Luckily, his murderer was oblivious to his yelling. Nick slumped, back against the crumbled wall as he massaged his temples. Maybe that hologram. No Wisp was right, and the creature couldn’t come to the shrine. Looking at the campfire, he shook his head. That was no shrine. It was obviously a campfire.
Nick wasn’t sure if this was all a hallucination or not. But what he did know was he could feel pain here, and there was a lot of it. He glanced down at his new, faintly glowing tattoo.
Nothing made any sense. He could sit here all day and question what was happening or he could start trying to find answers. Nick glanced back at the campfire, hoping the ball of light would return. He was starting to realize that he may have royally fucked up. There was just too much happening. He could only pray that his family was safe and not somewhere around here. Whatever the case, he would make it back to them and kill anything that would dare get in his way.
He was now an enemy of the Church of Light. If that floating message was to be believed, though if that Wisp was correct and they were the ones that brought him here, then they were already his enemy.
Nick took a deep breath. “First things first, kill that cursed creature, then to find the Church of Light.” The Wisp had said something about them being able to send him home. Nick walked over and grabbed the club. Though he doubted they would send him home if now he was their enemy.
Tainted Celestial Club
Rarity
Unknown
Damage type:
Physical
43
Life
50
Celestial Rot
50
Requirements:
Strength
10
Dexterity
3
Wisdom
10
Special Effect
Instantly restore 50 HP
Special Effect
Inflict Celestial Rot
~This Club was forged from a fallen branch of the Celestial Life tree. After being bathed in the Soul Blood of a Celestial Wisp as its first act, its alignment has become corrupted.~
Nick tried to ignore the screen, but the change caught his attention. It seemed killing the Wisp had several effects. He wasn’t sure if the club was better now or worse. In all honesty, he was barely paying attention to it before, other than it taking up half his vision.
If the world was going to pretend to be like a video game, then he would just use those game mechanics to get back to his family. He took a good look over the stat page. Apparently, he could instantly gain fifty health. He had no idea if that was a lot or not, or even how to activate it. It also had a Celestial Rot special effect, and now did rot damage. It was all a bit overwhelming, but he just pushed those thoughts to the side. If there were requirements, then he had to have stats. He wondered if there was a way to see them. He tried to will a page to appear, but nothing happened. After trying a few voice commands, he gave up on that for now.
Walking back over to the crumbling wall, he read over the bottom description again. The wording at the bottom made him feel like the bad guy in this situation. Maybe he shouldn’t have acted out in such a manner, but that damned Wisp’s title was the last straw. It wasn’t even his intentions to kill it; he was just getting fed up with everything that was happening. Part of him still wasn’t sure if this was just some prank, but that part was growing smaller and smaller the more time he spent here.
Nick peeked over the wall. The creature was walking down the stairs. He quickly ducked back down. He waited for the creature to begin walking up the stairs. His plan was to come up behind it, kick it in the back of the knees and begin bashing its skull in. As he waited, he visualized exactly what he would do to the creature. His breaths came faster and faster as he tried not to think about how he died.
Looking back over the rubble, he saw the creature slowly walking up the stairs. Nick made his move, staying in a crouch and doing his best to ignore the words in his view. He quickly made his way towards the creature. Stepping on a particularly sharp rock, he winced but didn’t let out a peep. A few moments later, he was directly behind the creature.
Eyes wide and heart beating wildly, he kicked the creature in the back of the knee. The robed being didn’t stumble as far as he imagined, but that didn’t stop Nick from swinging his club like a baseball bat at the back of its skull. A loud echoing crack sounded out as the club impacted the creature and it tumbled onto the stairs. Immediately, a bar appeared over the creature’s head. As absurd as it was, Nick understood exactly what that was.
Only a fraction of red remained in the bar. Next to the bar was a small skull with a crack running through it. He was so surprised at what he was looking at, he stopped and stared. Suddenly, the skull slowly faded, and the creature began getting up. Nick didn’t hesitate any further and swung his club again. At the same time, he noticed that its eyes weren’t red but rather a barely noticeable blue glow.
The club smashed into the creature’s face and the entire health bar vanished. At the same time, a dimly glowing light shot up from the creature darting directly at Nick. He swung his club at it but nothing happen as the light flew directly through the club and into his chest, dissipating on impact.
