> 30, 29, 28…
Lucian was sorely tempted to curse out loud at being forced to make another snap decision – even if he was given three times the amount of time, this time around.
Immediately shoving aside such pointless thoughts, the raven-haired man's mind whirred to life, thinking over the three choices laid out. It was clear that he would have to decide between the Past, Present, and Future. Though he was somewhat intrigued by the flowery language used to describe each option, the emotionless, mechanical voice's characteristic lack of detail meant that he couldn't waste time dwelling on such right now.
After a split second's worth of thought, he eliminated the ‘Future’ as an option.
Assuming that he would be gaining an ability of some sort after making a choice, selecting the Future would ordinarily have been an attractive option. He was wary about betting on such a nebulous thing, however. All that really mattered to him was his survival in the present, so gaining abilities that related to the future in some way didn't really matter if he died right at that moment, did it?
> 24, 23, 22…
Lucian's thoughts pinballed between the ’Past’ and ’Present’ as time passed.
If he made a choice according to his previous train of thought, then selecting the latter would be the smart, rational choice. After all, was there a point in dwelling in the past if his present was at risk of getting snuffed out like a candleflame?
…
…
…
Although he had already mostly made up his mind, the raven-haired man tried to access his past memories once again – only to get rebuffed, once again, by the gaping void of nothingness; only memories related to the most general of knowledge being accessible.
> 17, 16, 15…
Perhaps doing what he was about to do might be considered foolish by some…
Humans wouldn’t be human if every choice was founded purely on rationality though, would they?
Firmly settling on his ultimate choice, the raven-haired man opened his mouth; not bothering to wait for the countdown to finish.
“I choose the Past.” Lucian’s said softly, not a single trace of regret threading through his firm voice or reflected on his determined countenance.
Reacting to his declaration, the emotionless, mechanical voice stopped counting down. A beat later, a new message droned right next to his ears.
> Player has decided to dwell in the mires of the Past.
>
>
>
> Analysing actions up to this point…
>
>
>
> Please standby.
>
>
The fine hairs all across his body stood up on their ends the exact moment the last word entered his ears due to a strange, indefinable force that abruptly streamed into his brain, rapidly invading what felt like every single cell and nerve ending.
The force wasn’t painful—not in the slightest bit—but felt more… uncomfortable, if anything – like someone was tap dancing on his grave.
As the chilling force continued its uncontested invasion, all his memories of recent events, ever since he had awakened in the so-called Dormitories, bubbled up to the surface of his consciousness; playing like a movie in fast rewind.
Most scenes went by in a flash, but several remained affixed at the forefront; suspended in time like air bubbles flash frozen in ice.
Of those, the most prominent were when he had pinned down the Closet Horror with a hurled chair and when he smashed the Eye around the Corner into a mess of crimson goop and yellow chunks with his second end table – bless its dearly departed soul.
Besides dredging up his recent memories seemingly for review, Lucian couldn't really tell what the force was trying to do.
…
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wonder for long.
Just as the chilling force invaded every single sulcus of his brain, it was injected into the frozen bubbles of memory; causing them to implode.
From these implosions came a seemingly endless stream of instinctive knowledge. It comprised how to throw; ranging from items fitting in the palms of his hands to more unwieldy and non-traditional, large scale ones, and how to smash; both when he was able to properly exert force and whenever he was in a pinch.
As this was happening, Lucian's mouth opened wider and wider, absolutely stunned by the boon bestowed on him like a bolt out of the blue.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Although the stream of enlightenment initially felt foreign, the longer it lasted, the more natural it felt. By the time it started noticeably slowing down, anything and everything to do with smashing with a weapon—whether that be a proper or makeshift one—and throwing items—preferably balanced, but unbalanced items would do as well—felt as natural as breathing to the raven-haired man.
Unknowingly, he picked up his end table and started swinging it around; ranging from side smashes to overhead smashes and even backhand smashes, the raven-haired man acting as if he was sparring with an invisible opponent as he unconsciously tested out his newly gained instincts.
