Bittu ascended the tree, reaching its zenith to witness the captivating sunrise painting the forest horizon. The sky glowed with the rising sun, casting its golden hues upon a shimmering river that enhanced the mesmerizing scene. Enthralled by the breathtaking view, Bittu relished the moment before descending, having discerned the direction he needed to take.
Venturing in that chosen direction, Bittu encountered both familiar and exotic plantations, many boasting fruits and flowers previously unseen by his eyes. Genuine curiosity impelled him to explore these unknown botanical wonders. After approximately ten minutes, the tranquil ambiance was gently interrupted by the soft murmur of a nearby river.
Thirsty and having refrained from drinking water since his departure from the restaurant near the bridge, Bittu hastened towards the river. Placing his food at a distance, he stooped to drink. Before drinking, he noticed that the river water looked clean, entirely without any dirt or wastage. It looked drinkable.
After quenching his thirst, Bittu sensed a malevolent gaze. Without hesitation, he jumped back, discovering a strange creature with aggressive eyes—an enigmatic blend of an alligator and something unknown. Its scales shimmered with an otherworldly iridescence.
Upon gazing at the creature, Bittu felt genuine fear. He couldn't comprehend why, but his body froze at the creature's sight. His instincts, a trait unknown to him until now, screamed at him to run and escape. There was no conceivable way he could even contend with the creature in a fight.
Desperation and panic overwhelmed Bittu as he saw the strange creature approaching him leisurely from the river. Despite his intense efforts to move, his body resisted. Struggling with all his might and will, he attempted to command his frozen limbs. Suddenly, as if released from an icy grip, his body spun three times.
Unaware of what caused his sudden freedom, Bittu didn't ponder the mystery. Without thinking, he turned and fled, leaving his food behind. The mysterious creature, surprised by the unexpected resistance, shifted its attention to the abandoned meal, investigating it at its own pace, unaware that Bittu's escape was crucial for its survival.
Once again, Bittu failed to notice that the seemingly ordinary half black and half white coin he obtained from John had just saved his life. The coin, sensing the unknown energy emanating from the creature, albeit in a passive state, absorbed the energy. This caused it to glow in a spiritual black and white light. The inner part of the coin, originally dull, expanded and transformed about twenty percent of its surface into radiant black and white color. The coin could have absorbed more, but Bittu's escape interrupted the process, and the coin returned to its normal appearance.
After running for some time without looking back, Bittu came to a stop, catching his breath. Surveying his surroundings, he found himself in yet another unfamiliar area of the forest, surrounded by the unknown.
Bittu then sat down to rest for a while. While resting, he thought,
"...huff...huff...What....was that?.. Huff, I have never seen... huff... this type of creature. It looked like....an alligator but also...something unknown." As he remembered the creature, he trembled, and goosebumps once again appeared on his body.
"Looks like I can't go near the river anymore." As Bittu had these thoughts, he also thought that he couldn't take the forest created by the nexus for granted and take safety and caution as the top priority. He also needs to head to the village fast and escape this place.
After resting for a while, Bittu stood up and searched for a particular tree; the coconut tree. He knew that since the river was nearby these should definitely be somewhere nearby.
After a while of searching, he found the tree. He climbed the tree and took three coconuts from the top. He then climbed down and started to break them. He then drank the water that was in the coconuts. That's right– he found the tree to drink the water in its fruits. He knew since he couldn't drink the river water he could only drink from these fruits. He also ate the soft inside part of the coconuts.
Bittu then climbed onto one of the nearby trees and stayed up there as he knew staying on the ground in an unknown forest is a king for death.
As he sat on a tree, Bittu started to think back to his encounter with the creature and also his response at that time.
'I never knew that I can feel threat. I thought that these can only be felt by animals.'
Bittu didn't know what happened to him that he also got senses like animals. After not finding an answer for a while, he decided to learn more about his status.
Name: Bittu Sah
Age: 19
Race: Human (male)
Stats:
Strength -> G
Agility -> G
Stamina -> E
Constitution -> F
Spirit -> Locked
Perception -> F
[Abilities: None]
[Alias: None]
[Equipment: None]
[Inventory: Empty]
As Bittu looked at the status, he realized that he has basically ignored the status all this while and just gave a superficial look at it. He didn't even know that the status had all this information.
It had his name, his age, his gender even his race.....Race?
"There are other races in the game? Looks like there are some interesting things in this damned place." Bittu thought with a hint of curiosity sparkling in his eyes. The enthusiasm that was lost, once again emerged even if just a little.
He then proceeded to look at his stats.
'Strength,.... Hmmm... It seems simple enough; it is the amount of power that I can generate from my body.'
'Agility,... Hmmm... That's a bit confusing... Does this refer to my speed in general or speed regarding something particular.....This needs to be checked.'
'Stamina,.... Hmm... This one is also easy to understand; it refers to the amount of time I can last while doing anything.'
'Constitution,... Hmm... This one also seems easy to understand; it refers to my body.'
'Spirit,... Hmmm...Spirit? What does it mean? I can't understand what it means.' Bittu tried to open the spirit stat hoping to get some details about it, but he didn't get any information but a message from the AI.
