My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives

Rex didn't understand the extent of his abilities. He was a Werepanther— powered by the gods who were selected by an entity that predated human concepts.

He was new. New like this was only his first day. Better yet, not all of his abilties were labeled or specifically products of his system. Like his reflective premonitory claws— or his amped reflexes and ability to land no matter where or how the Drakes threw him.

He was strong. And he was only level two. Or was.

That was a while ago, and he was starting to get the hang of things.

After killing the first Drake, the smell of blood and the beginning of his hunt against the scaled ones heightened his predators frenzy. The skull tingling spread to his gums and he found his more complex thoughts harder to reach. Like he was forgetting things or focusing too hard on simple things like their breathing and the shape of their neck muscles.

He knew what was coming as he grew— as he evolved.

So he set up precautions. The hill Imani slid down was up in flames, ruining her visions specs and stopping her from returning the same way. She'd have to loop around and risk running into whatever spooked her to find him again.

At the same time, he used the Drake's venom-blasts against them. Every one he dodged, he did so with a specific intention of blowing up another portion of the jungle around him.

The trees fell and blocked off walk paths.

Fires spread and ate up vantage points. With his unique growth boosting fire, the green constructs grew back denser. Locking him into a jungle arena that only allowed himself and the Drakes inside.

Four remained.

The sounds of recruits in mock-war faded as he let loose.

He hit the ground hard, cracking the earth as a Drake pinned him to the floor.

It roared its foul breath in his face. The scales around its muzzle scrunched up, sparking as they clicked against eachother.

Rex snarled and brought his legs up and raked its underbelly with quick swipes and kicks.

The beast helped and backed away.

Rex rolled up onto his feet and chased after it, running his claws across its eyes to blind the creature.

Potent smells to his left made his sharpened elven ears twitch. He jumped just as another pounced where he once ran.

Instead of landing back on the ground, he reached up and grabbed the branch of a tree. As he swung around and landing on top in a crouch, he utilized his (Vantage Vision) Skill. In the scarce miliseconds it took for the beasts to jump up after him, he threw fireballs down at them.

The blasts poofed and sparked against their harsh scales.

One of them took a direct hit to the face. It stumbled and snarled. As it shook off the disorientating blast, its scales thickened— the beast threw up and grew taller while also shedding mass and turning a shade darker. It blinked twice and it's eyes turned orange.

The others followed suit.

"Less fat, thicker scales, red eyes. Something tells me you're all gonna be immune to fire now."

The Drakes took off in a blur. One ran under him. Another spun around back and jumped up, latching its jaws around his leg to rip him from his high ground.

As he fell, he twisted in the air at preternatural speeds and jabbed his clawed hands into the Drake's ear. Once inside, his hand exploded with fire.

The beasts head exploded. He landed on top of the headless Drake.

"Not entirely fireproof."

[+120 EXP]

Another came. They were faster. It's claws knicked his face as he went down. The beast mauled him with blindingly fast bites and headbutts— allowing its bunched up thicker scales to work like horns that broke his nose and squished one of his eyes.

He slashed and spit fire like a cornered dragon. But by the time he got the beast off, the other two were ripping him apart. They were worse than Hunter's shadow-spawn. They were evolving as they killed him, growing thicker face plates to continue eating him as he drowned them in flame until—

Darkness.

Panther's voice emanated from the shadows.

"As cats we are known to play with our food. I suggest you abandon that strategy and start making quick work of your enemies. For another waits. You have more skills than many lives. Use them before it's too late."

Light flashed and reptiles roared. From his own remains, he was born again.

[Seven Lives Remaining…]

The Drakes went on alert once more.

Rex had already activated his (Blade Sense) skill.

Suddenly he was acutely aware of every sharp object for teen feet around him. The radius was small, but the sensory development was otherworldly.

Not to to mention, his claws had sharpened.

The Drakes spun around him, using their speed to disorientate him as they blended with the dark.

He remained still. "I don't need to see them with my eyes….. I don't need to try and out speed them."

He could feel where they moved by their claws, fangs— by every angled edge of their scales.

The Drake came from behind.

Rex was already moving.

With a roll, the Drake soared over him and was replaced by another. He felt it coming and tackled the beast. Now that they were slimmer and faster runners, he could hold them.

The other Drake spit a venom-blast.

Rex turned and made the beast face the acid projectile.

It splashed against the creatures scaled back. It squirmed and roared as Rex held on. He tightened until its spine cracked.

As the Drake fell, he ripped out its sabered tooth and threw it into the mouth of the next attacker, causing the bile building between its jaws to spill over and drip down its windpipe.

[+230 EXP]

The final Drake was spinning on its heels and ready to run him down when a tree fell over and crushed its spine.

Rex was left standing surrounded by corpses and covered in old wounds. His tanned skin was covered in sweat where the spotted fur wasn't standing on end.

Spirals of purple steam flowed from him like a smoky aura.

DING!

[You have Leveled Up! You are now Level 5!]

[+1 Stat Point]

[+1 Stat Point]

[New Skill Unlocked]

[Barbed Tongue LV1]

Rex opened up his System screen and read over the ability as he tried to ignore the feeling of the barbs extending across the surface of his tongue.

[Barbed Tongue: Like many panthera throughout time, your tongue is covered in barbs that can cleanse flesh from bone. As a Werepanther, an enhanced magical edge is formed. Your barbed tongue also allows you to cleanse mana signatures from your preys flesh and blood. If you consume enough of the same or similar mana signatures at higher levels, you will be able to attain unique abilities and powers….]

Rex closed his system screen with wide eyes, "I thought the nine lives thing was broken enough…."

Rex's stomach grumbled as he looked over the corpses.

"I need to erase the evidence anyway."

Rex dined on the carcasses. With his claws he tore meat from scale. With his tongue, he tore everything else from bone.

It wasn't disgusting— to his expectation. It was delicious— succulent. The toughness of the meat was satisfying for his sharpened fangs to tear through. The smell of fear soaked in the blood was like a sacred sauce he wanted to swim in.

He finished eating faster than he expected. It was all a delirious haze of red. One that wasn't entirely leaving. The whole jungle had a red edge to it. Everything was blurred. He could hear heartbeats. His gums itched.

[Predator's Frenzy: 90%…..]

"Oh…."

[Your Physical Stats and Mana reserves are in overdrive….]

[CNTRL -6]

"Shit... SHIT!" He snarled and punched through the gathered Drake bones in a feral rage.

Then he heard it.

The heartbeat.

The exhales spinning from a massive barrel chest.

The eyes— hot on his back like pokers.

He turned around.

At the edge of the jungle clearing, eyes hovering ten feet off the ground watched him.

Blue and reptilian.

The beast stepped forward an inch. It was scaled. A drake. At the end of its snout, a rhino horn shined.

An Alpha.

A clear step above the others.

Worse odds.

"Better payout."

Rex erupted in flames with a feline snarl. Not a single thought of the surrounding recruits or approaching jungle monkeys entered his mind.