Cutting off a strip of flesh with his blade, Lauri looked at it with immense disgust. Turning his head away, Lauri watched his surroundings, contemplating whether living would be worth consuming this… stuff.
After crying out in hunger, Lauri stumbled for another hour before coming across the scene of a fight. The stone walls were cracked in places, it seemed the source of Lauri's next meal had been picked up and then slammed into the nearest wall – multiple times – before its shell was pounded until the flesh beneath it became nothing more than pulp.
There were four more of these bugs. Out of everything he had met, the Bouncing Bother was closest in size, although, where the Bouncing Bother had four strong legs that would propel it at speeds in a fight. The legs of the deceased bugs were far smaller, each had twelve small legs poking out of its flat carapace.
'Flat, these things are so flat, if their exoskeleton was more malleable, pliable, I could see these things being able to fit through cracks in the cave.' Rapping his knuckle on the intact parts of the exoskeleton, Lauri shook his head. "I don't think so."
Turning his attention back to the strip of flesh in his hand, Lauri exhaled as he felt an empty spot where his satchel had been.
'It must have been knocked off whilst I was in the river… I can't believe I didn't notice…' Lauri frowned, he had made that satchel himself, the same as his knife. The satchel had been made from leather Laurence had helped him catch, with a band of plant fibre that Lauri and Merry had spent all night putting together. 'Merry,' biting his lip, Lauri stared at the raw meat. Is bug flesh still meat?
Intending to swallow it immediately, Lauri's eyes widened as he put the bug meat into his mouth. The chunk he had cut was too big to just swallow. Lauri wretched, putting a hand over his mouth. 'I- I can't, this-' Spitting it onto the floor, Lauri gagged as the taste lingered in his mouth. "That's, disgustinggg!"
Pounding the side of the deceased bug with his fist, Lauri pulled his arm back with a whine. "Agh, that hurts too!" Falling backwards, Lauri stared at the ceiling, turning his head to spit a few times in a vain attempt to rid his mouth of the taste. Sighing, Lauri reached a hand up to rub his face. "I can't even cut a few pieces to save them for later until I'm reallyyyy desperate. I bet the smell would stain my hand forever."
Lauri laughed, covering his eyes with his hand. "What am I even doing? Acting like I have the choice of not forcing it down... If I come across something in this state, I might as well take my knife and just kill myself now." Lauri's laugh grew louder, "In the last day I've come across something that might as well be death itself, took a tumble down a rocky slope and had my already battered and bruised body broken in that god-damn river!" Lauri's laugh abruptly stopped. "I whine too much."
Lurching forward, Lauri threw his knife to the side. Grabbing the edges of the broken exoskeleton, Lauri opened his mouth, tearing a chunk of disgusting flesh out with his teeth. Chewing, Lauri's body immediately reacted. His reflex trying to eject the flesh from his mouth, 'If I can't even control my own reflexes, how am I ever going to grow stronger!' Fuming, this only caused Lauri to chew harder. 'I bet Laurence would think this was a delicacy, this is nothing compared to his cooking!' Moving in for another bite, again Lauri pulled back, about to chew another mouthful.
***
Dropping onto his butt, Lauri strained to keep his meal down as the lasting remnants of his gag reflex made a final attempt to reject his meal. Clenching his teeth, Lauri shook his head to rid it of the sensation.
Scowling, Lauri needed something to distract himself. His eyebrows raised, 'I know what might help distract me…' Focusing on the thought of the strings, they burst from his chest. Lauri's mood lifted slightly as he gazed at the string's dazzling light. Again, noticing the strings had no effect on his surroundings, Lauri lightly rubbed his chin. 'It's odd how the light these strings give off doesn't seem to affect the space around it. I wonder. Could I be the only person that can see these strings?'
Memories swirled in Lauri's mind, memories of Laurence staring intently at nothing. He sometimes did this after killing something, or when he thought Lauri was asleep.
