World Gate: Minecube - Respawn Hub

[Welcome to the Minecube Respawn Hub.]

[You have gained a total of 230 Heroic Energy since your last spawn.]

[Your Health and Stamina have been regenerated.]

[Enjoy your stay.]

Hex stared at his Health bar.

It was still at 10%.

He ignored the Level up notifications. He'd jumped three from the Corruption Survival Achievement—all the way to Level 5.

Why isn't my Health going back up?

The black that filled the damaged 90% of his Health bar remained.

"Hex..." Professor Blackbeard said, walking over.

Hex barely acknowledged him. He just stared at that bar.

A big hand rested on him and guided him to a seat.

"Florimell already told me what happened. Sit down." There was none of the usual playfulness in the dwarf's voice.

One other student, a bear Hex didn't know, was in the Hub waiting to respawn.

Professor Blackbeard looked at the student, then leaned in close to Hex and spoke softly. "Don't open any boxes or assign stat points if ya have any yet. We'll talk in private once everyone returns home. Ya can be done for the day. Just rest and try ta relax. It will be alright. I'll explain everythin' I can."

Hex sat as Monsters came and went. Professor Blackbeard sent them all through the home portal instead of the respawn, so they didn't need to wait for any cooldowns. Yolo waved when he appeared, but the professor ushered him out as well.

His brain wasn't working right—not from the black that tainted his Health bar, he didn't think—but from the shock of it all. Nothing seemed real. He'd legitimately almost died. That was sobering.

At some point Charlie brought over a coffee on his own accord. He stood there for several seconds, then walked away. It had a fancy symbol designed in cream on top and smelled incredible, but Hex didn't touch it.

Skel and Dracala passed through the Hub as well. They gave him a weird look, but Professor Blackbeard again funneled everyone into the home portal. He tried to smile at them, but wasn't sure if it came across as genuine or not.

Eventually, one last spider stepped through the return portal, leaving Charlie as the only other Monster in the room, and he remained at the counter under the awning reading his book. The professor checked the final name off a list he'd been carrying around and sat down across from Hex.

"So..." he said. "I'm sure ya have a few questions."

Just a few...? There were about a million thoughts buzzing through his head, but even sitting here waiting for as long as he did he hadn't been able to sort through them or even really latch onto anything concrete. It was all just a mess of noise and he had no idea where to start.

Professor Blackbeard took the hesitation as invitation to start talking.

"First... I need to apologize."

Hex looked up into the dwarf's eyes for the first time. There was genuine worry and sorrow there.

How bad is this? The Health bar still hadn't budged. He was starting to think it never would.

"I didn't prepare ya like I should've," Professor Blackbeard continued. "I thought we had time. Honestly, I didn't expect ya to be so reckless." He chuckled and rubbed a hand in his beard, making the gold rings there jingle together. "I should've anticipated better."

He was making absolutely no sense. Are you blaming yourself? "Professor..."

The dwarf held up a hand. "Nah. Let me finish." He sighed. "Florimell told me what ya can do. How ya can ignore waypoints. We should've had this conversation long before I ever let ya in a World Gate. I misjudged. And I'm sorry, Hex."

Hex was silent for a moment. He'd already figured that Florimell told him based on that slip of a glance the last time he was here. "Can I say something?"

"Please. But first... Charlie, get yar lust-loving tail over here," Professor Blackbeard said without turning around to look at the imp. "I know ya'r just pretendin’ ta read anyway. Ya don't mind, do ya?" he asked Hex.

Before Hex could respond, the imp jumped over the counter and pranced to the table. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist. This is juicier than when Ynnyfyr had an affair with her cat Diamond and they had those little furry dwarf-cat babies. Rufus apologizing? Never thought I'd see the day."

"That's... uh... from a book, right?" Hex asked.

Charlie just laughed, leaving Hex unsure.

"Sorry," Professor Blackbeard apologized. "The students were fine ta leave early, but if Charlie left before us it would've raised suspicion. Now what was it ya wanted ta say."

"You can't blame yourself," Hex blurted out, far louder than he intended.

The dwarf jumped back in his seat at the outburst.

"Sorry..."

Charlie smiled his pointy-toothed grin. "This is adorable."

"I'm serious," Hex said, frowning.

"I know ya are, Hex. And that's my fault as well. Ya have a right ta understand all this. I'm goin' ta remedy that."

"You're going to tell him everything?" Charlie asked. "Did you clear that with—"

"Not now, but eventually." Professor Blackbeard leaned forward. "For now we start with the beginning."

