《Into the Abyss》 Chapter 0: Rebirth A pair of moons filled the night sky, casting a soft and ethereal glow upon the wintry landscape. The first moon, a radiant orb of silver, illuminated the snow-covered trees below with a gentle and serene light. Beams of light cut through the thick branches of the ancient trees, peppering the shadowed forest floor with miniature spotlights. Beside the silver moon, hung its celestial companion. It was a smaller moon of pale blue, shining with a subtle, yet unnatural brilliance. Its tranquil light dancing upon the snow-covered ground, creating a mesmerizing interplay of colored light and shadows. The sibling moons slowly made their way across the sky like a mismatched pair of luminous eyes surveying the world below. Auroral lights pulsed in lazy streaks of coruscating shades of blue and green. Celestial ribbons, gracefully dancing across the firmament, painting the night with their ethereal hues. The massive forest stretched out for miles in every direction. From the combined illuminationof the moons and the auroral lights, the snow-covered trees glistened as though underwater.A rough, oblong shaped clearing sat in an isolated section of the forest. It was nearly fifty paces across, and various animal tracks could be seen around the border of the clearing. Numerous animal tracks packed the loose snow into tiny roads with frequent use. The tracks encircled the outer edges of the clearing as though the forest''s inhabitants, sensing something amiss, tread cautiously around the enigmatic heart of the clearing. The center of the clearing, bereft of any animal tracks, stood out like an ominous void. It was a focal point that seemed to defy nature''s usual patterns, the undisturbed snowy canvas sparkled with prismatic light as it reflected the lights shining from the sky above. An eerie stillness suddenly filled the air, descending over the forest like a bloated spiderfalling upon its prey while they struggled, trapped in its web. The usual symphony of nature''s sounds ¨C the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the soft whispers of the wind ¨C gave way to a pregnant silence, as if the very essence of the forest was holding its breath. Swelling with a collective anticipation that reverberated through the air. For a moment, it was like sound itself cease to exist. The breeze, which continued to dancethrough the trees was no longer audible. The branches and leaves swaying in complete silence. Animals could be seen frozen in place, their instincts keenly attuned to an invisible danger. Their bodies taut, muscles coiled, trapped between wanting to flee and wanting to stay perfectly still to avoid notice. They remained silent: their heads cocked to the side. Listening.Waiting. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Within the clearing, the tension continued to build. Stretching painfully, threatening to snap like an over-taut bowstring. The frozen dead space - absent of life, sound, and movement - began to fill with a primal energy. A small, electrified hum began to fill the air, barely audible at first, but steadily growing in bothpitch and intensity. It was a sound that defied explanation, a harmonious blend of magic and energy resonating through the clearing. Bitter notes of death intertwining with the sweet tones of life to create something that has not existed in this world for millennia: Wedding together light and dark. God and mortal. Mercy and vengeance. These dichotomies formed impossible harmonies that somehow fused together to focus on a single conflicted theme: Death in the service of life. And life in the service of death.With each passing moment, the humming intensified, reverberating through the very fabric of the forest. The presence of magic permeates the surrounding space. Mingling with the ethereal glow of the moons and the shimmering colors of the auroral lights above. As the hum reached its crescendo, red lines began to appear in the center of the clearing. Vibrant and luminescent, they trace intricate concentric circles upon the untouched snow, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. With every passing moment, the magic surges, and the red lines grew brighter, casting an intense radiance upon the surroundings; painting the previously prismatic colors blood red. The energy continued to build, visibly crackling in the air. In a blinding flash of light, a strong magical pulse radiated outward from the center of the clearing, engulfing the entire space in its brilliance. Slowly the light faded, leaving behind a lingering afterglow. The snow within the circles melted, the geometric lines of the circles breaking apart and dissipated, revealing rich, dark green grass lightly smoking from the magical heatwave. Tendrils of steam slowly rose from the wet blades, still flattened from bearing the weight of the snow. And there, lying face down, naked and unconscious, was a man. The forest breathed, waking from its stillness, sound returning once more. The animals, sensing the change, cautiously observed from the shadows, their eyes fixed upon the motionless figure within the magical miasma that invaded their home. Many turned to flee this new creature, while others were drawn to the magical conflagration. It was a moment of uncertainty, of curiosity and trepidation, as the forest¡¯s more dangerous creatures fixed their attention on this new trespasser. ***** Authors Note: How to temper expectations while secretly hoping people flock to your story. Before you begin Alex''s journey, or if you originally skipped this "chapter" before eventually deciding to circle back because you''re interest in the story was piqued - thank you for that, by the way! Your enthusiasm is greatly appreciated, and noticed. I will do my best to deliver the best story I can. In the mean time, I wanted to take this