Randel
Level: 9
Endurance: 5
Strength: 0
Dexterity: 0
Magic: 0
Spirit: 3
Most used abilities: Dark Bond
Most used weapon skills: Dagger Throw, Spear Throw, Lunge, Sneak Attack
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"No thanks, I'm good."
This was the phrase that I had to use the most. The lizardmen had two favorite hobbies: basking in the sun, and smoking some kind of weed. I very wisely decided to stay out of both of these activities. Since I wasn't used to spend so much time outdoors, I already had a slight sunburn. As for the weed, well, I had no idea what kind of effect it would have on me. I wasn't a smoker anyways, so declining wasn't difficult.
I also had to remind myself quite often that they didn't actually call themselves 'lizardmen'. Especially their women didn't. As Khssre's mate kept reminding me when I screwed it up, their race was called the Shrissten. After being smacked on the back of my head for the first few times, I learned the word with the correct pronunciation quite fast.
When I went back on the next morning to the site of the battle, I couldn't find Tobias and his team anywhere. They had left me behind, so I walked back to the Shrissten camp. Originally, I was hiding the truth about our encounter with the raobs. I hoped that the lizardmen (and lizardwomen) wouldn't try to harm me in any way, if they believed that other Players are waiting for my safe return. But after I was sure that I had been abandoned, I explained everything to the Shrissten about my old team and our misfortune at the hunting.
I watched Khssre closely as I told them my story, and I had the impression that he didn't want to intentionally mislead us, he just simply hadn't bothered to explain everything properly. It turned out that not every raob had those lightning attacks, just the mother raobs while they were still breastfeeding their little ones. Of course, the only thing I had was Khssre's word. He could have been making up these things easily, lying to me the whole time.
Maybe I was too trusting to believe them, but after seeing how they lived, I couldn't really imagine that they would be those 'plan within a plan' type of tricksters. In addition to that, I had a feeling that compared to all the monsters that lurked these lands, raobs were considered practically harmless. Khssre just didn't understand that a bunch of humans like us weren't used to fighting for our lives.
Not every lizardman in the caravan spoke my tongue, but I could make myself understood. I even thought about learning their language: if the Shrissten was indeed everywhere in this world as Khssre said, then it would be no doubt a useful skill. I could speak four different languages more or less fluently — they were one of those few things that I actually enjoyed to learn — and I would have been up to the task, only if it wasn't so damn difficult for my tongue. They had so many hissing sounds that it was on an entirely different level than any 'Human language'.
I liked that the Shrissten were generally kind of easygoing people. They didn't mind at all that I was tagging along for a few days. Maybe it wouldn't have been the same if I had six other people with me, but with just me alone, they didn't have to be on such high alert. I helped out with a few 'carthold' chores, like bringing water from the river or grooming and feeding the einops (the beasts of burden pulling their carts).
All in all, the days that I spent with them were quite good. I had regular two meals per day, which was enough, considering the length of those days. I wouldn't have minded a bit more variety (all they ate was meat and dried meat), but I wasn't about to complain. I also asked so many questions, that eventually even their patience had run out. They didn't get angry or anything, but it showed in an other way: if they didn't brush off a question or dodged answering it, they didn't take it seriously and often joked around, leaving me confused whether what they said was true or just part of something 'funny'.
Still, I have learned quite a bit. I knew a lot more about my whereabouts: these lands were part of Niaz, the largest empire of this world. Me and my fellow survivors had woken up on the edge of Dombos Hills, and were headed to the Western Woods. The caravan was also moving through these woods, following the road in the direction of a smaller, Shrissten-only settlement. I wasn't planning to tag along for that long, so it didn't concern me that I wouldn't be welcome there. Though most of the cities had mixed population, in villages and small towns different races didn't mingle often.
The Niazian Empire was a melting pot of different races (not literally though, as no two different races were able to have offspring together). The constant stream of collared visitors made sure of that. I was sad to learn that none of these visitors had ever returned to their home world, but it was only as far as the lizardmen knew, so it didn't necessarily mean anything. If someone had already found a way back, maybe they just didn't tell anyone because, well, they were already sipping beer in their home.
I learned a lot about other cities, regions, and even little villages where the spider silk was the cheapest but only if you bought it in the summer. A lot of this knowledge wasn't relevant at that moment, and probably would never be useful in the future, but these Shrissten were travelling merchants, and geography was something they actually enjoyed speaking about.