[ The spirit stat is locked. Unable to see the further. ]
Bittu was surprised when he heard what the AI said. 'It seems the AI does give us some information.'
Bittu immediately thought of the strength stat, and the AI spoke again.
[ Your strength stat is at rank G ]
"What does rank G refer to??" Bittu questioned to no one in particular. But, unexpectedly the system still answered him.
[ All stats start from rank G. It is the lowest stat. All the players get all the stat starting from rank G. ]
"What?? All the players' stat starts from rank G...That does seem fair." Bittu said but disappointment was clear in Bittu's voice because he never thought that his strength that he was somewhat proud of was the same as everyone.
Bittu, somewhat sad, touched the other stats.
[ Your agility stat is at rank G ]
[ Your stamina
stat is at rank E ]
[ Your constitution stat is at rank F ]
[ The spirit stat is locked. Unable to see the further. ]
[ Your perception stat is at rank F ]
As Bittu heard the ranks of all the stats, happiness grew on his face; he was content.
'Even if not the strength stat, my other stats are above the norm.' Bittu thought with some pride.
'My highest stat is of stamina, followed by perception and constitution. The others are similar to others.'
'Perception... Perception... Hmmm... Yes, I got it how I got those instinct that warned me earlier. It must be because of this stat.'
'This stat seems to be related with my senses. That instinct should be because of me stating to develop my sixth senses.' Bittu thought with some excitement.
Bittu after seeings all this looked further down. He saw that there were more column. These columns were empty. They were; Abilities, Alias, Equipment and Inventory.
'Abilities... Will I get superpowers too. Like all those whom I used to see when I was a child.' thought Bittu while he laughed, he was curious as to what abilities he would get. He then looked at the next column.
'Alias...' The moment Bittu read this in his thoughts.
Time stopped, everything and everyone in this realm stopped. The fluttering leaves of the trees, the flowing water, the wind, the people in the dungeon, everything stopped.
*************
In the vastness of the universe, rises an unknown peak, the loftiest mountain known to exist. Nestled in the heart of the Himalayas, this celestial giant stands as an unparalleled testament to the cosmic forces that shape our universe. Adorned with glaciers and snowfields, its majestic peaks challenge the spirit of adventurers and climbers who dare to ascend its daunting slopes. This unnamed pinnacle, often referred to as the "roof of the universe," captivates with its breathtaking grandeur, an enigma within the cosmic tapestry.
In a secluded village perched on the slopes of this unnamed cosmic mountain, hidden from the prying eyes of the universe, a mythical community of unknown creatures resides. These unknown creatures are named Yetis. These legendary creatures, regarded as beings of the highest order, possess extraordinary powers over ice and water. With fur as white as the cosmic snow that blankets their habitat, the Yetis gracefully navigate the mountainous terrain, harnessing their ice and water abilities to create mystical landscapes and maintain the village's secrecy. Their existence is shrouded in mystery, and their powers are said to be both protective and awe-inspiring, embodying the enchanting spirit of the celestial wilderness.
This mountain is what divides the dungeon and the Eternal Nexus realm. In one side of the realm is the dungeon and in the other side is the Nexus realm.
The Yetis that live on this mountain are the ones that ensure that nothing out of the ordinary happens in the dungeon realm.
Currently, the Head of the Yetis that was enjoying the view of some of the children of the village playing was alerted when he sensed the disturbance in the dungeon. He immediately used one of his authorities to check what has happened.
He saw that the time of the entire realm was frozen. Each and everyone including the elements of the dungeon was frozen. He was baffled as to what happened in the dungeon that too on the first day of the starting of the dungeon.
He immediately tried to find the source of the problem. In a second he managed to locate the source of the problem but he couldn't find as to what the problem was.
The boy didn't have anything that should be able to cause this phenomena. The Yeti used one of it's abilities and instantly arrived in front of Bittu. After inspecting him for a while, the Yiti found that Bittu just had one the special coins of the dungeon. He was surprised to see that someone has already got it from the start of the tutorial but he didn't think further about it and proceeded to check for one more time but he still couldn't find anything. He was confused.
He decided to touch him and inspect him more intensely.
************
Bittu who was the culprit behind all this wasn't even aware as to what has happened. He was currently in a black space or... A black void. He tried to speak but he couldn't even listen to his voice. He tried to feel his body but he couldn't do that too.
Bittu wasn't panicked when he saw all this. This was because he felt he was at home like he was in the care of..... an elder. He felt this feeling do tried to call out to him but he couldn't even hear himself let alone others. Bittu just stayed there looking around trying to find where he was.
Bittu had no idea that a talk was going on some distance away from him. It was going on between a masked man and a man that looked suprising like him. He just looked more mature and more handsome. He had a handsome face that was beyond description. With his red eyes that was glowing in the dark, he looked like he could conquer all the beauties of the world by just his looks.
The one that looked like Bittu was currently talking with a masked figure. It was quite difficult to describe the masked figure because one couldn't pinpoint how he looked. If one looks intensely at him they would realise that they couldn't remember his mask and body at all. All one could identify was that the one speaking was a man, that too only with his voice.
"....."