《Redemption》 Chapter One: Wake Up A lone body of an emaciated man laid sprawled out face up on the ground in a dark cobblestone corridor. The quiet sound of him breathing in and out mixed with the crackle from the torches broke the silence in the hallway. As the torchlight danced across his body, he squirmed like a child having a nightmare. Farther down the hallway in the darkness, an orb of pitch blackness floated down the corridor and into the light stopping only a short distance away from the man. "WAKE UP!" (???) "Fuck!" Startled the man eyes flew open and he staredup at a cobblestone ceiling as the light flickered across it. Painshot thru his entire bodyas he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position only to fail and fall back. Laying there he closed his eyes and groaned with every twitch and jerk."Am I dead?" he thought while observing hissurroundingsexpecting to see the Devil himself appear from the darkness down the hall. Stomach growling and his throat parched, he rolled over and crawled to the wall dragging his legs behind him. Reaching the cold wall, he pulled himself up on his knees looking down the hallway again he noticed something shimmer as the light from atorch hit it. Sliding on his knees in the direction following it like a moth to a flame he finally reached what looked to be a large stone basin resting on the floor. Leaning against its raised rim, he gasped for air as the crawl across the floor had taken what little energy the man had. The blue surface of the liquid reflected a dark silhouetted version of the man''s head back at him as he drew closer to inspect the strange substance. Thirsting getting the better of him, he threw caution to the wind and almost fell into the basin as his mouth was filled with the strange fluid. The cough medicine like taste was cold and soothing, and the man drank copious amounts as he felt a soothing sensation across his entire body. His aches and pains seem to melt away as he pulled his face out. Cupping the liquid and bring it to him he took a few more slurps of it before using the fluid to wash the sweat from his face. Sitting back, he kicked his feet out and leaned back against the wall feeling rejuvenated and oddly satisfied."Where am I," he thought looking around and then back down into the reflective surface of the liquid again. The man staring back at him had bags under his eyes, an unkempt month long beard, and a disheveled head of hair that looked like it had been thru a hurricane."You sir, look like shit," he mumbled with a laugh leaning back again against the wall. "Your name is Nickolas Bowman, you are from Texas, you don''t have a job," he rattled off the information working thru his memory before it hit him. "I jumped off that building," he mumbled as if remembering something or minor importance," I''ve got to be dead." Standing up as he stretched his arms out feeling like a new man as he tried to piece together things. "This can''t be hell," he muttered to himself wishing there was a sign or person to welcome him. Looking left and right down the dark hallway he sighed and thought,"what now?" As if waiting for that cue, a screen appeared in front of his face blinding his eyes which had become accustomed to the dark hallway. Blinking a few times, he opened one eye and began to read the strange box before him.
If you''re reading this Nickolas, then you didn''t die from the initial transfer. Good Job! I''m hoping you will do a better job with this life than your past one. They''ve placed you in a pretty dangerous place. You''re going to need to be smart and play it safe if you want to get out alive. I''ve gifted you with some ''special abilities'' so please do try and stay alive. Good Luck.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
This game like notice message seemed only to ask more questions than give answers. "What were these ''special abilities'' and who was watching," Nickolas thought reading over the message several times trying to find more information. Hequickly looked to his left and right down the hallway both sides leading into the unknown. Returning his attention to the glowing blue screen in front of he tried thinking of a way to close it. "How do I closeth-," Nickolas mumbles out as the screen shut instantly. "Well, that''s one question answered," he sighed dejectedly. "Now options, I could stay here until I die from starvation or¡­" Nickolas trailed off as he stared down the hallway. "I could go down this dark and ominous hallway and get killed by something," he laughed walking over and pulling one of the torches out of its holder. "Decisions decisions, well standing here isn''t going to give me any answers," he thought while slowly walking down the hallway into the unknown. Ambling down the hall, Nickolas held the torch out lighting the hallway revealing what seemed to be an endless corridor. Walking along cautiously, he noticed three short slots running across the ceiling. Observing them, he saw it looked as if something could come thru them but they were too thin for anything larger than a hand. Looking down Nickolas spotted a few large square stones among the others with X marks scratched into the surface. Looking from the floor to the roof, he guessed it was a trap of some sort. Pressing himself against the wall, Nickolas carefully crossed the space trying not to step on the stones with markings across them. Reaching an area beyond the marked stones, he waved his torch back and forth to make sure no other surprised were laying in wait before using the back end of the torch to mark the wall as best Nickolas could. He turned to walk down the path leading away from the marked area only to be interrupted by an audible ding resonating in his ears. The same familiar blue window appeared from before with new words written across it.
Skill gained: Detection Level 1
Detection allows you to detect traps and enemies in your surrounding area.
