《Ascent》 Chapter 1 Ever wish your life was a little different? That you made all the right choices, even not knowing where those choices led? I did. I made all the choices that led to a boring life. Good life to be sure, but full of nothing and everything that I cared for. Work, followed by more work, and then a weekend that was sometimes fun and other times a generic carbon copy of all weekends in the goddamn Universe! I worked because I need money. I needed money because I wanted to live. I wanted to live because¡­ I did not know why. I had a family that I loved, and friends that I cared about, but they all had their own lives and futures that they strived for. What about me? At that time, I believed with all my heart that I would trade the comforts of my life for a single purpose. When I finally got my wish, I realized my foolishness. I thought myself full of wisdom, turned out I was just full of shit. But the real truth is, if I could make that choice again, I would choose purpose every time. I would choose The Tower every time.
The Tower came knocking on a day like any other. I was walking back from work, when I stepped into an empty room. Except it was not a room at all, just a whitescape that seemed to stretch in all directions. I shook my head, and lightly slapped myself. No, not sleeping. I tried to take a step back, hoping to back out of this weird nightmare. But nothing happened. I walked forward, backwards, and sidewards, I tried running, jumping, and yelling but nothing worked. ¡°A man of action I see,¡± said a voice behind me. I turned to find a young man sitting behind a large wooden desk. There was something unnatural about this man that was hard to pin down. Maybe it was the perfect stillness of his posture, or the unblinking eyes, or perhaps it was the uncanny beauty of his face made in the image of a perfect human. ¡°Are you an Angel?¡± I asked the young man, hating the slight awe that slipped into my voice. If he was an angel then that would explain everything. Maybe I had died and was about to be interviewed by this man for the right of entry to Heaven. ¡°Not exactly, but close,¡± he replied smiling. ¡°A devil then?¡± Or maybe I was going to Hell. ¡°Nope, but close again,¡± the man replied, his smile widening. ¡°I am a representative of The Tower, here to make you an offer.¡± ¡°What Tower?¡± I asked, now completely confused. There was Purgatory that was supposed to be between Heaven, and Hell, but I had never heard of The Tower before. Unless I was not dead at all and this was something completely different. ¡°The one and the only Tower in the whole Universe of course,¡± said the man. He stood up and walked over to me. ¡°Instead of wasting time explaining all this, why not I just show you something,¡± he said, and smiled. One moment I was looking at the perfect row of teeth, and then another I was looking down upon a very familiar street. There was a bit of whiplash, as my mind tried to adjust to the instantaneous change. ¡°Look,¡± said a voice, centering my mind. The street below me was the same that I was walking on before¡­ ¡°Don''t blink or you will miss it,¡± said the voice again. I watched as another version of me walked down that same street. He walked up to the crosswalk, and started crossing when the walk signal flashed. He would never see the car, but I did. It was coming too fast, with no chance of breaking at the red light. I watched in silent horror as the car ran past the red light and smashed into my body. It was flung over the roof of the car like a ragdoll, before hitting the ground hard, and leaving a bloody trail. I screamed then, because all that felt too real. I don''t remember much past that. I imagine there was a lot of retching, and screaming. When I came to myself again, I was lying on the ground and the man was sitting behind his desk, calmly studying me. ¡°That is your very near future,¡± he said looking me in the eyes. ¡°You will die, and maybe you will find this Hell, The Heaven, or the Purgatory you were thinking of. Or maybe it does not have to be this way at all.¡± ¡°The Tower,¡± I said, finding unnatural calmness within me. ¡°Your offer.¡± The man smiled and nodded. ¡°I am glad watching yourself die a gruesome death did not break your mind.¡± He stood up and walked over to me. ¡°Most people just lie there crying, and wailing, and denying my existence, denying what they saw. It is all just soo¡­vexing,¡± he finished with a sigh. He grabbed me by the elbow and stood me upright. ¡°But you seem to be made of sterner stuff. I like that, and I like people who do not waste my time.¡± He walked back to his desk. ¡°Now, back to business,¡± he said, sitting down again. ¡°We want to give you another chance at life. If you agree, then I will transport you to The Tower, and you will start a new life as an Ascender.¡± ¡°And if I refuse?¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I will wipe your memory, and deposit you back to exactly where I found you, and then¡­ well you saw what happened next.¡± The image of a broken body flashed before my eyes. It was hard to deny what happened. The vision had felt too real. The smell of the streets, the soft heat of the early spring, the sounds of the cars, all the other minute details solidified that vision into a stark reality. I wanted to believe that this was some kind of scam, but deep down I knew it to be true. ¡°All it takes is for one man to fall asleep behind the wheel to destroy your whole future. But what am I saying here, not that you had anything to look forward to anyway.¡± ¡°I have family and friends that love me! I have a¡­ good job and...¡± ¡°And? Can your family and friends change the inevitable?¡± He waved his hand and a hologram appeared on his desk replaying my grisly end. ¡°Sure, they will mourn you, and remember you, and pray for you, but that is all they can do. And then there will come a day when they will remember you for the last time. They can¡¯t change the inevitable, but you can.¡± He waved his hand again, and the hologram changed. I watched as the car smashed into my body and bent around it as if hitting an immovable pole. The man waved his hand again and the illusion restarted. This time, with me easily jumping over the car, and then again with me cutting the car in two with a sword, and it repeated over and over. Always with me doing some fantastic feat to prevent my end. There I was phasing through the car, and then teleporting to the side to dodge it, or just simply punching it away from me. I was mesmerized. ¡°I will be able to do stuff like that in The Tower?¡± I asked, as my miniature self levitated the car out of the way. ¡°Yes, and much much more,¡± he said. ¡°You will have to climb The Tower, pass its Trials, and earn every bit of power along the way. I can offer you a chance, but it will be up to capitalize on it.¡± ¡°Why me though? There are over 6 billion people on Earth. Why¡¯d you choose me?¡± I asked, tearing my gaze away from the hologram. ¡°Because you were about to die, and your death would not cause anything of consequence on Earth,¡± the man said ,and then shook his head. ¡°But that is not what you want to hear. We both know why,¡± he looked me in the eyes, ¡°You were not satisfied with your life on Earth, and here I am offering you something more. A purpose perhaps?¡± He smiled. ¡°But I don''t want you to misunderstand. If you choose to accept my offer, I will create a special puppet that will take your place on Earth and will eventually meet the same end as you would. No one will be the wiser. Either way, someone dies today. I just hope it is not you.¡± I looked at the man for a long time. It was scary how much he knew of me. Not just about my everyday life, or my future, but the real me. The me that was looking for a greater purpose in life. The me that lived in constant guilt, because I was not satisfied with what I had. I did not know who this man was, but I knew he was not just a man. An alien perhaps, or an Angel, maybe a Devil. It did not matter. If i was to die anyway, I might as well try what this Tower had to offer. ¡°What can I call you?¡± I asked, looking him in the eyes. The man thought about it for a second before replying. ¡°I am a Prime Administrator of the Tower, but you can call me Prime,¡± he said smiling. ¡°Ok Prime. I accept your offer,¡± I said as formally as possible. Prime clapped his hands dismissing the hologram. ¡°I knew I had a good feeling about you,¡± he said. ¡°Now, everyone who becomes an Ascender, will get a Boon from the Tower. It is usually a random Ability that will help them in The Tower, but I can make that Boon not so random for you.¡± ¡°Oh. Thank you. Do you perhaps know what it might be?¡± He waved his hand. ¡°You will find out in time. I do however want you to remember three truths about The Tower before you start your Initiation.¡± "The most important fact you have to remember is that The Tower¡¯s real purpose is to cultivate you. Make you more than you currently are. Every challenge, every Trial and hardship is there to temper you for more challenges and Trials further up the Tower. It is a cycle that will drive you until you either die, give yourself up to the depth of mediocrity, or Ascend all the limits, becoming an Ascendant.¡± The man shook his head with disgust. ¡°Most Ascenders have forgotten this truth. They gain a meager amount of power and think themselves the Kings and the Queens of the Tower and stop climbing. They stagnate, wallowing in their own illusion of grandeur until they die.