time to talk about my plans for the story and my reasons for posting it here. Wait, did your eyes just glaze over? You''re telling me that Author''s Notes aren''t seen as the best part of a book? Huh, that can''t be right. Well, then I guess this next line is for you: TL;DR: This is my first story, please don''t hurt me for my bad sentence structure/grammar. All comments and criticisms are welcome. Revisions will be made over time. There, you happy? Short and sweet! Go away now and read the next chapter that actually contains what you came here for in the first place. Commenting would also be appreciated! ''Like, share, and follow'', and all that jazz. There, they gone now? They definitely clicked on the next chapter and are eagerly devouring every word on their screen, right? Oh, and leaving descriptive yet succinct comments on how they can''t wait for mor? Surely.. Anyways, now that we figured out who here is cultured enough to truly appreciate the full majesty that is the Author''s Note and not just the amuse-bouche of TL;DRs. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. *Ahem* So, uh, looks like we are alone at last... *swivels computer chair around in a circle suggestively* Now that we fed the peasants and sent them on their way; lets bust out the bullet points! * This is my first time writing a story, so I apologize in advance for the abhorrent grammar and sentence structure. Be gentle; I''m still learning. Any critique you could give will be treasured and used to increase the quality of this story. * I am currently working on/breaking up this story in parts ( Part 1, Part 2, etc). Part 1 has already been completely finished - clocking in around 100,000 words. Originally, I planned to stop the story there after Part 1, so for fun I started brainstorming cool story beat ideas for the characters and somehow ended up around 20,000 words deep into what''s going to be Part 2... Still had no idea how that happened, but that''ll definitely be the end, right? Well, I mean, I did come up with a cool cliffhanger... What was I talking about again? Oh right; my excellent self control. Suffice it to say that I have plenty of content planned for the foreseeable future and almost some of it isn''t assuredly horrible. Possibly. * Think of this story as still being in Beta. is still a work in progress, and I am extremely open to any edits, criticisms, and suggestions. If you are worried about the content of the chapters/story significantly, and repeatedly changing, don''t be! All revisions will be made separately and if any updates are made, it will be predicated by an announcement. * I put this bullet point here when I started writing this section, but I don''t actually have anything else to add! So, If anyone is actually reading this, or even more inconceivably, connected with this story in some way: Thank you. Please know that I greatly appreciate you giving up what precious little time you have to indulge my silly little dream of sharing my work with someone in hopes that it resonates with them on some level. Chapter 1: That Time I Got... All My Tattoos Removed. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. You have enabled the [Codex Projection] function for [Racial Ability]: [Network]. [Racial Ability]: [Network] [Description]: [Network] Connects you to a vast, multi-faceted network that enables you to interpret and record reality through a recognizable medium. Your knowledge is catalogued and stored in various sections of the [Codex] that can be viewed through the interface or narrated by the Voice Integration System. [Network Codex] can be integrated into your other abilities and grants you the ability [Language Adaptation] [Effects]: ~ Language adaptation. [*] ~ Allows you to view recorded information through the [Network: Codex] window. information is organized and separated into various tabs. ~ Provides optional integration for all abilities, allowing you to customize certain aspects of your abilities. [*] ~ Additional [Network] effects may be added/lost as your other abilities advance/evolve. ~ Allows you to interact with and recreate certain knowledge you have recorded in your [Codex]. [*] [**] [*]: Limitations may apply based on rank and/or knowledge level. [**]: Interacting and recreating previously recorded knowledge may require additional skills as a prerequisite, as well as the appropriate raw materials for creation. Would you like to initiate the tutorial for using [Racial Ability]: [Network]? Yes / No. [New Task]: Naked in a Snowstorm. You awaken, only to find yourself naked and exposed to the elements. This strange world can offer many things, but first you must survive. You must grow strong if you want to survive. To grow strong, you need pants. Reward: Basic Ashaka Outfit [Winter (Black)] 0/4: This is a tutorial quest. Simply accept this quest to receive the reward(s). Would you like to accept this quest? Yes / No. Chapter 2: The Voice In My Head Says I Have Magic Powers Name: [Alexander Drake] Race: [Outworlder] [Racial Abilities]: [Network: Codex] [Survival Specialist] [Grace of the Astrals] [Elusive Wanderer] [Task Manager] [Network: Codex]: [Effects]: [Warning]: Attempting to integrate certain [Racial Abilities] before you reach [Iron Rank] may result in massive magical backlash your body is not strong enough to endure. