《DEADMAN》 CH:1-I Am A DeadMan My name is Azrael Mortem and today is a day like any other. I wake up at 6:30 am, get out of bed and hit the shower. By 7:30 I''m dressed and ready to go. My little sister is still asleep in her room so I go wake her up. I yell at her, ¡°Alicia you''re going to be late for school, get the fuck up!!!¡± She responds in a half asleep bratty scream, ¡°Shut up retard! I''m going!¡± Our language might seem a bit offensive, but that''s just the way we speak to each other. We are the type of family that always fights, but in the end we truly care about each other. The only time we spoke with respect was to our parents or in public. The rest of the time was casual cursing. I could hear Alicia¡¯s footsteps as she readied up for school. As her older brother it was my job to drive her to school on my way to work. Our parents worked night shift so they slept in most mornings. After I graduated from high school I got a job with the Department of Water and Power in order to help support my family. I had wanted to continue my education, but family circumstances didn''t allow for it. My father got laid off and had to start anew at another place. His wage was much lower now and he wasn''t able to support the family. It was 8:05 am by the time we were in the car. School started at 8:15 and we didn''t live far from it so Alicia would probably make it on time. I drove an old white 98 Honda Civic. Dang thing is old, but reliable. I look at Alicia as she stares out the window and say, ¡°Put on your seat belt.¡± She scowls at me and says, ¡°Why do you care?¡± I refocus on the road as I say, ¡°Bitch I''m driving, if the cops see you I get the ticket.¡± She refutes me as normal, ¡°You already get a ticket every other week for speeding dumbass.¡± To this I had no response, she was right. I was a busy guy and sometimes I pushed the limits a bit to get things done faster. It wasn''t until I almost got my license suspended that I learned to slow down. It''s better to just stay quiet. I dropped her off before heading to work. The freeway was packed when you were heading to downtown L.A. in the mornings, but since I went the other way it was almost empty. As I drove down the empty highway it hit me. I suddenly felt a excruciating pain in my chest. My heart was in pain, a pain I remembered from childhood. I was feeling dizzy and nauseated. My mind was out of focus and I couldn''t control the car. My hands instinctively let go of the steering wheel and clenched my chest. I had been born with a heart defect, something to do with the electrical signals that control my heartbeat. It made me prone to suddenly go into cardiac arrest. It happened twice so far, when I was born and at the age of three. Both times I got lucky and a good shock brought me back. My parents couldn''t afford the surgery so I didn''t get it. Since then I hadn''t had an attack, so it had been largely forgotten, until now. God why did it have to happen now? Of all times throughout the day, why? Is this the way I end? What kills me first, the crash or my heart? Fucken damnit!... I guess I lived a good life... Wonder if there''s an afterlife? [CRASH] I could feel the impact, but it feels numb. Not sure if that''s because I''m already dying or the airbags helped out. My thoughts are muddled as my mind goes to blank darkness. ---(Meanwhile)--- World Found Size: Small Name: Earth World Grade: Standard Intelligent Lifeforms: 1 Species Name: Human Population: 7+ Billion Technological Achievement: Basic Spiritual Achievement: Below Basic Compatibility: High Acceptance Confirmed Population Extraction Start Population Extraction Complete Initializing Terraforming 3 2 1 Begin ¡­ Terraforming Complete Quality: Excellent Post Terraformation Processes Start: Wildlife Reconfiguration Complete Plant Life Reconfiguration Complete Microbe Reconfiguration Complete Mana Core Installation Complete Post Terraformation Processes End Population Reintroduction Complete Master System Installation Initializing 3 2 1If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Begin ... Master System Installation Complete System Starting... ---(Back to MC)--- Cough Cough Cough Cough Cough Gasp I was woken up by the unpleasant feeling of water going down the wrong path. What happened? Where am I? Wasn''t I supposed to be dead. Looking around all I could see was the beach. Yes, I was on a beach. My focus then changed to the weird sensation coming from my left arms. Biting into it was a small yellow watersnake. As I grabbed it and attempted to pull it off I was shocked, no literally, l was shocked. The feeling was there yet I felt no pain. Little bastard was like an electric eel! It could shock me instantly. More surprising was why didn''t it hurt? Before my thoughts got to far a notification popped up in front of me.
Undetected Organism Found System Initializing Error Found Troubleshooting New Living Organism Error Found: Impossibility Reclassification Required System Failure Please Wait For Resolution
What the hell was that? I was spammed by notifications and all of a suddenly they disappeared. They said something about a system and about revival. Looking at the little snake dangling from my arm intent to eat me I think if my situation. My heart had stopped because of cardiac arrest. I should be dead, or maybe I already was¡­ OF COURSE! Now it makes sense. The snake must have shocked me back to life. That only answered one of my questions, but I still had many more. None of which could be answered. I once again grabbed the snake, and this time I really did yank it off. Knowing that this little thing saved my life I don''t want to kill it. It''s decided, he will be my pet snake called Lightning. Lightning attempts to struggle out of my grip, but it''s futile. I have a firm grip on him and have no wanting to let him go. He bites me a couple of times and draws a few drops of blood. It doesn''t hurt so I don''t mind. I''ll make sure to properly train him later. Some minutes later the notifications were back.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! The system has found a resolution.
