Gale ducked behind a thick brush. The loud growls had sent him into hiding. The growls slowly crept in closer, until it was loud enough that the leaves he hid in vibrated.
He peeked through the leaves, seeing two different beasts. One bigger, and one smaller. A bird, a goat, a deer almost shaped into a humanoid yet walked on all four legs. Scales, fur, feathers and human skin all in one creature at random parts of its body, not having any semblance of logic. Their faces looked human, but not. More like a beast contorted to something that resembled human features.
It was the worst case scenario. However, as he watched more, the two beasts circled each other, baring their teeth. At least one good thing came out of this thing. The beasts were fighting each other.
Extract origin from a live being, whatever that meant, this might be the only chance.
He gripped the book tight. It was his favourite and thickest book in his collection. One more reason why it was his favourite. It's the thing that's going to be his lifeline in this whole damn scenario. Heavy enough to do some serious damage if he managed to land at a tender spot, the neck.
Option 1, attack at the right moment. Option 2, there was no option 2. It was all in or die.
The two creatures growled at each other again. The bigger creature went in for a lunge, biting at the smaller one's neck. However, it slipped. Its own injuries working against it, not having good footing in the leafy setting.
Neither beast backed down. The smaller beast pounced, at the bigger one's neck. It missed by a hair's length. But when the bigger beast tried to counter, its limited mobility countered by the smaller one's speed. When the bigger beast bit at its neck, it would always just miss, and a swipe of the smaller beast would create a nasty gash on its shoulders.
Watching all of this, Gale wasn't so sure how he could see all of this. The passive skill, Breath of the Void. That must've been what allowed him to see. He could feel small tendrils in his senses seep out of his skin. It saw through the darkness, feeding him data about the fight.
Suddenly, the smaller beast went for a feint to the right. The bigger beast swiped its claws. Missed. The smaller beast had taken a bite out of its snout. Blood flowed even more from its face. The bigger one was clearly at a horrible mobility disadvantage. The ripped ribs of the smaller one looked like it did nothing to stop its momentum.
Gale gagged. Its smell also captured by Breath of the Void, feeding back into him the stench of rotting shit with a dead body that had probably been decomposing in humid air for 10 days.
This whole thing was insane. These creatures were even bigger than the bears he was used to. Even one graze from either would crush his bones. But fixing the Core Integrity might've been the edge he needed to get. The only shot he'd get at surviving this alien forest.
His fingers traced the spine of the book. He could wait a little longer. Maybe until the fight ended while the winner was at its weakest. But that meant facing the stronger beast.
Did he have the choice though? He didn't.
The bigger beast lunged again, this time succeeding. It bit into the shoulder of the smaller beast. It snarled, and thrashed until the bigger beast was shaken off.
Decision made. Option 1 it is. Wait until whichever wins, then pounce like crazy after. Use the spine of his favourite book. If it kills the beast, that's going to be another added reason added to the list.
Gale continued watching the back and forth. Whenever the smaller beast bit at the bigger one, it would be too shallow. When that happened, the obvious counter attack from the bigger one would come, nearly missing or grazing the smaller beast. Both were getting wittled down.
Minutes felt like hours just watching. Adrenaline spiked at every whine or growl from either of the beast. Any of those hits or bites could end it all and he'd have to act.
Another claw strike from the smaller beast ripped off more leather from the opposite flank of the bigger beast. It yelped, this time high pitch, almost hurting Gale's ears. Then immediately, the bigger beast lunged, pinning down the smaller one onto the ground. It's jaws closed in on the smaller one's throat.
Crunch.
The fight ended.
Blood covered the winner's wounded body. It started eating its kill right away, the smaller beast still twitched as if alive. The bigger one still breathing hard from the fight. Still, the bigger beast fed on it like its life depended on eating what was in front of it.
Now was Gale's chance.
He gripped the book until his knuckles turned white. He stood up carefully, legs stiff from sitting too long.
One shot. No way he'd waste it.
