17 Feasting on Monsters

Torix stepped back, “Let’s see if your actions speak as loudly as your words.”

The monster squirmed out. A ball of writhing limbs and human teeth, the abomination swelled towards me. From its sides, tentacles shot out, hungry and wanting. They launched like lightning and thunder. I ran forward, making them miss. They stabbed into the stone beneath me, where no runes lingered.

As the eyeball darted above me, a green blob plopped out of the portal. It slapped the floor with a wet thud. Meeting it, I smashed my fist into the monster, busting the sac of blood. From the wound, intestines flew outwards. They latched onto me, crawling over my skin. Tiny needle prods pierced at thinner spots of my armor, searching for my skin.

I shouted, “What the hell is this?”

Torix stood with his hands interlocked behind himself,

“This is a lesson. You may not always be able to fight monsters in hand to hand combat. Innovate to some degree, and you will become better for it.”

I pulled the mass off me, ripping the bloody bowels. It scrambled on the ground, lurching out off instinct. The intestines found me before launching out like a dozen spears. I covered my face, waiting for a spray of needles and flesh.

Instead, a mouth opened from my chest plate, the teeth like broken rebar. They crunched into the tentacles, spilling blood like water hoses. Torix’s eyes flared, “Oh, now that is interesting.”

The monster’s bowels cut before it scrambled towards me. Taking charge of the situation, I stepped back with controlled, timed steps. I jabbed out at nearby tentacles when they lashed toward me. Keeping my distance, I kept my peripheral vision on the floating eye above us.

Oppression would’ve simplified the battle, but Torix investigated runes on a nearby wall. Damaging him wasn’t an option, and even if jabbing slowed this thing’s demite, it would eventually kill it. Doing just that, I executed my makeshift strategy.

Blood gushed in directions, slick and slimy like egg yolks. It drenched our surroundings, and I couldn't believe how much blood this creature had, almost like there was an ocean inside it. That blood loss meant it couldn’t fight forever. I could.

So I kited the beast with condensed strikes. Short and sweet, just like I was coached in boxing. I even let out a few kicks here or there. Once the monster slowed down, I packed on more and more heat. I wouldn't waste my chances of inflicting damage. When I committed to a strike, the hovering eyeball shot out a beam at me.

It pierced several inches into one of my shoulders, spines erupting from the wound. A quick jerk and the growing, green mass of spines fell to the ground. It squirmed before I stomped it. I grimaced as the intestine monster got on me again, searching for a way into my body. Slamming it off again, I regained distance.

Paying closer attention to the eyeball above, I kept my diligence and patience high. Over time, the bowel beast stopped writhing with violence. When its movements turned like sludge, I charged into it. The eyeball above caught the opening, but I lifted the viscera monster as a shield.

Blood gushed before I turned my hips. I torqued with my whole body as I slammed the guts into the ground. They splattered, and I lifted my hands. I mauled the goopy aberration into a thin liquid, taking two beams to my back in the process. I crushed and crumbled the viscera first before reaching around my back.

Alive and growing, I dislodged the two parasitic incarnations infesting me. They splattered down before squirming back to me on tiny legs. The eyeball above charged once more, but I dodged its laser by rolling to the parasites.

I grabbed them before chunking them at the floating eye. They tore into its body before I sprinted at it. With a growl, I leaped and stabbed my fingertips into its iris. It fell down, leaving a crack in the rock. In a primal rage, I ripped and roared. I punched and pummeled. I gouged it apart, and by the time I finished, blood soaked between the cracks of my armor.

It dripped off me as I turned to Torix, a wild look in my eye, "Who's next?"

Torix laughed, "Hah hah! You really do feast on monsters. How about something less monstrous then, hm?"

I caught my breath as a knight of shadow walked from Torix’s portal. With a sword of night and a cape darker than coal, its red eyes glared out from behind its helm. I shook blood off my hands and legs, frowning at it,

"A Knight, huh?”

It lifted its hands over its head, angling its sword downwards. Taking steps at me, it maintained a steady progression before getting close. As it did, I charged. It stabbed forwards when I got close, slipping its sword inches into my armor. When I tried grabbing the blade, it darted back, pulling its sword with it. As it did, the blade hung in my wounds, the knight having to jerk the edge out.

It littered me with injuries, the reach of the sword difficult to deal with. Not knowing how my build worked, the knight let me trot backward, giving me time to heal and reassess. After the reset, I bolted towards it once more, fienting to slap the blade aside. The knight stepped back, sweeping its feet in an arc. Its sword swung as it did, building momentum in the weapon.