¡± He suddenly stood up and walked over to Felix. ¡°Do not ever forget this truth Felix,¡± he said looking directly into his eyes. ¡°Climb The Tower, and become an Ascendant.¡± His eyes became unfocused, almost haunted as if remembering something long forgotten. ¡°I can destroy worlds within heartbeats, but even I am nothing but a child compared to an Ascendant.¡± He shook his head as if dispelling the memory and walked back to his seat. I was shook. Destroying worlds within heartbeats? Either this guy was speaking the truth and he was practically a god, or he was also living within an illusion of grandeur. Either way I would find out soon enough. "The second thing is, that you will want to keep your identity as an Outsider a secret in The Tower,¡± he said, sitting down again. ¡°Outsider?¡± I asked in puzzlement. ¡°Yes. Most of the Ascenders come from the Fringe Worlds located inside The Tower. Among those Ascenders there are some that are quite powerful, and they would give up a lot to gain even a sliver of knowledge about the Universe outside. Not to mention that there are also these religious zealots that want to keep the ¡®purity¡¯ of The Tower intact.¡± Straight from fire into a frying pan, It thought to myself. ¡°So there are religious zealots who want to kill me, and crazy powerful Ascenders that would torture me for information I dont have. What else is there?Crazy cultists, Zombies, Dinosaurs, Zombie Dinosaurs?¡± I asked some sarcasm seeping into my voice. The man looked impressed for a moment. ¡°Well yes,¡± he answered, ignoring my sarcasm. ¡°There are some floors of The Tower that have those or similar creatures. But the third truth is actually quite beneficial to you. Have you played video games before?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes. Of course I have, but what does that have to do with The Tower?¡± ¡°The way to Advance and gain power in The Tower can be quite similar to some of the video games you might have played. The familiarity of the process might prove to be a good advantage for you.¡± ¡°I have like a thousand questions about that¡­¡± Prime held up a hand to interrupt me. ¡°You will learn more during your Initiation,¡± he said walking up to me. He grabbed me by the shoulder and looked me in the eyes. ¡°Be careful with your choices.¡± He smiled. ¡°It was a pleasure Felix. May we meet again at The Peak of the Tower.¡± He snapped his finger and I was gone. Chapter 2 [Staging Initiation...] [The User identified as an Outsider] [No recorded Soul Data Found] [Expanding the List of Available Skills to: All Initial Advancement Skills] [Expanding the List of Available Perks to: All Initial Advancement Perks] [Staging Complete] [Welcome to The Tower Initiate] I found myself standing in a grey room now. This time it was an actual room with walls and a ceiling, but no windows or doors. There were these ethereal lines continuously flowing through the walls. They would form into different patterns, numbers, and geometric shapes before dispersing, and traveling around the room again. "Well, this is at least better than an empty whitescpae," I said to myself, as I read the words hovering right above me. "So this is what Prime meant when he said there was a video game-like quality to this world." "Ok. So what do I do now?" I asked, looking around, not knowing what to do next. The text suddenly broke up into the ethereal lines and reformed into two different text boxes. One said [Skills], and the other said [Perks]. ¡°The User has one Soul Point and one Perk Slot available. Please choose from the list of available Skills and Perks,¡± said a digital yet feminine voice. "Who are you?" I asked, looking around again, trying to find the source of the voice. The ethereal lines flowed to the front of the room and merged into the vague shape of a human. ¡°Initiation Stage Administrator, here to assist you. Please choose from the list of available Skills and Perks,¡± she said again. "Ok. Nice to meet you too," I said, nodding. "So what are these Skills and Perks up there," I gestured to the text boxes, "how do they work?" "Skills are divided into Body, Mind, and Soul categories. At this stage, there will only be one Skill slot for each type until further Advancement. These Skills can be acquired with Soul Points. The User will earn a Soul Point every Advancement, and a Perk Slot every ten Advancements. An Ascender can Advance a total of 100 times, which is equal to the number of floors in The Tower. "Perks improve and change one of, or the combination of Body, Soul, and Mind permanently. Some Perks may have powerful effects tied to your Advancement or a specific synergy with your Skills." So it is kind of like a video game, I thought to myself. Advancements are the level ups, Soul Points are the skill points, and Perks are¡­ kinda like passives. Then the Body, Mind, and Soul would have to be the attributes, and each Skill is tied to one of those attributes. "So, I will be able to pick one Skill related to any one of the three attributes right now. And later, when I have more Soul Points, I can get two more Skills associated with the other attributes?" "Correct," she replied in a monotone voice. I looked up at the text boxes. [Skills] tab had a gigantic list of skills that seemed to stretch to infinity with no apparent organization. It would scroll up or down, depending on where I focused. There were Skills such as [Fishing] [Reading] and [Singing] which seemed mundane, mixed right in with Skills like [Spearmanship] [Metalcraft] and [Essence Manipulation]. There were others in there that did not make sense at all, such as: [Gastian Hookmancy], [Eldercraft], [Bloodhowl], [Elemental Expulsion], and many many more. [Perks] tab was not much better. The list seemed smaller compared to the Skills tab, but it was still full of Perks such as [Lican Body Modification], [Kaathen Soul Dew], and [Kraav Ears]. There were others that I at least had some understanding of like, [Soul Sense], [Iron Skin], and [Eidetic Memory]. The options were overwhelming, to say the least, especially without any organization. "Please focus on the specific Skills or Perks for more information," said the Administrator, apparently sensing my discomfort. I focused on the [Kaathen Soul Dew], and the Perk expanded with more information. [Kaathen Soul Dew] - Exclusive Trait of the Kaath race in The Tower. When Kaathen reach adulthood, their Soul is naturally split from their body, forming into a Soul Dew. They have mastered the ability to craft these Soul Dews into weapons, tools, and in some sporadic cases into Familiars. Kaathen of higher Advancement level can have multiple Soul Dews. "Wow. That is some crazy shit," I said, imagining myself with a fancy weapon or two floating around me. "Does this mean I can have this Soul Dew thing as well? Even though I am uh¡­ a human." ¡°Yes. [Soul Dew Crafting] is a Skill that can be paired with this Perk,¡± she said. ¡°Would you like to pick this combination of Skill and Perk?¡± ¡°No! I was just curious,¡± I yelled slightly panicked. I did not want to make any permanent changes to my Soul just yet. ¡°But how come I can choose a Perk like that? It seems like it is an integral part of another race.¡± "Most races of The Tower have one of their key Traits turned into Perks. There are usually restrictions and conditions to learn these Perks. To learn [Kaathen Soul Dew] Perk, most Ascenders will have to find someone of the Kaath race willing to teach the Soul Splitting process. At the next Advancement, the User will be able to select the [Kaathen Soul Dew] Perk." ¡°Then how come I can choose that Perk right now?¡± "The list of available Skills and Perks change depending on the User''s proficiencies and their Soul Data. You do not have any current Soul Data, which is a key Trait of all Outsiders. A new Soul Data will be recorded during your Initiation Trial, and the future Skills and Perks lists will change to reflect that." ¡°That means I have options here that would not be usually available to me. But only this one time. I won¡¯t have some of these options available to me after I leave here?¡± "Correct," said the Administrator with a different voice now. The ethereal lines further converged around her body, giving it more definition and detail. While it was in the vague shape of a human before, now it was in the unmistakable form of an average human female.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! She looked down, examining her new body. "I am not a human, so this is slightly unusual," she said. "I usually automate parts of my Essence to handle all the Initiation processes, but I had to come to see you personally." She held up her hands, looking them over and wiggling her fingers. "Hmmm, these fingers are quite useful. Especially for some small detail work," she said with a thoughtful expression, and then shook her head. "Anyway, Hi. I am an Initiation Administrator." She waved her hands. "Uhh, hello... I guess it is nice to meet you again," I said awkwardly, returning the wave. ¡°So what did you do to impress the Prime Administrator?¡± she asked, walking over and examining my body. ¡°I heard he chose a special Boon for you.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I actually don¡¯t know. He just said that I did not waste his time.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah,¡± she said with an understanding nod. ¡°It is always prickly to deal with you Outsiders. He especially hates that duty.¡± ¡°How come?