Ch. 4 - Death World (III) (Patreon)

The wall shattered with an enormous crash and the beast came fully into view. A bear the size of a small car. Its fur was mottled green and brown and it was covered in pustules. There were portions of its flesh that were hanging off it and the long, wicked claws carved grooves in the ground where it walked. One eye was missing, leaving a deep, black socket. The teeth were chipped and cracked, giving the creature a ghastly appearance. It was emaciated – ravenous. It roared once it saw Felix and charged.

“Damn!” Felix put the brazier between himself and the bear, dodging aside at the last second, rolling as he landed. The brazier was knocked over and shattered. He had no prior combat training, and the nimble movement shocked him as his body moved by instinct. He reasoned it had to be because of the Warrior Class imparting some basic combat knowledge. “Take this!” He shouted as he threw one of the acidic globules against the side of the bear creature as it barreled past and began to turn.

The acid globe shattered on impact and soaked in the side of the creature. It roared in pain and finished its wheeling charge, coming at Felix once again. It swiped a paw the size of a tire at his head and he ducked under it. He kept backing up not wanting to get close to this thing. The elevator shaft! Felix thought. I can climb that cable fast.

Felix rolled under the next paw-swipe and started to sprint towards the crevice, only to feel an enormous impact on his back as the bear monster crashed into him with its bulk. He sprawled on the ground as it pounced, biting down towards his neck. The crushing pain was immediate, but the armor did its job in protecting his vital area.

Don’t panic! Let me use a Power. Detect Weakness. The voice was panicking.

Felix stabbed backward as best he could, shoving the knife into the bear’s face. It roared and reeled back, giving him the chance to roll to his feet. He held the Knife in front of him and saw several bright, golden circles appear around the bear’s neck, the side where he threw the acid, and the eyes. “I can’t beat this thing!” Felix turned and ran, successfully getting through the crevice.

He ran faster than he ever had and was surprised at how easy it was to accelerate to a full sprint and the ease he was breathing with. The roar from behind and a quick glance confirmed the thing was following him. Get to the elevator shaft! he thought.

Good idea. Then we can drop stuff on him! Cast him down from the heavens.

You can read my thoughts?

I know everything going on in your head.

Felix huffed as he reached the elevator and gripped the cable, sheathed his knife, and shoved the acid orbs into a hip pouch. He pulled himself up hand-over-hand in a shimmy that reminded him of P.E. back in High School. Instead of a teacher yelling at him to climb faster, the roar of the monstrosity pursuing him was pushing him onward.

Sparing a glance down, he was dismayed to see that the thing was pushing its claws into the sides of the shaft and coming after him, albeit at a slower pace. “Oh, come on! Give me a break!” He made it up to the same set of metal doors he came through. Find me something heavy, Felix thought to the voice in his head.

Not enough Anima. Go back to that room with the corpse.

Felix ran to the room on the left, opening the door to the alien corpse. Felix grabbed the desk and hefted it over his head with surprising ease. He carried it over to the shaft. Glancing down, he saw the bear about thirty feet away. “Take this!” He threw it with all his might. The desk plummeted down and crashed into the bear-monster, breaking across its face as it roared. But it kept coming despite the smashed face, teeth, and snout.

Try throwing one of the acid globes at the weak spots.

Felix reached into his hip-pouch and did as advised, trying his best to line up a throw. “I should wait for it to get closer,” he muttered. And so, he did, despite every instinct telling him to either run or throw it now – he knew he wasn’t the best pitcher, and he only had one acid sphere after this one.

The bear creature got closer, and as it was just about reaching distance from Felix, he chucked the globule at it. The sphere impacted the empty eye socket and splashed around the face. The monster roared and kept coming, swiping at Felix who deftly stepped backward.

I have a crazy idea. Tackle it.

Are you insane? That’s a hundred-foot drop!

Trust me. I know the limits of your Health. I’ve fallen from much higher. You’ll be fine. There was a small chuckle of smug satisfaction and nervousness. And there’s probably an Achievement to go along with it.

Felix gulped down the tension rising in his throat and held his knife in a blade-down grip. If I go the other way, I can outrun it.

You can’t outrun a bear going full speed over open ground. Do what I’m telling you. If you die, I will be trapped again. Trust me.

As soon as the bear’s head appeared at the edge of the shaft, Felix stabbed into it. The knife plunged deep into the bear’s other eye, and the monster roared in pain as it fell. Felix’s momentum took him with it, and he screamed in fear as he free-fell after the thing.

