《World Seed》 Chapter 1 - The Update He could almost feel it happening, the same way you¡¯d get that shiver down your spine everytime someone walks over your potential grave. It was a depressing feeling, but at the same time he was convinced that it was very much real. The feeling of this gods damned job sucking the very soul from him; one tiny bit at a time. He¡¯d been here for only about three months now, and already he despises the place, even though the sad fact is is that he¡¯d originally jumped at the chance to work there full time. As a cashier in a convenience store. It however is not one of those 24/7 shops where a person can run in, get what they want and get out as quickly as possible. Oh no. That¡¯d be far too easy on the ¡®customers¡¯. Instead, the Minut Mart store is a gas station, truck stop, convenience store and grocery all rolled into one. Each and every surface, countertop, and isle is set so that it¡¯ll slowly bleed the unwary customers of both their hard earned money and motivation to live. Kolan Mists was definitely convinced that there was some sort of witchcraft or Voodoo involved in the construction of the place, given how obvious the change comes over those who come through the doors. Happy and cheerful on the outside, the smiles soon fade and the ever increasing lines of worry appear upon the foreheads of those who take a chance to glance around. It is the same almost each and every time. By now, Kolan knew that look, and what it meant. It was the worry of not knowing what specifically to get, and the fact that the customer will be seemingly trapped in an endless hunt of going through brightly lit, colorful, and extravagant isles marked with propaganda and advertisements to find just the thing to fill that uncertain need they have. Only those few who already have a list and know what the hell they want can come out of the start of the Maze untouched by the dread that comes to the others. Or those who¡¯ve just run inside to get a specific amount of gas without paying at the twenty pumps outside. Those people tend to have a look of fear on their faces; the fear of paying too much with their credit or debit cards that they all somehow believe can be hacked through the pumps themselves. Even then, those that pay in cash may be better off¡­ except they are often coerced into buying a bottle of soda, or a chocolate bar, or a pack of cigarettes at the counter. The entire Minut Mart enterprise is a massive scheme designed to take every single dollar it can, and Kolan has been there long enough to have even felt that pull himself. It is so devious that even the employees end up buying this and that with their own paychecks! It is a nightmare, and Kolan hates it. But even more than that, he has come to hate two very specific things. The first is breaking twenty dollar bills for a pittance. People who break a 20 for a 50 cent piece of chocolate, for example. Or for a bottle of coke for $1.05. It drives him crazy and makes him dive straight for the safe to float out fives, ones, and quarters on a near constant basis. All while the shift lead is eyeballing him as if he is doing something wrong. The second is cleaning up after 2nd Shift. Those slobs almost never get their fuckin¡¯ jobs done properly. They never clean the bathrooms, restock the soda fountain area, or make fresh coffee. They generally don¡¯t take out the garbage or do their cigarette counts either. And don¡¯t even start on the time they had gotten an order for 16 six inch cold cut subs and didn¡¯t do them before clocking out without even warning Kolan or the rest of 3rd Shift that the customers were waiting for them! 2nd Shift has thirteen full time employees on it, including the evening manager, and yet they never do the jobs they are supposed to do! Yet the general manager and shift leads look the other way because they bring in the highest sales of all three shifts. They were like the golden goose that the managers don¡¯t want to get rid of, even though it is breathing fire and constantly getting into trouble like some magical beast out of hell! It was enough to give the 26 year old grey hair after only three months. Tonight at least Kolan had something to look forward to, given that he had an entire week off after the night. A full seven days and seven nights of freedom! He¡¯d finally be able to play those games, watch those animes, and read those books he¡¯d been putting off ever since he started working in this miserable place. It was enough to make him smile in obvious defiance against the curse of the Minut Mart. For all of five minutes, right up until the shift lead Cindy shows up at his register. ¡°Kolan, I need you to go clean up the men¡¯s bathroom. Something is wrong with the urinal and it won¡¯t flush.¡± (Cindy) *Sigh* ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll check it out. But if someone tried to flush another wrapper down it to hide the theft I¡¯m going to start wracking people on the back of the head¡­¡± (Kolan) ¡°Yeah, whatever. Just get it done and make sure you mop up the mess on the floor.¡± (Cindy) Cindy¡¯s disinterested voice was mirrored by the lack of even a glance from his two fellow co-workers. Kolan couldn¡¯t really blame them, given that it could have just as easily been one of them who¡¯d been picked to clean up the mess. Especially the new guy, who¡¯s old enough to be Kolan¡¯s grandfather. At least it gets him away from the register and those accursed 20 dollar bills, right?! He desperately tries to hold onto that feeling as he moves into the back room, through rows and rows of boxes and shelves holding all the inventory. It is in the opposite direction from the kitchen, which thankfully 3rd shift doesn¡¯t really use much. Besides the pizza rolls, which are in constant demand. Those things disappear out of the heat boxes with distressing regularity. Still, coming into the ¡®cleaning room¡¯, as it is joking referred to, Kolan grabs up the kit usually used to clean up the bathrooms and even goes ahead and fills up the mop bucket. It is one of those wheeled ones, so it is fairly easy to move across the store. He does have to hold the button down on the dispenser though, given that the latch is broken and the company hasn¡¯t seen fit to pay out for a new one. That leaves him leaning against the wall when something just seems to shudder. For a moment Kolan thought it was him, but he notices that he moved, along with some of the shelves and the brooms hanging on their rack nearby. It was low, not even an earthquake, but it persists for several long moments before suddenly his vision also seems to shudder.
