《Reincarnated in Quality Assurance》 Ch 1 - Ten thousand years a microbe Marke opened his eyes to see a person sitting across from him at a very fancy office desk. The desk had darkly stained wood with bright white inlay showing the outline of a grinning face like a goblin smile emoji. The person was leaning back in a dark leather chair and looking at a piece of white paper. The person wore a dark suit and had dark hair and dark skin. Actually, Marke realized, the whole office is dark. He tried to look down at himself but only saw a dark padded chair. Odd. I had a body last time I checked. The person put down the paper and turned their white eyes to Marke. ¡°It¡¯s true, you had a body. Then you died. Report says you were hit by a truck. Classic.¡± The person¡¯s voice was¡­ dark. I need a thesaurus. Thought Marke. Oh, I guess you are reading my thoughts. Makes sense. No mouth. The Person nodded. ¡°Yes. Well Mark, we ha-¡° Marke. Marke Clarke. Marke interrupted. The person have a small sigh. Sorry. Please continue. Marke thought. ¡°Marke Clarke. On behalf of RealmZZ Inc (hereafter refered to as ¡®RIZZ¡¯), welcome to the afterlife interview. During your last life, RIZZ purchased your reincarnation mortgage as part of bulk asset acquisition. However, our underwriters are concerned that your mortgage doesn¡¯t meet the RIZZ profitibility standards. Your lives have been mediocre, uninspiring, bland, small, -¡° WOW. Marke interrupted again. The dark person continued without stopping. ¡°- basic, and lacking advancement. If this trend were allowed to continue, the underwriters expect that you would be unable to pay an installment on your debt within five lifetimes. In the event that you fail to make a payment, RIZZ would call in the loan and file to garnish your reincarnation allotments. You would be obligated to reincarnate as a microbe for a cumulative lifespan of ten thousand years.¡± Marke blanched. Or, he would have blanched, if he had a face with which to blanche. I don¡¯t like that idea! Marke thought. The dark person tapped their fingers on the desk. The sound echoed around the room like the final echo of the outer door of the crypt. I¡¯ve never even seen a crypt. Why would I know that? Marke asked not-aloud. Dark person continued. ¡°To avoid the loss of income to RIZZ from your lackluster lives, ¡° OUCH. Thought Marke. ¡°RIZZ has authorized me, DEATH, to give you two options that might allow you to avoid ten thousand years (or approximately ninty billion reincarnations) as an insignificant spec. Would you like to hear the options?¡± YES. Thought Marke. PLEASE YES. ¡°I thought you might. Be aware that either option could still result in the ¡®microbe scenario¡¯. Here is the first option.¡± DEATH waved a hand and a generic human person appeared. ¡°Instead of taking a default reincarnation, you can increased your deathly payment amount by taking multiple negative attributes. For example: You could be unlucky. ¡° The human person suddenly had a black eye and a missing shoe. ¡°You could be born a Virgo¡± The human person suddenly looked terribly sad. ¡°You could be born as the second in a set of twins¡± The human person suddenly lost the other shoe and was cowering in the shadow of some larger person. ¡°And you could be allergic to cheese.¡± The human person suddenly had tears running down their face as they gripped their stomach in one hand. The other hand shoved a block of cheese into the person¡¯s mouth. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. OH NO! Marke cowered in fear from the terrible sight before him. Death waved their hand again and the human person vanished. ¡°There are a plentitude of negative attributes to pick from, but they would need to be equally serious to these four. The benefit to you is that adversity in life often leads to greater inspiration, or so I am told.¡± What¡¯s the other option? Marke tried to stop his mental voice from squeeking. ¡°The other option is for you to take on a contract with a subsidiary of RIZZ called ¡®Quality Assurance: Realm Kit¡¯ or ¡®QuARK¡¯. If you perform the work to a satisfactory level, your debt would be wiped out and you would continue on to the next reincarnation as a normal, unburdened soul.¡± DEATH stopped speaking and sat very still. Marke might have thought that DEATH looked like they were lying but trying not to look like they were lying, but Marke did not want DEATH to hear anything like that from him. What sort of work would it be? Marke asked. QuARK makes it sound like they build universes or something. ¡°Not quite, but it¡¯s related to that. You would be testing realms currently under development to make certain they meet a certain standard.¡± DEATH still showed awkward lying-not-lying body language. Um. Can you tell me anything more? Marke was starting to smell something fishy. ¡°If you don¡¯t like these options you can choose to reincarnate again and just cross your finders and hope that ¡®This Time Will Be Different!¡¯ RIZZ has already retained my services during this interview and your choice does not affect my compensation.¡± DEATH clasped their hands and placed them on the desk somewhat awkwardly, like they had forgotten what people do with hands while speaking. Marke tried to ask another question, but DEATH interrupted. ¡°Please make your choice now.¡± Marke took a deep breath. Or he thought about taking a deep breath, which was close enough. Will there be cheese if I choose to work for QuARK? DEATH hesitated, then spoke. ¡°Yes. I imagine there will be cheese possible.¡± Possible cheese is better than no cheese. I choose QuARK. Thank you. Marke thought about sticking out his hand to shake on it. Ha, shaking hands with death. ¡°Excellent choice, Marke Clarke. You may receive a brief survey later about your experience today, please fill that out so we can continuously improve our customer service experience. See you soon.¡± DEATH winked and waved his hand. Ch 2 - First day Marke opened his eyes- Wait! Do I even have eyes this time? Marke looked around and found himself in a different office. The desk was grey speckled plastic and had a warped surface. That is a folding table. Thought Marke. A person sat across the desk/table, wearing a grey speckled suit. Is that a folding suit? ¡°Yes, THANK YOU, Marke Clarke. You now work for QuARK, and I think you¡¯ll find that my desk is the envy of the whole office.¡± The grey person sounded very annoyed. Marke couldn¡¯t quite make out their face for some reason, but he imagined that they looked annoyed too. ¡°My name is Stuark, and I am your direct supervisor.¡± The person pronounced their name ¡®stew-ark¡¯. ¡°You qualified for this opportunity due to your name ending in a K sound and your admittedly limited experience with Quality Assurance in your most recent life.¡± I got this job because I was a QA engineer? Wait, I got this job because of my name? Marke determined that his ability to keep his mouth shut was drastically hampered by having no mouth. ¡°All QuARK employees and contractors have such names. Please allow me to CONTINUE with your orientation.¡± Stuark was obviously glaring, even without a visible face. ¡°We draw our clients from realm building entities that seek certifications for their realms. These certifications are often crucial for future funding and tourism, so it¡¯s important to get the highest quality certification¡ªthat means QuARK certification. Your job is to enter realms that have been submitted for certification and test their System integrity.¡± System integrity, like checking all the laws of physics are consistent? Marke asked. ¡°No! not ¡®system integrity¡¯, ¡®System integrity¡¯. The integrity of the System!¡± The Stuark shouted at Marke, which Marke thought was pretty unprofessional. I don¡¯t know what that means. Marke calmly replied. Calm is always the best response to an emotional coworker (makes them look unreasonable). ¡°Oh please. It¡¯s the big computer program that runs all the aspects of your life. Gives you a class, tracks your levels, quests, attributes. All that stupid stuff.¡± Stuark rolled their eyes so hard that Marke could hear it. My last life had nothing like that outside of games. That comment was somewhat defensive, so Marke tried to quickly think of the next step of the conversation that would make him come out on top somehow, but he didn¡¯t think of it in time. Stuark¡¯s voice was harsh and condescending. ¡°If you haven¡¯t learned what you need in order to do your job, that¡¯s your own failing. Try being a professional and shut your mouth. Maybe if you listen more and talk less, you¡¯ll pick up enough to squeak by.¡± Marke was about to object, but Stuark stood and interrupted. ¡°I said shut up! And don¡¯t go whining to HR about this either. I. Will. Ruin. You.¡± Stuark pointed a threatening finger at Marke. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Angry and flustered, Marke could only turn his head, think about folding his arms, and scoff. As if. Stuark sat down. ¡°Your contract is for one thousand and one realms tested. You incarnate in a realm and try everything you can think of to break the System. You break the system, the realm fails certification. The realm fails certification, the client pays us later to try again. Profits go up with every System you break or cause someone else to break. Do you have any questions?¡± Marke did have a question, yes. Wh- ¡°¡¯What if I¡¯m really stupid and I die in a client¡¯s realm?¡¯ you ask? Well, ¡®incarnation¡¯ is much cheaper than ¡®re-incarnation¡¯ so we can afford a few horrendous deaths on your part. That being said, incarnation isn¡¯t free, so you are incentivized to avoid death. There is a pool set up for your incarnations, after one thousand and one realms, any remaining incarnations are credited to you as bonus compensation. If you finish with a negative balance in your incarnation pool then you default to the original consequence of whatever brought you in on this contract.¡± Stuark held up a paper and pantomimed reading some very small text. ¡°DEATH put in his notes something about ¡®the microbe scenario¡¯. Sounds pretty awful.¡± Marke tried again. But wh- ¡°What if I¡¯m extra stupid and can¡¯t break some dumb System? Well, I guess you die of old age, you use up an incarnation from your poll, and the realm gets certified. Up to you to decide if forcing a different death to try again is worth it to you, but don¡¯t think you can just sit on your ass and wait out all one thousand and one realms¡ªI won¡¯t say how big your pool is, but it is smaller than that. Any other questions?¡± Marke thought quickly, How- ¡°Great! Now for some on the job training. Your first realm is a freebie that we know will break because it was built by the boss¡¯s boss¡¯s boss¡¯s idiot son. So-¡° Stuark froze. ¡°Oh, uh¡­ Don¡¯t repeat that. It would get us both in trouble in a big way. Tell you what, I¡¯ll add a hundred incarnations to your pool if you promise to forget that.¡± Stuark sounded fairly nervous, so Marke took a moment to let the grey person sweat. Humph. Fine. But- ¡°Excellent! That¡¯s a promise! And away you go, have fun!¡± Stuark slapped a big red button that was suddenly in the middle of the table.
Marke opened his eyes to a realm of blue and green. Marke blinked. ¡°Oh! Real eyes now! Nice.¡± He looked down at himself. A blocky torso sat on two brown-ish logs which were planted in a solid green plain. He looked up at a solid blue sky. ¡°Ok¡­ pretty simple graphics.¡± A voice boomed out, so loud it shook him from his feet, and he fell to the ground. ¡°WELCOME _PLAYERNAME_. CLASS SELECTION.¡± Marke wasn¡¯t sure how the voice pronounced the underscores so clearly, but they were there. Marke used his brown-ish stick arms to lever himself back up on his legs. He looked around. ¡°Hello?¡± There was no response. ¡°How do I select my class?¡± Marke held his arms up to protect his ears. Still no response. Marke walked in a circle with his stiff legs to see if there was some message somewhere or landmark. There was nothing. ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s happening here. Oh well. Status?¡± The voice boomed out again. ¡°ERROR NO CLASS¡±. And with no more warning, the realm shattered.
Marke opened his eyes again across from the grey Stuark. ¡°And that¡¯s pretty much the basics. Got it? Good! See you one thousand realms from now. Good luck!¡± Stuark pushed an even bigger red button that appeared on the grey table. Ch 3 - Enter your name Marke opened his eyes to see the inside of a stone cave. I have been opening my eyes way too much recently. Thought Marke. He glanced around, but the cave was completely bare. Sunlight shone through an exit at the end of a short tunnel. A blue rectangle popped up right in front of his face. Marke gave a small scream before reading it. It had a short prompt followed by two buttons.
Welcome Hero! Enter your name: Ok ---- Cancel
¡°My name? I guess¡­ Wait no I¡¯m supposed to break things. Cancel. Cancel.¡± The rectangle did not respond to his words, so Marke tried tapping the ¡®cancel¡¯ button with his finger. The rectangle disappeared. Marke took a step forward. A second box popped up, just as blue as the first.
Please enter your name: Ok ---- Cancel
Marke pushed cancel again. The box reappeared a moment later. Marke pushed cancel a few more times, then just walked out of the cave. The blue rectangle floated along in front of him, blocking much of his view. Marke walked out of the cave. Turning around, he saw that the cave was in the side of a tan cliffside that stretched up higher than he could see. Around him, he saw a forest of thin brown trees. ¡°Wish I had someone to talk to. This is gonna get boring all by myself, walking in the wilderness.¡± Marke walked forward into the forest with no particular urgency. As he walked he took a look at himself. He seemed human, and in a body mostly like the one he remembered from his most recent life. He wore plain brown clothing and thin brown shoes. ¡°Guess I better start to love brown. Wish I had a mirror. What if my face is different? Will I go nuts trying to make my face fit my memories? Or maybe it will just be like when I save off a long beard and look goofy for a few days.¡± Marke stepped around a tree and slid carefully down into a gully. A clump of brown mushrooms grew on a fallen branch in the bottom of the gully. Marke poked one of the mushrooms.
You have been poisoned ERROR no status sheet
The realm shattered.
Marke kept his eyes closed while he dealt with the aftereffects of breaking a whole realm. The shock of having an adrenaline spike due to the end of the realm clashed horribly with the shock of waking up in a fresh body which had no adrenaline. Marke¡¯s mind told him he should feel terrible, but he felt fine, which made him feel terrible. With a sigh, Marke opened his eyes. He was in a different cave. This cave was very dark and full of stalactites. A drop of water splashed him in the eye right as another rectangle appeared. This rectangle was also blue. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Welcome Hero! Please enter your name: Ok ---- Cancel
¡°Wow, it¡¯s exactly the same as the last one. Can I just push cancel again?¡± Marke pushed the cancel button. The realm shattered.
Marke opened his eyes. ¡°That was even worse than the last one! Who is building these realms?? Another rectangle, another dollar, am I right?¡± Marke looked around to see a pine forest around him. The rectangle- ¡°Rectangle is too long. I¡¯m a busy man. You are a box now.¡± The box popped up with the same message as before.
Welcome Hero! Please enter your name: Ok ---- Cancel
Marke pushed the cancel button. The realm shattered.
¡°This is the easiest job I¡¯ve ever had.¡± Marke opened his eyes to a cave. This time, he was laying on his back, staring up at a sandstone ceiling. He sat up. A grey box appeared.
Welcome. Enter your name: _______________________
¡°That¡¯s innovation right there folks, a text field. Um, how do I type though?¡± Marke looked around as though maybe a keyboard had been carelessly dropped in the cave somewhere. No keyboard, but Marke found the cave exit tunnel. He stood and tried to walk through the exit but bumped his face on an invisible barrier blocking the tunnel. ¡°Ow.¡± The grey box pulsed, drawing his attention back to it. ¡°Hmph. Enter. Ok. Accept. Skip¡± The text box did not respond to these commands. ¡°Ah, finally a foe worthy of my skills. One two three four five six seven eight nine zero.¡± The text box populated with the characters: ¡°1234567890¡±. ¡°Oh hey that worked. Wait no.¡±
1234567890 Accepted Choose your class
¡°Dang it.¡± Marke blinked as a box popped up with a list of class names. The list faded at the bottom of the box, showing that it could be scrolled. Marke scrolled to the bottom of the list then tried to scroll past the bottom. He tried little wiggly motions to try and fake the list into scrolling ¡°up¡± but actually scrolling ¡°down¡±. None of that worked, so Marke tried it at the top of the list. Nothing unexpected happened. ¡°Bummer. Ok, what are these classes?¡± Marke tapped on the first class.
Aardvark Tamer A specialist in capturing and training mystic aardvarks. Gains advantage against formic opponents Select ---- Cancel
¡°That¡¯s it? No stat updates or whatever? Ok I guess ¡®cancel¡¯.¡± Marke tapped the cancel button, but the box did not return to the class list. The box changed to a familiar message:
Welcome. Enter your name: _______________________
Marke adopted an over-the-top villain voice. ¡°Ah ha! Now I know your weakness, box¡­ elder. No that¡¯s dumb. Man, I really need a keyboard.¡± A second box popped up around waist height with roughly a hundred little squares on it, each with a character in the center. ¡°Oh nice. Alrightydoky here we go.¡± Marke winced a little at his increasingly unhinged commentary. He took a breath and focused on the keyboard. Many of the characters were the ones he recognized but a few were completely unfamiliar to him. He tried pressing ¡°delete¡± and then ¡°enter¡±. The box did not accept this. Marke tried typing every single character on the keyboard, but nothing went wrong. ¡°Time to pull out the big guns.¡± Marke sat down to see if the keyboard would follow it. It did, so he lay down on the floor to be more comfortable. Marke pressed the ¡®a¡¯ character and held it down. The text field filled up with ¡®a¡¯s and then scrolled its contents off to the left. Marke intended to hold down the character until he fell asleep, but the text field stopped accepting more characters after about 10 minutes. ¡°Size limit. Kind of a big limit but whatever. Let¡¯s try it.¡± Marke pressed ¡°enter¡±. The box changed to just show a wall of ¡®a¡¯s. Marke figured this was the ¡°choose your class¡± box and the list would pop up next. The next box might have been the list of classes, but it the text on it was all just junk characters with a bunch of ¡®a¡¯s mixed in. ¡°Gotcha.¡± Marke said. He reached out to scroll the list and the realm shattered. Ch 4 - Sunburn damage Marke opened his eyes to see a white void all around him. Marke started complaining. ¡°Why can¡¯t I incarnate with my eyes already open? Why do I have to go from eyes open to eyes closed every time?¡± No one answered. A box popped up with a short message.
Name:
Marke thought firmly towards the box. Cancel. Exit. No. Skip. Enter. But nothing happened. He tried speaking. ¡°Hello?¡± The box changed.
Name: Hello. Confirm?
¡°No¡± Marke said. Verbal input, so I have to say the name. Let¡¯s see what it thinks is a name. Marke took a deep breath and screamed as long and loud as he could. The box changed.
Name: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA¡­.. Confirm?
¡°Wow, ok, I can be impressed with that. No.¡± The box reset. Marke reached up and rubbed his chin for a minute. He got a bit distracted and ran his fingers over his whole face and scalp to feel the stubble on his skin. He shook his head and readied himself. He began making nonsense sounds like little mouth squeaks, raspberries, quacks, and pops. The whole while he clapped his hands over and over. When he finished, the box updated.
Name: ? ? ? ? ? ?. Confirm?
Marke raised his eyebrows in surprise. ¡°Ah, well you got me. Yes.¡± The box changed.
Assign your attributes. Available points: 10 Name: ? ? ? ? ? ? Str: 0 (-/+) Dex: 0 (-/+) Con: 0 (-/+) Int: 0 (-/+) Done
Marke reached out and pressed the plus next to ¡®Str¡¯, the number went up by one, and the available points reduced by one. He pressed the minus and the process reversed. He clicked the minus again, but nothing happened. Then Marke pressed the minus next to ¡®Dex¡¯ and smiled as the number went from zero to negative one, and the available points went up to 11. ¡°This one goes up to eleven!¡± Marke laughed and continued pressing the minus button on ¡®Dex¡¯. Marke continued pulling points from dex until the number read ¡®-2000¡¯, then he pressed the plus next to ¡®Con¡¯ to raise it up to ¡®2000¡¯. He put the original 10 points into ¡®Int¡¯, then pressed the ¡¯done¡¯ button.
Welcome to _WORLDNAME_
¡°Oof. Forgot the realm name, that¡¯s embarrassing¡± Marke watched the white void around him fade to reveal a vista of grassy hills under a grey blue sky. Marke held very still. He tried to look around but instead he held very still. He tried to move his legs or arms. He tried to blink. Marke continued to hold very still. Oh no I can¡¯t move! Ohonononononononon¡­ Marke spend some time panicking in complete stillness. The sky above the hills began to lighten and shift to regular sky blue. Marke managed to get his panic somewhat under control by focusing on the changes outside himself. A sunbeam peaked over the distant hills on Marke¡¯s left and the day began. The sunlight warmed Marke¡¯s skin. After about twenty minutes, Marke had stopped panicking completely and was miserably bored. He couldn¡¯t move his eyes to watch the grass move in the breeze or track birds in the sky. His left side was damp with sweat. There isn¡¯t even anything interesting to listen to in this dumb realm. Marke thought grumpily. My left side is getting uncomfortably warm. Status? A box popped up. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Name: ? ? ? ? ? ? Str: 0 Dex: -2000 Con: 2000 Int: 10
I guess if I had put Int at zero I would just be standing here drooling. Marke internally sighed. His status suddenly disappeared, and another box replaced it and quickly cycled through a series of messages, almost too fast for Marke to read.
Sunburn damage. 0 damage Damage fully mitigated, applying reflected damage to attacker Sun takes 1 damage Sun dies. Experience Awarded
What??? Marke thought. I killed the sun by being too tough? How would that- Marke¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by the sun exploding. The sky was suddenly covered with white and red fire. The fire rushed down from the sky and annihilated everything in sight. Marke held perfectly still as the fire passed him by and left an emptiness all around him.
Nova damage. 0 damage Damage fully mitigated, applying reflected damage to attacker ERR takes 75000 damage ERR damage. 0 damage Damage fully mitigated, applying reflected damage to attacker Self takes 75000 damage Self Damage. Received ERR damage
The realm shattered. Yes! Finally! Marke rejoiced.
Marke kept his eyes closed after he appeared in the next realm. He spent a long time just slowly moving all his limbs and sobbing through the repressed emotions from being paralyzed. When he opened his eyes, he saw yet another cave. This cave had blue and white crystals all over. A crystal-looking box popped up.
Name: _
Marke sighed and wiped his face dry on his rough brown clothes. ¡°I need a break.¡±
Name: Ineedabreak. Select your class: - Body - Arcane - None
Marke¡¯s tired emotions suddenly flared into anger. ¡°What the hell kind of classes are those? How could- Any- Stupid¡­ NONE!¡± The box disappeared and a status box appeared. Marke waved it away without reading it and stomped out of the cave. He exited the cave tunnel onto a wet gravel bank of a quickly flowing stream. Marke found a mostly dry boulder and sat down on it. He stared at the stream for a while. The sound of rushing water slowly brought Marke around to a stable state of mind. He shifted on the boulder to sit crossed-legged. ¡°Marke.¡± He said to himself. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work like this. I can¡¯t just rush through one thousand and one realms in an afternoon, it¡¯s too disorienting and exhausting. Too fast. How long have I even been doing this for? An hour? Two hours? How many realms have I done?¡± Marke tried to count in his head but lost track multiple times. He jumped down from the boulder and picked up a small rock. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s try and write it out. First one was the freebie realm.¡± Marke scratched ¡®1 - F¡¯ into the top of the boulder. ¡°Then the brown one with the mushrooms.¡± He scratched ¡®2 ¨C B¡¯ into the boulder. He continued counting realms until he arrived at a completed list.
1 ¨C F 2 ¨C B 3 ¨C C 4 ¨C C ? ¨C C? 5 ¨C AAA 6 ¨C S 7 ¨C X
¡°It¡¯s only been seven or eight realms and I already lost track. Can¡¯t remember how many broke with the cancel button.¡± Marke turned and tossed his rock scribe into the stream. He looked up and down stream. ¡°Let¡¯s go up.¡± Marke began to hike upstream as he continued to talk to himself. ¡°I need some priorities and some sort of schedule. I can¡¯t take a journal between realms, but that would be nice for taking notes and counting realms. Ok, top priority: Don¡¯t Suffer. Being paralyzed was bad, very surprising and very bad. Do not get any permanent affliction.¡± Marke Jumped across a gap between large stones in the stream. ¡°Second priority: Don¡¯t Die. Living it up in these realms isn¡¯t gonna be worth ten thousand years of microbial¡­¡± Marke paused for a second, trying to finish the line with a joke. ¡°Ten thousand years of microbial Marke. So don¡¯t die. Third priority: Take Breaks. I guess that should be ¡®Self Care¡¯. I won¡¯t break realms if I have a panic attack every time I have to enter my name¡ªI need to take care of myself so I don¡¯t break down. Fourth-¡° Marke stumbled on a stick poking out of a patch of mud. He regained his balance and continued his hike upstream. ¡°Fourth priority: Hobbies. I¡¯m not just here to do QuARK¡¯s wark, er, work. I want to do things that I want to do. I might be in these realms a long time and I want to have more of a life than just breaking things. Last priority: Break Realms. Simple enough.¡± Marke scrambled up the side of the ravine and came out onto flat ground. Above him, twin moons hung in the sky across from a pale white sun. Storm clouds slowly boiled in the distance, and sparse shrubs shifted in the wind across a wide plain. ¡°Nice.¡± Marke said. Ch 5 - Million Year Eclipse Marke spent twenty minutes or so resting from the climb out of the ravine. He spent the next ten minutes trying to figure out if drinking unfiltered, slightly muddy stream water went against his brand new first priority: ¡®Don¡¯t Suffer¡¯. ¡°I guess dying of thirst would be pretty miserable, and I think this stream only appears after a storm, so I guess that means it won¡¯t be full of giardia.¡± Marke shook his head and knelt in the mud to scoop water up to his mouth. The mud didn¡¯t change the color of his clothing in the slightest. Thirst quenched, Marke took a more careful survey of his surroundings. ¡°Priority two: Don¡¯t Die. I have water, I need shelter and then food. I think that¡¯s the right order.¡± He shaded his eyes from the increasing sunlight and looked as far as he could. Towards the sun (on his right), there was maybe something like a forest. Towards the storm (in front of him), Marke only saw more scrubby plains. Towards the moons (on his left), Marke was sure there were some mountains. Behind Marke was the ravine, and beyond that looked like more ravines and canyons and things like that. Marke ¡®hmm¡¯ed to himself. ¡°Open plains are bad for water and shelter and probably food. Forest is good for shelter and food and probably water. Mountains are bad for everything except maybe water. Canyons are too much work. Winner, forest!¡± He immediately turned and walked towards the sun. As Marke walked across the drying scrubby plain, the sun rose slowly in the sky. Before the ground completely dried, Marke smeared mud all over his skin. ¡°I¡¯m not getting sunburned again so soon. Don¡¯t Suffer.¡± The light from the sun continued to increase in brightness, even though Marke was sure it was high enough in the sky that it should have been at full brightness already. The forest in the distance became more visible and took on a clear green color. Once the mud had fully dried, the walking became much easier and Marke tried to sing a song to pass the time. Unfortunately, his voice didn¡¯t act quite right and definitely didn¡¯t have the same range as his previous earth voice. He started making rhythmic grunts and huffs with partially voiced words. After several hours, he stopped walking and turned his face to the sun, eyes closed. ¡°Walking is so boring.¡± He put his hands on his hips and stood for a while, soaking up the warmth of the sun and listening to the breeze. The light suddenly dimmed and went cold. Marke opened his eyes and blinked quickly as the breeze suddenly roared. Instead of looking at the pale white sun, Marke found he was looking up at one of the moons, with a white halo surrounding it. ¡°Wha-? Eclipse?¡± Marke stuttered. Then he yelped as the leading edge of the sun moved past the edge of the moon. He clapped his hands to his eyes and rubbed furiously. Then he had to rub more carefully for a while to get the dried mud out of his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, a box floated in front of him.
New Title: Gaze upon the Million Year Eclipse. Shadow of the Moon. Hidden class awarded: Soul Eclipser
Marke scratched the back of his head. ¡°Um, ok cool. Is that good? I guess if it¡¯s once every million years it should probably be good.¡± Marke looked around just to confirm he was alone. ¡°No one else around to be gazing, so I¡¯m probably the only one who will have this. What does it do? Status?¡±
Name: ineedabreak Class: Soul Eclipse Level: 0
¡°Super. So helpful.¡± Marke waved the box away and continued walking towards the forest.
