Chapter 2: Cycle 9 | Solo Adventure_Adventures: Planeswalker

The minute I looked back, I frowned.

Welp- there went my expectations for this little group.

It seemed some of the 'veterans' had used the leftover 'newbs' as meatshields and- just- really?

At least they weren't useless, useless- since they were able to take down the other wolf without me but that really wasn't saying much.

I did a double of the surroundings, my hand tensing and untensing as I ignored the icky feeling of cooling blood dripping from my fingers.

I tried to stroll over to assess the damage but before I could so much as take a step.

"Leave them. If they can't even walk they won't make it through the rest of the copy."

Welp. That there was our 'insider'.

'Guess I shouldn't have expected anything else huh, Light?'

{Look again, Little Lord. Not all humans are dissapointments.}

"The hell man! Why did you throw them in the way? At the rate we're going, by the time we reach the objective's task point it will only be four people left!"

Huh, judged too quick again, that right there was another stranger of the 'veteran' group, this one had an interesting quirk, I mean- redundant as most of that group were strange in one way or another- but this one had eyes of crystal akin to diamonds.

And not in that- 'wow pretty, pretty eyes ya have there'- I mean diamond, diamonds- like the way they reflect light in patterns of pretty fractal pieces, that kind of crystaline eyes.

I hadn't noticed before because of the others of the 'bus group' distracting me and blocking my view of the guy but aside from his eyes he really was a pretty ordinary, overlookable, late 20s looking- guy. White, dirty blonde hair, only weapon I could see was a set of knives at his belt that he'd used when the wolves jumped us.

"Yonder, you are still unused to the Inifinite Worlds after all. This place is live or die, sink or swim. If they can't swim, we are not obligated to save them."

Oh, Pretty-Eyes is Yonder, good to know. But you're really not helping your case mister 'insider' man.

Having said that, 'Mr.Insider' started to walk away again and wow- the others, by that I mean the 'veterans' and uninjured 'newbs', just followed him?

/Wow, Little Lord. Are you the only one here with a brain?\

I gave a mental nod to Blank's idea and gave my current options a good- two seconds- of consideration.

Let's see;

a) I follow this group of uncaring- mostly- idiots and likely have to help them out again at no benefit to myself.

b) I go off the 'beaten path', so to say, and follow that third wolf that the group apparently hadn't seen running off after the ambush, even that 'Mr.Insider', and maybe find out what my Bestiary can do.

'Quick vote team?'

A quick mental message was sent and returned with vague feelings of agreement and exasperation.

{/<'B all the way!'>\}

And with that, the decision was made.

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Meanwhile, Homepage, Trending:

[IWLB Homepage > Trending > New > 🔥 Heat #9/#25: *CLIP* *GORY* NEWBIE KID RIPS A WHOLE EYE OUT!! > Uploader: Yuonji]

[*CLIP* *GORY* NEWBIE KID RIPS A WHOLE EYE OUT!! > Uploader: Yuonji]

[Video Description: First a blurry picture of a snowy landscape, then the lens clears, the landscape is revealed to be a forest, the trees and foliage blurred by falling snow. Then- the sudden sound of snarling, shouting, screaming- a fight. The camera spins around- wolves are shown to be attacking a group of people in the snow.

After a quick pan around the fight- we zoom into a figure on the edge of the battlefield- there we find a teen- gray-silver hair- glowing yellow eyes- glasses ascew as he chokes a snarling wolf thrashing about in his arms-

And as the video plays- the camera zooming in and around to show the look on the teen's face as the last of the wolf's life trickles out from its eyes-

There is a sharp howl of sudden background music as the camera slows down just enough to show the whole scene of a hand reaching slow motion into the dead eye of a corpse- and- sinking- blood seeping- curling- a burst of red- turning- then- scooping out- drops of liquid-

And there it is- a return to normal time as the clip ends on a shot of the scarlet eye and the bloody hand holding it- with the end credits linking to the channel of a certain newbie host.]

