A sudden sharp, stinging pain in my right arm jolted me awake. I sat up, disoriented, my eyes struggling to focus in the dim light filtering through the cave. My head throbbed as I scanned the ceiling above. Stalactites, which I hadn't noticed before, hung down like jagged teeth, their sharp points dripping with the steady drop of water. I groggily took in my surroundings, the cave was a maze of shadowed rock, its eerie ambiance accentuated by the faint, bioluminescent glow from the mushrooms that speckled the floor and walls. I looked back to the ground where the raccoon had been earlier, finding it absent while panic began to surge through me. The system window interrupted me displaying the time left for the trial with numerous other windows showing up.
[Trial Duration: 36 hours 43 minutes remaining]
I had been asleep for nearly 11 hours? My attention was drawn to the side by a clattering noise, finding the raccoon now surrounded by a swarm of six larger ants. The tiny raccoon was nibbling at a glowing cluster of mushrooms, it seemed to have collected three or four more clusters as there was a pile beside it. Despite the raccoon's irritation, it seemed unfazed by the bites, occasionally smacking away any ants that ventured too close to its food.
As I watched, it became clear that the ants were relentlessly biting the raccoon, but the pain wasn't affecting the animal; it was being transferred to me. It still sat unharmed, even dipping the newest cluster it grabbed into a small water puddle. Each bite it received sent a sharp stinging pain through my body, a sensation that grew increasingly painful. My own pain, a mirror of the damage it was receiving, even down to where it was getting bit. This was the power of 'Guardian Link'.
I had to act. I quickly stood up, rushing over to the ants and crushing the surrounding ones. After succesfully killing three, the ones previously latched onto the raccoon turned their attention to me and began to scuttle my way. I hastily backed up and cautiously began crushing the remaining three. I succesfully stomped the last ant with even more force, partially as payback for the night before and out of lingering frustation.
The raccoon was sitting there still seemingly oblivious to what had just happened, solely focused on eating the mushroom clusters. I inwardly chuckled at it and walked towards it. It noticed my approach and let out a small happy chirp before it was cut off by it coughing out a portion of mushroom. I chuckled even harder and crouched down to pick it up. The raccoon seemed way more lively today, almost as if the injury hindering it the day before was gone. This was the work of a miraculous ability, it even seemed to have transferred its previous leg injury to me. My own cuts and scrapes from the night before seemed to had healed as well, in fact it felt as if my body was in top shape.
"Was it because of Immortal Body? Was my body truly immortal?" I inwardly pondered, the mere thought sending sending a chill down my spine.
My mind was drawn to the other rewards I had received, specifically the 'Analyzing Eye' Perk. As if reacting to my thoughts, a new screen appeared, smaller than the normal ones. It displayed information on the mushroom the raccoon was holding.
[ Luminae Mushroom Clusters:20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwRnt7XUwX
-Grow in a quar rich, damp environment.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9ckd1HIAY
-When consumed, they can enhance sensory perception and heal minor injuries.]
I inwardly wondered, "What was 'Quar'? Is it similar to magic? Is that what allowed me to use those powers? If so, then there's a portion of Quar inside of me?!"
I thought back to the other notifications I had received after waking up. Several screens materialized before me. The first being the time for the trial;
[Trial Duration: 36 hours 36 minutes remaining]
[You've unlocked your first Acquired Skill! 'Level 1 - Freeze' has been unlocked.]
[Check your Trait Skill Trees for more information on these skills!]
[You've unlocked an Acquired Skill! 'Level 1 - Pull' has been unlocked.]
[You've unlocked an Acquired Skill! 'Level 1 - Push' has been unlocked.]
[Due to your 'Immortal Body' Perk, you have acquired four Acquired Skills; Level 1 - Low Regeneration, Level 1 - Low Pain Tolerance, Level 1 - Low Bleed Tolerance, Level 1 - Low Paralysis Tolerance.]
"Freeze? Push and Pull? Regeneration and Tolerance Skills?", I wondered to myself.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVz8zpPtFd
Then it hit me, I had used a move similar to a 'Push' when I initially activated my powers against the overwhelming number of ants. I had used 'Freeze' to stop the ants from taking the raccoon and 'Pull' to bring the raccoon closer. The 'Regeneration' and 'Tolerance' skills seemed to be a result from my body recovering and developing tolerances. The swift recovery was extremely unusual but so had everything else been. Maybe the healing effects from the mushrooms the raccoon was consuming were somehow transferred through 'Guardian Link', I justified.
