Yggdrasil Fallen, LitRPG Series
Book 1, Obsidian
Chapter 25: Depot
His own wracking cough shook him awake, the musty spore dense air irritating his nose and lungs. He shifted only to have a resonating pain shoot through the blood caked hole that was all that remained of his right arm and shoulder. In his fitful sleep Andre had rolled onto it, grinding dirt, gravel and plant matter into the wound. While the hemorrhaging blood had stopped his shoulder was a mess of torn muscle, exposed bone, flailing ligaments, and vessels. Andre pulled himself into a sitting position, legs crossed to look around. In the upper right corner of his vision, he noticed an angry red flashing dot. Upon clicking on it a large text box popped up with too many new alerts for him to process, though several did stand out to him in no particular order:
“Alert: due to significant blood loss from violent amputation of an appendage you have been struck incoherent and woozy.”
“Alert: “Unknown Ability fully identified: “Brand of Yggdrasil”.
“Ability: “Brand of Yggdrasil: situationally reactive ability that increases in potency, effects and cost as individual: “Andre” portentous state increases. Allows conversion of life force into multi-aspect energy to fuel effects when reserves are spent. Effects experienced thus far: Pain Nullification, temporary ethereal limb regeneration, temporary stat boost: +100 to all stats, Dimensional Rift Transference, Emergency Evacuation. While this is not all the effects that can occur, more can be discovered through experience and unsealing aspects.”
“Alert: Gift: “Ambidexterity” has been sealed due to missing appendage. Regenerate limb to restore gift functionality.”
“Alert: You have been inflicted with multiple stacks of “Fungal Toxin”. “STRENGTH” and “DEXTERITY” drastically reduced, you cannot recover from wounds naturally and are currently experiencing a minor poison effect.
Alert: Due to the recent activation “Brand of Yggdrasil” which consumed an amount of aspected energy far beyond your reserves; your ability to convert and utilize ambient energy has been drastically hampered. In addition you cannot use abilities or gifts until life force converted and aspect energy reserves have have been sufficiently restored.
“Alert: you are currently experiencing the effects of “Dimensional Rift Transference”, “DEFENSES” “RESISTANCE” “MIND” and “INTELLIGENCE” Statistics are dramatically reduced for 120 seconds.
“Congratulations! You have successfully breached interdimensional zone #429; this is a fallen reality and is almost completely barren of aspect energies. As such beast spawns will occur at a greatly lowered rate and at a much weaker power. There has been an outpost located in this reality, it is suggested to seek it out for resupply purposes. It is also suggested to seek out these depots for the safety and supplies they offer.”
A chill ran through him as ALIAS read through the pop ups. Not only was he weaker than a kitten, but he was stranded in an unknown area, potentially surrounded by enemies.
“Then there’s this whole… “missing arm” situation. But I suppose even kittens have claws.” He laughed to himself as he thumbed the machete with his left hand while assessing his situation. He had found himself in a darkened room that was vaguely illuminated by faint fluorescent glow of some nearby oversized, elongated mushroom shaped plants that seemed to run down a tunnel out of sight. Climbing to his feet Andre groaned, his body felt far heavier than he could ever remember it being, even when he’d been sick for weeks with Mono.
“Alert: You have been afflicted with a stack of “Fungal Toxin”. “STRENGTH” and “DEXTERITY” have been further reduced. It is advised to seek fresh air immediately.”
He was moving before ALIAS had finished reading the latest pop up. He moved in a meek, staggering shuffle making his way through the tunnel, following the fluorescence. By his estimation he had traveled a couple hundred feet when a pinprick of light pierced the darkness. Energized by the hope of escaping his spore-riddled confines he picked up his pace, the pinprick growing larger with each labored step. A breeze wafted through the tunnel carrying scents of hot metal and scorched wood that accentuated the musty mold in a nauseatingly putrid manner. He broke into a clumsy run, his arm and legs concrete blocks, the armor and weapon he still wore like leaded weights.
“Alert: You have been afflicted with a terminating stack of “Fungal Toxin”. “STRENGTH” and “DEXTERITY” have been reduced to 1. Another stack of “Fungal Toxin” will inflict “Fungal Conversion”.” ALIAS read as the latest box popped up and quickly vanished.
“I hear you, annoying jerk. Can you not see I’m doing my best to flee this situation?!” Andre’s forward progression had slowed dramatically, every footfall a labored step. Though the mouth of the tunnel lay less than a hundred feet before him, the distance seemed to stretch through infinity. The breeze had gained a third, more noxious perfume; the scent of melted plastic had joined the sickening aromatic cacophony and was growing stronger as the opening grew to a blinding light.
