Survival Tastes Like Monster Meat

Without hesitation, he desperately willed the free stat points into any stat he thought useful. A surge of heat radiated through him, his muscles tightening, his chest filling with breath like never before.

With renewed force, he heaved upward. The corpse lurched higher, inch by inch, until at last it reached the edge. With one final pull, he dragged it over, collapsing it onto a bed of scavenged cloth.

Panting heavily, he ignored his aching lungs and rushed to work. Cloth pressed against wounds, angled to catch every drop that still flowed. He positioned the orc on the waterproof scraps he’d laid earlier, directing the steady trickle as much as he could back into the body.

Just a short minute later, the familiar thunderous steps returned, erupting into the room; another orc entered, menacing and alert as its ears and nose wildly flared about. It quickly spotted the fresh stains on the floor and prowled toward them.

Moments later, the horned orc let out a guttural cry, a sound closer to a beast’s howl than a shout. He froze against the wooden boards, careful not to let anything drip from above, every nerve braced as he kept his spare rivets ready.

More orcs arrived, stomping through the chamber, agitated and confused. Thankfully, none looked up as they searched every nook and cranny of the empty room. Eventually they left, seemingly content there was no threat and looking like they didn’t care one of their own vanished.

He sighed in relief but didn’t dare relax. He forced himself to remain still, staring at the door, refusing to think about his stats until enough time had passed. A moment’s distraction could be fatal.

Another thirty minutes later, the orcs patrolled once more, sniffing the noticeably smaller pool and grunting to each other in confusion, before leaving again. Only after another long wait did he finally risk pulling up his status screen and let himself unwind his nerves.

Name: Joseph

Class: Classless

Title: None

Level: 3

Vitality: 5
Strength: 4 > 9
Dexterity: 2 > 7
Agility: 1
Magic: 3

Available Stat Points: 20 > 10

Active Skills: None

Passive Skills: None

Letting out a slow breath, he studied the glowing words.

'Level 3, huh? Normally leveling is slow and difficult, so this must have been worth a lot of experience… I think. Hard to test really.

But the weirdest part is the stat points. Ten per level—twenty total. That doesn’t line up with any game or setting I know about. Games usually give one, maybe three, sometimes five. Ten is... kind of crazy. Unless… it’s because I’m classless? The system might recognize the increased difficulty and reward me more?’

His head tilted, thinking of all the possible answers and limitless questions popping up one after another.

‘The selectable classes gave three fixed points per level, plus what is possibly five “available stat points” per level. So maybe my bonus is an extra 5 “available stat points”, or free stat points. That would explain the ten… it’s all speculation however.'

He rubbed his temple and sighed once more, staring at the words and numbers, the blue glow reflecting in his eyes.

'Still, the growth feels huge. My strength almost doubled from 4 to 9, but it feels closer to tripled. Either the scaling is curved, or my perception is skewed. If stats get harder to gain, each one will be more valuable later… or the opposite, and they’ll mean less.

Without a way to graph the curve, I can’t know. Shame there’s no stat nerd here to chart this for me. I’d have to find a way to quantify the increase though… maybe eventually.'

He sighed yet again as his head throbbed but pressed on regardless.

'Dexterity’s a big numerical change too—2 to 7, over double—but that’s harder to physically measure. I can feel it, but not in the clear way strength shows itself. Either way, I need to plan my allocation from now on. Normally I’d spread points evenly until I know more, but with no reallocation option clearly visible, I can’t afford to be careless often.

So… glass cannon bow build/fighting style? Focus on dexterity and magic stats, sub-focus agility, and I guess minor strength stat. Dexterity for stamina and maybe some sort of hidden archery boost, many games have stats associated with weapons providing hidden boosts

Magic, because I’ll definitely need buffs and enhancements later, even if I can’t use it now. Agility to give me at least some mobility—glass cannons still need wheels. And strength just enough to keep me functional.’

‘… and that should do it.'

