"Anyways, how did you die in your past life? If it's okay for me to ask?" I continued the conversation with a new topic. As I started walking around Elizabeth, admiring the creature, she is up close. Her head followed me as I paced around her.
"I was burnt at the stake," she responded with a blank expression. I stopped my pace and looked at where her eyes were supposed to be. I frickin knew it.
"What's with that look for?" she asked while tilting her head. She's sharp at noticing emotions, but she's still an airhead.
"Just admiring the braid of vines that cover your face," I answered. Well, Elizabeth died because she wanted to learn. I guess that's a noble death.
"Oh, my. Thank you." Elizabeth raised her left arm and started arranging the braids in a better way. The grass around me began to wave once more. She's easy to read. The plants around me react to her emotions. Interesting.
"Hey, what kind of skill do you have that makes you control the plants around us?" I asked, quite curious about what gift she was given. She's from the 1400s, and I'm from 2021. There should be a breakdown in communication, yet we're having a smooth conversation. Old English is different from my era's English. It seems like the system automatically makes me understand it, like how I understand monster speech. Interesting.
She nodded her head as she raised her right arm and curling her fingers into a fist, "The God of Chances made me roll two dices, one for what creature I am, and another for what special abilities I get." She opened her fist, and vines slowly crawled out of the ground and started circling around her, "The skill I've obtained is called "Ingenium" the floating words say that it allows me to manipulate the earth and control the plants around me." She tightened her fist once more, and the vines quickly crawled back underground.
My mouth was left agape as I watched her command the vines to her will. My heart began to fill with even more bitter feelings towards the God of Chances. She got to roll two dices?! I only got to roll one?! I'll repeat it, and I won't get tired of saying it. HOW UNFAIR!
"How 'bout you? What special skill were you granted with?" Elizabeth asked, gesturing me to climb on her shoulder. I shook my head side to side to decline and responded, "The God of Chances only made me roll the dice once, and that is what creature I'd reincarnate into. A rat." I paused for a moment to take a deep breath and continued, "The skills I have are innate abilities that you'd expect from the species I rolled. It's handy...I guess." I bent my tail towards Elizabeth. The sharp tip glistened in the sunlight.
Now that I think about it, why haven't I checked the description of my skills? I should have done that a long time ago. I'd ask Elizabeth to smack me at the back of my head to scold myself, but I'm afraid she might squash my skull into pieces instead. Well, I didn't know how the system worked until a while ago. I shrugged at my own thoughts and looked around the field.
"How big is your territory? I'm afraid I might accidentally wander out of your range and get myself killed." I asked Elizabeth, I've had one too many near-death encounters, and I didn't want that to keep happening.
"My territory is the green area located on your map. Since we're both candidates, it will probably show in your map that I reign this area," she answered briefly.
"Map? What map?" I asked confusedly, "The system had that feature?" I rubbed my chin. Elizabeth looked at me weirdly. A rat scratching its chin really is a weird sight, huh.
"Yes, you haven't unlocked it?" Ah, that's what she found weird. I slowly nodded my head. She stared at me for a few seconds before opening her mouth, "I've forgotten the prerequisites for it. I'm sorry." she lowered her head.
"It's alright." I consoled her. I thought for a moment and asked, "What does the edg—"
GrrrrrrrrrRRRRRmRrRrr
Before I could finish my question, my stomach started growling. Elizabeth stared at me, and I stared back at her. A few moments passed before I switched my question to break the awkward silence, "So...uh...do you have any food...?" I broke my gaze away from her in embarrassment.
She lifted her hand and pointed a finger behind me, "There."
I glanced over my shoulder and saw the chimera's corpse lying there. I looked back at Elizabeth and the corpse alternatingly, "Uh...where...?" Please don't be what I think it is.
She walked over to me and poked the chimera with her fingers, "This. This is food. Look," she casually severed one of the limbs of the chimera. She plucked a few feathers off where she was going to dig in. She opened her mouth, showing her sharp dagger-like teeth, and took a big bite off of the limb she tore, "Try it. It tastes good." she spoke with her mouth still full. Bits of flesh flew towards my face as she spoke while bright blue blood dripped from the corners of her mouth.
Why is it when I hope for something not to happen, it instantly happens?! I took a few steps towards the corpse reluctantly and looked at Elizabeth. It seems like she's enjoying her meal as she voraciously chowed down on the limb she tore off, holding it like a drumstick.
I couldn't help but feel disgusted by the thought of eating the corpse in front of me. The chimera was once human, isn't this cannibalism in a way? My body told me I needed to eat, and the corpse started looking more appetizing by the second. Still, my mind is going against my instincts.
Elizabeth swallowed the piece she was chewing and asked, "You're hungry, aren't you?" She knelt down and offered me her half-finished chimera drumstick. I shook my head and politely declined. This was my new reality now. The rules of my past life don't apply to this one. Even though I'm human inside, I have a body of a monster now, and that meant vastly different needs.