With a final burst of strength, he threw himself past the opening into wickedly hot sunlight. He tumbled hard, down a steep rocky incline bouncing off harsh, abrupt edges before coming to a final rest in a pile of dried overly large leaves. Panting for breath and body aching from the impacts of his fall, Andre forced himself to his knees and heaved; vomiting chunky green slime down his front. Chest gripped with ragged breaths, his eyes adapting to the scorching light of a sun five times larger than he remembered from his own world permeated even the dense foliage overhead. He sat on what appeared to be a long-abandoned sidewalk that stretched as far as his eyes had adapted to see in the intense light. Thick vines broke through the surface of what appeared to be paved road and sidewalk alike, wrapping crumbling buildings like enormous pythons squeezing the life out of their steel, stone and glass futuristic forms. Several had fallen, crashing into each other, looking like oversized dominoes caught midfall by an even larger forested structure.
A bone chilling shriek rang out over his head, as a massive shadow slowly drew itself across the ground, over where Andre knelt. Casting his gaze upwards, attempting to shield his eyes from the fierce sun his breath caught in his throat. The creature resembled a fiery three-headed condor:
“If it were on steroids, sprouted snakes instead of tail feathers, and had the legs of a gigantic ostrich.” Andre grumbled to himself, praying it didn’t spot him or at the very didn’t feast on humans. The shadow of the beast slowly passed his quivering form, more akin to a mouse than the apex predator humanity fancied themselves to be.
As the monstrous bird flew out of sight, Andre pushed himself begrudgingly to his feet. He couldn’t stay in this blisteringly hot sun, he needed to find shelter and hopefully water as soon as possible. He began moving slowly along the street through the crumbling overgrown city. Hours had passed, and Andre was still trudging along, one block after another, the unchanging scene beginning to tear at his sun poached mind and body. He had stopped sweating quite some time ago, his mouth and throat cracked and raw from the unmoving sun parching him. He had attempted several times to enter one of the rotted out towers to scour for supplies or at least escape the sun, but found his path blocked by dense growth or the spore spewing mushroom plants.
Coming to yet another intersection he looked right, then left hoping for some break in the infinitely repeating aftermath scene of society’s destruction.
“It’s like a Russian industrial housing complex park copy and pasted through infinity.” He mused to himself.
“…I don’t think that’s right… or even a good analogy.” ALIAS spoke to him. Andre remained silent for a while, reflecting not only on his current dire situation but also on just how quiet and oddly robotic ALIAS had been since they landed themselves in this shattered reality.
“I don’t believe you fully understand just how close you came to death. If it were not for the “Pain Nullification” effect of your ability, I do not believe you would have made it out of the spore cavern. As it is you remain on the brink kept from deaths grasp only by your impulsive decision to invest so many points into your “Vitality” statistic. If you’d be a bit more aware of details, you would have noticed that last point bumped up your innate bio-synthesis rate just enough to match your current rate of degradation.” ALIAS spoke sounding rather meek, almost afraid.
“Also, if you’d have paid attention, you’d know that I am quite literally derived from you. That being said: I am a sapient being… with the same fears. When you die, I will perish as well: there is no second chance for me or the ability to manifest in another individual… I am… quite terrified.” ALIAS continued.
“So… what Tione half mentioned… you are quite literally my alter-ego… my other self?” Andre asked quietly aloud, taken aback by the raw emotion put forth by what he’d assumed to be a magical implement. He had resumed walking, having fully understood what ALIAS had been hinting at: they needed shelter and fast.
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“Yes… I’ve never said it before, but I’m sorry for the way I treat you sometimes. Being newly manifested I really don’t know how to handle the wide variety of emotions humans can experience and its very overwhelming… Not to mention I often find myself frustrated at your sheer incompetence when I know just how much potential you have.”
He walked on in silence for some time when something caught his eye: on the very horizon he saw a much smaller building nestled under 2 of the fallen behemoths forming an obscure lean-to. A sign of hope in this desolate urban wasteland, Andre set off like a modern zombie, staggering onwards.
It was another 30 minutes before he reached the decrepit 3 story building wedged between the two fallen skyscrapers. Upon approaching, the faint hum he noticed 2 blocks before had become a harsh buzzing thrum that shredded the oppressive silence. It was much like the sound of an electrical substation at peak hours as he stood before the sun faded building. It had the appearance of either a very small apartment mall, or an extremely large convenience store with a large sliding door perched between a large bay of windows. The windows and doors stood oddly intact, despite the aged appearance, and shattered glass that lay on the ground around it. Walking closer to the complex, he felt a light pressure building, as though the structure itself were pushing him away. He pushed on and with an audible “POP” the pressure released, and he staggered forwards, catching himself with his one hand on the window. Upon attempting to peer through and into the space behind he found that between the glare from the sun and the darkened nature of the glass he couldn’t see in.
