I fell to my knees, gasping for air and clutching my chest. Lesson learned, the messenger wasn’t big on warning people about the dangers of inter-dimensional teleportation.
I finally got up on shaking legs, looking around at my surroundings. White. It was all white. And then the freezing winds hit me with full force, signaling my poor body that I was in the middle of a damn blizzard. It felt like a thousand needles piercing my skin at once, and I shook uncontrollably.
I was in the middle of nowhere. All around me, ice and snow claimed every bit of land in side, devouring all life with their cold jaws. In the distance, i could see a small wood with haggard trees bent by the burden of ice. From the west, a massive mountain range sprawled in the distance, its sharp peaks stabbing at the mad sky, with thunder rolling down all over the land.
A sharp pain in my chest and a burning sensation running along my skin ended my daze. That was the moment I realized that a linen shirt with a tunic and a woolen coat replaced my usual attire of jeans and black t-shirts, while some thick linen trousers protected my… jewels… from the freezing cold. On the back, I could feel the heaviness of a black mantle with a fur collar around my neck. Managing through so many layers of clothing was a daunting task, but I finally freed my body so I could see what was causing me so much pain.
While there were more muscles than what should have been, the strangest thing was definitely the mark of the Masters. Burned on my skin. A sword with five stars hovering above it. There seemed to be no wound, however, so I raised my hand to see how it felt. The moment my finger made contact, a floating text box appeared in front of me, a message right in the middle.
Trying to get rid of the obvious hallucination, I closed my eyes and shook my head twice. A moment later the same box greeted me defiantly, floating without a worry in the world. Frantically waving my hands was also of little help, the image dissolving like smoke for a second before returning to its original form. Already contemplating the hellish existence of seeing this text box for the rest of my miserable days, I decided I should at least read the message it contained.
Greetings Herald, and welcome to
Velaim.
Would you like to get acquainted with your status?
Status? Like what? Seeing no other way to interact with it, I resorted to the only method left. For once, I was glad the messenger threw me in the middle of a desolate, frozen hellscape.
“Y-yes?” Giving in to this insanity, the icy winds carried my words. Almost immediately, the text changed, a bunch of numbers appearing in its stead.
Name Astarias Titles Herald Level 1 HP 100 MP 100 Body 10 Mind 10 Spirit 10
For long moments, I stared at the status screen, impervious of the ever decreasing temperature, stunned. And then the most terrifying outburst of psychotic laughter echoed in the air. I had to clutch my stomach to prevent myself from falling down, and tears were freezing on my cheeks.
I was an RPG character. All that talk about unlimited powers, of the great gift of the Masters, just for a fucking status screen. Transported in a strange word, faced with the simple task of defeating four ancient, ravenous beasts, and all I had to myself were my sense of humor and a bunch of floating numbers. Great, I was sure this wouldn’t end with me dying a horrible death again, not even a week into this land.
The red flash of the system displaying a warning message rudely interrupted my contemplative state.
Warning - [Blizzard] is dealing 2 points of Cold Damage every 5 minutes. If HP falls below half, [Hypothermia] alignment will be inflicted. Physical stats will be reduced by 80% and the Cold Damage taken will be tripled.
Right. I might have been a parody of an RPG character, but the Blizzard was authentic enough. With no idea where I was or where should I go, I decided the best place to head to would be those woods in the distance. Glancing at the grey sky, I could see the pale sun approaching the tree line. And if now it was cold, I didn’t dare imagine how it would feel to be out in the open come night fall.
At least the text box disappeared after reading and acknowledging the warning. Small victory.
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With every step taken, it became clear I was the sole being in this white death land. I could see no animals or vegetation of any kind, only rocks and ice. Strange enough, my body faced the challenge of trudging through hip height snow with surprising ease. In my previous life I was not really athletically inclined, with the asthma, the body of a scarecrow and all that. By now I should have been passed out from exhaustion. And come to think of it, back then I did not know that the position of the sun would show the time.
Maybe those numbers were not really meaningless. And thank God I didn’t have a stat box before being reborn. I really didn’t need more points in depression and low self-esteem.
Once I’ve reached the edge of the forest, the sun was fighting his last battle for the day. Since I figured out the system somehow, I willed the status screen to appear in front of me. It was like a touchscreen, but instead of hand you would use your thoughts. A mindscreen.