'I see, so all those times, he had been looking at these strings.' Lauri rolled his eyes, 'He really couldn't have taught me about these during our lessons? What's the point of making me learn this all by myself?' Huffing, Lauri turned his attention back to the strings.
Everything seemed to be the same, his name was still Lauri, the title was still empty, his soul was still Dormant and his rank was still Postulant, the Luminescent Helper was still his only Imprint, the Hollow section was still empty, and he had two Traits and still had his Title.
'All is still the same…' Lauri's brow furrowed. 'Wait a second,' His eyes slowly slid back up the words, stopping on the Traits. 'Last time I saw this, there was only one trait…'
Trait: [Adopted by a Lady], [The Lost Remember]
Blinking, Lauri squinted. 'What, I didn't get any kind of notice when I got this, unlike when I killed the Lucent Drone Swarm and got Luminescent Helper.' Biting on his lip, he focused on the words. The strings reacted to Lauri's focused gaze on his new Trait, rowing and forming into a new line of text.
[The Lost Remember] Trait Description: "You may have escaped, but they never forget. The dead remember their own."
Lauri's face darkened, 'So I got a reward for dying and being brought back from the dead… Why does this not feel like a reward?' Squinting, Lauri looked up to Luminescent Helper. Another thought crossed Lauri's mind, he looked back to the text.
The strings that made up the description of [The Lost Remember] came apart as Lauri's attention shifted slightly to the left. 'I never looked at the description for Adopted by a Lady.' The strings shifted forming into something new. Looking upon the description, Lauri had to furrow his brow harder.
[Adopted by a Lady] Trait Description: "Her children can recognise the mark of their mother."
His brow twitched.
'This….' Biting his lip, Lauri stood up. His new-found annoyance easily overwhelmed any lasting ill sensation his food had given him. "Doesn't make senseeee!" He fumed, too annoyed to keep his internal monologue internal.
"Ughhhhh, what the hell. Why are both of my traits so, so, nondescript!" Balling his fists, Lauri brought them up, lightly shaking. "And who is this lady who's adopted me, her children recognise the mark of their mother. What is that even about!"
Biting his lip, Lauri carefully looked around the empty cave. Lauri's anger over the two sentences waned in the realisation that if he was going to keep shouting into the darkness, something might answer him.
With one last huff, Lauri gently rubbed the side of his face as something occurred to him. 'The Lady, that's familiar, very familiar.' Resummoning the strings that had disappeared after Lauri stood up.
Skimming down the text, Lauri's eyes came to rest at the bottom. The description for his Title [Seraph Aspirant]... Whatever that was.
Title Description: [One of a few remaining who wish to remember brighter days. The Seraph Aspirant is one chosen by the Lady, their power lays dormant until they prove they can outshine the darkness.]
'Yes, there it is.' Lauri's eyes narrowed on the words. 'The Seraph Aspirant is chosen by the Lady,' Rubbing his hands together, Lauri looked away for a moment before looking back. 'So, this Lady, she has adopted me? And my power is dormant until I can prove to her that I can,' Lauri grumbled. 'Outshine the darkness.'
Lauri's eyes almost sparkled.
'Wait, this, this couldn't be. Could my trial be linked to this? My trial, to get to the Goddess' altar with the soul core of a powerful Fiend, these two things are linked.' Lauri's head felt like it was about to burst upon this realisation, he sat down to prevent himself from falling over.
'Laurence said, the stronger the core I offer to the altar, the stronger my power will be, but if what the description of my Title is true. Then the power of my Title is already established, it's just, locked? Until I complete the trail. So, does this mean I get more rewards depending on the quality of the core I bring?'
Lauri remained silent for the next ten minutes, as he tried to properly consume this new revelation.
Exhaling, Lauri stood up. 'That's it then. The power of my Title is already established, but I can get better rewards if I can kill something good.'
A loud roar echoed from somewhere in the distance, unlike before, where Lauri's first reaction was fear and nothing more. Now Lauri's first reaction was far different as a smile appeared on his lips.
"Best not keep Laurence waiting."