Hunger

I've never been this hungry in my entire life - not once. It was spring, honey and fish were plentiful, and so were the bovines that wandered the wilderness. Before today, I didn't need to eat much - maybe ten salmons a day, or a bovine cub or two, and nothing more. Now, gnawing hunger made itself known in the pits of my stomach, compounding that was the fact that my body seemed to ache for more and more of the sweet nectar I'd devoured yesterday, the sweet nectar that flowed from that human - I wanted more of it. Strangely, ever since then, I could smell that sweetness in...everything. In the grass, in the trees, in the insects, in the berries; I could smell it everywhere. Though, its thickness seemed to vary, and the sweetness that came off of the grass was pitiful at best. I couldn't consume those.

First things first, I needed to feed.

My den was only a short walk away from a river, where salmon swam aplenty. There were others of my kind there as well, mothers with their cubs or other males, seeking to eat and drink from the river. We usually didn't bother each other too much unless it was mating season, or unless I got too close to a cub. Strange...all these...thoughts flowing around in my head; I couldn't recall the last time I thought hard on...well...anything really - everyday was a simple routine of sleep, hunt/forage, eat, and then sleep again.

Now...I was...thinking....about things.

It was strange. There were a lot of strange things lately - strange feelings and urges that were simply never there before.

Those floating letters at the edges of my vision hadn't returned as of yet, though a part of me knew for a fact that they would come back soon.

My eyes drifted over to a lonesome acorn an arm's length away from me. I don't remember it being there yesterday; the thing must've rolled in sometime in the night. Not wanting to let good food go to waste, I moved to reach for it. Before my arms could even stir, however, the acorn moved by itself, vibrating and floating in the air, before hurling itself towards my face and crashing against my forehead.

'Ow!'

-5 MP

The floating words were back.

And yet what truly stuck out was the fact that moving the acorn felt so natural, if uncomfortable, like moving a limb I hadn't moved in ages. Stretching my mind, I focused on the tiny acorn and looked on as it stirred and slowly hovered off the ground, before I let go of the mental grip I had over it and allowed the thing to fall right into my waiting jaws.

-5 MP

You have consumed Acorn +3 MP and +4 SP!

You have leveled up your Telekinesis!

Skill: Telekinesis is now at level 2!

So...the more I use that strange ability the stronger it becomes?

I suppose that made sense; it did feel just like another limb, so it should function like one. Limbs got stronger the more they were used, just as one is able to run for longer by running more and more.

My stomach grumbled, and I knew then I'd have to go out to either hunt or forage - preferrably the former, but the latter wasn't too bad.

I pushed myself of the dried leaf encrusted ground of my den and noted just how light I felt. My arms were far stronger today than they were yesterday - every single part of me felt stronger. That was good. Strength was a good thing to have when hunting large prey; the tall bovines with antlers like branches often took an immense amount of effort to take down. This newfound power in my limbs should make that task a lot easier.

I crawled out of my den and a chorus of scents bombarded my nose in an instant - the river, the fishes, the wild beasts, the berries, the grasses, and that strange sweetness that seemed to linger upon the larger beings that roamed the wilderness. I've encountered many such beings, and it was common sense to give them a wide berth as they passed. Those beings were powerful, far more powerful than I am, and I often ran from their presence each time they appeared, as did all others, like myself.

Now, however, a tiny voice at the back of my mind told me I was far more than I was before and was now closer in nature to those strange and powerful beasts.

My nose caught the scent of blood in the air; it was close. The sweetness was present in the smell of blood, indicating it to be a large creature - maybe. I turned and began sprinting across the trees, ignoring all the other lesser scents around me. I could forage for lesser morsels later, maybe even catch some fish. But the promise of larger prey was always so tantalizing. My mouth watered, and my muscles tensed.

You have unlocked a new perk: Blood Rush!