One quiet step, then another on the forest floor. The beast focused on its meal. Perfect. Everything his parents taught him about survival came down to this moment, except this moment was something both of his parents would say was stupid. He was ill equipped. A book was not a weapon. And the beast in front of him was bigger than a garbage truck.
Gale rushed forward, book raised high. When he got close enough, he swung the book down with all his strength. The beast moved fast. It reacted immediately.
It spun. Tail whipped at him, sending him flying. The world spun. He hit the ground hard, air rushing out from his lungs. Pain shot through his body, though somehow nothing broke.
He tried to stand. Get up Gale. Staying down meant death. The book stayed in his hand, knuckles still white.
Something clicked inside of Gale. Why did shit like this always have to fucking happen to him? Life never gave him a goddamn break. Always with the beatings. Always with the goddamn naggings. Life never missed a beat when it came to throwing and dragging him through the dirt.
My spirit will never break.
His senses sharpened. Lines of text and shapes bloomed across his skin. Everything seemed to slow down. The world turned and changed as if a light switch had been flipped. He saw everything around him. The inky black gooey blood pooling all over the clearing. Leather ripped and splattered on to the bark of the trees. Finally, the air that shifted as the beast came at him with its mouth open.
No time to think. The beast charged at full speed. It reminded him of that day at the orphanage when he got beaten up, except this time, if he fell, he wouldn't wake up after.
Do or die.
Gale pushed himself up despite his muscles clearly being ripped. He saw the beast in slow motion. It didn't matter. His legs pushed him forward. Mouth closed. The hunt always needed to be silent. He charged right back at the beast.
He got close to the sweet spot. His hands moved. The book swung down, aimed at the head. By luck or desperation, the book hit the beast's skull. A crack echoed that Gale didn't hear over his heart beating from the adrenaline.
The hit numbed his hands. His body may break, but his spirit will never ever break at anything or anyone ever again. Hands gripped at the book tightly, knuckles white. He hit the beast again.
The beast stumbled, fumbling to stay up.
Gale kept going. He hit it again and again. Each blow stunned the beast more, keeping it from hitting him back.
He jumped onto its back. The beast bucked to throw him off, but Gale held on. He raised the book high and brought it down on the beast's neck.
The beast shuddered. He'd hit something vital. Its roar became a whimper.
Good. Prey just needs to die.
He kept hitting the same spot over and over. Gale lost count of his strikes. He went into a frenzy, taking out all his anger. Each hit fell into a rhythm.
Then came a crack and snap. The beast's head bent weird. One more push and the head rolled off the body.
Gale lay on top of his kill, catching his breath. He checked the book. Still in one piece, structure-wise at least. Another reason added to the list on why this book was his favourite.
The rush faded. Reality settling down. Shapes and lines across skin started fading. He just killed something way bigger than him. The size of a garbage truck. It should have killed him the first time he missed. Yet here he was, alive, standing on top of the prey.
He rolled off the beast and stumbled to a nearby tree. His legs barely worked. Suddenly he gagged, then threw up bile. His mouth tasted like copper. He had bitten his tongue during the engagement.
Gale wiped his mouth, hands still shaky. Legs shook as well. Adrenaline began draining from his system. Heart rate slowed down. The sound of the wind coming back.
Laying down beside the beast, it was even bigger up close. Bones stuck out from its ribs where the smaller one had ripped its leather apart. The beast's jutting bone on its leg was thicker than his whole torso. Each paw also bigger than his chest with six kitchen knives like claws.
Nothing like this existed on Earth, not even in the wildest documentaries. A beast with an almost human face.
He shouldn't have won. No way his mundane strength could beat this thing, let alone cut off its head with a book.
[Extracting Origin from Prey…]
White dust-like light floated up and moved toward Gale. It swirled around him before sinking into his chest. Warmth spread through his body. His wounds closed. His breathing evened out. Like waking from a good sleep.
