Harmonious chirping, the rustling of leaves and a variety of other ambient sounds entered my ears.
I opened my eyes slowly to allow for accommodation to the bright light.
After a period of adjustment, the sight of an unnaturally vibrant forest came into view.
'Deja vu?'
'Where am I? What?! Why am I naked on the ground?'
'Wait, My body! My body is… animated?'
"AAAAH!"
Intense pain gripped my head as a wave of memories flooded my brain.
I gasped.
"Sheahran!"
I jumped to my feet and started running.
I had no idea whether I headed in the right direction or not, all I knew was that I had to get to the lake immediately.
That disgusting and oppressive pressure… Just thinking about it sent paralyzing chills down my spine.
I stopped beside a tree to catch my breath.
My mind raced with questions.
'What happened? Is Sheahran okay? What the hell was that pressure?'
An array of emotions washed over me, causing my thoughts stray towards a darker outcome.
As I prepared myself to continue my search, a sudden realisation struck.
'Sheahran is more powerful and experienced than me. She ejected me from that place for a reason... Wait, where exactly am I? This doesn't feel like the Upper Garden'
The urge to search for Sheahran disappeared.
When thinking about things more clearly, I realised just how foolish I acted. It should have been clear from the start that the forest I woke up in, was different to the one I arrived in. It just felt different, I couldn't really explain the feeling. It was the same feeling that warned me to take caution from this point forward.
I couldn't concern myself with someone else's survival when my own was in severe jeopardy. I had to find a way to become strong enough to protect myself.
'How do I improve my stats?... Ah, should I try that?'
When thinking about the system, an idea came to mind.
"Display Inventory"
The semi-transparent purple screens displayed a grid, similar to what you would find in video games.
'It worked!'
My inventory was empty for the most part, with only two crucial items available to withdraw.
I selected a plain grey robe and dagger, labelled [Training gear] and inspected them.
[Training Robe: Offers reasonable protection against the elements]
[Defence: 10]
[Durability: 120/120]
[Effects: 10% bonus IP to system quests rewards when equipped. *Auto-repair when placed inside inventory]
[Training Dagger: A decent dagger to hunt small animals]
[Attack power: 10]
[Durability: 50/50]
[Effects: 1 point increase to strength for final blow kills during system or world quests. *Auto-repair when placed inside inventory]
Sheahran's words echoed in my mind.
'Well...it's better than nothing'
I equipped the robe then shifted my focus to the panel I left for later.
"Display profile"
[Explorer Profile]
[Name: Mikhail Henry]
[Synchronised form: High Elf]
[Age: 22]
[Influence Level: 0]
[Integration points: 0]
[Stats]
[Vitality: 15]
[Magic: 25]
[Stamina: 15]
[Agility: 15]
[Strength: 10]
[Defence: 10]
[Charm: 40]
[Abilities]
[Unique: Emulator]
[Innate: Synchronised Explorer Vision]
[Traits]
[Acquired Trait: Adaptability]
[Skills]
[Acquired Skill: Boundless (Active)]
I selected the Traits panel to view my mysteriously Acquired trait.
[Adaptability: Allows user to swiftly adapt to any situation to gain favourable results]
'Oh? It's better than I thought'
A grin appeared on my face as I read the description. Once again, I felt immense gratitude for Sheahran. Despite her lack of response, it's quite apparent that she's responsible for my acquisition of the trait as well as that skill.
Since I couldn't necessarily test the trait, I decided to do the next best thing.
I stared at a rock in the distance that appeared to be around one hundred meters away.
I envision myself standing beside the rock, took a step forward and activated
My vision blurred and the surroundings warped. When my sight recovered, I noticed that I stood beside the rock as planned.
My head spun causing my balance to falter.
I fell to the side, but caught myself on the rock to regain my balance.
It happened then.
A sharp and burning pain filled my lungs, leaving me gasping for air.
-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
A deafening throb resounded in my head as my heart threatened to burst out of my chest.
My body felt absurdly hot and heavy. I struggled to keep myself off the ground.
My knees trembled as I panted heavily.
'My lungs are on fire! How am I this exhausted?'
The status screen flashed in my mind.
