《Survival Recommended》 Chapter 1 - Men With Power ¡°When are you going to buy me that new house?¡± A teasing voice came from behind. Eli turned toward the voiceand was met by apair of warm blueeyesframed by long raven hair.The woman''sarms were folded as she leaned against the wall, her lips betraying a small grin. ¡°Buy you a house?¡± He asked clearly confused. He stared at her in bewilderment before his expression revealed an epiphany, causing him to smile widely. ¡°Wait here for fi- no tenminutes! I can grab some cardboard boxes and make you a castle fit for a queen!¡± She rolled her eyes as she approached, giving him a quick smack to the shoulder as she passed by. ¡°So, when are you going totry smuggling a girl into your room? Maybe a boy? A pillow perhaps?" She paused before her tone turned to worry."I¡¯m starting to get concerned about you.¡± She walked toward the couch and plopped down. Eli frowned.¡°Maybe I just haven''t gotten caught.¡± Hisrebuttal sounding weak even to his ears. His mom glanced at him through the corner of her eyerevealing her disbelief. Not allowing her to continue the conversation, he started to walk towards the kitchen. He could hear the sound of the TV turning on behind himas he went to open the fridge,which he foundcompletely empty. His mom was 17 when she got pregnant with him. Her family, being the crazier side of religious, had thrown her out of the house when it became obvious. She neverrevealed anything about his father. He had some guesses though; he was just too afraid to confirm them. But she kept him, even though he would have probably recommended an abortion himself. She dropped out of high school and worked multiple jobs. Her grandmother sneaking her money from time to time to keep her afloat when she could, at least before she passed. She never complained though and regardless of the circumstances; she loved the shit out of him. He always told her as a kid that he¡¯d be super rich when he grew up and buy her a house, which had since become a ritual greeting. As corny as it sounded, for as long as he could remember they were all each other had.AndI¡¯mgoing to make damn fucking sure allthe heartbreak and struggling she''s gone throughwill be worth it. His attention snapped back to reality, releasing his crushing grip on the refrigerator door. He closed it and walked back towards the couch. His momwas watching one of the many Korean dramas she followed. He shook his head as he briefly wondered if he''d have to hold an intervention soon. "I don''t understand how you can like these shows so much." He said as he looked at his mother with mock disappointment. Noticing his expression, she raiseda brow, "Spoken like a true Neanderthal." she started to shake her head. "Appreciation of the Arts requires a certain level of sophistication and class..." She gave him a pointed glare before continuing. "That sadly doesn''t seem to be genetic." her tone revealing a sense of pity. Eli scoffed at the insult. "Yeah, about as much sophistication and class as a Kardashian." His mother audibly gasped at the jab."Oh no, I raised an idiot!" she declared in exaggerated horror. "Which sadlydoesseem to be genetic."Eli laughed as he replied. His mother narrowed her eyes, "Come closer so I can kick you." she ordered. Eli walked towards her in mock challenge. She gave a weak kick as he did, which he stopped with one hand before he grabbed both her legs and placed them on his lap as he sat down on the couch. He started to massage them as his mothergave a slight moanin pleasure. "Thanks Honey."she cooed.Their attention started to shift towards the TV, wherethe antagonist was making a speech after a successful coup. Noticing Eli¡¯s lack of interest in the show, his mother decided to speak. "Assholes are always destroying everything to make themselves feel more important.¡± His mother often tried to pretend there were deeper elements involved in these types of shows. He wasn''t sure if she actually believed it or if it was just a cover to get in some parental words of wisdom.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Hecontinued his massageas hegave a mindless response, ¡°Men with power tend to use it.¡± She jumped at the words and turned her eyes towards his, squinting in defiance. ¡°You know, true power isn¡¯t destruction. Look back on the most powerful beings in history.¡± Her voice started to fill with passion. ¡°Whether it¡¯s gods or men, what makes them powerful is their ability toCreate!¡± She gave him a pointed stare as her voice took on a more playful tone. ¡°But even a toddler can be quite the Avatar of Destruction.¡± Eli rolled his eyes at the jab. He didn¡¯t necessarily disagree but arguing with his mother was practically a hobby at this point. ¡°That might be true, but destruction and creation often go hand in hand. Sometimes you need destruction to act as a catalyst for creating something new. Take life for example, unless you believe in an omnipotent force that can circumvent the process.¡± She glared at him for a moment and he could practically see her forming her rebuttal. He held back a smirk. ¡°While that can be true, destruction isn¡¯t always a catalyst. It¡¯s often just destruction. How many men thought they were gods who could create a new world, when all they did was set fire to the forest and called the new growth from the burnt remains progress?¡± He chuckled,wondering if she meant for hermetaphor tohave the implications it did. Feeling something was off, his mother movedher legs out of his grasp and sat up. Shemoved closer to him before snatching his hand. "Are you doing okay?" her voice soft and gentle, hopeful almost. He broke into a wide smile and she squeezed her hand back. "With a mother like you, is it possible not to?" She looked into his eyes for a moment before she burst out laughing at the overly sappy line. "I ca-"
Fallen Realm Found!
A blue screen suddenly filled his vision. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Eli cursed. He moved his head left and rightbut the screen followed. He brought his hand to touch it and it blinked out of existence. His mother¡¯s face came back into view,except she didn¡¯t seem to be looking at him anymore. ¡°Mom, do you see that blue screen too?¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°Does it sayFallen Realm Found¡±?¡± she asked. ¡°What is this?¡± her voice alarmed.
Sentient Life Located! Integration in progress¡­
After the latest message the world around the box started to look fuzzier. Eli¡¯s grip on his mother¡¯s hand started to slip. He moved the new box out of the way and his arm started to break down like it was made of ash.He could now see his mom¡¯s face which started to distort, ¡°Honey!¡± her voice filled with fear and panic as the world exploded into dust.
The next thing Eli could perceive was pure White. His mind felt... caged. Likeitwas tethered to a single point and any distraction simply vanished. *DING*
Relocation Initiated
Error! Insufficient Host Essence! Assimilation Recommended Authorized! Assimilation Initiated
Low Essence Nests Created! RelocationComplete!
Insignificant Found! Assimilation in Progress...
ERROR! Essence Unstable! Death Imminent! Initiating Conflict Resolution
A largeglowing rock appeared before him. *ding*
Optimization in Progress...
The next moment he found himself smashing into the rock before his vision exploded intored and blue particles. They drifted around him for a moment before being sucked into a single point. *DING*
Optimization Complete! Assimilation Complete! Integration Complete!
Welcome to Existence! WARNING!Death of Essence is Permanent! Survival Recommended
His mind shook as he felt his consciousness pulled into darkness. Chapter 2 - The Nest Eli found himself in darkness. The cold from the floor seeping into his body, its surface hard and jagged. Rock perhaps? He stood up unsteadily and started to take in his situation. Wherever he was now, it was¡­ different. He felt reality in a way he never had before, like his entire existence before was a dream and he had finally awoken. His consciousness, his senses, the very air he breathed felt intense. Whatever this was, it was real to a degree he never knew possible. His mind shiftedto his mother, and he felt his heart rate climb. Where was she? Whatis this? Question after question started to rush into his mind, as panic and fear started to claw at his chest.
Assimilation Sickness Found! Correction in Progress¡­
He felt himself losing his grasp on his thoughts, until they simply disappeared.
Correction Complete!
Eli stood in shock for a moment. He could faintly remember he was thinking about his mom, and he remembered the fear, but he couldn¡¯t remember what he thought about. The implications of something was messing with his mind wasn¡¯t lost on him. I¡¯m in a prison, aren¡¯t I? Even certain thoughts are forbidden. He sighed in resignation. There¡¯s nothing I can do about it now and something tells me I don¡¯t have time to worry about these things anyways. He looked around but was unable to make anything out. There was a slight pungent smell in the air and he could hear faint breathing around him. He was not alone, wherever he was. A blinking light then appeared in the corner of his vision. He quickly looked towards it, but the light followed his eyes. Another message? He tried focusing on it, willing it to the center of his vision. *ding*
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level 1 Class None
Titles Progenitor
Age 0% Lifespan 2 Years
Health 10/10 Mana 10/10
Attributes
Unspent Points 0
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 1
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Seeing the name and race fields made it obvious the system didn¡¯t look upon him highly, but he swore once he saw his lifespan. 2 YEARS? His mind raced with this new information. How can I fix this? He looked over his stats. The mana value catching his attention. There¡¯s magic? The new possibilities gave him hope. If anything could increase my lifespan it¡¯s god damn magic. Then a new idea hit him. This is basically a game interface. Maybe the short lifespan is tied to my race or level? He mulled over the possibilities as he started to calm down. There was simply too much he didn¡¯t know, his short life span wasn¡¯t a death sentence, yet. I wonder what the stats specifically do? He tried focusing on each, but nothing happened. His attention climbed back up to the Title section. He focused on the only one. *ding*
Progenitor Inherent You were the original sapient raceof a Fallen Realm. +2 Intelligence
I guess that solves that mystery. He smirked finding the information amusing. Wait, Intelligence isn¡¯t a stat. He suddenly realized, ashe pushed the title screen away and check again. Intelligence was indeed missing from the list.Maybe there are hidden stats? He stared at his screen for a minute more before he willed it away. He internally sighed.I need way more information on how this all works.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Eli was never afraid of the Dark, but found his stance on the matter quickly changing. A feeling of dangerstarted to surround him, as if any second something could jump out and attack him.Perhaps it was paranoia but he could feel himself being watched, causinghis heart to pound like a drum in his chest. The soundwas starting to drownout the ambient noises in his ears. Trying to force himself to calm down hestarted to slowly move around, feeling his surroundings as silently as possible. He tried to move away from the soft breathing as he did so. Whether they were friendly or not, he didn¡¯t see many benefits in finding out. After what seemed like hours of crawling through the cave he could no longer hear anything. *ding* The sound made him jump.
You have gained Dark Sight Lv. 1 As a creature that lives in the Dark, you have been gifted with the ability to See. Allows user to see 1 meter in front of them without a light source.
