Cooking the steak before moving probably was the right thing to do. When he asked Totvs scan the meat, it appeared to him just like a [INGREDIENT] with an Infinitesimal Healing Capacity.

Mark cleaned his pan and focused on his task. He heated a small quantity of butter, way less than before, and fried the steak. 

It still smelled great and probably tasted as good as the other one, but he didn’t flavor the butter this time and made the meat well-done, instead of medium rare.

After finishing it, Totvs scanned the meal.

 

SIRLOIN STEAK [RECIPE GRADE D]

EFFECTS: TINY HEALING CAPACITIES

Steak fried in butter. Average. Just Average.

 

“For me, it’s fine, Mark. Don’t mind the system. I would eat it every day of the week.” The robot said without the excitement it had shown before.

Probably the amount of ingredients and the complexity of the recipe grants different and better effects.

He requested Totvs to show his stats again and noticed that besides his level. 2 the percentage had upgraded to (20%), so cooking granted him EXP just like killing a monster, but less.

This system rewarded extreme competition but was not blind to other types of progress.

He stood up, cleaned everything, and prepared to move. He planned to get to the city of Crystal Lake, assess the town situation, and head to his parent’s house. One hour away from Crystal Lake.

“And the Gallifidis? Will you leave it here? Maybe you can prepare something with it. Don’t you like chicken? I saw a lot of chicken in the reality tv shows I watched.” The robot asked flying in circles around his head.

“Is that why you’re so obsessed with food?” He asked, but his mind was on the robot’s question. He had thought about using the beast’s meat, but he had a moral questioning and a time doubt, also.

“Yes! I’ve watched every cooking show ever made. Some part of me was expecting to find Gordon Ramsay, but I’m glad sticking with you, Mark. I’m sure you’ll thrive.” The robot was once again blinking heat colors, like red, yellow, and orange. The colors apparently represented the flying ball’s happiness, euphoria, and excitement.

He was about to ask it more questions when he heard another noise coming from the forest.

“Is it an enemy?” He asked Totvs.

“Oh, Yes! Two enemies, they’re coming fast. Better be careful!” The robot exclaimed.

“My health?” he asked.

“100%,” The robot said, confirming his suspicions. He had a regeneration capacity.

“Can you help me in the fight?”

“No! Against the rules, for now!”

“Identify it for me as soon as you can.” He said and proceeded to put half of the steak in its mouth, ready to eat it as soon as was necessary. The other part he put in one of his pants pockets.

 He stood with his pan in his left hand and the knife in the right one. “Put my free stat point in Strenght and the other one in Duel Wielding Combat, if you can…” He said with his mouth full.

“Done, Mark!” The robot said getting close to the woods. “I can see them.”

Mark felt a rush of power through him and a shiver starting from his neck. He was ready to fight, his instincts prepared once more.

 

SCANNING ENEMY:

IDENTIFIED:

(**NEW**) MALE RATARK [LVL 1]

The Ratark is the dominant species of the Trartorian planet. An aggressive eight-limb rodent, capable of extreme violence.

IDENTIFIED: 

(**NEW**) FEMALE RATARK [LVL 1]

Just like the male, but way bigger, aggressive, and cruel.

 

The robot came flying to him once again.

“You can do it, Mark!” It was portraying a new color. A deep gray. Probably not good.

A sound appeared in the sky. The sound of something falling, fast. He looked at it and saw an object forming at the edge of his vision.

“Beware the sky,” the message had said before.

He could now see them approaching. Two creatures the size of big German Shepherds. Eight long limbs carrying them, six of them were insectoids, like one of a spider, but the two last ones were like ones of a mammal, but way longer than it should be allowed.

The disparity in the legs’ size made the beasts move around in a strange way, like a possessed girl in a horror movie. The bulk of its body was as if it was being carried, but it seemed like it could fall at any time.

And what horrendous bodies the creatures had. Its torso looked like a skinless rat, with a long tail and an enormous face with two fangs on the side of its mouth., and a bulging rat nose Instead of two eyes, the beast had a quantity Mark could not define in the distance. His heart was pounding, the Ratarks looked like a nightmare made alive.

