I stood right next to the Wendigo when I felt my weapon that had been in my hand the whole time vibrate. As a little test to see if it could pick out what parts it wanted because hacking this thing to pieces and then you trying every little scrap of meat would take forever and I'll be honest be gross as all hell. As I ran my weapon up and down its body it seemed to have a slight reaction to just the skin so I cut off a piece of skin and meat with the switchblade and fed my weapon the meat and skin. I unlocked what was called the windigo series which had multiple weapons connected to it, and as far as I could tell there were weapon trees which extended one way a bunch of times and branched off occasionally and then the weapon series which seem to be more unique varieties of weapons. The weapon the meat and skin allow me to use wasn't actually related to the Wendigo series and was its own weapon a hunter's knife.
Hunter's knife
harvesting from non-human creatures:5
active ability: bloodletting
accessory slots: 2
So going by that logic even the act of carving meat from different creatures was affected by stats but I hadn't seen any other stats aside from the special stats so I checked the stat menu and tried tapping on the strength stat. After that did not work I looked at the screen closely I found that The screen could scroll down by tapping an arrow at the bottom right of the screen. There I saw all the stats listed out in order.
melee damage: 43
survival: 28
armor piercing: 30
???
Why is there only three available surely there should be more, wait I think I've only boosted these three by unlocking weapons and wait 30 armor piercing does that mean I pierce 30 points of armor or is it based on percentage versus the armor rating of my enemy. No matter which way I look at it there's too many variables here If I go into a fight assuming I'm going to be piercing 30 points of armor and only pierce about five points of armor I could get my ass kicked or worse just be killed. In fallout New Vegas there was a survival stat that was related to things like crafting at campfires which was similar to cooking. Whatever I'll just worry about it later for now I have to finish scanning this Wendigo. running the crystal in the spear up and down the body the next point that it vibrated was the hand specifically right on the fingernails although claws would be a better description so I decide to try out the hunter's knife (which looked like a Bowie knife) to cut off the hand and feed to the weapon.
Wendigo claw: level 15
melee damage: 5
damage resistance: 4
survival: 4
while equipped
damage against human opponents: 20
damage against wildlife: -20
harvest from human corpses: 20
active skill: entrail violation
accessory slots=1
I stared blankly for a minute at the wicked effects this weapon had and only snapped out of it after I heard the gasp from behind me from Regina who I guess out of curiosity couldn't help but look over at what kind of weapon I was staring at. As a test I decided to check my stats to see if anything changed.
melee damage: 48
survival: 32
armor piercing: 30
damage resistance: 36 (2)
???
I stared at the screen and came to the conclusion that I must need to know about the stats before they appear in my status screen given that there's no way my damage resistance would be 36 without having already existed. Next I tried to see what that extra (2) was beside my damage resistance stat, but already having an idea I took off my leather jacket and saw the number disappear and put it on again only to have it reappear. Unlike fallout where damage resistance was mostly determined by the armor you wore and the perks you had, It seemed it was an actual stat at least in my case because of the melee weapon.
I went back to scanning the creatures body finding that the next point of interest was its mouth I guess that was to be expected given that the wendigo in all folklore was said to be a glutton. Instead of taking its whole jaw off I took a tooth out of its mouth with a pair of pliers that were laying nearby.
Wendigo's devouring Mace: level 15
melee damage: 5
damage resistance: 4
survival: 4
while equipped
damage against humans: 20
damage against wildlife: 20
damage against mutants: 20
equip skill: corpse eater
unique weapon skill: mode change
alternate mode: ravenous hunger mode
accessory slots=0
Forget just the ominous sounding equip skill this weapon had something called a unique weapon skill and an alternate mode I could guess what these meant but the name ravenous hunger mode gave me the impression I didn't want to use that unless it was an emergency. The more skills I got the more curious I was at what they did specifically. I mean there was no real description of them aside from the name something that I would look into after I finish absorbing the wendigo's parts. I held the weapon over the wendigo's head to see if there was anything else and my own surprise there was a reaction that only intensified as I held the crystal against the wendigos long black tongue that drooped out of its mouth. I braced myself as I grabbed the rough but still slightly moist tongue which got me to recoil as this thing had been dead for 3 years, however the more I look at it the more I realize this thing hasn't rotted or decayed at all or at least very little. After severing the tongue and putting it into my weapon a new screen appeared.
Wendigo's taste
intimidation: 10
charm: 10
unique weapon skills: pain/pleasure form
passive skill: histamine/endorphin release
active skill: presence
This one it looks like I can use so I change its form to the windigo's taste and I don't know what I was expecting but a riding crop was not one of them. The pretorian guard who until this point I guess had been on a coffee break and finally come back in to greet their emperor in time to see me having cut off the tongue and turned it into a riding crop. Every single one of them had a look of confusion from the praetorians and Caesar and Lanius to Regina who just stared at the riding crop. The one guy who had begun laughing before burst out laughing again at such a pathetic weapon as he put it.
"Then you're saying you're willing to be the test subject." I said to which Caesar gave him a look which was unmistakable.
The man was confident and stood there arms crossed like he was Superman or something. So I approached him and slapped him right on the forehead which admittedly caused him to wince a little however his face quickly changed to one of laughter, so for good measure I slapped him again which now his legs started shaking and his face quickly turned from laughter to confusion. Within seconds he fell backward and his face was contorted with a euphoric expression in truth he looked like a strung out junkie.
"So I guess the pleasure form must flood the target's system with endorphins like a chem of some kind." I say making more of an observation for myself rather than for the others although the others certainly needed the explanation.
