《Snowballing, a lit rpg adventure》 Ch 1. The lab

The Lab

Whoever the fuck Derren Brown is¡­ 2. The new world The new world Thomas Paths interchangeably gave way to open spaces the size of small fields and chasms so narrow both Tom and Anjan had to squeeze to get through. They moved through the paths without stopping, trying to keep moving as they strived to find a source of food. At one point they passed a patch of dry grass next to a dead tree. Giving the impression there had been much more life in the area until something transformed it into the Martian desert before them. Thomas wiped the sweat from his brow. The beating sun was taking its toll. ¡°Well, I always wanted to check out something different. Go hiking in a desert, you know,¡± said Anjan. ¡°I bet. Can''t be worse than home anyway¡± Thomas replied. ¡°Home.¡± Anjan stopped and turned to face him. ¡°Home?..¡± he asked before a throbbing headache caught on. Thomas scrunched up his nose. He realized he didn''t know either. It was as though ¡®home¡¯ was just a concept, something that should exist for him and yet did not, he knew not to focus on it as even slight thoughts seemed to lead to a sickening ''wrongness''. "I can''t remember." He said as it resolved. A brief silence descended as they moved furthermore determined to find some food and find out what was going on. The paths had abruptly changed at each junction, and they soon became hopelessly lost. It was unclear whether they had just gone in circles. Further and further they proceeded through the dry, lifeless maze, trying to stick to one direction. They arrived at a dead tree and patch of grass. The same dead tree they had passed just a small time ago. "Well, this sucks,¡± Anjan stated. He looked around at the paths and saw another direction they had yet to take. ¡°We need some food and drink,¡± said Thomas. He seemed to be suffering the most. The blistering heat had given him dark patches under each arm, whilst Anjan appeared to have almost embraced the heat. No notable sweat patches ¡ª instead he had a sort of glow about him. "Yeah, something is telling me to get some food soon," Anjan replied. Thomas had noticed it too, an icon in the corner of his awareness, like a turkey leg that had a bite taken out of it. ¡°I¡¯m so thirsty,¡± said Thomas, staring up at the sky. He had also gotten the interface but, along with the turkey leg, there now was a flashing flask of water. Thomas looked down a path and into the distance. He noticed strange shapes moving. As he squinted he saw the shapes change ¡ª into figures short people. ¡°There are people over there, I think we might be saved,¡± Thomas announced. They moved closer, and saw a rough group of small green creatures that Thomas somehow knew were¡­goblins? The goblins quickly noticed their presence. Moving towards them the two of them, they raised their fists and jagged wood/bone tools into the air, shouting words of a strange animalistic language. As the group drew closer, the noise from the goblins grew more ferocious. They started slamming their makeshift tools into the ground as if to frighten the two men. Anjan held back, but Thomas was strangely unafraid. It felt to him like the strange creatures were more scared of him than he was of them. He wanted to show he was not a threat. Somehow, with each passing moment, he felt he was gaining a better grasp of their language. Odd phrases were standing out. The meaning of the phrases developing from angry shouts into a more refined sense of "bad thing go away¡±. ¡°He-llo?¡± Ajan said, backing off slightly as the goblins began circling, getting enough distance to run. ¡°Hold up; these guys look like people. They can probably be reasoned with,¡± said Thomas holding out a hand up. ¡°Don¡¯t make any sudden moves.¡± He walked up to the group with his hands held high and empty. One of the goblins moved closer. Thomas began to mouth some odd sounds he thought could be understood. "Mee, lost," He said making strange hand gestures trying to illustrate his point. It seemed to confuse the goblin more than anything. The other goblins began to shake their makeshift weapons at them. Thomas carried on talking, trying to say some strange phrases he thought could help. ¡°Peace,¡± he garbled. ¡°Friend¡±. The goblin closest to them flinched as if one of the phrases had caught his attention. The two were now surrounded. Anjan looked towards one of the louder goblins, and as he did a gob of spit shot out of its mouth, just missing Anjan''s feet. ¡°Oh, fuck off," He shouted, kicking a rock at them. The goblin grunted and then threw his club. Anjan ducked and heard a crack, he whirled to see that Thomas had tumbled to the floor. Hit by the projectile. ¡°Thomas!¡± Anjan charged towards him. As he approached Thomas''s body, the goblin to whom Thomas had been speaking turned to face him holding the club high. Anjan went to tackle him ¡ª but before he could make it. In a swift turning motion, the goblin clubbed him across the side of his head. Anjan fell to the floor, losing consciousness. The goblin''s gaunt features drew a smile stretching his scarred and distorted features. ... When Thomas awoke, he saw that both he and Anjan had been tied to a raft, a few broken planks dragging across the rock floor. The goblins taking them looked different from the ones that had attacked them. They were now all dressed in armour; a shitty metal made darker by a mix of ash and dirt. He had a throbbing headache. Within his awareness he noticed a symbol of a confused and disoriented head emoji, thirty minutes on the symbol counting down. Somehow the surreality of it all made him more able to dismiss his situation like he was in a bad dream.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The goblins were pulling the planks by a rope securely wrapped around both their hands but not their feet. Anjan opened his eyes, ¡°Fuck,¡± he said. They were dragged further down the road as Thomas listened to the odd sounds that came from the goblins, trying to figure out what they were saying. "I feel like shit," Anjan turned to him showing the signs of disorientation. "Sorry," Thomas tried harder to figure out the language seeing a notification roll across the side of his vision. Simulating.... Acquired: basic goblin speech. Thomas motioned towards the goblin leader and attempted to speak their language: ¡°Where¡­take..?¡± In reply, one of the goblins dragging the planks spat into the dirt whilst the others ignored him. At this point, Anjan was trying to loosen his bonds. There was a nail sticking out of one of the planks, and he thought enough grating against it would either loosen it or fray it enough to break free. He took up this effort whenever the goblins looked away, feverishly squirming against the wood. Another goblin came up to Thomas and got into his face. There was a scar visible over the goblin''s right eye. The goblin said in a stilted version of the distorted French Thomas somehow knew, ¡°Human¡­ weak¡­will break you.¡± Then it spat to the side. It seemed to Thomas that they really liked spitting. The one that spoke to him appeared to be a leader; he moved and was looked at in a way that suggested he had the respect of the other goblins. He seemed very slightly bigger than the others. Even his armour was different: bits of bone protruded out of the metal. Thomas saw the raft come to a stop at an enclosed goblin outposst. The base was held together with little more than jagged pieces of wood and rope. Both Anjan and Thomas were yanked off the planks and pushed onto a raised stage. Anjan had not yet broken free, but he was close ¡ª he tried to hide just how close as he was hoisted up. The goblins failed to notice, and hooked another rope over the bindings, tying them both to a large wooden pillar protruding from the stage. Thomas looked around and saw ten or more of them gathered nearby and were now shaking makeshift weapons whilst shouting at them, the sound and bright sun aggravating his headache. The goblin leader had begun to address the small crowd. Thomas raised his head, listening and focusing enough to gather meaning within the goblin language. ¡°Will¡­Revenge¡­War¡­.Bathe¡­Destroy." The language was strangely becoming clear to him. The goblin pulled out a jagged knife from his side and walked towards Thomas. Anjan realised this was as close as it would get. He ripped through his binds and broke out, charging at the creature. The leader''s face was so unsurprised he almost seemed to be expecting it. When he was close enough, the goblin punched him in the face and plunged a knife into his ragged chest. Something clicked in Thomas then. This was real. There were cheers from the crowd of Goblins as Anjan bled, and Thomas broke into a panic. Anjan was on the floor now. Thomas staring in horror as the last gasp left his mouth, and a slight shimmer seemed to leave his body. Thomas tried one last time to talk, using a rudimentary understanding of their language. ¡°Stop¡­ Don¡¯t¡­wh--¡± The goblin¡¯s blade was already in his throat. He choked on his own blood and slumped down the stake. collapsed forward with blood pouring out of his neck. Thomas felt cold. In the corner of his vision, an icon of a big red drip started growing transparent. The sound of the chanting Goblins became dimmer. He looked up one more time and saw the goblin, bloody knife in his hand, raised to the cheering crowd. Everything faded to black. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Fiona --flashback Fiona and her team walked through the hall of a busy building, Hugo their coordinator was leading them as he chatted with a few other researchers. He was busy having a conversation with him about ''portal theory''. Their discussion was revolving around how the ''Page curve of entanglement entropy'' has created a greater understanding of passage through the ''great void''. Like much of the technology here the portals are a collaboration of Earthern and Snowballian technology. Fiona could easily tell who had come from Earth and who was native by the strange features they had. Though native researchers had focused on looking natural the Eartherners often had strange features such as metallic blue hair or enhanced mechanical eyes; captivated in the world''s novelty. One such Earth scientist had turned his arm into a mass of tentacles, which appeared to please his wife to the disdain of everyone around them who had to painfully pretend not to notice the suction marks around her neck. They arrived at a room, a large map laid out over a central table. Hugo dismissed himself from the other researchers before gathering the team. ¡°Right then,¡± Hugo stated as he pulled up his sleeves. He pointed to a mountain near the top east of the map. ¡°So this here is where the snow elves reside,¡± ¡°This whole mountain is the land of the snow elves, as you know they control a rare resource that affects the stability of mana only found in that area, and further it has affected the landscape disrupting all mana based technology preventing direct teleportation. As such, they mostly live as a tribal society." "This elven offshoot race is one of the only groups left that still have an antagonistic relationship with the church, as they are currently at a stalemate. The High elves cannot handle the cold weather of their mountain and the snow elves cannot leave the mountain for fear of the high elves. So for the past hundred years, there has been no substantial interaction with the outside. Leaving them almost shut off from greater society. Currently, the snow elves won the last war through what you call gorilla warfare but still agreed as part of negotiations to donate a small amount of the crystals yearly to the church." Ghost shuffled uncomfortably. "So do we need to get in contact with them and ask them to leave their home and fight in our war? Won''t they just be using spears and some magic only good in the cold?" "Their magic is an environmental hazard which would greatly benefit our cause. They are abnormally powerful due to their genetics and the specific focus of their power, but the main help they can give us is through access to this mineral on mass. It is a useful component to help breach the capitol defences as well as being necessary for more advanced artefacts." "Ok, so will they help us?" "More or less, they would support any movement against the church if they thought it could win, we can count on a few of the more enthusiastic at the start of the raid, but the rest will only come if a win is certain. Stability is something they hold dear, they don''t wish to be wiped out like the dryad. Fiona will establish contact, Gareth will set up communication and then we can move from there." "Sure." Hugo pointed to another area closer to the middle of the map, a patch of land coated in jungle terrain. "However, these people here are another tribe. They are the aboriginal settlers, the ones that came in the large jump before the descendants of the common man here. They follow a strange religion which they tie to their magic practices, a sort of voodoo amalgamation connected to a religious belief that heavily relies on the idea of luck. To get their help we need to appeal to their priest King and convince them we have good ''Joo Joo'' on our side." "So what, do we bring some kind of offering and walk into battle holding hands" "No, unfortunately, to pass their tests we need to send someone there as our representative, and that person would have to pass a series of trials and solve some puzzles. If he were to pass, then they will come, but they would only come if the person to pass the trials was to lead them into battle." "Great," "Their ritual technology is both complicated and takes a long time to master, it would be a great boon to have them on our side. We would need to take this seriously and plan accordingly." Fiona motioned towards the jungle on the map. "Though information we have on this group is scarce, they''re similar to the old west African practice of Joo Joo, they too had a priest-king and their ''Joo Joo'' was a form of spirituality that heavily relied on curses and the natural feeling of a place." "I''m glad you''re familiar with their history, but I would warn you that their last time on Earth was amost a thousand years ago. We will set up the portal to send you near the mountains first," Fiona nodded in understanding. ......... Now facing the mountain Fiona wondered how the raging storm atop it could be described as just cold weather. The storm seemed to almost reach the size of the mountain itself, which was larger than any mountain she had seen on Earth and even miles