A Week Later
Holding the Cookie, the responsive screen popped into view. Moko tapped on the smooth surface and extracted an orb from it. Stuck on the fingertip, he flicked it upward, prompting the orb to get tossed above his head. The gleaming ball changed shape during its airborne and formed into a hand-sized cursor.
(–1 Cursor)
8.9 CpS → 8.8 CpS
The cursor descended and Moko caught the Asset effortlessly. Like a toy, he tossed the cursor—jerking his hand this time. The Asset spun in erratic directions. Tossing it again and again, untroubled, he approached the nearest tree, a lone plant apart from the rest. Catching his cursor and grasping it, he aimed and chucked it at the tree.
It advanced, whipping across the air with rapid speeds. The cursor struck the bark with a powerful gash, chipping a small piece of wood from the skin. Falling to the floor, it bounced twice before resting on a patch of grass.
Moko pulled another orb from his System screen. With it glued to his skin, he flung his arm at the solitary tree. The gleaming ball detached from his fingertip and hurled right at the wood in a straight line. In midcourse, the sphere changed shape and transformed into a cursor. With its pointer finger, it jabbed deep into the bark, pinching out another chunk of flesh from the tree. It joined with the other cursor on the floor and lessened its bounces on top of the soft dirt.
(–1 Cursor)
8.8 CpS → 8.7 CpS
He watched the inner skin of the tree exposing bit by bit. Taking a heavy breath, he stuck his Cookie in his mouth. His teeth clenched hard on its rock-solid state, its hardness rendering it impossible to leave a scratch. With 2 operable hands, he reached for the screen and pulled out 6 orbs—3 on each hand.
(–6 Cursors)
8.7 CpS → 8.1 CpS
Curling all his fingers except for one, he flung his hand across, thus sending one orb toward the tree. It formed into a cursor mid-flight, pointing its hard pointer finger at the skin and fleshing out another piece of wood. Moko then swung his arm in the other direction—jerking it the opposite way—causing the 2 orbs to be unleashed in consecutive shots, and the 2 orbs transformed into 2 cursors. Their swiftness slashed the air and struck the target with precision.
Moko threw his last 3 orbs with an extensive swing, sending all to the tree. They landed ruthlessly, stealing a sizeable chunk of bark. A crater began forming, and the cursors had piled on the floor.
Sweat collected around his nape and back. His heart pumped as blood pulsed through his throbbing arms. Moko wobbled his limbs, stretching them and easing their tensive state. And with a large intake of air, he sharpened his gaze at the tree. The screen presented itself beside him. He reached for it and pulled out 2 more orbs.
(–2 Cursors)
8.1 CpS → 7.9 CpS
He tossed the orbs and sent them to the tree, transfiguring into cursors as they coursed in quick advancement. They traveled in a line, sending far and far. Yet before ramming the tree, Moko reached for the screen to fetch out 3 more.
(–3 Cursors)
7.9 CpS → 7.6 CpS
The previous 2 cursors had thudded the tree by then. But Moko wasted no time in throwing his 3 new ones. He quickened his arm’s movement—swinging those 3 orbs and then channeling his thrust to reach for the screen. Moko pulled out another orb at a shorter interval.
(–1 Cursor)
7.6 CpS → 7.5 CpS
Before the 3 transformed cursors could land a hit, Moko jerked his arm and shot his singular orb. Spinning around with dramatic exaggerations, he touched the screen and extracted another one.
(–1 Cursor)
7.5 CpS → 7.4 CpS
His sight narrowed in this cyclic assault and decided to be a little extra. He used his spinning momentum to jump in the air gracefully. Dramatically. In mid-spin, he threw the ball at the tree. Catching his feet on the ground, he reached to the screen and brought out 2 more orbs.
(–2 Cursors)
7.4 CpS → 7.2 CpS
Whipping his hand across the air, the 2 orbs left his fingers and coursed their flight to the weakening tree. From here on, Moko drastically increased his pace to the point the space between throws seemed nonexistent. He bent his head low and positioned his arms near the System. Catching randomly counted orbs, he threw them at the plant. Soon after, he grabbed more. More. And more.
