Rhonda’s sleep was restless. Hunger pains invaded her slumber, forcing her to toss and turn. When she did manage to drift deeper into sleep, her dreams were invaded by strange moving pictures. The Old Rhonda had an analogy for it: someone playing a janky movie that was missing frames.

Inside the dream movie, Rhonda saw herself growing up as the sole daughter of an affluent family with a fire giant father and frost giant mother. Their wealth and power had given Rhonda a cushy, spoiled, lavish life… supposedly.

She had the comfiest furs and the coolest jewelry compared to the other children in the mixed-race village that her family… manor… looked over.

If she had wanted anything, she would get it⁠—ponies with gold shoes, trained griffins that did tricks, beautiful human dresses and high-quality makeup to doll up her servants, elvin music boxes enchanted by faeries to play lovely notes that matched her mood, dwarven-smithed toy soldiers that moved as ordered for war games, and food.

Lots, and lots, and lots of food. Food from the monster-infested seas east. Food from across the little people lands beneath Brogheim, even as far south as the marshes and further south as the tropical paradises. Food from the great wide plains and arid deserts southwest and west of Brogheim. Even food from the tundra wastelands and Black Gold Mountains above Brogheim where only lvl 100 to 120 adventurers could venture without dying instantly.

She needed all of this food for variety’s sake and because of her unusual appetite. On one sitting, a plate that could feed a family of giants was a mere snack for mistress Rhonda. She would clean her parents’ leftovers and ask for thirds. Then fourths, and maybe fifths with dessert.

She made up for what she lacked in obvious elemental power with a gnawing hunger that was bigger than any giant. A hunger that was like a beast trapped within the body of a young mistress… or a young mistress at the mercy of an insatiable beast inside of her.

I think I get it now… this hunger isn’t normal.

It might have something to do with her Noble Giant’s Blood. She could sense it now as her mind floated closer to consciousness. The quirk was not truly what it seemed, just like the strange images being implanted in her head weren’t exactly authentic.

Still, the image of all that food going to a brat was hurtful to watch for the current Rhonda. She’s not killing any draugrs to deserve that! Give it to me! The real me!

Rhonda snapped awake and got to her feet.

There was no hesitation. No questioning of her desires. She was beyond thinking right now. She was so beyond being sensible the back of her head hushed. The old self was afraid, even though she shouldn’t. She was already inside of Rhonda.

Anything outside that might be edible was fair game, however.

 

Ah, good, you’re awake and well-rested after your nap. Thanks to your high vitality, your injuries have already healed up. You’re at full stamina. Now we can move on to questline⁠—

 

Rhonda reached out to grab the System.

Her hand passed through the message.

 

Oh, erm, I’m sorry. We can’t actually interact in that way. Is there something I can help⁠with —

 

Rhonda lunged forward and tried to bite the System. Just like her hand, her mouth phased through it. Her teeth clacked loudly with nothing to show for the effort.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa! My goodness, Rhonda, you certainly can’t do that either. You can’t eat me; I’m the System!

 

She narrowed her eyes. If there ever came an opportunity that she could eat the System, she would take it. Her mouth salivated at the idea of eating the System, but she didn’t entertain it for long. Her search for her true quest had only begun.

What was it?

Following her gut’s intuition. Rhonda was finished with passivity, conversating, and ulterior motives that weren’t hers. She had fought and defeated 10 draugrs like the System had wanted, and what was her reward?

No food. Bad rest.

 

I believe I understand what is happening. You are feeling hostile toward me because of your hunger. You have all the right to feel angry, but you must know this is necessary to keep you motivated. You will face hunger, thirst, and many more trials to come in your future adventures.

 

“Starve yourself.”

Rhonda stomped past the System’s message. She reached down and scooped up a draugr’s forearm. Without a moment’s hesitation, she fitted one end between her jaws and snapped off a piece.

The taste was revolting. Waves of nausea washed over her, throwing her into a stagger. She kept chewing, the muscles around her jaws tensing as she forced them to keep going. Once she had an easy-to-swallow-mush, she gulped it down and kept it down.

