Ch 4- Side Effects

"Fuck." I rubbed my head in pain.

Tons of new information filled it, my mind felt like a jumbled mess.

A faint breath escaped my mouth. 'My chest, why does it feel so heavy?' I glanced at my chest.

There was a faint whimpering, it was Om Nom. His antennae drooped, eyes watery. He was clearly worried about me. I didn't blame him. The little guy had just found a home, only for said home to collapse to the floor.

"It's alright, Om Nom. I'm okay," I whispered.

Om Nom's tears faded as his antennae perked up in relief, he nuzzled against my neck.

"Alright, settle down." A horrible pain went through my stomach as I stood up. "System, any chance you can explain what just happened?"

[The Host fell unconscious due to an Information Overload.]

"Information Overload?"

[When The Host's mind experiences a large amount of information, or gains a powerful mental ability, it may result in an Information Overload. The Host's brain will shut down all non-essential functions so it may solely focus on processing the new information.]

'So basically, because I tried using all my skill and ability cards at once, my brain shut down my body so it could process all the new stuff.' I winced as a sharp pain hit my head. 'That explains the head pain.'

I grabbed my stomach in pain. "What about the stomach pain?"

[While skills and most abilities are instant, Template absorption is a slow and prolonged process. Most Templates will require a temporary or permanent increase in calorie intake.]

"So, I'm just starving." A blank expression formed on my face. It quickly faded, turning into one of pain as I clutched my stomach. "I need some fucking food."

___

In an hour, in just one hour, I emptied the entire fridge. Granted, it wasn't completely full, but still.

I started simple, eating every apple and pear I could find. It wasn't enough, so I cooked and ate half a dozen eggs. There was leftover chicken, chopped it up and toasted some bread. Added some mayo and lettuce too. It turned out to be a decent sandwich.

The entire time, Om Nom watched in confusion as he sucked on a piece of the broken jawbreaker.

'Damn it.' The fridge was empty, but I was still hungry.

"Hey System, any chance I can see the progress of my Templates?" The familiar blue screen appeared once again.

___

[Name: Leo Faith]

[LV 1 (55/100)

[Quest: None]

[Skills: Parkour, Free Running, Climbing]

[Abilities: BS Protection, Stable Mind, Eidetic Memory]

[Templates Absorbed: None]

[Templates in Progress:]

[Bob Belcher (50%)]

[John Nolan (25%)]

[Dexter Morgan (10%)]

[Summons: Om Nom]

___

'Fuck, Bob's barely halfway done. Dexter and John aren't even close, and I'm still starving.' I glanced out the window.

The sun had gone down a little while ago, but it's not like I had much of a choice. I grabbed my wallet and jacket. Om Nom stared at me.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back. I'm just going to get some emergency groceries, maybe I'll bring back a treat." I knelt down in front of him. "Just guard the house for me, alright?"

Om Nom gave me a small salute, A small smile formed on my face as I tried to hold back my laughter.

__

'What a rip-off.' I handed the cashier my credit card.

I wasn't able to go to the supermarket, so I had to go to a small bodega nearby. It had what I needed, but at extremely high prices.

 "Please come again," The thirty-something cashier said in a monotone voice.

'I know it's your job to say that, but it feels like an insult considering how much you just charged me.'

I didn't buy much, just some ramen packets for now and eggs for tomorrow's breakfast. I also bought some strawberry gummies, hopefully Om Nom likes them.

As I walked down the street, I couldn't help but check my surroundings.

Walking at night always unsettled me. You never know what kind of person could be out there, muggers looking for an easy score, desperate junkies, or maybe just a psychopath wandering the streets.

"I said no!" A feminine voice yelled.

'I don't like the sound of that.' I followed the source of the noise. Faint sounds of somebody struggling echoed through the alley.

'The streetlights were out, the bulbs have been destroyed. Somebody did it on purpose, they made it harder to be seen, making it easier for them to hunt.'

I peered into the alleyway, there were two people. An older Caucasian man, mid to late thirties. Cornered against a wall was a young Black girl, around 17 or 18.

 "Fuck off, you creep!" The girl shouted.

The creep glared at her. "What the fuck did you say!? All I'm trying to do is show you a good time, and that's how you treat me!?"

Three times, I've seen a real crime three times in my past life.

The first time, a homeless lady threw a rock through my neighbor's window.

The second, a drug addict was smoking a crack pipe at the bus stop.

Third, some guy lifted his shirt to threaten someone with a gun tucked into his waistband.

Each time, I did nothing. 'Why should I get involved?' I asked myself.

I might fight a bully, but that's different. Fighting someone on the street is more dangerous, there's always a chance they might pull out a knife or a gun.