away it spread its snow far enough to reach them. The field before her approaching the mountain was a strange mess of giant ice spikes and craters. Fiona approached one such spike of ice, like a blade of glass protruding from the ground the cold of the surroundings keeping it cold. She saw her reflection inside of it. "These battles must have been something." Ghost stated, "It''s hard to imagine how strong a mage of this world can get." Gareth moved towards one of the ice planes rubbing his hand along the side. "Quite, the battlefields with he druidic are astounding, as they control the mana in the area their constructs can last indefinitely. Rather peculiar and much more magnificent than an otherwise field of craters and destruction." He handed out glowing red crystals he called thermals. "These will keep you warm, and if they run low we can recharge them by switching it to absorb heat and leave it someplace you won''t be touching it." ghost was the first to take one. "Where now Capin''?" "The high elves built invasion tunnels leading through the mountains. They should take us where we need to go," Fiona stated. She focuses on the mana flowing through her body and channelled it towards her eyes. There she altered its flow, trying to match the wavelength she wanted. rotating through different setting she saw dazzling images and colours until eventually, it matched what she knew as heat signatures. system simulating...calibrating results... adjusting pattern recognition Thermal perception achieved. As the system processed this new action it managed to acclimate to the conditions. Entering in and out of this as if it were an intuitive natural process when in fact it was difficult and took a lot of time the first time she had tried. Unfortunately without a phylactery, she could only have the rudimentary level of this process, whilst the more advanced version could enhance and simulate processes beyond normal understanding. Like how to smile properly to your girlfriend''s father on the first date. Rather than the simple trial and error calculations needed to get the wavelength of infrared. This was the same with Ghost, but Gareth had already tampered with his phylactery and so was unable to add the system to his. She looked back and saw a glow around Ghost''s eyes, he had managed to set the thermal setting as well. "Gareth, can you use thermal perception." "Alas such difficult processes are lost on me," he rummaged through his bag and found an item that he thought could help. "But, as your tactical aneineer I have come prepared and have an item that will prevent me from losing any of you within the blinding storm of this blizzard," he produced a rope, handing it out to his weary leader as he held on the other end. "It''ll be a a while before we reach the mountain. Try not to eat all your Kendal mint cake." 3. quick load. Quick Load Thomas The last traces of Thomas¡¯s consciousness were fading as the feeling of blood draining turned into numbness. Immediately he felt as though his mind was being dragged through a thick viscous liquid ¡ª a sensation that vanished when he opened his eyes. He was reliving a memory he had forgotten. Lying on the floor in an old pub, staring up at a dimly lit bar counter. He saw that some glasses had fallen over and were pouring their contents down the side of the counter. As he glanced up to the ceiling, he realised this was most likely because whatever had destroyed the roof had knocked them over. He coughed slightly and winced from the pain finding himself unable to move. Thomas lay on the ground for a while longer, staring through the hole in the roof at the bright and eerie full moon. He coughed again and felt more pain as he did so. A bit of blood sprayed from his mouth and spattered his chin. Bracing through pain more excruciating by the second, he rolled over to his side. He saw across the floor his friend Anjan, next to a woman he knew pressing down on his wound with blood matted hair. His vision was out of focus, and he turned his attention away from his friend and toward the pool of blood which was now growing around him, as it reflected the moonlight. An occasional distant explosion disrupted the silence. A puff of purple smoke flashed in and out of existence in the pub. Thomas could see the distorted image of a small black figure appearing in one of the smoke clouds, before disappearing in another. A sudden bright flash and Thomas was blinded. Opening his eyes again, in his twinned vision of present and past, he saw a man holding what looked to be some sort of staff. As the light began to dissipate, a glowing hole in space became visible behind the man. The light still distorting his vision, Thomas watched as the man slowly approached, and his consciousness faded into nonexistence. ... He woke up again. The rush of memories came into his head. The running, the fighting. They had been saved by someone or something. It wasn''t clear but they now at least knew who he was, where he came from. He reached a hand towards his injuries but found nothing. He was unharmed. Adrenaline flooded his body, it took him a while to realise where they were. Back in the cavern. He tried to steady his heartbeat and felt it ease, influenced by something otherworldly. Anjan was just across from him, looking shell-shocked. A slight glow around him, like the shimmer of light from a flickering fire. ¡°Didn''t we just die?"Thomas asked. Anjan was still mutely holding his chest in shock. ¡°They stabbed me.¡± The sound of coughing grabbed their attention. Something in front of them on the rocky floor had just cleared its throat. A small blue-black humanoid creature was hunched in front of them. ¡°Not even a single day, I don''t know if your unlucky, lucky or just stupid,¡± it stated flatly. Its voice seemed to reverberate a low pitch as it spoke. Thomas and Anjan stared blankly at the creature. ¡°We, uh, just died,¡± Anjan replied in shock. Thomas remained speechless. ¡°Yeah, I can see that.¡± ¡°Y-You were in my dream,¡± Anjan said to the creature. ¡°Listen, I really don''t care. I was waiting here all this time for you to come back. Not cool by the way. So first, let me ask you a few questions since you died without supervision.¡± The creature materialized a small booklet and started mumbling to himself. "in the case of discovery and death by vampires then.... Right" ¡°Have you seen that¡­girl...¡± Anjan asked. He was struggling to find a name as if it was a fleeting memory he was clawing to get back. ¡°The one you came with?... Yeah, she is here, don''t think about it." The thing stated. "Where is she?" Thomas asked. "Just don''t think about it,¡± it replied, seeming a bit bored.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Thomas tried to remember the woman, what had happened ¡ª he grasped a name, Rose, and as he did he was overcome with a splitting headache which stopped all thoughts. He groaned in frustration. The dimorphic being appeared to be growing impatient. ¡°You see that pain you just had. That''s the stupid pain, that''s what happens when you don''t listen to me. And you know what, I get the pain too when I think about how I have to explain this shit to you and when I imagine all the stupid questions you''ll ask after that.¡± Thomas stared blankly at the small angry creature. "Ok, now let''s get this over with," the thing added. It got out another piece of paper and put on a pair of reading glasses, seemingly taking them out of a portal in space itself. ¡°Right, so I have some questions to ask you." It shuffled the paper. "Have you, A, Been killed by a creature. B, been killed by accident. Or C, been killed by something self-aware." Anjan looked at the gremlin in utter confusion. ¡°A?¡± ¡°C!¡± Thomas blurted out. ¡°Ah, yeah,¡± Anjan concurred. The creature scratched a finger on the piece of paper. ¡°OK, if they see you again, will they realize that you were the ones they killed?¡± ¡°Yeah, probably, right?¡± Anjan said, looking askance at his companion. ¡°Probably, yes,¡± said Thomas. ¡°Ok, finally. Are they, A, associated with authority, guards, soldiers etc.; B, lawless, or some sort of underground group; C, tree huggers, dryads, campers, hunters, people that live alone. or D Civ-¡° ¡°They¡¯re goblins,¡± Thomas interrupted. The creature lowered its paper and gave them a questioning look. ¡°Goblins.¡± It finished its checklist and dematerialized the note. He seemed disappointed with their response. ¡°So, how do you feel after your first death?¡± ¡°Confused,¡± Anjan replied. ¡°You have no memories and are on a different planet...I don''t mean, do you feel ''lonely'',¡± the creature said in a patronizing tone. "So, can you tell us what we are doing here?" "Yes," it replied. He paused, frowning at their expectant looks. ¡°Right. So you were brought here from another world. Earth. You can''t remember anything because of how we rushed the system we put in you, and now you need to adjust. You are literally an unimportant waste of resources that the boss man decided to give out of charity. And more than that you ran through the portal immediately so now I''m stuck here too because apparently someone needs to look after you and make sure you don''t go into some sort of death spiral. You have one job. Stay low, don¡¯t let anyone know where you came from. If the time comes someone will come and take you back. Good?¡± Anjan nodded whilst Thomas held up a hand. The creature looked at Thomas with distaste, ignoring him. "So, do you want your gear?" It asked. The interdimensional being disappeared for a moment and reappeared with a set of clothes. They were rough leather with some padded protection. The two travellers put the leather armour, it was simple padded protection that could easily protect them from sticks, stones and improvised weapons. But not the scathing words of the being before them. "And again, if you idiots didn''t just run through the portal, we would have given you this and some training before putting you out here." The creature disappeared again in a cloud of violet dust and returned with a bow, a quiver of ten arrows, a rucksack and a couple of steel short swords. Anjan reached for the bow, but it said, ¡°Leave that for him. Apparently, you have a strong affinity, so let me just wake it up.¡± The two of them picked up their equipment and put it on. The swords appeared smaller than normal but were a good weight and easy to swing. Within one of its hands, the creature produced a crystal glowing with silver energy. It reached forward and pointed one of its three fingers to Anjan¡¯s head while pressing the crystal against his chest. Its little hands glowed a faint black and purple as it held Anjan¡¯s gaze. Their eyes shone a brilliant red and a trail of orange energy drifted in a line between them. Anjan felt a feeling of warmth as his mind was taken to another place, and time itself seemed to freeze. He now appeared in a vision of a time long ago ¡ª a time he went camping. He was sat in an open field, a stack of wood and straw in front of him. He was feverishly trying to spin a stick on a piece of wood. He had spent over an hour gathering the materials and had spent even longer trying to start a fire this way. Nothing seemed to be working. He managed to fashion a rope to another stick like a bow and used it to spin the stick faster. He placed bits of dry straw onto the wood and kept at it. Over and over he tried until suddenly trails of smoke began to appear. Still, it looked like it wouldn¡¯t last. He added straw, desperate to make something happen. He kept spinning the stick. Finally, a fire emerged. Anjan stoked it further, adding more straw, more sticks, and it took hold of the other materials, igniting the stacked wood above it. He sat there for a while then, staring into the fire, seeing the deep glow flickering with a powerful intense presence. Then he had a single thought, something that meant more to him at that moment than anything else: this is only the beginning. His mind was brought back to the material world with a jolt, he jumped back from the gremlin and fell onto the floor. updating... calibrating new system functionality... opening mana channels... analysing conversion type... Mana acquitted Affinity: Fire magic Anjan stretched, feeling a strange power rushing inside him. He focused, trying to create what he felt and on command, the glimmer of a spark came from his hand. ¡°Nice,¡± The strange interdimensional being seemed to be trailing smoke now. Its form looked to have difficulty maintaining consistency, as bits of it leaking and faded into smoke. It waved a hand and looked away before letting out a sort of cough, spraying purple dust. "That was rough *cough* *cough*-- I''ll take a break... Remember, don''t tell anyone I''m here, don''t tell anyone you''re a lich and whatever you do, don''t ask me any more questions." "What was that second to last part again?" A groan echoed out as the creature disappeared in a puff of smoke appearing again with a rucksack, tablet and a pair of headphones, before climbing into the rucksack. ¡°Annoying,¡± Anjan stated. Thomas sighed. Mentally strained, the two of them collapsed on their backs, gazing at the cavern ceiling. The sun had begun to set, and the light was fading. Thomas moved to pick up the backpack, placing it over his back and getting ready for the trip. "Don,t drop be and my name is Kurt," it said before a light blue glow shone from the backpack, a faint trail of smoke coming out of it. Thomas shook the backpack slightly eliciting a low growl from within. "So, you know the way right?" "Just go away from the mountains," Kurt said. "Anything else?" He only grunted from Thomas''s pack. Thomas sighed again. "Let''s go and find out." ¡°I guess we go a different way to last time though, right?¡± Anjan asked. The feeling of hunger had disappeared, but he knew it would come back, the way they went from before only brought death and no food. Thomas shook the backpack hearing a brief "Watch it," from inside. ¡°Hopefully,¡± Thomas replied. 4. round two round two Thomas Thomas looked up towards the light at the exit of the cavern. "Ready to leave?" "Just a moment," Anjan opened his eyes having meditated on his new powers. At first, he tried to draw it out in a mechanical sense, thinking about it as just the idea of a new ability. Now he focused on the energy he could feel. He channelled it through his hand and fire coalesced around his fingertips. With just his will Anjan cast his flame in a thin bolt, sending a small burst of fire forward to dissipate on the rocky cavern wall. "Did you just¡­¡± With a wide smile, he looked to Thomas. ¡°I guess I¡¯m now a pyromaniac.