Once Again, Trying To Actually Improve

"Alright, and if that were true, that you were- are a "me" that just got made from this "curse", that doesn't explain what you look like, what we look like."

'Oh but you already have the formulated possibilities do you not? You and I both know well that's it's simply us taking a form much better known from pop culture. A form borne from Hollywood, that somewhat bastardly place.

We read that they weren't some impossibly odd manner of creature, and that they were actually just some very very sharp looking individuals, well, sharp in the sense that they'll gut you and murder you almost immediately.

And the best part is the strengths. Manpork my friend, we crave it, but, we can staunch our needs for a good while. But considering our, ehem, "skills", would it not be remiss for us to not take advantage of what we are?'

The moments that I took to try and piece everything together weren't long, well, long to me, but when it did click I was still sceptical at best.

"Yes, technically speaking, we can consume our own flesh for strength. But this isn't some form of stupid additive formula for us to be infinitely powerful. There will be a great degree of issue that arises from us eating our own flesh, OUR OWN FLESH.

This is not some childish story where you can just consume things willy billy and anticipate all of the most downright idiotic benefits and absolutely little to no negative effects."

My words seemed to have made the wendigo angry, as it took upon a somewhat more uncanny valley form than what I would have liked.

It was a lankier, taller and strangely enough pastier-skinned version of me with stains of blood and yellowed beastly teeth adorned a sickeningly wide smile.

"I think I prefer the Hollywood version, this one's a bit more, well, eurgh."

'Oh please, control yourself. We may be ravishing, but we aren't that daft. And as for my rebuttal to what you have stated, yes, this is no simple Japanese-styled "manga" where a boy gets beaten up by his classmates and then disregarded for his weakness and then consumes everything that looks relatively digestible for no good reason, and subsequently gaining a bloody gaggle of women who throw themselves at the boy's feet.

No, absolutely not. I assure us, we are not living that situation. Perhaps the instance may occur, but fate is never set in stone my alter ego. And yes, I know of the issues that COULD arise if we eat human meat, but have you considered that we are still technically the same species as we once were?'

"I-I'm sorry, are you insinuating that we completely utterly changed our bloody species, our chromosome count, the way our cells work? The intricate mechanisms of the human body completely thrown out of the window in exchange for pseduo-canninalism?

That's just ludicrous, you can lie to me, but at least make it somewhat believable."

My doubts were obvious enough, it couldn't be the case. If it was, then it wouldn't be cannibalism anymore, since that would mean that we were a completely different sapient species that predated on another sapient species. If that's the case, it wouldn't be cannibalism, it would be xenophagia.

'Ah yes, that. Well, would you believe me if we chalked it all up to the "it's magic" argument?'

"Oh you little-"

'I jest hahahaha, I jest with you, my alter ego. But it's not completely thrown out. Yes, we are a different species, and yes, we gain a larger degree of strength from us consuming the flesh of other sapient races, it's not impossible, if it was, well, I wouldn't even have a proper argument.'

"None of this argument that we even began with was a proper one to begin with! You're essentially pulling things out of our arse. I won't stand for such a droll reasoning, it's beneath us and you know it."

'Bah, of course you'd say that. Fine, there is something that is very much denied to us when we first arrived to this world. Something intricately woven to ensure the balance of this world. A world, that has had the bright and truly wondrous idea to allow the denizens of it to, and I assure you it's hilarious if it wasn't denied to us, "level up".'

".....Oh you have to shitting my knees."

It can't be, no, no, this wasn't part of the contract. 'This world is governed by a system. Yes, and we are an alien presence that did not have it opened up to us. And you my dear dear alter ego have just decided to be an unstable variable to it.'

Nope nope nope nope nope. Absolutely not.

"Please, please just tell you're lying to me. If that's the case then WE ARE FUCKED. It doesn't matter how hard we struggle then, we'll be broken asunder and gored by Japanese children, and if it's not the Japanese, it's probably going to be the Americans, or the Chinese, or maybe, THE ENTIRETY OF ANYONE WHO HAS READ ONE OF THOSE FORMS OF LITERATURE! We. are. fucked."

'PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN! We are a soft system type, within this hard system of a world. They need to cast and grind, we simply need to explore or invent. We have some degree of knowledge compared to a bunch of adolescents within the grasps of a nigh-deific entity, hell, it could even be truly deific, considering the fact that it was more than capable of throwing as many curveballs as it possibly could, and yet we stand.'

"Because we can die once a day. I am more than certain that if the trope is what governs this world, they'll immediately find a method to be able to get rid of us. Just look at what the writers can make up with some degree of creativity and knowledge.

We only read a couple of books in prison, some books, sir completely worthless books filled to the brim with trivia for no good reason aside from suspending the monster that is boredom."

'Yes yes, and that's what I'm here for. I have more than enough access to whatever little memories you cared to keep locked inside of your devilishly delicious looking brain. And don't you worry, I can't eat you, well, until any possible odd circumstances may occur.'

