Argonne’s clothes were extremely dirty after fighting with the beast and started changing into any clothes he saw in either wardrobes.
The top floor of his house was already looted by him after his acceptance of a new life. He was lucky that another monster wasn’t around while he was crying or he might have been truly out of a second life. Downstairs where the monster had originally been was a living room and a combined kitchen and dining room connected by a single doorway. A radio lay unused in the corner of the living room on a nightstand next to the couch and armchair in the middle of the room. The kitchen held the back exit while the living had the main entrance.
Argonne hobbled down the stairs using the firearm as a makeshift crutch, the wood creaking as he put a foot down each step. Looking at the living room with his own eyes he saw a bloody stain where the beast had bounded towards the stairs initially looking for him. Next to the main entrance is a torn bloody mess of a corpse with an axe by its side. His face was stuck in horror and agony and yet illuminated by the moonlight he looked almost peaceful.
Argonne looked at the body and hobbled towards it, kneeling down once he got close enough. He closed the eyes of the body of only what he could assume was the father of this body. Argonne looked outside where the moonlight was originating from a window and looked outside.
To his complete surprise he saw his face for the first time and instead of a new body, it was his own. Argonne looked towards the body of his “father” but the damage on the corpse was too much and he couldn’t compare. Perhaps not another body but another life. Argonne sat down and for the sake of his own sanity thought it over.
Falling into the pod, body transfer, intro scenario, weird floating screens, maybe this was some kind of simulation? Simulations were very popular in his world but it was only for the high class and rich, but it was always described as a dream-like sensation, this was much too real to be a simulation. That pod must have been some lost tech, maybe this was some trial to be able to get healed in the end?
The intro scenario stated that he was supposed to go to grandma’s house and with a flux of memories coming in it should be only 4 hours away, why give 3 days then? Either way it was a blessing as he had to fix his foot, if more monsters were out there then he had to prepare properly.
Like most in his world he was a proficient scavenger and was constantly tinkering and repairing his constantly failing gear. That also meant that using things like they weren't supposed to was common in his life. Argonne looked at the axe, looked at the missing foot, and looked at the workshop outside. Time to start tinkering.
The hallucination he realized was something very real, but in a simulation-like way. The first time he purposely used the hallucinations was when he was hobbling around looking for things to disassemble. When he slightly squinted his eyes each object would get scanned, but the only answer it gave was a name.
Only two things gave actual useful info from his new ability to scan things, the firearm and axe.
[Double Barrel Shotgun]
[Tier One]
[Two Handed Gun]
[Lumberjack’s Axe]
[Tier Zero]
[One Handed Axe]
If the hallucinations were correct or maybe simply called screens now, the weapon in his hand was called a shotgun and the other weapon he already recognized as an axe though it specified that it was the Lumberjack’s. Other than the shotgun shells which he counted out to five shells, the only thing to work with was wood.
“Fucking wood.” Argonne kicked a chair over in frustration, with his missing foot so all it did was just thud against the chair lightly. Argonne huffed, looking down at the journal he obtained from scavenging the area, sketches of a foot prosthetic all over the pages. He preferred working with metal as he was just used to it, but the amount of metal was pitiful so wood seemed like the better option. Argonne’s mind kept looking over the sketches, the material he scavenged so far, and the screens popping up.
Specifically he looked at the two hand and one hand requirement for the weapons. While he would absolutely love to use both, each weapon was already unwieldy to use by itself so using both would be too much. Not only that his foot took priority here and even with a proper replacement he doubted that foot would ever work the same. Was there a way to make a prosthetic with the materials before him? Most would say no, but Argonne loved making specific solutions for specific problems. Remembering the claws of the beast an idea came to him, grinning Argonne went to work.
After hours of sketching, working, and disassembling his right foot was finally completed. His foot was actually a combination of two beasts that he remembered. Argonne sawed off parts of the table to create the heel of the foot, sawing some wooden bowls in half and the head of the axe separate from the shaft. The head of the axe was thick and wide at its base and top but tapered and sharpened to its edge. He then placed the axe head top side down to the heel of the foot creating an odd single claw. He then placed the halved wooden bowl on both sides of the axe like hoofs and marked where it met the heel and cut it to fit. Then he marked the axe head to the heel so the head can fit snugly into the heel creating a base for the foot. The hoof provided a little bit of outer support for his foot and it was much easier to replicate than a five fingered foot.
The axe and heel fit snugly together like a puzzle piece after Argonne cut a hole into the heel to fit into. The hoof-like structure from the bowls were nailed into the axe after a couple of attempts from Argonne. Argonne squinted slightly again and a name appeared on the screen in front of them.
[Hoof-Claw Prosthetic]
[Tier Zero]
[Right Foot Prosthetic]
The prosthetic looked like a hoof with the wooden plates and heel but the claw part came from the axe in the center, and instead of a downward arching claw it was an upward facing claw. Argonne could just raise his foot and swing his axe foot upward into the monster’s stomach if he got pounced on like that again.
