“Seeing in the quest ping, I think we got far from it, but I think we still have a chance to reach the place from here. The problem is the time”.
Quest updated: Reach the research station - Countdown started by Quest Giver; 4 days; 19:52 hours.
“Ok Percival, let’s go to the shores near that mountain”, Roberion indicates a big mountain-chain. “Research station must be there, or somewhere around that region, that was what the pings are indicating, anyway”.
“Yes sir…did you feel better?", Percival looks back, preoccupied at Roberion.
“Not great, but it will get better in time. The problem is the system. Something about it is really weird, the whole process of it is too painful. Like there is no way to make someone lose the feeling of pain? Maybe anesthesia or something. I had some when in the factory.”
“Was the factory any better?”, Percival start looking ahead, alert as they near the shore.
“I wouldn’t say it was better, it was controlled. The real problem I have with the system it’s that how they sometimes control my choices. If the system was made to be like that, they wouldn’t even give an option. They also restrict information. I could die back there, just because the system didn’t say the process would be long; That is what I think, at least. The guys that made me or the masked person.”
“I’m distressed for not having a better advice than going forward and empower oneself. Sadly…”, Percival eyes gloss over as if seeing something about past, “…the weak will away suffer, the strong but innocent will suffer double that pain, the weak can have peace with their weakness, be content that was the reason of the failure, the strong doesn’t have anything but torment themselves…”. Percival looks ahead and became silent.
“Yeah…that makes sense. I think. But it’s not like I’m letting all of it getting the better of me. I’m trying and will still try in the future to be free, powerful, unstoppable. No way I will surrender myself!”
“Such powerful words need to have meaning put behind them”, Percival says as they reach the shore.
“You are asking too much of a guy born less than a week ago, at least from what I remember”, Roberion smirks, “But yes, I will try, thank you for the help back there”, he pats Percival in the back as he keeps following the ping.
“Ah yes, you lost your equipment, let’s roll again…That’s better, now could you tell me more about the battle in the way?”, Roberion asks as he feels he still emaciated body and takes a look at his stats.
STATS
Level
30
Strength
27
Dexterity
87
Intelligence
53
Endurance
32 (+12)
Knowledge
23
Social
12
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Roberion and Percival didn’t have many problems in the way. Fewer enemies showed up, now too weak to be a threat to both of them. Roberion, now in the pinnacle of his power, in the verge of state, cut most of them at easy, trying to emulate the teachings of Percival with his dexterity, his perk helping to give him a boost of strength and endurance for milliseconds, enough for a powerful next attack when a creature was near. Some of them were difficult to handle, mainly the ones with tougher skin, but that was what the explosives were for, at least for now, as he lost more after each battle. Sadly, no new corpse provided a chance to increase his stats. Neither Percival was interested in their materials. In the meantime Roberion said with more details his short life to Percival.
Reaching the start of the mountains, they saw a giant tunnel in it. It didn’t seem artificial, but the aspect wasn’t natural either. “The tunnel has circular cracks in the perimeter. It’s really weird, but the quest ping is showing that it’s the same direction of the tunnel. I think it’s better to go through it, even if some monster shows up the same would happen above, probably. There are no safe ways, at least for us”.
As they walked through the tunnel, the nonexistence of anything in it was the weirdest part. No animals, only some insects, could be seen sparingly. The tunnel was too big. No critter seemed to use the tunnels as his refuge. The tunnel had no plants, mushrooms, grass, even moss. He could only see a few roots, broken or still fixed to the soil.
As they walked, the air grew more humid and hot. The tunnel was extremely long, but the research station still seemed far away. “Damn, where is this place? By the looks of it, it still seems at least a day away from here”.
“Yes sir, alas the strangest of all is that it seems we are going deeper in the earth”. Percival rubs his almost nonexistent chin. That is true, the distance to the quest signal was shortening, but the more they walked on, the more they went deeper on the earth, the air getting hotter.
Almost eight hours from their start on the shore, three on the tunnel, things started to change. The earth showed more humidity, five more hours in the tunnel, some small underground streams showed up. Feeling it was time, Roberion and Percival stopped for a bit to rest up and eat some supplies. Roberion's body was better, but not enough for a continuous fight.
Half an hour later, side tunnels started to show up, large as the one they were in, but they seemed older, some derelict, there some moss and mushroom could seem growing up, some were colorful and mysterious. Roberion, though, after his process to enter the verge state, was reticent about using his proto-engram. I need some time to rest up, then I will go back to the grind. Yes, no problem at all.
“Hey Percival, doesn’t all this thing seems weird? Like the research station in the center of the earth, these various tunnels. Maybe they are connected to the research station?”
Percivals scratch his helmet, correct, then scratch his head under ”Being honest Sir, I don’t know, if the research station was like that weapon house, and that places in flames, it doesn’t seem much similar, this seems how to say? Primitive”.
“Yes, that’s what I thought, but still a weird coincidence if they aren’t related”, Roberion keeps walking deep in thought.
Deeper into the tunnel, they started feeling vibrations from all around the tunnel, “Do you feel it Percival?”, said Roberion, cautious of such a weird circumstance. “Indeed, the vibration sir. it seems to have a rhythm”, Percival says as he put his gauntlet on the side of the cave. “Alright guards up and let’s be quiet as possible”.
It didn’t take long for the vibration to increase. Half an hour later, the vibration was shaking slight the walls of the tunnel. Some fallen earth could see right ahead, but the strangest of all it’s that front ahead seemed an open area, full of lights. As they approximated, they saw that it wasn’t the only thing. Right ahead, all around this area were archaic drawings. They seemed as if a story drawing and repeated eternally.
First there was a person. It seemed to have pointy ears and a long, sharp face, five eyes appeared in its face. This being carried something; the wall was fractured in this part. Later, this person seemed to grow stronger, as they showed a curved person drawings straightening up and growing more muscles. At the bottom of this person drawing, it seemed to have a multitude of people, but they seemed to be hysterical, as if scared. Above him lied a gargantuan entity, without head, having a rectangular body. The being seemed to be involved in rib like bones in all it’s body, multiple arms, in two of them it seemed to be offering something, that part of the drawing was broken.
Next, this being body was transformed, but the whole drawing was broken, only by conjecture someone would think that was the pointy ears being. That being was fighting a seeming horde of humanoid monster, the rest of the panel was completely destroyed or were full of runic symbols.
The illumination was made of lines of light, like light tubes, emitting a green glow. To be this intact after so much time, their material must have been pretty durable. As they looked down, Roberion finally noticed a strange thing, it seemed like a giant vibrating tube with a circular rings to its extent, that was probably the focus of all the vibrating in the tunnels, the surrounding earth, the foliage that grown around the area and some strange rocks vibrated and endured the onslaught. In all its body, lights seemed to pulsate. What he thought was an additional illumination down there all around the cave was this tube.