(Strive 9:2)

I yelled as a spray of hot rock erupted from the magma lake. “The center of the island,” I said. “That big rock column. Go!”

We scrambled away from the diving bell toward the stone spire. El took a running start and leaped onto it, scaling the rough rock to get to higher ground. I grabbed a starting hold and began to laboriously make my way up. Looking back, I saw that the magma had already begun to swallow the metallic bell.

“C’mon,” El said, already far above me. “There’s an exit up here!”

Unfortunately, I’d gotten myself stuck. My arms and legs were splayed out as far as they could, and my hands cupped small bumps that quickly grew slick with my sweat. I craned my head back, searching for the next hold.

There was only one, a shallow shelf about a knuckle deep, three feet above me. I made a very optimistic lunge for it with my right hand and missed. “Fuck,” I cried, tumbling to the ground.

The heat was almost unbearable now, and a river of sweat stung my eyes. I clambered back up without looking back at the magma’s progress. Not a moment later, it submerged the ground where I’d been standing. No more second chances, now.

I looked up and swore, realizing muscle memory had led me to the same place as before. That same fucking hold. It wasn’t possible. Not with my current climbing ability. The red-hot liquid began to inch its way upwards, and panic jolted me into action.

Retrieve Item. I twisted my fingers, and a candy from the last floor popped into my hand, a green apple flavored marshmallow that practically melted in the few seconds it took for me to open it. I had to scrape the wrapper to get it all, but I was rewarded by the shock of electricity coursing through my body and a displayed message on my udjat: You feel nimble!

I pulled another candy, a lollipop called a Sucker of Strength. I crunched it in my teeth and threw the stick into the rising magma. You feel bulky!

That’s a start, I thought. But not enough.

From my inventory, I selected as many red and green pills as I could, and they materialized in a small pile in my palm. My stomach churned in anticipation, but a rumbly tummy would be the least of my troubles soon.

Grimacing, I crammed them into my mouth, wrappers and all. I chewed and swallowed, as quickly as I could, and my udjat came alive with a flood of updates. You feel strong! You feel well-muscled! You feel agile! You feel quick! Your strength is now Bad! Your dexterity is now Dogwater!

The pills blazed through my body like wildfire, and I was suddenly burning both inside and out. The shock almost made me lose my grip, but it was better than being swallowed by molten rock. Probably.

I crouched, then leaped for the tiny hold. This time, I caught it, swinging from three fingers of my right hand. Triumph and nausea mingled within me as I pulled myself up to a more secure position.

“Over here,” El called, and I saw her looking through an exactly raccoon-sized hole in the ceiling.

“Do I fucking look like I'd fit in there? Goddammit, El, I swear to f—” I turned aside to spew a multi-colored sugary stream that caught fire as it descended into the magma, which now filled most of the chamber. My throat burned at the reflux, but what concerned me more was the messages that appeared in my display: You feel weak! You feel weak! You feel clumsy! Your strength has decreased to Donkey doo doo!

My muscles sagged as energy drained out of me. Throbbing with pain, I made my way over to the hole El was peering from.

“Back up,” I said hoarsely, and twisted my fingers into the Harden technique. El’s nose hastily disappeared from the hole.

A cloak of red aura blazed up around me, and I slammed my fist into the ceiling next to the hole. I squeezed my eyes shut as rock dust fell on me, and the opening widened a few inches. Just a few more times, I thought, as I pounded again and again, like the world’s most insistent door-to-door salesman.

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With a loud crack, a section of stone crumbled away, and I scrambled through the opening. The magma bubbled up to the hole mere seconds later… and simply stopped, as if deciding we weren’t worth the trouble after all.

I collapsed on the floor in a pile of dust and sweat. “Fuck,” I croaked. “I hate climbing. No more, please.”

“At least there’s a water fountain,” said El. “Nice of them.”

Raising my head, I saw through a haze of heat that El was right. In the midst of the hellish landscape of darkened skies and steaming fissures stood a metal drinking fountain. It looked bizarre, but I was grateful anyway.

I crawled over to it and washed the taste of acid and sugar from my mouth, then drank without any concern for dignity or decorum. It was only after a few hungry slurps that I realized it wasn’t water. The taste was sweet, salty, and somehow familiar, and as I finished drinking, a message flashed up on my udjat.

Your energy has been restored!

What was that taste? Gatorade? No, but something close to that. It was on the tip of my tongue… I spelled Examine at the fountain, hoping for a clue.

Fountain of Refreshment.

That unlocked something in my brain, a memory of pounding headaches and blurred mornings after. The liquid tasted almost exactly like Pedialyte, that electrolyte-replenishing nectar favored by toddlers and college students.

I still wasn’t totally sure what kind of energy it had restored, and the description didn’t elaborate. My cuts and bruises were still present, so it wasn’t like a Health Bar, but I did feel a fog of tiredness lift from me. Mana? I snorted. Why not, at this point?

Sighing deeply, I sat down and pulled a candy from my inventory, the last red one. I fumbled and almost dropped it as a loud roar shook the earth.

“The fuck was that?” El asked.

“Just a volcano.” A plume of smoke emerged from the distant mountain. Too far away for it to be concerning. Probably.

I turned my attention back to the pill I held. The sight of the neon-red Mint of Might sickened me, but I shoved it down my throat. A familiar burning feeling preceded the system message.

You feel strong! Your strength is now Bad!

Just like that, I’d regained the lost stat level. “They’re color-coded, you know,” I said to El. “Or flavor-coded.”

“Hm?” The fur around El’s mouth was stained blue.

“The blue ones, for example. I’m assuming they always give you a magic boost, right? They’ve all got wizard-sounding names like ‘Pill of Psychokinesis’ or whatever. Based on their names and effects, those ones must increase your magic level. Red’s strength and green’s dexterity, as far as I can tell.” I pondered for a moment. “I’ve been taking them roughly evenly, but if you’re going heavy on the blues, maybe it’s better to balance things out.”

“Or,” El said, popping another blueberry-flavored Drop of the Deep Mind, “maybe it’s better to do one thing well instead of being mediocre at everything.”

I sighed and took a last quaff from the fountain. Since we were only one floor away from the end of our isolated tutorial, we might as well just wait and ask another climber. “Let’s get moving, then.”

The ground steamed and sizzled, but we hadn’t been walking for too long when we stumbled upon a wooden sign. El scampered forward to read it, then turned to face me. A distant volcanic eruption cracked the sky.

“Well?” I prompted.

“The good news is we’re basically at the exit,” El said.

There was another loud boom above, but this one didn’t sound like a volcano. For one thing, volcanos didn’t fly. Or beat the air with a sound like giant wings flapping.

“I take it the bad news is whatever's hovering above us right now?”

“Winner winner chicken dinner.”

It fell from the sky like a meteor, landing with an enormous crash that threw up rocks and dust. The drinking fountain bent and broke, and its liquid made a golden stream into the air that fizzled into steam. I backed away from the beast as one sharpened claw stepped out of the cloud of vapor.

“It,” I whispered. “It…”

It stood statuesque, a creature of chiseled perfection, taller than me and three times as long. Its scales were like ruby-plated armor, covering its whole body, veiling its reptilian face. Waves of steam rolled off of it, making it appear to ripple with movement even as it stood still. It roared at us, and two glands in the side of its mouth hissed with the scent of gasoline.

Baby Red Dragon, my udjat helpfully informed me. A creature of strength and magic, with a potent fiery breath. Its skin is coated with nigh-impenetrable armored scales. Its throat is its weak point.

“It’s a baby?”

The dragon fixed a malicious eye on me and reared its head back. A moment later, fire arced from its maw, and the world went white.