Underhanded trickery

[You have killed an Awakened Rank 2 Lv 16 Undead Lich]

Yellow light shone as the monotone voice of the system informed him of his victory.

[162 exp gained]

[Higher soul of night ×1 acquired]

[You have obtained Skill tablet(Bone manipulation[EX])]

'Tsk, what is my luck?'

'I didn't get any of the two skills I wanted but I guess it's better than nothing.

But damn. The exp points gained is pathetic too.

It had a pretty low level for its strength. Monsters were probably scarce around here or maybe the monsters instinctually avoided it.

It seems to have taken control of all the undead monsters around here to save mana, presumably for a big project.

Speaking of the big project.' Aster glanced back and saw nothing but scorched ground behind him.

'That werewolf was probably the big project. Or maybe it was planning to revive something even more terrifying?

Anyway, thank god the werewolf skeleton had fractured and weakened bones. Otherwise, it would have been a lot harder to win.

Speaking of weakened bones, are they supposed to just disintegrate once their master is dead?

Aster sighed once again.

He looked at his fist, the one he used to cut his leg to save his life.

'I did it. I managed to weaponize my aura! Didn't think I would use it in a situation like this but the danger of death is the best teacher I guess.'

He controlled a bit of his aura and infused his fist with it. Then he expelled the aura gathered in his fist outwards and made something like an aura glove.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't give the aura physical property.

'I guess doing it on command is still beyond me at this moment. Well, I can always practice once I get out.'

Aster grabbed his torn leg and carefully positioned it on the part of his knee where it used to be.

'Let's hope that [Regeneration[Master]] can reattach lost limbs.'

He activated the second function of the skill and waited for his leg to heal.

HISS

Smoke hissed from the wound as the cells started working overtime to heal the damage at the cost of increased resources.

The tendons started to connect, the bones clicked together and blood vessels started to form.

However, right then Aster noticed a crucial flaw in his skill. Smoke hissed out of his body from everywhere! Which meant the skill was not particularly focusing on a specific injury but his whole body as a whole.

It spent unnecessary resources to heal shallow cuts that would have healed by itself in a couple of hours.

His energy was going down the drain really fast and he was nowhere near completely reattaching his leg.

Fatigue overcame him and he struggled to keep holding his leg in place.

It wasn't long before this dreaded message popped up.

[Energy has been exhausted]

[[Regeneration[Master] has been deactivated]

Breathing itself became very hard for him as his entire body felt like being crushed by a mountain. Thankfully, his squeezed airways were somewhat treated by the skill so he could have some oxygen but not nearly enough.

His thoughts became fuzzy as his brain lacked oxygen. 

Even then, he searched for a way to survive.

Using his aura, he amplified what little strength he had in his remaining limbs to crawl to the lich's corpse.

His speed was akin to that of a snail but thankfully, the distance wasn't long and he reached the body.

Aster reached out with his hand and felt the empty cavity of the lich's rib cage for something. 

There was nothing in the first half of the body so he crawled to the other half.

He found three different objects within the cavity inside it and he grasped a hold on the one with a smooth surface.

He gripped it hard, as hard as he could, and concentrated.

His mind was foggy but he managed to complete the procedure.

The violet monster core was absorbed and newfound energy traversed to his soul.

A blue holographic screen appeared, notifying him of his action.

[+17 Endurance]

[+9 Mana]

[+1 Intelligence]

Warmth permeated throughout his body and his energy-starved cells drank it all up without delay.

His vision cleared up and the weight on his body receded significantly.

'That was a close one.

I'm stupid, imagine dying because I overused a skill badly.

Now that's over now, what do I do about my energy?'

His eyes scanned the landscape filled with remains of the deceased for any solution and his gaze ended up at his severed leg.

It ended up being torn again while he was crawling.

'...'

'......'

'Eating is necessary to replenish energy right?

So I just need… a good meal.'

He hastily crawled back to his leg and stared at it seriously.

'There is literally nothing edible around here. I could go hunting for a monster but can I find one, kill it, and make it edible before I collapse again?

'Or I can just eat this.'

'I remember hearing about certain species of spiders that spin their webs in the morning and eat the silk to replenish protein in the night so they can spin it again the next day.

So….. I should be able to do something similar, I think?'

A memory hidden deep inside his mind surged. A memory so vile that he unconsciously banished it to the deepest parts of his mind before even considering erasing it.

The life of a cannibal that he killed surged.

'The taste… shouldn't be that bad.'

He ripped the torn cloth off it and stared at it before biting the calf.

Electric shock hit him as a terrible taste instantly tainted his mouth and he threw up.

'What the fuck am I doing, seriously what the fuck?'

'I get that I am hungry, starving even but seriously??? Did I get another brain injury just now or something?'

He used the skill tablet he just gained to learn the skill written on it.

[The skill [Bone manipulation[EX]] has been acquired]

Aster immediately created a prosthetic leg using the bones surrounding him. The wound wasn't completely closed yet but the [Bleed immunity] did its job.

He used the skill again to make something like a container resembling a backpack and put his leg and the mana crystals from the lich into it.

'I can use the leg and the magic crystals to lure out monsters and kill them. As long as I can keep my aura and mana hidden, I won't scare them off like the lich did.

The leg gave off a sharp smell as blood dripped from it. The bleed immunity skill did not affect torn body parts.

'And I'm pretty sure the leg will mask my scent so it's all ok.

I don't have to resort to something like self-cannibalism to survive.

…

Hopefully.'

***

"Whew, barely made it in time. That undead werewolf was one thing but I can't believe he was about to eat his own leg!

Should we go in now?" A voice was heard inside a boundless white chamber.

"Not yet, the more desperate he is, the better for us."

"But sis, doesn't this feel wrong? I mean we are not supposed to do this! This kind of underhanded trickery is only reserved for humans and demons!"

"As I said, not yet. He has to get out of the territory first or at least get to the edge of it for us to intervene. It's not like we can just go charge straight in anyway."

Muffled whispers were heard in the sky above.

Aster remained unaware that he was being watched.