As my foot got tangled into another root, I cursed to myself.
"Fuck my life. What did I even do to deserve this shit?! One moment I'm home, and the next I'm in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere! And to boot-" I tripped over another root, and had to take a few seconds to gather back my balance. "-to boot, it's getting dark too!"
What little of the sky I could see between the foliage was slowly turning from blue to red; I needed to find either shelter, or a way out of the forest. I was also quite thirsty, as I hadn't had the chance to drink anything in several hours. The hunger was light for now, but if I couldn't manage to feed myself within tomorrow, it would become a problem.
I wandered for another ten minutes, in the vain hope of finding a way out. No such luck, and as I hadn't found any shelter either, I was forced to sleep in a tree. I didn't like it, probably the tree didn't either, but there wasn't much that could be done about it.
After I climbed the branches with the utmost care possible, I settled on a relatively thick branch about seven meters high, which wasn't that impressive as the trees in that zone were quite tall, and prepared myself to see the one thing that was probably my one lifeline in all my troubles.
"Status."
And with that single thought, a light grey screen appeared in front of my eyes. When I'd fist seen it hours ago, I was left baffled, thinking that it was all a feverish dream. Unfortunately, it wasn't.
Name: Nicholas Pascaru
Age: 23
Species: Human (+5% effect to all skills)
Class: Adventurer [lv: 1] (0/20)
LV: 1
HP: 100/100 (+10/min)
MP: 100/100 (+10/min)
STR: 5
VIT: 5
DEX: 5
INT: 5
WIS: 5
LUK: 5
CHA: 5
Chaos points: 0
?: 0
I also had skills, you know.
- Skills:
Chaos affinity - innate skill - no cost
* You are particularly attuned to the forces of chaos.
* +25% effect to Chaos-based skills
* -10% cost to Chaos-based skills
Analyze - active - 5 MP
* Element: N/A
* Gives the caster information about anything, as long as it is within the caster's line of sight.
Gamer's body - passive - no cost
* Any damage your body takes will be detracted from your HP, and then healed immediately. You still feel pain, and have bodily needs.
I did try to get other skills, but it seemed that I couldn't get them easily. I honestly had no idea about a lot of things, especially related to the stupid game. What I did know, was that if I leveled up my class, I would get more skills related to it. How did I know that? Well...
I opened my eyes, fighting against the throbbing headache I felt. Slowly, I managed to focus my eyes on the environment around me. I was in no place I could recognize. Trees were all around me, and it seemed that I was alone. While I sat there, trying to make sense of the situation, and waiting for the headache to lessen, something appeared, grabbing my attention.
It was... a screen, of sorts. Even if I moved my head, it stayed firmly in my line of sight. Eventually the pain lessened enough that I could read what was on the screen clearly.
Greetings, young man!
Unfortunately, I don't have much time, so I'll keep this message short. You are here because I need help. Whenever I can, I'll send you some other messages telling you what to do in order to help me. For now, know this: don't trust the beings of this world. They are all liars, and will try to get you on their side. I leave you with an ability, so that you may protect yourself.
I must go now, but I will contact you again soon. Remember, I'm the only one you can trust.
I frowned. "Isn't this just the best way to begin a day? Sitting in a random forest, no idea were I am exactly, random magical screens popping out of nowhere! Just great. Might as well listen to it, probably my best choice now."
Nothing popped up to answer me, of course. Grumbling, I tapped the small 'X' button on the top left corner. As soon as I did that, a new screen popped up.
Class has been set to: Adventurer
Skills gained:
* Analyze
* Gamer's body
Unique skill unlocked:
* Chaos affinity
I blinked.
I blinked again.
I closed also that screen, and slapped both of my hands on my face, groaning in annoyance.
"Whyyyyyyyyy..."
After a while, I had come to terms with my situation, somewhat, and decided to find my way out. Several hours later, there I was.
The sunset was finally over, and light was starting to become scarce. Since I had really nothing else to do, I just decided to sleep.
The day after, I climbed further up the tree I'd slept in, trying to see if there were any landmarks or cities anywhere nearby. On one side, which I assumed to be west, basing myself on the sun's position, was a hill, which didn't allow me to see much into that direction.
