Rio looks around the room searching for anything resembling an exit.
Looking back and forth around the room, there didn't seem to be any form of an exit.
This was until Rio noticed a suspicious wall. Looking at it closely, it seemed to be the backside of a large bookcase.
Rio can see a small lever hang on the side of the book case just out of reach.
His new body is too small to reach the lever and his hooves don't help much in terms of climbing.
Pondering what to do, Rio remembers what was given to him.
"Get over here and pull this." He thinks as the hooded figure approaches the bookcase and pulls the lever.
"This feels kind of weird but having someone do whatever I tell them could be pretty nice."
With the lever pulled, the bookcase vibrates a bit before sliding to the side revealing a staircase leading upwards.
"I guess this is my ticket out"
Rio makes his way up the stairs and into a small dilapidated church.
There's nothing of much interest inside. Everything looks as if it hadn't been used in years.
Dust fills the room and cobwebs had formed around every corner of the building.
Rio begins walking before realizing that it would take forever to get anywhere in this state. Looking towards the man walking behind him he thinks of a better idea.
Having the man bend down, Rio jumps into his arms and lays down.
With his servant now holding him, he commands him to leave the church.
The sun is shining brightly outside of the church.
The church was in a secluded location. It didn't seem like anyone would be coming down here for quite a while.
Looking further out Rio could point out the outline of a few buildings.
"That must be a city or town. It wouldn't hurt to head over and find out where I am.
Rio commands his servant and they run down the dirt path leading towards civilization.
Before he knew it, the sun had fallen and the night had come.
Despite being a monster Rio still had to take care of his needs.
Dismissing his servant, He found a quiet spot beneath the leaves and laid down.
After a few hours of rest, Rio awoke from his slumber as the sun began to rise. His body was a little sore but that was to be expected when sleeping in such poor conditions.
Feeling his stomach grumbling, He figures that it might be time to find something to eat. Leaving the dirt path, Rio made his way deeper into the forest.
Walking for a bit he was met with a small ravine weaving through the trees.
The water was murky but it was better than nothing.
He was even able to spot a few fishes.
Rio almost gagged after taking a few sips from the ravine.
The taste was undeniably awful, to the point of making him want to throw up.
Not to mention the smell.
Giving up on drinking anymore water for now, Rio focuses his attention on the fish within the ravine.
Trying and failing to catch the fish himself, He orders his servant to catch them for him.
Unfortunately, His servant was just as inept at hunting as he was.
They were both too slow to catch the fish before they swam away.
"This is sad to watch. Have you forgotten who you are now, Rio?" Alberoth's voice rang out in Rio's mind.
"It would be quite problematic if you died from starvation after I used my power to give you a new life. These inferior beings should be nothing compared to you!"
Rio thinks about Alberoths words for a moment and takes another look in the ravine.
His mind turns black and his mouth curves into a wide grin. Rio lets out a blood curdling noise from his mouth. "Prostrate yourselves before me."
As the noise ends, a handful of fish jump out of the water onto the ground in front of him.
They make no attempt to return to the water and simply remain still until they eventually die.
Rio smells the fish as his mouth begins to water uncontrollably.
He forgos cooking the fish and instead opts to consume them raw, tearing into their flesh with his fangs.
Unlike the water, the raw meat provided by the fish complimented his taste buds perfectly.
Before he knew it, he had finished consuming all of the fish that had provided themselves to him.
Feeling satisfied with his meal, he continues his journey towards town.
"I must be crazy, Why did I do all of that? Eating raw fish! There's definitely something wrong with me." Rio tries his best to wrap his mind around his sudden shift in personality as he continues his journey.
Coming close enough to spot a few people moving about Rio stops his servant for a moment.
"I definitely can't be seen like this. Anyone who saw me would definitely be terrified.
If I happen to scare these people, someone could end up investigating my whereabouts.
Pondering his options Rio figures out an idea.
His servant pulls down his hood exposing a look looking man with short orange hair.
Rio jumps into the lowered hood and positions himself so that it would be harder to look inside.
As Rio comes closer to the town, he can feel Alberoth growing in excitement.
Not knowing why, Rio pressed on and entered the town.
Upon entering the town Rio notices how happy everyone appears to be.
The sky above had begun to rain slightly.
