Singing Mountain. Day 1. Tutorial

The path down the mountainous perch we were born anew on seemed far less treacherous this second time we scaled it. Not simply from a lack of dread and wounds either, we can certainly tell that our new body is far stronger than our younger body was at this point in our life. We find that even focusing on these differences doesn’t slow us down nearly to the point of being eclipsed by that memory of our initial descent.

Good thing too, as that firestorm continues to grow and lash out at the surroundings. I never take my eyes off it as we leap and scuttle our way towards where the forest canopy begins to shield the ground beneath from those burning stones. Something that our earlier self was unable to consider are the peculiarities of this specific forest. No other landscape we had seen nor heard tale of had quite its resilience.

Perhaps the title of Firstborn was not simply an instantiation, but a true gestation with this as the womb. A longer buildup and refinement of power and purpose only catalyzed and released when this [Hellstorm] arrived, “{[Hellstorm]. Hmm… so many things made clear by their simple inclusion, a note of inflection. So much more yet to learn. Questions begetting questions.}”

We are distracted from our ruminations by an eerie noise. A lone howling with biting chill blended with the very notes themselves. A word and voice far removed from this time and place, “^FREEDOM!!^”

Finding it startlingly simple to locate the likely origin of such a noise, we cannot see him, but we know them all the same. Based on the source, he should be ringing the edges of this new landscape with us and likely one other, possibly her, “{We were not alone indeed. How fare our siblings in this new life we share…}”

^{Pain,}^ grunts from us as we are cast from one of the outcroppings onto one much farther down. Our senses and reactions were much reduced from expectations; I saw the goat too late to avoid it. Fortunate indeed that while territorial, it isn’t yet a flesh eater and so instead of charging down to finish us off, it merely makes a display and bleats nonsense at us.

A wellspring of darker impulses rush through us in the moment, but while our body and perhaps even our minds are lesser than we expect. Our will is as strong as ever and we sing out our challenge, “{We do Not submit! Never Again!}”

The not so little beast hears our defiance and rushes at us once more. This time we watch him as he does it and would have avoided him easily except for another new feature that interjects itself as we were too focused.

[Mountain Goat, tier 1 monster, minor threat]

[G: Tutorial, A: Rockslide, S: Dominance, M: Bestial, O: Headbutt, D: Ossification, E: Mountain]

Another crushing burst of pain from where our chest was crashed into, and in our distraction only I was able to bite at the beast before we were thrown back. My immature teeth chipped with the force of my bite against the hardness of the mere fur on his leg. At least we managed to trip him up for a moment, allowing us a breath to reorient ourselves for this battle.

There is potency of all sorts begging to be unleashed, but with at least one sibling of ours here, we need to learn ourselves anew and well. The new power of [Undeath] is of a scale likely unbalanced for this [Tutorial]. While we will probably need to use it in case our sanguine family reunion shifts from hope to blood. It is far better for us to master the fundamentals than rely on something untested.

Let us find out what a minor threat means in practice. Already I notice my bloody teeth correcting themselves as the pain in our body shifts towards mending bone and callousing flesh. We’ll get ample opportunity to test our resilience as what comes next for us isn’t another braying bash of combat, but a flexing of magic and deafening noise.

It occurs to us that perhaps fighting a mountain focused creature with [Rockslide] arcana in their home territory was not the best decision we have made. Curling up to put our more vulnerable necks beneath an extra layer of scales from our forelegs, we endure, and we think. One thing we notice more certainly is how much more clearly our thoughts harmonize.

We could always manage to have multiple thoughts and concerns on a singular level, we certainly are aware of instances even now where only one of us is doing a thing. But there just is no conflict within us anymore. Not simply ourselves as bound together by our experience and will, but true unity. I marvel at that while we flex and relax our muscles as the outpouring of magic ceases.

Certainly, something of only the first tier should be hampered by an assault that by its own right could slay a village migration. The key is to provide no rest and keep things in motion. The first step is always the most difficult when shifting a heavy burden. So, while the magic has faded, and the effects continue to propagate around us, we push through it.