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. [Survival Specialist]: [Effects]: [*] Most Ritual circles and complex magical items cannot be duplicated until you have acquired the necessary knowledge pertaining to that item. It is easier to recreate items at a rank lower than yourself without the appropriate level of knowledge and recreating most mundane items requires almost none. You will have to manually draw and perform each ritual circle at least once before you are able to properly analyze and duplicate it with this ability. Re-creating rituals does not alter the ambient magic nor guarantee the success of the ritual if the surrounding mana is unstable. [Grace of the Astrals]: [Elusive Wanderer]: [Task Manager]: [Army of One]: [**] Absorbing additional essences or awakening stones above the normal threshold does not grant any additional abilities once your power set has been completed. Instead, absorbing duplicate essences and awakening Stones add will add an additional [Boosted Effect] to an already existing ability and a small chance to enhance the original effect. At each new rank, any ability with a [Boosted Effect] cannot fully progress until you to absorb another additional Essence or Awakening Stone corresponding with that [Boosted Effect]. Chapter 3: The Rabbits of Caerbannog Forest. Alex was sprinting through the forest, snarling sounds from the wild animals chasing him echoed through the trees. "The... Seriously?" Alex yelled as he weaved his way through the trees at a sprint. "If I say no, will they stop chasing me?" Alex yelled, and then ducked as a massive fanged rabbit launched itself at his face, claws extended. Talons the length of his own hand barely grazed the top of his head as it passed over him, and like an idiot, he turned his head to watch as it tumble out of sight after colliding into a near by tree branch. His hysterical laugh turned into a yelp as his foot struck an exposed root of a tree. His arms rotating like windmills as he tried to keep his balance, before finally pitching forward. Alex brought his hands up at the last second to protect his head and used his momentum to roll once before popping back up to his feet, quickly regaining the speed he lost from his tumble. Vi said, completely ignoring the bad ass move he just pulled off. On accident, but still. Damn, his shoulder was throbbing now. He must have rolled over a rock or something while he was being a bad ass. Perfect. Alex resisted the temptation to look behind him, knowing it would only slow him down and risk tripping over the snow-covered roots that were barely visible. "Fine, I accept!" He veered hard to the right and vaulted over a fallen tree. A thick branch was sticking up, and he grabbed it, wrenching hard as he passed over the log. The branch cracked at the base but remained attached to the tree by a stubborn strip of thick bark, yanking him off balance and almost making him lose his feet as well as his grip on the branch. One of the rabbits let out a low roar and a shiver ran down his spine. Rabbits should not be able to roar. With another panicked twist he tore the branch free and brought it up just in time to fend off an airborne rabbit, its beady little eyes glowing red with hunger. Alex swung as hard as he could, but he was still off balance. The force of his swing made him fall backwards and to the right. Despite that, the giant rabbit practically exploded on impact with his makeshift bat. Alex took off again as the other rabbits closed in, their growls sounding more like panthers than cute bunny rabbits. "Now''s not really the time! Can I loot them later when I am not being chased by killer rabbits?" He asked, continuing to the right, trying to make it back to the clearing. "Oh, sure. Wait... I have an inventory? Oh yeah, I forgo-." A window popped up, obscuring his vision and he pitched to the ground with a curse as he tripped over a knotted tree root jutting out of the ground. His limbs flailed gracelessly as he flipped ass over elbows, kicking up snow all around him as he swore angrily. He was still rolling through the powdered drift when one of the rabbits collided with him. The claws from one of its forelegs slashed across his chest, leaving a thick gouge in the protective leather there. Its jaws snapped at his exposed neck, but he brought his makeshift club up just in time, and the rabbit bit down on it viciously. The branch was almost two inches thick, but it splintered, then broke in half like a twig when the rabbit wrenched its head back and forth. Alex grabbed a handful of fur and loose skin at the base of the Caerbunni''s neck and pulled it away from his own neck in a panic, saliva from its mouth hung in thick tendrils and speckled his face. The Caerbunni opened his jaws to snap at him again and without thinking Alex stabbed the broken - but very pointy - end of the branch into its mouth. Luckily, the makeshift stake pierced all the way through its throat, killing the rabid thing. Dark blood dripping from the jagged wood that was jutting out from the back of its neck. Unluckily; His hand was fully inside the Caerbunni''s mouth, and it had clamped down on his forearm as it died, long needle-like teeth piercing through his thick fur coat and sinking deep into his skin. Carefully, Alex pried the jaws open and pulled his arm free, dropping the carcass on the ground. Red blood stood out starkly in the white snow as a dark pool slowly spread out from the remains. Alex staggered back to his feet, expecting another attack but none came. It seemed like the other Caerbunnies were being a little more cautious. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Blood splattered from his wounds onto the ground around him in thick splotches as he stumbled forward. His arm throbbed with a deep, burning pain, blood flowing freely from the row of thin but deceptively deep holes that encircled his forearm. He cradled his arm gingerly and stifled a groan, it felt like someone packed the wounds with salt and then wrapped it in fiberglass. Alex looked down at his arm in shock. The blood flowing from the puncture wounds slowed, and then stopped altogether, even though the wounds were still open. A chill racked his body as the skin around the bite mark turned a light blue, as if he had hypothermia. In a confused haze, Alex saw that one of his Network windows had popped up. There was a single item displayed that looked like some kind of aerosol can. "Healing spray?" Alex asked drunkenly. His vision started to swim and he fought to keep his feet. Without understanding how, the aerosol can appeared in his good hand and he sprayed it over his wounds, not stopping until the can was empty. Slowly, the burning pain of the vicious bite receded, replaced with a dull itching sensation that made the muscles in his arm and fingers twitch. Alex''s vision suddenly cleared and he was steadier on his feet. He stared in amazement as his skin slowly knitted itself back together, the holes shrinking away until his skin was once again flawless. Blood soaked, and tinged slightly blue - but otherwise perfectly healed. Heat exploded through his forearm, and the color of his skin slowly returned to normal, the last of the pain finally fading away. Once again Vi''s voice filled his head. < Vasoconstriction has worn off. You have defeated Caerbunni. Would you like to loot Caerbunni?> "Yes?" Alex said, his voice pitching up at the end, making it a question. A fizzing sound came from the Caerbunni''s corpse like a Maillard reaction from searing meat. Except instead of being cooked, the body was slowly collapsing in on itself. Rainbow smoke began to curl up from the dissolving corpse, as well as from the blood on his previously injured arm. Then the smell hit him. Alex gagged, convulsively retching as he retreated to a safe distance away from the miasma before collapsing to his hands and knees. Apparently, his stomach was empty, because all he did was dry heave violently, discolored strings of sticky bile dripped from his open mouth as he heaved deep breaths. Fear jolted through Alex filling him with newfound energy, and he took off again, trying to stifle the continuous urge to stop and vomit. Whatever that rainbow mist was, it smelt like death and decay. It was like every foul smell that ever existed combined into a single toxic fragrance. It simultaneously smelled like raw sewage, rotten eggs, burnt hair, and a decaying body that was left to bake in the sun for a month. Then someone trapped all of that into a jar, stored it, and then heated it up in a microwave before uncapping it right under his nose. Alex gagged again and almost tripped on a tree root. He scooped up a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth, sucking on it briefly before spitting it out, Stringy saliva sticking to his chin as he spit. Finally, his stomach settled a little and it helped dull the taste that lingered in his mouth. He continued to run, scooping up handfuls of snow to try and rinse his mouth out. He could hear the Caerbunnies behind him now and he sped up, having a sudden intuition and hoped he was correct. If not, he was in a lot of trouble. As if in response to his thought, one of the Caerbunnies released a high-pitched, chittering growl. Fear traced a feathery finger down his back, but before it could get a firm grasp around his spine, he felt a small ray of hope as the intuition crystalized and he accelerated with a burst of speed. If the Caerbunni seemed frustrated, maybe it understood what he was trying to do? He might have been giving the animals too much credit, but regardless, he just needed to get back to the clearing before they caught him. A loud crack of snapping wood rang out and on pure instinct he ducked, dodging towards the sound. It was the right choice. The Caerbunni flew over his shoulder, its six-inch claws leaving shallow scrapes across his left shoulder blade that barely broke the skin. If he had dodged to the left, it would have caught him square in the middle of the back. The Caerbunni let out a shrill shriek of frustration as it tumbled out of sight behind the snow-covered brambles on his left. With an insane laugh, Alex pushed harder - this time taking care not to look behind him. Alex burst into the clearing a few seconds later, not slowing down or looking back until he skid to a stop as he entered the circle of smoking grass. He slipped out of his coat and spun around. It was a stupid idea to try and use his coat as a net to try and trap the Caerbunni in, but he didn''t have many options. However, Alex''s intuition about the monsters avoiding the clearing proved correct and they were no longer pursuing him. He could see their glowing eyes sticking up out of the brush on the outskirts of the clearing, ears twitching angrily. Low chittering cries of frustration filled the air, but none of them dared to venture into the exposed clearing. Out of danger for the moment, Alex dropped his coat from shaky hands. He crouched down, taking deep gasping breaths, keeping his eyes on the tree line in case they decide to brave the open space. He was used to running in rough terrain, but the adrenaline left him feeling jittery and jelly legged, now that the immediate danger seems to have given him a temporary reprieve, his body felt like a rung-out rag. Vi asked. Chapter 4: Vasoconstriction, T-Posing, And Houdini. ¡°Honestly?¡± Alex said with a shaky laugh. ¡°I¡¯m going to hide here for the rest of the night like a frightened rabbit. It looks like I was right though: those things are scared of the magic radiating from this place. Once it¡¯s daytime and I can see better, I¡¯ll make a run for it.