I flail my body about miserably. How do these stupid wings work? I try to flap, and it only serves to spin me in place and make me dizzy. If I had anything in my stomach, it would be out of my stomach now. I don't want to die again.
[Initializing Carrion System]
Oh, cool, I got a system! Wait... what system? What the hell kind of system is the Carrion System?
[5%]
...
[17%]
...
[19%]
Okay, can we hurry this up, please! I'm falling to my death here.
[51%]
...
[83%]
...
[100%. Carrion System successfully initiated.]
Finally!
[Mandatory Quest initiated: Trial By Flyer: You are currently falling from a tremendous height. Learn to use your wings to fly and land safely.]
[Reward: 100 EXP and Carrion System Starter Kit]
[Penalty: Loss of System]
Loss of System?! Loss of life, you mean. Does this body come with an instruction manual? How do birds do this? Okay. Okay. Okay. Calm down. Stop flailing and focus. I'm just making this worse.
Deep breath. Maybe try to glide instead of flapping like an idiot. Alright, I can do this. I just have to extend my wings and hold on tight, right? Here we go and... extend.
Ahhh! Oh, wow, that almost pulled my arms- er, wings off. Okay, I'm still falling, but I seem to be moving in a direction that isn't entirely down. Wait... I'm forgetting something.
Tail feathers! Alright then, extend the tail feathers. Nothing's happening. What the hell? What? Do I have to do Kegels and flex my ass to spread these things? Screw it. It's worth a try. And clench. Oh, it worked! Nice.
Oh, oh, wait. Not that way! Come on. I don't want to go out to sea. Turn it around. Clench, damn it! Clench!
And... there. HA! I did it! Back in the right direction, at least. But I'm still not flying. I'm just gliding. Maybe try for a flap again. Okay, and flap. Well, that was disappointing. I didn't so much stop my fall as just bobbed a little in the air.
Alright, angle the wing and flap down and back to give a little upward push, then curve the wing on the rebound to reduce the drag and allow for the lift to not be completely canceled out. And go. One. Two. One. Two.
Will you look at that. I may just be flying now. I'm feeling a bit of pride in this accomplishment. Should I attempt the landing? Yeah, no. Not yet. I'd end up pancaking myself into a tree at thirty miles an hour if I tried that now. I need to get more comfortable with what I can do with my wings first.
I flap and glide for what seems like hours just to see what every twitch of a feather will do while I'm airborne. I can't believe the goddess made me into a frigging bird. Thinking back, I suppose it should have been pretty obvious.
Eventually, I manage to figure out the basics and what I think are some more advanced moves. I'm probably wrong, and other birds are probably watching me wondering what the hell I'm doing, but I'm satisfied. I figure I can probably land without too much difficulty.
I come in low and flex my wings and tail feathers to create extra drag and glide into a gentle cartwheeling tumble onto the ground. (sigh) Well, any landing you can walk away from and all that. I push myself back on to my feet and shake the dirt and grass off. I guess the whole landing thing is going to take a little more work, but I'm on the ground, and I didn't die tragically again. That is a win in my book.
[DING. Quest: Trial by Flyer. Status: Complete.]
Awesome! The first quest is complete and now to check what this system can do. I try to say, "Open System," but it just comes out as an angry-sounding caw. I try saying it in my head, and nothing happens. Wait, I've got it. "Status"
[Carrion System]
[NAME: Morgan
[RACE: Spirit Crow
[LEVEL: 1
[EXP: 100/200
[HEALTH: 11/11
[VITALITY: 12/24
[ANIMA: 10/10
[ESPRIT: 18/24
[ESSENCE: 10/10
[MANA: 24/24
[ATTRIBUTES
[ABILITIES
[*LOCKED*
[*LOCKED*
[...
Okay, what the hell is this. There are an awful lot of gauges. Health, Vitality, Anima, Esprit, Essence, and Mana? I can guess what some of these are, but isn't Vitality the same thing as Health? They're both written in red. They must be connected in some way. Anima and Esprit are printed in yellow, and Essence and Mana are written in blue.
Huh? You know what? Let me check Attributes. Double huh?