When the blade got close, I stood there and braced myself, letting it dig into my side. The blade sliced several inches into my chest. Torix scoffed,

"An expert in unarmed combat, are you?”"

I lifted my elbow and put a foot forward. Jerking my elbow down, I pulled my knee up against the sword. The clashing forces shattered the blade. The knight stumbled back as I picked pieces of umbral metal from my side. I smiled underneath my helm, and my armor grinned with me. It ebbed out with the sound of shearing metal, relishing the battle.

A piece of me enjoyed it too.

The knight threw the handle of its sword at me, but I ducked under it. I pounded my fists together while walking towards the knight. I growled,

“Come on.”

I got close, and when I punched forwards with my right hand, the knight ducked below. It shot a left hook right for my gut. Years of training kicking in, and I snapped my right hand back and down in an instant. My right elbow blocked its left body blow. The force of its strike dented my armor, but it left the knight vulnerable.

I turned on the balls of my feet, slamming a left hook into its face. The helm of the knight dented as it pulled its arm back and shot another haymaker at my face with its right arm. I tilted my head, his armored hand scraping the top of my helm.

Reaching out my left hand, I countered its heavy haymaker. Crushing into its face, it stumbled backward while I kept close. Getting overwhelmed, the knight covered its face with its arms. I unleashed a slicing hook towards its exposed stomach. The weighted blow clapped against his armor, bending the plates.

Two more body blows later, and the knight sliced a left forward. He caught me, my vision blurring white. My assault stopped, it got its bearings and fired a left hand right at my jaw. Tilting my head again, the blow slid past my face as I clapped him with a left straight.

He swung wild and wide, making even my counters land well. A few cringe inducing blows later, and the knight hobbled on its feet. He lost his legs by now, so I closed in for the kill. Turning like a tornado, I fired off strike after strike, wailing on the guy.

He hit me without any weight in his punches or kicks. The knight was well versed in fighting through a controlled, rigid manner. In order to win, I injected a frenetic pacing that eliminated his best assets. After a minute of my fists clanging on steel, the knight slowed. After two, the knight let me land blows into its sides.

After three, I ducked and weaved around his blows, smashing him with heavy hooks. I mauled through the metal shell carried as his shield. I smashed through his helm. I grinded his teeth to powder. I broke his ribs to shards. In time, I cracked his face to mush.

When it fell, I stood over him. From above, I whipped my entire body weight into every hit. As it finally died, I fell backward, taking deep breaths while sweat poured from my brow. My helmet flowed off my face while I gasped between breaths,

"Who...Who’s next?"

Torix scoffed, “Let’s wait until you’ve at least caught your breath. There’s plenty of time for this.”

I turned to him, “I can keep going.”

Torix’s fire eyes flared, “But must you?”

I blinked, thinking it over. Did I have to keep going? I didn’t, and rest seemed so pleasant right now. The familiar lich even offered it without any cons, outside of time of course. However, that was the crux of the issue. Thoughts of my friends passed over me, along with my own close calls with death.

I wanted to rest, but I didn’t require it to keep going. I pushed myself upright, a surge of excitement racing up my spine. It surprised me, how exhilarating the battles were and would be. I lifted myself back up, my helmet flowing back over my face. I banged my chest for a second, psyching myself up before raising my hands,

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Torix gawked at me as if I were crazy, but he let it go as he shook his head, “If...If you wish. Let’s find another beast to demonstrate adaptability in combat. Hm, try your fists against this creature.”

From Torix’s portal, a ghoul slinked out. Spectral and immaterial, I couldn't even touch him. He unleashed bolts of lightning, streams of ice, and plumes of fire. The elemental clouds raged around me, and I swung at the monster with no mercy. Well, mercy or no mercy, I hit air with each punch.

Lacking a physical form meant fist fighting fell flat on its face. That's when an idea snapped into my head. Enchantments let people hit ghosts in most games, either that or magic. My magic, weak and elementary as it was, still existed. Wielding those mana plumes, I channeled my blood into my fists.

Bursting forth from my hands, tiny, miniscule breezes oozed out. Red and not exactly menacing, my hands turned into air conditioners as I swung them. Despite the magic’s lack of oomph, it still let me hit the ghost. Upon contact, the ghoul splattered like hitting a sack of toothpaste. Torix cackled at me, "And you call that magic?"

