Marke crept along the tunnel as quietly as he could, holding a large rock in one hand. He could hear something scuffing against the floor from the junction up ahead. Marke didn’t see anything directly ahead of him, so he slowly leaned out to look left and right. A huge spider with legs longer than Marke’s plucked at the strands of a web. Below the spider, the desiccated corpse of a goblin swung back and forth at the end of a line, making the scuffing sound that had drawn Marke closer. Marke slowly leaned back out of sight.
Aaaaaaaaa! Marke panicked in his head.
Hey, it’s ok. Kente said. It didn’t see or hear us. It’s ok. You’re fine. We’re both fine. Kente’s voice helped calm Marke’s nerves a bit and he forced his breath to slow down.
Thanks Kente. Marke said. Ok. Let’s think. What are the options? Go back, run past, fight. He said.
Possibly modifying any of those options with ‘distract’. Kente added.
Marke leaned out again, even more slowly. The spider plucked at the web again and the goblin corpse scuffed the ground. Marke couldn’t see anything past the web, but he did see a spear on the ground–probably dropped by the goblin when the spider ambushed it. Marke leaned back out of sight again. After a few moments of thinking and psyching himself up, he pulled a small stone out of his bag and threw it into the tunnel across from him. The scuffing of the goblin corpse stopped. Marke’s heart rate shut up as he watched the legs of the spider reach out of the tunnel and around the corner, following the sound of the stone. When the main body of the spider came into view, Marke stepped forward and picked up the spear. He jammed the spear into the back of the spider’s head. Red text appeared over the spider: “Critical Hit! 50 Damage, poison, bleed”.
Marke lost his grip on the spear as the spider fell off of the wall. Red “5 Damage” messages blinked above the spider as it twitched and thrashed on the ground. Marke backed away down the tunnel to stay out of reach. Eventually, a red “Dead” message appeared over the spider and some blue text appeared in front of Marke.
<code>Victory
----
"False Angler" Spider lvl 1: killed
Experience: 10
Level Up: 1 -> 2
Stat Points Available: 1
Ambush +1
Backstab +1
Cowardice +1</code>
Marke huffed in annoyance. How was that cowardice? He said.
Forget about it. Kente said. It’s just the opinion of the realm creator. How do we assign stat points? He asked.
Marke tried a few words and commands until he found that “Add point to Luck” got a red message of, “Luck stat not assignable”. Marke frowned, disappointed, then assigned the point to constitution, despite his bad memories related to that stat. A confirmation message blinked in his face and he immediately felt more sturdy.
Marke yanked the spear out of the dead spider and used it to poke at the goblin corpse to see if it had any equipment to liberate. The goblin had a small pouch tied to its waist. Marke got the spear between the goblin and the pouch and snapped the cord. The pouch fell to the ground with an enticing *clink*. Careful not to touch the gross outside of the pouch, Marke knelt and opened the top and reached inside. He pulled out two dull bronze coins.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
Loot! Kente cheered. Marke joined him to chant, Loot! Loot! Loot! He dropped the coins into his bag and stood up. He still couldn’t see very well past the spider webs and he was curious if any other victims were hanging out in the shadows, waiting for someone to come along who could appreciate their loot. Marke gave up on pushing into the webs when his new spear immediately became stuck. When he failed to free the spear, Marke continued walking the direction he had taken before.
Only a few hundred steps down that tunnel, Marke found a doorway leading to the right. He carefully inched along the wall, straining his ears to detect any sound. He leaned his head so that one eye peeked around the edge of the doorway. Past the doorway, he saw a small water fountain and a cot. Marke looked up and down the tunnel, looking for whoever was about to spring this trap on him. He couldn’t see anything or anyone, and he was thirsty, so he stepped through the doorway.
<code>Safe Zone
----
Rank: Common
Water: unlimited
Time: 4 hours</code>
Marke read the blue text and considered it. Chances the realm creator is a sociopath who poisons water in safe zones? He asked Kente.
Hmmm. Chances are low, I think. Kente replied. This realm seems mostly like a retro dungeon crawler. There will definitely be poisoned water and rotten food and other hazards, but safe zones are going to be like the spot you would save your game before fighting the boss.
I agree. Marke said. You think there is a boss nearby? He asked. Marke took out his plastic water bottle and filled it up. He noticed a blue glow out of the corner of his eye and looked to see a blue force field filling the doorway.
With this quality of safe room, it would be a sucky boss. Kente said.
Marke drank and refilled the water bottle twice, then turned to the cot. It looked dusty and uncomfortable. Might as well take a nap. Gotta stay sharp. Marke said. He lay down on the cot.
<code>Cot (Common)
Maximum sleep time: 4 hours</code>
ok… Marke thought. He closed his eyes.
<hr>
Marke woke suddenly to an eye-full of blue text.
<code>Hidden Quest Complete!
----
Name: Conquerer''s Nap
Description: Kill one dungeon monter and sleep in a safe zone without dying.
Experience: 5
Extra Reward: Dungeoneer''s Pack</code>
Marke heard a *thunk* and sat up. A dingy leather bag sat on the ground next to the cot. Marke was distracted from the bag by the open doorway–the blue force field had vanished. He quietly rolled off the cot and picked up the leather bag. It was lumpy, but he felt very exposed and vulnerable in a small room with only one exit. He pulled his woven bag onto one shoulder and the leather bag onto the other shoulder and peeked into the tunnel outside. The tunnel was clear and he heard nothing, so he decided to look in the new bag.
The bag contained a knife, some rope, weird dense blocks wrapped in wax paper, and a canteen full of water. Marke picked up one of the blocks. What is this? he wondered.
<code>Identify
----
Hard Ration (Common)</code>
Oh, I can identify things. He thought. He looked at the rope and knife and thought, What are these?
<code>Identify
----
Knife (iron, Common)
Rope (hemp, Common)</code>
Cool. Kente commented. This all seems very mainstream. I wonder if we can find a ‘simulacra’-style spell and make me a body.
Yeah, that would be awesome. Priority One: Find ‘simulacra’ spell. Marke said.
Marke put everything except one ration block in his woven back and checked the corridor again. It was still clear, so he set off.