"The beginning?" Hex asked, still confused about this entire conversation.

"Yes. With ya, little slime. We start with ya." He folded his arms over his barrel chest. "From the moment Florimell told me about yar entrance exam, I knew exactly what ya were. She had her suspicions straight from yar first interaction. Mystical spirit raven mojo she called it. I didn't believe her 'til she said ya couldn't see the waypoints."

Charlie appeared surprisingly indifferent to the revelation, but the dwarf's eyes lit up.

"What I... am? I'm only a slime. I'm nothing spec—"

"No, Hex. Ya'r not 'only a slime.' Ya'r a Waywalker. And ya'r goin' ta change everythin'."

A Waywalker.

Hex sat at the table in disbelief, his dismay over the Corrupt Being incident all but forgotten—for now.

So, it isn't a flaw. There's nothing wrong with me. If anything it's... It's incredible. The way Professor Blackbeard explained it... He was so excited. Hex couldn't help but feel the excitement oozing off on him too.

As Hex had figured out through his experimentation with Yolo—which Professor Blackbeard had apparently been most impressed with—waypoints had no impact on him. The System didn't register him as requiring waypoints. It wasn't exactly that he couldn't see them or that he ignored them, but that they couldn't be applied to him at all.

When Yolo was in his Party and saw his own waypoints extended as far as he could see, that was the System's way of connecting a missing piece. Even that all-encompassing waypoint didn't exist for Hex like it did for any Party members he might have. It was just empty. Unbound. Free.

Apparently, this had huge implications—not so much in Minecube, where Monsters were given a relatively wide roam much of the time anyway—unless you were Luna. But in other Worlds the waypoints were far more restrictive and the Worlds far more interesting, according to Professor Blackbeard.

The other supposed ability of a Waywalker thrilled the dwarf even more.

Something Hex didn't know, was that items could only be transported across a World Gate back home to Pentory under four circumstances. If they entered the World already in possession of the adventurer, if they were left behind by a previous adventurer but originated from Pentory, if the item was presented by the System for accomplishing an Achievement, or if a Hero presented the items to the adventurer to fulfill a Quest.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Items otherwise discovered, purchased, stolen, or procured in any way would deteriorate during Gate travel.

Unless you were a Waywalker.

Of course, all of this information was unverified. According to Professor Blackbeard, there had been one other Waywalker at the Academy long before he was even born, back in the Fourth Age of Pent. And many people didn't believe he ever actually existed. There was another potential Waywalker more recently, but she died under... 'suspicious circumstances.'

Waywalkers were essentially a myth.

A myth now reborn in Hex.

"Ya can tell no one about this," Professor Blackbeard said. "Not even yar friends. Don't even mention it with me or Charlie unless I give ya the all clear."

Hex understood. He hated it, but he understood. One more thing to make him feel alone. Different.

At least he was Level 5 now. He'd caught up to most of the other slimes and reached the Level he'd lied about being at the start. There were apparently a host of unassigned stat points he needed to apply somehow, as the blinking light on his Leveling Scroll kept reminding him.

But there was another matter to discuss first.

"Corruption," he said. "What is it?"

Charlie put his elbows on the table and sipped his cup of practically boiling coffee. "This is the part I've been waiting for."

"Ya'll have a class on Gate Travel Safety with Professor Xavus tomorrow. We've always done this intro day first ta let ya get yar feet wet without any preconceived expectations. Always figured the risk was so low... Before today, that is. I even had Florimell followin' ya around, knowin' what ya could do, just in case. But she couldn't find yar respawn point in time."

So that's why Florimell was there. She was following me to make sure I stayed safe. Well, she succeeded in the end. Even if only just.

"Where is Florimell?" Hex asked. "I need to thank her for... you know."

"Her spirit form takes a toll on her energy. She's restin' back home, but I'll send her ta ya when she's well again."

She hadn't only saved him, but did so at a signifiant cost to herself. That made him even more grateful, if a bit guilty too.

The dwarf slid his mug away and leaned back in the chair. "I'll be changin' the order of this next year. No more portals before safety trainin’. Regardless, the class tomorrow won't give ya the information ya really want ta know about Corruption."

"Xavus talking in circles about nothing of value?" Charlie gasped. "Shocker."

"Ta be honest, we don't know a whole lot about Corruption. It likely exists in every World, though it hasn't been observed everywhere. The waypoints generally keep adventurers away from Corruption by restrictin’ access in areas where it's detected. Odd gaps in waypoint areas are typically attributed to Corruption avoidance.

