Poisoned Rationality

Explaining the whole thing to my parents took some time. They were worried about me a lot, and also a little confused about the stuff about void.

However, Priestess Zelia assured them of my safety and that she would be looking into everything.

After that, we went home.

I started going to school, which was… nice.

The town that I lived in, called Cala, wasn’t very big, and the population was about 75% wendigo. However, because of my two tails, I was a bit of a loner.

I did make two very good friends, though.

Priestess Zelia’s daughter, Ariana, was in the same class as me.

She was a nekomata, which was another word for a catkin, with bright orange hair and fur. She was usually soft and quiet, but when she got excited, happy, or angry, she became very loud and expressive.

Then there was Natalya.

She was a wendigo like me, but she was a Shiruku while I was a Dokukyoku, so we were different.

While I had a venomous stinger on the end of my tail, she could produce silk threads from her wrists. In fact, ‘Shiruku’ meant ‘Silk’ in the old language.

Unlike Ariana, Natalya was bright and loud all the time. Even when she was sad, she still had an air of energy around her.

All three of us were about the same age and had big dreams of becoming adventurers together.

During her ceremony, Ariana had gotten a class called [Venom Rogue], a fighter-style class involving poison. Additionally, it gave her complete immunity to all toxins.

Nat got a class called [Blast Mage], a magic-focused class that used flashy, explosive spells. She had an ability that completely negated any form of harm from explosions or fire.

They were also two of the few people who knew about me and Stella. When I first told them, they were super amazed, but it didn’t change our friendship.

…

Over the next few years, the three of us worked together.

We did ‘quests’, which were just chores, around the village. We fought low-level monsters nearby. We trained with each other and our classmates.

I was now nearly seventeen years old and had almost reached level 10. I was so close to finally seeing Stella again, and I was excited.

Status (Lvl 1):

Name: Nyxandria Arilis

Race: Void Dokukyoku Wendigo (Twintailed)

Age: 16/9/26

Level: 9 (83% EXP)

Statistics:

Str: A Vit: A

Int: S Dex: S

Agi: A Def: B

HP: 100% S

MP: 100% SS

Titles: Divine Blessing of Estelle, Fated One, True Void, One with the Void, Expert Fighter

Skills: Decimation [EX], Consume [EX], Share [EX], Expert Swordplay [B]

Class: [Void Demigod]

In the previous months, I had learned that at my current level, a single dark wolf gave 2% experience.

That meant I only needed to kill 9, and I would level up.

Today was the day I was going to do it.

I yawned and sat up, rubbing my eyes. I glanced at the ticking clock on the wall and noted that it was still morning.

I swung out of bed and quickly got dressed, choosing a pair of nice pants and a loose shirt. I spent a quick minute brushing my hair and my tail fur, taking a moment to admire my stingers.

The rest of getting ready went by quickly. I ate a quick meal before grabbing my blade and heading outside.

“Morning, Nyxandria!” My neighbor, Horrin, said, waving from his garden. I smiled and waved back.

After a few minutes of walking toward the edge of town, Ariana and Natalya found me.

“It’s today, right?” Ariana asked, running up to me. I grinned and nodded.

“Yep!” I said. “Only 17% left to go.”

“Why didn’t you just stay out late yesterday instead of waiting 'til today?” Nat asked. “You could have gotten it if you stayed out an extra half hour.”

“I might be strong, but I’m not confident enough to beat It,” I told her. “Not yet.”

“Let’s stop discussing what could have happened and focus on what will happen!” Ariana said, pouting. “Let’s go!

Nat and I laughed before the three of us went off into the forest.

…

Level: 9 (99% EXP)

One more wolf. Really, anything decently strong would work, though.

I was so close.

“I smell something,” Ariana whispered. “It’s strong.”

I nodded and rose a little bit from my hiding spot in a bush, looking for anything nearby.

Then I felt something through the ground.

A soft rumble.

“Oh shit,” Nat said. “It’s not nightfall yet.”

“Fuck,” I swore. “Just stay silent.”

The three of us stilled as the rumbling grew louder and stronger.

And then a huge leopard stepped out of the trees. It glanced around, looking for something. It sniffed the air before turning to face where I was in the bushes.

Then it stepped toward me, sniffing deeply.

Then it roared.

It was so loud that it left my ears ringing. It must have been even worse for Ariana because her ears were so much more sensitive than mine.

Then the leopard turned to face where Ariana was hiding. Its lips pulled back in a growl, and I blanched.

Shit.

There wasn’t anything I could do!

Except…

My void skills. I never used them. Never.

When I first tried them, just to see what they did, the result was very bad. I had sworn that I would never use them again.

Except if I didn’t, my best friend would die.

I closed my eyes and pulled up the power that hid inside me. I felt the blooming of energy well up from within my soul and explode out.

[Consume]

It was the best option here. [Decimation] was far too strong and would harm Ariana, too. And from what I’d seen, [Share] was useless.

My vision went black and white as well as inverted, and a loud, unearthly scream permeated the air.

Tendrils of energy burst out of my body and coiled around the leopard’s body. Wisps of smoke rose from its fur where the tendrils touched it as it roared in pain.

I felt the energy that still lingered within my body begin to pulse and shift, followed by the weird feeling of my body morphing.

It had happened once before, when I was much younger and had used my void skills for the first time. The sensation of my body stretching and shifting was incredibly weird, but at least it didn’t hurt.

Then, in a sudden burst, my body opened into a huge swirling vortex lined with sharp jagged teeth around the rim, with tendrils emanating from the center.

The leopard was pulled into me in a tiny fraction of a second before my body returned to normal and my vision regained color.

Then system text appeared in front of me.

You have killed a [Level 45 Devil Leopard]!

Level Up!

Level Up!

Level Up!

[Alert]: Level 10 Reached. Activating Godhood interaction.

[Alert]: Level 11 Reached! Retrieving Memory Group 2

I slipped into unconsciousness as memories flooded into me.