I regained consciousness.
Not like in those films where you open your eyes and little birds are singing in the background.
No. This is more like... maximum pain. It's like the final boss who's made a killing banging on everything.
My body is screaming at me.
Every muscle is on fire. Every bone threatens to break.
I think even my claws are aching, if that's possible.
I'm a steaming pile of meat that's lost all dignity somewhere between "propelled against a wall" and "possessed by a crazed AI assistant".
"Fuck... my body has been used to its limits!"
I take a deep breath.
I really need to find something to improve my regeneration. Or... I don't know. A magic potion, a divine blessing?
An update patch?
"I'm not dead, in any case..."
It's almost a joke.
Because my body isn't moving. Well, not really. It's shaking. It burns. It protests.
And it resents me.
I turn my head.
Over there. The silhouette of the man who ran away.
Shit... I don't have the skills to follow him. Not right now.
And I'll pay for that later. I know you will.
I stand up. Slowly.
Like an old puppet whose instructions have been lost.
There's blood on my arms. On my legs. On my chest.
And I've no idea how much is mine.
In front of me: corpses.
Human corpses.
A bitter taste in my throat.
And my heart... it's beating too fast.
No joy. No excitement.
Just fear. Shock. The body screaming: "What have you done, you bitch?!"
I've killed.
Not a monster.
Not some nameless beast.
Human beings.
And not just "kill" figuratively.
Literally. Finished. Zero points. Game over for them.
[Their death was necessary for your survival.]
"I know... I know I'd be dead otherwise. Or worse.
But... I was human, damn it. I killed my own kind. And that's... confusing."
[ Incoherent information. You are identified as half-Oni. Explanation needed: "human". ]
Shit!
I almost threw it all away. To a voice in my head.
Anyway, let's change the subject!
"Do you have any ideas for improvements?
[ Suggestion: to speed up your recovery and skill development, consume the remains of the nearby creature and/or defeated enemies. ]
I beg your pardon?
I just froze. Like... really frozen. Even my brain has taken a coffee break.
"Are you offering to eat human cadavers?"
[ Confirmation. The bodies of human enemies contain residual mana and compatible components. ]
I blink. Once. Twice.
"It's a prank. Tell me it's a fucking prank."
[ Direct absorption would promote your regeneration, strengthen your cells, and possibly trigger biological evolutions. ]
I stare at the bodies. The blood. The charred flesh. The broken bones.
I stare at my hands.
And I feel nauseous.
Do you want to get stronger? You want to survive? Then you eat. Like a beast. Like a monster.
I run my tongue over my dry lips.
A shiver runs up my spine.
"Fuck... this isn't what I had in mind when I said I wanted to make progress... "
I turn my head. The Guneseven. Its immense carcass is still smoking in a corner, half charred.
[This specimen contains a high concentration of mana and raw magical energy. Recommended as a priority. ]
I chuckle. Weakly.
"Then we start with the mutant catfish. I mean, come on. I don't see why not. First step towards madness, validated."
I approach.
My throat tightens.
Fangs. Claws. Bile. Roasted flesh. And the hope of not dying tomorrow.
"Good app' to me."
I take a bite.
And then I...
I stop.
I chew. Slowly. My eyes squint.
"Wait, wait, wait. Is it... good?"
A heavy silence. Then a shiver runs through me.
No retching. No smell of death or rancid bile. Just strange meat, tender, juicy, almost sweet. Smoky, full-bodied, with a hint of natural salt. Damn, it's better than boiling ramen after 12 hours of fasting.
[ This specimen contains a high concentration of magic and an exceptionally digestible cell structure. ]
"I've eaten foul monsters and it tasted like sewer... and this is like the Kobe beef from the Labyrinth?"
A real feast.
[Skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [LV MP recovery 1]]
[Skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [Maximum mana increase LV 1]]
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [Physical resistance LV 1] has become [Physical resistance LV 2]] [The skill has reached the required level.
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [Endurance LV 1] has become [Endurance LV 2].
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [Mana Perception LV 1] has become [Mana Perception LV 2].
My breath catches. I can feel the mana pulsing through my veins. My body... grows stronger. Literally. The pain goes down a notch. The muscles vibrate.
"That's it... the power-up by feast? Fuck, it's like Monster Hunter, gore version."
I hold up a still steaming morsel, dinosaur thigh style.
"The world is mine, you steaks!
Then a sort of earthquake.
A bad feeling twisted my guts.
"What's that hidden optional boss vibe there?"
I scramble to my feet, my mouth still full of Guneseven steak.
And then...
Fucking monsters in raptor mode.
Legs as thick as tree trunks, spiral fangs and a beautiful neon blue colour.
"Analyse this, System.
[ Elroe Randanel ]
"Obviously. They smelled the giant barbecue and showed up for dessert."
I clench my fingers on the soldier's axe.
Not a quality weapon. But between that and my claws? I'll take the two-handed decapitation option.
[ With the [Co-Mind] ability, the use of magic can be shortened and controlled more fluidly. ]
"Now you're talking, System."
A Randanel roars. A roar that would silence a rave party.
And it charges.
I jump to the side. [Perception of danger] screams into my skull. A bolt of lightning down my spine.
And I smile.
"I felt the attack before it even started. You'll see what happens when a scumbag learns."
I raise my hand. I concentrate.
"Katon version 2.0, motherfucker."
