I Begin By... Being Devoured?!

The tall lush trees seemed to pass by in a blur, the soft moist ground littered with leaves, grass, and random thick roots piercing the soil a constant as Khalid rushed through the forest. He moved his legs as fast as he possibly could, preying he could outrun what seemed to be a pack of wolves chasing at his heels. Fear and adrenaline rushed through his heart as he violently cursed at the being who had cursed him first in a very literal way. "Those extra stat points would be SO useful right about now you know." He shoved his messy and indignant thoughts aside as he looked ahead, trying to mentally measure the distance between him and the village, which looked much more secure compared to the little defense provided by his "Traveler's Attire" which in truth was nothing more than tattered potato sacks resewn to be wearable. They were incomparably rough and itchy, with it chafing his body badly. He tried not to focus on the sensation as he felt the hot breath of the wolves behind him, and barely managing not to trip on yet another impossibly thick tree root. It seemed with negative luck, even nature itself was against him, as he had ended up hitting his head violently on an incredibly thick protruding tree branch. It cost him a hefty 10 health points for this blunder, and to make matters worse, the wolf pack instantly surrounded him as they were unwilling to allow their first prey in days to make an escape. With no other chance, Khalid summoned his "Traveler's Sword" from his inventory and prepared for battle. As he had no real battle experience his stance was awkward and body was off-centered. The wolves took advantage of his flaws and rushed at him one by one as to conserve their own energy and waste Khalid's. The hot breath filled with ferocity, the sharp flesh stained fangs, and the beastly gaze of the wolves all caused turmoil in Khalid's heart. He was barely managing to stay alive thanks solely to the fact the wolves came at him one by one, and the fact he had his sword with him to help tank some of the attacks. The only flaw is that he was truly too weak and slow to even react in time to most of the lunges and attacks thrown at him, with his hp constantly whittling down by one or two points each time and the durability of his sword beginning to fall as well. Just as he was frantically searching for a way out of this deadlock with the wolves, he was caught off guard by what looked to be the strongest wolf of the pack of 8. This wolf noticed his panic-stricken state and lunged at him from behind, embedding his fangs deeply into Khalid's right arm, crippling his ability to use his sword and forcing him down to the ground from the weight and power behind this attack. He screamed in pain, tears in his eyes and the feeling of his flesh being torn away from his arm as the wolf pulled back ruthlessly, thoroughly enjoying the flavor of this laughably weak prey,

Just as Khalid had finished screaming in pain, fearing for the worst, a single arrow whistled past his ear and pinned the wolf that had ate part of his arm into a nearby tree by the head. His flesh that was coated in saliva, blood, and fabric, slowly fell out of the wolf's mouth and dropped onto the ground, cause the rest of the pack to lunge for the piece and granting a moment's respite for Khalid. He had no clue where that arrow had came from, and when it flew past it even ended up cutting into a small part of his ear, due to his extremely low luck he reckoned, but he was not giving up this chance to make a dash to safety. He forced himself up using his left arm, almost falling again before managing to stabilize himself, and picked up the sword before he set off sprinting to the gate of the village. He could see a village guard and what looked to be a village head awaiting him at the gate, their faces filled with concern and what look to be... disgust? The look of what seemed to be disgust only arose very momentarily, quickly being put away as the pair awaiting him at the gate made gestures at him, yelling at him in a foreign language to "Quickly come inside, the wolves won't be distracted for long." He realized somehow he could understand the language, could this be due to him being a player? If so, this was good as he wouldn't have to waste time learning the language.

He quickly managed to make it inside the tall wooden gates before they slammed shut, blocking out the wolf pack that was ravenously chasing after him. As he heaved an intense sigh of relief, he looked over at the two who were at the gate previously, the guard and the chief. In the guards hands was a finely crafted bow, to the point even a layman like Khalid could understand the skill required to create such a bow. Endorned upon his chest was a finely engraved crest, like those found on the soldiers fighting endlessly that horrific battlefield. He shuddered remembering the thought momentarily before being called out to be by an elderly hoarse voice. "Are you okay child? That wolf pack would have eaten you to the bone had Agrion here not saved you." The village chief had a look of worry upon his face and yet that hint of disgust that was hidden deep in his gaze never left. Khalid never noticed this though, and replied promptly. "Yes elder, I cannot thank you and Agrion enough for the support you gave me. Would there happen to be a medical area anywhere I can be treated for my wounds?" "Of course young one, head towards the western edge of the village where the vines begin to creep onto the great wall and you'll see the hut of our local healer. Here, take my token and she'll treat you for free. Think of it as compensation for allowing you to have fallen outside the safety of the village and not being able to help you land in your correct area." The village chief handed him a steel badge, engraved with yet another new crest. Khalid made the conclusion having a family crest was a major part of identity and thinking of one to create was important if he was going to have a guild that was recognized by Players and NPCs alike. He traced the grooves of the edges with his fingers as he appreciated the handiwork before thanking the two of them again and moving swiftly towards the hut.

