Joe came to with a start which in turn caused Bixby to jump to full wakefulness. Bixby immediately began looking around for danger. Joe patted Bixby’s side, “Sorry, buddy. It’s all good. Bad dream.” Joe’s calm demeaner made Bixby stand down somewhat and he shook himself, stretched then trotted over to the creek to get a drink. Joe sat rubbing his eyes and getting his bearings. Then it dawned on him that he was using both hands without any pain.
Joe looked at his blood-soaked bandages and sat for a moment in confusion. Why do these not hurt? Am I still in shock? He tenderly probed his forearm wound with a finger, but there was no pain. Not even any residual soreness. In point of fact, he felt fine. No, better than fine, he felt healthy and robust. What is going on? He thought. He looked around and realized that he must have slept for several hours as the sun was high in the sky. Turning his attention back to his wounds, he carefully unwrapped the bandages around his arm and peeled them off slowly. The dried blood had crusted, and he did not want to pull on a scab and reopen it. But after a minute of careful removal and cleaning the area with some water, Joe was shocked to see that there was no trace of a wound. Not even a scar.
If not for the bloody bandages, Joe thought he may have hallucinated the entire thing. He checked his leg and his shoulder to find the same results. All his wounds were miraculously healed. How is this even possible? Hell, how is any of today possible? Joe set his dirty bandages aside and got up to stretch. Nothing ached even after having slept against a log for several hours. He walked over to the pool of water from the creek, stripped off his flannel and t-shirt and began cleaning himself off. Using his bloodied shirt as a washcloth, Joe managed to get himself relatively clean and he sat on the pebbly creek edge staring at the water, lost in thought. As he sat, he became aware of his reflection in the pool. Joe peered closer and was astonished to see his reflection. Joe kept himself in pretty good shape. He exercised and ate a healthy diet and had never been embarrassed to take off his shirt in public, but what he saw in the pool was a big step up from his normal view of himself. His torso looked tighter, more defined, and leaner. Looking down, he ran his hands over his chest and stomach. At a guess he figured he had lost a good ten pounds. Where there used to be a flat stomach, his abs were now fairly defined.
“Huh. I guess if there’s going to be impossible shit going on, I may as well get some benefit from it.” Joe looked over at Bixby, “I mean, if you can change, I guess so can I.” Joe strolled back over to his pack and pulled out a spare t-shirt. He inspected his flannel and decided it was too torn, bloody and dirty to salvage as something wearable but when cleaned it could be used as bandages. A quick check of his med kit confirmed that he was pretty much out of bandages. It was a small kit and was not meant for major emergencies. Next, he pulled out some jerky and tossed a few pieces to Bixby, who greedily snapped them up and then looked on expectantly. “In a bit dude. We need to ration since I have no idea where we are.” Ignoring Bixby’s continued begging, Joe sat on the log he had slept against and finally decided to check the notices he had ignored earlier. There was a steadily flashing icon in his lower right field of view. He focused on that and instantly a barrage of scrolls appeared.
Congratulations! You have earned the ability, Poison Resistance. Poison Resistance gives you 10% resistance to poison. You will gain an Extra 3% for every five levels. Maximum resistance is 80%.
Congratulations! Your ability, True Grit has increased to 10%.
Congratulations! Your ability, Tough as Nails has increased to 13%.
Congratulations! Your ability, Poison Resistance has increased to 13%.
Congratulations! You have earned the skill, Medic Tier 1.
Congratulations! Your Soulbound Companion [Bixby] has earned the ability, Rend. When using a Bite attack, Rend adds 10% to damage and causes 10 points of bleeding per second for five seconds. Rend will gain an extra 3% to damage and add 3 points of bleeding every five levels. Maximum damage bonus 50%. Maximum Bleed damage 50 points per second.
Achievement Unlocked! Not Today Satan! You have survived incredible odds and taken enough damage to bring you to a single Health Point. Your pluck and determination to live are inspiring! Rewards Unlocked! You gain, +5 Constitution, and the Hard to Kill ability. Exp earned, 15,000 (Banked). Gold earned 5,000.
Congratulations! You have earned the ability, Hard to Kill. Upon being reduced to 5% of your overall Health or lower, Hard to Kill will immediately heal you up to 20% of your maximum Health and have all status effects removed.