It was incredible how much I could pick up about this world, just by following this group of merchants and observing how they were living. In spite of the collar, the technology here was still quite medieval, a few hundred years behind ours. It was no wonder that we weren't given handguns when we woke up on the hill. In this world, the best shooting weapons were still at the level of bows and crossbows.
Thinking about those reminded me of Imaya and the team, which actually made me a little sad. The others were probably somewhere in this forest, trying to find something they could eat, sleeping on the ground, while constantly being afraid of wild animals and ugly lizardmen who might be sneaking up on them in any moment. I wasn't living a luxurious life either, but at least I didn't have to hunt for food. I was sleeping on the ground as well, but at least I could borrow a moldy blanket. And I didn't have to be afraid of the wild, though I very much feared the prankster lizardchildren who always woke me up with a bucket of ice-cold water.
After talking with the Shrissten about the Players, I still had no idea what the Council was expecting from us. Seemingly nothing. Every Player did as they wanted, and no one knew about powerful beings who could make Players dance like puppets. It seemed that whoever set us up, they really didn't want to intervene with our life here. I was apparently an exception, however. Was I supposed to do something with Soul Eater, or was I left to my own devices just like everybody else?
Thinking about Soul Eater, I realized something that I previously hadn't. The item's description said that it was a rare and durable material. Was this really a coincidence? The Ability that I had gained just before receiving the dagger had an obvious drawback: if my weapon got damaged, Dark Bond would hurt me in return. Then I suddenly received a weapon, which had a description that explicitly said that the material is extremely durable! To top this off, this 'prototype' was a dagger, the same type of weapon that I had chosen at the beginning.
It just seemed too perfect. Almost, as if all of this had been arranged for me.
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On my sixth night, Khssre pulled me away from the campfire. The sky was clear, and the amber moonlight shining through the canopy was providing enough light to see. Although it was a deep shade of amber this time, the moon had the strange habit of changing its colors. It had a slightly different hue from night to night, slowly turning from deep amber through yellowish green to dark green within one cycle, and then back within another. One cycle took exactly seven days, so it was oddly convenient to compare them to weeks.
When I asked the Shrissten about the moon, it turned out that there was a whole lot of religious mumbo jumbo about it already. Some believed that the moon was simply magical, while others — like the Church of the Moon — claimed that it was the projection of God's ever-changing face.
It was ironic that even after dedicating so much of my past years for drawing fantasy, I was still disappointed in the lack of logical explanation when I actually found something really 'out of this world'. I knew that the Inspector and the Council probably watching us somehow, and couldn't shake the feeling that there was some kind of technology behind all of this. Behind the collar, the Abilities, the moon... everything.
As we stopped at the edge of the camp and sat down on an upturned tree trunk, I noticed that Khssre was holding a bundle. When he saw me looking, he handed it me without fanfare. It was a leather bag.
"Tomorrow we will part wayss," he began, "and I thought I would give you a parting gift. Consssider it as an invesstment from my part. You are a Player, who knowsss what will the future brings. Should we meet again, I hope you would repay thiss favor in sssome way."
"Oh, um... I-I don't know what to say. Thank you." Even if the bag had been empty, it would have been a tremendous help. I had only two small pockets on my shorts, which weren't enough for carrying around food.
"Jusst open the bag," he said.
There were a few things inside that would come very handy if I had to continue my journey alone. There was a thin belt, from which I could hang my daggers. I was also given a dark cloak made of some kind of rough material. Not the most comfortable, but it would keep me warm at night and would be durable enough not to need constant mending. The Shrissten gave me an empty flask, which was something I didn't even recognize I needed. I wouldn't be staying forever near the river, so I needed something to carry water in. Finally, in the bottom of the bag I found a pair of flints. This was something I wanted to ask for before leaving them, no matter what. I wouldn't be able to survive long out there without fire.
"Wow... these will be incredibly useful," I said with awe, and I wasn't exaggerating. "I... I owe you a huge favor for this."
"Khekhekhe, I knew you would appreciate it," he chuckled contently. "There isss one more thing I would like to give you."
He reached inside of his tunic and pulled out a small book. It was more or less notebook sized, but with a leather hardcover. I took it from him, and looked at the cover in the dim light. It was simple, without any title. But as I opened the book on the first page, my eyes went wide as saucers.
