Busy Busy Busy

Charlie had spent the next two days preparing for the mushroom coves inevitable time to feed. He wasn't certain how the cove fed in the first place, but that the bone gravel that littered the floor was no coincidence.

Charlie had taken part in many perilous battles in the past two days, coming across more of the local creatures and had become efficient in dealing with threats. There was also time to come up with some nicknames for the creatures that stood out.

First and foremost, the knife-clawed predator that had nearly killed Charlie, twice, couldn't have a weak sounding name. Unlike the Sklite, they were powerful, domineering and were the single most powerful creature. They were clever, stealthy and a powerhouse all by their lonesome, whereas the Sklite were weak and pathetic by themselves. Though, the Sklites true power lay in numbers, and were not to be underestimated.

Razorclaw.

Their claws were sharper than any machete Charlie had wielded in the past, and no less dangerous than a razor pressed against his neck. A fitting name for a beast that had nearly cut Charlie in two.

There were others of course, though they didn't pose as much of an issue as the Razorclaw, they were a problem in their own rights.

The leathery birds that tormented and struck fear into Charlies very being at the beginning of his journey were the next to be named. Their silent control of the skies, deadly talons and unique way of fighting earned them the nickname Skullker.

They rarely attacked, instead skulking atop tall perches and observing the fights below, only swooping in for easy leftovers. Yet, when forced to fight, they quickly proved why they are kings of the sky.

Skullkers use their aerial advantage and slowly chip away whatever creature that tried to get in their way. A common tactic they employed was dive-bombing their target from multiple angles as nothing more than a distraction, the real threat come from the artificial blindspot they created. Another Skullker would then land on the creatures back and use their sharp talons to pierce their spine. Or, more commonly, their skulls would be shattered between those powerful talons.

The final creatures Charlie that named were the gelatinous herd he had encountered, the Cleaners. Having employed many of the same paths that the Sklite used, Charlie could easily ascertain their presence. They would rarely interact with any living creature of their own volition, instead acting like some sort of cleaning service. The Cleaners would mysteriously appear near a large collection of corpses; disintegrating everything in their path and leaving behind nothing but a polished stone floor.

Of course, the Skullkers, and some of the other scavenger type creatures, would have an issue with that, resulting in frequent fights that wouldn't end in their favour. The Cleaners had yet to fall. Their unique bodies allowed them to shrug off regular attacks, and to the misfortune of most, instead absorb the attackers live body - melting them down to nothing.

Charlies study into controlling the Sklite more effectively was simply one of the many things he had done over the past two days. It was increasingly difficult, as any sighting required Charlie to retreat as quickly as possible, to learn a great deal and employ that knowledge against them. If Charlie would have been too slow even once, the Sklite would have gathered as a swarm.

Charlie had come across a lone Sklite, and, at the time, everything seemed perfect. The Sklite wasn't yet aware of Charlies presence. They were both too high up atop the coves for any ground bound creature to interfere, nor could Charlie sense any nearby creatures.

Everything went well, until it didn't. Charlie had successfully killed the Sklite and its dead corpse hung off of his serrated fang-like teeth. As he was about to swallow the Sklite whole, two new scents wafted over the gentle breeze - stopping him dead in his tracks.

They had discovered Charlie when two Sklite had approached from opposite ends, their curiosity had only lasted for but a moment. Their frenzy was immediate, as if something uncorked their feral nature in that split second. One charged at Charlie and attempted to attack him, but a lightning fast [Hollow Fang] had struck out and caught the Sklite mid air.

It was a temporary victory. The scent of the Sklite, powerful but distant, washed over Charlie. There were many coming, the scent was not strong enough to be the swarm, but it was enough to force Charlie into retreat.

The Sklite were feral. They had rampaged both high and low in search of Charlie, yet were unable to find the serpentine predator and their mortal enemy. The unfortunate inhabitants of the upper cave paid the price for Charlies mistake and were the source of what, eventually, quelled the Sklites anger. The fallen creatures mangled corpses littered the floor in all directions, but were quickly cleaned up by the Skullkers that salivated at the sight. The Cleaners eventually made their way through, picking up any of the scraps the Skullkers had missed.

Their macabre job was performed dutifully, their effort kept the caves floor clear of all signs of the ferocious slaughter that had occurred.

The Sklite weren't the only thing that changed in the last two days. Charlie had been incredibly busy, learning about his environment, its uses and the creatures that continued to live and grow stronger. Yet they weren't the only ones growing more powerful.