|+|+|+| Warning: World Seed Update in Progress Please sit down and stop all movement in two minutes for the update. Do not be alarmed. Everything will be just fine. |+|+|+|
A glowing blue text box just pops up in front of him, and for several moments all he could do is stare at it dumbly. He¡¯s so entranced that he doesn¡¯t even notice the short scream that echoes through the back room as one of the others also notices it, or the sudden silence that comes from the store proper as every single person gets the same message. Then it disappears, as if it had never been at all, and for a moment all Kolan can do is blink before he shakes his head. ¡°What the hell?¡± He mutters to himself, but shakes it off. It just had to be his mind messing with him, right? RIGHT?! There is no way in hell something like that could happen in real life. It was like out of those stories he fancies online. So just like the dumbass he is sometimes, he dismisses it and only then realizes that his mop bucket is overflowing and leaking onto the floor around his feet! ¡°CRAP!!!¡± It definitely takes him longer than two minutes to clean up the mess, with the end results being an even worse mood and very expensive, sodden shows. He¡¯d gotten the very nice pair of gel-infused memory foam Skechers¡¯ from his soon-to-be stepfather when he¡¯d first gotten his job, and the fact that he¡¯d already almost worn them to pieces only adds to the embasement that the cleaning agent in the mop soap is likely to end up doing even more damage to them long before they are dry. The reason he¡¯d needed them at all was because he was overweight. Okay, to be honest, he¡¯s rather fat, and simply standing for eight hours a day had nearly driven him to suicide during the first six days he¡¯d worked. That or overdose on ibuprofen, which is nearly as bad¡­ without the lasting liver damage caused by the pain medicine. After that first while though, he got used to it and doesn¡¯t even bother with the meds anymore. That and he got a cycle to ride to work on, given that he lives less than half a mile from the store. All told he¡¯s probably last close to sixty pounds (little over 27 kilos) in the last three months, but is still obviously obese. That however doesn¡¯t change the fact that he wishes every day that he could go back to his sedentary life before finding this job. He¡¯d literally done nothing, for years. He played on his computer, reading, watching movies and anime, and had basically let the world crush him down ever since he¡¯d dropped out of highschool and gotten his G.E.D. (General Education Diploma or high school equivalent, btw). He¡¯d spent years as a nobody, doing nothing and letting his body go to waste. He¡¯d even lived with his mother up until he got this job, which had been what originally prompted him to do whatever he could to get the hell out of there. His mother had recently met an older guy whom had been her supervisor, and in a whirlwind romance had decided to get married with only about seven months together under their collective belt. The fact that her fiance is a retired prison guard was one thing, but it was more so the fact that he¡¯s a complete and utter hardass that had pushed Kolan to change his life. Or rather, to get to the point where he could get out from under their collective grasp. Really, Kolan would rather have stayed locked in his room from here until he¡¯d passed away from a heart attack or something. There isn¡¯t much of a choice left anymore, though. He¡¯d already moved out on his own, and basically needed this job just to survive. That little fact made him hate working at the Minut Mart even more. Getting everything under control finally, he grabs the kit and the mop and makes his way across the store to the restrooms. He¡¯d already basically forgotten about the message box and the two minute time limit, so it surprises him just a little to find several people, including whole families sitting down looking all kinds of nervous and scared. It wasn¡¯t really interesting, given that he¡¯d already seen even more extreme behavior from customers before. It does make him have to go around several of the isles to get to the restrooms, cause people were blocking his path while looking at him as if he¡¯s stupid or something. He just ignores it, like always, and keeps his rather nice, if fake smile on his face the entire time. Yes, that is one thing that has been drilled into his head since he started working there. Always have a smile. Be nice, courteous and respectful to the customers. Always. ALWAYS. So he does so, with that self-same closed lipped smile. He nods and constantly repeats ¡®good evening¡¯ as well, after checking his watch. 3rd Shift works from 10PM to 6AM, and it isn¡¯t even midnight yet. So it is still evening, at least to him. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. He¡¯s so good at the ploy that he actually manages to calm some of the customers down as he makes his way on obvious business, and many of them start to question if they¡¯d even seen the message themselves. Not like it really matters to Kolan. He has work to do and a very bitchy shift lead who¡¯s rather anal about it being done regardless of what else is going on at the time. Kolan could almost swear that it is some sort of torturous hypnotic suggestion from his week-long binge of training. He almost doesn¡¯t even question the sometimes absurd commands that come his way anymore. At least on the surface. Then again, no one can really be arrested for what they think about doing to some stuck up blonde bimbo with ponytails and an attitude that¡¯s in desperate need of a forceful readjustment, right? Yeah, let¡¯s just leave it at that. Getting to the restrooms, he turns down the short hall leading to the men¡¯s and instantly wipes the smile from his face even as his nose wrinkles up at the smell. Sewage and other shit, eww. He doesn¡¯t even have to see it to know that something had gone rather wrong with the urinal, and actually ventures to let out a visible sign once he¡¯s well away from the cameras. Oh yes, the cameras. There¡¯s one every two feet, lined in neat rows on the ceiling that watch EVERYTHING. They watch the customers, the employees, the back room, the pumps, the parking lot. There¡¯s more cameras in constant use and being constantly monitored than the fucking Pentagon has. The only place they cannot go is in the bathrooms, and Kolan would have bet someone a dollar to say that there probably was one hidden someone. But only a dollar. Still, it does let him let down his guard, so he instantly switches to that ¡®omg, eww¡¯ look that comes with knowing that crap has hit the fan¡­ and probably the walls, ceiling, and floor all at the same time. The fact that he can see a puddle of murky water reflecting the sterile white light from overhead only encourages that. Well, it isn¡¯t as if his shoes aren¡¯t already fucked up. He does however stop to pull out a pair of elbow-length rubber gloves from his kit before trudging forward with his mop bucket. The first step into the wasteland even squelches. Really, SQUELCHES! As if someone had let out a fart. It smells like a fucking swamp mixed with a sewage pit. Yeah, too bad Kolan had lost his gag reflex very quickly after starting working there. The things people will do in a bathroom not there own¡­ Yeah, there¡¯s a reason why he brings his own toilet paper to work with him. And a reason why he¡¯d basically built his cleaning kit from the ground up, and why he literally hides it in a camera blind spot to make sure his co-workers cannot pick it apart piecemeal for the things they¡¯ll use when doing the limited cleaning they do. Gloves were only part of it, and very soon he sits his kit down on the bathroom counter before starting to pull out bottles of this and that. Disinfectant with bleach, drain cleaner, sealed alcohol wipes, scrub pads, brushes of various types and sizes¡­ he¡¯d literally packed a hospital¡¯s worth of cleaning products into the basket he¡¯s outfitted with a backpack-like covering full of pockets. It had been almost two decades since he¡¯d last sewed anything on a sewing machine, but he¡¯d been so disgusted with the way that cleaning was done when he first started that he¡¯d pulled out his mom¡¯s old machine and designed the whole thing from the ground up before putting almost a hundred dollars into the materials and all the things he needed to go into it. The usables that he uses constantly he generally filches from the inventory that comes in twice a week. Most of the cleaning supplies are brought into the store constantly, but very few people actually use them. He¡¯d actually caught one of the manager¡¯s throwing a whole unopened box of cleaning wipes away when they found out that they actually had too many one time. So Kolan had gotten quite good at getting to the new supplies first and taking what he needs to refill his kit twice a week, and a little extra just in case he cannot get to it like on a day off. But then there are also the questions¡­ or rather lack of questions regarding the basket he carries around with him when he¡¯s on cleaning duty. His primary co-worker, a woman almost exactly ten years his elder once asked him where he got it. He¡¯d simply said that he¡¯d found it in the back and decided to use it. She hadn¡¯t even expressed an interest since. It was really like anyone who¡¯d been in this job longer than six months didn¡¯t have a soul left in their