Feeling the cold rain on his body, Rio looked around for a good place to take shelter.
He makes his way around the outer edges of town and notices a small hut fit for one person.
He knocks on the door and is met with an elderly man.
The elder greets the young man in front of him
"Greetings."
Rio's servant responds with "Hello."
They exchange greetings.
The old man questions why he is being visited.
Rio's servant explains that he needs shelter from the rain and has no other place to stay.
"I see you are a traveler. I can offer you shelter until your journey ends." The old man says.
He opens the door to his humble home and offers it to Rio.
"Thank you very much!" He replies.
The man leaves the room and returns with two wooden chairs.
The old man sits down and tells Rio to take the other chair.
Rio enters the tiny hut which is barely big enough for the furniture.
The huts' walls are made out of wood planks. There is minimal dust and the room looks to have been cleaned recently. The floor is covered by a thick rug.
"My name is Kuzan."
Rio's servant introduces himself as well.
"Is this your first time in Clear Water?" Kuzan asks.
"Yes! It's my first time here." Rio answers.
"I'm sure that you had to have traveled quite a distance to reach our humble town."
Rio's servant nods in agreement.
Well I won't keep you for long. I just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable here.
"Thank you again for your hospitality. It was nice meeting you Kuzan." Rio's servant says while getting up from his seat.
"You're welcome. We'll be seeing each other in the future." Kuzan says before closing the door behind him.
Rio walks over to the windows and takes a look outside.
The rain had begun coming down much harder than before as Rio thought about where he was.
The old man said they were in Clear Water.
"I must be in Montana." Rio thinks to himself before pausing.
"Wait a minute, Clear Water Montana. That place sounds familiar. I know there was something important here but I can't put my finger on it."
Thinking on it for a few minutes, Rio decides to push the thought to the back of his mind.
Instead he decides to take a break on the comfortable bed provided to him.
He hadn't had a real bed since he was the head researcher at his facility.
jumping out from the hood, He lies down on the comfortable mattress.
"I guess I should take care of any possible troubles shouldn't I."
Rio closes his eyes to relax on the bed as his servant grabs a nearby pole and leaves the room.
Rio wakes to the sound of banging coming from outside the hut. He jumps to his feet, almost falling off of the bed. "What is it?" the servant asks, rushing over to the door. "It's me," says a familiar voice. It sounds like the old man. The banging continues and Rio looks under the doorway revealing a pair of feet. Rio looks towards his servant with an angered expression. "Ugh, You can't even kill a weak old man!" He rages in his mind. "Just let him in already." Rio's servant bows his head to Rio and lets the old man in while Rio hides behind the door. Upon entering the room, The old man stares quietly at Rio's servant, eyeing him up and down. Rio notices this and gets a bad feeling. The old man remains silent, simply walking around the room, When suddenly his body begins to tremble. His mouth opens wide as Rio can see teeth forming inside. Turning to face the servant once more the old man's eyes flare up. Before Rio could think, the old man pounces on top of his servant, pin
Jumping out from the chest of an anomaly, Rio landed upon a mass of water. The water had risen so much that the streets were submerged and his small body would soon have to begin swimming through it. It had been 10 days since the start of the event and Rio could feel it. Every part of his body was sore and he was exhausted. For every one he took down, there were always two more to take their place. Although his stamina was naturally high in his current body, He still felt his legs shaking just from standing. Just as he thought that he could rest, He could see more anomalies rising from the waves. Rio had spent some time observing the anomalies within this event for a while. His curiosity to discover the mysteries within the town was far too great and he couldn't help but experiment as much as possible with this once in a lifetime opportunity. During his experiment he discovered that the town had a sort of hard reset. The new entities that take over appeared to have formed th
Rio carefully considered which choice would be best for him. All of them seemed to have great potential for him to become a stronger monster aside from the Pomeranian. The Berserker would have been an obvious choice but the downside was heavy. He would be able to gain more power along with a much larger body to handle his opponents easier. But on the other hand, His new appearance would definitely not go unnoticed and with his larger body, It would be far too easy to track him if he was ever spotted. The cat seemed to be a good choice. Although, he wasn't sure how well it would fit with his current abilities. Along with being uncertain on what the class Fencer really implied. Then there was the Influencer. To be honest, he wasn't too sure how this class would benefit him. It looked even weaker and smaller than he was currently. The only positive note was that its appearance was the closest to a normal dog. After waving his options, Rio decides that the best choice would be the Fe