"You sssee, bookss are very rare in thiss world," Khssre explained. "There aren't many of them, because not many people can read. A lot of you Playerss have tried to write bookss before, but rarely anyone buyss them. Thisss book, esspecially. No one iss interested in it, we had not been able to ssell it for decadesss. After hearing your sstory, I thought thiss would be a good gift to you."
I was so shocked that I couldn't even move a muscle. The book was handwritten by a human, by all appearances. It was a Sylven language book. A. Goddamn. Hand. Made. Dictionary. What the hell?!
"Ukhhh... Are you all right?" asked Khssre. "You can read it, right? When we were talking about your home world, you sssaid that mossst of the people can read there, sso I asssumed..."
"This is fantastic!" I jumped up with a huge, stupid smile on my face. "You couldn't have given me a better gift! I'll be forever in your debt." I hadn't received a better gift for... who knew how long. And this wasn't even my birthday.
Khssre patiently waited for my stream of thank-yous to end. After I managed to calm down, he changed the topic.
"When we part wayss, I suggest you follow the river, asss you did before. You will arrive to a human town called Bildy. From there on, you will have sseveral optionss. Lotss of jobss to do for the likesss of you."
Yeah, there was that. I didn't know why, but it seemed that everyone expected Players to fight. Track down criminals, hunt down monsters. Anything that the local law enforcement couldn't manage. The Shrissten also had two wanted-posters with them. After taking a look at those, the corresponding quests have appeared in my menus. The interesting thing was that the collar had added its own rewards to the original bounties.
Big and Smelly
Objective: Hunt down the Octopus Giant.
Progress: 0/1
Reward: New Ability, 10-gold bounty
Description: A huge, two-legged monster roams the land! Its feet are smelly, its tentacles are numerous. You better not make an acquaintance with its mouth!
He will steal yo' dead wife
Objective: Kill the Undead Charmer.
Progress: 0/1
Reward: 5 attribute points, 15-gold bounty
Description: The Undead Charmer is a half-human monster. He is no necromancer, but can take control over any undead creature. Make sure you don't bring your pet skeleton with yourself when you confront him!
The Shrissten told me that these are the two creatures that I really have to watch out for. There weren't many wild animals in this part of the Western Woods that would prey on people, so it wouldn't be too dangerous for me (and my former team) to travel through the forest. Unless we encountered one of this world's worst predators: other people. Bandits along trade routes weren't unheard of, but it was more likely to encounter them closer to the villages and towns, not out here so far from any civilization. So for the time being, my journey would be relatively safe.
"Sure," I replied to Khssre's advice. "Thank you for all your help. I won't forget what you did for me."
"Khekhekhe, you better not!"
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The 'most useful Ability of the day' award went to me, this time. It was easy enough, because there were no other contenders.
I was homesick, I had to admit. I was never enthusiastic when it came to family gatherings, but after spending several days in this completely foreign situation, I sorely wished I could see at least my parents again. And Sarah, even though we weren't exactly in good terms right before I got abducted. Back then I thought it was just temporary falling out, but now it seemed that I would never have the chance to make up with her.
I even missed my old team. Well, I might have thought about the 'old' and the 'team' part sarcastically, but I missed them nevertheless. Even listening to Tobias complaining about his fingers, or Dana constantly insulting me would have been better than walking days and days without company. I wasn't exactly a people person, but being alone in this world felt completely different from having some me-time in the comfort of my room.
My only solace was the language book. It was wonderful. Well, wonderful only if I consider the circumstances. Otherwise, I would have called it shit. I was impressed and annoyed with it at the same time.
The book had two sections. One contained popular phrases, like 'How are you today?' or 'thank you very much'. The other section was just a dump of words. There were a few pages dedicated for each letter, so the words were at least sorted by their initials, but beyond that, they were just written down as they came to the author's mind. I had no doubt that the lack of alphabetical order would be the cause of some rather extensive cursing on my part later on.
The author had probably no idea about the grammar, as there was no mention of any grammatical rules. I would have to figure them out by speaking with others. Oh, and of course whoever wrote this book couldn't write in the Sylven's language, or at least chosen not to include it. Instead, all the translations were written phonetically. That couldn't be helped, and I was just hoping that they weren't so different from the original pronunciation that no one would understand me. In spite of everything, it was a fun thing to spend the time with. In addition to learning the words, I was trying to discover the hidden logic behind the grammar by observing the 'popular phrases'.
