Chapter Ten: They Say He’s Got To Go
As he struggled to keep up with the giant man, Marc took stock of his situation. He had died, he met God, he was transported to a parallel world, He got his ass kicked by a cute fuzzy bunny rabbit family, one of whom he was sure he had for breakfast, and now he was hanging out with a giant warrior He-Man who seemed like a nice guy and was now guiding him off into the mountains…
DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
…maybe this was not a good plan. Marc looked around and took inventory. This was tough because of the crazy pace that the monster man was keeping. The biggest challenge was that he couldn’t walk on the rough terrain. It was like the land was paved exclusively with sharp uneven rocks, sandy patches, and holes for no reason. His guide however was part mountain goat who passed over the ground with no effort at all. After hours of this torture, it was obvious that the big guy Grenn, was starting to lose patience with his clumsy maneuvering. Marc was trying to decide whether it would be safer to just get abandoned in the foothills, or continue with this otherworldly child abduction scenario when he noticed another pop-up box had appeared in the air in front of him.
【ACHIEVEMENT: TRAVERSE TEN MILES OVER ROUGH TERRAIN 】
YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY TAKEN YOUR FIRST STEPS OUT INTO THE WORLD. IF YOU CAN CALL THOSE STEPS. YOU WALK LIKE A NEWBORN CALF ON ICE SKATES. THE FACT THAT YOU HAVEN’T DIED FROM EMBARRASSMENT IS A REAL ACHIEVEMENT SO HERE, HAVE A SKILL.
【SKILL ACQUIRED: SUREFOOT [1]】
Instantly Marc felt his balance improve, not only that but now he could see glowing green patches appear in the path ahead of him. With some trepidation, he started to walk/hop between the glowing markers, and sure enough, they plotted an easy path perfect for his stride. Marc was starting to get a feeling that the interface was not a simple computer feeding prewritten instructions to him. It seemed to be sentient, or at least somewhat intelligent, and it was guiding him to unlock new abilities based on his current situation. “Sure could have used some combat skill before the whole bunny beatdown,” he thought to himself. As he had that thought, a large pop-up full of text and a small picture appeared in front of his face causing him to miss the next foothold and stumble to the ground again.
【VORPAL RABBIT】
A SMALL CARNIVOROUS MAMMAL THAT INHABITS MANY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AROUND THE WORLD. GENERALLY CONSIDERED TOO WEAK AND SMALL TO HARM HUMANS, THEY HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO HUNT IN PACKS AND CAN ATTACK SMALL ANIMALS AND EVEN TODDLERS WHO STRAY AWAY FROM PROTECTION. A FAVORITE FIRST HUNTING TARGET FOR CHILDREN ON THEIR FIRST HUNT.
That settled that, the interface was intelligent, and also a jerk. It responded to his thoughts and did not have a nice personality. Still, the Surefoot skill was quite helpful. But shouldn’t there be more tutorial missions? Usually in games, you started with tons of missions you needed to clear to teach you basic skills and navigating skills, but ever since he had failed the basic combat mission the quest menu had been woefully lonely. In response to this thought, a new item appeared in his quest menu.
TUTORIAL: CONVINCE YOUR GUIDE TO LET YOU TAKE A SHORT BREAK.
Not just a bad personality, but a frivolous one too. Throwing quests in like this just felt lazy and contrived. Marc could imagine the types of user complaints he would have received from obsessive players over this half-assed quest system. Still, he was nearing his limit, so it was worth a try just to give him a chance to catch his breath.
After a bit of whining that brought Marc’s pride and self-image to new lows, Grenn finally allowed them to take a short rest at a nearby stream. While his guide filled his water bottle, Marc checked his interface again.
TUTORIAL: CONVINCE YOUR GUIDE TO LET YOU TAKE A SHORT BREAK.
A SILVER TONGUE CAN GET YOU THE BEST DEALS, ESCAPE A DEVASTATING ENCOUNTER, OR KEEP A FIERY CONFLICT FROM BOILING OVER, BUT AT YOUR LEVEL YOU WOULD BE LUCKY TO CONVINCE YOUR WAITRESS NOT TO SPIT IN YOUR FOOD. KEEP WORKING ON IT AND SOMEDAY YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE AN OFFER ON THIS GREAT BRIDGE I AM SELLING.