[BODY
[MIND
[SOUL
Okay, this is a little elaborate. There are three spheres in this menu. Each is a different color and is labeled accordingly. Body is red, Mind is yellow, and Soul is blue. Someone has been overthinking a bit. Let's see... Body.
[STRENGTH: 2 [+]
[ENDURANCE: 2 [+]
[RESILIENCE: 2 [+]
Okay, well, at least this makes some bit of sense. No dexterity, though. Isn't dexterity or agility or something similar usual here? I'm guessing I can add free points to the attributes with the plus marks. Let's go back and look at Mind. I feel like I'm repeating myself, but... huh?
[INTELLECT: 2 [+]
[WITS: 2 [+]
[AGILITY: 2 [+]
Why is Agility here?
[AGILITY: The Mind's ability to effectively manipulate the Body precisely and quickly. Affects accuracy, speed, and reflexes.]
Okay, I guess I can see that. A little weird, but not too far of a stretch. Hmm. I wonder what Intellect affects.
[INTELLECT: The Mind's ability to retain and extrapolate information. Affects the ability to learn and improve skills and abilities as well as memory and problem-solving.]
Affects learning and improving skills and abilities? Oh, damn, I better find a way to improve that fast. First, though, I need to check out Soul.
[CHARISMA: 2 [+]
[POISE: 2 [+]
[WILL: 2 [+]
For what Charisma and Will do, I have a pretty good guess, but what does Poise cover?
[POISE: The Soul's ability to remain calm in stressful situations, resist provocation, and understand and respond appropriately to social situations. Affects emotional control and Mana and Essence Recovery.]
Well, given my bird nature, I probably won't be too worried about what amounts to proper etiquette and I think I'm fully in control of my emotional state. I mean, based on the amount of crap that's fallen in my lap lately, I'm holding it together pretty damn well. Avoiding my issues is just another way of holding it together.
So, those are the Attributes. A bit more complicated than I was expecting. I wonder if the Ability section will be just as complicated. Only one way to find out.
[TALENTS
[ARTS
[LIMITED
There are limited abilities? I'm guessing they are abilities I can only use a certain number of times. Well, let's take a look.
[CARRION SYSTEM STARTER KIT x1
Okay, that was the reward for learning to fly.
[CARRION SYSTEM STARTER KIT contains ten bonus free standard quality attribute points, fifty Carrion Coins, and a random standard quality ability as well as the signature Carrion System ability Soul Scavenger.]
Hmm. Soul Scavenger sounds a little sketchy. Doesn't sound like a good guy's ability. I guess it's better than Soul Reaper or Soul Devourer. Enough guessing, I should activate the kit.
[Congratulations. You have gained 10 Free Standard Attribute Points.]
[Congratulations. You have gained 50 Carrion Coins.]
[Congratulations. You have gained the Limited Ability Acquire Random Standard Class Ability x1.]
[Congratulations. You have gained the Art Ability Soul Scavenger.]
Let's take a look at what these do.
[SOUL SCAVENGER allows the user to absorb a portion of an unbound soul gaining Carrion Coins and bonus EXP relative to the soul's potency and a small chance to gain one of the soul's Abilities. There is also a chance to temporarily view some of the soul's memories.]
What does it mean by "an unbound soul?" Does it mean a dead person? Do I have to eat dead people and steal their souls? Because it is really starting to sound like I have to eat people's souls. It is called the Carrion System after all. Arg. I'll worry about that later.
[ACQUIRE RANDOM STANDARD CLASS ABILITY x1 upon activation displays six randomly selected abilities. The user may then choose one of the abilities to add to their repertoire. Once a choice has been made it cannot be undone. All abilities not selected will be discarded.]
Oh, that's more forgiving than I expected. I thought it would just grant me some weird ability like fish telepathy or something. Having a choice is always better. One more question though. What can I do with Carrion Coins?
[CARRION COINS are the system currency that can be used in the Shop section to purchase a myriad number of items and abilities. The Shop is not available until initial level five.]
Not much help now, but maybe later I can get something good from the store.
Hang on. What's that?
Something just moved in that bush and I'm out in the open like a sitting duck- er crow.