bodies to spur them into an emotional state as complex as simple curiosity! That was just another example that he¡¯d put up on a pinboard at his tiny one bedroom apartment. The men¡¯s restroom though was a mess. It was obvious that someone had definitely done something to the urinal nearby, but the mess had already spread to one of the stalls. The men¡¯s room was actually rather small, with only two toilet stalls and a single urinal. One of those stalls was handicap accessible, of course, leaving the second one to be squeezed in the corner and thus rather small. The women¡¯s on the other hand is much larger, with five whole stalls, two of which are handicap accessible. Personally that¡¯s where Kolan would have bet that there¡¯s a camera or two, hidden from even the employees. Then again, maybe he¡¯s just jaded cause the original owner/manager is something of a fat slob who seems to be the type only interested in profits. Wayne owns all three local Minut Mart stores, and rules them with an iron fist that has probably broken more than one pair of kneecaps in the past five years. Still, armed like some bathroom cleaning knight, with a brush in one hand and a nearly full bottle of Drain-O in the other, he makes his way toward the crazed urinal and prepares to make his last stand. He does make sure his armored rubber gloves are snuggly fit, however, cause this is one battle he couldn¡¯t afford to lose. Too bad he never makes it into the urinal cobby. Just as he was about to turn around the wall, the entire world shudders again, this time it isn¡¯t some little tremor however. It¡¯s a hard jerk that literally knocks him against the wall and then almost flat on his face as the world shakes and shudders. Covered in gross shit best left to the imagination and almost getting a mouth full when he yells out in a mixture of pain and confusion, Kolan is utterly surprised when things stop and calm down just as quickly as it had started. *DING*
|+|+|+| We apologize for the inconvenience. The update to the World Seed took longer than expected. Things should return to normal shortly¡­ mostly. However, before the details are disclosed to all parties concerned, we have decided to introduce ourselves. We are the Collectors, and we have decided that your realm is the perfect testbed for our experimentation. As such we have bought your World Seed from the Celestial Bureau of Creation. We now own you all. We once more apologize for the inconvenience. |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| As the World Seed is currently being updated and modified, each of you will find things to be chaotic and a touch crazy for a time. As such, we have introduced a Progression System into the World Seed that should enable at least some of you to retain your lives during the interim. The Progression System will take full effect in two hours, but activities in the mean time will influence the starting stats allocated to each individual. More information will be forthcoming once the System is properly active. Be aware however that the changing nature of the World Seed will cause instability and paradoxes to appear within your realm. We apologize for the inconvenience. |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| P.S. Do not be alarmed if various monsters, beasts, mutants, aliens, zombies and other such creatures suddenly appear. They should only be moderately harmful to your health and continual existence. Thank you for your understanding, and once again we apologize for the inconvenience. |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| Time until the Progression System is active: 2:00:00 |+|+|+|
Kolan is stunned, as is everyone else, all over the planet. Every single person is staring at the messages in a dumbfounded, utterly silent stupor. The first window could have been discounted as some sort of mass hallucination or something. But this? No fucking way. Besides the fact that just about everyone had been knocked onto their faces or asses, the messages that had popped up were in a tone that could have come from any person working for a used car dealership. Kolan isn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d shivered at the oily words and the obviously insincere apologies. More than that however, no one really knows what any of it means. World Seed, Progression System? Just what the hell is going on?! Kolan at least has enough presence of mind to get back to his feet, even though he doesn¡¯t realize that he¡¯s covered in sewage. Nor does he realize that there¡¯s a low gurgling sound in the background coming from his previous target, the urinal. *DING* [table]|+|+|+| You have entered the Sewage Slime Lair. You are the first person to enter this lair, and as such will gain double EXP and STAT points for two weeks within this lair. You are the first person to enter a lair, and will gain additional bonuses once the Progression System becomes active. Until then, your base stats will not be adjusted, thus you should flee as quickly as you can. We apologize for the inconvenience. |+|+|+|¡°WHAT THE FUCK?!¡± That is all Kolan is able to shout as the first dirty brown blob plops out of the still gurgling urinal, bobbing like an overturned bowl of jello on the filthy floor. -|- -|- -|- Here you go guys! I hope you enjoy! Hehehe. I know I did writing it. A month and a half of frustrations have finally been given a creative outlet! Hahahahaha. Okay, so those of you who are curious, this story and setting is based upon my real life. I work at a place called Minit Mart as a cashier on third shift, although it isn''t a truck stop nor a grocery. Still, most of the complaints in the story come directly from my experience working there, so it just gives me the perfect place to complain about it. Hahahahaha. Anyway, the standard applies here guys! Comment, criticize, bow before my greatness as you prefer! I''ll be checking the forum regularly to see what you all have to say. I''ll be going to bed here soon then will probably write another chapter tonight cause I''m off. Thanks again! Chapter 2 - Lairs and Curses To answer the most asked question since the story began: No, Kolan isn¡¯t stupid or dumb. He is just run down and basically in zombie-mode. Having your soul stripped from you bit by bit will tend to do that, regardless of how and why. Okay, so not really physically. But if anyone can understand the tedious grind of going to work day in and day out without any real desire to be there or any chance to advance then you know exactly what it feel¡¯s like. That dead-end job phenomenon just seems to take on a life of its own and not even a really nice paycheck at the end of the month (or every two weeks, as the case may be) seems to make it worth it. Kolan is quite stuck, truth be told. The Minut Mart is close enough to walk or ride his bike to, and it is a full time job. Even the local fast food places wouldn¡¯t even offer half the amount of hours, much less the benefits that come with it. Insurance, job security, yada yada. All requiring a singular lack of skills except for the usual ¡®go there and do this¡¯ subsect of abilities that mostly consist of chores. Chores that anyone could do, if they could put up with the crap that management tosses down or the often aggravating passive-aggressive resistance from customers. Putting up with the stress of having to do your best when it seems the store itself is against you should be considered a skill, or possibly an ability of some sort. Really, it should! At the moment however, none of that matters. Kolan is staring at those screens, which fade from his view within about thirty seconds. That is more than enough time for his brain to seem to kick back on, suddenly shifting his view of everything that has happened. ¡°Oh shit¡­ That¡¯s kinda cool.¡± Okay, so maybe he isn¡¯t to bright on the dangerous part, but his focus has definitely sharpened and he notices the wet ¡®plop¡¯ that comes from the uninvited guest that has already wiggled its way free of the stopped up urinal. The slime is a mottled brown-green blob that bounces and wiggles on the wet floor of the bathroom-turned-lair. It¡¯s insides also contain floating mass of what seems to be toilet paper and a few other things best left unsaid. Still, he cannot smell it, given the stench of the men¡¯s room, but just looking at it sends a shiver down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. That¡¯s because after only a moment of looking at the slime a red colored box had appeared over its head. < Sewage Slime (Variant) | Level 5 | 30 / 30 HP > The information is basic, but definitely helpful. The mass of bouncing jello-like crap is level five, but only has 30 health points. Okay. But the fact that it even lists itself as a variant is odd. Kolan isn¡¯t sure what that means, and he is pretty sure he doesn¡¯t really want to find out. That said, the red color of the box floating above the slimes head is an obvious indication of its intent. Like most monsters, this slime is definitely aggressive. It also soon notices the fact that it is under surveillance, and Kolan could all but feel its attention turn to focus on him. It is like a heavy weight that has come crashing down onto his shoulders. In a word, Kolan has come under the pressure of ¡®killing intent¡¯, which even his fogged up brain can understand. It is a real, palpable thing, like air pressure that is focused on and around him. While most would consider the killing