“What kind of fucking hellscape did these things crawl out of?!” I shouted as I held my wounded side. I was happy to find the wound cauterized when I removed my hand. The horn had pierced me, leaving an inch-deep hole. These demons were a cross between cats and goats. They had this absurd ability to walk on the walls of the tunnel and cavern we found ourselves traveling through.

“There seems to be more than usual. We should still be fine, just take care of the wounded ones,” Kiszo yelled over her shoulder. She was shooting the Shinehorns in the back of the tunnel with her top arms, and her bottom two held small swords she would wound those close to her as she pushed on.

We were currently in another huge cavern with the same glowing moss hanging from the ceiling. I could hear the running water in the distance, but couldn’t see it. What I could see were pairs of horns all over in the distance like glowing slanted eyes. Those eyes would definitely be haunting my dreams in the following days.

We had been fighting these demon-spawned creatures for hours now. I was gaining Energy at a vastly superior speed than the day before, due to them dropping higher-ranked Bone Cores. I had finished my Cardiovascular System a while ago and was halfway finished with my Respitoriy’s points.

I watch Kiszo rain down hell on the bouncing cackling cats. I stayed close behind her to make sure I finished off any of the wounded. Once the numbers thinned, she would make me go out and engage those that remained. We found as long as I attacked and did any damage, I would still get credit for my auto-loot, even if she finished them off.

As the last of the Shinehorns died, I found the stream and lay within its crisp and cold water. I remained in the stream and let the pressure clean the blood and grime from my body. Clean, and healed of wounds, I went around retrieving the gems, then helped drag the bodies Kiszo killed solo into a pile for her to fish through their guts for their cores. I went back to the stream to rinse my gems before popping them into my mouth.

[ System Notification ]

Three Rank B Bone Cores has given 18 Energy

Two Rank A Bone Cores has given 16 Energy

Respiratory System: 94/100

“Six away from finishing the next system,” I said as I sat back with my hands behind, holding me up.

“Here, this should get you there,” Kiszo said as she tossed me a gem with parts of demon goat on it. I quickly cleaned it in the stream before putting it in my mouth finishing off the system and mentally selecting the next in the list.

[ Muscular System ]

This system consists of the user’s muscles and ligaments.

Upgrading this system gives the user a boost to their Strength and Dexterity.

Rank: 0

System: 0/100

Upgrade: Yes / No

Selecting yes, my entire body spasmed as my lungs seemed to stop working. The wave of warmth and pain rolled through my body before I could cry out and gasp for air as it finished.

“I feel like every time I finish one of my systems off, the pain gets worse.”

“Didn’t seem to last long. You look healed, let’s push forward.”

This went on for a couple more hours till I finished the next system.

[ System Notification ]

Three Rank B Bone Cores has given 18 Energy

Muscular System: 100/100

I was relieved to find out the Muscular System did not ramp up in pain after it was completed. I felt a slight itching throughout my body and my muscles spasmed for a few moments and it was over. After the pain vanished another window and an odd musical note played.

[ System Notification ]

Congratulations!

You have reached Level 1

Obtained a Perk Point.

“Kiszo, what’s a Perk Point?”

“Did you level? If so, many praises to you. Perk Points are what allow you to choose from the skills the system randomly allows you to choose from. Just think about the perk point and a list you can choose from will be presented to you.”

I thought about the perk point and a list popped up.

[ Available Perks - 1 point(s) ]

Nervous: + { 1 point - Pain Management (t) }

Sensory: + { 2 point - Heatvision (s) }

Cardiovascular: + { 5 points - Blood Marionette (s) }

Respiratory: + { 2 point - Water Breathing (t) }

Muscular: + { 3 point - Steel Tendons (t) }

I went through the list hitting the ‘+’ on each perk reading each description. Nothing jumped out at me but the ‘Blood Marionette’ sounded disgusting. It was a skill that allowed me to control my blood when it was outside of my body. ‘Water Breathing’ was a trait that gave me a set of gills. No thank you.

