Chapter 4. Predation (2)
“Predation?”
Isaac was familiar with that term.
He remembered seeing it while creating his character.
[The Intestines of a Dead God: Absorb some abilities and traits from your defeated foes.]
Was this the result of predation? Come to think of it, a similar message showed up when the tentacles chowed down on Calzen.
“Does this mean my body snagged some of Calzen’s skills and traits?”
But Isaac didn’t have much time to mull it over.
“Murzik, what on earth just happened…?”
In his panic, Isaac nearly turned to ask the cat for its two cents. But Murzik, feeling slighted, hissed and bolted off without a glance back.
“Cat’s outta here!”
“Isaac?”
Isaac’s heart dropped. Johan, who had been snoring next to him, was now staring at him. Isaac was afraid Johan had peeped everything.
“Isaac…? What were you munching on?”
“Oh, nothing. Murzik was here and had a snack on a mouse.”
Not entirely false. Thankfully, Johan seemed to have been stirred from his sleep by the ruckus and dozed back off shortly after.
Isaac couldn’t wrap his head around what had just gone down.
“Wait, tentacles coming out of my hand? Eating a mouse? What’s happening here?”
He was thinking back to a month ago. The memory of those tentacles bursting out of his chest after getting cut by the sword was still fresh in his mind, wreaking havoc everywhere. If that had happened now, all the kids in the room would’ve been toast. Luckily, that nightmare scenario didn’t play out.
“What the heck is going on with me?”
Isaac checked his hand. No trace of those freaky tentacles that had popped out of his chest remained. It felt like a weird dream.
But just as he was trying to shake off that dream-like feeling, a message appeared on screen.
“[Touch of Chaos]. [A neat trick for followers of the Nameless Chaos. Summons tentacles to take down enemies. Gets stronger based on your health and faith.]”
“Huh…”
Each faith had their own bag of tricks. The ‘Codex of Light’ crew could whip up light and fire, while ‘Golden Idol’ fans could splash the cash for advice. Tentacles, on the other hand, were the bread and butter of the Nameless Chaos devotees.
“Ah, that kinda makes sense…”
Realizing it was a skill made Isaac feel a bit better. It was easier to wrap his head around it like some game move rather than thinking about a creepy creature inside him.
But then it hit him – he wasn’t hungry anymore.
“No way. I didn’t snack on that mouse, the tentacles did.”
He flopped back on his bed, trying to process the madness he just witnessed.
***
After all that craziness, he thought he wouldn’t be catching any Z’s, but he knocked out like a tired 14-year-old should. His body needed rest, no doubt. And weirdly, his stomach felt oddly full, so sleep came easy.
The next day, Isaac was deep in thought again. The tentacles, this world, his values – it was all a puzzle that needed solving.
“How do I keep on keeping on?”
A fragile body.
A lineage with bad rep with the gods.
A follower of a faith that could get him killed if anyone found out.
Tentacles that popped out whenever they felt like it.
Out of all these, that sneaky faith was the biggest headache.
Isaac didn’t know much about the Nameless Chaos. But hanging around the game’s fringes, you stumble upon these quests. Creepy settings, spooky vibes, folks vanishing. If it’s starting to feel like a horror flick, those tentacle monsters are never far behind.
The same kind that jumped Isaac that one wild night.
These bad boys were a “special quest” that needed taking out, no matter what faith you believed in.
“No way I can get caught.”
Getting caught would mean game over – the medieval execution kind. Burned at the stake, stoned, you name it.
Isaac pictured the friendly monks turning on him, ready to dish out some medieval justice.
“[The Nameless Chaos is watching you.]”
Shivers or not, the Nameless Chaos had its eye on him.
He was faced with a ton of tough choices.
He could hide away, resort to shady tactics to survive, but Isaac didn’t want to live like a hermit in a cave.
He was the master of this game. Thoughts of defeat weren’t even in his vocabulary.
His mind was always on the “winning strategy”.
What that strategy was, he wasn’t quite sure yet, but survival was the first step.
“Gotta beef up if I wanna make it out there alive.”
It was totally impossible to swipe some meat from the storage. Like, was there even any meat to steal?
Then out of the blue, this voice calls out, “Hey, kiddo, feeling sick or something?”
Isaac spins around to find this rugged, rough-looking dude staring down at him. And bam, it’s Gebel. Not your typical monk chilling at the monastery, but more like a free-spirited dude doing odd jobs and hunting. The kids all thought he was some runaway soldier or something and low-key feared him.