¡± "You mean pyromancer?" "There''s a difference?" Anjan asked with a sly smile. Thomas mentally facepalmed and then went back to his search, leaving his friend to meditate. He stood under the shade of one of the arches, embracing the temporary relief of shade. he looked next to him and resting against the wall was a decrepit armoured skeleton, mangled armour partly covering its upper torso. Anjan carried on meditating, trying to experiment with his power and test its limits. He focused on the bursting power roaring within him, the root of his fire. He mentally reached inside himself and pulled at the energy, and as he did it grew, like an erupting volcano. The fire came out without resistance, overwhelming his whole being. Anjan wanted to hold it back but couldn¡¯t ¡ª he didn¡¯t even know-how. He opened his eyes and was frozen in the realisation of what he had just done. Suddenly and rapidly he was engulfed in flames, an explosion of fire consuming his very being. Thankfully too quickly for him to feel pain. ¡°Fucking hell" Thomas yelled, jumping back. Trails of fire and ash were scattered around Anjan''s burnt, mangled corpse. His face and eyes looked to have exploded, as if the fire had erupted from within him, burning away his skin. Thomas was backing away from the grotesque sight. Energy suddenly shot from the ground and hovered in the air, and a wind gathered as threads circled about in one spot in front of Thomas. After a period of surreal silence, something began to take shape; a ghostly ethereal figure became more contrasted and solid, slowly reforming a body bit by bit. T tendrils of mana were starting from bone and building to skin. Before long Anjan was whole again. His body reformed with a new set of cotton undergarments. ¡°Are you ok?¡± Thomas asked the now newly formed Anjan. Immediately Kurt, the strange gremlin creature teleported out of the rucksack, materialized through a purple haze he moved towards Anjan. ¡°Didn¡¯t feel a thing,¡± Anjan replied. He looked over at his mutilated body, still curled on the cavern floor, with concern as the small creature stared menacingly up at him. "You think this is a game?" Kurt stated, bits of gas trailing off him as he spoke. His voice having a raspy echo to it. "No?" Anjan replied. "The pile of shit you over there, could have been the you here if you did that in the wrong place." "Well, that me has seen better days, but I don''t think you should be so judgmental of a person''s looks," he said. "What?.. Listen... You are not immortal and this magic shit you keep doing. It isn''t magic. It has rules." "You literally just called it magic," "You damn, I''m going to need a month to get rid of this pain. In your body, your core, there is crystallized mana called your essence, when mana goes through that, it makes your firepower, if you don''t control it, your essence will turn your body into that shit. You will literally explode in flame." Anjan seemed to be attentively paying attention, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. It wasn''t clear if this was out of worry for what he could have done or for more knowledge on what he could do.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "I can''t deal with this right now man. Look at me, I''m leaking." Kurt groaned again, and went back to his tablet, teleporting into the rucksack, making it rumble and spray smoke with a thud before the blue light shone from it again. Anjan felt like Kurt was just a child that wanted to left alone to play his games. Thomas looked towards him slightly concerned ¡°You''re not going to do that again are you?¡± He asked. ¡°Can¡¯t make any promises,¡± Anjan said in reply. He got an apprehensive stare in response. ¡°What, I''m kidding," he said. Secretly suppressing an urge to experiment. A bit selfish, but he really wanted to find out how large an explosion he could make. Thomas took another glance around the skeletal corpse. The leather holding the armour together had withered away. It looked to have died a much more peaceful death than the new corpse of his friend. Anjan started on getting his armour back and it wasn''t long before he had managed to take most of it off of his old mangled body. ¡°Still good?¡± he asked, holding an arm that had detached from his main body, the armour could still be used if he pushed his arm through. ¡°Sure,¡± Thomas replied, standing over his charred remains. The amour had changed slightly in colour and was more ragged, singed around the edges but it still held together. He picked up his short sword, which had travelled a decent distance away, and went to chisel the crispy bits of himself off the salvageable remains of his amour almost gagging as the occasional whiff of burnt flesh overpowered his senses. Thomas looked to the armoured skeleton at the side of the room, ripped off a piece of metal and passed it to Anjan. The armour was black but appeared to shine slightly red as it reflected sunlight. The piece had its straps withered away. Anjan used it with his forearm and turned it into a guard that almost appeared as a natural part of his armour. He smiled at Thomas in thanks. "Round two?" "Let¡¯s do this.¡± They exited the cavern in the same way they had previously. The rocky red maze gave them two clear directions: one leading towards the goblins, and another unknown. ¡°The other way,¡± Thomas said shortly, noticing Anjan eyeing the path to the goblins. The maze of rocks was still just as messy, and they found themselves climbing over jagged spikes and ducking through overlapping walls to get through. Thomas climbed up a ledge to get a decent view. ¡°Looks like we went the wrong way before,¡± Thomas announced. In the distance, towards where they saw the goblins, a white mist hung against giant mountains. This time, they had made the right choice. Not that way. ¡°If we go the other way, we might avoid going towards the mountains, which from what I can tell look to be spreading the literal embodiment of frozen death.¡± ¡°Good call,¡± Anjan replied. They kept low and avoided any open spaces along their course. Eventually, just as their stomachs began to grumble, the area became less barren. The vegetation was not all dead and tufts of yellowish-green grass had popped up in different areas. Suddenly Anjan saw in the distance a fast-moving small creature. He quickly motioned to Thomas. ¡°Rabbit! Kill it, quick!¡± Thomas looked at him with an apathetic despair. ¡°I¡¯m a vegetarian.¡± ¡°What? We could die!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll respawn anyway.¡± ¡°And then die again¡­hungry." Anjan placed a hand over Thomas¡¯s and said calmly, ¡°Listen. If this is another world, there are two things you gotta not fucking do. First, don''t have a mental break down going ''Oh no how do I handle being in this new world'', and second, is have some screwed up empathy trip cause you gotta kill something. Like, this ain''t Kansas anymore motherfucker, so don¡¯t act like a bitch." Kurt piped up. "Listen to the man, don''t be a bitch." With an expression that suggested he was more than slightly pissed off, Thomas gave in. ¡°Whatever," he said, and lifted his bow. They stalked the prey, feeling shadows wrapping around them as they moved in silence. They began to feel more in tune with their surroundings as if they were blending into the plant and animal life around them. A loading notification was in the corner of Thomas''s awareness ¡ª a message that he seemed intuitively aware of, like a computer working inside his mind. Skill acquisition commencing.... Assessing skill functionality.... Simulation complete.... Calibrating muscle-memory.... Learned Skill Stealth You have an innate awareness of motion pressure and limb placement to conceal your footsteps. Blending in with your surroundings and interpreting the reactions of your pray feels second nature. Ignoring the notification, Thomas took out his bow and aimed his first shot; he fired. It missed, and the rabbit ran off. He cried out in exasperation. His hunger had become overwhelming. Simulation in progress.... Enhanced time allocation due to poor initial ability... Simulation complete.... Calibrating muscle-memory.... Learned Skill Archery A skill affected by dexterity, intuition, and focus. Your senses have bonded with the bow; your muscle memory is enhanced. You are aware of the bow as if it were an extension of our arm. "This is so damn weird," Thomas added. "Oh yeah? Wait till you masturbate," Kurt shouted from inside the bag. Thomas gripped the bow tighter, now painfully aware he could feel the bow in his hand as if it was an extension of his arm. As if the system the small black creature told him about had somehow given him years of experience with the weapon. As they came to accept the loss of their food source, they decided to carry on. The occasional tufts of dry grass multiplied as the land slowly turned from barren to a savannah. The sun had begun to set and the area slowly came under darkness. A chill hit them, as though the heat of the day was a far-gone dream. Then Thomas saw it: in the distance, a collection of bushes ¡ª and not just any bushes, but ones lush with berries and fruit. The two scrambled over to them, desperate for any sustenance they could find. As soon as he got there, Thomas grabbed a berry from the closest bush immediately scoffing it down. ¡°Tastes like coffee.¡± Catalogue in system? (y/n) Thomas mentally selected yes and the berry was noted down. Redbush berry Fresh +25% focus Between them they collected as many fruits as they could, finding them growing bountiful on the bushes along their path. Each fruit seemed to be similar to something they had seen on Earth but with a slight variation. With the way, things were it looked like a sort of speciation. On a spur of the moment, Thomas picked up some strange coloured grass. Notifications (31) Acquired item, State, Effects Redbush berries (18) Fresh, +25% focus Taint grass (6) Fresh, unknown Sundering oat (2) Fresh, intense vomiting Glue berry (4) Fresh, unknown Lunar fruit (2) Fresh, unknown One of the plants holding the Lunar fruit, a much large fruit almost like a large plumb, was more difficult to grasp. When it was eventually pulled off it appeared to glow. 5. Berries
Thomas Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! 6. Doge Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. 7. Over the hills and far away Over the hills and far away Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. 8. Civilisation Civilisation If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. 9. Oh Captain my captain. To Thomas, Seras was a close friend, and like them she was a social outcast: someone from the old world of Earth. Their bond was not romantic but purely stemmed from a mutual low tolerance for bullshit and their subtle disagreements with society. They both felt that everything was in some way pointless: the constant social comparisons; the number of random assholes that seemed to appear from nowhere; people trying to act important; being political to the point of losing their own identity; or just the idea that drinking copious amounts of alcohol was a good way to end a normal week. They didn¡¯t fit in with society, and in that way they understood each other. More than anything, it made them enjoy each other¡¯s company. Seras grabbed a drink and Robert mindfully kept his eye on his as Thomas sipped at water. ¡°So, how are you finding Snowball?¡± Seras asked. ¡°Well, we died, got infected by wolves and then found a pub. Which honestly, is pretty much like what happened when we took shrooms in Ireland. But, you know¡­less sheep.¡± Seras laughed. Her voice sounded like it had always sounded, and it brought Robert and Thomas a warm feeling like home. ¡°You know, the guards said they saw the weirdest, blood-covered, half-burnt guys walking up to the gate. And then saw one of them passed out in the centre pool.¡± Robert smirked into his drink. Seras chuckled, genuinely delighted. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I knew it had to be you guys.¡± The others in the bar appeared to have left, and the bartender was putting out the luminous crystals that lit up the space. "Put the glasses on the side when you''re finished," the bartender said to Seras, and she gave a thumbs up in return. When the tavern was finally empty of strangers, Seras looked at her two companions with a glum expression. ¡°So¡­ this place. It¡¯s not as sophisticated but this new world. It¡¯s better than what we left behind.¡± Robert and Thomas shuffled a bit, unsure how to address what ahe said. ¡°We don¡¯t remember much.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t what?¡± ¡°Our memories, its like a cloud, if we try to remember anything, it gets painful.¡± There was a brief pause, silence between the group. ¡°its best you don¡¯t remember for now,¡± Seras stated. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Bad things.¡± ¡°This is a fresh start. A way to get away from it all, you remember a bit of the old world, even before things kicked off you never liked it. We never liked it.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I guess, but what about the people we left behind?¡± ¡°There are no people. I don¡¯t mean that because we didn¡¯t have anyone back there, but now¡­ I know it might not seem like it, but you are better off not remembering.¡± There was a darkness behind Seras eyes, as if she was holding a burden that she new realised she would have to on her own as she tried to hold things together. Thomas pouted, then, ignoring him, turned back to Seras. ¡°Seriously though, we were killed by the first thing we met, then nearly died on our way here, and you''re already a captain?¡± ¡°Twice,¡± Robert added. Thomas turned to him. "Twice?" "Nearly died twice. The dogs attacked again when you slept.¡± Thomas put a hand through his hair as he remembered seeing the new wolf corpses when he woke up. ¡°Turns out fire attracts monsters at night. I was up for hours trying to fend off the wolves, and they came pretty close to getting me.¡± ¡°Thanks, and sorry¡­for drinking too much." He took another sip of his water, silently resolving never to drink again. ¡°Well, I did get us killed by goblins. And shot fire into your open wound," Robert replied casually. Seras rubbed her hand over her face in exasperation. "What the hell, guys? I¡¯ve only died twice and I¡¯ve been here for months before you." ¡°What?¡± Thomas looked at her, trying to asses her stats and see how far off he was. They were partied up, and so he could look through the interface when everything fizzled together.