Land on it!

Felix tried to angle his body and reorient his fall by kicking off the walls – his Class seemingly giving him some acrobatic ability as well as combat intuition. The bear hit the floor with a sickening thud and splat as deep, sickly red blood splashed the walls of the shaft. Felix fell onto it a second later, feeling a crunch as something snapped; but the bear had cushioned his landing.

The bear was still alive – somehow – and rolled over on top of Felix, biting down toward him. He blocked the bite with his arm, and the crushing pain caused his body to jolt, dropping the knife. It squeezed down and he felt his arm go limp and become useless. He could feel lethargy as if something bled inside him – something important was punctured by the bear’s weight on top of him.

Felix reached into the hip pouch and grabbed the last acid globe. “Use that Execution thing!” he wheezed as he shoved the acid globe into the bear’s empty eye socket – right into the hole.

Hell yeah! Let’s melt it!

The acid globule shimmered with a golden and crimson light before exploding inside its exposed cavity, seeping inward toward the brain. The bear roared – and Felix used that chance to slide out from under it and grab his knife. He got into a crouch as the bear writhed on the ground before laying still. Felix’s vision started to go dark, his grip on consciousness fading.

I’m using Regenerate. You’re not dying on me!

Whatever had broken and was bleeding inside him snapped back into place as his crushed arm and collarbone realigned themselves and popped back into place. An instant relief flooded over him as the adrenaline faded and the pain began to set in – but it wasn’t paralyzing; just dull and throbbing. Manageable. The elevator shaft went silent and he fell back against the wall, sinking to a sitting position. “I almost died.” He was dumbstruck. A series of messages popped up in the top of his vision, slowly scrawling to the side as if from a news feed.

[Achievement Unlocked: Fell one hundred feet or more and survived]

[Achievement Unlocked: Reduced to 1 Health but survived]

[Experience Awarded = 10]

[Experience Bonus from Execution Skill = 5]

[Congratulations! You have reached the Experience threshold to level up! Speak with your Versewalker Core when you are ready to Choose your next Class.]

Good job! The voice was ecstatic.

Felix ripped the helmet off and dropped it, shakily put the knife back into the sheath, and let out an exhausted laugh. “I almost died!” He laughed at the absurdity of the situation, helpless to do anything but just be baffled by the mess his life had become. I survived.

Don’t forget to loot the corpse. The voice reverted to the holier-than-thou demeanor, full of pride.

“Okay. I spoke with my boss,” the Observer’s voice returned and was trying to convey a sense of calm, but there was a freak-out hidden underneath the words. “He said, quote, ‘You two belong with each other. Redemption for one is redemption for both.’ I’ll check in with you later.”

“Wait!” Felix shouted, “How do I get home?!” The Observer didn’t respond. “Observer, are you there?” Felix asked. But nothing answered him. “Okay then,” he muttered. “Core…how do I get home.”

I have a name. You will use it.

“I’m sorry. What’s your name?”

I’m Lucifer Morningstar.

“Like the fallen angel?”

You got it! God cast me out of my ‘Verse, and I went to Hell. Turns out, Hell for me is being trapped in one of these Versewalker Cores. Now, I’m in you. There was a smugness that laced the words echoing through Felix’s mind.

“Great, I have Satan living in my head.”

I’m not Satan. I’m Lucifer. Use my damned name. There was a brief chuckle at the pun, and Felix heard the distinct sound of a high-five as if Lucifer just self-fived in his head.

Felix shook his head. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, “How do I get home?”

Well, you’re human. So that means you come from some version of Earth. When you defeat a Crisis in a new ‘Verse, you get a Multiversal Charge that lets you go to another ‘Verse. I’ll probe the System and see what Crises we can solve here.

[Crisis: Death World – permanently stop acid rain generator]

“Who the hell would set up a machine to make that acid rain?”

Good question. We should go and investigate.

“I want to level up first.”

You can do that, or you can use it later. Currently, you still just have access to Fighter and Animancer.

“If I choose Animancer, do I get another Affinity?”

No. But… The voice cackled. You have me as your Core. Lucky you. You can use my unique Affinity. Hellfire. You’ve had access to it since I ignited. But you can only equip Affinities equal to your Capacity…which right now is a 1. Level up with Animancer, and you can equip a second one.