Towards the south, instead, I could see some ruins. Maybe not the best place, but I could reach it within noon. That would give me some time to secure a place to sleep, and maybe scavenge something there; from what I could see in the distance, it seemed to have been a castle sometime in the past. With some luck, I could find a weapon that wasn't competely rusted.
With some semblance of a plan in mind, I set off.
About fifteen minutes in, I started humming to myself one of my favourite songs: 'No rest for the wicked'. Surprisingly, a small screen popped up in front of me.
Music player activated
As soon as it appeared, it was gone, and I could hear the notes of 'No rest for the wicked' sounding in my head. It didn't impair my thoughts or hearing in any way, so it was a welcome surprise.
Fiddling with the music function, I understood how to make it activate at a moment's notice, along with making it play whatever song I wanted, and also some I didn't, as long as I knew what atmosphere I wanted it to have... although that worked mostly for game music.
After a long while, and a whole lot of music later, I reached a ravine. On the other side of it was the castle, and the only thing connecting the sides of said ravine was a small, rickety rope bridge.
"Why does the universe do this shit to me?" I mentally complained, while trying to find a way to cross without using the bridge. Unfortunately for me, it seemed that the world wouldn't be lenient with me; I could either grow wings, and fly over the ravine, or grow a pair and cross the bridge.
I chose to crawl across it.
Don't give me that look! Crawling spreads one's weight better, lessening the chance of the planks breaking!
...or that's just what I told myself to keep my dignity intact.
Nonetheless! I crossed the bridge, and was ready to search trough the castle for anything useful!
The first floor yielded nothing more than dust and cobwebs, along with a couple mouldy books. 95% of what was written on them was unreadable, while what was visible was incomprehensible to me; think of ancient greek multiplied by persian. Yep, whatever language that was, I wasn't learning it anytime soon!
I wasn't ready to give up, though. I took the stairs leading underground, hoping to find some sort of armory or what-have-you. I'm not an expert on ancient castles.
After around twenty minutes in the veritable labyrinth that was the underground of the castle, I opened a door to find a bunch of weapon racks. The racks themselves were rotten, and the weapons were rusty as all fuck. I tried using my Analyze spell, just to be safe.
Rusty steel sword - Rank: Trash
* This thing can't even be considered a weapon, it can't cut worth a damn and it's likely to give you tetanus.
* DUR: 3/70
Rusty warhammer - Rank: Trash
* This thing can't even be considered a weapon, it'll break as soon as you hit something with it. You're liable to injure yourself if you try to use it.
* DUR: 4/80
Rotten shortbow - Rank: Trash
* This thing can't even be considered a weapon, it'll shatter as soon as you try to notch an arrow.
* DUR: 2/50
And so on, and on...
I decided to just leave the armory, hopes dashed.
I was exporing the upper floors, looking for a good room for myself, at least temporarily. Surprisingly, I spotted a gaping hole in the wall. I approached the hole warily, as I was currently on the third floor. Turning around, I found that multiple walls were broken, and I could trace the path of whatever destroyed them down to the throneroom. It was probably the most wrecked place in the castle, to be honest. Something massive might have happened. Bombs? Magic? Lasers? Who knew.
The worst part wasn't the destruction, though. On the ground, I could see a multitude of skeletons lying around, in various states of integrity. The creepy thing was that most were severed cleanly at about chest height. No burn signs, no shrapnel, just... a clean cut. The magic theory was becoming more and more likely.
In the skeletal hand of one... soldier, I suppose, was a sword. It was in surprisingly good state, considering all the others. It was extremely dusty and tarnished, but I believed some cleaning and it would be perfectly serviceable.
I grabbed the sword, and pried it from the skeleton's grip. "I think I'm gonna need this, dude. Don't mind if I take it right?"
I got back up on my feet, Analyzing my newest find.
Magisteel sword - Rank: Rare
* A blade made of steel, which was then infused with magic. It is sharper and sturdier than a normal steel blade. It is enchanted. This kind of blade is reserved for higher-ranking officials, or very rich people.