A fireball escapes. Not huge. But straight. Precise. Fast.
It hits his front paw. A spray of flames. Randanel screams.
Not dead. But he felt it pass.
I leap.
I land on his side. The axe splits the air.
One blow.
And the smell of blood rises to my nostrils, acrid, violent. But I don't have time to think about it: the other two are already coming at me.
I spun around, axe still raised, my heart in war drum mode.
The other two Randanels come at me like hungry bulldozers. No time to breathe, no bathroom breaks, no checkpoints. Just survival in extreme mode.
I jump back. My leg is screaming, my side is still bleeding, but I don't care.
[The skill has reached the required level. Skill [LV2 Physical Resistance] has become [LV3 Physical Resistance].
"Thanks for the timing, System!"
The first one brushes past me. A hot, sticky breath. It hits a rock with an infernal din. The second circles me, fangs dripping, eyes wild.
I reach out my hand.
The mana pulses under my skin. Like a molten river.
"Go on... Fireball.exe, stable version this time."
A flame bursts from my fingers. Bigger than the last one. Not a Hadoken yet, but getting there.
I throw it at point-blank range.
The Randanel takes the ball in the face.
BANG.
He screams, staggers backwards half blinded.
I don't give him time to regain his composure.
I run. My axe cleaves the air a second time.
And I strike.
The handle cracks. The bone flies. The monster falls, shaking with spasms, then collapses.
One down.
The other returns. More cautious. More angry.
And here I am, standing there, breathing hard, cheeks bloody, muscles on fire.
But alive.
And worse still: ready to fight.
I can feel my strength ebbing away.
My axe weighs a ton. My breath is rasping my lungs. As for my mana, it's dragging like a 1% battery without a charger.
But the last Randanel goes for it. And again.
I duck in extremis. His fangs slam into the void, two centimetres from my skull.
I swivel round. My back screams. My legs threaten to give out.
But I jump.
And I plunge the axe into his side.
Not deep. Not deep enough.
He roars. He throws me against the rock with his tail.
I crash. Everything becomes a blur.
And then I roll.
A claw scrapes the rock where I'd been half a second earlier.
I scream, more from rage than fear.
I hold out my hand.
The mana gathers. Feverish. Unstable. But there.
One last flame.
One last chance.
I spit the incantation through clenched teeth:
"Die... you walking steak... ! "
The fire gushes out. A column of raw flame. Instinctive.
It hits the Randanel in the throat.
He screams.
And he falls.
Stiff.
I stand there. Trembling. Sweating. Bleeding.
Alive.
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [Fire magic LV1] has become [Fire magic LV2]. ]
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [Mana Manipulation LV1] has become [Mana Manipulation LV2]. ]
I collapse onto my back, gasping for breath.
I stare at the glowing ceiling of the Labyrinth.
And I burst out laughing.
A broken, nervous laugh. Silly.
"I've... won. I beat the shit out of Randanel. And I'm... still standing."
I half stand up, staring into space.
I'm covered in blood.
Again.
I think it's become my new camouflage.
And then the System... freaks out.
[Anomaly detected in the cognitive structure. Analysis in progress.]
I frown, my heart already in a panic without knowing why.
"What? What kind of nonsense is that?"
[Major inconsistencies in memories. Cultural, linguistic and conceptual references not compatible with the local environment].
I feel a drop of freezing sweat slide down my back.
Not from the heat, no. It's something else. A colder, duller panic. The kind that slowly seeps into my veins.
"Is it me or are you going through my head without my consent right now?
[Partial access to your long-term memory needed to calibrate the integrated mental functions. Result: inconsistency with all local databases].
I freeze. Even my claws tremble a little.
"And so?
[Hypothesis: entity from another world, probability 92.7%].
A shiver runs up my spine.
My stomach churns. My thoughts go haywire.
Holy shit.
Fucking hell.
If the System burned me, is it going to turn me in? Eliminate me? Reboot me into a steak tartare version?
"You're... you're saying you know? That I don't belong here?"
[Confirmation. This information should have been inaccessible, but your mental structure allowed for automatic extrapolation].
I clench my fists.
Not out of anger.
But because it's the first time anything here has seen me.
[This parameter will now be integrated into your development profile].
There, in the burning dark of the Labyrinth, I feel more naked than ever.
"You're going to betray me? Toss me to the other systems?"
[As the link to the Rank 2 System has been severed, I can't transmit any external data].
...I blink.
Wait.
[My role now is to help you survive and progress.]
"...'I cannot', or 'I will not'?"
No answer.
The silence sticks to me like a lukewarm poison.
I close my eyes. I inhale.
"Great... now even my system knows I'm an anomaly. All it needs now is a Wikipedia entry.
[Further analysis initiated. Linguistic backwards compatibility... impossible. ]
"Again? I already told you
I'm not from here, damn it!"
[ Data cross-referenced with old Central System logs. Partial match found. ]
I frown.
"What do you mean a match?"
[ Clarification: a similar linguistic memory sequence was detected by a Tier 3 System in an earlier error report. ]
I freeze.
"You mean someone else like me has... already passed?"
[ Confidential data. Resolution: carried out. The information has been classified as a non-reproducible error by the updated Rank 3 Systems. ]
"What now?"
[ This correspondence was sent to me at the time of my attachment to the host. Reassessment in progress. ]
Perhaps someone had gone before me or at the same time as me?