You were DEAD when the SYSTEM INITIALIZED so you were not considered part of HUMANITY. Being REVIVED without connection to the SYSTEM means you were turned into an UNDEAD; however, since an UNDEAD cannot be LIVING, you did not fit into any known CLASSIFICATION. The SYSTEM has resolved this by adding a new SPECIES of which you are the only SPECIMEN. This SPECIES was made by mixing the best traits of HUMAN and UNDEAD (ZOMBIE subspecies). You are now a DEADMAN.
DEADMAN
Species Description: A DEADMAN is a unique variant subspecies of both human and zombie origin. Only one specimen currently exists. Like other undeads a DEADMAN has infinite stamina, no health regeneration and can acquire an undead class. Like humans a DEADMAN has the ability to acquire a human class, use mana and use the SYSTEM. A DEADMAN¡¯S weakness is his head as he cannot die without its destruction. Although, without health regeneration a DEADMAN can heal by eating live or recently deceased organisms of flesh. A DEADMAN also has numbed senses and cannot feel pain. As long as a DEADMAN feeds and is not killed it can live indefinitely. As part of two species it also gains stat bonuses from both every level it increases.
Wow this was a lot to take in. I was no longer considered human. The immortality and bonuses seemed cool, but the feeding creeped me out. As I finished reading the description it disappeared and in front of me was my stat chart. It looked like that of an RPG game.
Name Azrael Mortem
Level 1(0/100)
Species Deadman
Age 27
Classes None
Main Stats Health (100) H.Regen (N/A)
Stamina (Infinite) S.Regen (N/A)
Mana (50) M.Regen (10 per hour)
Extra Stats Strength 0x2[undead bonus] =(0)
Endurance 0x2[undead bonus] = (0)
Vitality = 0
Durability = 0
Agility = 0
Dexterity 0x0.5[undead debuff] = 0
Mentality = 0
Perception = 0
Intelligence = 0
Wisdom 10x0.5[undead debuff] = 0
Passive Skills Numbed Nerves -lvl.N/A: Less feeling of touch. M.Cost(0)
Pain Immunity -lvl.N/A: Cannot feel pain. M.Cost(0)
Unaging -lvl.N/A: Cannot age. M.Cost(0)
Consumer of Flesh -lvl.1(0/100): Eating live or recently deceased flesh heal injuries, regenerates body parts and refills health. Level increases efficiency and speed. M.Cost(0)
Ambient Sustenance -lvl.N/A: Like undeads all you need for sustenance is ambient mana. M.Cost(0)
Active Skills Death Status -lvl.1(0/100): Stop all metabolic function and enter a dead like state. Movement during this state doubles mana cost. Level reduces cost. M.Cost(10/min)
Note: Extra stats do not represent your pre-system abilities. Undead bonuses bonuses/debuffs are already affecting you.
Once again, as I finished going over my info a new pop up appeared. These things are starting to get really annoying.
Humans and Deadman your world has been chosen to participate in a trial by the SYSTEM. Your world has been terraformed and it is time for a new era. An era where humanity is pushed to the limits of what is possible. Your world will face multiple challenges that must be overcome for the survival of your species. If you are able to survive the 10 year trial humanity will reach a new realm beyond your imagination. Your first challenge will start in 7 days. The system recommends you all learn to use your strength during this time or else you will not survive. Your actions these next 7 days will dictate what classes you are offered; however, you must choose one by the end or else automatic failure and elimination will occur. This is not a time for the weak, the future belongs to the strong.
Oh God, did they literally add Deadman to the notification? I hope I''m the only one who got it or else there may be issues. Some people are going to wonder what that is. No use worrying about it I guess, I should be on my way. The jungle seems a bit too risky so I think the beach is better. Holding my Lightning in my hand I decide to walk along the beach in search of civilization. CH:2-Eating A Big Black ##### Me and Lightning hadn''t found much after walking along the beach. It¡¯d been about 5 hours since we began our journey. The beach just continued as far as I could see, and so did the jungle inland. On the upside, Lightning had finally stopped biting me. Each of his bites was small and barely took away one health each anyway. I wouldn''t die as long as my head was fine which kept me at a permanent 1 health, but it was a welcomed change. Right now I''m at 74 health which comes to show how feisty he was earlier. The electric attack was only meant to stun smaller prey so it didn''t affect me at all, much less with my inability to feel pain. One thing I really liked about my new self was my infinite stamina. I could just keep going on and on without getting tired. Combining it with my strength bonus made running a breeze. I only stopped doing so because I had begun to blister my feet and without health regeneration they hadn''t healed at all. Still, getting the runner skill was pretty good. After about an hour of travel I got it up to level 3. One thing that''s still the same is that I get hungry. My first thought was to eat a coconut. It didn''t work out. The consumer of flesh skill has made me disgusted by the taste of anything other than meat. The worst part is that it made my taste numbed anyway so I can''t enjoy food. That doesn''t change the fact that I''m hungry. Multiple times I''ve contemplated on whether to attempt to eat Lightning, but it felt wrong, after all who in their right mind eats their pets? I¡¯m sure eventually we will come across an animal I can eat, or else I will have to make a hard decision. Gulp Thinking about it, the skill never said what type of meat I had to eat. I''d been to busy thinking about beef, chicken and pork that I forgot about seafood. There is literally an ocean of food next to me.
