I was lying on a bed of soft grass, and its dry scent was all I could smell when I opened my eyes for the first time in Oasis, the world I spent years to perfect.
At that time, I had little idea of where I was, and all I last remembered was me glaring at the screen with swollen eyes and a cup of coffee in my hand.
I got up and tossed my shirt clean of the twigs and dirt, "Where am I?"
Looking around for a bit, I realized that no one was nearby, "Did someone kidnap me?"
I took shelter under the shade of an apple tree from the intense heat and visited the earlier thought, "Why would anyone kidnap me though, and even if someone did plan to do so, did no one saw them or stopped them?"
I looked at myself- my clothes were not in proper shape but wearable, and I had no signs of injuries with some minor scratches.
"Why would anyone let me be here if they kidnapped me? It makes no sense!" I jolted up as my stomach grumbled.
I looked at the tree, "Green? Ughhh!"
Sadly and fortunately enough, the apples weren't too high for me as I grabbed one with discontent.
"!!!"
"Sour!" I threw the apple after a bite and sat down, "Kidnapping is out of question, and where on earth am I?"
"My..." I got up and checked my pockets and every nook-cranny of my body, "Nothing? Did someone knowingly took them?"
I sighed, with no way to know where I was, I gave up and left the tree in search of anything but green, and soon enough, I saw a human settlement, a village.
I entered the village and looked around- all I could find was crippling walls and abandoned houses. 'Is there nobody around here?' I asked myself as I opened the door of the first house. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"
I heard no reply and entered in without having a second thought.
"Just as I thought, it is empty, but-"
"The furniture- where the heck am I?"
It was dark inside, but I did manage to take a look at the house, "Are the b-b-b-human remains? Don't tell me-" a chill ran behind my back as I heard a faint creak, "Is anyone there?"
"Hello?"
My feet didn't move. The fear petrified me- the fear that something dark was going in the village, and I was sure that I didn't want to be any part of it.
I jolted out of the house as fast as I could and didn't dare to look back. "It's all a dream. It's all a dream. Nothing is going wrong here. Nothing."
Though I kept saying it, my heart knew otherwise that something was wrong, and it was at that moment I understood where I was.
[Elevated heart rate detected]
[Please calm down]
A familiar countdown began as the word came out of my mouth, "O-Oasis?"
The familiar-looking panel, the same voice. "Why am I in Oasis?"
I stopped and turned back and took a sigh of relief, "no one..."
[Conditions are now back to normal]
I looked at the panel and waved my hands- now that I knew I was in Oasis, I knew what to do next.
[Player isn't yet registered] [Please create an ID to start your adventure]
"What happened that brought me here?" "Why am I not registered?"
I took a moment to catch my breath, "Is it not recognizing me? Did I even have a player's account?"
Speculations collided with one another in my mind, trying its best to find a reason, only to taste defeat. "Logout isn't here, so a bug. I will remember to fix it later."
"What village is this?" I looked around and found no notable features, "Where even am I in Oasis?"
While I was busy trying to find where I was, I heard a beep.
[Run]
[Run as fast as you can]
A chill went down my spine as the system rarely helped players, unless, "unless-" I bit my tongue as I saw the sky turn ominous, "Lich Kaiser?"
A frail-looking skeletal figure stood on the far end of the village with a bony face and dripping jaw. "What is Kaiser doing here?"
Once again, my body petrified in fear as both our eyes met. "Oh! Fuck!"
[You are in Lich Kaiser's territory and are marked with his spell]
[Your class and race will change appropriately to that of the undead species]
"!!!"
Getting a hidden class was rare, and finding it along a racial change was like finding a diamond in the sand, but for those who made Oasis, I knew otherwise. "Oh boy! Fuck!"
I jolted as fast as I could- faster than before towards the exit as I knew if I didn't run, I was getting into a huge mess.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Run motherfucker!!! Run!!!” I shouted as I sprinted across the exit. “With this, I am out of the range.”
Not a second later, the ground shook- the dead ripped it open and rose, all mumbling in inaudible tone- bowing down to Kaiser, flying far away.
Taking a few steps away from the green boundary, I finally took a deep breath of relief, “Better be safe than sorry.”
[You witnessed the rising of Lich Kaiser's first undead army]
[Your reputation amongst undead increased by 10, but decreased by 50 for every living creature except for witches]
I ignored the fury of messages with little thought, “Rep points aren't worth a penny unless I plan on playing this for any longer.”
[A chain question is available. Look for clues to get one]
“A chain quest?”
I looked at my status for details as I pulled back from the spot.
--- --- --- --- ---
[Lich Kaiser's Uprising -1]
You have witnessed Lich Kaiser's uprising. Warn the neighboring kingdoms about him.
Status: Not available. (Look for clues to find the quest giver)
--- --- --- --- ---
I stared at the floating window for a while- pondering what to do next, “Should I even interfere in-game progression?”
With no way to contact anyone outside, I had nowhere to go. “It's better to give this to a player.” “Yep, I should do that.”
With that said, I continued marching away from the demolished village, “Stay safe until someone finds you.”
I kept walking until I reached a town- empty but in good condition, “Just where the fuck did I spawn?”
