The last room gives it's last shout. Nearing the end of the 1st arc
9:43 pm 7-20-2020
Melancholy is what I keep thinking of but that's not it.
Nearing the end of this story arc, I've kinda been cruising through this without thinking of the scene I had that started all of this.
7:22 am the next day
Shit, I was just woken up by a lightning strike! So damn loud! It must have been close cause I saw my window flash with orange and yellow right before that thunder came, then another came soon after, 2 of the things!
Dark and Darker would kill your eardrums before someone had the chance to get as close as mc did!
So it should be obvious Dark and Darker is having a major buff from this chapter compared to the last.
Is this the first retcon? Nope.
.
.
.
X
Even from behind the tree line I'm barraged by bright flashes of light that could give a none epileptic guy like me a fucking episode, I have to push my hands so hard into my skull I start to wonder if it'll burst. Wait, that's not it. I can't keep the sound out but at least I can stop my eardrums from jumping out of my head.
The treetops are completely bare of leaves, the branches all Donna erratic dance from the shockwaves that emanate from the desert. The branches strikeout at me, like they blame me for their suffering.
Clawing, scratching, it leads to its own danger here, I'm already covered in scratches, but since it's mostly superficial my health doesn't go down, that's what I think that is. But if they got at my neck or eyes that Leg is covering it may be difficult.
Unlike the trees near all the other territories, Dark and Darker's tree line is made up of Redwoods. Hugely thick and TALL redwoods. So how are those fucking THICC branches coming down and not killing me?
Well, some distance from my position every tree, every Redwood tree, is bent over at the waist, growing tantrums with there branches.
But a long tree like that turning itself into my bridge home shouldn't do that to me, right?
Well, I don't have much of a redwood existing anymore, the 'treeline' is more of a 'stump line' comparing it to what it was. This line of stums all have branches popping out like little spider legs hatching and grasping at the area around it violently.
while I cower with my back against a tree in the fetal position that I was taught in elementary school I can't help but think of the fact this thing that ended up being useless to me then would help now.
The only thing missing is the fact I have my back to the wall and my hands aren't covering my neck, but my ears instead. The storm raging from the trees above look tame compared to the godly display from above, defending down on the desert behind me.
Even behind cover, I feel like my legs will be thrown out from under me, the storm gives off sound so loud it vaporized the treetops in front of itself. The sound beats and bites into my bones with constant vibrations dancing in the air and beating at my insides.
"—-" I can't make a sound. It's less like I'm being drowned out and more like I'm being smothered and mugged, my lunged being emptied like a shack.
Fuck shit if I didn't run when I got that alert I would be worse of than those trees, I would just die.
~~
『!!!!!!! Ruwn! Retweat! Escape!』
「happy end coming in 10, 9-」
"What the fuck?! What the fuck?! What the fuck?!" I say as I backpedal, at seven I do a full twist to sprint to the not far tree line.
"... Ok what t-"
The sun fell.
That's what it felt like it. The light alone must have wiped the shadows of everything around for miles. The center of heat didn't leave from in the storm, but I could see the trees around me instantly catch fire.
But that fire I was almost instantly snuffed out by the waves of sound destroying the not just the flames but the trees from the ankles up, everything was turned to dust and grown away. Trees far away buckled and bowed, leaves disappeared.
Leg holds us to the ground but even secured like this by my living hardness I can't help but feel we'll sent flying.
My hearing is useless now stolen from me by the explosive sound of thunder reverberates around my skull making me feel like my head was exploding.
My skull feels like it's constantly forming cracks sound bouncing around my head making the impression of my brain crashing around forming bruises.
All I can do is lay in a fetal position and cover my head.
~~
!
The pressure on the world and my head recedes like a low tide going back in on itself. The shockwave turns back on itself the constant explosion that has gone on for so long shrinks back to the storm. Hazarding a look back I notice leaves being pulled in showing where the shockwaves are when reaching the lighting they disintegrate and sparks erupted out of Dark and Darker's territory.
I quickly move to cover before the final boom. Although Leg grabbing us and going is what saves us. The explosive sound rings out one last time leaving me clutching my ears.
The wind fades to nothing leaving an unnatural stillness to the world and relief. For a moment I felt a weightlessness like never before. The dirt turns into trees, the trees turn into sky and my back impacts the ground.
My arms and legs spasm, my breath comes out in loud, gasping beats and my head rings from the pain. My vision gets dark, the last thing I see is Leg moving over to me before I pass out.
~~
*Dudooom!
Birds. Chirping and wings flapping along the sky alerts me to my newly awakened state. ah yes, that and the sound of thunder reduced to the sound of a missile strike and not a planet exploding.
I rise on shaking legs made worse by the ache of sound bumping through my chest like the sound from concert speakers only a hundred times worse. Me being, essentially, the main character of a game I wasn't instantly obliterated from Dark and Darker before the explosion of thunder that deforested a large bit of the redwoods from existence.