Somehow, I was moving faster than I thought myself capable - twice faster actually, but only when I was moving towards the scent of blood. Whenever I turned, my running speed would return to normal. 'How...interesting...is that the work of this "perk"?'

I may have to examine things later - figure out just what I've become and what I'm capable of. This host of new abilities was all to my advantage and it would be stupid not to use them properly - my jaws and my claws were plenty strong, but not against those strange beasts.

First, however, I must eat.

Liu Tan wiped the beads of sweat from his brow as he watched the magical beast, a Golden Horned Rhino, fall onto the ground with a loud thud, shaking the earth at his feet. The creature was huge, mighty, and powerful indeed - the textbooks have done little to truly describe its strength. Still, he was stronger by just a hair, and, though their duel had been fierce, Liu Tan had emerged the victor.

Sighing, the senior cultivator hoisted his dagger-axe halberd onto his shoulders and began limping towards the downed magical beast. That duel had costed him quite a lot of Qi, and his reserves could only regenerate so much before he'd succumb to exhaustion. Luckily, Liu Tan had just enough to make pills out of this magical beast's core. He'd roamed and checked the general area beforehand; the most powerful creature here had been the Golden Horned Rhino and now it was dead. The lesser beasts would likely steer clear of him, he deduced.

Liu Tan drew a carving knife from his belt and stopped by the magical beast's exposed belly, when he felt the sudden spike of Qi in his immediate area. It lay at the edge of his senses. The presence itself wasn't all that powerful, like a lesser magical beast of sorts - probably something for the disciples to faun over, but nothing worth his time. Still, many masters have died due to underestimating the beasts of the Eternal Glade; after all, he may be a senior cultivator, but he was far-far from the Saints and the Demi-Gods that dwelled beneath the Heavens.

A lesser magical beast, whose core hadn't even properly formed - as far as he can tell - was something he could take rather easily.

The trees shuddered. Whatever was approaching was approaching fast. The air blew downwind. Liu Tan could hardly smell anything coming from his assailant's direction. The cultivator raised his halberd and formed Jade Dragon stance - the favored fighting style of the Swirling Cloud Sect in the high mountains of Azulian - a simple, but deadly stance that favored swift and powerful overhead attacks that made use of the martial artist's full strength alongside an engenius application of Qi to bolster the strike. Many magical beasts have been felled by its might.

And so Liu Tan waited.

And waited.

And then the ground shuddered, and the air was filled with the sound of splintering trees as something massive rushed out of the thicket.

His eyes widened.

An utterly massive - well, not really, just larger than normal - brown bear barrelled towards him at speeds unthinkable for its size and species. And then he felt it - the bubbling of strange and powerful energies within the beast, a nascent core. It didn't feel like Qi, however, and neither was it the mystical energies the mages often wielded. It was certainly close, somewhere in between, but not quite the same as either.

'A shame...' He thought. 'I would've loved to study this creature further.'

But there was a very good reason why brown bears with developing beast cores were hunted down before they could become true magical beasts. The danger they posed when empowered was simply too high - even as normal beasts, many a cultivator has fallen to their jaws and claws. Liu Tan couldn't even begin to count the number of disciples, who died due to the goring of boars or, case in point, the mauling of brown bears.

The cultivator's eyes narrowed as the sort-of magical beast rushed onwards. A good, solid strike to the head would be all he'd need to kill it - no need to make the poor thing suffer. It may have been wild and dangerous, but his grandfather taught him that animals merely followed their instincts; as it were, they were little more than innocent children. By his estimation, it would arrive within optimal striking distance within the next five seconds; one strike should be enough to kill it in an instant.

Five...his grip over his halberd tightened, and Qi flowed all across his form, strengthening his muscles. It wasn't much - for he did not have much left, but it would do.

Four...the ground shuddered and shook. The bear truly was far larger than normal; though it pained him to have to kill such a beautiful creature, the thought of this thing ever becoming a true magical beast was terrifying.

