Virtual Trainer (2)
The black void I was standing in burst into a hundred colorful pixels, all flying and rearranging themselves to create a living space. I watched as darkness became trees, grass, and the water flowing over creek rocks. I could smell the air and hear birds, and my bare feet tickled from the grass.
The void was gone, and I was now in the woods, with Angel standing beside me.
[This must be realism five.]
I had to agree. There was almost no way to tell that this place wasn't real.
"What now?" I asked, walking forward to get a feel for my surroundings.
[Pull up your Systems.]
I called upon the Systems, and they appeared in front of me.
DREAMs unlocked: (3/????)
Choose DREAM type:
Ability: 0 available. (Requires increased combat, battle, or practical experience to unlock)
Abilities: n/a
Origin: 0 available. (Requires increased renown/relations)
Core: 0 available. (Requires progress towards [REDACTED]) >
<[REDACTED]
Abilities (2 available):
-Must achieve ? Core DREAM to access
-Must achieve ? Core DREAM to access
Pause: Freezes time. Current 5-second max.
Memoral Empath: Requires high favor/trust and physical contact. Allows the user to view a conscious beings' memories. Memory picked in regards to targets emotional state or at random. >
[There are a few things we know here.]
Angel stood next to me, staring intently at the screen. She lifted her hand and placed her finger on the Dreamer System.
[You have unlockable abilities, which could entail a number of things. To unlock these you must train and experience combat scenarios. It isn't clear what this could include...could you read a book about hand-to-hand combat and gain an ability? Or do you actually have to practice it?]
She paused, pondering, as her eyes trailed to the [Redacted] System.
[Either way, it is a cheat ability. It basically insinuates you have a large number of unlockable Etherial abilities, which is akin to having a large number of Systems. It's insane. And this!]
She shouted, her finger moving to the fourth line of redacted.
[You can pause time! Just, whenever! That's phenomenal. People would kill to be able to do that. And it says 'current max', meaning you could probably raise the amount.]
"Oh yeah, you're right." I said, staring at the pause ability, "But, how do I activate any of these abilities?"
[Systems are always activated, and so are abilities. Remember, a System is just an organized conglomerate of Etheria that denotes and records your natural talents and dispositions. So it can never be 'turned off.' Using these abilities, however, requires the pulling of Etheria from the environment to channel through your System, and consequently use your ability. The tiers of disper-]
"Okay, okay, enough," I raised my hands, "Why don't I just try it? I can only learn so much from explanations."
[...]
Angel dissipated, leaving me by myself in the grassy clearing. I sat down, legs crossed, and closed my eyes. My hands weaved together in my lap. I took in every sound, smell, and sensation and let it pass through my mind. I located the buzzing feeling inside and willed it to spread throughout my core and limbs. As I practiced channeling my inner Etheria, the buzzing began to slow, and instead became a dull hum as the magic flowed in harmony with my breath and mind, connecting to the point where I could no longer feel it, but knew it was there. The world around faded away. I felt almost sleepy.
As I continued I began to sense something trying to break through my skin, to enter as I inhaled. It was similar to the flow within, so I reached out to it, calling it in. When it passed through and I connected with the outside environment, I gasped for air, my heart pounding loudly, back-breaking out in a sweat. I concentrated, gripping my pants and willing the Etheria outward. As it left it became easier to breathe, and I sighed, opening my eyes, still engaged.
[Well done.]
The world seemed clearer and more alive. My senses had sharpened slightly, enough to see and hear a little farther.
[Congratulations, you are now channeling Etheria.]
"Does everyone feel like this?" I marveled, stretching out my arms and legs, easing into the new sensations.
[Not to my knowledge. Usually, the stronger the System the more apparent it is that Etheria is being used.]
I wondered how I would've felt before my memories had disappeared, knowing that I had a System that might be powerful, and an aberration System at that. Would I have rushed to tell Li? Any of the other friends I couldn't remember? I could see myself rushing to write a letter home, informing my mother of my status. Would she be proud? Would I be happy that she was proud?
A squishing sound to my left made me jump and turn to the source. A few feet away from me was a bulbous blue creature, that didn't seem to have any limbs or discerning features. It gurgled and sloshed around as if trying to talk, and I stared at it, dumfounded
"What?" I mumbled, peering closer, "There are...monsters in here?"
