At the moment I pressed the button, I felt as if there were rays coursing through my body; strangely, it didn't hurt. I even felt more energized, as if I could run a whole marathon and still have energy left.
Looking at the hand holding the phone, I could see neon lines running across the phone, traveling up my arm to my shoulder, then up to my chest just above my heart, and rising to my eyes, and then they disappeared.
Before I could inspect my body to see if anything had changed, the phone screen lit up with a beep. Looking at the phone, there was an app called "Stream Calamity."
Alright... Ignoring the name, it was an app, and upon closer examination, it was basically a video app with various recording options: first-person, third-person, panoramic, all sides, there were many, but most of them seemed locked. The only clickable option was the third-person view.
As I read further, I saw something called "Beginner's Guide for Streamers."
In summary, there was a lot to it and yet not so much. Most of it was teaching how to keep the audience entertained, and the important parts were:
1 - The streamer can earn SP, or Streamer Points, based on donations and the number of viewers.
2 - SP can be used to unlock stream features.
That was basically it. I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find anything else I could do with SP, no store to buy some kind of power or equipment, nothing.
Taking a deep breath, I remembered I was supposed to receive a newbie bonus or gift. After searching a bit, I found a blinking icon in the corner of the screen. Clicking on it, a large box appeared about 3 meters in front of me.
Sure, teleportation... Magic or advanced technology that looks like magic, at this point, it doesn't matter anymore.
I go to the box and inspect it; it's a simple cardboard box. Opening it, I see some items: what looks like a small copper sword, a small axe and pickaxe made of the same material, two small bottles with a red liquid labeled (LIFE), a map, and a small worn leather pouch.
I pick up the tools, starting with the sword and swing it a bit. I'm not a swordsman or anything, but it seemed like a good weapon, sharp and polished, at least better than trying to punch whatever might be waiting for me in the forest.
The pickaxe and axe were basically the same, the map was quite basic, hand-drawn, with a marking that said, "You are here," surrounded by a forest and a cluster of poorly drawn houses that I assume is a village. It seems to be to the north if I follow the compass rose drawn on the map.
The bottles of what I hope are life potions were small, a little larger than my thumb. The red liquid seemed to pulse and glow slightly, but other than that, they were easy to carry, and the cap was easy to open.
The big surprise came with the small worn leather pouch. When I checked to see if there was anything inside by putting my hand in, I had to put my hand in almost up to my elbow to realize that it seemed to have no bottom.
After that, I tested whether I could put the tools or something inside it. I put the pickaxe and the axe in and tried to lift it; it seemed to have the same weight. If it changed, it was minimal enough for me not to notice.
Playing around with the bag that I nicknamed VoidBag or inventory, I drew the following conclusions:
One, it basically didn't change weight no matter how many things I put in. After putting in about 30 small stones, it still felt the same.
Two, the items seemed to have a kind of organization. The stones stayed on one side, and the tools on the other. Even when I shook the bag, the items didn't seem to move, so there was no risk of accidentally breaking the potions while walking or running.
Three, and the worst part, I think? I needed to manually retrieve items by putting my hand inside the bag and remembering their positions to grab them. There were no shortcuts, voice commands, or anything to help with this, so it would be complicated to do something in the middle of a rush or danger.
Getting up and stretching, I look at the sun to orient myself, or at least I hope to. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm no longer on Earth; the star orbiting this planet could very well rise in the south and set in the north, but it's all I have to locate myself.
Before starting to walk north, I take the phone from my pocket and check if everything is ready. Then, I start the stream a little after putting a simple title:
"I have no idea where I am, come watch my misery, and if possible, call the police or maybe the army."
The first thing I notice when I start the stream is in the lower right corner of my eyes; there's a small square screen with "CHAT" written at the top and "Viewers" on the upper left with a zero next to it.
There are more icons like "Donations," "Subscribers," and "Items," but they are grayed out, so I assume they are not available until someone donates something, subscribes, or I unlock them with SP.
Taking a deep breath, I look to where those orange eyes stared at me and am relieved to see that it's in the opposite direction of where I should go. Not that it would stop whatever might be there if the only safe place is the clearing, but I need to leave it. There was no water or food in the box, and I'm sure I don't want to be outdoors when night falls.
I take one of the small potions and put it in my left pocket and hold the short copper sword in my right hand.
