In the silent stillness of night, as Misty Hollows lay cocooned in dreams, I quietly packed my bag. The moon's soft light filled my room, almost like it was giving me permission to go.
I carefully chose the things I'd need for my journey and put them in my backpack.
My father's old map of the genesis floor waited on the bed. With a sigh, I picked it up and rolled it into a tube. I tied it off, placed it in my pack, and then started gathering the other items I'd need.
I had a plan, I’d gotten the idea from an old science lesson I remembered from Earth. I wasn't sure it would work, but if it did, I’d be gaining a lot of experience points and completing a few achievements in the process.
For my plan to work, I needed wooden stakes and a hammer, which I’d taken from the mason's yard. I also needed basic supplies to see me through the days before I reached my destination.
I packed a single lantern, some water, dried meat, a block of hard cheese and a few loaves of bread. The last item I added was my relic dagger, taking comfort from its familiar weight.
I let out a deep breath when I finally finished packing, "I'm ready," I whispered, closing my eyes, "Now let's get this over with."
I headed down the main street leading to the edge of town.
***
The desert landscape was harsh and unforgiving in the daytime, and at night it appeared even more so.
A dry, dusty wind blew in from the east, stinging my skin. The sand beneath my feet was coarse, and as I walked, the grains rubbed against each other, grating my heels. I wrapped my scarf around my mouth to keep out the worst of the sand.
My first death was by the fangs of a sand serpent.
It had come out of nowhere.
The encounter had been so fast, so unexpected, that I hadn't had time to defend myself. One minute I was walking along, enjoying the warm glow of the rising sun, and the next, I was dying in a spray of crimson, the creature's teeth buried deep in my thigh.
I respawned twenty minutes later, and killed the serpent before it could strike again. As I watched the creature thrash around, dying on the end of my blade, I couldn't help but wonder how many times I would die before I reached my destination.
I pulled up my status screen before setting off and noticed something. My single point in [Etherix] had recharged.
Does it replenish daily?
It was a question I didn't have an answer to. There were no books on the subject, no teachers to tell me. The information had been lost with the death of the hundred warriors on the Night of Sorrows.
With each step, the heat rose, until I could feel my skin baking under the intense sunlight. I died thirteen times crossing the dunes, and each time I died my resurrection was faster than before.
After the twentieth death, it took only five minutes for me to come back to life. I wondered if immortality was making me careless, three of my deaths had been accidents. A misplaced foot had sent me tumbling down the side of a dune, landing awkwardly on a sharp rock. The third had been even more embarrassing, tripping over my own feet and impaling myself on a cactus.
Once I’d killed myself intentionally by jumping down the side of a ravine as a shortcut instead of taking the long way around the slope. I regretted the decision almost immediately. The fall didn't kill me, and I had been forced to wait in pain for over an hour before a hungry wolf came along and finished the job.
After the twenty-seventh death, the sun began to dip below the horizon.
Darkness crept across the dunes, bringing a welcome respite from the heat.
I took advantage of the cooler temperatures and pushed on.
A few hours later, I found a stream with a dead venomwart floating in it. The giant toad's skin was blood-red with yellow spots all over it, and the poison sacs beneath the skin were larger than a fist. My water skin was almost empty, so I pushed my luck again, drinking from the poisoned water. It killed me in less than an hour, but at least I wasn't thirsty anymore.
The further I traveled, the stronger the monsters and the more frequent my deaths became. I learned quickly not to underestimate any monster I met. A spider the size of a small dog could rip a man to shreds in seconds. A swarm of tiny wasps could sting you to death before you had time to scream.
The most dangerous monsters, however, were the ones that hid in plain sight.
On the third day, I saw a plant with purple flowers that reminded me of the lavender bushes from Earth. I was drawn to it, and as I approached, the petals turned a bright red. A split second later, they exploded into a cloud of poisonous spores. I died, choking on my own blood, the pollen burning my eyes and lungs.
I walked, rested little and ate even less. I fought anything that crossed my path and I leveled up twice, taking me all the way to Obsidian-3.
All of my points went into [power].
I discovered that about one card essence dropped in every twenty monsters I killed. Those numbers weren't too bad, but after killing hundreds of monsters, still no cards had dropped. I wondered if card drop rates were better on higher floors, or if most of the cards were crafted from essence instead.
On the morning of the fifth day, the dunes gave way to rocky ground. I could see mountains in the distance, their snow-capped peaks jutting up into the sky like broken teeth. My destination, Stinger's Roost, sat on the slopes of the largest mountain, the one in the center of the range.
By the time I'd reached the base of the mountain, I'd died more times than I could remember. My clothes were shredded, my body covered in dried blood, and a trail of corpses was left in my wake.
There was nothing here that wasn't trying to kill me.
The tattoo on my chest had so many thorns in it now that the original vine was hardly recognizable anymore.
"Now the fun begins," I muttered.
***
As the sun rose over the barren lands, I stood atop Stinger's Roost, my back facing the edge of a cliff which dropped away so far that I couldn't see the bottom.
As I waited, I watched the horizon.
Eventually, the first onyx scorpion appeared, walking towards me. It was huge, the size of a horse, and its stinger was dripping with venom.
