Chapter 4: "Leveling Up With... Hugs? Or How I Became a Stone Hug Shaman"

# Part 1: Dawn in the Realm of the Absurd

The Stone Strike Mine greeted the morning with a ritual of humiliation. The sun, like a giant rusty nail, broke through the clouds of ash, and the air rang with the cries of Grognard:

— GET UP, BAG OF BONES! TODAY YOU CLEAN THE "MOUTH OF ETERNITY"!

**[Quest updated: "Cleaning the Guild Sanctuary"

Description:

— Scrape out 300 years of sacred mold

— Don't ask questions about why the sanctuary looks like a dragon's mouth

Reward:

— "Tear of Ash" (artifact for summoning a rain of stones)

— Chance to not be eaten by the spirit of the mine]**

I crawled out of the hut, catching a stone thrown by Grognard with the inscription "Alarm Clock 2.0" on the go. The system highlighted my status:

**[Condition:

— Chronic lack of sleep (-40% to reaction)

— Hungry anger (+25% to sarcasm)

— Existential hunger (I want meaning, but will have to make do with fried bugs)]**

— Hey, Grognard, maybe today without sacred molds? — I tried to bargain.

— Do you want to change the quest? — The bearded man grinned, taking a slug the size of a piglet from his bosom. — Then do "Taming the Seer Slug". It predicts the future. Mostly — your death.

The slug released a bubble with the inscription: _"Tomorrow you will vomit rotten mushrooms"_.

[Accepted quest: "Dialogue with the Oracle"

Objective: Find out the secret of the "Weeping Caves" from the Seer Slug

Reward:

— "Foresight" skill (level 1)

— Answer to the question "Why am I doing this?")]

# Part 2: Tactile Madness and the Birth of a Legend

Cleaning the "Mouth of Eternity" turned out to be meditative torture. I scraped the teeth of a stone idol, whose mouth was covered with runes: _"Only through suffering is a master born"_. The system, as if mockingly, gave out hints:

**[Try licking the wall! (Chance to discover the secret: 0.5%)]**

"No way," I muttered, but after an hour of despair I still licked the stone.

**[Effect received: "Taste of Eternity" - now you can feel the age of objects with your tongue.

Discovered:

— Age of the idol: 1,502 years

— Main ingredient: Tears of miners

— Hidden message: "Hug me" ]**

"Hug me?" I stared at the wall. "Seriously?

But the system was already glowing with a new notification:

**[Hidden skill unlocked: "Tactile Link" (Lv. 1)

Description: The longer the contact with the object, the more experience.

Warning: Do not try to hug the lava.]**

The first experiment is a hug with an idol. I pressed myself against the cold stone, feeling the vibrations of centuries penetrate my bones.

**[Skill "Stone Hug" (Lv. 1) acquired!

Effect:

— +1% elemental resistance

— Understanding the sadness of minerals]**

— What are you sad about? — I asked the idol, feeling a strange connection.

In response, a voice like the grinding of slabs sounded in my head:

_"I was carved for worship. But only fear is worshiped. Become... different."

Part 3: Stool Shaman and Grognard's Wrath

Inspired by the success, I began to experiment:

- **Pickaxe:** 10 minutes of hugging unlocked the skill _"Love of Iron"_ (damage +5% to metal enemies).

- **Stool** in the dining room whispered after half an hour of hugging: _"I am made of demonic apple wood. Don't sit on me drunk."_

- **Grognar**, caught cleaning a pickaxe, received an unexpected hug:

**[Skill "Social Disaster" (Lvl 1)

Effect:

— People avoid you within 5 meters

— Chance to cause confusion in the enemy: +30%]**

— YOU HUGGED ME. WHY. — The bearded man shook me like a sack of potatoes.

— This is... pumping! — I exhaled. — The system said!

— Your system is a damned virus! Yesterday you hugged an explosive crab, today — ME! Tomorrow you'll take on the SLIME CONSCIOUSNESS?

[Received quest: "Embrace of the Apocalypse"

Goal: Embrace 10 intelligent creatures level 20+

Reward:

— Title "The Last Shaman"

— Curse "Fateful Embrace")]

Part 4: Crab Revenge and the Birth of Tactics

Escape from Grognard led me to the Underground Lake, where stone crabs the size of carts were chewing sulfur crystals. One of them, with a crown of shards, recognized me:

— YOU... HUGS... — its tentacles beat the booming drum of its belly.