Name: Seras Status: Tipsy Level: 8, Physical average (18) Mental average (9) Race: Human (Earth) Title: Captain
¡°Killed by the fucking goblins,¡± she stated glumly. It didn¡¯t sound like she was insulting them ¡ª more that she had a deep-seated hatred for the creatures. ¡°Goblins are the worst scum this world has,¡± she added. Thomas took another sip of water. He didn¡¯t feel that much anger towards them, even though they had killed him. Still, as he thought about it, he could imagine the feeling of their blade cutting into his neck. ¡±Well, I guess we know what we¡¯re doing tomorrow,¡± Seras declared, earning a look of confusion from the other two. ¡°We will get your revenge!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°We just got out, and you want to send us back?¡± Thomas asked. ¡°Not you, all of us. We can go together.¡± She took a sip from her beer. Robert and Thomas looked at each other and back to her. They realised it would probably count as work for the guards, and knew it was better than picking berries in the forest. ¡°I¡¯m game,¡± Robert said, creating a small puff of fire In his right hand. A smile from Seras was illuminated in the fire. ¡°Yeah, that sounds¡­great¡±, Thomas replied with a half-hearted smile. Privately, he wasn¡¯t sure if killing was what he wanted to do, but if no one else had these abilities he definitely had an advantage in it. ¡°Great. You can stay at mine, we¡¯ll sort everything else in the morning.¡± Seras took them down the street and into one of the winding alleyways. They went into a tall building illuminated inside by candlelight. As they walked in, they got a nod from the person at the door and an awkward look from Seras. Fuchsia curtains were scattered overhead, and scantily dressed women seemed to greet anyone who came in. For the group, however, they just smiled and nodded at them as Seras lead them through. They had entered a brothel, apparently Seras had her respawn point set in a cave system underneath. She had bought a section of the establishment with her earnings and now had a comfortable way to hide what happened after she died. Apparently within the guards she had a reputation of holding of overwhelming odds and making it to the brothel before they had returned. As they stepped further in, a large man with an unbuttoned shirt was strolling through the corridor. His pleased expression quickly grew fearful when he saw Seras. He sprinted away. Seras blew a strand of hair off her face and grimaced. They carried on through the surprisingly large building and found a couple of rooms just past a dining hall, seemingly more or less shut off from the rest of the brothel. ¡°You can sleep in this room, both of you. I¡¯ll be in the one next to it¡­But please, clean yourselves up before you go to bed.¡± She pointed to a bath on the other side of the room. ¡°See you in the morning,¡± Robert said, smirking at Seras. ¡°Rest now, for tomorrow we hunt!¡± She smiled at them from the doorway before leaving. As they got into bed, they began to discuss the day that had passed, but a bang reverberated on the wall from the room next door. ¡°Go to bed,¡± shouted the muffled voice of Seras. They quietened down. ¡°We should probabl-¡°, A sword was plunged through the wall. The blade shone next to Thomas¡¯s head. After that, it was a silent night. 10. Fiona The storm raged as the group braced the cold, crouched over their mounts to stay on their mounts. The large beasts that appeared as a cross between both a stag and a horse strode slowly but steadily through the storm. Their positions visible to each other just by the light orange glow of a heating crystal held close to their beings. The cold brought with it a sense of hopelessness as they carried on, not knowing how far they had travelled. Ghost thought he say the shine of blue eyes appear and disappear during the storm. Soon a dome appeared in the distance, barely visible through the storm until they approached nearly to the point of touching. It was a spot where the wind appeared to curve round. Just as the Stags were about to enter the dome, they passed a man with great antlers in tribal-fur clothes, staring at them with shining blue eyes. As they passed into the dome the wind immediately disappeared, shockingly so as they no longer needed to brace any wind nor try and fight an intense cold. Within the dome there was almost an absence of any moving air. Within they saw many buildings like that of tribal tents, made from wood, bone and animal fur. A young woman in tribal furs noticed their approach and bowed her antlers towards them. After a brief pause, she pointed towards the largest tent. The group moved in unison, switching off crystal. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with. I need a bit of sun on my arse,¡±Ghost said. They opened the tent flap and were greeted by the light from humming blue crystals spread around the interior. The space was large enough that many walked around amongst themselves. A man was on a large throne-like seat made out of bone and thatched wood slouching forward his head on one hand . He raised his head as the group entered. ¡°Welcome ,¡± the chief greeted, seeming to known about their arrival it was as though the awkward gathering is in response to their arrival. ¡°We come with respect to your people and offer this head as proof of our peaceful intentions,¡± Fiona stated before motioning towards Ghost so that he may bring out their trophy.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Ghost brought out the head of the slain antlered bull, grabbing the beast by its antlers. It seemed to have taken some damage during the storm and the antler came off. In an attempt to lighten the mood and distract from the seriousness of the exchange he held the antlers up to his head and pretended to be adorned with antlers like the natives of this land appeared to be. Gasps resounded across the space. ¡°Oh for the love of, could you please show some respect?¡± Phoebe cried. The man on the seat¡¯s brow flickered with frustration but he held up his hand. ¡°Even with such disrespect with have our traditions. What do you seek?¡± Another of his tribe moved forward to accept the beast along with its antlers seeming. As he did he appeared to pull an energy from its head and nodded to the chief. Their engineer bowed. ¡°We are here on behalf of Hugo Lef¨¨vre, heretic of the citadel and lord of the dark lands. He asks for your help in the coming battle.¡± The chief pointed towards a few of his tribesmen at the back and said a phrase that sounded like a form of Scandinavian French. Soon a tribal woman approached with a pouch of furs filled with glowing blue gems. ¡°We owe much to Hugo and wish to pay our debts. If you make the passage once more through the storm know that we will be there for him as he was for us,¡± After the pouch was received, they group looked to the chief wondering if that was it. The chief slightly lowered his head and raised one hand towards the flap of the tent where a girl raised in showing the white of the outside. They moved outside. ¡°If you had listened at all you would know not to do that,¡± said Phoebe, tossing a scathing glare at the rogue. ¡°It¡¯s just bloody political correctness. Same place, different story.¡± ¡°You are literally the worst.¡± ¡°Oooh, and where would you be without me? I took down that beast practically single handed.¡± ¡°Even if we didn¡¯t fight it we could have laid a trap, not tried to fight it head on like a deranged lunatic.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see what you¡¯d do without me. I should have just gone in and killed the fuckers myself. You know how many wankers I¡¯ve ended? How many people I¡¯ve taken out without a single twat noticing? Dictators, war lords. The fucking triads.¡± They climbed back on their mounts getting an eerie look from a passing tribesman. Soon they passed into the cold heading back in the direction they came, the light on their heat crystals flickering slightly as they entered the storm once again. 11. Training As morning came light shone through gaps in their curtains. Thomas and Robert put on their clothes and headed out to meet Seras. She was waiting in the dining hall, spooning breakfast into her mouth as she waited. Obedient, well-dressed staff waited at attention. The food was something closely resembling melon and raspberries. Some of the berries, Thomas noticed, were like the caffeinated red ones they had found in the wilds. A customer passed by the doorway, dragged by a woman in lingerie. It seemed the brothel still ran in the morning hours. The jarring difference between them and the workers made their breakfast a surreal and unnatural one. Seras looked towards Robert, inspecting his ragged burnt-out clothes. ¡°How have those clothes stayed together?¡± Robert replied with a shrug. ¡°I try my hardest.¡± Seras grimaced and threw him some coins in a small pouch. ¡°Get something. I¡¯d give you some of my spare armour, but I doubt it would fit you.¡± She turned to Thomas. ¡°While that¡¯s happening, want to train with the guards?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± With a smirk, she threw an apple towards Thomas¡¯s head, which he caught and started eating. ¡°Good,¡± she replied, privately admiring his newfound reflexes. A while passed in silence as they ate the strange fruit. "You said the wolves were infected with some kind of black slime. What¡¯s up with that?" Seras asked. Robert winced at the memory. "Like a black ooze coming out of them ¡ª it was like it was alive. Like the infection had taken over their brain. They had white eyes and acted in a sort of rabid way...¡± "Weird. Do you know what it could have been?" "I have some grass with the same stuff on," Robert replied. He pulled out a pouch. The berries inside had also been coated in the stuff ¡ª in fact, the gunk had spread to coat most of the pouch¡¯s inner lining. The mouldy black tar appeared to be moving, as if it was now reacting to the light and trying to reach out. "Um," Robert said. "Yeah, I have the stuff here.¡± He threw the pouch to Seras, which she caught in her hand just before she saw the contents inside. "The fuck!" She exclaimed, throwing it on the floor before the gunk could reach out and touch her. She turned to one of the servants. ¡°Get a sealable chest!