Chapter 8: The Unrendered Island

After logging off, I couldn't stop thinking about ShadowStalker and our conversation on that unfinished island. His success as a streamer had hit me harder than I expected. But despite the feelings of inadequacy gnawing at me, I didn't want to lose this friendship over my fucking complex. But for now, I had to catch some sleep, because I was definitely going to get any sleep later. 

After a few restless hours of sleep, I found myself back at my desk, logging in once more. 

The island was still in the process of rendering. Parts of it flickered between existence and a void of nothingness. ShadowStalker was there, sitting casually on a rock near the portal, as if he'd been watching a cinema. 

"Hey," I said, walking over to him. 

He looked up, his character's crimson eyes locking onto mine. "Hey. You disappeared pretty fast there. Needed to shit or something?" 

"Yeah, sorry about that," I replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "Just had some stuff to take care of." 

"No worries," he said with a shrug. "But you missed the part where I started naming the unrendered parts of the island. This one here?" he pointed to a chunk of floating land, "I'm calling it 'Glitchberg Prime.'" 

I laughed, some of the tension from before easing out of me. "Feeling creative today, aren't we?" But no, it was mostly me pretending. And hoping, it didn't stay a pretend forever. 

"I'm always creative," he smirked. "So, ready to see this place finally come together?" He stood up and stretched. 

"Pretty much." 

We stood together, watching as the island slowly began to take shape. The edges solidified, colors deepened, and textures sharpened. It was like watching a painting come to life, the voids filling in with lush forests, jagged mountains, and winding rivers. 

But no, we weren't necessarily going to wait for the whole thing to render. We were going to get on the jagged edges and watch it from first-row seats! 

Or so was the plan, but the moment we set foot on the island, roughly 100 meters finished rendering. 

Oh well. 

>> New Quest: Explore the Forbidden Island. (C) 

"Chained quest," SS said. "Gonna take a while. You good?" 

"For the next three-four hours? Yup. Anything more than that would be detrimental to my health." 

"You talk like a little girl, you know," he snickered. 

"Like you're one to talk," I sneered back. 

I also turned my stream on. Two viewers. 

We moved forward, the terrain now fully visible under our feet. The island was massive, a sprawling landscape filled with potential dangers. It didn't take long before we encountered our first monsters—creatures that seemed to be a mix of stone and plant, their bodies covered in moss and roots. 

Nothing special about them, though. They were just mindless beasts, which went down with single hits. 

Level up! 

My fifth level so far. My stats increased and I had some points but I kept holding that off. I loved saving up tons of points and then powering up later down the line in short bursts to feel the high. At least usually but I was making an exception for today. 

"Nice," I said. I pulled up my character menu. There it was—a new set of attribute points waiting to be allocated. "Strength, Agility, Intelligence..." 

"Don't forget about Endurance," ShadowStalker chimed in. "You don't have potions, so better to be safe than sorry." 

I nodded, splitting my points between Strength, Agility, intelligence, and Endurance. The difference was noticeable immediately—I felt faster, stronger, more in control of my movements. 'Maybe I shouldn't save up for longer than necessary.' 

ShadowStalker was busy upgrading his own stats, his character glowed slightly as he did. "Alright, let's keep moving. This place has to have more than just garden-variety monsters." 

"Half of it's still unrendered, so it's only a matter of time," SS said. 

The air was thick with an unnatural fog. 

Suddenly, a new notification flashed across our screens. 

>>Quest Updated: Find the Forbidden Corridor. (C) 

"Well, that sounds ominous," I said, glancing at ShadowStalker. 

"The fun kind?" he replied, already moving ahead. 

"Why would ominous be fun?" 

"Why not?" 

"That is the question, innit?" I sighed. 

Viewer 5: Damn right. 

We navigated through the dense fog, the path ahead barely visible. It felt like the island was trying to lead us somewhere, and soon enough, we found ourselves standing before a massive stone structure—a corridor leading into the heart of the island. 

"This must be it," I said, staring at the entrance. It was carved with ancient runes, the kind that promised danger and secrets in equal measure. 

"Be ready," ShadowStalker said, his voice tinged with excitement. 

"Kinda am, I think." I nodded, gripping my weapon tightly. "Let's go." 

And then all of a sudden— 

The area where we had landed was dense with trees, a thick forest spreading out in every direction. The air was heavy with the scent of pine and something sweeter—flowers that dotted the forest floor in vibrant hues of blue, red, and purple. 

"Wow," I muttered, looking around. The attention to detail was incredible, with leaves that swayed gently in the wind and sunlight filtering through the canopy above. But as beautiful as it was, I knew better than to let my guard down. "Was not expecting this." 

"Looks peaceful," ShadowStalker said. "But I bet this place is full of shit. I don't trust the Devs at all." 

"Yeah, me either," I agreed. "Something about those flowers seems... off." 

We moved cautiously into the forest, our eyes scanning for any signs of danger. As we walked, I couldn't help but admire the design. The fauna here was unlike anything I'd seen before in the game. There were massive ferns with fronds that curled like the tails of sleeping cats, towering trees with bark that looked almost metallic, and clusters of glowing mushrooms that illuminated the darker parts of the forest with a soft, eerie light. Heck, I didn't think it was even possible for this time to have graphics like this! 

But it wasn't just the plants. The forest was teeming with life—colorful insects flitted between the flowers, their wings shimmering in the sunlight. There were tiny beetles with shells that looked like polished gemstones, dragonflies with wings that left a trail of sparkling dust, and butterflies with patterns that seemed to shift and change as they moved. 

As beautiful as it all was, I knew we had to be careful. I noticed that the flowers we passed emitted a faint, almost imperceptible mist; vaguely sweet-smelling. My HUD flashed a warning: >>Potential Debuff: Effects Unknown. I quickly pulled up my status screen to check my debuff status, nothing so far. 

"Watch out for the flowers," I said. "They could be poisonous or worse." 

He nodded, eyeing the plants warily. "And those insects don't look friendly either." 

He was right. Some of the insects had sharp, needle-like horns and stings, and others had mandibles that looked strong enough to bite through armor. We steered clear of them as best we could, keeping to the path that wound through the forest. 

Eventually, we came to a part of the forest where the trees formed a natural corridor, their trunks perfectly aligned to create a tunnel of sorts. The leaves above were so thick that they blocked out most of the light, casting the path ahead in shadow. 

I suppose the previous one was just the entrance and this was the real corridor. 

As we approached, a notification popped up on our screens: >>Quest Updated: Defeat Lord Treant. 

ShadowStalker readied his lance, a determined look on his face. "Looks like we're in for a fight." 

I gripped my sword, my heart racing. "Aye." 

Viewer 5: Let's go, boys, let's go! 

We moved forward, the shadows growing darker and the air growing colder with each step. The forest seemed to close in around us, the trees towering like sentinels, their branches reaching out like skeletal arms. 

Suddenly, the ground beneath us trembled, and the trees at the end of the corridor parted to reveal a massive figure. Lord Treant emerged from the shadows, his body a twisted mass of roots, vines, and bark, with glowing green eyes that radiated malice. 

He let out a roar that shook the very ground, and we immediately fell into battle positions, ready to take on whatever this ancient guardian of the forest had in store for us.