6 Armadillo

Hugh's body started to deflate as he started to lose steam. The bravado and confidence he had were replaced with a burning hunger that was comparable to an endless void. Hugh's body which was now skin and bones took everything in his vicinity and put it in his mouth. The bushes nearby, the soil, and some rocks on the ground. It wasn't enough as Hugh looked longingly at a tree and took a bite out of it.

++++++++++++++

DAILY MISSIONS:

Eat 10 types of wood (1/10)

Eat 10 types of metals (10/10)

Eat 30,000 kcal of protein/carbs/fat (0/30,000)

++++++++++++++

Hugh advanced through the progressively darkening forest with half-eaten trees and destroyed rocks laying in his wake. His previous skin and bones became fatter and fatter until he was back at his old obese self. He regained his sanity and looked around his vicinity.

He didn't know where he was because running away from the CDA was his top priority. He didn't care where he went because if he got caught, his Desire would be a subject of questioning.

Looking around the luscious forest that he was in, Hugh recognized the opportunity presented to him.

'Eat 10 types of wood (7/10)'

He only needed to eat 3 more types of wood and he'd be two-thirds of the way done on his daily missions. He knew what to do so he started walking around the forest to see if he had find trees that he hadn't eaten yet.

The forest was damp and the grass underneath his feet was filled with mildew. With every step, he could feel the wet and slimy grass sliding on his feet. He looked towards the variety of bark that he could chew on. He started at the tree on his immediate left. With one bite, he took off the bark and the wood itself.

The wood separated in his mouth like little straws and immediately dissolved in his mouth using his saliva. The bark acted as the chewy and enjoyable part of the wood.

He didn't get the notification that he ate a different type of wood but Hugh immediately got hooked on eating the bark. He stripped off the bark of the tree and put some in his pockets. This was gonna be his snack while he looked for other trees.

This trip became much more enjoyable as Hugh felt like he was on a stroll while crunching on the bark. He almost forgot that he was in a dangerous forest.

Hugh kept taking a bite out of every wood that he could see. He got a little bit carried away as he had been walking inside the forest for at least 50 minutes but he needed one more type of wood to complete one of his missions.

A loud growling sound that reverberated the ground broke Hugh out of his carefree demeanor. He reminded himself that he was in an unknown forest with multitudes of dangerous and ferocious monsters. He bent down low and looked around his surroundings.

Following his ears, his eyesight came to see an enormous gray ball filled with scales. The ball was almost as tall as he was and it was just laying on the grass, unmoving. Hugh became wary of the mysterious ball in the ground. His instincts told him this was a monster.

Hugh felt a chill in his spine and he felt nervous. This was the first time he had ever seen a monster up close and personal. Due to his nervousness, he subconsciously pulled out a bark from his pockets and took a bite out of it.

As soon as the loud crunching sound was made, Hugh realized what he had done and immediately threw the bark away in regret. He wasn't the only one who heard the sound. Hugh watched as the ball of scales suddenly unfurl itself to reveal a pointy snout and arms with four sharp claws ready to kill whatever woke it up.

This was a critical point. There were two choices Hugh could do. One was to flee without looking back. The other option was to fight and possibly gain the experience and treasure he could get from this monster. Not to mention those scales looked delicious.

Hugh would pick option number two. With his newfound strength, he wouldn't back off from a fight. He was pretty confident of his chances in fighting this armadillo armed with the knowledge drilled into him by his high school. A mutated armadillo was fast but not versatile. Hugh just needed to dodge the first attack by dodging left and the armadillo would be helpless. Dodging, of course, would be easier if he transformed.

'Transformation on cooldown

Estimated remaining time: 10 min.'

Welp now was the time to run. Hugh took a step back while keeping his eye on the armadillo who was currently not looking at him. As soon as he took a step back, he heard another loud crunch. He looked down and saw the bark that he threw away. Hugh's heart stopped. He slowly looked back at the armadillo and saw that it was looking directly at him.

