Meanwhile, I'm going to stop thinking about gods and weird things. I've realized that I can't do anything with my current skills. I'm a poor devil with a system that would be a blessing for other people, but to me, it seems like it hates me. Since I arrived here, I've only had one level up, and that was when I ate demon meat (which, by the way, was the most disgusting thing I've eaten in my entire existence).
What could I do to become stronger? One could say I don't have time, but the truth is, I don't care about the war. Maybe that Augusto guy is a better king than Zoran; that's not my war anymore. It never was; I was kidnapped and thrown into that palace. I just want the strength to put an end to the main mission. They promised me an evolution, and I want to see exactly what that is.
"If they want me to play their game, I'll do it... at least for now."
I have very little time left to worry about situations I'm not involved in. I promised a solution to the people of the Bigue council because I'm an 'envoy' and they demand heroic acts. Did anyone consult me? (Well, technically I volunteered, but that's beside the point).
"To hell with everything! Go to hell, you damn handsome demons!" I shouted while waving my hands as if I were explaining it to someone.
"Samuel is hallucinating again," the voice of the system that sometimes narrates my actions made itself present.
"What does it matter? You're just a computer or something like an artificial intelligence," I murmured.
"What do you know about me, Samuel?" the voice replied.
"I'm asking you the same thing. What do you know about me? Do you know why they brought me here?" I demanded.
[I do not have access to that information]
It's the first time the system says it cannot obtain information; even this thing has limitations. How curious... there are many questions I don't know the answers to.
"Can I know if it's just you observing me? Or are there more weird deities doing it?"
[The user is sometimes observed by higher entities]
"Okay... So now I'm entertainment, excellent. My show must be pretty bad; I only suffer and do nothing interesting. At least give me some super-ultra-mega-powerful ability like the protagonists in reincarnation stories. I guess I ended up in a rather mediocre one."
"Samuel is on the verge of schizophrenia," the system declared.
"Maybe I'm already schizophrenic; I normally hear voices like yours and talk to gods. It's possible I didn't die and I'm in a mental asylum."
...
The system didn't respond this time; it's always like that. It says mean things to me and leaves; I'm already getting used to it.
Tomorrow I'll think about what to do; right now I just want to rest and think about nothing else. I'm only worried about the whereabouts of Uuk and the twins. I'll surely find them later. For now, to sleep.
That said, I lay back on the ground and closed my eyes. The cold of the earth relaxed me, and even though I was on uncomfortable stones, I didn't care. Almost immediately and without realizing it, I fell into a deep sleep.
I don't know how many hours passed; I only know that the sun's rays woke me up because they were burning me. I also think there was something moving near me.
Snap!
I felt a pinch in my leg.
"Aaaaaah!" I gave a small yelp.
I reacted quickly and moved my leg, which woke me up instantly. When I looked down, I saw it was a damn crab. Its claws, about ten inches long, looked disproportionate; its body was purple and elongated, with many legs, and it carried a shell on its back. That idiot saw me as food... and speaking of food, he was a good source of nourishment.
The guy stayed there staring, as if challenging me. He didn't want to run or hide; he just puffed out his chest. This was going to be a tough fight. I got up and adopted a fighting stance. The crab also took a war posture. What a strange sight: a four-feet purple Liva against a twenty-inches crab. This must be part of a bad comedy movie.
"You dare challenge me, you son of a bitch?" I challenged him, starting to circle without taking my eyes off him.
The creature accepted the invitation.
Snap! Snap!
He moved his pincers as if they were weapons ready to kill his enemy. I wasted no time and launched a head-on attack; he followed suit. Just as we were at a short distance, he disappeared from my sight.
Where the hell did he go?
Creeeck!
The branch of a nearby tree creaked; I turned toward the sound and, in a blink, the creature jumped at my face.
Thump!
My back hit the ground as that thing stuck to me, grabbing onto my ears; there, with its mouth, it began to bite my nose. I grabbed it with my hands and dug my claws into its torso, breaking its shell.
CRACK!
"You bastard!" I cursed, feeling how he was breaking my nose.
With a strength I didn't know I had, I flexed my arms and gradually squeezed tighter and tighter until I made him burst.
Splat!
His blue blood bathed my hands and face.
"Ha! (Gasp) Haha! (Gasp) Hahahahahahahahahaha! I killed you, you huge moron. I'm super strong. Hahahahahaha!" I celebrated it as if it were an impossible achievement; and well, now I had food.
