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"Heyyy, Avan!" Dave just called out to him as he got off the bus and continued walking to his work. Avan must not have seen him, otherwise they would have talked on the bus. He turned to his work colleague as Dave bombarded him with questions like a shot from a pistol. "Where the hell were you last week? The bosses were really pissed off and no one could reach you. The internet went down again and everything went haywire. Typical Fridays, especially when you're not there, something always happens anyway. Lol." Without letting the stunned Avan get to the answer, it went straight on. "And the Thursday night before we were supposed to meet in voicechat for the closed beta weekend! You didn't show up then either. And on Friday evening then at the start of the beta weekend also not! I even sent you voice messages and tried to reach you through all platforms! You disappeared off the face of the earth the whole weekend, man. I was starting to think something had happened to you." Dave finished his tirade and gave him a nasty look.
"Yo, yo, yo! Wait a minute, what do you mean I wasn't there? I... was..." Avan was about to counter, but realized that he just couldn't think of what had happened last week or where he had been.
Dave, misinterpreting the confused expression on his face, stomped past him and continued to grumble. "Sure thing! Go screw with somebody else. I thought we were friends, dude!"
Before Avan could calm him down and explain that he couldn't remember a thing, his friend had already left, with a fishing spear in his hands, and was turning into the driveway of their office. Isn´t there something... wrong? Ahhh... He grabbed his temples with both hands and gently shook his head, in which a headache that he could really do without.
He shouldered his bag with the laptop in it on his back, the existence of which he had not even thought about, and half stumbling walked across the empty street to the complex office building. He just turned the corner in the driveway and saw Dave storming through the entrance door, which must have been opened for him by the secretary. Without waiting for his friend, he slammed the door behind him.
Avan moved forward and shuffled toward the door, a severe migraine coming on. With much more effort than usual, he managed to dig out his keychain, which was hanging from the lanyard in his pocket, and fumbled for the right key. As the head, and only, IT employee, he had his own key for most of the doors in the office, in case he had to work weekends or other odd hours.
He inserted the electronic key into the keyhole and turned it around to push the door open. Still slightly dazed, he stepped into the building and pushed the door shut behind him, as everyone expected. After all, sensitive data was kept on the servers in the building.
"Argh..." Avan moaned to himself, clutching his left palm to his left temple. "I really need a pain pill...! There should be one or two in my office..."
He turned to the right towards the staircase and only now noticed an intense smell in the air. "Not aired out again? With this heat outside, the air in here is literally standing... Oh man." He grumbled and took one step after the other until he stood in front of the first window on an intermediate floor to tilt it. Satisfied that he had done his part, he climbed the remaining stairs to the first floor and unlocked that door as well. "Strange... Am I the first one here today? But I could have sworn I saw cars in the parking lot outside the door..." He mumbled, but thought nothing more of it.
Door unlocked, he stood in a long hallway that led to the left and right. He turned around to the left and directly unlocked the first door on his side of the corridor. Once in his office, he hoisted his laptop bag onto his desk and noticed the packages of IT equipment that had again been placed on the cabinet next to the desk without prior communication. Avan just sighed and ignored the still closed packages for the time being.
It was much more important for him to dig out one of his prescription painkillers from the cupboard. "Thank God, I still have one!" he exclaimed, muffled but happy, and grabbed the shrink-wrapped tablet. With the tablet in his hand, he walked back out of the room and entered the common kitchen on the opposite side of the hallway, where there was the typical kitchen equipment and a coffee machine. With a quick reach into the shelf above the dishwasher, he grabbed a glass and filled it with cold tap water.
With his head craned back, he popped the pain pill into his mouth and onto his tongue, swallowing it down with a big gulp of water. Visibly relieved, he took the half-full glass of water back to his office and set it down next to his unpacked laptop.
"Why the heck is it so quiet in here?" he asked himself, now that he could only wait for the tablet to take effect. He poked his head into the hallway and shouted a short but loud "Good morning!" into the long corridor, but received no response to that either.