As the two creatures arrived close to the stream a huge box fell on top of the smaller one. The tier 2 loot box had just killed it.

 

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

ACHIEVEMENT:

You made your first environmental kill.

Reward: EXP

YOU GAINED A LEVEL: 1 free stat point available; 1 free skill point available

 

Totvs were relaying the messages, but Mark was not listening. He was running in the direction of the first beast.

It was a clear surprise to the ratark what happened to its companion. Legs moved strangely like each one had a different plan for what to do next.

Mark had only one plan. Kill it as soon as possible.

His pan went into the air and descended in the direction of the beast's head. It squeaked with pain as the metal touched the face skin.

The Ratark didn’t lose time. It moved to the side in a fast motion, his two longer legs taking momentum to jump at Mark.

He caught the beast’s movement with his eyes and pushed another attack, he was not going to let the beast fight on its terms. Keeping pressure seemed like the answer.

He did as the beast was doing and rushed in its direction, knife pointing to its head.

The ratark noticed the movement too late. It was able to dodge the fatal blow, but the knife finched itself just above its mouth.

Mark tried to remove the knife from the beast’s head, but he couldn’t. The alien moved to its back in a fast motion while squeaking louder by the second. He ran in the direction of the beast, but the ratark was faster.

He would not give up, he had to press and finish it.

The beast slowed a little and Mark swung his pan in its direction. Just to see a green liquid dripping from the back of his pan. Venom!

The little time he had looked to his pan had been enough for the beast to jump at him. He raised his pan just in time to not get bitten in the neck.

The weight of the ratark dropped him to the ground, the beast still trying to bite him and finding the metal, instead. The kitchen utensil was the only thing separating him from death.

He reached for the knife with his right hand, still holding the pan with the left, and hoping for the beast not to be able to overwhelm him.

He gripped the knife hard and twisted it. Twisted several times. The squeak of the monster became deafening, but he didn’t stop.

The creature tried to fall back, but Mark used the momentum from it to get back up, dropped the knife, and swung his pan in the beast’s head again and again.

Each blow made it fall down and down. In the end, the eight legs were stirred in different positions. He beat the monster’s head until the silence was once again a reality in the woods.

He realized the meat in his mouth had been eaten at some moment of the fight. His breath had almost no break between one and the next. Adrenaline slowly fades and exhaustion takes place. He dropped to the ground and ran his hand through his hair.

“I’m alive… I’m alive…” he whispered to himself. His hands shaking.

“Yeah! You thrived, Mark! That was incredible!” The robot exclaimed, full of happiness and colors.

“I just had a stroke of luck. If the loot box didn’t fall on the other one, I would be dead now…” He whispered, once again. Trying to calm himself.

“It was a fortunate coincidence. You don’t have enough luck. The system wouldn’t make something like that happen.” The robot said, getting close to him. “You’re at 100%. I’ll show you your messages.”

Before he could answer the robot continued.

 

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

MISSIONS:

1- MAIN QUEST:

SURVIVE!

Your planet is no more! At least no more like before, expect a lot of changes. To see it, you need to survive.

TIME REMAINING: 29 days 21 hours and 30 minutes

Rewards: EXP, 10.000 credits, a Tier 5 “choose your loot” box and a position in the next phase of our Hiring Process.

2 - SIDE QUESTS: 

 IDENTIFY 5 NEW SPECIES (2/5)

Rewards: EXP and a Tier 1 loot box.

(**NEW**) KILL TEN NON ATTENDANT ENEMIES (2/10)

Rewards: EXP and a Tier 2 loot box.

USE YOUR SKILLS (3/10)

Rewards: EXP

GAIN LEVELS (3/5)

Rewards: EXP and a Tier 1 loot box.

 

If this was going to be the apocalypse, he had to do anything to survive. Maybe not eat a venom spider rat, but he would not pass that chicken.

He had his morals, but that was not going to apply to some monster who tried to kill him, people ate octopus all the time, and they were probably as smart as that chicken was.

Time to prepare some meat and face the rest of the apocalypse.