Staring wide eyed down at his chest, he waited for something to happen. After nothing did, Nick quickly grabbed the creature and drug it behind the crumbling wall out of sight, while ignoring the green bar that was rapidly decreasing. He then waited and waited. He wasn’t sure if the red-eyed creature was even still patrolling. Or maybe he had just hit the creature so hard the red faded from its eyes. Though he didn’t think that was likely. After waiting a bit longer, he glanced back at the campfire. He decided he should really get some wood for it before it died. Looking at the stairs one more time, he grabbed the club next to him.
Tainted Celestial Club
Rarity
Unknown
Damage type:
Physical
43
Life
50
Celestial Rot
50
Requirements:
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Strength
10
Dexterity
3
Wisdom
10
Special Effect
Instantly restore 50 HP
Special Effect
Inflict Celestial Rot
~This Club was forged from a fallen branch of the Celestial Life tree. After being bathed in the Soul Blood of a Celestial Wisp as its first act, its alignment has become corrupted.~
“Damnit! That’s annoying.”
Leaning the club up against the wall. Nick began looking for some wood while glancing at the stairs periodically. He needed a plan. He couldn’t just stay here, but he also didn’t want to go exploring at night. The sky rumbled, reassuring him that tonight wasn’t the best time to explore. At least it wasn’t raining. No sooner than he had the thought, sprinkles began to fall.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, can I not get a break?”
After looking around, he was able to gather an arm full of wood. It consisted of stray sticks and some wooden debris he found lying around. He also discovered that there was a cliff leading down to the ocean, at least that’s what he assumed it was, it was hard to tell in the low light, not to mention it was at least a hundred foot drop off to the water below. Nick found himself in a situation where there was a cliff leading down and another cliff going up on the other side of him. A strange place to build a city in his opinion. At least the cliff going up had stairs, and there were still the ruins he could explore, maybe that lead out of here. Seeing a cliff on the other side of the ruined city, he highly doubted it. He felt like the stairs leading up was his way out. If nothing else, that should give him a good vantage point.
Nick was heading back to the campfire while trying to decide if he had enough wood for the night when he froze. A figure in a white robe was crouched at the campfire. The figure’s back was to him, so he crouched down and gently set the wood down before heading towards his club. He was unsure if this was another enemy, but he didn’t think it wise to take any chances after his first encounter. He made his way to his club as silently as he possibly could. Nick winced internally as he stepped on a sharp stone. He needed some damn shoes!
Irritation replaced the pain when the club’s stats once again obstructed his view. The figure was still unaware of his presence, so he made his way over to the robed figure. As soon as he was within swinging distance, he swung his club with all his weight directly at the back of the figure’s head.
The club went right through the head as if it wasn’t there and he stumble through the fire. As he did, darkness and words filled his entire vision. Stumbling to the other side of the fire, the darkness along with the words vanished. Nick starred wide eyed at the figure still knelling next to the fire.
“You truly killed her. What a shame she was such a pure being.” The voice spoke in a calm manner and, from the sound of it, this person was female.
“Who are you?” Nick asked, tightening his grip on the club while angling the screen out of his view.
“I am the keeper of this Sacred Shire.”
Nick waited, but the figure didn’t explain any further. “Okay, but what are you doing here?”
“I am tending to the Shrine.”
Nick took a deep breath. He knew he was more irritable than normal, but he felt he had a right to be. After taking a few more calming breaths, Nick spoke up.
“Look lady, I’m sorry I attacked you. I have no idea where I am, what I’m doing here, or how to get back home. Could you please just tell me what’s going on and where my family is?”
“I see. You are an attack first then ask for help sort of creature,” the hooded figures head tilted down as if looking at his club, “no wonder Beatrix didn’t stand a chance,” the figure pushed the hood back revealing an extremely attractive woman with solid white hair, and sharp purple eyes, “since you are the hero, I suppose I will give you some advice. Let go of your past and forget about getting home. This is your world now. Odds are you will become just another fallen hero and unthinkingly roam these lands for eternity.”
“Okay, well, that’s just ominous and raises even more questions, but never mind all that. What about my family? Are they safe? Do you know where they are?”
The women waved her hand and above the fire and a brief clip of his daughter running around at the school playground appeared. It quickly shifted to a scene of his wife feeding their newborn son, then faded.
Nick’s eyes were wide and began to redden. “Please, can you send me home?”
“I can not, not many would have that power.”
Nick was quiet for a long moment, simply staring off into space as a few stray tears fell down his cheeks.
“And who does have that power?” Nick finally spoke with a steely gaze.
“Most churches would have this power, although it’s unheard of for them to send a hero away.”
“Why do you keep calling me a hero?”