Wisdom +1
This was so obvious, why didn''t I think of it before? Oh no, it can''t be? Has the wisdom debuff made me dumber? No, that''s not how it works, intelligence makes you smart. So...It¡­ it made me slower... FUUUCK!!! Just coming to this damn conclusion gave me wisdom! With my debuff this only gives me 0.5 more effective wisdom! I still have less wisdom than a normal person, even less than my past self! Damn you system!
Perception +1
Ah? At least understanding the idea behind it gave me a perception point. Still a bummer tho. Stripping my clothes off, I bask in the sun before going for a swim. I tied the little noodle named Lightning into a knot around my wrist. Not sure if this counts as animal abuse, but he might escape if I don''t. I hope he can hold his breath well, he''ll need it. It didn''t take long until I found a coral reef off the coast. It also didn''t take long for me to figure out that I''m too slow to catch fish in the water. Without many slow moving options I grabbed a large crab, a sea star, and some sea snails. On my way back to shore I spotted a large dark figure. It was a solid black shark with 2 dorsal fins swimming ominously in the deeper waters. I could swear it was staring at me with it''s dark beady eyes, but the waters I was in are too shallow for it to hunt me in. I don''t think a shark like that ever existed on normal Earth. I guess even normal animals received boosts from the system. Returning to the shore I looked at my catch of the day. I had unlocked the swim skill on my way back which was good. Before eating, I untied Lightning and let him warm up on the sand. After all, snakes are cold blooded and need external heat sources to stay alive. Aren''t I such a great owner? I crack open the sea snails and lay them in front of Lightning. He looks at me first, confused at the idea of me feeding him. He stayed like that for a while before turning around and swallowing the snails. Looking content with his meal he returns to basking in the sun. As for myself, I am eyeing the crab that was trying to sneak it''s way back into the sea while I hadn''t been looking. My first thought was to start a fire, but then I remembered I had to eat it raw for it to heal me. I like sushi, but I had never eaten an animal alive or right after death. Most of it had been killed long before it reached my plate. To start I tried to bite off it''s head portion of the body, but the little bastard managed to clip off part of my ear. That''s another thing I noticed, I barely bled at all after the initial injury. It was a good ability to have and I wasn''t complaining, it''s just that it made me seem a bit inhuman. Without a better idea I broke off the crabs legs. It snapped at the hinge and still twitched a bit as I crushed it. The shell crunched and I was able to access the small bit flesh inside. I threw out the shell fragments and went on to the next leg. God I wish I could cook this, it would have allowed me to easily separate the meat much more easily. After legs I moved on to claws. These are harder to break, but they contained much more meat. I couldn''t say much about taste, as the numbed nerves skill made my sense of taste almost non existent. Once all I was left with was the main body I examined it, looking for an opening in it''s armor. From what I could see the gills at the rear we''re it''s weakness. I stuck my fingers in there and split the poor sucker in two. At the moment it died I received a notification.
Congratulations on your first kill. You have received 2 xp points.
2? Only fucken 2!? I''ll have to kill fifty of these things to level up once. Well I really can''t complain, it was an extremely easy kill anyways. Returning to my meal, I ate the meat in the shell. To my surprise even eating the guts gave me health, and without much taste I didn''t mind. The crab had been fairly large and my body converted it into my missing health. I didn''t feel full at all even after eating it. Eager to increase my level I killed the sea star. Poor thing only gave me 1 xp. Not that I expected much, at least the crab had claws, but it had nothing. I ate it, then and there, in order to not be wasteful. Afterwards, I continued on with my trek along the beach. With infinite stamina I no longer needed sleep. I walked through the night as Lightning slept in my shirt. The little guy had begun to trust me after 2 days. I''m not sure if that is fast or slow for a snake. Being the only one awake was lonely and boring. By the time morning came I had given up on the beach, I wanted to go inland. My level hadn''t increased at all since yesterday, but I had gained 2 more skills. If I really want to become stronger I''m going to have to hunt larger and stronger creatures. The shark would have been interesting, but I don''t think I can kill it in the water. Or could I? Hmmm¡­ Fuck it I might as well try once before I head inland. What I need is a plan. Now¡­ how do I kill a shark? I can''t fight it in the water because it will have the advantage and I have no real way to force it onto land. If I remember correctly, a shark¡¯s weaknesses are the eyes, gills and snout. That could hurt it, but it won''t kill it. With my extra strength I feel its possible grapple onto it and hold on. As for a weapon perhaps if I used a sharpened stick, no, I don''t have a blade to sharpen it. The system did say I was part zombie, so maybe I can use my teeth. I held myself back on the crab earlier because I didn''t want to break my teeth, but if I tried my hardest I feel I can through shark skin. Actually, I could probably use a stone to grind my teeth into sharp points. Yeah, that sounds good. For the next few hours I spent my time grinding away at my teeth, turning them into little triangles. Without a mirror to see, I had to guess what I was doing based on feel. In order to test them out I bit into my arm. Sure enough I had rows of puncture marks across my forearm. My new teeth were sharp and I was ready to hunt.