Chapter 3 - Acquisition

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  He was shocked but more than that he was relieved the Dizrke had died.

  I assumed there was something strange about the forest, but not something like this.

  He gathered his thoughts and began to head back to the cave. He thought about retrieving the Dizrke carcass, but the tree roots were too strong to break or even move

  So, in the end, morrow had to go back with nothing, the hunger still gnawing at his mind.

  He finally made it back to the cave after hours of crawling. He left a trail of blood behind him, as he slumped on to a rock next to the wall of text on the cave.

  As his consciousness began to fade from the amount of blood he lost only one thought remained on his mind.

  What does this text really sa-

  Right before he died, the text suddenly became clear to him. Its meaning coursed through his body, not something read and understood, but something felt on a deeper level.

  The text unstuck from the walls entering his body going into his soul, and even farther into his very being.

  And as the words imprinted on him it started to change him, his bones began to rapidly break and rearrange, growing stronger.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  His muscles began to rapidly expand and contract, expanding with every cycle to reinforce his body. But his body strengthening and rearranging itself wasn't what hurt the most, it was the changes happening to his soul.

  Morrow's soul was changing in an unfathomable way, bubbling and forming a new. All these changes were inconceivable to Morrow. All he knew was that now before his death an unfathomable pain overcame his entire body and beyond that.

  He laid there in immense pain for hours, or what felt like hours. The pain was so blinding that his sense of time was distorted.

  By the time morrow woke up it was day again, his body was sore from the excruciating pain he endured last night, or whenever it happened.

  Morrow tried to stand up instinctively to look outside. He got outside to find that the sun had just risen. But that wasn't the only thing he noticed, when he looked down his leg had been completely healed.

  What? Since when was my leg healed?

  Suddenly he thought back to last night.

  Speaking of which wasn't I supposed to be dead? I could have sworn I was on the verge of dying.

  He suddenly realized he felt no pain in his bones, which had plagued him his whole life.

  I... I'm not hurting anymore

  He began to move around randomly, testing the parameters of his new body. His body before could barely move a couple of miles, but now it felt like he could run for days. Not only that but he felt much stronger, even being able to leave a mark on the tree.

  Suddenly a tremor filled the forest, and in a flash, he was Infront of a village off the outskirts of the forest. There were people laughing in the village, kids running around, enjoying the life of youth.

  There's a village out here? I don't remember seeing this in any of the maps I’ve picked up from the library.

  He walks up to the small, almost primal village, where he is greeted by one of the little ones running around.

  “Hello mister! Who are you?”

  “I’m... a passing traveler”

  “Let me show you to Mr. Chief! He will know what to do.”

  I don't know what it is, but something about this feels extremely off. A village I’ve never heard of, suddenly being teleported by some weird forest, this is messing with my head. I’ll just see where this goes.

  The little girl takes him into the heart of the village, where a dim, but big shack lies in the middle. The only visible light source is a few lanterns strewn across the tall wooden spikes surrounding the village.

  The girl flips up the dried intestines acting as a door to reveal a young, handsome looking man sitting on a carpet surrounded by candles.

  This is the chief? He doesn’t look a day over 25.

  “Oho, look what you’ve brought me Tanya”

  “I'm guessing you’re the chief of this village?

  “Yeah that's Mr. Chief! He always makes sure were properly fed and healthy!”

  Sounds like a decent guy, maybe I'm just overthinking it.

  “Please make yourself at home, our village never turns away a soul”

  “Alright, is there by chance anything to eat?”