intent of a slime, even one at level 5 to be laughable, for Kolan it is quite a serious thing. After all, who has ever really experienced it outside of those lucky enough to get into martial arts or the like? Killing intent in humans has all but been bred out of the collective consciousness of the masses. So it is definitely the first time he¡¯d ever felt it, and it shakes him to the core. Of course, that¡¯s when he remembers that last message that popped up at the end, warning him to run. Too bad he never gets the chance. The slime bounces right at him, and although it seems to be rather slow, its aggressive nature makes it pick up speed quickly. Kolan only has a moment to realize what the hell is happening before he ends up having to duck under the sudden high bounce the slime makes at him. He rolls to his left, into the clear area around in front of the urinal, where a short hallway connects to the bathroom stalls. He almost ends up slipping and sliding on the floor though, and has to catch himself on his already ruined shoes to gain enough traction not to end up on his face. It doesn¡¯t stop him from breaking out in a sudden cold sweat when he turns and stares at the slime. Where the slime had hit the floor after its pounce, the tiles have cracked underneath the crappy water. Being hit by that would have been like being hit by an aluminum baseball bat! ¡°Shit. What the hell is up with this slime?¡± He mutters to himself, but the gears in the back of his mind are already spinning. Now the slime is between him and the exit, with only the stalls behind him. That is not a good thing. Even if he could circle around his enemy, how the hell could he get away fast enough not to be clobbered on the way? That¡¯s when he realizes that he isn¡¯t totally defenseless. He has the scrubbing brush, which is plastic and probably wouldn¡¯t work very well as a weapon¡­ but he also has the bottle of Drain-O. It is rather flammable and heavy, and that thought gives him an idea. He drops the brush and goes for one of his pockets, happy to be wearing gloves as he realizes that he¡¯s covered in crap and his clothing is sodden from having fallen on the floor then rolled across it. His breathing picks up when he finds what he is looking for, and pulls out his Bic lighter. Yes, he smokes cigarettes. It is a bad habit, but is one of the few things that keeps him from going nuclear and ending up on the news like those school kids who shoot up their classrooms. In this case, it gives him a great idea. Now all he has to do is survive long enough to actually give it a try. And not die afterwards, of course. Still, he knows from experience the drawback of what he is going to attempt. That would be range. While the Drain-O is pressurized, its short nozzle is more for being plugged into a thing then squirted. The viscous liquid inside is both heavier and denser than water, and it is supposed to settle on top of a blockage and force it out by adding additional mass to it, thus increasing the pressure. It isn¡¯t an aerosol spray that can be ignited like a blowtorch. That leaves Kolan with little choice but to get in close, and probably take one just for the opportunity. But the chance to do anything, anything at all in order to survive this drives him to set his resolve and get it done. ¡°Hah! Is that all you got, you slimy piece of shit? You came out of a urinal, not a toilet, ya know!¡± Okay, so maybe it wasn¡¯t the best taunting remark that he could make, but he¡¯d never been particularly good at coming up with remarks anyway. That and sarcasm usually just rolls right off of him. That is however what happens when a person decides that they¡¯d rather be alone than otherwise. The taunt does have the desired effect, even if Kolan is utterly unsure if the creature in front of him is even able to understand what is being said. The slime seems to condense itself for a split second before giving a mighty pounce that shoots the mass of mottled brown and green into the air, almost touching the ceiling tiles as it creates a very nice arc heading straight for its target. Kolan though was tracking it with his eyes, trying to gauge exactly when he needs to move. Which is easier said and done, leaving him a little too late to finally throw himself down. The slime ends up slamming into his left shoulder as he ducks toward the right, and Kolan hits the floor while yelling out in pain. ¡°FUCK! That hurt!¡± He grimaces and tries to blink the teardrops from the corners of his eyes. Being hit by the slime was definitely like taking a bat to that spot. It would no doubt bruise badly in a very short while. However, the pain only seemed to make his resolve more firm, and with a growl he turns and lunges himself up onto his knees and goes right after that slime. He doesn¡¯t even notice that the splattered green-brown splotch on his shoulder had started to eat through his shirt as if it were acid, leaving a faint trail of white smoke. The slime however seems disconcerted by his sudden lung and freezes up just as he punches it with the fist that holds the can of cleaning agent. Slimes are very resistant to physical damage, even he knew that, but that wasn¡¯t the point. As his fist makes contact with the gel-like substance that makes up the slime, he pulls the trigger of the can with his index finger. The sound of wushing liquid and air can be heard even as he starts to press the can deeper into the slimes body, making it jerk at the foreign feeling of being invaded by a substance that¡¯s even more dense than it is. The Drain-O creates a pocket inside the slime, and follows his rubber-gloved clad arm back out until it starts to pool on the floor, sinking under the sludgy water already there. ¡°Payback is a bitch, you know¡­¡± Kolan cannot help but grin as he holds up his other arm and flicks the lighter. He doesn¡¯t even bother to stop and think about what he is about to do as the flame flickers into life. The slime however probably has more usable braincells, and starts to quiver and shuddering, trying to pull back form his arm. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t.¡± As quick as a thought he puts the flame right up against the glove of his arm, and the Drain-O leaking down it ignites with a wuff! that spreads quickly up and down the rubber of his glove. Then it enters the slime and trails all the way to where the bottle is, and its pool of still spraying liquid. Kolan only has about three seconds to figure out what is about to happen as the cleaning liquid pooled inside the Slime ignites under the pressure, and for a moment his face pales before he jerks his arm back. Or rather tries to. The slime had already started to quiver and jerk, struggling against the heat and flame and thus had tightened up around his arm! ¡°LET GO!¡± It is already too late, however. The pressure inside the Slime has jammed the trigger, and the flame has a ready source of more fuel as it blows back right into the can. BOOM! The can explodes like a gas tank, and for an instant Kolan¡¯s entire world goes white as the slime basically incarnates from the inside out. The blast isn¡¯t very big, but with his arm trapped there inside and being unable to retreat, the results are spectacular. Like setting off a firecracker inside of your closed fist. The damage is greatly enhanced. The Drain-O isn¡¯t only flammable after all, it is also an oxidizer. There is plenty of fuel for fire and flame even when under pressure as the chemicals readily give up their oxygen molecules. Kolan¡¯s world soon goes black as he feels himself being slammed hard against something on his back, before he finally passes into unconsciousness after falling flat on the muck covered floor. -|- -|- -|- Slowly the world filters back through the spectrum, first in sluggish grays and blacks then slowly into other colors, like browns and greens and sparkling whites. The harsh white lights from above only forces the issue to advance more quickly, as several of them are flickering and flashing, thus becoming harsh on the open, staring eyes. Eyes that blink and gain just a hint of recognition in them. For Kolan, everything was like a dream, hazy and discolored. Nothing he could see made any sort of sense to his confused mind, even though some things are so familiar that they are right on the verge of being recognizable. At least until the pain hits, which jerks him back into consciousness. His entire right arm hurts! It hurts far, far worse than even the hit on his shoulder that the slime had done. Hell, it works worse than when he had gallstones as a teenager! It was like his entire arm was burning and threatening to be ripped off all at the same time. Except when he turns his head to look and find out why, he sees something that once again makes absolutely no sense to his fuzzy, pain-riddled brain. His arm from just below the elbow is gone. The jagged flesh at the elbow joint clearly shows that it had been basically blasted apart, scorched and burned so badly that it bleeds only very little. Above that point however the sleeve all the way up to his shoulder had been burnt off, revealing horrible burns that are seeping with blood and puss. That is where most of the pain is coming from, although he could have sworn that he could still feel the entirety of his arm. ¡°Oh fuck¡­ Grrrrrrhmm!¡± He can barely speak, much less move as he stares in shock at what had happened to him. It was as if his brain had delayed him processing the signals of pain from the moment of the explosion until he¡¯d finally wake up, and now he is getting it all at once. It was bad enough that he could even feel his bile rising. He wasn¡¯t about to throw up though, and ruthlessly clamps down on the feeling. Tensing his muscles to do so probably wasn¡¯t the best idea he¡¯d ever had, cause it only served to tug on his shoulder and arm which causes him even more pain, making it harder to keep from being sick. His shock induced state didn¡¯t do anything to stop the next thing to happen, however. *DING*
