Chapter 8: Evolution

The still-warm corpse of the dire wolf laid less than a meter away from Eluc as he stood frozen, staring at a spot in the air. Smelling of gore and blood, the air felt sticky and felt of discomfort, but his attention was far from the percent humidity or the chance of rain. For once, his blood turned cold without external assistance. His forehead’s perspiration clung to his skin as it dripped to his brow before reaching his eyes, rendering him blind.

Gulping with a dry mouth, Eluc raised his hand, presenting the Brand to himself. He recalled first waking up in the White Room, unknowing of the world beyond those four walls. Scared, frightened, and most of all, confused, he didn’t understand anything about his predicament nor anything about himself, down to simple information like his name. Then the black dots on his wrists showed themselves to him, and, as he stared into their deep abyss, he found out his first clue about his identity. Eluc. That was his name.

Now, that black dot had blossomed into an eerie spiral, growing larger by the day, until it, at last, wanted to take the next step in its growth process. Eluc could think of many names for the Brand: tumor, corruption, or even a defilement on his body. It was unnatural. This was something Eluc knew from the moment it caught his eye.

But he couldn’t deny its benefits in such a horrifying situation as Eluc found himself in. He couldn’t run or hide, and he sure as hell wouldn’t end his journey here without any answers, ignoring how shallow of a reason that was for living. What else could he do but survive this time of peril? When he was first attacked by the wolf, he would have shown his back in fear if not for the help of the parasite on his wrist.

Ability Increase: The Brand [Lvl 0]

The Brand wants to evolve to [Lvl 1]! Proceed with evolution?

“Proceed,” Eluc commanded.

With a single word, the world turned grey. A falling leaf stopped its descent just before its stem reached the ground. Two carp chasing each other in an arc through the air, stilled along with the water their jump brought from the river. The rustling of the trees stopped all noise as the world went blank in silence. Perhaps only feeling a little suffocation, Eluc’s body was still able to move as his outstretched hand wobbled involuntarily.

At first, nothing of note happened. Minutes passed in the stillness that Eluc thought he was abandoned in this frozen frame of time. Then, a black essence emerged from the origin points of the swirls, creating a tornado of essence around his hands. Bit by bit, the essence would seep into his skin, creating a minor searing sensation he could feel seep into his muscles and bones. The pain was delicate to start as the Brand continued its expansions, traversing across the boundary it never dared to trespass before. Stretching as if drawn from a brush with ink, the swirl continued around the medial side of each hand until it drew an arch across the top, ending its path in the middle of the palm.

It completed its long journey over the course of ten minutes, or at least that’s the time Eluc perceived it to have taken in this static version of the world. Once the tingling disappeared without a trace, color returned to the world. The red leaf reached the ground, the pink carps dipped back into the water, and the pressure on his chest disappeared.

Eluc awaited with bated breath for a big transformation to occur with the Brand’s dramatic evolution, but there was no big change otherwise. “My skin looks a little paler… I think?” Eluc said. He had to admit, he was a little disappointed by the result.

Delving a little deeper, he accessed the status screen and looked towards the section containing his [Abilities]. Until this point, nothing had changed regarding the addition of new abilities or their levels and even the spells or proficiencies hardly mattered as Eluc would actively learn the skill himself, not reliant on the system’s convenience. However, while he could create runes with his mind or butcher game with his own hands, abilities were different. Judging from [The World’s] description, it gave him access to the system, screens and notifications included. The [Brand] was different, though. There was no knowledge given to him that explained its existence, but there might be now. His curiosity towards the system was rejuvenated.

[The Brand resonates with its host, granting strength with its power.]

[+5 Skill Points gained.]

Brand (Passive): [Lvl 1]

Gain insight into [The World].

Privileges the user to collect the [8 Rings].

“Another clue,” Eluc said to himself, hand moving to his chin. He brushed his fingers across his unshaved facial hair as he thought about the meaning behind the information, but there was little he could inference past the basic message it told him. This [Insight] would most likely be a random occurrence he would see appear throughout his time with the system, but there was little else that would immediately help him. As for the [8 Rings], they were an even greater enigma and even less helpful to him. Who knew how much time he would have to spend searching for these Rings, not to mention finding out what they were.

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Shrugging his shoulders, Eluc moved towards the wolf, placing his hand on the dagger he used as his butchering tool. As he pulled it from the sheath, the sharp sound of metal scraping metal pierced the air, signaling the start of the butchering. On the first stab, Eluc felt the knife break through the hide easier than expected. Before long, the hide was removed from the wolf in presentable condition, perfect for a cheaply made piece of armor. The second stab bore through the muscle with ease as he took the muscle out of its connective tissue covering, removing the tendons and all. Without a bag to carry all of the meat, he wrapped the meat in the wolf’s pelt for travel.