His world immediately changed before him. He could now make out his immediate surroundings, confirming his cave suspicions. But what shocked him the most was his now visible arms. They resembled the cave stone around him, with small claws at the tips of his fingers. He brought his hands to his face. Gone was the smoothness of his old skin, replaced by jagged rock. He ran his fingers through the top of his head and found he still had hair, but two small spikes now grew at the front of his skull. His clothes were tighter on his new frame, which made him briefly wonder how they even came with him. Did I become some sort of demon? Eli thought back to the rock that he had smashed into, Probably not a rock. He pointed out to himself. Heguessed it was some sort of creature and the system had merged their two physiologies. Maybe that''s what the optimization was about, keeping the best parts of each. This also had very worrying implications if he came across the friends of whatever he absorbed had. It seemed doubtful they were even the samething at this point. The return of his sense of sight did wonders for helping him keep his panic at bay, it gave him new things to focus on, even if they were simply rocks. His exploration of the caves became much easier as he no longer needed to see through touch, although the limited range still requiring him to crawl. He soon found himself running into a mushroom of sorts. It was a deep black, the type that he didn¡¯t think should exist with his new ability. As he looked closer, he noticed little wisps of darkness slowly being sucked into the mushroom. Is it absorbing the darkness? *ding*
You have gained Identify Lv. 1 Your ignorance is adorable but not very entertaining. Grants the ability to access information stored by the System
Dark Mushroom A common fungus made of Darkness. Consume for further identification
There was zero chance he¡¯d eat something he didn¡¯t know the effect of. As he continued to inspect the mushroom, he noticed his range of vision was slightly farther than it was before. He wondered if it was an effect of the absorption of the surrounding darkness, or another ability entirely. Not wanting to touch it directly, he grabbed a rock and lightly poked the mushroom with it. The rock simply moved right through it as if it were air. He set the rock back down and inspected it again, it didn¡¯t appear to affect it at all. *ding*
Gained Dark Sight Lv. 2 Allows user to see 2 meters in front of them without a light source.
His world started to expand significantly. More mushrooms appearing in his range, extending his vision even further. He could see at least 3 meters around him. An interesting effect he still didn¡¯t know how to exploit. If nothing else, it seemed it could be used to level up his Dark Sight which seemed to be the most vital ability he had for his future survival. As the minutes went by of him staring at the mushroom, he tried to think of ways that he might be able to utilize them. Why did Identify imply it could be consumed? He decided to experiment more,he cautiously used one of his claw like nails to poke it. He felt a tactile response and the mushroom shifted slightly. He inspected his nail for any change or damage. Looks like I can touch it, but inanimate objects can¡¯t? His only guess was that it was related to magic. He obviously had mana in his body, where a rock didn¡¯t seem to. Perhaps it allowed the physical interaction. Shadow doesn¡¯t seem like a harmful element, it¡¯s probably safe to touch. He carefully put his fingers around the mushroom and gently touched it. It felt soft and cool, but it didn¡¯t seem to have any other effect. He opened his Stats Menu and it gave no indication of something bad. He brought the mushroom to his face and inspected it closely. *ding*
Dark Mushroom A common fungus made of Darkness. Its ability to absorb the Dark in its surroundings allows it to be used as a type of lantern. Consume for further identification
Interesting. Some time later another message appeared. *ding*
Gained Dark Sight Lv. 3 Allows user to see 3 meters in front of them without a light source.
A smile spread on his face. He could finally navigate the cavern somewhat effectively. He continued to walk through the cavern, he quickly came to realize that the space he was moving around in was a dead end. It looked like he had to go back towards the group he originally came from. Hopefully he could sneak past them and find a way out of the cave. As he got closer, he could once again hear the soft breathing and his heart began to race. He tried to stick near the wall to circle around the group while being as silent as possible. *grumble* Eli jumped and spun around to the sound behind him.Four obsidian eyes looking directly at him. *ding* Insignificant ¨C Lv.? Chapter 3 - Bold Choice of Death Eli froze, trying not to make any sudden movements as his heart dropped in his chest. He was able to get a better look at the creature that slowly inched closer. It was chest height while walking on all fours, resembling a horned chimp made of unpolished rock. The only other major differences being the four eyes that looked to be made of actual obsidian,and the fact its jaws looked like an assortment of jagged stone daggers. The creature glanced at him one last time before it turned its interest towards the mushroom. It cocked its head to the side. Eli internally cursed as he immediately understood his mistake. The mushroom acts like a lantern to creatures with Dark Sight, and that meant that he was walking around with a torch. The creature must have come to investigate. The creature didn¡¯t look like it was very intelligent, little more than a beast. Perhaps this was an opportunity. Eli slowlycrouched on the ground and placed the mushroom in front of him. Hecautiously backed away. He thought back to the description of the mushroom and the system prompting him to eat the thing. You better be poison! The creature approached the mushroom, sniffing it briefly beforeit gobbled it up. The creature then just stared at him and he stared back. *grumble* Eli''s instincts screamed at him to run. He started to shift to the side, ready to bolt, when he noticed the beast was not following him with its eyes. The creature just stared off into nothing as if it was frozen. *grumble* As he started to move backwards, Eli watched as small black veins started to slowly appear on the beast. They spread out like roots of a tree, slowly getting thicker and thicker. The Dark around them slowly being sucked towards the beast, until it turned into a whirlpool that was being devoured by the roots until they covered the creature like a cocoon. Eli wanted no part of whatever magical fuckery that was going to happen next. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he darted towards the other side of the room, ignoring stealth. The cocoon was quickly making more and more of the room visible. *grumble* *grumble* *grumble* There were six other creatures in the room that had now awoken and started moving towards the commotion. Eli tried to give them a large berth as he ran past them, but they seemed to have no interest in his presence. He wasn''t even sure they were hostile at this point, but he wasn''t going to test that theory. After they got within 10 meters of the cocoon, they simply stood on and watched whatever transformation was occurring. Eli was moving as fast as his legs would carry him at this point in a desperate search for an exit. but the Dark had once again started to blind him, forcing him to slow down. However, it was becoming noticeably easier and easier to see by the second. Soon he was able to make out a small and easily scalable cliff ledge. He was soon at the base and was about to climb on top of it when the rock started to shake.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. *GRUMBLE* Eli darted back as the cliff quickly rose and shifted into a giant horned gorilla. He had to crane his neck to look at the beast. The creature partly resembled acyclops with its singleobsidian eye in the middle of its skull, whileasingle large horn crowned its head directly above it. As the gorilla raised itself to its full height, it brought all four of its arms, that had to have the thickness of an Oak tree, aboveits head before it slammed them into the ground. The debris narrowly missing him as he tried to take cover. *Ding* Insignificant ¨C Lv. ?? Eli watched in equal parts horror and awe as the giant ape glared across the room. He followed its gaze and looked back towards the cocoon, which had now transformed into a massive tower-like mushroom. *ding*
Dark Deathshroom An exceptionally rare type of mushroom. It tries to trick creatures of Dark to eat it, where it then absorbs their essence to grow. Once a Deathshroom reaches adulthood, it explodes into spores which can directly infect creatures of Dark.
The giant ape started to pound the ground again before it charged the Dark Deathshroom as it released a deafening roar. *ding* You have been frozen in Fear for 30 seconds! Eli couldn¡¯t believe how fast the creature was, having crossed the room in seconds. The other creatures started to scatter, apparently unaffected by the shout. Once the ape got close enough it leapt onto the Deathshroom, slamming into it with all four fists. The ground shook and the surrounding rock formations shattered, exploding outward from the force. As the dust started to settle, the Deathshroom looked completely unharmed. The ape became further enraged and started to pound the mushroom as it roared in anger. The Deathshroom started to slowly vibrate, which encouraged the ape¡¯s efforts. It started to speed up in its attacks, its roars of anger turning slightly more victorious. Afteranother round ofenduring the blows, the Deathshroom was almost about to rip itself from the ground with its vibrations. Eli felt himself able to move again, the Fear finally ending. His heart sunk into his chest. He knewit was probably too late. He still couldn¡¯t even see a possible exit from the cavern with all of the rock formations masking his surroundings. Unlike the ape, Eli was starting to realize why the System labeled them as ¡°Insignificant¡±. Why name something that will soon cease to exist? The Deathshroom started to collapse in on itself. The apequickly stopped its attacks to give a roar of victory while pounding its chest. But suddenly the Deathshroom exploded into a massive cloud of Dark dust, instantly plunging the world into silence. Eli didn¡¯t even have time to scream before the spores hit him. *ding*
You Have Been Infected by a Dark Deathshroom! Having your Essence devoured is a bold choice of Death -25% Essence Per Second
Eli¡¯s world exploded into one of Pain. It completely devoured his senses, he couldn''t even think as his mind and soul seemed to be getting ripped apart. Chapter 4 - Found Eli felt an emptiness fill him as the Pain vanished. The strength in his body left him as he fell to his knees before he collapsed face first into the ground. Notification after notification filled his vision as he dismissed them with a thought, lacking the mental strength to deal with them. Eli closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, trying to focus. He felt an intense pressure in his mind that slowly started to ease. His entire body waswracked in pain, but it felt like a gentle caress compared to the Pain he experienced just seconds ago. After a few moremomentsof collecting himselfhe slowly started to move his arms into position to push himself off the ground, but he simply didn''t have the strength to do so. *ding*
ERROR! Host Essence Unstable! -1 HP/Minute
Eli looked at the message, confused at what he was reading. He knew he was dying, but he didn''t understand why he wasn''t already dead. He willed his Status Menu back, instantly getting bombarded by the notifications. *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding*
You Have Gained Pain Resistance Lv. 1 You have experienced Pain itself without Breaking. Increases your Threshold before Breaking.
You Have Gained Essence Drain Resistance Lv. 1. You have survived irreparable damage to your Essence. Allows the ability to Resist Essence Drain.
Dark Affinity Lost
Error! Insufficient Essence! Unable to Maintain Essence Core Error! Level Reduction!
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level 0 Class None
Titles Progenitor
Age 0% Lifespan 2 Years
Health 9/10 Mana 10/10
Attributes
Unspent Points 0
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 1
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Affinities (New!)
None
Resistances (New!)
Pain 1 Essence Drain 1
Active Skills (New!)
Inspect 1
Passive Skills (New!)
