Marcus's eyes snapped open, and he blinked rapidly as his vision adjusted to the low light of the damp cave. As he looked around, he noticed a strange HUD in the top-left corner of his sight - something you would see in a video game. But this wasn't a game; he was really here. Suddenly, a notification popped up in front of him, and a woman's voice filled his head, causing him to jump and look around frantically for the source of the sound.
“Welcome to Ervasta, Marcus. Greetings, I am Guinevere, an assistant here to impart upon you a vital message and walk you through the workings of this realm. In terms people from your world may understand, I am akin to an intelligent machine or AI. My purpose is to ensure your success on Ervasta, for your survival demands power.
There are unspeakable threats that roam this land, waiting to consume or destroy the unprepared. To prevent such a fate and give Ervasta a fighting chance, I have bestowed upon you, The System - a source of enhancing power that will elevate your abilities above those of mere humans in your world. However, heed my words do not let this empowerment swell your ego. Even with these bonuses, there are beings in Ervasta who have existed for eons and possess unimaginable strength. It would be foolish to believe you could surpass them anytime soon; it may take multiple lifetimes before such a feat is within reach. Nonetheless, check your stats and witness the investment I have made in your being, pushing your abilities to their peak potential for your home world.”
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 5
Intellect: 5
Wisdom: 5
Stamina: 5
With a keen eye, Marcus scoured the stats in front of him. Each one held a perfect score, a shining 5 that marked him as a Peak-Earth Human. As someone who had delved into countless RPGs before, he quickly scanned through the information before continuing on with the walkthrough, eager to discover more about this strange world.
“Now that you have done this please look over to your HUD.” Marcus held up a hand before looking over at the HUD.
“Hold on lady, this seems really weird. It looks like I am in Skyrim or something like that. Am I the Dragonborn? If so, this is gonna be really cool. I am normally a Redguard so I am not sure how the ‘Skyrim is for the Nords’ types are gonna handle it.” He felt a hard pluck in the back of his head that he assumed meant shut up in listen as the woman’s voice continued.
Marcus Washington
Level: 1 - 5 Kills till next level
Health: Green
Energy: Green
Attunement: 0/100
“As you can see you are level 1 and you need 5 more kills to progress forward in your leveling. Leveling will give you raw stats but in order to gain abilities you need to open loot crates and create gear from it and the gear you make will have the ability to attune to you and grow. Higher rarity gear takes up more attunement slots. Don’t worry if you max out your attunement slots early. Your Max attunement increases as you level as well.“
He understood that if her words were accurate, there was no idle way to improve skills like crafting or completing tasks in this realm. If he desired strength, the only option was to defeat monsters.
I guess this isn’t Skyrim
“Beings that you kill will grant you kill experience and will be highlighted above their heads.”
You will start off with leather armor, a wooden shield, a shortsword, a warpick a torch, a full waterskin and 5 days worth of rations and 2 torches. You need to make it out of this cave tunnel as soon as you can or you will run out of food.
“Good Luck.”
As the voice and images in his mind faded away, he took a moment to look down at himself. He was impressed by what he saw - standing at 6'1" and weighing about 200 pounds, he had always been big and strong. But now, as he surveyed his body, it seemed as though he had gained an extra 20 pounds of solid muscle. The leather armor he wore hugged his frame tightly, giving him a slim yet powerful appearance reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian. It was as if he had transformed into a warrior ready for battle, ready to take on any challenge that came his way.
Not too bad. I am not sure why I had roguish like armor but whatever. At least I have gear. Let's see if I can get out of this cave.
Generally speaking in games he preferred the traditional warrior route as he wasn’t the biggest fan of magic but if he could make his own gear then he would just need to leave this dumb cave.
As he cautiously scanned the darkness, only the faint glow of bioluminescent fungus offered any light. His hand trembled as he reached for his torch, fumbling with flint and steel until a small flame emerged. In this dimly lit cave, four paths presented themselves. Three stretched out in front of him, while one led back to where he had entered. He took a deep breath and prepared to choose his path carefully.
“Let's at least mark that I have been here.” He pulled out his short sword and marked a large X on a large rock next to his position before pressing on to the path to the furthest right. As he walked down the path with a warpick in one hand and a torch in the other he looked around and noticed just how dark this place was. Outside of his torch it was almost pitch black as the soft dripping of water in the distance all around him and constant scurrying of what he imagined was rats. As his heart began to quickly beat and sweat began to drop like light rain from his face.
Holy shit this is actually real. Holy fuck this is bad. I am not some super soldier or whatever. I cha cha slide at social events, I get high and rewatch Spongebob. This can’t be real fucking life.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
He felt….no heard against his left ear the same voice from before…Guinevere.
The voice echoed in his head, stern and urgent. "Calm yourself, control your thoughts and emotions," it said. "You are panicking and that will lead to your demise. Remember that you are not alone." The voice disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He felt a gentle touch on his cheek as he turned towards the source, but there was no one there.