|+|+|+| The Progression System is now fully functional. We thank you for your patience. Everyone¡¯s actions are currently being tallied and the system will automatically notify everyone of their change in status, should there be one. We apologize for the wait and the inconvenience. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.|+|+|+|
|+|+|+| The following is a summary of the Progression System. This window will not close until you have fully read the summary. Once again we apologize for the inconvenience. The Progression System is separated into three different parts. The first is STATS. STATS are your physical attributes, and are tied directly to your body¡¯s condition. STATS are: Power - Martial prowess and physical strength. Body - Physical endurance and agility. Mind - Mental prowess and discipline. Psyche - Mental endurance and complexity. Health - Total of how much damage you can take before expiring. Mana - Your store of magical power. Other ADVANCED (ADV) STATS may be gained due to abilities or purchased as upgrades once you reach the required levels. The second part of the Progression System are Skills. Skills are repeatable actions that have a learning curve that allow for advancement in ranks and thus power. Example of Skills are: Skinning Blacksmithing Foraging Tracking Magic Skills come in all sorts of shapes and forms, and the Progression System will reward them as they are acquired or trained. The third part of the Progression System are Abilities. Abilities are unique traits that cannot be trained or advanced. The effects of Abilities are always active. Abilities are only gained when the System rewards them for doing something of merit. Abilities may not be disabled, but can be removed in certain circumstances. You may access your STATUS window by simply thinking < Status >. This ends the Progression System Summary. We apologize for the inconvenience. |+|+|+|
Kolan is forced to read all of the messages even though he doesn¡¯t want to do anything other than pass out or cry and scream from the pain. Still, actually giving him something to do seems to push the pain away for a time, so he carefully reads the messages. Then re-reads them, and reads them once again. Trying to actually understand what he was reading proved to be rather difficult for his rattled brain, but after a short time he realizes that most of what was said was similar to the various RPG¡¯s he loves to play. The names were different, but they all represent the same thing. It was something he could easily understand, given that he¡¯d grown up playing those games. Finally though the windows blink out, and having lost something to focus on the pain comes back seemingly with a vengeance. The reprieve however does help him push past it and slowly move his body, testing his other limbs before sitting up slowly. The rest of his body is sore and stiff, either from the explosion or the damage afterwards. Looking over his shoulder, he finds himself against the side wall, where the urinal once was. In its place is a crater, roughly shaped to his size. He¡¯d been thrown into the urinal and busted it up only to smash into the wall. Well, at least that means the problem is fixed, right? Hahahahaha. Okay, so maybe laughing wasn¡¯t a good idea as Kolan bends over and starts to cough and choke, which shoots another wild surge of pain through his body. ¡°Gods¡­ Just quit hurting already!¡± He ends up yelling out a curse, which is greeted only by a solemn silence and the sound of the lights flickering on the ceiling. Several of the ceiling tiles are missing when he glances up at them, revealing the steel rafters above along with blown out insulation and the ductwork. Still, he is a horrible mess right now, covered in water and filth and blood and other stuff best left unsaid. His right arm just below the elbow is gone, and he leaves it hanging limply at his side. His shirt is also torn and ripped to shreds, showing off most of his upper body and flabbiness. If anything, his fat only seems to increase the amount of surface area he hurts in. He also notices that his left shoulder had somehow been burned, but after only a moment of trying to remember he realizes that is from where the slime had hit him originally. ¡°I didn¡¯t even notice it was acidic¡­ Then again, the rubber gloves kept my hand from touching it directly.¡± He mutters to himself as he works through the issue. Okay, so with the rest of his body finally taken into stock, he slowly rises to his feet. He ends up having to grind his teeth at the pain, but he does finally make it a little unsteady to his feet. Being without half an arm has messed up his balance, and the distant fuzziness of shock threatens to engulf him again. He pushes the feeling away though, and instead looks around the bathroom once more. Both the stall doors had been blown open by the explosion, and there¡¯s charred marks on the floor and walls where the ceiling had been seemingly gutted above the blast zone. The floor is still a mess, but the urinal itself is gone, having broken into several pieces by his impact. The wall behind it is also holed, but a couple of the pipes are still there, except twisted up so badly that they aren¡¯t even leaking. ¡°I guess with the end of the world and all I don¡¯t have to clean this mess up¡­¡± He says to himself, before stopping and blinking. For some reason he¡¯d never thought about that until now. That means he¡¯s free, doesn¡¯t it? That he no longer has to work in this gods forsaken place any longer?! Oh hell yeah!!! He almost yells out in joy, but simply tipping his head back to do so causes him to shudder and sway as another sweep of pain rushes through his body. ¡°Ohh¡­¡± He groans and clamps his mouth shut and straightens back up while he waits for it to pass. ¡°Fuck¡­ Just make it stop already!¡± Finally it seems the universe finally has an answer for Kolan¡¯s angry outburst, as he hears that tell-tale sound of a new message that makes him open his eyes. *DING*
|+|+|+| Your actions have been tallied since the World Seed update commenced. The following is your current status and any rewards you have gained during the transition period. |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| STATUS NAME | Kolan Mist -|- AGE | 26 CLASSES | None -|- LEVEL | 3 STAT POINTS | 2 TITLES | - HEALTH | 12 / 30 -|- MANA | 50 / 50 POWER | 5 -|- BODY | 11 MIND | 9 -|- Psyche | 14 |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| Skills Chemical Expert | Beginner | Level 5 You know how to handle chemicals and understand their properties. Explosives Expert | Beginner | Level 2 You know how to handle explosives and understand how to make them. Indestructible Body | Beginner | Level 1 Boosts your innate defense, stacks with the BODY stat. Indominal Will | Beginner | Level 3 Boosts your innate resistance to mental effects, stacks with the PSYCHE stat. Attack | Beginner | Level 1 You know basic attacks. Defense | Beginner | Level 2 You know basic defense. |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| Abilities Slime Nucleus You accidently ate the core of the slime that you destroyed. Its passage through chemical-induced flame scoured it and weakened the protective coating enough for you to ingest it. This has allowed you to absorb it into your body and gain its power. Your racial characteristic has changed to Part Slime. You have gained the racial characteristic Regeneration, Level 1. You have gained the racial characteristic Physical Resistance, Level 1. You have gained the racial characteristic Slime Form, Level 1. You have gained the racial characteristic Consumption. Evolution Because of your part monster racial characteristic, you have gained a Monster-only ability. Evolution is the path followed by the various species of Slimes, where an individual advances by consuming particularly strong foes and thus gain their STATS, Skills, and Abilities as their own. By using Consumption on the corpse of a strong foe you have defeated, you may initialize Evolution. Slime Brotherhood Slimes will no longer be innately hostile to you, and you may freely move amongst them as one of their own. Stronger Slimes may try to test your mettle, while weaker ones will obey your command. |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| You have destroyed the Sewage Slime Lair! You are the first person to conquer a Lair! You are the first person to face off against a monster and survive! You are the first person to fight a monster with a non-martial weapon and win! You are the first person to gain a non-human Ability! You are the first person to gain a level! You are the first person to gain multiple levels by defeating a stronger monster! You are the first person to survive a fatal attack! You are the first person to cause irreparable damage to yourself in order to defeat your foe! You are the first person to change their race!
