Chapter 7:Into the unknown

Velric’s lungs burned as he sprinted through the dense, twisted forest, paws pounding the cracked, dry earth. The shrieks and growls of the mindless creatures behind him never faded, no matter how fast he ran. His heart hammered in his chest, and his mind raced with desperate thoughts.

"I'm not running away... I’m just making a strategic retreat! Yeah... right."

A quick glance over his shoulder revealed the slavering beasts gnarled, mutated creatures with gaping maws and soulless eyes. Their jagged claws tore through the underbrush in a chaotic swarm. Velric cursed under his breath and pushed his legs harder despite the burning ache.

He could barely comprehend how he'd gotten into this mess. Just a few hours ago, he was at the academy, stuck in the physical education program for newly awakened students.

It all started when Instructor Brask, a towering buck with muscles like steel cords, barked out the order for paired combat. They were testing their newly awakened abilities a rite of passage for every student. Velric, as usual, got paired with the biggest, meanest guy in the class: Todd.

Todd was an arrogant brute, always looking for an excuse to crush Velric. He cracked his knuckles with a wicked grin.

“Ready to get pounded, trash?” he sneered.

Velric just shrugged, trying not to show the gnawing fear clawing at his gut. "Let's just get this over with."

The fight began, and Todd lunged at him like a bull, swinging his fist toward Velric’s head. Velric ducked under the swing, his instincts screaming at him to back off. The class erupted in laughter some mocking, some just entertained.

One of the students jeered from the sidelines. “Come on, Todd! Quit toying with him!”

Todd smirked and feinted to the right before bringing his fist down in a vicious arc. Velric barely managed to sidestep, landing a weak jab on Todd’s ribs not enough to faze him, but enough to make him angrier.

Just as Todd prepared to grab Velric by the ears and toss him like a sack of grain, another student barged in. Regin a wiry, newly awakened Lapinite tried to break up the fight with his freshly unlocked bloodline ability. A sudden, violent burst of energy erupted around them, crackling with unstable power.

Before Velric could react, the world twisted around him, and he felt his entire body being ripped from the ground. When the light faded, he found himself sprawled out on the sun-scorched dirt, surrounded by alien trees and oppressive heat.

The memories ended as Velric narrowly avoided tripping over a gnarled root, snapping back to reality just in time to see the twisted beasts gaining on him.

"This isn’t how I die... Not today!"

Up ahead, a narrow crack in the ground caught his eye. With no other choice, he threw himself into it, squeezing into the tight space and pressing his back against the stone. The creatures swarmed past, gnashing their teeth and howling in frustration as they failed to reach him.

His heart pounded like a war drum, and his entire body trembled with adrenaline. He stayed completely still, waiting for the herd to move on. Minutes stretched into agonizing hours as the sun dipped lower, shadows lengthening across the forest floor. Finally, the area fell silent.

Velric risked peeking out and saw nothing but distant dust. He pulled himself out, muscles aching and lungs burning. His stomach grumbled, reminding him of the last meal he had a stolen carrot from the neighbor’s garden. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Of all the places to get teleported to... Why did it have to be this deathtrap?"

Desperation set in as he searched the landscape for anything edible. The forest seemed devoid of life only brittle leaves and twisted roots. Hours passed as he trudged onward, his limbs growing heavy and his vision hazy.

Suddenly, his gaze landed on a lush patch of green, dotted with vibrant orange carrots! A whole field of them, plump and ripe. Velric’s mouth watered, and he stumbled forward like a drunkard.

He grabbed one and bit down... only to find his teeth snapping together on empty air. The illusion shattered, revealing a grotesque, fleshy mass pulsating where the field once stood. His eyes widened in horror as the creature a mimic variant lurched forward, its false bait dissolving into a nightmare of gnashing teeth and writhing tendrils.

"Oh crap!"

It lunged at him, and Velric barely ducked out of the way. Panic set in as he scrambled for a weapon, his paws fumbling over rocks. Grabbing a jagged stone, he turned just in time to bash it into the mimic’s exposed side. The creature shrieked, flesh splitting and oozing a sickly black liquid.

Velric struck again and again, each blow driven by fear and rage. His hands felt numb, his arms heavy, but he kept hitting until the mimic finally stopped moving, its body dissolving into a putrid mush.

Panting and lightheaded, Velric dropped the stone, wiping his hands on his ragged clothes. His legs wobbled, and his vision grew blurry.

[You have killed the creature MIMIC VARIENT... ]

[You have leveled up]

[All stats increased]

The system announced in a calm female yet robotic voice.

"I... I did it..."

A sudden, primal hunger clawed at his insides. Before he knew what he was doing, his instincts took over, and he tore into the mimic’s corpse, stuffing chunks of flesh into his mouth. The taste was vile, but his body craved the sustenance, and he couldn’t stop himself.

Only when the hunger faded did he realize what he had done, his hands stained with black ichor and his mouth smeared with gore. His stomach churned, but there was no going back now. As shock overtook him, his vision darkened, and he collapsed on the spot, his consciousness fading.

When Velric awoke, his mind was hazy, and his body felt strange. A faint notification flashed in his vision.

[You have leveled up!]

[All stats increased.]

[New Attribute Gained: Carnivorous]

His hands trembled as he stared at the notification.

"Carnivorous...? Did I really just... eat that thing?"

Nausea welled up in his gut, but he forced himself to stay calm. He could still taste the wretched flesh on his tongue, and it made him shiver.

"Guess... I really am just a trash rabbit... eating monsters to survive."

He sat up slowly, taking in his surroundings with newfound awareness. Whatever just happened, he couldn’t afford to let his emotions break him down now. He’d have to get stronger strong enough to survive this wasteland and find his way back home.

For now, though, his body demanded rest. Curling up on the dirt, Velric closed his eyes, too exhausted to keep his thoughts straight. As sleep claimed him, his mind drifted back to that brutal fight, knowing he’d have to keep pushing forward no matter what this hostile world threw at him.

To be Continued

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