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Unlike last time I went swimming, this time I left Lightning on the beach with my clothes. Before going I talked to him, ¡°Lightning I''m going to have to leave you for a bit. Don''t worry lil guy I''ll be back, it''s just that I feel what I''m about to do is too dangerous for you. Just stay still and don''t worry boy. I''ll make sure to bring you some tasty shark meat.¡± I felt kind of like an idiot talking to a snake, but hes the only company I have. Does he even understand a word I''m saying? He''ll probably try to escape as soon as I''m gone anyways. Well, even if he does I''ll just hunt him down and capture him again, or else I''d be a bad owner. Hehehe. Returning to the water I swim towards the edge of the reef. From there I have a clear view of my prey. The black shark leisurely drifts in the deeper waters. It''s the alpha predator here and has no fear of any other creature. In order to lure it to me without leaving the safety of the reef I bite my arm again. After a few moments the shark¡¯s speed and behavior changed. My blood had excited it, and it began to approach my direction. Once it was about 30 feet away I left the safety of the reef. The shark saw this as an opportunity and rushed towards me with a sudden burst of speed. The bastard was a lot faster than he looked, a lot faster than I expected. Faster than I was prepared for. My initial plan to dodge and grapple him was broken in an instant. He bit me in the abdomen and began to thrash violently. My stomach was torn open and my organs dragged out. The water turned blood red quickly and I was unable to see anything. Checking my stats my health had fallen to 47 points. Damn Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this to happen. So many thoughts ran through my head at that moment. The loudest was very simple. I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE. I had just been given a new opportunity at life 2 days ago. If I died right now it would have all been for nothing. I ponder on whether this was really the real world, or if I was in some self created dream while in a coma on a hospital bed. Would dying just wake me up and take be back to my family? I love them, but I dont want to test it. Even if it this was all a dream of lies, I didn''t want it to end, I wanted to live. Yes! I WANT TO LIVE!! TO LIVE!!! LIVE!!!! AND I WON''T LET THIS FUCKEN SHARK GET IN THE WAY!!!!! I roared in rage under the water. I wasn''t going to die today! I was going to live, and if that shark was an obstacle I''d kill it! In this moment of rage and clarity I refocused my mind. The sight of the bloody water and my organs floating around sickened me, but I had no time to complain. I pushed my perception to the max as I tried to locate the shark. I could sense danger to my right and sure enough, the bastard came from that side. Instead of trying to escape him, I let him bite me again. Without my abdominal muscles my legs were pretty useless in this fight so I let him bite into them. Twisting myself as hard as possible I broke my spin and severed any connection to the lower half of my body. While he was busy swallowing my legs I clawed my hands into his gills. I could tell it hurt him, because he stopped feeding and immediately began to move erratically in an attempt to throw me off. Bad for him, I was never going to let go. With both my hands anchored into his gills I brought my mouth closer and took a bite. My sharpened teeth easily tore into his tender gills. His movement increased even more in desperation. Watching the pain in his movements and blood in the water woke up the undead part of me, my primal instincts took over. A dark sadistic feeling of joy overcame me. Without a second thought I bit again and again. Every bite filled me with energy and increased my health. At the same time my missing half began to regenerate. It was slow and barely visible to the naked eye. Without worry I lost myself in the sadistic pleasure of eating live prey. I didn''t feel this way with the crab or starfish, but that was probably because I killed them first before eating. Right now I was lost in madness. It all felt amazing, it all felt right. It didn''t take long for me to eat a large hole into the gills of the shark. I shoved my face in, and began to burrow into the tender flesh like a carnivorous maggot. The shark itself had lost a lot of strength during it''s struggle, and had tired out. He gave up fighting and began to sink to the sea bed. Since we were so close to the reef the seabed wasn''t very deep and the water pressure caused me no problems. Many hours later I came out of the carcass. Observing the remains, the once powerful and majestic predator now looked like an empty shark skin bag laying on the bottom of the sea. The insides had been picked clean by me and all that was left was it''s jaws, and a handful of meat I kept for Lightning. Looking at my currently regenerating knees I estimated my time since the fight started to be about 6 hours. My stomach was bulging like a pregnant woman from all I ate and it would take me awhile to digest it all. That''s a good thing considering I wasn''t done regenerating. I learned a lot of things from this experience. Firstly, I have a sadistic undead side of me that''s pretty fucked up. Secondly, I don''t need to have a full body to have full health. My health was maxed a long time ago, but I still had to keep eating to regenerate. Third, I got really fucken lucky. That shark was not something I should have fought at level 1, 2 or 3. The moment it died I had received a notification saying I earned 360 xp. It literally jumped me all the way to level 3. Excited to see my gains I checked up on my status.
