The book’s title was Handi-work Bombfeild, which did not bode well for my plan of getting through unscathed. I flipped through the pages to the first chapter, and almost immediately, a sharp, stabbing pain began to spread through my skull, much like the magical murals I had encountered before. The words on the page seemed to pulse with a sinister energy, each one driving a needle deeper into my mind. As I attempted to read further, the agony intensified, feeling as if a blood vessel had burst inside my head. Panic set in, my heart pounding in my chest. Then, everything went black.
I awoke to a faint, rhythmic clicking sound echoing in the darkness. My eyelids felt heavy, like they were glued shut, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t open them. I swallowed down a rising wave of terror, my breath quickening as the clicking grew louder, more insistent. The sound reverberated through my skull, each click like a hammer on an anvil. I scrambled to my feet in blind fear, my hands outstretched in a desperate attempt to feel my way through the blackness.
“Elizabeth, I can’t see!” My voice trembled, barely above a whisper, thick with confusion and dread. The darkness pressed in on me from all sides, suffocating in its absolute blackness.
[That’s a bit of a predicament, but seeing as you didn’t even ask my opinion about which world to enter, I can't see why you’d want my help now.]
"Are you serious? Look, I’m sorry. I’ll do better later, but we’re in a bit of a situation. Which way should I head?" Desperation edged into my voice, the fear gnawing at my insides, making my hands shake.
Crystal emitted a sound somewhere between a sigh and a grunt, clearly displeased. The familiar sound was a small comfort, a reminder that I wasn’t completely alone in this nightmare.
[Turn around. And run as fast as you can in as straight a line as possible.]
Without thinking, I turned and bolted, my feet pounding against the unseen ground. The clicking noise began to fade behind me, but I could still feel its presence, lurking in the shadows. Relief was short-lived, though—as, suddenly, I slammed into something solid. The impact knocked the breath out of me, sending a sharp jolt of pain through my ribs. I gasped, doubling over, barely able to process what had just happened. Before I could recover, the ground shook violently, and an explosion lit up the darkness. The sudden brightness seared my vision, blinding me again.
When the spots cleared from my eyes, I saw it—the world around me wasn’t just dark; it had been pitch black.
"Hey, Crystal, why can’t I see your light?" I asked, rubbing my aching forehead, trying to shake off the lingering dizziness.
[Most magic is disabled here.]
The simple statement sent a chill down my spine. "Does my inventory still work?"
In response, a torch materialized out of thin air, landing on the ground with a dull clatter. I picked it up cautiously, the flickering flame casting long shadows that barely pierced the thick darkness surrounding me. The air felt thick, almost oppressive, and each breath tasted of soot and smoke.
I found myself in a large cavern, but instead of the usual rocky ground, there was thick, vibrant grass underfoot—an unsettling sight in such a dark underground space. The earlier explosion had left a burning ring in the grass, the flames licking at twisted pieces of metal scattered around. The heat pressed down on me, making the sweat bead on my brow. The fire’s orange and red hues clashed violently with the dark, almost black-green of the grass, creating an eerie, otherworldly landscape.
Realizing the fire might spread, I quickly moved away from the blaze. That’s when I noticed it—a lone, thin tree standing in the distance. At its peak, a floating golden coin gleamed in the firelight. The Aurentum. My stomach tightened; I had exhausted all my building materials in the last run, and now I wasn’t sure how I’d reach that coin.
"Crystal, does your map work in this area?" I asked, my voice barely concealing the anxiety gnawing at me.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
[Nope.]
The smugness in her tone grated on my nerves, but I swallowed my frustration. There was only one option. I sighed and began digging at the base of the tree, trying to devise a way to reach the coin.
As I dug, the damp earth clung to my fingers, cool and clammy. Each handful of soil felt like I was clawing at the very foundation of this strange world, trying to unearth some semblance of control. The torch flickered in the soft earth, casting a small pool of light that illuminated the tree and the surrounding area. But then I heard it again—that same eerie clicking noise.