DarkSight 3
Eli willed the windows away while he rolled himself onto his back. The first thing he noticed was a miniature Dark Deathshroom covering his body from his belly down. He panicked for a moment before realizing he had been moving his body this entire time. He brought his hand to his face and watched as it suddenly appeared from the Dark, revealing flesh. His mind started to clear as he absorbed what was happening. He was just like the rock. It wasn''t mana that let him interact with the Deathshroom, but the Dark affinity. His eyes narrowed as he noticed his skin had returned to normal as well. Perhaps he didn''t truly assimilate with the creature''s Essence. Eli imagined it like an egg, his original Essence being the yolk and the creature''s being the egg white. Andmaybe this ¡°Core¡± was acting as the shell, protecting him from whatever was now killing him. The Deathshroom had devoured the Dark tainted essence, but was unable to interact with his human Essence. However, with so little Essence left, it seemed it couldn''t sustain itself. Which is probably why the System assimilated him with another being in the first place. Eli took in a deep breath, before letting out a sigh. None of this changed the fact he was likely completely fucked. *ding* -1 HP He looked around the cavern, it was filled with the small Dark Mushrooms he first saw, as well as an abundance of spores still drifting through the air. He could now see everything around him, not a single shadow seemed to exist. *ding* -1 HP The room started to slowly dim somewhat as Eli noticed the Dark Deathshroom above him was slowly shrinking. He looked on in curiosity as the Dark was being ripped from it and absorbed by the surrounding Dark Mushrooms. It seemed they were fighting for the limited resources. It was probably why they weren¡¯t more prevalent in the cavern before. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. *ding* -1 HP Still unable to put strength in his body, Eli just stared into the empty cavern as the cold from the cavern floor slowly spread through his body... or maybe it was just him dying, he couldn''t tell. The scene was beautiful in a way, and it was certainly a better death than having his Essence devoured, though that was quite a bit quicker. A dark spore slowly descended near his face, and as he watched on he couldn''t help but be reminded of his mother''s hair. Dark. The new association calmed him, making his surroundings feel almost warm even. A tear started to fall down his face. He was never going to see her again. He knew it, and not just because he was going to die here. No one was going to survive a world like this, not for very long. They were just so weak. *ding* -1 HP Eli started to chuckle weakly before it turned into a boisterous laugh. His body spasmed at the action. The sound filled the once mute cavern, the echoes started to surround him like an audience. They laughed and laughed at him, a weak, useless, Insignificant existence. He couldn¡¯t accomplish anything with his life, he was simply a shackle for the only person who ever mattered to him¡­ the only person who ever cared about him. *THUMP* A force silenced the laughing crowd. The spores that once drifted through the room were pushed into the nearby walls where they started to grow. Eli looked up and saw a figure standing over him.It had long white hair and wore a tattered tunicthat hung on its long skeletal frame. In fact, for a second he thoughtitwasa skeleton before he noticed the blue tinted pale skin tightly stretched overits body, revealing the slight muscle underneath. A sense of fatigue overwhelmed him. *ding* ??? ¨C Lv. 1 The creature''s face was expressionless, but itseyes suddenly flared with green light. "What sort of abomination are you?" a raspy voice echoed in his head. Eli was startled by the words, ¡°You can speak?¡± he asked as his voice cracked. The man¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, he just continued to stare at him as ifit wasn''t worth the effort to reply. His eyes flared once again. "A Fallen Realm perhaps?" Eli noticed the man wasn¡¯t using his lips to talk but was speaking directly into his mind. *ding* -1 HP *ding*
You Have Gained +1 Vitality
ERROR! Host Essence Unstable! -0.75 HP per minute
Eli could feel strength start to seep back into his body. The fatigue that had gripped him was being washed away. He turned and started to push himself upward. "Explain!"The sudden voice in his head screamed. Eli finally pulled himself up into a sitting position before looking up at the figure. ¡°Explain what?¡± The creatures eyes flared with intensity. "How did you Heal?" Elibrought uphis Status Menu again.
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level 0 Class None
Titles Progenitor
Age 0% Lifespan 4 Years
Health 14/20 Mana 10/10
Attributes
Unspent Points 0
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 1
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Affinities
None
Resistances
Pain 1 Essence Drain 1
Active Skills
Inspect 1
Passive Skills
DarkSight 1
Eli looked confused at what the window was showing him. "I gained a point in Vitality." he replied before thinking to himself. Why is my Vitality still at 1? The man moved for the first time, squatting on the ground as it brought its face in front of his. "Lies! Speak the Truth!"His voice taking on a threatening tone. "I only had 1 Vitality to start with, it doubled my total Health." Eli explained, realizing his stats were probably significantly lower than he thought was probably normal. Thecreature movedits face from his, resumingits original posture. "How much Health?"Itinquired. Eli became even more confused as the math was obvious. Perhaps it''s wondering about how much Health he had left?He briefly pondered. "I have 14/20 Health." He replied. Thecreatures reaction was immediate.Its eyesgrew wide, completely ablaze in green light. "FOUND IT!"The voiceassaultedhis mind right before he feltthe creature grab his neck. Chapter 5 - Class Unlocked The long bony fingers burned his skinfrom their freezing touch. Eli instinctively grabbed at the hand that held him, quickly finding out how futile the effort was. The creature''s body felt like it was made of solid ice, he couldn''t even feel its skin give in the slightest to his exertion. After his short resistance Eli noticed that he wasn''t choking, at least he wasn''t before the creature lifted him off the ground. Eli tried to use his hands to distribute the force of gravity onto his arms instead, to minimal effect. "So soon!"The voice echoed into his mind before it started to cackle loudly. The creature had stood up to its full height now, keeping Eli at eye level. Eli''s veins had started to pop from his skin as his feet dangled in the air. "I have not Descended for naught!"The creature''s face started to change for the first time. An unnaturally wide grin started forming on its face, revealing surprisingly human teeth. Realization seemed to strike the creature''s eyes as they dimmed, his expression returning to its original indifferent stare as it released its grip. Though Eli managed to land on his feet, he didn''t have the strength to hold himself up, falling onto his ass. He started coughing lightly at the sudden influx of air. *ding* -2 HP The creature squatted down once again, a predatory look starting to become apparent in his gaze. "So fragile!"Eli could detect disgust in its observation. Eli''s thoughts started to race on what was happening. What did it find? What did it want from him? At the very least it seemed to want him alive. As for what purpose, he knewit was likely not in his best interests. At least we can communicate. He thought to himself. From the creature''s reply it seemed like such a thing was obvious. Maybe a feature of the system, or the integration process? *ding* -1 HP The notification made Eli dismiss the thought as he tried to figure out his best move. Focus! He knew he was at the mercy of this creature, if he didn''t die from whatever was dealing damage to him first. Force and bribery were likely out of the picture, so that meant a diplomatic approach probably gave him the highest chance of survival. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Eli inquired cautiously. The creature slightly tilted his head as the corners of its mouth lifted into a more natural grin. "Oh yes! You have much to reveal!"It spoke slowly as it started to inspect his body, circling him on all fours like a dog. After it did a full rotation, it stood to its full height and looked around the room. Eli was reminded of a thief checking their surroundings. "We must leave!"The creature looked at him for a moment as if deciding something. The next moment Eli found himself lifted off the ground once again. The creature brought him eye level, this time though the creature''s face was upside down. The creature nodded before he lowered him. Eli realized the creature was carrying him by his leg. Better than my neck. Eli thought as he felt the blood rush to his head. His surroundings started to blur as Eli realized just how fast this creature was. They quickly reached a hole in the cavern, leading into a stone corridor. It was clearly man-made, or whatever term now applied. Orbs of swirling flames seem to be mounted on the walls, the air taking on a strong putrid smell. *ding* -1 HP Eli was now at half health and he had no real plan how to heal himself. His primary hope was to raise his Vitality stat again, but he didn''t know how to. He seemed to gain that 1 point after receiving 6 points of damage. Which means in less than 3 minutes he might gain another. However, if it was percentage based, he would have to reach 2 HP, and would die before he reached a third. Not to mention thedifficulty to gain additional stats tend to increase as you accumulated more, or at least they did in most of the RPGs he knew of that had such a system. Thereseemed to be a very high chance he would die in less than 15 minutes. Eli felthimself layingon stone once again. They had arrived wherever the creature planned to take him. He looked around and the first thing that he noticed weremultiple metalcellsplaced in rows around him. This is a dungeon. While he couldn''t see any other signs of life, he could certainly smell traces of their rotting corpses. Eli looked up at the creature, fear starting to creep into his chest again. "Don''t mind the mess." The voice seemed to reply to his thoughts. "The previous owners were rather... barbaric." *ding* -1 HP Eli was 1 HP away from verifying the absolute best case scenario. He started to weigh his options on what he should do if it turned out that gaining stats were less straight forward than hehopedthey may be. The creature had started to move throughout the room. Eli couldn''t make out what it was doing, but it reappeared in front of him after a short time. The creature decided to carry him withboth its hands this time before he set him down on a structurally unsound chair next to a blood-stained stone slab table. He was fairly sure this was an interrogation room.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Where did you come from? "The creature squatted next to him. Eli quickly decided that attempting to lie with so little information about this world was probably not the smartest approach to this situation. "I come from a planet called Earth." "What is a planet?" The creature immediately asked. The question made Eli pause, he unsure how to effectively answer. "Where I come from, everything in the world like the ground, the oceans, and the sky is just a giant sphere. We call each of those spheres a planet." Eli attempted to explain. "Ignorance!"The creature shifted in annoyance, but not clarifying. How did you come here? The creature followed up. "A message appeared that said it had found us, and that it was integrating us into... this." Eli waved his hand around the room. *ding* -1 HP The message made Eli''s expression turn grim. Fuck. The creature immediately noticed the change in expression. "Why?"It questioned. Eli decided it was probably best to explain his situation to the creature, hecouldn''t thinkof any other option. "I''m taking damage every minute or so. I have 9 HP left." He paused for a second. "Do you know how I could heal myself?" The creature squinted at the new information. "Explain!"It demanded. "Once I came here I was level 1, but once I was infected by the Dark Deathshroom it caused me to drop to level 0. I received a message that said myEssence was unstable, and i''ve been taking periodic damage ever since." Eli tried to summarize. The creature nodded, likely already aware of his level through Inspect. A grin reappeared on its face, the information exciting it. "Do not be concerned, I will not allow you to die."Its expression slightly twisting at the declaration. The creature stood to full height. "We shall continue after!" "After what?" Eli immediately replied. The creature didn''t answer as its grin grew. Eli found himself tossed onto the stone slab. "You will feel Pain." The words entered his mind before the creature grabbed his face with one hand. A green light blinded Eli as he felt his word explode into a familiar scene. *ding* -9 HP Eli didn''t even notice the prompt. The Pain receded from his body almost asquickly as it appeared. *ding* *ding* *ding**ding*
You Have Gained Pain Resistance Lv. 2
You Have Died
Class Unlocked Revenant
Passive Unlocked Unwilling Lv. 1 Even decapitation won''t slow you You Regenerate 1 HP/s
Passive Unlocked Death''s Curse You cannot cheat Death Permanently Increases Lifespan Consumption Rate by 10.
Error! IncompleteEssence Core! Essence Corruption Found! Essence Mutation in Progress!
