1.
Roann looked around at the surrounding forest, its color and vibrancy a mix match of greens ranging from a deep emerald green to being nearly so light as to be yellow making it seem like a whole different world, and again wondered where he was. His map had called this place Euloria. Did that mean he wasn't on Earth anymore? Why was he not in his bed right now? Dozens of questions filled his mind but he knew he had to focus on his task at hand before anything else. Overthinking would probably just lead to panic.
"Right. I gotta find more monsters." His unmentionables just didn't feel safe as of right now, and he didn't want to have to try that healing herb on any sensitive areas. He could figure everything out once he either found shelter or made it. Gazing through the small clearing he had awoken in, Roann noticed a tree that had fallen long ago, and seeing a sizeable opening in its roots that could be used if a cover could be made. He moved towards the hollow, hefting his now bloodied limb into a more comfortable carrying position. The wood was extremely sturdy including its bark, which while good for combat, made it a pain on his bare skin.
Slowly, being weary for any creatures who may have already laid claim to this area, he moved into the shadows of the overgrown tree and looked around the now cavernous spot. Thick roots, ten foot wide, stacked on each other to form an alcove of sorts for about fifty feet back into a wall of dirt and went around forty up, its knotted remains being so gnarled the fallen tree almost formed true walls. It was perfect except for not having a roof in case it rained, which seemed likely as he noticed the clouds overhead.
Great, naked and wet, that's all he needed, he thought. A slight hum caught his attention seeming to come from the sky. It sounded like a far away low-pitched hum that was slowly getting closer. A plane maybe, or a rescue helicopter? He had no idea if there were such things in this world but he could hope. Waiting, the humming did seem to grow louder but also grew a whine to it. He stared in horror as a bug the size of basketball rocketed through a gap in the roots. Stopping in mid-air to hover, Roann got a good look at the creature as it caught sight of him.
A giant beetle of some sort, but with a kind of stinger like that of a scorpion on a thick, armored tail and compound eyes like those on a fly. It hovered for a moment then let out a crackling sound as its carapace near its middle section broke apart and three small tendrils emerged. Roann felt something telling him to move, and rolled to the side as one of the tendrils shot a protrusion out at high speed, three thin needle like pieces missing him and piercing deep into the wood of a nearby tree. Standing and running forward he swung his limb horizontally like a bat, but the beetle thing simply flew backwards a couple feet while it retracted its carapace tendrils. Roann knew he messed up as he felt the limbs momentum throw him off balance. The thing flew at him, its stinger jutting forward. He saw the end of the sting glistening with some light blue liquid, most likely a toxin, as it flew in his direction, and quickly brought the limb around in an uncontrolled swing.
Luck was on his side as the blunt end of the limb smashed into the side of the bug. A cracking sound came from its shell and it was sent spinning away into the tree roots, another loud cracking when it hit the dirty root wall. It scurried its beetle like legs on one side trying to right itself, but the other half seemed to be too damaged to move. Roann stopped for a moment to study the creature. Its iridescent fly-like head twisted in quick jerky movements and the legs arched and flattened trying to gain purchase. The black sting curled around in a protective way but he could see that the tip had broken off when the creature had impacted the tree. He felt almost bad for the creature, laying there writhing in clear pain. It was just trying to survive, like him, in an unknown world. Was it even smart enough to think, or did it only act on pure instinct? He contemplated for a moment on the best course of action to end its suffering when another crackling sound came from the creature and he started.
He had forgotten its inner tendrils.
The creature had opened itself up to flip itself, shooting another three splinters at him in the process. He felt a sharp pain as two of them lodged in his side near his pelvis. Not deep, they had been stopped only an inch or two in, but they fueled anger in his mind. Bolting over he raised the limb in a golfers pose and swung around, in an underhanded arc and stabbed the beetle right in the center of its open carapace. Bright blue blood spurted from the new orifice in the creature from the limbs spike and it folded around the limb. The death curl of the creature wrapped it further around and Roann kicked the carcass off of his weapon.
You have defeated Armored Buzzwing
Would you like to loot?
Yes/no
Roann backed away from the creature and looked down at the two bone-colored needles poking out of his side. He figured he should deal with that before looting. Wincing he wrapped his hand around the middle and pulled sharply. It did not come out willingly. It turned out that the needles had a barbed end to it to keep the needles from falling out and causing even more damage when removed. He gasped in pain and relief as he got the first one out, noticing that the smooth circular hole he had thought it would be was now jagged and ripped.