Charlie had leveled up again and had was half way through level four already. The already chaotic balance was further upset by the fury of the Sklite, which allowed Charlie to further test his skills and grow quickly in the turbulent environment.

[Hollow Fang:

Level: 2 / 0%

The venomous bite of this Serpent is deadlier than it looks.]

[Hollow Fang] had also leveled up and it's description somewhat changed. Charlie wasn't sure of the exact difference between level one and two, but the word "scarier" turned to "deadlier". The Sklite continued to die to [Hollow Fang], and he had yet to try it on anything larger, so it was still up in the air just how much of a jump the level up had been.

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 4

Vitality: 5

Eso: 4

Charlie finally gained another point in vitality, the sole attribute that had kept him alive all this time. It was almost relieving for Charlie to see it increase again, as it would certainly be the key to staying alive through this hell.

[Desecrated Thief] had yet to activate again, even though Charlie had now almost doubled the amount of Sklite and Lizards he had Devoured. It continued to be a frustrating mystery, but Charlie was certain that it wasn't the last time he'd have to go through something insane again.

Charlies preparations had also included mapping out the path between his cove and the Swarms den in great detail. Knowing the path to, and away from, his enemy could be the difference between life, and death. More specifically, their death.

Ever since Charlies mental break, there had been great changes that had occured to his personality. The once fearful serpent that couldn't tell right from left had turned truly ruthless. Charlie's understanding of the world he had been thrown into had greatly increased and he had come to understand one truth - the deaths of his foes would continue to keep him alive.

There had once been great turmoil, that raged and seethed uncontrollably, inside of Charlie, but after being pushed to the brink and beyond, everything inside of him had stilled. The human worries, the human anxiety and the human rage had all fallen short when it came to dealing with the beastly world.

There was no good or evil in the cave, just the drive to survive by any means necessary. There was no room for anything else.

What good was it to feel anxiety, or fear or any of the human emotions that drove his life in the past? When the Razorclaw cleaved Charlie into to, did it care that he was terrified? Did the Cleaners care about the filth and gore they dissolved on their path? Whether they were living, or dead?

In order to live another day, your own brothers and sisters, even your own kin would dig their talons into your back.

Charlie was alone, a foreigner to this world and worst of all, had been human once. Now, he had become a creature, a nightmarish beast that killed with insidious venom of unnatural origin. An unfeeling creature that selfishly desired to live. There was simply no room for anything more.

The mushroom cove had almost completely digested the bone that littered the ground like gravel. Charlies plan would soon be enacted, but there was still a great deal of preparation to be completed.

Charlie had just woken up after having taken a closer look at his attributes and {Epitaph}. There were some interesting changes to [Hollow Fang] and he hoped to try them out today while he made his way to some key locations to begin the final stages of his plan.

Looking around the cove, Charlie determined that there were at most another ten hours before it finished digesting the last of the bone gravel. There was little time to waste, so Charlie set off and exited the cove.

Still covered in slime, Charlies first destination would be the outer perimeter of the Sklites territory. Charlies plan would require him to quickly cross vast distances and place the slime in key locations to deter the Sklite from roaming too far away. They might have been driven to utter madness, but thanks to their simple minds, they were still slaves to their senses.

Even though the hardened slime on Charlies scales was almost imperceptible to himself, there was a clear bubble around him; free of creatures with sensitive senses. The Sklite have yet to connect the pungent smell with Charlie, which, thankfully, still provided assistance in keeping them at bay.

The journey to the first key location was pleasantly quick, as it always had been. It was the journey back, when Charlie would be slime-free, that would prove to be the issue. He would no longer be concealed by the scent of decay and would be forced to slow his progress in order to avoid revealing himself.

Thankfully, Charlie had spent a considerable amount of time learning about the myriad of paths he would take, the creatures that took residence here and most importantly, he had spent the most time learning about the changes to his attributes. Though he had be careful, Charlie navigated the cave with practiced ease and had returned quickly.

The shadows clung to him like silk cloth, almost begging Charlie to stay within their safe embrace as he traversed atop the coves. The more time Charlie spent in the shadows, the more his understanding grew of the mysterious force that permeated the world.

Charlie knew he was either still too ignorant of the world around him, lacking in more than just simple knowledge, or if he had been simply too weak to finally grasp its ethereal nature. Whatever the case may be, Charlie could tell that he was getting closer to the truth with each passing day - with each creature that fell to his fangs.