Passive Skill Unwilling Lost
Passive Unlocked Unwilling Aura Lv. 1 Even decapitation won''t slow you Anything Affected Regenerates 0.1 HP/s Range: 10 meters
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level 0 Class Revenant (New!)
Titles Progenitor
Age 0% Lifespan 146 Days
Health 1/20 Mana 10/10
Attributes
Unspent Points 0
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 1
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Affinities
None
Resistances (New!)
Pain 2 Essence Drain 1
Active Skills
Inspect 1
Passive Skills (New!)
Dark Sight 3 Death''s Curse MAX
Unwilling Aura 1
Chapter 6 - Paths Eli''s mind was in a haze, he couldn''t make out what was happening around him, but he instinctively knew he was on the brink of Death. He was trapped in his own body, completely devoid of strength, as it screamed in agony. "Odd."A voice of confusion echoed in his head. Eli faintly wondered where the voice came from,or was it his own? While in this delirious state, he started to feel a faint warmth spread through his body. After a few more seconds he was able to feel it again, and then again. Each pulse became more distinct until it turned into a symphony, playing in tandem with his heart. Soon, his mind started to clear as the pain slowly receded. *ding* -1 HP
You Have Gained +1 Vitality
ERROR! Host Essence Unstable! -0.5 HP/Minute
Eli jerked up at the notification, almost falling off the table. Sweat was running down his body as he gasped for air, he looked around in a panic as adrenaline coursed through his veins. "This is... different."The familiar voice brought his focus to the creature standing next to him. Eli jumped at the presence and rolled off the table and onto his feet. The table now between the two. "What the fuck did you do to me?" He screamed in fear. The creature just stared at him in obvious interest, cackling in laughter. As Eli watched the creature, he noticed that it looked a bit different. Does it look a bit... fatter? Not only that, but its skin started to change, the blue becoming richer and dominant. "What''s happening?" "So many surprises!"The creature then broke its stare as it started to inspect itself, still cackling. Eli felt rage build inside him, "Answer me god damn it!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The creature then looked back at him as it tilted it head. "I fixed your problem."it spoke in a much too delighted tone. "And it seems you are fixing mine." Eli looked confused as he brought up his Status Menu once again.
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level 0 Class Revenant
Titles Progenitor
Age 0% Lifespan 219 Days
Health 16/30 Mana 10/10
Attributes
Unspent Points 0
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 1
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Affinities
None
Resistances
Pain 2 Essence Drain 1
Active Skills
Inspect 1
Passive Skills
Dark Sight 3 Death''s Curse MAX
Unwilling Aura 1
Eli took all the changes in. After a minute he found there were three main problems. The first was he now had a Class that he didn''t choose, and the fact that he had just "died" to attain it disturbed him greatly.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. That led to the second problem, the Curse. When he first read it, he thought he was completely doomed, however after doing some quick math he realized he got 2 and a half months of Lifespan for every point of Vitality. He had gotten 2 in the last hour alone and was sure he''d gain additional points every time he leveled up. Not to mention Vitality might not be the only way to increase it, and curses were generally curable. All in all, it was a problem, but not an immediate one. The real issue was the Unwilling Aura, he couldn''t seem to control it. He had barely put any thought into it and he already could think of countless problems with healing everything around you, including your enemies. Eli looked back at the error messages showing how it had mutated and started to think over possible explanations. He started to theorize that the Essence Core, which he seemed to have damaged, is what holds everything that his Status Menu reflects. He had gained a new skill, but the Core couldn''t contain it and it started to leak out, figuratively speaking. This caused the mutation and the reason why it become a weaker version that''s also an aura. As for why his Curse didn''t do something similar, he thought perhaps it was attached to the Unwilling Aura itself. The ability didn''t seem to use mana, so it seemed possible that it used his lifeforce as fuel instead. But if that was the case, that meant it wasn''t a true curse. But it also opens the door to new solutions. He started to think of the possibilities. *ding*
You Have Gained Unwilling Aura Lv. 2 Anything Affected Regenerates 0.2 HP/s Range: 11 meters
Fuck! Eli immediately swore. It increases range too? He dismissed the windows again and started to watch the creature admire itself again. Its skin was continuing to transform into a deeper blue as it started to look less like a horrifying monster and more like a very large, but still slender human. Eli had calmed himself down significantly at this point, but he still needed answers. "Explain how I¡¯m alive, and what this Revenant class is." The creature now satisfied with his transformation, waved towards the dilapidated chair one again. "Sit!"Eli walked around the table and once again sat down, waiting for answers. "A simple trick."The creature started to speak. "Separate the Essence from the Body and Connect it again." Eli raised his brow at the explanation. That doesn''t sound simple at all. He thought to himself. "There are many shortcuts to different goals."The creature started to tap its head with a single finger. "You just have to Understand."It then brought the same finger towards his forehead, mimicking the action. "Now you explain, so I may Understand." Eli squinted in confusion. "Explain what?" he asked. His response visibly annoyed the creature. It brought its face closer to his. "How did you survive the Essence Drain?"It hissed. Eli felt something was wrong with this situation. He quickly thought back on what the creature could be looking for. The only thing that stood out was the fact he somehow deleveled. Then it struck him, his Vitality was still 1, but he was still gaining the benefits of gaining those stats. Something was wrong here that he didn''t understand. Something that the creature knew, but more importantly something that it wanted. Giving your interrogator what they want is a quick way to die. He knew he''d have to tread very lightly here. Eli took a deep breath, "Let''s make a deal." he proposed as he watched for any reaction from the creature. "Speak!"The reply betrayed no emotion. "I will tell you how I survived the Essence Drain from the Deathshroom, but afterwards I want your help. I want your protection and all the knowledge you have of this place until I can survive on my own." He laid out his demands. The creature stood motionless as it watched him. Eli just continued to stare back, waiting for it to respond. After a minute passed it nodded. "Acceptable."Eli started to smile before the creature''s face turned menacing for the first time. "Trust repaid with Protection. Betrayal repaid with Death!" It threatened before it moved backwards and stood to its full height. "Explain!" it demanded. Eli felt his heart race as he started to speak. "Like you said earlier, it''s a simple trick." Eli could see a small flash of green light flicker in the creature''s eyes. "The Deathshroom can only interact with and drain creatures with Dark Essence. Specifically, the Dark Affinity in the Essence." Eli started to explain. "How?" Eli was starting to get used it its shortened form of communication at this point and understood what it was asking. He tried to give a confident grin. "It''s like any other creature, it just wants to eat what''s tasty. But there''s one condition..." he drew out the line as if throwing a hook. "You have to give it what it wants!" He revealed. "The reason it devours everything is because the victim instinctively resists. Just like if you put yourself in the way of a hungry beast and its meal. However, if you simply allow it to eat it will just go for what it wants, which is your Dark Affinity. But once it''s done eating it loses its ability to interact with you." Eli hoped his pitch sounded plausable. The creature then stepped onto the table before crouching on all fours. "You will assist!" "Assist with what?" He asked cautiously, unsure if the creature was laying a trap. "To attain Level 0!"It shouted, annoyed at his ignorance. "Why would you risk your life for that? What''s so important about Level 0?" He tried to fish for more information. The creature''s started to cackle once again. "You do not know what you have found!"It crawled off the table to stand above him. "It is a Path!"The creature was practically twitching in excitement. "You''re not answering my question! What is a Path?" Eli shouted in annoyance. "I will show you!"The creature disappeared from the room as he heard its voice echo in his head. "Stay!" Eli stood in place unsure of what to do. He took stock of his body once again before noticing he was now at full health. How is he so much stronger than me at level 1? he wondered. It only took a minute before the creature appeared back in the room. It crawled on top of the table again before it held out a closed hand in front of him, its face unable to contain its excitement. "Shall we begin?" The creature slowly opened its hand to reveal a Dark Deathshroom. Chapter 7 - Growing Pains Uncertainly started to cloud Eli''s mind. Just like that? What if he lied? What if something went wrong? The questions started to pile up in his mind. Something is wrong...The only way the creature would take his word for this is if it was an idiot or it had a contingency plan. If the creature did indeed have some way to deal with the Deathshroom''s infection this was going to go downhill rapidly. The creature would find out that he had attempted to trickit almost immediately,and what happens after was already made fairly clear. "What could I even help you with?" His tone betraying his trepidation. "You will Heal after." The creature stated simply. More like keep me in arm''s reach for when it decides to kill me. Eli mentally countered, now acutely aware the creature had placed itself between him and the exit. Before hecould add anything else, the creature popped the mushroom into its mouth. Eli felt a sense of crisis hit him. The creature looked at him for a couple seconds before its body tensed and its eyes went wide. Little black veins started to appear on its skin. Eli immediately tried to run out of the room but before he could move, he felt an agonizing roar rock his mind. "YOU HAVE LIED!" *ding* -1 HP Eli clutched his head as the pain hit him. He can hurt me with his fucking thoughts! He swore as panic and fear assaulted him. MOVE! He shouted to himself, knowing any hesitation would result in his death, though he doubted there even was a possibility of escape. He immediately started to run around thestone slabtowards the door. The creature was still frozen in place as he ranaroundit. *THUD* Eli felt his back cave in as he was thrown out of the room and into the metal bars of one of the cells. His vision dimmed as he coughed up blood. He couldn''t feel his body anymore as he crumpled up into a growing pool of his own blood. *ding* -26 HP
Inflicted with Major Bleeding -1% HP/s
Inflicted with Cripple You are Immobilized
Title Unlocked: Tenacious Tier II Survive a single attack dealing 65% or more of Maximum HP. +10% Endurance
Stat Unlocked: Endurance
Eli''s consciousness started to fade, unable to register the notifications that appeared before him. He tried to stay conscious, knowing these were probably his last seconds of life. *ding*
Inflicted with Bleeding -0.5% HP/s
A feeling of lethargy started to wash over him. His eyelids feeling heavier with each blink, until it became too much for him to open them. *ding*
Inflicted with Light Bleeding -0.1% HP/s
Eli waited for Oblivion to greet him, but before it came he felt a surge of energy fill his body. *ding*
You Have GainedEnjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. +1 Vitality
Bleeding Removed
Cripple Removed
ERROR! Host Essence Unstable! -0.25 HP/Minute
