Jay Reis opened his eyes as a pair of fangs snapped into his face.
Blinding pain roiled through his scalp, the shock sending him into a bed of sand. A low hiss cracked beneath his agonizing cries, interrupted by dust-filled coughs as he struggled to find footing in this disoriented state.
Jay wiped the blood away. “What in the actual f–”
His shoulder exploded in fresh torment, his enemy chomping down again. Reflex took control as he shoved back. That hideous crackle gave way to a whimper mixed with rustling reeds.
With what little respite had been gained, Jay blinked through the trauma and looked around.
He’d awoken on a strange beach in the dead of night, but before he could remember how he got here, his sight fell to a bushel of reeds. It was still dark from his awakening phase, but shifting with movement all the same.
Solid green eyes materialized within, glowing brightly in the field of black. Its growl resonated next, blood-coated fangs reflected against the stars above. One paw stepped into the open, razor-sharp nails digging into the pale sand, and then a second, this one with a vine running along its length.
Closer still, the creature entered full view. Though it held the outline of a dog, it looked like its body had been fused with nature. Moss covered its oaken flesh instead of fur. Vines crisscrossed its torso as if they were veins. A mushroom sprouted from one side of his head in place of an ear, and thorns ran along its lips like a second set of teeth.
Demonic eyes narrowed onto their human prey. The monster barked, and even though Jay recognized the familiar cadence of a coyote at night, an unnatural tinge pervaded its cry. Like branches brushing against rocks, it held a guttural hatred he’d never heard before.
Jay blinked. “Nope.”
Without thinking it through a second more, he twisted on his heels and sprinted the other way. The monster chased behind.
Teeth snapped at Jay’s back, but he sprinted with all his might, ignoring his throbbing scalp.
Sure, Jay didn’t know where he was, how he got here, or why any of this was happening… But this demon was ready to mess him up, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to stand around and figure out why.
The beach hooked up to a steep ridge, perhaps twice his height. Jay focused there. The monster continued to bark and bite, but his adrenaline pumped hard. With one final lunge, he scaled to safety.
The coyote monster jumped behind, but its body was too small. Jay watched as its claws dug into the stone and failed to gain purchase. It roared again before barreling away, sideways along the length of the ridge.
It disappeared into more reeds a few seconds later, leaving him alone.
Jay breathed deep, now savoring an actual moment of peace. What the fuck just happened!? he thought.
It was impossible to say. Between the disorientation and the pain, he couldn’t remember a thing before getting attacked. Only a lingering sense of unease, like he’d woken from a nightmare and already forgotten.
…Or maybe just wandered into one.
Blood trickled down his head, but at least Jay was no longer being murdered. He rubbed his eyes with a groan, only to look straight up.
There were more stars shining in the night sky than Jay had ever seen before. White, yellow, red, blue, purple. An aurora crossed the horizon, and all sorts of colors twinkled back as he stared into the boundless expanse of a surreal twilight.
But even more than that, another mass blocked a chunk of the horizon, far off where the coyote monster had just run. This giant sphere glowed with crimson light, pulsating a red fury into the world beyond. At first, Jay thought it was an oversized moon obscured by the trees, but as he took in the full scope of the beast, he could make out cloud cover, continents, mountains, oceans. He squinted hard and was certain that forests covered some land mass…
An entire alien planet, up in the night sky. Jay once again looked around the tropical beach, with blackened waves crashing against a pale shore, the dream-like cosmos above in all its multicolored glory, and the blood on his hand from the nightmarish creature that attacked him.
Where the hell was he?
His arm tangled against a leather strap. Huh? Though Jay still wore his favorite T-shirt and cargo shorts, an extra satchel had been slung over his shoulder that he hadn’t noticed until now, with an old book inside the pouch. Worn leather bounded the rim, and the pages looked ripped and stained. He flipped it over and checked the title.
“Expatriate Guide,” it said in black, unadorned letters.
He opened the book and started reading.
Welcome to Annwyn, a vibrant land of danger and bounty alike. By accepting the Grand Bargain, your soul has been transported here. Follow this Guide and the knowledge it provides to survive against the despicable Natura that threatens your life. Good luck with your quest, Expatriate!
I don’t… What? Jay was in a place called “Annwyn,” apparently? And he’d taken some kind of Grand Bargain?
He kept reading.
Rules of Annwyn:
1) Death is permanent.
2) If any Stat reaches 0, death occurs.
3) Natura confronts each Expatriate differently at the start of each night.
4) Natura can only grow with time. It does not recede.
5) Cooperation between Expatriates will be punished.
6) Do not lose this Guide. It cannot be replaced.
Was this supposed to be some kind of game? It didn’t feel like a game. A drop of blood fell onto the page, reminding him of the shock he had just faced. Since when did he have “Stats”?