"What does that even mean," Nickolas muttered as he walked forward. Closing the window, he moved deeper down the hallway hoping he wouldn''t run into any more trouble. As the hall started to warm up and Nickolas thought he must be closing in on an exit. "What now," he thought hearing shuffling ahead of him. Nickolas peered forward as the sound of heavy breathing filled the hallway. He thought it might be a person that was injured or freaking out from the strange scenario that had been put in. "Hey, are you alright," Nickolas called out before stopping in his tracks as he heard shuffling and a large "thing" walked into the torchlight. A bulls head appeared from the darkness with drool secreting from the beast''s mouth like a rabid dog. The creature proceeded to take a few steps towards Nickolas and stand in the light of the torch towering over him like an adult before an infant. Its muscles strained against its skin with each breath as the beast stared back with rage-filled red eyes. Time stood still as Nickolas stared up at this giant "thing" in front of him unable to look away or run as his mind tried to process what was happening. The sound of metal across stone brought Nicklaus back to reality as the creature lifted up an ax large enough to split him in half and threw it over its shoulder. "Fuck this," Nickolas yelled as he threw his torch at the beast face and turned to run. Chapter Two: Encounter Nickolas felt a force slam into his back causing him to tumble forward. Jumping up from the ground he sprinted down the hallway trying to gather distance from the creature. Looking back, he watched as the two-headed ax slammed into the ground leaving a deep cut in the stone. "God damn it!" Nickolas yelled as he ran forward hearing the beast roar again. Dashing forward in fear, he tripped and fell into the wall to his left as the creature''s footsteps drew near. Pushing off the wall, Nickolas dashed forward staring at the distant light near the basin where this nightmare had begun. Feeling the hot air on his back as he imagined the beast only a few inches away. Remembering the ''trap'' ahead of him, Nickolas dived forward hoping something would trip it. Slamming into the ground, he covered his head and waited for the creature to grab him. The feeling of something hot and wet splatter across his back as the beast let out a horrible and disgusting roar. Nickolas turned back slowly to see the creature had a sharply bladed ax head protruding from its belly. It stared down at him with a bloodlust, foreign to Nickolas, as it grabbed the protrusion and tried to force it back thru its back. Rising back to his feet, Nickolas pressed himself to the left side of the wall and slid past the beasts'' outstretched hands. Looking at the carnage as he passed it seemed that a large pendulum-like device with an ax head had impaled the creature from behind causing massive damage. "How is this thing still alive," Nickolas thought," the trap severed its spinal column." Pushing himself away from the wall, he finally passed out of the monster reach. It continued to roar and scream like an animal caught in a cage its voice echoed down the corridor. "This thing is going to attract everything in this place," Nickolas mumbled as he watched the beast struggle to free itself. Looking down Nickolas picked up the broad ax, the creature had dropped, and walked over to the creature''s back. Taking a deep breath, Nickolas lifted the two-headed ax resting the shaft on his shoulder with both hands. He closed his eyes then opened them again and slammed the ax down on the beast shoulder. He grimaced as the ax head sank into the monster shoulder hitting the bone and making an audible snap that filled the hall. The creature yelled in pain as the force pushed the blade from the trap up into its guts causing more blood to spill from the wound. Nickolas pulled the ax head out dragging and pulling bits of muscle out with it. Swinging it again like a heavy baseball bat, he caught the beast between two ribs cracking them as the ax head buried itself into the creature. Grabbing the ax and pushing down on it twisting inside the monsters'' ribs, breaking them and causing blood to pour from the wound, as the creatures'' roars turned to grunts. Falling back on his ass, Nickolas stared up at the beast whos movements, and grunts became less erratic. Scooting over to the wall and letting go of the ax, he watched the creature struggle to breathe and cried before going limp. "Finally, it''s over," Nickolas sighed as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall feeling the adrenaline that had flooded him dissipate. Silence filled the hallway until it was broken by a loud and familiar ding as Nickolas opened his eyes to see another blue interface window.
Congratulations! Level Up!
Open your Status window to see your new stats.
"Status?" Nickolas mumbled as a new much larger window appeared before him.
Name Nickolas Bowman Level 5
Title None Class None
Health 27/40
Stamina 30/30
Mana 30/30
Strength 12
Vigor 10
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 10
Endurance 10
Dexterity 10
Charisma 5
Luck 5
"Average, huh," Nickolas sighedas he looked over the window confirming his stats. Looking back at the beast still hanging from the deadly fixture, a sudden realization of the violence that just took place caused his stomach to somersault. Nickolas leaned over facing away from thehuman-like corpse he had just finished carving up. Hearing another ding, he looked up trying to distract himself from this feeling as another blue screen appeared before him.
Abilities, Skills, and Spell ListThe author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
HUD (Heads Up Display)
An interface that gives real-time information about your surroundings. (Examples - Location, Creatures, Flora, etc.)