Marke began to notice evidence of wildlife. There were little mouse tracks in the dried mud and occasional holes in the ground under the roots of the prickly bushes. Something like a hawk or eagle began circling overhead shortly after the sun passed midday. Marke was not happy about this new companion. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m not dead! Leave me alone you vulture!¡± The flying creature did not seem to care about the noise from its future meal. Marke looked around to find rocks to throw but quickly gave up. Maybe the forest would have rocks.
Marke reached the edge of the forest in midafternoon. He was sweaty, sunburned, irritated, hungry, and very thirsty. The mud had dried and flaked off his skin several hours earlier. He turned back towards the dry and dusty plains to shout his defiance. ¡°I should have pooped on you!¡± Then he flipped the bird at the bird which still circled above him. A chill swept over Marke as the light died suddenly. He stumbled back. ¡°Woah, I didn¡¯t mean it! I¡¯m sorry!¡± He looked up at the sun and found that it was behind the other moon. This moon clearly orbited the planet much more slowly that it¡¯s twin. Marke again clapped his hands to his eyes as the sun struck out from behind the moon. ¡°Ow! Dang it!¡± Another box waited for Marke when he opened his eyes.
New Title: Gaze upon the daily eclipse. Shadow of the Sun Hidden reward for Soul Eclipse: Gain a level each time you observe an eclipse
¡°What.¡± Was all Marke could say before another box appeared.
Level + 1 New traits available New skills available Stat points available
Marke shuddered as he read the words ¡®Stat points¡¯. He turned away from the box and walked quickly into the forest. ¡°Whatever. Priority three: Self Care. I¡¯m taking a nap just as soon as I find a place for it.¡± The forest was mostly clear of underbrush, so Marke just went in a straight line away from the setting sun. He stopped at a dead tree to break off a limb to use as a walking stick. The limb shattered as it broke from the trunk, leaving Marke with a short section of brittle wood. Marke made an exaggerated pout face at the stick and tried a silly whimper. His new voice made it sound like a constipated toddler. ¡°I guess I could try and make a fire with this dry wood. Not any shelter nearby though. Let¡¯s try the green branches.¡± Marke walked over to a living tree and tried to snap off a low branch. The branch resisted snapping, but eventually splint enough that Marke could tear it off the trunk. ¡°Success! Time to build a hut or something.¡± Marke tossed the branch behind himself and got to work on the next low branch. After half an hour he had a pile of branches and a pile of blisters. Marke looked down at the branches uncertainly. ¡°This seemed more like a good plan before I realized I don¡¯t know how to make a hut. A shed? A lean-to?¡± He rubbed his dirty chin with one hand. ¡°Priority one: Don¡¯t Suffer. I don¡¯t want to sleep on the ground. Priority two: Don¡¯t Die. I don¡¯t want something to come up and bite me while I sleep. How do I accomplish this?¡± He picked up a branch and examined the leaves. They were really more like large green snake scales and not soft. ¡°Maybe sleeping on the ground would be better than these leaves. Can I just dig a little burrow under the pile of branches?¡± Marke began to pull grass and other small plants out of a flat spot of ground near the dead tree. He used the broken stick from earlier to dig a shallow grave in the middle. ¡°Gah! Don¡¯t call it a grave! It¡¯s not a grave. Oh gosh, it¡¯s a grave. I can¡¯t sleep in this. Ok-ok-ok. It¡¯s a ¡®fire pit¡¯ now. It¡¯s for fire.¡± He piled a bunch of dry deadwood in the fire pit and began to drag the green branches over to surround the fire pit. He tried a few different arrangements for the branches and settled on just making a sort of dome by layering circles of branches. He pulled the final branch over top of himself as he crouched down into the very uncomfortable leaves of the smaller branches that stuck off the side of each and every branch he used in the dome. As the light from the sun faded, Marke spent an eternity and a fair amount of popped blisters to weave the smaller branches back into the dome to both make it stronger and keep them away from Marke. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow.¡± Marke complained to himself as he stuck his bleeding hands under his armpits and pressed down on them. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow.¡± Marke remarked as he looked at the pile of deadwood in the fire pit. There was too much; if he started a fire with that pile, the dome would catch and he would end up roasting in his own juices. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow.¡± Marke said as he scooted on his butt to kick the deadwood pile over to the side of the dome with his feet. He carefully selected a few sticks to try and make a small fire closer to the far side of the dome from the pile of fuel. After a few attempts, Marke decided that his new body didn¡¯t have enough dexterity in his feet to rub two sticks together, so he would have to use his hands. His feet hurt, so Marke took off his shoes. He stared at his shoes for several moments before wincing. ¡°I¡¯m an idiot. Idiot Marke.¡± The shoes were not stiff soled and were really just leather foot wraps. Marke placed the footwraps on his hands and picked up a small stick. He braced a larger stick with his feet and got down to the business of inventing fire. Ch 6 - Poison (Minimal) Marke lay panting in the dirt. He had ground the little stick into sawdust against a notch in the bigger stick. When the first stick failed, he had picked up another small stick and tried again. He went through five sticks before a bit of smoke twisted slowly up from the pile of sawdust. The sixth stick broke in half as it spun, but the seventh stick left red glowing patches in the sawdust. Marke had carefully blown on those little embers until they burst into flame right in his face. He turned his head toward the jolly little fire and smiled. ¡°I probably don¡¯t have eyebrows anymore.¡± He said. Marke soon spotted a problem: the leaves in the dome directly above the fire were wilting and blackening. ¡°Oops!¡± Marke observed. He used a larger stick to try and push the fire more towards the middle of the fire pit and the middle of the dome. The fire broke apart and he nearly had a heart attack thinking he would have to grind more sticks to get it started again. He piled the embers back together and breathed a sigh of relief when the flames started up again. Since he didn¡¯t want to accidentally light the whole dome on fire, Marke laid down between the little fire and the pile of fuel. When the fire reduced to embers, he added a few sticks on top to catch fire. Marke watched the fire for hours, thinking about nothing in particular, until he fell asleep. Marke woke up shivering from the cold. A dim grey light was visible through the gaps in his dome, so Marke figured it was morning. ¡°Ow.¡± He greeted the world. Marke didn¡¯t want to get up, but he had to pee really badly. ¡°Why does camping make me have to pee so early? This isn¡¯t even the same body but it¡¯s the same thing as on earth.¡± Marke said as he sat up. He managed to tie his footwraps back on with stiff and scabbed hands, then push aside the branch that covered the top of the dome. ¡°Humm¡­ I didn¡¯t think about how to get out of here.¡± The top of the dome came up to Marke¡¯s chin and he wasn¡¯t sure his body could hop up that high. He did manage to get his knees up on top the dome without ripping open his hands too badly, but he tripped and rolled off the side of the dome to the ground. ¡°Ow.¡± Marke insisted. After a quick look around, Marke jogged over to a tree and relieved himself. ¡°Priority two: Don¡¯t Die.¡± Marke reminded himself. ¡°I desperately need water and I might need to return to this shelter tonight.¡± Marke rubbed the stubble on his still dusty chin. ¡°Priority five: Break Systems. I guess I could benefit from investigating the traits and stats and things I got yesterday. Could help me survive and be ready to break the system later. Status.¡±
Name: ineedabreak Class: Soul Eclipse Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Level: 1 Stat Points: 1
¡°Stats?¡± Marke guessed.
Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Endurance: 1 Intelligence: 1 Soul: 1
¡°Assign stat points.¡± Marke sounded more confident about this one. The box with his stats updated to have plusses next each stat. Marke had a brief panic attack as his mind flashed back to when he had 2000 Con but was paralyzed by 0 Str. It took a great deal of mental resolve for Marke to push the plus next to ¡®Endurance¡¯, bumping it to 2. The plusses vanished. Marke raised one eyebrow and looked disgusted. ¡°No confirmation window? Geez, nobody better make any mistakes.¡± Marke tapped the stats box just to be sure it wouldn¡¯t do anything, then waved it away. ¡°What was it called? Oh right. Traits.¡±
Traits: 0/4
Marke put his face in the palm of his hand. ¡°I could do better than this. A little effort, is that too much to ask for? Assign traits.¡± A box popped up with the title, ¡°Available Traits:¡± Marke spent a minute scrolling the list to see if it would break. Now that he was aware that all decisions would be final, he carefully read each trait before choosing one. As he read, he walked downhill to try and find some water. By the third time he tripped over tree roots, he made his decision. He tapped ¡°True Soul¡± and the list disappeared. ¡°Traits.¡±
Traits: 1/4 True Soul ¨C See the Truth
¡°Vague much? Hope it¡¯s better than ¡®Sturdy Legs¡¯.¡± Marke looked around himself and realized that he was completely lost. ¡°Dang it! Oh well.¡± He continued walking downhill. The slope increased and Marke started to jog. His thirst was painful, but the cool morning air was slightly damp and made jogging easy. Marke nearly fell on his face when he jogged around a large rock and found a tiny stream seeping out from under the rock. He did stumble back and fall on his rear when a box popped up.
Water Poison (mild)
¡°Poison?? Aw man¡­¡± He got back up and looked downstream. ¡°I suppose if it joins up with more water, the poison might dilute enough so it won¡¯t do anything.¡± Marke turned and trudged downstream. The water disappeared into the ground before he had walked a hundred feet. Marke continued trudging downhill in case the water reappeared. When he finally found water again, his legs trembled with every step. A small pond rested in a depression between tree roots. A box popped up when Marke focused on the water.
Water Poison (minimal)
¡°Good enough!¡± croaked Marke. He knelt and scooped water into his mouth for a few minutes. When he couldn¡¯t drink any more water, he crawled over to a tree and crammed himself between two roots and fell asleep. Marke woke up a couple of hours later with a terrible feeling of hunger. He groaned as he levered himself out of the tree roots. His entire body ached and he felt weak. ¡°Priority one: Don¡¯t Suffer. I need food.¡± He placed his hands on the sides of his head and shook it slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to find food in a forest. How would an animal find food? Smell? Food needs water to grow; I can just follow the water and keep my eyes open.¡± With this figured out, Marke continued downhill. Ch 7 - Basket Weaving When the sun was directly overhead, Marke arrived at a flat area full of berry bushes. Birds flew and hopped from bush to bush, stuffing their beaks with berries. Stuffing their beaks with Marke¡¯s berries. Stealing Marke¡¯s berries. Marke let out a wordless scream and ran at the nearest birds. He thrashed his arms around, trying to hit the birds off the bushes and out of the air. The birds scattered, then settled down on the other bushes. Marke grabbed berries as fast as he could and shoved them is his mouth, barely chewing. The berries were similar to raspberries but more sour, with the same annoying seeds. Once the bush was bare, Marke ran screaming to the next bunch of birds on a bush. This continued for multiple bushes before Marke remembered the boxes that started popping up recently. He focused on a berry.
Berry Diuretic (mild)
¡°I don¡¯t know what that means. Not Poison though.¡± Marke said. He went back to eating berries. Once he was full, tied his shirt into a bag and collected all the remaining berries. He finished clearing the last bush right as the sun dimmed. In the sudden chill, he looked up at the sun. The area with the bushes had no trees, so Marke could see the slow-moon eclipse clearly. He managed to put a hand in front of his eyes before the sun came back out to try and blind him.
Level + 1 New traits available New skills available Stat points available
Marke stared at the message box for several minutes. ¡°I am feeling overwhelmed again. Priority check. Food, water, no shelter, haven¡¯t filled my traits, haven¡¯t looked at skills, need to spend a stat point. I know that I can probably build another branch dome. I should spend that stat point first. Assign stat points.¡±
Strength: 1 (+) Agility: 1 (+) Endurance: 2 (+) Intelligence: 1 (+) Soul: 1 (+)
Marke tapped the plus for the Strength stat. ¡°Assign traits.¡± Marke sat on the ground with his berry bag shirt in his lap while he scrolled the traits. He chose ¡°Eclipse Sight¡± and pulled up his traits box.
Traits: 2/4 Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. True Soul ¨C See the Truth Eclipse Sight ¨C See the light and the dark
¡°Cross your fingers for seeing in the dark, people. Assign skills.¡± A new box popped up. The list of skills was similar to the list of traits, but many of them had a ¡®(locked)¡¯ modifier and listed an ¡®unlock requirements:¡¯ section. Marke was disappointed that there wasn¡¯t a ¡°Fire Magic¡± skill listed. He read through the unlock requirements of several skills but got bored with the inundation of information for which he lacked context. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll just flip a coin for one of the unlocked skills. Now where did I put that coin of mine?¡± Marke amused himself by checking his pants for pockets that might contain coins. He noticed a twig on the ground in the shape of a ¡®Y¡¯ and decided to use that instead. ¡°Ok, right twig wins: basket weaving. Left twig wins: intimidate.¡± He gripped each end of the ¡®Y¡¯ and pulled it apart. The twig broke high up on the left side. ¡°And basket weaving is the winner. Yippy.¡± He tapped ¡°Basket weaving¡± in the skill list. The berry bushes began to glow a dim red. Marke blinked a few times, then focused on a single bush.
Berry Bush Basket Material (poor)
¡°Neat.¡± Marke looked around to see if anything else lit up. Nothing did. ¡°Anyway, I need shelter for the night. Should I weave a basket to put over me like a tent? Those bushes look tough and prickly and my hands are still shredded. Maybe I can find an abandoned den or something? Oh shoot, are there bears?¡± Marke looked down nervously at his shirt-bag full of berries. ¡°I¡¯ll have to hang this up high and hope it¡¯s still there in the morning. Can I sleep in a tree?¡± Marke surveyed the nearby trees. ¡°Maybe? I could wedge some branches together to make a platform, but I have no confidence of not rolling off in the night. If my new trait lets me see in the dark, maybe I can just walk through the night and sleep during the day tomorrow.¡± With no better ideas, Marke resumed his downhill walk.
Marke was pleased to find that he could mostly see in the dark after night fell. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure if his new trait improved his sight because the slow moon was still in the sky and glowed brightly. Marke was a bit surprised when the fast moon rose and added its glow to the sky. ¡°I guess I was too preoccupied yesterday to chart the orbits of the moons. This moon sure is fast.¡± As Marke walked further into the forest, the slow moon stayed behind him and the fast moon raced across the sky to set in front of him. Marke was walking along the side of a stream when the light of the slow moon winked out. Marke spun around to face the slow moon. The moon was still hanging in the sky, but it was a dim and dark red color. Shocked, Marke nearly screamed when a box popped up.
New Title: Gaze upon the Nightly Eclipse. Shadow of the World. Hidden reward for Soul Eclipse: Gain a level for each nightly eclipse you could observe, even if you are asleep.
Level + 1 New traits available New skills available Stat points available
Marke waved the boxes away and continued watching the moon. The moon did not show any sign of lighting back up, so Marke looked around at the trees near him. He climbed into one that had branches hanging over the stream. From one of the overhanging branches, he hung his berry bag-shirt. He climbed a bit higher into the tree and tried to wedge himself in place. He didn¡¯t feel very secure, so he passed the time watching the moon and scrolling the new traits and skills. He nearly fell out of the tree when the moon lit back up. ¡°I¡¯m not having fun camping tonight.¡± He said into the darkness. Ch 8 - Hello Marke Marke sat in the tree all night without sleep. The fast moon zipped through the sky at least once in that time, but the slow moon didn¡¯t seem to move at all. When the sky lightened with approaching dawn, Marke climbed down and got his berry shirt-bag. He ate the rest of his berries and put his very sticky shirt back on. He climbed back up and relieved himself while standing on a branch just for kicks and giggles. Then he climbed down to the ground and had a drink a little upstream from the pee tree. ¡°Plan for today: assign stat point; assign trait; assign skill.¡± Three boxes popped up in response to his words and he waved them away impatiently. ¡°Then, walk downhill until noon. If I can¡¯t find shelter or food, nap anyway. Aaaaand break!¡± Marke mimed putting his hand out as though surrounded by teammates, then throwing that hand up above his head. ¡°Assign stat point.¡±
Strength: 2 (+) Agility: 1 (+) Endurance: 2 (+) Intelligence: 1 (+) Soul: 1 (+)
Marke tapped the plus on Agility. ¡°Assign trait.¡± He selected ¡°Second Soul¡± in the hopes that it was some sort of life saving mechanism. As the trait list disappeared, Marke felt lightning strike his brain and he blacked out.
Marke drifted in a sea of shadow. The surface of the sea of shadow was covered with an oil slick of light. Marke himself was split down the middle: half light, half dark. The interface between light and dark burned Marke¡¯s skin and he scratched at it without thinking. The burning grew worse and Marke began to thrash around in the shadow and light. Both hands scratched furiously at the line down his middle. Desperate to stop the burning, he gripped the skin on either side of the line and pulled. Marke tore himself in two.
Marke opened his eyes to see wooden slats. The slats were attempting to smash his face and break his nose. Marke rolled over onto his back and wondered if his nose had already broken. A cage cut the sky into pieces. The slats moved their attack to the back of his head. Marke groaned and tried to sit up. A voice yelled at him. Marke couldn¡¯t understand a work of it. He leaned over and threw up. The voice yelled louder. Marke leaned against the side of the cage and tried to find the owner of the voice. He thought that he was perhaps in a cart and the driver of the cart might be yelling, but before he could be sure, the sun went dark and the air chilled. Marke spotted the eclipse over the shoulder of the maybe-driver.
Level + 1 This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. New traits available New skills available Stat points available
¡°Put the stat point in endurance.¡± Marke whispered to himself. ¡°It will help you feel better.¡± Marke hopped that was true. ¡°ass¡­ stat. pnt¡± He slurred the words badly but the box popped up anyway. He lifted a wobbly arm and pushed the plus that he hoped was next to Endurance. He passed out again.
Marke opened his eyes and saw the cage again. This time, he understood that he was inside the cage, and the cage was moving. A person was driving the cart and some kind of animal pulled the cart. The sun was setting, but Marke could see clearly that they were driving on a paved road through something like a town. Short stone buildings lined the road and people were busy doing end of day activities, presumably. The cart stopped in front of an above average size building and the driver hopped down and entered the building. Some of the people looked at him, in the cage, but most people ignored him. That seems a bit odd. Are caged people so common here? Marke was happy to recognize a coherent thought in his own head. The driver returned with someone who was wearing fancier clothes. Marke belatedly realized that he was the only person in sight who was dressed in brown. The town people wore mostly blues and the fancy person had patches of red and white. The fancy person spoke. ¡°He looks half dead, Juma. How badly did you beat him before he surrendered?¡± The fancy voice was clearly copied directly from a world war one British officer. ¡°Unconscious already. I carry to cart. Only yell at. Captain Seshi, Captain Seshi¡± The driver¡¯s voice was drastically different from the fancy captain¡¯s voice. It sounded like a rabid muppet. The driver made two quick bows as he repeated the captain¡¯s name. ¡°Boy, how much health do you have?¡± This question was clearly directed at Marke as the captain spoke slowly and loudly. Marke blinked dumbly at the captain before replying. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The captain¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. ¡°Where are you from?¡± Marke could only repeat. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He tried to explain further. ¡°I woke up in a cave three days ago. I think it was three days.¡± ¡°By your speech you are an officer.¡± The captain narrowed his eyes. ¡°Or a prince.¡± The captain turned and called towards the building. Two probably-soldiers came out. The captain pointed to Marke. ¡°This is a captured enemy officer. Search him and lock him in one of the upper cells. Send the medic once he is locked up.¡± The captain led the driver back into the building as the two soldiers fumbled with the lock on Marke¡¯s cage. Eventually one of them broke the lock with a short sword and opened the door. Marke shuffled over to the door and offered no resistance as they pulled him out and set him on his feet. They marched him quickly around the back of the building and up a guarded staircase. The whole setup reminded Marke of cheap motels, the rooms even had bars on the windows. The soldiers ordered Marke to strip. They splashed a bucket of water over him and gave him a prisoner¡¯s uniform. The uniform looked exactly like the clothes they had just confiscated, only slightly cleaner and with no shoes. Marke lay down on a cot and fell asleep. He woke to a warm feeling infusing his body. ¡°You are in rough shape my friend. Do not move, I will leave you to sleep in just a moment.¡± The voice sounded like Tevye from the 1971 classic musical, ¡°Fiddler on the Roof¡±. Why is that memory so specific? Marke wondered. The owner of the voice left a minute later and Marke was alone in the dark room. ¡°Hello Marke.¡± Ch 9 - Here We Are Marke gave a brief scream and fell off the cot. His own voice laughed at him as he scrambled on the floor. A guard shone a light in and Marke had to squint his eyes. Wait, I actually don¡¯t have to squint my eyes. Marke found he could stare straight at the light without discomfort. ¡°Quiet.¡± The guard commanded. ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± Marke muttered as he stood up. ¡°Just a nightmare.¡± The guard held the light another moment and then pulled away. Marke¡¯s voice came again, ¡°Sorry, scaredy-cat. I¡¯ve been real bored all day while you¡¯ve been sleeping. I needed a bit of fun to make it worthwhile.¡± The voice seemed to come first from one side of the room and then moved swiftly to the other side. ¡°Who are you?¡± Marke asked quietly. ¡°The name¡¯s Lewis, nice ta meetcha!¡± The voice tried to imitate some cheesy accent but failed exactly as badly as Marke himself would have. Marke shook his head in confusion. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well, your name is Marke Clarke. I¡¯m your companion, your other half, whatever. Who is Clarke¡¯s partner? Lewis! Lewis and Clark. Tada!¡± Marke continued to shake his head. ¡°That¡¯s a terrible name, I don¡¯t want to be Louis and Clark.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. We can workshop a better name together. Maybe something from star trek? How about Kirk and Spock? Bert and Ernie? Sonny and Cher? Pete and¡­ Pete? That one¡¯s no good. How about Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Marke whispered firmly. ¡°Why do you need a name at all? Who are you? EXPLAIN.¡± ¡°Hmph. You¡¯re the one who took the ¡®Second Soul¡¯ trait, not me. Seems like you should be the one explaining.¡± The voice spun around Marke¡¯s head, sounding offended. ¡°You¡¯re the second soul?¡± Marke asked. ¡°Right on, Einstein. Wait no, I should be Einstein. Snoopy? Snoopy and¡­ that yellow bird guy?¡± The voice came from under the cot. ¡°You¡¯re the second soul?¡± Marke asked again. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Yeah man, you ripped me right out of you in that weird shadow sea thing. I don¡¯t know why I got shadow and you got light but here we are.¡± The voice came from inside Marke¡¯s shirt. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Marke nearly shouted in impatience but remembered the guard. ¡°I. Don¡¯t. Know.¡± The voice whispered harshly in Marke¡¯s ear. ¡°I¡¯ve been here less than a day with no one to talk to until just now. I¡¯ve got all the same memories as you right until you tore us apart. I watched as that hick dragged us through the forest and tossed us in a cart. I managed to wake you up long enough to see the eclipse and put a stat point in endurance. That might be the only reason we survived.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°How were we hurt? Did he drag us through acid or throw us in the cart really hard?¡± Marke could feel his mind slowly coming to grips with the existence of this second soul. ¡°No way, we were nearly dead right after the shadow sea thing. I have no idea why. What about something really off the wall? Vinny. Stumpy. Reggie. Sneezy. Doc. Marshal¡­ Tim.¡± ¡°Your names are terrible and you missed the most obvious one.¡± Marke folded his arms and tried to look smug. ¡°Oh yeah, dear original? What¡¯s the most obvious name that I completely missed?¡± The voice teased. ¡°I¡¯m Marke Clarke. You and me are ¡®Us¡¯. You came from me or we both split off the original or something. I am Marke. You are Clarke.¡± Marke grinned into the darkness. Several moments passed in silence. Marke heard a low murmur of Guards speaking outside. The silence dragged on. ¡°That¡¯s almost exactly the same as my first suggestion, except this time you are Lewis and I¡¯m Clark.¡± The voice managed to convey astonishment at Marke¡¯s foolishness. ¡°I¡¯m not Lewis; I¡¯m Marke!¡± Marke shout-whispered. ¡°Marke and Clarke. It makes sense.¡± ¡°Nah. But it did lead me to my final answer. Clarke. Clark Kent. Superman.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not calling you superman, that¡¯s absurd.¡± ¡°No! Call me Kent! I¡¯ll even spell it with that obnoxious trailing ¡®e¡¯ that we have. Kente. It¡¯s perfect.¡± The voice, Kente, trailed off in wistful tone. Marke sighed and shook his head. ¡°Marke Clarke and Kente Clarke? I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± ¡°You¡¯re jealous.¡± Kente teased in a sing-song voice. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s genius. Good night.¡± Marke laid down and closed his eyes. ¡°Sorry to keep you up, princess, but you have a problem to consider.¡± Kente¡¯s voice came from near the window. Marke opened his eyes. ¡°What problem?¡± From next to Marke¡¯s ear. ¡°Have you noticed how dark this cell is?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Marke said hesitantly. He looked at the dark window. He could see a handful of stars in the night sky. Realization hit him. ¡°I can¡¯t see the eclipses!¡± Marke¡¯s voice was filled with dread. ¡°I can¡¯t level!¡± Marke stood up and crammed his face into the bars of the window, but the slow moon was still out of sight. Marke returned to the cot and put his arm over his eyes. ¡°Did you see any water in this room?¡± ¡°Yup, there is a small bucket with a ladle on the floor over there.¡± Kente responded. ¡°Drink up, and then I need to train you on how to properly use the System. I figured out a bunch more menus during the cart ride.¡± ¡°You can use the System? Do you see my stats-our stats? Or your own stats?¡± Marke felt in the dark to find the water bucket. ¡°Also, why can¡¯t I see? Doesn¡¯t that one trait make me see in the dark?¡± Marke found the ladle and took a drink of water that tasted like wood. ¡°I don¡¯t think it ever did, we were just distracted and overwhelmed so we assumed it made us see in the dark. Also, we need to find a library. Also-also, I see our stats; the name says ¡®ineedabrake¡¯ so the System must be treating us like one entity. That might be the whole reason for the ¡®second soul¡¯ trait; two people, one level¡± Kente¡¯s voice came from the cot, as though he were laying down. Marke put the ladle back in the bucket. ¡°Kente.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Kente said. ¡°If we break the System in this realm, will you die?¡± Marke asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Kente said. ¡°If I die of old age, will you follow to the next realm?¡± Marke asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know that either.¡± Kente said. ¡°If we both split off from the original Marke, will I continue on to the next realm?¡± Kente didn¡¯t answer. Ch 10 - Captain Seshi Kente tutored Marke in the various screens and menu¡¯s he had discovered. Before he went to sleep, Marke was able to view his health, see his mana values, pull up a map, and write a log entry. Kente found that last one by saying ¡°Captain¡¯s Log¡± as a joke. There were several log entries that Kente had written already that all amounted to ¡°I am bored.¡± In the morning, a guard delivered a simple breakfast of bland porridge. Marke had no complaints. It was only the second thing he had eaten since agreeing to work for QuARK and it was fine. Marke discovered the hole in the floor at the back of the cell for waste disposal and took advantage of it. ¡°Gross.¡± Kente said. ¡°Oh come on, don¡¯t be all superior just because you¡¯re no longer a being of crude matter.¡± Marke retorted. Kente laughed. Marke didn¡¯t have anything better to do, so he sat crossed-legged on the cot and scrolled through the traits. Kente scrolled through the skills. Marked called up the trait box.
Traits: 3/4 True Soul ¨C See the Truth Eclipse Sight ¨C See the light and the dark Second Soul ¨C Divide the nature of your soul
The description on ¡®Second Soul¡¯ was vague as ever, but the system had an opinion on the ¡®nature¡¯ of Marke¡¯s soul.