Back on Earth as an awkward teenager, I'd always imagined myself being a hero, standing against the evil that threatened the innocent people. I'd have a finishing move that would make the crowd cheer as I bashed my foe to death with my shield, or maybe a sword, or perhaps just my bare hands. I'd have a catchphrase to go along with it, something like 'Feel the devastation of my domination'.
Those days seemed so far away.
There was no crowd to witness this moment, and instead of a finishing move, I'd probably end up dying from a simple sting whilst stabbing the creature to death with my knife.
The onyx scorpion moved slowly, cautiously, as if it could sense the danger ahead.
Another scorpion followed, and then another, and another. Soon, a whole army of the creatures had gathered. There were hundreds of them, crawling out of holes in the side of the mountain, clicking, hissing and scuttling towards me.
I watched them draw closer, watched their numbers increase. I felt no fear, just cold determination and the assurance that this was going to hurt like hell.
Soon the ground began to tremble as they neared. I heard the sound of claws scrabbling along the rock and felt the vibration of their movement.
Then the first one stepped onto the surface of the rock, and I saw the wooden stakes I'd stabbed into the ground tremble and shake.
My eyes shot between the stakes I'd dug into the ground all around me. They were thicker than my leg, and I'd beat them into the ground with my hammer until the wood splintered, and the earth cracked.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
My idea wasn't a stroke of genius, it wouldn't be written down in history books. It was a stupid plan made by a desperate man who needed to get strong fast, no matter the cost.
Finally, the horde was close enough now to smell. Their stench was repulsive, like rotting eggs and burnt hair. The air filled with their hissing, clicking and buzzing sounds.
"Any minute now," I said as I held my breath.
Hundreds of scorpions charged me, the vibrations through the ground rattled my teeth. Rocks crumbled beneath their weight, and chunks of stone broke free from the cliff face to tumble down below.
I dodged and swung, stabbing, hacking and slicing, moving faster than I ever had before. I was a blur of motion.
And then it happened—
The ground gave way beneath me.
What I'd give for a feather fall spell card.
We fell in unison, a mass of bodies, screeching, writhing, smashing together. It felt like hours, and then we landed with a thunderous crash.
My feet exploded from the impact, my legs snapped, my hips and chest shattered, my arms twisted and broke. My head smashed against the hard rocky ground and everything went dark.
***
As the darkness swallowed me whole, I felt an eerie stillness, a calm, like I'd passed beyond the veil. Seconds felt like days, and I knew what awaited me.
Nothing.
Nothing but silence, and then the void.
Then, slowly, a warmth washed over me, like the first rays of dawn breaking through the darkness. My senses began to return, and I could hear a faint, rhythmic hum. It was as though I was awakening from a long sleep.
Gradually, I became aware of a strange sensation. It was like a thousand tiny needles prickling at my skin. It felt like I was watching one of those time-lapse videos, but it was my body being meticulously reconstructed.
First, my feet. The shattered bones popped back into place with a series of gentle clicks, and I could feel the tissue knitting itself back together. Muscles and tendons wove themselves seamlessly as if following a divine blueprint.
My legs straightened, and my hips and chest realigned with a gentle pop and shift. My arms twisted back into their natural state, and the broken bones melded together. My skull reconstructed itself, and my brain, once jarred and jumbled, found its rightful place.
With a final, soothing sigh, I was whole again. My entire body had been restored, piece by piece, like a broken masterpiece mended by a master artist.
I’d gained multiple levels, pushing me all the way up to Obsidian-9. I opened my eyes to streams of golden text floating above me.
[New Title: Clanslayer]
[5% Boost to Agility - Awarded for killing 90% of a settlement]
I peered around at the mangled pile of dead scorpions all around me.
I wouldn't call this a settlement, more of a nest.
The percentage based boost was weak at my low rank, giving me only one additional point in [agility]. But it would scale with my stats the stronger I grew, making me far more agile than anyone else of my own rank.
While I pondered why the Tower had awarded me with [agility], which seemed like an assassin stat, more text flooded my vision.
[Achievement completed: Chain bonus x10]
[Reward: 10 bonus essence for killing 10 of the same monster type in less than 1 minute]
I blinked away the text and smiled as the essence pooled in my hand.
I’d gambled that there would be an achievement for killing monsters quickly, it felt good to know that I was right.
Since receiving my first achievement, I'd spent days trying to figure out how else to complete them. It wasn't like there was a book listing them all off, so I was pretty much on my own.
For all I knew, I was missing out on so many of them. There might have been an achievement for eating all your veg each day, but I'd been skipping that one and not even knowing it.
Finally, I’d figured that the achievements were designed to encourage us to get stronger, and what better way to do that than to kill a bunch of monsters as fast as possible.
My idle thoughts were interrupted as a third message appeared.
[Achievement completed: Chain bonus x20]
[Reward: 1 Random Common Card for killing 20 of the same monster type in less than 1 minute]
Yes, this is what I was hoping for. It was obvious that the card drop rates from low level monsters were abysmally low. My only hope of getting some was from completing near impossible achievements.