“Well, there is a front door… not like anyone’s really going to stop me from entering.” Andre thought to himself as he moved along the building, carefully positioning himself at the seam of the sliding double door entry.
“Time to see just how indestructible you actually are.” Andre muttered to his machete, as he forced it with all the strength he could muster into the gap between the doors. He moved to leverage himself against the weapon to pry the doors apart, hoping he could split them just enough to stick force himself into the gap, and into the building. Much to his surprise, the doors slid easily open sending his machete clattering to the heavily pock-marked concrete. Picking it back up, he edged carefully into the shockingly well-lit retail space, ready as he could be to strike at an aggressor.
“Congratulations! You have discovered and entered a Safe Haven. Beasts are incapable of spawning or entering this space. The concentration of Multi Aspected energy makes this area an ideal spot to resupply, recover and ready yourself for forthcoming trials. Items manifested within this space can be purchased with the aspect tokens obtained from beasts.” Reading the text Andre felt his pocket; regretting not bringing his full stash with him.
“At least I brought all my bronze pieces… and a couple brass I suppose…” He bemoaned. He began wandering through the space, taking stock of the variety of items in the space. It reminded him of a much larger version of the 7-11 he would frequently peruse in search of late-night snacks his first couple of months living in the mountains. There were rickety shelves stacked with plastic lidded baskets of what he could only assume were supplies. Cut into the plastic lids there was an oblong hole, what he assumed to be the finger hole to open them. In the third aisle a description label caught his eye:
*Item: “Serum of Purgation”: a one shot cure all stimulant; upon use, purges all stacks of any/all accumulated afflictions. Due to the effects of the Serum, only one of each type can be used per 24 hour period. Cannot be used outside “Safe Haven Depots”. Cost: 1 Brass Token.”
“Well, that’s a hell of a deal… now how do I go about buying this?” He asked, touching the slot of the box lightly, only to be startled when a text box popped up.
“Do you wish to purchase “Serum of Purgation”? Yes/No”
“Well, of course.” He thought to himself clicking the “Yes” button.
“Place payment in slot to proceed with vending.”
It was a struggle, but he managed to extricate one of the brass pieces from his pocket; placing it into the oblong cutout, the coin rapidly crumbled to dust. The box shuddered, glowed with a pale iridescence, and on top of the plastic lid appeared a device that reminded Andre a bit like a hypo spray from Star Trek. It was about 4 inches, by 1 inch by 1 inch, with a 45 degree angle splitting the main body of the device from a much shorter end which contained a flat silvery disk several holes punched into its surface. On the underside of the main body of the device was a trigger much like a gun’s trigger. The main body of the device was slotted black plastic, surrounding a clear glass vial full of an orange liquid.
“Well, here goes nothing.” Andre thought, shifting his armor up, pressing the silver disk into his abdomen and pulling the trigger. There was a loud hissing sound as an internal plunger pushed the orange liquid towards the metallic disk; which heated it up to a slightly uncomfortable temperature. The cool rush he felt flooding through the entirety of his body was reminiscent of a massive adrenaline rush. His senses cleared, and strength returned.
“Alert: All stacks of “Fungal Toxin” have been purged “STRENGTH” and “DEXTERITY” statistics have returned to normal.
Alert: “Dimensional Rift Transference” has dissipated, “DEFENSES” “RESISTANCES” “MIND” and “INTELLIGENCE” have returned to normal.”
“Hoooooo boy that’s the stuff! Andre moaned in ecstasy to himself.
“Let’s see what else this shop has for me to pilfer!” He thought to himself as he began zigzagging through the aisles, reading descriptions. Against the back wall perpendicular to the rows of shelves where he would have expected coolers to be Andre now noticed a row of machines that appeared to be like pay washing machines.
‘“Armor Repair Stations” eh?’ he thought to himself,
“Why Not? This gear took one hell of a beating in that fight against the Beastmaster. Plus, there’s that clumpy slime I puked up…” He said aloud as he stripped himself entirely, eying the now dried green clumps, removing everything from his pockets. He dropped everything into one of the open machines, slotted in the required brass pieces, and closed the lid. He stood back in awe as the machine began to hum and whir; the digital flickering to life reading 2hr 45min.