¡± I asked in a measured tone. "Lack of respect, really, but also some other destructive stuff." She waved her hand. "See, Administrators are revered throughout The Tower, and Prime Administrators even more so. They are practically treated as Gods. You get used to the way things are in a millennium or two, and then you have to go deal with an ignorant Outsider." She held up her hands again. "No offense." "None taken," I said with a smile. Being called ignorant in such a casual way was slightly irritating, but one of the lessons we all learn as adults is knowing when to shut the fuck up. When an alien, almost god-like being, who might have some control over your future throws a very slight insult your way, you take it on the chin and keep smiling. "Anyway, I am here to administer that Boon. Usually, the process would be random, but in this case¡­" she trailed off thinking of something. "Here it is," she said, as the ethereal lines merged again to create a new text. [New Ability Selected] [Invert] - The ability to invert the position of objects with the User. Objects must have the Essence signature of the User. Upon further Advancment, the User will be able to Invert two objects with each other. "Wow, that is quite a Boon," she said, nodding. "Although it is not the most powerful version of the Ability that I have seen, It is still pretty excellent." "How does that exactly work?" I asked, rereading the description of the ability. "You''ll have to figure that out on your own kiddo. That''s what testing is for," she said, walking back to the middle of the room. "Although I would not be surprised if there was a cool down time of some sort." Her body started losing definition as ethereal lines started fraying from her. "Wait. You said that there was a more powerful version of my ability?" I asked. She ignored my question. "With that, my task here is done," she said. "My automated Essence can handle the rest of your Initiation, and I have other places to be." She paused. "Oh, and one last thing. Most of the Outsiders seem to blaze out pretty early on in The Tower. I''d keep a low profile if I were you." I watched as the last of the ethereal lines left her body with a flash, leaving a vague shape of a human that looked like it sketched onto reality with a pencil. Keep a low profile, huh. That was the second time I was warned to do that. I would have to take that advice to heart. In the meantime, I had to focus. [Initiation Trial Has Been Selected] [Trial: Wilderness Survival - Survive in the Wilderness for 120 Days] ¡°Your Trial has been selected. Please choose from the list of available Skills and Perks,¡± said the Administrator, now in her vaguely human form again. "120 days?!" I asked with exasperation. "That is 4 months that I have to survive in the wild!" ¡°Parameters of The Trail can not be changed. Please choose from the list of available Skills and Perks.¡± I took a deep breath to center myself. 120 days was a lot of time for a city boy like me to survive in the wild. But it was not all hopeless. One of the advantages of growing up in an Information Era was the ease of access to all kinds of sometimes useful, most of the time, useless information. YouTube was a beautiful thing, full of tutorials and guides that I never put to any practical use. I had never been in a survival situation in my life, but I did watch a lot of survival videos. There were videos about starting a fire, about finding water, building a shelter, constructing tools, and many, many other things. Some of that knowledge would come in handy in this Trial. The problem was that knowing how to do something and actually doing it were two completely different things. On the other hand, I could not waste my Soul Point on basic survival Skills either. This was my only chance to make use of my Outsider Trait. I would have to choose something that would not only help me in this Trial but also during my ascent up The Tower. Something that would help me to keep a low profile, stay hidden, and to plan ahead. "Can you find specific Skills for me?" I asked, looking at the Administrator. ¡°What are the specifications?¡± She asked me. ¡°Skills that would help me to keep a low profile,¡± I answered. I watched as the Skills rearranged themselves with stealth related Skills shooting to the top. It took me a while to go through them. [Stalk] was a stealth ability tailored to tracking and following without being detected. It was way too specialized for what I needed. [Sneak] was more of a general stealth Skill but seemed very generic. I needed something more unique. Something that I would not find anywhere else. [Path of the Umbra] was a Skill that was unparalleled for night prowling, but was bound to the Shadows during the day. The Skill was developed by a race with natural-born night vision capabilities. So to get the most out of this Skill, I would have to acquire the [Night Vision] Perk. [Stealth Ops] was a Skill that was created by a human Administrator while he was still an Ascender. It was based on specific movement patterns of different feline creatures, which required a high degree of agility. From what little I had seen so far, The Administrators were a powerful, almost god-like beings in The Tower. Any Skill created by them would have to be powerful as well. I took a deep breath. I was ready to make my decision. "I''d like to take the [Stealth Ops] Skill," I said aloud. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I felt a deep sensation of loss within me. There was a tightness there that seemed to stretch my Soul to bursting, and then it gave way, replaced with a sense of relief and emptiness. ¡°User has selected the [Stealth Ops] Skill. The effects of the Skill will activate at the start of The Wilderness Survival Trial. Please select a Perk from the available list.¡± "What was that just now?" I asked, patting down my chest, trying to assuage that feeling of emptiness. "The User has used a Soul Point to purchase a Skill. Please select a Perk from the available list," she replied in a matter of fact tone. Earlier, while I was going through my Skills options, an idea had started to form in my mind. I was not a physically fit person. Years of my adult life spent behind a desk while consuming copious amounts of fast food had left me with a pudgy body. Not quite overweight, but not athletic either. I would need a Perk to address some of that. But what would be the most efficient option? Strength, Power, Speed, Endurance, and Agility were all the areas that I needed to improve myself on. But there was one aspect of athleticism that was hard to improve naturally - the sense of balance. When people talked about athletics, they always mentioned the strength, power, and speed. But I always thought that balance was the most important. The ability to stop on a dime and change direction while sprinting, ability to control the body while airborne, or standing very still with little to no sway were all feats of athleticism that appealed to me the most. While looking at the list of Perks earlier, there was one that had especially caught my attention. [Sublime Grace] - Faexing is a race of Fae that have evolved to have a perfect body balance to counteract the continually shifting gravitational forces of their Fringe World. Upon induction to The Tower, Faexings'' superior body balance was made into a Perk. "How do I earn the [Sublime Grace] perk naturally?" I asked the Administrator. "The User will have to visit the Faexing Fringe World and learn to navigate the shifting gravitational forces. The Ascenders do not have a right of entry to the Fexing Fringe World without the explicit permission of Prime Administrators." An exclusive Perk that granted me a perfect body balance that was otherwise almost impossible to earn was precisely what I wanted. ¡°I choose the [Sublime Grace] Perk,¡± I said. "Initiation Stage complete. The User has one Mind Skill slot, and one Soul Skill slot left. The [Sublime Grace] requires a body reconfiguration." "A what?" I asked incredulously. "What do you mean you have to reconfigure my body?" There was no answer. [Initiation Stage Complete] [Staging Initiation Trial¡­] [Staging Body Reconfiguration in¡­ 3...2...1...] Chapter 3 I look back to my days, surviving in an alien forest with a mixture of feelings. There is a wistful longing for those days, when everything was simpler. All I had to do was to survive and not lose my damn mind. There is also a feeling of regret. Because there was a lot that I could have done differently. Maybe even for the better. But the crowning feeling of them all is happiness. Happiness knowing that I had taken the first steps into what would become my life. My purpose.
I crouched down and studied my surroundings, as the ethereal lines that transported me here dispersed with a flash. I was in a clearing surrounded by trees that were tall enough to cover the sky with their blood red leaves. Sun peeked through them, creating tiny spotlights on the moss green of the forest floor. The scene was familiar yet alien at the same time. I could not remember how long I sat there crouched, trying to listen for any signs of danger. My heart beating out of my chest, my blood roaring in my ears. My imagination turned into my worst enemy as I kept looking for some phantom wild animal that would charge from underbrush any second to eat my face. What finally calmed me down was the faint blue light of a status screen that materialized in front of me. As I skimmed through the information, I felt my pulse slowing down. I did not come here unprepared. I had some knowledge, a new body and a Skill that would keep me hidden from the unknown dangers.