"Corruption usually targets World residents. Those are the Monsters or Humanoids who naturally live within their World Gate. In the case of Minecube, that's the kreeper and the etherman, which you saw. We don't know why it targets them or how they become Corrupt. Many theorize that there's something beyond the waypoints that a resident comes into contact with that causes the Corruption to spread to them."

"Like a black orb with red lightning?" Hex asked.

Professor Blackbeard frowned. "I... don't know. No one's ever documented anythin' before, as far as I know. Ya saw somethin' like that?"

Hex nodded.

"I've heard of that," Charlie chimed in gleefully. It was so odd to see such a drastic shift in personality from his disinterested, dismissive introduction to now.

"Ya have?"

"Adventurers talk in the Hubs, Rufus. Why do you think I'm here? That’s why L—er… Nevermind. I’m just a good listener. Hear plenty with these big ears, even while I'm reading."

Professor Blackbeard shot the imp a stern look. "Ya were sayin' ya heard about the lightnin' orb?"

"Yes. A couple of orcs mentioned something a few years back. In Hysterium I think it was. Black orb with red lightning. Same as you, Hex. They couldn't get close. It was down a canyon or some such. Said they were going to go back. Doubt they ever did."

"Hysterium?" the professor asked. "No one goes ta Hysterium."

"Well, someone goes to Hysterium, Rufus. It's not just empty."

"Fine. Fine. It doesn't matter anyway. We'll do a bit more diggin' on that orb of yars. There might be somethin' ta that."

Hex rubbed a finger on a knot in the wooden table. Something about all this had been bothering him. "If the System uses waypoints to keep everyone away from Corruption. How do we even know it exists at all?"

"Ah, now that's a good question. On rare occasions Corrupt beings have travelled inta occupied areas and the System hasn't been able ta adjust fast enough. They wreak havoc, no longer themselves, but something wild and brutal.

"There's no fightin' them. Weapons do no damage, nor magic. And what they inflict upon us..." He paused, his expression changing apologetic again. "What they inflict upon us is permanent."

Hex knew those words were coming, but it didn't make the pain of hearing them any less.

I'm forever scarred. The black mark on my Health will never go away. It currently took up 90% of his total Health.

"Does that mean I'll always only have 10% of the Health I'm supposed to?"

Professor Blackbeard's eyes widened. Charlie choked on his coffee and spit it back in his cup.

"10%?" Charlie coughed, still trying to hack near-boiling liquid from his lungs.

"It came that close?" the professor asked. His face had gone pale instantaneously.

"What happens when it reaches zero?" Hex suspected he knew the answer, but he needed to hear it.

Charlie answered first, Professor Blackbeard still in shock. "What happens, little slime... Is you become one of them. You were incredibly lucky." He paused, returning to a grin. "Or unlucky, I suppose."

Professor Blackbeard stood up and started pacing the small room. "He's right. If yar Health fills with Corruption ya lose control. And the Corruption takes over. The lucky thing, is that yar Health is not stuck at 10%. As ya Level up and increase yar Health, the Corruption will become a smaller and smaller percentage of your overall Health... I think..."

That's a relief. But... "You think?"

"Like I said, not much is known about Corruption. Usually, if someone is attacked... It doesn't end well."

"That must be why I got the Legendary Survival Box," Hex said, mostly to himself.

Charlie had just finished clearing his throat and was in the process of taking another long sip of coffee. He inhaled it again, this time spitting it across the room, coughing incessantly.

The sound of Professor Blackbeard's full-bodied laughter echoed off the walls. "Ya got a Legendary Box? And ya just sat here for hours waitin' ta open it."

"The self-control alone is Legendary," Charlie said, whistling.

"I was kind of recovering from a near-death experience, guys."

They both sobered.

"What was the achievement ya earned?"

"Corruption Survivor. I got the box, 220 Heroic Energy, and a title. I don't know what that is though."

"Ya must have gained a Level from all that."

"Three, actually..."

"Three? Creator's mother, Hex... How is that even possible? What Level were ya before?"

"I started at 1..." he admitted.

Charlie only smirked. "Why am I not surprised... And I don't mean that as an insult. Just... Wow. Shit happens to you, kid."

"My village was Culled right before I came to the Academy, too." He hadn't really told many others that after the other dwarf professor and his skeleton and zombie friends.