¡± Once the chest had been brought, they put the bag inside, but it was too late. The seeping ooze had come out of the side and splatted on the floor. Robert startled the servants as he shot a small burst of fire into the gunk, immediately igniting it. Everyone watched in silence as the goo writhed before burning out. The servants whispered amongst themselves as they took great care of the chest. Thomas heard one of them nervously say the phrase ¡®fire-mage¡¯. "Take it to major, see if he knows what to do with it," Seras commanded the servants. They hurried off with their new parcel to deliver. ¡°And make sure it doesn¡¯t touch anyone,¡± she added before they were out of earshot. "Can¡¯t believe you were walking around with that nasty shit in your bag." Seras got up from her chair, screeching the wood across the floor. "Are we ready then?" Thomas, following her lead, separated from the table. Seras and Thomas put on their armour, adorned their weapons, then gathered outside. Seras was wearing a bright steel set of heavy armour, decorated with red fabric covering any gaps. A kite shield, decorated with a lion sigil, was positioned on her back over two double-sided axes. They arrived at the guard post. It was little more than a construct of wood stuck together with bits of scaffolding. The guard¡¯s outpost was situated on the wall, around and including a stone staircase that lead up to a group of guards looking out into the distance. The grey stone wall stood thirty feet tall, well put together, and as Thomas, Seras and Robert walked to the top, they could see the light of s rising sun blind them and turn the stone of the wall into a silvery sheen. The guards were called to attention. A few of them clad in armour like Seras¡¯s, some in what appeared to be of a lower-tier set of steel with less of an intricate design and no rim around the lion insignia that seemed to represent this branch. Others bore a different leather setup, still trimmed in red but more maneuverable. They all took a knee at the address of Seras, their captain. ¡°These sorry excuses for human beings are my new personal recruits. I want you to treat them like the shits they are until they show a modicum of promise.¡± ¡°Any reports, Sargent?¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. A man spoke up from the crowd. He didn¡¯t look as battle ready as the rest of them, but a scar over his chin and a well-muscled stature suggested he had seen his fair share of combat. ¡°Well, the scouts have found fewer goblin and non-goblin threats. But some have said the goblins are.. more organized.¡± ¡°Could they be planning something?¡± Thomas asked. The sergeant looked at him with a puzzled expression. ¡°They are goblins boy, they don¡¯t plan.¡± Seras looked at Thomas and back to the sergeant, slightly annoyed. ¡°If they are more organized, we need to be more vigilant, they could be being controlled by a rogue mage. We can¡¯t take any chances. I¡¯ll leave tonight and scout the maze.¡± There was silent affirmation. ¡°Dismissed,¡± Seras announced. The guards went back to what they were doing, a few walking off whilst others took position along the wall. Seras called out to a lone straggler. ¡°Horatio.¡± The guardsman straightened up, his obedience and military attire didn¡¯t manage to dispel an air of kindness from him. ¡°Teach this degenerate how to use a bow and sword,¡± she said, pointing a thumb to Thomas. ¡°Yes captain,¡± the man said, saluting. He was one of the guards wearing leather armour but unlike the others had metal along one arm. A solid plate coating his right forearm. He went to pick up a bow resting on the side of the wall. ¡°Let''s go,¡± he said. Thomas followed him down the stairs, towards what seemed to be a training area. The occasional person sparring with a wooden sword or firing an arrow at a target. Horatio picked up one of the wooden training swords and threw another to Thomas. He took a low fighting stance, holding out his plated arm and sword respectively like sword and shield. Thomas took more of a fencer¡¯s stance, putting his sword forward and his left hand back. A memory of fencing as a boy passed through his mind. He instinctively felt that defending then attacking was faster than attacking after attacking, and as such he should not play passive or aggressive but think about his actions as he fought trying to gauge a sense of ruythem. He tried to get a reading on Horatio before the fight began. ¡°Show me what you¡¯ve got,¡± Horatio commanded. Thomas, taking the challenge, took a stance as a fencer, getting an inquisitive look in return. He dove in, as Horatio went to defend against the strike. Instead of letting his stick be batted out the way Thomas had avoided Horatio''s stick and looped his stick around it finishing with his pointing towards Horatio''s face. Taken aback, Horatio shouted, ¡°Hit me!¡± Then he backed away for the start of the new round. Thomas did the same again and Horatio similarly went to block but moving his stick to where his opponents had left, again meaning Thomas managed to get his stick pointing at Horacio¡¯s face. ¡°Hit me, or are you trying to insult me?¡± Horatio shouted. ¡°Ok man, but you asked for it,¡± said Thomas. Horatio went back to a fighting position, and Thomas did the same, trying to bring his fancing style into the art of war. Horatio let him carry out the same manoeuvre, but when Thomas went to jab into his face, Horatio had moved to the side, letting Thomas¡¯s sword brush past his head and over his shoulder. Horatio grabbed the outstretched arm, pulling Thomas forward so he could knee him in the chest. He stood over Thomas as he got up from the ground. ¡°You fight like you¡¯re playing for first blood. A goblin won¡¯t stop its momentum just because you poked it.¡± Wheezing, Thomas said, "Fair point." Thomas and Horatio kept fighting for a while longer; blocks, feints, painful hits and the occasional dodge. Thomas was slowly gaining and soon they were on equal ground. After taking another hit around the back of his head, he lost technique and dove in. Horatio stepped forward past Thomas¡¯s guard with his heel facing away. Then, he spun on his heel with incredible speed, elbowing Thomas in the chest and winding him again. Getting the lower centre of gravity, he then grabbed Thomas¡¯s extended arm and threw him over his shoulder to the ground. Winded and on the floor, Thomas struggled to catch his breath. Staring at his opponent on the floor, Horatio held out his hand and said ¡°I hit you because I respect you.¡± He pulled him up. ¡°Yeah, I feel all this respect...it¡¯s great,¡± Thomas replied, still catching his breath. Back and forth they attacked each other, countering moves and learning new techniques. They experimented with different angles, putting in all their effort and working up a mean sweat. ¡°So, having Seras as your captain, that must be a bit rough right?¡± Thomas asked. Horatio winced at the question but still smiled in reply. ¡°Two weeks ago, I was a prisoner of raiders. They knocked me out and dragged me to a camp. When I was held there, I saw my brother killed. The captain was the one that saved me, she risked her life...One of my greatest memories is the sight of her making the bandit fucker choke on his own blood. We are not just guards here, we are family.¡± Thomas rubbed the side of his head, feeling he had misspoken. They moved onto archery shortly after. As Thomas lined up his shot, he focused on posture and aligning the shot, firing one after another with long breaks in between. Horatio had him work on speed, trying to shoot multiple shots as fast as possible. He showed Thomas it was faster to hold the arrows in his hand than take them from the quiver for every shot. Horatio showed him how to fire a bow. ¡°Focus a single shot, hold your breath, without having empty or full lungs, just relaxed and still in the breath you are breathing.¡± After enough time passed Thomas was good at hitting the target. He was just taking too much time and needed to do it more instinctually. Taking the bow off of him Horatio showed how outclassed Thomas was, quickly firing three shots before the first one even landed, and all into the centre of the target. ¡°Well, that¡¯s bullshit,¡± Thomas exclaimed. ¡°You learn fast!¡± Said Horatio. ¡°I¡¯m sure you could do that if you put in the effort.¡± By the time Thomas had finished, he noticed the notifications that had built up: Calibrations complete: Congratulations, you have learnt the skill snipe shot. Congratulations, you have learnt the skill multi-shot. Congratulations, you have learnt the medium blade technique feint. Advanced calibration capable at higher system levels. Congratulations, you have learnt the technique fluid dodge. When Thomas thought about what he had learnt it felt as though the muscle memory of what he had learned had rapidly developed, as if he had practiced what he was taught for months. He knew how to dodge as if his movements were like the wind; he could block out everything from his mind and focus his shots on a single target dramatically increasing his aim. He knew the exact place to put an arrow into his bow, or the intricacies of combat as if following the momentum of his attacker. 12. Through the taint Seras, Thomas and Robert travelled through the fields that surrounded the heavily fortified town until they came across the entrance to the maze. The giant rock wall stared them down, its imposing red spikes in jagged contrast to the peaceful space they had just left. They passed through the entrance into the new ecosystem as if it was through a portal to distant landscape. The sun immediately beating down on them like the hammer of a flame-god. Further into the desert they saw most of the plant life was dead, if not severely wilted. The landscape drifting from the savannah and then to the barren Martian-red. Robert was still staring into his books and occasionally muttering to himself in exclamation. "Reading something interesting?" Thomas asked. "You interested in a bit of lore?" Robert replied. "Hit me." Robert smirked as he began to explain, while still continuing to read. ¡°Well, apparently there are elves, and they also used to be human.¡± Seras looked towards him. "Shit, those stuck up assholes? I heard they live in some fancy city and keep all of us lower people out." "Something like that," Robert replied. ¡°So, you¡¯re pretty into that reading now?¡± Thomas asked. ¡°It¡¯s like I can sink into the world of books. Everything is so much more interesting and sticks in my memory, like I don¡¯t even need to try.¡± Robert replied, without even taking his eyes from the book. His eyes grew wide and even the hairs on his head seemed to perk up as he came across something even more interesting. Seras had no trouble climbing over the obstacles they came across, even in her heavy armour. The only problem that arose was waiting for Robert to put down his book just so he could use his arms. They walked until they came across a strange black weed. The almost glass like plant was wafting in the wind, exhibiting a sort of spore-like aura around sharp shiny purple blades of grass. Robert went over to examine it.
.-Mutated taint weed. A plant that has been mutated by the taint that covered it.