“If the list of skills and traits has nothing on it I want, How do I get a new list to choose from?”

“When you gain another perk point the list will randomize again. The skills or traits that are currently there will vanish and be replaced. It’s always wise to hold a few perk points in receive in case there is something you need when it does show up.

“Thanks. Looks like I’ll wait. The only skill I can afford is ‘Pain Management anyways, and I already have a high tolerance for pain.”

I pulled up my System’s Status window and selected Skeletal next.

[ Skeletal System ]

This system consists of the user’s bones.

Upgrading this system gives the user a boost to their Endurance.

Rank: 0

System: 0/100

Upgrade: Yes / No

Mentally selecting yes, my remaining eight Energy went into the new tracker.

[ Skeletal System: 8/100 ]

We quit shortly after, not finding any new groups of the damn demon goats. We got back to camp early, most of the miners still within the dungeon. I decided to head to my bunk and pass out. I was beyond exhausted.

The next morning I was surprised to find Gurig waking me up. “Wake up, Kiszo wants us to spar.”

I groaned and got up. My body felt wrong or felt sick. “Give me a few minutes, tell Kiszo something is wrong.”

Gurig nodded and left the cabin. I removed the bag of jerky from my corded belt and began to eat, and eat before I found the entire bag empty, and I still felt famished. Kiszo came in a moment later. “Come on, you need to start learning how to wield a sword. Saying your sick is the oldest trick in the bo…” she said before she cut off and got a good look at me. “What happened to you?!”

“I don’t know, I feel weak and have no energy. Do you have anymore jerky, I ate all mine already.”

“You’re so thin! Your face looks like that of a Ghast.” She removed her dagger and held it out in front of me.

I had dark rings around my eyes, and my cheeks were sunken in. I lifted my shirt to look at my chest and abdomen and was shocked to see a six-pack. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on my body.

“Maybe leveling or finishing two systems yesterday used up your body’s energy as well as the world’s Energy from the cores?” Kiszo asked.

“It’s plausible. I’m so hungry I can eat an entire cow.”

“A Cow? No matter, here eat my jerky, I can replenish our bags. I’ll have the old bear make some extra breakfast for you. Well hold off on going back into the dungeon till you’re feeling normal again,” she said tossing me her sack of jerky and leaving the cabin. I sat there and mechanically ate the entire bag before heading outside.

Once outside I sat near the cook’s campfire. Everyone looking over at me and staring. A moment later Gurig handed me a rather large bowl of grey slop with what looked like bits of meat inside. It smelt good, so I picked up the fork and found there to be thick bread under the slop. I tore a piece of the bread with the fork and shoveled it into my mouth. It was divine. It was damn well close to biscuits and gravy from home.

After finishing the large bowl, I asked the shocked Gurig for more. He nodded and I was soon shoveling the second bowl into my mouth, finally sating my hunger. As soon as my hunger vanished, I felt a slow warmth spread through my body, and then I felt perfectly normal, then the urge to relive myself came on incredibly strong. I ran towards the outhouses outside the camp with reckless abandonment and had the worst smelling expulsions of my life.

Coming back to the campfire, I caught the wooden sword before it hit me in the face as I came around one of the wooden carts. “You look good now, well you look damn good for someone who was scrawny yesterday. Gurig, take Zeal though the first few forms,” barked Kiszo.

I spent the morning with Gurig tapping my feet, arms, and sides while he told me how to hold each form. Once I held each form to his satisfaction, I would swing the blade over and over, and over. Then repeat this cycle on the next form. Gurig would explain the purpose of each form and how they flowed together. Once I had the set of forms down, he would allow me to attack him. I found the forms would allow me options to move fluidly towards or away from my opponent after a strike.

Kiszo was going to have us begin sparing, but the old bear called Gurig away to begin the day’s work. We followed them into the dungeon after we restocked our jerky and skin supply. We headed through the second door and down the same tunnels as the day before. It only took us an hour to reach our previous point.

