Chương 2: Survive

CH 2 - Survive Grey's cross-legged position felt nice. He had been running around all day, and his left arm hung limp, with only a hodgepodge of bone growths preventing him from bleeding out. He had a moment now to turn his attention to his new notification: [Quest: Exterminate the ants in your apartment (E)] Grey thought about the snacks he had as well as other supplies that could help him and silently vowed to get his revenge. But what he would do right now? Fixing himself was an emergency.

Based on the state of the world, hospitals were out of the question, and his arm was falling apart. In his right hand, Human Anatomy Manual (F) was held open to a page on bone structure.

"So you have to study to use your ability? That sucks." Jim said, halfway towards the floor in a pushup. Grey's ability was (Shapeshifting), but it was unlike comic book shapeshifting. He couldn't just turn into a mouse or a tiger. He had control over his anatomy and cells, able to transform parts of himself at will. At least, that's what I think it does. Grey didn't look up at his friend. He focused on absorbing what he was learning. I wish I leveled up INT more. The knowledge he had consumed was overwhelming.

After hours of agonizing experimentation and research, Grey closed all his wounds and repaired his tattered arm. He had to fully understand bone composition, muscle structure, and more to fix himself. That was too much. He thought, his head pounding with a migraine. When he finally finished, he looked up to see Jim across from him, in a similarly seated position. Grey tried to work himself up to punch his loudmouthed friend.

Trying to conduct shapeshifting surgery on yourself is no fun with someone blabbing away next to you. He moved his leg to stand, but a jolt of pain and fatigue rolled through him. Soon after, the world around him turned black. —"Wake up!" a whisper met Grey's ear, and he felt his body violently shaking.

"Mrs. Jensen's cat is here. We have to go now!" Jim's face filled his blurry vision. Grey forced himself out fog surrounding his vision and ignored his headache. He lifted and turned to look at his surroundings. A small room with a bed, and an assortment of antique wooden furniture around him. Near his feet, a shut door, with a chair barricading it. Not much… A streak of dirt and blood showed a trail from himself to the door, where Jim had obviously dragged him.

A loud shattering sound came from beyond it, as if the door to the next room was just broken down.

"We're too late. It's here." Grey found himself at his feet when the door in front of him shuttered. [Quest] [Survive Ferocious Cat (F)] [Optional: Kill the cat] [Rewards:???] This system named "Wish" had some weird messages… Is it an AI? Or some godly being? Grey focused on the door in front of him. He felt much better than earlier; the rest he got on the floor must have helped him recover from the worst of his injury. Grey opened his mouth to ask Jim about a plan when the bedroom door cracked.

Splinters exploded into the room, and a slender, yet muscular orange paw clawed at the inside handle. Deep gashes sliced into the door until another slam knocked it down entirely. A bright crimson light filled the room, and Jim jumped forward. A brilliant punch knocked the giant cat back into the living room. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The strength of Jim's punch was impressive.

Jim looked over and answered the question as if reading Grey's mind, "I got a wish that makes me a powerful boxer. Qi and Aura strengthen my hits. Let's get out of here!" Jim was his longtime neighbor, and the guy mostly kept to himself. What they bonded together on was fighting. Boxing was always his favorite thing in the world. It's not surprising that he picked a boxing wish… Grey lifted himself and thought about ways to empower himself like Jim had.

Focusing his ability on his legs, he tried increasing his muscle density and size; almost immediately, he could feel a difference. Fat from around his abdomen stretched tight around his abs, and his leg muscles bulged with size and strength. As Grey recovered his arm, he realized he had been drawing upon fat stores to use his shapeshifting ability. Powering up his legs took up what little he had left. I have to find a better way to store energy, and more importantly, I need food!

With his newly strengthened legs, he took a heroic step forward to help Jim, but caught his foot on the remains of the chair barricade. His sudden new muscles also made it awkward to run. The furniture slammed him in the face. After a couple of seconds adjusting, Grey found himself back on his feet and beside Jim in the living room. Mrs. Jensen's cat held its head low, large pointed fangs bared menacingly as guttural hissing announced its deadly intent..