[The user has obtained a new ability: Curse of the Arthropods. Now any arthropod will feel fear and respect whenever they see the user]
"Did they really just give me an ability for killing a crab? Could that be my way of leveling up? Hunting other species? Last time, when I killed the Moria, they gave me 'Coupe de Grâce' and now this. Although I ate the Moria and I only killed this one... Interesting."
I understood everything now; I do have a way to level up and obtain powers. I just had to fight other creatures; I hadn't realized it until now because I only hunted small rodents and was very peaceful. But, even though that's good, I don't think it will help me against Augusto and company.
I stood up and, with the crustacean in hand, I started walking; I didn't care about being stained in blue. I just wanted to find a place to get stronger, and in the distance, past the river, a thick grove was visible. There, I was going to become powerful enough to be of help.
"Hehe! Hehehe! Hehehehehehehehehehehe! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Definitely, my brain is no longer in the best state. I had turned into someone who laughs and talks to himself.
On the way, I ate the creature I killed. I devoured it slowly and deliberately; even though it was raw, the flavor was quite good for a fucking alien. After an hour I reached my destination, prepared for whatever might come. That's when I saw a viscous, round, blue being moving through the grass. Light bounced off its skin like translucent glass.
"I guess that's a slime," I said with a smile on my face.
Shish, shish, shish!
With amazing speed, I approached and pierced it with my fingers.
Chlup!
It died instantly. The texture was reminiscent of gelatin or flan, and it smelled of vanilla; I thought that could be a good dessert. From the nearby bushes more slimes sprouted—there were about ten of them, and they were ready to attack with everything. I put myself on guard and, as soon as they lunged, I finished them in a heartbeat, taking advantage of their fragility.
I brought one to my mouth and ate it to try it; it was an explosion of glucose that my taste buds couldn't process. For a second, I forgot I was a monster in a world at war; I was just a man enjoying a forbidden delicacy.
I was right: this is like a dessert. With ice cream, it would be incredible.
[New ability acquired: Slime Suction. You can absorb objects and store them]
[Note: this ability requires a storage space]
"That's it! I wasn't crazy! I have to kill and eat everything I find! Jajajajajajaja!" Again I was laughing like a madman while doing little victory hops.
"Let's see how this works."
I moved my arm and simply thought about using my new ability. My hand began to spin and deform as if it were something liquid. It makes sense, I thought. I brought it close to the bodies of the dead slimes and it absorbed them.
[You do not have an assigned storage space]
The things I had grabbed shot out into the air and the trees, leaving the environment with a delicious smell. I must get a container; I guess it will be the typical magic object, like a bag that, for some reason, can hold tons of whatever.
"I've decided: I'll stay here for one or two months while I gear up to fight whatever comes. That moron Leviathan will be a piece of cake."
I continued walking to go even deeper into that place. Enough was enough of always being on the verge of death or being taken out; now I was going to have more options to defend myself and be the one to kill those who want to harm me. My madness was only beginning.
"JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA!"
[S-S-SYSTEM: CRITICAL ERROR IN C-C-CORE 038]
[WARNING: S̷u̸b̷j̴e̸c̷t̶ ̶8̶0̶8̶'̶s̸ ̶m̶e̴n̴t̶a̴l̴ ̴s̸t̵a̷t̴e̷ ̵o̵u̴t̴ ̴o̵f̸ ̴p̶a̴r̴a̴m̸e̷t̸e̸r̵s̴]
[C̴O̴G̵N̴I̶T̴I̶V̴E̶ ̶D̶E̷G̷E̷N̵E̸R̵A̷T̷I̶O̷N̷ ̷D̶E̶T̵E̴C̶T̷E̴D̶: 78%... 85%... 9̶9̶%̸]
[USER S̶A̴M̷U̷E̷L̵ IS E̴N̶T̵E̷R̵I̶N̴G̷ PHASE: A̷B̴S̸O̷L̸U̷T̴E̷ ̶M̵A̴D̴N̷E̸S̸S̷]
[T̸r̸a̸u̷m̸a̶-̶i̵n̴d̸u̴c̴e̶d̶ ̵e̶v̵o̶l̸u̴t̶i̴o̷n̷.̴.̷.̴ ̷R̵e̶s̴e̶t̷?̵ ̶[N̴O̷]̵]
[O̸b̴s̶e̶r̵v̴e̷?̵ ̷[Y̸E̸S̸]̷]
[T̶H̴E̶ ̶S̶H̶O̸W̸ ̶G̶O̷T̶ ̶I̷N̴T̶E̴R̵E̷S̴T̸I̵N̵G̴.̷.̴.̸ ̸H̸A̴H̸A̷H̸A̶H̵A̵H̶A̵H̶A̷]