"Huh? What the freak? Why am I in a forest?" Amaya exhaled.
It made no sense to her. She clearly remembered falling asleep on her bed last night. So how dfid she get here?
'...Why am I in a dang forest?'
She jumped to her feet and looked around, trying to think of a rational explanation. No reason she thought of was realistic.
Teleportaion? Couldn't be.
A prank? Who couldv'e done this? Amaya had no friends, so who would've brought her here.
Sleepwalking? nope. She'd have to walked over 10 days to get the nearest forest.
Amaya looked in every direction, but all she could see were trees, bushes and more trees. A few birds as well.
Then, she notticed something floating in the corner of her veiw. A word.
[Menu]
When she focused on it, a screen jumped into sight.
[Menu: Status: Level: 1 | HP: 9 | MP: 5 | ATK: 2 | Speed: 10 | Endurance: 6
EXP: 0/100]
These were stats, like the ones you would see in a video game.
"Wait...Stats?"
Amaya examined her hands in amazment.
"It's almost like this is a game, a very realistic game. Maybe I'm hallucinating."
This couldn't possibly be reality. She roughly shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.
When she opened them again.
Nothing changed. She was still standing in a forest, with a floating screen of stats in front of her.
"Ohhhh. This Is what they call Lucid Dreaming. This is the first time I've experienced it."
Amaya quickly came to an assumption. With the fact that the dream had details like an rpg game, there definitely had to be monsters or something.
"I mean, It would be disappointing if this leveling system was just for show."
(Level: 1 | Exp: 0\100)
Being a dream meant that none of this wasn't real. There would be zero risks to anything she did. Nothing was off the table.
"I bet I could even run through a town naked and nothing bad would happen....Not that I would do that to begin with."
Then there was the fact that monsters had to be somehwere in this world. This was the main thing she was stoked for.
Any nerd like herself would love to be in a different world fighting monsters.
"Now, Let's start this adventure."
Amaya spun in circles, pointing in a random direction when she stopped.
"I guess I'll goooo.... this way."
Amaya was in awe at eveyr single detail. Birds chirping, forest animals living their lives and bugs crawling through grass.
The further she walked through the forest, the more excited she became.
"I csn't till I see somthing amazing. Like a monster, or a glowing magic crytal. Or...Or maybe evena magic animal that can speak. So cool."
Her body vibrated with joy. After all, this was always a part of her fantasies. A chance to escape to another reality.
'Alight. I'm going to make the most of this while I can.'
She strayed off path. coming across a small pond.
The smooth water was crystal clear, but it still reflected the sun.
It wasn't until now that Amaya realized how dry her mouth was.
'I guess I am a little thirsty.'
She kneeled down, cupping the ice cold water with her hands, but froze when she saw her reflection.
Each strand of her hair was as white as snow.
This was a huge change to her appearance.
"Woah. I...I actually look good like this."
In fact, she found this far better than her original black-hair.
Amaya finally brought the water up to her mouth and quenched her thirst.
Slurp.
"Ahh, Refreshing."
She was going to take another look at her reflection to admire it once more, but something broke her focus.
The sound of an animal's heavy breathing could be heard nearby.
She followed the sound of it and hid behind a tree, peeking her head out. Her eyes discovered the source. A bear, larger than any bear she'd heard of. It's fur was like a shadow and it's eyes were a fiery red.
Amaya didn't even want to achlowage it's claws that were like daggers.
'This doesn't look like an easy monster for a level-1 like me.'
[ Shadow Bear: Hp:400/400 ]
This monster was definitely more powerful than her at the moment. Wit health poinst as high as that, she would need to land around two-hundred strikes to kill it.
Amaya was aware that she probably couldn't compete, but she wasn't scared.
It was just a dream and there wasn't much to lose.
She jumped out of hiding and ran towards the shadow bear.
With her fist firmly clentched, she stuck it's stomach.
Bmp.
The bear's skin only rippled slightly, like a pebble hitting a pond.
An awkward silence passed and Amaya took her first off the monster's stomach.
[ Shadow Bear: HP: 397/400 ]
Nearly no dmagae was done to the monster. Amaya already expected this, but it was scary seeing it actually play out.
She stared at the floor, avoiding eye contact with the beast, towering over her. Thoughts flooded her mind as she could feel it's warm breath on her skin.
' I know this isn't real but I'm actually terrified. Maybe if I apologize, it will forgive me.'
She forced a smile and looked up at the bears deadly expression.
"Uhmm..sorry..." Amaya awkwardly said with a chuckle.
A sweat slid down her cheek. The monster opened it's jaws and let out a roar that vibrated the air.
She started to breathe fast and her heart started to jump. An overwhelming sense of doom filled her chest. She could just sense an attack coming her way. Without wasting a second, Amaya leaped out of the way. The tree behind her was ripped apart by the monster's claws.
'Woah!' Her mind was in shock for a second. If she had been any slower, that could've been her. Quickly, she jumped on her feet and sprinted off.
"I said sorryyyyy!!"
