*CRACK*
The wood underneath Hugh gave way under his weight and resulted in Hugh's free fall towards the empty space below.
He could not see what was down the hole, but he knew that it was deep enough to give him severe injuries with the fall. If he were to guess, he would say that it was 15 meters deep, which was fatal in some cases.
Hugh's arms flailed around the air as he tried to grasp at anything to try and slow his descent, but there was nothing around him. He could feel his heart in his stomach as the feeling of air blowing in his face made him squint.
He looked down and saw that he was landing on the solid ground made of wood, which would not be a good landing spot.
He looked around the empty place and saw a curved incline in the room, which would decrease his chances of dying in the fall. Hugh rolled around in the air as he aimed for that spot.
He positioned his body feet first as he knew that he would increase his chances of surviving if he did it. He needed to protect his head so that it would not collide with the ground.
Hugh put both of his hands on his head as he braced himself for the impact.
*CRACK*
His legs landed first on the inclined curve, which immediately broke his bones. His legs mostly absorbed the force of his descent, so the other parts of his body were not in critical condition.
As his legs broke, his whole body started to roll down the incline, breaking more bones inside his body. As he was rolling down the ground, he protected his head and his neck fist and foremost.
The pain from his broken leg occupied his whole mind as it gave him suffering that he could not describe. After rolling around in the ground, his body finally stopped.
His body was beaten up, and he could feel his ribs broken as well as other parts of his body. He could not move his legs, and it still gave him untold pain.
Underneath the pain inside his body and the adrenaline flowing in his veins, he was relieved that he was able to survive the fall from that height.
He was incapacitated, but he was still alive, which was the most critical part. He was now lying on a strange empty space that was inside of the giant tree with carnivorous eagles right outside.
He did not know how he would recover from his injuries, but all he wanted to do now was to relax and try to ignore the pain in his legs.
He looked down and saw that his legs were mangled and bent in a strange shape. All in all, he was in a better position than he first thought.
The fat in his body must have helped absorb the fall damage and made him thankful for the first time that he was fat.
Just as he was about to close his eyes, he felt movement from the ground. It was rhythmic, like footsteps from an unknown creature.
The reverberations in the ground told him that this was a giant creature, and it was slowly walking towards him. He looked at his body and tried to move his arms, but it only amplified the pain.
Whatever was coming towards him was deadly in his eyes because he could not do anything to them. He tried to move both of his hands to crawl out of the empty space but found that his left arm was broken.
The shock must have prevented him from feeling the pain, which he was thankful for because the leg pain was taking all of his mental strength to endure.
He activated his armor on his movable hand and found that he could still use his armor. The silver and brown liquid filled up his fist and made it into a weapon full of explosive power.
*DUGN* *DUGN*
The steps are getting closer and closer while Hugh was still incapacitated on the ground. Even though he could still activate his armor, it was useless if he could not move his body.
Hugh turned towards the sounds of the footsteps and saw a large tunnel that led into the darkness. Whatever creature was making those noises, they were going to come from that tunnel.
Hugh waited with bated breaths as he turned his head to see the creature coming out of the tunnel.
Immediately, Hugh could see that the creature had brown fur and a tail on the back. Its eyes were black, and it was looking directly at the disfigured Hugh.
The most distinguishing feature of the mutated monster was its cheeks. It was puffed up cheeks that seemed to be full of something it was eating.
Its hands were close together and were positioned near its mouth. The creature opened its mouth, and a giant acorn full of saliva came out and rolled on the ground.
++++++++++++++
INSPECT
Species: Burrowing Giant Squirrel
Stage: *unadvanced*
Rank: C-rank
*Locked*: *locked*
++++++++++++++
The creature's information popped up in his mind. It was a giant squirrel that was three meters in height, towering over Hugh. It tiled its head in confusion at the strange creature lying in its burrow.
The giant squirrel bent down on all fours and started to crawl towards Hugh, sniffing the air as it did so. It was careful and cautious at first, but once it realized that Hugh was incapacitated, it crawled even closer.
Hugh's brain was working overtime as he tried to move his body away from the giant creature in front of him. He ignored the pain in his legs as he used his movable hand to lift it out.
*DUGN* *DUGN*
Hugh saw that the giant squirrel was only a few meters away from him. It looked at him with curiosity, and then it raised its nose in the air as if it smelled something.
Then, he saw as the curious eyes of the giant squirrel turn into anger and rage as its claws grew from its tiny hands. Hugh could feel the difference in power emanating from an unadvanced C-rank creature.
Even if he was able to fight, he did not think that he would win against a C-rank. He was only at the F-rank, and the difference in levels was too big for him to try his luck.
The squirrel seemed to be in a crazed state as it slashed its claws towards Hugh without any hesitation.
Just as Hugh found no more way to defend himself, he activated his transformation.
'Fat God System Activated.
Using excess fat as mana.'
++++++++++++++
FAT RESERVES
________________________
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________________________
Estimated time remaining: 1 min.
++++++++++++++
Hugh's body started to steam up as the fats inside his body burned. Sweat poured out from all over his body muscles, replaced his fat, and gave him an extraordinary amount of power.
His black hair turned into white, and his jaw turned sharp from losing its fat.
His legs started to heal at a visible rate and revert into their original state. Underneath his skin, the bones in his legs repaired themselves and locked themselves back on his joints.
His arms now adorned chiseled biceps that exuded power, repaired of all its injuries. His fast heartbeat turned slow as if he was sleeping, showing a calm and collected demeanor.
The squirrel felt a chill on its back as it saw Hugh transform into a monster that exuded a powerful aura. The squirrel's natural instincts told itself to run away as fast as it could, but its claws could not be stopped.
Just as the sharp claws of the squirrel were about to pierce Hugh's chest, his hand grabbed it and stopped it from advancing any further.
Hugh was sitting up when he caught the claw in his hand. He looked at the giant squirrel and started to stand up tall while twisting the claw in his hand.
The squirrel felt a crushing force on its claws and was forced to kneel down or else its claws and arms would be broken.
Its three-meter height was now forced down to Hugh's height, meeting its eyes directly onto Hugh. As the squirrel looked into Hugh's eyes, all it could feel was fear on its heart. It wanted to run, but Hugh had a tight grip on its claws.