'Fxxx'

Even without seeing the armadillo move, Hugh already dodged out of the way. He knew they were fast and he knew they were aggressive creatures. His wisdom came into play as he narrowly dodged the bulldozer from the armadillo. The trees were of no resistance as it plowed down everything in their path.

Trees fell and made way for the armadillo. Hugh just watched at the side, seeing the destruction and wondering what would have happened had he not dodged. If Hugh wanted to escape, then now was the time.

He bolted straight away opposite the direction the armadillo went. He didn't look back as he ran the best that he could, which was not fast at all considering his weight and his lack of muscles without his transformation. From the back of his head, he could hear the sounds of trees breaking and falling on the ground. He immediately dodged to the left and the armadillo barely missed killing Hugh.

Running away won't work. The only choice he had left to survive this was to fight.

'Transformation on cooldown

Estimated remaining time: 9 min.'

Hugh only had to survive for nine minutes and then he could kill the armadillo with his bare hands. He had to think clearly. How would he avoid the armadillo because his dodges were slowly getting late? Avoiding won't work, he had to think of another solution. How would he hide from the armadillo's attention?

Then everything clicked together in Hugh's mind. The loud crack of the bark wood that instigated everything was the solution. He had his hypothesis, now he had to try it out without dying.

Hugh stood still and paid attention to the armadillo. He reached into his pockets and took out a bark the size of his hands. He raised his hand and threw away the bark opposite his position relative to the armadillo.

A muffled sound of a crunchy bark wood reverberated in the forest. The armadillo immediately positioned itself in the direction of the sound and mowed its way there. Hugh's plan was successful. He only needed to survive these nine minutes before he could fight back.

'Transformation available.'

After nine minutes, a notification popped into his head. It was time. Hugh immediately started smoking as his fat disappeared and muscles started to form underneath his skin. His hair gradually became white and his sharp jaw became visible.

++++++++++++++

FAT RESERVES

________________________

|#####################|

________________________

Estimated time remaining: 1 min.

++++++++++++++

"Come here."

With his eyes underneath his hair, Hugh provoked the armadillo. The armadillo didn't seem to notice that Hugh had changed and just ran through the forest with Hugh as its destination.

Hugh knew he had power flowing through his body. He knew his limits and strengths as he held out his opened palm against the armadillo. He had every intention of stopping the bulldozer with just one hand.

The armadillo ran straight into Hugh's hands as the armadillo stopped in its tracks accompanied by a loud smack. Underneath Hugh's feet was soil that sank due to the force of the armadillo but Hugh's feet didn't move backward.

With one hand stopping the mutated armadillo, Hugh took his other hand and punched the armadillo in the shell directly. A loud cracking sound accompanied the fracturing of the armadillo's shell which made it scream in pain.

Hugh ignored the scream and continued to barrage the shell of the armadillo. He then lifted the armadillo and targeted its weak unprotected spots. Hugh just kept beating up the armadillo with his fists and face bloodied from the armadillo's injuries. It wasn't long until the armadillo died and Hugh's transformation came to a close.

With his transformation done, Hugh once again felt insatiable hunger. He set his sights on the fallen armadillo and started munching on the carcass. He first started on the meat of the armadillo which was unprotected by the shell. He devoured the meat, letting it pass through his stomach without chewing. The next meal was the scales which were soaked in blood. This time, he crunched the scales first before he swallowed them. He didn't let go of the bones as well as he broke them off into pieces and he slurped the marrow underneath it. He crunched the bones and soaked them in blood as he put it in his mouth with blood spilling in his shirt.

The only thing left of the armadillo was the blood on the ground that was absorbed by the soil.

++++++++++++++

DAILY MISSIONS:

Eat 10 types of wood (9/10)

Eat 10 types of metals (10/10)

Eat 30,000 kcal of protein/carbs/fat (30,000/30,000)

++++++++++++++