Chapter Three: Big Baby
[Oh, get over yourself, you big baby.]
A searing light pierced through my eyelids. The parchment appeared in my vision, even with my eyes closed. Somehow, the words on the page felt loud. Try as I might to ignore them, the words burned in my vision.
[You can’t ignore me.]
I gulped, shutting my eyes tighter, my heart pounding in my chest and my hands trembling with a new fear playing in the back of my mind.
Why is this parchment berating me? I thought this thing was supposed to be on my side.
[You can’t get rid of me. So buck up and act like an adult.]
I opened my eyes, and the text on the parchment continued scrolling, though it didn’t seem to be screaming at me anymore.
[Everyone dies; it's not worth crying about. Get back to me after you die 100 times in here.]
I forced myself to remain still, focusing on calming the tremors running through my body by taking slow, deep breaths.
Everyone dies, the parchment had said, its cold indifference chilling me to the core. Gradually, the deep breaths helped me calm enough that the stabbing pain in my chest subsided, though the feeling that nothing would ever be alright again still lingered.
I shifted my attention to the crate beside me, slick with the green slime coating the room's bricks. I forced myself upright with a final deep breath, using the crate for support. My brown hair clung to my forehead, damp with sweat and slime. I wiped my hand on my thigh, staring at the sewage pooling on the ceiling like a dark omen. This place felt like a twisted nightmare, and the absurdity clawed at my sanity. As I struggled to comprehend the situation, another parchment appeared, covering my vision.
I really don’t get this place. What kind of twisted nightmare had I been thrown into? The sheer absurdity of the situation made me feel as if I was teetering on the edge of madness.
[Now, let us get back to business. Would you like to equip the leather armor?]
"Yes, of course. That sounds... great," I said, trying to muster enthusiasm despite the emotions smothering my soul.
I shivered, a sheen of slime covering my body, making the deep, dungeon cold harder to deal with. It was only then that I realized I was naked, but the numbness from the overwhelming emotions made it hard to summon the energy to care.
The leather armor materialized around my chest. Brown, supple, and form-fitting, the armor felt surprisingly comfortable. It didn't guard much, but it came with bracers and gloves, which made it easier to grip my torch.
Equipment
Slot
Name
Effect
Condition
Right hand
Torch
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Deals 1-4 physical damage. 5% chance of causing burn effect on target
10/10
Chest
Leather Armor
Def +1
15/15
[Congratulations, you have equipped your first-ever piece of armor. You have received a single Death Boon.]
"Can I use the Death Boons now?" I asked, my curiosity slowly overcoming the lingering fear as I wiped the green slime from my hands onto my leather bracers. Oh, how easily my mind shifts gears.
[No. Death Boons may only be used in the Entrance room.]
"Oh,” I said, nodding. “I guess." I decided I would only be wasting time if I waited around in the room any longer.
As I approached the door, an unexpected calm washed over me, likely due to the leather armor now snug around my chest, giving me a small sense of control. For the first time since waking, I felt a glimmer of control over my destiny, a stark contrast to the overwhelming confusion that had plagued me moments before. Briefly, I allowed myself to believe that maybe, just maybe, I could survive this.
The door was a dull grey slab, functional but featureless, marked only by a simple iron bar. The bar, worn from countless uses and barely hanging onto the wall, clearly served as the handle. I pushed it in, and it creaked with age.
The door slid against the floor surprisingly smoothly, revealing a room almost identical to the one I was still standing in. I leaned into the room to see better but did not enter.
A question spilled out of my mouth just as the next room came into view.
"Do you have a map?" As I crossed into the room, another parchment appeared, announcing the location I was entering.
~Run 1, Room 1L, Floor 1, Sewers of Aerlyn~
Before it, more words unfurled as Crystal ‘spoke:’ [Unfortunately, not yet, Rod.]
I sighed and looked around. I could see the torch flickering in the distance. I gagged for a second, still not used to the awful smell of sewage, before controlling myself, but it was too late. Before I knew what was happening, a rat the size of a dog screeched and jumped onto my arm, sinking its teeth into my flesh. Pain exploded from the bite, causing me to scream and flail my long arms in an attempt to dislodge the creature.
I hardly noticed the giant 4-sided die flying in the background. I would have laughed at how comical it seemed if it weren't happening to me. The rat bit me, and I screamed in pain, flailing my arms to try and get the rat off of me.
[You take two damage.]
What, how did it deal so much damage? It's a rat! It landed just in front of me, and panicking, not knowing what else to do, I lunged forward, screaming, "Die!!" I swung my torch at the rat, hitting it on the head.
Another comically large four-sided die flew from nowhere and landed.
[You deal one damage. Congratulations on dealing your first-ever blow with a weapon in combat; you have gained one Death Boon.]
“Wait, what about the one I killed in the previous room?”
[You never struck that rat with the torch.]
“But I still struck it! And I choked it to death; shouldn’t I have gotten more Death Boons?” Ultimately, it didn’t matter; I was arguing with parchment while a giant rat tried to kill me. I felt like an idiot standing there.
And worse, reading Crystal’s messages and paying attention to the enemy was something that needed to mix better. I had no time to react as the rat jumped up to my arm again and took another bite of me.
I screamed again and, this time pushed the rat off my arm, the pain from the second bite nearly unbearable. Ignoring the message, I swung my torch at the rat, but the pain made it difficult to aim accurately. It scurried to find its footing, and I missed, my arm going wide.
I growled, “I thought you said I would be able to hit them now.”
[No, I said without the class, you had a -10 penalty for your precision stat, not that you would always hit.]
Instead of attacking, the rat fled, putting space between us.
While the parchment text scrolled, I pressed the advantage, chasing the fleeing rat with a newfound sense of determination.
This is it. My first real chance to fight back.
The torch felt reassuringly solid in my grip as I chased after the rat. Before it could turn around, I swung the torch again; the die flew past as the torch connected. I heard a satisfying thunk noise, and the rat spun around.
It looked beaten to a pulp, blood flying from its mouth like spittle, one of its eyes wholly crushed. Another hit should be able to do it. I steadied myself, my heart pounding, and before the rat could react, I swung one last time. The torch connected with a solid thud, and the creature collapsed in a heap, dead.
I sunk to the floor, exhausted. I hadn't had time to rest after fighting the first rat, and this fight had been even worse.
And what was with those messages? I can't believe Crystal had them appear like that. They completely blocked my view. I was going to need to say something about them.
As if on cue, another message appeared.