Power hit him like a rising tide. The moment Kaizer chose Bestial Fighter, something surged through his body, cold and hot at once. His heart pounded, not faster, but heavier, each beat sending ripples through his muscles and bones. The silver markings on his arm flared, then dimmed, settling into a steady pulse that matched his breath.
He drew in air and froze. The forest was different. He could smell damp soil, crushed ferns, the faint musk of something that had passed nearby during the night. Smoke from his small fire clung to his clothes, threaded through with the scent of ash and charred wood. Even the cold had a smell, sharp and clean.
Kaizer looked down at his right arm. Tufts of short silver fur had begun to grow along the back of his forearm and around the wrist, soft but dense. They caught the moonlight like frost. Beneath them, the skin felt thicker, less fragile, a little too warm. He flexed his fingers. The arm obeyed like it had always been his, yet there was a wrongness to it, a weight and balance his old body had never known.
“This is mine,” he whispered, “and yet, it doesn’t feel like it.” His nails felt tight, as if something pressed beneath them. He closed his eyes again and focused on his breathing. Inhale. Exhale. The energy within him began to settle, flowing toward a point just below his heart. It coiled there, a small, dense knot of presence.
A soft chime sounded inside his mind.
[Class Confirmed: Bestial Fighter (Rare)]
[Core Rank: Initiate]
[Essence Capacity: Rank F]
[New Trait Acquired: Feral Insight]
[New Skill Acquired: Beast Claw]
Kaizer opened his eyes. Faint symbols hovered at the edge of his vision, waiting for his permission. “Status,” he said. The panel shimmered into being, clean and cold.
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STATUS WINDOW
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Name: Kaizer Harth
Race: Human (Beast Touched)
Class: Bestial Fighter (Rare)
Level: 1
Core Rank: Initiate
Essence Capacity: Rank F
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ATTRIBUTES
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Strength: 7
Endurance: 7
Agility: 6
Perception: 8
Mind: 5
Instinct: 9
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TRAITS
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This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Divine Blessing of Silver
Instinctive Regeneration
Feral Insight
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SKILLS
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Beast Claw (Inferior)
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He studied the values. They were not impressive, not yet, but he could feel the potential behind them. Strength and Endurance pulsed faintly under his skin. Perception tugged at the edges of his senses, sharpening what he heard and smelled. Mind sat low, a reminder that not everything can be comprehended easily. Instinct hummed just beneath consciousness, the highest of his attributes already, something primal pushing for recognition.
The table faded from his vision, but its presence lingered in his thoughts like a second spine, straight and cold. Another chime sounded.
[Tutorial Status: Active, Day 2/30]
[Participants Remaining: 7,102/10,000]
Kaizer frowned. Almost thirty percent had gone already. People who screamed, people who had run, people who had frozen and been devoured. Would he be one of them? He let the number sit with him for a long moment, then inhaled slowly and let it go. Thinking about the dead would not help the living.
Far above the forest, in realms unseen, something stirred. In forgotten mountains whose peaks never knew warmth, the Bear opened his eyes. He felt a tug in the core of his domain, like distant earth shifting under a new weight. In deep oceans where no light had ever touched, the Serpent stirred in its sleep. High in winds that could strip flesh from bone, the Eagle paused mid flight, head turning toward the little blue world below. And further still, beyond the dominion of gods, a vast presence opened itself by the smallest degree. For this was a divine blessing, never before given.
Soon, the shock faded and the forests grew quiet once again. Kaizer shivered but did not know why. Morning found him awake before the sun had fully risen. The embers of his fire glowed a dull red. He stood and stretched, rolling his shoulders. Joints popped, but not in protest. His body felt like an Olympic athletes.
Kaizer tested his grip on a nearby tree, sinking into the rough bark more easily than they should have. Not enough to crush or tear, but enough to feel the difference. He took a low breath and let instinct guide him. Turn left. Listen. Smell. Water. Damp earth. A musky, sharp scent carrying a hint of aggression.
He moved quietly through the undergrowth. Leaves brushed his legs. Each step he took landed exactly where he intended. His breathing was controlled. His heartbeat steady. The scent grew stronger. A low grunt of effort sounded ahead. Kaizer eased around the trunk and saw it. A mutated boar filled his view. Its shoulders were as high as his chest, muscles rolled under a bristled hide, large tusks curling in brutal arcs.
As Kaizer continued to stare at the boar, something appeared in his vision, above the boar.
[Mutated Boar]
[Level 3]
Kaizer crouched. He knew he would have to face monsters to grow. “You’ll do,” he whispered. He scanned the clearing. No other beasts were in sight, it seemed as if the boar was truly alone, moving through the underbrush. Kaizer centred his weight, then whispered. “Beast Claw.”
Pain bloomed instantly. His fingernails split, peeling back. Blood welled at the sides of his fingers, hot and metallic. From beneath the broken nails, pale curved claws pushed outward, sliding into place. Kaizer laughed softly. “Maybe I should be called Sabretooth” he remarked, thinking about one of his favourite movies.
Catching his breath, realising he was being too loud, he noticed the boar sniff the air, turn its head and look directly at him. It charged. Kaizer charged in turn. The world narrowed into motion and instinct. He veered right and dropped low. The boar thundered past, tusk clipping his hip and tearing fabric. As it passed, he drove his clawed right hand into the thick muscle behind its neck. Flesh parted with a wet tear. Blood sprayed across his arm and the boar screamed and bucked violently, ripping his arm free and staggering.
The boar turned again, head lower, clearly in agony. Kaizer moved before thinking, leaping forward and planted his foot on the boars skull. He punched down with his left hand, knuckles cracking against the thick skull. Without so much as a scream, the boar crashed sideways and lay still.
Silence settled, Kaizer walked over and stabbed with his claws one last time for good measure. A blue steam rose from the boar and made its way into Kaizer. Not steam, essence? Experience? Kaizer wasn’t sure but he felt it sink deep into him, into his Core. A warmth spread through his body and Kaizer immediately knew his strength had increased.
[Essence absorbed]
[Level Up]
[Strength +1, Agility +1, Instinct +2, Free Points +4]
His status flickered briefly before vanishing.
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STATUS UPDATE
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Level: 2
Strength: 8
Endurance: 7
Agility: 7
Perception: 8
Mind: 5
Instinct: 11
Free Points: 4
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If this was anything to go by, Kaizer would receive 8 points per level. Not exactly an even spread, especially since he clearly couldn’t allocate all of his stats. He would have to carefully look into this later.
Kaizer’s claws began to retract. New nails pushing through his skin, itching horribly. His fingers throbbed. “Fuck, this is going to hurt every time,” he muttered. He sat back against a tree and closed his eyes. Looking deep into himself, he noticed a small orb, glowing faintly. “This must be my Core” he thought to himself. He sensed energies swirling within. Something about them felt uneven, though he could not tell why.
He breathed out slowly, letting the tension in his limbs sink into the soil. He opened his eyes to inspect himself. His body felt slightly stronger and his senses sharper, the biggest change being his beer belly. His stomach was shrinking, muscles tightening as if his body were being rebuilt toward a more efficient shape. Kaizer continued his meditation. Closing his eyes again, he reached inward towards the uneven energies and tried to calm the forces within.
three chapters per week, posted on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I already have a solid buffer written, so this pace should remain consistent.
-- Chimera Works.
