In a circular region no larger than 100 meters across there lay a figure unmoving amidst a sea of lush green grass. The area contained one tree of ordinary stature, several bushes, a pitifully small stream bisecting the edge, and the rest was a big carpet of uniform green grass.
This region was surrounded by a thick white fog roiling in place. If one stared deep into the fog for too long they would begin to imagine all sorts of shadows shifting though it.
The clearing was dead quiet except for the slow rhythmical sound of lungs filling with and expelling the surrounding air.
As there was no reference of time, nor sun casting down its light from above, it was unknown just how long the figure had been there.
The figure looked rather peaceful as their chest rose and fell with measured breaths. Their stature was short, roughly the height of a meter. Their limbs were gnarly looking appendages and the head was rather grotesque. Not to mention the utter lack of clothing displayed the creature in its entirety.
His skin was a mix a pale white and green motley hues. His veins were brown with the resemblance of the roots of a tree.
After an undeterminable period, his eyes slowly opened, taking in the sight of the strange world around him.
He had no frame of mind nor any memory before this. He lay there lost in confusion. It was not that he was lost in thought, it was the utter absence of thought. No different than a plant he lay there and simply took in the surroundings with his senses.
There were things known to him but without knowing why he knew them only that this was the way it was.
He instinctively knew this was his world no different than someone knows their arm is indeed their arm, he could feel it. Almost as if the world was a part of him.
Yet he did not know why.
Everything he knew was the result of inherent knowledge to his core being.
He lay there just taking it all in for a very long time, only measured in his slow rhythmic pulse and the rising and falling of his chest.
Eventually, he was roused by a new sensation, the emptiness he felt inside of his lower half. It felt as if his insides were crying out for help and twisting inside of him.
His instincts told him that this means he must consume something. What he did not know.
Compelled by this new feeling he rose from his position and observed the small world around him.
He bent down and took some grass, without pause he brought it to his mouth and began to eat.
His face turned sour from the taste, it felt wrong…
He spat out the moist grass and continued to exam his surrounding for any potential sources.
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It was then he spotted the tree. It was a regular mid-sized healthy oak tree, with long sturdy branches and a thick sturdy trunk.
His heart palpitated from the sight. His pulse quickened and he knew this was it.
He walked towards his prize with hesitant steps. It felt natural to walk yet he’d never done so before.
With the tree in his sights, he trudged on till he unceremoniously halted before a low hanging branch.
Breaking off some twigs with his hands he opened his mouth, drool spilling forth. He revealed a set of gnarled brown stumps that other species would classify as teeth and chomped down on his bundle of twigs.
It tasted sweet and full of life, the crunchy and chewy texture just felt right. He was reinvigorated and started to devour twig after twig with a smile on his face. If there was one becoming aspect of this tree man, it was the beautiful luster of his lush green eyes.
He focused on his body while chewing, paying careful attention to his senses. He noticed something, a part of him previously left unchecked.
Once he focused on it something happened, he was able to distinctly see a large blue box inside his mind, it was not visible to the outside world nor did it cloud his eyes. Yet it was something he could see and interact with.
[Menu]
-Status
-Portal
-Realm
-Shop
There were only three options available, he chose the first which brought him to his own status menu.
[Status]
Lesser Half-Spriggan lvl. 1
STR: 4 VIT: 7
DEX: 3 END: 6
AGI: 3 INT: 6
WIS: 6
Unspent points: 0
Half-man, half-spriggan, a combination of incompatible species. Functions unknown.
Huh, looking at the other two menus he could see that [Portal] was a menu to take him to different worlds. There were two such options Random and his personal realm. On the realm page, it looked like he had no current options available. The last page he felt some inherent excitement bubbling up from parts unknown as he opened it.
[Shop]
Acorn:
Price: 5 SP
Desc: A single acorn of unknown origin.
And…
Yeah that was the only option. The only other thing of note was what seemed to be the currency the shop used at the bottom.
Your SP: 50
So all together he could spin the acorn lottery 10 times if he so chose.
He decided to wait until another time to try that out. His current plan was to test the portal, but first, he needed to finish his meal.
After slapping his veiny belly contentedly he looked back at the portal options.
[Random]
Teleports the user to a random world and location. No limit to use.
[Home Realm]
Opens a portal to the user's Home Realm for 15 minutes. Useable every 24 hours.
His eyes narrowed at the description of his Home Realm. The difference being that the first option said teleport and the second created a portal. This was definitely something he felt wary of.
Instinctively he wanted to protect his realm and felt that this portal could pose a threat.
With one last glance he looked around him at his small clearing and sighed. He already knew inside of him, that the fog was impenetrable and he didn’t feel like staying in here forever with naught but a single tree to stare at.
He resolved himself and selected the Random option with a heart bursting full of excitement, fear, and uncertainty.
In a split second the whole world around him vanished into absolute darkness. He could not even see his own body and felt a heavy weight pressing down on his very being.
In the next moment it was gone and a vibrant world full of bright lights and color exploded into view.
He fell from a height of 4 meters, eyes bulging in panic as he smacked into hard volcanic rock covering the floor.
He heaved and gasped for air having severely knocked the wind out of himself.
Regaining his breath it felt like he breathed in air straight from the very pits of hell, he felt like his insides were on fire and every breath only stroked the flames.
He flailed left and right in absolute panic. What he saw in his fear stricken eyes was a giant volcanic tube reaching towards the sky, molten lava was spewing down from the sides while the middle of the floor was a sea of bubbling magma as far as the eye could see. The sheer scale of it all was mind boggling.
He could hardly focus though as his skin was burning from the volcanic rock below and his body roasted from the inside out. Without even mentioning that he was half-spriggan this place seemed to be incompatible with any life form.
His screams of agony and rolling figure struggling to touch anything not smoldering hot echoed out.
To make matters worse the world began to shake all around him, the lava sea swelled and an ominous presence enveloped his body.
A titanic fountain of lava spewed up into the air from the center of the volcano, blasting towards the sky.
What remained was the monolithic figure of a giant steel-clad golem dripping with rivers of boiling lava. The gaps in between the gleaming dark steel glowed with a scalding crimson light. With two infernal pits shown between the helm's visor.
It radiated an aura of death and destructive might.
As the little half-spriggan lay dumbstruck on his back watching on with eyes bursting out of his head, his hands brutally clutching his throat, the tyrannical figure raised its right arm up, bringing a world crushing pitch-black hammer to the sky.
A deep earth-shattering roar bellowed out of the titan’s helm like a clap of thunder descending from the gods.
He died instantaneously from the booming shockwaves before a massive glob of smoldering magma descended from above, obliterating his corpse.
The last thing he saw before his death was…
[Colossal Brimstone Titan lvl.???]