The smart choice would be to call the police, but my mind didn't even think of that. I don't know why, but a part of me wanted to do something.

The only issue, I don't know why.

"Hey!" I shouted as I walked towards The Creep.

"Fuck off, can't you see I'm—" My fist slammed into his face.

The man fell back, landing on his ass. "You piece of shit, you're dea—" His threat was cut short.

I'm not the strongest, I don't know martial arts either . So I had to fight smarter… by cheating.

I raised my foot and kicked, The Creep's head slammed into the wall.

One, two, three, four, eventually I lost count after the fifth.

I kept kicking, slamming the creep's head into the brick alley wall.

I think I heard someone screaming, followed by frantic running.

It didn't matter though, because only one thing ran through my mind.'Suffer, you fucking creep!'

[You have defeated 1 criminal, 1 XP has been earned.]

"What?" The System's screen snapped me out of my trance.

The sudden vibrant blue light was disorienting, mainly because my eyes were adjusted to the dark alley.

"Fuck!" My black shoe was drenched in blood.

The Creep let out faint but painful wheezes, it was pretty bad. From a glance, I could tell he was injured pretty badly.

'A broken jaw and nose, both eyes are bleeding. I probably damaged the cornea, it will most likely result in vision loss. The back of his skull is cracked, the concussion might cause memory loss. Good, he won't be able to identify me.'

"I need to get the fuck out of here." I glanced at my dropped groceries.

Couldn't risk this being tracked back to me, I grabbed my groceries and ran. I pulled up my hood, there weren't that many cameras in the area from what I could recall, but I couldn't risk it.

___

Eventually, I reached my home, out of breath and tired.

Om Nom stared at me, worried and scared as he saw my bloody shoe.

"Fuck." I frantically pulled the shoe off.

The smart thing would be to dispose of the evidence, but that was too dangerous. Most doctors could tell those injuries came from being kicked in the face, they'll be looking for a shoe that matches the injuries.

'Throw it in the river? The salt water would degrade the DNA, no. The area's too open and populated. I need something better.'

A sharp pain went through my head.

I threw the shoe against the wall, scaring Om Nom into hiding.

"What the fuck is happening to me?"

'How do I know this stuff? Why did I beat the shit out of that guy? It feels like—like—I'm somebody else.' I froze.'It can't be… can it?'

"System, I have a question." My throat felt dry. "Can you explain how The Gacha works? More precisely—the categories."

[Skills: Skills mainly consist of things anybody could learn, but may need years of practice. Such as martial arts, talents, and specialized knowledge.]

"Yeah, I already knew that! Next!" I exclaimed impatiently.

[Abilities: Abilities are powers or special techniques that are impossible to learn by normal means—usually requiring an internal factor or unique ritual to be gained.]

"I already knew that. Skip to The Templates!" I shouted.

[Templates: Templates are an all-in-one—giving The Host their Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, and Thought Process.]

Please no. "What do you mean by their Thought Process?" The System didn't respond.

"Open the Status screen."

[Name: Leo Faith]

[LV 1 (55/100)]

[Quest: None]

[Skills: Parkour, Free Running, Climbing]

[Abilities: BS Protection, Stable Mind, Eidetic Memory]

[Templates Absorbed: None]

[Templates in Progress:]

[Bob Belcher (80%)]

[John Nolan (50%)]

[Dexter Morgan (50%)]

[Summons: Om Nom]

I stared at one name in particular, Dexter Morgan.

A serial killer who sees himself as a savior, somebody who washes sins away with blood.

A man who would see someone harassing and groping an innocent woman, and would probably want to beat the shit out of them. Hell, he imagined stabbing his friend in the neck just because he was annoying.

"FUCK!!!" I punched the wall. 

Only to regret in an instant, I grabbed my hand in pain.

It wasn't broken, but it was definitely bruised and bleeding. I grabbed my hand in pain, a faint hiss escaping my mouth.

Faint whimpering filled the room, Hiding behind the couch was Om Nom.

'Crap.' I scared Om Nom without realizing it.

I had to fix this. I reached into the grocery bag and pulled out the strawberry gummies I'd bought.

The sound of the bag opening was enough for Om Nom to peek out from behind the couch. "Want a treat?"

Om Nom approached me slowly. He was clearly afraid after my freak-out.

 He sniffed the strawberry gummies, but didn't eat one. Instead, he stared at my hand, the one with the bloody knuckles.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I was just… going through some stuff." I gestured to the gummies. "Forgive me?"

A second later, Om Nom licked my hand, swallowing the gummies whole.

I think that was him accepting my apology, hopefully.