What the hell? A single Health point? Joe looked at Bixby, “Dude, I think I almost died.” Joe went back to studying the various notifications all the way back to the first one. He spent almost half an hour reading and rereading the notices. Afterwards, he sat in thought and finally spoke out loud to Bixby again, “I think something went wrong. If I’m understanding all this right, I should be in some sort of tutorial zone, but so far, I haven’t seen anything like that. Buddy, I think we’re on our own out here.” Joe went back to his backpack and pulled out one of the goblin daggers. He studied the weapon and determined that while the handle was a bit on the small side for his hand, he could use it if need be. Recalling the poison warning he received earlier, he looked closely and could see no substance on the blade. Must have all come off when it stabbed me. Joe thought. He then ran his finger along the edge to test its sharpness and the tiniest cut appeared. Practically a paper cut. Well, dang, that’s actually really sharp.
Warning! You have been Poisoned! You will lose 8 Health per minute until the poison is neutralized or runs its course.
Congratulations! Your ability, Poison Resistance has increased to 16%.
“Shit!” Joe exclaimed. “That was stupid! Dammit!” Joe rushed to the creekside pool to wash his wound. After swirling his hand in the cold water, he went back to his backpack to get his med kit. “Bix, buddy, I hope this poison resistance that I seem to have works. I have no idea how long it takes for the poison to stop.” After pulling out the alcohol, Joe inspected his thumb only to find it completely healed. He sat down staring at his thumb with a dumbfounded look on his face. I didn’t see any healing abilities, so how does that work? Joe pondered that for a few minutes and then had an idea.
Joe pulled out his bowie knife, not wanting to poison himself again and walked back to the pool of water. He pressed his thumb against the blade until a cut appeared. He had to use a bit more force than he anticipated but thought perhaps that was due to his new ability Tough as Nails. He swirled his thumb in the water and then peered at it. The cut immediately closed. “Awesome!” He yelled. Bixby turned away from the bush he was inspecting to look at Joe. Joe smiled and said, “I think this is like, magic healing water. That would explain why I healed from the poison and the wounds so quickly. I’m pretty sure this stuff actually saved my life.”
Joe went once again to his backpack and pulled out two canteens and a small plastic water bottle. He drank the contents of the water bottle and poured the canteens out. He then refilled all three containers with the water from the pool. As an afterthought, he also collected as much of the glowing moss as he could and put it in a spare Ziploc baggy. After storing his canteens and moss, he said to Bixby, “Buddy, we can’t stay here. We need to find a way home, but we can definitely take some of this water with us just in case we run into those little goblin guys again.” Satisfied that all his gear was packed back up, he donned the backpack. Determined not to be left unarmed in the future, he pulled out his machete. “Ok, Bix, all rivers usually head towards the ocean, so let’s follow this one.”
The two began following the creek, which turned out to be a bit more difficult than Joe had thought. They found occasional game trails that eventually petered out and they had to take detours around fallen trees and rock formations. The going was slow. After what Joe determined to be maybe two hours, the sounds of the forest changed. Before there was the sound of birds and the creak of timber and the rushing of the creek, but now all the animal sounds were gone, and the noise of the rushing water seemed muted. The hairs on the back of Joe’s neck began to prickle.
Joe looked down at Bixby and he too seemed a bit on edge. Slowing their pace considerably, Joe whispered, “Keep an eye out, something seems off.” Moving with as much stealth as he could muster, Joe moved forward. It was not long before Bixby began sniffing in earnest and a few low growls escaped his throat. Joe’s head was on a swivel as he scanned everywhere for a threat. Another fifty feet brought them to a rise in the terrain and as they crested it, Joe could see that there was a clearing up ahead. Then the stench hit him. Something was dead up ahead.
Joe crouched down and crept up to the edge of the clearing, motioning Bixby to stay. Peering through a thick bush, he could see what had once been a deer, in fact more than one judging by the number of rib cages. They had all been absolutely torn apart. The grizzly scene showed blood and gore everywhere. But the most eye-catching part of the scene was the five-foot-long, bright yellow banana slug that was slowly sliding over the remains. That and the utter silence. Joe could no longer hear the creek. Backing away, Joe went back to Bixby, and they skirted the clearing. Joe had no intention of meeting whatever had slaughtered those deer.