Name Azrael Mortem
Level 3(63/400)
Species Deadman
Age 27
Classes None
Main Stats Health (146) H.Regen (N/A)
Stamina (Infinite) S.Regen (N/A)
Mana (130) M.Regen (11 per hour)
Extra Stats: Free:6 Strength 4x2[undead bonus] = (8)
Endurance 4x2[undead bonus] = (8)
Vitality = 4
Durability = 4
Agility = 4
Dexterity 4x0.5[undead debuff] = 2
Mentality = 2
Perception = 3
Intelligence = 2
Wisdom 3x0.5[undead debuff] = 1.5
Passive Skills Numbed Nerves -lvl.N/A: Less feeling of touch. Cost(0)
Pain Immunity -lvl.N/A: Cannot feel pain. Cost(0)
Unaging -lvl.N/A: Cannot age. Cost(0)
Consumer of Flesh -lvl.3(21/100): Eating live or recently deceased flesh heal injuries, regenerates body parts and refills health. Level increases efficiency and speed. Current Boost: (1lbs meat= .1 lbs regen or 30 health) Cost(0)
Ambient Sustenance -lvl.N/A: Like undeads all you need for sustenance is ambient mana. Cost(0)
Running -lvl.3(34/100): Your ability to run over any terrain improves. Level increases improvement and decreases stamina cost of running. Current Boost: (Running is now 15% easier and uses 6% less stamina) Cost(0)
Swimming -lvl.5(72/100): Your ability at swimming improves. Level increases improvement and decreases stamina cost of swimming. Current Boost: (Swimming is now 25% easier and uses 10% less stamina) Cost(0)
Bite -lvl.4(53/100): Passively increases bite strength. Level increases strength. Current Boost: (Bite strength increased by 12%)
Active Skills Death Status -lvl.1(0/100): Stop all metabolic function and enter a dead like state. Movement during this state doubles mana cost. Level reduces cost. Current Boost: (inactive) M.Cost(10/min)
Swimming went up to level 5 and consumer of flesh had increased to level 3. I had also gained the new skill bite which was now at level 4. The stat increases from my Deadman race was also amazing. The human bonus was +1 to all stats with 3 I could allocate myself per level, while the zombie bonus was +1 to all physical stats per level. That meant I received a total of 12 more points than a normal human being. There wasn''t as many total points as humans got, but the passive skills I received from being undead are priceless. Instead of spending my free stat points right now, I will instead save them for later, once I know what i need them for. What bothers me, is why haven''t I earned a single active skill yet? Is there a specific way to acquire one? I know passive skills can be earned through repetative tasks, but what about the active ones. The only one I do have is death status and I haven''t had a use for it yet. Once again, questions for another time. Content with my hunt, I use my arms to drag myself to shore. On the way I grabbed 2 more crabs in case I needed to eat more to regenerate the rest of my legs. To my surprise when I reached the shore my clothes and snake are nowhere to be seen. From under the sand I see Lightning slither out. I pick him up and ask him, ¡°Hey buddy. What happened here? Where are my clothes?.¡± To my astonishment he seems to understand me and points his neck to the side. In that direction I see footprints that are not my own. From the looks of it a group of at least 3 people had come by and took my clothes while I was gone. Although I am a bit reluctant to track these people down in the nude, I have no clothes, and no other choice. God this is gonna be weird. CH:3-The Pig I going to have to track those people down in order to get my clothes, but I DONT HAVE FUCKEN LEGS! The regeneration process is excruciatingly slow. It''s been a few hours since I came back and I''m barely done with more than half my calves. My bulging stomach full of shark meat has shrunken and is almost back to normal. From the looks of things I''m going to have to go eat some more before I can continue. Luckily I still have the two crabs I caught earlier. In order to test my live prey theory I bite into it instead of killing it first. Almost immediately I fall into madness as I savagely devour the poor creature. I didn''t even care about the shell in my daze and ate it. It wasn''t until it''s death that I regained control of myself. This proved my point, the undead side of me liked to eat living creatures over freshly killed ones. I did the same to the other crab and laid down. It was going to take a while before I regrow my feet and I might as well relax. Remembering something, I hand Lightning the shark meat I had saved for him. I could see the excitement in his serpentine eyes as he ate the meat of an alpha predator. Looking at him, I notice he''s grown quite a bit since we met. He was originally around 7 inches long, but low he was pushing 11. 4 inches in 2 days is an alarming growth rate. He''ll be growing over a foot a week if this continues. Could I even support to feed him if he got too big? Meh, problems for another time. By sunset my feet were back, good as new. I got up and stretched my new legs. They were perfect in every way. If I hadn''t seen them be eaten, I would never believe they were gone in the first place. There wasn''t even a scar. The trail had been mostly erased by the wind, but you could still somewhat make out the basic direction from the parts that remained. Without a place to put Lighting I hung him from my neck like a chain. The trail only went along the beach for a few hundred feet before it took a turn inland, where it could no longer me tracked. Sensing my issue Lightning perked up his head and pointed slightly to my right. Thinking about it I remembered that snakes had a great sense of smell because of the way they taste the air with their tongue. I congratulate him with a pat on the head. He hisses with pride. Using my little snake compass I traverse the jungle. The sun had already set and it was pitch black. The moonlight was blocked by the tree canopy. I would have called it tiring if I was a normal person, but fear not, for I am a Deadman with infinite stamina. As long as I was careful, I could mostly feel my way through the brush. Eventually, I found my target. Ahead of me was the