A heavy, damp coat, the air clung to his skin. The cement floor leached warmth from his bare skin, numbing him to the core. Light shunned this place.
Water cascaded from overhead. Gravity steered the frigid liquid, delicately guiding each droplet along his face, and forcing its taste onto his tongue.
He loathed this flavour; and he despised gravity for making him taste it, but he couldn't avoid it. Gravity was omnipresent, and it knew no fatigue.
Boredom and loneliness set in, as they always did, overpowering every other emotion. Such was life in this pit: solitude and claustrophobia. Hence why he picked fights with abstract concepts. There was nothing better to do. Time was relentless, and it was wearing him thin.
He drew in a deep breath. The frigid air seared his lungs, diluting whatever warmth his body held.
Embrace the suffering. When the flesh grows weak, temper the mind, he repeated to himself.
In the corner of the cell, within arm's reach, lay his clothes, discarded. Their warmth and comfort almost seemed to call to him.
He frowned. Inhaling, he forced the frigid air deeper into his lungs.
Patience, the time will come.
Chilling stabs assaulted him from within. The crashing drops persisted, relentless and unwavering.
A disturbance rippled through the stillness. Dim, blue light repelled the darkness, bathing his hunched back in a ghostly glow. Thin, ailing strands of hair draped down his body. Skin clung to bone like silk to stone, each vein and fiber distinct. Yet, when he turned, his pupils glinted beneath the faint light, dark marbles set adrift in a bloodied sea.
"Planet A481C, local name: Vakus. Commencing initiation. Welcome to the Prime Realm," announced a voice inside his head.
Quivering fingers sought soft flesh but met sharp, boned edges. Laughter erupted from a sore throat. Unused to the sensation, the man choked. He gasped and wheezed as tears streamed down his cheeks, his laughter drowning out the pitter-patter of the drops.
The voices. They had come. The madness… had come.
And with it, came the hallucinations.
From the strange oval structure before him emerged a figure. Green-skinned, approximately the size of a child, it brandished a crude stone knife. One foot inside the rippling surface, it never registered the sharp yellow nails that punctured its throat.
The man yanked his hand back, and the once–animated body thudded onto the ground.
"You are the first being to eliminate a lifeform on this planet. Title gained: {Belligerent}-[Common]: Agility, Strength, and Durability experience a marginal boost when initiating combat."
"You are the first being to eliminate a [Common] lifeform on this planet. Title gained: {Butcher of Commons}-[Common]: Inflict marginally increased damage against common enemies."
A flood of information assaulted his consciousness, the sheer volume of it almost frying his brain.
Soren, he murmured, his words triggering a virtual panel that floated into view as the assault subsided.
Name: Soren
Species: Vakus Human
Rank: Common
Titles: {Belligerent}-[Common], {Butcher of Commons}-[Common]
Level: 0
Health: 23.2/84
Mana: 5/5
Vitality: 0.2 (0.7)
Durability: 0.1 (0.2)
Strength: 0.3 (0.7)
Agility: 0.3 (0.8)
Dexterity: 0.3 (1)
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 1
Perception: 3
Willpower: 1.3
Charisma: 0.1
The attributes mirrored his condition. His body was weak, but his mind persisted, honed and unyielding. Among these attributes, Perception and Intelligence stood out. Though, if their names were any indication, their practicality was limited in this environment.
A flash of light pulsated from the goblin's head. Soren knelt amidst the blood. He pried the knife from the goblin's lifeless fingers and lifted it high above his head. His weight moved in harmony with the blade's point.
A revolting crunch.
The first strike didn't breach the cranium. The dagger came down again. Skin and bone caved inward in a shower of blood.
Again.
The crunching of bone harmonized with the water's trickle, reverberating off the narrow chamber walls.
Biology yielded to the might of iron, and the goblin's brain lay exposed. A mass of nauseating pink fluid oozed out the crushed shell. Soren sliced into the squishy muscle. The left and right hemispheres parted to reveal a grey, amorphous crystal. Save that it thrummed with a dull light, it didn't differ much from an unpolished gem.
Tentatively, Soren extended his fingers and the crystal dissolved upon contact, transmuting into a gaseous substance that seeped into his flesh. His head jerked back, slamming against the cement wall as an odd energy wormed through him, saturating his entire being. Shock and pain morphed into ecstasy. Bliss and euphoria failed to describe the sensation that inundated his very soul. Above, the water flowed, one drop at a time.