Name: ineedabreak Class: Soul Eclipse Level: 4
¡®Soul Eclipse¡¯ or maybe ¡®Soul of Eclipse¡¯ or ¡®Eclipse Soul¡¯ or whatever. An eclipse was one object moving between the observer and a source of light, casting a shadow on the observer. If Kente was the shadow, then was Marke the object casting the shadow? What would be the source of the light? Maybe Marke was the source of light and the System put something in the way to cast the shadow Kente. Marke¡¯s musings were interrupted by a Guard opening the door. ¡°Prisoner. The captain requires your presence.¡± The guard stared unwaveringly at Marke. Marke stood and walked out the door. There was a guard on either side of him. One led the way while the other hovered right behind Marke. Marke guessed it was to stop him from jumping the railing or some other foolish thing. The guards took him around a corner and down a hallway into the building. The forward guard knocked on a door and muttered something to a guard on the other side who unlocked the door and let them in. The door locked behind them. The forward guard knocked on a second door and the processed repeated. Kind of like a prisoner air lock. Marke thought to himself. I agree. Kente thought to Marke. Aaah! Marke stumbled as he yelped in surprise inside his head. The guard behind him roughly grabbed his arm and hauled him back upright. ¡°Thank you.¡± Said Marke. The guard seemed to be surprised by this reaction and let go of Marke¡¯s arm. Kente, you¡¯re in here too? Marke thought-asked. Yes. It''s not as fun as talking though. Pay attention where you¡¯re going! Kente¡¯s mental voice was the same as Marke¡¯s but Marke was somehow completely sure which voice belonged to which Clarke. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The guards took Marke to an office and sat him in a chair in front of the Captain¡¯s desk. The Captain, naturally, sat on the other side of the desk. The Captain spoke first. ¡°Good morning, prisoner. I am Captain Seshi. I apologize that I have not asked your name before now, but it was clear last night that you were in no shape to undergo the regular process. We will complete that process now.¡± The Captain opened a large book and picked up a pen. Marke felt that this would be the perfect moment for some bit of polite something-something like ¡®of course¡¯ or ¡®as you like it¡¯ or just anything really, but he failed to think of one and just stared at the Captain. The Captain began the questions. ¡°What is your name?¡± Don¡¯t say your real name! Kente thought. ¡°My name is ineedabreak.¡± Said Marke. The captain frowned down at a glass globe on his desk. ¡°That is your name in your¡­ status?¡± The Captain¡¯s voice had a wobble in it as he spoke the word ¡®status¡¯. ¡°Yes¡± Said Marke. The glass globe on the desk glowed white. The captain wrote in the book. Do you think that could be a lie detector? Kente thought. Try to not lie. ¡°Where are you from?¡± The Captain asked. Marke shifted in his seat and tried to think quickly. ¡°The first place I remember seeing in this world is the cave I woke up in three or four days ago.¡± The globe didn¡¯t glow. The Captain frowned at harder. ¡°Please answer the question more directly.¡± The Captain commanded. ¡°I suppose I must say that I am from that cave.¡± Marke desperately hoped the globe would accept this. The orb glowed a very weak white light. The Captain wrote something more in the book. ¡°How did you arrive in the Yeree forest?¡± The Captain looked at the glass globe instead of at Marke¡¯s face. ¡°If that¡¯s the forest I think it is, I walked there from the cave.¡± The globe shone bright white. The Captain looked confused but wrote in the book anyway. ¡°Which country holds your allegiance?¡± The Captain picked up the globe and looked through it at Marke. ¡°To my knowledge, no country holds my allegiance.¡± Marke said. The globe shone bright white again. The Captain put the globe down on the desk and sat back in his chair. ¡°Tell me about the cave and how you came to the forest.¡± The Captain commanded. Marke described the cave and recounted his travel across the plain and down into the forest. He did not mention anything about the eclipses or his class. ¡°¡­and the next thing I know, I was face down in that cart from yesterday.¡± Marke concluded his story. The globe had glowed white for the entire story. The Captain was clearly at a loss about what to think about Marke. He set the globe in a drawer of the desk and looked straight at Marke. ¡°What do you know about the Vlukzec?¡± Easy question. Marke thought. ¡°I know nothing about that.¡± The Captain asked several more questions but Marke¡¯s answers were all the same, ¡°I know nothing about that.¡± With each question, Marke could see that the Captain was telling himself a story about Marke¡¯s origins. Finally, the Captain ordered the guards to return Marke to his cell. Marke spoke up as he stood from the chair. ¡°Captain, I request to be moved to a cell with a view of the moon.¡± Marke didn¡¯t even know which direction the moon hung in the sky or if such a cell was available. The Captain narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Marke. ¡°Why?¡± Marke blinked in surprise before he responded. ¡°I prefer the light.¡± For whatever reason, that answer put the icing on top of the story cake that the Captain had built during all the questioning. What is up with that metaphor? Kente thought. I¡¯m hungry. Marke thought. The captain spoke in a more formal tone than previously. ¡°Of course, we offer our meager hospitality to our great visitor with gladness. Please think nothing of it and only remember us kindly when your leave.¡± He ordered the guards to return him to a different cell. Was he making fun of us? Marke wondered. Kente took a moment to respond. I¡¯m not sure. He didn¡¯t look like he was making fun, but he was happy about something. Why would a preference for the light mean anything to him? The guards took him to a cell with a perfect view of the moon between the bars on the window. That afternoon and again in the night, Marke gained a level for watching each eclipse. Ch 11 - Grace ¡°Don¡¯t Suffer. We need a plan to escape in case things get bad. Don¡¯t Die. See ¡®escape plan¡¯. Also use attributes and train our skills. Self-Care. I was thinking we could do some Tai Chi; with this slightly different body and constantly changing stats, it could help us stay in practice just moving around. Hobbies. Hmm¡­ We could try drawing? Maybe request some books? Break Systems. I don¡¯t think we have any leads on this, this is the most stable system we¡¯ve encountered so far.¡± Kente summed up his thoughts on their priorities as Marke ate his breakfast porridge. The porridge needed some salt. ¡°This porridge needs salt.¡± Marke said. ¡°Hobbies could include food critic, I suppose.¡± Kente said helpfully. Marke chuckled. ¡°Escape plan. We have no experience with that. Going off of movies I would say there are three basic plans: Fight your way out; Trick your way out; and Stealth your way out.¡± ¡°What about dig your way out?¡± Kente asked. ¡°You have to dig stealthily, so it¡¯s covered.¡± Marke replied. ¡°We have no experience with fighting, no clue about how this society works so we don¡¯t know how to trick anyone, and we have no skill in stealth.¡± Marke scraped the last of the porridge into his mouth and swallowed. ¡°But I think we can gain skill in stealth while we are in this cell. Let¡¯s check out the new skills in the list. Assign Skill.¡± The skill list box popped up. Kente pulled up his own copy of the list and began to scroll through. They opened a new log and wrote notes on the skills they read through.
Stealth Skill Notes: ¡®Grace¡¯ ¨C might be a movement skill ¡®Climb¡¯ ¨C not stealthy but useful ¡®Open Door¡¯ ¨C is this lockpicking? At face value this skill is stupid. Lockpicking would be difficult to practice.
Kente spoke up when they finished reading the skill list. ¡°Not very fruitful. Some of the unlock requirements for skills are weird, but it¡¯s mostly ¡®try and do this skill without this skill¡¯. I think if we practice being stealthy, then new skills will show up for stealth.¡± Marke nodded. ¡°I think so too. Also, Hobbies: basket weaving. We should request some straw or something to practice basket weaving.¡± ¡°Oh yeah! They probably let us have rope, but what else is good for baskets?¡± Kente asked. Marke shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s try out ¡®Grace¡¯. Can you pick it in the list?¡± Marke wanted to know if Kente could control their System in addition to viewing it. Marke felt something shift in his mind. Kente spoke up. ¡°Looks like the answer is yes. Mwahaha!¡± Kent cackled melodramatically. ¡°Stand up and give it a try.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Marke stood. ¡°How?¡± He asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Try just focusing on the skill in your head. It does nothing for me, but you have a body.¡± Kent said. Marke tried to focus on the ¡®Grace¡¯ skill. Nothing happened. ¡°I¡¯m gonna do that ¡®identify¡¯ thing that showed us the poison water. Maybe it¡¯s the same mental trick and I just need practice.¡± Marke focused on the water bucket. A box popped up.
Bucket (water)
Incredible. I see the fundamental truths of the universe. Marke thought sarcastically. He focused on the cot.
Cot
Marke focused on every item in the room and then his clothes. He tried to focus on the moon in the sky but nothing happened. When there was nothing left to identify, he tried to focus on ¡®Grace¡¯ again. Nothing seemed to happen. ¡°Try moving while focusing?¡± Kent suggested. Marke focused on ¡®Grace¡¯ and took a small step forward. It was the most difficult step he had ever taken. Every muscle in his body seemed to cycle through tense and slack with every millimeter his foot moved forward. Marke¡¯s concentration broke and he tripped and fell to the floor. ¡°Woah. That looked odd.¡± Kente said. Marke struggled to breathe through immense exhaustion. What happened? He thought. Kente replied in thought. Your skin seemed to ripple and your body moved like you were on ice skates. It was weird and cool. Marke¡¯s vision started to grey out. Kente, I can¡¯t breathe! Marke thought desperately. Uh, I don¡¯t know what to do! Should I put stat points somewhere? Strength? Are you too weak to breath? Maybe endurance? Are you too tired? Kente¡¯s thought voice was full of panic. Marke¡¯s mind was too fuzzy to respond. He passed out.
Marke woke up when the guard pushed the lunch porridge into the cell. Marke ached all over. He immediately reached out to Kente. Kente, what happened? ¡°You passed out, dummy. You still weren¡¯t breathing, and I wasn¡¯t sure which stat would help most so I put one in Strength and one in Endurance. That helped but you were still struggling. I had to pick your last trait to try and save you.¡± Kente¡¯s voice was slightly scolding but mostly relieved. Stats. Traits. Marke thought. The boxes popped up.
Strength: 3 Agility: 2 Endurance: 4 Intelligence: 1 Soul: 1
Traits: 4/4 True Soul ¨C See the Truth Eclipse Sight ¨C See the light and the dark Second Soul ¨C Divide the nature of your soul Mortal Rally ¨C Return to your feet
Marke pushed himself up on hands and knees. ¡°Thank you Kente. You saved me. Twice. Saved me twice already.¡± ¡°You are welcome. I could try and be all cool and distant and say I just did it to protect myself, but we both know that would be a lie.¡± Kente¡¯s voice was near the ceiling. After a lunch of too-salty porridge, Marke and Kente revised their plan: Try Grace again after a week of attribute points. Do mundane Tai Chi to prepare for Grace. Basket weaving. Books. The revised plan hit a setback immediately when the guards refused to forward a request for books. One guard half-heartedly said he would pass on the request for straw specifically for ¡®Basket Weaving¡¯. Marke tried to do a bit of Tai Chi but his muscles were still wobbly and weak. He ended up doing stretches on the stone floor until the afternoon eclipse.
Level + 1 New traits available New skills available Stat points available
Marke put the stat point into Strength to make it even with Endurance. ¡°Why are there new traits available if all four slots are filled?¡± Marke wondered aloud. Kente grunted. They looked at the new skills. There was only one: ¡®Walking¡¯ ¡°Sick burn, man.¡± Kente remarked. Marke laid face down on the cot and tried to resist the urges to scream and laugh himself silly. Ch 12 - Grace Again Seven days later, Marke felt nearly ready to try Grace again. He woke up early and began working through his scheduled activities. Each activity had been selected according to their Priority List:
Don¡¯t Suffer: Strength training. Stealth training. Don¡¯t Die: Walking Self-Care: Tai Chi Hobbies: Basket Weaving Break Systems: Artificial Eclipses
The artificial eclipses project was sort of a joke. Marke and Kente had explored every edge case they could think of for the System screens and menus, so the only path currently open for System breaking was to attempt to abuse mechanisms. They made no measurable progress in this approach. The straw baskets were very fun for Marke and he had attempted to make a straw hat once he had several successful baskets under his belt. Kente got pretty bored during basket weaving. The physical training proved less boring for Kente as he could observe and critique Marke¡¯s practice and also provide motivating pep talks. Marke took it easy that morning and only did enough physical training to warm up and remain loose. After Tai Chi, Marke ate his breakfast porridge and discussed stats with Kente. ¡°I want to put the last two stat points in Intelligence and Soul.¡± He said. ¡°Why?¡± asked Kente. ¡°Two reasons, but the most important reason is because then I will have even numbers for all stats.¡± Marke said. Kente laughed. ¡°Yeah? And what¡¯s the less important reason?¡± ¡°I guess it could be useful to find out more about what those stats do. I can feel the changes from Strength and Endurance, and we can measure the results with my workouts, but we have no idea what Soul is and we can only guess what Intelligence actually does.¡± Marke finished his porridge. ¡°Hmmm.¡± Kente thought for a few seconds. ¡°Sure. Go for it. A ten percent increase in Strength and Endurance is probably inconsequential for Grace since we will proceed with more cation this time.¡± Assign stat points. Marke thought.
Strength: 10 (+) Agility: 2 (+) Endurance: 10 (+) Intelligence: 1 (+) Soul: 1 (+)
He tapped the plusses for Intelligence and Soul. He closed his eyes and took a breath. He examined his internal state for changes. I don¡¯t feel any- This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°WOW! This is amazing! I feel so alive!¡± Kente shouted in surprise. Marke¡¯s eyes flew open and he looked around by reflex, even though he knew Kente wasn¡¯t visible. ¡°What is it?¡± Marke asked. ¡°I feel good.¡± Kente answered. ¡°My thinking is clearer and I feel, I guess, stronger or something. Like I¡¯m more real. This is nice. You gotta give me more stats tomorrow.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t feel any changes with my other stat increased though.¡± Marke rubbed the light beard on his chin. ¡°On the other hand, I didn¡¯t feel anything with this one. The obvious theory is that ¡®Second Soul¡¯ splits the stats between us. Do you think it was both of the stats or just one of them that you felt?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell.¡± Kente said. ¡°You added them too close together. We¡¯ll get better data tomorrow. Now that I feel amazing, it¡¯s time to make you feel terrible by practicing Grace.¡± Marke could tell that Kente had a huge grin and he laughed at the irony of the situation. He set his bowl aside and sat on the cot, hands on knees, feet flat on the floor. ¡°Ok, here we go.¡± Marke focused his mind on Grace and slowly took a deep breath. He could feel tension rippling across his body, but not anywhere near the level from a week before. He pushed out the breath and felt more ripples. He continued just breathing for one minute before dropping Grace. ¡°Breathing is good.¡± He said. Kente put a checkmark in the log next to ¡®Breathing¡¯. Marke focused back on Grace and slowly turned his head to the left. The ripples in his muscles were stronger this time and twisted oddly around his spine and down his legs. He turned his head back forward. He turned his head back and forth ten times before dropping Grace. ¡°Head turning is good. Feeling a little tired.¡± He said. ¡°We can take a break.¡± Kente said immediately. ¡°No, diaphragm is fine, I can continue safely.¡± Marke focused on Grace and slowly lifted his left arm up to shoulder height. The ripples strained his whole body from head to toe. He set the arm back on his lap and breathed for a minute. He lifted his right arm up to shoulder height and felt pain flare in his back, neck, and feet. He tried to maintain Grace but his concentration broke and his arm flopped down on the cot beside him. His breath came fast and shallow and he sagged with fatigue. Arms are not bad. He thought at Kente. I ran out of gas though. Breathing is fine. ¡°This is so interesting.¡± Kente said. ¡°Your movements were incredibly smooth and precise. Your arms both reached the exact same height when you raised them. There was no wobble or adjustment or any variance I could see. Like you were in perfect control of your body.¡± Kente sounded in awe. Marke did nothing but sit and breathe for five minutes. Muscles complained all over his body. I could really use some ibuprofen. He thought. I feel like I haven¡¯t used a single muscle in my life before today. Should we put more stats in Strength? ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ think so.¡± Kente said hesitantly. ¡°And not just because I want more stats for me. Grace seems to give you extreme and instinctive control over your movements, so we need to pick the stat that synergizes with that.¡± You mean Agility? Marke asked. What do you think it does? Why would it help? ¡°If someone is agile, they are flexible, they can dodge and change direction quickly. An agile person is not typically covered with huge muscles, but they can use the muscle that they do have to do all these things. Do your long muscles hurt? Sorry, we don¡¯t know many muscle names. You had to straighten your arms and that used your trapezoid- no, quads? Septs? I mean the back of your arm. The arm straightening muscle. Does that one hurt?¡± Kente rambled a little and got audibly flustered. Marke straightened one arm. ¡°No, that muscle feels fine. It¡¯s all the muscles around it that hurt.¡± Marke held his arm up for a couple seconds while he thought. ¡°Ow. So, Strength is probably making my muscles stronger overall, Endurance helps my body have more effective energy, and Agility¡­ helps balance my muscles for fine control?¡± ¡°Probably both your muscles and joints, yes. That sounds very reasonable. The creator of this realm is terrible at descriptions and names, but they have been reasonable so far.¡± Kente added some notes about stats to one of their logs. ¡°Very reasonable.¡± Marke said, then switched to thought speech. You mean, aside from the once-in-a-million-years class we got? Ha, ha. Yes, aside from that. Kente responded. Ch 13 - Someone Else Six days later, Marke tried Grace again. They had split the stats between Agility and Soul. Marke felt like his Tai Chi exercise was easier and more productive than before, and Kente just felt really, really good. The ¡®more real¡¯ feeling he described was tied to the Soul stat and they figured that the ¡®clear thinking¡¯ feeling must have been from Intelligence. Kente¡¯s abilities didn¡¯t change in a measurable way, but Marke was happy to split the stats because it gave Kente so much satisfaction to feel real. ¡°I¡¯m a real boy!¡± Kent told this joke for the fifth time. ¡°That makes me the Blue Fairy, you know.¡± Marke teased. ¡°When you wish¡­¡± Marke tried to sing but his new voice still didn¡¯t act right. ¡°We still don¡¯t know why you can¡¯t sing. Maybe there is a physiological reason for it? A quirk of evolution that impedes singing or something like that.¡± Kente¡¯s voice spun around the room. ¡°Are realms developed through evolution?¡± Marke asked. Kente seemed to freeze in place. ¡°What.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question, more a statement indicating mind-blowing. ¡°Maybe the realm creator just put all the dinosaur bones in the rock layers to provide enrichment for us humans.¡± Marke chuckled at the idea. ¡°What? No. No! We didn¡¯t have a System, we just¡­ It wasn¡¯t like a realm, earth was in a normal universe. It¡¯s gotta be!¡± Kente¡¯s voice held existential panic. ¡°Having no System would be a great loophole to bypass our efforts to break the System. When we get out of here, we should try and look up a QuARK certificate for good old Gaia.¡± Marke shook out his arms and took his Grace testing position on the cot. ¡°Marke, you can¡¯t mess with my worldview like that. I haven¡¯t got a body to keep me centered. When you upend my worldview, you upend my innermost self. I¡¯m like a ghost. A ghost with the unfinished business of not rethinking everything I¡¯ve ever known.¡± Kente scolded and lamented with an over-the-top tone of voice which Marke interpreted to mean it was ok to tease Kente about the subject very infrequently. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. Here, I¡¯m going to try Grace again. Make sure nobody bothers me, ok?¡± Marke closed his eyes as Kente muttered sarcastically, ¡°Oh, yeah, right. I¡¯ll do that.¡± Marke focused on Grace and went through the same steps as before. Breathing was fine. Head turning was fine. Arm lifting went fine. Yes! Marke thought. Minimal muscle strain and fatigue. Arm raises are good. Kente wrote a note in the log. Marke rested a moment and went to the next testing stage. He did several sets of raising each leg. Leg raises are good. Some fatigue. ¡°Take a rest.¡± Kente ordered. Marke dropped Grace and relaxed for ten minutes or so. After the rest, he decided to skip a few steps. ¡°I¡¯m going to try it with Tai Chi.¡± ¡°I thought you might say that. It¡¯s reckless, but I admit it¡¯s a reasonable sort of reckless. Take it easy though.¡± Kente said. ¡°Will do.¡± Marke said. He took a step to the center of the cell and relaxed into the opening posture for Tai Chi. He never actually knew much Tai Chi, but Kente and he had reconstructed a few movements from their memory. Marke focused on Grace and began. Marke¡¯s entire being was consumed with coordinating his motion and balance with his breathing. He felt weightless, but also heavy as a mountain. He dropped Grace as he finished the first movement. His body ached, but it wasn¡¯t too bad. ¡°That was amazing.¡± Kente said sincerely. Marke grinned. ¡°It felt amazing. That was an incredible experience. I¡¯m gonna sit down.¡± Marke took a shaky step over to the cot. While he rested, he pulled up his stats and skills. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Stats: Strength: 10 Agility: 8 Endurance: 10 Intelligence: 2 Soul: 8
Skills: Basket Weaving ¨C level 3 Grace ¨C level 1 Climb ¨C level 0 Walking ¨C level 2 Juggling ¨C level 2
¡°Oh! Grace hit level 1!¡± Marke said. ¡°I think I forgot to check the new skills this morning, did you?¡± ¡°No, I skipped it to. You look, I¡¯m writing up more observations about Grace.¡± Kente said. Assign skill. Marke thought. The skill list popped up. Marke found the new skill and immediately picked it.
Hide ¨C level 0
Kente was still writing in the Grace log, so Marke just wrote a note at the bottom of one of their progress tracking logs: ¡°First stealth skill acquired: Hide¡± Marke looked around the room and wondered how he could practice Hide in a cell that contained one cot, one bucket, one ladle, several straw baskets, and one waste hole. Feeling a little foolish, Marke tried to hide under the cot. Because of the cot¡¯s construction, there wasn¡¯t any room for him under the cot and he was just sort of huddling under the edge. He didn¡¯t feel like he was hiding, and that probably meant it wasn¡¯t contributing to his Hide level. He sat up and looked around the room again. Why is this so difficult? I¡¯ve played hide-and-seek a million times, I should be able to think of something more creative than hiding under the bed. He picked up the straw baskets tried to stack them on top of himself as he lay on the floor. This was slightly better, but still not very good. He juggled the straw baskets a bit while he tried to think. I could try to make a bigger basket and hide under it. It would be the very first place someone would look if they tried to find me. Does that matter? Is hiding really hiding if I can be found? It must be, otherwise you couldn¡¯t play hide-and-seek, it would be maybe-hide-and-seek. Marke was still laying on the floor when the Captain summoned him again. The guards led him down the hallway and through the same double set of doors into the Captain¡¯s office. The guards sat him in the same chair in front of the desk. The Captain was not behind the desk, instead, a platter of food sat on the desk in front of Marke. The food seemed to have latched onto Marke¡¯s eyes and refused to let him look anywhere else. There was meat. It was probably meat, Marke wasn¡¯t an expert on different animal products. Gravy had been ladled across the meat and onto some sort of potato-like thing. Syrup dripped slowly off pieces of fruit. Something tan and poofy sat at the far end of the platter. Maybe it was a pastry? Marke wanted it badly. He took a deep breath through the nose to sample every smell within reach. Woah, why are we in the Captains office? Kente must have finished his notes on Grace. He would be jealous of Marke because he couldn¡¯t smell or taste. What is going on? Something is in your head, Marke. It¡¯s like someone is playing radio ads in here trying to get you to buy things. Marke couldn¡¯t listen to Kente, Marke needed to eat the food. Marke was so hungry. Hey! Listen to me! Marke! Marke Clarke! Kente was trying to distract Marke from the delicious food. He wanted it for himself, selfish Kente. That doesn¡¯t even make sense, you said two seconds ago that I can¡¯t smell or taste. Let¡¯s try this: Focus on the food, Marke. Really focus, like you did for the poison water. Yes! Marke wanted to know everything about the food. He looked intently at the platter on the desk.
Platter of Food Mesmerizing (Strong)
The box popped up right in front of Marke¡¯s eyes. He blinked in confusion. He was standing and leaning over the desk. Drool dripped off his chin. Since the box blocked his view of the food, he looked around the office in confusion. He sat back in the chair and wiped his chin with his shirt sleeve. He felt slightly ill. The weird radio ads are gone now, so I guess we should be safe if you leave that box in place to block our view of the food platter. Kente¡¯s thought voice sounded cautious. Why would the Captain suddenly try to ¡®Mesmerize¡¯ us? That sounds like some sort of hypnosis, but he already questioned us with his truth detection orb. Marke ignored Kente¡¯s question. Kente, I didn¡¯t like that. I fell ill and scared and violated. I don¡¯t want to do that again. Kente replied in a soothing voice. Hey, it¡¯s ok Marke. I¡¯m here. I¡¯m sorry I was distracted with my notes. I might have been able to snap you out of it faster- Marke interrupted. No, Kente. I want us to have a skill or something to make that not happen. Don¡¯t Suffer. We can¡¯t follow Priority One if someone is controlling us. Understood. Kente replied. Marke sat in the chair in front of the Captain¡¯s desk for nearly half an hour before the guards received an order to return him to his cell. I don¡¯t think that was the Captain. Marke said. Someone else decided to take a look at us. Ch 14 - Suspicious Back in the cell, Kente had Marke do ten minutes of Grace-guided meditative breathing. Focusing on Grace and his breathing took up most of Marke¡¯s attention; the rest of his attention was listening to Kente guiding him to relax various areas of his body. The Grace skill reacted well to Marke¡¯s efforts to relax and it smoothed all the tension from his muscles. ¡°Kente,¡± Marke said. ¡°Why are you so much better at solving these problems than me? Things keep happening and you keep saving me. I can¡¯t do anything on my own.¡± Though he was relaxed and calm, Marke had significant negative feelings. ¡°I don¡¯t think I am better at solving problems.¡± Kente said. ¡°I¡¯m not being awkwardly supportive, I mean it. We both are looking at the same problems, but I¡¯m not dealing with the pain of physical training or the discomfort of sleeping on this cot or the bland food. I¡¯m having an easier time because I¡¯m having an easier time. You could do the same as me if you were an incorporeal being of shadow.¡± Marke sniffed. ¡°Thanks, Kente.¡± ¡°No problem, buddy. Also, I think you might be the handsome twin, and that always brings trouble.¡± Kente switched from serious to ridiculous without the slightest change in his tone of voice. Marke laughed. Marke and Kente spent time working on the Hide skill. Kente¡¯s opinion was that, to hide, one needed to hide from something. Marke figured the reasoning was good, so he tried ¡°hiding¡± from the guards outside the cell by crouching under the window, or standing in the corner by the door when food was delivered. Unfortunately, no food was delivered to Marke¡¯s cell the rest of that day. ¡°This sucks.¡± Marke said that afternoon. ¡°I¡¯m gonna have trouble training for escape without food.¡± He sat hidden behind the cot. The pile of straw baskets on the cot blocked his head from view of the window. ¡°We might need to figure out how to accelerate the escape plan.¡± Kente said. ¡°Maybe we can slip down the waste chute? Can we bribe the guards with straw hats? Hang on, here¡¯s the eclipse.¡± Marke leaned out from behind the straw baskets and watched the sun slide behind the moon. The moon became invisible much earlier in the day as the sun¡¯s light didn¡¯t hit the side of the moon facing the planet, so the eclipse looked like the sun was disappearing into a slit in the sky. When the sun was completely behind the moon, Marke could see a film of brightness around the outside of a black circle. The sun reappeared a moment later with a flash of blinding light that did not bother Marke¡¯s eyes at all. ¡°It¡¯s funny how I thought ¡®Eclipse Sight¡¯ would let me see in the dark, but it actually just lets me see eclipses and bright lights without hurting my eyes. It¡¯s in the name: ¡®Eclipse Sight¡¯, sight for eclipses.¡± Marke turned his eyes to the box that popped up.