Hmm... Strange... Maybe I should look up at the others. They should already be there and working on the current project... Above all, of course, at least Dave is there! Avan thought silently and shuffled back into the stairwell to take the stairs to the second floor.
The upper door was, as he had thought, only ajar, and he entered the hallway of the upper floor without any problems. On the right, in the open-plan office, he could already hear a few noises of the project staff working and turned to the left, in the direction of the project manager's offices. The first office was locked and apparently Jason, the second project manager, was not there today. Avan was no longer surprised, as communication within the company hadn't really worked for a long time, and no one had been told anything.
When he arrived at the second door, however, he was surprised to see that it seemed to be ajar, but when he looked inside the small office, there was no one there. Maybe he is just giving the employees new instructions that came in from the customer in the morning?
With this train of thought, Avan looked back over his right shoulder into the corridor and toward the open-plan office. Shrugging his shoulders and curling his lower lip, he turned and walked leisurely back and entered the open-plan office.
The stench he had noticed in the stairwell was, oddly enough, strongest here. At the front, he could already see Dave, with his back to him, probably showing something to an employee at his workstation, while their joint boss stood behind them.
Avan was about to shout out "Hello!" and "Good morning!" but stopped himself when he had a strange and eerie feeling. A kind of goose bumps ran in waves down his back and something inside him screamed that there was something not at all normal about the scene.
A little more cautiously than before, he stepped forward almost creepily. Just as he was about to turn the corner to the row of tables, a groan sounded from Dave's person.
Avan suddenly faltered and an unspeakable horror filled him.
A scene like a nightmare unfolded before him; the employee who normally sat at this workstation was lying with his back to the wall, while his head was lying sideways at a very unnatural angle. Where his eyes should have been, there were only two bloody, empty caves to be seen.
Before Avan could process the image before him, he let out a startled and short scream and stumbled backward a step.
As if on cue, the figure of his boss turned around to reveal a face with skin and shreds of flesh hanging from it, with deep furrows down to the bone. As if a monster had torn everything open with its claws and gnawed on it.
"W-w-what?! FUCKING HELL?" Avan stumbled backward as the figure turned fully to face him. With a plop, he landed on his behind on the floor and scrambled backward in a panic until he bumped his head on the row of tables behind him.
Only now could he see the figure of his friend, who had a clawed hand and arm stuck in his back, which belonged to his boss. With a loud smacking and wet noise, the monster in his boss's body pulled the arm out of his friend's back so that he could turn completely around to face him.
Dave, finally no longer pinned in place, turned around as well and looked at Avan with a hateful gaze. "This is all YOUR fault, Avan! YOU let those monsters into the house! YOU are to blame for all of this! We will all die in agony and these monsters will gnaw our flesh from our bones! Look at me! Look what you have done to me!" He roared at Avan and took a step towards him. The monster and Dave stood side by side and Avan could hear a horrible wet breathing coming from the destroyed face of his boss.
Panicked and heart racing, Avan tried to fight back and protect himself with his outstretched arms as both figures slithered toward him, bleeding and moaning. They were already standing over him, and a warm, sticky liquid dripped down onto him from the countless wounds and ran down his hands to his arms.
"You will suffer with us, Avan! You will suffer the same as I!" Dave gurgled and screamed at him, accompanied by a flood of blood splatter flying from his mouth.
They both pounced on him and he could do nothing but scream and hold his hands in front of him.
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With a loud scream and arms waving upward in panic, Avan jerked up. With a pounding heart, he looked around in panic for the monsters and needed a few seconds to realize where he actually was.
"FUCK!" he exclaimed between clenched teeth and ran both hands through his sweaty hair. His samurai braid had probably come undone during the night and his white-gold hair hung tangled down to his shoulder blades.
With his hands still in his hair, he shook his head in disbelief and tried to get his breath under control.
What kind of sick and fucked up shit was that?! He asked himself silently. I have not dreamed for decades, let alone had nightmares! Fuuuuuuuck... That was creepy and scary! Sitting upright in the canopy bed, he reviewed the nightmare in his mind.
