I finally regained consciousness.
Not like in the films where you open your eyes with little birds singing in the background, of course not, this is more like... maximum pain in the face of a final level boss who's made a killing by banging around.
My body's screaming at me, clearly not happy with the pain it's been through, every muscle in my body is on fire, while my bones are threatening to fall apart.
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, or a divine blessing, and maybe 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 instead, and it's burning me, it wants to protest.
And it's angry with me.
I turn my head in the direction of the men who have fled, only their shadows remain.
"And shit... I don't have the skills to follow them, at least not now, and I'm sure I'll pay for that later, unfortunately, I'm sure."
I straighten up, but let's go slowly, like an old puppet whose instructions have been lost.
In any case, I've got blood on my arms, legs and especially my torso.
And I've no idea how much is mine.
As I look ahead, there are several corpses, and they're obviously humans.
A bitter taste rises in my throat, and my heart... it's beating too fast, not out of joy or excitement of course.
It's fear, and shock, with my body screaming, "What have you done, you bitch?!"
Dear body, I've killed. And this time it wasn't a monster. It wasn't even a nameless beast, it was humans.
And not just "kill" in the figurative sense, but slaughter, literally, I finished them off right up to their game over screen.
[Their death was necessary for your survival.]
"I know... I know that if I hadn't, I'd be dead or worse...
But... I was human, damn it. I killed people of my own species and it's... confusing."
[Inconsistent information. You are identified as half-Oni. Explanation needed: "human."]
Shit! I almost threw it all away. And to whom? A voice in my head. And what's more, the voice that controls the world...
Anyway, let's change the subject!
"Do you have any ideas for improvement?
[Suggestion: to speed up your recovery and the development of your skills, consume the remains of the neighbouring creature and/or defeated enemies].
Sorry?
I freeze, like... really freeze, even my brain has taken a coffee break.
"Are you offering to eat human corpses?"
[Confirmation. The bodies of human enemies contain residual mana and compatible components].
I blink, once, then again.
"It's a prank. Tell me it's a fucking prank."
[Direct absorption would enhance your regeneration, strengthen your cells, and possibly trigger biological evolutions].
I stare at the bodies, the blood, the charred flesh, and finally the broken bones.
I'm also staring at my hands, and I feel nauseous.
Do you want to get stronger? Do you want to survive? Then you'll eat like a beast, you'll become like a monster.
I run my tongue over my dry lips, sending a shiver up my spine.
"Fuck... this isn't what I had in mind when I said I wanted to make progress..."
I turn my head in the direction of the Guneseven, its huge carcass 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, but only faintly.
"So we'll start with the mutant catfish. Why not, let's go for it, it'll be the first step towards madness, I approve!"
I approach, and my throat closes.
I prepare my fangs, my claws and the hope of not dying tomorrow.
"Good app' to me."
I take a bite.
And... I stop, as I chew slowly, my eyes lighting up.
"Wait... is it... good?"
There's a heavy silence, a shiver runs through me.
No gagging, no smell of death or rancid bile. Just strange meat, tender, juicy, almost sweet, with a smoky, full-bodied taste and a hint of natural salt... Fucking hell, 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 filthy monsters and it tasted like sewer... and this is like Kobe beef from the Labyrinth?"
A real feast.
[Skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [LV1 MP recovery]]
[Skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [LV1 maximum mana increase]]
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [LV1 Physical Resistance] has become [LV2 Physical Resistance]] [The skill has reached the required level.
[The skill has reached the required level. Endurance LV1] has become [Endurance LV2].
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [Mana Perception LV1] has become [Mana Perception LV2].
My breath catches as I feel the mana pulsing through my veins, while my body... strengthens. But like literally. The pains recede a notch, which shocks me, and my muscles vibrate.
"That's it... power-up by feast? Fuck, it's like Monster Hunter, gore version."
I hold up a still steaming piece, 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 there... Fucking monsters in raptor mode.
Legs as thick as tree trunks, spiral fangs, and a beautiful neon blue colour.
"Analyse this, System.
[Elroe Randanels]
"Obviously. They smelled the giant barbecue and showed up for dessert."
I clench my fingers on the soldier's axe.
It's 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].
"There you go, System."
A Randanel rumbles, and it has a roar that would silence a rave party.
And as he charges, I jump to the side, with [Perception of Danger] screaming into my skull.
And I smile.
"I felt the attack before it even started. Now you'll see what happens when a scumbag learns."
I raise my hand and concentrate.
