Alex's mind was blacked out. He could not stand what was happening. He felt as if he was an observer of his own body, a participant and not the owner. He could feel his mouth moving, his hands gripping stuff, his throat expanding. He was swallowing something, and all the while, his mind kept echoing the same words, 'Don't think, eat… eat.'
—System Overload—
—System Overload—
—Initiating Fix—
While Alex was cannibalizing the animal, he could only see and feel his body. At this point, since he was just an observer, he started to calm down.
'This is nuts, but this isn't so bad, is it? People need to eat to survive, and my body must have been so hungry that it needed to eat. Sometimes people do things without meaning to do them, and there is a thing called 'muscle memory,' right? It's basically your instincts kicking in. This isn't so bad, is it? I have to eat.
'Poor Alex, look at me, I never get to dine properly. The last few meals were basically rotten meat, and I didn't even cook it. Man, I feel sorry for myself. You know what, eat Alex… eat until you're full. I'm glad your eating. Eat until your full. I'm glad I can just watch, I just don't want to go through this disgusting process myself. I'll let my body handle it, and I'll simply come back to it as if nothing ever happened.'
Thirty minutes later, 'Alex' was done eating. He could see his body slowly standing up. 'Guess you're done eating? That's good, I'm glad. Are you feeling better?' As Alex continued to think while feeling the food enter his body.
While all of this was happening, Alex's body was slowly regenerating. What he did not know was Alex used a skill for the first time ever. He just used the skill he never knew he had in the real world. He used the skill "Cannibalize."
—---
Skill Name: Cannibalize (Rank 1)
Description: This skill enables a character to harness the life force of fallen foes or allies. Upon activation, the character can consume a portion of a defeated enemy or, in some darker variations, an ally, to replenish their own health, mana, or other vital resources. This act often involves a suspension of the mind, allowing the body to act on its own.
Duration: 15-30 minutes. Depending on the size and state of the User's body.
—---
It took the full 30 minutes for the body to finish eating. As soon as it was done, Alex was back in his own mind. He could taste the disgusting food he had just eaten. Alex, not daring to look at the mess he made, immediately started to walk away from the scene, and started to make his way back to the apartment.
At this point, it was completely dark outside. The only light shining was from the moon. While walking in the near-complete darkness due to the trees covering most of the light, he kept thinking,
'I don't fully understand what just happened. I just used 'Cannibalize,' didn't I? Just like the game. It definitely feels like I did. Also, my body is basically back to perfect condition. I'm all bloodied up, and I smell absolutely terrible, but overall, I feel amazing.'
'Did I do the right thing? Do I have other skills that I don't know about? And was that the system's voice talking to me? Telling me what to do? How it even know what to do? How did it know that I need to eat?' Alex thought; his mind was still trying to process everything that happened.
As Alex continued to walk, he eventually reached the border, and the first thing he noticed was that there were no guards.
'Lucky for me, looks like they left as soon as the sun set. I don't blame them, it's such a boring job.'
Alex wanted to head straight to his apartment. It's been nearly a full day since he left, but seeing the state he was in, he was worried that if anyone saw him, they would be freaked out. It was not unnatural to see blood, but Alex was covered in it, from head to toe.
It looked like he was bathed in blood. And he did not want anyone to look at him or anything of the sense.
As Alex was trying to figure out what to do, he saw a small clothing store that was about to close for the day.
He saw this place once or twice before, but he never entered it. He rushed towards the man before he could close the sliding door and lock it.
The man, startled, at first thought he was about to get robbed, so he quickly took a knife out of his back pocket. It was a normal thing for most store owners to have, especially in the area of Old Town. As bandits would sometimes target these stores to try and make easy money.
"Stay back, you thief! Come any closer and I will stab you! I swear on my grandchildren that I won't be afraid to fight you!" The man shouted, trying to get attention from anyone else in the area. He also wanted to sound confident, in hopes to scare the thief away.
Alex was startled, did he really look like a thief? Also, with what he just went through, did this man really think that Alex would be scared of a small knife? If Alex wanted to, he could tear through the man just like he did the hyena!
'What the hell am I thinking about? What an evil thought. Since when have I ever thought like this? Is the power consuming me? This is not good, Alex.'
"I'm sorry for frightening you. My name is Alex Walker, and I'm a rank 1 hunter. I was attacked by some hyenas in the forest while I was trying to scavenge for some material to sell. I'm so sorry, I only meant to ask if you could spare any clothes, it doesn't matter what it is, because as you can see, I'm covered in dirt," Alex calmly tried to explain, and he put his hands up to show he had no ill intentions. "I can't go home like this"
"I don't believe you; you're too young to be a hunter. Show me your badge, throw it over!" the man didn't budge.
Alex slowly took the badge out, and his ID for safe measure, and threw them both to the man.
As the man compared the two, he realized that his actions were a bit too severe. He put the knife back in his pocket, sighed, and said;
"Sorry kid, this area is not very safe for merchants like myself. My name is also Alex as well, and I'm the owner of this shop."
"Give me a few minutes to try and get something. I don't think I have anything that will fit you, but I don't think that matters right now," The man smiled, and went inside.
As soon as the man went inside, something occurred with Alex.
—----
—System Message—
Daily Quest (2)
Status = Failed
Initiating Penalty level 1
—----
Immediately after the message, Alex was about to yell obscenities for forgetting to do the quest. Well, it's not like he forgot; it's more like he was pre-occupied with life and death stuff
Alex was teleported from his position, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in a completely different area. This time, it was not that his mind was teleported. This was not like the dream phase; this time, Alex was physically transported.
"Hey kid, where did you go?" The man, holding a bunch of clothes, looked around baffled.