Name: Joseph

Class: Classless

Title: None

Level: 3

Vitality: 5
Strength: 9 > 10
Dexterity: 7 > 10
Agility: 1 > 5
Magic: 3 > 5

Available Stat Points: 0

Active Skills: None

Passive Skills: None

He grinned faintly as a feeling of euphoria momentarily spread throughout his body.
'Perfect. Rounded numbers. The inner perfectionist gamer won’t let me leave these uneven.

Still… even with these stats, I doubt the bow could do much to an orc. Rivets are still my best option. But at least with higher dexterity and agility, I can move faster on the scaffolding and climb more efficiently. That means I can improve the trap—and even use myself as bait if I have to… preferably not though.’

Glancing at the orc’s corpse, he clenched his jaw.

'First step: drain what I can and store it safely. That’s my only source of fluid right now. Then, with the extra strength and dexterity, maybe I can expand these wall cracks—make a small den for myself even. The rivets might work as tools, I will have to be careful with the noise, however.'

Drinking just enough to steady his head despite the initial recoil hitting hard, he took one of the smaller rivets and began carefully chipping at the stone wall. Each flake of debris was caught and set aside, his mind sharp on one point—never touch the rivets holding the scaffolding up.

It took many hours, but with his increased stats Joseph finally carved out a cavity deep enough to store the orc’s body. The bottom sloped forward, allowing blood to collect into a crude pool. Using his daggers, he opened the larger veins he could find and let the liquid drain downward. Once it flowed steadily, he removed the rivet and sealed it into a prepared slot in the wall, leaving it to dry.

After a short break, he began carving another alcove—this one for himself. Safer and more secure than the open scaffolding, it would serve as a makeshift shelter. Exhausted, he sat back against the wood, his head heavy with fatigue.

Hunger gnawed at him until he could no longer ignore it. With reluctance, he sacrificed some of his precious kindling to spark a small flame. A few embers caught after a long while of trial and error, and with some singed hair and scrap tinder, he coaxed the fire alive inside the indent, sealing the entrance loosely with stones to keep the smoke contained.

Cutting rough chunks from the orc’s belly, he trimmed away anything that looked questionable. The grey-green flesh hardly looked edible, but without a choice, he skewered the meat on sharpened stones and set it over the faint fire.

The smell of cooking meat filled the alcove. He forced himself to wait, but eventually his willpower gave out as his stomach churned. He devoured the first piece half-cooked, bracing for the worst—only to be startled at how decent it tasted. His mouth watered, the flavor somewhere between tough pork and very salty beef.

‘Better than I expected. Tough, sure, but edible. Guess monsters come pre-seasoned.’

Yawning, he set another piece over the fire and leaned against the wall, too tired to train. Instead, he picked up another rivet and slowly chipped at the stone, carving out more space for future storage.

Sleep came in short bursts. Each time his stomach woke him, he tore into the next piece of meat until, finally, he felt steady and rested.

When he woke fully, his confidence returned. He reset the rivet trap, this time altering the bait—a chunk of orc flesh on the floor instead of dried rags. Looking down, ready to drop the chunks, his mind faltered momentarily, noticing a distinct lack of… anything.

Any blood, sweat, even the rags had vanished without a trace. The pebble remained, but any other foreign or natural substance vanished. Mildly curious, he continued with his preparations, swapping out the rope for direct control, gripping the rivet himself using his increased strength.

When his sound lure echoed, another horned orc stumbled in, sniffing at the strange chunk of meat on the ground. As it stepped into position beneath the scaffolding, he positioned himself and released.

The rivet struck hard and fast, the orc collapsed and died in an instant.

Level: 3 > 5

He left the points unallocated for now. He didn’t need immediate improvements and saving them gave him more chances to experiment with the results.

Instead, he hauled the new corpse into his alcove, positioning it so the blood drained into the sloped flooring like before. He waited, tense, in case more orcs came to investigate. When the silence held, he finally relaxed, ending the day with more fruitless magic drills and a brief workout before collapsing into uneasy rest.