With the raccoon safely in my arms, I faced the swarm of at least fifty giant ants closing in. My mind raced, grappling with my newfound abilities and the dangerous situation. The ants suddenly retreated, scuttling back into the darkness as quickly as they had appeared. I was relieved to see them retreat but equally puzzled. After cautiously waiting for the last few to part, I collapsed to the ground, panting, my body aching from dozens of tiny bites. The raccoon in my arms was trembling, its small body slick with a water and dirt. I quickly examined it, relieved to only find the initial leg wound. I tried to stand, but my left leg gave out, sending me crashing back down.
Panic set in as I realized something was seriously wrong. I couldn't control my leg, and an eerie numbness was beginning to creep up my right arm. I stared at my leg, horrified to see it slightly swollen and darkened around the bites. The ants must have somehow injected some kind of paralytic venom.
"Oh no," I muttered, trying to move my leg with my hands. It was no use. I could barely feel my leg anymore, and my arm was growing heavier by the second. My breathing was becoming ragged with panic, each inhale a struggle as I wondered how far the venom could've spread. I couldn't afford to be paralyzed—not here, not now.
Desperate, I thought back to the mysterious rewards I'd been granted earlier. Maybe they could help resist or fight off the venom. As if responding to my thoughts, the green screen flickered back to life in front of me.
[Would you like to claim your rewards?]
[ Yes | No]
I didn't hesitate. "Yes," I whispered, my voice barely audible. The screen flashed, and four items materialized in mid-air before falling to the ground: one glowing stone etched with an intricate runic symbol and three small balls with symbols on them. All four items were giving off different colored auras. I quickly thought back to the reward names, specifically the 'Perk Cores'. I hastily lifted my left arm and picked up all four items. A green panel appeared in response.
[Would you like to absorb the Perk Cores and Trait Rune?]
[Yes|No ]
I attempted to speak out in agreement but was unable to form a proper 'yes', my mouth was extremely dry and my breathing had become even more exasperated. I closed my eyes and intensely focused on accepting the rewards in my mind. No less than a second later, the screen disappeared and the items began to be 'absorbed'. The energy surrounding them begin to swirl in size and then in one swift motion, the items collasped into a mist like energy and began to envelop my hand. The aura continued to swirl and began to travel up towards my left arm. The energy soon headed towards the center of my chest, seemingly churning into a whirlpool around my sternum. I felt the same familiar heat flow through my arm and body where it stopped in what seemed like a collection of that warmth. My breathing had smoothened out and I felt slightly less exhausted but the screen once again interupted.
[Perk Cores: 'Immortal Body', 'Linked Growth', and 'Analyzing Eye' have succesfully been absorbed and engraved!
Trait Rune: 'Enhanced Senses' has been engraved!]
As the last of the energy entered my body, I collapsed back against the cave wall, utterly spent. The raccoon nestled closer, its tiny body a small comfort on my lap. I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts and still feeling the heat that lingered throughout my body. I had began to feel slightly better and my leg pain had instantly subsided, although not by much. I was also still shocked from seeing numerous unusually giant ants. I still had less than two days left to finish this 'trial', and now I was more vulnerable than ever. I needed to use everything at my disposal, and thinking back to the numerous screens that had shown up earlier, I focused on my previously mentioned Perk, Infinite Merge. The screen instantly reacted.
[Primary Perk: Infinite Merge- Allows the user to extract a copy of Traits and Perks from others, as well as their own, and seamlessly fuse them into entirely new ones. User cannot merge skills. Any combination will create two to five abilites, the user can select only one and must wait a day to one week before attempting the same combination again.]
This 'Perk' was definitely seemed useful, but attempting to gain a better understanding of my 'abilities' I focused on my other Primary Perk, 'Power Bestowal' and my other four new abilities.
[Secondary Trait: Enhanced Senses(G)- Enhances the five senses greatly.]
[Primary Perk: Power Bestowal- Enables the user to grant their own Traits or Perks to others. Upon transferring a power, the user permanently loses that specific ability, bestowing it fully to the recipient. User cannot bestow skills. User must be touching the recipitant during the transfer to be succesful. Can be used once a day.]
[Secondary Perk: Immortal Body- You will not die unless your heart is destroyed and head are cut off simultaneously.]
