- A Hunters End

"Ha… Haaa… Ahhhg"

I bend over clutching my stomach to try to keep my insides inside of me. My arm is completely covered in blood and guts. I know I don't have much longer to live. I don't understand why I'm struggling either.

I look up towards the sky seeing snow falling towards me looking like shooting stars in the night sky. I look towards where I waddled away from and realize I had walked only about ten feet in what felt like hours. It's easy to tell where I came from because of the trail of blood on the snow.

I see Brooke's father backed against a tree with a giant gash on his throat, dead. A few feet away from him is a wolf with his trusty antler knife stuck in its neck. It's still alive but just barely, I guess he hit his mark. I look at my right hand and see the revolver I brought with me.

I start walking back towards the wolf and see that it's gaunt with missing fur in places all along its slender body. I lift up the revolver and shoot the wolf in its head. Even if it killed the both of us, it doesn't deserve to suffer.

I look at Brooke's father and see the radio he had and call her on it.

*chhhhhh*

I start to lose consciousness and use the last bit of my willpower to say,

"I'm sorry..."

I drop the radio and can tell that someone is talking on it but I can't understand them. I fall over backwards next to where her dad is, leaned up on the same tree. I try to lift the revolver towards my head but I no longer have any strength in my arm.

'Heh. Guess you won't even let me die without suffering huh. God, it's cold.'

My eyes slowly start to lose focus as I see a flashlight in the distance.

'Guess that GPS tracker did its job.'

I hear what sounds like a scream before losing consciousness completely.

'fuck.'

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[Attempting connection to host.]

[Succeeded]

[Beast King System Active]

[Identifying host: Adam Lowell]

[Choosing starting species...]

[Saltwater Bass chosen]

[This species was chosen because of its many evolution paths]

[Location: The coast of California]

[Restoring host consciousness]

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"AHHH! Haaa... Haaa..."

'Why am I alive?'

'Where am I?'

[Welcome Host!]

A thin blue screen appears in front of me, startling me as I jump back. I finally start to look around me and realize that I'm in the ocean! There's a multitude of fish, coral, and other creatures I can't even begin to understand.

[You are off the coast of California. Welcome to the Beast King System. Would you like a tutorial on my uses?]

"Wh-what? What happened to me! Why am I at the bottom of the ocean?"

[You died! You are currently at the bottom of the ocean because you are a saltwater bass! Would you like a tutorial on my uses?]

"That makes no sense! Why would I become a fish?"

"Oh. I'm dreaming aren't I?"

[No, you are not, host. You actually died and you are actually a fish right now. Would you like a tutorial on my uses?]

"Yeah, this is definitely a dream. I'll probably wake up in the hospital and have to eat some shitty soup for the rest of my life. Well, since this is a dream, I may as well entertain you. Yes give me a tutorial."

[Say "Status"]

"Status"

--------------------------------------

[Status]

Name: Adam Lowell

Species: Saltwater Bass

Level: 1 / 10

Energy: 0 / 100

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"That's a pretty small status..."

[The saltwater bass does not have many strengths so I decided not to show empty stats for the hosts mental health]

"That's just... Rude..."

[In order to level up you must hunt different species and eat them to gain energy. When energy reaches its cap you are able to level up. When you reach the level cap you will be able to evolve. The first evolution will decide what kind of animal you choose to be, eventually becoming the beast king of that option if you survive]

"What exactly is a beast king?"

[It is an animal that is the strongest creature alive. Earth currently has no beast kings as they were all hunted down and killed 200,000 years ago. You will be the first beast king since before humanity existed]

"What do seawater bass even eat?"

[It doesn't matter what you eat so long as it is alive. However plants and other non-moving species give much less energy than even insects. Even if the species you are is a herbivore you will be able to eat whatever you wish]

"So I've gotta hunt stuff to evolve? That sounds like a game that'd be interesting for about a day then you stop playing it forever."

[I suggest you hunt the Barred Surfperch to your left]

I look to my left and see a tan fish with stripes on it next to me looking at the sand underneath us.

"What's it doing?"

[It is looking for sandcrabs which its diet mainly consists of. It is not afraid of you which will make it much easier to hunt]

"Well... I guess you gotta die buddy!"

I charge towards the fish which seems to have shocked it as it jumps and tries to swim away, but it's too slow and I catch it and bite it with my fishy lips.

[Barred Surfperch (Infant) killed and ingested]

[250 energy gained]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

"Damn, that didn't taste half bad!"

[Your tastebuds have changed to that of a saltwater bass as well]

[I suggest hunting the other surfperch 23 meters behind you]

I look behind me and start swimming in that direction, seeing many different species hiding in the coral. I see another surfperch that is slightly larger munching on a little crab. Without even giving it the time to notice me, I charge towards it realizing that I'm faster than I used to be.

I decide to try to headbutt the fish this time as I'm nearly double its size and slam into its side. Blood starts to come out of its mouth as it twitches. This very much so grosses me out, even though I used to be a hunter. I quickly charge it again and bite its head.

[Barred Surfperch (Elder) killed and ingested]

[500 energy gained]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

"Dang, leveling is pretty easy."

[That is because you are a fish]

[I suggest hunting the White Seabass that is currently hunting you from behind]

"Wha-"

I feel a huge impact on my ribs! Wait, do fish even have ribs? Anyway, I see a fish that is slightly bigger than me charging towards me again. I dodge underneath it and then jolt up to try to bite it. I successfully bite it but only get a part of its tail, to which it swims away a little slower and tries to charge at me again with its giant mouth open. I dodge to the side this time and try to take a bite out of its side. I bite its fin which cripples it and causes it to go slower and try swimming away.

"Oh no you don't!"

I charge it again and bite its tail clean off then charge the side of its head trying to do that thing I saw where people hit the side of a fish's head to kill it. I hit it and feel my fish brain rocking back and forth, but it seems it did a lot worse to the other fish because I get a notification.

[White Seabass (Adult) killed and ingested]

[4500 energy gained]

[Level up x4]

[You have gained enough levels to evolve. I suggest finding a safe place to evolve as it will render you unconscious for two days]

"Nice."

I look around and find a small cave near the shoreline, which is quite terrifying because of my claustrophobia but its just big enough. I lay on the sand which is surprisingly comfortable.

"Alright I'm ready!"

[Choose your evolution path:]

[Land Dwelling]

[Aquatic]

'Land Dwelling obviously!'

[Mammalian]

[Reptilian]

[Amphibian]

[Avian]

'Oooh, will I be able to change everytime I evolve?'

[Yes]

'Let's go mammalian first then.'

[Jack-rabbit]

[Raccoon]

[Grey Fox]

[Otter]

'I'll choose the Grey Fox!'

[Normal]

[Varient]

[Custom]

'Wait, what does custom mean?'

[You can spend the extra energy you gained to create mutations]

'Custom then obviously.'

[With your current energy points you can get one of the following:]

[Stronger legs: Faster speed]

[Stronger jaw: Able to bite through human skulls easily]

[Sharper claws: Your claws can cut through wood as if its paper]

'In that case... I think I'll go for faster speed. It'll help me catch prey that are usually faster than me and escape from bigger predators.'

[Are you certain?]

'Yes.'

[Evolving]