Twelve minutes later…
She had managed to outrun the Shadow Bear a while back, but she continued to run. She wanted there to be no chance that she'd run into that monster again.
When Amaya finally felt safe, she stopped for a break.
"Maybe I should be careful what I try to fight next time."
One breath in, one breath out. She cleansed her body of the stress and fear she had to endure when she saw that 'Shadow Bear'
As long as she didn't come across something like that again, she would be okay.
'Now, where to find other monsters?'
She didn't have to put any effort into looking as she spotted movement to her side. A group of human-sized snails were slowly moving through the trees. Their shells were blue and they all seemed pretty harmless.
'They're actually kinda cute ;)'
Amaya approached one of the snails and patted it's head.
Pat. Pat.
"Awe.See, I knew you were friendly creatures."
There was one detail she didn't notice till the snail turned it's head to face her. It's eyes were fully black and it had the sharpest teeth, clearly meant for killing.
"Oh…"
Amaya took a step back in fear but stumbled on a rock. In moments, each of the snails set their sights on her. Luckily, they were all very slow, giving Amaya enough time to stand back up.
'I guess this is where my first fight begins. These ones seem like easy monsters.'
(Elite Snails: 20 HP Each)
Nine minutes later …
Amaya received her first sign of improvement.
[You have leveled up]
She was still standing, but she had clearly taken damage. Her body was covered in slime and she even had a few bruises on her arms. All aside, it was worth the trouble.
"I had no idea snails could be so strong."
Amaya pulled up the menu screen and saw a new phrase.
[Items]
Curious, she clicked on it.
[Items: Copper Coins x50
Snail Slime x5]
She had obviously acquired these from killing those snails.
'Ah, that's cool. I get money for defeating monsters? Ooh,What about skills?'
Amaya closed switched the screen over to [Skills]
[Skills: Analyze ]
She only appeared to have one.
"Okay, but what does it do?"
She focused on it and a description came up.
[Analyze - When in use, you can understand the workings of spells, objects, machines, Ect. Can also help you see other's skills and stats.]
A skill that allowed her to have an understanding of things was really useful. Especially because Amaya had a hard time understanding stuff sometimes.
"None of it is real though. How many things are there to understand?"
There was one last thing she needed to check.
[Status]
(Level 2
Hp: 20 | Mp:15
Atk:7 | Speed:11
Endurance:8 | Exp: 0/200)
"Way better than my old stats. Imagine if I had a weapon."
It then occurred to her. There had to be a village or something right?
So, she set off in search.
It took a few hours, but she eventually arrived at an entrance to a town.
Her eyes looked left to right in search of a weapon shop, but she just couldn't seem to find one.
She sighed, "Ah, I guess there isn't one? That's unexpected. I thought a town would at least have 1."
The voice of a stranger approached her.
"You appear to be lost. I'd be happy to help if you needed anything."
It was a man with bright yellow hair. His face was very friendly, almost like he was a saint.
Amaya replied, "Actually, I'm new here. I was looking for a place to get a weapon or something."
The man put his hand on his hip and had an unsure look.
"Hmm. Well, there is one, but that guy only has low quality weapons. If you want something better, you'll have to go into the city."
"It's fine, low quality is probably all I could afford right now. WHere is this shop, exactly?" Amaya asked.
The man point in the direction an alleyway,
"It's down that way. Be careful though, thugs love to mug people that seem weak."
"Alrighty. Thank you."
Amaya stepped into the alleyway, while she thought of the man's remark.
'Do I actually look that weak? I mean, I guess I am, but I hate being called that.'
The alley was pretty dirty. There were few thuggish-looking people along the way, drinking and smoking. But overall, they seemed to be minding their business.
'Looks like nobody's going to rob me. That's good news.'
She approached a door which had the sign [Knightly Armory] on it.
The Bums In the alleyway all gave her a disappointed look . It was as if nobody would ever think about coming to this run-down shop.
Despite the stares, she still went in.
It was noticeable right away, nobody really did shop here. The shelves were dusty, along with the floors. However, there was a wide variety of weapons.
Broadswords, Lances, knives, daggers, ect.
Amaya walked up and down the small aisle looking for something affordable. All of them were low prices, but there was only one option that she could afford. A small knife.
[Price: 35 Copper, ATK: 50]
This wasn't exactly what she wanted,but she could happily settle for this much.
"It's got decent attack damage. Just this will make me stronger."
Amaya placed it on the counter.
There was an issue, nobody seemed to actually be here to sell it.
'Nobody's working? I guess I can steal a better weapon and just walk out.'
It was tempting, but she shook that idea from her mind.
'No. I'll never be the type of person to steal what someone worked hard for.'
Even if nobody even came to this shop, someone did work hard to open it up and fill it with weapons.
Amaya placed the knife in her pocket, leaving the copper coins behind.
"Now. Back to that forest, I guess."
After walking for two hours straight, Amaya was already deep in the forest. She was trying hard not to bounce up and down from the exitement.
"I am going to make the most out of this dream while I can. Once I wake up, it's boring life all over again but untill then..."
Amaya raised her dagger at the sky, shouting the rest.