My heart pounded in my chest as I abandoned my digging and started running, blind fear propelling me forward. The darkness seemed to close in around me, the sound of my own breath drowning out everything else. But as I ran, the clicking grew louder, more insistent, as if it was chasing me.
Once I felt a safe distance away, I forced myself to stop, turning to face whatever was making that dreadful noise. My breath caught in my throat. A black orb hovered in the air, lit by the torch, its surface dotted with three glowing eyes and a small, grotesque hand sprouting from the top. The sight sent a wave of revulsion through me, my skin crawling. Attached to its back was a key, the source of the ominous clicking sound.
The clicking grew louder and louder until it abruptly stopped. The tiny hand waved a sad, almost mocking goodbye before the orb exploded. The force knocked me off my feet and into the ground, a sharp pain shooting up my spine. Fire erupted around me, encircling me in a blazing trap.
Crystal’s voice cut through the chaos with the worst news possible.
[You have taken 10 points of fire damage. You are on fire.]
I frantically patted at the flames, putting them out, my mind racing with fear. The heat seared my skin, the acrid smell of burning cloth filling my nostrils. For a moment, panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced myself to focus. I cast Heal on myself, the spell cooling my skin as it mended the burns. My heart was still racing, but at least I wasn’t burning alive anymore.
The fire still raged around me, the crackling flames casting eerie shadows on the cavern walls. I had to get out of here before something worse happened. With a burst of speed, I jumped over the flames, narrowly avoiding the worst of the heat.
"Crystal, can you give me two torches this time?" I asked, my voice tight with urgency.
[No, Rod, I’m sorry, but you only have one torch left.]
"There are plenty of other ways to mark the location so I can still find it later," I suggested, trying to think ahead despite the situation's madness.
[True, but this was the easiest one. You know, it’s great and easy to see.]
I glanced at the torch, still flickering in the wind where I had left it. The thought of venturing further into the darkness with only that small flame for company filled me with dread.
"No, I mean, I can easily make my own torches. I have a bunch of leftover cloth and sticks, right?"
[Oh, that’s a pretty good idea, actually. Okay, then, let’s do that.]
With renewed determination, I took out a makeshift torch, leaving the rest of my supplies in my inventory. The process was simple, the repetitive task of crafting helping to steady my nerves. The new torches, while not perfect, would serve their purpose.
I wasn’t sure how long these makeshift torches would last, but they were better than nothing. The second floor didn’t seem to have nearly as many as the first, which explained why I’d run out so quickly. But for now, this would do. Maybe I’d find more on this floor for future runs through this mini-world. I pushed forward, determined to make the most of my time here. Getting stuck in this tiny map wasn’t an option.
Frustration gnawed at me, the limits of this place pressing down on me like a physical weight. Not being able to use any attack spells or access Crystal’s map was a crippling handicap. At least my inventory still worked, providing some semblance of control in this chaotic environment. I pulled out a piece of paper and used the ash from the burned grass to sketch a crude map. The act of drawing calmed me, the simple lines and marks giving form to the chaos around me. So far, I had only marked a few things: the giant ash pile, the tree with the torch, and the wall.
Crystal suggested I start marking down the wall’s perimeter before doing anything else. I returned to where I had slammed into it and began mapping out the entire circumference. The room was smaller than I had initially thought—it only took about forty minutes to walk the entire perimeter and end up back at the same spot where I’d started. I made a mark on the ground to ensure I returned to the right place, and it seemed to work well.
With the perimeter mapped out, I decided to venture into the room’s interior. I returned to the burnt pile and then headed north.
So far, I hadn’t encountered any more of those strange, floating, clicking creatures, but the noise they generated was still unnerving, a constant reminder of the dangers lurking in this place.
Wandering around aimlessly wasn’t going to cut it. I needed a real goal, something to focus on besides just surviving. My best bet was to figure out where those little black things were coming from. The center of this place seemed the most likely spot for their origin, so I set my course in that direction, every step filled with a mix of dread and determination, bracing myself for whatever came next.