[Player Code: Ace > Broadcast Rank (N): Ash #7/#100 (T) > Viewer Count: 103↑+]

[Clip Chat >

GamerDuke81: THIS IS SICK!

farawayfalcon: WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE A HIGHSCHOOLER?!!!

a1bt5 (Elite): 🗡️👁️🩸❄️☠️ x1

Rocket: 🗡️👁️🩸❄️☠️ x2

Aplombbo603: NEWCOMER’S GOT POTENTIAL!

Yummypeaces: 🗡️👁️🩸❄️☠️ x1

...]

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Sneaking off from the group to follow the third wolf was surprisingly easy to do. Just reducing my presence to the level of one-with-nature and letting the group move away did the trick.

And after making absolutely sure that we were alone, I nudged the rest-

'Hey. Let's try that shapeshifting Wildling-or something- title, I think the owl form would be really useful for tracking and moving around in this snow.'

{Dark. You're up.}

/Can we change up the roles? At the rate we've been dealing with shapeshifting and bloodline related traits, I'll end up busier than Light. But finnnee- I'll do my job.\

I felt a shift within my body as a force within my blood and mind worked together to activate an instinctive ability that was hidden within me.

My body deformed, the flesh compressing into itself, bones shrinking as they moved about and hollowed, body hairs growing and transforming into feathers, eyes enlarging and enhancing.

When it was all over, taking merely seconds, though it felt longer; all that was left where there had stood a teenager was a weirdly proportioned snowy owl, not yet fully grown into an adult of the species at its current 22 inches (56~ cm) in height but having an abnormally wide wingspan, for its' age, at 54 inches (137~ cm).

The owl blinked its large rounded eyes, golden in color and molten in pattern, taking a minute to reorient itself.