 

Rhonda! Please vomit that out right now! It might just kill you and turn you… oh no. It would be best if you did not become an Undead Noble Giant. Seriously, that is the last thing anyone would want! Please purge your stomach!

At that moment, Rhonda made a promise to herself. Whatever went down her gullet stayed down even if it might kill her⁠—such as what the necrotic meal was trying to do.

Her queasiness prior was child’s play compared to the sickness she was feeling now. Worse yet, her stomach’s hunger intensified as if it knew there was more where the draugr bite had come from. However, her stomach’s eagerness would not cure the internal disease that was spreading from the munched up human rot.

“Uggggh,” Rhonda leaned heavily against the wall.

Her muscles started to hurt. Her joints ached like someone was hammering them with everything they got. Her mouth and throat felt as hoarse as sandpaper. Vomit bubbled up and tried to jettison out, but Rhonda swallowed each attempt back down.

Her determination to retain what she consumed was so steadfast, not even a dribble of the undead gunk escaped her. Not even when she was set upon by terrible dizziness that spun the darkening hallways upside down and around.

It was the most suffering Rhonda had ever experienced in this life. It was a miracle she remained on her feet, using the wall to keep her up.

A small part of her⁠—the old self—was keeping her wobbly legs from buckling. To fall now would mean to accept death by food poisoning. Despite the pain, if Rhonda died, she would accept it. Yet, the old self was the last bastion of defense against the long sleep of eternal darkness.

Current Rhonda: Why are you fighting this now? Isn’t the quiet serenity of death what we want?

Old Self in a tiny voice: That’s n-n-not what I want. I-I want to live and experience life even if it means we sit around and eat all day. I’ll be so happy with that.

Current Rhonda: But there’s pain outside of the nothingness. And hunger. So. Much. Hunger. It’s bothersome.

You’re… right. I hate pain and hunger, too. I can’t remember now, but I know I was too weak in my life to not suffer that. Compared to you, I’m even more insignificant. But…

But what?

I want to ask if you can become stronger and stronger, despite how annoying it is. I want to ask if you can keep going and do what I couldn’t do. I want to ask you to…

…to fight for what I want?

Y-yes.

It’ll be the opposite of resting and eating. To fight. To grow stronger. To do things for me. But… I’ll do it if it means I can live how I prefer.

Yes, exactly that. And can I say that y-you’re amazing? Even though my memories are in tatters, I know I must’ve dreamed about being someone like you. Impulsive. Gruff and tough. Kickass. S-sexy. You make decisions that make me squeamish, but I’ll cheer for you anyway!

Okay. You do that. Enjoy yourself while I make my dream a reality. Watch me.

I certainly will my dominant side! Heehee!

Rhonda returned from her visit with herself just beneath the surface of consciousness. To her surprise, she was in better health than before she blanked out.

She was still incredibly sick, ready to puke at any moment if she wasn’t so unwavering. But she was able to stand a firmer while keeping a hand on a wall.

Then after a while, her queasiness started to peter out. Subsequently, the aches in her joints faded. Her muscle cramps lessened, too, transitioning to simple soreness.

She stopped wanting to puke soon after. Then her dizziness faded at the sound of her gurgling stomach.

Carefully, Rhonda stepped away from the wall so she could rely on her feet alone. She managed to stay up just fine. Her mouth and throat were still dry, but she was miraculously okay after that near-suicidal episode.

Maybe to the System and her old self, what she did was stupid, but it did confirm a few things for her current self.

She was not the prissy, spoiled girl in the janky visions because that girl would feel something if she were to kill and eat her former servants. Rhonda might share similar interests with the young mistress⁠—those doll-size dresses were cute, and some of the acrobatic griffin tricks were amusing, and the endless plates of food was mouthwatering⁠—but that was not Rhonda’s true origin.

It’s probably the System making one for me.

At the same time, Rhonda already knew that she was different from her old self. Maybe she was truly an offshoot of a power fantasy—one given existence by the weaker version's mere wish-fulfillment.

If that’s the case, my goals came from what the weaker me wanted and dreamed. And Rhonda’s body came from the System with an ulterior motive that refused to feed her outright.