Level + 1 New traits available New skills available Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Stat points available
¡°Assign skill¡± Marke said without waiting for a reply from Kente. He began scrolling the skill list to find the one or two new skills. It was a bit annoying that the new ones were not always at the bottom on the list, but Marke and Kente looked through the list often enough that they could spot the new ones easily. When he found it, he felt two emotions strongly: joyful relief and suspicion. ¡°Kente, there¡¯s a mind skill in here.¡± He said evenly. Kente had probably felt his emotional response, but Marke told him anyway. ¡°It¡¯s suspicious.¡± ¡°Huh? I¡¯ll look.¡± Kente said. ¡°I see it. Tell me why it is suspicious.¡± ¡°Look at the name. ¡®Priority Mind¡¯. I told you earlier that I wanted a skill to protect my mind and I said I needed it for Priority One. The first new skill available since then pulled the works right from our conversation that we had in my head.¡± Marke leaned back behind the pile of straw baskets. ¡°That is suspicious. It might also be an opportunity.¡± Kente said. ¡°Anyway, are you going to take that skill?¡± ¡°I think I have to.¡± Marke said. ¡°If the System picked out a skill just for me, it would be rude to refuse it.¡± He tapped the skill. ¡°Skills.¡±
Skills: Basket Weaving ¨C level 3 Grace ¨C level 1 Climb ¨C level 0 Walking ¨C level 2 Juggling ¨C level 2 Hide ¨C level 1 Priority Mind ¨C level 0
Hide training is working! Marke thought. I¡¯m going to try ¡®Priority Mind¡¯ right away. He closed his eyes and focused on the new skill. He could feel it almost activate. He tried to push his mind into the skill but he got the impression that it worked differently than that. He concentrated for a minute but couldn¡¯t get anything to work. When he dropped his focus and opened his eyes, Kente had a suggestion. ¡°I think it¡¯s a problem of direction and intent. Look how Hide is now level 1; when you started to ¡®hide from something¡¯, it started taking effect. Grace doesn¡¯t do anything until you engage in movement. The skills don¡¯t just turn on like a switch, you have to be doing something with them to give them direction.¡± Kente said. ¡°I actually wrote something similar in my notes about Grace this morning.¡± ¡°Ok, yeah, I can see that. It makes sense. So I should try thinking about something when I activate it. Oh, of course, I need to think about a Priority when I activate it.¡± Marke closed his eyes again. Priority One. He thought as he focused on Priority Mind. He felt his mind clear. He was a bit uncomfortable, sitting on the stone floor. The cot was a better sitting place. Marke got up from the floor and settled onto the cot. Why did you stop hiding? Kente asked. Marke wasn¡¯t really sure. Wasn¡¯t hiding an important part of Priority One? He got up from the cot and sat back in his hiding spot. He was hungry. There was porridge in this building somewhere. He stood up and went to the cell door. What are you doing? Kente asked, confusion clear in his tone. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Marke said. ¡°I¡¯m getting porridge.¡± He tried to open the cell door but it didn¡¯t even have an accessible latch on the inside. Anyone who came in the cell would have to ask the guards to let them out. ¡°Please let me out.¡± Marke said through the cell window. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± One guard turned to him with an incredulous look on his face. This isn¡¯t working. Marke thought. ¡°Marke, drop the skill.¡± Kente said. Marke dropped his focus on the skill and groaned from a sudden, small headache. ¡°That was weird. What happened?¡± Kente asked. Marke rubbed his eyes. ¡°I think I was trying to accomplish Priority One, but I was kinda stupid about it.¡± He went back to his hiding place. ¡°Priority One: Don¡¯t Suffer. The floor is uncomfortable, so I moved to the cot. Then I was hungry and tried to get out by asking a guard.¡± ¡°Points for creativity, I guess.¡± Kente said. ¡°Oh! A skill to focus your mind on a priority and help stimulate your creativity! This could actually be perfect. You just need more Intelligence. Er, I mean that in a good way.¡± Kente teased. Marke laughed. Ch 15 - Now What? Marke didn¡¯t receive any food the next day either. More alarmingly, the guards did not refill his water that evening. Marke only had a couple ladles left in the bucket. Two days without food had sapped his energy and he had trouble focusing on Priority Mind, even with 3 more points in Inteligence. Priority Mind and Hide had both reached level 2, as they were not physically taxing. Marke hadn¡¯t been willing to spend the energy to practice Grace or even Basket Weaving. Marke was pulled from his cot the next morning. He blearily tried to keep his feet under himself as the guards dragged him through the hallway to sit in the Captains office again. The Captain sat at the desk this time, though a stranger stood behind him. The stranger had gold on their uniform in addition to red and white. Another platter of food sat on the desk and next to it was a large mug full of liquid. Focus on Priority One! Kente yelled in Marke¡¯s mind. Marke closed his eyes and took a breath. The smell of the food and drink nearly overwhelmed him, but he shakily focused Priority Mind on Priority One. His mind calmed and he could feel a strong impression that the food and drink would lead to mind control. Mind control would cause him to suffer. Refusing to give in would keep his mind free. With his defenses in place, he opened his eyes to look at the Captain. ¡°Hello.¡± He croaked out. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to drink the last of his water. ¡°Prisoner. Why do you not eat?¡± The Captain asked Marke. ¡°Poison.¡± Marke said simply. The Captain shook his head. ¡°There is no poison. You starve yourself unnecessarily. We offer you this fine food to sustain your health. The drink is pleasant and will improve your mood.¡± The Captain gestured to the items on the desk. Marke didn¡¯t see any way in which this conversation would benefit Priority One, so he remained silent. The stranger behind the Captain frowned and leaned forward. Their voice was terrible, like a dying violin. ¡°You will die if you do not eat.¡± Marke reeled back in his chair. The voice was quite painful. ¡°I do not wish to suffer.¡± He said evenly. ¡°So, do not speak.¡± He heard in his mind the sound of Kente choking in astonishment. The stranger¡¯s face darkened almost instantly. Veins popped out on their forehead and neck. The Captain looked uneasy and shifted in his seat. He swallowed visibly. ¡°Prisoner. There is no need for such rudeness. You say you do not wish to suffer, but you are suffering from hunger and thirst. This food is yours to take. Whenever you wish to stop starving yourself, you can tell a guard and food and drink will be delivered to your cell.¡± The Captain tried a small smile. ¡°If you do not eat or drink when we offer it freely, we will be blameless in your death.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Marke felt his resolve waver to not suffer by mind control. He needed to be sure, so he looked down and focused on the food, then the drink.
Platter of Food Mesmerizing (Strong)
Spiced Tea Mesmerizing (Strong)
The identifying boxes were very clear. The food and drink were drugged. Marke looked at the Captain again. ¡°You eat it.¡± ¡°Prisoner. This food has been made especially for you, it would not be appropriate for me to take it from you after it has been offered freely.¡± The Captain stopped smiling. ¡°I do not wish for you to suffer or die. Please eat.¡± Marke gave up on the conversation. The situation was clear enough; Marke would willingly become mind controlled, he would escape, or he would die. Two of those options were contrary to his Priorities. Marke, I have to say this. Kent thought to Marke. There is a chance the mind control won¡¯t be complete or permanent. We might have more opportunity to escape if we comply now. Kente sounded anxious. True, but we will be completely dependent on the actions of others to accomplish Priority One for us. That risk is unacceptable. Marke thought back. In any case, I have an idea. He picked up the mug of tea. With a touch of Grace, he threw the liquid in the face of the guards behind him. ¡°Oops.¡± He said. He turned to look at the guards. They stood with faces covered in tea and with slack expressions. ¡°Protect me.¡± He commanded them. He stood and walked towards the exit door. The Stranger shouted behind him in anger and confusion. The two guards snapped their focus towards the stranger and drew their short swords. Marke opened the door right as the Captain shouted, ¡°Stop this! Obey my orders!¡± Marke stepped out of the office and turned to the startled hallway guard. ¡°It¡¯s a mutiny.¡± He said and pointed into the room. He ducked as one of the mesmerized guards was thrown through the doorway. He stepped behind the open door and focused on Hide. The hallway guard looked from the thrown guard into the Captain¡¯s office to see the other guard grappling with the Captain. He shouted and rushed in to help, getting in the way of the stranger who was trying to exit and catch Marke. Marke continued to focus on Hide as he jogged down the hallway. He hadn¡¯t been in any other parts of the building, but he had seen guards at all the entrances he knew of. To avoid capture, he needed to move in improbable directions. He took the stairs up to the roof. The calmness from Priority Mind was a bit of a hinderance in climbing the stairs; a bit of adrenaline would have boosted his speed. He slipped through the trapdoor to the rooftop right as he heard a loud ringing bell. That¡¯s the alarm. He thought. The sound actually came from his right, he looked over and saw a stout bell tower with a swinging bell pulled with ropes from lower down. ¡°Now what?¡± asked Kente. ¡°Also, what the heck? How did you know that would work with the tea?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t.¡± Marke said. He surveyed the surrounding buildings. One might be close enough. He lined himself up with it, took a deep breath, and sprinted towards the edge of the roof. On the last step, Marke activated Grace and leapt towards the other building. Inside his head, Kente screamed. If I pass out, try to keep Hide active for me. Was Marke¡¯s last thought before he tucked his shoulder to try and roll across the roof. He tumbled wildly, then struck the edge of something and fell into darkness. Ch 16 - Hello Kente Marke opened his eyes and stared up at a rectangle of open sky. A slightly broken ladder led down from the sky to somewhere near Marke¡¯s feet. ¡°Morning, sunshine.¡± Kente said. ¡°That plan was nuts and way too reckless. I¡¯m glad it worked though. So long as you can walk, I think our chances of permanent escape are quite good. The soldiers have probably been searching for us non-stop, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ve searched this building yet. It¡¯s afternoon, sorry. I said ¡®morning, sunshine¡¯ because that¡¯s how the reference goes but it¡¯s around lunch time. Of the same day.¡± Marke let Kente ramble a bit before trying to move. Shoulder broken. Or clavicle, whatever. He thought to Kente. His mouth was too dry to try talking right now. Foot hurts. Leg and back muscles hurt, probably from the Grace jump. He rolled over and pulled his knees under himself. He used his good arm to push up to a kneeling posture. My head should hurt more than this, shouldn¡¯t it? ¡°Don¡¯t know. Haven¡¯t hit my head like that before. I would guess it should hurt more, but maybe your stats fixed it up already. Or it could be the Mortal Rally trait. Let¡¯s find food!¡± Kente said excitedly. Marke figured that Kente had probably been bored again, waiting for Marke to wake up. Marke used the ladder to pull himself to his feet. His left foot did hurt, but not enough to stop him from walking on it. He stood at the end of a short hallway. The floor and walls were the same stone as the roof, but the doorway at the end of the hall was boarded up. A hole near one wall was probably the drain for rainwater. I¡¯m not sure what to do. Marke thought to Kente. ¡°You are way less confident than you were a few hours ago.¡± Kente teased. ¡°But I think you should see if that thing in the doorway will open or not.¡± Marke shuffled to the doorway and put his ear to it. No sound. He gave it a slight push. It didn¡¯t move in the slightest. He pushed harder. The wall had no give in it. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Kente said. ¡°Want to try and bash it down?¡± ¡°No.¡± Marke said. ¡°Not with a broken shoulder.¡± He looked at the ladder. ¡°I could climb back up and look for another roof access, but I don¡¯t know why there would be more than one. I don¡¯t know why they would close this one off either. Could the ladder¡­¡± Marke rubbed his chin with one hand, thinking. His hand hurt. His chin hurt. His shoulder hurt. His feet hurt. His legs hurt. His back hurt. ¡°I¡¯m just gonna sit down.¡± He sat and leaned back against the ladder. ¡°Did we get anything good in the skills last night?¡± ¡°Hmmm, depends. Do you think ¡®Meditate¡¯ will be more like ¡®Priority Mind¡¯ or more like ¡®Juggling¡¯?¡± Kente asked. Marke started to shrug, then struggled as the pain took his breath away. ¡°Ow.¡± He gasped. ¡°Can I do anything about this shoulder? I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s broken.¡± He took as deep a breath as he could without shifting his shoulder. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°I don¡¯t know Marke, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Kente said. ¡°I think you should make a sling out of your shirt, just to try and keep it stable. You¡¯re not going to be ninja jumping across rooftops any time soon.¡± Getting a shirt off over a broken shoulder was excruciating and Marke didn¡¯t manage it without a few sort screams of pain. With the shirt off, he wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to make a sling. Eventually he hit upon the idea to make a shoulder-hung basket, then he worked for a while tearing his shirt into strips by gripping it in his teeth and pulling with his one good hand. Basket Weaving guided him in making a cloth basket to hang on a shoulder. when the basket slipped over his neck, his arm pulled snug against his torso. Marke leaned his head back against the ladder. ¡°Is it time for the eclipse?¡± He asked tiredly. ¡°No, there¡¯s time to try Meditate.¡± Kente said. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I would take it.¡± Marke said. ¡°Yes. But we¡¯ve got nothing else to do at the moment, so I knew you would want to check it out.¡± Kente said. ¡°Ok.¡± Marke said. He was overwhelmingly tired. His stats might be the only thing keeping him going. And I don¡¯t even know how they compare to anyone else. He thought. He pulled open the skill list and tapped ¡®Meditate¡¯. ¡°Tell me what to do. You¡¯ve been thinking about it, I¡¯m sure.¡± He said. ¡°Try to meditate upon the nature of an eclipse.¡± Kente said solemnly. Marke blinked slowly. ¡°Why?¡± Kente laughed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, realm creator was nuts about eclipses so it¡¯s a good starting point.¡± Marke just smiled and closed his eyes. He focused on Meditate and the nature of eclipses.
Marke opened his eyes above the sea of shadows. His body was covered with, or maybe made of, the light that coated the surface of the sea like oil on water. The shadow water beneath his feet was as solid as stone. Marke turned in a slow circle to see his surroundings. The shadow sea was slightly curved at the horizon. I guess it- Marke stopped his thought because his mental voice echoed around him. You guess what? Kente¡¯s voice echoed around Marke. ¡°Kente?¡± Marke spoke with his glowing body, but the sound came out muted and dull. Kente didn¡¯t respond, so Marke assumed he hadn¡¯t been heard. Kente, can you hear me? He thought. Of course I can hear you. Came the reply. Why do you ask? I¡¯m in the shadow sea. Marke thought. It¡¯s just like in our memory. Marke described his surroundings and his glowing body to Kente. Can you move around? You said the horizon is curved so I think you are on a large orb. Maybe there is something interesting somewhere else. Kente thought. Marke started walking forward. He walked for a few minutes before stopping. I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m moving my feet but I can¡¯t tell if I¡¯m going anywhere. You got quieter. Kente thought. So did you! Marke thought. Go back the other way. Kente suggested. Marke walked back. He tried to walk twice as far as he had walked before. How¡¯s this? He thought. Getting warmer! Kente thought. Keep going! Marke walked a bit further and checked again. They repeated this until they found the spot on a straight line that sounded loudest. Marke turned ninety degrees and walked forward a bit. That made their thoughts quiet again, so Marke turned around and went the other way. As he walked, Kente¡¯s voice grew louder and louder. Marke saw something on the horizon. He began to jog. He could tell what it was before he got halfway there. Grinning, he walked the last few feet and leaned forward. ¡°Hello Kente.¡± Kente screamed. Ch 17 - Out of the Frying Pan Aaaah! What was that? Why do you sound so close? Kente¡¯s thought voice was high and fast. He was shocked by this new sensation; it wasn¡¯t the same as listening to Marke¡¯s voice when he spoke aloud. Try meditating on the nature of Eclipses. I think you can come here too. Marke thought. A minute later, the Kente opened his eyes and saw a grinning Marke. They stood together on the shadow sea. Marke was glowing with light, Kente was doing the opposite with shadow. ¡°What¡¯s the opposite of glowing?¡± Kente asked. Marke just laughed and hugged Kente, slapping him on the back. They both felt solid enough. This was a sensation that Kente hadn¡¯t actually felt except in memories from the original Marke. It felt so good to have a body, even if it maybe might not be real. He was overcome with emotion and couldn¡¯t speak clearly for several minutes. Marke didn¡¯t look like he understood why, but he was supportive and just waited patiently. Kente eventually managed to speak. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a body in a while. I really missed it, Marke. Sometimes it was really hard.¡± His voice nearly cracked, but he didn¡¯t want to start crying, he wanted to do something interesting. How could he make something interesting happen? He looked up at Marke¡¯s face. Up? ¡°Hey, no fair! You¡¯re taller than me.¡± Marke looked confusedly down at their feet then up at the top of Kente¡¯s head. ¡°Only by a little.¡± He said. ¡°Do your feet stick into the ground more than mine?¡± Kente picked up his feet and examined them. They seemed normal and sat on the surface of the sea. Where he stepped, the light slick pulled back so that he walked only on the shadows. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m wider than you are too.¡± Marke said. ¡°What?¡± Looked at their shoulders, then stretched his arms out wide. Marke matched him and, indeed, Marke¡¯s fingers spread just a tiny bit further. ¡°Did you grow while in prison?¡± Kente asked. Marke just shrugged. Kente was struck by a wave of gratitude for the fact that they could have non-verbal communication. They stood around for a while, just chatting. Kente thought it was pretty great, but there were important things they needed to figure out. ¡°How do we get out of here?¡± Marke asked. ¡°I assume we just stop meditating.¡± Kente said. ¡°But I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m meditating right now.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± Marke said. He rubbed his chin. Kente thought that looked fun, so he rubbed his own chin. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Marke closed his eyes and breathed slowly. His body stopped moving and became a statue of light. Got it. His thought voice echoed around Kente. Just meditate on the nature of eclipses again. Ok, be right out. Kente said. He took a few more moments to jump up and down, do some spins, and try a cartwheel. He fell flat on his back. He pushed himself up to sitting, then closed his eyes and meditated.
Marke waited for Kente to come back out of the shadow sea before asking a question. ¡°How do we get off this roof?¡± Now that his mind was back in his body, he felt the many pains interfering with his thoughts. ¡°I want a body.¡± Kente said. ¡°I want the System to give us a skill that lets you make a body for me. You really wanted the mind protection skill for Priority One. I need a body to satisfy Priority One. It doesn¡¯t even have to be all the time, I just want something.¡± Kente spoke earnestly. Marke didn¡¯t blame him. Kente hadn¡¯t complained about anything except boredom, but he had all the same memories Marke did before the split, so it made sense that he would be more comfortable with a body. ¡°Yes, of course. Manifesting a skill from the System worked once. If something works once, it can work twice.¡± Marke nodded. ¡°Can you climb the ladder?¡± Kente switched the conversation right back to business. ¡°I think so. I¡¯ll just use my good hand and my good foot.¡± Marke started up the ladder. He peeked out onto the roof. The roof was flat stone with a raised lip around the edge. Marke didn¡¯t see a second roof access. He looked over to the prison roof, but it was a taller building and all he could tell was that no one was standing near the edge. Looking to the other direction, Marke saw a bank of storm clouds rushing towards the town. He furrowed his brows in confusion. ¡°Has it rained at all since we came to this realm? It rained just before we got here, but I don¡¯t know if it rained at night.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it has rained now that you mention it. Do those storm clouds seem to be going especially fast?¡± Kente sounded worried. Marke studied the clouds for a few moments. ¡°Yes. Very yes. Holy cow that¡¯s a big storm.¡± Marke looked down into the roof access area. ¡°I guess I¡¯m not in danger of drowning, but we should try very hard to get off this rooftop. The storm might provide cover so we can get away or at least hide somewhere else.¡± Marke took a moment to think. ¡°Priority One: I need food soon. Priority Two: shelter.¡± Marke climbed fully onto the roof and lay on his belly to try and stay out of sight. ¡°Roger that. The only food sources we know of are forest berries and prison porridge. Those are both poor options right now, so we have to do some breaking and entering. Can you pull the ladder up here?¡± Kente said. Marke could pull the ladder, though it was awkward and lifted obtrusively high before he could lay it flat on the roof. He crawled slowly towards the ¡°back¡± of the building because he hoped there was something like an alley with fewer people than the street. He checked the prison roof again and focused on Hide before looking down over the edge. It wasn¡¯t an alley, exactly, it was an empty canal. The back of the building he was on had several drains leading out the back that would empty into the canal. Marke pulled his head back. ¡°This is bad.¡± Marke said. ¡°Out of the frying pan and into the eye of a hurricane.¡± Kente said. Marke raised his eyebrows. ¡°Feeling poetic?¡± Ch 18 - Failing Priority Two Marke rested on the roof and watched the storm roll closer. It looked like it would beat the afternoon eclipse. Marke didn¡¯t know if he would be able to ¡°observe¡± the eclipse sufficiently to level up. Feeling groggy and tired, Marke pulled up his status instead of trying to remember what points had been allocated. ¡°Status.¡±
Name: ineedabreak Class: Soul Eclipse Level: 37 Stat Points: 1
¡°Assign stat point.¡±
Stats: Strength: 10 (+) Agility: 8 (+) Endurance: 10 (+) Intelligence: 5 (+) Soul: 8 (+)
Marke hesitated, his body and mind were in rough shape. What would be the best stat to increase his chances of getting off the roof and finding food? Agility? His agility had allowed him to briefly use Grace twice in the escape from the Captain¡¯s office, but another use of Grace might kill him. Intelligence helped him use Priority Mind, which had orchestrated the escape, but he was mentally fatigued and tired. Soul made Kente feel better, but it didn¡¯t affect the physical world. Strength and Endurance were potentially beneficial, but neither would help with a broken shoulder. ¡°Kente.¡± He said finally. ¡°I¡¯m failing Priority Two.¡± Kente responded after a pause. ¡°Are you giving up?¡± ¡°No.¡± Marke said. ¡°I¡¯m out of options. I won¡¯t fail Priority One and let myself be recaptured, and I can¡¯t get off this roof before dying from exposure in the storm.¡± ¡°Please look over the other sides of this building first.¡± Kente said anxiously. Marke winced. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to say I¡¯m killing myself, I mean that I¡¯m going to die and I can¡¯t stop it. I¡¯ll go look.¡± Marke crawled over to the side of the roof near the prison and peeked over. The wall was smooth and blank. Guess no one wants to look out and see the wall of the prison. He thought. As he crawled to the front of the building, the sun passed behind the storm clouds. He felt like a snail in a race against a giant. The sky turned dark and a chill wind picked up. He peeked over the front of the building. Someone closed a shutter below him. The front of the building was smooth and the closed shutters lay flush with the stone. Marke sighed. ¡°I guess powerful storms are normal here¡ªeverything is built to deal with lots of wind. If this building was only a single floor I would try jumping down. It¡¯s hopeless.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Kente¡¯s voice strained to sound upbeat. ¡°One more side to check!¡± Marke crawled, face into the wind, to the last edge of the roof. He looked over the edge. Nothing. He huddled down behind the lip of stone to hide from the wind. He briefly tried to use Hide to actually hide from the wind, but it had no effect. ¡°Kente, it¡¯s no use.¡± Marke said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Kente said. Marke shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. We don¡¯t know what will happen to either of us when I die and I never got a body making skill for you.¡± With no options left, Marke struggled to find a reason to stay awake. The wind picked up speed and began to howl. Marke lay on the roof and waited for the storm to hit. When the rain started to fall, Kente spoke into Marke¡¯s mind. Marke, we should try and break the System. I think I know how we can do it. Marke shivered from the cold. Breaking the System is even more likely to kill you than me just dying. He protested. It¡¯s better for you. Kente insisted. If you respawn in this world, you might obsesses over getting me back, and even if you could get ¡®Second Soul¡¯ again, it might not be me. It¡¯s better to be sure. Priority One: Don¡¯t Suffer. Kente¡¯s voice was firm and calm. Marke began to try with exhaustion and emotion. Ok. He tried to think of something else to say but failed. How do we break it? He asked. We each assign the stat point simultaneously. I¡¯ll assign to Soul, you assign to Inteligence. I¡¯ll count down from three, on zero we add the stat point. Got it? Kente asked. Got it. I¡¯m ready. ¡°Assign stat point¡± Marke said aloud. Kente counted clearly and evenly. Three. Two. One. On ¡®Zero¡¯, Marke tapped the plus next to Inteligence. Nothing happened. Kente didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Status.¡± Marke croaked the word, barely able to speak.
Name: ineedabreak Class: Soul Eclipse Level: 37 Stat Points: -1
¡°Assign stat point?¡± Marke said uncertainly.
Stats: Strength: 10 (+) Agility: 8 (+) Endurance: 10 (+) Intelligence: ERR (+) Soul: 9 (+)
Marke hesitated. He reached out to tap the plus next to Inteligence. The realm shattered.
Marke opened his eyes to see the inside of a stone cave. The cave was completely bare. Sunlight shone through an exit at the end of a short tunnel. A blue box popped up right in front of his face.
Welcome Hero! Enter your name: Done
Marke stared at the box but didn¡¯t read it. Kente is gone. Marke couldn¡¯t think anything else for a long time. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the brown realm?¡± Marke choked on spittle as he gasped in surprise. He rolled on his side and coughed violently. Ow. He thought. ¡°Kente!¡± He managed to cough out Kente¡¯s name. Kente¡¯s laughter sounded from around the room as he seemed to zip around the space. Marke managed to clear his lungs. ¡°You¡¯re alive!¡± He shouted. ¡°That might be debatable.¡± Kente said smugly. ¡°After assigning the stat point to Soul I hid in the shadow sea. It was pretty weird. Your light body down there melted entirely. I was stuck for a while because I couldn¡¯t figure out how to stop using Meditate. I assume that is because the System that supplied Meditate broke. Anyway, here I am!¡± Marke lay on his back and smiled up at the blue box. ¡°I¡¯m so glad. Wow, that was a rough time. I can hardly believe it¡¯s over now.¡± Ch 19 - Contract With Demons ¡°Priority check!¡± Kente said. ¡°Sure.¡± Marke said. ¡°Priority one: everything is great. Priority two: should be safe here in the starting cave. Priority three¡­¡± Marke rubbed his chin. It was completely smooth. ¡°Do we always start clean shaven? What¡¯s up with that?¡± He asked. ¡°Priority Three: Self Care.¡± Kente said. ¡°We¡¯ve just had a traumatic experience. We need¡­ cake. Scanning for cake. No cake present, Captain. Next best thing, Tai Chi?¡± Kente was being silly, and Marke felt his emotions driving him to silly also. ¡°Yes, Tai Chi.¡± Marke stood up, ignoring the System box. He started to activate the Grace skill but it wasn¡¯t there anymore. That was a bit of a letdown. He took a deep breath and focused on his movements. He slowly began his movements. He tried to capture the weightless mountain feeling that Grace had shown him in the prison cell. His body felt different from the last one and it unbalanced him. He repeated his movements a couple more times but it didn¡¯t feel as good as it had in the last realm, even before using Grace. ¡°Ok, good enough.¡± Marke said. ¡°I¡¯m ready to do stuff. Priority four: basket weaving. No wait, I mean ¡®Hobbies¡¯.¡± He looked around the cave but it was empty and had a smooth floor with no stones for juggling. ¡°Hmmm. Let¡¯s come back to Priority four later. Priority five: System Breaking. Let¡¯s go!¡± Kente cheered. Marke tried to wave away the box but it didn¡¯t work. He walked towards the exit with his hands slightly in front of his face. No invisible force blocked him and he left the cave. Turning around, he saw that the cave was in the side of a tan cliffside that stretched up higher than he could see. Around him, he saw a forest of thin brown trees. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re right. This is the brown world. I definitely didn¡¯t expect to have repeat realms.¡± ¡°The box text is different though.¡± Kente said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a copy-cat realm. Should we go find those poisonous mushrooms again?¡± Marke scratched the back of his head. ¡°It would be pretty embarrassing if the realm creator didn¡¯t fix the exact thing that broke the realm last time. They could have stopped me from leaving the cave without a name, that would have been the simplest fix.¡± He shrugged and walked into the forest, trying to follow the same path as in his first visit to the brown realm. As Marke walked, Kente kept up a chant of, ¡°Badgers, badgers, badgers, mushroom, MUSHROOM,¡± which had Marke laughing and struggling to remember which way to go. He tripped on a tree root and scratched his hand. A box popped up.