The duo continued following the creek for another hour or so. Joe finally realized that he was truly lost. The forest kept changing biomes from redwood to temperate rain forest to oak among other things. They came across flora that Joe had never seen before. It seemed that the original scroll didn’t lie when it said other worlds would be merged. He was caught up in inspecting the leaves of a plant that resembled a fern, but the leaves were bright blue with yellow veins, when they rounded a bend in the creek and came face to face with a stone wall. The wall bisected the creek with a small metal grate allowing the water to flow under it. The stone was roughhewn and looked old. Moss and vines were growing up from the bottom and there were water marks showing that the creek levels rose and fell occasionally.
How did I not see this? One minute there’s a forest, then next, a wall smack dab in the middle. Looking up, Joe could see the wall was about ten feet tall, but since he was an arm’s length away, he couldn’t see anything beyond. To the left, the wall continued into the dense growth. To the right, there was a small ridge that he thought both he and Bixby could climb to see if there was a way around. Not having any better ideas, Joe climbed the short ridge and followed the wall. About ten yards in, Joe found a corner and the wall continued about two hundred feet.
Joe and Bixby came to what would turn out to be the front of a small keep or fort. Joe was uncertain what the correct term was. The entire thing was ringed in a ten-foot wall. There was a well-travelled road that led to the front gate, which reminded Joe of wrought iron French doors. The gate stood ajar and was covered in vines like most of the walls had been. The area around the gates was undisturbed and the overall feeling was one of neglect. Joe peered through the gate and could see a square two-story tower set off to one side and a handful of smaller wooden buildings in various states of disrepair. The creek exited the front wall some forty feet from the gate and followed the road further into the forest.
Nothing moved in the immediate vicinity of the tower and buildings. The day was getting on and Joe made a snap decision to see if he could make camp here for the night. He turned to Bixby, “Let’s check this place out. If it’s safe, we’ll camp here.” Joe had to push the gate open another foot to be able to squeeze in. He entered the area warily, eyes darting everywhere. He also relied on Bixby’s senses to alert him of any danger. The space was roughly the width of a football field and maybe half the length. The creek bisected the left quarter of the area with what may have been small footbridges crossing it here and there. Joe could make out a smithy and to one side, a stable. He could only guess at the purpose of the other small buildings. All of them were ramshackle and falling apart except for the Smithy which had stone walls and a sturdier roof. But the real prize was the tower itself. It was about forty feet to each side and completely made of cut stone. The front door was still mostly intact; however, the top hinge was broken, and it was leaning inward, held in place only by the lower hinge.
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Joe took a moment to open the gate just a bit more to allow a quick exit if he and Bixby needed to run. Turning back to the interior of the keep, it was peaceful and did not look to harbor any monsters or giant slugs. Cautiously, Joe moved towards the tower thinking that if the roof was intact then they would have a good place to stay for a bit that was somewhat defensible. The two made it all the way to the tower door without incident and Joe peered inside. Without any windows, the interior was dark. What little light there was, came in through the doorway he was standing in and from the top of a set of stairs across from him. Stepping out, he looked up and saw that the upper floor had small, slit-like windows. He vaguely remembered they were for archers to fire through but was not certain he was remembering correctly. Either way, he figured the upper floor was probably more well-lit than the bottom.
Peering back inside, he could not see any movement or hear any sounds that would indicate something alive inside. He looked down at Bixby who was silently scanning behind them as if watching for anything untoward creeping up on them. Huh, maybe he really does have my back. Cool. Joe whispered, “Hey Bix, you think you can scout the inside?”
Bixby looked back at Joe and then promptly slid past him and through the broken door. Well, OK then, thought Joe. It only took a few minutes before Bixby was back at the doorway wagging his tail. Joe took that as a sign that the coast was clear, and he pushed his way into the room. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom, but once he did, he could make out some rather heavy looking tables with benches in the center of the room and a large fireplace on the wall facing him from the right. Stepping fully into the room, machete at the ready, he walked along the right wall while scanning the room. While he trusted Bixby, he was paranoid about a sneak attack by the little grey goblin men, or really anything else that wanted to kill and or eat him. Ten feet along the wall he came across a weapons rack. At least he assumed so as it had two rusted swords and a spear hanging from it and was obviously meant to hold even more weaponry. A small, round, wooden shield lay on the floor as well. Wishing he had some more light to see, Joe left the weapons alone and eventually circumnavigated the entire room. What he found was heartening. The ceiling here was intact and buttressed by sturdy looking beams of wood. There were several large barrels in one corner that sounded like they had something in them as they did not sound hollow when he thumped them. Across from the door he entered was a door that let out into the back half of the keep’s grounds. He opened that door with a bit of elbow grease and that helped immensely with seeing more of the room. All the tables and benches were in good condition if a bit dusty. The fireplace also seemed intact and had rusty cast iron pots and utensils around it.
