[ Human
Lvl 145
Exp 2/1450
HP 1/10 050
MP 0/15 000
STR 150
DEX 150
CHA 265
< Skills > ]
Abel stared at his status screen with despair. He was down to one HP. He swallowed loudly, looking back at his assailants. They were part of Xie Ling's, the leader of Hell guild, personal guard. Their masks were unmistakably Hell's masks. It was a tangible proof of Xie Ling's betrayal. Hah… Who was he kidding, Xie Ling, betraying Abel ? No, he bet Xie Ling wouldn't qualify that as a betrayal. He would just say he was squishing an annoying insect.
Abel had found his callousness funny before. Endearing even. It wasn't very endearing anymore. Abel looked back at the silhouettes.
Neither of the shadows had lost much health. And even if by some miracle Abel managed to kill one of them, ten others would come out.
" Ready to give up ? " Asked one of the masked silhouettes.
" No…" Abel rasped.
No, he repeated in his head. He wasn't ready to die. He coughed. No, he thought. He couldn't see their face, but Abel already knew their cruel smirk by heart. It was the same expression he had gotten so used to wearing.
He cursed under his breath. He felt a warm liquid go up his throat. There was a metallic taste in his mouth. Dark spots started overtaking his vision.
The shadow gave him one last brutal kick that rattled his bones. He saw his HP go from one to zero. His vision went completely dark.
***
Abel sighed contentedly. He was so comfortable. He shifted, the grass beneath him caressed his skin. The sun hit him just right, warming him down to his soul. He sighed again.
Wait, wasn't he supposed to be dead ? Memories of his death suddenly hit him. He suddenly opened his eyes.
Everything was so… strange. The grass seemed like normal grass, yet it was tall enough to reach his thighs. There was no shadow either. Well, there were shadows, but none dark enough that he wasn't able to see beneath.
Disoriented, he tried standing up. He immediately fell. Instinctively, he whipped back and forth the weight behind him to try to balance himself. Abel froze, realizing what he had just done.
He looked behind himself to see what just moved. A dark, fluffy tail was moving around to his commands. Abel looked down, and finally realized that his hands weren't actually hands, but small paws.
Abel's fur - god he had fur - was raised as he jumped back. He yelled, or at least tried to yell. What actually came out of his mouth was a distinctively feline hiss.
Abel checked his status.
[ Cat
Lvl 1
Exp 0/10
HP 10/10
MP 10/10
STR 1
DEX 1
CHA 1
< Skills > ]
No. Not his status. Not his stats ! Unable to tap with his finger, Abel clicked 'skills' with his entire paw.
[ None ]
No. He cursed in his head, unable to curse out loud. He hissed at the screen. Damn it ! He would have preferred dying over becoming some weak cat !
Abel pawed at the screen, his limb going through the screen like always. Tch. It was no use crying over spilled milk.
Besides, he was being dramatic. It was better being alive and weaker than ever than being dead. Because as long as even a single HP was left, Abel had a chance at revenge.
Abel growled thinking back to those that had killed him. Abel had been the boss's right hand for as long as they had known each other, and this is what he got ?
No, Abel couldn't let Xie Ling get away with it. He had sacrificed everything for his guild, he had killed countless people. No, Xie Ling wouldn't get away with it. Even if Abel had to die again.
But first, to kill someone as strong as Xie Ling, he needed to level up. He glared at his status. A measly 1 was next to his level, right where he usually saw 1450. Yeah, he had a lot of work to do.
Abel left the patch of grass he was on. His body was unfamiliar and he stumbled more than walked. Still, Abel bared his teeth and took bit right into an insect. Its body squirmed underneath his tongue before he pierced it with his fangs and blood filled his mouth. Abel forced himself to swallow it all down. It was disgusting. But it wasn't the worst thing.
[ + 1 Exp ]
The best and fastest ways of leveling up had always been killing and eating. Even if it was small, it was still something. Abel stalked the high grass. His eyes wandered around for something to kill.
A large creature was creeping around. Abel approached it hesitantly to see what it was. Its scales shone under the sunlight. It was some kind of snake. He cursed.
It annoyed him, but he definitely couldn't win against a snake right now. Well, he corrected himself, he couldn't win against a snake in a fair fight. An idea appeared in his mind. His lips curled into something resembling a smile.
Snakes had been a common pest he had to get rid of when he was a human. A fairly common way to get rid of them was tobacco. If he was still in West Rein, - which given the climate, animals and vegetation, he was - he should find a tobacco plantation nearby. Especially in backwaters places such as these. As long as he could find a town, he would find a plantation nearby.
Of course, he couldn't put that much effort just to kill some crawling reptile. No, if he was going to do these, he might as well poison a whole river. After that, corpses should just fly into his mouth. He licked his lips, his heart speeding up just at the thought of that much Exp.
But in the meantime he guessed he could settle for insects, he thought, clawing at some ant-like thing before biting its tiny head off.
[ + 1 Exp ]