Tim had spent the entire night doing all the exercises he knew, which to be fair, wasn't all that many, but it showed great work ethic.

Despite the fact that he was a no-life gamer back on Earth, that didn't mean he was lazy. In fact, he was quite hard working. It was just that he set his sights on things like grinding experience and loot from mobs back in his games, but it was hard work nonetheless.

Tim wasn't sure because he had never had a workout routine once in his life, but he couldn't tell the difference between yesterday's and today's progress, as there was little to no improvement that he could see with the naked eye. This was normal of course, but Tim didn't know that.

He believed it to be another downside of his undead body, but he planned to continue doing it, as there was only one way to be sure. He also enjoyed the motions of being so active now that his body had much more stamina than his previous living self.

The only time Tim had ever "exercised" was in middle school. He had been asked to run for five minutes. That may not seem like much to the average child but to a boy the size of a twig and with the stamina to match, it was more than exhausting.

Tim, with his minimally diverse workout still in session, heard a knock on his door.

After the door slowly opened, a familiar figure appeared from behind it.

Mr. Gee was wearing the same silver and gold robes as the day they met, the only difference being what looked to be a knapsack made of animal skin in his hands.

"Good morning, Mr. Hodgins." Mr. Gee said. "I've been thinking, and I was wondering if you would like to make a deal?"

***

"So you're offering to perform another awakening ritual for me..." Tim repeated. "If I let you study me when I'm in the village?"

Mr. Gee gave a wide businessman smile.

"Actually, I said I would perform all of your remaining awakening rituals, Mr. Hodgins." Mr. Gee clarified. "I even have all the materials in this here sack of mine. It isn't easy getting these, you know?"

"That still doesn't explain why you would spend such valuable resources on someone like me," Tim said. "What are you getting out of this?"

Mr. Gee's brows furrowed.

"Just think of it as an old man doing you a favor," he said.

"I never asked for any favors," Tim said.

"Well, actually you've asked for many since arriving." Mr. Gee reminded him. "I assumed you wouldn't mind another."

Tim was about to make a retort before stopping himself. The clothes he was wearing, the room he was in, and the magical equipment he had on his bed were all given to him at no cost at all.

"Fine," Tim said. "I'll take your word and trust that you aren't just trying to make clones of me using my DNA or something. I accept your proposal."

Mr. Gee was obviously confused by Tim's remark about cloning him, but his smile visibly widened.

"Wonderful." Mr. Gee said with glee. "If you would like, we can begin the ritual as early as this afternoon. It would be wise, however, to finish your morning training before undergoing yet another ritual."

Mr. Gee had obviously noticed the sheet on the ground that Tim was standing over and understood that there was exercise being done.

"Oh, I suppose I'm finished," Tim said.

Mr. Gee made a strange look.

"You're finished?" he asked. "But it looks like you haven't even broken a sweat. Don't be putting your routine to the side just so you can get to the rituals quicker."

It appears that sweating is another thing that separates the undead from the living. Just another thing Tim must take note of, as it means his body won't be able to produce sweat to cool itself off, meaning heat is a no-go.

Mr. Gee's smile dimmed into a more serious one after his playful lecture on slacking off was finished.

"On the subject of awakenings," he continued. "I'm sure that once we get the rest of your properties unlocked, you'll be ready to smack the timber."

"Yeah, I'm sure-" Tim paused. "Did you just say 'smack the timber?'"

Mr. Gee looked up in a pose of thought.

"Why yes I did," he answered. "What of it?"

Tim assumed it was some sort of metaphor, similar to "hitting the road."

"Nevermind," Tim said. "So about those awakening rituals..."

***

"Are you sure about this?" Mr. Gee asked.

"With how painful the first one was, I doubt this can be any worse," Tim said, setting a flag.

"While some properties may go more smooth-sailing than others, that may not always be the case." Mr. Gee said. "Just because the first one was exceptionally painful, doesn't mean the others won't be worse, especially when you haven't even mastered your first skill."

Tim pondered for a moment.

"There isn't a chance of this going wrong is there?" he asked.

"Only if you count wasted materials and immense pain." Mr. Gee responded.

"Well I can't exactly master my first ability so I have to settle for this," Tim said, making up his mind.

"I suppose it can't be helped then."

With those words, Mr. Gee began to mumble a series of incantations while placing his hands on the ground in front of the circle Tim was standing in.

Not long after, Tim began to experience a familiar feeling. It was similar to the pain he felt near the end of his last ritual but milder, and spread throughout the entirety of his body instead of just his stomach,

His entire body began to tingle and vibrate as Tim looked down at himself.