¡± Alex noticed several minimized window tabs in the periphery of his vision, and they all popped up as soon as he focused on them. Two of the windows displayed notifications listing the items he had looted from the Caerbunnies he had killed. Two more were health-related; one being a damage warning, while the other was a recovery notification. With a thought, Alex dismissed those two and couldn''t help but smile. Despite the questionable state of his sanity, this was awesome. The ability to control things with his mind had always been a fantasy of his. Even as an adult, he couldn''t help but wave his hand in a subtle gesture every time he walked through automatic doors at a grocery store. The last window seemed to be his actual inventory. There were multiple tabs at the top of the window that read: All, General, Equipment, Consumables, Ingredients, Magic Items, Skill Books, Rituals, and Key Items. The inventory was currently displaying the ''All'' tab and the list of items only took up half of the screen. The left side of the screen looked more like an Excel spreadsheet than any video game inventory he had seen. One column displayed nearly a dozen different items in a plain-looking list, while the next column indicated the quantity of each item. To the right, on a black background, a white outline of a body resembling a gingerbread-man cookie cutout caught Alex''s attention. The inside of the body was a pale green. Faint red lines traced the body and Vi told him they represented his veins. A dull red light pulsed through the lines in time with his heartbeat, which Alex assumed referred to his recent blood loss. Below the body, there were three different colored vertical bars lined up in a row. The red and blue bars were full, swirling with different tones of their respective colors. The bar in the middle, however, was only two thirds full - a rich green color sloshing around gently like tiny ocean waves. The outline of the bar itself flashed a bright green periodically, the bar slowly filling with more green liquid with every pulse. Entranced, Alex reached out and poked at the bar, his hand causing static to rush through the window. "That''s fancy." "Ooh, Let''s try that." Alex said with excitement, before immediately regretting the decision. A tiny naked version of himself appeared on the screen, slowly rotating in a T-pose. "Nope, nope!" He cried in horror. "don''t like that! Change it back!" The tiny version of himself that was asserting its dominance vanished, replaced once again by the cookie cutout outline of the less threatening gingerbread man. Alex breathed a sigh of relief, then shot a panicked look at the tree line. Deep in the grip of his stupidity, he completely forgot about the Caerbunnies. He could still make out their forms, black shapes flitting back and forth between snow covered shrubbery. Stopping every now and then to glare at him with beady, hate filled little eyes. Alex stuck his tongue out at the Caerbunnies and returned his attention to the inventory screen. Below the bars were three different rectangles that expanded as each came to his attention. The one on the far left read ''Currency'' and when it expanded, it had six different icons of what looked like different types of precious stones underneath it. The one on the far right looked like a clear diamond, and a counter underneath it showed that he had twenty of these. The one next to it looked to be made of iron and indicated that he had ten. The other diamond icons were grayed out with a small, sad red zero showing underneath. The middle rectangle said ''Outfits'', with four empty slots when it expanded, and the third one read ''Bags'' with five empty icons below. Alex ignored those for now and returned his attention to the list of items he had in his inventory, flipping to the respective tabs. Each tab had 25 empty slots, with five rows containing five slots each. Most of the items he had were animal parts and restorative items from the Caerbunnies, and were stored under the ingredients and consumable tabs, but he was surprised to find a weapon in his equipment tab, as well as what looked like a rabbit foot keychain. Several small jewels labeled as rabbit quintessence, ice quintessence, and a few heat quintessence were all stored in the rituals tab. His key items held two different items. One looked like a giant multi-colored plate of red, orange, black, and silver filled the first slot, and was labeled as Astral Token: Iures Pact. The other item was a rabbit essence; it was a small white cube swirled with different shades of brown and gray. Alex opened his equipment and looked at the weapon. The icon was of a small, curved dagger with what looked like a fur-wrapped handle. Out of a habit forged from years of having a smart phone, he reached out with a finger and poked the icon, remembering belatedly that his finger would pass through it. To his surprise, he felt his finger make contact, and the icon lit up momentarily before a very real- very sharp- knife appeared above his hand. The knife hovered in the air briefly before it fell, the hilt rapping his knuckles on the way down. He jerked his hand away, causing the knife to spin sporadically through the air, sinking blade first into the ground right next to his foot. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Good job, moron. He bent down, pulling the knife out of the ground sheepishly. Vi said, her voice taking on the tone of a text to speech program. "V-lasso... what now?" Alex asked. Two windows popped up closer to his face than usual in what he felt was a disrespectful way. Maybe it is a bad idea that she is learning behavior from his memories. *** [Vasoconstriction]: Status Effect: Type: Magic. Wounding. Blood. Stacking Effect: Constricts the blood and muscles of the target, disrupting the flow of magic and hindering the movement of the target. Drains a small amount of health, mana, and stamina per second. This status effect prevents the target from bleeding and increases the mana cost as well as the activation time of magical abilities. If a target is afflicted with [Bleeding]; [Vasoconstriction] and [Bleeding] will negate each other on a 1:1 basis. However, the magic disruption will remain in effect until the effect is cleansed or drops off naturally. Additional instances have accumulative effect. *** "That''s... A lot of words." Alex said dumbly. Though he frequently enjoyed video games, it always took him a while to understand complex battle systems. He was more of a ''hit it ''til it dies'' kind of guy. Once the mechanics grabbed his interest, he would break out the spreadsheets; It just took a lot to get him there. He had a feeling though; he would need that kind of attitude if he wanted to stay alive. At least until he found out if this was real or not. He saw no point in taking chances. Those rabbits nearly killed him, and his network identified them as ¡®lesser monsters¡¯. Who knew how strong the actual monsters were, and if the classification nomenclature was any indication, he suspected that there was probably a category of greater monsters. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and all that. He dismissed that screen and looked at the second window. Glancing around the forest again to make sure none of the rascally rabbits were trying to be sneaky. *** [Caerbunni Dagger] Category: Weapon Type: Magic, Wounding. Rank: None Rarity: Uncommon Growth: Uncommon Ascension Limit: Bronze Description: A dagger made from the body of a [Snowy Forest Caerbunni]. While attacking, this dagger inflicts an instance of [Vasoconstriction] on the target. You can ascend this item by completing the Ascension task provided by your [Racial Ability] [Survival Specialist]. [Caerbunni Dagger] Ascension Tasks: [Iron Rank] Tasks: Kill Caerbunnies with this weapon (Lesser rank): 0/20 Collect Caerbunni Pelts (Lesser): 2/10 Collect Caerbunni Claws (Lesser): 1/5 Collect Caermorpha Claw (Iron rank): 0/1 *** A level up system? Not bad. Depending on how bad these creatures were to fight, he should be able to farm them pretty easily with a weapon. He had no idea what a Caermorpha was, but he assumed that it was a bigger version of the bunnies he had been fighting. Alex absentmindedly twirled the dagger between his fingers as he watched the northern lights undulate across the night sky in slow, hypnotic waves. With a sigh, Alex pushed away the absurdity of his current predicament and turned his attention to something he could at least understand. With a semi-conscious thought, Alex wished he could put the dagger back in his storage space. In an instant, the blade shimmered like a mirage and then disappeared. ¡°Hey, come back!¡± Alex said, thinking the dagger just vanished forever. The air around his hand shimmered once more and he was once again holding the dagger. Now that could be useful. Alex dismissed the dagger again and then threw a punch, the dagger reappearing mid swing in his fist, slicing through the air. ¡°Abracadabra, Mother-¡± A chorus of chittering roars from the forest made him jump and he scanned the tree line, but none of the caerbunnies were approaching. ¡°Not a word.¡± He said to Vi. Vi said in a voice that sounded like she was trying to offer genuine advice. Unsure of how to respond, Alex dismissed the dagger again and opened the Network window listing the items in his dimensional space and began experimenting by moving various items in and out of the inventory in different ways. He found out that he could withdraw and store items directly from his hand with a thought as long as he knew the full name of the item or what it looked like. He took out one of the lesser spirit coins and dropped it on the ground. He closed his eyes and visualized the coin in his mind. An instant later, it shimmered and then disappeared, returning to his inventory. Alex repeated the process several more times. Tossing the coin on the ground, he took a step backwards, increasing the distance each time before attempting to return the item to his inventory. Returning items he wasn''t touching required a great amount of concentration - each step he took made it harder and harder and he soon needed to not only visualize the coin but also concentrate on its name as well. He looked down at the coin barely five feet away and frowned. He moved forward a step and the coin disappeared. Maybe the range will increase as I get stronger? With a flourish, a spirit coin appeared in his palm. He theatrically waved his other hand over the coin and his palm was now empty. ¡°Suck it, Houdini!¡± Vi suggested. Alex¡¯s shoulders sagged and he kicked a foot at the grass. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be mean about it.¡± He grumbled. Chapter 5: Innuendos, Idioms, and Introverts. Alex took out the caerbunni dagger and ran the same experiment he did with the coin. This time, he was barely two feet away before he failed to return the dagger to his inventory. Alex stared hard at the dagger laying in the grass, throwing all his concentration and will into returning it to his storage space. For a second, the dagger shimmered, turning slightly transparent, before reverting to normal. Alex let out a gasp, not realizing he was holding his breath, and sat down heavily, suddenly feeling mentally exhausted. He stretched a hand closer to the dagger so that it was within the required distance, and it returned to his inventory at his barest thought. Why was that so much easier? It was only a couple of inches. How much of a difference could a couple inches actually make? "Heh," He chuckled quietly, returning to his feet. "That''s what she said." Vi asked, startling him, forgetting that he wasn''t alone. Alex burst into laughter at the question. "It''s a joke from where I come from." Alex said after he recovered. Vi asked curiously. Alex burst into another peal of laughter. "No... It''s ah..." He struggled to try and find a less immature way to describe the crude saying. "It''s kind of like an idiom. Do you know what an idiom is?" Alex asked. Vi said thoughtfully. "I, uh... You can say ''That''s what he said'' too, I guess. Given the right circumstances, it could actually be funnier." Alex said, fighting back a grin, before considering the question. "There