Argonne took two legs off of a chair and aligned it alongside his own legs and while standing up put his stump over the new prosthetic and marked the area to nail in the legs onto the prosthetic. Once the leg supports were nailed in Argonne put his stump in between the supports and started tightly wrapping a bunch of rags from torn up pieces of clothing. Standing on the prosthetic was uncomfortable so he cut up some pillows and fabric to create a cushion between the nub and the prosthetic. Once that was wrapped up in more rags and secured onto the socket, the prosthetic was complete.
Argonne looked with slight pride at his creation as he started walking around to get used to the feeling. Moving with one regular foot and one hoof-like foot was a challenge, more often than not he was limping and running was practically nonexistent, but it did leave his one hand free if he didn’t use a crutch. Using the shotgun as a crutch was also an option to move faster than limping, but he would be mostly immobile and the 4 hour trek to grandma’s house would take 8.
During this time he stayed only inside and didn’t dare go outside, the night must have been just starting as the night stretched on and only got darker. Keeping an eye and ear out for the monster as he worked on his gear.
The issue of immobility bothered Argonne a lot. Argonne would’ve preferred to dodge the attacks but with a crippled foot it wouldn’t be efficient at all. To get around some of that and not to feel as naked he started creating wooden plate armour from a pile of wood his father previously cut.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
It wasn’t perfect, he just roughly cut the wooden quartered logs into thick arm and leg guards. Making each limb a separate plate so mobility wouldn’t be further hindered. He also made himself an odd wooden collar to protect his neck, the wood was thick and it went from the bottom of his chin to the top of his sternum. Each one was tied with a rag to secure it onto each limb. The chest plate had rags tied around his waist and over the shoulder and tied a knot in the middle of his back where all the rags meet.
He looked slightly silly but for the protection it would provide would be worth it.
Argonne wondered how much time he had left, the night never letting up the moon hidden behind the darkness. Suddenly the screen popped up again in his vision.
[Warning Days Remaining 2]
Argonne looked at the message in shock. The sun never came up and yet it felt like half a day had passed. Argonne had worried this would've been an issue, while space travel wasn’t widely available, the closest planet they could travel to was still in their system. The thought of different day and night cycles did plague his mind but this just confirmed the theory. Whatever a day meant in this world was making the clock go.
No memories flooded in this time and he just sighed. He was already tired from scavenging and assembling the items and now days seemed shorter here.
Eyelids heavy, ankle sore from his new prosthetic, and mentally exhausted just from the previous events of his past life and the events of his new life, a rest was desperately needed. Argonne would sleep in the bed he woke up in, but he would sleep in full gear and with one eye open.
Argonne slept so lightly that the wind would wake him up. Each blow of the wind rustled leaves and branches kept each thought of a monster to linger every time he closed his eyes. The cold wind would sometimes flow inside the home, his shivering feet causing some phantom pain of his foot being torn off to resurface. Argonne didn’t know how long he slept as he faded in and out but eventually sleep could no longer come to him and the night was still going.
Despite feeling rested his eyes still felt heavy, his body felt like lead, and his brain felt foggy. He picked up his shotgun, adjusted his wooden plate armour, and finally headed out to grandma.
Argonne was afraid to walk out for the first time. He was looking out the window looking for any sign of the beast but none were apparent. Perhaps it was only one beast? No, he needed to squash every comfort and think of every possible horror that could happen. One already has and he refused to lose any more body parts nor would he ever be caught off guard again.
After scanning the tree line for another minute Argonne finally walked out of the door and it felt like the forest assaulted him. While he had heard of forests before, it was something like a myth or a dream to him. Forests, while not common, used to be scattered around his home, but now they were used to advertise resorts and luxury living.
The first thing was the cold wind suddenly felt warmer, turning the pit in his stomach into relaxing his shoulders. Argonne took a deep breath and instead of stale air that slightly burned his throat, crisp clean air that nearly expanded his lung two fold entered his nostrils. Argonne took a breath out and refocused, he could enjoy the scenery later.
The path to grandma was a simple, well beaten path the old body would take to deliver wood to the elderly couple deeper into the woods. It happened around once a month so it felt quite familiar to him. However he always remembered the path in daylight, there was nothing about it in the night.
Every time he thought about the odd day and night cycles his head would pulse with pain making him forget any thought of it. Argonne took out a lantern from inside and lit the wick, putting it in his left hand, the barrel of his shotgun over his left hand to stabilize it, and his right hand held the stock of the gun. He took his first steps towards grandma’s house on the beaten path.
The clouds started to gather covering the moonlight, the lone light source shining bright in the dark. The lantern swayed with each awkward limp making shadows stretch and shrink, creating movement in his peripheral vision. The warmer wind died down to a colder one once more as the leaves of the tree started to shake. Each step was enunciated with a slight creak of the lantern, he wished he fixed that before but it was too late now.
