"No!"

There was darkness and a terrible screeching all around. For a brief moment Vincent had closed his eyes and accepted his fate but near instantly they snapped back open as he let out a defiant yell. He couldn't die here.. he couldn't give up! No one would miss him..? What about his best friend Jacob? What about his family!? Were they also brought to this new, harsh reality?

If so, were they also being attacked or in otherwise unprecedented danger? Regret and anger began to overtake his mind-numbing fear. He was still scared, petrified in fact. What would he even do against the massive sea of black death less than an arm's length away? He didn't know but he had to do something. Time seemed to have slowed causing his final moments to stretch on forever.

He raised an arm while shouting his rejection to the birds… Bone was visible on the bloody, shredded appendage. Still, he used the feeble limb to pathetically try and stop the approaching wall of feathery flame. Imagine his surprise when it actually did stop, less than an inch from his shredded limb. A pounding headache took him and his vision turned red. He couldn't tell at that moment, but his blue eyes became red and his pupils became dark black slits.

Congratulations! Skill: predatory instincts has increased to level 9!

Congratulations! Skill: predatory instincts has increased to level 10!

Warning.. error.. recalculating..

Congratulations! Your skill predatory instincts (common) has successfully evolved into Predatory instincts (uncommon)

Warning: if the required amount of soulspace is not met, sickness and death may occur.

Congrat-! Error..

due to unusual circumstances and the ambient Nectar in the air, the system fuels the evolution of your skill. Please seek the nearest Nexus HUB or your local world's Tavern Owner for immediate assistance.

Vincent was extremely confused, trying to comprehend the slew of messages he received and the fact that the birds had stopped inches from his face. It was as if some invisible bubble separated his arm from the wall of death. The birds were still flapping their wings and cawing, turning their heads side to side to focus their thousands of beady red eyes on their target. A single bird was indiscernible in the endless black abyss of feathers; there were simply too many. Vincent was sure if even just ten of them attacked him his life would end. Nevertheless, the swarm seemed completely unable to close the final distance between them and their prey.

Still entirely unsure of what was going on or how to proceed, Vincent was faintly aware he could feel a tugging in his gut. He wasn't quite sure on the 'how' part but he knew instinctively (pun intended) his skill; predatory instincts was dragging him away from the sea of evil birds and towards the mouth of the cave that had been his destination since the moment the massacre of the deer had occurred.

He let his body move on its own, too exhausted physically and emotionally to comprehend what was happening. It all seemed like a dream but the pain and nausea confirmed it was very real. He had nearly been killed and had somehow stopped them with his newly evolved skill. Vincent kept one wary eye on the birds as he made his final few steps toward the mouth of the cave.

Upon reaching said entrance it was as if a switch had been flipped. His massive headache receded a bit and the endless wall of birds dispersed in a horrifying, loud, cloud of darkness. They flew back toward the jungle finally allowing the blistering sun to penetrate the clearing once more. In less than a minute not a single creature remained in the clearing save the bloody, exhausted blob that identified as Vincent. The world was dead silent. Not even a breeze dared make itself known that day, lest the birds come back. He shook his head and shuddered stepping uneasily beyond the threshold of the cave.

Once inside it was as if all sound was cut off from the outside world. It was dark but not so much so that Vincent couldn't make things out well enough to get around and get the basic layout. The cave wasn't exactly huge by any means, But it was certainly cozy. There was enough room for perhaps a small party of three people to spread out and camp peacefully just in the front half. The entirety of the cave was pleasantly warm completely unlike the blistering heat outside.

He shivered, still feeling cold despite the natural warmth. It was a deep chill. How much blood had he lost at this point? Looking around he noticed the cave was shaped in an oddly symmetric circle. Vincent considered once again that this place had to have been man-made. In the middle of the area a large obsidian pillar reached from the ground to the smooth ceiling above. Wincing in pain, he slowly limped over to the center of the room, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

His body throbbed and he held his sides, trying feebly to squish the pain and cold away. With a groan he slowly looked up in an attempt to pop his neck. It was then, looking at the top of the cave that he noticed the source of the light. His mouth was agape, blue eyes wide with fascination. "What..?"

