At first, Richard ignored the quest as he didn’t feel hungry on the road, but when he started to cough black smoke out of his nostrils and mouth, he realized that it was time to do something about it. It made his vision blurry, as if it was a car’s windshield when it was raining.

His legs were feeling heavier and the distance between his footprints became shorter. As he needed to walk with long and fast strides to be efficient with this body, using his long tail to stabilize his gait, he found himself stumbling more and more on the uneven ground, consuming more energy. Opening his mouth to make room for more air didn’t ease the fact that he was choking from the inside.

A large cloud of steam billowed out of his mouth and a loud rumbling noise came from his insides. He lurched his spine as his body shook in pain. There was no way he could go on like this.

Your internal flame chamber is leaking inside your body. You have lost 14% of your total HP. Total: 85%.

Your flame intensity has lowered of 35%.

For the moment, it was better to trust the system, even if the thought of eating rocks seemed stupid to a human, it should not be for a monster like him.

Luckily, the only thing that wasn’t lacking in this place was gravel and small pieces of concrete from the collapsed buildings. Richard took a mouthful and his flat back teeth made crunching sounds, then he grabbed a piece of concrete the size of his palm and swallowed it.

Your internal chamber leak has been fixed: 95% of functionality recovered.

Quest goal 1 of 2 completed.

Richard rose from the ground, but he found his legs still rigid, and if he wasn’t swift, then it was even more difficult to walk because he couldn’t be coordinated enough.

Your flame’s intensity has lowered of 15%. Total: 50%.

The area was disseminated by broken pieces of wood of the many desks and cupboards of the bank building. Richard grabbed half of a charred plank of wood from the ground and gave a bite, with splinters falling on the ground as teeth grinded the wood. It felt like it was a perfectly normal thing to do, even if it shouldn’t.

You have consumed 10 Units of Wood. Internal flame rekindled by 25%.

It didn’t really taste of anything, and he wasn’t sure that he could taste something, but he found out that he wanted more of it with each bite, so, when he finished the first plank, he ate another three in succession, and then he hopped around and ate all the wood that he could put between his claws.

You have consumed 60 units of wood. Internal flame rekindled by 150%.

You can store up to 50 units of wood in your inventory, would you like to dematerialize it and convert it into units?

If it was something he needed for survive, then it was better to fill his inventory of it. The rest of the wood he had in his hand glowed of a fluorescent white light and it assumed a spherical shape. The sphere started to shrink to a single point that entered inside his chest.

40 Units of wood have been deposited in your ITEMS section. You have still 10 free units.

That was all the wood he could find that wouldn’t crumble with his fingers. It was a step forward, but the sense of weakness still lingered. He had to find something else, as wood was good enough for his flame, but not for the rest of his organs. The filter on his vision shifted from yellow to a bright shade orange. The flame inside him was crackling and bustling and a whistle came from his ears. The pressure on his temples got worse every time he stood still, leaving him on edge to find something to ease it.

He reached the Quick Mart of the block, which was still standing. The blue and yellow sign on the top was hanging by one side, with rust claiming most of the letters, full of bullet holes in a block wasn’t known for his crime rate.

A trail of dried blood brought him in front of the double automatic doors, which had their glass cover shattered and they were blocked by two metal shelves. He entered thought the hole left by a semi that had crashed inside and remained stuck between the knocked down shelves and the ceiling. It was impossible to know what happened here, but he was sure that it wasn’t peaceful.

The cash registers had been opened and left sprawled on the ground, empty. Not that he had any use of money, tough. He doubted that the police could still exist and arrest him if he took something, but with just a look, he realised that they’ve already took everything that could’ve been looted.

Only three intact aisles still stood on the right side, as the rest of the shelves were piled up in a mound that reached the ceiling. There was still a multitude of footprints on the dusty ground going in different directions, then at some time, they all moved towards the storage room in the back.

There was a small shape under the shelves, of a bright orange hue instead of a dull shade of yellow.

Trail of Level-less Rabbit found.

Richard lurched his hand towards it, finding a surge of energy. The rabbit bolted towards the entrance of the storage room. His claws rubbed against each other, making a spark. A small ball of fire hit the rabbit on its side, making it roll on the ground.

Flame ball used. You’ve consumed 1 unit of Mana. You have still 15 units to spend before you need to rest.

He didn’t know how he did it, but it was sure what he needed. Richard grabbed the flailing rabbit from the ground, holding him by the neck. Its round dark eyes were still open, and his screams were eerily similar to the ones of a child.

Why was he doing this? The last time he ate meat was when he was still in high school, but now he couldn’t resist the urge of burying his fangs inside the neck of the animal. It was wrong, but his hands weren’t going to obey his thoughts, so he closed his eyes and fitted the whole body of the rabbit inside his mouth, stretching his jaws so much that the lower one touched his neck.

His canines tore apart its skin, leaking blood inside his mouth, while his incisive teeth crushed its spine. A wave of fire climbed from the internal chamber, roasting the animal. In a few seconds whatever remained of the rabbit was making rumbling sounds as it descended down his esophagus.

You’ve restored 15% of your energy.

It wasn’t enough to quench his hunger now that he had started. There must be something else around.

Alert!

Your internal flame’s intensity is too high. Your REASON has dropped to 0 from 100. You’ve entered Starving mode: +50 Strength, +50 Perception, +50 Agility.