Doge

Anjan

Anjan ran towards the noise, Thomas in tow as a faintly troubling thought tried to claw its way into his mind. The light from Anjan’s torch flickered as he ran. Thomas skidded across the rocky paths, jumping over occasional obstacles in the way just to follow.

“Wait!” He panted, as he finally caught up to Anjan. “Let’s...think about what we’re doing a bit.”

A howl echoed under the night sky and an ominous presence soon emerged, yellow eyes glinting in the dark.

The eyes moved closer, and the moving outline of wolf-like figures became visible in the torchlight. The stick of fire was still held firmly in Anjan’s right hand.

“Oh wow,” Anjan said as one of the wolves moved closer. Their pupils were cataract white, just specks in a pronounced yellow glow — glows that seemed to be increasing in number, and moving into a tight circle around the two.

The wolf that approached was now within the light of Anjan’s fire. It looked almost like a large feral fox, with rugged patchy fur and bright yellow eyes. As it moved closer into the light, Anjan could see something on its fur: a black, writhing infection spread across the side of its face and side, like a living, parasitic tar.

As the wolf came closer, Anjan decided to lean in, placing his hand out as if to show he meant no danger. trying to get the wolf to sniff ad if it was a stray dog. “It’s alright, pup.”

The wolf didn’t seem to take notice. It began to growl, its teeth showing as it stared daggers at them — then suddenly it dove.

Anjan let out a shout as its jaws locked around his guarded arm.

“Shit!” Thomas called out in alarm. He had left the bow by their camp. He drew his sword and charged, tackling the dog off Anjan and to the ground. The wolf's growls grew more vicious. Thomas could not see any life left in the beast: only a deep, feral instinct.

He could do little to hold the beast down and to prevent it from jumping up at his neck. Angling the snarling body away, he stabbed his sword into its side. The wolf struggled for just a moment longer before collapsing. Two notifications appeared before Thomas’s eyes.

Simulating…

Analysis:

medium blades, single target, medium size quadruped.

Learned Skill

Medium blades.

(limited application)

Slain Creature: Experience Gained

Feral Taint Wolf 20

Scrambling up from the ground, Thomas looked around and saw they were trapped. Anjan had turned to face the wolves that surrounded them, and they stood there, back to back. The rest of the pack were making the same ragged growling sounds as their fallen sibling.

Anjan dropped the torch, bringing out his sword to face the horde. The approaching wolves took steps closer.

Thomas felt different. Moving his weapon felt more refined, as though he had the muscle memory of a practised swordsman.

“Bad dog, bad dog,” Anjan uncertainly said, swatting his sword from side to side. He looked down at the collapsed wolf and to his arm, glad the teeth hadn’t been able to get through his armour. He could only stand next to Thomas and hold out his sword in wait for the beasts to make a move.

Two wolves charged Thomas, and another for Anjan. Suddenly Kurt teleported in and deflected the beast with his tablet, letting out a half shout of "FUCK!" as the beast claw went through it. Stepping in front of Kurt Anjan flailed his arm out and slashed the wolf across the face. It flew to the side and landed sprawled out on the ground. A trail of corrupted black blood spewed from its corpse.

Thomas plunged his sword deep into one dog's skull, but its dead momentum dragged the sword, tearing it out of his hand. He collapsed on the floor as the other attacked, trying to push it away, its gnashing teeth pressing towards him. His lack of forethought leaving him swordless.

The wolf stopped trying to get at his face and bit into his leg. Thomas only just managed to kick the wolf off, having been scratched and bitten enough to pierce his armour. He was now on the floor, pushed to the side, blood leaking from multiple lacerations.

The wolf abated for a moment, locking eyes with Thomas as he stared it down. More eyes were emerging from the shadows and a chorus of choking growls like a distorted cackle echoing into the night.

"Screw this, ill meet you at spawn," Kurt muttered Thomas managed a hopeless glance towards Kur before the gremlin teleported out.

The wolf dove again. Thomas braced, but saw the wolf cut short, a sword smashing into the side of its head. Anjan having thrown it.

"Shit," Anjan said, now swordless.

An army of wolves jumped in at that moment, time seemed to freeze as Anjan in blind instinct shot out a gout of fire, the fires tore through the air and caught all eight. The wolves collapsed to the floor and began to wreath in agony, the flames igniting their fur as the tar-like growth was napalm.

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"Why didn't you do that earlier?” Thomas shouted in exasperation.

Anjan just looked at him, his arms raised in the air. "I'm really high!"

Thomas pushed himself up and pulled his sword from where he’d left it in the wolf’s head.

Two wolves remained, and they charged. Thomas picked up the sword Anjan had thrown and wielding one in each hand, jumped towards them. Anjan shot a firebolt out, catching one wolf. Its body shook in tremors as it immediately blazed. The last one managed just a small move forward before Thomas slashed across its side with both swords, delivering enough force to instantly put it down.

Panting, Thomas dropped both swords and looked around at the piles of infected wolf carcasses. He collapsed to one knee. The air around the two began to swirl as tendrils of energy spewed from the corpses. Thomas let out a yelp and Anjan gasped as energy accumulated around them seeming to dirt towards and into their flesh. Before they felt overwhelmed by the sensation, it eased into them and a feeling of strength and power rushed in.

Notification (14)

Learned Skill

Medium Blades

Experience Gained

Feral Taint Wolf (20)

20xp x12

Level up! Level 2

Enhancement selection based on accumulated essence is enabled.