Eli''s eyes fluttered open as he started to take in deep painful breaths. He grabbed a metal bar with his right hand as he tried to pull himself up from the pool of his own blood. His body trembling in weakness as the room spun around him. After a few moresharpbreaths he started to regain his senses, along with the realization of his current crisis. He turned his head to towards the interrogation room, the creature was surrounded in green flames as itlet out ahorrifying screech.Eli faintly wondered how hehadn''t noticed the sound until now. The good news was that it was obviously taking some damage from the process, which meant that he had hope. The bad news was that it wasprobably going tosurvive, and it wasn''t going to be very happy when it did. Eli pulled himself up to his feet and started to try and get as far away fromthe creature as possible.Hecould feel his body repairing itself as heprogressed, his movements becoming less difficult and painful. The room itself was a labyrinth of cells however, and he had no idea where he was going. He just kept hugging the right wall down any path that didn''t look like a dead end. Eli stopped in his tracks when he heard a shriek come from behind. He glanced back and saw the creature turn a corner and look directly at him. Its face was contorted in rage, its eyes looked like gaping holes without the green light that once dwelled within them. It shrieked once again as it started to run towards him on all fours. Eli could tell the creature was wounded from how slow it now was. Butthat was little comfort as it was still significantly faster than him. Eli looked around briefly before he ran into one of the open cells and slid the door closed. It was a stupid decision, trappinghimself in a cell with a door he couldn''t lock, but any other option was just a quicker death. He moved towards the back corner of the cell before the creature was upon him. It lunged at the bars, sticking its arms through trying to claw at him. After a couple seconds of futile effort, it started to bite at the bar that was holding it back. Eli watched on for a moment before realizing the creature had seemed to have lost its mind. Excitement rushed through him as he looked around the cell. There was a molded blanket in the corner, which was probably the bed, but it was otherwise empty. He swore as he tried to think of a way out of this. He needed a weapon of some kind, and he needed one quickly. He had no idea if the creature would be able to regain its senses or not.Think!He checked himself for anything that could help him, but he was wearing little more than tattered rags at this point.The plain clothes he was wearing were shredded from his wounds, revealing the healthy flesh underneath. A morbid thought flashed in his mind after the realization he could regenerate, the skill evenmentioningdecapitation. Icould probably make a weapon withmy bones. The swore again at the thought. Howam I even going to do that? He looked at his hand before thinking his finger would probably be the easiest. He could try to make a shiv out of it to possibly cut off his arm.This is fucking insane!He swore in his head and he looked up to the creature still flailing and biting at the bars. Eli took a second to steel himself before he put his finger in his mouth.Here goes nothing.He thought before he started to bite down as hard as he could. Blood started to fill his mouth as he continued to gnaw on his finger, finding out very quickly that it was much harder than he thought it would be. He started to pull and twist the bone before he finally was able to rip the finger off. He spat it out as he clutched his hand in pain. *ding* -1 HP A long string of profanity left his lips as the wound sealed itself almost instantly and started to regrow. It took only a few seconds before he was as good as new. The whole experience was starting to greatly disturb him as he looked at the finger on the ground. After second of nausea, he grabbed the finger and inspected it. The bone was small and unbroken. It seemed like he just dislocated it before tearing it off. He grabbed the finger and started to rub it onto the stone floor to see if he could grind it intoa point. *ding*
Bone Shiv
Primitive
Damage: 1 Durability:2
After some semblance of success, he ripped off the rest of his shirt and tied it around his left arm in a tourniquet. Aftera minute he placediton the ground and held down his wrist with his foot while pulling his shoulder back as much as he could. Hetook a deep breath before he started to dig into the inside of his elbow with his bone shiv. Before today the experience would have been the most painful thing he had ever experienced, without question. However,compared to suffering the Pain effect from having his Essence drained, it seemed far more underwhelming than he expected. It didn''t make the process hurt any less, but the pain itselffeltcloser to an annoyance. The real problem was his regeneration ability. The bone shank wasn''t a veryeffective knife, but he found that any obstruction, such as his fingers, prevented the regeneration process. Notification after notification popped up during the ordeal, until finally he was able to sever it. Eli pulled the tourniquet off before he started to vomit on the ground. A cold sweat had hit him as his body lightly trembled. He started to dry heave once he glanced down at his severed arm. He fell onto his back as he waited for his arm to regenerate. He tried to push his thoughts away and focus on the task at hand, his stomach still churning. He got back up and inspected the arm, before dissecting it and separating theRadius andUlna. He snapped both bones in two giving himself four bone daggers. *ding*
Bone Dagger
Primitive
Damage: 2 Durability: 5
He stood up from his own gore and watched the rabid creature in front of him, still trying to claw at him through the bars. He looked at a lossfor a moment. How the fuck am I going to do this? Chapter 8 - Looking to the Future The creature had positioned itself to where only one arm was able to reach into the cell with full range. The other trapped in an awkward angle by the spacing of the bars. Eli inched closer, to where he was just out of reach. The creature started to thrash against the bars from his close proximity. He took one of the bone daggers and stabbed at the outstretched hand, seeing how much damage it could do. The creature grabbed hold of the dagger with its superior speed and reflexes, ripping the weapon from his hand and pulling him closer from the momentum. The next thing he knew he was thrown to the floor as pain exploded from his face. *ding* -9 HP
Inflicted with Blind Sight reduced by 50%
Eli immediately rolled away from the bars. He could once again taste blood as he touched his face. He could feel the bone and gouged flesh on his cheek. Rage started to build within him as he stood back up and glared at the creature. He took a deep breath as he clenched his fists. The creature was still screeching as it clawed towards him. Eli roared back at the creature for all he was worth, his scream filled with anger and pain. *ding*
Blind Removed
As his vision cleared his anger was still climbing.You can''t afford to be this fucking stupid!He berated himself.He was smarter than this! He needsto be smarter than this! He didn''t just cut off his own fucking arm to die to a fucking one armed zombie!He continued to swear as he tried to bringhimself back under control. Any damage he did would be healed by his aura, so the best option would be to somehow restrain its ability to hurt him while he could whittle down its health. The most dangerous part of the creature right now was its right arm, so the first thing he needed to do wasto neutralize it. He needed a rope, he realized. His shirt was too tattered and there wasn''t enough material. He looked at the blanket on the other side of the room that he could probably use but he was unsure of how the creature would react, afraid the creature would readjust itself. Which meant if he didn''t want to take that risk, he had just one option. He was going to have to use his pants. After taking them off he started to use his bone to cut the pants apart into long strips. He then tied the strips into knots. After he finished he tested the strength and it seemed passable, but he was unsure of how it would hold with the creature''s strength. There was only one way to find out though. He tied one end into aHonda knot andputthe other througha bar that separated the cell next to his to act as a pulley and anchor point. He heldhis makeshift lasso in one hand and the end of his rope in the other. This way if the creature grabbed the rope it would pull him safely backwards. He braced himself as he tossed it towards the creature.Luckily, it didn''t react to the lasso, it just continued to swipe at the air. He pulled back but it just fell off the creature''s arm and onto the ground. He tried again, this time he waited for the creature to angle its arm upward before he pulled. The lasso caught on its wrist this time. He pulled the end of the rope as he started to walk towards the creature. This tightened the slack which pulled the creature''s arm, while his closer proximity made the creature reach farther into the room. This also had the added effect of turning the creature to its side, neutralizing almost all the reach of his other arm. He then tied the end of the rope into the taught line, creating a slip knot that he ran back into the bar. Eli looked at the line to see if it would hold up. He couldn''t find any blatant weak points, but the creature also wasn''t really putting much effort into fighting it. He decided to test it moreand moved towards the other side of the cell to inspect the blanket. He watched the creature who now tried to resist its binding, but it held. The blanket was completely unusable, the material mostly destroyed at this point. He got back up and grabbed a dagger with each hand before he cautiously started to approach the creature. He quickly waved his hand within its strike range, the creature started to strugglemore violently but it was ultimately futile. Feeling it was worth the risk, he lunged in and thrust a dagger into the creature''s side as far as he could before he jumped back. The creature roared in pain as black bloodflowed from the wound. Eli noticed the wound was starting to heal from the slowing blood flow, but since he left his bone stuck into its body it was unable to deal with the majority of the damage. His fears were washed away and replaced by a new found rush of excitement as he started to laugh loudly, which joined in the chorus of screams coming from the creature. He rushed back in and kicked the dagger with his heel repeatedly, until he drove it completely into the creature. He jumped back as the creature''s screams started to fade as it''s breathing become rapid and shallow.It''s body started to slump as its movements became more sluggish.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. He moved in again and put his arm through the bar as he drove the other half into its other lung. He pushed it in as far as he could, the creature started to crumple ashe could hear it gurgling on blood. He watched on as the creature continued to choke on its own blood. *ding*
You Have Gained Unwilling Aura Lv.3 Anything Affected Regenerates 0.3 HP/s Range: 12 meters
Elipaused at the notification,unsureof how it might affect the creature. After a minute more of watching, it was still in an unresponsive state. It seemed that his aura was keeping it alive, but that was it. This made himgrin as he grabbed his last two daggers and opened the cell door. He approached the creature before he kicked its foot, watching asit barely even twitched. He then grabbed the creature''s free arm and fed it between a bar and back throughuntil the inside of its elbow rested on the bar. He then brought itshand back towards its chest before hedrove a dagger through its hand and into its chest. Thisspread the creatureon the bars while making it face him. He was faintly reminded of a pinned butterfly. Using his last dagger he started to slowly cut the creature''s skin as he watcheditheal immediately after. He pulled his gaze towards the creature''s face. "I wonder what you thought of when you first saw me." He started to whisper to the creature. "Certainly you thought I was weak, you told me that yourself." He looked at his black dyed bone dagger for a moment before looking back into its gaping eyes. "An exotic bug that you could play with, maybe? Something to join in on your gamesbefore you got bored and crushed it?" He could feel rage start to build inside him as he thought about how it had strangled him, how it toyed with him, how it hadkilledhim. He brought his face closer to the creature''sface, mimicing its earlier behavior. "Don''t worry..." He placed his left hand on its face giving it a gentle tap. "I''ll make sure you can continue to watch as this bug continues to play." He then thrust the bone intoits heart. The cold bloodgushedall overhis skin, doing nothing to calm the rage inside him. He pulled it out and kept plunging it into the creature as he screamed in anger. Notification after notification started to sound in his ears, but he ignored them as hestarted to plunge his dagger into the creature''s neck until he slowly started to pull and rip the creature''s head from its body. He grabbed the creature''s head by its black painted hair before it burst into a bright light. Its form started to twist and change before a familiar sound echoed in his ears. The last of his anger evaporating into joy at the notification, his laughter echoing through the halls. *ding* *ding* *ding*
You Have Killed Khopuo the Descended! +0 XP
NewTitleUnlocked Aberration You have slain a Higher Being -1% to Requirements
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level 0 Class Revenant
Titles (New!) Progenitor, Tenacious, Aberration
Age 0% Lifespan 292 Days
Health 40/40 Mana 10/10
Attributes (New!)
