I don't know what I expected when I tasted the wendigos flesh, but I didn't expect it to be delicious, like fresh veal cooked and seasoned to perfection. maybe it tasted so good because it almost killed me? I don’t know but after I devoured all of the flesh and materials too damaged to use in crafting. A notification alerted me that my strength had increased by 10 bringing it up to 25. However, I unfortunately did not gain a skill though I did expect that I wouldn’t consider it was a 2 percent chance. What did surprise me though was the next notification that I got
System Alert!
The user has devoured a lesser demon of gluttony the skill “Hunger” will level up by one
‘Now that’s interesting’ I thought to myself.
I pushed that thought out of my mind however, as I was unlikely to encounter any more gluttony demons. So instead of thinking about that I prepped all of the materials for crafting, I tanned the hide, and shaped the bones. I took out my barbarian spear and slowly started to replace the materials in it, the handle was replaced with a shaped femur and the blade was replaced with a serrated blade made of the windigos claws, I made a basic cloak and some gloves from the windigos hide, and after cleaning and sanitizing the skull I fashioned it into a helmet, Finally Using the rest of the materials I fashioned a crude bow with a dozen arrows.
System Alert!
The following legend and heroic item(s) have been crafted:
Wendigos claw (Legend grade)
Attack: 35
Speed: 45
Special effect(s):
Decaying strike: when an opponent is struck with this weapon a stack of decay will be applied to them for a maximum of 5 stacks, lasting for five seconds however the time will reset on each successful strike. Each stack causes -15% regen, -10% speed, and -5% armor
Piercing: hits ignore 25% armor
Bleeding: each strike has a 30% chance to cause the bleed effect
Causes the holder to suffer from the decay status when held
Winters hunger (Heroic grade)
Physical armor: 50
Magic resistance: 75
Special effect(s):
Winter's wrath: ice magic cost 25% less mana and does 30% more damage
Hunters mark: you are able to mark you prey and can sense their general location so long as they are within a mile of you
Night sight: you are able to see perfectly in complete darkness
Winters bane: you take 40% more damage from fire (does not stack)
Cloak of Frost (Heroic grade)
Physical armor: 20
Magic resistance: 40
Special effect(s):
Predator's grace: your movements are nigh-silent
Winter's embrace: you are immune to the freezing status effect
Winters bane: you take 40% more damage from fire (does not stack)
Winters hand (heroic grade)
Grave’s touch: you are immune to the decay status effect
Cold blooded: you cannot be seen with heat based detection
Winters bane: you take 40% more damage from fire (does not stack)
Wendigos howl (heroic grade)
Icicle shot: every shot will apply one stack of the freeze effect for a maximum of 5 stacks, lasting 45 seconds, each new stack resets the time: freezing deals 1 health of damage per second
Heavy hitter: weapon does 25% more damage to armored targets
Freezing touch: the user suffers from the freezing status effect
Frost shot(s) x12 (heroic grade)
Damage: 50
Special effects:
Durable: Arrows are 50% less likely to break when being fired and hitting a target
Cold shot: applies one stack of the freezing effect for a maximum of 5 stacks, lasting 45 seconds, each new stack resets the time: freezing deals 1 health of damage per second
Icy aura: damages any non ice based weapon it is fired from
My eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of their stats, quickly putting them on I felt an immediate change. My footsteps were lighter, and my arms felt stronger. I could see everything as well, as the once lengthy and dark shadows of the forest all but disappeared. I was slowly getting my bearings again when another notification popped up, this one notifying me that I unlocked the set bonus predator which allowed me to eat raw meat with no drawbacks.
It was off putting to say the least, but considering I did eat the wendigos flesh I wasn't completely put off by the idea of eating raw meat. I slowly gathered everything I needed and went hunting.