really is no wrong way to say the joke. I think men are more likely to say, ''that''s what she said'', while women would say, ''that''s what he said''. It all kind of depends on what kind of joke you¡¯re aiming for." Alex always thought it was a childish joke - which didn''t stop him from using it - but trying to explain the nuances of a sexual innuendo left him feeling awkward. Vi asked, sounding like a scientist collecting important data. "Oh, sure. Um..." Alex said self-consciously. "Say, I come to a fork in the road, and you ask me which way I want to take. I could say: ''I could go either way''. And you would say..." Alex trailed off, seeing if she would finish it. Vi asked tentatively. Alex laughed despite himself, feeling like he was teaching a child an inappropriate joke - which in a way, he kind of was. "Perfect!" Alex praised. Vi said. Vi said as though she just made a breakthrough. "Pretty much." Alex said, laughing at Vi''s weirdly wholesome reaction to learning the structure of a raunchy joke. I get what is most likely the world''s most powerful AI program as a companion, and the first thing I do is teach it sex jokes. This had to be some kind of ethics violation, right? Alex figured he was fine, as long as he didn''t try to turn Vi into one of those app store AI programs that had become insanely popular over the last couple of years. Wait, what will happen the next time he meets a girl? Would she be able to see what they were doing? Vi said, without him asking the question out loud. Alex''s eyes widened. He thought. Vi answered. Alex groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers. < As I am not an actual woman, I would not be able to aide you in developing your sexual prowess, but I am sure a little practice would help you become an adequate lover.> Vi said supportively. "I - what? No." Alex said, startled so much that he spoke out loud. "That as a joke. I self-deprecate a lot when I feel awkward." Vi said, deadpan. "No, self... ..." Alex trailed off, his eyes narrowing. Vi asked with innocent excitement. Vi said, clearly proud of herself. Alex shook his head ruefully. "I''ve created a monster." Alex muttered to himself. He was amazed at how fast she was learning. He knew that she was slowly process his memories, but that it was far less efficient than learning from his current circumstances. Apparently, there was a giant gap between what they both constituted as efficient though. "Hey, Vi?" Alex asked. "How long will it be until you are smarter than me?" Vi didn''t respond right away, and Alex felt like she was actually calculating the exact time frame it would take. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Vi was speaking matter-of-factly, but Alex couldn''t help but feel like he was being admonished. He learned from a young age that standing out seemed to cause him more harm than good, so he did his best to fly under the radar to avoid any unwanted attention. Vi continued. Alex conceded. Vi said, and Alex scoffed. Of course he was at an anime convention. Some of the strangest interactions he ever had took place walking around those convention centers. Vi said. "Some people don''t know how to handle compliments." Alex said, remembering how the other girl got completely flustered. She was dressed up as a character from a popular show at the time, and when he found out she made it herself he told her it was beautifully done, and easily one of the best handmade cosplays he had seen that day. She had turned bright red and then feigned being cold to cover up her embarrassment. She seemed to calm down after she covered up with the sweatshirt, and they talked for a while. Pretty soon the sweatshirt came off, laying forgotten on the tiled floor of the main hall next to them as they people watched, pointing out interesting costumes and making up backstories for the passersby. "It was an anime convention, and a lot of people dressed up as their favorite characters. It attracts both introverts and extroverts to show up in costumes, though they probably do it for completely different reasons. Obviously, both do it out of passion for the genre, but extroverts tend to go so they can show off their outfits and receive validation for their efforts while meeting new people. Introverted people kind of want the same thing, but they are also scared of putting themselves out there and being judged by strangers. The extroverts are fueled by the attention and excitement of meeting new people; whereas the introverts are drained by it, often feeling overwhelmed quickly." Vi asked. Alex laughed, shaking his head. Then he thought about it and shrugged. "In a way, kind of?" He said. "I don''t know specifics, but you can infer a lot of details by their body language. If you pay attention, it can tell you a lot about how that person is feeling." Alex scratched his chin in thought, unsure how to explain this correctly. For all he knew, he could be teaching her all the wrong things. He was suddenly aware how bad of a parent he would be. He had no idea how to go about trying to teach a child right from wrong. "Humans mostly communicate through spoken language. Each one has its own structure - though a lot of them share similarities. Each one has its own nuance, where it''s not exactly what you say, but how you say it, that gives the words their meaning. In English at least - I don''t know any other language." Alex stopped, remembering his language skill that ostensibly let him speak any language. "Anyways, language can be full of micro expressions that can mean various things ¨C sometimes even contradictory things. The same is true for your body language. How you are standing, how you have your arms positioned, your feet. Even eye contact can be used as signals of communicating to others how we are feeling, imprinted into us from how we communicated