(–1 Cursor)
7.2 CpS → 7.1 CpS
(–2 Cursors)
7.1 CpS → 6.9 CpS
(–4 Cursors)
6.9 CpS → 6.5 CpS
(–2 Cursors)
6.5 CpS → 6.3 CpS
(–1 Cursor)
6.3 CpS → 6.2 CpS
(–3 Cursors)
6.2 CpS → 5.9 CpS
(–2 Cursors)
5.9 CpS → 5.7 CpS
(–4 Cursors)
5.7 CpS → 5.3 CpS
(–1 Cursor)
5.3 CpS → 5.2 CpS
(–2 Cursors)
5.2 CpS → 5.0 CpS
(–1 Cursor)
5.0 CpS → 4.9 CpS
The last cursor struck the surface, rebounded, and rained down. It joined with the rest of its counterparts in an enormous pile. Chipped barks and wood got mixed with them. A gaping cave was what remained in the trunk.
The tree began snapping. Loud successive pops erupted in the vacant crater. Cracks appeared with barks springing outward as the trunk tipped. The massive head came crashing down in Moko’s direction, prompting him to take a few steps back.
Crumbling to the floor, it buried the pile of barks and cursors. The ground shook with the hefty impact. Its entire figure rested as the flailing branches and rattling leaves ceased. Moko spat his Cookie from his mouth and caught it. He said, wiping his mouth, “40 cursors.”
Moko then turned around and viewed the vast scenery. The morning dew lessened as the sun rose over the mountains. Warm gusts breezed in his direction and his feet stood on the dampened grass. The pebble ground dusted with gravel and dirt extended far from one reach to the next—the large Domain of envelopes and machinery nestled in the middle.
His eyes peered at the surrounding ground. Aside from the tree he toppled, there was another tree resting a handful of meters away. Pivoting his sight a bit, he saw another tree. And looking in another spot, another tree. And then another one. Another one. And more until the numbers grew into the 10s. The land was scattered with bulky and towering plants with shredded trunks. Stumps and curvy roots remained on the dampened soil. Their upper bodies decayed by the passing of time.
Branches rustled without life, vividless. Leaves detached and snowed to the ground one by one. It was a barren land as if small-scale deforestation had occurred without tree removal.
“Tossing cursors is the same as tossing balls,” he said, “though the orbs are weightless. At least I got the hang of it.” A deep sigh of contentment escaped his mouth. He brushed his sweaty hair. He traced back to the very first tree he used for practice, tattered with open skin in multiple places, and saw no sense of direction among those marks. But as he went back and forth, spotting the next tree he remembered using—from one to the next, he observed a narrower range of hits, resulting in a deeper crater. And going to the latest one, he nodded with approval, being the first to never miss a toss yet with precise hits. –Nice.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Moko shouted as he hoisted his Cookie above his head. “Return!”
His System flickered for a moment before the flaring sight of cursors beneath the tree followed suit. The assets seeped through the trunk and hurled into the air. Their white surfaces glowed and their hand-shaped features reverted into orbs. One after the other, cursors channeled to the Cookie and joined as a long stream of incomers. In a swift motion, they emerged back to their System, temporarily flickering the large Cookie with a coat of white.
His System responded promptly, emitting multiple moist pops with each cursor.
(+40 Cursors)
4.9 CpS → 8.9 CpS
Moko sighed once all the cursors returned to his Cookie, bringing the CpS back to its original production rate. His mind dragged out its hazy attention to the light popping that had passed. Time ticked across his clouded self. Trees on the ground whispered faintly as they gradually deteriorated. The wind occupied some warmth before boredom reached him again—only wishing these popping noises could satisfy the growing unease of remaining in his parents’ Domain for another day.
Veering his exhausted eyes to the screen, he observed the numbers growing and growing. –More like cookies, he tried imagining.
102,392 Cookies
8.9 CpS
Owned: Buy: Upgrade: Cursor – 89
Cursor – 483,002 Cookies Reinforced Index Finger –
100 Cursors
Moko couldn’t recall when these numbers turned from cookies into… numbers. Sparing one cookie from his System, the numbers would only replace such loss without hindrance to its growth. All that he could do with them, –Cookies or numbers, they’re the same, is to purchase more cursors. –That’s all my System offers: Nothing, really.