"Hmph, for an Otherworldy Demon like him to have such bad luck as to land outside the safety of our Greenwood Village, he must truly be cursed by the gods. It is our misfortune to have to rely on such trash to grow and protect us." Agrion voiced his disgust as soon as Khalid had walked out of earshot, letting his complaints be known to his longtime friend and confidant, Narian the village chief. "Now now Agrion, although I and many others agree with your sentiment, the Pantheon themselves have decreed these... parasites would be our main combat force as they are undying. We can use their false immortality to protect the majority of our own forces and lower casualties to a large extent while extorting them for free labor. It truly is a blessing from Olympus." Khalid had no clue, but this whole time the Players were going to be used and exploited from now on in order for the NPCs to benefit as much as possible. In order to fight against these beings encroaching upon the 9 Realms from beyond their universe, they couldn't afford the expenditure and massive casualties required to fight this war, so they called upon these Otherworldly Demons to rely on their impossibly fast growth and false immortality to take up arms against these invaders. In this way, they could save many of their own people at little to no cost.

As the two discussed the future and how to best use the Players to the advantage, Khalid had been admiring the quaint village and taken a path through the market to reach the Medical Hut. He had slightly understood the overall situation in the village, it had a lower population of around 670 people and the main currency going around were the classic copper, bronze, silver, gold, and adamantium coins with 100 of each coin equaling to a single coin of a higher tier. Currently, he still had the "Traveler's Starting Funds" on hand, so he used it and obtained 1 bronze coin and 25 copper coins. This was quite a decent amount currency, enough for him to obtain many supplies in the market, but nobody was willing to sell to him due to the very obvious and nauseating wound on his arm. Thus, he decided to make use of the favor from the village chief and finished making his way to the Medical Hut. Upon reaching the area mentioned by the chief, he noticed there were no other huts and housing near this Medical Hut, let alone any people in the area. The hut was raised off the ground and had an old simplistic set of wooden stairs to enter inside. it was made primarily of wood and thatch and had a thick smell of herbs, which filled his nose as he finished making his way up the steps and knocked upon the old wooden door. "Hello, is the resident healer inside? I come bearing the emblem of the village chief, seeking treatment for wounds I suffered in the forest." As his voice echoed into the surroundings, he heard a couple of different locks unfasten and the door slowly creaked as it slowly swung open, revealing a wide inner space unlike what should be inside compared to the outside of the modest hut. It was equipped with finely furbished furniture and many different tools for what he assumed to be for alchemy.

As he slowly made his way inside, he noticed a silhouette standing over what looked to be a large worn out steel cauldron, with the paint flaking all over and scratches visible on its forefront area. "Sorry, is now a good time? I can wait a bit for you to finish... um, whatever it is you're concocting." As he finished speaking a husky, scratchy voice sounded from in front of him in confusion. "Wait? Of course you'll wait, this is for your wound child. The medicine will be finished soon so find a stool somewhere and pick up a book for the meantime." Khalid realized this healer seemed to be more skilled than he thought, able to refine medicine made for his wound without even needing to see his wound with her own eyes. He silently followed her words after thanking her for her help and sat down on a nearby stool, with it creaking slightly under his weight, giving him the impression it would break at any moment. Thankfully the stool was much more sturdy than it let on, standing strong up as Khalid read through a nearby book detailing different herbs and their characteristics until finally, a loud bang resounded through the air and the cauldron shuddered. The older husky voice sounded out once more in loud laughter, making Khalid apprehensive as to just what this "medicine" would turn out to be. "Hahahaha, finally, my life's work is complete. Come child, drink this and you need not fear any wound in the future. Even Achilles himself cannot compare to what you'll achieve with this creation of mine, my magnum opus." The old healer walked over to him with surprising strength in her steps, completely unlike what he expected from a woman of her age, not to mention how she previously was constantly hunched over and relied on a nearby pole to stand steady as she created this concoction. 