Name:?? Felix Blackburn
Race: Human*
Age: 23
Advancement: 1
Trait: Outsider
Body: 5
Mind: 5
Soul: 3
Ability: Invert [Novice]
Skills (1/3) Stealth Ops [Body]
Perks (1/10) Sublime Grace
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and focused inward as I activated my [Stealth Ops] Skill. There was a feeling of something blue and hazy, almost like a fog coalesce inside me, and then cover me from head to toe. That feeling faded, replaced by a set of... new instincts that I never had before. I stood up on the balls of my feet and brought my torso closer to the ground. I reflexively held out my hands in front of me, thinking I was about to lose my balance and fall. I did not fall, nor did I sway, I stood perfectly still as if the gravity did not exist. I could not help but let out a laugh as I tiptoed around the clearing in a half-crouched position. I knew exactly how to shift my balance, with every step and with every sway. I understood how to step and where to put my feet to make the least amount of noise. In a moment of giddy excitement, I pitched forward into a one armed handstand, and then promptly collapsed into a heap. I might have had the perfect balance to execute the stunt, but not the strength to sustain it just yet. If someone peeked into that clearing that day, they would have found me splayed on the ground, giggling uncontrollably. They might have thought me a deranged fool, but they would not know what a superpower it was to have exact control of your body. They would not know how it felt to do something that you have only dreamt of doing before. I think it was at that moment that I realized that this was all real. That this was not a dream, a prank or some kind of acid trip. No. This was my new reality, and I had taken my first steps to becoming a superhuman. I spent a little more time familiarizing myself with my new body before I started testing my new Ability. I pulled up and read its description again. [Invert] - The ability to invert the position of objects with the User. Objects must have the Essence signature of the User. Upon further Advancement, the User will be able to Invert two objects with each other. I could switch places with any object as long as that object was imbued with my Essence. But the question was, how would I imbue anything with my Essence? I did not understand how to control it, nor how to access it. No. That was not true. I accessed it earlier when I activated my Skill. It must have been that blue and hazy fog that covered me from head to toe. I picked up a loose pebble off ground and concentrated on it. Trying and failing to summon that blue fog again. After trying for several minutes, I threw the pebble away from me. I concentrated on it and tried to activate my ability. Nothing happened. I sat there thinking, working through my options. If the Essence was inside my body, then it should have permeated me already. In a flash of inspiration, I picked up that pebble again and put it in my mouth. I activated my stealth skill and waited, noting the feeling of blue fog coalescing around me. After a while I spit out the rock and activated my ability once more. The world lurched as I teleported to the pebbles location. The sudden change in perspective caused a whiplash in my mind, and I collapsed on my knees, dry heaving. I could confirm two things from my test. There was indeed a cooldown associated with [Invert], and that cooldown was at least 10 minutes. When the cooldown refreshed I tried using it again, this time with a strand of my hair. And then again with a tiny piece of chewed up nail. With each use I started feeling the object I wanted to switch with in my mindscape. There was a thin strand of Essence that connected us. After a few more tests, I left a strand of my hair in the clearing and walked as far away from it as I could. When I reached the edge of that clearing, the connection snapped. 5 meters. That was the distance of my [Invert] ability. 5 meter teleportation ability with a 10 minute cooldown was nothing to write home about in the grand scheme of things. But I fucking adored it. I could teleport through space and time! The possibilities were endless, even with all the restrictions.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Reality chose that moment to rear its ugly head in the form of a shriek that pierced through the tranquility of the forest. I froze. That was not an animal¡¯s shriek, it sounded very human. I broke out in a cold sweat. There was another person in this forest. Possible more. I activated my stealth and started slowly walking to the direction of the sound. Some small part of me knew that I was probably heading into danger. Whoever that was, they were probably dead, and whatever killed them would be there. But I had to confirm it for myself. Existence of other people in the forest could mean this would be a different kind of survival Trial. I never fancied myself a hero before, and I did not want to become one now. I would sneak up, check out the situation, and leave if there was any danger. If they were still alive¡­ Then I would cross that bridge when I needed to. After about 15 minutes of skulking through the forest, I realized my mistake. I knew roughly where the sound had come from, but not it''s the exact location. If I blindly walked around, I might accidentally walk into the danger that I was trying to avoid in the first place. I slowed down my pace and started looking for any signs of struggle, footprints, or scuff marks on the trees. I did not understand what I was doing, but it was at least better than walking around blind. I smelled it before I saw it. There was a heavy stench of blood and what I thought was a human excrement, in the air. The smell was coming from the underbrush right ahead of me. I sat there squinting, trying to see through the foliage. I did not dare to walk any further, in case they discovered me. Whatever ¡®they¡¯ were. I would need a higher vantage If I wanted to see what was going on in that clearing. I looked around and up, noting the tree with thick branches that stretched close to the clearing. That was the vantage that I needed. The climb was infinitely easier than I thought it would be. With adrenaline rushing through my veins, and a perfect sense of balance, the tree did not pose much of a challenge. Although my muscles screamed with pain by the time I reached the branch that I needed. I had to lay there for a bit, breathing slowly and quietly, recuperating my strength. When I felt better again, I started crawling along the branch. The tree still had a lot of its leaves and it was enough, along with my stealth skill, to hide me from view. At least I thought it did. On my way over here, I had started mentally preparing myself to see some fucked up shit in that clearing. I was not prepared enough. There were two saber-toothed tigers in there, lounging in a pool of blood, and casually licking it off their paws. And there was a lot of blood. Only through a force of will and fear for my own mortality did I keep myself from puking. I closed my eyes and held my breath, trying to count my heartbeats. I don¡¯t know how long I lay there, trying to calm down, beating down the instincts to get up and flee. When I felt a little better, I looked into the clearing again. The tigers were up on their feet now and alert. Something had spooked them. It took me a few seconds to realize it was probably me. Which freaked me out even more. These were not the traditional-looking sabre-toothed tigers. They had the stripes, the paws, and long fangs of the saber-toothed tiger. But that is where the similarities ended. These had long elongated snouts and much more muscular yet short, stocky bodies that ended with a short tail. I watched these beasts lounge around in the carnage and prayed that they would not find me. I had a new body, and a badass ability, but no weapon, or any skill to wield one. There was no way I could protect myself if they found me. I thought about crawling back the way I came, but dismissed the idea as too dangerous. They might notice me if they sensed movement. So I lay there, perfectly still under the cloak of stealth. The human they had been munching on was almost unrecognizable. I could not even tell if they used to be male or female. I noticed their weapon, though. It was hard to see from my vantage, but it looked like a sheathed dagger. I wondered how they were able to get a weapon. Did they already have it when they started their Trial? Much good it did for them. But that did put my own level of preparedness into a new perspective. It would be logical to assume that there might be more humans out there, taking the same Trial. And these humans were probably much more prepared than I was. I had arrived in this forest with just clothes on my back. The tigers slowly relaxed and went back to lounging and occasionally eating. I hoped that they would eventually leave, so I could leave myself. I had no idea how these animals operated, but they had to go back to their den, eventually. But the more I laid up there, the more I was convinced that I would need that dagger, and whatever else the human used to have. It was twilight when the tigers finally left the clearing. I felt almost feverish with the need to move and stretch my muscles. Never have I had to stay still in one spot for hours before in my life. But I controlled my impulse and waited another hour, just in case they had hung around in the area. It was almost night when I finally made my way down there. I left a strand of my hair wedged inside the bark of the tree branch so I would have a route of escape. I made sure to keep my eye on the connection as I slowly stalked towards the clearing. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I kept stopping and waiting every time I thought I heard a sound. I held my breath as I entered the clearing, doing my best not to look at the bits and pieces of what used to be a human. I stayed there scanning the perimeter, listening for any sign of danger. This was stupid, I thought to myself. I could make a knife out of a rock or something. Why did I have to risk my life for a dagger? No, it was not just the dagger. There was also a bag. It was steeped in its owner¡¯s blood, but there might still be something useful in there. Besides, I had an escape plan. So I steeled my heart and pushed forward. When I got close to the remains, I felt the connection waver. This was the maximum range of my ability. I noted the location, and moved forward, feeling the connection snap. I made it to the remains, grabbing the dagger and the bag as fast as I could. I heard it then, a low thrumming growl coming from the underbrush. As soon as I heard the sound, I jumped backwards knowing I was about to be pounced on. A tiger jumped into the clearing and crashed into a spot I had just vacated. I heard the other one running up behind me. The connection appeared in my mind, and I activated [Invert]. I appeared on my branch with a jolt, barely catching my balance. They had known I was here. They were waiting for me. One of them had even circled around to trap me in the clearing. I did not know if they could climb trees, and I did not want to find out. I looked around, finding a branch that ran close to the branch of another tree. I bolted to the branch, and jumped, grabbing a hold of the other tree, my [Sublime Grace] Perk keeping me upright and balanced. I did not wait around to see what the tigers would do. I kept running and jumping from branch to branch. From tree to tree. I was terrified out of my mind, but there was also the feeling of exhilaration bubbling up from my gut. I don¡¯t remember how long I ran, or how far. When I stopped I was out of breath, sweating and exhausted. I tried activating my [Stealth Ops] Skill but failed. Out of Essence? Did not matter at the moment. I knew I was about to pass out, so I climbed up the tree as high as I could. Finding the thickest branch available, I collapsed into exhausted sleep. Chapter 4 I woke up the next day with a dry mouth and an empty stomach. I was sore all over, and¡­ very bloody. I panicked, patting myself down, looking for any wounds. The sudden movement almost threw me off the branch before I caught myself at the last second. Slowly, I calmed down, remembering last night''s silent prowling, followed by a mad chase through the trees. I had slept with the bloody bag under me, which had transferred some of that blood onto my clothes. The dagger was stashed at the knot of the tree, where the bough was connected to the trunk. [Invert]> Level 2 [Stealth Ops]> Level 3 [Body][5]+2 [Soul][3]+1 A notification popped up in my field of vision. I blinked it away. "Status Screen?" I muttered, not knowing how to pull up the screen. The blue status screen materialized in front of me.