¡°I haven¡¯t seen anything like that before,¡± said Seras. ¡°It''s like what happened to the grass we gave you before it turned to mush. But when we found it, it was more like normal grass covered in a slime,¡± Robert added. Robert went to reach for the plant. The spores appeared to react to him coming close: a part of it extended towards him, and like a gooey tentacle it wrapped around his hand. On instinct, he vaporized it with a small puff of flame and it all disappeared. The plant shivered and retracted, taking on the look of a mundane speck of grass. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± ¡°Fire?¡± Robert said. He was ignored. ¡°It''s a bit like the stuff on the goblins?¡± Seras chimed in. Robert looked up at her. ¡°I don¡¯t think we''ve seen any of the goblins with this.¡± "The black stuff that grows on them, there was always more on the crazier ones, but it never seemed to develop too much and it had never infected something else before... If it''s spreading and turning into something like this, there¡¯s no telling how much is out there.¡± Thomas patted Robert on the shoulder and said: ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here.¡± Robert just grunted. Thomas whispered to Seras; "He''s turning into a bit of an ass isn''t he," He got an awkward smile in reply. They carried on further, and as Robert moved towards more plants, they moved away in response. Soon they arrived in a small enclave of grassy vegetation covered in a profound layer of the black ooze with many sections having transformed to that of the glassy mutated variant. Many developing strange characteristics and clumped together in a writhing mass. Robert put down his book and held out his hand, shooting a burst of fire towards the oozing plants of death. He tactically blasted different locations, meticulously generating the most efficient spread of fire. The fire flicked burning tentacles as the cursed taint began to move in dismay. ¡°No,¡± Robert cried out. A tainted tentacle had jumped out as the fire enveloped it, making a lick of flame fall onto the book he had just put down. He quickly ran to it and started patting it out. The fire had only singed away part of the cover, and Robert sighed in relief as he saw it was just the image of Kurt¡¯s face. Thomas and Seras gave a snicker until they met Robert¡¯s glare. Seras turned to face the burning plants. ¡°This can¡¯t be good.¡± "Looks like the taint is spread further than we thought," Thomas replied with a wink. ¡°I guess we have our work cut out for us.¡± Robert walked forward into the burned plants. Smoke still rising off the ground. He found the dead bodies of a wolf and goblin, next to the remnants of a broken barrel. He kicked the heap and the animal carcass flew out. Its eyes had dissolved, and fur had melted away. Its teeth protruded from its face like disfigured spikes. A few broken spears appeared to be jutting out of its side but still some wreathing blackness appeared below the surface seeming to retreat into the shadows. Robert clenched his hand around the wolf carcass, burning it in his hands. He held it further until the entire body decided to glow a different color. Tendrils of purple light were drawn out of it until the corpse deteriorated to nothing. Robert looked disappointed as only a miniature purple crystal landed in his hand. Trying again with the goblin, he grasped the decomposing head. It seemed to slowly disappear in the same light and concentrate an essence into the creatures tool, even sapping away the energy from the crystal he held in his hand which promptly disappeared. He picked up the tool, two notifications appearing in his vision. New schematic: Shiv
Acquired item????? Quality Taint-forged shiv ?? Poor Special effects: Chance to infect with taint.
Robert furrowed his brow and focused fire in his hand, dissolving the weapon.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "What was that?" Seras asked. "Getting the loot?" he replied. "I, what?" "You didn''t know? its like the system and mana control. Tell it to work on dead stuff and it gives you goodies," Robert said. Seras furrowed her brow in turn. ¡°No, I didn''t know that, since...what the actual fuck dude." "Did the gremlin thing not tell you?" "Kurt is a little shit." Robert and Thomas laughed at that. Thomas inspected the ground where the mutant wolf was. ¡°Whatever happened, this stuff doesn¡¯t just affect plants.¡± They carried on further, dissolving away all that was tainted along the journey. ¡°Pass me some food, Robert,¡± Seras commanded. Robert gave her a puzzled look. ¡°I don¡¯t have any.¡± ¡°Then what the hell is in your pack?¡± He opened his bag and angled it towards her. it was filled to the brim with books. Seras rubbed a hand over her face, massaging her temple in a futile attempt to rid herself of her annoyance. ¡°Then let''s find something to eat.¡± ¡°We found some berries on the way before,¡± Thomas said. "Of course you did," Seras replied. They came across a few more bushes, and Robert and Thomas collected as many berries as they could. The odd technique Robert used of connecting the trees mana helped him find and remove the best fruits without damaging them. Robert looked around for more evidence of mayhem. Bits of broken wood from the barrel seemed to have scattered along a path where the passageways forked. ¡°I can see a trail,¡± Seras said. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a system-based skill¡± she explained. ¡°There¡¯s a path that shows me a rough outline of the tracks and the size of the things that went along it recently.¡± The two followed Seras as she inspected the path and bush to find the occasional footprint, broken twig, or rock. She seemed to know exactly where to go, as though she was following the shadow of the creature that had created the tracks. Thomas began checking the things Seras had inspected, trying to see what she saw to no avail. Eventually, he could tell to some extent what creatures created which marks on the ground, and after something appeared to be calibrating across the side of his awareness, he grew a notification.
New kill! Tracking You can identify tracks of those you have seen, and perceive their lingering essence.
They followed for a while, clearing out anything tainted along the way. They came across a solid trail of black tar along the ground that seemed to lead into a cave. A splash of the tar was clearly visible along the side of the entrance. Thomas felt a rush through his eyes and mind; the path seemed to highlight prints and splashes of tar along the entrance of the cave. It was almost like his brain was overloaded with a sort of trial and error testing to see which animals could make which prints. As his vision returned and the headache ceased he saw a shadowy afterimage appear around the tracks they followed shifting slightly between possible shapes as it fit with an image he had in his mind. ¡°Goblins,¡± he said. Seras smiled. ¡°Nice. Tracking is a hunter''s best tool.¡± Thomas gave a slight smile and they carried on following the trail. Within the cave, little was visible. Robert managed to find a dead tree and broke a branch off, which he fashioned into a torch so as not to risk running out of mana. They walked inside, listening out for any noise. They hadn''t gotten far before they came across the corpses of goblins: decrepit and mutilated carcasses, torn to pieces by something. The smashed remnants of another two barrels lay next to them. The black substance was splattered along the cave side and floor around these barrels. Thomas went to inspect it, pressing his finger into it. *Refined Taint* He lurched, back pushing his hand into the fire and seeing the ooze catch. It began to bubble as suddenly a slither of a tentacle lurched from the barrel. The tar within the container almost erupted before Robert shot it with his cleansing fire, neutralizing whatever was in the cursed taint with ease. The sound of collapsing rocks echoed in the cave. There was silence as the group braced, trying to find out what that was. Then cascading thumps, growing ever louder, forced them to defensively turn to face the noise. They looked around, searching, then suddenly a blood-curdling roar reverberated against the walls. Out of the darkness, illuminated in the flames of torchlight, a troll¡¯s face emerged, wretched and disfigured by a black tainted fungus coating its facial features. It swung toward the group, just missing Thomas as he moved out the way. The lumbering giant was not coordinated, and Thomas''s recent training engrained a new awareness in him. Seras had charged, and taking a low pose she swung into its side. The axe embedded itself in his upper thigh, before tentacles of darkness wrapped around the axis¡¯s edge, launching up towards her hands. She dropped the axe and moved back, not taking the risk of letting the darkness touch her. The monster gave out another cry as Robert shot fire in a narrow stream towards it. The troll caught and was torched in a furious fire, shaking away at the flames it thrashed in agony. Robert stopped, out of mana, and the flames receded from the beast''s skin, taking with it the corruption. The troll¡¯s expression suddenly seemed almost cognisant. Its eyes bore colour where before was just dull whiteness. Then the black tentacles of corruption spurted out from newly formed wounds, sprawling over the creature as it struggled in pain. Thomas had run towards the entrance. He grabbed three arrows and quickly fired them into the beast, doing minimal damage but getting its attention. As it ran towards Thomas, Seras dove into its side and hacked at one of its legs, slicing its thigh. It collapsed onto one side. Getting up as its wounds rapidly healed, tentacles stitching him together, the troll only seemed angrier. Robert began shooting bursts of fire, bit by bit causing the creature to retch without his mana running out. Thomas fired arrow after arrow whilst Seras swung at its sides, dashing past it so as not to get caught. The creature was slowly being whittled down. It came slightly into the light of the entrance, staring Thomas down. Thomas was waiting, just past the entrance. He focused on his aim and, with the focus of a sniper, shot one then two arrows into its eyes. The troll was now struggling and losing momentum as the fast-paced Seras cut into its sides. It could do nothing but flail about. The black ooze moved around it, receding then appearing, changing location as the fire was shot into it. Unable to see its surroundings, the troll seemed unable to tell where anyone was. Then Thomas saw an eye materialize within the black ooze, facing Seras as she came in for another attack. ¡°Get back!¡± Thomas shouted. It was too late. The creature reached around and grabbing Seras, began slowly crushing her. The armour around her sides began to ripple. Robert appeared from behind. There was a fire in his eyes. He stuck his hand into the creature and let forth all his energy. The troll screamed in pain as flames erupted all around it. Seras took the opportunity to peel herself out from its grasp and collapsed to the ground. The beast nearly succeeded in crushing her as it fell, but she just managed to roll out the way. Picking up her axe, she executed the final blow, decapitating the creature and letting the head roll away. ¡°Holy fucking shit,¡± she gasped. Thomas let loose a held breath. ¡°That was¡­so¡­intense.¡± ¡°How did you do that?¡± Seras asked Robert., ¡°I figured it would work better if I burnt him from inside.¡± ¡°I saw that, but how? Its skin is so thick, how did you do it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go into details,¡± he said sheepishly, looking away. Notification
Slain creature???? ??Experience Gained Mutated ¡®taint¡¯ troll ?? ??233 Special mutation effect Increased taint regeneration and spread.
Thomas stepped over to a rock and collapsed on the ground. "Do you want to have the honours?" he said. Seras looked at the corpse and back to Robert. She stuck out her hand and grasped the remaining flesh of the troll''s neck, focusing her energy and pushing in tendrils of mana. A purple and grey essence seemed to pour from the beast as the corpse disappeared. The head similarly combined its essence into a grey purple gem.
Acquired item???? Quality Healing gem?? ?? ??high uses: 3 effect: Quickly heal non-mortal wounds.