~~~~~~~~~~Sometime later~~~~~~~~~~
It was terrifyingly easy to hunt normal animals, deer, rabbits, raccoons all of them died easily and all of my previous apprehension toward killing them quickly disappeared as a strange bloodlust overtook me as I continued to devour their corpses for the small chance to get a stat or even a skill. I don't know when I came to but when I did I was surrounded by the gore of various animals mauled and mutilated beyond recognition, blood covered my form.
“What happened?” I asked aloud in confusion.
I sat there horrified for a good while, until I noticed the notifications on the interface.
System alert!
The user has succumbed to the influence of the windigo armor!
The user will lose all higher thought and go on a rampage for x days!
Rewards for killing any bosses during rampage will be withheld
Gluttony related skills will have double the chance of triggering their effects
System alert!
The user has been on a rampage for 5 days,
the user has begun to meld with the wendigos spirit the following shall take effect:
All stats and effects of windigo related items shall increase by 50% from base stats
The level of the skill “hunger has increased by 2
System alert!
The user has been on a rampage for 10 days,
the user has further melded with the wendigos spirit the following shall take effect:
All stats and effects of windigo related items shall increase by 50% from base stats
The level of the skill “hunger has increased by 2
System alert!
The user has killed the E rank boss “Lesser Troll King”
The reward(s) Book of helms and hearts, Lesser Troll Kings tunic, and 8000 karma shall be gifted at the end of the rampage
System alert!
The user has devoured the The lesser troll king
The user has gained 5 wisdom
The user has gained the level 2 skill “rapid regeneration”
The user has devoured a gluttonous creature the level of the skill “hunger” shall increase by 1
System alert!
The user has broken free of the wendigos influence after 15 days, further melding shall halt
I started panicking the more I read through the notifications. How the hell did I go on a rampage, and what the hell does melding mean? I quickly started to look over my body for any changes, my skin on my arms had become stone gray only stopping a little bit after my shoulder blades. My body had also noticeably thinned, and when I tried to take off my gloves it felt like I was trying to tear off my skin. I calmed down slightly when my cloak and helmet came off easily.
I sat down and started to take some more deep breaths, after a while I reopened the interface and navigated over to stats.
Stat panel
Name: Alexander H. Kane
Species: Human wendigo hybrid (Majority human)
Class: N/A
Subclass: N/A
HP: 220
Mana 420
Str 25 (+)
Dex 18 (+)
Con 22 (+)
Int 42 (+)
Wis 25 (+)
Cha 20 (+)
Lck 40 (+)
Active Skill(s):
Limit Break lvl 1 (+)
You have overcome the limits of your frail body and can do so again, temporarily.
Effect: all stats are quadrupled for 30 seconds
Cooldown: (2 days)
Astral form lvl 1
The monks of old believed that one could untether their soul from their body and achieve enlightenment, they were right to an extent
Effect: Through meditation you are able to temporarily exit you physical body, during this time your body become vulnerable, and you risk attracting unwanted entities however, you also increase your chances of reaching enlightenment
Fire magic lvl 2
Fire is both a giver of life as well as the taker of it use it wisely lest you burn yourself
You are able to use novice fire magic
Water magic lvl 2
Water is the lifeblood of all things without it nothing exists
You are able to use novice water magic
Bifrost magic lvl 1
The power of bifrost is said to bring eternal winter
You are able to use novice bifrost magic
Earth magic lvl 2
Tough as steel, but malleable like gold
You are able to use novice earth magic
Wind magic lvl 2
Strike as swift as the wind, and as heavily as a hurricane
You are able to use novice wind magic
Passive skill(s):
Hunger lvl 7
Feeling peckish?
When eating a creature that you have killed you have a 22% chance of gaining an increase in a random stat proportionate to 20% of the stat they had rounded down (minimum of 1) and a 8% chance of gaining a random skill they had, the skills level proportionate to 10% of the skills level rounded down (minimum of 2)
Last Stand lvl 1
You are the first to stand and the last to fall, as you weather adversity.
Effect: When you are below 50% health your armor is increased by 50% when below 15% health your armor is increased by 100%
Advanced encryption lvl 1
Ignorance is bliss, or in this case sorrow
Effect: You are able to encrypt documents you write with an advanced cipher.