"....Untill then, I am going to have as much fun as I can!!!"
TmpTmp Tmp Tmp Tmp Tmp
Many fast footsteps were coming form behind. They didn't sound human, more like anmials.
Amaya quickly turned around, spotting a group of animals with dark-grey fur.
"Wolves?!!"
There were exactly 6 of them and each of them had eyes that shined red.
Before Amaya knew it, the wolves were dangerously close. Revealing their fangs, 2 of them leaped at her, snapping their jaws.
Snap! Snap!
Amaya jumped back, barley avoiding their killer teeth.
'These are not normal wolves.'
Her eyes studied the wolves, and a label apeared above their heads.
(Survival Wolf: Hp:30)
Them she focused on one of the wolves hiding in the back. This on was larger than the others and even had sharper teeth.
(Leader Survival Wolf: Hp:100)
'I should be careful with that one.' Amaya thought to herself.
At that very moment One of the wolves jumped at Amaya. Out of reaction she quickly slammed her heel into it's face, shoving it away. Then came another wolf, rushing from the side.
Snap!
It's teeth sank into her for arm, where some blood squirted out.
"Agghhh! That HURTS really BAD!!! I don't think this is a dream anymore!!"
Her Hp dropped by alot.
(Amaya: Hp10/20)
She reached into her back pocket, pulling out her dagger, stabbing it into the wolf's neck.
Shank!
When she yanked it back, blood spilled all over her clothes.
"Ah, gross!"
[Wolf defeated]
[Exp gained]
Another wolf was getting read to jump at Amaya, but she threw the knife with all her strength piercing it's skull.
Shnk!
[Wolf defeated]
[Exp gained]
After wiping down her blade, she prepared for more.
With a dash, Amaya slid across the dirt. The wing of her dagger took 3 of the wolves heads.
Slash!!!!
[Wolf defeated]
[Exp gained]
[Wolf defeated]
[Exp gained]
[Wolf defeated]
[Exp gained]
Breathing and sweating heavily, Amaya stood with greater confidence than ever, she had leveled up.
[Leveled up]
{Hp:90 Mp:20 Atk:35 Speed:13 Endurance:15}
"I'm all ready."
Amaya rushed at the wolf. It jumped across the air, coming close in a swift moment.
"What!?"
It was faster than the other wolves, way faster. Amaya tried to dodge, but she just couldn't avoid it's speed.
She creamed in agony while the fangs munched on her shoulder.
Crackle. Bite!
In her mind, it became even more obvious than the first bite that injured her, this was DEFINETALY NOT A DREAM.
The wolf was too busy feasting on her shoulder, so Amaya used this opportunity to suprise it. He hand thrusted her dagger into the it's neck. The blade got stuck as the wolf backed off, wimpering. But Amaya didn't plan to let it escape, before it could run any further, she brought her elbow down on it's face, killing it.
Slam!
[Exp gained]
She feel to her knees in server exaustion. She was trickling with sweat and was breathing like she ran a marathon.
'I am 100% percent sure now. This is not a freaking game. I really almost died...like ACTUALLy almost died.'
When noticing the sun was going down, Amaya ignored her pain and stood back up.
'I"m pretty sure night is when more monster come out. I don't want to become dog food for more wolves. I need to head back to that town.'
She only got one step away, before freezing at the sound of a voice.
"I knew I could smell blood being spilled."
It was some kind of humanoid creature. It's skin was red and hardned, on its head were two black horns.
Amaya's eye met with the creature in a staring contest.
She thought to herself, comprehending her situation.
'That's has to be a Demon. I'm already to hurt to fight. And I don't think I can already take on monterslike this even if I wasn't. This is just my BAD LUCK. Yep, it's over for me.'
The Demon grinned, I can tell from the stench of fear coming off you, you know you stand no chance."
"I think I'll just run instead."
Amaya turned and ran with every ounce of speed and energy she had.
She got a good distance away, then the Demon appeared by her side.
"Surprise!"
Amaya couldn't even see any attacks coming, yet she had already been struck in the chest. Her body was thrown against a tree, where she fell to the floor, giving up.
'I barley got to this world...and I'm going to die here...Welp, good game I guess.'
The Demon used it's deadly claaws to cut a nearby tree apart.
Slasssh!!!
"I intentionally held back just to see your face of fear. But If you're going to give up that easy, then there's no pint in keeping you alive. I'll end you."
A loud, firm voice spoke out.
"That's enough."
The voice came from behind one of the trees. A man walked out.
His hair was black and so was his eye color. He looked to be some sort of knight as he had a sword by his side.
The demon was clearly angered by this presence.
"You just interrupted my killing session. I think you would like to die!"
As the demon was getting ready to attack, the man appeared by it's side.
"Calm yourself. These are your last moments after all."
The expression of shock was stuck on the demon's face. A wound opened up across it's stomach and blood spilled out like a wave. The wound became so large that the demon's body feel into 2 seperate pieces.
Thump!
With the threat out of the way, The man turned to look at Amaya.
"You alright, kid?"