HP 73
Based on my remaining health, I covered the distance in a little over an hour. The desolate scenery changed little, though. The trees looked dead, all life sucked out of them by the ravaging hunger of the cold. Deafening silence ruled over the forest, the howling of the wind the only song of mother nature. I made my way in, looking for a place that could provide some protection against the harsh elements after sundown.
Having nothing to do but think, I almost stumbled face first into the body of a hanged man.
He seemed to be middle-aged, with streaks of grey in his hair and a short stubble covering his sharp features. Distinguishing more of his appearance proved tough, as the ice already claimed him. His attire was simple, but well cared for. Judging from the chain mail he wore and the sword lying at his feet, he was a soldier. A trained man. A killer. So it comes without saying that i wasn’t eager to find out who drilled a hole the size of my head right through his torso.
In an instant, the atmosphere of the forest changed. A foreboding sense of dread took over me, weighting down on my shoulders. This was like the feeling I had in the throne room, but this time it felt darker, insidious. I felt many eyes upon me, judging my every move, searching deep inside of me. I reached down to grab the sword, the weight of the weapon giving me a little confidence. I knew chances were I would hurt myself with it rather than the enemy, but knowing I had something to protect myself with eased part of my anxiety.
Just as I finished putting the scabbard around my waist, a wave of raw terror washed over me. The dead man slowly lifted his frostbitten hand, pointing a bony finger west. His clenched jaws departed with a sickening crunch, and from his blue lips came the most beautiful, ethereal tune of death and rebirth, of love and suffering. The words were foreign, but the voice soothed my soul, whispering stories of old, forgotten times in my mind. And hidden beneath all laid a message destined to be found by me.
When the song ended and his hand fell limp beside his body, my mind became clear again. It felt like centuries passed while I listened to the song of the dead, but it must have been only half an hour, as the sun was still struggling against the encroaching darkness of the night.
The pressure I felt earlier returned with a vengeance. If it felt malicious then, now it was hostile. The forest, or something in it, didn’t agree with my presence here. I clutched the sword handle and hurried in the direction pointed by the cadaver. Even if the spell, something tugged at my being, a subtle force making me go west.
My whole body tense, I threw a look behind at every step. The light was fading by the minute and sometimes, from the corner of my eye, I could see shadows moving in unnatural ways. My HP was getting dangerously close to 50, so I needed to find shelter soon, or a mean forest would become the least of my problems.
Just as I dismissed the system, the trees gave way to a small clearing, and in the middle of it a mound rose from the frozen ground. I could see a creek in the middle of it, large enough for a man to get through. Now, it wasn’t a five-star hotel, but it looked dry and it would offer protection from the cutting winds. Going past the entrance, I could see a tunnel that went down at a steep angle, reaching so deep under the ground that light barely reached the end.
Somehow descending without tumbling down, I arrived at a cave with perfectly circular walls. Torches run all along the cave, and in the middle stood a stone pedestal with many symbols drew on the stone. They were all crimson. I circled the pedestal, looking at the mysterious drawings. None of them made any sense, but they somehow felt familiar, like an image I once dreamed of. As I got closer, the torches suddenly burst aflame, light flooding the cave.
On the top of the pedestal, i could see a small hole that looked like a palm. By now, the song of the dead man boomed in my ears, telling me to place my hand on the stone. I heard promises of power, of glory, of blood and fire. Desire took over my body and I placed my hand on the pedestal.I felt a sharp pain in my palm, and blood started filling the hollow. I tried to retract my hand, but it was like the pedestal was part of me now.
The blood, now overflowing, fell down the stone sides, making the symbols glow with significant power. A great tremor rocked the cave, sending debris and dust in the air. As the last symbol glowed, I freed my hand from the stone prison. Using the edge of the sword, I cut a piece of fabric from my tunic, covering the still bleeding wound.
The earth trembled once more and the stones at my feet departed in front of me, revealing a flight of stairs going going down in the gaping mouth of darkness. A gust of air flew over me, sending shivers all over my body. It felt colder than any wind I faced outside. Cold like the steel blade of a sword cutting your flesh. Cold, like an old tomb.
And although every fiber of my being screamed to leave this grave, to run and never look back, the pull I felt on the way here took over my body, and I raised my foot to take the first step. As I touched the stone stair, a guttural voice echoed in the cave.
“Well, well, the little fleshling opened the door for us. A reward is in place.” Cruel laughter filled my ears, and I turned and faced the newcomers.