Cursing, Roann gripped the second protrusion from his skin and pulled that one slowly from himself as well, then fell back with a grunt, breathing heavily and closing his eyes. He had survived the second battle for his life with a strange monster. He gave a small "whoo!" to himself then winced at the searing hole in his side.
Opening his Item Menu, he willed his last Medicinal herb into his hand and placed the mass of green over the two punctures. Turning into the glowing paste again and starting to magically stitch together, his side felt warm then cool when the herbs wore off. He gave his menu the affirmation to loot the Buzzwing.
You have looted Armored Buzzwing
You have received
Cracked Buzzwing shell x1
Low-grade Healing Herb x2
Low-grade Antidote x1
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
Kill Unranked creatures 2/10
Roann's eyes scanned over his loot and then closed the menu. The antidote seemed like it would come in handy if he ever got hit by that nasty looking sting the Buzzwing had and was more than thankful that he got more herbs. Looking up, he realized that the daylight looked about noon time, with the bright yellow sun nearly being over head. It felt like a nice day but the Dark clouds along one side of the brightness peering through the trees told of a hidden danger of moisture falling from the sky. He needed to find something that could cover at least part of the area so he could remain dry during the night.
Wandering from what he now thought of as his hollow, he ventured around the clearing. nothing of not that really stood out so he decided he would go out in intervals of 20 feet and do circular sweeps of the area. Nothing really struck him of note except for a large limb with enough needles still on it that may suit his needs.
Walking further, he realized he was now more than 200 foot from the clearing, the spacious grassy area being visible only through a small break in the over sized trees. A small prompt flashed before him.
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
Explore surroundings - 0.002% / 0.005%
Opening his menu, he mentally brought his map up. The 3-D rendering of the area in a pale green hologram popped up before his eyes and he noticed the circle he had started with was now a bit bigger. The corner read:
Map
Territory uncovered - 0.002%
????????? ?????????? -
????? ????????? -
Continent
Asteria
Kingdom
Trinityn
Province
Yevin
Town
Unavailable
He had gone far enough to bring up his quest percentage by a bit. Seeing a small yellow blip on his map, he looked closer and the hologram seemed to zoom slightly. Taking the hint, he focused on the spot and it zoomed to show a glowing yellow tree branch, the same one he had spotted earlier in his trek. He guessed that the map automatically pinned what was useful to him, but he'd have to experiment to find out what its limitations were.
Walking back to the spot marked on his map, Roann picked up the larger end of the limb and gave it a tug. It slid slightly on the ground, making a small rut behind it. Setting his spiked limb on some of the smaller branches, and taking a deep breath, he started pulling the heavy limb back to the clearing. It was slow work. The entire piece was around 15 foot long with enough smaller branches on it to still have a good layer of foliage on it. The Wood was hard and rough on his bare palms but he grit his teeth and pulled with determination. He wanted to try and prop this limb up into the corner of his hollow so he could use the thick covering of large flat needles as a roof, before anything else could come and attack him.
The Buzzwing would give him some warning at its approach but Roann had no idea how many of those Branch Lurkers there could be, let alone any other creature he had yet to encounter. He imagined nightmarish amalgamations of creatures all bent on making him their next meal.
Shivering, even though it was a warm, humid afternoon, he managed to pull the large limb into the clearing. Letting it drop, he put his hands on his knees and gasped for breath. It had only taken him a short while to pull the limb, but between him not wanting to be set upon again and his eagerness to get it done, he had exerted himself more than he was used to.
"In your nose, out your mouth." he mumbled through his breaths, remembering his Dad telling him how to steady his breathing. That was for his speed-skating training over long distances but the same technique helped with anything. Keep slow, steady breaths. In your nose, out your mouth.
Feeling recharged and leaning down, he grasped the limb in his aching hands again and managed to drag it into his hollow. Heaving it to the far wall, Roann took a deep breath and lifted the end above his head, resting it in a shallow nook in between two roots.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he walked back to see how much he had covered. It wasn't much, only a short triangle would be covered unless he got the limb higher up. Noticing a higher nook, he started to come up with a way to get to it without scratching his danglies on the rough wood. Not seeing any way to get up, he decided to go with the other plan.
"Well, this will have to do for now." he muttered. He had about ten square foot covered mostly, and hopefully he would be able to find more monsters by the time the rain descended. Looking out of the hollow, he noticed a grey shape making its way slowly across the clearing. It seemed his third monster had come straight to him.
