*Whoosh*
The first thing she came to see was a cave, it's walls and dilapidated with a variety of weapons laid to the side.
[{Ding}]
[{You are on the first level of the game, the further your descent, the more lucrative the items you will receive}]
[{Any items acquired here may be transferred to those in the real world. Also any form of accomplishments will be halved}]
[{Any form of death here will be meaningless however here will be a limit as to how many runs you can do}]
The notification didn't make much sense as she looked around, the vicinity she was in a cave on the verge of a forest with nothing else around her. Her senses warned her about venturing elsewhere therefore without much thought she reached out for the sword.
She took at a glance, light and sleek as it gleamed in the sun's rays. 'This should do.' She thought inwardly as she began her descent. Her mind wondered where she was and how she would be fine with her dying. 'Will it be painful or painless? Where am I and what is this place?'
Such questions swirled in her mind and yet no answers followed. The halls were well lit, the sounds of her steps echoed through before she came into a shadow. Taking a step forward, her eyes noted the bar of health on top of the creature. It's mouth opened with saliva dripping.
[{Player: Seryn}]
[{Level:1}]
[{Weapons: Banal Sword}]
[{Active Skills: None}]
[{Passive Skills: None}]
[{Dives: 5/5}]
The world around her froze as the notification came into her sight. Still she didn't think much of the stuff brought to her as she armed herself with the battle to come. The creature emerged from the shadows to reveal a rat.
It's brown coat reeking of blood and rot, it's eyes obsidian yet rabid as it scurried it's way to her. Her body responded though not as fluid as she had anticipated. "Argh!" She groaned as her arc was less than graceful. The creature crude could barely dodge the attack and met it's end with an ear piercing shrill.
[{Congratulations on killing your first beast}]
[{Kill more beasts to help you increase your level. With each increase of level, you will be given more choices to pick from to help with your descents}]
Shortly after this pop up a list of choice came out to her.
[{Active Skills}]
[{Quick Slash- A fast, slow stamina double strike}]
[{Guard Push- A short shove with the sword hilt or shield to knock back enemies}]
[{Lunge Step- A short forward thrust with increased reach for closing gaps}]
[{Passive Skills}]
[{Steady Grip- Reduces stamina drain from normal attacks}]
[{Quick Recovery- Health recovers a little faster outside of combat}]
[{Sharp Eye- Slightly increase the drop rate for basic items}]
[{Free utility}]
[{Torchlight - Natural glow when holding a weapon in the dark}]
[{Pack rat- Slightly increases inventory space}]
It was a wave of information that could she could barely. However the more she looked at it, the more familiar it grew with her. From the active and passive skills, it was required of her to pick one skill while the utility were both handed to her. 'So it would seem that should I die that these will be taken away from me.'
With this logic, she knew that she had the room for error as should she make a grave mistake with her choices that she could pick something far more optimal.
[{Warning, skills are not assured that they will remain constant with each dive}]
A notification popped up as if to take a jab at her train of thought. 'Well there goes that plan.' She sighed as she made her pick. For the active being the skill [{Quick Slash}] and the passive being [{Quick Recovery}]. As much as she wanted to pick the Steady Grip, her gut told her to think of the fights to come later on.
'It would be problematic for survivability down here without a means of respite.' She thought as she glanced at the path ahead of her. Not that far off she could hear the critters of bats, their sounds echoing through the halls.
With a look of resolve, she marched into the darkness to which she came across three bats, their skin pure black as they hissed at her arrival. Without fail they immediately lunged at her, three making a move while one stayed back and let out a scream that brought her to a complete halt.
"Argh!" She subconsciously covered her ears which left her open for an attack from one of the bats.
[{You have taken 5 damage}]
[{Your overall health is now 15 out of 20}]
She clicked her tongue at this sight however her dismay didn't last long. With a grab of her sword, she threw it at the bat that lurked at the back of the pack.
*Whoosh*
The sword sailed through the air however the bat managed to dodge to the side leaving her completely helpless with no weapon to arm herself with.
*Screech*
Another scream came as predicted that left her defenseless from the following attacks.
[{You have been dazed from the screech, your movement has now been halved}]
The sight making her face wince with disgust as she tried to reach out to her sword. With her halved speed, she managed to receive a considerable amount of damage before she got her hands on her sword once more.
[{Your health is 5 out of 20}]
She grit her teeth with her abysmal progress. 'Damn it! Why can't I use my hands to get rid of these pests!' She wondered as she positioned herself for another fight taking on a fighting stance. Her breathe shallow as she felt the world around her begin to slow.
With the effects of the bat stacking on her, her stamina capability was no different from that of a dying man. A bat made it's move followed with the expected scream, she managed to get a swing out of her sword before crashing to the side. The screams filled her ears once more however this time she managed to injure one of the bats.