A light appeared in the heavens and a silver card descended from the sky, landing in the palm of my outstretched hands.
I laughed, like a madman, my eyes wide and wild as I stared at the card. It was the first spell card that I had earned myself. Yes, I’d cheated death to get it, and I was sure I’d pay for that sooner or later, but for now I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
The light vanished, and I looked down at my new card, my hands trembling with excitement.
The card depicted a radiant, glowing shield that spanned the width of the card. Even though the image was self-explanatory, I still couldn't wait to test it out.
I placed the card over my heart, feeling it being absorbed into my soul. I smiled, feeling the burn in my chest fade.
Patches had been right, it was a good type of pain.
I opened my status menu and read the name of my newest card.
[Sky Shield: Elemental Affinity]
Only the name and affinity of the card was visible on the status screen. The text on the card was in the old tongue. I knew there was a way to read the text, my father mentioned it when I was younger, but the method alluded me at the moment.
While I pondered that mystery, I thought about my unassigned stat points. I could put them all into [power] but something told me I’d regret neglecting my other stats.
I assigned 3 points to each of my stats, and then another two into [speed] and [agility].
But something weird had happened, my [power] stat had dropped. I removed [Sky Shield] and checked my stats again, and it was back to normal.
Shit, the card is lowering my power. It has to be because it's the wrong affinity. My primary is curse and my secondaries are death and summoning.
I could remove my first new card or suffer the loss of stats and keep it. The answer was pretty simple, there was no chance I was taking the card out of my deck, not so some grubby pickpocket could steal it.
My status screen vanished.
"How do I use this card," I muttered, looking around.
I'd heard my father mention that it was instinctive, as simple as breathing or falling off a horse.
I stretched my hand up in front of me, pointing at the sky. Was the gesture necessary? Probably not, but it felt right.
I imagined the spell being cast, and an instant later the magic flowed through me, finding its way into the air. I heard a faint, crackling noise, and a shield made of air formed above me, shimmering and vibrating.
It bloody worked!
I grinned, feeling a rush of triumph.
A loud ping echoed in my ears and the next two achievements came one after another.
[Achievement completed: Chain bonus x50]
[Reward: 1 Random Uncommon Card for killing 50 of the same monster type in less than 1 minute]
[Achievement completed: Chain bonus x100]
[Reward: 1 Random Rare Card for killing 100 of the same monster type in less than 1 minute]
The light faded, and I stared down at the green uncommon card and the blue rare card.
My hands were trembling as I hastily added the cards to my deck and checked what they were.
The uncommon card was [Rootbound Bison: Summon Affinity]
The card depicted a creature the size of a horse, covered in twisted vines, with long branches for horns.
The rare card was disappointing. I had really been hoping to find a foundation card for Flint, but it was just another spell that wasn't my affinity.
[Pilgrim's Rest: Space Affinity]
Space affinity sounded amazing, but it lowered my [power] even more.
The title was a bit vague, would it put me to sleep if I used it, or maybe it would summon a house.
I thought about testing it, but the consequences could be too serious. I had no time for experimentation, I needed to get back home as soon as possible.
I kept the card in my deck, at that moment it was better to have the utility of the spells than raw power. At least until I found a replacement that was my own affinity.
I'll just have to come back another day and do this all again until I get a foundation card for Flint, I thought as I dusted myself off.
***
I looked around, seeing the piles of dead scorpions, many of them had silver lights floating above them.
I spent the next few minutes humming the tune from ‘I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts’ as I filled my coin purse with essence.
I had just tossed the last essence shard into my bag when I came across something moving beneath the pile of corpses.
As I approached, I saw a scorpion's body beginning to twitch and writhe.
I poked it with the tip of my dagger and the body seemed to melt like candle wax.
"Holy crap!" I yelled, backing away.
The scorpion's chitin melted and merged with that of its neighbors, and all around me the bodies of the fallen began to move.
I stumbled backwards, tripping over corpses and slipping in pools of blood, all the while my eyes were fixed on the madness happening in front of me.
Chitinous segments melded and twisted, creating a monstrous form rising higher and higher. Numerous limbs sprouted from the amalgamation, each one stretching and reshaping itself into horrifying, razor-edged pincers and legs.
The exoskeletons knitted together seamlessly, creating a nightmarish patchwork of spines, barbs, and ridges that adorned the creature's body. An otherworldly glow radiated from the gaps between its arachnid carapaces, casting eerie shadows in all directions.
And then the monster's multifaceted glassy eyes materialized, each one glowing with a spectral green light that shifted as the creature searched for its prey.
[Hidden Quest Unlocked: Revenge of the Fallen]
[Objective: Slay the Venomwrath]
I blinked away the message and stared at my opponent. The venomwrath stood tall and terrible, a nightmarish mixture of the scorpion corpses, a living testament to the vengeful fury of the fallen creatures.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came forth.
This thing is going to rip me apart, I thought frantically, backing away.
What happens if it eats me? Can I come back to life again if I’ve been torn and chewed into a thousand tiny pieces?
The venomwrath turned towards me, its multifaceted eyes fixing me in place. It opened its mouth and a piercing screech tore through the air.
"Oh shit, this is going to hurt."
***