Name:?? Felix Blackburn
Race: Human*
Age: 23
Advancement: 1
Trait: Outsider
Body: 7
Mind: 5
Soul: 4
Ability: Invert [2] [Novice]
Skills (1/3) Stealth Ops [3] [Body]
Perks (1/10) Sublime Grace
Both my Ability and Skill had ranked up. I wondered if they had changed in any way. I would have to test them later. My Body and Soul stat had increased as well, but not the Mind. Why? I knew my [Stealth Ops] Skill was tied to the Body stat. So if I gained any ranks in my Skill, then it should also affect that same attribute. Following that logic, [Invert] should be tied to my Soul stat then. Which would explain the increase in my Soul. But I had also done a lot of strenuous physical activities yesterday, along with extensive use of my Essence. Did that have any effect on my attributes? Would my Mind stat increase if I solved some complex math problems? Too many questions and not enough answers. Will have to do even more testing at a later date. I put those thoughts aside and focused on some real problems. It had been a whole day since I had any water and food. I could ignore my hunger for a while longer, but not my thirst. The average human would die within 3 days with no water, and that would be a slow, painful kind that I did not want to experience. Finding drinkable water would have to be my number one priority, followed by food and shelter. I picked up the bloody bag and looked inside. There was some kind of dried meat, some squashed fruits, a change of clothes, and a waterskin. The food was ruined because of all the blood, but the clothes and waterskin were godsent. I really hoped the waterskin was not contaminated with blood either. I pulled the stopper and poured some of the water into my hands. It was clear. I took a small sip, pushing down my urge to upend the whole thing into my mouth. Even if the water looked clear, it might still be contaminated. I looked over the clothes while I waited. They were the simple rough homespun kind. The pants looked like they use to be the brown color, and the shirt white. They were both red now. I still wore my work clothes, which consisted of a cream-colored polo shirt along with blue chino pants and a pair of leather sneakers. My sneakers were caked in a mixture of mud and blood. The rest of my outfit did not look any better. I would not need the change of cloth, but I could still use the other clothes by cutting them into strips to make some bandages or make them into ropes when I needed them. I suddenly realized that I have been just sitting there on a tree branch smelling of blood. Those tigers from yesterday, could probably still track me by smell. I activated my stealth skill and moved to another branch, grabbing the dagger along the way. I sat there for a bit, surveying my surroundings, listening for anything unnatural. Listening to the sounds of the forest now, I realized my mistake yesterday. Forest had sung its usual symphony when I first arrived, but the sounds were almost absent near the clearing of carnage. When I had gone after the dagger and the bag, the sounds had completely vanished. It should have been a clear sign that something wasn''t right.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Live and learn," I muttered to myself, shaking my head. I unsheathed the dagger looking it over. I knew jack shit about weapons, but this one seemed well made. It was about 10 inches long, with a leather hilt, and slightly curved blade. I tested the edge against my thumb and winced when I drew blood. The son of a bitch was sharp too. I played around with it for a bit, trying to get comfortable with different grips, and slashing it against the tree to further test its sharpness. When I did not feel any sicker from water, I took the waterskin, and this time, I upended the whole thing into my mouth. With my thirst quenched, now I just need to find some food. Foraging would have been the easiest, but I had no advanced knowledge of plant life. The chances of me eating something poisonous were too high. I sat there on the branch thinking through my options. I had a dagger, and I could possibly make a nice spear from one of the tree branches. But I did not know how to hunt. I could possibly sneak up on some animal using my stealth Skill, but how would I find the said animals in the first place? My best chance at the moment was fishing. For that I would need to find water, which I needed to do anyway. With a concrete plan, I gathered my thing and set out into the forest. I wandered around under the guise of stealth with no real directions. Initially I only traveled from tree to tree. Turned out, it was not an efficient form of travel at all, no matter how cool it might have looked. I would start sweating and heaving within half an hour of travel due to all the jumping and balancing I had to do. So I switched to traveling on the ground. I kept a slow pace, keeping my ears out for the sound of running water, and more importantly any signs of danger. After several hours of aimless wandering, I finally heard the telltale sound of a rushing water. It was a small brook, with a shore littered with stones. I sat on a tree and surveyed the waterfront for a bit. When I did not see anything dangerous, I finally approached the brook and took a small sip of the water. While waiting, I washed the blood off the bag and the change of clothes, and refilled my waterskin. When I did not feel sick in an hour, I took a larger drink and started thinking about my fishing options. I did not how to make a fishing rod. But I did have a dagger and stealth to help me. I waded into the brook in a half-crouch and stilled my body while scanning the riverbed for any fish. It took me at least half an hour of slowly sneaking through water before I noticed a fish. I froze, letting it come as close to my body as possible, before lunging at it with my knife. I was extremely clumsy in my efforts and completely missed the fish with my strike. I ignored the unhappy growling of my stomach and went back to fishing undeterred by my failure. It took me three tries in a span of 2 to 3 hours to finally skewer one fish. I was tired, cold, and wet. Hunger was eating away at my stomach, and I was mentally exhausted. Partly because of, what I went through yesterday, and partly because of what I still had to go through. As i stood there looking at the dead eyes of the fish, I thought about my own hunters. Finally realizing that I, a human, was once again part of the food chain. I will eat this fish, and those cats will probably eat me. Circle of life. "No!" I said aloud, sparks of anger smoldering in my chest. I will not die! I am a fucking human! If anything wants to eat me, they are welcome to try. I walked back to the shore, looking around for some stones. It was time for me to build my Red Flower. Rudyard Kipling once wrote a wonderful little story called a Jungle Book. In it, he told a tale of a Red Flower, a Flower, all animals of the jungle, were afraid of. Animals called it a Red Flower and many other things because they did dare to call it by its true name - Fire. Nurturing yet destructive, a friend and a foe all in one. It was time to see if there was any truth in that tale. To make my fire, I would need my dagger, a stone, and a lot of kindling. I took some of the rocks from the shore and tried striking them against the back of my blade. Picking out the ones that created the largest sparks, I went back into the forest to get the kindling. I looked for the driest branches on the forest floor and found an especially dead and dried out sapling. I shaved small slivers of its wood to make a fire starter bundle and chopped up the rest as kindling. Coming back closer to the shore, I arranged some more stones, making them into a fire pit. The shortest, and driest branches went into making a small tepee, and rest were further shaved down to make more fires starters. I put some of the shavings inside the fire tepee, and the rest I pressed into a tight ball. It took me several tries to finally catch some of the sparks in that ball. I gently blew on it until I saw some smoke and put it inside the tepee. Several minutes later, I had a fire. At that moment in my life, that fire might have been the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. I sat there staring at it, soaking up its warmth, and feeding more and more kindling to it. Eventually, I skewered the fish with a stick and leaned it close to the flames. I tried catching more fish while it cooked, but was unsuccessful. When it was done, I devoured it, hot flesh burning my mouth, and crispy skin crackling with every bite. Back on Earth, I had lived a life of luxury, eating out almost every day. But this slightly burned, and unseasoned piece of fish tasted better than anything I had ever had from a restaurant. Maybe it was the effort of catching it and building the fire that cooked it, or may it was just the natural taste of the fish. I don''t know. But I do know that one cooked fish instilled some sense of control over my circumstances. I was not helpless. That night, I slept with a full stomach and a smile on my face. The future did not look so bleak. Chapter 5 Day 4 For the next couple of days, I settled into a routine of exploring, fishing, cooking, and sleeping. While exploring the forest, I stuck to the trees. It was still an inefficient form of travel, but I needed to get used to it. The wood was pretty dense, and it allowed me to jump from tree to tree, while also avoiding leaving a trail on the ground. Another unexpected bonus of tree running as I called it, were bird nests. Sometimes those bird nests would have eggs, and eggs were delicious when cooked. I would just put a large smooth stone over my campfire and fry them up on top of it. There was no oil, so sometimes they would stick on the bottom. It did not matter to me, I would just lick it off the stone. As my food and drinking needs were taking care of, I started focusing more on looking for shelter. Luck was on my side, and it had not rained yet, but I knew I was running out of time. Eventually, it would rain, and I would be left out in the open to soak. I was terrified to build a shelter for myself, knowing that those tigers might still be out there hunting me. The image of me sleeping in my little lean-to while one of them sneaked around my camp was hard to shake. What I really wanted was a cave of my own. Every time I went exploring, I would keep an eye out for one. So my days continued in that fashion. Day 6 I found it, a cave of my dreams! It was a small and snug, fit just for