Amongst the shadows, the serpent slithered unseen, hidden right beneath the many hungry eyes that wished for a simple snack. The serpent seemed possessed, coming to and from many strange locations, leaving behind a putrid scent wherever it went for what felt like hours. Their movements were sharp and decisive at the beginning, but the longer the serpent continued at their strange task, the more frantic they became.

Charlie pushed himself to his utmost limits and successfully completed his puzzling task.

The mushroom cove had long finished digesting the bone, but there had yet to be any changes that Charlie could discern. The slime continued to drip from the mushroom only to then be re-absorbed by the roots. The scent of decay was still as powerful as always, but Charlie had a gut feeling that something was going to happen, and soon.

Charlie felt impatient, he needed something to change in the mushroom cove before he could enact the most dangerous part of his plan. He wasn't scared of what he was pitting himself against, he just feared losing such a comfortable and safe resting spot if he failed in his timing.

Charlie couldn't help but feel excited as he stared at the exposed mushroom roots, watching them finish the very last of the haunting gravel that still littered the floor. If a few corpses would guarantee his nights would be uninterrupted, then Charlie might as well bring a few extra, to be on the safe side.

After leaving the cove, Charlie had situated himself on a perch that had been just outside of the zone of decay, the smell couldn't reach here and it provided him with the best view of what was to come. From up here, Charlie failed to see any new changes to the cove, so he decided to investigate from a bit closer and see if he could ascertain the time left.

Making his way down, Charlie contemplated the many ways his plan could go awry and came up with twice as many ways to counter them. Charlie had gotten more comfortable in his plan making, the abundant time roaming high above the lethal floor had provided him with the confidence in surviving, nearly, every encounter. Nearly every encounter wouldn't be enough, so Charlie got into the habit of coming up with ways to mess up his own plans to find its flaws.

It was time consuming and would normally be against Charlies own code, but these days everything felt so easy. He had been able to split his mind and focus on multiple tasks at the same time without becoming inattentive. It also allowed him to re-adjust his views on his attributes at the same time and still have the mental clarity to avoid even the most curious noses.

Strength, Dexterity, Vitality. They were simple and straightforward, encapsulating Charlies physical being into easy to read numbers. The numbers were still nonsensical, of course, but they were easy to understand. Without a frame of reference, there was no way to really know what they truly represented. Was 3 Strength a lot, or a little for a level four serpent? Was he three times as powerful as he was at 1 Strength? Unless he could somehow measure his progress, there was no way for him to truly know, at least for now.

Eso. That was the real mystery. Even the System felt reluctant in providing its whispers and explain what mysteries Eso truly held. So, Charlie had made his own deductions. If the rest of the attributes were to do with the physical, then it only made sense for Eso to encapsulate his mind and maybe even his soul.

It would explain a few things that Charlie had undergone; the increased clarity in his mind, the larger pool of sacred water in his soul and his ability to multitask without struggle.

Yet, that deduction felt incomplete. Even if incomplete, Charlie could clearly see the benefits that Eso already provided him. It might be the second most important attribute, right under Vitality.

What good was intelligence in the face of an overwhelming enemy? Schemes, plots and plans could only take Charlie so far before he was squished by something incomprehensible.

Charlie approached the mushroom cove and, instead of the familiar putrid stench assaulting his senses, Charlie was greeted by a soft and an almost delicate smell. Curious, Charlie sought out the source of the pleasant scent and was only more confused when he found the mushroom cove to be the source.

Ah, it has begun then.

There had been no outward changes yet, but the scent alone would attract creatures that were intrigued by the pleasant change in atmosphere. Charlie had been lucky that the scent had still been weak, but every moment that he spent in its alluring presence only strengthened its intensity. Charlie would have to be fast, the changes were occurring quicker than expected.

Charlie quickly set back out and dove into the shadows, regrettably ripping himself away from the sweet mushroom scent and was assaulted by the many powerful, musky scents of the living.

Charlie ascended the coves and made way towards the den of the Sklite, directly to the swarm. He would need to create a distraction on his way back, but right now, speed was of the essence.

Charlie made contact with a couple of stray Sklite and put them out of their angered misery with swift precision. The distance between his cove and the swarm had never been too large, and before long, Charlie could see a mass of squirming flesh come into focus.

They had yet to spot Charlie, but the moment they laid their eyes on him, he was sure that all hell would break loose.