light of a fire and the sound of faint voices. As I approached my view became better and I could see more, which I quickly regretted. In front of me, two women held branches in their hands as they whipped the testicles of a scarred man restrained in front of them. He was tied to a tree with his arms and legs spread. Everytime the crack of a strike sounded it was followed by a moan of the man''s pleasure. They continued their barrage of attacks as they humiliated him. Even to me who found pleasure in eating a live prey was disturbed by this. It reminded me of the time I accidentally clicked on fendom porn. I was scarred for days after seeing the ball crunching scene. The two blonde girls looked to be in their 20¡¯s. They are pretty hot, truth be told, and looked similar, perhaps they are sisters. They had a good curvy figure and pretty face, but that fetish ruined it for me. At least the poor sucker tied to the tree seemed to enjoy it. I could hear what the older looking one told the other, ¡°Emily I think we''ve done enough for today. It''s already night, we should go to sleep.¡± Emily looked disappointed at her sister''s statement, ¡°C''mon Cindy it was barely getting good. At least let me kick the pig in the sack before I go it bed.¡± ¡°Sigh.Fine get on with it, make it quick. Also don''t play with your toys to much because then they eventually break.¡±, Cindy said in a bored voice I didn''t dare look at the scene of a cheery Emily walk up to the man as she swung her leg and gave one of the hardest kicks I ever seen. Ok, maybe I did look. Doesn''t change the fact my own balls scrunched up in fear at the sight. At least the sound of his scream of pleasure made me not feel as bad for him, he seemed to like it a lot. Emily then untied the rope binding the man, and walked to the small tent where she and her sister slept. As for the masochistic man, he just collapsed on the ground immediately, and fell into a sound sleep. Bothered by what I saw, I wanted nothing more than to get out of here. I had to snatch back my clothes while they are asleep the run away as fast as I could. The problem is, where are my clothes? Looking through my surroundings, the only place they could be was in the large backpack next to the tent. Aw fuck. My heart was beating at an extremely fast pace from my fear of getting near those women. I could hear it pounding in my ear so loudly I felt it might wake them up. This was the perfect opportunity to use death status. If I doubled the Mana cost, I could allow myself to move freely. That have me about 6 and a half minutes to get the job done. I immediately activated it, and began to slowly approach the tent. My heart was not beating and my lungs didn''t move, not even the basic human tremble of my body was happening. I was truly as silent and steady as a corpse. I made sure not to step on any branches or leaves, else I would wake them up. I arrived next to the backpack without incident. I slowly lowered myself and grabbed the zipper. With carefulness beyond anything I''ve ever done, I slowly slid the zipper. The low rumble sound it made was like a weak whisper, almost inaudible. Once open, I stuck my hands in and quietly rummaged through the pack. I felt a familiar fabric and sure enough, it is my clothes. Just as I smiled at the success of my plan, my vision went dark. The distinct sound of a stone smashing the back of my head came with it, damn, my only weakness.
I open my eyes and I can see my family. They are sitting around me asleep. I am laying down in a white room, it''s a hospital. I try to get up, but my body doesn''t respond. I try again, it doesn''t work. I want to wake them up, to talk to them, to ask them how they are. This time I try to speak. All that leaves my mouth is an grunt, but it does the job. Alicia is woken up by the sound. She looks me in the eyes before running to our parents side. She shakes them with all her force while yelling. ¡°Mom! Dad! Wake up! Azrael is awake! He¡¯s awake!¡± Looking at the situation it all made sense. That other world, the system, being a Deadman, it was all fake. It was stupid for me to believe any of it, for it was all a dream. I had crashed after entering cardiac arrest. Somehow I didn''t die and made it to the hospital. Now I was back in reality, back with my family. Here is where I belonged. My parents almost immediately opened their eyes at my sister''s yells. Tears fell from my mother''s eyes as they rush to my side. My mother wraps her arms around me and starts to sob loudly. My father places his hand gently on my head and asked me, ¡°Azrael, how are you? Does anything hurt? Do you feel anything?¡± I didn''t feel any pain at all. I must have been very lucky in the crash to avoid injury. I happily respond, ¡°No Dad, it doesn''t hurt at all.¡± Instead of relief or happiness at my response he begins to cry. Confused I ask him, ¡°What''s wrong, why are you crying?¡± His next words echoed in my mind like thunder. ¡°Azrael, you injured your neck in the crash. The doctor said if you didn''t feel anything when you woke up, then you are paralysed.¡± Paralysed?... I''m paralysed?... Is that why I can''t move and feel?... FUCK!!! I already know how hard it is for my family to make ends meet. Add taking care of a cripple like me, and they can''t survive. I''m just a burden to them now... FUCKEN USELESS. What was the point of surviving, of living, if this is what waited for me. I wish I never woke up, no, I wish I had died in that crash. This wasn''t life, it was worse than death. My thoughts are interrupted by a loud beep coming from my side. Next to me, a machine that displayed my vitals was beeping. Where there should have been a heartbeat was a flat line, my heart had stopped again. My parents started to panic and scream down the hallway for a doctor. I wanted to tell them to stop, to let me die. This way I wouldn''t cause issues for them. Unlike last time, I did not feel pain. My consciousness slowly faded away to nothingness as darkness invaded my mind. I was at peace with death.