Taking a few more hits but ensuring we aren’t forced to unbury ourselves we feel a strange sensation of power flow through us. The aspects of it are immensely complex, reminding us most closely of that recent flexing the goat had done before the stones began throwing themselves. Rather than the clashing of a thunderstorm and the torrent of rain the beast expressed, this feels reminiscent of a fog. Held closer to us, subtler in its announcement and concealing greatness within.

We may shy away from screaming our magic out of caution, deference to our memories, and the unknown, but a quieter expression, a gentle humming… Let us see what [Undeath] has to offer. I feel the new power *click* and catch on something, a pattern, before we feel a flood of strength purge the pain in our aching body.

As we shove aside the last few stones around us and the final ones skipping into us, we feel a strangeness in our movements. More system intuition, we’re sure; the feeling of not just our muscles but even our hide itself aiding in moving us as we begin to charge. Our voices cry out our reprisal holding an extra octave besides sound, feeling more like grasping bloody hands and endlessly biting mouths. We give in to our base urges that have been denied to us since our prior childhood.

---

“{U~NI~TY!!}” echoes with all our fervor, all our restraint cast aside at this first and final victory over the disbelief of the now. The end for the creature was… messy but swift. As we were tearing into and apart it, we again felt that fog seek to breathe out into the world, but we denied its touch. Needing to feel not just the blood coursing in our veins, but the enemy’s blood splashing upon our flesh.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

As we sit for a moment in the remains and the heat of battle and hydrenaline fades. We chuckle to ourselves how supremely injudicious it was to announce ourselves in that manner when we likely have at least two of our siblings within this tutorial alongside us.

Yet, at further deliberation, a new possibility arises. What if they were as restrained as we? What if their prison was worse? The catharsis of that bellowed song we sang was echoing a similar feeling from that biting chill within the howl. The howl being an even more primal keen than our own.

It would be nice to not have to have our siblings die once more, and at our own jaws this time but, “Nothing-Nothing-Nothing {will take Our Life from us again.}”

[Congratulations on blossoming your first Mesh Polyp]

[Arcana and Defense linked node: Graveflesh Acquired! Meat’s purpose]

Singing Mountain. The next step.

[Congratulations on blossoming your first Mesh Polyp]

[Undeath (Arcana) and Regeneration (Defense) linked node: Graveflesh Acquired! Meat’s purpose]

[As your journey on Ample continues you’ll amass more MP that incorporates your affinities, will, and ingenuity which the system sublimates into new stable forms]

[MP aren’t truly unique, as stable patterns are of a lower order of infinity, but while you may encounter other instances of Graveflesh, as yours isn’t the only combination possible, the effects they have may be radically different]

[Just like your HP, your MP isn’t a static thing. They can grow along with you through repetition, experimentation, strain, and inspiration. Never stop learning! Enjoy your life on Ample]

We sigh at the sublime timing of the system. Truly a superb diminution of our soul-cleansing declaration. Nevertheless, there is still work to be done, food to be eaten, monsters to be felled and… family to be met.

“{[System] Why did this notification happen now, instead of when the effect took place?}”

[Combat naturally suppresses many notifications to be less disruptive for the participants, as that tends to be one of the environments most conducive to the ripening of Mesh Polyps]

Starting our journey off towards the forest once more, I drag some of the larger chunks as we snack on the way, “{What about the interjection during the combat then? That system prompt was intensely distracting in the moment.}”

[All entities with focus are capable of [Inspect] to assist with providing minimal basic information about other Ample users. User settings can be configured as desired]

Consuming the last of our trail rations we pick up our pace once more. We are finding [Graveflesh] to be quite a bit more comfortable to use while our injuries have yet to fully heal, not even considering the extra speed and power it provides. “{That meets a certain threshold of logic. We were more concerned about how jarring the experience was compared to most [System] interactions we’ve had, combat notwithstanding.}”

[The [System] thanks you, Drifter, for bring to its attention a possible issue with multi-mind entities experiences with certain system interactions]

Snorting at the improbability, “{Surely, we aren’t the first multi-mind entity here? You have used many different terms to quantify our existence.}”

[You are the first (Multithreading) species individual to be reborn anew as its first interactions with the Ample system. Extrapolation of data suggests that the conversion from initial assessment of (Fractured) to (Multithreading) resulted in unanticipated resonance for the focusing effect]

We suppose that makes as much sense as anything else in this new world. The seeming design of this place, being the accumulation of power and ability over time, would allow for certain pitfalls to occur for those that race ahead. Being able to think more than one thought at a time is too useful a thing to not be something at least considered for those wielding real power.

