Adrian struggled in the darkness. The more he fought, the tighter the monster strangled him. Desperate, he rolled back and forth trying to get the creature off.
“Oof!” Adrian groaned as he picked himself off the floor. He blushed. His epic battle had been against the dresses he used as blankets. He breathed a sigh of relief; at least the dream wasn’t real.
He glanced at the barriers in front of the door and window. Still intact. Looking over his body, all of his injuries from the previous day were almost healed. The only place that was still tender was the injury on his arm where the lizard had bitten him, but that was quickly healing.
He opened up his status screen.
<Adrian Rogers [Human]
Level 3 (16%)
Skills (3 / 3):
- Climbing [1] (4%)
- Running [1] (2%)
- Disguise [1] (5%)>
Adrian chuckled that Disguise was already his highest skill. He had worn a dress while sleeping, so he guessed that counted as using it. The skill was useless in this situation since there were no people around, but it wouldn’t hurt to level it up. Maybe it would have a special benefit if he got it up high enough.
“My appearance will change,” he mused as he remembered the description of the skill. Adrian stood up and looked in the mirror. His reflection didn’t look too different, other than that he was filthy from spending all day in the wilderness the day before. And that he was wearing a dress. However, as he looked closer, his features had shifted slightly.
Adrian had dark brown hair. He liked to keep it a bit longer than most guys, so the tips of his ears were covered. Was it slightly longer? Thicker? He couldn’t tell. He studied his brown eyes next; similar but different, though he couldn’t tell exactly how. As he kept studying his face, he wanted to smack his forehead. There was a huge difference. Or rather, the lack of one. He had no facial hair. Adrian’s beard grew fast. He would shave in the morning and by the time he went to sleep, he’d have stubble. He rubbed his perfectly smooth chin. Not a hair in sight on his face. Even his jawline was less pronounced. He shrugged. Shaving was something he could live without.
So far, Disguise was his most “magical” skill. He wondered how much it would make him change if he maxed it out. As intriguing as it was, it was still useless.
Putting skills aside for now, Adrian considered what he’d do. His stomach growled. He needed food. He could think of two options. He could scavenge the forest for nuts or berries. He didn’t know how common that would be or if it’d be poisonous. Or, he could kill an animal and eat its meat. The second option seemed a bit more feasible, if more dangerous.
Adrian needed tools and weapons if he wanted to accomplish anything. The best place to look was right below him. He carefully moved the dresser away from the door just enough to peek into the hallway. He saw deep gashes in the door and floor, but it was otherwise clear. Adrian swallowed hard to keep his fear under control as he opened the door all the way and stepped into the hallway.
Two other rooms were connected to the hallway. A staircase led down to the first floor. With each step, the floor creaked. He begged his feet to step lighter. Carefully, he peeked into one of the rooms and then snapped his head back. From his glance, he saw three sleeping lizards. They were smaller, like the one that had bitten him the day before. Very carefully, he reached into the room and closed the door. His heart almost burst out of his chest when the door squeaked, but he got the latch closed.
The next room also had young lizards. He counted at least four. Adrian sealed that room as well. He was thankful the latches on the doors still worked. They might be able to claw their way through the door, but there was an open window, so they probably wouldn’t bother.
Adrian licked his lips. Downstairs.
When Adrian stepped on the first stair, the wood wailed like a tormented soul. He held his breath hoping nothing heard that. Silence. He took another step. Another wail. He knew the loudness was mostly in his mind, but that didn’t stop the sweat from trickling down his back. Finally, he made it down the few steps to the ground floor.
Adrian scanned the floor as quickly as he could. It was all one large room. He saw a counter for a kitchen, a table, and a stone fireplace. When he saw what was in the fireplace, Adrian wanted to bolt back upstairs. A large lizard lay curled up in the ashes of the previous fire. Asleep. It was probably the same one that scratched up his door. Adrian forced himself to keep looking, though he kept his sight on the lizard ready to bolt at any sign of movement.
Adrian saw a few things he could use, but two things stood out above the rest, mainly because they were made out of metal. A long knife was buried into the counter. It was probably a cooking knife, though it might have been used for self-defense. Idly, he wondered if the villagers left because of the lizards, or if the lizards simply moved into an empty village. Judging by how much stuff was left behind, the villagers probably didn’t leave peaceably. He shook his head. Not the time.
The next thing that looked useful was a large frying pan by the fireplace. Large scratches decorated its surface, but it still looked useable. The lizards probably sharpened their claws on it. Adrian’s eyes drifted back to the sleeping lizard. He could imagine what those claws would do to him.
With that gruesome thought in mind, Adrian crept closer to the counter, not taking his eyes off the lizard. He needed that knife. He made it to the counter and studied the weapon. It was a little longer than the size of his hand and about three inches thick. The leather grip was falling off, and the blade was chipped and dull. But, he could use it.
Adrian started prying the knife free from the counter. However, it was wedged in deep. He used both hands and his body weight to get it free. Finally, with a loud crack, the blade was released from its wooden prison. With dread, Adrian swung his eyes back to the lizard. Its head had popped up like a jack-in-the-box. Two yellow-slitted eyes were staring at him, first with confusion, then with hunger.
Adrian was moving before his mind processed the situation. He darted for the stairs and took them three at a time. He heard a huge crash and the house shook as the monster climbed the stairs. In the hallway, Adrian heard the young lizards scratching at the door, but he ignored them.