[It's a Slime. A Class 1 rift mob. Often found in planetary regions that are thick in moisture, caves, and woodland.]
"Angel, I guess I forgot to ask, but are there other planets than this one? The Headmistress mentioned it, and these rifts...don't just go to other places in our world, right?"
[Oh. Yes. There are other planets.]
"Why do you sound like you forgot?"
[Because I did. It seems that I- look out!]
Angel suddenly cried out as the slime, which had been still until now, lurched forward. Tumbling at me it spat and hissed, the grass beneath it withering.
'Acid?'
[Move!]
I began to run away, but the slime quickened its pace, causing me to break into a sprint.
"Why are we running?" I huffed, "This isn't real, right?"
[We put it on realism 5.]
"Which means!?"
The slime bounced off a tree as I slipped into the woods, shooting it straight towards my leg. I jumped to avoid it, tripping and rolling through the wet grounds. Branches poked into my arms, and I wiped the dirt from my eyes.
'It hurts?'
[Yes. The more real the simulation, the more genuine results the training provides. However, that makes the training increasingly more dangerous. All manner of injuries are possible here, and they will transfer over to your physical body. The only exception is fatal injuries, in which you will be removed from the simulation. Or, at least, that's what I pieced together from the runes.]
'We were only in there for like five minutes! How did you put all that together?'
The slime cut through the bushes to where I was sprawled on the ground. I glanced around for a weapon and grabbed a thick stick from the log next to me. It snapped off with a loud crack, and I flung it towards the slime, slashing across its body in midair. It sailed back towards a tree, slinging against the bark before popping back off and onto the ground.
'It isn't taking damage by being thrown against anything. Or when slashed.'
I gazed down at the stick.
'Maybe a stab wound, then?'
I tightened my grip around the stick, leaping forward towards the stunned slime. It bounced at me and I slashed again, knocking it back. Before it could recover I yelled out, raising the stick above my head and aiming towards its center with all my might. The stick sunk into the slime before piercing all the way through, causing the creature to explode into a thousand chunks of acidic goo, some of which landed on my limbs, and in my hair.
"Ow, shit, that hurts!" I cried, clenching my jaw as I used my shirt to wipe the gel off. I could smell that some of my hair had been burned, but hopefully, it wasn't as noticeable as the now visible burns that had appeared on my arms and legs.
I took a deep breath. The remnants of slime were sizzling and dissipating into the ground. The forest was quiet, except for the occasional chirp of a bird. I checked my surroundings, before falling back against a nearby tree. The adrenaline was still pumping, and everything ached.
"Hey Angel," I called out, "What the hell was that? Realism 5? Are you kidding me?"
[You fought well.]
"Fought well my ass! That was only a low-level monster and I almost got burnt alive! If you knew it was going to be this bad, why didn't you tell me? Is this fun for you?"
Before she could respond, I heard a small ding.
I ignored it, curling up, and stuffing my head between my knees. My emotions were wrecked. I had never been in a situation like that before, where I felt my life was threatened, and it was hard to handle. I blinked, trying to keep the tears back.
"Why didn't that lady warn me?" I mumbled.
[...it was probably in the help section of the opening menu.]
"Great. Wonderful," I spat, "If I'd been alone, I probably would've checked that. But instead, I've got a crazy woman in my head who has now put me through not one, but two life-threatening situations in under a week!" I yelled out, pulling at my hair. Angel remained silent.
There was a squishing sound above me.
"No-" I mumbled, unbelieving, before leaping to my feet, weapon in hand. I managed to jump out of the way just as another, smaller slime, fell down from the tree into the spot I had just been sitting. This slime was faster and lunged at me before I could ready myself. I raised my arm, guarding my face, but there was searing firelike pain across my forearm as it squished against me.
My mouth shot open, and a pathetic cry slipped from my throat. I instinctively flung my arm, throwing the monster back. It tumbled through leaves. I raced forward, hitting it back and forth to stun it before rearing up and stabbing it multiple times. It burst, and this time the explosion was smaller. The acid damage remained minimal.
I didn't take a breather this time and began to run out of the woods the moment it was dead and towards the clearing I'd started in. I wanted to get out of here. I didn't want to find out about monsters any more dangerous than this.