The stairs started at the bottom next to the back door and were a combination of wood and stone. They hugged the wall and went to the second floor. At Joe’s urging, Bixby happily went up the stairs and sat at the top wagging his tail and looking at Joe as if he were a moron for not coming up quicker. As Joe stepped up the last few stairs and he could see into the room, it became apparent that this was living quarters for someone, albeit no one had lived here for a very long time. The furniture here was in rough shape. The windows obviously let in the elements and the bed, dresser and small table were in ruins. There was a wooden runner that went along all of the walls that Joe thought maybe archers could stand on to get a better view through the slitted windows.
What caught his attention right away, though, was a small, sturdy looking chest that looked brand new. It was about two feet wide, a foot tall and a foot deep. It had brass fittings that were shiny and polished, and the wood was stained a deep mahogany color. It was a beautiful piece of craftmanship. It had a large brass padlock on it and a strap of brass stretched across the length of the lid with a purple, oval gemstone set in it. The chest was so out of place that Joe took a step back. Why was this brand-new chest here? Did that mean someone was living here? Joe looked around, but other than his and Bixby’s footprints, the dust on the floor was undisturbed.
Stepping closer, Joe examined the chest. If the world is like a D&D game now, maybe this is a treasure chest? Out loud Joe added, “What do you think Bixby? Should I try to open it?” Bixby stopped his sniffing for a moment and then promptly ignored Joe. “Thanks for the input.” Joe said sarcastically.
Feeling bold, Joe reached out and tentatively touched the chest and quickly retracted his arm. He didn’t want to get caught by a booby trap or lightning bolt or something. When nothing happened, he ran his hand over the wood and brass. Whomever had crafted this was extremely good at their job. It was beautiful. Joe knelt in front of it and took the lock in one hand. It had a single, large keyhole. I bet it takes one of those old-timey skeleton keys, he thought. Maybe there’s a key or another way to open it.
At that thought, the shackle on the lock clicked and it opened. “Whoa!” Joe exclaimed. “Well, that was certainly easy.” He threaded the shackle through the hasp and set the lock aside. Taking a steadying breath, Joe looked at Bixby who had now come to stand next to Joe. Joe was once again reminded that Bixby had grown considerably from before the tutorial transfer and looked very wolf-like. With a bit of excitement in his voice, Joe asked, “You ready buddy?” He eased the lid open, and a faint purple light emanated from the interior of the chest. For just a moment, Joe was disappointed to see that the chest was empty, but suddenly a new scroll appeared in front of him. However, this one was a bit different than the others, this one showed a grid. It was an eight-by-eight grid holding a total of sixty-four squares. The header at the top simply said, Inventory. The topmost square on the left had an icon that looked like a little pile of gold coins. The one next to it held an icon of a gemstone, the third had a gold ring, and the fourth had a purple bottle.
“Ok. Ok.” Joe said. “I get it. An inventory screen. This is cool.” Joe twisted around to sit on the floor and focused on the first icon with little gold coins. The slot grew to fill the center of the screen and it looked like a window to a shelf with a large pile of gold coins.
Inventory Slot One
Gold: 15,000
Joe’s eyes went wide. “Did I just get fifteen thousand gold from this? Wait, no, I remember a few of my achievements gave me gold too.” He closed the inventory slot and opened the next one. This one opened to a shelf with two red gemstones sitting on it.
Inventory Slot Two
Flawless Ruby: 2
“Ok, gemstones. Neat.” He looked at Bixby who had settled on the floor with his head on his paws, eyes half closed, “Maybe I can sell these in a town or something? Or maybe they’re magical?” He closed that and opened the ring slot. This one had a shelf with a ring that looked like it was made out of stars. Looking at it made Joe think of the Milky Way.
Inventory Slot Three
Ring of the Void Walker
“Now that screams magic ring to me.” Joe tried reaching out to the ring, but the screen remained a screen and not an actual window to a shelf. But just the act must have triggered whatever powered the world now and the ring appeared in Joe’s hand. Joe carefully examined the ring. He noted that there were very faint circles that spun and twined together on its surface. The entire ring was made out of solid outer space. He studied it for a moment and willed it back into his inventory. It reappeared on the shelf space in his inventory screen. Oh, that’s handy. I wonder if I can store other things in here? Joe pondered. Finally, he put his attention on the last slot with an icon. This shelf showed a small vial made out of purple glass with a cork stopper on it. The glass had a design of a shield with crossed swords behind it.