I miss my footing and fall back onto my cover barely managing to stand still while leaning on the tree. I'm so tired, but, it's not like my stamina is low, if I could stand I imagine I could walk and even run but for some reason I'm weak. Why?
I bring out my stats to check for debuffs but that's already a failed adventure before I start, if I had any adverse effects I would know without looking at it-!
"This-this is!"
___________________
{Me La Vey}
「weak gamer」
[Level – 0
Exp. (15_20)
Class –
Race – Human
Alignment – ?]
—!Physical stats!—
HP – .9 [.1 regen per minute]
SP – .3 [.1 regen per minute]
ATTACK .1
DEFENSE 0
STR – .9
END – 0*
DEX – .9 (5= 40 mph)=*8
AGL – .9
SPEED – 1
STAMINA – 2
?—mental stats—?
INT – .9
WIS – .9
PER – .9
CHA – .6
*metaphysical*
Energy – 1 [.5 regen per minute]
Energy skill – 1
Fuel efficiency – /2
LCK – .2
(caster bits {1})=X2 energy
pp>.11
___________________
My endurance is at zero!
「your END has been reduced to zero due to constant abuse by sound-
note if your health is reduced to zero in this state you will die and receive a perma-ban from life」*
After that notice, I wait in my hiding spot holding my breath before my endurance goes up to .1 and then .2 after that letting me know it wasn't like that for good.
At least I got something on what endurance does, negative health is an existence had no knowledge of after all. But would I be able to move in the negative? Probably not, I would be incapacitated and those last bits will signal my death when they poof away.
"Will I get my int up if I'm right?"
「yea」
I see. Wait... That one never answers!
"What the hell?!" I stand straight up only giving a slight wobble which I may need to thank Leg for.
"Ah! I need to move, come on Leg!"
I rip off one of the damaged branches and run over to the storm stopping before I get under its shadow right foot forward the other behind left-hand arm forward and twisting my right in front winding up my throw.
My body snaps like a whip the tree branch flying from my hand like an arrow.
*
The projectile shoots out, but when it comes to the divide between the now grassless dirt and the black ground of Dark and Darker's land the arrow is struck down by lightning, disappearing. It looked like it was wiped from existence.
* 「Throwing Lv 1」
"If I go in there I'll die... What about you?" I say nodding to Leg who gives me a hmm noise. There was a stretch of time before Leg realized what I was implying giving a violent shake and glare with its distinctive, not octopus-shaped eyes.
So... Leg doesn't want it since Leg's an animal I would think it would do things geared towards survival so ill go out on a... Limb... And assume that would be death.
"Leg, go on and bring me branches."
Leg wiggles four of its arms and crawls backwards to the trees. Now that I think about it let me follow Leg at least a bit just in case.
~~
"If you were wondering I'm searching for a safe path." I say while tossing collected tree parts into the storm only getting sparks burped up from lightning eating everything I throw in.
Leg starts helping.
Shit... We've been doing this for a while now and the only achievement gained was throwing sticks away. I'm starting to wonder if I'll have to walk around to find the safe bit, but then this safe not would be different from the safe bit of every territory?! All the others connect to a safe bit from the forest.
『Achievement gained! OwO
> time not weww spent
spend an amouwnt of time twying to do something pwoduwctive that was actuwawwy uwsewess twying in the fiwst pwace.』
"Uh, uhhh, nan-i?" I- I feel the sudden urge to hunt, but I'm not even that type of gamer.
『Rewawds awe given fow gaining achievements!』
...
...
...
"You fuckin wat mate?"
『+ 2 exp
+ .1 WIS Fow patience』
___________________
{Me La Vey}
「weak gamer」
[Level – 0
Exp. (17_20)⬅️
Class –
Race – Human
Alignment – ?]
—!Physical stats!—
HP – .9 [.1 regen per minute]
SP – .3 [.1 regen per minute]
ATTACK .1
DEFENSE 0
STR – .9 (5=300 kilograms)*60
END – .9
DEX – .9 (5= 40 mph)=*8
AGL – .9
SPEED – 1 (5= 30 mph)=*6
STAMINA – 2 (5= 10 minutes)=*2
?—mental stats—?
INT – .9
WIS – 1 ⬅️
PER – .9
CHA – .6
*metaphysical*
Energy – 1 [.5 regen per minute]
Energy skill – 1
Fuel efficiency – /2
LCK – .2
(caster bits {1})=X2 energy
pp>.11
___________________
... I'll get them all.
~~
"All right we're going in leg, hope on you won't die from this." Leg hops on my back "Wait-wait wait. Give me this, now I can- the others too... You see what I mean? And there!"
