Groaning from the pain, Robert slowly started to come back to his senses. The latter was failing miserably as he couldn’t even understand where he was and what was going on. It took almost a dozen seconds for his memory to emerge from the deepness of his consciousness. The image of falling toward the huge lizard flashed before his eyes, making him immediately try to stand up. Another wave of pain stopped any attempts.
One by one, Rob. If you are not dead after blacking out and you can’t hear any sounds that may indicate the nearing threat, then you have your time.
After opening his eyes, Robert was met with the scenery of a rocky surface. An insane effort managed to turn him on his back, finally facing the clear sky. He might even enjoy if not the overwhelming feeling of being chewed only to be beaten up later. And not the sun, which shined so brightly that it was annoying. And not the heat, which only intensified the uncomfortable sensation. And not the burnt smell of meat and crap that clouded the surroundings, making each breath to be disgusting. And not…
Well, this stupid world is not meant for enjoying, I get it!
Robert stayed motionless for about an hour, fighting with the disturbing feeling of a million insects crawling all over his exposed skin. He knew there were literally none of those creepy creatures on the island, and all sensation came from the regeneration, but it was still quite an unpleasant experience. His fast restoration was gone, making him to be more careful with the wounds. The latter could easily be opened again, leading to dumb death from blood loss, despite all his supernatural body. Therefore he waited. It was still tens or even a hundred times faster than the natural recovery rate.
Soon he got up, finally seeing the huge corpse of the lizard. The dead monster was lying like a broken toy, taking almost all free space at the bottom of the volcano. Blinded in both eyes, covered with blood from empty sockets, it was the source of the smell. Moreover, the relaxation of the muscles emptied its stomach, leaving a huge pile of shit flowing from its back hole. However, that wasn’t the reason for the emotional roller coaster, that Robert was feeling right now.
His memory had brought the image of the lighting that struck exactly at the moment of his hit. Having a bad premonition, Rob immediately started to send the mental command to summon his menu and finally got the answer- why was he still here?
Don’t tell me…
Sending the request…
Attention… The link is severely damaged…
Getting the information…
Request confirmed…
The conditions:
Kill the Beast 0/1
Bring enough souls ***% / 100% - done
FUCKING FUCK! My kill was stolen by a stupid thunder… What the heck? The same shit happens twice in a row!
Roaring like a wild beast himself, Robert tried to kick the corpse of the monster, but a sudden wave of pain stopped him. Bending over, he dropped to the ground before vomiting. The surroundings darkened for a moment, reminding him that he was not in the best shape. Nausea stopped in a minute, helping him to calm down. However, that led to the pendulum of his mental state to swing in the opposite direction. The anger had changed into melancholy.
Robert didn’t want to give up, but if even the world was against him, he just couldn’t win. Despite his overcoming so many obstacles, the new immediately rose, ready to crush all his hopes and goals. It wasn’t fair, but nothing was fair in his life. Rob didn’t have the option to choose how he would spend his childhood or his role as a soldier, hidden inside a bunker in an attempt to stop the swarm of aliens. Even his death was taken from him, being replaced by these missions. All his options to choose were like mockery over freedom as they were limited to a narrow tunnel, in which he was put like a laboratory rat. Moreover, unknown observers kept changing the rules intentionally just to see how he would react in new circumstances.
That is idiocy! I killed the beast, you, stupid system! There was no mentioning how to do it. So what if lighting had helped me? What if I’ve used a gun? Would it be a bullet’s kill too? That is bullshit!
With another swing of his emotion, Robert started to rage again, sending one request after another, each filled with boiling anger. Surprisingly, there was a change after an unknown number of commands.
Sending the request…
The Authority of Primal Dragon’s descendant is used…
Attention… The link is severely damaged…
No connection to the Authorized user…
Rechecking the set conditions…
Rechecking the events…
The request is justified…
Conditions are met…
Starting the transfer to the default location, set by the Authorized user…
Further damage to the link is expected…
Robert wasn’t ready for that despite all his pleading and cursing. Moreover, the last part was unexpectedly too fast in the implementation. The surrounding instantly became black, when the whirlwind sucked him in. The strong pull inside the vortex was familiar. Rob quickly recovered in his memory the first transportation to another world. However, this time he felt instability with all his guts. The rotations force was almost on the verge of breaking as if the connection to the final point of the destination was quite poor.
The connection? The link… is severely damaged. Damn!
The thought immediately got him on guard. It was surprisingly in time, as another shake moved the vortex slightly to the side, almost tearing off his arm. The friction force was so huge that Robert had to summon the steel over it just to protect his limb. The further journey was spent inside the sphere that was constantly attacked by Rob’s own magical transport. At least, nothing was endless, and at some point, his was spit out. The shortfall ended on the hard stone surface. He felt fear for a moment that he was still in the same world, but pleasant pure darkness with multiple bright spots above him calmed him down.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Turning on his back, Robert was happy to observe the starry sky. He lacked such scenery for so long that almost forgot how beautiful it was. Looking at it, Rob finally felt calm inside his mind. The whole situation with his real emotional roller coaster during shirt frame together with his beaten state soon led to absolute relaxation. Soon the outer darkness influenced the inner one to drown him inside itself, bringing peace to his mind. Rob’s breath started to slow down until he was snoring, completely abandoning any defensive measures.
The empty flat plateau continued to float saliently under the light of hundreds of colorful stars. Despite being filled with cracks, it seemed to be eternal. Outlasting the whole universe around itself, it had enough energy to live twice that with ease. It was similar to the everlasting sun in that regard, but more ancient and …godly?
