Chapter V

It took Cash all of five minutes to come to terms that Opie was now able to speak to him telepathically. After all, nothing was normal right now, was it? He had messages popping up in his vision, had randomly appeared in an underground giant mushroom cave, fought crazy huge ants, and miraculously been returned to peak health seconds from bleeding out. A talking dog wasn't that strange when put into comparison. 

Together, the man and his companion got up and began taking stock of their situation. Cash and Opie approached the trio of dead ants and stared down at the bodies. The ants were torn up. There were pieces of black exoskeleton lying everywhere and the mossy ground was covered in green ichor. Opie trotted over to bite onto the discarded antennae that he had dropped to help Cash towards the end of the fight.

"I wonder if there is a loot skill like those games I've played." Cash thought.

He slowly extended his hand and touched the smooth exterior shell of the first ant he killed and said "Loot."

As soon as he muttered the word, the ant started glowing a faint white with increasing intensity. As it approached the point where Cash thought he was going to have to close his eyes due to the glare, the ant suddenly disappeared. 

YOU'VE LOOTED ANT

YOU RECIEVE: 

ANT MEAT (10 LBS)

CHITIN PLATES (x4)

ANT MANDIBLE (x2)

"Oof! Hey! What the hell!" Cash exclaimed while holding his head as multiple pieces of ant loot bonked him on the skull. 

Opie padded over in curiosity and began to sniff at the ant meat. Several sniffs in, he abruptly sneezed directly onto the meat before huffing and padding away to inspect the other ant bodies. Cash quit rubbing at his head, grumbling about the "stupid system" and looked at the ant parts that Opie had just sneezed on.

"That's really convenient but how am I supposed to carry it? How about seeing if there's an inventory system." Cash thought.

"Inventory."

Nothing. 

Sighing, Cash said, "Well shit on me I guess."

After looting the other kills, a pile of ant loot lay on the ground before Cash and Opie. Cash had already decided to use the shirt off his back as a sack to help carry things but couldn't decide between carrying more meat or chitin plates. He figured he could fashion himself some sort of chitin plate armor if he could tie the plates across his body. It looked like he'd have just enough to cover his thighs and chest if he took up most of the space in his sack. That only left enough room for a couple of the green ant steaks though. Cash thought back to the fight with the ants and realized how close to death they had both came and made his decision. He packed his sack up with the chitin plates and a few steaks and hefted it over his shoulder before standing.

"Let's get moving buddy."

Cash looked around the small glen they were standing in and realized he had no clue where to go. He had just appeared in the mushroom cavern and had no recollection of getting there. He thought back to his first few moments in this new place and remembered being able to see the surface through the giant crystal on the ceiling.

"I think we're close to the surface, let's try to find an exit." Cash called out.

The duo began moving towards the outskirts of the giant cavern quietly, trying to steer away from more potential fights. After wandering the giant mushroom forest for close to an hour the pair found two openings in the cavern wall. The opening on the left had detailed stone blocks around it's arch and a dust covered but well-made staircase with flickering torches in sconces every several yards going up. The opening on the right had no embellishments and was a spiraling dark tunnel that seemed to descend deeper into the earth. Cash and Opie chose to go up, anxious to get away from the danger they had barely survived. 

The staircase continued to climb up in a circular path before spilling out into a flat tunnel that ended in intense light. Cash and Opie dragged themselves towards the light, the events and adrenaline from the last couple hours had forced a mind-numbing exhaustion onto the duo. As they neared the end of the tunnel, they were stopped mid-step when another message popped into their vision.

ERROR 

THE SURFACE IS CURRENTLY BEING INTEGRATED AND IS UNSUITABLE FOR SUSTAINING LIFE 

WAIT FOR INTEGRATION TO COMPLETE 

DURATION OF INTEGRATION: 1000 YEARS 

TIME REMAINING: 5 YEARS

Cash's eyes finally finished adjusting to the light as he took in the last of the system message. The message had said one-thousand years and only five years remaining until the integration finished. Did that mean he was in that black void for nine-hundred and ninety-five years? He and Opie were supposed to survive underground for five more years alone? The feeling of dread was building in his stomach as he closed the message without responding and looked out of the end of the tunnel.

From the exit of the tunnel the surface was awash in what looked like blue fire with nothing in sight. All he could see was a never-ending sea of blue flames held at bay from the tunnel entrance by some sort of system barrier. The sea of dancing flames was stunning to behold but its beauty was lost on him as he struggled to accept the last system message.

Cash was lost staring into the flames for what felt like hours before he heard Opie's whine. Cash looked down into the eyes of his companion for a moment before squatting and scratching his boy's head. The new reality they had found themselves in was terrifying but before Cash could think any more about the hopelessness of their situation, he heard his companion's voice in his head.

"I'm here with you Cassius. We'll survive."