It looked like a vast sea of gold stars and tiny black holes intertwining and weaving around one another. Motes of light shot off from the luminescent, cloud-like substance. Looking closely at the substance he noticed it seemed thicker around the pillar that was directly in the center of the cave. He sensed more than felt an extraordinary pressure from the substance. He was somewhat glad it seemed to have the properties of a gas, lest he have to discern whether or not the substance was toxic. For now it served as a simple source of light, and quite a beautiful one at that.

As Vincent approached the pillar in the center of the area he noticed something carved into whatever obsidian material composed it. He reached out with one of his broken, bloody arms and touched the engravings. The object felt unlike any he had ever known. It was smooth and sleek like metal, but also solid and porous like a rock. The structure seemed like a contradiction.

How could something have both smooth unbending metallic properties yet permeable and flexible rock elements as well? Curious as he was about the chemical makeup of the pillar he was even more fascinated by the carvings. It looked as if they were various symbols interwoven and interlocking within one another. If he didn't know any better he would swear they were some kind of language or writing?

His finger scraped across one of the engravings, and a tiny arc of electricity jumped between them. Vincent gasped and shuddered. He moved around the metallic-stone pillar slowly caressing the symbols as he did. The pillar itself was extremely thick, easily measuring 5 meters across. Once he had gotten around to the backside he paused, eyes wide at what lay on the other side.

Coming directly out the back of the pillar was a blue stream that continued all the way to some small, invisible exit on the back end of the cave. The stream was about a foot wide and probably equally as deep. It seemed to move unnaturally slowly.

On either side of the stream were large patches of dirt as if the stream were an aqueduct to support two small gardens. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed the stone floor of the cave turning to dirt directly halfway past the pillar, but it really didn't matter. The whole situation was different than what he was used to. Would anything even be able to grow here? Admittedly the lighting was adequate but did the mysterious light possess the same nutritional qualities as sunlight did for photosynthetic organisms? Vincent was unsure.

He knelt down to further study the liquid. It was clearly the same liquid as before.. the.. blood or whatever, but this kind was very different. It was a darker blue for one thing and it seemed to be more dense yet it somehow moved more fluidly than the water he'd found in the woods. He thought about drinking some in hopes of healing but right now… His trust for this world was not deep. It could be poison.. He studied the substance carefully for several minutes, his body in unimaginable pain. As he studied the stuff his eyes began to tingle, softly at first but it quickly became an annoying itch. "Ah! Give me a fucking break." He muttered, wiping his eyes with what remained of his shredded suit. He figured the blood in his eyes must be irritating his cornea but the stinging wouldn't desist. In fact, it continued to build until it was a legitimate burning.

"Ahhh, damn it!" He glared, stomping his foot and focusing the entirety of his attention on the water beneath him. He didn't know why but he somehow felt as if his predatory instincts wanted him to focus all his pain and frustration on the running liquid. The pain radiating from his eyes now seemed to encompass a large part of his frontal lobe. As he felt the pain reach a crescendo, he thought for sure his head would explode. Suddenly, with a slight 'pop' a great deal of the pain and stinging disappeared.

Vincent breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but chuckle as a system notification forced its way to the center of his attention. 'Tired of being ignored, huh?'

Congratulations! The skill: identify (common) has been achieved! Skill: identify (common) Allows the user to identify various life forms and inanimate objects. Due to the 'common' rarity, chance of success and details of the identification gain a minor increase with each skill level.

Perception grants a minor boost to this skill. (Passive skill)

The activation of this particular skill was much more uncomfortable than the first, and he couldn't help but feel like the system did it on purpose due to his lack of attention to its constant messages and notifications. 'Temperamental bastard ain't ya?' with a smirk. He thought to himself, though he had a sneaking suspension the system understood him perfectly.