Ah, and now we really feel it, the burning drives for more. So many racing desires and with a tool not just within reach but of seeming free use available. This too is a test for us. So easy it would be to get lost in the pursuit of fantasy that we may fail to properly shape our reality to make actual dreams come true.

We are alive and free for the first time in our existence. Our body is stronger than ever, for its size and age. Our minds are clearer of negative influence with a path to progress laid bare before us. It would be a disservice to what we have endured to take the easy way out. It would cheapen the experience to not {earn} what should rightfully be ours, by proof of our achievements.

“{[System] We would thank you to not give us answers to our idle queries for the future. You may point out the path but let us travel it ourselves,}” having completed our journey from the bare rocks and now crossing some sparse vegetation before the forest proper.

[New Quest available: [How to disable Ironman mode.] Retire]

[Quests are an aspect of the system to allow for an alternative to one’s Guide to accomplish a specific task, typically backed by some reward. Having been provided with your first system Quest you can customize how the quest system functions]

[Ironman mode Activated! System assistance set to background processes]

We come to a halt at the new information and proclamation, “{[System] That’s not what we asked for…}”

We plop down on the grass for a moment, just stunned by this turn of events. We sit there for a longer time than we would have chosen until a pair of feelings bubbling up within us seems to alchemize and explode from us in laughter, “Git-get, Good-gud-git, Gud-get-good! {Git Gud!}” What a deeply moronic and yet painfully enlightened phrase.

We spend perhaps another minute in debilitating laughter before we manage to get back to our feet and start the final stretch towards the trees. Their alure of safety from the still thrashing storm yet unsatiated a seeming luxury instead of the necessity it once was.

Our flesh had reverted to normal at a thought and our wounds from the fight had since recovered. It seemed that even the use of that ability registers in some way as a sort of damage, feeling our regeneration shifting back to work when we released the skill. Something to look out for in the future. This undeath seems to at least be willing to work alongside life, but it is still in conflict with it.

The next several minutes are relatively tame. Though now surrounded by a variety of life, we find the itch of our Esoteric calling out to us. It is very peculiar how something strange can become not just normal but expected and its very absence a sort of pain itself. A yearning for a return to what once was, the stability of the known.

Yet, while our desires serenade us, their alure isn’t a siren call to dash me upon rocks of the unworthy. We were Host to far more than mere insects and parasites. Civilization itself was advanced within the breadth and depth of our flesh- small and weak though they may have been. This time it shall be different, a design not of the exploitation of the strong yet timid, but rather through our choice of benevolence and under our direction.

All of us will work towards making who we are into something grander than the mere sum of our parts, even if today is not that day. Today is a day for finding our path and walking it, not for building our castle on the sands of uncertainty. But we can see it, even here at this beginning. A vision of what we were, what we can become again, and the ways this new power will shape our truest self.

[New Quest available: [Symphony of Self.] Become whole]

Our song finally refined in the ways we desire; we feel the first notes ringing purely through the forest. At first ours was a noise, a strangeness that kept away those seeking only to flee, another unknown to fear. But as we continued, as our epiphany of who we are swelled within us, we understood that there is much more that we cannot yet contain. Yet, our progress will continue undeterred.

[Firstborn Mantle, Undeath, Choir, and Host linked node: Call of the Damned Acquired! Beckon madness]

“{Come to us. You, who are too far gone, whose only purpose is to destroy. We shall fulfill that emptiness within you,}” washes through the forest alongside a pulse of not-sound, the arcana of this new place. The words unneeded and yet the joy of singing freely again is a luxury upon which we shall continue to indulge. The scene of violence has been set, and as its host, it is only proper for us to begin the first act.

The sounds of slobbering, ravenous hunger grow alongside the snapping of twigs and branches, the thoughtless rustling of leaves, “{Our first guest has arrived. Shall we begin?}”