Calculating Reward Bonuses¡­
You have gained: 18 STAT Points. Sense Presence Skill. Non-Martial Weapon Skill. Lair Destroyer Title. 4 POWER. 8 BODY. 6 MIND. 6 PSYCHE. Ambient Pressure Ability. Lair Destroyer¡¯s Curse. |+|+|+|
Kolan is quick to read through everything, relieved to be alive and having survived the two hour period that could have just as easily had seen him dead. Or rather, he¡¯d been unconscious through most of it, but that¡¯s beside the point. Still, his eyes widen as he looks at his stats and then his skills, and he cannot help grinning to himself. But when he gets to his abilities that smile falls from his face and instead takes on the open-mouthed look of a gaping fish out of water. ¡°WHAT THE HELL?!¡± Monster abilities? Consumed the slimes core? What the fuck is all of this about?! He doesn¡¯t remember anything about any of that. Still, his confusion and astonishment only increases when the long list of his feats come up. Some of them he could understand, but tallying the fact that he¡¯d lost his own arm?! REALLY?! Then the rewards are spit out, and once more he¡¯s surprised and shocked. ¡°What the fuck is up with these rewards? Totally OP¡­.¡± But he suddenly stops when he leads the very last one. Lair Destroyer¡¯s Curse. ¡°I GOT CURSED!?!¡± +|+|+ Here you go guys! Chapter 2 of World Seed. Hehehehehe. I hope you guys enjoy it! And yes, I imagine a lot of you are going all CHUUNI! after reading what I wrote. I always wanted to try it, so I went ahead and did it. Hahahaha. Don''t worry though! I think you''ll all enjoy what I have in mind to replace his arm with. *Grins* It''ll be slimey, that''s for sure though~ Hahaha. I wonder if any of you guys realized what I had had in mind. Really though, I was always fascinated a bit about Re:Monster and the like, so I wanted to see what a human would do in that situation. Well, part-human now, anyway. Let me know what you guys think! Once again, thank you all! Chapter 3 - Crazy World
|+|+|+| You have been cursed! The World Seed has placed the Lair Destroyer¡¯s Curse upon you! Even being reborn (reincarnated, cloned, evolved, ext..) will not remove it. Lair Destroyer¡¯s Curse Once a week a lair will randomly generate near your location and must be destroyed before it grows into advanced monster formations (Monster Swarm or Dungeon). This period lasts one week, and at the end of that time a new lair will spawn while the existing one with upgrade. All Lairs you enter will become 20% harder to conquer. This buff applies to all monsters, traps, and other such things found within a lair. All monsters found within lairs will be set to AGGRESSIVE in your presence and will attack you without hesitation. Failure to destroy the lair spawned by this curse within the weeks time limit will cause you a 5% debuff to all of your STATS as well as the reduction of a level. Spawned lairs that upgrade into either a Monster Swarm or Dungeon will cause the curse to grow progressively stronger, and will only return to normal once the Monster Swarm or Dungeon and any active generated lairs are destroyed. Lost levels will be regained once the debuff is removed. As the curse progresses in strength stronger monsters will also spawn within all Lairs you enter. Curse Rank: F |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| You have gained the Lair Destroyer Title! Due to your deeds in being the first to destroy a Lair, you have gained a title (and its corresponding curse). Lair Destroyer You gain a 10% increase in EXP for defeating monsters found within Lairs. You gain a 20% bonus to DROPS from defeating monsters within a Lair. You gain a 1% bonus to training Skills within a Lair. The heart of all lairs you enter will be highlighted. Destroying the heart will destroy the Lair and prevent monsters from spawning in that location. Destroying advanced monster formations (Monster Swarm or Dungeons) will advance the Title and cause an increase in the bonuses provided. Title Rank: F |+|+|+|
Kolan cannot decide if he is one lucky bastard or the most unlucky bastard in the world. The new notifications that pop up leave him reeling, but he still reads them, then re-reads them just to be sure. Nothing changes between the time his eyes see the text printed on the floating panel and the time his brain finally processes the information however. So it really cannot be a trick of his imagination. It seems by being the first at destroying a Lair, no matter how accidently, caused the creation of the Lair Destroyer title. To oppose it, the curse was generated along with it. Looking between the two, he could easily figure out how and why they balance out. Still, it isn¡¯t exactly comforting to find out that he¡¯ll be stuck in a forever repeating cycle that¡¯ll most likely end in his death. Hell, he isn¡¯t even sure how death works anymore, given how crazy the world has become. That said, he doesn¡¯t close the window until he¡¯d read over it all a couple of more times. Getting more EXP was a nice thing, as was loot drops and the a bonus to skill training. Facing harder monsters and situations on the other hand was less so. All told the bonuses outweigh the negatives¡­ unless the Lair that is spawned is already massively overpowering. Just having that thought makes him go pale and break out in a cold sweat. ¡°Oh gods¡­¡± He mutters before a new sound catches his attention. Unlike the usual ¡®dings¡¯ that represent the appearance of a new system message, this one is a softer ¡®chime¡¯. Nothing pops up however, and for a moment he thought he might have imagined it. Until exactly thirty seconds later something chimes again. Still, nothing obvious pops up, but he does whip his head around just to make sure he wasn¡¯t missing anything. Then thirty seconds later it chimes again, but this time is followed by a more traditional sound. *DING*
|+|+|+| You have received a Personal Mail. Please think < MAIL > to view your messages, given your inability to figure something out on your own. We apologize for the inconvenience. |+|+|+|
¡°Hey, that¡¯s rude!¡± Kolan cannot help but yell out, even though he¡¯s basically yelling at a ruined, empty bathroom. After a moment of fuming he finally blows out his breath and finally thinks the thought as instructed. < MAIL >
+|+|+ From: The Collectors To: Kolan Mist Congratulations on your achievements thus far! We had only estimated a 0.0546% chance of you surviving the first two hour period while the World Seed was updated! It is truly an amazing feat. Not only that, but you also achieved a very rare Title and some interesting Abilities in the process. This has garnered a lot of attention, and thus we are quite curious about you. Yes, we are watching. Now, because of this extremely unexpected series of events, we have decided to offer you a one-time arrangement. We would like to take the opportunity to monitor you and your activities more closely. This, of course, will be done with full confidentiality given what we know of human morals and culture. Only we, the Collectors will have access to your vital statistics and progression. To do this however we¡¯ll need to place a Watcher Parasite inside of your body. The process is relatively noninvasive and should cause no long lasting side effects. Short term effects however do however include nausea, vomiting, and extreme pain and/or irritation. In return for this, we are willing to offer you two things. The first is a hard limit on the level of monster formations that¡¯ll spawn due to the curse you have been inflicted with. This will make sure you aren¡¯t ¡®pwned¡¯, as you humans (or former humans, as the case may be) are fond of saying. This level cap will be based upon your own level, and such will grow progressively stronger with you, with some margin of randomosity (yes, it is a word). The second is the choice of any one Ability you are interested in. This will also include its corresponding skills, if applicable. You have one hour to respond, and if you do not do so we will disregard this contact and the potential agreement. Should you wish to deny or accept our request just speak out loud while you are still within the lair area. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you, The Collectors. +|+|+
The window that pops up is almost like an email, and is written out like a letter¡­ A letter from some fucking lawyer firm, at any rate. It is clean, crisp, and precise. It is almost enough to make Kolan gag as he reads it. The only thing worse than a world-ending Apocalypse are fucking lawyers. Still, he manages to swallow his instant need to gag and close the window long enough to read the entire thing. As you can imagine, several large ???¡¯s appear overtop of his head for a moment before he blows out another breath then re-reads the mail again. The want to monitor him by putting something inside of his body? The thought makes his blood run cold, but on the other hand what they are offering in compensation could well mean the difference in life and death for him. A hard level cap on the weekly random lair spawns means that no matter what, the lairs should always be within his potential ability to deal with. That by itself would take a large weight off of his shoulders. The second offer however was what really got his interest. An ability of his choice! Many people would give up their own parents for the chance of getting something like that! Then he realizes that he isn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d want. Abilities are powerful, for sure. In other games, they can be quite world-shattering if a good combination of abilities and skills are found and trained. Plus there are things like unique attacks, defensive options, and survival traits that can only be gotten through special abilities. He quickly pulls up his status screen and looks through everything he has, trying to figure out what he wants. He¡¯s so focused on it that he doesn¡¯t even realize that he¡¯s no longer in any real pain. His wounds have already scabbed over and many of them have already crisped up and dried off, revealing smooth flesh beneath. His regeneration was already working on repairing his body, except for the stump of his right arm, which is being regrown to be a smooth thing instead of the jagged mess the explosion had left. There isn¡¯t even any scars left from the burns.