one person. I could barely stand up straight while inside, but it was deep enough for me to stretch all the way out. Of course, a larger cave with its own little lake would have been even better, but that was just fantasy at this point. A roof over my head and a place to hide was all I could ask for, and honestly, all that I needed. Initially, I was planning to clear out all the vegetation near the cave, but then I might have as well put up a sign saying ''fresh human living here.'' On the other hand, something could hide in that underbrush, stalking me, if I left it untouched. I reached a compromise. I left a lot of the shrubbery right at the entrance of the cave intact and cleared out the rest. Most of the dead plants I saved to dry and use for kindling later. Day 10 It took me a long time to set up a proper camp near my cave. The biggest problem I ran into was the distance between the cave and the runlet. I was still dependent on fish for my food and needed to make frequent trips to and from. I was getting pretty good at catching fish, but it was harder to find them in this part of the forest. Sometimes I would have to walk several miles up and downriver to find any. The steady diet of fish, water, and occasional bird egg were getting pretty old. I liked living, so I could not complain much, but I needed to add some variety to my diet before I went mad. Day 15 I got sick. Some form of a stomach virus. Who knew, consuming only fish and water would eventually lead to me wanting to die. Constant nausea, diarrhea, dehydration, and physical exhaustion took their mental toll on me. Nothing like being laid out in a tiny damp cave while smelling like shit. It makes you really appreciate the simple acts of walking, bathing, sitting near a campfire while eating some charred fish. I felt vulnerable at all times. If something came after me, they would have me. Maybe I even would thank them for ending my misery. For three days, I laid there, thinking today might be the day I finally kick the bucket. Sometimes there were fever dreams at night, where I would leave the cave looking for my cell phone, wanting to call my doctor. Other times, I dreamt about my family coming to take care of me. They would bring me sparkling water because it was good for my stomach. And strawberry ice cream because that is what I liked. Those nights were the hardest. It was as if those dreams taunted me that I would never see them again. There was no ice cream, no water, no family. Just me, the forest, and the death standing right around the corner, waiting. But I survived. If not for the waterskin full of water, I might really have died. I was in no shape to get more water, and it still had not rained yet. I was malnourished, dehydrated, and dirty, but alive. When the sickness passed completely, I slowly made my way to the runlet and cleaned myself. God, I smelled like shit! I caught and ate another fish that day. Thankfully I did not throw up. I did not know where my sickness had come from, but I did see that I needed to eat more greens. Unfortunately, that would take a lot of trial and error. I would have to be really careful and start with some fruits, and maybe some berries, then I could look into some vegetations. There were different forms of onions that could grow in the wild, perhaps I could find some of those.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Day 20 It had been twenty days since I started this Trial, and there was still no rain. I have started working on a spear. I found a nice and straight sapling and cut it down at the bottom with my dagger. The tip went into the fire to make it easier to shave into a point. It took me a long time, but the final product was more menacing and dangerous than I had anticipated. It stood at about 5 feet, which I guessed was on the shorter side of most spears. But it worked. The tip was sharp and hard. It was light enough to carry around but heavy enough to do some damage. I practiced different stabbing and cutting motions with it. Not that this spear could cut anything. I also practiced launching it. Which turned out to be harder than I anticipated. Even with a perfect balance, and juiced up video game body, I still struggled with the motion. Harder, I threw it, less accurate I was. The trick it seemed was finding the right balance between power and control. Day 22 When I had nothing to do, I would practice my [Invert] ability. The level up had shaved off a few seconds from the cooldown timer. Still, the most significant benefit was in its execution. The more I used the Ability, the better I became at establishing an Essence link between the items that I wanted to switch with. It came to the point where I could have several different links established in a 5-meter radius around me, and switch with any of them at will. My [Stealth Ops]Skill had leveled up once more. Mostly due to all the stealth fishing that I have been doing. It was harder to test my Skill compared to my Ability. Everything about it was more¡­instinctual. I felt it got better with a level up, but there was no quantifiable way to measure the progress. Maybe that was the difference between Skills and Abilities. Abilities were gifts given by The Tower, while Skills had to be earned and developed in a more¡­ natural manner. I had gotten lucky with Skill selections due to my Outsider trait. I could not imagine what I would have done if the Skills and Perks lists were modified based on my real-life proficiencies. Day 25 I found some berries that resembled raspberries from Earth. I ate one in silent prayer, hoping it would not poison me to death. I spent the next hour or so, high out of my mind, fighting off hallucinations. At least I hoped they were hallucinations. In my quest to add veggies to my diet, I started trying out some harmless-looking greens. In hindsight, that might have been one of the dumbest things I had done. I got lucky, and the acid berries as I called them now, were the worst of the bunch. It could have been much much worse. Some of them that did not make me sick I kept and ate with some grilled fish. It tasted like eating grass and meat. Who knew! Day 30 One month. Still alive and kicking. That at least was worth celebrating. The only other human that I''d seen got eaten by some ugly tigers. It finally started raining yesterday, and now it does not seem like it wants to stop. I spent most of the day holed up in my cave, only going out to bathe naked in the rain. Thankfully, there was a stockpile of wood to keep the fire going, at least. But I almost have no food left. Day 34 It is still raining, although it is just drizzling now. The diet of grass and fish, for the last few days, is making me want to kill myself. I had wanted to leave my cave and go out into the rain. Maybe catch some fish. Instead, I''m just lying here, staring at the ceiling of the cave and daydreaming. No motivation, no energy. I have not spoken to anybody for so long. I always thought of myself as an introvert, but this is too much, even for me. Sometimes, I catch myself talking to people in my head. I tell them about my new life, about The Tower, and about this DAMNED forest. There are still over 80 days; I have to spend here. I just hope I am still me at the end of it all. Sometimes I doubt that. Day 36 I finally went out fishing. It is crazy that I was so proud of myself for having even done that. The small brook had turned into a full creak now due to all the rain. It was deeper and flowed much faster. But there were a lot of fish. I was able to catch three of them within the hour. I would have been lucky to find one within that time before. While I was holed up in the cave, some of my fish provisions had gone bad. I wanted to find a way to preserve them. Salting them would have been the perfect method, but I did not have any. So I focused on smoking them. I lugged several large stones back to my cave. The rain was just drizzling now, so it was not that uncomfortable. I stacked them on top of each other, with layers of mud in between, in a square formation. I made it as tall as I could without it collapsing. The top was covered with some branches, and the gutted fish went on top of them. I put some live coals at the bottom, along with some soaked wood chips to create that smoke. I covered the fish with more tree branches with leaves still attached. It was not perfect insulation, but it was good enough. On the other hand, the cave was full of smoke now. I let it smoke for the rest of the day and night. I occasionally put more coals and wood chips in there if the smoke became thinner. The next day I tried the meat. It was sooo fucking good. It was still bland, but the smoke added so much flavor to the fish, it brought tears to my eyes. After weeks of grass and bland fish, this felt like heaven. Why hadn''t I tried that before? Day 38 Back into the routine. Fishing, exploring, foraging, and sleeping. The rain is gone and with it my dour attitude. I realized I need projects to keep my mind occupied and focused, or Ill just drift down into another depression. My new focus is on hunting. While out exploring, I have been putting a concerted effort into looking out for small animals. I have a spear now, might as well put it to good use. Chapter 6 Day 40
Name:?? Felix Blackburn
Race: Human*
Age: 23
Advancement: 1
Trait: Outsider
Body: 8
Mind: 5
Soul: 5
Ability: Invert [3] [Novice]
Skills (1/3) Stealth Ops [4] [Body]
Perks (1/10) Sublime Grace