You have taken damage ERROR no status sheet
The realm shattered.
Marke opened his eyes and screamed, ¡°Kente!¡± After a moment, Kente replied. ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here. I got sucked back to the shadow sea, I¡¯m fine.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Marke sighed in relief and then growled in frustration. ¡°Sudden realm breaks are so stressful. We deserve breaks in between realms. QuARK could have a whole program of credits to exchange for snacks and things.¡± He sat up and looked around. He was in another cave. This cave was pale yellow, like vanilla pudding cups. ¡°Priority check, I guess. You want to take this one, Kente?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Kente said. ¡°Priority one: we¡¯re fine. Priority two: no visible dangers. Priority three: Do Tai Chi.¡± Kente had clearly rhymed on purpose. Marke frowned. ¡°I just did Tai Chi.¡± ¡°That was in a completely different realm and any physiological benefits got wiped away when you dropped into this new body. Just do however much feels right.¡± Kente spoke firmly but lightly. Marke supposed Kente was right. He stood and went through a few motions. This body felt different again, but the Tai Chi was familiar. All in all, Marke had to admit that Kente was right and he shouldn¡¯t skip Self Care. ¡°Priority four: I don¡¯t see straw or stones. We could check outside. Priority five: there¡¯s no System box yet.¡± Kente finished the priority check. ¡°Status.¡± Marke said. Nothing happened. ¡°Help. Menu. Skills. Traits. Inventory?¡± Marke tried a bunch of words, but there was no response from the System. ¡°Ok, the System will let us know when it wants us, I suppose. Let¡¯s go find some straw for a hat.¡± Marke walked into the tunnel that let out of the cave. A box popped up.
Welcome, Hero, to Realm AC7A ¨C presented by the College of Comparative Demonic Writings and made possible by a generous grant from ? ? ? ? ? ? Eighth Lord of Pain. Please try to experience as many tortures as possible¡ªyour feedback is important to our research.
¡°Uh.¡± Marke said. ¡°Oh.¡± Kente said. Marke stepped back slowly. The box disappeared. He stepped forward and the box appeared again. He retreated back to the yellow cave. ¡°Not a great start, that.¡± Kente said. ¡°No kidding.¡± Marke said. ¡°This entire realm could be in opposition to Priority One.¡± He paced around the cave. ¡°Maybe there is another way out of the cave.¡± He said desperately. He walked over to the cave wall and pushed on it. He ran his hands over every surface in the cave but didn¡¯t find anything. Discouraged, he turned back to the tunnel. ¡°Perhaps the torture isn¡¯t mandatory.¡± Kente said hopefully. The box appeared again as Marke entered the tunnel. He tried to wave it away or tap on it but it didn¡¯t move or react. He ducked to go under it. It looked the same from the back side, not even mirrored. Marke continued down the tunnel until a second box appeared.
Realm AC7A is also brought to you by donations from Holy Destroyer Xathanael, Secondary Adjunct to the Ministry of Sand Department of Labor Relations. Please avoid all torture in order to sabotage the demonic research.
Marke and Kente stared at the second box for several seconds. ¡°That¡¯s the terrible state of scientific research these days.¡± Kente said. ¡°Everything has to be political, no more ¡®Knowledge for knowledge¡¯s sake¡¯ I tell ya.¡± Marke laughed so long and hard that tears rolled down his face. When he finally stopped, he took another deep breath and let it out as he ducked under the second box. A third box popped up near the end of the tunnel and filled it completely.
By walking through this barrier, you accept our terms and conditions. Read terms and conditions? (y/n)
¡°Pretty sure we don¡¯t want to sign a contract with demons.¡± Kente said helpfully. Marke read the box a few times. ¡°Did they not run this past some lawyers? This is an obvious gap in their legal protection.¡± Marke lay down on the ground and rolled through the System box. When he was sure he had moved completely beyond the box, he stood and walked out of the tunnel. Ch 20 - Thats Right, Bucko! Marke exited the tunnel and entered the demon realm. Right in front of the tunnel, Marke encountered a large box with an open section starting about waist hight. A flap extended out from the top of the box, shading the interior from the neon magenta sunlight. Above the large box, a placard stood on two short poles with some writing. ¡°Tickets.¡± Marke read aloud. ¡°That¡¯s right, bucko! Step right up and get your free* name tag!¡± A person with a big smile and scaly blue skin wearing a black leather cowboy hat stood inside the ticket booth. They pulled out a stack of paper tickets and began fanning themself with it. ¡°Once you have a name tag you can trade for tickets. Step right up!¡± I know you heard that asterisk on the word ¡®free¡¯. Kente thought to Marke. ¡°Trade with what?¡± Marke asked the person. ¡°Step right up!¡± The person replied. They put down the tickets and began to fan themself with their leather hat. ¡°Get your free* name tag! Step right up.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Marke said. ¡°That¡¯s right, bucko!¡± The person said. ¡°Step right up!¡± Maybe we need to step right up to the ticket booth. Kente suggested. Marke stepped forward to stand right in front of the ticket booth. ¡°That¡¯s right, bucko!¡± The person said again. ¡°Here¡¯s your free* name tag!¡± The person slid a paper rectangle across to Marke. The paper had written on it: ¡°My name is:¡± with a blank line underneath. With everything in this realm up till now being the way it was, Marke was deeply suspicious of the piece of paper. ¡°Flip it over.¡± He told the person. The person, without any change in expression, flipped the name tag over. The back was covered with very tiny wording. Marke leaned down to try and read it. ¡°What language is this?¡± He asked. The text was no alphabet Marke had ever seen and he couldn¡¯t tell if it read right to left or top to bottom. The person flipped the name tag back over. ¡°Can¡¯t get tickets without a name tag! Step right up!¡± The person replaced their hat and resumed fanning themself with the stack of tickets. I think this ¡°person¡± can only say a few lines. Kente said. I agree. Marge thought back. He looked past the ticket stand to see if there was anyone else to talk to. The air just past the ticket booth was hazy and Marke could only see indistinct shapes in wildly clashing colors. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Marke held his arms out and walked slowly at the haze. His hands hit resistance immediately. He tried forcing his way through but found no give in the barrier. Marke followed the barrier around from the side of the ticket booth to the stone wall behind him, then repeated the search on the opposite side of the ticket booth. Finding nothing, he stepped up to the ticket window again. ¡°Can¡¯t get tickets without a name tag! Here¡¯s your free* name tag!¡± The ticket person slid the blank name tag across to Marke. Marke tried to grab the person¡¯s hand, but, instead of feeling scaly skin, Marke felt searing pain and heard arcing electricity. His vision went black.
Marke woke up back in the pale yellow cave, feeling very disoriented. ¡°What?¡± He said thickly. ¡°Kente?¡± ¡°Just¡­ no. Not right now.¡± Kente replied. He sounded really unhappy, so Marke left him alone. Marke looked around the cave. Same vanilla pudding stone, same tunnel. He looked at himself. He hadn¡¯t paid attention to the clothes before, but the hands looked the same. Marke took a moment to examine his clothing. He wore pants and a button up shirt in the same color as the walls of the cave, only a few shades darker. While he waited for Kente, Marke rolled his sleeves up above his elbows. He didn¡¯t have any shoes. Did I have shoes last time? He wondered.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. As the time dragged on, Marke began to worry that something was seriously wrong with Kente. He didn¡¯t want to invade Kente¡¯s space, however, so he went through a priority check himself. Priority One: Kente might be suffering. He really wanted a body. He really wants a body. Priority Two: Do not grab the ticket booth worker. Priority Three: Self Care. Self care, Self care¡­ I just did tai chi twice in a row not so long ago. I¡¯ll do some pushups and stuff. Priority Four: postponed. Marke rolled over on his front and began doing some pushups. He managed about ten sub-par pushups before he needed to stop. He switched to crunches, then tried doing handstands up against the cave wall. ¡°Ok.¡± Kente said after Marke¡¯s fourth collapse to the floor. ¡°Listen. You died.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Marke said. ¡°Just. Listen.¡± Kente said. ¡°You died. It was terrifying, yes, but most of all, it was disgusting. We knew we could die and we have that incarnation pool to pay for deaths, so I¡¯ll be fine once I get used to it. The problem is that you burned your skin black¡­ then bubbled¡­ and melted¡­ before you were ¡®dead¡¯ enough, apparently. It was gross. I can¡¯t even vomit so I had to deal with the disgust mentally. Gross.¡± ¡°Yikes.¡± Marke said. ¡°Priority One: Warn Kente of risk of non-instantaneous death so Kente doesn¡¯t have to watch.¡± Kente said. ¡°Roger that.¡± Marke said. ¡°Got any thoughts about how to proceed in this realm?¡± Kente asked. ¡°Um, yeah. I think we have to take the name tag. The whole ticket booth and name tag thing is more sophisticated than boxes that pop up in front of my face. The people who built this realm are serious and seem to be more professional that the previous ones. Maybe that¡¯s why it needed so much funding, I don¡¯t know.¡± Marke felt himself begin to ramble. He really felt bad about Kente¡¯s situation, but felt powerless to help. ¡°Ok. Let¡¯s go, then.¡± Kente sounded unenthusiastic. Marke walked out the tunnel, avoiding the message banners and rolling through the terms and conditions again. He walked up to the ticket booth. ¡°Welcome back! Step right up! Here¡¯s your free* name tag!¡± The blue scaly person greeted Marke with the same big smile as they slid a blank name tag across. Marke picked up the name tag. He flinched as a static shock zapped his fingers. The ticket person held out a pen. Grabbing the pen. Probably won¡¯t shock me if I don¡¯t touch the person. Just a heads-up. Marke thought to Kente. Marke took the pen gingerly and was grateful to receive no electric death. With pen in hand, Marke looked at the blank line where he was meant to write his name. I¡¯m gonna¡­ try and break this. I don¡¯t see why goofing around with the name tag would result in death. Just a heads-up. He thought. Understood. Kente replied. Marke drew a scribble on the line for his name. The scribble disappeared and Marke¡¯s hand spasmed in pain. ¡°Ow! Ahhhh¡­¡± Marke dropped the pen and clutched his hand to his chest. You ok? Kente thought to him. Marke took a deep breath and shook out his hand. I¡¯m fine. That hurt but it¡¯s gone now. I¡­ don¡¯t like this place. Marke thought back. Marke retrieved the fallen pen and contemplated the name tag again. I¡¯m gonna try again. He thought to Kente. Are you sure? Kente thought back. Yes. If it¡¯s worse this time, I¡¯ll just write a name and get past here. Marke wrote ¡°I¡¯m with stupid¡± Near the top of the name tag. He screamed as his whole arm twisted and vibrated in pain. Marke sat down and held his arm for a while, just breathing. When he was read, he picked up the pen and wrote ¡°Priority One¡± on the line. The name tag yanked itself out of his hand and slapped onto the front of his shirt on the left breast. ¡°That¡¯s right, bucko! Step right in! Welcome to the fair!¡± The ticket person waved their hand and the haze behind the ticket booth disappeared. Marke could see a huge expanse of booths, tents, rides, and people. So many people, all different sizes, shapes, colors, and number of limbs. The noise of the crowd hit him a moment later like a crashing wave. ¡°Holy hell.¡± Kente said. ¡°Ha! Get it?¡± ¡°What?¡± Marke asked, confused. ¡°Because of the funding? Demons and¡­ I don¡¯t know. Archangels? Holy hell.¡± Kente explained. Marke just chuckled and shook his head. Ch 21 - Mind Your Own Business "What can I trade for tickets?" Marke asked the ticket person. They were fanning themself with a stack of the tickets. "Step right up! You can trade one year of your life in servitude to the great Eighth Lord of Pain for one thousand tickets at this booth, or you can trade prizes and valuables at any of the ticket stands around the fair. Step right up!" The person''s smile never wavered as they answered the inquiry. "NOPE." Kente said. Marke walked past the ticket booth and entered the crowd. Even though the crowd was very large, Marke found that the people were, for the most part, conscientious of personal space and didn''t push or shove. Many of the people were some kind of animal, like a zoo had been trained to walk on two legs and set loose. Marke and Kente observed the people and the attractions as they walked through the fair. To their surprise, many of the booths and rides were completely ordinary and not torture themed at all. One booth even handed out free samples of florescent cotton candy. "Um, Kente. I really want to try that glowing cotton candy." Marke said. Kente just sighed in response, so Marke asked for a sample of the glowing purple flavor. The worker, a lizard person dressed in a striped circus costume, glanced at his name tag and Marke felt a tingle across his chest before the worked handed him the sample. "What was that?" He asked the worker. "I felt a tingle." The worker smiled at him with pointy fangs. "Jusssst checking yourrrrr level, gentlebeing." The worker handed Marke the sample and turned to the next person. Marke looked at his own name tag as he wandered off. It just looked like a normal piece of paper. "Try looking at someone else''s name tag." Kente suggested. Marke looked at a name tag of someone coming the other direction who had a squid head. The name tag read, "zmTXh8BZuw" but then the text shifted to read "Level 98". The squid person stopped and glared at Marke. "Ah!" Marke yelped as an immense pressure descended on him. "Sorry! I''m sorry! I didn''t mean-" Marke heard a snap and everything went black. ---- Marke woke up in the pale yellow cave again. He felt the unpleasantness of transferring from a body full of adrenaline to a body with none. "Sheesh!" He exclaimed. "My bad." Kente said. "Guess we have learned two things about this place: Don''t touch the workers and mind your own business." "Right." Marke agreed. He stood up and checked his condition. He immediately noticed that he didn''t have a shirt, but his name tag was stuck to his chest. "Uh oh. No shoes no shirt no service?" He said. "Do we lose clothing every time we die? What''s the point of that?" Kente asked. "Is this a function of the realm or the QuARK side of things? Shouldn''t we incarnate as a completely new... um... instance of us after each death?" Marke stared down at his name tagged chest as he contemplated. "I would guess it''s a function of the realm. It would be ridiculous to have quality assurance workers incarnate naked a thousand times. I suppose there must be other ways to resurrect in this realm and it can track that somehow." Marke walked back through the tunnel, avoiding the banners and rolling through the terms and conditions. "Was that death bad?" He asked Kente.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "No. It was very quick, thank goodness." Kente said. "Or thank badness. I don''t know that squid person''s alignment." "Step right up! Welcome to the fair!" The ticket person said as Marke walked past. Marke had a sudden thought and returned to the ticket booth. "Can I get a name tag?" He asked the ticket person. "Additional name tags cost ten thousand tickets. That''s right bucko!" The ticket person fanned themself with the black leather hat again. Marke shook his head and continued on to the fair.
"That purple cotton candy was awful." Marke complained for the fourth time. "No one made you eat it." Kente reminded Marke for the third time. "I died getting that cotton candy. It should have been better." Marke said. "Tell me the flavor again." Kente said. "Sour oranges mixed with blood." Marke answered. "I think it imprinted the flavor into my mind. I can''t seem to forget the taste." Marke wandered through the fair, looking for more free samples. After walking for a few hours, Marke started feeling very thirsty. He approached a ticket booth to ask for directions. "Where can I get some water?" Marke asked. "Step right up! Looking to buy some tickets, bucko?" This ticket person had green scaly skin and a white leather cowboy hat. They fanned themself with their own stack of tickets. "Can tickets buy water?" Marke asked. "Tickets can purchase concessions all across the fair. Step right up!" The person replied. "What can I trade, exactly?" Marke asked. "You can trade prizes or valuables for tickets. That''s right bucko!" The person said. "What sorts of valuables?" Marked asked. "You can trade prizes or valuables for tickets. That''s right bucko!" The person repeated. "Can I trade my pants for tickets?" Marke asked. Kente laughed. The ticket person froze. They flickered for a second before replying. "Only prizes and valuables earned inside the fair can be traded for tickets. Step right up!" The person resumed fanning themself. Marke moved to the side of the ticket booth and sat down on a patch of scrubby black grass. I want to talk face to face, Kente. He thought. Roger that. Meet you there. Kente replied. Marke closed his eyes and tried to meditate. He took slow, even breaths. After a few minutes, he opened his avatar''s eyes in the shadow sea. Kente was standing nearby. "This is a pickle, Kente." Kente just stared at Marke. Actually, he was staring at Marke''s chest. Marke looked down. "Why is my name tag here?" He asked in surprise. "Weird, it''s tied to your soul somehow. That must be how the System tracks how many times you die." Kente reached out and plucked the name tag off Marke''s chest. "Ha! They didn''t anticipate someone entering their realm with two souls in one body." Kente slapped the name tag on his own chest and it stuck. "Hold up." Marke said. "There was something on the back." Kente removed the name tag and flipped it over so they could both look at the back. The back of the name tag didn''t have something on it--it was a window onto something else. Part of a word, "EVE" ran across the top, with the tops of other letters across the bottom. Kente tried tipping the name tag to change the perspective but it didn''t work. Marke tried pulling the sides of the name tag to stretch it wider. Marke and Kente pulled the four sides of the name tag until it stopped expanding.
NAME: Priority One LEVEL: -1 TICKETS: 0 DEATHS: 2 HP: 10 MP: 10 STR: 10 DEX: 10 INT: 10 CHR: 10
"Well, well, well." Kente said. "They hid the status box in the name tag. Are other boxes hidden in other things?" "More importantly, why is our level negative one?" Marke asked. Ch 22 - Dont Let it Happen Again Marke and Kente tossed a few ideas back and forth about how the System worked in this realm, but they didn''t arrive at any conclusions. They did, however, decide on their next step. Marke pulled himself out of his meditation and approached the ticket booth again. "Can I sell my name tag?" He asked. The ticket person ignored him and continue to fan themself with their white hat. "Hello?" Marke said. "Hello! Ticket booth person! Can I sell my name tag?" The person ignored him like he wasn''t even there. "You haven''t got a name tag, kid." A buffalo person walking past remarked in a deep smooth voice. "Huh?" Marke looked down at his completely bare chest. "Where''d it go?" The buffalo person stopped walking. "Yeah, I don''t know how you did that but you better get it back before someone important notices." Kente! Marke thought. Is my avatar there? Can you put the name tag back on me? On it! Kente replied. The name tag appeared, covering Marke''s whole chest and wrapping around his sides. Wrong size! Marke said. The name tag shrunk back to its original size. "That''s a neat trick." The buffalo person said. "Can you teach me?" "Um. I''m not sure." Marke answered. "I have-" Danger! Kente interrupted. Don''t be free with valuable information about us. Marke cleared his throat and started over. "Do you have any sort of connection to your own, um, soul?" He said. "Nope." The buffalo person looked disappointed. "Do you know how to get one?" Marke shrugged. "I don''t know exactly, but meditation on the nature of your soul might be a good starting place." The buffalo considered that for a few moments. "Alright, I''ll give it a try. Thanks for the tip." The buffalo person tossed Marke a small roll of tickets and continued walking. "Oh! Uh, You''re welcome!" Marke called after them. "Tickets!" He remarked with glee. He remembered the ticket booth person and tried his question again. "Can I sell my name tag?" "Name tags are worth a number of tickets equal to your level." The ticket booth person stopped fanning themself and glanced at Marke''s name tag. Marke felt the tingle of having his level checked. "Your name tag is worth (-1) ticket. Please pay me (1) ticket to sell me your name tag." The ticket person held out a hand to receive payment. "No thanks." Marke said, walking away. "Man those things talk weird. How do they convey asterisks and parentheses through speech?"
Marke found a concession stand that sold some kind of drink and spent half his tickets on the biggest size available. He gagged after the first sip. "Ugh! Blood flavored soda? That''s disgusting and unoriginal." He managed to swallow a few mouthfuls before needing a break.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Demons love their blood, I guess. Maybe we can sell our blood at the ticket booths?" Kent said. Marke considered it momentarily. "Nah." Marke said. "We didn''t earn it inside the fair." They wandered past a few rides that looked nostalgically unsafe and Marke bought a hot dog for two tickets at the next concession stand. Thankfully, it was an ordinary hot dog. When Marke finished his blood soda and hot dog, Kente had an idea. "The ticket booth people won''t talk to us without a name tag." He said. "Except for that first one. We didn''t have a name tag and it offered us one. Maybe we can hide this one and get another?" "Kente, that''s a great idea!" Marke said. He turned back in the probable direction of the first ticket booth. He was almost completely lost in all the fair attractions, but he could see part of the stone cliff where the starting tunnel came out. After a half an hour of walking, he returned to the first ticket booth. "Ok, hide the tag." Marke said to Kente. The name tag vanished from his chest. Marke walked up to the ticket booth. "Can I have a name tag?" He asked the person. The person slid an blank name tag across to Marke. Excited, Marke picked up the name tag and took the offered pen. He wrote "Priority Two" on the name tag and it slapped itself on his chest. "huzzah!" He cheered with success. "That''s right, bucko! Welcome to the fair!" The ticket person said. Kente, can you- Marke started to say. Already on it. Kente said and the new name tag vanished from Marke''s chest. He looked up at the ticket person and asked again, "Can I have a name tag?" The ticket person frowned. Marke''s heart sank as the haze wall behind the ticket booth sprung up to block him in. The ticket person spoke in a low threatening tone. "Player, have you lost your name tag so soon?" Marke stuttered. "I- I- It- I don''t know." A pressure on his mind made him feel like a mouse standing in front of a snake. I can''t watch this, I''m sorry! Kente''s voice sounded panicked as he retreated from Marke''s certain death. The ticket person took out an old camera and snapped a picture of Marke. The film buzzed out the bottom of the camera and the ticket person shook it for a moment to develop the picture. They slapped the picture on the rear wall of the ticket booth under a sign that read, "Suspicious". "Don''t let it happen again." The ticket person said. They slid a new blank name tag across to Marke. Marke took the name tag and pen with shaky fingers and wrote, "Priority Three" on the blank line. The name tag slapped into his chest with enough force to make him stumble back a step. The haze wall dropped, but the ticket person continued to frown and stare at Marke. Marke scampered away. As they resumed wandering through the fair, Marke noticed that every ticket person would turn and glare at him whenever he got close. "This place is a nightmare." Marke said to Kente. "Yeah. Sorry, we got overconfident again. This place is the real deal. I hope we don''t have to die of old age here." Kente said. "Geez, I''m really sorry. Swapping the name tag right in front of the ticket booth was stupid. We should have waited a few hours in order to replicate the first success." "You''re right, but it''s not your fault. We both had the same idea and didn''t take any precautions." Marke said. "Is the second name tag the same as the first?" "Oh, right, with the whole thing I forgot to tell you. When I pulled the second name tag off your chest it merged with the one on my chest. It''s now level zero and the name says ''Priority One Priority Two''. Also the stats all went up by one point." Kente said. "I think we should merge the third one in." "What level is the one I''m wearing?" Marke asked. "Level one." Kent said. Marke considered it for a moment. "I don''t know if there is an advantage to being able to swap names. Lets hold off on merging for a while." Ch 23 - The Fun Never Ends The magenta sunset gave Marke a headache. When the area grew dark, lights flickered to life on every booth and ride, turning the fair into a psychedelic disco. The number of people at the fair didn''t decline much, but there were no more children-size people running around. Marke noticed a disturbance in the crowd ahead of him. A person wearing clothing with glowing white panels on the front and back strode through the crowd like a shark through a school of fish. Marke saw the first instance of shoving at the fair as the crowd pressed hard to get out of the path of the glowing person. Someone stumbled and fell to the ground with a shout of dismay. The glowing person bent down as quick as a striking snake and tore the name tag off the person on the ground. The now nameless person shrieked in agony. The glowing person straightened up and continued walking, stepping on the downed person. "Let''s run away. Away from that person." Kente suggested. Marke agreed and ducked into a dark space between two booths. He didn''t stay to hide and instead kept retreating, putting as much distance as he could between himself and that glowing predator without drawing attention to himself. "Perfect. Just perfect. The fun never ends." Marke said sarcastically. "If someone takes our name tag, no way the ticket person will let us have another." Marke said. "We can hide our tag, though." Kente said. "If we get cornered, I can hide the tag and maybe they will ignore us or just take our tickets." "Yeah, or maybe they will just kill us." Marke said. We need somewhere safe to sleep. How many tickets do you imagine that will cost?" "I don''t know, man. I''m worried that we have no plan to get more tickets. We don''t even have enough tickets for another drink and hot dog at this point." Kente said. "we need a plan or we''ll starve before anyone can steal our name tag." "I hate this place!" Marke half-shouted. A few of the people around him grunted in annoyance or agreement.