Every piece of Tim's flesh was morphing, mixing together with no care for the placement of his organs. His body eventually became so aggressive that it looked like some hideous flesh abomination had escaped the test tube, and was now raring to go at whatever humanoid-shaped morsel it could find.

As the process of his body's violent rampage came to cease, Tim was covered in bodily fluids that he didn't even know he had.

Keep in mind, Tim had never left the ritual circle in this whole ordeal, as there would surely be some sort of explosion if he did. Tim wasn't sure exactly if an explosion was one of the things that may happen if he left the circle, but he just sort of assumed there would be an explosion. What sort of ritual gone wrong doesn't include an explosion?

With the ritual complete and mystery fluids excreted, Tim stepped out of the circle feeling disgusting, yet refreshed. Similar to being covered in sweat after an eventful workout, not that Tim knew how that felt.

Mr. Gee wandered over towards Tim's direction.

"Is that sweat?" Tim complained after touching his waste-covered skin. "I can, once again, sweat whenever going through a painful ritual, but not when I want to. I'm noticing a trend starting and I'm not too happy with it. Is it really too much to ask for some control over my body?"

Without a single word of response, Mr. Gee handed Tim a convenient piece of cloth. Wiping a small portion of the waste off his body, Tim subconsciously handed the cloth back to Mr. Gee, with the old man quickly taking it off his hands.

With his benefactor currently in a daze, Tim decided to check out what sort of ability he received from undergoing yet another horrible ritual experience. At least he hadn't passed out this time.

- Awakened [Flesh] property through the use of a ritual.

- Unlocked [Flesh] property skill [Feeding Frenzy].

- Awakened 2 of 4 properties.

- Awaken 2 more properties to progress to Copper rank.

[Feeding Frenzy] (Passive)

Cost: N/A

Increases Agility attribute effectiveness whenever living tissue is consumed.

(Bound to Agility)

"Well, that seems useful, if not a little ominous," Tim muttered. "What qualifies as living tissue? I think plants have living tissue, but considering the property is all about flesh, I doubt I can just munch down on a pomegranate to power up, as great as that'd be. Do they even have pomegranates here? I could totally go for a pomegranate. Wait. What if this place has magic pomegranates?"

"Are you quite done?"

While Tim had been going on about the wonders of pomegranates and the possibility of a magical counterpart, Mr. Gee had been standing there in front of him the entire time attempting to decipher what exactly he just witnessed.

Mr. Gee had seen quite a few awakenings in his time, being the one who provided them to every fighter in the village, but he had rarely seen any as gruesome and stomach-churning as Tim's in particular.

"Yup. Just checking the specifics of my new skill." Tim replied to the staring Mr. Gee.

"What do pomegranates have to do with your skill?" Mr. Gee asked. "Did you get a taming skill?"

"What does taming have to do with pomegranates?" Tim asked.

"Why are we talking about pomegranates anyway?" Mr. Gee asked, trying to get off the topic of pomegranates.

"Pomegranates are very important," Tim said. "Anyway, my new skill is another passive."

Mr. Gee perked up.

"Another passive skill?" he asked. "That's quite uncommon."

"How so? I assumed passives were commonplace." Tim said.

"Why would you think that?" Mr. Gee queried.

"Well, in the time I've been here, I haven't seen a single flashy fireball or destructive magical explosion. I kind of assumed the reasoning for that was because everyone had passives doing work behind the scenes." Tim answered.

"Awakened powers aren't as common as you're making it sound." Mr. Gee informed. "Even if they were, why would anybody put their powers on display so openly to strangers, let alone a passerby? Only those who plan on becoming adventurers, hunters, or mercenaries bother with their properties. And to correct you, no, not many people have multiple passives."

"So does that mean I'm special? I promise I won't become all snarky and start to believe the world revolves around me if you say yes." Tim said with a Cheshire grin.

Mr. Gee sighed.

"Yes. You are a special case." Mr. Gee said reluctantly. "But don't let that get to your head. I don't think I have to tell you that, however, as you seem like a fairly level person despite being of noble heritage. I would have thought you to be more stuck-up considering your background."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tim asked, already well aware of what he means.

"Nevermind that." Mr. Gee said, getting back on topic. "Back to your passives. How exactly do they work, if you don't mind me asking?"

Tim hesitated for only a moment before answering.

