As the soldiers led Raze toward the nurse room, he kept his head down, his thoughts spiraling back to the fight.
'My body… it moved on its own. I didn't even control it.'
A dull weight settled in his chest.
Saren's face flashed through his mind—twisted in pain, shocked and afraid. Raze tried to justify it. Tried to remind himself that Saren had pushed first. That it had been a fight.
But it didn't sit right.
Even if it was a spar, they had both gone too far.
Suddenly without warning pain tore through his stomach.
[-2 HP]
[Your hunger continues to grow]
[HP: 14 / 100]
Raze flinched, his step faltering for just a moment before he caught himself.
The hunger was worse now. Not like normal hunger. This was deep—raw. Something gnawing at him from the inside, twisting and tightening like it was alive.
Something shifted in his mind.
Slow. Heavy. Predatory.
'What's happening to me?!' Raze yelled internally. 'System?!'
The response came instantly.
[You must consume the flesh of any living creature to restore HP and fully regain regeneration.]
Raze's eyes widened.
He forced his expression back to neutral, praying the soldiers didn't notice the way his breathing hitched.
'Eat the flesh of a living creature?!' he snapped internally. 'Are you insane?!'
[Regeneration remains disabled until flesh is consumed.]
[HP will continue to decrease by 2 every hour.]
Raze clenched his fists as he walked.
The soldiers ahead of him didn't notice a thing. They moved at an easy pace, talking quietly among themselves.
'Maybe it's exaggerating,' he tried to reason. 'Maybe normal food will work. Meat from the cafeteria. Something.'
[Warning: Refusal will result in HP depletion.]
The message stayed there longer this time.
Unmoving.
Like the system was forcing him to look at it.
Raze turned his gaze away.
'What kind of system even is this?' he thought. 'Why does it feel more like a curse than a gift?'
The soldiers stopped in front of the nurse room. One of them knocked twice before opening the door.
"Bring him in," a nurse called.
Raze inhaled slowly.
Whatever this hunger was—he'd deal with it later.
The nurse guided him to a bed near the back of the room and began checking him over, her fingers light but practiced. She frowned slightly.
"You were in a sparring match, right?"
Raze nodded. "Yeah."
"That's strange…" She scanned him again. "Your vitals are stable, but you look like you were thrown across the platform. Let me heal you."
She placed a hand on his shoulder. A warm green glow spread from her palm, flowing through his body. The pain faded. Bruises vanished.
But his HP didn't move.
Raze noticed immediately.
'I'm healed… but not healed.'
"I'll keep you here for a few hours," the nurse said. "Just in case. Protocol."
"Understood," Raze replied quietly.
She jotted something onto her tablet and moved on.
The moment she turned away, pain twisted through his stomach again.
Minutes crawled by.
Then hours.
[-2 HP]
[HP: 12 / 100]
Raze curled his fingers into the bed sheets, swallowing hard as his stomach cramped violently.
The nurse passed by and paused.
"You look pale," she said. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," Raze answered. "I'm fine."
It was a lie.
Time kept moving.
[-2 HP]
[-2 HP]
[-2 HP]
[-2 HP]
[HP: 4 / 100]
By the time the clock hit six, his head felt light and his body heavy.
The nurse returned. "You're clear to go. Just take it easy tonight."
Raze forced a smile. "Thanks."
The moment he stepped outside, the hunger exploded.
His stomach growled violently, so hard it felt like something inside him was trying to tear its way out.
Raze looked around quickly.
There was no students and no soldiers nearby which meant that the coast was clear.
'Forest,' he decided. 'Before curfew.'
He moved fast through the quiet corridors, footsteps echoing off polished floors. Most students were already back in their dorms. Patrol drones hovered above, but their routes were predictable.
'I just need to be back before curfew,' he told himself.
The academy gates opened with a low hiss.
Beyond the walls stretched open land and dense forest.
Raze's eyes locked onto the trees.
[Quest Received: Hunt for food]
[Reward: 100 EXP]
Raze didn't acknowledge it.
He broke into a jog, grass crunching beneath his feet.
Inside the forest, the air smelled cleaner. Darker. Alive. Small movements rustled between the trees.
He crouched low.
A rabbit hopped into view.
Raze exhaled slowly. 'Just a little closer.'
He lunged.
Too slow.
The rabbit slipped through his fingers and vanished.
"Damn it," he muttered.
He straightened, frustration burning. "Trying to catch something small is wasting time I don't have."
His jaw tightened.
"Then I need something bigger."
He sprinted deeper into the forest.
Branches snapped beneath his feet. His movements felt different now—smoother. Sharper.
'Deer. Boar. Anything.'
The light faded. Shadows deepened.
Then his vision shifted.
A faint blue glow edged his sight, pulling detail from the darkness.
Raze didn't question it.
He was past questioning.
He heard a rustle ahead.
He slowed.
There a deer grazed quietly.
Raze crouched. 'Just one step…'
Snap.
The deer bolted.
"Damn it!" The growl left his throat before he could stop it.
He chased.
His lungs burned. His legs screamed.
Then it hit him.
'I leveled up.'
He opened his status and dumped all three points into agility.
[Agility +3]
[Agility: 19]
The difference was instant.
He closed the gap.
Then he remembered.
Piercing Slash.
Black-and-white energy spiraled around his hands, cutting through the dark.
'This has to work.'
He aimed.
[Piercing Slash activated.]
The slash tore through the forest like a blade, striking the deer's flank. It cried out and collapsed.
Raze didn't hesitate.
He leapt forward and ended it with a single blow.
It was his life or the deer's.
He chose his life.
His instincts took over.
[HP Restoring]
[First Hunt Completed]
[100 EXP Awarded]
[First Deer Killed: +100 EXP]
[EXP: 400 / 400]
[Level Up]
[You are now Level 4]
[New Skill Acquired: Flesh Bank]
Raze stood there afterward, breathing hard.
Blood on his hands.
He didn't feel stronger.
He felt changed.