Roann slowly walked towards the shuffling mass on the ground, spiked limb in hand. It looked like a blob of bright red jelly with fruit inside. It slowly creeped across the grassy clearing and he noticed the trail behind the creature was burnt and grey looking, like all moisture had been drained from it.
It was only 15 feet away by now and he realized what he had taken for blobs of fruit were actually bits of bone and other meaty-looking masses. This thing probably wrapped itself around prey and drained it of life or something, digesting the harder bits over a longer time. A skull around 9 inches long with curved beak told him that a Branch Lurker had messed up around this thing.
The slow shuffling stopped as the red mass quivered on the ground. Then a slimy tentacle oozed from the mass and a singular eyeball with a blue iris floated through to the tip, swinging in small circles until it focused on Roann.
The eye went from a cool blue color to a harsh purple in an instant and the mass stretched towards him with quick tendrils pulling it forward. Surprised at its instant angry reaction, he readied his weapon. When the blob was around 5 foot away, Roann swung his limb connecting with the mass. It seemed to wrap around the top and was bounced off to the side, the eyeball quickly reorienting itself and moving again to crawl at him. Three more times the blob approached and Roann swung, each time sending the creature flying away, but it seemed like nothing was happening to the thing. He focused on the things eyeball as it came towards him and this time instead of swinging, he kicked out towards the creature as he had done to the Branch Lurker.
Big mistake. Instead of wrapping and bouncing like for his spiked limb, the mass stuck to the front of his right leg. He could instantly feel a burning on his skin and cried out in pain. He tried to step back and out of the thing but it stuck like hot glue from the bottom of his foot to near the top of his knee.
Looking through the red mass, he saw the eye staring intently at the skin embedded in its quivering jelly. It was slowly digesting his leg while he was alive and attached to it. Letting out a roar, Roann pushed his foot, not pulling out out of the creature like it expected from prey, but further in. Not expecting the force to change directions, the mass allowed the foot in deeper, too deep. His burning foot felt a small pressure as he pushed against the eyeball quickly, forcing it into the ground and feeling a wet squish between his toes. The blob suddenly popped like a water balloon, red liquid spilling everywhere around him, its heat feeling like a turned on sauna but cooling quickly.
You have defeated Small Acidic Blobling
Would you like to loot?
Yes/no
Hopping around and swearing, Roann stumbled backwards and fell into a sitting position, lifting his leg and grimacing at the red splotches oozing blood. It looked like he had stuck his leg into a pot of hot oil, small blisters forming around the more sizeable burns.
"Is everything in this world going to try and kill me?" he asked out loud, his voice carrying through the emptiness around him.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Everything seemed still in that moment but he knew that sooner or later, another weird creature would show up and go at him again.
Sighing and with a grimace of pain, he stood and half hopped, half limped towards his hollow. Stopping at the entrance and giving his affirmation, the remains of the blob turned a rainbow color and started evaporating into a vapor.
He watched as the Bloblet disappeared into nothingness and the transparent green screen again appeared before his eyes.
You have looted Small Acidic Blobling
You have received
Low-grade Healing Herb x2
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
Kill Unranked creatures 3/10
He noticed he didn't get an item pertaining to the Blobling. The Branch Lurker had given him a roll of hide and the Buzzwing a broken piece of shell but nothing from his most recent scrap.
Going further into his hollow and sitting beneath the limb that was his roof, he pulled an herb from his items. He gently pressed the herbs over the top portion of the wounded area of his leg and watched the herbs transform once again, seeming to stretch further than what he would expect the amount of herb could cover, but still leaving a sizeable stretch of burned looking flesh.
With more than half of his burned leg healed, he took out a second herb and finished the rest with its miraculous healing powers.
Still, he was annoyed it took two of the herbs to put him back in regular condition. He wanted to try and save the herbs so he could have a back stock for if he needed them.
What if the monsters suddenly stopped giving the herbs and he had no way of healing the wounds he received? He resolved to leave any minor injuries that didn't impair his movements for the foreseeable future. As long as they didn't hinder him while hunting those things, he could deal with the stings and bruises.
He looked out, pondering what could have happened to him. This was clearly not his home. He sat and tried to remember exactly what happened the night before. He had gone out with some coworkers for an after work round of drinks. He remembered he only stayed out until his alarm went off, signaling it was two A.M. and that he needed to go home.