**[Monster: Avenging Crab (Level 18)

Abilities:

— "Dance of Tremors" (causes avalanches)

— "Claw of Fate" (predicts your death)

— Weakness: fear of tenderness]**

— Let's not fight! — I shouted, remembering the skill. — Maybe... we can hug?

The crab froze, its stone eyes widened. I stepped forward, clasping the shell.

**[Activated: "Embrace with Danger" (Lv. 2)

Effect:

— The monster loses aggression for 10 seconds

— Your armor absorbs 50% of damage]**

— See, we can be friends! — I stroked the cold shell, feeling the vibrations of its thoughts: hunger, anger... and loneliness.

**[The Avenging Crab is confused!

Unlocked a hidden trait: "Thirst for communication"

New quest: "Teach the Crab to be friends"

Stages:

1. Find a friend for the Crab (recommended: Slime, Dwarf, Mad Miner)

2. Host a "game night" (risk of death: 65%)

Reward: Ally "Philosopher Crab")]**

But the peace did not last long. Laughter came from the crab's back - the Seer Slug was sitting there, whispering:

- HE EMBRACES ENEMIES... SOON HE WILL EMBRACE DEATH...

The crab roared, and I had to run, fighting back with my pickaxe, which was now glowing pink - the effect of "Love of Iron".

# Part 5: The Council of Shamans and the Dance of Stones

At night, the "Council of the Unwanted" gathered around the fire — miners with the most absurd skills:

- **Lyra** with the skill _"Talk to the Wind"_ (the wind lies).

- **Toran**, whose pickaxe played mournful marches.

- **Zekk** — a dwarf who pumped up _"Art of Falling"_ (damage from falls was converted into healing).

"Hug stones?" Zekk chuckled, sipping mushroom ale. "I once hugged a lava flow. Got the skill _"Burning Feelings"_. Now my enemies are burning with shame.

Lyra threw a crystal into the fire, causing a fiery whirlwind with curses:

"The system loves cruel jokes. But what's happening to you... - she pointed at my hands, glowing from tactile skills - is ancient magic. The shamans of the "Kissed Land" communicated with the spirits this way.

**[Secret revealed: "Embraces as a language" (5%)

New title: "Mediator between worlds"

Effect: Spirits see you as a sorbent between realities.]**

Toran played a melody on his pickaxe, which made the stones dance. Even Grognard, who was passing by, involuntarily took a couple of flamenco steps.

[Secret revealed: "Dance of stones"

Advice: Use hugs in time with the music to enhance the effect.]

## Part 6: The Fateful Embrace and the Prophecy

Deciding to test the limits of the skill, I descended into the "Heartbeat of the Mountain" - a cave where the walls contracted in time with the pulse. In the center stood an altar with a crystal covered in cracks. The inscription read: _"He who embraces the pain will become a bridge."_

"Well then..." I hugged the crystal, feeling the cracks digging into my skin.

A vision overwhelmed me:

- **Cities of Ash**, where people fought the sky with pickaxes.

- **Slime Consciousness** devouring reality.

- **My reflection** with a pickaxe tearing apart the fabric of the world.

The system's voice distorted, becoming a deep roar:

**[Main Quest Updated: "The Fate of Embraces"

Objective:

— Unite the three worlds (humans, spirits, slugs)

— Find the "Source of the Program"

— Rewrite the rules

Reward:

— Freedom... or the power to become a new system.]**

The crystal exploded with light, knocking me out of the vision. A spiral tattoo burned on my arm - the mark of the "Mediator".

Part 7: Glossary of Hugs (side notes)

_From Akka's diary:_

1. **Survival Rule #6:** If the monster is stronger, hug it. If that doesn't help, hug yourself.

2. **System Philosophy:** Everything is a resource. Even your madness.

3. **Shamans' Secret:** Every hug is a dialogue. Even with a stool.

4. **Prophecy of the Seer Slime:** _"You will hug the end to give birth to the beginning. Or just burst.".