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" The operative begins to question Zack about what is happening in the house. Trying to keep calm, Rio orders Zack to answer his questions as if he was just arriving home. "I just got home and saw this man lying here." Zack answered. Vector keeps his guard up as he peeks at the body laying on the ground. He quickly notices the robes and steps into the room. Putting his gun up to Zack's head, Vector tells him to back up against the wall and face away. He still hadn't noticed Rio standing below him. Waddling to the backside of Vector He activates his domination. The ability activates with no problems as the pink aura appears around Vector's feet. After Zack faces the wall, Vector approaches the body of the dead man and takes a look at his boots. Holding an image up to the boots sole, he compares the two before bringing his hand up to his ear. "Vector to HQ, I've found the surviving serpents hand member within Clear water. Unfortunately, w
As the sun begins to set, Rio notices Vector is becoming more and more tired. Rio attempts to order him to stay awake but he is unaffected. "I guess even my servants need to tend to their needs as well." Vector begins to fall asleep in the driver's seat as the SUV veers off of the dirt path. Rio panics and quickly summons Zack to take the wheel. Zack takes over for Vector as he is placed into the void. The SUV manages to get back onto the road but not without problem. Zack slams his foot down onto the gas pedal causing the car to speed through the narrow path. Rio's face is in shock, forgetting to tell Zack to stop as the car begins to approach a sharp turn. "Slow down you fool!" Rio curses in his mind at Zack's lack of driving skills. Hearing the command, Zack takes his foot off of the gas and begins to look disturbed. "I said to slow down!" "Zack continues to fumble around before turning to Rio with tears in his eyes." "Oh my god. We're going to crash. If I don't do an
Entering through a large set of arched doors the thin creature carries Rio into a large room. "Let me go!" Rio shouts in his mind activating his influence. The creature releases his grasp to Rio's satisfaction. That feeling doesn't last long as another creature picks him up and continues the journey through the castle. "Aw come on!" Rio attempts one more time to use his influence but as soon as he does, the previous creature snaps out of the trance and resumes the cycle. He eventually decides that it would be better for him to just summon one of his servants. He attempts to pull one of them into his reserves when an unfortunate message appears in his mind. "Reserve failed. Servant is outside of your range" "..." "you have got to be joking. Why would you give me a limit? Aren't I supposed to be the strongest!" "Don't take that tone with me. You should be grateful. There are not many entities as great as I that can grant you a new life. You got yourself in this mess. Don't tr
Watching the door close behind them, Rio activates his influence and sends a suggestion to the remaining chalk creature. "You don't need to report on the happenings of this room. just ignore everything and take a break." Upon receiving the suggestion, the creature sits down and flattens itself onto the ground. "Good, now I just need to get us out of here." Activating his reserves, Rio pulls everyone into the void and re-summons them outside of their cells. Before Rio can even think, Zack scoops him up and hugs him with thankful eyes. Rio is surprised for a moment at the sudden gratitude. He had always assumed that his servants would simply lack all emotion. Looking towards the other two, he notices Jeremy pouting by himself while Vector stares at the two of them while shaking his head. "Well, that's a bit interesting. Deciding to test his new discovery later Rio puts his mind to more important matters. He begins thinking of a way to handle all of the creatures inside the ca
Rio stops pacing and turns towards Vector. He looks towards his side holster, noticing the handgun. He knew that the gun was ineffective on the creatures and even if it was, It would be far too difficult to land a shot on their thin outlines. Rio was instead interested in another property of the gun. If he could tamper with the weapon a bit he knew he could force the gun to explode. It wouldn't be big but it should suffice against the creature in front of them. Rio has Vector take the gun out of the holster and draw the hammer back. He then places the barrel on the ground and begins slamming it repeatedly against the ground. The creature is still battling Zack and has stopped paying attention to anyone else, ignoring the sounds coming from its rear. In the span of a few seconds, the barrel is completely bent and shattered. Rio pulls it from the ground and begins inspecting it. "This is perfect. Now we just need to add a bit more oomph, don't you think?" Rio asked, looking to