Being gifted with such an instinctive knack for combat would undoubtedly elevate his chances of survival, come what may.
Assuming he properly leveraged on it, anyway.
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CRACK!
Lucian came to a stop and jerked his head in the noise’s direction, a shot of adrenalin injected into his bloodstream at the sudden sound of cracking wood.
Transient Cardinal stared back at him, a brilliant blush lighting up her cheeks and dyeing them in a lovely rosy hue. Right next to her was an upended table, one that was lacking one of its moderately thick legs; a leg that was presently clutched in her, previously empty, left hand.
…
“What… are you doing?”
At his question, the white-haired waif looked away; embarrassment coming off her in waves like it was a veritable heat haze.
He blinked at her stupidly, seriously wondering if she had lost her mind or something. Eventually, she looked back at him, plush bottom lip sticking out in a small pout.
“Stop judging me! The power I got from choosing the Present made me do it, okay!” She whined out pitifully.
“I think you need to elaborate a leetle bit more than that.”
And so she did.
According to the white-haired waif, it seemed like choosing the Present gave her an instinct, of sorts, which pointed her towards salvageable items – one that would nudge her in the right direction vis-à-vis acquiring said item if she didn’t know how to in the first place.
Evidently, the only caveat was that she needed to perceive the item as something that would be useful to her to begin with – no matter whether it was on a conscious or subconscious level
If she didn’t perceive it as such, then it wouldn’t activate – according to the emotionless, mechanical voice, anyway.
On the one hand, Lucian thought it was a pretty useful ability. On the other… well, he still had no regrets about ultimately choosing the Past.
Since Transient Cardinal so willingly divulged the abilities granted to her, it only felt right for him to do likewise.
Fair’s fair, and all that.
And since the raven-haired man was already on the topic, he went ahead and gave a more in-depth explanation about what the Knowledge implant allowed him to do – deciding to act on one of the pieces of advice the emotionless, mechanical voice had given him earlier.
Luckily, it seemed like Transient Cardinal was of a like mind. Right after he finished his explanations, she talked about the first choice she had made.
Unlike himself, she had chosen Instinct. Where his ability was an active, togglable one, hers was apparently passive and always active – whether she liked it or not.
In her own words, the Instinct implant was like an early warning system solely sensitive to hostile intent directed at her, and her alone – neatly explaining her lack of any injuries.
A light, floral scent wafted into Lucian's nostrils as Transient Cardinal took up a position right behind him and slightly off to the side. Throwing a final glance over his shoulder and making sure she was ready, he placed his end table next to him and well in reach before grabbing the vault-like door's wheel in a two-handed grip.
He tried turning it clockwise but it refused to budge. Immediately reacting, he started turning it anticlockwise; a series of shrill, metallic shrieks instantly erupting from within the door, as if its inner mechanisms hadn't been oiled in an age.
…
…
…
KACHINK!
About half a minute later and after much effort, a loud click sounded out from within the door even as the wheel refused to budge even an iota more.
Before pulling the door open, Lucian exchanged a wary look with Transient Cardinal, making sure she was ready for a last time.
Turning back to face the door, he tensed up his arms and said, “I'm going to open the door on three. One-two-three!”
With an even louder shriek, the vault-like door groaned open and let in a flood of sterile white light; the raven-haired man nearly getting blinded by its unexpectedness and sheer intensity.
He squinted heavily, tears in his eyes, forcing them to remain open as he was worried about a sudden ambush. Blinking his eyes rapidly, he quickly cleared away the tears blurring his vision while dragging the door open. Only once it was open about halfway did he let go of the wheel and jump back; end table scooped back up into his hand in the same motion.
Meanwhile, Transient Cardinal had rapidly assumed a flanking position right by the partially opened door – a prime position to ambush any stupid enough to come through without adequate levels of caution.
Luckily for them both, nothing hostile jumped out at them from beyond the door even after several moments spent in a tense silence.
