Loop 02
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Brian stared at the screen that now covered his field of vision. It wasn’t as much vision as it was a mental image he could see, considering his eyes had been scooped from their sockets.
“You have died: All items have been lost. [you may [Respawn in 23 hours and 11 seconds]”
For Brian, there were no thoughts, no response, only silence. In fact, Brian didn’t think a single thought until a new message flashed to replace the previous screen.
“Alert: You have been idle for 21 hours and 11 seconds. You have 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 49 seconds remaining to select items from the [shop] and respawn.”
Brian finally began to snap out of his traumatized state. The images of his final moments replayed in his mind, and Brian felt the violent need to throw up, but he had no body to do so, instead, he just remained idle, unable to process what was happening.
“Alert: You have been idle for 22 hours and 11 seconds. You have 59 minutes, and 49 seconds remaining to select items from the [shop] before it becomes unavailable.”
Brian finally brought himself to make an effort to read the message. On mental command, the shop opened, and Brian began looking available. Most items were obscured, covered in question marks. At the top right, Brian could see a currency counter.
“Credits: 01”
“Great,” he said.
There was only a few items Brian saw that was available for one credit, including underwear, socks, and an assortment of useless items like napkins, band aids, etc. Brian searched for an item that would help protect himself, but there was nothing available for 1 credit.
“Fucks sake.”
He purchased the underwear, considering it was the most protection he could afford. One of the first items to be ripped off his naked body had been…
Brian felt himself shudder at the memory, despite not having a body.
“Dungeon reset. You may now [Respawn]”
Brian waited for a moment, hoping maybe he could refuse to respawn.
“Warning: Force respawn in 3…2…”
Brian was unsure what happened if he was force respawned, but decided he rather do it voluntarily, mentally assenting to respawn
Once again, Brian found himself in the cell, now wearing the underwear he had selected. Brian immediately began violently throwing up, memories flooding his mind, phantom pain surging through his body.
He patted himself down to make sure he still had all his limbs and body parts, but appeared unharmed.
Brian crept outside the cell, praying none of the creatures were nearby. If Brian was to survive this time, he would need items like the iron helmet, and to earn more credits so he could purchase more from the shop.
The first item Brian found was a wooden club.
“You have acquired ‘Wooden Club’. Would you like to equip: ‘Wooden Club’ [New item discovered: 5 XP]
[YES / NO?]”
Brian took the club gratefully, ready to bash the creatures to death mercilessly, the pump of adrenaline coursing through him.
The next item he found was some kind of leather headgear.
“You have acquired ‘Simple Leather Helmet'. Would you like to equip: ‘Simple Leather Helmet’ [New item discovered: 5 XP]
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[YES / NO?]”
As he equipped the hat, Brian heard horrifying screaming echoing through the corridor, and Brian flashed back to being eaten alive.
Eventually, the screaming stopped with the finality of death.
Brian continued on, keeping an eye out for more horrifying creatures. Instead, he ran into a being that appeared to be a normal ferret. Brian reached down to pet the creature, quickly regretting it.
The ferret immediately bit at Brian’s Fingers, and with one swift chomp, took Brian’s Pinky cleanly off.
“AHH! FUCK, YOU FUCKING FUCK!”
Brian Swung the club the ferret, who was too swift for Brian’s inexpert club swinging, and Brian hit the ground, sending a bone rattling shake through his hand.
The ferret chattered, and Brian was sure it was mocking him. Brian gave it a swift kick, this time hitting his mark, and the ferret crashed into the wall.
Brian grinned maniacally. Picking up the club, Brian began smashing the ferret over and over, grinning with satisfaction.
You have defeated: Aggressive Ferret
You have earned: 2 XP
You have earned a title: Smasher of Ferret.
“What? Jesus.” Brian muttered.
Brian ripped some cloth from his underwear to make a small bandage to control the bleeding from his now missing pinky.
He trudged on, desperate to figure out what the hell was going on, and how to leave.
New Mission: Defeat 05 monsters.
Reward: Simple armor, 15 XP, 5 credits
“5 monsters? I think I can do that…”
Nearby, Brian heard the voice of what he imagined could only be the monsters he needed to kill. They didn’t seem to be the same as the grotesque abominations from his first loop.
Brian snuck up to the voices, and rushed, feeling his adrenaline surge with the need to kill every single thing that got in his way.
“AHHH DIE YOU PIECES OF SHIT!”
Brian swung and swung, bashing the heads of the monsters. He could barely see straight, just murdering everything he could see.
All that was left was a pool of blood, and a pile of bodies. Brian looked down to examine the creatures.
They were a mix of lizard folk, floating skulls, and even something that looked like a frog person. Brian was relieved he hadn’t gone in screaming and killed some random innocent person.
“Congratulations, You have defeated 05 monsters.
Reward: Simple armor, 15 XP, 5 credits”
“Hell yeah!” He said.
Then he noticed there was a chest at the end of the corridor they seemed to be protecting.
“Bonus!”
Brian approached the chest, and as he began to debate how to open it, it shifted. Before Brian could react, large, foul teeth revealed themselves as the chest began morphing into something alive.
In one quick motion, the chest, now alive, bit down on Brian, easily chomping him in half. Instead of killing him instantly, Brian felt every tooth puncture his body, every crunch as the chest continued devouring him, until finally, there was nothing left.
“You have died: All items have been lost. You may [Respawn] in 21 hours and 10 minutes.”