Their ecstatic feelings from eating the fruit had disappeared and were replaced by the miserable aftershocks of an adrenaline rush. Thomas felt as though his mental energy had been sapped from him; as though everything was an effort and life itself a crippling mess.

“The…fuck…is…this,” said Anjan slowly, looking around at the carnage.

Thomas’s bitten leg, which had up to this point been only a murmur of pain, especially as the adrenaline corded through him suddenly thrummed in agony. It was a throbbing pain around the area he was scratched, where not it appeared to be visible growing black. He collapsed into the fetal position, rocking side to side. Anjan ran over and kneeled beside him, inspecting the wounds.

analysing...

Status: Diseased (Taint)

A dangerous bacteria that mutates and takes control of the hosts mental and physical capacity corrupting its essence.

Effect: Agonizing pain until the taint takes control.

Duration: 73 min until the next stage.

Anjan quickly gathered some herbs and brought them to Thomas. Thomas stuffed them in his mouth, feeling them improving his focus, and spit them out.

Kurt appeared back, in a puff of smoke. "You won, didn't think you would make it."

Anjan pushed him to the side trying to get to his friend. Thomas’s fingers found the wound in his leg. A black ooze was coming out where the wolf's claws had broken the skin. He pulled his hand back, not wanting it to spread to any slight grazes there, and left the leg alone, clenching his teeth.

“It's alive, it's fucking alive!”

Anjan looked on in horror

“Cut it off,” Thomas spat out. The infection looked like it was writhing under his skin. “Either that or kill me.”

Kurt moved to get a sword, he seemed to struggle with its weight but lifted it none the less.

"He needs to die before it spreads to his core. " Kurt tried to swing down but was stopped by Thomas as they both looked towards Anjan.

"I.. Can't..."

He looked down at the infection and tried to focus on it.

Status: Diseased (Taint)

Effect: Agonizing pain until the taint takes control.

Duration: 72 min until the next stage.

“Oh god no,” Anjan muttered, frantically looked around. “There has to be something else.”

He looked over at the wolves. The cursed disease was still all over them, wreathing through their skin and even protruding out of their wounds. However, those that were burnt through, charred to ash by Anjan’s fire, had nothing on them.

Anjan carefully pushed a stick to one of the corpses and saw the black gunk begin to creep up the side.

Acquired Item State Effects

Tainted blood Corrupt Unknown

On a whim, Anjan shot a bolt of fire at his sword, and saw the dark ooze writhe as if in surprise, before catching fire and all burning away.

“Hold still,” he commanded as he turned towards Thomas.

Thomas’s eyes bulged. “No, no, wait, what are you gonna - aaaaargh!”

Anjan pushed a piece of cloth into his mouth and shot a jet of fire into Thomas’s leg. The leg shook as the ooze reacted with the fire, an embered glow like a minor explosion spread inside the corrupted veins.

...simulating

Anjan felt his mental capacity strain as the energy within him seemed to shift.

Process circumvented...

Analysis of taint wolf in conjunction with fire affinity has unlocked a cleansing flame attribute.

Pattern crystalized.

Learned Skill:

Cleansing Flame

Cleansing flame is capable of mutating the crystalline essence of an invasive pathogen to facilitate disintegration of a target without damage to the host. Attacking the essence of the pathogen the cleansing flame commands the pathogen to disintegrate.

Thomas had passed out somewhere between his scream and the notification. Anjan left him to lie there and began his new-found task. He had burnt all the taint in the area, the smell of charred dog flesh made him gag, and he would stop for moments just to try and swallow his vomit. Inspecting the wound afterwards he saw that the level of cauterization he had administered could put a person into shock, probably killing them in the real world. Anjan wasn't sure if he had made the right decision.

Anjan moved to carry Thomas back to camp, Kurt moved in to help. His tiny arms didn't carry much of the weight but the small effort he put in was at least something for Anjan.

"Don't panic," Kurt said before teleporting a small distance, reducing the rest of the walk but making Kurt begin to smoke. They walked the rest of the way.

"I'm sorry..." the creature said without looking him in the eye. "None of this was meant to happen. If you didn't go through the portal we would be slowly raising your level. Safely, with what we have at base. not like this."

When They arrived back at camp he saw Kurt sprinkle what looked like the remains of his tablet on the fire. He looked towards Anjan afterwards.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Anjan stated.

"Don't be."

"I just levelled up,"

"Congratulations."

"What does it mean?"

Kurt looked towards Thomas and grimaced, turning back to Anjan.

"Do you have a select screen?"

Anjan focused a slight amount on what he knew as the 'process selection'. A series of different choices appearing before him.

System evolution options.

He was overburdened with nausea for a brief moment until what was a jumbled mess of statistics and alien concepts organised itself.

It was as though he could access his being and enhance aspects of it. When he focused on his body he noticed how the strange energy flowing through him was changing both his nerves and muscle structure. He focused on his mind and an area highlighted as the hippocampus resonated with him.

The concept of increased memory recollection seemed vital. As though with this he could maybe get a hold of who he was without the intense nausea that came with it.

He thought of Sherlock Holmes, Rainman, grasping at the concept of enhanced memory. He accidentally switched it to "hot fuzz" he could see the image of what he knew to be policemen shooting an old lady quickly trying to discard the thought as unnecessary.

Pushing his will through this option a notification appeared before him.

Eidetic memory unlocked.

cue dependent memory functionality inhibited 216 hours prior to initial system introduction. Correcting...

Failure. System Calibration required.

Converting grey brain matter to white in hippocampus pathway...

Anjan was overcome with a splitting headache and quickly passed out.