Chapter 7: F-rank
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DAILY MISSIONS:
Eat 10 types of wood (9/10)
Eat 10 types of metals (10/10)
Eat 30,000 kcal (30,000/30,000)
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Hugh felt elated. He was almost done with his daily missions. He only needed one more type of wood and he'd be done. He laid on the ground and relaxed. It was a tiring but exciting day for him. He was strong. Stronger than he could ever dream of.
Granted that the armadillo was only a D-rank unadvanced mutated animal, Hugh was still strong in comparison to the average people. If Hugh were to guess, he would be a F-rank unadvanced cultivation. Just as he said that, his system gave him a notification.
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PROFILE
NAME: Hugh
SYSTEM: Fat God System
STAGE: *unadvanced*
RANK: F-rank
*LOCKED*: *locked*
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This was Hugh's current strength right now. He was definitely above the average when compared to his peers as a 17 year old. He still had ways to go since he had seen news about a 17 year old advancing to the first stage just months after he received his Desire.
Hugh had to rank up to the D-rank, C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, and S-rank before he could advance to the first stage of advancement. Before he got his system, Hugh could only dream about getting to an S-rank, much less advancing to the first stage. Advancing to the first stage would be the dream of every person since it comes with fame, glory, fortune, and more opportunities to advance.
Hugh knows that a normal person with Desire could advance their ranks by either using Desire pills, practicing, or if they're a genius then they could rank up naturally without doing anything. Hugh didn't know how he could advance with the system.
Shaking his head, he cleared up his ambitious thoughts and just be in the moment. Right now, all he needs to do is to complete his daily missions and he could decide where to go from there. Nodding to himself, Hugh looked around the mess and chaos left behind by the armadillo.
He went to every tree that fell and took a bite out of it, remembering to take out a little piece of bark to eat as a snack. Walking around, he came across a tree he had never seen before. This tree had a thick stem and dark wood inside with a swirling bark pattern. He finally found a new type of wood.
Before Hugh could even take a bite, he heard a rumbling sound. The stomping sounds came with the familiar sounds of trees being broken down. Hugh got a bad feeling in his stomach as he slowly turned around and saw another armadillo coming towards him. Hugh almost got a feeling of deja vu if not for the fact that this armadillo was at least three times bigger than the one he ate.
Hugh forced his legs and dodged out of the way from the humongous armadillo. Even if he had twice his height, he still wouldn't reach the head of the standing armadillo. It was gigantic and Hugh knew he had no chance of fighting because he didn't have his transformation.
'Transformation on cooldown
Estimated time remaining: 60 min.'
He had to do something. Anything that could help him escape this monster. He looked around and saw the wood that he was supposed to eat. If he ate that, then he would have completed his daily mission and get rewards, of which he didn't know what.
He remembered his fight with the previous armadillo and just stood still without making any sounds. He stared at the armadillo and hoped that he wouldn't be discovered. His worst fear came true as the armadillo immediately pinpointed his exact location even without Hugh letting out any sound.
'But how?!?'
Hugh wondered how this could be possible. There were only two possibilities. One was that the previous armadillo had mutated blind and the other was that this armadillo was several ranks up than the small one. If Hugh had to guess, then it was probably the latter one. Fortunately, he didn't have to guess as his system gave him an answer.
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INSPECT
Species: Armored Armadillo (mutated)
Stage: *unadvanced*
Rank: B-rank
*Locked*: *locked*
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'B-rank?!?!'
Hugh really did have no chance of fighting this thing. Even if he did have his transformation, he would still be beaten to death. The only thing he could do now was to pray that he escapes.
He looked at the wood and sprinted to it. The armadillo sprinted at the same time Hugh moved. They were currently at a collision course with the wood as the destination. Hugh had to decide. Will he dodge out of the way or risk it and try to reach the wood first?
Of course, Hugh decided to risk it. His heart beat a thousand per second as everything seemed to slow down. By his estimations, he could reach the wood in time, but not enough to dodge out of the way. This was a critical moment in his life but Hugh wasn't afraid. If he could see his face right now, there was even a slight smile on his face.
Hugh reached into the wood and immediately took a bite out of it. He didn't have time to chew as it directly went into his stomach.
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DAILY MISSIONS:
Eat 10 types of wood (10/10)
Eat 10 types of metals (10/10)
Eat 30,000 kcal (30,000/30,000)
DAILY MISSION COMPLETE!
Please choose from the rewards
Armor
Body Modification
Desire Mutation
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Hugh didn't need to think about his decisions. Within an instant, he subconsciously chose the one that would help him in this dire time. He chose the armor.
Hugh put his hands up in a cross; he hoped his new power would work this way, but he had not time to check. He closed his eyes, his legs firmly on the ground. Boom. He felt himself launch 6 feet into an arc backwards. The force, still vibrating in his arms.
He opened his eyes to see the mutation in his arms. His forearms had a silvery metal sheen; with scales, much like the armadillo, laid in a diagonal pattern. The borders were covered in finely carved wood that connected with each other through veins in the metal sheen.
He felt pain. He was still flying across the forest, accelerating at a high speed. It hurt his whole body, but that was only a sign that he was still alive; he still had a chance to survive.
He had to get out of there. Run. He run as fast as he could. In his time of need, his legs started to mutate into something more muscular. Steam started to rise from his feet as steel started to form from his knee down to his feet. The wood started to follow the steel as it became muscles outside his feet. He felt power. His legs were now brimming with power.
He ran in whichever direction was safe. He maneuvered through the jungle trees in hopes of slowing down the armadillo; it didn't work. The armadillo didn't care and ran through everything.
His legs started to hurt and as he looked down, he saw the armor fluctuating from appearing and disappearing. It signaled trouble. He couldn't last long at this rate. His stomach rumbled as groaned in protest for food. His throat was dry.
He had to eat something. Anything. If he could see himself, he would see his fat slowly disappear like his transformation but this time it wasn't replaced by muscles. His instincts told him to eat. To try and replenish his energy or risk fighting the armadillo without armor. He slowed down as he tried to pick up the fallen pieces of wood in the ground. It was a huge risk.
He successfully picked up the wood but it came at a cost. The armadillo came just in time and ran down Hugh's side. He only felt a slight pressure in his arm. He looked at his side and it was gone. His arm was gone. Adrenaline started to fill in his body to prevent him from panicking, from feeling pain. He ignored the blood spurting all over his side, soaking his clothes wet.
The armadillo looked at him again. It planted its right foot firmly in the ground and slid it back multiple times. It was showing off. It was telling Hugh that this time, he wouldn't be able to dodge.
The steel in his arm started to revert back into his skin. The wood and the scales were absorbed back into his body. Even his legs felt wobbly as it went back into his normal skin; he felt more powerless than ever. It felt hopeless to do anything, if he could even do something.
Then a radical idea came into his mind. He didn't have time to think as the armadillo used all its force to run him straight through. Its now or never. He bent down and took his severed arm and took a bite out of it.