Upon reaching the clearing, I called out to Angel in my mind, too afraid that speaking would draw attention. I crouched into the grass, hiding from view.
'How do I leave?'
[You have to remain for an hour before leaving. Only in Realism 1 can you leave anytime.]
My eyes widened, and I wanted to scream with anger.
'When I said I wanted to get stronger, I meant doing laps, pushups, maybe even some basic weapon training if I was feeling up to it. I didn't mean this! I'm not learning anything! I'm just scared, and in pain. If you are going to be like this then I'm done listening to you. How am I supposed to trust someone who puts me in dangerous situations without telling me?'
[It was to ensure that you-]
'Ensure that I what, agreed!? Olyntheo forbid I say no! This is a two-way relationship Angel. We are stuck together, whether you like it or not, so I need you to be honest with me, just as I have been with you.'
Angel was silent for some time, and I could feel her thinking. Meanwhile, I was maximizing my Etherial intake, sharpening my senses in case something tried to approach me. Eventually, I relaxed, and my breathing slowed. I sat down in the grass, hand still gripping the burned and gooey branch.
[Do you remember the first dream, Estelle? The nightmare about RavenArts?]
I didn't respond, but she took my silence as a yes.
[It was strange, seeing a dream about a place we didn't recognize, suffering from a tragedy that wasn't occurring. I thought that maybe RavenArts had experienced some kind of strange events in the past, that you had recalled this from your subconscious memories and inserted yourself into it.]
Angel materialized, the grass blowing through her transparent body. She sat down in front of me, not meeting my bitter gaze, hands folded gently in her lap.
[But after seeing your other dreams, I realized something didn't make sense. In all these memories, we see them from your point of view, meaning they are something you have experienced, or...]
She trailed off.
"Will experience." I finished.
[Yes. Estelle, you may have already begun to guess this, but your dreams cannot be memories. The lack of scars on your hands, the fact that you have never been to RavenArts as a student and have recalled two events of which you were an established student, talking with friends or experiencing tragedy. This leads me to wonder if your Dreamer System isn't a memory recall System at all, but a clairvoyant ability centered on you. It would make more sense than a System that existed solely to lock away your memories.]
I rubbed my face with my hands.
"So what happened, or, will happen at RavenArts sometime in the winter. Those...things. Could it all really occur?"
[There is no way to tell for sure. This is why I want to find that rift that Li talked about in your dream. The one at the bottom of the lake. If it really appears, we can conclude that these aren't just strange fantasies, but something that has a place in reality.]
"But why have me do it? Why not let events play out as they did in the dream?"
[Because they may not play out that way Estelle. And in fact, we may not want them to. Do you want that first nightmare to happen as it did? I don't. I want you to survive. And if you are going to do that, you need to become stronger. Meaning we can't take any shortcuts. If those horrible things burst from the sky this winter, then we have to be ready to fight them in less than a year. That means we train like it's real. Fight like it's real. And live with the consequences.]
"So that's why I'm burnt and battered from slime goo."
[More or less. But you're right. I should've told you. We are in this together, and I should have more faith that you will do what is best for both of us.]
Another ding rang out around me.
The green menu popped up again.
I waited for Angel to say something, but she didn't, sitting quietly without looking at the screen.
I reached up and pressed the 'yes' to switch settings, and entered the code for the standard training room. Angel looked up.
[I thought you would leave.]
The forest began to scatter into pixels, which quickly faded to darkness. Then, the room rearranged itself into a large track surrounded by a variety of interactive equipment.
"I'm not going to quit already, I scolded, standing up to brush my pants off, "I just got scared. As anyone would do when you expect them to handle a dangerous situation blindfolded."
[...yes.]
"Let's finish with some basic training. Running and the like. No monsters. I can't do it anymore today. And, besides, I'm going to need to find some way to cover my wounds before I go meet with Li, and I already have too many." I wondered if there were medical supplies available for purchase at the desks.
As I temporarily soothed my burns at a nearby water fountain, Angel began to walk me through her optimal workout regiment. My mind wandered to the System notifications. There was a pretty good chance I had unlocked an ability, and now that I was free from the fear of slimes, I was horribly curious to find out what it was.
The dreams. The rifts. The monsters. My family.
I clenched my fist.
Should I fight back?