He sighed and relaxed his body. Thankfully there were no immediately obvious odors within the cave. It would have been hard to concentrate if an animal had left a giant pile of dung near the azure liquid. He sat cross-legged beside the steady stream and closed his eyes so that he could more easily focus on the system window. His brow creased in worry upon reading the very first backlogged message. The concern only grew from there.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Urgent! Warning! Urgent!

Health is below 10 percent!

WARNING! health is below 1 percent! Seek immediate medical attention!

Your consciousness grows dim as death closes in.. The embers of your fire dwindle away to ash..

System interference detected! A spark reunites!

Welcome: Kakarot.

Race: human

Level: 1

XP needed 0/1000 (0%)

Class: N/A

Health: 22/200

Mana: 1000/1000

Stats:

Strength: 2

Endurance: 2

Vitality: 1

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 5

Agility: 2

Congratulations! Feat achieved! Feats are unique to each individual within the Nexus and grant various perks. Some feats can be achieved multiple times.

Feat: survive against impossible odds achieved!

Perk: will to survive achieved!

Will to survive: you have stared death in the face and defied its cold, dark grip. Your will to persevere is unparalleled.

Perk: will to survive. Grants user a permanent +1% to vitality!

'Funny the description is something like that and yet 6 months ago I was ready to ride that long black train..' he thought ironically.

'Perks huh..? And they grant permanent bonuses..?' He wondered to himself. Sure 1 percent certainly didn't seem like much but if perks could be stacked and repeatedly obtained? He was curious so he went back and checked and sure enough his Vitality now read vitality: 1 (+1%)

He didn't feel any different but he trusted the system. Truthfully all he felt was pain and exhaustion. And it was no wonder why.. Less than one percent out of two hundred health points? So what he had literally hit 1? How The hell did the system even quantify that? What sort of injuries in the old world would bring a man to this sort of brink, where in terms of number his health was less than one percent?

Since stumbling into the cave it had taken him half an hour just to get to this point and get 22 health back. There was a snail's trail of blood and some bits of flesh that had fallen off the man. The trail ran from the mouth of the cave over to the pillar, around it and then over to the pond where he now rested. He breathed in deep, shuddering breaths. Looking at his stats one last time he noticed his health had climbed pathetically to 27. At least it wasn't going down, he complained internally…

How long had he been in this position now looking over the window and steadying his breath? 5 minutes maybe? Regenerating 1 point per minute seemed awfully pathetic but his vitality was his lowest stat so maybe that made sense. He supposed really he should just count his blessings. Had this been the regular world that he was used to, not only would his crippling injuries certainly have resulted in death, but the intense conditions of this planet would lead to catastrophic side effects on his body over time. Somehow he felt that within the system.. the body would trigger a rapid evolutionary response to your environment.

After leaving the stats page, he briefly checked his newly evolved skill and was surprised when he did. He hadn't noticed the change in the description before… evolving in rarity must have added a new function to the skill, he decided.

Skill: Predatory instincts (common) Allows the user to sense danger and determine how best to avoid it. Also allows the user to determine the weakness of foes weaker than him/her. Due to the 'common' rarity, range and clarity of detection gain an inferior boost with each skill level. Perception grants a minor boost to this skill. (Passive skill) ---> Skill: Predatory instincts (uncommon) Allows the user to sense danger…… In rare circumstances the instincts of a predator may freeze its prey. Due to the 'uncommon' rarity, range and clarity of detection gain a minor boost with each skill level. Due to the 'uncommon' rarity, the chance to paralyze weaker prey is marginally increased. Perception grants a minor boost to this skill. (Passive skill)

There it was. It was barely even a change at all. It was easy to miss the differences when he was running for his God damn life. His uncommon rarity had not only given his skill an extraordinary new function that had already proved vital in his survival, but it had also increased the level scaling bonus from Inferior to minor. He wasn't sure what sort of difference that made but he was sure it was at least something.

He decided to try and make use of the second skill he had acquired, opening his eyes, he began focusing directly on the stream in front of him once more. If his suspicions were correct the system responded to his will.. Seeing as identify was a passive ability he was sure all he had to do was focus on something or someone and ask the system to feed him information about said subject. His theory was quickly proven accurate when the system responded with..