My consciousness returned with the feeling of someone slapping me in the face. I open my eyes expecting to see a doctor, but instead i see Cindy and Emily standing in front of me. I was laying on the ground next to a tree naked, with my hands tied behind my back. Connected to that rope was another, this one tied to the tree. I wanted to speak, but my mouth was sealed with duct tape. This situation didn''t make sense, why was I back here? Didn''t I already die? Wasn''t this all a dream? Am I still alive so I just returned to this delusion? Now I''m back here. I''m not sure if this is good are bad. I was a cripple in the real world, but here I was whole. No, I was better than whole, I was stronger and didn''t feel pain. I wasn''t limited here, here I had a future. I much rather stay here than go back at this point. There''s no point resisting anymore. This world was my mine now, to explore and to conquer. In front of me was an obstacle to overcome. These women had caught me, but I don''t plan to stay like this. As they looked at me I glared back at them with anger. Looking at me Emily said, ¡°Cindy get over here, the dog woke up.¡± Acting all tall and mighty Cindy responded, ¡°Good, now we can question him. Pig! Get over here and interrogate this dog!¡± At her command the masochistic man from yesterday appeared. He crawled up to her legs like an animal and kissed her feet. He then stood up and looked at me with an sinister smile. He was approaching.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Oh hell no! I do not swing this way. The last thing I want is to have a naked guy look at me like that, not to even mention approach to me. Once he stood before me he reached out his hand towards my mouth. I felt disgusted from his touch as he removed the tape from my mouth. ¡°Who are you and why are you here?¡± He asked me. I didn''t think twice before saying, ¡°Go Fuck Yourself!¡± At my response he punched me in the gut hard. Luckily for me, it didn''t hurt at all. At my lack of response he was surprised. Once again struck me, this time much harder than the last. I didn''t show any sign of discomfort. This angered him more, and he started to hit me like a punching bag, over and over. My silence fueling his frustration.
Endurance +1
His beating was proving to be beneficial me. I felt no pain, but my body was enduring it so I gained a point of endurance. I had no real use for endurance with unlimited stamina, but it was still free stat points, so I can''t really complain. While he was busy beating me I planned my escape. The rope was tied very well behind my back so I couldn''t loosen it. The rope itself was good quality, and my strength was incapable of tearing it. My only way out was to break my wrists, but then my hands would be useless until I found something to eat. Hunting without hands wasn''t a good idea. "Stop." Emily ordered. Bored of watching Emily ordered the man to stop. In an instant be became as docile as a puppy and crawled to her side. God this guy disgusts me. Emily looks towards her sister and said, ¡°Cindy this guys pretty tough. I think you''re going to have to do it.¡± ¡°Fine I will.¡± Cindy said back. As she approached me I saw opportunity to plant some fear. I smiled at her with a creepy tooth grin. Cindy paused and took a step back at the sight of my teeth. They were still the roughly cut sharpened pair I used on the shark. A few had broken during my feeding frenzy, which only to added to the overall scary look. I''m really glad I didn''t bother pulling them out and regrowing a new pair after my last meal. While she was distracted by my teeth I pulled hard on my arms and broke both my wrists. Neither of the three noticed what I had done. Once I was finished I closed my mouth and grinned smugly. Cindy frowned at me. She probably thought I found it funny at how scared she was of my teeth. From her pocket she pulls out a box cutter and said, ¡°You think your all that, huh? Let''s see you be tough after I make you an eunuch.¡± Even if I didn''t feel anything and can grow it back, the idea of that shook me to the core. Once she was a few feet away I took action. I lunged at her attempting to tackle her down. Instead of panicking like any normal person she stabbed me with the blade. It pierced my chest into my lung. I ignored the wound and brought her to the ground. I wrapped my arms around her and held her in place. She tried to struggle, but with my strength stats it was futile. She screamed, ¡°Emily don''t just stand there, do something!¡± Before Emily could make a move I spoke to her. ¡°Try anything and I''ll tear her fucken throat out!¡± To emphasize my point I opened my mouth and placed her delicate neck against my teeth. Gone was her aura of superiority, with her life so close to ending, Cindy started to shiver in fear. My words were enough to keep the bitch Emily at bay, but the pig went hysterical. Seeing one of his masters in danger he rushed towards us. He was charging like an enraged animal without a care for his own safety. I couldn''t handle two at once so I pushed Cindy with all my strength, sending her flying away. I then focused my attention on the pig. He sent out a punch with his left. I blocked using my arms, but it was a faint. The real attack was an uppercut with his right, under my crossed arms. Without any other method to block him, I opened my mouth and met his fist with my teeth. His knuckles broke a few of my teeth, but more importantly I tasted blood. The taste of living prey triggered my undead urges. I bit down and severed several of his fingers. ¡°AAAAHHH!!!