Seras beamed as she stared into the item. "I fucking love loot.¡± When going back into the cave, they saw how the remains of the goblins had been entirely split open. It looked like the troll had attacked the creatures when they accidentally stepped into its cave. The barrel next to the body still notably held a large amount of black slime; some was also scattered over the floor. Robert gathered some of the gunk and inspected it more thoroughly. ¡°This is inert,¡± he said. ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°This stuff can¡¯t infect people directly; it has to be eaten or changed in some way I think. It¡¯s not like the taint in the mutated plants, it''s like it¡¯s safe until people want it not to be.¡± ¡°It''s the damn goblins, I knew it,¡± Seras chimed in. They collected some in a vial taken from Roberts bag, and burnt the rest. They scouted around the cave, illuminating the walls. Robert scoured the cave and shot fire out at anything that seemed corrupt, tearing through the darkness at any slight movement. It was meticulous work. They found the remains of another two goblins in the troll¡¯s base, and what appeared to be a mess of black bile around his habitat. The cave wasn¡¯t very big, but it was big enough to hold them in constant fear that another troll could jump out at any time. 13. Dreams The sun was falling into the horizon, and the temperature was steeply dropping with it. The team began to set up a fire. Before the night grew too dark, it the fire blazed beside them. They rested in a loose circle around it, Thomas and Seras staring at the many stars whilst Robert kept to his books. The red moon, with its rings like Saturn, was now bright in the sky. It had drifted further from the grey-blue goliath of a moon which had just begun to poke over the horizon. ¡°It still doesn¡¯t feel real,¡± Seras said. ¡°Every time I look at that sky...But maybe it¡¯s because even after all this time, it''s so terrifying that we really are stuck here.¡± Thomas was inspecting the arrows he collected for traces of black gunk. He couldn¡¯t find any. ¡°Can you remember much else?¡± He asked, offhandedly. Robert threw some wood into the fire. He had moved onto the book ''Banned History¡¯. It seemed old and delicate, and he took good care when turning the pages. Each text he read highlighted key aspects of this world, the banned texts conflicting against the worlds common knowledge, Robert felt as though he had to be careful after reading them not to accidently say something that would be considered heresy . It appeared that the ''high elves'' were the reason for this, as they tried to strip away any reference to the old world with the help and investigative power of their extensively inquisitive church. Robert had discovered that originally, there were no other races, it was just man. In that time, the world was in a rough kind of peace, where society was most interested in developing magic. Magic, however, came at a cost . Though each mage trained for years before they could freely use their magic, they all soon developing a manna sickness as they were poisoned by their new powers. Sometimes the sick changed in other ways. Elements of their humanity drifted away as their flesh mutated. Researchers and users of magic tried desperately to fix this problem and find a way that people could use magic for longer. In their attempts, they looked at the way magic was harnessed, and in doing so changing their crystalline mana, which in this world was more commonly known as a person''s essence. They had found that the sickness came from this essence, that as mana moved through a substance it left behind or altered crystalline mana. Though small amounts of mana could freely pass though, like the stretch of an elastic rubber, constant use in large numbers would create rigid transformations, permanently changing the structure like bending a plastic spoon. The altered internal essence of the person would leak their mana stores throughout their body turning their veins a dark blue and for those unlucky enough to live through this excruciating process may see even their flesh transform. When the people of old altered a person''s essence was a rough science, a dangerous one ¡ª and it even caused the occasional disaster. Experiments usually happened on those close to losing themselves to manna sickness, and sometimes this only sought to enhance their mutations. Though these changes were notably unpredictable, commonly there were cancerous growths that developed sentience and the occasional spontaneous combustions. In the cases where the changes were stable, monstrosities were created, with mismatched proportions and strange abilities, or amorphic blobs with odd behavioral patterns. More so, all these changed creatures lost any semblance of a rational or empathetic psyche, turning into single minded beasts. Eventually, the mutated creatures spread far and covered areas of the landscape, a large cluster of them thought to have formed what is still called ''the dark zone.'' *Oh, that¡¯s the black mountainous area*, Robert thought as he realized how close he was. He contemplated whether it was worth a gander. Eventually, it seemed that in a sort of collaboration of sentient life, the top researchers and magic users gathered, both to find an answer to the magic problem and to stop the more dangerous experiments that had started causing unfortunate problems. They pushed further into the alteration of a person''s essence keeping all of the results, documents and using exact rigorous process. There they tried desperately to create a new person, one able to live longer and use magic with impunity, ending both the curses from using magic and their long disastrous history of experiments. The results of their research and experimentation eventually bore fruit, and created what is assumed to be the current ''high-elves'' and the lesser known ''dryad''. This remarkable achievement meant there was a method to turn humans into longer living beings that could use magic without much care for its poisoning effects. However, it came at a slight cost. As a person''s essence was altered they were restricted in the forms of magic they could take. Each high elf was only able to use magic in its purest form, emitting something close to pure mana, unable to fully shape it into different effects. Though they could subvert this problem with the complicated use of crystals, which could redefine the mana¡¯s properties. The Dryad however, used magic associated with nature, focusing mostly on enhancing the effects of environmental mana rather than forging them into something new. Meanwhile, human magic only increased in its variety.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Hey Robert, tell me something interesting,¡± said Thomas. Without taking his eyes off the book, Robert replied: "Birds can''t fart.¡± "What, do they just like explode if you give them beans?" "Something like that.¡± "That''s cool man." "Yeah, also in the book I just finished it said the high elves had a war with humanity." "Really?" Seras asked. ¡°Yep, all the people in one place turned into high elves and dryads, but the high elves wanted to stay pure so they made their own kingdom, and it seems they didn¡¯t and still don¡¯t want anyone in. But the Dryads wanted to stay with nature and the people. And so the high elves were like, I know what to do, let''s just kill all the people that don¡¯t want to be slaves. You know?¡± "Sounds reasonable," Thomas said sarcastically. "One could say that," Robert said. "Cut it out,¡± Seras interrupted. They looked to each other then carried on. ¡°Anyway, then the high elves didn¡¯t want to spend any more of their own people because it was slow and hard for them and they didn''t have many kids.¡± So, they started messing with magical biology or whatever again and created a warrior race called the Orc. The race was all-male, was meant to be an honourable strong race to be ¡®chosen¡¯ by and they grew to adult by the age of seven or so.¡± ¡°If they are all male, then how do they breed?¡± Thomas asked. ¡°An elf or even man would be chosen by an esteemed Orc to raise the next generation of soldiers. It¡¯s not clear on how. I think it¡¯s a society thing. And their ¡®genes¡¯ or essence, seemed to overpower parent species.¡± So, to carry on. They crushed the humans and Dryads. And then, it¡¯s not clear what happened, but I think all dryads and orcs are now dead.¡± Seras was staring into the fire. ¡°Funny how the goblins are like that... All male I mean...¡± Robert closed his book and saw the trouble in her eyes. ¡°Sure..." He said, uncertainly. The three of them ended it on that. They took turns to try and sleep, only a few final words left drifting in the air. ¡°Gotta love story time,¡± Thomas said. "Thanks man," Robert replied. As the others drifted off, Robert kept watch, picking up a book to start reading by firelight until he saw a strange notification. Notification Cyclic thought defragmentation required. Mental coherence decreased. Delusion chance increased. Temperature regulation decreased. Mental statistic lowered 1 point. (8, Base 9) Sleep required to regain base stats. ¡°Ah." Robert looked wearily over at his sleeping companions. He stoked the fire a bit more and went back to reading. He was starting a new book, ''The Heretic Mage''. Robert read the synopsis. ''He was a danger to the kingdoms, a man of pure horror. Hugo the maleficent, experimenter and deranged killer. Having carried out experiments on countless people, he developed magic too strong and evil to comprehend. A blue-green fire would circle around him as he strode onto battlefields. Exiled to the dark zone for the crimes he had committed. The dark sorcerer, gone forever or too soon return, report any signs to your local official.¡¯ Robert had enough and put down the book. He needed some rest and felt the morning sun coming on. He went over and kicked Thomas. "You''re up.¡± Thomas stirred awake and rubbed his eyes. "Sure, yeah I''ve got it." Then Robert collapsed onto the ground, ready to sleep for the rest of the night. The next day, they moved further into the maze, abandoning their camp. Further along the path, the horizon revealed a distant black mountain. Ashy clouds hovered overhead and trails of dust had drifted across, brushing against the barren red landscape. They had come far enough that ash drifted in, covering the red rock with a thin layer of grey. Thomas and Robert tried to find their way back to spawn, but the maze-like land and similar-looking formations seemed to confuse them, some of the land seeming as though it had changed from before. They resigned themselves with the knowledge that it was intentionally hidden. It could have been impossible anyway. Eventually, they saw tracks. There was a trail of footsteps left in a layer of ash over the floor. Seras bent to the ground and rubbed ash onto her fingertips, inspecting the ground to see how thick the layer was and how long it took for another layer of sediment to cover it. Thomas saw the image of a small humanoid creature, slightly hunched over, appear above the tracks. It looked like a goblin. ¡°The hunt is on,¡± said Seras. "Two seconds," Thomas retorted, then pulled out his bow and shot, making careful calculations in a moment¡¯s notice. He saw the arrows slide through the sky and pierce what appeared to be a dirty rabbit. "Let''s eat first," he announced. He had shot the rabbit as if to prove he was ready, but still he wondered about how much he had changed. Shooting a rabbit as though it was nothing, just for a source of food. He wondered if he could hunt and kill a living human-like thing. He wondered what the past him would think about what he had become after only these few days. He looked around at all the tracks, seeing the outlines of animals and goblins. In one part, the outline of goblins fighting in dust appeared. He almost saw a story in their movements spread through the different tracks. Eventually, the fight seemed to stop, both goblins getting up and walking with each other along the tracks. They almost seemed like children. 14. Goblins After eating the rabbit, the group followed the goblin tracks to what appeared to be some sort of outpost. Debris, dead plant life and jagged outcrops of rock adorned what would otherwise be an open plain. They snuck close enough to inspect the area and with that, they saw how the outpost was only a gathering of low-tier goblins, even weaker than those which had attacked Thomas and Robert. Hiding out of view, Seras motioned to Thomas. ¡°We¡¯re taking over this camp and you, Thomas, get first kill.¡± ¡°What? Are we just going to charge straight in?¡± ¡°No, we will draw out any we can, reduce their numbers, and get some reconnaissance. Then we charge straight in..¡± Robert patted Thomas on the back. ¡°it¡¯s cool man, you got this.¡± A slight grin on his face, Robert then moved in, sneaking and jumping from cover to cover. He was more than happy to flex his newly acquired stealth skills. ¡°Robert will set up a shot for the old-lady window peaker over-there,¡± Seras said. With a few hand signals from her, Robert moved in. He dipped low and then quickly hid behind a large rocky protrusion. Robert was now close enough to hear loud clashes of metal, and the goblin¡¯s awkward shouts. He could see a goblin working on a makeshift furnace whilst another was dropping off sacks of coal. The delivery goblin began shouting at the smith, who shouted back. It was hard to tell if they were working together or about to start a fight. It was then that Robert noticed the barrels placed around the camp, which were mostly holding what appeared to be a black ooze similar to what they found in the cave. Robert noticed an approaching goblin, and responded by hurling a rock, which landed near the goblin¡¯s feet. The goblin¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. By then, Robert was already at the next point of cover, throwing another stone to lure the unsuspecting goblin even further out. Bit by bit, Robert lured the goblin closer. One more rock brought it close enough to give Thomas a clean shot. He could see the goblin move up as he crouched in cover. ¡®Silly mobs,¡¯ Robert thought. The goblin carelessly moved around, checking for the source of the noise, peering into a bush and out of view from the others in the camp. Thomas held up his bow, ¡®and took aim at the goblin. It was clear none of the others would see if it died. ¡°Shoot,¡± Seras commanded. Thomas held his bow up and¡­ didn¡¯t fire. The goblin started to get back on track, finding nothing that could have caused the noise, and started walking towards the outpost. ¡°Fire¡± Seras insisted. ¡°These are goblins, kill them,¡± She commanded through gritted teeth. Thomas still held his bow aiming the arrow at the goblins face. Seras drew a throwing axe from her side. The goblin, now walking back, was spooked by a sound. He looked and saw Robert, not fully hidden in cover. The creature nearly let out a shriek, only to be cut off by an arrow lodging itself firmly in the side of its head. It fell limply to the ground, twitching as blood pooled around it. Notification
Slain creature experience gained Goblin: 40xp
Skill Level up! Archery, novice II, core motor reflexes increased. 10% Increased stability and control with bows.