Unspent Points 0
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 1
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Endurance 1
Affinities
None
Resistances
Pain 2 Essence Drain 1
Active Skills
Inspect 1
Passive Skills (New!)
Dark Sight 3 Death''s Curse MAX
Unwilling Aura 3
Khopuo''s Skull
Primitive (Growth)
Bound
Armor: 1 Durability: 10
"Well, this is certainly better than what I had in mind." Eli chuckled as he placed the skull helmon his head. Chapter 9 - Escape Eli looked down at the headless corpse dyed in black ink. He crouched down and started to cut open the thighs to remove the femurs. Now that the creature was dead, his Unwilling Aura had no effect. It made the process significantly easier. The skeletal structure seemed to be unbelievably similar to his own. He briefly remembered the concept of convergent evolution, where completely different species can develop along similar paths. The possibilities fascinated him. *ding*
Bone Club
Primitive
Damage: 3 Durability: 12
After putting the two clubs aside he went back into the cell and started to saw off the creature''s fingers. He could tell the claw-like nails would be a definite upgrade from his broken bone dagger. *ding*
Claw Dagger
Primitive
Damage: 5 Durability: 5
It would have been smarter to start with these first. He realized too late. After the task was complete, he stripped before he untied the rope he created and used it to wipe down his body that was now soaked in black blood, to moderate success. He then took the waistband and pockets from his gutted pants and put it on, stuffing the claws in each pocket. He then grabbed hold of a club in each hand. He didn''t have enough unsoiled material to make anything besides an extremely ineffective loin cloth. "I look like a naked idiot..." He took a moment to swear. After giving the place a look over to see if there was anything he might have missed, he was finally ready to move on. As hewalked through the halls, he once again started to follow the right-hand rule for mazes. It was a basic trick he learned as a kid that stated as long as you continued to follow the left or right wall, you''d reach an exit. This didn''t work with all mazes, of course. Almost any maze with traps would place the most dangerous ones in the direct path of a basic trick like this. Not to mention hidden doors, shifting walls, and rings. Luckily people don''t generally place traps in prisons. After an hour or so of walking, he started to curse to himself. Who the fuck needed a dungeon this big? His complaints were cut off when he noticed a section of the wallhad crumbled. As he approached the debris, he noticed that there was a man-sized tunnel. Eli weighed his options before deciding to scout it out a bit. He cautiously moved forward until the short tunnel led into a small room. It was barren except fora stone gated portal at the end of the room. The thing screamed "dungeon entrance" to him. *ding* ??? His Inspect ability was once again showing its utility. Eli looked around for anything of interest before he ran back out. Perhaps it was a once in a lifetime opportunity where he''d gain unrivaled power that would be used as the foundation for his meteoric rise in this world. However, the far more likely scenario was that he''d be killed by something before he even knew it was there, and heal it while it did so. He wasn''t going to gamble with his life like a moron. After a few more minutes of traveling, he stumbled upon a spiral staircase that led upward. Hewas desperate to get out of the eerie prison. The air was staleand filled with the scent of rotting flesh, but he had yet to find a trace of a corpse. Not only that, but there wasn''t a single sound besides his own footsteps and breathing. Theplace was starting to unhinge him. He didn''t waste much time starting to ascend the stairs, but he remained cautious and did so at a crawl. The staircase was designed to be defended from the top, having a clockwise rise. This meant if there was a guard, they would be at the top. Fortunately,when he finally finished climbing the stairs, he found it was empty. There was just a short tunnel that led into a rather large round room with a metal gate, a portcullis he thought it was named, at the very opposite end. The layout gave him pause. It was entirely too large to be a simple passageway. He tried to think of what purpose it would have. The prison so far was designed to defend against the prisoners at the bottom. That meant the only reason to make a room like this was to purposefully herd more people into it. Meaning it was likely a trap room. What mattered wasn''t that there was likely a trap in the room, it''s what type of trap it was and its trigger. He thought the most likelypossibilities were a pitfall, the ceiling or floor acting as a hydraulic press, or maybe some type of magical crematory. The classics as they were.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. If it was a pitfall, it was likely just a weight trigger, which meant that even a small group was probably fine. As for whatcould be the trigger for the other types of traps, he thought that perhaps there could be pressure plates near the sides of the room that activated them. After all, only a large group would have a need for going to the sides of the room. The safest course of action seemed to be just walking straight through.Totest the waters he threw one of his bone clubs into the middle of the room. *clack* *clack* He waited for any response from the room, but there was just silence. He decided to throw his other club as far as he could to see if there was a reaction from reaching the other side. *clack* *clack* *clack* He wasn''t strong enough to reach the other end, but there was still no response from the room. Eli decided to just go for it as he stepped into the room and started walking forward in as straight of a line as possible. He picked up his clubs as he approached the opposite end. As he reached it he found a wheel type lever to the side. He placed the clubs against the wall and started to pull the lever downward. After a quarter turn it clicked into place. A bright wall suddenly sprang up from both entrances and a red mist started to fill the room. *ding*
Inflicted with Poison You take 3 damage every 5 seconds.
The gas burned his eyes and lungs. He started to cough uncontrollably, with each cough he involuntarily took in a short breath, and each breath brought more poison into his lungs that caused a new wave of pain. He had tripped one of the traps in the room, and all he could do at this point was to try and endure it. After exactly a minute had passed he was greeted with a new alert, but he couldn''t focus enough between his violent coughing to read it. Notification after notification started to ring in his ears shortly after before he was aware that the red fog was being sucked out of the room. Finally able to get his breathing under control after his body started started to quickly repair itself, he looked back at his status screen. *DING*
You Have Gained Poison Resistance Lv. 1 You take 1% less Poison damage
You Have Gained +1 Vitality
Essence Core Restored!
Level Up! You are now Level 1! +5 Free Attributes
Achievement Unlocked! Toxic Blood You have taken a total of 50 poison damage and survived 10% chance to Resist Poison damage.
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level (New!) 1 Class Revenant
Titles Progenitor, Tenacious, Aberration
Achievements (New!) Toxic Blood
Age 0% Lifespan 1 year
Health 26/50 Mana 10/10
Attributes (New!)
Unspent Points 5
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 1
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Endurance 1
Affinities
None
Resistances (New!)
Pain 2 Essence Drain 1
Poison 1
Active Skills
Inspect 1
Passive Skills
Dark Sight 3 Death''s Curse MAX
Unwilling Aura 3
Chapter 10 - New Beginnings Eli was starting to notice something odd with the trap damage. Traps are intended to be lethal, but it barely did over 50 damage. Why would a trap that is meant to kill an entire room be so weak? You would only need 6 points in Vitality to survive it, and that didn''t seem very difficult to reach or surpass even at level 1. Either the trap got weaker with age, the prisoners were extremely weak, or he was stronger than he should be. The first option seemed unlikely with the magic elements involved. It was also possible the prisoners were tortured and maimed to near death at any given point. This possibility would also allow the guards to spring the traps themselves if they were overwhelmed by numbers because they would survive it, but the prisoners wouldn''t. However, he felt the third possibility was the most likely. There had been a lot of weird elements to his Vitality stat so far. The fact it didn''t increase on his Status Menu, the fact the creature found his vitality stat gain to be so interesting, and of course what level 0 meant. Eli pulled up his status menu. He had wanted to save all his attribute points, as blind distribution was almost always how you crippled a character, but this needed verification. He paused before he added one point into Vitality. *ding*
Name Insignificant Race Insignificant
Level 1 Class Revenant
Titles Progenitor, Tenacious, Aberration
Achievements Toxic Blood
Age 0% Lifespan 1.5 years
Health 36/55 Mana 10/10
Attributes
Unspent Points 4
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Vitality 2
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Will 1
Endurance 1
Affinities
None
Resistances
Pain 2 Essence Drain 1
Poison 1
Active Skills
Inspect 1
Passive Skills
Dark Sight 3 Death''s Curse MAX
Unwilling Aura 3
Eli looked at the changes before it seemed his theory was correct. The point in vitality only gave him half the points it did at level 1. This meant at the very least a prisoner would need 9-10 points of Vitality to survive the trap at full health. What seemed truly odd to him was his Lifespan. He didn''t understand how it gave him half a year of life. That was 2.5 times what he got at level 0. With his Curse it meant that a normal person would get 5 years of Lifespan per point of Vitality, even though the base was only 2 years. Despite feeling something was still off, he verified at the very least he had benefited from the experience, though he doubted the creature would have been that interested in an extra 20 HP. Either it didn''t know there were so few extra points, or the true benefit lay in other attributes, especially the hidden ones like Endurance and Intelligence. He likely wasted an unbelievable opportunity with his ignorance. He briefly thought about how he would go about dropping level again, but he knew the opportunity was probably lost forever, at least with the information he had available. The room had reset to its original position as Eli inspected the gate and the lever. He waited until his health was topped off before he decided to try and push the lever upward, instead of downward. After a quarter turn, he could hear metal screeching as he saw the gate slowly lifting. It was a rather clever trick, playing against the instincts of the victim. After about five full rotations of the wheel locked as the gate was fully raised. He let go and then rushed through the opening.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The gate remained open as he continued deeper into what looked like a long tunnel. The lighting in this tunnel was incredibly sparse, and he relied on his Dark Vision to see most of the way. Eli wasn¡¯t sure how long it took him to travel through the tunnel, but it felt like at least an hour. He started to wonder how to increase his movement speed, and how that would work in practice. As he neared the exit, he saw a doorway blocked by a rock wall past its frame. He neared closer as he tried to knock on it with his club, only for it to pass through. An illusionary wall? He stepped through it as he found himself in a natural cave filled with a cacophony of sounds. The air felt thick with the smells of nature and life. Large rocks were scattered around him blocked his vision of most of his surroundings, but he could see fire light casting shadows around the ceiling and walls. The change was so abrupt he felt like he was in a completely different world. He cautiously peeked past one of boulders and he was greeted by a massive dome room. A large waterfall was flowing down from a gaping hole in the ceiling, creating a large pond in the center of the room. There were large mushrooms, glowing moss, and several small types of plants scattered throughout the surroundings, but mostly concentrated near the source of water. What grabbed his attention the most were a dozen or so humanoid figures near the pond that were fighting what looked to be skeletons. The humanoids seemed to be winning, but there were a few that seemed to be wounded or dead which were pulled towards the back. Eli started to look around for an escape route. There were a few openings that looked like potential exits, but all of them were across the room, which the undead seemed to be slowly flowing in from. The longer he watched on, the worse the situation seemed to be. The humanoids were obviously stronger, but the undead just continued to creep into the room and the humanoids were getting weaker and weaker. This was a battle of attrition they didn¡¯t seem to be winning. As Eli started to weigh his options, two skeletons started to rise from the ground near him. *ding* Minor Skeleton Minion ¨C Lv. 1 Minor Skeleton Minion ¨C Lv. 1 As the skeletons rose, they started to walk towards the back of the group where their weakest were. The group of humanoids were not paying attention to the back of the room, likely having picked this spot specifically because it funneled the skeletons in one direction, preventing themselves from being flanked. Eli was surprised at the low level of the skeletons; they were by far the weakest things he¡¯d seen since he came to the world and he currently had blunt weapons. This was the perfect opportunity to jump in and pretend to be a hero. The interception would prove him to be friendly, and his Unwilling Aura was exactly what they needed to turn this fight around. Even if they weren¡¯t very intelligent, it was highly unlikely they would become hostile to him. The opportunity was too good to pass up, and Eli darted out from the rocks and ran towards the skeletons. As he approached the two skeletons, the closest one started to turn around but it was too late as he had already swung at the skeleton¡¯s head with all his might. *Crack*
You have dealt a Critical Hit! You Deal 12 Damage!