His hazy memories brought him right to getting home, then nothing. Something stirred in him. An uneasy feeling like he was forgetting something. Was there someone waiting for him when he arrived? Trying to concentrate on his thoughts, Roann's head started to pound.
He knew his name was Roann Thomas, but even that felt strange. Then it hit him. Who was he? Who were his parents? Why could he remember where he lived and who he worked for but couldn't remember himself? No siblings flashed through his mind. No pets. No childhood. Not even a best friend. Panic rose up in him as the realization dawned on him. He couldn't remember anything about his personal life. The more he thought over the less he could remember of his life.
The existential panic that gripped him was soon overshadowed by another realization.
He could hear humming again and this time, it sounded like multiple Buzzwings approaching.
Scooting himself under the branch as far as he could squeeze himself, he hoped that it would hide him from the flying monsters. The humming rose into a heavy vibration seeming to move the air itself and through a small gap in the needles, Roann saw that three Buzzwings had entered his hollow.
Two of the black armored creatures hovered in place seeming to watch the third land on the dirt wall and begin moving dirt away from the wall with its top two beetle-like legs. One of the creature that was hovering set itself down on the limb where Roann hid himself.
Peering through the needles, he could make out that the creatures middle had opened slightly upon landing, letting the tendrils sway limply through the four inch long orifice.
Thinking quickly, Roann slowly turned his spiked limb so that the point lined up with the fleshy hole above. Shoving himself through the needles, he jumped up, feeling the scratches of the bark and needles on his skin, but keeping the point pressed tightly into its carapace. He could hear a surprised chittering squeal come from the creature as it was thrust forward and down, its body hitting the ground with a thump, then a cracking sound as the limbs weight crushed the armor of the bug.
The spike pierced the innards of the monster, bright blue gushing from the openings in its middle. Planting his foot onto the lower end with a cracking, he attempted to extract the limb from the bug, but it seemed stuck. With a second wrench he pulled the spike with a wet slurping sound, seeing some entrails sticking to the end.
Turning to face the second Buzzwing, he was surprised to see that it didn't shoot at him like the first one he encountered had. It hovered between him and the third Buzzwing, the latter still scratching at the wall as if nothing was happening.
He pondered for a moment. Why were these acting differently from the one he originally fought? Watching in apprehension he noticed the Buzzwing on the wall had stopped scratching. It was now moving upwards and seemed to shove its sting into the orifice. Bulges, starting from the base of the thick tail, crept slowly along until disappearing into the earth. These things were laying eggs in the wall of his new home.
"Hey! Stop that!" He yelled as he ran forward.
The protective Buzzwing finally acted and started moving back and forth, letting its tail and sting move forward in quick strikes, an obvious warning not to approach. He hefted his Limb and swung downwards diagonally, clipping one outstretched wing but not doing enough to stop the creature from being able to fly or hover. The sting shot out and upwards, but he managed to throw himself backwards, the tip missing him by mere inches.
Rolling to the side, he picked himself up and tried to move out of the way of the bone needles he knew were about to come at him. He had heard the crackling sound and knew what that was now. Three bone white spike shot at him, two missing their mark, but the third found purchase in his left forearm.
Screaming out, he looked down to see the needle had fully impaled his arm, one end seeming to break apart before his eyes and split open into the barbs. Grabbing the barbed end, he winced at the points digging into his palm, but pulled the unbarbed end through the other side.
The immediate pain went away but a solid flow of blood down his arm showed he probably should use an herb for it.
Dashing forwards with a yell of rage he brought the limb around in wide arc, catching the Buzzwing in its lower half with the point of his limb, impaling the creature. It's wings beat furiously on its back and could feel the legs trying to scramble away from him, getting no purchase of the wood sticking from its side.
Lifting his limb high over his head, Roann brought it down with a heavy grunt and felt the top part explode with the impact, splattering him in the blue blood. Breathing heavily and pulling the tip of his trusty limb out of the cracked body of the creature, he managed to look up in time to see that third buzzwing approaching fast, its sting jutting forward.
It caught him in the right shoulder, going in several inches, then quickly pulled out, causing him to drop his weapon and leaving behind the shiny blue liquid he had noticed earlier. Cursing his slow reactions, Roann spun and jumped at the retreating Buzzwing, managing to grab its tail before it could fly out of reach. He pulled down as hard as he could and slammed the bug into the ground.
