Chrysalis

My body was… strange. Certainly far from ideal for my purposes. I still possess the normal senses one would expect, sight, smell, sound, touch and taste, perhaps even better than I'd experienced as a human, but the configuration of my physical form… not so much. As far as I can tell, I'm a legless, fleshy blob with two deceptively powerful arms that emerged either side of my fanged mouth.

My body also appears to be covered in a black, thickened tar like substance that is quite difficult for my claws to penetrate. So a slug with arms and a mouth covered in a defensive coating. Unpleasant, but I can deal with it.

I constantly shift my body and swing my limbs as I turn my attention to my surroundings. Conditioning myself and my reflexes to this new reality will be key to my survival. I can feel a vague sense of dysmorphia rising at having my consciousness transplanted into this rather horrific form, but I squash it ruthlessly. Anything that will impede my ability to survive in this new reality cannot be tolerated. Any instinct that works against this goal must be expunged.

I could feel the familiar mindset roll over me like a cloud. It was always like this when I was on a job. I had to be cold, calculated, make the right move at the right time and with the perfect execution. When the game was life and death, there was no other way to play. Even here and now, in this new body and in this new world, I can feel the thrill bubbling beneath my surface thoughts. If I could only find something to fight, something to hunt. That would scratch my itch!

The environment was hot. Overwhelmingly hot. The rock around me radiates heat to an absurd degree and not far away I can see open pools of lava that flowed into places unknown whilst lighting up the area. Everything else I see is blasted, black rock. Except something moved.

A flicker of motion captures my attention and I react instantly, using my two powerful limbs to drag my fleshy body into cover where I could gain a better vantage point. Like a panther, I prowl, a flabby, meat sack of a panther, but a predator no less. Around the jagged, burning stones I pull my body until I find what it was that I had seen. One of my own kind, a disgusting blob of dark flesh dragged itself forward with its arms. What it was doing, I didn't know. From what I can tell, it had only recently been born, much as I was, emerging from the rock. In fact, yes, I can see it, a patch of ground not far from where my fellow larva was now, loose stone and the indentation in the ground indicating where it had liberated itself from the heated stone.

I now had a choice. Should I attempt to befriend this creature and forge an alliance? Strength did exist in numbers, this was something I knew well. Two might survive where one would fail. Then there was the other choice…

knew

the sheep. I have always been a predator! Let others cower and huddle together in fear, that has never been my path. Besides, my information is incomplete. If I reveal myself to the creature and it attacks

claws strike with deadly precision, my steady aim not having changed though my body has greatly diverged from what I knew. With the angle of my body, my mouth falls in the perfect position and I

of fighting lacks the grace and elegance of my usual performance, but I have to admit, there is a certain

and tries to dislodge me but I hold on with my teeth as I rake

Claw has

the strange voice speaks to me of this game elements. As I continue to attack my prey, I notice that I appear to be doing more damage than before, even if the difference is only slight. So these skills could help

and I release my grip, only

Level 1 Initial

[You have gained XP.]