Ok Marcus. Just calm down and press forward. If you can sling boxes then you can sling a real weapon and actually kill something. Just gotta keep moving. What would Daniel Day Lewis do? Dance with Wolves? Yeah, this is just a dark and scary ass cave that I can’t easily leave. I just have to dance my black ass out of here and find civilization.
The remnants of his breakfast burst forth in a messy explosion, splattering across the slimy surfaces of the tunnel. The half-digested food mingled grotesquely with the blood and entrails already smeared along the walls, creating a sickening mosaic of horror. As he trudged further down the wide, dimly lit passage, the putrid stench of decaying flesh and death clung to the air, a thick, suffocating miasma that invaded his nostrils. Each breath felt like an assault, forcing him to retch uncontrollably, his stomach heaving as he vomited violently, leaving streaks of bile and misery painting the tunnel's walls.
With growing dread, he reached an opening that revealed a massive room beyond, its depths shrouded in darkness. As his weak light flickered over the scene, he saw a gruesome display of carnage - humanoid bodies in various stages of decomposition mingled with twisted and unrecognizable creatures. But before he could process this horror, he noticed the corpses beginning to stir, rising slowly from their resting places as if summoned by some unseen force.
“ZOMBIES?! It's like 8 of them, what the HELL! Guinevere a little help here.” Marcus waited for a moment before she spoke up in his mind.
“These are reanimated corpses. They are not like the zombies stories of your world…..at least not these. These are slow moving creatures but they have no limits on their body. They will most likely miss you, but if they hit you it will hurt. Be careful and fight them one at a time and don’t let them swarm you. “
Her voice winked out as the remaining Shamblers stood up and with a brisk walk came over towards him. With eight of them coming towards him he had about maybe a few dozen feet from where he came in the tunnel to where he was now. While the tunnel was not small, it could fit maybe 2 or 3 people walking side by side. These creatures seemed mindless as they bumped into each other, tripped over each other and bounced off walls as they clawed at him.
I don’t think I can just run away here, I gotta kill these things to move on.
What he could do was strike and stepback. He dropped his torch beside him before swapping over to his War Pick and Shield. He had the better reach with his warpick and a shield to protect him.
With a fierce battle cry, he swung the warpick down with all of his might, crushing the first shambler's skull with a sickening crunch. The creature crumbled to the ground, its death met swiftly and brutally. A notification flashed in the top left corner of his vision, but he paid it no mind as he turned to face the next enemy, his adrenaline pumping and his grip on the weapon tightening.
Four more Kills to Level 2.
As the monster's lifeless body crumpled to the ground, Marcus delivered a swift kick that sent it crashing into the other corpse behind it. In a split second, another creature leapt towards him with bared teeth and claws. Reacting instinctively, Marcus raised his wooden shield and bashed the beast back, giving himself enough room to swing his warpick in a powerful arc. A sickening crunch echoed through the air as the weapon connected with the monster's skull, causing it to slide off his shield and land with a thud on the ground. Blood and brains splattered across Marcus' face, only fueling his determination to survive this nightmare.
Three more Kills to Level 2
The power coursing through him was otherworldly. Despite his physical strength as a 6'1, 200-pound man with a stocky frame and toned muscles, the strength he now possessed surpassed anything he could have imagined on Earth. With a mere glancing blow, he shattered a skull, sending shards of bone flying. It didn't seem possible, but he had to keep fighting. The creatures closed in on him, their dead eyes fixed on his next victim.
With quick reflexes, Marcus sidestepped a lunge from one creature and delivered a swift swipe that sent it crashing to the ground. As another lunged at him, he used the side of his shield to bash its head in before leaping back, ready for the next attack.
Two more kills to Level 2
In a daring move, he threw caution to the wind and charged ahead, purposely dropping his shield to take on the two foes with a fierce two-handed stance. With a powerful swing, he struck the first creature, using its momentum to redirect his attack towards the second. As their heads collided with a sickening crunch, blood sprayed in all directions before they both crashed into the wall, their skulls splitting open like ripe watermelons under his brutal force. Guinevere whispered in his ear again.
You are now Level 2. Finish the rest then we can continue with leveling.
“I am level 2! LETS FUCKING GO! All of these zombies give off the energy of a hater. I am mean really, what kind of grown-”
With all of the excitement of killing two at once he didn’t notice the open palm swipe against his shield arm that lifted him off the ground and knocked him on his ass as the arm bone in a sickening snap. As he looked down he noticed the deep gashes in his armor and felt he had a minor cut underneath as he rolled away and stood up again. He quickly launched towards the remaining three and slashed with his warpick at the one in front against a wall and knocked its head off his shoulders before then pushed the body off the wall into the two remaining undead as they clawed at him they attack their headless friend instead before Marcus performed a spin attack bashing in the skulls of the remaining two undead.
