Devil's Chosen

Clara Astrum

My body snapped as it contorted against the hard bark. The sound of ringing filled my head, distorting my perception. Spinning towards the ground, my body made contact with more branches, causing blood to gush from my wounds. With a final snap of a branch, the ground shook as it halted my descent.

The ground was prickly, but also soft... Softer than the rocks that my body had grown accustomed to. Lying still, I looked at the beautiful scenery around me. The grass was green, there were flowers of varying colours, and massive trees blocked out the light that came from the sky. Lavender filled my nose while breathing in. The smell was majestic.

Around me, the wind blew through the trees, and the sound of branches swaying filled the forest. A song of chirps echoed around me as small creatures flew by. From the side, a small creature the size of my fist emerged from the ground. It pranced around me, sniffing at my ruined body.

Looking down to my side, my arm had snapped backward, a bone piercing my precious skin. Blood dripped from the wound, causing the grass around me to melt. The small creature began to approach the blood, but as it did, my good arm swatted it away, sending the tiny creature scurrying back into its hole.

With a sigh, my eyes shut as my body tensed. My arm snapped back into position, and after a few minutes, the bone began to tremble slightly before finally realigning itself. After a bit of excruciating pain, my arm had fully healed.

Pushing myself up, my body quivered slightly as a warm breeze passed by. The air was fresh, not clouded with blood. Above me, a massive brown tree stood tall, swaying to the side with the wind. Leaves fell upon me, one even landing on my face. Grabbing the leaf, I brought it to my eyes. It was a beautiful light green, with a small spine running through it. Curious, I grabbed both sides and pulled with minimal power until it snapped.

The severed leaf swayed as it fell, sending a small ripple of wind through the air. My eyes looked at the fallen leaf, and then back up at the tree. Examining every fine detail. Looking down, a small head popped out of the ground once again, its small eyes meeting mine. Remembering the new skill that I had obtained before coming here, World's Knowledge lvl 1.

Looking at the small beast, the skill activated.

Earthen Groundhog lvl 1

So this was a groundhog? It was so small... and fragile. My palm opened, my arm extending towards the tiny creature. The little groundhog looked at my hand, sniffing it for a moment before climbing into it. The warmth of my blood seemed to calm the creature. Bringing it closer to my face, my eyes focused in on the small groundhog,

Its fur was soft and warm, and its small feet were rough on my skin. My other hand rubbed against the little creature's head, rubbing fingers through its hair. The creature squeaked as my hand pressed upon it. My eyes went blank for a moment as more pressure was added to the cute creature. The hand it rested in squeezed shut upon the groundhog.

The little creature squirmed inside my hand, biting down into my skin. Blood poured into my clasped hands, and with it, the smell of burning flesh emitted from inside. The creature writhed as its flesh melted, tiny squeaks echoing from inside. My hand tightened as the groundhog squirmed even more. After a few more moments and with one final press, the creature went silent, blood splattering against my palms.

Acquired 5exp

Opening my hands and looking down at the mess inside them. The creature's blood was all over my hands, tiny pieces of fur and bone sticking to it. Its crumpled body lay in my hand, its tiny broken eyes showing its last emotions... Fear.

Bringing the corpse to my face, my mouth opened, placing the entire hedgehog inside. With a crunch, the creature's body was ripped apart, the taste of fur and raw meat mixed into a nasty texture. Saliva melted it down enough that it just slid right down my throat and into my stomach.

New Skill Acquired, Earthen Sense lvl 1

As the purple square appeared, a smile appeared on my face as the words followed. After a moment, the words vanished, and a burning sensation grew in my mind, causing my head to ache. The heat then dispersed throughout my body, leaving a new sensation inside me. It felt as if I could sense the vibrations in the ground now.

Pulling up my status sheet, I saw the change was not large but noticeable.