“Well fuck, I guess that armor took a harder beating than I thought. May as well continue exploring.” He grumbled, now in just his boxers. Andre continued his wandering. A while later he found an aisle full of packaged foods and bottles of water. A few brass pieces later he had gulped down 2 full bottles of water and was working on the third while eating his favorite Ham and Swiss sandwich with dollops of whole grain mustard and mayonnaise with a large bag of BBQ chips. Seated on the floor in the aisle he had “purchased” the food, he groaned.
“At this point in time, I may as well just submit to the pure insanity my life has become and just enjoy this wild ride my brain has concocted for me.”
His meal finished, thirst quenched, and strength recovered, Andre found himself craving something sweet. Standing, he wandered until he found himself face to face with his favorite candy: Sour gummy worms. Excitedly placing the required brass piece, the generic labeled enormous baggy materialized on top of the bin. Grabbing the bag he tore into it excitedly the citric sour, lightly sweet gummy candy and shoved several into his mouth, which quickly dissolved; pouring down the back of his throat.
“Alert: You have consumed enough Aspect Generated biomatter to restore depleted energy reserves, your use of abilities has been restored.”
“Well, this is amazing! If only I could like, bookmark this place for quick returns in the future, I’d just go slay piles of monsters, and live a fat life here!” Andre mused to himself as he chewed another handful of his sour gummy candies.
“That is, as far as I am aware, an unfortunate impossibility. I cannot determine exactly how we ended up in this reality, so am unable to determine a path back should we figure out how to leave.” ALIAS chimed in.
“That’s fair I guess.” He replied, appreciating ALIAS’ new congeniality. Andre continued his perusal of the depot, wandering up and down the aisles, nothing in particular jumping off the shelf at him as interesting.
It wasn’t until he had reached the last shelf, which seemed to contain critical care merchandise, that he halted in the middle of aisle, staring agog.
“Is this shit for real?” He muttered in amazement.
*Item: “Biomimetic resynthesis stimulant”: Concentrated Unaspected energy stimulant for the full restoral of a damaged body. Upon use any lost limbs or organs will be regenerated. Cannot be used outside “Safe Haven Depots” Cost: 5 Bronze Pieces.”
“Does this mean….?” He asked himself, staring down at the ripped and rent flesh that used to be his functioning arm and shoulder.
“I unfortunately don’t have an answer to this one, the description certainly infers it is able to restore your lost limb… but…” ALIAS fell silent as Andre hurriedly fished the 5 required bronze coin pieces from his pocket and placed them into the overlarge slot in the plastic on top the bin. Crumbling to dust, the coins vanished and the box began to hum and violently shake, emitting sparks of smoke.
“Shit, did I break it in my haste?!” Andre panicked, only to see moments later a device almost identical to the “Serum of Purgation” had appeared sitting on the top, the only difference being a vial full of violently neon green fluid. He reached out and reverently picked it up, turning it over in his hand.
“If this doesn’t work, I’m sure we can figure out a different solution to your problem…” ALIAS almost whispered, brimming with excitement itself.
“Well, here goes nothing!” Andre thought as he jammed the metallic silver disk into his abdomen, pulling the trigger. Rather than a cooling rush through his body, he felt as though he had injected himself with liquid magma. It coursed through his veins, concentrating in the ragged hole that had been his right arm. His shoulder throbbed, a pulsing fiery pain ripping through what had been a blood crusted, flesh ragged stump. The smell of burned hair and seared meat filled the air as his shoulder throbbed again, the sensation increasing exponentially. He stared in horror as blood spewed from the open socket, fusing into chunks that resembled a humerus.
Slowly dense muscle began to wrap itself out from his shoulder, forming down and around the new bone which began to throb as blood vessels began to pop out, splattering blood across the floor. From the end of the muscle wrapped humerus formed his elbow joint then, simultaneously, his radius and ulna. Muscle tissue continued to wrap down around the joint and new bones. Finally, his hand sprung into existence, like a flower blooming his fingers manifested. As the last of the muscle formed, extraneous chunks of tissue sloughed to the floor as his arm reshaped into its original shape. The whole bloody mess was quickly covered over with new skin.
“Well ill be damned, it even reformed that damned burn scar from the root…” Andre thought to himself as he slumped to the blood coated floor, soaked with sweat. He gazed up at the ceiling of the strange depot, bracing himself with his newly formed appendage. Through his ragged breathing, he said to ALIAS:
“I’m going to get some sleep. It’s been one hell of a rough day and I’m too tired to explore this place anymore.”
“That is quite an understatement... and I guess if you’re too tired to seek a more suitable location, this is as good a place as any.” ALIAS replied, sounding exhausted itself. He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, he noticed a box that popped up, which ALIAS failed to read off:
“Alert: Gift: “Ambidexterity” has been restored.