"Salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder," Grayson extolled to himself. "Maybe salt isn't that good of an idea." He eyed the canned meat he found lying on a shelf, "I'm sure all the spice I'm adding will drown out any salt."
Now where did I put the chili powder?
He reached into the basket he picked up and grabbed all the red spices he had in his basket, into the pot he had.
I can't wait to finally eat some proper food. Who would have thought all that tinkering I did as a kid would pay off?
In front of Grayson was a little DIY stove he'd created using a gas canister, a lighter, an aluminum tray, and some other things.
"That looks about ready, time to add the chili and onions."
The nice smell wafted through the air, causing Grayson's stomach to growl loudly.
"Just a few more minutes buddy, I promise, then we'll be able to chow down."
He stirred the canned beef and other ingredients on his makeshift stove until they all mixed together. A few minutes after the onions started to carmelize, Grayson's homemade spicy chili was all ready to eat.
"Oh, that's good. A bit salty, but just the right amount of spice." The perfect amount of spice apparently to Grayson was enough heat to burn your tongue off. He himself looked like his mouth was burning, but for some reason, he seemed to be enjoying it greatly.
The huge pot of chili that he cooked was enough to feed a few people, but all by himself he finished the whole thing. All that running in fighting must have activated his second stomach because even after all that chili, he still somehow found the room to eat an entire bucket of liquid ice cream he had found in a freezer.
I think I might throw up. The chili was one thing, but all the dairy, sure as hell ain't helping.
He threw himself on the ground rolling around trying to keep himself from throwing up.
Stay down, stay down. Come on stomach don't make me deal with a mess. This might be the last time I have ice cream in a long while.
Thank you.
After a bit of finagling his stomach didn't seem like it wanted to puke all its insides out.
I really need to stop talking to myself.
Grayson lay sprawled across the ground staring at the ceiling of the grocery store. Outside the windows, the day was coming to a close. A full meal in his stomach, none of the pain from earlier, and a bit of comfort knowing that he was alive, was all it took to make him smile.
It didn't last long though.
With all this peace and quiet, I can't help but wonder how my parents are doing. Mom in particular. Knowing her she's probably freaking out not knowing where I am. Dad on the other hand I'm sure the big ol man will be able to handle anything.
Grayson laughed.
I could go for some of Mom's delicious carrot cake.
He laughed louder.
I bet that idiot Jake got himself killed already. He used to go on and on about anime. I loved talking to him about hypotheticals about what he would do if we woke up in our favorite anime. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought he was the main character and challenged a boss off the jump.
He continued laughing and laughing thinking about all the people he grew up around, wondering how they would be fairing in this mysterious tutorial he knew nothing about. For all he knew they might have overestimated themselves and chosen a difficulty they weren't able to handle or they might have ignored the System and got sent to a shitty difficulty on accident.
Normally, he would never take pleasure in the morbid possibilities of his friends and families, but oddly enough he found giggling and laughing like an idiot on the ground was what he needed in this moment.
Before he knew it he couldn't control his laughter any longer. He roared like a full-on buffon, rolling around the dirty floors of the aisle he found himself in. It might have been a bit much as he ended up rolling into a shelf and having a can of soup fall on his face.
"Ouch, that hurt." Through the pain though he laughed. Tears streamed down his face. He didn't know if it was from the pain of the soup, the laughter, or the small truth he held in the back of his mind.
The small tears grew until it felt like it was raining inside.
He laughed softly, whispering to himself sweet nothings in the faintest of sounds, "Please, please, be safe all of you."
And then, he fell asleep.
Grayson woke up to a sharp pain in his neck. Sleeping on the ground proved to be a terrible time. The hard flooring was not kind to the bones whatsoever and had led to him sleeping in an awkward position.
"I don't think I could ever get used to sleeping like that."
Following the unwelcomed surprise, Grayson got himself situated for the day and dawned a new pair of clothing he'd found lying around some shelf.
Name: Grayson Alderwood
Title: N/A
Race: Human
Class: N/A
Level: 4
Stats Points:
Fortitude: 7>8
Agility: 4>7
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 17
Mana: 12>13
Skills:
[Firefly]
Summons controllable fireflies that explode on impact, dealing area-of-effect damage.
Talents:
[Fast Adaptation] (Humanity Exclusive)
Humans adjust quickly to changing environments, allowing for more stable performance in unfamiliar conditions.
Now that at that. My agility went up a whole 3 points, while my mana and fortitude went up only a single digit. If it didn't raise at least that much after all that running I did, I would have been angry.
There's not much to discuss about my stats, it seems like my stats are increasing based on the activities I do whilst leveling up. I really need to test that out. My intelligence is still by far my highest stat, I would have thought it would increase with my repeated use of [Firefly] yesterday.
To be fair, I only did command the spell to shoot forward.
Ok, testing out [Firefly] and other forms of training is going onto my to-do list. I'll put that right after figuring out how to use my inventory. That appearing blade move that Silver Squelch used the other day makes me believe that the System has an inventory feature.
The thought of carrying all this weight around tires me out just thinking about it, if I had access to an inventory it would make life much easier.
Trying to command an inventory to appear doesn't seem to do anything.
I think it must be a locked feature or something because right now my class and title are showing N/A so based on that there must be either a level requirement or an achievement requirement for it. I'm leaning more toward a level requirement because earning it through achievement doesn't make much sense from a game design perspective.
"Can't do anything about it right now, I have a feeling something will change around level 5 though."
That being said, leveling up should be my main priority right now. Who knows how long my luck will last before I meet another enemy like the god-forsaken Squelch, but instead of a somewhat friendly one…
"I can't even imagine," he shuddered.