"If it's only those types of questions, don't worry about asking. I am well aware of how dangerous it can be to let others know your tricks, but I already agreed to let you study me in exchange for the rituals, so this is just me holding up my end of the deal." Tim said. "Now, basically if I, for example, ate a pomegranate with high magical concentration..."

***

"That's quite peculiar." Mr. Gee noted. "While I'm unsure as to your obsession with pomegranates, a common theme of your abilities having to do with the consumption of living things is quite worrisome."

"I never said I had to eat living things," Tim said. "I just have to eat things with high magical concentration."

"Living things are highly concentrated with magic." Mr. Gee corrected. "Monsters more than sapient races, but it still worries me as to what exactly that skill says about you."

"What do you mean? It's not like my skills define who I am as a person." Tim neglected.

"That's exactly what your skills do." he corrected yet again. "Well, to an extent anyway. What's important is that you practice this skill. While it may be less useful to practice it as it may be for an active skill, it's still important that you understand it better and get the hang of every hidden feature you can find."

"If it's the doctor's orders..." Tim said glumly. "Anyway, now that you got your answers, I want a few of mine."

Mr. Gee perked up.

"Why of course! It would only be fair," he said.

"Earlier, you mentioned adventurers, hunters, and mercenaries. I can guess the gist of them just from the names, but what exactly does each entail and how do I become a mercenary?" Tim asked, half-joking.

"I see you've taken an interest in a job." Mr. Gee poked. "Oh, how my little test subject has grown! Already moving on from leeching off my money and getting out in the real world!"

"Very funny," Tim said with mock annoyment.

"Indeed." Mr. Gee said. "Basically, adventurers, hunters, and mercenaries are the three main ways that awakened individuals make a living. An adventurer is the most popular one and provides the most freedom while also providing large rewards."

"I can see why it's the most popular," Tim added. "Of course, it would be the only occupation being chosen if it didn't have a catch."

"Right you are." Mr. Gee confirmed. "It's also one of the most dangerous occupations, as it requires you to fight monsters that defy the sapient races' understanding of power. The danger with monsters doesn't come from their power alone, but also their unpredictability. This unpredictability comes from their ability to-"

"Evolve." Tim interrupted.

"Right again, Mr. Hodgins." Mr. Gee praised.

"Hey, I already graduated from being called 'test subject.' How fun." Tim joked.

"Back on track then," Mr. Gee said. "The occupation second in number only to adventurers are the hunters. A hunter's job is similar to an adventurer, in the sense that they may have to fight monsters."

"What's the difference then?" Tim asked.

"I was getting to that." Mr. Gee replied. "While an adventurer's job is to simply fight monsters that have already been spotted causing problems, a hunter's job is much more complex. They may have to scout out an area to make sure there aren't any monsters there to begin with, and if there are, they report it to their guild. They may do odd jobs for specific clients that might include escort jobs, gathering missions, or just a simple kill quest, like those of adventurers. Of course, as you may have already guessed, the difference between hunters and adventurers is freedom. It is a hunter's duty to perform a varying minimum amount of jobs within a certain time frame."

"What do hunters do when they aren't on a job?" Tim asked.

"Good question." Mr. Gee said. "Hunters, when not on a specific task, either spend their free time doing what they enjoy, hunt small monsters for materials that they can use or sell for coin, or both. And before you ask, yes, some hunters enjoy hunting monsters."

"I don't blame them," Tim said. "Hunting down monsters sounds like a lot of work, but I can see how it can be fun."

"Then I guess you've decided on your occupation for the future." Mr. Gee said hastily.

"Come on now, you seem to have forgotten one." Tim pestered.

"Fine." Mr. Gee said unhappily. "To put it simply, a mercenary is someone who kills for coin. A contract killer, you could say."

Tim wasn't satisfied with the quick explanation at all.

"I figured that much," Tim said. "But I didn't ask for the simple explanation."

Mr. Gee stood in a thinking pose for a long while before Tim broke the silence.

"Is it because I asked how to become a mercenary? I swear I was only joking." Tim lied.

Mr. Gee let out a sigh.

"I'll tell you as long as you promise not to even entertain yourself with the idea unless you really have to," he said.

"I don't know what you mean," Tim said playfully.

"You know exactly what I mean." Mr. Gee accused.

He was right.

"Alright, you got me," Tim confessed. "But I won't know why I shouldn't unless you tell me."

"Good. As long as you know," he said.

Mr. Gee cleared his throat.

