Liemann stood in a cavern slightly larger than the cemetery, its sides extending into a darkness he could not see beyond. Rocks were jutting out of the cave's walls, and many cracks ran along the length of it. Gravel was also present under his feet, as Liemann could feel a distinctive crunch every time his foot landed on the ground.
"Well, that's definitely an improvement over the little cemetery. Isn't that right, Jim?"
"Grraa..."
"That's a yes." Liemann laughed while slapping the back of the zombie.
Now that he was out of the spawn area, Liemann could finally begin his journey through this new world that contained unexplainable things!
"Graa..."
"Groannn..."
"Brainss..."
The zombies inside the cave began to move out too, filing out from the small opening Liemann made as they entered the same tunnel he was in.
"Where will you guys go now that you're out?" he asked them, knowing they couldn't think.
He watched as some wandered around aimlessly, some hit the cave walls and fell down with buckling knees, and some decided to remain in the small cemetery.
Liemann didn't think too much about these zombies, as they only proved to be temporary companions to keep his sanity intact during his time there. They were just unfortunate people who died and kept on living, no more, no less.
Jim, however, was a special zombie.
He was Liemann's stress zombie and also his bait.
"Come, Jim, let us explore this place and figure out what this 'Grand Cavern of Alarc' holds!"
...
Humm.
The low humming of the vision rune sounded intermittently.
"Yeah, I definitely prefer this."
He could see in the dark, but Liemann preferred natural lighting over seeing through that weird grating of colours that his night vision provided.
"And I really am in a fantasy world. Not just a dream or a delusion of mine."
Right before him was a massive opening, a vacuum in the earth that extended far beyond his vision range, even when he improved it using runes.
As he gazed around, he noticed numerous tunnels similar to the one he had just exited, each one seemingly leading to different places. The cavern was dotted with glowing crystals, each emitting a soft, gentle hue that illuminated the space with various colours. Liemann couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of it all.
Plantlife was plentiful as vines and moss growing on the stones that struck out from the ground turned the previously dead caves he walked through into a vibrant display of activity and vitality.
Numerous small animals were also scurrying around due to the arrival of new guests, namely Liemann and Jim, who were trundling along in the rusted suits of armour and the poor knight clothes.
The opening they were in was a few metres from the ground, filled with something reminiscent of grass, the green blades of the plant extending for around a metre above the earth that they grew on.
Sliidee~
Thud!
Thud!
Liemann gracefully slid down the slope, testing the ground's stability before signalling Jim to follow.
"Looks like it's fine to walk on, Jimmy boy, come on!"
"Graagh..." Jim grumbled, a sound that resembled a groan mixed with a growl, before clumsily attempting to slide down the slope.
Clang!
Thud!
Crash!
Well, that was to be expected. Jim landed squarely on his back, failing to make it one step into the slide before losing balance and falling down.
"You know, Jim, you've gotten smart enough to follow my commands, but you're still stupid." Liemann came to help the zombie stand up as a few pieces of rusted metal fell from his armour.
"Grahh..."
Liemann couldn't help but notice the increase in Jim's intelligence. It was a bit concerning for him since he hadn't treated Jim very well during their time together. But it wasn't like Jim would remember any of it, right?
The fact that zombies could gain intelligence was something Liemann had never expected. He wondered if Jim had somehow drained intelligence from him, which was a cause for concern.
Liemann pushed these thoughts aside and focused on his current task: discovering more about this world.
Liemann reached down to help Jim before looking at the vast space he'd found himself in again. Taking a moment to survey his surroundings, Liemann searched for any points of interest that might help him understand more about this world.
One thing that Liemann was eager to investigate was the crystals, but he was also curious to discover any other lifeforms that might be lurking in this strange underground world. So, he took some extra time to explore and observe his surroundings. As he scanned the area, he noticed a small group of moving creatures in the distance, their shadows clearly visible against the cave walls.
It seems like they are pretty small. Maybe we can go and check that out too.
"Jim, let's move." he tugged on the cape of the clown knight and pointed to the crystals.
"Grah."
And thus, their journey began through the Grand Cavern of Alarc.
...
"Squeak!"
Shuffle.
Shuffle.
"Squeak, squeak!"
Shuffle
Hum...