My Body and Soul stats had gone up by one point each. Which correlated to rank ups of my Ability, and Skill respectively. It was worrying to see my Mind stat lag behind, and it would keep lagging behind until I got some kind of Mind Skill to boost it. For that, I would need a Soul Point, and to get that, I would need to Advance. That had not happened yet, but I was very much looking forward to it when it did. I also lost a lot of weight during my time here. I still had some love handles here and there, but overall I was in the best physical shape of my life. My black hair had grown out into an unruly mess. Along with beginnings of a full beard. I thought about shaving it off with the dagger, but what was the point of doing that? Not like, I¡¯d need that clean-shaven look anymore. My hunting had been unsuccessful so far. Not because I could not find prey, but because I did not have the guts to kill one when I did. It had looked so easy when I had watched someone else do it on TV. But I could not. It was easy to kill fish because it felt so impersonal. But an animal somehow felt different. During one of my explorations, I had found a grey horned rabbit, happily munching away on his food. It looked like a regular rabbit from Earth, but with a horn- like a unicorn. It did not detect my presence, and I had a perfect angle to spear it. I sat there on my tree, aiming my spear, and getting ready to throw it. Except I did not. I lost my nerve. ¡®There is still fish in the cave,¡¯ I told myself and kept moving. A lie, of course. I would need to overcome that if I was to survive in this forest. No, not just in the forest, but in The Tower as well. A moment of indecision could be the end of me. Day 45 I decided to undertake another project. I have explored most of the woods around me, and it was time for me to venture out further. I did not know what I was looking for out there. Some edible fruits, maybe, or some wild onions. I would need the vitamins after all. Or perhaps I was just looking for other people. Not just humans either, alien beings as well. Well, from their point of view, I would be the alien in this case. An Outsider, in fact. I packed some of the smoked fish, filled my waterskin, and set out. I did not want to leave my cave uncovered, in case some critters decided to move in while I was gone. I cut out a large bark off a dead tree and used it to close off the mouth of the cave. It was still early in the morning when I left. As always, I stuck to the trees. My speed had increased with practice, but I was still moving slower than I would move on the ground. Keeping up [Stealth Ops] while also climbing and jumping from tree to tree was becoming much easier as well. I marked the trees as I went, so I could easily find my way back. I did not have a compass or any real navigational skills, so this was the next best thing. The forest was full of life as always. I saw and heard many different kinds of birds that I could not name. There were also these green foxes that were really good at blending into the moss green of the forest floor. It seemed like they were always hunting the horned rabbits. Of course, there were the saber-toothed tigers out there as well. Kings and queens of the forest, I am sure. I could not imagine any other animal that could hunt them. Bears maybe? I had not seen any bears yet. The fact I was most pleased with. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I ate when I got hungry, drank when I was thirsty, and rested when tired. It was hard to imagine, but that tiny slice of the forest near my cave had become my home. I only became aware of that fact when I spent the night outside again. My cave had become a place of refuge and peace, and somehow I started associating it with safety. My first night outside of my camp was uneventful. The next morning I set off again. Day 47 I found the edge of the forest. The edge of my forest, at least. I had started calling it Bloodwood, due to all the red leaves. It was not an edge by any definition. It was more like the Bloodwood slowly petered out and changed into familiar green forests that I associated with Earth. The trees were larger and covered in vines that seemed to grow everywhere. They snaked through the ground, trees, even onto rock formations. I cut one of the vines and squeezed out its juice. I tried a small sip. It was water. At least, it tasted like it. It occurred to me that this new place felt more like a jungle than a forest. The trees were a little more sparse, but the vegetation was dense, making passage much harder. I was sitting on a tree and surveying my surroundings when I saw movements in the foliage. An ape emerged from the jungle, smelling the air. I slowly lowered myself to the branch and stilled all my muscles. The animal looked like a chimp, but with a red face and larger, more dangerous canines. Whatever it was, it looked scary. The chimp was walking around, sniffing the air, looking for me no doubt when it froze in place. After a second or so, it started beating the ground and screeching. That is when a green blur struck it. What I had taken for an incredibly sick vine, turned out to be a python. It had a large green body, with patches of black all around. I had no idea why I did not notice it earlier. Maybe the thing could camouflage itself. I watched as the ape went down with a screech, and the python wrapped its body around the chimp¡¯s torso, squeezing it. The ape was doing its best, trying to grab the python, punching it as hard as it could, all the while screeching at the top of its lungs. The python just kept squeezing tighter and tighter. The ape stood no chance. I don¡¯t know why I moved, but I did. In one smooth motion, I got on my feet and threw my spear at the python with a small running start. The spear flew true and stabbed into its thick body, causing it to shiver. I did not stop moving. As soon as the spear was out of my hands, I unsheathed the dagger throwing myself on the python. I stabbed it once and dragged the blade along its body, leaving a long gash with some of its organs hanging out of it. The python thrashed, and I felt its tail hit me on my back. I activated [Invert] and reappeared on my tree, breathing heavily with adrenalin. The chimp had freed itself somehow and was nowhere to be seen. I immediately activated [Stealth Ops] crouching down, readying myself for any potential attacks. The python thrashed about for a little while more before going still. I was now more worried about the chimp. Even though I saved its life, it did not mean that he would not attack me next. My spear was still on the python¡¯s body, but I did not want to leave myself open to an attack by trying to retrieve it. I would need to find the chimp first. I slowly climbed down my tree and started sneaking around the fight zone, keeping my eyes out for the ape. I saw it sitting on a tree, clutching a vine, and looking at the dead body of the python. It might have been my imagination, but it felt like there was some hate in its eyes. Maybe pythons and apes were rivals of some sort. I stayed there crouched and ready, observing the chimp. I wanted to wait until [Invert] was active again before I did anything. I put a small pebble in my mouth to start coating it with my Essence. There was also a strand of my hair that I had left attached to the tree. The chimp moved before my cooldown was up. It jumped from the tree and slowly approached the dead python. I started sneaking behind him. I did not know if I wanted to kill him just yet. We had been allies for a split second during that fight, but that was all my decision. I did not know what the ape was thinking. The ape moved towards the spear and grabbed its shaft. I could not let that happen, so I risked it. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I said, walking up behind him. The chimp jumped with a screech and scampered into the jungle. I could still see him, at the edge clutching a vine again. They must use those to get around, I thought to myself. I walked up to the dead python and grabbed my spear, all the while keeping eye contact with the ape. It just stood there studying me. ¡°You are welcome,¡± I said and activated [Invert]. I heard the chimp screech again and smiled. You gotta enjoy the little things in life. I did not wait around after that and left. I had not seen that python earlier. It could have easily been me instead of the chimp that it attacked, and I would have never seen it coming. This jungle seemed a lot more dangerous than my Bloodwood. It was time to go home. That was enough adventure for one excursion. Chapter 7 Day 49 There is nothing like coming back to the comforts of your own damp cave. My journey back was, for the most part, uneventful. Except for a guest that seemed to have followed be back home. The chimp that I had rescued was now hanging out outside of my camp. Silently observing me. I tried to scare the chimp away a few times, but it always came back after leaving for some time. It did not seem aggressive nor dangerous, it just sat there and watched me. Some times it would follow me to the river and watch me fish, other times it would just disappear. I tried tracking it a couple of times but failed. I think it might have been looking for food of his own. I started sleeping with a spear in my hand and a dagger by my side. There were always several Essence coated objects dotted around my camp, in case I had to use [Invert] to escape. I could never be too careful. Day 55 Chimp came into my camp today. He placed a handful of berries near me and backed away. I studied him for a bit and then threw one of the smoked fishes at him. He caught the fish and smelled it. His face immediately scrunched up. I laughed and pulled out a fish of my own and started eating it by pealing aways bits of flesh. The ape watched for a bit and then started doing the same. It must have liked it, he ate most of it. I tried the green looking berries that he brought me. They were incredibly tart and sweet at the same time. I waited a while just in case they were somehow poisonous. But then again, the apes and humans were not all that different. If the chimp considered the berries to be edible, then they probably were. They did not turn out to be poisonous, but I did have a¡­runny stool that night. As easy as that, we established a connection. The chimp would bring me berries, fruits, and edible plants, and I would give him fish. He liked eating fish. But I think he liked the taste of smoke a little better. He hated fire, though. He would stay as far away from the camp as possible when I had the fire going. Because of that, I got into the habit of building it only when I needed it. Day 60 I named him Bud. I did not really think about it too much. I just started to refer to him as a buddy, and that ended up being his name. Great monkey name, I tell you. I tried teaching him how to fish. He was terrible at it. He had the agility and speed to catch fish barehanded, but none of the patience required. Most of the day, he would just follow me along while I went about my business. I had food, water, and shelter, and now a companion. Day 65 "This is how you strike with it," I said, thrusting the spear. Bud grabbed his staff and smacked the ground with it. "That is not how you do it, Bud," I said, repeating the thrusting motion again. He just struck the ground in a slightly different angle now. I sighed. I did not know if it was wise to give him a weapon, let alone teaching him how to use one. He was a wild animal at the end of the day. But I could not help myself. I had this grand image of me climbing The Tower with a