This time waking up was completely different. Feeling full of energy and strength, Robert opened his eyes without a single sign of confusion, sleepiness, or exhaustion. On the contrary, the whole body was ready for immediate action, while his mind was refreshed as never before. The accumulated stress that he failed to notice all this time had disappeared without any traces, leaving him as good as new.
That was a wonderful rest! It felt like I slept at least twelve hours straight. Maybe even the best I ever had… But what now?
Looking around, Robert saw nothing had changed during all his sleep. And that was confusing. He was expecting something – the appearance of God with another mission, the system message with the reward to choose, or… just anything would work, but not nothing. The mental command had summoned the Status Screen, partly answering his silent question.
Human - Dragon Hybrid
Strength - 24 Agility - 16 Constitution - 26
Perception - 16 Mind - 30 Mana flow - 30
Elemental Affinity: Metal (Steel)
Active ability: Conjuring an element
Passive traits: Former God’s Envoy, Rejuvenation, Endless growth
The tiny addition of one single word sent shivers over his back after theorizing about possible consequences. Robert was in God’s domain currently, and it wasn’t the best place to show his resignation letter to the entity, who more likely couldn’t boast with tolerance and forgiveness. He didn’t forget the fate of those, who refused to follow the fate of a mass killer in different worlds. They were eaten in a moment, without any chance to explain their choice or to offer a different type of service. Wepwakor just swallowed them straightaway, not even thinking about another solution as if they were already dead for him.
Okay, dear System, will you please spare me some details?
Former God’s Envoy – error… contradictory data…
Access is forbidden by Authorized User…
Checking access, granted by Primal Dragon…
Checking the connection to Authorized User…
Attention… The link is damaged…
Searching solution…
The Authorization is granted by the status of Primal Dragon’s descendant using the interface, set by Authorized user…
Information unfolding…
The more he read those system messages, the more Robert was confused. From the basis Status Screen almost directly from rpg-games it started to turn into some kind of computer with classified data. The level of Authorization was a clear indicator that he was missing a few parts of a real picture. However, before starting to make any assumptions, he wanted to read everything. Moreover, there was a noticeable change in the description of the Trait.
Former God’s Envoy – previously marked by Transcendent entity, which named itself a God, the owner of this trait was engaged in different tasks, set by its Master, but managed to break free from the eternal service. Despite all powers that are given through the link, the Master not only cuts off any possibility for envoys to become Transcendent themselves by forcefully changing their bodies, but also can take their life or power at any moment, can summon envoys or send them to different realms, and, most important, sets the visualization form and access restrictions for the connection to System itself.
The link between the Master and its former envoy has lost almost all its power, leaving only the ability to be summoned, the visualization of the System interface (in the current form), access to the communication module, and self-check. The last two are additionally Authorized by the status of Primal Dragon’s descendant. However, the existing link and insufficient power of the Trait’s owner block access to the *Forbidden*.
Robert had to reread everything again to be sure that he saw what he saw. It wasn’t mind-blowing and wasn’t on the level of completely turning around the viewpoint of the world. Still, it had changed the story that was directly told by Wepwakor himself, adding more questions together with possibilities. Not expecting anything, Robert still mentally sent his inquiry.
System, what are you?
This System is a mere form to visualize the method of communication with a half-conscious entity, which, according to your knowledge and experience, is closest to the name of Akashic Records. Located between realms, it is the source of all energy, the storage of all knowledge, and many more. The strength and type of the connection correspond with what you can take from it.
Rob indeed never expected the answer. He immediately sent more questions, but the “System” went silent as if all his accessible data was exhausted by that short message. He still was able to see his Status Screen or the details of his abilities, but nothing more. Even the Former God’s Envoy's description had shortened in length after giving him valuable information. Going one time after another in everything he knew, Robert tried to summarize everything, but his mind was jumping from one conclusion to another.
So, not the worlds but realms… And my mana is basically coming from the space between realms directly from Akashic Records. Same as the knowledge about my abilities and stats, including numerical count. Maybe that’s why I am cut off from my surroundings during the connection. But why it is so rpg-like? Yeah, Wepwakor… It is he, who made it such a way, explaining it as a standardized system… which is apparently not true. Not a God, but Transcended… So, the battle for the Crown or inability to come into realms personally could be bullshit. Or not. Same with his goals or self-proclaimed aspects… A God, my ass! But the devouring thing must be true – he indeed had eaten his envoys… Okay, now I know this reality-crushing truth, these insane revelations, this crazy shit, and what? Am I free to go or what?
Robert almost shouted in surroundings from despair as in reality, nothing had changed. He had already been in this odd place for so long, but Wepwakor hadn’t shown up. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the damaged link was the reason for him being stuck again. All his efforts to leave the hated island under an even more hated sun turned into a stupid joke. One empty rock in the middle of the ocean was replaced by another one floating in nothingness. The latter part was an even bigger problem because previously Rob could hunt. On the other hand, this plateau was as bare as the head of a teenager who saw a stripper’s nude body for the first time with their own eyes.
The solution could be hidden in that part of Former God’s Trait with restricted access. However, it needs both power and severance of the link. I am not sure how long I can live and train without nutrition… not speaking about the way to cut the connection to this asshole. It is cool to choose freedom and death over a life as a slave in an imaginary situation, but the reality might just shove you in the solitary prison cell to enjoy your absence of a collar to the full extent.
Sighing heavily, Robert looked around just to sigh again after observing the unchanging scenery of this literally God-forgotten place. The place where he might stay for the time being. The place that could easily turn into his grave.
At least the sky with those stars is indeed beautiful! Hmm, how long will it take before I start to hate it?