|+|+|+| STATUS NAME | Kolan Mist -|- AGE | 26 CLASSES | None -|- LEVEL | 3 STAT POINTS | 20 TITLES | Lair Destroyer *CURSED* HEALTH | 25 / 30 -|- MANA | 50 / 50 POWER | 9 -|- BODY | 19 MIND | 15 -|- Psyche | 20 |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| Skills Chemical Expert | Beginner | Level 5 You know how to handle chemicals and understand their properties. Explosives Expert | Beginner | Level 2 You know how to handle explosives and understand how to make them. Indestructible Body | Beginner | Level 1 Boosts your innate defense, stacks with the BODY stat. Indominal Will | Beginner | Level 3 Boosts your innate resistance to mental effects, stacks with the PSYCHE stat. Attack | Beginner | Level 1 You know basic attacks. Defense | Beginner | Level 2 You know basic defense. Defense | Beginner | Level 2 You know basic defense. Sense Presence | Beginner | Level 1 Able to sense the presence of things nearby (15 feet). Non-Martial Weapon | Beginner | Level 1 The ability to draw out the most fighting potential when using non-weapon like equipment. |+|+|+|
|+|+|+| Abilities Slime Nucleus You accidently ate the core of the slime that you destroyed. Its passage through chemical-induced flame scoured it and weakened the protective coating enough for you to ingest it. This has allowed you to absorb it into your body and gain its power. Your racial characteristic has changed to Part Slime. You have gained the racial characteristic Regeneration, Level 1. You have gained the racial characteristic Physical Resistance, Level 1. You have gained the racial characteristic Slime Form, Level 1. You have gained the racial characteristic Consumption. These racial characteristics will grow, expand, and change as you go through Evolution. Evolution Because of your part monster racial characteristic, you have gained a Monster-only ability. Evolution is the path followed by the various species of Slimes, where an individual advances by consuming particularly strong foes and thus gain their STATS, Skills, and Abilities as their own. By using Consumption on the corpse of a strong foe you have defeated, you may initialize Evolution. Slime Brotherhood Slimes will no longer be innately hostile to you, and you may freely move amongst them as one of their own. Stronger Slimes may try to test your mettle, while weaker ones will obey your command. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ambient Pressure Having been exposed to a very high amount of killing intent, you have started to subconsciously emit the same sort of heavy pressure. Anger, hate, killing intent, joy and other emotions will be emitted; which can cause various buffs or debuffs depending upon whom the pressure is directed to. Only those who are truly spiritually dull will be unable to feel your pressure. This ability can be actively controlled once you¡¯ve gained the Pressure Skill. Current pressure radius: 5 feet. |+|+|+|
Still, the choice eludes him even as he reads through everything a few times. Especially in his Abilities section. Gaining monster abilities is cool though, and his eyes stop on the one thing he¡¯d not really had the chance to look at before. Evolution. The ability of slimes to change and grow and evolve as they consume things. Even Kolan knew about that, given the horrendously vast amount of different types of slimes that games have put forward. Fire Slimes, Water Slimes, Earth Slimes, Lightning Slimes¡­ and of course that Sewage Slime he¡¯d blown the fuck up. It was cool, if a little unsettling given that he¡¯d have to ¡®eat¡¯ various things to go through the process. But there is one thing missing from it that he finally notices. It doesn¡¯t say anything about being able to choose which evolution he goes through. That doesn¡¯t sit well with Kolan, not one bit. Eating the wrong thing could make him progress backwards, if that was the case. Devolving is still a part of evolution, after all. Thinking it through clinches it for him, and he nods his head after finally coming to his decision. ¡°I accept! I want an ability that¡¯ll let me choose when, where, and what to evolve into when the Evolution ability is active!¡± He yells it out loud, which actually ends up a bit embarrassing once his rough and thin voice echos back to him inside the small men¡¯s restroom. He is at least able to keep himself from blushing. *CHIME* You got mail! Okay, he cannot help but grin a bit like an idiot when the different tone sounds. He does pull it up quickly this time though.
