Slowly, my senses returned to me. I was adrift in a sea of nothingness, but pain and vertigo were suddenly thrust upon me. Who was I? What was this?
I was on my back. There was a sudden violent feeling that told me that was a bad thing, so I rolled to the side and retched, a pathetic expulsion of fluids and not much else.
Allison - that was my name. I shoved my hands forward to stabilize myself, stomach heaving. Realizing I'd just thrown up, I rolled the other way and stopped only when my aching body hit the wall on the side of the room. I blinked several times, trying to get my bearings, while also trying to get my breathing under control.
The fight. The gorilla thing. The kitchen. The explosive pain of that first impact. It was all coming back, and I started to hyperventilate. I shoved myself up against the wall with my feet, sliding upwards and bringing my knees up to my chest. I dumbly noted that I had both of my arms. The throbbing in my right side was too potent to ignore, saying nothing of the visual evidence.
Everything hurt, but my chest and arm were the worst off, like I'd been partially crushed under a road roller. I don't know how long I just sat there, trying to calm myself down, but it wasn't an insignificant period of time. Eventually, though, my breathing evened out, and coherent thought returned to me, and I took stock.
"I'm..." I started to speak, half coming out as a sob. I bit my upper lip to stop the sorrowful sensation from taking me, after I'd worked on calming down for so long. I gritted my teeth and tried again. "I'm alive." That much was obvious. This much pain, my senses, told me that. How had I survived? How had I gotten out? I'd been in here long enough to realize that this was the entryway in front of the labyrinth, back from where I'd entered.
If one was considering this from the point of a game, it was clear that dying had spit me out of the labyrinth and deposited me here. But only from a game. The messages I'd experienced after the strike told me that this was an eventuality that was expected. I had no idea what an Initiation was, and how it'd been completed, but that had no data. What held a little more interest to me was the notification that had not disappeared. I could see it only with my eyes opened, but I waved my arm through it and it was incorporeal.
"So that thing was called a Blutwild Berserker. Not without sense, I suppose. It certainly acted like a Berserker. I don't really know the first part, but it looks Germanic of some sort?" Was language being parsed to earth-like for my brain? If Commercial was English to me, perhaps the other languages might have been granted similar treatment.
As with before, all I could do was speculate. I took a deep breath, and got to my feet unsteadily. I appeared unharmed on the surface, and my outfit was actually whole, instead of the tatters I was sure it'd be come. Pulling up a pant leg, I noted that there was no bruise forming on my leg. Were my pains real? Would they go away after this apparent revival? I hoped so, because every motion was an ache that slowed me considerably. I looked over at the puddle of my sick and scrunched up my nose. As soon as I could find something to clean that, I needed to.
For now, though, I trekked back to the Sanctuary. I had to rest. Even if my wounds were healed, I was fatigued, in pain, and more than likely, in shock. My first priority needed to be get to a safe spot to break down, and the Sanctuary was the place for that. Upon reaching the upper floor, I looked over and found that there was significantly less light making its way down the hall. A short walk later and I discovered that the sun was beginning to set on my first day on Avare.
I'd barely had a thing to drink all day, and my lips were beginning to crack. "They've gotta have water," I muttered. The fighting and the panic were wearing on me, and without water, I'd die as surely as a huge berserker's fist to the chest.
My eyes once again wandered towards the fountain, and where before it had seemed mundane, I could sense a sort of passive energy around its top. Narrowing my eyes, I hobbled over to it, feeling the weight of my circumstances. I placed a hand on it, and could feel a sort of emptiness that was begging for energy. I actually had to hesitate and hold back from it sucking power from me, before I let it flow. I suddenly felt even more lethargic and fell to a knee, but wonderfully, a few streams of water began to trickle from several holes on top of the fountain. Maybe this was for show, maybe it was unsanitary, but it didn't matter. Water came first. I forced myself to stand and brought my mouth to the liquid. It was heavy with the taste of dust and extremely unpleasant, but it was exactly what I needed. It was, in a way, one of the best things I'd ever tasted.
Once I was sated, I let myself sit against the bounds of the fountain, listening to the gurgle of the flow and the gentle sounds of nature outside. It was getting a bit chilly. I looked over at the sack of potatoes I'd pulled out of the freezer, felt the pain within me, and thought back on the terror of my fight just moments ago. I let my head fall back and waited.
The tears never came, however. The initial excitement of the situation had been consumed by difficulty and unpleasantness, and I was overwhelmed. I wanted to cry, but it would just not happen. Perhaps I was still in shock, or traumatized, or just bone-tired, but no matter the reason, I found that I could not quite let go. With a frown, I got back to my feet and moved over to the sack of potatoes. Opening it up, I pulled out one of the little things, covered in a sheen of water. I stared at it for a while before bringing it to my mouth and chomping off a small portion.