He lost a couple of pounds the last time he checked himself. The mother and the father insisted on growing his System rather than purchasing gym equipment to keep his constant build (he later confirmed that barbells and other related stuff could be bought in Applications). “You won’t stay here for long,” they refuted. “Do things that benefit you and your System. This goes both ways.”
Moko argued to stay longer because throwing cursors wasn’t considered cultivating, even though it was a trivial thing and a useless goal. And to set a limit for assurance, he’d leave only when he could throw clickers in a precise direction. “Are you planning to hunt animals?” Father asked once, and Moko nodded and half-smiled.
However, with each passing day, he increasingly grasped the meaning behind his parents’ words. They had given a warning a week prior, but there was no clear indication of its arrival. Moko, in his most logical thought, –These numbers growing without stopping would keep my simple brain occupied for a long while. Still, applying that same logic, a “long” time would mean a month. Only a week had passed, and his legs had never stopped bobbing ever since.
The next thing he knew, these rapid-ascending numbers were just numbers. The cursors were just cursors. Moko could only hope the tickling pops would preserve their soothing nature rather than degrade to mere pops. He admitted they weren’t wrong. It came to him earlier than expected. His mind could only repeat the same words, sometimes being louder than the falling trees in attempts to deafen them. –What’s the point of this?
“Ugh!” Moko grunted as he dropped his Cookie to the side. He fell on the patch of grass and lay there. His arms stretched outward and his legs crossed together. Eyes viewing the cloudy sky, he took a steady breath to savor the sweet nature blowing through warm gusts. A tinge of wooden fragrance lingered, the smell that’d get stronger if he full-on deforested the northern region of Kartha.
Watching the screen disappear, he paused to think. Yawning deeply, he whispered, “Maybe I should leave soon…”
Ending with reflective words, he closed his eyes and kept his mouth half-open. His breathing grew steady, escaping his mouth and then invading back in. The chest moved upward and downward. With the sun obscured by the clouds and a handful of tiny rays shining on the earth, Moko drifted off to sleep.
The grass tickled his nape, and the cool soil soothed his warm body. Winds passed, grazing his hair and hugging his side cheek. But on the other cheek… something felt off.
The other side of his face tickled, but not like the grass. He heard sniffing. And soon after, he felt—what he thought—small whiskers brushing his skin.
Moko flinched, retreating with panicking wobbles, and opened his eyes. His dreamy state faded and left his consciousness alarmed. Turning around, his eyes widened at the sight of a small animal. A four-legged being covered in fur sat staring back with its sharp yellow eyes. Moko scratched his itchy cheek. “A cat?”
It was a tabby cat, striped with gray and golden-yellow patterns. Moko grew calm and spoke in a lighter tone, addressing the animal with a soft smile. “Uh, hey there.” –Is it domesticated? “I thought you guys lived in the Eslane Realm. How’d you end up here?”
But Moko knew it wouldn’t answer, blinking nonchalantly. After some idle staring, the tabby cat shook its head and got up. It strolled to his Cookie resting on the grass. Moko watched its whiskers poking the crusty dessert—though it wasn’t consumable. He had thought little until the cat bit it.
“Wait, hey–”
The cat grabbed the Cookie by its mouth and lifted it. It stared at Moko with those sharp eyes again. He didn’t see any malice in that glare, but somehow it made his heart race. His arm awkwardly reached out to convince the animal to put it down. He said with a light-hearted tone, approaching it with small steps, “It’s impossible to eat that. So, if you could just… give it back to me… right now!” And Moko jumped to catch the little fluff ball.
But the cat stormed off with his Cookie, dodging his arms. It dashed over and around fallen trees as it ran towards the dense forest far away. “Hey!” Moko stood up frantically, ready to sprint after it to reclaim his System. He brushed his shirt and turned in its direction.
Before running, he remembered something from earlier, causing his legs to refuse movement. Placing his hands on his side, he made a sly smile. –If the Cookie is too far from my reach, it will teleport back to me. Don’t worry, the cat won’t know what’s coming. It won’t…
Seconds passed, but the Cookie never returned. His smile uncurled. He watched the cat going farther and farther until it was a small dot across the vast biome. Soon enough it will dive into the thick forest with his System. Moko was certain that this gaping expanse was much larger than when he tossed his Cookie to the Horro Sea. When more seconds flew by, his body became unsettled. His legs disobeyed his smugness, and then the rest of himself had done the same.