[Secondary Perk: Linked Growth- Links the growth rate of two Traits.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVe0DRl07c
Traits Linked- Telekinesis(E) and Shield Manipulation(E). ]
[Secondary Perk: Analyzing Eye- Shows short information about an object or life form.]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwWRbp7V08
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYeI5WdKT0
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNI4VDj77g
I was in awe, these abilities seemed superhuman, almost godly. In a game these abilites could be classifies as broken, I had even unlocked two additional Traits and Perks just by apparently falling into a hole, or rather a 'Trial Realm'. My newly aquired abilites opened up even more possibilities for 'Infinite Merge'. The 'Power Bestowal' Perk indicated others might be receiving their own abilities. I couldn't help but wonder if Jon was experiencing the same thing as me. Mysterious intangible screens. Traits. Perks. Trials. I could only hope he was somewhere safe and that this was all just an extremely detailed dream. Regardless of whatever situation I was in, I had no way to contact anyone.
All I could do was attempt to get through this trial and hopefully have the chance to escape. I was far too exhausted to even stand. I once again focused on 'Infinite Merge' and an entirely new screen appeared. This one was a smaller green one that had the words "Infinite Merge" at the top with two hexagonal icons in the center of the screen. Between them was an addition sign and a small box underneath labeled 'Possible Products'. I clicked on the first hexagon and a list of my abilites popped up.
[Primary Traits: Telekinesis(E), Shield Generation(E)
Secondary Traits: Enhanced Senses(G)
Primary Perks: Power Bestowal
Secondary Perks: Immortal Body, Linked Growth, Analyzing Eye]
I selected 'Linked Growth' for the first addend and it returned to the merge screen. The first hexagon now had an icon of chains going across it. Clicking on the second hexagon I selected Immortal Body and noticed a 'Merge' button had appeared in between the hexagons and possibility box. The other hexagon had a cartoonish body flexing, the heart was surrounded by a red aura. Even though I had yet to combine them, I was shown two possibilities. 'Guardian Link' and 'Vitality Pool' were listed but no other information was appearing when I focused on them.
I slowly lifted up my right hand and clicked the merge button. It disappeared with a blip and the hexagons began to move closer and fuse, the single hexagon generating a flash a light before another screen appearred. It was a larger version of the possible products and had information on the combinations.
[Perk: Guardian Link- a powerful ability that links the life forces of two beings. One person acts as the 'Guardian,' typically someone with enhanced vitality or resistance, absorbing all damage, injuries, and fatigue that the other person would normally endure. This bond ensures that the partner remains unharmed, with the 'Guardian' bearing the full brunt of any harm.]
[Perk: Vitality Pool- is a powerful ability that creates an interconnected bond between the life forces of multiple beings. This bond allows the sharing of vitality, ensuring that when one person in the link is injured or fatigued, the impact is distributed among all linked members, thereby reducing the burden on any single individual. Healing or stamina restoration experienced by one person is also shared, benefiting the entire group.]
I took a few mintues to absorb the information and internally weighed the pros and cons of each Perk. Although the 'Vitality Pool' Perk seemed to allow the sharing of vitality, 'Guardian Link' was far better suited for the trial mission. I was way tougher than this little guy. I inwardly selected it and the screen shifted.
[Would you like to Engrave the Perk 'Guardian Link' onto your soul?
Yes|No ]
I quickly agreed and the system proceeded to engrave the power into my soul. Although I had no idea what engraving meant, it allowed me to use the powers once completed so I really couldn't see a downside. I thought back to the Trait Rune reward and quickly grabbed it, tucking it into my pocket. I could feel exhaustion wash over me as my vision blurred, but I forced myself to stay awake a little longer. Even if the ants retreated we were still vulnerable, but we had to get rest when we could. I quickly thought of the 'Guardian Link' Perk and a screen appeared showing a large shield with a question mark and a system prompt.
[Please touch the organism you would like to become the 'Guardian' of.]
I yawned in response and picked the raccoon up, dragging myself to a corner with no cracks and curling into a fetal position, I let my drowsiness overtake me, hoping that sleep would bring some measure of relief. Not before gently tucking the raccoon inside my shirt, its soft fur warm against my skin.
"If we get out of this, I just might name you Jinx. You are extremely bad luck." I whispered to the raccoon, slightly chuckling.
As I drifted off, the cave's eerie glowing blue mushrooms cast long shadows on the walls, a silent reminder that everything here was very different from what I knew. But for now, I allowed myself to rest, knowing that I needed every ounce of strength for the trials yet to come.
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