“Looks like we’re in the clear.” The white-haired waif offered softly, before poking her head out of the door; long, unbound tresses seamlessly blending in with the brilliant white light.
Lucian grimaced at her recklessness, but decided against bringing it up.
Swiping away the last lingering tears blurring his vision with his hoodie’s sleeve, he joined the young woman at the door and peeked his head out, right above hers, taking a look at the world outside for the first time.
To the left was a corridor leading to a windowless dead end, right across was another tightly shut metal door, and to the right was a doorframe without a door; a towering pile of rubble, obscuring the area beyond, having taken its place.
Lucian was… underwhelmed, in all honesty. A small part of him had been expecting to encounter hostile creatures the moment he stuck his head out, but it looked like he was in the clear for now. He doubted anything could get through the pile of rubble blocking their sole way out.
Eventually, his eyes focused on the door right across from his in the corridor, the only thing of interest in the entire space.
Considering the door was still tightly sealed and assuming the setup within matched his, he guessed the two people within had yet to make contact; unlike himself and his white-haired partner.
The raven-haired man tried his best to ignore a more ominous possibility; that whoever was in there, they had already perished – his brain constantly bringing up the falling numbers of Players Remaining whenever he triggered the Knowledge implant on himself.
Lucian was jerked out of his internal musings when he saw movement in his peripherals.
Looking over caused him to lock gazes with Transient Cardinal's still slightly bloodshot pale blues. The moment he did so, she meaningfully, if still gently, nudged her head at the outside area proper. “Shall we?”
“Lets.”
----------------------------------------
Exploration of the short, blocked off corridor took very little time.
Unlike the two rooms and the connecting underground passage, not even a speck of dust coated either the wooden-panelled walls or checkerboard-patterned, marble-tiled floors.
The stark contrast between the cleanliness of the corridor and the disrepair of the rooms himself and Transient Cardinal had awoken within stole his attention – even if only briefly.
A gentle breeze tickled his skin, the direction of which made it clear it was slipping through the cracks of the rubble blocking a way out.
A light yet smoky fragrance was carried alongside; as if something pleasant was constantly being fed to fires for fuel.
Finishing his exploration at the closed metal door, he looked it over appraisingly even as he pressed the back of his hand against its cool, smooth surface; triggering his Knowledge implant just as he did.
Name: One-way Door.
Descriptor: Constructed from an indestructible metal, the only way in or out is solely accessible from within.
Remarks: Perhaps indestructibility is only a matter of perspective?
Lucian was taken aback by the mellifluous voice’s seeming contradiction.
On the one hand, it claimed the door was indestructible, but on the other, it immediately cast suspicion on the same fact in its Remarks.
Was it odd?
Most definitely.
But was he going to try and test the door’s indestructibility out for himself?
Most definitely not.
“You look like you’ve heard something shocking.”
Transient Cardinal’s gentle lilt brought Lucian out of his ruminations.
Instead of keeping the information to himself, he turned to face her and recited what he had heard, word for word, wanting to get her take on it.
She raised her arm once he fell silent, but let it drop back to hang by her side in a half-aborted gesture. Pursing her lips, as if irritated, she let out a thoughtful hum under her breath. Only after several seconds had passed did she respond.
“If we’re in a video game of some sort, something that seems more and more likely, then maybe it’ll require a crazy high boost of strength to even think about breaking the door open?”
Lucian thought about it and felt it was as good of an explanation as any other.
“Maybe. But anyway, did your Instinct implant warn you about anything?”
“No, thankfully. On a different note, it’s pretty clear what we need to do next, isn't it?”
“True, true.”
So saying, Lucian carelessly set down his trusty end table before rolling up his hoodie’s faded gold sleeves, ready to get to work and start clear away the numerous chunks of rock blocking the way out.
Before getting to work, he threw a final glance over at Transient Cardinal. “Shall we then?”
“Mmhmm.” The young woman whipped off her fur-trimmed coat without any further delay and carefully draped it over the top of his end table; clearly expressing her agreement in both word and deed.