Marke and Kente wandered through the nighttime fair for a few hours. They avoided three more glowing predators and Marke got some advice from a giraffe person for four tickets. There was, apparently, a number of booths around the fair that would buy painful memories from fair-goers. Marke found a booth that matched the description from the giraffe person and approached the front. "Step right up!" Marke thought the person was one of the ticket people at first, but a forked snake tongue flicked out to taste the air and the person winked an eye with a vertical slit. "Selling some painful memories? Minimum level of pain equals minimum number of tickets, five!" The snake person said. "More pain means more tickets."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "What kinds of pain do you accept?" Marke asked. "Oh we take all kinds!" The person answered. "Burning, drowning, acid, hunger, broken limbs, heartbreak, you name it! Anything unpleasant enough is a painful experience!" Can I sell the memory of watching you melt? Kente asked. "Do I keep the memories after?" Marke asked. "You keep your memories, but you might find them fuzzy or dull. Keeps you from selling the same memory twice. Do you have one in mind?" The snake person asked. "Um, yes. How does it work?" Marke asked. The snake person slid a few things around inside the booth, muttering. "Found it. Here you go." The person slid a black panel out the front of the booth. A white outline of a five fingered hand was the only thing on the panel. "Put your hand on the panel and try very hard to remember the entire memory. Intact memories are worth more tickets!" Ready to try? Marke asked Kente. Ready. Kente replied. Marke put his hand on the panel. He felt a touch of fatigue as something drained out of him. A bell rang and the Snake person whistled. The whistle sounded more like a hiss than a whistle. "Yuck! That memory is worth four hundred tickets!" The snake person waved a hand and a folded stack of tickets appeared in it which they handed to Marke. Marke stuffed the tickets in the pocket of his pants. "Can I sell another?" He asked. The snake person shook their head. "One memory per day or you get side effects. Side effect memories are not accepted, no matter how painful. Thanks for playing!" The snake person waved Marke off. "Did that help?" Marke asked Kente. "Maybe." Kente said. "The memory is definitely still there, but it doesn''t seem to pull as hard any more. I wonder what those side effects might be, I have a bunch of other memories to sell." "Let''s not get overconfident again." Marke warned. "I''m hungry." Marke found the next concession stand and tried to buy a nice looking sandwich, but got turned down after the worker checked his level. "Minimum level five for that item. Next!" The human-looking person waved Marke away. Disappointed, Marke walked until he found a stand selling hot dogs. There was apparently no minimum level for hot dogs. "How do I get more levels?" Marke asked the worker. The worker frowned and looked down at Marke''s bare feet. "You''ve died at least twice and you''re back to level one. You know how to get levels. Don''t waste my time." Marke muttered an apology and walked quickly away. "Thoughts?" Marke said. "Hmmm." Kente said. "The name tag I have got a level when it merged with the second name tag. Maybe we have to steal name tags like those glowing predators. Do we need more levels? Hot dogs and blood soda will probably keep us alive for a while." Marke thought for a while. "I don''t want to drink blood soda again." He said. "Priority One: Blood soda is gross?" Kente said. Marke nodded. "We need to steal some name tags." He said. "Without getting killed by a squid person with ninety-eight levels." Unfortunately, they didn''t come up with a plan to safely steal name tags before Marke had to buy another blood soda to deal with his thirst. Ch 24 - Pair of Socks Marke spent the rest of the night high off the ground in a ride that was closed for repairs. He thought he heard other people climb up into the ride, but he saw no one. In the morning, Marke purchased a breakfast hotdog and blood soda. ¡°Cherry blood soda is the worst one yet.¡± He said. He considered just dumping the rest of the soda on the ground, but his body needed fluids to function. ¡°We don¡¯t technically know for sure that your body acts like the bodies we are used to, but it¡¯s not worth finding out¡± Kente said. Marke agreed and sucked down the rest of the soda. Priority check. Marke said in his mind. Priority One: figure out how to safely steal name tags. Priority Two: keep an eye on our tickets and don¡¯t get robbed. Priority Three: Find an empty space and do some tai chi? Priority Four: I can see prizes in a bunch of the booths, maybe I can get some juggling balls or buy some rope. Priority Five: Unknown. For Priority Two, a shirt with a bag underneath might help us hide our ticket reserves. Kente said. Marke set out to find an empty space or booths selling clothing. An hour later, Marke tried to ask some of the passing people if there was anywhere to buy clothes. Most ignored him, but a few shook their heads. ¡°That stinks.¡± Marke said. ¡°It also doesn¡¯t make sense. Is this fair so safe that nearly everyone is fully dressed? I even see people with hats and I didn¡¯t start with a hat.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a break. We didn¡¯t find a good spot for tai chi so we are missing out on Priority Three. Maybe we should try one of the rides.¡± Kente suggested. Marke looked at the nearby rides. A pair of carousels caught his eye. One was a normal carousel with animal steeds and the other had steeds all in the form of humans on all fours. The people riding the carousels were split with the human-like people riding the animals and the animal-like people riding the humans. Marke headed for the animal carousel. ¡°Step right up! Carousel rides, two tickets!¡± The worker called out. The line was short, so Marke was mounted on clown fish in no time. The carousel started and a slightly out-of-tune organ began playing. The ride wasn¡¯t particularly fast or exciting, but Marke hummed along with the tune and felt himself relax for a minute. The ride ended and Marke stepped back through the gate, feeling a bit refreshed. ¡°Oh ho HO!¡± Kente crowed with delight. ¡°The secrets of this realm unravel before my eyes!¡± ¡°What?¡± Marke asked. ¡°What is it?¡± He nearly bumped into a manatee person in his distraction and had to ask Kente to start his explanation over. ¡°I¡¯ve got your other name tag in here with me, spread as wide as it goes. Well, when you walked out of the ride I felt a tickle so I looked closer.¡± Kente paused for effect. ¡°The name tag has an ¡®Experience¡¯ line now! It reads two out of one hundred.¡± ¡°Oh dang, rides give-¡± Marke stopped as Kente shushed him, the continued in his mind. Rides give experience. That means we don¡¯t have to steal name tags and risk death by squid man. This is fantastic! Should I do the carousel again? No, lets try every ride we can find, see if one is better than the others. Marke increased his walking pace and aimed for the next ride he saw.
¡°I¡¯m gonna throw up. I¡¯m gonna throw up forever.¡± Marke groaned as he lay on the scrubby grass just outside of a ride consisting of hollow clown heads that spun in place and irregularly orbited each other. Marke almost couldn¡¯t walk straight enough to exit the ride after the horrible music stopped and the mechanisms halted.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. That was so bad I had to hide.¡± Kente said. ¡°On the plus side though, we got enough experience to pass one hundred.¡± ¡°Hooray.¡± Marke said pitifully. ¡°Did we both pass one hundred?¡± He asked. ¡°Oh, I forgot to check yours.¡± Kente said. Marke¡¯s name tag disappeared from his chest for a moment then reappeared. ¡°Yup. We are over one hundred experience, but our level is still one¡­¡± Marke felt like crying in addition to throwing up, but he pushed himself up on his hands and knees. ¡°You-¡± He clutched his stomach as the world threatened to spin. ¡°You keep poking at those tags, see if you can make something happen. I need to¡­ hey I haven¡¯t needed the bathroom since we got here. What¡¯s up with that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. This realm is a fun house mirror designed by a committee of very disturbed people.¡± Kente said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep poking at the tags.¡± Marke wandered the fair until he found an good old fashioned ring-toss game. He paid two tickets to play and won a keychain with a picture of a demon that looked like Abraham Lincoln. The worker said it was a picture of a ¡®Lord of Vice¡¯ and was good luck when gambling. Marke traded it to a human-looking person in exchange for purchasing a nice sandwich with Marke¡¯s tickets. The sandwich was very garlicky and the bread was a bit stale. Marke loved every bite. ¡°That¡¯s the best thing I¡¯ve eaten since original Marke died.¡± He proclaimed a little too loudly. A few people turned and gave him odd looks. Marke turned away and slipped through a gap between two booths. ¡°Kente, any luck with the name tag?¡± He asked. ¡°No, sorry, and I¡¯m out of ideas to try.¡± Kente said. ¡°That¡¯s alright, I¡¯m gonna play some more games.¡± Marke said.
Marke spent nearly all his tickets on games before he was obligated to sell another memory. The memory of ripping open blisters on his hands while building the shelter in the eclipse realm only bought him thirty tickets, which made him feel bad again about Kente watching him die and melt. The worker at the memory booth saw his obviously missing clothing and gave him a clue. ¡°It¡¯s not safe to walk around with that much experience after dark, friend. Better to keep your head down and work off your debt slowly, I say.¡± The worker pointed to a little kiosk nearby. ¡°Buy your next level and stay safe, ok?¡± ¡°Uh, oh, right. Of course, thanks for the reminder, friend.¡± Marke managed to think of a response that didn¡¯t reveal his almost total ignorance and turned to the kiosk immediately. With all the colorful booths and rides and people, Marke and Kente had overlooked the bland looking little tables. He walked up to it, not sure what to do. A few people in the crowd slowed down to watch him. He hesitated, worried the watchers had bad intentions. Go for it. Kente said. The memory worker made it sound like we would be dead meat tonight anyway. Marke tried to ignore the stares and read the instructions on the kiosk. Place your name tag and valuables on the table, then make a selection. Marke placed his game winnings on the table. It was a bundle of tiny stuffed animals and keychains, plus one flute. Out of the corner of his eye, Marke saw one of the people watching him turn and keep walking. He wasn¡¯t sure if that a good sign. He carefully pulled his name tag off his chest and put it on the table. The game prizes dissolved into the table and his name tag changed to show a short list. Level 2 Pair of socks Unique keychain Marke stared at the list. Make a selection? Why would I want another keychain? He wondered. Maybe the keychains actually do things. Kente said. I¡¯m tired of trying to figure out what¡¯s going on. People told us there wasn¡¯t a place to buy clothes, but here we are, buying clothes. How does any one else know how things work? A heavy hand settled unto Marke¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Hello friend. How about you buy me that pair of socks and I let you keep your name tag?¡± Marke looked up to see a ram¡¯s head right next to his face. One of the ram¡¯s big horns touched his cheek. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Marke said. The hand tightened on his shoulder, but not painfully so. Kente! Marke said in his head. I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t understand anything about this place! Go with your gut! Kente said back. Marke¡¯s mind spun. He had ridden so many awful rides to earn experience and level up. He had eaten too many hotdogs and drunk too much blood soda. Higher levels meant better food and drink. Marke¡¯s eyes narrowed as he glared at the ram person. ¡°Priority One.¡± Marke said. Ch 25 - Completely Reset ¡°What?¡± The ram person asked, confused. Marke brought his hand up between himself and the ram person and grabbed the horn that was poking him in the cheek. The ram bleated in surprise as Marke yanked his head sideway and down. Marke grabbed the other horn with his free hand and twisted hard the other way. The ram tried to punch Marke, but Marke held his head down and the ram couldn¡¯t reach properly. Marke kicked at the ram¡¯s back legs while pulling forward and the ram fell to the ground. Marke used the horns to flip the ram onto his back, then let go with one hand to punch the ram in the throat. The ram landed a punch on Marke¡¯s cheek, but grabbed at his own throat instead of continuing to fight. Marke shook his head and gritted his teeth to fight the shock of the blow to the face. Marke ripped the name tag off the ram¡¯s chest as he stood up straight. He kicked the ram in the gut several times, until the ram curled into a ball. Marke glared around at the crowd, the few remaining watchers looked away and some began walking. Marke turned to the table and tapped ¡®Level 2¡¯. His name tag flew back to his chest. Marke walked into the crowd and tried to lose himself by slipping between booths instead of following the path. ¡°Way to go, Marke.¡± Kente said. ¡°I mean it. That was decisive and impressive, a lot like when you broke us out of the prison. Well done.¡± ¡°Thanks, Kente. I appreciate that.¡± Marke said. He was pretty sure no one was following him, but he continued walking quickly. ¡°I thought the ¡®Priority One¡¯ line was pretty cool. I¡¯m the only one who knew what it meant, but it was cool.¡± Kente said with sincerity. Marke chuckled. What do I do with this name tag? Marke thought to Kente. I thought it would combine with mine when I took it. Can you look at it? Marke asked. No, I can¡¯t see it on your avatar. Ride that ferris wheel so we can check it out with some privacy. Kente said. Marke paid one ticket to ride the ferris wheel. When his seat lifted into the air, he folded his hands over the name tag and meditated to enter the shadow sea. He opened his eyes to see Kente, wearing the other name tag. Marke looked down at his own name tag, but it wasn¡¯t expanded so it looked the same. ¡°The name tag is in my lap out there, but it didn¡¯t come with me.¡± He said. ¡°Maybe you need to put it on your chest?¡± Kente suggested. Marke left the shadow sea and was briefly disoriented as he took in the view from the top of the ferris wheel. The booths and fair people stretched on for miles in every direction except for towards the stone cliff where he arrived in this realm. In the opposite direction from the stone cliff, Marke saw some larger tents in the distance. He focused back on his task and pressed the stolen name tag to his chest. It itched, but didn¡¯t change appearance. The name on the tag was ¡°Charger¡±. I can see it, but it¡¯s translucent, not fully there. Oh, it says something. Kente said. The itching grew stronger and the writing on the name tag changed appearance.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Make a selection: Combine name tags Replace name tag Remove Marke tapped ¡®Remove¡¯ and the tag fell off his chest. He caught it before it blew away. Kente, take my name tag off my avatar, please. Marke thought. The name tag on his chest vanished. Marke placed the stolen name tag on his chest again. It itched and showed more text. Make a selection: Erase name tag Remove Without thinking, Marke tapped ¡®Erase name tag¡¯. The name tag reverted to ¡°My name is:¡± with a blank line underneath. ¡°Whoops.¡± Marke said. ¡°Guess that should have been obvious. I don¡¯t have a pen. You got a pen, Kente?¡± No, I do not have a pen, Marke. Kente sounded a bit frustrated with Marke¡¯s impulsive choice. Maybe you can borrow one from the nice ticket booth people. Now Kente sounded sarcastic. Marke frowned and thought for a while. Eventually, the ferris wheel ride finished and Marke got down. He turned in the direction he had seen the larger tents and started walking. He stopped at the first ticket booth he ran across. The ticket person, this time with a blue leather hat, glared at him suspiciously. ¡°Can I borrow a pen to fill in my name tag?¡± He asked. The ticket person looked down at his blank name tag and froze. The person stayed frozen for three entire seconds before slowly holding out a pen. Marke carefully took the pen and wrote ¡®Priority Four¡¯ on the blank line. He returned the pen and backed away from the ticket booth. When the ticket person stopped glaring at him, Marke turned and continued walking. ¡°That was too dangerous, I suggested that sarcastically and you should have warned me what you were doing as part of Priority One. What if they melted you again?¡± Kente scolded. Marke winced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry, Kente. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been able to think straight since I killed that goat guy.¡± Kente scoffed. ¡°He wasn¡¯t a goat, he was a ram. Don¡¯t be racist. Also, you didn¡¯t kill him!¡± Kente said. ¡°He was hurt, but definitely not dead.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Marke said. ¡°I knew that. I don¡¯t know why I said I killed him. I was trying to kill him. I didn¡¯t think to take his name until it was right in front of me and he was holding his throat with both hands.¡± Kente¡¯s voice grew softer. ¡°It¡¯s ok, man. You did great, and we¡¯re still alive. Do you want to keep running around as ¡®Priority Four¡¯ for a while? I could merge ¡®Priority Three¡¯ into my name tag.¡± ¡°What level is this name tag?¡± Marke asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Kente said. ¡°I have to hold ¡®Priority Three¡¯ with both hands to stop it from merging with mine.¡± Marke looked around and found a spot where he could sit down out of the way. He closed his eyes and moved to the shadow sea. He opened his eyes and took the ¡®Priority Three¡¯ name tag from Kente. ¡°Take ¡®Priority Four¡¯ off my chest.¡± He said. Kente obliged, and Marke pressed ¡®Priority Three¡¯ to his chest. Together, Marke and Kente expanded ¡®Priority Four¡¯ to view the level and stats. NAME: Priority Four LEVEL: 1 TICKETS: 0 DEATHS: 0 HP: 10 MP: 10 STR: 10 DEX: 10 INT: 10 CHR: 10 ¡°Looks like it completely reset.¡± Kente said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I paid attention to the death count enough before. Does ¡®Priority Three¡¯ have the right death count? This one is zero. Does that mean that choosing ¡®Combine name tags¡¯ adds the other person¡¯s death count to your own?¡± Kente shook his head. ¡°This realm¡¯s System is so convoluted.¡± Marke shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s add this name tag onto ¡®Priority Three¡¯, then check.¡± Kente let go of the name tag, and Marke pressed it to the one on his chest. They merged, and Marke could see that the name read, ¡°Priority Three Priority Four¡±, similar to Kente¡¯s name tag which read, ¡°Priority One Priority Two¡±. Marke pulled the tag off his chest and they expanded it. NAME: Priority Three Priority Four LEVEL: 3 EXPERIENCE: 9/300 TICKETS: 23 DEATHS: 0 HP: 12 MP: 12 STR: 12 DEX: 12 INT: 12 CHR: 12 ¡°Hmmm.¡± Kente said. ¡°What is MP used for anyway?¡± Marke just shook his head wordlessly. Ch 26 - Blood Soda Moonshine Marke spent the night in another broken down ride. He was kept awake for a few hours because his name tag was slightly glowing. He felt like he was wearing a lighthouse on his chest, though it was more like an old tired Christmas tree light shining through a curtain. He eventually fell asleep. In the morning, he was awoken by a hard shaking him. Marke opened his eyes to see a kangaroo person, dressed in fair worker clothing, looming above him. ¡°Wake up, Bucko! I¡¯ve been looking for you all night. I¡¯m supposed to take you to one of the management tents!¡± The kangaroo person pointed a thumb over their shoulder and hopped down to the ground. Marke sat up a little blearily and saw that the morning was nearly halfway over. The kangaroo person clapped their hands to get his attention again. ¡°Come on!¡± Marke decided he didn¡¯t want to run so soon after waking up, so he climbed down and followed the kangaroo person. ¡°Why are you taking me to the management tents?¡± Marke asked. ¡°Don¡¯t know! Have you been cooking up blood soda moonshine or stealing parts from rides?¡± They asked. ¡°No.¡± Marke said. ¡°Blood soda moonshine?¡± He asked. The kangaroo person laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it, bucko! The taste is way worse after you ferment it.¡± Marke felt like his face turned green at the thought of something worse than blood soda. The kangaroo worker didn¡¯t seem to be in any hurry, so Marke indulged his curiosity. ¡°What¡¯s it like working for the fair?¡± He asked. The kangaroo worker shrugged. ¡°Beats running from a glowing lioness every night. Those snatchers are creepy! You can apply to work for the fair at level 5 or by special invitation. You don¡¯t make a lot, but you get room, board, and basic protections. I applied after a few close calls and now I¡¯m a run-and-fetch worker.¡± The kangaroo glanced around, failing to be subtle about it. They leaned down and spoke in a low voice. ¡°The pay is nearly as terrible as the managers, but some of us have figured out how to make a little extra on the side. If you join the fair and can keep a secret, start asking people about ¡®the Elk¡¯ to request an evaluation.¡± The kangaroo person straightened back up and began whistling while looking around nervously. ¡°Oh, uh, thanks for the tip.¡± Marke said. He decided to move on to his next question. ¡°How big is the fair?¡± He asked. Marke chatted with the kangaroo for half an hour before they arrived at a management tent. It turned out that the fair consisted of the whole surface of the realm. The kangaroo had heard rumors of large hunting reserves and maybe some secret underground management things, but nothing certain. No one was born here¨Cthey had all been brought from other realms with connections to the demons or the angels. As far as the kangaroo knew, there wasn¡¯t a way to leave other than dying enough times to lose all your clothes. Marke felt rather exposed with his missing shirt and missing shoes after that discussion. The management tent was horrible to look at. It was shaped like a small circus tent but the outside was covered in thousands of thin lines of all sorts of colors. The colors shifted as Marke walked towards it, which made him feel nauseous again. The kangaroo waved him inside but did not follow. The interior was dim and oddly smoky, like a dying fire. Marke could make out a desk a few steps in.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Step right up!¡± A froggy voice spoke out of the smoky darkness. Marke stepped up to see a frog person sitting on a very wide bench behind the desk. Marke felt the tingle of getting his level checked before the frog person spoke again. ¡°Hmm! Your name is dumb, bucko! Level 3, almost no experience. No stat customization¡­¡± The frog person trailed off, muttering to themself. Marke glanced down at his name tag. Could the frog see his whole character sheet? After a few moments of inaudible muttering, Marke spoke up. ¡°Why am I here?¡± He asked. The frog person croaked loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt! You¡¯re on the ¡®suspicious¡¯ list, bucko, so you¡¯re gonna get dragged in here on every level up for an audit.¡± ¡°What?¡± Marke exclaimed. ¡°Until when?¡± ¡°FOREVER!¡± The frog person bellowed. The walls of the tent shook from the sheer volume of air the frog used in the word, and Marke took a step back. The frog person croaked again and blinked their froggy eyes. The muttering resumed. Marke decided to wait it out. The frog muttered for a whole minute before leaning forward and slamming a stamp into Marke¡¯s name tag. ¡°Ow!¡± Marke said. ¡°What was that.¡± He looked down at his name tag but didn¡¯t see any difference. ¡°You passed the audit and you are free to leave.¡± The frog person said. ¡°What happens if I ever fail the audit?¡± Marke asked. The frog person slowly shook their head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to find out, and neither do you. Go away.¡± The frog person croaked again and placed a smoking pipe in the side of their mouth. Marke left the tent. ¡°What? How? What?¡± Kente asked. ¡°What? How could they even know if your level is legitimate? How did the kangaroo find us?¡± He continued. Marke shrugged. ¡°Do you think they can detect level ups for your name tag? If we switched name tags, would I pass the audit?¡± He asked. Kente was silent for a minute before he spoke again. ¡°Priority check!¡± He said. ¡°Priority One: Get to level 5, get more tickets, continue to keep eyes open for magical body for Kente. Priority Two: I¡¯m going to guess¨Cdo not fail audit. Priority Three: We still need to find places to do tai chi. Priority Four: we need to focus on winning balls or bean bags as prizes so we can juggle. Also, we could get rope to make baskets.¡± ¡°Priority Five: get to level 5 and keep our eyes open. It took a whole day going on rides to get one hundred experience, so it would take us three days to get the next level.¡± Marke said. ¡°Apparently it¡¯s not a good idea to have unused experience at night¡­¡± Marke sighed. ¡°Ok, back up. This realm is too complicated, and most of it isn¡¯t even relevant to the System that we¡¯re supposed to be testing. Maybe we can try to focus on System things.¡± ¡°What System things do we know about?¡± Kente asked. ¡°Name tags are character sheets. Stealing name tags is similar to killing someone for experience. Taking rides grants experience. Experience can buy levels and¡­ extra lives and perks.¡± Marke replied. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Hmmm, that seems right. The audit frog said something about ¡®stat customization¡¯ so that is potentially a thing. With all that classified as ¡®System¡¯, the rest of this realm is ¡®non-System¡¯. Tickets, food, drink, selling memories.¡± Kente said. The two of them considered this new mental model of the realm for a minute. ¡°Is that everything?¡± Kente asked. ¡°On paper, it seems so much simpler then it feels.¡± He said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s everything we know about. There is a level restriction on buying food and drink, but that seems to not be a ¡®System¡¯ thing.¡± Marke said. ¡°I think we need to take rides and just risk having experience laying around. Level 5 is an attainable goal that works towards Priority One. With that out of the way, we can focus more on the rest.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Kente said. Ch 27 - Where are the Tortures? That night, Marke found that his name tag glowed like a flashlight. ¡°This sucks. Now we know why having experience is risky.¡± Marke said. ¡°Still, those ¡®snatchers¡¯ must have ludicrous amounts of experience to glow as bright as they do. Is that because they are higher level or because they never spend their experience?¡± Kente wondered. Marke tried to tuck himself further under a loose tent flap to hide the light. Laying on his chest didn¡¯t help block the glow as much as he thought it should, and he hadn¡¯t found a nearby broken ride to climb into. In the end, no one bothered him that night. He woke early and continued walking towards the giant tents he had seen before. Marke sold the memory of taking his shirt of with a broken shoulder for ninety five tickets and rode fair rides until he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. The rides that were best for experience were the worst for having a good time, and Marke couldn¡¯t force himself to get as nauseous as he had the other day. Marke didn¡¯t manage to sleep that night because his name tag was bright enough that people were eyeing him as soon as the sun began to set. He kept his eyes open and hid between various tents and rides, moving from time to time to avoid anyone stalking him. As soon as the sun was up and his name tag looked ordinary again, he crawled into a rolled up tent and fell asleep. Kente woke Marke up before he felt fully rested ¡°Rise and shine, bucko!¡± Kente said. ¡°Don¡¯t call me bucko, bucko.¡± Marke grumbled. ¡°Step right up!¡± Kente teased. Marke groaned and wiggled out of the rolled up tent. He rubbed his eyes and joined the flow of the crowd. Kente updated him on the ¡®Experience¡¯ line on his character sheet. NAME: Priority Three Priority Four LEVEL: 3 EXPERIENCE: 245/300 TICKETS: 46 With a sigh, Marke wandered up to the next ride without looking too closely at it. ¡°Minimum level ten for this ride. Get out of here.¡± The worker shoved Marke to the side so the next person could step up. ¡°A new injustice and surprise rule everyday in this place.¡± Kente grumbled. ¡°The angels should have ponied up more funding to sway how things work.¡± Marke stopped walking. A seal person bumped into him immediately and knocked him to the ground. Marke scuttled out of the way and waved off the minor apology of the seal person. Marke¡¯s brows furrowed as he fixated on a thought. ¡°What is it?¡± Kente asked. ¡°Where are the tortures?¡± Marke asked. ¡°The banner in the starting cave mentioned tortures. Both banners mentioned it. Where and what are the tortures?¡± Kente was silent for a minute. ¡°Maybe the blood soda is a torture?¡± He suggested. Marke shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s terrible, but the banner said something¡­ ¡®Please try as many tortures as possible¡¯ or something like that. ¡¯Your feedback is important to us¡± I think it said.¡± Marke said. ¡°Maybe selling memories is the feedback, but they can¡¯t want ten million memories of people drinking blood soda or getting dizzy on rides.¡± Kente said.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Marke didn¡¯t know what else to say, so he went back to finding a ride. They had apparently moved into a different layer of the fair, because he wasn¡¯t qualified for any of the rides nearby. Marke turned and walked back to areas that accepted someone of level 3.
Marke stepped up to the level buying kiosk and slapped his name tag down without hesitation. The name tag shifted to show one option. Level 4 Marke tapped the single option, then placed his name tag back on his chest and strode confidently away. He noticed a few people out of the corner of his eye who lost interest in him once his name tag was secure. I forgot about selling game prizes! Marke thought. Oh well. Kente thought back. The goal is level 5, not better keychains. A different fair worker found him that day and led him to the nearest management tent. He passed the audit again without gaining any new information.