A good minute later, his heartbeat and breathing had calmed down enough for Avan to throw himself backwards onto his bed and stretched out his two arms to the left and right of his body. He stared at the ceiling and thought about everything he had been through since his arrival here on Aorus. It dawned on him that although he had always been pragmatic and realistic about life, he had never had to deal with death and mutilated corpses, especially not to this extent.
The monsters he had killed were the least of it, because if he interpreted his dream correctly, he had simply never taken the time to process all the gruesome deaths from day one. He had simply marched on and on and had blanked out everything else.
And now it had all caught up with him as soon as he had found himself in his safe environment for the very first time.
Of course... I could have imagined that... On Earth, I probably would have had to see a psychologist by now. Like soldiers with a war trauma... I am an idiot... He scolded himself internally.
With a deep and loud sigh, he heaved himself out of the sweaty bed and staggered to the bathroom, still a little off track.
Without giving a fuck, he took off his boxers and stepped into the bathtub, where he was immediately greeted by a cold stream of water. He put his head under the shower head and let himself be sprinkled by the water jets, which flowed in streams through his hair and face over his whole body and the sweat and the nightmare washing away.
He grabbed a bar of soap smelling of deliciously scented flowers in a small hollow and found himself soaping up and scrubbing off. After a few minutes of ritual washing, Avan got out of the bath and looked at himself in a mirror for the first time in this world. He did not count the few times he had seen his image in a water surface. And the night before, he had been too tired to look at himself for once.
He almost didn't recognize the person who looked into his eyes. His alert and knowledge-absorbing eyes were identical and still well known to him. So was his distinctive jaw line, which still framed his face. But beyond that, a complete stranger was looking back at him.
Long silky hair fell like liquid silver flecked with gold reaching his shoulders and framing his face. His prominent features were more pronounced than ever and he did not have a sunken and skinny face, but there was not a spark of fat or flab to be seen, in contrast to the figure he had previously possessed on Earth. Avan had always been thin, but for a few years and thanks to his lazy lifestyle, he had put on a very small fat belly. But now, when he looked at himself in the mirror, nothing could be seen of it, and it had given way to the defined muscles that adorned his entire body. Through countless fights and all the movement, since he had landed on Eos, had robbed him of the fat and brought in very clear muscles.
Maybe even partly to blame for the stats? He pondered as he placed his hand under his chin in a thinking pose and turned his head to the left and right. Neat. He thought with a big grin.
Avan had never been self-absorbed, but was always neat and tidy. It had been more important for him to walk through life with a smile on his face and to steel his spirit and develop himself. He had always liked to wear casual clothes like jogging pants and t-shirts and otherwise just never acted completely lazy. He had been doing sports and fitness for years and then took a break for a few years until he took up martial arts two months ago.
And now he stood here and looked into brown eyes and a face that belonged to him, but still seemed almost completely foreign.
Refreshed, reasonably rested and with renewed energy after the shower, he marched out of the bathroom next to his bed and knelt on the floor in front of his backpack. His leather armor was fine, but the cloth shirt and pants he had been wearing underneath needed to be replaced. He put the boxer shorts back on and put on a new linen shirt and pants, then picked up the leather armor next to the backpack. With a few unpracticed movements, and a couple of minutes, Avan had pulled everything tight and successfully put on his leather armor.
Glancing out the window, he noticed that it had not yet become light outside and that the nightmare had probably served as an alarm clock. Sighing and shaking the nightmare out of his head, he swung his backpack over his right shoulder onto his back and decided to go in search of breakfast and drinks.
Avan stepped out of the room and looked around the hallway to the left and right, still a little woozy and cautious from his dream, and then marched off to the left to take the stairs into the entrance hall, which he had spotted further back.
As he walked along, he let his thoughts run free once again.
Yue will surely find her way to me then, I think... And I need a strong coffee for now, or whatever you drink here in the morning. And something hearty to eat... The food yesterday on the market was already very nice, after I had eaten only berries and nuts for the past two weeks in the dungeon. Crazy.