Adrian jumped into his room and slammed the door behind him. However, the latch didn’t click into place. The lizard barreled through the door into his room.
The lizard was at least ten feet long and filled the room. Its dark red scales hid rippling muscles underneath. Its large claws ripped against the wooden floor and drool dripped from its mouth. Despite the frantic chase before, the lizard slowed down once it knew it had trapped Adrian. The slow deliberate movements made the monster much more menacing.
Adrian cursed whoever had sent him to this place. They must have had a sick sense of humor. Adrian had died once already. Now, he was going to die again. He felt a sudden wave of calm sweep through him. Death was no stranger; if he was going to die, he’d take this monster with him.
Adrian slowly moved to the bookshelf. Like a snake strike, the lizard sprung forward latching onto his leg. Adrian let out a cry of pain but forced himself to topple the bookshelf on top of the monster. The lizard grunted and thrashed around but didn’t let go of his leg. Adrian used his new knife and stabbed the lizard’s face. The blade slid off the monster’s dense scales. Adrian became desperate as he slammed his knife over and over into the creature’s face. Finally, he heard a squishing sound as the knife plunged hilt deep through the lizard’s eye.
A notification appeared to proclaim his victory.
<Congratulations! You have gained a level. You are now Level 4! You have opened up 1 skill slot.>
<Congratulations! You have gained a level. You are now Level 5! You have opened up 1 skill slot.>
<Congratulations! You have gained a level. You are now Level 6! You have opened up 1 skill slot.>
Adrian laughed like a madman. He was still alive! Then the pain hit him. The bite on his leg and the multiple slashes on his body he hadn’t even noticed when he was trying to pierce the eye.
With great effort, Adrian removed his leg from the mouth of the beast. He hastily ripped up one of the dresses that didn’t fit and wrapped the rags around his wounds. Surprisingly, he got a new notification.
Congratulations! You have gained the First Aid skill. You will know how to treat and dress wounds properly. Injuries will heal faster under your care.
“That’s nice,” Adrian muttered. He wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep the rest of the day, but he forced himself back to his feet. It would all be pointless if another lizard moved into the house.
After confirming the two rooms with young lizards were still sealed, Adrian limped downstairs. Gratefully, it was empty.
The room was a mess with the table pieces scattered all over the place. He quickly assessed each opening. One door and two windows. The door and one of the windows were facing the village. He peeked outside and saw lizards crawling out of homes. Very slowly, he closed the door and latched it shut. Then, he took the largest piece of the table and wedged it in the window He used other pieces of wood to seal it in place. He felt it should hold a gentle bump. Maybe.
Adrian eyed the back window. None of the pieces were big enough to cover the whole thing. So, he filled it with random debris. After many splinters, he finally closed the hole enough to be satisfied, though there were still fist-sized gaps. It wouldn’t stop a dedicated lizard that wanted to get inside, but it would create a lot of noise and alert him if something was wrong.
Satisfied he had done as much as he could, Adrian crawled up to his room. He needed to cook the meat from the lizard before it went bad. With great effort, he dragged the lizard downstairs. The lizard was heavy and awkward to move. But, he managed it, especially after gaining a skill.
Congratulations! You have gained the Lifting skill. Items will feel lighter and their size will feel smaller.
Adrian started the grim task of emptying its innards. He lost his appetite after the stench made him gag. He wanted to do this outside, but the scratching at the door and windows reminded him that it wasn’t safe out there. When the lizards approached the back window, Adrian tossed the guts through the gaps to distract the monsters.
Adrian moved to the firepit next. Luckily, the previous owner had a flint rod. He easily started a small cooking fire with the leftover chair pieces. He used the frying pan and knife to cook the lizard meat the best he could. He was so hungry, he didn’t care how it tasted or how burnt it got. Plus, he got a skill.
Congratulations! You have gained the Cooking skill. Preparing food will become easier and the meals you make will be tastier.
The process took the whole day. He licked his lips; he’d need to find water soon. When he walked back upstairs, he heard scratching at the doors. The young lizards were still inside. After a quick consideration, Adrian ran downstairs and grabbed the pieces he didn’t want to eat, like the head, hands, and feet. He quickly tossed them into the rooms and shut the doors behind him. The young lizards devoured the meat. He smiled grimly; he had a stable source of food.
Finally, he made it back to his room. Before going to bed, he checked out his reflection. He had to do a double take. His face had changed. It was still him . . . but different. His cheekbones had risen, making his eyes more pronounced. His jawline softened and his lips gained volume. Even his hair looked to have grown slightly. The best way he could describe the skill was that it was applying makeup to make his features more feminine. All the changes were in his face and hair, though nobody would mistake him for a woman.
Adrian looked down at his dress. It had many rips and tears from his fight. He’d probably need to find something new to wear soon.
As he crawled into his bed to sleep, he opened his status screen.
<Adrian Rogers [Human]
Level 6 (8%)
Skills (6 / 6)
- Climbing [1] (4%)
- Running [1] (3%)
- Disguise [1] (12%)
- First Aid [1] (3%)
- Lifting [1] (2%)
- Cooking [1] (3%)>
As he drifted to sleep, Adrian thought about his skills. He immediately got them the moment they became available, and it didn’t take much to earn them. He wanted more powerful skills, but he couldn’t complain overall. He found it ironic the least useful skill, Disguise, was gaining progress the fastest. It was almost as much as all of his other skills combined. He’d have to change that.
He survived another day. He counted that as a victory.
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