[Detected player

change. New ID Menu composed.]
|
[Form: Unassigned (Snowy Owl) | Code: Ace (Human)]
[Age: 2 (Physically) | Title(s): *Archivist*, *Wilde*]
[Health: 80/80 | Soul: 347/347 | SAN: 305/305]
[STR: 12 | CON: 8 | DEX: 19]
[INT: 28 | WIS: 27 | CHR: 12]
[SPR: 24 | WIL: 26 | LCK: 2 <-/+444>]
[FAITH: +001% <-001%> | SYNC: 100% <200%>]
[Player Talent Evaluation: SSS+ ]
[Note: Average "Snowy Owl" stats, except and which is "1" and "15" respectively, are "8".]
'Hey Dark? That shapeshift felt different from normal. Something up with that? And, by the way, is it just me or does it feel like this form and the other one, from the title, is requesting a name?'
/I think it's partly from the subconcious of the form and partly from the bloodline of this new vessel, Little Lord. My suggestion is to just get to it when you get to it, the wolf's tracks are about to dissapear from the snow.\
'Shit! K, this form is now named [Yule] and I'll name the other one later! Moving out!'
Shaking off the gathered snow on my body while I was reorienting, I hurridly got used to this form while moving in the direction of the wolf's trail.
One talon, second talon, one wing flap, two wing flaps. One, and a two, and a *fwap*.
The wind was thankfully not too fast, even with the snow. It was a soft enough weather that I could take off within a try or two.
I quickly found my stride, it wasn't as if I had never flown before or been in an avian body, the only difficulty was adapting this vessel to this form in particular.
Time passed.
It took little time for me to re-find the wolf, it was only a minute away from the fight's location by air and it didn't even chance looking up at the sky for followers.
I followed until I found it, the 'den'.
Unbeknownst to me, that was my second .
Meanwhile, Ace's Live Broadcast:
[Player Code: Ace > Broadcast Status: Live > Viewer Count: 189↑+]
[Live Chat >
Aplombbo603: Title skill?
Yuonji (Elite): New clip found!
Joke (Normal): Ooooo! Shapeshifting!
Civillain: He's going off on his own? This'll be fun :>
Birdie: Aww birb!
PrettyJiejie: NOOOOO! MY EYE CANDY!
Ocean: Mate this snow is shit for the viewing experience
...]
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Meanwhile, Homepage, Trending:
[IWLB Homepage > Trending > New > 🔥 Heat #14/#25: *CLIP* *NEW* NEWBIE KID SHAPESHIFTS INTO ?!?!?! > Uploader: Yuonji]
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[*CLIP* *NEW* NEWBIE KID SHAPESHIFTS INTO ?!?!?! > Uploader: Yuonji]
[Video Description: The clip starts with a shot of a group of people in a bloody clearing, two men arguing as the camera pans over a few injured people. The camera takes its time, recording the scene as the men seem to conclude their argument and turn to move out of the clearing.
When the argument was near its end, the camera finally turns to our protaganist, a scholarly looking teen, glasses upon a straight nose with hawkish yellow eyes.
The teen observes the group, several injured, two arguing, the rest keeping silent. Expression unchanging but seemingly dissapointed with what he found, the teen drifted to the back of the group when they moved away.
The group not noticing when the teen slowly hid themself away from the group's vision using the foliage and snow. Until, finally, the teen ended up alone. No group. No companions.
When the teen was sure that there was no one but zir in that clearing. It seemed to narrow its eyes in concentration for a few moments before- *crick-a-crack-crack*- flesh compressed into itself, bones shrinking as they moved about, hairs growing and transforming into feathers, eyes enlarging and glossing over.
When it was all over, taking merely seconds in real time, though the video slowed the process for the audience's viewing pleasure; all that was left where there had stood a teenager was a weirdly proportioned snowy owl, not yet fully grown into an adult of the species but having an abnormally wide wingspan.
The owl blinked its large rounded eyes, golden in color and molten in pattern.
The video ends with a few cuts of the owl taking its first flight and the reason behind its shapeshift, a wolf running through the forest, and the den that it was returning to.]
|
[Player Code: Ace > Broadcast Rank (N): Ash #2/#100 (T) > Viewer Count: 221↑+]
[Clip Chat >
Hocuspocus: 🧒🦉❄️🐺 x1
GamerDuke81: 🧒🦉❄️🐺 x2
a1bt5 (Elite): 🧒🦉❄️🐺 x3
Yummypeaces: SHAPESHIFTING?! Free Follow!
farawayfalcon: 🧒🦉❄️🐺 x1
Aplombbo603: Hey~ is this a new “Favorite”?
Coffee: Isn’t this his first time shapeshipting? How did he figure out flying?
...]
----------------------------------------
The 'den' was a cave nestled into the mountainside, everfrost and stone alike holding up its shape while the falling snow crept slowly into its' entrance with help from the wind.