I smashed the ghoul against the enchanted wall. With a few more quick strikes, the ghoul splat into dead ectoplasm. I spread my hands while gazing at the lich,

"It got the job done, didn’t it?"

"I suppose, but there is magic that can make you far more deadly than whatever that is you wield currently."

I shrugged, "You know, it’s a work in progress."

The lich scoffed, "Oh, I beg to differ. Your magic, as is, is more representative of a lack of progress."

I frowned, "Well, I haven't had a thousand years of experience, unlike some people."

"That’s quite apparent."

I crossed my arms, “It’s easy to criticize but hard to help. Can we just have the next beast come out?”

“Ah, certainly. And do take my teasing with a grain of salt. Your lack of knowledge is understandable, given your circumstances. Perhaps I shall give you a bit of a lesson later, should I find the time. Having an ally this...Ignorant, it implores me to fix the issue.”

Another horror spilled out of the gateway, and I gave him a begrudging nod, “If you talk, I’ll listen.” I glared at the monster, “But this first.”

The fighting continued, and I fell into a rhythm for it. By the time we finished the undertaking, a growing pool of blood filled the bottom of the colosseum. Disgusting me less than I’d like, I wallowed in it without much worry. The depth of the pool stagnated as my armor devoured many of the corpses, clearing the place out some.

But, blood still flowed like floodwaters. At one point, I even splashed it into one of the creature's eyes. Torix applauded my creativity there. By the time I finished, I gained thirteen levels of experience. I put points after getting all those levels as it allowed me to change the order than I gained perks.

I wanted the per level bonuses right then and there, so I put ten points into dexterity then the rest into perception. That gave me just shy of enough for the level twenty perception perk. I opened the perk menu, checking out the benefits once more.

[Masterful(Dexterity of 30 or more) - Your dexterity is a monument to potential. Adds extra balance, reaction time, and physical control per level. Each point in dexterity adds 5 points of health. Movement of any kind requires half as much thought and focus for their execution. Double's stamina consumption.]

[Effortless(Dexterity of 25 or more) - Your dexterity is incredible. Adds another 1/10th of dexterity to perception. Doubles effects of physical oriented skills. Body weight and armor no longer affect balance.]

[Flexible(Dexterity of 10 or more) - Your dexterity is good. Doubles flexibility bonus.]

[Perceptive(Perception of 10 or more) - Your perception is good. Doubles sensory bonuses.]

[Discerning(Perception of 15 or more) - Your perception is excellent. Double's comprehension bonuses.]

Before I selected my perks, Torix paced up,

"Are you allocating your resources? Don't. Let me see your choices first. Allow me to console you."

I nodded and showed him the perk screen. His eyes flared, "You've already gained the perks for endurance, constitution, and strength, I presume?"

"Yup."

"Then don't put your next leveling point into dexterity. You've already quadrupled your stamina consumption. Any veteran will tell you about the setbacks that too many leveling perks will give you."

I frowned, "I'm not that worried about it. I just fought for a while just now, and I’m fine. I’m pretty sure I can handle it."

Torix shook his, "At this point, certainly. For most, investing a perk point into a single leveling perk is all they can do. That is, until they unlock the endurance trees. Then some choose another leveling perk, further doubling stamina consumption. Anymore stamina consumption simply isn't feasible."

I spread my hands, "The thing is, I have a tree called Determinator. It doubles my regeneration and enhances my endurance and willpower dramatically. Stamina consumption isn’t an issue because of that."

Torix's eyes narrowed, "Would you mind showing the tree to me?"

I opened the tree menu along with the skills required for it. Torix crossed his arms after reading it, “I must say, that’s quite the interesting tree. It explains a lot of your combat tendencies and why you rely on regeneration so much.”

I put my hands on my hips, grinning, “Yeah. I put everything into endurance because I didn’t want to die. It gave me a lot of rewards.”

Torix leaned towards my status, “It’s quite interesting, actually. You know, normally, a person won’t invest heavily into endurance. It is an attribute that enables other attributes to shine. By itself, it does very little. With this tree, however-”

He pointed at my status screen, “There’s a sort of loophole you could take advantage of. Attributes feed one another, and they exist as two chains. One of those chains begins with endurance, the other begins with constitution. If you feed points strictly into endurance, you should be able to hyperinflate your attribute growth.”

I listened as Torix grabbed his chin, "The more I read of this tree, the more strange it appears. If you had spawned in the tutorial as all other sentients had, you’d have been forced to take Fledgling and Beginner. That alone makes this Determinator tree impossible to obtain. It’s bonuses far exceed a normal tree as well.”