"Mercenaries are similar to adventurers in that they have a large amount of freedom in their work, and similar to hunters in that they can perform anything from subjugation to kill quests to even escort missions in more ways than one. The main difference is the targets," he explained. "Instead of being sent out to subjugate or kill monsters, mercenaries are sent on assassination quests to kill people. Mercenaries have a bad reputation, as there are few places where mercenary work is legal, and the places they are aren't good places to be in. There aren't many mercenaries compared to hunters and adventurers and for obvious reasons. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you 'register' to become a mercenary, you can decide to do it completely anonymously, trenchcoat and all."

"Figures," Tim said. "I wouldn't want my illegal occupation to be out in the public domain for all to see and then subsequently reported to the authorities."

"That's exactly what the mercenaries had in mind." Mr. Gee said. "The last thing to remember is that when a kill quest is submitted directly to a mercenary guild, or what is sometimes called a 'den,' any member from said mercenary den can take up the quest to try and complete it before others can. Of course, this sometimes provokes infighting between the mercenaries. You can also request that a certain mercenary complete your quest if you want a specific type of killer to get the job done."

"I have two questions," Tim said. "How do people submit a request for a specific mercenary if they register anonymously? Also, what do you mean by a specific type of killer?"

"Mercenaries may register anonymously," Mr. Gee answered. "But that doesn't mean they don't go by a certain name. If they decide to remain completely anonymous, not providing a name, they just go by 'No-Name.' That is, unless they gain popularity for some sort of unique way of killing, which brings me to the next answer. What I mean by a 'specific type of killer' is how they kill. Some use poisons to kill their targets with inexorable effectiveness, while others may be quick and lethal, providing painless, yet efficient kills. A popular type of killer is a torturer or a sadist type. They provide assassinations in the most lengthy and painful way, squeezing out every last drop of pain from a victim before turning in the proof of completion. People don't want others killed because they like them."

"That's metal," Tim said. "But what's proof of completion?"

"Proof of completion would come in the form of a body part of the target, often being a finger, hand, eye, ear, etc. that they test for authenticity with a device that confirms the target's identity using magic. Some clients may ask for a certain body part from the target for their own reasons. Of course, some killers have their own brands, so they may take a certain body part for their own as a memento of the target, as to never forget them. Or because they are a collector, who knows?"

"You sure know an awful lot about mercenaries," Tim said.

"There is a lot to know." Mr. Gee answered. "When you have lived as long as I have, you tend to collect interesting information and experiences."

"I would ask exactly how old you are, but I assume the answer would be 'a long time.'" Tim joked.

"Right you are," he said.

Tim stretched as he got up from the ground.

"I think it's about time I get back to the inn room," Tim said. "We've been talking for hours."

"Most of which was spent on the topic of pomegranates which I so desperately try to understand in what way they are interesting." Mr. Gee said, fearful that Tim might go on another passionate rant about said pomegranates.

"You never did explain what taming had to do with pomegranates," Tim said, wanting to know the secrets of taming a pomegranate.

"I'm almost sure you've never ridden one, but surely you've seen someone ride a domesticated one." Mr. Gee said, attempting to clear up the concept, only to fail miserably, as the boy he was talking to was from another world.

"So you mean...pomegranates are animals?" Tim said, heartbroken.

"Of course they are!" Mr. Gee yelled. "How sheltered were you, exactly?"

"Very," Tim said, not lying.

With the eventful day behind them, Tim and Mr. Gee went their separate ways, back to their own lodgings. Tim would continue his nightly exercises with dreams of one day riding his very own pomegranate, as Mr. Gee would simply enjoy a cup of what he would claim to be tea, but was, in reality, alcohol.

Surely, Tim would enjoy his peaceful stay at the dark elf village, making friends with each passing day, and growing in power with each night.

What could possibly go wrong?

- Flag Set

General Information

Attribute Property

Name Tim Hodgins Vigor Death 0/1 Race N/A (Undead) Agility Flesh 1/1 Rank Normal Convalescence Hunger 1/1 Spirit Dominion 0/1 Progress to (Copper) rank: 50% Evolution Progress: 0/100

[Vital Hunger] (Passive)

Cost: N/A

Increases health and stamina regeneration when food with high magical concentration is consumed.

(Bound to Convalescence)

[Feeding Frenzy] (Passive)

Cost: N/A

Increases Agility attribute effectiveness whenever living tissue is consumed.

(Bound to Agility)

Traits

Affinities

Rebellious Soul

Foreigner

Deathborne

Death Attuned

Hybrid

Death: 100%

Holy: 85%

Celestial 66%

Umbral: 12%

Hunger: 10% (NEW)

Flesh: 10% (NEW)

(Raise affinity with other elements to view them.)