Once, twice, a third time, and the shell of the creature fractured into pieces. The fourth strike made a squelch as blood blossomed around the thing. The fifth and sixth strikes were just overkill from rage.
Roann stopped.
He breathed out, looking at his surroundings. He was covered in the blue blood and his forearm still flowed crimson but it wasn't that bad. His shoulder gave a jerk as he felt sharp pain, then a numbness come over the area. He realized he had forgotten about the liquid on the tip of the Buzzwing's sting. He had been poisoned.
Rapidly opening his menu, he tabbed open the items menu and willed the antidote into his hand. A small crystal vial appeared, a vivid purple liquid sloshing about inside. He uncorked the strange vial and poured the contents down his throat. It tasted like vinegar mixed with apple juice, the foul tasting liquid going down thick.
The burning sensation returned to his shoulder and he was glad to see a thin trail of blue smoke coming from his shoulder then gave a yelp of pain as the hole in his flesh returned to full levels of feeling.
You have defeated Armored Buzzwing x3
Would you like to loot?
Yes/No
He mentally pushed the prompt away and opened his item menu instead, pulling out an herb, ripping the plant in half and applying it to his forearm and shoulder. The holes in his flesh started to rapidly heal under the green gel and Roann let out a groan as he sat with his head between his knees.
Why was this happening to him?
What had he done to deserve having to fight for his life multiple times in a single afternoon, and naked no less?
His head hurt from the stress of it and he let out a small whimper.
He allowed some of the emotion to bubble up and felt a hot tear run down his cheek. Quickly, he wiped it away and looked up. Sighing, he activated the looting prompt.
You have looted Armored Buzzwing x 3
You have received
Cracked Buzzwing shell x2
Torn Buzzwing tendril x1
Low-grade Healing Herb x3
Low-grade Antidote x2
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
Kill Unranked creatures 6/10
He had received enough supplies from the looting that he felt confident in his small supply of medicine. The extra antidotes would be useful if any more Buzzwings attacked and he had four herbs. If he could keep it to one per monster than he could keep a supply on hand.
The melting rainbow masses that used to be Buzzwings quickly disappeared into foul smelling vapor around him, causing him to wrinkle his nose in disgust. He noticed the blood that had spattered him, hadn't turned into the vapor.
Looking over himself, he realized how bad he appeared. He could feel his short black hair was matted with blood and dirt, and it looked like his had poured blue raspberry syrup over himself with a cherry glaze running from where his wounds had been.
He grunted in disgust as he heaved his limb up and realized the guts from the Buzzwing also stayed. The smell was atrocious.
Looking to the back wall, he noticed the three bulges left by the monster were causing the earthen wall to almost pulse. Three heartbeats in a wall of mud and roots.
Roann walked over, and picking up his limb, pointed the tip at the first mass. Waiting until the bulge seemed full, he pressed the tip hard into the egg sack. A squelching noise and a small popping were the only noises as the bulge deflated and a leakage of bright blue followed his removal of the spike.
You have defeated Buzzwing Larvae
Would you like to loot
Yes/No
Taking the hint, Roann swiftly stuck the tip of his limb into the other two quivering masses and popped each one in turn, the bright blue liquid spilling from the wall like small fountains.
He smiled to himself, knowing that his monster hunt would be made easier by these helpless sacks of monster goo. He mentally affirmed the looting process.
You have Buzzwing Larvae x 3
You have received
Larvae mucus x 3
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
Kill Unranked creatures 9/10
Sighing, seeing he didn't get much from his free kills, Roann decided he needed to go ahead and explore his area to finish up the second part of his quest. He wandered again in circles, steadily working his way further from his clearing. He watched his surroundings carefully, in case anything decided to try to make a meal of him again.
Speaking of meals, he wondered when he would find something he would be able to consider edible. He couldn't remember the last time he ate but he didn't seem to be hungry yet so he let it trail from his mind.
Keeping a steady pace, he slowly but methodically cut circles around the clearing, going slightly farther every loop. By the time his quest bar finally filled to the end he had gone quite a distance from the clearing, still creeping from tree to tree in case of Branch Lurkers or Buzzwings.
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
Explore surroundings - 0.005% / 0.005%
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
1/2 tasks completed
Roann looked around him, the vibrant green of the forest seeming to melt together into a blur of emeralds and brown bark. He made his way slowly back to the clearing, seeing nothing but a few small creatures that looked like mice but a dark green color. He didn't sense any hostility from them and didn't think they would count towards his monster quest so he left them be.