'My stamina…'
Sweating profusely, I sat down against the rock to recover from an incomprehensible exhaustion.
What I'd hoped to be a saving grace turned out to be a single use item. Well, for now at least. Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing when that would change.
Regrettably, I didn't have time to celebrate or enjoy the momentous occasion. Although I just teleported, albeit a short distance, I had to confirm something of the utmost importance.
'One hundred meters… Is that the farthest that I can go before exhaustion sets in?'
'Also, I need to figure out what the optimal distance would be to have energy remaining in case of emergencies'
The second part was crucial, it would be pointless to use Boundless to escape a dangerous situation, only to be left helpless immediately after.
I had to master, or at the very least, become competent with the limited range I could activate the ability.
After recovering my stamina, I walked back to the starting point to begin a second attempt.
My goal was to travel farther than my previous attempt, beyond the rock as far as I could.
I took a deep breath and envisioned myself standing two hundred meters beyond the rock.
The surroundings warped and I found myself standing beside the rock once again.
My head spun like before, but this time, I couldn't prevent myself from falling to the ground.
My body ached all over, but my legs took the brunt of it.
It felt as though they had been stabbed all the way to the bone.
If not for the crippling exhaustion, an agonizing scream would have resounded throughout the forest.
'...It hurts'
Overwhelmed with pain and exhaustion I lost consciousness.
***
-Rustle
-Tap-Tap
The sounds of approaching footsteps woke me.
The aching in my body had dulled, however, the exhaustion still weighed me down. Fortunately my limbs responded when I tried to move them.
I decided to remain laying down for the time being. As foolish as it was, I had to conserve as much energy as I could in the event that I needed to act swiftly.
Turning my head to the side, I surveyed the area to determine what was approaching.
'Ah Shit! Of all things'
Despite the distance between us, I easily identified the creatures approaching me.
Small in stature, green skin with yellow eyes and sharp teeth, covered by a brown loincloth.
I activated SEV for one simple reason, and that reason soon revealed itself.
[Goblin scout]
[Current threat level: Moderate]
[System message]
[New System Quest available!]
[Scouting party]
[Completion requirements: Escape the area or Defeat the enemy]
[Difficulty Rank: C]
[Reward: 30TP]
[Failure to complete: Death]
A string of system notifications filled my vision.
It was fortunate that no sound accompanied the messages, otherwise I'd be screwed before I could make a decision.
'What the hell is this? Why is a C-Ranked quest popping up when I'm F-Ranked at best?... And now of all times!'
The cold and harsh reality of my current circumstances just slapped me in the face.
'Seriously? I get 10TP per goblin, that's low even for a C-Ranked quest'
Failure led to death.
Escape or fight? How the hell was I supposed to do either of that?
My body felt like lead due to the backlash of Boundless. With my stats being as pathetic as they were, I had no chance at escaping, much less beating three monsters classified as moderate threats individually.
Regardless of the choice that I made, I had to get up immediately.
I rolled away from the approaching monsters then stood up.
(Garru Garru!)
The goblin scouts looked at me in surprise, then suddenly, they displayed their fangs with disgusting grins
The goblins looked excited at first, licking their lips as they approached me.
(Garru Garru?)
They stopped abruptly with what appeared to be looks of confusion.
They looked at each, other then back at me as though they were scrutinising my appearance.
'This damn face'
"Let me clear up your confusion"
I lifted my robe to my waist with a wry grin.
"Do you like what you see?"
(GARRU?)
"To be clear, I don't swing that way, so fuck off"
(GARRU GARRU!)
The goblins roared in anger. They drew their daggers and ran towards me.
'What should I do now? Should I try Boundless again? At a shorter distance?'
'No, my body can't handle another use, especially now'
After experiencing the hellish backlash from using the ability consecutively, I had to accept that at my current level, Boundless was a limited use skill.
My body felt as though it was rooted to the ground. I knew that running away would be impossible, but I had to try something.
I summoned the training dagger and took a few steps back.
'Now is as good of a time as any, but what should I emulate?'
I wracked my brain trying to find one useful ability among an ocean of possibilities, and time was running out.
'Screw it, I'll just go with this!'