Gradually, the pleasure waned to hazy throbs, each intoxicating caress arousing a desperate, almost painful yearning for more.
His nails dug into his thigh, drawing blood and drowning the lust with a wave of pain.
In. Out.
His breath steadied as it flowed through his lungs. The frost helped him compose himself— regain a semblance of control.
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 0 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Agility"
His eyes, twin pools of blood, constricted. The Prime Realm had to be a breeding ground of death and slaughter if essences, in their enslaving ecstasy, could enhance one's power. The allure was irresistible, a siren's call that drove men beyond madness with desire.
A smile crept across Soren's lips. Conflict, like gravity, was an essential part of life and over the years, it had become an intrinsic part of him. His blood simmered with anticipation. The key to his liberation had landed at his feet, and he was going to seize it. Eager for more visitors, he strolled behind the portal,
Another silhouette emerged. The creature scanned the surroundings, oblivious to the danger behind it.
Soren's hand shot forward and for that fleeting instant, it felt as though the universe itself uttered a sigh. The laws of nature, normally steadfast and unyielding, seemed to shiver and twist, reluctantly permitting this violation of their edicts. His hand accelerated mid-movement, piercing the goblin's spine with ease.
A chill swept over him as the body hit the ground. He examined himself from head to toe for any trace that he had wielded something…unnatural, but there was nothing. His skin was unblemished. Yet, those sensations must've been caused by something.
The word surfaced unbidden as if it had been lurking in the back of his mind all along.
The System.
The very mention of its name seemed to herald an age unrestricted by mortal rules and conceptions. An age paved in essence. An age that could uncage him.
Eagerness suffused the atmosphere as he waited for the glow of essence, but it never appeared. Perhaps not all creatures possessed essence crystals. It made sense for them to be unique to a few creatures. The issue with this theory was that the goblins were not special. The System explicitly labeled them as [Common]. His hypothesis had to be tested.
Crouching down, Soren retrieved a knife from the goblin's belt, and with a deliberate strike, splintered its temple. A second hit followed and faint rays peeked out between the skull fragments.
Then, suddenly, the room resonated with the sound of footsteps. Soren tilted his body to the side, extreme flexibility allowing him to maintain his balance as a goblin's dagger swept over his shoulder, grazing his cheek. He seized the goblin's wrist and twisted it violently until the weapon slipped from its grasp. Then, with practiced ease, he slung its arm over his shoulder and slammed it into the concrete.
The impact disoriented the creature, giving Soren the chance to slice its neck open and retreat until it bled out.
After making sure that there were no more threats, Soren dragged the new corpses behind the portal and stacked them into a pile, on which he settled to examine their essence crystals.
Each crystal was about the size of a clenched fist, devoid of any specific pattern. Their surfaces were rough and uneven, and they emitted a subtle warmth, barely strong enough to be felt. Although that lsat thing might have something to do with the place they were stored in.
Unable to deduce anything further by sight, Soren decided to absorb them, but nothing happened. His eyebrows furrowed. Clutching a crystal in each hand, he shook them. Still nothing.
He bashed them against his forehead, rubbed them across his body, even chanted gibberish. The result remained unchanged. Then, he pictured them dissolving into vapor and seeping into his pores. And so they did.
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 0 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Agility"
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 0 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Dexterity"
Too much. Way too much.
As the twin crystals merged with his senses, the familiar flood of euphoria obliterated any rational thought he might have. Overloaded by pleasure, it felt as though his very mind was on the verge of combustion. Soren convulsed; helpless, utterly stripped of the luxury to resist.
Fortunately, no goblins attacked during his meltdown. But he couldn't rely on luck for long. They would come. There was no doubt. The portal led them straight to him. Down here, there existed no sanctuary. He had to rise.
He swayed as he struggled against his own weight. Yet, before he could gather himself, two silhouettes emerged side by side. He didn't hesitate. He couldn't afford to.
With every ounce of strength he had left, he lunged for the goblin on the left, aiming for its throat. His acceleration defied reality, but the right goblin reacted with puzzling swiftness, and shoved its companion out the way. Soren's nails barely grazed the goblin's shoulder.