A full week passed before Marke reached level 5. He had to skip a day because he ran out of tickets¨Cthe memory of waking up in the wooden cart after Kente¡¯s genesis in the shadow sea was only worth 15 tickets for some reason the booth worker couldn¡¯t explain. On the last night before reaching level 5, Marke led several large creature people on a chase through the psychedelic disco nighttime fair. He couldn¡¯t quite see what kind of creatures they were, but they were loud. Marke lost them after he crashed through a group of other people with glowing name tags. A brawl erupted behind Marke as he sped away. When he stepped up to the level buying kiosk again, Marke had a burly looking antelope woman standing at his back. The antelope woman had agreed to glare at everyone in the crowd in exchange for all of Marke¡¯s remaining tickets¨Call 50 of them. Marke¡¯s name tag shifted to show three options. Level 5 Customize Stats Torture (Worth 1000 Tickets) Marke was surprised by the options, but tapped the level-up and replaced his name tag. He turned around to see the antelope woman in a glaring contest with a squat mouse person with an incredible hat. Marke checked the rest of the crowd, but didn¡¯t find anyone taking an interest. He stepped up next to the antelope woman and joined the glaring contest. The mouse¡¯s nose twitched. I¡¯m gonna risk death by squid man. Marke warned Kente. He scanned the mouse person¡¯s name tag to get their level. The text shifted to say ¡®Level 1¡¯. The mouse slapped a hand over their name tag and scurried away. Marke laughed, a little confused. ¡°Level one? What did they think to accomplish?¡± Marke asked the antelope woman as he pulled out his tickets. ¡°Don¡¯t scan people¡¯s levels, man.¡± The antelope person gave Marke a disgusted look as she took his tickets. ¡°What? Why?¡± Marke asked. ¡°All we have is names and levels and no privacy. Let people keep this one thing.¡± The antelope woman turned away. ¡°Uh, wait.¡± Marke said, stepping up next to the woman. ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t trying to be¡­ crass or whatever. Level isn¡¯t the only thing in the name tag, so I didn¡¯t realize it was so rude to look.¡± The antelope woman looked a bit uncertain, but gave into curiosity. ¡°What do you mean? What else is there?¡± She asked. Should we ask for payment? Kente asked. No. We are making up a social credit debt. Marke answered. ¡°It tracks your experience, your tickets, your death count, and your stats. That¡¯s all I¡¯ve found so far.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± The antelope didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°I, uh¡­¡± Marke didn¡¯t know the right way to answer. This didn¡¯t come up as naturally as it had with the buffalo person. ¡°I can read it in a¡­ mental area I have. I don¡¯t know if you can make it show up on the physical card.¡± Marke looked down at his own name tag. ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s probably not very convincing. Anyway, I apologize for being so rude.¡± Marke was about to turn away, but the antelope woman grabbed his shoulder. ¡°Mental area? Do you get there by meditation?¡± She asked, rather intently. ¡°Yes.¡± Marke said, slightly wary of her intensity. ¡°I overheard someone else saying something similar a few days ago. Did you learn this from a buffalo?¡± She asked. ¡°I- yes. Well, no.¡± Marke stuttered. ¡°It¡¯s probably not the same one, but I did talk about this with a buffalo maybe ten days ago. My way won¡¯t work for other people, but I suggested meditation.¡± ¡°Teach me.¡± The antelope woman demanded. She pulled out Marke¡¯s tickets, then added two stacks of one hundred each and held it out to him. Marke¡¯s eyes bulged in astonishment and desperate greed. ¡°Agreed!¡± Marke said and snatched the tickets. ¡°You know a safe spot to talk?¡± He asked. The antelope nodded and led him away. Ch 28 - Do it in Reverse The antelope woman¡¯s name was Seffu. Marke had seen her name on her name tag, but no one had used his name since he arrived here and it just seemed awkward to use names with strangers who you only interacted with for a few minutes. Marke introduced himself, which seemed to be the way people gave permission to use their name. He nearly gave her his real name, but a reminder from Kente stopped him. Seffu led Marke to a concession stand that carried items that had previously been too high a level for Marke. She ordered something and asked for ¡°a table¡±. Marke ordered a sandwich and a water, then followed Seffu around the back of the stand. She opened a hatch and slid down a ladder into an underground area. Marke dropped down and looked around to see a series of restaurant booths, lit by dim light bulbs. ¡°Wow.¡± Marke said. He was feeling overwhelmed by yet another revelation of a new ¡®something¡¯ in this realm. They sat together at a booth and Marke took his time savoring his slightly stale sandwich and plastic-flavored water. When he finished, he let out a big sigh of satisfaction. Seffu laughed. ¡°I think I reacted the same way when I got something other than blood soda for the first time.¡± She said. ¡°Now, teach me about meditation.¡± Marke nodded. ¡°Ok. Do you know anything about meditation?¡± The antelope woman shook her head, so Marke started at the beginning. ¡°Meditation is a mechanism to achieve a certain kind of mental state. People often think meditation is about emptying your mind of all thoughts, but I think its more correct to say you focus on ¡®no thoughts¡¯. It is possible to meditate on ¡®something¡¯, in fact I think the buffalo person took my advice to meditate on the nature of their soul.¡± Marke stopped. He was rambling. He was certain he should be able to think more clearly than this and organize his thoughts. Marke looked up at a freshly skeptical Seffu. ¡°Hold on, I will demonstrate then explain what I did. Watch my name tag.¡± Marke closed his eyes and evened his breathing. Instead of moving directly to the shadow sea, he gradually let his thoughts clear up. He pulled one thought about the nature of his soul to the front of his mind and made it the focus of his meditation. He felt the thought swell to fill his mind. He opened his eyes to see the shadow sea. Kente was there, waiting for him. ¡°Hey stranger.¡± Kente said. Marke grinned. He reached down and pulled his name tag off his chest. He pulled it open just to check his status. NAME: Priority Three Priority Four LEVEL: 5 EXPERIENCE: 1/500 TICKETS: 250 DEATHS: 0 HP: 14 MP: 14 STR: 14 DEX: 14 INT: 14 CHR: 14The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Marke placed the name tag back on his chest, gave Kente a cheeky salute, and left the shadow sea. He opened his eyes back in the booth with Seffu. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she stared at his name tag. Marke glanced down just to check it was still there and normal. ¡°Oops!¡± Marke said. His name tag was the wrong size again. He closed his eyes to get back to the shadow sea. He resurfaced in the booth after fixing the size of the name tag. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Marke said. ¡°Explain. Explain!¡± Seffu asked desperately. Marke described the normal process of meditation, then how he pulled the thought about the nature of his soul to the front and let it fill his mind. Seffu gave it a try while Marke watched. Nothing happened. Marke tried playing the role of the ¡°calming voice¡± that told her to ¡°Acknowledge the thoughts and let them go¡±. Nothing happened again. Seffu opened her eyes and glared at Marke. ¡°This isn¡¯t working.¡± She said. Tell her to focus on the feeling she feels when someone checks her level. The name tag is weakly connected to the soul and I think the feeling occurs at the connection point. Kente piped up in Marke¡¯s mind. Marke licked his lips nervously and tried one more time. ¡°The name tag is only weakly connected to your soul.¡± He said. ¡°You feel a tickle when someone checks your level, right? That feeling probably marks the connection point between the tag and the soul. Maybe if you meditate on that feeling, it can lead you to your soul.¡± Marke really hopped this worked. He didn¡¯t want to give Seffu¡¯s tickets back or fight his way out of the underground restaurant. Seffu slowly closed her eyes and tried again. Marke considered making a break for it while she wasn¡¯t looking. After a minute, Seffu spoke. ¡°Scan my name tag.¡± She said. ¡°Uh.¡± Marke said. ¡°We just had a conversation about that-¡± He said. ¡°Do it.¡± Seffu commanded without opening her eyes. Marke shrugged and focused on Seffu¡¯s name tag. The text shifted to read ¡°Level 7¡±. Marke stopped focusing on her name tag and the text reverted to ¡°Seffu¡±. ¡°Again.¡± Seffu commanded. Marke scanned her name tag again. Seffu told him to scan her name tag fifteen more times. Marke was getting pretty sick of it and very bored when Seffu gasped. Her name tag disappeared. ¡°You did it!¡± Marke said. Seffu opened her eyes and looked at her chest. ¡°I did it? I didn¡¯t see anything. How do I get it back?¡± She asked. Marke shrugged. ¡°Do it in reverse, I guess.¡± Seffu glared again. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s just that simple, is it?¡± She said. ¡°It is for me.¡± Marke said. It took Seffu three more times of Marke scanning her name tag before she got her name tag back. ¡°I still didn¡¯t see anything.¡± Seffu said. ¡°How do I see the ¡®stats¡¯?¡± Marke shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe you need to build up a mental area where you can visualize the connection and the name tag. I got mine in a weird way, so I can¡¯t tell you how to do that.¡± Marke smiled. ¡°But hey, you already got your name tag to disappear and reappear, that¡¯s great!¡± He said. Seffu didn¡¯t look completely convinced, but she nodded her head in agreement. Ch 29 - Oddly Calm Marke walked into the next management tent he found where an ant person performed the audit on his name tag. When he passed the audit, Marke didn¡¯t leave right away. ¡°I want to apply to work for the fair.¡± Marke said. The ant person didn¡¯t have the right facial features to make human expressions, but her body language showed surprise. ¡°You want to work for the fair?¡± She said. ¡°Why would you want to work for the fair?¡± her antennae twitched a few times and she pulled one down to groom with her mandibles. Marke hesitated a moment, distracted by the ant person¡¯s antennae. ¡°Um, I heard you get room, board, and some security.¡± He said. ¡°So? Why would you want that?¡± She asked again. Marke¡¯s brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°Why would I not want that? What do you think I want?¡± He asked. The ant person stared at him for several seconds. She pulled a piece of paper from a drawer and slid it towards him. ¡°Sign this to join the fair.¡± She said. Ok, reading that is critical. Kente said. Marke agreed. He picked up the piece of paper. It was covered with the same tiny wording in an unknown language that had covered the back of his first name tag. ¡°I can¡¯t read this.¡± Marke said, pushing the paper back towards the ant person. Her antennae began waving back and forth and her mandibles clacked. She pulled the paper off the desk and replaced it in a drawer. ¡°I don¡¯t think the fair is right for you.¡± She said. She gestured towards the tent door. ¡°Have a good day.¡± ¡°What are you not telling me?¡± Marke said. He began to feel angry and his voice grew louder as he spoke. ¡°Why is nothing ever explained clearly in this whole stupid fair? Did I miss some tutorial when I got my name tag? What is it?¡± He planted his palms on the desk and glared at the ant person. The ant person clacked her mandibles and groomed her antennae. Marke thought she looked nervous. Eventually she whispered something. Marke leaned forward, and she repeated it. ¡°You should go see the elk.¡± She said. ¡°Where is-¡± Marke started to say but was interrupted by the ant slamming a hand on her desk. With the loudest voice she had used so far, she yelled, ¡°HAVE A GOOD DAY. GOODBYE.¡± She gestured emphatically at the tent door. Marke left.
¡°I¡¯m so tired of this place.¡± Marke complained to Kente. ¡°At least we finally found something for basket weaving.¡± Marke sat on ferris wheel, weaving together a set of colorful streamers he won from one of the higher leveled games. A pile of short sticks that used to connect to the streamers sat next to him on the bench. The act of basket weaving soothed Marke¡¯s mind in a way nothing had since arriving in this realm. As the basket grew in size, the clashing colors of the fair grew slightly muted and the noise softened.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Am I seeing things, or did the fair just get remarkably more tolerable?¡± Kente asked. ¡°Yeah, I think it did.¡± Marke said. He traded a few tickets for another go-around on the ferris wheel so he could finish the basket. He twisted several streamers together to make a shoulder strap and tied it to the edges of the basket. When the ferris wheel came to a stop again, he put the leftover sticks in his new bag and walked away. As he walked, he marveled at how the sky looked almost normal¨Cmore like a red sunset than an eye melting neon magenta. Marke¡¯s mind felt so clear he briefly wondered if he was dreaming. ¡°This is almost nice.¡± Marke said. ¡°I¡¯m going to make another basket.¡± Marke went back to the game with the streamers and won another batch. The worker gave him multiple odd looks, but didn¡¯t object. Marke returned to the ferris wheel and whipped up another basket. The next day, Marke spent the last of his tickets to win supplies for three more baskets. With each basket he completed, Marke found the fair around him grew more vague and colorless. When Marke finished the last basket, the ferris wheel disappeared, and he found himself surrounded by fluffy white clouds. ¡°Marke¡­¡± Kente said. ¡°Where did we go?¡± He asked. Marke looked around. He felt oddly calm, which didn¡¯t seem right. He looked down at himself. He was wearing a white robe and sandals. Marke laughed a bit at the unexpected sight, but the mirth seeped out of his mind and he returned to calm. Someone cleared their throat, catching his attention. Marke looked towards the sound and saw a ticket person sitting at a desk. The ticket person had the same scaly skin, but this time there were a mixture of white and silver with a white robe like Marke¡¯s and no hat. ¡°Step right up.¡± The ticket person said, calmly. There was no shouting it out like the ticket persons in the ticket booths. Marke walked slowly over to the desk. The ticket person held out their hand. ¡°Your name tag, please.¡± They said. Ask them why. Kente said. Marke didn¡¯t really see the need, but Kente sounded sure. ¡°Why?¡± Marke asked. ¡°To enter the heaven portion of this realm, your name tag must be converted.¡± The not-ticket person said. ¡°Your name tag, please.¡± They said again. Marke reached up for his name tag but Kente interrupted again. Ask it what ¡®converted¡¯ means, Marke. Marke hesitated, then asked the question. ¡°What does ¡®converted¡¯ mean?¡± A small pamphlet appeared on the desk and the person handed it to Marke. ¡°Please read this pamphlet.¡± They said. Marke took the pamphlet. Once again, it was written in the small alien writing. ¡°I can¡¯t read this.¡± Marke said. The clouds seemed to flicker for a second, and a button appeared. The person pressed the button. ¡°Please wait for security.¡± They said calmly. Marke nodded, also calm. ¡°Uh oh!¡± Kente said, not calm. ¡°What do we do? Can we run? I don¡¯t even see anything other than this desk. We still have the bag¨Cput the bag over their head and run away!¡± Kente yelled. Marke frowned. ¡°That would be rude.¡± He said aloud. The ticket person stared at him. ¡°What would be rude?¡± They asked. ¡°Putting my bag over your head and running away.¡± Marke explained. ¡°Also, you might melt me if I do that.¡± ¡°Marke! What are you doing???¡± Kente sounded very panicked. Ch 30 - Crushed by Lava Three non-ticket people stepped out of the clouds surrounding Marke. Marke nodded at them and they grabbed both his upper arms. He placed the pamphlet in his bag that held all his other bags so he wouldn¡¯t drop it. The security people turned Marke around and threw him. He fell through the cloud floor, instead of landing on it. When Marke fell out of the bottom of the clouds, he saw the tents and booths of the fair far below him. Marke no longer felt calm¨Che screamed in terror. ¡°Kente!¡± He yelled. ¡°Kente!¡± ¡°Marke!¡± Kente yelled back. ¡°We¡¯re gonna die!¡± Marke screamed until he ran out of breath. As he fell, a few people looked up and pointed at him. Marke managed to refill his lungs from the air rushing past and he began to scream again. He screamed until he crashed through the top of a huge red tent and lost consciousness.
Marke woke up somewhere very hot. He opened his eyes and saw only shades of red. The ground was hard rough stone. Marke pushed himself up to a sitting position. In front of him, Marke saw another scaly ticket person. This time, they stood with no booth or desk, just a small flat table that hung from straps around their shoulders. ¡°Welcome to Hell, bucko!¡± They said. Like everything else, their scales were a shade of red. ¡°Step right up!¡± They said. ¡°Oh no.¡± Kente said. Marke stood up and brushed himself off. He still wore the white robe and sandals and his basket-bag. The person waited patiently. Marke tried to find a way around the person, but he was surrounded by sheer stone walls topped by a stone roof, like a cave. He tried to climb one of the walls but couldn¡¯t grip anything. The person blocked the only way out and Marke wasn¡¯t about to touch them for fear of melting. Marke sighed and stepped up to the person. ¡°Welcome to Hell, bucko!¡± They said again. They held out their hand. ¡°Your name tag, please.¡± Marke didn¡¯t need any prompting from Kente this time. ¡°Why?¡± He asked. ¡°To enter the hell portion of this realm, your name tag needs to be converted.¡± The person said. ¡°What does ¡®converted¡¯ mean?¡± Marke asked. The person spat on Marke¡¯s feet. Marke yelped as the spin burned him like boiling water. He hopped on one foot and leaned against the wall. ¡°Ow!¡± He said. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± The person still held out their hand. ¡°Your name tag, please.¡± They repeated. Marke hesitated. He looked at the stone walls again to see if something had magically changed that would let him escape. Nothing had changed. Kente, you better hide in the shadow sea just in case. Lets try removing my name tag. Marke said. Will do. Good luck. Kente replied. Marke stood with his feet apart, knees bent to dodge. When his name tag disappeared, Marke pointed at his chest and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have a name tag.¡± The ticket person withdrew their hand and blinked a few times. The sound of a metal hatch banging open drew Marke¡¯s attention to the roof. He had only a moment to scream before a wave of lava crashed down on him.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Marke opened his eyes to see the vanilla pudding starter cave. He shuddered in discomfort once again at the transition from panicked body to calm body. He sat up. He still wore the white robe and sandals and he had his bag with the bags and pamphlet inside. ¡°Kente.¡± He said. ¡°Guess how I died.¡± Kente didn¡¯t respond, so Marke moved his mind to the shadow sea. Kente was there, pacing back and forth. ¡°Hey Kente. Guess how I died.¡± Marke said. Kente stopped pacing and gave Marke a quick hug. ¡°Oh man, was it bad? Did they melt you again?¡± Marke hugged Kente back briefly. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t as bad as I would have expected. Go on, guess.¡± He said. Kente shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Boiled alive? Flayed into ribbons? Head bitten off?¡± He guessed. Marke grinned. ¡°I got crushed by lava.¡± He said. ¡°You mean burned by lava?¡± Kente asked. ¡°Nope!¡± Marke said. ¡°Apparently, molten rock is heavy enough that it just crushes you when poured out of a hatch twenty feet up.¡± Marke laughed at the incredulous expression on Kente¡¯s face. The two spent a while discussing their visit to the ¡°heaven¡± and ¡°hell¡± portions of the realm. It was clear to them now the ¡°fair¡± was some sort of awful purgatory slapped between the parts of the realm specifically funded by the lord of pain and the holy destroyer. When they were done talking, Kente had Marke practice his tai chi movements. It had been a couple of weeks since Marke had found space to practice, so he was pretty rusty. He went through the motions until he got hungry enough to be a distraction. ¡°Better get it over with.¡± Marke said. He walked out of the cave, ducking the banners and rolling through the terms and conditions. He paused at the end of the tunnel, looking at the ticket person. It was the same person with scaly blue skin wearing a black leather cowboy hat that Marke had met after each death. Marke looked over the shoulder of the ticket person at the ¡®suspicious¡¯ poster. ¡°Kente! My picture isn¡¯t on the suspicious list any more!¡± He nearly cheered, but didn¡¯t want to draw the attention of the person yet. ¡°Take off my name tag¨CI¡¯m gonna get a new one.¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Kente said. The name tag disappeared from Marke¡¯s chest, and he walked confidently towards the ticket booth. ¡°Step right up and get your free* name tag! That¡¯s right, bucko!¡± A person with a big smile and scaly blue skin wearing a black leather cowboy hat stood inside the ticket booth. They pulled out a stack of paper tickets and began fanning themself with it. ¡°Once you have a name tag you can trade for tickets. Step right up!¡± Marke grinned and stepped up to the ticket booth. The worker slid across a name tag and a pen. Marke wrote, ¡°Basket Weaving¡± on the name line. The name tag slapped itself onto Marke¡¯s chest, and Marke walked past the booth and into the fair. He slipped the pen (which he had not returned) into his bag. Marke wandered around, looking for a booth where he could sell a memory. ¡°Marke, I can¡¯t keep holding this name tag forever. I think we should merge it with mine.¡± Kente said. ¡°Right, sorry.¡± Marke said. ¡°I forgot you had to hold the extra tag. Yes, I think merging it with yours will be good.¡± He said. ¡°Done.¡± Kente said. ¡°What level are you?¡± Marke asked. Kente read off the contents of his name tag. NAME: Priority One Priority Two Priority Three Priority Four LEVEL: 5 EXPERIENCE: 0/500 TICKETS: 0 DEATHS: 3 HP: 15 MP: 15 STR: 15 DEX: 15 INT: 15 CHR: 15 ¡°Being level zero must not be good enough to give a level when combining name tags.¡± Kente said. Marke didn¡¯t reply because he had found a memory booth. Marke sold the memory of falling out of the sky for six hundred tickets. He and the worker were both stunned at the amount, and the worker congratulated him on having a memory so intense and lengthy. Marke tucked the tickets into his bag and wandered away in a daze. He tried to buy a sandwich at a concession stand and was reminded about the minimum level restriction. He walked to another stand, this time wearing Kente¡¯s higher level name tag. The sandwich was as wonderfully stale as he remembered and the water just as plastic. They switched name tags again and browsed the games, looking for useful prizes. Ch 31 - We are Responsible for That After a month, Marke was sick of hot dogs, sandwiches, and bottled water. He was also level 30 on the ¡°Basket Weaving¡± name tag. Marke and Kente had risked returning to the original ticket booth once a day and had managed to avoid getting on the ¡®suspicious¡¯ list. He spent so much time near the starter cave that he began to recognize a few faces and be recognized in return. The concession worker waved to him as he approached. ¡°Howdy, Basket!¡± The worker, a guinea pig person named James, said. ¡°Got a new blood soda flavor for you to try.¡± The worker laughed as disgust contorted Marke¡¯s face. Marke joined in on the laugh and ordered another water with a hot dog. He chatted with James for a bit as he ate and drank. In a moment between customers, when no one was standing nearby, James leaned forward and slipped Marke a piece of paper. Marke tucked the paper into his bag and nodded at James before walking away. He slipped away between two rides and pulled out the paper. The Elk will trade translation services for a name tag level 10 or higher. A tent address was written under the message. James had taught him the address system, so Marke knew he could get to the tent. He walked directly there. Inside the tent, a fox person waved him past the desk and through a hatch in the floor. Marke climbed down a ladder to find another set of booths, like Seffu had shown him before. A huge elk person with even bigger antlers sat in one of the booths. The Elk wore an elegant dark suit with an emerald necktie. Marke didn¡¯t see anyone else down there, but he figured there must be body guards hidden somewhere. Marke walked calmly towards the Elk, showing no fear or aggression. The Elk waved a hand towards the other seat in the booth, and Marke sat down. The Elk regarded him silently for a few moments before tapping the table. ¡°The document and the payment.¡± Marke pulled the heaven pamphlet from his bag and placed it on the table. Marke then pulled the name tag off his chest and placed it on the table next to the pamphlet. The Elk¡¯s eyebrows rose, but he didn¡¯t ask any questions, instead, he pulled the pamphlet over and flipped through it. His eyebrows rose even higher. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± The Elk asked, apparently unable to resist one question. Marke smiled at the Elk. ¡°Will you pay for that information?¡± He asked. The Elk glanced between Marke and the pamphlet. ¡°Maybe.¡± He said. ¡°First, the translation.¡± The Elk began to read the pamphlet. Marke took notes with his stolen pen in a little notepad he had won as a prize. The pamphlet described a few of the mechanics of the System and Marke would have happily drunk blood soda for a week to be able to read it himself. When the Elk finished reading the pamphlet, he waited for Marke to finish writing his notes before speaking. ¡°I will pay to learn where you got that pamphlet.¡± The Elk pulled a name tag out of his suit pocket and placed it on the table next to Marke¡¯s own name tag. Marke scanned the name tag. It was level 5 with the name of ¡°Olt¡±. ¡°Agreed.¡± Marke said. ¡°I was given that pamphlet from an entity similar to the ticket booth workers. We were both in the ¡®heaven¡¯ section of the realm when they gave it to me.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The Elk clapped his hands. ¡°I knew it! I knew there was something up there!¡± He said. ¡°Tell me how you got there.¡± The Elk pulled out another name tag and slapped it on the table. Marke scanned it to find another level 5, this time with the name ¡°Ayurom Ueham¡±. Marke shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll trade my exact method and experience in return for my own name tag.¡± Marke tapped the table next to his level 30 name tag. ¡°With a warning: I expect my method won¡¯t work for anyone else, but I have ideas about how to make it work.¡± He said. The Elk considered the price for only a second before agreeing. ¡°Agreed.¡± He said. The Elk swept the two level 5 name tags back into his suit pocket, and Marke replaced his name tag on his chest. Marke reached into his bag and pulled out one of the baskets he had woven on the ferris wheel. ¡°Before I came to this realm, I had a hobby of weaving baskets like this. When I reached level 5 and didn¡¯t have to drink blood soda anymore, I found some streamers as prizes and won a bunch so I could weave a basket.¡± Marke held up his bag. ¡°I made this one first, with the shoulder strap. When I finished making it, I noticed the colors had grown less intense. I went and won more streamers to make more baskets. Oh, I wove all of them on the same ferris wheel. When I finished the fifth basket, I was no longer on the ferris wheel. I was wearing these clothes and I was surrounded by cloud. All I could see was cloud stuff, like I was inside a cloud. A ticket booth worker called me over to a desk and asked for my name tag.¡± Marke hesitated, not willing to expose the existence of Kente. The Elk noticed the hesitation but didn¡¯t interrupt. Marke continued. ¡°There was some sort of mind altering effect on me. It made me feel extremely calm and want to follow directions. I¡­ resisted it and asked why they wanted my name tag. They said my name tag needed to be ¡®converted¡¯ to enter the ¡®heaven¡¯ area of this realm. I asked what ¡®converted¡¯ meant and they gave me the pamphlet.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± The Elk asked. Marke shrugged. ¡°I said I couldn¡¯t read it, so they summoned security who threw me out.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m not willing to discuss what happened after that.¡± The Elk leaned back and pondered Marke¡¯s story for a few moments. He pulled out the ¡°Ort¡± name tag again. ¡°Tell me the location of the ferris wheel and the streamer prizes.¡± Marke shifted in his seat, slightly embarrassed. ¡°I didn¡¯t know the fair address system at the time, I¡¯m sorry. The nearest management tent was staffed by an ant woman, does that help?¡± The Elk shook his head and put the name tag away. ¡°No, there are thousands of management workers of all kinds and they don¡¯t always stay in one place. Anything else you can tell me?¡± He asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think the streamers or the ferris wheel are important.¡± Marke said. ¡°I think the important thing is that it was a calming act of creation. This place,¡± Marke gestured vaguely at the ceiling. ¡°Is an uncomfortable waiting area. Everything we do is just wasting time and doesn¡¯t lead anywhere. Making the basket brought my mind out of the struggle¨CI had all my needs met at the time and I felt safe and productive.¡± Marke patted his bag. ¡°I think that is why it worked.¡± The Elk nodded to Marke. ¡°Pleasure doing business with you, Basket Weaving.¡± The Elk dropped a keychain on the table. ¡°Give that to the manager on your way out.¡± Marke swept up the keychain and left. He tossed the keychain on the desk in front of the fox person and strode out of the tent.
Two days later, Marke and many other people looked up into the sky to see a bellowing elk plummet through the air. The elk fell out of Marke¡¯s sight and the bellowing cut off abruptly. ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that we are responsible for that.¡± Kente said. Marke grimaced. ¡°Yeah.¡± Ch 32 - Did it work? Marke sat under a concession stand, in the booth furthest from the ladder out. He wore a fresh, level 1 name tag with the name, ¡°Tai Chi¡± written on it. Marke had a large pile of streamers on the table and he was humming to himself as he wove a basket. Kente hummed along, supplying half remembered lyrics from time to time. With each basket completed, Marke¡¯s mind calmed and the noise level dropped. Marke finished the ninth basket and looked up to find himself surrounded by clouds. The desk person cleared their throat to get Marke¡¯s attention. ¡°Ok, just like we planned.¡± Kente said. Marke remembered the plan, thought it was hard to remember why it mattered. Marke walked up to the desk and handed over his name tag. The person held the name tag in both hands, staring intently. With a flash of light, the name tag turned golden colored. The desk person handed the gold name tag back with a smile. ¡°Welcome to heaven.¡± They said. Marke nodded and almost forgot to do the next step of the plan. Kente cleared his own non-physical throat and Marke remembered to move his mind to the shadow sea. He and Kente did a careful dance of moving the golden name tag into Kente¡¯s hands and the ¡°Basket Weaving¡± name tag onto Marke¡¯s chest. Marke opened his eyes to see the desk person still smiling at him. ¡°Please send me to hell.¡± Marke said politely. A button appeared on the desk and the smiling person pushed it. Security arrived a few moments later and threw Marke out of the sky.