* DUR: 130/130
* Ench: Maintenance (item will stay pristine as long as the enchantment is in place)
* Ench: Power (DMG increases by ×1.5)
* DMG: (STR+35)×1.5
I was surprised. What were the chances of finding such a great weapon right off the bat? At least I wouldn't have to worry about predators around... once I got a hang of how swords were used. Plus, the damage of this sword was great for my level! Already, I'd inflict 60 base DMG! Fantastic!
During my wandering I'd found my inventory, and I learned how to send stuff in there and retrieve it with a thought. The item would always appear in one of my hands, so it was great for surviving ambushes.
Thus, after sending the sword to my inventory, I decided to go back inside the forest, to find something to eat: I was starving.
P.O.V. shift
At last, my long travels were reaching their end. Soon, I would be able to reach a new home, away from the dangers of my old land. This forest seemed like a good place to settle down.
I peered down to my map, locating myself easily. Everfree forest... a deceptively alluring name; then again, Zebrica is much worse. Worst case scenario, I'd have to deal with manticores here, maybe a lone hydra if I got very unlucky. In Zebrica... it's a good day if a hydra is the only thing you have to deal with.
I shook my head. I was far away from those dreadful lands, and was ready to begin a new chapter of my life. With those thoughts firmly stuck in my head, I ventured further into the trees, dragging my cart behind me. The tinkling of bottles, and the occasional sound from an animal were my only company, as it had been for several months during my journey.
I did appreciate the presence of others around me, of course, but sometimes I'd find myself desiring peace and quiet more than anything. This was definitely my place in the world: lots of ingredients for my potions, relatively calm, and with a small town not too far away I shouldn't worry about anything I might need.
Immersed as I was in my thoughts, I took a bit to notice that the environment had become extremely quiet. Whirling around, I took ahold of one of the vials I kept strapped to my belt. Inside, was a potion that would cause a cloud of noxious gas the moment it was open. I prepared myself to throw the vial at whatever would try to attack me. It wouldn't actually hurt anything, but it would incapacitate them enough for me to escape.
Unfortunately, I hadn't had the time to make more lately, so I was down to my last two. I could also use my whip, but if it were anything like a manticore or a cragadile then it wouldn't do much more than irritate them.
Of course, Lady Luck decided that this wouldn't be my day, and threw not one, but two manticores at me.
I immediately threw the vial in front of the two manticores, and proceeded with high-tailing it. After a few minutes I couldn't hear them anymore, so I slowed down. Hopefully they'd given up.
Back to Nicholas
"Still nothing... what a pain"
My searching had been for naught, and thus the day was turning into evening without me having eaten anything yet. While I had seen some... beasts, I decided to steer very far away from them. I wouldn't get anything to eat out of wooden wolves, and I supposed that the 'cockatrice', as the game called it, wouldn't be very healthy. Plus I didn't feel like eating snake.
As such, I was still wandering. Avoiding the denizens of the forest granted me a skill, at least.
Sneak (minimal) - passive - no cost
* Your movements are slightly quieter than most.
* +5% chance to be ignored
* +1 DEX
I was quite happy with it, actually. Even though I had close to no idea on how to change its... rank, I suppose I could call it? The small stat boost was appreciated. Considering that is appeared only when I was starting to understand what to do to be quieter, I could assume that it would become better as long as I got actually better at it.
I was going to see if I could do something also for other stats, but my stomach came first.
I was pulled away from my thoughts as a new sound attracted my attention. There was someone up ahead, and... she, from what I could tell, was breathing kinda heavily. Might have ran away from something.
A screen popped up before I could do anything.
New quest - Terrors of the wild
* Objective: Help ? get rid of the manticores
* Bonus: ?
Reward: 150 XP, 20 ?, 10 Chaos points
Bonus reward: ?
I closed the screen, and went to find the woman. If the manticores that the game mentioned were anything like the mythological ones, then we were in for quite the hassle. Better get a move on. And if she knew the way out, all the better for me.
Pulling out my sword to be safe, I walked out of a bush, surprising the woman in front of me. She moved her hand to her hip, where I could see a bottle hanging. Was she planning to throw it at me? Still, immediately she calmed down and straightened up.