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Most of the time, I was walking as I learned the words. The forest wasn't too dense fortunately, and not counting the birds' chirping, I didn't even spot any sign of animals. I just had to pay attention occasionally to a few low-hanging branches or stupidly positioned trees in front of me, and I was good. The ground was more or less even, with little to none undergrowth.
It was no wonder that my travelling speed was considerably slower than it was previously with the others, but at least my legs weren't as tired. Even so, I hadn't given up on the idea of finding my old team. I wasn't actively searching for them or anything, but I didn't think that they had distanced themselves from the river too much. The forest would become denser in a few days' walk and I wouldn't be able to read anymore, at least not while travelling, so I might catch up to them after that. If I still couldn't find them, well, there was one obvious destination: the town of Bildy. We might run into each other there probably.
It wouldn't even be the end of the world if I didn't find them, so I wasn't too worried about that. What worried me instead were the gigantic footsteps that I had found in the mud of the riverbank. I recognized the strange toe-like protrusions where the heels were supposed to be. I had no idea how to determine how old the footprints were, but I had the feeling that they were fairly recent. Otherwise the prints would have disappeared in the soft ground already. If this was the walking octopus giant thing — which was more than likely — then it raised the question once again: how come I didn't see or hear it from afar?
"Scary shit, eh?" a voice said while I was inspecting the footprints.
After successfully surviving a mini heart-attack, I turned around to take in the man behind me. He wore a well made leather vest, but the rest of his clothes were shabby, his trousers covered with mud. His long, dark hair was in a loose ponytail, his mouth twisted in a cocky grin. He had a short sword at his hip, and he was sitting on a knee-high metal cage, which seemed to have an occupant. I could make out some reddish fur and at least two paws.
While I was measuring the man up, he did the same with me. I saw the moment when he realized that I had a collar. He probably didn't see it earlier, because my cloak was covering it from behind. When his eyes found the device around my neck, I saw his expression stiffen. I didn't think that he had a good opinion about Players.
"Yes, scary," I said finally. "Though not as scary as strangers sneaking up on you in the middle of the forest."
"Ha! I was hardly sneaking. How can I, with a cage this large?"
He had me there. It was totally my fault getting distracted by the footprints. No, I wasn't even looking out for dangers even before that. In retrospect, I was really stupid. Even though Khssre had assured me that this part of the forest wasn't dangerous, I shouldn't have let my guard down. Well, I wasn't dead yet, so lesson learned.
"Yeah, true. I was a bit... distracted," I said. "What are you doing here?"
"Transporting this little sweetheart," he patted the cage he was sitting on. Now that I looked at it more closely, I could see that it had two leather straps fastened on one end. The cage didn't have bars on that side, only a solid wall. The man could probably carry the box like a backpack, albeit a really uncomfortable one.
"Ah. Are there many patrols in this area?" I asked.
"Patrols?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "Why do you ask that?"
"I'm just curious, that's all. I haven't met any human in this world yet. Besides you, of course. I'd like to know why you need to smuggle that thing this deep through the forest."
"Smuggle? Oh well, if you want to put it like that..."
Seriously, how else could I have put that? What else would someone be doing this deep in the forest with a heavy cage? If he was a trader or merchant, he would follow the road, not to mention he probably wouldn't be carrying that box all by himself.
"Don't worry, I don't care about whatever you are up to," I quickly said, just so there would be no misunderstandings.
"Oh, I wasn't worried," he said lazily. "I wanted to ask the same question, but now I see that I don't really need to. I can see that you are a Player, and you've just admitted that you are new here. Welcome to our little world!" he said, spreading his arms wide.
"As for your other question," he continued, "the answer is no, there aren't any patrols here at all. That's the point of me being here, isn't it?"
"So, what do you want from me?" I asked, ignoring his quip to cut to the heart of the matter.
"You see," he said after a little pause, "I have been in this forest for a few days now. But you know, it is rather difficult to hunt alone, carrying a cage on your back. I've almost ran out of food already! So what do you say about us teaming up? You help me hunt something, we share the kill, and in return I will answer anything you'd like to know about this world. You must be bursting with questions!"