Name: ####

Title: ####

Race: DemonBorn (Mythical)

Tier: 1 (fledgling)

Class: Devourer (Mythical)

Lvl: 1 (30/100)

Blood: (6/100)

Skills:

Intrinsic:

Gluttony lvl 1

One With Acid lvl 2

World's Knowledge lvl 1

Tier 1:

Demonic Regeneration lvl 7

Heightened Perception lvl 4

Earthen Sense lvl 1

Tier 2:

Pain Nullification lvl 6

Focusing on my new skill, the description appeared.

Earthen Sense lvl 1, allows the user to sense slight vibrations in the ground.

It was a simple explanation, but it was also a very simple skill. Closing my eyes for a moment, the vibrations seeped through the ground into my feet. While searching the surrounding area, small vibrations caught my attention. The movements of the trees, the grass swaying, and finally the scurrying of some creature.

Looking towards the direction of the creature's vibration, my instincts told me to find it... and devour. Walking towards it, my feet brushed the prickly grass, causing a slight irritation. Pushing bushes out of the way, branches snapped from my weight. If anyone were here, it would be a strange sight to see, a naked woman walking through a forest all by herself.

Chuckling to myself at the thought, I finally broke through another bush, revealing a small blue blob. It was the same type of creature that had appeared in the hallway, the small circular one. Quickly, I used World's Knowledge lvl 1 on the blue gelatinous creature.

Slime lvl 2

It was a slime! The slime rolled across the forest ground, dissolving the grass beneath it. As it digested the green grass, its mass increased, increasing its diameter by one centimetre. Ducking down, I hid myself behind a large green bush. My eyes were locked on the slime, not even daring to breathe. Observing the creature, I realized that it had almost no awareness, as it continued to eat grass, rolling in circles on the ground.

It did not seem very intelligent, but it was level two, which was one higher than me, so it was dangerous. If we were going to fight, it'd have to be on my terms. Looking around, I spotted a sharp rock. Grabbing it and slowly starting to move out of the bush. Taking a few steps forward while crouched, the slime had not noticed me yet. The slime began to wiggle, almost joyfully, as it devoured more grass.

After another meter, the slime finally seemed to notice me, stopping its grass digestion. It vibrated aggressively, while expanding itself for a moment before reverting to its original size. I did not cower as it did this, but instead took another step towards the blob. It rolled back at my approach. Suddenly, the creature turned towards a bush and slid towards it. It was running!

Disappearing into the bush, the slime vanished. Running, I chased after it, reaching the bush that it had gone into within three strides. Breaching the bush, my legs gave way, as behind the bush was a steep hill.

My eyes caught sight of the slime, which was already at the bottom of the hill. My legs flew off the hill, sending me spinning wildly down it. Rolling over myself, rocks, and branches worsen my fall. I hit my head on a massive rock that protruded from the hillside, causing blood to seep from my head. Rolling some more, I scraped my arms and legs against the rough dirt.

After a few moments, the rolling ceased as a small tree halted my descent, causing blood to escape my mouth on impact. Air escaped my throat on impact, and it felt as if it was impossible to breathe. My vision blurred for a moment before I wheezed, air rushing back into my lungs.

Gasping, I brought myself back to my feet, walking off the small wounds that the fall had inflicted on me. Reorienting myself, my eyes darted across the forest searching for the slime. Eventually, the vibrations it created helped me locate it.

Walking towards the direction of the slippery creature, I was certain I would catch it fast, since the slime's top speed was not very fast. As the thought entered my head, the creature appeared in my vision. The slime had returned to absorbing more grass from the ground.

Grasping onto the stone, I cut my wrist, allowing for acidic blood to seep from the wound. With a swift step, I descended upon the creature before it could even realize that I was there. Flicking my wrist, blood landed on the body of the blue slime, causing it to sizzle and burn. It vibrated as the blood landed upon it. Turning towards me, the creature lashed out, diving at my legs.

Without giving me time to react, the slime stuck itself onto my leg, causing my skin to melt and be devoured by the slime. I kicked out, trying to fling the slime away, but it was to no avail, as it held on tightly. It melted through my leg fast, now eating its way into my muscle, and with a pained scream, I fell to the floor.