I went down, knowing my destination marked on my map. My journey to my first stop was traversing ruins, overgrowth and meeting funny looking animals. My mind wandered to the events that led me to this place. If I hadn't said yes to that sketchy Game Master (whom I thought was Carlos doing a prank with a voice-changing module), would I be in the sleeping quarters? If I chose a different skill, would I be in a different situation? What am I supposed to do right now if I wasn't thrown to this place with my pants down? I would probably be making up with Mimi or at home playing my favorite games. Wait, I am in a game, yes, a game maybe, but a game I can taste, feel, and experience. Maybe I am looking at this from a wrong angle. I should be rejoicing because I am in an alternate world, experiencing what I do in games. I should be happy, right?
I've reached my destination. The sight was, of course, in ruins and sprinkled with jungle aesthetics. It looked like an overgrown domed structure, half buried, that made the building atop a hill. The dome on top had caved, and a tree grew out of it. The gamer part of me shouting inside of my head, what could I be looting inside of the structure? But I had better things to do—like searching for a place to stay. Reason took over my salivating sense of adventure. I climbed to the top to find what I spotted earlier, a tower behind the dome that can be my hideout, my batcave, my fortress of solitude.
Lo and behold, the tower looked like an observatory, but alas, it looked like it was going to collapse at any moment, not to mention the cracks on its footing did not inspire confidence. I looked at the sky, and my instincts were telling me that if I wouldn't find a safe place to rest soon, I will be in the open for Boapede menu. A shame, I don't have the time to explore such magnificent structure. I hit the road to my next destination.
The path leading to my next destination was, of course, the same old scenery of rocks, walls, and vegetation.
If this has RPG game mechanics, why can't I have the basic mechanics like inventory? Or do I need to think of it, like the map did? I conjured the thought, but no inventory popped up. How about character? I thought hard, and a window popped up. The character menu popped up, showing a few basic things. Up top, it says Me: Title: None Skills: general awareness, special: Heightened awareness. And the current skills I have: evasion, my sword skills, and sneak. "Can I have detailed info?" I focused on General Awareness, and a description showed: "It will show the names of animals, characters, things such as weapons, utensils, armors. It relies on a character's perception when knowledge of a certain object or character is not known or limited. I was right, it really was dependent on my deductions like back then. Makes sense."
I reached some ruins with smaller structures that looked like ruined buildings my size, Kiko-sized doorways and windows, unlike the ones before—gigantic, like what it said on the map, the name of this place 'Giants Labyrinht'. But this is out of place. I continued, and as I pass through a building, I saw something underneath a table: a satchel strapped on a skeleton of a being smaller than me but the bones were wider and thicker, and it had leather armor that was XXXL wide but shorter than my body. Of course, I tried it on, but it was not economical to use. I checked the satchel, and it was in good condition, though it had visible signs of aging. I placed my food and my prized possessions, and most especially my spoon, in it with a smile on my face. I remembered growing up having hand-me-downs from my older brother. I appreciated that I had things of my own, but it also brought back painful memories of kids making fun of me because my bags, clothes, and lunch boxes were not new like my rich classmates had. Hearing words like "pulubi" (poor) and "pudpod" (worn out). Words that, in my young mind, were engraved, showing where I stood in the food chain. But having such an amenity in a place like this was luxury. I thought of my mom and pop. It pained the hell out of me. Their struggles to give us the best education they can give while cutting corners to make it work.
Further on, passing through the ruins of what looked like a buried second-story house, I spotted a glint of metal down on the first floor—a metal cup, half-buried in leaves. Treasure! I descended cautiously, making my way through the debris. Just as my fingers closed around the cup, the ground erupted around me.
My General Awareness flashed red:
Marauder Cockroach: - Threat Level: High (due to numbers) - Description: Cockroach the size of a Chihuahua, aggressive, and it has a small clamp on its head like a rhinoceros beetle.
Marauder Cockroaches. A swarm of them. They burst from every crevice, chittering sounds filling the air. These weren't the tiny critters I knew from the sewers back home. These were the size of wiener dogs, their antennae twitching madly, their dark bodies scuttling. One of them immediately clamped onto my shoe with its head clamp, its grip surprisingly strong.
I had no choice. I've instinctively pocketed the cup in my hoodie's pockets and brought my foot down with all my might, stamping the one clamped to my shoe. It splattered with a sickening crunch. Instantly, some flew towards me. I immediately did a roll and got my sword swinging as I stood up. I noticed that this time, it felt different. It didn't just feel responsive; it felt like my arm extended, flowing with my movements. I was beginning to understand Intermediate Sword Handling. My dull blade acted less as a cutting tool and more as a blunt force weapon, and I began wildly swatting, whacking Marauder Cockroaches out of my way as I desperately attempted to move out of the first floor of the ruins. The chittering horde was nearly overwhelming, their numbers suffocating. I was almost overrun, but I managed to break free, scrambling out into the late afternoon sun swinging my sword in desperation feeling their sickening limbs crawl around me. Suddenly, they scattered, hissing, retreating from the light. My feeling of dread short-lived, "What on earth-" I muttered in disbelief while catching my breath. They were somehow photosensitive.
My mind went back to gamer mode. Trying to figure out the mechanics of the experience as gamer like perspective. Survival adventure, that's what I thought.
I've reached my second and final destination, looking at my map, it dawned on me that what I saw was nothing but a wishful thought of a shelter. It was just a silhouette; it looked like a building where I can settle down from a distance, but nothing more than a broken shell up close, with so many openings.
"Chill," I said. I must find another, and fast. Destination should be moving to the river, which I did. After a few minutes of walking I saw something that tickled my curiosity up the giant wall of the labyrinth was a hole, covered by a big tree. I climbed and saw a cave in the size of a minivan where an intricate design was supposed to be. I didn't think much because it ticked all the boxes for me, high enough that can be easily defended, wide enough to be a home for Kiko like my room where my PC lay. I cleared the small scattered rocks where I stacked to make a half wall. Gathered sticks to make a small fire and I used my Boy Scout skills way back when I was younger to good use. My old Boy Scout days, a distant memory from a childhood that felt a thousand years away, flickered back into my mind. I remembered rubbing sticks together, trying to make fire. It took a while, far longer than the man in my TV memory ever took, but finally, a tiny spark, then smoke, and then a small, flickering flame.
A prompt popped up: Basic Survival Learned
I kept the fire small and manageable, just enough to provide warmth and comfort, not enough to attract unwanted attention in the coming night. I placed my hand near the fire, feeling the warmth spread through my cold fingers.