"And who might you be, that roams the trees of the Everfree?" She asked. I quirked my eyebrow at the rhyming, but thought it best to not mention it.
"I was about to ask you the same, but we don't really have the time right now. There's some manticores around, so I suggest getting somewhere safe. We can talk after that, ok?" I looked around, making a mental note of the small cart behind her, and inspecting the surroundings for signs of danger.
The woman nodded gravely. "What you say is true. Of the beasts, I have seen two. We'd best move, and make haste; else, our efforts would be a waste." She motioned for me to follow her, and she started walking away, dragging her cart with her.
Since it didn't seem like we'd be in trouble at the moment, I shot a quick Analysis at the woman.
Name: Zecora
Age: 27
Species: Sebra (+15% resistance to heat, +20% effect to alchemy)
LV: 24
HP: 1.380/1.380
MP: 1.520/1.520
STR: 13
VIT: 18
DEX: 21
INT: 32
WIS: 29
LUK: 17
CHA: 25
"Wait, so she's not human?! What?" I snuck another glance at the now-named Zecora. She seemed very much human to me! Dark brown skin, black hair styled in a mohawk, pretty normal to me! Well, except for the fact that her clothes seemed more adapt to a desert than to a forest, but who was I to judge?
And what was up with those stats, anyway? Had I been weakened, or was she just that strong and smart?
...and lucky.
...and charming.
Okay, it might be me. How humiliating.
While I shambled along, thoroughtly humbled, Zecora stopped all of a sudden.
"They sure are a persistent lot... it seems we must fend them off."
My eyes bugged out hearing that. "Are you out of your mind?! How are we supposed to fight off even one manticore, let alone two?!"
She gave me a knowing smirk. "I know what we must do. Just act when I tell you to."
I gave a suffering sigh and hoped for the best. Not one minute later, the two manticores jumped out of their cover, and I took the chance to see what we were up against.
Name: N/A
Age: N/A
Species: Manticore
LV: 11
HP: 750/750
MP: 650/650
STR: 25
VIT: 20
DEX: 15
INT: 10
WIS: 10
LUK: 5
CHA: 5
Definitely not as bad as I'd expected, but still way over my level. I just hoped that Zecora had an actually good plan.
"Listen closely," she whispered "once I throw the vial, flank them and try to chop off the tails. I will keep them distracted." I was surprised that she had dropped the rhyming, but I could see that it wasn't the time for something like that.
I nodded my head and got ready, hoping that my pitiful sneaking abilities would be enough.
No one dared to move for a minute, the air growing tense. One manticore tried to take a step, and immediately Zecora threw the vial towards them, causing a cloud to emerge. The manticores started hacking and pawing at their eyes, while I carefully made my way to their backs.
Considering what was happening to them, I reminded myself to not breathe in the gas, and charged at the manticore on my left. I combined what little I knew about swords with all my pitiful strength, and with some luck I struck right between the chitinous plates of the manticore's scorpion tail.
Critical hit! -120 Hp!
Inflicted status: bleeding
Inflicted status: crippled limb
While the manticore roared in pain, and the tail flopped down uselessly, I rushed to the other one, who was trying to turn back, but was kept steady by several hits from Zecora's whip, which had come from who-knows-where, but I wasn't complaining.
Zecora's strikes had managed to give me the perfect opening, and I thrust my blade right trough the tail, adding my momentum to spin the sword and severing the tail outright.
Brutal hit! -200 HP!
Inflicted status: severe bleeding
I retreated back when that was done, and observed my handiwork. One manticore was trying to maneuver around with a limp tail, doing nothing more than stumble around, while the other one was turning to me, enraged.
I gave a quick look at their status effects, while getting ready to move if needed. The bleedings sapped away HP, at a rate of 5 per second and 20 per second. The crippled limb, instead, would lower the afflicted's DEX, and of course, they wouldn't be able to use said limb.
If we were to wait for two minutes, they would be both dead anyway, so I decided to put them out of their misery. In the time it had taken the tailless manticore to take a couple steps, it had lost another 100 HP, making it stumble and fall.
A quick stab was all I needed to kill it. Hitting the brain dealt an insane amount of damage, plus anything would die from that.