“Wait! Come back here!” Moko shouted vainly as he chased after the cat. He stomped on the ground and ran around the stumps and trunks as he closed the gap. But at that point, the cat was already in the forest. Its body was nowhere to be seen. Moko took a wild guess and hoped the cat was running in a straight line. The colony of trees towered over him. Their bodies cast a dark shadow below. Without hesitation, he pushed aside shrubs and entered the forest.
The surrounding light faded, covered by the many folds of rustling leaves above him. Trunks upon trunks mounted all about, creating an eerie maze that had no end. Moko trodded forward, spotting a lone tail appearing and then disappearing behind a tree. Hoping it was the same cat, and he wasn’t dreaming, he raced onward.
His breathing quickened. Moko’s persistence was at the mercy of the cat coming into view, but only turning a corner to not be seen again. He took shortcuts, putting all his effort into closing the distance. To his surprise, he caught up with the animal. It skipped down the path and Moko could see the Cookie still in its mouth.
The cat slowed down its pace, turning around to glance in Moko’s direction. It matched his speed, becoming close in reach but just enough for the boy to not catch the swift animal. After taking another turn, the cat turned around the second time. It wasn’t running away. It could’ve easily done so. But with this pace, that was out of the question. More glances at him caused Moko to halt his desire to snatch the devious four-legged being. His mind wandered, watching the cat seeming to go down a pre-planned route—a behavior that didn’t seem random.
He looked behind periodically, making sure he wouldn’t get lost in this forest. Moko saw it go up a steep hill, digging itself beneath a pile of branches and vanishing on the other side. He ran up and hopped over the stack of twigs, appearing to have been placed there deliberately. But paying no heed, he landed on the other side and darted his eyes to relocate the cat.
In the distance, he saw the cat running with his Cookie in a large vacant area—a cryptic yet beautiful scenery; the animal walked to an extensive field surrounded by trees. Frosty rays seeped down and emitted a snowy circular field. The spring dew moistened the land, but not too much that it became unbearably humid.
He observed the cat slowing its pace into a steady walking. Suddenly, he felt something soft rubbing his leg. Shooting his gaze down, he saw another cat purring, sliding its body and tail through his skin. It was an orange cat, and it marched away to join its partner in the open field. Moko studied their interaction, seeing them cluster together with a third cat emerging from afar. Three cats collectively walked to the center, where a lone body rested.
Upon seeing another human life, Moko went down the hill and walked closer. It was a little girl lying on the floor, on the dirt with mud and debris plastered all over her. When he stepped foot on the suspending light, the three cats stared at him. A fourth cat with sea blue fur appeared from the darkness and grouped with the rest. They circled the unconscious girl with their eyes fixed on his. They sat, watching and waiting. The tabby cat dropped his Cookie in the front, placing it there for Moko to grab it.
Mute and stricken to speak, he walked with baby steps. His heart beat fast but his breath was slow. The air was sharp, and the ground felt cold. Drawing nearer to his System, he bent low to grab his Cookie without looking away from the 4 pairs of eyes. None of them responded—only idle blinks and their tails flicking with intrigue.
Reclaiming his Cookie, he then observed the girl on the floor. She lay on her stomach, covering her face on the dirt floor. She was small. Short—about half his height. Moko could only conclude that she was no older than 10. The girl wore nothing but a torn and filthy plain dress.
He leaned closer. When he noticed the cats stepping aside, Moko went to press his hand on the girl’s cold shoulders and shook her. He whispered—concern in his voice, “Hey, are you awake? … Hello?”
Moko shook more and more, trying to find any response from the girl. She appeared to be breathing subtly. He turned her upward so he could see her face. Her eyes were closed and her skin was smeared with mud. He bent down to feel her heartbeat. It was weak and slow, but it wasn’t erratic, nor did it feel like anything serious was happening. By the looks of it, she was only pale. Moko pondered her appearance.
Putting his Cookie in his mouth, he went to grab the girl’s arm to help her up. When doing so, he glanced at the tabby cat, the same cat that took his System. “Ish thish why you thook -y Cookie?” He asked, muffled from the Cookie he clenched, watching the furry thing yawn and speak.
“Meow.”