"Well, here goes nothing," I say to the air, or now the camera that I know is recording my back, and start walking north towards the edge of the clearing.
Taking my first step out of the clearing with my body tense, I expect to be attacked at any moment, which fortunately doesn't happen. After a few seconds of nothing happening, I relax my muscles a bit but stay alert for anything that moves.
Taking a few more steps into the forest, the environment gets darker, but still illuminated enough for me to move around and see far enough in case something tries to attack me. Contrary to my expectations, the forest was peaceful, if I can call it that. The only sounds I heard as I walked were some insects and birds and the rustling of leaves.
I began to relax over time, only for my body to tense up completely when I heard what sounded like a branch breaking to my right. I was so focused on my right side that I hadn't noticed the viewer count had gone up to one.
Turning quickly to where I heard the noise, I found what I could only call a giant jelly. The thing had a green gelatinous body the size of a basketball, with a small brown pebble inside. It seemed to move by hopping from side to side in a zigzag pattern.
There was no way I couldn't recognize it for what it was: a slime, the most basic monster in most of the RPGs I've played.
I looked at the small green thing, waiting to see if it would do anything. When it noticed me, it seemed to tense up, and after a moment, it jumped in my direction. It was a quick jump, compared to the small hops it had taken before, but it was still slow enough for me to dodge it.
Stepping to the side, I saw the slime fall to the ground and splatter, only to reform around the little brown ball inside it and jump in my direction again.
Taking another step to the side, the slime did the same thing as before and splattered on the ground, but before it could reform, I struck at what would be its core, making the gelatinous mass shiver and become stunned. Realizing that the core was still intact, I raised my arm and struck again, this time with more force, causing the core to crack and break into two parts.
I watched as the green body of the slime became soft and melted on the ground, becoming inert. After waiting a few seconds and poking its gelatinous body with the sword to make sure it was dead, I bent down and lightly touched the core and gelatinous mass with a finger.
Feeling no burning sensation from the touch, I picked up the core, but before I could inspect it closer, I noticed something move in the lower right corner of my vision.
Turning quickly, expecting another slime or something worse, I realized there was nothing. Then I remembered the chat, and that I was still in the stream. Looking at the chat, I noticed there was indeed a comment, and the viewer count had gone up to one.
[RedHuntressLive]: OMG! Why this title? Are you okay? Do you need help? Is that a slime? Is that your semblance? What is your sword made of? Can I see it? Can you show it on the camera?
I chuckled a bit at the number of questions and stored the two parts of the slime core in my inventory to study later.
"Easy there, lots of questions," I smile a bit, just talking to another person in this stressful situation already calms me down.
"In the order you asked, this title because I really had no idea for another one. Yes, I'm fine, for now, I'd accept help, but I don't think you can help me in this situation."
I shake my head and continue walking north, not having any container to collect the remains of the slime, so it's better to leave it behind.
"That was a slime, or at least I think it was, I have no idea what a 'semblance' is, and maybe? I've never used a sword before, but I kind of need to use one now."
I notice that the viewer hasn't typed anything and continue.
"I think it's made of bronze or copper, I'm not sure, and yes, you can see it." I raise the sword towards my back, where I think the camera is.
"Can you see it?"
[RedHuntressLive]: Ohh! That's cool, it may not be a MechShift weapon, but it's cool. I like the classics. And how come you don't know what a semblance is? Aren't you a Huntsman? And why is there a slime? How did it appear?
I keep walking, and I can already see what I hope is the exit of the forest. Hurrying my pace a bit and exiting, I have a view of what I can only say is...
[RedHuntressLive]: Wow! That's amazing, what a beautiful place. Where is it? Is that a city?!!!!
Yes, wow, I understand where that's coming from. Looking ahead as I exit the forest, I can see that I'm on top of a hill. In the distance, I can see a vast plain with low grass, a huge lake to my left with beautiful blue waters, and the clear blue sky only makes the view even more beautiful. But the most incredible part would be the city in the distance.
Even from afar, I can see the enormous walls that surround the area, the gray walls that seem to be made of metal and stone, the carriages coming and going through the gate guarded by men in full armor, and especially the magnificent castle rising into the sky in the middle of the city.
"A bunch of poorly drawn houses, my ass," is the only thing I can mutter as I have this view.