Inventory Slot Four
Potion of the Errant Knight
“This is definitely right out of a game or a movie. Probably not a good idea to be drinking strange potions though, eh Bix?” Joe scratched absently at Bixby’s head which earned him a tail wag. Joe sat and practiced taking the ring in and out of his inventory. He tried using his machete, but it would not enter an inventory slot. He thought for a bit then tried one of the goblin daggers and that went into the slot without issue. Hmmm. Maybe only things that this Control System created can go in? He experimented with his backpack, bowie knife and med kit. None of those could be placed, but the goblin bow and arrows could and surprisingly, his canteen filled with the creek water. He decided to keep the goblin bow, arrows and daggers in this inventory space as well as his canteens, water bottle and the Ziploc of glowing moss. Scratching Bixby’s ruff, he said, “At least if I lose the backpack, I won’t lose these things.”
After closing the inventory screen, he opened a new notification.
Achievement Unlocked! Plunderer! You have opened your first Epic level world chest. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain, +1 Perception, and +1 Luck. Exp earned, 5,000 (Banked). Gold earned 5,000.
“Sweet! Definitely going to keep an eye out for those!” Standing up, he wiped off his pants and was surprised to see that the chest had disappeared. Dang. I wonder if it had a timer? Or maybe it disappears once it’s looted? But without any way of truly knowing, Joe shrugged and headed downstairs.
It took them a good forty-five minutes to look through all of the ruined out-buildings, one of them in the far back turned out to be an outhouse, but Joe was not willing to set his butt on any of the surfaces in there. He collected a large amount of firewood from the smithy and set it up in the keep’s main fireplace. By the time he had wrestled the front gate closed and gotten the keep’s main door wedged closed with several benches, it was dusk.
Experimenting with his lighter, Joe realized that it had an electric igniter, which would explain why it did not work. He poured a small amount of lighter fluid on some tinder and a single strike with his flint and steel got it lit. Good to know, he thought happily as he built his fire up. Soon he had a warm blaze going with more than enough wood to last through the night. He then spent some time cooking the last of his bacon and placed two of his last four potatoes in the coals. He tossed some jerky to Bixby to hold him off until the real food was cooked and filled both Bixby’s water bowl and his small pot with water from the creek outside. He very much wanted to save his healing water for emergencies.
After dinner he laid out his sleeping bag and leaned against one of the benches he had dragged over. He stroked Bixby’s fur and pulled out the ring from his inventory. By the firelight, he sat ruminating on the day and studying the ring. He got caught up in the circles and seemingly infinite image of space in the ring and was kind of zoned out when a scroll popped up startling him and causing Bixby to leap to his feet in alarm. “It’s Ok, buddy, just a screen that startled me. Sorry to freak you out.” He placed his hand on Bixby’s head and gave him a few ear scritches and in moments, Bixby had settled down again. Joe brought his attention back to the screen.
Ring of the Void Walker
This ring allows the user to channel the energies of the Umbral depths to unleash a powerful bolt of Void energy. This bolt can travel up to 100 feet and does 400 Void damage to anything in its path. Mana cost 300…lkfj47&*^$!
The scroll seemed to flicker and then stabilized.
Ring of the Void Walker
This ring allows the user to channel the energies of the Umbral depths to unleash a powerful bolt of Void energy. This bolt can travel up to 100 feet and does 400 Void damage to anything in its path. Mana cost 50.
Joe’s brows drew together in confusion. Wait, did that at first say the Mana cost was three hundred and then changed to fifty? Joe closed the scroll and reopened it, but it looked stable and continued to show a Mana cost of fifty. Great, this all-powerful magic system has a glitch. Just my luck. Joe closed the ring scroll and opened another notification.
Congratulations! You have earned the ability, Identify Tier 1. This ability allows you to ascertain the properties of an object. As this ability levels, you will be able to glean more information from an object.
“Handy.” Joe placed the ring back in his inventory and lay down next to Bixby. It had been a long day and he had barely survived it. As he drifted off to sleep, he was surprised that he was taking it all in stride rather than freaking out. By all accounts I should be a mess, but I’m not. Weird. Maybe I’ll freak out tomorrow.