The remaining manticore, though, was still up and ready to swipe at any who came near it. We had no need to do so, though. It probably realized that too, as it seemed to just give up and laid down with a huff.
I approached slowly, and placed a hand on its mane. It didn't react, so I took a few seconds to pet it.
"It isn't anyone's fault, is it? You tried to kill us. We defended ourselves. That's how the game of life works, and you were the ones who lost. Well, might as well not make you suffer more than needed." I quickly stabbed its brain too, and it fell limp like the other.
Battle log
Manticore LV: 11 × 2 slain
Gained: 180 XP
Leveled up! (1 - 4)
+3 VIT, +6 WIS, +6 LUK
Quest complete - Terrors of the wild
Reward: 150 XP, 20 ?, 10 Chaos points
Bonus reward: Beastly Medallion
Leveled up! (4 - 5)
+1 VIT, +2 WIS, +2 LUK
Class: Adventurer has reached level max! You can now change classes!
I blankly glanced at the screens. I didn't want to deal with that stuff, so I moved them to the edge of my vision to deal with later.
I don't know exactly how long I stood there, staring at the unmoving body of the manticore. In my head, I knew what I did was the right thing, yet... why did I feel so bad?
"I suppose it is human nature to question one's actions. I grew up thinking that killing is evil, and yet... I know I've done the right thing. Oh, well. What is done is done, I suppose."
Zecora stood next to me, quiet. I'm not sure what she was thinking about, but after a while she moved to leave, and I followed.
During our walk all I could think of was the fight. Since nothing I did could keep me from thinking about it, I pulled up the screens.
When I realized that I couldn't choose how my stats would grow I was left quite miffed. Still, I let it go, in favor of other things. First, my stats had increased quite a lot. Second, I could choose a new class. My choices were: fighter, mage and rogue.
In theory the game didn't say that I couldn't change my classes whenever, but I still decided to go for something that would be the most useful at the moment.
A rogue was good for avoiding enemies, but knowing the game it wouldn't be easy. Thus, that went to the bin.
A mage? I did have an affinity for magic, but... I had no idea how it worked. First I'd check if I could learn magic on my own. If not, I could go for it.
A fighter... I lacked a lot in the physical department, but I had a fantastic sword for a beginner, and it was pretty much the reason why I was alive. Knowing how to use said weapon would really save my ass.
I had chosen! I would become a Fighter!
Class changed! Adventurer -> Fighter
Skills gained:
* Sword mastery (minimal)
* Blade rush
I immediately checked my new skills.
Sword mastery (minimal) - passive - no cost
* You can swing a sword with some modicum of coordination.
* +5% damage with swords
* +1 STR
Blade rush - active - 100 MP
* Dash attack that slices enemies in half.
* Dash for 4 meters
* DMG×2
Not bad at all! Sure, my first attack skill was very expensive, and with my new levels up, I could only do it... three times, before having to rest, but it was still a powerful skill for my level! Plus, maybe I could hit multiple enemies with it! And even if it was only one, whatever! It was strong anyway!
I was jolted out of my thoughts when Zecora spoke up.
"This is where we must part. But do not worry, you have found a place in my heart."
I blinked at the odd choice of words.
She seemed to have picked up on my confusion, as she hurried to explain. "I will still be your friend, but now our journey together must end. I have things to take care of, you see. As such, I hope you do not think less of me."
Now that, I understood.
"Don't worry, Zecora. I get it. I wasn't planning to stay glued by your side the whole time anyway. As long as we meet again, I'm ok with saying goodbye now. Although..." I gestured to the trees around us "Do you know how to get out of here?"
She chuckled a bit at my expense, and pointed to my seven. I wordlessly nodded, and with a quick wave I left.
I liked her, she seemed like a cool woman. Better to not get too affectionate, though. You never know.
I walked out of the forest with a gigantic grin on my face. I was finally out of that hellhole, and now I had two objectives: find shelter, and-
*growllllll*
-and find some food.
I marched on, aiming to the small town in front of me. Passing a sign, I learned how it was called.
"Ponyville, huh? Wonder why they'd call it that..."