The wolf I had followed seemed to hesistate at the entrance, 'interesting, signs of a hierarchy or an interpack system for punishing failure?'.
While I waited to make sure the wolf had walked quite a ways inside and wouldn't be coming back out anytime soon, I landed a safe distance away from the cave before poking my incarnations with intent for a good ole' planning session.
Or, in this case, a pre-OP session.
'Yosh! Hey! Lazies! Planning time!'
{We heard you the first time Little Lord, no need to yell.}
/So? What's the goal of the OP? If you want a planning session we need a goal to plan for.\
'Ah- my apologies- Light- Blank. First-Flight leftovers. Anyway. To answer you Dark, the goal for this OP is to gather enough information on those wolves to test out the cards connected with the Bestiary- and- if there is a chance to- elliminate them. Since I'm assuming that if this "game" works like others of its kind we should get a reward for that.'
{In that case. Now that we have a bit of time, I'll sort out and incoporate the vessel's memories while Dark and Blank try to plan around the abilities we currently have access to?}
'Hn. And while you guys do that. I'll get familiar with [Yule] here.'
/Tche. Just say you wanna play around in owl form. Not like we don't know what you mean, Little Lord.\
I sent back feelings of amusement and thoughts of mild teasing in response while moving around and getting a bit more in tune with this [Cycle's] first shapeshifted form.
I didn't have to wait for long, the results of our investigations came in quite quickly.
/Continuing with Blank's report. Out of the 8 [Planes] we'd traveled, only 4 have [Powers] that are [Integratable] with this [Plane's Laws]. And it's not [Unrestricted Intergration] either, it's [Heavy-to-Moderate Restrictions].\
/That leaves [Cycles: 3, 4, 6, and, surprisingly, 7]. Which are ^still^ [Restricted] pretty heavily.\
/[Eyes of Death] is somehow already [Integrated] with this [Cycle's] body and System-termed (our one, not the new [Cycle's] one) as [YinYang Eyes]. While the [No Longer Human] trait apparently needs to be activated with the condition of "killing your humanity". (Though I think it might have contributed to the book artifact.)\
/-no. We do not know what the Fool that condition is talking about.\
{Sorry to break in, Blank. But I've sorted some of the memories, about 60%, and I also think it's the reason for this vessel's Chinese lineage.}
/Off topic! Back to the point! Aside from the [Li Heritage] trait. There's not much to talk about in regards to [4]. Now, [6], on the other hand-\
'I apologize. But I just heard some sounds from the cave. This is taking too long. Shorten it.'
/With [7], there's one trait, [Gene-Compatible]. Already [Integrated] like [YinYang Eyes], [Li Heritage], and [Nature's Blessing]. Just called, [Faultless Vessel], instead.\
'Done?'
'Light? How's memories looking?'
{Almost, Little Lord. About 80%, right now. Do you want me to finish first or receive the rest later?}
I was about to respond with the 2nd when the decision was taken out of my hands.
*Wolves growling and the roar of the wind.*
The snow had picked up.
If I didn't move I would be getting buried by the storm within a minute- two- max.
'We'll get back to that. Let's kill some wolves first. That cave be looking real good as a shelter, right about now.'
While moving towards the cave, now that we're ready to do that, I quickly calculated the time between us planning and the snow's sudden difficulty-increase.
'Time dilation, currently, between Alexandria and real world, about 3:1, meaning if we'd only talked for 10 minutes Alexandria time...'
'Damn. The storm picked up that much in only 3-and-a-bit minutes?!'
{/\}
'Agreed. Now quiet down. We're at the cave's entrance.'
At this point, the winds had picked up enough that I would gladly call it a blizzard, by my estimate, if I tried flying right now, I would be a like a balloon in a hurricane.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
So I simply stuck to the ground and walked my way into the cave, after making sure that there were no guards waiting inside for me, of course.
Once I was actually inside and away from the blizzard, I took in the surroundings before proceeding further.
'...Hey guys? Am I hallucinating or is that a floating arm in the wall?'
There was silence in the mental link between my incarnations and I before Dark gave us all a mental shove to get it together.
/Stop gapping! It's unsightly for someone as old as us to be this shocked by a gory sight!\
{But-}
/No! No buts! OP-in progress! No distractions!\
Taking the hint that Dark was in serious-mode, I pushed the shock at the sight away to focus again on our self-appointed mission.