Now that he'd reached his first destination and gathered the proper supplies he needed it was time to move onto phase 2 of his plan, which was pretty simple, and that was to level. He glanced one more time around the store scanning it for anything he might need. He packed enough supplies to keep him alive for a few days before he needed to return back here. His stomach was full and his spirit was in a better place. He adjusted his new clothes and made his way to the store's entrance.
The store's front door was pushed open and Grayson let the cool evening air sweep over him. The world beyond the grocery store was silent except for the faint noises of rustling bushes. This world wasn't like the world he once knew, he had to stay vigilant. He eyed the bushes in the distance and put them on his list to watch out for.
A good distance away from the store Grayon adjusted his stance crouching slightly as his eyes focused on on a movement in the shadows.
Grayson followed the blur, moving carefully along the edge of the road. For a single second, he breathed in and out focusing on sharpening his senses with each step he took. Just beyond the curb, he spotted them— a cluster of small creatures, also reaching the size of his knees, rummaging through what seemed to be a dead monster carcass.
What the fuck is that.
He moved closer, only to pause in his steps. There he saw a loose pack of small chitinous monsters devouring a corpse, with their... many teeth. They looked small and agile with beady eyes and claw fit to dig through the earth. Their tiny hands twitched as they pulled apart at the rotten flesh of the dead creature.
Don't tell me they killed that.
Why does everything have to be so freakishly devilish?
Grayson's muscles tensed as he studied them, assessing their behavior and numbers. He would have to approach this situation with caution if he wanted to take this group out. They might have been more dangerous in a larger group, but if he kept his distance and abused the range of his dagger he could probably kill them all if he was careful enough.
There's no way that beast was killed by those things. Grayson eyed the rotten creature, from the size of the corpse and the thickness of its muscle fibers, it must have been an absolute unit when it still roamed about.
He watched them for a few minutes longer, noting their movement patterns and watching for anything of note.
Those things don't seem like much after all. Besides the small amount of acid they seemed to excrete, to dissolve the flesh, there wasn't anything special about them except for their number. Still, though, they might not be formidable on their own, but in a group, they might be a bit tricky. Still, he needed both the experience and the time to get used to fighting monsters, and perhaps the cores they might hold. He was interested in what power they might hold.
In his mind, a plan began formulated and it was simple. Grayson felt the thrill of the hunt settle over him and moved forward.
A rock flew toward the ground near the feasting insects. It hit the ground loud generating a loud banging sound. Upon its impact, the insects stopped dining on their meal and their mandibles clicked wildly, their eyes flirting with the sound of the explosion.
Grayson trusted in the low intelligence of the creatures to not expect a trap. Up above a tree, he watched the chaos descend upon the insects. He didn't waste any time and aimed his finger at the group of insects. This time however he didn't command the fireflies to descend straight upon he pointed, but instead spread out maximizing their area of attack around the corpse of the monster.
"[Firefly] you little bastards," he said smiling to himself while striking a cool pose. Unheroicly though, he didn't jump off the tree like his favorite heroes. Instead, he fell halfway through rushing down to get down the tree.
That was a bit embarrassing. That won't stop me from killing the rest of you off though.
He silenced the flood of notifications that went through his head and got off his butt and ran toward the surviving insects angrily rushing him.
All that time of observation didn't go unanswered, because he was prepared for the chance of an acid spray. When it did arrive he effortlessly dodged out of the way.
Grayson used the reach of his dagger to slice one of the insects that jumped at him. A notification blared in his head but he ignored it. He aimed for another one and missed. He didn't let his next chance go amiss as he backhanded one of the insects that tried to jump on him from behind. He even crushed it with his shoe as it fell onto his back.
One did eventually manage to reach him and bit onto his arm.
That hurts.
In exchange for melting some of the flesh off his arm its head was ripped off its body as a gift from Grayson to it.
A few more stomps and slices later, Grayson sat peeved slicing open the corpses of the critters.
Out of all these disgusting insects not a single one of them carried on those so-called cores. I'm starting to believe that Squelch was lying to me. At least I gained some XP out of it.
Krivel Hatching Slain! 5 XP awarded!
x15
The fact that these things are called hatchings scares me. I wouldn't want to be a grown Krivel, and sure as hell, not an adult one if that evolution exists.
His train of thought was interrupted. Out in his periphery, he thought he saw a movement.
"Did I forget to kill one?" Grayson muttered.
The shape he thought he saw grew closer. Carried by a vibration that shook the ground beneath him. "That doesn't sound good," Grayson's voice quivered as he began to see the moving shape that was growing closer to him.
"Let's see," he eyed the large corpse of the monster the Krivel hatchlings were feasting on. Grayson smiled faintly.
Let's see if these Krivel Hatchlings weren't the reason for the death of this creature, would a grown version of one be able to kill it? Probably not, but a group, a massive group?
The vibrations headed straight toward Grayson's current location.
And if they happened to leave their hatchlings behind to feast while they went out to hunt others, what would they think if they came back and saw a crazed man ripping open their dead offspring's bodies?
Grayson clearly didn't care to find out because his feet had long since started slamming against the ground in quick bursts.
"Of course, nothing could ever go my way! All I wanted to do was level up in peace!" He screamed at the top of his lungs not caring about what he might attract. It did not matter either way because his voice wouldn't make much of a difference when there was a giant hoard of chittering insects behind him.
What do I do? [Firefly]? No that wouldn't work. That's like trying to cook a piece of chicken with a laser pointer. Enough jokes, I think this might be where my luck runs out.
Grayson kicked his feet into high gear. His muscles ached as he pushed his body beyond what it was normally capable of achieving. If he stopped now, there was only one future he could imagine for himself.
Run. All he could think of was to run.