Charlie's heart was calm, having recited the plan and mentally traversing every needed path - Charlie was ready. The Sklite will regret the day they made an enemy of Charlie, their maddened hubris will become their downfall.

All the pieces had fallen into place. With any luck, the remaining Sklite would have returned to their nest after having all of their paths cut off by Charlie's slime.

Taking a final breath, Charlie revealed his presence to the swarm.

At first, nothing happened.

But then, Charlie saw a change ripple through the swarm. Hundreds, if not thousands, of eyes all locked in on Charlie. The writhing mass of bodies suddenly and eerily stilled, like a stormy ocean suddenly freed of the hurricane winds that tore its surface.

The Sklite attacked.

Charlie had already started his retreat, but even without looking back, he could feel their rapid approach. It was like the cave itself started humming, vibrating, the innumerable feet of the Sklite echoed across the stone floor as they scrambled over each other, frothing for Charlies flesh.

The Desecrated Thief, their mortal enemy, was within the grasp of the swarm - and they looked absolutely ravenous.

Charlie could feel the gentle wind pass over his scales, his every movement was smooth and calculated, never slowing for even a moment. He had replayed the memory of this path hundreds of times; the gaps, dangerous crevices and sharp turns were entirely visible to Charlie.

It almost felt like the very wind, that gently caressed his scales, had taken away all other thought from Charlie. There was no fear, simply clarity.

Even with more than half of the distance left to traverse, Charlie could already smell the sweet scent in the air.

At first, Charlie thought he would have had to rile up the nearby creatures and have them chase him, effectively using their bodies in slowing down the swarms approach, and it seemed, that luck, was on his side today. The creatures had already been enchanted by the alluring scent and were mindlessly making their way to Charlies destination without him having to do anything.

After passing a good dozen of the placid creatures, Charlie finaly dared to turn around. The view that Charlie beheld had confirmed that his original plan would have been the right decision.

The Sklite had mercilessly descended on all those that dared to cross their path and torn them into fetid ribbons. Blood and gore flew through the air as the Sklites unleashed their fury - not even their dying bleats could be heard after the swarm had swallowed them whole.

Redoubling his efforts, Charlie sped past as many creatures as he could, even taking a slightly longer route just to give himself a few seconds at the cost of their lives. Their deaths would pay themselves off many times over if Charlie survived this.

The sweet and alluring scent had become nearly overwhelming, Charlie had to be close. The Sklite had torn through the livestock as if they were paper, rapidly closing the gap between themselves and Charlie.

The cove had underwent a full transformation. The brown and sludgy mushroom were nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by beautiful and red-petaled flowers. The cove itself had become dramatically larger with its entrance wide open, ready to accept any and all. The ugly cove had turned into a deadly beauty, awaiting its willing meal to waltz into its deceptive maw.

Charlie had yet to get too close to the entrance, but even from this distance, he could see a litany of dead beasts. Mangled and gored corpses strewn on the stone floor spread in all directions, all the while injured and tired beasts battled it out to the death.

Unfortunately for them, Charlie had brought a veritable mountain of death atop their meaningless struggle.

Charlie tore through the bloody barricade and made way to the ostensible entrance of the cove. The closer Charlie approached, the more intense the scent became - it's beautiful aroma threatened to enchant even Charlies human mind. It promised comfort, luxury and freedom from the pointless fighting, as if the very idea of trials and tribulations would cease to exist if Charlie just gave in.

Maybe if Charlie had been a simple mindless beast, or if maybe he had never come across his own soul and tasted of it's mystical radiance - maybe then he would have been weak enough to fall for the empty charms.

This was but a trifling matter.

Charlie swerved around the cove, and directly made way to the slime he had strategically left behind. Leaping into slime and rolling around in its viscous texture, Charlie covered the scales on his back, which quickly hardened. Satisfied, Charlie retreated immediately and dove into the deep embrace of the shadows.

There was a dull impact close behind, something heavy must have collided with the floor. Charlie turned for a moment and saw that the Sklite had successfully taken the bait, and tore into the injured creatures with murderous glee.

Charlie continued to create distance between himself and the swarm, no longer giving himself the time to turn around and check for any tenacious pursuers. From shadow to shadow, from crevice to crevice, Charlie used the full extent of his Dexterity and ascended the coves like the wind itself.

He was still in danger, but Charlie was not going to leave without witnessing the fruit of his labour now that he had a good view.

The fruit, was certainly juicy this time.