'-though this does give me a thought- that
-'
Leaving a tiny part of my mind to think on the idea, I strained my eyes and ears to watch out for any wolves while making my way forward.
'This would have been easier if owls had a sense of smell-'
The cave was a one way path going deeper into the mountain, first sloping up for a few meters before sharply turning down.
'-that explains how it wasn't iced over yet.'
After a minute or 2 of walking hadn't yielded any results i.e. any more progress than a few feet of distance ('-by Nod- owls were slow walkers-').
I gave up and gave my incarnations a heads up that I was going to try and fly the rest of the way to wherever the wolves were hiding.
'It should be fine? Cave's plenty wide. Would just need to worry about tiring myself out or alerting the wolves if they hear us before we get there.'
{We could help with the motor control for a bit? And by 'we' I mean Blank and Dark.}
/If I hadn't known that you were still sorting out memories I would be protesting this extra work so hard right now.\
'Ready.'
It was a bit wobbly at the start. No wind to work with. But we stabilized after switching the controls of the wings and senses around between us.
Progress happened much quicker after that.
Though in an attempt to be as stealthy as possible, we flew quite slowly, almost 'drifting' more than 'flying'.
We learned that the cave was a lot longer than it looked from the entrance, and the sounds I heard were probably echos seeing as, even traveling as slowly as I was, we had covered at least several tens of meters before the passage showed signs of opening up to a larger room.
/King. Wait a bit. There's movement up ahead.\
'I hear it.'
Unbeknownst to me, this would be my third .
Meanwhile, Ace's Live Broadcast:
[Player Code: Ace > Broadcast Status: Live > Viewer Count: 272↑+]
[Live Chat >
Rocket: Fight? Fight? Please? Pretty please?
GamerDuke81: Came from the clips is the combat portion of the mission here yet?
PrettyJiejie: I want my eyeeecannndyyyy backkkk!!!!!
Coffee: Oh my god, I’m so nerveous is he actually gonna take on the side plot by himself?
Civillain: If he actually clears this side plot he’ll officially be a new one to look out for.
Yuonji (Elite): OH! This atmosphere! This tenseness and pressure! 3rd clip got!
证人: 这不是那个大名鼎鼎的天才小辈吗？
(“Witness: Isn't this that famous genius junior?” ー Translation provided by the LIVE-translation service.)
...]
----------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Homepage, Trending:
[IWLB Homepage > Trending > New > 🔥 Heat #4/#25: *CLIP* *NEW* NEWBIE KID ABOUT TO TAKE ON SIDE PLOT...BY HIMSELF?!?!?! > Uploader: Yuonji]
|
[*CLIP* *NEW* NEWBIE KID ABOUT TO TAKE ON SIDE PLOT...BY HIMSELF?!?!?! > Uploader: Yuonji]
[Video Description: The clip starts with a wide and ominous shot of a slowly darkening, snowing, sky (not quite storming...yet). Before swinging the lense around to focus on a spot of white and gray, a snowy owl.
The owl seemed to hesitate in front of an icy cave's mouth, time passing as the video timelasped a shot of the falling snow quickening into blizzard speeds, leaving the owl no more choice but to venture into the cave, ay, den.
The video slows down at this point. Switching to a first person's point of view and going back to a normal time speed. Though there was no music in the previous part, the silence seems especially pronounced with the darkness of the den amplifying and echoing the howling gales.
Viewers are given a few moments to appreciate the gloomy atmosphere before time is sped up yet again. This time, moving a bit quicker than the last, as the owl is shown cautiously walking, then flying, through the cave halls before- suddenly- time halts.
The cave so far had been dark, quiet, gloomy, small, almost to the point of claustrophobia, tunnels, freezing cold from the ice it was formed from. But ahead? Ahead was pale purple light, reflecting off the corners of a room, a big room.
A big room echoing with the sound of sharp growls and snapping teeth.
There is a staticky crackle from the video as the camera turns back from the owls' perspective to an outsiders' view, a dripping blood effect falling from the top of the screen to write out the words-
-"BOSS ENCOUNTER".
The clip ends with a turn of the camera back to face the owl still hovering just outside the BOSS room, reminiscient of the clip's start, an instrumental song starting up in the background as if in preparation for the upcoming fight.]
|
[Player Code: Ace > Broadcast Rank (N): Ash #1/#100 (T) > Viewer Count: 334↑+]
[Clip Chat >
Birdie: BIRB! NO! Be Careful!!!
Ocean: Oh no. This- might go badly
Aplombbo603: 🦉🔛🐺〓❓ x1
Nidorosity: 🦉🔛🐺〓❓ x2
Joke (Normal): Praying things go well 🙏
Yummypeaces: 🦉🔛🐺〓❓ x1
...]

Chapter 2: Cycle 9 | Solo Adventure

目录