【SKILL ACQUIRED: NEGOTIATION [1]】
Dismissing the quest menu as it was just getting hurtful, Marc thought about his other skills. He tried a few simple things. First, he checked his map and noted that there seemed to be some animals nearby, but they kept their distance and were even avoiding the path that they had come from. Maybe it was the greater number of people that were scaring the animals away. More likely it was the presence of the giant hunter who still had rabbit grease in his beard. Marc checked out some of the plants that grew at the water’s edge.
MOSS
MOSS, IT'S GREEN, IT's MOSS. WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING?
RIVER WATER
CLEAN WATER: PURITY LEVEL 76%
Marc pondered the ability of the interface. At times it seemed helpful, but then it would throw nonsense in like a disgruntled game developer. The moss description reeked of laziness as though the interface never expected to have to provide that information and just threw it in. Then again, cat-tails were something he had seen when he was a kid, and these plants were pretty close approximations. But he personally didn’t know a thing about moss. There could be a connection between the information the interface had and what he knew. Marc didn’t know what to think. The interface was certainly a powerful ability that would help him live in this new world, but some gaps and weaknesses might come a bite him later if he relied on it too much. If only there was a user manual.
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All too soon Grenn grunted that they needed to get back on the move. He said they were close, and with that piece of good news, Marc pushed himself to keep up. He felt a bit more confident now that he was getting a better understanding of the interface. Although his stamina was still spent, he could at least walk like a human with the help of Surefoot. Along the way, he kept trying to identify the plants and objects they passed by and kept his eye on the map and quest menu. As they approached the base of one of the large granite mountains a new entry in the quest menu appeared and Marc’s eyes opened wide.
TUTORIAL: MAGIC: FIND A MAGIC TEACHER
UPON SUCCESS, MANA MANIPULATION AND MANA SYSTEM WILL BE UNLOCKED.
“We are at the point where the Great Breen Forest and the Ged Mountains meet. It makes it a great place to gather resources since everything lives here, everything grown here. Of course, it also makes it a pretty dangerous place.” Grenn was careful to avoid any subjects he thought might upset his traveling companion. Soon they were on their way again and Grenn played tour guide, pointing out interesting plants and landmarks. Anything to help keep Marc’s mind off his fatigue. This seemed to work and they soon found a pace that he could keep up with. Their progress improved and while it took nearly the entire day, they soon approached their destination. The small depression was up against a steep cliff known as The Witches Den. Grenn had often mocked Rynan for choosing to live in a place with a name like that. She would smile and reply “There is no more suitable place or name though.”
As they approached the gully, Grenn raised his palm in front of Marc, motioning him to stop. Marc happily complied and crumpled into a heap. Then Grenn approached the entrance and as loud as he could muster, bellowed deep into the small valley, his voice soon bouncing back at them.
“Hey old crone! You still there? Or are your bones propping open the door? Hey, you old hag!” His insults echoed back and forth in a cheeky conversation. After the noise subsided Grenn winked at Marc, turned back ahead, and took a deep breath to call out again. At that exact moment, a blast of water struck Grenn like the streams of a dozen firehoses. The torrent knocked the giant man completely off the ground and threw him back a dozen feet at least. Then as soon as it started, the giant stream of water abated as though it was a shot from the world’s largest water gun.
Grenn rolled back onto his feet, drenched from head to toe, spitting out a large amount of water he had apparently breathed in during his short flight. He growled loudly.
“You Witch!”
“Who would you expect to see in a Witches Den, Boy?”
Marc looked up at the new voice. Standing in the spot Grenn stood only a second ago was a tall, thin woman. She had long straight black hair and a dark complexion, darker by a shade or two than Grenn. She looked to be about the same age as the big man, maybe a few years younger. Her dark black eyes turned to drill straight into Marc.
She motioned for him to come closer. “Come inside you two.” She looked over at the giant man shaking water off like a big dog. “You’re late! I expected you here hours ago.” She said, a light cheerful laugh buried in her reprimand. Then she turned and walked down into the valley.