He turned the page and gaped at a list of numbers that looked an awful lot like a character sheet.
Name: Jay Reis (Primal Age)
Vitality – 14/20
Hunger – 72/72
Thirst – 24/24
Fatigue – 48/48
Sanity – 79/100 (Confused)
The last line gave him a chuckle. Well, yeah. He wasn’t going to be at peak sanity after a coyote made out of wood tried to kill him the second he opened his eyes.
Maybe this was a game. Jay might have been suffering from memory loss, but he knew who he was as a person. He’d been playing all sorts of video games for years. Shooters, MMOs, JRPGs – the list was endless. Streaming had been where he spent the most time, but that was all to make it easier to get into e-sports later. Could this have been some reality show bullshit to help get him there?
That didn’t make much sense, but it still made more sense than his soul getting teleported to another w–
The howl interrupted his train of thought. Jay watched without words as reeds rustled nearby, now on the top of the ridge where he’d taken cover.
He gaped. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
The coyote monster dove into the open, its demonic eyes radiating death. Jay screamed as its fangs came for his face.
But his reflexes saved him. Though the blood-laced slobber dripped onto his cheeks, the teeth could not reach his flesh again. Not with Jay’s arms wrapped around its throat and legs braced against its own. He flinched as the thorn-like claws scratched into his thighs, but he’d bought himself precious seconds.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
With all the strength he could muster, he thrust this monster back. It fell down the ridge with a yelp, wood cracking against the rocks below.
The monster stood back up and grunted, a trickle of green-tinted ichor leaking from a wound. As Jay watched from above, it dusted itself off, looked up the length of the ridge, and launched into another sprint, going the exact route it had taken before.
Jay frowned. Great. So he’d only bought himself another minute, max.
He couldn’t stay put. Not when that coyote monster was just going to come back for him. He rose to his feet and started running away, now searching for a better hiding spot.
Dried sticks cracked beneath his bare feet as he rushed through the nighttime jungle. Where the beach reached its end, palm trees clustered behind, rising into a hill further inland, with peaks overflowing in tropical greenery.
That was his destination. Getting higher would buy more time.
But the further Jay moved, the more apparent it became that this wasn’t a mere hill, but an entire mountain that stretched miles high, with a more gentle slope than he first assumed.
And he did not have the time he thought he would. As he clambered atop another dune, the howls of the coyote closed in again. It must be able to smell me, Jay deduced. He could trace its trajectory as it cut through the underbrush, aiming right for him.
Abandoning his first plan, he went for the nearest tree instead.
His skin chafed against rough palm bark as Jay scrambled to safety, legs dangling beneath. With another grunt, he hoisted himself up high.
Not a moment too soon. The coyote flew into the open, hitting nothing but air. It bared its teeth in frustration, then began biting into the tree itself.
Phew. Jay was safe. No way this thing would be able to chew through an entire palm tree.
As the coyote attacked the bark futilely, Jay returned to his Expatriate Guide. Maybe it would have more answers for him…
He turned the page.
This one showed his “Inventory,” currently blank. The top left corner had been scribbled with an image that looked eerily like him, and the other side showed a panel of equipment options, from his feet to his head. Currently, only his torso and legs were filled out, with a short description of the T-shirt and cargo shorts he’d been wearing, down to the designers they came from.
The bottom half showed a list of carried items, also empty, except for the Expatriate Guide in his hand slot. A lot remained blanked out, as if for future use, from slots for helmets and gloves to toolbelts and weapons.
The tree quaked an inch, and Jay scratched the back of his head. This whole night was getting wilder by the second.
He went to the next page.
This section was labeled as the “Lexicon” and had a series of sub-lists: Crafting, Flora, Fauna, and Miscellaneous. The “Crafting” section jumped out first, with a little drawing of an axe and a recipe scribbled to its side.
[Crude Axe] = Stick (Any, 0.3-0.4m) + Stone (Any, 1.5-2.5kg) + Twine (Any, 0.2-0.3m)
Then his eyes fell to an entry under the “Fauna” section, with a picture that sure looked familiar.
Vined Coyote – This hideous spawn is a variant of the prairie dog commonly found on most F-Rank islands. It is one of the weakest manifestations of Natura in Annwyn.
Research still available.
Is this thing kidding me? He turned the page again. This one was labeled “Updates” and appeared to be the final section, displaying the most information.
Welcome to your Tutorial, Expatriate! You have 7 days to complete this phase before Natura attacks in full force. To get started, grab some materials and craft yourself a [Crude Axe].
WARNING – PLACEMENT ERROR UPON EXPATRIATION! TUTORIAL ISLAND SKIPPED!
WARNING – TIME DILATION ERROR UPON EXPATRIATION! LOCAL TIME COULD NOT BE RESET!