[Warning Days Remaining 1]
Argonne clicked his tongue in annoyance. Assuming this was a super realistic simulation, then maybe the theory of some sort of trial for the healing was becoming truer and truer. As soon as the notification disappeared a howl tore through the night. He nearly dropped the lantern and shotgun as he put his hands over his ears, when he could finally put his hands off his ear and looked up, he was not alone.
Countless yellow eyes glowed in the veil of darkness in front of him. The lantern just exaggerates the darkness in front of him. Amongst the yellow eyes towering above the rest, a pair of red eyes glared, ivory teeth bared in the dark. Argonne snarled back and checked his shotgun double checking it was loaded.
The red eyes receded back into the darkness and with an unknown signal the others pounced. Argonne pulled the trigger and the first wave fell from the spread of the pellets. The second wave of beasts were splattered with blood and recoiled slightly and Argonne pulled the trigger a second time and the second barrel flashed. Argonne immediately tried to reload the gun getting ready for the next wave but an unknown beast from behind pounced on his back. Argonne managed to turn around in time and put his left plate protected forearm to take the pounce instead.
The yellowed teeth of this beast snapped around the plate almost piercing his forearm. Argonne slammed his arm to the ground alongside the beast stunning it. Argonne took the chance and got up to stomp on it with his left foot but another beast pounced on him from the front. The wooden neck plate on his neck took the hit turning it into a glancing blow.
Argonne stumbled back from the blow giving time for 2 other beasts to start pouncing, one going for his legs another for his right arm. The one going for his leg was luckily going for the right one. The power of both beast pouncing knocked him down quickly. With a quick flick of his right leg the axed prosthetic sunk deeply into the beast underbelly. The beast howled in pain and Argonne ripped the axe out as messily and as fast as he could. The beast on his arm managed to tear off the plate that was protecting his bicep, the frail wrappings tearing with ease.
Argonne swung his lantern wildly and the fire scared the beast away, giving him just enough time to reload his gun.
Not enough to shoot though.
Three beasts this time each took a bite at him. The first beast that pounced forward with their teeth was parried off by the shotgun itself, acting like a muzzle between him and the beast. As Argonne wrestled with the beast the second beast appeared to the left of him, luckily right where the barrel was currently pointed.
Argonne pulled the trigger and the gun jerked sideways nearly out of his grip as the flanking beast turned to paste. Argonne and the interlocked beast jerked sideways with the gun tumbling down into the mud where the third beast came under the first beast and went for the throat.
The neck plating held but the beast jerked its head and the neck plating came loose exposing his neck to the cold wind. Argonne raised his right leg and tried to stab his hoof-axe into the beast interlocked with his gun but the beast backed away with the third.
“Of course they know how to work together.” Argonne muttered under his breath. The first one tried to take away his weapon, the second tried to flank, and the third went for the kill. Whatever these beasts were, they knew how to work together well. The amount of yellow eyes were lessening, but they still glared fiercely in the dark, the two beasts that survived still in the light.
Argonne aimed and fired purposely at the lower half of the beasts and while one dodged, the other was not so lucky. Argonne went over to the downed beast as it was dragging itself away from him, a bloody streak following the beast. Argonne simply stomped on its head and to his surprise the shadowed eyes fell back slightly, Argonne smiled they could feel fear too.
Argonne stepped forward once and the glaring eyes started rounding out. The last beast that attacked him in the last wave gained some courage and tried to pounce again. Argonne swung his right foot up and the axe went through up the bottom of the mouth, the blade poking out through the beast's mouth slightly. Argonne tried to take his foot out of the beast's mouth but to his horror it was stuck.
The cowering beast suddenly regained their confidence as Argonne started stumbling backwards, each one started snarling gaining confidence. One of the beasts gained enough confidence to pounce and Argonne took his shotgun in his right hand and fired on the beast.
The empty click was louder than the scream that followed.
Teeth and claw started tearing at the right leg. Argonne took the lantern and smacked the beast off his leg, blood flying off the snout of the beast. The beast crumbled but it bought enough time for the others to start tearing into him. Argonne put his forearm and bicep under his chin to protect his neck as one tried tearing at his throat. The beast hit the forearm wooden plate, claws scraping at the wooden chest plate, another beast gnawing on his right arm.
Argonne raised his trusty foot to disembowel the one on top of him, but his right leg couldn’t budge. The beast that he smacked with the lantern had recovered and bit the heel of the prosthetic, preventing him from saving himself from the one on his chest. Argonne looked around desperate for any solution to come to mind. His right arm flared in pain as the teeth pierced the exposed joint of his elbow.
Argonne’s heart thumped against his chest, the claws digging matching the beat of his heart. He heard the wood start to crack under the pressure of the bites.
[You have gained enough experience to Ascend your first stat, due to the situation you are in, the first Ascension shall be automated]
[Strength has been Ascended!]