[HP: 47/100]
[MP: 100/100]
In the corner of my eye, I noticed something new in my view as I slowly picked myself back up. Looking at the red and blue bars at the lower left side of my vision, I could already tell that they were both my [HP] and [MP] in terms of how low the bars were. Reading at an astonishing [47], I was practically below half-health from the stunt I just pulled. And knowing the caveat I put in my [Manifest], I just knew that using my only weapons also drained a sizeable portion of my current health to the point that I could die of blood loss if I didn't pace myself.
Still, it was a decent weapon, if not utterly broken with a bit of help.... Assuming that I actually get out of this unscathed, of course.
Letting out a sigh as I turned to look at my surroundings, the distinct lack of an unstoppable tentacle monster chasing me around was a sight for sore eyes as I finally let myself relax a bit. Already, I could see that my [HP Bar] was regenerating ever so slowly. It wasn't much, but it was better than staying below half-health for the long term as I tried figuring out this mess of a world.
"Guidance?" I called out. "I think I'm safe."
*Y-you are?* the poor woman gasped as if she had just finished crying. *Oh, thank god...*
"Yeah..." I chuckled. "Sorry for yelling at you earlier. Mortal danger and all of that, yeah?"
*Y-yes...* Guidance meekly responded. *It's fine, Moriya. It's my fault anyway...*
Ignoring the dev's own pity party, I finally took stock of where I actually was. Judging by the light breeze hitting my face, I was probably atop a mountain somehow? Probably a cliff?
"Let's see..."
Turning around, my eyes couldn't get any wider as I finally saw just where I truly was in terms of this game's map.
I was atop a massive cliff overlooking what looked to be an ancient East Asian city. A river ran through the middle of the massive city, and what looked to be a floating orb of land floated daintily over the entire place. The orb itself sported lights of its own as it seemed to also harbor a city, and it rotated in a sense that it was alike a planet hovering above ancient Beijing. But hilariously enough, that wasn't the most eye-catching thing, in my opinion.
Stalactites. Massive stalactites. Growing straight out of the sky, these massive mineral formations seemed to stretch way into open space as they stretched on and on and on; right towards the stars in the night sky to the point that it honestly looked like we were inside a massive cave... Wait...
Were we inside a massive cave this whole time?
"Hey."
*Yes?*
I couldn't believe my eyes, to be honest. "Am I inside a massive cave? And is that a miniature planet in said cave?"
*Uhh... yes?*
Taking a swallow of my own wonder as I let my eyes drink it all in, the sheer aesthetic of the place was something I had never seen before. To think that I was in a cave this whole time? That would explain why it was permanently night out... But then...
"Are these not stars then?"
If not, then how was there even light in this place still? I can only assume that they're stars due to actually being strong enough to somehow light my way earlier. But if they're not, then what are they?
*Oh? T-they're [Stars],* Guidance explained. *I- err... They represent the infinite worlds through [The Seam]*
I raised an eyebrow. For some reason, I somehow caught those two terms to be more than what they sounded like. Was it due to the game somehow giving me knowledge about these things? Or was it-
No. I was just joking. It's all gamer instinct. I mean, why else would she put emphasis on those two terms?
"So they're parallel worlds then," I postulated. "Like in the game description."
*Y-yes,* Guidance assented as I stared into the cave's twinkling roof. *I designed it that way...*
Interesting... Wait..
"You designed all of this?"
That shouldn't be possible, right? Such a cool aesthetic with this much detail shouldn't look this good with just one person doing all the work. Surely she had some outside help for the graphics and such.
*Yes?* Guidance shyly intoned. *Is there a problem with it?*
A problem?! "No! It's good!"
Such an aesthetic was hard to come by these days. Usually, it was all just an open world in a generic fantasy setting with medieval bullcrap and standard elves and such. But this? This is actually fresh and new!
*R-really?*
"Yeah!" I passionately replied. "Where else can you find these aesthetics? Have you seen a game this meticulously crafted?"
I wasn't lying. Maybe it was the literal firsthand experience talking, but the environments were actually top-notch. And if what I was seeing right now was just the tip of the iceberg, then I'm glad that I got sucked into this world in the first place. Ignoring the early game flukes and such, I'm more than willing to give this world a chance before actively trying to find a way back home.
Still, wouldn't it be cool to-
[*RRRROAAAGHH!!!!*]
Oh my lord... Seriously!?
"You have got to be kidding me!"
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
I could barely hold on to my jaw as the tentacle monster from before burst through the tree line like it was absolutely nothing. A gigantic 'Invulnerable' prompt still floated above its head as it undulated about, its appendages waved around like it had little care about its general surroundings. To be fair though, I honestly didn't expect my earlier stunt to really stick, but the lack of a chase after I managed to slow it down gave me a false sense of hope that I actually managed to lose it.
To my own dismay, however, it was still a special monster, which meant that it probably had a way to keep track of me so long as I was within its range of operations.