Three...his eyes met the bear's and, for a moment, Liu Tan glimpsed into the depths of a feral mind - wild and brutish, but truly intelligent.

Two...something wasn't right about this thing; the energies that simmered deep within its soul was...unnatural.

One...none of those things mattered, he figured, as he brought his axe down upon the creature's head for a swift kill.

This human was dangerous - far more dangerous than the others of its kind I've hunted and killed a few times in the past. The air around it cackled and bent; it was strong, and the older me would've backed away from this in an instant. There was no use hunting prey that might reliably fight back; it was always easier to run down weaker targets, who made for easy meals. But that was the old me; now, every single instinct in my body was screaming at me to devour this little human, whose very being vibrated with the strange sweetness that filled my chest with warmth.

And yet, the danger he posed could not be overstated.

Still sprinting towards his general direction (more towards the downed rhino, if anything) I quickly activated scan.

HP 130/300

SP 108/400

He was injured from a previous battle, likely a battle against the massive rhino, whose blood radiated with the sweetness.

All the better for me, I supposed; wounded prey, even if they could fight back, was far easier than a healthy one - though, wounded prey did have a tendency to fight fiercer. Though, judging from the numerous injuries across the human's person, it wouldn't be able to unleash more than a few attacks before its muscles gave out.

I closed the gap between us and stopped immediately, my eyes widening as the human brought down its weapon, scorching through the air and leaving a blazing trail before slamming hard against the ground and shaking the earth. The strange claw-like thing at the end of his stick weapon would've cleaved through my head if I had been any further. The thought was hard to swallow, but this human was...stronger than me.

IF it was healthy.

I used scan once more.

HP 130/300

SP 53/400

That one attack had costed it more than half of its stamina.

Rushing forward, I placed the brunt of my weight over the edge of the human's stick weapon, pinning it to the ground as I took another step forward. The human's eyes widened. It tried to yank its spear free of my front paws, and would've done so if he wasn't injured, I reckoned, but it released its hold over its weapon at the last second as I swiped forward with my right paw, aimed at the human's midsection.

It did not escape unscathed.

My claws had dug into its ribs. Though the wound itself had been shallow and I barely felt any real resistance.

The human landed, grunting, and fell to a knee, head lowering to the ground, one hand clutching at its new wounds. It screamed and roared at me - an open challenge - eyes maddened and reddened. I hesitated for a moment and used scan once more. The urge to just run him down was strong, but my mind was far stronger than my urges. Besides, the human was bruised and bloody, almost broken at this point. I wasn't too hungry as to throw away caution to the wind - there was also the sweet rhino to dine on, so, really, me killing the human was more a formality if anything.

HP 90/300

SP 30/400

The human mumbled something in its tongue - a set of sounds I could not understand. Then again, they often muttered and screamed strange sounds when they were about to die. This human was still dangerous, no matter how close to death it was. So, I began circling it; surely, if I rushed forward, it would have another one of those attacks that could kill me in an instant. As tempting as it was to simply run it down bite its head clean off, I resisted the urge.

No, I figured it was probably even better to just-

Wait

I turned and eyed the trees I'd splintered on the way here.

Something lit up within me as I reached out with my mind towards the shattered chunks of wood - telekinesis. In response, the splintered trees and branches began levitating off the ground and towards me. I turned to face the human, whose eyes were wide open, fear replacing the earlier madness. Strange, it wasn't as fearful of me earlier - was the telekinesis that rattled its nerves?

No matter, I figured, delving too deep into the thoughts of prey was...unsavory.

I looked around.

There were many rocks around us, so I levitated them as well.

-5 MP

-5 MP

-5 MP

-5 MP

-5 MP

-5 MP

-5 MP

Wasting no more time, I hurled everything towards the human, whose stunned expression was priceless as it screamed and leapt away - barely. It landed on its chest, face first into the dirt. I used scan on it once more.

HP 90/300

SP 5/400

Oh good.

The human groaned and slowly began pushing itself up off the ground.