"Hello, everyone. This is reporter Liemann, reporting live from the Grand Cavern of Alarc. Jim and I are currently tracking a strange animal through the grass. We do not know what it is, but it appears to possess a certain level of intelligence. What say you, Mister Jim?"
"Grr."
"Indeed. Your observation is correct. Their bodies are stubby and short and seem to move around in packs; they have spikes protruding from their backs and like to dig around. In my humble opinion, they seem like hedgehogs who have evolved to move around in groups and communicate. Do you agree, Mister Jim?"
"Grah, grah."
"So that is the situation we find ourselves in, my dear viewers. These hedgehogs, as cute and harmless as they may seem, are most likely at the bottom of the food chain here in the Grand Cavern. As a result, we are embarking on our first hunt against the creatures of this world."
Liemann cast another dark rune above his and Jim's heads as they followed the group of hedgehogs through the tall grass.
They had been tracking this particular group since they'd exited the tunnel that led to the strange cemetery.
Liemann had thought at first to check the glowing crystals for whether he could absorb them (or something) just in case - because you never know, right? Maybe he has a cheat!
Well, he didn't set his hopes high, and they certainly weren't fulfilled.
He couldn't do anything to the crystals except hit them with the metal sheets he had left from the knight zombie's stuff, and they did nothing to the crystals.
Which then led to him trying out [Flame Bolt] - yes, he'd finally decided on the name for that spell - on the crystal, and the result was the same.
So that leads to where he is now. His second objective: learning about lifeforms.
"Squeak!"
"Oh. One of them is breaking off the main group." He watched as a hedgehog from the side of the pack veered off into the grass alone.
"Let's follow that one."
"Grah."
...
Hum.
Liemann shuffled his feet, trying to act nonchalant as he led the way away from the main group. He recited the pattern to himself as he drew a sequence of runes in the air, his fingers moving with practised ease. Slowly, a spell took shape, and a black sphere materialised behind him. Liemann called it [Blackout].
Initially, [Blackout] had been a strange, amorphous ball of black and dark that Liemann had stumbled upon in the cemetery - a combination of the dark and light rune. But over time, he had enhanced it by adding random runes until its effect had extended from a few fleeting seconds to several minutes. Now, it was more than just a tool for temporary blindness; it acted as a formidable visual barrier.
Liemann continued moving his hands as he added two dark runes to their heads, a precaution to further lower the enemy's perception of their presence. He wanted to get as close to the hedgehog as possible without being detected.
"Grah."
"You'll go as bait. I'll watch from behind," he said quietly. He nudged Jim forward, gesturing for him to move closer to the hedgehog.
"Grah, grah."
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Maybe I should get padding for those boots...they're awfully loud.
Clang.
Clang.
"Stop," Liemann whispered, holding a hand to signal Jim to halt.
Since he had applied the dark rune on Jim, it couldn't detect his presence until he was just around a quarter of a metre away, which served to be a good benchmark for how well the rune worked.
Meanwhile, the small creature curiously observed the undead knight for a brief moment before returning to nibble on some grass nearby. It ignored the existence of a massive knight practically at its rear, ready to kill it at any moment.
"Defeats the purpose of having a bait...but I'll take a free kill any time."
Shuffle.
Shuffle.
Shuffle.
Liemann moved forwards to get a better angle at the hedgehog that remained clueless about its surroundings.
Hum.
He began to draw another sequence of runes, the one he'd used for [Flame Bolt]. The runes lit up and began to morph into each other, connecting the power between them as a spell formed, and the flaming bolt of fire was ready to be released!
Fwoosh!
The fiery projectile shot out towards the hedgehog with a sharp sound, creating a slight sizzle as it scorched through the air. In a flash, it hit the creature, creating a small explosion as it landed. The hedgehog collapsed to the ground with a thud, its lifeless body now marked with a burnt hole in the centre.
"Hmm, interesting. It seems that the [Flame Bolt] spell can deal quite a bit of damage against living creatures," Liemann mused, observing the smouldering remains of the hedgehog.
"Graa..."
Liemann emerged from the tall grass and approached Jim, who wore a perplexed expression - likely due to the beam of light that had just darted past him and vanished into the hedgehog's body.
"It's alright, Jim. You don't need to be a genius to make good bait. In fact, the more foolish you are, the better the bait." He gave the knight's shoulder a friendly pat and knelt down to examine the damage inflicted on the small creature, leaving the zombie just as bewildered as before.
