Juan's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at Derek's fading smile. "psycho," he muttered under his breath, the words laced with a mixture of fear and shock.
His hands trembling, Juan muttered, “In a sense, he took his own life.” The words felt hollow.
No... what kind of twisted logic is that? I’m the one who killed him.
“Self-defense... revenge? I don’t know... but at least I’m still alive,” he whispered, wrestling with the reality of it all.
After a moment, Juan struggled to stand.
Nathan didn't attack. Did he abandoned Derek? The thought unsettled him, leaving him uncertain of the other man's motives.
Juan moved next to Derek and noticed the Codex lying by the partially charred body. The Codex was beginning to deteriorate as well. A wave of panic washed over him, and he swiftly grabbed Derek’s Codex.
Juan flipped open Derek's codex. He scanned its pages, but they were completely empty.
Had I picked up the wrong Codex?
He carefully checked Derek’s belongings, but found nothing useful. Then he recalled what Derek did with Elmer’s Codex.
Should I do it now?
Juan hesitated. He knew that activating it would produce a brilliant light, illuminating this place and potentially exposing his position to any lurking dangers nearby.
I’ll do it later. I need to check...His gaze shifted to Elmer’s lifeless body.
Juan approached Elmer, his heart weighed down. Elmer’s eyes were still open. He placed his hand on the man’s nose and mouth, feeling no breath. A quick check for a pulse confirmed it—Elmer was gone.
Beside Elmer, Juan spotted a pouch and picked it up.
He gently closed Elmer’s eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt. I killed Derek; that has to count for something, right? he whispered, as if seeking absolution.
Juan covered Elmer’s body with leaves and branches, offering a silent prayer before deciding he couldn’t stay. Grabbing his axe and torch, he headed in the opposite direction where Nathan had gone.
Breathless, Juan reached the base of a small hill and paused to catch his breath. He examined Derek’s Codex—it was nearly falling apart. In a rush, he flipped through his own Codex, scanning the pages. He needed to understand his Codex state before merging it with Derek’s.
No core, only a single skill marked with a lock symbol, two items in the archive, and some diary entries. Juan didn’t have time to investigate further.
Juan held both Codex and pressed his against Derek’s.
A blinding light erupted, just as expected. But, to his surprise, Juan felt no pain or bleeding. Unlike as he remembered the bloodied expression on Derek’s face when he used the Codex.
As the light faded, Juan found himself once again holding his Codex.
Success. But I need to move, and fast.
Howls and eerie noises echoed through the forest, signaling its awakening.
----------------------------------------
At the foot of a barren slope, beneath the shadows of withered trees, a young man held his torch and axe, fending off decaying, wolf-like creatures that closed in around him.
“These wolves are persistent, huh.” Juan complained, having spent what felt like hours escaping the abominations. He hadn’t even checked his new Codex.
As Juan tried breakthrough, the wolves grew more aggressive, closing in. He glanced around—twenty wolves surrounded him. His heart raced at the sight of his only possible escape route.
Below the slope, a swamp stretched out—a strange, out-of-place biome. The trees twisted unnaturally, their trunks bent at odd angles.
I had thought I was somewhere on a Pacific island, surrounded by familiar vegetation in the Philippines. But now... I wasn’t so sure.
And Water plus mosquitoes... sigh. The worst combination, things I really can’t stand, Juan thought, realizing that fighting twenty zombie-like wolves was not a better option.
Cornered, Juan charged into the swamp while fighting off the wolves, who followed in pursuit.
As he reached the swamp’s edge, Juan noted how the trees twisted unnaturally, but at least they were easier to climb.
No mosquitoes. That’s a plus!
Juan planned to stay only on the swamp’s edge, battling the wolves. He managed to hit one, then seized the chance to climb a strange swamp tree.
Phew! they can’t climb, right?
Upon confirming the wolves couldn't climb, Juan looked down to see them encircling the base of the tree, leaving him with no escape.
Curious but wary, Juan studied the zombie wolves: they were about the size of regular dogs, with black fur and decaying patches.
Why do I keep running into these disgusting enemies? First Nathan, now these wolves.
As he pondered, a grim realization hit him. If they’re zombie-like... they probably don’t get tired. Great, did I just trap myself?
After observing them for a while, Juan raised his hands in defeat. Undead or Zombie, maybe they’ll die when the sun comes out!
He decided to check his Codex - Core page first.
Might
Ⓞ
Soul
Ⓞ
Mind
Ⓞ
Flipping to the Core page, he noticed nothing had changed. But this was likely where Derek put his orb — and bled like hell, judging by the empty circular space in the page.