You have Slain Minor Skeleton Minion!
The noise had alerted both the other Skeleton and the group of humanoids as could see a few of their dark figures turn backwards. He turned his attention to the other skeleton and rushed forward as he swung at its head. The skeleton brought its hand up to block the blow. *Crack*
You Deal 4 Damage!
The skeleton¡¯s arm broke from the impact, and Eli swung with his offhand. It felt far more awkward than he thought it would, but it struck the skeleton¡¯s head. *Crack*
You have dealt a Critical Hit! You Deal 6 Damage!
You have Slain Minor Skeleton Minion!
You Have Gained +1 Strength
The Skeleton crumbled to the ground. One of the humanoid figures broke from their front line and put themselves in between him and the injured. Eli tried to seem as harmless as possible as he walked towards the group. He stopped as he got close enough to where he was sure their injured were within his Unwilling Aura. ¡°I have come to help!¡± He shouted to the group, waiting for a reaction. In less than a minute he could see the wounded group start to move and many were starting to stand. *ding*
You Have Gained Unwilling Aura Lv. 4 Anything Affected Regenerates 0.4 HP/s Range: 13 meters
Eli was surprised how quickly it leveled, probably a result of healing multiple targets at once. The figure that had guarded the injured was looking around and Eli could hear bits of words amongst their group. The figure then slowly walked up to him, as it did he was able to finally make out its features. It was much smaller than he thought, the figure only came up to his waist. It had dark shaggy hair and cobalt blue skin, its facial features were incredibly human, besides the fact that it had unnaturally large eyes with black sclera and purple irises. It was covered in dark tattered leather clothes, with a stone sword drawn inits hand. *ding* ??? Kobold ¨C Lv. 2 Chapter 11 - Level 0 ¡°Who are you?¡± The voice was surprisingly deep and pleasant, but also revealing a jaw full of sharp teeth. ¡°A friend, here to help you kill some Undead.¡± Eli responded with as much charisma as he could muster. The Kobold looked him up and down, raising its brow at his appearance. ¡°You¡¯re mighty odd for an Insignificant.¡± He paused as he looked into Eli¡¯s eyes again. Realizing the potential misunderstanding, Eli tapped his skull helm with his bone club before clarifying. ¡°Trophies from my kills.¡± The Kobold scrunched his brows in slight disgust before he shook his head slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone able to cast Regeneration on someone else before¡­¡± His tone trailed off slightly obviously fishing for clarification. Eli paused before he thought how much information he should reveal, and the consequences of it. ¡°It¡¯s a class ability.¡± The Kobold looked at him with a raised brow and an expression that he was looking at an idiot, before alook of realization hit. ¡°You¡¯re one of the Fallen aren¡¯t you? First time in a Nest?¡± An amiable smile spread across his lips, but due to his sharp teeth it looked more like a threat. Eli started to feel the situation turn in a direction he wasn¡¯t going to like. He thought about denying the accusation, but any follow up questions would make it obvious. He felt the best approach to this situation is to remain as ostensibly honest and amiable as possible. He gave a small nod. ¡°Perhaps we can help each other out? I¡¯ll help you survive the undead and you help me survive everything else?¡± The Kobold¡¯s eyes danced in mirth as he giggled. He looked back towards his group before shouting, ¡°We got a fresh one who wants to join!¡±. Eli could hear mutterings from the group while a few were engaged in combat with a couple skeletons. *ding*
You Have Been Invited into a Group!
Accept Decline
Eli hit Acceptbefore a new window appeared in front of him.
Name Level Class HP MP
Tainted Kobold (Leader) 2 Soldier 17/17 N/A
Tainted Kobold 2 Soldier 6/16 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 8/13 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/12 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 12/12 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 9/11 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/11 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 7/10 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 10/10 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 10/10 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 10/10 N/A
Insignificant 1 Revenant 55/55 10/10
Eli could hear an immediate gasp as he saw the Kobold stare at him with wide eyes. The entire group looked over with the exceptions of the ones in combat. He tried to process the information he was seeing. It became fairly obvious that he was wrong in his calculations, the attributes gained at level 0 weren¡¯t additive, they were multiplicative.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The Kobold got over his momentary shock before his face broke into a wide grin. ¡°The Chief is going to love this!¡± he stated to laugh as he could hear a few in the group join in. Eli immediately decided he was going to need to escape this group after he got out of the cave. The Kobold patted him on his forearm, too short to reach anywhere else. ¡°You must have found some powerful item! And on the first day, too!¡± His voice became a whisper as his eyes squinted. ¡°Any more where that came from?¡± Eli paused for a second, taking in the misunderstanding. That must mean there are elixirs or consumables that increase stats. Before he could respond one of the kobolds walked up to the two. ¡°Boss, look at his Class!¡± The Kobold paused before a frown appeared on his faceandalook of pity appeared in his eyes as heglanced back up towards Eli¡¯s eyes. He let out a deep sigh as he shook his head, ¡°I take it we¡¯re not the first you¡¯ve met?¡± The answer obviously rhetorical as the kobold continued. ¡°It looks like we won¡¯t be able to uphold our end of the bargain, but we¡¯ll try and give you as much time as we can.¡± The atmosphere turned intoawkward as Eli was pushed towards therest of the partyas they regrouped to attack the enemy Skeletons. Eli could see the others sneak glances at him as they did. On the bright side it appeared his initial concerns with their intentions were gone, but it appeared his Curse was likely a significantly bigger problem than he thought. However, Eli quickly realized that while he only effectively had 10% of the Lifespan of a normal person, his Vitality multiplier made it only 50%. So, while others gained 1 year, he only gained half a year. The main thing that concerned him was that Vitality might not be the only, nor the main, source of Lifespan in this world. He frowned as he was pushed into the front of the skirmish. The Kobold who he was talking to, or Boss as he was called, stood beside him. ¡°With how much HP you have, you¡¯ll act as our tank. Grab their attention as we take them down.¡± Before Eli could move however, the ground started to shake slightly. A loud screech came from one of the tunnels as the Undead that were slowly flowing into the cavern came to a halt. The Undeads'' empty eye sockets suddenly flared with small blue flames as at least 40 new Undead marched in from the tunnel, A slightly larger Skeleton was leading them. It had small horns and broken armor that looked to be made of blue flames, It wielded a stone longsword that it pointed towards the group. *ding* Skeleton Commander ¨C Lv. ? Eli could feel the tension in the air as the Boss muttered, ¡°How could he have Raised something so strong so soon?¡± Boss looked over at him with the corner of his eye. ¡°Insignificant, how long can you keep up the Aura?¡± His expression grim. ¡°It¡¯s permanent, but I can¡¯t control it. It heals anything in its range, even enemies.¡±Eli quickly replied. Boss raised his eyebrow as he shouted to the group, ¡°You hear that? Don¡¯t maim, make sure you get a deathblow! Any injured fall back until you recover, everyone else cover the wounded!¡± The Kobold¡¯s expression turned into one of bloodlust as he raised his sword and yelled, ¡°Let¡¯s show these bastards True Death!¡± the other Kobolds joined in with a warcry of their own. Eli stood there more awkwardly as the Undead charged their group, no longer a shambling walk, but a full sprint. The Commander stood still as he watched his horde clash into the group. Eli swung his club directly at the skull of an oncoming undead. *ding*
You have Slain Minor Skeleton Minion!
However, two more had slashed him after his swing. *ding* You have taken 2 damage! You have taken 2 damage! Eli was surprised at the low damage. This might be an easier fight than he thought. He kept wildly swinging at the Undead with his clubs as he noticed Boss now in front of him slightly struggling with three Skeletons bombarding him. The Kobold was clearly more skilled than the skeletons, but the problem lay with the fact that he was attacking them with a sword, and it wasn¡¯t very effective against bones. Not to mention the Kobold were too short to reach the enemy¡¯s skulls. Eli then pushed the skeletons around him to the side as he moved to intercept him. ¡°Boss, switch!¡± He held out his bone club to the Kobold who instantly realized his intention with a grin. He jumped back and grabbed the club and placed the sword, blade first, into his hand. The Kobold then jumped back into the fray and Eli watched on as bones were smashed into smithereens with each swing. The Kobold was apparently far stronger than himself. Eli turned around and looked at the melee. The skeletons were overwhelming the Kobolds, but none had suffered any serious wounds, most were healed within seconds. They would be fine as long as they didn¡¯t take any serious blows. Eli ran towards the largest group of skeletons near him and started to swing wildly at their skulls. He immediately regret his decision as more than 7 skeletons started to stab him. *ding* You have taken 2 damage! You have taken 2 damage! You have taken 1 damage! ¡­ The alerts rang in his ears as a skeleton tried to slice into his skull. *ding* You have taken 0 damage! He swung with wild abandon trying to push the skeletons away and killing a few in the process before Boss came up to him and made quick work of the rest of them. The Kobold laughed as he yelled. ¡°You can¡¯t fight worth shit! But at least you can take some hits!¡± He then charged into the rest of the group. Eli looked back and noticed most of the skeletons were down at this point, and he couldn¡¯t see any dead Kobolds. *ding* You have taken 13 damage! Eli could feel it before he heard it. A sword protruded out the front of his chest as his body froze from the explosion of pain. Chapter 12 - The Descended Elicrumpled to the groundafter the sword was pulled from his chest. *ding*
Inflicted with Major Bleeding -1% HP/s
Inflicted with Cripple You are Immobilized
Eli had the impulse to check his HP, and found a faint menu appear in his vision. 17/55 HP He lay on the ground paralyzed as his heart was reconstructed, hecould hear the sounds of combat and agonizing screams in his surroundings. After a few seconds, new notifications rang in his ear. *ding*
Bleeding Removed! Cripple Removed!