Before entering, I checked the town for movement, but not even a single soul.
[Satiety at 45%]
I could hear grumbles and my parched throat from eating the sour apple, “It's always better to stay away from ghost towns.”
I shook my head and moved on, and after just a few minutes, I found apple trees, “Fuck!!! I am going in circles.”
I looked at them with an ordeal of defeat lying on the ground, “I am tired- I don't care if I die of hunger- that would mean a forced logout anyway.”
I laid on the ground like a corpse and fell asleep.
The next day, I woke up and ate the sour apple to curb myself, “This sucks. Maybe I should try going left.”
I turned left and sighed- shook my head with an exasperated breath, “Staying here will do me nothing.”
I kept marching towards the left until I found a place with at least some movement- a small town.
From outside, the town, or village looked empty, and if not for the cloud of smoke coming off from somewhere nearby. “Maybe everyone went to a celebration of some sort.”
The empty village hardly bothered me when I saw a well next to the entrance.
As I gulped down, I noticed some noise coming from one of the houses and pulled up my guard, hiding behind the walls.
“I wonder if Raus will give us a bountiful yield next year too!”
“This year, we have more than enough yield. We may be able to sell some of it to humans.”
“Chief already planned to visit human settlements for trade. We will again have a steady supply of wheat once again if everything goes perfect.”
I didn't reveal myself yet and continued to listen- but like all good things, someone found me too- it was a baby lizard-boy, clutching his paws to my shirt. “Uncle! Uncle! I found a human. Look! Look!”
“Ehekkk!!!” The two lizard men pointed their spears at me, “Don't hurt the child.”
'I? Hurting the child?' I looked at the lizard, no taller than half a foot, grabbing my shirt, and wondered- some things.
I raised my hands in the air, “I don't plan on doing anything to the child.”
While I raised my hands, the boy wrapped his hands and tail around my right leg. “Human! Human!”
“Human! Human!”
I looked at him and sighed, “I mean no harm.”
“If you mean those words then, send the child over here. Now!”
I shook my legs, but the tail didn't want to let it go,
“Can't you see that I am trying my best.” I shouted to the wary guards pointing spears at me.
“Soku, come here.”
“Human! Human!”
While the two were busy discussing, I grabbed the sleek little lizard in my arms and walked towards them. “I am just a traveler- I got lost, and I don't know the way back. Can you help me out?”
The two dropped their weapons and checked me for any weapons. “Soku, stop bothering human. Come down!”
[Affinity with Soku increased by 1]
'This is going to be a pain.'
Soku wrapped his arms around me- shouting out loud. “Human! Human!”
Soku didn't want to leave his new object of fascination. Perhaps it was his first time seeing one. “Let him be like this,” I assured the guards as I asked them to let me stay in the village.
'My priority should be to get a safe place- far away from any danger. Then I can start thinking about my situation.'
The two discussed amongst themselves while Soku played with his tail.
“I will go and inform the Chief. Gose, show him a place to rest.”
I went with Gose while the other lizard man went to meet the Chief.
'Let's hope everything goes well with the chief.'
Gose left me in a small house with Soku; he tried to detach the boy's tail wrapped around my hand, but Soku didn't want to let go of his property.
“Human!” “Human!”
'I get it now!' I exclaimed inwardly as I finally understood the reason for his fascination.
[Soku]
Race: Gawl Lizard
[Soku, son of Bertha and Herts. Currently, holds “???” in fascination]
I poked the small horns on each side of his head and mumbled with fascination, “They have yet to notice it. There is no way they would have let him be here alone if they knew that.”
Soku had the mark of evolution, which was rare. Out of every hundred Gawl lizards, only five carry the mark.
“Marks aren't that rare, but how on earth…”
I looked at Soku- his eyes glowed with pleasure as he played with my fingers. 'Should I help him or not?'
I looked at the door and locked it, dragging along Soku stuck to my leg, “Let them be ignorant as he is,” and I got off from the chair and looked back at him; he giggled.
“Soku?”
“What are you doing here?”
[Bertha]
It was Soku's mother, and she was beautiful.
She wore a frilled white gown laced with tiny beads, and her shiny blue hair hid the crude silver earring as the moon hides behind the clouds.
“Soku? What are you doing here?”
Bertha looked at Soku and then at me and averted her gaze as if my face was unbearable. “Soku, come here!”
“Ah-”
Before I could utter a single word, the fiery pair of eyes made my mouth shut as Soku's grip loosened, and he went towards her.
“Mama!!! Human! Human!”
Soku jumped as his tiny claws pointed towards me, pulling the gown while being careful of the beads.
“Come with me!” she ordered, and the poor Soku went back- closing his mouth, devoid of any excitement.
Sighing, I jumped to the bed and looked outside through the window. It was morning- the sun shone brightly, enough that I hardly could see anyone roaming around other than the sweating guards.
“Does Bertha know about Soku's mark?”
The question suddenly hit my mind, as it wasn't hard for her to spot the mark. The mark wasn't well hidden in the case of Soku like others.
“Welp, I wonder what Mercy is doing right now and when will she take me out of this fucking world.”