Free Web NovelChapter 35: Thick Bones
Jimmy returned to the city only to figure out that the funeral for the twenty fallen crows was not a funeral at all.
Instead, the crows who had survived the prior battle with the ravens across the city, were trying their best to preserve the bodies of the fallen crows.
White Blade excused himself by stating, "We can’t risk burying our dead in the meadows right now, because we could get attacked. I don’t know how many ravens remain in the meadows, but we have to assume the worst."
With their recent losses, including friends and family, the crow community did not agree with White Blade’s decision whatsoever. They hated his idea, really, and wished that the fallen crows would be buried in the meadows, like they were supposed to, but barely anyone expressed it.
Apart from the elders who openly objected to the idea, everyone else simply knew that there was nothing they could do to change White Blade’s mind. His title as a prodigy was amplified countless times after his recent evolution. He was like a god amongst the crows, and he looked the part too. The other crows knew their place in the community, and so they didn’t challenge his commands.
Jimmy did not care if the fallen crows were buried or not. To him, they were dead, so he saw no point in going extreme lengths to honor them now. In fact, he didn’t even understand why White Blade went to such lengths to preserve their bodies to begin with.
He had half a mind to tell White Blade to dump the bodies somewhere beyond the city wall, but he chose not to get involved.
As for the preservation ritual itself, this became one more case where the crows weren’t given enough credit for their intelligence.
They found a pocket of considerably clean space below the city, within the sewer system, and stashed the bodies there. The bodies were coated with two, big bags worth of salt.
Essentially, they used the salt to suck the moisture out of the dead crows, which in turn slowed down their decomposition. They were turning the bodies into dried meat.
Jimmy took one look at their efforts, and exhaled, "Well shit, they’re making mummies."
Nevertheless, he chose to help them, so he explained, "If you remove their organs, their bodies will last longer in the salt. Organs tend to stink the most."
"I’ll take your word on it," White Blade said, seemingly unbothered by the idea, "We have some time to prepare ourselves for the next battle, so I’ll take it upon myself to gut our fallen men and women."
True to his word, White Blade started the process. He didn’t seem to bat an eyelid, and gutted one crow after the other, away from the salt, and threw their organs in the sewer stream below.
Jimmy could only watch in awe. He considered himself an unbothered crow, but White Blade was on another level.
Jimmy began to believe that crows might be some version of psychopaths. He was far from diagnosing them, as he never cared about psychiatry and its related studies, but this emotionless portrayal from White Blade’s side was at the very least unnerving.
Jimmy left the sewer afterwards. He climbed through a hole that was below a building, and then got himself on a rooftop.
"If I’m going to fight in these wars again, I have to evolve." He said to himself, "I don’t want to get cornered and get fucked up again. A man can be eaten alive only so many times. I don’t have a lot of flesh to give."
Considering his recent battles, Jimmy came to terms that he had a significant size disadvantage. Be it against squirrels, ravens, or even humans, he’d be better off if he was at least a little bit bigger, and stronger than them.
With that said, he knew what branch in the Evolution Tree to explore. Unlike in the past, he was hardly contemplative about which evolutions to buy next.
Jimmy explored the first branch in the Evolution Tree, which was the Physique Branch. It consisted of four sub-branches that were relatively simple compared to the rest of the tree.
Strength, Durability, Speed & Agility, and Size.
"I have to get stronger first," He said, "I don’t even know how I fought off those damn, spiky squirrels."
The sub-branch related to Strength was simple, and yet complicated. The first option on the line was a direct path to upgrade his physical strength, but the options after it were different. They were related to traits regarding strength.
One of those traits was a skill called Thick Bones. It consisted of three levels.
Unlike anything in the Durability sub-branch, this skill allowed him to gain thicker bones, for a whole minute, so his kicks, wing slaps, and any other body part he could use to bash an opponent with, hurt at least twice as much.
Thicker bones led to heavier kicks, that was its logic. However, it came with a warning.
[This skill will make you heavier due to its temporary increased bone density. In most cases, you won’t be able to fly while using this skill. It can, and it will force you to crash land if you activate it during flight.]
Jimmy wasn’t intimidated, and said, "Hell yeah, I want that. Hehehe, I can bash so many heads in."
Afterwards, he turned to Virena, and switched languages, "I’ll be evolving now, so I need you to stand guard in case I faint."
"I’m here for you, don’t worry." She said.
Jimmy smiled, and instantly got to work. He made two purchases without even thinking about their price.
[Confirmed]
[Initiating...]
Pain followed suit, but he expected it. He was relatively safe on the rooftop he had chosen to rest on.
The sub-branch revolving strength directly affected his muscles. He could feel them retracting, expanding, stretching, and he even suffered several cramps at a time, as if he was a severely dehydrated surf.
When he thought about it, he didn’t eat or drink a lot today. The cramps could be intensified because of that fact.
Nevertheless. He powered through. He fought through his tense muscles, conscious throughout the entire way, and after about ten minutes, the flood of tension released his body as if it was never there to begin with.
[-700 system points]
[-400 system points]
[Remaining points: 9,467]
[Strength: Level 5 >>> Level 6]
[Thick Bones skill acquired]
