The White Hare

Recklessness

In the middle of the night, Jack lays on his small pile of fresh, soft pelts that act as his bedding. Unable to get to sleep. The deadline was practically looming over him and he was getting uneasy. Looking at his macuahuitl, Jack takes a moment before glancing at the quest screen. Biting his claw at the timer slowly ticking down. Leatherfoot wasn't acting like he thought they would. Very few members were sent out towards their warren and none of them for revenge or investigation besides Meo and that one guy. Standing up, Jack grabs his weapon and heads out into the main warren.

Going out at night was usually a bad idea but he was on a time crunch and needed the levels. Every time he increased in level his body grew stronger. He would also heal minor injuries even if the bigger ones remained mostly the same. The moon was currently at the waxing gibbous phase. He had less than a week to hit a Leatherfoot camp. It had to be bigger than a small scouting party. It had to be an ACTUAL encampment.

"Problem is I'm not stupid enough to tear one apart this early. Without Yeorin and Ren to worry about I am a bit calmer but not by much." Jack dashes through the forest at top speed. Avoiding monsters too powerful for him to kill on his own and ignoring the ones too weak to give him any sort of worthwhile boost. He had his backpack with him but even with his supplies and gear it didn't do much to slow him down.

The garden was out of the question and the pit was still on cooldown. 'If I can't find any dead creatures with experience then I will have to bite the bullet and enter that dungeon.' Images of the well appear in his mind. He hoped it wouldn't come to that but he would do what he had to do. In his eyes he wasn't advancing in level fast enough. He had to keep going. Honestly if there was any time for him to slump into one of his episodes now would be one of them.

He just had to concentrate. Let almost everything fall away, just cling to the hunger. That ever present sensation he had learned to ignore slowly coming to the forefront of his mind. The gnawing pain that weakened his body and made him feel heavy. Stomach clutching at the feeling of its own acid eating at itself. What little fat he had on his body boiling away, leaving him with only his skin and fur. He knew he had to shrug off and ignore the shaking of his hands and focus on finding something to fill that damn void that has plagued him. Just hunt.

His eyes glowed in the night as the thoughts of leveling up became all he thought about. The rush of strength, the blizzard in his veins turning into magma in his flesh. Hardening and growing stronger with each body he consumed.

Grabbing his sword off of his back, Jack bisects an experience rich source and devours it. Moving on in less than five minutes thanks to [Gluttony]. Bouncing between beasts and monsters he can hardly keep himself from charging the extremely powerful creatures, instead pilfering whats left of the kills that they leave behind.

'More.' It doesn't stop. He can hear his heartbeat hammering in his ears. A massive boar falling to his blade before he begins to feast.

'More.' He can't stop.

"More." Before he realizes what he is doing he has already ripped open a beast much larger than himself. The roar of fury falling upon deaf ears as the lanky giant strikes itself in the area the buck had dived into. A trail of torn flesh and broken bone causing the beast to tear at itself.

<<Thorn Troll Lvl.42>>

Jack is repeatedly crushed and bashed inside of the creature, the flesh behind him knitting itself back together just as quickly as he continues to chop through the meat in front of him. The writhing flesh around him burns with experience.

The enamel blades on the weapon broke one by one. Once they were gone the buck abandoned the glorified paddle and used his claws. Ripping chunks out with his teeth just as readily. His consciousness goes blank as he goes through the motions. As he carves his way through the monster he begins to move to the arm without realizing.