He pushed himself over and came face to face with one of the corpses. Fear shot through him, but he forced himself to breathe.
'It's dead. Just... dead.'
His hand trembled as he reached out and pressed his palm against the corpse's cold chest.
'Absorb!'
[Absorption skill activated!]
A strange sensation crawled up his arm, like ice water flowing backwards through his veins. The corpse's skin began to pale, turning ashen grey as something vital drained from it into him.
[HP: 15 → 18... 21... 24...] The numbers increased as he absorbed more of the corpse's essence. The pain in his ribs dulled and his breathing came easier. It wasn't much, but it was working.
[Absorption complete!]
[HP recovered: +12]
[Current HP: 27/100]
He yanked his hand back, staring at the withered husk that used to be a person. 'I feel slightly better, but I'm not fully recovered.. as much as I don't like doing this to the bodies of dead people, I don't have a choice'
Using the strength he recovered, he pulled himself closer to the next corpse he found close to him on his right and placed his hands on the closest part of the body.
[Absorption skill activated!]
[Analysing corpse...]
[Target: Human Farmer - Deceased]
[Absorbing vitality... HP +13]
[Absorbing essence... HP +10]
[Total HP recovered: +23]
[Current HP: 50/100]
He kept his hand steady on the body, absorbing its essence until the wind blew by and carried the dust from the surface of the earth, coating his eyes with dust.
He pulled his hand away to wipe his eyes, and a system notification rang through his ears. He struggled to open his eyes, with the dust particles still in them but the beeping sound from the system didn't stop until he responded with a tap on the screen.
"For heaven's sake, stop beeping!!" He yelled at the system, finally staring at the cause of the reaction.
[Warning: Prolonged contact recommended for complete absorption]
[Additional Benefits Detected: +1 Strength, Basic Survival Knowledge]
[Time Required: 45 seconds]
[Continue absorption? Y/N]
'Additional benefits? Are there benefits from absorbing a corpse's essence?' He stared, unfamiliar with the new knowledge he discovered. "So basically I can attain certain skills and traits from these corpses..?! Awesome!!" he jubilated, and responded immediately, tapping on the 'Y' section of the option.
The system's neon red screen glowed bright then dulled as the response option was coded into the system. Then he brought his hands closer to the body and continued the process, absorbing every last bit.
'With this new information, I don't feel so bad absorbing the essence of a corpse anymore' he grinned, putting more effort into it.
After some minutes, the system notification rang and he raised his head to stare at his reward. 'Sweet reward, come to papa!'
[Absorption complete!]
[+1 Strength acquired]
[Skill gained: Basic Survival Knowledge (Passive)]
[Basic Survival Knowledge: Identify edible plants, track weather patterns, basic first aid]
[Corpse fully drained]
He glared at the farmer's corpse, a bit of regret gnawing at the back of his mind but he quickly shook his head. 'It's for the greater good, it's a dead body anyway. It shouldn't bother me that much..' he tried to convince himself.
His wounds had almost closed up, his stamina subtly returned, and the pain subsided. He could now sit up, and even stand without regret or the fear that his spine might slip out of his body.
'Basic Survival Knowledge…' he stared at the new skill he attained then turned to the many corpses that lay around. Moving about absorbing each and every one of them wouldn't be bad, he would gain more essence and maybe skills but he didn't have time.
Every second that went by had its consequences, and he needed to get into motion but gaining enough energy was required for the next part of his reincarnation, so he took his time and drained the essence from the remaining corpses.
System notifications flared on the screen, multiple messages coming in at once, at some point, it felt like the system was starting to lag due to the overload.
[Target: Human Villager - Deceased]
[Prolonged absorption complete!]
[+1 Endurance acquired]
[Skill gained: Local Geography (Passive)]
[Local Geography: Basic knowledge of nearby villages, roads, and landmarks]
[Target: Human Vagrant - Deceased]
[Prolonged absorption complete!]
[+1 Agility acquired]
[Skill gained: Streetwise (Passive)]
[Streetwise: Heightened awareness in urban environments, detect danger, identify safe shelters]
[Target: Human Merchant - Deceased]
[Prolonged absorption complete!]
[Skill gained: Appraisal (Passive) Lv1]
[Appraisal: Assess the value and quality of common items and materials]
The messages popped into view one after the other, overshadowing each other until the last one. 'Sheesh, I didn't get the skills I was expecting but I guess I can use these for the time being..' he grinned, rising to his feet.
He tapped on the system screen and pulled up his status window. The translucent display flickered to life, showing his current progress.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Lucius Arkebold
Level: 1
HP: 85/100
MP: 0/0
—ATTRIBUTES—
STR (Strength): 43
AGI (Agility): 28
VIT (Vitality): 50
INT (Intelligence): 41
—SKILLS—
• Absorption (Grade A, Rank D)
• Basic Survival Knowledge (Passive)
• Local Geography (Passive)
• Streetwise (Passive)
• Appraisal Lv1 (Passive)
—TITLES—
None
—STATUS EFFECTS—
Minor Fatigue (Recovering)
He stared at the numbers, a grin spreading across his face. 'Not bad for a few minutes of work. My vitality's the highest, guess all that life force absorption paid off.'
His strength had nearly doubled, and his agility wasn't far behind. He clenched his fist, feeling the difference. The weakness from earlier was gone, replaced by a subtle surge of energy coursing through his body.
'I think this is enough, with my new skill
The sun had already started setting beyond the horizon, which meant he had a few minutes or rather hours left before darkness covered the entire land.
'Shelter and food. Travelling to Hancock right now won't be easy, I'll leave at dawn. For now, I'll search around the area for food, I think I should be able to find something edible around here'