"Hex..." the professor exhaled.

"You're literally breaking my heart," Charlie said. "You poor thing."

"I wasn't going for pity." Hex sighed. "New topic! Can you tell me what titles are?"

"I may be a professor, but I'm not goin' ta tell ya everythin'. You can figure that one out on yar own."

"Fineeee... Let's open the box then."

"Finally!" Charlie said.

Hex pulled the Legendary Survivor Box from his inventory and it expanded onto the table. The chest was entirely gold, aside from ornate metallic orange trim along the edges and corners.

"It's so pretty," Charlie cooed, leaning in.

The box opened, revealing a red velvet cushion with a single item on it. Epic, adventurous music played in his head.

Hex examined the item closer and the System obliged with a detailed description.

[Umbral Bracers - Legendary Item - Enchanted Equipment. An appraiser is required to reveal details about this item.]

He picked one up and looked at it, but the description remained unclear. The bracers were black leather. A gold design swirled across the outside, constantly changing shape and orientation.

"It says I need an appraiser."

Charlie raised his hand. "Oh, that's me!"

"You are?" Hex asked.

"What? You think I just sit around handing out free coffee all day? My main role in the Hub is to appraise items. I can appraise them back home too, but it's more convenient to bring them here where you can see the description in the System." He took the bracers without asking. "Normally appraisers charge for this sort of thing, but first one's on me."

The imp removed a palm-sized glass square from his inventory. As it moved, the tint of the glass shifted across a rainbow of colors. Blue to purple to red to orange. Unfamiliar arcane symbols danced across the surface when it hovered over the bracers.

"Hmm... Very interesting," Charlie said. He handed the square to Hex.

[You have received an Appraisal Report for Umbral Bracers.]

[Open? Yes/No]

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" Charlie asked.

"There's bad news?"

"Good choice. I always start with the bad news as well. Bad news is these will not make you OP."

Hex laughed. As if that were ever a possibility. "And the good news?"

"You'll have to open the Appraisal for that."

Hex selected 'Yes.'

[Updating item description for Umbral Bracers.]

[Description updated. Appraisal Report for Umbral Bracers has been consumed.]

[Umbral Bracers - Legendary Item - Enchanted Equipment.

+10 Stealth

Passive Skill: Disperse Fog of War - User can see all items and characters within mini map range regardless of line of sight.

Passive Skill: Camouflage - User blends in with surroundings for a short time while motionless, making them invisible to line of sight and mini map to anyone outside their Party. Moving cancels this effect.]

[New Attribute Unlocked: Stealth.]

Hex couldn't hold back the smile that formed on his face.

And the Creator thought I shouldn't be an adventurer.

Hex stood before the home portal with Professor Blackbeard and Charlie. He now wore the Umbra Bracers on his appendages. When he slid them on, they resized to fit him perfectly. Somehow, they felt right.

He'd applied most of his Level increase stat points to Health, which reduced the black bar to half of his total Health instead of 90%. The remaining points he spread across Dexterity, Awareness, and Stealth as Professor Blackbeard recommended. Even bouncing from the table to the portal, he could feel the extra jump and control in his motions from the stats.

Hex hesitated at the edge of the opening back home.

They'd been in the Respawn Hub for a long time after the last student left. "The others aren't just sitting around on the other side of the portal waiting for us, are they?" Hex asked.

"Talara, Shale, and Howler knew ta be waitin' ta take everyone back in groups as they returned. I told Yolo ta let them know they didn't have ta wait for us."

That's a relief. It would've been real awkward to walk out of the portal to the entire group of first-years waiting for me.

Charlie knelt down beside Hex and gave him a hug, wrapping his impish wings around his entire body. "When you first walked in here, I never expected to even remember what you looked like after today. Now, I'll never forget. You've been through a lot, Hex. And I sense this is only the beginning for you."

"Thank you both," Hex said. "For everything. Honestly, despite it all... I feel like I have a path now." And people who can guide me.

Charlie pulled a piece of paper from his inventory and handed it to Hex. "That list you asked for. Something to keep you grounded as the world crumbles around us, eh?"

Well, that's not ominous... Hex took the paper, which contained a hastily scribbled list of book titles, and stashed it in his own inventory. If he was anyone else, it would deteriorate when it passed through the portal with him.

But he wasn’t anyone else.

He was Hex.

Deathmarked.

Survivor.

Waywalker.

Not only a slime.

He stepped through the portal home.

* * *

- END OF PART I -