Before she could force another swing, the injured bat swung back avoiding her attack which left her open for another attack.
[{Your health is 2 out of 20}]
A step forward felt like climbing a mountain and with a final grunt, she collapsed to the floor. 'Why is this program so hard!' She wondered as her vision cut to black.
[{You died during an expedition. All items held will be lost alongside any active skills. Your passive skill will be retained for future dives}]
The news though saddening made her elated as she realized that all of her work wouldn't be in vain as she wouldn't have to start over.
[{You can spend obedience points on the training hub by upgrading your statistics and other abilities}]
The message flashing a smile on her face however a frown followed right after. 'Wait! Then how would I be able to accumulate obedience points then?' With missions that already lowered her obedience points, it now felt more optimal for her to gain as much obedience points as she could.
With a few clicks, she managed to spend her obedience points on increasing her bare statistics and unlocking another slot for an active to be held upon death in future runs.
[{You have 0 obedience points}]
Something that she once yearned for now felt disheartening.
[{You have 4 depths remaining for the day}]
Seeing this notification, she was now more prepared as she had somewhat of an understanding of what to expect. Now thrown out of the black void and onto the cave entrance, this time she picked a crossbow rather than a sword. 'This should help me with those pesky bats.'
She thought as she began her dive. A few steps in and she came across a pack of rats. 'It would seem that it remains the same as I had left it.' She sighed picturing how future depths would be harder as time dragged on. 'But that won't be the case should I manage to clear a level.' She added on as she stood on one knee and took aim at one of the rats.
*Whoosh*
The arrow whizzed through the air before claiming it's target which had no time to let out a scream. The four other seeing the death of their comrades began to rush at Seryn who took her time aiming at the lot. The clicks and buzzes of arrows filled the air till she was left alive in the hall.
Though no smile came to her face as she hadn't received any notifications. 'Well this will be a problem.' She muttered as she ventured deeper into the caves. So far she had no means of navigation through the tunnels but given the straight corridor, she didn't have to bother herself too much.
A few more steps and she came across a small horde of rats. However these had red eyes, their teeth snarling as they started to make their way towards her. No warning, only action and she did the same as she began to flick arrows at the approaching beasts.
*Click-Click-Click*
Arrows flew through the air however the rats barely flinched at her projectiles, sole dodging to the side as they bared their teeth at her. She gave a low nervous gulp seeing this. 'What is up with this difficulty spike?' Sure she had anticipated for the curve to hit her but not so fast given that she had yet to leave the first floor. She had no idea what lay outside of the tunnels she traversed.
Seeing the inefficiency of the crossbow, she brandished her small dagger, her face ready for the skirmish to unfold. "Grah!" One squeaked and yet it was almost enough to knock her to the side however with her agility she managed to bring herself back on her feet.
Her movement with the dagger somewhat lacking as she managed to land a hit on the damned beast. A gush of blood covered her face making her freeze for a second.
*Bam!*
The impact on her chest was hard and quick.
[{Your health has been reduced to 10 out of 20}]
The notification flashed which startled her. 'He really doesn't plan on going easy with me.' Clicking her tongue, she began her onslaught. Now fueled with seething rage, her prowess began to shine but her opponents proved formidable as they would easily dodge her rudimentary attacks and bite through her bows.
'If I had some form of poison I'm sure that this wouldn't be such a problem for me.' She sighed inwardly as she danced with the rats. Minutes began to stretch into eternity with no side gaining the upper hand. Any time she was about to end the life of one of the beasts, another would take it's place and the cycle went on.
Till by the time she attacked the last, the former had already healed and was now attacking her. 'Damn it! I need a party for this but I have no other soul to contact while I'm in here.' Her mind began to curse as she knew that defeat was growing all the more likely should the situation drag on like this. Her body was slowly succumbing to fatigue, her breathes growing shallower with each elapsing second.
Try as she might, she was forced to admit defeat and run back. The pack gave chase with no delay, her frame panting was observable by the two horrors. "Oh it's a shame that she has to run so cowardly." Callista giggled beneath the veil. "It truly is, what an utter disappointment." Jarren chimed in and yet his tone didn't convey his dismay, only amusement.
"We can't have her run wild like a chicken with no head." Her words final as something within the game shifted. Seryn who could see the cave entrance felt the shift and within a second the floor beneath her disappeared in an instant. No cause which resulted with her falling through, her body cushioned below by a strip of spike aimed upwards that brought her life to an end.
Back in the abyss we saw a notification that felt more like a joke rather than advise.
[{It wouldn't be wise for you to be running about so blindly. After all who knows what could happen to you in such a dangerous place}]
Her mind hesitated with the notion of another dive. She glanced at her hands, the fatigue still present.