“Hm.” Rhonda rubbed her thumb across the pad of her fingers. The sensation was still an enjoyable one even if her hands were covered in dried draugr gunk.

“Hm,” she hummed again. Nothing I am is my own.

But I will take it as my own and do as I please anyway.

 

Oh, thank goodness! You’re still alive! The probability of you becoming the most horrific undead monster to haunt Mythokos was a little short of 100%. Yay for that super near miss. Whew. Now, I have some news. You’ve inadvertently learned a new ability. That, well, wasn’t supposed to happen yet. The plan to balance you was set in stone. You having an ability now is getting a little OP. So, uh, that’s broken, but we’ll work with it, anyway. Also… I, uh, panicked and called the Administrator. I feared you were going to become an Undead Noble Giant A⁠—whoopsie. You aren’t supposed to learn that part yet.

 

“It’s okay,” Rhonda said, her voice as raspy as a draugr. “I know you’re hiding something with my bloodline. I’m not like father or mother. Their greatness made me something important. Something stronger, huh?”

 

Yes, y-you’re right for someone who’ll carelessly eat necrotic flesh. (What were you thinking? My goodness!) It is true a giant can be born different than the parents as long as they’re noble. Nobility among your kind only requires the strongest giants within a region to pair up. Your parents were heroes of giants and giant-kin and giant friends long ago. They struck a mortal blow to the fey to secure Brogheim in the Second Ultimate War. They gave a helping hand to smaller folks against dragon incursions during the Scaled Awakening. They were adored by many and deeply detested by their enemies. When they brought you⁠—your character origin⁠—into the world, many of your parents’ enemies feared you’d become something too… powerful. In a sense, you are a special project. You have no idea how hard I worked to grease the Administrator’s clutches to let you have it.

 

Patience thinning, Rhonda patted her grumbling stomach. It gnawed at her, annoyed her, angered her. It pushed her to lose control while the System gave a long-winded response.

Deep breaths, dear, said Old⁠—no⁠—Little Rhonda. Rhonda sighed, taking Little Rhonda’s advice.

“You overdid the background story,” she said. “Whatever you have planned for me, it’s not me. I’m not the old me. I’m not your giant princess. I’m Rhonda, and I want to be left alone to do as I please. That’s it.”

 

Well, yes. But, no. What we have planned will be awesome. I promise. You’ll be greatly rewarded. Now let’s hurry and get back to the quest before the Administrator⁠—

 

“Don’t bother.”

Rhonda turned her back on the System and started down the hallway. If she retraced her steps to the room she had woken up in, she could use the broken desk and moldy books as a platform to climb out of the window. During her search for draugrs, she had peeked into other rooms and found them all ransacked and lacking windows.

She took half a dozen steps before the System popped up in front of her again.

 

Rhonda, let me be frank. You have the only heroic giant character available as a candidate. One that has been saved for hundreds of years after the giants and nobles have been nearly culled. The Administrator will go ballistic if I don’t keep everything on track with the current campaign, especially your part. I ensure you that you’ll be fed, cleaned up, clothed, armed, evolved, and given a choice of a job (class) before you can go on your way. But I must see this tutorial completed so we can have you set up based on our SOP. Please, Rhonda. Please return to the questline.

 

Bemused, Rhonda contemplated the System’s plea.

Then she shook her head, swishing around black shoulder-length tangles.

“No, System. I won’t be listening to you anymore. Bye.”

 

B-but, why?

 

Rhonda didn’t bother to explain. It was a waste of time and effort. She wanted to spend her energy moving on.

She set out to find the origin room again. Sadly, it would probably take a while since night had fallen, and this haunted manor was like a huge maze.

Might as well check out the new ability.

 

Abilities and Ability Points [0]-- [Ravenous Insight] || lvl 1 Passive || Eat an enemy (partially or wholly) and gain a minor boost in Strength and Vitality, a moderate boost in Endurance, and a massive boost in Perceptions while fighting the same enemy species you’ve consumed. This is limited to 1 enemy species within the local area⁠—the effect diminishes once you leave that area or eat a different enemy species.