I went to the chest area of the chimera, where I sunk my tail and inspected it. The parts where my blight affected it looked incredibly inviting. The more I stared at it, the more my mouth watered. I took a deep breath and leaned my face towards its chest, and opened my mouth.
I closed my eyes and chomped down on the blight-infused flesh. The rosy aroma from my blight enticed my smell as I bit off a chunk and started chewing. My eyes widened in surprise. I was expecting a disgusting taste, but instead, it felt like I was eating a dish from another world. It was delicious.
Each time my jaw would clamp down on the piece of meat in my mouth, bright blue blood gushed out, giving it a sweet, savory flavor. The texture was tough, making it a bit of a hassle to chew, but the taste was delicious. I can compare it to eating a 5-star steak on earth, I haven't had a 5-star lunch in my life, but I knew this is what it would taste like.
Elizabeth looked at me with delight as if looking at a child trying out new things, "See, it tastes exquisite, right?" she said as she took another bite from her chimera drumstick, "The weaker a monshter ish, the better itsh tashte." she continued with her mouth still full.
"Isn't the chimera hella strong?" I replied, slowly closing my eyes to savor the taste. Elizabeth nodded her head and replied, "But that doesn't change the fact that it's still a tenth sequence authority beast. Just like both of us." Authority? I should ask her what it means after we finished eating. The disparity between species really is unfair. Something as strong as the chimera was still considered weak? I needed to know more about it.
She swallowed the piece she was chewing, "The stronger a beast is, the worse its flesh tastes. That's why the strong ones usually hunt down weaker ones for food. To them, we are like sweets." she pointed at the corpse we were dining on and continued, "The chimera doesn't taste that good compared to other monsters weaker than it. I've eaten better." Elizabeth shrugged.
"Wouldn't that mean the weak are always hunted?" I asked, swallowing the piece I was chewing.
"Yes." She said bluntly, "but that doesn't mean the strong aren't hunted either." she continued as she threw the drumstick she was holding that was already reduced to bones, "The stronger a creature is, the more power it carries in its body and those who consume parts of a strong monster gain a percentage of that power."
"A percentage of the chimera's power..." I mumbled to myself. The trial I currently have wants me to hunt down strong creatures. Is it to give me a boost in power? My eyes slowly wandered towards Elizabeth as she bent down and ripped another limb off of the corpse. I noticed there were still a few open wounds present on her back that haven't fully closed yet. Maybe...I...could... my tail began to tremble in anticipation. I shook my head vigorously. What the hell was that?
Shivers ran through my spine. Did I really think of killing Elizabeth right now? My heart started to sink in disgust. What the hell am I even thinking? I took another bite off of the chimera's chest. I stared at it blankly as I began to chew again. There's something wrong. I feel it.
Elizabeth looked at me quizzically, "What's wrong, Sir Vaeden? Are you full already?" she asked with a smile.
My heart panged with guilt as I saw her smile at me like that. She was genuinely worried for me, "It's nothing. I just miss Earth, that is all." I lied. I don't miss Earth at all. I couldn't tell her what I was thinking. There was something wrong.
"Hm, is that so?" she nodded, before continuing, "I like this place better than earth. I get to be free here though it does get lonely at times." I noticed a hint of sadness in her voice as she finished speaking. It must have been tough on her.
"Have you not met any other candidates before?" I asked as I swallowed the piece of meat I was chewing.
"The first two were you and this chimera." she answered, her voice breaking a little, "I'm glad to have met you, Sir Vaeden." I could tell that she was. If I was here for as long as her with no human interaction, I might have gone insane. She has a strong will.
"Likewise," I responded. Elizabeth replied with a soft smile and continued eating. After munching on the chest part of the chimera for a few minutes, I've finally reached the heart. It looked just like a human heart which was weird, but I shrugged it off. The rules of Earth don't apply to this one, I remind myself.
Elizabeth turned towards me again and spoke, pointing at the heart, "That's where most of the power of beasts are stored, but that one looks weird." her last phrase made me curious.
"Why is it weird?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Most of the hearts I've eaten don't look like a human's heart. That is the first time I've seen a human heart in this world." She replied as she sat down and patted her stomach. It seems like she was full already. Half of the corpse wasn't even finished yet.
I didn't know what to respond to what she said, but all i know is that there has to be a deeper meaning to it that I haven't discovered yet. I'll remember this information. I began to dig the heart out of the chimera's exposed chest and stared at it.
It looked a little deflated due to my tail puncturing it, and it looked a bit redder than usual. It was probably due to my blight ability. A strong rosy smell emanated from it. I gulped saliva and opened my mouth. Here goes nothing.
「Kindred Devourer Title Unlocked」