Felix thought for a moment. Having Powers/Magic that could deal damage would give him a ranged option. And, if playing games had taught him anything, it’s that you never set out on a quest without melee and ranged options. “Let’s go with a level of Animancer.”

[Selection Made: Animancer]

You have too many equipped Class Skills for your current Mind Stat value. You need to choose one that you aren’t going to use. Equipping an empty slot is instant but swapping them out takes ten minutes.

“Drop that Vigor Conversion for now.”

Once we finalize the level-up, your bars will be refilled.

It might be smart to save a level in the future, Felix thought. But he wanted the ranged combat option just in case. “Finalize it.” Felix gasped as his chest burned, and he gripped his torso for a moment as the heat ripped through him before calming once more. He felt mentally sharper as if he could think faster on his feet.

Is this Hellfire thing going to condemn me to damnation for using it?

Lucifer chuckled in his mind, No. Affinities having a rating. Normal, Rare, Epic, or Legendary. Your Detection Affinity is considered Normal, and later, you might get access to Rare or Epic ones. Hellfire is Legendary, the strongest possible Affinity rating.

I couldn’t choose Gravity earlier when I tried. The voice in my head said that Core Level 1 couldn’t use it.

That’s right. It’s considered Epic because of how powerful it is.

Then how come I can use a Legendary Affinity?

You can thank me for that. What I am offsets the Core Level requirement for that Affinity.

Felix reached down and grabbed the helmet, putting it on. “Great. How do I loot this thing?” Lucifer walked Felix through the surprisingly simple process. He held his hand over the bear corpse, and his chest felt warm before a crimson and gold light pulsed out from his palm and over the creature’s body. It vanished.

[Loot Obtained]

·         Waste-Bear Claw (x4)

[Loot Bonus from Execution Skill]

·         Waste-Bear Pelt

“Where does all this stuff go?”

Into your inventory. Think of it like a miniature ‘Verse inside of your Versewalker Core. It’s got storage limits, normally only ten items at once. Here, I’ll show you.

“The same types of items stack.” And his equipment didn’t count, either.

Alright, if you want to get off this world and get into another ‘Verse, we should find that acid rain generator. Want me to use Detect Object?

“Do it.”

“Why did it cost more?”

Because it is hard to find…normally. But you’re a Versewalker. Solving a Crisis in a ‘Verse is what you’re made for.

“Got it.” The golden line of energy went up the elevator shaft and back the way Felix had come from. Up to the surface. Before going that way, he went back to the room with the brazier and tipped the bench up on its long end. He reached for the moss on the ceiling. It would be a bit of food. Hopefully enough to last him some time. As he reached for it, a golden flash caused it to vanish.

[Loot Obtained]

·         Edible Moss (x5)

He ate one of them, almost retching at the flavor, but he swallowed it down and felt much better once it settled in his stomach. It had a tangy aftertaste, like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth. He made his way back to the elevator and headed toward the surface, his feet driven with the purpose of getting the hell off this world.

He made his way out of the cavern and to the dim grey light of day. The red and black sky crackled, and the golden line pointed him to follow the mountain range. The air was no longer foul-smelling to him, and he could breathe easily without any problems. Felix followed the golden line.

So…tell me about yourself. Lucifer sounded authentically engaged as if he was really trying to make a connection. A prisoner finally getting to talk to someone.

Felix was hesitant at first, but he reasoned that Lucifer wouldn’t have any ill will since if Felix died, he would be trapped again. So, Felix filled him in as they traveled, effectively recounting his whole life story up to that point. Several hours of walking passed as he spoke softly.

Interesting. Your Earth sounds fascinating. Humans are wonderful creatures regardless of ‘Verse.

“We’ve done some amazing things,” Felix acknowledged. “And some pretty messed up stuff.”

Ah, but that is free will in action. Able to seize your fate and control your destiny! Lucifer’s voice was filled with passion and fiery rhetoric.

Felix chuckled and shook his head as the desolate landscape continued onward, “Yeah. Well, who knows if my Earth has a version of you or not?” He frowned, “You just existing in some other ‘Verse implies deities are real elsewhere.” Felix felt weird saying the phrase ‘Verse, but it was much quicker than saying Universe every time he would need to mention the word.

Won’t know until we get there! I’d love to meet myself.

Yeah, I bet you would, Felix thought.

I heard that.

“Can you not listen to my thoughts? It’s a bit invasive.”

Sorry, it’s not something I can turn off.

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