Note Using skills in new and highly focused situations will increase the systems simulated skill refinement. Thomas felt a slight change as he reached for the bow. It was as though it were easier to carry out certain actions without much effort. The strange mechanism of this new world seemed to have built and reinforced the muscle memory within him. Robert dragged the goblin back into cover, making sure it was out of view of the outpost. None of the other goblins seemed to have noticed its absence. He gave a quick thumbs up to Thomas who gave a grim nod in reply. Robert came back dashing from rocky protrusions to the place the others were hidden. ¡°The goblins have the black slime,¡± He said. Seras thought for a moment and managed to formulate a battle plan. ¡°Do you think you can set the barrels on fire?¡± She asked Robert. Robert nodded in reply. ¡°Good.¡± She smiled. ¡°Goblins hate fire.¡± ¡°Thomas, get set up in a bush and shoot the barrels open. Robert, you can start a fire, then move in and remember to leave some for interrogation, or we won¡¯t find your killers.¡± The others nodded and then moved like soldiers into the battle. Still, though, the goblins seemed too human and Thomas couldn¡¯t quite shake what he had done from his mind. He moved in, biting his tongue. Was he selfishly killing another living being? The goblin seemed like a person and could have even had a family, but Thomas felt in this world it was kill or be killed, and some things weren¡¯t meant to be. When he thought about it like that, it would have just caused more problems if he had let the creature live. But Derek could have been a good goblin. ¡®No, don''t give them names!¡¯ he thought to himself. Robert infiltrated the camp again, rushing from rock to rock and quickly hiding behind a tent. The nearest goblin, the blacksmith, hadn¡¯t noticed him. Instead, the it was still battering away at what Robert assumed was a makeshift anvil. Robert waited until the blacksmith went back into the tent and then motioned it was clear. Thomas moved in whilst Seras still stayed behind. There was no way she could move silently in that heavy armour. Thomas held his bow up as Robert went further in. He spotted three barrels, and figured he could open them before the goblins had time to react. Then Robert would be able to ignite the tar. Thomas fired at the barrels, breaking the first two open with ease. But the third arrow became lodged in the barrel, releasing only a thin stream of black goo. All around the camp, they could hear goblins moving towards them. Some of them charged into view as Thomas fired again, shattering the third barrel. Then Robert charged past and used firebolt to set the tar alight, flame erupting from the barrels between Robert and the creatures. The goblins were confused, and instead of attacking, started to run chaotically around the flames. ¡®Aren''t they meant to be scared of fire?¡¯ Robert wondered as they closed in on him. Then Seras stepped in front of him, both battle-axes waving in the air, and the goblins immediately fled in fear. ¡°The demon is here!¡± one of them exclaimed, though only Thomas understood. ¡°See what I told you? Fire makes them scared!¡± Seras chimed. It seemed to Thomas that she may have developed a taste for fire about the time she was known by the goblin as ''the demon'' and maybe it wasn¡¯t the fire the goblins feared.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The goblins were scuttling around, none of them brave enough to fight. Then one with an almost high-pitched screech braced his fear and charged in. Seras dropped her axe and grabbed the creature by the throat, held it in the air and in the midst of all of them broke its neck with a quick squeeze. A cough of blood spurting from the goblin''s mouth sprayed onto the side of her face. None of the others tried to resist. They bound five remaining goblins and put them forward in a line to be interrogated. ¡°You¡¯re up¡± Seras called out to Thomas. Thomas came forward. He was to question the remaining goblins about the location of their bone-armoured leader, the one that had slit his throat. ¡°Seen¡­Goblin¡­. Leader¡­Armour¡­ Bone.¡± He said in goblin, pointing to areas of his armour the bone would have been. The first goblin spat in his face, and a second laughed. ¡°Man talks like baby,¡± he said in the goblin tongue. Seras immediately slammed her axe into the first one¡¯s head crushing it, then drew the blade out letting the goblin fall to the ground. She then motioned for Robert to step forward. ¡°Your turn,¡± she said. Robert looked at her puzzlingly and then let out a burst of fire in front of the goblins, singing their eyebrows, which had barely been present to begin with. They only looked confused. Seras came over ¡°See fire. Scary, we will burn you.¡± The goblins seemed to whimper and shiver away on her approach. A third one looked to Thomas for help and Thomas was taken back. He moved forward and knelt down before the goblin. He asked again. ¡°Goblin. With bone armour.¡± This time the goblin spluttered ¡°He chief, big camp north, keep demon away. I¡¯ll tell anything!¡± The group pushed and gathered more information. Thomas relayed it and they began to formulate a plan. Seras placed her axe to the ground and put one foot on the top of the blade ¡°Can we trust what the goblins say?¡± She asked Thomas. ¡°If we don¡¯t, we take one as a guide and kill the others,¡± she added. ¡°That''s so brutal, we can¡¯t kill them... They surrendered?¡± Thomas protested. ¡°They¡¯re goblins!¡± Seras replied sternly. ¡°You''re starting to sound like a mass murderer¡± Thomas retorted. ¡°Like someone who wants to commit genocide!¡± Thomas added. ¡°Genocide of what, goblins? You can¡¯t compare goblins to a human race.¡± ¡°What? because some of them are bad, you paint them all as evil with no exception?¡± ¡°Do you even hear the things coming out from your mouth? These ones even had the black shit. You think we should just let them go till they come back and kill us all?... It¡¯s like your comparing a human race to... Goblins,¡± she almost spat. ¡°Guys!¡± Robert exclaimed. ¡°Stop that. I have a plan,¡± He explained what he had in mind, and after a brief discussion, Thomas approached the goblins and said, ¡°You''re free to go.¡± After that the three of them went around the tents trying to collect anything useful exerting their will over the goblin corpses for loot. After transforming the bodies into tendrils of energy they found 12 ''mana forged'' arrows, and a decently weighted throwing dagger. Then they waited outside the camp, just far enough away to follow the goblin tracks without being seen. When it grew dark, the goblins left camp heading north. Thomas and Robert decided it would be better if Seras waited back, her shiny armour and its metallic sounds still making it difficult to sneak. The goblins were moving fast, in an almost frantic pace, likely spurred on by memories of the demon they spoke of. Still, Thomas and Robert managed to follow them easily enough, their stealthiness made them feel like they were one with the darkness. They travelled far. Thomas and Robert kept close to their mark and no other humanoid shapes arose across the distance. The journey appeared to be reaching its conclusion as the paths drew narrow and winding. When they finally started seeing the distant lights of a settlement, Thomas and Robert stopped, and hid out in part of the path that was now wedged between two cliffs. There, they saw the goblins walk towards an enclave where a large camp lay. The walk was longer than they had expected, but then they had been unconscious last time, dragged the entire distance. Robert even decided to lay on his back with his head in the direction of the camp just to check. "Yep, seems familiar,¡± he said. They started waiting for Seras to catch up. As they waited they saw some torches appear, waving around in the distance. Thomas and Robert backed up further into the darkness. Upon closer inspection, they noticed three goblins en route to their location coming from where Seras should have been. They waited in silence to avoid the troupe, but as the goblins approached Thomas and Robert started to hear the echoes of their cries. The goblins were frantically running. They suddenly realized the goblins were running to alert the camp, and probably because of Seras. Thomas and Robert hunched down, pushing further behind the rocky formation. They waited in ambush and once the goblins finally drew close enough, Thomas shot an arrow, lodging it into one of their legs whilst Robert fire bolted the other in the face. Both goblins stumbled and fell. The scorched one had cracked its neck as he tripped over, head first and on the floor, twitched his last death roll. The other, having been shot in the leg, tripped to the side and landed on his arm. He was quickly silenced by Thomas¡¯s second shot hitting into the face. The final goblin carrying the torch was spooked by the others and narrowly avoided Robert''s fire, bracing his face with an arm. But soon he was taken by Thomas¡¯s blade plunged through his chest. New notifications appeared for both Thomas and Robert. Notifications Note Using skills in new and highly focused situations will increase the systems simulated skill refinement.
Slain creature experience gained Goblin 40xp
Skill increase Medium blades II 10% increased reaction time and motion fluidity.
Robert could control his mana more easily now. It was as though an internal reservoir of mana was being pushed through his being and shaped into the fire he controlled. Now able to shape the fire instead of just shoot it out. The roaring fire he could manifest now frightened him. He felt his limits as much as his potential. Seras took her time coming along as Thomas and Robert waited. It was long enough that Thomas started to think something might have happened. He focused on his internal map, the area they had travelled appeared vast but along the route they had taken was a detailed path highlighting the winding trail they had taken through the rocky maze. Then Thomas noticed Seras had an icon showing where she was. She was moving quickly through a dark spot, away from the path they had travelled. ¡°Seras has gone a different way,¡± Thomas said. ¡°She can track us and knows where we went. Should we wait or go help?¡± ¡°This is Seras we¡¯re talking about. I¡¯ll just scout out the area before she arrives.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Robert replied. He created a controlled burst of fire, holding a small flame in the air, and using that light, began to finish the book he was on. Instead of waiting, Thomas moved in closer to the goblin camp. The camp didn¡¯t have many rocky outcrops like the other one, and instead, he could only crawl through dead bushes and long yellow grass. They weren¡¯t under any false impressions that they could take the camp on their own, but Thomas was only just realising how difficult it would be. Unlike the last camp, these goblins were organised. It was like comparing the stone age to medieval. The camp consisted of two watchtowers, three small tents, and one larger main tent. He guessed the watchtowers were about twenty feet high. The goblins would easily have the advantage in terms of range. A group of them were roaming around, drinking and moving torches clashing against the darkness. Thomas thought they were too drunk to pay attention, and so in the patch of tall grass, he thought he could shuffle closer, trying to get a better view. He noticed how his tracking skill came in useful, seeing the paths goblins took in rough detail. He grew a slight grin as a new notification popped up. Notifications (1)
Level up! Stealth II +10% harder to see, +10% harder to hear. Your essence becomes more adaptive with the environments, your farts even start to smell like the bush you¡¯re hiding in.
Thomas saw a scuffling in the torchlight, a couple of goblins had launched at each other. Approaching even closer Thomas shuffled through some tall grass and managed to make out enough of the goblin¡¯s features to tell them apart. It was then he saw him, sitting on a log in front of the fire, the glow of the fire glinting off cleaner bits of the dark armour adorned with bone. It was the goblin that murdered him. Thomas backed off. He tried to signal at Robert to say he was coming back but before he did he noticed that one of the goblins was walking up to the fire. It was a goblin they had been following. The goblin scuffling nervously as he walked up to their leader. Thomas couldn¡¯t make out the conversation but saw that the goblin was almost immediately slapped down with the backhand of a gauntlet. The leader pointed in multiple directions across the camp and non-armoured goblins started sprinting around the perimeter. The armoured goblins had barely moved, instead just staring into the fire. Suddenly the leader pointed at Thomas and let out shouts ¡°There!!¡± he shouted. Thomas immediately got up and ran, but a goblin with a crossbow jumped out from one of the tents, looked at Thomas and fired, hitting him in the leg. Robert came out into the open, but in response, Thomas shouted: ¡°RUN!¡±. Robert started running back. He got around to the crevice that lead to the camp but suddenly Robert was grabbed by the scruff of his collar. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Seras asked. ¡°Thomas, he¡¯s in there!¡± Robert replied, hastily pointing towards the glowing camp. ¡°What the fuck did you guys do?¡± A moment passed whilst Seras tried to suppress her annoyance in an effort to comfort Robert. She put her hand on his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯ll be ok, I have a plan,¡± she said. Then Robert noticed, she was standing next to a barrel of the black oozing slime.