The sudden awareness in his lower body hit him so hard that his thoughts stalled. Of all the things he had expected, this wasn't one of them.
He staggered through the clearing in a haze, movements sloppy and unfocused. At some point, he made a stupid move against one of the dogs and cracked the stick in half. Even then, the idea of needing a proper weapon never crossed his mind.
For a brief moment driven by impulse, he considered climbing a tree and relieving himself. Then three dogs charged at him and the fight continued.
Within a minute, the idea collapsed under the reality of blood, dirt, and snapping jaws. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was being watched by people. But that thought barely slowed him down anymore.
Orion tried to force the storm inside him back down. Violence, hunger, and heat bled together until he couldn't tell which feeling was driving him anymore.
His heartbeat thundered, his chest overflowing with a strange, overwhelming sense of satisfaction.
A rush of satisfaction flooded his chest with a lot of happiness. It made him hungry for more.
Under the cold wind, in a clearing littered with dog corpses, he sat down on the ground. At some point in his drunk state, he had lost his shoes. Stretching his legs despite the pain from the wounds on his feet felt weird.
Being barefoot barely registered. Pain, cold, and adrenaline blurred everything else.
Just as he relaxed, Orion noticed the enraged dog he'd thrown earlier burst from the bushes, lunging straight for his neck.
Orion jumped straight up. With a single powerful motion, he kicked the dog in the head. The moment his foot connected, a horrifyingly sharp cracking sound echoed through the clearing.
Despite pulling off a martial move he'd never imagined himself capable of, his thoughts were still fixated on his rigid, unyielding er*ction.
"Why are my emotions this intense?" He muttered.
Another dog lunged at him before he could think further. Ignoring his confusion, he grabbed the animal by the throat with his right hand.
His right hand crushed the dog's throat. The other, traitorously, was still pressed between his legs. The contrast made his stomach twist.
The fact that his lower body didn't settle back to normal despite the blood and animal noises was something he never could have predicted.
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 10]
What…?
The number hit him harder than the killing. For a second, even the chaos in his head went silent.
Then the feral emotions took over his body again. He was about to ignore the voices in his head and increase his Strength Stat again but something else caught his attention.
The entire system panel began flashing violently, as if celebrating some massive achievement.
[Congratulations! By reaching Level 10, you have met the minimum requirements. Some locked features on the Main Panel have been unlocked!]
-The "Job Panel" has been unlocked in Character Details!
-The Essence Page has been fully unlocked!
-The Essence Market has been unlocked after prerequisite conditions!
-You can now view detailed stat descriptions.
-Voice Command function for Stat Adjustments has been unlocked.
"Job Panel, Essence Market and Voice Command?" He could guess what voice-controlled stats meant. But for the rest, he'd have to examine them carefully.
"What the hell is an Essence Market? Is that a virtual game store?" Realizing he was speaking out loud again, Orion sat down and shoved the dead dog beside him away with his arm. Orion's focus was completely locked on the notifications.
One thing was clear. The locked Essence Page was finally unlocked. But as he continued reading, the Essence Page became not clearer, but more complex.
In short, if he met the requirements, he could choose any profession or job he wanted under essence trees. He could unlock profession skills or purchase job-related items from these essence paths.
But every essence was different, with entirely different conditions. And more than that, he had to discover and unlock everything on his own.
Instead of answering his questions, the complex explanations only raised more.
Orion opened the newly unlocked "Essence" page for the first time. He'd hoped desperately that it would be more creative or user-friendly.
It was worse than the Profile page. A nightmare of cramped boxes, locks, and microscopic text that made his eyes glaze over.
Everything looked randomly scattered. Tiny text. Tiny images. Everywhere. It was a complete mess.
Inside the ugly interface, he began examining countless miniature profession boxes, every single one marked with a lock icon.
..
The wind that had made him shiver earlier intensified. Clouds rolled in and the forest grew genuinely cold. But Orion barely felt anything.
He sat against the tree as if it were the most comfortable place in the world.
Something inside him felt unchained. The cold, the blood, even the exhaustion barely registered anymore. One hand still rested on his rock-hard erection, clearly tenting his pants. The other cradled the back of his head, cushioning against the tree's rough bark.
Orion focused on the shining page again. On the Essence Page, there were both locked and unlocked items. Also, all titles lined up at the top. These were readable.
-Main Essences
According to the explanation, certain Essences would unlock based on his actions and achievements. If he hunted enough creatures and Essence related to Hunting or Death would unlock.
He could then choose jobs beneath them and grow further in that direction.
For example, under Hunting Essence, he might unlock jobs like Druid, Bringer of Death, Reaper of the Field or Harbinger of Slaughter. Their names looked cool but he had to clear his head and look into everything before choosing an essence.
Scratching his stomach as he pulled his hand from the tree, Orion scanned the forest for a few seconds. He kept reading while keeping one eye on his surroundings.
If he understood correctly, all professions under the same Essence were interconnected. A high level in one would increase learning and growth speed in the others.
"So if I master a machine-related profession, things like programming would fall under the same category and help me, I guess."
Some of these Essences looked useful. But he just ignored the ones still locked and began considering his options.
"Hrrrr!"
A dog lunged from behind, grazing his head.
Without effort, Orion crushed its throat and killed it, then returned to leaning onto the same tree. He glanced down between his legs for a second.
The er*ction was still there.
"There is nothing erotic left in my head but I'm still rock hard. Hopefully this doesn't last forever- actually… would it be better if it did? Whatever."
He tried to compose himself by slapping his cheeks.
Now it was time to choose what kind of life he would carve out in this world. And for the first time, the choice felt terrifyingly real.