Eli pushed himself up and looked at the battlefield, most of the skeletons were turned to Bone Dust, but 4 Kobolds lay on the ground dead. Boss was engaging the Commander as the other Kobolds were trying to kill the minions. Now on his feet, Eli rushed to help kill the Minions. He would clearly just be a liability in the fight between the two leaders. Hehad realized dual wielding was incredibly awkward in practice, so he dropped the sword and wielded his last Bone Club like a baseball bat. He ran up behind a Skeleton Minion and swung for all he was worth at its skull. *ding*
You have dealt a Critical Hit! You have dealt 16 damage! You Have Slain Skeleton Minion!
Eli was able to get a good look at the Kobold he just assisted. He was panting slightly with fatigue as small amounts of sweat were glistening off his skin. It appeared while his Unwilling Aura could heal wounds, it did nothing for physical exhaustion. Eli and the Kobold rushed towards the closest Minion when a loud screech filled the cavern. It made him instinctively look at the source. The Commander was still fighting with Boss, and it didn¡¯t look like they had broken their dead lock. A sudden scream made him turn his attention to a Kobold that was impaled by another. Eli froze for a second in confusion, before he realized one of the Kobolds had slight blue flames flickering in its eyes. The Commander had raised the dead Kobolds. He quickly charged at the nearest enemy and swung down on its skull. TheUndead Kobold dodged the blow and slashed at his leg. *ding* You Have Taken 2 Damage! Eli let out a pained grunt as he swung again as the Undead Kobold parried the blow and slashed at his leg again. *ding* You Have Taken 1 Damage!
You Have Gained Unwilling Aura Lv. 5 Anything Affected Regenerates 0.5 HP/s Range: 14 meters
Eli ignored the notification. The Undead Kobold didn¡¯t do damage fast enough to truly hurt him, but its small size and dexterity were a problem. He decided to wait and see if he could exchange a blow. The Undead Kobold charged at him again and as he did he made a horizontal swipe with one arm. The Undead Kobold simply ducked as it thrust its sword into his stomach. *ding* You Have Taken 3 Damage! He immediately tried to grab the weapon, but the stab wasn''t very deep and the Undead Kobold quickly jumped back. Eli was getting frustrated when a sword suddenly came down and crushedthe Undead Kobold''s skull. One of the Kobolds had come to his rescue. The expression of the Kobold looked pained as it looked at the corpse for a second before looking past him.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Eli looked around and noticed all the Undead were defeated. Only 7 Kobolds remained from the original 11. He followed the Kobold¡¯s gaze and saw Boss still fighting the Commander. Boss was clearly starting to slow. Eli saw the Kobolds standing their ground and shouted, ¡°What are you all waiting for?¡± the Kobolds didn¡¯t move nor reply as they just continued to watch the duel. Eli quickly checked the party window.
Name Level Class HP MP
Tainted Kobold (Leader) 2 Soldier 16/17 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 12/12 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 12/12 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/11 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/11 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/11 N/A
Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 10/10 N/A
Insignificant 1 Revenant 47/55 10/10
He quickly noticed the strongest Kobolds were killed. This caused him to frown as he realized they didn¡¯t move because they weren¡¯t strong enough to help. They would likely just get killed and offer more corpses for the enemy to Raise. They were all going to die if this continued. Eli realized he was probably the only one who could help in this situation. He doubted he could land any blows, but he could definitely take a few hits giving Boss a chance to recover or get in a few blows. He took in a deep breath, steeling his mind for the inevitable pain he was about to put himself in as he charged the Commander. The Commander saw his approach and faintly cackled, the noise faintly resembling Khopuo¡¯s. Eli could feel a rage build inside him, as he yelled. ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll keep him busy!¡± The Kobold jumped back as he could hear him approach. The Commander simply stood still watch him. Eli brought his arms up in a cross towards his chin as he held the bone club in a reverse grip, trying to protect himself for any attacks to his neck and head as he tried to barrel into the undead with his full weight. As he gotwithin arm''s reachthe Commander simply raised his sword and Eli immediately impaled himself on the sword, his momentum bringing him near the hilt. *ding* You Have Taken 13 damage!
Inflicted with Major Bleeding -1% HP/s
Inflicted with Cripple You are Immobilized
Eli found himself face to face with the Commander, it¡¯s flaming blue eyes dancing as a faint cackling could be heard in his ears. Eli reflexively coughed blood into its face as he saw the Commander suddenly dodge to the side, letting go of its hold on the sword. The next moment he was thrown backwards. *ding* You Have Taken 16 Damage! Eli could see Boss in front of him as he flew through the air. He internally smirked as he realized what Boss had done, before he felt himself crash into the ground.The blade was pushed slightly out of his body by the impact. *ding* You Have Taken 3 Damage! One of the Kobolds rushed towards him and checked to make sure he was alive before it started to drag him backwards on his side. Eli couldn''t move or talk, but he needed the Kobold to remove the sword or he¡¯d die. His heart was continually healing, but each time it attempted to beat it ruptured itself again. The pain was starting to overwhelm him as his consciousness started to fade. He tried to keep himself awake, trying to get the Kobold¡¯s attention, but he was losing this fight. *ding*
You Have Gained +1 Will
Crippled Removed
Eli could feel his vision clear a bit as he tried to voice a word which resulted in him vomiting blood on the ground. He tried to bring his hands to the blade and push the blade out, the Kobold seeing the movement stopped dragging him and pulled the sword out before he ran away with it. He could feel the pain quickly subside. *ding*
Bleeding Removed
The cavern swirled around him as his body was drenched in sweat. He continued to lay on the ground as his body started to repair itself from the oxygen deprivation. He continued to cough up residual blood in his system before he could feel strength return to his body. Eli sat up and saw Boss sitting down next to a pile of Bone Dust, clearly exhausted. The Kobolds had started to surround him, all with serious expressions on their face. Eli slowly stood up and moved towards the group. Boss looked up at him and smiled, but his eyes betrayed any sense of happiness. ¡°Didn¡¯t know if you¡¯d survive that last hit.¡± His voiced cracked slightly. Still dizzy Eli slightly shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve had worse.¡± His statement betrayed no emotion. The Kobold frowned at the statement, ¡°I bet you have...¡± His voice trailed off before he started to stand up. He looked around briefly as his voice took on a grave tone. ¡°We have to get out of here and warn the Chief.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Eli interjected, trying to understand why the situation was so serious. The Kobold sighed for a moment before he replied. ¡°This is a new Nest. It¡¯s not possible to be able to raise a level 5 Undead unless something Descended.¡± The Kobold noticed the blank look on Eli¡¯s face before he clarified. ¡°In extremely rare situations, an individual from a higher Realm can Descend to a Nest, usually in an act of desperation. The System sees this as an exploit, so among other obstructions, when they arrive it relocates higher level Insignificants that have natural advantages against them to try and kill them off.¡± ¡°You think whatever raised that Commander is a Descended?¡± Eli asked, trying to fish for more information. The Kobold shook his head as he replied. ¡°The System wouldn¡¯t put creatures that could be turned into Undead up against a Necromancer.Also, with how Weakened that Commander was, the Necromancer is clearly only a Novice.¡± The Kobold paused. ¡°No, the real problem is if the Descended is allowed to grow. They don¡¯t need alliances; they¡¯ll slaughter the entire Nest just for the Achievement!¡± Update So, if you haven''t noticed, there''s been a delay in my posts. The reason for this is that i''ve thought of a really fucking cool thing for my plot and it makes the ending way better. The problem is I''d have to radically change the very begining to make it work. It''s so good though that it would make every aspect of this story significantly better so I pretty much HAVE to do it.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I''ve been trying to figure out how much i can keep vs how much i have to change. I also have to tweak some of the arcs, but that''s something i can do as i start to cross that bridge so to speak. Honestly I''m not sure if i should just make a new story at this point. I take a week of leave next week as well, so that''ll give me a TON of time to just bang out chapter after chapter. Update II Hey guys, just started my leave, and i''m having a ton of fun doing this rewrite. I''m still fleshing out a couple things but I plan to get around 15 chapters ahead of my release schedule to allow for small edits before you guys see them. I''m trying to make my system as internally consistant as possible, i''m essentially making character profiles for all the enemies and characters. That way i know exactly how much damage they can do/take. I could make up numbers like a lot of other authors do, but i feel that adding that level of detail makes it more enjoyable as a reader when you truly understand how dangerous something is, and are able to accurately judge something from a stat menu or damage done/taken in the exact same way you can in games. Being a LitRPG I want to make the RPG aspect more than just a gimmick that plays on blue screen dopamine hits to maintain viewership. It''ll still have that, but they''ll be more meaningful. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Most of what happens in the begining will still happen, just in a slightly different way and order. The same exact mechanics will be at play, but the main character will not start off as a Human/Insignificant, but as a Spawn. Races are super flexible in my series btw, evolution is based on an individual level, not a generational one. But people don''t "evolve" like in re:monster or anything, it''s more small mutations over time, the mechanic gets explained as the story progresses. There''s a lot of similarities between Spawns and Insignificants, but for some super end game plot reasons I couldn''t have Earth be assimilated into the world in the way it was (though Fallen Realms/Insignificants are still a thing and they work the same way). This also allows for more characters to be introduced into the story early on, which i think creates a richer beginning. Final Update Good news is i''m almost done with my stockpile of new chapters (50 chapters). I won''t be able to write much next month, due to work reasons, so I plan to use that time to edit and tweak chapters instead. I will release it under a slightly different title for statistic reasons rather than delete the old chapters and start anew. At my current pace i''ll be done on the 27th.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I made the begining more informative. A lot people seem to perceive the lack of detailed explanation as bad writing rather than a fleshed out system shrouded in mystery. So I realized I needed to lay a foundation first to get people comfortable, and then add those elements in so it''s easier to digest. Personally, I think the story is way better now. It feels like a much stronger start and I hope you all feel the wait was worth it. I''ll probably delete all these chapters and replace it with a new update linking to the new series next Tuesday.