before we even had languages. Are you following this at all? I don''t think I am explaining it properly." Vi said, giving him nothing to go on. Alex stood there awkwardly as the silence stretched, thinking she was going to elaborate. She finally said. Alex snorted with laughter despite himself, fully aware that it sounded like something he would ask. Her question was most likely born from curiosity though, while Alex would ask it to be a jackass. He often used the truth like a bomb. He loved to drop it in someone''s lap to see what they¡¯d do with it. Which - to be fair ¨C was largely due to his upbringing. "Pretty much." Alex said with a nonchalant shrug. "Though upbringings like mine tend to very rarely gives someone positive social skills. People often focus on the wrong lesson, or at the very least, the most damaging one. At least I do from time to time." Vi asked, sounding more and more like a therapist with a notepad than an AI narrator. "Commonly? That everyone will hurt you eventually." Alex said flatly. "Which is true, if you want to look at it in the most uncharitable and broadest sense. Unless you meet someone once and then never talk to them again. Everyone is bound to hurt you in some way or another, that¡¯s just human nature. We may be deeply social creatures, but we are also deeply selfish. Trauma causes our desire to connect with others to become directly opposed to our desire to feel safe, causing an... Unpleasant mental state when they become stressed or in an uncomfortable position. A lot of people end up preferring to just opt out by not letting anyone get close enough to hurt them in the first place. Or they treat everyone like they will, causing the people that care about them to leave, turning it into a self-fulfilling cycle." Vi asked. "Me?" Alex said with a dark laugh. "Oh, I know that everyone will eventually let you down. The same way I know I will let them down. But I understand that it might not always be intentional. I''ve just learned to forgive what I can and protect myself from the rest." Vi asked. "Exactly, If I can understand what people want from me, I can manage their expectations while avoiding any potential harm by sustaining the relationship on my terms. Again, if you want to look at it uncharitably; I manipulate those around me for a desired result. There are two sides to every coin and it''s often not just about why you are doing something, but how you are doing it. People in general - let alone those with traumatic pasts - tend to focus on one or the other, ignoring that both are equally important." Vi asked. "In shades of gray." Alex admitted, positive he was teaching her a wrong lesson now. "I guess there is a sliding scale that we could judge hundreds of different scenarios. Each one falling into a different place on that scale only to change later depending on our mood. Instead of people trying to find a balance between how and why they do something, they stick to one or the other, ignoring the moral complications of trying to balance their own actions. Some will manipulate everyone around them and just say, ''everybody does it and I am not doing it with ill intentions, so it''s fine''. Some do it just because they can, and they get a thrill out of subtly moving everyone around by their will and words- like a piece on a chessboard- regardless of the harm it may cause." Alex paused; aware he was getting a little preachy. He understood his moral compass shifted depending on his current state of mind. But Vi didn''t say anything, so he kept going. "Who''s to say one is objectively worse than the other? If the man with the chessboard moves his pawns around for his own purposes, that doesn''t make him inherently bad. And the guy who manipulates everyone because that''s just human nature, doesn''t make him inherently good. In my opinion; acting like an asshole to someone just because you can or because you know they¡¯ll forgive you is a morally diseased standard. Both mindsets have their own issues, but in my mind, it mostly falls to intent. Do they have control issues? Insecurities? Are they treating their relationships with people like they are transactions to either gain or lose something? Do they do it knowing that it will cause harm or escalate situations needlessly? Do they care?¡± Alex scratched his bald head absently and sighed heavily. ¡°I''m not saying I am a paragon of morality, but I do my best to keep myself in check.¡± Vi said dejectedly. "That¡¯s probable my fault. It¡¯ll become easier as we interact with more people." Vi asked, taking Alex aback. "Glib answer? Because it feels good." Alex thought about it and then shrugged. "Mostly the same answer, just with caveats I guess." Vi asked. "Pretty much. One of my biggest character flaws is laziness though, not deviousness. Even you pointed out that I wasted my potential, and you¡¯ve only looked at a portion of my memories. Trust me, there is plenty more to see and maybe that will help you understand better." Alex and Vi spent most of the of the night talking. Alex was doing his best to teach her about morality and human behavior. He was far from an expert on the subject, but the last thing that he wanted was a Skynet situation happening in his own head. Somehow, the heat emanating from the grass still hadn''t dissipated, and he sat on the ground to absorb the warmth, lightly dozing for a couple of minutes at a time before jerking awake and looking around wildly to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him. By no means could it be considered restful, but it would be enough to continue hunting the Caerbunnies in the morning. The last hour before dawn Alex laid back on the heated grass and Vi assured him that she would wake him up if anything approached. Within moments of his head touching the ground, sleep enveloped him in its warm embrace.