I chewed on it for a few moments, and managed to swallow. "Yep. That's a raw potato." Finding a way to cook these was a priority.
"Priorities," I mused. I needed a goal. Goals. Things to keep my mind off of my situation and to make progress. I couldn't give in to depression, just because I'd failed once. After all, how would I have ever been prepared for that fight? What was I supposed to have done? I shook my head and continued to eat the potato, just to get something in my stomach and settle it.
First off: secure my shelter. The Sanctuary had food and water, but exposure to the elements was going to be a problem. More than likely, I was going to have to sleep in the room with the Lens to keep warm. I could cannibalize a lot of the potato sacks, but it would take time, and I had no way to put them together.
Second, get stronger. Collect myself, figured out what skills I had earned and figure out a style that worked for me. Play with them while it was safe and I wasn't worried about getting killed after being heard.
Third, stockpile resources. If I eventually wanted to leave this place, I'd need travel gear somehow. That meant exploring the rest of this temple, not my little corner of it. There had to be something.
Fourth, conquer the Labyrinth, whatever that entailed. That was the only direction I'd been given from Nollnine, so it was imperative that it be followed. I didn't like being just a pawn in the game, but had the understanding that I was, in part, getting what I had always wanted, so I had to pay the price. "Even if that thing has turned out to be incredibly painful and exhausting," I spat.
Lastly, connect with civilization. I highly doubted I'd be expected to operate out here, alone, forever. There were at least 19 other champions out there, after all, so that's 19 people to find, minimum. A town or a city would go a long way, but was also, likely, a long way away.
Those goals in mind, I watched as the sun began to set and night slowly overtook the mountains. I could spare a while to watch it, munching on my potato. In a vacuum, the sunset was gorgeous. I'd have loved to set out a chair and just stare at it at home, but even here where I was cold, tired, and in pain, it was a beauty that calmed me down.
Immediate plans went through her mind.
Finish 'dinner.'
Check the Lens again to see the skills I'd gained.
Rest
With those thoughts in mind, and finishing off the first task as the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the night sky, I stood and made my way over towards the Lens room. I braced myself and entered, a bit of excitement returning to me unbidden as I realized I was going to figure out the skills I'd acquired. How many were there? Three? Four? With my thoughts spinning, I placed a hand on the Lens and watched as the screens were populated with information again.
AdultHuman Allison Level 125 Yrs 0 Mos Class:Combat FocusMage Resilience: 20Mana: 30(-6)Endurance: 10(-2) Afflictions: FatiguedAffiliations: NoneTraits: None 2 Level Pending Passive Skills: 0 Skill Factor Active Skills: Close CombatMana SenseDecisiveness Mana BoltBasic ParryQuick Cast Four new skills. Three passive, one active. As usual, touching them did not show what they did, but the names had to be indicative of their natures. Close Combat seemed self-explanatory. Quick Cast probably had to do with the way I'd used my magic. Decisiveness was a little weird, especially as a skill, and not just a personality trait. It would have to stay unknown, for now. Mana Sense was obvious - I could now sense mana.
There was also a big, obvious marker there. "Two levels?" I blurted, incredulously. Two level, I mean. The grammar on this thing was irritating. I'd won two fights, certainly, but that was fast. Much faster than expected, especially given my... death. "Uninitiated" was also gone, replaced by "Combat Focus." Initiation, in that case, likely meant the direction I generally would go in.
Fatigued affliction. Reductions to my mana and endurance. Correlation does not mean causation, I had to remind myself. It was important to take the information as it is, and not make assumptions. Test it. Keep track of things, like the amount my stats were reduced.
I took a deep breath again. I'd just died, a second time, and I was already trying to push forward. I hadn't even cried at the frustration. Was that the trait for which I'd been selected? Ability to not break down in the face of adversity? If so, I couldn't help but both be proud of and resent it.
Up to one? She could select none? Or more than one?
More unknowns. What did the two mean? Leveled up? Higher cost?
"Arrgh!" I growled, throwing my hands into the air, which caused a wince as pain flared up. "There's just too fucking much unknown. Too much I have to guess at. Damn it!" I kicked at the floor. "Fuck! Shit!" I paced around the room for a few moments, talking out loud to myself. I had to make a decision.
"Dash is straightforward. Clearly it has to be some sort of special ability, not just 'run forward as fast as possible.' Parry was able to do much more than my puny arms could do." I looked at my right arm and shuddered.
"Hide is simple too, I hope. Maybe makes it easier to pick a spot? Clearly I got it because I hid from that Berserker. But I'm not interested. Hiding didn't work and I don't want to try again against a powerful opponent. I'd prefer to fight or run."