¡± The pig screamed in pain. He fell to his knees and held what was left in his hand. As for me I swallowed some meat as blood dribbled down my lips and neck. I was no longer in control of myself. My body was taken over by instinct, and I was ready to feed. Unlike last time with the shark, I was completely conscious while it was happening. I tackled him like a wild animal and bit into his shoulder, tearing into his flesh. It bothered me how much I liked the taste of human, I blame my zombie half. Watching the scene unfold Emily and Cindy were stunned with fear. Emily screamed like a little girl and ran away into the jungle, Cindy followed right behind her. The pig squeeled as I tore into his flesh. In his eyes, a look of fear and terror unlike any I had ever seen before. In his eyes, human eyes, I was a monster. I don''t want to accept it, but it''s true, I really am becoming less human. It wasn''t until the pig died that I gained control of myself. Looking at his torn corpse I felt sick. I had just killed a human being. Not only did I kill him, I ate him. I couldn''t stand the sight anymore and looked away. This was one corpse I rather not finish. I focused myself on my surroundings. The camp was deserted except for myself. Inside the tent I found some blankets and pillows, but I didn''t need them since I don''t sleep. The backpack on the other hand had tools and supplies. It contained clothes, a hammer, 2 knives, a first aid kit, firestarter, a flare gun, rope, compass, water, rations and a map. I had no use for the rations so I threw them out. As for the water I used it to wash off the pig¡¯s blood on me. After dressing myself I remembered I was missing something. Where in the hell was my snake? I came here with him around my neck, but when I woke up he was gone. ¡°Lightning where are you!?¡± I yelled out into the jungle. Hissss. Sure enough I heard a hiss close by and Lightning appeared from under a bush. I picked him up and wrapped him around my neck. With my immediate needs met I opened the map. It depicted an island off the west coast of some continent. The mainland to the east had a bay marked with a star. This seemed to be an important location, possibly a major city. As for the rest of the mainland, it was not included in the map, just the coast. The island seemed to be the place i was currently located. The western beach and jungle where I was currently am was circled in red. Next to it was the words "Newborn Thunder Leviathan". Reading these words I look at Lightning wrapped around my neck. If I wasn''t mistaken, he seemed to fit the name perfectly. I don''t know why they would want him, but they''d be dammed if they tried to take him. He was mine, period. The only other two prominent features on the island were a mountain depicted in the center and a symbol on the beach North. The Northern symbol was that of a boat, likely how the trio arrived on the island. This was perfect. Without their compass I doubt the girls could navigate north towards their boat. As for me, with their compass and no need to sleep, I could get a large head start. Before leaving I decided to check my stats first. When I opened up the menu I was blocked by a sudden popup notification.
You have killed your first human. Although the system doesn''t care about murder, human kills do not normally reward you with xp; however, as an undead you are void from this, and will receive xp based on the level of the human. (100xp per level)
This notification brought back something I rather forget. I closed it and went back to my stats.
Name Azrael Mortem
Level 3(263/400)
Species Deadman
Age 27
Classes None
Main Stats Health (146) H.Regen (N/A)
Stamina (Infinite) S.Regen (N/A)
Mana (130) M.Regen (11 per hour)
Extra Stats: Free:6 Strength 4x2[undead bonus] = (8)
Endurance 5x2[undead bonus] = (10)
Vitality = 4
Durability = 4
Agility = 4
Dexterity 4x0.5[undead debuff] = 2
Mentality = 2
Perception = 3
Intelligence = 2
Wisdom 3x0.5[undead debuff] = 1.5
Passive Skills Numbed Nerves -lvl.N/A: Less feeling of touch. Cost(0)
Pain Immunity -lvl.N/A: Cannot feel pain. Cost(0)
Unaging -lvl.N/A: Cannot age. Cost(0)
Consumer of Flesh -lvl.4(48/100): Eating live or recently deceased flesh heal injuries, regenerates body parts and refills health. Level increases efficiency and speed. Current Boost: (1lbs meat= .15 lbs regen or 40 health) Cost(0)
Ambient Sustenance -lvl.N/A: Like undeads all you need for sustenance is ambient mana. Cost(0)
Running -lvl.3(34/100): Your ability to run over any terrain improves. Level increases improvement and decreases stamina cost of running. Current Boost: (Running is now 15% easier and uses 6% less stamina) Cost(0)
Swimming -lvl.5(72/100): Your ability at swimming improves. Level increases improvement and decreases stamina cost of swimming. Current Boost: (Swimming is now 25% easier and uses 10% less stamina) Cost(0)
Bite -lvl.5(31/100): Passively increases bite strength. Level increases strength. Current Boost: (Bite strength increased by 15%)
Active Skills Death Status -lvl.2(13/100): Stop all metabolic function and enter a dead like state. Movement during this state doubles mana cost. Level reduces cost. Current Boost: (inactive) M.Cost(9/min)
Wow the pig really gave me a nice xp boost. He should have been level 2. This meant that Emily and Cindy are also likely level 2 or above. I am not the only one in this world, and if I want to rule it I will need strength above my peers. Looking at my new compass, Emily and Cindy had ran South, away from their boat. This is good since I really don''t want to meet those bitches again. I really really don''t, so I light a torch and immediately start my journey North.