It was weird, Mari could hear the sound of wind rushing around her ears as if caught in a storm but her hair didn't move and she felt nothing. On top of that it was clear her stomach was convinced she was falling as it was trying to make a daring escape out of her mouth.
It was very disconcerting and she quickly learned that moving wasn't worth the effort. When the exhaustion weighing her eyes closed she welcomed the escape from the never-ending white expanse.
"Wake up!" Mari was jolted awake seconds later by the voice of her younger brother Mark. "You can't fall asleep while in the in-between Mari, it leaves your soul vulnerable."
Mari twisted around looking for her brother fighting against the invisible hold that held her body. "Mark? Where are you? How did you get here?"
There was no response and she huffed in frustration, it was likely the Observer had only mimicked her brother's voice to warn her knowing it would get her attention. Besides, there was no way he would be here anyway.
Mari shook off her thoughts and squinted, was that color? Sure enough, the white of the in-between was gaining streaks of blue, gold, green, and more. It reminded her of the milk and food coloring experiment she had down as a child.
The color swirled around her In hazy swirls mixing to make hypnotizing shapes. In the blink of an eye, Mari found herself standing on a large rock surrounded by a stormy sea.
Her stomach suddenly heaved and Mari hunched over dry heaving, that was not a fun experience.
Would you like to burst your Spark? Yes/No
Warning if you wait too long the Spark will burst itself and harm the Guardian.
After she had stopped trying to empty her stomach Mari considered the screen that had popped up. There wasn't much of a choice here - first of all, 'burst' didn't sound fun at all, and she would rather do it with the help of the Observer or whatever was behind the screen.
Clicking Yes sent a burst of warmth through her body that started from her chest and began expanding out in comforting waves. Eventually, it reached a crescendo and Mari watched in awe as a small gold light left her chest and shot into the rocky ground below her feet.
A quiet moment passed and Mari frowned in confusion, was that it?
Just as she thought that the entire rock she was standing on shook and cracked as a tree shot up and grew rapidly. In seconds Mari stood in front of a giant tree as tall as a 5-story building, roughly 60 feet tall.
Guess it wasn't done, Mari thought absentmindedly as she watched the tree sprout branches that grew outward and hurt her eyes to look at, somehow she knew the branches were both doing something with the space affinity she had bought but she didn't know what.
The World Tree Sapling finally seemed to finish growing and Mari admired it for a moment feeling oddly proud, as if she had just turned in an essay and got 100% right.
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Congrats! Your RealmForge is ready for business.
+1,000 Credits
Please enter the Workroom to begin crafting your first floor.
Mari shook herself and took a deep breath, everything had been happening incredibly fast, one thing after the other and she needed a second to ground herself before she continued.
Turning from her forge Mari looked out at the sea she was surrounded by. The waves crashed against the rock fiercely and the wind roared wildly, for a moment she was confused. Why hadn't she felt the storm earlier, looking closely Mari noticed an almost invisible barrier that encircled the Tree.
Curious Mari stepped out of the barrier and was assaulted by the smell of the ocean and a fierce wind that blew rain and sea water into her face. She stepped right back into the barrier and blinked in shock.
She was soaked.
Knowing that with such a strong storm going on she wouldn't be able to see very far Mari decided to figure out what her so-called Workroom was.
Somehow knowing her intentions another screen appeared to guide her.
Craft your first floor!
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1.) Place your hand on your RealmForge and enter your workroom
2.) Create the environment of the floor
3.) Create a thriving ecosystem, fill your floor with creatures
4.) Create your first monster
Reward: 500 credits
Right, let's get to work. Mari thought and walked up to her forge her hand outreached. The moment she touched the bark a familiar warmth filled her and she took a moment to bask in it before confirming that she wanted to enter her Workroom.
Seeing her hand pass through the bark into a space within Mari took the hint and stepped into the tree.
Her Workroom was rather simple in appearance, a large wooden table took centerstage and she noticed that oddly there were no chairs. In the right corner was a simple bed and side table and to the left of the small room was a dresser.
Mari decided to investigate the table first as it was the focus of the room. As she stepped up to the edge the tabletop lit up and several screens invaded her vision at once.
Would you like to wake up your assistant?
Yes/No
Choose the environment of your first floor!
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Owned:
Nature - create a beautiful thriving forest filled with potential.
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Credit:
Ocean - create a seafloor spotted with mysterious islands, who knows what hides in the depths? 50% discount for ocean surroundings. 500c
Dessert - create a vast expanse of sand, heat, and danger, within the dunes lie treasures unknown. 800c
Volcano - create a fiery landscape and scatter exploding fire pits everywhere. 800c
Storm - create a heavenly floor with cloud islands, filled with storms, nothing is certain here. 1000c
Unlock native creatures' blueprints!
+Basic Sea Creatures
+Basic Bird Creatures
+Basic Land Creatures
+Basic Bug Creatures
Unlock the Starter Monster Kit!
+1 Common Monster Core
Mari stared overwhelmed by all the screens and wished there was a chair she could collapse into. This was going to be a lot harder than she had anticipated.