Wounded but mostly unscathed, the creature roared in fury, retaliating with a speed that eclipsed his own. Soren couldn't block, only retreat. Each step narrowly evaded a lethal strike. On the third, he pivoted sharply, his shoulder scraping the wall.
The dimensions of the cell were etched inside his memory. The goblin, however, was fighting in an unfamiliar area.
Blinded by rage, and struggling to see in the darkness, it struck the damp wall, the unexpected collision sending its knife flying from its hand. Seizing the opportunity, Soren lunged forward. His fingers plunged into the goblin's neck and wrenched its esophagus.
At the same time, he avoided a downward swipe from the other goblin. The creature couldn't suspend its attack mid-movement due to its sheer speed, and it provided an opening.
Soren threw his knife at it. The blade embedded itself inside the goblin's shoulder, disrupting its focus and balance, and Soren pounced, swiping frenziedly.
The goblin howled as its face was mangled. Stumbling back, it crashed into the first corpse, and fell down flailing. Soren yanked the knife out its shoulder and drove it into its stomach.
He gasped for air.
In. Out.
His stomach rumbled. He was exhausted. The fight was taking it toll on his malnurished body, but complaining achieved nothing. Holding his knee, he stood up and dragged the corpses to the back of the cell. He stacked them onto the pile and began extracting their essences.
Energy filled him as he activated the first essence. Soren fought to maintain control, but once again, his body betrayed him. His vision blurred, and his muscles cramped. God he craved more.
Pleasure and agony wreaked havoc inside him, but he persisted. He couldn't afford to lose himself. There was no turning back.
The seconds ticked by, and finally, a smile broke across his lips.
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 1 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Agility"
No wonder they were quicker, their level was higher. The difference was apparent, not overwhelming, but enough to worry him about stronger opponents. At least with this upgrade he should be just as fast.
Why hadn't he leveled up, though? He had killed five of them. Assuming that each goblin absorbed roughly double the essences he had to advance, then–
His train of thought was interrupted by three more goblins bursting into the room one after the other. Without missing a beat, Soren hurled his daggers. His motions were a blur as his arms accelerated mid-throw.
The first two knives sank deep into the nearest goblin's back. The monster threw itself onto the ground frantically, evading the third dagger that continued its trajectory, lodging itself inside the second goblin's torso. The remaining knives sailed through the air, missing their targets entirely.
Dagger in hand, the furthest, unwounded goblin charged straight at Soren. Utilizing his longer reach, he tried to kick the creature's head, but it ducked under his shin, and made to stab him in the stomach.
Unfortunately for the goblin, it was weaker, and its arm got blocked. One hand restrained the knife-wielding wrist, while the other descended like an executioner's axe, plunging deep into the crook of the monster's neck.
Soren discarded the lifeless body and hurried to its injured friend. The goblin's spine crunched as he stomped down on its neck. One goblin remained.
The diminutive monster shuffled backward, clutching its bleeding side. Trembling fingers brandished a crude blade. Shaking eyes reflected a pale blue giant.
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 0 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Agility"
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 0 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Agility"
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 0 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Agility"
"You have absorbed the essence of a level 0 Goblin-[Common]. +0.1 Agility"
Upon assimilating the four essences, Soren's Agility reached 1 point. The transformation was incredible. He felt significantly faster, surpassing his former peak.
Years of training and suffering had been distilled into a few dozen minutes and exceeded by seven shiny rocks. Desire threatened to consume him. The rush of power was unforgettable. It compelled him forward, pushing him toward the acrid scent of blood. He yearned for more— more goblins, more essences to consume. Let their blood flow in a riv–
In. Out.
The familiar sting grounded him, anchoring him away from the edge of madness.
Fatigue washed over him. His eyelids felt like lead, and the idea of succumbing to sleep sounded like bliss.
Bam. His palm struck the concrete, sending a jolt of pain spiraling up his arm.
Steel the mind. Temper the heart.
Mere minutes had eclipsed years of combat. If he survived the day, he would be reborn. What challenge would a reinforced gate pose to him then?
Sunlight beckoned. The blue hue of the portal was a welcome change from the darkness, but it paled to the brilliance of the sun. He recalled the warmth of its rays on a summer day, the scent of freshly cut grass, the lingering aftertaste of coffee on the back of his tongue.
One day. That's all he needed to endure.