Velasteros sat there alone in a world of deafening darkness.
The only thing she could hear was a ringing that would never stop that came from inside her head.
It feels like I’m submerged in something… but not at the same time. Voice, do you know what is around me?
{Response: There are no lifeforms around you.}
So you can see around me?
{Response: [Voice of Guidance] has limited vision outside of the user’s own vision capabilities. Extension of abilities that were active during your egg form.}
I see… Well, I guess I don’t…?
She stood there in silence. After a moment, she tried to focus on the ringing, but when she attempted to, the sound vanished.
Guess I will keep looking around. What’s the worst that can happen?
While moving, the pressure didn’t vanish or weaken. It even grew ever so slightly stronger. She wasn’t even sure if she was making progress at this point, as she lost all feelings in her limbs, only able to tell she was standing up.
The process was slow, and she did bang her head against more than one wall. Velasteros believed she managed to know where she fell down and how to leave this hole.
Okay, I think I know where I am. Good. Voice, alert me if anything comes near.
{Response: Understood.}
After failing around for what seemed like hours, Velasteros decided to sleep. With a full stomach, she could go for days without eating, and the chance that another monster was going to attack felt low. If she couldn’t see in here, then the chance that other creatures could was also low. She had already made note of the fact that there were practically no creatures on the way to this cave; any that were around had the joy of being eaten by a shiny scorpion.
Despite the darkness being all-encompassing, she felt comfortable.
The pressure, while it did get stronger and weaker, never surpassed her mind; if anything, being alone without any other sensors allowed it to work at greater capacity. No matter how much of her movement was restricted, as long as her mind was calm, then Velasteros wasn’t going to be worried.
After a long, well-rested sleep, the ringing had completely faded away.
It’s quiet.
Despite being unable to feel anything around her, Velasteros continued to move ever so slowly as she tried to carefully discover her surroundings to understand if anything had changed.
If I learnt anything from trying to find another exit and falling down this cave… Investigating is really fun!
This whole blind maze had been an odd joy to complete. It was a little difficult since she wasn’t able to keep track of every bump she ran into, but in the end, she felt that she had done a good job.
Another reason to place more points in [Intelligence]. I am already feeling the issues with my memory. [Voice of Guidance] You were right. Being around fifty is really baby level.
If the [Voice of Guidance] could feel regret, it would, because it was born from Velasteros’s wish to live, be free, and gain what it lacked, but it was also born from her desire to survive. Gaining [Intelligence] was a big component of that, as that stat being low would only lead to trouble, but it hadn’t predicted how obsessed the scorpion was becoming.
It took some time, but her eyes finally started working. She was a little surprised that they were the first senses to come back. She couldn’t see far; her vision was extremely blurry, and there were no other senses to support it, but it was a start.
Purple reflective surfaces were what she had been running into. Her curiosity piqued when she observed these crystalline structures and began immediately experimenting with them.
She raised my claw and used [Crush] on one, with the immediate consequence of a pain eruption from the opened pincer echoing in her mind. She tripped back and nearly tumbled over, but learning from her mistake like how a smart scorpion would, she managed to stay standing.
Pain… will not make me fall over again!
Massaging her claw with her other, less hurty claw, she began to remap the area.
Now I learnt that these objects, these crystals, protruded from the ground. Many of them existed, filling the cave floor and walls.
Wow… It's amazing that such dazzling objects were so close but were unable to be seen by anyone.
Velasteros had a feeling these objects were what was emitting the indivisible pressure.
Fascinated, she wanted to learn more but didn’t know where to continue from.
This is probably not worth it, but [Voice Of Guidance], any idea on what these crystals are?
{Response: No understanding of these objects found.}
Figured. Smart enough to know your limits now.
Streams of annoyance flooded the rivers of the mind, but the shining light of pride was enough to ignore those negative bubbles.
She tried each of her skills to test how they reacted to the crystals and the pressure, trying to be extra safe this time. While every skill showed no results, there was one fact that she did notice.
I’m getting used to the pressure?
She nearly laughed to herself. Of course, she was. Otherwise, why would her eyes be working now, but what caused these crystals and pressure? Was it a type of skill? Or a natural phenomenon? Oh, how she wished it were easy to learn more.
Choosing to adapt further and acclimatise to the pressure, she stayed still and allowed the force to wash over her and rested in an unintentional meditative state.
{Inform: No other lifeforms have been detected. Assumption: other creatures do not come down to these parts due to the pressure. The user’s old soul is able to adapt quickly to the pressure than the creatures in this environment could.}
Velasteros was surprised at the sudden hypothesis her skill made; she didn’t realise it had that function.
My soul? So, you're saying my soul hasn’t changed from my stronger days?
{Response: Partly correct, your soul has changed shape and nature, but its high capacity hasn’t changed.}
Velasteros didn’t really understand this soul talk. It felt weird. Even with a soul with a supposedly high capacity, she wasn’t capable of thought.
{Inform: Assumption, the crystals around the user. [Voice of Guidance] believes they are emitting excess stored soulforce. Soulforce is a powerful thing, but too much of it can cause an individual to become sick or even die if the amount isn’t properly regulated.}
Are there any other effects?
{Inform: While you are near these crystals, you won’t need to eat, and depending on your activities, sleep. [Voice of Guidance] is unable to determine other positive or negative effects.}
Velasteros pondered [Voice of Guidance] responses and wondered how much of them was assumption.
How confident are you that these crystals are releasing this so-called ‘Soulforce’?
{Response: 60%.}
Lower than Velasteros expected.
Thanks for the update.
Appreciating the results. Velasteros was happy to have some possible pieces to the current puzzle. Upon the return of the rest of her senses, she expected to be able to explore further beyond this small area. Only using her sight to move was quite disorienting.
While she was accidentally meditating, a familiar feeling re-emerged from the depths of her soul.
{Inform: Level Increase: Lv11→Lv12.}
I levelled up?
Velasteros was surprised, but there was one likely source.
These crystals….
Even if she could barely see them, their purple glow released a soft warmth amidst the pressure. The desire to bask in that feeling felt strong, but the pressure was still drowning that warmth out.
Name: Velasteros
Race: [Black Scorpion] [12/20]
This wasn’t the first time she had levelled up since being here; she knew she was well below level 10 before entering here. She knew that but hadn’t been notified earlier.
Was it because of the pressure that blocked the feeling? But [Voice of Guidance] should’ve said something, right? Or was it because I was sleeping?
[Voice of Guidance] didn’t respond this time
Do I just keep sleeping?
Velasteros thought about it and decided she was all for it. Maybe after sufficient time, all the negative effects of the pressure will be gone, and she’ll be rewarded with so many levels!
So she went back to sleep, and only for those occasional moments of consciousness, she spent that time organising her memories. There weren’t many, and anything from the past was vague at best, but she wanted to try and make sure she wouldn’t forget anything.