[-POV kiyoshi izumi, since hideyoshi is unconscious or missing for
narration-]
I was alerted by a thud. when i looked i saw hideyoshi, down cold to his side. i crouched down and shaked him gently for a response. i called out his name, but there wasn't any response. i was a bit terrified, so i picked him up and supported him on my shoulders. he was slightly conscious enough to start walking a little. his hand had constant movements, maybe the pain from the bite he recieved.
There were constant chatters about the current scene everyone is facing. the crowd started to grow around, and it was quite uncomfortable. i remembered i had something up in my sleeves. i used a skill, where i was able to move hideyoshi from the public spot, to somewhere quiet. we ended up in somewhere old and crippled, it was quite dusty and abandoned. The walls were greased and slightly damaged. i blamed myself for trusting my own skills that i used for the first time.
"tch, damn it." i muttered in my breath. before doing anything, i settled hideyoshi into a confined spot, where he could lean on comfortably. i ruffled his hair a bit, a small gesture of affection out of nowhere, as i whispered to him, "i'll be around." and went to look at the place. it was slightly dark, and somewhat felt a little heavy. i rummaged my hand all over the place, maybe trying to find something invisible hiding in the atmosphere.
i wanted to find something to heal the bite hide had. i kept wavering my hand around. then suddenly i felt like i clicked on something. i was baffled for a second at what i am looking at.
"a system panel?" i muttered out. i reached my hand towards the screeen panel, and tried to touch it. It actually reacted. i did hear pixel sounds while i placed my finger on the panel. i moved the panel, and kept it a little above of me. i saw a tab display on the panel and clicked on it, which showed multiple options. i wanted to know what it was, and i pressed the 'about' tab. it was a huge text shown before me, each line looked like it was explaining something in detail. i didn't have a choice, so i began reading it in my mind, looking at each and every line which could help me solve my own doubts about this mess.
i read this line aloud, "You are currently in one of the realms of dimensional gates, where you are tasked with different challenges, to return back without harm. The realms won't be easy. if you die, you lose your progress. if you have five consecutive deaths in a row, you lose your incarnation index in this realm and in the real world as well..." i stopped from there. basically, dying means to go back to square one, while dying five times means death in the real world too. i was having a small wave of fear at one point, then i relaxed, i somewhat felt confident. i closed the panel, but another one popped up. i looked at it which said, "scenario quests will be initiated shortly."
My first task, i thought to myself. I closed that panel too and went to a shop tab which i had seen in the tab display. There were many items, each sold at a particuar price. I clicked at an item that looked like a healing spoid, and another panel displayed in front of it, which asked for a purchase confirmation. I looked at the currency and was confused at first. "Void coins?", i muttered at confusion. Then i moved my gaze to my current amount. It was in zero, as expected for someone who just knew about these kind of stuff. I gave a look of disapproval to myself and rubbed the back of my head. How am i supposed to get these type of coins here?
I closed both of the panels and planned to head back. As i went down the same aisle i left hide, there was nothing there. Armed with realization, i panicked. i swore to him that i'll return back. I ran in different directions, but everything seemed like a loop. "This systemized thing wasn't kidding around," i thought to myself. i wasted no second, and continued looking for hide. There are numerous chance he would end up in danger considering he might be unconscious or weak now.
i kept walking, my speed slightly higher. i looked again and again, and somehow came into an endless hallway, where every side i turn, the aisle will be the same. i was hopeless for a moment, i stared into the atmosphere, with no ideas or thoughts in my mind. then a screen panel appeared in front of me, with a task.
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[ Dimensional Gates ]
Quest : - I -
Quest Description:
You are currently a Sole Surveyor. You're on your own now.
Find the real exit of the infinite aisle realm.
Allotted time: ???
Rewards of completion:
"escape the scenario" option (Cannot be retrieved when used once),
■■■■■■■■■, selection of new skill.
Penalty for failure: Death, restart of scenario.
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The task is not easy, i get it. "i'm stuck here," i thought. "i'll never get back to hide." i thought again. My mind raced itself, the feelings of guilt, rage and regret for doing this simple mistake keeps flowing. My heart felt heavy, since i was feeling remorseful regret over this action. i stopped my thoughts and kept walking endlessly, knowing there might not be an exit to something like this, which is equivalent to infinity. The panel was kept on for the time being, as i just read everything again and again while i walk. I noticed this, There was a censored text in the rewards description. i interacted with the text, but nothing seemed to be happening.
This is where i would pour my full interest in. I unlocked my inner amateur detective senses and was feeling determined to solve the code. At first, i counted the letters. "7..8..9..." i mumbled while counting, just like how a normal child would do. There were 9 code symbols, and the simplest answer could be found when the path to this coded text becomes luminant. So basically, there was no point in solving something like this with just the number of letters. I sighed to myself, this was really getting boring.
I kept walking, for hours now. i don't even know which path i'm in. I felt tired, i have no idea what time it is. I took a pocket watch, and checked it. The time stopped, neither of the hands were moving. i shaked the watch firmly, but nothing seemed to work. i got frustrated a bit, and kept the watch back. I recollected what i read in the quest panel, then i remembered there wasn't a time limit for this quest. i sat down, and leaned against a wall. i spaced out for a moment, and looked around. I saw a compass, and picked it up. it seemed to be working, as the magnetic poles were active. This was the best chance, i immediately got up and held the compass in my hand, while looking at the directions.
The compass kept reacting violently, to a specific energy source. The hands were pretty shaky, but it was able to direct the way it was pointing. i followed it, and kept doing so. i'm not sure for how much time i was maintaining this pace, but i was split in two paths. one path was a point where the compass was reacting severely, while the other had a large door potential for an exit. i wanted to change my persepectives at this point, so i went towards the large door. i went closer, and stood close enough at an arm's length.
I extended my arm out, and pushed the door. What i saw was nothing but which looked like a completely empty space, in other words, a void. i stared at it, and knew there was nothing to do here. i turned away and began walking. But something felt heavy, and i stopped. it felt sharp, honestly. i turned around, and saw a huge blade through my body, connected with a chain and continuing through the door i opened. i was speechless, and before i was able to act, my body started cracking into almost unattachable cracks. I went down on my knees in an instant, my grip and consciousness slowly fading. The blade started to flow out something dark, combining it with the major cracks, and ending my life.
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Death count: 1/5
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