Eluc stood and looked at the remains before him. A glorious pup of strength was reduced to internal organs and bones within an hour. He had no use for these parts of the wolf, but there was no choice except to leave them here to rot back into nature’s cycle of life. No more thoughts on the matter, he turned around, heading into the White Room’s direction. He had a busy night ahead of him.

♢ ♢ ♢

Throwing his tools back on the bench, Eluc finished his work with a smile of accomplishment. His shirt was soaked in sweat and the odor permeating into the air was as bad as the body cavity of a deer, but he finished the cloak he was working on for the past few hours. Over the last few days, he had gone through the entire tanning process outlined in the Smithing manual provided by the White Room from its third and final corridor. After reaching [Level 10], Eluc hauled back the materials and was greeted by a new door that led to a smithery. Inside, he found a tanning table, smithing bench, grindstone, and even an entire forge. The room was larger than the collective other room combined.

Once he saw this, Eluc’s drive to leave reignited its fire and he made preparations post-haste. He created a sling to carry on his back to carry any inventory he needed to bring, prepared food for the trip, and now he was finishing his final attire for the trip.

Amateur Dire Wolf Cloak (Common)

Durability: 25/25

Requirement: 14 DEX

Scaling: Dexterity [E]

Scaling Bonus: Defense [+4]

Defense: +10 [+4]

Dexterity: +4

+ Woodland Intimidation

Made with the durable pelt of a native Dire Wolf, its majesty is in part ruined by the damage to the wolf from the cause of its death. The cloak was made by a Novice Smith with high-quality tools, bolstering its power to make up for the lack of skill.

Eluc enjoyed the mantle that helped with his mana regeneration. Apart from connecting him easier to the magic of the world, it also comforted him with a coolness around his skin. Unfortunately, its ability wasn’t strong enough to keep it on his person. It was currently his best equipment, as the armory only had basic armor to start with. He had the feeling that it would evolve as time passed, but he did not want to be here to find out. Since his [Brand] evolved, that eerie feeling towards the White Room only grew. In the armory, he decided to take the Water and Earth spell books as reading material for the journey. He thought of taking one of the staves, as he greatly appreciated the usage of magic, but he preferred to lighten his load as much as possible. It was unknown how long he would be traveling.

Taking one last look at the armory, he once more looked at the tattered equipment in the back. The short staff, the elegant bow, and the rest of the broken armor still sat there. Since the first moment he entered the armory, this section of the equipment had some decorum despite its dilapidated appearance. Now, large chunks of the metal armor sets were missing and the bow and staff were thinning by the day. Eluc didn’t know the cause for this resistance, but he knew that they were not going to be absorbed by the White Room without a fight. Curious about how well the staff measured up to the mint-condition ones across the room, he went to pick it up before his vision turned dark as his eyes rolled back.

A group walking in the woods with haste, the entrance to a mine, the creatures in its depths, and at last a great automaton in the final room. Zooming in on the orb that hung in the center of the ceiling, lines of energy drew inwards from the outside, supplying its reserve. The final scene from the sky over the forest looked down on the world as a dot of fire raged in one section, before disappearing as it left a calm over the area.

Eluc’s index and middle fingers were still touching the staff when his eyes refocused. Retracting his hands like he touched a coal stovetop, he left the armory in a hurry, slamming the door behind him. His mind went back to the [Insight] ability of the [Brand] and slowly the puzzle was put together. From his assumption, Eluc could guess that this [Insight] would provide him vague visions of the past in exchange for a slight headache. What purpose this held, he once more did not know the answer, but he was sure it was important. The vision was not very detailed, but it reassured him of a few things.

One: other people existed in the world. He was not alone in this place and only had to search to find civilization. Two: the technology of those in the vision was around the same level as what Eluc had seen thus far. If he would emerge from the forest, he wouldn’t be too far behind those dungeoneers in the vision, only much weaker in level. And three: he could understand them speaking. Their hopeful conversations, anxious complaints, and fearful screams were all in his language, indicating there would be no social barrier apart from culture and mannerisms.

Since he had awoken in this world, he finally felt some hope for the future. Taking one last look at the White Room, Eluc turned around and began his ascent up the steps. Remembering something, he ran back down to take a pillow and a thin blanket from the bed. Luxury truly was hard to find in the wilderness.

The time was a little before midday, taking into account the sun from between the dying leaves. There would be plenty of time to travel before night broke, so Eluc had to get a move on before then. His first move was to travel along the river. As he learned while hunting, where there is water, there is life. Optimistic for the future, the first steps along the bank were taken and Eluc’s travels in the peaceful wilderness began.

Breaking his thoughts about the forest, a voice rang in his head.

[Reminder: User is able to choose a class.]