END OF PART ONE
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Interlude
From a young age, Marc realized he didn’t quite fit in. He was always smaller, slower, and weaker than the other boys his age. Perhaps not the smallest, the slowest, or the weakest, but low enough in the rankings that the overall effect was pretty pathetic. He also gravitated towards books and indoor pursuits more than was wise for a kid growing up in the rural southwest of the United States where children spent most of their time playing outside. Staying inside wasn’t an option for kids in the trailer park he grew up in. There wasn’t anything to do inside anyway. It was hot, only a few of the prefab houses had air conditioning, and you had to ride your bicycle for half an hour to get to town. So children were usually left to roam like wild strays. Warned with simple admonishments like “Don’t cause a ruckus or your Dad will hear about it.” And “Stay away from the maintenance office or the park manager will call ICE and they will drop you off at the border.” Everyone in the park knew each other and they all kept one eye on the kids to keep them safe, and the other one on them to catch them when they inevitably caused trouble.
Marc never meshed well with those herds of wild children though. He raised himself from a young age. His mother had passed away when he was a toddler and he had no memories of her at all. His dad was a long haul truck driver and as soon as Marc was able to feed and wash himself he was back on the road eleven months out of the year. He had some relatives on his mother’s side in Las Cruces, but they rarely ever made the trip up to see him, so he spent nearly all of his time alone. He also isolated himself from the neighbors and other kids. When he was around ten he heard some of the mothers having their regular gossip sessions at the coin laundry. He was told by his father that his mother had gotten sick and then passed away quickly since they couldn’t go to the hospital due to her immigration status. What he heard that day from that murder of crows was a different story. One where his mother had been a drug addict who had been abandoned by her husband. They spoke kindly of him then, but the pitying words burned his stomach like battery acid. After that, he started to avoid the other kids and neighbors. He said to himself he didn’t believe them, but in truth, it didn’t matter. Regardless of the reason, he was alone and had no one to rely on but himself.
He stayed a loner through his school years. He did well enough in math and science but was hopeless in language and social studies. He loved shop classes, but he lacked any particular talent. Local schools didn’t have the time or money to foster any talents anyway. He was quickly pushed through the system and dumped out on the streets after his high school graduation with no friends, no prospects, and no dreams. He did get two thousand dollars from his grandparents, however, and that, along with some meager savings he had scrimped from part-time jobs was enough to enroll at the local university.
It was a pretty big, but unremarkable school where Marc hoped he could find a better future than working at the local oil lube shop. It only took a year to rob him of both that hope and the money had had managed to put away for school. Even the school advisors told him he had little chance to get away to something better. His grades were not good enough to transfer or get a scholarship and the job market for graduates was so bad in the area that he was better off just taking an entry-level McJob. He dropped out without even declaring a major.
It’s not that Marc was anti-social, or at least not to the level of a Unabomber or a serial killer. In his nineteen years of life, however, he had never learned how to trust another person. He knew people were not all bad, but also that they were not all good as well. Plenty of people had done things to hurt him, but just as many if not more had gone out of their way to help him. But all of them, every single one of them had gone on with their lives like water passing a bend in a river. He had no rivals, no lovers, no mentors, no confidants. He would often think to himself that he was like an NPC, a non-player character, or a computer-controlled background character from one of his favorite video games. Just an extra in a movie that doesn’t have a line or even a “Man carrying umbrella” line in the closing credits. His guidance counselors and advisors would pin him down asking what his goals were and what he wanted from the future. Certainly he appeared to be a rudderless ship lacking a North Star. He had no answer to the question “What do you want to do with your life?” He didn’t want to be a rancher, or a mechanic, or a professor, and definitely not a truck driver. He wasn’t smart, strong, talented, or creative. The only thing he could think of when asked questions like this was something he could never say aloud because it would make him sound like a freak. He would often think of the answer when he was alone playing video games in his empty house.
“I want to be the player character in this game.” The hero, the protagonist, the warrior, the soldier, the wizard, the Prince. The one who takes the quests, the one who slays the dragon, the one who finds the treasure, the one whose actions would change the whole World.