He clenched his fist and looked at it. Something had changed inside him. He felt stronger, impossibly so. The beast hit should have incapacitated him. It was possible the system had augmented him, made him stronger. And now killing the beast made him even stronger. The screen opened again with new information:
[Mission Complete: Repair Core Integrity.]
…
Name: Gale Hathie
Race: Dainv
Core Class: Awakened
Core Density: 0/12
Core Attributes:[
Max Load: 2
Efficiency: 1
Essence: 10/100
]
Skills:
[Phase Touch Lv.1][Alter Lv.1][Distort Lv.1]
Passives:
[Breath of the Void Lv.1]
…
[New Mission: Exit the Rift]
Gale's eyes widened at the new mission. But first, he checked the area for threats.
All clear. For now.
He clicked each item on the screen, starting with the mission.
[Solve the mystery of the rift or find an exit to leave the rift.]
Not very helpful, as expected. But it gave him a clue that there was an exit somewhere. The problem? He had no idea where to find it, what it looked like, or how to search for it. He was stuck.
Gale shook his head. Survival came first. Information helps survival. Knowing an exit existed meant he could work toward it as long as he stayed alive.
Next, he clicked on race.
[Dainv: Those who are born from the origin.]
This confused him more. He'd lived on Earth his whole life. The other kids bullied him like an outcast, but he was still human. Maybe being an outcast was his fault since he avoided playing with them, Gale thought.
He sighed. If he was a Dainv, fine. Just another one of life's surprises. At least it saved him. Without his better senses, he couldn't have fought back.
Next, he checked "Awakened," curious if this related to his new interface.
[Stage 1: Core Class: Awakened]
[Stage 1: Awakened, Attuned, Resonant, Harmonic.]
[Stage 1 is the guided stage of the Dainv Origin System. Please follow directives to progress through the stages. Complete missions and practice abilities.]
[Stage 2: details locked.]
[Enter Harmonic class to unlock directives to enter Stage 2.]
Gale sighed again. Too bad there weren't any more details, but at least it was a start. He was only "Awakened" now. Whatever that meant, moving up through the stages would make him stronger. Strength meant easier survival.
Moving on...
[Breath of the Void: A window of the void exuding its breath into the surroundings.]
This must be what gave him a fighting chance. It felt like the world was breathing, every living thing having its own pattern that he could sense.
Now for his new skills:
[Phase Touch - A cold touch from where nothingness begins.]
Another vague explanation with no info on how to use it. He activated it, and nothing seemingly happened other than the book becoming slightly translucent with a dim white glow.
Gale swung it around, laughing for using a book as a weapon. He hit a tree with it. Surprisingly, the book went right through without damaging either. Welp, that was useless.
He moved to the next skill.
[Distort - Reality is but an illusion that can be bent.]
Even more abstract. Like the last one, just thinking about activating it worked.
Looking around, nothing seemed different until he noticed the edges of the tree he'd hit. About a meter of it looked off, edges bent like a straw in water. Another seemingly useless skill. Neither gave him any firepower.
Next...
[Alter - Cev distorts reality to commune with his subjects.]
When Gale tried activating this one, nothing happened. A notification appeared
[Essence: 0/100]
[Regeneration Rate: 1/hour]
He needed to wait. Life kicking him while he's down again. Still, having these abilities was better than nothing at all.
Gale tried tapping on the Max Load and Efficiency, but nothing happened. The names seemed clear enough. [Max Load] probably meant how many skills he could use at once, and Efficiency likely affected essence cost. No point worrying about increasing those numbers now.
He needed to get back to setting up camp and create traps.
Gale jumped up as a rustle in the leaves caught his attention, ignoring his sore muscles and bruises. His eyes scanned the clearing for movement between the trees. Then he sensed it through Breath of the Void.
Something watched him. Waiting. But why wait? Gale remembered his father's lessons. Animals avoid risking injury when possible. The beasts here could be smarter than Earth animals, and this one saw him standing over two dead bodies of its kind. It might think twice about attacking.
Gale grabbed the head of the larger beast and walked away without looking back. He kept his stance, even in his beaten state.