"Katon version 2.0, motherfucker."
A ball of fire shot out. Admittedly not huge, but straight and more precise, much faster.
It hit his front leg with a spray of flames, causing the Randanel to howl.
Of course, he's not dead, but he felt it coming.
That's when I leap up, land on its side and split the air with my axe.
And with one blow, 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. There's no time to breathe, no bathroom break, no checkpoint. I just concentrate. I just concentrate. Survival. In extreme mode.
I jump back, but 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 grazes me with a hot, sticky breath, and it slams me against a rock with a hellish din. While the second circles me, fangs dripping, eyes wild.
I reach out and feel the mana pulsing under my skin like a molten river.
"Go on... Fireball.exe, stable version this time."
A flame bursts from my fingers. Much bigger than the last one, not a Hadoken yet, but getting there.
I throw it at point-blank range, and the Randanel takes the ball right in the face.
BANG.
He screams, staggers backwards, half blinded. But I don't give him time to come to his senses.
I run, with my axe cleaving the air a second time.
And I strike. But the handle cracks slightly, yet his bone flies. The monster spasms and collapses.
"One down."
The other returns. This time more cautious. And angrier.
And here I am. On my feet. Breathing hard, blood on my cheeks, muscles on fire.
But alive. And worse still, for them? I'm ready to fight.
I can feel my strength ebbing away. After all, my axe weighs a certain amount and my breath is rasping my lungs. As for my mana, it's running like a 1% battery without a charger.
But the last Randanel goes for it. Christ, don't they ever give up?
I ducked in extremis as his fangs slammed into the void, two centimetres from my skull.
I swivel round, my back screaming as my legs threaten to give way.
But I leap up and plunge the axe into his side. Not deep. At least not deep enough.
He roars and throws me against the rock with a swipe of his tail.
I crash, and everything becomes a blur, but I start to roll as a claw scrapes the rock where I'd been standing half a second earlier.
I scream, more in rage than fear, and reach out. My remaining mana gathers, much more unstable, but there.
One last flame. My last chance. And I spit the incantation through clenched teeth:
"Die... you walking steak... ! "
The fire erupts, and a mini column of raw flame hits the Randanel in the throat.
He screams in pain, but eventually drops dead.
I stand there, still shaking and sweating, with blood.
But alive.
[The skill has reached the required level. Skill [Fire Magic LV1] has become [Fire Magic LV2]].
[The skill has reached the required level. The skill [LV1 Mana Manipulation] has become [LV2 Mana Manipulation].
I collapse onto my back, panting.
"Bloody hell, is today Skill Day?"
I stare up at the glowing ceiling of the Labyrinth.
And I burst out laughing, a laugh that's certainly broken, nervous, but above all stupid.
"I've... won. I've beaten several Randanels, and I'm... still standing."
I half stand up, staring into space, even though I'm covered in blood. But now it's a habit, over and over again.
I think it's become my new camouflage outfit.
And then the System... freaks out.
[Anomaly detected in 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. Of course, it's not the heat. No, it's something else. More like a colder, duller panic, you know, the kind that slowly seeps into your veins.
"Is it me or are you going through my head without my consent?
[Partial access to your long-term memory needed to calibrate 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 as my stomach knots and my thoughts spin out of control.
Oh bloody hell, holy mother of chaos. If the System burned me, is it going to rat me out? Eliminate me? Reboot me into a steak tartare version?
"Are... are you 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, naturally. Not out of anger, but because it's the first time anyone here has seen me.
[This parameter will now be integrated into your development profile].
There, in the burning black of the Labyrinth, I feel as naked as ever.
"You're going to betray me? Toss me to the other systems?"
[With the link to the Rank 2 System broken, I can't transmit any external data.]
I blink.
"Wait..."
[My role now is to aid your survival and progress.]
"...'I can't', or 'I won't'?"
No response. How astonishing. But his usual silence this time is far more frightening.
I close my eyes and inhale.
"Great... now even my system knows I'm an anomaly. All it needs now is a Wikipedia entry.
[Further analysis initiated. Linguistic backward compatibility... impossible.]
"Again? I've already told you I'm not from here, damn it!
[Cross-referencing 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 1 System in an earlier error report.]
I freeze. Is it possible that...
"You mean someone else like me has... already passed?"
[Confidential information. Resolution: carried out. The information was classified as a non-reproducible error by the updated Rank 1 Systems].
"Now what?"
[This correspondence was sent to me when I joined the host. Reassessment in progress]