Ding! Identify partially unsuccessful.. skill level too low..

Object: Gaia's blood +100

Uses; unknown.

Effects; unknown.

Congratulations! Skill: identify has increased by 1

Congratulations! Skill: identify has increased

Congratulations! Skill: identify has increased…

Congratulations! Skill: identify has increased to level 9.

'Gaia's blood again..?' He wondered.

But this was somehow different? Stronger because it was a higher level as indicated by the plus 100 by the name maybe? There was certainly much less of it than the natural creek from before, yet it seemed more dense. More and more questions and no answers. "So.. my identify wasn't strong enough huh..? But I gained quite a few levels from that single attempt.." He wondered out loud. "Perhaps.."

He tried to use identify on the water several times more but was met with the same notification each time.

Ding! Identify partially unsuccessful.. skill level too low..

Object: Gaia's blood +100

Uses; unknown.

Effects; unknown.

He shook his head. Apparently you couldn't get experience for the same action twice. Or at least not in this particular situation. He somehow got the feeling that the amount of experience gained for each skill use was largely determined on the difficulty and the nature of the task performed. Of course he currently had no way to test that theory but it made sense, didn't it?

He had gained a ton of levels from identifying the level 100 substance, or at least attempting to. When he was surrounded by the thousands of birds that nearly slaughtered him, his predatory instincts also rose rapidly. It was apparent from the get go the system expected you to struggle to survive to grow stronger quickly.

Sighing for what had to have been the hundredth time he finally closed the window and bent down to drink some of the precious liquid before him. At this point he was willing to risk it for the biscuit. Instantly upon doing so he went ramrod straight. A shudder of pleasure ran up-and-down his spine. His body tingled all over and he released another sigh, though this one was of contentment and relief.

"Jesus fucking christ.. what was that..?" He asked aloud. The system supplied an instant answer in the form of another notification. 'Of course you're involved. I just closed you. Damn thing demands all my attention, doesn't it? Although I have to admit.. having my own equivalent to a Jarvis built into my head is proving quite convenient..'

Gaia's blood +100 consumed! All stamina restored! All mana restored! All heath restored! Regeneration multiplied by three for 24 hours!

Tip: healing from any food or drink item has an hour long cooldown! There is no cool down for status effects such as doubling regenerations.

He was baffled by the potency of this new source of water versus the natural crick he had found. It was strange though, he obviously now knew the effects of the mysterious fluid, yet the description still read the effect as unknown. Opening his inventory he quickly retrieved the contents of his containers. He splashed the old liquid over the garden and quickly replaced it with the much more potent and powerful substance.

The initial regeneration effect alone was unlike anything he had ever felt. This would have put any type of pre-system medicine to absolute shame. Big pharma would kill to get their greedy hands on this stuff. It was extremely weird to Vincent that you could only heal with food items once an hour but he supposed there would be no incentive to create potions if you could just full-heal with a glass of water in the middle of battle.

However, the initial burst of healing and energy wasn't all the water had done for him. Now that his Vitality was effectively functioning at 4 he could truly feel his energy levels higher than they had ever been before. He had always been in decent shape but this must have been what the peak of human conditioning felt like. He could only assume that Vitality was directly linked to one's metabolism, specifically the anabolic portion, which emphasized the use of energy to grow and build.

He flexed his hands. He felt like an anime character that had grown stronger simply by surviving a near death experience.. which he supposed wasn't too far from the truth. He felt somewhat torn now that his pain and exhaustion had been mended. He felt great, as if he could do anything! But.. somehow at the same time there was a lingering metal weiriness and physical exhaustion, driving home just how close he had come to death.

That instinctual fear kept his thoughts humble and logical. Realistically.. he knew in his mind that if he were to encounter those birds again and in such large numbers he would die. Of that, there was no question. His predatory instincts saved him once, in his closest ever brush with death but it had been close.. closer than he had even known.. could the skill save his life a second time? He wasn't so sure and he honestly didn't want to risk it.