Marke woke up in hell. He was a bit sore and the red light wasn¡¯t helping a growing headache. He sat up to find the red scaled person blocking the only exit. ¡°Marke, hurry up. It is hard to hold on to this golden name tag.¡± Kente¡¯s voice sounded strained. ¡°Roger that.¡± Marke said. He stood and walked over to the red person. ¡°Welcome-¡± The person started to say, but Marke interrupted. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Here ya go.¡± Marke said. He slapped his name tag down on the portable table. The red person picked it up and glared at it intently. With a puff of smoke, the name tag turned an ugly red. The person handed it back and spat at Marke¡¯s feet. Marke managed to hop back out of the way and avoid a burn. The red person stepped back to let Marke leave the room, but Marke had already dropped into the shadow sea. Kente¡¯s arms shook as he held the golden name tag out in front of him, preventing it from joining with the normal name tag. ¡°Marke, hurry!¡± He said. Marke stepped up and grabbed the golden name tag. With both of them working together, they rearranged all the name tags so that Kente had the golden one, Marke had the red one, and the normal one was held between them. They each carefully pulled back one hand to grab the name tag on their respective chests. With a count of three, they ripped their name tags off and slapped them on either side of the normal name tag. The name tag vanished with a *pop*. Marke and Kente stared at each other over their clasping hands. ¡°Did it work?¡± Marke asked. Kente shrugged. ¡°Better go topside and find out.¡± Kente said. Marke left the shadow sea and opened his eyes just in time to see a goblin with a spear stab him in the chest. Some red text with numbers and ¡°Damage¡± flashed in Marke¡¯s vision and everything went black. White text floated into his mind¡¯s eye in the blackness.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. You have died. Prepare to respawn in 3... 2... 1... Marke opened his eyes in a dark cave. He looked around frantically for another goblin with a spear, but the cave was empty. Standing, Marke looked down at himself. He was dressed in rough brown fabrics with leather footwraps¨Cthe typical starting attire for these realms. Marke shouted in surprise to find his woven basket bag hanging off his shoulder. His shout echoed around the cave for several seconds. Marke cringed at the noise and crept along the cave wall until he found a tunnel. He pressed his bag to his side and entered the tunnel. He walked as quickly as he could without making much sound. +1 Cowardice Blue text flashed in front of Marke¡¯s face, causing him to stop running and almost stumble. ¡°I got tired of waiting.¡± Kente said. ¡°Looks like it worked, what¡¯s going on?¡± I already died once. Marke complained with his mental voice. A goblin stabbed me through the chest with a spear right as I opened my eyes. So far, the System pops up colored text for damage and stuff. Oh shoot. Kente said. No safe starter cave? That¡¯s rough. After a moment Kente continued talking. Why are we running down this tunnel? I made some noise back there and it echoed for forever. I¡¯m trying to get far enough away to avoid swarms of orcs from the deep. Marke said. Keep your eyes open for a mithril shirt. Kente joked. Marke grinned as he continued to move quickly. Marke kept moving until he had passed multiple junctions where his tunnel ran into other tunnels. He settled himself into a gap where a boulder had split from the wall of the tunnel. Probably safe here for a bit. Marke said. Kente, did you notice that I still have my bag? Whaaaaaaaaa? Kente replied. Why did you keep your bag? How did you keep your bag? Is anything inside it? Kente asked. Oh, I haven¡¯t checked. Marke said. He opened the bag and found his stack of streamer-woven baskets, a pen, and a few odds and ends he won as prizes. I still have everything! He nearly shouted again but managed to restrain himself. +1 Stealth There¡¯s that colored text your mentioned. Kente said. Priority check! Priority One: Find food and water to avoid suffering from hunger and thirst. He said. Marke continued the list. Priority Two: Stay very, very quiet to avoid getting stabbed by goblins. Priority Three: Hmmm. Not a good time to do Tai Chi. Find a place of safety where you can do self care. Kente said. Priority Four: I could take apart one of these extra baskets and re-weave it. Also, keep an eye out for juggling sized rocks. Marke continued the list. Priority Five: Investigate our character sheet or whatever this realm has. Priority check complete. Great job, everyone. Kente said. Marke smiled at Kente¡¯s antics. Marke tried to will his status to appear. He tried thinking ¡°status¡± and ¡°menu¡± really hard. His status didn¡¯t appear until he whispered ¡°Status¡± out loud. Name: Unknown Level: 1 Race: Unknown Traits ---- Cowardice: 1 Stealth: 1 Stats ---- Strength: 5 Dexterity: 5 Constitution: 5 Intelligence: 15 Wisdom: 6 Luck: 1 Oof, that luck stat. Kente said. Marke shook his head in frustration. Was my luck bad before I woke up to a goblin spear, or is it bad because I woke up to a goblin spear. He said. Marke tried focusing on different parts of his status but nothing happened. He whispered, ¡°Cowardice¡±, ¡°What is cowardice?¡±, and ¡°Help¡±. ¡°Help¡± got a response. ERR: No help available Marke spent the next half an hour whispering different words, trying to guess how to use the System. He eventually did find a way to remove the need to speak out loud and he also found his inventory. Inventory ---- (14x)Woven basket (ribbon, Common) Everflowing Pen (Mythic) (2x)Notebook (Common) (3x)Demonic keychain (Uncommon) Demonic keychain (Rare) (117x)Stick (common) Water bottle (plastic, Epic, empty) Shirt (Common, equiped) Pants (Common, equiped) Footwraps (Common, equiped) Neat. Kente said. Also, hilarious item rarities. We should have stolen more pens. Marke said. Ch 33 - Cowardice Marke crept along the tunnel as quietly as he could, holding a large rock in one hand. He could hear something scuffing against the floor from the junction up ahead. Marke didn¡¯t see anything directly ahead of him, so he slowly leaned out to look left and right. A huge spider with legs longer than Marke¡¯s plucked at the strands of a web. Below the spider, the desiccated corpse of a goblin swung back and forth at the end of a line, making the scuffing sound that had drawn Marke closer. Marke slowly leaned back out of sight. Aaaaaaaaa! Marke panicked in his head. Hey, it¡¯s ok. Kente said. It didn¡¯t see or hear us. It¡¯s ok. You¡¯re fine. We¡¯re both fine. Kente¡¯s voice helped calm Marke¡¯s nerves a bit and he forced his breath to slow down. Thanks Kente. Marke said. Ok. Let¡¯s think. What are the options? Go back, run past, fight. He said. Possibly modifying any of those options with ¡®distract¡¯. Kente added. Marke leaned out again, even more slowly. The spider plucked at the web again and the goblin corpse scuffed the ground. Marke couldn¡¯t see anything past the web, but he did see a spear on the ground¨Cprobably dropped by the goblin when the spider ambushed it. Marke leaned back out of sight again. After a few moments of thinking and psyching himself up, he pulled a small stone out of his bag and threw it into the tunnel across from him. The scuffing of the goblin corpse stopped. Marke¡¯s heart rate shut up as he watched the legs of the spider reach out of the tunnel and around the corner, following the sound of the stone. When the main body of the spider came into view, Marke stepped forward and picked up the spear. He jammed the spear into the back of the spider¡¯s head. Red text appeared over the spider: ¡°Critical Hit! 50 Damage, poison, bleed¡±. Marke lost his grip on the spear as the spider fell off of the wall. Red ¡°5 Damage¡± messages blinked above the spider as it twitched and thrashed on the ground. Marke backed away down the tunnel to stay out of reach. Eventually, a red ¡°Dead¡± message appeared over the spider and some blue text appeared in front of Marke. Victory ---- "False Angler" Spider lvl 1: killed Experience: 10 Level Up: 1 -> 2 Stat Points Available: 1 Ambush +1 Backstab +1 Cowardice +1 Marke huffed in annoyance. How was that cowardice? He said. Forget about it. Kente said. It¡¯s just the opinion of the realm creator. How do we assign stat points? He asked. Marke tried a few words and commands until he found that ¡°Add point to Luck¡± got a red message of, ¡°Luck stat not assignable¡±. Marke frowned, disappointed, then assigned the point to constitution, despite his bad memories related to that stat. A confirmation message blinked in his face and he immediately felt more sturdy. Marke yanked the spear out of the dead spider and used it to poke at the goblin corpse to see if it had any equipment to liberate. The goblin had a small pouch tied to its waist. Marke got the spear between the goblin and the pouch and snapped the cord. The pouch fell to the ground with an enticing *clink*. Careful not to touch the gross outside of the pouch, Marke knelt and opened the top and reached inside. He pulled out two dull bronze coins.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Loot! Kente cheered. Marke joined him to chant, Loot! Loot! Loot! He dropped the coins into his bag and stood up. He still couldn¡¯t see very well past the spider webs and he was curious if any other victims were hanging out in the shadows, waiting for someone to come along who could appreciate their loot. Marke gave up on pushing into the webs when his new spear immediately became stuck. When he failed to free the spear, Marke continued walking the direction he had taken before. Only a few hundred steps down that tunnel, Marke found a doorway leading to the right. He carefully inched along the wall, straining his ears to detect any sound. He leaned his head so that one eye peeked around the edge of the doorway. Past the doorway, he saw a small water fountain and a cot. Marke looked up and down the tunnel, looking for whoever was about to spring this trap on him. He couldn¡¯t see anything or anyone, and he was thirsty, so he stepped through the doorway. Safe Zone ---- Rank: Common Water: unlimited Time: 4 hours Marke read the blue text and considered it. Chances the realm creator is a sociopath who poisons water in safe zones? He asked Kente. Hmmm. Chances are low, I think. Kente replied. This realm seems mostly like a retro dungeon crawler. There will definitely be poisoned water and rotten food and other hazards, but safe zones are going to be like the spot you would save your game before fighting the boss. I agree. Marke said. You think there is a boss nearby? He asked. Marke took out his plastic water bottle and filled it up. He noticed a blue glow out of the corner of his eye and looked to see a blue force field filling the doorway. With this quality of safe room, it would be a sucky boss. Kente said. Marke drank and refilled the water bottle twice, then turned to the cot. It looked dusty and uncomfortable. Might as well take a nap. Gotta stay sharp. Marke said. He lay down on the cot. Cot (Common) Maximum sleep time: 4 hours ok¡­ Marke thought. He closed his eyes.
Marke woke suddenly to an eye-full of blue text. Hidden Quest Complete! ---- Name: Conquerer''s Nap Description: Kill one dungeon monter and sleep in a safe zone without dying. Experience: 5 Extra Reward: Dungeoneer''s Pack Marke heard a *thunk* and sat up. A dingy leather bag sat on the ground next to the cot. Marke was distracted from the bag by the open doorway¨Cthe blue force field had vanished. He quietly rolled off the cot and picked up the leather bag. It was lumpy, but he felt very exposed and vulnerable in a small room with only one exit. He pulled his woven bag onto one shoulder and the leather bag onto the other shoulder and peeked into the tunnel outside. The tunnel was clear and he heard nothing, so he decided to look in the new bag. The bag contained a knife, some rope, weird dense blocks wrapped in wax paper, and a canteen full of water. Marke picked up one of the blocks. What is this? he wondered. Identify ---- Hard Ration (Common) Oh, I can identify things. He thought. He looked at the rope and knife and thought, What are these? Identify ---- Knife (iron, Common) Rope (hemp, Common) Cool. Kente commented. This all seems very mainstream. I wonder if we can find a ¡®simulacra¡¯-style spell and make me a body. Yeah, that would be awesome. Priority One: Find ¡®simulacra¡¯ spell. Marke said. Marke put everything except one ration block in his woven back and checked the corridor again. It was still clear, so he set off. Ch 34 - Dingo Marke didn¡¯t like killing goblins. He didn¡¯t like fighting goblins. Marke didn¡¯t like anything to do with goblins. Marke stabbed a goblin in the eye with his knife and swung a punch at another goblin. Both goblins died. Kente managed the level ups and assigning stats while Marke weathered the endless waves of goblins. Marke pushed the dead goblin off his knife so it fell away from him, tripping the next pair of attackers. Marke kicked one in the head as it fell. The other scratched at Marke¡¯s leg, but his constitution stat was too high for that to do any damage. He picked up the scratcher and tossed it at the next two attackers. Kente and Marke had been at this for days. Not only was it gruesome and draining, it was boring. Marke¡¯s clothes were all tatters and he had used the last scrap of his footwraps to bind up a bite from the last Hobgoblin captain he had fought. Every time Marke decided he couldn¡¯t take it any more, he backed down the corridor and ducked into the ¡®Uncommon¡¯ safe zone he had found. Marke decided he couldn¡¯t take any more of this goblin grind and moved back towards the safe zone. When the blue force field popped into place, Marke slumped to the floor, mentally exhausted. Kente was tired too, but he forced a false chipper tone as he spoke to Marke. ¡°Good news! Only thirteen hundred more goblins before we hit level 50.¡± Kente said. Marke groaned.
Marke crushed the last goblin under a small boulder. He ignored the blue victory text, confident that Kente was managing it all. Marke looked around the giant goblin cavern, breathing hard. The goblin chief had died last week, but Marke hunted down all the stragglers and pockets of goblins he had missed on the way in. ¡°How many.¡± Marke said. ¡°How many was that?¡± His voice has hoarse and rough. His hair had grown long and his bulging muscles strained the few remaining scraps of clothing he had. The woven basket sat on the ground behind him somewhere. ¡°That was all of them, pal. Hidden quest completed, ¡®Every Last One¡¯. Should be something on the ground next to you.¡± Kente answered. Marke looked down and saw a sword. He flexed a part of his mind and got the identification. Identify ---- Sword of the Goblin God (Rare, 200,000 Gold) - This sword was forged by the original goblin deity as a tool for controlling the unruly goblin hordes that roam their homeworld. It is granted to the entity that has killed more goblins than any other currently living entity. This is the first time a non-goblin has been awarded the Sword of the Goblin God. - Grants Epic bonuses to command and control skills when those skills are used on goblins - Grants Epic bonuses to damage against goblins ¡°This sword sucks.¡± Marke said. ¡°Why would I need damage bonuses against goblins when I¡¯ve already killed more of them than anyone else?¡± He asked. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s really disappointing.¡± Kente agreed. ¡°Still, we¡¯re carrying around worse stuff just in case we ever find people who want to buy it.¡± Marke sighed and picked up the sword. ¡°I just want a quest that rewards me with new clothes.¡± He complained. He walked back to his woven bag and stuck the sword inside. Marke hefted the bulging bag onto his shoulder and walked back towards the goblin chief¡¯s throne. ¡°Lets check out that magic nonsense behind the throne.¡± He said.
Marke¡¯s muscles were so bulging and rippling that he found it difficult to turn the pages of the book he was reading. ¡°Found it!¡± He said. ¡°Ha ha! It¡¯s all right here. Oh man, I¡¯m excited!¡± He held hand out, palm up, and chanted something under his breath for a full ten minutes. A blue flame ignited over his hand. It danced in the slight breeze like a storybook candle flame. Marke smiled at the little flame then smashed it into the network of runes, diagrams, circles, and other nonsense he and Kente had cobbled together. Blue light flooded the markings in an expanding wave, then flashed so brightly that Marke was briefly blinded and the edges of his leather shorts were charred. Before Marke¡¯s vision had cleared, he knew they had succeeded.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°It worked!¡± Kente screamed in excitement. ¡°IT WORKED IT WORKED IT WORKED! AHahahahahaaa!¡± Marke felt towards his woven back and pulled it unto his shoulder. He could always sense its location, so being blind didn¡¯t matter. Marke stood and took a deep breath in through his nose. He smelled trees, flowers, flowing water, stagnant water, fur, horses, leather- An arrow cracked against Marke¡¯s shoulder. His vision cleared up enough for his to see the shattered pieces fall to the ground. A stern voice called out to him in an unknown language. Marke grinned a maniacal grin as he looked up at the person mounted on a horse, aiming another arrow. Identify triggered automatically. Identify ---- Name: Ryllae Sylsatra Level: 10 Race: Greater Wood Elf (Male) Danger: None - This elf is commissioned as a mounted ranged officer. Such officers are commonly employed to investigate anomalous occurrences outside the reach of the more well known branches of the elven military - This elf is scared and angry Marke raise one hand, palm open towards the elf. ¡°Hello!¡± He said. Marke caught the second arrow before it hit his face. He shook his head slowly, still grinning. ¡°Kente, what level am I now?¡± ¡°Let me see, six hundred¡­ yup. Six hundred thirty five with the experience from that big spell.¡± Kente said. Marke leapt over to the elf in a blink and picked up the horse. Marke began laughing as he carried the struggling animal and rider while running pell-mell through the forest. After a few minutes, Kente managed to convince Marke to at least put the poor horse on its feet. Marke sat the elf on his shoulders and kept running, dodging dagger strikes to his eyes while jumping across small canyons, laughing the whole time. Marke eventually misjudged a jump and landed on a huge rotting log. He and the elf crashed through the log and into a muddy ravine. Marke¡¯s laughing slowed as he examined the elf for damage. One major healing potion later, the elf regained consciousness on the forest floor next to the ravine. ¡°Hi!¡± Marke said. ¡°Sorry about ruining your clothes.¡± Marke pointed at the giant hole through the chest of the elf¡¯s uniform of light armor. The elf looked down at himself, confused and woozy. He poked a finger into the hole on his front, then into the hole on his back. ¡°Yup.¡± Marke said, nodding. ¡°It happens sometimes.¡± ¡°You remember that we don¡¯t speak his language, right?¡± Kente said. Marke waved a hand by his ear, a gesture of acknowledging and ignoring he had started a few years ago, down in the tunnels. ¡°You know any translation magic?¡± Marke asked the elf. The elf looked up at him blankly, still poking at his clothes. Marke tapped his own chest. ¡°Dingo.¡± He said. ¡°We should have changed that name.¡± Kente said. ¡°You put that as your name after our last argument because I called you a dingo.¡± And you were right. I was being a dingo. Marke thought to Kente with a smile. He held his hand out towards the elf. ¡°Ryllae Sylsatra.¡± He said. The name felt odd in his mouth. The elf looked properly frightened when the hugely muscled not-elf spoke his name. The elf straightened his posture and performed a seated bow. ¡°Ryllae Sylsatra.¡± He confirmed. The elf held a hand towards Marke. ¡°Deen-go? Dine-go?¡± The elf struggled with the first vowel sound. Marke quirked an eyebrow and said the name more slowly. ¡°Deeeeee-¡¯go¡± He said, emphasizing the glottal stop. ¡°Dean-go. Deee¡­ Deego.¡± The elf tried again. Marke repeated his chosen name until the elf could say it properly. ¡°Dingo!¡± The elf said, finally. Marke laughed and clapped his hands. The elf looked around and asked a short question. Marke drew the outline of a horse in the dirt. The elf pointed at the drawing and nodded, repeating his question. Marke pointed in the direction he had left the horse. The elf looked that direction, then stood up and shaded his eyes from the sun to try and see further. Marke looked up at the sun. ¡°No moons so far, I checked.¡± Kente answered Marke¡¯s unspoken question. Marke began walking in the direction of the horse, trusting officer Sylsatra would follow. Ch 35 - Diplomatic Officer Sylsatra led Marke to a small military fort at the edge of the forest. Marke declined to enter the wood and stone structure, preferring to lay out in the sunshine on a small hill just outside the fort. His keen hearing picked up raised voices and clanging metal inside the fort. ¡°Odds they ignore Sylsatra and attack you?¡± Kente asked. Marke chewed thoughtfully on a stalk of grass. ¡°I would say¡­ ninety five percent if they are fascist and or racist elves, seventy percent if they are some sort of feudal society, and a solid fifty percent otherwise.¡± He said. Heavy footsteps drew his attention to the gate of the fort. A tall elf in plate armor strode out of the gate and drew a sword. Marke identified the sword. Identify ---- Sword of Heroes #12 (Rare, 10,000 Gold) - This sword is the last in a set of twelve swords forged to empower and aid in identification of Heroes. - This sword grants a logarithmic percent bonus to all stats in relation to the amount of mana channeled into it each morning. Stored mana resets after each sunrise - This sword was awarded to its current bearer for "exceptional deeds of valor in repelling a goblin horde" Marke grinned at the tall elf and pulled the Sword of the Goblin God out of his bag. He tossed the sword towards the elf. The elf raised their own sword to block a thrown attack, but relaxed when Marke¡¯s sword struck the ground at their feet. Marke lay back again, enjoying the sunshine. He listened as the tall elf picked up the sword, then dropped the sword and ran back into the fort. Ten minutes later, Sylsatra led a little old man elf up the hill to Marke. Marke tossed his chewed grass aside and stood to greed the old elf. The old elf bowed, saying something Marke hadn¡¯t yet learned. Marke bowed back, repeating the greeting that Sylsatra had taught him. ¡°Greetings. I am Dingo. I am a friend.¡± When Marke stood back up, Sylsatra handed the Sword of the Goblin God back to him. Marke stuck it in his bag. The old elf held out a pair of dark, glassy stones and mimed placing one over his ear and listening. Marke nodded and gently plucked one of the stones from the old elf¡¯s hands. Marke identified it. Identify ---- Speaker (Uncommon) - This item aids in communication between two entities who do not share a common language Marke held the speaker up to his ear. The old man spoke towards the speaker in his hand. A voice spoke softly from Marke¡¯s stone. ¡°We great you, great hero. It is an ***** honor to meet one such as yourself. We think you are on a ***** quest and we are eager to help you in any way. What can these humble soldiers do for you?¡± The voice stopped speaking a second after the old elf had. Some of the words hadn¡¯t translated for whatever reason, but Marke understood just fine.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Marke held the stone in front of his own mouth and the old elf moved his stone next to one of his ears. ¡°I have items I would like to sell and I really want to buy some clothes. I have been stuck somewhere for a very long time and I would like to learn things about the world that I have missed.¡± Marke spoke slowly and clearly into the stone. The old elf gave Marke¡¯s bulging muscles and leather shorts a frank appraisal. Marke felt slightly embarrassed about his homemade leather shorts. The did the dance of switching stone positions again so the old elf could speak. ¡°We have nothing that will fit, and we are too small an outpost to have a proper tailor assigned here. We can offer you a large cloak and a bag.¡± The old man gestured to Marke¡¯s woven basket bag. ¡°That artifact is very ***** and I fear you may cause a panic if you do not keep it concealed.¡± Sylsatra nodded in agreement with the old man. Marke looked at his humble bag in surprise. He identified it. Identify ---- A bag (Artifact, soul-bound) He knew what identify would say¨Che had probably identified the bag a thousand times already. Marke spoke into the stone. ¡°I thank you for the cloak and the bag. I will follow your suggestion to conceal this one.¡± The old man smiled and nodded at Marke. ¡°One other thing we can do at this time. The hero who greeted you at the gate will accompany you to a larger fort with a diplomatic ***** who will have more resources to serve you.¡± Marke sincerely thanked the old elf and lay back down in the sunshine until the hero came out to get him.
Zily punched Marke in the shoulder. ¡°Idiot. How can you learn so fast and still be so foolish?¡± She said. The hero woman shook out her bruised hand and pointed at the words in the book Marke was holding. ¡°You have to count the little tails and keep track of that count on every stanza or you might insult your own mother instead of impressing the ladies.¡± Zily had gotten over her fright at Marke¡¯s immense strength and level after Marke had tripped over his own feet the first time she smiled at him. She began teaching him the elven language properly, and did a much better job that poor Sylsatra had done. Marke frowned at the book and tried again. He read from a book of poetry he had found in some mad undead wizard¡¯s library down in the tunnels. It wasn¡¯t written in contemporary elven, but it was close enough that Zily said he would be able to read street signs once he mastered it. ¡°Light of dawn, feed your ducks-¡± Marke began. ¡°Ponds!¡± Zily interrupted. ¡°Feed your ponds. Ponds full of ducks. Eat those ducks.¡± Marke purposefully took his poetry reading off the rails to get Zily to laugh. She did laugh and shoved him. She fell on her backside when Marke didn¡¯t budge. Marke laughed back at her and helped her to her feet. He read the poetry properly the rest of that day. Marke¡¯s memory was nearly perfect, with such a high intelligence stat, so he could have read the book out of his memory, but he liked how relaxed Zily got when he had his nose firmly between the pages. Zily¡¯s mood changed when they came in sight of their destination on the sixth day of walking. The fort was quite large and Marke could hear sounds of troops marching from a long way off. Zily began to heave heavier and heavier sighs until Marke asked her what was wrong. ¡°My mother is in charge of this fort.¡± She said glumly. She didn¡¯t explain further. Ch 36 - I Made Them Myself An elf on top of the gatehouse tower shouted a command for them to halt when there were close enough that normal shouting could be heard by normal ears. Zily took one step forward and shouted back. ¡°Hero Zily greets her mother, General Hero Lierin. I request an audience with the general at her earliest convinience.¡± Zily gestured towards Marke with big movements that could be seen clearly from the tower. ¡°I bring with me, under my , a mighty foreign hero. A friend who should be accorded all rights and honors.¡± The guard on the gatehouse yelled down a greeting to Zily and said that they would open the gate as soon as they received proper orders. Those orders apparently came back quickly¨Cthe gate opened less than five minutes later and the guard invited them to enter. Zily nodded at Marke and walked side-by-side with him through the gate. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, I really liked that process. Practical, but also plenty of options for feeling fancy.¡± Kente said. What do you think her mother is like? Marke asked Kente. ¡°Stop that, you haven¡¯t even held hands. You don¡¯t need to be nervous about meeting a stranger who is related to someone who smiled at you.¡± Kente scolded Marke. Marke didn¡¯t have a chance to respond because he was suddenly standing in front of a woman who looked like an older, taller Zily. The general bowed to Zily and Marke. Marke followed Zily¡¯s lead and bowed back. When they all straightened up, the general spoke. ¡°General Hero Lierin greets her daughter, Hero Zily, and welcomes the foreign hero as a friend.¡± It was apparently Zily¡¯s turn to speak next. ¡°Mother, I introduced to you Foreign Hero Dingo. He is a mighty enemy of the goblins who recently arrived on the edges of our land through magical means.¡± Marke¡¯s enhanced hearing picked up a soft murmur from someone standing in the back. From the look on the General¡¯s face, she had also heard it. Zily continued as though no one had said anything. ¡°My small fort was ill equipped to fulfill his requests, so I have brought him to you.¡± Zily gave a little gesture with her hand and Marke took that as his cue. ¡°I wish to trade a few items.¡± Marke said. He wasn¡¯t quite confident enough in his vocabulary to sound fancy. ¡°And also, I seek the help of a good tailor.¡± Marke smiled and a few soldiers chuckled. ¡°Beyond that, I wish to learn what has happened in the world during my long absence.¡± The general¡¯s mouth quirked in a small smile at Marke¡¯s requests. ¡°Hero Dingo, Hero Zily, I invite you to my residence where we will discuss further.¡± The formation of guards and attendants broke and Marke followed along with Zily in the wake of the general. The general gave a few quiet orders that sent people running off at top speed. They all arrived together at the large and open doors for a subtly beautiful building off to the side of the Fort grounds.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. An aide bowed to Marke as he stepped inside. ¡°Great hero. I am Sana. Please follow me.¡± Zily nodded in response to Marke¡¯s questioning look before turning to follow her own aide in the opposite direction. Marke followed Sana through a side door of the entrance hall. The aide led him to a large stone bath, set into the ground. ¡°Do you bathe alone, or with attendants?¡± Sana asked. ¡°I will bathe alone.¡± Marke said. He picked up the word ¡®bathe¡¯ from the context and hoped that he conjugated it correctly for himself. Sana didn¡¯t show any objection or confusion, so Marke figured he had done ok. Sana showed him soap, brush, and towels, then left to wait outside. Marke sank gladly into the bath. ¡°This is nice.¡± He said without thinking. ¡°Hmmm.¡± Kente replied in a flat tone. Marke grimaced at the mistake. It was too close to a direct reminder of how Marke had a body and Kente did not. Marke tried to save the situation by leaning into it. ¡°It¡¯s no ice cold lake full of squid or an acidic hot spring, but it will do.¡± Kente gave a half-hearted snort of amusement. Cleaning blood and guts off himself was an important bit of self care that Marke had struggled with in the tunnels. Marke was scrubbing his hair when Sana informed him that a tailor had arrived and could see Marke as soon as he was finished bathing. Marke finished bathing in record time and jumped out of the bath to reach the towels. A few minutes later, the tailor looked up at him in obvious surprise. ¡°You sure are big.¡± The tailor said. Marke chuckled. He didn¡¯t actually know how tall he was. With his constantly tattered clothing, he didn¡¯t have a great way to track any growth down in the tunnels. Marke and Kente had discussed it multiple times but didn¡¯t find a solid reason why his increased stats would make him grow when he already had an adult body. ¡°Hmmm. I can make you a real quick to wear while I throw together something else.¡± The tailor pulled a bolt of cloth out of a pile and began pulling out lengths and holding them up to Marke¡¯s body. The tailor muttered to himself for a moment then slashed the fabric with bright glowing scissors. The scissors and sudden movement took Marke by surprise and his instincts nearly turned the elf to a fine mist. Marke evened out his breathing and tried to slow his heart rate. In under a minute, the tailor had a comfortable robe thrown around Marke¡¯s shoulders and tied in the front. Marke loved it. ¡°That should while I , what do you think?¡± The tailor asked. ¡°This is the best thing I¡¯ve worn in years.¡± Marke said earnestly. ¡°Thank you.¡± The tailor frowned at the robe. ¡°It¡¯s just a robe. What were you wearing before? I didn¡¯t see you enter the fort.¡± Marke pulled the homemade leather shorts out of his bag and held them up. ¡°I made them myself.¡± He said. The tailor looked completely horrified.