I looked over at the third option. "Delve. What the hell is Delve? Maybe has something to do with going into the Labyrinth, or perhaps sneaking around? There's also the two. Could mean it's stronger, or it could mean I can't afford it and picking it is a mistake. No, talking it through..." I frowned. I crossed my arms and held one up to my chin. "Dash is the choice. I want to move. Get in close for a stronger Mana Bolt or away to dodge an attack." I selected Dash, and with that selected, it immediately moved on to my next level.
Just 5? I supposed my level 1 boost was pretty substantial, then, if it encompassed six levels' worth of attributes. Noting how quick I'd been injured, I decided to put the five points into Resilience. I couldn't fully avoid hits yet. I checked my status again.
AdultHuman Allison Level 325 Yrs 0 Mos Class:Combat FocusMage Resilience: 25Mana: 30(-6)Endurance: 10(-2) Afflictions: FatiguedAffiliations: NoneTraits: None 0 Level Pending Passive Skills: 0 Skill Factor Active Skills: Close CombatMana SenseDecisiveness Mana BoltBasic ParryQuick Cast Dash It would have to be enough. The projection spun down and the Lens ceased once again, and I took stock. I had my new ability and higher attribute. Surprisingly, it actually did seem like the pain was lessened. I supposed it made sense, since I had kind of increased my vitality by an entire fourth. Later additions would likely feel less impactful.
But, with my level selected and the sun fallen, I needed to get some rest. I headed into the Sanctuary to retrieve the sack of potatoes and turn off the lights. It wasn't much, but it was dinner and a pillow. The air outside had gotten even chillier, so I wanted to preserve what warmth I could.
I slept fitfully that night, which was no surprise. I woke up several times through the night, had to adjust, had to get water, and mostly just failed to rest well, but I did eventually get some of the rest I needed. When I finally decided to greet the new day, I grabbed another potato from the sack as I reentered the Sanctuary. Exiting the Lens room hit me with a fresh chill, and I was glad I'd thought to take shelter further in. I got to work quickly, though there was little to do except mentally prepare. I limbered up with a couple stretches and exercises, feeling a bit tired but still had more clarity than the night previous.
I stepped out onto the outer area of the temple once again, looking to my south in the morning light. Taking a better look, the temple was absolutely enormous. I stepped out as far as I could and realized that it wasn't really a wall that was blocking me from going south - it was an enormous landslide that had taken down part of the mountain and blocked off my access. Obviously, I could go around it, but I had no idea how stable that ground was and what kind of threats awaited. It was better to stay where I was, at least until I gained more strength and confidence. My little portion of the temple would have to suffice.
Heading back inside, I munched on the potato I'd grabbed. A little more used to the taste, it was becoming a little easier to stomach the raw vegetables. I still dearly missed something even as simple as butter or salt, but I was just glad to have food right now. Allison took a deep breath, and began talking myself through my next steps.
Before fully taking stock, I tried my Dash ability. Simply by invoking the idea of the skill, I found I could propel myself in a given direction by up to about 3 or 4 meters, maybe 10 yards. I could do it three times before starting to huff and puff, feeling my muscles burning. It was likely connected to my Endurance attribute.
"I'm working on a close-combat build. I can dash in or out. I can cast a Mana Bolt that is more powerful at close range, but workable farther away. I can parry attacks, somewhat, but it's not perfect." I absently rubbed my right arm. "So we take it safe. We fight clever, and we make sure not to take too many risks. Keep fights short to not run out of mana."
I took a moment to step inside the Lens room and looked at my status, confirming that the "fatigued" affliction was gone and my attributes no longer had the numerical malus. Now more prepared, this was going to be my best chance to do well. Fed, watered, rested. Unsurprised. I purposefully strode down the stairs back towards the entrance to the labyrinth, noting with pleasure that the aches and pains from the encounter the day before had lessened considerably. Upon entering the lit room, I realized I'd missed something important during my last stay. Nearby my unfortunate mess was a large chest, of sorts, looking like it was built into the wall. I swore it hadn't been there originally, but last visit hadn't had me at my best.
I approached it, avoiding the puddle, and opened the thing. My heart soared as I reached down and retrieved the shortsword that I'd found during my last trip.
"I can take things from the Labyrinth." I grinned.
I also frowned, remembering the man I'd seen before I'd... died. "Is there someone else here? Elsewhere in the temple? How does the Labyrinth work?"
Shaking my head to clear the speculation, I pushed forward with new vigor as I once again touched the multicolored portal, expecting to be taken back to the dark, unpleasant hallways.
Instead, however, what awaited me was a gorgeous view. Stone columns and intricate masonry, along with all sorts of runic etchings, filled the huge chamber in which I now found myself. The ceiling was certainly at least four stories high, and it felt like my Sanctuary, but much bigger and more grand.
"Very interesting," I mused.