I pursed my lips, "Eh, I guess I have Baldag-Ruhl to thank for that. In a twisted sort of way, you could even call me lucky.”

"No. You were quite unfortunate. Your luck must be below five."

"It's three."

"That explains why you were chosen instead of your friend then. With that tree though, you'll be able to invest in as many as three leveling perks for both the physical and mental attributes. I invested my leveling perks into willpower, intelligence and charisma. It's an unstandard setup for a mage."

Torix raised a hand, "Most mages prefer perception over charisma. I wanted to lead armies, however. Why fight with one when you may fight with many, after all. Even if they are undead, a high charisma can shake the risen souls from their slumber. The leveling perks for intelligence and charisma both doubled then redoubled my mana costs.”

Torix tapped his cheek, “I can't afford doubling my mana costs further. No one has found a way around this. I maxed out dexterity and constitution thereafter. That layout matched my goals of becoming an immortal scholar. It's the generally accepted build for mages.”

I leaned back, “Why, exactly?”

“You have the two regeneration stats, willpower and endurance. They gauge and control six of the other attributes, three a peice. For willpower, it controls charisma, perception, and intelligence. For endurance, there's strength, constitution, and dexterity.”

“What about luck?”

“That is the only attribute that no one truly understands outside of Schema. Many a scholar have tried dissecting how Schema affects such an ephemeral quality. None have succeeded so far."

Deep in thought, Torix pushed up an imaginary pair of glasses, “You could gain leveling perks in all the attributes. That, in itself, can set you apart from others. It won’t make you into an outright anomaly, but it shall put you far ahead of most. Combine that with this armor of yours, and you carry an enormous potential, child.”

He put a hand on his shoulder, “Do use it wisely.”

I looked down at my hands, “You really think so, huh?”

He walked off, “Yes, I do. It’s quite fascinating, peeking at your build. It was designed as if someone aimed to make it as powerful as possible.”

The cavern echoed as bats died in the distance. I listened and said, “That’s because Baldag-Ruhl’s the one that set it up. I’m guessing he was trying to make himself as strong as possible. In the end, his success became mine.”

"Count your blessings, then.”

My stomach rumbled as hunger spiked in my chest. I sighed, “Thanks for the info and all, but I’m starving. Let me go kill one of the bears real quick.”

Torix opened another portal, reminding me of space. Tiny glints sat in a pool of liquid darkness, and Torix willed out a clear pouch full of milky liquid. He tossed it towards me, "I own many of these rations. Use this to alleviate some hunger before you go on your hunt.”

I caught the milky liquid, peering at it, “How would I eat it?”

“Simply tear the pouch and pour it onto your face. It shall absorb through your skin."

My skin crawled at the thought, but I tried it before dismissing the gift. I lifted the pouch in front of the eye slit of my helm. When I opened it, the liquid poured onto my face and disappeared into my skin as quickly as it landed. I shook my face as my hunger dissipated. It left a dry, earthy scent lingering behind.

I blinked, wondering if poisons were this quick to absorb. I gawked at the empty package, “What is this?”

"That is an edible container you may eat or toss out. The actual rations were found on a desert planet I passed by while researching water magic. Interesting places, desert worlds. You'd think you'd find the most information on water in worlds dominated by vast seas, but no. Any desert world I’ve visited, they cherished water, even worshipped it. Alas, that is a story for a different time."

He closed the different warp, "These pouches were quite helpful for keeping me sated during my travels throughout numerous worlds. They are very efficient. No chewing. No swallowing. Just consume and move along your way.”

I looked at the packaging before trying a bite. Tasteless and melting in my mouth, it acted as Torix said. Contemplating the uses for this stuff, it saved me a lot of time. Thinking about it, most people spent about three hours a day preparing, eating, and gathering food. If I ate this stuff day in and day out, it would give me those hours for other tasks.

For now, that meant training myself up and handling my business faster. I spread out my arms, “Torix, how much of that stuff do you have, exactly?”

Torix pressed a temple with two fingers, “Hm, much more than I’ll ever need. I bought it in bulk when I visited the planet, and I ended up becoming a lich soon thereafter. I still haven’t found a use for it after all this time.”

I pointed a thumb at my chest, “Do you mind if I take it?”

Torix scoffed, “All of it? For free?”

I swiped a hand, “The thing is, you’re having to handle my training right now. If I save time, you save time too.”

Torix let out a laugh before shrugging, “Why not?”