(Encrypting 1 sentence takes 1 minute the higher the skills level the faster it is, familiarity with the chosen cipher also affects speed of encryption)
Advanced decryption lvl 1
Knowledge is power
Effect: You are able to decrypt advanced ciphers
(decrypting 1 sentence takes 1 minute, the high the skills level the less time it will take, familiarity with the cipher you are trying to crack also affect how long it takes)
Language comprehension lvl max
Effective communication is the foundation of trust
You are able to quickly learn, understand, and speak any language after studying or listening to it for a little while
Spearmanship lvl 2
Primitive pointy technology
Effect: 12% damage increase when using a spear
Craftsmanship lvl 9
From the dawn of time humanity has always strived to improve.
Effects: You are able to make moderately complex tools, weapons, and armors
Innate Skill(s)
Knowledge of the Ages lvl max
Creation lvl max
Innate combat potential lvl max
I stared at my various skills and decided to dumb the rest of my karma points into intelligence, increasing it to over 50, hopefully that would help me against that hidden check. There were no more notifications after that so I closed the interface and gingerly put my armor back on. As soon as I did I was bombarded by a splitting headache however it passed just as suddenly as it came. I then quickly made my way outside the forest, the interface said that I had about 6 days left and I planned to make the most of it.
I traversed throughout the various terrains of the tutorial area, encountering many beasts of varying strengths, I devoured each and every one I encountered earning me a plethora of stats, and even a couple of skills here and there. My first stop was the mountain where I encountered the Yeti with its great strength and resistance to ice damage, I had a difficult time restricting it, however with time and patience I was able to fell the beast and devour its flesh, unfortunately i did not gain any stats or skills though its loot was more than worth it.
Afterwards I made my way to the peak of the mountain where I encountered a dragon boss. This fight was so much more difficult than the Yeti solely because it could fly, using the spell create/destroy water I destroyed the blood within the dragon's head instantaneously killing it, I don’t know why I didn't just use that spell for the yeti or even the wendigo, but I digress. I found out when I killed it, I found out that it wasn't a dragon, just a Wyrm. And after devouring it I gained 20 Dex and the skill fire resistance at level 2 so that was nice.
Finally, there was the ocean boss, and I’ll tell you now that it was a walk in the park just freezing the water in it a boom! I did have to drag it out of the water to eat it but that was more tedious than hard, and once again I didn't gain neither stats or skills, but I did get an achievement so that's something.
System Alert!
The user has achieved the impossible!
The user has defeated all of the bosses of the tutorial area! A total of 100000 karma will be rewarded!
(Adjusted due to current buffs)
The user has single handedly defeated five bosses of a higher grade than them the achievement “The bigger they are” and the unique class “Monster Hunter” has been unlocked
Achievement(s)
The Bigger They Are
Grants one hero grade innate skill slot and unlocks the ability to purchase the lion heart innate skill
“Amazing,” I whispered to myself, I thought that you couldn't get anymore innate talent slots, opening the store I went to the innate skills tab and looked up Lion heart
Lion heart
The bigger they are the easier they are to strike
That was all that the description gave, my thoughts wondered what it specifically did though from the description it probably made taking down stronger monsters easierIt was 20000 karma though I could easily buy it, it was still a big investment. But after some more thought about it I decided to make the investment.
Lionheart lvl 3
I grinned from ear to ear at the sight of lionhearts effects, it was a huge boon and will definitely help at later levels so all in all I was happy with it. Closing the store interface I checked the time on the quest.
System Message: The quest “Prove Thyself” has been activated.
Quest Objective(s):
Completion reward: end of the tutorial
Failure penalty: Death
Bonus Mission (completed): Kill the field boss(s)
Bonus reward(s): ???
As the final hours went by, I gathered my items, and prepared myself for what is to come.
Later on, I would realize that this was a turning point for everyone.
For better or for worse I've yet to know.