Congratulations! You have completed the Tutorial!
Danger now lurks in the dark. Prepare well for the night.
Oh, no! You have encountered your first spawn of Natura. Destroy this vile enemy before it can destroy you!
He looked down at the coyote made of wood, back at the book, and considered everything else he’d read until now. A little wire in the back of his brain suddenly clicked in place, the conclusion of this evening now inarguable.
I’ve officially lost my mind.
That was it. There was no way out of it. Jay must have ended up stuck in a hospital somewhere, perhaps in a coma, and he’d hallucinated this entire fight during some drug-addled state. That explained the weird alien moon, the video game flair, and the demonic plant dog that wanted to kill him on sight.
Only in the deepest recesses of his imagination could this encounter be anything other than bonkers.
Jay rubbed his chin, this revelation triggering a weird sense in the back of his mind that he couldn’t quite place.
If this was a hallucination, then he might as well roll with it. Yeah, he could even treat it like a gaming stream. A fun, adventuring stream. Why not? It wasn’t like there would be any consequences here.
Some of the bark ripped free, and the vined coyote gnawed harder. Jay frowned. Surely, it wouldn’t be able to tear down the whole tree. His imagination would never be so cruel. Right?
More wood splintered out, now made easier without the bark. The palm tree listed down another inch. Cracks formed on its trunk.
Jay moaned. “Come on…”
The tree broke free, and Jay tumbled to the ground. More pain exploded from his elbow as the vined coyote chomped down, its teeth sinking harder than before. It dove a second time, ripping a chunk of flesh right from his forearm. Its claws slashed into his chest and legs, and Jay cried out as his entire body quaked from a dozen scratches opened at once.
He kicked again with all his might. The monster tumbled away with a yelp.
And Jay ran. And ran. And ran. He had to keep moving. Keep running. Get away from this creature before it could bring him down. Even if this was a dream, the fresh pain was too vivid to avoid, and his legs moved of their own accord.
Another ridge opened up ahead. Jay scrambled to safety before the coyote could close in, his wounded body on fire as adrenaline forced it to work.
He flopped over the top. The coyote once again disappeared into the reeds as it sought an alternate route up.
Jay gripped his elbow and winced. Compared to what the coyote monster had delivered elsewhere, the agony in his arm was at a different level, like the whole thing had been dripped in acid. Tears clogged his vision, and he tried to stem the bleeding, but to no effect. The pain was too much.
Buzz.
The vibration came from his leg. At first, he thought something else attacked him, but then he noticed the source. The Guide itself had buzzed to life.
He opened it again, and his heart skipped a beat.
Congratulations! You have gained your first Wound. Your passive Vitality regeneration will be decreased until it is treated. Wounds stack with other Wounds, so you better work fast!
New recipe available.
That definitely hadn’t been there before. And yet, the hand-drawn script was identical to the rest of the book, and the page had as much wear and tear as always.
A thought suddenly occurred, and he doubled back a few pages to his Stats. He stared on, his theory confirmed.
Name: Jay Reis (Primal Age)
Vitality – 4/20 (Wounded+1)
Hunger – 71/72
Thirst – 23/24
Fatigue – 47/48
Sanity – 75/100
That settled it. The Guide wasn’t some static book like he first assumed, but behaved like a HUD for a video game character and monitored everything happening to him in real-time. He’d even ditched the “confusion” tag on his sanity by putting these facts together, though he seemed to have lost more points anyway.
Classic survival game. Non-intuitive mechanics, some metrics that needed to be babysat, and even a character sheet that was a bitch to interact with. Of course, this would be the scenario his imagination would create for him. Why give him a tutorial when he could go right into the fighting?
A distant howl broke the stillness of the night, and his arm throbbed anew, reminding Jay of the ever-present threat.
Need to get a weapon. Then he’d have a real chance. But where could he find one?
He flipped back a few pages, the blood still gushing hard. There, his salvation awaited where it had been left, right under the Crafting section.
[Crude Axe] = Stick (Any, 0.3-0.4m) + Stone (Any, 1.5-2.5kg) + Twine (Any, 0.2-0.3m)
He looked through the tropical beach. Reeds rustled as the coyote closed in again, but he ignored it, instead seeking out materials for this recipe. There were so many, ready to be crafted into whatever he needed to survive this fight.
Jay Reis had always struggled in life. Very little went his way, and he’d always felt like the world was too big for him.
But regardless of the insanity of this moment… This trauma… This chaos… Jay never felt a greater sense of purpose than now. Even with all this pain, his body slowing from the blood loss, and a monster hot in pursuit, a mad grin still stretched across his cheeks.
Because this place was based on a game, and if Jay had been able to do one thing in his life, it was to take games and win.
Yeah, he could do the same here.
He could craft this nightmare into his own dream.
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