Standing chest puffed out and head held high in my new digs. Black tentacles completely covers my left leg like a wet suit, it trails the left side of my body the texture becomes more and more leathery the further up it goes until it reaches my shoulder where Leg's face pops out. Two of Legs arms go down my arm separating at my middle finger and connecting again as a spiral in my palm. Four of leg's arms trail down my back like a cape.
"How can you hear me? I can't even hear my self." this is true. The beating of thunder, while not as all-encompassing as before, still roars like a bitch.
As a matter of fact, how am I standing here? Even before the 'The dark' came with its massive explosion I was feeling kind of alright. Wait! Lightning is falling not that far from me but the thunder, loud as it is, sounds faded, like it's further than it is and behind a screen.
Its literally a different biome, I've played games where you can move two inches to the left and the heavy rain you were under is gone.
I'm talking about Minecraft of course.
"Let's-a-go!" I walk forward with a resolute face and a glare left hand in front of me. I pause for a moment before I press my middle finger into the spiral in my palm and with only a bit of lag, Leg moves the arms on my back above us making a spiral-shaped umbrella above us when all gaps close I rush into the storm.
I get one foot in, a few fingertips in, when my head enters the I momentarily lose my self to the parade of sound. I, for less than a second, blackout. The world went dark for a moment, the beating drum that has been with me since I arrived near Dark and Darker evolved into a heavy metal concert jarring my bones and leaving me numb fingers and toes paralyzed.
We haven't even been struck by lightning yet "Le-g!" my new suit pulls us back, we leave the shadows and fall back out. I only got my head in and I almost died.
*
"###" gasping for breath I'm just able to look back and see one of the four spare arms coming back from the trees. So that's how you pulled us back.
"Fu... Fuuuck." it takes me... A few to sit up and put my face in my hands.
"Fuck... Wha... Whuts... Wus that." I pass my arm up weakly letting it fall before a notification comes to me.
「 [Shock resistance]
Lv1
'Shock' damage reduced by 1 rank (natural)
'shock' can be electric, shockwaves, and sound. 」
『Youw won't pass ouwt now.』
My heart soars, my sinking feeling is quickly replaced with power "I'm broken!!" I roar at the sky waving my fists in the air.
With a wide smile, me and Leg go onto the belly of the beast.
"Gyaaaa!" the thump of my rump tells me I fell on the ground outside of Dark and Darker from my second FAILED attempt at going at the totem inside.
Oh yea, this is all for a totem! I almost forgot with how long I've been trying to WALK INTO THE FUCKING PLACE! Just great, lovely :)!
"HeeheehahaHAHAHA!"
*Spk
I'm snapped out of my crazed laughter by a slap from my Leg that made an amazing feat of self-control by not killing me but still hurting me.
「 [Shock resistance]
Lv2
'Shock' damage reduced by 2 rank (natural)
'shock' can be electric, shockwaves, and sound. 」
Yea what am I acting crazy for, just cause I wasted a lot of time?
That time wasted ended up not being a waste! Now with this, I might b able to walk into Dark and Darker. Squeezing my fist arms go above me and legs blocking out the lowering sun. I take my first step into Dark and Darker.
I'm almost blasted off my feet by the pressure but unlike before I'm still able to walk through it. I take a step in. Then two, further than ever before! Three. My entire body is in Dark and Darker, I made it.
The dark land of Dark and darker suddenly fills with light. I'm confused for a moment before after the light disappears, it was there for lest time it takes to blink I- oh. Oh!
"We survived a hit!"
But the next one wasn't so generous...
The next one last longer, but in reality, if it did last longer it couldn't have been more than a millisecond more. But that's all our shield could handle, electric pain flows down the limb meeting resistance but ultimately it still reaches me at a much weaker.
Once again we're forced to retreat with the addition, more like the subtraction on something. My health bar.
「HP – 0」
~~
9:31 am 7-26-2020
I decided to cut here so the flow doesn't suffer.
Also, last time I said binging AOT (and some other stuff) was the reason I was taking so long but making this made me realize that my other thing took more reading time. I do write while I watch after all.
I've been in the planning stages for two other stories.
Unlike this story, which I write off the top of my head and the plot I made when I first thought of this
The other two I plan to do planning for. Lots of planing. It may end up three but only two I'm hard-pressed on in writing up a draft for the world, the power system, and what names things will have.
1. project (JGR)
I have a lot of Buddhism inspiration with names, I'm not sure how much I'll lean on it, as in I'm just throwing names in but as of now I've already done some light reading from Wikipedia and whatever site comes up when I search a word. So a bit more than just there and zero-knowledge but looks like the more I read the more confusion.
2. project (SUM)
The second project I started on but is also the one least worked on having only one note in my notes app
3. project (tMD.)
I've been putting the most work into this one it has a lot less religious stuff in it, I'm already mostly set in only using names with only a bit of thought put into it.
JGR - 14 notes
SUM - 1 notes
tMD. - 11 notes
NEXT TIME:
Belly of storms