His growling stomach quickly made him aware of another problem. Even though he now had a source of water he knew he would soon need food to survive. Eventually by no other choice than necessity he would have to leave his safe place… he shuddered and wished at that very moment he could just change his dang clothes… of all the things he brought in his useless briefcase, a fresh change of clothes was unfortunately not something he thought he'd need to pack. He was simply traveling from one side of New York to the other.. he hadn't planned for all this. The vast majority of the briefcase's contents were honestly the tupperware which now resided in what Vincent would describe as 'magic swirly portal storage thingy' because.. why not? Other than that he mostly had paperwork and maps for the city.

In the pre-system world, Vincent was sort of a freelance, home health-care worker. He used to joke to his friends and family that children and the elderly were the only humans he could ever really stand. For better or for worse, it wasn't much of a joke.

It had occurred to him throughout his life that he had always enjoyed solitude.. he did his best thinking when he was alone. He was a bit anti-social in the old world. People didn't really make any sense to him. Maybe it was for that reason that, contrary to what he was sure most people would feel, he was glad there was no one around. Embarrassing death by bird aside, it seemed easier this way.

He decided to sit cross-legged beside the stream once more. He breathed in deeply and relaxed. He had always enjoyed yoga and meditation in the real world. Besides this place just seemed comfortable and tranquil.

Some people thought yoga was far too feminine for a male athlete. Vincent strongly disagreed. Training one's mind was just as important as training the body, and getting plenty of rest was absolutely a must in the fitness world. Yoga was a great way to relax and achieve that rest. He greatly enjoyed stretching out his sore muscles and realigning his breathing after pushing his body to the limit with a series of intense workouts in the gym. In fact he enjoyed the cool down period just as much if not more so than working out. He always felt like he had earned it.

As he sat pondering what to do next and syncing his breathing with the flow of the water it occurred to him a warm fullness had begun to invade his chest and stomach. Though he kept his eyes closed, a shit-eating grin appeared on the blue eyed man's face. "You're shitting me..?"

Congratulations! Skill: complete tranquility (epic) achieved!

Skill: complete tranquility (epic)

Extremely rare and evolved variation of the skill: meditation (rare). While using complete tranquility all regenerations are tripled. Intelligence is doubled. Solutions to problems come more easily. You begin to glimpse a deeper understanding of the system and your place within the Nexus. Due to the (epic) rarity all effects of the skill receive a moderate boost per skill level. Receives a moderate boost from intelligence. (Active ability)

Vincent let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Towards the end, the warmness in his torso began to gave way to a light stininging, which slowly became an intense pressure, and then a burning pain. Much like the identify skill, once the system had awarded him with an ability most of the discomfort faded, leaving the original warm feeling once more. He immediately dropped his skill. He stood, stretching "Phew.. an epic skill.. right off the bat! How about that? The system must really play to your strengths. lengthy explanation that one.. but damn those effects are certainly impressive.. my highest stat gets doubled and my regenerations, which are already at times three, get multiplied by a further three? Ridiculous. That last bit makes me a little uneasy, though... Hmm.. I'm sure I'll understand things more clearly later.." He finished scratching his chin. He briefly wondered if it was this easy for all creatures in the system to gain skills this easily. He figured it certainly it had to be based on how those birds, who certainly had shit stats, were able to move and attack so viciously.

He drank a little bit of the water from the stream seeing the familiar status effect notification pop up. It seemed that while the healing portion of consumables only worked once an hour, every time the water was consumed the status effect was re-applied regardless of the effect's current duration. The tip said as much but it was a pretty good feeling to see the timer reset with his own eyes.

Sitting once more in his familiar position, he began to use his newfound power. Instantly he noticed how much smoother his thoughts and feelings seemed to flow. He was sure this was going to be one of his all time favorites. Ten minutes into his thoughts and his attention was drawn again to the ever present blue window. He grinned. It took a while longer than the others but.. his epic skill had gained its first skill level.

End of chapter 3