The bush shakes violently as an orange blur explodes out from it. I leap back trying to get into the air but I'm a fraction of a second too slow and a weight slams into me driving me to the ground and something inside pops. Pain blossoms in my chest and I'm pretty sure a rib is cracked. I kick and claw and batter my assailant with my wings keeping its teeth away from my vitals. Fuck this! I'm not going out pinned under some monster again. I thrash and my talons catch and tear. Hot liquid splashes against my legs and feathers.
My assailant yelps trying to disengage but my talons grip tight on the slimy wetness. It tries to snap its fangs at me but I slam my head forward and smash into its nose. I realize I should have struck with my beak. I'm still not entirely used to this whole bird thing. I tighten my grip and slam forward again. This time, I use the beak and pierce the flesh. I strike over and over and over again until the beast has gone still and even then I strike tearing the flesh and bathing in blood until I'm exhausted and in pain.
I stumble away and look back at the beast. It's a fox. A formerly adorable little fox that in another life I would have wanted as a pet just tried to kill and eat me. I thought I'd learned the lesson to be more aware. Life doesn't care if you're innocent. You are still food for something. Speaking of food, I'm hungry and despite my still human mind being revolted at the idea of eating fox tartare, the crow in me relishes the idea.
I hop back over to the fox and prepare for lunch when I notice a small glowing orb rising from the body. I'm not entirely stupid, so I make a mighty leap of logic and guess that this is the soul that goes along with my ability Soul Scavenger. The only question is, how do I consume it? Do I just eat it like a particularly shiny piece of caramel? Sure, why not?
It's a little large so I thought I'd have to take it in pieces but as soon as my beak touched it a warm sensation like drinking spiced cider in winter flowed into me. It felt so nice that it relieved the pain from my injuries, I wanted it to last, but like all good things, it was over far too soon.
As my mind calmed and the warmth dissipated I notice a system alert. I barely noticed that there was a heads-up display when I wasn't actively looking at the system. I was a little preoccupied with avoiding death and I'm still new to this. I focus on the flashing alert in the corner of my vision and the system opens.
[Defeated Young Red Fox. Gained 6 EXP
[Used SOUL SCAVENGER. Gained 4 EXP. Gained 4 CARRION COINS.
Hey, that's not bad. The should bring me to one hundred ten EXP. Only ninety more to level two. Nine more foxes will get me there. Oh, that's a little morbid. When did I start treating life as a video game? A rumbling in my stomach interrupts my existential crisis. It's very rude, but poignant I suppose. I reach down and tear a piece of flesh from the cooling corpse of the fox.
Animals kill to survive. In order to survive, I have to get stronger. In order to get stronger, I have to kill. My empty rationalization makes me feel better. Temporarily at least. The meat, despite being a bit stringy, helps.
I realize I'm doing it again. I'm still out in the open and I'm bathed in blood. Surely a predator is going to be attacked to this place soon. I snatch one last piece of meat and hop a few times before finally getting myself into the air. Flying is so cool, I give it an eight out of ten; would recommend it. Landing on the other hand. Not so much. I nearly smash my self into a branch trying to perch, but eventually, I get there.
I look around to see if there are any threats around. See, I'm learning. Slowly. I open the system once again since I was so rudely interrupted before.
[Carrion System]
[NAME: Morgan
[RACE: Spirit Crow
[LEVEL: 1
[EXP: 110/200
[HEALTH: 6/11
[VITALITY: 2/24
[ANIMA: 10/10
[ESPRIT: 15/24
[ESSENCE: 10/10
[MANA: 21/24
[ATTRIBUTES
[ABILITIES
[*LOCKED*
[*LOCKED*
[...
The fight with the fox took a lot out of me. I lost a third of my Health and my Vitality is really low. I wonder what I used Mana on? Maybe Soul Scavenger has a hidden Mana cost? I'm still not sure what Esprit is, but if I had to guess I'd say mental energy. Its color matches the Mind Attributes and the others correspond to Body or Soul pretty obviously. I guess you use it through mental strain or maybe just by thinking.
I don't know. Maybe I just need to rest for a bit to recover. While I do that maybe it's time I spent my rewards.