to fight to the death.

Alphonse felt a strange sensation welling up inside of him. It was… excitement. His lips upturned into a small smile as a sudden shadow covered his mouth and teeth. Large white teeth, shrouded in darkness, snarled towards the monster. His heart was racing. Adrenaline was taking effect as he went on the offensive. The monster was in midair. It attempted to spin its body, attacking Alphonse’s body from a different angle, but it didn’t expect the human to suddenly run forwards. Alphonse jumped and grabbed hold of the creature’s ankle and–with all his strength–slammed it onto the hard stone floor underneath. Without pause, Alphonse leapt on top of the creature as he held its flimsy arms down. You might be fast, but you’re damned weak. With a laugh, Alphonse’s mouth widened even further than ever before as his teeth covered the skull of the monster as he bit down. Almost the entire creature’s head had disappeared in one bite, thanks to the increased power from his back.

< Cave Goblin consumed >

| 2.1 Dexterity added

< Low quality meal… >

< Skill extraction failed. >

Damn, it was even a skill… Alphonse shook his head, erasing the disappointment from his mind. Alphonse glanced down all the passages. He had become less confident in his hearing so used all of his senses. The voice was telling him to go down the passageway on the right side. So he continued down the dark dingy halls of the maze–there was no way to tell what time it was–or where the hell he was going. He just simply followed the voice inside of his head.

***

< Time remaining 19 days. >

Alphonse stood panting over the body of another dead cave goblin. The past week had been an absolute hell. Fighting constantly on the line between life and death. Wounds that had scabbed over and fresh injuries all together marred his body. Alphonse leant up against the wall as he regained his breath. His eyes fell on the group of cave goblins littered around him. He looked to the left and to the right, making sure it was safe. He had grown paranoid–whenever he thought he was safe, a cave goblin would jump out from the darkness–barely even able to hear it. As he opened his stats he looked at his progress.

Name Alphonse Khastal

Class: Hunger

Traits:

[ Common ] Keen Smell,

[ Common ] Keen Hearing,

[ Legendary ] Chef’s Kiss,

[ Un-common ] Dark Vision,

Strong Back

Skills:

[ Epic ] Gourmet Extraction,

[ Rare ] Swallowing Bite,

[ Common ] Spectral Rage,

[ Rare ] Stomach Bile

[ Un-common ] Silent Steps

[ Epic ] Ice Arts

Attributes:

Strength: 23.6

Dexterity: 26.3

Constitution: 20.1

Intelligence: 15.6

Wisdom: 6.9

Charisma: 9.3

Alphonse didn’t gain any points from consecutive meals, but because of Chef’s Kiss he could extract points and an extra skill [ Silent Steps ] from the same enemies, per body by cooking it into a recipe. However, the points gradually became less and less than he continued to eat the same recipe.

When are these goblins going to stop? It was the only enemy he had faced for an entire week. They were never ending. Dark bags loomed below his eyes as tiredness hit him. Alphonse’s head lethargically moved to the side. He heard shouting. Humans.