I’m not sure what the system changed, but I could tell I was moving with more ease than the day before. I felt as my body and mind were one, and I could control my movements faster and with more precision than yesterday. We tore into the demon goats as we traveled deeper into the mine. It only took a few hours before I got the core to complete the Skeletal System.

[ System Notification ]

Rank B Bone Core has given 6 Energy

Skeletal System: 100/100

I Immediately selected the Epidermis System as soon as the burning sensations within my bones died down.

[ Epidermis System ]

This system consists of the user’s skin, hair, and nails.

Upgrading this system gives the user a boost to their Resilience.

Rank: 0

System: 0/100

Upgrade: Yes / No

Confirming my choice the measly extra two points went into the tracker box.

[ Epidermis System: 2/100 ]

A half an hour later we reached a massive cavern behind a stonewall with massive gates. The cavern was home to a small camp like the one outside with cabins and a large campfire. Inside I could hear miners working in the far reaches of the cavern. “What is this place?” I asked.

“This here is what they call, Iron Village. We are deep enough where Iron spawns inside the walls. They live here for a week at a time, before they are escorted back to the surface by the guards to dump their ore at the portal in Copper Town, the first cavern we went through.”

We walked around the cave till Kiszo found who she was looking for. Her target was a massive Tiger Beastkin with dirty yellow and white fur. He had been working on a large straight tunnel and was currently tossing chunks of stone into piles at its entrance when we found him.

“Haun, it’s nice to see you, brother. Is our dear sister around?”

“Kiszo! I haven’t seen you in ages! Little Li should be around here somewhere, said she found a gem deposit and has been slowly working it for the last few days,” He said before letting out a low rumbling growl that echoed through the cavern. I could barely hear it, but I could clearly feel it in my chest. It felt like a steady vibration knocked the wind from my lungs, and raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

A few moments later a smaller Beastkin came running out from a side tunnel and came running up to the group huffing and puffing. “Bro, you need to stop that! It’s stressful for the others. Oh! Sis!” The black and white feline Beastkin jumped towards Kiszo giving her a hug.

Kiszo hugged her sister and dropped her on the ground. She was smaller than two-thirds Kiszo’s size. She had the markings of a tuxedo cat from my homeworld. All-black fur with white-tipped ears, white jaw, and two white marks to the sides of her eyes. I also noticed Kiszo’s brother and sister sported only two arms each, not four like Kiszo had. I would have to ask about that later.

“This is Zeal, I’m helping him level up. We’ll be taking back the longer route to the top tomorrow,” Kiszo introduced me before I bowed to them.

“Oh, what class did you get? Where are you from? I haven’t seen a smooth skin in years. Did you come with a caravan? What can your class do? What’s your favorite type of Blade? Whats…” Kiszo’s sister was cut off by her brother and he grabbed the back of her neck and easily lifted her into the air. “Slow down, Li. One question at a time, you get way too excited.”

I looked to Kiszo in silent question, she nodded to me. "I don’t have a class. I am Classless. I am currently trying to finish each of my systems once right now. I’ve finished five of them if that means anything to you.”

“Nope! Not a thing! Can you tell me what these systems do? I have a Tinker Class. I think the system gave me it because I love to take things apart. The more I learn the faster I grow! So please, please tell me everything!” Li said as she bounced up and down.

Kiszo motioned us towards the campfire and I followed the young feline over and sat down. I spoke with her about my made-up ordeal of being on a merchant ship and washing ashore for Kiszo to rescue me and bring me back to her village. I explained to Li about the systems and what each did. She seemed extremely interested in learning about biology terms of each system and what each organ of the system did within our bodies.

I spoke with Li well after dinner our dinner of stew, until Kiszo came to tear me away. She showed me where I could sleep for the night, and I took the chance before sleeping to sit down. I needed to push myself to meditate more often as it helped me clear my thoughts. After meditating for a while I lay on the provided cot and fell fast asleep.