Two Percent

Tamara was preparing winter vegetables in the kitchen while her dad was frying up some rat-tail steaks, gradually shortening the long rat tail.

‘Ew, how could people even eat that? It’s disgusting!’ She thought as she prepared her smile before going out to the customers.

***

As Jay was about to go down the stairs, a young man with glasses and a top-knot ran past.

“Excuse me sir” he said as he continued down the stairs, this time with an empty pitcher.

Jay didn’t mind him as he followed him down the stairs, walking down the hallway and proceeding to the bar.

“Here you are,” Tamara said with a smile, placing a plate with steaming food in front of Jay, smiling as she left him to enjoy his meal - she served the top-knot guy, who seemed to look both fearful and annoyed that he had to wait because of Jay’s meal taking priority. After receiving another pitcher of beer, he scampered off into the hallway and up the stairs.

Jay had no hesitation as he scoffed down the tender rat-tail steak, surprised at how juicy the meat was as it melted in his mouth, he almost regretted selling it.

How is this so delicious? Is it because it’s a monster drop, maybe? Ah, adventuring is so awesome - I definitely can’t go back to butchering. He encouraged himself while he chewed. Yes, I’m an adventurer now, I won’t go back.

Finishing the last of his meal with a beer, he strolled back upstairs and got into bed, a dozy smile of contentedness on his face. Thankfully, the gentleman upstairs was quiet now, so he quickly fell asleep.

***

On a frosty morning in a winter forest, a lone hunter exhales quietly as his breath forms a small mist. He quietly pulls back a bush,

… last four hours at most, he thought, checking animal tracks again. He knew he was close to his prey - a glade deer.

They prize these animals for their meat, however their eyes can see body heat through the thick vegetation. Only in winter can someone hope to catch these deer, with the hunter’s body heat masked by the cold environment.

Slowly creeping around a tree, the hunter stopped in place and held his breath at the scene before him.

... ungodly,

The remaining corpse of a glade deer painted the gray winter forest red, its innards pulled out across a rock; Its head - nowhere to be found. Some parts of its fleshy hide hung on nearby trees after being brutally ripped out.

“Whatever killed it did so with no mercy at all... what the fuck happened here...” he whispered to himself.

The hunter didn’t even move a muscle, hoping that whatever did this was not close by. He listened and looked around, the only sound coming from small gusts of wind blowing through the trees.

Readying his bow as he tried not to vomit, he had only one thought: ‘I have to live, I have to get back to the village and report this...’

***

Sunlight gleamed through the round rose-glass window, a shaft of warm light was slowly creeping towards Jay’s eyes - as time went by it hit his eyes, forcing him awake.

A notification appeared as he woke up

[38 Exp]

Smiling at the notification, Jay wondered what kinds of animals the Don’s were out killing all night as he hopped out of bed and pulled out his knapsack from underneath, checking that everything was still there - but this time he noticed something strange.

His book’s cover had changed slightly. The circle on the front appeared to be slightly more broken, with more cracks spreading through it. Curiously, he analyzed it.

[Woes of the comfortable]

What the? It changed its name? Jay quickly flipped open the book. The first page was still the same - talking about ‘escaping the circles’ which he was now understanding, so he checked the next page.

There’s new writing now? I wonder what happened… Jay thought for a moment but wasn’t sure what triggered the next page to reveal itself, so he sat down on his bed as he read the next page.

After reading the next page, Jay received a notification

[Immortality Research 2%]

Nice, but do I actually want to become immortal?

I suppose this book is like a warning as well as a training guide, he shrugged. Hmm, I’ll give it more thought later when I get closer to completing the book. I’m getting too far ahead of myself.

Shaking his head, he realized the last time he read this book was after he leveled up - but at that time, another exploding corpse distracted him; he had another skill point waiting, plus five attribute points.

“Oh, yeah.” he nodded, putting away his book.

Jay knew would pretend to be a swordsman again today, so he wanted to put his points into strength - but that wouldn’t help him as a necromancer, so he opted to put them all into vitality, which worked well for both classes.

Of course, he put another skill point into his [Raise Feeble Creature] skill - this time, another notification followed.

[Undead Mastery Skill Unlocked]

[Your undead can level up to a max level of (2). Level up is permanent]

Somehow, Jay felt like he had a better understanding of bone structure after this, it was as if he just understood something previously intangible - why bone was dense in some parts and more honey-combed in others.

He checked his stats before getting up from his bed.

< [Necromancer level 5] >

HP: 70/70

MP: 53/53

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 25

Vitality: 25

Energy: 35/35

Exp: 63/1500

<--[Skills]-->

[Raise Feeble Creature level 3] - 2/3 Raised

[Shell Restoration Level 1]

[Undead Mastery Level 1] (Passive)

[Stress Response] (Passive)

[Running level 1] (Passive)

[Dagger Proficiency level 1] (Passive)

[Poison Resist 10%] (Passive - equipment)

[Necrotic Ring Function 2] (Passive)

<-- [Research] -->

[Chimera Research 2%]

[Immortal Research 2%]

“Hmm, I’m pretty tank now. Maybe they will try to give me a shield and make myself a tank,” chuckled Jay, talking to himself as he sat on the bed and looked at his hands. They seemed to get thicker and more masculine.

Well, time to head back to the adventurer guild, they won’t wait for anyone.

As Jay left the inn, he noticed Tamara cleaning the counter, while Devin was nowhere to be seen - probably still asleep.

Jay took one last stealthy peek at her voluptuous figure before he exited. After all, this inn wasn’t popular just because it was the only one in the village…

As Jay went outside, he noticed the top-knot guy loading up wooden crates full of merchandise into the merchant’s cart. Seeing him struggle, Jay paused for a moment, watching.

Any second now...

It wasn’t long before the malnourished-looking man dropped a crate on its side, and several fancy-looking weapons fell out - daggers, throwing knives, short swords and what looked like fish hooks. The thing that struck Jay the most were the color of the blades, some were blue, green, cyan - while others seemed to have an ever-changing pattern on the blades.

“Wow, are those magical weapons?” Asked Jay, attempting to act casual and hide his excitement.

“Y-yeah…” Hess whispered, as he looked around, hoping Bertram wouldn’t notice while he put the weapons back into the crate.

‘Top-knot guy isn’t very talkative, I’m probably annoying him.. guess I’ll go..’.

Looking at the cart as he left, Jay realized this belonged to the same merchant he saw yesterday - the one yelling at a stable boy.

Huh, I wonder why he’s hiding those magical weapons, they’re way better than the ones he has on display now… hmm… maybe they’re only for the rich? Oh well, its not like I even need weapons, thought Jay as he smiled and jogged towards the adventurer guild on this crisp winter morning.