It was easily the size of a large dog, but possessed muscle and fangs like a panther. It leapt forward at Jim; a wave of intimidation flashed past Grey. Its speed overwhelmed the boxer, and only impressive footwork saved Jim from losing his throat. A follow-up punch from Jim knocked the cat aside, but it quickly changed focus to Grey, hoping to kill the weaker of the two. Grey used the new strength to jump into the air. He reached an arm back, preparing to punch while growing a long spike.

The cat followed his lead, meeting him in the air with its mouth wide. Grey punched, aiming at the cat's face. It adjusted; confused yet happy. Fangs versus fists had worked in the kitties' favor so far; he just needed to take a bite. What the cat didn't expect was the two-foot spike on Grey's fist. The horn entered through the cat's mouth and exited through the back of its head. Almost immediately, the beast fell still, and the pressure filling the room relaxed.

Grey twisted his body to press his spike deeper until it met his old neighbor's apartment floor. [Level Up]"Holy shit, man!" Jim shouted, running over beside him.

"That was badass!" Grey retracted the cartilage spike into his body, recovering some of the energy he had lost from the battle.

"Is there anything to eat here?" [Quest] [Kill Ferocious Cat (F)] [Rewards: +5 exp, +200 Wishing coins] Wishing Coins… I wonder what those are for?

"System what are Wishing Coins?" he asked aloud. A chuckle from Jim only interrupted the silence that followed. Well I guess the system doesn't answer questions… Name: Grey Falsen Level: 2 [0/10] Race: Human (F) Class: n/a Abilities: Shapeshifting (F), (Passive): Bone Manipulation (F) STR: 8 DEX: 6 END: 10 WIS: 6 INT: 7 LUCK: 8 Free stat points: 3 Seems like using his ability to strengthen his legs had increased STR and END Grey decided to put two free points into INT, and immediately felt a difference.

He followed it up by sinking the last point into INT as well. Being able to learn more about anatomy should help me evolve more. In theory, my ability should allow me to transform my body however I like. Wishes make the impossible possible. I'll have to use this to my advantage if I want to make it through this new world. Evolving his legs seemed to have affected his stats. Meaning, by upgrading his anatomy, the rest of his stats improve.

I should only upgrade stats that help me learn more so I can improve my body with my ability. The can of beans he looted from Mrs. Jensen's fridge was finished, and the old lady didn't have anything edible left. Expired food from years ago is all that remained. A ravenous hunger washed over him, and he knew that he desperately needed real food. Jim tested the oven, finding that the gas was off.

As if to respond to him, the lights flickered off, such that only subtle beams of light through the corners of a curtain lit the room.

"It's morning already?" Jim asked, rubbing his head desperately. Grey looked out of the window, noticing fires and abandoned cars littered through the street. Not a person in sight.

"What are we going to do?" he asked, turning back to his friend. Jim peeked himself, then returned to the dark room.

"Well, we could open the blinds." Jim said, a cheesy smile lightening the dark mood.

"I meant about the end of the world." Grey hovered his nose over the mystery candies he found.

"Oh, that… I dunno. I wanna go learn how to fight. My wish made me pretty strong." Light flooded back into the room as he opened the curtains.

"See? Much better."

"I guess I'll just roll with you for now." Grey said. There would be no reason to split up.

"You're not so bad," he teased. Grey worried about his family, but only his uncle Niko lived in the same city as him. He should be alright on his own… I'm more worried about everyone else… Grey thought back to the quest offered to him: Defeat the ants in his room. He was about to give up when he remembered the apple pie he had in his fridge. He bought it specifically to have as a treat on Friday. Now that Mondays will never be the same, it is time for celebration.

Grey looked over to Jim, thinking of how to pitch the quest to him. The pie will go bad without electricity! The thought filled Grey with a panic.

"Jim, we need to clear out murder ants in my room."

"Alright, sounds good to me." Jim's face brightened up, as if he had won the lottery. Is he a battle junky now? Convincing him to battle was way too easy…