That’ll be the last thing I do.
Next, he checked his Character Profile:
* Blood: 40/100
* Soul Point: 35/50
* Mana: 80/100
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
His blood had decreased, but it was the same amount before merging with Derek’s Codex. It was just a tally—he’d probably lost some during the fight.
The Soul Points showed no changes.
But my Mana increased from 70 to 80. Interesting.
Juan then navigated to his Slot page.
Skill ҉
Blueprint Recipe
Active Skills I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
XV
X
Passive Skills
Memento Mori
II III IV V
He found ten empty active skill slots, along with one skill named “Memento Mori” in the passive slot. When he tapped it, a pop-up appeared, asking him to consume 50 Death essences to unlock it.
50 Death Essence required to unlock the inactive 'Memento Mori' skill.
Death essence? Nothing made sense.
He checked the Blueprint and Recipe sections, but both were empty.
Skill Blueprint ҉
Recipe
Next, he checked the Archive page.
Orb
🅞 🅞 🅞 🅞 🅞
Blueprint
Recipe
█ █ █
Essence
61 Fire | 24 Beast | 10 Grass | 5 water | 9 Life | 14 Ground
Skills
Woah! Before it was only one blue orb and one sheet of paper (recipe) he had collected from the slime, but now he had:
* Four new Orbs
* Three recipes
* A collection of different essences—over 100!
This has to be good, right?
Juan reached for the Red Orb icon. When he touched it, two options appeared: Claim and Info.
He chose Info. A pop-up appeared in the page.
CINDERHOOF
Affinity: Fire | Rarity: Rare | Rank: I
> A boar-type creature with charred, cracked skin that glows faintly like embers beneath a smoldering log. Its hooves leave fiery prints on the ground, igniting patches of grass or wood wherever it treads. Its tusks are jagged, glowing red-hot at the tips, and it can summon small bursts of flame from its nostrils when enraged.
Finally, some useful information, Juan thought. This was the first time the Codex provided a description. So this the source of power? Like Nathan's sludge and Derek's flamewoop..dup?
Still, what a badass name for a creature; its description sounds powerful. Is that why Derek liked this Orb?
Curiosity piqued, Juan checked the Blue Orb he had acquired himself.
SHAPESHIFTING BLOB
Affinity: Water/Illusion | Rarity: Uncommon | Rank: I
> A blue liquid-type slime that ripples with traces of the forms it has mimicked. It can transform into an imperfect copy of any creature it has seen, using this ability to trick or lure its prey.
>
> If it consumes its victim, the slime absorbs their brain, gaining their fragment memories, voice, and even mannerisms. With each kill, it becomes smarter and more deceptive, often mimicking familiar faces or voices to its next victim.
>
> Despite its cunning, the Shapeshifting Blob is fragile and easily destroyed by strong pierce attacks or intense heat, as its body offers little defense. It relies on stealth and deception to survive.
Lame name, but the description made it sound like a powerful creature. Is it? recollecting his battle with the blue slime.
But wait—it uses the voice of its victim... does that mean my classmate, Theo? Beo? Tadeo.. I can't even remember his name—was here and got consumed?
Juan didn’t feel any real attachment to this classmate, but the thought of someone he barely knew being consumed like that was still unsettling.
Suddenly, another thought struck him: Is it possible all my classmates ended up here? Most likely.. But he didn’t know Derek’s grou and they all wore primitive clothing. How many where affected by these shit.
Unconsciously, he glanced at his character stats.
* Blood: 41/100
* Soul Point: 35/50
* Mana: 50/100
My mana dropped by almost half. What caused that? reading my Codex... Pop-up?
Juan wanted to check other items in the Archive and read the diary entries, but he didn’t want to risk losing more mana experimenting.
Looking down at the unmoving wolves below, he decided to rest for a bit until the sun came up.
----------------------------------------
The swamp lay cloaked in shadows, as if the very earth itself had swallowed the light. The treeline was only faintly kissed by sunrays—a sliver of hope in an endless night.
* Blood: 49/100
* Soul Point: 35/50
* Mana: 88/100
I recovered some blood and mana, but he couldn’t determine if these were fixed numbers. He waited for nearly 30 minutes, but nothing changed.
The wolves were a real pain; their smell reached him even from three meters above. The real problem was, they hadn’t left, even with the sun now up. Juan massaged his neck, deep in thought as he gripped the Red Orb tightly, contemplating his next move.