Isaac, caught off guard by the convo, tensed up and went, “Huh?” That’s when he notices something big: Gebel’s belt screams knight vibes. Like, for real. But what’s a knight doing all raggedy, hanging out at a monastery? Definitely not the norm for former knights, who were usually held in high regard. Isaac figures Gebel must’ve retired or needed a quick hideout spot.
Then it hits him – this dude’s a knight! Before he could dwell on it, Gebel’s like, “You zoning out, kid? Might have to call out your slacking to the monks.” Issac’s quick to be like, “Nope, all good here, man.”
And Gebel’s like, “Dude, you talk weird for a kid. And stop crouching; I almost stepped on you.” With a scoff, he strides past Isaac, who catches a whiff of something funky. Pointing at Gebel’s basket, he’s like, “Bruh, mice in there?”
“How’d you guess? These critters are wrecking the place, so I’m on a trapping spree. Can’t let ‘em munch on our winter stash.” Gebel chuckles, thinking he’ll scare Isaac by dumping a load of dead mice before him. But Isaac’s all fascinated, musing about roasting autumn mice for a feast.
“So, can you eat mice?” Isaac asks, all intrigued. Gebel laughs, shocked at the question. “Nah, man, the ‘Codex of Light’ says it’s a no-go. Mice are considered dark creatures that spread germs. Not cool for monks, you know?”
Isaac’s like, “Religions, schmeligions. As long as I don’t chow down on ‘em, what’s the harm?” With a straight face, he goes, “Mind if I handle this?”
“Handle what?” Gebel shoots him a curious look. Isaac finds it odd, ‘cause most folks hated chores. But Gebel agrees, “Sure thing. Shallow pit’s ready; just gotta bury ’em. Even a kid like you can manage.”
Gebel gives Isaac a side-eye and adds,
“Hey, no plans to mess around with those mice, right? If I catch wind of you goofing off with dead mice in the monastery, you’re in for it, buddy.”
“No worries.”
Isaac locked eyes with Gebel and mumbled, “I’ll tell Brother Alek. The hole’s that way. Remember to sprinkle lye water on the corpses before burying them.” Gebel left without another word, abandoning the basket.
Isaac now had a hunch about Gebel’s background. “Definitely a knight. Must’ve been someone important…”
In a world where people were starving on the battlefield against the Immortal Order near the holy land, being called a knight was no small deal. It all clicked for Isaac – the monks’ cautiousness, their silence. They weren’t just being fancy, they were onto something. If Gebel was hiding his knightly past, it explained a lot.
Isaac tucked this info away for later use, focusing on the task at hand. Dragging the basket of mouse corpses, he made his way to the designated spot pointed out by Gebel. A pit awaited, ready to be filled with the unfortunate mice, doused in lye water, and buried.
Checking for onlookers, Isaac hesitated. “Should I really eat this?”
Well, why not? Rat meat had been consumed throughout history. There were even fancy rat meat recipes in France. He also pondered the strange tentacles that had appeared before – maybe it was a one-time thing. But as if on cue, the tentacles reappeared and snatched a mouse from his hand.
Crunch, crunch.
[You’ve consumed a ‘field mouse’.]
[Digestion perk ‘Predation’ increased efficiency.]
[Resistance to minor illnesses boosted.]
[Blessing effect until digestion completes.]
Isaac stared at the tentacles, feeling less afraid and more like he was feeding a pet. “Go on, eat up,” he muttered, resigned but determined to survive. In this destitute monastery, protein was hard to come by.
Hopeful that Gebel wouldn’t unearth the pit, Isaac looked ahead.
***
Isaac mulled over Gebel, or rather, the knight.
In this world, gods were real and granted powers to their followers. Power and authority came from the divine.
Monks here worked miracles daily, from lighting candles to performing great feats. The scriptures spoke of grander miracles too.
Halting the sun to punish a city, blinding heretics, summoning light-made apostles for divine messages – the priests and knights held immense power.
“Both are big leagues in the Nameless Chaos world.”
Being a priest was cool, but Isaac couldn’t help worrying about his lack of physical strength. On the flip side, knights were all about survival skills, and Isaac found that pretty attractive considering he only had one shot at life with no do-overs.
Moreover, thanks to the Nephilim’s strong faith game, Isaac thought he might be able to tap into some serious power akin to priests.
“The issue is, man, this whole place is all about the ‘Codex of Light’…” Tentacles. Those pesky tentacles were the real problem.