The offer seemed reasonable, which just made me even more suspicious, of course. The guy smelled fishy. I assumed that he really was alone, because there would have been no reason to let his companions hide while he was talking to me. Maybe he was actually out of food. But what use would a lone vagrant be to someone like him? I saw his expression when he saw the collar: he didn't know beforehand that I was a Player, so he couldn't have known that I was capable of hunting. Why risk being seen then?
Could it be that he approached me just to see if I had anything he could take? I wouldn't be surprised. It was very likely that he saw me reading my dictionary. Books were supposed to be costly, so maybe he deduced that I had a few valuables he could take. Maybe he planned to threaten me to hand them over, but upon seeing that I was a Player, he decided to take an other approach.
"Come on, I know that for a Player a raob or two wouldn't even be a problem," he prompted. "Or we could get an eor, if we find one. I'll let you know that I'm quite adequate at tracking."
"Eor? What's that?" I decided to stall for a while.
"Swift, four-legged, herbivore creatures. You'll see when we find one!"
The safe choice would be to refuse his offer. It was no guarantee for my safety, though. He would still be able to follow me, and catch me unawares. He could track me down anytime. And how would I be able to sleep?
Problem was, I was doing no better than him when it came to food. My dried meat from the Shrissten had run out yesterday. Since then, I had been eating some berries that the lizardmen had pointed out as edible for humans, but I really needed to find something that could actually fill my stomach.
There was one more reason to accept his offer: Soul Eater. At first, I hadn't been sure if I wasn't just imagining things, but in the last few days I became increasingly certain: the dagger, or possibly the collar was injecting me with emotions. I had found my hands more and more often wandering towards Soul Eater's hilt subconsciously, eager to use it. I also felt something that I could compare to withdrawal symptoms. I was longing for action, for adrenaline. These feelings were faint, I could suppress them, but it might be a problem if they got stronger. I haven't killed anything since that little raob, and it seemed soon I would have to feed Soul Eater again.
But to tell the truth, I didn't really need this smuggler's help in anything. He may be able to track animals better, but it was not worth the risk. I took down the bag from my back, and carefully tucked in the dictionary.
"While it is true that I also need to hunt for food," I replied finally, "I think I'm fine on my own. Thanks for the offer, though." I looked at his poker face for a few seconds, then quickly turned and began walking away. In the coverage of my cloak, I began casting Dark Bond on Soul Eater, just in case. I have been practicing teleporting to my weapons, so I was counting on a quick escape if things went sour. I just had to throw the dagger without hitting any nearby tree.
"Not so fast, lad," the smuggler said, and I felt something sharp poking my side, right below the ribs. Oops. Mistakes were made. I managed to enchant Soul Eater in time, but I was concentrating too much on stealthily creating the Bond, and didn't consider that it wasn't a brilliant idea to turn my back to someone whose offer I just refused. This just simply wasn't my day. Why couldn't the smuggler wait while I was sleeping and slit my throat then? Why did he have to confront me now?
"Make one unnecessary move, and you will get to taste some steel," he threatened. "Drop whatever you are holding in your hands. NOW!"
As I dropped Soul Eater, I wondered whether kicking it away would count as an unnecessary move. I might have risked it anyways - that way I could have shifted myself to it to escape - but in the next moment the man yanked me back by my cloak. He turned so that he was facing me, his sword pointing to my abdomen.
"Oho, what a nice dagger we have here!" he taunted me, glancing down for a brief moment. "Such a shame you lost it. You see, I know how you Players operate. All sort of nasty things with your chosen weapons, but without it, you are just scared little shits."
"Okay," I said, "but I can't give you any food. I don't have any either."
"Nah, I don't care about the food. Just put your neat little bag down here, and you can leave."
Why, why, why does he have to try rob me?! Wasn't he happy enough smuggling that creature, potentially earning lots of money? Maybe I just looked like easy prey. He could have guessed that I'm not really good at fighting. I could teleport Soul Eater into my hand, but I wouldn't be able to do anything against his sword. I sighed and raised my hands slowly, in order to take off my bag. The movement of my arms shifted my cloak, revealing Stabby. I realized my mistake when it was too late already: I didn't mention him that I still had a second weapon on my belt. I saw a shocked expression flash through his face as he noticed at my dagger.