"!!!"
As Liemann inspected the hedgehog, he spotted a small crystal, roughly the size of his thumb, tumbling out of its body. The purple glimmer of the crystal was unmistakable, even without the aid of the vision rune.
"Gem? What the hell is this thing? It looks like an amethyst."
He picked it up and held it close to his eye, only to find that it began to disappear while a strange feeling permeated his body!
"Huh? Haa? What? Goddamn, it's cold!"
It was like someone was pouring cold water on him while he just came out of the sauna, a freezing sensation that dug deep into his bones!
"What the ---
Liemann could hardly comprehend what was happening before another wave of peculiarity washed over him, bringing an image of what seemed like a rune fragment.
"F**k, its freezing!"
"Grah, grah?" The zombie tilted its head in confusion at Liemann's outburst. But Liemann was in no state to provide an explanation. The sensation grew colder with each passing moment until it felt like he was being plunged into a vat of liquid nitrogen. He writhed on the ground, curled up into a ball, desperately trying to fight off the numbing chill that seemed to have taken hold of his very bones.
"Ahhh! My bones!"
He squirmed and twisted on the ground as that strange feeling ran through his body repeatedly until it stopped some minutes later.
...
"Haa...haaa...haaa..." the cold had hit him like a ton of bricks, leaving him feeling disoriented and numb all over
"Grah."
"Damn you, Jim," he muttered under his breath, glaring at the zombie as he struggled to stand.
"Damn you. It really was like I'd decided to take a bath in liquid nitrogen, I kid you not, Jimmy. I thought I was gonna die from the cold!"
"Grah." The zombie responded without much thought as he had moved on to tear off pieces of grass to play with.
Liemann shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind. "Well, that was certainly unexpected," he muttered to himself. He took a deep breath and began to assess himself, looking for any physical or mental changes that might have occurred during the ordeal.
"Hmm."
He twisted an arm and a leg, adopting a pose that made him look like he was doing yoga.
"Hmm."
He pivoted and assessed the other half of his body.
"Hmm."
He then posed with a side chest before finally releasing a deep sigh. "There's been no change to my physique, vision, or strength."
The aspiration to become Arnold remains a distant dream...
"Ah well. Whatever, let's search through my memories now."
As he surveyed his surroundings, Liemann compared his memories with the present reality and found no inconsistencies, except for a tiny detail: there was a new rune added to his collection of available runes!
I guess this is considered a drop of sorts?
"Hmm...should I try it out now? I mean, what rune could a hedgehog possibly have when it was alive? The rune of eating fruits or something? Well this thing is not even a hedgehog to begin with, so what do I know?"
Liemann casually shrugged and distanced himself from Jim, who was already lost in the dark arts of grass-ology. Closing his eyes, he began to trace the rune with his mind's eye, feeling the various edges and lines intersecting one another on his imaginary whiteboard as he constructed it in the air. Suddenly, a sharp noise rang out, startling Liemann out of his trance. "What?" he exclaimed, not having realised that he had finished the rune. Hastily opening his eyes, he glanced down to see an object fall and hit the rocks below, producing a metallic ding as it bounced around.
"That's... that can't be right. I must be imagining it."
He drew it again with open eyes, having memorised most of the spell with only one try, watching the rune come to life as it began to materialise something midair!
Ding!
"..."
"S**t. I'm creating spikes out of nowhere now? Colour me surprised, world."
Liemann bent down, picked up the small metallic spike that had pierced into the ground, and felt its weight. Then he walked towards the dead hedgehog not far away and plucked one of its spikes to compare with the one he'd just materialised.
"Hmm...they're not exactly...quills that you would find on a hedgehog. I'd thought that they were, but apparently not."
It was clearly metallic. Liemann could feel the coolness of the metal through his hands, the smooth and slick texture he felt when he touched a piece of brushed metal.
"..."
"Free metal."
A strange idea appeared in his head.
Oh no, oh no, I cannot do that. What about the fantasy world adventure and whatnot I was looking forward to? No, I also have to consider my fit!
Liemann began to hyperventilate as the idea became clearer and clearer in his mind, the engineer inside him screaming out in joy as he realised a possibility he'd never thought of!
"A poor medieval knight blasting through hordes of monsters with a gun!"