He took the glass bottle from her wrinkled, decrepit hands in trepidation, afraid of what she is trying to make him ingest. Suddenly, the status screen appeared once again in front of him, this time outlined in the same amber color of the ambrosia, with a hint of purple highlighting the corrupted Concept of Incarnation and the curse itself. He was curious as to the change in the status screen but focused on the newly appeared item in the screen.

Item: False Physical Immunity Potion, Tier 1

"This potion was crafted by a Quasi-Master Tier being practicing the Alchemy path, using all the inspiration in her life alongside many rare ingredients to create False Physical Immunity. This healer has used all her potential in growth to handcraft this item and would never again be able to create this potion for additional use. The potion grants a permanent Buff, False Physical Immunity, which has 5 total tiers and can only be advanced through job changes. False Physical Immunity grants a 75% physical damage reduction received by the user upon taking physical damage from beings at the same level as them. Damage caused by beings at a lower life tier will be reduced by 85% and has a 20% chance to instill fear in the attacker. Damage caused by beings at a higher level will be reduced by 35% and those at a higher life tier will have their physical damage reduced by 20%. This potion also enhances your body's overall physique by a slight amount." 

Upon finishing his inspection of the potion, Khalid was dumbfounded. This extreme pain in his arm faded away instantly as he read over the description of the potion over and over. He was extremely excited at the thought of just how he could abuse this buff to not only take revenge on that wolf pack, but to stand upon the heads of his peers. Just as he was about to remove the cork and down the potion, he was greeted by a shining purple screen hovering over by not just the potion, but the healer as well.

Name: Elyan Silverleaf

Age:57

Job: Alchemist (Rare Variant)

Level: !@#

Additional information not available at this time, please increase your strength to view the information of higher tiered lifeforms. 

[Do you wish to absorb the essence of this lifeform?]

Khalid stared at the prompt, and hesitated before eventually deciding against absorbing the essence. He wasn't sure just what the process was like or how it may affect this healer, but he was considerably sure she wouldn't be alive after it was over. He shifted his gaze over to the prompt by the potion and also denied it. He wished he could see just what changes would occur of he did corrupt the potion, but he had no way of knowing. At least, that's what he had assumed, until a flash of purple light only visible to him shined on the potion and his eyes turned a shade of sangria, and he saw a much more translucent screen describing the corrupted version of the potion.

Item: Corrupted False Physical Immunity Potion, Tier 1

"This potion was crafted by a Quasi-Master Tier being practicing the Alchemy path, with it later being obtained and corrupted by an Otherworldly Demon, causing the potion to become much stronger at a price. The potion grants a permanent Buff, False Physical Immunity, which has 7 total tiers and can only be advanced through job changes. False Physical Immunity grants a 80% physical damage reduction received by the user upon taking physical damage from beings at the same level as them. Damage caused by beings at a lower life tier will be reduced by 95% and has a 45% chance to instill fear in the attacker. Damage caused by beings at a higher level will be reduced by 40% and those at a higher life tier will have their physical damage reduced by 30%. This potion also enhances your body's overall physique by a moderate amount. The buff will cause the user's hunger to increase largely in return for the enhancement of the physique, and will cause the user to temporarily lose 5 health points upon first ingesting the potion. This will remedy as the body adjusts to the potion's effects. 15 essence is required to corrupt this potion,"

Khalid was incredulous at the significant enhancement of the potion brought about by the corruption and made up his mind to gain some sort of combat power quickly in order to corrupt the potion. He thanked the healer plenty and left the hut quickly, and as he made his way out the door slammed shut, with all the locks tightening and fastening rapidly once more. The healer slowly closed her eyes with a sinister smile on her face, relishing at the fact she had successfully created something even those at the true Master tier, and even Quasi-Grandmaster tier hadn't managed to accomplish. She quietly retreated further into the depths of her impossibly large home, satisfied by her triumph against fate this day. 

Khalid ran rapidly over to an area he believed would be of the utmost importance, a building that seemed to be the training hall for the village guard, before slowing down rapidly. He had spent at least 2 hours total in the village and yet had not seen a single other player. Could it be nobody else had landed in his village? It was possible, but not likely and far too unlucky. He was worried at the thought but shrugged it off for now as he had a bigger problem. He was blocked from entering the Training Hall until he reached LVL 2 and had gained a high enough reputation in the village to join the village guard. It seemed his dream of rapid advancement had hit its first roadblock.