trusty sidekick by my side, wreaking havoc with his spear. It was just a fancy. I did not even know if I could take him with me. But then again, this was a world of magic. The possibilities were endless. Day 70 It has been over two months now since I arrived in Bloodwood. My Skill and Ability seemed to have hit a wall. They would not level up no matter how much I used them. So I started focusing on a different kind of training. Training my body. All this time, I felt that I had enough exercise by just surviving every day. But none of it was focused. To fix that, I started a training regime of 100 push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and pull-ups every single day. I did change up the way I performed those exercises, though. Instead of regular push-ups, I would do handstand push-ups. Later on, as I gained more strength, I would balance a rock at the top of my feet while doing the exercise. For sit-ups, I would do the inverted version of it while hanging from a tree. Squats and pull-ups were unchanged, with the exception of an added weight to make it more challenging. I did these workouts every day, regardless if I went fishing or not. I just hoped I would not lose all my hair by the end of it all. Day 90 I had to go hunting again. There were two of us now. The smoked fish was not always enough to feed both of us, even with the foragables that Bud would gather. Besides, I was afraid of overfishing the creek. I did not know if it was even possible to do that by myself, but it was better to be safe than sorry. My first expedition was fruitless. Bud followed me along, and he was not exactly stealthy. He could be when he needed to hide, but not when he was out and about. So I had to leave him behind. Which was easier said than done. I could not just tell him to stay in the camp. I had to be a little bit more creative. Many a time, he had been with me when I went to gather firewood. So I gave him that task, which he understood and preformed. I was honestly surprised. Up to this point, I had never really asked him to do any chores. Mainly because I had just assumed he would not do them, or he would not understand what I was asking of him. But he did. I had to stop underestimating his intelligence. After a few days of hunting, I was finally able to spear a horned rabbit. Killings, it was easier this time around, but butchering it was more challenging. The rabbit had a lot more moving parts compared to the fish. They never showed this part in the movies and shows. The survivors always catch their prey, and in the next scene, they are cooking it. How do I remove the skin? What about all the blood? I had to learn it all the hard way. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The first time I butchered a horned rabbit, I ruined its pelt, got the blood and guts everywhere, and wasted a lot of its meat. I was disgusted with myself. I felt like a child that just played around with a corpse and tossed it away when I was done with it. The second time was better, but not much. I still ruined the pelt but kept most of the meat. I prepared myself better this time by digging a hole beforehand. Guts and blood went into the hole, making the rest of the bloody work much cleaner. I realized I was way too squeamish for this kind of work. My hand would shake, and I would dry heave from the horrible smell. It is so funny how it is so easy to kill, but much harder to properly make use of that kill. Maybe if I was going to live in this forest for the rest of my life, I might have put more effort into bettering my skills. But as it stood, this was good enough. I ate most of the meat, the rest¡­well, the rest went to the forest. The meat did not taste bad all in all. It was gamy, chewy, and different from fish. After months of consuming the same thing over and over, anything different would taste good. That was until I cut the meat into thin strips and smoked it along with fish. The smoke got rid of the gamines and added a lot more flavor to the meat. It was Bud''s favorite. He would not eat the horned rabbit meat if I cooked it over the fire, but loved it smoked. Day 100 My routine was to get up in the morning. Build a fire, eat some smoked fish or rabbit, and start working out. After my workout, I would usually either take a small nap or go hunting. Hunting was not always successful, and it required more time and effort. On the fishing days, I could afford a short rest, as the fishing was always guaranteed. Some days, I would do neither, and just lounge around in my camp, and play with Bud. He was getting better at handling his staff. Although it was always more of a game rather than training for him. On my hundreds day in Bloodwood, I went hunting after my workout. Luck was not on my side that day, but I did not give up. I ventured further than I usually did to find my prey. It was close to dusk when I finally came back to my camp with some fresh meat. I had gotten into the habit of dressing them outside my camp. I did not want any scavengers anywhere near where I lived. Which is why I always discarded my fish guts and bones into the creek as well. The camp was quiet, and Bud was nowhere to be seen. Usually, I would come out of stealth when I got near the camp, and he would come to meet me. By itself, it was nothing to worry about. There would be days, where he would be out gathering berries or playing when I came back. But today was different. It was not just the camp, but the whole forest around my camp was eerily quiet. There was only one time when I had experienced that. I immediately crouched down and activated [Stealth Ops]. Fear had taken hold of my muscles, and it was harder to tree-walk than usual. But the fear was not for me. I could sneak away from the saber-cats if I had to, but what about Bud. He would usually hang out on a tree when resting or sleeping. He should be safe, as long as he stuck to the trees. There was nothing in the camp. I stayed out of it and slowly circled around it, keeping my eyes out for anything dangerous. I stuck to the trees, hoping to find Bud soon. He was nowhere to be seen. I kept searching in circles, slowly expanding the radius around my camp. With every passing minute, my fear grew. Slowly the sounds of the forest came back, and I still had not found Bud. I dropped stealth and started jumping from tree to tree as fast as I could, and then I saw blood on the ground, which made my heart go cold. I climbed down the tree, my spear at the ready. The blood looked fresh but already congealing. I tried to look around for some track or signs of trouble. That is when I noticed the bushes slightly tremble and instinctively knew what was about to happen. I immediately looked up at the branch above me and spit out the pebble in my mouth as hard as I could. On the ground, a saber-cat was charging me with an unbelievable speed. [Invert], and I found myself right below the branch that I had aimed for. I caught it with my hands and swung myself upright before the tiger leaped up, trying to swipe at my legs. It was not deterred, however, and started climbing the tree with its powerful claws. My branch was not that far off the ground, and it did not take a lot of time for the tiger to climb up. I ran up and tried to poke it with my spear, hoping to throw it off the tree. It did not wait for me to poke it, and leaped at my branch, swiping at my feet again as it fell. I tried to jump up to dodge it, but it was too late, and I felt a hot searing pain on my ankles. I lost my footing and almost fell off the tree, catching the branch with my hands at the last second. The tiger recovered from the fall and was about to climb up the tree again when I heard a loud screech. Bud jumped down from another tree and started to charge the tiger with his staff in hand. Another saber-cat leaped out of the bushes bowling Bud over from the side. A struggle ensued on the ground as the tiger was on top of Bud, trying to bite into him. Bud had one arm hugging the tiger''s neck and the other holding its saber fang from tearing into him and trying to keep his jaws at bay. I looked down and saw my tiger look over in their direction. I ran up closer to the trunk of the tree, screaming at the top of my lungs, trying to catch its attention. It worked, and the cat started to climb the tree again, now with a running start. It was a perfect opportunity for me. The tiger still had its mouth open in a roar when I stabbed it with my spear. Behind that stab was all my month of training, my weight, anger, and my fear. The spear pierced right into its open maw and straight through it. I leaned on the spear with all my weight, stabbing it almost all the way to the hilt. We both fell from the tree as it all happened. At the last second, I used the spear to vault over the corpse and landed on my feet. Bud was still struggling with the other tiger. It had now bitten into his shoulder. Bud was doing his best, pummeling the tiger''s head with his fists, all the while trying to bite into its face. I charged the tiger, with the dagger in hand, and jumped on top of him. I started stabbing indiscriminately as soon as landing on top of it. The tiger shook his head, and I heard a crunch as Bud sailed over the air and hit a tree with a thump. I was thrown off as well, hitting the ground hard. I looked up as the saber-cat leaped on to me. I held up a hand at the last second, sacrificing it to keep its jaws busy. I felt claws tearing at my chest, and felt pain shoot up my arm as it broke. Pure adrenaline kept me fighting at that moment. That and the anger. With my free hand, I grabbed the dagger that was still stabbed into the tiger''s side. One, two, three repeated stabs into the head, all the while screaming and, hoping to find some hidden strength. The tiger finally went still on the fifth stab. My left hand was mangled, and my chest was shredded, but I did not feel pain. I felt panic and fear for the life of my companion. I threw the tiger off of me and crawled over to Bud. He was still alive but barely breathing. He had a deep wound in his neck that bled freely, and a mangled shoulder. Tears fell from my eyes as I tried to put pressure on the wound on his neck. He kept grabbing at my hand and mewling. It was all useless. I did not know how to save him. When the light started to fade from his eyes, I gathered him in a hug and wept. Helplessness, anger, and sadness all warred within me, shaking me to my fucking core. I lost consciousness there still crying, still holding the lifeless body of my first friend in The Tower.