“Umm, did you just gain twelve class levels?” Cari asked Gregory excitedly as the dust finally began to settle.

  “Only ten for me! Hell yes” Gregory cheered.

  “Do you think Dan is okay?”

  “I do, but it’ll take him a while to eat that huge bastard. So we have time to look over our new skills and clean ourselves up.” They’d both reached level 20 in their races and gained enough class levels to gain new class skills as well, so they had several decisions to make.

  Indeed, by the time I’d gotten out from under the rubble the dust had long settled and they’d been finished with their skill selections for over an hour. I burped loudly as I pushed myself out of the remaining rubble. I probably looked like a ghost with all the concrete dust that covered me. My right arms were just a little nubs, having begun the process of growing back since they had been ripped off during the building collapse. As I maneuvered over to where they were sitting, I reached into the rubble and grabbed a chunk of rebar that ended in a chunk of concrete, crunching into it like it was an oversized lollipop.

  They were both smiling at me with just a hint of wince on their expressions as they noticed my nubs.

  “Are you good?” Cari asked.

  “Can you make your vines into a bed for me?” I asked before releasing a loud belch and promptly falling over, fast asleep.

  —----------

  I stood in our bedroom. A suitcase rested on our bed, quickly filling up with clothes, make-up, and various other things as she thought to pack them.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” she said.

  “Can’t do what?” I demanded.

  “You don’t care about anything! You go through life with no drive, no ambition, wasting yourself in pointless video games and other bullshit!”

  “Is this because I turned down the manager spot?”

  She sighed, pushing her dark hair that had fallen over her face back behind her ears, “Again. And no. I need to know something from you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “What the hell do you want?” she asked. It was like a slap in the face.

  “I have what I want already! I don’t need any more!” I shouted back.

  “But I want more!” she screamed.

  I looked at my feet for a second before I whispered, “Then I guess this is going as it should.”

  “You won’t even fight for me?” she said, disbelief etched on her face.

  I snorted, “I shouldn’t have to.”

  Before long, she was gone. I felt the hole in my chest where she’d been, but I couldn’t be what she thought she needed. I picked up my controller and heard the satisfying beep as the console turned on. I grabbed a beer and fell into my comfy chair. As the game booted up, a blue skinned woman with crab claws as horns stared into my eyes.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “I must say, this is a more curious version of you than I was expecting,” she said through the TV speakers. “You seem so driven now that the System is here.”

  “Who the hell are you?” I said, oddly not scared. What I felt instead was…

  HUNGER.

  —---------

  I awoke upon a hammock of intertwined vines. My severed limbs had fully regrown, and I flexed them as I sat up. “How long was I asleep?”

  “6 hours or so,” Cari said. “Gregory went out to kill some monsters that drew a little closer than we’d like.”

  “Did you gain a skill that let you make vine objects?” I patted the hammock appreciatively.

  “I did! Plus, I can harden my skin like its stone for increased defense!”

  “Oh nice! Class and race skills! Gregory get the same?”

  “He did! He can push energy into his axe for extra damage and he can conjure mud that coats his skin, giving him a slight defense boost and fire resistance.”

  “I should do the same,” I said, leaning back in the hammock and entering meditation. I pulled up my notifications to see what I had to work with.

  You have devoured Level 40 Stormhorn Stag Patriarch. Their highest stat was Vitality. Your base Vitality has increased by 50 points. Bonus stats from eating a Stormhorn Stag Patriarch of a higher level than yourself. All stats increased by 25. Bonus experience earned.

  DING! Class: Hypocrite Revolutionary has increased from Level 17 to Level 27. Hypocrite Revolutionary skill choices available.

  DING! Race: Omnis Vorare has increased from Level 15 to Level 20. Omnis Vorare skill choices available.

  I didn’t have to flip a coin this time and jumped right into my class skill options.

  New Class Skill Options Available: Three.

  Total Class Skill Options Available: Five. Previously unchosen skills improved.

  Guillotine Tax. Common. Your attacks deal 10% more damage against enemies with more current Health or Wealth than you.

  Just like it was before with just a minor boost to its damage increase, I just didn’t feel like Guillotine Tax worked with me, especially because I was working toward having more health than anything I fought, which would make this generally useless.

  Weight of Chains. Common. Send out translucent chains that wrap around up to five enemies or allies. Enemies are bound and allies are bolstered based on your Strength stat. This effect lasts for a number of seconds equal to your Wisdom or until the chains are broken.

  The description of Weight of Chains became much clearer with the upgrade, but again, it didn’t feel right for me at this moment. A strong foe would just break the chains, and I suspected that often my fights would end up being solo, so the ally bolstering was only secondarily useful.

  Sheep’s Clothing. Inferior. You are the wolf hiding amongst the sheep. Mask your true power for a number of minutes equal to Wisdom stat. Perception stats higher than your own can overcome this mask.

  I already have a good stealth-based skill. Next.

  Black Mail. Inferior. For a number of seconds equal to your Endurance stat, your skin becomes wrapped in black armor that moderately increases your defensibility.

  Ooh, nice! Armor as a skill would allow me to not have to worry about owning armor, and keep the option of consuming good armors open for me. High potential for this one, indeed!

  Purging Surge. Common. Your hunger for overthrowing your foe is so great that you can use it to directly damage said foes. Removes all active regenerative boons you have from consumption and converts the energy into powerful damage transferred via a physical attack. This damage scales relative to your Vitality.

  Welp, Black Mail was going to have to wait until the next choice. Even eating mundane materials gave me a very slight regenerative effect, and being able to use said regeneration as a powerful finishing move sounded amazing! Plus, with it only being Common rarity meant I had plenty of room to make improvements.

  I felt the knowledge of how to use the Purging Surge skill infused into my core. I would dig deeper into how it worked later. For now, I settled into delving into my race skill selection.