I was snapped out of my train of thought by a low clicking sound, almost too low to hear. It was the ants, they were coming back. I quickly cleared away the screen, tightened my clutch around the raccoon and ran to the corner with the fewest cracks and crevices, which conveniently was located the furthest from where the ants seemed to be approaching from. As if in mockery, dozens of ants began to pour out of the caves cracks, quickly scattering to the floor and confidently clacking their mandibles. These were the solider ants, almost forty of them had emerged in seconds. I lifted my hand up, ready to activate my telekinesis, remembering the comfort that came with using it. It seemed like an 'action' was a better way for my power to manifest or get channeled, in my case it was lifting my hands.
I hastily attempted to activate my telekinesis and cradled the raccoon in one arm. The ants were beginning their march towards me at a frightening pace. I channeled my power, or rather Quar, into my arm and attempted to push the first approaching ants back. The familiar blue aura manifested in front of them and I focused on using 'Push'. To my shock, my power seemed to have little to no effect. The ants were forcing each other forward and I began to panic, I could feel the warmth in my arm but it had began to feel slightly sore. I thought to myself, "Was my power too weak or did I lack control over sufficient quar? Shouldn't I be stronger if this cave if filled with it?"
My arm began from the strain of my powers, and I could feel my telekinesis struggling to keep up. I had barely used it and I was already getting fatigued, noting to myself this power could be draining my energy. I focused on the dark blue aura that surrounded my hand, trying to channel my telekinetic energy to push the ants away once more. The effort was draining, and the more I used my telekinesis, the more it felt like my arm was being pulled apart.
Frustrated, I turned my attention to the shield generation ability I had yet to use. I intently focused, attempting to summon this new found power. I lifted my hand once more and a small cloud of blue mist began to form into a blueish-purple roughly shaped circle. It had started as a poorly shaped circle, but I concentrated harder, willing it to change. The shield disintegrated into a swirling mist of purple energy before reconstituting itself into long, sharp triangles. Although these powers were unfamiliar I could feel myself gaining a small bit of control every time I used them. The formation was more refined now, and I hoped it would be enough to fend off the relentless ants.
I hurled the sharp triangles toward the swarm, but the ants' carapaces were surprisingly durable. The projectiles struck them with little to no effect, and the swarm continued its assault. They had finally reached me, forcing me to crush any that came close. My focus wavered as I realized the true danger lay not in the ants themselves but in the stalactites above. The cavern's roof was a menacing canopy of sharp, dripping stone.
Summoning all my strength, I turned my telekinesis towards the stalactites. The dark blue mist enveloping them as I tried to pull them away from their moorings. My powers strained against the weight of the rocks, but my telekinesis was weak and faltering. I didn't have enough control over it. The effort was excruciating, and my arm felt like it was being twisted in agony. I tried to force the stalactites to fall, but they remained stubbornly in place.
Desperation drove me to focus more intensely on the shield. I willed the unrefined, curvy form into a more concentrated shape, molding it into numerous sharp triangles. The shield's new form glinted with dark purple energy as I directed it towards the stalactites. The sharp edges of the shield collided with the stalactites, causing them to crack and tremble.
Suddenly, the stalactites began to break free, their fall triggering a cascade of collapsing rock. I focused intently, using my telekinesis to control the trajectory of some, sending them crashing into groups of ants. The debris rained down, smashing into the swarm of ants and sending them scurrying. The weight of the falling rocks caused the cave floor to crack, and the ground beneath us started to give way. I scrambled to stay upright as the cave floor crumbled, creating a series of fissures that deepened with every second. The rock beneath me gave way entirely, and I felt myself plummeting into the darkness below.
"God damnit, why am I always free falling?!", I inwardly questioned.
I hit the water with a splash, the cool, dark lake engulfing me. I surfaced, gasping for air and treading water. I worriedly search for the raccoon and found it floating within arms reach of me, I hastily swam over to it and put it on my shoulder, keeping us both afloat. There were about twenty ants that had fallen with me, although they were stuck flailing, unable to swim and stay afloat. The cave I had fallen into was vast and oval-shaped, its walls lined with smaller caves and crevices. The lake occupied the center of the cavern, and my heart sank as I took in the full scale of the scene.
Several centipedes, each one seemingly only slightly smaller than a car, crawled along the crevices and walls, their numerous legs moving with unnerving precision. They scuttled over the rocks, their segmented bodies glistening in the faint light. Salamanders slithered along the water's edge and climbed the walls, their scales shimmering with an oily sheen. The salamanders in the water moved with ease, their long bodies propelling them through the dark lake, their eyes gleaming with a predatory glint as they came forward to gorge on the ants.
I quickly panicked and began to start swimming away from the ants, not knowing if these giant salamanders were aggressive. A new system window appeared as I was about to head to shore;
[Congratulations! You have found the true Trial Realm, The Colossal Cave!]
ns 15.158.61.8da2