Making his way into the clearing, Roann stopped. The small sounds that he had been hearing from the forest were gone, replaced by an eerie silence.
He walked into the center of the grassy opening and closer to his hollow when the sense of danger overtook him again.
Too late, he heard a branch shaking before a brown blur nearly twice the size of the one he originally fought barreled into his back, knocking his limb from his hand, forcing him to the ground and feeling a sharp hard beak tear into his right shoulder. Rolling with the force, he managed to leave the Branch Lurker behind along with a chunk of flesh from his back. Scrambling to his feet, he dove for the limb that had saved his life many times that day.
Picking it up, he whirled to face the monster. The Branch lurker was a slightly darker shade of brown with its two oversized bat wings ending with hooked claws the other had not had. It had to be at least 5 foot long with its flattened tail taking up a third of its length. The sharp beak opened and a snarling squak erupted from its throat, Roann's blood spraying out from the edges where it had torn into him.
It leapt, its huge wing-arms expanding. He batted at it, trying to get a clean puncture into its chest, but missing and the huge creature tackled into him. The force sent him onto his back, but he kicked out, sending the Branch Lurker over his head and rolling into a tree with a slam. He scrambled to his feet and ran forward trying to press the advantage.
It seemed like the creature had dazed itself when striking the tree. He brought his spiked club around but was caught in another tackle, this one less precise, only spinning him around. He tried again to bring his limb up to bear, but this time the creatures tail shot up and knocked the weapon from his grasp. He tried to back away, pulling the limb with him to try to regain a handhold on it.
He grabbed the spiked end, bringing it up to try and get a grip when he felt the weight of the creature slam into him once more, sending him to his back, the limbs point barely missing him, and coming up under his armpit.
He felt a hot splash of blood spray over him, blinding him temporarily and he heard a high pitched groan escape from above him then a hard weight press into him.
Pushing with all of his might, Roann managed to get the creature off of him and stood up gasping for breath. He wiped his hand over his sticky eyes and opened them to see the point of his limb extending from the center of the creatures neck, blood still oozing around the wood propping up the body.
He groaned in relief and watched the prompt appear before him.
You have defeated Alpha Forest Branch Lurker
Would you like to loot?
Yes/no
This one was considered an alpha apparently. Roann looked at the monster. It was definitely larger than the first one he had faced and he felt that he was more than lucky to survive this encounter. The beast would have ripped into his throat if given two more seconds without a spike in its path.
"This place just gets worse and worse." he muttered then opened his item menu, pulled out a healing herb and pushed it over his shoulder into the stretch of missing skin and muscle, letting it stitch together, then affirmed the looting.
You have looted Alpha Forest Branch Lurker
You have received
Alpha Branch Lurker Hide x 1
Forest Branch Lurker Meat x1
Low-grade Healing Herb x2
Essence shard of Greater Weaponry x1
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
Kill Unranked creatures 10/10
Quest updated - Where are my pants?
2/2 tasks completed
Quest completed - Where are my pants?
Rewards -
1 - Set of rough Trousers
1 - Common level weapon (choose from 3)
Another screen flashed before his eyes, this one with three boxes, each containing a different weapon.
One was a short sword that seemed like a normal weapon for fighting monsters and one he could easily use.
The second was a short bow and quiver and he quickly gave that up. He didn't know how to use a bow and felt that not knowing exactly how to use his weapon might get him killed.
The third option gave him pause. It was a steel rod with a large flat blade extending from the end.
A scythe.
Looking down at his limb, he realizing he had been swinging this thing in a way that seemed to mimic a scythes natural swings. He contemplated on his choices. The bow was out automatically as he didn't want to spend time relearning a weapon and the sword seemed like a good choice for the easy way to learn, but the scythe seemed to call to him.
Picking the third option, the grey metal appeared in front of him. Grabbing it, he felt the weight was slightly lighter than the limb he'd been using and gave it a few practice swipes. It seemed to go exactly where he wanted it, and giving it a twirl as he realized it was almost easy to wield. The metal flashed in the light and he caught his reflection.
He looked like a madman, covered in blood and spinning a scythe around and he chuckled at the thought of someone seeing him like this, then froze as a noise cemented him to the spot. A noise that he would give anything to not hear. It terrified him to his core.
Mainly because he was very much naked, very much covered in blood, and very much unsure of how he could explain his situation.
The melodic voice of a woman sounded from behind him.
"Uhm, sir? Do you need help?"