I decided to try to run for it. Even if he hadn't planned to kill me originally, the threat of me holding a weapon had surely changed his mind. I jumped backwards, and he followed up with a stab at my midsection. I managed to avoid the blade only by letting my momentum carry me down to the ground. I landed on my back and quickly began rolling to the left. But I wasn't fast enough, earning a gash above my left knee. I cried out and momentarily lost focus, which almost cost me my life. The smuggler skipped forward, sword pointing towards my head, ready to thrust it into my skull. However, this movement made him step away even further from Soul Eater, and I immediately teleported myself to the dagger's location.
The sword found only empty air, and the smuggler became very confused. I had a second or two before he realized I was right behind him. I could make a run for it, but my leg was hurting so much, that it wouldn't be too long before the man caught me. Unless, he is injured as well. At the sudden idea, I took aim and used Dagger Throw. My body moved expertly, hurling Soul Eater into the back of his thigh. The throw didn't have as much force behind it as I was hoping, but it still wounded the smuggler pretty badly. The dagger's blade sank into his flesh partially, then fell to the ground.
"FUCK!" he shouted, pivoting in my direction.
I had two choices in that moment. There was the logical one: limp away, summon Soul Eater to me in about 18 seconds when the cooldown wore off, and hope that the smuggler was even more injured than me. But an unreasonable, primal part of me was shouting: You got this!
I decided to take the offensive and drew Stabby from my belt. While the smuggler was clutching at his wound with a painful expression on his face, I limped towards him and closed the distance. When I got near he tried to hit me, but I caught his right wrist with my left hand, stopping his weak attempt to slash me with the sword. Meanwhile, my right hand was striking out with Stabby. I wasn't aiming anywhere specifically, the only thing on my mind was to hurt him. The man batted my blade aside with his left arm, gaining a deep cut there, but avoiding being stabbed in the chest. He grunted, but didn't back down. Letting go of his sword, he grabbed me with both hands and twisted my arms, forcing me down to the ground. Even with his injuries, he was stronger than me.
When I hit the ground, my head bounced off of something hard and I lost my grip on Stabby. In a half-dazed state I realized that I have landed next to the cage. I tried to pick up my dagger, but in the next instant he grabbed my neck and bashed my head into the metal bars again. I'm not winning this fight, that's for sure. My thoughts were strangely unconcerned. Logically, I knew I didn't have a chance now. The only thing I could do is to wait the remaining ten or so seconds and use teleport to shift myself to Soul Eater. The smuggler could easily knock me unconscious before that, though.
Despite this, I felt no fear. I didn't panic. I didn't understand why I was so calm, but I didn't really care.
"Aarrrrghh!"
Suddenly the hands holding me down disappeared. With hazy eyes I looked up and saw the smuggler struggling to his feet, half of his face on fire. His hair was burning too, and so were his sleeves. I heard a gurgling sound and looked at the cage just in time to see the creature inside spitting through the bars in the direction of the smuggler. The liquid burst into flames in the air, but splashed around the feet of the man, failing to ignite anything.
This little intervention bought me enough time to get on my feet. The smuggler managed to put out the fire, staggering back a few steps in the meanwhile. He picked up Soul Eater from the ground, and leaned against a tree to support himself. He looked at me with furious eyes, clutching his left arm and barely standing on his feet, the burn marks on his face making his appearance even more inhuman. It didn't frighten me as much as it should have. No, it pretty much had the opposite effect. Seeing my prey wounded, I went on the offensive again.
I lunged from my good leg and drew back my right arm, ready to strike. The smuggler held out the black dagger in order to stab me if I got closer. I swung my right hand as if I was trying to punch him in the neck, but in the last moment I teleported Soul Eater in reverse grip to my hand. I ran straight into the smuggler's empty fist, which knocked the air out of me, but not before I slid the blade across the smuggler's throat.
The man staggered a few steps and fell, choking on his own blood. White mist erupted from his body and flew towards me. I sank to my knees. Not because my injuries hurt. Not because I felt tired. Not because I felt awful. The reason was completely different: I had never felt more alive!
The mind-blowing pleasure that I felt was so intense, that I was gasping for air. Pure, indescribable pleasure permeated my body. My brain couldn't even cope with it and my mind shut down for a few seconds. When I began to come around, the laughter was dying down. And it wasn't my laughter. A demonic voice was laughing in my head.
"What the hell?!" I exclaimed and flung Soul Eater as far as I could. It spun in the air, landing with a dull thump against a tree, and the laughter gradually died down.