"....That, does not instill me with confidence."

'It wasn't supposed to.'

"....Touche."

Well then, I suppose that this was a new chapter within my existence on this new rock. I would say that it's gonna get better, but since I seem to still be an old man with some minor back pains that flare up here and there, which subsequently fade away as quickly as they come in, well, let's just keep that under a different ledger for now.

In any occasion, that was just new shit to deal with, and a surefire way of me wanting more answers, but this is tiring to a very grand degree, and I was feeling hungry. There was still more "me jerky" that we dried out a while ago, and I severely doubt that the children are going to completely decimate our stocks.

So I returned back into our clearing, just as midday was past us. The two of them were still looking at me in the tree, noticing that I was a tad different from before. It was a minor age reversal, however less white hair is always less white hair, so no concrete complaints from me.

"Eat." The moment I said those words the little rascals came down from the tree with my haversack being carried by the both of them. They looked at me with curiosity as I could almost smell the dessicated man flesh contained within the flimsy cloth bag.

I couldn't help myself as I took a rather sizable strip and bit into it with such gusto that it seemed like it was the most juicy piece of fine steak that I have ever tasted. But when I was chewing and looking at the strip itself, I was shocked to see it's state. It was cut clean through, so clean that I thought it was a cut made by a monomolecular blade.

And yet there it was, in my hand, with a precision shape simar to my canines. And when I looked up, the two of them had wide eyes looking at me. I, I am going to assume that something is absolutely different about my teeth.

To properly test it, I swallowed the blessed dried flesh and ran my right index on the crowns of my teeth. And it hurt, so much that I actually nicked my finger. Well, I suppose that a wendigo does need some very very well sharpened teeth to tear through bone of all things.

The tree on the other hand was, well, to put it simply, a tad distressed(?) at what I did to myself, and decided that I would actually be a grand threat to the children. And please forgive me, because are assumptions, since it was trying to spear me bottom up with it's roots as well.

Something in me changed however when I viewed the runes, they hurt to look at, giving me a headache even greater than the one that I would normally feel. Well, elves, nature and a creature that's supposed to symbolize human greed and "cannibalism".

Yeah, therefore Mother Nature must really really hate me. Mhm, that's what I thought was going on, seeing as the runes on the skeleton tree weren't exactly the type to trust in this scenario.

And boy oh boy did they try their damnedest to make me suffer in ways that I even find odd. It was, well, like a bullet hell game back in the 2000's. God I missed the days that I was dumber. And to think I wasted most of my life in a fucking heist.

But in the end, the tree slowly but surely stopped trying to actively work against me. Instead, it was now seemingly out to inconvenience me at any given moment. Tripping me, growing little sprouts that would occasionally also trip me over and make me fall again.

And need I say how many injuries I sustained? Because I really don't want to. I just killed myself and got a fresh body for us to butcher. Yes, it took me hours to make sure that the tree didn't kill me via impalement, and yes, it hurt me to such a degree that I had to abandon my older body and make a fresh one.

Yeah, killed myself again, and I don't intend to cry just yet, too much shit to try and clear up with the kids. When that occurred I think you can understand that they're still children that just learned a completely different lexicon to us, and that they really don't have that great of an understanding of how it works just yet, despite me saying that they were really really good at learning.

"Man, eat more." the quieter one said as I nodded and grabbed another stick of the meat while they munched on the crackers that I had there. They were absolutely allowed to eat more of the me jerky, but they just didn't, since they saw how much I ate.

"I will eat more, you two eat as well." were the exact words I said as I handed them some of the other cuts that were lightly wet still. Wait, wet isn't the right word here, it's more of a "moist" if anything.

The boisterous one just came up, grabbed the cut out of my hand and started eating as loudly as they could for the sake of it, whatever their reason could be, and then gulped their bite down before staring me in the eyes for about three seconds before handing it over to their sibling gently.

"Good. Get more meat from body."

When I finished another cut I pointed over to the fresh carcass that was me, and they got to work with another knife. The tree still glowed lightly in my presence, and I really do not intend to watch myself getting skewered and "sucked" by a tree for all my nutrients.

As far as I'm concerned, dryads don't exist, yet. But in any situation, there were more than enough times for me to try and formulate a good plan to work with. But those required me to have an actual dungeon to work with in the first place. Bah, whatever comes will come.

But I really should have properly asked better questions. Welp, I never was stellar when it comes to foresight, and my hindsight could also be called the same. 'Good, manpork, even if it was our own, it's still very good. No fat from the leaner cuts, delectable.'

'Can you please stop sounding like you're on the verge of an orgasm from consuming our own flesh? This is making it even harder to do with a straight face.'

'Hah! Oh you little tease, I just enjoy the finer things in life, nothing more, nothing less.'

'...Oh my fucking, please shut the fuck up and I'll make sure you can enjoy our flesh already! Is that so bloody hard on your end?!'

'Hmm, ah, very well, an accord it is.'

'I swear, you and your references.'

'You mean our references, hmmm?'