I chose that moment to attack.

Rushing forward with Blood Rush activated and bit down as hard as I could at the back of its exposed neck. The human screaned for a moment, before I swung my head left and right again and again and again until every bone in its spine shattered and the human's head came clean off.

Prey Slaughtered! +100 XP!

Level up! HP, SP, and MP restored to full!

+20 HP

+10 SP

+5 MP

+10 Strength

+5 Speed

+5 Agility

+10 Intelligence

+2 Wisdom

+1 Luck

Congratulations! For defeating a Qi user more powerful than yourself, you have been granted a new Perk!

You have unlocked a new perk: Qi Hunter!

You have leveled up your Scan!

Scan is now at level 2!

You have leveled up your Telekinesis!

Telekinesis is now at level 3!

I barely understood any of that stuff, but I did understand that I was now stronger - if only by a little bit. My limbs seemed just a tiny bit lighter, my eyes seemed faster, my mind seemed clearer, and my senses sharper. And I haven't even gotten to eating the human and the rhino yet.

Speaking of which. I grabbed the head with mouth and used my telekinesis on the body to carry it towards the rhino's corpse. Both of them oozed with the sweetness that I craved. My mouth watered with excitement.

I blinked and let go of my control. My body responded as I surged forward and began gnawing on the rhino's exposed belly, where the sweetness as at its thickest. My eyes fluttered to a close as I took in the decadent nectar, filling my body with its warmth with each and every bite. At the center of the massive beast, beneath its ribcage, was a seemingly solid lump of the sweetness, glowing yellow, like the sun; I devoured it all the same after a brief look. Even the rhino's skin was not spared; alongside its bones, everything was devoured. My right forearm reached out absently, grabbing the strong human and shoving its sweet remains into my waiting maw. I did much the same to it as I did the rhino, savoring every last bit of meat and bone, wasting none of the precious sweetness that oozed out of its flesh and bones so that nothing remained.

I even ate the human's weird stick weapon-thing for good measure; it didn't taste nearly as good, but the sweetness was present in it all the same.

But then my mind grew heavy, as did the lids of my eyes. The warmth was spreading all around me, filling every muscle, bone, and sinew; it swept across my innards, forming branches and winding pathways through my limbs and finally settling in the depths of my skull. It was comfortable - too comfortable, in fact, that I could not stop my eyes from closing on their own no matter how much I resisted.

I fell unto the bloody grass and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

For the first time in all my existence, I dreamt.

Basic Status:

Name: Ursus

Race: Ursine Sapien

Title/s: The First

Level: 2

HP: 1020

MP: 105

SP: 1010

Strength: 510

Speed: 205

Agility: 105

Intelligence: 40

Wisdom: 7

Luck: 11

XP: 0/200

Perks:

Gaze of the Watcher: Illusions have no effect on you. At all times, you are able to perceive only the true nature of things.

Mind of the Beast: Your intelligence is not like those of humans, and so the concept of Karma does not affect your soul in the same manner as it does humans. Good and Evil has no claim over you.

Eldritch Soul: Your soul is a twisted amalgam that has never truly been witnessed before in all of creation. Given enough time, it may evolve into something more. You are able to communicate with other Eldritch beings.

True Name: By having a true name, human mages and cultivators will not be able to bind you to their will.

Blood Rush: You move 2x faster when chasing down or moving towards injured prey.

Qi hunter: You can track down Qi users without having to rely on your basic senses.

Skills:

Scan level 2: You are able to discern an entity's given name, alongside their total HP and SP. Costs no MP.

Telekineses level 3: You are able to move objects, weighing 150 kilograms or less, with your thoughts. Costs 5 MP per second.

Nuokinesis level 1: You are able to control the minds of small insects for 24 hours. Costs 5 MP per entity.

Cosmokinesis level 1: Alter 1 Cubic Meter of reality for a period of five seconds. Costs 100 MP.