He tossed me a few more bags, “I’ll keep giving them to you until you're sick of them.”

I gave Torix a nod, “Yeah, I’ll see how long I can hold out. Thanks.”

Torix brushed me aside, “Yes, yes, now handle your status.”

I put perk points into Effortless and Masterful. Finalizing them, my body altered once more. In one way, my movements no longer required thought. I moved around for a while, finding my body shifting with fluidity and grave. Even difficult and complex combinations of punches required no effort in my mind.

My body obeyed me, made to be mastered. My nimble hands and fingers shifted like water. My feet and legs skid over the ground with masterful balance. Even my eyes and neck shifted with resounding clarity. I smiled while trying out a few acrobatic stunts. I did a somersault before trying to front flip.

I flopped onto my back, not pulling my legs in properly. I spread out my hands and legs as Torix cackled in the distance. Perks or no perks, skills mandated practice. Pushing myself up, I ran for a bit. All of the physical activities mounted, and a familiar tug pulled on my lungs and legs. They burned from being tired.

In a way, the fatigue refreshed my mind some. Weird as that was, I compared it to space travel. Sure, weightlessness was novel at first, but losing levity lost its charm after a while. I missed being tired in much the same way.

It wasn’t an issue yet, as I could punch for a while before facing exhaustion. The Determinator tree helped stop the issues I’d otherwise face. Finding myself finished relishing in the power spike, I glanced at my attribute and character screen. I hit level one hundred.

Level 100 Attribute Menu

Strength [30] | Constitution [36.3] | Endurance [51] | Dexterity [30] | Willpower [30.3] | Intelligence [10] | Charisma [4] | Luck [3] | Perception [19]

Daniel Hillside, The Harbinger of Cataclysm | Character Screen

Health - 1,677/1,677 | Health Regen - 352.4/min | Stamina - 1,040/1,040 | Stamina Regeneration - 30/sec | Damage Resistance - 96% | Mental Resistance - 96% | Physical Power - (+)327% | Damage Increase - 5% | Evolution - 1,679,254/2,000,000

Every stat in the character screen increased some, though not by an enormous amount. The main change happened outside the screens and menus from the per level bonuses. My mental resistance capped out though, and my armor closed in on the next evolution. After another few hours of fighting Torix's summons, the armor grafted onto me would change.

I didn’t know how to feel about that. I shook off a sense of unease before my eyes set forward,

"Let's continue the training then."

Torix crossed his arms, "You don't have to pretend you're not tired, child. I can feel the mental exhaustion oozing from you. We can wait for you to recover."

I shook my head, "I’m good. I can keep going.”

Torix sighed before resting his face in his palm, “What force is compelling you to do this and at this frenetic pace?”

I furrowed my brow, “I don’t know.”

“So why do it?”

Standing there for a moment, Torix let me collect my thoughts. I raised a fist a few seconds after,

“I mean, I spent my entire life getting dragged around. I had to go to school. I had to wake up at a certain time. I even had to think about a steady job. It’s different now. I get to choose what I’m doing right here and right now. Everytime I think about that, it’s motivating as hell.”

I rolled my fingers into fists, “So yeah, I want to keep going. Why? Because I can. Because I’m choosing to.”

Torix leaned back, raising his hands up, “Oh, well now, it appears we have someone special on our hands.”

I frowned, “Thanks for the sarcasm, but I’m not special. I’m motivated. There’s a difference.”

His eyes flared for a moment before Torix gestured towards one of the tunnels leading out, “I’ve amassed a pile of BloodHollow’s cretens for you and your armor. Feast on them before returning. It shall save me a few minions.”

I narrowed my eyes, surprised that Torix got what he wanted. He worked in a little break for me while wrapping it up in ironclad logic that I couldn’t deny. A curt nod later, I passed through the tunnel, sprinting full pace. Finding an army of undead pacing over, they carried the corpses of bats and bears.

My armor went through the rounds of eating them before I returned back an hour later. As I did, Torix peered at me, “Ah, you’re back already. Let us presume your training once more.”

He opened his horror portal again. Torix looked down at me, his chin raised, “Let’s see just how long this perseverance of yours lasts then.”

The portal rippled, a rumbling sound echoing out. A small part of me wanted to slink back into normalcy where I could relax and let go. A growing part of me, one filled with ambition, desired something more. That fuel gave me an energy I’d never known, and I wielded this growing momentum for all it was worth.

Before Schema, I was no one. Now, I could be somebody. I glared forward, ready to make it happen.

One cracked skull at a time.