Intus Malum

It has been some time since my arrival, and I have only found more questions, and the old guy doesn't want to answer any of them. He didn't even tell me why or how he knew my name.

This place is supposedly one of the explorer bases of the Intus Malum, one of the most popular groups of Core explorers. They are known for having a larger number of contractors and relying more on quantity than quality. 

Which would explain the situation of the people living here.

Their advances were stopped and they have been trapped inside this camp for over one year now because of that giant. Intus Malum has sent reinforcement, but the tragic result remained the same.

The only thing that had changed from before was that they had to bury more people than ever before.

At the center of this base, there sits a large cemetery, where everyone that had died in the unwinnable battle against the beast. Well truly, these graves are devoid of any corpse, just an empty coffin destroyed from the pressure of the dirt.

Dying inside The Core is considered one of the worst ways to die, as your body is consumed by it, leaving your body to be lost and your soul unable to be fully put to rest.

There are also stories of how a family had lost all of their memories of one of their members after the tragedy died at the hand of a giant serpent inside The Core.

This story had gone viral, and soon everyone had tried to find a way to prevent this. Photos, diaries, notes many have tried all of these methods just to not forget a loved one.

Whenever I wandered around the camp, I saw how all the guards had wristbands with their names on them. They always had it on, not taking it off even for a second.

I didn't know why they had them, after all, they seemed pretty useless. But now that I think of it, these wristbands are the only proof of their existence. A way to be remembered and to not die all alone in the darkness.

If there's one death that is worse than death inside The Core. It's dying all alone, slowly losing your life with only the darkness being there to consult you.

I know this as I have lived this death. Of course, I wasn't alone, but the people around me weren't really a representation of having someone stay by your side on your deathbed.

But enough of this. I had to somehow escape since staying here wouldn't help me with everything. I had to start my first scenario.

Scenarios, the way out of this mess. As much as people wish for it to not be true, there is no way to escape The Core by only wandering around searching for your beast. Since The Core is made by memories, its length is infinite, as such there is has and will not be a way to escape by just exploring.

But as cursed as The Core is, it's not something that is impossible. 

Scenarios are games one can participate inside, and of course, these games are made by memories. Winning scenarios depend entirely on the game itself, as there are some where you win by getting to a point and somewhere you have to battle a beast.

If you are able to triumph over the scenario, you get one piece of a compass. And of course, you have to acquire all of the pieces to learn the location to freedom.

It is said that to survive in The Core, it is best to do it alone. Whenever someone says this they are referring to these scenarios, as most of them... have only one winner.

Even if the game of the scenario is a team game, there is a big chance there will still be only one to get out alive. 

Betrayers, lies, and manipulation are the most common things you will see in a scenario. The weakest may be the strongest, the most courageous may be the most frightened, and the biggest may be the smallest. It's a game where you put your reasoning to the side and survive on instinct.

No one is who you think you are. You could join a team with the last to be chosen person, and then later find out their real face and power.

Getting to a scenario shouldn't be hard with the knowledge I had acquired by surviving the entirety of my past life inside it. The hard part was escaping.

I couldn't run, as It would just catch up to me, plus I didn't have any more use for my skill.

And I definitely couldn't fight it all by myself, that is as good as suicide.

I had to somehow convince the people of this camp to join me. But keeping in mind the fear that has corrupted their heaths, this would prove to be harder than I thought.

But then again, my passive was entirely made to make it easier to make people kiss my feet. So if I wasn't able to do it, who was?

I grinned my teeth, as I jumped onto the bed of the room that was assigned to me. But as I landed, I could hear my spine being broken in two. Needless to say, the bed wasn't as soft as I had thought.

But it's not like you could expect something amazing from some people who have been trapped together in this dump for over a year.

I got up, scratching my back where my body had first made contact with the bed when I heard the door open and the old man entered.

"Im sorry if I'm disturbing you, but I have some news I've been meaning to tell you."

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. Was he finally going to answer my questions? Well, that's a first, never had my complaints worked.

"I hope you don't mind sharing a room with someone." And with that, a familiar face entered the doorway.

'Well would you look at that, it moreover looks like you're copying my flow now.' I smiled mischievously