“Because that’s what you are. When a hero becomes a fallen, then one of the churches does the ritual to summon a new hero. You, Nicklaus Bamford, are said hero.”
“What do you mean? I’m no hero. None of this makes any sense!”
The woman smiled, “all you hero’s say the same thing when you arrive, though you are the only one to ever kill a Celestial Wisp, I imagine this will cause many unseen changes in Shades Mire,” the women then pulled her hood back over her head, “I must tend to the other shrines, farewell tainted hero.”
“Wait, can you show me my family again before you leave?”
“Make it to the next shrine and I will,” the women then slowly began fading away in front of his eyes, “I recommend touching the shrine.”
“What?” Nick asked as the woman vanished.
“This place is truly fucking crazy.”
Glancing at the fire, it seemed to burn brighter, even though there wasn’t any more wood in it.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Shrine.”
This was a fucking campfire. If it wasn’t for dying, all the pain, and that lady fading in front of his eyes, he would think someone was messing with him. Walking back and gathering the wood, he considered what the hooded woman, or Shrine Keeper said. The part about most churches having the power to send him home was good. He wasn’t sure how many churches there were, but finding one would definitely be a priority. Also, did she really tell him to touch fire?
Setting down the bundle of wood, he walked over to the fire. When he stepped into it, everything had turned black and he saw a bunch or words. Though at the time he thought it was just the stat sheet from the club glitching out. kneeling down next to the fire, he slowly reached his hand out. He could feel the heat, but it was mild at best. His hand was nearly touching the flames when a bell echoed in the distance. His entire body felt the vibration as if he was standing under a massive church bell. Suddenly, everything turned black and words and numbers appeared in front of him.
Nicklaus Bamford
Level
1
Essence
43
Essence required
473
Endurance
10
Vitality
10
Strength
10
Dexterity
10
Arcane
10
Intelligence
10
Wisdom
10
Attunement
1
Immediately, he pulled his hand back, and his vision returned to normal. “The hell…”
And there it was, his very own stat page. Nick wasn’t sure how he felt about this. He was having a difficult time coming to terms with everything, especially after getting murdered by a red-eyed demon.
“Focus.”
Taking a few calming breaths, he decided none of it really mattered. He would just use this stat page as a tool to get back to his family. He would likely need to get strong if he wished to get sent home. If the churches wouldn’t do it, then he would just get strong enough to do it himself. And if this was some sort of delusion, then he would make his way to the family, this delusion created for him.
Placing his hand over the fire again, his stat page reappeared. Looking at the required essence, he assumed that’s how much he needed to level up. He already had forty-three. His eyes widened in realization.
“The creature!” That was the only explanation why he would have the essence. Only one way to know for sure was to kill more of them. He would find red eyes and get his revenge. Glancing up at the cloud filled sky, Nick spoke. “Who ever took me away from my family and to this god forsaken game world will regret the day they were born!.”
Grabbing his club, he stood up.
Tainted Celestial Club
Rarity
Unknown
Damage type:
Physical
43
Life
50
Celestial Rot
50
Requirements:
Strength
10
Dexterity
3
Wisdom
10
Special Effect
Instantly restore 50 HP
Special Effect
Inflict Celestial Rot
~This Club was forged from a fallen branch of the Celestial Life tree. After being bathed in the Soul Blood of a Celestial Wisp as its first act, its alignment has become corrupted.~
“Oh, motherfucker, come on. Just go away already!”
Unfortunately, the translucent scroll continued to take up half his vision. It was only on his left side, so he tried closing his left eye, but that just made it move to his right side.
“Dismiss.”
“Close.”
“Exit.”
“For fuck’s sake, just get out of damn my vision!”
After cursing the sky a few more times, he gave up trying to dismiss the screen for now. Turning his head slightly left, he could at least see forwards without the scroll blocking his view completely. Deciding it would have to be good enough, he started towards the stairs to see if he could get his revenge on red eyes and gain some essence while he was at it. He paused when he noticed the creature was no longer where he drug it. In its place lay an old rusty dagger.
“Sure, of course there would be loot.”
Though he was curious about what happen to the creature. As soon as he touched the dagger, another scroll appeared over the top of the already existing club description, making it impossible to make out either one of them. Suddenly, the new transparent scroll, along with the dagger, vanished.
“Didn’t need more words in my vision, anyway.” Nick mumbled, though he wondered what happen to it.
Peeking over the crumbled wall, he saw another creature walking up the stairs.
He wasn’t sure if that was red eyes or just another creature entirely. But it didn’t matter, it just meant more essence for him to get stronger with.