First Blood

Ash didn't even have time to turn.

Molgrin lunged to the right, as Ash felt a heavy shadow pass by his ear. Close, cold. 

A growl tore through the darkness, and something heavy slammed into Molgrin's side, claws screeching against jagged feathers. Molgrin screeched, heavy, painfully. A high-pitched cry that echoed like a hunting hawk's shriek.

A furious hunger invaded Ash's mind and, as by instinct, his hands gripped on malformed bones that had grown out of the creature's back, making a natural rein. Molgrin shifted toward the source of the pain, its curved beak trusting like a sharp dagger into the throat of a creature that was about to bite his front leg, crushing bone and spilling hot, dark blood.

Forest Beast - Lvl 3

The enemy limped back, retreating behind a tree, but it was still alive and it wasn't alone.

The shadow that had passed early came back, preparing to jump into them. Ash could only see its yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

Molgrin barely dodged the second enemy, its claws plucking some of its jagged feathers. Ash felt it in his chest, like his own blood was being spilled. The cursed mount slammed its back feet down, lunging forward, colliding with the beast's side, driving it down into the rotting earth. Its beak plunged down, ripping into the creature's neck. Once. Twice. 

The other enemy tried to use this time to attack from behind, but somehow Molgrin knew. Before it could pounce, a whip-thin, serpentine spine shot from his tail and impaled the creature right where it was wounded before. Its dying body slipped more into the bone, colliding with Ash's back.

It was warm and cold at the same time. Ash was feeling excited, thrilled, but it wasn't his emotions. He could feel Molgrin. He was happy with the hunt. But Ash? He felt like a nuisance on Molgrin's back. What had he done besides pitiful hold for his life while his mount did all the job?

Things hadn't changed at all. He was still the useless cripple in a chair that breathed. Like his twin loved to tell him: he was a parasite, leaching from others.

"Good hunt, buddy." He forced himself to pet the monstrous mount, as he started feeling like it was getting irritated.

It pulled back the creature from Ash, laying at the side of the other dead creature. Ash could see them a little better now. They were like hyenas with fungus growing out of its backs. They were dead. And Molgrin was hungry. Its beak looked for the heart.

"Enjoy your meal, pal." The boy laughed, seeing the creature ravage the dead beast's heart. It was a little grotesque, but hey, he wasn't one to judge. 

Wait. It was dead, right? So where was his xp? Wasn't this a game? Was he being robbed again because he was a bug?

"Status." He frowned, calling out for his information. 

The word triggered the familiar interface. 

But then, it glitched.

Flickering in and out, as if struggling to appear.

[Statu//... zzzz] 

[Evolutio//nary Path: CORRUPTED]

[SKILLS // UNSTAB-]

[WARNING: XP SOURCE INVALID]

[ERROR: Standard Progression Route Denied]

[Rebuilding Growth Parameters…]

[Initializing Carrion Merge Protocol]

The last line burned itself into his vision bright red, like a bleeding wound.

And disappeared.

"What the f…"

Molgrin shrieked, turning his carrion head to Ash, its beak carrying half a bleeding heart. "What's up?" Ash blinked, confused with the mounts antics. 

That's when he saw Molgrin's long barbed tong coiling around the bleeding heart and pushing it to his mouth. "Hm?" Ash's bright blue eyes widened in shock. "Hey, no! That's yours, buddy! You earned that! No, no." He tried to free himself from the grotesque offering, but the cursed creature wasn't having it. 

It really wanted Ash to eat it.

Ash gulped.

He slowly stretched his hands.

It was still warm to the skin. 

He could swear it was still beating, but it might also be only his own heart that was at this throat.

Molgrin left a really high-pitched screech, as if saying "It's going to get cold, eat!"

"Only this time, all right? To seal our friendship." Ash sighed. There was no escaping from this. It is not like he could run, right? The creature was set on making him eat. He would just have to think it was a delightful chicken heart skewer.

He bit into the flesh bleeding heart.

Disgusting. Soft.

The taste hit like metal soaked in warm, rotten sauce.

Ash gagged, nearly spitting it out, but something grabbed the inside of his throat, forcing him to swallow. His hands clenched. His spine arched. But he kept eating, feeling the white hollow eyes watching him.

His stomach burned like it was birthing fire.

And when he swallowed the last bit of flesh…

[Carrion Merge Protocol Successful]

[Corrupted Consumption Successful]

[CXP Gained: 70]

[New Cursed Skill Acquired: Gluttonous Assimilation (??)]

[Stats Absorption Available: STR +1 | Skill Potential: Feral Senses (Common)]

[Accept Absorption?]

 "Yes!" Ash spat through bloody teeth, barely keeping his insides in. Whatever it was, it should be something better than nothing.

[STR +1]

[New Passive Acquired: Feral Senses (Common)]

[Senses temporarily enhanced during nighttime or in rot zones]

Ash gasped. Everything became sharper, the trees, the smell of death, even the sound of something else creeping nearby. He sighed.

"I just wanted a second... just one damn minute to think…"

Ash wished he could stop for a minute to understand what was going on with him. Was it the heart he ate that triggered the system response? What was the skill Gluttonous Assimilation? What was happening?

Molgrin moved slowly, his eyes focusing ahead. "Hey pal, no time to rest in this god forsaken game, huh?" He still couldn't see much, but his senses could feel things approaching. His stomach still churned, his tongue tasted iron and bile.

Ash tightened his grip on the malformed reins.

"Fine. Let's see what round two tastes like."

From the dark trees ahead, yellow eyes blinked open.

Dozens of them.