I switched it to the pain mode and could instantly tell the difference because while the first one was the head of the riding crop was smooth and almost pleasant to the touch this version was rough and almost barbed like the tongue of a cat. I don't waste any time and slap the riding crop on his exposed thigh I mean I'll be honest it's pretty stupid wearing armor that only gives your thighs minimal protection. despite him obviously having a higher level than myself he let out an ear piercing screaming that caused the guards on the outside of the tent to run in as Caesar stood beside me to observe him writhing on the ground.
"It seems that form releases histamine in the body creating an intense and debilitating pain." Caesar said already getting the gist of the riding crops effect.
"Wow you were right on the money with that." I said surprised by his understanding of the weapon, "It's called the wendigo's taste and it seems that if it hits an enemy it will cause a massive release of either histamine or endorphins depending on which form it's in."
"That is a wicked weapon in more ways than one, If at all I prefer you not use the pleasure form given the stance the legion takes against the use of recreational chems." Caesar said.
"Don't worry I don't really know how I would use this in combat to begin with and it's not like I could just give it to someone to use for themselves." I say looking at the weapon, "If you have someone who is used to the effects of chems the pleasure form might not be as effective and if they're taking chems that can reduce pain or even nullify it then the pain form is going to be limited in effect."
The praetorian guard who had been hit with the riding crop slowly got his feet but could barely stand when he did. After a few questions I determined that it wasn't just pain in a single area but that it was in fact a full body sensation. After just one it felt like all of his muscles had locked up followed by a burning pins and needles sensation. I can only guess that every crack intensified the effect and in truth the effect was probably worse given the fact that he was under the sensation of the endorphins flooding his system from the pleasure form. In reality as I looked at the weapon I realized that I was holding a powerful torture instrument.
"The weapon itself is called the wendigo's taste but what I don't know is why it would offer these effects." I looked over at Caesar and Lanius who seemed confused by that as well.
One of the men who came into the tent when they heard the praetorian guard screaming looked uncomfortable and was shaking slightly something that Lanius caught onto instantly. Lanius has looked at him but through the mask that covered half his face I couldn't really tell what look he was giving the soldier whether it was one of disapproval or not.
"Something wrong soldier?" Lanius said drawing everyone's eyes to the shoulder.
"Yes sir." The soldier said honestly to which Lanius seemed to let his mouth hang open a little as most would never tell him that they're having a problem.
"Well do you know something about this?" I asked.
"Yes 3 years ago I was led to the mountain to assist with the creation of the mine and..." The soldier said in a meek voice clearly not wanting to remember what happened, "They would not just kill and eat us there they would capture some of us and drag us back to their nests."
"What, I knew they were smart enough to use tactics but I didn't realize they were taking prisoners." said Lanius staring at the soldier.
"Well two had tackled me and then they began licking me, I was surprised at first and then I started feeling this euphoria that I hadn't felt in a long time not since my tribe was brought into the legion." The man said pulling his collar down slightly to reveal what looked to be a burn mark which looked similar to what the praetorian guard now had on his thigh from where the riding crops pain form hit him, "although I'm not proud to admit it my tribe was the lost and damned we were using chems before we were brought into the legion."
"You shouldn't feel ashamed in fact your tribe sought me out and requested to join because they wanted to rid themselves of the chems that were slowly killing them." Caesar said with genuine admiration in his voice to which I can't really deny there's something inspiring about someone wanting to kick the habit.
"Thank you sir, but as I was saying I think they were caught off guard when I didn't succumb to the endorphins because one of them got up to chase another legionnaire while I managed to get to my knife and kill the one that stayed over me." The soldier said, "I think the reason I could deal with the endorphins is because of my history with the lost and damned and the chem use in my teenage years."
In other words people in the legion are actually highly susceptible to not only the wendigo's lick but subsequently the wendigo's taste that I held in my hand because most of The people in legion territory have either been off drugs for years or have never partaken of drugs so the hit of endorphins is more intense for them. In truth if the wendigo are kidnapping people it's unlikely after 3 years anyone would be alive from the original operation, however it's likely that anyone captured would have the symptoms of a drug addiction if they are rescued or escaped.
"Even if in all these years someone managed to escape and come running out of the wilderness with the symptoms of a drug addiction I doubt anyone would believe them." I said absent-mindedly.
"Then you've come to the same conclusion then." Caesar said biting his lip hard enough to draw a little blood, "In this case the legions zero tolerance policy for recreational chems has backfired because if you were found in that state no matter what you said we would never believe that you were telling the truth."
"If someone did decide to investigate they would likely find themselves attacked by the Wendigo and meet a similar fate if not worse." Lanius said also seeing the unfortunate circumstance between these creatures biology and the laws of the legion.
I turned the riding crop back into the hunting knife and continued looking for new parts but it seems that that was it but strangely on the weapon tree there were several branching pieces still to be unlocked so this could mean that there are other Wendigo variants that will unlock it or I have to absorb enough parts from the wendigos either way I wasn't going to figure it out now so with that I told them I was done and we left the tent. Caesar asked about the other two weapons I got and was somewhat disappointed when he found that I couldn't use them until level 15 I guess he wanted to see more of the transformations I mean he plays it cool but I can tell he's really into all this magic and mysticism stuff. I can't help but think if he was born in my world he'd be a huge Harry Potter fan.
We got to my tent which sat right down the hill from Caesars and I noticed it was slightly bigger than the other tents, but still smaller than Lanius's tent which made sense considering he was technically Caesar's right hand. As I'm about to enter my tent I noticed Regina following me.