Detection Level 1
10% chance to detect a trap or enemy within 1 meter.
Two-Handed Weapon Handling Level 1
You have grown more accustom to handling weapons with both hands. Plus 5% damage and 5% blocking when wielding weapons with two hands. Plus two strength.
Looking at the displays in front of him, he focused on the word "close" and watched as the screens disappeared. "Alright, let''s try one of these abilities," Nickolas mumbled to break the silence. He thought of a HUD and was only mildly surprised when a list of information popped up around his vision. Bars representing his Health, Stamina, and Mana appeared at the bottom of his vision. The beast he had just slain had a list of information displayed next to it as well.
Minotaur Level 12 (Deceased)
Minotaur half human half beast beings who stalk old ruins guarding treasures.
"This is fairly helpfully," Nickolas mused as he looked around and then closed his new interface. Turning his back to the hanging carcass behind him, he moved further down the corridor towards where the beast had been waiting. Sliding his hand against the wall, Nickolas peered thru the darkness as he followed the hall down and to the right as a distant light came into view. The corridor led into a fairly small room with a stairway leading down on the far side. Nickolas glanced around the room as he noticed a chest in one corner with a body laid across it. Moving towards it, he saw that the person had been dead for quite some time. The corpse had little meat left on it and the bones and armor on the left shoulder had been ripped apart. "This could have been me," Nickolas mumbled as he gently slid the body off of the chest laying it on the floor. Looking it over most of the armor and clothes on it had been ruined the only thing salvageable was a longsword. Unfastening the belt of the unlucky bastard, Nickolas pulled the sword and belt off. "Sorry, but I need this more than you friend," Nickolas thought as he activated his HUD skill and examined the sword.
Rusty Iron Longsword
A longsword from an unknown blacksmith that has been left out and exposed to the elements. Deals 5-9 points of damage.
"Better than nothing I suppose," Nickolas mumbled as he fixed the belt around him. "I wonder how ''damage'' even works, so I poke him and get a random numerical value," Nickolas mused as he turned his attention to the chest. In front of it was a single strap leather bag, which upon a short search, only had some rotten food, an empty water skin, a map of an area Nickolas didn''t recognize, and a book in an unknown language. He set the bag aside and turned his attention to the chest. Nickolas unlatched the front and pushed open the chest while closing his eyes half expecting something to spring out and kill him. After a sec or two of nothing happening, he looked down and examined the contents.
Hooded Dark-Grey Linen Tunic
Thin hooded tunicoffering minimum protection.
Dark-Grey Linen Trousers
Light Trousers that provides minimal protection.
Iron Boots
Leather boots with Iron plates covering the front of the calf and foot providing decent protecting against stabs and slash to the feet and lower leg.
Iron Gauntlets
Leather gloves with Iron plates affixed to the forearm and hand providing adequate protection against slash and stabs to the arms.
Grey Wool Hooded Cloak
A long wool cloak that will protect the wearer from rain and keep them warm.
Standing up and looking down at his blood-soaked clothes he decided to change. He stood with his back to a wall and watched the stairway that was unexplored expecting another minotaur to come barging in. Pulling his hoodie and jeans off and trading them for the garments in the chest, Nickolas dressed as fast as he could in the unfamiliar clothing. With every step of changing his clothes, he felt like something was there in the room with him. Sitting down on the edge of the chest, he buckled his new boots tight around his calf. Nickolas looked back down at the chest and noticed an old and moldy looking book at the bottom. Grabbing it up and throwing it in his new leather bag he turned his gaze back to the stairway. Not shifting his gaze, Nickolas pulled a torch from one of the holders and slowly headed back down the corridor where the minotaur corpse rested. "This place has so little natural light it must be underground, so I just need to find a stairway up to the surface," Nickolas thought after he lost sight of the chest room in the darkness and continued down the hallway. Approaching the trap from earlier, he noticed the minotaur was gone, and his stomach dropped again. He cast the light from his torch to find a blood trail leading further down the hallway past the basin from before. Pulling his new sword out of its sheath, Nickolas pointed it down the hall and followed the trail of what looked like an ax murderer. As he crept down the hallway, Nickolas racked his brain trying to figure out if the beast wasn''t dead or if something bigger had picked up leftovers. As his thoughts drifted to a worse case scenario, he came upon a fork in the corridor with a fresh trail of blood leading down the left passage. Deciding against his curiosity, Nickolas moved passed the blood-soaked hall further down the right path praying he wouldn''t have to come back. Shining his torch forward, he noticed the hallway led to a stairway straight up. "Finally some good news," Nickolas exclaimed as a smile formed on his face as he trudged up the stairs into a light-filled area above.