Downstairs in the entrance area, one of the counters looked like it was designed as a bar. At least it had bar stools in front of the counter. Hopefully I'll get something to drink and eat there. If they give me anything at all, as a non-member. Well, let´s find out.
With that thought in mind, he climbed down the stairs to the first floor and soon found himself in front of a grim-faced, portly human lady, who was cleaning jugs with a rag in cliche fashion, while a towel dangled over her shoulder.
This woman looked at him with raised eyebrows and seemed slightly annoyed to be disturbed in her morning ritual.
With a cautious but good-humored smile on his face, Avan waved to the barmaid. "Good morning! I'm actually just looking for.... a morning breakfast and drink. Am I in the right place?" He asked her in a friendly manner.
The woman grumbled in reply and set the cleaned pitcher aside while she tossed the rag into a sink of water. "Could be. And who wants to know?" She asked him gruffly with a challenging look.
A little taken off guard, Avan wondered if the lady had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, but inwardly shrugged, since there was nothing he could do about it now. With one thumb, he pointed upward toward the stairs from which he had come, and explained himself without further ado. "I slept upstairs in one of the rooms provided by the guild, which the guild master Helio Stormcloud had kindly made available to me. I am here with my companion Yue, who is surely still sleeping upstairs. And oh yes, sorry, my name is Avan." He nodded to her.
At the mention of the guild master, the woman's face and mood immediately brightened noticeably. "Boy! Why didn't you say that right away? Sit down and I'll bring you a jug of cela and a breakfast platter with a loaf of fresh bread." She explained to him without further ado and turned with renewed vigor to disappear through a door behind the counter.
Seems like a kind of... magic word, the good guild master. Avan thought with a smile.
Not even two minutes later, the woman came through the door again, with a plate of cheese, meat, fruit and vegetables on one plate and freshly steaming bread on the other. She placed the two twenty-centimeter-diameter wooden plates on the counter in front of Avan and, with nimble fingers, set about placing a pitcher in front of him and pouring a golden liquid from a bottle.
When she noticed his questioning look, she giggled. "If you spent the night here at the guild master's expense, then the food is on him, too! So the payment is secured. That's why you should have said that right away!"
With an "Aha!" moment, something clicked in Avan's head and he smiled back with a nod. "Then thank you for the food and drink!" And began to shovel the food into his mouth with his hand with relish. There were thin slices which tasted and smelled like chicken, some buttery soft cheese in pieces and fresh fruit and green vegetable sticks, which he didn't know yet, but tasted like a mixture of fresh cucumber and asparagus.
When he came to the drink, which the barmaid had called cela, he smelled a delicious and berry sweetness that reminded him of gummy bears. He took a careful and joyful little sip and was immediately blown away.
Cela not only smelled like berry gummy bears, it actually tasted slightly like them. The drink was not very sweet, but fruity and had a slightly tart aftertaste that lingered on the tongue after each sip. The drink also reminded him of one of his not so healthy sins; energy drinks.
While Avan happily devoured the food and treated himself to a second jug of Cela, the still half-asleep-looking Yue came running down the stairs and sat down next to him without comment. The woman at the bar remembered his comment from earlier and soon placed the same plates and drink in front of Yue without her being able to say anything.
"Ahhh... Thank you?" The fox girl looked at the woman questioningly.
"Here you go, little one. Guests of the guild master get meals on the house." She explained to Yue and gleefully set about cleaning more jugs.
Avan, mouth full of food and buying, winked at his companion and gave her a thumbs up, while with his other hand he was already lifting the jug to take another sip.
Just before Yue finished her meal, Elisa came strolling down the hall and approached them as soon as she saw them.
"Good morning, Yue. And good morning, Avan!" She smiled first at Yue and then at Avan, blushing slightly at the latter for some unknown reason.
Avan greeted back and Yue merely gave a nod, as she now had a mouthful of food and was chewing.
Elisa told them that it was about to start and that the guards were already in position. She had just been looking for the two of them. All three then made their way to a somewhat darker corner, where they sat down at a table and could watch the spectacle and hopefully the snap of the trap.
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