+|+|+ From: The Collectors To: Kolan Mist Excellent! We are greatly pleased with your interest in allowing us to follow your progress. Now perhaps we can alleviate some of our boredom¡­ Eh, nevermind. Ignore that, if you would. Now then, we will be inserting the Watcher Parasite in only a few moments. The process of insemination¡­ or rather insertion should only take a few moments. Please do not be alarmed. As for the matter of the Ability you have chosen, we are in the process of writing the update to the World Seed at this very moment. It is quite the unusual request, and as such may require a bit of tinkering to get exact. Evolution, as you know, isn¡¯t something a being is supposed to be able to consciously control. Still, we will strive to provide you exactly what you requested. For level capping the monster formation spawns, we have instigated a +/- 10 Level cap that¡¯ll persist until you are level 50, then a +/- 20 cap until you are level 100, followed by progressively larger possible deviations. For your safety we are also allowing you to purchase a Sanctuary upgrade for any property you own or gain possession of. The cost for this upgrade is set at 500 Credit Tokens, or simply credits, per 1000 square feet of owned space (304.8 square meters). This will prevent the spawning of a Lair within 1640.42 feet (or 500 meters) of your property, as well as make sure one doesn¡¯t appear indoors. The Sanctuary will also stop regular monster spawns, as well, and thus is the defense of choice for anyone smart enough to achieve the ability to purchase it. Once again, we thank you for allowing us to watch your adventures more closely. We apologize for any inconvenience we have caused. Thank you, The Collectors. +|+|+
Kolan barely had any time to read the new message before he felt it. It was like something had been slammed into his chest with a long ass needle. There isn¡¯t a whole lot of pain, but a dull force that pushes him back and makes him feel kinda¡­ bloated. As soon as that force comes, it disappears. Then the pain starts. Bad, bad pain that starts in his chest but also ends up spreading down into his abdomen and then up into his throat. Worse than the pain however was the sort of wiggling sensation he feels squirming throughout his body. No doubt it is the Watcher Parasite, but the feeling is so unnatural that he gets sick anyway, which only adds to the mess on the floor that he¡¯s already covered in. A shower is definitely required. That, and an incinerator to burn his clothing. There¡¯s probably no way to remove the stains! Just as the message said however, the pain soon disappears, along with the weird sensation inside of his body and the feeling of bloatedness that signified the presence of the -thing- that had been implanted into him. In fact, once he sits up he couldn¡¯t find any sign at all of anything having happened. Thankfully there isn¡¯t any freaky eyeball sticking out of his chest. His search does lead him to finally notice the state of his body. Most of his wounds are gone, along with any sort of scarring that¡¯d normally occur. More than that however, it looks like his normally rather chubby (fat) stomach has shrunken a bit, as if being deflated like a balloon. And his right arm no longer pains him at all, even though it ends at a smooth stump just below the elbow. There also isn¡¯t any sort of ghosting sensation. It is like his nerves just end and no longer feel torn or disconnected. ¡®Regeneration, huh? I wonder if it¡¯ll grow my arm back,¡¯ is one of the thoughts that float through his head before he shakes it off. Probably not, because he gained the ability after the damage had already been done. It is still possible, however. That thought however leads him to several others, which ends up bringing a crazy idea to mind. He doesn¡¯t test it here, though. He was starting to get more than a little tired sitting in shit and sewage, especially after three fucking chapters! Kolan does finally push himself to his feet and waits for the feeling of dizziness to pass before he glances around at the destruction again. If this single restroom is any indication of what he is to expect with the world outside, then he isn¡¯t sure that he doesn¡¯t just want to go hide in a hole somewhere and wait for everything to quiet down. Not like there is any real choice for him, but he could at least dream, right? *DING*
|+|+|+| You have gained the Conscious Evolution Ability! This ability will augment the monster-only Evolution Ability you gained and will allow you to choose the specifics of what you gain, lose, or change when you reach the state required to Evolve. The Progression System will now monitor your status in order to improve this unnatural ability. You are now a true and utter freak, by the way. |+|+|+|
Well, it doesn¡¯t take them long to get something working. The message at the end was totally out of line though. ¡°A freak, really?! Bah! If that¡¯s the case I¡¯ll become the strongest freak alive!¡± Okay, so that really blows Kolan¡¯s top, having made his face go red. If anyone was nearby they¡¯d almost be able to see the steam coming out of his ears. *DING*
|+|+|+| Yes, yes, now move along. You¡¯re cramping the story. And have a nice day. ¡­ Not. |+|+|+|
Great, now even the System¡­ Or is it the World Seed itself that is bad mouthing him? He isn¡¯t sure how to tell between them. At least the messages from the Collector¡¯s tend to be at least apologetic in tone. And make you want to smash a head into the wall, but that is besides the point. Yes, lawyers are still the worse. +|+|+ The rest of the Minut Mart is totally trashed. There¡¯s blood, gore, and parts and pieces of bodies all over the place. Almost as soon as Kolan had entered the men¡¯s restroom he¡¯d been set upon by some giant ant-looking things that are probably the reason why. < Killer Ant (Worker Variant) | Level 2 | 15 / 15 HP > They seem to wander around the place in groups of between three and five, but their only redeeming feature are the knife-like blades at the end of their front forearms. The rest of their limbs look just like regular insect limbs. They also had one glaring weakness that Kolan is able to capitalize on almost instantly upon seeing them. Their large insect eyes are front and center and not protected at all. Using the mop he¡¯d picked up on leaving the bathroom, he¡¯s easily able to smash the ants right in the head. The eyes would pop like water balloons, causing the ants to jerk and convulse and collapse onto the floor. -10 (CRIT!) Almost every time it is the same, although the first time he ran into the ants they nearly gave him a heart attack. For something the size of a dog and actually fairly heavy in all of that chitin-like exoskeleton plates, they make almost no noise at all. Fucking ghosts ants, really. Not that they were really able to gang up on him due to his Sense Presence skill. Even with it being at the lowest level, he can still feel them coming, as if being pinged off of a radar in his head. It was cool, but definitely felt a little weird. The first group of four that attacked him right outside the restroom ends up disappearing in a sudden release of sparkles, leaving behind two arm-blades and a single piece of Killer Ant shell. He picks them up curiously, but isn¡¯t able to spy any other information about them other than the names. Well, whatever. Going through the store, he hunts for any survivors or anyone left alive and only finds death, destruction, and gore all over the place. Thankfully he cannot smell it through his own stench. That said, he still ends up running into rummaging groups of those ants every couple of minutes as they seem to patrol the aisles. It is only after he¡¯s already halfway across the store does he realize that the lights are off and the sounds of the air condition is gone, leaving the place echoing a bit like a cave. Which is odd, cause he can look over his shoulder and still see the lights from the restrooms he¡¯d only just left. A little further on, and having beat another group of five ants, he realizes that he doesn¡¯t have enough space in his pockets to carry any more of the drops. It is at that point that he realizes that he¡¯s being stupid. Absolutely an idiot. He¡¯s in a seemingly destroyed store. He knows where the backpacks are, along with a seemingly endless list of things that could be potentially useful, if not life saving. Like a rather nice first aid kit. And matches, oil, along with other survival gear. Hell, there¡¯s an entire aisle with nothing but outdoor stuff and cookout/BBQ equipment nearby. So he turns around and makes his way in that direction. Most of the aisles have been gone through, but instead of taken it is more like shit had just been knocked off the shelves and left scattered across the floor. He does end up heading back towards the back, where he encounters a totally different type of ant. < Killer Ant (Soldier Variant) | Level 4 | 25 / 25 HP > These guys are bigger, more heavily armed and armored, and have protective bony crests that partially cover their eyes as well as sharp mandibles. Thankfully they are also rather slow, and stupid. At least the worker ants tend to attack in groups. These guys however only attack one on one, as if they were knights or some shit. That works out well for Kolan, cause it takes him a bit to figure out how to beat one after receiving a gash across his chest. -7 It made him mad enough to break the end of the mop across the ant¡¯s head, stunning it and leaving him with a jagged end to the mop handle. It turns out to be almost perfect as a spear, which he jabs into one of the ant¡¯s eyes. Instant Death! Nice! Although when he pulls his makeshift spear back, he realizes that the end of it is holding a chunk of ant brain at the end. He¡¯s still staring at it when the ant he¡¯d just killed disappears, dropping a larger piece of it¡¯s shell. But the brain matter at the end of his spear doesn¡¯t disappear. It does gross him out a bit when he touches it to remove it as the next ant moves up to attack him. Okay, that¡¯s new. And then he almost face palms, but is stopped by the soldier ant who is already rushing at him. ¡°Great, now I feel like an idiot again!¡± Yep, this world has definitely gone fucking crazy. +|+|+ Hi hi! It is that time again. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Next chapter will feature a real boss battle! Hahahahahaha. Or maybe not. Really depends on how it goes. Also, there will be more information on just about everything. I have left things a little vague on purpose, but that''ll clear up soon! I hope you guys enjoy it! And as always, feel free to leave comments, suggestions, criticisms and other such nonsense!