Slowly, with rising dread, I looked down at the burnt and bloodied corpse of the smuggler. A sudden wave of nausea coursed through me when I thought about what I did. I fell forward, retching. What have I done?!
What an emotional roller coaster. Soul Eater had been able to manipulate my feelings more than I thought it could. It had encouraged me to fight, and I hadn't even realized it. And those emotions when I finished off the smuggler... My eyes landed on my right hand. It was splattered with blood. Suddenly my disgust towards myself became too much to bear.
"Aaaaaaaagh!" with a cry of anguish, I grabbed my collar with both hands and began to pull it in opposite directions. Just get it off, get it off, I don't care how but get it off! My hands were aching as I pulled, twisted, and clawed at the collar with all my might. My fingernails became bloody, my knuckles bruised, but I couldn't tear the damn thing apart. Finally, with my strength spent, I lowered my shaking hands and planted my tear-soaked face into them, curling myself up on the ground. Just get it off...
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Cannot stay here. Have to find food. Have to find a place to sleep.
It took me a while to get myself moving. It took me even more time to be able to grab Soul Eater and put it away. For long, long minutes I had been just staring at it as it was lying in the base of a tree. I tried to tell myself that it was just a program, just computer code. It wasn't actually diabolic, it was just programmed this way. Yes, it could make me feel different emotions, but like every system, Soul Eater surely had its limitations too. I could probably discover back doors, or something to trick its system. For a start, I would have to avoid fighting with it. If it became hungry, I would kill a few chickens with it, or some other kind of animal that is about to be someone's dinner anyways. Yes, it can be tricked. I would get a job as a butcher, and I would happily live the rest of my life feeding pigs to the cursed weapon.
Before I got going once again, I had one more difficult thing to do. I had to loot the corpse. First, I needed to cut a few strips of cloth from the body so that I could bandage my wound. The smuggler's already muddy clothing was even more dirty now, so finding a relatively clean part wasn't easy. I could only hope that the cut above my knee wouldn't get infected. I also had to search the corpse for the keys to the cage. Finally, I decided to take the smuggler's money and anything of value. I was disgusted with the idea — I was basically doing what he intended to do with me — but I had to be realistic. The smuggler didn't need those things anymore, but I did.
The short sword went to my hip, a pouch with coins and Soul Eater went into my bag. I thought about prying off his leather vest, but I couldn't stomach the thought of wearing his clothes. Besides, even though it was definitely better protective gear than my shirt, the weather was warm enough that I didn't need another layer on me.
I limped down to the river and washed my wound, then bandaged it. As I was limping back, my eyes found the footprints again. Damn, I totally forgot those. Better to leave as soon as possible, in case the giant likes to frequent this place, I thought. Even the emotion manipulation of Soul Eater wouldn't help me if I found myself against something this big. For a moment I wondered about how many levels I would gain if I happened to kill a giant, then I froze at that thought.
I quickly opened up my collar's menu, and saw what I had been fearing. I was level 17. I had already realized that some creatures had larger souls than others, for example tibbars gave us fewer levels than the gnomes. But to think that the collar rewarded Players more when they killed other intelligent beings...
I was feeling nauseous once again, but before I closed off the menu, I forced myself to check one more thing. I opened up my Skills tab and sure enough, I found a new skill there. Throat Opener. My deed as a killer was well documented.
When I arrived next to the cage, I cautiously peered inside. The fire-spitting creature turned out to be some kind of feline. It looked like a wildcat, or more precisely, like a large kitten with long and sharp teeth. The tips of its canines were peeking out of its closed mouth. The cat's fur was various shades of red, except on the underside where it was yellowish orange. The triangular ears on the top of its head were turned in my direction, and big, crimson eyes were watching me warily.
I made a Dark Bond with Stabby and put it down a few steps behind the cage. After that I moved slowly to the lock, and twisted the key in it. I didn't even swung the door open, just shifted myself instantly to my dagger. The wildcat would figure out eventually that it was free, but I didn't want to be there when it happened, in case it became hostile towards me.
Moreover, the feline creature was most likely carnivore. The smuggler didn't even have any food for himself, so it wasn't a wild guess that he hadn't fed the animal. Now the animal was free, hungry, and its former captor was lying in front of its paws. I didn't want to witness what was about to happen.