Why do I sense a predator?
A strange thought wandered into my head, but I quickly chased it away.
"Damnit! I don't get it!"
I yelled in frustration as I rubbed my face and quickly dismissed the infuriating Quill-Book, before sitting down and placing my hands in a buddha hand sign.
I gotta calm down, so I don't break something.
I stared forward at a tree and sighed, "I wonder what my classmates are doing right now?"
"Are they looking for me? Or...have they not realized that am gone?"
My intuition...is telling me that it's the latter...
"They've probably gathered at that lake at least...", I thought about how the girls would have had to take off their uniforms to get in, for that moment a smug smile was making its way to my face but then I quickly shook my head.
"No...am not an NTR protagonist...they're all taken..."
And you're not.
My inner voice spoke, in a mocking tone.
Shut up!
You know...if you had played your cards right with that Bella girl...you would have bagged a 7/10 but you fumbled too hard, and lost your edging streak...now that sigma bagged two baddies...
What in tarnation is this dialogue? Please, I don't speak brainrot.
Am in your brain, British.
Shut up, Sherlock.
I clasped my hands on my head and stood up, "I have to keep going, the earlier I get there...the better...I guess?"
I sighed and continued walking.
Inventory Open.
[Equipped Item:] Silver Lining
The elegant visage of the silver katana rested on my right hand once again, bringing a smirk to my face.
"I still can't believe I have a katana now...well it's in a game but who cares...", I smiled and examined it, bringing it deathly close to my face.
"Hmm...now that I look at it, it's actually an uchigatana..."
What's the difference?
"Glad you asked."
Wait- no I actually don't giv-
Before my inner voice could respond, I spoke,
"The katana is basically the legendary samurai sword. It's that long, curved, one-edged sword you see in every anime and video game with a samurai. Historically, it became super popular during the Edo period which was around 1603 to 1868...I think, anyway... it was because it's perfect for quick-draw cutting techniques. Samurai wore it with the blade facing up, so they could slice in one smooth motion."
I grinned and then continued,
"The uchigatana is like the katana's edgier, more battlefield-friendly older cousin. It was around during the Muromachi period that was much earlier, 1336 to 1573 and samurai wore it blade-down. It was originally a lower-cost sword meant for more practical combat, where you didn't have time for ceremonial draws. Plus, "uchi" literally means "to strike," so it's all about quick strikes and slashes!"
My inner voice was crumpling from the sheer magnitude of the info-dump I pulled on him.
Argh! I should have never let you cook!
"Too bad...I already burned the kitchen."
What?
"What?"
A few moments of awkward silence existed between us before I finally shook my head and continued walking.
It would be nice...if I actually had a real person to talk to...
My expression became dark as I kept walking. Memories of school and my classmates flashed through my mind as I kept moving.
Who knew being isolated could be so painful?
I stopped for a second and frowned.
Wait, huh...?
"What the fuck was that thought?"
Instantly, a frown made its way to my face as I looked around before my gaze settled on the sword. I suddenly remembered its description.
[Effect:] Undying Will: With great solitude, comes great power and great revelations.
Shit, mind attack!
Store!
I immediately dismissed the katana and suddenly the heavy mood I was feeling disappeared.
"Ugh...I knew that sword was bad luck..."
I had an ugly expression on my face.
Great revelations...
I sighed and kept on walking, "I'd rather not go down that thought process."
After over an hour of walking, I stopped and looked up.
It's getting dark...
I froze and then looked around. Suddenly, the Wyvern Woods seemed to have an eerie edge; I begun to feel like I was being watched, or that something was hiding in my peripheral vision or in the trees.
Tsk...I didn't think about night...
Suddenly, I felt cold, like I was being stared at with cold killing intent.
[Bloodlust detected.]
"A-ack!"
I jolted violently and turned to the direction of the gaze, "W-who-who's there?"
There was no response.
Maybe...I just imagined it...
I slowly but cautiously looked forward and stepped forward.
And that step was all it took...
Immediately, the fog before me vanished revealing what it sealed inside.
"Mff!", I instantly slapped my hands over my mouth when I saw what the fog had beheld in its maws.
Skeletons!
Indeed, what I saw were skeletons.
Hundreds of them, in fact, multitudes of them all hung on trees like macabre pinatas; their bones bound together by an invisible force.
My blood instantly ran cold, my face turned pale and my eyes turned bloodshot.
I swallowed hard and refused to blink.
I had the frightening premonition that if I blinked even once, I'll die.
What do I do?! What do I do?!
Every cell in my body was screaming at me to run and...
I did just that.
With all the strength I could muster, I broke into a mad dash.
I can't die! I don't want to die!
I ran as fast as I could, trying my best to escape the horrifying scene of hanging skeletons but...
No matter, how fast I ran, no matter how far I ran...they never vanished...in fact, they got more and more shrouding the woods in white dread.
Yet, I ran.
I ran.
And ran...until, I finally made a grave error.
PLINK!
The sound of a stick breaking under my foot, reverberated across the forest and then...
SNAP!
As if of one mind, all the skeletons in the vicinity suddenly twisted their heads in my direction.
"Oh...shit...", I broke into a cold sweat and took a step back, staring one of the skeletons dead in the eye.
They remained in that position for what seemed like an eternity before finally...
A mad light ignited in their eyes, all at once.
[Extreme bloodlust detected.]
[You are being endangered by an enemy.]
With the sickening feeling of paralysis, came a feeling of absolute dread.
Because... I could see all of it...
Their HUDS.
[Level 4. Skeleton Thrall]